9 A Hospital visit

“…Hikari…wake up…” Ichiro groaned as he slowly came to. The early sunlight pushed under the bridge, pulling him from the sleep of night. He didn’t recall falling asleep, the last thing he remembered being the soft singing as they hid in the shrinking dark, but he felt relief flood him as she was still there, resting her head on his shoulder. He gently nudged her, regretful that he couldn’t let the moment linger. “Wake up.”

“…Hmmm… where are we?” she groggily asked, eyes still closed.

“The bridge.”

Her eyes quickly opened and she looked around. “Then, all of yesterday…?”

“Yeah,” he nodded, “it all happened.”

She grimaced, looking around to get her bearings. “What time is it?”

“Don’t know; my phone’s been off since we went to the bureau.”

She nodded. “This is the bridge Kobayashi crosses over, right?” she asked.

“Mmm, yeah,” he slowly answered. “But it’s not safe to go home; not when they’re looking for us. Well, you.”

She shook her head. “No, not that. Actually something else to do with him.” She didn’t elaborate further as she got to her feet, carefully crawling along the side under the bridge. “We have to get him before he goes past here.”

He followed behind, not sure what she was getting at.

“Oi, Kobayasu!” she started calling just as he passed by.

The bike he was riding skidded to a stop as he whirled at the nickname. “…Sato-chan?” he questioned, incredulous, before even turning to face them. The confusion didn’t leave his face as he watched Ichiro crawl out from under the bridge. “What are you two doing under a bridge? Or I suppose that’s the place trolls might frequent,” he said, looking straight at Ichiro.

“It’s… a long story,” she told him, not at all elaborating. “But your mom, does the hospital—”

“Wait, hold on,” he cut her off. “They just let you go? Everything all good?”

“Yes,” Ichiro lied.

“Yes,” Hikari lied, much more obviously. “But, your mom is a hospital administrator, right? Can she see if there were patients brought in last night with a gunshot wound?”

Kobayashi’s eyes nearly bugged out. “Gunshot wound!? Do you even know what you’re asking? Of course something that serious is registered, but why do you need to… What happened last night?”

Ichiro slowly realized what she was asking about. “Look, Kobayashi, we need you to do this for us. We’ll tell you what happened but we have to go now.”

“We’re already in trouble,” he retorted, pointing a finger at him. “The principal is probably going to give us detention until we graduate, especially if we don’t show up today like a pair of delinquants!”

“But… We need your help, please, Hiroto!” she begged.

He blinked, stiffening, taken aback as she used his first name. “Ok… Hikari,” he agreed, slowly nodding as he reluctantly turned the bike around. “We gotta go back to my place and— Is that my bike!?” he exclaimed as Ichiro disappeared to retrieve it from under the bridge.

“Sure is,” Ichiro grinned. “We’ll tell you what happened on the way, Hiroto.”

Kobayashi narrowed his eyes at him as soon as Ichiro used his first name as well. “Nope, just her, not you, Yamada.”

Ichiro got on the bike, letting Hikari get on the back. “If this is your bike…?” he questioned as he glanced over at what Kobayashi was riding.

“My brother’s. I told him mine was taken. Not a lie,” the other boy explained as he led the way to his house. “We can get my mom’s spare badge and then go over.”

“You’re not going to ask her?” Hikari asked.

He slowed just to raise an eyebrow at her. “After what happened that I actually know? Goodness no, Sa— Hikari. Now, spill, what else happened?”

Ichiro and Hikari filled him in, alternating their perspectives, but left out the specific detail of Liam singing the song of silence; Ichiro because he didn’t want to listen to Kobayashi gloat that he was right, and Hikari for a reason that Ichiro was not privy to. While Hikari appeared to learn a good detail of what happened while she was detained, not completely being in a conversive state the night before, Ichiro learnt very little about what happened to her, other than that she was apparently quickly taken in after sitting down with Agent Yamamoto, and that they kept her detained with no communication at all for hours until she was broken out.

“Well…” was all Kobayashi could muster as they pulled up to his house. “Stay here, I’ll be right back… I got to think this over.”

Ichiro and Hikari anxiously waited, not completely sure if that meant he was hurrying to return or not, but soon enough he came back out. “Alright, follow me,” he told them as if they didn’t know where the hospital was. For their town, they weren’t known for much, but the hospital that marked the centre of the city was indeed what gave the city its reputation and notoriety.

The roads, moderately busy for the early morning, slowly thickened with vehicles as they got closer. An ambulance passed them as they turned the corner, the hospital suddenly in sight. The largest in the prefecture, the western style building stood proud just past the tree line, with a full length of cars queued to pick up and drop off while a lot stood with sparse attention. People came in and out of the multiple automatic double doors, most masked and some with assistance walking.

Kobayashi meanwhile steered them away from the hustle and bustle, veering around the side of the building and circling around to the back. Unlike the front, with large glass panels, concrete pillars, and picturesque supports, the backside of the building boasted less impressive architecture; a generally flat wall with modest windows from rooms and small ledges.

Once they reached it, Kobayashi pulled up to a service door and set his bike against the wall, and motioned for them to do the same. “Alright, stick to me,” Kobayashi cautioned them as he scanned the badge on the small box right by the door, waiting for it to beep and flash a green light before the door unlocked.

A short hallway awaited them, some nurses, doctors, orderlies, and singers walking up and down with purpose. “Quit gawking; look like you belong,” Kobayashi quietly snapped at them as he led them down the hall, looking over his shoulder and seeing the other two looking around.

Hikari stiffened, caught in the act, while Ichiro grimaced, feeling unfairly reprimanded. “Which way to your mom’s admin station?” she asked, still glancing around out of the corner of her eyes.

“This hall,” he said with a nod toward the branching path while walking right past it.

“We aren’t going down there?” Ichiro asked, confused, lingering for a second before quickly catching up, trying not to look too conspicuous.

“Goodness no,” he quietly snapped back. “If we get caught here, we’re in so much more trouble than you don’t seem to even realize we’re already in!” It took Ichiro a second to sort that out but he just nodded quickly before it clicked. “This way,” Kobayashi instructed as he suddenly steered them down a side hallway. “There’s a small admin station here that shouldn’t be busy. We can use that.”

True to his word, the small computer sat almost against the wall with just enough room for someone to squeeze behind it. Kobayashi gave a quick look side to side before getting onto it.

“You’re able to access it?” Hikari asked, surprised, while Ichiro backed in front of the desk to partially obscure its user from view.

“Username is the same as the ID number,” Kobayashi explained, holding up the badge so he could copy it in. “And if I had to guess the password…” The first attempt failed, the system beeping at him in a cold computer tone. The second, though the exact same note, sounded frustrated.

“…Come on…” muttered Ichiro, worried as each glance their way could spell disaster.

“I’m trying, I’m trying,” Kobayashi grumbled. “Just give me a… Ok, and I’m in. Looking for recent reports sent out… Ok… Ok…” he muttered as the mouse clicked in rapid bursts. “Here, a Liam Jameson. He’s should be in room—”

“Hiroto-kun?” The three turned as an older lady came up, spotting them. Ichiro panicked, and a small logical part of his brain wondered what exactly the worst case scenario would be, but knew that being caught and called out by first name was clearly up there.