14

Naoki woke slowly, as if surfacing through thick water.

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

He turned his head. A clear tube ran from a hanging bag into the back of his hand.

IV fluids? 

His arm felt heavy where it rested against the hospital sheet. The room smelled faintly of antiseptic and warm plastic. His body felt hollowed out.

Where am I?

Everything returned in a flood. 

Blood. Floorboards. Turkey. Police station. The doctor’s words. “We managed to bring her back.”

Naoki sat up abruptly. The motion made the IV line tug.

“Ah!” A voice jumped beside him.

“Careful!” Genki rushed forward and steadied the IV pole before it tipped.

“You’ll pull the needle out!”

Naoki blinked in confusion.

Genki stood beside the bed, still wearing the butcher shop apron. The front had been folded up awkwardly, as if he had tried to make himself presentable for a hospital.

Hana rested in the crook of his arm. She looked freshly fed. Her cheeks were pink and round, and her sleepy eyes wandered across the room.

“Takeshi just left,” Genki said.

“What time is it?”

“It’s nine in the morning now. Takeshi said there were deliveries that couldn’t be delayed. Old people’s homes are waiting for their meat orders.” 

Genki shrugged apologetically.

Naoki lowered his gaze. That sounded exactly like Takeshi, he thought. Even after everything, the butcher shop still had to open.

Genki adjusted Hana carefully and grinned. “He’ll come back right after.”

“Mmm.”

“The nurses said they’d keep an eye on you too.”

Naoki glanced toward the doorway. A nurse passed by and gave him a warm, sympathetic nod when she noticed he was awake. The kindness felt undeserved.

“Thank you,” he said quietly.

Genki bounced Hana gently. “She’s been good.”

Naoki nodded. Then he drifted again.

“Aiko…”

Genki’s grin faded immediately. His eyes grew watery. For a moment the boy looked like the seventeen-year-old he actually was.

“You held up really strong back there.” Genki said softly.

“Hey.”

Naoki blinked back into reality.

Genki shook his head with genuine admiration. “Seriously. I don’t know how you did it.”

Naoki said nothing. Genki continued. “You’re a real man, Naoki. I mean it.”

He shifted Hana again. “Guys like me… punks like me… we look at someone like you and think that’s what a man, what a husband, should be.”

Naoki forced a faint smile.

Genki lowered his voice. “Technically… Aiko-san is out of the woods.”

Naoki’s heart lurched.

“But…”

Genki glanced toward the hallway. “They told me not to say anything yet.”

Naoki looked at him seriously. Genki leaned closer.

“My loyalty is with you,” he whispered.

“She’s properly alive. In a coma, yes, but she’s stabilizing. That’s what I heard.”

The room seemed to exhale. Naoki’s shoulders sagged. Relief washed across his face. Aiko alive meant Hana still had a mother.

Alive. But not awake.

Naoki looked down at the hospital blanket. His mind moved quickly.

A coma meant silence. Silence meant time. Time meant possibility. Maybe memory loss. Maybe confusion. Maybe I can .. 

He stopped himself.

“Thank you for telling me.”

Genki nodded earnestly. “I figured you deserved to know.”

Naoki leaned back slowly. “I’d like to see her.”

Genki winced. “Ah… about that…”

Naoki waited patiently. “They won’t let anyone in yet.”

“Why?”

“There’s a police officer stationed outside her room.”

Naoki’s stomach tightened. Genki scratched his head awkwardly. “They said only medical staff can enter right now.”

Naoki nodded slowly. “That makes sense.”

He did not argue. Genki watched him carefully.

“You’re not mad?”

“No.”

Naoki folded his hands together calmly.

“They’re doing their job.”

Genki’s admiration returned immediately. “See? That’s what I’m saying. A real man.”

Naoki lowered his gaze modestly.

“Let’s go home,” he said quietly.

The morning air felt strange without Aiko’s jogging and Naoki’s pleading to drive her to work.

Naoki carried Hana this time as they walked. She rested against his chest. Genki followed closely behind him like a stray dog.

When they reached home, police cars were still parked along the curb. Two officers stood near the front gate. They recognized Naoki immediately.

“Morning.”

Naoki bowed slightly. “Thank you for your work.”

The officers stepped aside. “Sorry for the intrusion.”

Naoki shook his head. “You’re welcome to search.”

Inside, the living room floor had been cleaned. The blood was gone. Only faint dark stains remained in the cracks between the wooden boards. Naoki wasn’t ready to look at them. He walked straight into the kitchen. Genki hovered awkwardly nearby, glancing between Naoki and the officers moving through the house.

“Would you be able to check for missing items, Shibata-san?” an officer asked.

“Of course.”

Naoki handed Hana to Genki.

“Make rice, Genki,” he added.

Genki nodded, but immediately looked confused while holding Hana. Before he could ask anything, Naoki was already being led away by the officers to check the house. Genki spotted Hana’s cradle walker and carefully placed her inside.

He tried to cook, but Hana clung to his leg while he attempted to measure rice.

“You’re something else, Naoki,” Genki muttered.

On the other side of the house, Naoki led the officers through every room. Closets. Storage. Back entrance. Every corner.

“No sign of forced entry.”

When they reached the bedroom, Naoki opened Aiko’s jewelry box. Most items were accounted for ecxept one. A pure gold bangle. The most precious item in the house. Even more than the wedding rings.

“I’ll let you know if it turns up anywhere,” Naoki concluded.

The officers nodded and they continued searching without Naoki.

“Thank you Shibata-san, that is all. We’ll take it from here.”

Naoki returned to the kitchen. Genki had just managed to press the start button on the rice cooker.

Naoki began preparing the rest of the food automatically. They stayed out of the officers’ way.  When the food was ready, Naoki handed Genki a bowl. The boy ate quickly. Neither of them spoke much.

Outside, drawers opened and closed. Police officers moved through the house methodically. Some light footsteps followed a harsh one. Low voices from multiple parts of the house. Camera clicks everywhere.

Naoki ate slowly. His thoughts drifted again.

They won’t find anything. Even if my wife wakes up… it’s her word against mine.

Genki wiped his mouth.

“Uh… Naoki?”

“Yes?”

Genki hesitated. “How do you roast something properly?”

Naoki looked up. 

Genki continued. “Takeshi told me this morning to grab any meat for my trouble. Even though I told him it was no trouble looking after Hana while you were asleep.”

“Finish your food first.”

Genki nodded. 

Naoki finished eating and fed Hana as well when he suddenly remembered. “Hana’s milk.”

Naoki stood and began preparing the formula.

“I figured we could roast it tonight,” Genki groaned beside him.

He started washing dishes automatically.  “But it’s taking forever to thaw.”

“Alright, alright. I’ll write it down.”

He grabbed a small notepad from the kitchen drawer. They moved to the small garden outside. Hana rested in Naoki’s lap and drank milk without a care in the world, as he began writing.

“Let it thaw completely first,” Naoki said calmly.

Genki leaned over his shoulder.

“Okay.”

Naoki continued writing.

“Preheat the oven…”

“Yes! Can do!”

“Season the skin.”

“What seasoning?”

“Sshh.”

“Sorry.”

“Cook slowly so the meat stays tender…”

Genki nodded eagerly. “Got it.”

“Sshh.”

“I’ll leave you to concentrate.”

While Naoki wrote, Genki wandered back toward the house. Curiosity pulled him inside. One of the officers near the hallway looked familiar.

Genki squinted. “Hey… you’re the guy on Maple Street, right?”

The officer blinked. “You deliver meat there?”

Genki grinned. “Yeah!”

“Are you the one who cycles fifteen blocks to work with Shibata-san?”

“Yeah!”

“We may need to search your home next. Inform your parents.”

“Don’t have any. Just me and my sisters. I’ll tell them to play in the park for a bit.”

The officer leaned closer. “You shouldn’t be here.”

Genki shrugged. “I’m helping.”

The officer smirked. “You want to know what we’re looking for?”

Genki’s curiosity flared. “What?”

The officer lowered his voice. “The attempted murder weapon.”

Genki’s smile faded. “What kind?”

The officer spread his hands wide. “Something big.”

He mimed the shape beside his skull.

“Something strong enough to crush the side of her head.”

Genki flinched.

The officer chuckled. “Scared you?”

Genki stepped back. The officer laughed again and returned to his work. Genki walked back outside quickly. Naoki was still writing calmly.

Genki crouched beside him again. “Uh… I don’t know if it matters.”

Naoki didn’t look up. “Yes?”

Genki cleared his throat. “Make sure the recipe is for a turkey roast.”

Naoki’s pen stopped. The word echoed through his mind.

Turkey.

Genki continued. “Because that’s what I took home.”

Naoki’s stomach dropped. His hand trembled. The pen scratched across the paper. Even Hana looked up at his face.

Genki tilted his head. “You okay?”

Fear passed visibly through Naoki’s body. He slowly looked up. His face had gone pale.

The weapon the police were searching for had not been discarded.

Genki had taken it home for dinner.