I'd give the world to protect that smile

“How are you feeling today, kiddo?”
“A little better than I was. But chemo still isn’t very fun.”

Sumi and I don’t really get a chance to eat dinner together very often, because of how busy school and work have me. So we decided to go out for fast food this evening. It’s been killing me inside to watch her stuck indoors so much.

“How’s school been going?”
“It’s been… okay. The constant sympathy and pity is as annoying as it’s ever been, but it’s been so long since I lost my hair that most people are used to it now.”
“That’s good to hear… I think.”

It’s difficult to “look on the bright side” of something as awful as cancer, but Sumi is a trooper if I ever saw one. Even if she’s low on energy from the chemo and very timid with other people, she never lets it get her down completely. I can’t say I’d be as strong as her in that situation.

“Doctor said the treatment's coming along well. You’ve been in remission for a little while now, so you should be off the chemo relatively soon.”
“That’s good.”

The blunt response tells me everything I need to know. The cancer talk ends here. To be fair, it’s a little stupid of me to keep bringing up something she probably wants to keep her mind off of anyway. I try to think of something fun to brighten the heavy mood, and I remember something I’d intended to talk to her about not too long ago.

“Hey, Sumi. You remember that old arcade we used to go to all the time? The one with the Pac-man machine that took up an entire wall?”
“Hmm? Yeah, I remember it, but it closed down, right?”
“It got bought out by some rich guy in the area recently, they’re opening back up. When you’re feeling a little better, wanna go there and play some games with me? It’s been a little while since we got out to do something fun like that.”

Despite her exhaustion, Kasumi’s face lights up into a smile. The sight of her happy face is my favourite thing in the world.

“Let’s do it! Let’s do it soon! How about this saturday? I’m always feeling at my best the day before chemo, so let’s do it saturday!”
“Alright, alright, chill out a little, Sumi. Saturday works for me. I’ll take you there during the day, so look forward to it.”
“Aw yiss!”

If I could spend the rest of eternity looking at her excited grin, I would do so in a heartbeat. I wouldn’t hesitate to give my life and soul for this girl.

“Didn’t expect to see Mister Fitness Freak eating at a fast food place. Taking a cheat day?”

We’re interrupted by a familiar voice approaching our table. I turn my head to see Tori walking towards us, waving and smiling with that same boundless energy she never seems to run out of.

“I could say the same to you, Tori. Since when do you eat anything that isn’t chock full of protein?”
“I’m offended at the insinuation. Do you think me some gym junkie that doesn’t know how to have fun outside of exercise?”
“Do you want the answer to that?”

My jab earns me a light smack to the side of the head. Worth.

While I’m exchanging my usual banter with Tori, I feel something cling tight to my arm. I realise that Sumi is trying to hide herself from sight by gripping onto me. She never was good with new people.

“You must be Kasumi, right? Fuji here talks about you a lot, he’s a bit of a siscon.”
“I’ll smack you, y’know.”
“You’d miss.”

She sticks her tongue out at me, knowing I can’t exactly deny her words, before turning her attention back to Kasumi.

“Sorry if I’m a little scary, but I wanna meet the sister that Fuji seems to love so much. I’m Jinsoku Tori, but you can just call me Tori. It’s nice to meet you.” Tori crouches a little to get to Sumi’s eye level, and holds out a hand for her. To my surprise, Sumi actually lets go of my arm and slowly takes the outstretched hand with her own.
“...Fudou Kasumi. ‘s nice t’meetchu.”

She speaks timidly and doesn’t look up from the ground, but it’s rare for Sumi to even get this far with a new person. Maybe she’ll start to come out of her shell a bit if she’s around people more often…

“Hey, Sumi?” I whisper, not loud enough for Tori to hear. “It cool if I invite her to eat with us?”
Kasumi doesn’t respond straight away, still timidly looking at the ground and clinging to my arm. But after a second of gathering her courage, she looks up at me and starts speaking.
“...I think that would be okay.” She says it quietly and with nothing you could really call ‘confidence,’ but the fact that she’s trying is more than enough for me.

“Wanna join us, Tori? We’d appreciate the company.” I turn my head back to the girl who’s been waiting surprisingly patiently while we whispered to each other.
“If you’re sure it’s ok, I’d love to. I’m not intruding, am I, Kasumi-chan?”

Sumi looks up a little and wordlessly shakes her head. I’m surprised she doesn’t object to the nickname, she’s never been a fan of the -chan honourific. She still holds tightly to my arm, but at least she’s not completely shutting Tori out.

Tori sits opposite us with a bag of food and shoots Sumi a warm small. She meekly smiles back, but doesn’t make eye contact, instead looking down towards the table. It’s difficult to tell how much progress she’s made since the last time she met someone new, but at the very least she is getting better.

“By the way, I’m probably not gonna be meeting you for sparring this saturday. I’m taking Sumi out to the arcade.”
“Oooh, the one on Yume Street?”
“The very same.”
“I went there with Ai before, it’s pretty sweet. What sort of games do you like, Kasumi-chan?”

Startled at being suddenly addressed directly, Sumi almost jumps out of her skin for a second, but regains her composure a little after gripping even tighter to my arm.

“...Pac-man.” She mumbles those two words barely loud enough to hear, but that doesn’t affect Tori’s rampant enthusiasm one bit.
“I love Pac-man! My dad used to have a Pac-man machine in the spare room in his house, I played it every day when I was a kid.”
“Th-that’s nice…”

There’s a slightly awkward atmosphere in the silence that follows, but it’s one that only I seem to feel, as Tori’s blissful unawareness makes her completely immune to cringe and Sumi’s crippling overawareness makes her completely preoccupied with herself.

However, the awkward silence is broken in the way I had least expected.

“...d’you like Street Fighter too?” Looking up a little but still failing to meet Tori’s eye, Sumi does something I had assumed she would never do. She actually tries to engage Tori in conversation, instead of just bluntly answering any questions asked to her.
“I love street fighter! I’ve always been a Sagat main, so I know all of his combos and stuff like the back of my hand. Who’s your favourite, Kasumi-chan.”
“K-Ken. I’m not very good though…”
“Oooh, Ken is really fun too. Maybe I could teach you a little some time, if you want?”

The sudden offer of another meeting seems a little too much for Kasumi to handle, as she looks back down at the ground and falls into silence. But to my surprise, after a somewhat painfully long ten seconds…

“Th-that would be nice… I think.”
“Awesome! Just tell Fuji when you wanna hang out and I’ll be there!”
“Th-thank you… Tori-san.”

Kasumi actually agreeing to meet someone again? This isn’t something that happens often. She doesn’t even really talk to her own school friends outside of school time. This is a huge step for her, if she does actually follow through with taking it.

As Sumi and I finish our food, Tori continues talking at the speed of light as she usually does, but Sumi is surprisingly responsive. Not necessarily holding conversations, but making an effort to partake at least.

Maybe Tori’s unbridled sociability is a good way to ease some of Sumi’s anxieties?

“Well, I oughtta get Sumi in bed for school tomorrow, so we need to jet. Been nice talking to you, though, Tori.”
“Been nice seeing you to. And it’s been very nice to meet you, Kasumi-chan!” Even now that we’re stood up, Sumi grips onto my arm, but her hold has slackened a little.
“...was nice t’mee’chu too…”

She doesn’t look up from the ground as we wave goodbye and leave the building, but her voice is less meek than it was when Tori first showed up.

“...she seemed nice.”
“You actually okay with me inviting her over to play video games sometime?”
“I-I think that would be okay.”

I feel a strange amount of pride at Sumi’s sudden increase in confidence. Even if she’s still anxious, it’s nice to see her make an effort to step out of her comfort zone a little. I’ll have to thank Tori for her help sometime, not that she actually realised she was helping.

“It cool if I invite Kou too?”
“Not a chance.”

Some things, however, do not change.