Wonder?

It hadn't been easy to reassure everyone. Kota reconsidered the situation and explained it to his family. Meanwhile, Saya was still outside.

"Of course, do the tests," Hana said with great curiosity.

"But I  want to you guys be prepared for any situation."

"Okay, thank you again, Mr Kota," Ren said.

During this time, Mika was lost in thought. 

If Saya hears about this, she might have hope, and if the situation is bad, she'll be really upset. I don't want to see her upset. Maybe it's best if I don't tell her...

After talking to his family and promising not to tell Saya, Mika assured them that if the situation turned out to be good, he would tell her personally.After a long series of tests that lasted into the evening, Dr Kota said the results would be available in three days. Evening was fast approaching.

"Saya, darling, come over and join us for dinner," Hana said.

"I'm sorry, Aunt Hana. I should go home. My mother must be waiting.

"That's right, it was the weekend. You shouldn't have bothered."

Mika and Saya exchanged looks.

"Mum and Dad, you two should go home. I'll go over there."

"Are you sure, Mika?"

"Yeah, it's pretty close anyway. I need to talk to Saya."

"Okay, see you, Saya," Ren and Hana said as they got into their car and drove off.

After watching them go, Mika started the conversation.

"Why did you come today?" Mika asked.

"W-Well, ypur mum called and said that you were taken to the hospital. I don't even know how I got here."

"Your mum? How did she get your phone number?"

"She gave it to me during the trip."

"I see..."

"By the way, when will the hospital results be announced?" Saya asked, pretending to be nonchalant and embarrassed at the same time.

"The doctor said he would call in three days."

"Hmm, I won't be able to be there that day. Rin and I are going to the amusement park."

"No problem, it's fine for me. Besides, what happened to Eirin? Is she not coming?"

"She went on holiday with her family."

"I see."

For a while they looked at each other in silence. Neither of them spoke. Finally Mika asked.

"So what about us?"

"I-I don't know. To be honest, I still haven't recovered from it, and um... being away from you has started to hurt even more than being with you. Besides, I will go to Osaka. At least until then, we can spend a little more time together. But only if you want to..."Saya swallowed hard. Her own words seemed to have upset her.

"O-Okay," Mika said. 

Saya suddenly looked at Mika. She looked at him in astonishment, as if she couldn't believe what she had heard.

"Mika, I-"

"Oh, Saya, are you here?" A woman appeared at the apartment door. Saya stopped suddenly and turned around.

"M- Mom?"

"Who's your friend? Wait, is that Mika?" her mother said in surprise.

"Hello, I'm Mika," he said. Her mother looked quite young, almost like Saya. She had blond hair and blue eyes.

"Hello, dear. I'm Naomi. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too, well... I should get going home."

"No, come in and sit for a while at least," Naomi insisted.

"Mom, Mika just got back from the hospital. He needs to rest a bit."

"Oh, right, I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I'll go then. See you later." Mika waved.

Saya waved back as he left. When he was a little further away, she called out loud:

 "We'll talk again!"

***

Mika had arrived home. His family was having dinner. Everyone seemed very quiet, but his family looked just as happy. Mika told them again that things could be different, but they didn't seem to care.

Meanwhile, he received a message on his phone.

"Hi Mika, how are you? Are you back in Nagano?" Mana had written.

"Yes, I'm fine. And you?"

"I'm fine, thank you. I wanted to ask you something."

"What is it?"

"I want to get together and talk about something. Are you free on Wednesday?"

Mika thought for a moment: 

Well, that's the day I get my results from the hospital, but I think it should be okay...

"Yes, I'm free," he replied.

"Great, then how about we meet at the coffee shop downtown? It won't take up much of your time, don't worry."

"Sure, that's fine."

"See you then."

"See you."

***

Three days had passed. On the second day, Mika had said goodbye to his family because of their work. Hana had told him that she'd come back with good news, but of course that was impossible.

Mika got ready and jumped on his bike to meet Mana.

Arriving at the cafe, he opened the door.

"Welcome."

He searched the room for Mana. She waved at him. He walked over and sat down, ordering a soda.

"Hi," Mana greeted him. She wore a flowery dress.

"Hello," 

While they waited for their drinks, they made casual small talk.

When their drinks arrived, Mika sipped his lemonade while Mana began to talk:

"The reason I asked you here today..." Mana looked quite tense. Embarrassed, she continued."I had something to say and other things to discuss..." Mana said.

"I see, what is it?" Mika asked. He couldn't guess what Mana wanted to say.

"W-Well... It's a little embarrassing, but I have to ask. Dou you have a girlfriend?"

"No."

"Do you have a crush on anyone?"

Mika thought for a moment.

Why does she ask me these questions? She doesn't know my secret, but usually this is not a common question. Oh well...

"No," Mika said, but he felt strangely uncomfortable.

"O-Okay, I'm relieved to hear that," Mana said, looking down at her lap, her hands clasped together.

There was a moment of silence. The ice in their drinks melted, and in the distance, faint sounds of other customers could be heard.

"T-The truth is, there's something I've been wanting to say for a while, and I didn't want to hide it anymore. I-I, um..."Mana swallowed, the words seemed to stick in her throat. 

Mika was able to predict what she was going to say now, but he didn't want it to be the same as with Saya.

"I-I'm asking you to go out with me?" Mana finally said with a deep breath. Her eyes were closed and she had turned bright red.Mika was confronted with the question he had been thinking about, something similar to what had happened with Saya recently.

Why does everyone have to ask me such questions? No matter what answer I give, I can't make anyone happy. If I say yes, they will be happy, but that would only lead them on, because I really don't feel anything... So what can I do? Something that would get me out of this situation and save our friendship. Anything that would work...

"Y-You don't have to answer right away. In fact, please don't answer. Because I'm afraid. I'm afraid of your answer, maybe it's a bit cowardly, but I really don't want it to happen."

"What? Are you sure?" Mika asked surprised.

"Y-Yes, please. Because actually I suspect that your heart belongs to someone else. Your eyes tell me so."

"What? Well, will we still be friends?"

"W-Well, of course, if you don't mind," Mana said.

They both took a deep breath. Mika was relieved that he didn't have to give an immediate answer and that he didn't have to lose anyone. At least for now...

"You said something about my eyes. What was it?"

"Do you ever wonder about Saya? Like what she's doing right now?"

"Wonder?" Mika thought about the concept of curiosity. He hadn't really wondered about anything before. Or had he? His mind was confused. But when he thought about Saya, he wondered what she was doing. She should be at the amusement park with Rin, but he didn't really know.

"I don't know," Mika replied.Mana smiled softly.

"Okay then, until I get your answer, I'll work really hard."

"What? What are you working on?"

"That's a secret," Mana said smiling.