V2Ch7: Six months after that……

Translator: Soafp

---

~Takamiya Director’s Point of View~.

─ ─ Before going to bed, I recall the events of six months ago.

And I regret it terribly.

I let Ryosuke’s sister enter the hospital room and worsen the condition of an important patient.

It is not a matter of apologizing.

After that day, I became his “enemy.”

The timing of his sister’s arrival a few days after he had opened up to me was also the worst possible time. …… I am sure that Ryosuke must have thought that I had reported to his sister.

It would be extremely difficult to regain his trust.

I quickly moved him to a larger, better-equipped hospital.

The hospital was staffed by a large number of people and had a security guard. The guard station was also there, so his sister would not even be able to get to the front door.

—-On his last day at the hospital, he said goodbye.

“Well then…goodbye, Ryosuke.”

“……………”

There was still no reply.

I am already an enemy who has completely invited his sister into his life, so Ryosuke-kun resents me a lot.

But with the support of Mai and his mother, I hope he gets well soon.

I can never show myself in front of him again because I caused his condition to worsen, but I sincerely pray for Ryosuke-kun’s recovery …….

(I couldn’t save you …… but I almost did…… but no excuses, because it was my medical mistake, including her intrusion…….)

I will forever regret what happened that day—

“Thank you…………….”

“……… Eh?”

As I was leaving, Ryosuke-kun, who had never spoken to me since that day, thanked me.

His mother, who was standing by him, and of course I looked at him with surprised expressions.

“…………”

But nothing had changed in his expression.

Rather, he was grumpy at being stared at by me so seriously. I hurriedly looked away from him so as not to provoke him further.

I’m sure he said it without thinking about it.

“Thank you” which may not have meant that his symptoms were getting better.

But I was very happy for that miracle.

When he saw me depressed, the real Ryosuke-kun, who remained deep inside him, gave me encouragement.……?

If that is really the case, how kind Ryosuke-kun really is?

His mother seemed to feel the same way about him, and she was shedding big tears from her eyes.

“I was in a position to save you, but the patient saved me.”

He is a kind-hearted boy after all.

It will be a …… lifelong regret that I could not save him with my own hands. Sorry for the encouragement I got from you.

---

Since that day, I’ve spent a lot of money to make sure security is up to snuff.

A door was installed on the floor leading to the patient’s room, and it could not be entered unless the receptionist opened it.

The families of patients already in the hospital disapproved of the hassle, but when I told them what had happened, they agreed.

Even so, I still can’t shake off the regret that I should have moved sooner.

“Kotaro also got angry with me a lot.”

But even so, we continue to be friends. I thought it would be no good if he cut me off, but he seemed to feel my sincerity in the way I handled the situation afterwards.

I don’t deserve that, but …… he and Rinka are truly a kind family.

“─ ─ Next please.”

“……Excuse me.”

In this hospital, which is a psychiatric department, many people with problems come to be diagnosed on a day like this.

Of course, there are cases like Ryosuke’s that result in hospitalization, but such cases are extremely rare.

And the patient who came to us just now is a woman.

She had been attending high school until half a year ago, but she had been so mentally trapped that she dropped out of school. She is now a frequent visitor to the counseling center.

“……How are your symptoms these days? Still not getting better?”

“……Yes, I still hallucinate about him…….”

“…… I see.”

A girl who seems somewhat happy for the fact that she is hallucinating.

She is ” Kirishima Fumika “.

Coincidentally, she is also a student attending the same school as Ryosuke and even more horrifying, she is the only woman he has raised his hand to when he was ill …… who has been violated by Ryosuke.

The hallucination she is seeing is about Ryosuke-kun, in case that is not clear enough.

However, unlike his sister, she is completely unaware of the fact that Ryosuke-kun used to go there. She had really visited this hospital by chance.

When I learned this fact, I shivered with fear.

She started going to this place in the form of replacing Ryosuke-kun …… and I still shudder to think if the transfer had been a little later.

And in her case, she is here as a patient.

Since only approved visitors are allowed to see the “Person under surveillance”, I would definitely accept her as a “patient” even if Ryosuke-kun was still in the hospital.

If that happened, there was a good chance of encountering him.

How much harsher is the fate that awaits him in the truly terrifying ……?

Where he had avoided his sister that day, another assassin was waiting for him…

“…… Doctor…… I think I have schizophrenia.”

“………Let’s look into it a little more carefully. Schizophrenia is a very difficult disease to determine.”

“B-but …… I’m hallucinating! Every day …… and sometimes he says strange things — so I’m sure I have the same schizophrenia as he does. ……! I’m suffering the same pain as him right now……! Aah, Ryosuke was in such pain…… we’re already together…… ehehe.”

“……It’s certainly not a normal state of affairs.”

It is clear that she is mentally ill.

However, I am confident that she has no schizophrenia just from the exchange we just had.

She told me that she has hallucinations every day.…… First of all, schizophrenic patients do not consider hallucinations to be hallucinations.

For them, the hallucinations become reality.

For example, if someone was standing on a cloud…… a normal person would see it and think it was a “mistake” or a “hallucination” like Kirishima-san did.

But Ryosuke did not.

Two days before he was hated, he once told me that he saw his sister above the clouds.

He seemed to have no idea why she was above the clouds, but he had no doubts about the fact that a human being was standing above the clouds.

In other words, there is no such thing as delusion or hallucination in him.

Even …… unrealistic delusions and hallucinations are converted in his brain as real events.

Furthermore, Kirishima-san told me that she was saying strange things…… but Ryosuke-kun was not even aware of it.

His symptoms were most severe on the night of the day his sister invaded him. At that time, Ryosuke’s eccentric behavior was horrendous.

He repeatedly put coins in and out of a vending machine more than 50 times and ran around the hospital corridor as fast as he could.

I am sure that Ryosuke does not feel that this is strange behavior. It is very possible that in his mind, he was acting in a completely different way.

Schizophrenia is a truly frightening disease.

Kirishima-san is probably suffering from symptoms similar to paranoia. Although the treatment has been prolonged, the possibility of serious symptoms is extremely low because reality and delusion, normality and abnormality are clearly defined.

However, she is not in a perfect condition and needs to be taken care of. Even though she has made Ryosuke suffer, we can’t cut corners on that.

…… but still—

“Suffering together… it was so painful.”

(It’s definitely not the same …… his suffering, frustration, anger, sadness, pain, and despair are…… never like yours!)

I didn’t express my feelings about the patient, but still, I couldn’t help but think that in my heart.

And I also find it offensive that someone would one-sidedly assume she has schizophrenia and be happy about it.

He is still fighting the disease and suffering from it—

“—-Excuse me”

“Take care of yourself.……”

The examination is over and Kirishima-san leaves with the medicine.

She will visit again when the medicine wears off.

“…… It’s about time.”

Recently, however, good news about Ryosuke-kun has been coming in. Thankfully, Kotaro and Rinka-san frequently pass on information about Ryosuke-kun.

The other day, Rinka happily told me something.

“Ryosuke has decided to go to school starting in April.”

That was really happy news.

He has been taking classes remotely and his test results were not bad, so there was no problem for him to advance to the next level.

So I thought he would continue to take classes remotely until graduation.……

It seems that Ryosuke has asked to go to school! Not from the people around him, but from Ryosuke himself!

I was really happy and couldn’t stand it.

For a while, I thought he might not make it.

Even after being moved to a large hospital, Rinka had told me that he kept seeing an empty TV screen, suffering from hallucinations of his sister and classmates who were not supposed to be there, and talking to an empty space.

However, with the devoted care of those around him, he is getting better day by day and is now recovering to the point where he can even talk to the nurses.

Ryosuke was able to come back to the …… real world.

Of course, it’s not perfect,…… and he still seems to be having a hard time from time to time, but compared to the bad times, he’s made great progress.

The fact that he has voluntarily said he will attend school is proof of this.

Of course, the people around him are a part of that, but most of all, I think it’s thanks to Ryosuke’s strength of mind …… that he will never give up.

“And there’s still plenty of cause for reassurance.”

Ryosuke-kun transferred to the same high school as Usui-kun.

I know the details because my daughter also attends the same high school, and the principal of the new school is a very generous and kind person.

As I had expected, he gladly accepted Ryosuke and his friends.

If he continues to attend the school, he will receive help from Mai and Usui, as well as positive support from the school.

“I can’t help but look forward to what kind of happiness awaits Ryosuke-kun from now on.”

──Even so, to be so concerned about a patient who has moved to another hospital… I am still inexperienced as a doctor.

---