Kumi Motokawa... No, she should be called Kumi Isshiki now.
Kumi Isshiki was somewhat surprised when she saw Kotomi Izumi. After all, today was a day off. Even if a high school student did not spend her day off at home, she should normally be out with friends at a karaoke parlor, arcade, internet café, or somewhere similar.
So it was only natural for Kumi Isshiki to be surprised to see Kotomi Izumi at the hospital right now.
Moreover, when Kumi Isshiki first met Kotomi Izumi, her first impression had been that this girl was probably not someone who got sick easily.
It was not that Kotomi gave off an especially energetic impression. Rather, after seeing her, a thought had simply arisen in Kumi's mind of its own accord: Kotomi would be very, very healthy and live for a very, very long time.
Simply put, Kumi Isshiki had always thought Kotomi was the type who would rarely ever visit a hospital. When she suddenly saw Kotomi while working today, she even wondered for a moment whether she was seeing things.
Kumi Isshiki hurriedly rubbed her eyes. Once she confirmed that the girl in front of her really was Kotomi Izumi, she walked over and asked with concern:
"Kotomi? What brings you to the hospital today? Are you feeling unwell?"
Kotomi Izumi had noticed Kumi Isshiki by then as well, but she was not surprised. After all, Kumi Isshiki was a surgeon at Chiba Municipal Hospital. Running into her here was perfectly normal.
"Good morning, Auntie Isshiki. I'm just here for my annual physical today."
After hearing Kotomi's explanation, Kumi Isshiki finally understood. So Kotomi had come to the hospital for a physical examination.
"I see. I was just thinking that today's Saturday, and high school students usually don't waste their holidays. When I first saw you, I thought I must've been mistaken."
Kumi Isshiki said this with a smile, then praised Kotomi's habit:
"Getting a physical every year is a very good habit, especially for a teenage high school student. That's really admirable. Even some of the doctors in our hospital can't manage one physical a year. Some are so busy with work that whenever they finally get free time, all they want to do is rest, so they keep putting off the free examinations the hospital provides. Before they know it, several years have passed since their last physical. Some of those doctors are even the ones responsible for conducting physical examinations."
After saying that, Kumi Isshiki could not help laughing a few times herself.
"That suddenly reminded me of a joke. During the day, doctors tell everyone to eat a healthy diet. Then after getting off work at night, they go eat all kinds of grilled and fried skewers as a late-night snack."
While chatting with Kumi Isshiki, Kotomi casually mentioned a post she had happened to see on a forum before.
"Haha, that's completely accurate. At least among the doctors I know, quite a few spend the day telling patients to eat healthy and keep their meals light. Then once they're off work, they're the ones going wildest on late-night snacks.
"But that's normal too. Working at a hospital means enduring a certain degree of stress every single day. Truly easy jobs in a hospital are incredibly rare, and at the very least, none of us doctors get them. All we can do is find ways to steal little moments of leisure whenever possible. Going out after work at night to eat high-calorie fried food or barbecue is one of the most popular ways to relax.
"Buy a bag of fried skewers, take it home, sit on the tatami, eat the skewers while drinking an ice-cold beer and watching a TV drama. It might be a little monotonous, but it's one of the most effective ways to unwind in everyday life.
"Incidentally, some doctors will literally finish saying that people should chew slowly and thoroughly, then immediately start wolfing down their own food. Even if they aren't exactly devouring it, they still eat extremely fast. That's because unexpected situations often happen that force doctors to cut their breaks short. When that happens, no matter how hungry you are, you can't keep eating. As a result, a lot of doctors develop the habit of eating very quickly."
Kumi Isshiki smiled as she told Kotomi a few things about doctors.
"Do you eat quickly too, Auntie Isshiki?" Kotomi asked curiously.
"Me?"
Kumi Isshiki froze for a moment before replying:
"I don't eat particularly fast. Mainly because I haven't often run into situations where I've had no choice but to stop resting. Even at Chiba Municipal Hospital, emergencies don't happen every day. I really hope all of this year's emergencies already used themselves up over the past few days. There are less than two months left in the year. It'd be best if everything stayed peaceful and nothing major happened again."
At this point, Kumi Isshiki could not resist complaining a little:
"A while ago, I kept seeing officers from the Metropolitan Police Department around the hospital, and they were always questioning us. Whenever they questioned me, it felt like I was being treated like a criminal. One officer would finish asking questions, then a few days later another officer would come and question me again. Seriously, aren't these police officers all on the same side?"
"Was it because of that incident where the nurse suffered a mental breakdown?" Kotomi asked.
"Huh? You know about that too? I could've sworn the Metropolitan Police Department hasn't held a press conference about it yet." Kumi Isshiki looked somewhat surprised.
"I saw it on Twitter a while ago. When the nurse had her mental breakdown, one of the patients happened to record a video on their phone and uploaded it to a forum and Twitter afterward. Even though it was deleted later, a lot of people had already saved copies. Now you can basically find the video on Twitter, Reddit, YouTube, and various other video-sharing and discussion sites."
Kotomi explained.
"I see... So this is what they mean by the internet age? Even if the Metropolitan Police Department wants to suppress the news at first, the information will still spread through all kinds of online channels."
Kumi Isshiki sighed with emotion. At the same time, she noticed Yui Yuigahama standing beside Kotomi and asked curiously:
"Kotomi, this is...?"
"She's my good friend, Yui Yuigahama. She's also my classmate. We happened to talk about physical examinations a few days ago, and I asked whether she'd gotten one this year. It turned out she hadn't either, so I asked her to come with me."
After explaining, Kotomi turned to Yui and said:
"Yui, this is Iroha Isshiki's mother, Kumi Isshiki."
When introducing Kumi Isshiki, Kotomi deliberately used the surname Isshiki for her.
"Hello, Auntie Isshiki!" Yui greeted her.
"Hello, Yuigahama-san. My daughter Iroha is planning to apply to Sobu High School next year too. When the time comes, please look after her."
Kumi Isshiki responded with a smile. Even though she had changed her name a long time ago, whenever she heard someone call her "Mrs. Isshiki" or "Auntie Isshiki," she still could not help feeling happy inside.
"Not at all, Auntie. You're giving me too much credit."
Yui replied politely.
At that moment, Kumi Isshiki also noticed the physical examination checklists Kotomi and Yui were holding and asked:
"By the way, have you two already finished your physicals and are on your way to hand in the examination forms?"
"Yes. There aren't many people in the examination hall today, so everything went very quickly. We were just about to hand in the forms," Kotomi said.
"I remember the name of the doctor responsible for each form is written in the lower-left corner. Take a look. What's the name of the doctor assigned to yours?" Kumi Isshiki reminded them.
"Let me see... It looks like her name is Kita Yukino," Kotomi said.
"As I thought, it's Dr. Sumida. Since it's her, you can just give both forms to me. I'll happen to pass by her office in a little while, so I'll hand them directly to her. That way, you won't have to make a detour just to submit them, and if I give the forms straight to her, you might get your results a few days earlier.
"Don't be fooled by how few people are getting physicals right now. In reality, most examination forms are accumulated until there's a certain number before they're sent to the doctor in charge. If you follow the usual procedure, you'll have to wait at least two weeks."
"I see. All right, then. We'll be counting on you, Auntie Isshiki."
Kotomi expressed her thanks while handing both her and Yui's physical examination forms to Kumi Isshiki.
"No need to be so polite. My daughter is always being looked after by you, so there's no need to make anything of such a small favor. Besides, when I'm working, I usually walk straight through the examination hall anyway. If you keep going straight through it, you reach the elevator on the west side of the first floor. Taking that elevator brings me right near my office, so I don't even need to make a detour."
Kumi Isshiki said this with a cheerful smile.
After chatting with Kumi Isshiki for a little while longer, Kotomi did not disturb her any further. She said goodbye, then took Yui and left the hospital.
"Phew... Yui, what do you want for lunch? My treat."
After walking out of the hospital, Kotomi stretched as she spoke.
Even though it had not been long since she had eaten two breakfasts, Kotomi was already starting to feel hungry again.
"I-I don't mind anything. We can eat whatever you want, Kotomi."
Yui replied.
"How about yakiniku? I don't know why, but today I'm really craving grilled pork belly and lamb."
"Sure. Where should we go?" Yui nodded, then asked.
"Let's go to Anjima Yakiniku. Feels like it's been a while since I last ate there." Once Kotomi had made up her mind, she led Yui toward Anjima Yakiniku.
By the time they reached the entrance of Anjima Yakiniku, Kotomi felt like she was starving to death!
She had been so busy thinking about how delicious the grilled meat would be that she had completely failed to realize how far it was from Chiba Municipal Hospital to Anjima Yakiniku. Even by bicycle, the trip would take at least ten minutes!
Kotomi had only suddenly realized this after they were already halfway there.
But by then, they had already walked half the distance. If she chose to rent a shared bicycle at that point, wouldn't all the exhaustion she had endured from walking earlier have been for nothing?
Thus, driven by that strange unwillingness to let her previous effort go to waste, along with a competitive streak, Kotomi stubbornly finished the rest of the journey on foot despite her empty stomach.
Yui, on the other hand, had excellent stamina and did not have an especially large appetite. Walking all the way from Chiba Municipal Hospital to Anjima Yakiniku did not leave her tired at all.
"Y-Yui... aren't you tired?"
Kotomi asked between gasps. When she was hungry, it was almost as if she had lost the stamina boost from her Queen of All Females constitution, leaving her physical endurance surprisingly poor.
"I'm okay. I usually help Mom make cakes and desserts, and I also help her carry ingredients like flour and fruit. So I ended up building my stamina without even meaning to," Yui said with a smile.
Losing to Yui in terms of stamina today left Kotomi a little unconvinced. She secretly muttered to herself:
No matter how good your stamina is, back when we were cuddling in Kyoto, didn't you fail to last even one minute?
After muttering that to herself, the tiny bit of dissatisfaction in Kotomi's heart finally disappeared.
They entered Anjima Yakiniku. Although today was Saturday, perhaps because it was still before the usual mealtime, there were no other customers inside.
Kotomi rather liked an environment like this. At the very least, she could eat in peace and quiet.
Although Kotomi enjoyed chatting while eating, she also liked being in a quiet environment, eating while talking with whoever was sharing the meal with her.
"Welcome... Oh, it's Kotomi-san. Good morning!"
After hearing the door open, Shimamura Hougetsu, who had been resting behind the counter, came out. When she saw Kotomi, she greeted her with a smile.
Kotomi was a regular at Anjima Yakiniku, and every time she came, she ordered a huge amount of food. More importantly, she always managed to finish all of it. Naturally, that had left a deep impression on both Adachi Sakura and Shimamura Hougetsu.
After enough visits, the three of them had naturally become quite familiar with one another.
"Good morning, Hougetsu~ I wasn't actually that hungry before, but the moment I walked inside and saw such a beautiful and captivating proprietress, I suddenly got hungry. Would you say that counts as being a feast for the eyes?"
Kotomi spoke with a gentle, gracious smile, habitually teasing Shimamura Hougetsu a little.
Ever since they had become familiar with each other, Kotomi had especially enjoyed praising Shimamura Hougetsu right in front of Adachi Sakura, purely because she wanted to see Adachi get jealous.
She had praised Hougetsu out of habit today as well, but once she finished, Kotomi looked around and realized she could not see Adachi anywhere.
Could she be in the kitchen?
"Adachi isn't here today. When we woke up this morning, I touched her forehead and noticed she felt a little warm, so I told her to stay home and get some proper rest today." Shimamura Hougetsu seemed to see through Kotomi's thoughts and spoke with a giggle.
"Is Adachi all right?"
"She's fine, she's fine. Every year around the time winter approaches, she always comes down with a mild cold for a few days. She eats a bowl of egg porridge, takes some cold medicine, wraps herself in a blanket, gets a good night's sleep, sweats it out, and she's basically back to normal."
Shimamura Hougetsu said this with a smile. She and Adachi Sakura had already been living together for many years. Although the two of them had never married, the way they interacted was becoming more and more like an old married couple.
"By the way, Kotomi-san, who's the girl beside you?"
Shimamura Hougetsu looked curiously at Yui Yuigahama. She could not help wondering why the girl Kotomi brought with her every time she came to eat yakiniku always seemed to be someone different.
"Her name is Yui Yuigahama. She's my friend."
Kotomi said this naturally. By now, she had long since gotten used to describing the relationship between herself and Yui as friendship.
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