Kono Monogatari O Kimi Ni Sasagu - Volume 1 Chapter 3.12

In the hospital waiting room, Yuto sat silently, staring at the floor.

The image of Kotoha he had just seen floated in his mind.

In just a few months since her transfer, her cheeks had hollowed, her limbs were thin like branches, and her eye sockets were sunken.

It made her exude a frail beauty, which made Yuto feel unbearable.

He had heard about her condition from Kotoha’s mother before coming, but seeing it with his own eyes made it more real.

The shadow of death that lurked behind that beauty was stark.

Anxiety made his heart pound.

He was terrified. Of losing her.

When he heard she had lost consciousness, he realized.

Kotoha had become an irreplaceable existence for him.

So—

Yuto looked up at the clock in the waiting room.

It was 1:30 PM. He had visited Kotoha’s room around 1:00 PM, so it had been thirty minutes.

He was glad she was alive—and that she had regained consciousness. And he was truly relieved that he could bring her the book.

Yesterday, after jumping on the train, Yuto had checked and returned the second proofs sent by Inamura via email with intense concentration and speed. Fortunately, the second proofs were already prepared, and there had been no corrections from the first author’s proof. Upon arrival in Tokyo, he and Inamura rushed to the printing house, bowed their heads, and somehow managed to get a sample printed and bound. The printing machines were run in the middle of the night when no other books were being printed.

This meant several employees of the printing house had to work overnight, which was an enormous imposition. They all understood Yuto’s situation and willingly helped, but he knew he must properly apologize and thank them later.

But thanks to them, he was able to stand at the starting line.

Yes, delivering the book to Kotoha was not the goal.

Whether he could change Kotoha’s mind was still unknown.

Inamura praised the novel as the best, and Yuto himself thought so too. But would it be enough to move Kotoha’s resolution?

By now, she was probably reading the book he gave her. While Kotoha read fast, it was unlikely she could finish such a substantial novel in thirty minutes, and she would probably take her time to thoroughly read it.

He was anxious.

The story had changed significantly from the script they created for the drama club.

He had altered the character of the heroine Hiyori and made another major change. Because of that change, Yuto had to go through dozens of drafts.

What would Kotoha think of such a story?

Would she cry, laugh, or get angry?

He hoped it would help her heart, which was sinking into despair, even a little.

It was a story written just for her.

Time passed slowly.

He repeatedly glanced at the clock, thinking it should be about time, only to find that barely ten minutes had passed.

He tried to kill time by looking at his smartphone or reading a book, but his eyes just slid over the words, and nothing sank in.

He felt pathetic.

He had poured everything into writing.

He had immersed himself so deeply in writing that the boundary between reality and the story blurred. He had layered his emotions with those of the protagonist Ren and Hiyori. It was like diving into the deep sea, sometimes forgetting to breathe.

For Yuto, writing had previously been a process of translating the story in his head into words.

But those two months were different.

While writing, Yuto lived within the story.

He felt the breath of the characters beside him, heard their words, saw their expressions.

It was the first time he had ever created like that.

That’s why he lacked confidence.

What if he couldn’t move Kotoha’s heart, if he let her down—

No, he decided not to think about it.

“It’s about time…”

After what felt like the longest three hours of his life, Yuto stood up.

When he knocked on the door, a voice from inside responded, “Come in.”

Inside, Kotoha was sitting up in bed, looking quietly at him. On her lap, the book lay with its cover facing up. She must have finished reading it.

The agitation from earlier was gone, and her expression now felt almost cold.

Her face showed no emotion, making Yuto’s heart feel tightly gripped.

But he couldn’t stand frozen at the entrance, nor could he flee.

Yuto took a slow breath and sat on the chair by the bed.

“I read it.”

Kotoha spoke calmly, then looked down and continued.

“I think it was good.”

Really?

He almost wanted to ask that outright.

She kept her eyes down, not smiling, and her words were dry and businesslike.

He felt his mouth go dry.

“…What part did you like?”

“What part…”

Finally, some expression crossed Kotoha’s face. But it was confusion, far from what Yuto had hoped for. He had only succeeded in troubling her. She wouldn’t even meet his eyes.

“Um… the combination of the terminal illness story and the fantasy element of the shinigami was more refined compared to the script. Also, both the story and characters were well-developed. It’s definitely the work of Fuyutsuki Haruhiko.”