you, and the sea. (kaosayu)

‘I want to take a stroll at night around the beach.’—it was a whimsical wish, yet Kaori knows that it is a Sayuri-like kind of request.

They happened to finish the day shift early and not swamped by the report, so Kaori wasted no time to say yes.

It is like everything happened yesterday, when Kaori found that Sakai Sayuri, her first-ever patient assigned under her care, enjoyed the view of the sea belonged to the city of Yurigahama. That time, Sayuri was still bound to her bed because of her illness, and a little stroll out of her room feels like a luxury to behold.

What caught Kaori at that time was whether Sayuri never go to the sea before; how her lonely eyes watched the tidal waves and vastness blue reflection with a sense of adoration.

‘I won’t be able to go to the sea anyway,’ so Sayuri said that time.

.

The second encounter of the nurse of internal medicine ward with the aplastic anemia patient with her attachment to the sea is when it was one of Kaori’s night shift.

Kaori noticed that the patient of room 311 is not there by the time of her 1 AM patrol, and her gut whispered to check on the rooftop.

The thin back clad in yellow polka-dot pajama was there, admiring the night. Her pale hand creeping from her sleeves holding on her IV support as the other hand extended up to the sky, as if she is able to reach the constellations.

‘I just want to see the stars,’ Sayuri said that to Kaori as her reason to be there.

The night was beautiful at that moment – so is the figure of Sakai Sayuri.

.

“Kaori-san?”

The same strong voice—the strong voice of a girl who has won the bet between life and death with her illness. The strong voice of a girl who has overcome a lot of hardships. The strong voice of a girl whom she cherished so dearly. The strong voice of a girl who shared her bone marrow. The strong voice of a girl who’s becoming her junior right this spring.

“Is something wrong on my face, Kaori-san?” Sayuri managed a smile.

Kaori learned after some time that Sayuri will try to brush her own cheek when hiding her embarrassment. Though, as their fingers entwined together and their bare feet touched the cold waters of the sea on June, Sayuri couldn’t do it – her blush is apparent under the moonlight.

“Oh, no. Umm, I’m just feeling like kissing you.”

A crash of wave was louder as silence bested them. ‘How cute’, Kaori murmured as Sayuri went a few shades redder.

“W-Well, you don’t need to ask! I’m, I’m welcoming you anytime!”

Sayuri’s comeback was bashful, as expected of her, and Kaori couldn’t contain her giggles.

[And the kiss in that night didn’t stop for only once.]