Unlike Tezuka Koku, who was causing a fuss about going home after getting an IV, Tezuka Kunimitsu, who appeared alone at the tennis club, was quickly surrounded by the regulars.
“Captain, why are you here alone today? Where’s Koku?”
“Yeah, yeah, Captain, I’ve been waiting for Koku for so long. Why hasn’t he come yet?”
Kikumaru Eiji, who discovered during a team dinner that Koku had a similar taste to his, specially brought his mom’s homemade tamagoyaki to share with Koku at lunch. But even after the morning training started, he hadn’t seen any sign of little Koku. So, he and the other curious members of the tennis club stopped Tezuka Kunimitsu to find out where Koku had gone.
“Koku is at the hospital right now.” Although he was in a hurry to go to his brother’s class to excuse him, Tezuka Kunimitsu stopped to explain why his brother wasn’t at school when he saw how genuinely concerned the team was about Koku. “He ate a bit too much yesterday and had some indigestion and a slight fever last night.”
“The family was a bit worried about his health, so he’s getting an IV at the hospital now.”
“What? Koku is hospitalized??” The regulars were shocked to hear Tezuka Kunimitsu’s words. They really didn’t expect that their unintentional actions yesterday would cause little Koku to end up in the hospital.
“Captain, it’s all our fault.” If they hadn’t been so enthusiastic, Koku would have eaten slowly and wouldn’t have had indigestion from overeating. Thinking this way, everyone who had fed Koku yesterday started to feel guilty.
“Is Koku okay now? Let’s go visit little Koku at the hospital after school!”
“Yeah, yeah, let’s apologize to his parents too. It’s all our fault that little Koku ended up in the hospital.”
Just as the regulars started discussing the possibility of visiting the hospital, Tezuka Kunimitsu stopped them. “It’s not your fault that Koku went to the hospital. His body is naturally weaker than most people, so you don’t need to feel so guilty.”
“Besides, after getting the IV, Koku will probably be fussing about going home. He doesn’t like staying in the hospital.” Remembering how Koku always made a fuss whenever he was in the hospital, Tezuka Kunimitsu knew that once his brother woke up, he would try to persuade their mother to leave the hospital.
So he didn’t agree with his teammates’ decision to visit Koku in the hospital. Instead, he gently suggested, “If you’re worried about Koku, just treat him normally. There’s no need to treat him too specially.”
If they treated him too specially, with Koku’s intelligence, he would definitely guess the reason for their change in attitude.
Tezuka Kunimitsu didn’t want the other regulars to treat Koku like a fragile glass figure because of his health, so he took the opportunity to explain Koku’s situation clearly while he wasn’t there.
“When our mother was pregnant with Koku, an accident caused him to be born prematurely, so his body is weaker than most. Before he was five, Koku spent most of his time in the hospital. It took a long time for him to recover to his current state, and only then did our elders feel comfortable letting him attend school.”
“This is also Koku’s first time at school, interacting with so many peers. So if Koku does anything wrong, I hope everyone can understand.”
“Our elders want Koku to come to school to interact more with peers and live a normal child’s life. As his brother, I hope Koku can have his own school memories like a normal child.”
“So please treat Koku as an ordinary club member. Don’t give him special treatment just because he’s my brother or because of his health. Koku is a sensitive child, and I don’t want him to feel different from everyone else.”
“Okay, Captain.”
“We’ll treat little Koku normally.” We definitely won’t make him feel special!
Hearing Tezuka Kunimitsu talk about Koku’s health, the Seigaku regulars finally understood why eight-year-old Koku seemed so out of place with his peers and why Tezuka Kunimitsu was so unusually concerned about his brother!
It was all because of Koku’s health issues!
No one expected that the usually smiling, adorable, and well-behaved Koku had spent most of his time in the hospital, with no childhood friends, all alone.
“Koku is really pitiful. We must treat him well and let him feel everyone’s love!” Kikumaru Eiji said.
“Thank you for understanding.” Hearing the regulars’ promise, Tezuka Kunimitsu bowed deeply to express his gratitude. “Please take care of him.”
“No need to be so formal!” Noticing that everyone felt awkward and unsure because of Tezuka’s actions, Fuji Shusuke stepped in to lighten the mood. “Koku is like everyone’s little brother, isn’t it natural to take care of him?”
“Besides, Tezuka, don’t you need to go to Koku’s class to excuse him? The morning class is about to start, shouldn’t you hurry?”
“Yeah, Captain, hurry and excuse Koku!”
“Yeah, yeah, it’s just the start of the school year, we can’t let our Koku miss school for no reason!”
With Fuji’s reminder, everyone quickly realized and started urging Tezuka Kunimitsu to leave the court and excuse Koku.
Tezuka Kunimitsu wanted to say more, but seeing everyone’s expressions and the time, he had no choice but to leave the court and head to the first-year teaching building.
Meanwhile, Echizen Ryoma, who returned to the classroom after morning training, seemed a bit distracted.
Since saying goodbye to Koku yesterday, he hadn’t been able to contact his little buddy, and Koku hadn’t shown up at the tennis club during morning training.
With class about to start and Koku still not appearing, could something have happened?
As various thoughts ran through Echizen Ryoma’s mind, he noticed a familiar figure approaching from the corner of his eye.
It was Tezuka Kunimitsu, so Echizen Ryoma didn’t hesitate to step out of the classroom and stop him. “Senpai, can I ask why Koku didn’t come to school today?”
Recognizing that the person stopping him was Koku’s good friend, Tezuka Kunimitsu answered, “Koku isn’t feeling well today and went to the hospital for an IV, so I’m here to excuse him.”
“If you’re worried, Echizen-kun, you can come home with me after school to visit Koku.” Thinking that his brother would be lonely at home since he couldn’t attend school today, Tezuka Kunimitsu decisively invited Echizen Ryoma to visit Koku at their home.
“If possible, please bring your class notes.”
Tezuka Kunimitsu thought that although his brother might not need the notes given his intelligence, he still asked this favor to give Koku’s good friend a reason to visit. “Please also help collect Koku’s homework.”
“Okay, I’ll be waiting at the school gate for you, Senpai.”
Without any hesitation, Echizen Ryoma accepted Tezuka Kunimitsu’s invitation. Upon hearing that Tezuka Koku was unwell and had to excuse himself, his heart immediately tightened. Although he always knew Koku’s health wasn’t great, Echizen Ryoma had never seen Koku sick, so he always thought Koku’s health wasn’t that weak.
But he didn’t expect that just overnight, he would hear news of Koku being sick, and from what Koku’s brother said, Koku was still getting an IV at the hospital?
No wonder he hadn’t replied to his messages until now!!!