You give the girl an uncomfortable nod. It is probably fine if she wants to follow you, but you are not sure if you are up to the task of protecting her should anything go wrong. Not that anything would, you hope.
Mitsuki’s face lights up – she seems to be very relieved that you agreed to her request. “Thank you, Shinoseki-san! I will try not to be a bother to you.”
“Right…” you mumble, scratching your head. Her gratitude is enough to make you blush. “Anyway, we should get going.” As you walk towards the staircase, Mitsuki trots up beside you, eager not to fall behind.
“Where are we going, Shinoseki-san?”
“I thought that… well, we should go down to the lobby. I-I mean… if there are other people around, that is probably the place where they will be,” you explain haltingly.
“I see, I see,” nods the schoolgirl with a knowing air. “Onii-san, you might look like a NEET, but maybe you’re pretty smart?”
“N-NEET? That’s… kinda rude, y’know,” you mutter. “Where did you learn that word anyway?” NEET: Not in Education, Employment, or Training. It is a term regularly used to refer to youngsters who are not in school, unemployed, and have no intentions of seeking work at all. You realize that you haven’t looked in a mirror even once since you woke up – and that you do not remember your own face at that. Perhaps it would be a good idea to see how terrible you look like when you find the time… but you are not looking forward to it. It is definitely not a priority at all. Definitely not.
“Everyone at my school talks about it. NEETs, hikkikomoris… in fact, there’s a boy in my class who’s just like that!”
“…isn’t he a bit too young to be withdrawing from society?”
Mitsuki puts one finger on her chin as she answers, “Well, from what I heard, he was rejected by Nao-chan and fell into depression afterwards, vowing never to love again…”
Kids nowadays grow up too quickly. Feeling overwhelmed by her story, you keep on descending the stairs. At every floor, you have stopped and paused to take a quick look around before continuing on. You are now on the fourth floor, and yet there is still nobody in sight. Something is definitely off here.
“So, Shinoseki-san, are you really a NEET?”
“I do… something…” you mumble unconvincingly. If you cannot remember your own face, it’s a stretch to remember what you used to do before you woke up here. You do recall certain things: some studies in foreign philosophy, for instance, and a modicum of mathematical ability. There is also that disconcerting feeling of being able to pick a lock should you need to: you have no idea where you picked up that skill. Illegally?
Mitsuki nods at your answer. There is a look of sympathy in her eyes, as if she is thinking ‘That’s what they all say’ but is too polite to let you know. She hastily changes the topic, asking, “We still haven’t seen anyone else, Shinoseki-san. What do you think happened here?”
“I… I don’t know.” You were in an operating theatre when you woke up, and things were already this way. “How did you come to be here?”
A shadow comes across Mitsuki’s face for an instant before being banished by a brilliant smile. “Ah, I come to Ikei often for treatment. It’s a… gene disease? Sometimes I tend to space out for minutes, or my arms and legs will be unable to move. I also hallucinate things that aren’t there.”
***
A. She must mean that she has a genetic disease. You are beginning to remember that you know something about genes and diseases, but you have never heard of a genetic disease with these particular set of symptoms.
B. Genetic disease? You are not very well-versed in that matter. Biology is not your forte; you remember preferring other pursuits.
***
“It’s a real hassle, isn’t it?” Mitsuki complains. “Still, the treatment is going well so I don’t have to worry about it anymore. This hospital is really nice, you know?”
You nod wordlessly, going along with her light chatter. She seems like a cheerful kid; even though she was so frightened of you in the beginning, Mitsuki seems to have warmed up to your presence in a matter of minutes.
When you reach the second floor, she suddenly tugs at your sleeve.
“Ah! Sorry, Shinoseki-san,” she begins uneasily. “I need to...” Her voice trails off and she looks away from you.
“What is it?” you ask.
“T-toilet…” she murmurs as she rubs her knees together, slightly embarrassed to be talking to a male about this.
“I… I see. I think there should be some washrooms just down this corridor,” you say finally, after a moment of awkward silence. If the layout of each floor is similar – and they have been thus far – you should be able to find a toilet soon. Mitsuki nods quietly, and you lead her down the hallway.
Even though she is standing in front of the toilet, she does not go in for some reason.
“Um…” she stammers, “Shinoseki-san?”
“Yes?”
“Can… can you go in with me?”
“…what?”
“It’s just that… sorry, I’m a bit scared of going in alone. I-I know it’s strange because we haven’t seen anyone at all in the hospital, but that makes me even more frightened.” Rambling, Mitsuki tries to explain herself quickly – you can tell that she is feeling mortified just having to say this, but it appears that right now her fear of being alone in the ladies is overriding her self-consciousness about having a man in there.
***
00:10
A. “O-okay. If you insist…” Swallowing your embarrassment, you agree to accompany Mitsuki into the ladies’ washroom. She’s just in elementary school, and it’s not like you have to enter the cubicle with her… Wait, they do have cubicles in girls’ toilets, right?
B. “…I can’t enter with you, I’m a guy! So… sorry, but I’ll be waiting outside here.” It’s just a quick visit to the toilet. There’s no need for you to do something so awkward and go in with her. You’ll wait outside the washroom for Mitsuki to conclude her business.