I didn't go back to the hospital until two days later. I found (y/n) in her storage closet as per usual, and she looked up with a hurt expression that pained my heart.
"I thought you weren't coming back," she said, looking at me suspiciously, like she expected me to bolt at any moment.
I smiled and scratched my head. "Sorry about that." I held out a cat keychain. "I searched all the local convenience stores yesterday for the cat one, but they didn't have them, and by the time I found one in a nearby city, visiting hours were already over."
Her eyes widened as she took the new keychain. Again, her fingers met mine, and I swallowed. I'm almost as bad as Kaneki now.
"You didn't have to do this," she said, but she was looking at the keychain with an expression that said she loved it, like it was a priceless treasure, a priceless treasure that I had purchased for the low price of four hundred yen.
I just smiled at her. "I thought you could use some cheering up," I said.
She stared at the keychain for a long second before sliding it around her wrist like a bracelet, right next to where the bunny one was.
My eyebrows raised automatically. "I think they're supposed to go on your cell phone..."
"I don't have one," she said, looking down at the keychains and shaking her wrist slightly so they jingled.
I felt so stupid. It was like buying a TV for someone who didn't have a house, or a cup holder for someone who didn't have a car, or a treadmill for someone in a wheelchair. "I'm sorry, (y/n), I'll find something else-"
"I like them," she said, smiling, and how could I not smile back?
If four hundred yen - basically 4 USD -  could make her smile, then it was four hundred yen well spent, and four hundred yen that I would keep spending. Already I was thinking about what other small gifts I could give her.
"Are you feeling better?" I asked instead, and she nodded. "Have you been doing any therapy lately?"
She hesitated.
"Like chemo? Or radiation therapy? I've been researching a bit about cancer, just, you know, so I can understand what you're going through and all that."
She was quiet. The smile was gone.
Dang it...but...I can't forever avoid the hard truth. (Y/n) is sick, she's dying, and I don't want her to feel alone about it.
"The therapy won't work for me," she said, looking down. "They said it's not effective."
Damn...it's already this bad?
She coughed, and I tensed up. Is it another attack? But she put up a hand, and the cough subsided.
"Is there anything I can do?" I asked. Please, anything...
She gave me a look that was almost a smile. "I just like it when you come to talk."
I smiled back. "Then I'll keep coming. Well, I would have anyway."
She was quiet for a moment, smiling. "Thanks, Hide." She leaned forward, almost as if to give me a hug, but then she leaned back, pressing herself against the wall.
I can't say that I wasn't a bit disappointed, but I just nodded with a smile and left.
I didn't want to rush her.
But then again, she didn't have much time left.