New Line: A Fresh Step   von Xanderionas
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                             Kapitel 3: Chapter 3
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The next day, Hifumi was well and truly invaded by people. The first one to pop
up was Aoba, who nearly crashed into her chest and received a stern scolding for
it. Rin and the others arrived as well, each one overflowing with concern and
worry about her. Hajime was bawling like mad, while Jun tried to both comfort
her and stop crying herself. Rin brought a beautiful bouquet, the relief in her
eyes as she saw Hifumi clear as day. Yagami was the last one to enter, looking
more nervous than ever before. As Hifumi made eye contact with her, Yagami
sighed and relaxed her shoulders, coming over and wrapping her arms gently
around her.
“Don’t ever do that again.” she whispered into Hifumi’s ear, who merely
breathed out an agreement. As they separated, Hifumi noticed Yagami’s
expression particularly burdened, sensing that it wasn’t merely about her. She
couldn’t discuss it though as she chatted to everyone about what had happened
and how she was doing. She kept her promise and never said a word about
Anders’ involvement, nobody even thinking of inquiring. When she herself asked
about the search for Anders and how it went, the mood suddenly dropped several
degrees, Yagami diverting her vision to the window. After a few minutes of
asking questions, Hifumi found that Anders’ measures had held up. Everyone
believed Anders had abruptly received a better job offer at a foreign company,
handing in his letter like that to make a dramatic exit. Yagami’s jaw clenched
as she gave the recounting, Hifumi aware why it was but remaining silent.
Everyone looked hurt by the result, not even Hajime able to crack a joke to
lighten up their spirits. Unhappy that she had depressed everyone, Hifumi tried
to cheer them up by giving some good news:
“I received word from the doctor that...if I heal well...I could leave the
hospital in a month.”
“Already?” Rin asked, her brow furrowed in concern, “You don’t have to
try and rush your way out of here. You just got a new heart, you need to take
care of yourselves first and foremost.”
“Exactly!” Hajime butted in, looking as resolute as always, “I won’t
forgive you if you try to come into work early just to catch up! You stay in bed
and rest!”
“But...” Hifumi began, only to be interrupted by Aoba:
“Hifumi, please. We’re all worried about you. You shouldn’t do anything
stressful now, didn’t the doctor say so? Once you’re released, we can come
visit you anytime until you feel better. Take your time before coming back,
ok?”
“Aoba…” Hifumi mumbled, before giving a nod, “Alright, I promise.”
Everyone around her exchanged relieved glances, before Yagami spoke up:
“Hey Hifumin, could I ask you something?”
Hifumi glanced up at Yagami in surprise, before nodding.
“How did you get a heart transplant so quickly? I heard that it takes months
for someone to get a new heart and that they can get put on machines until then.
But you got yours within what, a few days? How did that work?”
“Now that you mention it,” Rin pondered while looking up at the ceiling,
“the company insurance didn’t cover you. Did your health insurance take care
of it?”
Hifumi moved to agree, before being stabbed in the back by Jun’s comment:
“Can’t be. My aunt recently suffered a kidney failure out of nowhere and her
insurance didn’t cover the cost of a transplant. The kidneys she received cost
a huge amount and nearly bankrupted her. Hifumi, you didn’t pay for yours, did
you?”
Aware that she had no escape anymore, she tried to circumvent the truth by
telling half of it. Unable to speak calmly though, she resorted to writing:
-	The surgery was paid by the one who found me. She heard I needed the money and
paid for it in full.
Aoba and the others gave astonished looks.
“Wow, really?” Hajime murmured, “That was incredibly kind of them. Did you
get a name?”
-	No. She wanted to remain anonymous so I never found out.
Hifumi saw how Yagami’s mind was churning in the background, hopeful that she
didn’t see through the lie. Luckily, she soon relaxed her expression and
smiled.
“Well,” she began, “The important thing is that you’re safe. I wish I
could thank whoever paid for it, but it’s good to know there are more kind
people in this world.”
She could have been imagining it, but Hifumi could have sworn she heard
something sour in Yagami’s tone. There was no time to contemplate it though,
as the door burst open with no one else than her mother, a small cage in her
arms.
“Hifumi!” she exclaimed, before dashing over to her side, “My poor girl!
Are you alright, are you hurt?”
“Mom…” Hifumi said quietly, before shaking her head with a smile, “You
know better than to ask that, being a nurse.”
“Like I care! You could have died, Hifumi! Never do that to me again, you hear
me? I couldn’t…” 
Hifumi saw how her mother swallowed her tears, gently dragging her into an
embrace that didn’t hurt her in the least.
“Mom... I’m fine... I’m not going anywhere. I’m here.”
That was the breaking point for Mom, who burst into tears as she hugged Hifumi
tighter. Yagami and the others excused themselves, leaving Hifumi to deal with
her tender mother. She knew that Mom was panicking because of her father. He had
collapsed in much the same way, his heart even weaker than hers. Nothing had
worked to keep him alive until the ambulance arrived, him passing away before
her mother while Hifumi had been in elementary school. It was still a dark part
of their history, yet Hifumi had strived to move on from it. It was
understandable though why her mother couldn’t follow as easily. Quitting her
job to become a nurse was just her way of numbing the pain without finding peace
at first.
Getting her mother to calm down took longer than expected, eventually revealing
Sojiro in the cage she had brought. It eased Hifumi’s heart to see him again.
Sojiro himself appeared happy to see her, based on the amount of petting he
suddenly desired. Once he had his fill, her mother gave a farewell and promised
to come visit as often as she could, Hifumi imploring her to not shirk from her
actual job. Once she had left as well, her environment became uncomfortably
silent once more, the reality of her situation striking like a jackhammer. It
was therefore no small joy when she heard her phone buzz, opening it to reveal a
message from Anders:
-	Is it safe to enter or do I have to put on an invisibility cloak?
She couldn’t help but giggle, checking her heart to make sure nothing was
painful before answering:
-	It’s fine, they all left just now. 
-	Good.
To her surprise, the door opened at the same time as the message appeared,
Anders popping his head through it with a far cleaner appearance. She gave a
tiny squeak as he came in.
“Y-you were there?”
He pointed to her phone, on which an answer already laid:
-	I just arrived, in fact.
“I see.” she took a few deep breaths and turned to face the window again,
her heartbeat again calming down so that no nurse would run in here in panic.
-	So, how were they? 
-	Happy. And very worried.
-	I expect as much. When a beloved member of the team is unwell, it’s natural
to be concerned for them.
“I’m not... beloved…”
-	Quite the contrary. I got caught in a sticky situation where I was nearly seen
by Ms. Yagami and the rest, but I got to overhear how worried they were. They
wanted to bring the entire snack table over so you could have your normal lunch
break.
Hifumi’s eyes widened a slight bit.
-	They did?
-	Yep. You need to have more faith in yourself, Takimoto. I told you back at
Eagle Jump that you were well-respected and this only proves my words. You have
a lot of people who care for you, not just your mother.
Warmth blossomed in Hifumi’s heart as she thought back to the faces of Aoba
and the rest, thanking each face she conjured before turning a bit towards
Anders.
-	Thank you.
-	Think nothing of it. I’m quite pleased to see you still awake after
everything. How does your chest feel?
-	It feels... alright, I suppose. It stings every now and then, but it never
reaches a level I can’t deal with.
-	I’m glad. Remember to not try and hide it though, alright? Pain, even at a
light level, could be a warning sign for doctors. I also suggest doing some
breathing exercises.
-	Exercises?
-	I was thinking about it after I left yesterday. You’re currently in a very
delicate state. In order to help deal with any sudden stress attacks, it would
be best for you to train with breathing exercises to calm yourself down. If
anything were to suddenly stress you out, it could lead to another surgery. Call
it a precautionary method.
-	I see. But what do I have to do? I can’t really move.
-	Simple, you don’t. Just follow my instructions. I’ll do voice messaging to
make it easier.
She hesitated for a moment, before nodding and putting her phone down. Soon
enough, the first message rang in the room:
“First, place your arms along your sides. Make sure to raise your chest a
slight bit so you can receive more air. Stop if it’s painful, we can skip it
if necessary.”
She did as he instructed, the position fortunately not discomforting.
“Next, empty your lungs of all the air you have left. We want them perfectly
empty.”
She exhaled, ensuring she could go no further as the next step already sounded:
“Now inhale slowly through your nose until bursting. Hold for three
seconds.”
As she began to inhale, she glanced over towards him. The sincere smile he
showed her nearly brought her out of the step, snapping her eyes back towards
the ceiling to not get distracted. 
“Purse your lips, exhale slowly through your mouth. Relax your face
muscles.”
The latter step took more effort than Hifumi predicted, requiring a few seconds
before she got it down in conjunction with her breath. As her lungs emptied
again and she returned to breathing normally, she heard one more voice message:
“That’s it. We’ll repeat it a few times, alright?”
She nodded, only to blink in surprise as he spent a considerable amount of time
on his phone, turning out to be just a normal text message:
-	I suggest you work on doing this as well whenever you feel stressed during
your stay or afterwards. Anxiety or nervousness around or due to others can be
easily kept under control if you remember to regulate your breathing. It will
hopefully prevent any unintended harm to your new heart as well during your
recovery. For now, just repeat the steps.
With that, they spent another ten minutes repeating the exercise, Hifumi feeling
more and more relaxed with every attempt. At the end, she found she could even
watch Anders without raising her heartbeat, noticing the small yet prideful
smile he wore. His eyes, as captivating with their blue as always, remained
solely focused on her, causing her to blush slightly. As they concluded their
training, the doctor came by again to chase him away, leaving with a final wide
smile and a message after he exited the room:
-	I’ll be back tomorrow, as promised. Make sure to rest well for your sake and
everyone else’s, alright?
-	I will. But, Anders…
-	What is it?
-	Why does it sound like you’re not included in that list?
His answer came delayed, Hifumi having the room silent for a good few minutes
before he returned an answer:
-	I told you, I’m nobody important in this. Focus on your recovery, it’ll do
you better.
-	You’re also important to me, you know?
Hifumi felt her heart rate increase again at her frankness, but a quick repeat
of their training brought it back down.
-	You’re concerning yourself with the wrong person. Your health should be your
number one priority right now. 
-	But what if I want to worry about you? You still haven’t found another job,
right?
-	I’ll sort it out, please don’t worry. I bring myself into this sort of
trouble all the time, so I’m used to it. 
-	What do you mean with that?
-	Nothing much. I’m headed home. See you tomorrow, Takimoto.
-	You too, Anders.
Hifumi sighed, echoes jumping around the room as she wondered to herself just
what it was that kept Anders so down. She knew though that no answer could come
from nowhere and thus, she snuggled herself deeper into her covers. Her attempts
at sleep were burdensome, repeatedly interrupted by the appearance of a masked
person with a whisky glass who kept repeating a certain sentence:
I’m nobody important.

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