Camille gently tucked an unruly lock behind her cousin's ear.

"Mm... Long hair suits you quite well..."

She broke off when she felt Seishi tense.

"Ne Sei... I wonder what you'd look like with long hair..."

Seishi settled back against the languid body, listening to the heart he constantly feared would stop.

"Certainly not a serious doctor," he said with a chuckle.

Soma's hands slid into his short blonde locks to pull him closer. He shivered when his voice, suddenly sensual, whispered in his ear.

"But who knows? It could be convenient for me in some cases..."

Seishi closed his eyes and grabbed his cousin's hand.

"Why was he here, Camille?"

Camille let out a deep sigh and didn't answer immediately.

"Is he here, you should say... Honestly? I don't know. Apparently, he boarded the first plane out as soon as he heard the news. I arrived… and there he was. I have to tell you, I was furious and did everything I could to keep him out of here. But he stood his ground. He said you'd judge... and, before you refused to see him, he never left you... In any case, he spent every night here, that's all I gave him, and he works anyway. He... It seems he even accepted a job here to come. If I'm not mistaken, that is quite a big risk he took. Even though it's under Japanese supervision[1]..."

She paused.

"I would have gladly strangled him with my own hands the moment I saw him again, but for him to do all that... and his eyes the other day when you ignored him like that... I... I’m not sure anymore. You never told me the full story, Seishi. The only thing I knew was your state after he left, but now... he seems to genuinely regret..."

She sighed again and watched her cousin, who kept his head turned away.

"I won't be the one to enlighten you; only he has the answers... and seems to want to provide them. While we're on the subject of truth, you should know that, some time after he left, maybe... two months, three, I don't remember, a little after you left too... he called me..."

This time, Seishi looked at her, taken aback.

"He said he was trying by all means to reach you. But you can imagine how I received him. And your parents weren't in France otherwise I guess he would never have tried through me... "

She shook her head.

"In any case, he respected our agreement. He didn't harass you after your 'judgment', so I guess I should do the same. I'm starting to think I don't have all the facts I need to be objective. This time, only you can know what to do... what you want to do..."

Seishi seemed to hesitate for a moment, then nodded. He didn't feel ready to discuss it. Too many revelations, too many shocks... He needed time to reorganize his thoughts... especially given his neurons in “Olympic shape”. He simply squeezed his cousin's hand.

"Thank you, Camille... for everything."

~*~

Yoshio stood up and prepared to leave the room... probably for his colleague's room. He smiled. Undeniably, he was no match for Seishi-kun in terms of socialization. Ryô-kun was now spending all the time he was allowed with the doctor. He now had almost a clear space for his chair! Ryô-kun and he himself had met the doctor's mother too, and she had begun to break the ice as naturally as her son. He sometimes sadly noticed the looks of fascination and regret Ryô-kun let slip when observing Demondaruboa-san when he thought everyone was busy. But these two did the young man a world of good. He suddenly wondered if it was good news he was about to announce...

~*~

"But I don't understand, Seishi-san. Why did you come to France after studying in Japan for all those years? In that case, you might as well go back home with your parents before. "

Seishi-san remained silent for a moment, then sighed.

"It was more complicated… When my parents left, all my schooling, my friends, and some very dear people were there. It seemed obvious to me to stay… Especially since, given the French medical school system, I would probably have wasted years unnecessarily. But then, once I'd reached a sufficient level, my teachers insisted I take advantage of my opportunities in France. Contrary to what most Westerners might believe, Japanese hospitals are sometimes more dated and under-resourced than ‘high-tech’, and like everywhere else, positions are hard to get. It was a difficult decision, and I think it cost me dearly… but I could be closer to my family, and my chances of advancement were much better that way. I was supposed to return to Japan afterward, but... "

"Hmm..." Ryô refrained from mentioning Africa, which, in his opinion, hardly fit with this careerist outlook. "And now? Are you going to... Are you going to return to Japan? Stay with your parents? "

Seishi-san threw his head back on the pillow, his eyes staring at the ceiling.

Ryô tried to breathe quietly, wiping his sweaty palms on his white pants. Why on earth did he suddenly feel so oppressed?

"I..."

Ryô tried to calm himself down again. What, it wasn't as if it had any effect on him! Besides, he himself carefully avoided thinking about "after the hospital"...

"No idea," Seishi-san finally whispered.

Ryô raised his head and looked at him. He suddenly realized that the doctor's face was drawn. Perhaps he had abused of the doctor's resistance.

"I... I haven't thought about it yet." He attempted a smile. "Anyway, right now, thinking is hard for me!"

"Ah, sorry..."

~

Seishi raised his hand to interrupt him.

"It's okay... Anyway, I'll have to think about it. But so many things have changed..."

Ryô didn't reply and leaned over to raise the doctor's pillow.

"Thank you... Before... before ‘that’..."

God, it still hurt so much... What a waste, Sama... Thankfully, at least the others had been luckier...

"... everything was pushing me to flee Japan..."

But even this despair and rage at those events could not compete with those of that time... Maybe he would eventually become numb... It wouldn't be so bad after all...

"... and I was too cowardly to return to France. Now... the situation has changed... and I'm not sure I know it well."

Apart from Camille's brief clarification, he had refused to know her... refused to think about him, about his presence and his completely unexpected pleas; refused the explanations his mother had wanted to give him; refused the letter that came in desperation and that his mother had ended up keeping since he had been unable to throw it away despite everything... refused also those snatches of sentences that sometimes haunted his nights and that he could only have dreamed... Cowardice, again and again... Perhaps he would have to stop running away one day... If this accident was a warning, it was insistent enough!