"Oh, God, I must've worried Len. He's angry, isn't he?"
"No, he's not," I patted Rin's arm. We were standing in the middle of the field, where Kaito had spotted Rin. After heading down, I had ran up to them. They were no longer hugging. Just talking.
"He's just worried," I said with a small smile. She hugged me suddenly, very tightly.
"I texted him, saying that we found you," Kaito said, pocketing his phone. Rin let go of me and nodded.
"I lost my phone," she said slowly. "It's stupid, really. I'm so sorry, Gumi, Kaito..."
"Don't be sorry!" Kaito and I happened to say this at the same time. We glanced at each other.
"I was feeling kind of...well, crappy," Rin laughed a little at the end of her sentence. She scuffed her shoes against each other. "Stupid things, selfish me. Skipped last class and got onto a bus. Started roaming around the city. Aimlessly, really. Somewhere along the line, I lost my phone. Didn't really care, though. I was..." Her voice started to crack. "I was...it's just...why does everyone have to fight? I was pissed. Pissed at my parents. L-Like I said, stupid. I know. I'm fucking stupid and I can't help it, I..."
"Rin, stop," Kaito grabbed her forearms. "Don't talk like that."
"I worried you," she whispered, crying, looking into his eyes and then into mine. "And you, and poor Len, and Miku...he probably took it out on you, didn't he, Kaito? He thought you did something to me or..."
"No, he didn't," Kaito was firm. I nodded in agreement.
"He just wanted to find you," I said. "So let's get going. Let's go home, alright?"
She wiped her eyes and we started to walk along. Her boyfriend took her hand in his and she leaned against him as we walked. I didn't let it bother me. Actually, I smiled a bit; she had someone to lean on, both literally and figuratively. I was glad that he had found her first, that he had called out to her before I did. I had faith that he was just the sort of person she needed to make it through the divorce.
Len and Miku were standing outside the twins' home when we got there. Len's eyes just about lit up at the sight of his sister. He took a step forward and she let her hand slip out of Kaito's, running up to her brother and throwing herself at him, hugging him.
"I was scared," Len whispered, holding her tight. Miku clung to his arm. It looked kind of funny, seeing two girls clinging to Len, even though one was his sister.
"I'm really sorry, Len, I...I got some sense knocked into me," Rin said. She looked at us. "I came back to the school because I talked it out. And then you found me...Kaito, Gumi."
"I'm just...I'm happy that you're safe, Rin," I smiled, feeling a burst of warmth in my chest. She smiled back, so pretty. A perfect match with Kaito.
They do look very nice together, really.
"It's getting kind of late," Len said, looking at his phone. I followed suit, looking at the time and instantly freaking out.
"I should go," I said, turning on my heels. I started to jog towards the edge of the residential area. "I'll talk later!"
"Bye, Gumi!" Miku called. I waved, turning to look at them all one more time before hurrying out of the area and to the bus stop. I was lucky enough to make it there just as the bus came to a halt in front of the shelter.
After paying the fare, I found a seat in the back and sat down, leaning against the window and closing my eyes. The sun warmed the top of my head as the bus rolled down the streets, out of the tranquil, affluent neighbourhood.
I wasn't sleeping, but I had my eyes closed. When I felt a body settle in the seat beside mine, I slowly turned and looked at the person. It was a boy, a teenage boy. Tall and slender, with a sharp jawline. He looked familiar. Maybe I was slightly drowsy, just a little sleepy.
I blinked. He wasn't looking at me. Then I realized, of course I knew who this was. Naoki.
Yuma.
He had earbuds on, the white cord leading to the phone in his hands, where his eyes were focused, though I couldn't really see them too well. His bangs were sort of in the way.
I guess I must have been staring, because he turned to look at me and pulled his earbuds out.
"Oh, hey," he smiled, waving slightly. I nodded. That wasn't the kind of greeting I had expected, but to be honest, after having actually met him less than twelve hours ago, I wasn't sure what kind of a greeting to expect, anyways.
"You take this bus?" I asked. He shook his head and put an earbud back in his ear, swiping through various menus on his device.
"I'm just here," he said.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
He looked up at the roof of the bus before looking back at me. "I felt like taking this bus," he said. He grinned. "Are you planning on following me around?"
"What? I was on this bus before you, you know...you're the one who sat next to me."
"Well excuse me, princess, this was the only vacant seat when I got on, and I didn't even realize it was you." He didn't sound too angry. More like he was teasing. I crossed my arms and shuffled closer to my side of the bus, my head curled against the window.
"Well, say something, pumpkin," he said after a bit of silence.
I rolled my eyes. "Nice weather we're having," I drawled.
He nodded furiously. "It's still warm, and that means lots of girls in cute dresses! Though, coats and hats and scarves look cute, too, but..."
"Seriously. Naoki."
"It's Yuma."
"Yuma, is that all you ever think about?" I sat up straight. His name felt weird, coming out of my mouth. He had always been Naoki to me, for the past two and a half months. And now, all of a sudden, he was Yuma.
"Is what all I ever think about?" I could see the mischief in his eyes.
"Girls," I said. He laughed.
"Maybe, maybe not," he said, playing with his other earbud. He wrapped some of the cord around his finger and started to swing it around. I watched. "Is it wrong? Should I start thinking about guys? I guess I could try, but I don't think it'll work!"
"No, like..." I closed my mouth. It felt like a waste of time, discussing this. "Okay. Anyways. Why are you here?"
"What?"
"In this bus," I said. "Do you even live here?"
"Why do you want to know where I live?" He poked my cheek and I squeaked, pushing him away.
"Stop," I said. "You're not very fun to talk to, you know."
"I am," he insisted.
"You're very annoying. And immature."
He frowned at me. It was a genuine frown. Like I was misjudging him or something. 'I'm disappointed in you,' it seemed to say. I shook that thought away.
"I wanted to see the area," he said, leaning back. He was looking out the front window, smiling to himself. "I was talking to someone earlier. I didn't like seeing them sad and hurt. We talked about it. I guess it's nice..."
He trailed off and didn't continue.
"What's nice?" I asked.
"Hm?" He snapped back into reality. "Oh...it's nice how you can be just a somebody from the streets, and let someone else talk their worries into you. If they don't know you, it's easier to talk about the rough stuff. Sometimes."
I had no idea where this was going. Yuma shrugged and sat up, running a hand through his hair.
"We went to a cafe and she cried and cried against me," he said, and then he looked at me - well, looked into me, or beyond me, is what it felt like - and kept smiling. "And not for a single moment did I think of taking advantage of her, of touching her back. Of giving her my number. Of asking for hers. I just let her cry till she was done, till my shirt was wet and I was out of tissues. I offered to get some napkins from the counter, so that she could cry some more. But then she said she had cried enough, and thank you for listening to me."
"Oh." I wasn't sure how else to respond.
"Then we left the place and she said she could take care of herself now, and something about me being a very nice man who understood when someone was in need of a shoulder to cry on and offered it without seeming too creepy. She hugged me and then left. And that's why I'm here."
The bus rolled into the station as he ended his story. "But I don't understand. You knew where she lived? You knew her?"
He shrugged and nodded. People started to get out of their seats.
"But she didn't know you," I said. Yuma got up and I followed. We walked out of the bus. He walked into the station, and since I was taking the subway, I followed. He didn't seem to notice that I was right behind him, so I hesitantly touched his arm.
"Hey," I said. We headed down the stairs.
"What?"
"You knew her."
"So?"
"So how did she not know you?" I skipped the last step and leapt onto the platform, following him along the platform's length, towards one side.
"Gumi, I knew you," he said, standing near the edge of the platform with his back to the tracks. The train came rushing in, making his hair blow all over the place. He wasn't even scared of being so close, unlike me.
"I knew you this morning. All summer long, I've known you. Did you know me?"
"No, but then..." I had to shout over the screeching of the brakes.
"I found you," he said, smiling widely. "I found you, and now you know me. Yuma. Naoki. And Gumi."
You'll notice that this isn't the first time Yuma's referenced The Legend of Zelda...