"I love you guys."
The gang perked up when I said this. Then they all blushed. We were sitting at two combined tables in the ice
cream shop, all separately licking our ice cream cones or eating out of bowls.
cream shop, all separately licking our ice cream cones or eating out of bowls.
"We love you too, Rika," Akane replied, licking her orange sorbet. The others nodded, still trying to recover.
I smiled. "So anything going on?"
"We're in different classes," Mina explained with a pout. "Everyone else is split in two classes and I'm just all alone. It sucks!"
"Yup!" Kenta chimed in. "Ryota, Akane, and I are in one class."
"Then Tarou, Mikiya, and I are in another," Rikuto added.
"And I'm all alone!" Mina said.
"Well you can make new friends." I smiled. She made a face, and we all laughed.
"Then what are you all going to study?" I asked, glancing around the ring of friends.
"I'm thinking business or maybe engineering or maybe law," Akane replied. "But my dad says I should go back to the US for college. But I don't want to."
"I'm taking over my family's ramen place once I graduate," Rikuto said, leaning back in his chair.
"I'm going into computer science," Mikiya said. That certainly wasn't a surprise.
"Surgeon!" Mina declared happily.
"Seriously Mina?" I asked, eyes widening. "That's awesome!" She grinned sheepishly and shook her head.
"Me?" Kenta pointed at himself. When I nodded, he then continued with, "I dunno yet. Maybe like..." He shrugged. "I don't know. I might not go to a university. Not smart enough." He chuckled.
"I don't know yet either," Tarou said with a smile.
Akane leaned forward towards me. "Don't you think Tarou would make a great high school teacher?" She waved at him vaguely. "Just look at him!"
I did. It was just Tarou. His dark blond hair wasn't spiked that high anymore. He smiled at me rather nervously as if I was examining him. I smiled back. "You would make a good teacher. You explain things well and in a concise way. And you like working with younger people."
"Are you kidding me?" Tarou replied. "I'm terrified of children!"
I giggled. "Why else did Akane recommend high school teacher?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. I'm not against the idea, but I just don't know if it's something that I'll really enjoy."
"We all think he should be a high school teacher," Akane explained to me.
"Ah but don't feel pressured!" Mina said. "If, um, you don't want to, then it's fine. We're just trying to help with suggestions."
Tarou chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah, I know Mina. I'm thinking about it."
"Uh," Yuuta glanced around wildly. "I, uh, don't know yet."
I smiled. "It's fine. You have plenty of time. Your turn, Ryota."
He shrugged, frowning in thought. "Engineering, maybe. But I suck at math." He sighed. "So maybe not. What about you, Rika?"
"Taking over the family business," I said. "So I guess I'll have to study business and other stuff. If..." I trailed off. If Mitsukuni and I were really over, then I might just go study abroad. "If you guys come to Tokyo, that'd be awesome."
"Yeah," they said quietly.
We chatted some more. I told them that we'd ran into Mina's little sister before and it had been quite an interesting experience. Mari had changed a lot. My image of her had been her child model days, with round cheeks and a bright grin. She'd been a snobby kid though and difficult to interact with.
Once we'd polished off all our ice cream, we stood and began walking back towards the clubroom.
"Oh!" Akane smacked a fist into her open palm when Ryota had opened the clubroom door. "You came at a perfect time, Rika!"
"What?" I said. She rushed to the table and grabbed the cardboard box sitting on it. She seemed to rummage through it for a moment.
"Wait, right now?" Ryota said quietly, heading to her side. The others shoved past me to surround the box.
"What's going on?" I asked, curiosity growing each second. Akane hoisted the box up into her arms and everyone turned to me.
"One," Akane said.
"One," Akane said.
"Two," Mina said.
"Three," Mikiya said with an anxiously looking grin. "Happy birthday!" they all yelled in unison.
I jumped in surprise. "What?" I grinned.
"Here." Akane handed me the box. Inside, I could see neatly wrapped gifts and cards. "From all of us. We were planning on shipping it later to Honey's house and having him give it to you, but since you're here, you can just take it."
"Oh wow." I gaped at the gifts then up at my friends who were all beaming. "Thank you guys so much!" "Open the gifts!" Mina said excitedly.
"Sure." I set the box back down. "But my birthday isn't until Thursday."
"Well, it's close enough," Ryota replied.
"And how am I supposed to haul this stuff back?" I asked. Everyone stared at the box.
"It'd be too big, right?" I continued. "And I'm definitely going to be questioned on the contents of this box, so..."
I pulled out a bag of chocolates. "Chocolate! Sweet! Let's eat this right now then." I opened the bag and pulled a truffle out, before handing it to the nearest person: Rikuto. He shook his head.
"Do you have any idea how much chocolate we've already eaten?" he asked. "The whole Akane-being-popular thing?" I replied with a smirk.
"Just look over there." Kenta pointed and my gaze followed to the corner at the left, opposite the window where there was a cardboard box filled with packages... of chocolate.
"Wow." My mouth dropped open more in awe than surprise. "That is incredible, Akane. Incredible, I tell you." "You should take some," she said. "Even I don't want this much chocolate."
I popped another truffle into my mouth. "Why don't you give it away to kids?"
"And be caught as pedos?" Ryota mumbled. Kenta giggled.
Akane rolled her eyes. "Believe me, we've tried."
"Wait," Rikuto cut in. "You can at least smuggle some gifts back right?" He nodded at my school bag.
"Yeah," I said. "Depends on the size."
"Rock-paper-scissors, it is," Tarou said, sounding resigned.
"What, no!" Kenta replied. "We are not deciding based on rock-paper-scissors!"
"That's just cause you suck at it," Ryota said. "Come on." Everyone put their hands in the circle.
"Do I join in?" I asked excitedly. They glanced at me and then nodded and shrugged. "Yay!"
"What about me?" Yuuta said.
"It's okay," Ryota replied. "I'll represent both of us."
"Rock. Paper. Scissors!"
There were too many of us for any kind of outcome. We kept trying at least three more times, but each time, there was always a rock, a paper, and a scissor.
"Tournament version time," Mina said with a sigh.
"What are we even deciding with this?" I asked. They all turned to me, looking mildly surprised that I didn't know.
"Obviously it's whose gift you'll be taking back," Akane replied when no one said a word. "Ohh." I nodded in understanding.
"That's why I said it should be which one she likes best!" Kenta said.
"It's just cause you suck at rock-paper-scissors," Ryota replied.
"Yeah, just admit it already," Tarou teased with a grin. Rikuto giggled some more. "You guys already discussed this?" I asked. They all nodded.
"We worried that we might be sending too much," Mikiya explained. "So we decided that if it comes to whose gift will be sent, we'd find out through rock-paper-scissors."
"Ah. I see."
"Why don't we let Rika decide?" Mikiya asked the group. Everyone agreed quite easily.
"I don't think I can take that much," I said. "Plus if I did bring it back, where would I put it without it being found out?"
"Are you implying that you won't take any gifts back?" Rikuto asked.
I nodded. "Probably not. Thank you all though." I smiled. "I'll just keep them here and someday pick it up."
"Sure." They agreed again.
"I should probably go, actually." I glanced at my watch. "I was technically supposed to be at club but I just ran away. Thank you all." I bowed, deeply.
"Hey!" Shouts ran out.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"Hurry and get up!"
"Dummy." That was Ryota.
I grinned at them. "Really. I feel much better."
"You're not even going to open the gifts?" Tarou asked as I gathered up my school bag.
I shook my head. "No. Cause if I do, I'll see how awesome they are, and I'll want to take them with me. Can I change now?"
"Oh yeah." Akane began shoving the boys out. "Shoo boys."
They walked me to the train station. It was nice, walking with them once again. Our walking order hadn't changed much either. Akane walking to my left, and Ryota at my right. Mina and Mikiya just slightly behind us, chatting together with their hands linked. Yuuta trailed in beside them, always quiet and observing. The 3 Musketeers who'd been good friends even before joining the gang were in the back, goofing off.
"This is all so nostalgic," I said.
"Yeah." Akane smiled. "I miss it. The old days."
"Me too," Ryota said.
"For different reasons," she said.
"No they're not," he replied, shooting her a glare.
"Hehe." I smiled. As we reached the train station I prepared myself for the good-bye. "Thanks for everything today, everyone."
They all murmured their parts. How it had been fun, how I should visit more, how I could just barge in whenever I wanted to. Damn. Now I want to cry again, but because I can't see them as much as I'd like to. So I just smiled. "Bye."
"Bye!" they called, waving enthusiastically.
It was a nice sight to see. Those bright, grinning faces wishing me the best.
I ended up just walking back home. The neighborhood wasn't that far from the train station, and it felt better to be moving, to be doing something. Then I went home and pretended like nothing had happened. My eyes weren't red and puffy anymore. At least, not enough to be noticeable.
I did my homework, ate dinner. All was normal. Then I went to sleep and prepared myself for the next day.
But I didn't prepare myself enough.
First of all, Mitsukuni didn't coming ringing the doorbell to say that he was ready to go. I'd been carpooling with Takashi and him for a while now, so I had to get in my own car and be driven there. Azumi didn't ask why, but she did give me a weird look that meant that she was expecting an explanation or answer soon.
When I arrived at our classroom, Mitsukuni was already there, seated at his desk with his usual Host grin. Flowers floating everywhere. Usa-chan in his arms. It was like nothing had really changed.
I wondered if I could say good morning to him. I wondered if he would reply. But I didn't say anything. I just sat down at my desk and pulled out my homework and stared at it and tried to ignore his presence.
Maybe I should try talking to him. But when I turned around to say something, the bell rang and class began.
Later. I should ask him one last time for an excuse. One last chance. Besides, are we just not even going to be friends anymore? I'd rather we at least be friends. No, maybe not. Maybe being friends would be bad. I'd never get over him. Oh God. It really is happening. We're over.
The moment the bell rang, I leaned towards him. "Hey, Mitsu-"
He leapt out of his chair and out of the room before I'd finished. Not a single word. Not a single glance. Takashi nodded at me as he followed his cousin out. What did Takashi think about all of this? Did he know what was going on?
"Takashi, wait!" I followed him out. The three of us were all going to the same class anyway. He slowed so that I could catch up. Mitsukuni was now just walking down the hall, with that same grin.
"Do you know what's going on with Mitsukuni?" I asked.
He shook his head with a sigh. "He won't tell me." Then he tripped, tumbling gracefully down to the ground.
"Ta-Takashi? Are you okay?" I ran to his side. He nodded as he got back up. "Are you sure?" He nodded, but as he continued to walk, I saw him sway almost dangerously. Uh-oh. He didn't trip again though, as I scanned the crowd for Mitsukuni, quickly spotting his blond head rushing away from us. I wasn't sure whether to be mad or be sad. Being mad was always easier, so that's what I chose.
I sprinted down the hallway after Mitsukuni. Thanks to all the noise the students made, he didn't seem to notice I was nearby. Then he glanced back at me and tensed, before picking up his walking speed.
"Wait! I said, wait!"
When he didn't slow, I sped up, chasing after him. He began to run too. "Get back here, you jerk! How dare you! How dare you ignore Takashi like that! He's your cousin! He cares about you! And you just ignore the fact that he tripped? What if he hit his head and has a concussion? What if he scraped his knee? Are you just a heartless jerk now?"
Mitsukuni came to an abrupt stop and I nearly crashed into him. "Don't talk to me," he said quietly. Then he continued on.
"Jerk!" I screamed after him. "You idiot! I hate you!"
He seemed to twitch as if my words had actually made some kind of impact on him. I doubted it. What the hell was wrong with him? Did he have double personalities or something? Maybe he's gone crazy...
I ended up following after him into the classroom. I stared at him but he completely ignored me, watching the door as students streamed in.
"I'm trying to give you a chance here," I mumbled quietly. Too quietly for him to hear. "You could have just given me some lame excuse. Why is it Hayakawa anyway? Besides, you said that... If the kidnappers are threatening you, you could just tell me. I'm not scared of them. Besides, I'm safer with you beside me then without. You're an idiot, you know. A real idiot."
Mitsukuni's face seemed to darken and he glowered at the whiteboard.
"Oh, did you hear what I said?" I asked, this time loud enough for him to definitely hear. "Real mature, Mitsukuni. Just ignore me. This isn't how you solve problems in the real world. You can't just ignore a problem and it'll go away. I'm not going to go away, you know. I don't just go poof and disappear."
He slunk lower into his seat, eyebrows creasing further and further. "Yeah. I know you can hear me. You-"
Ring!
Wow. Saved by the bell. He sat up again. Jerk.
By the end of the day, I felt completely beat. He wouldn't say a word to me. After that annoyed, "Don't talk to me," he'd been silent all day. He just frowned and glared at whatever was nearby.
I want to pull my hair out! Why is it this hard? I just want a good conversation with him about this! I want to know if he's going to go out with Hayakawa now! I want to know when he started liking her. And he's not the cheating type, so why didn't he break up with me before he started kissing her? Or was my whole opinion of him completely wrong?
Since he wouldn't give me answers, I just had to talk to someone else who could. I cornered Hayakawa at the end of the day in an empty hallway.
"I need to talk to you privately," I said.
"What is it?" she asked, looking rather nervous.
"Aya! Is she bullying you?" Ashika said when she caught her friend's expression. She glanced between the two of us. "You better not be bullying her!"
"She's not," Hayakawa reassured. "Now's, uh, not a good time."
"I don't care," I said, taking a step closer to them. "I want answers and Mitsukuni's not giving them to me. So you're going to answer my questions."
"You are bullying her!" Ashika said fiercely.
"No I'm not," I snapped.
"She's not, Suzume." Hayakawa backed me up.
"She's not, Suzume." Hayakawa backed me up.
"Why don't you go and like hang out with your boyfriend?" Ashika asked. "Cause I want to go to the Host Club, and Aya needs to go with me."
I let out a bitter laugh. "Right. I would be hanging out with my boyfriend right now..." I gave Hayakawa a sharp stare. "So just do me a favor and answer some questions."
"I can't." Hayakawa replied. She shook her head and shrugged and just said, "I can't. I'm sorry, Hayashi-san, but I just can't answer your questions."
"Aya-chan?" Mitsukuni appeared around the corner. "Ah-" He froze for a nanosecond when he saw me before moving towards us with his usual grin. "What are you guys doing?"
"I want some answers," I replied.
"Get them from him," Ashika said. "Bye now!" Then she grabbed Hayakawa's arm and they ran away.
"Hey!" I reached out to grab them but damn they were fast. When was Ashika fast? Or are they just that desperate to get away?
Mitsukuni turned to leave too.
"Not you too!" I grabbed his arm and jerked him towards me. "I want answers! Just answer my God damn questions and I'll leave you and your stupid, petty, fake love life alone!"
He swallowed visibly, suddenly looking more concerned than that annoyed look he'd been giving me before. "I don't want to," he replied, staring at his feet.
"Do it," I said. "As obligation. One final act. I don't care. Just please." My gaze softened. "Didn't we mean anything at all? No, uh, wait. That's not my question. When did you start liking Hayakawa-san? And are you going to go out with her? And, why do you like her? What made you change your opinions all the sudden and-"
He brushed past me without a word. "Just leave me alone. Please." Ignored. That was all I was going to get.
"That's it?" I called after him. "Why do you keep ignoring me? Damn it Mitsukuni! Some answers can help me here! I can- I could move on, you know! Are you just trying to make me suffer?"
He'd already turned and disappeared around the corner. "I hate you! I hate you! I really fucking hate you!" "Ri-Rika-senpai?"
I was trembling in anger and frustration and misery and confusion. When I saw Chiyo and her shocked look, I just shook my head.
"Are you okay?" she asked, approaching me carefully.
"Yes," I replied automatically. Then I paused and said, "No. I'm not okay. Nothing is okay. I hate him. I hate him. I hate this school. I hate those damn kidnappers. I hate my life. I-"
I started to shake again, choked up on a jumble of emotions. He could at least answer my questions. He could at least look at me. Not once, throughout this entire day, had he looked at me. Not even once. Not even a disparaging glance. Nothing.
Chiyo wrapped her arms around me and pulled me close to her. "I'm sorry, Rika-senpai. I don't know what happened, but I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
I shook my head, swallowing forcefully. "No-No. Don't be."
She rubbed my arm in a soothing manner. "Sorry. Sorry."
She reminded me of Akane. Her blond hair and her warm aura. So I stayed in her arms, trying to regather myself. I'd had enough. From now on, I'll ignore Mitsukuni too. I won't look at him either. Once I graduate, I'm getting out of this place.
"I'm fine now, Chiyo-san," I said quietly.
"Chiyo."
"What?"
"Just call me Chiyo," she replied softly.
"Okay. I'm fine now, Chiyo. Thank you." We pulled apart, and I was forced to stare into her bright blue eyes. Damn. She was, appearance-wise, a bit like Akane.
"So that jerk broke his promise," she said, crossing her arms. "He promised he wouldn't make you cry, but you obviously have been." She nodded at me.
I shrugged. "It doesn't matter anymore." I turned to leave. "Thanks, Chiyo. I'm leaving now."
"Wait!" She followed me down the hallway. "Don't you want anyone to stay with you? If you want, I'll go and slap that idiot for you. Even better, I'll beat him up!" She held up her fist.
I shook my head. "No. Thanks."
Chiyo's face fell, and I realized she was trying to cheer me up. So I forced a smile. "Really, thank you Chiyo."
She smiled. "I'll always be here for you, Rika."
"Mm." I nodded. "I'm going to go home then."
"So soon?" she asked as we reached the first floor.
"Yeah. Bye." I waved at her and she gave me a small smile. Then I began to trudge my way out the school.
I should have expected this. I did expect this. I'd expected that things would be different, that Mitsukuni wouldn't treat me the same way. I'd seen this coming, hadn't I? So why did it hurt so much?