The cool wind is blowing smoothly over the quiet town, peeking through dark windows of the houses of the residential areas where the people are sound asleep in their beds. Inside the second floor of an ordinary two-story house overlooking a large garden at the back, one window shone like a lone firefly, the light coming from the lampshade of a twelve-year-old girl with wavy brown hair pulled into two loose pigtails. She was hunched over a laptop, her serious-looking face illuminated by the blue light of the screen. Slowly, she began to type.
Cutie Mami Diary Entry #1,687
Entitled: The Worst Week of my Life
Saturday... One day before D-day.
And by D-day, I meant the start of the school's cultural fest.
I, Ayase Mami, am under the biggest crisis of my career as an amateur script-writer and director. The days are looking glum, and the chances of our class winning the foundation event are even glummer. This is the worst. It's the pits. I don't think I can ever stand up again.
There are two main perpetrators causing my depression right now and I seriously wanted to clap their heads together cartoon-style and make them eat the script that I made. For easier understanding, let me narrate the terrible events in detail.
It started on Tuesday morning... A morning so peaceful, you wouldn't think that a tornado is coming your way. I, so blissfully clueless, just arrived in class and rushed towards my seat to greet Miyako.
"What's up, girlfriend?" Mami told Miyako enthusiastically after purposely slamming her bag on the back of Shuu's head.
Shuu growled on his seat and held onto his temper. Mami always made it a tradition to irritate him first thing in the morning. If he snaps in anger, he would be playing into her hands. And so he contented himself with throwing her a dark look whilst bending down to silently pull on the shoelace of her neat brown leather wing-tipped shoe. While Mami was conversing enthusiastically with Miyako and the other girls, he tied the shoelace to the foot of his chair. He sat up again with a satisfied simper and awaited the results of his revenge.
After a few minutes, the bell sounded and their adviser arrived. When Mami turned around to go to her seat, she let out a terrified shriek as her foot was pulled back. Every head swerved in her direction. Abashed-faced, Mami looked down and saw her shoelace tied around the foot of Shuu's chair.
Shuu's lips quivered and he couldn't control himself. He let out a snort of laughter.
"You! Childish little..." Mami hissed, her hands hovering over the prankster's head, ready to pull his hair by the roots.
"Hoshimura! Ayase! Do you want to get scolded first thing in the morning?" their adviser yelled with an authoritative tone.
"No, sir..." the two chorused amidst the giggles and laughter from their classmates.
"Go back to your seat, Ayase. Homeroom is starting," the teacher ordered.
"Yessir," Mami said and bent down to untie her shoelace.
"You're gonna get it later," she whispered sharply at Shuu.
"Whatever. You're the one who started it," Shuu replied in a nonchalant tone.
"Stand," the class president said and the class quieted down to give their morning greetings.
"Bow," the class president continued as Miyako glanced to her left with a look of wonder.
"Ohayougozaimasu!" the students chorused. Miyako wasn't able to join in the greeting. As they were told to sit down, she turned to Mami and whispered, "Echizen-kun and Ryouko-chan are not in class yet."
"Huh?" Mami said and looked to her left. Sure enough, the seats were empty.
"Maybe they ran late?" she commented.
"Ryouko-chan? Late? I don't know about Echizen-kun but Ryouko-chan's never been late in class even once," Miyako said.
They heard their adviser start on taking attendance, calling out one student's name after another.
Mami frowned. "But she couldn't be absent. She would've told me since she's the lead in the play and we have rehearsals everyd-"
The door of the classroom slid open and Echizen Ryoma stepped in. "Okurete sumimasendeshita (Sorry I'm late)," he greeted the teacher with an awkward bowing of his head.
"Echizen Ryoma. I was just about to call your name. You made it anyways," the teacher said as he ticked on Ryoma's name on his logbook. "Go to your seat."
Ryoma did as he was told and quietly made his way at the side of the room. He put down his tennis bag and schoolbag on the side of his chair before sitting down.
"Pssst," Mami hissed at his direction. "Echizen-kun... Do you know where Ryouko-chan is? She's not here yet," she whispered.
Ryoma took his notebook and textbook from his bag and pretended to hear nothing.
"Echizen-kun?" Mami whispered, sharper this time. "Oi..." she called softly.
"Fujioka," the teacher said. He looked up after a second of silence and shifted his eyes to Ryouko's seat.
The class became aware of Ryouko's absence from the room at that moment. She was one of the quiet ones and she barely speaks to anyone in the morning unless she was directly spoken to. They were too busy squabbling with each other about the play and failed to notice that she wasn't there yet.
"Absent?" the teacher said. "She didn't call in sick though," he added, checking his memo pad. The class began to murmur.
"Echizen, have you heard anything from Fujioka?" their adviser asked.
"Why are you asking me, sensei? How should I know where she is?" Ryoma answered.
Upon hearing his reply, the class became quiet and they all looked at Ryoma.
"Well..." the teacher said, scratching his head. "I heard that you're her closest friend in the class so I just figur-"
For the second time, the door of the room slid open. Fujioka Ryouko stepped in and bowed her head at the confused-looking teacher.
"Okurete sumimasendeshita," she said.
"Oh there you are," the adviser said. "How rare it is for you to be late."
"I overslept," she answered.
"Well, go to your seat," the teacher told her.
Ryouko trailed on the same path that Ryoma took to get to his seat and put her things down on the side of the chair. As she sat down, she looked tentatively at Ryoma. The latter did not even bother glancing her way and he concentrated on flipping the pages of his English textbook.
She looked away, looking somewhat disappointed.
"What's with them?" Miyako asked, watching the awkward interaction.
"Dunno," Mami shrugged her shoulders.
It took some time for the two girls to find an answer to that question and it wasn't really an answer that they expected.
~~~
Rewind to Monday Night
When Ryoma got home, Nanjiro was eating dinner in the dining room. Karupin was by his feet, slurping some milk.
"Oh, you're here? Where'd you go?" Nanjiro asked, looking up from his plate of tonkatsu, his mouth half-full.
"Nowhere," Ryoma answered, taking off his coat and throwing it in a nearby laundry basket.
Nanjiro frowned at his reply. "Sit down and have dinner," he told him.
"Iranai (Don't need any)," Ryoma said and went straight to his room.
Nanjiro watched his son go up the stairs and eventually heard the slam of his bedroom door.
"Ahh, that rude brat. He should be grateful he's at the age range of puberty or I would've gnawed him out," Nanjiro mumbled as he continued eating.
Inside his room, Ryoma immediately prepared for bed, brushing his teeth and washing up almost robotically. But as soon as he flicked off the lights and settled onto the soft cushion, he realized that he couldn't sleep. He could still feel his palm stinging from slapping Ryouko's cheek. It lingered there, as if determined to remind him of what happened.
He knew that he shouldn't have done that. But if Ryouko couldn't understand his verbal pleas and arguments, perhaps a physical one is needed. He might be the only person who could stop her ridiculous attempts to cure her astraphobia. No... Not 'might'. He is positive that no one else can do that. He thought that she cared enough for him to give up on overcoming those phobias, especially if the method she needed to do to overcome it is to place herself in the face of danger.
"She promised. How could she break her promise?" he said softly, his fist clenching.
Couldn't she understand that what she was doing is purely self-destruction? What does he need to do for her to realize that? She knew perfectly that he is still traumatized about the past. He made that clear to her during the times she got hurt at the camp. She's just too stubborn. And selfish. Couldn't she think of how he would feel if something happens to her?
"Stupid girl..." he mumbled and placed his forearm over his eyes which were threatening to well up.
"Aren't you also selfish? You don't want her to get hurt not just for herself but for yourself as well," an inner voice whispered from his subconscious. "You know very well that you'll be scarred if something happens to her. Whose trauma matters more, hers or yours?"
Ryoma bit his lower lip at those thoughts. It came across his mind thousands of times before. Even after Ryouko was gone from his life, he still questioned himself whether he wanted to protect her because of her, or because of himself. Was he trying to keep her from danger so he wouldn't feel tormented with guilt? His guts stirred unpleasantly. He didn't like it.
"Why is everything so complicated?" he asked himself, closing his eyes and letting a solitary tear fall down on his pillow.
~~~
Before she went to bed, Ryouko spent two hours talking Licht into agreeing on her discharge from the hospital tomorrow. She wanted to go to school and see Ryoma. She thinks that a night's time is enough for him to cool his head, and she couldn't possibly let more time pass while they are not in good terms. She wanted to make up with him as soon as possible.
The thought of Ryoma being mad at her sent painful stabs into her chest. The thought of him feeling hurt over what she did is even worse. She felt miserable and it showed in her face.
Licht noticed it and decided to go easy on her. He proposed a final check-up during early morning and if the doctor says that she could go to school, he would give her permission to do out of the hospital. Ryouko agreed with this proposal and both of them settled down for the night.
The VIP hospital room came with a small tea area and a spare bed for the guardian to use. Licht had gone to sleep already but Ryouko found herself wide awake even after another hour had passed. Her thoughts and worries kept her awake and no one could possibly sleep with a troubled mind.
As much as she wanted to explain to Ryoma about why she is being reckless, she just couldn't. It would sound as if she was making excuses. And if she tells him that half the reason why she wanted the phobia gone is for his sake, it would torment him more. There's no need to pile more guilt onto him. He feels bad enough.
"But what if you really are just making Ryoma an excuse?" A thought suddenly infiltrated into her mind. "What if you're just being stubborn and what you really want is to get rid of your weakness? How well do you know yourself?"
"No..." Ryouko said softly. "It's not like that. It's for me, but for Ryoma and Ichi as well... I want to free them from the past. And I want to free myself. No matter which one weighs more, it doesn't matter. What matters is that I should avoid Ryoma getting hurt again because of the phobia," she answered the questions in her head.
But how? How could she make him understand? How could she work on making the phobia disappear if the method hurts Ryoma? If her main point in overcoming the phobia is to erase Ryoma's trauma so that he wouldn't have to feel guilty anymore, then isn't she doing the wrong thing? It just looks like what she's doing brings more pain to him than when he witnesses her suffering from the phobia. Everything is so jumbled up and she couldn't make sense of things anymore.
It was her fault in the first place why Ryoma's gone paranoid. It was because she depended on him most when they were younger. That dependence hurt him. She wasn't aware about that in the past. But now that she is, she doesn't really know what to do.
"Why is everything so complicated?" she asked herself, snuggling onto the sheets and covering her head to hide the moisture on her eyes.
~~~
Tuesday morning, Ryouko had tried approaching Ryoma for the whole first period. In between classes, she turned to the direction of his seat. But as soon as she opens her mouth to speak, he would stand up and leave the classroom.
During classes, she tried to pass notes to him. But he didn't bother taking any of them. Not even once did he look at her. His ignorance was like a punch in Ryouko's face and she pursed her lips in frustration. But still, she remained patient. It was she who did wrong. Ryoma has the right to be mad. He deserves some time to cool down.
Miyako and Mami witnessed everything from their seats. They looked at each other in confusion and wonder. Why on earth is Echizen Ryoma ignoring Fujioka Ryouko? What happened yesterday after they went to Ryoma's house?
After algebra, Ryouko once again tried to catch Ryoma but he retreated for the fourth time.
Horio noticed Ryoma leaving the classroom so often and couldn't help asking. "You're going out again?"
"Comfort room," Ryoma gave a brief answer and made his exit.
Horio followed him with his eyes. "Is he having diarrhea or something?"
When the lunch bell rang, Ryoma was so quick at retreating that somebody might think that he might be a robot that is programmed to do that. He wasted no time to stand up and leave the classroom. Ryouko knitted her eyebrows together and chased after him.
"Oi!" she called and followed him out.
At the sound of her voice, he quickened his pace until he was half-running. Ryouko didn't bother with the 'no running in the corridor' rule and went full blast to get to where he is. Dodging people on the way, she reached out an arm to grab hold of Ryoma's wrist but suddenly, he swerved to the left and entered the boy's toilet.
Ryouko let out a huff of exasperation, staring at the sign on the entrance. "Why on earth is he running away from me?" she asked aloud to no one.
She bit the inside of her cheek and glowered her eyes. "Fine," she told herself. "If he's being stubborn, I'll be stubborn as well," she said and stood right by the entrance of the boy's toilet. She would wait until he comes out.
Twenty-minutes had passed and Ryouko was getting weird stares for standing at the side of the boy's toilet. She didn't mind the staring but her stomach was starting to make weird noises. Lunchtime is almost ending yet there is no sign of Ryoma leaving the comfort rooms.
Ryoma knew in the first three minutes he came in that Ryouko was right outside and after making sure that she hadn't left yet, he confined himself in a stall. "What the heck is she doing?" he said in frustration. He could feel his stomach churning in starvation. Surely Ryouko would give up and have her lunch. But given the situation that she doesn't then so be it. They can both starve. He just can't forgive Ryouko yet. By ignoring her, he wants her to realize just how wrong her actions were.
Still... She should eat something. She just came out from the hospital. What if skipping meals make her ill?
All of a sudden, somebody knocked on the door of the stall, shattering his thoughts. "Anybody here? Please, it's an emergency," Motoki's familiar voice said.
"It's occupied," Ryoma replied.
"Echizen, is that you? Can you hurry up? I need saving here..." Motoki grunted. Ryoma looked at the feet behind the door and they were shuffling uneasily.
"I can't, I'm constipated," Ryoma told him.
"You don't sound constipated!" Motoki pointed out, his voice cracking a bit.
"I am," Ryoma replied. "Go check the other stall."
"There is no other stall, stupid! This is the only one!" Motoki yelled, sounding as if he was holding onto the last thread of his sanity.
"Then go to the upstairs bathroom," Ryoma answered.
"Do you think I have that sort of tim-"
Puuuuuutt...
A farting sound made Ryoma pinch his nose. "Sheesh, what did you eat?" he asked in disgust.
"Ohmagosh, it's coming out..." Motoki said in utmost horror and almost cussed. "Curse you Echizen! You demon!" he yelled before running out of the toilet to go upstairs, both hands covering his behind.
Ryouko's eyes widened at the sight of one of her freshmen tutees dashing out of the toilet and yelling in the corridor for people to let him through. "What's wrong with him?" she asked and blinked.
Her stomach made a growl again. She looked down at it and frowned. "Shhhh..." she scolded her belly.
Ryoma waited for a few minutes before going out of the stall. Very carefully, he peeked outside the entrance. He withdrew his head back almost immediately after his eyes caught Ryouko still manning the comfort room.
He heaved an internal sigh. "She is just too stubborn..." he murmured to himself.
At that moment, someone else familiar walked towards the entrance of the toilet. It was none other than Fuji Syusuke. "Ryouko?" he said questioningly as he saw her familiar figure.
Ryouko turned around and faced him. "Senpai," she replied and bowed her head in greeting. "What are you doing here? This is the lowerclass floor," she asked.
"I need to use the comfort room," Fuji answered.
"There's also one upstairs," Ryouko said, pointing upward.
"Well... No one has the guts to enter it right now..." Fuji answered, mustering an exasperated smile.
Meanwhile, in the comfort room on the floor of the upperclassmen, students could be seen scurrying out of the toilet a second after coming in.
"What was that smell?!" A junior exclaimed, his voice sounding like it belonged to a cartoon character because of his plugged nose.
"I'm so sorry!!" Came the voice of Motoki from the toilet stall.
Back downstairs, Fuji merely smiled at Ryouko. Ryouko awkwardly smiled back. They stood there for a few seconds just smiling at each other.
"Well... what are you waiting for, senpai?" Ryouko finally asked.
"You need to step aside so I can go through," Fuji answered.
"Ohh," Ryouko said and realized that she was blocking his way. She silently scolded herself.
When somebody neared the entrance, Ryoma made haste to hide inside the stall again but he wasn't fast enough to not get recognized by Fuji. Fuji caught a glance of him before he closed the door.
Fuji turned a curious glance at the stall as he did the thing he came for. After washing his hands, he considered knocking on the door and asking Ryoma whether he is the reason why Ryouko is standing outside the men's room.
He was about to rap his knuckles on the door when he changed his mind. No matter what is happening between Ryoma and Ryouko, he has no right to interfere. Tezuka also told them all before going home from the hospital to leave the two freshmen alone and to not speak of the matter with the other members of the club.
However, Fuji is contemplating whether it's right for them to step back. Ryoma and Ryouko are not seeking their help, but they might actually need it. "Besides..." Fuji thought, setting his jaw firmly. "If Ryouko needs help... despite of whether she asked for it or not..."
He placed his hand back to his side and exited the toilet. "Yah, Ryouko," Fuji said, making his voice nice and loud on purpose for the person inside the toilet to hear.
"Fuji-senpai?" Ryoma said in surprise and blinked. "What's he doing in this floor?" he thought.
"Are you waiting for someone?" Ryoma heard Fuji ask Ryouko. He kept his ears perked up and listened closely.
"No, I'm not," Ryouko lied through her teeth.
"Lunchtime's almost ending. Have you had your lunch?" Fuji asked, smiling good-naturedly.
"Yes. I have eaten," Ryouko replied and out came a huge growling sound from her stomach.
Embarrassed, Ryouko self-consciously placed a hand on her belly.
"Thought so..." Fuji told himself and smiled victoriously at his right guess. "My sister packed a bunch of assorted donuts with my lunch and I wasn't able to finish them. If you'd like, maybe you can help me? She'll get upset if I leave any..."
"But I..." Ryouko said and glanced hesitantly at the entrance of the men's room.
Ryoma left the stall and stepped closer to the entrance, waiting for her answer anxiously. Would she go with Fuji-senpai? Or stay and wait for him?
Ryouko's stomach made a weird sound once again. She pressed her palm over it and grimaced. What bad timing. "Why does Fuji-senpai need to show up at this moment?" she thought in frustration.
Fuji crouched down to reach her eye level then leaned closer to the side of her head and whispered, "I know who you're waiting for..."
Ryouko's eyes widened.
"He's not planning on going out of there any moment soon. You should retreat and try later. He's also losing time to eat his lunch because of this. Do you want him to starve?" Fuji whispered.
"That's right," Ryouko thought, only just realizing that Ryoma's stomach must also be growling like hers. He hasn't exactly had any bite to eat yet.
She pursed her lips. If she corners him like this, he might get more upset. It also feels as if she is attacking him. He obviously wants more time alone. She shouldn't be selfish and at least give him some space. With the friendship they have, she shouldn't be too nervous about whether he would forgive her or not. Ryoma would surely forgive her. He just needs time.
"You can go with me and make it sound like you were forced to stop waiting for him. You didn't leave on purpose," Fuji told her, careful to keep his volume low.
After that, Fuji stood up straight and talked in a loud voice again. "Come on Ryouko. A favor for a senpai?"
"Well..." Ryouko said, making her tone sound believable. "If you insist, senpai, I can't really turn down a fellow Seigaku member," she continued.
"Great! We can eat at the grounds. There's still half an hour left before the next bell rings," Fuji said.
Surprised at the startling turn of events, Ryoma peeked from the entrance of the men's room and watched as Fuji shepherded Ryouko away from the toilets and into the corridor.
Fuji placed his right hand on Ryouko's right shoulder and smiled down at her.
"Tcch, what the heck?" Ryoma said. He almost went out of the entrance in annoyance.
All of a sudden, the weirdest thing happened. Fuji Syusuke looked over his shoulder and looked directly at Ryoma. He met his kouhai's eyes squarely and his lips turned up in a victorious simper.
Ryoma felt his fist clench and his stomach churn at the same time. Fuji knew he was inside the stall. He knew Ryouko was waiting for him.
Well, strictly speaking, Ryoma doesn't know for sure nor does he have any evidence to say so, but somehow, he is positive that Fuji Syusuke had grasped the situation fully and took Ryouko away on purpose.
Ryoma gave a huff of disbelief. He was speechless and didn't know what to think.
He was then reminded of that one night when the Seigaku tennis club stayed over at Ryouko's house for two nights. Then there's that one time on the grounds during lunchtime, quite similar to this scenario. Rewinding those scenes vividly, Ryoma became furious all over again.
"How could she go with him?" he said in irritation.
"Why should you care? Aren't you supposed to be ignoring her?" his inner sarcastic self told him.
"Shut up," he answered the voice and contemplated on what his next action will be.
Making up his mind, he went after them.
XD Await the continuation of Cutie Mami's diary entry! What happens during the first four days of preparation for the class play? Will Ryoma and Ryouko be able to make up with each other in time for the big event?
And this big attack from Fuji-senpai! What is he thinking? Is he scheming something? Is he really interested in Ryouko? What do you think? XD
Hiya guys... XD I made it.
But actually... I wasn't done writing this chappy yet. I just figured I should be true to my promise so I chopped the chappy into two and posted this first half. I'll still be writing the second half and post it next week. Thus is the reason why this chapter is a lot shorter than the previous ones.
But actually... If you guys are alright with not so long chappies, I can make once a week update possible! What do you think?
I used 'But actually' and 'What do you think?' twice. LOL God help my vocabulary, my goodness. I'm having vocab block.
See you guys on the next chapter and please comment and vote! XD