3rd flashback one-shot. The title is the name of the ending song for the anime Sukitte Ii Na Yo. I like that song a lot , and I think it fits this story in some parts.
Please Enjoy!
They had decided to skip school that day. It was a Friday anyway, and nobody would have noticed. They were technically non-existent anyway, so getting away with bunking was easy.
He had to wear his school uniform though, so his grandparents wouldn't suspect anything, but that didn't really matter.
They met up by the river at the time that first lesson would have started. Mei was there already, splashing at the water .She didn't notice him approach, and for a few seconds, he watched her playing. Then he spoke.
"Hi."
She stood up and turned to look at him.
"Hello." She went up the stairs until she was standing in front of him.
"I'm guessing you don't plan on going back to school later on today." He commented, looking at what she was wearing.
"Is there a reason to?" She asked. Kouichi shrugged.
"Shall we walk around then?" blinking at the sudden change of the subject, Kouichi could only say "Where to?"
Now it was Mei's turn to shrug.
"Anywhere."
…
Roundabout lunchtime, after a lot of walking around shops and other places in the town, they ended up at a small café. Since the weather was reasonable, they sat outside. Kouichi ordered sandwiches, and Mei offered to pay for milkshakes.
When the food and drink got there, they ate and drank without saying anything, Mei seemingly satisfied in the silence, Kouichi trying to find something to say and not being able to get rid of the thought that this was almost like a date. Mei did look really pretty in that dress.
"Do you know how to dance? "As soon as the words fell out of his mouth, he mentally slapped himself for thinking about that daydream he'd had and blushed.
Mei appeared not to notice though. Instead, she swallowed her mouthful and replied.
"No."
"Well, I guess it'd be pretty interesting to learn to. I dunno."
Mei looked up and gave him a sideways look. He wasn't sure what the look was trying to say.
"Misaki wanted to learn a musical instrument." He remembered that Misaki was Mei's cousin.
"What about you, then?" He asked.
Again, the sideways look. "Don't know. Maybe I'd like to move to another country. Learn their culture and language. "
"Yeah, that would be pretty interesting. You'd get some interesting art galleries in other countries. Perhaps I will come with you."
Mei smiled a small smile. "Perhaps, when you get there, you'll learn how to dance. And then you can teach menthe we can both dance." The smile remained, but shifted into a teasing one. Kouichi laughed a little.
They finished up their food with a little more light chatter, paid for it all, then left.
They ended up walking around again, not doing much beyond talking, and even laughing a little bit.
At one point, Briefly, Mei wondered aloud what their class was doing , and Kouichi was surprised to hear that. He had thought that apart from not wanting them to fall victim of the curse , she was indifferent to them. It seemed that he was wrong. He told her that he honestly didn't know.
In the silence after that, a pitter-patter sound that he had heard faintly earlier was now a lot louder.
Kouichi looked up, noticed that it was raining buckets. Or rather, noticed that he was now soaked. So was Mei, and her pretty blue knee length , for some reason, she looked prettier soaked, like some kind of water spirit.
Then he sneezed.
"Ah crap," He said, scratching his head and looking sheepish "This can't be good for my lungs. I'd better get home then, Misaki. See Y-"
"My house is nearer. You can dry up and wait out the rain there, if you like."
Kouichi started to protest, and then sneezed 3 times. "Thanks. "
…
"The shirt is my dad's, but his trousers will be too big for you, so I've given you a pair of my shorts." Mei said through the bathroom door.
Me, wearing girl clothes? Weird .Kouichi wondered. But out loud he said "Okay, thanks! I won't be too long!" He finished washing quickly, and then opened the bathroom door a crack to get the clothes, then closed the door and quickly got changed.
When he had asked if her parents would be annoyed at her for doing this, she had said that her mum was out all day and her dad was on a business trip, so it didn't matter.
He stepped out of the bathroom, wrapping the too-large fleece around himself and called out.
"The bathroom is free! " Mei didn't reply. Knowing her, he assumed that she had heard, and went to the living room. On the coffee table, there was a cup covered with a small plate. He lifted the plate, noticed it was steamed over. The cup contained hot chocolate. He smiled, picked the cup up, and sat on the sofa to drink it.
Mei arrived about 15 minutes later, wearing dark blue long sleeved pyjamas. She sat on the opposite sofa, and pulling a small hairbrush from her pyjama pocket, she started to comb her messy hair. Kouichi simply sat, drank and watched her. There was something sweet about he way she sat there , oblivious to the world.
He finished his drink, and put the cup down. Then, he noticed that Mei's combing became slower, as if she was tired. He wondered if he should do anything, when she dropped it.
Blinking, as if just awakening, she looked up, then down at the floor, slightly dazed. Kouichi got up and went over to pick up the brush.
"Shall I?" He asked, holding the brush. Mei looked tiredly at him, and then nodded.
Kouichi smiled.
"Okay then, just move up a bit for me then? " Mei did so, and then Kouichi settled himself, then started to comb her hair. He soon got into it, humming as he did so. When Mei joined in the humming, he smiled to himself.
"There, done!" he declared after a while. He stood up, planning to go see if his clothes were dry, and handed the brush to Mei.
"Thank You, Kouichi-san. " Then "Why not stay a bit longer, for dinner maybe?"
"Thanks, but my grandmother will be looking for me soon." Kouichi went to where his clothes were, discovered that they were dry, and changed back. He left the borrowed clothes in a neat pile near to where his had been hanging. When he came back into the living room, it occurred to him that Mei had called him Kouichi-San rather than Sakakibara-Kun. He couldn't help but smile at that.
"I can walk myself home." He told her, and went to the door.
"Don't forget your bag. Or an umbrella." Mei said. Kouichi nodded, picked up his school bag, and one of Mei's old umbrellas, and went to the door.
"Oh and…" Mei trailed off. Kouichi turned.
"Yes?"
"One day, you can teach me how to dance."
Kouichi had a sudden vision of the future, involving him, Mei and endless possibilities. He nodded at her.
"I'll do that, Mei-san. See you on Monday."
He was grinning all the way home.