Chiyo yawned as the early morning rays of light seeped through her window. She knew she had to get up soon for school, but it was still a bit too early. She smiled to herself and curled up, closing her eyes but not intending on falling asleep.
Instead, she took this time to plan out her day.
Everything from where her clothes were to what they might learn in their classes today flicked through her mind at a steady rate. She smiled a bit more as she thought of her friends, always excited to meet them later in the morning (even Tomo). She briefly wondered if any of them were up yet. Surely Tomo and Osaka were still asleep. Yomi was probably going to wake up soon. She had no idea what time Sakaki woke up.
Kagura was certainly awake. The younger girl knew of the older girl's morning runs, which she was probably in the middle of right now. Chiyo felt a spark of admiration just thinking of the schedule Kagura kept. A run in the morning and evening (weather permitting,) plus swim practice and their regular P.E. class. Most people got tired just thinking of doing such things.
Kagura is so serious about sports. I'm sure she'll make an excellent career in it one day.
She was grateful for the schedule, too, since that time Kagura had walked her to the store one night. She had been so lucky the older girl had been there; it was terrifying walking there alone. And it was then that she saw a softer kind of Kagura, one she was sure would show up more if people didn't give her such a hard time sometimes.
Since Kagura seemed to be her mind's choice of topic for the morning, Chiyo thought further about the girl. Kagura had an easy attitude, but it was unlike Tomo's. Tomo was reckless and sassy, while Kagura was more easy-going, caring even. Though Sakaki was nice, too, and often stood up for the shortest of the group, Chiyo couldn't deny that she looked up more to Kagura than anybody. To be so cheerful, and yet determined, and to be popular but still level-headed. Chiyo herself wished she were like that, but she knew her personality differed.
Finally she could deny the time no more. It was still early, but a little extra time was never a curse. With a final yawn and a big stretch, the young genius got out of bed to begin the day.
"Good morning, Chiyo-chan."
"Good morning, Yomi! How has your day been?"
"Ah, you know, same old, same old."
The shorter girl nodded, "I see. I'm so glad we had all of our tests yesterday, hopefully today will only be taking notes!"
"I agree," The older girl said, "And hopefully we did well on the English test."
"Don't we always?" Chiyo couldn't help the small, impish smirk on her face.
Yomi laughed, "True, Chiyo-chan."
Chiyo was about to add on to the statement, but Osaka and Tomo walked up just then. They all four said hellos as they walked into the classroom. Sakaki was already seated in the back, and Kagura had yet to show up. Sakaki seemed preoccupied with something outside, so the group stopped by Chiyo's desk
"Man, Kagura and I raced around the school yesterday and I'm still tired." Tomo groaned.
Yomi smirked, "Well, you might be sore, but that's just because she beat you. Twice."
"Twice?" Osaka asked, tilting her head.
"The first race and the rematch."
"But I'll beat her next time!" Tomo growled, punching one hand into her palm, "The odds are in my favor, now!" She smirked triumphantly.
"Sure, whatever." Yomi rolled her eyes.
"Naw, guys, she's got a point. Whah, she's lost to Kagura so many times now, it's gotta be impossible to do it again!" Chiyo and Yomi laughed.
"WHAT?!" Tomo screeched, "That's not-"
She was cut off as Sakaki ran past them, practically bowling them over.
The four watched her run, looking to each other.
"We should probably go see what's wrong." Yomi said hesitantly.
"Yo!" Kagura grinned as she passed through the doorway, waving at her friends, "You guys won't believe who Sakaki just saved from Kimura."
"Let me guess," Yomi smiled, "Kaorin?"
"Naw, how romantic!" Tomo teased. Kagura and Yomi laughed, but the other two looked confused.
Brushing off the comment, Chiyo asked, "How has your morning been, Kagura?"
"Meh, it's been alright. I couldn't sleep well last night, so I was up early this morning."
"Ah know how ya mean," Osaka drawled, "Ah hate those kinda nights. Ya just wake up, an' nothin's goin' on, but ya still feel weird. An' ya wonder whah ya woke up in the first place an' it gets ya thinkin'; maybe someone was in your room... Maybe something was in your room."
Chiyo trembled, "W-what do you mean?" The others wore shocked looks on their faces, unsure of where the Osakan girl was taking the conversation.
"Well, like, ghosts 'n stuff. Maybe a ghost sat right on your bed an' woke you up, but you can't see it, at least..." Her eyes darkened, "Not until it's too late."
Chiyo's eyes widened, "T-too late?" The others sweatdropped.
"Hey, come on." Kagura sighed, "Leave the kid alone."
"What's the matter, Kagura?" Tomo teased, "You getting freaked out?"
The sporty teen rolled her eyes, "There are a lot of things scarier than that, a lot of real things. But you're freaking Chiyo-chan out."
The group turned to the smallest member, who was looking up with wide eyes.
"I-I'm fine now, but what if... What if I have a nightmare tonight, and I wake up and I'm all alone and-"
"Relax, Chiyo-chan." Yomi smiled, placing a hand on her shoulder, "You'll be fine. I'm sure you'll forget about it by tonight, anyways."
"Yeah, no big deal!" Kagura waved a hand, as if to shoo away some ghost, "If you don't think about it, there's no need to worry!"
Chiyo nodded solemnly, taking the advice. "Right. Don't think about it."
There was a moment of silence where the girls shuffled around for a moment. Tomo was about to say something when Osaka spoke up again.
"Ya know how, when you're tryin' ta forget something, but it just makes ya think of it more-"
"SHUT UP OSAKA."
The rest of the day went by without incident. Well, no more than normal, anyways. Yukari was her normal moody self, Sakaki was silent as ever, and by the end of the day Tomo had fallen asleep seven times-a new record.
"But man, did I get some good rest!" She bragged.
"That's not exactly a good thing, you know." Yomi rolled her eyes, "You might want to actually try learning during school some time."
Chiyo smiled, "Did you have a rough night too, Tomo?"
"Kinda. I stayed up late watching that new crime drama on television. I kept telling myself 'only one more episode,' but you know how that goes."
She really doesn't have any self control, does she? Chiyo smiled nervously.
"So is the show any good?" Kagura elbowed her friend, leaning in closer as they walked side-by-side.
Tomo stuttered for a moment, "W-well, yeah. Obviously. Why else would I have stayed up watching it?"
"What's it about?" Yomi questioned.
So as they walked, Tomo filled them in on the plot of this new show. Chiyo mentally checked out of the conversation around the time Tomo mentioned the main character interviewing a prostitute. She watched from behind as Tomo dramatically reenacted some of the scenes, much to Kagura and Osaka's amusement. Yomi muttered something about them drawing too much attention, but Chiyo knew she wouldn't have it any other way. Turning around, Chiyo noticed Sakaki had left the group again. She was so mysterious, the way she disappeared like that.
"See you guys later!" They called as Osaka and Tomo turned down one street, the other three going down another. Soon it was Yomi's turn to leave, and the remaining two watched her enter her house.
"Well, we're almost home. Can't wait to finally relax for a bit."
"Actually, I need to go to the store. It's my night to cook, since Mom and Dad will be out until late."
"Hey, want me to walk with you? Just let me change into my running gear real quick!"
"Oh, I would love that!" Chiyo nodded, "Meet me at my house when you're ready, then!"
And with that, Kagura sprinted off. Chiyo smiled, relieved she didn't have to go shopping alone. Even in the day time she was always a bit uneasy going out by herself, and having a friend tag along would be great.
As she opened her gate, she was welcomed home by Mr. Tadakichi. She grinned as she stroked his soft fur. She jogged the rest of the way into the house and set her stuff down, making sure everything was in its place before heading to the kitchen to make her shopping list. She felt a pang of loneliness hit her as her footsteps echoed in the empty house. It was times like this she wished she had a sibling, or at least that one of her parents didn't work full time. But, that's just how things had turned out. She remembered Sakaki saying she had a younger sibling, but she couldn't remember if it was a boy of a girl.
Whichever they were, they sure were lucky. Being an only child, and a child prodigy, was a lonely life.
She sighed quietly. Mr. Tadakichi liked her hand gently, and she smiled down at him.
"Well, at least I have you, right?" She kneeled down, smiling, "Just... Just don't leave me, okay?"
He barked once in affirmation, wagging his tail. With a final nod Chiyo grabbed her list and began walking towards the door. Already she saw Kagura running up the driveway, and she bid farewell to her dog as she closed the door behind her.
The walk to the store wasn't a particularly long one, and the walk there was spent in a comfortable silence. Kagura walked almost on the edge of the sidewalk, making sure Chiyo had enough room on the smaller roads. Every now and then someone would walk by, and it seemed each stranger was more suspicious than the last. Finally, after being confronted one too many times (read: after a man had nearly scared Chiyo off the curb) Kagura walked practically right in front of the genius, protectively scanning the area every few minutes.
"Thank you for coming with me, Kagura." Chiyo smiled up at her. Kagura looked over her shoulder and grinned.
"No problem, Chiyo-chan! It's always fun hanging out with you."
She nodded, and the two finally reached the store.
After walking in, Kagura heard a very familiar voice outside.
"Hey, Chiyo-chan, you go on ahead. I saw someone I know outside."
"Okay! See you in a bit, then."
Kagura nodded and walked back out, leaving Chiyo to wonder who she had seen. Maybe it was a classmate, or someone on the swim team?
Kagura sure is popular. She thought to herself, I'm sure she has many friends! Maybe she even saw a teacher. I wonder if she gets along well with adults, too?
Meanwhile, however, Kagura had left the store and looked around. Sure enough, she saw someone familiar-actually two someones-outside on a bench. She smiled slightly as she came up behind them, about to say something, when one of them giggled.
"Come on, that's so not true!" The person said with uncharacteristic giddiness.
"It is, it is!" The other said proudly, "I heard it myself! She said he had a wimpy voice in real life. And a tattoo on his-"
"Wait!" The first person giggled, "I don't want to know."
The pair laughed, leaning on each other's shoulders. Kagura suddenly realized it was a very personal scene, and began to backtrack back to the store. She couldn't help but look back, though, just in time to see the two figures lean in close and...
"GO COACH!" She whooped, before quickly turning and sprinting back to the store. She heard Yukari's angry voice behind her, but didn't dare look back.
"So I wouldn't be a good spy," Kagura finished her story as her and Chiyo sat outside the store on a bench, "But it was still fun." She had retold the story to Chiyo, leaving out the other people's identities. She was sure Minamo wouldn't be happy with her spreading such a story around.
"Well, it sounds like they were having a good evening, then." Chiyo smiled.
"Yeah. I'm really happy to see them so happy, y'know? I mean... Their faces, they were so... so..." She giggled softly, pure joy in her words, "They were so happy. And... So not alone, like they normally are."
Chiyo felt another pang of loneliness, which didn't seem fair to her because Kagura was right there. She shouldn't feel lonely.
But she's going home soon. Chiyo sighed, Then I really will be on my own, for a few hours.
"Chiyo-chan?" Kagura asked, a hint of worry in her voice, "Are you okay? You seem kinda spacey..."
"...Huh? Ah, no, I'm fine, Onee-chan." She said absently, rubbing her temples and smiling softly.
Chiyo didn't realize exactly what she had said until she saw Kagura's eyes go wide. A blush spread on both girl's faces, and Chiyo began to apologize profusely.
"I-I'm sorry, Kagura-san, I was a bit distracted and I-I-I..." Her eyes misted over in embarrassment, "I'm so sorry!"
"H-hey, don't cry about it." The athletic teen glanced around, glad there weren't many people out, "Really, it's okay! I don't mind, really..."
"I was just thinking really hard, and I didn't think-"
"Chi-chan." Kagura said sternly, watching the younger girl become more flustered at the nickname, "It's okay, really. I'm no Sakaki, but I've always wanted to be a big sister."
Chiyo blinked, pure shock on her face. "You-you wouldn't mind, if I...?"
Kagura was silent for a moment, her face tense. Chiyo gulped, wondering if she had asked the right question.
Finally, Kagura smiled slowly, "Please do."
Chiyo grinned, hugging the older girl as they both laughed away the sudden tension.
"What were you thinking so hard about, anyways?" Kagura laughed, ruffling Chiyo's hair.
"I was just thinking... Thanks to you guys, I'm not lonely anymore."
Kagura sobered up for a moment, her smile smaller and her eyes kind, "Oh, yeah. I know exactly what you mean."
And Chiyo didn't ask what Kagura had been through, because at the time it wasn't important. But, still, she knew Kagura had been there, too, and that's what had mattered. They both were grateful to share the same company, and they agreed that even Tomo was a good friend when she wanted to be. They shared more smiles and laughs before finally leaving well into the night. Chiyo invited Kagura to stay over, since there was no school the next day. She was thankful she did that, too, because her parents left a message that they wouldn't be home that night.
"Geez kid, that's rough." Kagura winced as she heard the message play on the recorder.
"It happens sometimes." Her smile was thin.
"Well," Kagura said, "Let me know the next time it happens. And tell the others, too. I know for a fact that none of us want you to be alone, especially if you feel lonely a lot."
"Th-thank you, Onee-chan. I will." And they sat in silence again as they ate, two kindred spirits, finally in like company. Chiyo didn't know Kagura's full story for almost another year, and Kagura wasn't willing to tell it for even longer. But, when it came down to it, Chiyo knew her big sister cared, and of course, she cared for her as well.