Chapter 1 / The Train to Tokyo
The sun was still up when Mayaka arrived at the station. She sighed in relief knowing she'll still have some daylight to search for her new address. She pulled along a large suitcase on one hand, a bag slung over her shoulder, and directions written on a small piece of paper on the other hand.
It wasn't her first time in Tokyo. However, this was the first time she's exploring Tokyo on her own. There's no family to guide her around. She's not in Tokyo to sightsee anyway. Mayaka walked two blocks away from the station. She dived in head first into the crowd; Tokyo was a lot more crowded than her hometown, Kamiyama. "Tokyo is big and confusing," Mayaka said, finally at her destination. She unlocks door of her new flat and enters to see her boxes piled up in the small but spacious living room. The room was quiet so Mayaka assumed Satoshi was still in class. The thought of her being an adult hadn't occurred to her until now. She's moving in with her long-time boyfriend in a flat far away from home and she's here to make her dreams come true. Her parents weren't very adamant about her dropping out of college to pursue her dreams of becoming a mangaka, let alone live with Satoshi while they are unmarried. It took a lot of persistent coaxing to get her parents to agree. It was only until recently that hey gave up on trying to compel Mayaka to continue her studies in literature. Her parents gave her conditions: (a) she is required to visit home on holidays, (b) she is required to have positive results by the end of the year, when she is visiting home, and (c) no funny business with Satoshi (Mayaka rolls her eyes).
Her phone started beeping. A message from Satoshi reads: will pick you up in a bit. Houtarou and Chitanda-san will meet us for dinner.
That text made her feel really giddy. She hasn't seen Chi-chan (and Houtarou) since New Year's. She remembers her clearly; Chitanda was wearing another beautiful yukata, embroidered with pink cherry blossoms on pearl white linen, with her long black hair tied up in a bun. They went around the temple, explored the stalls, payed their respects and wished for a good year. Mayaka, being the only one who stayed in Kamiyama, felt left out of all the details and fun things since all her friends studied in universities in Tokyo. Apparently they get to hang out often, much to Houtarou's dismay; so much for living a grey-coloured life. Also, Satoshi and Houtarou are in the same university while Chitanda, being the smart person that she is, made it into the School of Agriculture in Tokyo University.
Just as she sends her reply, she starts to unpack. It's nice to see that Satoshi had cleared out some closet space and bookshelf space for her. After sorting out her clothes, she grabs a cutter and neatly slices through the packing tape, opening the box, which supplies much fulfilment to Mayaka. She first opens up a box of her books and manga copies, which includes A Corpse by Midnight and all the Hyouka anthologies the four of them helped create. Looking at them were nostalgic. If she opened them now, she'll never finish unpacking by the time Satoshi arrives, not that it has to be done by that time. The second box she opens are more of her clothes and beddings. A smaller box was placed on a newly bought desk. A note said her parents had Satoshi get her a nice desk and chair as a gift. She makes a note to thank them later. Mayaka opens the box to find her drawing materials and manga paper.
It wasn't long until Satoshi arrived along with Oreki and Chitanda. Mayaka heard the sound of keys being inserted into the door. The door swung open. "Mayaka!" Chitanda exclaimed. Mayaka turned around and her face lit up in elation. "Chi-chan!" She sung out as the two girls ran towards each other and hugged one another. "Hey, no hug for me?" Satoshi puts on a cheeky grin. Mayaka breaks away from Chitanda and jumped into Satoshi's arms.
"I missed you." Satoshi whispers into her ear.
"I missed you too. Thanks for helping me with everything."
Houtarou cleared his throat. "Shall we go for dinner?"
"Look who's keen today. Who are you and what have you done to our Houtarou?" Satoshi teased and everybody but Houtarou snickered.
Houtarou sighed. "The sooner we go, the sooner I can get this over with and go home."
"That sounds just like you. You haven't changed a bit." Mayaka smirked.
"I'll take that as a compliment. Let's go."
Mayaka clung to Chi-chan as they headed to an okonomiyaki place nearby Satoshi and Mayaka's flat. The place was starting to fill up when they got there. This seems like a popular hangout, Mayaka thought to herself. She instinctively sat next to Chitanda and across Satoshi.
"I'm so glad you're here! It feels more like the Classics club again." Chitanda beamed at Mayaka.
"I feel the same way," Mayaka replies. "So, how are you guys faring?"
"Not too bad," Satoshi remarked, "but midterms," Houtarou and Satoshi simultaneously groaned uttering the dreaded paper. "I have one more and Houtarou still has two. Are you finished with yours, Chitanda-san?"
Chitanda nods. "We had them last week. It was tough but I think I managed well."
"That's Chitanda-san for you." Satoshi teased. The server brought the okonomiyaki batter. Houtarou was the first person to place the okonomiyaki batter onto the hotplate. Chitanda enjoyed watching the okonomiyaki sizzle. Satoshi spread it out so large that Mayaka could only make a small sized one for herself. She'll just have make another one with the remaining batter. "Speaking of which, Mayaka, have you told them why you're staying in Tokyo?" Satoshi said. Houtarou probably already knows the gist of it, Mayaka thought to herself as she looked at Houtarou's annoyingly plain face. Reading his face, it seems like he's figured it out. Typical Oreki. Chitanda widened her protuberant violet eyes and leaned towards her, saying "I'm curious!"
Mayaka explained to the club her plans of becoming a mangaka. Chitanda lit up and sounded the most excited for her. "Mayaka-chan that's great! I'm rooting for you!" She gave Mayaka a big hug.
Houtarou after taking the okonomiyaki out of the hotplate, he turns to Mayaka and tells her, "Mangaka, huh? That suits you, I guess."
"Could you at least be more supportive, Oreki?" Mayaka snapped at him.
"I am. I'm just running low on energy reserves to show it on my face. I'll flash an awkward smile for you, if that's what you'd like." Oreki replied, affixing his chopsticks.
"No thanks, I think I'll pass." She says.
Satoshi snickered. "Aw, that's a shame. I could have finally snuck in a picture of Houtarou smiling. An awkward one, at that."
"The time has passed and the offer is now invalid." Oreki pointed out.
It felt great to be with these three again, Mayaka thought. It felt like the warmth of the Geology Prep room. She realised that they sat in the positions they normally would in that room. There was a sense of familiarity to it, which made Mayaka feel so comfortable. Tokyo may be big and scary, but with these three, it didn't matter. A smile swept her face. This felt like home.
They hugged each other goodbye, except for Houtarou, who didn't even bother. Chitanda waved as Houtarou walked with her to the station. Satoshi held Mayaka's hand as they waved back. On their way home, they walked hand in hand. "Did you have fun?" Satoshi smiled.
"Yep! That was the most fun I had in a while," Mayaka replied.
"Really? Even if it was just a simple dinner out with friends?" Satoshi turned to her. Mayaka nodded with a smile. "Well I guess you haven't seen in us in person since New Year."
Mayaka clung to his arm. "And all of you didn't come home for spring break."
"Ah, that too." Satoshi's was warm. They were nearing their flat and Mayaka suddenly remembered the desk. "By the way, thanks for the desk," she thanked him.
"You should be thanking your parents, since they paid for it." Satoshi gently tapped Mayaka's nose. "Call them and tell them you're alright, that you made it here safely. They worry about you, y'know."
"But you chose the desk, didn't you? So, thanks. And yes, I'll call them once we're inside." She said. Satoshi unlocked the door to their place, still scattered with a mix of opened and unopened boxes. Satoshi beamed, "shall we clean up, m'lady?"
—o0o—
Chitanda drew a breath. "Oreki-san," she said.
"You don't have to force yourself to say it so formally anymore. Mayaka and Satoshi aren't around," Houtarou pointed out.
"Yes, sorry. I guess it's a force of habit." Chitanda apologised. The sky has turned dark and the city lights have turned up. It was unfortunate that the lights were brighter than the stars in the sky. Walking home like this was a little nostalgic, albeit the different environments. She'd walk with Houtarou with her bike at her side, until the junction past the bridge. "Hey, I just noticed that you don't call me Eru, ever."
"Do you want me to call you Eru?"
"Well, it's only natural that you call your girlfriend by first name," she emphasised.
Houtarou sighed. "It will be hard to keep up our appearances that way though. We might slip up at any moment. Satoshi is a privy one, you see. And Mayaka… she can see through me. It's hard enough as it is."
Chitanda looked at him with a straight face. "Houtarou…"
Perhaps it was a mistake to look into her wide eyes. Houtarou was instantly sucked into those bright violet eyes, the same ones he cannot say no to. "But if you want, I'll call you that through emails," he sighed.
"But we have to tell them some time."
"We've kept it a secret for a while now. Soon? The only thing that worries me is the onslaught of questions that will hurl at me once we tell them." Satoshi and Mayaka wouldn't believe it and then start prying into a mound full of questions, Houtarou thought, and that's going to tap into his energy reserves. He scratches his head and combs through his dark wavy hair. It was getting more troublesome than ever.
Chitanda pondered. "I was hoping you'd meet my parents first before we tell them."
Houtarou gulped. Meeting the parents. He started feeling nervous. He felt like fidgeting, but he didn't. He wasn't going to let that show in front of Chitanda—err, Eru. Why on earth did he have to tell her what she didn't hear that spring? Now, there's a lot of pressure resting on his shoulders. His grey coloured life that he has hoped for since the beginning of high school has disappeared completely. Eru, noticing he was spacing out, waved her hand in front of Houtarou. "Houtarou?"
He shook it off. "Sorry, uh, Eru." They inserted themselves into the flow of commuters on the way to the train. Chitanda grabbed Houtarou's cardigan sleeve just before the crowd swallowed them up. Oreki felt the tug and took hold of her wrist then pulled her closer to him. His hand found its way from her wrist to her hand; Eru held on tightly. Although, my life isn't grey anymore, this isn't so bad, Houtarou thought just as they entered the train.
A/N: I'm back after a really long hiatus, which started after my last update (March, I think?). As promised, I wrote another Hyouka fic yay! I'll try to update as much as I can, but I can't make any promises since my school holidays are about to end (I cry). You can follow me on twitter for updates on fics and other fun stuff like inktober. Username: bittersaccharin
Sorry about the vague description. I suck at blurbs.
Anyway, it's good to be back with fresh ideas.
wxx