Tokyo streets during rainy nights mean several things: Raindrops growing visible as they approach the cars flashlights and the many stores and restaurants announces; crowds of people covering themselves with umbrellas colored as each owner liked best; there were also those who forgot to carry such object and ran for cover every time they had to cross the street.
Kouichi Sakakibara, now 20 years old, was among the latter. The whole week had been cloudy but it didn't rain down at all until that day, he kept telling himself just to feel a little less dumb. Besides, he felt a little uneasy while holding an umbrella…
A sudden splash coming from a speeding car nearby woke him from his thoughts, ruining his bone colored shirt and cueing a few curses. Right now, feeling uneasy and dry was a much better deal than comfortable and wet. Since it was too late to change that, he merely sighed and continued his way home, there wasn't much left to walk.
Two blocks later, a figure among the crowd caught his eye. It had an extremely familiar look that made him try to figure who this was. As the figure approached, Kouichi began to review them. He saw a feminine body, roughly half a head shorter than him. She was wearing black shoes and a matching knee-length skirt. A dark blue open jacket over a white blouse. A black rope crossing her abdomen suggested the presence of a backpack.
Now the auburn haired boy really did want to know who this girl was. The umbrella she was holding (an annoying reminder of his previous bother) shadowed her facial features, and it wasn't till she was just a few feet from him that she'd remove it. A devious little smile forming on her lips upon noticing his surprised gasp.
The dark short hair, the porcelain skin, the red right eye… the left uncovered green eye. It was her. "Hello, Kouichi-kun." She greeted first before an awestruck college student. She was, however, the most surprised by his response, when two arms surrounded her in a sudden hug "Mei! Mei! You're here. I can't believe it. I-" He stopped mid-sentence, blushing intensely when he realized how frightening his reaction must've been and pulled himself off of Misaki. "Ehem, I'm glad you're here" he said trying to regain his posture. She merely shrugged it off.
Now began the awkward silence. People around the just reunited couple kept on their way, although some of them tuned to look at them. Again, awkward. Sakakibara decided he didn't want so many stares on both on them and finally broke the silence "So, I was on my way home, do you want to come with me and talk a little?" She nodded and he smiled in response. Kouichi grabbed the umbrella and kept both Mei and himself under it.
-
The pair reached the apartment in a matter of minutes. On the second door in a long illuminated corridor awaited a note with tape over it. Kouichi reached for it and read "Son, I've got a call from the college and I'll be out for the night. Take care. PS: Don't turn off your phone, you have it so I don't have to leave these stupid notes."
The young man creased the note and put it in his pocket. "A great teacher, but a terrible father" he murmured, then he proceeded to open the door and reached for the switch on the inner wall.
"Home, sweet home" he said as the light appeared in the room. The Sakakibara apartment was quite big. A central table semi-surrounded by three couches, two individuals, and one familiar sized; this last couch faced directly the TV, resting on a piece of furniture. Among other interesting objects over the same fitment were a DVD player (and movies in the proper format), several books, paper folders and a pair of remotes.
There was a dinner table behind the couches and, further back, the doors for two bedrooms and a bathroom could be seen. The kitchen was at the left of the apartment, an open bar allowed to see the kitchen interior and it was useful for a second person to take the plates to the table. On the opposite wall, hanged the picture of a man in a tuxedo with dark short hair, black eyes and a goatee, holding hands with a woman with long brown hair and matching eyes, her white wedding dress gave away the nature of the picture. Their son would often see it and sigh in melancholy.
But now, he was thinking in his companion. He made a gesture and she walked in the room, her steps directing to the couch, she placed the backpack on next to her feet after she sat down. He followed in and, after discarding the umbrella next to the door, he moved to the kitchen since he was hungry and, he guessed, she probably was as well. "I'm going to cook something, do you want anything in particular?" She shook her head, and he acknowledged her answer.
As he was taking the ingredients out of their shelves and the fridge, he began to think how much of talk he could have with his reunited girlfriend. He didn't want to ask her reasons to be there right away, it would probably feel like he was hurrying her away. He didn't want to mention the curse either; his memories were vague but he knew it was horrible.
He lighted the stove and placed the wok on it. As he poured the rice in, he began talking "So, Mei, what have been doing lately?" She got herself in a comfortable position before answering, a new couch always feels weird at first. "This and that; I've been helping mom with the doll shop, designing them mostly, and I got a few mid time jobs to get some extra cash"
"Is that so?" he asked slightly distracted, having daydreams of the girl in different outfits and situations from the jobs she could've worked as –yes, that includes a maid outfit-. Touching an overheated wok made the trick to wake him up, causing him to flinch. "Damn, I thought I've already stopped that" She didn't notice. Good. The sudden hug was embarrassing enough.
Why she didn't notice, however, was not as good. She was considering talking about her reasons to be there, but he seemed so happy for her presence, she could leave it for later. When it comes to certain themes, time has no relevance.
"I've heard you're studying architecture, Kouichi-kun." She offered conversation in her usual soft tone. "Uhum. It's a nice career. Quite artistic and practical. It reminds me of Reiko and you." He never ceased his subtle flatteries, just like he didn't stop preparing the meal for two. "I even made some friends there, although I keep in touch with Mochizuki and Teshigawara. My dad was pissed when he saw the first phone bill" He chuckled, then he got silent for a second.
He asked in a somewhat serious tone "Say, Mei. How's Chibiki-sensei doing? I didn't receive the usual fax this year and he got me a little worried." He then noticed her face turning grim. It was subtle, as many of her expressions, but he learned to read them as time passed. It surprised him to remember it.
He could tell when she was sad or happy. Angry or calmed. He could even swear he once saw her laugh. An accident with chocolate syrup during their third official date caused her to cover her mouth and clench her eyes in a rare display of bliss. Although she'd always deny it, he knew that she just laughed at his sudden act of clumsiness.
This, however, was not the case. Mei closed her eyes and let out a small sigh. Then she opened them and directed her gaze to Kouichi. "Chibiki-sensei died a week ago" There it was. The reason for her visit. The sadness in her expression was nowhere near she actually felt. But the shock on his face was clearly an accurate representation of his status.
"Dead? How is it possible? I thought…" "I couldn't see this year's class in time" She interrupted "I was in the hospital during the first weeks of school" The shock was replaced by fear this time. The boy set the fire to minimal before he stepped out of the kitchen and into the living room. Sitting on the couch before the dark haired girl, he asked for confirmation "Hospital?"
She looked down "Leukemia. The same disease Misaki died of" The young man couldn't hide his worry. He didn't even try to. Mei Misaki, a girl who was so close to death in so many more ways any other person ever should. She faced the illness that claimed her sister's life. And there was Kouichi Sakakibara, who was, for the most part a mere listener of the same tale being told twice. He knew how one story finished; would an alternative ending be too much to ask?
"Will you be fine?" She then did that one little act that changed it all in him: she smiled "Don't worry. I was treated right and quickly. It did take some time to recover for me, and that's why…" she stopped mid-sentence. They both knew where this was going. "Please, continue" He said with a straight face and the hands crossed over his lap. "How did Chibiki-sensei die?"
Mei blinked one last time and gave her answer "During the weeks I was in the hospital, Chibiki-sensei tried to use many of the countermeasures, but he couldn't find the extra one in time, so at least one student died before I recovered. He said to have tried to show me a picture of the class in the hospital, but his car broke every time, and he almost suffered an accident"
She prepared herself. The memories she was about to tell were quite painful. It had been long since she last felt so much of it. "I went to the school almost immediately after recovering. I reached the classroom and, after being informed of what happened, I identified the extra one."
She noticed tension on Kouichi's body, he was eager to know what happened, yet he was also upset for it. She continued "Chibiki-sensei suspended class when I pointed the student. He led her to the library. He said I could leave, but I followed him instead. I stayed outside of the library when I suddenly heard a loud noise. I opened the door and found that the book shelves had collapsed over sensei and the extra one. He was dead, she was not." She stopped and saw her own hand trembling. She closed it in a fist and concluded. "I had to deal the killing blow." She omitted how she took the cutter from the old teacher's hand and stabbed the dead one's neck with it, but she thought he could guess it.
"So he's dead now." Sakakibara said in a dark tone. He stood up and went back to the kitchen. The dinner was ready and he had to turn the stove off. He did so and stood still. He still had one last question unsolved: the identity of the dead one. "Kouichi-kun, do you remember the name 'Izumi Akazawa'?" came the answer before he could even ask. Was he that obvious?
"I think so; it's something vague" answered the young man and began to make a mental effort. The name was processed and as many pictures and sounds as possible appeared before his closed eyes. The image a girl, with the same uniform his girlfriend once wore. Reddish brown hair was worn as two pigtails. Matching colored eyes were placed on a face that showed a fierce personality. She remembered talking to her. Questions about his presence in the cursed town. An argument on who was to blame for many deaths.
The last memory was harder to get through. Blurry, confusing. Heated. That was the key word. He figured it out: a fight, physical confrontation between him, Mei and this Izumi girl. Fire surrounded them as she imposed her menacing form. Then came the lighting. He opened his eyes.
Not only he remembered the dead person, he also remembered seeing her death. It was weird, actually. The once head of countermeasures to stop –more like contain- the calamity was the reason it happened this year. Hadn't it taken Chibiki's life, he would've probably chuckled. But now, he seemed offended.
It was the dark haired girl who broke the silence "I never hated her" "She tried to kill you, and before that, she treated you like you were worthless" "And I don't blame her" Kouichi blinked in surprise to the calm reply "She was just doing her work, and, as for trying to kill me, I would've done the same. And I did. Or to be more accurate we did"
The boy shivered at the memories of his aunt being killed by his own hand. A memory he didn't even know he still had. Horrid, but he understood what she meant. "Right, I'm sorry" Mei smiled faintly "Don't worry, it's okay to be honest with your feelings. I've learned that the hard way"
And with that, the brown haired boy recovered a little bit of his good mood. He prepared a couple of plates with a smile and spoke "Thanks. Now sit on the table, please. Dinner's ready"
Dinner went rather smoothly. The couple ate their meal without hurry, having some casual chat between each bite and drink. When both young adults emptied their plates, Kouichi took them to the sink. It was almost bed time when they were done.
As he brushed his teeth he noticed his companion didn't show any sign of leaving soon. His curiosity, mixed with some concern made him ask. "Hum, Mei, don't you think it's a little? If you're going back to your hotel you better hurry, since Tokyo is far bigger and less safe than Yomiyama" He stated and cleaned his mouth with a towel. "I don't have a hotel reservation" She answered plainly, leaving her boyfriend dumbstruck.
"Wait, what? Where are you going to spend the night, then?" He demanded "Actually…" she began slowly, and she was… blushing? "I expected to spend the night in your house, Kouichi-kun"
The young man was speechless. And flustered. He never would've expected that this one day, his beloved girlfriend would suddenly appear before him and ask for a place to sleep. He didn't expect a car would splash over him either, but that's beside the point. After reordering his thoughts, he finally spoke.
"Err, sure, sure. Make yourself comfortable." He wasn't. "Do you need anything?" "I'll be fine" she answered as she took her turquoise set of pajamas, as well as toothbrush, from her backpack and moved to the bathroom, Kouichi got in his bedroom and changed his clothes for a set of a light shirt and pants, he left the room and waited.
When the dark haired girl reappeared she wore the night clothes she brought, making her boyfriend blush at the nostalgic sight. "You look cute" "Thanks, you too." She took a quick glance to her sides and asked "Where should I sleep?"
The young man took a thoughtful look on his face as he answered "Well, I don't have a room for visits, so I can use the couch while you sleep in my bedroom" the girl asked in concern "Are you sure? You should use your father's bedroom or at least, let me on the couch" "Well, dad will most likely arrive tired, and since I want you to stay comfortable, I'll use the couch. Deal?"
Mei took a second to think and nodded slowly "Ok, then" she said. She then peeked Kouichi on the right cheek, wished "good night" and disappeared behind the door. The boy took a cover from under the couch, moved to turn the lights off, and then lied on the largest couch, covering himself. "Good night, indeed" he said to no one in particular and closed his eyes.