Chapter 2

After the chairman left, Emi was rather quiet. It was clear that she was not quite ready to open up to anyone after what had been happening that day. Her expression would have looked more than a little paranoid to anyone just walking by. No one commented about her behavior, because everyone understood, to a certain extent. The group continued with their tea, and Akira ran to make more for Emi specifically (after making that statement very clear to Tadashi). It was quite a while before Emi spoke up.

"I-it was Kei who overheard the girls in the library right?" she asked.

"Yes," Kei replied.

"U-um would you mind telling me, if you know that is, who they were?"

"Umei and Raimei, girls from the lower A class."

Emi nodded, with a look of betrayal on her face. She struggled to hold back tears in an attempt to not look weak in front of her new crowd.

"Were you friends with them?" Ryuu asked.

Emi nodded. "We were going to meet at Umei's house tonight. They said they supported me, and we were going to get together for something like a support group. They said that they would still be my friends, because it's wrong to think badly of someone because of their relatives, and more things like that."

Akira moved to the girl's side to consul her, and Hikari followed.

"I'm sorry. You deserve friends who will treat you better," Akira said soothingly.

"You have us!" Hikari assured. "S.A. is kind of like a family, and you're one of us now. We'll be there for you."

"Thanks. I don't know I can trust many people anymore," Emi said through her tears.

"Sometimes it's hard to tell," Tadashi interjected. "Who you can trust I mean. People can be very realistic fakes."

"It amazes me when you say profound things like that Tadashi," Akira commented.

Emi looked up with confusion.

"It's somewhat rare," Megumi communicated with her sketchbook.

"Oh," Emi looked at Megumi for a moment, then asked, "Why do you use the sketchbook to talk?"

"To protect my voice," Megumi wrote.

"Protect?"

"I sing, and I don't want to wear out my voice talking."

"I see. That's an interesting idea."

Megumi smiled.

"Hey," Tadashi grabbed the attention of everyone, "I almost forgot earlier, but there's a festival close by here this weekend. We should all go."

"Festival!" Hikari became excited.

"That sounds like a lot of fun," Akira joined in.

"Hikari, we should all go shopping for new kimonos for the festival. I'll pay for you, and for Emi if she wants to come." No one had really said anything about Emi's situation, but they all knew from the news reporters that Emi's father had disappeared, meaning she had no money.

"Are you sure?" Emi wondered.

"Of course."

"It will be fun," Hikari tried to convince her new friend to come.

"Join us," Megumi held up her sketchbook with a smile.

"Um," Emi hesitated. "Okay."

"But we can't be out too long," Hikari cautioned. "I have to study for the next test on Monday."

"Oh, there's a test?" Kei teased.

"Yes there's a test!"

"And I'm assuming . . . "

"Takshima, I challenge you t-"

"Beat you in the next test?"

"Well I wasn't g-"

"I accept your challenge. If I win, you have to join me at a birthday party for my six-year-old cousin on the 25th."

"That almost sounds worse than the last birthday party you took me to."

"It will be."

The other S.A. members chuckled almost in unison.

"Done!" Hikari agreed.

"Good," Kei responded. "Don't hold back on me, Ni-san."

"Don't call me number two!"

Emi sat up with surprise when Hikari yelled so close to her, wearing a look of amusement and confusion on her face. Hikari barely noticed the girl's change in posture, but Akira was more focused on Emi than the current competition between Hikari and Kei. She gave her a sweet smile before explaining.

"This is pretty normal. Hikari and Kei compete in everything, and they've been doing since elementary school."

Emi chuckled, "She's pretty passionate about it."

"Hikari's that way about everything," Megumi wrote.

Emi simply nodded. The air became still and the atmosphere grew awkward.

"So Emi," Ryuu ended the silence. "What kind of hobbies do you have?"

"Hobbies? Well, I'm fairly artistic. I like to draw, but not Manga like my father. I'm more into drawing real life."

"Do you have something you can show us?" Jun asked.

"Sure," Emi dug through her bag to find a 14in. X 16in. sketchbook. She flipped through a couple of pages before turning it around to show a drawing of the school. "I got here early one day," she explained.

"Nice detail," Megumi wrote.

"Thanks."

"Did you draw that in charcoal?" Jun wondered.

"Yup. That's all I had on me that day. I like charcoal, although it is pretty messy. It was hard to keep from staining my uniform."

"Do you like drawing with charcoal more than any other medium?" Ryuu inquired.

"Um, no actually I like oil pastels the best, but I don't carry those with me to school. The ones I have came in a very large box, so I can't fit them in my school bag."

"I see."

"I do have an oil pastel drawing in here somewhere . . . um probably . . . oh here it is." Emi had been digging through her bag again, searching for the oil pastel drawing that she pulled out to show the group. On the piece of drawing paper she pulled out, which was the same size as the sketchbook she had before, was a beautiful, colorful bird.

"Pretty." Megumi wrote on her sketchbook.

"Yeah," Jun added. "Ryuu-nii, didn't you have one of those same birds in your room last time we went to your house?"

"I think he did."

"Yup," Ryuu answered the twins. "The same bird, a Scarlet Macaw right?"

"Yes," Emi responded. "I love these birds. They're so beautiful."

"Ryuu had a really big one." Megumi scribbled with excitement. The conversation had become more comfortable for everyone. At certain points, the others would interject with comments of their own, although it was mostly Ryuu and Emi who carried on the conversation. Emi, like Ryuu, had an extensive knowledge of rare animals. It was clear that the two of them would become very close.