Disclaimer: I don't own 'Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai'
This is my second story. Enjoy! Please do write reviews! Seeing reviews will encourage me to write more chapters! They also do make me happy! It will be the best if you put in some points to improve on! Thank you very much!
CHAPTER 3: MIXED BLOOD
Menma smiled at Jintan. Jintan smiled back. It seems that both of them were going to be great friends. Menma had already been in school for 3 weeks and the group had been very friendly towards her. Anaru had also accepted Menma as part of their little group, and had tried to imitate Menma. Menma was prefect, according to Anaru. She had beautiful blue eyes and long beautiful hair. In class, Menma was smart and had been able to answer almost every question that the teacher asked. Anaru had been very envious of Menma and had also asked Menma to lend her on of her plain white dress to try on, not to mention coach her in studies too. The group had also visited Menma's house, but that was faced with a little resistance from Menma herself. It was during a typical day after school when Menma strongly objected them visiting her house.
"Why can't we? You don't have anything to hide. Or do you?" Jintan teased.
"That is mean, Jintan. I don't have anything to hide!" Menma shouted, her face going a bit red from Jintan's teasing.
"So why wouldn't you let us over?" Yukiatsu asked. "You shouldn't be that protective of your room am I right?"
"I am!" Menma declared.
"I would like to see your room, Menma." Tsuruko said. "I would like to see how your room looks like." She had her notepad with her, and was anticipating the visit.
"Tsuruko, why? I have a normal room! A room just like any other girl!" Menma was like protesting against the idea of visiting her house, especially her room.
"Then I would like to see a normal room then! I've never seen one. Mine was abnormal according to my mother." Anaru blushed at the thought of her mother asking her to clear up her room.
"Not you too, Anaru!" Menma cried out. She was really embarrassed.
"Why, Menma, why?" Poppo asked. "I am also interested in seeing your room!" Poopo was ever so enthusiastic.
"Poopo. I can't just let people come into my house you know!" Menma protested and waved her hands signalling 'no'.
"So you let aliens into your house then!" Poppo concluded.
Silence. Everyone was dumbstruck by his conclusion.
"No! I do not mean that!" Menma suddenly shouted, cutting through the silence, embarrassed.
"You are so mean! You only allow aliens into your house and not humans!"
"No no! There are no aliens in my house!"
"There must be! You don't allow people in because there are aliens right? You are as amazing as Jintan!"
"No! I said there are no aliens!" Menma was getting redder and redder by the second.
"Then, please allow use into your house then." Jintan said calmly. Poppo, you may want to stop your teasing.
"Really? Must I?" Menma asked shyly.
"Yes. If you do that, I shall let everyone, including you to my house. We shall have a party then."
"Really? Menma is so happy!" Menma shouted in joy.
"Jintan, really? We can come over to your house? That is so cool!" Poppo exclaimed. He had never felt so happy before. It was like a dream, visiting his idol's house.
"Really, Jintan? We've been to your house countless times." Anaru whined.
"You mean you had come over to my house countless times." Jintan pointed out. "Poppo has not even been to my house even once."
"Anaru knows that." The bespectacled girl bowed her head.
"I'll need to tell my mother about our visit." Menma said, blushing. She had never invited any friends back home before.
"Really, thank you." Yukiatsu thanked Menma. "Is it all right if we drop by tomorrow?"
"Sure. What about around 2 in the afternoon?" Menma suggested.
"Then it's settled! 2 in the afternoon! I know that we are always free in the afternoons!" Jintan was enthusiastic.
"So, we shall meet 15 minutes earlier at the park that we usually hang out." Poppo declared.
"Okay then. We need to go now before it gets too late. My parents will scold me if I reach home late." Tsuruko said. "See you." She was tapping her feet nervously.
"Yes, it is getting quite late. We have to go." Jintan said. "See you all tomorrow!"
The group dispersed.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
"My friends are coming! They are coming!"
Menma cheered as she ran home. It was really the first time she had her friends over at her house.
"Menma, wait up!" Poppo complained. The group was way ahead of him and he was panting. "Menma, you are too fast!"
"Come on, Poppo! Aren't you excited about coming to my house?" Menma skipped and turned to face Poppo.
"I am… but are you sure that there are no aliens?" Poppo asked. His imagination had begun to scare him. Aliens, as he saw on a website, were mysterious creature that abducted little children when disguised as an adult. Poppo, as he was then, was terrified, thus being hesitant about going over to Menma's house.
"No aliens at all!" Memna reassured Poppo. "Why will there be aliens in my house anyway?"
"Be..because…" Poppo gave up. He couldn't think of a reason to support his suspicion.
"Relax." Jintan patted Poopo's back. "I don't think that there will be any aliens at all. There are no aliens in the world; the scientists said so, believe them."
Jintan's words worked like a miracle. Poppo's muscles had immediately loosened and Poopo went back to his usual cheerful mood, but still bearing some suspicion about the aliens.
"Thanks you, Jintan. I feel much better." Poopo thanked.
"We're here!" Menma announced as she stopped in front of her house. It was ordinary. It was house with white paint as the base and a red roof. That was all, nothing more, nothing less. Poppo was disappointed at the sight of Menma's house. He was expecting some sort of western-style house and he was disappointed by the sheer simplicity of it. However, he was also relieved as his thoughts of having aliens in Menma's house completely vanished.
"Menma…I apologise for suspecting that your house have aliens." Poppo bowed his head apologetically. It had to be done, he had to apologise.
"It's all right!" Menma flashed a smile. "It's a joke wasn't it?" Menma had innocently replied him. "Well, please come in."
"Sorry for intruding." Menma's friends said as they entered.
"I'm back!" Menma called out into the house.
"Welcome back!" A response was heard as a young lady came out. "Hello! Your Meiko's friends, am I right?"
"Good afternoon." Jintan bowed as he greeted Menma's mother. The others followed his actions and bowed too. Menma had characteristics that are similar to her mother. Her sparkling blue eyes, straight hair and slightly pale skin.
"Mama!" Menma ran towards her mother. "These are my friends! I promised that I'll bring friends here, didn't I?"
"Yes, you did. Well, Meiko, be a good host then." Menma's mother said. "I'll bring you kids some cookies. Is it all right?"
"Yes! Thank you!" The small group cheered.
"I'll bring them later. See you in a while." Menma's mother went to the kitchen.
"Let's go to my room! It's on the 2nd floor!" Menma gestured to the spiral stairway near the living room. "I've cleaned it yesterday!" Menma was a tiny bit embarrassed as she stated her next sentence. "There's quite a number of soft toys… you're not going to laugh at me right?"
"No, I'll scold those that laugh. My room have quite a number of soft toys too!" Anaru assured Menma as they climbed the stairs. It was true; she was overly obsessed with soft toys and had always cuddled them before she slept.
"A…all right." Menma's fingers touched the door handle. Here goes nothing! Menma thought as her hand tightened on the handle. Anaru promised that she'll scold them if they laugh! Why am I so nervous? It's my own room! She shut her eyes as she pushed the handle down swing the door inwards, revealing her room.
"Woah!" Jintan exclaimed as he saw Menma's room. It was neat and tidy and wasn't like his room at all. That was a book shelve and it was filled with books. There was also a small table in the centre of the room, which had a stationary set at the right side of the table. Her bed was placed next to the window and had soft toys on it. There was another shelve with an array of soft toys, all neatly placed according to height. The room was brightly lit with the sun rays.
"It feels… so refreshing." Tsuruko and Anaru commented.
"Ye…yeah." Yukiatsu agreed as he felt a gentle breeze that entered the room.
"Awesome…" Poppo had decided that simplicity is best.
"Umm… it's very embarrassing if you look at it too much…"Menma blurted out. "Would you please sit down?" Menma swiftly ushered her visitors to sit around the table.
"Thank you." Her visitors sat down.
"I do hope that my room isn't really that messy." Menma said.
"Nonono! It is really tidy! It's even tidier than mine."Jintan told Menma. "I'm really impressed by your room."
"Yes, I agree. You also do have a lot of soft toys!" Anaru looked at the soft toys that were on Menma's bed. "May I hug 1 of sure?" Anaru asked. Her request was quickly accepted and she went forward to hug 1 of them.
"Menma, do you learn other languages?" Yukiatsu suddenly asked.
"Why did you ask that random question?" Poopo questioned Yukiatsu. It wasn't a very common question to ask in a children's gathering and Poppo was quite certain that this question may lead to a very academic genre of discussion.
"Um, yes. I learn Russian too." Menma admitted. "My mother is a Russian and thus I learn Russian as my 2nd language. I'm a mixed blood."
"That explains the book with the title that I didn't understand." Yukiatsu pointed at one of the books.
"Actually, I was afraid that you all will hate me because I'm not pure Japanese…" Menma looked at Jintan.
"Why would we?" Jintan replied. "We're friends, even when you're a mixed blood. We'll always be friends." He gave a huge smile to Menma.
Knock! The door opened and Menma's mother came in with the promised cookies. "Hello, here are some cookies I learnt to bake when I was in Russia, please try them." Menma's mother placed the cookies at the centre of the table, and sat beside Menma.
"Those cookies look delicious!" Anaru exclaimed. She looked as if she was going to pounce on them.
"Please help yourselves. Mama's cookies are delicious!" Menma took the chance to praise her mother in front of her friends.
"Well, thank you for the food!" The children thanked and they attacked the cookies.
"Meiko, are you happy that you've found a bunch of true friends?" Menma's mother whispered to her daughter as the children ate the cookies.
"Yes. I'm very happy." Menma gave a bright smile. However, this time when Menma smiled, the look of loneliness that once resided in her eyes vanished instantly.
The look of loneliness that only Jintan had detected.
Scold me if you want to. It's been months since the last update. But fear not! I'm giving it a 350 volts charge to get this fan fiction alive! Hmm, what do you all readers think of this chapter? Please do drop in reviews! I will love to read your reviews! Till the next, chapter, enjoy everything you have, all right?