Author's note: It's pretty much just the same thing as the last chapter. No ownership to me except for my imagination that was used to create certain scenes and describe Ryoko's point of view. Please enjoy!
"Rii-ya…" Sniffling, I refused to look up from my pillow when my dad enters my room."Rii-ya… are you still upset at Kotarou?" I flinch at Kotarou's name, confirming dad's suspicions. "Hah…Rii-ya, I know you're smart enough to understand that Kotarou didn't mean to, but I also understand why you're upset." Cautiously, I peek at dad's face. It's stern, but also full of empathy. "Rii-ya, let me tell you something you'll need to know as you grow older. Sometimes, good intentions get lost along the way. Kotarou only wanted to help you, but he didn't know the right way to do it."
"Hmph."
"Hah….you're as stubborn as your mom. When you calm down, come downstairs. We'll be waiting." He ruffles my hair one last time, then leaves my room. Once I hear the door close, I stare blankly around the room. My eyes focus on the storybook Kotarou had left earlier.
"Excuse me, may I see your library card and school i.d.?" Blinking, I stare at the library receptionist, still half-dazed.
"Uh, what?"
"Your i.d. and library card. May I see them?"
"Oh, yes." I unzip my wallet and take the two cards out. While the male student checks the computer, I try to remember what the memory had been about. What was I angry at Kotarou for? After scanning the cards, he slides the items to the left of the computer, typing something while watching the monitor. "The due date is inside the book, stamped on the cue card. Please make sure to return the book on time. Although, I'm sure we can be a little lenient on the time since the item is a children's picture-book." Smiling politely, he hands me the items.
"Thank you very much." I take the items, placing the cards back in my wallet, then proceed to run to the DayCare room. Darn, it took me twenty minutes to find the children's section!
"Sorry I'm late!" I rush into the DayCare, out of breath. "..Huh?"
"Nee-cha!"
"Oh look guys, Rii-chan is here. What do you think Rii-chan? Do you like everyone's new look?"
"U-Usaida-san…PFT!" The room was chaotic, with splatters of paint haphazardly splotched around the room. Normally, I would be too upset by the state of the room to care about anything else. But in the center of it all, Usaida-san,who for some reason was also splattered with paint, had just finished drawing a big black mustache unto Kotarou's face with a marker. The kids were all kneeling, different doodles marked around their faces. Taka-chan, who sat sniffling, had a large turd with a tiny crown drawn on his forehead, with whiskers stretching across his cheeks. Takuma-chan and Kazuma-chan had seemingly no marks until you saw them close their eyes. On their eyelids, there were hearts that had the words "Takuma/Kazuma's mine" written in the middle of them. Midori-chan had tiny skulls on both of her cheeks, while a third-eye stared at everyone from her forehead. The funniest was Kirin-chan, who had curly eyebrows elongating from her real ones, a circle surrounding her tiny mouth. "What happened to everyone? Why do they have drawings on their faces?! Hahahaha!" I latch unto the door for support, my chest hurting as I try to stop myself from laughing, with no success.
"Well, it's good to know that you find this amusing. Except for Kotarou, the kids took the paints out and splattered them all over the room, even unto me. This is their punishment. Don't worry though, this marker's erasable. I think."
"Huh? Why didn't you stop them before it got this messy?"
"Ahhhhh, I couldn't help it. I needed to rest my eyes."
"Ooook. Then why did you punish Kotarou if he didn't do anything?"
"It was so much fun, I couldn't stop." Rolling my eyes, I try to look at the kids seriously, ready to scold them. Then I see the little marks. And I burst out laughing. Again and Again. This cycle probably would have continued if I hadn't noticed Kirin-chan begin to cry. Startled, I rush over to her and kneel.
"Ahhh~ Kirin-chan, what's wrong?"
"Uwu~Kiwin was- twying to- make something fow mummy and-Taka-cha! Twied-to take the-paint-fwom-ME!~Uwuuu~" Bawling, Kirin-chan threw herself to the ground, causing Taka-chan to begin to cry.
"I-I didn't do nothing wrong! I wanted to make somedig for Anidiii~" Halfway through, Taka-chan's words became difficult to understand, and the rest of the kids began to cry because THEY were crying. Dropping my head in my hands, I felt Kotarou tug on my sleeve. I peeked at him through my fingers.
"Yes Kotarou?" He slid the library-book into my lap.
"Bo-wook?" YES, THE BOOK! Thank you Kotarou!
"Kirin-chan, look at this!" Briefly pausing, Kirin-chan stares at the picture book in my hands. "Your mummy's working really hard on a play right now. So, how about we do our own play?" I place it in her lap. "It'd be so fun if we invited your mum and everyone to come watch! How about it? Do you want to try?" I wait with bated breath, anxiously hoping my plan will work. Trembling, she jumps up and raises her hands, Banzai-style.
"I wanna do it! I wanna do the pway!" Her mood was infectious towards the other kids. All of them began shouting and cheering. Happy my plan worked, I applauded their enthusiasm.
"Great! Then would it be okay if we did 'Momotarou'-san? You are holding the book right now!"
"Ok! I'wl do my best!" Rubbing at her eyes, smudged ink from the marker darkens her face with intense determination. Taka-chan takes Kotarou's hand and begins to jump up and down.
"Me too! Me and Kota'll fight demons too." Playfully putting my finger to my face in a thoughtful manner, I hemmed and hawed.
"Hmmmm, well, I wonder what role would be best for you two. What do you think Taka-chan?"
"Dog! I wanna be a dog!"
"Heehee, ok then. Taka-chan can be a dog, and Kotarou, you can be the monkey, okay?
"Un."
"Now, we need a pheasant…" Looking at the twins, I see Kazuma-chan start to shake with fear.
"Daguma and I….togebber…"
"Umm…Sure. Why not? You can both play the pheasants, okay?" I bring a tissue to Kazuma-chan's face, a bit mortified I almost left one of them out.
"Pheasant with Kazuma~"
"Ohh Rii-chan~ You DID forget someone."
"Huh?"
"A-BOO!"
"Ohhh, Midori-chan! Don't worry, I know the perfect role for you!"
"Hah, let me guess, the baby born from the-"
"It's the Demon King!"
"Huh?" Simultaneously, Usaida-san and I look at each other with questioning looks.
"The baby? But that's so…ordinary."
"But-doesn't it fit? Midori IS a baby." I puff my cheeks stubbornly.
"Fine, then let's let Midori-chan choose! Midori-chan! Who do you wanna be?" Holding the book open for her, I let her look at the different pages.
"Bu!" Peering over the top, I watch as she points at….the animals?
"Midori-chan, you want to be one of the animals?"
"A-woo!" I hadn't expected THIS situation. What should I do? Yawning, Usaida-san shrugs his shoulders.
"Why not let her? She can be something else. Like, a bear." Satisfied by this, Midori-chan claps her hands in approval. I guess if that's what she wants..
"Was there a bear in Momotarou?" Jumping at the sudden new voice, I look behind me to see Kamitani-kun. "Oi, you get nervous too easily."
"Oh~ it's just you Kamitani-kun. I can't help it! You show up at the most unexpected times."
"Sure sure..Oh, maybe there really was a bear."
"You're thinking of Kintarou, Kamitani-kun…"
Because Kamitani-kun didn't have any club activities that day, he agreed to help us with our play. I gave myself the role of the narrator, and began reading.
"..when the old woman was washing her clothes in the river, a giant peach came bobbing past." Holding the book open for Kamitani-kun, he monotonously read his lines.
"Splash sound. Oh, what a tasty looking peach. I'll take it home and eat it with Jii-san."
"That's not a peach! It's a giraffe!"
"Shh Taka-chan…Kamitani-kun, you don't need to say 'Splash sound'. "
"Whatever." Continuing on, Usaida-san lay on his side as he spoke sleepily.
"Oh, what a taste-looking peach Obaa-san. Let's cut it open and eat it right now."
"…Usaida-san. The way you portray the old man is-"
"What, are my lines wrong?"
"Well, no." I decided to let it go. It doesn't have to be perfect anyways. Why am I being so picky? "The old couple split the peach open, and from inside it, they found a baby and named her Momotarou. Momotarou grew in no time at all, with skin as fair and sweet as the peach that carried her." Kirin-chan, excited that her part finally came, waited for me to give her her lines.
"Ojii-san, Obaa-san." While I was reading, Kotarou climbed into my lap.
"Ojii-san! Obaa-san!" Usaida-san yawned and closed his eyes.
"I am going to fight demons on Oniga Island, so please prepare for me a sword and millet dumplings." Takuma-chan and Kazuma-chan climbed on my head, using my hair to keep them steady, as they tried to read the book.
"I'm going to..fight demons..on Oniga Island!" Kamitani-kun hit Usaida-san, and Midori-chan threw her blocks at his face.
"S-So please prepare for me a sword and millet dumplings." Taka-chan joined Kotarou in my lap.
"Give me some miwwet dumpwings!" He-heavy..
"A-HEM!" Hm? I crane my head carefully to look at the open doorway. Inomata-san stood there awkwardly, shuffling her feet back and forth.
"Hello."
"I..I was just passing by! And..What are you doing?" Reaching up and putting the kids down one by one to the side of me, I explained that we were practicing for our play.
"We are doing 'Momotarou'. Would you like to join us?" Thrilled by the idea of her joining, the kids circle around her.
"It's a demon! Fight the demon!"
"Who're you calling a demon?!"
"You."
"Kamitani-kun!" I had to admit though, in that moment, she had looked like a demon holding a bloody club in her fist.
"Okay. Ino-chan will play the demon."
"Usaida-san!?"
"I-I'm not a demon."
"Inomata-san, it's a role! They're just talking about the play! You don't have to do it if you don't want to." Sniffling, Inomata-san blew her nose in a tissue, then shook her head with a determined look.
"I'm not necessarily saying no.. I have no interest in this childish play! But..if you want me to do it, then I suppose I could."
"You be in the play too Onee-chan!"
"Yeah!"
"Wahh~ I told you not to pull my arms so much!" Despite what she said, she put her all into the role.
"MO~MO~TAR~OUU~! I WON'T LET YOU GO HOME ALIVE~"
"I-I won't wose!" The kids jumped unto her and tickled her.
"All right, that's all for today."
"Eh~? Already?"
"Usaida-san..We need to make invitations now to give to your parents." Handing out papers, Kirin-chan timidly approaches me.
"Can we give my mummy an inbatation too?"
"Of course Kirin-chan. I'll take it to her at lunch tomorrow so we don't disturb her practice. Do you want to come too?"
"No." Hm? "I'm gonna pwactic Momotawou! Please give hew the inbatation fow me."
"! Okay. Work hard Kirin-chan!" Giving me a hug, she ran over to the tables to draw.
"What is that, a bug?" Kamitani-kun was scrutinizing Taka-chan's drawing.
"It's a dog! Stupid Aniki!" Kotarou stared at the two of them somewhat forlorn.
"Kotarou.." He looked up at me. "Do you want to make an invitation together? We can give it to Saikawa-san and Obaa-san."
Relieved at the sight, Usaida-san turned back to the twins.
"What are you guys drawing?"
"Ice cream!"
"Oh I thought it was poo or something." You'd better come, you workaholic cheap-skate old bag. No matter how long these two wait, their mom isn't going to come pick them up.
"Fluffy."
"Kotarou, you shouldn't say that to Obaa-san.." Show up and enjoy it.
"Done!"
"Wow Kirin-chan! You made a great Momotarou-san!"
"I DREW THAT!"
"O-Oh.. Good Job Inomata-san?"
"Mama…Kiwin…is good…" Kirin murmured in her sleep. Chuckling, I go to grab Kotarou and I see him digging through my school-bag.
"Kotarou? It's time to go to sleep, or you won't be able to get up in the morning."
"Un?" He shows me the invitation he made today for Obaa-san. I gave Saikawa-san's his invitation earlier.
"You want to wait for Obaa-san?"
"Un."
"Hmm…I know you want to give it to her, but she's been coming home pretty late this week. We didn't see her this morning either."
"…"
"Well..I guess we have no choice then. Let's stay up just a little longer and wait."
"Oo!" Wrapping a comforter around us, I place my forehead against the window panes, a slight chill seeping in through the cracks.
"Hey Kotarou. We can't give any invitation to mum and dad. Still, I think they'll be watching us from where they are. So let's do our best, okay?"
"Rii-chan, Kotarou…Did you guys cry yourselves out after making up? You'll catch a cold here."
"Nn…Mum?" The gnarled and wrinkled face of an old woman hovers face-to-face with mine.
"EWww-Mmmph!" Covering my mouth, Obaa-san shushes me.
"Quiet. You'll wake the brats."
"A-Ah. Yes."
"What're you doing sleeping like this? You want to catch a cold?" I search the inside of the comforter for the invitation as I talk.
"Um, Kotarou and I were waiting for you."
"Why? I thought you were still upset with me." Huh? That's when I realize I still hadn't apologized to her, or properly talked to her since the day we fought. Even though I left that note, it's not really right to just ignore what happened.
"I..I'm sorry I was doing things half-assed like you said. I'm also really sorry I let my emotions get to me and that I argued with you. After our fight, I tried to think of how to spend this week with Kirin-chan. I could never replace her mother, and her feelings aren't ones that can just be ignored so easily. So to work through her loneliness-"
"You are doing a play."
"! Yes, so, so you know."
"Saikawa-san told me the situation. As long as you can do it without causing trouble, then it's fine." Finding the invitation, I'm about to give it to her when I hear her speak.
"I'm busy, so I can't come see it. If you really want to do this, then do it properly." Upset, I'm about to say something when she speaks again. "Oh, and…I accept your apology. Thank you." Conflicted, I watch her leave the room, in and out before I could completely process what happened.
"Oohh…." Kotarou was begining to wake up.
"!"
"…Inbashashon." Shoving the invitation behind my back, I tried to smile.
"Aw, Kotarou. You just missed her. She-she came earlier, so I told her about the play already. It's not technically lying?..Uwah, what am I saying. I should tell him straight-out she won't be there. "Let's do our best at practice, ok? In case, she…decides to come."
"UN!" I feel as if my heart was broken, mended, then broken again.
What am I doing? I stare at Kotarou's content face, deep breaths coming in and out of his body. Looking at the invitation, I shove it into a desk drawer. hAh…I'm such an idiot.
I head to the theater department to give Kumatsuka-sensei the invitation. She seemed really happy when she saw it. Practice went on for several days as my mind switched back and forth between the play and the invitation. Each night after the encounter with Obaa-san, I had a difficult time sleeping.
"Kashima-san, read pg.140 of the textbook."
"Hm? Yes sir… The woman was known to be…" my mind switched to the play. "to be poor and old, living only with her husband. Carrying her laundry, she told her husband she was going down to the river to-"
"Kashima-san."
"Yes?"
"What are you reading?"
"Huh?" I look back down at my textbook, trying to figure that exact same thing. Ushimaru Yuki, a classmate who sits next to me, whispers over.
"We are reading about the empress from the year- Eeee!" My head collides with her desk as I black out.
"It seems like it was just fatigue and stress. She should be fine after a while, so please let your homeroom teacher know that she is here resting." I can hear the door slide close in the background. Who is that? I try to turn my head, but the movement causes me to see stars as the right side of my temple burns and aches.
"Ooo~" I stop trying to move, and instead close my eyes.
"Hm? Are you awake?" The curtain around the bed opens behind me. "Hello?" I answer the voice without turning.
"Yes, I am, thank you. May I ask what happened?" Sawatori-sensei, Midori-chan's mother, comes into view.
"You collapsed from fatigue. What have you been doing? As a growing girl, you need your rest! You also hit your head on a desk, so it may be hurt, but the nurse seems to believe you won't have a concussion. She had to leave earlier, but asked me to stay in case you needed anything. So? How do you feel?" I try to lift my eyes up to her face, but even this movement made my head hurt, causing me to feel nauseous. I settle for staring at her hand. What dainty fingers..
"My head's throbbing. Otherwise, I think I'm fine, besides being a bit embarassed at fainting in the middle of class." I hear sensei harrumph.
"Well, you shouldn't have let it get this far! Honestly, everyone became so worried when you fainted. Your classmate, Ushimaru-san, began crying when she saw you fall down, and she tried shaking you awake. Evidently, this did not help. It was sweet of her to try though." Sighing, I close my eyes, bashful at the display I made in front of the class. All this from worrying about an invitation. I feel a cool surface touch my temple, and I startle from the feeling.
"Shh~ it's okay. Don't worry. Go back to sleep now.. You have such horribly dark circles starting to appear under your eyes. Let yourself relax.." I begin to feel sleepy, and Sawatori-sensei is suddenly replaced with mum's voice. "Don't worry about anything else..I'll make sure no one disturbs you..Sleep now Rii." Right before I fall asleep, I hear a male student call for Sawatori-sensei, a boy named Inui…Shhhh~.
The next couple days, Usaida-san persuades me to take Kotarou and Kirin-chan home early, watching kids until their parents came. After getting some much-needed rest, I try to do my best to assist Usaida-san, who had begun preparing for the play without me. He had taken all the kids' measurements and created incredibly cute costumes for them all. Saikawa-san came with millet dumplings in order to celebrate the upcoming play. Everyone was working their hardest to try and get ready for the coming week.
Then the day finally arrived.
"Ok, are you two prepared to go to school?"
"Yeah!"
"Alright, then let's go!" Walking down the pathway towards school, Kirin-chan began talking about going home.
"…And then, aftew mama's play, she'wl come and see my Momotawou-san, right?"
"Yup! Then you'll go back home with her!"
"Yay!" Watching Kirin-chan skip hand-in-hand with Kotarou, I felt relieved to know that she was happy, but I couldn't stop thinking about Kotarou. Obaa-san never came back in time for me to try and ask her to watch the play again..
Yayoi-sensei had saved the DayCare seats to watch the play. It was a huge success and very moving, even though Usaida-san and every kid except Kirin-chan and Kotarou fell asleep. During the intermission, we left to get ready for our play. While we were putting the kids in their costumes, Usaida-san taps me on the shoulder.
"Rii-chan, you and Kotarou have guests~"
"Hm? Is it Saikawa-san?" I brush my skirt off as I stand and turn around to see Saikawa-san…as well as Obaa-san. "Obaa-san!? But I thought-" She lifted the invitation up in front of my face.
"I found this on your desk in the morning the day you fainted." Turning it around to stare at Kotarou's drawings, she grunts.
"After seeing this, I had no choice but to go to the trouble of coming to see it. So don't mess around and finish getting ready!"
"T-Thank you Obaa-san!"
"..Honestly, it's not like I can't take time off!" Saikawa-san grabs a chair for Obaa-san, and soon the mothers begin to file in, sitting to the left and right of her. We begin our play.
"Long ago,…..-and named her Momotarou. Momotarou-san grew in no time at all, with skin as fair and sweet as the peach that carried her." Kirin-chan then stepped out, with the other kids standing behind her. Huh? What are they-
"The six of us awe The Momotawou Wangers!" R-Rangers?
"And so, Momotarou defeated the demon. Together with the demon, who had a change of heart, and the treasure, they returned to the village and everyone, living happily ever after."
The mothers applaud the kids as they bow, and Yayoi-sensei's face beams with pride.
"That was…very good…Kirin. You worked very hard."
"MAMA~"
Good for you Kirin-chan.. I feel Kotarou wrap his arms around my back.
"What's wrong Kotarou?"
"Ryoko, Kotarou." Obaa-san comes up to us, placing her hand on my shoulder. "You did well. She's smiling because of you."
"! I-I didn't really.."
"Hm?"
Kotarou pops his head out from behind me.
"Ah. You did very well too. Thank you for the invitation." Patting his head, Kotarou mumbles something.
"Flu.."
"Flu?"
"Fluffy~!"
"Kotarou, You-"
"WHO HAS A FLUFFY HEAD!? Do you want me to make your head look like this too?"
"Obaa-san, we're sorry! We're sorry! He didn't-"
"Chairman, in case of a time like this, I've prepared-"
"Shut up! It was rhetorical you fool!"
"Pft~ Kotarou, you got guts to do that to the old hag~"
"Want me to cut your pay slacker!?"
"What! You cheap-"
"Chairman, please do. Even my Hayato is more mature-"
Oh. I finally remember why Kotarou and I fought.
"Ryoko, Have you really been letting this fool sleep!? I'm paying him to work!"
"Well.."
It was because…
Author's Note: Inui-senpai made a very short, very silence appearance...it is not yet his time, if it comes at all.