Chapter 7: The Woman: Friend or Foe

Eri just lay down on her bed. Kirihara's invitation filled her thoughts and it bothered her. She remove her spectacles from her eyes.

"Please, come to the ball with me."

"I'm sorry, but I'm not going to the ball."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, sorry," said Eri. "But I'm sure other girls would love to if you ask them."

"I'm not going to the ball with someone else," said Kirihara. "You're the one I only want to go with to the ball. Well then, I guess I'm going alone,"

Those words Kirihara just said to her felt weird to Eri. Until now, she can't understand why on earth did he asked her to go with him. He has a lot of girl dying to grab him as a date for the upcoming ball but then, he just asked her, of all people. She's just a nobody and she's not even pretty. If those girls find that out, including Yuki, they'll skin her alive and it'll be the end of her. For once, she thought that going with Kirihara is interesting but she just can't go with him due to some circumstances.


Eri is walking for school. She's in a hurry because she woke up late and she missed her first two classes. She was absorbed with her thoughts when she suddenly noticed a black car following her. She stopped walking and the car stopped running as well. The window opened and revealed the woman who gave her the calling card.

"It's you!" Eri blurted.

"You can ride with me on your way to school," said the woman. "Come on, don't be shy, I assure you, I'm a friend."

Eri sighed. "Alright."

Eri went inside the car and sat on the chair beside the woman.

"I gave you my calling card so I believe that you know who I am," said the woman.

"Miyazawa, Aiko, that's what's written on your card," said Eri.

"Good, you know me," said Miyazawa.

"Who are you?" asked Eri without hesitation. "And why are you doing this?"

"I can tell you everything but I don't think we have the time for now," said Miyazawa. "We are getting closer to your school. But don't worry, I'm a friend."

"So when are you going to tell me everything?"

"Maybe later, what time does your school for today end?"

"All my classes end at two for today," answered Eri.

"Well then, meet me at two on Buco di Muro," said Miyazawa. "Your school's here."

Eri got down from the car. Before heading to the school she knocked on the window at the driver's seat. The driver's window opened.

"How can I be sure that you are a friend and not a foe?" asked Eri.

"I understand that you can't trust me for now but, once I tell you everything then I'm sure that I will be the one you will trust the most with regards to your problems in life," stated Miyazwa. "You want to get out of this hell, right?"

Eri did not answer but her face says it.

"You don't have to answer because I know the answer already," said Miyazawa. "So if you want to get out of this, the least you can do right now is to trust me."

Miyazawa closed the window. The car started running leaving Eri wondering. Eri started walking towards the gate. As she entered the gate, she notices the form that was right in front of her.

"Kirihara, what are you doing here?"

"Who was that?"

"It's none of you business," said Eri walking past Kirihara.

"I know," answered Kirihara, following Eri.


Eri, together with Mako and Kuki went to the school's garden restaurant to have lunch there. While on their way to the garden, they were able to spot the student council committee's busyness for the ball preparation. They found a place for them to sit. On the other site of their table are Kirihara with his tennis buddies.

"Hey girl, what happened to you?" asked Mako. "It's not like you to miss your first two classes."

"I know it's weird but I really overslept," answered Eri.

"You know what Eri," said Kuki.

"What is it?"

"Is it me or it's just that, Kirihara 's been glancing at you," said Kuki.

"What do you mean?" asked Eri then looking at Kirirhara who looked at her then turned to another person beside her.

Mako noticed a small blush coming from Eri's cheeks. She looked pale embarrassed and tensed.

"Something wrong?" asked Mako. "Did something happen between you two that you look like panicking?"

Eri sighed and said in a whispering manner, "Can you keep a secret?"

Mako and Kuki leaned their heads closer to Eri.

"Uhhmm… well… I feel shy about saying this," said Eri, embarrassed.

"Just say it!" said the twins in unison.

"Kirihara asked me to go to the ball with him," said Eri in a low, whispering voice.

"He did" asked the twins in unison with a surprised tone. "Why? How?"

"I don't know why, but he did," said Eri.

"So what did you tell him?" asked Mako.

"I said no," said Eri.

"What? You said no?" said Kuki. "So what did he told you?

"He said he doen't want to go to the ball with others," answered Eri. "And that he is going alone."

"So you're that girl, huh?" said Mako.

"What do you mean, I'm that girl?"

"Since the ball will be tomorrow, many girls asked him to be their date but refused them," said Kuki. "Many girls are crying right now. Even some of the finest girls in the campus who asked him were rejected."

"Really?"

"Yes Eri, it's all over the campus," said Mako. "He gave each girls who asked him, the same reply."

"What reply?"

"That he already asked someone to go with him and got rejected so he announced that he is going alone," said Mako.

"What! He did that!" said Eri in a shocked manner. "I can't believe that he was serious with what he just said."

"The girls swore that once they find out who that girl is," said Kuki. "They'll skin her alive."

"Oh my gosh," said Eri. "I better go talk to him.

Eri looked at Kirihara who also looked at her. She gave a signal by tilting her head to the right side which meant that they needed to go there to talk about something. Kirihara understood the message and excused himself with his buddies.

Eri is walking towards a place where there is less people to see them. Kirihara is following her.

"So do you finally accept my invitation?" asked Kirihara with a triumphant smirk on his face.

Eri stopped walking then faced Kirihara. "That was my final answer."

"Okay, I'm going alone," said Kirihara.

"Are you out of your mind?" said Eri, looking annoyed. "You could just ask others then you won't have to go alone."

"But I told you, I'm not going to the ball with anyone other than you," answered Kirihara.

Eri sighed. "Why are you doing this?... Why ask me all of a sudden?"

"Because I just want you to keep me company," answered Kirihara. "You're not that troublesome compared to others."

"I see, but sorry, really, I just can't" said Eri. "Please understand. With my situation right now, I just can't."

"I understand, I won't force you but it would be more fun if you were to say yes," asked Kirihara.

The two parted ways by walking on the different directions. Mako and Kuki followed their friend Eri. Kirihara went back to his tennis buddies.


Eri spent the whole morning and the early afternoon by doing well in her classes. She's been listening well but can't seem to fully concentrate on the lessons. Everything is slowly bugging her. At first, it was just her stepmother and stepsister that had been bugging her but now other matters are making her head feel like they might explode anytime. But honestly, she can't comprehend why does these things make her want to explode when in fact, they are nothing compared with her home problems. Maybe it has been an effect of when she's been having problems for quite a long time and nothing has been solved made her think that another confusing matter can become another problem that might make her day worse than ever.

Nothing's wrong with Kirihara asking her to go to the ball with him, herself refusing and him going alone because it won't harm or kill anybody. She thought that maybe she was just afraid of her fangirls, afraid that they might find out that it was her and that they will make her school life miserable. But there's nothing to worry because maybe they won't find out, yeah, maybe. Then there's that woman named Miyazawa, Aiko who said to her that she is a friend and not a foe. All she had to do was to meet up with Miyazawa but she just can't pull herself to trust her. She doesn't know her and never heard anything about her.

Eri sighed. All she just wants is for everything in her life to be fine and in order to do that, there are some actions that are need to be done. She is not a kid anymore so she could probably break the so-called "don't talk to strangers" rule, but only for now and not for the rest of her life. She'll go and meet up with a woman but before going, she'll do a little research about her just to be sure that she is in a position to be trusted. Life to her has been a struggle that things such as trust needs to be taken care of and that's what she's been doing.

Eri's last class ended a bit early. There still more or less twenty minutes before two so she can still do a little research about this mysterious lady. She dragged her two buddies to the internet room to help her with some research. Since there are lots of students are using the internet, only one personal computer is left and the three of them just shared with it.


"Miyazawa, Aiko huh?" said Mako. "So that's her name. And she said that she might be the one to help you?"

"Yes, that's what she said, but she's still a stranger though, so I need to do some research to be sure," said Eri.

"But maybe meeting her won't hurt I think," said Mako.

"I know but right now, I want to make sure that I will not make mistakes," said Eri while typing the name on the research bar. "I've never felt this desperate to get rid of those witches and I'm very much hoping that what she's telling the truth. That's why I'm doing a little research to be sure."

She typed the name on the search bar. There are a lot of Miyazawa, Aiko so they had to click each result one-by-one until they finally clicked on the right one.

"It says here that she is a lawyer based in the US but her hometown is here in Yokohama, Kanagawa," said Eri as she read the article. "It says that she took her law in Harvard."

"Wow! Impressive isn't it?" said Mako.

"What! She's an alumni of University of Rikkai," said Eri with shock. "It says here that she took up her first course, Psychology here in Rikkai. That's it! It's the yearbook that will help us."

After searching at the computer room, they went to the university library to search at what she's looking for. They found the yearbook that she is looking for and started scanning it. She went to the editors' page and Miyazawa, Aiko was the editor-in-chief. She turned the pages of the book to the page that is all about the editor in chief. She scanned all the contents then the photos until she saw one photo that made her pause for a bit. It's Miyazawa's photo when she was way younger than now and she's with two individuals who looked familiar to her. One is a boy while the other one is a girl and then she realized that the two individuals happened to be her dear parents when they were younger. There was a caption under the picture and it says "My two bestfriends".

"She's good friends with my parents!" said Eri in awe. "I have to see her now!"

Eri stood up from the chair, said her goodbyes to her two buddies and walked hurriedly out of the library. The new information that she had just learned about the mysterious woman gave her hope that things will never be the same and that she will be fine because finally, fate had given her a chance and she'll grab every opportunity that could help her.


Kirihara's classes were all finished so he decided that going out with friends would make him feel better from Eri's rejection. Somehow, it didn't because his friends are talking about their date. They have girlfriends after all and they are quite serious with their relationships. The rejection really hurt his ego and can't understand why did she have to reject her. He was just asking her to be his date but in the first place, why did he asked her of all people. She's not even his type and she really hated his guts and when he goes to the café she is working he just annoys the hell out of her and give her all the insults he can give but now, he just asked her to be his date but rejected him. If he asked other girls, they would have agreed.

"You know what Akaya, whoever that girl is, all I can say is that rejecting you was a stupid thing to do," said one of Akaya's friends. "Are you sure you want to go alone?"

"Yes! I've decided buddy," answered Kirihara. "She's the only one I want to go with to the ball for now."

"Wow, you know what, you look bitter," said another.

"No I'm not!"

"But I have one question for you," said another friend as all of his buddies faced him. "Are you in love with this girl?"

"Of course not!" Kirihara said defensively. "It's just that, I'm not in the mood to go out with other girls."

"You go out with girl not because you like, you go out because you hate them and just love playing the role of heart breaker," said one.

Kirihara just kept quiet. He felt that going out with his friends today is one bad idea. He took a sip from his soda until the door of the restaurant opened and was surprised to see someone familiar who walked past their table and did not see them.

"She's here! What is she doing her?"


Eri went to the table were woman was.

"I had a little research about you," said Eri.

"You did?" said Miyazawa. "So what did you found out about me?"

"You are my parent's close friend," said Eri. "It says in the yearbook."

"I'm glad you know, take a sit" said Miyazawa while Eri sits on her chair. "We've been friends since childhood and while we were young, it's already obvious that the two of them already loved each other in a romantic way. Our orders are here."

A waiter approached their table and put the ordered foods in their table then left.

"They are?" asked Eri.

"Yeah, but both lacked the courage to tell each other," said Miyazawa. "Your father, Einosuke, had a lot of girlfriends but it's obvious he didn't love them the way he loved your mother Kasumi. She always gets hurt when she sees him with other girls and I've witnessed all of it and I was her confidante."

"I see, but at least they admitted to each other their true feelings," said Eri with a smile.

"Yeah, but a lot of things happened that paved way for their confession," said Miyazawa.

"What do you mean?" asked Eri, wondering.

"I don't really know much, but I think it happened while I was away," answered Miyazawa. "We migrated to US because my father's company assigned him there and I took my law in Harvard. It was just the two of them."

"Then what happened?" asked Eri with excitement in her eyes as she listen to stories about her parents she never bothered to ask or heard before from her parents.

"I was just shocked when I received a wedding invitation from them and that she is pregnant," said Miyazawa. "She said that it happened during their vacation in Okinawa that they were drunk. A few weeks later, she went to the doctor only to find out that she is indeed pregnant. She was hesitant to tell your father because your father had a girlfriend that time."

Eri just listened to Miyazawa's story as she continues with the story. She never expected that the story of her parents' to be like this.

"But then, your mother can't deny the symptoms and your father asked her if she is pregnant and she answered yes but avoided him for a few days," said Miyazawa. "Your father really loves her so she broke up with his girlfriend and confessed to your mother his true feelings and that he really wanted to marry her. So they married then gave birth to a girl and that was you."

"Me? Wow! I didn't know that their story happened to be like that because I never really bothered to ask them," said Eri, smiling. A gleam of hope can be seen in her eyes after listening to the woman. "Thanks for telling me that and… for offering help."

"You are my goddaughter so I will do everything in my power to help you" said Miyazawa.

"Thanks," said Eri.

"I have a question, did your parents left you any legal documents that certifies that you are the true owner of you properties?" asked Miyazawa. "Because I'm sure they had it all prepared before they die. Since you're their only child, I'm sure they will do legal measures to secure your future and the properties."

"I'm sorry but I have no idea what you're talking about," said Eri, with a trace of sadness in her spectacled eyes. "My parents died when I was young. I'm not even sure if they were able to prepare one. Mom died early because of cancer and dad's death was sudden because of a car accident. So I don't know if they had time to prepare."

"I see, so there's a possibility that they were left in your stepmother's possession or just somewhere in your house," said Miyazawa. "I'm sure a legal document was prepared by your mom. I know Kasumi, she's the type who wants to make sure that everything will be fine before she totally leaves."

"But if there is, where?" said Eri. "Because dad died of a car accident so there's no way he could have predicted that he would die and leave it in Yuko's possession. And if it's mom who arranged for it then it is possible that she left it in dad's hands."

"I think it's just in your house," said Miyazawa. "Einosuke has a fascination for secret passages or hidden closets so that's why I think it's in your house. I'm sure that there's a lot of hidden passages or closet that probably ha not significance in your house."

The term hidden made Eri remember the necklace she found in the hidden drawer on the wall of the room that used to be hers. It seems that somewhere in that house is a hidden secret that needs to be find that even her stepmother doesn't know. Then she removed the locket that she found on the hidden drawer.

"I guess this is a proof that those hidden thingy are true," said Eri, showing Miyazawa the locket. "I also found this in one of his hidden drawers. And what's weird is that, this is just a locket and my mom left a letter with a note to take good care of this because this is the key to my prosperity. I mean, this is just a locket, unless it's worth millions but I doubt that this would worth that much."

"I see it seems that we have no choice," said Miyazawa. "I was planning that after this conversation, I will convince you to stay with me but I guess you still have to stay there a little longer to connect things.

Eri nodded. She thought that after this, if ever Miyazawa invited her to stay with her, she'll definitely agree. It's just that, due to some circumstances, she has no choice but to stay with those witches.

"Thanks for everything Miyazawa san," said Eri, with a mixture of glint of hope, happiness and gratefulness in her spectacled eyes. "I'm really grateful."

"Miyazawa reached out for Eri's hand placed in the table. "As your godmother, it's my responsibility to help you. And please, just call me Aunt Aiko."

Eri nodded and smiled. Aunt Aiko smiled back. After the conversation, they resumed eating and started talking about anything. They were having fun with each other and have a lot of laughs while talking.


Meanwhile, a curly-haired boy is staring at Eri from afar. He never seems to mind what his friends are talking about. All of his attention are on Eri. Even though he can't see her eyes due to her glasses, it is obvious with her lips, the happiness she feels while talking to that unknown lady.

"I've never seen her laugh and smile like that whenever I'm around her."

"He can't comprehend why but he wished that it was him she's talking to and having a laugh with right now.

"If only she can be like that around me… If only she said yes to go with me to the ball."


Well, I did my best with this update so I hope this chapter will turn out fine. Don't forget to leave a review.