Warning: A scene in this chapter contains sexual references, plus, another scene has a character referring to Futanari. Read with discretion.
Chapter six: Change of eyesight and pace
Another class school day ends and I can't help but watch through the window at the campus, watching all those other students looking truly happy with themselves… I wish I was that happy too. I look at my hands, opening an opportunity to let my rainclouds judge me without knowing.
Everybody thinks you are the happiest person on earth, but in fact you are simply a broken, depressed mess concealing everything behind a false façade of happiness. You are just a burden to everyone you come across, a dead weight. You should just disappear. End this charade once and for all. Maybe accomplish that 'premonition' you had with Zhou-kun earlier? That doesn't sound like a ba-
"Shut up" I cut that poisonous voice that sounds like a smug version of me short
Watching through the window once again I set my eyes on the teacher's parking lot, taking notice that Zhou-kun is talking to his phone whilst making his way to his metal box of a car, just before opening the door he looks around rather full of paranoia before seemingly setting his eyes on the gate, where a tow truck carrying a brand-new-looking sedan sits with its headlights on, after spotting the truck Zhou gets in his car and drives off, stopping at the gate and flashing his headlights before continuing and the tow truck simply follows suit and forms a two vehicle convoy with Zhou's big metal box up front. I just keep staring at them as they disappear in the suburban landscape and towards the city. For way too long I assume, as somebody pokes my shoulder.
"-Ori-chan? Sayori-chan! You are spacing out again!" A high pitched voice pleads at me
I turn around to see a girl with black hair tied in a ponytail and brown eyes that is slightly taller and better built (And more mature-looking) than me, she is Kaskabe Haruna, one of my 'closest' classmates.
"Oh? I did it again? Well, I guess I love to space out!" I say in my usual tone of faux happiness whilst unconsciously pressing my index fingers together
"Hey, you know, I was wondering how that club you joined in was going! Since is a literature club I am not that interested, but since you are in it I wondered how were you guys hanging on and what were you all planning for the festival!"
"Hey! I didn't just joined in! I am also a cofounder of the literature club! And, we are doing just fine! We got two new members on Monday even!"
"Really?! Looks like you guys are having the wind in your favor! And what are the festival plans?" Haruna inquires
"Ummm… Actually I don't know about that, Monika and I haven't gotten to plan what we are going to do in the festival yet! I am so nervous!" I observe
"Oh geez! Well don't just stand there Sayori-chan! Club hour has started already! Go organize something…! And good luck too!"
"Thanks! Goodbye!" I say whilst picking my things and walking off
With that exchange between me and Haruna I head onto the clubroom, I am even skipping in order to keep my façade convincing, I cannot allow anyone else to see right through me. Especially since Mizu and Zhou know what I am going through. I'm just burdening them, I know. But I will have to find a way to get them off my tail.
Maybe if you just died you would stop burdening them.
Maybe you are right…
"You will never be a burden to me, not here, not now and definitely not ever" Those were Mizu's words… I think
"No, I will stay strong. I have to shake this mentality" I tell to myself
The rest of the way goes on a breeze as I keep humming a little song that had the lyrics 'Choose life' on it. After a while, I finally get to the clubroom, and I barge in as always, Natsuki and Yuri are in their usual activities, Monika is scratching her head on the teacher's desk with a mountain of paperwork.
"Hello everyone!" I cheerfully say, and this time I think I really mean it
"Hey there Sayori" Monika greets
"I didn't bring anything today so don't go sniffing around Sayori!" Natsuki pouts
And Yuri simply waves in a nervous way. I make my way to Monika who is on the teacher's desk so we can talk about festival plans.
"President Monika" I jokingly say
"Vice-President Sayori" She replies in the same way
"So, I was wondering what were we going to do for the festival, Monday is almost upon us and I really wouldn't like to treat this like my homework"
"What do you mean by that Sayori?"
"Leaving it for the last minute! We need to organize ourselves, assign roles, that sort of stuff!" I suggest
"Right, I have gotten a couple ideas along the week, maybe you and I could do some pamphlets, Natsuki some snacks and Yuri could set up the decorations. Mizu could tag along with one of us if he wants" Monika explains
"Sounds good, but what about Zhou-kun?"
"Who?" Monika asks, and she looks absolutely confused
"Lee? Lee Zhou? The other boy I brought on Monday!" I attempt to refresh her memory
"Really? You brought another member on Monday? I don't recall it"
"Monika, what do you mean you don't recall it? He came on both Monday and yesterday! He mocked you twice, called off a fight between Natsuki and Yuri, and you even shared poems with him!" I exclaim in a way that takes Monika aback
"Seriously, I don't remember him at all! But all and all he does not sound like a stellar guy, considering he mocked me, but I suppose that it's good that he managed to call off a fight between Yuri and Natsuki" She waves her hands for emphasis and then sets the tip of her index finger under her chin
"Well, he is a great guy! I can't believe you can't remember him… Anyhow. He's still a member, and he has a car! Maybe everyone could drop what they have done at Zhou's house and he could bring it here and set things up!"
"A car? With this traffic? We could do better bringing our handiwork on foot!"
"Uhhh, what are you talking about Monika? The metrosexual area strangely has one of the lowest traffic densities in Japan" I point out
After that phrase I hear Natsuki bursting into laughter in the background and Monika goes in a mixture of both confused and wanting to laugh with Natsuki, suddenly the classroom door opens, revealing Mizu who is late.
"Hey guys, what did I missed…? Why is Natsuki laughing like a mad man?" Mizu ponders
"Here! *Chuckle* Sayori called! *Chuckle* The whole metro area! *Chuckle* A 'Metrosexual area'! *Loud laugh* CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?!" Natsuki says in a barely understandable way because of her laughter whilst leaning on Mizu, and I still don't get my mistake
Mizu seemed to understand her, since he releases a hefty laugh as well, I have to break the ice, I don't get what I said wrong!
"Ah… Excuse me, what did I say wrong? I don't get what is so funny, 'metro area' is short for 'metrosexual area' right?" I question whilst putting my index fingers together in embarrassment
Natsuki collapses to the floor in laughter, but Mizu sobers up, seems like he wasn't too unfazed by hearing it a second time.
"Sayori, it's actually 'Metropolitan area', 'Metrosexual' is some sort of sexual orientation I think"
"Oh! I heard about Metrosexuals once, they are people who actually like themselves more than any other person, yet they could still date another person regardless of gender" Yuri explains from the back
Mizu simply bobs his head like a dummy, giving away the fact that he didn't understood a thing, Natsuki stopped laughing and she was just looking around in disbelief.
"Oh great, nice buzzkill Yuri! I was having the time of my life before you messed that up with your stupid facts" Natsuki complains whilst picking herself up
"S-sorry" Yuri mutters whilst fidgeting with her hair
"Yuri, don't be, it isn't bad to keep us all informed every once in a while" Mizu counters
"Yes! Natsuki, that was very unkind of you!" I say
"Pfft! Like I care!"
After that, Natsuki simply retreats to her seat, Monika in the other hand proceeds to grab our attention once again; she claps her hands and… Oh well, here comes the catchphrase…!
"… Okay everyone…!"
Nailed it! I giggle a little at our president's predictability but decide to pay attention to her all the same.
"… Well, as I am pretty sure you guys know, the autumn festival is just around the corner! And it is a prime opportunity for us to gather more members for the club!"
After Monika's statement, we all hear an audible groan, it's a no brainer to guess who it is…
"ARGH…! More members? I thought I told you yesterday that we could do with two members LESS" Natsuki retorts
And that's my cue.
"Natsu-chan! Why are you like that today? Why can't you just listen what Monika has to say and then opine?" I ask, cutely as per usual
"You know what? Sayori's right! How about you let Monika speak and then share your thoughts? Who knows, maybe you could like an idea that she pitches" Mizu pipes up
"Okay, but I doubt I'll like anything!"
"You know that if we don't get two more members before November our club is going to be on queue for disbandment review right…? Fine, with that out of the way, I decided that in order to prepare for the festival, I will be handing out some nice and simple assignments for us to complete! Yuri…" Monika says whilst taking a little notebook out of her blazer along with a pen
"Y-Y-Yes?"
"You think you could handle some decorations for the clubroom?" Monika said whilst gesturing at the entirety of the room we were in
"S-sure… I h-ha-have a couple of ideas to set a nice atmosphere…" Yuri mutters, but our stellar president manages to catch it!
"Fine for me! next, Natsuki…"
"Shoot"
"Are you up for making some snacks? I get it if you are a little moody to make them…" Monika says before getting cut off
"Of course I can do them! I'm never moody to not make any sort of sweets that will blow your socks off, I will start making them on Saturday through Sunday so they will be nice and warm in Monday" Natsu-chan chimes in
"Okay! Sayori…?"
"Ready and willing Ms. President!" I chant
"You and I will be doing some pamphlets to place them in the desks, oh! And make sure every one of you writes a poem to me before Friday so I can put them in the pamphlets! In the meantime Sayo and I will be working in the designs so I can print them on Saturday and get that out of the way" Our president commands whilst taking notes
"What about me?" Mizu says out of the blue
"Oh! Mizu! I don't have a specific task for you, so I guess you could tag along with one of us, go ahead! Make a choice!"
"Ahhh…"
In that moment, Mizu starts scanning us from the feet to the head, showing a little hesitation on who he will choose.
"Uhhh… I guess I will go with Natsuki, baking sounds like work, and the oven in my house hasn't been used in… Well, a long time"
"Fine dummy, I will be at your house on Saturday at 3, sounds good?" Natsuki asks
But before he can answer Natsuki replies.
"Okay, that's it, Saturday at 3 at your place, I'll ask Sayori for the address, you don't seem like the kind of guy who knows how to give directions"
Mizu raised a finger to counter, but he quickly backed down, knowing that she wasn't very far off the truth. And I realized that Monika had left out an important detail, I make my way to the middle of all of us to call their attention.
"Hey! Once you guys are done with your assignments drop them off at the house diagonal to mine that has a big old metal box with wheels in the driveway! That's Zhou-kun's house! He will take them over here really early in the morning so we can set things up quick!"
"Oh great, I forgot that, some president I am…" Monika takes her wrist up to her forehead in frustration whilst still holding her pen and notebook
"Well, I'll pass, I'm not gonna let that American idiot place the cupcakes I'm going to make in the trunk of his car so they get all crushed with a tire jack or whatnot" Natsuki claims
"I-I-I-I am going to need an address… I don't know where you reside Sayori" Yuri points out
"Don't worry! Give me your phone number so I can text the address or send you the location on WhatsApp!" I cheer up
With that I start exchanging phone numbers with Yuri, a thing I've never done before thanks to her shyness. Whilst we're exchanging, Mizu asks something out of nowhere.
"Hey, anybody knows what time it is? I swear we have been here forever" Mizu pipes up
"Oh sure it is… Oh my! It's 5:28! We have sure been here for a while! Look everyone, I will dismiss this club meeting now before a janitor comes and checks on us, remember to bring two poems tomorrow! One for sharing; you can bring the one you were meant to share today if you want, and another one for the pamphlet! Also tell the guy who didn't came today his tasks!" Monika claims whilst looking at the time on her phone
"Fine, see you all tomorrow guys" Natsuki says before quickly packing up her stuff and leaving
"Goodbye you all…" Yuri quickly mutters before grabbing her phone from her bag and start calling
With this only Mizu, Monika and I remain, I try to get them to leave.
"Only us three left… Monika, wanna join Mizu and me until the exit?" I friendly ask
"Ah, don't worry about me! I need to stay here and finish this paperwork before I leave, besides, I have to leave the keys on the faculty room" Monika explains whilst waving at us dismissively
"Geez… Sayori, how about we get going? Monika-sensei needs to finish her paperwork" Mizu jokes
"Hey! I'm right here you know?"
"HAHAHA! Anyway, let's get going! See you tomorrow Ms. President!" I bid farewell
"See you tomorrow my dear second in charge!"
"I will smell you later Monika!" Mizu bids his goodbyes as well
"Really?"
With that, Mizu and I get out of the clubroom and onto the hallway, once we get out of school grounds and on the street, I drop my carefully choreographed smile, Mizu notices this and we talk again.
"So, how was your day?" Mizu asks out of the blue
"Well, pretty decent, I have been holding on good, the rainclouds haven't been much of a problem today, they haven't spoken since we began the club meeting" I say, in a pretty monotone way
"Really? It doesn't sound like it"
"Sorry, it's just that you know how things are like now, I don't see a reason why to keep acting all cheery in front of you if we are alone"
"Oh yeah, that" Mizu says, rather awkwardly
"Don't tell me you forgot" I mildly berate
"No! Of course not! It's just that I'm so used to your cheery act that I think that that's the real you, you have done a wonderful job in fooling me and the others"
"Really? You don't say?"
"One hundred percent sure of it, you should be an actress" Mizu says
"No thanks, the film industry is an evil and fake place, even more depressing than any film noir they could produce even, I don't want to accomplish what I saw with Zhou after rolling a scene or something like that" I excuse myself
"Wow, this side of you is pretty interesting, you seem more literate than usual!"
"Oh, and better get used to it, because this is the Sayori you will see when we are alone; gloomy, depressed and pessimistic… And smarter too if you think so" I say nonchalantly, gesturing to myself
"Hey, I have a question"
"Okay, say it"
"I wonder, all the incidents with you switching words, like the one you had recently with 'metropolitan' are for real or you are just that good at acting them out?" Mizu elaborates
"Well, you see, I have this little imaginary switch in my head that makes me go back and forth between my genki girl act and being as I am right now, but I think I do get a bit dumber when acting all cheery, and I mean that literally, I don't know how that happens" I explain
"Well, that's some food for thought… Hey, have you considered going to a psychologist or something?"
"Multiple times, but I never seem to find a good one that's either close to my home, or one I can afford… But I think I should ask Zhou, he always seems to be well-informed, and with a little pressure I think I could get him to pay a couple of sessions~!" I plot, slightly regaining a cheery attitude towards the last batch of words
"HAHAHA! You never change Sayori, even when acting completely different to your usual self you are still a person who doesn't like to spend a dime of their own!" Mizu jokes
"Hey! The money my parents left me is running out! What do you expect me to do?"
"I don't know, maybe stop stuffing your mouth to the point you can barely speak"
"I'm depressed remember? It isn't my fault that I find comfort in food" I justify
"Sure sure…! Hey, when I arrived you were talking with Monika right? How did that went?" Mizu asks
"Well, normal if you ask me, except for one teeny little detail…"
"What is that 'teeny little detail' Sayo?"
"Monika didn't seem to remember Zhou at all, she said she didn't remember when he mocked her, or when they shared poems, or anything of the sort, crazy right?" I explain
"Well, this is without a doubt abnormal, we should tell Zhou about this… And talking about Zhou I wonder how he is doing with his father…" Mizu asks to himself
"That's a good question, maybe we should text or call him"
"You call him, I'm sure he would be more comfortable with hearing your voice rather than mine"
"Okay then, here goes nothing"
I say whilst reaching for my phone to dial Zhou's number
Pops and I walk outside of the city's equivalent of a DMV, car keys in both of our hands, but I also hold a folder with all things I had to sign and the papers for my new car too.
"Well kid, wanna drive your new car back to the house?" Pop asks whilst waving the P.I's keys around
"Of course I do! Fork em' over, have the keys of the Vic" I say before throwing dad the keys of my Crown Victoria to him, and as he catches them, he throws the Sedan's keys to me, I swiftly catch them mid-air
"Hehe, I see that you haven't forgotten your time at that baseball camp Zhou!"
"Well, that's one of the things of NOLA I wouldn't forget no matter how hard I tried pops!"
"Hey kid… Race you to the house?" Dad spicily challenges
"Oh old man… You know in what kind of mess you getting' yourself in right…? 'Cause I'm gonna crush your ass on the way back! Especially on what you just gave me!" I say before quickly patting my old man in the back and starting to go on a dead sprint towards my newly registered car sitting in the parking lot
"Aw you little shit!" My father says before also getting to run to my other car, for a fifty-six-year-old man, he still has some stamina
I quickly arrive to my 'brand-new' dark teal Ford Police Interceptor Sedan that definitely seems like it is the detective variant. I open the driver-side door with the key, hop on in, throw the folder with all those papers in the passenger seat and start up the engine, once all needles on the dashboard sit comfortable, I turn on the headlights, set the car in neutral and rev the engine a to warm it up a little, once I see that the Crown Victoria in my rearview mirror comes to life, I swiftly place the transmission in Drive and drive off with instant traction and not much wheel spin thanks to that police calibrated traction control that comes with these cars, as I take a corner, I notice that the Crown Vic is somehow catching up (Well, that somehow is a custom ECU I installed on it post emissions inspection this year, oops), I up my game a little and turn left in an alleyway, looking at the rearview mirror I see how the Vic simply goes past the alley, I keep going forwards, crushing cardboard boxes and taking out a couple of shopping carts along the way, once I get back to the street I turn right to head towards the residential area, and as I pass the intersection with the traffic light on green on my side, I see the Crown Vic powersliding right behind my tail, and my phone starts to ring.
I take my phone out of my pocket and place it on the needle cluster to see who's calling… And it's 'Sayori Salvato'; I need to pick it up, I swipe upwards, press the blue 'Answer' button on the screen and place it on speakerphone.
"Hello? Zhou? Are you there?" A high-pitched, yet gloomy voice asks through the phone
"Yepper! Sayori? Is that you? You don't sound like yourself today" I sorta nervously ask
"Yes, it's me, look, I'm dropping the genki girl act for the rest of the day, that's why I'm sounding like this, are you at your house? Mizu and I are returning from the school now"
"Wow, this late? I wonder what kept you all in the clubroom"
"Monika and festival prep work, we need to talk in person about that and something very weird that happened today. You haven't answered my question" Sayori inquires
"Ahhh… Currently blasting through the sixth block, give me fifteen minutes and I'll be home" I say as I tap the brakes and hang a right, my phone falling out of the cluster to the center console
"Alright, we will show up at your house once we see your car outside"
"Seriously? Is it that urgent? Give me some time to change out of these clothes and relax a bit for a god's sake! I've been standing in lines for two hours or so!"
"OK… See you at 6:30~!" Sayori says with a bit of cheeriness
"7, the time we had accorded in first place, not a minute before" I say sternly
"Aaaand you broke my cheerfulness once again, thank you very much" Sayo says sarcastically
"Hey, somebody has to put your feet back on earth" I joke, and with that she hangs up
Well, now I have another reason to slam it on the pedal or otherwise I'll never be able to catch a little relaxation…
A few minutes later, pops and I are head to head as we get close to the house, we has whooshed by the school a little earlier, but we were going at likely 90+ miles-per-hour considering that I couldn't make out anything or anyone on the sides of the car. As we approach the house I hit the brakes to enter the driveway, but Dad has a different plan as I see him going in Tokyo Drift mode and entering the driveway sideways… It's safe to say that it didn't end well at all, as the rear of my Crown Vic; driven by my dad, crashes against the brick fence at the front of the house, causing it to lose control and bounce towards a dry cherry tree we have planted on the yard, of course, the passenger side (Or driver side of the car for you right-hand-driving-freedom-hating-Japs-Brits-and-Aussies) is what crashes against the tree, bringing the car to a dry stop. I was worried that my dad could have injured himself badly; even if all the airbags had went off, so I come to a complete stop in front of the house and hastily get down from the car whilst leaving the engine running and the door open, because there's no time to worry about gas if the ones you love are in danger.
I run towards the crashed car laying in the yard and start knocking the driver's window, seeing if I could get a response.
"POPS! POPS! OPEN UP!" I nervously scream whilst knocking the door
After a few knocks and screams, I hear the distinctive sound of the door lock going off, I quickly open up the door and try to get my careless father out of the car, not that any of that was necessary though, as the man himself steps out of the crashed car… Laughing his ass off.
"AHAHAHAHHAHA HOLY SHIT SON! Did you see that? I turned Russian for a second there!" My father jokes
"What? You kiddin'? You crashed my car; the one I bought with my savings by the way, and now you're laughing your ass off? You shaken or stirred old man?" I angrily retort
"Maybe both kid! I feel a bit dizzy though… Let's go inside, the neighbors are taking an interest" Pop says referring to the fact that there are a group of neighbors looking at our exchange from the sidewalk
"Whatever, just lemme turn off the Sedan and retrieve my keys… And I suppose you'll be payin' for the tow truck and the repairs right?" I say as I walk off towards the Interceptor
"No worries son! I crash, I pay. That's my motto!"
"What kind of motto is that…? And what about you all?" I say to address a neighbor in Japanese whilst retrieving my stuff from the car after the pause
"I don't know, I was eating with my wife and then I heard a big crash, we were about to call the police but, it seems like you two have worked everything out already" My neighbor replies
"Smart move sir, waiting until something happens to take action, and don't worry about this, my father and I will work this out. In the meantime, why don't you go back to spend some quality time with your wife? I'm sure it would be way better than staying here and snooping around" I half-menacingly say whilst patting my neighbor in the back
"Sure… You Americans are creepy for sure…"
"HA! If ya knew the full lineage…" I say in English whilst finishing up retrieving my stuff and walking back to the house
And with that, I walk into the house.
Its 7:03 already and my guests haven't arrived, I was surprised they didn't came earlier due to the crash, which was pretty loud. Anyway, let me put y'all up to speed in what has happened lately, after pop crashed I called a tow truck to take my car to a repair shop; all at expense of my father, also I'm gonna take this chance to respray my car white by the way, I've always wanted a white Crown Vic, it gives the car an even more 'elegant' stance. After that pops and I talk about how I beat the shit out of Shigeru Tanaka back at school whilst I was changing the LEDs on the Interceptor's mirrors; how it started, why shouldn't I lose my temper that easily, why I shouldn't do it, why violence is bad, yadda yadda yadda. The usual speech a father has with a son when he does something in self-defense or causes trouble, well, it wasn't so usual because he added some things about my lineage and whatnot, but I ain't talking about that now.
I'm in the living, dressed in the most 'old-man-like' outfit you could ever imagine; a white dress shirt with both sleeves rolled, a pair of black chinos and black oxfords (This' my definition of clothing to stay in home, most people don't get it but, each one has a style right?). I'm here listening to Frankie Laine's 'Black and Blue' whilst clearing some of my homework; I'm currently solving something for my Italian class, but so far? Molto facile! If y'all get what I mean.
Then I hear the doorbell going off.
*Ding dong*
Of course, me being me, I put up one my classic quotes directed at door-to-door salespeople.
"IF YOU'RE A JEHOVAH'S WITNESS KINDLY GO AWAY! IN THIS HOUSE WE'RE PROUD ATHEISTS, JEWS AND CATHOLICS!" I scream at the door to see if they'll go away
"What? We're not Jehovah's witnesses! We're your two favorite believers in Shinto! Open up!" I hear a high pitched voice say that I instantly recognize as Sayori's
"All right all right! I'm coming!" I loudly say before standing up
With that I go to the door, once I open it Sayori steps in and gives me a hug, followed by Mizu who simply does a fist bump with me, I gesture them to sit at the living room, which they comply, Sayo makes herself comfortable in the sofa whilst Mizu prefers a single seater, I take back the loveseat that's on the side, which has all of my homework just scattered around it. Sayori's dressed with a salmon tee, some jean minishorts and the same Ubawaki (Is that the way you pronounce that shit?) sandals with baby blue details and red ribbon in her hair that she uses on the school; on the other hand, Mizu's bland as all hell, gray t-shirt, black sweatpants and white running sneakers; that combined with his messy brown hair it makes for the typical appearance of an extra in an anime or whatnot. But I save those comments to myself.
"So… What's with the tire marks on the grass and the tilted tree?" Mizu asks out of curiosity
"Long story short: My father thought he was on the Mid Night Club with my car, tried to make a drift, and failed miserably" I nonchalantly answer
"Wow, so that's why I didn't see your car in the driveway huh? Also, where are you going dressed like that? Picking up your girlfriend?" Sayori asks in reference to my choice of clothing
"HA! I wish, this is what I call casual clothing Sayori, in all honestly, the world could use some of this fashion"
"Hell no man! I'm not going to run around wearing something like that! Seems suffocating in a hot day!" Mizu pipes up
"Hey! It beats wearing shorts and tank tops out on the street!" I laugh
"Uuuuh! I like this song already" Sayori says whilst moving at the rhythm of the xylophone solo currently playing
"No you don't" I say before hastily grabbing my phone and changing the song to "Stone Cold Dead in The Market" on the speakers around the house
"Hey! Why did you do that for Zhou?"
"For your own good, that song is about being lonely, sad and complaining about why you were born. Not precisely the best song for someone with depression to hear"
"Man! I wouldn't have noticed that one since I don't speak English, nice ears dude!" Mizu congrats
"Hey, it wasn't a problem, I have heard that song tons of times, so I know the lyrics by heart… Now, what were we going to talk about?" I say whilst laying back in my seat
"Oh yeah, that, Sayori has something to say about Monika"
"Okay, that. Monika seems to have… Forgotten you all of a sudden, I don't have an idea about how that happened, but she doesn't remember either meeting you or sharing poems or the times you have mocked her on the club meetings" Sayori explains
"Hey, it wasn't mocking, I was just teaching her how to laugh at herself"
"Well, so far she forgot your 'lessons' Zhou, but this means you could have a chance of… I don't know…" She drifts off
"Of what?" I demand an answer
"Maybe getting close to her? You know, she's my friend and all but she won't tell me everything, and she has that odd habit of staying in the clubroom filling papers after class, she must leave very late"
"Well, I could befriend her again, if that's what you mea-"
"No… Not befriend her" Sayori interrupts
"Then what genius? Just being acquainted doesn't work, as per obvious" I retort
She answers to my question with an awkward heart with her hands, leaving me dumbfounded.
"SCUSAMI?" I blow up in Italian
"Zhou! Keep it down!" Mizu complains
"But have you understood what she wants me to do?! She wants me to date Monika!"
"WHAT?!"
"Exactly that… Look Sayori, I find Monika a beauty as much as the man sitting in the single seate-"
"I NEVER SAID THAT!" Mizu cuts me off defensively
"AS I WAS SAYING! I find Monika beautiful as much as the next guy, but there's so much that can go wrong here. First: What if I'm not Monika's type? Second: What do you think her family's going to think when they hear she's dating a Chinese-American guy? Her parents aren't going to be all dandy and accepting with that considering the profound hatred from the Japanese society towards my kind!" I begin my rant
"What? We don't hate Americans!" Mizu justifies
"But you sure hate the Chinese! And I have a Chinese name, I was born in Shanghai, and I sure look like a chink! It's a miracle I got you two to be my friends, I was alone before meeting you all…! And now the final and most important thing: What, the fuck, am I supposed to do when I have to dump her because she has outlived her usefulness? I'm sure as hell that with all the power I have heard the Sekemotos possess, she is going to send HITSQUADS AT MY DOORSTEP! I'm too young to die! I just got into the prime of my life and I'm avoiding death already!"
"Wait wha-" I cut off Sayori
"Well, there is no time for chit-chat about that, in short, I'm just going to say that your plan isn't going to work if you use me… How about we use the guy with the massive crush on Monika we have sitting over there?" I nonchalantly say, pointing at Mizu
At this point of time, Mizu's face is red as a tomato, and he's gonna go all tsun-tsun in three, two…
"W-w-what are you talking about?!"
Ehehe, knew it.
"Oh don't play dumb with me jackass, I saw how you were looking at Monika's reflection on that mirror in the clubroom on the first day. Those thighs surely got you hypnotized, not to mention those emerald green eye-"
"ENOUGH!" I hear a commanding female voice say
I turn to the source to see… Sayori?! No, it can't be her… I get closer to the sofa and… Oh shit it was her! Her eyebrows are twitching and she has the most menacing frown I've ever seen in a female Asian face so far, not even my mother can make that sort of face! And us Chinese are mean motherfuckers!
"Was that you?!" Mizu asks nervously
"OF COURSE IT WAS ME YOU HORNY IDIOT!" Sayori says threateningly again, making Mizu and I take a few steps back
"What the hell's goin' on? Ling got here?!" My father hurriedly says in English from the stairwell
"Nope pop! Sayori's having an anger attack, that's it! Turn on the speakers in your room and lemme sort this out!" I reply to him in English
The atmosphere is tense, Sayori's on the verge of making the whole neighborhood go in red alert with her newly-discovered commanding screams, and now I have to find a way out for all of us.
"Sayori, we get it, lesson learned, we won't talk anymore about Monika's physique in front of you anymore, we can see that it got you upset. Right Mizu?" I say whilst looking back to him with a dead cold look
"S-sure! We won't say a thing about her… Her… Body… Anymore…" Mizu says, drooling because clearly he's thinking 'bout some heavenly thighs
"Snap out of it Mizu! Otherwise our friend over here due to her rage is going to scream so loud that the neighbors are going to think we are committing a murder here!"
"Oh right! Angry Sayori, right, I'm sorry"
"Well, no shit… Sayo, take a deep breath. Inhale and exhale okay?" I sweetly ask Sayo, to which she complies, taking at first an erratic pace, before finally settling down
"So uh… All good now?" Mizu awkwardly asks whilst scratching the back of his head
*Sigh* "All good, sorry about that" Sayori meekly apologizes whilst sitting down in the sofa again, I make a move and sit right beside her
"About what? All you did was having a logical reaction when other people were talking about other female's beauty without making a single comment about your own, I have seen it before" I comfort her whilst patting her back
"No, it's not a logical reaction! I overreacted it! It was my fault because I started talking about that wacky plan I had"
"Yeah, about that…" Mizu pipes up
Sayori and I raise our faces to see Mizu face to face, but mine has a look that says 'Say another word and I'll rip your throat'.
"Nothing…"
"Okay, so now, about what you all did in the club in my absence…" I try to say before getting cut off… By a growling stomach
We all look at Sayori with smug faces, knowing that she was the one being hungry, I simply look away to release a small chuckle and grab the Interceptor's keys, a brown leather jacket from the loveseat and my wallet from the coffee table that we all have in front before sighing.
"Okay, that can wait, but first, pizza"
And as Sayori starts to skip in joy to the exit Mizu and I laugh our asses off all the way to the car, once we get there I start to make arrangements. I quickly open the rear doors and set up the child locks on both of them, I close the rear-left one and get out through the rear-right, leaving it open.
"Okay, here's how we'll go, Sayo will ride shotgun and you can have the back all for yourself Mizu, sound good? Let's go" I say whilst heading to the driver's side by sliding through the hood
"Wow that was cool… Wait! Why is the rear separated from the front by some sort of fence? And why am I riding in the back like a prisoner?!" Mizu asks, referring to the plate that separates the front from the back
"First: This is a decommissioned police car Mizu, I just got it today. I'll remove the separating plate when I have time. Secondly: This is because we need to treat Sayori in a way, she'll ride shotgun, so shut up. The place I'm going to take you all closes at 10 P.M"
"What? A police car? How did you get it Zhou?" Sayori asks
"My other car is a cop car too, and I got that one used from a dealer back in the States and got it imported, but this car? You should all ask dad, he got it for me" I say whilst putting on my seatbelt and starting the engine
"Huh? Well, you got a cool dad Zhou! The most expensive thing my parents ever got me was a box of manga… Hey, you said that the place closed at 10 right? Step on it Lee! It's 8 o' clock…! Unless it's somewhere near" Mizu pipes up
"You know what? I guess we'll have to take the pedal to the metal, that pizzeria is on the second block of financial and we are on the eleventh in the residential area… HOLD ON TO YOUR BUTTS!" I say before putting the column shifter on Drive and stepping on it
Sometime later, we arrived to our destination with an abrupt stop at an available parking space, Sayori and Mizu are trembling, with the former grabbing tightly the grips on top of the door arch and the cup holder on the center console and the latter going nuts trying to open a window to escape.
"LET ME OUT YOU MANIAC! LET ME OUT!" Mizu chants whilst pressing the buttons to lower the windows like a mad man
"Keep your tampon in place Mizu, we are here" I say whilst unlocking the doors and windows before shutting off the engine and setting the transmission in Park
Sayori quickly gets out of the car once she hears the door unlocking to lay on the floor, I run around the car and into the sidewalk to open Mizu's door which he can't open from the inside due to the children locks being on, once I open the door he quickly gets out.
"I don't want to die anymore… I don't want to die anymore… I DON'T WANT TO DIE ANYMORE!" Sayori chants at the top of her lungs whilst rolling in the floor
"Glad to hear it Sayo, but you still need to go to a shrink"
"Remember… Not to tell you… To hurry… Ever again…" Mizu says whilst clutching his chest
"Aren't you going to lay on the floor like Sayo?" I taunt
"Go to hell!"
"I sure will… Now get up you crazy broad, you're going to love this place, the pizzas here surely give a kick in the crotch to whatever Domino's can make" I claim whilst helping Sayori get up
Once everyone has picked themselves up, we cross the street towards an establishment that looks like a Broadway theater with lighting that doesn't stand out much between all the lights of the bustling financial district of the metro area, yet it stands out due to the style of the business, the sign reads 'Pizza Delano' as the name of the establishment; making me have a laugh every time I read it, with the marquee reading 'Today's special: Autumn pizza and Calzone Delano' making that I laugh my ass out loud, of course, Mizu and Sayori notice this.
"Zhou? What is going on? What's so funny?" Sayori asks
*Chuckle* "Listen up *Chuckle* here you two. You know that the name of this place is 'Pizza Delano' right?" I say doing my best to contain my laughter
"Yeah, why is that so funny to you?" Mizu questions
"Look, I speak Spanish, and the name 'Delano' is a common name pun in Spanish-speaking countries" I elaborate
"A pun for what exactly?" Sayori inquires
"Well, you see, in Spanish 'Del' means 'From' and 'Ano' means 'Anus', when you put those two together in a sentence it results in?" I say, now barely containing my laughter
"'From' 'Anus' 'From anus' From the anus? Pizza from the anus?" Sayori solves
With that, Mizu and her finally get the joke and we all laugh our asses off in the sidewalk before sobering up.
"Okay, enough for 'Pizza del ano' let's get a move on and put some 'Pizza por la boca' if you all get what I mean" I say breaking the mood
"That pun wasn't even funny" Mizu complains
"It's because it wasn't a pun, it means 'Pizza through the mouth', now move 'IloveMonika'" I taunt
"Oh go fuck yourself" Mizu says in a heavily accented English
"Fuck you very much" I return in English as well
Moving towards the business we notice a large line, mostly composed by normal salarymen and some execs who want some junk food before they either go home or go work some overtime, Sayori and Mizu seem to be disappointed by this.
"We will never get to the end of the line before they close down! And I'm so hungry I could eat a cow!" Sayori pouts
"Man, send this idea to the trash, let's just order some takeout from Domino's and forget about this" Mizu suggests
"Stop the whining and follow me" I coldly say
We move forwards, towards the receptionist whilst skipping the dozens of people in line, they are all annoyed because of our movement, so they taunt us.
"Hey kids! Go form like everyone else!" A man says
"Chinese scum! You and your hostages have to form!" A woman says, obviously pointed at me, so I ball my hands into fists with the comment
In the flood of insults, I've noticed that Sayori's tightly holding onto both Mizu and I, she's obviously scared at the whole thing, I start patting her head.
"Don'tcha worry, everything's gonna be just fine" I coo in English
We finally reach the receptionist, who at first doesn't look at us and keeps looking through the reservations.
"The clients are right sir or madam. You must form" A female receptionist with a slender; yet curvy, figure dressed in a yellow and red T-shirt with the logo of the pizzeria, a pair of jeans and sneakers and orange hair says to us
"That's one helluva way to greet me Tomo-chan" I sarcastically say in English
Tomoko; the receptionist, pipes up and looks at me
"Zhou?! Geez, I didn't even noticed you, I'm sorry, it's just that I deal with too many jackasses who like to try and get up front" She apologizes in English whilst letting us through
"Don't worry, I know the feel, I've worked part-time jobs too you know? Only that mines were state-side but you know, same shit no matter the place"
"Right… You staying for a while?" Tomoko asks
"Sure, my people gotta eat right?"
"Could you give me a lift after closing time? You know it isn't that far off route"
Before I can say something, Sayori pulls me away, but I still want to let her get the message.
"Don't worry! I'll take ya home! Backdoor as always?!" I ask whilst refusing to let Sayori go faster, to which she answers with pulling with more strength
"Sure! See you later!" Tomoko loudly says before getting back to her duties
After the exchange with Tomoko, I shake my arm off Sayori's grip and give her a death glare. With that we move to look for a table, in the restaurant everything was full, so at the end we picked one near the stage that just got freed up, we sat down, a waiter took our orders, cleaned up the leftovers and we just began to admire the view of the pizzeria to wait, it was more like a jazz club because they have a stage, a bar and all, but you know, they don't have someone that can perform since they couldn't afford anyone relevant to the theme yet, even with all the people coming and the popularity of the location. The place was wrapped in red, yellow and orange decoration with plenty of Italian memorabilia, the AC was on point; not too cold to freeze, but not too warm so you could either feel uncomfortable or sweat. And plenty of Old Italian music to accentuate the atmosphere. Definitely my kind of place.
"So, you know that I'm really hungry and you decide to talk with your friend? Are you that inconsiderate Zhou?" Sayori complains
"More inconsiderate would be to leave her hanging, Tomoko's a kind person, and kindness shouldn't go to waste, right Sayori?" I say with a hint of venom
"Did you just dare to make a hanging pun knowing what is going to happen in Monday?!"
"Alright you two, calm down! We are here to eat, enjoy ourselves a bit and discuss a couple of things we couldn't at Zhou's place,right?" Mizu says in a demanding tone
"Wow, I didn't knew you could have a bit of leadership on you Chiyumi, and I congratulate you for that… Anyway, the reason why I wouldn't ignore Tomoko ever is because… Well, I lied about not having friends other than you two, I met Tomoko on LAX; the airport of Los Angeles whilst boarding the flight that headed towards Tokyo two years ago, I met her on the boarding area after our flight got delayed, I was fifteen back then, she was nineteen and returning to Japan because her time as an exchange student in the States had come to an end, at first she was hesitant to talk to me because of my roots, but I told her that I was going to Japan as an exchange student and suddenly she wanted to talk more, so we became closer, we bonded in two hours in land until we had to board, and when we were in the plane; we discovered we were seat neighbors! So we bonded a couple hours more until we landed in Tokyo-Narita, we exchanged numbers so we could keep in touch, I told her to which school I was going to go and she told me that likely she'd be going to the same prefecture sometime to do some internships at some school called 'Akademi' or something like that. She's been a great help throughout my whole stay here in Japan, helping me with the language, customs, and traditions; basically she's been my guide around here" I explain to both of them
"Wow… I wonder if you ever felt like… Something else could have happened between you two?" Sayori out curiosity asks
"Oh, I'll get to that, that's the juiciest part… Well, sometime later; I was seventeen with almost the whole year around my back already since I was born in January, and I knew that Tomoko was really special to me and I knew she felt the same, since she had left hints before she confessed to me; even though she was twenty-one, a week later I go to her apartment and guess what I found…"
"Let me guess…! She's a futa per chance? She has a penis?" Mizu says in a strange outburst of perversion
"What? No! Are you into that shit? Hell no fella!" I Interrupt
"Ew! What the hell is wrong with you Mizu?! That's simply perverted!" Sayori complains rather loudly and punches Mizu in the left arm
"Anyhow, what I found is that she had a girlfriend too! She's both a polygamist and bisexual, if you could believe it, she really doesn't look like someone who would be into that, well, I guess that appearances deceive. I told her that I wasn't okay with that kind of relationship, so we broke up as a couple; or rather a threesome, then and there but we remained as friends, because we weren't letting that petty misunderstanding tore us apart" I finish my explanation of my connection with Tomoko
A couple minutes pass and the food gets to our table, due to the pizza being really hot, Sayori could start eating at once and she already got her mouth burnt due to attempting to start. On the meantime we were just waiting for the food to cool down so we could eat, with Sayori drooling whilst we were waiting by the way, once the thing cooled down, we were eating and talking.
"Anyway, let's change the subject, what about today's club meeting, what did you all do?" I ask whilst grabbing a slice
"Not much, we didn't even got to share poems" Mizu interjects, putting his slice away whilst he's talking before giving it an average bite
"BUTH! *Swallow* We did get to assign roles for the festival preparations! Zhou, you are in transport labor by the way" Sayo says before taking a big bite from her slice, devouring it until only the border remains
"We'll need another pizza… Transport? Does that mean I have to take you all to a place so you can do what you were assigned to? Like a chauffeur?"
"Nah man *Swallow* You're taking all of our handiwork to the school on festival day, well, not all of it, Natsuki said she was going to take the cupcakes we will make by herself since she's afraid that something in the trunk of your car could crush them"
"Who the hell puts a tray of cupcakes in the trunk of a car?" I ask
"I don't know, but she said you did"
"That fucking tsundere bitch" I say whilst finally getting to eat some pizza
"OHDAHGAHDSDISHSOOOOOOGOOG!" Sayori says with her mouth full to the brim, obviously succumbing to the goodness of the Delano pizza
"See? Even ih da name ish a pun da food ish shtill tap natch" I say with my mouth full, although not as full as Sayo's
"Don't speak with your mouth full dude" Mizu warns
*Swallow* "Tell that to Sayori then!"
"I've tried man! She just won't stop!"
"Whatever my friend" I say whilst giving my slice another bite
Two giant pizzas and several thousand yen less later; thanks Sayo, we were out of 'Pizza Delano' and on our way home.
"Oh great, I remembered that you have to drive us back home" Mizu complains
"I'd rather go to the bus stop! See you later!" Sayori says before playfully walking off
"Oh no, you two came with me, so you are leaving with me, and since there is no hurry, I will be driving under the speed limit" I claim whilst stopping Sayori
"Really?!" Mizu and Sayori say at the same time, with the latter's eyes lighting up
I simply chuckle and guide them to the car once again in the positions we arrived, Sayori riding shotgun and Mizu on the back, I first tease them with doing a little speeding until we got to the street light, but then I drop it, turn left in the intersection to later turn left once again in an alleyway right behind Delano to pick up Tomoko, the alleyway is a bit seedy, there's some hobos laying around and I swear I saw a drug dealer, but I know just the way to scare them. I turn on the police lights on the mirrors and I start honking the police horn that for some reason remained in the car even after it was decommissioned and the magic happens, the hobos and dealers start running, scared shitless due to a combination of the police lights, the horn and of course, the imposing shape and volume of the Interceptor. After some time, Tomoko comes out from the back door of Delano's; now wearing a yellow hoodie, some leather pants and white low heel scruffy boots, and quickly gets in the back, thinking that there's still some hobos or dealers in the alleyway.
"Hit the gas Zhou! We ain't got much time before some lowlife tries to rob us and you have to beat them senseless like other times!" Tomoko says in English, the language she's used to speak with me
"You've noticed that the alley's clear, right Tomoko?" I say smugly
"Wait what…? How'd you do it?"
"With this" I run my mouth before turning the police lights back on and I start honking the horn
"Oh! Real inconspicuous! I wonder what an actual cop might think!" Tomo sarcastically says
"Nothin', 'cause except for that bunch of scared lowlifes nobody saw me" I retort
"Whatever, can we just go?"
"Sure sure…"
With that I start the journey to Tomoko's apartment on the edge of financial, I hit the gas gently and start moving through the alleyway until we finally get to the street, once we got there, I turn right when the chance is right and incorporate myself on the right; and by that I mean left lane so we can start going normally without worries.
"You still like American police cars Zhou? Judging by the fact you're now driving a Taurus with a separating plate" Tomoko interjects, breaking the ice
*Chuckle* "If you weren't so ignorant you'd know that this ain't a Taurus, this' a Ford Police Interceptor Sedan young lady, can't you see the column shifter?" I smugly say
"'Young lady'? Even considering the fact that I'm FOUR years older than your ass? Show me some respect!"
"Respect? This shit again? Well, then why don't YOU show some respect the guy BEHIND the wheel? HA!"
"Shut up! You're barely a legal adult… Anyway, who are your friends Zhou? I see you've been treating them right"
"Well, here up in front's Sayori, and right beside you is Mizu, you can speak Jap to them and to me if you want" I answer, giving Tomo a pass to speak Japanese
"Oh thank the gods! I know I dominate English but speaking in your mother tongue is way more comfortable, thanks Zhou-kun!" Tomo answers, this time in Japanese
"Hey, you are welcome"
"So, you are Sayori right? Tell me about yourself! You seem like a fun girl!"
Sayori looks at Mizu and me for a second, I nod and look to her in a way that says 'Be honest this time' and when she looks at Mizu he does the same judging by what I can see in the rearview mirror, Sayori then sighs and decides to speak.
"Yeah, to some I look like fun but, that is because I wear a 'mask' concealing who I really am; a depressed girl in the border of suicide…" Sayori meekly says
"What?! That can't be! You seemed to be fine in the restaurant! Well, a bit nervous because of the people threatening to punch you all, but besides that you seemed okay! And the strength you pulled Zhou with when he was talking with me? No depressed person does that!"
"Hey, when there is food involved I forget about being moody and weak, you could say food is my weakness~" Sayori says, regaining her characteristic cheerfulness during the whole sentence
"Ah! I see, your depression can't control your immeasurable appetite! That is spirit! But how you aren't rolling yet?" Tomoko asks out of curiosity
"Well, I don't know, maybe it is my metabolism?"
"Or it could be that your depression makes your stress go through the roof and therefore not allowing you to gain weight, and you know what they say: Stressed people are often thin or anorexic" I add
"Where did you get that Zhou?" Tomo questions
"I read it in a forum once… I think"
"Oh, our Prometheus Lee has brought us mortals yet another necessary fact!" Tomoko mocks
"Hey, if you want me to drop you off at Haruki station and make you walk a whole block; the American measure by the way, just say the word" I threaten
"You wouldn't dare…"
"You know I wouldn't unless you really wanted it"
"And that is why we became friends! We both believe in the concept of mutual consent! If this mesh wasn't in the way I would hug you!" She says as she makes the motion of hugging with the mesh that separates the front from the rear
"Save it Tomo-chan"
"Aww…"
"If you really want to hug somebody, then why don't you hug Sayori to bid goodbye once we get to your apartment?" I suggest, trying to get her off my back
"I will do it!"
"Then now is the chance! We are here!" I say whilst bringing the car to a full stop and placing the transmission in park
"Oh well, it's a promise…! Wait, why can't I open the door?! Am I being abducted?!" Tomo says whilst frantically trying to open the door from the inside
"Of course not ya dingus! Remember that this' a decommissioned cop car and that you can't open the doors from the inside, or you forgot when you got arrested for 'presenting your hindquarters' to a police officer in San Fran a few years back?" I say in English to tease her whilst getting down to open her door
"HOW'D YOU KNOW 'BOUT THAT?!" She panics in English
"I know everything about you" I say whilst opening her door and helping her get out whilst sounding like Samuel L. Jackson playing Frank Tenpenny
"Then if you know everything about me, then you know I want…" She says whilst sounding… Flirty?
"Excuse me?"
"You know I want… THIS!" Tomoko speaks before ramming onto my lips
She really wants this to turn into a make out session, considering that she's constantly crashing her tongue against my lips, but I won't let her in, I got people in the car waiting for me and to top it all off I friendzoned her a long time ago, after a few seconds (No more than five ya perverts), I push her away.
"C'mon! You're still no fun as always!"
"And you're still the same horny gal that you showed to be after we landed in Tokyo-Narita!" I retort
"Question, you liked it?" She flirtatiously asks
"I'd be lying if I said that I didn't, I'm a grown man who likes pleasure and you know that"
"Then how about some more?" Tomoko says this whilst letting some of her weight fall on me but I push her back in place
"How 'bout you hug Sayori and go to your girlfriend? I'm sure she's pretty lonely" I say whilst grabbing her by the shoulders
"Aw no! She now has a BDSM fetish and I can't take it!"
"Then dump her! There's other fish in the ocean, and if you're so desperate for dick, look for a man this time!"
*Sigh* "But the man I want is you!" She pleads
"I know, but you know that I don't approve of your lifestyle, and even though we're both legal this time I still feel wrong about it, sorry… Hey, you're gonna make me go through the 'We're just friends' speech again?" I explain and complain
"No… Sorry for trying to push myself on you… So we're friends?"
"As it's always been"
With that we both go in a warm hug for several seconds before letting go, afterwards she goes and bids goodbye to Sayori; who was half-asleep, pleading to her that she doesn't do it so they can meet again soon and, finally, she goes towards the building's lobby, but as she opens the door she directs me a few words more.
"I know that you don't want me now, but I'll keep trying to know when you'll do want me some day!" Tomoko loudly says from the door threshold
"And I'll keep turning you down every time to let you know that it ain't gonna happen! Get ya head out of the gutter!" I playfully say before getting back in the Interceptor
As I get the transmission out of park and hit the gas, I notice that Sayori was looking at me the whole time, I decide to break the ice.
"What now?" I say in Japanese
"Why?" She says in English
"Why what?"
"Why did you turn her down? She obviously loves you" Sayori asks, still in English. It's obvious that she wants to keep Mizu out of the loop, who is soundly asleep
"Oh, that. She's been doing it for some time now and I'm gettin' tired of tellin' her that no, it ain't happenin', I've friendzoned her multiple times yet she refuses to understand the facts, I won't date her because she's such a special case: she needs both; and excuse the terminology, dick and pussy to be happy, and since I can only give her one of them she'll go out to someone else for the latter, leading to me having a broken heart 'cause I know I can't satisfy her completely, so for the best, I'd rather leave her to her own fantasies, but I'll chase mine as well" I elaborate
"But-"
"Don't make me discuss this anymore, you messin' with old wounds, please, let em' heal" I cut her off, signaling the end of the conversation
And we conduct the rest of the trip back home in silence to let sleeping beauty back there rest soundly.
Once we left the lighting of bustling city and entered the tamer illumination of the residential area, I notice that my two passengers are soundly asleep, I ride even more carefully to our street, now going at barely thirty miles-an-hour to ensure the maximum comfort for my passengers, once we get to our street, I pull my car over in the driveway of my house, set the transmission in Park and shut off the engine, I go over to the passenger side to notice that Sayori's still soundly asleep, I think of awaking her but then I quickly shake the idea after hearing how cute she snores, instead of awaking her, I decide to carry her, in bridal style to my dismay, over to her house, once we cross the street and get to her place, I crouch a bit to be able to grab the doorknob without letting her go and open up the door (She has to start locking this or she'll get robbed in no time, Jeez), I go inside and quickly go left after the first door on the wall to climb the stairs. Once on the second floor, I quickly look for her room and once again repeat the procedure of crouching to grab the doorknob to let ourselves in, the door creaks and she shuffles a bit in my arms, but remains asleep nonetheless. Finally on her room I carefully drop her in the bed and then wrap her in the sheets, as I leave I notice that she's shuffling, moaning and shaking in her sleep. She's having a nightmare, and a bad one.
I go crouch and go close to her, I grab her right hand and softly pet it, seemingly calming most of her nerves. I need to leave, so I lean on her ear and tell her a couple soothing words.
"We will always be here for you…" I whisper into her ear as the cherry on the cake
As I get up I notice that she has gone back to sleeping soundly, and now with a wide smile on her face. I decide that leaving now is the best option, I leave through the door without closing it and go down the stairs, and once I get out through the front door I close it and head back home, time to start stage two: Mizu.
I get to the rear-left door of the Interceptor and start knocking on the window, Mizu eventually awakens and I open the door.
"Man? What's up? Where am I? Where is Sayori?" Mizu says half-asleep
"We are already at our destination, you are now in my driveway and Sayori is at her house, sleeping, and now it's time you go home too, let me help you get up" I softly say, trying not to get too much sleep off Mizu and helping him get out of my car
"Okay man, thanks for the pizza and the ride, I appreciate it"
"You are welcome, see you tomorrow at school?"
"See you tomorrow at school…" Mizu mutters in his almost zombified state
With that, I close and lock all the doors of the Interceptor and head into the house for a well-deserved night of sleep
La Nota: Wheews! That's a wrap up, I've been working on this for a while (A month plus man!) but writer's block was the cruelest mistress ever, I just got rid of it recently and this creative outburst is what pushed me to finish the chapter. What do you guys think about Tomoko? Is she an interesting character that should return in further entries? Let me know in the reviews! Also let me know if I should expand the use of the multi-protagonist POV or if it's going to waste and also how many of you guys are going to be interested in my next project: "The Akademi Murders". Yes, I'm well aware that it's blatant self-promotion, but I want a consensus of how many of you folks would be interested in TAM! Summary for it will be in my bio, ¡nos vemos mis 'amigos'!