The Most Happy

Act Seven

"I can't believe this!"

Kane roared as he threw both arms into the air. His voice echoed through the schoolyard. The group had gotten together at lunch period to discuss the events that happened throughout the day. The news of a school play was huge, and Kiyomaro couldn't resist telling his friends the news about Yamanaka. This did not sit well with Kane however, the boy found himself in a fit of rage.

Kane turned around to face the group and reached out to Yamanaka, taking a hold of his shirt collar. He then began to shake the boy back and forth in a violent manner.

"I didn't know about the play!" Yamanaka whined. "I don't want to have anything to do with this stupid thing!"

"Kane sit down and enjoy your lunch." Suzume smiled at the taller male.

"Relax!" Kiyomaro snapped at the muscular boy. "Yamanaka didn't sign up for the part!"

"Shut your mouth, Takamine!" Kane turned his attention to Kiyomaro. "If I hadn't cut that period I would have gotten the part!" He then released Yamanaka from his grasp. "Then I'd be able to share the stage with Ureshii."

"Are you actually going to do this?" Mariko looked at the jock with curiosity.

"Well, I could use the credit." Yamanaka lifted his hand to his chin.

"You little!" Kane snarled, again reaching out to Yamanaka and grabbing him by his collar.

"Hey."

The group paused. That voice. They turned around to see Ureshii standing behind them. What could she be doing? Perhaps she was spying on the group?

"Nakayama, Yanakama or whatever your name is," She said as she approached the group with a frown on her face. "Mr. Rin told me to give this to you." Ureshii then presented said boy with a slip of paper.

"Ureshii!" Kane exclaimed, dropping Yamanaka from his grip, "How have you been?"

"Been better." Ureshii looked away from Kane, a bright red glow stuck on her face. "Anyway," She growled. "Take a look at the paper."

Yamanaka took the sheet of paper in one hand and let his eyes scan the words printed; he then began to read aloud.

"To all students participating in the play, Romeo And Juliet, please report to the school theater after school for practice. Every Monday there will be a practice for our school play. Today, there will also be try-outs next Monday for the rest of the Romeo And Juliet cast. Everyone is well come. Thank you, Mr. Rin"

"So I guess we have to go to the theater after school, right Ureshii?" Yamanaka let out a nervous chuckle.

"Don't call me that," Ureshii snapped at the taller boy.

"Call you what, Ureshii?" Yamanaka asked, tilting his head to one side and quickly changed the subject, "So I guess we have to go to the theater after school, huh Ureshii?" He laughed nervously, as he nervously watched Kane out of the corner of his eye snarl.

"Don't speak to me like that." Ureshii squinted his eyes at the male in an evil glare, enough to scare anyone.

"Wha?" Yamanaka blinked in confusion, "Speak to you like what, Ureshii?"

"Don't play games with me Nakayama," Ureshii shot a glare in Yamanaka's direction. "You don't like you, so you may call me 'Shikimori'."

"It's Yamanaka."

"What?" Ureshii was taken aback for a moment.

"You called me Nakayama, its Yamanaka." Yamanaka lifted one finger into the air as he spoke.

"You're not cute." Ureshii snarled.

"I wasn't trying to be cute." He carried on the conversation with a calm voice.

"Argh!" Ureshii threw both arms into the air. "Whatever!" She shouted before leaving the area and leaving the group to themselves.

"Kiyomaro," Yamanaka looked toward brown-haired boy. "Your girlfriend is nuts."

"She ISN'T my girlfriend!" Kiyomaro shouted, loud enough to cause his other peers to stare his way.

"She BETTER not be!" Kane barked.

"Hey," Suzume smiled at the group. "I think Nakayama fits you better, Yamanaka."

XoXoX

"So where is our Juliet?"

Mr. Rin looked about the school theater, in search for the longhaired female. Ureshii was set to be Juliet and yet she was nowhere to be found. Kiyomaro sat in the audience, one leg crossed over the other. After hearing Mr. Rin call out of Ureshii he too, looked around the room in search for the missing girl. Perhaps she had decided to cut the meeting all together? It wouldn't be unusual or unlikely for the girl to pull such a stunt. He had come along to the practice not for Ureshii but in support of Yamanaka, Kiyomaro knew he'd use all the support he could get.

"I don't know," Yamanaka replied with a shrug of his shoulders. "I haven't seen her since lunch period. She probably ran off."

"It's because of you!" Kane stood up from his seat and pointed at Yamanaka.

"Me? What did I do?" Yamanaka cocked his eyebrow in confusion.

Kane then shouted from the back of the theater, "You dirty-"

"I'm here."

The whole auditorium paused. It was Ureshii. Everyone turned to the exit door to see the female standing there with a child at her side. She stepped into the theater the young girl skipping at her side. Kiyomaro was surprised to see Ne with Ureshii, was that the reason for her being late?

"I had to pick up my little sister before coming." Ureshii stepped to the stage with Ne by her side.

"Hello everyone!" Ne bowed before the crowd.

"Ne, quiet." The older partner snapped at the younger female.

"Sorry, Mama." Ne lowered her head.

"Mama?" Mariko blinked several times.

"Please Shikimori," Mr. Rin called out to the female from the stage. "Come up here, I have your lines."

"Go sit next to Takamine." Ureshii commanded to the small child.

"Hello Kiyomaro!" Ne squeaked in her high voice with a smile on her face.

"Hey there Ne." He reached over to the child and gave her a few good pats on the head.

"When you get home tell Gash that I said…I said hi!"

Kiyomaro grinned at the female. "Sure."

"Let's get this practice underway," Mr. Rin clapped both hands together. "Now that we have everyone here."

"What kind of supernatural events take place in this story, Mr. Rin?" Iwashima jumped up from the crowd with one finger lifted in the air.

The teacher lifted his hand to his forehead. "There isn't any, Iwashima. This is a romantic play."

"But there is kissing in this story." Mariko let a girlish giggle pass her lips.

"Oh I forgot about that…" Ureshii whispered to herself before turning to Yamanaka's direction. "Ew."

"What?" Yamanaka dropped his script to the floor.

"Didn't anyone read this story?" Mr. Rin scanned the room, looking at each student with surprise. "No one did their homework?"

"No!" Yamanaka shouted as he shook his head back and forth. "I just copied Kiyomaro's work!"

"You also die." Ureshii pointed to Yamanaka.

"I die too?" The jock threw his hands to his head. "Mr. Rin, I can't die on top of kissing!"

Mr. Rin shook his head and let out a loud sigh. "We can't just change the story!" He said to the young boy standing in front of him. "That would be going against Shakespeare's work."

Yamanaka removed his hands from his head and placed them on his hips. "Who am I supposed to be kissing anyway?"

"Shikimori, of course." Mr. Rin answered simply.

"WHAT?" He stepped back several inches in shock. "It would be my first kiss!" Yamanaka then pointed his index finger at Ureshii. "Besides she's an OGRE!"

"What?" Ureshii crumbled the script in one hand and glared at her acting partner. "What did you call me?"

"I can't be your Romeo," Yamanaka gave a heavy sigh. "I can't kiss Ureshii."

"Well," Mr. Rin inhaled a deep breath. "If you don't think you can do it then all right. You will be missing out on the extra credit, however."

"Believe me, that's just fine with me!" Yamanaka hopped down from the stage, tossing the script behind him.

"Will you have a problem with the kissing scene, Shikimori?" The teacher turned to his Juliet with a look of concern on his face.

"No, not at all."

"All right then!" Mr. Rin slapped his hands together. "Then who will be my Romeo?"

Kane shot up from his seat, both arms in the air. "OH! Me!" He then began to hop up and down. "Pick me!"

"I think we can manage for a try-out." A large smile spread across Mr. Rin's face.

"Hehe!" Suzume covered her mouth with her delicate fingers. "This play is going to be wonderful!"

Mr. Rin stepped across stage and spoke, "Try-outs will begin next Monday." He turned to a very unimpressed Ureshii. "Until then, practice your lines and be ready for your Romeo next Monday."

Ureshii pouted her lower lip and grunted. "Whatever."

Kiyomaro felt very comfortable in his seat. At least he wasn't caught up in this play. The stress of a school event was the last thing on his mind. He had more important things to keep in check. He and Gash needed to keep their strengths up to be ready for any obstacle in their way. There was no way of predicting when the next attack would come.

Ureshii Shikimori was another story, was she a threat? He couldn't tell. When he first laid eyes on the older female, she seemed the typical threat but now that he was aiding her in her mission was she friend? That was another thing, Kiyomaro had yet to inform her of his help, perhaps he'd actually see a grateful Ureshii when he finally told her. For now he could only guess.

XoXoX

Wednesday

Another warm afternoon threatened Kiyomaro with second lazy day in a row. Ugh, he hated the heat, anything to escape it was positive. Although in previous day he had made a huge milestone, he had told Ureshii about Gash's plan to help her and Ne out. She was unimpressed with the offer and gave Kiyomaro a rude smart-aleck remark as a reply. Kiyomaro was appalled by her reaction and yet it was not surprising. He was finding it familiar for Ureshii to act the way she did. Was he getting used to her?

As Kiyomaro walked home, he thought to himself: why did Ureshii have to be so stubborn?

It was then his eyes caught the image of Ureshii walking ahead of him, maybe twenty or so feet away. Kiyomaro's first reaction was to rush to her and stop her but something held him back. A strange sensation in his gut, was he nervous? No, of course not! He just didn't not want an earful of shouting or nagging. Just as the thought ran through his head, a friendly hand landed on his shoulder. Kiyomaro turned to look over his shoulder to see Yamanaka standing behind him.

"Hey!" He said with a smile. "What are you doing walking by yourself? Isn't that Ureshii over there?" Yamanaka pointed the female out with his index finger.

"Uh," Kiyomaro reached around and scratched the back of his head. "She looks angry today."

"Kiyomaro," Yamanaka removed his hand from the boy's shoulder and cocked an eyebrow. "Doesn't she always look mad? I'm pretty sure her face is stuck that way."

"Yeah…" Kiyomaro mumbled, his mind traveling a million miles a second.

"Hey," The taller male poked Kiyomaro in his gut. "I have to turn now," He replied, jerking his head across the street.

"What?" He gave Yamanaka a blank stare. "Oh right. I'll see you tomorrow." He lifted a single hand in the air, bidding the jock good bye.

"See ya," Yamanaka began to turn away from him only to pause and look over his shoulder. "Oh and Kiyomaro," He said. "Just talk to her."

Kiyomaro's face flashed a bright vision of red. What was that supposed to mean? All of his muscles tightened as his friend's voice repeated in his head. Talk to Ureshii? What about? There was nothing he needed to talk to her about! Kiyomaro shook his head from right to left. He then paused for a moment, was there something he should talk to her about? Kiyomaro turned to look in front of him to see Ureshii stepping out of sight. Maybe there was something he could say to her. Just to be nice, that is.

Kiyomaro pushed his body forward and began in an effort to catch up with Ureshii. He gasped and smiled when he saw that he was beginning to catch up with the older girl. The jog appeared and felt longer than it should have. Perhaps it was the fact that Kiyomaro didn't really want to speak with her. In any event, he was now standing beside her, best to say something to her before she got angry.

"Ureshii," He spoke to the female after finally catching up to her.

Ureshii continued to walk along, unfazed by Kiyomaro. He narrowed his eyes at the female, was she giving him the 'silent treatment'? What could he have done to her to deserve that? He could feel the nagging coming on all ready and he let out a loud sigh.

"Ureshii!" Kiyomaro waved his arms in front of the female's face, trying his best to get her attention.

"What do you want, Takamine?" Ureshii asked, her eyes still on the road ahead of her.

"Nothing," Kiyomaro lowered his hands to his sides. "I just wanted…"

"Wanted what?" Ureshii finally turned to the boy her usual glare equipped.

"Never mind." He grunted.

Ureshii shrugged her left shoulder and returned her attention to the street ahead of her. Kiyomaro had to groan, again with the awkward silence? He despised the awkward silences he shared with his difficult classmate. They appeared so often and left him speechless. There was nothing he could say to entertain her for long so Kiyomaro often stayed silent. Ureshii always seemed bothered when anyone spoke to her, so why speak to her? It kept her in a mild mood to stay quiet, why bother the sleeping beast?

The further the couple walked the more awkward he felt. It wasn't until Ureshii's footsteps came to a complete halt did Kiyomaro have something to say to her.

"Why did you stop?" He asked.

"I have to make a stop here," Ureshii made a sharp right turn into a small drugstore. "Thirsty?"

"A little, why?" He asked feeling curious.

She refused to answer and stepped into the store's entrance doors. Kiyomaro felt his cheeks puff up with air. What was her problem now? It wouldn't be outrageous for Ureshii to return with a bottle of water and drink it right in front of him, in an effort to tease him. Kiyomaro folded his arms over his chest and turned his back to the drugstore doors.

Why would he even wait for a person so rude? Kiyomaro looked ahead and wondered why was he waiting? He had his best chance to ditch Ureshii right here, right now. So why wasn't he taking it? He had to sigh, why was he so nice? It was Gash's influence. Gash had taught him how to be kind to a person and perhaps, that was what he wanted to teach to Ureshii.

Just until she finds friends of her own.

A few uneventful minutes passed before Ureshii retuned from the store, a brown bag in her left hand and a yellow sheet of paper in her right. Her eyes were glued to the yellow flyer and darted back and forth as she read it. She then looked back up at him.

"What is it?" Kiyomaro asked.

Ureshii stepped toward the boy and opened up the brown hand. Juggling the sheet in her right hand, she managed to pull out a bottle of soda from the bag. She then extended the soda toward him. He looked the carbonated drink with surprise. Ureshii-the-grump had actually bought him a drink? Kiyomaro lifted his hand and took the bottle from the girl's pale hands. What was with the sudden act of kindness? He narrowed his eyes at the soda bottle. He looked to see the cap was still tightly sealed. There was no way she could have put something in his drink to spite him.

"What's this for?" Kiyomaro asked with suspicion.

"You were complaining that you were thirsty." Ureshii snatched her arm back before shooting a glare at him.

"Hey! I wasn't complaining!" Kiyomaro snapped at the longhaired female. "But you didn't have to-"

"Just shut up," Ureshii lifted her hand to Kiyomaro to silence him. "And drink it, Takamine."

Kiyomaro grunted, how he despised being ordered around by her. What was she, his mother? But he had no room to shout at her, she had just bought him something to quench his thirst. He looked at the bottle, turning it around to read the label. To his surprise the name of his favorite soda stretched across the bottle. A strange sensation washed over his whole body. She knew what kind of drink he liked?

"You got my favorite, how did you know?" Kiyomaro squinted his eyes at the older girl.

"So what?" Ureshii shrugged her slender shoulders. "I know what you like to drink. Get over yourself."

"You don't watch me at lunch do you?" Kiyomaro crossed his arms and leaned in toward the female.

"Just shut up and look at this." Ureshii shoved Kiyomaro back and stuffed the yellow sheet of paper into his chest. "It's for a fair."

"Oh?" Kiyomaro took the flyer from Ureshii's hands and began to read over it. "It's near by too." He stated with an intrigued tone.

"We should go."

The words hit Kiyomaro like a brick.

"We should go."

The simple three words played in his mind over and over. Kiyomaro looked up at Ureshii with an open mouth. He felt his whole body become numb and his face grow hot. What was she asking him? Was this an offer for a date? Kiyomaro could stop the red glow from illuminating from his cheeks. This was impossible; there was no way that Ureshii-the-ogre could be asking him out on a date. It was wrong in all ways and caused him to feel sick. What was he supposed to say? Yes or no? Would his honest answer anger her or would his lie sooth her?

"W-w-what?" Kiyomaro finally mustered up the energy to speak.

"We should go," She repeated herself and gave him a serious stare. "There might be a chance the other five demons Ne and I are looking for might be there."

"OH!" Kiyomaro let out a huge sigh of relief before he slouched over, sweat pouring down his temples.

"We might miss a good lead if we don't." Ureshii cuffed her chin with her left hand. "You didn't take that personally, did you?" She shot him a death-stare.

Kiyomaro threw his free hand into the air and shook his head back and forth. "NO! Not at all!" He began to let out nervous laugh in attempt to deflect any lasting impression.

"It would be a good idea to get Gash and Ne." Ureshii turned her back to him. "I'll meet you there in an hour."

"Sounds fine." He agreed.

Kiyomaro watched as the female sprint off in the direction of her apartment complex. After seeing her image vanish from sight, he let out another sigh. What was he getting himself into? Kiyomaro took his left hand and slapped it against his cheek. This was too much stress for him; he wasn't sure how much more he could take. Ureshii was just too unpredictable for him. Her every action was new and came as a shock to him.

Just until she has friends of her own

He just needed to remind himself of that, it was only until.

Act End.