Kuma's Problem Part 1

Kuma began having trouble. He owned his fathers shop now. But he was still lonely and a trouble maker. Hayato began helping him in his shop. Which I thought was cute. We were all sitting in the shop, watching him work, when the door opened and several men came in with sour faces. I stood up as I recognized one of them. I had seen the same man try to hassle my Aunt and Uncle that owned Arai Ramen Shop. Kuma saw me, and pushed me down.

"Leave it." he said and I shook my head,

"I know that man Kuma. He won't leave you alone." I said and ignored the look I got from Hayato, he was just as confused about all this as the others were.

"Just leave it." he repeated and I growled. I stood up,

"Fine. Its your funeral. But if you think for one second that this is over then your sadly mistaken." I said and then turned. My eyes met the Man who had come in.

"Tell your Aunt and Uncle that they are next." he said and I laughed.

"Id like to see you try." I spat and then walked past them and into the street. I looked back and sighed. They had begun hassling Kuma, and there wasn't a damn thing I could do, as he didn't want my help.


School went by with no drama of any kind. I ignored any and all talk about Kuma and his shop. Ayumi had been told, and was currently trying to get a reaction out of me. Hayato was sitting in the back, and was looking at me and Ayumi. I had been dragged to the front.

"Emi! Why didn't you help him?" she asked again for the 5th time. I suddenly pushed her away and she landed on the floor in front of me.

"BECAUSE HE DIDN'T WANT MY HELP!" I screamed and then looked around,

"I get that he needs it. But its not up to me. That man only wants the shop, and he will hurt that family to get it. He also wants your parents shop too. " I said and looked down at her, she looked ready to pounce on me.

"Its not easy for me. You think it is, but it isn't. I tried to help, and he only told me to leave it. I can't help him unless he wants it. And I can't help unless they are involved." I said as I pointed at the boys in the back.

"So how about you go help your former classmate and leave the fuck alone." I spat and then went to my desk and sat down. Ayumi got up and simply walked out. But I knew she had gone to blow off some steam.


The days passed in silence. Since that day, everyone had been avoiding me. I spent most of my day with grandpa, and while he was unhappy that I was skipping, he understood my problem.

"Perhaps its time you think out of the box." he said and I looked at him in confusion. We were sitting in a park outside the school grounds.

"It seems to me, that he is afraid to involve people. From what you and Ayumi have told me, he seems to be afraid of involving Yankumi as well. Now if you were afraid of involving people, would you tell anyone, or allow anyone to help?" he asked and I looked down as I thought this over.

"No." I said and he nodded as he sat back and sighed.

"Then there is your answer. However, his plan will backfire. And im afraid that your boyfriend may get involved because he is working for him." he said and I looked up at him,

"Ill help Hayato if that happens." I said and he chuckled,

"I would expect nothing less. We taught you and your cousins well. We have always taught you to stick up for others, even when it seems that you shouldn't. That is a true good person. Even Ryo, who is lost and hurting others, needs to be helped. I think that its time you all helped him in some way. " he said and I looked away.

"I don't think that..." I started and he held up his hand,

"He does deserve to be helped Emiko. While he has lost his way, there is still good in him. Just like there is good in all of Yankumi's students, and in yourself. Never forget that he is in pain, and is simply looking for someone to blame. Be his family again, not his enemies." he said and then stood up. He stretched and began walking away.


Against my better judgment, I found myself outside of Ryo's hide out. I threw open the door and stepped inside. I ignored the fact that he was alone, on a bed in a corner.

"Cousin." I said and he looked up at me. I held my hands up as he growled at me.

"I didn't come here to fight. I came to talk. Im your family." I said and he scoffed.

"You and the others abandoned me." he said and I sighed. I stepped forward and tried to ignore the knife he held out in front of me. He went to stab me with it, but I quickly put my hand down on the blade and squeezed, trying to keep it still. He looked at me in shock and dropped the knife. I let go as well and ignored the blood that began flowing from my palm.

"We didn't abandon you. We were kids ourselves. We didn't know how to deal with death. We had just lost our Aunt and Uncle. We didn't know how to handle it. None of this was supposed to happen. This isn't what we planned when we promised that." I said as I motioned around the hide out. He sat back down on the bed, and I followed.

"Why then?" he asked and I looked down,

"We panicked. When we went to the funeral, we all panicked. We didn't know how to deal with it. It made it real when we saw their bodies. Ryo, none of us meant for this to happen. Now, we aren't sure how to fix it. Grandpa told me to act like your family, not your enemy. I debated with myself on my way here. " I said and he chuckled. I looked at him and smiled. It had been forever since I had seen my cousin smile.

"Grandpa always seems to know what I need, even if we don't talk anymore. I think maybe I went a bit crazy." he said and I didn't respond. He looked over at me. Suddenly he seemed so much younger and sad.

"I don't know how to act anymore. I miss them. I miss Hana. But I have been like this for so long. How do I get out of it?" he asked and I smiled. I put my hand on his, and he seemed to break. He began sobbing.

"Oh Ryo. Im sure that we can help, but maybe Grandpa can help more. Please come with me to see him." I said and he looked up, he shook his head.

"No. I want to see Rei, Hana and Ayumi." he said and I looked at him before nodding.


Hayato's P.O.V

Rei and Ayumi were at the front worrying. They had yet to hear from Emiko,

"I can't believe Grandpa told her that." Rei spat and Ayumi sighed,

"Grandpa is right Rei, we can't keep treating Ryo like that." she said and Rei scoffed. But her face seemed to soften a little.

"Have we really been treating him differently?" she asked out loud and Ayumi smiled at her.

"After we buried Aunt and Uncle Tanabe, we have been different. " she said and Rei nodded. She looked away from her cousin and then sighed.

"Things did change after that...Um, Ayumi, look at the door." she said suddenly. Her eyes were trained on the door. I looked over at the door to see Emiko. She was standing at the door, with her hand behind her back. But she was smiling.

"Ayumi, you might want to sit down. Same goes for you too Rei." Emiko said as she looked behind her and smiled. The moment both girls were sitting down, Emiko came in, dragging Ryo behind her. He wasn't looking around. His eyes were on the ground. He seemed at a loss for words. Emiko pushed him forward.

"Ryo, you said you wanted to see them." Emiko said from behind him and he glared at her. But he didn't look that hostile.

"Im sorry. Im sorry for how I treated you and im sorry for everything I have done." he said. Rei looked at Ayumi who was smiling. Rei stood up and looked him over. Then she smiled and flung herself at him. He caught her and smiled.

"Have you not slept much Ryo? You don't look too good." Ayumi said as she came to look him over as well. I saw Emiko roll her eyes, and then she came to her desk next to mine. She looked over at me, and then frowned when I noticed her hand. It looked like she had cut it open. She hide her hand.

"Its not what you think. I grabbed his knife. He didn't actually use it on me." she said and I yanked her hand back into my view, and sighed.

"Cant you be more careful?" I asked and she laughed.

"I could. But it wouldn't be any fun." she said and I groaned as I took my handkerchief out of my pocket and wrapped it around her hand. She stood up and smiled.

"Alright Ryo. Its time to see Grandpa." she said and Ryo groaned,

"Ayumi, im so dead arent I? " he asked and Ayumi laughed, she pushed Ryo towards the door.

"Good luck Cousin. Ill be sure to bring flowers to your funeral." she said and the look he gave her made her laugh more.


Hope you enjoyed the Chapter. Im working on the next one. I own nothing but my own characters.