Chapter Nine
Nosebleeds and Minori
~April 29~
The month passed uneventful for Ryuuji. With Taiga finally used to her work and new living arrangements, he had finally found time to study for the entrance examinations for Ninomae for the whole of April. Actually, in the span of a month, he had finally settled with a schedule that balanced out his priorities as a fiancé, a son and an aspiring college student.
Weekday mornings were allotted for his daily chores, with Tuesdays and Fridays for laundry day. He would get everything done before ten in the morning and get on straight in preparing lunch for Yasuko before she woke up at round noon. (She had stopped eating breakfast with him altogether.) Grocery shopping was done after lunch on Mondays and Thursdays when there would be a sale in the local supermarket, and once in a while he would drag Yasuko along with him just to make her stretch her muscles a bit.
He would meet up with Taiga on Saturdays and Sundays to clean up her new place and go out on occasional dates. These were probably the days he looked forward to the most, because as pathetic as if may sound, those two days of the week were the only days he could confirm that Taiga was still there and was still his fiancée. She lived in the same city, ten minutes away by train, two wards away. And yet from Mondays to Fridays, she acted like a perfect stranger to him. He knew she was not keen on text messages and phone calls, and Ryuuji wasn't the one to nag, and so majority of their week was spent like they had spent it when Taiga had left for her mother's house. Which was, to say, practically indifferent with each other. The fact that Taiga had been struggling to be 'independent' must be one of the main reasons why this was so.
She had tried this stunt once or twice back in high school, telling him that she didn't need him around, and that she can stand on her own two feet. Ryuuji had ignored her then, not because he did not think Taiga was capable of fending for herself, but because it was he who couldn't take it to be away from her.
But because Ryuuji had promised her that he was going to support her decisions, he had been true to his word and didn't try to invade the space she was so meticulously building around herself.
But still… He missed her.
Good thing he would be able to see her tomorrow. Today was a Friday. He had finished his chores earlier than usual. It was already eleven and he had prepared Yasuko's lunch before grabbing a quick shower and putting on something decent enough to wear for University.
Today was the day he would be taking the entrance exams. It was strange. He didn't even feel nervous. Or excited. He just felt like he was in a state of… A state of what? Indifference?
If Ryuuji were to say it honestly, maybe he really was indifferent. If he passed, he was thinking of getting a two year course in Economics. Which was weird, because his homeroom teacher from high school had been convinced he would take a four-year course in whatever branch of science he had excelled in back in senior year.
But he had never really wanted to study. Honestly, right now, all he wanted was to work. And get Yasuko out of her night job and get a normal part time job at some local restaurant or coffee shop where she wouldn't have to deal with groping old men.
"Ryuu-chan?" came Yasuko's voice as she slid the door of her room open to peek out at him.
Ryuuji looked over to her and bristled at the sight of Yasuko still in yesterday's clothes and yesterday's make-up. "How many times do I have to tell you to wash your face before you go to bed? Do you know how long it takes to remove your mascara stains on your pillow case? Forever. That's how long."
As usual, Yasuko simply giggled as she crawled out of her futon and still kept on crawling out until her upper body was lying on the tatami of the living room. She crossed her arms under her chin and eyed Ryuuji appreciatively. "Awww. You're all dressed up. Today's the entrance exams, right?"
"Ah, yeah," Ryuuji said as he checked his number two pencils if they were all sharpened before stuffing his pencil case in his bag. "It starts at two, but I'm planning to meet up with Kushieda for lunch, so I'm leaving early. Then she's going to show me where the examination hall is."
"Hmmm," Yasuko mused as she turned to flop on her back. "I see. At least you know someone from your old high school, right, Ryuu-chan? Having a familiar face in a new environment is different from knowing no one at all."
Ryuuji sighed. Well, it wasn't as if he was going to school to make friends, but having at least someone back from high school who wouldn't assume he was some delinquent because of his mean look was sort of a relief to him. "There's salmon fillet in the pan for lunch, and the rice will be ready in a few minutes."
"Yay, fillet!" Yasuko cheered as she pushed herself on all fours and crawled out into the living room to the table where Inko-chan was, as always molting in his cage. "It looks like it will be just you and me for lunch, Inko-chan."
The bird stared at Yasuko with his unfocused eyes before suddenly blurting out, "P-p-penis!"
Ryuuji felt his face heat up. "No, really, Yasuko-what have you been teaching him?"
Yasuko had the decency to blush herself. "I guess Inko-chan loves to listen to me talk on the phone," she said absently as she poked a finger into the cage. Inko-chan hopped away from her, saying, 'vagina'!
Ryuuji didn't even bother to respond. What conversation his mother was having on the phone that involved 'penis' and 'vagina' was something he did not need to think about before taking a three-hundred item test. He slung his back over one shoulder. "I'm off, then. I know you're probably going to go back to sleep after eating, so make sure you wash your face and get out of those clothes before you wrinkle them any more than you already have."
Yasuko conveniently seemed to have heard only the first part of what he said, because she lunged at his feet and hugged them tightly. "Good luck on the exams, Ryuu-chan! I know you can do it! Break your neck!"
Ryuuji cried out loud as he almost lost his balance. Grabbing at the refrigerator to prevent himself from falling over completely, he hurriedly disentangled his legs from Yasuko's embrace. "It's break a leg. And thank you. I'll be home before dinner." He paused, then turned to Yasuko. "By the way, what time did you get back this morning?"
Yasuko looked a bit startled. Ryuuji seldom asked about her schedule. Well, in reality, Ryuuji wasn't very keen on asking her much about it. He knew she was working very hard for him, and the last thing he wanted was for her to think that he was worrying about her. Yasuko had always been sensitive with their mother-son relationship. She had always been convinced that Ryuuji didn't have to worry about anything that did not concern studying, and made a fuss when Ryuuji made a big deal of her business.
"Around… four… I think… " Yasuko said, looking away. She started twiddling her thumbs.
Ryuuji looked down at his mother. He had never really thought Yasuko to be a liar, and he wouldn't have believed it had he not seen it with his own eyes. Ryuuji had been awake at five in the morning to study a bit more. Yasuko didn't come in until seven. Ryuuji scolded himself instantly. He did not even know why he was looking for opportunities to catch Yasuko lying to him. He wasn't being fair to her.
Ryuuji smiled down at her and placed a hand on her head. "You're always working hard. Thank you."
This instantly brought back the smile on his mother's face, and she used this opportunity to glomp him.
After successfully fending her off of him, Yasuko made a fuss in seeing him off, and in the end she was practically dangling out their living room window, waving Ryuuji goodbye as he descended the stairs until he had turned the curb and disappeared down the alley.
He hoped Yasuko wasn't trying too hard. If she ended up getting sick again, he wouldn't know what he'd do.
Kushieda Minori didn't know why she had a thing for nosebleeds. No, she didn't think she liked having them. Not really. But lately – well, for the last two years, to be exact – she had been suffering from all kinds of nosebleeds.
Her heart was having a nosebleed right now.
Because as she raised her hand over her head to wave at an approaching Takasu Ryuuji, she thought to herself, 'How could a man look so appealingly beautiful and still not be aware of it himself?'
"Hey there. Have you been waiting long?" Ryuuji asked as he reached her side. He was dressed in a casual coat and slacks today, feet donned in suede shoes. He usually stuck to plain shirts, jeans and over-worn sneakers, but today he seemed like he was breaking out of tradition. It did not seem like he was trying too hard to look good, but it was obvious he was trying to make an impression for examination day. It was something Minori had realized in Ryuuji since high school. He had always tried to dress down in humble clothes that would make him look kind. Not cool. Not hot.
Kind.
It may have something to do with his obvious dislike of his facial features. He was convinced people saw him as a delinquent. Minori wondered why he was trying too hard. She had always thought he looked nice.
She shook her head. "I just got here two minutes ago. I would have gotten here earlier, but I had to water my goldfish."
Ryuuji stared at her for a brief moment, probably to digest what she had just said, then he nodded. "Today's my treat. What do you feel like having for lunch? Are you all right? You're a bit fidgety."
Minori couldn't help but muse silently at Ryuuji's reaction. It was strange. She had been trying really hard to think of more outrageous comments to say to him in case she started getting flustered, but nothing seemed to shock him enough to distract him from the fact that she was wringing her hands nervously. If this were to go on for the rest of the year, she might end up having to ignore him, as she had done in the past. She didn't think she could keep up her chipper façade in front of him without running out of strange comments.
Minori shook her head. "Fidgety? No, I'm all right? Are you?"
Ryuuji laughed as they made their way through the gates of Ninomae and headed straight for the coffee shop. The campus was fairly crowded with people who would be taking the entrance exams that day. "I think I've studied fine enough. I've been up all night cramming."
"All night? Really?"
"Okay, you got me. All month."
Minori looked up at him curiously as they entered the coffee shop. A whole month? That was very shady. He had never struck Minori too eager to get into a college. "You were smart enough back in high school. I thought you weren't the one to sweat these kinds of things."
Ryuuji shrugged uncaringly as he led her to a vacant table by the window. "You can never be too sure, or your grades too high, for an entrance exams. Were they hard?" he asked.
Minori watched him intently as she took her seat from across him. Her foot brushed against his from under the table. She swallowed. "I forget. I just wanted to get it over with, crossed my fingers, and remarkably, I passed."
"You're being modest. Your grades weren't bad back in high school," Ryuuji commented. "By the way, we seldom get to hang out with you. Why don't you join us tomorrow for lunch?"
Minori felt her breath hitch in her throat, and she hurriedly let out a small laugh. By 'us', he must mean Taiga.
Taiga.
The name in itself couldn't even make her brain come up with a good enough joke to cover her discomfort. But why was she uncomfortable?
They had been friends – best of friends – majority of their high school. The friendship had been something she hadn't expected, of course. 'The Palmtop Tiger' wasn't famous for making friends. But for some unexplainable reason, she had liked her, and had actually thought her a pussy cat more than anything else. Taiga had loved to cuddle. And tackle. And tickle.
Of course, when Takasu Ryuuji came into the picture, everything just… changed.
It wasn't until their second year in high school did Minori actually gotten to know Ryuuji. He was just someone who was always around Kitamura Yuusaku back in first year. And because Yuusaku was into softball as she was, she guessed it was just automatic that they became friends when they were put in the same class. And then 'Takasu the Delinquent' came in as a sort of extension to that friendship.
Not that she had complained. She had actually thought Ryuuji to be a cool enough person to hang out with.
But that was until she found out that he 'kind of' liked her. It got worse when she started to suspect that she 'sort of' liked him. And everything just went down the drain when she discovered that Taiga was 'definitely' in love with him. Ugh… High school love was always the most difficult, especially with all those shoujou manga circulating around convenience stores where they let you read them for free, but still put price tags on them for you to buy.
Stupid shoujou manga. They make it sound like falling in love was easy, so they make you wanna give it a shot, and then you'd end up disappointed because you'd find out the hard way that reality wasn't as romantic as they'd go like in those stories.
"Kushieda?"
Minori snapped out of her reverie as she looked up to see Ryuuji looking at her, a menu in his hand. A waitress was standing over their table patiently. "Huh?"
"Your order?"
Minori turned to the waitress. Crap… "Ah, I'll have your latest shoujou manga, with a bit of fried potato on the side," she said.
The waitress, bless her little bonnet, continued on smiling, and politely asked, "Excuse me, I didn't quite hear right. What was your order again?"
Minori sagged against her chair, feeling like an idiot but still forcing herself to laugh. "I'll have your Set A, with the salad and a coffee."
The waitress jotted it down on a small memo before bowing to them, saying an off-handed 'please wait a moment', before walking away.
Ryuuji was watching her from over his menu. "Do you eat here a lot?" he asked after a moment of silence.
Minori blinked. "Not really. Why?"
"You didn't even have to look at the menu to make an order. What's in Set A?"
Minori blinked again. She felt her mouth open ajar, and quickly she snatched the menu from him, skimming through it to see what was Set A.
It was a shrimp and broccoli gratin.
Damn. She hated broccoli.
Sighing in resignation, she closed the menu and handed it back to Ryuuji. "Something yummy," she lied.
"Oh. Okay. So…" Ryuuji started. "How about it? Tomorrow? Lunch with Taiga? And maybe if we can convince Kawashima to come with us, it'll be like old times. What say?"
Ugh… The invitation again.
Minori smiled brightly, though she felt like anything but smiling. "Aww, I'd love to go, but we always have Saturday softball practices. Maybe next time?"
Ryuuji stared at her pointedly. Those eyes. He had always been convinced they were scary. Minori had never thought so even once. He had always the sharpest eyes. As if he could see through you. "You know, I never got the chance to ask you about it. Because, you know, I'm not the one to pry. But… have you and Taiga fought?"
See? It was like he saw everything!
Minori tried to arrange her face. "Me and Taiga? Nope. I don't think so. Why?"
"Well, it's because ever since she came back from her mom's place, it was like you two have been… different. And that's almost two months now. I know that she has her job, and that you're busy with school and sports… But… well… "
"We didn't fight, Takasu-kun. Taiga and I are friends."
"I know that. It's just… " He started, paused, then shook his head. "Forget it. I'm sorry I sound like I'm prying."
"Oh, no, no. I know you're just concerned about Taiga. But there's nothing wrong. How is she, by the way? Everything going all right between you two?" Oh, she just had to ask that? She was starting to believe that she was a masochist.
"We're all right. She's pretty busy, so we don't see each other much… "
How was she supposed to move on with her life now that she had this man in front of her, and will most probably see him for the whole school year? She had tried hard to stay away from him. She had already told herself that this was what she really wanted, for Taiga and Ryuuji to be happy with each other because Taiga needed him the most.
As if she didn't need him.
She had told Taiga that she was going to find her own happiness, and that Taiga didn't have the right to tell her what would make her happy. And she was telling her the truth. She just conveniently left out the fact that she was happy when she had the hints that Ryuuji liked her. Minori hadn't let Ryuuji confess to her back in high school. She knew that if she did, she wouldn't have been able to hold hers back.
When had she started liking him, anyway? Taiga had sensed it. That was why Taiga had tried to distance herself from Ryuuji.
But Ryuuji was Minori's friend before she started liking him, and so she had convinced herself that it would be unfair of her to severe all ties with him just because she still didn't trust herself enough to stay away from romantic thoughts about him.
He belonged to someone else. She had practically pushed them towards each other on Valentines Day a year ago. She did not have the right to complain.
But if that were so, then why was she still having shrimp and broccoli gratin with him?
Damn it all.
"How… how about Sunday?" Ryuuji asked again.
Panic gripped her then and there. She laughed out loud. "I have work. But tell you what." She leaned closer to him and said, "When I finally rule the world once I succeed in changing emergency airbags with rubber duckies, I'll be filthy, stinking rich that I'd have my Saturdays and Sundays open. Are you sure you don't want to rule the world with me? We can do it twice as fast with the two of us working together."
Ryuuji stared at her in disbelief, then finally – finally! – backed away. "Err… no, thanks. I'm just here to study."
Minori felt her heart ache, and she clicked her tongue loudly. "Well, don't say I didn't invite you. Coz the money's all in the rubber duckies."
"Well, if ever you open up your schedule for us, Taiga and I are just a phone call away. Okay?"
And she felt her heart die then and there.
She gave him a salute. "Yessir!"
She was grateful when their food came. She was so disappointed of herself that she ate everything. Even the broccoli.
After showing Ryuuji where the examination hall was, they said goodbye, and she hurried to the toilet and threw up her lunch.
Her heart was having another nosebleed.
TBC
