I sincerely apologize for my lack of updates. I am and will be working harder from now on.
It had been two weeks since the accident, and Megumi was officially stitches free. She obviously took advantage of everything and decided to not go to school during that time, which made Niou's, and Marui's life suddenly dull. What Niou had been hiding from Marui, though, was the few visits he made to her home while the cut was healing.
"Hey, so are you coming back to school tomorrow?" he asked her.
Her brothers still had a very strict rule about them only staying at the kitchen table while they were on the living room couch. It seemed ridiculous to him, but he was growing used to it.
"Yeah, I guess I have to at one point." She mumbled.
"And what about being manager? Or just hanging by the courts while we practice?"
"Will Seiichi be there?"
"Of course, he's the team captain."
"Then no."
Niou quietly let out a sigh, since he had no idea why she suddenly grew such a dislike for Yukimura.
"Alright. But everyone from the team misses you, so you're gonna be forced to have lunch with us."
She shot a glare at him as he stood up. He ignored it and rested his hand on her shoulder.
"Don't worry, we won't include the captains."
"Fine. I'll see you tomorrow then."
"Wow~ look who's learning to get friendly." He sneered and pet her head.
The eye daggers of the brothers attacked his back and he lifted his hand.
"Sorry, sorry. It's just a habit. I'll see you bros soon too." He said and walked out of the house.
It was completely dark outside. Instead of going home, he decided to go to a convenience store to pick up a couple snacks. He didn't want to tell Megumi that he was disappointed she wasn't planning to stick around for practice, so he had no choice but to shrug it off. He entered the store and browsed a few magazines instead of shop for food.
"Oh, Niou-senpai, what's up?" Akaya said as he walked in.
Niou turned his eyes and closed the magazine.
"I didn't know you came to this store. Don't you live in the opposite side of town?" he said.
"Well yeah, but… I realized haven't apologized to Okada and kept going to her house. But I get to the door and chicken out and leave."
"How did you learn where she lived?"
"Pulled a Niou-senpai and looked at the information sheets in the teachers office."
"Oh, nice one." Niou snickered, almost in disbelief he did that.
"I didn't know you lived around here though. Why didn't you guys know each other before?"
"No other human would voluntarily wake up on the hours that we do on a school day." He sighed.
"Yeah, you're right. Are you okay, senpai?" Akaya asked, picking up a manga next to him.
"Since when are you concerned about other people?" he chuckled.
"When I'm actually sane. You seem super out of it today."
"I guess I am. But hey, it's just another practice day."
A small silence filled between the two. Niou was hoping that Akaya never saw him walk out of Megumi's house, since he knew he would definitely get the wrong idea and accidentally tell someone. He heaved a small sigh again, and started thinking about what he wants to actually eat.
"Oh, right, senpai."
"Yeah?"
"I brought this with me since you asked me for it a week or something ago and I kept forgetting to give it to you."
Akaya pulled out his third year middle school photo album, reminding Niou of the time he asked for it.
"I'm still confused about why you need this, but I'm gonna take your personal slogan and advice of 'don't ask'."
"Sweet, thanks. I'll give it back when I do. I'll see you later." He patted his shoulder and left the store.
For most people, seeing Niou walk this fast on a regular day was rare. Luckily, there was no one else he knew, and no reason to stop until he got home. He swiftly walked in to his room and closed the door, since he had heavy investigating to do.
"Let's see where you are, Megu." He mumbled to himself as he opened the album.
He flipped through each page carefully, even if a page was filled with people that weren't in her grade. He forgot how big the school actually was and that there was a lot to get through for this mission he gave himself.
"Volleyball, didn't think so… of course not basketball… oh maybe she's… nope, not archery either." He grumbled, figuring she probably wasn't in any club whatsoever.
Next was the arts section, and he flipped through, even though he didn't have hope. Until one page stopped him.
"No way." A smile started forming on his face.
The book was left open on the dance page, and although there were only a few photos, Megumi was in every single one.
"This can't be real. 'Okada Megumi: Captain and first to win first place at the National Middle School Ballet Competition in eight years, congratulations'. What the hell." He laughed in surprise.
And there she was, her hair tied perfectly, in dance clothes Niou didn't know the name of, and a bright smile. A Megumi he has never seen before. Without a second thought, he turned to his laptop and hoped to God that there were videos of this competition. There were multiple from the previous year, but what he needed was from three years ago. After a few minutes of different key words and different sites, he finally found exactly what he needed.
He wasn't too familiar with the music, or the Megumi that was on his laptop screen. He believed it had to be someone else, and that the girl he knew would never stand on a stage in front of a crowd, let alone a stage at all.
"What are you, Okada Megumi?" he asked himself and moved around in his chair.
Using his chair to roam in his room, he grabbed the most recent album and looked for the dance team. He didn't know what the reason was, but there were even fewer photos and none of Megumi. He grew confused and looked for the class photos. Easily, he found Akaya and a few other juniors he knew, but he couldn't find Megumi anywhere. Obviously, something happened in that year that made her decide to be invisible, but Niou couldn't figure out what. His stomach grumbled, waking him up from his deep thoughts and reminding him that he didn't buy any food from his trip to the convenience store.
Morning practice was dreadful like always, but Niou had a lot on his mind now. From the new information he learned, to still not knowing the full history behind Yukimura and Megumi, he didn't know which mystery to solve first.
"Let's go to class, I don't want to be late today." Marui started to complain to him.
"You know you're allowed to go without me, right?"
"But I want to see if Megumi-chan is here, so let's go."
"Alright." He sighed and followed him.
After entering the classrooms and passing through people, they took a look in Megumi and Akaya's room, and saw her quietly on her phone as usual. Marui walked in without hesitation and approached her.
"Megumi! Hey! I haven't seen you in so long!" he said louder than necessary.
She actually jumped in her seat in surprise and looked up.
"Oh, senpai, hi." She said, trying to avoid any small attention from the rest of the class.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I'm glad the scar isn't too bad. I thought it would be a lot worse." He smiled to her.
"Yeah, I thought so too. Hey, Masa." She said as he walked close.
"Hey, it's been a while." He joked and pat her head.
"I literally just saw you yesterday." She rolled her eyes.
"You did?" Marui asked, his eyes darting back and forth from her and Niou.
"I'll see you at lunch, yeah?" Niou said and dragged Marui out of the room with him.
"Bye, Megumi!" Marui shouted, making Niou facepalm.
The two entered their own classroom before the final bell, which surprised the other students. A few greeted them as they took their seats, and Marui immediately turned to face him.
"So, you hung out with her?" he said with sparkles in his eyes.
Niou let out an annoyed sigh, not wanting him to make a huge deal out of this.
"Yeah. We live near each other and I passed by her and we hung out for a bit."
"You're neighbors?!" he shouted, getting a few glances from his classmates.
"I'm not saying anymore." Niou said and leaned back in his chair.
"What's she like outside of school though? What do you guys talk about?"
"She's the same as when she's around you." He mumbled.
"So, quiet and sarcastic?"
"If that's how she acts with you, then yeah."
Before Marui could ask anymore, the teacher walked in, putting everyone's conversation to an end.
Once the lunch bell rang, Niou got up to go convince Megumi to have lunch with him and his friends. Marui luckily stayed behind to save a spot for everyone, and to buy extra food. Surprisingly, she was already walking up the stairs when he was going down.
"Megu? Is everything okay?" he asked.
She gave a light shrug.
"I didn't want to give you the satisfaction of being able to convince or force me to eat with you."
"Dang, you're getting smarter." He clicked his tongue.
He led her to the seats where Jackal and Yagyuu were sitting, without Marui.
"Hey, Bunta said he's gonna be a while trying to get bread and as much snacks as his allowance lets him. What's up Okada? I'm glad to hear you're alright." Jackal said.
"Thank you." She said quietly as she sat down.
"I'm glad too. Has Kirihara-kun apologized to you yet?" Yagyuu asked.
"Oh right, he told me he was going to, but kept getting scared." Niou said.
She looked confused about everything as she ate quietly.
"You do know that he's the one who gave you that scar, right?" Jackal asked.
"Oh really? I thought it was Sanada-senpai."
Niou snickered while Yagyuu tilted his head and Jackal stared at her blankly.
"I'm pretty sure I told you that Akaya's the one who hit you." Niou kept laughing.
"Well I wasn't really concerned about that at the time I guess."
"But what would make you think that it was Sanada?" Jackal asked.
"I figured he hates me so why not if he had the chance." She grumbled.
The three slowed down their pace in eating, and the table filled with silence, not knowing that's what she had been thinking for the past two weeks. Niou didn't know how to respond, but Megumi seemed to not have noticed everyone's sudden lack of conversation.
"Megumi-chan! Hey!" Marui came in and jumped in the seat next to her and Jackal.
For the first time in a while, Niou was glad that he came in and interrupted everyone.
"Hello again, senpai." She said as she took her last few bites.
"So, I just found out that you and Niou are neighbors. That's pretty cool."
Niou was no longer glad.
"I guess it is. But I didn't know him until just a few weeks ago, so it's new to me too."
"I'm sorry, how close do you live to each other?" Yagyuu asked.
"On the same street."
Niou mentally gave a deep sigh, wishing that it could remain a secret that she lived so close. He didn't want anyone else walking with him and her while he was just starting to learn more about her.
"Wow really? No wonder why we've never seen you." Jackal said.
"Well, the general rule is that no one is allowed to his home, even if you're his friend." Yagyuu mentioned.
"Oh that's a thing?" she asked and looked at him.
"Yeah. Too many traps for too many people."
It was a complete lie. He hung out with his team enough, and inviting them to the peace of his home was not a wish of his. But the lie was believable, and no one ever questioned it.
"But Megumi-chan, come back and be our pretend manager again. I know you only did it for a day and a half, but it was fun. Oh, you should try playing tennis too!" Marui jumped to a new topic.
"Oh, I don't think so. I'm not much of the athletic type." She was quick to answer.
"Yeah I agree," Niou grew a small smile on his face, "you're more of a graceful person, aren't you?"
She stared at him with surprised eyes. Before she could say anything, Marui's hands were on her arm.
"I mean, you seem to have some muscle." he said and his hand moved down to her wrists, and they paused for a second. Niou immediately knew why.
"What's this?" he tried pulling her arm up.
"Senpai, could you please let go of my arm." She said, her voice barely loud enough for her to hear.
"S-sorry." He sprung up and shoved a piece of bread in his mouth.
"Marui-kun, it's quite rude of you to touch, especially grab a woman without her permission." Yagyuu said with grave disappointment.
"Yeah dude." Jackal agreed.
Niou first noticed Megumi pulling down her sleeve before glaring at Marui. He was too occupied eating his guilt. Luckily the bell rang, making everyone pack up their things and say bye to each other.
"Megu-," Niou walked toward her.
"I'm fine, I'll get to class myself." She said and left without taking a look at him.
Niou scratched the back of his head, not knowing how to handle this. Marui walked up to him and tapped his shoulder.
"Hey, Niou, is-,"
"Marui, we'll talk about this later." He said sharply, and they headed back to class.
As expected, Megumi did not show up to their practice. Niou knew that she wouldn't because of Yukimura, but unfortunately, Marui was feeling all of the blame. His focus was completely off, and he was constantly looking around, and wondering where she was.
"Marui-kun, make sure you apologize to her as soon as you can." Yagyuu said while they were on a break.
"I want to, man. But she's not here and I was hoping she would be. At least I'm not scared to say sorry unlike our Akaya here." He said.
"What I did was a lot worse than you so you can't say anything!" Akaya shouted.
"Really? That's your defense in not apologizing yet?" Niou raised his eyebrow.
Akaya mumbled to himself and left.
"Oh, Niou, can I come over today? On the way back I'll stop by her place and say sorry. Oh, we can buy her a cake on the way!" Marui said excitedly.
"My rule still applies about not being allowed near my house." Niou said.
Niou knew it would be a bad idea. Megumi definitely did not want to be seen by probably anyone, and who knew what would happen if Marui found out about everything he knew about her. Also, her brothers would make a big deal if he brought a friend with him.
Throughout practice Niou thought about how he himself was going to handle this. He didn't want to go super deep in to the reasons for anything, but there was an instinct in him that was telling him to help her somehow. He was hating it. If there was one thing everyone knew about Niou was that he hates helping anyone and would literally let someone fall off a cliff if they needed help getting back up. But once this analogy became somewhat true, the only thing troubling him was not knowing how to help. What he knew for sure was that Megumi wouldn't tell him either.
"Okay, Niou, just let me talk to you. You gotta know something about Megumi." Marui said to him as soon as they were alone by the school gate.
"I know man. I know what you saw, and you can't say anything about it."
"But we have to do something. What if this gets worse, and she actually does the worst."
Niou sighed. He almost wanted him to know that it was already at that point, but he had to keep the situation as small as possible.
"Just apologize to her when you can like Yagyuu said. And who knows, maybe it was a one-time thing and she regrets doing that to herself."
"I don't think you saw everything entirely… It's definitely not one time." Marui shook his head.
He knew that it wasn't, but he hadn't actually seen her arms either. Even though she offered last time, he didn't need or even want to see them. It was already too much for him to handle.
"I just don't know what I should do." Marui said quietly.
"I honestly don't either. But we'll see her tomorrow. And maybe you can make it up to her by getting her a cake this weekend after practice or something." Niou said.
"Oh, that's a good idea. I think I'll do that."
"And one more thing," Niou inched closer to him, "don't tell anyone about this. No one. Especially not a faculty member, and definitely any other student." He said sternly.
Marui nodded before leaving. Niou turned the other way, held his head and groaned. He didn't know how Megumi felt, but he believed that she might actually start opening up to him more, and that there was a chance that he can at least console her about this day. And he decided he'll figure out how once he was able to talk to her.
He reached home, and debated about going to her house. It was still pretty early, so there was a chance that she wouldn't be there.
'Where would she go? What does she do other than go to school and go home?' he thought as he sat in his chair.
He had to set up a way to see if she would come out, or go in her home. A personal stake out that he mentally swore to the world was not for gross or creepy reasons. Rummaging through his room, he pulled out the invisible double sided tape, a brand new window screen, and something he had been saving for a special meeting with Akaya. A two way mirror.
Quietly and intricately, he took his whole window down, and sprayed some Windex to clean the window sill. He knew that he had to at least make it look natural and give a reason to take the window out. He popped in the new screen and dusted it, also to make sure he could see through it clearly. After pushing out all the air bubbles, the new window was up in no time. Anyone passing by wouldn't suspect a thing, unless they were a pro and could tell apart glass and mirrors apart from a distance. Once it was set up, he knew that all he had to do was wait, and hope that he actually sees her.
"Okada Megumi… why do you have to be so difficult." Niou yawned and took a potato chip to his mouth.
He let it stick, growing too lazy to eat. It was past eleven and he told himself he would give up at one AM. But he was ready to quit at any moment. He saw two of her brothers and someone that he is assuming to be her dad enter her house, but never Megumi. It at least gave him a conclusion that she was at home this entire time and he probably would have saved a lot of time if he had just visited her after school. He sighed, figuring there was no point in this anymore, and that he would solve the problem another time.
Just as he was about to officially end his mission, two lights in her house turned off at just about the same time. He bit his chip, and decided he would wait until at least Megumi's light went out. It was about five minutes after, giving Niou a big disappointment, but a small sense of assurance that she was okay for now at least. A light smile formed on his face as he just gazed out at the night sky, hoping for a better chance tomorrow. When suddenly, Megumi's window opened, and Megumi herself was looking out the window. Niou pressed his face closer, seeing that she was looking all around her house in suspicion. She put her arms on the roof above her and she somehow managed to pull herself up and flip on the roof and stand there, all in one motion.
"What the fuck are you doing?" he said out loud.
She was lightly jumping across her roof, and she reached the edge of where her front gate is.
"Megumi, stop."
He choked on his words, seeing what was happening in front of him. He tried to pull his mirror off, but it was stuck too tight. He slammed it and held his head, regretting everything he did to her. He should have left her alone like she had asked. Shaking his head, he looked out again, and saw Megumi simply standing by the gate. Niou darted out of his room, and slipped on his sandals as fast as he could and ran out the door. She was walking slowly, and was just a few houses away.
"Megumi!" he shouted as quietly as he could.
Her shoulders tensed and she turned around. He ran up to her and hugged her without a thought.
"What the hell are you trying to do, Megumi." He said as he pulled away.
Megumi opened her mouth but nothing came out. She took his arms off her shoulders and turned away.
"I should be asking the same thing." She scoffed and walked.
"I fucking saw you on the roof ready to jump!" he exclaimed and followed her.
She looked at him from the side and rolled her eyes.
"That height will not kill you. Maybe a broken bone at most."
"Fine. But alright, what are you actually doing? It's midnight, you should be in bed."
"Are you okay? Since when do you argue something that can be said right back to you?"
"Forgive me for being concerned. Can you answer this one question for me now?" he gritted through his teeth.
She shrugged and held her arms.
"I didn't want to be home. Oh, this is my first time seeing your bare feet."
He looked down and saw his toes sticking out. She had a pair of sandals on too, her own feet showing their callouses and scrapes. At least those seemed to have come from natural reasons. Taking an actual second to look at her, he noticed she was in complete night clothes. A pair of grey sweats and a navy sweatshirt. Her hair was also up in a pretty messy way, but it would look weirder if it wasn't.
"It's my first time seeing you in your pajamas." He pat her head.
"There he is." She mumbled.
He lightly laughed and kept following her. He noticed how drained her face was and that even if she wasn't trying to kill herself, she was definitely in a bad place. Not a single idea of a conversation came up, and he had completely forgotten the reason why he was basically stalking her in the first place. It was quiet and lightly breezy, and the night was growing too confusing, even for the magnificent Niou Masaharu.
"How long are you going to follow me?" she interrupted his thoughts.
"Hm? Oh is there an actual destination?" he asked, realizing they'd been walking for quite a bit.
"I guess."
Niou realized that the conversations were going nowhere and there wasn't a point in trying for the time being. She was clearly planning to be alone so it was really no surprise, but he was still worried about what she was going to do during her alone time at midnight, outside, at a place he didn't know about yet.
They were half way through crossing a bridge when Megumi stopped walking. She walked to the ledge and propped herself up.
"Woah there." He said and rushed over, ready to grab her.
"Relax. I'm not… I'm not trying anything." She said and sat down.
Silently, he released a breath, happy for the reassurance.
"Even if I wanted to, this spot won't work either." She slouched.
"Oh, is that confirmed by you?" he leaned over and rested his arms on the ledge she was sitting on.
"Hey, I'm not the only one who tried." She defended herself.
"So, you tried to kill yourself in a place where other people have tried to and not succeeded? I thought you were smarter than that." He poked her foot.
She laughed a little, which helped him relax.
"So why are you here? Or, why were you basically stalking me?"
"Oh, that…" he actually had to take a moment to remember.
Tracing his moments back throughout the past few days, it wouldn't come to him. The only thing he remembered was the yearbook.
"Right, I wanted to know why you weren't in the yearbook for your first year at Rikkai. Oh, and I now know that you used to do ballet and were on the dance team, so no need to try to hide that from me now."
She groaned and rubbed her head.
"You found the videos too?" the kept her head down.
"Yup." He smiled.
She shook her head, looking upset.
"You don't have to answer me if you don't want to. It's just a reason why I followed you."
"Oh, right, there was a question in that."
She started mumbling to herself, her eyes wandering and looking for the answer herself.
"Okay, so that was just a little over a year ago. That makes it the second time I tried to die, which happened here actually."
"Seriously?"
"Yeah. I broke my femur on a rock. I didn't go to school since I had to stay in the hospital both for that and for psych issues. Also why I haven't danced in a long time." She shrugged and hugged her knees.
"Wow. I'm… really sorry about that." He managed to say.
"Don't be."
But he really, actually was, and couldn't imagine the pain of breaking that bone. He was surprised no one at school had even known about it. There had never been a story about anyone committing suicide at school, and he started wondering why. He looked over at Megumi, who was just looking at the water beneath them. He wanted to know what she was thinking about, and why she decided to kill herself for a second time.
"Hey, Masa." She lifted her head and looked over.
"Is Marui-senpai too freaked out to talk to me now?"
Niou tilted his head, wondering where she got that idea.
"Why would he be too freaked out?"
"Do you actually not remember lunch today?"
"Oh, how the fuck did I forget that?" he scolded himself.
"Yeah, I actually thought that was the reason why you followed me."
She was right, it was. He couldn't believe that he had managed to forget it completely, and that he almost went the night without solving the original problem. But there was no way he would let her know his failure.
"Alright, well about Marui."
"It's fine if he doesn't want to." She interrupted, holding her legs tight.
Niou had to laugh a little.
"He was seriously dying to talk to you and apologize. He's actually really worried about you."
"What?" her head whipped up, making her hair bounce a few times.
"Yeah. He wants to buy you a cake and everything. But just warning you, if he does, don't expect to eat more than two bites."
"Really?"
Her eyes lit up in a way that he had never seen before. Her face grew some color, and her lips were turning up. She covered her mouth with her slightly trembling fingers. He figured she really liked cake, or really liked Marui.
"Yeah, really. What's making you so excited?" he laughed, shaking her foot.
"Hey, stop." She shook her head, smile yet to have left her face.
"I'm not excited, it's just… not what I expected." She turned and hopped off.
"Yeah, you clearly don't know Bunta then. What were you expecting to happen?" he laughed as he pet her head.
"For him to act like I don't exist. I worry that you're going to do that to me too." She said, her smile faded.
He pulled her closer to his side, and started walking.
"Megumi. Friends don't let friends think it's okay to kill yourself. Best friends don't let best friends actually kill themselves. And me," he flipped her shoulder to make her face him, her face now redder than before, "I will use my secret wings to catch you while you… jump off your area of choice."
She looked to the ground and stifled a laugh. And then an actual laugh came out. Her hand covered her mouth again, and she shook her head, making Niou confused.
"Hey, I just said some deep shit, what are you laughing about?"
"Just… imagining you as an angel with a harp and everything." She looked up at him without stopping her laughter.
He rolled his eyes and pushed her back to start walking.
"Sorry, sorry." She let out a breath.
"Don't be. You literally have no reason to be. Friends joke with each other."
"Do they? It's been a few years since I had one, so I forgot how they work." She said sarcastically.
"Damn, Megumi. Who knew you had friendliness in you?" he nudged her shoulder.
"You're the one who forced me in to this friendship."
"So you do admit that it's a friendship." He sneered at her.
She sighed and didn't respond, giving him victory.
"Whatever. But come on, who would be friends with you, find out about this stuff, and then pretend you don't exist?"
Megumi mumbled something, not loud enough for him to hear anything. She looked away from him and crossed her arms, emotions completely shifted to obvious anger.
"Is everything okay?" he asked.
"Do you remember the time I told you about how I knew Seiichi in the hospital?" she asked him.
"Yeah, you guys were really good friends, right? What happened to that?"
She scoffed and gave a sarcastic laugh.
"I went to say hi to him at school one day after we were both discharged. I knew he was doing better, and I'll admit that I was still pretty mentally unclear. But when I started talking to him, he ignored me and walked away. After a few days I tried again, and he told me that I was a 'distraction' to him. That I wasn't his friend, and that he had already left his hospital life behind him. That's why I don't make friends." She said in one breath.
The two stood still, breathing, and not speaking. Niou needed a second to grasp all the information he was just given. He wanted to tell himself that it didn't sound like something Yukimura would say, but it definitely did, and he knew Megumi wouldn't lie about something like this. It made everything clear, between not wanting anything to do with tennis anymore, and not wanting to be friends with anyone, let alone someone from the tennis team.
"I'm sorry for exploding like that. And for hating your friend." She said, her eyes tearless, but sadder than he'd seen.
"What? Megumi, stop apologizing. It's okay." He pulled her in for a hug.
Surprisingly, she hugged him back softly, breathing on his shoulder. He released a calm sigh, rubbing her back to make her relax.
"Come on. Let's go home." He said softly.
She nodded and let go, and started walking home. He knew he had to know about Yukimura's side of this story, or mainly understand why he said that to her. He also had to find out when her discharge date was, and the date of when she was admitted for the broken leg. After a while of thinking and small conversations, the two reached home safely.
"I'll see you tomorrow. Or the day after if you're too tired to go tomorrow." He lightly laughed.
"Uh, yeah, I'll see how I feel." She said.
He waved bye, and walked toward his home. He almost tripped, when a sudden pair of arms hugged his waist. He held his breath, unable to believe the action. Megumi let go slowly, and cleared her throat. Niou turned around, and she looked deep in his eyes.
"Thank you." She said.
He furrowed his eyebrows, confused about why she would say that.
"For uh, being my friend." She smiled shyly before turning away to go inside.
He quietly went inside his house, and climbed in to bed, smiling softly to himself. It was two AM, and he was exhausted and school was going to be hell the next day. He closed his eyes, and started drifting asleep, his last thought of the day being the sound of Megumi's laugh.
I've been trying to grow more confidence and stop hesitating in writing. Thank you to anyone that has read this, and thank you to those that follow and review. It truly means so much.