CHAPTER TEN: FRIENDS

Yayoi slept dreamlessly on the futon in a side room for most of the day. When she awoke, Dai was cooking dinner in the main room, his futon folded up and his bags neatly placed underneath it. He was making what smelled like chicken in the oven of the small kitchen off in a separate part of the main room, where it was tiled instead of carpeted.

"Good morning!" he called without looking in at her. Yayoi realized she'd slept in and rumpled her clothes, not to mention her hair was a mess, and the remains of sleep were all over her face. Self-consciously, she found herself hoping Dai didn't turn around to look at her.

"What time is it?" she yawned a little, feeling very refreshed.

"Just after five in the afternoon. You've been asleep for nearly twelve hours, Kamishiro." he stirred up what looked like a marinade in a pan on the counter, chuckling. "You must be well-rested now!"

"Did you sleep at all, Dai?" Yayoi felt it was only polite to ask.

"A bit. Four or five hours, really. I'm not much of a sleeper." he shrugged; she noticed the slight rise and fall of his shoulders, the tilt of his raven-haired head to one side as they moved. "I hope you're hungry, because I made a lot for us!" he cheerfully stooped to open the oven and remove the chicken when it beeped to signify its completion. Setting it quickly down on the stovetop and shaking his slightly burned fingers, he began to turn around and Yayoi realized how much of a mess she was.

Before Dai saw her, she turned and hurriedly went back into the adjoining room to where her bag was, closing the door behind her.

"Aren't you hungry?" he called after her.

"I'll be out in a minute!" she changed quickly into something that made her look less like a homeless wanderer and more like a civilized high school girl, brushing her hair to make it sleek again.

When she walked back out, Dai had set the table and was getting them silverware.

"Oh," he saw her walk in and mild surprise settled on his face. "I was expecting you to look more... like you just woke up."

Yayoi quickly thought up an excuse. "Well, I was hoping we could go out tonight to look for some clues as to who is infected with the original."

He nodded approvingly, motioning for her to sit. "Good idea, Kamishiro."

They ate mostly in silence; the meal consisted of the chicken and a salad of greens and vegetables.

It was about six twenty when they had finished and washed all the dishes; they put the leftovers in the refrigerator to save.

"Why don't you look through Areas 5 through 7, and I take the other four?" Dai said as they left the apartment. Twilight was settling into dusk as they closed the door and made sure they both had their respective keys.

"Okay." Yayoi didn't really have a preference, so she waved at Dai and walked through Area 7, past Meiko Elementary and the church, to Soejima Mansion. As she passed by the stone statue in the courtyard, Yayoi shivered involuntarily, remembering all the terrible things that had happened at the mansion.

She stopped for a moment, admiring the lovely architecture of the mansion in the dying sunlight. It really was a beautiful place, but the beauty masked terrible pain and suffering, blood and bone.

" 'Scuse me!" a boy with purple hair rushed by her as nearly a blur. "Sorry!" he called over one shoulder as she stared, astonished, after him. After a moment, he faltered and stopped, turning to look at her. He opened his mouth, his eyes searching, but then closed it, smiled awkwardly, and dashed away.

Yayoi nearly called Shinji's name before realizing he wouldn't know her anyway. Her eyes burned with unshed tears as she looked after him, watching him disappear into the distance and hoping against hope he would at least turn around to meet her eyes again. He didn't.

"We were friends, once."she whispered quietly.

Yayoi left Soejima Mansion feeling like she'd been punched in the stomach. Shinji hadn't even glanced her way. She'd known somewhere inside that he no longer knew her, but even still, she'd dared to hope.

Yayoi walked through the remainder of her Areas in a kind of daze. She was looking, but she didn't see.

She didn't run into anyone else she knew, or had known before.

"Welcome back!" Dai had returned to their apartment early, having breezed through his Areas, apparently. "How was the search? Did you find anything?"

"Nothing," Yayoi didn't look at him. She walked briskly to her room in the apartment, shutting the door behind her and throwing herself on the futon.

Silently, she cried herself into a fitful sleep.


I know, it's overdue. Way overdue. And it's short, but forgive me? I'm building up to something good, I promise. :)