A/N: Welcome back to When The Brothers Cry! I apologise for my long absence on this site, but I o have excuses; 1, I was unfortunate enough to have my laptop literally implode on me, 2, I've been busy with work (which really takes most of my energy), and 3, that damn "Writer's ADD". Anyway, I'll try (note, try), to upload more often, as I've had numerous people asking me about RoTA Vol. 2, but they've been disappointed when I told them that I only work one story at a time now. Well, I believe that's all I had to say. Enjoy the chapter!
Chapter 12 – Watanagashi II
"I'm telling you, that's not how that works, Jamie!" Adam stated, as he and Jamie slid into their seats in the classroom. "You upshifted too early. End of story." He said, causing Jamie to scowl. "You're missing the point, bro. I do it so you brake." He retorted, making Adam nod. "I'll give you that, but you end up losing traction and the back end kicks out. That's why you got be on point with the shifting." The younger Robertson replied, making Jamie nod. "Alright, I got it, bro." Jamie stated, before he slapped Adam on the shoulder.
"Heads up. Your girlfriend's here." He said, making Adam snap his head towards the door, where he saw that the Games Club had entered the room. When he locked eyes with Rika, he blushed, as he flashed her a smile, then turned to Jamie. "What about your girlfriend, eh? Ain't she here as well?" He asked in a teasing tone, causing his brother to look to Shion, who winked at him. "Touché." The older brother said, just as the Club sat down at their table.
"So, Adam." Mion stated, causing the younger of the brothers to look to her. "A little bird told me that you now have a girlfriend. That true?" She said, which prompted Adam to look briefly to Rika, who smiled at him. "Yeah, I admit it. I'm with Rika. What of it?" He asked, not noticing the jealous stares he was getting from the younger boys of the class, as some of them were harbouring a crush on Rika themselves. Hell, a couple of the girls were staring daggers at him.
Or at least, they thought he didn't see the stares.
"If anyone who's not in this conversation doesn't quit listening in before I turn round, they'll wish they were back home." Adam called out, causing the students to look to each other, before he held up three fingers. "Three." He said, putting down one finger.
"Two." Another finger.
"One." Last one.
"Zero."
Turning round, Adam saw that the rest of the class were all talking amongst themselves, causing him to smile. "Thought as much." He said, before spinning back to the Club, who all had raised eyebrows. "What? I hate eavesdroppers." He growled, making the Club nod. "I'll give you that one. Now, besides from Adam's love life, you two, we've got something more important to discuss." Mion said, making Adam nod. "Watanagashi, right?" Getting a nod from the elder Sonozaki twin, Adam held up a fist to Jamie. "Called it!" He said, as Jamie bumped his fist. "So, what's the plan for tonight?" Jamie asked, before Mion nodded to Keiichi, who passed the brothers a slip of paper each. "You two, could you meet us there? We'll attend the festival as a group." She asked, as Adam read the note and placed it into his jacket. "Sure thing." He said, just prior to the classroom door sliding open, and Chie walking in. "Talk to you later, boys." Mion said, before the Club walked over to their own tables.
"Good morning, class!" Chie said, getting a resounding call of "Good morning, Miss Chie!" back from the children. "Now, I know that we're all excited for Watanagashi tonight, but we still have to get through the school day first." She said, before picking up the register for the class. Clearing her throat, she began the roll call...
Later on...
As the brothers worked through the work they had been assigned (or at least, they were pretending to look busy. They had finished the work at least an hour prior), Adam was shocked to feel a tap on his shoulder. Looking up, he came face to face with Chie. "What's up, Miss?" He asked, while subtly hiding his "work", which had just so happened to be a sketch of Rika. "Rika's just warned me that she needs to get to the shrine ASAP. Now, I wouldn't normally ask this, but can you drive her? I know she feels safest with you." The teacher asked, but Adam had already packed his stuff up at the word "drive". "Sure." He said, making Chie smile and nod. "Very well. Since this is last class, feel free to head home after. I'll cover your absence. Drive safe." She said, drawing a scoff from Jamie, who was promptly kicked in the leg by Adam. "Always do." He said, as his brother writhed in pain. Turning back to his brother, he picked up his bag, and held out a fist. "Catch you in a bit." Jamie said, bumping Adam's fist, before the younger brother walked over to Rika, who was standing by the door.
"Shall we?" Adam asked, gesturing out of the school. "Lead the way." Rika replied, causing her boyfriend to smile, before the pair walked out to the Charger.
"So, you ready?" Adam asked, as his girlfriend fastened her seatbelt. "Ride or Die, right? Let's get this thing going!" She squealed excitedly, causing Adam to raise an eyebrow. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you're only interested in my car." He said, before Rika rolled her eyes, leaned over and kissed him. "That get rid of your worries?" She asked, before Adam smirked. "Sure." He stated, placing his hand on the gearstick. "Ride or Die." He said, slamming his foot on the accelerator, tearing out of the courtyard in a cloud of exhaust...
Arriving at the shrine a few minutes later, Adam looked to Rika. "So, I'll catch you later, then?" He asked, before she nodded. "Yep. I'll expect to see you in the front row." She said in an authoritative tone, making Adam smirk. "Don't worry." He said, before kissing her gently. "I've got a good reason to be up in front." He stated after pulling back. "Good." Rika replied, before kissing him on the cheek, and opening the passenger side door. "See you then." She said, before sliding out of the car. Running over to the steps of the shrine, she looked back to the car, and waved. Smiling as his girlfriend skipped off up the stairs, Adam pulled on his handbrake, and spun the Charger around, speeding off in the opposite direction. Wrapped up in his thoughts, he didn't think too much about the military-grade jeep that was parked near the shrine...
Later that night...
"Alright, so what first?" Jamie asked, as the Club, sans Rika, stood at the entrance to the Watanagashi Festival. They had met up at least 10 minutes prior, as per their agreement. "Well, first, I'm starving!" Shion said, before she looked to the group. "Shall we?" She asked, as the Club looked to Mion. "Lead the way, boss." Adam said, gesturing forwards. "Alright, gang, first, we're meeting up with Rika!" Mion exclaimed, getting a resounding "Yeah!" from the rest of the Club. Walking into the grounds, the group gasped at the sight of all the stalls.
"Something tells me I'm gonna enjoy this!" Jamie said, cracking his knuckles, only to receive an elbow to his side, courtesy of his brother. "Well, that is the point." A voice behind them piped up, causing the Club to spin round, where they saw Rika, standing there in her shrine priestess robes.
"Looking good, Rika!" Mion said, causing the girl to smile. "Thanks, Mion!" She said, before she locked eyes with Adam. "You like?" She asked, spinning to show off the robes. "Yeah." Her boyfriend said, scratching the back of his head, although, he did also adopt a bright red blush. "Well, seems like my brother's a little bit embarrassed! Well played, Rika!"Jamie said, before he was quickly decked by Adam. "Sorry, Shion, but your boyfriend needs to learn to keep his mouth shut." The younger brother thought to himself, as Jamie groaned on the ground. "Asshole." He spat, while straightening his jacket collar. After Shion helped her man up, she looked at her sister.
"So, where first, sis?" She asked, before her stomach let loose an embarrassing growl. "Something tells me we should get something to eat." Jamie said sarcastically, causing Shion to shoot him a glare. "Agreed. I can feel my stomach threatening to mutiny." Satoko piped up, before she clocked a food stall. "Takoyaki, anyone?" She asked, getting a synchronized nod from the Club. "Alright, then." She said, as the group went towards the stall...
After exploring the festival for a while, drums started to pound, & Rika ran out in front of the Club. "I need to get ready. I'll be performing the ceremony soon." She said, before taking off. "We should get a good spot to watch, ourselves." Mion said, causing Adam to crack his neck. "Sounds good." He said, as the Club walked up to the altar where the ceremony would take place. Claiming spots close to the front of the crowd that had gathered, they waited with baited breath, as the ceremonial music started up, and Rika walked out, carrying the ceremonial hoe. As she began to dance, Adam crossed his arms, and thought to himself, "She looks even better dancing." After the dance, Rika brought the hoe down into the large futon on the stage, before staring to pull it through it, as one would do for their garden.
After a few minutes, Rika finished the dance, and walked off the stage, before one of the men who had been beating the drums started to bunch up the cotton from the futon, passing out one ball each to each person. After receiving them, the villagers walked down to the river, where they set them afloat. "To symbolize our setting our sins afloat." Adam remembered Satoko telling him the day he had helped out with preparing the shrine. "Good, cause there's a lot of things I've done that I want to let go." He thought to himself, as he placed his cotton ball into the river.
As he watched his cotton ball disappear downriver, Adam was caught off guard by a slight contact on his cheek. Looking to his side, he smiled, as Rika was in front of him. "Hey, Rika." He said, shooting a look behind her, where he saw a fair amount of glares directed at him. The message he was getting was clear: "Break her heart, and we'll break you." Chuckling, Rika looked to the villagers, and smiled. "At ease, please. I trust Adam not to do anything untoward." She said, which prompted the villagers to look away.
"Great. Just what I needed." Adam groaned, rubbing the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Relax. They're just protective over me. I am the shrine priestess, after all." Rika replied, turning back to her boyfriend. "I guess I'll need to put up with that, if we're gonna be together." He sighed, before she shrugged. "Well, as long as I'm with you, Adam, I don't care what anyone says." She said, which caused Adam to blush. "Damn, this girl's good. Despite her age, she still makes me flustered so easily." He thought to himself, as Rika suddenly sat down beside him, and placed her head on his shoulder. "Well, I'm glad, as I feel the same." He said, as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Fuck it, I'm already going to hell anyways. It's really go big or go home at this point." He thought to himself, before he was startled by a chuckle behind him. Turning round, Adam and Rika came face to face with a blonde woman, who was accompanied by a well-built man carrying a camera.
"Well, Mister Robertson, I can see you may have a death wish, becoming romantically involved with the head of the Furude family, who is also the town's shrine priestess." The woman said, which caused Adam to scowl, but he was surprised when he felt Rika tighten her grip on him. "Well, Miss, it appears you have me at a disadvantage. You two are...?" He asked, getting another chuckle from the woman. "Apologies. I am Miyo Takano, and my friend with the camera is Jiro Tomitake. Pleasure." She said, before they bowed to the pair. "Adam. And if you'll excuse us, we've got somewhere to be." He said, before taking Rika's hand and pulling her away.
"Thanks for that, Adam. I don't know how, but I got a bad feeling from her." Rika said, when they were out of the earshot of Takano. "Yeah, I got that too. The guy, though, seemed alright." He replied, which got a nod from Rika. "Actually, could you do something for me later? Find Tomitake, and ask him to come talk to me at the front of the shrine. I need to discuss something with him." She asked, before the boy nodded. "Great. Now, let's meet back up with the others." She continued, before grabbing his hand. "Sounds good." He replied, before they started to walk away...
Later on, at the end of Watanagashi...
"Alright, we'll catch you tomorrow!" Jamie said, as he, Adam and Rika waved farewell to the Club, who was taking their leave, but not before Shion gave Jamie a farewell kiss.
"So, what now?" Jamie asked, causing Adam to go to answer, but he paused when he spied something. "Oi, Tomitake!" He called out, catching the man off guard. "Ah, Mister Robertson! Good to see you again!" The man said joyfully, turning to him. "Same. Apologies for how I acted earlier. I'm sure I offended you and Miss Takano. When you see her, can you pass along my apologies to her?" The boy replied, getting a smile from Tomitake. "No need. A lot of people have said that Miss Takano unnerves them. So, what can I do for you?" The photographer asked, before Adam gestured over his shoulder to Rika. "Rika wants to discuss something with you." He stated, getting a nod from Tomitake. "Okay, I'll talk to her." He said, before walking over to the girl.
"Know what that's about?" Jamie asked Adam, who jumped, as he was caught off guard by the question. "Beats me. I'm just the messenger." He replied, before looking at his watch. "We should get going." He said.
"That you off?" Rika called out, causing the brothers to turn, as she ran up to them, Tomitake waiting behind her. "Yeah. We've got some business to attend to at home." Adam said, before Rika smiled. "Okay. See you tomorrow?" She asked, to which Adam knelt down and kissed her. "Definitely." He said, before straightening up. Looking to Jamie, the younger brother said, "Let's go.", before Jamie nodded, and the pair ran off. Smiling, Rika turned back to Tomitake.
"So, Tomitake, tell me..."
A/N: And that's all she wrote! For this chapter, at least. I'll say again, I'll try to upload more regularly, but don't expect much. I can say at least, that I won't disappear for months on end. Well, I'll see you all in Chapter 13 - Choice. Madman out!
