Chapter Fourteen: Abandoned

I was a mess the next morning. I had absolutely no motivation to eat breakfast, let alone work out with Yohei. I'd heard that girls were more emotional than boys, but I was starting to wonder if that was true as I made my way down the stairs to try to dig up something to eat. I blinked as I saw Mei standing in front of the stove, but when my vision cleared she had disappeared. "Great, now I'm hallucinating…"

I grabbed a bowl and dumped some cereal and milk in it and stood in the kitchen to eat it. Normally I'd sit at the kotatsu or the table against the wall, but I still didn't trust my legs to get me down safely. So, I stood in a quiet empty house, eating a bowl of cereal.

I missed Mei.

The streets were quiet as I walked to the school to meet up with Yohei. Actually, the streets were the same as always; it was Mei's absence that was different. Even though I was grateful for her confidence and her energy, I never realized how much she had…enriched my life. How much she meant to me.

"Tomoya!" I muttered an R-rated word as I heard Kyou call out. "Wait up!"

I would have picked up the pace to at least try to get away, but my cramping legs wouldn't let me, and she and her sister were on me in no time. "'Morning Fujibayashi, 'morning Kyou."

"Oooo…" The older twin cooed, "…he said 'good morning' to you first, Ryou. I wonder what that means?"

"Whatever you're thinking, it's not that," I grunted as we made our way up the hill to the school. My legs really hurt; the stretch was going to feel nice after this.

"You don't even know what I'm thinking," argued Kyou.

"I don't have to," I retorted. "I just have to know you well enough."

I was rewarded by Fujibayashi's giggle. "I think he got you there, Onee-chan."

"He only thinks he knows what I'm thinking," Kyou said, then fell silent. I looked over to the sight of mild confusion on her face, and I realized she was trying to replay what she had just said. I tried to keep myself from smirking.

I had to do it: "So you think I think I know what you're thinking?"

"AAAUGH! Stop that!" Kyou yelled, grabbing at her head. "That doesn't make any sense!"

"It makes sense to me," Fujibayashi said in a playful tone. "All he was saying was that he thinks-"

"Please, no!" Kyou cried out while messing up her hair even more. "It's all gibberish to me!"

Fujibayashi moved to walk closer beside me. "Don't worry, Okazaki-kun; I understand you."

I smiled as I decided to play along. "Thanks, Fujibayashi. It's nice to feel understood."

Kyou managed to be quiet…at least until we reached the soccer field.

When we arrived I saw that the usual gang was there: The Furukawas, the student body president, and the random people whose names I still didn't know. I looked around for Mei, but she was nowhere to be seen.

"She's back at the dorm," Yohei explained as we went through our warm-up routine. "She's helping Misae with cleaning and 'crowd control'."

"'Crowd control'?" I echoed.

He shrugged. "That's what Mei called it, and Misae seemed to like it." He gestured at me. "You okay, Okazaki? You seem a little out of it."

I opened my mouth, but hesitated. What would he think if…? "Yohei…? Would you kill me if I told you that I miss her already?"

He shook his head, which looked funny considering he was in the middle of a side stretch. "More like I'd be relieved." He straightened and shook out his arms. "You remember what I said when we were beating the piss out of each other after our fight with the soccer club?"

I remembered the fight, sure but... "Could you just tell me so we don't have to wait for me to remember?"

"I said that I didn't mind her having a boyfriend if it was you."

I paused in my movements. That's right; he had said something like that hadn't he?

"So it doesn't surprise me that you miss her; she's a neat kid."

I let his words sink in as we continued to stretch.

I was surprised that my legs let me run. I knew that the stretching helped, but it was still surprising to find myself running as well as I was.

"You're running pretty well for a crampy old man," Yohei said with a smirk.

"Yeah, you must be pretty weak if I can keep up with you like this," I replied with a smirk of my own.

"You think so?" he said, and rapidly started to outpace me.

"Crap! Okay! Okay! I give!"

He laughed as he slowed his pace to match mine. I noticed that his laugh wasn't like his nasally high-pitched laugh; it sounded…freer? More…genuine? "Sorry, Okazaki. I had to do it."

"Forget it; I had it coming," I chuckled.

I wasn't able to do all fifty push-ups, but I did as many as I could by the time Yohei finished and turned over to do the sit-ups with him.

I did the first sit-up and threw up my breakfast; apparently my stomach muscles still weren't quite ready. Fortunately, we did the push-ups and sit-ups at the halfway point so no one was able to see my situation.

"Gross," he muttered as he knelt next to me as I lay on my side. "Just relax; I'll go get a towel and some water for you."

All I could do was nod weakly.

He was out and back before I knew it. "Here," he said, holding out a water bottle. "Can you do it yourself or, um…do you need my help?"

I reached out and took the bottle, uncapped it, and took a few sips to see how it would affect my stomach. I guessed that it was due to being warm water, but my stomach muscles started to relax. I watched numbly as he cleaned up my mess. "Don't worry," he said with a smile. "I won't tell anyone if you won't."

My stomach only permitted a light chuckle from me, but that was enough to broaden my friend's smile. "I can wait for you if you want or go do another lap and check on you when I get back. Your choice."

"We'll keep an eye on him," I heard a voice say. Oh, no…not now…

Yohei saw my expression and nodded slightly before standing. "If I leave him with you, you're not going to pick on him, are you?"

"Don't worry," Kyou said. "I only bully him when he's well. I have standards, after all." Somehow I could imagine her flipping her hair with that statement.

"Besides, I'll be here too," an unfamiliar voice added.

"What are you doing here?" I heard Kyou protest. "Ryou and I can take care of this!"

"Onee-chan…" At least Fujibayashi was with her; one good thing.

"As student body president, the well-being of the students is my responsibility." Ah, that explained the unfamiliar voice.

"I don't care which of you watches him," I heard Yohei say in a stern voice. "But I won't put up with any fighting around him. He's already stressed right now, and doesn't need you fighting to make it worse."

I heard two voices mumble apologies before Yohei knelt next to me again. "It's your lucky day, Okazaki. You'll have three cute girls keeping an eye on you. I'd be jealous, but..."

"Huh?" I croaked.

He gently patted my shoulder a couple of times. "Never mind; just relax." He then left me in the care of a violent woman, another who didn't know how to assert herself, and yet another who I didn't even know, and I wondered if I was going to be okay.