She Comes And Goes As She Pleases (Part 14)
by BrDPirateMan
The time was 7 pm, and the Hachi Fest was in full swing.
I had been to two or three Fests, and every time, it was jam-packed with people. The food and game stalls were always busy. Laughter and chatter was everywhere. The whole thing was a boisterous affair. The ritual petting of the Statue of Hachiko was the main highlight and dozens if not hundreds flocked to touch it in hopes of acquiring year-long good luck.
This year would be more of the same, not that it's a bad thing as long as it was fun.
The Statue of Hachiko… It is a place with many memories for me. I made my first friends here. I used to hang out here a lot with them too. But perhaps the most important memory to me now was that this was where I first met Eri, way back when I was still in high school.
This girl with blazing pink hair standing beside Shiki was someone I had never met before. But I had seen her before in a photograph. So this was the best friend who was an avid fan of trends and fashion…
"Allow me to introduce the two of you," said Shiki. "This is Neku. He's a friend of mine. And Neku, this is…"
"…Eri!" chirped the new girl, extending a hand towards me. "Nice to meetcha!"
The one thing that stood out during our handshake was her grip. This, I knew, was the grip of a person who could make lots of friends very easily. It was firm, which showed her sincerity, but not too firm. Just the right pressure on the palm and fingers. And that smile of hers made me feel at ease, even when this was the first time we had met in person.
"It's a pleasure to meet you too, Eri," I said.
"So you're called Neku, huh? Cute name!" I usually grew tired of overly-friendly people in a heartbeat, but this girl… Now she felt different. That bubbly personality of hers was hard not to like, somehow.
"You study at my school, right?"
"Yeppers! But I'm in the other class. I'm not with you and Shiki." Suddenly she looked like she thought of something. "Oh, idea! We're hitting up a ramen shack. Wanna come join us?" She turned to her friend. "Shiki, we can take him along, can't we? He seems interesting." Eri called me interesting? Even when this was our first meeting? I guess she's just really playful.
Shiki laughed. "You make it sound like he's a pet dog. But sure, why not?"
So now they were inviting me to have ramen with them… "Are you sure?" I asked cautiously. "I'm just afraid I'll be a bother."
"Any friend of Shiki's," said Eri, "is a friend of mine. You're okay in my book!"
Shiki didn't mind either. "Come now, don't be shy! The more the merrier. You don't look like you're doing anything anyway."
I eventually relented. "Okay… I'll tag along."
Eri was ecstatic but I didn't understand why. Maybe she was just happy that she made another friend. As I would find out later from Shiki, she was the outgoing type: adventurous, unafraid to meet new people and see new things. And she sure was one box of mysteries that would unfold little by little over the years I got to know her…
She was all smiles and giggles. "Hee hee. I'm sure we'll get along just fine, Neku!"
Four or five years have passed since then. If someone had told me that I would end up going crazy over Eri instead of Shiki, I would have scoffed at the very notion. And here I was… not scoffing.
For all her faults, she really was the right girl for me now. I may have wanted Shiki before, but now I needed Eri. I had to be the guy to stand by her side. The future in the horizon… I could almost see both of us there. We're more than friends, though less than lovers, but with a push or two from me, we could change that. We could finally be together.
Ah, but enough musing. Where was she?
I couldn't wait to meet her. She said she'd be coming in her blue yukata, which I liked a lot. I kind of wished I hadn't actually seen it beforehand though. Part of the fun of waiting for your date is anticipating what she would wear and how good she would look. It makes the eventual meeting much more impactful. But now the surprise was spoilt.
Oh well, I shouldn't be complaining. That she even wanted to hang out with me in the first place was plenty reason to be happy, and I was very much so.
Could she even find me though? We had agreed on the exact place – at the parking lot adjacent to the area with the statue – but the throngs were so thick the whole place was like one giant can of sardines. It would be like searching for a needle in a haystack.
"Neku! Neku, hey!"
Eri's voice! No two ways about it. And true enough Her Royal Ditziness herself came bounding over.
"Did you wait long?" she asked, slightly out of breath from running. "I'm sorry if you did."
"Nah, I just arrived. Side question though: how did you manage to find me? Must have been hard looking for one person amongst a whole bunch."
"It wasn't hard at all. Because of your hair, see? It's orange and it stands out. When you're looking for someone who's easily noticeable in a crowd, it's just a simple matter of elimination." She mischievously reached up to ruffle my mop of carrot locks.
"Th-That's one way to go about it, I suppose…"
"Hee hee. Sooo… we're finally here. Shall we get going, honey?"
"Um, I… I beg your pardon? !"
She just giggled aplenty like she always did. "I'm just pulling your chain. But hey, since it's going to be just the two of us tonight, why not? 'Honey' has a nice ring to it. There're lots of couples here, so if you can't beat 'em, join 'em!"
Gah…! It's just like her to go overboard with the teasing, but this was a bit…
"Look how red your face is… honey."
"C-Cut it out already, Eri…"
"Oh, honey, I'm so sorry." Wh-Why was she tracing circles on my chest with her finger? ! Holy…! ! ! "But every time I see your embarrassed face it turns me on. I can't help it. Honey. Honey."
"Why did you have to say that twice? !"
"Ha ha ha!"
"Could… Could we leave these jokes for later? W-We're in public, you know."
She sniggered, "Later, huh? Okay, later it is! It's a promise."
What had I gotten myself into? Was she really going to seduce me after we were done with the Fest? ! …Maybe it might not be so bad. No, come on, Neku, focus! I was on a date now, and I wanted to confess my love for her afterwards. This was a crucial time. I needed to get this right, correct, once and for all!
"Well, Eri… the Hachi Fest wouldn't wait for us. Shall we go take a look?"
"Heck yeah! Let's do this!"
And so began what would be the beginning of a historic night in our lives. Tonight, I would definitely make known my feelings for her! I swore it! Just you wait, Eri… tonight your feet would be swept clear off the ground!
…Right?
XOXOXOXOXO
Bang!
"Aw, missed again," groaned Eri.
"Here," I said, "let me try."
I paid the stallholder for another go at the shooting gallery and he handed me a freshly loaded rifle. This game had different variations where rules and target layouts were concerned, but the basic concept was that you could win prizes by shooting them off the wall they were perched on. Eri was having a hard time of it – she couldn't hit one thing.
At the other end of the accuracy spectrum was me. I took careful aim, squeezed the trigger, and the cork bullet easily hit its mark.
She was impressed. "Nice! Neku, are you sure you don't snipe people's heads off as a hobby?"
"Well done!" congratulated the elderly stallholder. "Here's your reward, kid. You've earned it!" He handed me the spoils of my efforts in the form of a small teddy bear wearing a purple shirt.
And so we were on our merry way to another stall. But before that…
"Here, Eri. F-For you." I pressed the teddy into her hands. Gifts were one way to impress your date…
"Huh? But you won it…"
"Yeah, but I thought you might like it more."
She giggled. "Thanks, Neku. I'll name it after you in honour of your sharpshooting skills."
"So I'm a teddy bear now?"
"What's wrong? Teddies are cute and lovable. I'd say you and them have a lot in common."
"Oh… um, ahaha…" She just implied that I was cute, didn't she? I knew I was burning up.
She let loose a long sigh of satisfaction. "Man, I love it here. The atmosphere, the people, the vibes… Everything about the Hachi Fest is so nostalgic. Brings back memories of when we were still in school."
Having been her classmate, I knew what she was getting at. "We'd troop on over here as a group and go bananas having fun. We'd gorge ourselves silly on takoyaki and kebabs…"
"…then we'd pet the statue hoping to get good luck for all sorts of things like romance and top grades. And because the Fest always ends with fireworks, we'd all find a spot to sit and watch them."
"Good times," I said with a grin. "Those were some good times."
The conversation just kept rolling off of our tongues. It felt wonderful to be able to talk so freely like this.
"We sure had fun. Hey, Neku, remember how Beat would always say some weird good-luck prayer just before touching the statue? Maybe he thinks it'll amplify his luck or something, but it's hilarious watching him mumble all sorts of gibberish."
"I bet he thought it up himself too. What a blockhead."
"Heh, the looks on everyone's faces as he went about his business… oh, I can't forget that! Oh yeah, what about that time when Shiki's sash came off by itself? Chances are the memory's still stuck in your head!"
I shuddered and grew red. "Heck if it didn't! It stands out like a sheet of flame! If it weren't for Rhyme's quick reflexes, Shiki would have ended up half-naked in front of everyone."
"More than a bit humiliating for Shiki, yes, but still entertaining."
"Y-You're laughing at other people's mishaps?"
"How could I not laugh at this? Your nose was spraying blood all over the place like a sprinkler from just catching a glimpse of her bare shoulder! It was murderously hilarious!"
Before I could defend myself, she continued, "Heh… You and nosebleeds… You sure have a long history with them. Nice to know some things never change. But that wasn't all there was about you, of course. There were some genuinely awesome moments about you back then."
"What'd you mean?"
"One time, Shiki's sandal strap broke and she couldn't walk about, so you fixed it for her on the spot. That's a pretty manly thing to do."
"I… guess I did, huh…"
"And you were amazing at games that test your accuracy. There was rarely a time when you missed with the shooting gallery and hoop toss. I bet your being a pitcher on the baseball team at school had plenty to do with it. Why else would you be dubbed 'The Sniper'?"
"…I was called that?"
She puffed up one cheek, exasperated. "Don't you ever pay attention to what goes on around you? But yeah… you'd offer to win prizes for us girls, and because you were such a crack shot, we never went home empty-handed."
So much time had passed since we went out as a gang that the memories of past Fests were growing a little hazy, but I distinctly remember snagging plushies for the girls and using that as a guise to pass gifts to Shiki. Come to think of it, that was a pretty shady way to do things…
Hmm? Now I was curious about something.
"Eri, so… uh, all those prizes I won for you back then… Are you still keeping them?"
"Nah, I tossed 'em. They were probably made from cheap low-quality materials, so they'd disintegrate into pieces within two or three months." Oh, really…? Still, the way she mentioned about throwing away my hard work was so blunt! ! !
I gave a self-deprecating laugh. "Then I guess it'll be the same story with your teddy bear."
"No, not this one," she chuckled warmly. "I'll keep it with me. Even if it breaks apart or gets torn, I'll find some way to fix it up, like Humpty Dumpty, y'know?"
"Um… I thought Humpty Dumpty couldn't be put together again…"
"Ahem… w-well, you know what I mean! But really, I'll treasure this teddy bear well past its expiry date because you went out of your way to get it for me. It's really sweet of you."
Oh. My. God. Eri was so cute! ! ! She really was a super-nice girl! And the best part was, this was how she always was. It wasn't faked and I knew this for a fact because I had been her friend for so long. Ah… so this was what it felt like to be alive…
There was a good mood going between us now. I definitely had to confess to her tonight. No way in hell was I going to miss this chance! I wanted to tell her now and I was quickly getting jumpy, but no, I had to be patient. Had to wait for the right time.
Eri nudged my arm. "Neku, I'm feeling a bit peckish. Let's grab some takoyaki (fried octopus dumplings); I'm positive that would hit the spot. How about it?"
"Sure, anything for you, honey."
She shot me a weird look. "Huh? ? ?"
"I… I mean, sure, we can grab some bubble tea while we're at it!"
"I could've sworn I heard less syllables than that, but… whatever." Crud… Me and my mouth. That was a real close one!
XOXOXOXOXO
One hour in and not a single hiccup. Eri and I were having a blast of a time and my expectations were well exceeded. Life was good!
"All the food we've tried tonight is just heavenly," she gushed, tucking into the last few bites of her crepe. "Especially the takoyaki. It's my favourite. I always wind up buying myself a carton of the stuff every time I see it."
"So… tempura and takoyaki, huh?" I paused to chomp on my own crepe. "You sure like 'em."
"Tempura's like a new love to me. But takoyaki is my main squeeze. Always has been. It was love at first taste when I tried it for the first time at age six."
"Ahaha… It's kind of weird talking about food like they're boyfriends or something."
A minute more of talking and Eri had to answer the call of nature. "I wouldn't be long, Neku. Wait for me here? Don't go anywhere. I'll be right back."
The washroom was a little ways from the park benches where we were but the crowds were still uniformly thick. I wondered if I should at least follow her to the washroom and wait for her outside so I wouldn't lose sight of her. But it's probably weird to do that, so I opted to wait at the benches like she told me to.
I sat there wondering what should be next on my agenda. For now, going around sampling foodstuffs should do. I intended to confess to her during the fireworks display when things had become suitably romantic – fireworks always had an effect on people, couples and couples-to-be specifically. Just the mere thought was giving me the giggles. The ability to imagine is a real blessing…
"Oi, Neku!"
Shaken out of my daydream I turned to address the owner of the voice. "Huh? Oh, it's you guys… Uzuki, Kariya."
They came over to greet me, looking a bit silly with all the bags of packaged food dangling from their arms. And were they snacking on syrup-flavoured shaved ice? "Enjoying yourself, Phones?" asked Kariya.
"Very much, yes."
"I can see that," noted Uzuki, her characteristic sarcasm intact. "That silly grin of yours says it all."
"Are you two here to enjoy yourselves too?"
"No. We're currently busy overseeing a mission for the Reapers' Game."
I eyed the stuff they were carrying pointedly and rebutted her, "…You call this busy?"
"I got hungry! It… It happens. Look, it was Kariya's idea to hold today's mission here. I would have chosen someplace less hectic, and definitely not during a public event like this Fest. It's not my style to incorporate fun into work."
He laughed at her. "And who's the one had the most fun? Who spent up to 1400 yen playing the balloon fishing game? All for a candied apple. You must really be a sucker for those things – ow ow ow!" The guy just got his ear pinched…
The veins were bulging from her forehead. "The next time you say things like that, I'm docking your pay."
"Y-Yes, Ms Conductor." So that meant she really was enjoying herself? !
She released his poor swollen ear and turned to me. "Neku, how are you faring, by the way?"
"I-I'm fine. My ear doesn't need to be mangled right now."
"Idiot! I'm talking about you and Eri!"
Kariya was very much interested in my situation. "Oh yeah, any progress so far, Romeo? Judging from the look of things, I'd say you're in a good way."
"Yeah, it's looking great," I replied, "but the confession comes later. Not now… We're kind of busy having fun."
Uzuki ran her fingers through her hair. She always did that whenever she wasn't convinced about something. "You are going to do it, right? After you've come this far, I certainly hope you're not getting cold feet!"
"D-Do I look that unreliable?" Then I quickly added, "That's a rhetorical question, by the way. And for the record, I really am going to do this. It's gonna happen. For real. Like, 100%. So count on it."
"Good for you. One thing though: why aren't you with Eri?"
"Yeah," said Kariya, "in a crowded place like this, you've got to stick close to her. That's your responsibility as her soon-to-be boyfriend."
"But she's gone to the washroom, and it'd look strange if I waited for her outside – "
A scream pierced the air. "KYAAAAH!" Oh no, what's going on? That was Eri's voice!
My Reaper buddies seemed to recognize it and Uzuki was the first to react. "Gah! I knew nothing good would come out of splitting up for even a minute. This is why you've got to stay by her side! She's probably being harassed by some guy!" What? ! I hadn't even thought of the possibility. Some low-life mouth-breather might be feeling up Eri, and it'd be my fault!
I didn't even take a second more. Like lightning I dashed away to find her. Uzuki and Kariya were equally concerned about her welfare and joined me too, weaving through the crowd.
Stupid… I was so stupid! How could I let her out of my sight for even a short while? She was one of the prettiest girls in Shibuya and I was sure no hoodlum would pass up the chance to try his luck and pick her up. It's not gentlemanly to subject her to such embarrassment. If anything happened to her…
"There she is!" cried Uzuki, pointing ahead. "I see her!"
We found Eri standing by herself, surrounded by… nobody. Or to be exact, there were people all around her, but nobody was giving her a bad time. She wasn't being disturbed at all, so why did she scream just now?
I'd find out soon enough. She screamed again, except…
"KYAAAAH! Oh my god, these kebabs are soooooo delicious! ! !"
Uzuki, Kariya and I stumbled like idiots in a comedy routine.
What.
The food she was snacking on tasted was so good that she simply had to scream? !
Uzuki groaned, "D-Did we just panic for nothing?"
A relieved Kariya saw the funny side of the entire situation and slowly got to laughing. "And here I thought we were saving a damsel in distress. Either way, it looks like your girl's safe, Phones. Can't be bad."
"Eri," I called. "Hey, Eri, wh-what happened exactly?"
The girl was all chipper and munching on a variety of kebabs like nothing was wrong. "Oh! Sorry, I was supposed to go back to you after the washroom thing, but when I saw these little babies on the way over, begging to be eaten, I just couldn't hold back and bought some! They're great, by the way. Here, try one. Let the flavours embrace you!"
"Oh, uh… thanks."
"If they're really that good," commented Kariya, "maybe we should give it a go. What do you say, Uzuki? Still got space to spare in your stomach?"
"We don't have time for this. Let's get back to work."
"So you say, while you're drooling away."
"Wh-What?" She hastily covered up her mouth. "That's not funny!"
Their little squabble – well, it was one to Uzuki anyway; Kariya was just laughing his head off – did not go unnoticed. Eri saw them and asked openly, "Friends of yours, Neku?"
"Uh… yeah. D-Don't mind them much, though. It's in their nature to be a little loud."
Kariya was in the middle of being strangled by an irritated Uzuki when he called out to us. "Whoa now, Phones, I don't know about you, but I say we should all be properly acquainted here. Wouldn't you agree?"
Eri was shifting her glance from me to them and back again, obviously confused. I guess now was as good a time as ever to get the introductions underway…
"Guys, this is my friend Eri. Eri, this is…"
Uzuki, who had by now given up on strangling, picked up where I left off, very prim and proper she did it, though a bit curt. "The name's Uzuki Yashiro. Pleasure's mine."
Her partner, however, had other ideas. Faced with a member of the opposite sex, and a cute one at that, he just couldn't resist a good flirt. That's just how he is. He turned on that artificial charm of his, tried to sound cool and suave.
"I'm Koki Kariya," he chuckled. "Omelette du fromage, mademoiselle! …That means 'nice to meet you' in French, by the way."
"Really now. Last I heard, it means 'cheese omelette'."
"You just had to kill my buzz, Uzuki… Where's the love?"
It didn't stop Eri from laughing though. "It's a pleasure to meet you guys. Cheese omelette to you too!"
Her little spot of humour helped a defeated Kariya to recover, and in a flash he was back in lady-killer mode again. "Aha! Aren't you a cute one with a funny bone to boot! What say we – ow ow ow!"
"Ahaha… please forgive him," said Uzuki, trying to laugh his idiocy off. "He gets like this sometimes. Most of the time. …All the time. Anyway, we have stuff that needs doing, so we wouldn't get in your way anymore, Neku, Eri… Please carry on and have fun. Later!"
"Y-Yeah," I gulped. "See you later, fellas."
Uzuki could be heard chiding Kariya rather harshly as she dragged him away by the ear.
Eri was clearly amused. "You certainly have some interesting friends, Neku."
"Maybe a bit too interesting." I found some relief in that even though Kariya might flirt around, it was Uzuki who kept him in check to prevent him from going too far. Nice to know that Eri wouldn't be snatched away by him anytime soon. Of course, I trusted him in the first place. He wouldn't do such a thing.
"That guy… Kariya, right? He called you Phones…"
I shuddered. "It's not a nickname that I particularly like. I'd rather not be called that, but he's a stubborn one. And to make matters a little more aggravating, he's not the only one who calls me that."
"Beat calls you that too, I remember," she giggled. "Anyway, what's wrong with 'Phones'? It's cute!"
"Oh god, not you too? P-Please don't call me that!"
"It really ticks you off, huh?"
"N-Not so much that it makes me mad, but I've got a proper name, so I'd be happier if I was called that."
This made her stop and think for a few seconds before smiling broadly. "If you wouldn't be called Phones, then that's what I'll call this little fella." She held up her teddy bear.
I was a little confused. "You're naming your teddy… Phones?"
"I did say I'd be naming him after you." She looked at it and spoke to it as though it were a living thing. "What do you think, little guy?"
Following a short three-second pause – like she was waiting for its silent reply – she said, "…Phones says he digs it. Well! If no one has any objections, then it's settled!" And she hugged it to her face affectionately, relishing its soft furry texture. If that wasn't adorable enough I didn't know what was… sure made me wish I was it.
Fun fact: that would also make Eri the second girl I had fallen in love with who had a soft toy companion. Shiki had her stuffed pig (she furiously claimed it was a cat) and she even called it Mr Mew. Now, there was Eri and… Phones. It looked like these two would be getting along pretty well from now on.
Suddenly, I didn't mind the nickname so much.