Before anyone knew it, it was the last day of school. What awaited them was two weeks of holiday celebrations and freedom. Classes let out much earlier, giving the students time to pack their belongings. The two misfits were so excited that neither of them could contain it, making their packings messy, but they didn't care. When they were finished, they went into the other's room to see if they had left anything. Both of them were clear and ready to go. Souda was kind enough to wait with Susen for her Mom to arrive.
They chatted as normal, although both couldn't wait to get to stay together. Their warm breaths fogged in the chilled air that surrounded them.
"So what kinda food does your Mom make?", Souda asked.
"Hmm, she makes homemade everything and it's amazing! But as far as specifics, I'll leave that as a surprise.", she said.
"Aww, c'mon, not even a hint?", he pouted.
"I'll tell you one thing, but that's it, okay?" He nodded excitedly. "She makes one hell of an apple pie.", she cooed.
"Pie?! I love pie!", he said with a grin from ear to ear.
"Oh, just wait til she starts making it. You'll smell it all through the house.", she said with a giggle.
Kazuichi made various movements to express his delight, making Tobi laugh harder. The two were interrupted by a honk of a horn. They both looked up and saw Susen's mother waving at the two. The pair hopped up from their spot and hurried over to her with their bags like little children. She rolled down the window to talk to the childish teenagers.
"Hi Mom!", Tobi said in a happy tone.
"Oh, Tobi. I'm so happy to see you, how are you?", she said in an equally pleasant tone.
"I'm excited! Kazuichi is too.", she said, motioning to her friend with a toothy grin on his face.
"Nice to see you again, Mrs. Susen.", he said politely.
"And you as well, Mr. Souda. Are you two ready?"
"Actually, Kazuichi has to stop by his house first, could we drop him off there?", Tobi requested.
"Wait! You don't have to do that, I can walk, it's not too far.", he protested.
"Mr. Souda, if you're going to be our guest, this is the least I can do. Will you need a ride back to our home?"
"I guess stubbornness runs in the family.", he mumbled to Tobi. "No thank you, my Dad can drive me there if Tobi texts me the address."
"Will do. Now you two get in, you both must be cold.", she said kindly.
The two obliged and enjoyed the warmth of the car. Souda gave directions to Mrs. Susen to get to his house. They soon pulled up to a small house at the end of the street. Various bikes stood in front of the garage, collecting frost.
"Do I need to introduce myself?", Tobi's Mom asked.
"No.", the two said simultaneously.
Her mother looked at them, slightly confused. Tobi waved her hand as to say 'I'll explain later'. Souda grabbed his bags, thanking them again, and rushing inside. The drive continued its way back to the Susen house.
"It looks like you and Souda have gotten pretty close.", she commented.
"How can you tell?", she asked out of curiosity.
"Well, for one thing, you call each other by your first names."
"Oh yeah, I hardly notice it now."
"Why did you both say 'no'?", she pointed out.
"Well...you see…", she began.
Tobi continued to explain the situation and the plan that she had. She vaguely explained that his father was violent and generally unsafe. Her mother paused after she finished her explanation.
"A few things, first off, that's a well thought out plan. Second off, despite that, this is a very risky situation, if what you say is true. You could easily be in danger and I don't know if I'll be okay with that.", she said in a concerned tone.
"I know that, but three days of me in danger is worth two weeks of safety for Kazuichi. And I plan to do everything in my power to let him be safe." Her mother let out a small sigh as she pulled into their driveway.
"You really care for that boy, don't you?", she asked. Tobi nodded with a strong gaze.
"Alright, count me in. On one condition."
"Oh goody, another condition.", she said sarcastically. "What is it?"
"Try to do something with your feelings for him.", she cooed.
Tobi's face turned bright red.
"Wh-what feelings? I have no idea what you're talking about!", she said with a nervous laugh.
"Just tell him, you never know what could happen.", she cooed again. "Grab your things, let's go inside."
Tobi did as told and ran to the front door. She missed her home so much. Her mother unlocked the front door to let the small girl run in. She dropped her bags and laid on the floor, patting it slightly with her outstretched arms. She missed the dark wood floors. Her mother laughed at her strange actions, almost having missed them. The girl then stood back up, grabbed her bags again and ran up the light carpeted stairs.
She quickly opened her door and collapsed onto her soft bed. She was able to spread out due to its queen size. She buried her face in the mattress, feeling her glasses push against her eyes. A thought popped in her head making her rush to the top of the stairs.
"Hey Mom?", she called.
"Yes?", her mother called back.
"Is Kazuichi gonna sleep in my room?", she asked with fingers crossed.
"Of course not! There's no way you two could share a bed."
"What about the air mattress? He could just be in the same room as me."
"I don't know, dear. I'll think about it. What do you want for dinner?"
"Something you make."
"Oh well, I don't know if I can do that.", she said with sarcasm.
The two giggled before returning to what they were doing. Tobi texted her address to Kazuichi and unpacked her things. When she finished with that she pulled out her laptop and began writing, as usual. She subconsciously smiled while doing so. She was at one of the happiest points in her life, she couldn't help it.
She had realized that the last time she had a friend as close as Souda was before the accident. She sort of cut herself off from others and reduced herself to a small quiet person. She felt like she could talk to him about anything, tell him anything. He truly was her best friend.
As if on cue, the doorbell rang. Tobi gasped and quickly closed her laptop before racing down the stairs to answer the door. Her socks slid with ease on the wooden floors, making her almost fall over. She stood on the tips of her toes to look through the peephole and saw bright pink. She quickly opened it and attacked her friend with a hug. He nearly fell over at the sudden hug. He caught himself and started laughing.
"Hey, Tobi. Sorry if I took long.", he said happily, hugging his friend back.
"No worries, I'm just happy you're here!", she said excitedly.
She soon let go of him and directed him inside. He slid off his yellow sneakers and left them by the door, carrying his bag inside. He looked inside the home with slight awe.
"Damn, your house is big.", he whispered.
"Watch your language, young man.", her mother teased.
"I-I'm sorry! It'll never happen again!", he spouted nervously.
"Don't worry, Souda. I was just teasing you. Welcome to our home.", she said with a smile.
Souda's nervous face turned to a happy smile. He slid off his thick coat and hung it before Tobi showed him around the house. After a few minutes, they made it upstairs.
"This is my room.", she presented, sitting at the edge of her bed.
"Damn, even your bed is big. May I?", he asked.
"Of course.", she said, gesturing to the spot beside her.
He sat next to her, enjoying the plush mattress and the soft blanket underneath his fingers.
"Oh yeah! Wait here one sec.", she said, hopping up and calling downstairs.
"Hey Mom?"
"Yes, Tobi?"
"Did you think about it?"
"Yes, and I think that for now he should stay in the guest room, at least for tonight."
"Aww, fine..", she pouted, walking back into her room.
"What was that about?", he asked.
"Well, I wanted you to be able to sleep in my room, like on an air mattress or something, but my mom says you should stay in the guest room for now.", she pouted more.
Kazuichi reached up and pulled at the lip like they normally do, making her laugh.
"I bet I'll be fine. But where's the guest room?", he asked.
She reached out a hand for him, which he took, and walked him to the room across from hers.
"Here it is! So you're not terribly far from me if you need anything. Oh, and the bathroom is the only other room on this floor besides yours and mine."
"Thanks a whole lot.", he said.
"No biggie.", she shrugged.
"Actually, yes biggie. This means a lot to me, thank you.", he said with a soft smile.
She nodded and hugged him tightly again. When they released, Tobi motioned for him to wait.
"What're you doing?", he asked.
"Getting your bag for you!"
"No, I got it, it's kinda heavy so-"
"Kazuichi, you're our guest so I'm gonna do it!", she said with a smile.
He sighed and watch her struggle to pick up the heavy bag, making grunting noises as she did. As she hauled the bag up the stairs, Souda couldn't help but laugh. Her expression was priceless, her grunts were hysterical, and the overall sight was funny to him. She managed to carry it to his room before plopping on his bed with loud huffs.
"Are you okay?", he asked in between laughs.
"Totally, but, uh, your bag is a bit heavy.", she said in between pants of breath.
She curled up and rested on Kazuichi's lap. His laughs softened to try and not shake the easily exhausted girl.
"I'm just gonna lay here for a second.", she said, letting out a big breath, closing her eyes.
Kazuichi decided to gently pet her hair, which she seemed to approve of with a small smile. Her dark hair was soft against his fingertips. Its fluffy-ness made him enjoy his actions as well. The girl laid still and comfortable, breathing softly.
"Tobi?", her mother called from downstairs. "It's dinner time, come on down you two!"
The girl stirred slightly. Souda lightly rubbed her arm.
"Tobi..?", he said softly.
"Hm?", she said weakly.
"Your Mom says it's dinner time."
"Oh really? Thanks. I think I dozed off for a second.", she said, stretching her arms and back.
Kazuichi giggled at the sleepy girl before motioning her downstairs. Souda followed her down to the kitchen table. Tobi pointed to one of the three chairs as she rubbed her eyes. Kazuichi took it as a signal to sit there, which he did.
"What're we having?", she asked.
"Spaghetti, garlic bread and salad. Is that alright with you, Souda?", she responded.
"I love spaghetti!", he said happily.
"My Mom makes awesome spaghetti!", Tobi praised.
The dinner's conversation was much more pleasant having three people.
"By the way, I'll be putting up the tree tomorrow! Would you two like to help me out?"
"Like a Christmas tree?", Kazuichi asked.
"Of course! It's always really fun to cover it in lights and ornaments.", Tobi explained.
"I'd love to! We've never really done the tree thing at my house.", he said.
"Well, I'm glad you'll get to do it with us then!", Tobi said with a smile.
Not long after that, the three departed as the evening came to a close. The two friends hugged each other good night.
"And if you need anything at all, come knock on my door, okay?", she told him.
He nodded and thanked her again for all of it. They went their separate ways into the two rooms and curled up in their beds.
Tobi adored the feeling of her bed again, holding Punda in her arms. With a smile on her face, she dozed off easily.
The sound of a knock snapped her awake. She looked over at the time. She had been asleep for about an hour or so. She rested Punda on her bedside table and rushed to open the door.
In the dim hallway light, she saw Kazuichi standing there with his head down, gripping his t-shirt at the sides.
"Kazuichi, what's wrong?", she asked softly.
He walked towards her and hugged her tightly, burying his face in her shoulder. She felt something wet. He was crying. She held him tight and rubbed his back.
"What happened?", she whispered.
The boy sniffled and began to shake and sob quietly. She quickly lured him in and turned on her dimmer light, before closing the door. She managed to get him on her bed with him curled into her. She petted his hair gently, shushing his sobs' violent outbursts.
"It's okay, Kazuichi. I'm here, it's okay.", she said softly.
He took a big sniffle and lifted his head slightly. Tobi could see the tears in his beautiful pink eyes, now bloodshot with irritation.
"He…", he began with a weak voice. "He hurt me again...badly… That's what made me have the nightmare…", he pushed the words out of his throat, not wanting to say them. "In the nightmare...he…", he gripped her hoodie. "He hurt you...so much worse than he ever has to me.. And I couldn't do anything.."
Kazuichi clinched his teeth in an attempt to stop the tears but to no avail. Tobi looked at the crying boy with pity in her eyes, mixed with anger of the 'he' whom she was fully aware of. She took a deep breath and raised his head with her hands, so he could look at her.
"Kazuichi, look at me.", she said, gently wiping stray tears from his eyes.
His pink irises met her brown ones.
"I'm fine, see? I'm here for you, so don't be afraid.", she said with a small smile.
He didn't say anything, he just hugged her tightly again. She smiled again and kissed the top of his head lightly. She then turned off the light and pulled the blanket over the two of them. The boy in her chest seemed to calm down a bit, but stayed very close to her. She continued to pet his hair and hold him comfortably. Tobi finally let herself sleep when she heard the boy making soft snores, knowing he was at peace again.