~*20*~
The rain fell heavily that day as Yumi made her way towards the council meeting. She knocked on the door as a voice told her to come inside. Sliding the door open and reluctantly walking through she was met with a set of tables that surrounded her, behind the tables sat multiple students. Among them were the three Yumi had spoken with yesterday. She came to stop in the middle of the room, all eyes were on her. A girl with dark hair was stood in the centre across from Yumi. She began to speak. "Koharu, you have been summoned here due to your neglect of your own club. As the leader, we find this kind of behaviour to be completely out of line. You also completely abandoned any attempts to expand the club among its three current members. Sakumoto and Okazaki was it?" She looked at Yumi, waiting for a response. Yumi nodded. "Not a very stable group in all honesty." The girl stated. A few of the council members sniggered at her words. "You're the class leader to class 3-A was it?" The girl asked. Yumi nodded again. "It seems that these new friends of yours have had a bad influence on you." Yumi said nothing. "Tell me, who is the club advisor?" The girl asked.
"Miyagi-Sensei" Yumi replied.
"I see, not the best choice for an advisor either." She smiled. Again, Yumi remained quiet. "Tell us, do you have anything to say about all of this?" The girl asked in her smug tone. Yumi thought back to that morning, memories of the conversation with her friends filled her mind as she looked for some form of an answer.
Ushio and Kaito sat outside in the school courtyard. It was 8:15, they had asked Yumi to meet them there. "Do you think she'll turn up?" Ushio asked "She seemed really upset yesterday."
"I'm sure she will." Kaito replied. They sat there, on the circular wall which surrounded a group of trees. Their heads lifted up as they heard footsteps approaching them. They saw the violet haired girl walking over to them.
"Koharu!" Ushio smiled as Yumi approached the two of them. She gave a weak smile back to her.
"How are you?" Kaito asked.
"Okay" Yumi replied.
"It's today right? Your meeting with the student council" Kaito asked. Yumi nodded.
"Will Miyagi-Sensei be with you?" Ushio asked.
"No, he's busy today so I'm having to attend alone." Yumi replied.
"Why would Miyagi be attending?" Kaito asked.
"He's the advisor..." Ushio stated. Kaito became confused.
"Why didn't anyone mention that?"
"You never asked." Ushio smiled.
"Why didn't he tell me?" Kaito wondered. He looked to Yumi who was staring at the ground. "Anyway, back on topic, what are you going to say today?" Kaito asked.
"I'll probably beg for them to let us keep doing the club, I'll have to give up my auditions but I have a responsibility to run the club so it can't be helped." She sighed.
"Yeah, we were afraid you'd say that." Kaito laughed, Yumi raised her head. "You don't have to do that Yumi." Kaito stated.
"He's right" Ushio nodded "Koharu, these auditions are obviously important to you and for what you want to do in the future. If you have a chance to do something like this you shouldn't hold back for our sake or to keep the council happy."
"Right, we're here to back you up no matter what. Besides, it's not like the drama club is that big of a deal, sure we worked hard and that may go to waste but at least we stuck with it as long as we could, that's a big deal for me." Kaito laughed.
"It's not really that." Yumi stated "I'm not bothered about the work going to waste or disbanding a club that I was a part of or anything of the sort. It's just, well we became friends there; I don't want you two to hate me for ruining that. It feels like the only thing that holds us together is the club." Yumi sighed.
"You're kidding right?" Ushio asked. Yumi gave her confused look. "Koharu, we're friends because we like you. Not because of some club. Of course we're a little disappointed that it's going to be over but that doesn't take anything away from us being friends. Your happiness is way more important to us than the drama club." Ushio said "Fight on!" She yelled, giving Yumi an encouraging smile. Kaito nodded at her words.
"Give them hell today." He smiled. Yumi looked at the two of them, she wasn't entirely convinced. Usually once she had set her mind to something she stuck with it. Deciding to humour them she nodded and offered a weak smile.
"Koharu" The girl said as Yumi came to her sense. "I ask you if you had anything to say."
"Is there anything I can say? Or are your minds already made up and this is some kind of ego trip?" She asked. The girl's expression turn to one of anger.
"You can't speak to us that way Koharu." She said as she let out a sigh. "But yes, our minds are already made up. You're not cut out to be a club leader, not in the slightest." The girl said. Yumi nodded, she knew this was true. "The drama club from now until its appropriate revival is disbanded."
"You are free to leave." Hayashi said as Yumi turned around to exit the room, she came to a stop as she placed her hand on the door. Without looking back she began to speak. "You're wrong about my friends." She said.
"We'll see about that Koharu." The council leader replied. Yumi opened the door and walked out of the room, leaving the student council and the drama club behind her.
Coming out in the hallway she saw her five friends waiting for her. "Yumi" Kaito said as they approached. "How did it go?"
"I don't want to talk about it" She said as she began walking off at a fast pace.
"Yumi wait!" Takeshi yelled as he attempted to go after her.
"Takeshi hold on!" Ushio yelled as she felt someone grab her arm. Takeshi continued after his friend. Ushio looked back and saw Kumiko holding on to her.
"Let him go Ushio." She said. Ushio looked to Kaito and Juni.
"Koharu can't be alone though." Ushio replied.
"Takeshi will take care of her." Kumiko stated.
"She's right" Juni said "Takeshi can handle it."
"Are you sure they'll be okay?" She asked. Kaito stood next to her and place his hand on her shoulder.
"I've underestimated Keshi a lot lately." He said, looking to Juni who nodded at him. "He's made me eat my words every time." Kaito stated. Ushio looked in the direction of the missing Yumi and Takeshi.
"I hope you're right." She muttered.
The rain fell heavy that day as Yumi came out into the courtyard. Takeshi ran out of the school building yelling to her. "Yumi!" He shouted over the rain. Yumi came to a stop as she stood there, frozen. Takeshi came up to her, standing only a metre away. "Yumi, you have to tell me what's happening." He said. Yumi looked up to the sky as the rain fell on her face; she still kept her back to Takeshi.
"Why is that Takeshi?" She asked in a shrill voice.
"B-Because we're friends" He replied.
"What does that mean?" She asked.
"What? What's happened Yumi? Is this because of the stupid council?"
"No, not really. I suppose they were the last straw though." She replied.
"Yumi please. You're so much better than they are. You know that."
"Takeshi, please leave." She sighed.
"You're so confusing you know?! One minute you're acting like you care about me, about us all, the next you're turning you back on us!" He yelled. There was a moment of silence. The only sound that could be heard was the rain splashing against the concrete floor of the courtyard and the heavy breathing of a green eyed boy.
"Takeshi, I can't." She replied.
"Can't what Yumi?" He asked. Yumi wiped her face as she turned to look at him.
"If you really want to know where I'm going, I'm going to the hospital." She said.
"W-Why?"
"My... My brother is there, Kazuki. He's been there since..." She said but stopped herself. "Takeshi, if you really care about me, if you have any feelings for me you'll stop. You'll stop this and leave me alone." She stated. "Don't follow." She said as she walked away from Takeshi. He stood there, silenced by Yumi's words. The rain fell on him, soaking him. He turned around and slumped back inside the school.
"I have to go." Takeshi said as he and Kaito left their last class of the day.
"Are you sure?" Kaito asked "We could all go?"
"I dunno why, but for some reason I feel like it should be me." Takeshi shrugged his shoulders. "Does make any sense? Is that selfish at all?" He asked. Kaito shook his head.
"Not really buddy, that's not selfish, to be honest though you rarely do make sense." He laughed. Takeshi smiled.
"I know I'm an idiot a lot of the time but I really do care about her, she's looked after me before. I need to do this." He stated. Kaito nodded.
"I know man." He said, placing out his hand. Takeshi shook it. "Good luck" Kaito said as Takeshi nodded.
He jogged onwards toward the large hill, at the stop stood the hospital. What a stupid place to put a hospital, I can barely feel my feet. He thought to himself. It seemed that lately since he had been spending more time with the other he had been doing a lot more running that he usually would have been. At least he was keeping fit right? Takeshi reached the top of the hill and came to the hospital car park. He made his way through and into the entrance. He had never been there before, perhaps when he was born sure but he didn't remember ever setting foot in there. Looking around he saw the help desk. "Can I help you?" The woman asked as Takeshi approached her.
"Erm, yeah. I'm trying to find a friend." He said.
"Oh, have you been invited?" She asked.
"Well, not exact-"
"Fujimoto?" A voice asked as Takeshi turned around. He saw a pretty woman standing behind him, she a bob of purple hair, blue eyes and a ribbon to the right side of her hair.
"Oh, Mrs. Hiiragi" He smiled "Shouldn't you be with Kaito's grandmother?"
"Mrs. Nakano is back with them, my substitution work is over. Didn't he tell you?" She asked, smiling.
"No, he didn't mention it." Takeshi replied.
"Well, is there anything I can help you with?" She asked. Takeshi nodded.
"I'm looking for a friend, she's really upset and I think she needs me right now." He replied. "She's visiting her brother, Kazuki Koharu." Takeshi said. Mrs. Hiiragi nodded.
"I know who he is; I've been taking care of him for a while." She smiled.
"Could you help me?" Takeshi asked. She sighed.
"I'm not really supposed to do this... His room is 27 A, the person you're looking for is Yumi, correct?" Takeshi nodded "She's in there with him." She smiled.
"T-Thank you so much!" He beamed as he bowed in respect and made his way through to one of the corridors.
"Are you sure that was wise Ryou?" The receptionist asked. The purple haired woman smiled and nodded.
"Yes, that girl is very lonely; she needs a friend right now."
Takeshi passes through the sterile hallways and came to the room he was looking for. 27 A was on the door. He heard quiet sobs coming from the other side of the door, it was Yumi. Taking a deep breath he knocked. "Yes?" Yumi called out. Takeshi slowly opened the door. He saw Yumi knelt on the floor against the bed. "Takeshi?" She whimpered as he made his way in. His eyes landed on the small boy that lay in the the bed. His eyes were closed and he was hooked up to several machines. He looked back to Yumi.
"Y-Yumi, I know you said not to come. I-I couldn't just stay away and leave you. Not like this." He said. Yumi began to cry again, tears trickled down her cheeks. Takeshi knelt down next to her.
"T-Takeshi I can't." She cried.
"It's okay Yumi." He said, looking into her watery eyes.
"I-I want to tell you something. Something I've never told anyone before."
"What is it?" He asked in a hushed tone. She began to fall further down to the floor but Takeshi grabbed her by the shoulders, keeping her up. She looked back into his eyes.
"A few years ago, m-my parents wanted me to take my little brother, Kazuki to the park." She began; Takeshi looked up to the boy in the bed and back to Yumi. "He was only six. I held his hand all the way there. He wouldn't keep quiet about it; he always got excited about spending time with me." She smiled, Takeshi smiled back. "We reached a crossing near the park, we were only a road or two away. A voice called out to me. I-It was a boy I knew from school, I really liked him so I was so happy that he was speaking to me. I turned away from Kazuki, I looked away for two minutes, not even that." Her voice began to croak up. "Then, I heard a loud screech. I-I hadn't even noticed my brother way gone, that he wasn't holding my hand anymore." Tears began to fall from her face again. Takeshi wiped her cheek with the back of his finger. She grasped his hand, keeping it held to her cheek. "I looked over and he was there, lying on the floor. T-The car had hit him, the one that made the loud screech. I-It had sent him to the other side of the road, he hit his head... There w-was b-blood everywhere." She collapsed into Takeshi body; he managed to hold her up as she wept in his arms. She raised her head to look at him. "The doctors said that he had lost too much blood. He had gone into a coma." Takeshi looked over to the boy again, noticing the various tubes attached to the petite figure. He looked back to Yumi. "Takeshi, they don't know when or if he'll ever wake up. My parents hate me because of it, I let them down, I let my friends down. I-I let everyone I've ever cared about down and now everyone hates me!" She cried. "There's nothing I can do to save my little brother, to save Kazuki." She placed her head against his chest. Takeshi breathed deeply, his heart was pounding, and taking in all the information he lifted her chin up with his hand.
"Y-Yumi" He began as tears began to form at corners of his eyes. "No one hates you." He smiled "You have no idea how many love you do you?" He asked. She stared back into his eyes. "I didn't know your brother but I can't imagine that he wouldn't love a sister like you. I know he wouldn't blame you for this, I know he still loves you even if he can't say it himself. I don't know your parents either but god knows I've had my fair share of problems with my family but deep down, there's always something there no matter how much you think it's lost, it never really is. Besides, you have all your friends, no one hates you, we all love you Yumi, everyone one of us. We're all here for you and we'll always be here for you." He smiled as a single tear fell down his cheek. Yumi wiped it off with her own finger.
"Thank you Takeshi." She said with a weak smile "You understand now though, I can't, I can't feel that way for anyone, not after what happened." She said.
"I know, no one is asking you to." He smiled. "It's going to be okay though, no matter what happens, if everyone else leaves I'm going to be here for you, I promise you."
"Thank you" Yumi whispered as she leant her head against his chest again, she closed her eyes. He embraced her, holding her head to his chest he cradled her body back and forth.
"It's going to be okay Yumi; it's going to be okay."
Takeshi strolled over to the garden of the Koharu household. A man stood outside the house, he was painting the front gate. "Excuse me" Takeshi said, the man looked up at him. He had a lost look to his eyes, as if something had been taken away from him. "Are you Mr. Koharu?" Takeshi asked. The man nodded slightly. "Yumi's father?" The man hesitated for a second as if he was trying to remember the answer, he then nodded. "I'm a friend of your daughters. I know things are bad right now." He sighed; the man stood up and fixed his gaze on the boy. He was a rather shrill man with dark hair and blue eyes. "I know things are bad but I wanted to say that no matter what you are going through your family is always there for you." Takeshi stated. "I may be way out of line and it's not my place to say but, please, for Kazuki, forgive your daughter." Takeshi closed his eyes, ready to take the attack of the man that would surely come. Instead the man stayed still.
"H-How do you know?" The man asked. Takeshi opened his eyes.
"Yumi told me, you have no idea how upset she is, well I suppose you do, of course you feel the same way." Takeshi smiled.
"It's been very hard." The man sighed.
"I know, I know how it feels to have something missing from your life, a void that you can't fill no matter what. However much you ignore it though it will always be there. You can either ignore it or face it for better or for worse, whether that means moving on or accepting it. We always have that choice." Takeshi stated, thinking back to his previous problem with his father.
"I understand." The man replied in a shaky voice. Takeshi nodded as he turned to walk away. The man went inside the house, over into the kitchen where his daughter stood, preparing a meal.
"Yumi." He said. Yumi's head rose, her face was white as if an old ghost was calling out to her. She turned around. Her father stood there, a smile was on his face, the first one Yumi had seen in years.
"Dad?" She asked. The man walked over to her and opened his arms out wide. Yumi move over to him. He had tears rolling down his face.
"I'm so sorry." He said. A smile came over Yumi's face as she ran over to her father, embracing him. They stood there, hugging each other for a while. Yumi didn't know why but her father had come to the realisation that he could move past his sorrow, perhaps her mother could do the same also, she didn't know. Her father held her in his arms as Yumi began to speak to him.
"It's going to be okay" She said "It's going to be okay."
~*20*~
Poor Yumi :/ ... I finished this one in a few hours. I probably should have uploaded the two parts as one chapter but I like that this is the 20th chapter. The 10th chapter was when they all officially became friends. The 20th chapter is when the drama club disbanded, it sort of works as a little bit of irony in a way. Anyway, you probably figured out that Hiiragi was Ryou by now, I decided to give her a happy ending. She got married and became a nurse as she always wanted to. The same goes for the others in a sense but you'll have to wait and see. Stay tuned.