~*21*~
Yumi, her father and her mother all stood beside the bed of her brother, Kazuki. For some reason Yumi's father had opened up to her after so long, something had allowed him to start to let go of his pain and over come it with his family. Her father had sat down with her mother and they had spoken with each other for a long time. The three of them had come to the realisation that they were all broken; they were all empty and damaged. They now knew that they could confine in each other and share their pain. This was all because of some mystery force, in Yumi's eyes, that had helped her father, a force that she would never be able to thank as she would never know who or what it was. Yumi stood next to her brother's side as she placed her hand on top of his. She knelt down next to the bed but having so often cried at his side there was only one thing she could now do, she smiled. She smiled and began to whisper in his ear. "I hope" She began "I hope that one day you wake up Kazuki, one day you'll wake up and you can meet him, the person who saved me."
Standing among the busy shoppers in the shopping district Kaito thought back to his conversation he had with Ushio the previous night. "Would you like to meet up tomorrow?" Ushio asked.
"What for?" Kaito replied.
"To spend some time together, it's nice to see friends one on one every now and again." She smiled.
"Sure, what time?" He asked.
"3:00, shopping district?"
"Sure, sounds good." Kaito said. Returning from his thoughts he looked at his phone. It read 2:59 pm, watching it the time turned to 3:00 pm.
"Kaito!" A voice yelled. He turned around and was met with Ushio; she wore her white knitted hat, a thin, blue zipped hoodie over a t-shirt, a black skirt, striped stockings and converse. Kaito blushed a little as she came over; he had to admit she looked quite cute. Kaito wore a black jacket over a red t-shirt, dark jeans with a torn hole over the left knee and a pair of red sneakers.
"How did you do that?" He asked as Ushio walked over.
"What?"
"Its 3:00 on the dot, that's crazy." He laughed.
"I dunno I'm punctual." She smiled. After greeting each other the two began to walk through the street, looking in the windows of various shops. It was a Saturday, it was usually busy in this area of town and this day was no exception. They came to a store that specialised in plush dolls. They peered inside as Ushio looked on in awe.
"You into this stuff?" Kaito asked. Ushio looked at him and went red with embarrassment.
"Y-Yes, aren't you?" She wondered, already knowing the answer.
"No." He said bluntly. She let out a soft laugh. "Do you want to go in?" He asked her. She smiled.
"We don't have to." As she finished her sentence Kaito was already halfway through the door, he turned to her.
"Come on." He smiled as she followed him inside.
Inside, the little shop had an old world charm to it. Beams ran from one end to the other on the ceiling and it was furnished with solid oak counters and chairs. It had a warm, welcoming feeling to it, which was nice as outside a chill had began to pass over the town. Tables and shelves were stuffed to the brim with plush dolls of all shapes and sizes. One corner held animals, another held characters from various manga, films and television shows. Another corner had a random assortment of the soft little dolls. Ushio walked over to the animals as Kaito lingered in the middle of the little shop. They were the only people in there; Kaito couldn't even find the shop keeper."Where do you think the owner is?" He asked as Ushio looked over the stuffed little lions.
"Probably in the back." She replied. Folding his arms, Kaito leant against a one of the tables that held a large pile of plushies. He gave a yawn as the table shook ever so slightly. Noticing this he turned around. The table shook again.
"Ushio." He whispered. She looked over. "This table is moving, I think the plushies are alive..." He said.
"That would be amazing!" Ushio laughed as Kaito shook his head.
"I'm serious look." Pointing to the table it started shaking again. Kaito peered in closer to the pile of dolls as suddenly a small figure burst out of it. Kaito jumped back, screaming in the process. The figure landed behind Kaito and began to laugh. He turned around to be met with a small elderly man. He wore a traditional style kimono, it was grey with a white trim that ran along the edges, and the belt was also white. He was completely bald and had a white goatee. "What the hell?!" Kaito yelled as the old man smiled at him. Ushio stood there completely dumbfounded. The old man began to laugh again as Kaito looked on in confusion. Clearing his throat, the old man began to speak.
"I saw you two looking through the window. I thought it had been a while since I played a prank on a youngster so I thought I'd hide in my pile of plushies." He smiled.
"An old man playing with plushies?" Kaito asked as he imagined the elder sat down talking to his dolls. Kaito burst out laughing.
"Don't be stupid!" The old man replied, folding his arms. "Everyone needs a living." He winked.
"Kaito don't be rude." Ushio said. Kaito nodded. The old man smiled.
"If you're looking for a present for your girlfriend there, you've come to the right place." He chirped. Kaito looked over to Ushio who blushed at the man's words.
"She's not my girlfriend." Kaito mumbled.
"Oh? Then give her one of my cute, adorable, lovable plushies and she will be!" The man said, jumping onto the old counter. Kaito and Ushio looked on at the man. "Oh? Customers? Well, are you wanting one my dear?" He asked, looking to Ushio.
"I was just looking around." She smiled. The man hopped off of the table and crossed the room to the large pile of animal plushies. Placing his hand into the very middle of the pile Kaito began to speak.
"What are you doing?" He asked.
"A lucky lotto!" The old man yelled. Kaito shrugged. "Lucky dip kid." He said bluntly, still fishing around the pile. He produced a small plush doll, a little bear cub. He handed it to Ushio. Taking it from him she felt over the doll's fur.
"It's so soft." She smiled. The old man nodded.
"Take it." He said.
"Oh, no I couldn't" Ushio replied.
"Yeah, I thought this was a living?" Kaito asked.
"More of a hobby." The old man replied. "Take it my dear." He smiled. Ushio smiled back and bowed in gratitude.
"Thank you." She smiled. Kaito walked over to the man, placing his hand in his pocket he produce a few notes of money.
"Here, at least let me give you something for it." Kaito smiled.
"A little cheap isn't it kid?" The man asked. Kaito turned red.
"Hey! You just said we could have it for free!" Kaito yelled. Ushio laughed.
"Fine, if I must take your hard earned money." The old man smiled, showing his teeth. He was missing quite a few of them.
"Yeah..." Kaito sighed.
"Thank you very much!" Ushio said as they made their way out of shop. The old man waved at them as they left. Looking back through the window Kaito could've sworn that he had seen the old man hop back into a pile of his dolls.
"Pretty sure that guy was senile or something." Kaito muttered as they walked through the streets again.
"He was nice." Ushio smiled. Suddenly a cold breeze fell over the two. Ushio shivered slightly. "We should've guessed that December weather wouldn't have been so warm." She laughed.
"Oh, are you cold?" He asked. Ushio lets her arms drop down; she had just had them wrapped around herself in attempt to keep warm.
"No, no. I'm fine." She smiled. Kaito slid his jacket off.
"Here." He said, sighing at her attempt to underplay the cold air. He placed the jacket over her shoulders as Ushio grabbed the sleeves, bringing them around her.
"What about you?" She asked, showing her concern.
"Ah, I'm used to it." Kaito laughed.
"Really?"
"Yeah, we don't exactly have space heating or anything in my house." He smiled. Ushio looked down, not knowning what to say to Kaito. She hadn't realised he was so unfortunate, his grandmother was sick, she didn't know where his parents were, he sometimes struggled with money and now he didn't have heating in his home. Kaito, noticing Ushio's attempt to come up with some kind of reply, spoke up. "We have a log burner, an old one. It hasn't been used in a while though." He laughed, attempting to lighten the mood.
"I see." She smiled, hugging her new plushy as Kaito's jacket was wrapped around her. Kaito walked along at her side, hands in his pockets.
"What's up?" He asked as Ushio held the bear cub close to her chest.
"Why do you ask?"
"You seem quiet all of a sudden, is there something on your mind?" He questioned, Ushio snuggled up to the bear. She walked over to a near by bench and took a seat, patting her hand down for Kaito to join her. He sat down, smiling at her.
"I was thinking about Koharu." She sighed as she placed the bear down on her lap.
"She's okay though, Keshi sorted it." He smiled.
"I know... Do you know about her parents?" Ushio asked.
"Yeah, how they ignored her and all that?" Kaito replied. Ushio nodded her head.
"That means that all those times she said that her mum had come to pick her up or she was going somewhere with her parents... I guess that means she was going to the hospital." Ushio sighed.
"I suppose. She never did say much else though, she's always been very private, for as long as I've known her." Kaito said "If you think about it, this was quite a big step for her."
"Yeah." Ushio nodded, rubbing her nose with her index finger.
"Are you getting a cold?" Kaito asked. Ushio smiled.
"Probably" She laughed.
"Well I don't have anymore jackets." He grinned.
"Then I'll just have to keep a hold of this one." They shared a laugh together. "I think we should do something for Koharu." Ushio said in a gentle tone.
"Like what?"
"I think we should perform her play." Ushio smiled.
"We can't, we're not allowed to perform at the festival anymore." Kaito replied.
"I mean, we just perform it to our friends and family."
"Really?" Kaito asked.
"Yep, we can see if we can borrow some music from Kumi, she has a lot of it." Ushio laughed. "You can still do some technical work."
"Yeah, I guess."
"We're going to be having a surprise birthday party for my mom on Christmas Eve." She said.
"Christmas Eve?"
"Yup, her birthday is the 24th of December." Ushio smiled.
"As if." Kaito said.
"Yeah, I was thinking we could perform it there, invite Koharu's parents. My dad already said I could have some friends over for it. I'm sure my mom would love it. She didn't say much when I told her the drama club had been disbanded; I could tell she was a little sad though, I think she was really looking forward to seeing me perform. So, we can do something for both Koharu and my mom." She smiled. Kaito looked on at her beaming face, he, again felt a warm sensation cover his body, despite the cold air he was comfortable.
"You're pretty amazing you know that?" He said. Ushio blushed as she looked down to her lap where the bear sat.
"I wouldn't say that..." She replied.
"I mean, like, well you're always going out of your way to help people, you know?" He smiled. Ushio looked back up to him, their eyes met as she smiled back.
"That's a really nice thing to say."
"I'm just being honest." Kaito laughed "I'm not really one for compliments that much, I just call it how I see it." He said, smiling. Ushio nodded.
"That's very true." She laughed. They went quiet, letting the cold breeze blow over them, Ushio closed her eyes. "Can I ask you something?"
"Don't you always?" He laughed, Ushio smiled. "Go ahead."
"That girl in your class, the one with the dark hair and pale skin."
"Hiroshima?" He asked.
"Yeah, the pretty one. Are you two seeing each other at all?" Ushio asked as a weak smile came across her hopeful face.
"That's kinda out of the blue." Kaito laughed.
"Kumi heard her speaking about you the other day." Ushio muttered.
"Really? What did she say?" Kaito asked. Ushio sighed.
"A few girls were saying things about you apparently, over embellishing some rumours. Kumi said Hiroshima defended you." Ushio said, in her mind she began to wish she hadn't of asked, she didn't enjoy making this girl out to be someone who was fond of Kaito, though she didn't really understand why. Kaito frowned as he gazed over the scurrying shoppers.
"What were the rumours?" He asked.
"I-I shouldn't of said anything Kaito, I'm sorry." Ushio replied.
"Tell me." He said in an annoyed voice.
"Kumi didn't hear much but she heard them saying that it was because of you that the drama club was disbanded, that you had skipped out on the meetings and gotten Koharu into trouble." She sighed; her voice began to break slightly. "I'm sorry Kaito, please don't be angry." She begged. Kaito looked towards her, a smile came across his face, Ushio was rather surprised.
"I'm used to it, they seemed to have died down lately but I guess people still think of me as a bum."
"N-No they don't... We don't Kaito." She said.
"I know, that's the only thing I'm bothered about. I wouldn't want any of you guys to feel that way about me."
"Never." Ushio stated, seeming a little cross. "Don't think that way okay?"
"Okay" He smiled, patting her head softly. He got up off the bench. "There's nothing between me and Hiroshima." He said as Ushio began to smile. "We're friends, she's nice." He concluded, and that was the end of it, they spoke of it no longer, no rumours, no other people, they just walked off down the road, glancing in a few more shops as they went by.
That Monday Yumi approached Ushio and Kaito at the end of school, they were stood out in the courtyard with the rest of their friends. "Are you coming to the club room?" She asked. The two of them shared a glance.
"There's no drama club anymore." Kaito replied. Yumi sighed.
"We won't be allowed to use the room again. Not even for lunch. I thought we could spend one last hour in there, have one last meeting." She smiled. She turned to Juni, Takeshi and Kumiko. "You three can come if you want." She said "Honorary members for the day." Yumi laughed. Takeshi smiled at her, he was glad to see her so cheery again.
"Yanno Yumi" He began "As much as I'd like to I think it should be just you three."
"I agree" Juni said. Kumiko nodded.
"It was your club; go have one last look together." She smiled.
"Thank you" Yumi replied. The three of them waved goodbye they made for the exit. Yumi, Kaito and Ushio began to turn back towards the school as Hiroshima passed them.
"Hey." Kaito said as she came into view. Yumi and Ushio stopped, Ushio looked down as Yumi placed a hand on her friend's shoulder and smiled.
"Oh hi Sakumoto" Mayumi replied, brushing her dark hair behind an ear.
"How've you been?" He asked.
"I'm good; I heard about the drama club, I'm sorry it didn't work out." She smiled.
"Don't worry about it" He said, he looked towards his two friends, looking back to Hiroshima he spoke again "I got a lot more out of it than a drama credit." He smiled. She nodded.
"I'm glad." She smiled. "I think I know the answer but are you free tomorrow? There's a few showing around 6:30 at the theatre."
"Is it Tuesday tomorrow?" He asked.
"Of course" She laughed. Kaito thought for a moment, no of course he was free, he would have nothing to do on a Tuesday after school now.
"I'm free." He smiled. Hiroshima nodded.
"Great, I'll meet you there for 6:30!" She said as she rushed off home. Kaito stood there laughing to himself at Hiroshima's behaviour. Yumi coughed. He spun around.
"Are you coming?" She asked. Kaito laughed and nodded, Ushio kept her saddened expression as they made their way inside and towards the old drama room.
Yumi slid the wooden door open as they were met with the sight of the empty room. All the boxes of props had been removed; the few posters Ushio had made were no longer there. All that was there was the small table with six chairs stood around it. Yumi walked up to the table as she turned around she perched on the edge of it. Kaito and Ushio came to a stop as she did this, Yumi's eyes became teary. "Koharu..." Ushio sighed as Yumi placed her hand out to stop her. She wiped her eyes.
"This was my third year here" She began "I joined in our first year, after... Well you all know about Kazuki now, after what happened with him it seemed like my entire life had come to a stop. Time moved on but I couldn't, I was frozen. My family were the same; they acted as if I didn't exist. Drama became this thing that allowed me to escape all of that. This was the only place I could be myself. However, even here I didn't feel like I belonged, I spent my breaks in the library alone. I went to school everyday and came home after the drama meetings to a home that wasn't the place it was supposed to be." She sighed. "Then after everyone had left and I was here by myself, alone again, something happened. A knock on the door that changed everything. It was you, both of you. You stood outside and entered, a girl I had never met and I boy I was always bickering with." She smiled, Ushio and Kaito smiled back. "We became friends, I made even more friends. Juni, Kumiko... Takeshi." Tears began to roll down her face. "For the first time I really do feel like I belong to something, I have people who truly care about me." She smiled; Ushio also began to tear up. "To be honest, I stopped caring about the drama club a while ago; I just did it for you, to stay close to you both... But now, now we don't need that do we? We don't need something to hold us together do we? "
"No, there's nothing that can tear us apart Yumi, despite every thing we have and are yet to face we'll always be there." Kaito smiled.
"You'll always have your friends Koharu." Ushio added.
"Thank you both, for everything you've done. If it weren't for you and the others, I don't know where I would be right now." She smiled. "The drama club is finished, I'll still go to my auditions, I'll still work hard to be an actress and make you all proud." She said, wiping her eyes. Kaito looked to Ushio; she too wiped her eyes as she looked back to him. He gave her a nod.
"Koharu, what if you could still do the play?" Ushio asked. Yumi looked up.
"That would make me very happy." She said.
"My mom's birthday is coming up; a lot of people will be there. We were thinking, we could perform our play. You could invite your parents to watch." Ushio smiled.
"They've never seen me perform... I would really like them to." She nodded.
"I'm glad." Ushio replied. Kaito's gaze went over Yumi and out through the window. In the distance he could see something, something that instantly filled him with hope. He didn't know what it was but he felt that he had seen it before. A small light floated up to the sky and disappeared out of sight, joining the sunlight above the town of Hikarizaka.
~*21*~