Wednesday afternoon, September 16 – High School
Ryuuji's cell phone alerted with a vibration to let him know that there was a message. He had turned the volume all the way off, but since it was on the desk surface, the buzzing sound reverberated into the classroom. Yuri stopped her lecture and the class watched to see if it might be news from the hospital. It turned out to be a message to call the talent agency at his earliest convenience.
Ryuuji shook his head to let everyone know there was still no news on Noto as yet.
"Important?" Yuri asked Ryuuji.
"The agency." Ryuuji answered. He noticed that Ami and Hisako perked up. Nanako took Hisako's hand. She knew how desperate her friend was for work and how much she was anticipating some good news.
"Well, we're just covering the problem areas from the last mock exam." Yuri said, "Since you didn't have any problem areas, you can be excused if you want to return that call."
"Thank you, sensei." Ryuuji got up and walked toward the doorway at the front of the class.
"Can I be excused too?" Haruta asked.
"Haruta-san," Yuri sighed, "If we focused on your problem areas, we would be here until midnight!"
"Awww, that's not fair sensei!" Haruta whined as the class laughed at his antics. Ryuuji chuckled too as he walked out of the classroom to return the call in privacy.
.
At the entrance to Ohashi High School, Yasuko and Aiko-chan waited for their friends and family. Yasuko looked at the bright eyed and happy little girl as she sat on the low stone wall next to her Onee-chan and hummed a tune. People said that being around Yasuko made them happy, but for Yasuko – being around this happy angelic sprite was what made her happy. Aiko-chan caught Yasuko looking at her and giggled.
The day was warm and Yasuko was watching the procession of students filtering out in their summer uniforms. Ryuuji had looked so splendid in his summer uniform, of course Yasuko thought he looked splendid in his winter uniform too. Soon, the day would come to switch back to the winter uniform and he would never wear the summer uniform again. Those days would be done and he would be in the final march to High School graduation. And where would he go from there? His options used to be so limited when he was convinced that there was no way he could go to college, but… It was different now. He had selected a college option and it looked like he might already have a career in the entertainment business… if the last month had been any indication, and if he wanted it. Where he used to see only an indistinct, dreary path for his future, his eyes had been opened to so many wonderful opportunities now. Yasuko couldn't think of anyone that deserved the thanks for that more than Ami. Thank you Ami. Thank you for so much!
"Onee-chan, are you crying?" Hisako's voice startled Yasuko.
"Oh, just feeling a little nostalgic." Yasuko wiped the tears from her eyes and noticed that Hisako was already there with Nanako but Ryuuji and Ami were walking slowly across the courtyard with Yuri-sensei.
Maya and Haruta came out and said hello to Yasuko and Aiko-chan, but they soon left with Nanako for the hospital.
"You're not going with them, Hisako-chan?" Aiko-chan asked the raven haired model. She was used to seeing Hisako stay by Nanako's side.
"I might go later," Hisako told the two, "Ryuuji got a call from the agency and there is something he wants to discuss with us when we're all together.
"Oooooh, that sounds exciting!" Yasuko cheered. Aiko-chan seemed excited too.
When Yuri got to the entrance gate, she was planning on having a few words with Yasuko for bringing Aiko-chan up to the school again. But she didn't see anyone trying to take pictures of her this time. Word had gone around the school that the little girl that looked like Taiga was actually a nine year old, but the grade school uniform she was still wearing also helped to dissuade the old Taiga fan base from anything… indecent.
.
With Ryuuji carrying her bags, Yuri was able to walk all the way back to Ami's house without using her wheelchair. The effort had taken its toll though, and she collapsed into a small couch as soon as she got to the living room.
Yasuko sat down next to Yuri and Aiko-chan sat in her onee-chan's lap. Hisako sat down in a love seat but felt the emptiness from the absence of Nanako's presence. Ami sat at the arm end of a couch while Ryuuji was looking at his phone.
"Okay, we're all here so tell us what's going on!" Ami demanded.
"Just a minute, there is one more person," Ryuuji called Suzume from his cell-phone.
"Ryuuji-sama?" Suzume's voice came from Ryuuji's phone which he had set in the middle of the coffee table.
"Hey, I have you on speaker-phone so you can talk to everyone." Ryuuji then told her, "I got a call from the agency today and there are a few things they want me to cover with you guys."
"Really?" Suzume sounded as excited as the girls in the room appeared to be.
"They said that they liked what they heard from the group session. They want Red Black & Blue to begin voice training together as soon as possible."
"All right!" Suzume's shriek came from over the phone as an excited garble.
"Yes!" Hisako seemed excited too.
"Congratulations!" Yuri told the girls.
Ami watched Ryuuji's expression and could feel that something was wrong. "But…" she prompted him.
"I don't know of a good way to make this work." Ryuuji confessed. "When I look at the schedules, the only way Suzume could make it out here would require her to miss so much school, she would effectively be dropping out."
"Ryuuji!" Yuri objected loudly to that suggestion.
"Don't worry, sensei." Ryuuji calmed his teacher, "Umeko would never agree to let her little sister drop out of school and I wouldn't want her to do that either."
"Then… there's no way?" Hisako sounded disappointed.
"The only other way I could think of, would be for Ami to drop out of school so she and Hisako-chan could live in Tokyo and go to a studio near Suzume-chan." Ryuuji knew that he could also drop out with her and go to Tokyo too, but he knew how much his mother and fiancé would strongly object to that.
That suggestion started an avalanche of discussion. No-one was really in favor of that plan but if it was the only way… so the discussion was focused on goals, objectives, and sacrifices until someone noticed that Ryuuji's phone was making funny warbling sounds.
"Hey guys! Can you hear me now?" Suzume was shouting into her phone.
"Yeah," Hisako said, "sorry for stepping all over you. Do you have an idea?"
"I do." Suzume sounded smug, "How about if I move out there and transfer to the local middle-school?"
"Well," Ryuuji considered it, "that would work, but would Umeko-san agree to it?"
"Yes. I agree." They all heard another voice on the cell phone.
"Umeko-san?" Ryuuji called out.
"Don't let my brat of a little sister make you think she just came up with that solution on the spot!" Umeko warned them, "She has been hitting me with this idea ever since she came back from helping Aiko-chan change schools!
"Who are you calling little – shorty!" Suzume fired back at Umeko.
"Do you want me to agree to this or not?" Umeko said sternly to her younger sister.
"Thank you for your kindness and wisdom, my dear and wonderful big sister!" Suzume's voice dripped with sacchariny sweetness.
"Oh stop!" Umeko choked. Everyone in Ami's living room was laughing at the two sisters. "She has talked me into agreeing to this as long as I have a promise that you will help tutor her to get her ready for the entrance tests for Koigakubo Yuri's high school. Also, if she doesn't make it into Yuri's school, I will want her moving back here to Tokyo."
"I can promise to help her with that!" Yuri said while blushing. She was wondering why or how she had impressed the older Minami sister so much.
"Do you already have a place to stay?" Ami asked.
"I know this may be a bit forward, but when I was out there last weekend, I heard Yuri-sensei and Nanako-chan talking about leaving this coming weekend." Suzume sounded apologetic as she asked, "So… I was kinda hoping to call dibs on Nanako's bed."
"Nanako isn't here right now," Yuri said, "but I will definitely be leaving this weekend."
"Yuri-chan?" Yasuko sounded hurt.
"It's not that I want to!" Yuri explained with wet eyes, "It's pretty bad, from an ethics perspective, that I am living in a house with some of my own students. I've been able to get away with it so far because I am under a doctor's directive. But that directive runs out on Saturday, so…"
"We understand." Ryuuji smiled, "But we will still need you for Red Black & Blue road trips. That is the deal we made with Umeko and I do not plan to try to renegotiate with her on that point."
"But Ryuuji…"
"You promised." Hisako reminded the teacher while wagging a finger at her, "That makes it an obligation."
"I guess I did promise." Yuri smiled, "All right then. I'll just have to figure out some way to explain it to the ethics committee. I guess you guys are stuck with me." The words might make you think she was simply resigned to this fate, but the smile on her face betrayed her real feelings.
"Well… since Suzume and Umeko were able to find a solution that will make this work, I should let you know that there is another issue." Ryuuji told them, "They want us to come up with one or two original songs."
"Original songs!" "What?" several voices showed disbelief.
"And," Ryuuji continued, "they want us to make our first pass at recording the songs in three weeks. They have us booked in the big studio on the seventh of October."
"That's not much time." Yuri observed.
"Three weeks?" Suzume's worried voice came from the cell phone on the table, "I hope you guys have some ideas about writing songs, cause I'm no good at that stuff."
"Me neither." Hisako admitted and looked hopefully at Ami.
Ami took a deep breath and exhaled. She didn't want to do this, but they didn't have much time. "I'm not any good at it either but I know someone who is." Looking only at her hands she continued, "Someone who once wrote a whole moving box full of poetry to someone he loved…"
"Ami, no!" Yasuko stood up dislodging Aiko-chan into Yuri's lap. Yasuko remembered that box and she remembered what happened to it. When they moved from her old place into Ami's house, Yasuko threw that box away because seeing it might trigger Ryuuji's depression again. It had been Ami's idea to get rid of it, but Yasuko had agreed… and had put it in the trash bin herself.
"It's okay, Onee-chan." Ami surprised her, "I saved the box after all. It's in the attic."
"You can't be serious?" Ryuuji was stunned. He had forgotten about the box over the last several months, but he remembered what kinds of things were in there and… and… "It's all crap! There's nothing in there worth singing!" he insisted.
"I am serious." Ami said, "I read through the notebooks and listened to the music you had in there. Some of your musical selections were… questionable. But the poetry… most of the poetry was good. Real good."
"Oh, I can't wait to hear this!" Yuri smiled. She always liked watching a student discover that they had a hidden talent.
"But Ami-chan," Yasuko felt as if something was being lost as she pointed out, "Ryu-chan wrote those songs about… someone else." She wanted to scream at her blue haired friend. You don't have to do this! You shouldn't do this! He belongs with you now. "It wouldn't be right."
"Is this about the Taiga-person?" Hisako asked, her voice expressing concern.
"No," Ryuuji explained, "before Taiga, I had a crush on Kushieda Minori."
"Oh, Minori-chan?" Suzume remembered, "I met her the day of the Obon festival, right?" Suzume recalled Minori generally having fun with everyone. It didn't seem like there was a lot of uncomfortable tension while she was there. "So, the two of you broke up?"
"It was unrequited." Ami said, "There was never a confession. To make a long story short: while pursuing Minori, he fell for Taiga."
"Unrequited…" Suzume's thoughts wandered off as she thought about her own hopeless unrequited love for Ryuuji. A love that would remain unrequited because she would never do anything to hurt Ami… Suddenly, a thought struck her, "Ami-senpai, are there any songs in the box about unrequited love?"
"Several." Ami looked over at the cell phone in the middle of the coffee table, "Why?"
"I just think it's something I… um… all of us have felt." Suzume thought not only of Ryuuji, Ami and Hisako, but everyone in the room, "Something we've all felt at one time or another."
"Yeah, you're right about that." Hisako's eyes brightened. She looked over at Ami and could see that her bluenette friend had made the same conclusion. Ami looked back at her and smiled. Hisako hollered to the cell phone, "Suzume, you're a genius!"
"I'll go get the box!" Ami said.
"I'll help you!" Hisako ran off after her.
"I'm sorry, Ryuuji-sama." Suzume's voice came from the cell phone. "What you wrote may be very personal to you…"
"No, it's okay." Ryuuji exhaled, "A lot of angst, and hope, and heartache went into those poems. It will be good if they can be useful to someone."
"Umeko-san, will you be coming with Suzume-chan this weekend?" Yasuko asked.
"Yes." Umeko answered from the cell phone.
"Good," Yasuko's cheerful voice was back, "we have much to talk about – one Onee-chan to another!"
"That sounds like fun!" Umeko agreed, "But, we have to go now. My little sister may be leaving her school soon, but she does have homework tonight."
"Awww!" Suzume cried out.
"Bye-bye, Suzume-chan!" everyone in the room called out together.
"Bye-bye everyone!" Suzume sounded a little disappointed, but not too much. Knowing that she would soon be back in Ami's house with her best friends made her a very happy girl.
.
"So that's all the agency had to say?" Yasuko was about to get up and start getting Aiko-chan ready for bed.
"Not everything." Ryuuji told her as Hisako and Ami made it back in the room with the box. Turning to the Taiga-like figure in Yuri's lap, Ryuuji asked, "Aiko-chan, did you enjoy the singing?"
"Yes," her little face wrinkled and then she admitted in a disappointed voice, "I wanted to sing with everyone else too though. They only let me sing alone. I didn't like that."
"I see." Ryuuji thought about it. "So, if you had to take lessons alone so that you could sing with Ami-chan, Hisako-chan, and Suzume-chan, would you do it?"
"Alone?" Aiko-chan sounded pitiful as she asked Ryuuji.
"Yasu… your Onee-chan, or Hisako-chan, or I might take you to the lesson, but you would be the only one practicing." Ryuuji told her the truth. He didn't want to promise the little girl something he couldn't deliver. "And when you get good enough, you will sing with the girls, but there will be sometimes that you sing without them too. Would that be okay?"
"Even if… even if I sing alone… you'll be there with me, won't you?" Aiko-chan looked around the room at everyone and felt as if they were talking about sending her away.
"Ryu-chan, you're frightening her!" Yasuko said reprovingly, "What's going on?"
"The agency believes that Aiko-chan has what it takes to be an idol… with or without Red Black & Blue." Ryuuji admitted, "They wanted me to see if she was interested in such a thing."
"An idol?" Aiko-chan's eyes opened wide. It was exciting but at the same time, it was scary. "I don't want to do it if I have to be alone!"
"Aiko-chan!" Yasuko turned the panicking girl around so they were almost face to face, "Ryu-chan and I will make sure that you're never alone, okay?"
"P… p… promise?" Aiko-chan seemed on the verge of tears and the verge of happiness at the same time.
"I promise." Yasuko told the little girl as she pulled her into a hug, "Ryu-chan will just tell them that if at least one of us can't be there with you, then you just can't go."
"I can do that?" Ryuuji looked up at Ami.
"Sure," Ami said, "there's already something like that in Suzume-chan's contract. Either they'll accept it, or they won't. If they don't accept it, then there's no contract."
"I'll do it!" Aiko-chan was all excited now. "When do I get to start singing?"
"Hold on!" Ryuuji was surprised at Aiko-chan's sudden enthusiasm, "Before I talk to the agency again, your parents need to agree too." Worried that the little sprite was setting herself up for some future sadness, he felt he should warn her, "And this isn't guaranteed either. They want you to take lessons to see if you can do it. You are going to have to work hard on top of your school work if you want to make this work. Are you sure you want to do all that?"
"I want to try." Aiko-chan was a little more subdued now, but still very excited that she might be doing things with Hisako-senpai, Suzume-senpai, and Ami-senpai soon. "And I promise… to do my best!"
.
Thursday evening, September 17 – Kawashima residence
When the overly large family bath on the first floor was used, it often had several people in it. Tonight was special though. Tonight, there would be only two – and they would have the room to themselves for a long time. Ami had seen to that.
.
Hisako entered the bathroom but stopped just inside the door when she saw Nanako sitting on the stool. Hisako tried to keep a smile on her face but it was difficult when her heart felt like it was being crushed. The last thing she wanted to do was to upset Nanako so she tried her hardest to keep up a peaceful and calm appearance - however, her traitorous eyes began to water as she focused on the purple haired girl in the soft light of the room. At first, her unmoving form gave the appearance of meditation, but as Hisako looked into the cute face, she found Nanako's purple eyes gazing back, deep into her own purple eyes and she felt her tattered heart break a little more.
Nanako had been waiting patiently for Hisako since she had finishing her studying. Upon hearing her roommate enter the room, she sat up straight and smiled into the mirror at the reflection of the statuesque beauty. She knew that Hisako was in turmoil. Nanako could see the pain in her friends eyes as clearly as she could see the tears start to well up. Silly girl, you're getting yourself all worked up over nothing.
"So, this is our last night." Hisako looked away as she said it. Crap! I didn't want to say something so sad. Baka!
"Our last night for what?" Nanako said as she languidly moved into a sitting position.
"Together…" Hisako couldn't finish the sentence. Nanako, my love. Why are you being so mean to me? Why are you making me say the things I don't even want to think about?
"You're being silly." Nanako stood up from the stool and walked over to the raven haired beauty that towered over her. "I don't live that far away from here. I'll still be coming over to Ami's house after school for study sessions. You're always invited over to my place, and I know you'll always come running if I call… unless…"
"Unless?" Hisako felt the fear take her, "Unless what? Unless what?"
"Unless you plan on dumping me just because I'm leaving Ami's house and moving back to my home." Nanako teased with a faux pout.
"NO!" Hisako couldn't believe that Nanako would say such a thing. Falling to her knees, she wrapped her arms around Nanako and buried her face in the towel wrapped around Nanako's body. "You're so mean! How could you say something like that? You know how I feel!"
"Shhhh." Nanako smiled fondly as she caressed the long black hair away from the head that was pressed hard against her. "I'm not being mean. You are being so silly! I'm not going far away at all. We will still be together."
"No… it won't be the same." Hisako choked back a sob, "Tomorrow is my last day that I get to accompany you to school and tonight is the last night we will be together here. I don't want you to go, dammit! I really don't want you to go."
"Hisako, Hisako, Hisako…" Nanako stroked her fingers through the long silky black hair and suggested, "You should stop thinking about what is lost, and start thinking about all the wonderful things ahead of us."
"Ahead of us," Hisako looked up into Nanako's face and she asked, "like what?"
"Well, for starters," Nanako smiled, "Ami-chan has arranged for us to have the family bath all to ourselves this evening."
"Really?" Hisako's spirits were hopeful but that was just one more thing that would be gone after this night.
"Why don't we hurry up and wash so we can take a nice long relaxing bath together." Nanako purred, "And, if you feel up to it, we could talk about what we want to do next in our lives."
"Next…" Hisako swallowed and looked down again. That was always something that scared her. She had lost so much in her life that she was always afraid of what she would lose next.
She needed the money so she had lied about Ami to get a job and next she felt awful about it.
Next, she was blamed for Ami leaving her modeling career.
Next, was her series of embarrassing tirades in front of producers and reporters.
Next, was the media backlash at her.
Next, she lost all her friends.
Next, she lost most of her jobs.
Next had not been her friend. Hisako lived in fear of what would come next.
She had tried not to think about what might be next with Nanako but it looked like Nanako had been thinking a lot on that topic. The kneeling model's arms held Nanako a little tighter when the only thing that Hisako could think of was how she would be devastated when Nanako would soon step away from her and moved on with her life. I don't want to let go. I don't want to lose her.
"I have daydreamed of lots of exciting and fun things to do." Nanako sounded almost cheerful in contrast to Hisako's building gloom. Bringing her hand down to Hisako's chin, she pulled the raven haired head around until they were looking into each others eyes again. Then, with a loving and compassionate smile, Nanako said, "But I've already decided that whatever I do… wherever I go… it has to be with you."
"Eh?" A startled Hisako could barely believe her ears, "With me?"
"Of course," Nanako's eyes started to get wet now as she watched her friend being beaten and whipped by her own emotional chaos. "How can I enjoy all the fun and exciting things, if you're not there with me?"
"With you?" Hisako looked into Nanako's eyes and asked with a voice that wavered between disbelief and hope.
"I told you that you were being silly. You keep thinking that everything is falling apart, but that's not how it is at all… I heard a wonderful quote in World History class that explains how I see it." Nanako said, "This is not the end. It isn't even the beginning of the end. It's only the end of the beginning."
"Oh Nanako!" Hisako stood and took the smaller girl into her arms. In seconds their arms were wrapped around each other and they were kissing with all the passion they could find. Tears fell as they kissed. Hands and arms held each other tight as they kissed. Nanako's feet dangled a dozen centimeters above the floor as they kissed.
"Hey," Nanako whispered into the ear that was now next to her mouth, "you know what I'd like to do?"
"What?" a breathless Hisako asked. In her mind she was screaming, Anything! I'll do anything for you, Nanako! Just say it and your Hisako will make it happen for you! Oh gods, I want to make you as happy as you've made me!
"Remember how you cared for me the first day I was here?" Nanako giggled, "You even had to wash me because I was too weak to do it myself. Do you remember that?"
"How could I forget?" Hisako remembered all too well. She had been alone in the bath with Nanako that time too. The little nymph had made her all kinds of excited. Nanako had been too weak to resist anything Hisako might want to do. And there was a lot that the excited model wanted to do to the marvelously cute little purple haired girl that had been in her arms. With no small effort, she had restrained herself from acting on her desires, but Hisako knew that she would have lost Ami's trust forever if she had done what her lust craved mind wanted to do. There was something else though… a stronger reason. It wasn't just lust she had for the unresisting doll that she had held in her arms, it was more than that. Hisako admitted that they barely knew each other, but she wanted to save this girl… she wanted to protect her… she wanted something that couldn't be taken or forced. She wanted Nanako's love.
"I think that's when I fell in love with you." Nanako said.
"Huh?" Hisako caught her breath. How long have you been able to read my mind?
"It's not like I can read your mind or anything." Nanako said with a smirk.
LIAR! Hisako was gripped with a sudden fear that Nanako might know just how deeply she felt.
"I could tell, even then." Nanako confessed as Hisako held her close, "I knew what you wanted to do with me back then… but I wasn't afraid."
"You knew?" Hisako was mortified. She had worn a carefully constructed mask. A mask that would reveal her helpful side but would hide her deeper emotions and… dark yearnings. Hisako had thought that she had kept it hidden deep inside her so well too.
"Yes," Nanako closed her eyes and remembered that time, "I could feel it in the trembling of your hands and I could see the longing in your eyes. You wanted to make me your plaything so much…" Nanako caressed Hisako's hands that were trembling even now, "… so much that it was tearing you apart to keep control. Wasn't it?"
"Yes," Hisako closed her eyes as she admitted her guilt.
"I was completely helpless in your arms." Nanako smiled as she remembered the feeling… the sensation of knowing that there was nothing she could do to stop Hisako's lascivious side. "I knew that I was powerless to stop you if you lost control. You could have done anything to me. Anything at all – and I couldn't stop you. Do you know how that made me feel?"
Scared? Horrible? Defiled? Angry? Hisako started to shake with fear. Oh no, what have I done?
"I was terrified, but I was excited too!" Nanako admitted her feelings.
"Huh?" Hisako was confused. Excited? What?
"I was so amazingly excited!" Nanako held onto her shaking lover, "If you hadn't been trying so hard to hide your feelings, you might have noticed mine."
"Eh?" Hisako would have been frightened of what Nanako was telling her now if not for the disarming smile on her lips.
"You are so beautiful, it's like you're from another world… and you wanted me. It really felt good to know that someone wanted someone like me, but to think that it would be you? It was like a dream. At first I couldn't believe it but when I saw how hard you were trying to hide it, I knew. I could tell that you were a passionate person." Nanako moaned more than whispered, "I knew the flames of passion raged inside you like an inferno. If you had tried to take me then, I couldn't have stopped you… but even if I could, I wouldn't have. Part of me hoped you would lose control that day. I wanted… I wanted to see how hot the fires burned."
"Nanako…" Hisako whispered. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Nanako, you fool! How can you say this to me? Even at your best, you are no match for me. I could take you any time I wish. I could do whatever I pleased and you wouldn't even be able to slow me down. What are you thinking by telling me this? Don't you know what I am? Don't you know how dangerous it is to say something like that to someone like me? I am the worst! Oh Nanako, I am a beast…
"I'm so glad you didn't though." Nanako continued, "I got to see the real you. The kind and loving Hisako that no-one else knows about. Everyone else thinks you're a barely controlled monster, but I know better. I know that you would never hurt me. You would never do something I didn't want… no matter how much you wanted to do it."
"No, Nanako-chan… I'm not that nice." Hisako tried to correct her young friend.
"Yes you are." Nanako said with complete confidence, "All these nights that we've spent in this house, in our room - you could have done anything you wanted… if you had ever let down your own guard."
"But…"Hisako wanted to protest.
"Shhhh." Nanako said, "It wasn't my guard. I was never watchful. I put up no defenses… no walls. You could have had me at any time. It was your own will. Your own control. It was all you."
It can't be me! I'm pathetic! I'm a terrible person! I have such perverted thoughts! I cannot be trusted… I am a monster!
"It's because I trust you completely that I feel like I can tell you what I want for my moving-out present from you." Nanako kissed Hisako's ear and asked her, "Will you give me whatever I ask for?"
"Yes, Nanako-chan, yes!" Hisako hissed, "Whatever you want…"
"I want you to wash me and take me into to the bath like you did that first day." Nanako caressed Hisako's back as she told her what she had been thinking about for a very long time, "I want to be your doll again but this time… no controls, no holding back. I'm still excited, but I'm no longer terrified. I want to know what those fires feel like. I want to burn."
.
The big family bath was on the first floor. The bed where Ryuuji and Ami were relaxing was on the third floor. They were both in their pajamas, leaning back against the headboard, and trying to get some studying done when they both heard an unmistakable, and now familiar, sound… resonating through the house.
"Nanako-chan seems to be enjoying herself this evening." Ryuuji tried to sound casual as he pointed out the obvious.
"Yep." Ami didn't even look up from her book.
"That's what… the fifth time?" Ryuuji tried to recall.
"Sixth." Ami answered with building frustration.
"We should think about getting that room soundproofed." Ryuuji thought aloud.
"Ryuuji-kun?" Ami still sounded conversational but the use of the suffix made Ryuuji jump. She hadn't used a suffix on his name much since the Tokyo trip and it's sudden and deliberate use was raising warning flags for Ryuuji.
"Yes?" Ryuuji thought it best to keep his responses simple since he couldn't tell what mood Ami was in.
"I expect that I'll be… enjoying myself like that… after we're married." Ami blushed but didn't look away from the book she was reading, "If I don't… I will be very… very disappointed."
"Um… yes." Ryuuji quietly agreed. He still looked somewhat calm on the outside… which was remarkable. On the inside he was screaming. OH CRAP!
.
Friday afternoon, September 18 – High School
The classroom was quiet enough that you could almost tell how many students were present from the sounds of the pencils on the answer sheets. That was, unfortunately, more true than it should have been since over a quarter of the class was out sick.
The news had announced that there was now a vaccine. It had been developed and had passed the approval process in America but it was still being tested in Japan and was not yet available. Even when it did become available, there were rumors that it's development and testing was rushed, so the vaccine wasn't really effective. Some rumors were saying that the vaccine had terrible side effects and that it was even more dangerous than getting the flu itself. Other rumors said it would be too expensive for everyone to get - or it was so difficult to make that there would be a long waiting list for normal people while only the lucky and the rich got it first.
It was difficult to listen to all these rumors. Some parts of the rumors felt true though. Ami and Ryuuji's friends knew that the only reason they got the vaccine was because they knew someone influential and they… were lucky. They felt guilty every time one of their classmates started showing symptoms or was suddenly absent due to 'illness' - but there was little they could do about it. The one thing they could do was try to dispel the rumors. Even that was difficult for them. It was hard to convince a mob of people that the rumors were untrue without admitting that you were one of the 'lucky' ones that already had the protection of the vaccine. Then again, the vaccine that they had all received from the Major might not be the final version and they might not be protected at all.
It was difficult to concentrate on the mock exams when all these thoughts were circling around in their heads, but they all did their best. As usual, Ryuuji had finished his test and was waiting for the time to run out for everyone else. He had just checked the end time written on the chalkboard against the time on the wall clock when there was a commotion from the hallway and the sound of crying. Ryuuji looked up to Yuri and she motioned for him to bring his test paper to her.
"Find out what's going on and come right back." Yuri whispered to him as she took his test papers. She knew that he was itching to find out what was going on and would try to help if he could. There he goes again. Off to someones rescue. He doesn't know what the problem is or who is in trouble, but he'll do it. He'll try to rescue them because that's who he is. She watched the young man leave the room and remembered the times that he had rescued her. She fondly recalled the memories of each time he had carried her when she couldn't carry herself. She thought about how he had pulled her back from self-destructive self-doubt. She also remembered how she was initially scared of him and had tried hard to keep some distance between herself and the dangerous looking teenage boy. When did it all change? Was it on the bullet train to Tokyo? A memory of Yamada Yukiko, the hotel manager in Tokyo who had become their friend, came drifting back to her.
"That young man loves you and reveres you as he does his own mother. Distance yourself from that affection at your own peril." Yamada-san had been quite direct in her brief discussion of the student – teacher relationship that she observed. Sure, she had teased Yuri, but she never suggested that there was a lapse of ethics or propriety between them.
An alarm on her desk distracted her from thinking of Ryuuji and that wonderful Tokyo trip. She called out to the class, "Time! Pencils down and pass all the test papers forward." Ryuuji came back in the room with a worried expression and approached Yuri, while the papers were still being collected. Since Hisako didn't have much else to do, she assisted with the collection of the test papers and was at Yuri's desk when Ryuuji came back.
"A student in classroom 3-B collapsed during their exam." Ryuuji told Yuri quietly. "Their sensei left for the nurse, but everyone in the classroom is afraid to go near…" He didn't need to finish the sentence. They had seen this before. Those who actually looked sick were shunned because of the fear of the contagion. Because the fear was justified, it was hard to be angry with the friends and classmates that backed away from the sick and suffering. Indeed, the disgust was turning the other way. Classmates, parents, and even teachers had been sympathetic at first, and had been begging the sick not to go to school and spread the pandemic, but there were always those that believed the ridiculous sick masks actually worked and would push themselves to be in class. With every announcement on the news of another person dying from the pandemic, the initial sympathy was turning into anger.
"I'll go." Hisako offered. It looked like Ryuuji and Yuri were both about to object and Hisako was getting ready to defend her offer when they heard Nanako's quiet voice.
"We'll go." Nanako stepped up next to Hisako and took her hand, "I'm tired of feeling useless. Please, sensei?"
"Nanako-chan," Yuri was almost whispering, "we don't yet know if what we have is effective. You may be exposing yourself to re-infection."
"I know," Nanako gave her enigmatic smile and squeezed Hisako's hand, "but I feel like I can trust what the Major brought us and I feel like I need to… do something."
"Please, Yuri-chan." Hisako added her voice to the appeal. "I hate feeling so… helpless."
"Yes." Yuri hated the feeling of uselessness too and sympathized with the girls. "Nanako-chan, tell the nurse to contact me if she needs help. That is… if you think you two are up to it?"
"Four," Ryuuji said before Nanako could answer, "you can count on Ami and me too."
"They are good girls." Yuri said to Ryuuji as they watched the tall black haired girl and the short purple haired girl walk out of the classroom together.
"Yes," Ryuuji was glad that they had found happiness in each other, "yes they are." He was shocked out of his reverie when his cell phone went off to indicate that he had a text message.
"Ryuuji-kun, if you are going to get so many messages from the agency while you are at school…" she had to stop because her own phone was also going off. "Hello?" she answered. Unlike the generation of kids she was teaching, she was still unused to the idea of looking at the phone's little screen to see who it was, before answering.
"Hello beautiful!" an accented voice poured out of her phone and almost turned her to mush.
"Major!" Yuri sat down hard in her seat but was now glued to her phone.
"I have good news." there was a lot of background noise wherever the Major was, "The vaccines we had last month are good."
"So, they're the same thing the Ministry of Health is approving now?" Yuri asked.
"Not quite." the Major explained, "the version that the Ministry chose to use is a derivative that is more easily mass produced and has fewer side effects."
"Side effects?" Yuri didn't remember having any side effects.
"Nothing serious," the Major said, "headache, nausea, the urge to get married in the snow, and an inexplicable need to get back rubs from male students."
"Major!" Yuri blushed. Her reaction was what he expected and she thought she could hear him laughing all the way from Okinawa. Yuri pouted, "Really, sometimes you are just too mean to me."
"You're blushing aren't you?" the Major asked but he didn't wait for an answer, "I wish I was there to kiss you right now. I do so love to kiss you when you're blushing."
"Major…" Yuri whined. Now she wanted him here too. To be kissed by him again… To be held in his arms again…
"I have to go now." Yuri could hear the background noises getting louder, "I just wanted to call and tell you the good news… and that I love you."
"Ah! I…" the Major had caught her off guard again. It was so like him to be able to say something like that so suddenly. She took a deep breath and said, "I love you too!" She listened, but there was nothing on the line. She hoped she hadn't waited too long and that he had heard her last message. Looking up she saw that all the students in her class had apparently heard her. Most of them were smiling at their blushing teacher.
"I have a message from Maya-chan." Ryuuji said loud enough for the whole class to hear, "Noto-kun will be discharged from the hospital this weekend and should be back in class on Monday." The deafening cheer in the classroom could be heard down the hall.
"Sensei," Ryuuji said as the cheering came down a little, "Ami and I have to go now. We have to get to Aiko-chan's school and sign some papers."
"Eh?" Yuri believed Ryuuji but couldn't figure out what kind of papers he would need to sign for somebody else's child.
"Yasuko talked to Aiko-chan's mother today and she has agreed to the contract." Ryuuji explained, "The school wants us to come sign ID cards so we can take her out of school on performance days." Even as he finished the explanation, Ami was at Yuri's desk and had already packed up Ryuuji's things in his bag.
"Go on. I'll let the office know." Yuri smiled, "And don't forget Nanako's going away party tonight!"
"We won't!" Ami waved as she flew out the door behind Ryuuji.
Haruta was toward the back of the room and cheering with the others about the good news that was just announced. He would be visiting Noto at the hospital tonight anyway, but he looked forward to seeing him in school again. Haruta was even more hopeful that they might be released early. After all, Yuri-sensei had let Nanako-chan and Hisako-san go. Now she just let Takasu-kun and Ami-chan go. His hopes for an early dismissal were soaring.
"All right class," Yuri got their attention once again, "let's review all the questions that Haruta-kun missed on the last exam, shall we?"
"GROOOOOOAN!"
"Yuri-sensei!" a shattered Haruta cried out in disbelief, "That's totally not fair!"
.
Friday afternoon, September 18 – Kabanoki Elementary School
"Aiko-chan, are you sure you're okay with this?" Ami asked the little girl walking between her and Ryuuji. She had surrendered her backpack to Ryuuji and was holding their hands as they walked the short distance to Ami's house.
"Yeah, I can't wait!" Aiko-chan cheered. But she saw the concern on Ami's face when she turned to the teenager, "Why Ami-senpai?" You don't want me to sing any more?"
"No no no!" Ami choked, "I do still want you to sing, but I saw how much fun you're having in your class and… well… I'd hate to pull you out of class if you're finally having fun at school."
"But I can have fun at school and I can have fun with you too, can't I?" Aiko-chan asked innocently.
"Aiko-chan," Ryuuji said, "I looked it up and a lot of work goes into being an idol. It's okay to want it, but don't let it eat you up. If it starts to be too much, just tell me and I'll fix it. Okay?"
"Okay, Ryuuji-sama!" Aiko-chan didn't know how hard it would be, but however hard it was, it couldn't be any worse than it had been for her to go to her old school every day. With renewed energy she cried out, "I'll do my best!"
"Good girl!" Ryuuji cheered her. She skipped along the sidewalk while she held Ami and Ryuuji's hands for a bit. After she had calmed down, Ryuuji told her, "Now Aiko-chan, I have to talk to you about something… and it's serious."
"What?" Aiko-chan sounded fearful, "Did I do something wrong?"
"No sweetie," Ami knew what Ryuuji was going to talk about. Remembering the meltdown at the train station, Ami dreaded this conversation. But Ryuuji was right to try and tackle this before they got home. "You didn't do anything wrong. It's just that… Ryuuji has to tell you something and you need to listen to him!"
"Eh?" Ryuuji looked over at his girlfriend in disbelief. Did you really just throw me under the bus like that?
"Ryuuji-sama?" Aiko-chan got his attention again.
"Do you remember when Suzume-chan had to go home?" Ryuuji asked.
"Yes." Aiko-chan remembered the sadness of that day even now.
"I was away buying… something, but I heard you were pretty upset." Ryuuji said.
"I was. I really like Suzume-chan and I didn't want her to go." Aiko-chan defended her feelings.
"Well, tonight there is going to be a party for Nanako-chan." Ryuuji hurried on before the little girl got the wrong idea and her emotions went on a roller-coaster ride. "It's a getting-well and going-away party for her. She is going to be well enough to move back to her home and she will be leaving Ami's house."
"No!" Aiko-chan looked stricken.
"But Nanako-chan doesn't live far away and we'll still be seeing a lot of her!" Ami quickly said before the little girl could burst into tears.
"Promise?" Aiko-chan asked Ami.
"Ami can't really promise that." Ryuuji said, "But Nanako is always invited over and she wants to see us as much as we want to see her."
"If she wants to see us so much, why is she leaving?" Aiko-chan sniffed.
"She was only staying with us so we could take care of her while she was getting well." Ryuuji explained. "She has a home and a mother that loves her and she hasn't been home in a long time."
"I guess it's okay then." Aiko-chan was obviously saddened. "I was just hoping we could all be together again."
"There will always be changes," Ryuuji said, "some people might move out of your life and others may move in. But, just because someone moves out, it doesn't mean they're not your friend anymore. It just means you have to try harder to keep in touch with the good friends you have made."
Ryuuji and Ami were thinking about what he had just said as much as the grade schooler between them was. They both knew that in less than half a year, they would be graduating from High School and a lot of the friends that were close now, would be far away. Even now, Ryuuji's best friend for the last two years was in America and he had done nothing to keep in touch with that friend. Tch! Ryuuji mentally jabbed himself for being such a lousy friend. He vowed to write a letter to Kitamura as soon as he got home.
"I guess," Aiko-chan still sounded sad but knowing that Nanako-chan would still be close enough to visit did help.
"There are… two more changes, Aiko-chan." Ryuuji told the startled girl, "a sad one and a happy one."
"Ah!" Aiko-chan looked mad, "I don't want another sad one! Why does there have to be another sad one? I'm already sad enough!"
"Hey!" Ami sounded annoyed, "You want to be a model or an idol, right?"
"Yes?" Aiko-chan sounded confused and was a little upset that she had annoyed Ami.
"Sometimes a model has to take the bad news and accept it. Some times you have to go on stage when you don't feel ready, or wear clothes that you don't like, or work when you would rather be playing with your friends." Ami rattled off to little Aiko-chan, then asked the little girl, "Are you going to be one of those people that's hard to work with because she acts like a spoiled brat and throws tantrums if everything doesn't go her way?"
"No, Ami-senpai!" Aiko-chan promised, "I'll be good, you'll see!"
"All right then," Ami said in a kinder voice, "listen to your Ryuuji-sama now and see what he has to say. When he is finished, it is okay to be sad. You can even cry if you really need to. But no tantrums, okay?"
"Yes, senpai!" Aiko-chan turned to Ryuuji and he could see the thin veneer of determination over the fear of failure after hearing more bad news.
After the strong words from Ami, Ryuuji could see that she was close to despair. Her tears were only a moment away. He stopped walking and knelt in front of Aiko-chan. "Come here." He held out his arms and she moved in as if for a hug. As she moved close, he put his hand on the back of her head and guided her face into his shirt where her eyes would be hidden from view.
"Ryuuji-sama?" Aiko-chan felt strangely comfortable like this.
"Yuri-sensei will be leaving Ami's house tomorrow." He said it as tenderly as he could. For a moment, he thought she had been able to take this news but her shoulders started trembling and he knew the tears were coming now. Her small hands held onto his shirt as she cried into his collar and chest. True to her word, it was a quiet cry and nothing resembling a tantrum.
"After she moves out, you can have her bed and you can still share the room with Onee-chan." Ami offered.
"I… I can't sleep with Onee-chan any more?" Aiko-chan wailed.
Thwang! Ami felt as if an arrow had been shot through her heart for suggesting that Aiko-chan take Yuri's bed. She realized how dismally she had thought that through now.
"I'm pretty sure Yas… Onee-chan will let you sleep with her as long as you like." Ryuuji smiled, "Ami was just saying that you could have that bed if you wanted it."
"Oh," Aiko-chan sniffled, "thank you, senpai." After another minute, Aiko-chan let go of Ryuuji's shirt and took a step back. After taking a deep breath, she looked up to Ryuuji and announced, "I'm ready to go home now."
"Oh?" Ryuuji looked puzzled, "Don't you want to hear the good news now?"
"I thought getting my own bed was supposed to be the good news." Aiko-chan sniffed.
Thwang! Ami felt another arrow pierce her. Dammit! Is this kid trying to hurt me?
"No," Ryuuji laughed, "I guess that wasn't such good news after all was it?"
Thunk! This time the arrow felt like a spear going right through her. Ami was beginning to feel a little unbalanced from all the emotional wounds. Et tu Ryuuji?
"So, what is the good news?" Aiko-chan asked.
"Suzume-chan is coming back." Ryuuji smiled as he watched Aiko-chan's expression explode with happiness.
"To visit?" Aiko-chan held on to Ryuuji's hands and was bouncing on her toes in excitement.
"To stay." Ryuuji corrected Aiko-chan's assumption much to the little girl's delight. She was now jumping up and down as Ryuuji told her, "She will be moving into the room with Hisako-chan and she'll be going to a local middle school."
"Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!" Aiko-chan was cheering as she danced around Ryuuji.
Ryuuji looked over to Ami and was instantly confused. Why is Ami looking so ragged when Aiko-chan is finally happy? Girls… even when you think you know one pretty well, they are still such a mystery.