Sunday late morning, January10 – Royal Hawaiian Center
Ryuuji had always known that Hawaii was a favorite vacation destination for Japanese people. Although, since they had arrived, they hadn't heard anyone but the people in their group speaking Japanese. Part of that could be due to being rushed from one location to another for the photography sessions. Also, they had been fairly isolated in some of the more remote parts of the Islands, so they hadn't seen a lot of other people.
All of that changed when they got to Honolulu. Even though the city was tiny when compared to Tokyo, the place was bustling with tourists and activity. From the balcony of their skyscraper hotel room, it looked like there were a million people on the wide beach at Waikiki. With that many people on the beach, Ryuuji wondered if there was anyone left to be at the shopping place that the Director had picked out.
But there were. They had barely entered the lavish, tropical themed grounds when they almost ran into a group of Japanese speaking girls on their way out. With a gentle pull by Ryuuji, Ami and Suzume were whisked out of the way and the collision was sidestepped. The tourist girls continued to walk for a few more steps before one of them stopped with a stunned look on her face.
"Oh my gods! It's Kawashima Ami!" a voice cried out.
Ryuuji looked around quickly for a way out, but the cry had been heard by a lot of people. The crush wasn't as bad as Ryuuji had feared, however. Even though there were a lot of people there, not all of them were Japanese. And not all the Japanese people seemed to be fans, so only a few dozen people came running over to see the famous girl celebrity.
"Hi everyone!" Ami said with a beaming smile. She had read the mood too and decided to play the fame card. "I hope you are all fans!"
"Oh yes, we love you Ami!" a girl from the group that had identified her gushed. "We have the latest magazine and you're so awesome!"
Ami was about to thank everyone for buying the magazine with her story when trouble arrived.
"I love you too, Ami!" a large teenage boy said as he pushed his way through the crowd and rushed at Ami. His arms were outstretched and he looked like he was about to grab Ami when his body suddenly impacted an immovable object. All the spectators gasped as they saw him suddenly collapse and fall to the ground where he gasped for air. When everyone looked back up, they saw a tall raven haired woman standing in front of Ami.
"It's okay to be Ami's fan, but what you did just now, is not okay." Hisako had stiff-armed the boy to protect Ami. She had known that Ryuuji was out of position and had reacted instinctively. Oh no, what have I done? Hisako immediately regretted the violence and worried that she might end up making Ami look bad. I should just go before I make things any worse. She was turning to leave when Ami reached out and captured her friends arm.
"If you've seen the January article, you all know who this is." Ami said cheerfully to the astonished crowd.
"You're… you're Kurosawa Hisako." A stunned girl answered Ami's question before the introduction could be completed.
"Then the story is true?" Someone else ventured.
"Of course it's true!" Suzume cheered, "And I am Ami's other model friend Minami Suzume."
"You haven't seen that much of Suzume yet," Ami told the crowd as she pulled Hisako in close and also reached out to take Suzume's arm, "but that's about to change. Soon, you will be seeing more of Hisako and you will be seeing a lot more of my good friend, Suzume!"
"Can… can I have your autograph?" a young girl asked hopefully.
"N..." Hisako was about to decline and insist that they were too busy since they were there for a shoot.
"Of course!" Ami answered with cheerful showmanship, "All three of us would be thrilled to give autographs to our fans."
Before Hisako could object, Nanako was next to her – smiling and offering an elaborate looking pen. On the other side of the trio of models, Umeki was offering pens to Ami and Suzume while Ryuuji was standing behind them and speaking quietly with the Director and a Hawaiian policeman. Looking back to the front, she noticed that the collapsed boy was gone now and there seemed to be several local police quietly watching the unplanned event. Hisako was able to relax a little – knowing that Ami would be safe now and they would soon be on their way since most people didn't have anything to sign with them. That would change though: they had only signed about a dozen autographs when one of the Director's assistants arrived with a local shop employee and a stack of the January issue of the magazine.
.
At the other end of the promenade that ran between the inviting and luxuriant store fronts, a family was coming out of one of the finer restaurants. The father figure was tall back in Japan, but amongst so many western tourists, his height didn't stand out so much here. For some reason, that gave the teenage daughter immense satisfaction. Of course, she knew she would never be considered tall in any environment except perhaps a children's day care. Having been at the beach or other outdoor activities in Oahu for the last week, her hair was sun bleached to a sandy blond and her skin was nicely tanned. She didn't mind the lighter hair, but she thought the darker color of her skin made her look weird. Looking back up at her step-father, she could see that his attention was on something that was going on at the other end of the promenade. She was about to ask him what was so interesting when a six month old child was suddenly thrust into her arms.
"Here," her mother said bluntly, "hold him for a minute while I find our tickets and passports." The mother was already digging into her cavernous purse as she delivered her instructions to her diminutive daughter.
"Yes Okāsan." Taiga muttered as she held the little boy close. For once, he wasn't screaming or being gross and looked kinda cute. "So ototo, you're being nice now? I wonder how long this will last." It seemed that all her little brother did was eat, scream, and sleep. Oh yeah, and he was able to make stinky messes at any time… even when he was sleeping. Taiga didn't bother criticizing her mother for bringing him along though. She knew that there were no neighbors, services, or even relatives that were willing to take responsibility for him while they were away. Yes, he was that troublesome. She also didn't criticize her mother for having the little brat either. There had been a few times Taiga had seen her usually strong mother break down and cry from the stress of dealing with the difficult infant, but she could also see that her mother loved the child too.
In the beginning, she had quietly left her mother to her tears. But, after her heart softened – and after she knew that her mother didn't love her any less, she offered to help. Since then, there had been many times that Taiga believed that the kindness and the offer had been a mistake. Now, it seemed that she was continuously being asked to help with her baby brother's care. She didn't mind rocking him to sleep or feeding him so much, but changing the diapers… Taiga shook at the memory of the most recent diaper blow-out that she had to deal with. It had been only this morning and had caused her to miss out on hitting the beach one last time before they made ready to leave the hotel. At least he seems to be calm now. With his little head resting gently on her shoulder, she swayed him back and forth to keep him calm and wondered about their future as siblings. Speaking quietly to the yawning child, she asked him, "Will you call me onee-san some day? Considering the difference in our ages, you might as well call me Obāsan." A dark thought occurred to her that in a decade or so, he would probably be a dozen or more centimeters taller than her and teasingly calling her onee-chan as a reminder of her diminutive stature. Taiga decided that she did not want to be called onee-chan most of all.
"I've got everything." her mother called out as she held up the tickets and passports. Checking the message on her cell phone, she announced, "The hotel has delivered our luggage to the airline." Satisfied, she put everything back into her purse, but seemed to be making no effort to take her infant child back.
Typical. Taiga thought dismissively. She considered handing the child back forcefully and claiming that her arms were tired, but that would ruin almost a year's worth of effort at becoming the good daughter. Instead, she turned her attention on her step-father who was still gazing down the promenade and asked him, "What's going on down there that's so interesting?"
"I'm not sure." he said without taking his eyes off the distant event. "But one of the girls that everyone is gathered around looks like that blue-haired girl you said was in your class last year. Um… Kawaguchi?"
"Kawashima Ami?" Taiga was surprised. Then again, why wouldn't Dumb-Chi be in Hawaii? She is a celebrity after all. I wonder how much she would freak out if she saw me in the audience. Taiga grinned evilly as she then thought: I wonder how much Dumb-Chi would freak out if she saw me in the audience holding a baby?
"Would you like to say hello to your friend?" her step-father asked.
Taiga was about to answer when her mother interrupted her thoughts with a gasp.
"Oh Taiga… we have to buy you a new blouse quick!" She seemed in a rush to get them out of there and into a nearby store.
"Why… what?" Taiga knew they had to be leaving for the airport for their afternoon flight soon and wondered what this last minute shopping rush was all about.
"It seems that your brother has vomited all down your back." her step-father told her apologetically.
"You're not supposed to say vomit!" Taiga's mother hissed at her husband.
"But that is what it is." he answered without acknowledging his wife's ire. Then, speaking a bit stiffly, he added, "And no matter what endearing words you would rather use to hide it, I am quite sure that Taiga does not think it is cute to have vomit on her."
"Huh?" Taiga had been so grossed out that she was on the verge of screaming. But her step-father's words sank in. With those few words he had defended Taiga and had criticized his wife for relying on Taiga so much for the child-care of her own brother.
"I…" her mother had been furious to have been chastised by her husband like that, but she had to admit that she had been relying on Taiga too much. Part of it had been that Taiga herself had been a brat most of her life and she wanted to see as much of the nice Taiga as she could before her daughter's behavior reverted. But the other part was that this child had been much more taxing than she had been prepared for and she genuinely needed the help. But… that wasn't fair either. Taking her sleeping son from Taiga, she apologized, "I'm sorry for relying on you too much, Taiga. I'll go get him cleaned up and meet you back here."
"We'll be in the Fighting Eel." her husband stated, "I believe there are several things in there that would look good on Taiga."
"So, I guess I'll go pick out a t-shirt." Taiga started to head off to the store, but her step father stopped her.
"No," he said as he took off his glasses, "not a t-shirt. I know that your impression of me has been that I am not very emotional and I am a bit of a tightwad."
"No, I…" Taiga didn't want to lie, but that was exactly what she thought of him.
"Not wanting to spend money and not wanting to spend it when it is unwarranted or unnecessary are two different things." her step-father explained, "You have been a tremendous help to your mother and to me as well. I think she has gone too far, but you did not complain even when it was warranted. I am not so obtuse that I did not notice that it was upsetting you though."
"Oh yeah..." Taiga had to continuously remind herself that this guy was not nearly as clueless as Ryuuji. He was also a much more reliable person than her own father had ever been.
"So, if you wish, let's get you something nice." her step-father actually smiled, "I saw two dresses that I thought would look good on you. You may see others as well."
"Are… are you sure?" Taiga was surprised by the offer. Although the prices in that store were not as ludicrous as others, a single dress could easily cost twenty thousand Yen there.
"Absolutely," he put the glasses back on and stiffly told her, "If you do not pick out at least two dresses, it will be an insult to my pride."
Taiga was stunned at being rewarded for her behavior. This had never happened before. Indeed, the word behavior was usually followed by the word problem or issue in her experience. It was dawning on Taiga that even though it was often difficult to always be nice to the people around her, this good behavior stuff did have its perks. I wonder what kind of a person I would be now if you had been my father all along… heh… if nothing else, I would probably be a little taller. Taiga was so lost in her confusion and thoughts, that she didn't notice until they were almost to the shop doors that she was holding her step-father's hand.
.
From her vantage point at the center of attention, Ami caught a glimpse of something at the other end of the promenade. It looked like Aiko-chan was being led away by some man. A sick panic started to grip Ami and she turned to tell Ryuuji what she saw.
"Ryu… EH?" Ami's panic changed to shock when she turned around and saw Aiko-chan standing next to Yasuko. She blinked, but Aiko-chan and Yasuko were still there. Ami had been convinced that it was Aiko-chan she saw walking off with some man… but she had to give up thinking about it for now. There were still a lot of fans left that wanted their copy of the magazine signed. Apparently, some of her fans had put it out on Mixi and Twitter that she and her model friends were there and signing autographs. For every happy fan that got to meet their favorite model, it looked like another two or three were making their way to the small, palm tree covered stage to buy a copy of the magazine and get their treasured autographs. Indeed, the small crowd had already turned into an orderly line so it looked like they might be there a while, unless the Director decided to put an end to this. Glancing behind her again, she could see him laughing and talking with Ryuuji and Yuri-sensei. Nope, it doesn't look like he's in a hurry at all.
.
Wednesday morning, January 13 – Ohashi High School
"I can not believe we're at school an hour early." Ami said in a bored and sleepy tone.
Nanako, Hisako, Ami, Ryuuji, and Yuri sat at desks that had been pushed together and ate the breakfast that Nanako and Ryuuji had prepared.
"Stop your gritching," Hisako threw a wadded up napkin at Ami as she told her, "you knew what the price of fame would be – more than any of us." Certainly more than me. Hisako thought to herself how different her life would have turned out if she had not self destructed, and had acquired fans instead of haters.
The price of fame. Ryuuji rolled those words over in his head. This had been exactly what he had wanted to avoid so that Ami could have her high school experience right to the end. But it wasn't to be. Fans. Haters. Reporters. Paparazzi. They had all known that something like this could happen when the magazine releases were changed at Kawashima Anna's request. This is all my fault. I promised Ami I would do whatever I could to let her have a normal High School experience and… I failed. I know it is what her mother wanted but… I should have just said no! I should have put my foot down! Is all of this worth it? Will it really make a difference for Ami's acting debut? If, in the end, it doesn't… Ryuuji stopped his musings and looked up toward the door when he heard the sound of running footsteps in the hallway coming closer.
"Oh no." Hisako heard the sound too and looked up, "Surely they're not brazen enough to hound you all the way to your classroom?"
Hisako, Ryuuji, and Yuri-sensei stood and started to move toward the door to try and dissuade any rabid outsiders from barging into the classroom just as the door was flung open. Instead of the hassle they were expecting, they were overjoyed to see Noto and Maya in the doorway.
"Wow!" Even though she was a little out of breath from running, Maya spoke first, "You guys have some amazing tans!"
"Huh?" Ryuuji hadn't noticed that they had all benefited from the tropical sun until Maya pointed it out, but it was true. Granted, none of them had a deep cocoa tan. Still, they had basked in enough sunshine that their friends and classmates, those that had remained behind in a typical Japanese winter, would know that they had gone somewhere nice for a while.
"Maya!" Nanako ran over to embrace her long time friend.
"Noto!" Hisako embraced the startled young man as vigorously as Nanako and Maya were holding each other.
"Huh?" Noto was able to say just before his face was smashed into Hisako's bounteous chest. Of course, she was playing with Maya again as she ran her fingers through the short brown curly hair, and kept his head buried in the softness of her breast. She turned to see what she expected to be Maya's jealous fuming, but was both shocked and frightened instead. The fright was from Nanako's cold stare but the shock… Maya looked like she welcomed Hisako's presence. Hisako's gut instinct cried out to her a warning.
Something dreadful must have happened.
"Maya?" Nanako broke off her own jealous stare when she could feel the unexpected reaction from her friend. "Maya what happened?"
"Oh…" Maya remembered the terrifying moments at the train station, "Hisako-san, I will never be jealous of your closeness with Noto. Never again. In fact… I wish you and Nanako could start being with us immediately." The tears welled up in her eyes and she began to sob as she recalled her fear of the moment and, for the thousandth time, thought about what might have happened if Shinako had not been there. "I was careless and stupid! I was so scared. It's my fault that I didn't listen to you… I know that. It all would have been okay if you had been there…"
Hisako and Nanako looked at each other but neither of them had been able to make much sense of Maya's ramblings. All they could tell was that something so horrible had happened to Maya, that Hisako could no longer tease her by playing with her boyfriend.
Somebody messed with my friends? Hisako could feel the rage building. Somebody scared Maya so terribly that… that…
"Who is responsible?" Hisako asked in a dread voice as darkness seemed to close in around her, "And, where to I find them?"
"I… canpf… breave!" Noto's voice came from somewhere deep in Hisako's chest.
.
"Wow, it sounds like you guys might have had more excitement than we did!" Nanako commented.
"No, nothing like that." Noto told them, "the rest of our trip was pretty boring. That was the only real excitement."
"Boring?" Maya looked at her boyfriend carefully, "Walking through the snowy woods alone with me was boring? Cuddling up next to the fireplace alone with me was boring? Sleeping in the same…"
"That's not what I meant!" Noto held up his hands for her to stop talking as he blushed, "I was talking about the bad kind of excitement… the kind where you are scared. When I'm with you, I feel safe and comfortable. The only thing I'm afraid of is that I'll say something stupid."
"Like just now," Ami sniped at him as she bit into one of Ryuuji's sweet omelets.
"Mr. Boring." Nanako added.
"Yesssssss!" Noto smacked his hand over his face and kept it there.
Noto didn't like the way everyone was finding humor in his embarrassment, but he forgot about all of that when Maya accepted his apology by hugging him.
"I've been thinking about what Maya said," Nanako asked Noto and Maya, "are you still planning on getting married immediately after graduation?"
"Yes," Noto told them, "the meeting at the family estate decided everything. The wedding will be one week after graduation at a shrine located near the estate. It will be a traditional Japanese ceremony, so I won't be able to invite the whole class like Ryuuji and Ami did."
"That's okay, we understand." Ryuuji was forced to think about his own public wedding that would also be done in the traditional Japanese way. Due to it's scheduling, they wouldn't be able to have any of their friends there this time. Then again, everyone had been able to come to their western style wedding in November, so…
"Since you'll be married before the semester starts, I'm guessing that you won't be staying in the University dormitories then?" Nanako asked Maya and Noto.
"No," Noto answered, "our family has a house close to the University. It used to be a visiting professors residence."
"So it's not very large then?" Nanako sounded disappointed.
"No." Maya confirmed.
"Yes it is." Noto countered.
"Huh?" Maya was confused, "how big does a house have to be for a visiting professor?"
"Professors… plural," Noto corrected her, "up to four professors would stay there at a time."
"Eh?" Maya had to rethink everything again. She had been worried how the two of them were going to last for several years in a one bedroom hovel, but that would not be the case after all it seemed. How stupid of me to think that the Hisamitsu family would own a hovel in the first place. Baka!
"Well then, how would you feel if I decided to attend the same university and Hisako and I will move into the house with you?"
"Really?" Maya sounded excited and hopeful as she reached across the desks and held Nanako's hands.
"Really?" Hisako mimicked Maya's hopeful cry as she reached across the desks and held Noto's hands.
"Ah!" Noto tried to pull his hands away but Hisako had a very firm grip.
Maya continued to smile gratefully at the thoughtful offer.
"Damn!" Hisako cursed as she remembered that this type of attack no longer worked on Maya.
Ryuuji held Ami's hand as they all chuckled at their friends' antics. The laughter was tinged with sadness as Ryuuji thought about the near future. Soon, they would be going separate ways in life. Hisako would be going with Noto, Maya, and Nanako to Tokushima University. Yasuko would relocate with Ryuuji and Ami in Tokyo. Minori would also be in Tokyo, but she would be across town at Waseda University where they had a softball program worthy of her talents. Of course, some of them would still remain in regular contact because of the entertainment jobs, but times like this wouldn't last much longer. Ryuuji looked around the gathered desks at the first friends he had made in his whole life and wistfully wished they could somehow all stay together. Suddenly, Yuri-sensei's words tumbled into his thoughts.
"I'll also be moving to Tokyo." she had just said.
"What?" Maya sounded stunned. In her mind, the old schools never changed and the old school teachers never changed. She had fully expected to come back to this place for her ten year anniversary and see Koigakubo Yuri still teaching students here.
"The Major is going to become a Reservist." Yuri explained to everyone, "I don't know what it means fully, but he can live in Tokyo since there is a base there and he only has to do the military thing one weekend a month and a few weeks during the summer."
"Have you got a job there yet?" Noto asked.
"As a matter of fact, I was scouted!" Yuri smiled triumphantly, "It was thanks to the article in December really. I never thought they would publish my interview in the magazine. But, ever since they did, I've had quite a few offers."
"And one of them was in Tokyo?" Ami asked.
Ryuuji noticed that this topic seemed to have piqued Ami's interest and started paying closer attention.
"A couple of them were in Tokyo." Yuri answered.
"What are they? Which ones?" Ami now seemed eager to hear where her sensei was going to teach.
"Well, um…" Yuri thought it odd that Ami was so determined to find out where she would be relocating since Ami herself would soon be done with high school. "Kaisei, Gyosei, and Meiji all offered me positions. Kaisei had the best offer so I am thinking…"
"You won't like Kaisei or Gyosei." Ami seemed to be getting excited.
"Why not?" Yuri was curious. According to the information packets she skimmed, they were both schools with good reputations.
"Sensei," Ami smiled, "this time it is you that didn't do your research. Both of those places are boys' schools."
"Eep!" Yuri almost gasped. "And Meiji?"
"It went co-educational about ten years ago." Ami told her.
"How do you know so much about these high schools?" Yuri asked in amazement.
"I was looking into going to a high school in Tokyo before I came out here." Ami explained. "Sensei, you have a tough job ahead of you."
"Huh?" Yuri asked, "Is Meiji a difficult place to teach?"
"I don't know about that, but you have two weeks to get Suzume-chan and Umeki-chan ready to pass the Meiji entrance test!"
"Ohmygosh, I hadn't thought about that!" Yuri started thinking of how best to prepare the girls. She had been working with them already and knew where they stood in all their subjects so what she would need to do…
"Why does…" Noto started to ask but he could see that Ryuuji was about to explain anyway.
"The main reason Suzume-chan moved out here was to be closer to Ami for the modeling and singing schedules." Ryuuji told his friends, "The secondary reason was a promise to her sister that Yuri would be available to tutor her whenever we had a job that required travel."
"So, since you two will be moving to Tokyo…" Maya figured it out. Just when it looked like their singing was going to show some real potential, it would all fall apart because of distance. So, if they could all be somewhat close to each other… but wait! "What about Aiko-chan?"
"Onee-chan is talking to her parents about letting her come live with us in Tokyo." Ami said, but her tone sounded none-to-thrilled. Everyone in the room knew how happy Aiko-chan was with her new school and didn't want to pull her away from there after the previous school had been such a terrible experience. By the same token, it would also make the little girl sad to give up on getting to sing with Ami, Hisako, and Suzume. But if she didn't move to Tokyo, the logistics of getting everyone together would just be too difficult.
"Poor Aiko-chan." Nanako said.
"What have her parents said?" Noto asked.
"They haven't made up their mind yet." Ryuuji answered. Further discussion about Aiko-chan was put off as other students began to filter into the room.
.
Within the hour, the classroom filled up with classmates, students from other classes, and some other teachers. There were lots of comments on their tans and everyone seemed to have a copy of the magazine ready for autographing. But Yuri had already experienced this once and put her foot down quickly. Once again, she was able to maintain order by promising that they would be available for autographs at lunch.
.
Wednesday morning, January 13 – Kyujosho Middle School
"Minami Suzume and Ueda Umeki. Could you two come up here for a moment, please?" the teacher called out as soon as everyone had taken their seats.
"Yes!" both girls responded as they looked at each other and wondered if they were somehow in trouble on their first day back at school.
"Since you two missed the opening ceremony and the first several days of class, I just want to clear up a few things." the teacher addressed the class as much as she did the two tanned students now facing their classmates from the front of the room.
"Are… are we in trouble?" Umeki asked worriedly.
"Not at all," the teacher then added, "At least not yet. I know you had permission to be away and I know where you were. I also know that because of the recent magazine, Suzume-chan is now a more popular celebrity. But, you can't let that go to your heads and you must remain vigilant in your studies!"
"Yes sensei!" both girls answered.
"Your classmates should know also…" the teacher turned to the class and told them, "this was not all vacation. Suzume was working while she was in Hawaii and both of the girls were being taught by a high school teacher that was also on the trip."
There was some murmuring among the classmates at this news. Apparently, not everyone had known that. Some of them flatly didn't believe it.
"In fact," the teacher waited for the comments to die down, "they are two of only seven students in this class that have turned in all of their assignments."
"WHAAAT?" the class balked.
"You did homework while you were in Hawaii?" a boy asked in disbelief.
"Yes." Umeki answered, "Yuri-sensei is quite strict… especially since we told her that we want to get into the high school where she is teaching."
"All right, you can ask her more questions at lunch." the teacher could see the anxious looks on her student's faces and decided that the other surprise simply couldn't wait until lunch. "For now, if anyone brought a copy of the magazine to class that they would like signed, pull it out now and we will get this over with quickly so that we can get on with class."
"Really sensei?" Suzume asked in some surprise. Technically, school rules prohibited bringing the magazines to school at all.
"Yes, well… there is special permission for this after all." the teacher said through the sound of a few dozen students opening their bags and satchels to pull out their magazines. During all the commotion, the teacher moved her hands from behind her back and offered her own magazine as well. With a slight blush she asked the tall teen, "If… if you don't mind?"
"Yes!" Suzume's smile beamed at the idea that her teacher wanted her autograph.
Umeki was happy for her friend but decided to get out of the way. As she started to make her way back to her desk, someone caught her sleeve.
"Ueda-san," a boy blushed as he asked her, "would you sign my magazine as well?"
"But…" Umeki was surprised as she asked, "I'm not a model… I'm not even in the magazine."
"I know but," the boy blushed a little harder as he said, "the two of you are always together and that is how I think of you… both of you. Minami-san and Ueda-san are always together. Even if you are not in the magazine, I know that you are there with her. That's just how I think of it… I'm sorry!"
"No, it's okay." That's so sweet! Umeki took the magazine and signed it under the picture of Suzume. Always together with Minami-san… wouldn't that be wonderful.
By the time they were done, Umeki had signed more than half of the magazines that Suzume had autographed. That included the one for her teacher.
.
After class was dismissed, Suzume and Umeki were the only ones still in the classroom. The teacher had asked only Umeki to wait behind for a bit, but Suzume stayed with her friend as she normally did.
"Suzume-chan, I didn't ask you to stay behind." the teacher told the tall teen.
Suzume pointed at the two signatures next to each other on the cover of the magazine on the teacher's desk and smiled, "Always together, remember?"
"This is some private advice to you and it could be embarrassing so…" the teacher told Umeki.
"Oh!" Suzume was startled, "I'm sorry. I didn't realize…" She was picking up her bag to leave when Umeki's hand caught her sleeve.
"Please stay," Umeki found the courage to say, "I don't mind if it's you with me."
"Okay," Suzume said after getting a nod from the teacher.
"You've never been popular before, have you Umeki-chan?" the teacher asked.
"No… before? What do you mean by before? I'm still not popular." Umeki looked at the teacher as if she had said something unintelligible or unbelievable.
"My dear girl, surely you must have noticed?" the teacher laughed, "When half a classroom wants your autograph, that is a pretty good indication that you are popular."
"Huh?" Umeki clearly had not considered that.
"Umeki-chan, I am glad to see that you have finally come out of the shadows and are truly living life instead of just enduring it. It really makes me very happy. But I need to warn you about something that will happen to you soon, because of this sudden popularity." the teacher told her seriously, "You will soon be getting requests to meet in private places where you will be getting… confessions."
"WHAT?" Umeki balked. When she realized that she hadn't heard her friend also balk, she turned to Suzume in amazement that she wasn't also surprised to hear such a ridiculous thing. "If anyone is going to be getting confessions, it will be Suzume-chan! Not me!"
"No, that's not the way it works. You see…" the teacher tried to explain this to her inexperienced pupil so that she wouldn't just understand it, but she would also believe it. "Suzume is popular, but she is also a celebrity and she is… very tall. Add all of this together and it means that to almost all of the students in a middle school, she is unattainable."
"That's not true!" Umeki seemed desperate to look for a flaw in her sensei's logic, "There were boys… and even a girl or two that confessed to her before."
"That was before the magazine came out." the teacher said softly. She could see the desperation in the young girl's face and sympathized with her. "From now on it will be you that gets all the confessions, Umeki-chan."
"But… why?" Umeki pleaded. I don't want this! I don't want to have to face people and tell them something they don't want to hear. I do not want this!
"You are popular." the teacher added, "Even though you are not in the magazine, you are still famous at this school. You are the best friend of a celebrity model, but you are not a celebrity yourself. You are short enough that you don't make all the boys uncomfortable. So, you are attainable. And, just as importantly, since you are not going out with anyone - you are available."
"No…" Umeki did not want this kind of attention. She didn't want to have to say no to a constant stream of potential date requests. I don't want this. "I don't want this."
"I understand." the teacher felt awful for making her pupil frightened and sad, but it was best for her to be forewarned than to be shocked and surprised when the confessions started coming. "I'm sorry for having to tell you this. And, it's not certain to happen, but I wanted you to know. It might give you time to think about how to deal with it… in case it does happen."
.
It was a quiet walk from the classroom to the shoe lockers. Even with Suzume next to her, Umeki felt a dread chill running through her at the prospect of her teachers predictions. There were kinds of people that craved attention and would be thrilled at a stream of confessions… but Umeki wasn't one of them. Before Suzume came along, she would have been satisfied with just staying in the unobtrusive shadows of the classroom and going through middle school peacefully. Suzume had changed all that and she had to admit that she did not regret it. So far, the time she spent with the tall model had been fun and exciting to an extent that she had not believed she would ever have experienced on her own. But this… I can't face people and tell them no. I can't do it even once, let alone doing it over and over again. I just can't do it!
"Hey," Suzume put her hand on her short friend's shoulder, "are you okay?"
"Yeah." Umeki answered in a way that she didn't even believe herself.
"Are you mad at me?" Suzume withdrew her hand worriedly.
"Huh?" Umeki looked up to see her friend's disturbed expression. "No! Why would I be mad at you?"
"Well," Suzume reasoned "if it wasn't for knowing me, then you wouldn't be having this unnecessary trouble."
"No." Umeki said with determination, "I am not upset with you. I do not regret being your friend!"
"Oh!" Suzume was pleasantly surprised by the forcefulness of her friend's response. Feeling hopeful, she offered, "There are only six or seven weeks left of school… maybe it won't happen after all."
"Yeah, maybe not." Umeki was hopeful as well. Her hopes were dashed when she opened her shoe locker and two envelopes fell out to hit her feet. Another four were still inside the cubby. There were still a lot of students retrieving their shoes and getting ready to head home or to a club so there was no way to ignore the letters in front of her. There was a momentary temptation to just throw the unopened letters away, but Umeki was not that kind of person. Anyway, she already knew that she would be facing six people at least. Despair set in as she realized that it was only starting with these six. There will be more every day… every day for almost two months. I… just… can't… do this! Movement around her seemed to stop and she was aware that many students were watching as she bent to pick up the two envelopes that had dropped to her feet. She was about to read who they were from when Suzume snatched them from her hand and thrust a folded up piece of torn out notebook paper in her hands.
"This one first." Suzume insisted.
"Huh?" Umeki was startled by Suzume's strange behavior.
"This one first!" Suzume demanded.
"Um… okay." Umeki opened the folded paper and saw Suzume's familiar handwriting in a message that simply said: Please say yes! When she looked up, she saw her tall friend bowing toward her in front of dozens of other students. "What!"
"Umeki-chan," Suzume said loudly, "please go out with me!"
"Eh?" several people in the area gaped.
"Huh?" Umeki looked back at the hastily written note and back at Suzume. She must have written this while I was picking up the envelopes at my feet. Oh! I get it, this isn't for real! If I say yes then I can tell everyone else that I am going out with someone already and the confessions will stop. I am saved! Suzume, you are truly the best friend ever. If only… Umeki was thrilled that her friend would make this sacrifice for her but a part of her wished that it had been real after all. Proud of their friendship and with tears of happiness beginning to form in her eyes Umeki replied, "Yes, I will go out with you."
"Whaaat?" the crowd around them gaped.
A startled Umeki almost cried out when she felt herself suddenly seized by her tall friend. Her feet left the ground and she dropped her bag when she felt soft lips on her own. Suzume! What are you doing? What are you thinking? Suzume, you're kissing me! You're kissing me in front of all our classmates! Through her glasses, her panicked eyes could see that Suzume's eyes were closed. Her mind reeled and she felt her body suddenly become warm as if they were back in Hawaii. The warmth elicited a small moan and Umeki felt the tenseness leave her. When she felt Suzume's tongue on her lips, she opened up and the two friends kissed as lovers for the first time. Umeki was held tight and couldn't return Suzume's embrace, but she hadn't yet put her shoes on, so the forgotten crowd could easily see her dangling feet.
"WHAAAT?" the crowd around them gaped again.
Word would spread quickly about the confession and the toe curling kiss that Suzume gave Umeki in the shoe locker area.
.
Monday morning, February 1 – The Third Magazine Release
There were stunned faces looking at Ami as the classroom slowly filled up. They had all become used to the idea that their classmate was a model. And, to be honest, they had heard her sing the year before at the class Christmas party when she did an unexpected duet with Taiga. But that had been nothing compared to this…
The February issue included pictures of Red, Black & Blue with Aiko-chan. The article covered their music debut and the magazine included a code for a free download of the first original song by Ami, Hisako, Suzume, and Aiko-chan. Everyone that heard it agreed that it was very good. It was perhaps, too good. There were light hearted jabs that it wasn't really Ami but some professional musicians that had been hired for her to lip-sync with. They had only been light hearted comments from their school mates, but it wasn't long before the same kind of comments started appearing in rival magazines and on talk shows. Their comments were much more abusive and demeaning – not just to Ami, but to Suzume, Hisako, and even Aiko-chan as well.
However, just when they were thinking about mounting a response, it seemed the issue took care of itself. Suddenly, there was news footage from the previous autumn and hundreds of testimonies from towns and cities from Aomori to Tokyo. Radio and television stations were getting thousands of phone calls from their audiences reporting that the girls had been seen performing during the time of the mandatory inoculations. The mounting evidence could not be ignored: there were too many people from too many places that were providing statements, pictures, and even video's. Even the most die-hard cynics abandoned their entertainment industry conspiracy theories in the face of so many witnesses.
Although there were reporters gathered at Aiko-chan's school like there were at Suzume's middle school and Ami's high school, they were a lot better behaved. It seemed that even reporters will hold back on badgering an elementary school child like they might a teenager. It could also have something to do with the number of parents and teachers seemingly scrutinizing their every move. Most of those parents and teachers had cell phones that they used to take pictures of the reporters and photographers that were giving up on trying to get close to and elementary school aged… little… girl. After the first day, all of the reporters and photographers were women. Eventually, they would get pictures and even waves and passing remarks. But the little girl's Onee-chan was always with her when she went to school and when she came home. As pretty as she was, the media people learned quickly that Onee-chan was not to be trifled with.
.
Saturday morning, February 13 – Ohashi High School
"You have to come to school today." Nanako said firmly.
"No I don't." Hisako didn't budge from the couch as she replied, "I'm not a student, faculty, or staff. I'm just a volunteer and today, I am not volunteering."
"I want you to." Nanako pouted.
"I don't care." Hisako looked away from the cute pout so she wouldn't be swayed. "Any other day but this one."
"So, you do know what today is?" Nanako raised an eyebrow.
"Yes…" Hisako answered reluctantly, "Valentines Day… observed."
"And you won't come?" Nanako checked.
"No. I hate… this day." it had never been a good day for Hisako even as a little girl. Year after year, she would give chocolates away in February, only to have her hopes crushed in March. I never got anything back for all the chocolate I gave away and I don't believe in Saints anyway. Petulantly, she added, "I'm not going and you can't make me."
"Fine." Nanako humpfed, "But I'm going and I plan to accept any chocolate that is offered to me."
"Offered to you?" Hisako blinked as she realized the full meaning of what Nanako had just said. Surely she wouldn't…
SLAM! The front door closed hard and made Hisako sit up straight.
"Wait!" Hisako called out but it was too late, Nanako was out the door. Hurriedly, Hisako rushed to the door and was about to call out for her girlfriend when she noticed that she didn't see her anywhere. "BAKA!" Hisako screamed. The comment was more for herself than it was aimed at anyone else.
.
By the time Hisako made it up to the school, the first class had already started. Instead of barging in on Koigakubo Yuri's classroom, she decided to make her way to the familiar infirmary. The shoe locker area was empty by the time she got there, but it seemed that someone had messed with her locker. Hisako noticed as she turned the corner that the door was not closed as it normally was. Flashbacks of middle school and finding her shoes filled with mud made her wince. With trepidation, she opened her locker and was stunned to see an avalanche of chocolates and cards fall out.
"What?" she stared at her cubby in disbelief. This must be a mistake! She looked at one of the letters that had been crammed into her cubby and saw that it was indeed marked with her name. "Huh?" Is someone playing a joke on me?
.
Once in the infirmary, Hisako saw the nurse sitting at her desk staring at a pile of chocolates and cards.
"Oh, so you got some chocolates too?" Hisako asked as she entered the room.
"Oh yeah," the nurse opened a drawer to reveal a modest offering of chocolates, "I got these." Then pointing to the pile in the middle of her desk she said, "This mess is all yours."
"WHAT?" a stunned Hisako sat heavily into a chair as she looked at the second pile of chocolates in disbelief. "Bu… but why?"
"I've been thinking about that." the nurse said as she looked at her own smaller stash, "You defended students when they were sick and weak. You even carried them here when they couldn't move on their own. It's my job, but you volunteered. Everyone knows that you volunteered to help when you didn't have to. But… but I think that's only part of it."
"Then, what?" Hisako asked.
"Some students and teachers knew who you were when you first showed up… and they hated you because of the rumors that they believed." the nurse told her, "The stories of your villainous past spread like wildfire and soon everyone hated you. But then, the truth from Koigakubo-san's classroom started to spread and they were already doubting the rumors and their own hate when the virus hit."
"But…" Hisako had only been vaguely aware of any of this. All her attention at the time had been on Nanako and Ami.
"You brought a first year in here one day. He was too weak to walk and couldn't even write. I wrote this down for him as we waited for the ambulance to come and take him to the hospital." She handed over a clipboard with a note on the front in the nurses handwriting. "That boy probably spends too much time playing fantasy games and reading romance stories, but… well… these are his words."
Saint Kurosawa Hisako
Defender of the Weak,
Savior of the Ill,
Valiant, Strong, and True
as she is Beautiful.
"Baka." Hisako lowered her head to hide the blush and tears after she read the short note. "I… I'm none of those things."
"You are all of those things to him." the nurse said as she poked at the pile of chocolates, "And, it looks like you are nothing less, to a great many kids in this school."
"Baka… baka, baka, baka…" Hisako couldn't stop the tears. She knew that Ami and Ryuuji and their friends liked her. She knew that Nanako loved her… and she could deal with all that. But her heart wasn't ready for this. For all of these people that she didn't know, to feel that way about her… she wasn't ready for this at all. Clutching the paper in her hands, she bowed her head lower as the tears fell onto the page.
Without Hisako's knowledge, and certainly without her consent, the nurse sent out a brief text message to let everyone know that it was time.
In the first year classrooms, an announcement came over the public address speaker that Kurosawa Hisako was in the Infirmary and for any students that wanted to, could come and express their gratitude if they wished.
In classroom after classroom, a dozen or so students would stand and wait for their teacher to nod. Then they would retrieve their gifts and quietly leave their classes for the nurses office.
After a while, when the line in the hallway started getting short, the announcement was made to the second year classrooms. The third year's were still involved in their exams and couldn't be disturbed. Then again, it had been the third year's that had filled her shoe locker and piled the Nurses desk with cards and chocolate.
When the last student left the infirmary, the nurse approached the crying model and lifted her face so that she could gaze into the tear swollen eyes.
"Kurosawa-san," the nurse said, "in your life, you will probably never have fans that will love you as much as the students in this school do. Promise me that you will treasure this."
"I… I promise." Hisako watched the nurse leave the room and saw her Nanako standing in the doorway with a smile.
"Happy Valentines Day..." Nanako smiled, "Saint Kurosawa."
.
Saturday noon, February 13 – Kyujosho Middle School
"What?" Suzume gaped as she looked into her shoe locker and found chocolates and letters. "But… I'm not a boy?" She closed the locker to read the name tape and make sure she had the right one… but she did. "Huh?"
"Weren't you a 'Prince' at your former school?" Umeki asked her tall friend.
"Prince?" Suzume looked at Umeki as if she had suddenly grown another head.
"Heh, I thought this kind of thing happened everywhere." Umeki explained, "A lot of girls will fall for tall athletic girls. It happens more often with the ones that could… um… pass for a boy… in the right clothes."
"Hey!" Suzume looked down at her breasts to see if they had suddenly become smaller.
"Not all the time!" Umeki tried to reassure her friend, "In your case I'm sure it's because you're tall and courageous."
"Courageous?" Suzume sounded anything but courageous as she looked at Umeki.
"Well," Umeki offered, "maybe it's because you have a girlfriend."
"Hmpf!" Suzume thought about it for a moment as they took their slippers off, "Umeki, I'm going to need you to become tough and courageous."
"Why me?" Umeki asked.
"BECAUSE I WANT TO BE THE GIRLFRIEND!" Suzume pouted.
"Nope," Umeki chuckled, "it'll never happen.
"Why?" Suzume wondered.
"You're too tall." Umeki answered confidently.
"Wait," Suzume asked, "there's no such thing as a taller girl going out with a shorter guy?"
"No… oh." Umeki realized her mistake, "Well, I guess there is that sort of trope after all."
"So' I'll be the girlfriend and you'll be the Prince." Suzume taunted.
"I can't be the Prince." Umeki told her.
"Why not?" Suzume asked,
"I lose in all three categories," Umeki explained, "I'm not tall enough. I'm not tough enough. And I'm not flat enough."
"Oh… HEY!" Suzume reacted as if she had just been stung by a bee.
"Maybe Hisako-senpai could be the Prince." Umeki offered.
"Huh?" Suzume sounded incredulous, "You think Hisako-senpai is flat?"
"No, but you only need to be good in two out of three categories, and she is plenty tall and tough enough to be a Prince." Umeki said.
"Oh, I see." Suzume thought about that and asked, "So, you think I am tough?"
"No, not really." Umeki answered.
"HEY!" Suzume was now covering her chest with both arms as her battered psyche believed they were becoming smaller by the moment.
"Stop with the yelling!" Umeki swatted at her taller friend, "I'm not the one that thinks you're a Prince, so it's okay for me to think that you're not tough."
"But you don't think I'm flat either, right?" Suzume pleaded.
"No, Suzume-chan." Umeki groaned, "Apparently there are a few girls that think you are tall and either tough or… manly. But no, I don't think you're flat."
"… thanks." Suzume felt a little better until she heard Umeki starting to laugh. "Hey… it's not funny. I was really starting to worry – ya know?"
"Oh, it's not that." Umeki explained, "I was just thinking what the look on Nanako-chan's face would be if we told her that we need Hisako to be our Prince."
"Heh… heh heh heh," Suzume laughed with Umeki as they walked out of the building into the chill February air. As the coldness wrapped around them, she commented, "You know… we will only have a few seconds to enjoy her expression."
"Before she kills both of us!" Umeki guffawed.
Both friends were laughing hysterically as they left the school for yet another scheduled recording session.
.
Saturday afternoon, February 27 – Kawashima residence
"It feels weird leaving without Aiko-chan and Suzume." Ryuuji commented as he finished getting the packed suitcases down the stairs.
"Oh Ryu-chan," Yasuko giggled, "how many girls do you want to marry?"
"That's not what I meant!" Ryuuji blushed at his mother's bizarre inference.
"Well, if polygamy were allowed," Ami postulated, "I'm betting Noto would claim Maya, Hisako, and Nanako."
"That would leave you with Ami, Suzume, Umeki, and Aiko-chan." Yasuko counted them off.
"Wait a minute," Ryuuji asked, "why are three out of four of mine jail-bait?"
"Don't be silly," Yasuko teased her son, "back when polygamy was allowed, the marriage age was much lower!"
"I want to know why you're giving this so much thought on the eve of our wedding?" Ami demanded.
"Huh?" A bewildered Ryuuji wondered when and how this conversation got started in the first place.
"Ah, the car is here." Yasuko called out, "Have we got everything?"
The three of them turned and faced the empty house that had seen so much life in the last half year. It was cleaned out now and seemed too quiet. All of their belongings that weren't going with them to Kyoto for the wedding had already been shipped to the new residence in Tokyo. After the wedding and the honeymoon cruise that her family was giving them as a gift, they would be heading straight to the new place near the University where they would spend the next four years.
"I really like this place." Ryuuji admitted.
"Who knows," Ami said, "We might come back some day."
"If we do," Yasuko teased, "We'll be needing all those extra rooms."
"Onee-chaaaaaaaan!" Ami wailed. She was now in the beginning of her sixteenth week and could already feel the the baby moving inside her. It was a strange feeling but one that filled her with wonder and love. The exhaustion, leg cramps, and back ache weren't so wonderful, but Yasuko and Ryuuji did a lot to help her with that. Ami felt as if fortune was smiling on her in that she hadn't yet gained a lot of weight, so she would still look good in the wedding ceremony.
When Ami told her mother about her condition, she was expecting to hear a long and demanding lecture. She realized that she couldn't be more wrong when all she could hear from the other end of the phone call was giggling. Giggling? Ami couldn't recall her mother ever giggling in her life! She was on the verge of suspecting that this person wasn't really her mother when she confessed.
Yasuko and Anna had already decided that they could only be happy with lots of grandchildren.
Lots ?!
She was distinctly feeling conspired against in those conversations. She had tried putting her foot down and insisting that one was enough, but she had to admit that having an Onee-chan, even if she was pretend, was a wonderful experience… In the end, it was Yasuko that convinced her that there should be at least two children in their new family.
At least ?!
"Onee-chaaaaaaaan!" echoed through the empty house even after the front door closed and locked for the last time in a long time.