35: Romantic Haze

2:40 PM

Yuuki

"…So, while we may be ahead of schedule, we've gotta put the pedal to the medal in these last two days."

Hikari's motivational speech travels through one ear and out the other. Hopefully, she hasn't realized it yet. I know it's selfish to think like that, but can you really blame me? I mean, I kissed my girlfriend for the first time seven minutes ago.

For the fourth time since I got here, my gaze awkwardly drifts to the object of my affections. A sweet smile slides across Sekai's face before she turns away.

"Hey," Hikari crosses her arms, cheeks puffed, "why do I get the impression my speech is falling on deaf ears?"

"We're listening," Hosokawa glares at the two of us, "they're not."

"Calm down, Natsuki-san," Hatakeyama interjects hastily, "I think it's kind of sweet that they're enjoying each other's company."

"They must've done a little more than that," Hikari murmurs, "they're barely even looking at each other."

"Don't be ridiculous," Sekai huffs, "nothing like that happened."

"Right," I shake my head, "all we did was share our first kiss—"

Sekai slaps a hand over my mouth. Her whole face is red, and her teeth are clenched.

Blast my honesty.

"Really?" Hosokawa snorts. "I didn't know you religious types did that sort of thing."

"Aww, that's so cute," Hikari claps her hands together, posing in a cute pose that betrays her part-time profession. "BUT!"

She throws her arms onto the table.

"Keep the mushy-gushy stuff to yourselves. There's work to be done. Now, our first order of business is to get started on those billboards…"

3:33 PM

Phew…

Sekai and I sit together on the bench adjacent to the train station. Normally, I'd head straight home, but I want to be by her side as often as I can.

It's kind of sappy, but… There's something cute about it, right?

"Yuuki?"

"Yeah?" I meet her eyes.

"Would you like to hold hands again?"

"Uh…" Red. "Sure."

We slide our fingers between the slits in each other's hands. She feels so soft; like snow on a sparrow's wing.

"Are all couples this embarrassing?" She giggles. "I mean, you don't see Makoto and Katsura-san acting this weird."

"That's because they're in different classrooms," I shuffle my body a little closer to hers. "They probably act just as silly when they eat lunch on the rooftop."

Sekai lets go of my hands and rests her head on my shoulder. The serenity emanating on her face makes me happier than I can adequately describe.

"You're a little tense?"

"Huh?"

"I can feel it," she tugs at my uniform's coat, "your muscles are stiff. If something's wrong, you can tell me."

"I'm not really that worried," I dismiss, my eyes a little bleak. "It's just… I'm worried about stuff."

"'Stuff'?"

"Like with Katou-san and Katsura-san," I hang my head, "I still don't really know what to think about that. If they both come back for the Festival… will things be really weird? I like Katsura-san, but I know objectively, she shares some of the blame. And then there's all the gossip going around about what happened, and I just don't know what to—"

"Hey,"

She places her hand on top of mine.

"Don't get so stressed. High school's tough enough as it is,"

"That isn't the first time I've heard that," I laugh, "still, I can't help thinking about it. I wanna do the right thing."

"You can only do so much, Yuuki," Sekai closes her eyes, "I know we've only known each other for a little while, but I know how good of a guy you are. Everything you do is for someone else's benefit."

"N-no…" I sigh, "I'm just as human as anyone else. I mean, just earlier today—"

I bite my lip to shut off my transmission. Sekai's eyes are open again, and she's staring into my eyes with stark concern.

"Yuuki?"

"It's nothing," I stare down at my lap, "I was just thinking of how bummed I was over this."

"That's not what it is,"

Sekai sits up straight and turns my head towards her.

"You did the same thing earlier today. C'mon; what is it?"

"I…" I grimace, "I don't want you to hate me."

"What did I say just a few seconds ago?"

Gradually, I shift my body in her direction.

"You can trust me. If we're a couple, we have to share at least some secrets, right?"

I don't like this. I still have nightmares of how close I came to ruining everything.

But… Sekai's right. I can't hide this from her.

"This morning, I was still feeling upset about what happened with Katsura-san and Katou-san. Before one of the class periods, I asked Katou-san's friends about Katsura-san. They accused me of being biased…"

I stand up. "Before I knew it, we were yelling at each other. I was ticked that they were so mean to Katsura-san, they were ticked that I was defending her whole-heartedly. Before I knew it, I… I…"

How am I supposed to get the words out? How am I supposed to say it in a way that she won't be instantly repulsed? I hate this…

"I tried to punch her."

"Whoa," she lets out the moment I finish, "I didn't know they were causing you that much stress."

Her casual demeanor allows me to warm to the subject. "They are,"

I sit back down. "Something about them just seems so… evil. I know that sounds weird, but they don't have any good traits. All they care about is hurting Katsura-san."

"Okay, now you're taking this a bit far,"

She puts her arm around my shoulders. "They are loyal to Katou-san, right? They care about what she thinks, so they can't be all bad."

"Anyone can have friends," I narrow my eyes, "it's just basic human nature. I know I'm being harsh, but I don't know if I care. From what I've heard, they've been mean to Katsura-san for a long time without anyone calling them out on it. Maybe… Maybe they deserve a reminder once in a while."

"Hello?" She pats my forehead playfully. "Is this Yuuki? If not, I'd like to speak to him, please."

"I'm serious!" I hunch over again. "If they start being mean to Katsura-san again when she gets back… I don't know what I'll do."

"Hey, hey, chill out,"

She tilts my head in her direction again.

"Look, I get they're jerks, but don't let that get you so angry. I mean, if you see them being mean, than tell them to stop. That's all there is to it. And even if they whine and complain, all you have to do is keep your cool."

I know she's right, of course. But Sekai doesn't know these girls as well as I do. They're mean… Way meaner than she thinks…

Just by being themselves, they might make me do something I wouldn't want to.

"Yuuki, please," she quirks her lips, "don't look so serious. It's… It's really throwing me off."

Frantic, I retain my regular face. "Sekai, I—"

"I understand you're stressed out by all this stuff, and I don't blame you for that. But… I'm kinda worried, too, ya know? I hang out with a lot of popular kids, and there's a lot of stress with the Festival just around the corner. I know how it feels to have to deal with people who are… well… disagreeable, but it's something we all have to do."

Her train starts to come into the station. On cue, she jumps to her feet.

"Besides, aren't you forgetting something?"

Thrown off by the change in subject, I stutter, "huh?"

"You're not really that dumb, are you?" She giggles. "I don't date guys like that."

"I-I'm sorry," I blush, "I just don't get—"

"I'll give you a hint," she winks, "the Festival."

Oh my gosh, she's right. How could I have been so stupid?

"S-sorry," I run up to her, "w-would you like to come with me to the Festival? W-we could talk, visit the attractions, dance at the bonfire—"

She kisses my cheek as the doors fly open. In a flash, she's on the train, smiling at me.

"Consider it a date,"

The doors close.

4:00

Wow.

That one word's been running through my head since we separated.

She's… She's amazing.

I open the door to my home.

"Hey, Yuuki," my devil-may-care sister says, "how's it going?"

I mean… Wow.

"Yuuki,"

She tosses a basketball in my direction which I catch just in time.

"That could've hit me!" I shout back.

"Consider it a sign of my trust in you," she smirks, "I wouldn't have thrown it if there was a chance you'd miss it."

"Whatever," I put my hand deep in my pockets as I walk up the stairs.

"You forgot to answer my question,"

"Huh?"

I stop halfway up the stairs. "What?"

"'How's it going'?" She reminds me. "I'm hoping your awkward silence doesn't mean it sucked."

"Actually, it's… going pretty good…"

I duck my head and smile.

"Sekai and I started going out… For real, I mean."

"Huh," she beams proudly, "I was wondering when you'd start."

"It's good for a lot of reasons. But overall, it's just…"

I trail off as I ascend the rest of the steps.

Wow.

9:45 PM

Kotonoha

Volunteering at a nursing home is hard work. Very hard.

I can't help but admire those who work here full time. Pretty much everyone here is nice, but a number of them have debilitating conditions. At least a third of the people here have Alzheimer's, and I have a hard time dealing with those people. I'm completely out of my depth.

It's lucky I'm just a volunteer. Whenever I'm out of ideas, one of the full-time workers is there to bail me out.

I've been here since 6:00, and like I said, it's been tough. But, there is something fulfilling to all this. I mean, I'll be one of these people one day; an elderly woman with stories to tell about her past, and health that's slowly starting to fail. Wouldn't I want people to talk to and to take care of me when I needed help?

Besides, there's always the festival… Don't forget about the festival.

"Boy trouble?"

"Huh?"

Himura Mayuri, a peppy young employee of 26, interrupts my thoughts.

"Oh, Himura-san… I'm sorry, I was just lost in my thoughts."

"Who's the boy?" She's asks again. She's nice and all, but personal space is not her strong suit.

"Itou Makoto," I blush, straightening out my uniform's skirt.

"Is he cute?"

"Mmhm," I giggle, "very cute."

"You two had sex yet?"

I slap her cheek almost out of instinct. It sounds just like the kind of thing my little sister would say to get on my nerves.

"Ouch," she chuckles good-naturedly, "that was mean."

"I'm so sorry," I bow, "I just wasn't ready for that question."

"Obviously," she chuckles again, "is that a sore spot for you?"

"I wouldn't do something like that would someone," do you mean with someone

I grab my right arm with my left hand. "At least not until we were married…"

"Right, I forgot the kind of family you come from, Heiress,"

She bows. "Forgive my impoliteness,"

Her gesture is followed by a wink. My Mom would probably say she's disrespectful, but I find her antics endearing.

"Are you two hitting it off?"

"I think so," I stare thoughtfully out the window, "he's protective of me, at least,"

I glance nervously at the clock. It is five minutes until break ends, and after that point, I'm on until 11:30. I might as well get some of this stuff off my chest in that time.

"Not great in other ways, huh?"

"He's so distractible sometimes," I sigh, "I wonder if he'd be more comfortable listening to music on those headphones of his then talking to me."

"Easy way to tell that," Himura takes a sip from a grape juice box in her hand, "does he still ogle you?"

"Huh?" I'm bright red. Yeah, this type of girl would DEFINITELY get on my mom's nerves.

"If this guy, Makoto, still checks you out on a fairly regular basis, then he's into you."

"That's…" I sigh, "not really what love's all about."

"I'm just messing with ya," she tosses the remains in a nearby trash can. "But seriously, does he?"

"Um…" I rub the back of my head. "He liked my swimsuit, um… But… I was too… occupied to look at him."

She raises an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"It's… Nothing. Forget I said anything…"

5:00 PM

Makoto

Knock, knock, knock.

Since I'm not part of any after school clubs, I was able to take the time to head home and change my clothes before visiting. Remembering how we used to dress, I chose an ordinary pair of denim shorts, and a Devil Bats T-shirt.

Don't be nervous… It's Otome; she's not really that much different.

"Hey Makoto,"

Otome pulls open the door. I feel awkward almost instantly. The top she was wearing is low-cut, and kind of clingy. Her shorts are rather high, showing off her legs. I'm barely three seconds into our visit, and I'm already blushing.

"Wow, you look terrible," she puts a hand on my forehead, "'you having a fever?"

"N-no," I swat her hand away. "It's just… Did you really used to dress like that?"

Otome breaks out into laughter without warning. "You're just as tactless as always, huh?"

"That's a yes, then?" I furrow my eyebrows. "No offense, but that get-up makes you look cheap."

"Very tactless," she repeats, a scary look in her eyes. "Would you like something to drink?"

"A glass of lemonade would be fine," I follow her inside, "where's your old man?"

"He's halfway through a baseball game,"

"Karen?"

"Hanging out with her Karate Club friends at the mall."

I'm sweating. "Where should we go?"

A hard thud later, I find myself holding a basketball. Hands on her hip, Otome inclines her head to the front door.

"Basketball. Ready to go a few rounds?"

Aw man.

5:06 PM

10-0. Guess whose winning?

I'm starting with the ball on the back end of the driveway. Otome's kneeling, fists clenched, ready to intercept at a moment's notice.

"Couldn't you… let up…?" I frown. "I'm rusty."

"Not my fault," She stands up straight, "I didn't assume we'd stop doing this."

"Hey," Dribbling the ball at a faster pace, I walk forward. "High school sucks. It's kinda hard to see any kind of light at the end of the tunnel."

"We do go to the same school."

I prep for a long bomb to the hoop. "First semester was really boring. I couldn't even think about having fun it was that bad."

"Sounds like a bunch of lame excuses," she snickers, "now, are you gonna take the shot or not?"

Grimacing, I toss the ball. Like every other time, she swats the ball down in mid-air, strafes around me, and makes it in my basket.

"That's '11' for me," she grins, "but we have to go again. 11's an unlucky number."

"Awfully superstitious for such a practical girl,"

I sit on the grass bordering the driveway. Otome takes her spot beside me as I swallow down the ice lemonade.

"Haah…" I drop the glass beside me. "Have I ever scored a point against you?"

"Let me think," she rubs her chin, "no."

"Are you kidding me?" I pout. "Geez, you're mean."

"Unless you count that one time," she takes a swig of her water bottle.

"Really?" I look into her eyes as sweat trickles down her cheeks. "When was that?"

"My Dad was on your team that day," I wink, "and you cheated."

"I distracted you." I chuckle thoughtfully. "That's not the same thing."

"I don't think the rules have any provisions about lying."

"There really might have been a Heffalump behind you."

She juts my rib cage with her elbow. "You haven't told anyone about that, right?"

"Not a soul,"

"Huh," she blinks, "you're such a blabber mouth, I'm shocked you found a way to keep your trap shut."

"I was a kid," I groan, "and I didn't always speak my mind."

"Remember when you got that T-shirt?"

She points to the logo.

"No,"

"Liar," she smiles, "your mom and my dad were off work for Golden Week, so they took us to an American football game. Dad hated soccer, and your mom hated baseball, so they compromised with a niche sport."

She watches a lonely cloud drift by. "The mascot came to say 'hi' as we were piling into the stadium. My dad saw how scared you were of the thing, so he bought a shirt from the guy and gave it to you. Do you remember what you said?"

"'Get the hell away from me, you monster.'"

"Quite the savvy remark for you."

I roll my eyes. "How old was I when this happened?"

"12,"

I face palm. "You're kidding me."

"Nnnope," she drains the last of the water from her bottle. "You were one weird middle schooler."

"You weren't exactly normal yourself," I huff, turning away from her.

"Well, yeah,"

I look back at her.

"Why do you think we became friends in the first place?"

She jumps back to her feet. "So, we gonna do that last round or what?"

"Sure," I shrug as I follow suit, "why not? No reason to break the trend."

5:13

No… I lost again.

"You were really close, though," Otome rips out her ponytail and lets her hair flail around. "The ball circled around the rim."

"Do I look like I an optimist to you?" I snap. "A loss is a loss, no matter how close."

"If you say so,"

She heads up the stairs.

"Where are you going?"

"The shower," she says.

"Hey," I whine, "I'm sweaty, too."

"We don't have a guest bathroom, so you'll have to wait your turn."

"Shouldn't that mean-?"

Slam.

Man. I know it sounds like I'm complaining for no reason, but her rudeness bugs me.

But… She's not as sensitive as Kotonoha… Or as nosy as Sekai. It could be worse…

She's like a fire in the midst of a blizzard; a solace in a place I hadn't thought possible. Maybe I should try to see her at school more often.

If only she and Kotonoha didn't hate each other's guts…

5:28

Otome finishes. I don't see her until she starts skipping down the stairs.

Her style is pretty much the same. The color of the clothes is really the only thing that's changed.

"Can I take a shower now?" I grimace.

"It's rude to run away from your host, Makoto."

"Yeah, but, I don't wanna stink up your home."

"Then, take this,"

She tosses me a small thing of deodorant. I examine it suspiciously.

"You use men's deodorant?"

She shakes her head. "Not anymore. My friends at school would laugh. But I used it all the time when I first hit puberty. That sweet scent that came from most of the girl ones was too much for me."

"It won't do me much good since I'm already sweating,"

"Try it anyways," she insists, "I think it'll blot out the smell better than you think it will."

Reluctantly, I lather it on my pits. I don't feel self-conscious at all about doing this in front of Otome.

Still, she seems to be watching—

"My stomach?"

"Huh?" Her eyes shift upwards. "What?"

"You were looking at my belly."

"Yes I was," she readily admits, "and it looks pretty frumpy."

"Witch," I snort, "I didn't say anything like that when I was looking at your butt."

"You were doing what, now?" She spits out.

"N-nothing!" I hold up my hands. "Nothing at all!"

"It doesn't take much to get your mind on sex, does it?"

"Well… I am a guy, after all."

She descends the stairs and tugs on my arm.

"C'mon; let's head to my room."

5:31 PM

"How's the team been?"

"Fine,"

Otome jumps on her bed, rattling its frame. "We're off to a good start. If it weren't for all the drama in the senior squad, we'd be great."

"Are you talking about Kanroji-san?"

"Her and Chie,"

Otome lies down on her bed. I sit beside her.

"They hate each other's guts. If weapons were allowed on campus, they'd both be dead. Luckily, Roka's been a calming presence."

"'Roka'?"

"She's a freshman who joined the squad this semester," Otome elaborates, "she's upbeat and eager to learn. She can be a bit of a goody-goody, but I like her a lot."

She looks my way. "What about you?"

"Like I said before," I sigh, "the whole year's been boring. I didn't know anybody when I joined the school, and we didn't bump into each other much. The only girl I talked to a lot is Sekai, but she can be pretty annoying sometimes. It wasn't fun."

"What about Katsura?"

"We take the same train," I stare at the ground, "just watching her sit and read a novel on the way to school made it a little easier to take the monotony. I never thought we could go out, not until Sekai found out I liked her."

"She set you two up?"

"It was working pretty well at first," I nod, "Kotonoha's really nice and she's cute as a button. But… well… she's got a lot of baggage."

"Hardly a surprise," Otome puts her hands behind her head. "She does come from a rich family, after all."

"And they're just as strict as they sound," I sigh, "but that's not the only thing. I'm just not sure what Kotonoha wants. Most of the time, she wants to go slow with all the physical stuff, but there was this one time where she asked me if I wanted to… um… have sex."

"What did you say?"

"No."

I lift myself off the bed.

"No?"

Otome brings herself back to a sitting position.

"But why? She was willing to do it, wasn't she?"

"Kind of?" I stare at Otome. "I'm sure she would've done it, but it's no fun if the other person really doesn't want to. That's why I decided to back off."

"But you still want to cross that threshold someday?"

"Like that will ever happen,"

I cross my arms. "And don't get me started on her sister. She can be a real pain sometimes…"

Otome walks up beside me. "Life was easier back in the day."

"Yeah," I nod, "school was easy, afternoons were long, and we did whatever the hell we wanted. Now, the work stacks up and our peers eye our every move."

I clench my fist. "It sucks. Totally."

Otome smirks. "Isn't that an awfully self-centered point-of-view?"

"Not really," I shake my head, "everyone thinks that way, so it balances out."

She frowns, shoulders drooped. "What kind of logic is that?"

"What does a jock know about logic?"

Chop.

"Ouch… You went so long without hitting me, too…"

"I can't help it," she says, "I'm actually a good student. Better than you are."

"How would you know about my grades?" I mumble, stumbling back to her bedside. "You haven't been to my house in, like, forever."

"Woman's intuition," she smiles way too earnestly, "there are some things you can tell just by looking at someone."

"Yeah right,"

She sits beside me.

"But, as I was saying, I can't relax at school. The only times I feel at peace are on the train to school and when I'm home alone without any school to do."

"Because that's when you jerk off, right?"

"I don't do that on the train!" I shout back at her.

"Missing the point, as always," she looks ahead of her. "This really is like old times."

"… Yeah," I finally admit, "except for all the sex jokes. I don't think we were that perverted when were middle schoolers."

Her face scrunches up. "Well, I don't really know what goes through your head. You may have been that way all along…"

"Wouldn't your woman's intuition have tipped you off?"

"I wasn't a woman then," she explains simply.

"What a convenient explanation."

"But I agree with you."

She walks in front of me and puts a hand on my shoulder. "And if you're ever feeling down, just call me up. I ain't the nicest girl in the world, but I can help you out in a pinch."

"Thanks." I beam. "To be honest, I was a bit worried this was gonna be awkward. I mean, we hadn't seen each other for such a long time…"

"I don't blame you," she says, still smiling, "but I guess time really doesn't affect how strong a friendship is, huh?"

"I guess not. Kind of like how cold sleep doesn't affect the human body much."

I chuckle awkwardly as she just stares at me.

"It's a sci-fi joke. It means… never mind."

She straightens out her hair as I put my hands on my hips. "So, what kind of things could we do now? Since I'm taking a break from life, I should probably try to enjoy myself…"

Then, it hits me. We'd been so busy reliving old memories, the awkwardness of this atmosphere hadn't hit me.

We're in her room… Alone... Her old man's camped in front of the TV.

Nothing but lack of will would stop us.

But… She's not my…

"Is something wrong?" She asks, eyebrow raised.

"It just hit me how weird this is. We're in your room with the door closed. If… If something happened… No one would know."

"What are you…Trying to say…?"

I don't know if this is a good idea. But… if nobody finds out, then it doesn't really matter, right? It's just something between us… That's all.

"I… I want to do it."

I grab her shoulders.

"Makoto?"

It doesn't take long for her to realize what I'm doing.

"What the hell's wrong with you?"

She forces her way out of my grasp, moving towards the door.

"That's not just something you do out of the blue! Besides… you're dating Katsura. It would be wrong…"

"Well…" I scratch my nose. "Things haven't been going well between us anyway. And, well… I think…"

Without warning, I move behind her and turn her towards me.

"I must like you. I mean… being around you makes me so calm. No one else does that for me…"

"Makoto," she sighs. "We can't. If you wanted this, you should've asked a long time ago."

"Does that mean… You-?"

"That doesn't matter!" she yells but doesn't resist. "You've moved on! You've found someone else! We can't—"

"I don't love Katsura-san, Otome."

I hold her close to my chest. Tears stinging her eyes start to fall.

"Makoto…"

"I… We can… I want to be with you,"

This is it. I can't turn back now. I don't know what I'm going to do about Katsura-san, but this is where I should have been all along. The only question now is how Otome responds.

She takes in a deep breath. I brace for another retort.

I don't get one.

Instead, she lifts her head from my chest. Gently, I tilt up her chin.