We were only human, at least, that was what we had come to believe.
As I sat in class beside Isao, my mind spinning intricate lines, with the eraser of my pencil pushing up against my bottom lip, I stared aimlessly at the white board that Sensei Yuuta was writing on, narrowing my eyes at the English. Lowering my pen I scribbled down the sentence, then out of boredom drew a leek. I didn't really understand why, but they tended to swarm all over my school notebooks. I came to the conclusion that even if I didn't like leeks as much as my program had portrayed, it was still something I was fond of, a small piece of my old database that stuck with me.
Despite the past, things were moving quite nicely into our timed future. I had recovered from my realization that day of the concert, at least somewhat. I had almost planned on shutting out my emotions since they didn't seem as important as to what was happening around me. But I couldn't lock myself up and suffer by myself. I had told Gumi she would never be alone and I would follow my own advice. I learned an important lesson of life and for now, I would do my best to remember it while I lived the life I still had.
On a brighter side, Ia had told Isao of her new class, just a door down from ours while she twirling in her uniform.
Speaking of Isao, I imagine he would possibly melt into a puddle at any moment with that silly grin on his face and a light in his starry eyes. It might have just been a good thing Ia wasn't in this class. Isao might not pay attention to our Sensei anymore.
"You look pretty happy over there, Isao-kun."
"Oh shut it."
I giggled quietly. "I'm just pointing out the obvious," I stuck my tongue out at him.
"Well I'm surprised you're in such a good mood."
"You are?" I raised an eyebrow while Renji leaned over, staring intently at me with his strong features and hair falling over his eyebrows.
"I heard about you and Hinata."
"Oh." I slouched ever so slightly in my chair. "Are you the only one he told?"
"Of course, you think he would confine in Mana about this?"
"How would I know," I felt defeated. "It's my fault; I sprung on my confession too soon."
"No you didn't. Hinata always acts this way when it comes to girls. He's the nicest guy till he has feelings, then he's a muddled mess that doesn't say anything."
"Well, he didn't speak when I asked him if it was me," I remembered.
Isao chuckled, "You were very forward."
"I don't…" I almost said that I don't have forever, but I decided against it. "I just want to clear up the air." I waved my hand around aimlessly.
"Hatsune-san, would you like to answer the question?"
I froze up and turned my head to look at Sensei Yuuta, my arm still suspended up in the air. My own arm…had betrayed me to my worst subject. "Um…what was the question again?"
Isao chuckled beside me and I resisted the urge to frown at him.
"How do you say, 'I love to walk my dog' in English?"
"Um…very carefully," I whispered pathetically, but the class snickered at my response and Sensei Yuuta frowned, picking someone else clearly more intelligent than me to answer the question.
Dropping my arm and folding my hands into fists in my lap, clenching onto handfuls of my pleated skirt I glared at Isao and he raised his hands in a surrender position. "It's not my fault."
"Isao-kun, would you like to try?"
I suspected at that moment, that Sensei Yuuta must be a ninja.
After I rounded Ia and Mayu, we found Gumi and Kyoko and sat on top of the roof like we use to. Mayu and Ia were eager to tell us about their experiences.
Ia was flustered, there was no one in her class she knew but they all warmed up to her while Mayu said she had a class with Hinata and said that there was this really pouty girl beside him that he seemed pretty distraught about.
"That was Mana, his girlfriend." Kyoko told them.
I munched on my rice ball in unison with Gumi.
"Well they didn't seem very happy with each other." Mayu commented as she pulled at her chopsticks, "You should've seen them. I already voted everyone, worse couple of the year."
"You can't vote on that!" Kyoko scolded her, "I'm sure they are just going through a rough patch."
"The only rough patch they are going through is his girlfriend realizing that Miku is way better."
I started to choke on my rice and Gumi pats my back while Ia clings worriedly to my arm.
Kyoko frowned, "That might be true but I highly doubt that's what she is thinking."
I gasped in shock, "You're not helping matters Kyoko-chan! You'll only encourage her!"
"I can't deny the truth." Kyoko said with a defiant rise of her chin, Mayu nodded vigorously in agreement.
I rolled my eyes and thought about what Isao had told me about Hinata becoming silent when it came to girls and could only hope that it was a good sign. That he did care.
Needlessly to say, I walked with a bit more skip in my step than usual, my blue ponytail bobbing with my movements as I swung my bag back and forth, humming a song I was making up in my head.
My memories are dark, my heart is strung, but not if you release me from my song.
I thought it was going pretty well, maybe a hit single? Maybe my first song to become a chart topper! I giggled to myself, I was clearly dreaming. I wouldn't be around long enough to manage that. I wasn't sure why I was giggling about it either; I must finally be losing it.
Maybe before time ran out, I would finish this song and sing it to myself for fun. What could it hurt?
When we got home, Gumi took her savings from our job we only went to about twice a week and takes what was saving up since we stopped our singing lessons and funded them for swimming lessons. I watched her do it with a smile, a real smile that made her flinch.
"I can't wait for this darn thing to heal." She motioned to her chin.
I nodded with a smile of agreement, looking down at her bared arms, her self-inflicted cuts becoming more non-existent with the passing days.
Luka burst through the door, "Come to the living room, you've got to see this." We followed Luka out of Gumi's room and saw Tamaki in the living room looking upset as he talked to someone one the phone.
"For the last time, you cannot come visit me!"
There was a muffled high voice coming through the phone, I felt as though I almost heard the word Onii-chan.
"I don't care if they hate me, I prefer it that way."
More rushed conversation.
"You're wasting your life." He said it so monotone that it struck me as hilarious and I had to slap my hands over my mouth to keep myself from laughing.
The voice spoke again, Tamaki's face bright red. "Don't you dare-," He must've got cut off because he suddenly pulled the phone away from his face and shouted a rather obscene word before stomping off toward the door.
"Where are you going?" Luka asked, her amused flitting around in her voice.
"I have to go barricade my house."
And with that he was gone.
Oliver looked at us from where he was concealed in colorful blankets that Rin and Len had wrapped around him, his face the only thing visible with a few tuffs of blond hair sticking out along the edges. It made him look like a Daruma doll.
"He has a younger sister and she's coming to visit." He said flatly.
"You heard that?" Rin asked in amazement, but Oliver had spoken once for the day and was clearly done.
Luka clapped her hands together, "Now this is some excitement to look forward to!"
Meiko laughed as she lounged against a wall, "I can't imagine anyone wanting to visit Ta-ma-ki." She was drunk. Again.
We laughed together, happiness settling, if not almost perfectly, in all the right places as it seemed to do on rare occasions.
It was the day after. Ia, Gumi, Mayu, and I were walking home from the bus to see a girl whining outside Tamaki's door, knocking with a surprising amount of strength that made the door creak under her fist.
"Onii-chan! You're so mean," She whined, "Why would you lock your sister out?"
I froze in amusement to see that the windows were barred with metal-like gates and the door was obviously being reinforced.
I wished that Luka wasn't at training today, she would hate to be missing out on this.
"Because you're a monster," Tamaki shouted angrily from one of the barred windows.
"Geez, Onii-tan, I'm not a monster." She pouted.
"You're not five either." He told her, unamused.
She laughed and dropped her luggage on the ground beside her, "I guess you're right." She then dropped into an unfamiliar stance, her fists raised in front of her face, her arms close together over her chest and her legs spread apart. What was she doing?
I nearly fell over backwards to see her suddenly throw her leg into the air and slam it against the door with such force that the door caved in, splintering.
"You upgraded from last year." She breathed with a grin and sent another flying kick into the door. It splintered even more.
"You're going to break it!" Tamaki shouted.
"Then you better let me in."
Tamaki didn't seem to enjoy either option.
So she kicked again with even more force, her foot actually disappearing through the hole she made in the door. She dropped her foot, reached her arm inside and when she pulled it out she twisted the door knob and walked inside.
"You can't complain now Onii-chan, your door is still attached to its hinges." Her voice trailed out behind her, accompanied by loud crashes and bangs.
I stepped forward, extremely curious, when I hesitated. Did Tamaki want us inside again? Well, he hadn't wanted his sister in but she didn't seem to care about that.
With that I decided to go with it, the others following behind me. Since the door was left open I just strolled in to see chairs, tables and bunch of miscellaneous objects tossed aside where they had obviously been in front of the door and tiptoed over blankets as we headed over the stairs. We even had to lift ourselves over a couch blocking the upstairs where the staircase and the floor met. When we started to head down the hallway was when Tamaki and his younger sister stumbled out of a room, the victor was his younger sister who currently had him in a headlock with a slightly irritated expression, her fist rubbing against his head.
"We get to see each other once a year and this is how you treat me?"
"Let go of me." Tamaki struggled against her grip. Up close she had the same blue hair as Tamaki, but longer with golden colored eyes and obvious feminine features.
She looked up, noticing us for the first time. "Who are these young girls?" Her voice trailed off as she looked at us, Tamaki, us, and then Tamaki again before dropping him on the floor and jumping away with her mouth agape.
"You pervert!"
"It's not what you think!"
"How could you be so gross, Onii-chan," She pretended to gag.
"Will you listen to me for one moment?"
"You lecherous pig!"
"They are my neighbors!" He shouted over her insult and she paused.
"Oh."
Tamaki's palm smacked against his face, a face-palm. Ignoring Tamaki the sister stepped over to us, "Sorry," She bowed in apology. "I assumed something that wasn't true. But it's not my fault; Onii-chan has a really questionable character." She whispered the last part to us like a shared secret.
"I do not." Tamaki still heard her though, and defended himself in vain.
"My name is Shio Misaki. What are your names?"
Tamaki answered for us. "That's Gumi and Miku, and the other two are Mayu and Ia."
I felt my eyes widened, surprised he had known their names.
"They can speak for themselves Onii-chan!" She shouted loudly.
"Tamaki-san never told us he had a younger sister."
She pursed her lips, setting her hands on her hips, "Of course." She looked at us, "You guys look hungry. I brought some homemade bentos!"
"I'm not eating any."
"You'll eat it even if I have to shove it down your throat!" She shouted, "Onii-tan."
Mayu's hands suddenly rose, clasping together above her chest, so in awe that her eyes sparkled. "So...amazing!"
Shio Misaki, the girl who brought me out of writers block. She popped into my head just the other day, and now she's making her star appearance. I hope you all like her. Oh, and isn't it cool that I incorporated the title of the story into the story, I was always going to do that, but it was fun to finally get there. :) And I know this chapter is probably short again but I pinky promise to write you a longer one for chapter 39. Please be patient with me lol.
Review with Love.