Monday, 6/27 (Morning)
Morooka was dissing Rise this time. He hates everyone, apparently. Then he made me answer a question out of the blue.
I wanted to go up to him and spit the answer in his face, but I didn't. He probably would've expelled me.
Anyway, I answered the question, and he yelled, "Those with identity would never take a liking to idols like that!"
I sat back down with a heavy sigh.
"I hate King Moron…" I mumbled.
"Doesn't everyone…?" Yosuke sighed.
(After School)
Yukiko brought me to the shrine, saying she wanted to pay her respects.
"I come here every so often. It's nice and quiet," she said. "I visit here with the waitresses, too. Like before a big guest arrives. We make our annual hatsumode visits here. The exam charm was here, too. Once I leave this town… I won't be able to come here again, will I?" I stared at her.
"So… you're not gonna come back!?" I exclaimed.
"I mean… I couldn't face my parents again," she said sadly. A woman in a kimono walked up to us.
"Oh, Yuki-chan!" she greeted.
"Kasai-san…. What are you doing here?" Yukiko asked.
"Taking a little break after ordering from the liquor store," the woman (Kasai?) replied, then sighed. "So now you know."
"O-Oh, I won't tell…" Yukiko muttered.
"Just kidding," the woman laughed. "Oh! Is this that rumored boyfriend?" Yukiko's face was priceless.
I stood up, placed an arm around her, and winked at the woman.
"What of it?" I asked jokingly. Yukiko quickly pulled away, her face red.
"Misaki-chan!" she cried, slapping my arm.
"I see…. That hard work in the kitchen paid off, huh?" the woman asked, her smile widening.
"Kasai-san!" Yukiko yelled. "Stop it!"
I couldn't hold it in anymore. I doubled over, laughing my head off.
"Yukiko-san…!" I said. "Your face was priceless!"
"Well, I'll let you two be alone!" Kasai sang, skipping away.
"What was that for!?" Yukiko demanded. I couldn't answer; I could barely breathe.
"You're so easy to tease!" I laughed.
"Misaki-chan!"
"I'm kidding!"
After we calmed down, Yukiko explained, "Kasai-san is teaching me how to cook, along with the other waitresses and chefs. I said I'd learn on my own, but I kept messing up.
"'Please let us teach you,' they said." She giggled. "It's usually the other way around, you know? They use up their break time for my lessons…. They're so nice to me…." She glanced down. "When I was halfway successful one time, everyone gathered around and taste-tested it, saying how good it was…. I didn't know what to say…. I was just happy. Plus I have my friends at school. All things considered, I'm pretty lucky. I want to do my best. For everyone's sake.
"But I'm trying to leave…. Betraying those who've been kind to me," she sighed. "I… can't help that, I suppose…."
So don't leave….
(Evening)
I asked Dojima about the newspaper article he was reading.
"I found it. Were you worried about it?" he asked. "It's about Chisato… my wife. When she was killed by a hit-and-run….
"I told you before, right? About the case where we never had a suspect? Get it now…? There's nothing more I can say about it in this house. Let's stop there."
"Then let's go outside," I said with a tiny smirk. He chuckled and gave in with a heavy sigh.
"She… was run over on her way to pick up Nanako from nursery school," he muttered. "It was a cold day, and there were no other witnesses, so they didn't find her until much later. Until they got word to me, Nanako was waiting all that time at the nursery. All alone. Waiting for a mother who would never come…." He stopped for a moment, looking away. "I couldn't tell Nanako that her mother was killed. That her father, whose job is to catch criminals… couldn't find a single lead. But I haven't given up. I'll catch the guy. I don't need a private life to do that. Nanako will understand."
"She can't understand everything," I replied. "... That's just an excuse to not be with your family." He bit his lip.
"Sorry…. Leave me alone for now," he sighed. I nodded and stood up. "Misaki…." I glanced at him. Thanks." I gave him a warm smile and went up to my room.
Tuesday, 6/28 (After School)
I bought some new books and caught some bugs.
I trained with Chie today.
"In the movie I watched the other day, this guy knocked down a tree using only his leg!" she exclaimed. "How does someone kick that hard…? Just practice?"
"No. They probably used machines or something to knock it down as he kicked it, or he just kicked a fake tree," I replied. "Not everything in movies are real, Chie."
"Ch-Chie!" someone cried, running up to us. It was Takeshi.
"Were you robbed again?" Chie asked.
"No…. I took off right after that, right? So I thought I'd apologize," he said.
"Why don't you just be a man and admit you ran away?" Chie asked.
"Were you this anal before?" Takeshi asked. "Tch, if you lose that sunny attitude you won't have anything left."
I walked up to him, slowly raising my fist. Chie quickly grabbed me and shook her head.
"Speaking of which, what's up with Yukiko-san?" he asked. "I saw her with you the other day…. She seemed weirdly cheerful…. She had this funky laugh, y'know?"
"That's how she really is," Chie replied.
"Oh, you've rubbed off on her, huh? I can't believe it…. That's not Yukiko-san…. She was better gloomy," he sighed.
"That is her," I replied. "You just don't know."
"Look. If you get into trouble again, I'll step in and help," Chie offered.
"Oh, uh… thanks," he said.
"So why don't you shut up about Yukiko!?" Chie demanded. "You don't know anything about her! She's a good person, got it!?"
"What the hell!?" he cried. He shook his head and walked away. I glared at him, clenching my fist.
I wish I'd punched him.
"I just remembered…. Way back, I saw Yukiko sitting by the road, holding a dog. I asked her what's up, and she said she ran away from home," Chie recalled. "She'd pick up the dog, but her parents told her she couldn't have a pet, and that she'd have to get rid of it. She looked like she was dead or something…. I tried everything I could think of to make her laugh. And that's how we became friends. From that moment on… I told myself I'd protect Yukiko. But… somewhere along the way, I messed up, and that Shadow popped. After that, I thought I'd try to focus on what's good about me. I swore to quit being nothing but the girl Yukiko can rely on. So… I just tried my best. At finding the culprit and stuff… just generally being more reliable…. That's all.
"... I feel like I missed the point," she said.
"That's the first step," I chuckled.
"You're too kind," she said. "Maybe… half a step? I wonder if there's anyone out there… who can say, 'This is what makes me worthwhile!' I guess everyone's looking for it."
"Yeah," I agreed.
"Oh yeah…. That dog Yukiko picked up? It's gotten really fat at my place. Come by and see it sometime! It smells, but it's cute! Maybe I'll walk it over to your house."
"Anytime," I said, winking at her. A few seconds later, she blushed, and I laughed. "Falling for me?"
"What!? What are you saying!?"
(Evening)
I invited Adachi over. He hesitantly agreed.
"Big Sis? The potatoes are still hard," Nanako reported. "Today, we're having shoe!"
"You mean stew?" Adachi and I said.
"Yeah, shoe…. Stew!"
"You did it," Adachi said, smiling.
"Do you like stew, Adachi-san?" Nanako asked.
"Kind of," he answered. "I mean… yeah, I do like it. It's been a while since I had some. So do you cook like this all the time, Misaki-chan? I bet Dojima-san tells you all the time what a great help you are!"
"Not really," I replied.
"I knew it. He's probably just embarrassed," he chuckled. "So I heard you were moving back in the spring. I bet Dojima-san is going to cry!" Nanako looked at the table sadly. "Uh, sorry, sorry. That's still a long way away!" She slowly nodded. "Have you ever seen this trick?" He pulled out a 500-yen coin. "Now watch closely."
He closed his fingers around it and shook it up and down. Adachi opened his hand up… and it was gone! Did it go up his sleeve…?
"Here's another one," he said, pulling out another coin. He closed his hand around it like before. "Check your pocket, Misaki-chan." I reached into my pocket and whipped out the coin.
"What?" I said, staring at it in awe. "Did you slip it in somehow…?"
"I'm pretty good with my hands, so it comes easy to me," he said. "Maybe I should've been a magician. Then I wouldn't be in such a―Uh… well…. I guess there's not job like a government job. It's not like I can make a living working with my hands." He shrugged.
"Maybe you can," I laughed.
"That's smelling pretty good," he said. "I think the shoe's about ready."
"Shoe?" I repeated, chuckling.
"It's STEW!" Nanako corrected.
"Shiatsu?" Adachi asked with a smirk.
"SHOE!" she yelled.
"WRONG!" he replied. They went back and forth as I laughed quietly in the background….
Okay, I didn't actually laugh quietly.
A/N: Thanks for reading and please review! *bows*
