"Heeeey, Chika. Wakey, wakey…" Riko's familiar voice barely reached my ears, calling me back to the real world. But… I'm still tired…
Just a little longer…
"Nngh… let me sleep, Riko… maths is boring anyway…" It'll be fine…
"Hehehe. Get up, you dork. You're not even in a classroom."
"Uuuh…?" My eyes flickered open, finding a smiling auburn-haired pianist in my face - and no classroom. Instead, I was in the boring dormitory room I found myself in this morning. "R-Riko? Did we… skip class?" My brain slowly caught up with what happened before I fell asleep. "No… I'm an idiot. How long was I sleeping? And… where are the others?"
"You've been out for a few hours, sleepyhead." Riko explained. "And Kanan and Honoka went back to help out at the Entrance Hall - but that was a while ago, so they could be anywhere by now."
"Mmm… thanks." I slowly got up and started moving around, feeling more awake. "Sorry I crashed in front of everyone."
"Hey, it's alright. You must've been exhausted after what happened today, and talking with everyone. Some of them - definitely Nico, and Mari - they're real characters."
"Yeah." Calling Nico a character was most certainly true. "I think there's one or two left I have to talk to… the one who cooked lunch for us, and… her friend."
"Ahh, Hanayo." Riko seemed to know who I was thinking about. "She's shy and reserved, but really nice. You'll probably find Rin with her as well. She's brimming with energy like Honoka - you'll like her a lot." She finished, just as I heard the door opening and someone coming in.
"Heeeey, sleepin' mikan." That was Kanan. "You feeling better now after that nap?" She asked.
"Yeah, thanks. Sorry I fell asleep in the first place."
"It's okay! Rin-Pana said dinner's gonna be ready in about half an hour. Current plan is for everyone to eat together, but I reckoned you'd be hungry. Here!" She threw over some oranges to me and Riko. It wasn't long before I tore off the skin and placed a chunk of it into my mouth.
"Mmmm! It's so sweet! Thanks, Kanan!" Riko shot me a dirty look and I didn't know why, until I realised I just said all of that with a mouth full of sweet orange. I slapped a hand against it to keep it all in - which made her scowl even more. At this point I decided to finish my orange before trying to talk again. Kanan beat me to it, though, and asked me about what happened with… You, at the pool.
"You kinda ran right past us when you came out of the Pool, and dived into Nico's lair. Add that to Honoka thinking you were crying, and whatever happened in there can't have been good, right?"
"Besides, after the last few years, you know bottling up about it isn't going to help." Riko added.
"Well…"
Damn, she's got me. I really, really didn't want to talk about it- especially with what You said about Riko. But I just couldn't fight against her point - when I started to open up my feelings to her, and Kanan, and the therapist… I really did start to feel better, in myself. I knew talking about it would probably be best, even if it wasn't what I wanted.
Knowing they'd keep asking if I dodged the topic, I decided to tell them everything that happened between me and You. Her defensive attitude about the storm, how she wanted things to be the way they were, how I couldn't give her that - and her sharp reaction to that. I held nothing back from them, and when I finished, Kanan and Riko looked stunned.
"Woah… that must've been rough." Kanan said. "You really said that to you?"
"Yeah. I think - no, I know she's hurting inside about whatever happened to her out there, but… how could she say that, after what I told her?"
"I, guess she was just frustrated, like you said. If it were me in that storm and I came back home, I'd want to reconnect with Mari and Dia so bad. And if I couldn't…" She trailed off, and I understood. If we had switched places - if I was lost halfway across the world instead of… You - then I'd be upset at her.
Perspective really helps you understand things better.
"Hey, Riko. You okay over there?" The pianist hadn't said anything since I told them what happened, and there was a seething expression on her. Something you very rarely see on her.
"I'm fine, Chika. It's just… You was your friend. She never should've said that about you - about me!" She was angry at her, which almost never happens. She often gets bossy, trying to make sure I was okay, but never angry. Honestly, angry Riko kind of scares me.
"I know. She was wrong, and I'll try and fix it as soon as I can, but I know she's still a nice person. You'll really like her, if you give her a chance. Please, Riko. Trust me. If you give me a chance to turn her around, will you give her a chance?"
"Hmm… Alright. I'll give her a chance, then."
"You will?" I wasn't expecting her to agree so readily, though there was some reluctance. "I mean, I didn't expect you to trust me on this-"
"It's you, Chika. I'll always trust you! If you say You's a good person, then I'll try and get on with her. And from what you said about her before, I'm sure I will." Her wide smile had its own kind of radiance which I adored. Warm, and comforting. Like everything would be fine if I stuck with her.
"Wow, um… thanks."
"It's okay. So what do you want to do now? We could go to the Cafeteria and find Honoka and the others. Or do you want to meet Rin-Pana before we eat?"
I thought about it for a minute. It would just be easier for me to meet up with Honoka again, but then again, it would also be rude to ignore the two I haven't met yet - and being friendly with everyone here would help immensely in… in a Killing Game.
Meeting them now was probably the best move. Riko agreed, and we asked Kanan if she wanted to come along with us.
"Thanks for the offer, but I think we'd overwhelm them if it were all of us. Besides, I'd like to spend some time with Mari and Dia. Dangerous to leave those two alone." She joked.
"Yeah, that's fine." After what we just talked about, with You, she probably wanted their company. "We'll catch up with you later, then?"
"Of course!" Kanan responded eagerly. The three of us started to move again, and outside the dormitory, we said our farewells - Kanan went off to find her friends, while Riko and I headed to the Kitchen.
In the end, they were right. I felt much better having talked about it. That You and Riko could possibly get along here, something that felt like a pipe dream a short time ago…
It gave me hope.