Angels in the Architecture
Part 2: Molto Ritmico
Chapter 25: Homemade Fettucine
PREVIOUSLY ON ANGELS IN THE ARCHITECTURE:
Despite Hashimoto-sensei's desperate attempt to persuade the dastardly Taki Noboru to allow Kousaka Reina to attend the pre-competition band camp for the long weekend, his efforts fail, and Reina is unable to go with Kumiko.
At band camp, Taki continues to goad Hashimoto over a series of mysterious text messages. Meanwhile, Kumiko sneaks out of the campgrounds at night to fly to an amusement part. After coincidentally witnessing Taki abusing Reina and forcing her to face her fear of heights atop a Ferris wheel, Kumiko flees the scene and copes with her inner turmoil by flying for sport in dangerous thunderstorm conditions. Soaked with rainwater and suddenly hungry, she sneaks into the kitchens at band camp. There, she runs into Hashimoto-sensei.
During their conversation, Kumiko brings up the idea of breaking into Reina's home to illegally obtain footage of Taki abusing Reina. Hashimoto-sensei talks her out of it, and makes her promise not to do anything rash.
Now, band camp is over, and there are only 4 days left until the prefectural-level competition on Saturday. The Friday before that is the Agata Festival. The Kitauji band is talking nonstop about both those days... almost as much as they are trash-talking Reina for her absence.
Kumiko must decide on the best way for her to help Reina...
Over the next day Kumiko could not stop dwelling on that horrible night on the Ferris wheel, and Reina's anguished sobs, and the crack! of Taki's palm on Reina's face. After she'd fled the amusement park when Taki reached out and snatched her feathers, Kumiko had been wracked with guilt and burning anger. She went and deleted her copy of that stupid "Missing You!"sticker she'd texted Reina because it made her hate herself, the fact that all she could do as a friend was, what? Send Reina a stupid sticker? In any case, Reina never responded to the text.
All this unhelpful stress... for a girl who might never return her feelings.
Is Reina even capable of liking me back? thought Kumiko. She unlocked her phone and started googling:
how do you know if a girl is gay
how do you know lesbian or not
is she gay quiz
how to convert a girl into lesbian
convert lesbian
can you make someone a lesbian
... but nothing in the search results seemed to apply to Reina, whom seemed as rigidly straight as her trumpet.
Why can't that be my power? thought Kumiko. Power of heat and light and radiation were stupid and useless. Being able to magically turn someone gay seemed much more helpful.
Instead she was useless. Superhuman, winged, but good for nothing.
Kumiko tried to console herself with the knowledge that fleeing the amusement park had been the only logical course of action. If she'd accidentally revealed her wings to Reina, it would only have dragged everyone into deeper waters. The government might even abduct Reina to silence her, and then the situation would become exponentially more terrifying. No one can know about my wings. Especially not Reina.
Despite that common sense, Kumiko didn't feel much better.
The next night of band camp she'd rolled out of bed to go flying on impulse in brutal storm conditions. Raging against the wind, she'd thought, could be cathartic, like tearing into a pillow. Like punching Taki Noboru. But her feathers grew heavy and waterlogged, and the wind beat away her strength in minutes. Kumiko lost control, tumbled out of the night sky, and crashed into the mud. She had laid there, crying until her broken wings melted away like cotton candy in the rainwater.
The thing was, though... no matter how Kumiko spun it, her options remained as limited as when she'd first conceived plans to help to Reina. She could murder Taki with her light powers. Or elope with Reina. Or use her invisibility to capture footage of Reina being abused, and leverage it to get Taki arrested. That was pretty much it. And all three of those options would only cause further damage to Reina's life.
After Kumiko had collected herself, and wiped off the mud on her clothes, she'd traipsed back to camp. Pathetic, like a wet dog. Then she'd found sandwich ingredients to chew on.
Until Hashimoto-sensei showed up with his weird black cat.
"Keep up what you're doing and do not do anything stupid," Hashimoto-sensei had said.
Keep up what? thought Kumiko. Being useless?
But only then did it occur to her that there were other ways of helping Reina besides drastic action that could tear her life apart, and Kumiko had simply been too stupid to see it.
She likes Italian food, doesn't she?
Kumiko unlocked her phone again.
what italian food
italian food recipes
alfredo recipe
how to boil water
how to use stove
how stove
"Kumi-hon, I've never seen you even cook an egg before. Now you want to make this from scratch?"
Kumiko nodded earnestly. Store-bought noodles just wouldn't cut it.
"And the last time I saw you 'cooking' you were microwaving instant ramen in a styrofoam cup with no water-"
"Dad! That was one time!"
Her dad laughed and scratched his head and glanced at the cabinets above the kitchen counter. "Well," he said, "we do still have that pasta roller your mom got for Christmas... but I think she knows how to use it better. So why don't we wait for her to come home and teach you, and I'll take you to go buy some sauce-"
"But I wanna do that from scratch," said Kumiko. "There's still tomatoes and peppers in the fridge."
Her dad chuckled nervously. "Honestly, this is out of my league," he admitted. "But your mother and I will help you the best we can."
I got this, thought Kumiko. I'm going to make the best Italian food ever.
The long weekend wrapped up on Tuesday as the dark rain-clouds above Kyoto rolled back to invite cheery weather. The fair summer sunlight brightened every Kitauji student's mood; all day throughout Kumiko's classes, there was merry chatter about how the week was off to a good start, and how everyone had spent their long weekends, and what everyone was planning to do at the upcoming Agata Festival on Friday.
After the last class bell, Kumiko shouldered her euphonium case, picked up the lunch box she'd been carrying around all day, and went to the concert band room. Since everyone in band had spent their long weekends together at band camp doing the exact same things, and everyone was focused on the looming prefectural competition on Saturday, no one shared stories or plans.
Instead people spoke venomously about Kousaka Reina.
"Is she even coming to prefecturals?"
"She might get kicked out from the A band..."
"Kousaka literally told Hashimoto-sensei she was going on a vacation..."
"A vacation?!"
Kumiko ignored all the ill-advised comments and scanned the room for the only person that mattered. Amidst the sea of brown and gold uniforms she caught no sight of the raven-haired trumpet player. Unfortunately, it seemed as if Reina would miss today's rehearsal too, on top of her three-day absence from band camp.
Then, over the din, Hashimoto-sensei hollered, "SECTIONALS TODAY!"
He stood at the front of the band room, evidently in a jolly spirit and utterly clued-out of the poisonous mood pervading the band room. "Woodwinds, room 415 with Toroizuka-san!" he announced. "Brass, room 408 with Tanaka-san! Percussion stays here with me."
Some dude snickered, "Percussion stays with daddy."
"Percussion!" continued Hashimoto-sensei. "Let's get equipment set up for the required piece. We're starting from letter P. Oi, Knuckles! Where are we starting?"
Knuckles glanced up from his phone. "Huh?"
"P," repeated Hashimoto-sensei crossly. "Let's go."
"Huh?"
"I said P."
Knuckles looked horrified. "Wait- what?"
"Don't do it," snapped Hashimoto-sensei, "just get ready to start there."
"Oh... hai," said Knuckles, as his section-mates turned to laugh at him.
Meanwhile the band director turned his attention to the remaining wind players still milling around the room. "If you're not percussion, clear out!" he ordered. "That means brass! Go find Tanaka-san!"
Kumiko sighed, went to help the other freshmen brass players set up, and held on to her hopes that Reina would at least turn up in the middle of rehearsal. That way the bento box in her schoolbag, bursting with love and dreams and fettuccine noodles, wouldn't go to waste.
The long weekend wrapped up on Tuesday as the dark rain-clouds above Kyoto rolled back to invite cheery weather. The fair summer sunlight brightened every Kitauji student's mood; all day throughout Kumiko's classes, there was merry chatter about how the week was off to a good start, and how everyone had spent their long weekends, and what everyone was planning to do at the upcoming Agata Festival on Friday.
After the last class bell, Kumiko shouldered her euphonium case, picked up the lunch box she'd been carrying around all day, and went to the concert band room. Since everyone in band had spent their long weekends together at band camp doing the exact same things, and everyone was focused on the looming prefectural competition on Saturday, no one shared stories or plans.
Instead people spoke venomously about Kousaka Reina.
"Is she even coming to prefecturals?"
"She might get kicked out from the A band..."
"Kousaka literally told Hashimoto-sensei she was going on a vacation..."
"A vacation?!"
Kumiko ignored all the ill-advised comments and scanned the room for the only person that mattered. Amidst the sea of brown and gold uniforms she caught no sight of the raven-haired trumpet player. Unfortunately, it seemed as if Reina would miss today's rehearsal too, on top of her three-day absence from band camp.
Then, over the din, Hashimoto-sensei hollered, "SECTIONALS TODAY!"
He stood at the front of the band room, evidently in a jolly spirit and utterly clued-out of the poisonous mood pervading the band room. "Woodwinds, room 415 with Toroizuka-san!" he announced. "Brass, room 408 with Tanaka-san! Percussion stays here with me."
Some dude snickered, "Percussion stays with daddy."
"Percussion!" continued Hashimoto-sensei. "Let's get equipment set up for the required piece. We're starting from letter P. Oi, Knuckles! Where are we starting?"
Knuckles glanced up from his phone. "Huh?"
"P," repeated Hashimoto-sensei crossly. "Let's go."
"Huh?"
"I said P."
Knuckles looked horrified. "Wait- what?"
"Don't do it," snapped Hashimoto-sensei, "just get ready to start there."
"Oh... hai," said Knuckles, as his section-mates turned to laugh at him.
Meanwhile the band director turned his attention to the remaining wind players still milling around the room. "If you're not percussion, clear out!" he ordered. "That means brass! Go find Tanaka-san!"
Kumiko sighed, went to help the other freshmen brass players set up, and held on to her hopes that Reina would at least turn up in the middle of rehearsal. That way the bento box in her schoolbag, bursting with love and dreams and fettuccine noodles, wouldn't go to waste.
Reina still hadn't arrived by the time Kitauji's brass section had set up their semicircle of chairs and stands in room 408. Kumiko's eyes frequently darted toward the door while everyone else buzzed warm-up notes, flaunted difficult licks, or sat idly gossiping. Any time there was a single flicker of movement outside the door, she couldn't help but check.
Then she heard Natsuki-senpai say:
"Hey. Do you think she's even going to prefecturals at this point?"
Kumiko blinked, jostled out of her thoughts.
"Wha- what?" she stammered. "Me?"
"Yeah, you. You're not going to prefecturals because your hair looks like chocolate ice cream," said Natuski, who had been assisting setup asking with the rest of the B-band. "Just kidding. We're talking about Kousaka." She didn't sound cruel, nor sympathetic; to her, Reina was probably just the neutral topic of the day. "You're friends with her, right? Is she planning on dropping the A-band?"
Kumiko opened her mouth but then a sophomore horn player- Kishibe Miru, evidently hungry for gossip from a source closer to the victim- spun around from her section in the front row.
"Oumae, is it true Kousaka went on vacation? She went to an amusement park instead of band camp, right?"
Amusement park?
"How'd YOU know?!" Kumiko blurted loudly. Several students turned their heads.
"Someone heard her talking to Hashimoto-sensei last week," explained Kishibe. "I just can't believe he -"
"Reina didn't want to go." Kumiko felt heat burning in her palms, and glanced down to make sure her hands weren't glowing.
"Okay, yeah, but obviously anyone would say it like that to a teacher," said Kishibe, waving off Kumiko's words. "I mean, I'd totally do that! Who wouldn't? But I can't believe Hashimoto-sensei actually bought it... maybe he's so blind because he thinks she's good at trumpet... "
Another horn player joined the conversation, leaning in.
"Not to hurt anyone's feelings, but Kousaka's way too full of herself," she said. "That girl literally thinks she's too good to be here because she got principal one time. And it's really inappropriate she chose to go on vacation instead of band camp."
"She said didn't want to," said Kumiko quietly.
"Sure, she said that. But was she honest?"
"Yeah, don't you think she's lying about being abused just to get more attention?" added another horn player.
Kumiko stared resolutely at her sheet music and tried to ignore everything.
"Maybe it's just a typical trumpet thing," suggested Natsuki. "That's the stereotype, after all."
"They're not all like that."
"Yeah, Kaori-senpai plays trumpet and she doesn't act like that."
Kumiko slowly put her euphonium down on the floor.
"Okay guys but you know how everyone says Kousaka skips rehearsal all the time to go to konbini and stuff?" Kishibe continued. She lowered her voice and beckoned the horns to lean in for her next words, but Kumiko heard everything. "They're saying that she's actually messing around with older men because she doesn't have any real parents and that's why she -"
CRASH. Sheet music spilled as her music stand clattered to the floor.
Then there was silence.
Kumiko stood upright, her ears burning red. She hadn't meant to knock over the stand. Now people were staring.
"Why can't you just try and understand?" she said- then her voice cracked, and she paused, breathing hard. Suddenly she became hyperaware of 20 pairs of eyes glaring at her and the weight of the deafening silence in the room. A horrible shiver passed through her gut, as if she'd just slipped on ice, and her cheeks started glowing red with heat.
She opened her mouth but no words emerged. Her mind had gone blank.
Then Kishibe broke the cold silence.
"Are you gonna keep going or what?"
Kumiko's fingers trembled against her damp palms.
"I..." she started, "I just..."
"Yeah, I thought so," muttered Kishibe.
The horn player turned back around her seat as low whispers resumed among Kitauji's brass players. The room returned to a normal buzz of chatter as everyone turned their attention away from Kumiko, who was still standing upright and now awkwardly unsure of whether to muster the courage to keep yelling or sit down mutely like an idiot.
Across the classroom the door slid open, and Asuka-senpai walked in. It was her job to rehearse the brass section today. She took her place in front of the ensemble, set her copy of the score on her conductor's stand, and then raised an eyebrow at the sight of Kumiko still sticking out of the ensemble like a sore thumb.
"Sit down, Oumae-san," she said dismissively, flipping open the score. "Your attention please, mina-san. Hashimoto-sensei wants us to work on the closing fanfares before the- Oumae?"
Kumiko had already pushed past Natsuki-senpai and out of the brass semicircle. She broke into a run towards the door.
"Oumae! Oumae Kumiko!"
Kumiko reached for the sliding door, but it slid open on its own. Kumiko skid to a halt.
And on the other side was-
"Reina?"
On Reina's face was a pair of huge black sunglasses.
Kumiko stood dazed at the door and the rest of the brass students gawked, aghast, as Reina slowly ambled her way through the room, carrying her trumpet. Her ridiculous sunglasses made her look like a wannabe rockstar. She strode oddly slowly, as if on purpose.
The shock passed. Then people started giggling and whispering again.
"What's with the shades?"
"This is the competition band... go to the B band if you wanna start drama..."
"Is she for real?"
"What does she think she's doing?"
"Who does she think she is?"
Reina ignored the whispers. But she paused a short way from the door and turned her head toward Asuka-senpai, expression unreadable behind the sunglasses, and said flatly, "Please excuse me."
Kumiko gaped as she watched Reina, whom did not bow after her apology, continue moseying forward toward the trumpet section. Something was terribly wrong... but the rest of the brass section didn't seem to think so. They whispered and giggled as Reina inched forward. People muttered about how she was trying to be funny, and causing trouble while everyone else was focused on getting to nationals.
"Any day now, kohai," drawled Yoshikawa-senpai, triggering a louder wave of muffled laughter.
Reina said nothing. Her ridiculously large sunglasses made it difficult to tell if she was fazed or not. Meanwhile the room got louder and louder as the brass section took the window of opportunity to chatter, some continuing to insult Reina, some just using the excuse to continue off-topic conversation with friends. From the podium, Asuka-senpai sighed in exasperation and impatiently tapped her baton against her elbow.
Then Reina passed the horn section's row, and Kumiko saw a girl's leg kick out in front of her best friend's feet- and by the time she cried out in warning, it was too late. Reina tripped and crashed to her knees before anyone could react. The horns giggled as sheet music spilled in a fan and her heavy trumpet case thudded on the floor. Her sunglasses clattered to the linoleum tile, revealing a horrible bluish-black eye.
The band's laughter immediately dimmed to hushed whispers.
Kumiko let out an incoherent noise as she scrambled in a mad dash to help Reina, clammy hands grabbing at Reina's shoulders and arms, anything to get Reina off her knees and off the floor. "Reina," she breathed, when she saw the trumpet player's swollen eye up-close. "Oh my god. Oh my god."
But Reina's arm came up and gently pushed Kumiko back. Confused, Kumiko watched Reina slightly lift up her uniform shirt. Her heart lodged in her throat when she saw horrific-looking bandages leaking blood and pus, haphazardly covering a wound on her stomach. Reina herself seemed to be trying her best not to make a big deal of the situation. She quietly adjusted her bandages before replacing her sunglasses on her face.
Then she clutched wordlessly at Kumiko, whom helped her up extremely carefully.
By now the room was dead silent.
"Someone help them," said a quiet voice from the band, and the stillness was broken as the horn section sprung into action and leaped from their seats, gathering up Reina's sheet music and picking up her trumpet case. Meanwhile the horn player who'd tripped Reina- Kishibe-senpai- had covered her mouth with her hands, frozen in horrified regret.
Reina started inching forward again. Kumiko grabbed on her arm to stop her.
"Did you seriously come here to play like this?" she hissed. "You need to go to the nurse's office. You shouldn't be-"
"I always come if I feel I can still physically play," said Reina quietly, her tone infuriatingly calm. "It bothers me when I don't do this kind of stuff right."
Asuka-senpai spoke from the podium. "Kousaka-san, Oumae-san is right. Go and take care of yourself."
"I'll go with you," said Kumiko. She tried to steer Reina around toward the entrance. "Come on. Let's... let's find Hashimoto-sensei."
Reina pushed up on her sunglasses with one finger. "I don't want to," she said.
"I'm not letting you stay here," said Asuka flatly. "I'll get fired from vice president if you die in rehearsal."
Kaori-senpai stood up from her seat. "Kousaka-san," she declared shakily, "as your section leader, I also think you should -"
"- NO!" Reina shouted at them, startling Kumiko. "No! I don't get a lot of chances to play my instrument! I came here to play." Her yelling quieted to a hoarse, calm tone. "I never get to play. Especially not with the band. Just let me stay for this. I want to play."
Kaori looked towards Asuka, and Asuka looked towards Kumiko. They all glanced at Reina, and a wordless assessment of the trumpet player's physical health versus what she wanted to do eventually resulted in a final verdict from Asuka:
"I guess an hour of trumpet won't kill you," she conceded. "Help her sit down and let's get started."
Kumiko glanced at Asuka and, for the first time, saw sympathy in those dark blue eyes.
At the end of rehearsal, Kumiko stuffed her euphonium into her gig bag, threw it on her shoulders, and pushed her way through the busy room towards the trumpet section. She saw that Reina's stomach wound was starting to leak blood through the bandages and onto her uniform. Meanwhile the entire trumpet section aggressively insisted that Reina's help wasn't needed during clean-up. They all urged her to visit the nurses's office, so Reina began putting away her sheet music and collecting her mutes.
Kumiko got to Reina as Reina snapped her trumpet case shut. The euphonium player wrapped her palm around the plastic handle of Reina's case.
"I'll get that."
Reina looked up and smiled through the sunglasses. Despite Kumiko's aching worry for Reina's health and safety, the shades were really an adorable look on her, now that she was calm and smiling. Part of Kumiko's lizard-brain immediately began imagining vivid summer scenes of beach trips and pool parties where Reina would wear her shades for their intended use, and she couldn't hold back a small smile of her own.
They were halfway to the door when the horn player, Kishibe-senpai, caught up to them.
"Kousaka-san!" she wailed, dramatic tears flowing down her face as she threw herself into a deep bow. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"
Reina hesitated for a long pause as Kishibe straightened, still crying. Then she simply said, "It's okay. I'm sorry for missing so many rehearsals."
And then she kept limping forward.
Kumiko stilled for a moment before blinking away her shock, throwing a dirty look at Kishibe, and then catching up to Reina to slide open the door for her. Now she was wondering if Reina had some unseen head injury that had done an overnight one-eighty on her personality.
"I can't believe you just apologized back," she said. "That's not like you at all."
"You're right. It isn't."
"Then why did you-"
"- it's like you."
"What?"
"Well, I thought of you," said Reina quietly, as she and Kumiko slowly made their way down the hallway toward the stairwell. "Like you know, when I used to be kind of mean to you in middle school. I really was a jerk."
"Yeah," said Kumiko. "I mean, no. I mean-"
"God, you suck," Reina muttered. "What I'm trying to say is, you never held a grudge. Which was... good. You could have, but you didn't. You wouldn't have been wrong. And it means a lot to me that you didn't. I want to be like- well, like a person who does that."
"So you thought of me?" said Kumiko, wide-eyed.
"Don't make me say it again," said Reina, irritated that Kumiko had coaxed out that much sappiness from her. But it was too late. Kumiko was already blushing like a happy tomato.
Both girls turned when the sliding door at the end of the hallway was thrown open with a BANG! and Hashimoto-sensei came barreling through, crazed with worry.
"Jesus Christ! Tanaka-san just told me what happened!" he panted, skidding to a halt. His eyes immediately found the spots of blood seeping through her uniform. "Do you need me to call an ambulance? Or is it- is it not safe for you?"
"I don't think that's a good idea," said Reina quietly, and Hashimoto-sensei got the message.
"Then we'll take you to the nurse's office," he said, and reached out a hand to offer support. "Me and Oumae-san can help you down the stairs so you don't-"
But Reina jerked away so violently from the band director's hand that Kumiko flinched and Hashimoto retreated back a step, raising his palms in the air.
Reina pressed herself close against Kumiko and squirmed away from Hashimoto.
"Don't touch me."
After a pause, Hashimoto said, "Okay. Okay."
"Do not touch me," reiterated Reina.
"Okay. I should've- I'm sorry. Would you like me to get another female student?"
Reina looked at Kumiko.
"I can do it," Kumiko said.
"Are you sure?"
"I marched 4 miles at SunFes with a euphonium."
"Right. Okay," said Hashimoto, turning to Kumiko. "Be careful when you guide her down the stairs."
The three of them continued toward the stairwell as the exiting band students began flooding the halls. Many of their peers tried and failed to hide their curiosity, sneaking furtive glances at Reina and Kumiko; especially the woodwinds and percussion, who weren't present for the earlier drama before rehearsal. To help the awkwardness abate, Kumiko pulled out her phone. She kept one hand wrapped around Reina's arm as she quickly sent her dad a text asking if he could pick up both of them from school.
"Is it fine for my dad to drive you home?" she asked.
Reina nodded.
Perhaps assuming Kumiko was being mindlessly distracted on her phone as they approached the stairs, Hashimoto-sensei said again, "Kousaka, are you sure you don't need my help-"
"Do not touch me," Reina said. "You'll get hurt."
The bizarre reason made Kumiko and Hashimoto-sensei both look at Reina in confusion.
"What?" asked Hashimoto-sensei. "Why?"
"He says it's because you care too much," said Reina quietly, which was an even more baffling response.
Kumiko and their band director exchanged glances, and both decided not to press the issue any further.
When they finally got Reina laid down on a freshly-made bed in the medical wing, Kumiko and Hashimoto-sensei both stepped out briefly while Kitauji's school nurse instructed Reina to remove her top. The door closed, leaving teacher and best friend sitting in the hallway, waiting on their shared protectorate.
In the silence, Kumiko's brain began spinning away in mental gymnastics as she struggled to make meaning of Reina's words. 'He' clearly referred to Taki Noboru, whom was also definitely behind Reina's injuries. But what did Taki mean by 'caring too much?' Why did that mean that Reina could not allow Hashimoto-sensei to physically touch her? And why didn't this apply to Kumiko? She felt that she had stronger affections for Reina, much more than their band director or anyone else ever could. Hashimoto-sensei didn't text Reina every day. Hashimoto-sensei didn't risk his safety to fly over to Reina's church (not that he could fly). And Hashimoto-sensei didn't spend four hours yesterday cooking homemade Italian food for Reina. So why him, and not Kumiko?
Kumiko swallowed, then mentally retreated a step. This was a stupid and weird thing to get jealous over. Plus there were bigger issues at hand. Was Taki Noboru monitoring who Reina could or could not touch- and if so then how? Was Reina bugged with a hidden microphone or body cam/ And why more leniency for Kumiko that Hashimoto? Did Taki suspect that Hashimoto had an unsavory interest in his stepdaughter? What was going on here?
Kumiko shifted into a rigid posture in her chair, palms sandwiched between her knees, while Hashimoto folded his arms and crossed his legs. He sat and frowned at the floor.
"Did she tell you anything else during rehearsal?" he asked. "Anything I should know?"
Kumiko shook her head.
"I just know that it wasn't an accident," she murmured.
"You know for sure?"
"Well... not exactly. But yeah."
Hashimoto glanced at her before turning back to the floor and resuming his frowning.
"I know what you mean," he agreed. He pinched the bridge of his nose. "You don't get a black eye by accident. And you definitely don't get -" he motioned at his stomach- "anything there by accident."
"Does that mean her stepdad could get arrested?"
"Not unless Reina feels ready to speak about what really happened."
"But then... what if you could say for certain that it's impossible to be an accident?"
"That's what I'm hoping the nurse can tell us," said Hashimoto.
They sat quietly for a few seconds. Then Kumiko suddenly remembered what Reina had told her that night when they'd sat together outside their church. She thought about how Reina had reacted to Asuka and Kaori both ignoring her wish to play, even out of concern.
"Reina said once that she doesn't want her stepdad arrested," said Kumiko. "She told me," and she put up air-quotes as she recounted, "that she'd 'die without him.' If she doesn't want to get him arrested, then what do we do?"
Hashimoto raised an eyebrow. "Two nights ago you were about to break the law to get some dirt on her stepfather. What changed your mind?"
"I don't know. I was really mad. And now I think... you know, I guess I didn't think about what she actually wanted."
Hashimoto nodded understandingly. "I'm glad you're aware now of what you were doing. Because that's often how abusive parenting begins," he mused, "when a parent gets mad, and refuses to consider what their child really wants for themselves. So I'm glad that this is something you stopped to consider, Oumae-san. However, in this case, if I had to choose between Kousaka-san's wishes or Kousaka-san's life- then, well..."
He grimaced.
"Then there isn't a choice," Kumiko said, finishing the sentence.
When the door opened, the nurse came out to speak to Hashimoto-sensei. She said that it was entirely medically plausible for Reina's story to be true, and that she'd simply encountered some terrible misfortunes.
Apparently Reina claimed that she'd 'accidentally' slipped in the shower and hit her head on the water knob, then got struck by lightning at an amusement park last Sunday- which created the sprawling burn on Reina's stomach that now leaked pus through her bandages.
"Are you telling me that you really believe my student got struck by lightning?!" exclaimed Hashimoto.
"Kousaka-san's burn is of a very specific type," said the nurse. "I saw two of these wounds in my EMT days. We only ever see this branching pattern of burns from lightning strikes. Nothing else could have caused an injury like this- not even electrocution from a wall outlet. Kousaka-san was very unlucky, and from now on, I'd also advise her to stay indoors during thunderstorms. Perhaps she should also find herself a four-leaf clover."
"What are you even saying?!" said Hashimoto. "When was the last time there was a thunderstorm?!"
But Kumiko, who had gone flying in the flashing thunder and whipping rain after spying Taki and Reina on the Ferris wheel, knew the answer.
"Sunday," she murmured.
When Hashimoto-sensei eventually stopped arguing with the nurse and tried to pry further answers from Reina, the nurse forced him to leave so that Reina could rest properly until Kumiko's father arrived to pick them up. Then she left to fill out some paperwork at the main office.
As the door closed behind her, finally leaving Kumiko and Reina alone, Reina gave a tired smile. It was a bit lopsided because of her swollen eye.
"Are you going to interrogate me too?"
"Um," said Kumiko, "did you want me to?"
"I guess you're supposed to," said Reina. She shifted on the bed and sat up, propped up against the pillow.
"Can I ask you a question then?"
"Okay. What's the big question, Kumiko?"
"Do you... do you like spaghetti?"
Reina chuckled. It was a rare, adorable, bubbly sound. Her usually-intense amethyst eye color seemed to soften to a friendlier shade of lavender. "I do," she replied. "It's the first food I learned to cook by myself."
"Me too," said Kumiko.
Then she reached into her schoolbag and brought out the carefully wrapped bento box full of homemade fettuccine. She shook it slightly to make sure the noodles were evenly distributed, and then spotted the a microwave on top of the mini-fridge next to the nurses's desk.
"You think she'll care if I use her microwave?"
"You'd probably get in trouble."
"Oh. Then oops."
Forty-five seconds later, Kumiko retrieved the bento box and sat down on a chair beside Reina's bed. Then she presented her reheated culinary creation to Reina, and bowed her head. "Oneigaishimasu," she announced.
Reina seemed unsure what to expect. The raven-haired girl carefully took the box, untying the bright-colored cloth to reveal the beautiful lunchbox inside. On top were a pair of intricately decorated chopsticks. Kumiko watched with nervous excitement as Reina lifted the lid and sniffed its' contents.
"You made this from scratch, hm?"
"Uh huh."
"For me?"
Kumiko swallowed, fidgeting with damp fingers behind her back. "Hai," she said. "Is it... bad?"
Reina glanced up at Kumiko, saw apprehension written in every line of her friend's face, and smirked. Kumiko could feel herself being X-rayed by the single violet eye. It was as if Reina could smell anxiety, and delighted in watching Kumiko squirm. Reina could be really sadistic sometimes.
Eventually, Reina declared, "It's terrible."
Just as the flush of embarrassed disappointment reached the pink of Kumiko's cheeks, Reina suddenly leaned forth and ran her hand through Kumiko's hair, caressing from her ear down to her jaw, and coming to a rest at the nape of her neck. Kumiko sat like a statue as she attempted to fathom the miracle that was unfolding in real-time, her heartbeat pounding as Reina's touch sent shivers dancing down her spine. All she could smell was jasmine. All she could see was the brilliant violet of Reina's iris. Reina pulled Kumiko forward, and Kumiko could hear the trumpet player's soft breaths tingling against her skin as she felt raven-black hair slipping down to brush against her arms.
Then Reina closed her eyes, and planted a gentle kiss on Kumiko's mouth.
It was warm, and soft, and unreal. Kumiko blinked in shock as she emitted an ungodly noise. Her hands found the mattress as she stabilized herself. Her head was pounding.
Reina abruptly pulled back, and carefully studied Kumiko's reaction. Still paralyzed with sheer shock, Kumiko continued to stare at her beautiful best friend (who'd just kissed her!) like a flabbergasted owl for several seconds. Then it eventually occurred to her that Reina might be fearing that she'd made a wrong move. As far as she could tell, there was only one remedy for that.
Kumiko leaned into Reina and kissed her back, just an amateurish little smooch, before drawing away. She was terrified she'd never be as good a kisser as Kousaka Reina. Kumiko felt her face glowing red with embarrassment, but at the same time felt the exhilarating urge to laugh. She looked over at Reina, and saw a pink flush tinging her cheeks as well.
They caught each other's eyes. It was awkward for a split second; then they both burst into quiet giggles. Reina bit her lip and grinned as she returned her attention to the bento box.
"Itadakimasu," she said, and, picking up the chopsticks, she dug in and ate a mouthful like it was yakisoba instead of fettuccine.
"It's actually not bad," she told Kumiko, through a mouthful of noodles. It was so ungraceful and so un-Reina-like, which made it even more adorable. Kumiko smiled and shifted in her chair, clasping and unclasping her hands.
"You mean it tastes good?" she said.
"Eh." Reina swallowed. "Tastes like you made it."
Both of them chortled with laughter. Reina put down the bento box and reached for a tissue from the bedside table. As Reina wiped her lips, Kumiko wondered if she was going to get another kiss.
But instead, Reina said, "It's your turn now. I have a big question for you."
"What is it?"
Reina looked at the floor. Then at the ceiling. Then back at Kumiko. She steadied herself quietly, as if about to perform a trumpet solo.
"Kumiko," said Reina eventually, "this Friday night, will you come to the Agata Festival with me?"
In the silence following the proposal, Kumiko stared at Reina with her mouth gape. Involuntarily she let out an elated noise that was somewhere between a squawk and a guffaw.
Reina smiled.
"I'll take that as a yes," she murmured sweetly, and leaned forward for another kiss as Kumiko sat up in her chair.
But then the door slid open. Both girls drew back as the nurse strode in, carrying a sheaf of paperwork and a fresh cup of coffee.
"Oumae Kumiko?"
"Hai?" said Kumiko.
"Your parents are here to pick you up. Kousaka-san, you are free to leave as well if you wish."
"Hai!"
Kumiko picked up both their instrument cases while Reina got up from the bed and straightened her uniform.
Despite the euphoria of what had just happened, Kumiko couldn't help but worry about what to do next. Nobody could find out about this- not their classmates, not their teachers, and not even Hashimoto-sensei. Hashimoto-sensei was undoubtedly a kind person, but there was no telling how he might react to a same-sex relationship. Kumiko's own parents were kind people and they most likely wouldn't support it.
Of course, on Reina's side, there was no question about how Taki Noboru would feel.
Kumiko wondered just how Reina was planning to make the Agata Festival work, and whether it was possible at all for them to go together without it ending in disaster.
What Kumiko did not know at the time was just how severe the consequences would be.