Hi everyone, sorry i didn't post soon. My laptop hasn't been working right so I had to wait till I got a new one. Anyways, i hope you are all enjoying this story, there is so much to come in this story. Also for some reason I can't find the grammar correcting button here on fanfiction so if there is bad grammar I'm sorry. if anyone knows how to find it please let me know!
Chapter 2
Akio was just as surprised to see Keiichi and Rena just as they were to see him. The garbage dump was not a normal place for teenagers to hang. Although it was for Rena. "Akio-kun," the girl said as she stared at the boy curiously. "Weren't you gonna cook for your dad? Were you?"
The black-haired boy smiled warmly at her. "I was, but usually before I head home, I go to a quiet place to relax. I didn't think anyone would be here."
Rena giggled. "I'm always here."
"Yeah," Keiichi said, "This is Rena's favorite place."
"Oh, it is, huh?" Akio's smile remained.
"Yeah, we are going treasure hunting!" Rena started to dig into the garbage.
Akio and Keiichi were left in distance from Rena. It was indeed quiet. No construction, no chattering, no dogs. "So," Keiichi started as he glanced at Akio. "Of all places you came here?"
"Actually."
Keiichi kept his eyes on Akio as the guy paused and waited curiously.
"I heard about the body that was dismembered here. I wanted to check it out."
Keiichi's eyes widened, and again it was quiet, until the cicadas started to chirp at the sun that was beginning to set. Although it was years ago since the murder of a man, still hearing about it gave Keiichi chills. And the fact that Akio was interested made Keiichi a bit cautious. Akio was smiling. He didn't seem scared one bit.
"I heard all the stories," Akio continued.
"Uh, that," Keiichi started with a nervous smile, but paused. He didn't want to talk about it. He didn't like to think about it. He wanted to think of this place as a place where he and his friends played. Not a haunted dump.
"You don't need to explain. I heard them all. It is quite a fascinating story."
'Fascinating' was far from Keiichi's opinion on the subject, but he didn't say a word about it as Rena came back running with something in her arms. "Look what I found!" she exclaimed.
Keiichi smiled awkwardly when he saw a cracked object in his friend's arm. "is that...?"
"It's a lamp! Isn't it cute? I can't wait to take it home with me!" She twirled herself around, full of excitement as the two boys watched.
"It is good looking," Akio replied, "just a bit cracked. Bring it over to my place and I could fix it right up."
Rena stopped twirling. "Really? You mean it!"
"Of course." The boy smiled at her.
"Oh, how exciting!" The girl nearly squealed before she handed Akio the lamp. "Take good care of my treasure."
"I shall repair it well."
The unsettling feeling of Akio's interest in their village's curse started to slowly fade inside of Keiichi's mind. He knew that if somebody was already appreciating Rena's interest, meant that they were a good person. I just met him, Keiichi thought as he walked home with Rena by his side, so why did I even hesitate around him? Because I'm just a guy who can't stand ghost and murder stories. It's stupid.
The next morning as Mion and Shion walked to school together, an interesting conversation started among them. "So, when are you gonna tell him how you feel?" Shion asked her sister.
"What?" Mion's cheeks turned red as she looked away from her sister.
"Come on, if you don't say something then nothing is gonna happen."
There was a ten second pause as the twins continued to walk. The sound of birds and cicadas surrounded the village. "I just don't want things to change," Mion started, "I mean, we have so much fun together. I don't want that to stop."
"It will get even more fun if you two were a couple!" Shion sighed. "Mion you can't let this secret continue. You gotta express your feelings to Kei-chan."
"And I will! I'm just, not quite ready yet."
Shion sighed again as the two crossed the small bridge that lead to the school. "Alright, but just remember I am always by yours side. If you need help just leave it to me!"
Mion's cheeks began to turn red again. "That's okay! I don't need you to pretend to be me and flirt with him!"
"Oh, so you wanna do that again, don't you?" Shion gave her sister a smirk.
"No!"
Shion laughed. "I might have to do that if you wait too long."
"No no no no no no!"
"Good morning," Rika greeted the twins as Mion continued to protest on Shion's idea.
"Ah, good morning Rika-Chan," Shion said with a smile. "And Satoko, and Hanyuu."
"Keiichi and Rena will be here any minute," Sataoko said in a quiet voice. "Let's all be prepared."
"Another trap on Keiichi? What is it this time, Satako?"
The blonde smiled mischievously. "Today is an excersie ball, followed by a bowl of mud. The ball will hit him, making him bounce forward and tripping, sending his face in the mud! Ahahah! It's brilliant."
Shion smirked. "Now this I gotta see."
As the rest of the class talked amongst themselves, Mion, Shion, Satoko, and Rika both settled in to watch the show. It would be like this every week. Satoko would set a trap at the classroom door, and every time Keiichi stepped into it. Not once had he overcome Satoko's playful ways.
"Hauu, evil, this is evil!" Hanyuu cried as she clenched her fists in frustration and shook her head. "Keiichi does not deserve this!"
"He's just not smart enough and falls for it every time," Satoko replied as she kept her eyes glued to the door.
"Rika do something!"
"It is what it is," Rika said with a cute smile on her face, acting as innocent as ever.
Mion could only think about what her sister said to her on the way to school. Ever since she became friends with Keiichi, she developed strong feelings for him. She couldn't decide whether it was his cheerful attitude, or how fun he was to be around. All those are true, the girl thought, but there's something much deeper than that. His heart is bigger than all of us put together. Why can't I tell him that?
The girl's heart started to pound as her friends waited for the entertainment to happen. She wondered when she would tell Keiichi how she felt. She wondered if she waited for years before she told him. Would their friendship even last that long? Of course, it will! Should I tell him now?
Footsteps were heard from outside the doorway, and everyone watched the door with enthusiasm. Mion then knew if Keiichi walked through that door, and got hit by Satoko's trap, he would be arguing with her for half the day.
The subject of her feelings would be forgotten, and she wouldn't be able to tell the boy how she felt. She probably wouldn't even think to bring it up ever again.
As the door started to slide open, Mion immediately leaped toward it, letting herself get hit by the exercise ball, and allowing herself to fall to the floor. The ball bounced off her back and hit the bowl of mud, causing a splash that got the whole class' attention.
Keiichi was standing in front of the doorway in full shock, as well as Rena, who was standing behind him. Satoko and the others were just as appalled. "Mion," the boy started with a questioning tone." He then glanced at Satoko, who was still staring at the scene in silence. "Satoko is this your doing? What am I asking, of course it is!"
"It wasn't meant for her!" the blonde protested. "Everyone knows you're the only one dumb enough to fall for it."
The arguing started, and Mion's hopes started to vanish, even as Rena helped her up. She didn't even know why she had done such a thing.
In minutes, Ms. Chie entered the classroom, and ordered Satoko to clean up the mess. Nobody knew why the child always got away with it. Before it was time to start class, Akio finally arrived as well, and everyone told him about what had just happened.
"Are you alright, Mion?" he asked her warmly.
"Yeah," she laughed as she put her hand behind her head. "I guess I just slipped."
"You're not hurt?"
She could feel her cheeks turning red and she wasn't sure why. But she felt so warm hearing Akio's voice. "No, I'm fine."
Later that day during lunch, the group of friends had their tables joined together and continued to tease Keiichi about Satoko's prank, even though Mion became the new target. "Wait a minute, I didn't even get stuck in it this time!" the boy debated.
"Ah, but if Sis wouldn't have fallen, you would have," Shion responded with a smirk on her face.
Keiichi continued to defend himself, but as he finished his sentence, Satoko shoved him down playfully. "Let's have a water gun fight after school today."
"Yeah!" Shion expressed. "Just like we always do!"
Keiichi immediately recovered and brought himself to his feet. "Yeah! I will so win again!"
Mion suddenly realized that she didn't want to lose the fun she had with Keiichi. No matter how much she liked him, her friendship with him was precious, and she was not willing to risk it. Her feelings would stay hidden from today on. "Yes," she said, "let's do that."
As everyone chattered about the idea, Hanyuu turned to Rika with a smile. "Looks like everyone will stick together till the end. There will always be fun to come."
"Yes," said Rika. But we can't be happy all the time.
