.:For the Sake of Living… Don't:.
Chapter 6Everyone gathered around the table as the sweet-smelling food was placed upon it. Everyone took what they wanted to eat, placing it on their plates and devouring it as if it would disappear within a matter of time. The breakfast was full of talking; laughter; happiness. No one even thought of the events from the day before. It was washed from their minds, never to return that day. Today was a day they were going to have fun, all of them.
Ameko and Haru cleaned up the plates again this morning while everyone else went and did their thing. Yuki went outside, disappearing from sight with Tohru. Momiji was in the living room watching anime on television, and Kyo was up on the roof practicing his karate. Shigure was still out with Ayame, expected to be back before all of them left for the club. Yet it was nearing time for them all to leave and Shigure still was not back.
Haru set the phone down, looking back at Ameko, who was sitting on Tohru's bed quietly. He walked up to her and sat down next to her on the bed, turned slightly to look at her.
"She said it was fine. Once she heard what happened, she said that her clothes didn't matter, but that you were safe and okay." Haru told Ameko.
"But still. I think that I should at least buy her new clothes." Ameko said. "I feel kind of guilty."
"Why do you feel guilty, Ameko?" He asked her, putting his hands on her shoulders and turning her to look at him.
"I ruined her clothes. I can't help but feel guilty." She said.
"You didn't ruin them. You were just wearing them when they were ruined." He told her.
"O… okay." She said.
Haru smiled. "Now that that's settled, we best get going." Haru said, standing up.
Ameko looked up at him, confused. "We're not leaving for another two hours." She told him. "Get going where?"
"Tatsuki invited the two of us over to her house for a little bit. Setsumi and Ikihara are there as well." He told her. "Let's get going." He said.
"Wait. Only Setsumi and Ikihara? What about everyone else?" She asked.
"Well, they had a sleepover or something. Not only that, but they want to give you another make-over before the club tonight." Haru told her.
Ameko shook her head. "Oh no, I couldn't wear her clothing again! I'd get it ruined!" She said.
Haru smiled, shaking his head in return. "No. I'm never going to leave you alone when we're at the club. No clue who could be there or what their intentions are." He said. "I will never leave your side." Haru told her.
Ameko nodded slowly. "Okay. Let's go." She said, standing up and taking Haru's hand, which was outstretched.
Haru smiled and lead Ameko out of Tohru's room and downstairs, where he told Momiji that they would meet them at the club. Momiji nodded, going back to watching his anime, which had just returned from a commercial. The two of them walked outside, and headed in the direction of Tatsuki's house. When they finally reached it, Haru walked up to the door with Ameko behind him. He knocked on the surface, stepping back slightly to wait for an answer.
An older woman, around her late-thirties, early-forties answered the door. She smiled. "Hatsuharu Sohma. What a pleasant surprise! Nice to see you again, dear. Come in, come in." She said, opening the door wider and stepping to the side. Haru held tight to Ameko's hand, pulling her inside with him. The woman closed the door after the two of them came in and smiled. "And who might this lovely young lady be?" She asked.
Haru looked at Ameko, who was shying behind him, and stepped to the side, bringing her next to him. "This is Ameko Morioka. She's a new friend, and Tatsuki invited her over as well as me." He told her. The woman smiled at Ameko.
Ameko returned the smile, bowing and speaking somewhat softly, "Hajimemashite."
The woman smiled even brighter. She bowed back, smiling warmly. "What a proper young lady." She said. "Well, Tatsuki's up in her room with Ikihara and Setsumi. Have fun." She said, walking back into the kitchen.
Haru walked up the stairs, Ameko following. He came up to Tatsuki's door and knocked softly. Laughing was heard from inside, as was the loud voice of Tatsuki saying, "Come in!" Haru put his hand on the doorknob and opened the door slowly. He walked inside with Ameko following.
Tatsuki smiled. "Ameko! Haru! Glad you guys could make it." She said. She moved to the side, making more room on her bed. "Sit! Make yourselves comfortable." She said. Ameko moved over to the bed and sat down, Haru going to sit down on the chair at the desk. Setsumi and Ikihara were sitting on a beanbag chair each.
Ikihara looked up at Ameko. "I think I need to go and beat those guys up." She said, her face going from very happy to serious.
Ameko looked back at her. Setsumi then nodded in agreement. "I should talk to Motoshi; see if he has any friends that would be willing to beat those guys up."
"But…" Ameko started to say before Tatsuki cut her off.
"Don't tell me you're siding with them." She said.
"No, I was going to say that Takashi already beat them up." Ameko told her.
The three of them looked at her amazed. "Are you serious!" Ikihara asked. "A weakling like him?"
"He's not a weakling. He's actually really strong." Ameko said, defending Takashi.
The three of them looked back at Ameko. "Ameko… do you… like Takashi?" Setsumi asked.
Haru, who had been playing with the snowglobe on Tatsuki's desk, suddenly turned his head to look at Ameko, wondering silently if it was true. He tilted his head to the side, waiting for her answer.
"I like him as a friend. I always defend my friends." She said.
Tatsuki smiled. "Glad to hear it, Ameko, glad to hear it." She said. "Now, onto the makeover!"
Ikihara and Setsumi smiled. Setsumi walked over to a pile of stuff and took out her big book of hairstyles, flipping through it and trying to find one that would be perfect for Ameko. Ikihara was raiding Tatsuki's bathroom, looking for the best eyeliner and eye shadow colors she could find. Tatsuki had grabbed Ameko and lead her over to the large walk-in closet in her room, closing the door and leaving Haru, Setsumi, and Ikihara to do whatever they pleased while the two of them searched for the perfect outfit.
Setsumi looked up at Haru. "So, do you like Ameko?" She asked.
Haru looked down at her. He shrugged slightly. "I dunno."
Ikihara's head appeared from the bathroom. "Oh, yes you do." She said, grinning.
Haru shook his head. "Even if I did I'm not telling." He said.
"Ooh, so that means you like her." Setsumi said, giggling.
"What? I never said that!" He said, surprised that from one little statement Setsumi had hit gold.
"You never said you didn't." Setsumi replied back.
"Plus, your expression just told it all." Ikihara said from the bathroom.
Setsumi and Ikihara laughed, Tatsuki and Ameko emerging from the closet at the same moment. Tatsuki grinned. "What'd you two do now?" She asked.
Setsumi and Ikihara stopped, looking at each other. A moment later their laughter once again filled the room. Tatsuki shook her head, smiling slightly. "You guys." She said. "Okay, who claims Ameko next?" She asked.
Setsumi grabbed Ameko's arm, pulling herself up. "I do." She said.
She sat Ameko down in front of the bed, sitting on it herself; one leg pulled up under her and the other hanging to the side of Ameko. She grabbed a brush and started brushing her hair, pulling two strands aside and putting the rest into a loose ponytail. She turned Ameko's head and brushed one strand of hair, braiding it tightly. She then put a small band on the end of that, turning Ameko's head the other way and brushing that strand, braiding it just as tightly. After banding that one, she took the rest of Ameko's hair, taking it out of the ponytail, and she put it up into a bun.
"It looks the same as last time." Haru said.
"Well, it's not going to." She said, putting blue and black chopsticks into the bun she had just made. Taking both strands of hair, Setsumi put them in the back of Ameko's head, tying them off with a blue ribbon. The ribbon and tied part of the hair hung at the top of the bun, nearly hidden. She then wrapped the loose hair around the bun, letting the ribbon hang freely. She smiled and then leaned over Ameko's shoulder.
"The way I put it up, if you ever want it down, just take the chopsticks out and stick them in your pocket or whatever. Your hair will fall and you'll have the two braids tied in the back." She told Ameko.
Ameko smiled and thanked Setsumi before Ikihara grabbed her hand and she stood up, being taken to a chair in the room. Ikihara stood in front of Ameko, leaning against the desk with the make-up in her hand. She applied a little eyeliner, extending it a little on one eye, and then she moved to eye shadow, where she used soft blue tones. She set those aside and took out a clear-looking gloss for Ameko's lips, applying it sparingly. She then put that down, twisting open the cap to something she had never used on Ameko before. Ikihara put her finger in the small capsule and then put the same finger next to her eye, where she had extended the eyeliner. She then put her finger back into the goo and placed her finger on the eyelid of the opposite eye, dabbing gently with her finger. She closed that, set it aside, and took out some blush, this a slight pink in color. She took a brush and gently brushed along the make-up, then gently brushed on Ameko's cheeks. She set all of the make-up aside once again and took out a spray. She sprayed a small amount on Ameko's neck, then she sprayed it in the air above Ameko, the spray falling and landing on her.
Haru coughed. "So that's what you guys to do smell so strong…" He said, waving his hand in front of his face. "Jeez, you could kill someone with that stuff."
Ikihara made a face at Haru and then looked back down at Ameko. "Very pretty." She said, smiling. She stood her up and turned her around so that everyone could get a good look.
Ameko was wearing hip-hugging dark jeans, a black studded belt in the belt loops. The jeans dragged on the ground slightly, as Tatsuki was slightly taller than Ameko. But that would all be fixed when the three of them finished with Ameko. As for now, they still weren't done. Her shirt ended at the end of her ribcage, leaving a good four inches of her well-toned stomach showing. It had a design of a dove in a very dark blue color, almost hard to see. The back of the shirt said Tobu… Iru… Jiyuu… in dark blue letters, outlined in a soft, lighter blue. The words looked as if they were written with ribbon, each of the letters connected together as with each of the words.
Tatsuki smiled. "Ameko, what size shoe do you wear?" She asked.
"What?" Ameko asked, turning around to look at her.
"Your shoe size. What is it?" Tatsuki asked again.
"Um… well… it depends on what kind of shoe it is." She said.
"Okay. One second." Tatsuki said, disappearing into her closet again. She brought out a single shoe, walking over to Ameko and placing it on the ground. "Here. Try it. See if it fits."
Ameko slipped her foot into the shoe. "It fits perfectly." She said.
Tatsuki smiled. "Perfect." She said. "Let's find you the perfect pair of shoes to wear tonight." She said. She disappeared into the closet again, emerging with two pairs of high-heeled shoes in her arms. She went back into the closet, carrying out three more. She put them all in front of the bed, sitting Ameko on it. Ameko looked down at her.
"All right. Let's try them on." Tatsuki said, lifting up Ameko's pant leg. She picked up one pair, a rather high shoe, somewhere around 2-inches of heel. She took Ameko's foot and placed it into the shoe, clipping it and then showing everyone. "What do you think?"
Setsumi made a face before making a thumbs-down, Ikihara doing the same. Haru just sat there. Tatsuki looked at him expectedly. "What? I'm a guy. Guys don't know these things." He said.
Tatsuki took the shoe off, grabbing another one. These were only about 1 ½-inch heels, and they had a type of lace that went up mid-calf. She put Ameko's foot into these, lacing it up and showing the girls. Setsumi did a thumbs-up, Ikihara doing a thumbs-down. Tatsuki took the shoe off and grabbed another one.
It went on until there was one that everyone had agreed on. These shoes had a 1 ½-inch heel in somewhat of a boot-style. It was open-toed, and had a single strap across the top of her foot. In the back, a strap went across her heel, wrapping around her leg and tying at about halfway up her calf. Setsumi and Ikihara applauded this selection, and Ameko agreed on it. Tatsuki took the shoe off and then she rolled the other pant leg up. She reached under her bed, taking out a small chest. She opened it, removing a dark blue nail polish as well as a lighter blue pen and a white pen. She removed the nail polish remover as well as some cotton balls and q-tips. She then lifted up a compartment in the chest, removing some acrylic nails and glue. The nails had a small diamond on two of them, the smallest ones, and then a slightly larger diamond and two smaller ones on two more, the largest ones. She handed that to Setsumi, then sat down on the floor comfortably, shaking the bottle of nail polish.
Ikihara looked over at Haru. "See why we asked you to come over now?" She asked him.
Haru looked back, nodding. "Got anything for me to do? I'm dead bored." He said.
"I thought you liked this kind of thing, Haru." Setsumi said jokingly as she took out a clean cotton ball, placing some warm water on them and rubbing it on Ameko's thumbnail.
"You know, make-up and hair and painting nails isn't really 'my thing'." Haru said.
"You could always call up one of the boys." Tatsuki said. "You guys can go hang out on the patio out back and talk or whatever. I'm sure my mom wouldn't mind." She said, not looking away from painting Ameko's nails a deep blue.
"Okay." Haru said. "Any particular person?" He asked.
Tatsuki shrugged. "Whoever." She said. "You could call Kiyotaka. My mom would be happy if he came over. Or Takashi. She keeps complaining that she never sees him enough anymore."
Ikihara laughed from next to Setsumi on the bed. "Yeah right, like he'd come out here." She said. "He's probably too busy with his fencing or manners classes." She said. Setsumi giggled.
Ameko looked at Haru confused. "Takashi's somewhat of a rich boy. His family has a lot of money and he takes a lot of classes at home on the weekend. Fencing, karate, defense classes, those kinds of things." Haru explained.
"Ooh." Ameko said, nodding. "I get it. But… why doesn't he go to a private school if he has that much money?" Ameko asked.
Tatsuki glanced up at Setsumi, who looked to Ikihara who looked at Haru. She was making gestures behind Ameko, telling Haru not to say anything.
"Well, let's just say that his old girlfriend goes to the private school he could attend." Haru said, giving Ameko a very vague answer. Nevertheless, Ameko nodded in understanding.
Haru stood, walking to the phone in Tatsuki's room. He picked it up, dialing a number and putting it on speaker. The phone rang a few times and then Takashi's voice was heard.
"Hello?"
"Hey Takashi. 'Sup?" Haru asked.
"Hey Haru. Not much here, sitting around and stuff."
"Not in the middle of your classes?" Ikihara joked, Setsumi laughing slightly.
"Haha, very funny Ikihara." He said.
"Anyway, we're over here at Tatsuki's house. Come over." Haru said.
"You sure?"
"If he wasn't sure, he wouldn't have said it." Tatsuki said. "My mom would be glad to see you again. Plus, you don't want to leave Haru here with four girls, do you?" She asked.
"Four?"
"Yeah. Tatsuki, Setsumi, Ikihara, and Ameko are here." Haru said.
"All right. I'll come." Takashi said after a short pause.
"Cool. See ya in a bit." Haru said.
"Bye." The line ended and Haru hung up. He looked over at Setsumi and Ikihara, who were giggling.
"That definitely proves that he can't stand being anywhere that girls aren't." Ikihara said, grinning.
"Yeah." Setsumi agreed. She placed the first nail on Ameko's thumb, pressing down tightly and holding it in place.
"I'll go down and wait for him." He said. "Don't be too long. We can all go over to my cousin's house after you three are done with her." Haru told them. He walked to the door and closed it. Before actually walking away, Haru heard the words, "So… who do you like, Ameko?" He shook his head. He didn't want to hear it. It wasn't him, so there was really no point hearing her answer. He walked down the stairs, sitting on the couch and talking with Tatsuki's mother to pass the time until Takashi got there.