RING! RING!
The school bell went off. Everyone came rushing out of class. It was the end of the day and also the end of the week. Everyone had plans for the weekend. Shuji paced himself across the hall as people rushed by him to their lockers. He stopped to look at the clock at the end of the hallway, when Akemi bumped into him.
"Hey, watch where you standing Shuji! You were in my way!" Akemi said with a fuss.
"Oh, excuse me, Akemi. Next time I'll be sure to stick my foot for you." He replied hotly. The two traded menacing stares at each other. Akemi broke off and sighed and pointed to him. "You know Chise hasn't been in school for a couple of days. Do you know where she is, do ya!"
Shuji turned his face away, not wanting to feel the guilt. "No I don't know where she is. Now leave me alone."
"And you're supposed to be her boyfriend? Some boyfriend you are…" Akemi crossed her arms and shook her head. Frustrated, Shuji yelled at her "Just shut it Akemi. Who are you, anyway? My mother?" He stomped away furiously thinking about how ignorant Akemi was. She doesn't have a clue, he thought. She doesn't have a goddamn clue as to what's been going on, or what's been happening.
He walked through the front door only to be greeted by Atsushi. Atsushi waved at him. Shuji waved back. At least Atsushi wouldn't be on his case.
"Hey Shuji, want to go to the arcade with me? They got that new King of Iron Fist game." Atsushi patted him on the back. "Yea, sure. Why not?" Shuji graciously accepted his offer. As soon as he walked a few paces, his eye caught a familiar face: Fuyumi. His eyes widened. What the hell is she doing here? , he thought. His cheeks got bright red with embarrassment. Fuyumi caught sight of him and waved over running towards him.
"Shuji! Over here, it's me Fuyumi." She ran through a crowd of students, excited about seeing Shuji. Shuji's palms got sweaty and he started to sweat nervously. Atsushi shot him a puzzled look. "You okay man? You look tense…and who's the broad?"
"F-Fuyumi…" he stuttered, not being able to comprehend what Atsushi was saying.
Atsushi waved his hands in front of Shuji's face. "Hello, Earth to Shuji..." He broke out of his trance. At that moment Fuyumi was right in front of him. His cold sweat got even worse.
"Shuji, I knew I'd find you here. My, who's your cute friend, aren't you going to introduce me?" Fuyumi teased. Atsushi laughed nervously and gave Shuji a "Dude, are you serious?" look. "Oh, Atsushi, this is Fuyumi. Fuyumi, this is Atsushi." Shuji said quietly.
"I didn't know Shuji hung out with such cute friends. You should really introduce me to them sometime." she said, with a wink. Atsushi's face turned beet red. Rubbing the back of his neck, he only waved his hand towards her. She turned back to Shuji with a smile; the smile that made him weak. "Shuji, would you like to spend some time with me?" Fuyumi asked politely.
Thinking of the quickest excuse, he promptly replied "I was about to head over to the arcade with Atsushi." Before Fuyumi had a chance to speak, Atsushi intervened. "Hey, it's no problem. You can come with me tomorrow." Atsushi leaned over to Shuji's ear and whispered "Dude, watch out for kemi-Ay or she'll tell ise-Chay, okay?"
Shuji gulped. If Akemi caught him, he was screwed and wouldn't want her to chew his ear off. Besides, he and Chise broke up. Still he couldn't say that with a clear conscience. "Well Shuji, lets be off then." she said with a smile, clutching his arm and pulling him towards the school exit.
Akemi saw Shuji walk off with Fuyumi. A displeased look came over her. Shuji…you idiot, she thought to herself.
Shuji walked with Fuyumi for about an hour. In that hour they went window shopping and bought ice cream. Shuji felt guilt free for most of the time, but would rather be playing arcade games with Atsushi.
"So Shuji…umm, about last time…" Fuyumi began to speak "You know you were really good, and I was hoping we could do it again sometime." Shuji's mouth got dry. "Again? I'm not too sure about that." He gulped, hoping he could control himself. "Yea…again Shuji. One more time." Fuyumi laid her head on his chest. Shuji shook his head. "Listen, Fuyumi, I can't keep doing this with you. It's not right." he said defiantly. "You have a husband. I know he's not around, but how would you feel if you found out he was sleeping with some other woman!"
Fuyumi looked away. Shuji couldn't tell if what he said upset her or how he said it.
"That's the sort of thing I'd expect Tetsu to do…"
Shuji shook his head. He couldn't believe his ears. What was I thinking, he thought? "Fuyumi…I'll walk you home."
"Thank you Shuji…"
Chise stood in the ruins of another destroyed city. Corpses; it smelled of corpses and gunpowder.
She looked around and found nothing. No one was left. She was just staring at a barren field that seemed to go on forever. Chise embraced herself. Her hands went up to her hair and she sighed. She tried to fix the mess she had on her head, but failed. Suddenly, it started raining. The longer Chise remained, the harder it rained. She raised her head, and the rain drops washed her face. And again, alone, she slowly walked back to her tent, expecting nothing from anyone, except maybe some medical treatment.
A few hours later, she awoke to the glare of a blinding light. She blinked and stared around. There was no one, but she could hear voices around her: cries of agony, screams, curses, and whispers. Someone called for their mother. And she remembered her family. A pang of guilt took her breath away, but she recovered quickly. Chise gingerly stepped off the metal bed and stared down at herself. She needed clothes. Her uniform was ripped. Her undergarments barely remained. Tetsu walked into the tent and saw her condition. Chise noticed a faint blush on his cheeks, but she said nothing. He took off his over coat and placed it over her shoulders.
"I'll see if I could find anything else from the casualties."
Chise flinched at the last word in the sentence. She could never save all of her men. "I'll work on it" she said aloud. Tetsu cocked his head slightly and she shook hers. He shrugged and went off.
Chise stepped outside and the horizon greeted her. It was the initiation of the weekend. She knew she should be getting home, but she was still unsure. She remembered how much she hated when her beeper vibrated in her pocket and she would have to scramble. She hated being interrupted. But it was only for one reason: Shuji. And look what he had done. Chise held back her tears. She didn't want to discourage the surrounding soldiers any further. Tetsu came back and gave her a pair of pants he smuggled. Chise put them on and noticed the blood stains on the left leg.
"Ignore that. I just couldn't find any other in better condition. I also got you these." Tetsu held out a pair of boots. The shoelaces were missing, but she was grateful. Her bare feet just couldn't take anymore of the dirt, especially now that it was moist after the downpour.
"I'm hungry" Chise blurted out and Tetsu smiled. "I'd imagine" he told her and they went to get their daily ration. Tetsu shared his canteen with Chise, like he usually did, and right after the meal, Chise took her pills. Tetsu stayed silent until the pills settled in and Chise was able to speak without stuttering.
"So..." he began, and Chise started crying. "Oh shit. I'm sorry" he told her but she shook her head and apologized. "I'm the one who should be sorry. My parents must be really worried about me. And Akemi. And everyone else." Tetsu remembered a night when Chise was struggling through a nightmare. He usually stayed beside her when she slept, since he couldn't really get much sleep himself. Tetsu felt like he had an obligation to protect Chise ever since he first saw her out on the battlefield. "It seems so long ago..."Tetsu recovered. "Maybe you should go home, then." Chise cried even harder.
"What's holding you back?" He asked her and Chise grew quiet. She furrowed her brow.
"Shuji - he did something horrible." Her voice sounded like a growl.
Tetsu popped out a cigarette and lit it. Once he inhaled, he asked her calmly "What did he do?"
"He was with his first love on the night where we were supposed to meet..." She choked over every word. He and Fu-Fuyumi...they...did something horrible..." Tetsu processed the name. Chise kept talking but he barely heard her. The only thing he could hear was the pounding of his heartbeat. "So...he...she...they were together...that night...And that's why I've been here ever since."
Tetsu's cigarette burned out with the strong gust of wind. "Damn" he grunted. Chise fidgeted around and she placed her head on her knees. "I think I should...go home...until I'm needed...I miss my family..." Tetsu nodded. A distinct feeling of betrayal came over him; his wife and Chise's boyfriend? It was a small world indeed. He lit another cigarette. "Damnit Fuyumi…" he muttered
Chise was home. Her brother Kazu was out with their mom and her father was in his room. She didn't dare to knock the door. He was in a state of shock. Who could blame him? Chise thought when she picked out her clothes. War is a terrible thing. At this, she thought of Tetsu and how he was managing with the platoon.
Their numbers were dwindling day by day and she grew worried that maybe Tetsu would die, too. She shook the thought out of her head, and walked out of her room, outside of her house, and into civilization. The streets were awfully crowded. She struggled to get around the giant mass of pedestrians. She was so small and her surroundings were so big. She remembered all of her friends, her school, and she thought of Akemi and how worried she might be. So, she decided to visit her.
In that moment, Akemi was laying on her bed, thinking. She thought about yesterday afternoon. Shuji and Fuyumi, walking off, with Fuyumi smiling. Shuji looking around like the idiot he was. "Dammit, Shuji, you are the biggest idiot there is. Aren't you concerned about Chise? Can't you see Fuyumi is only looking for company? She doesn't love you! She doesn't love you like Chise does!" she yelled. No one responded. She was alone, as usual. 'She doesn't love you like I do...' Feeling guilty, she thought of Chise. "Jeez..."
The doorbell rang. Akemi snapped and ran to get it. "I swear if that's Shuji, I'll..." Chise shyly stood outside of Akemi's door. She heard footsteps from the inside, and before she could peek through a window, Akemi stood in front of her, panting.
"Chise!" Akemi's deep brown eyes widened at the sight of her small friend, covered in bandages.
"Hello, Akemi." Chise smiled.
"Where have you been? I was so worried!" Akemi grabbed Chise by the shoulders. "What's wrong with you? Have you been sick? Are you alright?" Chise smiled again and Akemi got angrier.
"Chise! Why don't you tell me anything anymore? Ever since you and thatretard Shuji have been going out, you've..." Akemi paused. She looked at Chise who had tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry Akemi" she said and whimpered a little. Akemi felt horrible at that moment. Chise bowed her head and anger poured over her.
"I know about Fuyumi."
Akemi felt like her heart was being torn apart. She saw the look on Chise's face and at that moment she wanted to kill Shuji. "Damn him, that bastard" she mumbled and Chise looked up. "Oh, hell. Come on in, Chise."
Dusk came. The full moon was out. Akemi and Chise laid on the roof in silence. Chise had received no messages from the SDF as of yet. She actually felt a little relieved to be with Akemi. She couldn't remember the last time they had spent time together.
"Akemi, why couldn't you tell me?" Chise said with a sorrowful look
"About what?"
"Shuji's first love." she replied
"I didn't want to hurt you, Chise." Akemi said apologetically
"But...I wanted to know before You could have told me." Chise's voice cracked. Akemi propped herself up and Chise did the same. Chise had her hands over her face. "It hurts so much..."
"Chise..." Akemi didn't know what to do or say to comfort her friend.
"My feelings for Shuji won't go away. I'm sorry...I'm still in love. I'm sorry."
Akemi put her arm around Chise's shoulder. "Don't be sorry..."