The morning Chise came back to school was different. She decided to take the bus with Akemi like she used to; before Shuji. They sat together in the back with Nori and Atsushi. Chise stared out of the window. The weather was uncharacteristically warm for spring. There wasn't a cloud in sight. The ocean glimmered off in the distance. She was grateful she didn't decide to walk up Hell Hill. She would have been melting under the sun. Or she wouldn't have to accidentally bump into Shuji and end up walking to school with him.
She wasn't looking for any confrontations today, although she had a feeling they were unavoidable, judging by the fact that Akemi was going to bother Shuji, since Chise told her what happened. Atsushi tapped Chise. "Hey, Chise. How come you aren't walking with Shuji to school today?" Before she could answer, Nori pointed at the window.
"Speak of the devil; there he is. Shuji!" Atsushi and Nori opened their window. "Hey, Shuji!" Shuji looked at the passing bus and waved at his two imbecile friends. Akemi pushed Atsushi out of the way. "Shuji!" She flipped the finger. "This is all for you!" The bus rolled by and she laughed, leaving Shuji flaring Chise grew uneasy. She didn't dare get nearer to the window. She didn't want Shuji to see her. It's going to be a long day. She was already discouraged, and they hadn't even reached school yet. Atsushi noticed the look on Chise's face. Empty of emotion; lost in thought. Nori and Atsushi exchanged comments, and Akemi silenced both of them with her belligerence. She has quite a way of persuasion.
The bus came to a halt. Everyone stepped off. Akemi grabbed Chise by the arm. "C'mon, Chise. We don't have time for these morons right now." Chise looked back and saw Shuji crossing the street. Atsushi and Nori ran to greet him. "Akemi, what is your problem? So early in the morning and you're already bitching." Akemi let go of Chise and stomped her way to Shuji. "What was that!" she yelled. Chise tried to hide behind Akemi. Shuji spotted Chise tip toeing and greeted her spontaneously. "Um. Good morning..."
As if by instinct, she tripped in front of them, almost knocking Akemi sideways. Some onlookers laughed, others shook their heads. Akemi helped her up, and Chise covered her brand new scrapped knee.
"Oh. Owww..."
"Chise, you have to be more careful!" Akemi scolded. Shuji just stood there staring at her... "I'm sorry." Chise mumbled. She looked in Shuji's direction and he looked back at her.
It seemed like time stopped.
In that moment, Chise and Shuji were the only ones that were able to move. Shuji's eyes fell on Chise's shorter hair and battle scars. He wanted to hug her. He wanted to tell her he missed her. But he couldn't. His fear of her hatred held him back. He couldn't help noticing one thing, though. In her fragile state, she was beautiful. To Chise, seeing Shuji brought her saddening relief. She suffered silently under his gaze. She felt like he was burning holes into her flesh. Chise blushed. Shuji looked at Akemi, who was staring at the both of them, annoyed.
"Okay, okay. This is an awkward moment. Let's go Chise. We're going to be late." Akemi urged Chise forward. Shuji came crashing down into reality. As Chise walked off, Akemi shot Shuji a dirty look.
"I think Akemi wants to kick your ass." Atsushi said.
"No shit." Shuji replied.
At lunchtime, Shuji made his way to the roof, alone. No Atsushi. No Nori. And what hurt him the most was that Chise wasn't there. They were never going to eat lunch together like they used to. They were never going to discuss their plans for the future. Not like they did when they were falling in love. "Hey! Shuji! Down here!" It was Atsushi, waving at him form the playground. Shuji waved back.
"What are you doing up there, man?" Shuji thought about it for a moment.
"Nothing, I guess!" he yelled back. Nori persuaded Shuji to go join them. "I'll be right there!"
Chise walked up the stairs to the roof of the school. Chise, expecting the roof to be empty, brought her lunch with her. She didn't want to see Shuji. She never felt so uncomfortable around him, at least not like before.
He kept staring at her in their classes. In study hall, she almost fell over him. Thinking about it, she blushed profusely. Reaching for the doorknob, she yelped when she found Shuji on the other side of the door, holding the doorknob as well. "Um." She began. He stared at her lunchbox. His stomach gurgled. Chise fought the urge to giggle.
"Are you hungry?" she asked. He nodded. "Well, you can have it. I'm not really hungry at all." She lied.
"No, its okay, you eat it." Shuji insisted
They were reminiscing on the day they ate lunch together on the roof. "We're friends now, Shuji. You need to stop following me around." Chise said. "Who said I was following you?" Shuji told her. "It's obvious you were." she countered. "I was not-!"
He stopped when he saw the hurt look on Chise's face. Chise stood up a moment later. "I'm going to study hall now." Shuji grabbed her arm. "Wait, Chise."
"I'm sorry, Shuji." Chise pulled her arm away from him. Shuji could feel his actions taking their toll on Chise. "I'm..."
"Shuji!" Atsushi yelled from down below. Shuji forgot about him and Nori. "I'll be right down!"
Shuji turned around and got ready to tell Chise what he felt, but she had already left. The door slammed. "Chise, I'm sorry. That's what I wanted to say." But Chise wasn't within eye distance.
After school, the halls were packed as usual. Atsushi and Shuji struggled to make their way to their lockers. Once they did, Atsushi popped the question. "Shuji, did something happen between you and Chise?" Shuji said nothing. "Does it have something to do with that Fuyumi lady from the other day?" This question certainly caught Shuji's attention. "It's really none of your business,
Atsushi." Shuji slammed his locker shut.
"Well, Akemi told me to tell you she's going to kick your ass." Shuji snapped. "Oh that's just great. She always needs to be in my business! Every time something happens it's Akemi to the rescue! God! I am tired of her trying to-". Atsushi pointed behind Shuji. Shuji groaned.
"She's behind me, isn't she?" Atsushi nodded. Shuji turned around and was barraged with her fists. "Shuji! Dammit! How could you! I thought you got over Fuyumi, but I was wrong! Do you know how much hurt you've caused Chise! She's cried so much today and-"
Shuji strutted off, avoiding the rest of her punches.
"Hey! I'm talking to you, asshole!" Atsushi shrugged his shoulders at Akemi.
Chise was staring at them from across the hallway.
It was towards the end of the day. Shuji sat in last period waiting for the bell to ring. He felt like the world was against him today. In spite of all that happened, he could look forward to walking home and just getting things off his mind.
In three minutes everyone was packing and at their lockers. Shuji faced the door with the deadest look on his face. I hope Akemi had fun with her little tirade today he thought. A pang of relief came over him. A calming serenity settled in him. Instead of walking down Hell Hill, he thought of taking the bus.
He waited by the stop near Hell Hill and stepped up inside. He saw Akemi, Nori, Atsushi, Rie and Seiko, but no Chise. He sat in the back with his two friends. Akemi glared at him, but Shuji figured he could deal with it. The three conversed about the day's events, avoiding the situations between him and Akemi. "Dude, that trigonometry test was difficult." Atsushi said with a disheartened sigh. "Yea, I bombed that test." Nori joined in. "How about you Shuji?" Shuji cocked his head back looking out the window. "It was alright…I guess."
"Shuji's such a genius, he doesn't need to study." Akemi interrupted. "You may be smart but he doesn't know the first thing about girls." Shuji rolled his eyes. How longer will she go on like this? he asked himself. "Tel them Shuji, about how you broke Chise's heart." Akemi crossed her arms.
"Akemi, has anyone told you that you're a busybody?"
This enraged Fuyumi. Hate bubbled over inside her. She tossed her head to the side and got off the next stop. "You know Shuji, you think you know, but you have no idea." Shuji scoffed at Akemi. What could she possibly know more than Shuji?