Hey guys! I'm back with Chapter Five of Gray Stones!
And yet, even after the two's incident in the bar, the week went on like it always did. Akira and Sanami sat next to each other in homeroom. They went to the Go Club together. Akira studied games while Sanami talked endlessly.
But slowly, Akira was noticing a light change in Sanami.
"Miss Matsu'ura…could you read from page 67 please?"
"Yes, sensei!" Sanami nodded, standing up to read from the book. Akira shot her a small smile.
Sanami was growing more accustomed to authority and respect for others. She was starting to think of others before herself.
"Akira!" Sanami shouted to Akira, running up to him in the hall. "Akira, you're coming to my house tomorrow, right?"
It was Friday, and that meant Akira was in for another Saturday at Sanami's house. He sighed, then nodded.
"Yay! Then I've got loads of fun stuff to do!" She laughed, jumping up and down. "So you'd better be there or else!"
Akira took back that comment about "thinking of others before herself"…
"What kind of "fun things"?" Akira asked as the two walked along together in the hall. "Don't tell me it's another escapade to get in the tabloids."
"Nahh, I gave up on that plan," Sanami shrugged. "This one is just for fun! And we won't even have to leave the house!"
"No going into frightening stores?" Akira asked, narrowing his eyes. Sanami nodded rigorously.
"It'll be good, clean fun!" she assured him. "After all, we can't just play Gray Go all the time! We have to do other fun stuff!"
Akira would have preferred that they not play Gray Go at all…
"So this weekend is going to be the best!" Sanami smiled, walking outside the school doors for lunch. She stopped and wiped her brow. "Man, it got hot really fast."
It was true. After the short-lived rainy season the city had endured, a sudden heat wave had come over them. The weather report said it was only going to last through the weekend, but Akira still wished the school would let them wear their summer uniform.
"All the more perfect!" Sanami grinned at the white sun in the sky. "For this weekend, I mean."
"Sanami…what are you planning?" Akira asked, steadily becoming worried.
"Just you wait until tomorrow!" Sanami smiled flirtatiously and poked Akira's nose, making him back away slightly. With that, she ran off, Akira sighing and following her.
"Mother, Father, I'm leaving!" Akira called to his parents that Saturday afternoon as he pulled on his shoes. Akira had dressed for the heat in shorts and a short-sleeved shirt. "I'll be back by four!"
"Akira…"
Akira stopped as he heard his father's voice from behind him. He turned his head around to see none other then his father sitting in a chair, reading a book. "Yes, father?"
"Where are you going every Saturday afternoon?" he asked.
Akira felt his face grow pale. He could've just said to a friend's house…but then his father would ask which friend…then he could just say Sanami Matsu'ura…but what if he asked what they were doing?
Akira knew his father wouldn't approve of the fact that Akira was putting up with playing a ridiculous imitation of Go. In fact, Akira was afraid that his father might get angry. It was…better to lie…
"Umm…to the Go Parlor," Akira responded shakily. "Just to go over some games and meet a few people."
"Every Saturday afternoon?" his father asked, flipping a page in his book. "You haven't been taking the car."
"Uhh…yes, I usually walk." This part was true. To avoid suspicion of his father's driver, he had walked to Sanami's house every day. The trek was long and a bit of an annoyance, but better then being caught.
"Every Saturday afternoon?" his father repeated.
"Umm…yes."
"All right then…" his father frowned. "Go ahead."
"Goodbye, father," Akira said, ducking out the door as quickly as he could. The second Akira was out the door, his father put down his book and sighed.
"I do wonder why Akira would have to keep a secret from me…" he frowned, shaking his head. "After all…"
"You saw Akira in a bar, Toriyama-san?" Akira's father asked, raising an eyebrow in odd suspicion. He was talking to a friend over the phone, and the friend had brought him a strange piece of information. "Are you sure it was Akira?"
"I was there having a drink with a friend of mine," Toriyama-san responded over the receiver. "I'm sure it was him. He was also with a young lady with long white blonde hair. Do you know her?"
"No…I've never heard of such a girl," Akira's father frowned. "What was he doing there?"
"He didn't say anything; the girl did most of the talking," Toriyama-san told him. "She demanded drinks, then revealed their identities…"
"Demanded drinks?" asked Akira's father, looking very confused.
"It was all a bit of a joke," Toriyama-san sighed. "And I think Akira knew it. He didn't say anything and walked out pretty quickly after the bartender told them to leave. The young lady seemed to be taking it pretty seriously…"
"Did you perchance catch the name of this young lady?"
"Mmm…oh yes! Now I remember!" responded Toriyama-san, finally remembering the name of the girl. "Listen to this! Sanami Matsu'ura! Gosho Matsu'ura's daughter!"
"Gosho Matsu'ura's daughter?" Akira's father asked, frowning. "Thank you Toriyama-san…"
"My pleasure sensei. I just hope I didn't stir up anything I shouldn't have."
"No, no," Akira's father shook his head. "I think this is actually for the best."
"I do wonder…" Akira's father frowned, then put down his book. "Where Ms. Matsu'ura lives."
Akira had finally made it to Sanami's house and now stood in front of the large white doors, ringing the doorbell. Usually, Sanami had sprinted to the door before he had even finished pressing his finger to the button, but today, there was no sign of her.
He pressed the bell again, and the door swung open.
"I'm here Sa…" Akira stopped to see none other then Sanami's butler greeting him at the door.
"Ahh, Akira-sama, this way please," he smiled, opening the door for Akira. Akira walked through the door and replaced his shoes for his pair of slippers which Sanami had written "Bestest Bud" on the bottoms of. "Sanami-sama is in the backyard waiting for you."
"This can't be good," Akira muttered to himself.
"Sanami?" Akira pushed a sliding door open to find himself in an immense backyard. A golf course, a tennis court, a gigantic pool, and what looked to be a barbecue patio all filled the gigantic space. He sighed…this was probably the "small" backyard. "Sanami, where are you?"
"I'm over here, Akira!"
Akira looked over to see Sanami's head bob out of pool, her practically white hair soaked. She started to swim over to him, then grabbed a pool ladder and hoisted herself up.
Sanami was, obviously, wearing a swim suit. Most likely designer, Akira thought. It was a white two piece with two thin straps that connected at the back of her neck. She looked extremely pleased with herself. "Here you are! Finally!"
"Sanami, what are you doing?" Akira asked, fearing the worse.
"Swimming! It's so hot and all," Sanami pointed to the blazing white sun. "Why don't you take a swim too?"
"No thank you…" Akira frowned.
"Awww, why not?"
"I don't want to…" he blushed. "I'd rather not waste my time swimming. And it isn't even real swimming. All you do is bob up and down in the water."
"Man! You are SUCH a nerd!" Sanami frowned. "Do you even know how to swim?"
"Yes, I know how to swim," said Akira, his frown growing even more. "But I'd rather not."
"It's so hot!" Sanami commented. "Don't tell me all that water isn't inviting?"
"I don't even have a swimsuit," Akira reminded her.
"No prob!" Sanami laughed and pointed over to a deck chair behind Akira. A black towel and a pair of black swim trunks sat on it. "I bought you one, since I knew you wouldn't remember to bring one!"
"You never told me to bring one!"
"You can get changed in the bathroom!" Sanami said, pointing to the sliding door. "It's to the right of that door."
"Sanami, I'm not going swimming," Akira said matter-of-factly, sitting down in a vacant deck chair. "If this is your "big plan of fun" then I'm not impressed."
"It is fun! You're just a stick in the mud!" Sanami pouted and then gave a wide smirk. "I bet you're just embarrassed cause I'm so gorgeous!"
Akira blushed crimson and a scowl decorated his face. "Don't flatter yourself!"
"You think I'm sexy!" Sanami teased him, swerving her hips back and forth. "You innocent little boy!"
"I don't have to sit here for this," Akira stood up, his entire face growing red. "If all you're going to do is get lungs full of water, I'm leaving."
"Hey wait!" Sanami frowned. "We haven't played our game of Go yet! If you leave you'll be breaking your promise!"
"I don't care!"
"If you leave now then you'll have to come every Saturday for the rest of your LIFE!"
"What if I just stop coming?" Akira raised his voice.
"You won't stop coming!" Sanami shouted, her fists by her sides. "You'll come just like you've been coming for the past few months! You'll come because we're best friends!"
Akira stopped and turned around to face Sanami. She was frowning, and looked hurt. Akira thought to himself, a confused expression on his face. Could it be that she really thought of them as best friends?
Were they best friends?
"Fine," Akira grumbled. "I'll stay."
"Banzai!" Sanami cheered and threw her arms around Akira's neck. "Now go and get into your swimsuit!"
"Not fine," Akira said. "I'm staying here on this chair."
"Fine, fine!" Sanami smirked. "Suit yourself. But it sure is hot out here!"
"Yes…" Akira muttered, sitting down in the deck chair. "It is hot."
"Really hot…" Sanami sighed, fanning herself.
"Very."
"I bet you could fry an egg on the asphalt!" she sighed, wiping her brow. "It's just that hot!"
"…extremely."
Sanami pouted, then turned her back on Akira and jumped into the water. "Woah! Nice and cool in here!"
"I'm sure it is."
"Cool enough to chill ice cream!"
"Of course."
"Akira, you're so selfish!" Sanami finally exploded.
"Me?" Akira scoffed. "Selfish? Look in a mirror sometimes!"
"Yes! You're selfish!" Sanami nodded. "All you care about is yourself! You don't even begin to think how I feel!"
"That's ridiculous. I don't need to think about how you feel. You think about how you feel enough for the both of us."
"Fine, be a retard!" Sanami said, bobbing under the water.
"Don't say 'retard'. It's crude," Akira sighed, picking up a book from his bag and beginning to read.
Sanami paused for a minute or so and then a grin came over her face. "Hey Akira! Are you thirsty?"
Akira paused and looked over at Sanami. "Actually, yeah. I am pretty thirsty."
"Okay, okay. You're right, I'm being stupid. I'll have Yuko get you something to drink," Sanami told him. She then turned to the door and screamed: "YUUUKKOOO!"
"Yes Sanami-sama?" a pretty maid with brown hair poked her head out the door. "Do you need something?"
"Come over here for a second," Sanami motioned to the maid and she walked over to the blonde girl in the pool. Sanami whispered something in her ear and Yuko nodded, sighing.
"Are you sure Sanami-san?" she asked, skeptical.
"Positive! He's really thirsty! And he's hungry too I bet!" Sanami smiled.
"Actually, I'm not hungry Sanami…" Akira began, but it was too late. Yuko was already gone inside the house. "Sanami, what did you tell that maid?"
"I just told her to get you something to drink and something to eat," Sanami smiled. "Oh! I told her to get me something to drink too."
"Is that…it?" Akira told her, narrowing his eyes. Sanami smiled and nodded.
"That's it!" she said, nodding and getting out of the pool. She sat across the small table from Akira, waiting for their food and drink. "Should be coming any second now."
Right on cue, Yuko walked out with two trays. One contained a pitcher of iced lemonade with a glass and a small dish of ice cream.
The other had hot chocolate and steaming Onion Soup.
"For you miss," Yuko gave Sanami the lemonade and ice cream. "And Toya-sama…this is for you." She put the tray of soup and hot chocolate in front of the flabbergasted Akira. Sanami was already pouring herself a tall glass of lemonade by the time Yuko had left through the door.
"Ahhh!" Sanami smiled as she downed the glass. "That sure is tasty! C'mon Akira, drink up! You said you were thirsty!"
"Sanami, you're going straight to hell, you know that?" Akira muttered under his breath as he looked at the steaming food and drink in front of him. "I can't drink this! It's scalding, and it's way too hot outside."
"You said you wanted something to drink," Sanami reminded him, a manipulative tone in her voice. "So I got you something to drink. Don't be rude!"
"Give me a bit of your lemonade," Akira told her. "You can't possibly drink that whole pitcher."
"Sure I can!" Sanami grinned, pouring herself another full glass of lemonade. As she drank it, Akira felt his temple throbbing in anger. "Ahh! That sure is refreshing!"
Akira was slowly reaching for Sanami's ice cream, only to have her snatch it away as well and start to eat it up with the spoon that was stuck into it. She ate the whole bowl in under three minutes. "Man! That sure is good! But I've eaten too fast. All I've got left is one last glass of lemonade," she told him, pouring the last of the lemonade into the glass. She held it up and looked through it. "I might be persuaded to part with it though…"
Akira frowned. He knew where this was going. "Drink your idiotic lemonade. I'm not going in the pool with you."
"Oh c'mon!" Sanami frowned. "Don't you want the lemonade?"
"You can't manipulate me, Sanami," Akira told her quite plainly, returning to his book. "There is no way I'm getting in that pool. No matter how many fancy tricks you use."
"Fine!" Sanami growled, drinking the last of the lemonade vindictively. "I'm going to keep swimming!" She looked over at Akira and walked over to the pool. "Even if you're being stupid and selfish!"
Akira ignored Sanami, and she jumped into the pool once again, dampening the deck. She was splashing around as usual, and Akira continued to read.
"Aki-Akira! Akira, help me!"
Akira looked up from his book at the cry for help to see Sanami struggling in the water, holding her side. "Akira! I-I got a cramp! I can't swim!"
"A cramp?" Akira cried.
"Yeah! They say you're supposed to wait thirty minutes after eating to go swimming, but I always thought that was just a piece of crap!" Sanami cried out, her head falling below the water. "Akira! Help!" She cried out before going under.
"SANAMI!" Akira shouted, jumping to his feet and running into the water. He jumped in to see Sanami slowly going downwards in the water.
"Don't worry Sanami! I'll save you!" he told her, grabbing her around the waist. "I've got you! Don't worry, Sanami! I've got you!"
"Heh heh…I think you've got it wrong Akira!" Akira looked down to see Sanami's head surface above the water, a smirk on her face. The next thing he knew, Sanami had her arms around him and he was trapped. "It's me who's got you!"
"H-Huh?" Akira asked, dumbstruck.
"Tricked ya!" Sanami winked. "Guess I got you in the pool after all!"
Akira was silent. He looked at Sanami, then down at his wet clothes, then back at Sanami. His head throbbed and he gritted his teeth in anger. "SANAMI, I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"
"Haha! Catch me if you can!" she called, swimming out of his grasp and towards the other side of the pool. Akira turned and swam after her in hot pursuit.
"Come back here, Sanami! I'm going to kill you!"
"Akira…you're drenched."
"Heh…yes father. I fell in a rather large puddle on the way back," Akira told his father when he arrived back the house, still wet.
"A large puddle? I see…" his father nodded. "Well…go upstairs and dry off. Your mother should have dinner ready in about an hour."
"Yes father," Akira nodded and walked upstairs, doing his best not to get water on the stairs.
Akira walked back into his room, drying his hair off with a towel. He felt bad about lying to his father, but he couldn't reveal that he was secretly going to Sanami's house every Saturday. He would only get angry with him.
Akira sat down at his desk and gave a sigh. Sanami…was absolutely impossible.
His thoughts were interrupted by his phone ringing. He picked it up, "Hello?"
"Hey there best bud!" Sanami's voice chirped over the phone, making Akira grimace. "Liked our underwater excursion today?"
"No. I'm hanging up now," Akira said, moving to hang up the phone.
"No, wait!" Sanami cried. "Don't hang up!" Akira sighed and picked up the phone again.
"What?"
"I wanted to say sorry for pretending to drown," Sanami muttered. "Kind of lame, I know. Do you forgive me?"
"No," Akira snapped. "That wasn't funny, Sanami."
"But…" Sanami's voice perked up over the phone. "I was really happy to see how you jumped in to save me. It made me feel really good Akira." Akira paused, a little dumbstruck by this honest expression of feeling. "Thanks for being such a good friend."
Akira paused, then smiled slightly. "Sure," he told her, smiling.
And Akira really did mean it. He guessed that he did subconsciously care about this selfish, spoiled girl. Maybe they were friends after all. Maybe they were best friends after all. He wasn't really sure, but for now, he felt it was best to just accept the compliment Sanami had paid him.
"Anytime."
Yay! Chapter 5 is completed! I'm so happy:D Please review with your thoughts! I love the reviewers for this story! They're so smart!
Until then,
Ciao for now!
-Sammy