Hibaku's Japanese classroom! Today, there's only one word.
Neesan: Elder sister.
Tell me if you want to clarify anything. And I was reading the previous chapter when I realized I misused the word 'tirade'. Unintentionally, I would like to rectify. There was supposed to be a manager quarreling and all that but I cut it out. Oh and I realized that florists probably don't need fertilizer. Please forgive! ((chuu))
x
Chapter Two
"Ahhhhhh help help help help- Thanks Raiha," Fuuko gasped in relief, as Raiha managed to stabilize the tray of jelly. Fuuko continued carrying the tray to the enormous dining table.
Neon slyly walked over to Raiha and whispered, "So you two a couple already?"
Raiha blushed and gave Neon a big smile. "It's really not your business, Neon."
Slapping Raiha on the back playfully, Neon walked over to the mantlepiece and looked at the pictures on top. It showed Yanagi as a baby, her (extremely beautiful) mother and father's wedding photo, Yanagi as a toddler and Yanagi with her mother and father when she was about five years old.
I wonder when Hiro will be that big…
The doorbell jolted Neon back to reality. "Could someone please get it for me?" called Yanagi from the kitchen. Raiha was cooing to Hiro as the baby lay in the pram, Aki and Miki were also helping Yanagi in the kitchen along with Fuuko, so Neon opened the door.
I thought they had a housekeeper around here…?
"Neon-san!" called out Aoi and Domon happily. They handed Neon a package and Domon chuckled, "This is for Hiro. From us!"
Neon said her thanks and placed it in Hiro's pram, along with his other gifts. "Where are the rest?" Aoi asked.
"Un, not here yet I suppose. It's still early," Neon mused. Aoi nodded and got up to help out in the kitchen. Neon was about to follow when Aoi spun around and wagged her finger.
"No no no Neon-san! Today you are also a star," grinned Aoi. "Stay here and relax. This was Yanagi's instructions!"
Neon smiled and sat herself down beside Raiha, who was cuddling Hiro in his arms.
"Aw, he likes you," commented Neon. Raiha beamed, "Really?"
Neon laughed and nodded. Raiha rubbed noses with the little baby and Neon looked sadly at her friend.
Raiha suddenly turned and caught Neon's melancholic expression. He was silent for a moment.
"Neon… Tell me frankly. Hiro's father is Kurei-sama, right?"
Neon just lowered her head and said nothing.
"Neon-"
The doorbell saved her.
x
Tokiya was taken aback by Neon's zombie-like expression. She rarely looked like that.
"Hello, Neon," he gave a small, polite smile. Neon tried to smile back, but it seemed more of a grimace than anything else.
As he entered, he raised his eyebrows at Raiha, who shrugged and went back to playing with the baby.
"Here, this is for Hiro," Tokiya handed Neon the gift. "Sorry I didn't wrap it."
"Thank you…" Neon said listlessly, placing the box of mittens again in the pram. She wandered to the balcony and stayed there.
Tokiya went over to Raiha and asked, "Is she all right?"
Raiha sighed and rocked Hiro back and forth. "I asked her about Hiro's father… She didn't want to tell me who he is. For obvious reasons."
Tokiya nodded in understanding.
Raiha gave a sorrowful smile. "I think we all know, in our hearts, who Hiro's father is. And Neon is just trying to mask her pain by not talking about it, by trying to forget it…"
x
"Hiro is three months old today!" Yanagi announced to everyone. "We're all here to celebrate his existence of one full year!"
The guests clapped and cheered, and Neon smiled. It was a long time since she had felt relatively exhilarated.
"Let's cut the cake," Yanagi cheerfully beckoned to Recca to push it out of the kitchen. On the huge cake shaped like a baby were the words, "We Love You, Hiro-kun!"
"I hope that Neon and the baby will be happy," Raiha murmured to Fuuko.
"They will," Fuuko gave his arm a reassuring squeeze. He returned her gesture with a smile.
x
"Kagerou-san… I have to speak to you."
Kagerou turned around and was surprised to hear that from Aoi, who rarely spoke to her except when Kagerou was at the flower shop.
"Come here," Aoi pulled Kagerou into another hallway.
Kagerou wondered what Aoi was up to when Aoi whispered a very surprising question.
"Kagerou-san… Is it possible for anyone to be empowered without madougu? Say, having an impenetrable barrier like how Recca used with Madouka the fire dragon?"
Kagerou stared at Aoi for a moment before speaking. "Technically, it is possible. Recca himself did it without madougu-"
"But the thing is, Kagerou-san," Aoi eagerly cut in, "Hokage is destroyed now, right? Okay maybe I should ask you if it is possible for anyone to have powers now that Hokage does not exist?"
Kagerou nodded her head. "There should be. There are so many definitions of 'power' in this world! But regarding the power about the impenetrable barrier… I cannot be sure. The only proof that someone can be empowered without any relation to the Hokage is Yanagi."
Aoi nodded – she had thought about it before, but it struck her that Yanagi was just one in the whole world.
Kagerou continued, "As you know, Yanagi still retains her healing powers because she was born with it. I do not rule out the possibility that someone can be born with such powers, but it is very difficult to believe. It would be a very old magic… Like Yanagi's, for example."
Surprised, Aoi asked, "What do you mean, 'like Yanagi's'?"
Kagerou sighed and guided Aoi to the stairs. "Let me tell you from the beginning."
x
Domon was mulling around the Sakoshita mansion, never a guy for truth-or-dare no matter what his personality revealed him to be. Tokiya was forced to play by everyone, Raiha was forced to play by Fuuko and Yanagi was coaxed to play by Recca. Tsukishiro and Kasshamaru proclaimed that they would accept only dares, Gashakura, the first victim, confessed that he used to have a crush on Tokiya (that was the moment Domon felt he had to leave) and Neon was feeding Hiro in one of the rooms on the first floor. Saicho and Misora, Rassen and Kirin were on their respective honeymoons and could not attend the party.
Ah, it feels nice to be alone sometimes.
Domon then passed a display cupboard on the second floor full of stuffed toys, cards and other memorabilia.
This must belong to Yanagi…
He scanned the photos, looking out for pretty girls (with huge assets). He spotted a few from school, lots of pictures with Fuuko, but only one he did not classify as 'familiar'.
She isn't from our school, he thought, looking at her uniform. Her boobs aren't that great either.
He was about to turn away when it suddenly dawned on him that he had seen her before.
"The supermarket girl!" Domon cried out loud, his voice echoing through the silent second-floor hallway.
x
"YES! MI-CHAN!" Fuuko cackled. "Truth or dare?"
Tokiya, blushing in irritation, mumbled 'truth'.
"Ooooooh…" went the members of the circle.
"Who is your girlfriend, really?" Fuuko shot at him.
"I don't have one," Tokiya replied confidently as the group groaned things like, "Overused, Fuuko!" and "We asked him that the last time we played!"
"Next," Tokiya declared in his cool demeanor.
"Hey, that's not fair-"
"FUUKO!" screamed the circle in delight, as the arrow on the board pointed to 'Truth or Dare'.
Scoffing, Fuuko chose 'dare'.
"Ohohoho," chuckled Recca sinisterly. "You can't choose 'dare' anymore. You've chosen it three times. You have to tell a truth before you do anymore dares."
"WHAT! What kind of rule is that!"
"Truth truth truth truth truth truth…" chanted the circle.
"Okay, okay," surrendered Fuuko. "Ask away."
Tokiya's cool-headedness was only given away by the glint in his eyes. "Do you or do you not brush your teeth first thing in the morning?"
Fuuko turned a beetroot red before cursing Tokiya severely. "So what if I don't?"
The circle gave a few barfing sounds before Fuuko spun the arrow vigorously.
It landed on 'Double Truth or Double Dare'.
And it pointed to Fuuko again.
"Double dare!" Fuuko quickly shot up to her feet, screaming her choice. Tokiya, being the previous most possible person the arrow had pointed to, had two options. One, he could give her one of his dares, or he could pick another person to give Fuuko her dare.
Tokiya then looked at Recca, who grinned widely and nodded. Tokiya pointed to the latter and said, "I'll let Recca give you your dare."
Fuuko was steaming mad by then. "You know perfectly well that I would probably lose my dignity and not get married ever with this guy's dares, Mi-chan!"
Tokiya shrugged nonchalantly, savoring every minute of Fuuko's pissed-off-ness. Recca stood up and with an evil glint in his eyes, said, "Let the dare begin."
x
"Kagerou-mama! Aoi! What are both of you doing here?" exclaimed Domon. Aoi replied, "Kagerou-san was telling me about Yanagi's previous life."
Domon remembered, "Oh, the Sakura-hime one?"
Kagerou nodded. Aoi then spoke, "You remember the girl we saw at the supermarket? The one who got buried under that pile of cans?"
"Uh-huh, of course," Domon responded, thinking about the photo he saw in the display cupboard.
"I'm asking Kagerou-san if it's possible for anyone to possess such abilities without madougu," explained Aoi.
Domon mused, "Well, Yanagi can do that, right?"
Aoi gasped in mock surprise. "Very good, Domon!"
"…Shut up."
Kagerou laughed and turned back to Aoi. "Basically, that's what happened. Sakura-hime died so that she could preserve her country's dignity and her chastity."
Aoi nodded to show she understood. Domon then spoke up rather grumpily. "If you guys are done, I have something to show you."
x
"You know, you don't really have to do this…" Raiha tried to coax Fuuko. She ignored him and rolled up her sleeves.
"You are stupid, Hanabishi Recca," Fuuko stuck out her tongue at him.
"Thank you," guffawed her object of verbal abuse. "You may begin."
Tsukishiro switched on the CD player and the opening blasts for an English song by Britney Spears called 'Baby One More Time' began.
Miki and Aki jumped out from nowhere and shouted over the music, "We're here to help you, Fuuko! Follow our moves!" They then shook their booties, forcing Yanagi to cover Recca's eyes.
Oh brother, Fuuko muttered inwardly before trying to imitate them. Damn that Recca. No wait, DAMN MIKAGAMI TOKIYA!
x
"Maybe you've got the wrong person…" Aoi mused, peering at the photograph. Domon shook his head. "I stared at her longer than you did."
"I believe you," Aoi gave him an over-enthusiastic thumbs up accompanied with her trademark grin.
"…Idiot…"
Kagerou squinted at the photo. "I don't recognize her, that's for sure. I wonder how she's related to Yanagi…?"
x
"Dare Number Two! It's very simple, really. Pick someone in this room to kiss," Recca grinned, handing Fuuko a plastic bag.
"What's the bag for?" Fuuko snapped irritably.
"Oh, you mean you want to kiss without the plastic bag between you and your partner? Go ahead, by all means!" Recca attempted to snatch the plastic bag away, but Fuuko ducked and ran to Hiro's pram.
"Hiro is not included," Gashakura quickly interjected. "He's still PG."
"Yeah," Recca agreed, "only 15-year-olds and above can be kissed."
"Bah, I forgot he's not in his pram anyway," Fuuko grumbled. Fuming, she turned around and headed for Tokiya.
"I HAVE IMMUNITY!" Tokiya shouted unexpectedly as Fuuko charged at him (or screamed, rather unbecomingly). He hid behind Kasshamaru, thinking, Where's that gorilla when you need him?
"I don't care!" came Fuuko's answer. Kasshamaru laughed and pulled Tsukishiro and Gashakura beside him. "You know, we're always available…" Fuuko made a face and retreated five steps back.
"A-ano…" Yanagi stammered out of the blue, "Maybe you would like to kiss Raiha-san?"
Fuuko bit her lip and felt her face flushing.
Raiha looked to the ceiling and tried to will his heart to beat slower.
x
Tokiya chuckled to himself as he walked home with Domon and Aoi, who just lived a few blocks away from him at Hana no Ishijima.
Aoi stared at Tokiya weirdly. "Ano, Mikagami-kun, are you all right? Do you need us to send you home?"
"He must have had too much to drink," muttered Domon.
"I'm fine, I just recalled how freaked Recca was when Fuuko kissed Yanagi."
"So that was what the whole fight was about!" exclaimed Aoi, as they turned into a junction. Domon scratched his head and thought aloud, "But why not Raiha? I thought she likes him?"
Aoi shook her head and patted Domon's shoulder. "My friend, not everyone's love life is as successful as yours. You had Kasumi coming along and giving her whole being to you, lucky guy!"
Domon threw back his head and laughed – it was true, Kasumi was an adorable, lovely girlfriend. When Fuuko had rejected him Kasumi was there to lend him a shoulder. The big bonus was that she had started to grow in all sorts of great places ever since she hit her sixteenth birthday.
"So, Mikagami-kun, when are you having a relationship?" Aoi turned away from the guffawing gorilla.
Tokiya shrugged and stretched his arms skyward, breathing in the scents of the night. "I don't know… Haven't found anyone I particularly like yet. Well, speak for yourself."
Aoi chuckled, "Ah. I don't have any interest in romantic relationships… It was already a blessing to be able to feel friendship."
Tokiya looked at Aoi and murmured, "If you didn't say things like these, I would have forgotten…."
Laughing, Aoi waved goodbye to Tokiya and turned into Hana no Ishijima, with Domon trailing behind her.
She's changed…Tokiya strolled up the sidewalk thinking about how Aoi was just a year before.
I've changed too.
x
Two weeks flew past and Tokiya helped Itsuko carry her things to the moving van, met her boyfriend, saw her apartment becoming eerie and empty, witnessed people coming in and out of it with the (filthy rich) landlord, and then one day the apartment was rented. He knew it was because he saw light coming from inside at night, and construction from the renovation was going on in the daytime.
The strange thing was, he never saw his neighbor.
x
It was a Thursday evening when Tokiya returned home from school, only to see a middle aged man standing outside Itsuko's apartment with a strikingly beautiful girl who was obviously his daughter because of her resemblance towards him even though she was rather blonde and had blue eyes. They were peering into the windows of the apartment, trying to catch some signs of life.
"The house is sold, sir," he informed them politely.
The man turned to look at him. "Oh… I see. Thank you."
Squeezing her father's shoulder, the girl assured him, "It's okay… We'll find a place."
After a smile and a slight bow to Tokiya, they left.
Tokiya fished around in his pocket for his keys when he heard something being dropped onto the floor a distance away. Looking up, he saw what he presumed to be his neighbor.
It seems that everyone is sporting blue eyes these days, he thought as his neighbor, a twenty-something-year-old woman, blinked disbelievingly at the girl and her father when they passed her, as if she had never seen humans before.
The man's daughter apologized, thinking that she had bumped into the lady, and went over to gather the lady's documents for her.
"Thank you…" she murmured, never taking her eyes off the younger girl.
Kami-sama, is she lesbian or something? thought Tokiya.
"You're welcome," the blonde responded cheerfully before leaving with her dad.
Tokiya had no idea why he could not find his keys and continued fishing around in his pocket. Unknowingly, his neighbor was still gazing at the closed doors of the lift and bumped into him slightly. Startled, their eyes met.
"Seiya-neesan…" she whispered, as her expression turned hard.
Tokiya couldn't help but bristle and reply coldly, "I am a guy."
The girl seemed to relax a little but could not let go of the frown. Her scrutiny was unbearable, so Tokiya turned away and inserted the key into the lock.
So much for Itsuko's hope of Tokiya having a nice neighbor.