A/N: Since I have finished the final chapter of 'Why,' I will start posting the chapters weekly. Thank you for your reviews! Please leave more so I can know what to fix. Gokigenyou!
Chapter 3:
"Kio, you want a beer?"
I gladly took hold of the can Sou-chan offered to me, and I took a long sip. Thank god it was his turn to provide food for our first-ever official 'Midnight Cram Session!' and not me. With a beer on each side, I was set for the long hours of painting forgotten assignments. Sou-chan had stuff to catch up on, too.
All the food he brought was different from what I usually had for my solo cram sessions. I knew that Sou-chan was a good chef and really into health food. So, why did he bring a bunch of cotton candy and sweets? He told me the sugar was supposed to keep us vigil so we wouldn't fall asleep. I thought he was an expert on food, because I fell asleep around three o'clock in the morning after several rounds of beer and sweets.
Before I passed out from the soothing mixture of liquor and sugar, we had a visitor. I could tell Sou-chan knew this guy and forgot to tell me that he was coming. Although, it seemed weird that Sou-chan's guest still had his ears at his age. I mean, by the time someone enters his final years of senior high, he's already lost his ears. But, I will never forget the name of the man who stole Sou-chan from me: Aoyagi Seimei.
Damn that Aoyagi! I couldn't believe him. He and Sou-chan acted not as friends, but as something more. They were almost like servant and master. Whatever Seimei said, Soubi agreed with. Whatever Seimei ordered, Soubi obeyed. It was like watching a big, blonde dog drooling at his master's feet, waiting for him to throw the squeaky red ball. It was actually kind of disturbing.
Seimei and Sou-chan talked a lot. But, when they talked, it seemed like they were talking about nothing. Whatever it was—the weather, school, stocks (Why they would talk about stocks I couldn't figure out)— they could talk for at least an hour about it. By the time Sou-chan had finished two assignments, I was nearly finished. I listened to Sou-chan's conversations with Seimei, but I tried to ignore them at the same time.
After that night, I didn't see much of Aoyagi Seimei. Sou-chan seemed happy, and I wasn't going to disturb that—yet. I must have concocted all types of plans to get rid of Seimei, but I never tried any of them. Sou-chan, though allied with that damn Aoyagi, was still my friend. I think I still have the plans to get rid of Seimei, and some are really outrageous.
Ah, yes. One of the first I created was a shock collar that kept Seimei away from Sou-chan. If he came within twenty feet of Sou-chan, he would receive a painful shock that ran through his neck. But, when Sou-chan found that idea, he wouldn't speak to me for a few days. So, to ease my depression, I began a new hobby: piercing myself.
Sou-chan hardly paid attention to my piercing. He still visited with Seimei, sometimes crashing at his place. Sou-chan was happier than I had ever seen him, but I was like third wheel to him by the time I gave myself a third piercing. Not long after I got my fourth piercing, Sou-chan came to me one day dressed in all black, which didn't seem out of the ordinary. What did seem weird, though, was the fact that he had dark circles under his eyes and he looked like a ghost.
"Sou-chan?" I asked him quietly. "What's the matter?" He held a rolled newspaper in his left hand. The creases in it were deep. He had probably held it for an hour or so. He handed it to me, unrolling it slowly. "What's on the front page?" I asked, trying to make Sou-chan laugh his seducing laugh. But, he did not laugh; he didn't even smile. "Lighten up, Sou-chan," I grinned, not even bothering to look at the front page. Sou-chan nodded toward the paper, and I figured he wanted me to read it.
I shouldn't have listened.
On the front page there was a large headline in bold letters: "Tragedy! The Shocked Classroom!" I scanned the article, searching for the name of the victim. There it was, printed in black ink. There was the name 'Aoyagi Seimei, age 17.'
