This morning saw a slight change to my rather smooth morning routine. The first part, speaking with Mona who felt emasculated as my pet and wanted to be treated like a man before cooling him off with some lovely gourmet cat food, remained the same. The second, going downstairs and warmly hugging Futaba whilst greeting Sojiro, didn't happen at all. We didn't hug one another, just an awkward utterance of "morning" there and back. Sojiro wasn't the slightest bit impressed and blocked our breakfasts. Taking Mona with me when it was time to go, I'd ran into Shiho at Shibuya station which lifted my spirits. Reaching Shujin Academy, we happened to catch a glimpse of burgundy red hair and a large red ribbon. Sumire stood a few paces away but she looked…ghostly. Standing motionless and looking in no particular direction at no particular person, there was no discernible expression on her face and a bone crushing aura surrounded her.
"Sumire?" I asked.
"Oh…Ren and Suzui-san. Hi." she replied weakly. There were bold reporters with their cameras who couldn't take a hint and clearly placed putting a scoop over keeping their livelihoods intact. I suppose they were the types of vultures who loved doing anything on a tightrope. It would be hell if they dared approach her so I came over.
"Yoshizawa-san. Are you okay?" Sumire seemed too uncomfortable to reply. Shiho looked at me and hinted that I should help her out.
"...I'll catch you guys later." With that she made her way inside the school leaving me and my kouhai.
"We should head inside, right?" I comm- er, suggested to her. She didn't refuse.
"Y-yeah…" As the two of us walked into Shujin Academy, the reason became a little more apparent to me what could be going on.
"There's the little seat sniffer." "Relied on her sister to get where she is, didn't she?"
"That redhead's one of the lucky ones." "Smiling pretty all you like having not been hurt…"
"He didn't lay a finger on her." "If she had ammunition against him, why didn't she step up?"
"Honours student my ass…" "Who the hell does she think she is?"
"Kamoshida was her blanket of comfort after all." "Why can't she just get thrown out?"
"How many people got passed up just to let a rodent like her in?"
"Her sister is the real deal. She's just a consolation prize now…" Ugly hyenas. Sumire was doing her best not to let it bother her but this abuse was horrendous. Did the students have such a short attention span that they'd forgotten her heartfelt appeal to keep our Prez in charge? Ryuji happened to be alone for a long time and got used to it, Ann had some people no matter what and Shiho...Ann was probably the solid foundation she could rest on that kept her going before I showed up. I was a done deal but for Sumire, this isolation must've been new. It was condescending to try and verbally reassure her. As we headed to the second floor, I continued to walk with Sumire and the comments continued to be hurled her way. That was enough for her to be irked though.
"Amamiya-senpai…why are you still walking with me?"
"Because I'm worried about you. Why else?"
"...I appreciate the gesture but it's going to cause you and your girlfriend trouble. If anything, you seem more annoyed than I am." So even walking with her was too much. I decided I'd just leave her with one nugget of advice.
"Uh, just try your best to ignore the bullshit is all I can say. Alright?"
"...See you later, Amamiya-senpai." She walked away, presumably to her classroom without so much as turning around. Whatever my worries were, I'd chosen to respect her wishes and left for my classroom. Kawakami thankfully didn't single me out whilst the others were still entering. Reaching lunchtime, I began making my way to the balcony with Shiho who waited patiently for me to get out. Once again, though, an out-of-order Sumire awaited us. We'd watched as the two girls who still hated every fibre of my existence went by - they were in their own world, happily conversing away whilst she'd just stood there absently. We went over to her and as she saw us, some life came back to her.
"Um…hey." Sumire meekly said.
"Hi, Yoshizawa-san." Shiho greeted. There was still something uneasy about her. Figuring standing around and doing nothing was not an option, I broached the situation.
"Your friends…aren't you going to head after them?" I asked. We had no response.
"Do you want to eat with us instead?" Shiho asked. Again, no response. Forget this… Instead of trying to goad her into giving me an answer, I'd let her decide if she was going to continue the silent treatment or actually trust in us.
"We're by the balcony today." With that, I started walking towards said balcony. My girlfriend followed shortly after and had panic written over her face at my refusal to help.
"Ren…are we really just-" She'd started, fully ready to defend our kouhai.
"If she comes, we'll talk with her about it. If she doesn't, we'll have our alone time as usual. It's up to her whether she does something or nothing. I don't know about you but I won't stand there and tolerate bitchy treatment like that."
"Maybe be a little more sensitive to what she's going through." Shiho chided. I ignored it.
"Is she going to show up then?" she asked me.
"Who knows." Not really reassuring her with my answer, Shiho was rather annoyed at me and scowled all the way up to our spot.
"Hey, again." Sumire said.
"Yoshizawa-san?" I grinned at my woman who was quite shocked. This flipped her switch and she'd barked at me.
"…What's so funny?! Were you expecting her to show up?"
"Um…" Our kouhai said. I'd spun my head, holding my hand to shut her down a little and cockily replied:
"I had no doubt in my mind."
"How though?" I shot my woman a warm glance, teasing her for forgetting how we'd started in the first place.
"It worked on you and here we are now." I giggled.
"I suppose it did." She pouted. I'd then turned to the troublesome kouhai I had and spoke to her calmly. She didn't turn her eyes away from me and Shiho shot a shrug her way. Are they worried I'm going to bark?
"I'm not angry. It isn't very nice that you ignored us both just then. You were taught to have far better manners than that, Sumire."
"Is there a real need to chide her like a child? You sound patronising as hell." Mona uttered and subsequently went ignored. Sumire and Shiho didn't comment.
"And how does it feel being on the receiving end?"
"…Sorry, Amamiya-senpai and Suzui-senpai." We both cracked warm smiles and I'd ruffled her hair.
"You seem to understand so it's cool." As my kouhai sat in between us, taking out her bento box, we'd let her eat away. Sumire finally took initiative and laid the problem out to us both.
"They didn't want to talk with me." she said.
"Those girls? You're on good terms with them though…" Mona pondered.
"It wasn't like they'd said anything! It was just…erm…"
"You kinda sensed it, right?" I guessed.
"Yeah…it was the same this morning. I worked really hard to put my all into my demonstration to get considered for a place here. Kamoshida didn't give a dishonest judgement and neither did the other coaches - they wouldn't have been able to." Sumire elaborated, almost pleadingly so. I had to agree with her - such a recommendation would require a wide number of checks that wouldn't be entrusted to Shujin Academy alone. It must have been in vain but she must've tried to speak out against the rumours.
"Word got out about your ties to Kamoshida then. Tell me…do you like those girls?"
"Of course. Masako and Nichika…they were accepting of me from the beginning and helped me shoo away lots of students who only cared that I'm an honour student. We've had evenings out at the movies, hang out sessions and loads more these past few weeks. I don't have to worry about my expectations in front of them either. They've also shown me things I never would've found on my own." She seemed to have a lot of faith in the two girls so I wouldn't need to make 'em disappear. Shiho decided to play the interrogator today.
"Then again, Yoshizawa-san. Are you totally sure it wasn't just your status?" Shiho asked, just to be sure.
"It wasn't, Suzui-senpai. We've had a lot of fun times together this past month…I don't want to think it meant nothing."
"...The rumours are due to your status, though." Mona surmised. I followed onward.
"If anything was to happen to a precious honours student, then Kobayakawa probably would've gotten off his carcass and done…something." Shit…I could've approached him from that angle! This bullshit could've been dealt with IMMEDIATELY! No Palace necessary…Scowling at the sudden realisation, the girls balked at my expression.
"Amamiya-senpai?" Sumire expressed.
"What exactly are you thinking, Ren?"
"Never mind." I shut down immediately.
"You're only making them more curious, Joker."
"I'm not telling. Those rumours are nothing more than excitement for their pathetic lives." Both girls were disappointed at my statement.
""Ren…"" they both uttered.
"Whaaat? Their default option is business as usual so long as they're in the clear. By business as usual, I mean, being thirsty for blood and capturing some thrill about someone else's joy or struggles." Pushing my negativity aside, Shiho played bad cop again:
"There's only one question I have: what are you going to do next? The rumours won't stop, Yoshizawa-san. Not to mention, once you get more attention, the venom they'll have is no joke." Shiho assessed, only asking one more. I could understand why she asked: The more acclaim that Sumire gained in gymnastics, the more praise, critiques and scrutiny she'd receive. The critique will be far harsher and will most likely include death threats, stalker obsessions and conspiracy theorists, not to say the least of trolls and cancellers. Damn glad that I'm no athlete…There was no guarantee she would always have someone she could fall on.
"Right now, the people here only see you as a clinger to status believing Kasumi and Kamoshida are the reasons you're in this place. Looking a lot like your sister even though you're twins doesn't really help you. What say a rebrand?" I laid out.
"...I'm not really hinting at that. I'm too soft."
"Soft how?"
"The Metaverse is really daunting and I know just how weak of heart I am. I bet it all on a chance at the end and I got lucky. It really scares me just how close to death I was in there…and the thought that if you didn't have the time to waste on me…"
"Stop beating yourself up over it. You survived, end of." I admonished. She then opened up a picture of her wound mark and the unnatural way it had closed up to show to Shiho. My girlfriend probably came to a realisation on something.
"I can't continue to stay by your side if I can't do simple tasks right. It's why I have to toughen up. Can you guys help me do that?" Well…we'll worry about you, regardless. Your training especially…I don't know how you manage to fool those coaches of yours into thinking everything is fine.
"Well…" "Err…" I suppose it boiled down to the dynamics between each and every member of my team - it was unwise that I'd assumed everyone else was good friends with everyone just because they were cool (enough) with me. While I was the common link bringing them together for my own needs, the time they spent with one another and how much trust there was varied greatly. Mona kept his distance and needed his time away from us amateurs to keep his psyche in check. So it was on me to figure it out…
"You'll need to give me some time. Besides, I don't really see it as a bad thing that you've got a kind heart."
"Oh…err, okay. Will I need to provide you something in return for your time?" She asked. What else can this kouhai of mine do for me?
"You're already the chef of our group. I don't really know what else I can ask you to do plus I'll need Ann to sign off on it as well." I dodged. At this point, Sumire's phone began to ring and after checking who was on the line, it seemed she'd be leaving us alone.
"I'm going to get out of your hair now. Thanks for letting me hang out with you both today." She'd then bowed her head and left the balcony to the two of us once more. Once she was fully out of sight and earshot, Shiho had a mulky expression of on her face.
"She's lying." Shiho uttered, fully confident in her statement.
"Come again?"
"Purposefully distancing herself from anyone she cares for so that she's the only target yet she can't take it on her own." My woman surmised. I was curious to see where she was getting at.
"Ren, think about it. It didn't look like those young girls were annoyed leaving her behind. If they were, they would've cooked up some weak or strong excuses depending on how much they care for her to shoo her away." Oh. I wouldn't have looked at it like that. In that case...
"It would probably be written all over her face, is that what you mean Lotus?" Mona guessed, articulating our shared thoughts aloud.
"Exactly, Mona. I think she didn't want to talk with them." Shiho's concern for Sumire felt like a mixture of a kind desire to help and bitter jealousy. It was amusing knowing she considered my kouhai a rival despite the reassurance I wouldn't turn my eyes away from her. Maybe indulging my woman some more was the way to go forward so I rested her head on my shoulder and begun stroking her hair.
"...And why are you stroking my hair now?" She complained half heartedly.
"Because I want to. Want me to stop?" I offered. I received no response and so I continued to move my hand through her locks. Shiho's hair was really silky and I could tell she'd maintained its moisture. Hmph…I know you like it.
"Shiho…are you scared I'll cheat?" Shiho snickered at my serious question.
"Like you'd ever do that." And with such a cocky response, she nonetheless let me continue to stroke her hair softly.
"...I don't really want to carry on talking about this topic. If this is a battle of pride she wants to overcome, then it's already decided that she's alone on it." I summarised. Shiho didn't like that answer one bit.
"Bull. It's in your nature to do the exact opposite! You're just going to let her continue to struggle and cling to you for help?"…Ha. You're really worried, huh?
"Shiho…what exactly bothers you so much about it?"
"...I don't want to admit it but…She's so incredibly toned and can really pack a load away. Her discipline has allowed her to keep pushing in a way she doesn't destroy herself too…not only that but she puts these wondrous combos for meals together like it's nothing. And her personality too…It's insane how she didn't choose to just debut into some national competitions. Why Shujin of all places?" Well, that made sense now. Shiho probably envied what Sumire had: toned as ever, gorgeous looks and a sporting career many would be proud of whilst also juggling studies too. So that's what this boils down to…it's that feeling of inferiority.
"Sumire has had the advantage of being disciplined at a young age and ingrained it into her way of life, Shiho. It's on you to build up your own acclaim, diet quite strictly and put in the right exercise and regimes whether they're in the gym or elsewhere." I informed her.
"I appreciate the words of wisdom but at the same time, I don't really want a coach for a boyfriend." I'd now brought up memories of Kamoshida again…I'd better change my approach.
"Sorry…I didn't mean to bring the mood down Ren."
"I know you didn't. I think you're overrating her." I interjected. Shiho seemed stupefied.
"I doubt she's fully accepted herself. She's still running from the biggest obstacle to that."
"Which is?" she prompted.
"Her sister. Both girls can't possibly win the highest international awards at the same time. Not if they're competing in the solo stuff. They've never had to acknowledge one another as rivals because they were in the same club. At least, Sumire definitely hasn't." I answered. Another problem to tackle…Discussing this with Ann would be a delicate matter for sure but for now, the two figureheads awaited.