"Everyone here fillets a fish or no one leaves!" Rin announced, plopping down a bucket.

The retreat had been Rin's idea. It was the second week of spring break, the last week before the girls' final semester of junior high. The villa was newly restored, sparkling clean and furnished with modern appliances, and all set to open. What better time for a vacation? "Let's take this last week to ourselves," Rin had suggested. "We can relax after all our hard work."

Manager-san's idea of relaxing is so different, Mayumi mused. She cautiously peered into the bucket. A dozen beady eyes peered back. She gulped. Tonight's dinner was still alive.

"Ooo!" Hinata reached into the bucket, touching the slick scales and soft fins. The fish reached up to nibble at her fingertips, making her giggle.

"You look a little green." Rin slung an arm over Mayumi's shoulders. "But it's important to know how to do it, Mayumi! What if you need to feed yourself? Being from the city is no excuse. Here, I'll help you." She dragged a queasy Mayuri to the chopping block.

The fish lay on it, gasping weakly. Rin handed Mayumi a hefty knife. Grinning, she drew a finger across her own neck. Mayumi squeezed her eyes shut.

One bench over, Ashima was sharpening the fillet knife. Sakura brought over a flopping fish and gingerly set it down with a determined look.

"I'll take care of it," Ashima said, sounding bored and unbothered.

"No." Sakura took a deep breath. "I can't look away and leave you to shoulder everything alone anymore, Ashima," she whispered dramatically. Ashima rolled her eyes but didn't protest.

Just as she raised the knife, she was startled by a loud thump. "Mayumi! Oh no." Rin shook her head. "Ashima, bring us a fan please. Mayumi's fainted."

- O -

"For a first try, you did a good job," Rin said to Sakura at dinnertime. "These cuts are neat, and you got out all the bones. Next time, turn our knife down a little more, and you can get a cleaner cut on this side."

"Thanks!" Sakura grinned. "Mother had a chef who took care of it for us, but I want to be a good partner to Ashima. I'll work hard and learn from her."

"That's the spirit!" Rin clapped her on the shoulder.

To her side, Mayumi stared glumly at her plate, with the cooked fish neatly upon it. Fish she'd neither caught, cooked, nor prepared.

"Hey, don't worry," Rin told her. "You'll get the hang of it."

What if I never do? Mayumi wondered. It wasn't just about the fish.


Hinata had all the wild energy of a four-year-old, with the wild imagination to match. "I'm the dinosaur rider, and you're the dinosaur!" she instructed Mayumi.

"She wants to ride on your back," Rin helpfully explained.

"Thanks—Ow!" Mayumi rubbed her knee where Hinata had just whacked her with a stick.

"No!" Rin scolded, wrestling the stick from her grubby little hands. "Don't hit Mayumi!"

Mayumi dragged a slightly deranged smile onto her face. She eyed the rocky trail dubiously. Of course Hinata would want a ride at the steepest part of the hike! She hefted the little girl onto her back, set her teeth, and climbed.

Her legs ached. Her back ached. Her hair stuck to her forehead with sweat. "Faster! Faster!" Hinata yelled in delight.

At the top of the hill, Mayumi settled them onto the grass under a tree. She reached into her pack for the snacks she'd packed. The crackers were chipped and smashed from the climb.

Little Hinata looked from the broken crackers to Mayumi, and then to Rin. Her large eyes filled with tears.

"Oh no, Hinata-chan..." Mayumi pleaded.

Her face scrunched up. "WAAAAAHHH!" she wailed.

"She gets cranky close to naptime," Rin said cheerfully.

Mayumi felt ready to cry herself as she carried Hinata thrashing down the hill.


"Manager-san! You can't give that to the kids!"

"Hmm?" Rin turned to Mayumi with a case of beer in each hand. "There's grape juice for Hinata. It's almost her bedtime anyway."

"No, for the girls." Mayumi gestured at Ashima and Sakura. "They're eighteen, they can't drink yet."

Rin shrugged. "They'd be old enough in most of the world. No one has to know." She passed a can of Sapporo to each of the grinning girls while Mayumi watched on in horror, thinking biased thoughts about Yankees.

Ashima patted her on the arm. "It's alright, Kikuchi-sensei," she said. "I've been drinking since I was twelve."

Mayumi gaped. She did not feel better one bit.

"Enough of that! Let's play a game!" Rin cheerfully raised her can. "We'll take turns asking someone. Truth or dare?" she asked, turning to Ashima.

"Truth," Ashima said with a sigh, looking well accustomed to Rin's idea of a fun evening.

"Hmm. What is your dream job?"

"Accountant," Ashima answered right away.

Sakura giggled. Rin scoffed. "What's a countant?" Hinata asked.

Mayumi glared at the others. "It's an important and useful job for grownups," Mayumi said pointedly.

"My turn," Ashima said. "Truth or dare?" she asked Mayumi.

"Truth," Mayumi answered.

"Alright." Ashima tapped her chin in thought. "How many people have you kissed?"

"Three." That earned her a sideways glance from Rin. Mayumi glared back.

"I'm up next. Hmm," Sakura muttered, looking around the circle. "Truth or dare, Ioki-san?"

"Dare." Rin confidently knocked back the rest of her beer, then gave them all a dazzling grin. "Give me anything! I'm not afraid!"

"Okay. Ah, um." Sakura seemed taken aback by the idea of daring Rin to do anything. "I dare you to... give Kikuchi-sensei a kiss," she finished in an embarrassed mumble.

"That's easy!" Rin leaned over and planted a big, wet kiss on Mayumi's cheek while Mayumi blushed furiously.

"Ah, I suppose I should go. Sakura-chan, truth or dare?" Mayumi asked.

"Dare!" Sakura balled her fists into determined fists.

"Alright. I dare you to finish your vacation homework tomorrow."

"Aww you're no fun," Rin teased. "That's a boring dare." Rin and Sakura chuckled, and Ashima smiled.

Mayumi forced a laugh, but her fingers gripped her beer tightly. "I guess I'm just boring," she said with false brightness. "It must be so dull being around me."


The books clattered onto the table.

"You heard sensei. Today you girls are finishing your homework," Rin declared.

"Aww," Sakura pouted.

"I don't want to hear any of it," Rin pointed an accusing finger. "You promised! And it's raining. What were you going to do anyway?"

"She's right," Ashima told Sakura. She leaned in close and lowered her voice. "Besides, maybe I'll help you with your math."

"Oh... okay!" Sakura brightened. The girls settled at the table and opened their books.

"This doesn't make any sense," Sakura groaned a while later.

"Sure it does," Ashima said evenly, reaching for the pencil. "You just use trigonometric substitution on this part—"

Sakura stood abruptly, the chair scraping against the floor. "What do you mean just?" she snarled. "I've tried this problem for hours and it doesn't make sense! I studied trig substitutions and took detailed notes, and went over all the examples from class. I still don't know what to do! Maybe I shouldn't even go to Hatsuyama Higashi High School, we both know I only got in because you tutored me. There's no just anything for me, except maybe this one: I'm just not as smart as you!"

"What are you talking about?" Ashima's voice rose in turn. "Just because this one thing is hard for you, you're giving up? Do you know how many things were hard for me? No one helped me with school. No one studied with me. I couldn't even go to class without getting picked on!"

Sakura slammed her book shut and stalked off into her room.

"Sakura! I was only trying to help!" Ashima called after her.

"Go away! I don't want to talk to you!" Sakura yelled, her voice coming muffled through the wall.

Ashima slumped down onto the table, her head falling onto her arms. When Sakura emerged an hour later, her eyes were red.


The fifth day dawned bright and sunny.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you," Sakura said abruptly, breaking the silence.

Ashima turned to look at her. They sat side by side on the beach, the sand warm under their legs. In the distance, Mayuri walked with Hinata collecting shells while Rin fished.

It would be a perfect last day if Sakura didn't look so sad, Ashima decided.

"You're so pretty and smart, you know? And you're always so cool. And you're good at everything even if it's filleting fish. I just want to be someone who can stand next to you," Sakura sniffled. "I thought if I learned to do everything you can do, and really understood how you live, then I'd be cool enough to be with you."

"Sakura... You're learning everything you can about me, and I love you for it. I don't care if you know as much math. What I really want from your life is something you can't give me."

"What could that be?" Sakura asked, surprised. "You're already good at everything I do—better even! Your grades are better. You're so smart. Mother wishes I could be as smart as you, and it's all wrong. She resents you for being so smart, and she resents me because I'm not. You should have been her child instead."

"I'm not her child," Ashima replied. "I would've traded it all for love in an instant. I did trade it all for something far less—failed all my classes just to be ignored. I settled for being ignored... it was better than being hated."

"Ashima... I'm half my mother."

"What?"

"I said, I'm half my mother, and I love you, so it's like Mother loves you too."

Ashima stared out at the waves, and the springs and hills surrounding Seagull Villa, and the sun shining on the most important people in her life. To her side, Sakura stared up at her with big, earnest eyes and her fists clenched resolutely, beautiful in her swimsuit with her hair fluttering around her face.

She brought her hand down on Sakura's head in a half-hearted chop. "That's dumb. That's not how it works at all." But when Ashima looked away, she was smiling.


On the last night, Mayumi sat alone by the shore, fishing pole in hand and the stars high above, with only the evening breeze for company. She thought over the last week: the fish, the dare, Hinata.

"Maybe I don't have it in me," she murmured to the waves. "How can I be a good mother to Hinata-chan? She cried so much. I couldn't even get through one day." She shook her head sadly. "I couldn't even prepare a single fish, and instead, Manager had to take care of me. Just like how she's the one who could help Ashima-chan, when I couldn't do a thing as her teacher! She must think I'm pathetic." She stared down into her lap, her lip trembling as she fought back tears.

"That's not true," a voice said. Mayumi looked up, startled. Rin's silhouette came closer, then sat next to her on the bench. "You're great with Hinata," Rin said.

"Manager-san, she was so sad," Mayumi said, the tears spilling over. "I don't know her the way you know her, I can't tell what upsets her or what she wants..." She trailed off into silence, taking deep breaths to steady herself.

"Mayumi. Hinata is three. You're not doing anything wrong." Rin slid closer until their arms touched. "You're doing your best for her. That's all I can ask of you—ah!"

Before their eyes, the fishing pole began to bend and sway. Mayumi jumped up and pulled, and reeled it in: a large, silvery catfish, gleaming in the moonlight.

"It's beautiful," Mayumi breathed.

"Tch. I guess you won't be butchering this one either," Rin scoffed.

"Ah, I'm sorry—"

"Don't." Rin's hands closed firmly over hers. She took the line, deftly extracted the hook, and placed the fish in the water, where it streaked away and out of sight. "Mayumi, don't ever be sorry. You don't have to fillet a fish."

Mayumi laughed through her tears. "What if I need to feed myself?"

"You won't have to," Rin answered confidently. "You have me to do it for you, see? You help the girls with their homework, and I'll cook."

"We complement each other," Mayumi said softly.

"I'll compliment you: You're beautiful."

And as Mayumi opened her mouth to protest, Rin silenced her with a kiss. "Don't get all teacher-y on me now," she whispered. "I know what I said."