Chapter 16
That night, when Isuke got home and tried to cry herself to sleep after finishing a bottle of wine, she was interrupted by her phone ringing. It was Nio. Before she could even greet her friend, she was already bombarded with millions of questions.
"Is it true? People are saying you and Haruki had broken up. It's all over the social media," Nio said.
"What?" Isuke asked, her voice hoarse.
"Have you checked your Instagram? The video of you throwing the necklace Haruki bought for you onto the ground is all over there!" Nio exclaimed.
She had not checked her phone ever since her fight with Haruki. Isuke rolled her eyes, not feeling the least bit surprised. She broke up with Haruki in the most secluded area of the school and yet she still managed to make headlines.
"Hello? Are you there, Isuke?"
"Yeah…"
"Your voice sounds hoarse. Have you been crying?" Nio asked sympathetically. So, it's true after all.
"Nio, do you think you can come over to my house? I can't sleep and alcohol is not helping me either."
"Wow, we've been friends for so many years and this is the first time you've invited me to your house," Nio said, without any sarcasm in her tone.
"Forget that I asked then," Isuke snapped.
"No, no. I'll be there in a jiffy. Text me your address."
When Isuke hung up the phone to text Nio her address, she saw that Haruki had texted her. She opened her message and read them.
"Isuke, I just wanna say that what we had is real. I may not have been completely honest with you but I've never lied about my feelings for you. Thanks for the good memories these past few days. I understand that if you hate me now or if you don't want to have anything to do with me ever again. I understand if you want me dead. What I did to you is unforgivable and a million excuses and apologies will never change that. I truly am sorry."
Isuke started crying again. She remembered how Haruki had looked at her when she pleaded with her to listen to her explanation. And how broken she was when she saw Isuke throwing the necklace on the ground. She wanted to run to her and hug her and tell her that she forgive her, but she can't. She was on the verge of breaking down but she acted cruel and cold towards Haruki because she was furious at her.
Suddenly, someone knocked on her bedroom door. It was her servant telling her that she has a visitor. Isuke told her to let Nio in.
When Nio entered Isuke's room, she could see that Isuke was a total mess. It looked like the pink-haired girl had trashed her bedroom before sitting on the floor, with her legs pulled up to her chest and her head buried in her arms, crying. She immediately walked towards Isuke and sat down next to her, and pulled her into a half hug. It was a very awkward position because Isuke is taller than Nio.
"You must have really loved her, huh? Of all your breakups, this is the first one I've seen you in such a state. And you even asked me to come to your house," Nio said as she patted her back in a comforting manner.
Isuke looked like she wanted to say something, but suddenly, she gagged and quickly ran to her bathroom to throw up. Nio walked in after her and helped to hold her hair up. After Isuke had emptied all her stomach out into the toilet bowl, Nio helped her to her bed. She looked like she wanted to talk, but Nio asked her to sleep first and everything could wait until the next day. That night, Isuke had a fitful sleep. She was glad to have Nio by her side because at least, she wouldn't feel so lonely.
Guilt.
Shame.
Remorse.
This is how Haruki felt when she lied awake on her bed as she cried herself to sleep, but to no avail. Haru had called her, asking about her breakup with Isuke. She had seen the inaudible video on Instagram. Haru didn't need any confirmation from Haruki when all Haruki could say on the phone was how she had fucked up the only good thing in her life over and over again. Tokaku had then taken over Haru's phone and asked her for more details, and that she would teach Isuke a lesson for breaking Haruki's heart. Haruki told them it wasn't Isuke's fault. But of course, Tokaku didn't believe her because of Isuke's reputation.
After they hung up, Haruki had a hard time falling asleep. The next day, she was flanked by Tokaku and Haru as she was walking to her class with her sunglasses on to hide her panda eyes. Tokaku would glare at any students who dared to look at Haruki and gossip about her.
"You've got some nerves showing up to school today, Sagae." The trio heard an all too familiar voice behind them.
"You should tell your friend to stop breaking people's hearts, trash!" Tokaku retorted when she saw that it was Nio speaking to them. "What she did to the expensive gift Haruki bought for her is very very cruel."
"Oh and you believe everything you see on the internet?" Nio asked sweetly and turned to look at Haruki, who was too weak to even argue back. "Isuke had told me everything… what you did to her, your deal with Sumireko. And everyone thought she's the bad guy, huh?"
"What? What deal with Sumireko?" Haru asked, bewildered.
"Seems like you haven't told your best friends, huh?" Nio said, quirking an eyebrow and crossing her arms. She turned to look at both Haru and Tokaku. "Well, I'll leave it to Sagae to tell you guys the whole story." And with that, she walked away.
"What deal with Sumireko? What is Nio talking about?" Haru asked.
"Look, guys. I don't wanna talk about it," Haruki said wearily, sniffling. "Just that, everything that had happened is my fault. I'm the bad guy here. Like I said, I fucked up."
Haruki began to walk away, but was stopped by Tokaku. "Wait. You mean to say that you've made a deal with Sumireko and somehow, Isuke wasn't happy about it and she broke up with you? Sumireko's her ex, but that would be a ridiculous reason for her to break up with you. You can have any clients you want. What I'm more concerned now is that, how did you manage to get yourself tangled up in Sumireko's drama? You know that she's a very complicated person and she may expose your secret to the whole school if you ever crossed her."
"Don't think I don't know that," Haruki scoffed. She had thought about the possibility of Sumireko exposing her secret to the principal but she couldn't care less anymore. It seemed like her world had ended ever since Isuke broke up with her.
"How can you be so indifferent about it? You could get expelled if the principal finds out that you are a weed dealer, amongst many other things." Haru whispered harshly.
"Look, I know you guys mean well, but can you guys just get off my back today and just let me exist in peace?" Haruki asked and left both of them to her classroom.
When she took her seat in the class, she looked over at Isuke's seat, which was still empty. Instead, she saw Nio glaring angrily at her. She turned towards the front of the class and tucked her head into her arms to try to get some sleep.
When it was time for Science subject, Isuke was still absent. By now, everyone in school had suspected that she would be absent for the whole day because the breakup is her fault and she couldn't stand the aftermaths of the breakup. She would have to face the repercussions of breaking up with Haruki and face all of Haruki's fangirls badmouthing her. That's what Haruki had heard during recess because her fangirls had started flocking to her again, offering their sympathy towards her. She didn't need to look at the viral video on Instagram to know that all the comments are in her favour.
"So, Inukai-san isn't here to discuss about the Science project," Kouko grumbled as she sat down to start the discussion with her group members. "Great, just great." She looked accusingly at Haruki.
Well, at least there's someone who isn't sympathizing with Haruki.
"Cut her some slack," Tokaku said. "She had just gone through a terrible break up. And besides, we can do without Isuke. Even if she is here, she never contributed much too."
"Fine. Just don't jeopardize my grades just because of some stupid breakup," Kouko said begrudgingly. "And since we have collected enough samples, we can start with the theory. Tokaku, I expect you to carry all the weight since I don't think Isuke is in the right state of mind to be doing her part."
Tokaku wasn't happy about pulling Isuke's weight and Haruki started to feel guilty. "Hey, I don't mind to help you, Tokaku. I can do her part," she offered.
"I can help too!" Aimi supplied helpfully and smiled at Haruki. Haruki just nodded her appreciation at the girl.
"Great!" Kouko said. "With all of you helping her, we can submit the project in no time! Maybe I'll talk to sensei to give her minimum marks as she didn't contribute much. As long as none of us fail, then we won't fail the project. I'll do the experiment first, before you guys can start on the theory."
They all came to this agreement before the bell rang, signalling the end of school day.
Haruki, being the eldest in the family and being used to shouldering all the burdens, isn't the type to sit around and mope over the disappointments in her life. She had had her fair share of disappointments, starting with her mom having a terminal illness and then her dad leaving them shortly afterwards. Did she cry? Yes, but a few hours after that, she had gotten up on her feet and started looking for part time jobs in order to support her family. She had people counting on her, so it wouldn't do her any good if she sat around and mope for what could have been. She had always lived by her motto that no matter how long you have stayed in the dark, there is always a light at the end of the tunnel. Well, she had found her light in the form of Isuke, but she had gone and ruined it.
And now, she is going to fix it. She had been crying herself to sleep for the past two nights, but when she woke up this morning, she decided that enough is enough. Crying won't fix things, and she is determined to fix things for Isuke.
Which is why right now, instead of going to school, she is standing outside the Hanabusa Residence, with a big file filled with documents in her arms. She opened the file and looked through the documents, smiling in glee. She couldn't wait to show this to Isuke, and maybe, with this, she hoped that their relationship can be fixed.
Isuke knew that she couldn't skip school forever, so, right now, as she is dragging her feet towards the main entrance, she has already been stopped by a few students giving her dagger glares. It's a good thing she was wearing her sunglasses right now. Some of them were whispering amongst themselves when they saw her.
When she arrived at her classroom and sat down next to Nio, and out of sheer habit, she turned her head towards the direction of Haruki's seat, but it was empty. It stayed empty until the end of class, and Isuke knew that Haruki had decided to skip school today.
The rest of the school day went by peacefully, save for a few more angry glares sent her way, to which Isuke ignored gracefully by sleeping in class. When the bell rang for recess, Isuke continued to sleep. Nio tried to wake her up, but it proved to be a difficult feat. Finally, just as Nio was about to give up and just leave her friend, sounds of footsteps could be heard approaching them.
Nio guffawed upon seeing Haruki appearing in front of her. "I didn't know Halloween came early this year! What are you doing in that hideous outfit?!"
Haruki, dressed in her pizza-girl delivery uniform, stood awkwardly by the door. "Can I speak to Isuke alone, please?"
Upon hearing the familiar voice that she had missed so much, Isuke immediately stirred and lifted her head up, glaring at Haruki. "I have nothing to say to you."
Her expression softened a bit when she saw that Haruki was looking pleadingly at her in her odd choice of outfit. "Fine," Isuke said. "But only for five minutes."
Once Nio left the classroom but not without raging and complaining first, Haruki went to close the door, before walking towards Isuke and placed the file and documents on her table.
"So, you wanted to speak to me alone because of this big bulky file?" Isuke asked, annoyed.
"Well… yeah. Opened it," Haruki said encouragingly.
Isuke knew what the content was even without opening it. She had seen this before. Sighing, she looked at Haruki. "I know what this is. Did you break into Sumireko's house and steal this?"
"No, I disguised as a pizza delivery girl with a box of pizza and the guards let me enter without questioning me. Well, I worked as a part time pizza delivery girl before, and they let me keep the uniform," Haruki explained.
"So, you snooped around her house, found this lying conveniently on her dressing table in her room and took it?" Isuke asked incredulously.
"… yeah."
"So, you did all these hoping that you could get back into my good graces and into my pants?"
"What? No!" Haruki defended, a bit offended at what Isuke had implied. She had forgotten that Isuke can be very toxic towards her exes, but she had never thought that she would be the receiving end of it. "I just wanted to help you… I'd do anything for you."
Isuke eyed Haruki up and down. Haruki really looked ridiculous in her uniform that barely fit her anymore and Isuke would have laughed at the ridiculousness of it all if the situation was any different. Of course, that self-sacrificing idiot would do anything for her. She would believe Haruki if she said she would kill for her. But, Haruki had also hurt her. And as much as Isuke admits that the length that Haruki went through to steal the documents that contain proof of Reiji's condition is both admirable and endearing, she still has her pride. Plus, she is still angry at her.
"Well, I don't need your help. We're not that kind of friends anymore, remember?" Isuke said acidly as she leaned back against her chair and crossed her arms.
Haruki hung her head down, stung by Isuke's cold remarks and the reminder of her weak excuse to fuck things up. Any hopes for their reconciliation is immediately dashed.
"Isuke, I can't apologise to you enough," Haruki said, her voice trembling as she looked at Isuke sincerely into her eyes.
"That's right. You can't," Isuke retorted harshly, but damn it if Haruki still has the power to tug at her heartstrings with her sincerity through her voice and expressive eyes. She sighed again. "And while I appreciate you going all the way to dress up in an outfit that barely fits you anymore to steal this for me, I hate to break it to you that they're useless."
Haruki stared at her in confusion. Isuke continued, "You didn't think that I didn't snoop around Sumireko's house while I was fake dating her, looking for these documents? I found this file you gave me, conveniently lying on her dressing table. Didn't think much of it back then, just grabbed it and tried to sneak out. Sumireko found out and took it back from me. Told me that it's useless because…" Isuke opened the file on her table and showed it to Haruki, "… as you can see, they're just copies of the documents. Sumireko still has the original pictures that her PI had taken for her… it's still hidden somewhere in her house. Do you think she's that stupid to leave important stuff such as this lying around conveniently for it to be found?"
"So, please… just leave," Isuke said, after a short pause.
"So… that's it then, huh?" Haruki said, sniffling. "It's over between us? I can't save this relationship at all?"
"Not everything needs saving, Haruki," Isuke said tiredly as she stood up, taking the file with her. "I don't know… all I know is that I need some time away from you to figure out how we can go forward from here. But you know very well that there's no way our relationship can be salvaged. Not anytime soon."
"I understand," Haruki said sadly as she watched Isuke walking towards the door.
Isuke turned around sharply. "Do you, though?" she snapped suddenly. "Can you even begin to understand how it feels like to give your trust fully to someone only for them to…" she trailed off and chocked back a sob, forcing herself not to cry. She had cried enough. Wordlessly, she turned around and continued walking towards the door.
Haruki understood very well how that felt. She had the first hand experience of being betrayed by her father, the person whom she had looked up to and depended on. But she knew that it will be useless for her to say anything right now. Isuke isn't ready to listen to her explanation yet and forcing it onto her will only cause her to lash out even more.
"I hope that one day, you'll be able to find it in your heart to give me a chance to explain myself, at least. I love you, Isuke," Haruki said, her voice full of emotions as she could barely hold back her tears.
Isuke stopped in her tracks when she heard those three words from the redhead, her back still facing Haruki. She fought her instinct to run back to Haruki to give her a goodbye hug. Finally, she managed to will herself to walk towards the door and leave the room. Haruki was left standing there alone, feeling miserable that her efforts had been for nothing.
Isuke managed to avoid Haruki at school the whole day, but she still had to meet Tokaku about the Science project. Tokaku had texted her last night to ask her for some contributions because it wouldn't be fair for the rest of the members to be carrying her weight. Isuke had agreed and they were now standing at her locker.
"So, I'll email the rest of my work to you later," Isuke said as she took the notes from Tokaku. Suddenly, both of them heard some loud laughing and chattering down the school hallway. They turned towards the direction of the sound and saw that Haruki was surrounded by her fangirls.
"For what's it worth, she isn't doing too well," Tokaku commented offhandedly.
"Doesn't seem like it to me," Isuke muttered. "Whatever, I don't care." Deep down though, she was a bit hurt with the scene in front of her. Haruki was talking jovially with her fangirls, while only earlier in the day, she had wanted to reconcile with Isuke. Isuke felt that Haruki had moved on pretty fast.
As Isuke was about to walk away, Tokaku grabbed her by her arm. "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure. How can Isuke be of help?" she replied in a bored tone.
"Can you tell me what the deal between Haruki and Sumireko was? Nio mentioned something about that but she won't elaborate. When I asked Haruki, she didn't want to say."
Tokaku could see the subtle change in Isuke's expression when she mentioned Sumireko's name. It was gone as fast as it appeared.
"If Haruki didn't want to say, then I'm not in the position to say it either," Isuke said in a neutral tone.
"I'm worried about her. We all know how Sumireko can be. For her to get tangled up in her drama-"
"Look, Haruki's a big girl. I'm sure she can handle herself. 'Sides, she should know the consequences of making a deal with her," Isuke said drily. "If there's nothing else, I'll be on my way now.
The rest of the week gone by with both of them managing to avoid each other. While Isuke had other pressing matters at hand and was feeling apprehensive the whole week, expecting and anticipating Sumireko to release her brother's photos, she had also moved on. As per everyone's expectation of her, she was already seen with a new arm candy. She was making out with her new girlfriend at her locker as Aimi and Haruki were talking with each other at Haruki's locker.
Aimi didn't miss the way Haruki was looking at them. "Hey, Haruki," Aimi said. "I was thinking that if you're free this Friday, would you wanna go to the movies with me?"
"A movie, huh," Haruki said dismissively as her focus was still somewhere else, mainly the pinkette and her new beau.
"Yeah, just the two of us. It doesn't need to be a date or anything. Just two friends hanging out," Aimi said, a bit too excitedly. "I know you're pretty stressed out lately so maybe, you know…"
As Haruki was contemplating her answer, she suddenly felt a pair of soft lips on hers. Initially surprised, she fought to kiss Aimi back, but eventually, she gave into the kiss. She didn't know what caused her to give in so easily, but she blamed it on her own weakness. And mostly, her own disappointment and anger at herself and Isuke. She had respected Isuke's wishes to be left alone because she needs some time to figure out their relationship. But Isuke now has a new girlfriend. Isuke had moved on pretty well, and here she is, still pining after her. When she realized what had happened, she quickly pushed Aimi away and wiped her lips.
"What the hell, Aimi," Haruki said, shocked and angry at the same time.
"I'm sorry, Haruki, but if you don't know by now, I really like you," Aimi said. "I know you've just been through a breakup, but let me help you to forget about that heartbreaker playgirl. Seems like she had already moved on."
"You don't know anything about her!" Haruki shouted angrily, causing a few students to turn towards their direction, one of them being Isuke and her girlfriend. She had had enough of people accusing Isuke without knowing the whole story. As if aware of the scene she had caused, she lowered her voice. "You don't know the first thing about me. Listen, you're a really good person and a good friend, but I'm bad news. And besides, I have a lot to deal with right now, and getting into another relationship is the last thing on my mind. I'm sorry."
As Haruki walked away from her locker, she wasn't aware of Isuke staring at her, until her girlfriend had to get her attention back so that they could continue where they had left off. However, Isuke wasn't in the mood anymore and she pushed her girlfriend away before stalking off as well.
At the far end of the hall, Sumireko was observing both Isuke and Haruki, her expression unreadable. Otoya, as usual, was at her side. "So, when do you need me to take action against both of them?" Otoya asked. "I'm really wondering what plans you have up your sleeves, Hanabusa-san. I get the impression that it will be HUGE!"
"In due time, my friend," Sumireko said calmly. She had not told anyone about the pictures and documents, preferring to keep things to herself for her advantage. "All will come in due time. I'll lay out my plans when they least expect it."
Haruki remembered that the coming Friday would be the day for her to settle the debts to the loan sharks. And she didn't have a single cent to pay them.
As she was walking back to her house, she heard a loud scream coming from there. It sounded like Fuyuka. Panic rising in her body, she quickly ran towards her house and saw that some thugs were dragging Fuyuka out of the house.
"Hey, what's going on here?!" Haruki asked as she reached the gate.
"Haruki! They're here to collect the debts!" Fuyuka shouted, before running towards her sister.
Haruki stood in front of her sister protectively and faced the thugs. "The due date isn't until this Friday!"
"Well, tough luck. We have extended it long enough for you. We shouldn't have extended it in the first place. Our boss wants you to pay up now," one of the thugs said.
"Well, I don't have the money right now. I'm looking for it. Just give me more time," Haruki said.
"Wrong answer," another thug said. "This little girl here looks like a virgin. Maybe she can work for us and considered your debts paid." The thug walked closer to Fuyuka to try to touch her.
"Keep your hands off her!" Haruki warned but the thug ignored her. Haruki stepped over to the thug and gave him a hard punch on the nose.
The thug got angry and punched Haruki back. The last thing she heard was Fuyuka screaming before she blacked out.
When she came to, the first person she looked for is Fuyuka. She was relieved to see her sister sitting next to her on the bed. Her sister was crying.
"Hey, Fuyuka," Haruki said weakly. "Don't cry. I'm alright. Where's mom? Did she hear all the commotion outside?"
"Mom's in her room. She did ask me what's wrong, I just made up some lies. She's sleeping now. Don't worry, she'll forget about it when she wakes up," Fuyuka replied.
"Yeah, thank God for her short term memory loss, huh?" Haruki joked and lied back down on her bed. She started to feel the pain on her cheek.
"How are you feeling?"
"Heh, I'll live," Haruki said. "By the way, what happened when I passed out just now? Did they do anything to hurt you?"
"No, they didn't. But they left me a number to call them when we are ready to pay them," Fuyuka said worriedly. "Big sis, what if we don't have the money? I know you've paid them four hundred thousand yen, but can't you find another four hundred thousand yen quickly?"
"Don't worry, I'll figure something out," Haruki said reassuringly. "Give me their number."
That night, when everyone was fast asleep, Haruki stepped out of her room and dialed the thug's number.
"Yeah," a gruff voice said on the other end of the line.
"It's Haruki here. The one whom one of you beat up today," Haruki said.
"You have to be more specific. We beat up lots of people on a daily basis."
"We owe you another four hundred thousand yen."
"Oh, that's right. You gave my colleague here a good one," he guffawed. "I love your guts. So, you have the money now? Is that why you called?"
"No… I was thinking about your offer to work for you. If I work for you, then you can consider our debts paid, right?"
"You want to whore yourself out?" he asked. "If I remember correctly, we asked for the other girl."
"No, she won't do," Haruki said quickly. "She's a minor."
"Aren't you a minor too?"
"Yes, but… she has her whole future in front of her. I'm already a bad case. So, I'll do anything… whatever it takes to pay the debts and protect my family," Haruki said firmly. Desperate times call for desperate measures.
"Hmmm… let me discuss with my colleagues and boss, then we'll get back to you."
After a few minutes of waiting, her phone rang again. It was from the thug that she had spoken with earlier. When they were done with their conversation, Haruki hung up and stared blankly into the distance. She couldn't believe what she had agreed to do for them, but it wasn't like she had a choice either. Her phone dinged again with a message. It was from the thug. He had texted her an address for her to meet him outside so that they can discuss her new assignment in more detail.
What happened next was a complete blur for Haruki. She remembered everything, but it was like she was on auto-pilot. She remembered meeting the thug and getting the details and the gun from him. She remembered holding the cold metallic weapon in her trembling hand before quickly putting it in her backpack. She remembered the thug telling her that this won't be her last job if she managed to make it out alive, and joking with her that it's probably better that she just drop out of high school now.
When she arrived home, she immediately Googled her target. Her face paled when she discovered that her target is some Yakuza boss. Yeah, it would be wise for her to quit high school now, because either way, she is done for. Getting herself tangled up in some stupid high school drama is one thing, but this is a whole new level for her. Her life would immediately end once she kills some Yakuza boss, but she didn't have any other choice. Picking up her phone, she dialed one of her clients' number to help her to fraud some documents.
The following day, as Haruki was walking to the principal's office with the fraud documents on her hand that her client had helped her the night before, she accidentally bumped into Isuke's new girlfriend and dropped the documents.
"Hey, watch where you're going, dimwit!" the girl shouted. Isuke, who had been at her locker taking her books out, heard her girlfriend shouting and turned around. She saw that it was Haruki her girlfriend was shouting at, so she immediately went to the scene. Haruki was hunched over, picking up all her documents from the floor.
"Hey babe, calm down. Why don't you go to my locker and wait for me and let me handle her." Isuke said softly.
Haruki pretended not to hear the term of endearment Isuke used on her new girlfriend and continued to pick the documents up. Isuke crouched down and help Haruki on the documents. When the last piece of paper was picked up, Isuke stood up and looked at Haruki for the first time in days.
"What happened to your face?" Isuke asked. A bruise was already forming on Haruki's face.
Isuke was still as beautiful as ever, and Haruki was momentarily caught speechless while staring at her. She almost didn't hear her question. "Oh… I just walked into the door accidentally."
Isuke narrowed her eyes, not buying Haruki's lies. But she decided to drop it, because they are not even friends anymore.
"Um…" Haruki said, as she pointed to some of the documents on Isuke's hand. "I believe you have something of mine."
"Oh." Isuke looked at the documents she was holding and saw the word 'transfer' and another school name. She recognized what this document means. "You're transferring school?" she asked, her voice small.
Haruki just snatched the documents away from Isuke's hand and averted her eyes. "Yeah," she replied plainly, her voice tight. She didn't mean for Isuke to find out this way. She quickly turned away to continue her journey to the principal's office. Isuke was about to call after her, but she was suddenly hugged by her girlfriend from behind.
That's it for this chapter! Thanks for the review and the time reading it. I try to update once a week, like my previous schedule but life got the better of me.
