Chapter 10: Open Wounds
Unexpressed emotions will never die. They are buried alive and will come forth later in uglier ways.
- Sigmund Freud
Mizuki hummed a tune to herself as she gingerly watered the plants on their school garden. Her bad mood from earlier had seemingly dissipated as she fondly complimented one plant. Apparently, the lush green surroundings had made her feel more relaxed and helped her clear her mind of things. She closed her eyes and the scent of dark rich soil and fresh flowers took her back to her hometown, to her dad's garden. She envisioned her dad crouched on the ground, wearing that green loose jumper of his that she absolutely hated, a wide brim hat, matching gloves and boots, whistling merrily as he planted the seedlings with the greatest care. She remembered when she was a kid, she would check their garden every morning for any sign of progress, and if all she see was the same brown mound of dirt, she would then whine to her father and badgered him on reducing the waiting time for the plants to grow. Her father would just smile and would proceed on explaining that gardening requires a lot of patience and great deal of effort.
'Patience and effort, huh?'
As she considered her father's words, her thoughts then began to wander to a certain blue eyed boy who has a knack of falling asleep almost anywhere and of easily getting into her nerves. It was almost as if he was deliberately testing her patience. It was a good thing that she decided to visit the garden - for it allowed her to sooth her nerves and calm her senses after the somewhat disastrous if not awkward encounter with Rukawa not more than ten minutes ago.
A small smile crept into her lips as she purposely compares him to a plant - 'Or perhaps a flower?' -that needs patient labor and undivided attention. Well, his hordes of fan girls can easily give him the latter. Or maybe they can provide him with both. But she was positive that he will surely drown from their excessive doting.
An image of a sunflower with the bored face of Rukawa on its center suddenly came into her mind. She let out a giggle as she visualized him with yellow petals adorning his face as his fan girls fought in the background on who's going to pluck the lovely and exquisite sunflower.
However, her moment of tranquility didn't last long as a female voice disrupted her train of thought. "You're looking awfully chipper for someone who just got her heart supposedly broken by Rukawa-senpai."
Mizuki turned around to find first year student, Ohara Fumiko standing just a couple of meters away. She blinked, not quite registering the younger girl's statement in her mind for a moment. She gave her a sheepish grin as realization finally sinks in. "Oh, that." She replied as she lowered the watering can in her hands. "It's just a silly rumor."
"Really? Are you saying that the story about you collecting indecent pictures of him a rumor too? 'Coz I have sufficient witnesses to prove it otherwise." Ohara said airily, twirling her curls with her fingers.
"Witnesses?" She asked, not liking the tone in her underclassman's voice.
"Wow!Am I on trial or something? Because I need to contact my lawyer first before I can answer any of your questions." Mizuki responded in a mocking manner. She watched as the girl's pretty face contorted into a scowl before crossing her arms and sticking her nose up in the air.
Is she the same cute and sweet Ohara Fumiko everyone is talking about? Because right now, Mizuki thought she looked neither.
"Did you also contact your lawyer when you screwed up and got your own dad stuck in a hospital bed?"
Mizuki's face paled at her words, the watering can slipping from her fingers and falling with a dull thud on the ground.
"W-what did you say?"
The tremor in her voice didn't go unnoticed by the other girl. But before Ohara could retract her statement, Mizuki reached over and gripped her arms tightly.
"What did you say about my dad?" She asked again, and shakes the freshman's shoulders violently. By now, Ohara's eyes were wide as saucers and had a frightened look in them. She didn't expect something like this is going to happen. Her initial plan was to simply make fun of her senpai's unfortunate encounter with Rukawa. Maybe taunt her a little bit. The truth was she was feeling jealous of her upperclassman because it seems that Rukawa was paying more attention to the short haired girl. When she went to watch Rukawa during basketball practice last time, she had accidentally witnessed the pair's interaction, and she didn't exactly liked what she had observed. She couldn't help but compare his behaviour towards her when she personally informed him about the school play days before at the rooftop. He was so rude to her, but with Mizuki, he was being incredibly patient, even listening to her nonsense speech about the school paper. And what was the meaning of that look aimed towards that plain, tomboyish girl? It was somehow a mixture of curiosity and… fascination?
"I – you're hurting me, senpai." Ohara weakly replied, trying to free herself from the viselike grip of Mizuki on her forearms. But the girl didn't seem to hear her and Ohara noticed that Mizuki's eyes were unfocused, mirroring the fear stricken and panic look on her own face, but for entirely different reasons.
"It was an accident."
Mizuki uttered those words in a low tone, and if not for their close proximity, Ohara wouldn't probably hear them. Not that she's interested on whatever the older girl is saying, because right now, all she wanted to do was to get away from this weird girl.
"It was an accident." Mizuki repeated those words again, as if convincing herself. "I swear it was an accident." Tears began to gather in her brown eyes.
Just then, Ohara heard noises from the other side of the fence. Fearing for her safety and thinking that her upperclassman has gone crazy, she let out a scream calling for help.
Ohara's loud scream woke Mizuki from her stupor. She immediately released her hold on her kohai, which gave the freshman an opportunity to push her away. The sudden push made her slightly lost her balance. Taking a deep breath, Mizuki forced herself to calm down and urged her mind to focus. The younger girl's unexpected statement about her dad brought up a ton of unpleasant memories for her. Before she can further probe Ohara on her awareness regarding her dad's accident, several footsteps were heard approaching their direction.
xxxxx
A trio of boys wearing baseball uniform stopped walking as they heard someone cried for help. They looked tensely at one another, each one awaiting the other's response. The oldest of the three - a third year student with a long narrow face and pointed chin, initiated the first step; not because he wanted to, but for the reason that he didn't want to be called out for being a yellow belly. The remaining two boys simply shrugged and followed after their upperclassman.
Gripping the bats firmly in their hands, they hastily run to the source of the noise; only to find two girls standing a few feet away from each other.
Lowering the bats on their hands, they let out a sigh of relief when they discovered the situation was not as serious as they thought. It was just a couple of girls, who were probably fighting about – who the hell cares?
The senior student then propped the bat on his shoulder, and gave a snort of laughter. "Girls, girls." He drawled, "Please, there's no need to fight."
His sidekicks sniggered at their senpai's remark, but abruptly stopped when they recognized the curly haired girl in front of them. The short haired girl looks familiar for some reason but they can't pinpoint where they had seen her before. How could they when their attention was mostly focus on the smaller girl, who's currently looking at them with her big, emerald green eyes.
"O-Ohara- chan!" The boys cried out her name in unison.
Not the least bit surprised that they know her name, Ohara Fumiko - famous for her acting skills – proved once and for all that she is indeed the reigning queen of the drama club. Chin trembling and lower lips pouting, Ohara's face crumpled and she started to cry, which promptly drew concern from the group of boys surrounding them.
The three guys started walking tentatively towards her. But when she buried her face in her hands and sobbed lightly, all their hesitation flew out the window and they began to step closer to properly comfort her.
"What happened, Ohara-chan?" Inquired the boy whose hairstyle looks like someone had placed a pot on his head an inch away from his ears, and then trimmed or cut off all the visible hair.
"Please don't cry." Pleaded the youngest of the three athletes, the crease of worry evident in his boyish face.
Secretly pleased with the attention, Ohara lifted her head for them to see her tear streaked face, before shaking them and covering her face once again with her palms. The boys began to panic, and hovered around her, trying their best to stop her from crying.
Mizuki watched the scene unfolding before her in disbelief. After a second, she shook her head to come out of the shock she was in. She gotta hand it to Ohara - her performance was flawless. Those eyes that were brimming with tears combined with the quivering of her chin were surely worthy of an Oscar. She knew she was partly at fault here; scaring the younger girl out of her wits by suddenly grabbing her shoulders and demanding that she believe her statement that what happened with her dad was an accident. But still, Ohara had it coming. How dare she interrupt her moment of peace and quiet by callously declaring that she was the reason why her dad was currently fighting for his life in the hospital. She didn't need to hear that. She's still on the process of freeing herself from the guilt and of preventing herself from sinking deeper in her pit of despair.
The memory of that unfortunate day still haunts her.
That day was supposed to be special. She was supposed to be enjoying her 17th birthday with her dad and her friends. There should be cake and blowing of candles surrounded by colorful balloons as her friends sing and greeted her. Instead, she ruined what was supposed to be a joyous celebration by acting like a spoiled child, pleading with her father to please let her drive their truck for today's delivery to the market - stating that it was one of her birthday wishes. She argued that the trip to the market will not take more than 15 minutes, that she will be very careful and even declared that there are not that many cars driving this early. Or so she thinks. But in the end, her puppy-dog eyes did the trick. She squealed, jumping up and down merrily, before giving her dad a hug, declaring to him that it's going to be her best birthday ever.
"One should not praise the day before the evening" was her dad's cryptic response. Before she can ask him the meaning of those words, her dad dropped the key to her hands and then ruffled her hair while saying,
"Happy Birthday, Apple Cheeks."
One minute she was happily driving along the deserted road, the next minute there's blood everywhere.
She later found out that a drunk driver hit their truck head on; the force of the impact launched her and her dad forward, hitting the windshield. The last thing she saw before she lost consciousness was the lifeless face of her dad.
xxxxx
Mizuki clenched her fists tightly, trying to erase the dreadful image in her mind. She brushed her fingers on her forehead, expecting to feel the trickling of blood, and relief flooded her senses when her fingertips only managed to trace the rough texture of her scar.
She raised her head and found the three boys still fussing over the crying freshman. Exhausted from the day's unexpected turn of events, Mizuki wished nothing more than to get home to lie down on her bed. But she recalled that she had an audition to watch and she was sure that the gang's hilarious antics will totally distract her from her gloomy thoughts.
She started to leave but suddenly found her way blocked by one of the baseball-bat wielding player.
"And where do you think you're going?" Asked the oldest of the three boys; standing in an arrogant stance while tapping the head of the bat into his palm.
Mizuki ignored him and she took a step to the side in order to pass him but he blocked her way again. She resisted the urge to give a snappy retort; instead opting to give the pompous senior a hard glare as a silent demand for him to get out of her way.
Rather than yielding to her muted request, the boy seems intent on not leaving her alone.
"I believe you owe Ohara-chan an apology." She heard him say.
Mizuki threw an incredulous look at the gangly boy in front of her. She then glanced back towards Ohara and the two boys standing protectively besides her acting as if they were her personal bodyguards. She noticed that Ohara was no longer crying and was watching them both, a wary expression on her face.
With an inward snort of annoyance, her eyes shifted to the boy standing ahead of her. Crossing her arms, she looked him straight in the eye. "For what, pray tell, should I apologize?"
Her inquiry and manner of speaking wiped the smug look on the third year student's face. Uncertainty flitted across his narrow face. Truthfully, he wasn't expecting that kind of attitude from her; he thought that since she's outnumbered and surrounded by three guys holding baseball bats, her attitude would be somehow more compliant and subdued. Heck, she should be feeling nervous right now. Behind her, he saw Ohara and his teammates observing their interactions. He better gets the situation under control and shows this slip of a girl who's the real boss here. Plus, it's an opportunity to make a really big impression on school cutie Ohara-chan. He could score some brownie points by being her knight in shining armor – or rather, her knight in white spandex pants.
"Are you blind or plain stupid? Can't you see that she's crying?" He lashed out. He hoped that his facial features were fierce enough to scare the wits out of her.
Apparently, it was not enough as the girl seems not the least bit frightened by his outburst. Instead, he saw her rolled her eyes at him.
She shot a glance back over her shoulder at Ohara, before returning her gaze at him. "She's not crying now." She stated matter-of-factly.
Ohara - remembering she had a role to play, buried her face into her hands and whimpered lightly.
The boy's face bristled with anger when he saw the curly haired girl crying again. "Apologize. Now." He uttered in what he hope was a deep, menacing growl.
"I don't owe her anything." Mizuki said firmly. She didn't bother explaining to them what really happened. After all, they already come to the conclusion that she was the one who was at fault here. 'Boys are so easy to deceive.' She thought.
Feeling the need to escape, she took a step forward, and when the gangly boy moves to block her again, she forcefully shoved him out of her path. Not expecting her action, the boy lost his balance and fell flat on his butt. He heard his team member's gasps of surprise. Blinded by rage and utterly humiliated, he quickly sprang back up to his feet, lunged after the short haired girl and tackled her to the ground.
With her back turned to him, Mizuki was caught off guard, knocking the breath from her lips as she saw the ground rushing up to meet her. She closed her eyes and bit back a cry of pain as her face slammed on the rough terrain.
For a moment, everyone remained motionless, still not fully comprehending what had just taken place.
"Get off me!" Mizuki's indignant yell was muffled by the ground where the boy had her pinned down.
Coming back to his senses, the senior student immediately scrambled away on his hands and knees, keeping a large gap between him and the fiery girl who's currently face planted on the ground. A feeling of dread and shame washed over him. He watched nervously as the girl slowly turned and pulled herself up into a sitting position and then gently wiped the dirt from her face. The boy's face grew even paler from what he saw.
Red streak of blood dripped down her forehead.
Mizuki didn't know who screamed first. Ohara or the boy with the pointed chin. Or maybe it was her own voice she heard screaming. She never really got to know the answer as her body went limp and her mind slipped into unconsciousness.
"Oh my god! You killed her, senpai!" The boy with the bowl haircut blurted out, his eyes wide with fear. His remark made the senior student tremble in fright. "I – I didn't mean to hurt her. I swear-"
"She just passed out." The third boy stated, interrupting his senpai's stammering. He knelt beside Mizuki's prostrate body, watching the gentle rise and fall of her chest.
Relief filled the guy who heedlessly charged on Mizuki. He never meant any of this to happen, he simply wanted to impress Ohara. But sadly, his plan had backfired. Instead of being awed by his gallantry, Ohara stood there looking absolutely shocked by what had transpired.
"We-we better get her to the clinic." He squeaked out as he struggled to stand up on shaky legs.
But before they could lift her from the ground, bowl cut boy shrieked in hysteria as recognition finally dawned on him. "Oh shit!shit!"
"W-what?What is it?" The senior student asked, a cold sense of dread threatened to overwhelm him.
"It's her! It's her! Oh man, we are so dead!" Bowl cut boy yelled in panic, grabbing a fistful of his hair tightly, his face twisted in obvious terror. He paced restlessly back and forth, muttering under his breath that he's too young to die.
"Quit pacing, will you?" The eldest of the three demanded, leaving out the fact that his pacing around was making him more agitated. "Come on; h-help me take her to the clinic." He added in a shaky tone. He and the other boy began hoisting Mizuki on their shoulders.
"B-but, what if S-Sakuragi found out what h-happened?" Bowl cut boy choked out. He finally stopped his pacing and his anxious gaze was directed to the unconscious girl they were carrying.
The sudden mention of the redhead's name had them frozen to their spot. Even though the weather was chilly, tiny beads of sweat trickled down their forehead. The senior student' sense of foreboding grew even stronger. A gnawing feeling on his gut warned him to just ignore his underclassman's question involving the infamous redhead. He had heard a lot of stories about him and when he had accidentally witnessed one of Sakuragi's berserk moments, he vowed to keep his distance away from him. And now it seems that he had somehow lured the delinquent's unwanted attention to them. All because of this girl.
"Crap." The other boy who's holding the limp body of Mizuki muttered as he finally put two and two together. No wonder her face looks familiar. Bowl cut boy's abrupt utterance of Sakuragi's name made him recognized the girl who's currently hoisted on his shoulders. He definitely remembered now where he had seen her before. She was the latest addition in the Sakuragi Gundan and the current topic of the rumor mill.
"Yohei Mizuki."
The youngest boy in the group and a freshman student like Ohara, uttered her name in a whisper, afraid that she will suddenly wake up and run directly to tell her redheaded friend what had occurred. And that's not the worst that could happen, after all, her cousin is also a well-known thug in their school.
The first year student quickly turned to look at his senpai for advice on how they're going to escape the wrath of the two delinquents, but before he could voice out his worry, he saw his senpai's eyes rolled back in his head and then he too passed out, eventually dragging the three of them to the ground.
xxxxx
Mizuki's eyes fluttered open, slowly gaining consciousness, and find herself staring at the white ceiling of the room. Feeling a bit disoriented, she closed her eyes, willing herself to calm down. The last time she woke up in an unfamiliar place was after the cataclysmic car accident, and the aftermath of that unfortunate event was not something she wanted to remember.
Hands trembling, she cautiously put the tip of her index finger on her forehead and let out a strangled cry when her finger touched the thick pad of gauze. "N-no! Not again. Oh please." She choked out.
"What is the matter, my dear?"
Fighting the tears that threatened to spill over her cheeks, Mizuki turned her head to look at the owner of the voice. She released the breath she'd been holding when she finally become aware of her present situation. Right now, she was in the clinic and standing at the foot of her bed was the school doctor.
Recollection of the earlier events suddenly filled her mind. She remembered being tackled by that spandex wearing douchebag and her face crashing to the ground. After that, everything went blurry. She mentally berated herself for showing weakness by passing out at the mere sight of blood, and worst, other people had witnessed her meltdown.
Mizuki was too busy castigating herself that she didn't notice the doctor moving closer to her. "Is everything alright? Does anything hurt?" The doctor's concerned voice once again broke her thoughts.
The short haired girl slowly eased herself in a sitting position and shook her head to say no. "Thank you for taking care of me." She muttered and bowed her head slightly to show her gratitude.
The middle-aged woman with silver-streaked hair pulled neatly in a tight bun gave her a smile and went to check on her wound dressings. "You're welcome. It's my job after all."
"Don't worry; the wound wasn't that deep so it wouldn't leave much of a scar." The amiable woman added, giving her a reassuring pat on her shoulder before turning her eyes to the student lying down next to Mizuki's bed.
"Your friends are quite worried about the two of you."
"Eh?" Mizuki asked, quite confused by her remark. She followed the doctor's gaze and almost fell on her bed when she recognized the guy sleeping on the other side. It's none other than the arrogant jerk who foolishly pushed her to the ground, hence the reason why she's brought to the clinic.
But what is he doing here?
"What happened to him?" She inquired, baffled by the guy's unconscious state. She got off the bed and approached him to have a closer look, fearful of what she would find. For a second, she thought that Sakuragi and Mito finally learned what had transpired earlier at the school garden, and seeks revenge on the guy. She examined him and noticed that there are no bandages or any bruises on his face.
"Well, based on the statement of the two boys who brought both of you here, it would seem that he passed out when he saw you bleeding." The lady doctor told her.
"I see," was Mizuki's reply, choosing to remain mum about the incident.
As she was about to ask permission from the school doctor to leave as she was feeling better already, the door to the clinic abruptly opened, and her eyes widened in utter horror on who she saw standing in the doorway.
It was her cousin Mito.
And no, she wasn't horrified by his sudden appearance. What shocked and troubled her most was that her cousin's face was swollen and disfigured. His eyes were scarcely visible and almost slanted because the bags below them were too puffy and bloated. The last time she had seen him like this was when they were still in first grade.
Mito, on the other hand, was also not expecting to see her cousin. He knew he looked like an idiot standing there with his mouth gaping open like a fish. Or more like an exact imitation of a pufferfish. Thoughts about fleeing the room to escape the nagging that was sure to follow filled his mind. As he was about to bail out from the scene, he caught a glimpse of the bandage on her forehead. The white plaster on her forehead caught his curiosity followed by severe trepidation.
"What happened to you?" Mito's voice was laced with concern as he swiftly walked over to her, his eyes focused on the thick gauze on her forehead.
Mizuki tugged at her bangs in a futile attempt to cover the bandage. She took a discreet glance at the still unconscious student on the bed, contemplating whether or not she should tell him. She realized that even though his eyes were almost covered by the swelling, nothing could escape his notice as she heard him asked, "Who's the guy?"
Before she can think of a way to evade his question, the doctor interrupted them. "Perhaps you would like me to take a look on you first before you proceed with the interrogation of my patient."
Mito turned to the direction of the voice, finally becoming aware of the doctor's presence. He brought a hand at the back of his neck and let out a sheepish laugh.
"Ah, yes! Please do, Kondo-san. "
After a series of inquiries regarding Mito's allergy – from his medical history and what triggers the allergic reaction, the doctor gave him medication to help relieve the symptoms and chastised him for not taking his health seriously.
Mizuki nodded her head in agreement with regards to the doctor's statement, resisting the urge to pummel her cousin for doing something so irresponsible. He knew he was allergic to peanuts, so what made him eat one? If it was some stupid bet between him and the other guys, she'd make sure that they will suffer from her wrath.
"Couldn't resist the temptation of chocolates?" The doctor asked him in a mildly teasing tone as she scribbled her prescription.
"Yeah. Homemade chocolate muffins." Mito answered without thinking.
Mizuki raised her eyebrows in surprise from her cousin's unexpected response. She watched him closely to see if he realized the slip, boring holes on the side of his head to get him to look at her. Frustrated that he refused to acknowledge her presence, she huffed in annoyance and promised herself that she will get all the answers from him later.
xxxxx
As soon as they step foot outside the clinic, Mizuki wasted no time in bombarding Mito with her queries.
"What the hell, Mito?! Do you have some kind of a death wish?What were you thinking? Or were you even thinking at all? Muffins?! Seriously?! You risked your life because of a freaking muffin?!"
"Geez, Mizu. Stop with the nagging, will ya?" The raven haired boy replied with one index finger pointing to his swollen face. "Have pity on me and my bloated but still handsome face."
"Then stop evading and answer the damn questions!" Shrieked a high pitched voice which prompts Mito to cover his ears. Luckily, class has ended hours ago which made the corridor empty, thus preventing any bystanders to witness his cousin's bout of hysteria.
"Quit shouting. I ain't deaf, you know." He complained while picking his ears.
"Yeah, but you sure are stupid." Mizuki said harshly as she crossed her arms across her chest. "You know certainly well that you are allergic to peanuts. Have you forgotten what happened the last time you consumed that packet of peanuts just because of your stubbornness?"
Mito merely shrugged and buried his hands on the pockets of his pants. "I spent an entire week in the hospital. Totally saved me from the torture of school."
His laidback response received a menacing glare from the short haired girl. Mito removed his hands from his pockets and held out his palms in a placating manner. "I'm just kidding. Geez, can't even handle a joke now?" He shook his head at his cousin's serious attitude and started walking in the other direction. But his path was immediately blocked by the overly persistent girl and Mito mentally cursed himself. He should have just gone home directly instead of dropping by to the clinic. That will surely save him from a lot of trouble. He knew from experience that Mizuki will not stop until she gets her answers and how much of a worrywart his cousin is. And she became even more agitated and more concerned towards his well-being after the accident. It's bad enough that his mom was always nagging him about his juvenile behavior and now, he had Mizuki double teaming with his own mother on an endless rant of lectures.
"I would punch you, if your face wasn't so bloated right now." Mito inwardly rolled his eyes upon hearing her threat. 'Sheesh! She's even worse than my mom! At least mom doesn't resort to any physical violence. Oh wait, she did whack me in the head last time I forgot to put water in the rice cooker when she asked me to prepare them for dinner.'
Because of that incident, his mom never gave him the task of cooking rice, but she never missed an opportunity to remind him of that mistake.
Pushing the thoughts aside, he returned his focus to the fuming girl in front of him. He let out an audible gulp when he realized how angry she looks. He better do something fast before her anger escalates further to extreme proportion. Being diplomatic and calm was the first step.
Mito raised his hand and pats her head lightly which made her scowl even more. "Relax. Take a chill pill. Nothing serious happened, alright? I already took my meds and everything is A-OK."
"Who gave you the muffins?" Mizuki suddenly asked.
Mito gave a defeated sigh and run a hand on his now gel free hair. "I'm not going to answer that."
Placing both hands on her hips, she narrowed her eyes at him. "Why the hell not?"
"Because! I don't want you going berserk on the poor gal. And stop swearing, it doesn't suit you."
The girl bristled at his remark. "Oh yeah? But me beating the crap out of that person totally suits my personality?"
Mito simply ignored her and rested his arms on the concrete surface of the balcony, watching a few students leaving the school ground. Deep inside, he's thinking of a way to escape, calculating his chances of surviving if he jumped from the second storey balcony. Before he could make up a decision, his cousin blurted out, "Oh my god! You're still holding a grudge on that boy I punched years ago because of the peanuts fiasco?"
"FYI, you're the one who's still hung up on that incident, not me."
"That's because he forced you to eat them. And I don't go around beating people for no reason." She replied matter-of-factly.
"Oh really?" He whipped around to look at her; all traces of humor are gone from his face. "Tell me, what happened between you and Ohara-chan in the school garden? I saw the bruises on her arms, and she confessed to me, after forcing her to talk, that you're the one who caused them."
Mizuki stared at him, bug eyed, before shaking her head to clear her mind. "Word surely travels fast around here." She snorted. "In case you haven't notice, I'm the one with the freaking bandage on my forehead. And I didn't know that you two were quite chummy with each other." She added afterwards, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
"So what if I am? Just because you don't like her doesn't mean I have to dislike her too." Mito said sharply. He was starting to get irritated with her.
Mizuki frowned at his answer. "I know you liked her alright. I just didn't know that you would fall for someone who's so superficial and fake."
"Do you hear yourself, Mizu? You sound like a bitter old hag." He said with a note of exasperation in his voice.
Mizuki felt a sharp pain in her chest. She and her cousin had never gone into an argument where they ended up insulting one another. Sure, she nagged him all the time about his slacking and smoking habits, but he never made any hurtful remarks towards her. He would simply roll his eyes and complained about her sticking her nose out of people's business. But now, he was standing before her with a mean look on his eyes, so unlike his usually cool self. And Mizuki had to wonder if her criticism to Ohara was the reason for the abrupt change in his demeanor. She was aware that Mito and the rest of the gang had a crush on the cute freshman, but she didn't know that he and Ohara were actually quite friendly with each other, given the fact that he's aware of what transpired between the two girls at the school garden mere hours ago. A sudden thought crossed her mind.
"Is she the one who gave you the muffins?"
"Huh?" Mito blinked in confusion at her words.
"Ohhh, I get it now."
"Get what?" He asked; his dark brows furrowed in mild annoyance.
"So that's why you couldn't resist. Because it was your dear Ohara-chan who baked those chocolate muffins." She sneered at the last two words.
Mito stares at her in general disbelief. "Look." He muttered, running his hands through his messy hair. "I know you have an overactive imagination and have the habit of spouting absurd theories that pops on that crazy head of yours, but-"
"That's why you've been acting so defensive, taking her side." She said, cutting him off.
"Now hold on just a minute. I-" He began to say, but he stopped talking immediately as he noticed her brown eyes gleaming with anger. He could tell she was silently accusing him for whatever twisted story she's concocted in her head.
"You told her." Mizuki says angrily.
"Told her what?" Mito snapped at her. He's getting seriously pissed now.
"About what happened to my father!"
Once again, Mito was caught off guard by her statement. He knew that talking about her dad was an emotional topic for her and he's a bit perplexed as to why she suddenly brought uncle to their conversation. She was looking at him like he betrayed her and it dawned on him that she thought that he actually told Ohara about what happened to her dad. If the situation wasn't so serious, he would have rolled his eyes at her accusations.
"Of course not." His tone sounded offended. "We never talked about uncle."
"Then how the hell did she found out about the car accident?"
"I don't know!" He replied, his voice raising a notch.
"Stop lying!" She yelled back.
"I'm not!"
"You know what, Mito? You and Ohara are compatible with each other."
Mito grits his teeth. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means she's a fraud and you're a liar." Mizuki told him callously. Sometimes, her temper outweighs her common sense and she blamed today's events for her antagonistic behaviour. Or maybe it's just an excuse to let out all those emotions she's long suppressed.
Mito couldn't believe what he's hearing or seeing. The hateful girl standing in front of him was not his cousin. He realized that talking with an angry Mizuki is like talking to a brick wall.
"Let's talk when you're in your right mind." He turned his back away from her, fully determined to leave her to her damn non sequitur, but exactly as he expected, Mizuki wouldn't just shut up.
"Are you still smoking?"
Okay, he had to admit, she got him there. One minute they were talking about Ohara, and afterwards, she strangely brought the issue about her dad, and now their conversation suddenly shifted to his smoking habits.
'Talk about random.'
"What are you getting at now?" He asked as he turned to look at her.
"Yes or No?" She said simply.
"We've been through this before, Mizu." He grumbled under his breath. Mizuki silently regarded him, her brown eyes piercing him and scrutinizing his every move.
Mito let out a deep breath before he replied, "No, I stopped smoking months ago. Are you happy now? Can I go home and rest or are you not finished with your interrogations?"
"Let me see what's inside your pockets then." She demanded, ignoring his question.
"Fine!" He huffed before proceeding to empty the pockets of his pants with its contents. He was about to throw them on the floor in indignation when he felt something on his fingertips, and his bloated face paled instantly.
'Uh-oh'. He thought. 'I couldn't possibly let her see it.'
He glanced at her nervously, his mind having an internal battle, while his hand clutched at the concealed item in his pocket. 'I'm not yet ready to tell her or anyone, but if I didn't, she will think the worse of me.'
His eyes darted back and forth as beads of sweat began to form on his forehead. He could feel the weight of Mizuki's gaze crushing him.
"What's with the investigation, Mizu?"
"What's in your pocket, Mito?" She pressed on.
"Nothing." His hesitation only drew further suspicion to himself. He tried to keep a calm demeanor but he knows that Mizuki can see through his lies. He could not keep his eyes on her for too long and missed the crestfallen look on her face.
"Come on, Mizu, I stopped smoking. You have my word."
"Do I really?" She whispered before she sped off in the other direction, leaving him in an empty corridor.
