She hates everything about him.
His stupid grin, the equally stupid handshake routine between him and her cousin, Mito, and most specially his hair - his shocking mane of red hair.
Summer vacation had officially begun and Mizuki was looking forward to seeing her cousin Mito again. He always spends his summer break with her and her dad at Chiba. Usually, it was his mom who accompanies him on the trip, staying for a day or two before returning to Kanagawa, leaving her son behind.
Imagine her surprise when she discovered that it wasn't his mom who travelled with him, it was a lanky boy with vibrant red hair that stepped off the bus after Mito.
Her dad immediately greeted his nephew with a hug but she remained rooted to the spot, unable to say anything, her eyes darting between Mito and his redheaded companion.
Mito teases her upon noticing her frozen stature, smiling that arrogant, carefree smirk that never fails to get on her nerves.
She scowled at him which only made Mito laugh harder. "It's good to see you again, bumpkin." He went to ruffle her hair but she shoved his hand away, the action earning her a reprimand from her dad.
She casually nodded her head in the redhead's direction. "Who's he?"
Mito's confusion on her odd behaviour dissipates quickly as he turned to look at the boy standing quietly besides him " is Sakuragi Hanamichi."
He placed an arm around the boy's shoulder before adding in a cheery tone.
"My bestfriend."
Her eyes nearly bugged out of her sockets.
Mito is lying.
Because she was his bestfriend. Not that boy with the weird hair color.
"Well, Mizu-chan, aren't you going to greet Hanamichi?" She heard her dad said.
She stepped closer to the boy, and she smiled smugly when she saw him flinched.
He was much taller than her but that didn't scare her. In fact, he almost looked wary of her.
She stares directly into his eyes, and giving him the most disgusted expression she could muster, she said, "Your hair is ugly."
She turned and dashed away, ignoring her cousin and father's shout.
"Mizuki! Get back here at once!"
"Mizu-chan!"
"Mizu-chan!"
"Huh?" She snapped awake with a jerk, disoriented and finds herself curled up on the soft grass field inside the oval track, with Takamiya sitting beside her.
"You're not listening to what I'm saying. You fell asleep on me." The bespectacled, portly boy grumbled.
They just finished their last class, which was Physical education, and having no club or any school activities to attend to, the two of them decided to just stay on the oval track to watch the clouds lazily drifting across the sky. The comforting atmosphere plus what was like a week's worth of exhaustion overcame her and she eventually fell asleep. The Sakuragi gang with the exception of Takamiya were suspended from school until the end of the week, much to the latter's displeasure. Takamiya was disappointed that he was left out from the suspension and curses himself and his stomach for arriving late at school. Mito had to drag him away from the Headmaster's office and prevented him from speaking about his involvement in the Rukawa article. Mito then tells him that he's in charge of looking after Mizuki while they're not around.
On the other hand, Mizuki and Tatsuhiko Reika, the muscular girl she had altercation with, were given the punishment of raking the school backyard. Tatsuhiko's coach contested the decision and argued that they needed all the time for practice since Interhigh is fast approaching but the Headmaster said there will be no exceptions. He did give consideration and said the two of them will start with the cleaning of the school yard the day after tomorrow since Tatsuhiko had a scheduled Judo match against Kainan.
"Sorry," Mizuki said between yawns as she pushed herself into sitting position and stretched her stiff limbs "Where were we?"
"I'm asking how I can know if a girl is interested on me."Takamiya said as he pulled some grass and tossed it in the air.
Ever since that 'accident' with Matsui happened, the boy can't seem to stop talking about her. Upon his request, she hinted to the pig tailed girl that Takamiya was crushing on her but upon hearing his name, Matsui made a face like she'd eaten a dozen lemons all at once. After that sour expression, Mizuki never mentioned his name to her anymore. But she didn't have the heart to tell him that.
"Well," she began slowly, "There's this article that I've read that when it comes to attraction, eye contact does a lot. So, if a girl makes eye contact with you, turns her gaze away, and then looks back at you all within a span of 30 seconds, she's most probably interested."
Takamiya remained silent for a moment as he contemplated her response. He then heaved a dejected sigh. "I guess she's not interested then. I mean," He plucked the blade of grass with more force this time, venting his frustration on the poor grass. "Who would get interested in a fat boy like me?" Although the words were casually stated, there was bitterness behind them.
Mizuki tries to interject but Takamiya kept on talking. "She probably likes em all buff and muscular. Heck, all the girls fall for that six pack shit!" He held up a hand when she opened her mouth to say something. "Oh please, don't bother denying it. I know that's the only reason why you watched the film 300."
After what seems to be an endless rant, Takamiya suddenly stood up - the action taking her by surprise as he usually needed help when getting up. "I'll show her strong and buff."
"Come on, Mizuki-chan. Get your lazy butt off the grass, we're gonna do some laps! I have a six pack to attain!" He said as he raised his fist, eyes ablaze with determination.
Then he turned and began running.
Mizuki remained sitting on the grass, wondering what the heck just happened. Afterwards, she rolled her eyes and shrugged, before standing and brushing bits of grass and dirt off her navy jogging pants and white shirt. She sprinted after the portly guy, easily overtaking him.
"Six pack, here I come!" She yelled over her shoulder.
She burst out laughing as she heard Takamiya's annoyed grunts. She began to run faster, her body soared with adrenaline and reveling in the sense of freedom coursing through her veins. She closed her eyes and then lifted her arms, holding them out like a pair of wings.
The feeling was exhilarating. She felt so free, so light, and so blissful that she never wanted these feelings to ever end. So she ran and ran and ran.
Her feet landed in the puddle with a big splash, uncaring of the muddy water splattered all over her legs. She ran down the pebbled path leading to their house, past the ripening peach trees, ignoring Old Sayo who was smoking pipe and guarding her trees from any rascals who try to steal the juicy fruits from her, and pretended that she didn't hear her scathing remark about her tomboyish manners.
Upon reaching the single storey residence, she stepped out into the back garden, knowing her father will be there. She abruptly stopped walking when she heard laughter coming from the garden. Her frown deepened into a scowl when she saw her dad laughing at something the red headed punk said.
She waited until her dad left before making her presence known. The boy, Hanamichi, jumped back in surprise at her sudden appearance, dropping the shovel he was using for tilling the soil.
A smirk formed at the corner of her lips. "Did I scare you, Ketchup?"
He glowered at her but held his tongue. She knew he hated it when she called him by that nickname that she gave him. It's fun seeing his face turned the same shade of his crimson hair when he's angry.
She heard him blew out an annoyed huff as he pick up the shovel from the ground. "You would too if someone suddenly sneaked up from behind you."
She held her breath, suddenly feeling tense, waiting for him to get back at her, to tease her that he saw her running up into the staircase looking scared as hell after she turned off all the lights from downstairs. But she was surprise when he didn't bring it up, didn't even mention it to Mito. She knew her cousin will endlessly make fun of her once he heard the story. And it both irritated and confused her as to why Ketchup didn't blab about it.
Suddenly, Sakuragi's foot got stubbed on one of the protruding stones. He would have fell face first on the ground but he managed to get his hands out in time to brace his fall. He hissed out in pain when his left palm grazed a rough stone.
She winced visibly upon seeing the red scratches on his palm. Forgetting her initial annoyance at him, she move closer and knelt down beside him to further inspect the wound, but he instantly jerked away from her and she caught the glare on his face, as if he's blaming her for losing his footing.
He must have noticed something on her expression because a fleeting look of guilt replaced his grimace.
Her glance was scathing as she stood up. "Awww, want me to call your mama so that she can hold your hand and kiss your boo-boo to make it better?" She said in a fake, sweetly condescending tone.
It's been nearly a week since he first set foot at their small village in Chiba, and during those days, she never missed an opportunity to rile him up, in an effort to get him to go back to wherever he came from and leave her in peace. It was bad enough that he was hogging all the attention from her dad and cousin but then to have him speak nonstop about his mom and flaunting it in her face was like a punch to her gut. She hated him more because she was constantly reminded of the mother she never had.
"Look, "He sighed deeply and use the shovel for support as he straightened up. "I don't want to fight with you, so will you just leave me alone?"
But of course, he knew she would never do what he asked.
He heaved another sigh and turned to meet her glare. "What do you want, Yohei-chan?"
She pretended that she didn't hear him and busied herself by picking her nails. But when he ignored her and continue with his gardening, she decided to tell him. "Mito is looking for you."
Her eyebrows scrunched together when he continue to ignore her.
"Hey! Are you deaf?"
"I heard you." Sakuragi grumbled under his breath.
"Fine." She crosses her arms petulantly. "Don't believe me then."
Neither one of them said anything for a few moment. When her foot started tapping though, he finally stopped shovelling and turned to look at her. He leaned against the shovel which he had planted firmly on the ground and said, "So, where is he then?"
"He's down by the river."
Sakuragi narrowed his eyes as if contemplating the truth of her words. He must then have come to the conclusion that she's telling the truth for he abruptly left without giving her any response.
Unluckily for the red-haired boy, she followed after him, mumbling something about him being an "ungrateful little twerp".
He walked faster, trying to put as much distance as he could between the two of them. As he turned a corner, he found his path being blocked by a rooster. He halted his steps and eyed it warily.
"What?" asked a teasing voice behind him, "Afraid of a chicken?"
He bristled at her mocking tone. "No! Of course not!" He said defensively, his eyes still focused on the rooster who was staring back at him.
Mizuki began making clucking noises and flapping her arms which earned her another glare from him.
Mustering his courage, Sakuragi walked carefully along the trail leading to the river, watching the rooster as it watched him back. As he edged closer, he heard the twigs snapped under his feet. "Oh,crap," He managed to say before the rooster attacked him. When he started to run, the rooster chased after him.
And that's how Mito found the two of them. Sakuragi, who was running and screaming for the psycho rooster to leave him alone and Mizuki, who found the boy's demise exceedingly hilarious she nearly died laughing.
'Run, Ketchup, run!' She gasped out between bouts of laughs.
xxxxx
"I'm dying, Mizuki-chan."
She heard Takamiya grumbled as she ran passed him, having finished her first lap. She rolled her eyes, already expecting this behaviour from him. He was only a few meters away from the spot that they were resting minutes ago and he had the gall to complain that he was tired already?
She turned to face him, running backwards and shouted, "If you want to lose all those fats, Takamiya-kun, don't you dare stop running!" Raising her fist, she said, "Fightin!"
Halfway through her third lap, she stumbled and tripped over her shoelace, falling face down. Several students playing soccer on the field saw what happened, some snickered in amusement while some throw her concerned looks. When one player jogged over to check if she's okay, she raised her hands to stop him and shouted, "I'm fine! Happens everytime!"
After quickly tying her shoelaces, she took off running again.
She frowned when she noticed the sky darkening. She looked up at the clouded sky and stomped her foot in frustration. Why can't she even take a break? She just wants one day, one freaking day, without something or someone ruining her day. Everything seems to be conspiring against her.
And to further prove her theory, the first drop of rain fell on her forehead.
Mizuki clenched her fists and gritted her teeth. "I won't break that easily." She whispered before continuing her run.
xxxxx
He found her huddled under a large tree – her momiji tree, soaked from head to toe and shivering.
"Go away!" She shouted, hating the trembling in her voice.
The red haired boy stood frozen, unsure of what to do, eyes squinting against the drizzle and watching her silently. "I…everyone's looking for you." he muttered awkwardly as he scratched the back of his neck.
"Leave me alone!" She yelled, wiping both the rain and tears from her face, angry that of all people, it was 'him' who had discovered her whereabouts. And furious that he had seen her in her most vulnerable state, certain that he was going to find a way to use that weakness against her.
She expected him to heed her demand to leave her alone, but to her utter surprise, Sakuragi did the opposite. He walked closer to her, lifting the umbrella from his hand to shield her from the rain.
His action only made her more pissed. She doesn't want his kindness, or his pity, she much prefer that he treat her the same way that she had treated him - through hurtful teasing and harsh words. In that way, she wouldn't feel guilty on how cruel she was to him. But during the duration of his stay at their house, he had never once shown any animosity towards her. When she was being hostile to him, he simply kept his distance from her.
He spoke before she even got the chance to yell at him again. "You missed her, don't you?"
His words struck her to the core, making her unable to breathe. Her hands trembled as she hugged the framed photo of her mother tightly against her chest. She wanted to lash out at him, to tell him to mind his own business but when she finally turned to look at him, her throat constricted.
Because how could she be angry at him when he appeared to be more miserable than her? He looked so sad standing there, droplets of rain running down his face and matting his red hair flat to his scalp. He had a faraway look in his eyes and she swore she saw tears in them.
"I miss my mama too." He said at last, his voice trembling. A ragged sob escaped him and he wiped his face with his forearm. This time she was certain that he was crying.
Mizuki felt a pang in her heart as she watched him, this poor boy who she treated with nothing but contempt since the very first day. She abruptly stood up, responding to an inexplicable compulsion to comfort him, causing her to bump her head in the umbrella with the sudden action.
"It's alright." She said as she places a soothing hand on his head before gently patting it. She then took the umbrella from his hand and tosses it on the ground.
"It's alright to cry, the sky does it too."
xxxxx
What started as a drizzle soon became a downpour. Everyone left the vast oval field to seek shelter from the rain. Everyone except Mizuki, who seems unfazed by the deluge and Takamiya, who was screaming her name at the top of his lungs.
"Mizuki-chan! Mizuki-chan!""
She ignored him and keeps on running.
"Mizuki-chan!It's raining! Let's head back inside!"
Unbelievably, Takamiya managed to catch up with her. He grabbed her arm to stop her. "What are you doing?"
When she yanked his hand away, he shouted, "Are you out of your bloody mind?!
Again, she ignored him and increased her pace.
The portly boy watched her retreating figure, squinting his eyes against the rain. "Damn, she's gone bonkers." He muttered as he vainly tried to wipe the rain off his eyeglasses with his handkerchief.
He was tempted to go inside and get dry, have a steaming mug of hot chocolate with marshmallows on top but the image of a pissed off looking redhead with a raging brunette by his side floated through his mind.
"Mizuki-chan!If you get sick from the rain, Hanamichi will kill me! But I'm betting Mito will skin me alive first!" Takamiya shouted in a panicked voice as he ran after her.
xxxxx
"Let him go." She tells a group of older kids in the most menacing tone she can muster, tightening her grip on her water gun as she pointed it at one of the boy's pimply face.
The boy, who she assumed was the gang's leader, gave her an 'are you for real' stare before laughing mockingly. "Are you threatening me with a toy gun, little girl?"
His four other companions, two boys and a girl, joined their leader in his laughter.
"What are you doing, Mizuki-chan?" Sakuragi, who was pinned down by the two boys to the ground, struggled to speak. "I told you to run. You'll only get hurt!"
"Listen to your friend, Mizuki-chan, before you get hurt." The group's leader mimicked Sakuragi in a high pitched child's voice before playfully flicking her forehead with his fingers.
Mizuki roughly slapped his hand away which only made the older boy cackle in amusement.
"Why are you doing this to him? What did he ever do?"
"Nothing. He just annoys me, is all. That hair of his irritates me the most."The leader crouched down beside Sakuragi, roughly grabbing a handful of hair, causing the latter to wince. "This color is absolutely horrendous, don't you think, Mizuki-chan?"
"No. Red is one of my favourite colors."
"But don't ya worry, little girl, we're going to remedy that problem." he continued on as if she hadn't spoken. A sinister smile appeared on his lips as he took the razor from one of his lackeys, a skinny girl with spiky short hair and thick black eyeliner.
"Stop!" Mizuki's voice was drowned out by the buzzing sound of the electric razor.
"Just give up, Mizuki-chan." Punk girl bent down and whispered in her ear.
Mizuki took a few steps back and then shifted the aim of the gun towards the other girl, taking her by surprise. "Release my friend now or I will blast this stuff to her face!"She yelled as loud as she could.
A shrill laugh escaped from punk girl's lips. "You think you can hurt me with a water gun? How stupid can you get?"
"Oh, but it's no ordinary water."
"What is it then, holy water?"The leader asks wryly, turning off the razor.
"Ah, of course not, I wouldn't dare waste it on you." Mizuki replied after the snickering died down."You see this gun contains a very, very deadly potion. It was extracted from my beloved Marty's body fluids."
Punk girl made a face of disgust."Who the hell's Marty?"
"Marty is my pet toad."Mizuki tells them.
"Who gets a toad for a pet?"
"I do."
They all stared at her in disbelief and apparent distaste.
"What a freak." Someone commented.
"Enough chit chat." The leader snapped, looking extremely annoyed now. "Get her to shut up, babe."
Punk girl, who turns out to be the leader's girlfriend, frowned at the command. She stared at the toy gun, her eyes wide with apprehension. She began to move closer, brow furrowed and lips pursed together in a tight line.
"Ah, ah." Mizuki said, waggling her index finger. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. You see, a toad's urine is quite lethal. One drop of it is enough for warts to grow and spread on your entire body". She looked at punk girl straight in the eyes and gave a sly grin,"You wouldn't want to mar your pretty skin, would ya?
"You're bluffing."Punk girl tried to act tough but Mizuki can see through her mask.
"I never lie. And I don't think it's wise either to doubt the word of Kureneko herself. "
There was an audible gasps as Mizuki made this declaration. The color was drained from the older girl's face as she instantly took a step back.
"What are you all doing?" The leader shouted. "Don't tell me you believe her?! She's just making all these stories!"
"I've seen her in school." One boy muttered. "She's known as the grim reaper. A classmate of mine saw her feed the birds at school, and all of them lay dead the next day."
"Let's go, Tadeo-kun. He's not worth it."
"But babe-" The leader named Tadeo protested.
"I said let's go!" Punk girl shrieked before grabbing her boyfriend's arm and dragging him away from the redhead. The other two boys immediately followed after them.
"See you never!" Mizuki shouted after them.
"What the heck just happened?"Sakuragi asked somewhat confusedly as he slowly rose to a sitting position.
"I saved your butt, that's what." She informed him smugly. "Come on, stupid, Mito's probably going crazy searching for us."
But Sakuragi remained on the ground, frowning and seems to be pondering over something. Finally, he asks her, "Why do they call you Kuroneko?"
"Because I'm cursed."The words slipped from her mouth before she could stop them. "Anyone who associates with me will become very unlucky."
Sakuragi let out a snort of disbelief. "That's crazy!"
She simply shrugged. "Black cats are bad luck, particularly if one walks across the path in front of a person, which is believed to be an omen of misfortune and death."
He made a face of disapproval. "I don't believe in silly superstitions."
"Welcome to our town, where all of its residents are extremely superstitious."
"Yeah. I've noticed."The red haired boy said as he stood back up on his feet and started to dust himself off.
"Thank you.."He mumbled afterwards, refusing to meet her gaze. "For saving me from those bullies. I-"
"No problem." She interrupted him, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. "Besides, I know what it felt like when other kids don't even bother to help you when someone is trying to hurt you."
"Do they often bully you?" She was surprise by the sudden anger in his voice.
"At first." She admitted, "But now they're terrified of me. Perks of being known as the Kureneko, I guess." She finished with a shrug.
"What happened to the birds?"He blurted out.
"It was because of bird flu or other sickness. But some kids at school spread this gossip that I'm responsible for what happened. So every unlucky thing that occurred to them, they always blame it on me, saying that I jinxed them."
"That's cruel."
"At least, that keeps them off my back." She shrugged again before continuing, "The teachers already explained what happened to the birds but the kids refused to listen, they just want to continue to bully me with the grim reaper and kureneko stuff and I just kinda got tired trying to convince them to believe in me."
"I believe you."She heard him say.
Her head whipped around to face him. "Do.. do you?"
He nodded earnestly and she could see the sincerity in his eyes.
"And any of those bullies try to hurt you again, they will answer to me."
She was genuinely touched by his words, but because she can never admit that to him, she simply snorted and rolled her eyes."Yeah, right. You can't even protect yourself from those bullies a while ago."
"Well, I was- " He stammers, scratching the side of his head as he searched for words to justify what happened. "They took me by surprise. I was outnumbered and they are older than me."
"Excuses, excuses." She replied in a singsong voice. "But don't worry; I can take care of myself. I don't need someone protecting me. Besides, you're going to leave town after summer is over."
His face fell. "Oh, right. Yeah, I'll be going back to Kanagawa." Then his eyes lit up with a sudden idea. "Why don't you just study there?"
She blinked at him. She never expected to hear that from him. She looked to see if he was joking, but there wasn't any hint of mirth. In fact, he appears to be elated by the thought of her going into the same school as his.
"My father had a job here. And my mom was…" She started, her voice entirely unsure."And I love this town, and not all of them treats me like I'm cursed.. Did you know that the Vice Mayor and my dad are best of friends? He always brings me sweets and treats when he went on an overseas trip or an event from other cities."
"Oh. That's great to hear."was Sakuragi's reply.
They walked back towards the house in silence. From her peripheral, she could see him glancing towards her hand every now and then.
"What?" She finally asked, feigning annoyance.
"Uh... does your water gun really contain frog's piss?"
The corner of her mouth quirk upwards. Instead of answering his question, she quickly pointed the water pistol at him and squirted him on the face.
He spluttered, coughing up water as he stared at her, eyes wide and frantic.
"We'll just have to wait and see, Ketchup." She smirked at him, then playfully ruffled his hair before skipping away.
She was a good ten meters away when she heard him yell,"MIZUKI!"
xxxxx
She has no idea how long she's been running, or how many times she fell on the muddied ground.
The rain had started to ease off and soft rays of the sun were slowly peeking through the layers of clouds.
She glanced up at the now brightening sky, her body soaked to the bone and droplets of rain clinging to her face.
At last the rain stopped, the clouds clearing the horizon and revealing the sun.
It was only then that Mizuki finally stop running.
She closed her eyes and basked in the warmth of the sun, a ghost of a smile appearing on her lips before whispering, "I won."
She felt her legs gave out and then everything went blank.
xxxxx
Mizuki slowly hanged the wooden wishing plaque on the metal hook, turning it over to show the fox design on her ema, concealing her written wishes on the other side. Her eyes roamed to read the wishes made by the other visitors in the shrine. Older people wished for good fortune and health, single men and ladies wished for their love life while students wished to pass their coming examination. She chuckled when she reads one that had "I wished for senpai to notice me" written on the wood.
She glances to her right, where Sakuragi and Mito currently stood in front of another board hanging their emas, and she quickly make her way towards the pair, curious to see what they had written.
She roughly nudges her cousin to give her space and upon reading his wish list, she exaggeratedly rolled her eyes. His ema was fully covered in his scrawny handwriting, leaving no space in them.
"Seriously, Mito?" she huffed, crossing her arms, "A delicious ramen for dinner?"
"What? It's what I wanted, okay?"Mito answered with a frown as he faced her. All too sudden, a huge grin replaced his scowl before saying,"And besides, you know for a fact that your dad can't cook to save his life."
Sakuragi, who was standing on Mito's left side, let out a chuckle but quickly covered tried to mask it with a coughing when he saw her glare at him.
She ignored her cousin's remark, knowing he's telling the truth about his dad's lack of culinary skills.
"A Playstation?" She stated, reading the next on his list. "That ain't gonna happen for sure."
"Hah! Mom promises to buy me one if I passed all my subjects this year." The dark haired boy proudly declared.
Mizuki simply raised one of her eyebrows at him and Mito met her gaze with an unyielding one of his own. The two began on their usual staring match, neither of them wanted to be the first to back down.
It was Mito who looked away first. He sighed, pouting."Okay, okay, you're right. That won't probably happen."
She almost felt sorry for him. Almost."It can happen if you only study hard."
"Hey, why don't you add them too on your wish list, Mito?"Sakuragi interjected.
Mito's eyes widened at his friend's suggestion. "You're right, Hanamichi! Gosh, You're a genius!" Mito said to the Sakuragi, which earned a loud laugh from the latter. "Wait, I' m going to get another ema!
"Wait, Mito! It doesn't work that way. You need to make an effort too." Mizuki shouted after him. She sighed, exasperated.
There were a few moments of silence before she turned and ask him."What about you, Sakuragi-kun, what did you wish for?"
"Ah, me. Well…" The redhead raised his hands to his neck awkwardly and shifted into the balls of his feet.
"Don't be shy, now." She said, her tone teasing. After the rain and the bullying incident, she had treated Sakuragi with less hostility and was more friendly with him now. But that doesn't stop her from teasing him every now and then.
"I promised I won't laugh or make fun of your wish."
He nodded and then pointed at his ema.
A small, choking sound escaped her lips as she read what he's written.
She expected his wish to be shallow like Mito, but once again, she had misjudged him.
I wish for my mother's happiness
She read the words again and again.
Her vision blurred as tears began to well up in her eyes.
"Uhm.. Is something wrong?" Sakuragi asked meekly, startling her from her thoughts.
She wanted to say that she had written the same thing. That she also wishes for both her mom and dad's happiness.
"Nothing." She shook her head and inconspicuously wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.
Sakuragi opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by a very excited Mito running towards them. "Mizu! Hanamichi!"
They turned and saw her dad walking a few feet behind him.
"One of my wishes came true! Uncle told me that we're going to have dinner at Menyya !"Mito hollered, obviously elated by the fact that he won't be eating one of his Uncle's cooking tonight.
Afterwards, when their stomach were fully satisfied, Mito nudged her shoulders and with a wide grin on his face, he told her smugly , "See, my wish do came true. Stop being a pessimist, my dear cousin. I will get that playstation one way or another."
And Mito was right. He did get a playstation as a gift on Christmas.
Wishes do came true.
Hope blooms in her chest.
xxxxx
Her eyelids fluttered and slowly open. She lay there for a while and stared at the chipped paint on the ceiling of her room. It was previously a storage room but when she arrived, they used it as a temporary room for her. Mito suggested that they switched rooms but she downright refused his offer.
Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Mizuki trudged across the room and drew the curtains back from her window.
The school doctor had given her two days of rest; she didn't know what happened after she passed out at the track field. A few times she fell into a restless drifting; she felt being carried to a car and heard her Auntie's concerned voice and the next thing she remembered was waking up in her own bed and Auntie fussing on her and at the same time giving her hell about her reckless behaviour.
She was feeling a bit better; the scratchy feeling in her throat was retreating. Glancing at the Totoro design alarm clock placed on one of the shelves near her bed, she realized that it was a little before four o'clock. Time for her to take her medicine. She grabbed her water bottle and swallowed the pills before taking a huge swig of water.
Noticing her water bottle was almost empty, she took it with her as she left her room to refill it. She was greeted by a loud sound coming from the television.
Sprawled on the sofa with his eyes fixed unblinking on the screen and his mouth partially hanging open in concentration, was her cousin.
"What are you doing?" She demanded, hands fisted at her waist.
Mito nearly jumped off the sofa in surprise. He quickly recovered from his initial shock and mouthed the word 'duh' at her before pointing at the controller on his right hand.
"You're grounded, not to mention suspended. You're supposed to be working on your paper."
He ignored her chiding and return his gaze on the screen."Oh yeah? And you're sick. You're supposed to be on the bed, resting."
Feeling her glare on him, he heaved a defeated sigh. "I'm bored out of my goddamned mind, "he ran his fingers through his hair, clearly frustrated. "I've been stuck in this hell hole doing nothing but write tons of essays and do house chores. If I do anymore of those, my head is going to explode!"
She regarded him a moment longer, before replying, "That's not nothing. You're being productive for once in your life."
He let out a snort and then focused his attention back on the game.
"What are you playing?" She asked as she stood behind the sofa.
"Tekken."
"Move over." She kicked him on the legs to give her space to sit on the sofa. She tossed the water bottle on the sofa and then grabbed the other controller, her intention of refilling water already forgotten.
"I'm so going to kick your ass." She told him, moving the arrow on the screen to select her player.
"Hah! You wish!" He picked Devil Jin as his player, while Mizuki chose Bryan Fury.
As soon as the fight commence, Mizuki aggressively pressed the buttons on her controller, pushing them all at once.
"Geez. Take it easy." Mito glanced at her sideways, half-amused, half-annoyed.
"No way! You just want me to lose."
"That's not how you should play! You're wrecking the controller."
The two continue their bickering as they play, with Mizuki winning most of the game, much to Mito's irritation. His cousin was a total trickster, doing all sorts of cheating and distracting him during the duration of the game, even resorting to violence when she was on the brink of losing. After several bruises on his forearm and massive hair loss due to her endless pulling, he decided he had enough and switch off the playstation.
"You're such a sore loser."
"And you are such a violent player." He flipped through a few channels before settling on an anime series.
"So, how are you feeling?" Mito asked after a long pause.
"Better than yesterday."
"You know, for someone who doesn't want to attract attention, you sure were doing an awfully poor job on it."
"Huh?" She replied, indifferent, eyes glued to the screen, watching the redhaired protagonist drew his reverse blade katana before slashing his enemies. "Whaddya mean?"
"You keep on doing these stupid antics-"
She whipped her head at him, cutting his words off. "What stupid antics?"
"First, you got into a brawl with a group of baseball players-"
"I didn't get into a brawl with them!" She replied somewhat testily.
"Then, you had a fight with that Amazon, who was a Judo player and the school's contender for the Interhigh this season, mind you-"
"Judo player? Pfft " She snorted, unimpressed, "I totally kicked her butt."
"And this stunt you pulled yesterday. Come on, running in the middle of the rain? And then passing out from fever? After that scene, you will even be more targeted by Rukawa's fans."
"What does he have to do with this?" She asked sharply, her pulse quickening at the mention of Rukawa's name.
Mito regarded her with a knowing, almost suspicious look.
"What? What did I do?" She began fidgeting in her seat.
"Oh, you didn't know?"
Rolling her eyes at him, she replied,"I wouldn't be asking if I know. Duh."
He furrowed his eyebrows in consideration.
"Ah, nevermind." He dismissed afterwards with a wave of his hand, returning his attention back on the tv.
"Don't you dare leave me hanging, Mito." She demanded, clutching one of his sleeves and pulling it repeatedly, "Tell me. Tell me. Tell me!" There was a ripping sound as the cloth was torn off at the shoulder seam.
"Ooopss." She said unapologetically as she held the torn piece of clothing between her thumb and forefinger.
"What the- Mizuki!" Mito slapped her hand away, taking a look at his shirt. "You ruined my favorite shirt!" He whined loudly.
"Serves you right." She huffed in reply.
The two were too busy arguing with each other to hear the front door being opened.
"What IS going on HERE?!"
They both cringe when they heard her Auntie's shrill voice.
"Ma! You're back early." Mito nervously replied, his eyes darting around for possible escape routes.
Mito's mom had the habit of beating him with whatever she's holding in her hand.
And right now, she was holding the most gigantic bottle gourd they had ever seen in their life.
Mito gulped loudly. He was so in trouble.
xxxxx
Mizuki leaned on the stone wall of the bridge for support, as she tries catching her breath. Mito copies her posture before sliding down to the ground, collapsing from exhaustion prompting a belly laugh from their red haired friend.
The three narrowly escaped being whacked by the broomstick of Old Sayo- the eccentric elderly lady who lives near Mizuki's house and owns the numerous peach trees lining their streets. She had caught them in the act of plucking the fruits; the three of them perched atop the branches and happily munching on the peaches. They would have easily outrun her if not for Sakuragi getting his foot stuck on one of the branches resulting to him comically hanging upside down from the tree while Old Sayo was shouting a string of profanities at them as she hastily approached them, raising the large broom in her hand 'to beat the crap out of them'.
"Whew. That was close."Sakuragi said, still pumped up with adrenaline from the afternoon's peach heist.
"We nearly got caught all because of your clumsiness."
"Says the girl who tripped on her shoelaces every so often." Sakuragi quipped back as he moves to sit atop the stone bridge. She stuck out her tongue at him before bending down to tie her shoelaces that had once again come undone.
"What's she planning on doing with all those peaches anyway?" Mito commented as he stood up, reached into his pocket and pulled out his half eaten fruit. "Most of them are just falling from the tree and rotting away. Such a waste." He mumbled before gulping down what's left of his fruit.
They stayed at the bridge for a while, watching the stream rush below them.
"I'm gonna miss this place." Sakuragi admitted with a tinge of sadness in his voice.
Summer vacation will be officially over in a few days, which means that Mito and Sakuragi will be leaving soon to return to kanagawa.
Mito flopped down beside him and nudged him playfully. "Well, you can just live here; we all know Mizuki's father was too fond of you, with him laughing at all of your jokes, which are totally terrible by the way."His remark earns him a punch on the shoulder from the redhead. "Uncle didn't suggest that because he knew you are such a mama's boy."
As the boys jabbed and kicked each other, Mizuki stood pensively, considering the possibilities.
"What if..." She started, fixing Sakuragi a serious look, which made the redhead squirm on his seat. "What if your mom married my dad?"
Mito almost fell off the bridge while Sakuragi sat there with a dumb look on his face.
"I mean, think about it, if my dad married your mom, you can move permanently here. He can adopt you afterwards;then your surname will become Yohei. Isn't that great?Hanami-"
"Whoa! Whoa! Wait a minute," Mito interrupted her, holding up a hand to silence her. "A few weeks ago, you can barely stomach his presence, but now, you want him to become your stepbrother?" He asked incredulously.
"I just want..." She trailed off as she stared at her shoes, "I just thought, you know, as the both of them are single at the moment, maybe they're feeling a bit lonely being alone.." Her eyebrows scrunched up as she search for words.
"So, you wanna play matchmaker, then?" Mito supplied.
Mizuki simpy shrugged her shoulders, refusing to speak on the subject anymore.
For a long while they sat in silence, waiting for the other to say something.
"Yohei Hanamichi." Sakuragi then muttered to himself, testing the name on his lips. "I don't know if the name sounds as amazing and had much impact to the public as Sakuragi Hanamichi."
And just like that, the awkward atmosphere dissipated with the redhead's response.
Mizuki rolled her eyes, but the corner of her lips quirked in amusement, while Mito barked out a laugh "Vain much?"
"The name Sakuragi 'the Tensai' will be known in all of Japan, mark my words."
The two cousins then started ganging up on him and mercilessly teasing him.
"Your mom must have a stomach made of iron to be able to survive Uncle's cooking." Mito said afterwards, bashing his uncle next which got him a loud whack at the back of his head courtesy of Mizuki.
"Your dad won't probably like my mom." Sakuragi mumbled, all traces of humor in his voice were gone.
"Why's that?"Mizuki probed.
"She drinks a lot."
Mizuki stared at him in confusion. "That's not a bad thing...She's just probably thirsty, is all. No biggies."She told him encouragingly.
Sakuragi and Mito both sweatdropped.
Mito knocks her in the head. "Baka."
"Hey!"Mizuki protested.
Her cousin let out an exaggerated sigh. "I am so embarrassed to be your cousin, maybe I oughta change my surname to Sakur-"
Mito's words were suddenly cut off as Mizuki began strangling his throat. Sakuragi made no attempt to help him, instead he watched in amusement, his booming laughter echoing off the stream and surrounding trees, joyful and infectious.
xxxxx
"He blames himself." Her cousin's words from some years ago floated through her mind unbidden as she waited for the bus to arrive. It was back to school for her after two days of sick leave.
She remembers clearly the look of guilt and anguish in Hanamichi's eyes as he sat quietly on the tatami mat, facing his Stepfather's urn.
She wonders if Hanamichi still blames himself after all these years for what happened to his Stepdad. They never openly talked about it, as he was quite sensitive about it before. And if he had finally moved on, she wanted to know how he had coped out with all the grief and the nagging guilt consuming his mind. But she was too scared to ask, fuelled by a fear of opening up a can of worms.
Her brooding was interrupted by someone bumping her from behind, knocking her off balance. The male student who bumped into her hastily mumbled his apology before stepping on the bus. She glanced up and saw the bus number and realizing that it was her bus, she quickly followed after the student.
She reached into her pocket for her wallet, and tapped it on the panel at the entrance. She mentally cursed when she saw the card reader flashes red, indicating there's not enough balance left on her fare card.
A photograph dropped from her wallet as she opened it to pay for cash. She picked it up from the bus floor and turned the photo over. It was a picture of her, Mito and Sakuragi, taken a few years ago during summer vacation. Sakuragi was sandwiched between the two, looking absolutely petrified as Mito held a rooster in both hands, wearing his usual cocky grin. She stares back into her own smiling face in the photo, hair blowing in the wind, looking much younger, happy and carefree. She barely recognizes herself.
A slight cough startled her out from her brooding. Glancing over her shoulder, she was met by a long queue of passengers waiting to board. The middle aged man in a business suit was grumbling under his breath wondering what's causing the delay.
"Hurry up, will ya, kid? Stop wasting our time." One of the passengers commented harshly.
"Ah sorry, sorry." She says, quickly stuffing the photo in her blazer pocket and pulling out a wrinkled bill from her wallet.
But at the last minute, something changed her mind.
"Sorry, I have to go somewhere else."
The bus driver gave her a puzzled look while some passengers groaned out in frustration.
She squeezed her way out past the commuters, repeatedly mumbling her apology and ignoring the callous words thrown her way.
After getting off from the bus, she went to scan the map and diagrams on the board showing the route numbers of the bus and search for her next destination, the Hikawa shrine.
There is someone she owes an apology.
xxxxx
Mizuki ran up the long stone steps leading to the shrine. As she reached the top, she was panting with exhaustion. She stopped for a moment to rest her weary feet and to wipe the sweat on her forehead, her eyes scanning the area for any signs of a familiar mop of red hair.
There's not a single person to be found when she reached the main complex of the shrine. She wonders how she's going to find him as the place was rather huge.
She heard from Mito that Sakuragi's mom had deployed him here, having had enough of her son's unruly behaviour and her being called to the Headmaster's office for what seems like a million time since the redhead started school. She hopes that his short stint at the shrine will make him reflect on his actions.
She wandered around the temple grounds aimlessly. She stopped to read at the various emas on display at the shrine, to keep herself occupied.
As her eyes flicked through the numerous wooden plaques, she inadvertently saw her name on one of them.
I wished that Mizuki will finally forgive me.
She reminded herself that there are other girls named Mizuki. But she swears that she had seen that scrawny handwriting before.
I wished that she will stop blaming herself.
Her heart started hammering in her chest, finding it hard to breathe. It must be some coincidence, right?
I wished for her dad to finally wake up.
Her eyes began to blur as she finally acknowledged what she suspected all along.
I wished for her happiness.
She pressed a fist to her mouth as a ragged sob escaped her.
"Mizu-chan?"
She burst into tears when she heard his voice.
"Did something happen?" Sakuragi asked as he approached her, his tone full of concern.
If she hadn't been feeling so miserable, she would have laughed and teased him mercilessly at the picture he made. He was currently garbed in a white traditional kimono shirt and blue hakama pants, holding a broomstick with both hands.
"I'm sorry, Hanamichi!" she wailed as big, fat tears rolls down her cheeks. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" she continues saying as sobs racked her body.
"Eh?" Sakuragi says dumbly as he stood still, shell shocked, his brain trying to sort out what's happening.
"Please forgive me. Please don't hate me."
"What are you talking about?!" He said,slighted that she would think of him capable of hating her. "You know I could never hate you."
She cries so loudly that the birds flee from their sanctuary beneath the trees, obviously distracted by the sounds she was emitting, showering the pair with leaves and feathers.
xxxxx
The day before Sakuragi and Mito returned back to kanagawa, Mizuki brought the redheaded boy to finally 'meet'her beloved momiji tree, saying only special people were allowed to go near her tree.
"I'm special?" He asked, grinning widely.
She rolled her eyes at him and continue walking."Course you are. You're my best friend."
He tries to downplay how pleased he was by her statement. "I can't have a girl for a best friend."
"What?!"She whirled around on her heels, clearly insulted.
His eyes widened when he realized that she was holding a small knife. He unconsciously took a step back and acted like he wasn't the least bit freaked out. "Nah. Just kidding. Besides, you don't act like a girl anyway."
She narrowed his eyes at him."What's that supposed to mean?"
"Why are you with a knife?" He couldn't help but ask.
"Don't worry, there will be no blood compact happening today." She assured him before crouching down in front of the tree trunk.
"What are you doing?" He asked as he squatted down besides her. He noticed the inscription on the tree and quieted down when it finally dawned on him what she's planning to do.
Mizuki was here.
Handsome Mito was here.
"There. All done." She stated as she ran her fingers over the inscriptions.
So was Sakuragi.
He didn't answer her, instead he took the Swiss knife from her and proceeded to carve something on the tree.
Eyes widening at what he's written, she let out a snort that turns into a fit of giggles.
Carved on the trunk and inscribed after his name was the word 'Tensai'.
