She Comes And Goes As She Pleases (Part 17)
by BrDPirateMan

Another busy day had ended for me, and I was pooped. It's times like these that make me grateful I have a home to return to and rest up, maybe even get some musical recreation if I was still up for it.

But there was another more compelling reason to hurry back…

There's nothing quite like the feeling of relief when you're safely back in your own home. When the front door clicks closed behind you, it shuts out all the chaos and stress that was so terribly saturated outside and you can finally shake it all off. It's like a completely different world in one's abode – the comfort, the peace of mind, and of course…

"Neku!" called Eri happily. "Welcome home!"

…her. Where would I be without my precious little wildcat?

She skipped over, straight at me, and didn't let go. And as I returned her hug tightly, her giggles tickled my heart. Now this… this was what made coming home all the more worth it. Anyone who's ever tasted love would agree.

"Neku, would you like dinner first? Or a bath? Or perhaps…" She brought her mouth close to my ear and out came a breathy, sexy whisper – the kind that gave my spine delicious shivers. "…me?"

I knew what my answer to that question was, and I let her have it.

"I want everything!" Then I dramatically yanked the tie off of my collar and it was all it took to drive her nuts.

"Oh, you stud!" she squealed. I loved everything about Eri. Even the way she breathed and looked so vulnerable as I stroked the nape of her neck – her weak spot – was a major turn-on. "Ah… No, stop it, you beast. Y-You mustn't… If you don't hurry up, you'll be late for classes…"

Huh?

"Neku! Wake up already! If you don't hurry I'm gonna leave you behind!"

Well… I knew it had to be too good to be true. But still… waking up from a dream so good was like a bad joke. Five more minutes was all I needed. Five! So I could sneak a peek at what sort of shenanigans Eri and I would be up to in that little make-believe world of mine. Oh, you stud! Yeah, if the girl you love said things like this, who wouldn't be interested, right? But with her pulling me and my arm out of bed, I had no choice but to put off my fantasies till a later time.

Eri dragged my still-groggy self into the kitchen where I immediately noted the presence of a distinct aroma and perked up. "Tempura?"

"Sorry," she said, seating us both at the kitchen table. "You normally wake up before I do, but because you overslept, I took the liberty of making breakfast. I had to help myself to some of your ingredients. So again, I'm sorry about that."

Tempura's not usually the kind of thing you have first thing in the morning, but that she even took the initiative to whip up a morning meal made my heart skip a beat. She really had been polishing her culinary skills, which was good. And she almost seemed like a wife! That practically made us like a married couple… except we're not married. But this was by no means bad!

"I'm not a big fan of people using my stuff without asking," I said, "but I'll let it slide this time. If it weren't for you, I'd probably have to arrive on campus late."

"Hee hee… Okay, let's tuck in!"

"So, what're your plans for – ungh? !"

"Neku? Wh-What's wrong? !"

"Your tempura's too spicy!" My tongue was an inferno. I gulped a glass of water down, but it didn't help much. "I thought you knew how to balance out the spiciness!"

"Sorry, my bad!" Her hands slapped together in an apologetic praying gesture. "I usually go all-out with the chilli when I make it for myself. I guess I forgot you're going to eat it too. Will… Will you be alright?"

"I wouldn't die." Another torrent of water went down my throat, but still did nothing. "Oh well… at least I'm wide awake."

"I'll be sure to remember next time, don't you worry!"

Despite this morning's rude – and fiery – breakfast surprise, I was in a good mood. I didn't really know why I was feeling good, but Eri's sunny disposition did have a reputation of being seriously infectious. Maybe I should go on a date with her this evening after classes. I mean, why not? It'd be nice.

As we were riding the bus afterwards, I asked her if she'd be interested. "We could hit up the family restaurant that you like so much. You're a fan of their sundaes, right?"

"I am," she gushed. "My love for their Chocolate Fudge Armageddon rivals even that for The Prince! But you want us to go out this evening? I'd love to, but I have work tonight."

Work? "You mean, you've got a part-time job?"

"Yeah. My shift is in the evenings from 5 to 10 pm, on Wednesday through to Saturday every week. I only just began work recently, so I'm still not very good at it, but I've been getting pretty popular lately!"

I didn't understand what she meant by being "popular", but I could guess that she was probably a hit with her co-workers and customers. Given how pretty and friendly she was, I'd say it was hardly a surprise at all.

"What're you working as, Eri?"

"Oh, I'm a – "

The sentence was cut short when she suddenly slapped her hand over her mouth, and the conversation went silent for a good few seconds. What? Was there something she couldn't tell me? As I stared at her in puzzlement, she recovered quickly enough to cobble together a reply.

Fiddling with her strawberry hair a little, she mumbled, "I'm sorry, Neku. Actually, the details of my part-time job are a closely-guarded secret. I know we're the best of friends and I trust you, but to leak a word about it to anyone at all would be a breach of contract. It's just… I can't say it. Sorry…"

What was it about her job that she needed to be so secretive about anyway?

"So then," I said, "you're under the employment of an international spy ring?"

She played along. She never could resist a good joke. "Heh, yeah. I'm totally gonna save the world for my next assignment!"

"If you were a real spy, wouldn't you keep your profession under wraps instead of boasting about it?"

"…And I always did like my beer shaken, not stirred."

"I thought it's Martinis, not beer." I led her back to the topic at hand. "So anyway, you really can't tell me, Eri? If you don't want to say it, that's cool."

"Sorry, Neku, I'm afraid I can't. But keeping you at the edge of your seat completely would be mean of me, so how about a little hint? Just this one time, and only because you're cute. Hee hee." A hint… And that's not a breach of contract?

"I'm curious to know everything, but this will do for now. Let's hear it."

There was a giggle in her throat and a smile to go with her playful nature. "Hmmm… You could say I… cater to my customers' every need."

"What kind of hint is that?" I snorted. "That could apply to any job."

"That's true," she chuckled. "Whuh-oh. I get off here, Neku. And since I'm cutting it close too, I'll see you later. Toodles!" She scrambled to her feet and made haste for the doors, but I called out to her.

"Eri! Um… Do you still want to go on that date, at some other time, that is? We can find a way around our schedules. Or, uh…"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world! We'll work something out, don't you worry! Later!" With a smile and a wave plus a dash of girlish charm, she was gone.

I leaned towards the window and glanced absentmindedly at the surroundings outside. And I pondered about her… So Eri found herself a job, huh… but what kind? It could be anything. College students tended to favour stints as waiters or waitresses at cafes or fast-food restaurants. And a high school classmate of mine that I vaguely remember used to make his rounds delivering newspapers around his neighbourhood.

But what job would require her to keep mum about it? Maybe she really was making extra pocket money as a secret agent after all? !

XOXOXOXOXO

Eri's new job kept me so occupied that I could hardly concentrate on today's lectures. I wouldn't normally concern myself this much about something so trivial, but as she was someone I cared very much about, I felt I had the right to be curious.

There were a number of things a green, inexperienced college student could do to earn some money. No matter what I came up with, however, I would second-guess every possibility and think to myself that "it's not like her to do this" or "nah, she probably wouldn't want to do that." It was difficult for me to picture her, say, behind the counter at a fast-food outlet saying, "Would you like fries with that?"

There was the part where she couldn't even say what she was working as, too. That was what worried me the most. Was it because it was so embarrassing that she would just die from telling me?

Wait a second… Embarrassing?

An embarrassing job…? Could it be that she's working as a waitress at a nightclub? ! Oh no! That would make sense!

Whoa, whoa, whoa… This was huge! Sure, Eri could be pretty daring, but earning her pay at a nightclub? ! Better look at this scenario in greater detail. Let's see… To summarise what Eri said so far:

1. She could not reveal the nature of her work.
2. Her working hours were from 5 to 10 pm.
3. Although she was new, she has enjoyed some quick popularity.
4. She claimed to cater to her customers' every need.

A deeper analysis of the aforementioned pointers revealed some disturbing facts.

1. The general impression of nightclubs is that they are home to some of the most terrible characters. Nightclub employees would be hard-pressed to proclaim to people that they're working in such a seedy environment. Because of this, the part where she was bound by contract not to say anything might have all been made up.

2. Eri's working hours were during the evening, which was just the right time for nightclubs to be open for business.

3. Much as I hated to admit, Eri was admired by guys by the bucketload. Her beauty would definitely be an asset, helping to attract customers, most of which – chicken brains not necessary to know – belonged to the male demographic.

4. Catering to her customers' every need… I shudder to imagine! Don't hostesses at these kinds of establishments have to subject themselves to the customers' every whim and whimsy? Like maybe sit on their lap or something? Said customers are usually the perverted kind; what was to stop them from copping a feel or two?

Here I had been slamming nightclubs left and right, but there were other similar alternative modes of employment that I had yet to examine. She could have signed up as a lingerie model, or she might be working as – heaven forbid – a stripper. Gah! A stripper! Just because she did that a lot at home didn't mean she had to take her habits out to public!

Eri, you… I knew that the economy was bad, but that was no reason for you to choose such a line of work!

Still… I couldn't be sure if I was right on the money with all these conjectures. For all I knew, they could be baseless and unfounded. But I couldn't shake off this feeling of dread… Right now, more than anything, I wanted to know for sure that she wouldn't stoop so low just for income. I wanted to be wrong.

I made a beeline for WildKat afterwards where I hoped I could find some ears to hear me out. Luckily for me, my biggest fans were there having a cuppa.

Uzuki mumbled through a sip of coffee, "So Eri wouldn't tell you about her part-time job, huh…"

"And you're worried, boss?" said Mr Hanekoma, bringing me my order of pumpkin soup.

Kariya saw the lighter side of things like he usually did and laughed. "Man, what a worrywart you are, Phones! What are you, her mum or something?"

"Can it, Kariya," hissed Uzuki, glaring at him. "Can't you see Neku is concerned for her safety? The last thing he wants is for her to end up at the mercy of some creep."

"Heh heh… No need to shoot me down, Uzuki. Of course I know how he feels! But Phones, don't you think you could be overthinking this? I mean, going so far as to think she might be the main draw of a cabaret… That doomsday theory of yours is a bit out there, you know? Even for a quirky girl like Eri."

The frown of anxiety never left my brow as I slurped up my soup. "Somewhere inside of myself I know she wouldn't do that, and I know that what I suggested sounds crazy, but the whole thing's been eating at me."

Mr H was as kind and patient as ever. "Phones, for all of her oddities, Eri sounds like a good girl at heart. I seriously doubt for one moment she'd even think of working as a stripper or nightclub hostess."

"…Although," said Kariya, "her as a lingerie model doesn't sound too bad. You can buy all of her photo albums!"

An annoyed Uzuki sighed, "You're not helping."

"Phones," said Mr H, "why don't you try again to ask her about it?"

I shrugged and shook my head. "I could give it a shot, but she can be really stubborn. It'll take a lot of persuasion to get her lips flapping."

Uzuki had a brainwave. "Hey, we could always scan her, right? It'd save all the trouble."

"Ooh, nice idea, girl!" seconded Kariya. "We can finally solve this case that way! And while we're at it, why don't we see what else we can dig up from her head. Go on, Phones! You can't read people's minds anymore, but we can, so tell us what you want to know about her and we'll help you answer your burning queries."

"How did the conversation come to this exactly?"

"I'm sure you've got a whole bunch of them just waiting to be ticked off your list of 'Tantalising Things to Know About Eri'. Like if she sleeps in her underwear. Eh? Eh?" The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end for a brief second… I knew the answer to that!

"We're not perverts, Kariya. Maybe you are but I'm not."

He ignored her and carried on, "Oh, and if you want us to find out how Eri feels about you, just say the word and we'll be on it!"

I stiffened. "Huh?"

The glint in Kariya's eyes was brighter than a million suns and the lure of a spot of harmless tomfoolery must have been hard to say no to. "Sure, it'll be like eavesdropping, but as long as she doesn't realize it – and she wouldn't – it's cool! Sure makes you glad we're your buddies, huh? It don't get better than this!"

"Guys," laughed Mr H softly, "this is a bit…"

I had to admit… What they proposed to do for me was very tempting. With their help, I would be able to finally put to rest all the doubts and worries I had about Eri's part-time career.

Uzuki and Kariya meant well, and going along with their plan would also put a swift and much-needed end to the back-and-forth cycle of "she loves me, she loves me not" that was absolutely driving me nuts. And getting to know about the finer details that made up the girl that is Eri would give me an idea on how to go about courting her efficiently – things that she appreciates to name but a few. I would have a significant advantage.

But… was it really the right way?

"So, Phones?" chuckled the carrot-haired Reaper. "How about it? Even Uzuki's getting in on this one! Between us there's no stone we'll leave unturned. We'll find out everything you need to know and we'll do it free of charge, 'cause all we Reapers need for payment is your soul. Heh, I kid."

My reply to their offer was, "No, I can't."

Kariya almost seemed disappointed that he wouldn't be having any fun soon. "What? Why not? We're really not going to consume your soul, you know."

Even Uzuki attempted to reason with me, albeit for a different reason. "This way will be quick, Neku. And you'll get to know more about Eri. Well, that and… it's tiring to watch you dawdle around like a headless chicken not knowing what to do next. Figured it's time we give you a head start." Way to say some harsh words, woman…

"Guys," I said, "I get that you want to help me and I'm thankful. But no matter if it's about her part-time job or her feelings, I think that if I want to know more, I should ask her myself and hear the truth from her own mouth. I just feel that it's more… right."

Mr H sprang at the chance to add in his two cents' worth. "You know, I was thinking the same thing. It's nice that an easy and straightforward option exists, but there are times in life when you simply have to do it yourself. Even if it's much harder."

The two Reapers seemed reluctant to agree with his line of thinking, or mine for that matter, but in the end even they saw the wisdom in it and gave up. Kariya mumbled, "Well, I can't argue with you, old man…"

"…Just so you know, I'm still in my early forties." And the dark look on his face made sure both knew.

"But then," said Uzuki, "that brings us back to square one. If Eri's not going to say anything no matter how much you ask, Neku, there's no way you'll ever know."

"I wouldn't be so pessimistic, sister." Mr H turned from her to me. "I'm sure if you tell her how you feel – that you're worried about her – she'll understand and spill the beans, contract be damned."

Would she? Hmmm… If Mr H put it that way, and if I really tried my best to get through to her, then maybe I could get an answer.

"By the way," he added, "that applies to your confession too, which, as I remember it, is still pending."

I nearly gulped too much of my soup down. "H-Huh? ! Oh, um, y-yeah…" This wasn't going to sit well with Uzuki and Kariya, that's for sure…

…and what do you know, I was right. "Honestly, Neku!" she grumbled. "You've had plenty of chances by now…"

That was when Kariya had another bright idea, as though he had a ton of ideas in store for me and if he couldn't say what it was his head would explode. "Then why don't we try imprinting some suitable memes on Eri to speed things up? It wouldn't be a sure-fire success story, but it'll help, right?"

"You just want to have fun. But whatever. If a miracle can come out of it, I'm in."

"Not again." Mr H let out a sigh, although it was more out of amusement rather than exasperation. Uzuki and Kariya had already forgotten the lesson that they had just learnt: sometimes, you gotta do it solo. Besides, with these two? They might end up slotting the worst and most inappropriate stuff into Eri's mind. Couldn't let that happen! She might get weird ideas and turn into a total beast!

I waved my hand this way and that for their attention but they were too busy discussing sexy memes to notice me. "H-Hey, don't I get any input here? !"

XOXOXOXOXO

Going to WildKat didn't really help much in the advice department. In all truth, I just knew they were going to say that everything would be okay with Eri. But relating my troubles to somebody else did me plenty good. Not quite out of the woods yet for me, but at least I felt better.

Now I just had to think of how to ask her the right way. I had to be smart and tactful here… But until then, it was back to conjecture time.

What was she working as, anyway? The same few possibilities flashed in my head over and over, and it was hard to think of anything else. As I sat on a bench near the Statue of Hachiko doing people-watching, I tried to guess what jobs the people passing by might be holding.

The middle-aged man with the balding hairdo… Judging from his suit and briefcase, it was easy to see that he was a businessman of some kind. Trotting past on high heels was a woman in what I believe to be in her early thirties. Hmmm… Office lady, huh. Or a teacher. What about the couple of schoolgirls over there? They might be helping out in a sushi bar, if their hands were deft and their skill with the knife was good.

And then there was the rather attractive bespectacled girl drinking from a water fountain nearby. Ooh, she was a cute one. Dainty, too, and delicate. But still waters can run really deep, can't they? She could be moonlighting as a –

Hold on. What's with her… Had I seen her somewhere before…?

The girl happened to glance my way, and her eyes grew wide. So did mine.

"Neku?" she gasped. "Hey, it is you!" She bounded over and her grin was of extra-large proportions.

I was so surprised that I almost couldn't find my voice. "Shiki! Wh-What're you doing here?"

Shiki Misaki… Been a while, hasn't it. Just in case anyone forgot, here's a quick recap: she's a friend of mine and we used to go to school together. For the longest time, I had been madly in love with her, but I could never bring myself to say the three magic words. When last we met, it was under unfavourable circumstances – for me, anyway; the news that she got herself a boyfriend came as a rude shock. It was an unrequited love up until the end.

Bumping into her out of the blue – and so suddenly at that – was jarring, especially since we haven't spoken in a while, not because our friendship turned sour, mind you; nothing of the sort ever happened and we're still buddies. But between clashing schedules and her being busy spending quality time with her boyfriend, there weren't a lot of chances at all to meet up and chat. Another reason it was jarring was… well, let's not forget who I was really in love with now. It feels strange to talk so nonchalantly to someone you know you used to have a huge crush on.

In reply to my earlier question, she said, "I'm not doing anything much. It's a nice day, so I'm hanging out. You?"

"Um… Same here, I guess…"

"Heh heh… You did always love to space out. Sure takes me back! It was practically your hobby back in high school."

Without a witty response to offer, I just gave a short rattle of a laugh. Why was I getting all tense from speaking with an old friend, or to be more precise, an old crush? I shouldn't be this tongue-tied. Hmmm… What to say, what to say… No good. Nothing useful came to mind! Once an awkward fellow, always an awkward fellow, huh… That was why it was much to my relief when she spoke up next:

"Neku, how long has it been? Months, I think? Let's get together somewhere; we have some catching up to do. I know a place where we can get light refreshments. My treat!"

"Oh, um… s-sure, that'd be nice, but – "

She giggled. "Just because someone's in a relationship doesn't mean you can't have dinner with them."

"Ah… Y-Yeah, that's right…" She saw right through me, knew what I was thinking. How could she not? Like Eri, she had known me for a good while.

XOXOXOXOXO

"Doesn't the ambience just soothe the senses, Neku? It's perfect for a nice little evening chat."

I glanced around nervously at the surroundings of our meeting spot. "Y-You think so? I mean, don't get me wrong; I'm happy we get to talk after such a long time, but… isn't this place a little, I dunno, embarrassing?"

Shiki gave a short chuckle. "Oh come now, it's not so bad once you get used to being waited upon like this! It's awesome!"

So she said, but… I doubted it. Right now, the two of us were at a butler café. And, well… Perhaps I should explain a little about this. And I might get a little long-winded, so bear with me.

Japan is the birthing spot of several famous trends, and among those trends are themed cafes. These are restaurants that draw their customers in by focusing their setting, menu, and the staff on a particular theme. To date, the more popular ones are maid cafes where the waitresses dress as maids – the uniform varies with each establishment – and treat customers as their masters. That means having to perform their duties in a sickeningly sweet and cute way.

They typically offer other optional services too, such as having their photos taken with the customers, playing video games with them, or even spoon-feeding them, where every spoonful means a perverted sense of gratification for the customer and more money in the cash register. Yeah, it's an embarrassing facet of life in Japan if I ever saw one, which is why I've never set foot inside a maid café.

Butler cafes revolve around on the same concept, but with understandable differences. The waiters are all men who are very polite and devilishly handsome in their tailcoats. They give off a sense of refinement – gentlemen to the core. As you can guess, the majority of patrons are women, as opposed to maid cafes where males dominate the customer base. The extra services offered are a little different too. I could go on about it, but you probably get the idea…

So yeah, maid and butler cafes cater to a niche audience, but heck – pretty much the entirety of Japan's population is the damn niche.

Our tea was brought over by a guy wearing glasses and hair tied back in an elegant ponytail. Like all of the other butlers, he had a face striking enough to make any woman melt into goo. I was sharp enough to notice how many of the other customers were looking at him in awe and squealing in their seats.

"Milady, master, forgive me for the wait," he said to us. "Your food will be ready shortly, so until then, please enjoy your tea." With a slight bow, he then left to take the orders of another swooning customer.

Even Shiki could hardly contain herself after being basked in his gentlemanly aura. "Quite a charmer, isn't he?" she gushed.

What was I supposed to say to that? "I… guess so."

"His name is Seishirou-sama and he's this place's finest butler! I get the giggles just being here! The manly, mature way he does things… simply watching him go about his business is eye candy."

"Oh, uh… I see." Did she just add "-sama" to the end of his name? First Eiji Oji, now Seishirou-sama. Fangirls can be one crazy lot…

"Ah, but that was just a short detour, Neku. We're here to talk about old times, after all! So, for starters, what have you been up to?"

"I've been busy with coursework. Our next big project is due in a few weeks and we have to band ourselves into groups. I'm currently helping to create a presentation. Other than that, assignments and all that stuff… Sorry, I know it sounds boring but I don't have much going on in my life at the moment."

"That's not true," she countered. A smirk had formed on her face and it was a sly one. "Haven't you been getting along reeeeally well with Eri lately?"

I felt a jolt in my heart. "Wh-What do you mean by that? !"

"Heh heh… You're always going out shopping with her every Saturday, aren't you? I've seen you two together a few times before. If that's not an interesting development in Neku Sakuraba's life, I don't know what is!"

"I-It's nothing big, really… I was just helping her with groceries."

"Heh heh. Even back in high school, you and Eri were two peas in a pod. It's nice that you're still close."

Eri… Yeah, that's true. During my schooldays, I didn't get to spend as much time with Eri as I did with Shiki – due in part to us being in different classes – but we were still good friends nonetheless. Nowhere on the level of skinship that she shares with me now, of course, but we were close enough.

"Hey," Shiki piped up, "do you still remember that time when she challenged you to a table tennis match?"

Oh boy, did she have to bring that up? I didn't exactly have the best impression of that incident. It was on a hot Thursday afternoon…

XOXOXOXOXO

The shouts and cries that I was hearing… They must belong to the ever-energetic members of the track and field club. Classes were over for the day and now it was club activity time. Not everyone was a member of some club, so the school was mostly deserted save for a handful of hardworking souls and poor old me.

Sure was a hot day. You could melt in this weather! Those guys from track and field must be fools to stay outdoors and run around on an afternoon like this. But who was I to claim that they had no common sense when I myself was brooding on the rooftop where the sun was shining so mercilessly on me?

Now, we all have our moody days, and today, I had mine. I just sat there, deep in thought, hating the sun for making my personal sanctuary a little too hot for its own good. This was supposed to be a place for me to unwind, not bake like a cake!

"Man," I groaned, "it really is roasting here."

"I agree. Any longer, and you'll turn charcoal-black."

"Yeah, what you said. But then this – huh?"

I paused. There was someone here? And I recognized that voice any day.

"Oh, Eri. What brings you here?"

She stood in front of my limp, sitting form with arms akimbo. "I should be asking you that, Neku. You're always up here on the rooftop whenever something's bothering you. Lemme guess… girl trouble again?"

"Uh, no. But then again, why do you want to know?"

"Honestly, Neku!" she huffed, hunkering down beside me. "I thought we're friends. Shouldn't friends help each other out? If you've got an axe to grind with life, the least I can do is listen and help you sharpen that axe, right?"

Her peculiar choice of words elicited a short bark of laughter from me. "That's a cute way to put it. Well, I'll tell you then… But don't tell anyone else, okay? What we're going to talk about this afternoon is off-limits in future conversations with other people. Top-secret!"

"Cool. I love top-secret stuff. Let's hear it!"

Once I was sure of her silence on this matter, I went into a long rant about how there was a guy in her club who was really popular with the girls, and that I was worried he would snatch her away right from underneath my nose. She seemed to get along pretty well with him, too, which doubled my worries.

"Ooh, so it's that guy?" said Eri with a smile. "I know who you're talking about. I've even met him. He's really interesting! Not to mention cute."

"That's exactly why I'm so uptight about the matter. He's the type to win the hearts of women easily, you know? A real lady-killer."

"Then why don't you go and confess to Shiki already? If she's all over you, then you're safe, right?"

My thumbs were fiddling with each other. "But… I don't think I can do that just yet… I'm not ready. It's just not… you know?"

Eri shook her head and sighed. "Again with this? You've been dithering like this since forever. When are you going to grow some guts and show some manliness? I've been friends with Shiki for some time now, and I'll have you know she's not the type to do the chasing. If you're going to get anywhere, you'll have to do it."

We've had this talk a lot of times by now. But I was a coward, and I couldn't do anything for myself, so Shiki remained out of reach. I seriously began to wonder if the day would ever come when I could properly confess to a girl. The last thing I wanted was to mess up and miss my chance, and that was what kept me from achieving greatness.

Eri had more than enough of this conversation and stood up. I expected her to be cross with me and storm off, but she grabbed both of my wrists and started pulling. She had always been a girl who was hard to understand, and that I was puzzled by her actions came as no surprise, but still… what was she doing?

"Come on, Neku," she grunted, pulling harder. "Up!"

I had no choice but to scramble to my feet. "Eri? What're you – "

Now she dragged me by the wrist away from the rooftop to who-knows-where. "I've just the thing to snap you out of your funk." Her eyes had this twinkle in them that just spelled major hijinks. "I'm going to make you… sweat a bit…"

H-Huh? Whoa, wait. She said she was going to make me "sweat". Sweat how? Was she trying to seduce me to make me feel better? ! She didn't need to go that far! Heck, I hadn't even gone to first base yet! I didn't care if she was alright with it. How about thinking about my feelings for once, huh, Eri? !

"Eri, hang on! I can't… I can't do this!"

"Why not? !" Oh man… what was with that annoyed, impatient tone of hers… Did she really want to do it that badly with me? !

"B-Because you're my precious friend. Besides, my heart isn't even ready…"

Now she appeared more confused than anything. "Not ready? Are you that bad at table tennis?"

"…Huh?"

"Neku, I was going to challenge you to a round. What did you think I was going to do?"

What? Table tennis? Oh… I should've known. How silly of me! And here I thought she was going to do something else… Ahaha…

"Ah, um… I see," I mumbled, suddenly feeling sheepish. "Okay, that's fine with me. Not like I have anything to do now, anyway, so I guess I can play for a bit."

So now we were in one of the smaller sports rooms that were designed for ping pong in mind. There were no PE lessons today, so neither she nor I brought our PE attire and we had to make do with our uniforms. It was to my great relief that nothing of the kinky sort happened, but it did beg one last question:

"Why are we playing table tennis out of the blue, Eri?"

In the middle of doing arm stretches, she replied, "I read somewhere that if you're not feeling happy, or you're lost and confused in your life, one way to clear your head – and vent your frustrations in the process – is to exercise. Since you fit the bill for the 'feeling down' department, I say we give this a try."

"Hmmm… Okay, whatever." She was thinking for my sake… Nice girl, even if she was batty most of the time. "Um… Thanks, Eri."

She smiled. "Don't get me wrong. I did say exercise, but I never mentioned anything about letting you win. I'm gonna give it my all, so you better prepare yourself!"

Hearing that invigorated me and I suddenly felt competitive. "Heh… Alright, Eri. You're on!"

What I thought at first to be just a little harmless afternoon play quickly turned into a heated match where we were both struggling to stay in the game. Right now though, I was the better player. Save for a few lucky shots that slipped by me, Eri was having a hard time of it. Either she underestimated me, or she was just plain bad at it. Or both.

She paused to catch her breath. "I was… defeated again? A-Are you a pro at this, Neku?"

"No, I don't play it much."

"S-So… it's beginner's luck?" The expression on her face was one of incredulity. "I refuse to believe this! I'm a member of the table tennis club! I should be able to beat down inexperienced guys like you!"

"Eri, clear something up for me, yeah?" I used my sleeve to wipe the sweat off my face. "By any chance… might you be a ghost member?"

"Urk…"

"Thought so," I sighed, slightly amused. "As much as I'd like to say 'practice makes perfect'…"

"Sh-Shut up!" It's cute how her already-red face was getting even redder…

Her losses were many and she was getting frustrated, I imagine all the more so because she was the one who issued the challenge.

Finally she could take it no longer and set her racket down on the table. "Timeout!"

I thought to tease her a little bit more when I noticed her hands fiddling with the hem of her vest. Then, in one smooth motion, she slipped it off and over her head.

My body became like ice and I froze. What was this? Gah! She was… stripping? ! Even when she started unbuttoning her shirt, however, I couldn't do anything for myself. I just stood there gawking and not knowing why this was even happening. It was only when she peeled her shirt away and cast it aside did I come to my senses. The blinding white fabric of her bra was like a wake-up call.

"H-Hey!" I cried, blushing hard. "Wh-What're you doing, Eri? !"

She unzipped her skirt and it slid down her legs. Then as she was gathering up her clothes she explained, "This uniform is getting in my way and affecting my agility! I can't move wearing this! Besides, it's getting hot. Do you have any idea how disgusting clothes can be when they're completely sweaty? They're like… ick!"

"Um… B-But…"

"Whew! Now this is a lot better! I should be able to win a few sets now, so go on and serve already."

No way. Don't tell me she was seriously going to play in only her bra and panties? !

The sight of her clad in nothing but snow-white underwear was… I'd be lying if I said it wasn't a beautiful sight to behold, and the sweat glistening on her skin made her toned body look even more erotic. But it overloaded my senses, and I crumpled to the floor, my nose spurting blood all over the floor.

"Neku!" she gasped. "You okay? ! Did the afternoon heat get to you so much that you got a nosebleed? !"

She scampered over to check on me, but caught her foot on one of the table legs and tripped, letting out a scream. There was a painful-sounding thud as she fell flat on the floor. In spite of my flowing nose, I sat up as quickly as I could manage and helped her up into a sitting position, so I could check to see if her face was alright.

"Eri, did you hurt yourself anywhere?"

"Ow…" She rubbed her cheek. "Think I grazed my face on the floor a little."

"L-Let me take a look."

I gently lifted her hand away from her cheek and peered closer, all the while telling myself over and over in my head that I was just checking up on her injuries. Eri was sitting very close to me, and that underwear of hers was all she was wearing. W-Well, big deal… r-r-right? I had no ulterior motives. Nope… I'm just an honest guy being a gentleman. Not going to peek at her body. Not gonna. Uh-uh. Not –

Suddenly, the door flung open. The two of us jumped at the intrusion of our unwelcome visitor. No! Being found in a delicate situation like this at school by a burly gorilla of a PE coach was not a good thing!

I guess this is goodbye, my school life. It's been short, but…

To my relief, the person standing in the doorway was no coach at all. It wasn't even a teacher! But to my even greater horror, it was Shiki. Whose eyes had grown to the size of car tyres.

Why did this have to happen? !

"Neku?" she stammered. "Eri too? Oh, uh…"

I went into panic mode and flayed my arms around trying to wave off whatever suspicions she was having. "I…! We… This is not… It's not what you think it is, Shiki! It really isn't!" Ah man, why did I have to say that? Not only was it clichéd, it was also the last thing people would buy! Eri tried to explain herself too, but Shiki's embarrassed stuttering effectively cut her off.

"I'm sorry, Neku, Eri! The two of you are in the middle of something… My bad! I didn't mean to interrupt you! P-Please carry on and don't mind me!" Then before we could do anything else, she whisked the door shut and was gone.

XOXOXOXOXO

Eri would later explain to Shiki the circumstances surrounding what the latter mistook as a tryst. Thanks to that we were let off the hook, and as an added bonus, my bubblegum-haired lunatic pal was smart enough to omit the details about the true reason behind it all. She just said that she felt like playing ping pong all of a sudden and happened to find a suitable opponent in me, so Shiki was blissfully unaware of my ulterior motive of dealing with my frustration.

Mind you, the incident as I described it just now was what I remembered. Naturally, Shiki had a different version of the events. It was better to leave it that way and I saw no need to correct her and fill her in…

In any case, it was a highly embarrassing incident that I'd rather put behind me, but time has a way of changing the way we look at things. For Shiki, what might have been shocking before was now merely a funny thing of the past. Something to chat about and laugh.

The conversation was peppered with her gentle laughter. "Eri clearly isn't one for the orthodox, huh?"

"You can say that again," I huffed, slowly relaxing. "She always does the craziest things. You don't know what she's capable of next."

"I know. When the situation calls for it, she would strip in front of me too. I'm practically used to it by now."

Seishirou-sama, butler extraordinaire, came over to our table with our order. Chocolate sundae for me, and something else for Shiki that was ice-cream-y and whose name I couldn't pronounce because it was too complex; you know how Italian words are. Our gallant butler gave us his heartfelt wishes that we would have an excellent meal and left. I expected to see the girls gushing in his wake, and I was right. Even Shiki was quite taken with him. Man! This Seishirou-sama character was probably on par in popularity with The Prince. The charm of butlers, huh? Who woulda thunk it? Anyway…

Shiki managed to shake herself loose from the mesmerising effect of Seishirou-sama to resume the conversation. "Well, at least she makes life more interesting! That's Eri for you. She's the type who comes and goes as she pleases. Ever the non-conformist."

"I can't disagree with you. She may have a screw loose here and there, but she's nice to have around."

Whoa… the sundae was good stuff. Shiki was enjoying her whatchamacallit just as much too. That smile of hers seemed to hint that there was more than just the ice-cream she was enjoying though…

"Say, Neku," she drawled cunningly. "What do you think of Eri?"

"H-Huh?"

"You heard me. You've developed a soft spot for her, haven't you? We girls can tell these things at a glance. Sooo… what's the story? Gonna gun for her?"

"I… Uh…" The cold ice-cream in my mouth couldn't cool down the heat in my cheeks. Caught off guard, all I could offer for a reply was, "I'm not sure what you mean."

"Don't be shy now! Almost everyone yearns for love at some point in their lives. I'm just curious to know how far the two of you have gone."

"Shiki," I spluttered, "th-this isn't really the kind of thing to ask so casually…"

"Come on. Weren't you my partner once? We're supposed to trust each other with even the most intimate of details, right? Are you going to deny me the pleasure of new knowledge even after we haven't seen each other for such a long time? Surely you can't be that mean!"

"N-No, of course not. But…"

"Besides, Eri's kinda like a sister to me. Of course I need to know if you've been, I dunno, taking advantage of her. Hee hee!"

"No way that's gonna happen! If… If anything, it's the other way arou – urk!"

Too late. She heard it, and she knew what I was about to say. She had a mouthful of ice-cream at that very moment and her surprise upon hearing me caused her to stop eating for a full five seconds. The way the spoon was stuck in her mouth was almost comical, but that aside… why did I have to lose my cool and blurt that out? ! What the heck is with that, me! ! !

"W-Wow," she squeaked at last. "So you and Eri have that kind of relationship…"

"It's not like that! I mean, well… she may love to play pranks on me, but other than that, we're just friends. Ahaha… She can be more than just a handful though, and she has a habit of going overboard. But yeah, long story short, we're just good pals. That's… That's all we are."

"Mmm. Is that you say…?"

Shiki took another generous spoonful, bringing a rather awkward pause to the conversation and making me wonder if I should have answered differently. More importantly, what did she mean by that?

"Neku," she said, "I hope you don't find Eri's teasing too much of a hassle to deal with. That girl, she… well… The only reason she horses around with you so freely is because she regards you as a very good friend. She likes to tease all of her friends, but only those whom she is especially close with – like you and me – are subject to her special homespun brand of raunchy comedy."

I cocked my head slightly in curiosity. "Huh… Doesn't she joke around with Beat and Rhyme too?"

"Not quite as extreme as she does it with the two of us. You know, even though she was always known as a class clown, she only goes all-out with a select few people." This caused her to chuckle a little. "And since you're one of the lucky ones, congrats! It proves she likes you a lot."

This tidbit about Eri wasn't a shining revelation, and I kind of knew, honestly. But even so, hearing about it gave me a good feeling. Shiki was right: I was a lucky guy.

She peered closer at my face as I going through it in my head absent-mindedly, and she giggled. "Heh heh. Your face is all red, Neku. I wonder why? Having Eri on your mind again, Romeo?"

"Huh? N-No… Are… Are you sure you're not colour-blind?"

"Wow, way to give a good excuse for being embarrassed! That's a first!"

I gulped. "I… I don't know what I should say to that…"

XOXOXOXOXO

The hour grew late, and the time had come to part ways. We had a nice long chat, catching up on each other's lives and reminiscing about our younger days as though we were a pair of old and wrinkled people.

"Thanks for the treat," I said. "I thought butler cafes were nothing but a gimmick, but it looks like they can sell some good stuff if they're really serious about it."

"So it looks you finally recognize the awesomeness of Seishirou-sama and his posse of butlers, eh?"

I gave a wry little laugh. "Shiki, uh… in case you forgot, I'm a guy."

"Ha ha ha!"

We walked along the bustling streets a little more until we came to a particular road and our chance meeting had to come to an end. She turned to me with a look that almost screamed "It's too bad we can't get to talk longer" and said, "Well, I gotta head home now. My place is down this road. Yours is further away, right? Thanks for walking me back, but I can take it from here."

"Are you sure? I can go on for a little longer, if you like." But she politely declined.

"Don't worry; I'll be fine. Heh heh… You've always been the type to watch out for others. Even during the Reapers' Game… Granted, it was only a short time we knew each other back then, but you really came through for me. That's pretty awesome of you, Neku."

"Stop it. Y-You're making me blush."

"Hee hee…"

"Alright, Shiki, I gotta go. Let's meet up again when we get the chance. Um… say hi to your boyfriend for me."

"Huh? Oh! Um…"

"Hmm?" I grew a little puzzled. "What's wrong?"

"Neku, see… Actually, I forgot to mention something."

Shiki scratched her cheek with a finger, hesitating to speak. Because she was talking to me so normally, I couldn't imagine anything out of the ordinary. Maybe she just wanted to thank me again for spending time with her or something. Or maybe she wanted to keep drooling about Seishirou-sama.

What I never thought she would say was, "Actually, you might have misunderstood me earlier. Actually, my boyfriend and I, we… We broke up."

What? For real? Wasn't she on really good terms with him? The last time I met her, they were very much in love and would even sneak in the occasional lovey-dovey gesture here and there when they thought people weren't looking (which was never true). I wondered what exactly happened between them.

"I thought you said earlier you're still with him… So you ended your relationship with The Boyfriend?"

Shiki furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "'The Boyfriend'… I-Is that what you actually call him?"

Whoops! "Oh, sorry… I didn't actually catch his name when we met." Yeah, I remember how that went… I still liked Shiki back then, and when I found out she had found herself a guy, I was so aghast that my mind blanked out during the friendly introductions.

Luckily for me, she didn't take my social blunder too badly. "It's fine, Neku. He and I… Things started to not work out between us too soon, and one day we decided it'd be best if we went our separate ways. So we did just that. It was about a month ago."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Shiki."

She shook her head with a smile, as if to mean 'Don't worry about it'. "It's not over for me. There's still a lot in life to enjoy! I'll be alright, Neku. I mean, look, I'm already all recovered. See?" It was great to see her bounce back and even manage a giggle. Just what I'd expect from strong-willed Shiki. I was glad for her.

"I'll be sure to find someone better!" she said, flowing with enthusiasm. "So… how about it, Neku? Wanna be that someone?"

"Eh? !" What… What did she just say? !

"Ha ha ha!" The slap to my arm that she gave me brought the much-needed jolt back to my senses. "I was joking, Neku! I wouldn't be so insincere as to treat you as a stopgap to my love life. I'd have to be mean to do that."

"Uh… right… um…"

The way she was giggling sounded more girlish than usual… almost like she was… flirting. "Plus, Eri will hate me if I take you from right under her nose."

"Whoa, what? ! Sh-Shiki, didn't I say just now that there's no such development between us? !"

"Heh… Denial only reinforces suspicions, you know? You'd do well to remember that! Although it probably makes no difference now that I'm quite sure of the truth myself."

"Ngh…"

XOXOXOXOXO

That night, I lay in bed tossing and turning and generally not getting in any decent amount of sleep. Midnight had just crawled past, but here I was still wrestling with my own mind over two things: the hidden meaning that Shiki's words might contain, and whether her singlehood was of any real significance to me or not.

Amongst all of the overthinking and unnecessary analysis, I was also agonizing over how I had Eri as my newfound crush and that I was already over Shiki. I was aiming to solidify Eri as my girlfriend, so what was I doing thinking so much about Shiki? !

No doubt we were still friends… And over the years that I knew her, she's grown prettier and even more interesting to talk to. I found her attractive back in school even when she was still a plain Jane, but it appeared that now she was doing her best to be more trendy and outgoing. Maybe her past relationship had something to do with her metamorphosis. Just look at her now and tell me she isn't cute –

Wait! Maybe… Maybe I was feeling this way about Shiki because deep inside, I hadn't completely given up on her? ! Were these lingering feelings for her that were resurfacing from inside my heart?

Gah… No! Of course not… How stupid of me for that thought to even cross my mind!

I was confused! But… But it's so obvious that Eri's the only one for me… right?

By the way, I felt like I was missing out on something else. Something that had been buried at the back of my mind. It was bugging me, but I didn't know what it was. I did get the feeling that it used to give me one heck of a mental workout thinking about it, though.

…Oh! Now I recalled. All this stuff about Shiki almost made me forget about the mystery surrounding Eri's part-time job! What was she working as?

As my thoughts about Eri being a bartender doing double duty as a pole dancer bordered on the nightmarish, I spent another few hours awake in bed. You can imagine the effect it had on my concentration the next day at college.