She Comes And Goes As She Pleases (Part 27)
by BrDPirateMan

"Neku, are you free? 'Cause you'd better be. I've got a favour to ask of you."

Eri's voice sounded urgent on the other end of the line. But if she was trying to trick me into carrying shopping bags… well, you know what they say: once bitten, twice shy.

"This better be important, Eri. I had a tiring day at college and I just got back home. I even took a shower."

"Of course it's important!" she said with a strong tone. "No time to lose, buddy. Meet me by the Statue of Hachiko, I'll give you the details then."

"Sounds fishy already…"

"It doesn't matter what you think. Just get here! See ya!"

"Hey, wait a sec!"

But my words fell on deaf ears; she had hung up and all that was left to hear with a beeping tone, taunting me. I'd have to comply with her request, whatever it might be. What sort of shenanigans was she planning to set me up for this time? And in a public place, too. Doubly essential that I kept my guard up at all times.

…Wait! What if… What if she wanted to meet up with me to confirm her feelings for me? Had the moment I'd been yearning for finally come at last? ! If so, it's about time! Been a month and a half without any news from her, and I'd been on my butt waiting for too long! This helped me to drum up my enthusiasm and soon I was not walking through the streets but skipping.

Eri was standing next to the Statue of Hachiko, and as soon as she caught sight of me she beckoned me over. I bounded straight for her like an obedient dog.

"Made it!" I announced. "So, what's going on?"

She just sniggered. "Wait for it…"

"What? W-Wait for what?"

"Aaaaand… now."

"Huh? !"

Suddenly, someone's arm circled around my neck and the grip tightened till it hurt. I was disoriented for the first few moments, but when my assailant started scrubbing my head vigorously, I began to struggle for my life.

"Gah, stop it!" I protested. "Eri! Help me out here!"

But she refused to. She just stood there laughing so hard she was clutching her tummy. What was she doing? ! I was dying here! …Although she was kinda dying herself, from the excessive laughter. "Ha ha ha! It's all worth it seeing that reaction of yours, Neku! It never fails to crack me up!"

Was she in cahoots with my attacker? ! So she was a… a traitor? ! What did I do to deserve this? Was this my punishment for accidentally eating her favourite pudding the other time I was at her house? She did say I could help myself to some snacks in her fridge but it wasn't properly labeled… It's not like I could ever know it was hers!

All of a sudden, I was inexplicably released. I immediately broke away and spun round to face this terrible person with a barrage of obscenities and accusations.

"Hey! What's the meaning of that? ! You damn nearly ripped my head off, you piece of – "

My words died in mid-sentence. There were two people, not one. A boy and a girl.

The girl's giggles sounded like a wind chime. "Long time no see, Neku."

And the boy was just as cheery, even chortling aloud. "You still fall for the ol' noogie, yo. Tha's always a classic!"

These two… I knew them! My anger immediately washed away and was replaced by a growing sense of joy. I didn't even wait for my long-drawn gasp to finish before I practically shouted my greetings at them.

"Holy smoke!" I went. "Beat! Rhyme! How've you been? !"

I hadn't seen these two for a long time. Beat used to be my classmate, while his younger sister Rhyme attended classes in another school. We all used to hang out a lot, and by "we" I mean five of us great musketeers: myself, Eri, Shiki, Beat and Rhyme. Those were some good times. When we graduated from high school we all went different directions in life and didn't see each other much. So it was incredibly exciting to be able to see everyone again after so long.

Shiki had yet to arrive, I was told, so in the meantime, it was the four of us gathered in a nice little group doing a lot of catching up.

"Here on vacation, I see," I noted. "How's Nagoya, you two?"

"It's fun," said Rhyme. "I'm in my final year in high school, preparing for exams, but even then there's never a dull moment… Whoa, what're you up to, Eri?"

The pink-haired one was busy toying with Rhyme's hair like a squealing schoolgirl. "Don't mind me. Hee hee… I just love how your hair is all long and silky."

"I tried growing it out for a change. And I'm glad it turned out well!"

"If I dyed my hair blonde, we could pass off as twins, almost!"

"Ha ha ha! Exactly what I thought!"

Eri was very approving of Rhyme's new look, and so was I. A few years ago she was an innocent little lady who dressed simply. Brands and glitter meant nothing to her. Baggy shirts and cargo pants were her favourites. As long as something fit and it was comfy, it was good enough. Now she was apparently paying more attention to the trends and had transformed herself into a beautiful young woman capable of turning heads. It was a far cry from her in her early youth.

She wasn't the only one who underwent a major makeover, though. There was her big brother too, but…

"What happened to you, Beat?" I said. "You're all pudgy."

All eyes were on him in an instant and he became self-conscious, taking off his beanie to scratch his head. No one I knew liked being called fat, and for a guy who used to have a nice smorgasbord of muscle, this was even more so. To be perfectly honest, he wasn't obese, but he did have a bit of a spare tyre.

"Figured someone would ask me sooner or later," he sighed, although he was slightly amused by all the attention he was getting. He had a very good explanation for his body's current shape. "But see, I'm studyin' to be a chef, right? So I'ma hafta taste my own cooking, and I do a lotta cooking, y'know? I became like this because of that."

I helped him sum things up. "So basically, you've been eating a lot…"

"D-Don't say it like that, man… Makes it sound like I'm fat."

He winced slightly, but it was nothing like the monkey kungfu stances he had a reputation for making when he was exceedingly startled. Ooh, I just thought of the perfect way to get back at him for giving me that terrible hair treatment earlier. This guy had a serious issue with his name; he didn't like his real name being spoken in front of him, insisting that others call him Beat. We all knew about this, and whenever someone said his maiden name within earshot, the whole world would be witness to one of the most comically exaggerated poses ever seen. It's been a while… Time for another look.

"But you are fat… Daisukenojo."

As soon as the last syllable left my mouth, his body twisted into a pretzel shape and he let out an outraged cry that was loud enough to startle the birds away.

"BWAAAAH!"

It was like he was allergic to his own name! Arguably the most hilarious thing ever, it's the sort of stuff you never tire of, like a really good joke. All of us, with the understandable exception of him, fell all over the place laughing.

"Yo! Phones!" he seethed. "Did you got to say that? ! You know it's bedridden, yo! You know it!"

"'Forbidden', dude," I said. "But hey, to put it in your own words, it's always a classic."

"Anything but that, man… Seriously, that ain't cool…"

"Are you still hung up over your own name? It's not that bad, you know… Daisukenojo, I mean – "

"BWAAAH!" Another pose. "Oi! What'd I jus' say, yo? ! R-Rhyme, can't we do something about this guy? !"

"I'm so sorry, Beat," chuckled his sister. "I'm sorry about laughing… But the way your reflexes work is really something else altogether. Even I can't help it."

Eri was in hearty agreement. "It's nice to see that you're still a riot after all this time. Some things never change, eh?"

"What the – ganging up on me? ! Ugh… It's all 'cause of this guy!" He inched towards me, hands poised to grab me again. "You askin' for another round of pain, yo. Get o'er here!"

I tried to get away but he trapped me in another inescapable headlock and my poor head ended up getting butchered again. This time, however, I didn't mind that much.

Amidst the renewed laughter of my friends, I had a flashback that launched me four or five years back into the past. Me and them… We found fun in the silliest things and some might have called us idiots, but at least our school years were interesting and something to look back upon and smile. Now that we're all retired teenagers – okay, maybe not Rhyme yet – life had become a little more serious, so when we goofed around like this it's a welcome change of pace and, for a while at least, we could return to our pubescent years again.

Suddenly, in the midst of the hysterics, we became aware of another voice – a girl's. But it was neither Eri's nor Rhyme's.

"Well, what do we have here?" she said. "The ol' headlock routine… Never gets old, does it?"

I craned my neck in the right direction as best as I could – not easy when your head's already stuck in a difficult position – and I saw her.

"Oh, Shiki!" cried an elated Rhyme. "Gosh, it's been so long since we've seen you!"

"Have I been missing you too!" chirped the bespectacled one. The girls immediately converged upon one another for a three-person group hug. Beat and I didn't join in; this was one of those girl things. We guys just aren't supposed to be so touchy-feely.

Everyone reacted to each other in various ways – some boisterously, others quietly – but one thing was for sure: we were all happy to see that the whole gang was together again. Or to put it in hipper terms, the gang was a gang again.

"Beat, is that you? !" gasped a surprised Shiki, obviously not the only one to notice his weight gain. "You're plump!"

"Huh? I'm a… plum? Whazzat mean, girl?"

"'Plump'," I said. "She said 'plump'."

"Uh-huh, I heard it first time round, yo. What's this about plums?"

"…Never mind."

The fifth and last member to complete our circle of pals was finally here, but I wondered how Shiki would react upon seeing me. When last we met, it was all the way back in the autumn, when she revealed that she had always liked me in a romantic way. I turned her down, and things got a bit awkward between us, so I was afraid it would stay that way too. But as it turned out, everything was alright.

"Hi Neku," she said, handing me a light playful punch to the arm. "Nice to see that your and Beat's homespun brand of slapstick humour hasn't dulled at all. I hope you have insurance for your precious hair though!"

She was more relaxed around me than I thought. Maybe because she had gotten over me? "You don't say… He's good at doing numbers on my head."

Meanwhile, Rhyme was giggling and cultivating a mischievous smile. "Ooh, you two are being real friendly! There are so many things we need to talk about… particularly how you've been getting along!"

And she laid each hand on both of our shoulders. Just when I thought things were finally going back to normal with Shiki, she immediately went into a fit of denial, a staple reaction of hers whenever she was probed about her love life.

"Wh-What are you implying? !" she spluttered, arms spinning like a windmill. "We're… nothing like that… honest."

As Beat looked on in amusement, his sister turned to me. "You're being calm for once, Neku. I really missed your and Shiki's husband-and-wife comedy act."

This caused Shiki to go ballistic again, just as expected. She nudged away from Rhyme's grasp in a hurry and started chiding her. "Hey, what nonsense are you going on now? If something doesn't exist in the first place, then it doesn't. Period!"

Ugh… So it's just as I thought. Shiki still had feelings for me. This would prove to pack my hands full for the rest of the day trying not to give either her or Eri the wrong idea. Sure, she knew that Eri and I had an extra-special friendship thing going on, but I still had to be very careful. The last thing I wanted was to be stuck smack dab in the middle of a tug-of-war between these girls. I'd always longed to be loved by a girl, but this was the first time I had to juggle the affections of two. I already had my fair share of challenges with just one!

Unfortunately, Rhyme didn't want to let up with the teasing. I wasn't embarrassed anymore from things like this, but she was unknowingly making things unbearable for me. It's hard to blame her for wanting to have a spot of harmless fun, but neither she nor Beat knew the full story they had been missing. I should tell them all about it at some point, but for now… seriously… I wished she would stop.

"That's the sort of thing one would say when cornered," she retorted in response to Shiki's defense. "Say, Eri! Mind giving us your two cents' worth on this burning matter?"

"Huh?"

Miss Bubblegum Hair's response was slow and sounded as though she was recovering from a daze. It was slow enough for everyone to take notice.

Rhyme cocked her head to one side in slight puzzlement. "Um, isn't the part where you usually join in the fun? You're not one to miss out on a chance to totally ruffle the feathers of these lovebirds."

"L-Lovebirds…? Uh, r-right. Of course! Ahaha!"

"Eri? Is something up?"

"Huh? Oh, no, it's just… well – ah! Before I forget! We should probably get going, shouldn't we? I'm kinda starving."

"Heck yeah, let's go!" That was Beat. His enthusiastic whooping at the mere mention of food effectively steered the conversation towards a different direction. "C'mon, man, let's all grab a bite already! I'ma need a bowl of ramen the size of a ptera… uh, terro… terractyl… eh, whatever."

I jabbed a guess. "Pterodactyl?"

"Yeah! Whatchu said."

"I'll lead the way!" snapped Eri, who motioned us to march towards the nearest eatery. And so the teasing stopped, much to Shiki's relief I should think, and we were off.

She wasn't the only one whose behaviour had taken a suspicious turn. Normally, as Rhyme herself put it, Eri wouldn't pass up the chance to poke fun at my crush on Shiki. It was always like her to jump on the bandwagon. But now that said crush was gone and she herself hinted that she might have romantic inclinations towards me, there was no gain to be had in teasing me. In fact, she might even be a bit uncomfortable over the constant implications that the siblings were laying on thick.

Our fateful gathering today would be the catalyst for a string of inconvenient events beyond my control… Shiki was in the red corner, and Eri in the blue one. I was the prize. The battle of the sexes had begun.

XOXOXOXOXO

Reunions are best celebrated with food, so that's exactly what we did: we went to a ramen shack. It's no fancy restaurant, but we're all starving students with limited allowance so it'll do. Besides, wasn't it more fitting to dine at the place we often hung out at during our school years?

We sat at a corner table with the siblings on one bench and the rest of us on the other. They insisted that I sit next to Shiki – another one of their tiring jokes – so she had little choice but to sit to my left. Eri was to my right. I was a guy in the soft chewy centre of a girl sandwich – pardon the potentially gross expression.

The conversations went on at a smooth clip. Under normal circumstances we would all be so busy that getting in touch was a luxury, so this was our best chance to talk. We were all curious about what was happening with each other, and so far what we've gathered was that Beat once had a close shave in the kitchen (he nearly had hot oil splashed onto his face), Rhyme was taking part in belly dancing classes, and a streaker had once paid a visit to his college, freaking out everyone on campus. There was no shortage of interesting tidbits to talk about.

"So," said Rhyme, "what have you been up to lately, Eri?"

You could tell Eri was eager to talk. That gleam in her eyes could light up a dark evening. "I broke up with my last boyfriend!" she proclaimed proudly.

The siblings couldn't associate what she just said with this feeling of hers that was almost like… accomplishment. Breakups were supposed to be weepy angry affairs, right? I knew what happened so I understood her sentiments perfectly, but for the rest it was hard to find any shred of reasoning connected to this.

"Oh, um, s-sorry to hear that?"

"Eh, no biggie," shrugged Eri, totally unfazed and happily slurping up more noodles. "He was a real jerk and a control freak. But I dumped his sorry butt and I'm glad he's out of my life. He's so terrible through and through, you know! I even broke my fingernail slapping him!"

"Respect!" said Beat through a mouthful of stuff. "That guy sure got what's comin' to him."

"I know, right?" More noodles went down her gullet with a vengeance. "And that's not all! The whiny idiot tried to return to me even when I was done with him and he was being a real pain about it too! Just wouldn't move on and leave me alone. Luckily though…" – she hooked her hand in the crook of my elbow – "…Neku was with me when it happened, and he shooed him off with style. It was too cool! Ah… If only you were there to see the drama unfold."

"Whoa," I gulped, growing shy, "it wasn't that big a deal…"

There was a short strange pause that a less observant person would fail to notice. The other three picked up on something and Beat spoke up to reflect their thoughts.

"Hold up. You two were together? What were you doing, man?"

Uh-oh… I had a bad feeling about this… Beat and Rhyme were fierce fans in the Neku X Shiki camp. Ever since our school days they'd been trying everything in their power to hook me up with our myopic friend. I wondered what they would think if they knew I was spending more time with her more outgoing friend…

…who, by the way, replied, "Oh, Neku and I went shopping for food."

No one was quite sure what to make of this. Rhyme treaded carefully and rather awkwardly at that too, "F-For food, huh? Buying your TV dinners in bulk again?"

The truth would come out in a few more seconds, I knew, and I was afraid there would be repercussions… Shiki already didn't look very comfortable. And I could foresee myself getting interrogated later by the siblings while wedged in Beat's infamous headlock. That wouldn't be fun. Like I said, these two were fierce fans…

Eri was most eager to tell the whole story. "No, it's nothing like that. Neku was going to teach me how to cook that morning, so we had to first get all the ingredients."

"R-Really? You're learning how to cook?"

Then everyone turned to look at me in one unanimous movement, making me feel like an escaped criminal caught in a police spotlight.

"From him?"

Oblivious to the stuffy atmosphere that was growing at our table, Eri continued to gush about our Saturday activities and how fond she was of them.

"Neku here is my Sensei! I learn a lot from him. Thanks to his guidance, I can cook some decent dishes and not have people puke all over the place! Ha ha ha! Really, I gotta thank ya, Neku. You're so nice!"

When she squeezed my arm, I thought I felt part of my soul being ebbing away with it. Was this a sense of betrayal that I was getting from Beat and Rhyme? They glanced from her to me and her again… well, mostly me, with a suspicious questioning air. I seriously thought either of them was going to jump up in protest and shout, "How dare you! You traitor!" I wanted to be openly proud of my friendship with Eri, but it didn't seem like these two were going to give me that privilege!

And what of Shiki? I had to give her credit for gluing that smile on her face and playing along even though she must be bristling with jealousy. There was a dark cloud hanging over the group and Eri was the only one who couldn't see it.

Ugh… This was a nightmare!

I had to change the topic fast! "Ah, right! I totally forgot! A-About this, um, I mean… We should all stop by WildKat if we get the chance! Mr H has some new dishes on sale! Might be worth a look? Right?"

"Fo' real, yo? ! Why didn'tchu tell me earlier, man? !"

Food was Beat's kryptonite. Say it aloud in front of him and he drops whatever he is doing or thinking. I knew this was an effective way to bend the conversation elsewhere and get myself off the hook… for now. By the time the topic had grown stale I'd hopefully have thought of a more long-term solution.

"I sure would love to see Mr H again," quipped Rhyme. "He's a nice guy."

"An' his menu is tops! Damn, I missed it too long."

Okay, good. This was going to work. Just need to crawl out of the frying pan –

"Ooh, yes, splendid idea!" agreed Eri. "It's been a while since I last went there, Neku! I wonder if that old guy – Mr H, I think? – still thinks we're dating?" The rest of us stiffened like wood, but I stiffened the hardest. "Hee hee… Well, since we're kinda sorta might be dating, maybe he'll give us his blessings! That'd be awesome."

– and into the fire! Gah!

The jaws of both Beat and Rhyme dropped like a sack full of rocks. Shiki's mouth remained intact but I had no idea how long that courteous smile would stay on.

Why, Eri, why? ! The Neku X Shiki fanatics would be out for my blood!

Rhyme decided enough was enough and cut right to the chase. "Eri? You and Neku are… dating? News to me. Care to explain?"

"Oh, um… strictly speaking, I'm not sure you could really say we're dating… I mean, all we do is hang out a lot."

"Is that it? I see…"

They didn't seem very convinced but looked like they'd leave it be for now. It wasn't going to give me a good night's sleep, but at least I could buy myself some time. But I couldn't even breathe my sigh of relief completely before Eri ruined things and brought me crashing back to square one.

"Ah! We may not be going out but there are some things we do outside of our normal friendship stuff, like taking baths together and washing each other's backs from time to time!"

DESPAIR! ! !

The air became so thick I could drown in it. Beat and Rhyme weren't going to let me go after this! And while Shiki would eventually have to face the truth that Eri and I were gradually inching towards a steady relationship, this wasn't the way I wanted to break it to her… This was way too jarring even for a jolt of reality.

The longer I stayed here with everyone the closer to death I would be, so I took this as my cue to leave and get the heck out. I had to go. Maybe emigrate to Fiji or somewhere and stay there for a few months to wait for the fuss to die down. The Bito family were not to be messed with!

"O-Oh my! Look at the time!" I squawked unconvincingly. "L-Look at the time indeed… Uh, I just remembered that I've got, um, a load of errands to take care of! Sorry, but I'll be leaving now!"

"But we just got here," protested Eri, "and you haven't even finished your ramen!"

"I'm awfully sorry, guys. It's really urgent! My aunt needed me to collect a few things, and deliver some others, and… stuff. Yeah. So I gotta dash. But we could meet up again if it's cool with you guys?"

"That's a shame," said Shiki. "But I guess it can't be helped. And, well, we did spring this whole reunion thing on you so suddenly. Shall we get together again tomorrow? Then we can enjoy ourselves proper."

Rhyme was bursting at the seams with questions for me and so was her brother (albeit to a lesser extent – he was more interested in the noodles for the time being), but there was nothing either could do. I could get away for a while.

"If Neku really can't stay," she muttered with veiled defeat, "then let's call it a day after this. We can always do this again tomorrow, and some!"

Fine by me. Tomorrow, I'd tell everything about myself and Eri, but just because I wasn't going to hide anything didn't mean I should be careless. A single slip-up with my words, and everyone might think I was a playboy wannabe who ditches longtime crushes in favour of the next hot chick.

They told me they would decide when it was best for this posse of pals to gather again and added that they would text me the details later. If I was cool with the timing and everything then we'd be good to go. I was soon scurrying out of my seat. Here's hoping with all of my fingers crossed that Eri wouldn't say anything stupid that would pave a harder path for me down the road.

"Catch you later!" I called.

"Phones! Hold up, man!"

"Yeah? What's up, Beat?"

He pointed at my bowl innocently. "If you're not gonna finish your ramen, can I have it?"

The girls found this most repulsive and immediately broke out into a chorus of "ugh's" and "eew's", with his sister in particular chiding him. "Beat!"

But he couldn't care less about his audience. "Dude, I just don't like wastin' stuff. Be a bit more slothful, yo."

"It's 'thoughtful'!" Rhyme didn't correct him as gently as usual for once.

I just chuckled. "It's yours if you want it, Beat. Go nuts." Then I turned and waved over my shoulder at the group as I left. Judging from the renewed sounds of disgust the girls were making behind me, I'd hazard a guess he was already happily tucking into my bowl.

XOXOXOXOXO

Let's fast forward the story a fair bit and use the next day as a starting point. I don't really want to go too much into the details of how I spent the remainder of my free time thinking about all the possible questions the siblings would be sure to fire at me point-blank.

I should try and put all that behind me for now. It's a beautiful day, our spirits were up, and even the Statue of Hachiko where we had gathered around was looking extra peppy… for a statue. Today, we had three things on our agenda that we intended to accomplish:

1. Have fun
2. Have fun, and
3. Have fun.

There'd be food and karaoke and when we were pooped we need only hop into the nearest bathhouse to feel like new people again. This was going to be delightful.

"Ah, life is good!" said Eri. Truer words couldn't have been spoken.

Beat didn't take long to do a head count and was satisfied to see that all were present. "Alright, let's do this! Let's get started right away! I'm starvin' like a boss!"

"You always are," laughed Rhyme. "Well, fret not, bro. First stop on our list is WildKat just like we discussed yesterday."

Shiki wondered aloud, "Haven't heard from Mr H these days. Is he still single?"

Eri was sniggering and nudging her friend in the arm. "Why? Have you been fostering a hidden interest in the guy? I get that stubble can be sexy…"

"You misunderstand." Our glasses-wearing friend was chuckling and not one bit put out. "If he's still single at this ripe old age, he probably wouldn't want us asking about it. So let's all refrain from doing that."

'Ripe old age'? Ouch…

At any rate, we found a table at WildKat, and Mr H himself – who usually stayed behind the counter – emerged from his comfort zone to personally come over and greet us. As he was a perpetually busy man, he couldn't stay to talk for long, but what few precious minutes we had with him were a lot of fun. He had always been an easy person to talk to. We just made sure to stay away from touchy topics like his age and his aforementioned bachelorhood (which, for the record, was still going strong).

"So you're working hard to become a chef? That's swell, Beat." His mouth stretched into his famous lazy grin. "Whatcha looking to cook in the future when you graduate? French cuisine? I've always fancied a good omelette du fromage."

"Om-uh-late… doo… what? Whazzat? I don't get yer big words, man."

"Cheese omelette," replied Mr H kindly. "That's the meaning of omelette du fromage. It's good stuff."

But our skater friend was slow, and he wasn't even doing it for comedy's sake. "Omelette du fromage means good stuff? And where does cheese omelette fit in, yo?"

"Ha ha ha! Never mind. I'm just glad to see everyone again. Anyway, I'd love to chat some more, but I got a business to run. We might have a good hour talking if you can come visit me during my free time, though."

"When's that?" asked Eri.

"Oh, heck, even I don't know. I'm always running around busy. Though I reckon the ten minutes I've got before I go to bed should do just fine." This earned him a round of laughter from our group. Man, I wished I could be this funny! He's awesome. Alas, he had to get back to work.

Our seating arrangement was a lot more flexible this time around because we were at a round table. My nearest neighbours were still Shiki to my left and Eri to my right but with more breathing room for myself – both literal and figurative – at least I didn't feel as trapped as before. Hooray for round tables!

Anyway, we were just doing a lot of chatting and basically having a good time of it. When we gradually started talking about the three of us – myself, Eri and Shiki – that was when I knew the ride was going to get a bit rougher. The going would be slow and steady at first, but in moments I knew I'd appreciate the value of mental seat belts.

Rhyme pitched us the first of several questions. "So… Shiki, Eri… you two are still working together on the fashion thing, aren't you?"

"Oh yes!" Eri's eyes were like embers. The fire of her love for fashion was burning brightly. "We're cranking out ideas and designs like crazy. Shiki's got one heck of a creative bone in her body. We've got a whole set of clothes that she made all on her own straight from the conceptual stage through to the end product, and they're simply to die for! Is that cool or what? !"

This was news to me. I always thought Eri was the brains and Shiki the brawn with a thread and needle. Looked like something had tickled the latter's sense of creativity somewhere along the line.

"Whoa, you're into designing now?" I raised my eyebrows high. "That's impressive, Shiki."

"You blow things out of proportion, guys," she laughed. "You're still the bomb when it comes to clothes, Eri."

"But you've got some really nifty handiwork in your portfolio," said her partner-in-crime. "For example, that dominatrix corset-cum-crop top! I didn't even know it was possible to modify it into stuff you can wear in public but you did it! And gosh, it looked so hot on you! I was squealing for days."

"Eri! D-Don't bring that up!"

The rest of us sucked away all of the air in the café in a unanimous gasp. Who was this person claiming to be Shiki? Our shy little lady was making leather fetish outfits… or to be exact, converting them into street wear? That's the kind of stuff Eri would make up to play pranks on people, but it didn't seem so out there this time. If this was the truth, then the duckling was turning into a swan…

"Hot damn, girl!" whistled Beat approvingly. "You sure got skills to pay the bills! So, those clothes you made… Any chance we can see you in it?"

Eri gave him a cheeky nudge in the elbow. "Ooh, interested, are we? I'm not surprised you are! If I were a guy, I'd be totally clamouring to catch a glimpse too!"

All the attention that was now focused on Shiki made her feel bashful, although I could see that she was secretly happy. She had ever confided in me that she was hopeless at brainstorming for clothing ideas, so apparently she had learnt a thing or two somewhere and now she was picking up. Given how she used to struggle with it, I'd say she deserved the praise for coming this far.

It was always like her to stay humble about her achievements, however. "Cut it out, guys. You're making me blush."

"Oi, Phones," laughed Beat, "what about you, man? You wanna take a peek too?"

When Shiki heard this, she nearly choked on her juice and started spouting like a kettle, "No way! I… This… It's too embarrassing to wear it in front of, well, anyone… let alone him – no, I mean…"

Eri rose to the occasion, speaking with genuine innocence, "Shiki, you don't need to worry! Neku's a decent guy so you'll be alright. Even though he gets nosebleeds a lot, he'd never lay a finger on you. In fact, I do more teasing than he does."

Uh-oh. This was the beginning of the end.

Rhyme stared at us blankly for a second or two. And then, "Eri? Y-You tease him? Like, always?"

"Sure I do! It's too much fun! Just the other day all I did was surprise him with a big hug, and he got this ridiculous nosebleed. He was positively gushing all over the place and it was freaking hilarious!"

So now it was official that Eri and I shared a lot of skinship together. The looks of suspicion returned to the faces of Shiki and the Bitos. They must be wondering what I had been up to that sounded a lot like the kind of things couples did. It's cold comfort that she didn't elaborate on the circumstances surrounding that incident – I'll just say she got naked as a prank and leave it at that.

Rhyme muttered, "You're being awfully friendly with Neku, aren't you…"

"Sure I am! We're buddies, you know? Like, ki– "

"Kindred spirits!" I shrieked in the nick of time, before she could say 'kissing buddies'. "We're just close, see? ! Ahaha…"

To complicate matters further, blood dribbled out of my nose for no reason. Why did these things happen to me? !

Eri deftly grabbed a tissue and began dabbing my nose clean, all the while cooing, "Menstruating through your nose again, Neku? Where would you be without me and my tissues? Hee hee!"

"I-I'm fine. I can handle this myself."

"Well, so long as you don't die," she chuckled. "I wouldn't be able to spend the night at your place anymore if you kick the bucket from blood loss."

With every new detail that Eri unwittingly slipped out, the darker the clouds around us grew. But that last bit took the cake, and I was treated to a rousing performance of gasps from the rest of the gang. Beat sprung to his feet like elastic – a reflex action, I assure you – and bellowed so loudly that no one could ignore the guy who looked like he was doing one of those flashy moves from The Matrix. Now there was even more unwanted attention directed at us. Gee, thanks a bunch, Beat!

I thought things couldn't get any worse than this but I was wrong.

This time even Shiki, who had been keeping quiet, had to shoot tough questions at me. The suspense must have been turning her inside-out.

"Neku… Eri… Do you two, um… sleep? Like, together? ? ?"

I couldn't get out one word before Eri answered for me. "Sure!"

Beat and Rhyme had faces full of betrayal and incredulity. Oh boy, they weren't going to let me off easily now. The world didn't end with me. The world was ending!

"S-Sleepover!" I squawked hurriedly. "It's just a sleepover! She always crashes at my place! And she always uses a different room from mine!"

A slightly indignant Eri didn't like how I was trying to bend the truth and saw the need to correct me. "Hey, what about all those times when we share your bed, hmmm? Do those not count at all?"

"Wait… that's not what I…!" Please don't make things more difficult than they already were, idiot!

I wasn't the only one feeling the burn. Shiki was fiddling uncomfortably in her seat, looking this way and that as though searching for an exit. In her desperation to relieve herself from the heavy atmosphere, she got up from her seat abruptly like a rocket launching into space, and said, "Ah! I think I w-will… I have to! Go! To the… to the… yeah, the washroom! Be… Be right back!"

"Oh, I'll tag along," offered Eri. "I need to redo my makeup."

Her words, however, fell on deaf ears: Shiki had already vanished. Boy, was she fast! With both girls gone I was left to swim with the fishes… as well as Beat and Rhyme, who spared not a second more and set to work giving me a thorough cross-examination.

Rhyme almost never had harsh words for anyone, but today she didn't give me any mercy. "I thought you were a good man who's devoted to Shiki, but to see that you're not above playing with other girls… It's quite an unpleasant thing to see, coming from you."

Those were some scathing remarks, but I knew they only made these accusations because they grossly misunderstood the situation. A whole year had gone by since we last saw the Bito siblings, and that was more than enough time for so many things to happen. No one had updated them on what's been rocking our lives here in Shibuya. I guess it's time they knew everything and it was up to me to tell them.

Thing is, this girl wouldn't give me a chance to speak. She just went on and on, like one of those looping songs you hear while doing your shopping in the supermarket.

"…weird when you didn't get nosebleeds around Shiki like you usually did… And you look like you two are enjoying each other's company, which would've been fine in itself if it wasn't so, you know, suggestive. If you like Shiki that much, don't you think you should invest more of your time and energy in building up a relationship with her?"

"Guys," I began, "listen… You both got the wro– "

"And here you are, sleeping together with Eri! That's just – "

"Oi! We don't have sex! Geez!"

I was as exasperated as I was embarrassed, but tried to stay calm… as calm as a guy with a history of a temper could possibly get, anyway. Before they could point more daggers at me, I cut them off. I was curt about it too, but had no time for niceties.

"Look," I grumbled. "Just shut your traps for one minute and listen. I've got something to say and I'm going to get straight to the point."

And that's exactly what I did.

"I'm not… pursuing Shiki anymore. Lots of things happened, and… well, it's Eri I'm going after now."

This piece of news hit them in the face so hard I almost thought I could hear the sound of its impact. And then came the inevitable wave of confusion. Perhaps because of his eternal struggle with grammar, Beat had trouble putting his thoughts to words quickly, but the more eloquent Rhyme had no problems launching an all-out assault of questions at me.

"What do you mean?" she asked. "Why would you give up on Shiki, and go for Eri instead? It makes little sense! I'm not letting you go until we hear it from the horse's mouth!"

Beat gave a forceful nod. "That's right, yo! …I didn't know you keep horses, though."

"…That's just an expression, Beat."

At their insistence, I gave them a very brief rundown of the events that happened here while they were in Nagoya. I touched on some key points: that Shiki had found herself a boyfriend, and how, over time, I was won over by Eri's kindness. Two more important things: after Shiki broke up with said boyfriend, she confessed to me, but I turned her down; and I let Eri know that I loved her, but hadn't received a concrete answer from her as of yet. By the end of my summary, they knew more or less what was happening.

"Yo Phones," said Beat quietly. "So you in love with Eri now? You're serious about her?"

"I am. I hope this part has been made clear, at least."

"Eri, huh…" His sister was stroking her chin. "Well, she certainly is nice, but – "

But what? I wanted to know what her thoughts held. Just then, however, the girls returned from the bathroom, and we dropped the topic right away, tagging it as "to be continued". Shiki was looking a lot better, while Eri was still her usual self, happy-go-lucky with a tune humming under her breath. What did they talk about back in there? Did Shiki ask Eri about her relationship with me too? Whatever the case may be, I hoped my old crush didn't end up too heartbroken.

Because after all, it may be a bit cruel, but it still boiled down to one or the other. You can't expect me to go out with two girls at the same time…

XOXOXOXOXO

Karaoke has a way of giving you the sort of high that makes you keep going. Once the fun sinks in you don't want to quit. We were all busy trying to be the next idol… except Beat, who purposely messed up his lyrics and even sang off-key at times to ratchet up the comedy factor. It was a real riot.

But eventually we had to leave when fatigue got the better of us, which was why we were now at the nearest public bathhouse.

The bath areas were simple concrete-and-tile rooms, with none of the decorations you'd find in a more exotic onsen like rocks and bamboo. And of course, this bathhouse was a lot smaller. It couldn't hold a candle to Teppeki Inn, but if you weren't fussy and just needed a good soak, it'd do.

There were no mixed baths either, so we had to split up. Too bad… I was hoping to enjoy a little scrubbing down of my back by Eri's masterful hands. But now there was no chance to get inside her – n-no, I mean, get inside the bath with her! Yeah. That's… That's what I meant to say.

"Dude," said Beat, his frown deep and quizzical, "what's with you, yo? Your face is all red."

"I-It's the heat!" I spluttered. "The heat of the water!"

"But we not even in the bath yet… Oi, you better not be thinkin' weird stuff about my sis, y'hear? 'Cause that's not cool."

"I… I'm not! C'mon, gimme a break here."

The bath was divided into two sections: one for men and the other for women. There was a wall that separated these sections and it was a thick concrete one with no visible holes to peek through, so voyeurs-to-be would be heavily disappointed. It didn't, however, reach all the way to the ceiling; there was a sizable gap at the top, presumably to improve ventilation or some other similar purpose, so it was possible to eavesdrop on people on the other side.

As soon as Beat and I settled for a spot against the partition, we became aware of the gals, who were excitedly engaged in one of their "girl conversations" like a bunch of noisy birds. It wasn't very long before they began to talk about something a bit more risqué… so I'll share with you what we heard, whether it interests you or not.

"Rhyme!" That was Eri, wasn't it? "Oh my god, what did you do to yourself?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"What have you been eating? Is there anything special you've been doing? Or some kind of forbidden magic ritual you've dabbled in?"

"…I'm afraid I don't quite follow."

"Okay, fine. I'll be direct: how in the world did you cultivate those melons? ! I could've sworn you were a little on the flat side last year. But now you're… oh god, what's this, a growth spurt?"

"Wh-Whoa, don't talk about that here! W-We're not the only ones here, and – "

"You're one of those late bloomers, I see… Not that it's a bad thing as long as the size is good… How big are they anyway?"

"Wh-Wha…? They're nothing unusual… D-Don't make such a fuss about them, Eri."

"Oh, you! What's so bad about comparing sizes? It's not a crime!"

"Um… c-can we just talk about something else, ple– hyaaah! What're you doing? !"

"I just wanna touch them a bit. Is that okay?"

"No!"

"Okay, here I come!"

"Eri! I said no! No means no…!"

"…which means yes in Japan. So back to where I left off…"

"W-Wait, stop it? !"

"You stop it! Moving about, I mean. I can't get a good feel of these things if you keep flailing like that! Shiki, give me a hand here, will you? Just… keep her from escaping."

"No! Shiki, help me! Stop her from – !"

But there was a cruel twist in store for our poor friend. "I'm truly sorry, Rhyme," said a solemn Shiki, "but I'm just as curious as she is, so… I'm just going to restrain you a bit. It wouldn't hurt, I promise. Oh, and sorry again."

"Aargh! Stop it, I tell you! The boys can hear us from – get your hands off of me! ! !"

No kidding, Rhyme. We could hear every single thing from our side… and you're not helping matters yourself. Beat and I exchanged weird glances, growing rather hot in the face piecing together the most likely scenario that must be happening.

"Dude," he said, "I told you it ain't cool to go fantasizin' about my sis. Stop it, yo."

"I'm… I'm not thinking about Rhyme! What is with you? !"

"You got a nosebleed, man."

"That's because I'm thinking about someone else!"

"Someone else?"

I realized a little late that I had said something bold. He'd usually be sure to follow it up with a joke about my love life, but he kept himself in check this time. That old humour wouldn't work anymore. Things were different now.

He took a guess. "Thinkin' about Eri?"

Seeing as he had become a lot more reasonable after knowing the truth, I felt that I could be more honest with him. Ah, how I waited for the day when I needn't dodge questions and hide facts anymore!

So I admitted it readily. "Yeah…"

There were a few seconds of silence as I waited for his reply, which would turn out to be nothing smart.

"So d'ya have times when you, um, think about her naked too?"

"Huh? !"

What the heck was he – hang on. That was a strange thing to blurt out of the blue, but right now we're a couple of cool guys having guy talk (strictly no girls allowed!) so I thought, well, it's normal to discuss about things like this. I decided I wouldn't lie with him. Maybe there'd be benefits from forging a bond between manly men.

In a hushed voice, I admitted, "I, uh… I've seen her naked, actually," – when I saw his mouth grew three times wider I hastily added – "but that's because we were taking a bath! I swear we didn't get into any sort of hanky-panky – "

"What? !" He went nuts with his trademark pose again. "Oi, that's hanky enough for panky! Takin' baths with Eri? ! What the hell! ! !"

"H-Hang on! She was the one who – ow ow ow!"

This time it was his trademark headlock he went nuts with. My poor head. "Damn! You sure know how to get the goods, huh? ! You lucky bas– "

All of a sudden he stopped. Maybe he'd stumbled upon one of those "I just thought of something" moments. He let me go and gave his two cents on the whole thing.

"Phones," he said seriously, "you're pretty lucky."

I did my best to be cautious, although by "cautious" you could say I really meant "careless". "Why? Because I saw her naked?"

"Well, yeah, that's one thing…" Props to him for being so honest… "…but no, what I'ma mean is you're lucky 'cause you two are close. Like, really close. See, it ain't easy to find good friends, 'specially if they're friends you wanna go out with eventually. Know what I'm sayin'?"

"…Yeah, I know what you mean." I couldn't agree with him more.

"If you're really serious about her, I'ma give you my support, Phones."

"Really?" This made for a nice surprise. "For real? You wouldn't grill me with questions about Shiki anymore?"

"Grill? What'd you mean, man? D'ya think you look like a barbecue? Be serious here!"

"…That's not what I meant by grilling, dude, but never mind."

"When you told us you're gunnin' for Eri, I was all, 'What? !'" He broke into a short laugh. "Because you always been tryin' to hook up with Shiki, you know? But I guess when things happen, they happen. So if Eri's gonna be your squeeze, then heck, I'm all for it."

That was good news to me! Beat just gave me his blessings. I knew he wasn't a bad guy. Sure, he was slow on the uptake and prone to giving up on thinking if things got too complex for his head, but it's precisely because he had a simple way of looking at life that he could quickly tell what's fine and what's not. And he certainly didn't see anything wrong with me going out with Eri.

Now I just needed Rhyme's okay and the Bito siblings would be covered for life. And of course, there's Shiki. But one thing at a time like I was always told as a kid. I had to gain their trust for both myself and Eri, but there's no rush to do it all in one day. I'll do it a little at a time…

"Thanks, Beat. Glad to know you're on my side. Just… no more teasing from now on, okay? The truth is out and I'm clean, so there's nothing to make fun of anymore."

"Aight," he said with a broad grin. "Don't worry, man, we cool! We're pals! So you got my word. Oh, by the way… so… about you and Eri…"

"Yes?"

He leaned closer to whisper to me, like we were collaborators in a dastardly scheme.

"How often d'ya take baths together, yo?"

I gulped. "Huh? ! Why'd you – "

"C'mon, I wanna know. I wanna know how you manage to do it."

"Do what? !"

He snapped impatiently, "Get her outta her clothes, of course! What else? How do you get so damn lucky and stuff? !" His persistence was starting to get a little frightening…

"I… I don't really have an answer to that…" I just get swept up in Eri's whims… "Look, I don't want to sound mean, but talking about this is really weird – "

"Oi! I thought we friends, yo. You're scoring it big with the hottest girl in our school and you think you can jus' keep all the details to yo'self? Not fair, yo. Don't be so stingy! C'mon, man! Out with it!"

"Ow! Beat, not so tight, alright? ! That hurts!" Why did I have to be subject to another headlock? !

As he rained hell upon my precious orange mane yet again, my ears caught snippets from the women's section.

"Holy snap, Rhyme! Those bazongas are the real deal! It's got to be at least a C! How'd you grow two cup sizes in a year? !"

"E-Eri, please stop…!" The poor girl's voice was wavering.

"Shiki and I are only B's! I don't accept this!"

XOXOXOXOXO

Some "relaxing" bath that turned out to be! Tensions ran high on both sides if anything! Ah well, aside from my brutally messed-up hair, everything turned out just great. Even when the vending machine was taking extra-long to cough up my soda I was feeling good. Maybe because I was happy to have friends. At this rate, I could go out with Eri without having to worry about whether I was allowed to.

I gradually became aware of the presence of someone approaching. It was Rhyme, looking totally worn out. Who wouldn't be when two of your best friends ganged up on you for some tag-team chest groping? Must have been torture for her.

"Rhyme!" I called. "Need a drink?"

"No, it's fine," she mumbled. "What I need is… psychotherapy."

"No kidding. I heard your screams all the way from the other side."

"You what? ! Ugh… Try and forget that." Easier said than done…

There was a loud clunk from the vending machine and I fished my soda out. I noticed that she was staring at me like she had something to say.

I popped the can open. "Do you want a drink after all?"

"No, I'm good. I need to talk to you about something, though."

"Oh, sure… Go on."

"Alright, see…" Didn't look like she was going to make nice with me, from her shifty body language. She clutched the back of her neck, apparently to restrain herself. And when she spoke, it was with a lot of caution. "It's about Eri. Just so we're all clear, you're not joking when you said you want to go out with her… are you?"

"I'm not joking one bit. Why?"

"It's just… okay, if I have to put it bluntly, she isn't exactly girlfriend material."

I was taken aback by what she said. Was she trying to tell me that Eri would make a terrible choice for a girlfriend? That's simply absurd… People had yet to see how far she'd come. She was the best friend in the world and would make an even better girlfriend. I would have challenged Rhyme's logic in a heartbeat, but figured it'd be more prudent to hear her out completely first.

"Neku, you're probably familiar with Eri's habit of getting a new boyfriend every few months and then dumping them when she gets tired of them…"

"There's a reason for that," I countered. "She never had any luck with guys, so she always ended up with terrible ones. They had serious issues, I was told… She'd have to be a total masochist to stand being with them for more than three months."

"Of course she'd tell you that." Rhyme displayed a frown that suggested I was being stupid. "Don't you think it'd be a more likely scenario if she just plain gets fed up with guys too quickly? Even you have to see that something's wrong here."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. What I couldn't believe even more was that Rhyme was saying it! Sure, even friends can form opinions both good and bad of other friends, but she didn't even sound like she was the slightest bit supportive of Eri.

There was more disappointment in store for me. "And another thing. Don't you think her behaviour around you is highly inappropriate? She's practically fawning over you in public, and that's just the start!"

"She's just being playful as usual. There's no harm in that…"

"Sure, I get that. But getting drunk and crashing at your place at least three times a week? Walking around in your house in her underwear like the place belongs to her? Taking baths with you and sleeping in the same bed… Look, I know Eri's famous for being lovably batty, but this is a bit too much. People just don't do things like that…"

At this point I began to grow quite incensed. "Hey, we're the best of friends, me and her. We're very close, so even when she's being her usual crazy self, I don't particularly mind. Really, I'm cool with it."

Rhyme wasn't convinced. "I still think it's hardly normal for anyone to act like she does."

"Then think what you want." I was starting to get fed up of her bashing our own friend. "Why make such a fuss anyway?"

"I'm trying to help you here! I just don't want you to pursue the wrong person for a relationship and regret it later. Eri is a good pal, but a good girlfriend? I wouldn't be so sure about that… You had a perfectly viable candidate for a lover in Shiki. You two would have been great together. Perfect, even… I have no idea what happened along the way."

"Look, I'm happy you're concerned, Rhyme, but I'm not going to budge. I really love Eri and I want to go steady with her. I'm a fortunate guy to have ever fallen in love with a nice girl like Shiki, but right now Eri's the one for me."

And that's that. Of course Rhyme and I still couldn't see eye to eye on this but the big decision was ultimately mine to make. She resigned herself to my stubbornness and finally brought our debate to a close, much to my relief.

"Alright, Neku. Point taken. Just be sure you know what you're doing. That's all I'm asking."

That was all I'd get from her for the evening. She turned and walked away, leaving me to mull over her so-called words of wisdom. Seriously, what's up her butt? She wouldn't be giving me two thumbs up like her brother did… Not anytime soon anyway…

I just stood there, sipping my soda and thinking a lot. On one hand, it was easy to call Rhyme a dog in the manger because of how unwilling she was to recognize and allow me the pleasure of chasing after Eri. But on the other hand, she was probably just giving me a friendly warning about love: that I should be careful, and that I should pick someone who'd complement my personality, and all the rest of that. As for me, I was just going to do as I wished because I knew what I was doing. Can't please everyone, that's for sure.

As I was minding my own business, I happened to glance down the corridor, in the opposite direction that Rhyme went. There was a bend here, and round the corner I could've sworn I saw some movement. Was someone watching me? Curious, I sneaked over…

Hiding just out of sight behind the corner was Eri, her back against the wall. Her posture was bent into a slouch and her head hung so low she didn't notice me until I was right beside her. That was when she looked up at me with a dismal expression. She startled me just by showing up there but I quickly noticed how sad she looked. I was struggling with a split-second decision to ask why she was so or lift her spirits with a quick one-liner. But she spoke first.

"Oh, Neku. Um… sorry."

"Huh? For what?"

She bit her lip. "…I was around. I happened to overhear your talk with Rhyme."

Oh man… Every word? Goodness, it must have been dreadful for her to listen to everything. I had to say something… anything to put her at ease.

"Ah, well… d-don't mind too much about it, Eri! Actually, I told the Bitos about all the fun stuff we've been doing. Frankly, I wanted to brag about it, you know? I hope you don't mind… Anyway, Rhyme didn't seem to think it was that cool, but hey! It's just one person's opinion. Besides, I don't think she was – "

Eri's hand dove for the hem of my shirt, her fingers clutching tightly. She reminded me of one of those kindergarteners who went to school for the first time, scared and daunted by the thought of being without their parents in a new environment.

The corridors were empty with no one else around to disturb us, so she poured out her woes on me. "Neku," she said quietly, "I'm… I'm kind of a bother, aren't I? Tell me honestly."

My heart reeled. This was a girl who had buckets of self-confidence and now she was reduced to a shadow of herself. I remember how much my soul ached watching her cry. Never again did I wish to see her sad again. I had been careful with my words and actions ever since then and I did a good job of it if I did say so myself. But it's a different story now; it's something I had no control over that was at fault.

I grasped her by the shoulders with a grave urgency to prove her wrong. "Eri, don't even suggest that! You're never a bother to me! I'm always so happy when you are around."

"Listen… I can't help being playful, so I'm always messing with you. But she makes it sound like what I'm doing is a crime."

Uh-oh… That's the face of someone on the verge of crying. And sure enough, by the next sentence, tears were welling up.

"Is it so wrong for me to crack jokes and pay the occasional prank? Maybe my sense of humour is a bit too sexy for some but I don't think it's that bad… I mean, it's hardly grounds to imply that I'm a tramp or something! What is she trying to say? That I'm easy and go round sleeping with people just because I clown about like I do? ! That's not fair!"

It's true that Rhyme went too far. Eri's frame was shaking and her shoulders jerked with each sniffle. I felt sorry for her and fished out some tissues to dab the tears away.

"I just want to be myself!" she wailed. "So why can't I? ! Is that so wrong? I want to be able to do what I like with my best friend at least… I know I shouldn't care about what others think but it still hurts. No one has the right to say who you or I should hang out or even go out with, or how I should go about my daily business!"

Her throat became too choked up for her to continue talking and she just wept into my chest as I held her close. There had to be something I could say so that her smile would come back… and not a moment too soon. The longer this went on the worse I'd feel. I forced the gears of my brain to go into overdrive and finally settled on a good one.

"Eri," I said, "I think this is all terrible too. If I were you, I'd feel the same way. But… don't you think you should listen to your own words?"

She raised her head weakly and I saw confusion in her watery eyes. "Huh?"

"You said it yourself… 'I shouldn't care about what others think'. Your take on life may be different from Rhyme's but that doesn't mean you have a 'wrong' lifestyle and that hers is 'right'."

"…B-But everyone seems to think I'm not… normal."

And to that I countered, "Who has the right to decide what's normal and what's not? If you keep forcing yourself to be 'normal' as others might suggest, you're just gonna end up with a big headache because everyone's views on normality is different. Seriously, don't even bother."

There's this piece of advice I gave Shiki some years back, and now it was time to pass it on to Eri. I didn't really remember it word for word anymore, and I had to make a few changes here and there to fill in the gaps, but the gist of it remained.

"You can't ever be anyone else, Eri, and you should be proud of that. You behave the way you do because you're you. Nobody can take that privilege away from you. If you're, so to speak, a… I dunno, an apple, and the general notion is that everyone should be a cucumber to be cool, then to heck with it. Just carry on being an apple! See what I mean?"

…I sure had to fill in a lot of gaps. I definitely did not talk to Shiki about fruits before.

Eri wasn't crying anymore. She was too busy trying to make my advice click in her head instead of perceiving it as the kind of nutritional information you see on the side of a carton of OJ. I hoped I wasn't losing her…

"Um… anyway," I stammered, "there's no right or wrong way as to how a person should behave. S-So… uh, stop worrying already! You're you, and that's fine. Apples are fine."

I didn't think I was going to make a whole lot of sense but when I heard her muffled giggles I knew that finally, we were making progress. At least she didn't look very sad now, and that's something.

"Neku, I kinda get what you mean, your weird fruity analogy notwithstanding."

"Weird…? Ah well, as long as you understand! Are… Are we cool?"

It took her a while to respond but when she did, after wiping her tears away for the final time, it was with a smile and a brisk nod.

"Mm-hmm!"

"That's a girl." Whew… She's returned at last. Good going, me!

I felt my hand clasped in her silky palms as she beamed. "Thank you."

"Eh, think nothing of it. Um… feeling better?"

"A lot better! Hee hee… You're a real friend, you know that?"

"I try. Hey, the others are waiting for us, but do you need some time for a breather? I can tell them to wait."

"Mmm, yeah. Please do. I'll catch you all there soon."

With a mock stern face I added, "I'll be sure to give Rhyme a good talking-to afterwards."

"No, it's fine!" she said brightly. "She's still alright in my book."

"You're awfully generous to be able to forgive her so quickly."

"I just can't and don't think any ill of her, that's all…"

Was Eri a saint reincarnated? She's amazing… If it's me, I'd probably give Rhyme so much silent treatment I'd need to be bribed to talk!

"…plus," she added with a faraway gaze, "if she can't be my friend, I wouldn't be able to grope her so freely anymore… I mean, molesting her is so much fun! I'd have to resist the urge to go after her… Just think how unbearable it'd be for me!"

My eyebrows were scrunched up like an accordion. "Just found yourself a new hobby, huh? You're scaring me."

She poked me in the cheek. "Ooh, what's this? Jealous much? Of a girl, too. Hey, don't fret! I don't swing that way. Look, I'll feel you up too if it makes you happy. I'll even throw in a surprise attack or two on you while you're asleep."

And then while she laughed her head off like she had just told the world's greatest joke, I pretended to cringe away. "You're freaking me out, man. I'm outta here."

"Ha ha ha! Okay, jokes aside, I'll see you out there soon. Gimme a minute and we'll be good to go. Hold down the fort for me, please?"

"Sure. I'll see y– "

I couldn't say the last word. She interrupted me with a peck to the cheek and then dashed past me, her giggles echoing down the hall.

Eri was still giggling inside my head as I shuffled my way back to the lobby in a daze, cupping my cheek. Man, that felt ten types of good! She didn't leave a lip print on my face, did she?

Hmmm, better go take a look in the mirror.

XOXOXOXOXO

Eri did not seem to bear any grudges against Rhyme, and while the latter still held her reservations close to heart with no indication of changing them for the better, she had the dignity to treat Eri the same way she always did: as a friend. I wasn't a mind reader so I didn't know what they might be thinking but I hoped they'd be able to make peace.

All five of us went our separate ways. I'd go back home with Eri, but she had work.

Despite all the tension, I did have fun. And it was good that Beat and Rhyme knew a little more about myself and Eri. No more childish teasing, that's for sure. Now, if I could look forward to less nagging from Rhyme, that'd be great too. And as for Shiki… well, I'd be sure to tell her about this too in time.

"Heh…"

I reached up to my cheek where Eri had kissed me, and the fuzzy feeling started to spread itself thick inside my head again. It's so warm… and it felt good, of course. This was the kind of thing that could only happen with a relationship as special as ours. Perks and benefits, you know?

Shortly before bedtime, the chime of the doorbell almost caused me to jump. Aha! Was that Eri? It was a little past ten and she'd have finished work by now. We saw each other so regularly and we weren't even going out. We're even kissing from time to time! I wasted no time flinging the door open, ready to welcome her in with open arms.

But it wasn't her.

"Wha…? It's… It's you?"

The girl at my doorstep just stood there, looking nervous and nudging her glasses. "Hi, Neku… um, I hope I'm not being a bother, but… may I talk to you for a bit?"

What was Shiki doing here?

More importantly, what business did she have with me… And why did it feel like it was going to be the start of an important turning point in my life?