She Comes And Goes As She Pleases (Part 65)
by BrDPirateMan

"Eri?"

"Mmmh…"

"Come on, sleeping beauty. Rise and shine." I whipped the curtains open in a flourish, letting sunlight into the room. "It's not summer break anymore. We can't sleep in and you know it."

Her face scrunched up, trying to fend off the morning sun. Even when half-asleep, she still had the mental acuity to throw a small deadpan remark my way.

"I'd like to say, 'five more minutes', but knowing you that's not gonna fly."

"That's right. Now come on, I've made breakfast." Hesitating, I added, "Um, it's a bit different from what you're used to, but… you cool with shrimp gyoza?"

That got her attention and she sat up in a flash, flinging the covers aside. Thing is, she was naked and the curtains were now open… and right across the street was another condominium like ours. Someone over there could get an eyeful of free boob and I didn't want that.

"Gyoza?" she gasped. "Wow, for real?"

As I hurried to do the smart thing and close the curtains, I replied, "Y-Yeah, I had it prepared last night. Got a dipping sauce too."

"Alright! Time for chow!"

"Catch you there."

I left her to get changed; the last thing I saw out of the corner of my eye was her gathering the clothes and underwear she had shed before bedtime last night. It was all strung so carelessly across her work desk and chair before bedtime last night. Dainty lass she sure ain't.

Breakfast went by at a brisk clip. The gyoza was pretty good if I did say so myself, and Eri herself was a long-time fan. We shared the odd joke here and there while we ate (she was partial to the 'morning wood' ones), and once we even played footsie. To anyone else, this was a very peculiar way to have breakfast. For us such light-hearted shenanigans were second nature.

But today the atmosphere was slightly different. It was pregnant with importance, and I brought it up.

"Hard to believe it's already October," I said, nodding towards the calendar on the fridge. "Summer went by so quickly."

"Too quickly!" She paused for a bite of gyoza. "It's getting colder too. Soon I'll actually have to cover up when I go out… Total bummer this is."

"Nothing we can do about that. Better dust off those jackets."

"Yeah, it sucks." Another bite. "Oh yeah, just realized today's the start of the Fall semester."

"Sure is. It's our very last semester…"

In light of such an important topic, the conversation hereafter became a lot quieter. More solemn. Eri herself, the very picture of brightness, was now quite grey with melancholy.

"This is the final stretch," she gulped. "No more fooling around, huh, Neku?"

A mixture of fear and sadness swirled around in my gut. "There's always time for fun, Eri… but we might have to make a few… sacrifices."

"Yeah, I know. Less shopping…"

"Less gaming…"

"Less partying… less hanging out with friends…"

"Less watching TV… less anime…"

"And less…" She paused, then shaking her head she blurted, "No, no, no. Not sex. No way are we going to have less of that."

I snorted. "Great minds think alike, it seems."

Her face hardened into an expression of determination. "Listen, this semester is all that stands between us and freedom. Promise me you'll work hard."

I smiled, happy that she had the right attitude. She's always had a good head on her shoulders.

"Of course I will, Eri. You can bet on that." With a laugh, I said, "Besides, I don't want to be stuck doing assignments all the time."

"Yeah, there's that. And also… um…"

There was a slight tinge of pink on her cheeks and she had to break eye contact. For a while she had to find her voice, but when it returned it was uncharacteristically quiet and there was a minor quiver to it.

"I want us to graduate at the same time… so we can focus on our new life together. You and me."

That's actually kinda cute. Now I was getting a case of the blushies myself.

"You know," she continued, "Mum and Dad never liked the decisions I made. They don't like that I moved to Shibuya. They're don't like that I'm taking up fashion design over engineering. And while Mum kinda tolerates you, Dad still feels I'm better off with someone else."

"Your dad's a harsh one. No offense."

"Anyway," she said, "I'm just saying that as long as I can graduate and get a job I don't need to be bound by their rules anymore. I'll be a full-fledged working member of the society, I'll have much more freedom over what I can do, and we can finally be together without too much hassle from my folks. But it won't happen without some good old-fashioned hard work."

I nodded in acknowledgement. "True that. I'll do my best too, Eri. Wouldn't want your parents to be turned off that their daughter's going out with a bum."

"That's right. So don't you dare go slack off and flunk your courses!"

She's serious about this. Of course, so was I, but hearing her voice it out served as a nice way to reaffirm our long-term goals. So I did what every self-respecting boyfriend would in my shoes.

I reached out for her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "It's a promise, then. We'll graduate together."

"You pinky swear?"

"I pinky swe– wait, we're not children anymore."

Eri simply shrugged. "I don't see how hooking pinkies together is a problem in the first place."

"I'm fine with the promise, I just would appreciate it if it was less… you know… kiddy."

"Wow, you're hard to please." She spent a moment to think it through, and then, "Well, how about a kiss? That 'adult' enough for you?"

"That's more like it. Yeah, that works."

"Alright then, it's settled. Now pucker up!"

"Ready when you are," I said with a grin.

I stood up, eager to close the distance across the table. But she barely rose from her chair when she plopped back down again.

"No, wait, not now," she said, "you just had gyoza. Your breath stinks like the dickens."

Left hanging high and dry, I shot her an incredulous look.

"So does yours!"

XOXOXOXOXO

As I stepped back onto the college grounds, a wave of summer break blues swept over me. All over campus were students just like me who wished that the summer break didn't have to end. Hiding behind each brave face and smile was a shambling zombie.

All of this enthusiasm – I'm being sarcastic, by the way – was floating around me like a miasma. Given how pervasive it was, I was practically choking on it. Once or twice it made me want to turn around and drive back home.

But Eri's words echoed in my head to remind me to stay strong.

"…don't you dare go slack off and flunk your courses!"

No time to get all lazy now. These six months were all I had before I graduated. As long as I was diligent and kept my grades up, I'd be outta here and with good graces. I would be able to live a full life with Eri by my side… without any regrets.

Just imagine… a full life with Eri! It might go like this…

"I'm back!" I called, closing the front door behind me. "Man, am I beat!"

Eri came scampering over to give me a hug. "Welcome back, sexy! How was your day?"

"Oh, you know. The usual. Real tiring stuff."

"Well then, you're in luck. I have coffee, if you like. Tea if you prefer. But of course, you could always have me – "

Wait a minute. That's already happening. She does that a lot, and some. She even breaks out the naked apron at times. There was no point to daydreaming about that at all.

Come on, Neku! Get your head out of the clouds and focus!

"Oi, Neku!" That voice… ah, that's one of my classmates. "Long time no see, bro! How've you been?"

Happy that I would be amongst familiar faces again, I returned his greeting with equal fervor. "Yo. Looking sprightly, pal. Something good happened over summer break?"

"Hell yeah! I found love. Love, I tell you! It was like… magic."

"Ooh, great to hear!"

Fishing out his phone, he tapped on its screen in a flurry of fingers. I thought he was going to show off a picture of his new squeeze… but when he thrust the phone in my face I was horribly mistaken.

"Dude," I muttered, "it's… a dog."

"Yes!" he said, totally over the moon. "My new Pomeranian. It was love at first sight! By the way, I call her Dim Sum. Ain't it cute?!"

"Sure, I guess… but I thought you meant that you got yourself a girlfriend. You know, like, a human one."

"One thing at a time, pal! Come on, even you know that."

He prattled on about his new dog as we made our way towards the auditorium where registrations were taking place.

Anyway, it's nice to be able to meet up with my college buddies again, but I couldn't take things easy any longer. Auntie and Uncle needed me to get good grades; obvious enough as to why. Eri was counting on me. And her parents were keeping tabs on my progress as a whole. It's mostly because of the latter that one of the first things I wanted to be sure of doing this semester was…

"Come join the Photography Club!"

Someone else went round calling out like he was hawking wares.

"Check out the Newspaper Club! Write articles, share the news! Be a contributing member of campus society!"

After registration was done I emerged from the auditorium into a completely different scene. There were people everywhere, going every which way. It was almost like a festival. I knew right away that this was the club recruitment drive that punctuated the beginning of every semester. We had a number of clubs at college, and all of them boasted very active members. But they were always wanting for new meat to replace the ones who'd left, so they were very aggressive in pursuing potential recruits.

It wasn't mandatory to join a club in my college, although it was encouraged. Seeing neither a reason nor an obligation to join one, I spent much of my college years being one of the few who weren't in one. But this semester was going to be different for me.

"…I need you to be more proactive. Get involved, do something, for goodness' sake."

Those words were imparted to me by Eri's father. I think that was his way of encouraging me to improve myself. Well, okay, it sounded more like he was scolding me, but it did get me motivated to do my best.

Long story short, I was looking to join a club this semester. I haven't really joined one ever since I quit the Baseball Club in high school. It should be nice to get back in the groove of being part of a team again.

Now what should I join? There were plenty of clubs to choose from. I was spoilt for choice.

I guess I could always start with the –

"Vacancies available," a student brayed, "at the Gardening Club! We grow flowers, vegetables and other cool plants! Drop on by and check out some greens!"

She handed me a leaflet, to which I mumbled a word of thanks, something she didn't take much notice of before running off to continue advertising his club. Did I have a green thumb? I had Mr Spiny, the potted cactus sitting at home… Did that count?

Guess not. I just couldn't see myself fiddling with soil and flowers and whatnot. It simply wasn't my thing. That's why, like I said, I should start with the –

"Ahoy there!"

That sudden voice jostled me out of my thoughts and gave me quite the jolt in the pants. Then I got a second jolt when I beheld the owner of said voice.

W-Was he supposed to be a pirate? What's with that getup? There was a tricorn hat, an eyepatch, and a hook for a hand. He even had a cheap plastic parrot fastened to his shoulder. He won't make Blackbeard proud anytime soon, but at least he tried.

Without waiting for me to respond, he growled at me in a rough yet strangely friendly manner.

"Yes, you, lad! Do you yearn for adventure? Wish to take risks but keep getting held back? Does the desire to be noticed at your best speak to you?"

"Uh… um…"

"Arrr… then you need to join the Cosplay Club, friend! We'll show you how to make your very own outfits! Help you practice so you get into character! We'll even put on a show now and again. It's all in good fun, and as a very special bonus, it boosts your confidence too!"

"Uh… sounds great…?"

What else could I say? I couldn't bear to simply shoo him away. This guy was giving it his all trying to convince me to join and he's probably said the same thing to at least two dozen other people. He deserved a medal.

His eyes lit up. "Would you like to join? It'd be splendid if you did! Anyway, in this here brochure is all the info you need to know. Hopefully we can catch you around. Well then, ta-ta for now!"

Then he was off to do the exact same routine to another student, right down to the "Arrr" thing.

Cosplay was neither my interest nor forte; while I liked seeing people dress up as my favourite anime characters, it didn't mean that I'd want to go and put on some weird outfit myself. And making the costumes themselves sounded like a huge time and money sink. No, I should go for something more manageable. Gotta start with the –

"Hi!"

"Whoa!"

"Sorry if I startled you," said the guy who had just showed up cradling a stack of flyers. After a clearing of the throat, he was back to hyper mode. "We're looking for talented individuals to join the Drama Club!"

The Drama Club? Yeah, that's a nope in my book. I decided to spare myself the hassle of having to listen to yet another spiel about club benefits and whatnot. They want drama? I'll give them drama.

"Ugh!" I clutched at my tummy, faking a pained expression. "Oh god, I'm so sorry. I gotta go take a dump real bad!"

Without waiting for him to reply, I raced off at light speed, leaving behind a trail of dust clouds in my wake. Just to be sure, I actually popped into the men's washroom and locked myself inside one of the cubicles. Okay, that's taking the act a little too far… and, admittedly, that was a little insincere of me.

But on the plus side, my newfound privacy allowed me to actually finish what I was trying to say this whole time!

That's right. I should start with the basics. I shouldn't be too adventurous when looking for a new club to join. What I wanted was something simple, yet still worth adding to my resume. As for what kind of club that would be, I really had no idea.

I did have an idea of what I should be doing right now though. The guy in the cubicle next to mine just broke wind.

The worst part was that he said aloud, "Daaaamn, son, that's the good stuff!"

I bolted out of the cubicle before my nose could be overwhelmed in the worst way possible.

XOXOXOXOXO

The first day of every new semester tends to be easy-going and today was no exception. By lunchtime I was done. Eri had no such fortune and I wound up fetching her three hours later.

"How'd your day go?" I asked, as she strapped on her seat belt. "Anything cool happen?"

"Oh, that's a real toughie. I'm not sure I can answer that adequately enough."

"Why not? Day too ordinary for you?"

"Yeah… I know it's the final sem for us but c'mon! Everyone needs to lighten up a little. They look so serious! Even when they're drinking from the water fountain they're frowning."

"Wow, talk about grey clouds. Can't blame 'em, though. It's literally their last stand."

"It's entirely possible to do your last stand with a smile. It's not that hard."

"Heh, I don't know. Have you seen soldiers smile in the line of duty? Or, when cops are making an arrest, they say, 'You have the right to remain silent and have a nice day'?"

Eri chuckled. "Gotta admit, that'd be totes funny to see."

I swerved out of campus and was soon back on the road.

"Hey, Eri," I said, "have you joined any clubs before?"

"I've dabbled in a few, sure. Why?"

"I'm looking to join a club this semester. High time I did something useful for a change."

I expected Eri to be all supportive in that happy, squeal-y way of hers. "Good for you!" I thought she would say. "It ought to be lots of fun!"

Instead, she countered me with an observation that showed she had a sharper mind than her ditzy exterior would lead one to believe.

"But Neku," she pointed out, "this is your final semester. I don't know how it's like for you, but in my college, final-year students aren't obligated to join clubs."

She wasn't wrong. "Um… same here…"

"Thought so. You can if you really want to… but should you? In this last stretch the workload will be tremendous…"

Her words put a damper on my drive to get involved in the campus community. I knew there'd be risks, but I was prepared for them. At least, I felt like I was.

"I-I'll manage somehow."

Eri found my three-word solution to the problem unsatisfactory. "That's not good enough, Neku. Look, I'm just worried history will repeat itself."

"What do you mean?"

"Remember when we started going out? You got the idea to do multiple things at a time – going to the gym, working two part-time jobs, juggling them with your assignments…"

"Ugh…"

The bad memories came flooding back. My goal to become a well-rounded boyfriend was met with abject failure; I ended up not being very good at anything because I bit off more than I could chew. Worse, I brushed off Eri's concerns as pointless nagging, thinking that I was right. I wasn't.

So I could see why she was not enthusiastic about my self-improvement journey. There's nothing wrong with changing yourself for the better; you just have to make sure your goals are realistic. And being involved in a club when you have to deal with an onslaught of final-year assignments was, on second thought, not a smart idea.

"Neku, it's not going to do you any good if you do too much multitasking. Sure, if you can handle it, more power to you. But I won't recommend it."

"Y-You might have a point."

"I do have a point," she corrected. "Why do you want to join a club anyway? This is all so sudden."

"Your dad told me to get involved and do something useful. Since he mentioned how important it is to join a club, I figured I could go with that."

Eri gave an indignant tch and snapped, "Forget about my dad! He's always asking for the impossible from people. Your future… our future is at stake here. Any extra commitments you make from here on out might jeopardize our plans. Joining a club won't do squat if you fail your courses… He'll still be mad!"

It felt like a light bulb had lit up inside my head. Now that was an even more valid point she had put forth. I'd been so overly focused on the whole matter with clubs that I failed to see the bigger picture. I usually wasn't this near-sighted; thank god Eri was there to lend me a pair of glasses when I need them most. The relief of knowing I'd dodged a bullet was without comparison.

"Damn, Eri, I didn't think about it that way. You're absolutely right."

"We can't afford to goof around anymore, Neku," she said in a serious tone she rarely used. "Part-time work is fine. WildKat pays well and you've managed nicely in your studies even when you have to work on the weekends. But taking on club activities in addition to what you already have to deal with is too much."

Those were wise words, but a small part of myself remained unconvinced.

"Hmmm, I'm still a bit concerned about what your dad said. He really stressed on the importance of 'getting involved'."

"If you really must, you can always help out at a festival or something. It doesn't have to be a club, you know."

"Would that be good enough?"

"Hey, he did say 'get involved'. That's exactly what you're going to do."

"It sounds like we're taking advantage of a loophole here…"

"And there's nothing wrong with that!"

We were home in about fifteen minutes and the first thing I did was to reach into my knapsack and fish out the flyers I'd accumulated simply from walking around campus. Every student at the start of the semester was a magnet for these things. That sure was a recruitment drive on overdrive.

Eri raised her eyebrows at the mound of stuff on the coffee table and picked one up at random.

"Latin-American Song and Dance Club?" she said, grinning. "Wow, your college has everything."

I chuckled as she sat next to me on the couch. "Dig around a bit and you'll even find a Dominatrix Club."

"Really? I bet they give out free riding crops. I've always wanted one." She even started riffling through the flyers.

"Calm yourself. I'm just kidding."

"No, you're not." She took a flyer and tapped on it with her finger. "It really is a thing. Says so right here."

Surprised, it was my turn to go, "Really? But I could've sworn that I didn't – "

"I'm just kidding."

"I… oh, uh, yeah. It's so… obvious. Of course I knew that."

Eri snorted. "Yeahhh… that's the thing. You clearly didn't. Not at all."

I shrugged. "Well, what else am I supposed to say to save face?"

"Uh-huh. Real smooth."

"I'll take that as a compliment. You know, after I've filtered the sarcasm out of it."

She snorted. "You're funny."

I picked up the topmost flyer and browsed through it very briefly. This one was the Cooking Club's very own propaganda. There was a bunch of details all printed in bold, and it basically promised plenty of fun times ahead if you joined. And just to hammer the point in, they had a photograph of all of the current members with their creations laid out on a table in front of them. Ten smiling guys and gals, together with ten delicious-looking morsels made by themselves. There was no caption attached to it, but it practically screamed, "Wish you were there!"

"Say, Eri, you said you joined some clubs, right? You joined any in college?"

Looking through another leaflet with minimal interest, she said, "I joined the Swimming Club in my first semester. Figured it's a way to get some new friends."

"Friends, huh…"

"Well, that and… when I started college I'd just dumped my 34th boyfriend," – hushing her voice to a hiss, she added, "who, by the way, was a total jerk – ugh! So I was hoping the Swimming Club would have at least one nice guy whom I could hook up with."

Ah, yes. At that time we weren't going out yet. If Eri's reputation as a serial boy-chaser hadn't cemented itself already, it sure did when she was in college. Desperate to find Mr Right, she went through boyfriends like tissue paper.

"I take it you didn't find your knight in swimming shorts there?"

She shook her head firmly. "There were no knights. Only creeps who wanted to look at boobs in real-time. I say if you wanna do just that, there's always the internet! So halfway through the sem, I quit. I wasn't going anywhere; why should I stay? After that I joined a few other clubs, one after another, but it was the same story every time. Well, okay, I did go out with the president of the Lacrosse Club for about a fortnight before I discovered that he was a huge playboy. I dumped him on the kerb in a hurry."

"Two weeks!" I broke into a laugh, astonished and amused at the absurdity of how brief that relationship was. "Wow. What's next, you dropped the Drama Club president in a week?"

"Close, but no cigar," was her nonchalant reply. "It was the treasurer I went out with."

"Uh… I was just kidding, you know."

"I'm not. Oh, and it was six days."

I whistled, totally floored by her messy love life. "Those guys don't know a good girl when they see one."

"I'm glad you do." She smiled. "Their loss."

"My gain."

Guess I won't be needing those flyers anymore. I'd be sure to keep my eyes peeled for anything big in the making, see if I couldn't lend a hand.

This was going to be a long semester indeed. Better buckle down and do my best.

XOXOXOXOXO

Even during this final semester when the number of college assignments was at an all-time high, we never once neglected our part-time work. So here I was on a sleepy Friday evening serving customers at WildKat.

Actually, make that really sleepy. Today saw an unexplainable dearth of patrons, and there was little to do as a result. At one point, I even felt kinda bored. Mr H was nowhere to be seen and likely cooped up in his office. Uzuki was also a no-show. At least Kariya did show up, albeit for a little while. That helped to alleviate the dullness of the evening somewhat.

Through a mouthful of onion rings he was trying to relate a tale to me.

"…And just like that, I was able to get Uzuki hooked on the second season of Fabled Legend Chronicles. Not bad for someone who used to call me an anime junkie, won't you say?"

"Honestly? I'm super impressed. No matter what I do to introduce anime to Eri, she won't budge."

"Aww, you probably aren't trying hard enough or something. Get her to watch FLC and she'll be a convert in no time."

"She once sat down to watch Mighty Gear: Endorian Crisis with me… and she fell asleep five minutes into the 'Battle of the Crystal Sea' episode."

Kariya raised his eyebrows, thoroughly shocked. "She fell asleep during what? That's the most exciting episode in the series!"

"Still think we can convert her?"

"Uh… no. I'm sorry, Phones. There's no hope for you. Not if she treats the 'Battle of the Crystal Sea' as little more than background noise."

A single customer ambled in, and I said the usual "Welcome" greeting. I hoped he'd stick around and make the place a little less lonely, but I was out of luck. Turned out all he wanted was a cup of orange slush on the go. It was hard keeping the smile on my face as I handed it to him for 220 yen. Then he was gone in a flash and the boredom returned. I sure was glad Kariya was here to keep me company.

"Hey Phones," he piped up. "Bro to bro… Can I ask you something?"

"Okay, shoot."

"It's kinda… uh, sensitive, though."

Cautiously I encouraged him, "Well, go ahead, why don't you? I won't mind, I promise."

"You sure?"

"I'm sure."

"Alright, uh… how long did you have to wait after you hooked up with Eri to be able to have sex?"

The absence of customers made me glad for once. That question came right out of the blue. Fighting down a blush and clearing my throat one too many times, I was reduced to a stuttering mess.

"Wh-Why do you ask?"

"Just curious, is all."

Just curious? That couldn't be the only reason. But he's a good friend whom I could trust. And with buddies this close, it's only a matter of time before they ask if and when you've done it. I made furtive glances all around me to ascertain that no one else was listening in, then admitted the truth.

"Eri wasn't ready until last summer. That makes it around nine months after we became a couple."

This tidbit of information astounded him. "Whoa, nine months? Wasn't it a drag to have to wait so long?"

"I was actually fairly patient the whole time. I mean, there's no point rushing her."

"Yeah, okay, I get that. But man!" The dude broke into a short laugh. "If you have to wait that long, I'll need forever to get to that point."

"Well, Uzuki isn't the type to rush headlong into things. And if it's about something as important as her first time, she's going to want to take things slow."

"Slow, huh? True that…"

Instead of coming up with a witty remark like he was so prone to doing, his voice just trailed off and he went back to munching on the last of his onion rings. It didn't take a whole lot to deduce that something was bothering him.

"Something the matter?" I asked. "You usually tear into those rings real fast."

"Oh, they're great, trust me. I was just doing some thinking."

Seeing as there was no one around to serve, I knew I had some time to spare. "What's on your mind?"

Hesitating for a few moments, he finally said, "It's just… well… it's about Uzuki."

"Go on."

"Ever since we started going out, it's as you said: she likes to take things slow. Our relationship has been plodding along at a snail's pace. It's almost like… she doesn't want things to progress between us at all."

"Nah, she's just trying to be careful. I bet she simply wants to make as few mistakes as possible."

He popped the final onion ring into his mouth and washed it down with a swig of soda. "Maybe, but… whenever I try to move the relationship forward, she stops me dead in my tracks."

"Huh? How so?"

But before I could get any more out of him, he rose from his seat and prepared to leave. "Sorry, pal, I'll have to tell you all about it some other time. There's a show I gotta catch."

"If you say so." I took a couple of 1000 yen bills from him and gave him his change. "Just talk to me whenever you feel like it."

He mulled over it for a moment, then, "You know what? I need to get this off my chest somehow. How about you pop by my place tomorrow? I think I need a talk… like, a real talk."

"Sure, why not?"

Once we'd arranged a suitable time for our "real talk", he scurried away, not wanting to be late for his favourite anime. What kind of girl troubles were we looking at here? They're going out… Did Uzuki not wish to grow closer to her boyfriend? Or maybe…

Hmmm… Kariya must have a hard time of it…

XOXOXOXOXO

Saturday afternoon came and it was time to get to the bottom of the mystery of Kariya's love life. He'd prepared an extra-large portion of edamame – salted boiled green soybeans – for us to tuck into while we talked. We squeezed the beans out of the pods before popping them into our mouths. Simple stuff, but real good.

"So, Phones," he said, "wanna pick up where we left off?"

"Yeah, go ahead. You said Uzuki prefers to go slow?"

"Uh-huh. Our relationship isn't going anywhere. Wonder what I'm doing wrong…"

"Well, have you got a specific example that you can use to illustrate what the current situation is like?"

"I got one alright." He grabbed a handful of edamame and dumped them into his bowl. "I've been treading very carefully this whole time, so I figured it won't be too much for me to ask for a kiss two months into the relationship, right? When we had a moment of peace to ourselves, and I thought we had a good mood going, I made my move… but she simply said that she wasn't ready. Fair enough. A bit disappointing, but this is Uzuki we're talking about. I knew she won't be that easy."

"Just for the record, Kariya, you didn't try anything funny, did you?"

"Of course I didn't."

"You didn't push her down, slobber all over her and proclaim, 'Time for dinner!'… right?"

He frowned at me and muttered, "After all of the camaraderie we've shared, I'm shocked that you still have so little confidence in me. Shocked, I tell you."

"S-Sorry," I gulped, "I meant no offense. I just wanted to be sure you didn't go and practice what a typical protagonist in an erotic visual novel might do in your shoes."

"You have a strange way of showing that you care for your friends. Anyway, you're cool, I guess."

"Uh… so, um… what happened after you tried to kiss Uzuki?"

Between a couple of sips of orange juice he replied, "I thought it'd be awkward hanging around her after that, but everything went back to normal by the next day, surprisingly enough. I learnt my lesson; about a couple of weeks later, I actually asked her directly if we could kiss. Figured there's no way you could offend someone if you're so forward about it."

"How'd she react?"

"She wasn't mad in the slightest, and even appreciated that I asked for her permission first, so it was a good start. But she still didn't want to do it."

"Hmmm, no luck, huh…"

Kariya sighed in a dejected manner. "Yeah, that's when I knew I was fighting an uphill battle. You know how Eri's always all over you with her skinship and stuff? Well, Uzuki's her direct opposite. She plain isn't comfortable with intimacy."

"That's… rough. So how far have you gone with her, anyway?"

He shook his head sadly. "Not far at all, if it can even be called that. You already know how kissing went. Hugging didn't fare any better; she just pushed me away. And when I tried to hold hands for the first time, she was so reluctant… She eventually said okay, and we did get to it, but hell if that wasn't the most awkward one minute in my life. You don't ask to hold hands; it should come as naturally as breathing or eating."

His tale left me at a loss for words. But I was savvy enough not to start pointing fingers. Surely Uzuki had her reasons to be the way she was.

Kariya complained further, "It's almost like she has an aversion to being touched or something. Almost like… she doesn't want to go out with me to begin with."

The resignation in his voice as he said that felt like a punch to the gut. I hurried to put him at ease as best as I could manage.

"Come on," I said, "I won't go so far as to say that. I'm confident she still loves you; she's just not great at showing affection. You know how she is."

"I know how she is, trust me. And yes, she sucks at skinship but if your girlfriend doesn't even want to hold hands, isn't that, like, a big red warning sign?"

"Well… um…" I didn't have anything to counter that. He did have a point.

"To be fair, she did put some effort into making the relationship stick… at first. We had some dates that we enjoyed, and I think she initially did reciprocate my feelings for her, to a degree anyway."

"I remember how embarrassed she was to admit that she was going out with you, but I think she seemed happy."

"Well, that was then and this is now. I honestly don't know about now. I don't rightly know when it all went downhill, but at some point the magic just… stopped."

I chose my words carefully, knowing they ran the risk of hurting him further. "Am I wrong to say that you two don't feel like an actual couple anymore?"

Kariya tried to find the right answer for me, but overcoming the struggle from within his heart was no easy task. It's like he was desperately looking for a way to deny what I just said. Unfortunately for him, he couldn't and had to admit the truth.

"You ain't wrong, Phones," he muttered. "I… I don't know if she even has feelings for me anymore."

I could offer no words of comfort. I frankly didn't know what was best to say.

"I think she's tired of our relationship," he added. "After all, we're not doing a whole lot of the things a normal couple should be doing. We don't go out anymore, we… hang out, more like. And while it's easy to dismiss this as her wanting to play things safe, let me remind you we've been dating for quite a while now… quite a few months, at least half a year? People would be sucking each other's faces off by the end of the first or second month!"

"Did you talk to her about it yet?"

"I did. But she insisted that everything was alright between us. I've been her buddy for long enough to know what's alright and what's not, and this was definitely a 'not'. When I pressed her about it, however, she didn't have anything else to add on the matter."

That's not a lot to go on… Admittedly, I wanted to know what exactly was up with her too.

"Kariya," I offered, "I can talk to her about it if you like, see if I can't jimmy the truth outta her. Of course, I'll be real tactful. So… how about it?"

He brightened up considerably. "You really will? That would be a great help! I can't seem to get anything out of her, but maybe you'd have better luck than I did. Just remember she can be really tight-lipped." His hopeful smile dropped into a frown right away, however. "Still, it's not right that I have to rely on someone else for answers when she could just tell it to me straight. I thought communication is supposed to be an integral part of relationships."

I reached out to squeeze his shoulder. "Sorry this had to happen, man. Now, I can't promise you anything. But I will give it my best shot, you have my word."

He smiled. It was a sad smile, but the appreciation was clear to see. "Thanks, Phones. And good luck to you. I have a feeling you're gonna need it…"

We polished off the rest of the edamame and steered the conversation towards other topics, talking for an hour before it was time for me to leave.

As I returned home, I pondered hard over what I should say to Uzuki to get her lips flapping.

XOXOXOXOXO

"Okay, Neku. You can do this. Deep breaths."

Two hours later, I was pacing back and forth along the hallway that led to Uzuki's doorstep. I should not be this nervous, but I needed her to spill the beans on the circumstances surrounding her relationship and it made for some potentially touchy subject matter. It had to be done, though.

Here I stood, facing her front door. I was about to undertake a risky mission; in my mind's eye, even the doorbell looked intimidating. I raised my finger, poised to press it…

The moment both connected, the doorbell rang…

"Oi."

Startled, I jumped back. Couldn't say I've seen many doorbells that were programmed to let out a pre-recorded greeting, let alone such a crude one as, "Oi".

It rang again, and this time I didn't even need to press it.

"Oi! What're you doing here?"

Wait, that's not the doorbell! I looked around, and approaching me from the left was none other than Uzuki, arms straining from a bag of groceries in each hand. Speak of the devil. I didn't even have the luxury of composing myself beforehand!

My mind went blank from panic and my mouth was on autopilot. "O-Oh, hi, Uzuki! What brings you here?"

She raised one eyebrow, sort of a silent "Really?" directed at me. "Uh… I live here, you know."

"R-Right! Of course!" Damn, great start, Neku. "I wanted to talk to you. It's really important."

"Huh. Okay, sure."

Been a while since I visited her. The last time I was here, it was over half a year ago. Befitting of her strict personality, her apartment was decorated in the most basic, spartan manner one could think of. It looked more like an office than an actual home. One would almost expect her to wear a suit, which made her shorts-and-T-shirt ensemble clash all the more with her surroundings.

She laid down two glasses of water for us and joined me at the coffee table.

"Alright, Neku," she said, "let's hear it."

"Um, I hope you don't take offense or anything, but I just would like to know how everything is faring between you and Kariya."

Her face changed from one of indifference to that of a strange, unexplainable sadness.

"Did he?" she muttered. "Did Kariya get you to talk to me in his stead?"

"Something like that… This was mostly my idea though."

Uzuki simply shrugged. "Ah well, guess it doesn't matter who asked who. Since it's come to this, I figure I should start talking already."

Having downed half her glass of water, she was finally ready to talk, a far cry from her tight-lipped self that Kariya claimed she was. Maybe she's been dodging the issue for so long that she's gotten tired.

"Listen, I know things haven't been going well between him and I. We're not intimate, we hardly go on actual dates anymore, all that stuff. I get it. But… I don't think I can consider him a romantic option after all."

Taken aback, I pressed, "You can't see yourself… loving him?"

She didn't answer my question directly. "Kariya's never said it outright before his big confession, but I knew he's had a thing for me for a while. When he finally asked me out, I gotta admit I was flattered… though I wasn't sure if he could see him as more than a friend. 'Cause that's as far as things went between us up till that point. Just friends. Still, since he was so eager to date me, I felt that I should at least give it my all. And somewhere along the line, I did start to like him romantically, to some extent.

"But not long afterwards, I felt like something was missing. There's supposed to be that special thing you feel when you're in a relationship, but I wasn't feeling it. It's neither his fault nor mine. It's just… while we can get along as friends, I don't think we're suited to being in a relationship. Maybe… Maybe we never were. That's why I never felt comfortable with doing things like hugging… or holding hands… or… or…" – her face reddened a little as she braced herself to say the K-word – "…kissing… It just didn't feel right."

Now that's sad to hear. Eri had been hoping the two Reapers would get together and, for that matter, so did I, though I wasn't as manic about it as she was. Hearing Uzuki herself say that there was never a chance to begin with felt like a handful of sand to the face. But it's as she said: no one was at fault. She simply couldn't love him in a romantic sense, and that was all.

"Uzuki," I gulped, "is that how you really feel about your relationship?"

In a rare tone of uneasiness she replied, "Yes."

"So… you're saying you'd prefer if you and Kariya stayed friends?"

Now looking even more uneasy, she squeezed her arm at the elbow. "I… I think that'd be for the best. But I don't know how to break the news to him without getting him upset. As weird as he can get at times, and as much as he can get on my nerves… he's still an alright fellow, and I don't want to hurt his feelings. And… I don't want things to be awkward between us afterwards. I simply want us to go back to the way things were before we went out."

She's serious about this. I didn't know how well Kariya would take this, but he didn't want to stay in the dark either. One way or another, he had to know. And the best way to do that – the only way – was…

Hesitantly, I said, "Uzuki, I think you should tell him about this yourself."

The beginnings of a feeble protest came out of her mouth. "B-But…"

"It's not right to keep dodging the issue. It's not fair to him; he needs to know. And it'd be insincere if you got me to relay the news to him. It has to come from you."

Seeing the truth in my words, she nodded slowly in acknowledgement but I could tell this was not something she was looking forward to doing.

"Alright, I'll tell him myself," she said quietly. "Just give me a little time to think of what to say… and I'll get right to it."

"I won't press you, Uzuki. I'll leave you to it. It gotta be done, though."

"Yeah… I know. Hey, thanks for the… um, talk."

"Don't worry about it."

Would Kariya be ready for the rude awakening that awaited him?

He'd better…

XOXOXOXOXO

There was nothing else I could do for Kariya and Uzuki. Hopefully she would not take too long to tie up all of the loose ends with him.

The last thing I expected was for her to end it so quickly. I thought she'd take her sweet time mustering the courage to face him and it'd be a week later before she made the split official. But late that very night, I got a call from Kariya. Over the line his voice bore a deflated tone.

"Um, could you come on over if it's not too much trouble for you? Think I need a bro to listen to me for a spell."

That's the second time I'd meet him today. At the time I didn't know what was up, but he sounded like he needed help. The emotional kind. And I was right. There were a couple of times while we talked when he'd stare blankly into the air.

"In a nutshell," he began, "Uzuki and I just broke up."

I was surprised, not from the break-up itself because I knew it was pretty much a given, but from how quickly it happened. Uzuki must have been really tired of the whole thing.

"Kariya… Y-You're… Are you serious?"

"I am. It's official. We're not going out anymore."

For a second or two I didn't know what to say. I just stared at him, slack-jawed as I racked my brains trying to think of the most tactful thing to say.

"Could you, uh, tell me what happened exactly? …Well, only if you feel like it. If you don't wish to talk about it and just want us to chill, that's fine too."

"Nah, I called you here because I need to get this off my chest. So come on and sit down."

He sat cross-legged on his bed. I pulled out his swivel chair, turned it around and sat with the back of the chair against my chest. Having made ourselves comfortable, he began to recount his tale.

"Uzuki dropped by," he said. "Couple of hours ago. Said that she wanted to talk about our relationship…"

XOXOXOXOXO

Uzuki and Kariya sat side-by-side on his bed, wearing grim expressions. She had news to tell and he knew it wasn't the good, happy sort.

"Kariya," she began with uncharacteristic nervousness, "what do you think of our… relationship?"

"Our relationship, huh…"

"Yeah."

It wasn't all fine and dandy, no two ways about it. All of his efforts to bridge the distance between them had ended in failure. She showed little to no interest in getting closer. They were pretty much a couple in name only. And this couldn't go on.

Kariya sighed. "To put it lightly, we're not going anywhere."

The sadness that ate at Uzuki was plain to see. "I thought you'd feel that way."

"Listen, girl… I'm not mad or anything. But this isn't what you'd call a healthy relationship. We can't float around like this doing nothing to move things forward. And it's been this way for far too long."

"I… I know. I'm just…"

"Scared? Worried?"

"N-Not quite." She reached up to tease a lock of her hair in an effort to keep the butterflies in her stomach at bay. "We're good friends, you and I. But I've been so used to the way things have always been that frankly, I find it impossible to think of us as anything more. When you confessed to me last year, I was willing to give it a chance. Even I thought it might work out. But… I guess at the end of the day, I can only see you as a friend."

He expected this to be the reason she's been so distant, but hearing it from the horse's mouth nonetheless still left him speechless.

There was one last thing Uzuki had to say. "I'm sorry, Kariya. I don't know if we should do this anymore."

He needed a few seconds to compose himself and rearrange the hodgepodge of thoughts flying around in his head. No amount of mental preparation would ever be sufficient for something that sounded so final as this.

But he did find his voice again. "Well, I thought with how close we already are, we could really click, you know? As a couple, I mean. But I guess being friends and being lovers are two different things. And the two of us… I don't think we make great lovers."

"Sounds about right, I'm afraid. Um… sorry."

"Don't sweat it, man. If we're not meant to be a couple in the first place, there's nothing either of us can do about it. But at least now we know."

"Yeah…"

"Still, I don't have any regrets." His eyes were glazed over with a reminiscing look. "There were some fun times to be had. Remember that time we went to the ice rink?"

Uzuki allowed herself a small smile. "That one was fun."

"Heh, yeah… I totally didn't know you're a pro. And here I thought I could show you the ropes. Anyway, even when our 'dates' ended up no different from our usual 'hanging out' routine, I still found some joy in them. So I won't say it's all a waste."

"M-Me neither."

After they were done going over the good memories and the laughs petered out, the two sat in silence for a few moments. They knew how this would have to end – the only way it could.

In a small voice, Kariya said, "Well… I hate to be the one to say it, but it doesn't look like it's gonna do us any good if we keep this up."

Uzuki reluctantly agreed. "Might be for the best if we just… stop."

"Does this mean we're breaking up?"

Faced with such a difficult question, she hesitated, leading to another period of silence.

But eventually, she had her answer.

"…Yes. I'm sorry."

He felt his shoulders sag the moment she confirmed that they were through. At the same time, however, a part of him was glad that he didn't have to deal with their stagnant relationship any longer. It was a strange mixture of sadness and relief.

"That's okay," said Kariya. "It's better that we break up, actually. Ain't much use sticking together if there's no love between us."

"My thoughts exactly. Sad but true."

"No hard feelings, Uzuki. I'm just thankful that you gave me a chance."

"And you me."

"If you don't mind, I've got one request."

A puzzled Uzuki pressed him. "A request?"

"Can we remain friends, please? I'd hate to lose a buddy like you."

She snorted, amused yet clearly touched by his words. He looked somewhat scared, as though she was going to walk out of his life forever. Throwing a gentle punch at his arm, she said, "You know that's a dumb question, right?"

He offered her a hopeful smile. Their one shot at love may have failed, but their friendship hadn't. And for that he was grateful.

"Then… ramen at 5 tomorrow, as usual?"

"Sure. Just don't do a dine-and-dash on me, or I'll find you."

"I'd better look for a good hiding spot, then."

XOXOXOXOXO

"And that's it," he said. "Thus endeth the love life of Koki Kariya… for the time being."

"Sorry to hear about that," I said. "I'd always been rooting for you two, Eri even more so."

He braved a smile. "Thanks, man, I know. Bit of a shame, really. Uzuki and I go way back, so I was hoping for something deeper between us."

I knew where he was coming from. It's only natural to develop feelings for someone you're really close to.

"But like I said," he said, "it's better this way."

"Yeah, you're right… Might be better to just let go instead of… well, clinging onto the false hope that something good will happen eventually."

He laughed, though it sounded more like a dry rattle. "I guess my first kiss is still a long way off."

"You'll get your chance one day," I said, patting him on the arm. "And hey, at least you got some experience out of this. Next time you find a nice girl, you'll know what to do."

"Damn straight. Hey, thanks for listening."

"Don't mention it. Will everything be fine with you?"

"I'm not glass, man. Sure, it felt like crud but I'm not gonna break. Besides, we had mutual feelings on the break-up, remember? I might need a few days to bounce back though."

"Take all the time you need."

And that was that for the two Reapers' relationship. Their love life was over, but it was good that they'd remain friends. Silver linings, you know?

XOXOXOXOXO

"Back already?" called Eri when I returned. She had half of a stick of ice-cream in between her teeth.

"Yeah…"

"I went downstairs for a spell when you were out. Got myself some ice cream. Chocolate mint flavor. Go sink your teeth into it! It's totes awesome!"

But I wasn't in the mood for ice-cream. I crashed onto the couch where I sat slouched and listless. She immediately noticed that not all was well and curled up beside me.

"Something the matter, Neku?"

I pursed my lips trying to think of the gentlest way to break the news to her. Being an ardent supporter of the two Reapers' now-extinct relationship, she sure as heck won't take it well.

"Neku?"

"Kariya just told me," I began, "that he and Uzuki just broke up."

Eri went slack-jawed and almost dropped the ice cream from her mouth. Yeah, I knew it.

"They what?!" she spluttered. "Are you for real?"

"Yeah… for real."

I told her everything. As the facts sank in, she calmed down and resigned herself to the truth.

"So that's how it is," she muttered. "That's… a real shame, you know?"

"I know. It's too bad."

"It isn't just 'too bad'… That's, like, a whole can of wasted potential! Just think of all of the juicy stories we'd be missing out on! And I was so hoping to be a 'cool big sister' to her…"

"Uh-huh… Real hard of me to imagine you as the 'big sister' archetype though, seeing as she's older than you."

"Yeah, but she's a greenhorn in romance-related matters. She could use some advice here and there from someone she can trust, and if I don't step up to the plate and take her under my wing, then who will?"

Uzuki gave me a lot of advice when I was chasing Eri though…

"Heck," she dementedly continued, "since we'd both have boyfriends, we could be swapping tips on how to ride the snake better, if you… ahem, get my drift."

Good god, this girl and her innuendos… "I get it, Eri. Geez. But seriously, this is what they both want. I know you ship them hard, but please respect their decision."

"I know… I'm not selfish. I'm not going to try and get them back together if they don't want to."

I wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. She snuggled up to me in response.

"Kinda scary how their relationship didn't work out," I said quietly. "If you don't play your cards right and reach a dead end? Then all that's left is to go your separate ways. Seeing how it turned out with them, I'm real thankful we're still together. The last thing I want… is for us to break – "

"Shush!" She pressed a finger to my lips, cutting me off gently. "I'm not even going to consider that possibility. We'll be alright. You and I are will always be together… I promise. So please… don't say negative things like that anymore, okay?"

"O-Okay, you're right. I just… I'm just overwhelmed by all of this."

"I know. I feel the same way too." She nuzzled into my neck, her breath tickling my skin. "But we're still here; that's what matters."

"Yeah…"

"You may be a huge dork much of the time but at least you're the best dork I could ever bargain for."

I smirked. "My dork to your sex maniac. Sounds like a dream come true."

"Hee hee… dork."

"Sex maniac."

We shared a light laugh. It didn't take long for a good mood to brew between us… and just to be sure our relationship was in the clear, I uttered the magic words to her.

"I love you."

And to that she replied, "I love you too. Stay by my side, please."

"I will."

The aroma of chocolate mint ice-cream wafted into my mouth as our lips pressed together. It was refreshing, to say the least.

XOXOXOXOXO

Following the bittersweet resolution of the Reapers' breakup, we didn't get to see either of them for the next two or so days. We had questions that begged answering, but I was sure they needed the breathing space.

"They'll talk when they're ready," I said. "Let's leave them be for now."

We stood on the balcony of our apartment, looking at the people milling around on the streets below. Then Eri grabbed my arm all of a sudden and directed my attention towards a pair of familiar figures, walking towards each other.

"It's them," she said. "Look."

"I see them."

Uzuki and Kariya… him coming from the left and her from the right, certain to meet in the middle. We waited with bated breath, wondering how their interactions in the wake of their breakup would go.

They stopped to chat briefly, and although we couldn't hear what they were saying, they at least appeared to still be on good terms. Then they went their separate ways, mingling with the throng of pedestrians, and we were back to people-watching.

"Their friendship isn't sunk, at least," said Eri, with a wistful smile. "That's good."

"I guess things will be back to the way they used to be before they went out."

"Back to square one."

"He won't hit on her anymore, that's for sure."

"Yeah…" Brightening up, she said, "Oh well, it'll be interesting to see who they go out with next. And since they'll be dating different people, that's twice the fun!"

I smiled. It's just like her to see the bright side of things.

"Heh, I smell double dates for them."

"And if we join in," she giggled, "it'll be a triple date!"

"Nah, pass. Six people on one date is too overcrowded."

But she wasn't one to be deterred. "Hee hee… You never know till you try!"