Chapter Nineteen

"That's a lovely picture," Ms. Eguchi says, setting her teacup down.

"Thank you!" Yume chirps, switching the crayon for the paper and holding it up proudly. "This is me, and that's Miwa and Makoto, and that's Haru!"

"Your friends from dance class, correct?"

"Ee!" Yume nods and goes back to methodically filling in outlines. "I know the other girls my age, but a lot of them were already friends before class and don't really talk to me outside of class."

"Oh," the woman blinks, tilting her head curiously. "You don't sound too sad about that."

"I'm not," Yume shrugs, filling in the pink of Haru's leotard with a red crayon. "I can talk to the others, and that's all I need. And I can always find a partner for partner-things."

"That's good, dear," Ms. Eguchi sighs, relieved. Yume risks a glance up – not for the first time wishing she had bangs to hide behind – when the woman picks up her tea again. The girl looks back down at the drawing, not knowing she's being watched closely by her neighbor. "Enomoto's taking his sweet time…"

Yume makes a noise in her throat, switching crayons. "He seemed very excited for this all week…"

"I am too, but don't tell the others." Ms. Eguchi throws a wink at the curious child. "I haven't seen these people in almost two years. I babysat half of them, just like with Sojiro. He was the oldest of the bunch, though, so he never got to know them. Enomoto and I keep trying to convince him to come to these get-togethers, but he never seems to make it."

"He said he's coming tomorrow," Yume says with surety because Sojiro doesn't lie or make false promises.

"Sure he is," Ms. Eguchi says, fake understanding lacing her tone. He's never gone to one of these, and she's positive he never will.

The door dings open and Ms. Eguchi's mouth spreads into an elated smile. The woman gets up, arms spreading out for a hug. "Caro, it's been far too long."

"Hello, Maki," the tanned man steps into her embrace, patting her back. "Look at you, barely aged a day."

"You flatter," the woman deadpans, stepping back and observing the family. "Ms. Devinia, girls, it's lovely to see."

"Hello, Maki," says the petite woman, the preteen twin girls giving their greetings behind their mother. "And who might you be?"

"This is Yume," Ms. Eguchi says, walking back to the booth to put an arm around the tiny four year old. "Yume, this is Mr. and Ms. Devinia, and their daughters Harlie and Yamara."

"Hello!" Yume calls, standing on the bench seat to wave at them. She pretends the judging looks from the other children don't bother her. "It's nice to meet you."

"And you as well," Ms. Devinia says softly, lightly ushering her children towards Yume. "Why don't you go sit with her, girls?"

"Alright, mum," Harlie sniffs while Yamara purses her lips. Yume drops back into her seat, keeping her smile on her face even as the girls look down their noses at her. It's the 'we're only here because of our parents' faces. There is no lost love going on here. "So… how old are you, Yume."

"I'm four!" Yume says cutely, throwing in a hand with four fingers held up. And wow, does it ever feel good to antagonise these girls. Yamara won't look at her and Harlie is twitching in her seat.

"Oh," Harlie forces out of her throat. "That's… nice. We're almost thirteen."

"So cool!" Yume gushes, tilting her head and widening her eyes. "Are you in school, then?"

"Of course," Yamara finally speaks up, her voice dry. "Why, are you excited to go?"

"Ee!" Yume lies, bobbing her head. The twins grimace one after the other. "There are so many people and so many things to learn!"

"It's not all that great," Yamara deadpans.

"What she means," Harlie says through gritted teeth and a glare at her sister, "is that school gets harder the longer you're in it."

"Sounds like fun!"

Yume almost breaks composure at the disgusted looks they aim her way. She's saved by the bell above the door going off, followed by a snappy, harsh tinged voice hissing out, "Why did you stop?"

Yume turns to see a man in a business suit and a woman in a sundress. The woman glares at something below her, fingers digging into fists. Yume follows her gaze down and –

-water and gasoline–

- the girl freezes for a split second.

"Hi!" Yume plasters on a big smile, unable to turn away from the wide grey eyes locked onto hers. "I'm Yume!"

"Oh, Nori," Ms. Eguchi stands and walks over. The man drops the woman's arm in order to hug Maki. "Honestly, how long has it been since you've been in Tokyo?"

"Too long," the man rumbles. "Maki, you remember Kimiko and Akira, yes?"

"Ms. Kurusu," Ms. Eguchi shakes the woman's hand before turning to the boy. "And yes, I remember Akira."

The boy's grey eyes rip away from Yume to stare at the older woman. He nods his greeting, looking rather pale. Yume doesn't blame him; it's taking longer than last time for the feeling to fade. She wants to be afraid, but… he's can't be more than a year or two older than her. With Tetsuya, it was obvious why there was a strong feeling. That teenager is a main character. This boy… is just a kid.

Or maybe Yume's just weird and all of this is happening in her head.

"Go with the kids, Akira," the father ushers his son half-heartedly. Akira's shoulders turn inward and he shuffles his way over. "Caro, how have you been?"

"Come sit here," Yume urges, making room for the boy. He can't really sit next to the other girls, as they spread across their bench as soon as the door opened. He blinks up from under his black fringe, then ducks his head down again and tries to lift onto the bench. He pauses when Yume slides over, slowly holding out a hand. "Here; trust me, I know how hard it is to get on these chairs."

He latches onto her hand and pulls himself up, mouth moving with barely a sound coming out. Yume smiles at him and almost over pulls him. Either he's too light, or her exercises are finally giving her some muscle.

"Hi, Akira," Harlie drawls, face almost bored. "How have you been?"

The boy lets out a breath and flashes a thumb up.

Yamara elbows her sister, hissing, "Now who's the insensitive one. He has lyric slits, remember?"

Yume's eyebrows shoot up and she turns to the embarrassed boy. Lyric slits - a genetic disease that can't be tested for – mean that there is scarring on the patients throat that can't be removed and causes them pain to talk at certain volumes. By the silence of the boy, she assumes he can't talk higher than a whisper, if that.

"I don't mean to be rude," Yume mutters to the pale boy while the sisters fight to themselves, "but are you able to talk at any volume, or would you like a crayon and paper to write on?"

Akira, who looks startled at first, slowly relaxes and breathes out, "Can speak softly."

"Alright," Yume smiles easily and nods to her paper and colouring supplies. "If you ever get tired, just use that. Okay?"

He smiles shyly back and nods, letting his legs drop from his chest to under the table. "Kurusu Akira."

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Kurusu-" Yume stops when he shakes his head.

"Akira, please."

She smiles so hard her cheeks hurt. "I'm just Yume."

"Yume." He nods.

She giggles, and could have almost forgotten that he made her feel strange at first glance. The way he stares at her, with wonder and interest, reminds her of it, though. She can look at him and see that he's just a kid; a kid who's forced to be quiet by a birth defect. He's someone who's happy to have a person ready to listen and talk to him instead of around him. He isn't a main character. He's a kid.

Like her.

Besides, she's already decided not to actively avoid those that trigger the feeling. "I'm going to guess, by their reaction, this isn't your first get-together with them?"

Akira barely glances at the twins when she motions to them, instead keeping a laser-focus on her. He nods, that small smile coming and going on his face.

"It's my first," Yume sighs, dropping her head dramatically. She peeks an eye open at him. "Ms. Eguchi is my neighbor, and we eat out here for dinner a lot."

He nods in understanding. "She drags you?"

Yume smiles and laughs again. "Well, I like Mr. Enomoto's cooking, too. She pays, so that's really why I get dragged around."

His eyebrows furrow.

"My babysitter sometimes forgets to buy dinner," Yume says. It's not really a lie. Yume is her own babysitter now. And sometimes she forgets to buy dinner on the way home from dance classes. His eyes widen and Yume quickly assures him. "No worries though. Ms. Eguchi is very nice and Mr. Enomoto is a very good chef!"

He opens his mouth, and then shuts when the overheard bell rings. Yume moves slowly, but he seems content to just watch her instead of speaking. The girl stands on the bench and looks over to see the final family and Mr. Enomoto have arrived.

"Muze," the twins greet in sync, shifting over to let the younger girl up.

Yume sits back down with a wave to the adults Ms. Eguchi introduces. Then she turns to the porcelain-white girl about her age and waves. "Hi. I'm Yume."

"Muze," the other girl greets with a wide smile and narrowed eyes. Then she turns to the twins without another thought. "How are you two?"

Yume blinks a few times before turning to Akira. "Was that rude?" The boy blinks; startled she's still talking to him. "I think that was rude. Was that rude?"

He looks over to the three girls sharing a bench, and then back to the small black and red haired girl. Akira holds up two fingers and then smushes them.

"A little?" Yume asks. He nods. "Yah, you're right. Do you have to go through this every time, or is it just because I'm here?"

He's shaking his head before she finishes, pointing to himself.

"Really?" she frowns; sitting crossed legged on the bench so she can face him. She lightly pokes him so he looks up at her. "You're really nice, you know?" By his disbelieving look, he doesn't. "You are. I can tell, you know? Just by looking at you." He blinks and raises an eyebrow and she's so jealous. "Are you alright if I bother them? I swear it will be funny."

He straightens, finally lifting his head up all the way. His grey eyes are as deep and expressive as the first time she looked at them head-on. He slowly looks over at the gossiping three, and then jerks his head back to her expectant gaze. "Nothing mean."

"Of course," Yume nods. She uncrosses her legs and straightens properly on the bench, throwing him a wink. "Now watch.

"Excuse me!" Yume whines loudly, making Akira flinch. She reaches over and squeezes his hand apologetically. The desired effect happens, and the teenagers glance over. "Hey! You guys aren't talking to us!"

"Sorry, Yume," Harlie says with a strained smile. "We were just catching up."

Yume pouts, eyes going wide. "What about? This is my first time here, you know? I want to know about you guys too!"

Well, their pinched expressions are beautiful for her to witness. She does a quick scan with an innocent expression, and picks up Akira's small gape. Apparently he didn't think she could pull it off. Wow.

"So?" Yume draws out the word when Harlie tries to put on a fake smile. Said teenager grits her teeth. "What are we talking about?"

She is going to have fun with this.

;;;

Yume has to yank her hand out of Akira's tight grip in order to flick his leg. This is the fifth time he's almost cracked out a laugh, lips steadily twitching higher and grip getting more and more painful as he tries to swallow his joy at other's expense.

Yamara looks ready to cry in relief when her parents call them to leave. The siblings quickly hurry out of the booth, Muze following behind to ask her parents when it's time to go.

"I'm probably not going to be invited back," Yume sighs. It's too bad; she was starting to like the girls under their pointed exterior.

"I'll request you," Akira whispers, slumping onto her shoulder, shaking. Yume startles, and then wraps an arm around him. He shakes it off, falling into her lap and burying his head to hide his laughter.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it," Yume smirks, lightly tugging on one of his curls. "I'll be here all weekend."

"Really?" he asks, turning onto his back so he can face her.

"Of course," Yume smiles back. "My dance classes are cancelled this weekend for the holiday."

He makes a face. "Have to take dance classes too."

"Oh, what kind?" Yume tilts her head curiously. "I'm taking ballet."

"Formal dance," he barely breathes out the words, still watching her with that all-seeing gaze.

"Maybe you could teach me a few moves," Yume smiles cutely. He raises his eyebrow again, somehow snagging her hand even though he can't see it. He brings it up and plays with her fingers. "What? You don't even have to say anything, just position me and drag me back and forth across the room."

He smiles that small smile of his. "If you put it that way…"

"Akira," the gruff voice of Mr. Kurusu sounds beside the booth. Yume looks over, while the boy in her lap jerks up with stiff limbs. "We're leaving."

Akira nods and moves to get out. Yume lightly tugs on his shirt, making him freeze.

"Here," Yume scribbles her phone number down and rips it off her drawing, leaving barely any space above 'her' head. She reaches around the frozen boy and drops the paper in his locked fingers. "This is my number. It's free to call me, long distance or not." One of the few things her parents set up, like they would have had the thought to phone their forgotten daughter. "So, you know, call me whenever. I don't care if it's for a chat or to rant or whatever. Just, yah."

"Thanks," he breathes out the word, not looking as he slides off the bench. Yume watches concerned as he shuffles his way over to his parents. His mother glares at him and his father ignores him in favour of saying goodbye to the two adults left. Akira lifts his head up straight once more to look at her unhindered. She waves with a small smile. He nods, and then follows his parents out.

"Did you have a nice time, Yume?" Mr. Enomoto asks.

"Yes, sir," Yume replies, making her way to the two. "But I think I may have been annoying."

"What?" Ms. Eguchi scoffs. "Yume, you aren't annoying, dear."

Yume shrugs, frown pulling at her lips. "Then maybe the others just don't like me. Akira is nice, though."

"I'm glad you made a friend," Ms. Eguchi coos, reaching down and offering her hand. Yume takes it, a little shocked at how late it actually is. "How about we go eat out tonight?"

"Am I not good enough for you?" Mr. Enomoto jokes.

"We'll see enough of each other tomorrow," Ms. Eguchi says dryly. Once out, she smirks at the girl. "So, how much of that was you defending the young Kurusu and how much was just to annoy the girls?"

"Why, Ms. Eguchi," Yume gasps with fake innocence. "I am shocked that you would even suggest that…" the girl smirks, "that I would do it for completely unselfish reasons."

And the woman laughs.

;;;

It's near midnight and the phone rings. Yume frowns - quickly putting her datamining on pause - and skips to the receiver. "Ishii family household, Ishii Yume speaking."

"..It's Akira."

"Hi," Yume smiles and walks back over to her laptop. "Long time no see. What's up?"

She hears a relieved breath through the phone and the sound of shuffling. "I… I'm sorry for phoning so late."

"Hey, it's no problem." Yume puts the phone in one ear and finishes off her self-appointed job. "I did tell you, you can phone whenever, didn't I?"

"Yes," he breathes out another relieved breath. "Yes… You did."

"Then it's okay," Yume shrugs to shift the phone into a more comfortable position. "Don't ever worry about phoning me. I'll call you back if I ever miss your call, eh?"

"Thank you," he rushes out softly.

"So," Yume draws out the word. Again she asks, "What's up?"

It takes him a moment to answer. "Would you mind… if we talk… until my parents come back?"

"That's no problem," Yume replies easily.

"It… They won't be back for at least an hour."

Well now, that is interesting. "Again, it's no problem." It's not like she won't be awake for a couple more hours. Yume backs out of the program she's tapped into and starts shutting down her computer. "I'm glad you called. Normally it's pretty quiet this time of night."

He chuckles, and it takes her a moment to remember that he is a quiet person. "Are… your parents asleep?"

"They are actually out of the country right now," Yume replies, shutting her laptop screen and leaning back. "I'm the only one awake in my apartment."

"Oh…" he sounds interested, but doesn't touch further on the topic. Instead, he starts by asking if she has any favourite books she reads before bed.

They talk for an hour and a half, Akira quickly telling her he has to go when he hears his parents at their hotel door. Yume calls a goodbye, and then stares at the phone in her hand with a mixture of feelings. The kid is so nice and polite, with a mischievous side peeking out every now and then. And he stayed on the phone with her for an hour and a half, with neither of them ever running out of conversation. It's a nice feeling and goodness did she ever miss that.

No expectations. Just a friend – maybe-friend – looking for a chat.

"Maybe I need to get out more," Yume ponders, standing with a groan as she goes to return the phone. Or maybe, just maybe, she needs to enjoy what the weekend brings. New friends and all.

A/N: Thanks for reading! This chapter was a goal for me and I really hope I did it justice. Any thoughts?

Thank you, Avatar . NIX, for your reviews! I really hope you enjoyed the chapter, and thanks again for reviewing!