February 15th
Today is the day that Kakeru died. When we first heard about it, we just thought it was unfortunate. We wished that we could have been better friends with Kakeru. We had our regrets. I regretted not being better friends with Kakeru.
Ten years after, we visited Kakeru's grandmother. She told us the truth of Kakeru's death. At night, Kakeru suddenly left the house. He took his bicycle with him. He made his suicide looked as if it was an accident, as if he was riding his bike and accidentally rode in front of a truck. But, the real reason was that he had decided to kill himself.
I hope you can save Kakeru, and will not end up with regrets like me. This is my last entry. Good luck.
Suwa came to school with a certain sense of apprehension. After all, after whatever they have done, they just might not be able to save Kakeru. This might be the last day he had with Kakeru. But, he won't stand by and doing nothing. Not after he finally managed to find the most important person of his life. He will not let go of it.
"Good morning Kakeru!" said Suwa upon seeing Kakeru.
"Good morning Suwa!" Kakeru replied. How long was it since he last heard Kakeru's good morning. Suwa's heartbeat started to speed up. Is this what being in love is like?
"Kakeru! Good morning!" said Naho. "I have something for you." said Naho before giving Kakeru a bento.
"A bento made by you? Ah, it's been a long time since I taste your cooking. What's the special occasion?" said Kakeru.
"Err… I just happen to make too much. Hehe." said Naho. Even though they had agreed to do everything like normal today, he guessed that no one could possibly stay put.
"Kakeru."
"Ah, good morning, Hagita." said Kakeru.
"This is the manga that I told you about that day. Have fun reading it." said Hagita.
"Eh, I thought you said that it was very precious to you and you wouldn't lend it to me." said Kakeru.
"After some long thoughtful consideration, I decided that I should borrow it to you." said Hagita.
"Eh. Anyway, thanks, Hagita." said Kakeru.
"Kakeru, have some snacks." said Azusa suddenly while pulling out a bag filled with junk food.
"There was a sale yesterday, so we bought a lot." said Takako. Suwa was completely sure that a lie. He wonders how Takako can often pull off a blatant lie so easily.
"Err… Okay. Thanks, Azusa and Takako." said Kakeru. "You all are acting a little weird."
"No such thing." said all of them in unison. Which obviously resulted in the situation becoming even more suspicious.
"Really?" asked Kakeru.
"Yes!" everyone said in unison again.
"Ahahahaha. You all are so suspicious." said Kakeru. "Actually, if we follow the pattern, I haven't gotten anything from Suwa yet. Hmm…"
"Eh… err…" Suwa didn't have anything. He was a little too elated yesterday. Only this morning did the reality of today sink in. And, didn't everyone all agreed to act normal? That's why he didn't bring anything.
"Yeah?" said Kakeru, cocking his head to the right. God, that was too cute. All of Kakeru's action should be illegal.
"Err… Well, I gave you the chocolate yesterday, no?" said Suwa.
"Chocolates?" said Takako while raising her eyebrows.
"Isn't yesterday Valentine Day? Do boys give chocolates on Valentine Day?" said Azusa.
"You doofus. Don't you understand the importance of giving chocolates on Valentine Day?" said Hagita to Azusa.
"An expression of love?" said Azusa, before turning towards Suwa and Kakeru with a shocked face.
Suwa expected Naho to be oblivious to all of these things, but it turns out she was trying to stifle a laugh. She knew too?
"Ah! Look what you have done, Suwa. You turned the attention to us." said Kakeru.
Well, that's good. Suwa hopes that Kakeru forgets about all the weirdness just now. Not that he is going to forget all of the presents he had just received.
In the end, Kakeru didn't pursue the matter further, and their weird antics dissolved into laughter. Even if today was just a boring day like usual, Suwa would appreciate it very much. No, it better be a boring day.
It was lunchtime. As usual, Suwa bought his food from the canteen. Normally, Kakeru would tag along (except for the few weeks when he was avoiding Suwa), however, today, Kakeru cheerfully wave the lunch box made by Naho. Suwa felt a little jealous. Not so much that Naho made lunch for Kakeru but not him, but Kakeru is eating a homemade lunch by someone else. Maybe, he should learn how to cook…
"Ah, you're back." said Kakeru.
Suwa sat down and took up his non-homemade lunch set from the canteen.
"What are you eating?" asked Kakeru.
"Not your homemade lunch." said Suwa.
"Jealous?"
"Not at all." Kakeru looked unconvinced with Suwa's reply. Which makes sense since he was slightly sulking.
"Don't be jealous. I'll give you some."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Open your mouth."
"What fo…" While Suwa was distracted, Kakeru used his chopsticks to stuff Suwa's mouth with food.
"Naho, Hagita, Takako! Kakeru just fed Suwa." said Azusa suddenly.
"Oh! That's exciting." said Takako.
"What do you mean by exciting?" Suwa finally managed to swallow the food.
"Like from a BL manga." said Hagita.
"Huh?" said both Kakeru and Suwa, unfortunately blushing at the same time.
"Ahahahaha. Look at them both." said Takako.
"Congratulations to both of you." said Naho suddenly.
"What do you mean?" asked a puzzled Suwa.
"Aren't you both finally realising your feelings for each other and dating?" said Naho in a matter-of-fact nature.
"Hah? We're not." said Kakeru. Meanwhile, Suwa said "How did you know? Well… we're not dating actually…"
Kakeru glared at Suwa.
"Ahahahahaha. Can't believe they contradicted each other. I guess it's official. We should leave them alone. Give them some privacy. Come let's go." said Takako.
"Ah, but I still want to watch both of them." said Azusa, before being pulled away by Hagita and Takako.
Awkwardness overcame the whole situation as both Kakeru and Suwa were left alone. They started eating in quiet silence. Oh yes, he needs to ask Kakeru if he wants to hang out later. Part of their strategy today was to ensure Kakeru stayed with them for as long as possible so that they can watch over him.
"Say…" said both of them at the same time.
They laughed. Why are they trying to speak at the same time again and again today?
"You go first, Kakeru." said Suwa.
"Ok. Sorry… Even though we both know that we like each other, I insisted that we don't date… I bet you really wish that we are dating, no? Since, you responded that way to Naho, just now."
"Eh… Kakeru. Well, I'll be lying if I say that I don't want to be official with you right now. But, I'll respect your wishes. Well… our actions are almost like dating anyway hahahaha… Anyways, I was supposed to ask if you want to hang out later, with everyone?" said Suwa.
"Oh. But, I have to accompany my grandmother to the hospital later. I can't."
Dang, that put a wrench in their plans. "Well, that can't be helped. We can always hang out next time." said Suwa. If, they could. Suwa really hoped.
"So, what should we do about tonight? The original plan is not going to work since Kakeru needs to accompany his grandmother to the hospital." said Suwa.
"And, we can't pressure him, not after what happened to his mother after the first day of school." said Naho.
"How detailed are your letters? Does it say anything about where the accident happens?" Takako asked.
"I think mine does. Just let me check it." said Naho.
"As expected of Naho, always so detail oriented." said Azusa.
"Oh, how about we destroy his bike?" said Hagita.
"Destroy?" said Azusa.
"Well, that's quite the property destruction there. But…" said Takako.
"Oh, my letter does state at which intersection the accident occurs." said Naho.
"Then, I think we should wait there. The accident happened at 8.00 pm, right? We should wait there at 7.30 pm. Are we all in favour?" said Takako.
"Sounds good to me." said Suwa. The others nodded in agreement.
Suwa kept on checking the time on his phone. Well, it was not 8.00 yet, so nothing had happened.
The others were nervous too. Azusa was trying to be her cheerful self, cracking some random jokes, but Suwa knows that she was just trying to reduce her nervousness. Even Hagita didn't retort towards Azusa's horrible jokes, he was probably nervous too.
"Calm down guys. We will definitely save Kakeru today." said Takako. "We have all the information about the accident, and there's no way we will not succeed."
There was clearly a hint of nervousness in her voice.
"Yeah, we will." said Naho. Trying to sound cheerful.
A few more yeah from the others and the whole scene went back to silence.
…
…
…
…
…
It has been quite a while, Suwa checked the time. It was 8.00 pm sharp. It's time.
…
A truck drives past.
…
"It's getting late. It's 8.05 already." said Suwa.
"Maybe we successfully prevented Kakeru from trying to kill himself?" said Azusa.
"I hope we did. But, wouldn't it be better for us to check?" said Hagita.
"Should we split up? I and Suwa will go and check at Kakeru's house. See if he's there." said Naho. "You guys stay here and keep watch. We message you guys if anything happens."
"Sounds good." said Takako.
"Come, let's go, Suwa." said Naho.
They quickly ran towards Kakeru's house. The light was lit. Kakeru's bike was parked near the house. Kakeru must be at home.
A quick knock on the door, and Kakeru's grandmother opened it.
"Hello, is Kakeru in?" asked Suwa.
"Kakeru? He just went out just now." said his grandmother.
"How long ago?"
"5 minutes."
Surely not? He hopes that Kakeru just went out for a walk. That would be nice.
Well, it was a good thing that Kakeru didn't go out on a bike. They might still be able to catch up with him.
"Naho, message the others. Let us split up and find him."
"Yeah."
Suwa ran towards the main roads. Let him be safe. He thought to himself.
"Naho, you take the left side, I'll take the right side."
"Okay." She also informed him which streets Hagita, Azusa and Takako were heading. And to ask anyone if they have seen Kakeru.
Suwa checks the time. It is now nearly 8.20 pm.
Suwa ran but there was no sight of Kakeru. No sight of anyone else too. Wait, there was someone there.
"Kakeru?" There was no response. Nope, it was not Kakeru. It was a person who was walking his dog.
Suwa approached that guy. He asked if he had seen someone who looks like Kakeru. Oh… It seems that he had been walking the wrong way.
He quickly called the others and informed them of the new information.
It has been quite some time. But they still haven't seen Kakeru. They ended up back as a group.
"Where is Kakeru?" Suwa was dead worried.
"Calm down, Suwa. We'll find him. And save him. Definitely." said Naho.
A familiar figure past by. It's Kakeru. He was sure. Except, he was walking towards the main road. And there was a truck coming.
"Kakeru!" shouted Suwa.
…
The truck zoom past the road.
…
Kakeru lies on the street.
…
"Kakeru! Are you okay?" said Suwa as he rushed towards Kakeru. Thank god. Kakeru stopped suddenly just as he was about the run right past the truck.
"Stupid! Dumb! Do you know how worried we are?" said Suwa.
"I… I…" said Kakeru.
"And you were planning to leave me alone? You useless piece of shit." said Suwa.
"I wanted to die."
"I wanted to apologise to my mother. But, when I walked towards the road… I suddenly became afraid to die."
"I thought about, what interesting things would there be tomorrow."
"I thought about, what would happen to you guys if I die."
"And I thought about..."
"Lol, why are you blushing now, Kakeru? Well, it's better than anything else just now, I guess." said Hagita.
"What did you think about huh? Kakeru?" said Takako.
"Most probably a person. Not me definitely. Come. Spit out now. You owe me that from scaring me just now with your act of running towards the road." said Azusa.
"Well… Hehehe… I was thinking about Suwa. I didn't get to…" said Kakeru.
"Didn't get to… what? Kiss? Or much more?" said Azusa.
"Hey! Stop teasing Kakeru." said Suwa.
"You're not helping him, Suwa. You're blushing too." said Takako.
They both just got redder.
"We really should leave them alone for a while." said Takako. "Come Naho, Azusa, Hagita."
The two of them were left alone.
"Kakeru."
"Yes?"
"I don't know how I could fall in love with such a stupid person that tried to kill himself. But… I don't know. In the end, I wasn't much use, was I? You… In the end, you stopped yourself. So, I'm proud of you. Hehe."
"Thank you, Suwa. I… always like your kindness the most. And, you were definitely of use. Without you, I would probably decide to kill myself. But, thinking about you stopped me."
"Stupid."
"You like such a stupid person, no?"
"You… Promise me that you will visit a psychiatrist after this. I don't want to have to run around like that again. Make sure your depression is cured properly."
"Yes. Would you give me a reward if I obediently go to the psychiatrist?"
"Reward? What do you mean?"
"Gosh… You're so dense, Suwa. Like uhh… bringing me out on a date… and…"
"He's thinking about perverted things, Suwa." said Hagita suddenly.
"WHAT? And why did you guys suddenly appear?" said Suwa.
"It was getting too interesting, so we couldn't resist it." said Takako.
"Didn't help that you were so dense." said Azusa.
"Well, it's a good thing for you guys, no?" said Naho.
"Kakeru!"
"Yes?"
"Your hand?"
"Okay."
Suwa held Kakeru's hand. "Let's go. I'll walk you back home."
"Why are you suddenly holding my hand?"
"It's your reward. For overcoming your suicidal thoughts today."
With howling and hysterical laughs from their friends, Suwa and Kakeru held hands for the first time, while their face becomes redder and redder.