I'm really sorry, everyone. Really, I am. This wasn't fair at all and I'll understand if some of you gave up. It's been over four months without an update, and I can only attribute that to my laziness and my lack of direction during a certain part of this chapter. I'm already hard at work on 84, so I'm hoping to be a little steadier in my updating.
I'm sure you're probably sick of this flashback, but 84 will be the last full flashback chapter, with some of 85 further explaining Xue's regression. After that, we can get back to the main plot and finish this slushpuppy.
Notes: A "poi" is the tiny paper-paddle thing used in goldfish scooping at Japanese festivals.
"Geta" are the wooden sandals traditionally worn with yukata.
And strawberry Calpico is the best drink in the world. That's all you need to know.
A Gift of Love – Chapter Eighty-Three: Can't Stop Staring
"You can go home if you want, Xue. I'm fine closing the shop. Besides, you look beat. Go home and take a nap."
Xue nodded groggily and fell against the glass door, pushing it open. She mumbled a "Thank you," before stumbling outside.
"Heeeeeyy!"
She looked up to see Tadashi standing next to a lamppost and smiling at her.
"Hey," she said flatly. She was exhausted; she didn't have the strength to deal with his shenanigans. "I'd love to stay and chat, but I need to go home. I have a lot of homework to do." She started to walk away.
"Wait! Don't go yet!"
She groaned and turned around. "What is it now?"
He was reaching out to her, unsure of what to say. "Uh...Le...Let...That's right! Let me take you out to dinner!"
She waved him away and turned around. "I don't have the energy for this..."
Flustered, he ran after her and got in front of her, blocking her path. "I have something I need to tell you, and I swear to whatever's up there that I'll explode if I don't get it out!"
She went around him. "That's nice. I better get away, then. Don't want my clothes to get messed up."
He ran after her again and knelt down, his hand clasped together, pleading with her. "PLEASE! Xue, just give me a chance!"
She looked at him in disdain. "Haven't I made it clear that tonight is not a good night?"
"Saturday, then! Just please, let me do something nice for you!"
"Why do this at all? All the other girls at school would be dying to have you spoil them rotten, then dump them like a rotten dumpling. So why me?"
"I-I just need to tell you that...thing...and I want to celebrate...uh...how well your dad's store is doing!"
Xue studied him, then sighed, relenting. "Fine, fine, I give up. I'll let you take me out on Saturday as long as I'm not working."
Tadashi smiled. "Awesome! I'll pick you up around two. I promise you won't regret this!" He sprinted down the street in the opposite direction.
Xue slowly turned and continued walking down the street toward home. "I think I already am."
"So, where are we going?"
"I knew you wouldn't want any place too ritzy, so I thought we'd go to that new cafe everyone's talking about. I figured it'd have something for you."
She watched him mosey over to the hostess, who smiled and giggled like they were old friends. Impatient, Xue folded her arms and looked around.
He drags me out here, then goes over and flirts with the freaking hostess. I swear I'm going to leave him dead at the table.
Tadashi came back and grabbed her arm, leading her to a booth near the window. "You looked like you were spacing out. You okay?"
"I'm fine," she snapped as she sat down and took the menu from the hostess, who gave her a hostile glare. "Seems like you have another admirer, you lady killer, you," she said after the woman had left.
Tadashi shrugged innocently. "Just the sister of an ex, that's all."
She scoffed at him and banged her menu up to stand on end, creating a wall between them. The sooner I order, the sooner I can get out.
Without giving her a chance to look over the menu, Tadashi pulled it down and pointed to one of the beverage choices, the Chuutti Fruutti.
"This one's really good if you're into fruity drinks. I think you'd like it."
Xue's eye twitched as she tried to hold in her annoyance. "Thanks. I'll keep that in mind." I'm fully capable of choosing my own drink, thankyouverymuch.
"Can I start you off with a drink?" the server asked after introducing himself.
"Strawberry Calpico," Xue said quickly. She eyed her would-be date as a silent warning, telling him that she wouldn't order anything he recommended.
Tadashi returned her glance calmly, then his eyes returned to his menu. "Then I'll just have a bubble tea, thanks."
"Got it. I'll be right back."
After the server left, Tadashi began humming as he flipped through the entrees. She glared at him, waiting for him to make a suggestion and further exasperate her.
But he didn't. He glanced up and noticed her harsh eyes yet again, but smiled anyway. "Know what you're ordering already?"
She softened, realizing he had gotten the message the first time, a very odd occurrence considering their short history together. Quietly, she looked at her options. "Yeah, I think so."
Tadashi managed to engage her in limited small talk until their food arrived. Her body was still stiff, and he was hoping that she would let her guard down eventually. He would have to bide his time for that to happen.
As they silently ate, he finally saw her shoulders relax. After she had swallowed a few more bites of her smoked salmon and broccoli salad, he made his move.
"So I hear your dad's store has been doing pretty well lately."
Xue smiled inwardly. "Yeah. He's worked really hard for this. I'm happy for him."
He tilted his head at her knowingly. "Any clue why it got so popular all of a sudden?"
She shrugged. "Who cares? We have a steady flow of income now, so I'm not going to question anything."
Tadashi pulled out one of his fliers and set it on the table between them. She looked at it quizzically, then picked it up and examined it.
"This is the ad that Seta found...So what? What are you trying to prove?"
"I was the one who put them up," he said nonchalantly.
Behind the paper, Xue was biting the inside of her lip so hard that the taste of blood was filling her mouth. "Oh, so it was you?"
"Yeah." He nearly sighed at what a wonderful human being he was as he set the small stack on receipts on the table. "There's your proof, in case you wanted any."
She looked at the slips of paper, then reluctantly picked them up and leafed through them. Her face didn't give the slightest hint of emotion. She certainly didn't seem as grateful as Tadashi had imagined.
"Why?"
"Why did I do it? I just thought I'd lend a helping hand, since your family's kind of poor, right? I mean, you live in an apartment, so you can't be all that well off. And that store's always so deserted since there's that huge celebrity-endorsed one in the square. Jeez, what was your dad thinking when he set up shop so close to an already well-known store? It makes no sense!"
Xue had by now crumpled up the flier and was continuing to compact it again and again in her hands.
"I just saw it as a golden opportunity to show you what a nice guy I am. Speaking of which, the bonfire festival is just around the corner, so I was wondering if you'd--"
His face was splashed with ice-cold water. He could feel the ice landing in his lap, some of it hitting the floor. Xue was giving him the most lethal glare he had ever seen. She slammed the cup down and leaned over the small circular table until their noses were almost touching.
"Now that I've finally gotten you to shut up, I'm going to let you in on something," she said in a low whisper.
Tadashi shivered under her gaze, unsure if he was cold or terrified.
"My family doesn't need help from a spoiled brat like you. Papa would have made the store known in his own way. He would've refused any help you offered. My family has something you don't, something that's so beyond your brain capacity that you could never understand it. You know what that is?"
"W-What?"
"Pride. We do things our own way. We don't let others own us in any way; we never owe anyone anything. You thought you could buy me by spending all this money to "help" Papa, that you could get to me through him. You wanted me to owe you a favor so you could get your way like a spoiled child and make me go out with you. Feel free to stop me if I've misunderstood anything. I want to make sure this little game of yours has an accurate play-by-play."
He was almost afraid to speak. "I don't think this is a game! I really do want you, Xue! I really do!"
"You 'want' me?" she asked, trying to sense which usage of the word he meant.
"I really do! You have no idea how much I want you!"
The last thing he felt was her hand slamming his head onto the table, while the other shoved ice down the back of his shirt. As he squirmed, she stomped past him.
"For the last time, stay away from me, from Seta, from my dad, and don't you dare try to talk to my mom. She eats boys like you for breakfast."
The waitress passed Xue on her way to check up on the table. Confused, she tilted her head at Tadashi, who was now motionless, his head still on the table's glass surface.
"Tadashi? What happened?" she asked.
"Not as planned," he murmured.
"What?"
"I'll just have that check when you get the chance."
"Yes, of course." She pulled the small faux leather folder from her apron and placed it on the table. She nervously bowed and quickly walked away.
With a heavy sigh, Tadashi finally lifted his head and took out his wallet. As he counted the bills, a small group of boys outside the cafe caught his eye. They were snickering to each other and glancing at one of the street corners.
Xue was leaning against a nearby building, tapping away at her cell phone. She frowned and closed it, the sighed as she ran a hand through her hair. When she stood and began her trek home, the three boys advanced toward her, and that was when Tadashi could clearly make out Zegen between two members of the rugby team.
"Oh God...he actually did it. I thought he was joking when he said he'd go after Xue. I never thought...Shit..." He dropped the money on the table and jumped over the metal fence of the outside dining area.
The boys tapped Xue on the shoulder, then sucker punched her before dragging her into the alley next to them. When Tadashi reached them, Xue had been tossed against the wall. Her eyes were slightly open, but she looked unaware of the situation.
"What are going to do with her?"
"Don't know. Didn't think ahead that far."
"Can't we beat her or cut her up or something?"
"Well, I guess that's an idea. She is kinda tall for a girl. She could use to lose a few centimeters. Anyone got a knife?"
"Yeah, I do. Right here."
"Dude, the blades all rusted! That shit's dangerous!"
"It's the only one I've got!"
"Shut up, you idiots. It'll do the job." Zegen sneered. "Hope Miss Amazon has had her tetanus shot."
"HEY!"
They turned to see a winded Tadashi standing at the mouth of the alleyway. His friend smirked.
"You're not surprised, right? I warned you about what would happen if you didn't get with the program and start acting the way you used to. This is what happens when you don't listen."
He was still panting from his frantic sprint from the cafe. "If you want to beat someone up so badly, beat me up, but leave Xue out of this! It's not her fault I've been chasing her around so much! She doesn't even like me!"
"Exactly! You should've moved on by now, found a new target! But nooooo! You insisted on this scrub because she hates you, and you're used to getting everything you want! You've abandoned the group, Tadashi, and that's a very bad thing."
"Fine! I'm a traitor! Cut me up if you want! Just don't touch her!"
The boy sighed. "Guys, cut her up."
"You bastards!"
Tadashi ran and jumped on the back of the boy with the knife, but he received a light slash across the chest. The other flunkie gave him a left hook to the cheek, knocking him to the ground. The knife was aimed at him again, and he tried to move out of its way. It stabbed him in the left shoulder. With a cry of pain, he flopped onto the ground. His vision blurred as he heard the boys sound off in agony.
"You're crazy!" Zegen cried.
"If you're going to try to beat me up, at least have the balls to confront me. The sucker punch makes you look like a bunch of weaklings. And I'm content with my height, thankyouverymuch."
"Everyone else thinks you're a freak!"
"That's nice, but I must ask that you cite your sources."
"One of those girls in your group I dated, she said the same thing! Everyone thinks you're just freakish bastard baby of a chink and an Ainu. They only pretend to be friends with you because they're scared of you! No one at the school really likes you!"
"Interesting. Anything else? You haven't told me how bad this outfit looks on me yet."
"Step out of line once, then you'll see what everyone really thinks of you!"
"Alright, that's enough. My IQ's dropped enough for one day."
Tadashi heard a falsetto from his former friend, making it obvious how Xue had chosen to shut him up. The fuzzy image of her kneeling beside him appeared a few moments later.
She has really nice legs...
"This is probably all your fault, but you kind of made up for it. You really suck at coming to the rescue, you know. But...you still bought me some time. So...thanks."
He gurgled in reply.
She carelessly flipped him over. "Holy shit. That's not good. God, how reckless can you be?"
He felt her put him on her back, his eyes still glazed over. Her hair...It smells like vanilla... He heard some beeping.
"Yeah, the date was fine. No, it wasn't a real date, I just called it that for the sake of simplicity. Anyway, he managed to get himself stabbed, so I'm taking him to the hospital. Yeah, I'm fine, he just sucks at fighting. Yeah, okay. I'll see you later. I love you, too. Bye."
Xue grunted and put her cellphone back in her pocket. "Alright, weakling, let's get you fixed up."
Tadashi awoke to the sight of Xue sitting in a chair beside his bed, calmly reading what seemed to be an assigned text for school. He knew it was wrong, rude, and would probably put him in the ICU, but he was mesmerized by how calm she looked. He couldn't stop staring at her.
She suddenly turned her head to check up on him, then jumped when she saw that he was ogling her.
"You surprised me!" she cried, arms flailing. "And what are you doing staring at me, anyway? You'd better not be undressing me with your eyes, I swear..."
"I wasn't," he replied truthfully.
She sighed, choosing not to argue. She looked at him again, her eyes slightly softened. "How are you feeling?"
It was only then that he noticed the stinging in his shoulder. He lifted up the sheet a little to see a patch of gauze taped to his skin. Unable to tame a flash of dumb curiosity, he poked it, causing him to twitch and let out a pained noise.
"You idiot. Why'd you want to poke it? You're like a little kid poking a dead cat with a stick." She walked over to the left side of his bed and mercilessly ripped the tape off.
"OW!! For the love--!! Be gentle with me! I'm injured!" he wailed.
"Oh, put a sock in it, you big cry baby," she said as she opened a nearby drawer. She put some clear jelly on a large cotton swab and gently painted the wound with it.
Tadashi shuddered as the cold gel touched his skin. He finally glanced over to see that his wounded shoulder had been sewn up.
"You..." He finally looked around and saw the white walls, the plastic curtain, and smelled the "clean" scent of a hospital. "You brought me here?"
"Of course I did," she said, as if it were a stupid question. "I couldn't just leave you there. Especially since you got stabbed because I let my guard down."
He looked guilty. "Actually, Xue, they did it beca--"
"I know, I heard. Just another reason why you should've just left me alone."
"Yeah...Sorry..."
"Whatever. I got my revenge. I'm happy."
They were silent as Xue put a fresh pad of gauze on the stitches and taped him back up again. She turned to put everything back and throw away the dirty gauze, then washed her hands when she was done.
"I'll...go to that festival with you."
Tadashi's head shot up. "What?"
"I said, I'll go to that bonfire festival with you."
He blinked, then a huge smile spread across his face.
"But I'm not buying the yukata, so you'll have to flaunt that fancy wallet of yours again."
"I can do that."
"And I don't usually go to things like this, so I don't know the dance."
"That's fine, you can learn it there."
"You'd better make sure I have fun. I don't want this to be a waste of my time."
"Don't worry, I'll make sure you do."
"And this is NOT a date, got it? I just figure you'll leave me alone if you spend more time with me. Maybe you'll realize that I'm not worth spending all this money on." She snapped her head away. "Just keep in mind that if you do end up realizing that this was a bad investment, I won't be giving you a refund of ANY sort."
"That's fine, I know I'll be even more in love with you when the festival's over."
She felt her cheeks burn up.
"Idiot..."
"Alright, turn around."
Xue obeyed and her mother began to tie the bow in the back of her yukata. Tadashi had delivered a high-quality robe and obi a few days before, which Xue had immediately thrown in the corner. It wasn't until Seta had once again blabbed at the dinner table that her parents were aware of her date.
"It's not a date!" she cried as she angrily closed her tube of mascara. Makeup wasn't usually her thing, but her friends had made her promise that she would wear a little bit, if only just to amuse them. "It's a solution that will get him to leave me alone!"
When Seta heard this, he gave her a worried look. "Neesan, please tell me you aren't going to intentionally make him regret asking you. Even if you don't like him, he's still a human being with feelings. I don't want him to get hurt when he's trying to be nice to you."
She paused for a moment, using the mirror in front of her to meet his eyes. "I promise I won't. I don't need to. I'm confident that if he spends enough time around me, he'll get sick of me and leave me alone."
"What if he doesn't?"
She froze. The thought had never occurred to her. Slowly, she continued to pull her hair back in a clip. "Don't be silly. If I was that desirable, Ha...I mean...I would've had a boyfriend by now."
"Neesan..."
The doorbell rang. After another brief pause, Xue attached some silk flowers to the clip and studied herself. Her eyes drifted to the ground. "What have I gotten myself into?"
"Why not honestly give him a chance and try to have fun?" Rong said as she walked in. "I never got the chance to go to a festival like this, so go have fun for me."
She was referring to the private tutoring she received during the time she was watching over Pin-Mei. Unlike her master, she never attended a public school, and thus never had friends outside of Xu/Fan Castle, nor interacted with others in an enjoyable setting.
"Mom…"
"Just try, alright? That's all I'm asking. I wasn't too keen on your father when I first met him, either."
"Mom! Ew! Come on! I don't want to go out with this guy! He's such a womanizer! And he reads shoujo manga! You hear me? S-H-O-U-J-O M-A-N-G-A!"
"And? Your father used to suck his thumb in his sleep."
"HEY!" came a shout from the hall.
"Don't deny it, Aokun!" Rong yelled back. She put her hands on her daughter's shoulders. "Promise me that you'll loosen up for one night. You've been way too uptight for the past few months. You need to enjoy being a student. You'll regret it if you don't."
Xue made a small noise of acknowledgement.
"Ladies, if you're done gossiping, Tadashi's been waiting for about five minutes!" HoroHoro called.
"Alright!" Rong turned back to Xue. "Promise?"
After a few moments, she nodded.
"I guess it'll have to do. Go on, have some fun."
Xue walked down the hall as slowly as she possibly could, until a forceful push came from behind her and she stumbled into the living room. She looked behind her to see Rong smiling at her brightly.
"You look even better than I thought you would."
She turned back around to see Tadashi with a more sincere smile on his face. He touched one of her sleeves. Like the rest of the yukata, it was adorned with falling leaves on a navy blue background, with graceful silver and gold lines mixed in.
"I knew these colors would be perfect for you."
"Thanks…" she mumbled when a tight pinch was felt on her back.
"You guys better get going. The festival's already started," Seta said.
Tadashi looked at his watch. "Oh wow! He's right!" He turned to HoroHoro. "Here's my cell phone number. I'll bring her back around eleven. Is that alright?"
"That sounds okay," the Ainu replied. Rong took the slip of paper from her husband's hand and clipped it next to their bulletin board. "Jeez, Rong! Don't you trust me?"
"Not when it comes to losing things." She put her hand on Xue's head. "Remember, you promised."
"I know, I know! Can we just go now?!"
"Of course!" He motioned to hold her hand, but she evaded. Trying to ignore it, he turned it into an exaggerated beckoning gesture. "¡Vamos!"
"…What?"
"He basically said, 'Let's go!'" Rong, the multilingual wonder chimed in.
Tadashi pulled Xue out the door, which was slammed shut behind them. When Xue heard a distinct click, she knew her parents had locked her out. There was no choice but to suck it up. Make lemonade. Build a bridge. Put her head between her legs and breathe.
This bastard better not expect me to do that for him. If he does, I'll kill him, I swear…
"Are you okay with walking?"
"Hm?"
"I didn't bring my car since I figured you'd like me to spare the pollution."
"That's fine." Alright, he gets a point for that.
"Oh, and I got you one of those little bag things." He held up a silk drawstring pouch.
"Those are usually only used during New Year's or some other big festival. Not some school one," she said curtly.
"W-Well…I just thought you'd like to put your money in something."
"I didn't bring any. You're paying for everything."
"Oh, that's right. I'll just hold onto it for you, then."
They started walking toward their school in silence. Though Xue was doing her best to ignore him, he kept stealing glances at her. It got to the point where she couldn't take it anymore.
"Would you stop gawking at me?!" she cried. "I'm so sick of it! You're definitely thinking about nasty things!"
"Nope. It's just hard to take my eyes off something so beautiful. Sorry, I'm just mesmerized."
She grumbled and quickly turned her head away from him to hide a reluctant blush. "Why do you keep saying things like that? What's so great about the way I look?"
He made a thinking sound, then smiled. "You look different from any other girl I've seen. You're so exotic. Your skin's so soft. You're so loyal to your family. From the photo your dad had of you in his shop, I can tell that you're athletic, and you can kick anyone's ass. Something about that, how strong you are, is just so sexy to me."
"Those have nothing to do with my appearance."
"Oh, you're right. Sorry, just got carried away. I mean, your outward appearance is just a small part of it. You're a beautiful person inside, too."
She paused, thinking about what he had just implied.
"For the last time, what's so beau—"
"Here at last!"
She looked up to see the gates of her school, surrounded by bright lanterns and stalls. Smells of dangos and okonomiyaki filled the air. She couldn't help but smile.
"Hey! Xue! Over here!"
Xue turned and saw Chuuko waving to her from their group of friends. Her friend's smile wavered slightly when she saw who she was with, but tried to recover as she walked over to them.
"I never thought I'd see you in a yukata, much less with makeup on, Xue," Chuuko said. She felt the fabric. "Wow, that's expensive! How did your family afford this?"
"We didn't."
"What? Did you steal it or something?"
"No." She used her thumb to gesture over her shoulder at Tadashi. "This guy was so bent on taking me, so I said I might go if he paid for everything. Then Seta opened his big mouth and let my parents know about it, so here we are."
Chuuko clapped her hands. "Your first date! Oh, Xue, I'm so happy for you!"
"It's not a date! I'm just letting him spend money on me and waste a Friday night. We're not going out!"
"If you say so…"
"ARGH!!" She angrily turned to Tadashi. "See what you've done?! Rumors are starting! No one's going to believe me now!"
He grinned. "Well, you know, we could always just make the rumors true…"
"You wish, Tadashi! YOU! WISH!!"
He leaned in to her. "You're right. I do."
She pushed him away. "Go get me a drink or something. Just get out of my face for a little while."
"Certainly, Princess," he cheerfully ran off into the crowd.
Xue sighed. "I really wish I hadn't come here."
"Um, Xue?"
She turned to see Sashi looking at her with sad eyes. "Sashi, hi. Hey…What's wrong?"
Almost immediately, her friend started crying. Xue took a small piece of cloth from her obi and gently patted her eyes, fruitlessly trying to salvage the girl's makeup.
"…da…shi…" she whimpered.
Xue's face instantly hardened. "What? What'd he do to you? I'll beat the shit out of him for you."
Sashi shook her head. "I miss him…I miss what we had…"
"What?" Her friend laughed nervously. "You can't really mean you still have feelings for that playboy. Sashi, he's not worth it, honestly! You can do so much better!"
She didn't seem to hear her. "I'm so jealous of you…You're the one he likes now…It's not fair!"
"Hey, hey…" Xue hugged her. "I'm not going out with him. Maybe once I reject him and he gets the message, you'll get another chance, if you like him so much. What do you even see in him?"
"Xue…" Sashi whispered. "As much as I hate this, and how much I miss him…I want you to be with him."
"Wait, WHAT?!" She pulled the girl away to see that she was smiling weakly. "You don't understand! He's everything I hate about men! That pompous, spoiled, annoying son of a bitch! He just wants me to be another notch in his belt! He wants to have sex with me so he can brag about it!"
"No, no, you really have it all wrong! I mean…" Her voice became a whisper. "We fooled around a little, yeah…but we never had sex. He didn't want to. He said he wasn't ready yet."
"That's boy talk for, 'I have a tiny dick.'" She giggled to herself.
Sashi blushed even more. "N-No! It wasn't that at all!"
Xue cocked an eyebrow at her.
"I mean…He really is very sweet once you get to know him, Xue, really he is! Just let him spoil you…he loves doing that." The small smile she had faded. "He recently told me again that he doesn't intend to get back together. So…just don't make this all be for nothing. This is selfish, I know, but please, even just for tonight, make him happy? For me?"
Her friend looked at her, then at the ground. She bit her lip as she thought.
"Xue, are you afraid? Did another boy make you this insecure?"
"Isn't it more fun just to be friends? Hehe…"
"No, of course not." But she could feel the small lump in her throat. She tried to dispel that memory from her mind, if only for a moment.
"Hey, Princess! I'm back!"
She looked up to see Tadashi jogging back to her. He handed her a bottle of Calpico and a small fruit bowl. Her eyes caught his attention.
"What's wrong?"
Sashi cleared her throat and he shifted his gaze.
"Oh…Sashi…Hi…"
She nodded, unable to say anything back.
"Been doing okay?" He was forcing a smile.
"Y-Yeah…" she whispered. She covered her mouth as her eyes filled up with tears again.
"Sashi…" Xue whispered, motioning to comfort her again.
But the girl put up a hand to stop her as she began backing away. "Have a good evening…Have fun…"
"You too. Take care." Xue tried to smile.
The girl nodded, and, after one last longing look at the man behind her friend, disappeared into the crowd. They stared after her for a moment before Tadashi hung his head.
"I didn't expect her to take it this hard. Most girls usually hate me after we break up." He set his voice high. "'You're just like everyone says! You're just a sex-hungry playboy! Never speak to me again!'" A nervous chuckle. "I used to laugh. It was just a game, after all. But for some reason, all the yelling and cursing and damning started to get to me. I tried being a little nicer when I dumped them, but they still hated me. Sashi's the first person to actually still want me. I feel guilty. I hate seeing girls cry. They're the ones people look down on so much. Double standards…They're horrible. It's almost horrifying that people hardly ever targeted my group for going out with so many girls, when they would call girls who do the same thing 'sluts' as easily as they would say 'hello'."
Xue had listened silently, but suddenly realized that she was in danger of letting her guard down.
"Are you going somewhere with this, or are you just drying your mouth out?" She looked up at him, startled to find that he was gazing at her. "W-What?"
"Let me prove to you that I'm not like them. Let me prove that I genuinely just want to be around you. That I honestly care about you. If you still think I'm a jerk by the time I take you home, then I'll leave you alone. I know I've been saying this a lot, but just give me a chance."
She frowned.
"I know, I know…" He bowed his head. "I'm sorry. I'm really truly sorry that I said those mean things about your dad and his store. He didn't deserve that. He works harder than most people, and in a way I admire him for that. I was way out of line. I'm sorry."
She bit the inside of her lip. "Alright. I kept telling my mom I'd give you a chance, but Sashi really convinced me. I'll give you this one last chance. That's it."
A huge smile spread across his face and he hugged her. "Thank you so much! I won't disappoint you!" He pulled away from her. "You ready for some fun?"
She gave a small smile. "I sure am."
"Alright, then! Let's go!"
He grabbed her hand and led her into the crowd. Xue looked at where they were joined.
They're…so warm…his hands…
For the next few hours, the two explored what the festival has to offer. Somehow, all the activities became a competition (most of which Xue won).
"Alright, whoever gets the smallest goldfish buys the dangos for tonight," he said grinning at her.
"Sounds fair." She picked up a poi and waited. "You may go first."
He smirked. "I should warn you – I'm kind of made of awesome when it comes to goldfish scooping."
She smiled back. "Then you should show me how it's done."
He bent over the rectangular tub that held the goldfish. "Watch carefully." In one quick motion, he dug the poi into the water and back out again. "Ha-ha! See Now that's how you – What's so funny?"
Xue covered her mouth to stifle her laughter as she pointed at his poi.
"Huh?" He looked to discover a huge hole in the center. "Bwuh!"
She knelt down and shoved him out of the way, then readied herself, casting a shadow over the tub for the fish to flock to. "I hope you have your wallet handy." She scooped up a fish near the wall and grinned. "Ta-da!"
Her victory was short lived, as the fish fell through the damp paper and back into the tub. She sweatdropped as she turned to the volunteer running the booth, giving her sweetest smile.
"It still counts, right?"
The worker grinned back. "Not a chance. It didn't make it into the bowl."
Xue sighed. "I didn't think so." She turned to Tadashi. "Now what?"
He smiled. "It's alright, I was planning on treating you anyway. Come on." He took her hand and led her to the dango stall.
She took a moment to survey her options. "Hmm…I'll take that one, and that one…Oh! The smiling one! The one with the star, too! And that one…and I need this one…"
He watched her face light up as she was handed the two sticks of dangos. She stepped to the side so he could pay, then sat on a bench. He soon joined her.
"Having fun?"
"More than I thought I would."
"Well, that's a start." He looked her over. "You really are stunning tonight, you know that?"
She blushed and looked away. "Oh, knock it off. Come up with something new."
He smiled. "Sorry, I just tend to blurt out whatever I'm thinking."
"Then I suggest you learn inner monologue."
"Then how about this: Where do you see yourself in five years?"
She stopped. "I'll hopefully be graduating from Tokyo University. Then I'll get to work on developing and advancing the new seed splitting research that's been in the news lately."
"You like flowers?" he asked thoughtfully.
She shook her head. "When my dad was younger, he had a dream of creating fields and fields of butterbur so the koropokkuru wouldn't have to lose their home. It was really important to him. I doubt I could ever grasp the passion he had for this."
She leaned back and looked up at the sky. "But when I was born, he had to work and go to school so he could support my mom and me. It was because of me that he had to give up his dream. I feel like I need to take over for him. I want to make his dream come true. So I've applied to Tokyo University so I can get a degree in botany. Then I can devote my life to finding a way to produce fields and fields of butterbur in a very short time, and without a lot of work. That's all I want. My teachers say that if I keep my grades up, I can get in. So that's what I'll strive for." She sighed. "Quit staring at me."
"Sorry." He twiddled his thumbs as she straightened and took another bite of her dangos. "You really are kind. You try to hide it, but you always give yourself away. You really want other people to be happy." He touched her hand. "You have no idea how sexy that is."
Xue could feel her face burn as she practically shoved the stick of dangos down her throat.
He laughed. "You're so cute."
She glared at him.
"Just be careful. Don't want you to choke."
Defiantly, she began chewing on the dangos, despite how far inside her mouth the stick was.
He looked worried, but sighed. "Suit yourself."
She continued to munch on the dangos, humming in a bratty fashion.
There was a snap.
Tadashi quickly looked to see Xue with wide eyes. She dropped her stick with the remaining two dangos on it and he immediately noticed the splintered end. She desperately grabbed at her throat, her eyes shifting madly as she tried to figure out how to save herself. She tried to stand and rammed her stomach against the backrest of the bench.
Tadashi, who had been in a stupor, stood and grabbed her from the bench. He tried to press his fist against her stomach, but her obi made it hard to perform the maneuver effectively. Frustrated, he frantically ripped it off of her. He once again positioned himself.
"This had better fucking work."
With a few heaves, the dango, stick and all, flew out of her mouth. She coughed, then fell to her knees as she tried to catch her breath. Tadashi flopped back down onto the bench.
"I told you," he panted. "I may not get top marks like you do, but you should still listen to me every once in a while."
"I do," she retorted. "I just chose to wait a while longer." She pulled herself onto the bench and put her obi on her lap. Then she leaned forward and put her face in her hands.
"You okay?" he asked, putting a hand on her shoulder.
"I hate that feeling…"
"I don't think anyone likes the feeling of choking."
"I hate feeling helpless."
He grimaced and sat back. "I know you do."
"For a second there, I thought it was the end. I thought I was going to die."
"You didn't trust me to save you?"
She looked up at him, like the thought honestly hadn't occurred to her. "No…I'm just used to not depending on people outside my family for help. I had to take care of myself, as well as Seta, when we were younger."
"Teasing?"
She nodded. "Thanks to my hair, people noticed right away that I was 'different'. I was able to take it until my first year of middle school, but then I had to start defending myself basically. Mom taught me how to do that, and occasionally some friends of the family helped as well, but I was taught to never break any bones, and I haven't. I only fight when I feel that it's necessary."
"So why have I gotten beat up so much?!"
"Because I didn't want you near me, so I decided to eject you from my field of vision. Not the same as fighting."
"Riiight." He straightened. "But you have friends now at least, right?"
"Yeah," she said, a smile gracing her lips. "It was accidental, since I met them because I was being teased. But they're friends, at least. We don't hang out a lot outside of school, but that's okay. I have other things to keep me busy."
"That's good."
For a few minutes afterward, neither of them spoke. The cheerful sounds of singing, gossiping, and prize-winning gave them something to fill what would have otherwise been a tense silence. Xue finally turned to him.
"Um, so…what about those three friends of yours? What's been going on with-"
"We're not friends anymore," he said loudly. She could see a masking smile on his face. "I broke the rules of the group, so I've been kicked out."
She stared at him with a gaping mouth. "Kicked out?" she said finally.
"Yup. I've been chasing you for too long, so I was ousted."
"But you have other friends, right?"
"Ehh…Kind of, but not like those guys. We don't hang out much."
Stunned, she stared at her dangos on the ground. He lost his best friends because of me.
"Well, the other two might still be friends. I mean, they didn't stab me or go after you. I hate Zegen for that."
"I'm sorry…"
"Hm? What?"
She clutched her obi. "It's kind of my fault that they kicked you out. I mean, I did nothing wrong…I don't think so anyway…but I still feel guilty."
He glanced at the ground. "I'll manage, don't worry. We only have this year of school anyway, then we're done and I don't have to worry about who likes me and who doesn't."
As he looked at her again, he saw a droplet of water on her hand. Then another appeared. He tilted his head so he could see her face. The mascara she had put on earlier that night was now running down her cheeks. He quickly reached into his pocket and took out a handkerchief, but she jerked away from him before he could wipe her face.
"Hey now, come on, don't be like that. You can tell me what's wrong."
She looked at him, then frowned as her eyes filled up with tears again. "I just know what it feels like to not have any friends at school, no one you can truly trust or confide in. It's so lonely. I wouldn't wish that on anyone. I really wouldn't."
"Xue…"
He gently turned her head and wiped her face. Then he pressed his forehead against hers.
"Thanks for worrying about me. It's really means a lot to me. But really, you don't need to cry about this. It was a choice I made, and I don't really regret it, to be honest." He gently put a hand on her wrist. "Because of my choice, I got to spend tonight with you." He smiled. "It's actually kind of a good thing you cried. You're even more beautiful without that makeup on you."
She looked away. "Thanks."
Some drums sounded, and they looked to the bonfire in the center of the festival.
"It's time for the Pair Pyre Dance," Tadashi said. "Let's go get your obi fixed and join in!"
He pulled her off the bench and they went to the first aid station where the nurse retied the obi.
"You ready to dance?" he asked.
"I told you, I don't know how!"
"Oh, right, right, riiight! Here, let's practice a couple times!"
He guided her through the steps patiently, holding her hands above her shoulders as he stood behind her. They turned and spun until Xue promptly crushed Tadashi's foot with her geta.
"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to do that!"
"It's okay, I know it was an accident," he replied, tears of pain in his eyes.
"Can you still do the dance?"
"Of course! Don't want all this practice to be for nothing, right?"
"R-Right…"
Xue couldn't help but glance at all the other couples as she clumsily danced with him around the bonfire. They all looked happy. Excited. In love.
Why am I doing this dance anyway? I'm not his girlfriend or any—
But as he spun her, and she saw the way he was smiling at her, her mind blanked. It was like her heart had forgotten its duty, like she had forgotten to breathe. She quickly looked at the other pairs, but when the time came for him to spin her again, she found herself mesmerized. They locked eyes as she went around again and again. She forgot about everyone else, as he had the moment they started dancing.
It's like I'm the only one here…I'm the only one he sees.
She gave one of the most honest smiles she had in months.
This is…fun.
The next time they faced each other, she leaned in.
"Thank you for saving me back there."
He looked a little surprised, but smiled. "Of course. A knight always protects his princess." He kissed her hand.
Before she could react, they moved on to the next step, placing him behind her, their hands still connected. Despite herself, Xue glanced back at him.
He kissed her.
She looked forward again, so flustered that he needed to guide her through the next few steps.
Still, her smile remained.
Off by a tree, Seta looked at the photo of the happy couple on his cell phone, smiling before he closed it.
As the drums died and the lanterns dimmed, Tadashi, as the lead, stopped their dance, and they started walking back to the Usui home. Neither of them spoke, but each had a faint smile on their face. He walked her to the door, and they finally looked at each other.
"I had fun tonight," she said softly, trying to hide her face.
He smiled at her. "I'm glad." He shifted his weight when nothing more was said. "So, I guess I'll see you tomorrow, Princess. Have some sweet dreams for me, okay?"
She nodded. "Okay."
He started to turn, but then held up the small silk bag. "Almost forgot to give this to you. Here."
She took it. "Thanks."
"See you tomorrow." He started walking.
"Yeah, bye…"
She noticed that something was in the bag, so she stretched the top of the drawstring entrance to open it. Inside was a wooden tag with inked words on it.
Will you be my girlfriend?
Her heart stopped. Before she realized it, she had run down the balcony and was standing at the top of the stars. At the sound of her clip-clopping, Tadashi looked back at her.
"Tadashi…" Her hands were gripping the tag.
"Yes?"
She took a deep breath, her face hotter than she ever remembered it being.
"M-My answer…is yes!"