Part I

Chapter 13

Minamo stepped out of the faculty workroom, passing by a few students as they walked down the hallway towards their next class.

Maybe she's avoiding me?

She glanced at her watch, checking how much time was left in the break. It was another day at work for her, the hours rushing by as fast as the kids around her were, yet one small part of it had been off from the norm so far, or rather, had been missing.

I guess that's it, then. She's always like this today...

Although things had been relatively peaceful without hearing Yukari's usual raucous banter, Minamo was starting to feel a bit lonely without it all, not having seen her fellow teacher at all today. When she had gone to pick her up in the morning for work, Yukari's mother had answered the buzzer and informed her that, for some odd reason, her daughter had already left on her bike instead of waiting around for her usual free ride. Ms. Tanizaki hadn't any clue as to why the woman had left by herself so early, but Minamo had a decent idea as to what she might have been up to.

She traveled down the stairs to the next level of the school building, sighing as she did. Today was a bit of a special occasion for Minamo, one that Yukari usually enjoyed along with her, barring a few minor aspects of it. There were some details of it all that the woman had never really been able to cope with throughout the time that they had known each other, and so instead of dealing with them as how any another adult would, she usually just opted to avoid Minamo and the entire situation until they were both off the job, their workplace itself being the crux of the issue.

I never try to make you feel bad about it…

Her classroom was in front of her now, Minamo sliding the door open and then walking inside.

…but what am I supposed to do? It jus-

"Happy Birthday, Kurosawa-sensei!"

Minamo lost her place in her thoughts, smiled widely as her students loudly greeted her in unison. "Th-thanks guys!" She laughed. "But…you didn't have to do that…"

She set her things down on the instructor's table at the head of the room, a few of the kids now coming up to her with a gift that she graciously took. Minamo had turned twenty-eight today, and somehow the date of her birthday had gotten out to every single one of her classes so far, each set of students presenting her with encouraging words and a little present. While it was certainly normal for a teacher to receive such kind gestures from their pupils, the vast majority of the time it was their own homeroom class that did so. In Minamo's case, however, every single one of her P.E. periods so far had been in a celebratory mood for her, a yearly routine that she had grown used to as the young boys and girls displayed their affections for the person who was arguably the most popular teacher on campus.

For the next few minutes Minamo returned each of her student's individual remarks to her, thanking them for remembering her birthday, and couldn't help but giggle and hum with joy throughout the rest of the class since yet another group of her students had shown their love for her today. The acclaim that she had received from all of them, from the kids that she always cared about so much, was filling her with a level of happiness that was intoxicating, an elation that made it hard to step into the flow of her usual composed demeanor.

The rest of the school day saw the same events repeat themselves over and over then, Minamo now sitting at her office desk after her last class had let out. A stack of gifts and cards were before, but she didn't get a chance to attend to any of them since some of the other teachers in the room were now coming by to offer their good wishes as well. They too always remembered when Kurosawa-sensei's birthday was, her fellow coworkers wanting to show their appreciation for the person who always took her job so seriously, who always helped them out with both work-related and personal dilemmas whenever they cropped up. Her favor with them matched the levels shown by her students, and even though Minamo's popularity on campus had been quite high since she had started working at her old school, none of that had ever affected her personality in the slightest. Her sparkling reputation had never become corroded with any taint of narcissism or inflated pride, and that ability of hers to stay humble was what everyone loved the most about her, Minamo being someone who always put others ahead of herself and never asked for anything in return.

She smiled gleefully at each teacher as they spoke with her, displaying the same amount of modesty and chagrin to them as she had shown towards her student's all day, but once the last set of genial exchanges had been made, Minamo couldn't help but feel the smallest of tugs come from inside of her chest.

Where are you…?

She looked around the office, searching for the one person she knew that hadn't yet acknowledged her special day, whose voice was the only one that she had wanted to hear say those two little words that had been spoken to her so many times already.

Her gaze went back to the table, Minamo looking over all the items that she had received. While she did love every single one of them, so grateful for all the sentiments that had been shown towards her, it all felt a bit hollow now since Yukari hadn't been a part of any of it. Usually the woman would always be so easy to find in the workroom, sitting down lazily as she made the most out of her break times, but on this day, whenever Minamo had come by to try and find her, her fellow teacher's seat had been distressingly empty.

It really is because of my birthday, isn't it?

She frowned, thinking back to the years gone by, Yukari always pulling the same stunt on her. It wasn't that her friend didn't enjoy other people's birthdays, but rather, she just couldn't stand seeing Minamo getting so much attention about her own at work, Yukari never really receiving the same sort of treatment for her own birthday. Part of that had to do with the date of it occurring over spring break, denying her classes the opportunity to commemorate it, but what made her truly upset about it all was that even if it was held on a normal school day, she more than felt that no one would still really care all that much anyways. Yukari's brash personality didn't exactly win people over, so more often than not she would become incredibly bitter when others around her were the recipients of good tidings that she herself never got. Her absence on this day then, as Minamo had always figured on past occasions, was more than likely the woman's own way of protecting her ego from all the love that her friend would be showered with.

And while Minamo could certainly understand her predicament, knowing how bad she'd feel if her own birthday was neglected, she still wished that Yukari could somehow get over it all and just be right there next to her anyways, to share in her happiness as she too wished her a…

"What's all that crap on your desk?"

Minamo jumped in her seat, quickly zoning back in from her daydreaming as she turned around. "Y-Yukari! Where have you been all day?"

The woman threw herself at her desk, plopping down into her chair ungracefully. "I been busy. So, what's all that junk?"

She looked back towards her birthday gifts, her words dropping in volume as she spoke now, not wanting to set off Yukari's wrath if she sounded too enthusiastic about it all. "...they're presents."

Yukari grimaced. "You buyin' off your kids or somethin'?"

Minamo laughed weakly. "No…they got them for my birthday today."

Her voice had become even more quiet, and she closed her eyes as she braced herself for what Yukari would now say to her, of how stupid it was for her kids to show her, a dumb P.E. teacher, such heartwarming regards, of how such feelings were nothing more than cheap, worthless drivel.

"Oh yeah?"

Minamo looked at her in surprise, Yukari's words actually having been strung together with some threads of kindness. The woman was just staring at some of the papers on her desk, marking off a few things here and there with a pen. "Y-yeah…"

A few minutes passed, Yukari not saying anything in reply, and Minamo just sat there waiting patiently, not at all sure on what to do or say given the unexpected behavior of her friend. She was positive, however, on what she wanted Yukari to say to her now, of what she had been waiting for her to say all day in order to make her birthday a fully complete one.

I know it's not a big deal to you, but…why can't you say it now, too? Please…

Yukari eventually rested the pen down on her desk as she finished with some task, looking at Minamo square in the eye afterward. "So you think I forgot about it or what?"

"Wh-what…?" She fidgeted around, having been unprepared for her friend's blunt question. "N-no! No…I…well, maybe…I don't know. It doesn't matter, anyways. It's just a birthday…"

"You say that every year." Yukari laughed. "But I saw you smilin' at all that." She pointed towards the plethora of gifts.

"Well, yeah…I'm happy that I got them..."

Yukari laughed again, and there was this friendliness in it that was so uncharacteristic of her to have in this situation, where normally she would be bristling with envy. "You don't sound too happy." She scooted over next to her then, jutting her face out to the point at where their noses almost touched. "I know, you want me to say somethin', right?"

Minamo's head recoiled out of reflex. "Say…say what?"

Her friend leaned back, just eying her now. "Don't play dumb, Nyamo. I know ya' too well, ya' sap."

She put on a confused look towards her friend, but it was a false expression, Minamo knowing perfectly well what Yukari was talking about. It was hard for her to reply in any sort of logical fashion though, the woman's behavior so completely foreign to her now.

Yukari laughed heartily, becoming quite amused at Minamo's reservedness. "Man, you are so easy to read. Well...listen, forget about that for sec', 'cause I got this problem that you gotta' help me out with first."

"What problem?"

Her friend folded her arms across her chest, putting on a jaded look. "So...like, I brought this thing with me today, that I gotta' give to someone. It's really nice, freakin' awesome really, but I just realized that I left it back in my locker. You think you can go get it fer' me quick? I gotta' finish this stuff up." She pointed to the unfinished work on her desk. "Oh, and I left it unlocked, so you can just open it."

Goosebumps prickled up on her arms. "Umm…ok…but, what am I looking for?"

Yukari smiled as she turned back to her desk, picking up her pen again as she resumed her duties. "I dunnooooooooo'…."

"Well…ok, I'll go get it. But…Yu-"

The woman stood up suddenly, pulling Minamo along with her, and then started to shove her out of the faculty room. "Just go get it already!"

"Y-Yukari!" Minamo stumbled out into the hallway, looking back at her friend as she stood in the door. "I…I ju-"

The woman waved her arms around. "Hurry and go get it! Get goin', shoo', shoo'!" She turned around, returning to her desk. "Ya' better like it, by the way."

Minamo stared blankly at her for a few seconds, standing perfectly still, until a jolt of excitement reanimated her. "O-ok! I'm going, I'm going!"

Without any further hesitation she took off, her feet flying as she raced towards her destination, to the room that held the faculty's lockers. It was an area where instructors could store any personal belongings when they arrived on campus, and apparently Yukari had chosen to house something there that was definitely not a part of her usual inventory.

I can't believe it! I really can't!

Although her friend hadn't directly alluded to it, it was more than obvious to Minamo that Yukari had actually brought a present for her birthday today. The woman had gotten her gifts for it every year of course, but she had never handed one to her during their work hours. Her pride usually deterred her from doing so, not wanting to fan the flames of all the adulation that Minamo got from everyone else here, but for some reason it appeared as if she had finally been able to drop that old habit of hers.

What happened? She's so...nice to me this time.

Yukari's motivations were always hard to fathom, even for someone as close to her as Minamo, but her friend's change of heart wasn't really all that important to her at the moment. She was much too excited to funnel her energies towards anything else but her own legs now, her anticipation for opening Yukari's gift pushing all other concerns aside.

She looked down at her watch along the way, grinning at it wildly as her imagination began to get the best of her.

I wonder if she got me something like this again...

Minamo shook her head, knowing that was highly unlikely, the expensive gift that Yukari had gotten her earlier in the year something that was a onetime event, but some of the similarities between that occasion and the current one were far too hard to ignore. Since her friend had taken her bike to work today, there was a possibility that she had planned to go buy something for her during it so that Minamo couldn't see what she was getting, just as she had done for their little friendship anniversary.

Well…whatever it is, I'll love it. I know I will, because you're the one getting it for me, and that's all that really matters…

Within another minute she reached the locker room, the door already open as she took a quick peek inside. The place was empty, not another teacher in sight, and that suited Minamo just fine. She didn't need for them to see how she was acting now, her usual cool demeanor having been trampled over by the bubbly personality that had claimed her. Giggles came out from her incessantly, her steps so lively and cheerful as she made her way over to Yukari's locker, Minamo becoming completely enraptured with the thought that she had been on her friend's mind this day.

Maybe she's finally changing, after all this time. She's starting to listen to me a lot more now, so I think that…I think that, maybe, she's finally growing up!

She chuckled at the notion, the idea of a mature, caring Yukari something that no one could probably really imagine all that well. But, given how her friend had been acting as of late, Minamo was starting to truly believe that such a metamorphosis was possible for the woman, knowing firsthand of how considerate Yukari could be when she managed to overcome her gigantic ego.

Her friend's locker was before her now, Minamo grabbing the handle and pulling it open, and became a bit dismayed when she saw nothing inside of it.

"Huh?"

She closed the door, looking at the front of it. The usual scribbles and etchings were plastered across it, Yukari having carved angry-looking faces and 'Stay Out!' messages to mark her territory, so Minamo knew that she had opened the right one. Another glance inside of it, however, tried to tell her otherwise. Yukari's locker was usually stuffed with clothes and books, all of it gone now for some reason, and Minamo was beginning to wonder if someone else had come by and emptied it out since it had been left unlocked.

But she just told me about this a few minutes ago, so there's no way that could have happened.

Minamo sighed, disappointed that her journey here had turned out to be an unfruitful one, and was just about to head back up to the workroom when she barely noticed something in one of the darkened corners of the locker.

She stuck a hand inside, pulling out a folded piece of paper, smiling as she read the writing on top.

For: Nyamo!
From: Me!

Her spirits picked up again, Minamo feeling that wonderful joy rush back into her. Oh my gosh…maybe…she actually wrote something for me? A poem? A story? Yukari…

She unfolded the paper quickly, so excited to see what her friend had drafted, the very idea of Yukari actually creating something for her just so utterly thrilling to even think about, let alone actually behold.

She really is changing…she's writing again! Oh, Yukar-

Her heart froze.

Wh-…what the hell…?

Minamo had only read the first few words at the top of the page, but that was all it had taken for her to instantly recognize what she was holding in her hands, all that had been needed for her to feel the greatest amount of panic that she had ever experienced in her life.

W-why…why does she have this...? I…I b-

"So watcha' think? Ya' like it?"

She gasped in alarm at the voice that had come from behind, but the fright that had taken control of her kept her head chained towards the item in her hands, Minamo unable to turn around and see Yukari as she entered the room. All she could do was listen to the woman's actions as they echoed so loudly in the locker room, Yukari shutting the door and then walking up to where she stood, peeking over her shoulder as she looked down at the piece of paper along with her. "That's what ya' wanted, right? You seemed to want it pretty bad."

Minamo tried to reply, but her words failed to come out, the paper in her hands completely tearing her focus apart.

"Come on now, show me yer' happy about this, yeah? Where's my 'thank you'?"

She swallowed hard, her voice barely audible. "How…did you get this…?"

Yukari laughed. "Don't ya' remember? Ya' know how I did."

"But...but..."

"What's wrong? You look kinda' out of it. Dontcha' like your present? I remember ya' kept asking for it, so, that's why I got it for ya'!"

"I…"

"Ain't it great, Nyamo? Come on, start smilin'! How come ya don't like my present, huh? Huh, Nyamo?"

Minamo tried to respond again, but her mind just couldn't grasp the words that were being spoken to her. It had become numb now, not able to really feel the sense of what was going on around her, of what was happening.

Yukari chuckled lightly. "What's wrong, Nyamo? Don't ya' trust me?"

Her eyes widened, her breaths beginning to flow out so forcefully now, sweat dripping down her forehead as a rabid pack of fears began to consume her. "...what?"

"It's a simple question. Do ya' trust me?"

She couldn't answer.

"Nyamooo..."

"...please, stop."

"Why?"

"Just...stop it..."

"Why?"

"I...I didn't mean to..."

"What's that, now?

The crinkling sound of the paper filled the air, Minamo's hands holding on to it so tightly now as her voice began to break up. "I didn't want to do it. I really mean it…I didn't…"

Yukari spoke with an enormous amount of sudden kindness. "Hey, Minamo…it's ok! Relax! You wouldn't do somethin' like that to me anyways, 'cause we're friends and all, right?"

The woman's shift in tone calmed her. "Y-yeah…yeah, we are…"

"Best friends?"

Minamo smiled, starting to regain control of her sanity. "Yeah…! We are!"

Yukari nodded. "That's right. We are! So ya' know what that means, then, Minamo? 'cause we're bestest' pals and all that?"

The terror that had taken hold of her started to retreat upon itself, Yukari sounding so endearing now, so considerate, that Minamo began to forget all about the piece of paper in her hands, finally turning around in order to properly address her old friend. "N-no...what's it m-"

Her words were cut short as she felt the fingers come around her neck.

"It means that you shouldn't lie to me."

Minamo cried in pain as Yukari slammed her against the lockers viciously, her hands set like steel around her throat as she began to choke her. "Yu-…ack…"

"Why'd ya' do it? I told ya' not to, but ya' still did it anyways."

"N-no…ngh…I…!" She struggled against the woman's hold on her, unable to pry herself free.

"I believed ya'."

"S-…I'm…-ryy…"

"I really did."

"…-orry…pleas-…"

Yukari throttled her with even more aggression, Minamo now frantically gasping for air, her vision blurring as the intensity of the assault started to take its toll upon her body. "Good ol' Minamo. Good ol' honest Minamo."

The woman laughed wickedly at her, a venom in it that paralyzed every fiber in her body.

"What a joke."

Minamo's strength was leaving her now, her legs starting to give way underneath. "I-…so-...so-rry…pleas-...ple-...-ukari..."

"Do you want me to say it still?" Yukari laughed again. "It's your special day, after all."

A sick taste entered her mouth.

"Yeah? I know ya' do, Minamo, 'cause I know ya' better than anyone else, ol' pal' of mine."

The woman continued to laugh as she kept her death grip on her neck, and all that Minamo could do was stare up at her in vain as she collapsed to her knees, her crimson life peppering Yukari's skirt when she began to cough weakly, the warm taste of the blood that had come rushing out from her mouth beyond nauseating, beyond disgusting.

And as the final fragments of her consciousness began to fade away, she started to experience the strangest of sensations, this feeling as if she were underwater now, drowning helplessly amongst the waves.

Yukari looked down at her, grinning madly.

"Happy Birthday, you fucking liar."

"Gah!"

Her head snapped up, the dim lighting of a television screen splashing across her face, Minamo gulping in the air around her.

I'm…! W-what?

She looked around as she got her bearings straight, perspiration stinging her eyes, and her erratic breaths calmed down when she took notice of the floor table in front of her, the books and papers on it scattered about since her head had been laying upon it all.

That's right…I came over to Yukari's today. I must have dozed off after I started working aga-

She put a hand to the side of her jaw, feeling something wet run down it, and then swiveled her neck abruptly as she felt an odd tingling inside of her ear, shaking out what appeared to be a water from it as liquid drops landed upon the table. "What the hell...?"

"Hey, you woke up!"

Minamo turned around, looking up at Yukari as the woman smiled stupidly at her, a glass of water in her hand. "Yukari? What…are you doing?"

"Did you dream that you were drowning?"

Her body stiffened. "How did…?"

The woman chuckled. "Ah, my hypothesis was correct then, doctor!"

"Yukari...what in the world are you talking about?"

Yukari placed her free hand on her hip, her face brimming with cockiness. "Well, you were sleepin' for awhile, so I wanted to wake you up 'cause I wanna' go get some food, right? Then I had this idea that I've always wanted to try, like…" She shook the glass. "If I made you feel something on the outside, then, would it like, effect your dreams and stuff, ya' know? So I pu-"

"Are you insane?"

Yukari backed up in alarm, Minamo yelling loudly as she jumped to her feet. "H-hey! It…it was for scienc-"

"Why do you always do idiotic things like this? Is it funny to you? Do you know how dangerous it is to go around doing stuff like that to people when they're asleep?"

The woman frowned, completely caught off guard by her friend's frightening change in attitude. "Yeah…I mean, no! Geez, damn, sorry, come on…"

"Never do that again! Never, never, do that again!"

"Ok, ok, ok!" Yukari put her hands up defensively, water spilling out from the glass. "I'm sorry! Holy shit!"

Minamo ground her teeth together, her anger still wanting to explode against her friend, but she somehow got control of herself when she saw that Yukari was actually looking genuinely apologetic. She took a deep breath, letting her vexations out. "Think about what you're doing next time before you do it, ok?"

Yukari nodded sadly. "Yeah…yeah…sorry…"

The woman hung her head down, a distraught expression on her face, and Minamo couldn't help but feel a little guilty for having raised her voice against her. "Yeah, don't worry about it, ok?" She took a quick glance at Yukari's work desk, a table clock on it informing her that it was almost three in the afternoon now. Wow…I've been out for a few hours.

*growl*

...and no wonder I'm starving. I haven't really eaten anything all day. "You said you were hungry, Yukari?"

"Um, yeah..."

Minamo rubbed her eyes, getting the last bits of drowsiness out. "Ok…let's go out and get something to eat, then. You pick where you want to go, and I'll buy since you let me spend the day here. How's that sound?"

Yukari raised her head, staring at her in what looked like disbelief, and then shot her arms up in joy as her somber mood quickly morphed into sheer happiness, more water flying about. "Awright'! Yeah! Nyamo's buyin' today!"

She rolled her eyes, her friend making it sound as if it was the first time that she was being treated out by her."Ok, ok…so, get ready, then. I'm going to go wash up."

The woman didn't really seem to hear her, Yukari just running around her room ecstatically now, the thoughts of whatever flavor and ethnicity of food that she would soon be devouring completely filling up her tiny mind.

Minamo smiled at her as she left the room, the never ending fluctuation of her friend's emotional condition always entertaining to watch. She really is a little kid…

A bathroom was just outside in the hallway, so it only took Minamo a few seconds to reach it, locking the door behind her as she took a look at herself in the mirror. Since most of her hair was cut short, there weren't really any frayed strands to adjust after having slept with her face planted on a table for a good while, and so all she really had to do was splash some water on her face in order to refresh her entire appearance. A few tugs on her long-sleeved shirt took out some creases, and in a few minutes Minamo looked as if she had been wide awake for the entire day.

She took an overall glance at herself then, satisfied with it now, but then became a bit frustrated as the smile she had put on slowly broke down in the reflection.

Why did I get so mad at her? Was it because of that dream?

Her hands placed themselves on the bathroom counter, Minamo leaning her weight forward as she stared down at the sink, the nightmare that had invaded her slumber bringing itself back into her thoughts. Even though she felt that Yukari's antics with the glass of water were incredibly stupid, Minamo knew that her reaction to it all had been heavily influenced by what had gone on in her consciousness just before she had woken up. She couldn't exactly recall every detail of what happened, a good chunk of her dream having already dissipated from her memory, but the fear that had enveloped her during it was still quite tangible, her shouts against Yukari having been fueled by how badly it had rattled her nerves.

It must have been all those murder stories of hers that I read today. That's got to be it. Geez, Minamo, it was a just a dream! Come on! You let it get the best of you and then you got mad at her...

She sighed, not at all happy with herself for how she had acted, but the late-lunch that she would soon be buying for Yukari would act as a bit of consolation at the very least, her own way of apologizing to her. Getting angry at others wasn't something that she enjoyed doing, even if the recipient deserved it, so anything that Minamo could do in order to make up for any such outbursts usually alleviated her conscience. Her friend, thankfully, was generally easy to make up to, any sort of tasty delicacy more than enough to earn her favor once again.

Taste...

Her tongue scraped itself against her teeth.

Again...it happened again...

A shiver ran through her then, Minamo cringing as she remembered the final moments of her brutal dream, the horrible taste of the blood that had filled her mouth being the part that she could most vividly recall. While blood itself was something that never really phased her, Minamo quite used to seeing and dealing with it on a constant basis given her athletic lot in life, the flavor of it was another matter entirely. She absolutely could not stand how warm it was for some reason, its placidity always sickening her whenever she happened to suffer some injury to the inside of her mouth, and her hatred of it had even leaked over into her choices of food and drink. If her coffee was too tepid, the temperature of a meal too moderate, it would instantly remind her of that awful, languid texture of blood, and she would spit it out immediately.

What was even more unappealing about it all, though, was that her phobia of it had always been a somewhat consistent visitor to her dreams. Today was hardly the first time that her mind had played out the scene of her spilling her life out, Minamo now thinking back to several occasions in the past where similar such nightmares had come to haunt her. They all usually started out differently, but the particular way in which they ended was the common denominator between them all, when that terrible taste would enter into it...

"Blech!"

Minamo grimaced, shaking her head to rid herself of the lingering remains of the nightmare, and then grabbed the handle of the door as she prepared to leave, stopping just short of opening it.

...what are you thinking of now? Forget it. You're such an idiot, Minamo.

She stood there for a minute, her posture frozen as she began to argue with some other part of herself.

That's not true.

They do love me! Why would they lie? Everyone of them really does.

Everyone...

And I'm always honest! I have to be...because that's who I am.

That's all I know how to be.

...I'd never do that to anyone...never, never...

So shut up already.

Minamo buried it, finally leaving the bathroom as she went back to rejoin her closest friend in the world.