Part I
Chapter 36
The crowd of homeroom students remained swarmed around the desk like vultures, Yukari standing upon it with the letter before her face, laughing ecstatically. "Oh, man!"
A wave of mumbling and speculation flowed through the room.
"Just read the damn thing already, Tanizaki." The girl who originally had the letter in her hands barked at her classmate. "Don't take forever."
Yukari glared down. "Shut the hell up, pipsqueak, and let me read this thing already."
The diminutive student scowled menacingly.
All of the attention was focused on Yukari then, everyone in the room so eagerly awaiting to hear the paper's contents. Everyone, of course, except for its author, who stood by silently in the doorway.
Minamo Kurosawa let out a breath of despair. She knew it was over, that no other student in her class would try and save her. No one, not even the third years on campus, ever messed around with Yukari Tanizaki, the girl whose tantrums alone could whittle down even the toughest of faculty members.
And Minamo also knew that, very soon, her letter would be spread like wildfire throughout the school. Her peers would know what she had wrote upon it, then her teachers, then all of the staff, and then her coaches, her teammates, and then...
Yukari cleared her throat dramatically. "'To my Senpai...'"
Her hands went over her face, Minamo unable to bear it anymore.
"'Thank you for always taking the time to help everyone out. Everyone on the team really loves you. You're an amazing swimmer and we all hope that we can be as good as you someday. I just wanted to let you know what we all think of you. Please continue to be amazing for us! I wanted to tell you this in person, but I'm not very good at saying these sort of things in person. So, thank you again for everything.'"
Yukari chuckled, waving the letter around in the air now. "There you go!" She looked back down to her short classmate. "Yeah, this thing's a real riot, you stupid rat."
The gathered clump of students broke into murmur once again, everyone looking at each other with questioning glances, passing the name of 'Tanizaki' around like currency. They soon all glanced at the trio of girls who had originally burst into the classroom with the letter in hand, the ones who had so assuredly known what was written on it, who had essentially promised good, delicious gossip to chew upon.
A second of silence passed, and then, it was destroyed by an eruption of laughter that filled the classroom, all of it directed towards the three culprits in question.
"Totally lame!"
"What a waste of time..."
"Come on, let's sit down already..."
As the commotion and interest in the event slowly faded away, the lot of students now dispersing back to their desks, Minamo continued to stand in the doorway, staring on at the entire scene with nothing short of absolute disbelief.
Minamo brought her sprinting to a stop upon the sidewalk, checking the street signs to see if she was on the right path. She had been practically bolting her way down here for the last few minutes, hardly tired from the effort since she was quite used to such tests of endurance.
Her head swiveled from side-to-side as she tried to get her bearings straight. She had never traveled to this part of the local school neighborhood before, but her sense of navigation had always been quite good, so she quickly figured out where she was, despite the poor directions she had received.
She clutched her school bag tightly as she resumed her run. Her regular class uniform was packed inside of it, and in its place she wore a pair of tight running pants and sports shirt. Swim practice had just ended, so Minamo had changed into gear that would best allow her to sprint without any drag, so as to reach the meeting spot as fast as possible. If it had been her choice though, she would have skipped the practice all together, but she felt it was best to keep her normal routine going so as to not draw any suspicion, after what had happened earlier today.
Another minute went by, Minamo rounding one last row of houses, and then she saw it, the small alley behind a white, two-story residence, just as described. She raced into the small space, and then brought herself to an abrupt halt as she finally spotted her.
"Oh, hey, there you are! Man, I was about to go back inside..."
Yukari Tanizaki sneered at her as she stood barefoot in the alley, donning pajamas and a dingy white t-shirt, giving the impression that she had gone back to bed as soon as she had arrived home from school this afternoon.
Overhead, the shadows cast by the surrounding houses laid softly behind the both of them, light sounds of the neighborhood echoing here and there.
Minamo took in a deep breath, attempting to settle her nerves as she fought back her anxiety. She had heard the stories about this girl before, of how Yukari had already cemented her reputation as a bully and delinquent from well back in her junior high days. And while Minamo herself had never really gotten to know her personally, she had witnessed Yukari's random outbursts in class, pick on people just for the fun of it, so there wasn't much reason to doubt the full extent of her infamy.
But yet, after what her classmate had done at school today, Minamo still had no real idea of what to expect from this unpredictable individual. "…wh-where is it?"
"Yeah, yeah, lookies' here." Yukari reached into a pocket of her pajamas, taking out a folded letter. "I still got it, don't worry, so le-"
"Give it back!"
The teenager put up an arm, holding off Minamo as she dashed at her, lunging for the letter. "Whoa! Hold on there, kid…!"
Minamo yelled again, unable to keep the panic back any longer, all the fear that had accumulated while having been apart from her precious item for so long, knowing that it was in the hands of this wild girl who had read it. "Just give it to me...!"
"Look...shutup for a se-"
"Please, just give it back already...!"
"...dammit', liste-"
Minamo made another desperate attempt for the letter, but she was thrown roughly down to the ground for the effort, groaning as she landed upon the hard street.
Yukari adjusted her ruffled shirt, looking down at her in anger. "Look, shut your damn mouth and let me talk, Kurosawa."
She didn't respond, sniffling as she did her best to cope with the situation at hand, stuck out here in a part of town that she had never been in, with an obstinate, rowdy teenager standing over her menacingly, the very person who had her letter.
Her classmate glared down at her, but soon, the expression softened as her belligerent posture relaxed. She sighed heavily, closing her eyes as she took a moment to calm herself. "...sorry, sorry, sorry. My bad." She bent down, offering her extended hand. "Sorry about that. Come on, get up."
Minamo hesitated in taking the assistance, backing up just slightly.
A flash of annoyance passed through Yukari's face, but she once again closed her eyes, forcing her irritations to flow out from her as she put on a smile. "...look: I didn't ask you to come out here so I could just beat you up or somethin'. I'm sorry I shoved ya', I just...I was just gettin' pissed off. I'm sorry, ok? Truce?"
She was still reluctant, but eventually grasped the hand that was offered to her, something about the girl's tone of voice making her apology sound genuine.
They stared at each other then as they stood in the suburban alley, a small wind blowing Yukari's brown hair playfully about, that silly red ribbon of hers tying it up.
Minamo swallowed fearfully, looking down at the ground with worry. "...why did you want me to meet you out here?"
"Oh…'cause I wanted to give your letter back to you. Duh."
"You could have given that to me at school!"
Yukari gave her a crinkled smirk. "Yeah, maybe, but I didn't want anyone to see me givin' this back to you. Too many damn nosy idiots would make somethin' of it, and...well, I kind of wanted to have a chat with you about some things, too."
"A…chat?"
"Yeah, a chat."
"…but…about what…?"
"About stuff. I'll give this back after that, ok?"
"…please, it's mine, so just…"
"Just hold on and listen to me." Yukari waved the letter back and forth. "You know there's some shit flyin' around about you, right? So why would you go and write somethin' stupid like this then?"
"…wh-what do you mean?"
"I'm just sayin' that it was a dumb move to go and put this thing in that kid's locker. I mean, with all the rumors, you'd think that doin' somethin' like this is the last thing that you'd wanna' do."
Minamo gripped her bag nervously, her voice weakening to a whisper as she felt the dread return to her stomach. "…I…I didn't want her...to read it…"
"What?"
"…I was going back...to her locker, after I put it in. To get it back, because…I decided that I didn't want her to read it...after...I thought about it. But then…they stole it…"
"Oh." Yukari crooked her head. "That shrimp and her friends beat ya' to it, huh? See, that's what I'm sayin'. You should be careful with stuff like this. Assholes like that are always waitin' for some popular kid like you to slip up. You get what I mean?"
A heavy grimace set across her face.
Yukari watched her, observing her classmate, and then took a step towards her, her arm extended out. "Here."
Minamo looked at the girl's hand, her precious letter gripped in it. Her eyes went up to Yukari, then back to her possession, and then she quickly grabbed it, hugging it to her chest as sheer relief washed over her. It was finally back with her, after an entire day of being apart from it, of wondering what would happen to it, of what this girl would possibly do with it...
"Just try and be more careful in the future, ok? You prob-"
"...why did you do that for me...?"
"Huh?"
Minamo met her eyes dead on. "Why...did you lie to everyone about what I wrote?"
Yukari stared at her blankly, one of her hands soon pulling on a part of her ribbon as she twirled it around a finger. "I dunno'. Maybe I just felt like it? I'm an enigma."
She frowned, not at all enjoying that answer, and then looked down to her letter. "I just…" She sighed, lifting her eyes back up. "I just don't understand what's going on here. I barely even know you, but, you seem like you're so concerned about me. I'm just...you never seemed like the sort of person to really care about others, so...I'm just wondering what's actually going on..."
Yukari didn't reply, but yet, Minamo almost felt that she had, a sudden change in girl's demeanor having just given the impression of one. It had barely been discernible, but she had just seen her classmate's expression twist subtly with pain, as if she had been pricked with a needle, and Minamo blinked in surprise at how different she appeared to her now. The usually turbulent air that she had about her had been dampened somewhat, and the fear that she had of this girl began to ebb away as well, Yukari now feeling more human than her reputation previously allowed her to be.
It was difficult for her to fully fathom, but Minamo was beginning to feel somewhat comfortable around the person that her peers regarded as a bully, her earlier anxieties slipping away. "…I didn't mean to say that. I'm sorry."
Yukari looked at her in surprise, then turned away, a little abashed. "Y-yeah...well, you're right, I don't care about anyone. I'm just...um, you know, just helpin' out a little...that don't mean nothin'..."
Minamo found herself a bit taken aback as well then. Yukari's bumbling mannerisms suddenly gave this subtle adorableness to her, a pleasant charm that contrasted against the girl's physically sharp looks, an attractive face and physique that she had never really taken notice of before.
She recovered from the momentary infatuation. "Ah...ok. Well...in any case. Ah..." She bowed gracefully. "...thank you so much for doing this for me, then, Yukari." She stood up. "I'm sorry...that I was being so rude earlier. I just...when I saw that you had my letter, I just panicked. I just wanted it back...I didn't even remember to thank you first. I'm sorry about that. I...I really owe you one, for everything you did..."
Yukari's eyes widened for a moment as she began to fidget around nervously. "Uh…oh…y-eah…no problem…" She looked away, down the length of the alley. "Just forget about it. I didn't do it for any favors, so...yeah, just get outta' here already..."
They had come out clumsily, but Minamo still so palpably felt the sincere honesty in her classmate's words. "...you're a nice person actually, Yukari."
Yukari squirmed about. "N-no I'm not...! Shut the hell up...stupid..."
The girl continued to evolve before her eyes, Minamo adoring the comical tough-act that Yukari was now trying to put on, and it just made her seem like such a funny and unique individual. "Ah...ok, well...like I said, if there's anything that you ever need, please let me know. I...don't think you realize how much I appreciate what you did for me. You're...you were really brave to do something like that..."
The teenager almost stumbled over, trying her best to resume a serious face and posture as best she could. "R-really...?"
"Yeah! You totally rescued me..."
"...l-like a valkryie?"
"...a what?"
"O-oh! Nothin'! Nothin'!" Yukari waved away her comment with both hands as a gigantic smile spread across her face, this bright, mirthful aura now radiating forcefully from her. "I...like I said, it's no problem! Just...just doin' my duty...and stuff...you know, stuff like that is easy to do for someone like me...bein' brave and stuff, I mean..."
Her tone of voice sounded so unintentionally hilarious, Yukari looking so out of sorts as she faked bravado, and Minamo couldn't help but begin to chuckle at the amusing behavior of her classmate.
Yukari looked at her in confusion. "W-what's so funny...?"
It flowed through her so easily now, her sense of humor finally returning to her after all she had gone through today, a few more light laughs coming out. "You..."
"H-huh...?"
"...sorry. I'm just...I'm just feeling so happy right now. You don't know how relieved you've made me, Yukari. Thanks so much again. I'm in your debt." She stared at the girl with pure gratification, Minamo beaming out a genuine smile for her as she finally felt the weights of the day sloughing off.
Yukari stared back at her, the surrounding ambient sounds filling the air for a few brief moments, and then her expression suddenly relaxed. "...I said don't worry about it. You just paid me back, anyway."
"I did...?"
"Yup. You just smiled for me, and I got to see it."
Minamo had trouble responding, completely caught off guard. "Wh-what...?"
"Just, ya' know, good to see you happy again and shit..." The girl kicked at something on the alley floor. "...ya' know, good people like you, should, I dunno'...stay smilin' all the time, or somethin'..."
She gawked at her stupidly.
Yukari put on an ungraceful smirk. "Y-yeah, sorry. Guess that was...kinda' corny. B-but...yeah..."
Minamo had barely heard her, her focus completely stuck on the sudden compliment of her smile, of what her skin started to feel upon comprehending the words. The strangest of prickling sensations was now crawling across it, an electricity that jolted her hairs on end, all because this girl had simply observed and appreciated some particular feature of her, the very same girl who had saved her today.
And then, Minamo remembered.
She remembered, that this is what she had felt, when her senpai had first spoken kindly to her...
Her stare began to waver, something forcing her eyes away from her classmate as she became overly self-conscious. "N-no...that...that's...a really...nice thing for you...to say..." She bit her lip, suddenly feeling so at a loss for what to say or do. "But...but...I mean...I still...I still mean it, that, if you ever need a real favor, or something...that's what I meant..."
Yukari shrugged, thinking to herself a. "Well, I guess that's cool. But...oh, I know what you could do for me..."
"What's that...?"
"...you gotta' make me a promise, ok?"
"A promise?"
"Yup! If you don't, then I'll take it back." She nodded towards the letter, a joking tone in her voice. "But if you keep your end, then we'll be even, alrighty?"
Minamo got over her shyness for a moment, looking up at the girl curiously, noticing how dashing she was trying to appear now. "...umm...ok, but, what do you want me to promise?"
"Just...don't let those other kids get to you anymore. You know...chin up and all that. You're always lettin' them get to you and whatever whenever they pick on you. That's why they get the guts to go and follow you around and steal your stuff."
She gave a half-smile at the advice, the so-called bully lecturing her on being being bullied. "I...I know that. But...that's...easier said than done." She sighed. "I just...I just don't know what to do whenever they start everything up again..."
"Go tell a teacher or somethin', then."
"...I don't...want them involved..."
Yukari gave her a glare, studying the girl across from her. "Why not?"
Minamo bit her lip. "...that's...that's my business. And besides, I think everyone will leave me alone now, after what you told them, right? I mean...I don't think they'd have any reason to doubt you of all people, if...if you get what I mean..."
"...yeah, no worries, I get what you're sayin'. But, I dunno', maybe they all bought it. Hey, I did a good job of makin' that shit up, right?" She grinned victoriously, thumping her chest with a prideful fist. "I'm pretty good at makin' up dialogue and stuff. I mean, I do stuff like that all the time. I write a lot! I'm gonna' write tons of novels someday, matter o' fact."
"...oh, oh, wow! Y-yeah, that's great! And...yeah...it did sound really convincing. That's...why I'm sure that all of that will stop now..."
"...so what if it don't?"
Minamo winced. "...things will be fine. Don't worry. Everything...will work out now. I'm...I'm sure of it..."
Her classmate stood silently, puckering her lips, her brow furrowing heavily with thought. "Yep, I think you're right about that, Kurosawa."
"R-really?"
"Yup!" Yukari pointed a thumb at herself, smiling gloriously. "'cause Yukari has joined the party!" She whistled a musical chime.
"...party?"
"That's right!" Her hands went to her hips as she exhibited a triumphant pose. "If anyone gives you shit again, then you just let me know! Trust me, I'll keep anyone off your back if they try and start givin' you crap about anythin' again from now on. Ok, Kurosawa?"
She just stared blankly at her. "What...what are you talking about...?"
The girl chuckled. "I'm just sayin'...if you ever have problems again like today, then just let me know! Can't let those morons go sayin' whatever they want about people now, can we?"
Minamo wasn't sure how to respond, the girl sounding so obviously hypocritical, given her own treatment of others. But still, she became hooked on the offer, completely stuck on the last word that Yukari had just spat out so confidently, each repetition of it in her ears sending more of those wonderful sparks up and down her nerves.
'...we...'
"...but...why?"
Yukari raised an eyebrow. "Why what?"
"...I still don't get why you're so interested in helping me. We...we barely even know each other...and..."
"Yeah, so?"
"...s-so? That's...it's just...like I said, we sort of just met, I guess..."
"So? I don't see why that matters. I mean, either way, someone's gotta' take care of you, so I will!"
The entire world came to a screeching halt around Minamo, her eyes locked dead on to Yukari.
On the girl's face now, spanning widely across it, was the most absurd, mischievous looking of grins. It was of the type that perfectly suited someone of Yukari's rascally nature, but yet to Minamo, there was so much more to it than that. In her eyes, there was this slick gallantry glazed over it, the sort of cocky, confident expression that somehow just inspired assurance in another, that somehow melted away all of one's worries.
She found herself unable to look away from it, completely enthralled with both it and the particular string of words that she had just heard.
'...take care of you...'
'...take care of you...'
'...take care of you...'
They echoed on endlessly inside of Minamo's head, all of her other thoughts, fears, and concerns becoming drowned out by the voice of the strange girl before her. For some reason the notion, just the mere possibility, of being watched over by her classmate had stirred something to life inside of her. To have such an attractive, funny, brave young woman, right there by her side...
*thump*
The tingling sensation from before abruptly blazed into something much more immense, all but for the briefest of moments.
"...h-hey...? What's wrong? You look weird..."
Minamo didn't hear her at all, totally consumed with the blissful feeling that she had just felt explode through her, the remnants of a wonderful, ethereal warmth still lingering inside of her heart. She couldn't even begin to comprehend what it was that she had just experienced, but she had become instantly intoxicated with it, enamored with it, and now was finding herself so thoroughly cemented to Yukari, unable to get her out of her mind.
She felt her face become flush then, and she instinctively hid it, gluing her stare to the ground. Her mouth had become dry as well, and she was unable to speak, totally lost in what had just happened to her. All that Minamo could understand was that she had just somehow come to adore Yukari Tanizaki, an individual that she had practically met for the first time today, and that whatever it was that she was now feeling towards her was far, far different from anything that she had ever felt for her senpai.
Her classmate stepped slowly towards her, knocking a knuckle on top of Minamo's head. "...hello? I say somethin' wrong?" She chuckled. "Yeah...guess I'm really hammin' it up today. I'll, uh, lay off that stuff...sorry..."
Somehow, the ability to speak returned to her. "N-no...I'm...just...I just...I just..."
"...you ok? You sound kind of outta' of it..."
Minamo began to play with her hands unconsciously, her letter crumpling between her fingers. "Y-y-you...want to...help...help me...?"
"...o-oh! Ah...I mean, yeah, not tryna' force anythin' on ya', just sayin' that I-"
"...th-then...take care of me, please..."
Yukari looked completely bewildered then, slowly regaining her focus as she spoke awkwardly. "...ah...yeah...I said...I would..."
Minamo's eyes were opened widely in surprise as she continued to look down at the alley floor, greatly astonished at her choice of words. Something else inside of her had just spoken for her, had said something so completely embarrassing and out of character, totally against her own will. And now, all she could do was stand there looking ashamed, feeling as if she had just spoken like a silly little child.
"Hey...Kurosawa..."
"...um...umm..."
"...you...want a drink or anythin'? My house is right here...I mean, if you wanna' come in, 'cause, we've just been standin' out here for awhile...and...uh...you look kinda' tired..."
A small gasp escaped from her, Minamo finding herself so incredibly delighted at the sudden invitation. "Um...o-ok...thanks..."
She placed the letter into her bag, and within a moment, the pair were walking down the alley together, neither speaking as they made their way. Minamo, however, wasn't at all concerned with the lack of conversation, simply enjoying the feeling of being next to this girl. There was just this thrill of excitement from having been treated so kindly by an individual that everyone else feared, that she was now happily walking with, as if Minamo alone had the privilege to.
A tickle arose in her chest as she stole a peek at her companion, reminding herself of how good looking Yukari was, her features sharp and well crafted, much more alluring than senpai's...
"...can I ask you somethin', Kurosawa?"
The question interrupted Minamo's daydreaming. "...s-sure!"
"I just want to know somethin'." They turned a corner, now on the main straight of the suburb. "I want you to be honest with me."
"...what's that?"
"That stuff you wrote..."
In an instant, everything came crashing down.
"...umm...are you...do you actually like girls?"
Minamo cursed herself incessantly for her own stupidity.
She had forgotten.
She had completely forgotten, in the rush of everything that she had just experienced, that this person had read her letter, and within a second, it all returned to her. The massive, crushing guilt that she had always felt against the accusations, the dread of those pointing fingers, the callous laughter, the horrible feeling of being exposed.
It slowly began to fade away as Minamo buried it, the invigorating warmth that she had felt towards Yukari.
"I mean...I didn't wanna' mention this before, but...all the rumors and stuf-"
"I don't like girls."
Yukari looked over to her as they strode along. "...ok, but, that stuff you wrote was pretty mushy, though. So, I'm just wonderin'..."
Her fists clenched together tightly. "I said...I'm not..."
"So you're not a lesbian?"
The word tore into her like a dagger. "I...I'm not. I just...I get close...to people...like senpai, and then everyone just starts making...a big deal out of it...and... exaggerates...things..."
They came to a stop in front of Yukari's house. "Ok. So, you're being completely honest with me then, Kurosawa? I just wanna' make sure you're bein' honest with me." She went around her, looking at her face. "So, you are, right?"
"...yes."
"Totally honest?"
Her eyes went to the side, downcast upon the ground. "Please...I'm being honest with you. I'm...not...I'm not like that..."
Yukari stared at her hard, examining her, scrutinizing her, but soon, smiled gingerly. "See, that's why I like you, Kurosawa." She slapped her classmate's shoulder merrily. "You're an honest kid. Like me! And I really like when people are honest with me." She pushed open the house gate, her other arm slung around Minamo's shoulders as they walked into the lot. "So good people like us, you know, us honest folk, we gotta' stick together against the world and stuff, you know? You know what I mean, Kurosawa?"
She dared not look at her as they went inside. "...yeah."
To my Senpai,
Thank you for everything that you do for the team. You're an amazing swimmer and we've all learned so much from you. All of the girls really appreciate you. But that is what I need to talk to you about. I'm writing this to you because I can never get the chance to talk to you alone.
I love you the most out of everyone. I know everyone loves you, but this is different. I don't understand why you have to spend time with other people. You said you really enjoyed having me around, so why would you need anyone else then? I feel exactly the same way about you, but even more. You're the most beautiful, wonderful person to me. I get so excited and happy by just being around you. I'd do anything for you. I don't need any other people besides you. So I don't understand why you need anyone else then when you have me. No one else can come close to what I feel for you.
Please talk to me after practice today about this. It's very frustrating to me. No one else thinks of you more than I do. I want to stay with you forever.
-Your Minamo