Part II
Chapter 49
Kagura fussed with the apartment keys for a few moments, forgetting which one opened the door.
...bam! Here we go.
She placed the proper key into the lock, pushing open the entrance once it had clicked, and then stepped inside her mentor's home. "Hey, Minamo! I'm back!"
Warm sunlight was gracing the interior, as Kagura had made sure to leave the blinds open before she had left for school. She wanted the place to be bright and cheery for Minamo while she was out, hoping it would somehow improve her sullen mentality.
After setting her things down, she made her way to the main room, frowning as she looked towards the bed.
"Aw, man."
Her sensei was laying upon it, and by all accounts, didn't appear to have left it at all. As Kagura approached her, she could see that she was quiet and still.
...guess she went back to sleep.
She glanced down, noticing the plate and glass she had left for her. Both were cleaned out, and the sight filled Kagura with some slight relief.
Ok. Good. At least she's not too depressed to eat. But, damn, I was hoping to talk to her as soon as I got back...
There were many things that Kagura wanted to relay to Minamo, so many new questions that she wanted to ask her, but, for the time being, it appeared she'd have to wait for her chance to do either.
Oh, well. She looks ok, I guess. That's all that matters right now...
After placing the dishware in the kitchen sink, Kagura went to her bag. From it, she took out some spare clothes that she had stashed in her locker at school, and then made her way to the bathroom. She hadn't bothered to shower after the practice this morning, wanting to rush back here as soon as she could, and now had a chance to rinse off all the chlorine from her skin.
It wasn't a long bath, but the cool water refreshed her, allowing Kagura to forget how hot it had been outside. When she was finished, she dried and dressed herself, tossing the towel back onto its rack. She then stepped to the door, but then stopped in front of it.
...eh...
Kagura went back to the rack and removed the towel. She had left it in a crumpled mess, and so she folded it squarely and neatly instead. Now, it matched the other towels in the bathroom, each of them also folded perfectly in their holding places.
There.
She turned back around, pausing as she looked about the bathroom, smiling with humor at it.
...man. Well, I guess that's just how she is.
It had been something that she had noticed while having stayed overnight in her mentor's apartment. Just like the towels, Minamo's abode was impeccably set about in almost every aspect of it. Kagura had already known about her cleanliness habit to some degree, given how organized the woman was at school, but her home was something else entirely. From the accurately labeled containers in her fridge to the ridiculously clean counter tops all about, everything in the apartment was just incredibly neat and ordered. Even the video games that Minamo had in her home were all alphabetized, and Kagura had made doubly sure to keep them as they had been after making use of them.
It's pretty damn impressive, but...I dunno'. Maybe it's 'cause I'm a pretty messy person, but it's kinda'...overboard?
Her interest with her sensei's tidy home soon faded, and Kagura finally exited the bathroom.
She almost fumbled over in surprise upon stepping outside. "Whoa!"
Minamo was sitting up on the bed now, staring blankly over at her kitchen.
Kagura hustled over to her, standing beside her now. "Hey! Minamo! Did you have a good nap?"
The woman took her time to look up at her. "...oh, hello."
She chuckled, and then sat down next to her. "Well, hey there! But, hey, you're ok? I hope I didn't wake you up or something when I took a shower."
"...I wasn't sleeping...?"
"...you weren't? But...you were laying down and didn't answer me..."
Minamo appeared confused. "I'm sorry. I didn't hear you. But I...I wasn't sleeping. I was...just thinking..."
"...oh, ok. Right." Kagura scratched her head, and then sighed. "Umm...ok. Anyway! I got a lot to fill you in on. Uh, first! The practice went well. The top girls are all ready to go. Times are spot on, getting better..."
She took the next few minutes to inform the woman of the overall status of the swim club. Minamo seemed to be half-listening to her however, absently nodding to points made here and there, her eyes often looking away.
...I should just get to it already. It's probably killing her...
"...and that's that. But...um, so listen to me: before the practice started, I went to the teacher's office. And I, uh, talked to a few people..."
Minamo was keeping silent, but her attention seemed to suddenly sharpen.
"...and it doesn't look like Yukari spilled the beans or anything. Everyone was sa-"
"What?"
The woman had suddenly become animated, Kagura witnessing yet another one of those abrupt mood shifts of hers. "Hey...whoa...yeah. She didn't tell anyone about you, or what happened between you guys."
Minamo mouthed something inaudible, her eyes opening even wider than they just had before. "But...you must be wrong, Kagura."
She shook her head. "No...I spoke to a few teachers there. No one knows anything, Minamo. I mean, they were just telling me how great you were the whole time!"
There was a hefty amount of disbelief on the woman's face now, Minamo's head now looking down at the bed covers. "...you...please, don't lie to me."
"I'm not! I'm not, Minamo. They all said Yukari's been really quiet this week, too. It looks like she's just been keeping to herself. Like, she's not talking to anyone. She just comes in early and then leaves really quick."
Minamo didn't respond. She appeared to be off in her own world again.
"...is something wrong?"
"Did you speak to Yukari?"
...dang, here we go. Kagura shifted uncomfortably upon the bed. "Yeah...about that. I did talk to her, but...I mighta' screwed things up, Minamo. I'm really sorry..."
"...what do you mean?"
Kagura scrunched her brow together, becoming a little confused. She had expected her foreboding line to get a big reaction, but Minamo was staying somewhat calm. "...well, I talked to her when I saw her. She's...shes pretty angry. I didn't tell her I knew anything, but, I played it like I knew you were sick or something like that. So I tried to get her to call you...like to check up on you, ya' know? But...man. She lost it when I started talking about you. She's pissed, Minamo...and she got mad in front of all the other teachers. The vice-pres' had to come take her outside." She blew out a jaded breath. "I'm sorry, Minamo. I really screwed up. I think I made things worse between you guys..."
Her mentor continued to stare down, remaining quiet for a few moments. "...she got mad...in front of all the other faculty...?"
"Yeah. Ugh, it was kind of a mess..."
"...but..."
Kagura leaned in a bit closer, Minamo's voice so hard to hear. "Yeah...? But what?"
The woman put her head in her hands then, her fingers weaving through her short hair, looking completely frustrated. "But, why? Why didn't she tell anyone?"
"Huh?"
"It doesn't make any sense." She shook her head back and forth. "Why didn't she tell? What...what is she doing...?"
Uh, what?
Kagura became truly baffled then. She knew Minamo wasn't in a reasonable state of mind, but the responses she was getting towards her report weren't what she had expected to hear. "...hey, isn't that a good thing? Yukari didn't tell anyone, so...why are you looking upset? She doesn't seem like she's out to get you or whatever..."
A minute went by, no words spoken during it, Minamo just rocking her head in her hands.
"...hey...what's wrong?"
"...she wants me there."
"What?"
Minamo was tugging on her bangs now, her voice streaky and broken. "I know what it is. She wants me there. She wants me to come back, and then, and then she'll tell everyone...she wants to do it while I'm there. That's what it is, Kagura! That's what it is! She wants to tell them about me while I'm there, while I'm in front of everyone... "
"Hey...calm down, calm down. Come on, that's crazy. Not even Yukari would pull somethin' like that..."
"No, no, no. You don't know her like I do, Kagura. That's what she's planning. I know it, I just know it..."
"...come on, Minamo. Yeah, Yukari's pissed off. There's no doubt about that. But she wouldn't plan anything like that..."
The woman shivered vehemently, as if the temperature of the room had just dropped tremendously. "I'm so stupid...I should have known that's what she wants. Kagura, that's what it is...that's why she's keeping quiet. I know it, I just know it. You don't know how much she hates me...she hates me...that's it...that's it...it's all over. I can't go...I can't ever go back..."
"Wh-what?" Kagura couldn't help but become stunned. "What do you mean? You're not goin' back to work?"
Minamo remained silent.
...ok, that's it. I'm not going through this again.
Kagura quickly recognized the beleaguered, crazed expression that was beginning to creep across the woman's face, the same one she had seen so often yesterday. "Minamo...sorry, but...if you're going to do something like that, then the only thing I think we can do is call someone else in to help you out."
Her sensei turned to her in horror. "What? No! No! No!"
"Look..." She realized her voice was rising, and attempted to tone it down. "Are you going back to work or not? Are you going to help out our team or not? You can't just stay here...you just can't. And if you aren't going, then we need to get someone else to help on this, because I really don't know what else to do. I mean, you just can't keep on avoiding Yukari foreve-"
"Yes I can!"
The conviction in the woman's voice was solid, Kaguara watching her mentor descend into a desperation once again. "Look, if you're serious...then I dunno' what else to tell ya'. You need to go back to work, that's all I know, and you have to fix things with Yukari. But...ok, fine. Forget it." Kagura shook her head with frustration. "I know you didn't want to involve anyone else, Minamo, but I'm outta' ideas. You need someone else to help you, like a family member or friend, because I-"
Minamo appeared incredulous now, as if she had just been betrayed. "...no...no...n-"
"Minamo!" Kagura had to keep her temper in check again, not wanting to get into another shouting match. "...Minamo, listen: there must be someone else out there that you can talk to, right? If you can get someone you know well to patch things up between you guys..."
"...no!" The woman shook her head back and forth with vigor. "I told you! I told you I can't! You don't get it. I can't talk to anyone...I can never talk to anyone else..."
Kagura hesitated. "Let me ask you something. Just...just listen. Don't freak out. Just listen. I...want to ask you..."
"What? What is it now?"
"...I want to ask you...if you know someone named Eiko...?"
"...what...?"
...whoa...
The moment that Kagura had uttered the name, she had witnessed the blood drain from Minamo's face, this flicker of terror flashing over it for a split second. The woman's eyes were locked dead on with hers now, her nervous trembling all but ceased.
"...I said...I just asked if you know someone named Eiko."
Her mentor stared at her with a mix of dread and suspicion, her lack of an outright answer serving as one.
Kagura brought up her hands, warding off the ominous look. "Listen, listen: when I was talking to some teachers today, one of them just dropped the name when we started talking about you. Everyone was saying how great you were back in high school, and they just started telling me about you, and Yukari, and this person named Eiko as well. Anyway...from what it sounded like, you knew that girl pretty well, right? Do you still know her?"
It was quiet for a bit, Minamo staring on at her, as if her old pupil was some sort of traitor now. Then, she looked away, a sad expression on her face. "...I...she..."
"Hey..." She put a hand on her shoulder. "I didn't mean to just go and find about your friends or something, if that's what you're thinking. It just came into the conversation. And...I figured it's the only way to go from here, Minamo. Our team needs you, I'm sure as hell the school needs you, and you can't just avoid the person you like forever, right? So, if you're that scared of Yukari, that you don't wanna' go back...then it makes sense, right? To get someone you both know well to help out? Does Yukari know this person well too?"
"...sort of..."
Kagura felt a jolt of hope run through her, Minamo appearing to at least consider the idea. "But, do you know her really well? Like, could you talk to her about this whole situation? Is she someone you can trust?"
Minamo closed her eyes. "I...I don't want to call Eiko..."
Kagura sat back, sighing. "Minamo...come on. What do you think is gonna' happen if you just stay here? Someone's going to come here looking for you anyway. Think about that. Wouldn't it be better to, I dunno'...just get things solved more secretly, if you're worried about everyone finding out? Like, get some advice from this Eiko-lady. Yeah, you'll have to tell her about yourself, but...isn't that better than the school or whatever sending someone to find out about you? People are gonna' get worried and look for you..."
"I know that. I just...that's what I was...thinking about..."
"...what?"
The woman seemed to shrink by the second, her voice coming out weak and thin now. "...I don't want them to send anyone, Kagura."
"...right. So, that's why I'm saying that I think it's best to get someone else involved, before other people, that you don't really know well, come and start getting in your business. I mean, if Eiko doesn't help, then we can still always talk to a doctor or counselor o-"
"No! No, I'll call Eiko!"
Kagura recoiled backwards, her mentor screaming. "Ok, ok! Let's...let's call her."
Minamo shivered for a moment. "...I'm sorry. I just...I needed time. I couldn't...I just needed time, this time..."
She had no idea what her sensei was talking about, but either way, Kagura felt progress being made. "It's cool, it's cool! Sorry, that was my bad. I forgot that you didn't want a doctor. Um...here." Minamo's cell phone was laying beside them, so Kagura handed it to her.
The woman stared at it for the better part of a minute. "Kagura..."
"Yeah?"
"...can...can you call and talk to her for me...?"
"M-me?" Kagura chuckled with worry. "I don't think that'll work...it's gonna' be weird for her to hear a stranger talking to her from a friend's number, don't you think? I mean, what am I gonna' say anyway?"
"I don't...know what to say either..."
She frowned. "Just...I dunno'. I guess calling her up and just telling her that you're gay out of the blue would be pretty tough. Just...just tell her that you have to talk to her about somethin' important. Like ease into it, I guess? Or, just tell her that you and Yukari had a big fight, and you need her help to fix things. Then you can tell her about yourself later..."
Minamo took in a deep breath. "I...I don't want her...to think of me differently..."
"Right...but...you gotta' do it anyway, Minamo. Remember, it's either tell her or risk a lot more people finding out. The only other option is to go to work and face Yukari yourself."
The woman shuddered as she considered her predicament, grimacing heavily.
Kagura patted her shoulder. "Hey...hey, don't cry again! Come on..."
"...I never told her...I never told anyone..."
"...hey, hey. Look, I don't know this lady, but...from what I heard, you guys were close, right? You do you know her well?"
"...I...I guess..."
"Ok. So, if you guys are good friends, then she won't mind! Like, I totally got your story, right? She will too! Don't worry about it. Err...wait." Kagura rubbed her chin. "Eiko's not...she's not like another Yukari, is she? Like...crazy?"
To her surprise, her comment got a faint chuckle out from her mentor. "No...no. They're...they're not at all alike..."
"She's pretty level-headed, then?"
"...I guess."
She grinned, throwing her arms up with cheer. "Well, then, there we go! If she's someone that you can count on, then give her a call, ok? Maybe all you need is someone you know well to talk to Yukari with you. That's all, Minamo!"
The woman hesitated again, pondering over something. "Ok, Kagura."
Kagura smiled, this whole convoluted situation finally beginning to untangle itself. "Great! Great! Just be brave! I'm here with you too, so don't worry. Just tell her that you need some help. Maybe you guys should meet face-to-face to talk this over, 'cause it's kinda' too big of a deal to just do over the phone, right?"
"...right..."
"Ok, so, go for it! The sooner this all blows over, the better!"
Minamo continued to stare at her phone with a weary look, the device shaking in her nervous hand.
Kagura gave her a reassuring pat on the back. "Go on! It'll be fine."
"...ok." Her mentor thumbed the screen, and soon, she had dialed a number, the phone now to her ear.
...hope this isn't another dumb idea on my part. She kept her hand on the woman, attempting to keep her calm.
"...h-h-hi...Eiko. This...is Minamo. Please call me back. I have...I have a problem. Thanks...thank you..."
She watched the woman set the phone down in her lap. "She didn't answer?"
Her mentor slowly shook her head. "...she's...always busy..."
Kagura frowned. "Busy? She working or somethin'?"
"...yes. All the time."
"Oh, what's she do?"
"She works...for Toyota. She helped me...choose my car..."
"Oh, wow! What's she do there? She help at a factory or something?"
"...no. She...she's the general manager of our region..."
"What?" Her jaw dropped. "The heck? Are you serious?"
"...yes?"
"Dude!" Kagura rocked her gently with a hand. "Minamo, that's...how the hell do you know some bigwig like that? That's... tha-"
A musical jingle interrupted her words, the phone ringing. Minamo picked it up, shuddering as she read the name on the screen. "It...it's her..."
"Damn, that was quick. Well, answer it!"
"...but..."
"Minamo!" Kagura reached for the phone, touched the screen to accept the call, and then shoved the device against Minamo's ear. "Talk to her!"
The woman shook with unease, but didn't put up any resistance. Instead, she closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath. "H-h-hello?"
Kagura could hear the voice of another person emanate from the phone, but it was too low for her to make out anything specific.
"...I...no. I'm...ok. No...I don't sound different...I don't. Yes. I...I was calling...because I need to talk to you. It's...my voice is fine. Don't...no! Just...just listen. No...It's...something personal. I need...I need your help. I need to talk to you. No...no! It's...it's not b-bad...no, I don't, I'm telling you. What? No, don't! No..." Minamo sighed. "...ok. Ok, Eiko. Ok...ok. I'll...see you soon...thanks. Ok. Ok...bye."
Her sensei looked shaken as she ended the call. "...what? What did she say?"
"...she's coming here."
"Huh? When?"
"Right now."
"Whoa!" Kagura's eyes opened widely. "I thought you said she was workin', though? I mean...can someone in her position just drop stuff and leave? Well...wait...I guess she can, if she's in charge...but...damn, Minamo. Seriously? She's coming here right now?"
"That's what she told me..."
There wasn't any feeling in her sensei's voice now, something quite off about it. Minamo didn't appear afraid anymore, but didn't display any other sort of emotion either. She was just sort of dull and dead, a neutral disposition.
...who is this lady? Minamo seemed kinda' scared when I mentioned her, but now she looks like she doesn't care about anything. "Well...that's good...? Right? That's cool that she would just come here like that."
"She always...does things like that..."
"Eh?"
The woman didn't bother to clarify.
"Um...well, ok. If she's coming here...should I head out for a bit so that you tw-"
"Please, stay..."
"...yeah, I can do that too. No problem...I just figured I'd get in the way..."
"You won't."
Kagura scrutinized her thoroughly then, a trace of anxiety now tangible in her words. "Uh, ok, then..."
Minamo began to adjust her position on the bed. "I'm going to lay down for a little while. You can...open the door when she gets here."
She got off the bed, allowing her sensei to stretch out and get under the covers. "Sure..."
The apartment fell silent again, and Kagura relocated herself to the living room couch. For the time being, all she could do was wait for the arrival of Minamo's old friend, someone of whom had now come to greatly pique Kagura's interest.