Chapter 3: Cumulonimbus

"When there's smoke, there's fire" as the saying goes. When there is a cause, there's always an effect; and vice versa. If there are many police cruisers in the vicinity, then there must be a crime scene nearby. When there's smoke inside the house, it must be the Christmas roast in the oven or someone in the family smoking some nicotine sticks. Obviously, if there are clouds—like cumulonimbus clouds in the area, then there's bound to be rain; or perhaps a downpour. It can't be helped actually. Nature has its own domain and controlling them for personal gain will make her very, very, very angry. Effects of causes give way to other effects. When there are cumulonimbus clouds, there's bound to be rain. Plus, if they don't show signs of stopping then it will result in a flood. The transition is endless unless an outside force intervenes with the process. Floods will result in damages to property which will result in frustrated property owners which will result to a dangerous increase in blood pressure which will result in hypertension and hospital check-up and so on.

Previously, Kagami is left of two choices: go to Tokyo Tower this Sunday to close the deal or ignore the letter and live life to the fullest. Either way, the effects will be life-changing. In the event she does go will result to a settling of misconceptions that will result to agreement between boy and girl that will result in a developing friendship that will result to a mutual understanding between them and so on. Otherwise, it could result in sad moments which could lead to kilos of depression on their burden of life which could lead to regret which could lead to lose of temperance and so on. In short, either way has chains of consequences waiting. No wonder she had a hard time deciding. But now that she chose the latter as her fate, turning back would waste everything she had hoped for.

"Kagami, there's a phone call for you." Her mother, Miki, called. "It's Konata-chan!"

Immediately, Kagami hurried down the stairs and picked up the handset. The family phone isn't the modern cordless innovation but tradition makes it up for the use of the spinning dial phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Kagamin…!"

"You are NOT calling here for my homework, aren't you?"

"I'm not asking for help. I'm asking you if you're free this Sunday."

"Sunday…? Sorry, I have plans."

"Ho, ho, ho, what kind of plans Kagamin…?"

"Plans like…it's none of your beeswax…!"

"Aha! Kagamin has finally found a…a…b-b-b…"

"Oh, do you hear that? It must be the stove; I'd better check it out."

"Stove…? You COOK?"

"Ah, the roast is burning, I'd better get that."

"W-Wait—"

"Bye."

Konata heard the crashing of the handset from the speaker. From the looks of things, she was acting pretty weird.

"I was just going to ask Tsukasa for the manga."

Meanwhile, Miyuki and Hajime are really cousins by blood. Now that that fact is known, what brought Hajime to the Takara household?

"When my mother said that there would be a mystery guest coming, I didn't think that it would be you." Miyuki said.

"I'm surprised to see you as a fine lady after all these years." Hajime replied. "I've spent most of my life at Kanagawa, miles apart from you."

"I'm really glad you decided to drop by. How's grandpa?"

"Still his jolly old self…he's about to break the 80 barrier soon and still thinks like a child. I guess he doesn't want to let go of his youth."

"Pardon me for asking this question but: why did you never come to see me at my classroom every break time? At least you won't be lonely."

"That's…kind of complicated to explain. Better if you don't know it."

That's much of the family reunion. Hajime is as kind as his young cousin Miyuki. In fact, Hajime never picked a fight even in the event that alley thugs did. His intellect matched that of purple pigtails and he is also a member of the student council. He had been hiding this formal feeling since the first day of school during his first year. It was kind of odd because there should be great pain before a formal feeling such as this. He did experience great pain—concealing his feelings toward her; it inflicted damage emotionally. He could hold on but for how long? How long will she make Kagami wait? How long will Kagami make him wait? He decided that Tokyo Tower will be the place and Sunday will be the time. He must face this ordeal like a man even if there's less than one percent chance of success.

With the intended day 72 hours away and the intended place a train ride and several tracks away, Kagami prepared herself for the inevitable. Any of the choices could and would make or break her ego. She has never been very lucky at "triggering a flag". It wasn't only a question on what to answer to her admirer but also how to answer.

Surely, life knows how to mess things up and fix them at the same time.

"Should I tell my family about this?" Kagami asked herself; looking out the raindrop-infested window. From there, the view of the world was divided into clusters of raindrops. "No, that would complicate everything. They may even not permit me to go on a Sunday with a boy."

The silence was broken when a certain somebody replied to that matter. "Gee, I wonder who that boy could be."

Kagami turned around; "Matsuri onee-san…!"

"I see that you finally have what romance wants: a boy! Wait till they hear about this."

"No wait, don't tell anybody!"

"Why shouldn't I? It's a part of life, you know. How could we even exist in this world if mom and dad didn't love each other?"

"It's not a matter of existence. It's only someone crushing on me."

"And you fell for it?"

At that critical moment, Kagami let out an outburst of emotions.

"You don't make sense! This is something I have to do alone!"

The sound of rolling thunder roared as loud as it was made to be. Both sisters stopped their oral arguments and turned their backs on one another.

"Okay then, I won't tell anybody." Matsuri finally gave up. "But I won't be held responsible for whatever you do."

"I know that. Keep your word for it." Kagami replied.

It's only up to her sister to uphold her word. If all goes well, Kagami may get through this ordeal. The opposite will spell disaster not only in friends and family but to the most important element of life: her lifelong journey.

As one day drew closer to the intended agreement, Kagami felt the pressure from the comforts of the household. She accidentally told her older sister Matsuri something that she or anyone in the family should not know. It was a rainy Friday morning—48 hours until the life-changing event. To others, 48 hours is plenty enough of time to think of something to give for a loved one. To reports that needed to be rushed, it was a short time for to them: hours pass like seconds. For Kagami, 48 hours is in between enough of time and lack of time. Upon arriving at school, she sat down on her desk only to find a piece of paper sandwiched between the desk and the rim of the compartment below it. She had to read it in secrecy so she opened it behind an open history book.

Kagami-san, this is merely optional. Please meet me at the rooftop after school. I want to show you something. You can choose not to come. I know your schedule has been hectic lately considering that you're a member of the student council, a class representative, and someone who takes her studies very seriously. I just want to know if you're interested. But then again, you can choose not to go.

Of course, she knew where the anonymous letter came from. It wasn't new to her at all. Many times that she has been left several notes during her life but none of them ever came close to "triggering a flag". That will depend on today's homework for tomorrow. If Kuroi-sensei is in a good mood, she may choose not give out fun pages to work on at all. Today's forecast showed cloudy skies with rain showers and thunderstorms as usual. It even began to rain heavily. The rest of the days until weekend may experience torrential rains that possibly won't go away. She wondered if it would rain on the day that boy and girl would meet. The view would be obstructed by raindrop-infested glass panes located several miles above the ground.

As soon as the class started, a shower of rain gushed outside the building. It was strong and really coming down but there was no wind. A chance of flood was imminent unless the torrential rains would stop to smell the roses. She seemed to be taking down notes from today's lecture. Upon closer inspection, she was writing Hajime's full name in kanji all over the page. When the teacher started walking in between desks while reading a passage from the book that was the time when she ripped the page off and hid it in her pocket. The teacher went past her without a single bit of suspicion of inattentiveness.

Kagami was given a choice not to see Hajime after class. She decided to see him anyway because he might say something of the utmost concern. That is, if he has something to say of the utmost concern.

On the lighter side, Konata and Tsukasa hurried to the rooftop on a cloudy noon. The rain stopped momentarily so they took this opportunity. They have different matters that doesn't concern Kagami's situation as we speak. Konata draws out her new DS from her pocket and flipped it open before turning it on.

"I did so well on the exams last time, Dad bought me a DS as an advanced Christmas gift." She explained.

"Wow, you sure have a thoughtful dad, Kona-chan."

"Actually…we sort of made a deal. A 95 can be either a PSP or a DS. You should try it out on your dad."

"I wouldn't go that far. Besides, I'm happy with my cell phone."

"(sigh There are cooler stuff than a cell phone.)"

Konata was starting up her saved game when the door opened. If she was caught bringing a gaming device at school, especially Kuroi-sensei, it would be confiscated and Konata will be dealing not only with the witness but the head honcho of the school. Behind the door was the most inconspicuous person that none of them could ever guess in a million years: Shiraishi Minoru.

"Ah, there you are! Kuroi-sensei wants to have a word with you two." He stated the details.

"What could she want from the both of us?" Tsukasa asked.

"Beats me; I was only instructed to do so."

The DS would have to wait. Kuroi-sensei was calling them. The last thing their teacher wants to see in them is the DS in which Konata's dad worked hard to afford it as a prize for doing well on the exams in which Konata herself worked long hours to internalize every lesson tackled throughout the months before exams. Imagine something that sweat and hard work earned taken away in one swipe of the teacher's hand. When they went back inside, the sound of gushing rain bellowed. The gray cumulonimbus clouds that brought forth rain for the past few days got darker than the last time. It seemed that it was ready to let it all out in one go.

Meanwhile still looking out the window, Kagami changed her mind about meeting Hajime today after school because of the sudden gushing of the rain. After all, it was completely optional so it should be okay for him. The open field was soaked in rain and full of puddles. Being soaked completely under this torrential shower at first would definitely be sipping chicken soup in bed in the end. She already had the cold once; she couldn't afford to take a day or two out because of cold.

After the second half of the class session, everybody popped up their umbrellas and walked the distance to the safety of their roofs and ceilings back home. As usual, the four friends traced their steps to the train station under the rain. The afternoon quickly turned into night as the dark clouds blocked the right to sunlight. Kagami didn't feel like talking to them.

"I'm sorry but can I ask you girls a favor?" Kagami pleaded.

"And suddenly you're asking us a favor…? That's quite the unpredictable Kagamin for you—ho, ho, ho…" Konata replied.

"Can I ask you to take Tsukasa home? I have something to do."

"Huh?" A confounded Tsukasa responded. "But usually we go home together."

"I'm really sorry but something came up." Kagami explained.

Konata and Tsukasa were downright speechless; but Miyuki wasn't.

"Okay then, Kagami-san. You can count on us."

"Much obliged, Miyuki…well I'll be going now." Kagami said and ran off back to school.

"I wonder what's gotten into her." Konata said as she watched her went farther and farther. "She's been acting weird these past few days. I was only asking for my manga back when I talked with her on the phone."

"Ah! I'm sorry Kona-chan! I forgot the manga!" Tsukasa suddenly realized.

"You can keep it but it's going to cost you."

The rain seemed relentless. Kagami made tracks back to school. She hurried like there was no tomorrow. It's not like she forgot something back at her classroom. She always double-checks everything before leaving the campus. That wasn't the case when she went past the classroom where a small group of her classmates were still there waiting for the rain to subside. Among them and probably the only one who saw her running along the hallway was Kusakabe Misao, one of her classmate buddies.

"Huh? Wasn't that Hiiragi running?" She said, holding a broom. The small group was actually assigned to cleaning duty although traditionally the entire class would clean the room spotless.

"She left minutes ago. Maybe you're mistaking someone else." Another of Kagami's classmate buddies replied: Ayano Minegishi.

"I'm not mistaken! That was Hiiragi running a while ago! I'd better do some snooping."

"I don't think that's such a good idea. Besides, you still have the blackboard."

"Huh? I was on blackboard duty last week."

Regardless of her eagerness to determine Kagami's intentions in running along the hallway, she stayed and finished the cleaning duty.

A couple of floors and hundreds of running steps later, she reached the door to the topmost floor of the building—the rooftop. Behind it was the view of the grey cumulonimbus clouds, bombarding the vicinity with thousands of water bullets. Her true intentions were now evident: at the last second she had second thoughts about not meeting him today despite the fact that it was completely optional. She didn't want the others to know about this from the very start of the story so she asked them to take Tsukasa home. Still, the eerie feeling of something bad resided in her heart. There is also fear that Matsuri would eventually confess to the uninformed others about Kagami. The rain clouds were very dark…as dark as the possible consequences of absolute secrecy.

TO BE CONTINUED