Chapter 14

Resemblance

Mai's P.O.V

"Okay, I'm off," I say as I'm about to leave the door to go shopping for some food.

"Oh! Onee-chan!" Daichi says, running up to me. "Don't forget the list!"

"Thanks, Daichi," I say with a smile.

"Be careful, dear," Mom says. "I don't want you in any danger."

"Not to worry," I assure her. "I'll be just fine."

Hana pops up from the couch. "Please bring us some desert! We're out of donuts and cake!"

I giggle. "That's because you two insisted on eating it every day." Ah, those kids. They always want sweets every time we have dinner, don't they? They even want them for a snack. So adorable!

"Well, you two should make sure that those won't make you sick," Mom says.

"We will," Hana promises. "Daichi and I are perfectly okay."

"Really?" I raise an eyebrow at them suspiciously.

"Y-yes," Daichi says nervously.

I just sigh as I head for the door. "I'm just going to buy the food that's on the list. You guys need a break." I open the door. "Bye, Mom."

"Bye, Mai-chan," Mom says, waving.

With that, I leave the house.

At the grocery store, I enter into the crowded building and look around while glancing at the list. I have about 10 items I have to buy, which is easy for me since I know where everything is, so it should be a snap. So, that's just what I did. I had found the items within about 5 minutes and is about to go to the checkout line when I take a glance at some chocolate cake that's on sale. A certain someone appears on my mind as I continue to stare at the cake. Yes, Reo used to like this cake very much. I had brought her this cake for her birthday last year and she liked it so much that she decided to keep it in the fridge for later. Eventually, she ate all of it within 3 days. Maybe it won't hurt to buy that one for Hana and Daichi. They might like it. So, I take this one and go to the check out line.

After paying for the items, I walk out the door with a smile on my face.

"Mission accomplished!" I say to myself.

I'm about to walk out the door when I hear some crying from a distance. I look over to my left to see a little girl standing in the middle of the sidewalk, crying. But . . . something about her seems familiar. The girl looks up and turns to me. My eyes widen at the site. Is that . . . Reo? With brown hair? Really? Did Matsuri tell her to dye her hair earlier? No matter. It's been another 4 days without her and I can't take being alone without her. So I run up to her happily, drop the bags and hug her tightly.

"Reo!" I say happily. "I'm so glad to see you! You don't have to cry. I'm right here. Whatever Matsuri's doing to you, I'm going to make her pay!"

That's when she spoke. "Um . . . who's Reo?"

"Eh?" I pull away and take a look at her. "Reo? That's you . . . right?" Don't tell me that she forgot her own name!

"Me?" The girl's voice sounds quiet and soft-spoken. "N-no. I'm afraid I'm not the person who you are looking for."

"Uh . . . come again?"

"Y-you see . . . my name is actually Akiho Kotosaki," the brown haired girl says. "And you seem to know my friend, Matsuri-chan."

"Eh?" My mind is spinning right now. So . . . this girl is not Reo? When I look closely at her, her eye color is different, but resemble the exact figure. She looks like Reo, I think to myself. But she doesn't have the same personality.

"You know Matsuri-chan?" Akiho-san asks.

"Y-yes," I reply while still trying to think I'm not seeing double. "I know her. She's the one who has my girlfriend, Reo Kawamura."

"She already has someone?" Akiho-san gasps. "Oh, then I guess I'm too late."

"Huh?" I raise an eyebrow. "What do you mean you're too late? Don't tell me that you're in love with Matsuri!"

The girl nods while having tears in her eyes. She couldn't speak anymore and just let out her sobs, burying her head onto my chest. I could do nothing but stroke her hair while hugging her. But there are other matters to deal with. Why is Akiho-san in love with Matsuri? Could there be a reason behind Matsuri's scheme to steal Reo? Many other questions form in my mind, but the two are the main questions I need to focus on.

I pull away and smile at her. "Here, why don't you come to my house and we'll have a talk, okay?"

"Okay," Akiho-san says, wiping some of her tears away.

When both of us arrive at my home, I let Akiho-san in when Hana and Daichi come running up to us.

"Huh?" Hana says. "Why is Reo-chan here? Didn't she break up with you?"

"No," Akiho-san says. "I'm Akiho Kotosaki. I know I resemble this Reo friend of yours, but I'm sure I'm not like her."

"She's really not," I remind both of my siblings. "Here, why don't you help with the groceries while I get Akiho-san situated."

"Okay!" Daichi says as he takes some of the bags with Hana helping out.

I, on the other hand, walk Akiho-san to the couch. "Do you want anything to drink?"

"Just water is nice," she says.

"Okay," I say as I walk to the kitchen. "I'll get myself some as well." I grab ourselves some bottled water and come back to the living room, sitting nest to Akiho-san while handing her the water.

"Thanks," she says.

"No problem," I reply as I take a sip of mine.

"Mai-chan?" My mom says, coming from the kitchen. "Who's that you're with?" She glances at Akiho-san. "Is that Reo-chan?"

I giggle. Man, I'm glad I'm not the only one who mistook Akiho for Reo. "No, this is Akiho Kotosaki. Apparently, she has something private to talk about with me."

"Oh, okay," Mom says as she turns to leave. "I'll leave you two alone."

After she is out of sight, I turn back to Akiho-san. "Now then, to cut to the chase, Matsuri is your best friend from your childhood, correct?"

"Yes," Akiho-san says. "We've always been together. We played together, gone to each other's houses for sleepovers and stuff, and even protected each other from harm."

"I see."

"Yes. Matsuri-chan and I first met during first grade. I had no one to play with because I was too shy to even talk to them. But Matsuri-chan came up to me and talked to me. I was very surprised that she's the very first person to ever speak to me. After we introduced ourselves, we began playing together non-stop. It was the first time I've ever played with anyone. The other kids used to reject me and let me play alone. Matsuri-chan was the opposite. Ever since that day, I had made a new friend. We would play together every day and invite each other over to our houses to play. I had never been with a great friend like her."

I look at Akiho-san sympathetically. I had no idea that Matsuri would be such a caring person. Maybe I misjudged her just a little bit.

"However," Akiho-san continues. "Our friendship began to drift apart when we started middle school. There was this boy that I had a crush on from the first day of school. He seemed very handsome, kind and is into sports. Since then, I was spending less time with Matsuri-chan. Rio-kun and I were starting to have a relationship with each other and I began to fall in love with him. I wasn't even sure how Matsuri-chan felt, but it seemed like she was getting lonely. Later on, during the winter, I had confessed my feelings to him. It turns out that he also had the same feelings for me. And then, the two of us began dating. For 3 weeks, I dated Rio-kun and he enjoyed it a lot. I felt that I wanted to show Matsuri-chan my boyfriend, so I did. I had expected her to be happy for me, but when I looked at her face, she seemed . . . sad. I had no idea why, but Rio-kun and I continued dating. I haven't seen Matsuri-chan 2 days after I showed her my boyfriend. It turned out that she had moved with her family to another town. I wasn't really sure what high school she took before I came here."

My eyes widen at what she had said. "Maybe that's why Reo first saw her at St. Michael's. She had went to school there."

"Really?" Akiho-san's eyes widen as well. "I didn't know she went there."

"Yeah, it's kind of a long story," I say. "Anyway, then what happened? How did you end up here?"

"Well, Rio-kun and I were at a party one time. There were a lot of people around and I barely even talked to them. Rio-kun was too busy with the others, so I just went outside to get some fresh air. It was a beautiful night, by the way. But I suddenly got lonely shortly after and I needed some company. So, I hurried back to the party when I caught him cheating on me. There was this blonde girl kissing him, saying that she's been in love with him, too. Rio-kun couldn't even defend for me and rather go with her instead. This brought me to tears and broke up with him immediately. I was very frustrated and angry at what I just saw that night. I was crying for a very long time with no one to comfort me.

Just then, my father had told me that we're moving since we have to take care of my grandparents. I agreed and went along with him. But as I was packing, I had noticed a picture frame of me and Matsuri-chan when we were kids. I couldn't believe that I had forgotten all about her and she must be really lonely out there. But . . . I was afraid that she might have changed and completely forgot about me as well."

"So . . . is that why Matsuri is so insistent on stealing my girlfriend?" I ask, frowning. "Because she will pay for what she did once I deal with her."

"No!" Akiho-san cries. "You can't! Matsuri-chan is just lonely! She probably thinks that your Reo resembles me and that's why she's doing this! I know she's not the kind of person who likes to steal other people's girlfriends."

"Hmm . . . I see," Now I'm starting to get the picture. "Matsuri had feelings for you, but since she can't have you, she wanted a girlfriend so badly that when she saw Reo, she probably thought she could pretend that it's you."

"I guess so," Akiho-san shrugs, looking down at the ground. "But . . . I had no idea that she was in love with me all this time."

"Maybe she did. And to be honest, I had no idea either. So . . . why didn't you come back for her?"

"Like I said earlier, she probably changed and won't ever want to talk to me again."

"Well, you'll never know unless you try," I say, trying to smile. "Besides, I'm sure that Matsuri will be glad to see you since you two have been separated for a long time."

Akiho-san shakes her head. "No. She already has someone else. I've been thinking about her a lot and realized my feelings towards her. But now, it's too late."

"Akiho-san . . . you can't give up."

"I'm sorry." She stands up and walks toward the door. "If Matsuri-chan is happy with Reo-san, then I might as well let her go. I guess things aren't meant to be after all."

"Akiho-san, wait!"

But before I could reach for her, she leaves the house, not giving me a chance to call out to her. I slowly sit back down on my chair as I stare at the open door. Somehow, deep down inside, I have to convince Matsuri to be with Akiho-san so she can be truly happy. Being with Reo just isn't right, and if I don't stop her soon, Reo might be in grave danger.

A/N: Well, this is what most of you suggested, so here it is, everyone! ;) We're getting closer to the end of the story, which I'm very excited about. I promise you that I will finish this story before Christmas! You guys are the best readers ever and thanks a lot for supporting me with this story!

Feel free to give out suggestions, questions or concerns and don't forget to review! ;)