Chapter 13

Hikari's POV

Only a few days later did we hear Shirona's name again.

I remember Reiji said at one point that Shirona's wedding was in late Spring. I mean, that's lovely and all, but does it really make sense to throw a party for it during early Autumn then?

"So you want to throw it in a few days?" I asked Reiji quietly, so that Shinji didn't hear me.

"Yup!" He answered cheerfully, "And I really think she'd appreciate it if you went."

It seemed as though he was completely avoiding the problem!

"Yeah." I said a little less enthusiastically than I would've liked, "That's great…" Don't get me wrong. It really was great. I mean, it was her wedding we were celebrating! Everyone wants to celebrate that! Unless the bride just happens to be your childhood to present crush or love, or, whatever Shinji calls it!

"Would she really?" I asked, a bit unsure, "I mean, we've only met a few times." "I'm sure she'd be just fine with it!" He said, I could almost see him waving it off, "Besides, I think it'd be easier for Shinji." His tone had dropped a bit when he said this along with his enthusiasm.

"It'd be easier for Shinji if what?" I asked, "If I were there?" "Why not?" He said with a sigh, "I think he'd feel more comfortable about this if you were around." "You forget that Shinji is Shinji and most likely, he's not going to go." I pointed out, "I mean, he moved out just because Shirona's staying there!"

"Well, that'll end soon, thank goodness." He said in a relieved tone.

There was a moment of silence as I let this sink into my brain.

"Ex- excuse me?" I asked as though unsure of what he'd just said, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I thought I already told you two!" Reiji exclaimed, "The only reason I'm throwing this party so early is because Shirona and Daigo are studying abroad just for a little bit. They're barely coming back for their wedding. That's rotten luck, wouldn't you think?"

Not really.

I wasn't thinking very much at that moment.

All that I could think of was what it would mean if Shirona moved out once more. That meant. I wouldn't have to cook for two people anymore, I could have anyone I wanted over, have the bathroom all to myself, not do as much chores, and overall lose Shinji.

"Are you still there?" Reiji asked.

I was immediately snapped back to my senses.

"Never better." I said, though it came out strangely.

"Oh, okay." He said, "It's weird though, I swear I told Shinji when he came over the other day." Something panged through me. "I guess he forgot." I said. "Highly unlikely." Reiji answered, "He was probably trying not to-"

"Reiji? Are you still there?" I whispered to the receiver.

"I'm here." He answered, "Snickers keeps me busy. I have to go now." And without another hesitation, he hung up.

I froze there a bit, listening to the rhythmic beeping coming from the phone.

He'd already known, had he?

I bit my lip and looked at the clock. It read 9:00.

There was no way he was sleeping so early. It was Fall Break for heaven's sake! I, myself, planned to stay up all night talking to Haruka and Kasumi on the phone! It was a kind of tradition for the three of us. On the first day of a certain break, we would talk to each other and see how long we were awake doing so. Our record is always somewhere near 5:30 until Kasumi completely collapses.

Speaking of telephones, it was my turn to call this time!

Eager to get my mind off this whole problem, I called both Haruka and Kasumi.

The bell rang a few times for both of them before they picked up.

"Ugh, I'm already so tired…" Kasumi groaned.

"No! Don't sleep on us now Kasumi!" Haruka urged, "Just once, I would like to stay up the whole night!" I had to agree with this.

"I just can't believe you're still swimming in these weather conditions." I said. "There's something called an indoor swimming pool." She answered as if everyone knew this, "The only weather condition we don't swim in is if it's storming outside. As in, thunder-storming."

"That's got to be horrible!" Haruka exclaimed, "I'm sure I wouldn't be able to concentrate on anything with this cold weather around me!" "Haruka," Kasumi started, as though teaching her a valuable lesson, "if you're going to be a swimmer, you gotta be tough and straightforward, you got to have been born ready for these conditions." "Wow," I said, "That'd be a great way to scare little kids."

"At least they'll give you a break in swimming." Kasumi said, "Remember what our Middle School track coach advised us if we complained we were tired?" "Erg…" Haruka shivered, "Don't remind me. I hope I never, ever, have another coach like her again! 'Run it off' what kind of advice is that?!"

I forced a laugh and my stomach felt squeezed together.

There was a little silence.

"You okay Hikari?" Kasumi asked, "You usually have a lot more to say than this." "Are you feeling okay?" Haruka asked in a worried tone. "Er-" is all I said. As much as I didn't want to talk anymore. This was a thing that we'd done for years.

"Can we do this some other time?" I asked, finally settling on one way to discontinue this conversation, "I feel really sleepy. I couldn't get much sleep last night, I was up studying really late." "Why not?" Kasumi said, "I completely agree with you." "I think some sleep would do you some good." Haruka agreed, and by the sound of it, she was nodding her head rapidly.

"Then, I'll call you whenever." I said. This time, I was the first to hang up.

I squished my head onto my pillow as though it'd make me feel better. It kind of did, in a way.

I grew drowsy after a while, and so that I wouldn't catch another cold, I pulled the covers over me and drifted off to sleep the best I could.

XxXxXx

While I was making breakfast the next morning, the silence usually in the air seemed very awkward, but I seemed to be the only one feeling it.

I tried to bring up some courage to ask him about what Reiji had told me over the phone, but whenever I felt something rise, it quickly went down.

Shinji was doing what he usually did in the morning. Watching the news. We used to fight over the remote, but after a few weeks, I decided it was totally useless to keep his morning news.

I tried to imitate my usual morning breakfast announcement, but it came out all strangled and just flat out wrong.

I placed the plate full of scrambled eggs next to him where he slowly reached down to grab it, his eyes still glued to the television.

I slowly brought my fork full of eggs up to my mouth and chewed as best I could without spitting any out. It wasn't disgusting, but I didn't really feel like eating. So I set my plate aside and asked in an interested voice, "So, since it's break, we don't have to study anymore, do we?"

"Mm." He said, the fork hanging out of his mouth, still interested in the news. I took it as a yes.

"That means, I have the freedom to do anything with my time?" I carried on with caution. "Do whatever." He said. "That means you can do anything with your time?" I asked. "What's it to you?" He asked, snapping his head toward me, eyes even narrower.

"Just saying." I said with a shrug, "'Cause I heard that Reiji is throwing that party for Shirona." "I'm not going." He said sharply, eyes back on the news, but I had this strange feeling that he wasn't paying attention to it.

"Oh, c'mon!" I exclaimed, "It'd mean a lot to her if you went! Besides, maybe this Daigo person is better than you thought!"

"What's it to you anyways?" He asked, "And I never thought of him as a bad person." He added quietly.

"I'm going." I said in a defiant voice. "That doesn't matter to me." He retorted, "It's not like it's going to change my mind."

I quickly stood up and went to my room to change into some clothes I could go out with. I needed some fresh air. He would go to that party, I decided, how was he ever going to let go of Shirona if he didn't send her off properly?

"I'm going out." I huffed. "Like I said, don't care." He said.

I swiftly walked to the door, opened it, and stepped out into the hallway. I made sure not to slam it because Jun's grandpa next door was probably still sleeping. He was a nice old man who desperately needed whatever rest he could get.

I wondered if maybe I should take a train to Zui Town, the closest civilization from Tobari. I wanted some country air anyways.

It took most of the money that I was carrying right now to buy a ticket that didn't even reach Zui. It only took me through the rainy weather of Route 215.

I stared out the window through most of the train ride until I saw a familiar red bandana's reflection. I swiftly turned around and called Haruka's name.

"What are you doing here Hikari?" she asked in a pleasant tone, then immediately, she looked worried, "You didn't sound okay on the phone last night." "I was fine." I said, "I told you, I was sleepy. Why are you going to Zui Town anyways?"

"Zui?" She asked, "I'm not going there." She waved the thought away. "I'm going to the Mountain Hut in Route 210." "Mountain Hut?" I asked, "I don't think I've ever heard of them before." Her eyes widened at this prospect.

"So you've never tried their Moomoo Milk?" She asked in disbelief. "I've had Moomoo Milk before," I protested, "Just not their Moomoo milk." "I'll buy you some when we get there," She promised, "it's the best kind of Moomoo Milk you'll ever have tasted."

"Sure," I agreed, "I've got time on my hands."

I could tell we were nearing Route 210 as the rain started letting up. For some weird reason, the stormy weather only seemed to hang around Route 215.

"That's it." Haruka said, pointing at a cute little cabin-like café.

A bell rang as we opened the door to step in. It looked very cozy. It seemed like a perfect spot to study. There were a bunch of smart looking guys and senior citizens talking quietly amongst themselves. The waitresses were walking from table to table taking orders or serving. The only thing they seemed to serve though, was Moomoo Milk.

"It's a really good place to study." Haruka whispered, "This place is where I usually come to think or study."

We sat in an empty table and waited until a waitress came to take our order.

"Two Moomoo Milk please." Haruka said with a pleasant smile. "Sure thing!" The waitress exclaimed with a bright smile in return, and she walked off to do her job.

Haruka sighed in content.

"So, why are you here besides the milk?" I asked her suspiciously. "I don't know." She said truthfully, "Something just seemed to lure me here. It's a good thing though, because I know you're here because of a problem." "I was actually heading for Zui- thank you." I said as the waitress set two Moomoo Milk before us. "Welcome!" She exclaimed as she walked off.

"You know Shirona?" I asked. Haruka nodded as she took a sip of her drink. "Her wedding's is in late spring." I continued, "But she's studying abroad for a bit so Reiji had this idea to throw her a party celebrating their wedding before they left because they're coming back just before they get married."

"That's a bit of a problem." She agreed.

"That's not what I'm talking about though." I said, exasperated, "Shinji doesn't want to go, even though he knows he's her best friend, or something along those lines."

"Of course," Haruka said, shaking her head, "it'd lead to Shinji."

I blushed furiously.

"I'm not doing this because of Shinji." I lied, "I'm doing this because of what it'd mean to Shirona!" This was partially the truth.

"Let him do whatever he wants!" She said, taking another gulp of her Milk, "He must have a really good reason for missing out on something as important to her as this." "Well, let's just say, hypothetically speaking, it maybe has a teensy bit to do with Shinji." I said, showing her how small with my fingers, "Then what?"

"That depends on what you mean by having to do with Shinji." She said, "What does he have anything to do with this party besides Shirona?- and drink some of the Milk! It's not poisoned!"

I had forgotten about the creamy liquid I was twirling with my straw, so I took a little sip of it.

Haruka was right.

It was extremely good.

It was still cold, even though it'd been a while since the waitress had placed it in front of me. It was very refreshing and for a small, heavenly second, I almost forgot about my worries. The creamy taste still lingered on my tongue as I went in for a second sip.

"What if he doesn't go on with life?" I asked, "Just because he let go of his first crush?" "I doubt Shinji's like that." Haruka argued, "For all you know, he could've already let her go."

As much as I wanted to scoff at this idea, it did seem like something he would do.

Just let her go, but still have a grudge over it.

"He's not a little kid." She continued, "He can make his own decisions, if he doesn't want to go, he doesn't have to go." This was very true. I wasn't very bothered by this idea, so what was this insecure feeling in my stomach? Maybe a very small part of me still believed he held onto Shirona.

"I guess you're right." I said with a semi-fake smile. Haruka seemed a bit surprised at this. "I am?" She asked, unsure. "It makes sense to me." I said, "You seem to be good at this kind of stuff!" "Maybe." She said slowly. But all the uncertainty seemed to wipe off her face as she drank more of her Moomoo Milk.

I was still a bit intent on having Shinji go to the party, but if he really didn't want to go, I wouldn't try to make him.

Or would I?

A sigh of contentment slipped through my lips as I drank the rest of my Milk.

"Wasn't that the best Moomoo Milk you've ever tasted?" Haruka asked in her know-it-all voice. "I'll never doubt you again." I joked. She chuckled.

"But I'm a bit hungry now." I said, "Know a place with great cake or something like that?" "Actually," She said suddenly, "I know this grandma that used to tell me and my brother stories a while ago. Let's go! It's not very far from here."

She paid for both Moomoo milk and headed for this grandma's house.

"We called her Grandma Tatsu." She said, "She was a genius at teaching our puppy tricks. She used to amuse us by showing us her dog."

But we didn't go very far before we saw some wild animals blocking our way.

A waitress outside seemed to be pleading them to move, but they ignored her and stayed where they were.

"Is there a problem?" I asked her nicely. She turned around with an evident blush on her face and stuttered, "Oh! N-no! I-I mean, I just need these animals to move along or the customers from Kannagi Town won't be able to reach here! I'm sorry if you were going to go this way, but I'm afraid that you'll have to wait a bit!" and with that, she turned around and continued trying to shoo them off.

Haruka looked at me and I shrugged at her. We both turned around and walked toward Zui Town. We had nothing better to do anyways.

We never quite reached Zui, though. We rested in the tall grass and talked until the sun seemed to be setting.

"I really wish there was a place like this in Tobari City." I complained, "It'd be nice to have a place to just relax. Wish I could come here everyday." "But, if Tobari city had a place as grassy and nice as this, it wouldn't really be the city hewn from rock." Haruka pointed out.

I was silent at this, but not because I had nothing to say, but because I was thinking.

"It's getting dark, I think we'd better get home." Haruka fretted, snapping me to my senses. "Yeah." I said reluctantly, "I guess we should." "We could come back tomorrow or something." She said, "Maybe we could even bring Kasumi! Heavens knows she needs a place like this."

We rose from our place, stretched a bit, and started on the walk to the train station, which wasn't very far, until I noticed something.

"Uh-oh." I said.

"What?" She asked.

"I don't think I have enough money for the return ticket." I said, looking in pockets for any extra change I might have. "You're really lucky we met on the way here." She said, rolling her eyes, "I'll pay for it." "You're a lifesaver." I breathed.

I almost immediately fell asleep, lured by the soft pattering of the rain and vibrations of the train.

Haruka shook me awake as we neared the station and we both bid goodbye as we walked our separate ways. I took a great big yawn as I entered both the apartment room and my room.

It was only after I had gotten ready for bed when Shinji suddenly came in (I yelped and threw a pillow at him as I often did) and told me the most ridiculous things.

"Reiji called." He muttered, "Said the party was on Monday." (Today was Saturday.) "Okay." I said. He hesitated a bit as he closed the door, "He told us to wear something formal. And I think he mentioned he was going to pick us up." So with that, he closed the door.

After a few moments of silence, I sat up suddenly.

Us?

Did he just use the word us?

That meant he was going? What was that supposed to mean? That he'd accepted Shirona's marriage or what?

I hesitantly lie back on the pillow, fumbling with my sheets until I could fall asleep.

The next day isn't much to tell about, I just shopped a bit, what Shinji said still on my mind.

It isn't until the day of the party where it gets a bit awkward.

I had just finished getting ready.

I have to say, the suit Shinji wore really fit him, and did he style his hair or something? He looked taller than normal and he was looking-

Woah…

Let's get back on topic.

The car ride wasn't as noisy as I liked it to be, but with Reiji chattering on and what-not, I felt comfortable enough.

I couldn't help but shake the feeling of nervousness off my head, but I tried to act normal. Or as normal as I was acting these days. Either way, It was still getting along great until we hit the party.

Reiji had really went out of the way to make some kind of ball or something. He'd rented a whole Gym as it was called. Except it didn't really look like a gym at the moment. It looked like a palace.

I don't know if it was there in the first place or if Reiji had made some changes, but there was a giant, elegant chandelier hanging from the middle of the room and a few fountains here and there.

There was a whole orchestra filling the whole place with music where it lingered with echoing of conversations.

After a drink, I went to sit next to a fountain, I found the sound of running water soothing, when I heard my name being called.

"Hikari!" Shirona walked over to me, "I didn't know Reiji invited you! Thank you for coming here tonight!"

I shrugged, a bit embarrassed, "I was a bit flattered when he called." I answered. Seeing what she was wearing, compared to me, she looked like a Goddess or something similar.

"I'm glad Shinji came too." She said, "Thanks for bringing him here." "I didn't bring him here." I said, shaking my head, "He just said so himself." "That's what you think." She said with a wink.

Someone called her name and she turned and walked over to greet them.

I sat there, my eyes drooping until I was resting them.

"You can barely keep your eyes open either, huh?"

I snapped my eyes open and found a rather cute boy around my age staring me right back at my face.

"It's okay." I said with a smile I couldn't help.

"Don't lie." He said, "I was pushed into coming here." "You could say the same thing for me." I said with a sigh. He smiled a bit wider.

"My best friend is into this kind of stuff." He explained, "Not going to parties, but being social." "My excuse isn't that simple." I said. "I've got a lot of ti-" "Hikari!" I looked to my left to see Reiji running towards me, "The celebration's starting! Come on!" He took my hand and dragged me up.

I shot a regretful look to the boy who replied with a smile.

I tried to keep up with Reiji as well as I could without splitting my dress or tripping and killing myself.

Both Shirona and her fiancé stood up for a speech.

But I wasn't listening. I don't remember what it was I was thinking, but I think it was something related to Shinji. It was ridiculous how much you could think of one person this much in a day.

"Now we can dance!" Shirona said with a bright smile.

I didn't really want to dance. Actually, it was really better if I didn't dance for other people's benefits if not my own.

I couldn't help but spot Shinji as he made his way outside. All the same, I couldn't help following him.

"I thought you were some sort of a stalker." He said coolly as he whirled on me.

I scrunched my eyebrows together and shouted back, "I'm not a stalker! I just can't dance, is all." My voice went down a few octaves as I told him my embarrassing truth.

He scoffed. "No one can these days."

"What about you Mr. High-and-Mighty?" I huffed.

"I know a bit." He said, flicking a bit of hair out of his face.

A bit of my breath got caught in my throat.

"So, now what?" I asked him, sitting down on a step. "What do you mean by that?" He asked. An eyebrow raised. "Shirona's getting married." I said slowly. "So…" "She's pretty important to you." I reasoned stubbornly. "I can't deny that." He said.

"Ok," I said, straightening up my back, "what is with you coming here today?" "I can't come to a friend's wedding party?" He asked.

"I think we both know that you're regretting that you two were ever friends in the first place." I retorted angrily.

He stared at me.

A few awkward seconds passed by when I finally sighed and said, "Never mind. I'm going back inside." I stood up to go when he said, "Was."

Yup.

An emphasized 'was'.

"Just something." He said in a frustrated voice.

I bit the inside of my cheek.

"You know," I started, "I'm really jealous of Shirona." He looked at me so I continued after a deep breath. "She's got at least two people in her life that like or love her like that." I gave Shinji a smile.

"I've never really had a guy in my life that's like that. Not even a dad." I continued. Still, Shinji didn't say anything.

"I'm just saying." I said with a shrug, "But I know for a fact she's letting go of a lot of things when she's picking that other guy over you."

I glanced at him again.

He wasn't looking at me this time.

"You're a cool guy, you know?" I said, unconsciously stepping closer to him.

My senses were screaming at me to stop, this wasn't supposed to be what was happening, but I was doing it anyways.

"And you're one good-looking boy with a rockin' bod." I said, getting closer to him, still.

"Are you okay?" He asked me.

"You could probably make everyone fall in love with you." I continued, ignoring him, until I was only a foot away from him, "Heaven knows that I did." What? What did I just say? I didn't even know anymore.

"You're face is all red." Shinji said, catching my shoulders and giving me a bit of a shake.

"You're just a hard nut to crack is all." I whispered, grabbing hold of his tie and pulling his face closer to mine.

"A- annoying girl, what the hell do you think you're doing?" He said trailing off a bit at the end.

I could feel him trying to pull away from him, but I held firm which is the reason why we fell over and my mouth hit somewhere on his face.

I don't remember, I felt as though my head was going to burst and my stomach was acting all weird.

"Shinji!" I heard someone call.

That's around the time when everything around me faded into darkness.

XxXxXx

The next thing I knew, I was in my bed in my pajamas.

I was a bit hungry, but immediately regretted sitting up as everything in sight started to whirl around and I felt like throwing up.

I heard the door open.

"Hikari!" Reiji cried, carrying in a tray with some food and pills on it, "You're finally up!" "I feel like crap." I croaked. What happened to my voice?

"Ah," He said nervously, putting the tray on my lap, "it seems as though the drink yesterday night had some alcohol in it. I guess you drunk some and got… you know, high or something."

"That's great." I said.

"Take the pills." He said, "They'll help."

"I need a trash can." I said immediately.

He handed one to me where I promptly threw up everything in my stomach. Which wasn't much.

Reiji patted my back the whole way telling me to get it all out.

"You're finally up?" I heard Shinji say, "I thought I heard that sound before."

I looked up to make some smart retort right back at him when I noticed a bandage at the edge of his mouth.

"What happened to you?" I asked as I wiped my mouth with my sleeve.

"You know, missed my mouth caught it with a fork." He said sarcastically. "Hardy har har." I said, "Now tell me the truth." "Is that really your business?" He asked.

I recoiled.

"Sensitive." I muttered under my breath.

All he did was roll his eyes and walk away.

"I don't really feel like eating." I said, pushing the tray Reiji gave me away, "I think I'll just sleep some more." "Okay." He said hesitantly, "I have to go, so just tell Shinji if you need anything."

I nodded my head as I sank my head into my pillow.

Reiji pulled down the curtains and walked out of the room with a concerned look.

I snuggled into my covers drifting back to sleep peacefully.

Well, almost peacefully.

What was this weird feeling that was hanging over my head?

A feeling that I'd done something remarkable last night.

Yay! Wooh! Yeah! I'm done! That was a pretty long period of time… Well… Today was my last day of school! Yeah! I'm done with 7th grade! Now for 8th… Anyways, April was just as busy as the other 3 months before it, but I made it through! Next update will probably be at least after June 10th! No! Why? Because I'll be visiting my relatives in Korea! I have to get up at 2:30 A.M. So, that's not so lucky. But I'll be having a great time! My gosh, I was giggling the whole time I was writing the whole scene. I can almost imagine all those people scolding me. "You're only 13! You shouldn't be writing these kinds of things!" Can't help it people. I did the end in a bit of a hurry, so I'm sorry if it sucked. Anyways, you can kinda tell that Hikari doesn't remember a thing she did the night before. Such a shame. But Shinji does! No worries. And… I think that's all. Well, I gotta pack people. Oh! And kudos for all those who can guess who the mystery boy is. Happy reading and have a good summer!

Kahmelion