Summer's Promise
Chapter 9: "His hand…and voice…they feel so…comforting."
"My…room?" she thought, looking around after slowly opening her eyes.
Luka was greeted by the autumn sun as it shone through her curtained windows. As she sat up to look out the window from her bed, Luka remembered the last few things she saw before she blacked-out.
"Kamui-kun…I didn't get to finish…the dance…with Kamui-kun," she muttered to herself, spaced out.
Luka turned to her door when she heard knocks from the other side. Given permission, Rin quietly walked in with a soft smile.
"I'm glad you're awake, Nee-chan," Rin said.
"Your friends are here to visit."
"What? My friends?" Luka asked in confusion.
Before Rin could answer her older sister's question, Luka's friends already peeked their heads throught the door.
"How are you, Luka-chan?" Miku walked in with Rin.
Miku was followed by Miki, Ia, and Lily. Luka was happy to see them, but her facial expression changed right away when two boys walked into her room.
"Kamui-kun! Shion-kun!" the pink-haired girl exclaimed.
"Wow. Your room is so much bigger and cuter than Miku's and Miki's," Gakupo praised as he looked around to see Luka's color-coordinated, pink and white room.
"Oh, shut up," Miku and Miki shouted in synchrony.
"Hm?" Gakupo thought, noticing Luka's study desk.
Before he could approach the desk to observe it, Gakupo was forced by Miku and Miki to sit down and behave properly. Not wanting to meddle with the things in Luka's room, Gakupo obeyed his two childhood friends' command and sat beside Kaito.
Rin and Miki left Luka's room to prepare the cake and tea that Miki brought. Luka's guests sat down around the white chabudai in the center of her room. Even though they didn't have cushions to sit or kneel on, all of them were comfortable because of the big, circular, pale-pink rug that laid underneath the chabudai. Luka also sat down on the floor, but her back leaned against her bed to keep her state from getting worse.
"I'm surprised you have one of these traditional tables in your Western room, Luka-chan," Ia smiled, examining the chabudai's surface.
"Well, I'm Japanese after all," Luka cheerfully, yet softly smiled back while everyone agreed with giggles.
"By the way, what happened to me?" the pink-haired girl got to the point right away as soon as they stopped laughing.
"You fainted in Kamui's—"
"Ga-ku-po!" the purple-haired boy corrected Miku.
"You fainted in Gakupo's arms when you two danced around the bonfire," Miku continued her sentence after sighing from Gakupo's correcting her.
"We brought you to the infirmary and Nurse Asakawa called your parents so they can bring you home. While we were waiting, Nurse Asakawa said that there was nothing wrong with you because all your vitals were normal. She asked us what you've been doing during the festival, then she asked your parents what you do when you get home. Before your parents took you, Nurse Asakawa told us that you haven't been getting enough sleep, so you're really stressed," Miku finished.
"First, it was starvation. Now, it's lack of sleep. Jeez,Luka-chan! You need to start taking better care of yourself! You always make us worry, you know," Lily scolded.
"I'm really sorry," Luka apologized with a downed face.
"Only one good thing came out of your collapsing, though," Ia winked with a mischievous smile.
"Hm?" everyone muttered, surprised that Ia would say something somewhat offending.
"Since, you didn't get to finish the dance around the bonfire with Kamui, you won't have to spend an eternity with him," the platinum-haired girl revealed as she stuck her tongue out.
Everyone laughed, except for Luka, who was confused on why that was a good thing, and Gakupo, who was offended. Luka was still confused, her head tilted to the the side, but seeing her cheerful friends made her smile and giggle with them. Before things got out of hand between Gakupo and Ia's bickering, Miki and Rin entered with the tea and cake, already sliced and ready.
The bunch spent the rest of the afternoon entertaining Luka. They also learned a few things about her, like how she learned how to play the piano by herself and how she's studying the Korean language. Luka's friends also saw her academic certificates and awards from when she got the top grades every grading period in her school.
"You're so smart, Luka-chan. I'm so jealous," Miki said as she cuddled with Luka, like a kitten burrowing its head on its mother's fur.
"T-that's not true, Miki-chan," Luka awkwardly replied.
Not only did they learn about Luka, but she also learned more about her new friends, Gakupo and Kaito, and their relationships with her friends.
"Now that you mentioned it," Ia noticed.
"Since when did Shion move here?" she asked.
"I transferred during our second year in junior high. I was in the same class as Gakupo and Gumi," Kaito revealed.
"Oh," Ia, Lily and Miki said, elongating their comment.
After finishing their long 'oh' comment, Miki's phone started beeping. She turned it on and read the message that she received from her mother.
"Sorry," Miki apologized.
"My mom wants me to go to the market to buy some ingredients for tonight's dinner. Ia and Lily's parents are coming over, that's why," Miki continued.
"Oh, really?"Ia and Lily exclaimed, surprised.
"Our parents know each other from work, so they're probably having a business dinner at our house," Miki explained as she got her things ready.
"Then, I'll escor—" Luka proclaimed, standing up.
"It's okay, Megurine-san. I'll take them to the station. I have to go, too, anways," Kaito interrupted to keep Luka from standing up.
Luka felt bad that she couldn't even escort her friends out the door. Kaito was aware that his interrupting Luka was for the best because Miku wouldn't want her friend to stress herself and get sick again. Of course, Kaito didn't want that either.
Luka, Miku, and Gakupo looked out the window to see their friends walk out of the house.
"We'll see you in school, guys," Miki waved when she noticed the three of them.
"Get better, Luka-chan!" Ia added.
With a gentle smile, Luka waved back to see them off. Gakupo and Miku also waved to their friends, but Gakupo noticed Kaito staring at Miku. When Gakupo took a peek at Miku, he noticed her teal-blue eyes staring at Kaito, too.
"I see," Gakupo thought.
When they could no longer be seen, Miku returned to the chabudai to clean up the mess they made. Luka ran to Miku's side to try and help, but to no avail.
"Nope!Just rest, Luka-chan," Miku scolded as she placed the saucers, cups, and utensils back on the tray.
While Miku cleaned up, Gakupo closed the window so that the cold, autumn air wouldn't come in and make Luka's condition worse. Though she was only lacking sleep, Luka could still get sick if she were to stress herself out. Miku took the tray with her after wiping the table. Since Miku was out, Luka was all alone with Gakupo.
On his way back to his seat, Gakupo passed by Luka's desk and got a better look of what he noticed earlier. Luka, who was tucking herself in her bed, didn't notice that Gakupo was looking at her things. Because Gakupo had noticed it earlier, all he had to do was return to what he was looking at to get a better look.
"Hehh," Gakupo commented, pulling out a flyer tucked in Luka's book.
"You're part of the academics team?" Gakupo asked, even though it was obvious, as if he was teasing her.
"Oh! W-well…th-that's," Luka panicked as she fiddled with her fingers.
Her face was brighter and pinker than her hair, and her cheeks were getting warmer. Luka could feel her heart beating faster than ever and she could tell that she was shaking in nervousness and embarrassment by how much she fidgeted with her fingers. Although she wanted to get up to take the flyer from Gakupo, Luka simply couldn't because of how anxious and worried she was.
"That's really amazing," Gakupo commented, reading the flyer.
"Huh?"Luka was confused and shocked once again by Gakupo's statement.
"You're really smart, Megurine-san. Does anybody else know about this?" Gakupo interviewed.
Luka shook her head as her reply.
"Even your family?"
Again, Luka shook her head.
Gakupo was surprised that he was the first one to find out about her being in the academics team. He was glad, but he was confused on why Luka was hiding it from everybody.
"I didn't want…to tell anyone…because everyone might think…that I'm lame," Luka revealed as if she read Gakupo's mind.
Upon hearing her answer, Gakupo's laughter bursted out, scaring Luka. The pink-haired girl was already thinking about what Gakupo thought of her. Luka thought that she was going to get ridiculed for joining the academics team, and that she would lose her friends. All of those thoughts scared Luka, causing her tears to begin to form.
"Why would you think that?" Gakupo asked, still giggling.
"Huh?"Luka muttered with flushed face.
"This is amazing, Megurine-san! Lame? This isn't lame at all!" Gakupo explained with a wide and friendly smile on his face.
"Really?" Luka was still skeptical of what Gakupo was saying.
"Yeah! Wait…don't tell me this is the reason why you haven't been getting enough sleep?" Gakupo quickly switched from a jester to a worried parent.
Ashamed, Luka nodded while looking down on her lap to hide her face.
"I see,"calmly, the purple-haired boy replied.
He walked over to Luka's side after he returned the flyer back to where he found it on Luka's desk. Gently, Gakupo placed his hand on Luka's head to give her a pat, like a kitten.
"I know you're working hard, but that doesn't mean you can forget about yourself, Megurine-san. Also, I think you should tell this to your family and friends. They'll be proud, you know," he said, feeling Luka's soft hair as he stroked her head.
Gakupo's words made Luka feel better and assured. She felt something in her heart, but she was afraid to acknowledge it. Her face wasn't blushing because of embarrassment, but because of happiness. However, her heart was racing for something Luka didn't want to learn about just yet.
"His hand…and voice…they feel so…comforting," Luka thought, enjoying the moment she had with that Gakupo.
Closing her eyes, Luka fell asleep without her knowing. Gakupo was a little surprised that she fell asleep on him as he stroked her, but gently he laid her head down on the pillow. With a satisfied smile on his face, Gakupo softly closed Luka's door.
"Goodnight."
Author's note:
chabudai- a short-legged table used in traditional Japanese homes