Chapter 6

High School of the Dead

It was a cold Tuesday night in December when Haru's doorbell was rung twice. He had just finished cooking bad instant noodles and was about to have dinner when he was disturbed just as instantly. He hurriedly fixed his sweater and rushed towards his front door, his eyes widening as soon as he opened it and saw who it was waiting for him.

He stared blankly at his visitors in total shock. "M-Mom?"

Haru's mother, Ayame Sato, stood in his front door, and behind her were his sister Hitomi and his brother Takahiro, along with his wife Alyssa, whom he met and married back in Manhattan. They were all smiling at him, and were carrying quite the luggage. Their father, though, was nowhere to be found, much to his relief. But it still couldn't quite take away the fact that he was so shocked that it frustrated him. These people were the last thing he wanted to see, ever; and to see them right now, of all times and of all places, it just made him want to slam the door in their faces.

"Hey there, Haru." Takahiro greeted, stepping forward and grinning at his staggered little brother. "You're going to let us in, aren't you?"

Haru shook his head and tried to snap himself out of it, hastily stepping aside and letting his family in, helping out his mother and his sister with their bags first. He still couldn't process the fact that they were back home, in Japan, in the house that was now his, instead of staying back in New York where they could have probably had a better Christmas, leaving Haru alone so he could actually have a decent Christmas for once in his miserable life.

He and Takahiro set the bags aside by the stairs as the women went straight to the living room, which was still littered with a few of his dirty laundry and newspapers from days ago.

"Glad to see some things still haven't changed." Hitomi giggled, jumping onto the new leather couch Haru had bought, replacing the old one from years ago. She then looked up at their mother, who was already picking up Haru's dirty clothes and putting them on a pile at one corner before she finally sat down next to her daughter.

She sighed. "Takeharu, you're still so untidy." She said. Haru braced himself for another one of her legendary lectures. "Thank goodness your father isn't here. He would have locked you in your room for this mess."

"Except he's not here. Mom, I live alone now." Haru tiredly pointed out. "I don't see any problem in that. It's my mess, after all."

Hitomi laughed in her seat, causing his brother to glare at her. "That's no excuse to be so lazy. I mean, what if a girl walks in here?"

"Don't you have any girlfriends?" Takahiro pried, leaning by the counter dividing the dining room and the living room with Alyssa.

Haru looked up at his brother, whom everyone 'affectionately' called Hiro. He was giving him a dirty look, which Haru knew very well. It was as if he was telepathically telling his little brother, 'You probably don't have a girlfriend at all, considering how careless you still are. You'd better stop with the one night stands and try to settle down for a change'. It made him frown in frustration. That jerk.

"I do have a girlfriend." Haru quickly bragged. He wasn't thinking at all when that golden bar of information slipped out of his big mouth.

"Ugh." Hitomi gave him a disgusted look, causing Hiro to laugh. "And you being this untidy is okay with her? Man, you really must be soul mates. She must be just as dirty."

"Oh, shut up, Hitomi. You don't even have a boyfriend." Haru said, talking in a way only annoyed older brothers can.

It wasn't long before they started shouting and making so much noise that everything they were saying became no longer comprehensible. Ayame sighed at the excessive noise her children were creating and put a hand on her forehead, shaking her head in annoyance. They were all already legal adults, but were still acting like a bunch of fourth-graders. Thankfully she was the kind of woman who always puts poise above all else. "All right, all right. That's enough." She said calmly. She then turned to Haru, who just stared at her blankly. "I'm sure you must already know why we're here."

Haru raised an eyebrow. "Of course not, mom." He said, a little irritated. "I've been avoiding you all since I graduated and now you come to Japan and into this house without warning." It came out a bit harsh, but they were all used to him. He really was frank when it came to things like this. "How did you find me, anyway?"

"Well, luckily gathering information is easy in Manhattan. I hired your father's private investigator." Ayame replied. "Thanks to him and your brother's sources, we were able to find you here, of all places."

Takahiro's sources? That's right. Haru thought. When it came to pretty much everything, Hiro always has a guy to do the job. He may even have a guy to look for a guy to do what he wants to be done. That's just how connected he was, although no one really knew how Hiro does it.

"I am not coming back to New York." Haru said stubbornly, crossing his arms.

Hiro laughed at his brother's tenacity. "Don't worry, that's not why we're here." He smirked. He and Haru had the same signature smirk, only his was a little smugger, more confident, and a hell of a lot more charming. "The three of us are well aware that there's no convincing you to come back, now that you've already made up your mind, so we decided to come here to at least spend the holidays as a family... minus dad, as usual."

Haru scratched his head and groaned, taking all the information in. There goes his perfect plan of spending the holidays with Sawako. Now he's going to have to cancel that trip to Germany.

He frowned. I can always count on these people to ruin everything. He thought angrily. "Would it kill you to ask for my permission first? Like now, you just barged into my house uninvited and now you want to spend Christmas here?" He scolded his brother. "I mean, I have other plans too, you know!"

"Come on, don't you miss us, Haru-kun?" Hiro grinned.

He was just about to say something when he looked at his mother's face. She looked hurt; she didn't look like she was about to cry—she wasn't that kind of person—but her lips were pursed together and her eyes were glued to the floor. Haru had seen this transformation in his mother before, once when she got into a fight with their father that almost made the two of them want to get a divorce, and the other when Takahiro scolded her about not being a good enough mother when he was just in high school. Haru thought about it and realized that he was being way too harsh. He didn't want to see that look on Ayame's face again, and he certainly didn't want to be the reason for it. He was a huge mama's boy, after all. He sighed in defeat. This was his family, after all. It'd be nice to have them around every once in a while, even if they constantly got on his nerves, especially his little sister Hitomi.

"Fine. If that's the case, you're welcome to stay. You know where your rooms are." He said miserably. He knew he was going to regret this. "But please keep in mind that this is my house now. My house, my rules."

Ayame and Takahiro looked at each other contentedly.

Hitomi groaned. "Oh! But what if my room's all dirty? I'd still have to clean it up!"

"Shut up, Hitomi!"

"Hey, sweetie. What's up?"

Sawako answered the call from Haru on the second ring, while she was making dinner for herself in her little apartment. She had just finished reviewing the lessons for the next few days, which were the last days of school before winter break officially begins.

She could feel him hesitating on the other line, so she decided to wait patiently for him to explain himself, counting the possibilities. What could be the problem this time?

"H-Hey," He said, laughing nervously. Sawako could hear the wind over the speaker, so it was safe to assume that he was somewhere outside his house when he called. "About our little trip this winter break... I'm afraid we're going to have to cancel. Something really weird just happened. It's not really a bad weird, but it's not a good weird either."

Sawako lifted her chin, a little disappointed herself. She had even already researched a bit on their destination and planned which places to visit when they get there.

"Why, what happened?" She asked.

Haru cleared his throat before giving out his answer. "It's my family. They just arrived a while ago and they told me they plan on spending the holiday here." He said. "I swear I had no idea they were coming. I didn't even tell them I was living in Japan. I can't even process all of this right now."

"Okay. Calm down, calm down." She said, giggling a little. His anxiety was getting the better of him again. "If that's the case, it'd probably be better if you spent Christmas with them. You know, catch up on what you've missed."

He groaned at the thought of it. He really couldn't care less.

"That's nice, but... W-What? Hey! You idiot, give that back!"

"Hello?" Said an entirely different voice over the phone, which caused Sawako to raise both her eyebrows in mild surprise. It was a lot deeper that Haru's. "You must be my brother's so-called girlfriend and perhaps future sister-in-law. The name's Takahiro. Takahiro Sato. It's a pleasure."

She laughed anxiously. "Yes, this is she. It's nice to meet you, Takahiro-san. My name is Sawako. Sawako Yamanaka."

Hiro was grinning triumphantly as he stepped on his little brother's back with his obnoxiously tacky Italian loafers as he lay flat on the floor to keep him from getting back up on his feet and swiping his phone back. When it came to things like this, the older one was always the more dominant, much to Haru's annoyance.

"Listen, Sawako." He said. "It's pretty rare for Little Haru here to get himself into serious relationships with women so you can pretty much guess that the entire family is just thrilled to meet you."

"Damn it, Hiro!" Sawako heard her boyfriend scream over the other line.

The older one completely ignored him and continued. "So I was wondering if you'd like to spend Christmas with us, here in our humble home. Our mother would be absolutely delighted. She's hosting a party, you see. Not to brag, but people actually fight for invites to her parties." He offered ever so subtly. She could feel Sawako's excitement over the phone. "Only a chosen few will be invited. You can be Haru's plus one."

Haru's head immediately snapped up. Ayame Sato was a socialite, and was quite famous back in Manhattan—even before when they still lived in Japan—for her holiday dinner parties. Every year she'd host a Christmas party amongst many other gatherings and their guests mostly consisted of her and her husband's business partners and family friends. Their penthouse would be completely and expensively redecorated in order to suit the occasion as well as the guests' preferences. Haru absolutely despised going to those parties. He was always required to wear some stupid designer suit his mother picked for him in some loathsome store like Saks and act his best in front of his parents' friends. He found the whole thing obnoxious and pretentious and everything that's intolerable about the elite of the Empire State. It was one of the many reasons he disliked spending any time with his family.

If that was the kind of 'party' she was planning here at his own house, then the last thing he wants is to have her invite Sawako. It was bad enough for him to bear it alone, but if he brought someone like her along, she'd only feel out of place.

Sawako couldn't help but laugh on the other line, though. Takahiro was pretty charming, much like his little brother, only he was more outspoken. "I don't know." She said. "Are you sure it's okay with Haru?"

"Of course it's okay! I haven't seen him so excited in my entire life!" Said Hiro, looking down at Haru, who lay miserably in defeat. His face was pressed firmly against the asphalt. He had already accepted the fact that there's really nothing much he can do now.

"All right then. If you insist, Takahiro-san."

"Great! See you, then." Hiro then clicked to end the call, dropping the mobile phone for Haru to catch sloppily. He then lifted his foot and helped the poor kid stand up, dragging him up as if he weighed nothing at all.

Haru fixed his cardigan and raised an eyebrow at his big brother, who was smiling at him deviously. "I don't know what the hell you're planning, Hiro, but leave my girlfriend out of it." He then stormed off and back into the house, leaving an incredibly amused Hiro outside to chuckle to himself as he pulled out a cigarette from his pocket. He lit it up with his own cheap lighter and smirked as he blew a thick cloud of smoke.

He smiled up at the sky. Things just got ten times more interesting.

Haru sighed. "I swear, it was the most disgusting thing I've ever seen."

He sat behind his desk inside his own office with both of his feet lifted up while he took long gulps from the hip flask that he filled with the fine vintage bourbon he stole from his brother. It's been three days since his family came back to Japan and to his place. He had been ranting about how troublesome his brother has been since they arrived in Japan for more than half an hour now, but Yuji still tried his best to listen, even though the whole thing just bored him to death.

It was already six in the morning anyway, and they were pretty much done for the day so perhaps it was okay for Yuji to kill some time before he goes home, although he wasn't sure if it was safe for Haru to intoxicate himself while talking of his woes.

Yuji's eyes were only half-opened now, but he could still see how red his friend's face already was as he just finished complaining about how he walked in on Takahiro and Alyssa last night right before he went to work. His tie was pulled loose and the undershirt he wore under his blazer was opened, revealing his even redder chest.

"I mean, they could... you know, lock the door, right? Jesus." He breathed heavily, continuing his drunken tirade. "Seriously, that's all they do! They never even help around the house."

"That's gotta be rough, man." Yuji groaned. That was probably the seventh time he's said that already. "So, did you get to see Alyssa's..."

"NO."

Haru took another lazy swig, but realized that his flask was already empty. He grunted in annoyance and put it back on his desk, putting his feet back down and leaning in, trying to straighten himself up again. Yuji has never seen him so miserable. The situation must really be bad. "I can't even take Sawako back to my place." He said. "I know that the moment I do that, everyone's going to harass her and ask her all kinds of crazy questions. I can't even imagine how much trouble they're going to cause her."

Yuji tiredly sat back. He was sitting on the modern chaise longue that Haru just recently bought for office visitors, but he was usually just the one sitting on it, much to his friend's chagrin. "But you're still taking her to this little Christmas party thing your mom's hosting, right?"

"As much as I don't want to, I have to." Haru nodded, frowning. "Mom's parties are nice and all, but I don't think she and I will be able to fit into that kind of scene at all. I just hope everything stays civilized, and then we'll leave as soon as we possibly can."

"Well, judging from everything you've told me about your brother, I hope things go well too." Yuji said.

"And Sawako's looking forward to meeting everyone." He buried his face in his hands. "I just can't imagine how disappointed and ticked off she'll be once the day comes."

"Oh, don't think so negatively, Haru." Yuji laughed.

Haru scoffed and shook his head. "Oh, you have no idea, Hisaka-kun." He said. "Thank God my dad isn't even here. I could just imagine him criticizing Sawako down to every last detail until she runs home crying, like he did when Takahiro first introduced Alyssa to all of us." It made him grin just thinking about that incident. "Imagine, she ran away because dad told her she didn't seem like the right woman for his son. Takahiro was so mad about it that he didn't come home for a month!"

Yuji fell back cackling on his seat. "Sounds like your dad has unreachable standards." He looked like he was about to pee his pants. "I bet you were laughing the whole time!"

"Well, I guess." Haru shrugged and smirked. He was right. After all, those were his more juvenile days. "It was pretty funny."

"I only hope that doesn't happen to you, or it'll be your brother laughing at you this time." Yuji said, wiping away a single tear that fell from his eye. "Believe me, you're gonna miss your place when that happens."

Haru shook his head. "No way that's going to happen. My dad's not even here."

Suddenly his phone rang and vibrated in his pocket. "Excuse me." He said as he pulled it out and flipped it open, seeing Takahiro's name flashing irritatingly on the screen of his mobile phone. He stared at it for a while, raising his eyebrow. "It's Takahiro." He announced. "What could he want at a time like this?"

He sighed and clicked to answer it, pressing the damn thing against his ear. Haru didn't say anything, instead he waited for his brother to talk over the other line.

"Yo, Takeharu." Hiro finally greeted after a couple of seconds. "You're not busy, are you?"

Haru groaned. Just the sound of Takahiro's voice was enough to annoy the hell out of him. "Of course I am." He groaned. "I'm at work. It's not like I come here everyday just to slack off."

"Yeah, whatever." Said Hiro. "Anyway, since mom's party is in a few days, Alyssa wanted us to go out so we could shop for clothes. You should buy her a dress while you're at it, since she's your girlfriend and all."

Haru raised an eyebrow. "And what if I don't want to go?"

Hiro cackled on the other line. "Oh, don't worry, little brother. Since I'm a hell of a lot smarter than you, I planned ahead." He said triumphantly. "Alyssa already called Sawako and she agreed to come with us. All you have to do now is pick her up at school later at five after you're done there."

"WHAT?"

Haru stood up and slammed his hand furiously on the desk, almost scaring Yuji enough to send him out of the room. Being the good friend that he was, he peeked outside through the door and checked the hallway if anyone had heard the noise just now, because they were going to be in trouble if someone did. He stepped back inside Haru's office and looked at him, staggered by the sudden demonic aura that he was giving off.

Yuji couldn't help but wonder if he really was that angry or it was just the bourbon. No words could really describe just how furious Haru was right now.

"Hello? Hello, Haru?" Hiro called.

Haru was so ticked off that he could crush his mobile phone any second. He didn't look it, but he was really trying his best to be calm. "Who the hell do you think you are? You can't just invite my girlfriend whenever you feel like it!" He yelled. "Damn it, Takahiro, would it kill you to ask for my permission for once in your nuisance of a life?"

Little did he know that Hiro already put him on speaker phone and placed the phone on the desk inside his room, letting Alyssa listen in to their conversation as she fixed her hair in front of mirror inside the bathroom. She quietly giggled as she combed her long, blonde hair while Hiro cackled endlessly on his seat. They were both relieved to see that Haru really hasn't changed and was still his uptight self. Hiro's got the little sucker right where he wants him.

"Oh, come on, bro." Hiro said lazily. "Take it easy. Think of it as some sort of double date. Alyssa really wants to meet her too, you know."

"It's perfectly fine if it's Alyssa, but there's no chance in hell I'm letting her meet you, you creep." Haru replied huskily. They could tell he was still pretty angry.

Hiro laughed. "Stop being so childish. We're just taking the girls shopping."

"You're the one who's being childish, damn it!"

Wait. Shopping?

Haru suddenly settled down and sat back on his office chair, actually thinking about it. It really didn't seem like such a bad idea, but he has never really taken any of his girlfriends shopping before—with his brother and his wife, no less. If he agreed to what Takahiro was planning, it was going to be his first time doing so, but knowing his brother, he was afraid it'd all end up in disaster. He was some sort of trouble-magnet, after all.

Yuji watched his transformation from the Incredible Hulk to normal human being from where he sat. He assumed Takahiro had said something that somehow pacified him.

"Hey, Haru? Yo, you still there?"

Haru shook his head to wake himself up from his thoughts. "Y-Yeah, I'm here." He said with a sigh. "Listen, if Alyssa insists, then I guess there's no harm. I have one condition, though."

Hiro grinned in his seat, glancing at Alyssa, who was already standing beside him, smiling as she listened to their conversation. That was fast. Haru gave in quicker than usual. Both of them were pleasantly surprised. "Yeah, sure, what is it?" Hiro asked.

"For the love of God, just act like the lawyer you are and be normal around my girlfriend." Haru groaned.

Takahiro couldn't help but nod at that.

"Sure thing."

Challenge accepted.

"Yum," Jun said as she looked down at the packed lunch her mother had prepared for her. Everything was laid out on the table, and as usual, she was spending lunchtime with Azusa and Ui, who both looked just as excited as she was when they opened their own lunchboxes. "All right, let's dig in!"

Azusa sighed longingly as she looked down at her lunch. "Thank goodness it's already lunch." She said. "I really thought I was gonna pass out from hunger back there."

"You forgot to eat breakfast again, didn't you?" Ui said, giggling.

"Not only that, I slept pretty early last night so I forgot to eat dinner too." Azusa said. She was talking as fast as she could, which really showed how much she was in a hurry to stop talking and just eat, for Christ's sake.

She quickly picked up her chopsticks and started gobbling rather hungrily, causing the other two to laugh a little nervously as they watched her eat.

"You know, she kind of reminds me more and more of your sister every day." Jun quietly told Ui, who could only laugh in response.

"Hey, everyone!"

All three of them looked up and saw their classmate, Minako Sagawara, calling out to everyone inside the classroom. She had just rushed to the doorway, panting a she leaned against the wooden wall so that she wouldn't fall over from fatigue. Poor girl; with her skinny figure, it really wasn't that hard to get tired so easily.

"Hey, look, it's Minako!" Jun exclaimed, looking genuinely surprised. Everyone else in the room stopped what they were doing and looked up at her. "What's up? Did something happen?"

Suddenly Minako's expression turned from exhaustion to excitement. She quickly straightened herself up, her eyes glowing with enthusiasm.

"Wow, that is way creepy." Azusa mumbled with her mouth still full.

Minako grinned, thrilled with the news she was about to share. "Someone said they saw some dead guy in a car at the parking lot!" She said. "We're checking it out right now!"

"Oh, that's terrible!" Ui said.

Everyone fell silent after hearing what the girl had to say. They couldn't tell if they were shocked by the news or just found the whole thing weird considering it was pretty much bad news but the way Minako had proclaimed it; she sounded like a little girl in an amusement park or a video game addict getting his hands on a copy of the newly-released Final Fantasy XIII-2.

And unexpectedly the room was abuzz. It was as if curiosity hit everyone all at the same time, and it wasn't long before they all made their way down the building and to the parking lot.

Jun, Ui and Azusa joined the crowd of girls, wanting to sneak a peek at the dead guy everyone was talking about. They craned their necks to try to get a better view, but it was no use. There were too many girls surrounding the Innova.

Wait. Innova?

Something suddenly hit Ui like a slap in the face. Could it be him?

"All right, all right. That's enough, girls. Get back to your classrooms."

A moment later, Sawako arrived at the scene along with other members of the faculty to control the crowd. It really wasn't that big, but the scene was causing the students to fuss too much. If what they heard about someone dead being in the parking lot was true, then it really was no place for these girls to be in.

"Miss Sawa-chan!" Jun greeted.

"Oh, it's you girls." Sawako blinked, walking to where the three were. "Do you have any idea what's going on here? We heard there was a corpse in the parking lot."

Azusa shrugged. "No idea. We just got here ourselves."

Sawako sighed tiredly as she watched the other teachers trying to control the crowd. She then looked over to Ui, who was still silently staring at where the car was, and couldn't help but get curious. "Hey, Hirasawa-kun?" She asked the girl. "What's up? Are you okay?"

Ui couldn't seem to take her eyes off of the scene. "Hey, Miss Sawako?" She said. "Doesn't that Innova look a bit familiar?"

"Huh?"

Sawako stood on her toes so she could see above the group of girls and saw the car. Her eyes suddenly widened in utter horror, seeing the familiar Innova. She then began to quickly elbow the clusters of students in the way and worriedly walked towards the car, finally making it to the open window by the driver's seat.

Please don't let it be Haru, please don't let it be Haru. She kept chanting in her head, praying to every god out there.

She then peeked inside the car, and much to her surprise, she saw none other than her beloved boyfriend, sitting with his eyes closed and his head thrown back as he sat lifelessly on the passenger seat. She gasped and covered her mouth to stop herself from sobbing. His face was pale and he looked cold. His shirt was unbuttoned, revealing his red chest. There was no blood, but he still looked terrible. It was just as she feared.

She heard a couple of students whisper behind her.

"Wait, Ms. Yamanaka knows this guy?"

"He looks really sick. He looks like a zombie."

"I wonder what happened."

Sawako frantically reached into the car and opened the door to the driver's seat from the inside. "Haru? Haru!" She sat on and quickly grabbed Haru by the shoulders, shaking him hysterically while tears started to stream down her cheeks.

"Please wake up!" She sobbed as she kept shaking him, attempting to wake him up, even slapping him a couple of times in the face. "Please don't leave me!"

"H-Huh?"

Haru's eyes lazily fluttered open, finding himself being shaken so violently that it made him dizzy. He felt like he was about to vomit.

He stiffened himself, finally grabbing Sawako's attention and dropped his heavy hands on her shoulders. "Sawako. Sawako." He called sternly but calmly, his face still pale. He knew he really shouldn't have drunk all that bourbon this morning. Always a bad idea. "Just what the hell are you doing?"

"Wait, you're alive?" She looked up and blinked.

"Of course I am."

She immediately wiped of her tears and threw her arms up and around his neck, laughing in relief. "Oh, that's wonderful!" She said. "For a moment there, I actually thought you were dead."

Haru couldn't even handle all of this right now. He was seriously too nauseous to even think of anything.

Where the heck is Yuji?

He then noticed the crowd just outside the car. The girls of Sakuragaoka High, as well as a few teacher and janitors, were all looking at them. Some were whispering while some were giggling and blushing as they watched the two of them. He could also hear sirens getting louder by the second.

"Um, Sawako?" He inquired, pulling away from his girlfriend's embrace. "What the hell is going on here? Why are they staring at us?"

"Huh?"

"Sawako?"

"Oh, crap!"

Haru bowed respectfully in front of the school principal of Sakuragaoka High. "I am terribly sorry for the trouble I've caused, sir." He said.

Roughly about half an hour after the scene at the parking lot, the students were sent back to their rooms and Haru was sent to the principal's office, as if he actually studied there, along with Yuji and Sawako. The school principal, a balding middle-aged man named Kazuhiro Ishimoto, looked up at the young engineer as he sat behind his desk with a discontented frown on his wrinkled face. He obviously wasn't happy about what just happened.

He groaned. "So you're Ms. Yamanaka's boyfriend, Takeharu Sato." He said. "You know, you're quite popular amongst the students and teachers. They speak very highly of you, but I never really imagined having to meet you under these circumstances."

Kazuhiro really had been hearing quite a lot about him lately. He actually found his habit of sending flowers to Sawako every single day quite annoying. He made the entire faculty room look like a garden. He was also told that Haru was a Computer Engineering graduate from Columbia, so he expected the young man to somehow be more respectable and debonair than this. He definitely knew how to dress, but his eyes were bloodshot and his face was pale. He looked like an ordinary corporate worker who was also a zombie.

He tried his best not to judge the boy by his appearance, but he just couldn't help it.

Haru hung his head in embarrassment. "I know, sir. I'm really sorry."

The principal sighed heavily, unsure of how to handle the situation. "How many times are you going to apologize?" He asked. "Anyway, it's fine. No one was hurt, but you've caused quite the fuss. We even called the police, who came for nothing." He kept staring at Haru, who could only stare uncomfortably on the floor. He looked like he was too scared to talk, but he looked unusually calm about all this. "You could at least tell me how you managed to get yourself in such a situation."

"Well, um," Haru glanced at Yuji before he turned to the principal again. "It's actually a pretty long story, sir. And I wouldn't want to take up any more of your precious time."

"Nonsense." Kazuhiro scoffed. "I have time."

Haru's eyebrow twitched up in annoyance. This guy was starting to get on his nerves. Believe me, old man, you don't. He wanted to say. It won't be long before he gets tired of playing scared and grabs this man by his balding head and throws him out the window.

"Actually, sir. All of it was kind of my fault." Yuji raised his hand, finally speaking up. Everyone in the room turned to him curiously, and he chuckled as he walked closer to Mr. Ishimoto's desk, as if it really wasn't that big of a deal. "I was the one who brought him to school and left him at the parking lot."

"Oh, really?" Mr. Ishimoto raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "Could you tell me who you are first?"

"Yuji. Yuji Hisaka. I'm one of Mr. Sato's colleagues from the Center."

Yuji swallowed anxiously. Suddenly it hit him. It was starting to feel more like a court trial than an actual conversation with a high school principal. He looked down at Mr. Ishimoto and almost peed his pants in his intimidating presence., but tried his best to keep his cool. Oh no, I'm not gonna let this old geezer scare me. He thought, chuckling quietly.

"I see." Said the principal. This kid looked just as dimwitted as Takeharu. He really couldn't believe that a teacher as sweet as Sawako could be friends with these delinquents. "Now please explain exactly why everything is your responsibility, Mr. Hisaka."

Sawako took a step closer. She was just as curious as everyone else.

Yuji cleared his throat before he began. "Well, you see, sir, I drove my friend Takeharu to school today because he still needed to pick up Ms. Yamanaka after school. And since we both work at a call center, our schedule is rather... irregular. Everyday we work from midnight until morning and we take breaks during daytime."

He paused for a moment and glanced at Haru, who nodded at him approvingly. Everything he had said so far was true. He knew he could count on Yuji in situations like this. He really was the master of excuses.

"You see, Takeharu worked a bit harder today so he became too tired to drive." Yuji continued. "I figured I could just take him to the school so we can sleep at the parking lot until five in the afternoon. But then at around lunch time I felt like I needed a cigarette break so I left him there for a while. By the time I got back, the police were there, everyone was there, and now here we are."

A long awkward pause followed Yuji's story.

Haru took a look around to see if everyone else had believed the slip. He chuckled nervously as soon as his eyes met Sawako's. She was looking up at him sympathetically, as if he was some sort of poor little puppy.

Mr. Ishimoto cleared his throat rather loudly, grasping everyone's attention. "You could have just taken Mr. Sato home instead of here." He said. "Why here?"

Yuji looked over at Haru, who was also looking at him. The older one could only shrug. The old man did have a point.

"Well, I..." Yuji really couldn't come up with anything else.

After a moment, the principal finally gave out another tired sigh and leaned back on his chair. "Well, anyway, judging by the looks on your faces, the story seems legitimate." He said. "Thankfully it all happened during lunch break, so you really didn't get to disturb any classes. Besides, I don't think I still have to knock some sense into the two of you. You're already adults, for heaven's sake."

Haru and Yuji looked at each other and chuckled while Sawako could only watch them, smiling. Boys will be boys, even if they were already a couple of grown men. She had probably already lost track of the times her boyfriend got himself in trouble, anyway.

"Oh, and Ms. Yamanaka?" He called out, triggering the teacher to come closer. "Please escort these 'boys' out of my office. Make sure they don't cause any more trouble."

Sawako nodded in response. "Yes, Principal."

"Wow, that sure was something!" Yuji groaned rather loudly as he sat in one of the tables in the Sakuragaoka High school cafeteria with Haru and Sawako. Only ten minutes were left before vacant period officially ends, and most of the students were already starting to make their way back to their rooms so the three of them pretty much had the entire place all to themselves.

"See you later, Miss Sawako." A couple of girls greeted as they left. Some of them took second glances at Haru, who completely ignored them.

He took a seat in front of his colleague and next to Sawako, who was fixing her skirt as she crossed her legs. "Yeah." He sighed. "I was actually starting to think he wasn't going to let us out."

"He totally looked like he had a man-crush on you, though!" Yuji cackled, almost falling back.

"Sawako, this is Yuji Hisaka. He's one of my co-workers that I told you about. I don't think I've introduced you yet." Haru told Sawako, who in response looked over to Yuji. He was still chuckling pretty impishly. Way to make a first impression in front of your best friend's girlfriend. Haru put a hand on his forehead. "And Yuji, this is Sawako."

"It's nice to finally meet you, Sawa-chan—er, I mean, Miss Yamanaka." Yuji grinned as he extended his hand across the table for a quick handshake, which Sawako hesitantly accepted.

His hand was moist and really heavy. She couldn't wait to let go.

She smiled back. "Likewise, Mr. Hisaka." She said. "Thank you for what you did for Haru this morning and for telling Principal Ishimoto the truth."

"The truth?" Yuji scoffed. He then looked at Haru, who shot a warning glance at him. It was exactly how he looks whenever he was just about to give him a quick punch in the face. "Uh, yeah, yeah. Of course. Right. The truth. Yeah, I couldn't really lie to such a scary man."

Sawako suspiciously raised an eyebrow. "Um, Hisaka-san?"

"Yes?"

"You're a terrible liar." She said straight up, but still managed to keep a calm demeanor. She let out a giggle and smiled at Yuji, but it suddenly absolutely terrified him. It was almost the same look that the girls he used to date used to give him when they were pissed. "I'd really appreciate it if you told me everything you forgot to tell the Principal."

Yuji, you idiot.

Haru could only sigh in defeat. He nodded at his friend, urging him to just confess. He dreaded the fact that Yuji was such a bad liar when he talked to women. Then again, it would be better for them to tell Sawako everything before she goes into Death Devil mode.

"Oh, don't worry, I'm not forcing you or anything." She said. "I just think it'd be better if you told me now. It's not like I'm gonna hurt you."

That really didn't make the poor guy feel any better.

After a while, Yuji finally swallowed and cleared his throat. "Well, you see..." He stammered. "What I told Mr. Ishimoto wasn't exactly that far from the truth, but I may have made up some of it."

"Like what?"

Haru suddenly stood up. "Screw this, I'm gonna go grab a bite to eat." He declared. He then looked down at his girlfriend. "Have you already had lunch?"

"Well, not really." Because of the ruckus these two made earlier, she had completely forgotten about lunch. She put a hand on her stomach. Thinking about it actually made her a lot hungrier.

"That's no good." Haru sighed and shook his head. "What do you usually eat here?"

"Usually just some cake and tea at the music room, but since the girls are having their classes, that's not really an option now." Said Sawako.

"But you have to eat something." He insisted.

"What about me, Haru-chan? Aren't you going to ask me to eat too?" Yuji purred like a little girl, pouting at his friend. "I'm feeling a bit hungry too."

Haru just looked at him. "Oh, shut up, Yuji." He then pulled out his wallet from his jacket and scanned if he still had some money to pay for the food he was about to buy since he's been using his credit cards and cheques a lot lately. Perhaps he was acting more like an elite snob than he'd thought. He groaned at the thought of it.

Sawako and Yuji watched him as he approached the counter and talked to the lunch lady. As he expected, she was an overweight woman old enough to be his mother. She didn't look all that grumpy, though. In fact, she looked like she was in a good mood.

"What can I do for you?" She asked him.

He looked down at the food prepared behind the glass and put a hand on his chin as he tried to figure out which ones to pick.

"Whoa, that's crazy cheap." He mumbled to himself upon seeing the prices.

While Haru was busy with the food, Yuji tapped his fingers against Sawako's arm so he could get her attention. "You know, he looks like he cares a lot about you. It's not all the time I get to see him badger someone else just to eat." He chuckled.

"Yeah, he's really sweet." She nodded. "But sometimes he cares so much about me that he forgets to take care of himself. Like today."

"That's Takeharu for 'ya. A professional in the engineering world but a total idiot when it comes to everything else."

Sawako leaned with her elbow against the table and looked at Yuji curiously. "So, would you mind telling me what you're supposed to tell me now?" She said, giggling. "Did you seriously think you could make me forget all about that by talking about Haru? Oh, Mr. Hisaka, you're pretty funny."

Yuji couldn't help but chuckle nervously. "Right. That."

"Well?"

"Well, it's not that big of a deal, really." Said Yuji. "Haru just got himself drunk in his office again and got into a pretty stupid fight with his brother. I really couldn't let him drive all by himself so I drove him here and let him rest until he was sober again, and I couldn't take him home where his brother was, Haru'd probably kill me."

Sawako sighed and let her right palm hit her flat on the face. "I told him to minimize his drinking. He is just so stubborn."

"It's not his fault. His family being around is just a lot to handle, I guess." He shrugged.

She blinked. "His family?" She inquired. "Come to think of it, he's been quite distant lately, especially about that topic. Maybe that's the reason. He hasn't even taken me to meet them."

"I'm sure he's just getting cold feet." Yuji assured her. He noticed that Sawako was looking pretty worried. "But he's taking you out tonight on a date, right?"

"Yeah, with Takahiro-san and his wife."

Yuji leaned back on his seat. "See? Maybe he's just taking things one step at a time. He's not the hurrying type, after all. You shouldn't worry so much."

"I guess you're right." Sawako said with a sigh.

"Hey, guys. Check this out." Haru said as he came back with a tray containing their lunch and an astonished grin on his tired face. He returned to his seat next to Sawako and put the tray on the table.

He had bought two grilled cheese sandwiches and two cans of orange soda for Yuji and himself, while he bought something completely different for their female companion. For Sawako, he bought a strawberry yogurt and a salad plate, along with a cup of hot water with a Lipton tea bag and a lemon slice on a saucer. She knew she was a freak about these things, wanting to maintain her slim figure, and he really didn't mind, as long as she was healthy and maintained an adequate diet. He wouldn't leave her anyway even if she got all chubby, but she really doesn't seem to get that at all, just like most girls.

The way he saw it, women cared about only two things: what to wear and how they're going to fit into it.

Sawako looked down at her meal, thoroughly confused. Haru surprisingly got everything right, even though she would have preferred a lemon yogurt than strawberry. "Thanks." She said, smiling up at him.

"Wow," Yuji said as he looked at her food as well. "That's quite a diet, Miss Sawako!"

Haru ignored his friend and hope that it didn't offend her. "So, what did you guys talk about while I was away?"

"Oh, nothing. Hisaka-san just told me how you got yourself drunk again this morning." Sawako said rather giddily while she glared at her boyfriend, who flinched at what she just said. He almost dropped his sandwich. "I told you time and time again, Haru, to drink moderately." She scolded.

He watched her as she quietly peeled back the top of her yogurt with a childish pout while Yuji just observed them as he ate. He found it pretty amazing how Sawako could go from devilishly intimidating to high school ticked.

"Sorry." Haru finally said, looking down at his soda. "There's just a lot going on right now. I guess I couldn't help it."

Sawako turned to him again. "Then why don't you talk to me about it?" She insisted. "I'm your girlfriend, right?"

Oh, you have got to be kidding me.

Haru looked at her and noticed that she looked pretty serious already. He mentally slapped himself in the face. Was she really going to force an argument at such a time, right in front of Yuji? He sighed tiredly at it. "I said I was sorry." He said. "It won't happen again."

"That's not what I'm upset about, you know." She said. "We're a couple now. You're always there whenever I have my own problems, so why can't you trust me with yours?"

Yuji flinched as Haru suddenly glared at him. "What'd you tell her, anway?" He demanded.

"N-Nothing!" Yuji almost shouted.

"He has nothing to do with it, Haru." Said Sawako. "Why didn't you tell me you were having a hard time with your family? I could have helped you out."

Haru bit his lip. So that's what she was so upset about. Suddenly the very reason why he almost never takes girls seriously was starting to resurface. They take commitments too seriously, and were rather clingy about even the smallest things. Sawako was currently manifesting that idea. "It's really not that big of a deal, anyway." He insisted. "They're just being a little troublesome, but I'll get used to them eventually. They'll be leaving after a couple of weeks, anyway."

Sawako sighed. He clearly wasn't getting the message. "You just don't get it at all, do you? It's not about them. It's about you. About us."

That was when Haru realized that he and Sawako had never really gotten into a fight before. Actually, she has never been this mad at him before. Over something as trivial as this problem with his family? What the hell is wrong with her? She was acting like an annoying schoolgirl.

This is such a drag.

Haru took a mental sigh and looked down at Sawako, his expression changing from looking baked to being completely remorseful. Getting into a fight with Sawako was only going to give him even more stress, and he really has more than enough right now, so instead of standing up for what he believed was the best way to fix his problem, he tried to think of something sweet and charming to say so that she'd calm down. He knew she wouldn't be able to resist him for too long, anyway.

Yuji suspiciously raised an eyebrow as he watched his friend's ridiculous transformation. He looked like one of those leading men in the cheesy dramas he watched on TV. Must've been the bourbon. What the hell was he up to?

"You're right. You're absolutely right." Haru said softly, causing Sawako to almost drop the yogurt she was holding. She looked up at him while her hand was still keeping the little spoon in her mouth.

Oh. My. God.

Haru suddenly looked so hot, making that pouty face. Sawako thought it was the most adorable thing in the world and wanted to rip all of her clothes off and leap forward so she could kiss him like crazy. It felt like the first time she's ever laid eyes on him, and like before, she was puking rainbows.

Yuji shook his head in disgust. "Oh good lord, you have got to be kidding me." He mumbled.

"H-Haru..." She struggled to say, but everything died down her throat. Haru's got her right where he wants her.

Haru gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead before he showed his signature smirk and looked deep into her eyes. Trying to manipulate her like this certainly didn't feel good, but he had no choice. "I'm really sorry, baby. I just didn't want to worry you. You were busy enough with work, and all that."

"Oh, nonsense!" Sawako gasped dramatically, throwing herself into Haru's arms and creeping the hell out of Yuji. She was being just as weird as Haru. Just what the hell is wrong with these two?

He's had enough of this cheesy lovey-dovey crap. He immediately stood up and slammed his hands against the table, catching the couple's attention. "Please... please excuse me." He said, and quickly made his way to the men's room to vomit, leaving Haru and Sawako to both stare after him in confusion.

"I'll just pick you up later, okay?"

Sawako nodded as she leaned into the open window to the Innova's driver's seat and gave Haru a soft kiss. Right after they made up and had their lunch, Yuji and Haru prepared to leave since Sawako still had a couple of classes for the rest of the afternoon and the two of them still had to go home and get some rest.

Haru smiled and waved before he finally closed the window and turned on the engine. He glanced over at Yuji, who was still rather horrified with what he saw during lunch break. "What's up with you?" Haru scoffed.

Haru was still looking at Sawako as she made her way back into the main building when Yuji turned to him lazily. "You're crazy?"

"What? I'm crazy?" Haru said, raising an eyebrow. "Just how am I crazy?"

"I can't believe Sawako totally fell for your pretty boy masquerade." He scoffed. "You know you really have to teach me how to do stuff like that."

Haru could help but laugh as he finally hit the gas and started to drive out of the school grounds and into the streets, taking the route to Yuji's apartment first. "It's actually been a while since I did something like that." He admitted. "Don't get me wrong, I really feel bad for doing that to her. But I had no choice."

"Rubbish." Yuji jeered.

"It's true, you idiot." Haru scoffed. He kept his eyes on the road. "If I hadn't done that, we would have had our first fight. Right in front of you, no less."

"And what's wrong with that? It could've been hot."

"No, it would have been even more stressful than before. In case you hadn't noticed, I was still pretty drunk when she decided to act like my mom." He groaned. "I wouldn't have been able to handle it if she went all out."

"You know what you need, buddy?" Yuji grinned deviously. "Sober juice. Lots of it."

Haru shook his head. "I'm not drinking any beer, Yuji."

"Oh, right. I forgot you still had a date." Yuji said. "I guess you'll be needing a lot of mental preparation for all that, huh."

"Come on, you make it sound like I'm heading to my execution."

Then again, he probably was.