Chapter 6: The Tutor
Hikari sighed deeply as she stood by the beige door. Unlike regular class doors, this one didn't have a glass on it. She didn't think she would have trouble understanding any of the subjects at school, yet there she was. That didn't mean she was a bad student at it, quite the opposite actually. She just felt like she could use an extra help with it. After hesitating, she finally knocked on the door softly.
"Please, come in."

And so she did, and she immediately felt her cheeks burning from embarrassment as she couldn't help but think the tutor was a very handsome man. She shook her head and mentally told herself to get it together and that she was there to study only.
"Oh hello." He gave her a warm smile, which only made her cheeks become redder and she absolutely hated it. But he didn't seem to notice it - or he did a good job hiding it. "You must be a first grader."
"Y-Yes." Hikari managed to say after she found her voice. "I was hoping you could help me with Teaching Practice."
"Oh the terror subject." He couldn't help but laugh. "I had a lot of trouble with it on my first year too, which is ironic because now it's the one I'm best at. I'm Katsuo Hashimoto, by the way."
"Hikari Yagami." She smiled gently at him and felt her shoulders relax and feel more comfortable now.
"Nice to meet you, Hikari. Your name definitely suits you."
"Thanks I guess."
"Please sit down." Katsuo motioned to the chair across him and Hikari looked down at it.
"Right." She placed her bag beside it and took out her notepad.
"So what do you need help with?"
"I just want to review the whole subject I learned this semester. I don't exactly have a doubt, but it will be nice if I went through it with someone else."
"I see. We can definitely do that."
"Isn't it going to take you a lot of time though? I mean, you might have something else to do."
"Don't worry." He assured her. "I don't have anything else to do today."
"Alright."

.

Hikari arrived home a little later than usual and Yuuko was dead worried about her. She stood up the moment her daughter twisted the doorknob open.
"Oh thank God you're here! I tried calling your phone, but you didn't answer."
"I'm sorry, mom." She said genuinely. "I stayed at college after class to have a tutoring session."
"Is everything okay there?"
"Yes, everything's fine. I just needed some extra help understanding a subject and the tutor was very helpful."
"I'm happy to hear that." Yuuko smiled. "Now go get ready because dinner is almost ready. Your brother is going to join us tonight."
"Are you serious? That's so great! He hasn't come here in a while."
"I know. I had to call him out on it to make sure he'd come."
"I don't doubt it at all." Hikari laughed. "I'll be right back."

.

Hikari was walking to her class about two weeks after she had her tutoring session with Katsuo when she heard someone calling her name. She looked over her shoulder and saw him running towards her.
"Mr. Hashimoto, is everything alright?"
"It is." He placed his hand on his chest while he tried to recover his breath. "I just wanted to see if I was able to help you with the tutor session?"
"Ah yes, that was very helpful." Hikari smiled. "Thank you so much."
"You're welcome. Glad I could help." He smiled back at her. "So I was wondering if you wanted to have a cup of coffee some time? I know a place nearby that has an amazing one. You know, as friends."
"A couple of coffee?"
"Yeah. I mean, if you drink it of course."
"Not that often, but sure."
"Really?" Katsuo was surprised, actually.
"Why not?"
"Great. So is tomorrow after class good for you?"
"Yes, it's perfect."
"Awesome, so see you then." He began to walk away in a rather fast pace. "I gotta go now or I'll be late to class."
"Alright, see you tomorrow."

.

Hikari kept overplaying the event in her mind throughout the day. She couldn't fully understand why she accepted Katsuo's invitation since they weren't exactly friends and had only talked once. Sure, she found him handsome and all, but still wouldn't go out with him so fast. She even contemplated cancelling it, but she would soon be convinced to go for it. Hikari glanced down at her phone and accepted the call with a smile.
"Hey there."
"Hey! You took a while to answer. Is everything okay?"
"Everything's fine, Takeru." She smiled. "I was just doing some thinking. By the way, aren't you supposed to be in class right now?"
"Yes, but we are waiting for our teacher. He had to go talk to the principal."
"I see."
"So what were you thinking about?"
"What?" Hikari shook her head. "Oh I sorta have a date."
"Wait, what?" Takeru asked shocked. "You have a date?"
"I do, but I'm thinking about cancelling it."
"Why?"
"I don't know." She shrugged. "I only talked to him once, it seems weird."
"It's not like you are getting married to this man."
"So you would go if you were me?"
"Absolutely." He replied confidently. "If things don't work out, you can have a new friend."
"Or maybe not."
"Come on, think positively. I think you should go and see what happens."
"Fine, I'll go."
"Great! I want to know how it goes later." Takeru looked over his shoulder and saw his teacher walking back towards the class. "I have to go, my teacher is here. I'll talk to you later."
"Alright."
"Good luck."
"Thanks."

.

Hikari was very relieved Katsuo didn't choose a very fancy and expensive place for them to go to. She walked in as he opened the door for her and looked all over the 80s style coffee-shop.
"Thank you." She smiled at him from over her shoulder. "This is a pretty place."
"It is. I'm glad you liked it." He led her to two rather large empty benches. "I wasn't sure if you would."
"I think it's cute." Hikari looked at him across her. "I used to see this kind of coffee-shops in movies when I was a child. I like old-school movies."
"Really?" Katsuo asked surprised. "So do I. What's your favorite?"
"Okay, I think you will probably laugh at me, but it's West Side Story. That's odd because I usually don't like musicals."
"It's sweet." He waved to the waitress. "What do you like the most about it?"
"I don't know. I didn't think about it, to be honest. The dancing and the singing maybe."
"Wow."
"Is that so surprising?" Hikari asked as she looked at the menu to decide what she was going to have. "We are going to share the bill, right?"
"Absolutely not. It's on me."
"I can pay for it, I don't mind."
"But I do." Katsuo said firmly. "I invited you, so I'll pay."
"Okay, but I really don't mind paying for my half."
"I know." He smiled and looked at the waitress, waiting to take their orders. "What are you going to order?"
"I'm going to have a hamburger and soda, please."
"Anything for dessert?"
"We'll decide it later."
"Alright." The waitress walked away.
"So you never answered me."
"What?"
"I asked if it was surprising that I liked West Side Story."
"I have to admit I was expecting something more recent, like Hairspray. Since you seem to be into musicals."
"I like this one too. But I think West Side Story had some cool effects for its time."
"That's true." Katsuo paused for a moment. "So, why did you choose Education as a graduation?"
"Well, I've been dreaming of being a teacher since I was eleven. I never had a doubt in my mind about it."
"You had your mind made up at such an early age, I'm impressed. Have you decided which grades you want to teach?"
"Kindergarten. This one I figured out a few years after that. People always told me I was really good with children and then I thought why not?"
"I can see why they thought that."
"You do?" Hikari felt her cheeks burn with embarrassment and desperately wished she had a glass of soda near her to hide her face behind it.
"Yeah, you seem really sweet and patient. The perfect type to be a kindergarten teacher, if you ask me."
"T-Thank you." Her cheeks got even redder with that compliment. "What about you? Why did you go for Education?"
"It wasn't my first choice actually. I started taking History."
"History? And how did you end up in Education?"
"It's a funny story. I had to do a presentation like it was a class, so I went to some schools to get a practical example. It was when I realized that was what I wanted to do, so I changed the graduation course."
"That's sweet. When did it happen?"
"Last year was my first one as an Education student. I knew I had made the right choice immediately."
"Do you plan on going back to History at some point?"
"Yeah, in a few years. History has always been my passion."
"I think it's cute."
"What do you say we order some ice-cream and then get out of here?"
"That seems good to me."

.

Hikari couldn't help but grab her phone and take a picture of the beautiful sunset in the horizon. She stared at the screen to see the result and then shoved it back into her pocket. She went back to looking at the golden landscape as she leaned against the rail at the Rainbow Bridge.
"So you also like taking pictures, huh?"
"It's just a hobby, really." Hikari smiled softly. "I'm not an expert or anything."
"I'm sure they are great either way."
"They are alright to me."
"I'm sure they are more than just that."
"Maybe." She sighed. "I should go home now."
"Alright. I'll take you."
"No, it's okay. It's still early, I can go by myself."
"I want to. Besides, I invited you, so it only makes sense for me to walk you home."
"Okay, then." Hikari knew it would be pointless to engage in this argument.

After about ten minutes of walking, they finally stopped in front of Hikari's building. She looked up before changing her focus to him.
"Thank you."
"I hope you had fun today."
"I did." Hikari smiled. "It was good to become friends with someone else in college."
"I say the same." Katsuo smiled back at her. "I had fun too. You're such a cool person to be around of."
"Thanks, I guess. So are you. You're funny."
"Well, I should go now. See you at school on Monday?"
"Sure."
"Great." He began to walk away and then turned around, walking backwards. "Oh and Hikari?"
"Yes."
"Someday I want to see the pictures you've taken."
Hikari couldn't help but laugh for a moment. "We'll see about that. Good night, Katsuo."
"Good night."

.

Hikari and Katsuo grew a lot closer as the days and weeks went by and soon he started walking her home together everyday. They realized they had a lot of things in common, which helped them become close friends fast and start having feelings for each other not too long after.
"Thanks for taking me home, Katsuo." She said gently after they stopped in front of her building. "But you didn't have to, really. It's completely out of the way of yours."
"It doesn't matter, I wanted to take you home."
"Okay. Isn't it going to be too late for you to walk back home alone though?"
"Hmm." Katsuo glanced at the sunset on his left. "No, I don't think so. By the time I get home, the sun won't be completely set yet."
"Alright then." She said a little uneasy and found herself blushing a little as she realized she didn't want him to go home just yet. "I probably should go upstairs now. I have some college work to do before dinner."
"I don't want to disturb it either. So I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Of course." Hikari held his arm in an impulse when he turned to leave. "Katsuo, wait."
"What is it?" Katsuo looked over his shoulder and then turned back around to look at her.
"You don't want to stay here a little longer?"
Katsuo was surprised with her question and glanced down at his arm, where her hand was still curled around. "You just said you had some homework to do. I don't want to get in the way."
"Ten more minutes won't hurt. I just don't want you to go now."
Her last words echoed in her mind and Hikari found it surprising she actually poured her heart out there like that. Still, she felt good about it and both her mind and heart were in the same place. That gave her strength to continue.
"Actually, ten minutes is too little. You can stay twenty minutes more." She smiled a little and looked at him. "I just want to spend more time with you today."
"Hikari." Katsuo reached down for her other hand and held it softly, holding her gaze up in his eyes.
"Please." Hikari slid her hand towards his free one and intertwined her fingers with his.
Her heart automatically started beating faster and her cheeks grew redder when he took two steps towards her, dimming their distance. Even so, she didn't move an inch. Not even when he lifted his hand and softly lifted her chin up, so they were looking at each other's eyes again. It was her last sight before she slowly closed her eyes and anxiety and anticipation overtook her seconds before his lips touched hers. At first, the kiss was very shy, as Katsuo didn't know how she would respond at it. But having her arms wrapped around his neck and her kissing him back gave him the courage to deepen it a little. Hikari quickly caught up to his new pace and felt his arms tightening around the center of her back. She pulled him into her for a second kiss when he began to pull away and felt him smiling against her mouth before he got engaged at it again.
Katsuo touched her forehead with his own one when they finally broke away the kiss and gently brushed her left cheek with the back of his hand. "You have no idea how much I wanted to do this."
"Me too." Hikari admitted with a small smile. "So much. But I just wasn't not brave enough to take the initiative."
"Well, you did pull me back for the second kiss. That was pretty brave to me."
"I'll take it back then." She put a lock of her hair behind her ear. "So where does that leave us?"
"I think it's quite clear, actually." He looked down at their hands and grabbed hers again. "Hikari…"
"Yes?"
"Do you want to be my girlfriend?"
"That's not even a question." She gave a wide grin and threw her arms around his neck. "Yes, yes, yes! There's nothing else I'd want more right now."