Part 3

Lilly just stood there with the water running, her hands gripping the sides of the sink, only just remembering that she was wearing a bit more makeup than usual, and splashing water up would just smear her face into a nightmare. She kept her head high; hanging it like she wanted to would have thrown her hair into a real mess. The same went for the urge to knead her fingers up in it, and every time she fought it off, she remembered the conversation she had practically run away from.

It wasn't that it really offended her that much. It was just that today was probably a bad day to bring up such things.

Over the years, Hanako had become more... expressive. It was only natural. She spent so many years not saying a thing to anyone, and only a precious few words to Lilly. Even after Yamaku, and a few years into college, despite breaking a bit out of her shell, she would still lock herself up in her dorm on her birthday. A few years after that, she would just call out of work and have short conversations with anyone on the phone, though they were always polite, with her explaining that she didn't feel very well. It wasn't until three years ago that Lilly had been allowed in the same room with her on her birthday.

The thought chilled Lilly to the bone.

"What... what else...?"

What else could be lurking in that brain of hers? For years, just sitting there? Building, and building, and building...

"Okay, that was just a momentary lapse in judgment. Her and Misha just found something in common," *eyetwitch*, "And were just having a bit of fun. I'm sure that it won't happen again. Well, at least with Hanako."

She coughed.

"Well, at least not as bad."

And then she remembered that they were serving drinks at this reunion.

Drinks.

Drinks.

"No, no, come on now, don't be negative." Lilly let out a tiny laugh to assure herself.

She then threw open the bathroom door in a bit of a panic.

"L-Li-Lilly!" There was the sound of quick steps getting nearer.

Lilly turned to her, "I'm sorry, I just needed to get away for a minute. All the noise here is getting to me." Hopefully Hanako wouldn't pick up on that she heard her coming from quite a bit off.

Hanako wasn't exactly panting, but her breath wasn't altogether steady, "I-I-I-I...," a deep breath, "I'm-I'm-I'm so sorry, L-Lilly." She almost sounded as if talking was making her wince, "I don't, I don't know what came over me..."

"Hanako." Lilly's hands reached for Hanako's shoulders. "It's alright. I'm sorry I got so worked up."

"B-b-but..."

"Hanako." A quick squeeze. "It's alright. Really."

They stayed like that for a few moments.

"Oh... oh-okay..."

Lilly smiled. Hanako was such a sweet girl. Well, woman now, but still. "Alright, let's go back, and hopefully by the time we get back I'll something to return fire with."

"H-Hey!" She giggled. "I really hope you're ready for her later."

"Now that was just mean," Lilly retorted with mock offense and a fake pout. She dropped her hands from Hanako's shoulders and started to head back, "Come on now. You know the way, after all."

Hanako giggled again and lightly took Lilly's sleeve, bringing them both back out to the main floor.

The place was starting to fill up. Not many people went to Yamaku back then or even today, despite the fact that it was the largest school of its kind. Their graduating class, for instance, was quite small in comparison to other high schools. However, the community at Yamaku was very tight, and it was never strange to have alumni from other years come as well, though they were almost always from classes that were older than the current one that was celebrating. Family would also arrive sometimes, though in many instances it was simply to assist anyone with special needs. These people usually left earlier, in fact, right around the time Lilly and Hanako were making their way across the floor, there probably weren't any at all. No-one wanted an incident where an inebriate would cause serious damage, so to minimize risk, it was politely suggested that people in a more delicate state leave early on. Most of the more ceremonious events of the reunion took place at the school earlier in the day, at a time when those in need of more care were normally active, with the get-together in the ballroom occurring when the sun was down. Lilly was very sad that she hadn't been able to meet anyone who had left early, but even if she had met up with Hanako, the two of them would have never made it anyway. They both simply lived too far. Well, they could always try the festival, as Misha said.

She sighed and let herself get lost in the general hubbub around her. The alumni, from whatever year they happened to be, were starting to get pretty thick. It seemed that Lilly and Hanako weren't the only ones that either lived far or had too many obligations during the day. Lilly was surprised that Hanako was free at all, especially in the morning. Hanako explained that things were rather slow at the moment, and the magazine that she worked for was letting her take a bit of a break, at her request, of course. She wanted to try writing something for herself, though she would always let out a sheepish laugh and admit that now that she had the time, she had no idea on what to do. Still, a little R&R never hurt anyone.

Speaking of Hanako, "Gah!"

Lilly arched her eyebrows a bit, "Are you okay?"

Hanako had been walking strangely the entire time, and at first Lilly had just figured it had been the growing crowd, but, "I just spilled a bit of my drink, is all. I didn't get it on anyone."

Lilly gulped. "Drink?"

"A waiter offered me some wine. I'm sorry that I didn't wait for you, but I didn't know how long you would be. You-you were gone for a while, Lilly."

Okay, she just needed to take deep breaths. Hanako was not an alcoholic. She rarely got drunk. That one time at her birthday party in Yamaku, and the resulting... "sickness" and dry heaves that kept up through night and the morning after had Hanako learn the values of moderation, and fast. She only drank wine, with her one other foray being a sip of scotch, which resulted in her blurting to Akira, "Oh my God, why do you do this to yourself?!" That had been followed by a flood of embarrassed apologies from Hanako and near non-stop laughter from Akira as a response to them.

Lilly felt a bit calmer. "That's okay, I'll order when we get back Hana..."

"Hanachan~! There you are!"

Both Lilly and Hanako cocked their heads to an angle, and simultaneously, "Hana-'chan?'"

Misha giggled, "Grab a stool, guys!"

Lilly stiffened. "Stool?"

"Y-yeah, um, Mikado and I went looking for you, and w-we saw that our table had been taken. We didn't want to cause trouble..."

"So we set up shop here~!"

Lilly hoped her smile wasn't tainted by a grimace. "Ah."

How could the loudest person she ever met continually batter her with surprise attacks?

They all took a seat, and Lilly ordered a glass of wine. Hopefully, it would be the only one; she didn't necessarily feel like getting goaded into a dizzy night. Misha's excitement put Lilly a bit on edge, though she managed to not show it. No offense to Misha, but when compared to Lilly and especially the slender Hanako, she looked able to take on the bar and be okay. The definition of "okay" seemed to be rather flexible, though.

Still, Lilly needed to relax, and she sipped at the not-too-cheap but not-too-expensive wine, "So, Mikado, has there been any word on Shizune?"

"Nope, I haven't heard from her all day, actually. She said yesterday that she'd be fashionably late, though."

"Just like her, spending more time running around the scenes than up front with the rest of us."

"Now, Lilly, I heard that you two both promised your sister to be nice."

"Ha, it would boring if we didn't trade a few blows."

Misha laughed. "Out for blood tonight?"

"I have a few frustrations I need to work out."

"Well, even still, please try to be civil. I know I really don't need to tell you..."

Oh yes she did, but Lilly didn't say so out loud.

Misha continued, "But please don't get wrapped up in something like that. Shizune has been pretty good about keeping calm, but she has... re... re..."

"Re-relapses." Hanako took a sip. "Also, you didn't say 'Shicchan.'"

Misha scratched the back of her head and wore a slightly embarrassed smile, "Well, we're a little old for that, don't you think?"

Lilly grinned, "So I guess that was a 'relapse' just a moment ago?"

"Hey~! I was just having a bit of fun! Besides, I think it sounds cute. What do you think, Hanachan?"

Hanako chuckled. "I-I don't hate it, but I still don't know. No one's ever called me that before."

"Never? I understand with Satou, but really? I'd think it wouldn't be that hard to come up with." She shrugged, the topic dead.

Lilly tried to turn her thoughts from Shizune. It would be good to know when she would show, but bad to do the opposite of what Misha had asked her to do. "Hanako, do you have the time? I'm afraid I didn't bring anything I could read."

"Was it that bad this morning?"

Lilly had her pained smile back. "A bit."

"Was what bad?" Misha seemed to perk up at the slight air of mystery.

"Oh, it was just... just I had to... grade some papers. Tests. Yes, tests."

"Wahaha~! Been slacking a bit?"

Lilly let the blush spread, it was only helping her out at this point, "Yeah, a bit. You caught me, Mikado. I've been feeling a bit sluggish lately."

"No worries, it happens to the best of us! Hell, you should see some of the stuff the teacher I translate for does! He almost never even has a pen!"

Hanako had won her wrestling match with her purse and checked the time on her phone, "I-it's a quarter past ten, Lilly."

Lilly stood. "It's about that time, I suppose. I hate to leave you two, but I have to meet someone really quick. I wanted to get our graduating class together before the night ended, and I wanted to do a quick head count."

"You don't need help?"

Lilly shook her head. "Most of the preparations were done in advance. I have one of my old classmates checking up on it, and I want to check up on her."

"Heeey~! We're your classmates!"

"W-w-we were in 3-3, M-Mikado."

Misha pouted to Hanako, but relented. "Okay, but I really did miss you, Satou. We never really just hung out. You and me, I mean."

"Don't worry, I'll be back in a bit. This has been pretty fun, so far." She smiled.

"Are you s-sure you don't need any help?" Lilly detected a bit of sadness in Hanako's voice, as well as a sprinkling of caution. She probably wanted to keep an eye on Lilly and make sure she didn't blow up on anyone.

"I'll be fine and right back, Hanako." With that, she turned back to the main floor, sweeping her cane, though in smaller arcs, trying hard not to hit anyone's ankles. She stuck to the outer part of the floor, where the crowd wasn't as thick, and where she wouldn't have to weave through tables.

As she walked away though, she thought she heard something a bit disturbing. It sounded like this:

"Okay, Hanachan, you ready?"

There were a couple of thunks on the wooden bar.

"W-what are these again?"

"Tequila slammers~!"

"Teq-tequila?"

Nah, it was probably just Lilly's imagination. That would have been ridiculous. She continued walking, humming a bit to herself.