"Reaction"

Hanyu was sitting next to the window of the house she shared with Satoko and Rika. She looked out over Hinamizawa, watching as life in the village slowed down and people closed out their day. It had been an interesting day, not just for her but for all her friends too.

"Hauuu… everything turned out okay," she murmured. Thinking about how lucky they were that nothing became of today's instance at the school. She would just sit down with Rika and Satoko and enjoy dinner. They were having tofu tonight. She loved the tofu Satoko made.

"For the most part," said a voice from behind her. She turned to see Rika leaning against the wall at the far end of the room. She had a glass in her hand that was filled with a dark liquid.

"Rika… that isn't alcohol, is it?" She said sadly.

Rika responded with her usual laugh before saying, "Don't worry it's only juice."

She gave a sigh of relief. She didn't like it when Rika drank in the past worlds, but since they conquered fate Rika had little need for alcohol. However, today's instance would imply that she might deviate back to her old ways.

"Hanyu I need to tell you something. I'll be honest; I was scared back there in the school, scared and angry at the same time because I was powerless… I allowed someone to walk in and break the peace. Everything would have been for naught if it hadn't been a crude joke."

She was surprised by Rika's out of character response, but she could see that Rika was really upset now. She had all the right to be too.

"Rika, Duos announced that his intentions were solely for comedy. He didn't mean any harm; he just has a bad sense of humor… besides he apologized for what he did."

"That may be true but I don't trust him. Friend or not of Keiichi he was still a danger to us all and I'd hate to see what his sense of humor puts us through next time," the spite was coming clear through her words.

"That's true… and I'm still apprehensive about my premonition, but if we open up to him and not act on fear or impulse than I'm sure we won't run into past problems."

Rika was silent for a moment before giving her answer.

"Alright," she said after a long pause, "I'll give him a chance and with it my trust, but I will still be wary of him."

"That goes double for me!" said a voice from the kitchen. A few seconds later in came Satoko with a large grin on her face.

"What Duos did today was definitely NOT funny, but it was still a joke. He apologized for his actions too but I won't let him off that easily! I'll put him in a few of my traps; maybe even the ones I've forbidden even to be used on Keiichi! That'll show him!"

Hanyu could tell that Satoko was eagerly anticipating the traps she would use on Duos but also that she had in a way already forgiven him for what he did.

"Then I guess we all agree that Duos is forgiven, right?" she said hoping to get the approval of her friends.

"I forgive him… for now…" said Rika,

"I forgive him too, but that won't spare him from my wrath!" said Satoko, "Now let's have dinner, I put it out on the table before I came in so let's eat before it gets cold!"

Hanyu and Rika laughed and followed their friend into the kitchen where their delicious tofu awaited them.

As the three girls enjoyed their dinner, Rena was taking a shower. She too pondered today's events but did so alone, letting the water of her shower beat softly against her skin while she played back the events of the day. She finished her shower, dried herself off, and lay flat on her bed, not sure what to make of the day she had.

She found it to be the most unusual day she'd had in a long time. She had been put in an unusual position to be forced to stand and watch as her friend was shot, only to find out that it wasn't the real thing, all a misguided joke.

"Hmmph!" she said, violently smacking the pillow that lay beside her. She didn't like Duos at all. She found him to be arrogant and disrespectful. She disliked more than anything his opinion of a joke. He had laughed. No one else did. Keiichi was used to Satoko's pranks and all the other group antics, but he hadn't laughed. He was even the first one to scold him for what he did. Then after, Duos had shrugged it off like it was nothing, like he didn't care, like it didn't matter.

She let her thoughts of anger and frustration run circles around her mind, but it got to a point where she had to stop and think about the one factor concerning Duos. The factor that would lighten her growing despair for the boy.

"But…he is still Keiichi-kun's friend…" it was the one thing holding back her distain for Duos. She trusted Keiichi, he didn't always make the best decisions, and some got him into messes, but friendship…

"Keiichi-kun holds his friends in high regard…" she thought aloud again.

Through thick and thin she knew that Keiichi put friendship above all else. She also thought of how Keiichi never said anything about friends back in Tokyo. She never assumed he had no friends but the possibility had come up in her mind before.

Keiichi said that before he came here he said studying was all he did back in Tokyo. He said that everyone was in competition with each other… that friendship was null…

"Life without friends…" the words were cold on her lips, she hated even thinking about the meaning of those words.

…

"If life was like Keiichi said it was then Duos can't be all that bad…" the words were bittersweet but deep down she knew they were probably right.

People are flawed naturally; so all she did was witness one of his flaws right?

Her train of thought was suddenly broken by a knocking sound coming from downstairs.

She smiled as she heard her father's voice asking her to come down and eat dinner. He didn't usually cook for her but when he did she treated it like a special occasion. She liked that her dad always tried to do what he could for her.

Before going down she slipped into her pajamas and put on a pair of cute slippers she found at the Seven Mart two months back. She loved the softness of the slippers; they made her feet feel soft like cotton.

"A second chance is fair," she said to herself before she skipped down the stairs to the food awaiting her.

While most of her friends were sitting down to dinner, Mion was sitting in her room starring at the walls next to her futon. She wasn't hungry.

What happened today felt like a video that was on replay. She could see it all happening again. Takano pointing a gun at them, her standing in front of her friends, the crack of the gun…

But this time it had been different. It had been the same as back then but the roles had been switched. Instead of Takano wielding the gun it had been Duos, and instead of her out in front protecting her friends it had been Keiichi.

"Kei-chan…"

She couldn't stop thinking about what he had done. She couldn't forget the conviction in his voice and the acceptance of death that would have been his price to pay. He never faltered; he had stood up to protect them without any concern for himself, only hoping that he could spare his friends. Just like her…

She had been angry when she saw Keiichi step up to protect them. She tried to stop him, but he had told her to take care of everyone. Should she have challenged him? Stood her ground? The possibilities were there for her but she didn't take mind of them. She had sat back and watched. That made her angry more than anything and also a good part sad.

While she waited to see Keiichi be shot she had fought hard to keep her composure and contain her sadness. She couldn't bear the thought of losing him. She had thought about all the time she spent together with him, the fun they had, the games they played, the strife they fought, and it all came down to the cringing feeling she had felt that had screamed for her to help him, to be with him.

It all flashed before her eyes as she waited to see him bite the bullet. She remembered the day she first saw him, a city boy who had never associated himself with their kind of lifestyle. However she had seen something in him the day they first met. When she first called him 'Kei-chan' she saw the energy in his eyes and the competitive attitude that would make him a great club member. She saw that he would be a friend, a best friend even, and he had done just that. In a short period of time he had made his way into their club and established himself as a strong, innovative member. Was that what had attracted her to him? Or was it something else that she had felt for him along the way?

She didn't close her eyes before Duos pulled the trigger. She had seen the water spurt out from the end of his gun and had instantly felt a burst of anger. She wanted to jump at Duos for what he did, for what he had put her through. But that anger was soon quelled by the relief that Keiichi was safe, that no harm had come to him.

After what Duos had done she had to feign her strong and composed attitude. It had been hard. She had been on the verge of a mental breakdown that would have ended with her at Duos' throat. However Keiichi was there to mediate her emotions. He was the reason things proceeded smoothly after the event.

She clenched her fist as she dwelled on her anger toward Duos. She told him that everything was at amends because he was a friend of Keiichi's, but she had wanted to yell at him and state her true feelings for what he had done. She had wanted her words to be a joke much like Duos' and her real intention revealed in a shock to all. But she didn't do it. She hadn't enough time before Duos had been out the door. Leaving her and the rest of the class with an ominous and shady impression of himself.

She hadn't bothered to think about why he had done the act. She had been concerned about the what not the why. Was this what Duos was always like? Was he mischievous like Satoko? Or cruel like Takano? She didn't know anything about him as did probably everyone else, besides Keiichi.

She thought long and hard about her next move. Maybe she needed some perspective on Duos? Maybe she had to learn who he was before passing judgment. However how would she go about the process? Should she ask Keiichi for a description of Duos or try the source and ask Duos in person what he was like?

She sat up straight. Her mind was made up.

"I'll get to know him in person." She said aloud.

If Duos wasn't all he was cracked up to be than things would work out. But if not… she would have to handle him herself… for the good of everyone…

Author's Notes

My apologies about my inconsistency, I have been busy away from home for a while and have had little time to write.

This chapter was a bit slow as some of the characters thoughts are considered following the events in recent times. Also I wasn't originally planning for any pairings in this story but I think I might gravitate to some KeiichixMion as the story progresses.

I'm also hoping this chapter will turn out well considering I've exhausted most of my methods for distinguishing character change.

Until next time.