XXV
Friends and Promises
Saying her goodbyes Nozomi closed the door behind her and left towards the main gate of the estate. For now her father had everything within the house to take care of himself which allowed her a moment to go shopping as she wanted to celebrate his release from the hospital even if he had made it clear that he didn't want that at all.
"As if I could let your release from the hospital go uncelebrated oto-san, even if it's just going to be the two of us we should have a little celebration. I'll see if I can find something appropriate for you," she mentioned to herself as she walked past the entrance and onto the sidewalk, the best place to look would likely be at one of the shopping malls, she had kind of an idea of what she wanted to get for him but she was a little undecided on what to buy for dinner.
That was a bit unfortunate as she wanted to have something special made for him but she wasn't really all that good in the kitchen, even at the inn most of the cooking was done by the others, she mainly helped with the minor aspects.
"I could go and ask them. Yes, I think I'll do that." Stopping as she got an idea she turned around and headed in the opposite direction. She would first go to the inn and ask for some suggestions, after all, if either Nana or Yuka were there they could easily provide her with some good suggestions and perhaps even some tips on how to prepare it.
"They'll likely know what's best suited, I do hope that one of them is at home otherwise, otherwise I'll have to come up with something by myself. I do wonder what oto-san would really like?"
That was hard to say as she had never really paid much if any attention to what kind of food her father preferred. Well, she would just need to keep that in mind and do her best to help either Nana or Yuka to the best of her ability, the rest would just be a matter of hoping they had picked the right one.
"They'd know, they're much better at it than I am." That reminded her as well that she could also invite them over though it was likely that they couldn't make it, she was okay with that as her father most likely didn't want others to be present.
Still, she would at the very least ask her friends simply because they had been there for her all the time and it only made sense to repay them in some form, as even now she spent a lot of her time there as well when she wasn't looking after her father.
Well with him now released and able to stay at home that did mean there was going to be less work for her, he could already walk on his own with the aid of the crutches which would enable him to help himself within the house though she was still planning on visiting him every day just to make sure that he would be alright.
Overhead the sun was already starting to shine brightly and with it, the temperature already started to rise accordingly. Likely they would be able to celebrate it outside in the garden of the estate, which would be nice, it had been so long since they had held a celebration there.
"It's not very grown up to call others names. If anyone could be accused of being childish then I say it's you three," a voice could be heard coming from somewhere behind them, as the trio of girls looked behind them in surprise they parted just enough to allow Saeko and her friends to catch a glimpse who had just addressed the trio of girls.
Standing behind the three girls was a boy and if they saw it right then by his insignia he's a second year, why was this boy even helping them? He made a rather casual appearance, his hands firmly in his pockets one would also get the idea that it really didn't matter much to him and the look in his eyes betrayed his lack of interest, the shaggy cut dark hair adding to it.
"Is it because you're so insecure about yourselves that you need to pick on a couple of first years in order to make yourselves feel a little better, that is what I would consider being childish. Rather pathetic you know. Go back to your own class and leave them alone," the boy made it clear on what his opinion was on the trio as he kept his eyes focused on said girls, quickly they got on to the message and with that they just left without even saying a word or for that matter even cast a glance to them.
Still, it was pretty clear that there was a feeling of resentment and likely this wasn't going to be the last time they would come into a conflict with these girls. Rounding the corner they vanished.
Satisfied that they had left the boy smiled at Saeko and her friends. "Guess you're lucky I came when I did. One word of advice, though, don't go and pick any fights with older students. Now go on, you should go to your own class as well. It's already pretty late." Giving them a quick nod he simply turned on the spot and left without saying another word, wandering back the way he had come from, not taking the time to see if they were alright or even saying a farewell.
"He sure looks handsome if you ask me," Yuzuka mentioned as she and her friends watched him leave, honestly he wasn't all that bad looking at all in her mind, she wouldn't mind getting asked out on a date by him. "What do you say Azurin? Do you think I'd stand a chance to have him ask me out, what do you say?" She asked while she started to giggle as her face gained a shade of pink.
"I don't think he's interested in you Yuzuka-san, he didn't seem like it to me. I'm sure a senpai like him has others he has his eyes set on. Besides I think we really should get going now, sensei is likely waiting for us."
"Oh, my god! No!" Yuzuka shrieked as she had a cursory glance at her watch. "You're right! Oh, we're going to be so late in class, Saekorin we need to hurry!" Grabbing her by the hand Saeko was pulled along as they bolted it to get to their respective classroom. Her own mind was still trying to figure out what had just exactly happened back there in the locker room, why had these girls confronted them, why did they have her set as a target and who exactly had been that guy that had helped them? She didn't recognize any of them so why would they be out for her.
She didn't know why exactly but for some reason she felt rather excited about it, something had been stirred and she felt a sensation in her chest that she hadn't felt in a long time.
As they ran through the hallways as fast as they could Saeko kind of lost track of the time, all she could see in front of her was Yuzuka holding her hand as they kept on running in a mad attempt to make it to their class before the teacher would. "Saekorin, pick up the pace! We're not going to make it otherwise!" She could just hear Yuzuka say before the school bell went off; they were so going to be late all right.
Nana could hear a knock on the door though she was kind of busy right now with something more pressing, honestly whoever it was at the door had better come back later as she just couldn't make it right now. It remained silent after the first knock with she took as the person had moved on after having lost interest or gotten the impression that nobody was at home.
Satisfied that the person was gone, as she couldn't hear any more knocking taking place which would now allow her to totally focus her attention on the growing crisis at hand.
The vacuum cleaner was fighting her every step of the way, with the hellish noise it was making she almost got the impression that it was dying, but that wasn't possible with a machine now was it? She let out a short curse as she struggled to get it took work properly again, why wasn't this damn thing working like it was supposed to, it worked fine a couple of days ago. Why did it keep protesting at every single move?
"Why won't you work?!" She hissed underneath her breath as he kept pushing the on switch. "It's not that hard, just do what you always do dammit! What's wrong with you?!" She kept on struggling, trying to get it to work again so she could continue cleaning the house. This was becoming way too vexing for her, deciding that she had enough after a few more minutes of struggling to get it to do anything she gave up. Frustrated and exhausted she walked away from up.
A sudden knock at the door caught her attention, was that person still here? Honestly, why couldn't they take a hint? She was busy, and really she didn't have either the time nor the mood to see anybody right now.
Likely it would better to just turn away and grab a rest before going further, there was no need for her to answer the door at all, that was until she heard a distinct and familiar voice calling.
"Ehm, excuse me? Yuka-san? Nana-chan, is either of you home? I thought I heard some noise earlier. Are any of you home? I've got a favor to ask of you? Yuka-san? Nana-chan?"
Nana halted, that was Nozomi, she recognized that voice everywhere but why would she be here? She couldn't fathom an answer but even so, she happily went towards the door and opened it, at the very least Nozomi could help her forget about the frustrations of the vacuum cleaner.
"Nozomi-san, what brings you here? I hadn't expected to see you. How are you?"
Giving her a warm smile in response Nozomi stepped inside and took off her shoes.
"I'm fine, thank you for asking. How are you doing?" she asked as she followed Nana through the hallway and towards the terrace in the garden, it would be a much more pleasant place to sit and discuss given it was cooler there.
"So Nozomi-san, what brings you here? To be honest we hadn't really been expecting you until later this week as we thought you would stay with your father until he would be released from the hospital. How's he doing if I may ask?" Nana asked as she gestured for Nozomi to sit down while she would go back to the kitchen and bring something to drink for the two of them.
"Thank you," Nozomi said as she took a hold of one of the glasses. "My father is doing rather fine actually and he's been released from the hospital this morning, he is already at home."
Nana kept listening, she was surprised that her father was already at home as Nozomi hadn't mentioned it before; they were all still thinking that it might have been another week or two before he would get released. It certainly was good news to hear and Nana was happy for Nozomi as she had been worried about the young woman from time to time.
"I'm really glad to hear that Nozomi-san, you must feel a lot better now that he's back at home. So do you have anything special planned with him being home again?" Sitting down opposite of her Nana asked the question as she was interested to hear, to her it would make sense to celebrate such happy news.
"Nothing special really to be honest as my father has said that he doesn't want a party to be held though I'm planning on making a special dinner for him. Which is what brings me here as I'm not so good at coming up with a special dinner that he would like. I only really help here while you and Yuka-san do the actual cooking, so I was kind of hoping that perhaps you could offer me some suggestions."
That left Nana scratching the back of her head, honestly, she had no idea on what to suggest as, after all, she just didn't know the man at all and his preferences, Nozomi hadn't really talked that much about her father all that often which didn't make it any easier. She could ask her for what her father liked, yeah that sounded like a good place to start.
"So Nozomi-san, what kind of food does your father actually like? I don't really know him at all so I wouldn't know what to get him, do you have any tips to work with?" she asked.
Shaking her head Nozomi replied. "I'm afraid not Nana-chan, to be honest, I haven't really paid much attention to that even since we got back together, I blame myself for not being a proper daughter for not having noticed it. I don't have any tips for you to work with, I'm sorry," Nozomi mentioned in return and Nana could see that she really had meant it when she had called herself a bad daughter, that was a bit absurd in her mind and Nana felt that Nozomi represented the best kind of girl to be considered as a daughter; she was kind, gentle, caring, determined, well-mannered, smart, and always more than willing to help. How could she possibly not be a wonderful daughter?
"I don't think you're being fair to yourself, Nozomi-san you're a kind person. I'm pretty sure your father loves you the way you are. You shouldn't question yourself, at least that is my belief," Nana said in return though she found it a little hard to look Nozomi straight in the eyes, what if she had said something that she shouldn't have, even if she had said had been meant with the best intentions.
Putting the glass next to her as she got up from her seat Nozomi reached out and grabbed her hands. "Nana-chan that's so kind of you to say that, thank you so much for saying such kind words." Taking a step forward she let go of Nana's hands and gave her a hug, letting her know how much those words had meant to her.
Nana felt flustered by it but she also felt flattered by the appreciation of Nozomi, as that felt really nice even if it shouldn't have been said in the first place. "So Nozomi-san, I think we should get back at what brought you here. You know about the special dinner? I don't think I can be of much help to you but I think I know somebody who will be." Nana smiled as she had just the right person in mind to help with this little problem. She just hoped that this person was going to be willing to cooperate and not cause any unnecessary trouble for them.
As a cool breeze gently caressed her face, Saeko began to wonder what it was that she had been feeling ever since this morning, it was so familiar to her and yet she couldn't find the words to describe the throbbing sensation in her chest.
Sitting on the roof she enjoyed the view it gave her of the school grounds, it was a beautiful sight and one she wanted to see more often. Yuzuka and Azusa had gone back downstairs to the canteen in order to get some lunch from them, although having been asked to go with them Saeko had politely declined, preferring to stay up here. At least that way she wouldn't have to worry about coming across those three girls from this morning, and besides she wanted to be alone for a moment so that she could order her thoughts.
Another breeze caressed her face, pulling her away from those thoughts she allowed her head to rest against the wall, this was a nice place to get some rest.
"Ehm excuse me, you're Isuzu-san aren't you?" A girl's voice caught her by surprise, letting out a cry of distress Saeko turned around as she tried to get up on her feet quickly but just as quickly she stumbled, landing hard on the concrete floor.
"Ah, are you alright? Did you get hurt?" The voice asked her again but with her having to look into the sun Saeko couldn't see who it was. "Here let me help you." the voice said and Saeko could feel a hand pulling her back to her feet, finally now that she didn't need to look up her eyes adjusted and as she peered into the blue eyes she recognized the girl.
"I'm really glad I got the chance to see you Isuzu-san, I've been wanting to thank you ever since but your older sister told me that you weren't feeling well."
"Y-You're…?" Was the only word that Saeko could get across her lips as she kept looking at the girl, it was her alright, the same girl she had seen inside the storage room when Kikuchi had come to bully her as well.
"Oh I'm so sorry," the girl said as she held out her hand, laughing as she did. "I haven't even introduced myself yet, I'm Saten Hinami from class 1-B, pleased to meet you," she smiled as she introduced herself to Saeko, still holding out her hand. Her long black hair seeming to dance as the wind got a hold of it.
Staring at the girl's outstretched hand Saeko wondered what she was supposed to do, was she to simply take her hand or make a bow like she usually did? Oh, it was all so confusing to her, what was right?
In a moment of confusion, she did both, making a bow while also grabbing her hand, almost yelling her own name. "Isuzu Saeko from class 1-C! Pleased to meet you too, Saten-san!"
Hinami couldn't hold back as she burst out laughing at seeing the gesture. "Isuzu-san, you're pretty funny you know that, I'm so glad that I got a chance to meet you again. I've been feeling bad ever since I heard from your sister that you weren't here. I'm also sorry if you got hurt for coming to help me."
Somehow even with the dark haired girl laughing it didn't feel as harmful as when those girls had laughed at her this morning, she felt much more at ease with Hinami, she seemed rather friendly.
"Did he hurt you?" Saeko asked all of a sudden, wondering if this girl had been hurt by him. "Did he say anything afterward, is he looking for me?"
Hinami gestured for her to calm down. "I'm fine, thanks for asking and as for that idiot Kikuchi don't you worry about him, I told one of my teachers that he was threatening me so he got suspended from school for a few days. I also told the senpai at my club so if he tries anything they'll handle him."
Saeko was amazed, to think that Kikuchi actually got what he deserved felt like a revelation to her and then to think that Hinami even had people at her club who would help her if she were to find herself in trouble because of him, it had to be a wonderful club with nice people.
"You're really awesome the way you took him down, I've never seen anything like it. You moved so fast that I couldn't even see you hit him, that was so cool," Saten said with excitement or at least she made that distinct impression on Saeko, honestly she had never looked at it that way. "Do you do martial arts, do you train at a dojo, where did you learn those awesome moves? You've got to show me those moves of yours!"
"... I… ehm… not really…" Saeko muttered underneath her breath as she began to fiddle with her fingers, somehow she was feeling uncomfortable, she didn't think that what she had done was cool or awesome. Rather in her mind, she felt that it was the very opposite.
"Say Isuzu-san?" Hinami remarked, almost as she sensed the young Diclonius' sudden discomfort. "If you don't have any with you would you like to share bento, oka-san made a lot of extra for me but it's too much for myself," Saten told her as she pointed towards the spot where Saeko, only moments before, had been resting, other than a blanket there wasn't really anything else. It certainly gave away the impression that Saeko had brought nothing to eat with her.
"Oh no, it's just that my friends have already gone to the canteen to get me something but I guess I could have a few piece until they come back. Say Saten-san would you like to stay with me? I don't really like being alone, it's scary to me."
Hinami nodded and smiled. "Sure no problem, I'll keep you company. But I want to ask you some questions, there are some rather juicy stories going round about you and I'd like to know if they are true or not. It's kind of a hobby of mine to collect rumors and urban legends you know."
Hearing that Saeko couldn't help but avoid the dark haired girl's gaze, she didn't like the sound of that, she hated it when people started to spread things about her. Not one of them knew what she had been through in her life, the pain, the misery, and suffering she had had to endure.
"Did I say something that upset you?" Saten asked, noticing that something was wrong with the way that the pinkette was avoiding her gaze, just seeming to keep staring at the floor. "I'm really sorry if I did, I didn't mean to hurt you. It's just that I'm really curious about you."
Opening her bento box and placing it in between them she offered Saeko the first choice. "Please, you choose first, listen I'm really sorry if I said something wrong. Can you forgive me? You don't have to say if you don't want to."
Even if Hinami was apologizing it didn't take away that she had said something that had made Saeko feel uneasy about school. Then again it wasn't her fault, to begin with, she wasn't the one responsible for having started those rumors or wild stories, she just appeared to be somebody who collected such rumors.
"Saten-san, could you tell me what these rumors are? I don't like them but I want to hear them. Please, I would like to know how people in this school think about me, would you?"
Nodding that she would, Hinami then started to tell Saeko about the stories that had been going round about her, listening carefully Saeko felt a new degree of dismay as she found out how some people saw her. It was rather painful to listen to as it seemed that so many people held the wrong ideas of her and who she was. People who had never taken a moment to know her were already condemning her, it was sickening to her as it stirred up old and powerful emotions that went back to a much darker time of her life, a time she rather wanted to forget.
Lying on her back and staring at the ceiling Kyou was thinking on what she was going to make for dinner tonight, honestly, she was in the mood for something new but she found it hard to get an idea of what she exactly wanted.
Just a meter next to her Ryou was busy in making her homework although she did offer the occasional suggestion every now and then as she too tried to help with coming up with an idea for tonight's dinner. "Onee-chan, how about making a stew?"
Kyou dismissed it on the spot. "We had that a few days ago, besides I'm a little tired of stew as we had too many different types over the last month. I want something else and preferably also something that's simple to make."
"But isn't almost everything you make easy for you onee-chan?" Ryou remarked as she kept reading through her books. "To you, it always seems so easy, it isn't for others."
Unseen to her Kyou just rolled her eyes before she rolled over herself, turning her back towards Ryou. That was kind of true but that didn't mean she had found it easy whenever she tried something for the first time.
"I'm kind of bored you know Ryou, I wish there was something else that we could do."
Barely finished with her sentence they both looked at each other as they heard the doorbell ring, they looked at each other in surprise; neither of them had expected anybody to come visit and it was going to take a good five more hours before either of their parents would come home. It wasn't normal for the doorbell to ring as nobody was supposed to be here.
Ryou had a frightened expression on her face. "Onee-chan, do you think its bad people? Have they found us? What should we do?" She dropped the book that she had been holding while Kyou got up from the couch and carefully made her way towards the window. If they were bad people then she wouldn't get the chance to have a good look but she needed to see who it was anyway. If anything it was just a means to know who she needed to beat up when it would come to that. Pushing aside the curtains enough so she could have a look Kyou watched in surprise at the person at the front door, well it certainly wasn't bad people of any sort.
With a smile appearing on her face she turned around to face Ryou and said, shrugging her shoulders as she did, "I think we're going to have some fun, after all, I 'll go and open the door. You should clean up your books as I don't think you're going to have time for more reading."
Left in the room by herself Ryou began to wonder who it could be that her sister had seen, and only then did she begin to get the idea that it had to be somebody familiar to them otherwise her sister wouldn't be so casual about opening the door. Collecting her books and tidying up the place she went towards the hallway but before she even got to the door, Kyou appeared in the doorframe and next to her was Nozomi.
"Hello Ryou-chan," Nozomi bowed. "How are you doing today? Working hard on your homework I see," she mentioned as she looked at the table and noticed a few of the books that still lied there. "I'm proud that you're putting in so much effort into studying. How's it going with you two? Any plans to go to school like Saeko-chan?"
Kyou and Ryou spared a moment to look at each other, it had been discussed before but right now nothing could be said with certainty and they would rather not talk about it as it might just get their hopes up in vain.
"Not really, we don't talk about it. Oto-san and oka-san are still looking into it," Kyou answered her and she would leave it at that, no further need to say something that didn't need to be said in the first place. "So what brings you here, Nozomi-san?"
Ryou chimed in as well. "Sawa-san what brings you to our house? I-Is there something wrong? D-Did something terrible happen to one of our sisters? P-Please, don't tell me... t-that…" She was starting to panic a little.
Nozomi noticed it and quickly told the young Diclonius that there was no need to be worried, everything was fine with their other sisters and her reason for being here was simply because she wanted to ask them for help.
"I actually came here to talk to your older sister," she said before facing Kyou, getting on her knees as the three of them sat down at the table, Nozomi looked at her. "Kyou-chan, I actually came to ask you for a favor. Nana-chan told me that you're the best person that could help me in this case. Will you help me?"
Kyou's mouth fell wide open in response, the older girl had actually come to see her for help. That was a new one to her as normally people didn't come at all to ask for her help. Her reaction was mirrored by Ryou as well as she hadn't expected this either. "… W-With onee-chan…?" she whispered as if wanting to verify it.
"W-W-With me?" Kyou stuttered, unsure of what to say further, she felt excited and yet at the same time rather nervous about it. "A-A f-favor to ask of m-me?" she asked again, pointing her finger at herself as if asking for a confirmation from Nozomi, if she hadn't actually made an honest mistake. "Me? Are you really sure about that? You'd better not be kidding me."
Slightly tilting her head Nozomi looked at her and gave a reassuring smiled. "Why would I be kidding you, dear? You're very good at cooking, aren't you? You're certainly a lot better at it than I am which is why I came to ask for your help. Could you help me with coming up with a special dinner for my father to celebrate that he was released from the hospital?"
"WHAT?!" Was the only word that at this point could come from her lips, Kyou's face was instantly dyed red and her eyes opened as wide as they could, coloring her expression with shock, she had absolutely no idea on how to respond to such a request. This was something she had not expected at all, trying to speak more she learned much to her surprise that although her lips were moving the words refused to come out.
"So Kyou-chan, what do you say? Do you want to help me?" Nozomi asked once more, still keeping her eyes firmly locked on those of Kyou. "If it's too much trouble for you then that's fine, I don't want to impose on either of you."
The door was flung open as Yuzuka stormed through them. "What do you think you're doing to Saekorin?!" she howled as she spotted Saeko sitting there with a sad look on her face and opposing her on the other side of the blanket the girl she had seen before.
"Answer me?! Did you bully her?! Did any of those girls sent you here to make fun of her?! Saekorin, did she make you cry?! I'm going to call sensei!" she kept on shouting as she firmly placed herself between Hinami and Saeko, to think that this girl actually had the nerve to come here to her friend and take advantage now that she was alone, oh that was just so despicable of her.
"Y-Yuzu-chan, p-please don't," Saeko cried as she tried to stop her. "It's not her fault! Saten-san was just telling me about what happened in the storage room after I was gone. She also told me about the rumors that have been spreading lately about me, she isn't to blame. Please don't be mad at her."
Azusa had remained calm although she had been just as worried as Yuzuka had been at seeing this girl sitting there with her friend and seeing her friend crying. "I'm sure that if Isuzu-san is asking us that then it must be true," she remarked before turning around to face Hinami as she introduced herself to said girl, "Pleased to meet you Saten-san, I'm Ichinose Azusa, class 1-C," she made a polite bow and waited to see the girl's reaction.
Mimicking her gesture Saten introduced herself as well. "Saten Hinami, class 1-B. I'm sorry if I've upset you, I just wanted to talk to Isuzu-san, to thank her for helping me. Listen, I'm really sorry if I gave off the impression that I was being harmful to her."
While Azusa accepted the apology Yuzuka seemed to be a bit more hesitant, no doubt the incident from this morning still fresh in her mind. "Kayano Yuzuka, also from 1-C." That was as far as she willing to go with introducing herself, her cheerful self was gone, for the time being, replaced by her concern for her friend. "Saekorin I brought you the bread you wanted, you're lucky as it was the last one they had left," she mentioned as she sat down next to her and offered her the bread, still nicely packaged in its plastic wrapping.
"I also brought you something to drink, I hope that juice is alright with you," Azusa mentioned as she sat down opposite of Yuzuka though it was also next to Saten. That way she could at least keep an eye on said girl and act quickly should something go wrong. "So tell me Saten-san what exactly were you doing in the storage room before it happened?"
Finishing the piece she was eating Saten told them her reasons for being there. "Senpai wanted me to get some brooms so we could start cleaning up the clubroom, he told me they were in the back and that I should bring a few. I hadn't thought that that jerk Kikuchi would be there as well. And before I knew it he had locked the door behind him."
They all listened to what else she had to say as Saten told them about their little squabble, how Kikuchi had threatened her, and then when Saeko had emerged started to say mean things to her. It did not come as a surprise to them as his reputation as a bully was already well established. Yuzuka got up and bowed down towards her. "My apologies for having doubted you, I shouldn't have been so rude to jump to conclusions. I 'm really sorry," she said.
"Ah it's okay, I guess I would've reacted the same as you. I can't really blame you given what your friend has been through these past days, people can be really harsh on you."
They all nodded their heads in agreement; even if the school had a good reputation it did also seem to attract, unfortunately, a number of people who just wanted to step on others.
"Ah that reminds me, so you're in a club then Saten-san? Which one, if you don't mind me asking?"
Nozomi waited with baited breath as she watched Kyou cast an intense stare at the various ingredients they were going to need for the planned special dinner. "Are those the rights ones? Are you sure?"
It only earned her a quick gesture from Kyou to be quiet as she was busy searching for just those ingredients that were nothing less than perfect.
Carefully inspecting each and every single potato and carrot that she came across Kyou took great care to select only those examples she deemed worthy. Nozomi was simply amazed as she didn't know one could be this critical when it came to selecting vegetables, truly it was a remarkable experience though she began to wonder if Kyou was really being this picky or if she was just pretending to be. About to approach her Nozomi was stopped in her tracks as Kyou looked at her.
"These just aren't good enough if you ask me, the quality here isn't all that great but these are best ones they have. I'd say we go somewhere else or check the market to see if they have better ones."
Nozomi was confused, to her, the vegetables all looked fine but apparently to somebody she felt was more experienced they weren't good enough. "Ehm Kyou-chan are you sure you're not over-reacting just a little? It's not like we are looking for a wedding gift you know."
Kyou frowned. "You said you wanted a special dinner and now you want me to just be happy with ingredients that are less than average? You should make up your mind what you want Nozomi-san. If I'm going to make this then it will be with the ingredients that I pick or you can go and do it yourself," she told the older girl, Kyou's voice becoming sultry as she leaned in closer and wrapped one of her arms around Nozomi, pulling herself even closer towards her. Close enough that she could smell the wonderful scent of Nozomi, her desires spurring her on to go just one step further. Oh, how she just wanted to sample it for herself. "Hmmm you smell so good to me, I just love the scent you are wearing Nozomi-san, it is so wonderful, hmmm."
"Ehm... K-Kyou-chan, you're getting awfully close you know. I-I think we should stop right here before somebody notices it," her voice betraying that she was a little panicked by it all, Nozomi distanced herself from Kyou as her face take on a few shades of pink. "Y-You shouldn't, I don't think that this is right, I can understand that you have feelings for girls but you shouldn't, I-I can't..." Turning quickly on the spot to avoid Kyou from seeing the pain in her eyes she prayed that Kyou wasn't going to go any further with this, her heart was beating wildly in her chest and she still felt it.
She needed to go somewhere else, preferably outside where she hoped there would be a chance where she could calm herself a little. This wasn't exactly what she had expected when she had asked Kyou if it would be alright for her to go with her to look for the right ingredients. Letting out a sigh as the two of them made their way towards the exit, she would follow Kyou's advice for now though she was going to pay more attention to keeping a certain distance between herself and Kyou. She preferred not having to go through a repeat of this as she had found it to be rather embarrassing.
"Let's just go and see what the market has to offer us," she mentioned as they left the store, going through the exit they turned left and continued their way. Maybe it would not have been such bad idea to have brought the younger sister along as well.
Hinami couldn't help but laugh as she rubbed the back of her head. "Ah yes I am, you got me there, I'm part of the costume club. Say, did you come to see our clubroom and the works of the members, some of our senpais are really gifted when it comes to making clothes and costumes? Sakuraba-senpai who took me in is the best of the entire club. Did you see the wonderful maid outfit she made?"
Everybody else fell silent after hearing that and an uneasy silence began to settle in between them causing Hinami to think that she might have said something really stupid to them. Yuzuka and Azusa knew perfectly well why but they found it hard to tell that it was because of that outfit that things had gone wrong, the innocent and curious question that Saeko had made at hearing the word maid and the subsequent reaction from everybody else in the room.
"Saten-san?" Saeko was the first one to say a word, much to the surprise of the others. "Can you tell me what exactly a maid is? I asked back then but I never got an answer, I really would like to know what a maid is?" she asked, leaning closer towards Hinami as she did.
The dark haired girl couldn't help but giggle though the reaction seemed to attract a rather less than kind glance from either Yuzuka or Azusa for that matter. "Oh Isuzu-san, you're so cute, well to answer your question a maid is a girl or a woman who serves a master or household, of course, it's way different than what it was before. These days it's really popular again and they have these really cute maid cafés. That's where senpai got her inspiration from."
Holding their collective breath both Yuzuka and Azusa were anxious to find out what was going to happen next, already they were afraid that a repeat of last time was in order especially after Hinami had started to giggle. Much to their surprise and their own relief Saeko didn't move at all, in fact, she kept listening with full attention to what Hinami was explaining her about what a maid was. For some reason, that neither of them could explain, she had this really fascinated expression on her face.
"So a maid serves a master, does that mean the maid also likes the master? And that the master likes the maid? Does he?" Saeko kept on asking, almost to the point of seeming like she was obsessed with this whole new concept of a maid. Her eyes wide open as the realization of what it meant to be a maid began to sink in with her. 'I want to know, I've always liked to serve master. Did that make me a maid as well, I want to know more, I've always wanted to serve master. I liked serving master. And master cared about me, I know that master really liked me. I want to be a maid…' Her thoughts kept on going further until she blurted out a single word before even being aware of it. "…M-Master…"
Dumbstruck and not to say utterly confused by her sudden choice of the word they all looked her, puzzled why she had just such an odd word. "Saekorin are you alright? Why did you say that? What's with this fascination you have with maids anyway, don't tell me you want to be a maid do you?"
Her hands jumped up to cover mouth, to think she had actually said such a word that felt so embarrassing to her. "I-I-I…" Her head cast down as she couldn't explain it. Her face was becoming bright red as she felt so ashamed of herself. What would they be thinking of her?
"It's alright Saekorin, we've come to expect that from you. It makes you unique," Yuzuka comforted her, offering her a piece of her own bread. "Here I think you'll like this one as well. You need to eat to keep up your strength anyway and besides we do have PE later on."
"Well it's pretty normal from what I've seen," Hinami remarked as she finished the last of her bento. "It's not that weird for girls wanting to wear cute clothes and a well-made maid outfit looks pretty cute if you ask me and then there are others girls in school who like to constantly dress in all kind of special outfits, senpai actually makes clothes for them."
"She does? Is it like a part-time job she does next to school?" Azusa asked with some interest by what Hinami had just told them. "As for these girls could you be referring to the cosplay club? I could imagine that they would be the main people with an interest."
"Yeah, senpai seems to know a lot of them personally and from what she has told me they come to her on a regular basis to ask for help with their outfits. She also often goes and visits those cosplay conventions they hold in Tokyo."
Getting up on her feet as Yuzuka felt excited she asked the dark haired girl a pressing question. "She does? Wow, that must be so cool. I've always wanted to go there you know. Akihabara is also full with maid cafe's you know. Saten-san do you think it is possible for your senpai to make me this really cute frilly dress, oh I wouldn't mind looking like a princess you know."
"Yuzuka-san, you shouldn't ask such a thing," Azusa shot at her, "I think it'd be a lot of work for her if she needed to do an entire dress and besides, don't you think it would cost a lot as well?"
Hearing that Yuzuka was quick to sit back down on the blanket, kind of mimicking Saeko for the moment by lowering her head and avoiding the gaze of the others.
Hinami burst out laughing. "Oh you're just a wonderful group, I don't think I'd ever had this much fun at my previous school. You're fun to hang around with. If you really want I could always ask senpai and see what she has to say about it, it's the least I can do for you for letting me stay."
"It's our pleasure Saten-san," Azura assured her. "It's been a pleasure for us to get to know you a little better and it seems you also helped Isuzu-san. If you want you could come and visit us more often during the breaks, we wouldn't mind having you keep us company."
Hinami felt delighted to hear that. "Are you sure about that? I'd feel bad if I was imposing on you all? You shouldn't feel obliged just because of senpai and-."
She was stopped in her track as Saeko took both of her hands. "Saten-san, we want your company because we like you. We want to get to know you better, I want to get to know you better because I like talking to you Will you please consider seeing us more often? I'd like for you to become my friend. "
Right before she could have a chance to answer they all heard the buzz of a bell going off, that meant that the break was over for now and that they all had to go back to their respective classroom. "Saten-san, please let us know. I promise you, I'll be waiting for you at the main entrance."
Much to her surprise, there were an awful lot of people present at the market, Nozomi had thought that at this time it would be mostly deserted but it seemed that she had been wrong. With so many people around she just prayed that Kyou wasn't going to try anything with her, it would be so embarrassing if these many people were to see it.
Fortunately for her Kyou was already busy going through the various stands and the vegetables they had available, if she would just concentrate on the ingredients and the dinner then it might just be possible for Nozomi to avoid having to go through such a hassle again.
"Kyou-chan, take your time and pick the best ones you can find," she said, hoping that it would help to keep Kyou occupied for long enough, that said she certainly got interested in various items and food products she saw lying around. This was also Nozomi's first time she had come to visit this particular market and it seemed like a waste if she weren't to take some time for herself and find out for herself what they had to offer here. Who knew she might just find something that would be perfect as a present as well.
Moving from stand to stand she made sure to keep Kyou in her sight, the last thing she wanted now was to lose sight of her. That would be a terrible thing to happen, for Nozomi to lose sight of Kyou and her than becoming lost in this crowd. She didn't want to be responsible for that, that was simply beyond terrible.
"Kyou-chan don't stay too far away from me, alright?" she cautioned the young Diclonius in an effort to make certain that neither of them would lose sight of each other. It was pretty hard as it seemed that more and more people were starting to gather at the market, to think it was this crowded and Nozomi wasn't really all that keen on crowded places, in the first place, as she found them rather uncomfortable. "Kyou-chan please stay close to me. Don't become lost alright?" Now it was becoming pretty important to keep her as close as possible as with the ever increasing amount of people it became that much easier for them to lose sight of each other.
"Nozomi-san," Kyou responded to her as she walked towards her, holding a bag in each hand. A satisfied smile gracing her features. "I got what we need, we can go and have some fun somewhere else," she smiled, slightly tilting her head as she held up the bags for Nozomi to see.
Setting her first step on the sandy beach Mayu was already busy with searching the length of it in order for her to catch a glimpse of Bando, she expected him to be here. Well, it was more of a guess as these days his visits to the beach had become more erratic, she had as much of a chance to find him here as she wouldn't get to see him. That was of course if she hadn't called him on his phone and asked him to come and meet her here.
She had left school a little early but given that this was more important to her she didn't mind the few classes she would miss. She had reported herself sick at the nurse's office and after that left the premises under the false guise of going home. Tonight she would also explain it all to Kouta and Yuka so that they too would know. Nana had been right when she had said that it was only fair to them.
She hadn't said all that much to Mei either, for now, she was playing along with pretending of not having told anybody. She didn't like it but it was a request from Mei that she had obviously already decided not to follow and, on the contrary, called upon others for help.
Gazing to her right she could see a little shed that would offer her some shadow as she was going to wait for him to show up, she was here well ahead of the agreed time but that was alright with her. She didn't mind waiting for a little while as it would allow her to clear her mind.
"So you finally got here, I've been waiting for a while now." She could hear a snarky voice remark as she approached the shed, taking a look inside she was surprised to see him sitting there, that said she welcome it, though knowing Bando it shouldn't have been a surprise.
"Good afternoon Bando-san, it's good to see you again. How are you doing?" she asked him
as she kept looking, he looked to be in good shape even if he seemed to need a crutch. It rested on the ground next to him. "Did you get hurt Bando-san?"
He got up, letting out a little groan. "I'm fine kid, you of all people should know that. Now come on, tell me exactly why you called me out here. You said it was something rather important, am I right, kid?"
She could tell by the way that he was standing that his leg was likely causing him pain.
Mayu nodded her head in return. "It is, to be honest, Bando-san you're the only one I can come to and ask for help. I don't know if anybody else could help me."
He raised one of his eyebrows in response. "What did you get yourself into this time? You seem to get yourself into these sticky situations and then it is up to me to haul your sorry ass out of it. I can already tell you now that I'm not going to do it if you brought it onto yourself this time."
She shook her head. " No, it's what I asked you before, about a friend of mine at school."
"I'm still looking for her," he remarked quickly, "Haven't had much time for it yet, got something else to do. Something really big and very important I should add."
"I understand that you're a busy man. It's also that I don't need you to look where she is any longer, Mei-san came back to school," Mayu filled him in at what she had discovered, about the horrible scars and bruises all over Mei's body and how she suspected somebody was physically abusing said girl. "Bando-san that's why I need your help, I want to help her but Mei-san has told me that if I were to tell anybody then bad people would come after me."
His lips curled back. "Let them, I'll show those punks what happens when they dare to threaten you. Now, what is it exactly you want me to do? Find those bastards, beat their heads in, give them a taste of my mind? Teach them a lesson they will never forget or just get on with it and kill the sorry lot?"
"Bando-san no!" Mayu spoke out against him, she didn't want for that. "I just want you to find out who these people are, I don't want to see you become a murderer. You shouldn't think about killing so lightly Bando-san."
He coughed, "Yeah sure kid." Honestly, he wasn't going to let himself be lectured on what he should and shouldn't do in his life. He decided that for his own, nobody told him how he would live his life. "Have it your way kid but don't expect me to hold back when they come looking for trouble. If they want a fight I'll certainly won't hesitate to give it to them," he grumbled as he sat down again, lighting a cigarette before leaning against the wall of the shed.
"Don't hesitate to call me if anything goes wrong, you remember that."
That was the Bando she had come to know and cherish, always acting like he didn't really care but deep inside he likely cared more than anybody else. He might appear grumpy and violent but that was just his way of interacting with people, he wasn't really a people's person but the few people that he took a liking to, well those were the ones that he would go the extra mile for.
"Take good care of yourself Bando-san and good luck, I hope we'll get to see each other again soon." Bidding her farewells Mayu left, it had felt good to see him again. She was glad that she had gotten a chance to talk to him and to have him help her, with that she felt more confident about being able to help Mei.
She was still feeling some concern about the whole crutch thing but she knew that if she kept asking about it and, even if he really needed the help, that he would be more liable to flat out refuse it all together. Telling Bando what to do and what not to do never worked with him. She had gotten to know him quite well over the years.
'Bando-san please be safe, you shouldn't force yourself. It's alright even for you to ask for some help every now and then,' she told herself, feeling strongly about it, she hadn't said a word of it to Bando. It wouldn't make a difference anyway, not with him.
"Well I hope you'll get better soon, I'll be looking forward to that. Maybe we can go out together sometime soon?" It wouldn't have to be much, just a pleasant walked side by side on the beach, something like that would already be more than enough for her. But now that she had gotten what she came for, it was time for her to go home and with that, it also meant that she would have to discuss this with both Kouta and Yuka. "I'll talk to them, I promise."
Standing there at the main entrance of their school, Saeko, and her friends were looking frantically for if they could spot Hinami. They had discussed this several times already in class and although an agreement had been reached the opinions on said girl still remained somewhat divided between them.
"Saekorin you shouldn't feel obliged to become her friend, you should be a little more cautious because it seems some people have it out for you. I don't want to see you get hurt again," Yuzuka mentioned as she felt the need to once more express her concerns even though she harbored no ill feelings towards Hinami but she was just being a little concerned.
Then again it could all just an unfortunate series of events that were all poorly connected by a most unfortunate timing; she was, however, more than willing of offering the dark haired girl the benefit of the doubt.
"I know Yuzu-chan but she seemed so lonely as well. I trust her even if it may sound a little naïve of me but I really want to believe her and become her friend. Much like you and Azusa-chan became my friends because you asked me to come have lunch with you," Saeko said in return, she understood her friend's concerns and she was deeply moved by seeing her friend worry so much, it meant a lot to her knowing that they cared that much.
"Isuzu-san has a point there; it isn't all that much different from when we approached her. Why don't we just let her say what she had to say? I would be rather impolite of us if weren't going to give Saten-san a chance," Azusa added to what had been said before and with that the matter was put to rest, they would wait for now and see what Hinami had to say for herself.
Plenty of other students walked past them, it seemed that only those who had their obligations to their clubs remained on the school grounds which did raise the question if the person they were waiting for was there now. They should have thought about that earlier and agreed on a set time with her when to meet, that likely would have saved them the problem of having to keep on waiting, not knowing when or if she was going to show up.
Azusa was the first to make a remark as they kept on waiting. "My, my. This sure is becoming a little awkward, isn't it? Not to say if not a little embarrassing for us," she smiled as she didn't mind the waiting and she certainly didn't mind waiting with her friends.
Having a quick look at her watch Yuzuka informed the two that by now they had already been waiting for about half an hour but it seemed that neither of them was troubled by it.
Saeko didn't mind, she wanted to hear what Hinami had to say, what her answer was going to be. She had been given a chance because the two girls behind her had approached her and just asked for her to come have lunch with them, now she wanted to extend the same chance that she had been given towards Hinami as well.
"You two do know that we're going to be late if we still want to go to the ice cream shop. I don't think we're going to make it in time before it closes up if we keep waiting here. Maybe we should go to their clubroom and see if she's there, at least then we won't have to keep waiting to see if she is going to appear."
Saeko wouldn't be deterred, to her going to the ice cream shop wasn't all that important. No, she rather wanted to hear the answer from Hinami, more than anything she wanted for said girl to accept her friendship. That meant a lot more to her than an ice cream, besides they could always go tomorrow and make up for today.
Then again Yuzuka had said something good, it might be better to just go to her respective clubroom and go ask her though it was likely that Hinami might take it the wrong way. They could be seen as being rather impatient or perhaps even as trying to force her into something.
"So what do you say Saekorin? Should we go and look for her or do you want to keep waiting for her here? Either way, it's fine with me as long as you're happy with it," Yuzuka mentioned as she placed down her school bag, they were likely going to be staying here for a little longer.
"I'd rather stay here, I told her to meet us at the main entrance so I don't want to go looking for her, if we're not here when she arrives then she might feel disappointed. I'm sorry Yuzu-chan but if you really want to go then it's alright with me if you left. The same goes for you as well Azusa-chan, I don't want to keep the two of you waiting."
Azusa shook her head as did Yuzuka. "Isuzu-san you shouldn't feel that way, we're staying because we're your friends and friends don't leave each other behind, if you're staying then we'll be staying as well."
"That right, Saekorin we're not leaving this school without you. We all stay or we all go."
A voice greeted them. "Well, well, look who we have here? If it isn't the big crybaby herself!"
Author's note: Well here it is, the latest chapter for Progeny. A little bit sooner than the last one though later than I had hoped, but I've also been busy with another project on which I can hopefully say more soon enough.
In the meantime, I hope you'll all enjoy this latest offering, and I'll be looking forward hearing from you. If you want to ask me about stuff, feel free to send me a PM.
Have a good day. Take care.