CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE – FOOTSTEPS IN THE DARK
Monika looked over the text message again with a sigh. On the outside, she might paint a dutiful, almost professional appearance with her laptop and her notes lying on the booth's table before her, not unlike the other students and even office workers who came into the Cocoa Connection to continue their work. But underneath all that lay the stress and exhaustion and trepidation that she had been battling for days now. Even outside of school, her duties hounded her, leaving very little for her to do other than taking care of them. Still, her concern was not for herself at the moment; she could sense the worry in the words typed out by one of her juniors, and the reason why she chose to tell her through a clandestine effort instead of opening it up at their practice earlier. Takeo would have undoubtedly shrugged off the tone of urgency in it, or worse. No doubt Himari wanted to tell her quickly enough, but did not have the courage to talk to her after school.
She texted out a quick reply. "Himari, is there any chance that i can call you right now? it'll be much quicker that way"
Himari Ito's reply came hastily enough. "yes, please, miss monika"
Without waiting for anything else, Monika dialed up her number, with Himari answering at the first ring. Before she could say anything, her junior immediately began to speak in a tearful voice. "Miss Monika, I'm really sorry! I know it j-just came from out of nowhere, and I didn't expect it to—"
"Hey, slow down, Himari," said Monika in a reassuring tone. "No need to worry, I'm not angry or anything. First things first, I need you to tell me what happened, alright? Start from the beginning."
"O-Okay." With that, Himari began to retell in detail what she had sent in her previous text message. The way she was acting so nervously reminded Monika of Sayori during her previous dilemmas. "I just got the word earlier this morning f-from the doctor that Mom will have her checkup this Thursday afternoon. I asked my Auntie Yua if she could accompany her, b-but we just found out that she left for Tokyo yesterday and won't be back by Sunday."
At that, the worry in Himari's voice grew. "I don't want to miss the performance on Thursday, but there's no one else that Mom can count on to help her go to the doctor. M-Maybe I can just . . . just ask for permission to leave early? But I don't know if that's a good idea. Please d-don't tell Sir Takeo!"
"Himari, it's okay," Monika told her. "I'm not going to tell Takeo anything about this yet. However, I will say that it's rather unfortunate that your mother's checkup got mixed up with the performance."
"I know, but I don't want to be absent for it!" Himari cried out. "If I can convince Mom to ask one of her friends or a neighbor or s-something . . ." As she spoke, however, her words slowly trailed away into panicked uncertainty, as if she could sense how unlikely her efforts would succeed. "But Mom will need me there to tell her doctor everything, since I keep her medical records and all. Anyone else might mess things up. I . . . I don't know w-what to do, Miss Monika. J-Just don't tell Sir Takeo anything yet, p-please! I don't want him thinking that I'm backing out at the last moment!"
Monika rubbed her eyes wearily for a moment. Such inconvenient circumstances were normal in a club as hectic as theirs, true enough, but her concern and worry was reserved more for her junior members as she increasingly saw the stress that was mounting on them. No doubt Himari was overly worried not just for her mother's sake, but also for the fact that for her, she would be letting her fellows down by missing their team's mock debate and evaluation on Thursday, which would take place in front of a panel made up of their professors and mentors. Their vice president would undoubtedly have more than a few choice words for sudden developments like this one, ignorant as he can often be regarding his junior members' plights.
"I know you're not backing out, Himari," Monika told her comfortingly. "Besides, no one could have expected something like this to happen, let alone you. Again, it's rather unfortunate that it had to come out of nowhere, but . . . I suppose we can just let someone else take over for your part on Thursday. Maybe Shinichi can take care of it, or perhaps Noe."
"But I've already practiced for my part!" Himari pointed out anxiously. "If they're gonna replace me, t-they'll have only two days to read up on what I was taking on! They'll need my notes, and everything that I've researched. I don't know if they can review all of it in two days!"
"I know, but I'm afraid we have no other choice," said Monika. "Better for this to push through than to ask for another time. Correct me if I'm wrong, but there's no way for your mother to have her appointment rescheduled, right?"
"N-No," said Himari. "She's been waiting for this for a month now, so that we'll see if she needs an operation."
Monika nodded to herself. "Very well. I'll contact the other members and see if anyone's willing and ready to cover for you on Thursday. I'll tell Takeo about this tomorrow."
Over the phone call, she heard Himari bite back a sob. "H-He's going to be really angry, I'm sure of it."
"I'll help you explain everything to him, don't worry," Monika assured her. "Anyway, just get some rest, okay? You might be worried sick about all this already. Everything will turn out just fine with Takeo. I'll make sure of that."
"I just hope this doesn't r-ruin anything for January. Thank you so much, Miss Monika," Himari stuttered with tearful gratitude.
"You're welcome, Himari," said Monika in a genial tone. "I appreciate that you told me quickly about it. I'll see you at school tomorrow."
After Himari had hung up, Monika leaned back against the plush seat of her chosen booth and looked around. Thankfully, the place was not as crowded as it usually was, and she had managed to pick out a quiet corner easily enough to do her work in. No text messages came from home, leading her to wonder if the dinner her parents were hosting would go on well into the evening. Once she had gotten wind of the affair, Monika had decided to go out and do her homework and smooth out what needed smoothening for their debate practices somewhere else. Being too busy with the preparations, her parents had given her free rein on what to do.
After a few more seconds of rumination, Monika finished the last of her cappuccino and immediately sent out a notice to her junior members about Himari's predicament, explicitly instructing them not to tell Takeo anything about the matter just yet. Thankfully, some of them replied almost immediately, and soon she was discussing with them the prospect of replacing Himari for their upcoming mock debate.
"Do you think you can cover for Himari at such short notice, Noe?"
"I'll do my best, Miss Monika." Noe Ando tried to sound as ready and willing as possible, but Monika could easily take note of the nervousness in her voice. "If Himari can send me all her notes tonight, I'll start reading on them ASAP."
"Alright, thank you," said Monika. "I'll give Tomoko and Jiro the heads-up. You can coordinate with them once everything's been taken care of. I don't know if Himari's parts would go first or last during the debate, so you'll need to discuss that with them as well."
"Okay. I'll send Himari a message now, and wait for your signal once you've talked to Jiro and Tomoko."
"Sure thing. Thanks again, Noe."
As Monika hung up the call, only then did she notice a text message from her mother. "Where are you? Dinner's almost over."
"still here at the café, Mom. should be done in half an hour"
"OK. We're going out for a while. If you want Mr. Fujita to pick you up, just text him. Try to be home by eight."
"will do, Mom. take care"
Placing her phone down, Monika continued her work, typing out notes and making corrections on the Social Studies essay that she had been busy with before Himari's interruption. Her empty cup sat next to her laptop, warranting a refill. All around her, ambient music played softly against the silent hustle and bustle of the Cocoa Connection. Patrons came and went, with some of them being the young couples that Monika was starting to recognize based on appearance given how often they frequented the bistro. She felt a pang in her heart as the sight of them reminded her of Kenta.
I still haven't replied to him.
Kenta's message had come rather suddenly the other evening, the tone of it surprising her even further when she had finally settled down to read it after a long day. Unable to resist, Monika paused on her work, picked up her phone and opened the message in her inbox, staring at it for a while as a small, longing smile crossed her lips.
"hey there monika. how r u? u doing ok? anyway i'm sorry if this txt disturbs u or anything. just wanted to drop a txt at long last to see how ur doing. if ur mad at me for not txting, i'm sorry. it's just that ur busy and all, so i figured u needed sum time alone for a bit. don't worry, i'm not mad that ur busy or something like that. IMY a lot TBH. hope we can hang out again soon. good luck on the debate practice, TC!"
One of the first things that had surprised Monika about the text was how she had failed to notice how long it had been since she had bothered to reply to any of Kenta's sporadic messages, let alone this one. Being so engrossed in and burdened by debate practice as well as schoolwork, the chance never truly came for her, and every time she remembered to try, the right words always evaded her. As a result, she never managed to reply, and the thought of it made her worry somewhat as she realized that Kenta might be feeling snubbed. Her smile fading, Monika felt her heart ache as she was seized by another desire to reply, but her brain seemed to sputter and slow down to a halt as soon as she tried thinking of a way to start her message.
But what bothered Monika even more was the fact that in spite of sending intermittent texts, Kenta appeared to be giving her too much space. Their time at the festival remained the only substantial encounter the two of them had shared so far, and from there it was back to unanswered text messages and distant glimpses at school. Above all else, Monika hoped that he was not distancing himself again after his encounter with her mother, though knowing Kenta, she could sense that he was being bothered by the experience more than he would willingly let on. Add her own inability to reply or talk to him properly into the mix, and it made for a combination that truly began to weigh heavily on her shoulders.
With a sigh, she closed her inbox and put her phone down. Soon, Kenta. I promise. Even so, the words rang hollow in her mind. Monika reluctantly continued with her work, her disappointment outweighing any stress that she was feeling.
Thirty minutes and two extra cups of cappuccino later, Monika left the Cocoa Connection, double-checking her things inside her shoulder bag as she stepped out of the bistro. The cold night air hit her like a slap to the face, and she drew her jacket more closely around herself as she looked around the street. Still, the chill was comforting in a way after the workload she had just addressed. Contrary to what her mother had suggested, Monika had decided to walk home instead of having Mr. Fujita pick her up; it gave her more time to clear her thoughts instead of dwelling on them alone at home.
The bright lights of nearby stores cast long, faint shadows across the streets as people passed by. Monika went with them, observing her surroundings and knowing that soon enough, they would begin decorating everything in anticipation for Christmas, and particularly for the annual bazaar that comes with the holiday. A hint of longing gripped Monika as she knew she might be too busy to enjoy the bazaar with anyone, let alone with Kenta. Such were the burdens of a hectic academic life, particularly for a chosen leader like her.
Soon, her walks brought her to a relatively quieter part of downtown, one with less people and stores around. In the distance, the street stretched out into a quiet neighborhood not unlike the one where the Yamaguchi residence was. Monika smiled to herself, imagining how daring she would have to be in order to make the walk to Kenta's house and surprise him once again there, though that would mean risking her mother's ire and disapproval all over again.
At a small convenience store that sat next to a street corner, Monika was idling about when she noticed a familiar person come out of the store's doors. Small, pink-haired and almost fragile-looking against the dark backdrop of the evening's atmosphere, Natsuki Fujisawa looked almost like a child as she clutched a full paper bag tightly across her chest. The pink jacket she was wearing was the same one she had during their first get-together at Monika's house, with a pair of white shorts and pink shoes to go with it. She glanced up and down the street, freezing in her spot when she saw Monika standing a few feet away.
"Natsuki?" she called out, making sure that it was indeed her.
Natsuki's eyes widened a little with a flash of recognition, though a sullen look crossed her face almost immediately afterwards. "I knew it was you," she said with a resigned tone, as if she had no desire to be around any of her schoolmates out on the street like this.
"Didn't expect to run into you here, to be honest," said Monika with smile as she walked towards her. "How are you?"
"I'm fine," said Natsuki, though for some reason she tensed up as she embraced her paper bag a little tighter. "Out for a walk, huh?"
"Of sorts," said Monika. "I figured I'd do my homework somewhere other than home, since my parents were hosting a dinner for some clients and all. How about you?"
Natsuki glanced back at the convenience store. "Just bought something for . . . f-for my dad."
"Oh, that's nice. What w—"
But at that moment, Monika's words screeched to a halt as she remembered what Kenta had told her long ago about Natsuki. Embroiled as she was in all the schoolwork and debate practice and everything else in between that had been happening in her life thus far, she had forgotten about Natsuki's predicament at home. "He said that her dad hurts her," Kenta had confided on the same day that he had gotten into a fight at school, repeating what Daisuke had shared to him and his friends.
The thought of it made Monika fall silent. Noticing this, Natsuki looked at her nervously. "What is it?"
Monika shook her head. "Nothing, I just thought I forgot something back at the Connection—I mean, at the bistro I was just at," she lied, letting out a small laugh. "So are you . . . are you heading on home?"
"Yeah, I don't really wanna keep Dad waiting," Natsuki muttered. Monika took note of the anxiousness in her voice, listening to it in a whole new light. "A-Anyway, it was nice running into you here and all, but I have to get going."
"Want me to accompany you for a bit?" Monika offered with a hint of concern.
Natsuki narrowed her eyes slightly. "Why?"
"Well, I think a few more minutes of walking will do me some good," replied Monika. "Also, it's not often that I run into you outside of school. We rarely get to talk, even there."
After staring at her for a moment, Natsuki scoffed. "I hope Yuri or Daisuke didn't put you up to that kind of stuff."
That made Monika laugh a little again. "No worries, they didn't, though I'd also like to spend a bit of time again with Yuri and him, along with everyone else too. With schoolwork piling up and the debate club growing hectic, a happy break is always welcome."
"Yeah, I can kinda get that. . ." Natsuki seemed to consider it for a moment before giving her a nod. She began to walk down the street, prompting Monika to start following by her side.
"So . . . debate club blues, eh?" Natsuki asked as they crossed the street. "Sounds like a mess."
"Quite," Monika admitted. "We're going to participate in the nationals come January, so we're all practicing nonstop every day after school. It's pretty tiring, but hey, it's not like we can say no. I mean, the school's counting on us."
Natsuki shook her head. "I can't say I envy you guys. Responsibilities like that seem like a real pain."
"Sometimes they are, to be honest," replied Monika with a sigh.
"What I'm jealous of, though, is the fact that you guys get to go to Tokyo for it. Compared to being here, a trip there sounds amazing."
"Yes, though regrettably we won't get a lot of time having fun until after the competition's over. And even then, it'll depend on if we win. I doubt anyone will be up to some fun if we lose, but we'll do our best to make sure that won't happen."
Natsuki sighed. "If I was a member of your team, I'd be down with some fun regardless of whether we'd lose. I'm just dreaming of going to Akiba in the future with Daisuke. It's not that solid of a chance, but at least a girl can dream, right?"
In light of Natsuki's home situation, Monika found herself feeling for her even more now. Still, there was nothing she could say without being intrusive about something so personal and sensitive. "Who knows? Never say never," was all she could tell Natsuki for now.
A brief silence lulled between them as they reached one of the streets leading down another neighborhood. "How about Kenta Yamaguchi? Are you two still hanging out?" asked Natsuki.
"Not as much as I'd like," Monika confessed. "With how busy I am, we don't get much of a chance anymore."
"Well, as long as you guys still chat or text, that'll do for now, I guess. Just keep communicating, I guess," Natsuki remarked.
Again, a bit of yearning tugged at Monika's heartstrings, along with a touch of regret as she remembered Kenta's unanswered messages. "We'll try."
Natsuki looked at her. "You don't sound very sure. Is there a lover's quarrel underneath all this?"
"Oh, not really," said Monika with another laugh. "How about you and Daisuke? How are you two doing?"
Natsuki's face scrunched up in a grimace. "You're just like Yuri, you know? Asking me about Daisuke after I open up a convo about you and your boyfriends."
Monika felt pleasantly surprised at that. "Good to know that Yuri and Naoki are still dating, then. Anyway, we're just curious about you two as you are about us, that's all," said Monika. "It's been a while since I heard about the others from Kenta."
"Well, he's doing just fine," said Natsuki. "He's probably at home helping out his mom at their diner. He hasn't texted me just yet tonight, so he's probably still busy with that."
"I'm sure he'll text you as soon as he's done," Monika assured her.
"He'd better," Natsuki muttered with a pout, giving her features an air of childlike cuteness.
Soon, the last parts of downtown vanished, replaced now by houses whose lights were streaking through the windows and spilling onto the street, bathing them in a soft glow as they passed by one residence after another. The distinct jumble of voices rang out from within them every once in a while, carrying across the quiet street. As Monika and Natsuki kept walking, their paces slow but sure, their talk soon turned to other topics, particularly about the announcement about their exams on December and the debate competition on January. Natsuki proved to be more of a talker than Monika had expected; once she started getting into a more comfortable groove, she began asking questions and offering her thoughts as candidly as if she and Monika knew each other well already. It was a gesture that Monika appreciated, especially since she had expected her pink-haired schoolmate to balk when it came to bonding with people other than Daisuke.
"If you guys win that competition on January, what happens then?" Natsuki asked after a while.
Monika paused to contemplate on the question. Indeed, it was something that she had not given thought just yet, so focused as she was on the idea of winning the nationals first. "To be honest, I don't know. After these kinds of events, we usually just settle down, take a break and prepare for any more that'll come. But given that this one's the biggest of them all, we never really imagined what'd happen if we win. I guess the school would say something about it through some recognition ceremony or something."
"Well, whatever happens, you can be darn well sure that people will end up liking you even more at school," said Natsuki with a chuckle. "I mean, you're already one of the most popular girls around, so another achievement like this will just make you super famous."
"Hmm. . . Yeah, I guess that's one thing I can expect," said Monika.
"And I'm sure a ton of boys will just end up crushing on you even harder. Not that they'd be able to do anything about it, seeing how you're already taken," Natsuki stated amusedly.
"That's right," said Monika with a smile.
After a brief pause, Natsuki asked, "What exactly got you into Kenta? I mean, don't get me wrong, he seems like a nice guy and all. It's just that, um . . ."
"That you didn't expect the most popular girl in school to be with 'a guy like him?'" Monika proffered lightly.
Natsuki looked a little nervous again. "W-Well, when you put it that way, it sounds like it's a bad thing when it's not. But yeah, you get my meaning, right?"
"I understand. You're not the first one to ask me that, to be honest," Monika stated with a giggle. "The thing is, well . . . Kenta's different. Now, I know how clichéd that sounds, but between all the boys who tried to date me, he's the only one who felt . . . genuine. The other guys, either they were too concerned with showing off to win me over, or they never really asked me anything so that we could become closer. With Kenta, however . . . when we first became classmates, I could tell that he had a crush on me already, but he never really used that as an excuse to talk to me or to try and show off for me, even when I was helping him with his studies back then."
Natsuki raised her eyebrows. "Did you two go extra-curricular?" she joked.
Monika laughed again at that. "Getting a little cheeky, are we? Anyway, I just tutored him with the things that he needed help with, since I could see how much trouble he was having. After that, when we got transferred to different classes in sophomore year, I wanted to keep checking on him—and, admittedly, to spend a bit more time with him. Looking back at it, I guess you could say I was also a bit interested in him already for being different from the other guys. We bonded, became closer, and that's where it took off."
Natsuki listened to her for a moment before nodding. "Yeah, I can see why you'd be interested in him. I mean, Daisuke and I had a similar thing going, with how different he was from the people I met and the guys I used to like. The main difference is that Daisuke was just too darn stubborn about spending time with someone like me."
"Was it a bad thing?" asked Monika.
Sighing, Natsuki shrugged. "At the time, it felt like it. I mean, I've always been made fun of by a lot of people that I considered my friends, all because I have these hobbies and interests that they found stupid or childish. When I met Daisuke, I thought he was just gonna be the same as them, so I tried pushing him away. As time passed, he started proving me wrong, and . . . I guess t-that's when I started to take him more seriously, since I saw that he was different from the rest. Eventually, I just started liking him, and now I can't imagine how things would be like if I did manage to push him away back then."
Monika smiled. "That's so sweet."
Natsuki blushed at that. "If he could see me being sappy about it right now, he'd have a good laugh, I'm sure of it." She shook her head and let out an annoyed hiss. "He really likes making me feel embarrassed, and sometimes he doesn't even have to try. That's what bothered me about him the most back then, but it's also the thing I started to like about him the most."
"Well, it's good to see that the two of you get along so well," Monika remarked. "You both make a very cute couple."
Natsuki shot her a petulant glare. "'Cute?' Really?"
"Sorry, sorry," said Monika with a giggle.
As the two of them rounded their second street corner, Natsuki spoke up again. "Are you sure you still wanna come along with me? Aren't you straying too far from your house by now?"
"I'll be fine. I know how to get home from here," said Monika. "Besides, I'm really enjoying talking to you right now. It helped make the day a little less stressful."
Natsuki shifted embarrassedly. "Yeah, same, I guess. I don't usually do this kind of stuff, but I'm . . . I'm glad I get a chance to talk to people, even if it's just Daisuke and Yuri most of the time."
"If I wasn't too busy, I'd be happy to spend more time with you guys," said Monika. "It's kind of sad that we didn't get to follow up our little get-together at my place, but hey, maybe when the exams and the nationals are over, we'll be able to make it happen."
"Yeah, that'd be nice," said Natsuki with a touch of yearning.
Soon, the two of them reached a long, narrow street that was dimly lit by street lamps every few meters. It was here that Natsuki suddenly turned to face Monika, her pink eyes laden with worry for some reason.
"I'm gonna have to go on alone now," she told her. "My place is just a few houses down from here. I can manage."
"Oh, are you sure?" asked Monika. From the way Natsuki spoke, she seemed almost afraid.
"Very." Natsuki hesitated for a brief second, the paper bag crumpling as she embraced it closely against her chest. "I'm sorry if this feels too rude or something. It's just that . . . Dad has some visitors coming, and he might be waiting outside for them. If he sees you, he might think I'm bringing you over for a visit, and . . . well, h-he doesn't really like that."
Of course he doesn't. Monika looked deep into Natsuki's eyes, wondering what she could say in order to comfort her in some way without making it known that she knew about her father's issues. After the minutes they had spent talking and sharing things with each other, Natsuki looked as if she did not want to go home just yet. Her appearance seemed to diminish palpably in Monika's eyes, replaced by tinges of dread and worry that she could not exactly hide as well as she thought.
"I understand," she said instead. "Thanks for your time, Natsuki. I'll see you at school, okay? Or maybe we'll run into each other again downtown, who knows?"
"Yeah, m-maybe. . ." Natsuki heaved a sigh, but she flashed a small smile nonetheless. "Good luck on your training for that competition. I . . . I hope you guys win."
A feeling of warmth gripped Monika at that, and she gave Natsuki a sisterly smile. "We'll do our best, thank you. Take care, alright? Goodbye!"
"Same to you," said Natsuki with a nod. "Bye."
As she watched Monika vanish around the corner, Natsuki felt like she could finally relax her hold on the six-pack of cold beer cans against her chest. Their moisture had soaked through the paper bag and even seeped through her jacket, but it was a welcome tradeoff compared to what her father would have said or done if she failed to procure the beverages. Once again, the clerk at the convenience store had proven compliant once she had told him who the beers were for, though he gave her a seedy stare nonetheless as she paid for them with her own allowance. Her usual ordeal frustrated her to no end, but after her father had expressed his annoyance regarding her Uncle Ryota's visit a short while ago, she knew that she had dodged a bullet when he bossed her around even more instead of simply taking out his ire on her physically.
Wiping the dampness off of her jacket, Natsuki began the final stretch of her walk home, her steps small and reluctant. Part of her was worried that her father's unsavory visitors might indeed be at their house already, and it made her feel cold all over. Her chance encounter with Monika had been a small glimmer amidst a potentially dreary and portentous evening, though Natsuki also wondered how she would have reacted if she found out about the cans of beer that she had bought. Monika seemed none the wiser, though Natsuki had sensed some form of concern beneath her emerald-like eyes, making her wonder if she seemed to guess more about her than she showed. Natsuki shook her head at the thought, trying to dwell instead on how surprisingly pleasant the encounter turned out in the end; it startled Natsuki to know that she was still as cordial and open as she had been during the get-together. If anything, Natsuki had envisioned Monika to be akin to the stuck-up rich girl characters that she loathed in manga and anime at times, especially when compared alongside the number of pretentious "friends" that she had encountered before, the ones who flashed smiles and acted all friendly while secretly mocking and patronizing people like her.
However, remembering such unsavory personalities was the least of Natsuki's worries now as she drew closer to her house. In the darkness of the evening, it looked rather ominous; an anomaly in what should be a quiet but cordial neighborhood in Eishima. Natsuki swallowed, feeling a lump form in her throat, and her hands began to tremble. Still, her feet pressed on, as if willing her to keep going lest she face something worse for dawdling.
When she drew closer to the front door, her ears pricked up for any telltale signs that would signal to her the presence of her father's companions. Mercifully, no sounds of loud conversations or raucous laughter were ringing out; instead, only the distant noises of the television could be heard amidst the heavy silence. Feeling like she could now breathe a little easier, Natsuki composed herself and stepped inside.
"I'm b-back," she called out.
Her father's voice boomed from the living room. "Took you fucking long enough. Put the beers in the fridge and go to your room. I don't want you sneaking around here when the boys arrive."
Not that I'd ever want to sneak around them in the first place, Natsuki thought to herself. In lieu of saying any sort of reply, however, she obeyed and went quickly to the kitchen, careful not to move the beer cans too much lest they fizz up when opened. The last time that had happened was the time she had learned the hard way what being doused in beer felt like. Afterwards, she went back out in the hallway and made her way to her room. When she had finally closed the door behind her, only then did she let out a long sigh of relief.
Her father's visitors arrived around ten minutes after she had, their loud voices ringing out on the short concrete pathway leading to their front door. Natsuki tried her best to ignore them as she surreptitiously read her copy of Seiko's Calling underneath her bedsheets, but given how boisterous and rowdy her father and his friends could get, along with the fact that her room sat directly above the living room, it was often hard not to overhear some of the unpleasant things they discussed, whether it involved the women they visited downtown or their personal criticisms and complaints about whatever jobs they had. The worst moments came when she would hear them stomping near the stairs to go to the kitchen; it always made Natsuki think that they were coming upstairs and to her room.
"So Fujisawa, is that daughter of yours home yet?"
Natsuki felt her blood run cold as she heard her name being mentioned. The speaker had raised his voice in a boisterous tone, no doubt spurred on by the kick of alcohol. The rest of her father's friends laughed as well at that, and Natsuki caught her father trying to speak amidst the din in his usual drunken bark.
"—upstairs, probably reading those trashy comics of hers again," Natsuki heard him say. "Why the hell are you asking about her again, Beppu?"
"Worried about a little girl, are we, Beppu?" another man spoke up, his statement followed by more laughs.
The man called Beppu let out a loud noise of derision. "All I'm saying is that it ain't exactly proper to be so noisy with other people in Fujisawa's house," he snapped, though the loudness of his voice added a shade of irony to his declaration. "I told you we should've just gone to Furuta's place!"
"My wife won't like that," said one of the others, most likely Furuta. "You know how she acted last month when we tried doing business there. It's a damn miracle she didn't kick me out yet, especially since you had to bring those girls from the club along!"
More laughter resounded, so loud that it seemed likely to make the floors of Natsuki's room shake. Closing her manga book, Natsuki drew the covers of her bed tighter around her. For some reason, eavesdropping like this felt even more worrisome than simply waiting for the men to leave, but she could not stop herself from listening even if she wanted to.
A curt voice soon cut through the racket. "That's enough. You know we're not supposed to talk about business outside of Yamamoto's office."
His words made the laughter die down somewhat. "Speaking of Yamamoto, you got that next payment ready yet, Fujisawa?" Natsuki heard someone ask. With how drunk and unruly they sounded, it was difficult to keep track of who was speaking.
"I'm working on it," her father grumbled. "I tried borrowing some more from my sister's man, but the bastard told me that he wanted to talk about it first."
Bristling at the lack of respect her father had for her Uncle Ryota, Natsuki wanted to stop listening then and there, but the new topic they were discussing sounded so suspiciously significant that she could not help herself. The men expressed various degrees of both disapproval and contempt as they muttered to one another.
"If you can't pay everything as agreed upon, Yamamoto's alternate offer still stands, Fujisawa."
"Hey, I just fucking told you, not here!" the man with the brusque voice snapped.
"Alright, alright," the previous speaker conceded. "I just thought it'd be worth it to remind Fujisawa of—"
"I'm sure he remembers well enough. Now shut your traps. Ishiguro should show up with the ladies any time now." Silence lingered momentarily, during which the noises of the television set are the only sounds that Natsuki could hear.
"Mind if I use your bathroom, Fujisawa?"
Natsuki's heart stopped at that, just as she heard her father reply, "As long as you don't trash the place, go ahead. You don't need to ask like a fucking kid first."
The other man laughed. "Don't worry. This won't be like that one time at Beppu's place when someone puked their guts out in the sink."
The merriment rang out again at that. Natsuki drew herself as far from the doorway of her room as she could, seized by a sudden rush of dread and panic. Heavy footsteps rang out as the man ascended the stairs, and she imagined him passing by her room briefly as he entered the bathroom near the end of the short hallway. A door closed, and soon she could hear the sound of running water carrying faintly above the noises in the living room. Natsuki tensed, her breaths ringing deafeningly in her hearing. Every move she made felt likely to draw the man into her room, so she willed herself to lie perfectly still on her bed.
After a short while, the sound of running water stopped. The bathroom door opened and closed again, and footsteps once again rang out in the hallway outside her room. That's it, go downstairs, rejoin Dad and the rest of your buddies, please, Natsuki implored in her mind.
The footsteps stopped right outside her door. Natsuki let out a tiny, involuntary whimper, which sounded like the loudest noise she had made yet. Her hands gripped her bedsheets tightly, her fingers already numb from the effort. As fright tightened its merciless grip on her, people flitted past in her mind, from Yuri to Monika, from Daisuke to Aunt Shoko, from Mrs. Matsuda to Uncle Ryota, and—
Mom. Mom, please help me. P-Please.
After what felt like the longest seconds of her life, Natsuki heard the man pass by her door at last, thumping down the stairs and back to the living room. When she blinked, a tear trickled down her cheek. She wiped it with the back of her hand and buried her head beneath her pillow, hoping that the night would end at long last.
A/N: Hello there, everyone. Goopy here again with the 4AM uploads. The last few weeks have been a real doozy for me. Apart from the project I mentioned in the previous chapter's notes, things have not exactly been good. After I finished the majority of my work for my friend's project, stuff happened, and between that and writer's block, I was just so demotivated and burned out. I wish I could vent a bit more about it to give you some extra context, but the author's notes is hardly the place for that. Instead, I just wish to apologize if this chapter took too long for your liking again. I only managed to cook up the idea for this chapter while washing the dishes one night, and I immediately seized it and put it into writing even if I was running on fumes. I hope it gives you guys a worthwhile read.
If circumstances are willing, I hope to begin writing the first few pages of the next chapter ASAP so that I'll have a head start in case I get bogged down again. Hopefully, I'll be able to have another eureka moment that'll help me write what will happen next.
Also, I don't think I've expressed this enough before, but I just want to thank everyone who's taken the time to follow and review this story, even with all the delays. I really, truly appreciate it. You guys are a big part of the reason why I wanna do my very best to continue and finish this fic. Whenever any of you leave a review or drop a follow/fav, it just makes everything else that's been happening a bit more tolerable. For that, I can never thank you enough. You give this old dog more reasons to keep going, so I wanna do what I can to keep delivering to you all. Take care of yourselves, and stay safe!