Chapter 5 – Kaichō-san's Perturbation
Ayano's POV
"S-Seriously?! Kyoko's in therapy?!"
"That's what her mom told me. I was shocked too when I heard that."
"No way…"
It was Monday morning at school and I was wondering why Kyoko hasn't shown up yet. When I asked Yui what happened, I was surprised to hear her response.
"You sure it isn't another one of her plots to skip school?" I asked. "I mean…this isn't the first time she's pulled something like this."
"I thought that as well. But when I went over to her house this morning to meet up with her, her mom explained what happened with her yesterday and gave me this note that she wrote." Yui then handed me the note and I began reading it aloud.
Dearest friends,
It took me a lot of guts to admit this, but…
I AM A JERK! AN ANNOYING, SELFISH, UNGRATEFUL, & HOPELESS JERK!
I know you all have been telling me this from the very beginning...but was too much of a blonde dumbass to even listen for a few damn seconds! I really wish it didn't take Akari permanently losing an eye for me to freaking get it. But I guess that's what you expect from someone like me huh? Living this carefree youth without giving a damn about other people's feelings…
Well…NOT ANYMORE!
From this point forward…I plan to rid myself of this horrible personality of mine and become a better person! Not just for me…but so that everyone can be safe from my now-proven deadly carelessness.
Signed,
Kyoko Toshinio
P.S. PLEASE tell me that Akari's not dead. My mental state is leaning toward that.
Wh-Why would she believe that Akari's dead? Didn't she just see her yesterday?
The rest of the letter was just filled to the brim with self-hating comments and phrases. Each one getting more…explicit…than the last.
"W-Wow…th-this is deep." I said in shock. "Totally not like Kyoko."
"Yeah…I nearly cried after reading that." Yui said.
"Kyoko must be filled with tremendous guilt about Akari's injury if she's willingly going to therapy." Chitose said.
"It's shocking, I'll admit to that much." Chizuru (who has been coming over to our class to talk and has been less anti-social as of late) added. "But even then, I still don't like her all that much. And besides…I HIGHLY doubt a single therapist would be able to fix THAT girl's hopeless behavior."
You could at least pretend to care, Chizuru...
"How long did she say she's doing this?" I asked Yui.
"Well…her mom said that they'll be leaving town for it. Apparently, the nearest therapist is all the way in Toyama."
"Toyama? What the hell? There are no therapists here in Takaoka?"
"It appears so. I'm honestly not surprised given how country this city is."
"W-We're country?" The three of us asked in shock.
"Well, we're right next to Toyama Bay and Takaoka as a whole is seen as a port city by most. It's not as country as Hakone, but it's pretty up there."
"Huh…"
That is a good point…
"As to how long they're going to be gone…it's going every day this week. And then after that, it'll be every other day. Or whenever we have days off from school."
"*sigh* Great...now we have two friends to worry about."
"Speaking of which, how's Akari doing?" Chitose asked.
"She's…well…improving. Physically."
"Just physically?"
"Well…from the outside, the only thing wrong with her is that she's constantly bumping into walls and stuff. But on the inside...it's a lot worse. She's hiding the fact that she's depressed about her eye being removed. But her selfless personality is making her blame herself. She said some dark stuff like…what happened to her was unavoidable and decided by fate. Even went as far as saying that it was the universe's way of telling her to go kill herself..."
"WH-WHAT?!" The rest of us yelled.
"...And that she's okay with it."
"TH-THE HELL?!" We yelled again.
"I already talked to Akane about it and she's noticed it, too. Though, she's having trouble finding anything that could help."
"Holy crap…" I said. Stunned out of my mind.
"The fact that it's Akari saying this is…unreal." Chitose added, just as stunned as me.
"Where did she even get that stuff from?" Chizuru asked. "She's never said that kind of stuff before."
"*sigh* That's because she got it from her cousin Kuuko." Yui said in an agitated tone.
"Kuuko?" I thought for a moment. "O-Oh, yeah…Shiranui-san." I then gained an agitated look of my own. "That girl was truly something else. Just thinking about her is giving me a headache. Haaaaaa…"
"H-Hey…Ayano…"
"Ayano, stop! You're starting to glow!" Chitose whispered to me.
"Tch! Crap!"
After hearing that, I stopped my mental agitation and looked around the classroom. Some of the other classmates did in fact see me glow just now. And it made me nervous as hell.
"Uh…i-it's nothing serious! J-Just some, uh…sp-special paint! Yeah! Just some special paint I borrowed from a friend! Nothing to worry about! Hahahahaha…"
That stupid-as-hell lie managed to convince the people looking that nothing was wrong with me. And they went back to whatever it was they were doing.
"*sigh* That was a close one…" I said to myself.
I almost blew it again. Haruka would've been pissed if more people found out about my "special trait"…
"A-Anyway…did Akari come to school today?" I asked.
"Yeah, she's here..." Yui replied. "...But it took Chinastu, Sachiko, and I a ton of convincing to have Akari let us walk her here. She was..."determined" to walk on her own."
"Oh, my..." Chitose said.
"Are you three going to the clubroom?" I asked again.
"No. It's been blocked off from the school once we told the teachers we weren't an official club."
"I see…"
I guess it finally caught up to them...
"Well...you guys can come by the Student Council room if you want. We could use the extra help."
"But Ayano...I'm more worried about Akari than the student council work." Chitose whined.
"We all are, Chitose. But If we don't get all that paperwork out the way, then we won't hear the end of it from the principal. He's been on my ass specifically about the work being "lackluster"."
"Geez…being Student Council President sounds like a pain in the ass job." Chizuru said. "How did Rise-senpai do it all last year?"
"*sigh* Who knows."
Maybe all the stress about it is what made her so silent...
"So, you sure we won't be a bother?" Yui asked.
"Not at all. In fact, the only person that will be a bother is…" It was then that I stopped and soon did a small facepalm on my head. And it didn't take long for the others to quickly realize what I was about to say.
"Right…" We all said.
Mainly because we remembered that the only "bother" we knew was going to be gone for a week.
I don't think I can get used to this...
After all our classes have ended for the day, Chitose and I went straight to the Student Council room as we normally do. And we opened the door to see what we usually see every day we come here:
Sakurako and Himawari arguing over nothing.
"GAH! YOU'RE SO USELESS, SAKURAKO! WHY IS IT THAT YOU DON'T DO ANYTHING AROUND HERE?!"
"WELL, I WOULD BE ABLE TO DO THINGS IF YOUR BOOBS WEREN'T IN THE WAY!"
"MY BOOBS HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH IT!"
"OF COURSE YOU SAY THAT, BOOB MONSTER!"
Yep. Totally over nothing.
"Hey, Chitose. Just how exactly are these two in love with each other?" I whispered to her.
"You just don't see it, Ayano. I've got 20/20 lesbo vision. It's never failed me once."
"That's because you read too much yuri manga."
"Not just manga, Ayano. I also watch a ton of lesbian porn every day. It gets me off every single time."
"I didn't need to know that, Chitose..." I gained an agitated sweatdrop.
Why is it that the two people I care about the most are total perverts?
I shook my head trying to get the image of Chitose masturbating to lesbian porn out of my mind and yelled out to the other two girls in the room.
"Hey! Sakurako! Himawari!"
The two looked over to see who called their names and were surprised to see me.
"O-Oh hey, Ayano. N-Nice day isn't it?" Himawari stuttered.
"W-We totally weren't fighting just now." Sakurako stuttered with her. "R-Right, Himawari?"
"Y-Yep! Totally not fighting."
"Hehhehhehheh…" They both did a nervous chuckle.
"Yeah. Sure." I'm pretty sure they knew that I didn't believe them. "Anyway…you two better behave from here on out. The Amusement Club members are going to be staying with us for a while."
"Really? How come?" Himawari asked.
"Their own clubroom got blocked off because of the accident." Chitose explained. "Now no one can use it."
"I see. That's too bad."
"But do they really have to come here?!" Sakurako complained. "I'm still pissed at Kyoko for what happened to Akari!"
"Well, you don't have to see here. At least for a week. She's doing therapy." I said.
"Sh-She's in THERAPY?!" They both shouted in shock.
"I know, right? I couldn't believe it, either."
"Geez...I never would've thought Kyoko of all people would go to therapy." Himawari said. "She must really feel bad about what happened."
"Yeah well...I'm still mad at her." Sakurako said. "I highly doubt a damn shrink is going to fix THAT girl's hopeless nature."
Chizuru said a similar thing earlier...
*BANG*
"Wh-What the..." I reacted after all hear a loud bang against the door.
*BANG*
...
*BANG* *BANG*
...
*BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG*
"Is...someone trying to get in?" Himawari asked.
"Akari, just let me open the door." We then heard Yui's voice from the other side.
"No, wait! Hold on! I think I got it!"
"You just passed it like 5 times already." Chinastu said before opening the door herself.
"But I was close, right?"
"Y-Yeah...sure, Akari." Sachiko said.
"Hey, Akari. Welcome back." Chitose greeted her as the group of four walked into the room.
"Thanks, Chitose. Glad to be back."
"You doing okay since then?" I asked.
"Yeah, it's been great."
"No, it hasn't." The other four younger girls said.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"When we brought Akari to class this morning, people kept staring at her with looks of disgust." Chinastu said.
"They were talking crap about her right in front of her face!" Sakurako yelled. "Aoi and I had to constantly tell people to back off!"
"And Akari kept denying it all." Himawari said. "Just like she is now."
"I kept telling you guys I'm fine." Akari whined.
"Akari…you were crying from your one eye." Chinastu claimed. "I sit next to you. I saw it."
"W-Well…I had something in my eye. A-And it's harder to clean with only one eye, so…"
"Akari, just…please. Stop denying it already." Yui said with a worried look on her face. With the rest of us soon gaining the exact same look. Staring at Akari while she tried to ignore us all.
...
...
...
Until…
"O…O-Okay, fine! It did hurt! It hurt like hell! But why should I care?! Nobody even NOTICED me when I had two eyes! I was always ignored, forgotten, pushed aside...there were even times in which people didn't remember my NAME! I've been to this fucking school for over a year and yet I'm the most forgettable person here!"
W-Wow…sh-she just dropped an F-bomb. She must be really upset for her to curse like that…
"So, yeah...what they're saying right to my face might be cruel and heartless. But at least they're FINALLY paying attention to me for once! Th-That's all I ever wanted, damnit! *sniff*"
Akari was crying full tears from her eye at this point. The tears themselves looked more powerful than normal due to being only one tear duct.
"*sniff* I-I just wanted…t-to be recognized. I-I just wanted…t-to be included. I-I just wanted *sniff*…t-to be the fucking main character for once. B-But the universe just loves to torment me. Giving me the attention nobody wants…ON TOP of me losing an eye! Why does the world hate me?! Why does it enjoy my suffering so much?! WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS?!WAAAAAAA!"
I watched as Akari cried as hard as she could from her eye as Chinastu gave her a hug as a way to cheer her up. What she said…it almost made me cry myself. It's true that I only hang out with her whenever Kyoko's around...but I've never seen her so miserable before in my time knowing her. I'm starting to believe that Yui was right. And that Akari really is going through a severe form of depression.
...
It reminds me of my childhood all too well...
"Hey, guys. I'm just gonna take Akari home now." Chinastu said. "She's had a long day."
"Yeah...I think it's best too." Yui said.
"Bye, Akari." Chitose, Sakurako, Himawari, and Sachiko said while waving.
Akari didn't say anything but did wave back as Chinastu guided her out of the room. Once they were gone, I slumped back in my chair in a sorrowful state.
"Man...that was hard to listen to." I said.
"I know. And it just keeps getting worse." Yui added.
"Isn't there something we can do?!" Sakurako shouted. "I hate seeing Akari like this!"
"But what can we do?" Himawari asked. "None of us know anything about depression and how to deal with it."
"We are just middle school kids." Sachiko said. "This isn't something people our age are supposed to know all that well."
"Even then, Akari's our friend! And friends help each other in a time of need!" Chitose yelled.
"Yeah, but with what? Is there really anything that can cheer her up just the slightest?"
...
...
...
"Well…her birthday's coming up."
"Her birthday?" I asked Yui.
"July 24th. She's turning 14."
"Oh, yeah..." Sachiko said. "...kinda shocking that she's basically the oldest out of all of us second-years."
"You think it would be Boob-chan over here because of her ginormous tits."
*POW*
"Ow..." Sakurako whined after Himawari based her over the head.
"Hey, let's throw Akari a huge birthday party!" Chitose suggested. "That oughta cheer her up!"
"Yeah, but who knows how long that happiness would last? Especially with the condition Akari's in." Yui said in sorrow.
"Then we'll just have to make it one that Akari will never forget!" Sakurako said with a fist in the air.
"That almost sounds like a threat…" Himawari said.
"W-Well, you know what I mean!"
"Actually...I think Sakurako's on to something." I said.
"See? Ayano gets it!"
"Really, how?" Yui asked.
"If we can throw a good party for Akari...showing her that we all care for her and life can get better from this point on...it could possibly cheer her up. Maybe even get her out of her depressed state."
"You mean like an intervention?" Sachiko asked.
"No, nothing like that. They never work."
"Yeah, Ayano's right. Interventions only make things worse." Himawari added. "My uncle's a hobo because of one."
"Huh…" I could tell from the look on her face that Sachiko wanted to question that fact hard. But decided to leave it alone.
"So, what do guys think?" I asked.
"Hmm. That could work." Yui thought. "We should keep it a surprise for Akari, but not act suspiciously at all. It'll only make her feel worse about herself."
"Right!" The rest of us said.
"Let's meet back here tomorrow and start planning. I'll let Chinastu know and convince her not to tell Akari."
"Oh, and we should let Rise-senpai in on it, too." Chitose said. "I'm sure she wants to help Akari just like the rest of us."
"Oh, yeah. That's a good point."
"Well, alright then." I said. "Let's each come up with ideas and share what we got on Friday. That should be enough time."
"Fine by me." Yui said. With the others agreeing without question and even starting a bit early. Completely forgetting about the paperwork we were supposed to do.
For one of my friend's happiness, the scolding will be worth it.
After a few hours and everyone else left to go home, I was the last to leave the Student Council room and the school as a whole. Taking that scolding from the Principal I mentioned before had put me in a somewhat sour mood. And on top of that…I was having deep thoughts about what's happened these past few days.
Involving my friends.
Geez...one of my friends is depressed over losing an eye and another is in therapy because she's the one who caused it. These are some crazy events happening to us. A lot more than what usually happens…
...
Then again...it's usually Kyoko that plans these crazy events. So, the fact that this one came out of nowhere…it took everyone by surprise.
…
At this point, I can only wonder if more are on the way…
I ended up spacing out for so long that I eventually realized that I missed the street to my house. So, I had to quickly get off of the bus and rush back over before the streetlights came on. It's been getting less safe out at night and I didn't want to be involved with any of it.
Someone like me would definitely be an easy target for these suspicious people roaming around…
"Tadaima…" I said as I entered the small apartment that I live in. Waiting to hear a response from the one other person that lives here. After a few seconds of silence, I went deeper inside and saw the note lying on the kitchen counter.
Hey, Ayano...
I'm REALLY sorry! I'm going to be working late again tonight. I left some money for you to order take-out. Get me something and just leave it in the fridge. I'll eat it when I get home.
-Haruka
"*sigh* Again? She's been working late a lot recently." I said as placed the note down and went to my room to change. Once I had more casual clothes on, I laid on the living room couch going through a take-out menu for a ramen shop down the street.
Still lost in thought from today's heartbreaking events.
"I AM A JERK! AN ANNOYING, SELFISH, UNGRATEFUL, & HOPELESS JERK!"
"Why does the world hate me?! Why does it enjoy my suffering so much?! WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS?!WAAAAAAA!"
Those depressing screams…coming from two of the happiest people I know…it's still haunting to hear. Especially since it resulted in Kyoko going to therapy.
It's shocking that she's even doing such a thing. I can only wonder how she's doing right now...
*RINGTONE CHIME*
"Huh? Someone's calling me this late? I bet it's probably Haruka…" I said as I grabbed my phone. But when I looked at the caller ID, I was shocked to see who it really was.
I-It's…Kyoko?!
"H-Hello?" I answered in a slight panic.
"Hey…Ayano. I'm not bothering you, am I?"
"N-No. Not really. I just got home myself."
"I see…well, that's good to hear. I thought with it being this late out, I would be interrupting something."
"I-It's fine, really."
She's actually considerate about that? That's a first…
"So, uh…I heard from Yui what happened with you. Are you really…"
"*sigh* Yeah…I'm doing therapy." Kyoko replied in a sad tone. "All the way in Toyama, too."
"I see. So, how did it go?"
"It…was brutal." Kyoko's tone got even sadder. "The stuff the therapist said were borderline cruel. I broke into tears nearly halfway through."
"O-Oh, wow…"
"But…as bad as it was, it did open my eyes to a few things."
"Really? Like what?"
"Well, for one…I think I'm gay."
"You needed a therapist to tell you THAT?" I gained a sweatdrop. "That's basically the entire premise of our universe."
"I know, but…I kinda thought it was just a character trait for back when we were still relevant. Now, I'm starting to believe that it's an actual part of me. I-In a way."
"In a way?"
"L-Look, I can't explain it, okay?! It's just…a thing now."
"Okay, fine. Whatever. Anything else?"
"Well…after the insults she made about my mental capacity and calling my emotional problems "delusional crap"…"
What the hell kind of therapist is this person?!
"…one nice thing did eventually come out of her mouth. She said that my reaction to what happened to Akari…feeling all of that guilt and even having this nightmare I had yesterday…"
Nightmare?
"…All of that was a sign that I wanted to change. That this "happy go lily" style of living I've been forcing myself to enjoy altered my personality to how I am now. And what happened made me realize that it's not the life I really want."
"W-Wow…this therapist said all of that?"
"Well, she said it in ther most "I don't give a damn" type of attitude I've ever seen, but…it was close enough."
"I see…" I gained a huge sweatdrop.
Just who the hell is this therapist?
"Anyway…that's how my first day went. And now I've got six more to go. Yay…"
"Sounds like you're in for more hell." I said with a light giggle. "I bet the others said the same thing, huh?"
…
…
…
"Um…actually…I haven't told them." Kyoko said after a moment's silence.
"Huh?"
"In fact…you're the first person I called once I got to this hotel we're staying in."
"R-Really? Why?"
Kyoko went silent again before answering my question.
"B-Because…after all that I've been through these past few days, I needed to hear a comforting voice that wasn't my mom's. And you were the first person to come to mind."
"C-Comforting, huh?" I gained a light blush on my face.
No! NO! Stop it, Ayano! You know better by now! You made this decision on your own and you can't go back on it! Not after making it this far!
…
I gave up on Kyoko for a reason…
"Kyoko. Bath's ready."
"Okay, Mom." Kyoko replied to her mother in the background. "Well…I gotta go. It was nice talking you, Ayano. Tell the others I'm doing fine for me."
"Um…sure thing, Kyoko. And it was nice talking to you, too. B-Bye."
I hung up the phone and took a huge sigh of relief at how that call ended. My checks were still red and my heart was slowly calming down from the rapid beating it was doing earlier.
But my number one concern…was unzipping the jacket I had on. And seeing these purple markings all over my body glowing a dark purple aura. Previously covered up the whole day with body paint that matched my skin color.
These markings…they really are tied to my emotions. This curse really is a part of my life whether I like it or not.
I then remembered the words Kyoko said to me that were, oddly enough, the only kind words she received from this "therapist" of hers.
"…All of that was a sign that I wanted to change. That this "happy go lily" style of living I've been forcing myself to enjoy altered my personality to how I am now. And what happened made me realize that it's not the life I really want."
Not the life I really want, huh?
With this thought in mind, I went over to the bathroom and stared at my reflection in the mirror. My markings still glowing brightly and my…s-semi C-cup breasts now fully exposed.
It's true…I hate this curse with a burning passion. And I especially hate the people that gave me this curse. But most of all…I hate having to hide it from everybody. Living a life in secret is something I never wanted to do.
…
So, maybe…if Kyoko could change…maybe I could, too?
Author's Note: After learning that Kyoko was doing therapy and Akari is truly suffering from losing her eye, Ayano begins to worry about her friends. Much like the others, sure. But not a lot of them have a secret past they're forced to hide from the world…
Most of this chapter stayed the same. It's really the extra part with Ayano at home that's new. It even foreshadows her own story a bit. That was basically my main goal with this one.
Thanks for reading. Later.