The Unfinished Story - Chapter Sixteen (Part 2)
Chapter Sixteen - Part 2
xXxXx
Louise was just prancing around their condominium unit. Yuto left her a mail saying that he’ll drop her things tomorrow after school, and that’s about it from him.
Somehow, Louise felt like Yuto’s being indifferent; then again, she knew he’d be. He probably knows by now what she did earlier today, and she can’t blame Yuto for wanting to ask questions, but seeing as how he’s not approaching her in any way, Louise assumes Yuto’s just being… well… Yuto. He may be an easy person, but sometimes, he gets to be unpredictable and hard to understand. His reactions are not really the easiest to underestimate.
Dinner time, and as Louise heard someone clicking on the door - she thought it’d be room service - then again, it was her dad. “Oh… Okaeri.”
To Louise’s surprise, her father slammed about one big 4 Liter ice cream on top of their counter and took off his blazer. “So, what’s for dinner? Did the staff tell you what’ll be on the menu?”
Soon enough, dinner arrived and Louise was glad it wasn’t too grand - it’s actually a steak and she’s extra happy that hers was really, really well done.
During dinner, her father went on talking about how her mother called him at work today - it seems that Louise’s mom has been getting really noisy lately. “She strictly told me to tell you that she’s upset because you didn’t wanna talk to her.”
Munching on her last bits, Louise pouted and spoke, “Did you tell her about the… um… erm, incident this morning?”
Her father almost laughed, “Right, that.” He paused a little and Louise looked at him, “Well, you know your mom - so I thought it’d be best if we keep her in the dark about it for now.”
Hearing that, Louise breathed out a sigh of relief then continued eating.
“By the way…” Jiro started, making Louise look at him a little appalled. “Regarding this morning…”
Raising her brows, Louise kept her stare.
“Would you rather not talk about it, or yeah…?”
It’s funny - shouldn’t her dad be asking her in a more parenting way? Louise was expecting him to be a little more of a interrogating type, especially given the actions she’s done, but right now, the feeling is kind of like she’s talking to Yuma or yeah, one of her buddies. She didn’t really think she wouldn’t feel too awkward, she was pretty much preparing herself for something worse.
When Louise didn’t really say anything, Jiro just assumed she didn’t wanna talk about it and finished his meal.
Soon, Louise stood up, took that big ice cream Jiro just brought home and she took out some cups and teaspoons to go with it. “You said we’d talk it over Ice Cream, right?” She said, laying out the dessert on their dining table.
Jiro smiled as Louise gets him a good scoop. So, is this really a good sign then? “I’ve got one simple question though.”
Louise was just done giving herself and her dad a good amount of ice cream and she just got back to her seat when her father asked this and she looked at him as if saying ‘go on… I’m listening…’
“You didn’t fight over a guy, didn’t you?”
Surprisingly enough, this made Louise laugh and she almost spit out her first scoop. “What’s that about?”
Jiro shrugged. It’s nice to see bits of her dad being a little less uptight than she could remember. “Just a thought… teenagers, girls…”
“Urgh dad…” she rolled her eyes, “If there’s anything at all that I’d be in trouble with, trust me, it’d be anything but about boys.”
Nodding, Jiro took a big scoop. “Okay then. You do look like you wouldn’t care much about guys.” He smiled, “You haven’t even brought a guy over yet.”
She looked at him as if he’d said something unbelievably unnecessary, “Oh, are you seriously expecting me to bring a guy over? What? A boyfriend? Something like that?” then she grunted, “You parents have a very bad way of stereotyping teens in our generation.”
Jiro puts his hand up, “Not really - I’m just saying, I’m no different from other parents… I expect things so I don’t get to be caught off guard.”
With this, Louise scratched her head, “And I thought talking about this morning’s cake incident would be awkward - the way this conversation’s going, I just wish you’d scold me for what I did and just get over with it.”
For a good while, they kept talking. It was really a healthy exchange of opinions and stories rather than a teen being scolded and punished for what she did wrong. Sure, Jiro’s approach on the issue isn’t really what most parents would think as appropriate - even Louise thinks he’s being too soft - but the thing is, talking it out in a very hearty manner makes Louise feel like no matter what her reason may be, she doesn’t have to fear that she’ll be misunderstood.
As they were cleaning up, Jiro said he’ll do the dishes tonight. And while Louise finishes up cleaning their table, she [let’s say… kind of] surprised Jiro with what she said. “To be honest with you, I just did what I felt like doing at that very moment.” Jiro looked at her as if trying to see where she’s getting at. “I know it wasn’t the most civilized way of dealing with conflicts, but to tell you the truth I don’t feel an inch bit of guilt of what I’ve done.”
“…You have the feeling you did the right thing?” This is probably the most parenting tone Louise has heard from her father so far tonight.
With that, Louise nodded with a smile. “Although, I think she’s lucky to get away with just a cake on her face.”
Jiro laughed. “You have a tendency to put vengeance some great deal of importance.”
Louise frowned, “Funny… I swear I heard mom say the same thing to me before… but she kept saying I didn’t get it from her…” Louise stood near the counter watching Jiro clean up the dishes. “…So, I got it from you?” Jiro stopped was he was doing and looked at his daughter.
“Remember when I told you I stabbed someone with a pencil?”
Louise nodded.
“I did that because he pulled my seatmate’s hair.” Jiro chuckled at the memory, “My seatmate said she thought her roots were taken out.”
Surprised, “Oh… so basically, it was revenge for your dear seatmate huh. I bet that’s your girlfriend back then huh?”
Louise’s tone was pretty playful, and Jiro couldn’t hide the smile from his face. “That seatmate of mine was your mother.”
“Eh?!?” The two ended up laughing more as Jiro told her more stories about her mom being in school with him and all other silly stuff.
xXxXx
Tuesday - another day…. And… it’s December first. Line couldn’t really think of a much better month-opener than news that classes are suspended for the rest of the day because systems are down. Well, seeing as she only has two classes: this first one, their teacher told them to pack up; and her second class already announced that there will be no classes - Line is free for today. Yaaay!
They were in their first class and Daiki, sitting beside her, just yawned. “Well, now you can get back to sleep.” Line uttered, picking up her bag and was almost on her feet when Daiki caught her arm and told her to wait for him.
“The forecast says that today’s gonna be pretty sunny - and warm. It seems winter will get here pretty late this year.” Daiki uttered as the two were walking out on the usual campus street - their target place, the park. Line’s been saying she wanted some fresh open air.
“I hope it doesn’t snow yet. I wanna get to Gunma without having to worry too much about winter.”
Daiki stopped on his tracks. “Oh right… but you’re leaving after Christmas right?”
Line nodded and soon they found a good spot on that open park and Line just laid her sweater and made herself really comfortable on the ground.
As Daiki sat beside her, he crossed his legs and watched as Line takes out her camera and have some shots. “Not to put your hopes down, but I’m sure it’ll be winter by the time you travel to Gunma-ken.”
There was a click and Daiki felt like there’s this tiny flash of light entering his eyes - Line pretty much took a picture of him again. “Sorry, I read somewhere that it’s okay to experiment with flash even on a sunny outdoor.”
“Line-chan, are you even listening?”
She let out a ‘Pfft’ then started snapping again. Under her lens, Daiki heard her speak, “Well, I was just saying it’d be nice if it doesn’t snow yet. Then again if it does, I’m fine with it.”
And so like a bullet train, the thought suddenly came to Daiki. “Line-chan, do you mind going somewhere with me?” he asked and Line stopped her taking pictures.
“Where to?” She asked a little confused and surprised at the same time, but Daiki just stood up and was tugging at her sleeves that Line couldn’t help but just hastily put her camera inside her bag and the moment she was able to do so, Daiki grabbed her bag from her and started running. “WHERE ARE WE GOING!?”
Running and running, Line can only watch as Daiki pull her out of the campus. Occasionally, he’ll look at his watch and Line can only try her hardest to keep up with him. “If we keep running, we’ll be able to catch the next train.” Daiki uttered under his breath.
As they were out on the campus, with Daiki carrying that yellow bag of Line’s and his very own backpack, the two create some little fuss as they pass by people. All throughout that exhausting run, Daiki kept his grip on Line’s hand very tight especially when they pass by some crowd or groups of people.
Arriving at the train station, Daiki hurried over to buy tickets, still not letting go of Line and Line can only look around while trying to catch her breath. In a flash, Daiki pulled her near the waiting area and finally, they had time to breathe a little. “The train will be here in about two minutes.”
Line bent down a little and supported her upper body with leaning on her legs. Her mouth was open and as she looked up at Daiki, he had a really good smile on his face despite him looking tired too. “What’s with you all of a sudden?” Line tried her best to not sound so gasping.
Daiki really didn’t say anything but he just patted Line’s back. “I’m gonna take you to a train ride.” Line frowned at what he said and soon, the train was there. “Let’s say this is a dry run so you don’t get lost on your way to Gunma-ken on your own.”
Before Line could even say anything, Daiki pulled her inside the train with him and she’s pretty surprised at how there are not so much people.
The two got good seats, a little farther out the corner and Line specifically liked how she can clearly hear the train moving.
After a while, “So, where are we going exactly?” She asked; looking at the train passes Daiki bought.
But Daiki shrugged. “I’m not really sure.”
With his answer, Line looked at him like he just kidnapped her, “Are you serious?”
“These tickets are good till eleven tonight - so we can pretty much go back and forth anywhere we like.” he smiled, “I told you, this is dry run.”
“But we’re not getting anywhere…”
For a moment, Daiki was quiet and then Line tugged on his shirt asking him again where they can go. And soon, “Do you wanna go see Chiba Prefecture?”
Line looked at him and there’s that certain look on her face that says she really doesn’t care as long as she knows they’re having a destination. She nodded with a smile, and feeling more assured, Line took her bag from Daiki but Daiki didn’t really wanna give it to her. Not really wanting to create unnecessary bickering, Line lets go and asks, “So, what’s in Chiba?”
Before answering, Daiki smiled and then, “It’s my hometown.”
The trip will take about an hour an some six minutes but somehow, the thought of stepping on Daiki’s hometown with Daiki himself makes Line think like she’d be willing to travel no matter how long it’s gonna take.
After about nine minutes, Daiki told Line that they are to get off at Kinshicho station [錦糸町] Station and from there, they’ll board another train to Chiba [千葉]
Finally in Kinshicho, Line was happy enough to see some food stands and while waiting for their next train, she bought some good amount of bento and lots of different stuff. As they were about to board, Daiki can’t help but laugh at the amount of food Line just got.
Finally, their train has arrived and Daiki helped Line with the stuff she’s bought - her bag back in Daiki’s shoulder.
Nice enough, they got a good seat as well. And Line started rummaging through the snacks she brought, “Are you that hungry?” Daiki asked chuckling a little and helping Line open her container of Takoyaki.
Beaming at having most of her street food cravings, Line took one good bite on her takoyaki and loved it to bits before answering Daiki, “You suddenly pulled me into this, I wasn’t really prepared - we need food throughout the trip.”
Seeing as Line is probably right, and that she looks like she’s enjoying herself, Daiki helped himself with some takoyaki too and the two just tried to finish off one container.
Ten minutes into their travel, Line still loved the sound of the train moving; and having the surrounding being really quiet, it really calms her down - although, there’s this excitement feeling of getting to a new destination in Japan.
Daiki was finishing his iced tea bottle which Line handed him and is looking around randomly too. “Ne, Dai-chan…” Line uttered in an acceptable volume.
“Hmm…?”
“What do you really wanna be, when you grow older?”
Daiki frowned, “That’s random.”
She smiled. “Well, back in Canada, when I’m still in high school and I’m taking the bus, I use to talk casually with my friends on the way home or to school. The feeling is kind of like this…” then she looked around.
“You talk about different kind of stuff?”
“Yeah…” So she looked at him, sitting just next to her, “So, what do you really wanna be?”
Giving it a good thought, Daiki pouted and puts back the lid of his drink. Then he touches his nose a little, and Line found it cute how he wrinkled a little when he did it. “I guess I’m not really sure what I want.”
“But you’re taking architecture?”
He kept quiet for a moment, a little ‘mmm’ you can hear, and, “Well… I guess because I think I would like it.” Daiki sighed a little, “I mean… It’s something that I feel like, ‘If I’m not sure what I really wanna be, then I’ll probably just be an architect’… that kind of feel.”
“Oh… Souka…” Line uttered, nodding. It was pretty understandable.
“What about you?”
“I want to be in the film industry.”
“Film?”
“Yep. You know those dramas we see in television. Or those PVs from popular pop groups… they sometimes show ‘making’ footages and so…” Line even used her hands to show quotation marks.
“Oh, right, right… Those cameramen and staff and crew and all those behind the scenes?”
Line beamed, “Yep. I wanna be behind the scenes. Probably looking through those camera lenses, or dreaming big - be the director… but really, even just to be one of the staff, carry microphones, having assigned to hold something over here and there - I’ll even be willing to carry cables and such - just that, backstage, behind the scene feel.” While Line talks, Daiki can’t help but look at her. It’s like seeing her talk in a way he hasn’t really thought she could before. While Line talks about this different dream of hers, Daiki felt like she was taking him to that scene - to that moment.
And soon, when Line was waiting for his comment, this is what he said, “Well… why are you taking architecture then?”
“Because I want to be able to help build something too… I guess you can say I wanna be an architect too.” Line laughed a little, “I want to do so many things.”
“That’s fine though. I see no problem with that.”
“Deshou?” For a moment, there was silence, then they both sighed at the same time and this made them laugh at each other a little.
“I’m just glad I get to do something now.” Daiki uttered, looking at the windows. “If I just wait for my mind to settle on a certain career or dream, and then do nothing while waiting, I feel like times just gonna slip by me.”
Line nodded. She perfectly knows what he’s talking about since weird enough, she knows she’s had similar conversations like this with Louise and Yuma back in Canada; but maybe, talking to a person the same age and situation as you poses a really different feel, ne?
“So yeah… I have no regrets trying Architecture. We’re not even an inch close to finishing the first steps, but you can say I feel like I’m learning a lot already.” Daiki finishes with a pretty contented tone.
“Uh-huh… same here.” Line uttered.
“And besides, if I haven’t gone for Architecture, I might not have met Line-chan.” With this, Daiki looked at her and he smiled. There’s something about this guy’s smile that you would wanna say he’s cute but you’d think again because you see that certain maturity that’s just about perfect for him.
Line chuckled a little, “I made a lot of hasty decisions before I get to where I am right now, but I’m glad I made all of them.” she smiled, “And of course, I’m as glad as you are that we’ve met.” Thinking about what she’s gonna say next made Line laugh a little, “I never really thought I’d find another penguin person like me. I thought for sure I’m weird.”
“Well, that makes two of us.” They both laughed and as the train goes on, it feels like the stories and topics can go endless that the two really didn’t feel the length of the trip.
xXxXx
Since Louise is suspended for the rest of the week, she didn’t really have to worry about having to wake up early, but I guess it can’t be helped since Suoh wouldn’t stop running over her. It’s about six-ish and Louise woke up just before her dad leaves for the office.
Not a rich start for a no-school day, but Louise thought she’d just have to manage with it. Checking at her clock once again right after breakfast, her head was converting the time like always. It’s seven… so, it’s around five in the evening back in Winnipeg. “I wonder if Yuma’s on.”
Last night, she left Yuma a quick message on what’s happening right now. It was a spurt-of-the-moment kind of thing; in a short precise message, she told Yuma about her new school, Akihiko, how her life’s been pretty messed up this past few months and how she suddenly got detention. It is in fact a very harsh thing to blow up these news as if they’re just something you can sneeze away, but knowing Yuma and knowing that he knows Louise pretty well, she didn’t really think she’d upset him too much.
Oh well, moving on, Louise just turned on her laptop and hoped for whatever there is she could find. As soon as she logs into her messenger, a quick request for a webcam popped in - it was Yuma.
Louise smiled, thinking of what Yuma might say. She then clicked the okay button and as soon as Yuma’s camera was done loading… “WHAT IN THE WORLD IS WRONG WITH YOU WOMAN!?” His voice was so loud, it almost sounded like it’s gonna crack Louise’s speaker PLUS it made Suoh jolt a little and the poor puppy went running out of her room.
“You scared Suoh away!!!” Louise scolded, settling on her seat.
“Don’t change the topic!” Yuma grunted, “Thanks a lot for not updating me until now.” Complete sarcasm that Louise always thought of being a failure when Yuma does it.
As expected; it’s always been like this with Yuma - Louise gets to have all the news first, and Yuma, well… he’s usually left out. “Calm down will ya…?”
“Are you kidding me!?”
“I SAID CALM DOWN.” Her eyes were a little bit bigger than usual and Yuma can only try to shut up. “My dad’s reaction wasn’t even half of yours. You’re too much drama.”
Yuma smirked, “Drama? You’re the one who slammed cake on someone’s face. I’ve seen that on dramas tons of times.”
She rolled her eyes, “Doesn’t make me a drama queen.” Louise watched as Yuma taps on his desk. “Besides, it’s just suspension… no big deal.”
Looking a bit shocked, “Did I just hear that right? You think suspension isn’t a big deal? You kept scolding me whenever I get detention for being late, and you think suspension isn’t a biggie?!”
Seeing as how Yuma seems to worry too much, Louise just sighed and rolled her eyes.
“Don’t you act like that in front of me now…” Yuma’s tone was more like a parent than a friend. Then again, he’s been like that ever since.
Before deciding to say anything else, Louise poked on her camera as if she’s poking Yuma, “You know me too well. Surely you know I didn’t do what I did just because I felt like doing it.”
“Uh-huh…” Yuma uttered, pouting. “But I know you to be person to carefully do things…” Louise started twisting her revolving study chair. “What you did was so uncharacteristic of you.”
“She pissed me off.”
“That’s not even a reason.”
Then Louise looked straight into Yuma’s eyes, “Well for me, it’s a good enough reason.”
There was a pause - really, these two. They haven’t talk in a while and now that they’re talking, the atmosphere’s like this. “In any case…” Yuma let his words hang, “…you’re the one suspended. You still end up looking like the bad guy.” There was a ‘tsk’ sound and Louise was waiting for him to say more, “You should’ve just reported her doings earlier on!”
Louise was quiet. She heard Keito said this exact same thing to her tons of times.
“Tell me Lou, why didn’t you?” Yuma’s tone was serious now; sure Yuma gets to be the boke all the time, but when he decides to be serious, even Louise can’t make a fool out of him. Louise was about to say something when Yuma cut her off with, “I told you before…” he sighed, “Your strong personality doesn’t always mean you have to be strong and face things by yourself.”
Somehow, Yuma’s words made Louise feel like she’s been fooling around all this time.
“… anyway, what did your friends say?” Yuma asked, now he’s leaning on his chair. He’s in his PJ’s now - Yuma, the early sleeper. When Louise said nothing, Yuma went closer to the monitor, “That Nakajima-san… Yuto, right? He’s your bestfriend isn’t he? What did he say?”
With a sigh, Louise just shrugged. And before Yuma can react, she spoke, “Well, he didn’t know.”
“You didn’t tell him!?”
“Isn’t it clear that I wasn’t really planning on telling anybody - the first time I found out I’m being targeted?”
“Lou-chan!”
“Come on Yuma! It’s not like we’re in kindergarten that every single thing that happens gets reported to the teacher!” This was the first time Louise felt like defending herself. “Sure it’s stupid to keep it to myself, but I was just wondering if I could handle it on my own. I can’t go depending on people all the time!”
There was silence - these are rare moments when these two talks in a serious fashion and Yuma knows well when Louise wants to make her point.
“I’d rather have people depend on me, than me depending on other people.”
“But Lou…” Yuma uttered and Louise just looked away. But what Yuma said next made her feel like - for once - she might just be wrong with her choices on things. “Don’t you think, sometimes… other people just want you to depend on them? Even just a little?”
Still not looking at Yuma, Louise tries her best not to look like she feels defeat at the moment.
“Being your bestfriend, I know how much you try to be someone I can depend on…” He smiled softly, “and I’m thankful for that. But…” he sighed, “Sometimes I do feel like I hope there are instances wherein you can depend on me.” Louise looked at him; it’s rare to hear Yuma say these things out loud. “Maybe that’s what your friends there feel.”
Inside Louise’s head, she can hear Keito’s words telling her to speak up and let someone know. Then there’s Yamada, who reminding her that he’s willing to listen… and Yuto…
It’s a little painful really - to have realized how much you could’ve hurt others even though you think you’re just keeping them away from trouble. Louise thought not telling Yuto would be better; so that he doesn’t have to worry, so he doesn’t have to feel bad about her, so he doesn’t have to face Akihiko and her friends in a different manner than he’s used to. “Ne, Lou-chan…”
“All this time, I was trying to keep it to myself because I didn’t want them to get involved.” It was Louise’s first statement of trying to rationalize things, “You see Yuma… Yuu-chan… well, Yuto… he’s the type of person who worries a lot even on the simplest of things.” There were pauses as she speaks, “He often forgets himself when he worries about others. And those girls… well, they’ve been his classmates for a long time - I didn’t want him to feel weird around them.”
As expected, Louise wasn’t crying at all but she does sound upset. “I’m sure Yuto will be thankful if he finds out you’re trying to keep him away from all this drama.” He let his words fade a little, “Then again, he’ll be more grateful if you let him stick with you through these times and let him decide on how he’ll deal with the consequences.”
Louise was biting her lips - at that moment, she just wants to think. But then again, think of what?
“Oi Lou-chan…”
“What?” she sound a little irritated but Yuma knows this is how she is because she’s upset that Yuma’s been correct so far throughout this conversation.
“I’m right, aren’t I?”
She glared, “You just want to smack it to my face that you’re right this time.”
Yuma smiled brightly, “Deshou?” Still glaring a little, Louise laughed along with her bestfriend - true, at times like this, Louise tend to realize how much this guy can read her in his own ways.
“I may not be given a brother, but you’re too much to handle already.”
“Am I now…?” Yuma laughed - the feeling of being victorious over the cunning Louise seems like a great bonus at times like this.
---
Meanwhile in school…
“So Umiko-san did get suspended…” someone spoke, “Yeah, I heard she won’t be back till Monday next week.” Another answered. They came in more like murmurs and Yuto can only want to cover his ears.
“So Yama-chan, is Umiko-san gonna be okay?” Yamada heard one of their classmates ask, right after he felt someone tug on his shoulder. “You’re her boyfriend right?”
He looked a little irritated, “I told you already, we’re not dating.” His tone was little pissed, but he tried to look as calm as possible. “And I think it’d be much better if we stop talking about this…”
The entire class went a little quieter when Akihiko and Ayaka came in. Soon after, buzzes were going on and on and Yamada just rolled his eyes.
“Say Akihiko, are you okay?” Sawatari asked - he’s been pretty distant to Louise too since she arrived - one of the few boys who didn’t really get to warm up around Louise. See when Louise arrived, it was easier for boys to approach her and it seems easier for her to talk to boys - especially with Yuto and Keito introducing her to them. As for the girls, since there are more boys in their class, the girls weren’t really welcoming on Louise after the first week.
Akihiko nodded shyly.
“Nyappari… Foreigners act like foreigners…” Sawatari uttered and he then looked at Yuto. “Ne Nakajima, why don’t you tell Umiko-san to just leave her foreign manners to where she got them from?”
Yamada shot a look at Sawatari before looking at Yuto - but Yuto was just sitting there… he didn’t really look at Sawatari at all.
“Oi Nakajima!”
“Sawatari-kun, that’s enough!” Ayaka was the one to ask him to just shut up.
“Umiko-san wasn’t really welcomed because she didn’t really look like she wanted to be friends with this class.” Sawatari uttered as soon as he sat down. “I knew that girl would be trouble the first time I set eyes on her.”
“You’re wrong…” Sakamoto was the one to answer this time. “Not everyone thinks the way you do Sawatari.” Then Shougo shot a look at Akihiko, “I’m sure she had a good reason for what she did.”
There were murmurs again and soon enough, Irie Jingi slammed his fists on his table. “Everyone, SHUT UP!” Silence - in an instant.
Soon enough, Yusuke-sensei walked in for homeroom, and Yamada was just glad that he didn’t really talk about the Louise-Akihiko incident. Just before homeroom ends, Keito opens the door and he was panting; Yusuke-sensei scolded him a little for being late and they were left to wait for their next teacher.
“Dad forgot to wake me up!” Keito stated, seeing as how Yamada looked at him with a weird expression. “Oh right, Umi-chan, here’s your… oh…” Keito was about to take out one of Louise’s notebooks that he borrowed but he stopped half-way, then just acted like nothing happened.
He felt a different atmosphere and whispered to Yamada asking what’s going on, but Yamada just shook his head.
“Oi Yuto…” Keito uttered and Yuto still was as stoic as he was.
“Hey, Keito…” Yuto uttered and Yamada stopped was he was doing. This is probably the first time today that Yuto spoke.
“Hmm?” Keito asked, as he started putting out his stuff for the first class.
“Did you know that Akihiko and Umiko haven’t been getting along?” As Yuto asked this, Keito froze and Yamada was just looking at the two. “How about you Yama-chan?” Yuto’s tone was pretty serious; it’s a bit unusual to hear him like this.
Keito and Yamada didn’t really reply but they just heard Yuto sigh. Soon enough, “Umi-chan didn’t want anyone to know.” Keito uttered as he fixes his chair. “Not even me…”
“But you know about it.”
“Accidentally…”
“And you didn’t tell me?”
“It was for Umi-chan to decide-”
“And Yama-chan?”
Yamada was really expecting Yuto to ask him more about it but as Yuto did so, he didn’t really know what to say or where to start.
“Well?” This time, Yuto looked at Yamada; his eyes were pretty serious - and a bit scary.
Yamada looked at Yuto then he just slowly looked away.
“Souka…” Yuto uttered. He has his hand inside his pocket all this time, gripping onto that iPod he found yesterday. “So I was the only one who didn’t have a clue…”
The first half of the day went by but Yuto was awfully really quiet and unresponsive. Keito and Yamada were worried; even Chinen doesn’t get to make him talk much.
During Lunchtime…
“Anou… Nakajima-kun…” Akihiko uttered as she stood near Yuto’s chair.
Yamada just got back from Chinen’s classroom, and Keito was at the cafeteria trying to battle out with everyone into getting some special meal for the day.
Anyway, since Yuto didn’t really respond, Akihiko spoke again, “I know you’re pretty close to Umiko-chan, so I’m very sorry for what happened to her. It wasn’t really necessary for her to be suspended.” She looked around nervously, and Yuto, still sitting there, had his hand inside his pocket. “I wasn’t hurt at all really. As a matter of fact, I’m planning on talking to the principal and hoping Umiko-chan will be allowed back to school sooner and…”
“Why would you even wanna do that?” Yuto uttered and Akihiko was really scared to hear his tone.
“Ah… because…”
Yuto looked up, and his stare on Akihiko made her feel like she wanted to disappear. It’s like a totally different person. “Tell me, why did she throw the cake on you?”
“I’m not sure, she just did…”
“The truth…” Yuto’s tone now was very flat - monotonous even. Sawatari just came in with Ayaka and they approached Yuto and Akihiko right away.
“I’m telling you, she just did it out of nowhere!” Akihiko sounded like she was crying, and sure enough, tears were rolling down her face.
“Ruu-chan wouldn’t do things without reason.” Yuto replied.
“Wait a minute Nakajima-kun, don’t go blaming Akihiko for what Umiko-san did herself!” Ayaka uttered, comforting Akihiko.
“Don’t sound like you’re innocent Ayaka-san…” Yuto uttered and this time, people in their classroom started gathering around the four, and Yamada was quick to tell Yuto to just leave the scene - Yuto isn’t Yuto when he’s angry, and Yamada knows that too well. Just when Akihiko was about to say something, Yuto took out Louise’s iPod and placed it on top of his desk for everyone around - especially Akihiko and Ayaka - to see. As he hit the play button, the video started rolling and Akihiko and Ayaka can only stare.
The room was quiet, and even with the tiny speakers of this nano, they can hear clearly Akihiko and Ayaka talking about Louise… talking about what they’ve done so far, what they’re doing at that moment, and what they still wanna do.
The video wasn’t even done when Sawatari shocked everyone as he shoved Yuto aside, “Where did you get this crap!?”
Yamada tried to get between the two but Yuto and Sawatari looked like they don’t see anything else. Some of the girls screamed as Yuto pushed Sawatari back and he went crashing to some chairs. Ayaka and Akihiko were both just staring at the guys, and Yamada kept trying to pull Yuto and Sawatari away from each other. Shougo and the other guys tried to help too, but Yuto was being pretty difficult - he kept reaching for Sawatari.
“Yuto, that’s enough!” Yamada shouted, holstering Yuto’s shoulders which posed to be a difficult job since Yuto’s way taller than him, but Yamada kept his hold. At least he’s strong enough to lock him. “Yuto!”
“You have some nerve talking bad about Ruu-chan, when you don’t even know a single thing!” As Yuto said this, Yamada loosens up a little since Yuto tried to calm himself down and just started breathing heavily - his stare on Sawatari was unforgettable - there’s that look of anger and protectiveness all at the same time.
“I don’t know what this is…” Akihiko uttered, grabbing the iPod and Ayaka was just staring at her. “I’m sure Umiko-san just set this by herself…”
“You seriously think anybody would believe you?” Yuto uttered; disgust in his face. “Mou ii yo…” As Yamada completely lets go of Yuto, Yuto snatched the iPod from Akihiko and Akihiko can only stare at him - her eyes still red and teary. “I will never look at you the same way again, Akihiko-san…” he glared, “Never…” Before Yuto heads out, he looked at Ayaka, then at Sawatari before he completely walks out of the room.
People started dispersing, and now, the murmurs seem to sound a bit different. Girls were looking at Akihiko and they were whispering something… “That’s why she didn’t want us to get to know Umiko-san…” and then, “She’s like that after all…” these were some of what Yamada heard.
Not being able to bear the stares at her, Akihiko ran off with Ayaka following her - while Sawatari was left behind, holding up his arm - it seems that he hit himself when Yuto pushed him and now he’s a little bruised. He caught Yamada staring but Yamada kept his stare.
Keito was suddenly inside the room, a lot of confusion on his face, “What happened here?” Yamada looked at him and Sawatari just walked away while Shougo was the one to tell Keito the stuff he’s missed.
Not really sure how to react, Keito took his seat with a blank face and Yamada was looking out the window.
“I can’t believe I missed all that.” Keito then uttered as Yamada sat back down his seat. “Ne, Yama-chan…” he started looking around, trying to avoid Yamada’s eyes, “So… did you really know about what Akihiko has been doing?” With this, Keito tried to get a hold of Yamada’s eyes.
And then, Yamada nodded and answered, “Just like you… I found out about it by accident.”
“I was really planning on telling you guys anyway, even though she asked me millions of times not to.” Keito sighed, “I guess I should’ve moved faster.”
‘No. I should’ve done something right away.’ Yamada heard himself talk.
---
Louise just turned off her laptop; it was nice being able to talk to Yuma and even though they haven’t been in touch lately, it seems like the last time he spoke to him was just yesterday. She bid goodnight to him before logging out. She had her lunch while chatting randomly with Yuma, and now, there really isn’t anything to do.
Suoh was running around the house like usual, while Louise idled by the living room.
Soon enough, Suoh settled down after chasing his tail and Louise reckon her big chubby dog’s getting ready for some afternoon nap - a nap: hey, that sounds like a good idea.
Louise lay on her bed, stared at her ceiling, and as she closed her eyes, she didn’t know why she suddenly remembered the feelings she had when Akihiko started messing up her life.
Stretching her arms a little, Louise got a look at her hands and remembered when she was stitching rubber soles on her indoor shoes. She laughed at the memory. Speaking of stitching, there was that time when Keito was going non-stop about scolding her regarding her sewing habits; that was when they were doing her costume. Louise sighed. The costume sure looked nice on Mariya.
Then there were her art tools. Right. She still hasn’t found her charcoal pencil. Then there are those threatening letters that even Kawashima received… and then that final act that tore Louise’s patience away.
Over-all… it was a waste to have Akihiko buried in icing and cake. She should’ve had more than that. ‘Then again…’ Louise uttered inside her head. ‘In a weird way, I’m glad I did what I did.’
Before she dozes off, Louise jolted a little when she heard her phone ringing and vibrating on her desk. She frowned and looked at the clock. It’s lunchtime. It’s probably Keito…
So Louise took her phone, answered it without looking at to who the caller is. “Hai?”
“So how come you didn’t tell me.” The voice on the other line was a little husky than usual, but Louise knows well who it is. She didn’t have to think twice.
“Anou…”
“I’m just wondering why you didn’t tell me.” He uttered, and now Louise can just listen to him breathing. After some silence, he spoke again, “Keito knew… even Yama-chan… so really, I was supposed to be left out?”
There’s that tone of being forgotten, and that’s what Louise heard from Yuto. “I didn’t tell them…”
“Uh-huh…”
“I SWEAR!” Louise shouted a little, “If you don’t wanna believe me, fine. But I didn’t tell them. If they know anything, ask them, they didn’t get the info from me.”
There was silence for a while then, “Given that, still, you didn’t tell me…”
“I-I just…” There was something about his voice that makes Louise feel like she couldn’t really say anything. Then she remembered what Yuma told her - what Yuma thinks her other friends must’ve felt. In Louise’s head, she knows she just want to say whatever she thinks she should say. “I just didn’t think you should know.”
“Sou…” his reply was quick and short.
“Besides, I didn’t want you to worry.”
“You think I’m not worried now?”
“Exactly. Look at how you are now…” Louise didn’t think she’d be this serious talking to him about this. “Yuu-chan… I didn’t think it should’ve been a big deal.”
“It is a big deal Ruu. It is.” Yuto raised his voice a little. “You know well things like this are a big deal. You’re being isolated, you’re being treated in a way you’re not supposed to be treated - heck, I hate to say this, but you were being bullied!”
“It’s not like that…”
“Then what is it!?” Yuto sounded frustrated.
Frustrated herself, Louise just lets it out. “I wasn’t planning on it to go like this.” Yuto heard her take a deep breath. “Yeah she was bullying me, she was messing up with my stuff, she’s this and that, but I got all of that logged into my memory, I wasn’t planning on letting her just get away with all that!”
“What?”
“I-I’ve got a video of her and her friend… evidence.” Louise was scrambling through the thoughts inside her head. “Don’t ask how I got it, but I do have one. I was… waiting for the right time to show that video and such… I had it all planned out!”
Louise was surprised when she heard Yuto sounded like he chuckled.
“I know it sounds stupid, but I guess you could say I was setting up a stage… then it all just woooshed away…” She grunted. “My patience got the best out of me yesterday and poof. The cake was on her face.”
There was silence and soon, “… Did it make you feel better?”
“Is that a trick question?”
“Just answer me.”
“Yeah…”
Yuto chuckled. “For the record, I think you weren’t thinking very well yesterday…” his tone was bit a lighter now, “Honestly, I thought some spirit took over your body or something like that…”
“When you’re angry, you become someone else.”
“I agree…”
Seemingly, the atmosphere is a little brighter now and Louise just heard the school bell. “You gotta get back to class.”
“Um…” she can imagine him nodding on the phone and just before Yuto can say anything else…
“Oh… and…”
“Hmm?” he uttered.
“I’m sorry.”
“Eh?”
“For making you guys worry.” Her voice was something Yuto wasn’t used to, but somehow, it made him smile.
“Ii yo…” he replied and Louise smiled too. “I’ll drop off your stuff there later after school.”
“Um…” she uttered and then they hang up.
---
“…leave a message after the tone… TOOT.” He sighed a little to himself after hearing this for the nth time.
“Yama-chan, who are you calling?” Chinen asked. The remainder of lunctime, Yamada was with Chinen and Umika but he wasn’t really talking to them or anything. He’s just staring out the window. And soon the bell rang and Yamada clicked his phone off.
“I’m going back.” He spoke and Umika and Chinen just bid him goodbye.
“Ne Chinen-kun…” Umika uttered as soon as Yamada was out of their room.
“Hai?” Chinen uttered and took his seat. People were coming in preparing for the afternoon classes.
“Do you really think Yama-chan likes Umiko-san?”
Chinen pouted. “I bet you, he was calling Umi-chan just now…”
Just before their first afternoon teacher gets in, Yamada took out his phone and sent a quick message.
---
Louise was teaching Suoh how to play dead when her phone beeped. “Hmmm…” she uttered.
The message:
To: Umi-chan
From: Yama-chan
If you feel like you’re bored, just call or mail me anytime, okay? Oh. And our history teacher got his hair cut.
Attached to the mail was a photo - and it was their history teacher with an edited bald head. Louise laughed at it and saved the photo.
---
Yamada fished out his phone the moment he felt it beeped, and Keito was warning him about getting caught, but Yamada looked at his message anyway.
To: Yama-chan
From: Umi-chan
He’s better with long blonde hair ;P
And of course, there’s that same photo Yamada sent her but this time, their teacher’s hair is now long and blonde and Yamada can’t help but laugh a little.
“Yamada-san!”
“Yabai…” Keito uttered, and Yamada quickly threw his phone inside his bag.
Yuto on the other hand was just laughing as their teacher makes a fool of himself by making Yamada admit that he has his phone out - but Yamada sometimes is just too cunning.
xXxXx
“Dai-chan… DAI-CHAN!” Daiki heard Line calling out to him and he felt someone tapping on his cheek. It’s when he woke up he found his head on Line’s shoulder. He quickly moved away and bowed a little. “Is this our stop?” She asked, looking around. “It seems like a lot of people are getting off the train.”
Blinking a little at the bright sun lighting the entire train, Daiki looked around - there are much fewer people than before. He looked at the sign and then the time. “Two more stops I think…” He uttered then he yawned.
“Oh… Sorry for waking you up. I was panicking a little because I don’t have a clue where we are.” Line then showed him her camera. “I got good shots though.” And of course, most of them were of Daiki sleeping.
Complaining a little, Daiki just lets Line tease him as she kept saying how Daiki isn’t snoring at all yet he breathes weirdly when he’s asleep. Stretching his arms, Daiki looked around once more and yawned again.
“Ne, Dai-chan…” Line uttered, as soon as she got her camera back inside her bag.
“Mm?” He asked, his eyebrows questioning.
“How come we didn’t invite Kei-chan?”
Daiki blinked about three times before the question sunk into him. “Oh right… Kei-chan!”
---
At Meiji…
“Those two…” Inoo uttered - he’s been trying to contact them but none of Line’s or Daiki’s phones were of reach. “Where are they!?”
xXxXx
I'll work harder for the next updates! I hope you guys liked this one!!! ^_^v THANK YOU ALWAYS FOR READING!!! *confetti* maaa~ it's 3 am and i'm hungry... uwaaah~ haha! XD
xXxXx
Louise was just prancing around their condominium unit. Yuto left her a mail saying that he’ll drop her things tomorrow after school, and that’s about it from him.
Somehow, Louise felt like Yuto’s being indifferent; then again, she knew he’d be. He probably knows by now what she did earlier today, and she can’t blame Yuto for wanting to ask questions, but seeing as how he’s not approaching her in any way, Louise assumes Yuto’s just being… well… Yuto. He may be an easy person, but sometimes, he gets to be unpredictable and hard to understand. His reactions are not really the easiest to underestimate.
Dinner time, and as Louise heard someone clicking on the door - she thought it’d be room service - then again, it was her dad. “Oh… Okaeri.”
To Louise’s surprise, her father slammed about one big 4 Liter ice cream on top of their counter and took off his blazer. “So, what’s for dinner? Did the staff tell you what’ll be on the menu?”
Soon enough, dinner arrived and Louise was glad it wasn’t too grand - it’s actually a steak and she’s extra happy that hers was really, really well done.
During dinner, her father went on talking about how her mother called him at work today - it seems that Louise’s mom has been getting really noisy lately. “She strictly told me to tell you that she’s upset because you didn’t wanna talk to her.”
Munching on her last bits, Louise pouted and spoke, “Did you tell her about the… um… erm, incident this morning?”
Her father almost laughed, “Right, that.” He paused a little and Louise looked at him, “Well, you know your mom - so I thought it’d be best if we keep her in the dark about it for now.”
Hearing that, Louise breathed out a sigh of relief then continued eating.
“By the way…” Jiro started, making Louise look at him a little appalled. “Regarding this morning…”
Raising her brows, Louise kept her stare.
“Would you rather not talk about it, or yeah…?”
It’s funny - shouldn’t her dad be asking her in a more parenting way? Louise was expecting him to be a little more of a interrogating type, especially given the actions she’s done, but right now, the feeling is kind of like she’s talking to Yuma or yeah, one of her buddies. She didn’t really think she wouldn’t feel too awkward, she was pretty much preparing herself for something worse.
When Louise didn’t really say anything, Jiro just assumed she didn’t wanna talk about it and finished his meal.
Soon, Louise stood up, took that big ice cream Jiro just brought home and she took out some cups and teaspoons to go with it. “You said we’d talk it over Ice Cream, right?” She said, laying out the dessert on their dining table.
Jiro smiled as Louise gets him a good scoop. So, is this really a good sign then? “I’ve got one simple question though.”
Louise was just done giving herself and her dad a good amount of ice cream and she just got back to her seat when her father asked this and she looked at him as if saying ‘go on… I’m listening…’
“You didn’t fight over a guy, didn’t you?”
Surprisingly enough, this made Louise laugh and she almost spit out her first scoop. “What’s that about?”
Jiro shrugged. It’s nice to see bits of her dad being a little less uptight than she could remember. “Just a thought… teenagers, girls…”
“Urgh dad…” she rolled her eyes, “If there’s anything at all that I’d be in trouble with, trust me, it’d be anything but about boys.”
Nodding, Jiro took a big scoop. “Okay then. You do look like you wouldn’t care much about guys.” He smiled, “You haven’t even brought a guy over yet.”
She looked at him as if he’d said something unbelievably unnecessary, “Oh, are you seriously expecting me to bring a guy over? What? A boyfriend? Something like that?” then she grunted, “You parents have a very bad way of stereotyping teens in our generation.”
Jiro puts his hand up, “Not really - I’m just saying, I’m no different from other parents… I expect things so I don’t get to be caught off guard.”
With this, Louise scratched her head, “And I thought talking about this morning’s cake incident would be awkward - the way this conversation’s going, I just wish you’d scold me for what I did and just get over with it.”
For a good while, they kept talking. It was really a healthy exchange of opinions and stories rather than a teen being scolded and punished for what she did wrong. Sure, Jiro’s approach on the issue isn’t really what most parents would think as appropriate - even Louise thinks he’s being too soft - but the thing is, talking it out in a very hearty manner makes Louise feel like no matter what her reason may be, she doesn’t have to fear that she’ll be misunderstood.
As they were cleaning up, Jiro said he’ll do the dishes tonight. And while Louise finishes up cleaning their table, she [let’s say… kind of] surprised Jiro with what she said. “To be honest with you, I just did what I felt like doing at that very moment.” Jiro looked at her as if trying to see where she’s getting at. “I know it wasn’t the most civilized way of dealing with conflicts, but to tell you the truth I don’t feel an inch bit of guilt of what I’ve done.”
“…You have the feeling you did the right thing?” This is probably the most parenting tone Louise has heard from her father so far tonight.
With that, Louise nodded with a smile. “Although, I think she’s lucky to get away with just a cake on her face.”
Jiro laughed. “You have a tendency to put vengeance some great deal of importance.”
Louise frowned, “Funny… I swear I heard mom say the same thing to me before… but she kept saying I didn’t get it from her…” Louise stood near the counter watching Jiro clean up the dishes. “…So, I got it from you?” Jiro stopped was he was doing and looked at his daughter.
“Remember when I told you I stabbed someone with a pencil?”
Louise nodded.
“I did that because he pulled my seatmate’s hair.” Jiro chuckled at the memory, “My seatmate said she thought her roots were taken out.”
Surprised, “Oh… so basically, it was revenge for your dear seatmate huh. I bet that’s your girlfriend back then huh?”
Louise’s tone was pretty playful, and Jiro couldn’t hide the smile from his face. “That seatmate of mine was your mother.”
“Eh?!?” The two ended up laughing more as Jiro told her more stories about her mom being in school with him and all other silly stuff.
xXxXx
Tuesday - another day…. And… it’s December first. Line couldn’t really think of a much better month-opener than news that classes are suspended for the rest of the day because systems are down. Well, seeing as she only has two classes: this first one, their teacher told them to pack up; and her second class already announced that there will be no classes - Line is free for today. Yaaay!
They were in their first class and Daiki, sitting beside her, just yawned. “Well, now you can get back to sleep.” Line uttered, picking up her bag and was almost on her feet when Daiki caught her arm and told her to wait for him.
“The forecast says that today’s gonna be pretty sunny - and warm. It seems winter will get here pretty late this year.” Daiki uttered as the two were walking out on the usual campus street - their target place, the park. Line’s been saying she wanted some fresh open air.
“I hope it doesn’t snow yet. I wanna get to Gunma without having to worry too much about winter.”
Daiki stopped on his tracks. “Oh right… but you’re leaving after Christmas right?”
Line nodded and soon they found a good spot on that open park and Line just laid her sweater and made herself really comfortable on the ground.
As Daiki sat beside her, he crossed his legs and watched as Line takes out her camera and have some shots. “Not to put your hopes down, but I’m sure it’ll be winter by the time you travel to Gunma-ken.”
There was a click and Daiki felt like there’s this tiny flash of light entering his eyes - Line pretty much took a picture of him again. “Sorry, I read somewhere that it’s okay to experiment with flash even on a sunny outdoor.”
“Line-chan, are you even listening?”
She let out a ‘Pfft’ then started snapping again. Under her lens, Daiki heard her speak, “Well, I was just saying it’d be nice if it doesn’t snow yet. Then again if it does, I’m fine with it.”
And so like a bullet train, the thought suddenly came to Daiki. “Line-chan, do you mind going somewhere with me?” he asked and Line stopped her taking pictures.
“Where to?” She asked a little confused and surprised at the same time, but Daiki just stood up and was tugging at her sleeves that Line couldn’t help but just hastily put her camera inside her bag and the moment she was able to do so, Daiki grabbed her bag from her and started running. “WHERE ARE WE GOING!?”
Running and running, Line can only watch as Daiki pull her out of the campus. Occasionally, he’ll look at his watch and Line can only try her hardest to keep up with him. “If we keep running, we’ll be able to catch the next train.” Daiki uttered under his breath.
As they were out on the campus, with Daiki carrying that yellow bag of Line’s and his very own backpack, the two create some little fuss as they pass by people. All throughout that exhausting run, Daiki kept his grip on Line’s hand very tight especially when they pass by some crowd or groups of people.
Arriving at the train station, Daiki hurried over to buy tickets, still not letting go of Line and Line can only look around while trying to catch her breath. In a flash, Daiki pulled her near the waiting area and finally, they had time to breathe a little. “The train will be here in about two minutes.”
Line bent down a little and supported her upper body with leaning on her legs. Her mouth was open and as she looked up at Daiki, he had a really good smile on his face despite him looking tired too. “What’s with you all of a sudden?” Line tried her best to not sound so gasping.
Daiki really didn’t say anything but he just patted Line’s back. “I’m gonna take you to a train ride.” Line frowned at what he said and soon, the train was there. “Let’s say this is a dry run so you don’t get lost on your way to Gunma-ken on your own.”
Before Line could even say anything, Daiki pulled her inside the train with him and she’s pretty surprised at how there are not so much people.
The two got good seats, a little farther out the corner and Line specifically liked how she can clearly hear the train moving.
After a while, “So, where are we going exactly?” She asked; looking at the train passes Daiki bought.
But Daiki shrugged. “I’m not really sure.”
With his answer, Line looked at him like he just kidnapped her, “Are you serious?”
“These tickets are good till eleven tonight - so we can pretty much go back and forth anywhere we like.” he smiled, “I told you, this is dry run.”
“But we’re not getting anywhere…”
For a moment, Daiki was quiet and then Line tugged on his shirt asking him again where they can go. And soon, “Do you wanna go see Chiba Prefecture?”
Line looked at him and there’s that certain look on her face that says she really doesn’t care as long as she knows they’re having a destination. She nodded with a smile, and feeling more assured, Line took her bag from Daiki but Daiki didn’t really wanna give it to her. Not really wanting to create unnecessary bickering, Line lets go and asks, “So, what’s in Chiba?”
Before answering, Daiki smiled and then, “It’s my hometown.”
The trip will take about an hour an some six minutes but somehow, the thought of stepping on Daiki’s hometown with Daiki himself makes Line think like she’d be willing to travel no matter how long it’s gonna take.
After about nine minutes, Daiki told Line that they are to get off at Kinshicho station [錦糸町] Station and from there, they’ll board another train to Chiba [千葉]
Finally in Kinshicho, Line was happy enough to see some food stands and while waiting for their next train, she bought some good amount of bento and lots of different stuff. As they were about to board, Daiki can’t help but laugh at the amount of food Line just got.
Finally, their train has arrived and Daiki helped Line with the stuff she’s bought - her bag back in Daiki’s shoulder.
Nice enough, they got a good seat as well. And Line started rummaging through the snacks she brought, “Are you that hungry?” Daiki asked chuckling a little and helping Line open her container of Takoyaki.
Beaming at having most of her street food cravings, Line took one good bite on her takoyaki and loved it to bits before answering Daiki, “You suddenly pulled me into this, I wasn’t really prepared - we need food throughout the trip.”
Seeing as Line is probably right, and that she looks like she’s enjoying herself, Daiki helped himself with some takoyaki too and the two just tried to finish off one container.
Ten minutes into their travel, Line still loved the sound of the train moving; and having the surrounding being really quiet, it really calms her down - although, there’s this excitement feeling of getting to a new destination in Japan.
Daiki was finishing his iced tea bottle which Line handed him and is looking around randomly too. “Ne, Dai-chan…” Line uttered in an acceptable volume.
“Hmm…?”
“What do you really wanna be, when you grow older?”
Daiki frowned, “That’s random.”
She smiled. “Well, back in Canada, when I’m still in high school and I’m taking the bus, I use to talk casually with my friends on the way home or to school. The feeling is kind of like this…” then she looked around.
“You talk about different kind of stuff?”
“Yeah…” So she looked at him, sitting just next to her, “So, what do you really wanna be?”
Giving it a good thought, Daiki pouted and puts back the lid of his drink. Then he touches his nose a little, and Line found it cute how he wrinkled a little when he did it. “I guess I’m not really sure what I want.”
“But you’re taking architecture?”
He kept quiet for a moment, a little ‘mmm’ you can hear, and, “Well… I guess because I think I would like it.” Daiki sighed a little, “I mean… It’s something that I feel like, ‘If I’m not sure what I really wanna be, then I’ll probably just be an architect’… that kind of feel.”
“Oh… Souka…” Line uttered, nodding. It was pretty understandable.
“What about you?”
“I want to be in the film industry.”
“Film?”
“Yep. You know those dramas we see in television. Or those PVs from popular pop groups… they sometimes show ‘making’ footages and so…” Line even used her hands to show quotation marks.
“Oh, right, right… Those cameramen and staff and crew and all those behind the scenes?”
Line beamed, “Yep. I wanna be behind the scenes. Probably looking through those camera lenses, or dreaming big - be the director… but really, even just to be one of the staff, carry microphones, having assigned to hold something over here and there - I’ll even be willing to carry cables and such - just that, backstage, behind the scene feel.” While Line talks, Daiki can’t help but look at her. It’s like seeing her talk in a way he hasn’t really thought she could before. While Line talks about this different dream of hers, Daiki felt like she was taking him to that scene - to that moment.
And soon, when Line was waiting for his comment, this is what he said, “Well… why are you taking architecture then?”
“Because I want to be able to help build something too… I guess you can say I wanna be an architect too.” Line laughed a little, “I want to do so many things.”
“That’s fine though. I see no problem with that.”
“Deshou?” For a moment, there was silence, then they both sighed at the same time and this made them laugh at each other a little.
“I’m just glad I get to do something now.” Daiki uttered, looking at the windows. “If I just wait for my mind to settle on a certain career or dream, and then do nothing while waiting, I feel like times just gonna slip by me.”
Line nodded. She perfectly knows what he’s talking about since weird enough, she knows she’s had similar conversations like this with Louise and Yuma back in Canada; but maybe, talking to a person the same age and situation as you poses a really different feel, ne?
“So yeah… I have no regrets trying Architecture. We’re not even an inch close to finishing the first steps, but you can say I feel like I’m learning a lot already.” Daiki finishes with a pretty contented tone.
“Uh-huh… same here.” Line uttered.
“And besides, if I haven’t gone for Architecture, I might not have met Line-chan.” With this, Daiki looked at her and he smiled. There’s something about this guy’s smile that you would wanna say he’s cute but you’d think again because you see that certain maturity that’s just about perfect for him.
Line chuckled a little, “I made a lot of hasty decisions before I get to where I am right now, but I’m glad I made all of them.” she smiled, “And of course, I’m as glad as you are that we’ve met.” Thinking about what she’s gonna say next made Line laugh a little, “I never really thought I’d find another penguin person like me. I thought for sure I’m weird.”
“Well, that makes two of us.” They both laughed and as the train goes on, it feels like the stories and topics can go endless that the two really didn’t feel the length of the trip.
xXxXx
Since Louise is suspended for the rest of the week, she didn’t really have to worry about having to wake up early, but I guess it can’t be helped since Suoh wouldn’t stop running over her. It’s about six-ish and Louise woke up just before her dad leaves for the office.
Not a rich start for a no-school day, but Louise thought she’d just have to manage with it. Checking at her clock once again right after breakfast, her head was converting the time like always. It’s seven… so, it’s around five in the evening back in Winnipeg. “I wonder if Yuma’s on.”
Last night, she left Yuma a quick message on what’s happening right now. It was a spurt-of-the-moment kind of thing; in a short precise message, she told Yuma about her new school, Akihiko, how her life’s been pretty messed up this past few months and how she suddenly got detention. It is in fact a very harsh thing to blow up these news as if they’re just something you can sneeze away, but knowing Yuma and knowing that he knows Louise pretty well, she didn’t really think she’d upset him too much.
Oh well, moving on, Louise just turned on her laptop and hoped for whatever there is she could find. As soon as she logs into her messenger, a quick request for a webcam popped in - it was Yuma.
Louise smiled, thinking of what Yuma might say. She then clicked the okay button and as soon as Yuma’s camera was done loading… “WHAT IN THE WORLD IS WRONG WITH YOU WOMAN!?” His voice was so loud, it almost sounded like it’s gonna crack Louise’s speaker PLUS it made Suoh jolt a little and the poor puppy went running out of her room.
“You scared Suoh away!!!” Louise scolded, settling on her seat.
“Don’t change the topic!” Yuma grunted, “Thanks a lot for not updating me until now.” Complete sarcasm that Louise always thought of being a failure when Yuma does it.
As expected; it’s always been like this with Yuma - Louise gets to have all the news first, and Yuma, well… he’s usually left out. “Calm down will ya…?”
“Are you kidding me!?”
“I SAID CALM DOWN.” Her eyes were a little bit bigger than usual and Yuma can only try to shut up. “My dad’s reaction wasn’t even half of yours. You’re too much drama.”
Yuma smirked, “Drama? You’re the one who slammed cake on someone’s face. I’ve seen that on dramas tons of times.”
She rolled her eyes, “Doesn’t make me a drama queen.” Louise watched as Yuma taps on his desk. “Besides, it’s just suspension… no big deal.”
Looking a bit shocked, “Did I just hear that right? You think suspension isn’t a big deal? You kept scolding me whenever I get detention for being late, and you think suspension isn’t a biggie?!”
Seeing as how Yuma seems to worry too much, Louise just sighed and rolled her eyes.
“Don’t you act like that in front of me now…” Yuma’s tone was more like a parent than a friend. Then again, he’s been like that ever since.
Before deciding to say anything else, Louise poked on her camera as if she’s poking Yuma, “You know me too well. Surely you know I didn’t do what I did just because I felt like doing it.”
“Uh-huh…” Yuma uttered, pouting. “But I know you to be person to carefully do things…” Louise started twisting her revolving study chair. “What you did was so uncharacteristic of you.”
“She pissed me off.”
“That’s not even a reason.”
Then Louise looked straight into Yuma’s eyes, “Well for me, it’s a good enough reason.”
There was a pause - really, these two. They haven’t talk in a while and now that they’re talking, the atmosphere’s like this. “In any case…” Yuma let his words hang, “…you’re the one suspended. You still end up looking like the bad guy.” There was a ‘tsk’ sound and Louise was waiting for him to say more, “You should’ve just reported her doings earlier on!”
Louise was quiet. She heard Keito said this exact same thing to her tons of times.
“Tell me Lou, why didn’t you?” Yuma’s tone was serious now; sure Yuma gets to be the boke all the time, but when he decides to be serious, even Louise can’t make a fool out of him. Louise was about to say something when Yuma cut her off with, “I told you before…” he sighed, “Your strong personality doesn’t always mean you have to be strong and face things by yourself.”
Somehow, Yuma’s words made Louise feel like she’s been fooling around all this time.
“… anyway, what did your friends say?” Yuma asked, now he’s leaning on his chair. He’s in his PJ’s now - Yuma, the early sleeper. When Louise said nothing, Yuma went closer to the monitor, “That Nakajima-san… Yuto, right? He’s your bestfriend isn’t he? What did he say?”
With a sigh, Louise just shrugged. And before Yuma can react, she spoke, “Well, he didn’t know.”
“You didn’t tell him!?”
“Isn’t it clear that I wasn’t really planning on telling anybody - the first time I found out I’m being targeted?”
“Lou-chan!”
“Come on Yuma! It’s not like we’re in kindergarten that every single thing that happens gets reported to the teacher!” This was the first time Louise felt like defending herself. “Sure it’s stupid to keep it to myself, but I was just wondering if I could handle it on my own. I can’t go depending on people all the time!”
There was silence - these are rare moments when these two talks in a serious fashion and Yuma knows well when Louise wants to make her point.
“I’d rather have people depend on me, than me depending on other people.”
“But Lou…” Yuma uttered and Louise just looked away. But what Yuma said next made her feel like - for once - she might just be wrong with her choices on things. “Don’t you think, sometimes… other people just want you to depend on them? Even just a little?”
Still not looking at Yuma, Louise tries her best not to look like she feels defeat at the moment.
“Being your bestfriend, I know how much you try to be someone I can depend on…” He smiled softly, “and I’m thankful for that. But…” he sighed, “Sometimes I do feel like I hope there are instances wherein you can depend on me.” Louise looked at him; it’s rare to hear Yuma say these things out loud. “Maybe that’s what your friends there feel.”
Inside Louise’s head, she can hear Keito’s words telling her to speak up and let someone know. Then there’s Yamada, who reminding her that he’s willing to listen… and Yuto…
It’s a little painful really - to have realized how much you could’ve hurt others even though you think you’re just keeping them away from trouble. Louise thought not telling Yuto would be better; so that he doesn’t have to worry, so he doesn’t have to feel bad about her, so he doesn’t have to face Akihiko and her friends in a different manner than he’s used to. “Ne, Lou-chan…”
“All this time, I was trying to keep it to myself because I didn’t want them to get involved.” It was Louise’s first statement of trying to rationalize things, “You see Yuma… Yuu-chan… well, Yuto… he’s the type of person who worries a lot even on the simplest of things.” There were pauses as she speaks, “He often forgets himself when he worries about others. And those girls… well, they’ve been his classmates for a long time - I didn’t want him to feel weird around them.”
As expected, Louise wasn’t crying at all but she does sound upset. “I’m sure Yuto will be thankful if he finds out you’re trying to keep him away from all this drama.” He let his words fade a little, “Then again, he’ll be more grateful if you let him stick with you through these times and let him decide on how he’ll deal with the consequences.”
Louise was biting her lips - at that moment, she just wants to think. But then again, think of what?
“Oi Lou-chan…”
“What?” she sound a little irritated but Yuma knows this is how she is because she’s upset that Yuma’s been correct so far throughout this conversation.
“I’m right, aren’t I?”
She glared, “You just want to smack it to my face that you’re right this time.”
Yuma smiled brightly, “Deshou?” Still glaring a little, Louise laughed along with her bestfriend - true, at times like this, Louise tend to realize how much this guy can read her in his own ways.
“I may not be given a brother, but you’re too much to handle already.”
“Am I now…?” Yuma laughed - the feeling of being victorious over the cunning Louise seems like a great bonus at times like this.
---
Meanwhile in school…
“So Umiko-san did get suspended…” someone spoke, “Yeah, I heard she won’t be back till Monday next week.” Another answered. They came in more like murmurs and Yuto can only want to cover his ears.
“So Yama-chan, is Umiko-san gonna be okay?” Yamada heard one of their classmates ask, right after he felt someone tug on his shoulder. “You’re her boyfriend right?”
He looked a little irritated, “I told you already, we’re not dating.” His tone was little pissed, but he tried to look as calm as possible. “And I think it’d be much better if we stop talking about this…”
The entire class went a little quieter when Akihiko and Ayaka came in. Soon after, buzzes were going on and on and Yamada just rolled his eyes.
“Say Akihiko, are you okay?” Sawatari asked - he’s been pretty distant to Louise too since she arrived - one of the few boys who didn’t really get to warm up around Louise. See when Louise arrived, it was easier for boys to approach her and it seems easier for her to talk to boys - especially with Yuto and Keito introducing her to them. As for the girls, since there are more boys in their class, the girls weren’t really welcoming on Louise after the first week.
Akihiko nodded shyly.
“Nyappari… Foreigners act like foreigners…” Sawatari uttered and he then looked at Yuto. “Ne Nakajima, why don’t you tell Umiko-san to just leave her foreign manners to where she got them from?”
Yamada shot a look at Sawatari before looking at Yuto - but Yuto was just sitting there… he didn’t really look at Sawatari at all.
“Oi Nakajima!”
“Sawatari-kun, that’s enough!” Ayaka was the one to ask him to just shut up.
“Umiko-san wasn’t really welcomed because she didn’t really look like she wanted to be friends with this class.” Sawatari uttered as soon as he sat down. “I knew that girl would be trouble the first time I set eyes on her.”
“You’re wrong…” Sakamoto was the one to answer this time. “Not everyone thinks the way you do Sawatari.” Then Shougo shot a look at Akihiko, “I’m sure she had a good reason for what she did.”
There were murmurs again and soon enough, Irie Jingi slammed his fists on his table. “Everyone, SHUT UP!” Silence - in an instant.
Soon enough, Yusuke-sensei walked in for homeroom, and Yamada was just glad that he didn’t really talk about the Louise-Akihiko incident. Just before homeroom ends, Keito opens the door and he was panting; Yusuke-sensei scolded him a little for being late and they were left to wait for their next teacher.
“Dad forgot to wake me up!” Keito stated, seeing as how Yamada looked at him with a weird expression. “Oh right, Umi-chan, here’s your… oh…” Keito was about to take out one of Louise’s notebooks that he borrowed but he stopped half-way, then just acted like nothing happened.
He felt a different atmosphere and whispered to Yamada asking what’s going on, but Yamada just shook his head.
“Oi Yuto…” Keito uttered and Yuto still was as stoic as he was.
“Hey, Keito…” Yuto uttered and Yamada stopped was he was doing. This is probably the first time today that Yuto spoke.
“Hmm?” Keito asked, as he started putting out his stuff for the first class.
“Did you know that Akihiko and Umiko haven’t been getting along?” As Yuto asked this, Keito froze and Yamada was just looking at the two. “How about you Yama-chan?” Yuto’s tone was pretty serious; it’s a bit unusual to hear him like this.
Keito and Yamada didn’t really reply but they just heard Yuto sigh. Soon enough, “Umi-chan didn’t want anyone to know.” Keito uttered as he fixes his chair. “Not even me…”
“But you know about it.”
“Accidentally…”
“And you didn’t tell me?”
“It was for Umi-chan to decide-”
“And Yama-chan?”
Yamada was really expecting Yuto to ask him more about it but as Yuto did so, he didn’t really know what to say or where to start.
“Well?” This time, Yuto looked at Yamada; his eyes were pretty serious - and a bit scary.
Yamada looked at Yuto then he just slowly looked away.
“Souka…” Yuto uttered. He has his hand inside his pocket all this time, gripping onto that iPod he found yesterday. “So I was the only one who didn’t have a clue…”
The first half of the day went by but Yuto was awfully really quiet and unresponsive. Keito and Yamada were worried; even Chinen doesn’t get to make him talk much.
During Lunchtime…
“Anou… Nakajima-kun…” Akihiko uttered as she stood near Yuto’s chair.
Yamada just got back from Chinen’s classroom, and Keito was at the cafeteria trying to battle out with everyone into getting some special meal for the day.
Anyway, since Yuto didn’t really respond, Akihiko spoke again, “I know you’re pretty close to Umiko-chan, so I’m very sorry for what happened to her. It wasn’t really necessary for her to be suspended.” She looked around nervously, and Yuto, still sitting there, had his hand inside his pocket. “I wasn’t hurt at all really. As a matter of fact, I’m planning on talking to the principal and hoping Umiko-chan will be allowed back to school sooner and…”
“Why would you even wanna do that?” Yuto uttered and Akihiko was really scared to hear his tone.
“Ah… because…”
Yuto looked up, and his stare on Akihiko made her feel like she wanted to disappear. It’s like a totally different person. “Tell me, why did she throw the cake on you?”
“I’m not sure, she just did…”
“The truth…” Yuto’s tone now was very flat - monotonous even. Sawatari just came in with Ayaka and they approached Yuto and Akihiko right away.
“I’m telling you, she just did it out of nowhere!” Akihiko sounded like she was crying, and sure enough, tears were rolling down her face.
“Ruu-chan wouldn’t do things without reason.” Yuto replied.
“Wait a minute Nakajima-kun, don’t go blaming Akihiko for what Umiko-san did herself!” Ayaka uttered, comforting Akihiko.
“Don’t sound like you’re innocent Ayaka-san…” Yuto uttered and this time, people in their classroom started gathering around the four, and Yamada was quick to tell Yuto to just leave the scene - Yuto isn’t Yuto when he’s angry, and Yamada knows that too well. Just when Akihiko was about to say something, Yuto took out Louise’s iPod and placed it on top of his desk for everyone around - especially Akihiko and Ayaka - to see. As he hit the play button, the video started rolling and Akihiko and Ayaka can only stare.
The room was quiet, and even with the tiny speakers of this nano, they can hear clearly Akihiko and Ayaka talking about Louise… talking about what they’ve done so far, what they’re doing at that moment, and what they still wanna do.
The video wasn’t even done when Sawatari shocked everyone as he shoved Yuto aside, “Where did you get this crap!?”
Yamada tried to get between the two but Yuto and Sawatari looked like they don’t see anything else. Some of the girls screamed as Yuto pushed Sawatari back and he went crashing to some chairs. Ayaka and Akihiko were both just staring at the guys, and Yamada kept trying to pull Yuto and Sawatari away from each other. Shougo and the other guys tried to help too, but Yuto was being pretty difficult - he kept reaching for Sawatari.
“Yuto, that’s enough!” Yamada shouted, holstering Yuto’s shoulders which posed to be a difficult job since Yuto’s way taller than him, but Yamada kept his hold. At least he’s strong enough to lock him. “Yuto!”
“You have some nerve talking bad about Ruu-chan, when you don’t even know a single thing!” As Yuto said this, Yamada loosens up a little since Yuto tried to calm himself down and just started breathing heavily - his stare on Sawatari was unforgettable - there’s that look of anger and protectiveness all at the same time.
“I don’t know what this is…” Akihiko uttered, grabbing the iPod and Ayaka was just staring at her. “I’m sure Umiko-san just set this by herself…”
“You seriously think anybody would believe you?” Yuto uttered; disgust in his face. “Mou ii yo…” As Yamada completely lets go of Yuto, Yuto snatched the iPod from Akihiko and Akihiko can only stare at him - her eyes still red and teary. “I will never look at you the same way again, Akihiko-san…” he glared, “Never…” Before Yuto heads out, he looked at Ayaka, then at Sawatari before he completely walks out of the room.
People started dispersing, and now, the murmurs seem to sound a bit different. Girls were looking at Akihiko and they were whispering something… “That’s why she didn’t want us to get to know Umiko-san…” and then, “She’s like that after all…” these were some of what Yamada heard.
Not being able to bear the stares at her, Akihiko ran off with Ayaka following her - while Sawatari was left behind, holding up his arm - it seems that he hit himself when Yuto pushed him and now he’s a little bruised. He caught Yamada staring but Yamada kept his stare.
Keito was suddenly inside the room, a lot of confusion on his face, “What happened here?” Yamada looked at him and Sawatari just walked away while Shougo was the one to tell Keito the stuff he’s missed.
Not really sure how to react, Keito took his seat with a blank face and Yamada was looking out the window.
“I can’t believe I missed all that.” Keito then uttered as Yamada sat back down his seat. “Ne, Yama-chan…” he started looking around, trying to avoid Yamada’s eyes, “So… did you really know about what Akihiko has been doing?” With this, Keito tried to get a hold of Yamada’s eyes.
And then, Yamada nodded and answered, “Just like you… I found out about it by accident.”
“I was really planning on telling you guys anyway, even though she asked me millions of times not to.” Keito sighed, “I guess I should’ve moved faster.”
‘No. I should’ve done something right away.’ Yamada heard himself talk.
---
Louise just turned off her laptop; it was nice being able to talk to Yuma and even though they haven’t been in touch lately, it seems like the last time he spoke to him was just yesterday. She bid goodnight to him before logging out. She had her lunch while chatting randomly with Yuma, and now, there really isn’t anything to do.
Suoh was running around the house like usual, while Louise idled by the living room.
Soon enough, Suoh settled down after chasing his tail and Louise reckon her big chubby dog’s getting ready for some afternoon nap - a nap: hey, that sounds like a good idea.
Louise lay on her bed, stared at her ceiling, and as she closed her eyes, she didn’t know why she suddenly remembered the feelings she had when Akihiko started messing up her life.
Stretching her arms a little, Louise got a look at her hands and remembered when she was stitching rubber soles on her indoor shoes. She laughed at the memory. Speaking of stitching, there was that time when Keito was going non-stop about scolding her regarding her sewing habits; that was when they were doing her costume. Louise sighed. The costume sure looked nice on Mariya.
Then there were her art tools. Right. She still hasn’t found her charcoal pencil. Then there are those threatening letters that even Kawashima received… and then that final act that tore Louise’s patience away.
Over-all… it was a waste to have Akihiko buried in icing and cake. She should’ve had more than that. ‘Then again…’ Louise uttered inside her head. ‘In a weird way, I’m glad I did what I did.’
Before she dozes off, Louise jolted a little when she heard her phone ringing and vibrating on her desk. She frowned and looked at the clock. It’s lunchtime. It’s probably Keito…
So Louise took her phone, answered it without looking at to who the caller is. “Hai?”
“So how come you didn’t tell me.” The voice on the other line was a little husky than usual, but Louise knows well who it is. She didn’t have to think twice.
“Anou…”
“I’m just wondering why you didn’t tell me.” He uttered, and now Louise can just listen to him breathing. After some silence, he spoke again, “Keito knew… even Yama-chan… so really, I was supposed to be left out?”
There’s that tone of being forgotten, and that’s what Louise heard from Yuto. “I didn’t tell them…”
“Uh-huh…”
“I SWEAR!” Louise shouted a little, “If you don’t wanna believe me, fine. But I didn’t tell them. If they know anything, ask them, they didn’t get the info from me.”
There was silence for a while then, “Given that, still, you didn’t tell me…”
“I-I just…” There was something about his voice that makes Louise feel like she couldn’t really say anything. Then she remembered what Yuma told her - what Yuma thinks her other friends must’ve felt. In Louise’s head, she knows she just want to say whatever she thinks she should say. “I just didn’t think you should know.”
“Sou…” his reply was quick and short.
“Besides, I didn’t want you to worry.”
“You think I’m not worried now?”
“Exactly. Look at how you are now…” Louise didn’t think she’d be this serious talking to him about this. “Yuu-chan… I didn’t think it should’ve been a big deal.”
“It is a big deal Ruu. It is.” Yuto raised his voice a little. “You know well things like this are a big deal. You’re being isolated, you’re being treated in a way you’re not supposed to be treated - heck, I hate to say this, but you were being bullied!”
“It’s not like that…”
“Then what is it!?” Yuto sounded frustrated.
Frustrated herself, Louise just lets it out. “I wasn’t planning on it to go like this.” Yuto heard her take a deep breath. “Yeah she was bullying me, she was messing up with my stuff, she’s this and that, but I got all of that logged into my memory, I wasn’t planning on letting her just get away with all that!”
“What?”
“I-I’ve got a video of her and her friend… evidence.” Louise was scrambling through the thoughts inside her head. “Don’t ask how I got it, but I do have one. I was… waiting for the right time to show that video and such… I had it all planned out!”
Louise was surprised when she heard Yuto sounded like he chuckled.
“I know it sounds stupid, but I guess you could say I was setting up a stage… then it all just woooshed away…” She grunted. “My patience got the best out of me yesterday and poof. The cake was on her face.”
There was silence and soon, “… Did it make you feel better?”
“Is that a trick question?”
“Just answer me.”
“Yeah…”
Yuto chuckled. “For the record, I think you weren’t thinking very well yesterday…” his tone was bit a lighter now, “Honestly, I thought some spirit took over your body or something like that…”
“When you’re angry, you become someone else.”
“I agree…”
Seemingly, the atmosphere is a little brighter now and Louise just heard the school bell. “You gotta get back to class.”
“Um…” she can imagine him nodding on the phone and just before Yuto can say anything else…
“Oh… and…”
“Hmm?” he uttered.
“I’m sorry.”
“Eh?”
“For making you guys worry.” Her voice was something Yuto wasn’t used to, but somehow, it made him smile.
“Ii yo…” he replied and Louise smiled too. “I’ll drop off your stuff there later after school.”
“Um…” she uttered and then they hang up.
---
“…leave a message after the tone… TOOT.” He sighed a little to himself after hearing this for the nth time.
“Yama-chan, who are you calling?” Chinen asked. The remainder of lunctime, Yamada was with Chinen and Umika but he wasn’t really talking to them or anything. He’s just staring out the window. And soon the bell rang and Yamada clicked his phone off.
“I’m going back.” He spoke and Umika and Chinen just bid him goodbye.
“Ne Chinen-kun…” Umika uttered as soon as Yamada was out of their room.
“Hai?” Chinen uttered and took his seat. People were coming in preparing for the afternoon classes.
“Do you really think Yama-chan likes Umiko-san?”
Chinen pouted. “I bet you, he was calling Umi-chan just now…”
Just before their first afternoon teacher gets in, Yamada took out his phone and sent a quick message.
---
Louise was teaching Suoh how to play dead when her phone beeped. “Hmmm…” she uttered.
The message:
To: Umi-chan
From: Yama-chan
If you feel like you’re bored, just call or mail me anytime, okay? Oh. And our history teacher got his hair cut.
Attached to the mail was a photo - and it was their history teacher with an edited bald head. Louise laughed at it and saved the photo.
---
Yamada fished out his phone the moment he felt it beeped, and Keito was warning him about getting caught, but Yamada looked at his message anyway.
To: Yama-chan
From: Umi-chan
He’s better with long blonde hair ;P
And of course, there’s that same photo Yamada sent her but this time, their teacher’s hair is now long and blonde and Yamada can’t help but laugh a little.
“Yamada-san!”
“Yabai…” Keito uttered, and Yamada quickly threw his phone inside his bag.
Yuto on the other hand was just laughing as their teacher makes a fool of himself by making Yamada admit that he has his phone out - but Yamada sometimes is just too cunning.
xXxXx
“Dai-chan… DAI-CHAN!” Daiki heard Line calling out to him and he felt someone tapping on his cheek. It’s when he woke up he found his head on Line’s shoulder. He quickly moved away and bowed a little. “Is this our stop?” She asked, looking around. “It seems like a lot of people are getting off the train.”
Blinking a little at the bright sun lighting the entire train, Daiki looked around - there are much fewer people than before. He looked at the sign and then the time. “Two more stops I think…” He uttered then he yawned.
“Oh… Sorry for waking you up. I was panicking a little because I don’t have a clue where we are.” Line then showed him her camera. “I got good shots though.” And of course, most of them were of Daiki sleeping.
Complaining a little, Daiki just lets Line tease him as she kept saying how Daiki isn’t snoring at all yet he breathes weirdly when he’s asleep. Stretching his arms, Daiki looked around once more and yawned again.
“Ne, Dai-chan…” Line uttered, as soon as she got her camera back inside her bag.
“Mm?” He asked, his eyebrows questioning.
“How come we didn’t invite Kei-chan?”
Daiki blinked about three times before the question sunk into him. “Oh right… Kei-chan!”
---
At Meiji…
“Those two…” Inoo uttered - he’s been trying to contact them but none of Line’s or Daiki’s phones were of reach. “Where are they!?”
xXxXx
I'll work harder for the next updates! I hope you guys liked this one!!! ^_^v THANK YOU ALWAYS FOR READING!!! *confetti* maaa~ it's 3 am and i'm hungry... uwaaah~ haha! XD