thank God i finally finished this. 2 bloody agonizing days and i'm still..ugh...
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Chapter Eleven
"Emiko!! Emiko!!!" I yell as I burst out of her room. "Emiko!!! Where are you??? You won't believe what I've got to tell you!!! EMIKO!!! WHERE ARE YOU???"
"Hanari!! Keep your voice down!!!" My aunt scolded me as she comes out of the kitchen. "What's the rush? We're not in a public market..."
"Sumimasen." I bowed. "I'm looking for Emiko. I've got something important to tell her. Is she here?"
"I don't think so." She went back into the kitchen.
Where is she???
I pulled out my cell phone and started dialing her number. Halfway through, I stopped. I didn't know why but somehow...I felt that it wasn't just the right time to tell her.
But when? I wondered.
Maybe I should find out more about Mister Ninomiya. Hmmm...
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I planned to stop by the bookstore on my way home from work. I just turned into a corner when suddenly, I heard familiar voices, laughing. Wait…I know that voice...
I stopped and slowly took a peek from the corner. What I saw blinded my eyes. It was Emiko, laughing with Ohno.
Eh? I thought...wait...why is she going out with Ohno??
When I turned around again, they were already walking. I turned the corner and tried to follow them, pulling out my sunglasses from my bag to disguise myself.
I followed them into a small art supplies store. As I went in, I was greeted with this large card board cutout of Garfield. I stepped in and surveyed the place. The place was mostly made of wood, from the tables to the wall. I quietly slid into one of the aisles and pretended to check out the paintbrushes.
"Excuse me miss. Can I help you?" A young salesman came up to me.
"Um..." I bit my lip. "No, its okay. I'm just looking around."
He shrugged and left me to help another customer. I glanced back and kept my eyes on them, fiddling with the brushes while doing so. I took one step back when I accidentally bumped into someone.
"Sumimas - " I turned around and found Nino turning around at the same time.
"Oh, it's you." He grunted. "Clumsy. What are you doing here clumsy?"
"Hey! I'm not clumsy!" I protested. "Only around you! And I should be asking you the same thing! What are YOU doing here?"
"Ssshh!" He placed a finger on his lips while his other, free hand covered my mouth. "Be quiet!" He whispered as he looked around furtively.
I pushed his hand away. "What's going on??" I whispered back. "Are - are...are you following them?" I pointed to the couple in question as I took off my sunglasses.
"What about you?" He threw back at me as he looked over my shoulder. "Ah! They're leaving! Come on!" He grabbed my hand and pulled me along. "Walk slowly and naturally."
"Wait - Where are you taking me? Where are we going?" I pulled my hand away as we stepped outside the store.
"We're going to follow them. Come on!" He started walking, making sure he was a few meters behind Ohno and Emiko.
"Hey! Wait!" I ran up to catch him. We started following them until we passed through a park. I slowed down and shivered as a light, gushing wind blew over us, scattering the leaves all over the ground. I slid my jacket closer as we passed by a couple having a picnic while two guys were playing Frisbee. I glanced on fondly. Must be nice to do that...
While walking, I glanced down and noticed that my shoelaces were untied. I knelt down to fix it. Suddenly, something large and furry crashes onto me and started...sniffing? me or something. I fell back onto the grass and started rolling over sideways, constantly swatting the object with my hands while closing my eyes.
"Kachi!! Stop that!!" A slightly deep voice called out. The person pulled the object away and knelt down beside me. "Are you alright?"
"I think so." I grumbled. "I - " I opened my eyes to find...Seiji!! in front of me. I stopped talking and just stared as numbness washed over me.
He leaned slightly closer as he looked at me with a smile. I felt like sighing as I saw him smile at me. Wow...
I shook my head and tried to stand up, only to almost fall back down again. He quickly stepped forward and grabbed me, his hands sliding around my waist to catch me. "Whoa! You okay?" He raised a hand and lightly touched my hair, causing a leaf to fall on us.
I blinked up at him. "A...ano...I'm okay...I think." Eewww...I must look horrible.
He let me go and bent down to pat his dog (a Golden Retriever) next to him. "I'm sorry about Kachi. He's a little bit unruly sometimes, especially when he's playing fetch." He scratched his head while picking up the leash. "Want to meet him?"
Can I? I thought as I watched him pet the dog. I just stood there, wondering why, whenever we meet, he always does the talking? Why can't I ever say anything??
Before I could answer, Nino suddenly grabbed my arm and pulled me back behind him. "Oi!! What's going on here??"
My eyes narrowed into slits. "What are you doing?"
Seiji stood up and held out a hand. "Hello! I'm Seiji. You are...?"
"I'm her boyfriend." He glared at Seiji.
"WHAT?" My eyes grew as wide as a Petri dish. "No, he's not!! You're not my boyfriend...." I whacked him on the arm.
"Hey buddy!!! She's my girlfriend so back off!!! She's already taken so you can't have her!" He threatened as he slid an arm around my waist.
I could feel my blood rush to my face with each word he said. "No, no!! You've got it all wrong!! He's not my boyfriend!! I don't know this guy!! I don't have a boyfriend!!! Don't listen to him!! It's all lies..." I shook my hands, palms facing up, at him violently. I tried to rush up to him but Nino started dragging me away before I could. "Don't believe him!!! He's lying!!! I'm actually available!!!" I yelled out as I was being dragged away.
We left Seiji standing there, looking confused. His dog just looked on.
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"What the heck did you do that for?" I asked him when he let me go.
"You were taking too long. I had to get you away from there somehow. Good thing cos we almost lost them." He pointed to a corner down the street. "Come on."
They ended up in that ramen place where we ate before. Just as they turned to go inside, Nino dragged me down behind a bush outside.
They sat down on a table near the window, across from each other. Nino pulled me next to him, our eyes peering over the bush to see what they were doing.
"What are they doing...?" He whispered to me.
"Well, it looks like they're...on a date or something..." I whispered to him.
"Date!! He's going on a date with her? Why?" He spat out. "That should be me instead of her..." He muttered.
"Well, I don't know!" I rolled my eyes at him. "Why don't you go and ask him, then?" I stood up and started brushing myself off. The leaves were really making me itch.
"Why?" He asked. "For all I know, your friend here is just some girl who scored big because she landed a rich and famous guy to date. If I didn't know it, attracting and seducing guys is her racket to get through life."
I gasped loudly. The nerve of this guy! I couldn't believe it!!
"How dare you!!!" I suddenly yelled at him. "How dare you think of that!!"
CRACK!!!
Before I knew it, I slapped him, hard. I was so offended, I couldn't help it. "How dare you say something like that about Emiko?? She's not like that!!! And how would you know about my friend anyway?? Maybe Ohno-san here isn't true either!! Maybe he's just playing with her emotions because she's giving him attention!! I bet you once he's tired and bored of her, he'll find another girl to date, just like that!!" I snapped my fingers at him. "Girls all over Japan throw themselves at his feet!! He could have any girl he wants and yet, he's here, playing with my friend's emotions."
He kept massaging his jaw while I spoke. After I had finished, he was about to say something but I pinched him. That's when I noticed a pink imprint on his face.
"Ouch~" He moaned, rubbing his arm.
I huffed, turning around and walking in the opposite direction.
"Oi! Wait! What about them?" He yelled out after me. "Where are you going?"
"Home." I told him as I walked away.
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