Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Plastic Love ❯ Rumors ( Chapter 3 )

PLASTIC LOVE

3. RUMORS

The next day did not start off as normally as Tsuchiko hoped. Last night, after calming Linda down enough to explain what happened (she was winded from chasing him all around the house) he was subject to much teasing from Jun and an angry Mina who bit him on the arm for being in a compromising position with someone other than herself. Nae avoided him for the rest of the evening, though she did offer up a shallow apology for not knowing he was in there, but it was still his fault for not warning anyone. Tsuchiko didn’t bother to mention that his clothes in the changing room should have been an indication that he was in there, and the fact that he was following that stupid schedule Linda gave him, knowing any argument from him in his defense would be futile around a bunch of angry women, though he couldn’t help notice the pink blush in Nae’s supposed angry face. It made her look cuter somehow, not that he was trying to notice that. His aunt defended him somewhat, but she still gave the implication that it was somehow his fault, and warned him to be more careful next time. None of it made any sense to him, and by the time he was ready for bed he was starting to seriously consider taking up Reiko’s offer to stay with him and his family. That would at least make Linda happy, and keep Mina off of him.

Mina. Despite her constant clinginess to him, she seemed to be rather sane compared to the other girls; at least she didn’t hate him. Rin made him nervous with her writings about him raping a young girl; Linda, of course, would rather he just as soon disappear rather than accept him as Miyako’s nephew; Jun, it seemed, was more of a teaser than anything else, and just a plain nuisance; Nae seemed to constantly switch between being playful and aggressive at the same time, and he couldn’t quite figure her out. The only other girl he didn’t really have any issues with was Ayeka, who was particularly quiet, if not somewhat aloof, and nobody seemed to pay too much attention to her, hardly noticing when she was or was not around.

That was the case when, before morning, Tsuchiko was still asleep on his futon when he rolled over to his left side with the intent of stretching his arm out. In his half-asleep state he didn’t realize that the soft flesh he was feeling under his fingers was real until he smelled something feminine and his hand squeezed convulsively. His eyes shot wide open in that moment when he realized that he was not alone in his room. In the dim light from the moon he could make out long black hair and a tranquil face, still asleep on her back.

‘Ayeka?!’ he thought, instantly recognizing her. ‘What’s she doing in here?!’

Doing his best to not wake her, he began inching away from her, when another shock came to his notice. Where his hand was on her body was round and squishy, and as he moved backwards the revelation crept up on him when his hand brushed both of her breasts, causing her to stir a little and moan in her sleep.

‘She’s naked?!’ He was aghast. He pulled his hand away from her quickly and moved from under the covers. Moving to a sitting position he crossed his arms and thought about how he was going to get her out of his room, pointedly without waking up everyone else, and in a way that did not involve him being punched across the room.

‘Here’s the real question, when did she even get into my room, and why?’ he thought, placing his hand under his chin as he tried to figure everything out. As he was doing this, Ayeka slowly opened her eyes, her sleep broken by his absence from the futon. He noticed her sitting up to stretch, then his face went red with embarrassment when the light of the moon spilled onto her naked torso as the futon blanket fell away. She yawned, stretching her arms above her head and began rubbing sleep from her eyes. It was then that she noticed Tsuchiko sitting there next to the futon, his face beet red and his hand covering his nose to stop the flow of blood.

“Gu’mornin’” she said sleepily, her eyes still half closed.

“G-good morning,” he responded, still holding his nose. “Ayeka, why are you in my room?”

“Huh?” She lazily looked around. “Oh, sorry about that. I had to use the restroom and I got lost on the way back to my room and ended up here and you looked so comfortable and I was so tired and…”

“Never mind,” he said, cutting her off. “Just put your clothes back on and get out of here before I get in trouble!” He began reaching for her clothes next to her, unaware of how his body looked crossing hers, when the door slid open.

“Tsuchiko, you awake?” asked a sleepy Jun, standing in the doorway with her eyes half closed. “I’m looking for Ayeka so she can get up for--”

What she wanted to say was “for Miko training”, but she wasn’t able to finish her sentence when she fully opened her eyes and saw the position they were in. Tsuchiko was leaning across Ayeka with one hand on her clothes and the other wrapped around her body, and it looked as if he had just taken her clothes off, and Ayeka was still sitting there half asleep. Tsuchiko looked at Jun, frozen to the spot. He suddenly found himself in a cobra twist, Jun pulling on his spine as much as possible.

“Now you’re trying to defile a Miko priestess, you little pervert?! Die!”

“I wasn’t doing anything, and I’m not a pervert!” he cried in pain. “Ayeka, tell her what happened!” But Ayeka, watching the scene with little interest, promptly fell back onto the futon and went to sleep again.

“AYEKAAAA!” Tsuchiko wailed.

Later that morning, after Ayeka finally explained to Jun what actually happened and Jun actually apologizing (her apology being more contrite than Nae’s the previous evening), Tsuchiko finished getting ready for school and was out the door, opting for a few pieces of toast instead of taking the time to sit down and eat, as he didn’t want to be late for the train. The other girls, save for Miyako who had the day off, and Rin, whose vocational school didn’t start until later, had already gone to their respective schools earlier.

“I’m leaving, now!” he called.

“Have a good day!” his aunt called from the kitchen. He was out the door and heading for the steps, moving a little slower than he usually did; he was still tired from what happened that morning. Not that he slept on his futon the rest of the night, anyway, since Ayeka was still there, and Jun slept on the futon with her until she woke up, to prevent Tsuchiko from “having his pervy hands on her”, as she put it. Somehow, it didn’t occur to Jun to ask why Ayeka was there in the first place, and didn’t find out until after it was all over.

He took the steps one at a time, his body feeling heavy from the drowsiness. Blast it all, he shouldn’t be going through this kind of abuse! And why isn’t his aunt doing anything to stop it?! Granted, she isn’t encouraging it, either, but still! He vowed to ask her about it when he got the chance, and see what can be done to curtail the flow of abuse.

He turned the corner from the steps and began walking up the short hill, still thinking about the situation, when he looked ahead and saw a familiar blue haired girl walking ahead of him. His spirits notably lifted and, after taking a second to wonder why, he moved faster to catch up to her.

Ai turned at the sound of her name being called, and saw the face of the boy from yesterday. Her heart skipped a beat and she began to blush madly as she remembered her words from last night while bathing, and the thoughts she had concerning him. And now here he was in front of her again. It was too much for her.

“H-Hagura-san!” she stammered, bowing. “Good m-moring!”

“Good morning. And just call me Tsuchiko,” he said, smiling.

“B-but…”

“It’s okay,” he chuckled while staving off her apologies. “We’re near the same age, I’m sure, so there’s no need for honorifics. And we’re friends now, so it’s not a big deal. Come on, let’s hurry to the train station.” They began walking towards the station, Tsuchiko striking up a conversation with the shy Ai, who was more content to listen than talk, mostly to keep himself awake than anything else, though he hoped the walking would wake him up more. Ai noticed his eyes seemed to be a little tired, but she figured it to be just morning drowsiness; she herself had been at that point plenty of times going to school.

“By the way, how old are you?” he asked, unexpectedly.

“Me?” she asked, slightly startled. “I’m…sixteen-and-a-half.”

“Wow, just half a year older than myself,” he said with a grin.

“Is that bad?”

“…Why would it be?” he lifted up a thin eyebrow.

“W-well,” she stammered, looking at the ground. “I heard most guys feel intimidated when they encounter women that are older than they are.”

“You’re not that old,” he said, grinning again. “You only have me by six or seven months. Besides, it’s not entirely the age that counts, but what matters in the heart.” He chuckled. “Of course, I don’t really see myself dating a lady ten or fifteen years my senior! That would be strange!”

Ai giggled lightly at that. Tsuchiko seemed to be a fun person to be around, and a genuinely nice person to talk to, not at all perturbed by her shyness. Perhaps she could trust him with…no, not yet. He is indeed a nice person, but she wasn’t sure if she could trust him with…that…just yet. She hardly knows anything about him, except that he’s a transfer student and stays down the street from her house. Would he still want to talk to her when…if…he knew?

The train ride to the school took fifteen minutes, which Tsuchiko took the advantage of by taking a nap on the way. Luckily for them, when they got to the station, there weren’t a lot of people riding that morning so they were able to get a seat. He did apologize to her for it before he leaned his head back against the window and closed his eyes, and was unaware of her joining him as she leaned her head on his shoulder. They were both blissfully unaware of the furtive glances and smiles directed their way, as people thought of how cute they looked sitting together like that. They were still somewhat unaware of it as they walked through the gate of the school later. Granted, they were not holding hands or anything else couples would do, but the fact that the newest kid in the school was already talking to a girl--the weird, quiet one at that--made many people turn their heads to watch them. At least, Tsuchiko wasn’t aware of people noticing them. He went on holding a conversation with her, not paying attention to people looking at them. Ai, on the other hand, was all too aware of the attention, but did her best to act as normal as possible

“Hey, hey, what’s going on between you two?” Reiko asked at lunch, eyeing Tsuchiko suspiciously. They, along with Jin, were sitting on the roof of the school for lunch break. Reiko was among one of the many people to notice them walking together towards class, and was shocked to see that she actually talked.

“What are you talking about?” Tsuchiko asked, genuinely confused. “Between me and who?”

“You know who I’m talking about! You and that blue haired chick next to you in class! What’s her name, uh…?”

“You mean Ai?” Tsuchiko was surprised that Reiko didn’t know her name after all this time.

“Yeah, her! I been tryin’ ta get her ta talk ta me forever, an’ she ignores me!”

“Probably because of that funny accent of yours,” Jin chimed in, getting an annoyed glare from Reiko.

“There’s nothing going on between us,” Tsuchiko said, slightly perturbed that Reiko would think something like that. “We’re just friends, that’s all.”

“Riiiight…” Reiko drolled, rolling his eyes and elbowing Jin.

“Seriously, we are,” Tsuchiko reinforced. “In fact, I’m her first friend since she entered high school.” He still found that strange from his perspective.

“Really?” Reiko asked, slightly surprised.

“Yeah. Nobody wants to talk to her. They all think she’s weird or something, from what she told me.”

“Might be from the rumors that have been prevalent about her throughout the school,” Jin said, adjusting his glasses.

“Rumors?”

“Yeah,” he took a bite of sushi from his bento box. “Some are just downright ridiculous, and anyone with any smarts about them could see through them, but others seem to hold some truth to them, especially since she doesn’t speak up enough to defend herself against them. The most prevalent rumor deals with where she came from originally.”

“Where does she come from?” Tsuchiko asked.

“That, detective, is the right question,” Jin said, looking at him squarely. “It’s never been established where she is from, but we do know she transferred here almost two years ago, and she’s always been like that. So don’t be shocked that everyone is surprised that she’s talking to you, or to anyone at all. Least of all you, seeing as you just started school here.

“Most of the students say that she came from an area outside of Hokkaido, in a little village surrounded by trees that was the subject of a murder conspiracy four years ago. The situation goes that a noble family of that village was murdered by a rival family over a dispute over land. They say that their children were to be betrothed to each other, but after the deal had gone bad the families became bitter enemies and separated from each other, taking their children with them. A bitter battle happened almost immediately afterwards, with both sides losing a lot of resources and fighters, but neither yielding to the other. After a year the battle came to a stalemate and they called a cease fire to rebuild their resources. But little did the nobleman know that the cease fire was just a ruse to lower his guard.

“On the last night of his family’s life, assassins snuck into the nobleman’s home and killed everyone, guards included, except one: the nobleman’s daughter. It’s not exactly clear how she escaped; some say she escaped by chance, by being somewhere the assassins could not find her. Others say she plotted the whole thing with the rival family, out of love for their son, whom she was supposed to be betrothed to. The more plausible explanation is that she was the main reason for the attack, and that the rival family wanted to kidnap her for their son to marry, and the nobleman’s spies caught wind of the plot and told the nobleman, so he arranged for her to be taken away that night by two of his most trusted spies to care for her should anything happen to him and his family. Nobody knows what happened that night, but they say the daughter is still alive somewhere, and the rival family is still looking for her.”

“Sounds like an interesting movie concept,” Tsuchiko said. “But how does Ai fall into this?”

“The rumor goes that she’s the lost daughter of the dead nobleman, and that the people she is living with now are not her actual parents, but the two spies the nobleman charged with her protection. The reason nobody wants to talk to her is because they don’t want to end up ‘missing’ for being in contact with her, just in case the rival family has spies around here looking for her. She’s never denied any of the rumors, but neither has she confirmed them.”

“Probably because they are mostly said behind her back,” Tsuchiko muttered. “What are some of the other rumors?”

“Some people say that she’s a succubus that uses her shyness to draw men into her grasp so she could steal their souls.”

“That’s…kind of stupid.” He couldn’t exactly see her as the aggressive or seductive type. And if the train ride yesterday was anything to go by in terms of her personality, he could just as easily dismiss this rumor.

“It’s no worse than others that say she is some kind of witch that can hear people’s thoughts and use them to her advantage, casting spells and curses on them in their sleep so they fail their tests the next day,” Jin said, wryly.

“Or, she’s just naturally shy and those people are too ignorant to even try and talk to her,” Tsuchiko said, feeling a little terse about the rumors.

“Still doesn’t explain why she didn’t want to talk to me when I tried,” Reiko said, slightly put out.

“I wouldn’t want to talk to someone who openly asks to see a girl’s bra and panties for ‘research’ either,” Jin said, glaring at Reiko.

“Oh, come on! That was just one time!” Reiko exclaimed. “And she was older anyway!”

“You asked her in the middle of a crowded street!” Jin interrupted. “You’re lucky she didn’t punch your lights out and have the police haul you away! If I weren’t there to save you she might have done just that.”

Tsuchiko listened to his friends bicker while his mind turned once more to Ai. Rumors about where she is from? He was sure it was nothing, but why would people have reason to be suspicious about her old home? And calling her a witch? He couldn’t bring himself to believe anything Jin told him. She just seemed too sweet for something like that, and yet Jin is implying that it has been going on for some time. It made him a little upset that she was being treated unfairly, and he was willing to bet that these rumors, whatever the truth is, were being spread by someone jealous of her.

After lunch was over with, the three walked back into the classroom, Jin and Reiko still talking amongst themselves. Tsuchiko stopped at the doorway, noticing Ai’s desk was empty. She should be back by now, he figured, then reminded himself that she goes to the cafeteria for lunch, and probably stopped by the restroom on the way back. He still felt uneasy about it, and was about to go to his desk but decided at the last second to go look for her. He ignored Reiko’s query about where he was going, and took off down the hall, looking for her. After what Jin had told him, he wanted to make sure she was alright; not that he believed any of the rumors, but something didn’t feel right in the pit of his stomach. He raced down the stairs, passing a few onlookers wondering why he was in a hurry when class was about to start again. Nearing the bottom, he stopped when he heard voices in an intense conversation, as if they were berating someone.

“Just who do you think you are?!” snapped a female in a husky voice. “You are in no position to talk to anyone!”

Tsuchiko peeked around the corner of the stairwell to see the speaker, a girl with long, dark hair and the long dress version of the school uniform, closing in on someone along with her two companions, a girl with auburn hair in pigtails and orange eyes, and the other with dark blue hair and dark blue eyes. Tsuchiko couldn’t see who it was they were angry at, but he could tell it was a girl and she was scared.

“Weirdos like you should be left alone,” said the girl with auburn hair, sneering at the girl.

“…” The girl looked down at the ground, unable to speak.

“Well?!” the dark blue haired girl demanded. “Don’t you have anything to say?!”

“…rry…”

“What was that?” The dark blue haired girl leaned towards her menacingly, putting a hand behind her ear to hear her captive better.

“I’m sorry…” the timid girl repeated. Her back was against the wall, and she felt as if there was no escape from what was about to happen as the girls pressed in on her. She had made the grave mistake of going to the restroom after the bell rang for class, not realizing the position she had put herself in. The three girls, after hearing about her talking to someone, cornered her under the stairwell as she was heading back to class.

“Sorry isn’t good enough,” said the dark haired girl, her dark brown eyes flashing angrily with a malicious grin on her face as she stepped towards the girl. The other two secured her wrist and shoulder so she couldn’t escape as the dark haired girl began reaching for the hem of her shirt and slipping her hand under to reach for her breast. “Looks like we have to remind you of your place!”

“Please, don’t!” cried the girl, futilely struggling against her abusers.

“HEY!” Tsuchiko shouted, rushing around the corner. He had been wondering how he was going to save the girl from the abuse she was suffering, as he hated to see anyone abused no matter who was doing the abusing or being abused, but when he saw a flash of light blue hair from the victim being cornered and easily recognizing her as Ai, he had to act fast to save her. The girls all turned towards him, a look of surprise on the three girls’ faces, and Ai’s hazel eyes filled with tears widened at the sight of him. He walked towards them, his green eyes flashing angrily.

“Let her go,” he said in a low, threatening voice.

“And just who are you supposed to be, her boyfriend?” the auburn haired girl asked, tightening her grip on Ai and causing her to whimper.

“I said let her go!” he repeated.

“Or what?” sneered the dark haired girl, turning fully towards him hands on her hips. “You’re going to hit a girl?”

“If I have to, I will,” he said, after a brief moment of hesitation. He didn’t relish the thought of hitting a female, but he was determined to save his friend, even if it got him in trouble. “Let’s not have it come to that, so just let her go.”

They stood staring at each other defiantly as the late bell rang. Tsuchiko wasn’t scared in the slightest, but he hoped that the situation would diffuse if he just held his ground. The girl, her dark brown eyes narrowed in haughtiness, noticed the determination in his green eyes for the wretched girl. His stance, and his unwillingness to cower before her, reminded her of someone else she used to know.

“Don’t you know who she is?!” snapped the dark blue haired girl. “If you think she’s going to listen to you, then-”

“Let her go,” said the dark haired girl suddenly.

“What?” asked the dark blue haired girl, startled by her leader’s tone.

“Do it!” she snapped, flashing her dark brown eyes at her. The girls let Ai go immediately, and she ran towards Tsuchiko, burying her face in his arm. Tsuchiko didn’t budge. He continued staring at the girl, who smirked mockingly at him.

“I’ll let you go this time,” she said. “But only because we’re late for class. I make no promises for next time. Get out of my face!”

Tsuchiko, after a moment, took Ai in his arm and led her away from the girls, never taking his eyes off of them just in case they tried something.

“Big sister, why did we let them go?” asked the auburn haired girl. The dark haired girl held up her hand.

“I’ve found a new playmate,” she said, darkly. “Find out what his name is. I’m going to make that silver-haired boy mine!”

Tsuchiko and Ai said nothing to each other as they walked back to the classroom. She held on to his arm tightly, and he could feel her trembling. They separated when they got to the door of the classroom to prevent people from having any awkward thoughts, and Tsuchiko slid the door open to allow her to go in first. As they entered, Ms. Kamigawa demanded to know why they were late.

“Sorry, Ms. Kamigawa,” Tsuchiko began. “I was a little worried for Ai, because she-”

“Tripped and fell,” Ai cut in. Tsuchiko glanced at her, surprised.

“You tripped and fell?” Ms. Kamigawa asked.

“Yes, on the stairs. Tsuchiko saw me and helped me up, and made sure I was okay by taking me to the nurse’s office.”

“Is that true, Tsuchiko?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Tsuchiko confirmed as he and Ai bowed.

“Well, I’m glad you are okay. Please return to your seats.”

“What happened earlier?” Reiko asked during gym class, as he, Jin, and Tsuchiko did stretches.

“What do you mean?” Tsuchiko asked.

“That whole tripping and falling story didn’t actually happen, did it?”

“…Not entirely.” Tsuchiko didn’t think Reiko would fall for that story, being the observant person he is. “It is true that I did help her, but it wasn’t from tripping on the stairs.”

“Then what?”

“Any of you know if she’s being bullied?” he asked. Reiko and Jin looked at each other.

“Not that I’m really aware of,” said Jin, shrugging. “Is that what happened?”

“Yeah, but it’s probably best not to talk about it just now. I don’t want this to get out of hand.”

They turned at the sound of the whistle blowing at the center of the gym, where the coach, a tall, bald, dark man with aviator glasses and a thick mustache stood glowering at everyone. The students gathered around him, forming two lines on either side, with the girls all on one side and the boys on the other. Tsuchiko noticed Ai in the front and to his left, wearing the standard gym uniform, a white shirt with blue trim, blue shorts with white side trim, and gym socks and shoes. She hadn’t seemed to notice him, as she was paying attention to the coach as he began talking.

“Listen up, scumbags!” he spat. “Since you all just had yourselves a nice chow time, we’re going to start with a little ‘warm-up’ before we begin class!” He grinned as many of the students groaned in complaint. The coach, whom everyone called “Warhead” behind his back, was known for his “warm-ups” being the most grueling sessions of gym class that hardly anyone could withstand, and by the time he finishes with them they would be too tired for anything else, not to mention hungry again.

“Shut yer traps, maggots!” he snapped. “Or I’ll make you drop and give me fifty! Now, after we do our warm-up, you’ll go into the groups I’ll assign you to, and you’ll follow the activities given to your group leaders, understood?”

“Yes, coach…” everyone said, nonchalantly.

“I CAN’T HEAR YOU!!! Sound off like you got a pair!”

“YES COACH!”

“Now listen up, fat bodies! Here are the groups…”

He began putting everyone into four-person teams randomly, berating anyone who complained about not being in a group with their friends. As the coach talked, Tsuchiko looked at Ai again, noticing for the first time that she had a sizeable chest. Perhaps not as big or round as Nae’s but they were certainly larger than Mina’s. Ai saw him looking at her out of the corner of her eye, and turned her head towards him; he quickly turned his head away, blushing. She smiled lightly, thinking how cute he looked blushing like that.

“Gosh, I’m so tired! Jin, carry me home…” Reiko whined as they walked towards the school gate at the end of the day. He draped himself heavily on Jin’s back.

“It’s against my religious practice to carry anything heavier than five pounds,” Jin said, throwing Reiko off of him. Reiko fell to the ground with a thud.

“Gym class was a bit harsh today,” Tsuchiko said, rubbing at his shoulder. “I never thought I’d do so many push-ups in my life. At my old school, our warm-ups consisted of us stretching and doing a few exercises before we started any other activities.”

“I’m telling you, the man has some kind of PTSD from his military days, and he’s taking it out on us!” Reiko said, holding his stomach. “I might need to stay home for the next couple of days. Feels like my stomach is about to rupture from all of those crunches.”

“Says the guy who only did five, and passed out,” Jin said, adjusting his glasses, getting a glare from Reiko.

“You guys don’t have your club activities today?” Tsuchiko asked.

“Nope, today’s our day off,” Jin said. “And after gym class today, I doubt I’ll be able to make even a layup if we did have practice!”

“Hey look, it’s Ai!” Reiko said, pointing towards the gate. She was standing near the exit, books in her arms and looking at the ground. She looked up as Reiko called her name, waving with a big grin on his face.

“Wow, I didn’t think you’d still be here!” he said. “Usually, you’ll already be gone before the rest of us.”

“Reiko…” Jin chided, jabbing the brash individual in the ribs.

“I was waiting for Tsuchiko,” she said, looking at him and smiling.

“Yeah, I promised her that we’d walk together to and from school, since we live close to each other,” Tsuchiko said, returning the smile.

“Is that so?” Reiko asked, a suspicious look on his face as he looked at the two.

“Yes, and that’s all it is, so stop looking at us like that,” Tsuciko said sternly. Reiko grinned again.

“By the way, Tsuchiko,” he said as they walked out the gate. “What are you doing this weekend?”

“Not sure. My aunt’s working on Saturday, so I probably won’t have much to do during the day. What’s up?”

“It’s been a while since you were here in Osaka, right? I was thinking that we could go into town, revisit some old places and have some fun.”

“You forget that I was four when I moved to Okinawa, so I don’t remember much of how everything looked when I was that age.”

“Oh yeah, that’s right,” Reiko said, slightly put out. “You know, it’s bad that I know more about your own home than you do.”

“Reiko, you don’t even know where the Osaka Museum of History is! How are you going to show him around?” Jin remarked.

“Because he’s my best friend, that’s why!”

“That’s not even a reason!”

“Yes it is!”

“Whatever,” Jin said at the end of a long sigh. “I’m coming too. You might get lost with this misguided compass. Want to come with us, Ai?”

“Me?” Ai asked, startled that anyone would ask her to go anywhere with them.

“Yeah, come with us!” Reiko said excitedly. “It’ll be nice to have a cute girl walking around with a bunch of guys and- OUCH!” He was cut off as Jin pulled his ear.

“A-are you sure?” she asked shyly, looking down. Her hazel eyes shone with excitement. “W-would you really want me to…”

“Please?” Tsuchiko asked softly, smiling at her. She looked up at him, her cheeks slightly red with blushing.

“Okay!” she agreed happily, smiling.

That night after dinner, Tsuchiko used the hot spring to bathe in, mostly to stay away from the girls who seemed to have no sense of timing when he’s bathing in the furo, despite Linda giving him that blasted schedule that none of them seemed to follow. One would think that they would let him have the upstairs bathroom and they bathe in the hot spring to avoid any kind of interaction with each other, which made him begin to think that this was all deliberate. Before he decided to use the hot spring he planned on bathing in the furo, but that idea was interrupted when he slid the door to the bathing room open and found himself face to face with a naked Rin. Before she could register astonishment that he saw her naked, and before he could be mistaken for being a pervert again, he slid the door closed again and walked out of the changing room, opting for the hot spring instead. It was only later when he was well away that Rin screamed in embarrassment, and the girls, Linda with her rapier at the ready, rushed into the bathing room.

As he used the shower head before getting into the spring, he thought about Ai. He wanted to ask her how she was doing after that whole ordeal with those three girls, but she seemed so happy about going somewhere with friends that he didn’t want to dampen the mood. He looked up at the ceiling while he soaked in the hot spring water, lost in his thoughts. The girls here at the boarding house were the least of his problems; he could tolerate them to a degree, though their antics to harass him were slowly starting to rob him of his patience, and it was only his third day here! Since his aunt was working late he didn’t get the opportunity to talk to her about the abuse, which also meant that he had to fend for himself when it came to dinner that night. The other girls knew very little about cooking, so they ordered takeout from a restaurant close by, which conveniently excluded him (in reality, Linda placed the orders and deliberately left him out). Lucky for him he knew how to cook some things and made his own food which, unbeknownst to him, looked and smelled far better than the food they ordered, judging from the surreptitious glances from the other girls towards his plate as they ate their food.

He closed his eyes, letting his mind drift around the day’s events and the plans for the weekend. It’ll definitely be a welcome reprieve following the move, and he was beginning to miss hanging out with his friends back in Okinawa. At least Reiko was here, so he wouldn’t miss Oki too much. He didn’t recall too much about Osaka from when he was little, and knew even less about any landmarks they might visit, only reading about them in school growing up. It would be nice to be able to catch up on all that he never got to experience.

The smell of something feminine suddenly wafted past his nose, and he opened his eyes to see Mina’s face as close to his as possible, a playful smile on her lips. Startled, he slipped under the water with a splash and a yelp, resurfacing a few feet away from her. It was then that he saw her nakedness, and he quickly covered his eyes and lower half with his hands.

“What are you doing here?!” he exclaimed, turning away from her.

“What do you think, silly? I’m here to take a bath!” she said, slipping into the water. “And what a coincidence that my future husband is here already! Were you waiting for me?”

‘Great, now I have him all to myself, and he’ll just have to get into a compromising position with me!’ she thought, grinning mischievously. ‘I have to plan this right!’

“No, I wasn’t waiting for you! Get out!”

“Oh, but I haven’t washed your back yet!” She pounced on him, her breasts rubbing against his back, making his face turn bright red.

“Mina, get off of me!” he cried, twisting to try and dislodge her grip on him, but she held on, exclaiming the things she wanted to do to him now that they were alone. He stopped suddenly when he turned towards the door to see Linda’s rage-suffused face and her rapier in hand.

‘Oh great,’ Mina thought, her face falling into a pout. ‘Just when things were starting to get good!’

“Tsuchiko! Is there no end to your perversion?!” she screamed, lunging at him with her blade, aiming for his heart. She suddenly stopped when Mina jumped in front of him, arms spread open to intercept the blade in her own chest. A look of determination was written on her childish face.

“Mina, what are you doing?!” Linda demanded. “Move, so I can teach this pig a lesson!”

“You’ll have to go through me first!” Mina said, looking Linda straight in her eyes. “Why are you trying to stab him?! He didn’t even do anything!”

“He was trying to have his way with you! He’s obviously a loli rapist!”

“He isn’t a rapist, and I’m not a loli! You’re just jealous because he wants to touch me, and not you!”

“WHAT?!” Linda exclaimed, turning beet red in the face.

‘Actually, I don’t want to touch either of you…’ Tsuchiko thought, though he wisely kept his mouth shut since Mina was staunchly defending him, and she was all that stood in the way of him getting stabbed for no reason. He stood away from them as they bickered, hoping the situation would die down soon and they would leave him alone.

Ai sat in front of her vanity mirror brushing her hair and humming to herself. This was the happiest she’d been in such a long time. Her parents were both shocked and happy to see that their timid little girl, who nearly became an introvert from being bullied, was smiling when she came through the door. Even the near-rape earlier that day paled in comparison to seeing her mother cry tears of joy over her daughter smiling happily in such a long time. She was asked out by her classmates to hang out! She still couldn’t believe it! Even if one of them, Reiko, was a shameless pervert, the fact of the matter is that she will be spending time with friends, especially her first friend, Tsuchiko. He was so kind to her, so caring. He was the newest person in school, yet he was the first to ever speak to her since she transferred there almost two years ago. She fervently hoped he hadn’t heard any of the rumors floating around about her. If he did, hopefully he doesn’t believe any of them. Maybe she can actually trust him with…

What are you doing?

The silent voice startled her so much that she nearly dropped her brush when she jumped. The light in her room began to dim and she looked up at it, fear clouding her eyes.

You were smiling, were you not?

The voice had an icy edge to it. Ai looked back at the mirror, and at the reflection of the dark shadowy figure standing just a few feet behind her. She knew it was futile to try and look back at the shadow, as it would disappear from sight if she tried to look directly upon it. The first time she saw it was four years ago, during the fire that burned down her old home in a little village outside of Hokkaido. It stood there, glaring at her with baleful eyes as the house burned around it. Even more disturbing was that she was the only one to see it, as her parents didn’t believe her when she described what she saw. It followed her from that day, nearly driving her to madness as it had kept her from getting close to anyone. It seemed to relish in tormenting her, drawing from the fear it produced in her, and she became an introvert because of it. That’s when the rumors had started, and people began distancing themselves from her. Somehow, the rumors followed her when she transferred to Edwards High School, and automatically people left her alone. The shadow seemed to grow stronger from her sadness and fear; it hardly spoke to her, only when it wanted to drive her into more despair by telling her negative things about the people in her life and how they were only there to hurt her, until Tsuchiko stepped into her life. Because of him, she’d nearly forgotten about the figure in the past couple of days, until now.

You are happy. Why are you happy?

“I…I have friends, and we’re…going t-to…” she stammered, her fear coming back anew.

Friends? Oh, you mean that “boy”- and the shadow said the pronoun with such malice that Ai feared it would strike her- Tsuchiko? He saves that man and those three girls, and now you think he will be your friend forever?

The shadow chuckled darkly. Ai began to feel cold inside, her fear and loneliness coming back to her. She clutched at her stomach and closed her eyes, fervently wishing for the shadow to go away.

I am your only friend. And had that boy not stepped in and stopped that man and those girls, they would have been mine! Perhaps I should get rid of him, too, just like we did with-

“…no…” Ai whimpered, still holding herself against the chill. The evil spirit was angry, she knew, but she couldn’t let it harm her friend.

What did you just say?

“Please…no…” she repeated. “He’s my…friend, and I…like him…”

Like? The chill in the pit of her stomach seemed to grow as the spirit grew angrier. She hugged herself all the more, trying her best to stave off the chill. YOU…LIKE HIM?!

The spirit’s rage threatened to freeze her from the inside, and she doubled over in fear. But the sensation suddenly stopped. She slowly looked back up into the mirror. The shadow was still there, calmly staring at her. She couldn’t see anything resembling a face, but she had the distinct impression that it was thinking. Then it grinned.

Very well.

That was all it said before it gave her one last baleful look and disappeared. The light in the room flickered back to normal again, and Ai was looking at herself in the mirror, wondering what the evil spirit meant by that remark. No, she couldn’t tell Tsuchiko about this. She liked him, and she wanted to keep him safe from the entity. She tried not to think about the last friend she had that succumbed to the madness the spirit induced in her, and how Ai was to blame for the girl’s death, as she was the last to be in contact with the girl. She didn’t want the same thing to happen to Tsuchiko, or any of her new friends.

“Tsuchiko,” she said to herself. “I will protect you.”