..•.¸¸•´¯`•.¸¸..ஐ Chapter Three: Daiki and Nanami ஐ..•.¸¸•´¯`•.¸¸.
Aoki stared at him, confusion evident in her eyes. She never thought Daiki would be able to say those words to her. And she also couldn’t believe how wonderful she felt once she heard him. It felt… just wonderful. There were no words to describe it.
“I-I’m sorry…” Daiki said, looking away, “…for how I acted earlier. I should’ve considered your feelings first before I got mad… If I hadn’t come to that conclusion, you wouldn’t have been mad at me… So can we be friends?”
Aoki didn’t even realize she was gaping at him, until he finished speaking. She was speechless. She couldn’t find any words to say. They just stood there, staring at each other, at lost for words. Aoki felt the tears fall down to her chin.
“I’m sorry too.”
.
.
.
“Today, we have a new student, everyone! Be kind to her, okay?” Their black-haired teacher announced, mentally calling Aoki inside.
Aoki stepped in and everyone was astounded. Her golden hair was tied into a high ponytail and her stunning amethyst eyes seemed to shine with curiosity. She smiled a bit and introduced herself to everyone.
“Je suis Aoki Fujie. Soy deciseis anyos. I have been living in France since I was eight years old. I am fluent in fourteen languages including Japanese, Chinese, Spanish, English and of course, French. Yoroshiku Onegaishimasu.”
Everyone was surprised. She had spoken four different languages in her introduction. Daiki smiled at her proudly, like a father seeing her daughter perform for the very first time. He knew this wasn’t even an eight of what she knows and it feels nice to be the only one who knows that.
“Let’s see.” Their sensei, oblivious to all the stares, said, “You can sit beside Ichiko-san!”
Nanami, who was previously, dozing off, instantly looked up and saw her new friend. She smiled and Aoki smiled back. Aoki went to sit beside her and they passed messages to each other. The lesson was just English anyway, and Aoki was already fluent in English. And Nanami is really good at it.
Who’s that girl talking to Daiki?
That’s Fumiko Aya. Have you and Fuyuhiko-kun made up already?
Yes. And I don’t like that Fumiko.
Teehee~ You’re jealous.
I am most definitely not.
Don’t deny it! Ne, ne let’s eat together at lunch later, okay?
Okay.
I still think you’re jealous though.
We should listen now.
Nanami giggled, but obliged still. She knew Aoki liked Daiki. It was so obvious. But love is blind. Even though she knew that they had just met yesterday, she sensed an attraction between the two of them. It was almost magnet-like. They had a magnet-like attraction.
Hey, I could use that in a song! Nanami thought. She was in the music club and she writes most of the songs. They had a magnet-like attraction. She wrote that in the middle of the paper, just in case she thinks of something before that line. She started scribbling down ideas of her song.
She loved writing songs. It made her feel at ease with the world. The words would just come to her naturally. Writing songs is harder than writing stories. In stories, you could write down anything and fix the order later, but in a song, it must be exact. The place of the words is unmovable. And also, the song must probably rhyme. If it doesn’t rhyme, it has to be really good, because rhymes give off a really free feeling. It also makes Nanami feel satisfied. It helps Nanami express the feelings she has that cannot be expressed by words.
After a few hours, it was the most favorite part of the day for the students: Lunch Time. Students of Sakurano High scurried about, meeting their friends to eat lunch and Aoki was led outside by Nanami, who was obviously not-very-surprisingly excited.
“Nana-chan!” Aoki panted, “I’m going to collapse any minute! Can we go slower?”
Nanami giggled. “Sorry, A-chan, but I want to get there before anyone does!”
After thirty seconds, an exhausted Aoki and an ecstatic Nanami arrived in front of a big Sakura Tree. Its pink leaves were almost gone, but it still looked magnificent. After regaining her composure, Aoki stood up and stared at the large tree while Nanami watched her, smiling.
“My sister loved this tree,” Nanami started, walking close.
Aoki noticed the tone of her voice and knew what she was going to say next. She hoped that it wasn’t that.
“She’s in heaven now,” Nanami said, closing her eyes, stopping the tears threatening to break through her barrier. I can’t cry now! It’s going to ruin the mood!!
“I’m sorry,” Aoki muttered softly, but Nanami still heard it. Aoki couldn’t say that she had felt the feeling of losing someone you love, because she had never lost someone special to her. She wanted to comfort her friend. She wanted to say that it’s going to be okay and her sister is in heaven right now. But her feet were rooted to the ground and she couldn’t seem to move.
Nanami opened her eyes and smiled. “Let’s eat, okay?”
“Okay.” Aoki said, amazed at how Nanami could talk about her deceased sister without crying.
As they ate, they pondered on different things. Nanami thought about telling Aoki about her sister and if it would be proper. Aoki thought about that Fumiko Aya and her relationship with Daiki.
“Onee-chan’s best friend said that she sacrificed herself to save her classmates,” Nanami said, deciding to trust Aoki, “There was an earthquake that day and Onee-chan had a cold too. She insisted on going to school even though she was sick.”
Aoki looked at Nanami. The latter was crying now.
“She even told me ‘I have a good feeling about today’ so we let her go,” Nanami said, wiping her tears with her handkerchief. Aoki put a comforting hand on Nanami’s shoulder and smiled. Nanami smiled back and went on to the story.
“She walked me to my school and went to her high school. I was still a kid then, yet I remembered everything clearly,” Nanami said, pausing to eat.
Aoki was stunned. How could she bear that suffering and smile every day? How could she smile so radiantly after all she’s been through? One thought came across Aoki’s mind ‘She’s so strong.’
“It’s okay if you don’t want to tell me the rest,” Aoki offered, not wanting to see her friend cry again.
Nanami looked at her, stopped, and then smiled once again, trying her best to look okay. Aoki could see past her amazing façade. She had been accustomed to people pretending around her and she had grown the very useful ability to know if the person is lying or not. She badly wanted to do something, but she couldn’t. Nanami obviously didn’t want the attention and Aoki’s not going to give her what she doesn’t want.
“A-chan, promise me you’ll be with me forever,” Nanami said, boring her green eyes into Aoki’s amethyst ones.
Aoki smiled warmly at her and replied, “I can’t promise that. However, I can promise that if I every left, I would come back. Deal?”
Nanami giggled. “Deal!”
She went back to normal so fast Aoki thought. It was so obvious to her that Nanami had her share of interrogations and questionings. Perhaps she even experienced counseling too. Losing a close family member is a hard thing to accept, after all, but Nanami quickly recovered and ignored her sadness. She decided to smile for her sister.
‘I’ll try my best one-chan. Just keep watching over me. You’ll be proud.’ Nanami once said, facing her sister’s grave. It felt exhilarating to do that. She finally felt free and she began to lift her burdens up with her happiness and her smile. The smile her sister always loved…
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