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It's Spring Vacation. We're heading to Tokyo tomorrow for a visit with Akari's parents. Tomorrow also happens to be my 18th birthday, and because Akari's birthday is only about two weeks away, she and I are having a joint birthday party at her parents' house tomorrow night. My mom is coming too. She really gets along with the Yoshidas and she could really use a little vacation. We have to get up bright and early to catch a train, so Akari and I are staying with my mom tonight to streamline things.

We're waiting at the gate for her to pick us up, but something isn't right. My mom is late.

I get out my phone and start fidgeting with it. Akari can tell I'm uneasy.

"Sh-she's only a few minutes late."

"Yeah…but she's never late to pick us up. And if she is, she texts."

"You're worried s-something happened?"

"Yeah. I have a bad feeling."

She loops her arm around mine and looks very worried now. Maybe too worried. I didn't mean to upset her with my hunch.

Five more minutes is all I can take. Just as I'm about to hit the call button, my phone vibrates in my hand. My mom's calling. I answer and tilt my head a little so Akari can listen.

"Hey mom, everything okay?"

"Hey sweetie. I'm at the hospital, your grandma fell and hurt her hip. It might be broken, don't know yet. She's doing okay."

Akari hugs me around my waist, and I stroke her hair.

"Okay. Can Akari and I come?"

"Sure. Call me when you get here."

After I hang up, I realize something. "I…shouldn't have volunteered you to go. Sorry about that."

She shakes her head, "I want to. I love your grandma."

"Okay…even though it's the hospital? And even though it's her hip?"

"Yes. I'll b-be fine."

I smile at her, "Okay. Let's get a cab."

…

We're at the hospital now, riding up in the elevator with my mom who is updating us.

"They just got her X-rays back. She didn't break anything, but she has a bone bruise and a bad contusion. She just needs lots of rest and pain management. She'll be here for a few days, but no surgery or anything."

I feel a sense of relief. "That's really good. Well, as good as being in the hospital can be, I guess."

The elevator opens and my mom leads us to my grandma's room. I'm surprised to see my grandma wide awake. She smiles at us as we walk in. My grandpa has dozed off in a chair. It certainly doesn't look like the situation is dire.

"Kayo-chan and A-Chan came to see me! I'm a lucky grandma."

I laugh and go over to her with Akari in tow, "How are you feeling?"

"I'm annoyed that I need stay here for a few days…but I was happy to get the news I did. It put me in a very good mood to hear I would heal on my own. Did your mother update you?"

I nod.

Akari says, "Y-your hip doesn't hurt?"

She grimaces a little, "Oh…it does, but it's not so bad if I stay still and get my pain medication. You know a little something about hip pain, don't you, A-chan?"

Akari nods, "Yeah. B-but I've never had a bone bruise or contusion."

My grandma smiles, "Well, let's keep it that way." She crosses her arms playfully and looks at each of us. "Are you two really going to make an old lady in the hospital ask for a hug?"

I laugh, "I wasn't sure if you were cleared for that." I glance over at my mom, who nods. Then I give my grandma a gentle hug. Akari does the same.

Just then there's a knock on the door and my aunt comes into the room, she looks incredibly worried and on the verge of tears. You'd think my grandma's life was in danger. Clearly, she's working off incomplete information. Someone needs to update her. Just as I'm about to, my grandma does it herself.

My grandma takes it upon herself to do so, "Chisato, no need for a long face. I'm okay. No surgery. I just have to sit in this bed for a few days."

My aunt's face relaxes, and she comes and holds her hand. "I'm glad to hear that, Mrs. Nakai." She looks at my grandpa. "It looks like your husband is very relaxed. That should have clued me in."

My grandma laughs at looks at my grandfather who is now audibly snoring "He always says he's 'just resting his eyes' when he does that, even when he's very clearly asleep. It's somehow both frustrating and cute."

My aunt laughs, "Sounds like a man, doesn't it?" This makes the three adult women in the room laugh.

Akari and I just look at each other. I know she is thinking the same thing as I am. It isn't just a 'man' thing, it's a 'significant other' thing. After all, there's plenty Akari does that I find both cute and frustrating and vice versa. But I suppose this isn't the time for me to point out that they made us feel a little left out.

My grandma says, "Kayoko, it's almost your birthday! Are you three excited for your trip?"

Oh yeah, our trip!

My mom intercepts and answers for me, "They are excited, and they'll be going. But I won't be anymore, I want to stay here and take care of you."

Just when I'm about to object that I'm not so sure we'll be going either now, my grandma frowns at my mom, "You should go too, Emi. I'll be fine. It's not that bad. I have my husband and Chisato." My aunt nods and adds, "Mitsuru will help too."

"No. I want to be here for you." She smiles at my grandma, "So stop trying to get rid of me."

My aunt sighs and says, "Emi…can I talk to you in the hall?"

My mom frowns but follows her. My aunt invites Akari and I out too, so we follow.

My aunt hugs my mom and says, "Emi, please go on this trip. You haven't really had a break at all since they moved here. You need one. It will be best for everybody if you get it."

"No. I…I have to stay here. I have to take care of her. It has to be me."

"Why, though? Why can't it be me for a few days?"

"B-because if Hisao were here, he wouldn't leave her. So, I'm not either. Just, stop Chisato! You don't get to tell me what to do." She wriggles out of her arms.

My aunt puts her hands on her hips. "She isn't having surgery or even any sort of procedure. If she were, I'd be right there with you. But she's just here so they can take care of her pain and they can keep her off her feet."

My mom scoffs, "I don't care, Chisato. I'm staying here with her. Hisao would."

My aunt sighs, "Do you really think so? Because I think if he had a short trip planned with Kayoko and her girlfriend in this situation, he would go. I'll be here. Mitsuru will be here. Mr. Nakai is here too. That's more than enough. We'll take good care of her."

I'm about to jump in and help my aunt, but when I look at my mom, I see her defiant expression is starting to show some cracks. "I don't know…maybe he'd go."

"He would, Emi. Have a little faith in me."

My mom sighs. "Fine. I'll go. But I'm only going for one night. The birthday party. I'll be back the next day." My mom looks at me, making sure this is fine with me, and I nod.

I sort of wish she would come for longer, but I also understand not wanting to leave grandma. I was considering staying before my aunt's little speech.

My aunt nods and then sighs, "Okay…I can see that's the best I'm going to do. But you three are going home. Now. You need to rest before you travel."

My mom frowns, "Fine. Jeez, you sure are bossy today. Just let me and the girls say goodbye, and we'll be on our way."

When my mom goes back inside, I hug my aunt, "Thanks for making her go. You're right…she needs this, even if only for a day."

…

We just got home from the hospital. My mom was uncharacteristically quiet on the drive home. It usually isn't a good thing when that's the case. It usually means she is ruminating about something.

When we get home, my suspicions are confirmed. No sooner than we walk through the door, she starts crying.

I put an arm around her and say, "Let's get to the couch, okay?"

She nods and I guide her there. Then we sit and I hug her. Her head is resting on my shoulder as she continues to cry.

I notice Akari is still standing awkwardly in the doorway. She's never seen my mom like this. I can see she wants to help but isn't sure she should. I'm also not sure if my mom wants her to help. I'm trying to figure out what to tell her to do and then my mom sniffles, pats on the couch behind her and says, "C-come over here Akari, there's room for you."

Even when my mom is this upset, she's making sure my girlfriend feels included.

Akari smiles and approaches us. She sits on the couch behind my mom and hugs her while resting her head on her back.

After she cries a little longer, my mom says, "I…d-didn't want to tell you on the phone but…broken hips are really bad for the elderly. They need surgery and r-recovery is hard…lots don't make it. S-s-so…I was thinking the worst…" She wipes her tears. "Some of these are tears of relief."

That explains the look on my aunt's face. And the unusually good mood my grandmother was in. They both knew what was at stake when we didn't. They went from thinking she was going to have to do something that would risk her life to finding out she wasn't going to need anything beyond pain medication and rest.

"I'm really glad she didn't break it, then."

My mom nods. "I always miss your father…b-but I really do at times like these. It's hard sometimes, taking care of his parents and knowing…he would probably do a better job."

I scoff, "What makes you say he would do a better job?"

She shrugs, "I don't know. They're his parents. I…know they wish he was here to help them and not just me…I don't blame them."

Akari says, "Emi…I'm sure they d-do wish their son was here, but it isn't b-because you don't do a good job with them."

I add, "Yeah, they really love you mom, and you're amazing with them. I know they appreciate everything you've done for them."

She sighs and starts to calm down, "I just know it would be easier for everyone if your dad was here too, and it makes me miss him extra." She sits up and wipes away her remaining tears. "But…I'm doing a good job." She looks at me. "I think it's getting close to the time to move them into this house. I thought we could wait until you went to university, but…this was sort of a wake-up call."

I smile at her, "That's fine. I rarely use my room anyway. You can always ask us for help with them too, you know that, right?"

My mom puts a hand on my cheek, "You're very sweet." Then she puts a hand on Akari's hand, which is resting on her abdomen. "Both of you are…thank you."

"Of c-course Emi."

My mom turns to Akari and smiles at her, "Forgive me for being all sappy right now, but obviously I'm in the mood." She takes Akari's hand. "I…really wish Hisao had known you. He would be so happy you're with Kayoko. Just like I am. You're a wonderful girl."

Now Akari is the one who breaks down crying. My mom puts her arms around her and holds her head to her chest.

"I w-wish I could meet him too, all the t-t-time."

Now I join Akari in her tears and my mom sighs and laughs softly. "The three of us are a mess, aren't we?"

I laugh which helps me pull myself together, "A little bit. We certainly aren't afraid of crying in front of each other."

Akari sits up and sniffles, "Kayoko d-definitely is the biggest crybaby of the three of us, though."

My mom laughs, "That's true."

I cross my arms and pout at them, "I know it's the truth, but did you have to say it?"

This just makes my mom and girlfriend giggle at my expense.

Well, at least we aren't crying now.

My mom, Akari, and I are on a train speeding towards Tokyo. My mom fell asleep as soon as we left the station in Sendai. It is early, and while I'm sure she's extra tired given recent events, this is fairly typical train behavior for her. I remember her falling asleep on my dad a lot while he read.

Akari and I are playing chess on the tiny board she bought back when I had my surgery. We didn't get seats with a table, so it's very handy. It has magnetic pieces, so we're playing on an empty seat in between us. She is the one who suggested we play, which made me happy.

"You know…after I played Ms. Ikezawa couple weeks ago, you sure didn't seem like you were that interested in playing more chess with me."

She laughs, "I was joking. Just had a p-panic attack before I could s-say so. Seeing you p-playing with her was amazing."

"Amazing?"

She sits back and smiles, "Yeah. It w-was a different side of you. You w-were really competitive and intense." She looks around, double checks that my mom is asleep and whispers. "It was s-sexy."

I laugh, "So you want to bring that out of me?"

She blushes a little. "That's a perk. B-but more seriously…I just want to play because you like to, and I know it's special to you."

I smile at her, "That's sweet. I'm really happy you want to."

…

We just got out of a cab in front of Akari's family home. It isn't even noon, and I'm glad for that, because I'll be needing a nap if I'm going to be in party shape later.

Akari and my mom get the luggage out of the cab. Akari gives me her keys, and I unlock the front door and hold it for them.

When we get inside, we are greeted by Mrs. Yoshida. There's a break at the university right now too, so she'll be home more during this visit.

"Welcome, you three. I am happy you all made it." She smiles softly at me. "Happy birthday, Kayoko."

I smile back and thank her. Then, to my surprise, she gives my mom a hug. It is her usual stiff, uncomfortable hug. But it is a hug, nonetheless.

"I'm sorry about your mother-in-law, but I'm glad you'll be with us tonight, at least."

My mom nods, "Me too. It wouldn't be a party without me!"

Mrs. Yoshida laughs softly, "I think there's some truth to that."

Then she gives her daughter a hug, and says "Akari, you and Kayoko can put your things down in your room."

She didn't mean to say that, right?

Akari nods, "Yes, ma'am." She takes a few steps before freezing in her tracks and turning around. "M-my room? Kayoko?"

Her mom smirks slightly, "Yes, that's what I said."

I smile at Mrs. Yoshida, "Thank you."

"Thank your mother. She convinced me."

My mom winks at me and I thank her with my eyes.

I think the two of them are closer than I know if my mom managed to convince her to let us share a bed here.

Mrs. Yoshida crosses her arms, "I will expect you two to be on your best behavior. Don't make me regret this."

"Best behavior" is an interesting way to say, "Don't have sex." But I suppose it is less awkward.

We both nod and head off to Akari's room. As we do, Mrs. Yoshida shows my mom to the guest room.

When we get there, we put our things down and Akari hugs me and says, "I'm so happy about this. I w-was really sad about not sleeping with you on your birthday."

I laugh, "You mean that in the wholesome way, right?"

She giggles, "Yes, although…I am a little sad about the…not so wholesome way, but we've made it a week before. We c-can do it again.""

I nod, "I'm sure we will."

After that we have a light lunch, and Akari and I take a nap afterward while my mom goes for her run.

…

When I wake up, I realize we only have an hour before our party. I gently wake up Akari, who is still conked out next to me. I shake her shoulder a little and give her a kiss on the cheek.

"Mmnn? D-don't wanna get up. Stay in b-bed." She wraps her arms around and pulls me close. She starts kissing my neck while she's still half asleep and her hands are starting to wander. I wonder if she realizes where we are.

As I do my best to suppress any sounds of pleasure that would encourage her behavior, I whisper, "Akari…we are at your parents' house, remember?"

Her eyes open wide, and she releases me and then smiles bashfully. "Sorry…I thought we were at school for a second. I guess that wasn't the 'best b-behavior' my mom was talking about."

I laugh, "Probably not. We should probably get up and get ready for our little birthday party."

She sits up and yawns. "Yeah, g-good idea."

…

When we leave Akari's room, I immediately smell some delicious scents wafting from the kitchen. Akari and I try to make our way in there. I'm in there long enough to see that both my mom and Akari's dad are cooking, but my mom makes us leave before I can really see what they are cooking. Apparently it's a birthday surprise.

We go out to the living room and have a seat on the couch. Akari is still very sleepy and gets very cozy with me. As I look around the room, I spot what I was looking for. It's the photograph that her mother took of us during our last visit. The one she gave us as a gift at Christmas. It's on the mantle, right under their wall-mounted television. They told me it was on display but…it's in one of the most central locations in the entire house. I never would have imagined that. Just as I'm about to say something about it to Akari, the doorbell rings.

My mom says, "Kayoko, dear, would you get that?" Akari playfully clings to my arm, but I pat her on the head and that prompts her to let me go. I think I know who this is going to be…and I am very excited. My mom told me they were coming, and I was overjoyed because I've missed them so much.

When I open the door, I see the two people I expected, Daisuke and Kaito. Before Daisuke can come in or say anything, I wrap him up in a hug.

He laughs and Kaito joins him. After our hug goes on for a while Daisuke says, "Happy birthday, Kayoko. Do you think we can go inside or are we just hugging in front of the door all day?"

I nod and lead them inside, and then warn Kaito I'm going to hug him before I do. I notice he is holding a container of some kind. I'm sure he brought something tasty.

Daisuke looks around and says, "So this is what a Tokyo professor's house looks like, huh? Pretty nice." Then he describes what he's seeing to Kaito.

I laugh, "Yep. It is quite nice. Let's go in the living room to see the other birthday girl."

I lead them in there and Akari smiles and stands up to give them both hugs before we all take a seat, and they wish her a happy birthday too.

After a moment Kaito says, "I am picking up an interesting fusion of flavors coming from the kitchen. What are we having, exactly?"

I laugh, "I don't really know. They wouldn't tell us."

He nods, "Ah, it's a surprise then? I won't spoil it."

Akari laughs, "You can t-tell what it is?"

He smiles, "More or less."

"How is culinary school going, by the way?"

He smiles, "Quite well. I'll actually be finished later this year."

"That's great! Do you know what you'll do after?"

He frowns a little. So does Daisuke. Daisuke takes Kaito's hand and puts an arm around him to comfort him. I guess that was something I shouldn't have asked.

"I don't know yet. Opportunities haven't been…great for someone like me. Normally in the culinary world you start very low in the hierarchy in a restaurant kitchen. That means driving and running errands, like going to the market and picking up ingredients…stuff like that. I'm simply not capable of a lot of that sort of grunt work. I think a lot of employers are also concerned that I can't cook as quickly as most people and things like that, even though it turns out I can, provided I know my kitchen well." He sighs and looks dejected. "In short, my path is unclear."

Daisuke adds, "He's doing amazingly though. Top of his class now that he's mastered Japanese cooking along with everything else. I think you'll find someone willing to be flexible for your skills."

Akari and I agree with the sentiment.

Kaito smiles at his boyfriend lovingly. "Why don't you tell them how you're doing Mr. Big Shot?"

He laughs, "Is that what we're calling me now? I'm doing pretty well too. I'm the only second year student working in a professor's lab, and it's been a great experience. I love science even more now."

"That's great! What kind of lab is it?"

"Astronomy, so we look at data from satellites and telescopes."

"That's awesome."

"It is. You should study science too. And be awesome like me."

I laugh, "I might. I'm still not sure. I think my main things are still teaching science or doing music like Akari. But I like scientific research too." I sigh. "I need to figure it out."

Daisuke says, "You still have plenty of time."

My mom arrives in the living room and is about as excited to see Daisuke and Kaito as I was, giving them both very enthusiastic hugs.

The Yoshidas soon follow, and Akari gets up and in a very formal voice says,

"Mom, dad…these are my friends Daisuke and Kaito. Daisuke has known Kayoko her whole life, and Kaito is his boyfriend."

Probably a good idea to make sure Daisuke and Kaito know to be very polite here. They don't need to be this formal all evening, but it will make a good impression on Mrs. Yoshida.

Daisuke and Kaito pick up on the formality. They stand up and Daisuke says, "Thank you for inviting us to your home. Your daughter is a good friend of ours, and it is lovely to meet her parents."

Mrs. Yoshida responds with a soft smile, "We're very glad to have you. Dinner is ready now, so we can make our way to the dining room."

We all get seated, and I notice Kaito hands his container to my mom. Then, she and Mr. Yoshida go to the kitchen and come back with enormous platters of the food they've prepared. When I see what Mr. Yoshida brought, I can't believe my eyes. I put a hand on each side of the platter as if I need to hold it in place or it might run away from me.

"Th-this is…"

Mr. Yoshida smiles, "Pasta Carbonara. Your mother told me it was your favorite dish that your father made, so I thought you might like it for your birthday."

Don't cry, Nakai. This is just food. The Yoshidas will be very uncomfortable if I cry about this.

I smile broadly. "Thank you so much. I am…really excited."

Mrs. Yoshida laughs softly, "You can let go of the platter, Kayoko. It isn't going anywhere."

I blush and apologize for my bad manners.

In my excitement about what Mr. Yoshida made, I forgot my mom made something too.

"Because I enlisted your dad to make something for Kayoko, I made something for you Akari. Your favorite dish that I make."

I swear I see a tiny bit of drool leave her mouth when she says "Curry fried r-rice. Thank you E-...Mrs. Nakai."

Kaito laughs softly to himself, prompting my mom to say, "Something funny?"

He laughs, "A little. I identified the flavors when I came in and thought we were having some sort of fusion of these two dishes. I was a little wary."

As each of us start to serve ourselves, Mr. Yoshida says, "That's right, you're studying to be a chef, aren't you?"

Kaito nods and Mr. Yoshida says, "Try not to be too harsh on us amateurs."

Kaito laughs, "You both have been cooking far longer than I have. I'm sure it's excellent."

Daisuke laughs as he plates some of the carbonara for himself. "So, do I have it right Kaito? You want me to mix these together for you so you can taste them at the same time?"

Kaito chuckles, "That would be really cruel of you. I will be trying them both, but separately."

Daisuke serves him and says, "Okay, you're starting with the carbonara."

"Thank you."

Once we are all eating there is briefly some silence, but then I notice it isn't because we are all eating. Everyone is staring at my mom. When I look at her myself, I feel incredibly embarrassed. She is shoveling pasta into her face in her more instinctive way of eating. It's like she no longer needs to breathe or blink or do anything other than consume food. She normally only does this around me. I clear my throat and she looks at me and notices everyone is watching her. She turns bright red, swallows, and puts her utensils down.

"I'm really sorry. I kind of got in the zone there, didn't I?"

Mrs. Yoshida laughs. "Kayoko…given that you grew up watching your mother eat like that, it is quite remarkable you are as reserved as you are." This makes everyone but me and my mom laugh hysterically. Even Kaito. I guess he can hear how we eat. Somehow that's even more embarrassing.

My mom crosses her arms and pouts, "This might be Kayoko's favorite dish of her father's…but it's mine too. It was…actually the first thing he ever cooked for me, even before we started dating." She smiles, "We had a little lunch club together, and we'd alternate who was responsible for lunch each day. Anyway, I really missed it. So, I got a little carried away."

Now everyone looks guilty for laughing at her expense. Especially Akari, who knows better than everyone else just how much my mom misses my dad. I nudge her under the table with my foot and smile at her to tell her it isn't a big deal. Excuses or not, the way my mom eats is ridiculous.

Mr. Yoshida squeezes my mom's shoulder and smiles, "Eat however you like, Emi. I'm glad you're enjoying it."

We all go back to enjoying our meal, but my mom doesn't return to her natural way of eating. Instead, she controls herself.

…

Once we've all eaten our fill and plates are starting to be taken back to the kitchen, Kaito says, "Those were both amazing. I will be needing the recipe for both." This makes both chefs smile broadly. They simultaneously realize their smiles aren't doing any good, though before thanking him verbally.

Then he smiles and says, "Now then, I believe it is time for dessert?"

My mom asks, "Should I go get them, Kaito?"

He nods and my mom goes back to the kitchen before returning with a platter with little pastries on it. I recognize them from Kaito and Daisuke's graduation party. It's as if he took all the best qualities from a chocolate croissant and a cinnamon bun and made them into a single delicious pastry.

When he hears my mom put the platter down, he says, "I seem to remember you both liking these a lot. If I'm not mistaken, Kayoko ate more of them than anyone else at our graduation party."

Akari and her mom giggle at me and I blush and look down.

He's not wrong. I was sad about Hideki though! They made me feel better.

Oh, who am I kidding…I would have probably eaten more than anyone else either way. I'm more like my mother in that way than I care to admit.

Kaito continues, "So, when Mrs. Nakai called me about making dessert tonight, this is what I went with. Please accept them as our gift to both of you."

Akari says, "Th-these were amazing. What are they called again?"

"Rugelach."

I laugh, "None of us can even say that." Everyone at the table agrees with me apart from Mrs. Yoshida, who looks at me like I challenged her, and then she says the word almost exactly as Kaito did, prompting him to raise his eyebrows.

"Do you know Hebrew, Mrs. Yoshida?"

She laughs, "No. But I'm an English professor. So, I don't have any problem with the 'l' sound. My husband can say it too after all our time in England." He nods. "Still, I don't think I got the last sound right. I don't have much experience with gutturals, since there really aren't any in Japanese or English."

He nods, "I didn't know it was called a guttural…but that makes sense. There are lots of Hebrew sounds that use the back of your throat. Either way, you said it amazingly well for someone who just heard the word."

She nods and smiles softly, "Thank you."

We all enjoy eating the ruge…whatever and then Akari says, "Th-this meal was amazing. I don't know if we need any other gifts."

I'm sitting with my eyes closed in a partial food coma, but I open one eye to look at my girlfriend and I say, "Speak for yourself" prompting everyone to laugh.

My mom gets up and says, "Does anyone mind if I go first?"

There are no objections, so my mom goes off to the guest room and returns with two gifts. They are both rectangular boxes that look to be the right size for clothing. I really hope she didn't get us both bras like last year. That may not go over so well with our current audience.

I just realized that Akari and I regularly take those bras off one another now. Funny how things can change in a year.

When she hands me the box, I can tell it is far too heavy to be bras. I look at Akari who, despite her earlier selflessness now looks as excited as a 5-year-old on their birthday.

She looks at my mom, "Who sh-should go first?"

She smiles, "Open them at the same time. They go together."

We do as instructed, and when my gift is revealed I find a soft purple garment of some kind. I look over at Akari, and she has a pink one. We both pull them out of the box, and we see that they are identical bath robes, save for the color and size. We smile at each other and then at my mom.

"I thought it might be nice having those in the dorms, especially during colder months. I remember it being freezing going from the shower back to my room."

I hear Daisuke quietly say, "They got bathrobes." to Kaito.

I guess it was rude not to announce what we got. Woops.

Akari smiles, "Th-thank you…they are really comfy, and I like that they are the same. Will be really c-cute when we both wear them." I notice Mrs. Yoshida's face twitch slightly. She's trying her best, but hearing about the two of us in nothing but our robes appears to have been a little difficult for her. To her credit, she doesn't say anything and returns a soft smile very quickly.

Akari stands up and smiles, "Okay…let me go get your gift Kayoko."

While she's gone, I say, "I don't want you all to think I'm a bad girlfriend. I didn't bring my gift for her, we decided I would give it to her on her birthday."

Mr. Yoshida laughs, "No one thinks that. It will be good to save a present for the actual day."

Akari returns with my gift and a big smile on her face. It's in a cute gift bag that has flowers on it. She hands it to me, and I take out the tissue paper to find the Blu-ray of Bloom Into You. I told her I wanted to watch the anime with her, and now we can. It is something we can enjoy together too, which is fitting for our joint birthday party.

I smile at her, "Thank you, this is really sweet. I can't wait to watch it." I give her a quick kiss that I wish wasn't so quick, but I don't think everyone wants to see us making out. I announce to everyone, "She got me the Blu-Ray of an anime that is really special for both of us. Called Bloom into You."

Kaito smiles, "I know the manga. It's very good."

"Really? Yeah, we love it. Akari has loved it since she was 13, while I'm a more recent convert."

I almost shared more, but I'm not sure Akari wants her parents to know that this manga made her realize she was attracted to girls. At this point I don't think they would be offended, but Akari should be the one to bring that up.

Kaito nods, "My older sister loves manga, and she had a habit of reading it to me since I was little. She loved it so much and I think she felt bad for me that I couldn't really enjoy it. When I told her I was gay, she started exclusively reading same-sex romance manga to me. That was one she had already read. She hadn't shared it before because she didn't think I'd be interested, so she was very excited to share it with me."

Akari smiles, "Y-your sister sounds amazing."

He smiles, "She is. She was the only person in my family who knew for a long time, and she really helped me discover myself, I suppose you could say."

Mrs. Yoshida smiles and says, "I remember you reading that one a lot. That's when we started to think you might like girls."

Akari blushes and whips her head around to look at her parents, "Y-you knew?!"

Her mom responds with a face that screams 'Of course we did.'

"We didn't know for sure, but you started reading so much girls' love manga that we thought it was pretty likely. We bought it for you at the store and brought it to you in the hospital, so of course we noticed the subject matter."

That makes sense. How would they not notice so much of her manga was about two girls falling in love?

Akari is very flustered by this revelation. "W-well…yeah, but…I didn't even know for sure until I fell in love with Kayoko. B-but…you're right, I did read manga like this because I wasn't sure about things…and I had crushes on the girls." She pauses for a second and thinks something over.

I am very tempted to point out that her first manga crush was a girl who looks a bit like me, but this is neither the time nor place.

She continues. "You two were more surprised when I told you I had a b-boyfriend than you were when I told you about me and Kayoko. I thought with Michi it was because I'd never had one…b-but it wasn't, was it?

Mr. Yoshida laughs, "Well...we did think it was more likely for you to have a girlfriend than a boyfriend."

All of this has me really wanting to know something. "If you knew…did you two…think we might end up together all along?"

Her parents exchange a look, and her mom says, "We didn't know for sure. Back when Akari first told us about you, and told us that we'd be meeting you for lunch, we did wonder if you were her girlfriend. You weren't at the time, of course, but...we thought it might end up that way, yes. We didn't know for sure…but let's just say when Akari told us you two were together, it didn't come as a big surprise."

My mom laughs, "I can see why you two have those PhDs. It completely surprised me."

Daisuke laughs and adds, "Me too. And they say other LGBTQ people are supposed to have an instinct for that kind of thing."

I laugh, "Well, I wasn't reading this kind of manga." I take Akari's hand "Plus…I didn't even have a crush on any girls before Akari. Not as many clues."

Akari laughs and smiles at me and then turns to her parents, " …th-thank you, mom and dad."

Her mom looks surprised. "Whatever for?"

"Just…helping me figure that part of m-me out. Bringing me all that manga in the hospital. You…were basically encouraging m-me all along, and I didn't know. I r-really appreciate it, now that I do."

Kaito adds, "I agree, it sounds like very good parenting."

They are definitely 'actions speak louder than words' people. If my mom thought I liked girls she would have just talked to me about it and told me she supported me.

Her father smiles, "You're very welcome Akari. I'm glad we could help. So…would you two like your gifts from us?"

Clearly, they want to change the subject. Too much real talk, I think.

We both nod excitedly. Her father hands us two wrapped gifts that are very clearly something in a frame. We look at each other and nod before ripping the paper off the gifts. What I find is a framed page of some kind with something that looks vaguely like music notes, along with western writing underneath the music. I see Akari has the same sort of thing, but our pages aren't identical.

Hideki has something like this. What was it called again?

I look up at the Yoshidas and confidently say, "It's a medieval manuscript page with musical notation, right?"

Mrs. Yoshida raises her eyebrows, "I'm impressed, Kayoko. How did you know all that?"

Praise from her feels amazing. Is this what it's like to be Koji?

"Oh, I've read about the history of music a little bit."

I lied a little to make it sound more impressive that I know this. It just being a coincidence would not get me as much praise.

Mr. Yoshida nods, "That's great. Do you happen to know this song?"

I laugh, "Nope. I don't know Latin. Although…I do know most of the music was religious."

He winks at me, "You have impressive knowledge about medieval music." He chuckles "While you're right about most medieval music being religious, by later in the period there was also secular music, usually written in spoken languages like French and English instead of in Latin, which your typical person didn't know at the time. That way, more people could enjoy them. That's what this is. It's a troubadour song. You each have half of it."

"Troubawhat?"

He laughs, "It is basically a hit song from the time. Troubadours were famous singers and songwriters. They traveled throughout Europe and performed songs. Many of them are about love, like this one."

I smile and look at Akari, who is studying her page closely, "And we each have half of this love song?"

He nods, "This one is by a 14th-century Frenchman named Guillaume de Machaut."

Yep, never going to be able to pronounce that.

He continues, "We think it's one of the best love songs ever written. It is a bit melodramatic of course, but it defines love beautifully. I've included the translation on the back of each of the frames. You two should read it together later."

Akari and I smile at each other.

Not only are these manuscript pages beautiful, and a neat thing for a musician to own, but the gift has real meaning. This is another 'actions speak louder than words' thing. Her parents rarely say nice things about our relationship, or outright tell us that we are a great couple like my mom always does. But through their actions, and especially their gifts, they keep showing us that they feel the same way my mom does.

"Thank you so much, Mr. and Mrs. Yoshida. I really, really love this."

I get up and give them each a brief hug. I want to hug them longer, but I don't think either of them would be comfortable with that. Akari gets up and thanks them the same way.

My mom gets up and stands behind us to look at the pages. "Those are really pretty. They will look nice on your walls. Way better than bathrobes."

She is kind of right, but the Yoshidas express their emotions through gifts, my mom does it in lots of other ways.

I laugh, "We like those a lot too, mom!"

"Y-yeah…love them, even!"

Oops, I did only say like.

My mom laughs, "Well…either way, you two got very nice gifts tonight."

I nod, "We did…and you all made us really good food on top of that. Thank you, everyone." Akari repeats my sentiment.

After that, Daisuke and Mrs. Yoshida clean up, refusing offers of help from everyone else either because it's their birthday or they did the cooking. Then we say our farewells to Daisuke and Kaito, and we all head to our bedrooms after a fun night.

...

At the end of the night, we climb into bed together and look at our manuscript pages. We can't wait any longer to read what they say.

Once we figure out Akari has the first half, she sings the translation aloud, doing her best to follow the musical notation, even though it only kind of resembles our own. (Author's Note: You can listen to the song here.)

Akari smiles, "Th-that's the end of mine. It is f-fun reading how people 600 years ago thought about love. N-not too different from today." She looks at me seductively. "My desires are p-perpetually of you.'"

I kiss her softly, "Right back at you. Should I read mine now?" She nods and smiles and then I do my best to sing my portion while reading the translation.

Once I finish, I smile at Akari and say, "Well…your dad was right. This is an amazing love song."

Akari nods and takes my hand, "I l-like the part about you sweetening my bitterness. You do that all the t-time for me. When you help m-me during flares or panic attacks."

I smile at her and squeeze her hand. "You do it for me too when I get hurt or have surgery." I look at the translation. "My favorite part is how similar some of this is to the Bloom into You theme." I giggle. "Who would have thought a 21st anime theme song and a 14th-century French love song would describe love in a similar way?"

She raises an eyebrow, "Which part?"

I look back at the translation on the back of my frame and trace my finger along as I read, "I want to suffer everything with you. Experience everything with you. Endure everything with you."

Akari smiles and nods and sings the line from the theme that I was thinking about, "Your show of courage, your weakness, your everything. I'll embrace it all."

I smile at her, "Yep. It isn't the same word for word…but the meaning is similar. Love is being there for each other during the good and the bad. They say love is universal. I guess it's true." I tear up a little and hug my frame to my chest. "It really means a lot that your parents got this for us."

Akari smiles, "It really does. They k-keep surprising me. I can't believe they knew I liked girls for so long. And thought we m-might end up together!"

I laugh, "Me neither. I realized tonight…your parents don't often say kind things. But they do them all the time. From everything with your health, to encouraging you to explore your sexuality, to visiting my family at the holidays, to getting us really sweet gifts."

Akari nods, "Y-you're right." She laughs. "So, you do think they are nice?"

I nod, "Very nice. They aren't comfortable with physical contact or expressing emotion…and that was hard for me at first. But now I get them. And I love them." I laugh. "But I'm afraid to tell them that and make them uncomfortable."

Akari giggles, "Well…I'm glad you love them. I think they love you too…they'll t-tell you some day."

Now we put the frames aside and get very snuggly. I give Akari a long kiss as I think about the words from that medieval love song. Then, there's a knock on the door. We break our kiss and jump a little. Even though her mom said this is okay, I don't think she wants to walk in on us kissing and snuggling. We separate and Akari says, "C-come in."

We both heave a sigh of relief when my mother walks through the door.

She laughs at us, "You two look scared. Expecting someone else?"

I laugh, "Definitely. Everything okay with grandma?"

She nods. "Yes, she's great. But….there's…something important I wanted to talk to you about tonight, related to you being 18 now…if you're willing. I was going to wait a few days…but since I'm going home early tomorrow, I want to talk to you about it now."

I smirk at her, "Okay, but if it's the sex talk, you're a little late. Plus, we don't really need to use protection. One of the perks, I guess, right Akari?" She laughs and playfully pokes me in the ribs and my mom smiles gleefully about it before she sits down in a chair in the corner of the room.

Then she drops a question on me I really didn't see coming. Akari's parents aren't the only ones surprising me tonight.

"Do you ever think about your birth parents?"

Akari grabs my hand and smiles at me. I smile back. Did they talk about this ahead of time or something? This feels like a concerted effort.

I turn back to my mom. "Nope. Literally never. You didn't meet them, right?"

She shakes her head, "It was a closed adoption. We don't even know who they were other than some vague details that you already know: Your mother was young and single and couldn't afford to keep you. I guess she lives in the Tokyo area too, or at least she did back then."

"Right." I pause for a moment. "Wait, what does turning 18 have to do with this?"

"When we adopted you, they told us the only way to see the records was for you to have them unsealed when you were legally an adult. There's no guarantee that your birth mother left any information, but if she did, that's where it would be."

"But…if she did leave information…I could find my birth parents?"

"Well…she was a single mother…so it may be harder to find your father since we can assume they aren't together. But…yes, if she left contact information, you might be able to find her."

I look at Akari and then at my mom. I feel very uneasy talking about this. I have a horrible feeling in my stomach. I cross my arms and say, "I don't think I care about any of this. I don't need to meet her."

My mom and Akari both look at me in confusion. My mom says, "That's fine…of course. But do you mind telling me why?"

I shrug, "I don't know. She isn't someone who has mattered at all to me in my life so far. Why meet her now?"

"Are you…angry at her? It sounds like it." Akari nods. This really is a two-pronged attack.

"I'm not angry at her for giving me up. I wouldn't have this life I love so much if she hadn't. But I don't need her. I have you."

Akari says, "B-but wouldn't it be nice to see where you came from?"

I sigh, "Is that where I came from though? Sure…in a physical sense that is obviously the case. But who I am has nothing to do with this woman. She's just a stranger."

My mom and Akari respond by staring at me with frowns on their faces.

I sigh. "You both really seem to want me to do this, huh?"

"I'm not going to make you…I don't think either of us are." Akari nods in agreement. "But I don't see how it could hurt. At a minimum, it will be interesting. Maybe you'll even connect with her."

I snap, surprising everyone, even myself, "I don't want to connect with her, mom!"

Akari squeezes my hand and looks at me with concern and my mom frowns and comes to sit on the end of the bed. "Sweetie…are you worried about hurting my feelings?"

I look down, "I dunno. I have had a horrible feeling in my stomach since this conversation began. I guess that's what it is. A little bit. It feels…kind of wrong for me to go and meet her, and definitely wrong to connect with her and have her in my life."

"Y-you would feel like you're…cheating on your mom?"

I laugh, "It sounds silly when you say it but…yeah, I guess that's the closest thing to what I'm feeling. I feel guilty."

My mom smiles and puts a hand on my shoulder, "I understand feeling that way. But I'm not going to be hurt by it. I know I'm your mother. I don't think you're going to run away with a younger mother and divorce me." This gives us all a laughing fit. My mom is so good at using humor in these situations.

Once I've recovered from the laughter I say, "Okay. Well, you two mean more to me than anyone in the world, and you want me to do this. So, I will."

Akari frowns, "D-don't do it if you don't want to."

"Well…I want to, now. You both have my best interest in mind, so it must be worth doing. We're even in Tokyo. Seems like a good time to visit my first home."

My mom smiles, "That's true." She frowns. "I kind of wish I could go with you."

"Oh. Well, I can wait."

She waves a hand at me, "No, no. You're a big girl, and who knows when we'll both be in Tokyo again."

I hug my mom. "Thanks for coming, mom. I know it probably wasn't easy with all the stress about grandma."

She hugs me back, "I'm glad I came. Happy birthday to both of you."

After she leaves, I ask Akari, "Did you two plan that?"

She looks at me with wide eyes, "No. D-did it seem that way?"

"A little. You definitely helped her."

"W-well…I agreed with her, but it was an impromptu thing." She looks down and frowns. "Sh-should I have stayed out of it?"

I use my hand to angle her head back up and I give her a kiss. One that goes on a little longer than I intended. Before I know it, we have our bodies pressed together too. I really want to go even farther but…

This is not our best behavior!

I break the kiss and find myself a little out of breath. Akari's face and chest are very flushed. I'm sure the same is true of me.

She giggles and gives me a squeeze "So…that's a n-no, then?"

I laugh, "Yes." I put my forehead to hers. "I love you. So…I want you to help me make tough decisions. Like that song over there says, 'I want to suffer everything with you. Endure everything with you. Experience everything with you.' Making tough decisions is definitely part of that."

I wake up the next morning very anxious about getting an appointment at the orphanage. My mom's train leaves before they are even open, so I can distract myself a little by seeing her off.

Akari and I are in a cab with her on the way to the train station. All three of us are in the back seat with me in the middle. There's still plenty of room because they are both so tiny. Of course, Akari and I aren't exactly taking advantage of the space. She really doesn't seem to mind snuggling in front of my mom or the cab driver. I don't mind either.

My mom really wants to get back to my grandma fast. She will barely have been gone 24 hours when she gets back, and I'm sure she's going straight to the hospital. Ther other day, she basically told us that she feels like she has to make up for my dad not being there, and she does that by pushing herself really hard. She worries me. She isn't so young herself, and while she seems to most to have boundless energy, I know she has limits, especially mentally. But she's not going to listen to me if I raise that concern.

As we get close to the train station my mom puts a hand on my knee. "Let me know how things go at the orphanage."

I nod, "I will. You let me know how things are going with grandma."

As we pull in to drop her off, my mom gives me an awkward car hug, and reaches one arm around to put it on Akari's shoulder.

"Have a good rest of your visit. I love you both."

We return her love and say our goodbyes.

On the ride back to the Yoshida household, I call the orphanage which should be open now. To my surprise, they can see me this afternoon. I have very mixed feelings. I'm nervous and excited, and I still have a little guilty feeling in my gut, even though my mom told me not to worry about that. I'm glad Akari is coming with me.

…

Akari and I are at the orphanage where I spent the first few months of my life. Kind of surreal actually seeing a place I've heard so much about. It looks…more like a modern building than I expected. Maybe it's silly, but in my head this place was a western convent. Or at least a very old building. But nope…looks pretty similar to Yamaku. We are in a waiting area outside the office of the orphanage director. I have to sign some paperwork and then my records will be unsealed. With any luck, we will be able to track my birth mother down. If I decide I want to.

"Nakai, she's ready for you."

We stand up and the receptionist opens the door for us. We walk into a large office well-lit by several windows. There is a small stern-looking woman in her 70s sitting behind the large wooden desk. She has thick glasses; her gray hair is in a bun, and she is wearing a purple shawl over her shoulders. Maybe the building isn't what I expected, but she is exactly what I imagined when I heard 'orphanage director.' When we come into the room she looks up over her glasses and smiles at me.

"Nakai?"

"Yes, ma'am. I am here for my appointment. And this is my girlfriend, Yoshida."

"Yes, please come in and have a seat, both of you."

We sit down and the director studies me for several seconds and then smiles. "As you may have surmised from my advanced age…I was also the director when you were here. It's good to see you back here looking so happy and healthy."

"Thank you, ma'am. And thank you for caring for me for those first few months."

"Of course. That's our job. Your parents were very excited to have you. I'll always remember them…and how they looked at you when they met you. I could tell they were right for you, and you were right for them."

I smile at her, "Yes ma'am, you chose well. I had a great upbringing."

She smiles back, "I'm glad to hear it."

"I'm sorry to push ahead like this, but I'm a little anxious to see whether my birth mother left any contact information…"

She smiles, "Yes of course. Luckily it is very simple. You sign this, then I unseal this folder and hand it to you."

Unsealing records is literal? I had no idea.

She slips the paper over to me, and I sign it. She unseals the folder and hands it to me. I take a deep breath and Akari stands up behind me and puts her hands on my shoulders. Then I open it.

"Her information is here. Her name is Shizuka Tachibana and she lives here in Tokyo..." I look at the director. "Is this contact information from back then? Or is it current?"

She puts on her glasses. "I believe Ms. Tachibana has kept it up to date. If you hand me the folder, I can tell you."

I hand it to her. "Yes, this was her information as of last year."

I raise an eyebrow. "She…kept it updated?"

The director smiles. "Yes, some of the parents do. Just in case this happens. It likely means she is hoping to hear from you sometime."

Hearing these words brings back the awful feeling in my stomach from yesterday.

Akari must pick up on my negative feelings. She squeezes my shoulder as I take the folder back from the director.

"Okay, thank you ma'am."

"No problem, dear. Glad to see you grew up to be so lovely."

We head outside the orphanage and hail a cab. We are silent the whole way home. Akari holds my hand. I'm pretty impressed she can go this long without asking me a bunch of questions. I would definitely not be as patient as she's being. But she knows I need to think. I need to figure out why hearing that my birth mother wants me to contact her gave me such a negative reaction.

When we get back to her house, we get into her bed together and snuggle while I continue to think. After about five minutes, the silence has been too much for her.

"D-do you want to meet her?"

I sigh, "I don't know. That's what I have been thinking about this whole time. It seems so…real now. Especially because I have her current information. I sort of thought I would get her name and have to do a bit of digging…but I have everything I need in that folder…"

"I-isn't it good she kept it updated?"

"Maybe. I think…the fact she is so eager to meet…makes me hesitate. What if she wants to be in my life and act like she's really my mom? What if she's hoping my family can help her with money or something? Can I trust her? I don't know anything about her."

Akari gives me a little squeeze. "Well…those are all f-fair things to ask, but you know how we find out the answer?"

I sigh and smile at my wise girlfriend. "I have to meet her."

She nods, "If it doesn't go well…we can just leave and never see her again. We will do it in p-public so it will be easy to g-get away."

I stroke her hair, "You're right. So, you'll come with me?"

She sits up and puts a hand on my cheek before giving me a long, sweet kiss and then smiling at me.

Damn she's pretty.

"Of course I will."

I smile back at her. "Thank you. You're really good to me. I know this is meeting a stranger and talking to them about…stressful things, so I know it isn't the easiest."

"Y-yeah…it's always easier if you're there and focusing on doing it for you helps me. What did that song say? 'Endure everything' right? I feel like I can for you."

She's so perfect. Maybe a little bad behavior might be okay. Her parents aren't here right now…

No! I can't do it to her parents, I need to respect their rules and stay in their good graces.

"I feel like I could do anything for you too." I frown, "Unfortunately, I think we have to stop snuggling."

She clings tighter to me. "What? Wh-why?"

I laugh, "If we are going to try to meet her while we're here, I should probably get the ball rolling."

She reluctantly loosens her hold on me and nods.

I get out of the bed, grab the folder and sit down at Akari's desk and open it to look at Shizuka Tachibana's contact information.

Akari is sitting up in bed now.

"How are you g-going to do it?"

"Hmm…I don't really want her to have my phone number. So…I guess email?"

"That's a good idea."

I get out my phone and open the email app. I try to think of what to write. I'm starting to feel very flustered. I don't even know where to begin. I look up at Akari.

"Will you help me? I'm kind of freaking out. I'm not even sure how to address her."

Akari gets up and stands behind me. She lightly massages my shoulders while looking at my phone screen.

"Ms. Tachibana is probably g-good. We don't know if she's married, right?"

I nod and type out her name. That was such a small thing, and I couldn't quite do it. But…now that I got past that, I think I'm okay. I type out the rest on my own with Akari nodding and verbally supporting me along the way.

Subject: Would you like to meet your daughter?

Ms. Tachibana,

My name is Kayoko Nakai. I'm your biological daughter. I recently had my records unsealed at the orphanage and got your contact information. I see you are in Tokyo, and I am in the city for the next six days. Would you like to meet somewhere for coffee? It would be interesting to get to know you a little.

Sincerely,

Kayoko Nakai.

…

Ms. Tachibana replies to my email later that evening.

Re: Would you like to meet your daughter?

Dear Kayoko,

I am very happy to hear from you. Would you be able to meet tomorrow at 3 p.m.? There's a cafe I really like near the university called "Aroma." I will buy you coffee. You will find me on the outdoor patio.

Sincerely,

Shizuka Tachibana

The cafe is conveniently a very short walk from Akari's family home. That probably means that Ms. Tachibana works or lives nearby. Kind of crazy to think that any time we come to Akari's family home, she has been so close. When we get to the cafe and see people sitting out on the patio, I start looking at each table to see if she is already here. Akari finds her first.

She moves her head in the direction of a table and whispers, "That has to b-be her."

I look where she indicated, and I see a woman sitting alone. She's got on a pair of black rimmed glasses, behind which she has hazel eyes. She has dark shoulder-length hair, almost the exact same color as mine. She's wearing jeans and a red floral blouse with a neckline that shows just a hint of her rather ample bosom.

She certainly looks like my relative. But…she seems too young to be my mother. That sense is augmented by the fact that she is playing a game on her phone and seems to be having an animated conversation with herself about it. Her choice of drink also makes her seem very young. She has some giant sugary coffee drink with whipped cream and chocolate drizzle spilling out of the top. Even without the game and her coffee, I would have thought she was 35 at the very oldest. I knew she was young, but I never imagined she was this young. She's probably younger now than my parents were when they adopted me. That's hard to wrap my head around.

Akari and I approach the table and I say, "Excuse me…Ms. Tachibana?" The woman looks up from her game and puts her phone down. She smiles broadly at me and with a strained voice she says, "You…m-must be…Kayoko?" I nod and she stands up. I notice that she's a tall woman, though a little bit shorter than I am.

She takes a step closer to me and then takes a step back. "Is it…okay for us to hug? I won't hurt you, will I?"

It feels odd for a stranger to know about my condition. But this stranger happens to have given birth to me and experienced my condition first-hand. She saw me come out of the womb with dislocations.

I smile, "No…you won't hurt me."

Although I feel a little weird about hugging. But I guess I can humor her.

She gives me a longer, more intimate hug than I expect. It feels a little awkward at first. But then it feels surprisingly comforting. Almost like we've hugged before. I guess maybe we did when I was a newborn.

After we break our hug, she smiles softly and says, "Happy belated birthday." Her facial expression is the very definition of bittersweet. She's smiling, but there is some very apparent sadness in her eyes.

I thank her, and then as we are both sitting down, I gesture towards Akari to come closer. When she does, I say, "This is my girlfriend, Akari. I hope you don't mind that I brought her along."

"Oh, of course not."

They exchange greetings as Akari sits down. Ms. Tachibana smiles and shakes her head. "It makes me feel a bit old to see that you're a grown woman in a serious relationship."

"How old are you…anyway? You don't look that much older than us, to be honest."

She smiles, "Thank you for the flattery. But I'm quite a bit older than you. I'm 33."

Akari gasps softly and my mouth involuntarily falls open when I hear the number. Normally this kind of simple math is very easy for me, but the number I keep coming up with can't be right. "S-so…you were…"

She frowns, "...15 when I had you, 14 when I got p-pregnant."

"That…must have been hard."

Her frown intensifies, "It…was."

I feel bad dumping this question on her now, but I can't keep my curiosity at bay. And I'm sure she knows I wanted to talk about this.

"Who was the father?"

Her frown deepens further still. She starts absentmindedly swirling her straw around in her coffee, jabbing violently every so often. "He was a friend that was two years older. I was in love with him. He…wasn't with me. We never dated. We just had sex once." She stops stirring and her eyes get downcast. "I was going to email him once you contacted me but…I didn't get around to doing it."

"That's okay. It's only been a day. Would you rather we not talk about these…details? I don't want to upset you. We can definitely just talk about our lives now and not the past."

She smiles at me, "No, I think you deserve to know about your past. It is a little painful for me, but…it's the very least that you deserve from me." She locks eyes with me and grabs my hand from its place resting on the table.

She was worried about hugging me, but if she yanked my hand any harder, she might have dislocated my wrist or a finger. No harm done, though

A torrent of words rapidly come pouring out of her mouth. It sounds like something she has rehearsed. "I want you to know…it isn't that I didn't want you. I did. I just couldn't do it as a 15-year-old…and you had your condition. My family was very poor." She starts to tear up. "I w-wanted to keep you so badly. I had fought my parents about it the whole pregnancy and had finally convinced them I could do it…and then…you were born and you got hurt." Tears start trickling down her face now. I hold her hand a little tighter. "Then they identified your condition…and my parents convinced me we couldn't take good care of you. They were right. B-but it was a very hard decision to make. It…was the hardest day of my life…when I had to let you go..."

She trails off and lets go of my hand. She takes off her glasses, pulls out a handkerchief and wipes her tears. Akari is sniffling too. Somehow, I'm not, but I do really feel for her. She didn't really have a choice.

"I understand why you had to do it. You don't need to feel bad on my account."

She nods and smiles, "Thank you for understanding. You have grown up into such a polite young woman. Beautiful too."

I smile back. "Thank you. I think I have you to thank for the last part."

She laughs softly, "You do look quite a bit like I did at your age. I even used to have long hair like yours. Looks like you got your father's eyes…though…" She trails off and looks wistful.

Akari says, "When we got here and I saw you, I knew you were her m-mom right away."

Ms. Tachibana smiles at Akari and then looks at me. "So…what can you tell me about your parents? I can see they did a great job with you."

"They did. I had a great childhood. They loved me, were good with my condition, and helped me understand the world. I'm thankful for them. My…father passed away a few years ago, but I still have my mom and we are very close."

She frowns, "I'm really sorry you lost your father. But I am glad you had such a good childhood. It's a relief to know everything worked out."

"Yeah. I am lucky. My friends are always jealous that I had such great parents."

Akari laughs, "It's true."

Ms. Tachibana smiles broadly, "That's great."

"Do you have any other kids?"

She shakes her head. "Just you. I'm not married or dating anyone either so it may…always be just you." There is some distinct bitterness in her voice.

"Well, maybe you will find the right person."

She shrugs, "Maybe. To be honest I don't look very hard. I am not exactly a social butterfly. I don't really like getting close to people." Her eyes get wide, and she blushes. "I…don't know why I just shared that with you. We just met."

I smile at her, "We sort of met almost exactly 18 years ago, right?"

She laughs softly, "That's true. I guess I feel a connection to you that made me feel like I could tell you that. But you probably didn't come here to hear about my intimacy issues."

"I think…I feel a connection to you too, so…I don't mind hearing about it. I want to know who you are. If you don't want to answer this, you don't have to. But…why don't you like getting close?"

She smiles, "I'll answer. Especially because you're part of the story."

"Huh?"

She starts to get choked up again. "I loved you the minute I saw you." A few tears form in the corners of her eyes. "So, it really hurt to realize in that same instant I was going to lose you. Before that…the boy I was in love with, the one who got me pregnant, disappeared from my life too. It all happened in the span of a few months. I haven't ever really recovered…from all that loss. So…rather than have to deal with loss again…I keep mostly to myself."

Akari says, "S-so you're afraid getting close to someone would just mean they would hurt you?"

Ms. Tachibana nods. "It isn't healthy. I know. I am working on it in therapy, but I have a very big fear of loss that…weighs me down. Paralyzes me when it comes to close relationships."

"Maybe…meeting me will help with some of that?"

She laughs, "My therapist thinks it might."

I smile at Ms. Tachibana, "It might help you a little to know that my mom went through the same thing. She lost her dad when she was 11 and never let anyone close for more than two decades. She was older than you when she had her first real boyfriend, who ended up being my dad."

She smiles softly, "That does help a little. Kind of funny both your moms had a similar problem." She gestures towards Akari and back to me. "I can see from how in love the two of you are, that you didn't end up that way. I'm glad."

We both blush. People always seem to say that about us. I wonder if we really are exceptional. I like to think so.

I take Akari's hand and smile at her and she smiles back. I'm so glad she's here.

"I think it helped that by the time I came around…my mom and dad were together and very much in love. I had good role models."

She smiles, "The more you tell me about them…the happier I am about putting you up for adoption."

I smile. "I…don't know if it would be weird…but I think my mom would be happy to talk to you about struggling with loss, if you want someone who has been through it."

"It might be a little weird, but to be honest I have some questions for her anyway. So, if she's willing to talk to me, I am willing to talk to her."

I nod, "Okay, I'll tell her."

The waiter comes and asks, "Excuse me, would you two like anything?"

I look at Ms. Tachibana's drink. If I hadn't seen this thing, I would probably order regular coffee and not act like a child. But it looks pretty good.

"I'll have what she's having."

"A mocha frappuccino?"

I nod, then Akari orders a smoothie.

Ms. Tachibana smiles and says, "You like sugar too, huh?"

I laugh, "Who doesn't?"

Akari giggles, "You do like it more than most. And f-food in general."

Ms. Tachibana giggles. "Yeah, you may have gotten that from me. Sorry. I eat horribly."

I laugh, "Don't be sorry. Enjoying food is one of my favorite things."

She smiles, "Me too. Do you stay in good shape despite not always eating well and rarely exercising?"

Akari giggles and I glare at her playfully, "Yes, I do. I have you to thank for that too?"

She smiles and nods.

"Well, thank you."

"Is there anything else you want to know about me?"

I ask, "What do you do for a living? I am kind of at a crossroads about that, so I'm extra curious."

She smiles, "I'm a teacher."

Akari giggles. Ms. Tachibana turns to her with a confused expression, "That's…funny?"

Akari freezes up a little. I grab her hand and smile at her, and she relaxes some. Then I answer for her.

"She's laughing because my dad was a science teacher, my mom teaches too - she does track club at our school. And right now, I'm trying to decide if I want to be a teacher."

Ms. Tachibana smiles, "Well, three out of three of your parents teach. Maybe it means something."

I laugh, "Maybe. What do you teach?"

She lights up. "High school math. I'm also the video game club adviser." She adjusts her glasses. "I'm…kind of a stereotypical nerd, if you hadn't picked up on that."

That explains the game she was playing. If she is as isolated as she says, games might be for her what manga is for Akari. As young and attractive as she is, there have gotta be a lot of students who love video games that are in love with her.

"Well, that's cool. I want to teach science…or maybe study music. Or maybe…not teach." I sigh. "I don't know. I can't make up my mind, and I am running out of time."

"Well, when I was your age, I was just hoping to graduate. So, you're ahead of me."

I laugh, "That's what my mom says too."

"What kind of science are you interested in?"

"All of it really…but especially genetics."

She raises her eyebrows, "I can see why that would interest you."

"Yeah. Speaking of which…is there anyone else with EDS in the family?"

"Not that I know of. I think it must come from your father's side." She sighs. "Another reason to talk to him, I guess."

"If you give me his name and stuff, we can do that."

She smiles, "You're very considerate." She looks down. "I would…prefer not having to interact with him, if possible."

"Is he…that bad?"

She frowns and looks off to the side. "Not…bad. But…he was a teenage boy, you know? They can be cruel. He…really hurt me, emotionally." She grimaces. "To put it simply, I would rather not talk to him."

I nod, "Then you shouldn't be doing it. We can email him."

She smiles, "Okay. That sounds like a plan. His name is…Yusuke Nakamura. If you…Google him, you'll find him…"

"I will? Seems like a common name."

"H-he's the first one you'll find."

"Oh. Okay."

I want to press for more, but the look of discomfort on her face tells me not to.

"A-anyway…he should be able to answer your question about EDS…is your diagnosis still that hypermobile type?"

She remembers exactly what it is. That's a little heartbreaking. But I guess I shouldn't be too surprised at this point. She's thought about me a lot over the years. Longed for me, even.

"Yep. That's the same."

"Has that been hard?"

"Not too bad. Physical therapy has helped me cut down on injuries. I get hurt every few months or so. Depending on the injury I have to temporarily use a wheelchair, or a cane, or wear a sling. It's painful and a nuisance, but I get by. I had to have surgery on my elbow recently to clear up arthritis."

"Is it your left elbow?"

"Yeah. But how did you…? …I dislocated it when you were giving birth to me, didn't I?"

She nods and I laugh wryly and look at Akari, "I know I have dislocated it a ton, but there are times that I don't even remember too. Of course it had arthritis."

She smiles at me, "You seem to handle it really well. I'm thankful for that."

Akari says, "M-me too. She's tough."

Just as I'm about to point out that Akari might be even tougher, the waiter comes with our drinks. I take a drink of mine and it tastes as amazing as it looks. Chocolate and coffee, what could go wrong?

I offer my drink to my girlfriend. "Do you want a sip, Akari?"

She smiles and takes a drink, "Wow that is g-good. Gonna be hard to drink this smoothie now."

Ms. Tachibana laughs, "You can get one too, it's on me."

"Umm…th-thank you, but I shouldn't. Too much caffeine is bad for m-me. S-so I just get tastes of Kayoko's coffee. My smoothie will be really good."

She nods and smiles at Akari before turning to me, "Where do you two live? You said in your email you were just visiting Tokyo." She looks down and quietly says, "If…that's okay for me to ask. Maybe you don't want me to know…"

I trust her. And I don't have any doubts about that trust. Not something I normally feel towards a stranger.

"We live in a town outside Sendai. We go to a boarding school there for disabled students."

She raises her eyebrows and smiles, "That's…gotta be really great. Your parents just…wow. Went to the trouble of finding that place and everything, and I'm sure it isn't cheap…"

Akari and I laugh. Ms. Tachibana looks at each of us and smiles softly, "What joke am I missing this time?"

"Well, both of my parents went there when they were students. So, they didn't have to look too hard."

Her eyebrows go up again, "So…your parents are disabled too. Wow."

I giggle, "Doesn't stop there either! Remember how I said they both teach? Well, that's where."

Ms. Tachibana shakes her head in disbelief while smiling broadly, "So…your parents are disabled, which had to help them in raising a child like you…and they work with disabled students for a living." A few tears make an appearance on her cheeks. "There can't have been a better set of parents for you anywhere in Japan."

I laugh, "That's basically what my mom told my dad when convincing him to look into adopting a disabled baby. My mom is also a physical therapist and learned how to realign my joints and everything."

"That's just amazing. I was a little worried…all these years, that you didn't end up with good parents. It's such a relief to hear that they were this amazing."

I smile at her, "Good. I hope it helps a little."

"It does." She looks at her phone and frowns. "Unfortunately, I need to get going." She starts to stand up, so I do too. I initiate a hug this time.

She doesn't really feel like my mom. But I feel kinship with her. Like she's an older sister or cousin. There's a natural connection here. I like her a lot.

I start tearing up. I was wondering when that would happen. "Ms. Tachibana, are you okay with us staying in touch?"

She sniffles and responds, "Yes, I would love that. Not knowing…anything about you these 18 years has been hard. By the way…please just call me Shizuka. Enough of this 'Ms.' stuff."

We break the hug and I laugh, "Okay, Shizuka. Akari's parents live here, and we both hope to get into school at Tokyo, so we'll be around."

"Okay. It would be nice to see you again." She turns to Akari. "I'm sorry we didn't talk much, I want to get to know you too next time, okay?"

Akari nods and smiles, "Y-you saw your daughter for the first time in 18 years, I didn't expect to get m-much attention. I was just here for support."

Shizuka smiles at her. "You're a good girlfriend." She looks at me. "Okay…well…this was really great. Thank you for doing this."

I smile back at her. "I'm glad I did."

After that we exchange numbers and she leaves, Akari and I start the walk back to her parents'.

I take her hand as we walk. "Thanks for getting me to do this. That was great. She wasn't what I expected."

"Yeah, it went b-better than I could have imagined. Wh-what did you think she'd be like?"

"I pictured a cold, pragmatic woman who gave me up because it made financial sense. Somehow I…never really thought about how it must have made her feel."

She frowns. "Y-yeah…I didn't think about it either. She's still so heartbroken about it all."

I smile at her. "I know. Both of my parents had a period in their life like the one she is in now. So, she doesn't have to stay that way."

I'm going to try to make sure that she doesn't.

…

Later that night, I'm talking to my mom on the phone.

"How's grandma?"

"She's great. Bored though. You should call her after you get off the phone with me."

"Yeah…good idea. I should be a better granddaughter."

My mom laughs, "You are a good granddaughter, but you had a stressful day I'm sure. So…how was the meeting?"

"Good. I'm divorcing you. I found a new younger mom."

"Hardy har har. I know you aren't serious, but I can't tell if you're being sarcastic and trying to say you didn't like her, or if you're just teasing me."

I laugh, "I'm teasing. I liked her, much more than I expected to. Akari liked her too."

"That's good. How old is she?"

"...younger than you and dad were when you adopted me. Much younger, even. She's 33."

There's silence for a moment, then my mom says, "Wow. She's…your mom, and she's young enough to be my daughter. Your father and I adopted late I suppose but…that's still pretty wild."

I tell my mom Shizuka's whole story. When I'm done, my mom is clearly a little choked up.

"That poor girl…it would be hard not to be afraid of loss after what happened to her." She pauses. "I can relate to her some. How strange."

I laugh, "I know. I told her…you might be willing to talk to her about it. She has a therapist but-"

"I would be happy to talk to her, dear."

"Okay, thanks. I will give her your number. Maybe it's strange because we just met but I… care for her and want to help her."

"Well…me too, from what I know now. It would be hard not to after hearing that story. And well, she is related to us, more or less."

"Yeah, that makes sense."

"Do you think you'll contact your birth father?"

I sigh, "I don't know. From the little bits I got out of her he sounds like an absolute asshole."

My mom sighs, "It doesn't sound good, that's for sure."

"I think I'm going to put that on the backburner for a while. I think I need to hear…the other parts of Shizuka's story before I can decide about it. If it's bad…I don't really have any desire to be around him. And I don't want to bother her about that right now. Just meeting me was enough for now. I think once I get to know her a little better…I'll ask her."

"That sounds like a good idea. Well…I'm glad you did this, sweetie."

"Yeah, me too. Thanks for convincing me to do it."

After I get off the phone with my mom, I look for Akari, and find her in the living room with her mom. They are watching a British soap opera. They look like they are enjoying it together, so I won't bother them. My English isn't good enough to follow along, especially if I start in the middle. Something my mom said on the phone made me realize I still hadn't done something important. I was going to get Akari for when I do it, but I can fill her in later.

I go back to Akari's room and lay in her bed with my phone. I type in 'Yusuke Nakamura' in the search bar. She said he would be the first one I found.

The first result is a news story from about two years ago. The headline is "Yusuke Nakamura becomes the Youngest Company President in Japan." When I read the story, I learn that he runs a family company that specializes in importing and exporting.

The company is worth 100 billion yen.

I was wondering if the birth parents plot point would be used, and I see that things are getting interesting

It’s the night before our third and final year at Yamaku begins. Akari is sleeping soundly next to me and I’m starting to drift off to sleep myself. I’m excited to start my final year, but it’s also really scary. I still haven’t figured out what I want to study.

Examination hell starts after summer vacation and still I feel lost. It's like walls are closing in on me, and I have no idea what to do about about

At least I know I’m excited for band. I haven’t gotten to play with anyone but Akari since before my elbow started to have problems at Christmas time. It will be nice to get back in a rhythm there.

…

I just woke up in excruciating pain in the middle of the night. I rolled on my side and my wrist is pinned under me. It’s definitely dislocated. I start crying as soon as I realize this. I'm trying my best to muffle myself so Akari won’t wake up. But I can't, I'm sobbing now. It isn’t because of the pain.

She sleepily reaches an arm out to me and says, "Mmn?…hey…what's wrong?" I just keep crying in response so she puts her arms around me. I cry into her chest while she strokes my back the way my dad used to.

She sounds very worried when she says, "Kayoko…I’m here…l-let me know if I can help."

This thought has been in the back of my mind for a while, but I haven't wanted to confront it. I haven’t really thought about it since Hana hurt my arm several months ago. I think I've been in denial.

I sniffle and pull myself together a little. Enough to speak, anyway. Of course, pain complicates speaking too. Hopefully she can understand me.

"Have…quit…piano."

"Why?"

"Hurt…Wrist."

"Dammit. Well…you d-don't have to quit entirely."

"Wanted…perform…”

She strokes my hair, “I know that s-sucks. I wish I could fix it.”

I sniffle, "Me…too.”

"I want to keep t-talking about this, but we need to get you to the medical building, right?"

I nod. Akari gets dressed, carefully helps me get dressed and puts my sling on me. Then we slowly and carefully walk to the medical building together.

We quickly get a bed in an examination room, as there's no one else here.

The night nurse is working. She is someone I haven't ever interacted with. It worries me a little, because the usual nurse is so used to dealing with me. It isn't helped by the fact that she seems a little…off. I guess maybe you have to be if you work the night shift. She's a very energetic, overly chipper woman in her 20s with very short brown hair, brown eyes, and porcelain pale skin. She's wearing brightly colored scrubs with anime cats on them. Her presence isn't what I would call calming.

She practically skips into the room before moving a stool next to the bed and taking a seat in it. "Hey girl, I just read your chart. You have EDS right?"

I nod, feeling nervous to be asked this question.

Akari is uneasy too. "H-have you…d-done this before?"

The nurse sighs and plasters a smile on her face. "Have I fixed a dislocated wrist before? Yes. Have I dealt with someone with EDS? Not…so much. Everyone has to start somewhere though, right?"

Preferably not on me though.

Once again, Akari is on the same page, "Um…wh-when does the shift change?"

The nurse leans back and crosses her arms. Her body language indicates she was offended, but her smile doesn't. "Five hours. I don't think we want to leave your friend like this that long."

Akari nods.

I really don’t want to talk right now…but I think I have to.

"Careful…with…other…joints."

The nurse nods and very carefully examines my wrist. If anything, she’s being too delicate with me, but better to err on that side than the other. Once I see her in action, I feel much better about the situation.

Akari takes my other hand and smiles at me. I try my best to smile back, but with the pain I'm in, it can't have been very pretty.

The nurse very slowly and gently guides my joint back into its socket, which is accompanied by my usual pained grunt and a squeeze of Akari’s hand. I breathe a sigh of relief, and so does the nurse.

Akari starts stroking my hair and I give her a better smile this time and she smiles back before kissing the side of my head.

The nurse notices this and smiles. “Aw, you two are together? I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have assumed you were friends.”

I shrug. “It’s not a big deal. You couldn’t have known. We’re best friends too so you weren’t too far off. Just…" I smile at my girlfriend. "…also, more than that.” Akari smiles and nods in agreement.

The night nurse nods, “Okay. I still should have chosen my words better. Not good to assume things in my position. I'm making a mental note."

She pauses for a second and her face goes blank. I guess this is her making a mental note.

Her smile is back now. I guess the mental note has been made "Alright. Well, next up we need to-”

“Get an X-Ray, take some anti-inflammatories, and ice it?”

The night nurse chuckles, “You got it, girl. But…it sucks that you know that.”

I sigh, “It really does.”

…

After the X-ray, Akari holds the ice on my wrist for me.

"You know…I could hold the ice myself. I have another hand.”

"Shut up, I l-like doing it."

I laugh, "Dang, aggressive."

"Do you w-want to talk more about piano stuff?"

I frown. "I guess so. I just think…I have to give it up as a serious career option.” I use my good hand to stroke Akari’s hair. “I had a dream that maybe we’d be able to play in the same orchestra, at least for a little bit. But…I guess it was unrealistic.”

“Well…at least we’ve had band these last two years. I know it’s not the same but…it’s something.” She kisses me on the side of the head. “I c-can’t imagine…having to give up French horn because of my condition. I w-wish I could help somehow. I feel…helpless. That's why I'm insisting on holding the ice.”

I smirk at her, “Well, if you kiss m-me on my lips this time instead of the side of my head…I think that would help.” She giggles and follows my silly instructions.

"Seriously, though. You can't fix it, but you help me cope. Big time. You sweeten my bitterness, remember?"

She smiles, "Yeah."

“But…it does suck. I always thought I’d have to give it up in my mid-to-late late 20s…n-not in my late teens.”

Akari nods, “I know. B-but you were never 100% sure you wanted to do musical performance, right?”

“Sure. But…having the choice taken away sucks. Maybe I would have chosen not to do performance, but I wanted the option."

She nods, "Oh. Yeah. That would be n-nice.”

I sigh, "But dwelling on it doesn’t help. I do need to think about what options I still have."

“You c-could do like Saki, and b-become a composer.”

“That’s true. But…I have never composed anything…so it may not be realistic either. I could look into it, though. Have to say, the idea doesn't excite me as much as performing."

She nods, “And science?"

“I do love it. But not sure I love it enough. Maybe I’ll start going to science club now, feel things out.”

Akari smiles, “That’s a good idea. I’m sure you’ll f-figure it out.”

She has a lot more confidence than I do. But it is reassuring.

The night nurse comes into the room and smiles, “Okay, you’ve iced it long enough. You two can go get some rest.” She looks at Akari, “What’s your name?”

Akari looks at me uneasily and then says, “Um…Akari Yoshida, why?”

“I was going to write you both excuses so you can be excused for morning classes. I could…probably excuse you both from all classes too, if you want."

Akari looks at me, telling me she wants me to answer.

"Just morning should be good. I don't wanna miss too much." Akari nods.

The night nurse nods, “Okay, I’ll send the notice to your teachers." She is silent while she writes our notes on her clipboard.

When she's done, she looks up and says, "Thank you for…putting up with me. Both of you. I didn’t want to tell you but…I started last week, and I was always with one of the other nurses. So…this is my first night here on my own. And…you were the first student I had on my own. And you were both really kind and patient despite all of the pain Kayoko was in." She cringes at herself. "And…despite me assuming you were just friends."

I smile at her, “Well, you did a good job. My mom is on the medical staff here – she’s the head physical therapist, and my grandma is married to a former Yamaku head nurse. So…I have heard enough stories to know how hard it can be in your position.”

She smiles, “That’s great. I’ll have to track down your mom and tell her how great you two are."

I laugh, “Don’t go to too much trouble, she already thinks we’re pretty great.”

The night nurse laughs and nods, “Okay, I hope you two can get some rest. Hopefully I don’t see you two again." She face palms. "I mean…I hope you don’t get hurt at night again…not that I don't want to see you." She cringes at herself again. "But…I don't want you to get hurt during the day either.” She sighs and looks at the floor. “I'm sorry…I'm…bad at talking."

Akari and I giggle, and Akari stands up and pats her on the shoulder. "W-we knew what you meant. Don't worry. Thank you v-very much for your help."

She used to say she was bad at talking. I guess she feels some kinship with her. Of course, Akari's 'bad at talking' was a little different from this.

We head back to the dorms and both fall asleep the instant our heads hit the pillow.

We managed to drag ourselves out of bed for our afternoon classes, but now that they are over, we are exhausted. So, we're back in my dorm room to take a nap before dinner.

Once I get bed, I realize I need to call my aunt. She might already know, because I talked to my mom earlier, but I should make sure. After all, the band isn’t going to have a piano at all for a little while. Akari is already falling asleep, so I quietly sneak out of my room and go to hers to make the phone call.

“Hey Kayoko, what’s up? Ready for band tomorrow?”

I sigh, “Unfortunately I dislocated my wrist in my sleep last night. So, I won’t be able to play. That's why I was calling."

“Well, shit. That’s not fun. You’ve had a hard go of it lately, haven’t you?”

I sit down on Akari’s bed and sigh, “Yeah. I think I have to give up my dream of playing piano professionally. I just miss too much time.”

My aunt sighs, “Yeah…it does make it hard. I’m sorry sweetie. I should have taught you to play some instrument that doesn’t use any of your joints.”

I laugh, “Which one would that be?”

In a very serious voice she says, “Hmm…Harmonica maybe?” This makes me giggle pretty hard, perhaps partly as a result of exhaustion. But it also helps me feel a bit better about things. My aunt laughs with me.

After I’ve cooled down from all the laughter I say, "I think…I'm going to try out science club again. I’m starting to really feel pressure to figure out what I want to do in university.”

She sighs, “You’re leaving band for the science club, just like Daisuke. My own family doesn’t want to be in band with me.”

I laugh, “Well, my circumstances are a little different than Daisuke’s.”

“Yeah, yeah fine. I guess you have an excuse unlike my traitorous son.” She chuckles and then pauses for a moment. “Oh, I do have some news I was going to tell you about tomorrow.”

“What is it?”

"There's a first year student coming in who wants to learn piano."

"Yeah? That's cool. Are you going to teach them?"

"Well…I could, I guess. But…that's…not exactly what I had in mind. I'm pretty busy, y'know? But…I know someone else who could do it. She also plays the piano." Then there's a pointed silence. It takes me several seconds to realize what she's suggesting.

"...what? Me?! I've never taught anyone…anything."

“Just think about it. If you’re trying to figure out what you want to do for your career…this might not be a bad test. You could teach music, like Hana wants to.”

That’s…true. Even though I love music and I like the idea of teaching science, somehow the idea of teaching music never really occurred to me. I had tunnel vision.

The options were:

1) Be like Saki
2) Be like my dad.

But there are more options than that.

“Um…okay. I’ll give it a try. I can’t promise I’ll be good at it. When would I meet with them?”

“Don’t know that yet, I’ll have to talk to the student and get back to you."

Once the call ends, I head back to my room where a very adorable Akari is sleeping peacefully. I set an alarm so we don't miss dinner and happily get in bed with her. When I do, she shifts and puts her arms around me in her sleep, putting a big smile on my face. I’ll never get tired of falling asleep to the sound of her rhythmic breathing.

…

After dinner, I get a call from my mom while Akari is taking a shower. I updated her about everything earlier, but she knows I feel pretty down and she's probably calling to check on me.

"Hi sweetie, did your day improve after your bad morning?"

"Yeah, I think so. No more injuries anyway. Still really tired though."

"I bet. Takes time to recover from missing so much sleep."

"So it would seem."

"I had an interesting meeting with the nurse who took care of you."

I laugh, "I bet it was interesting."

My mom laughs, "She's a bit off-beat, but very sweet. She spoke very highly of you two. It was nice to hear."

I laugh, "She was very obviously inexperienced, which was scary at first. But she did a good job, and was very nice."

"Good. Did you decide for sure you are moving on from music?"

I sigh, "From performance, yes. 100%. But, Aunt Chisato asked me to try out teaching a first year to play piano."

"Oh, that's a great idea!"

"Yeah, I'm going to give it a try. If I like it, maybe that's what I'll do." I sigh. "I…do feel really lost. I did even before I got hurt. I just can't decide what I want to study. Or do for a career."

"I'm sorry sweetie. But you know, most students at the beginning of year three are in the same situation. So…you have time."

"I know. And I have a plan. I'm gonna do science club and teach piano until examination hell. I'll figure it out by then. Probably. Maybe. Perhaps."

My mom laughs, "I'm sure you will. It sounds like a great plan. I think you'll enjoy teaching someone else to do something you love. Seeing someone fall in love with running…it is one of my greatest joys."

I smile, "Yeah. I hadn't thought of it that way. It does sound pretty great. Thanks mom, you made me feel better about stuff."

She laughs, "That's basically in the job description for a mom, so I'm glad to hear it."

"Well, I would promote you if I could. It just isn't in the budget."

"Ms. Hamada, can I talk to you for a moment?"

It’s the second school day of the year, and the first time Akari and I have come to morning classes. The morning lessons just ended, and I am staying behind to talk to my teacher.

"Of course, Nakai. How are things? I was sorry to hear your year got started the way it did."

I smile, "Thank you. But…there is a silver lining to me getting hurt, one I think you'll like."

She raises an eyebrow at me, "I find that hard to believe, but go on."

"Well…I want to switch to science club. My days as a pianist are…numbered." I point at my wrist immobilizer. "...and I need to find my career pretty soon. I want to dedicate more time to science."

She frowns at me, to my surprise. "I will be happy to have you in science club. You're the best science student at the school.” She puts a hand on my shoulder. “But…I am very sorry you had the other option taken away from you."

I smile at her, because she gets it. Even Akari didn't get it right away. “Thank you. It isn't ideal. But I am glad I love science too.”

She smiles at me, "Me too. So, I will see you this afternoon?"

I nod, "Yes ma'am."

She smiles, "Good."

…

After I get my lunch, I head out to the main quad and find my friends. As I approach them, I realize that we are back to our original group of four from our first year. And we are back eating where we did back then. A lot has changed since then. After all, I'm sleeping with Akari now, and more importantly we're unofficially betrothed. But…lots of things are the same. I’m happy we’ve all stayed friends.

I say hello to the three of them and sit down next to my girlfriend. We exchange a quick kiss.

I grin at Carsten and Ai, "Was lunch lonely yesterday? You went from having it with four other people last trimester to just the two of you for a day. Must have been hard."

Ai giggles and puts her hand on Carsten's arm. "We do hate to be alone together. Don't we babe?"

He nods and puts an arm around her waist, "Yeah. It isn’t like we get along really well or anything."

Akari laughs and says what I’m thinking, "You two went back to the dorms and had sex d-during lunch yesterday, didn't you?"

Ai giggles, "Well, you two weren't here…so we didn't have much motivation not to."

I roll my eyes, "So if we didn't exist, you two would have sex during lunch every day?"

They look at each other and in perfect unison they say, "Most days, yeah."

Ai adds, "We don't necessarily go back to the dorms though…if you catch my drift." She winks suggestively.

"Wait? What?! Where do you go?"

Ai blushes a little and looks at Carsten. He nods. I guess she was making sure she could tell us. "The…library bathroom, sometimes. It has a lock." She smiles bashfully. "I learned it from Hana. She corrupted me."

I laugh, "Wow, so Hana and Koji did it there too? That sounds like a good spot. You two are adventurous."

Ai defensively says, "You two have sex all the time too, don't act like we're crazed perverts or something."

Akari giggles, "You aren't perverts. We didn't s-say that. I think it's sweet "

I nod, "I agree. I just thought it was funny that your reason for doing it yesterday was us not being here."

Carsten shrugs and smiles at Ai, "It's as good a reason as any."

I laugh, "Does that mean hanging out with us is better than sex?" Akari and Ai giggle.

Carsten says, "Well…we can have sex whenever, but we only have so much time to hang out with you two. You're busier than us."

"So…that's a yes then?"

Akari laughs and nods, "That's what I heard.”

...

I'm leaving science club. Today was a very short informational meeting since it was the first day. Band is definitely still going since they have so much to sort out, so I'm on my way over there to meet Akari.

When I get to the performing arts center, I enter the band room quietly. The established band members probably played a couple of songs earlier to show the new members what they'll be doing. Now, things are largely procedural. My aunt is telling them that the ranking for instruments will be determined on Friday. She's also talking about the festival performance in a few months.

I spend most of this time looking at my girlfriend. She was the most talented person in band last year, but now that gap is probably even wider. She really is amazing.

I lose myself in thinking about the first time the two of us talked, which happened in this very room. She came up to me at the piano and apologized for running into me. She was an anxious wreck. I thought she was cute from the get-go, and really wanted to help her as soon as I saw how much she was struggling. I wonder sometimes whether I was attracted to her from the beginning but just didn't understand my feelings. It doesn't really matter of course, but it is interesting to reflect on. Because now I think she's gorgeous.

I'm brought out of my head by the hustle and bustle of band being dismissed. My gorgeous girlfriend spots me and we exchange a quick hug and kiss.

"H-how was science club?"

"Fairly uneventful today. Not a bad way for me to adjust to being in there again, though.”

Akari nods and my aunt spots me and comes up to us with a mischievous grin on her face. "Oh, she graces us with her presence! I thought you were too good for band now."

I scoff playfully, "Aunt Chisato, you make it sound like my injuries didn't force me out of band. Can't you be a little more considerate?"

She looks guilty for a brief moment but then realizes I'm just playing along with her silliness and smiles.

"Anyway, are you still interested in teaching piano?"

"I'm interested in trying, yeah. Was that student here today?"

She shakes her head. "No. He's actually in art club, but also wants to learn piano."

"That's…bold. It's like being in two clubs. He's a first year student taking on that much?"

She laughs, "Yeah. I met him today. Seems like a go-getter."

"Well, that's good. That should work pretty well, actually. I'll be doing club stuff too, so we'll probably meet in the evening."

I look at Akari and pout, "We are gonna see less of each other this trimester between me changing clubs and teaching this person. That kinda sucks."

Akari laughs and hugs me while looking up at me, "Yeah, it's a little sad, b-but we see each other a lot outside of band and stuff anyway."

My aunt laughs, "You two are still this lovey-dovey huh?"

I giggle, "I guess. We haven't even been a couple for a year. Cut us some slack."

She raises her eyebrows, "Seriously? Seems a lot longer."

Akari smiles, "It's t-true. We got together two days after the festival last year.”

My aunt nods. "You two were friends a long time before that…and have also been so serious that it felt longer. I stand corrected. So, Kayoko, are you okay with me giving this kid your phone number?"

"Yeah. That's probably a good way for us to plan things."

...

Akari and I just got into bed for the night. We are both freshly showered and snuggling nice and close. We are just silently enjoying each other for a bit, but the silence ends when Akari says, "Um…you know what…Carsten and Ai talked about doing at l-lunch today?"

I laugh, "You mean…sex? Is that how you're coming on to me tonight? By bringing up our two best friends doing it? Interesting tactic." I wiggle my body against hers. Half as a joke and half as an invitation.

She giggles, "Kinda. It just…m-made me realize that we aren't as adventurous as them."

"You mean…sexually?"

She nods, "I love everything we do. And we don't need to change anything. B-but it hadn't even occurred to me that we could be having sex in the middle of the day. Or in other places. We almost always do it at night, and always in bed."

I smile at her and push myself against her more firmly, "So…you want to have sex at different times of day, and in different places? Kinky."

She giggles, "I think it’s worth a try, yeah. Like I said…everything we do is so good that I didn’t even think about the possibility. But…I b-bet it would be so good at different times and in different places too."

"I agree. It sounds like a good idea." I give her a long, deep kiss and we hug each other tight against each other's bodies while our tongues do their usual dance. After a few minutes of this I break the kiss, and without saying anything else I pull the covers over me, turn off the light, and say, "Goodnight Akari, I love you."

Akari is stunned into silence for a full minute. She hasn't moved from the position I left her in. Then she says, "Um…wh-what just happened?"

I giggle at getting the exact reaction I wanted. Then I innocently say, "What do you mean?"

"Well…I thought we were going to m-make love. That's usually what it means when you kiss me like that..."

"I know, I wanted to. But then I realized it's night and we're in bed, so I figured you didn't want the same old, same old, you know?"

Akari laughs, gets under the covers with me and pulls me into a kiss like the one we shared before. Except this kiss doesn't leave any ambiguity about what we'll be doing after. Then she says, “I told you…I l-love the same old, same old.”

After that, we had some of the same old, same old and drifted off to sleep in each other's arms. My favorite ending to any day.

Okay, this story is REALLY long, so I guess I'll just unload the comments that accrued for Year 1.
It's mainly just thoughts that I had while reading:

I hope you like it as much as me and your dad your dad and I did.

I go sit down next to her. I grab her hand, but she doesn't respond in any way. Her fingers don't even move.

There's NO way any ambulance would leave her in a state like this and just drive off!!! In fact they would be there exclusively for Emi, because they can't do anything for a dead person.
They would not take the dead person away either. An ambulance does not even transport corpses at all - that's what a coroner is for.
Also, I don't know if you ever had a close relative die and been responsible for the aftermath... Even if you want to, you can't simply stay in bed for a week. There are forms to fill out, stuff to sign, a funeral to organize - and most of that can't simply be left to friends of the family, parents who live hours away or a fifteen year old daughter.

"It's spaetzle." ... "They are basically really tiny dumplings."

Uh... No? Not sure what you are confusing "Spätzle" with... "Maultaschen" would be a German kind of dumpling, but they're not really tiny...
If I had to describe Spätzle to someone, I would call them "coarse noodles"...

We video chat with them every week...

It's probably going to be Holo Chat by this time in the story

Right now we have just have a few posters...

Drop one of the "have"s.

There is one [shower] that I share with Akari and two other girls...

Isn't that still a communal shower then?

He thought I w-was the kind of girl he could do that with...

I'm not sure how stupid you have to be to try that with the daughter of one of your teachers...

I don't think I will be telling her about this...

Lucky guy...

If he ever breaks his her heart...

...some kind of small pasta... couscous I think it's called...

Couscous? Pasta? Couscous is not pasta.

Well thanks, now I wish I was had been there even more."

But I want to be fully open with you before anything happens between us. I'm only going to be here for a few more months.

So he's like Lilly, but male and honest...

Spring Vacation has been great...

This paragraph is a double.

So I really like the story so far. I've only read half of it, and it is already longer than its "prequel", so it might take me a while to get through the rest - especially since I have a Secret Santa story to write myself. ^^°
It feels as if, even though it is about the next generation, there is a very large focus on old people's problems...

Mirage_GSM wrote: ↑Thu Dec 07, 2023 7:29 pm

Okay, this story is REALLY long, so I guess I'll just unload the comments that accrued for Year 1.

It is long indeed. I'm glad you made it through Year One and you like the story so far.

I think your points about the realism in Chapter 0 are excellent. I spent a lot of time working on the dialogue there and not as much time really thinking about the logistics of the whole situation. There's definitely some work to be done there to make it more realistic. Thanks for pointing out various other places with problems too.

However I would like to say, spaetzle can 100% be described as dumplings and Israeli couscous (aka pearl couscous) can 100% be described as pasta.

I've heard a German describe spaetzel thusly and the dictionary definition includes the word "dumpling." They are certainly also pasta, but egg noodles and their relatives are often called "dumplings." Perhaps not "dumplings" in an Asian cuisione sense, but dumplings nonetheless.

There's even less basis for not calling Israeli couscous pasta. It...just is pasta, by definition. It's toasted pasta. I suppose maybe the confusion comes from me not outright saying this variety of couscous was Israeli, but I felt a little bit like that would be redundant.

Hmm... I like how these discussion often lead to me learning something new...
My ex-GF was from Jordan, and we regularly had couscous. By now it's quite common here in Germany actually, but the kind we have here it is definitely not pasta (i.e. it is not made from any kind of dough). I was not aware that there is another kind of couscous in Israel that is made differently but called the same. I looked up Israeli Couscous now, but I imagine people who are not from Israel (definitely here in Germany; not sure about the US) will mostly be familiar with the other kind.

There are several kinds of Spätzle, depending on the region in Germany, but I would classify none of them as dumplings. For me, dumplings are something that is filled with something, and no kind of Spätzle I know of is like that.

The kind we mostly have where I live is like the first of the four pictures on the bottom, and it's most like shorter Udon noodles that are more coarse than slippery.

I looked up the etymology of "dumpling", and apparently the original (17th century) word referred to "a small lump of dough cooked by simmering or steaming." I guess by that definition Spätzle would be dumplings, but then so would all kinds of pasta - except for Israeli Couscous, because that apparently is not cooked but roasted

Mirage_GSM wrote: ↑Thu Dec 07, 2023 9:04 pm

I looked up the etymology of "dumpling", and apparently the original (17th century) word referred to "a small lump of dough cooked by simmering or steaming." I guess by that definition Spätzle would be dumplings, but then so would all kinds of pasta - except for Israeli Couscous, because that apparently is not cooked but roasted

I think that noodle-type pastas can't be dumplings though, since they are not 'dumps' but drawn out into filaments. Hence I would exclude pasta that is made into long thin strips.

Author's Note: Sexual Content

The next morning, I wake up a little ahead of my alarm, so there’s no real reason to go back to sleep. There’s no reason to get out of bed either. Not with my girlfriend snuggling me so nicely. I manage to grab my phone without disturbing her. When I do, I see that I have two interesting text messages. The first says,

"Hi, I'm Junichiro. The band teacher told me you could teach me piano and mentor me. I am very excited and thankful for your help. I would very much like to get started whenever you are ready."

I reply, "Hi! Can you meet in the band room around 7 tonight?"

The other text is from Shizuka. It says, "My school year is getting started. I am sure yours is too. Have a good start to your final year!"

I smile. We haven't talked very much since we met about two weeks ago, other than when I gave her my mom's contact information. The fact she reached out like this means she'd like a more consistent stream of communication. I think I would like that too. I guess I can give her a little update.

I reply, “Unfortunately, I hurt my wrist the day before classes started, and that was a bit of a downer. But I’m going to try teaching someone to play the piano and start going to science club. Maybe it will help me with my career uncertainty. I hope your trimester gets off to a good start too."

…

Later that evening, I'm heading to the performing arts center to meet Junichiro. 7 p.m. is a pretty good time for this. It gives me time for science club and dinner with my friends. It is going to cut into my time with Akari in the evenings, but it shouldn't be too bad. She really wants me to give this a try, so I don't feel like I'm neglecting her or anything.

When I get to the band room, I see one other person there sitting on the piano bench. He hasn't noticed me.

The first thing I notice about him is that he looks very young. So young that my first thought is that he must be the child of someone in the faculty or staff. But he's wearing a uniform, albeit one too big for him. He has a piece of paper out on the piano, and it looks like he is drawing. He has to be Junichiro.

He’s smaller than my mom or Ai, and that’s saying something. If I saw him on the street, I would think he was 10 years old at the very oldest. He has sandy light brown hair and blue eyes.

He’s notices me now. He looks up and waves at me with a cute little smile.

“Hi, I’m Kayoko. You’re Junichiro?”

“Yes, senpai."

First time anyone has called me that. That particular honorific doesn't get used a whole lot at Yamaku. Not sure why.

He also has the voice of a 10-year-old. Some people are late bloomers, I suppose. I looked vastly different at 14 and 15.

I walk up to the piano and say, “It’s nice to meet you.”

He smiles at me, “You too. I know you’re doing this on top of other responsibilities. So, thank you, so much.”

"No problem. I love playing, so I'm excited to teach someone. Besides, it sounds like you're doing lots of other things too."

He smiles, “I guess I am. I really like learning things, so I hope I'll be a good student."

“I’m sure you will. Do you know how to read music?” He shakes his head.

“Okay, we’ll start there today. Let’s go sit at those desks over there.”

He dutifully does what I say and I pull out a worksheet I printed out because I was pretty sure he didn’t know how to read music. It has all the notes labeled within the staff.

He sits down at a desk, and I put the worksheet on it, “So, first we’ll get to where you can identify each of the notes quickly. Today I’m going to go over to the piano and play each of them as you read them, so that you can get used to the sound too. Then in a few days we’ll learn what you need to do on the piano to make those same sounds. After that, we'll start playing songs."

He smiles up at me, “It sounds like you thought this out. Thank you very much, senpai.”

This senpai thing is going to take some getting used to.

As we go through our lesson, I notice that he’s very quick on the uptake. He reminds me a little of Koji in that way. He'll have this down in no time. Once we’ve spent about an hour on it, we call it a day.

On our way out of the band room I say, “If you want to, you can join me and my friends during lunch tomorrow. We’re usually out on the grass in the main quad.”

“Y-you’re a third year? And you’re inviting me?”

“Yeah, why not? I had third year friends my first year. I even had a third year boyfriend!” This last part causes him to raise his eyebrows.

That DID sound a little bit like I was saying I could be his girlfriend, didn’t it? Woops.

“I’ll think about it. I have been eating with some people from class the first few days.”

That’s really good. I was a little worried because of his appearance he might have a hard time making friends, but this is Yamaku. I probably didn’t need to worry too much, especially because he seems to be fairly socially adept, if a little stiff and formal.

“Oh, well that’s great. That’s how I met my two best friends. It is nice knowing they’ll be with you all three years."

He nods, “Well, thank you for my first lesson. I’ll work hard and learn the music quickly before our next meeting."

I smile, “Sounds good. We’ll probably get you on the piano next time.” He smiles really broadly in response. It makes me smile too.

"Are you heading back to the dorms too? We could walk together."

He nods and we leave the performing arts center together. Once we're outside he says, "I bet walking with a man like me makes you feel a lot safer at night."

I'm pretty sure this is a joke…but I don't know him well enough to be sure.

I smile at him. He says, "Oh, come on. That was a joke. A good one I thought."

I laugh, "It was. But I wasn't sure you were joking. You didn't joke around much during our lesson."

"I am pretty serious, most of the time. But…come on, you're like a meter taller than me. It was obviously a joke."

"I'm not a meter taller, you make me sound like a giant."

He laughs softly, "You know what I mean."

I smile, "I suppose I do."

"So…you're not going to ask?"

"Ask?"

"Why I'm like this." He gestures towards himself.

"No. I will listen if you want to talk about it, though."

He smiles. "I've…noticed people don't ask, even when I make self-deprecating jokes. It's refreshing. I want to make fun of myself. But I also don't want to talk about it. So it's perfect."

If he's anything like Koji, his self-deprecating humor indicates he is very unhappy with his appearance. I hope he's not like Koji in this way.

I smile, "Yeah. We understand each other better here. I have a wrist immobilizer on, and you probably noticed my other braces, and you didn't ask me either."

This is the "Gospel of Yamaku" Hana and Akari tease me about, isn't it? Oh well.

He smiles, "That's true. I have really liked it here so far."

We part when we reach the fork in the road between the boys' and girls' dorms and say our goodbyes.

When I get to my room, I find a freshly showered Akari in pajamas reading manga in my bed.

She puts it down and smiles at me, "Hey there. How's my favorite s-sexy teacher?"

I giggle and sit down on the bed, "You realize that makes it sound like you have other sexy teachers, and I'm just your favorite."

She frowns, realizing her mistake and takes a moment to think about how to reformulate her statement.

"How's the world's s-sexiest teacher?"

I laugh, "I dunno. I'd have to ask Ms. Hamada."

She frowns again, "Why are y-you making this hard?"

I laugh, "Because it's funny watching you squirm."

She smiles at me seductively, "So…you like w-watching me squirm?"

How is that smile alone enough to make me want her?

"Yep. I like when you make me squirm, too."

She crawls over to me on all fours with a silly grin on her face. She stops halfway and says. "Oh…wait, I r-really do want to know how teaching was. If we get started, I won't remember to ask tonight."

I laugh, "It was good. He seems like a good student. I got him started on reading music today."

"That's g-good. Did you like it?"

"I did, yeah. He seems really excited, that helps."

She smiles, "Good."

These formalities out of the way, her grin returns, and she finishes crawling towards me. She gives me a gentle shove and I lie down. She gets on her side next to me, drapes an arm over my waist and leans in to kiss me. I can immediately tell we'll be taking things slow tonight, because she starts with a very delicate kiss. I reach up and put my hand on the side of her face as our kiss very gradually becomes more intimate.

When we take it slow like this, I can really feel her cherishing me. She loves me so much. And loves being with me in every sense. I know I feel the same. I can't believe we both found the person who makes us feel this way at such a young age. I couldn't be happier about it.

After we've kissed gently for what must be 20 minutes, she breaks the kiss and says, "I thought m-maybe we could try somewhere other than the bed tonight."

I smile, "Yeah, okay. Let's do it."

She laughs, "I thought that would take some m-more convincing."

I put my hand on her cheek and smile at her. "Why would you think that? Like I've said before, I always like what you suggest."

She laughs, "That's true."

"I trust you. I know whatever you want to do will be great…and that you'll also have thought through how we can do it without me getting hurt. I love that about you…among the many things I love about you."

She kisses me. "I love you too, Kayoko. And I did think about that. So, you want to do it even though you don't know what it is?"

"Yeah…because I trust you." I blush. "Um…there's also…a lewder more embarrassing side to it. I…haven't said it outright to you before…and it's kind of embarrassing…b-but I um… also… like you…telling me…what to do.”

She smiles, "I thought maybe you d-did. In that case, take off your clothes for me."

I nod and stand up. I feel my cheeks flush. It's embarrassing that I like this. But she doesn't seem to mind.

I undress with her watching me eagerly, and I love each little reaction on her face as a new item of clothing is removed. Being watched like this by the woman I love…is a great feeling. Once I'm undressed, she says, "Okay. Get on my desk. But be careful."

I nod and carefully climb on the desk, sitting with my back against the wall and my legs dangling off the edge. She watches me lustily as I do. Then she removes her clothes and walks over to me. I don't know if I've ever been this aroused.

She gets up, moves the desk chair, and stands in front of me. I can see in her eyes she loves every part of me, and I love showing her every part of me. She approaches the desk and positions herself between my legs. She smiles at me and then leans forward to kiss me. She firmly holds the back of my head as she does, and our naked bodies are rubbing together.

She breaks the kiss. and asks, "What do you want me to d-do?"

I blush a little at the first thought that comes to my head, but we seem to be leaning into this tonight so I'll just say it. I smile at her. "I…want you to do whatever you want…with me."

If I had any doubts that she was into me being like this, they all evaporate when she pulls me into another kiss that is more passionate and carnal than any we have shared before. She pries open my mouth with her lips, as wide as it will go and aggressively uses her tongue to explore my mouth, while firmly holding the back of my head. The slow kisses were a great way to start, but I'm loving this too.

She starts caressing my breasts, and rubbing her body more forcefully against mine. After doing this for several minutes, she crouches in front of me and starts kissing my genitals just as passionately. She's gotten really good at this. She knows my body so well that she can basically get me off whenever she wants to. She tends to take her time though, which I appreciate. As she pleasures me with her mouth down below she also caresses my breasts, with her grip gradually intensifying along with the actions of her tongue and lips. She spends most of her time on my clitoris, and before too long, she has my body convulsing as I moan in ecstasy and desperately try to muffle my voice.

She stands up and smiles before she kisses me. As she does, I begin caressing her down below. She is incredibly aroused from doing that for me. As I touch her, I blush and whisper, "Tell me what you want me to do. And I'll do it.”

She pauses and thinks for a moment.

Her hesitation makes me feel awful, because I bet she wishes I could do for her what she just did for me, but there’s no way I can do it safely. My knees and ankles wouldn't like it.

I guess…the reason we aren't more adventurous is…

A concerned Akari says, "Kayoko? What's wrong?"

Apparently I wasn't hiding my feelings very well.

I sigh, "I just wish I could move better for you. I told you I'll do whatever you want…but…it isn’t true, is it? There's…a lot I can't do. I was thinking about that. I just realized…the reason we aren't more adventurous…is me."

Akari frowns and hugs me in a surprisingly wholesome way given how naked we are. I hug her back.

"I'm never disappointed with anything we do and I never ever will be. I love you, and all the things we do. They're all amazing…because I love you.” She breaks the hug and looks me up and down. “And well…your b-body is absolutely insane."

I giggle, "Thank you." Then, a safe way for me to pleasure her outside of the bed comes to mind.

"Do you want me to do the same thing for you?"

She nods, "Should we move to the b-bed?"

I smile, "We can. But I think there's a way to do it here that can be safe. You…want me to do it with you on the desk right, if it's safe?"

She nods, "Yeah. That's what I w-want. If it's safe."

"Okay, Plan B can be the bed."

She looks concerned. "Okay, but what's p-plan A?"

I get off the desk, move her desk chair back in front of the desk and sit down on it. I visualize how this might work.

"I think..if we can get you a little bit higher, I can do it while I'm sitting without bending anything too much."

Akari smiles and looks around her room thoughtfully. She pulls her French horn case out of her closet, and I nod at her to indicate that I think it will work. It is solid enough that it should support her weight and looks to be the right size too. She sets it on top of the desk and sits on it with her legs apart. This should work. My lips are almost perfectly even with her lower ones.

Our serious conversation about my limitations in the bedroom has definitely killed the mood, so I carefully stand up and start kissing her while stimulating her down below with my hand. She reaches out and touches my breasts while I do. After doing this for a few minutes, she is more than ready for the next step. I sit down and kiss her lower lips, drawing pleasured moans out of her. She reaches down and puts her hand on my head to encourage me. After some more innocent kisses, I get my tongue involved and slide it inside of her. Her body has its first tremor of the evening when I do. I start moving my tongue deeper inside of her before pulling it and putting it back in. Her breathing starts to get ragged rather quickly. As I continue to stimulate her insides, I carefully move my arm so that I can get my hand involved. I start rapidly stroking the little bud above her opening while I continue to slide my tongue into and out of her. Her body is convulsing so rapidly that she has to use her arms to brace herself. Otherwise she might slide off the desk. I go as fast as I possibly can with my hand and tongue, bringing her to the point of no return. I feel her insides clench around my tongue as it and the rest of her body tightens. She barely manages to get a hand over her mouth to stifle the longest series of moans I've ever heard from her as pleasure spreads throughout her body, and it goes on for quite some time. Eventually, all the tension in her body leaves her, and she's slumped on the desk breathing heavily. I look up to see her face of absolute bliss and exhaustion.

I stand up and kiss her before giggling and saying, "I'm glad there's no joints in my tongue."

Akari's breathily responds, "M-m-me…too…."

I smile proudly, "Glad to see you're at a loss for words."

She nods, “L-legs…still…shaking. Gonna…need…minute…or…ten."

…

Akari and I just got into bed for the night. After some quiet snuggles, she says "Ai st-struggles with what you were upset about earlier. You should think about talking to her. You could help each other."

"You mean…not being able bodied for our sexual partners?"

She sighs, "I d-don't know if I would put it that w-way…."

I sigh, "It didn't use to bother me. But It definitely did tonight. I should probably talk to my therapist about it…though that's a little awkward. Ai is a good place to start."

She hugs me close. "I'm just going to k-keep absolutely loving everything we d-do. So no complaints from m-me. But…if y-you feel disappointed about it, you really should talk to her."

I nod, "Okay. That's probably a good idea. I guess if anyone can relate, it's her, huh?"

I get no response. Somehow Akari fell asleep in between her last statement and my response. That orgasm really took a lot out of her. I smile down at her sleeping face and close my eyes before drifting off to sleep.

For the first time in I don't know how long, Ai and I are hanging out just the two of us. Akari really wanted me to talk to Ai about being frustrated with my limitations in the bedroom. So, we set up a little friend-date. Akari and Carsten went for a walk into town - something they both like doing that their significant others can't. I actually think this is kind of nice for everyone, as we really don't get one-on-one time with each other very often. We almost always spend time together as couples. It's nice to change that up.

"Do you want any sugar?"

"No, that's okay."

I was surprised to see that Ai made us some tea for the occasion. She even has a tea set and a little table in her room for us to drink at. This seems to be a relatively new hobby of hers.

I sip my tea and say, "So did…Akari tell you why she wanted us to talk?"

"Nope. Just that you wanted to, just the two of us."

I nod, "Well…I've been frustrated lately with my physical limitations in the relationship."

"Preach!"

I giggle, "Yeah. I knew you could relate."

"Yeah, you helped me with it before."

"I did?"

"Yeah. During our first year, when I thought Carsten was going to dump me for a more…mobile girl."

"Oh, right. Man, that was forever ago. Time flies."

Ai smiles, "You said at the time that maybe someday I'd have to help you with a boy. And here we are." She winks, "You were…sort of right."

I laugh, "I guess I was. Although I'm not worried about Akari breaking up with me."

"Well, that's good. It would be really irrational if you were. Because that's never gonna happen. That girl loves you with everything she has."

I smile, "I love her just as much."

She laughs. "Good. I'd have to mess you both up if you ever broke up."

I pout playfully, "You wouldn't be on my side?"

She shakes her head. "I love you both equally. So you both get punished.”

"Fine. I guess that's fair at least.”

"Anyway, we let my hypothetical act of violence get us off topic. What is it you're having a hard time with?"

"Well…mostly my limitations in um…the bedroom."

Ai blushes a little. "Ah. Yeah…that can be tough. No way Akari has complained, so it's something you're frustrated with?"

"Yeah. Akari's great with it. But for some reason lately…it's upset me that there's lots that I just…can't do for her."

Ai sighs, "I know what you mean. Carsten would never complain either but, I would love to be able to have sex standing up…or really be in complete control. Or like…even just…wrap my legs around him." She turns a little redder.

"Exactly. I can't really do those either. Even finding ways for me to do basic stuff like go down on her takes some work. We found a couple ways, but it takes brainstorming just for us to do basic stuff sometimes and I wish it didn't."

Ai nods, "I know what you mean. Carsten has to move me around for a lot of stuff. To be honest, I like it most of the time. But I wish I had the option to move myself. It would be nice to change things up."

I nod, "Exactly. It's sort of the opposite with us…she kind of…can't move me. It's…like I'm an immobile prop, sometimes…"

Ai smiles, "It is nice talking about this. Somehow…I hadn't thought of you having this problem too. I should have.”

"Yeah, Akari is smart. She knew we both needed someone to talk to about it."

Ai takes a sip of her tea and studies me for a moment. "Why do you think this is bothering you now? It hasn't in the past, right?"

"No, not really." I giggle. "It kind of got started because you and Carsten talked about having sex in the library bathroom."

"Oh." She frowns. "Sorry."

I wave my hand at her, "You don't need to be sorry. It has made a little more adventurous and that's been fun. But it takes innovation to make things happen."

Ai giggles, "Well, that's kind of sweet, isn't it?"

I nod, "It is. I love that Akari thinks about how to do things safely. But at the same time…I really wish she didn't have to."

She takes a long sip of her tea while clearly pondering what I said. "Do you think having to give up piano has made you feel more negative about your limitations?”

I cross my arms and smirk at Ai, "Well…now I do. Somehow I hadn't connected that and my recent bedroom frustrations, but yeah…they started around the same time."

She laughs, "Don't sound so surprised by my insight."

"Seriously though, that's the kind of thing my therapist would figure out."

She giggles, "Mine too. I'm thinking about that for my career. I've really loved therapy and the idea of helping people like that really appeals to me."

I smile at her, "Well, I think you have a bright future ahead of you then." I exhale and massage my neck. "I am being overly negative about it all. I don't normally let that happen."

Ai nods, “You're sort of…mad at your body right now. And it's coming out in places other than just being upset you can't play the piano as well as you would like. You're grieving, in a way."

"Yeah, I guess I am. Shit, Ai. Have you been reading a bunch of psychology books or something?"

She laughs, "I have been reading. But...I've also talked to my therapist about my own frustrations with my body and how they can affect how I think about things."

I get up and hug her. "I came in here just thinking you would be able to relate - which you can - but you also helped me untangle some things that I didn’t even know were tangled. Thank you."

She hugs me back, "Well, you've done it for me several times. About time I pay you back."

I break the hug, "Thanks. I need to accept my body how it is. That’s my new mantra."

She winks suggestively. "Yeah, it's not like Akari is having a hard time accepting it, right? She accepts it quite enthusiastically I'm sure."

I giggle, "You're right about that. But seriously, I need to try to think a little more positively."

Ai nods, "Yeah, nothing wrong with being disappointed or frustrated sometimes. It's gonna happen to girls like us. But the trick is to not let it really upset you in the long term. Focus on the good as much as you can. Like all the amazing sex."

I laugh, "That what works for you?"

She chuckles, "Yep."

"Speaking of…how are things with Carsten? It seems like you two are doing well since that little hiccup last trimester, but I thought I would check in."

She smiles, "See? That's one of the times you helped me. We are doing really well. He gets it now. I'm not depressed because of him or in spite of him. And I get that sometimes it's okay for him to take a break."

"That's good."

I hug her again. "I think we should do this more often. Probably good for Carsten and Akari to spend some time together too."

Ai nods and smiles, "That's a good idea."

It’s Akari's birthday. We planned a little party for her in her room. We thought about doing a surprise party, but I quickly realized that it wasn't worth risking her getting a little too surprised.

So, she knows that Ai, Carsten, and I are meeting her in her room when she gets out of band today. What she doesn't know is that we got some cute decorations for her room, or that Carsten went down the hill to get her a strawberry cake from The Shanghai. She also doesn’t know that Hana and Koji are going to call and wish her a happy birthday. So there are still some surprise elements, but that should be okay.

"Is this straight?"

Carsten is hanging a colorful "Happy birthday" banner on the wall above her desk.

"Yep, good job, babe."

I'm blowing up some balloons. Ai was trying to help with that, but she's so tiny that her lung capacity doesn't seem to be enough to get the balloons started. She's deciding where to put the balloons after I blow them up, though.

The thing I'm most excited about are the hydrangeas that are sitting in a vase on her nightstand. I had them delivered earlier. They have become the favorite flower for both of us. And a symbol of our relationship. I think when we live together, we'll always have them in our home. If we have a house, maybe we'll even have a bush.

Just as I'm blowing up another balloon and Carsten is trying to decide where to put a large "1" and "8", the door opens and we see a smiling Akari standing at the threshold.

Shit. She got done early. Oh well, we were pretty much done anyway.

I stop blowing on the balloon and let it deflate, while Carsten props the "1" and "8" against the wall, and the three of us say "Happy Birthday" not at all in unison. We're all flustered by her early arrival. But Akari doesn't notice our sloppiness. Or doesn't care.

Akari giggles, "Thanks everyone…I didn't know you w-were doing all this." Her eyes go from the banner, to the balloons, to the hydrangeas and her smile gets broader with each of them.

I stand up and give her a quick kiss and say, "Happy birthday." To my surprise she pulls me back down for a longer kiss, which Ai applauds. Then she smiles and says, "Thank you, Kayoko." We stand there with our arms around each other, looking into each other's eyes for a moment. At first, I'm not sure why we are lingering so long. Then I start to think she is thanking me for more than this little party.

"You're welcome."

Carsten clears his throat and Ai says, "Have we reached the birthday sex part of the evening? We can come back later."

We separate and Akari giggles, "No, no. Don't go." Then she hugs each of them and thanks them too.

"So, birthday girl - what do you want to do first? Cake or gifts?"

She smiles and rubs her hands together, "There's cake too? I'm actually kind of hungry, so l-let's start there."

I nod to Carsten, and he goes across the hall to my room to get the cake. When Akari sees the box is from The Shanghai, she instantly knows what it is and starts bouncing up and down like a little girl. Birthdays really bring out the child in her. It's adorable.

Carsten puts it down on the desk and opens it. While he's slicing it, I say, "Carsten went down the hill and walked back up with your cake, so he's the real hero here."

He hands a slice of cake to Akari who says, "Thank you, Carsten." She sits down on the floor next to her bed and digs in. Even on her birthday she's avoiding crumbs in the bed. I carefully sit down next to her, while Carsten sits at the desk and Ai positions herself next to him.

As we are enjoying our cake, I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket. I get it out and say, "There's another little surprise. Two people who wanted to be here are calling." Akari smiles, swallows her bite of cake and nods to me, so I accept the video call, hand my phone to Akari and put my arm around her so I can be in the frame.

Hana and Koji are both wearing party hats, which makes both of us giggle. Koji doesn't look thrilled to be wearing his, making it even funnier.

They both say, "Happy birthday, Akari!"

"Thanks y-you two. How's living together?"

Hana laughs, "Mostly good. There are some things that take getting used to, but we're doing a good job."

Koji nods, "Yep! Turns out I'm the cleaner one, and the better cook, who would have thought?"

Hana scoffs, "I'm trying, okay!"

Akari giggles, "I guess there are some things y-you only find out when you live together."

Hana laughs, "Yeah, but you and Kayoko already basically live together. It'll go more smoothly. Don't let us worry you."

Akari giggles, "Okay, I won't. I miss you two. Thanks for calling on my b-birthday."

Hana smiles, "We miss you too - and all of you." Akari points the phone towards Ai and Carsten so she can see them. They wave and smile.

Hana says, "Anyway, happy birthday Akari! We'll let you get back to the other festivities."

They say their goodbyes and Akari gives me back my phone. Without missing a beat she smiles broadly and says, "So…presents?"

Carsten laughs and goes across the hall to my room before coming back with a wrapped gift. I know what it is. The two of them were at a loss about what to get her, so I suggested this. He hands it to her. It's a medium-sized square box wrapped in pink paper. She shakes it, as if it's going to reveal some secret about what's inside. Then she eagerly rips off the paper and opens the box. There, she finds a new headband. It is still pink, but less pink than the one I got her a year ago. I'm trying to wean her off of pink a little.

Of course, I'm sending mixed signals because of what I got her. Woops. But when they had it in pink, how could I go with anything else?

This new headband is predominantly purple, but has lots of pink mixed in. She smiles at Carsten and Ai and thanks them for it, before putting it on.

Now it's time for my gift. I reach under her bed and pull out a small square box with flower wrapping paper. When she looks at me questioningly, I just smile at her.

"W-was that under my bed this whole time?"

I laugh, "Who knows?" I hand it to her and she opens it excitedly. When she sees what's inside she smiles, which makes me smile too. It's a necklace with a gold chain, but the most important part is what hangs from it. A pink enamel hydrangea. She looks up at me and says, "I l-love it…and I love you." and kisses me. Then, she takes her new treasure out and asks me to put it on her. As I do, she looks at the hydrangea on the nightstand.

"I can’t believe you c-color coordinated."

I laugh, "That was lucky. I didn't make a color request for the real ones, that's just what showed up. I can't really take credit."

She giggles, "Y-you're too honest."

Ai, growing impatient, says, "C'mere, let me see it!"

Akari laughs, walks over to her, and bends over so that she can get a good look at it. Ai palms it in her hand and looks at it. "It's really pretty." Then she lets go of it and slaps Carsten in the arm, "How come I never get jewelry?"

He looks at me with feigned disdain, "Way to make me look bad, Kayoko." Akari comes back over to me and puts an arm around my waist and rests her head on my shoulder. "She is really g-good at gifts." I laugh and take my hair clip out of my hair and present it to her, "So are you."

Ai glares at Carsten who says, "Now you're both making me look bad."

"W-well, maybe you need the motivation."

Carsten sighs, "I did not think this was going to become a 'let's bash Carsten' party."

I pat him on the shoulder, "Sorry. You're a good boyfriend in all the ways that matter. Gifts aren't that important. "

Ai scoffs, "Don't go putting ideas in his head! Gifts matter, and if you want to keep getting with this…" She gestures towards her body, "...you better up your gift game."

He laughs, "Oh yeah? What great gifts have you gotten me?"

Ai looks flustered for a moment and then gestures towards her body again, "This is all the gift you need, mister!"

Akari giggles, "W-well, you both being bad at it means it evens out, right?"

…

Akari and I just finished making love, and we are in our typical snuggling position. I feel blissfully happy, and I think she does too.

"S-sometimes…I can't believe my life…."

"You…can't believe it?"

"W-well…two years ago…was my worst birthday ever. Just because I felt s-so alone after my first two weeks here. My lupus m-might have been in remission, b-but I felt more alone than ever. My parents w-weren't here. I hadn’t managed to talk to anyone. If someone tried to talk to me I f-froze. P-people…looked at me like I was s-so strange when I couldn't respond. I was s-scared and anxious all the time…e-even in my room. I was b-barely sleeping…always worried someone was going to knock on my door…"

She sniffles and I hug her close to me. My eyes aren't completely dry either. I've heard much of this before, but only in snippets. Not laid out like this. Or with all these details.

She sniffles and continues, "I n-never told you…but on m-my 16th birthday when I talked to my parents…I b-begged them to come take me home. Pleaded with them. But they told m-me to try it for another two weeks. So I did. By then, I w-was friends with you and Carsten." She smiles at me. "So, I'm glad they made me stay."

"I'm really glad you stayed too. I think anyone who was feeling how you were would want to leave, though. It sounds so hard."

"It was. I was m-miserable. M-more miserable than I was in the hospital, honestly. But n-now I'm so happy. Happier than ever. I have friends who had a birthday party for me. I'm going to go to university and have a music career." She sits up and puts her hand on my cheek and looks into my eyes. "And I have a beautiful, loving girlfriend who I'm going to be with my whole life. Th-that’s a big difference from two years ago…that's why on a perfect day like today…it f-feels a little surreal. I'm in the same room right now…the s-same room where I cried on the phone exactly two years ago and begged my parents to come get me. And now…it's my happiest place on earth."

I smile at her and stroke her hair, "I'm so glad you're happy now. I wish it hadn't been a long winding road of physical and emotional pain for you to get here…but what matters is the destination." I give her a long kiss. "Happy birthday, Akari."

Author's Note: Sexual Content

"So, this week we're going to be focusing on these projects, which I think will give you all a good feel for what it's like to work in a lab."

The other 7 science club members and I are in one of the laboratory classrooms. Ms. Hamada is telling us what we'll be doing.

"The goal here will be for you all to create genetically modified organisms. You all will be altering the genes of yeast to make it glow."

I get to genetically engineer something!

"There are four batches of yeast, so there will be four teams of two. It will take a few days to incubate the yeast, so this will be a multi-day project. Today, we're going to make the agar plates the yeast will grow on. Your kits have all the instructions in them. I'll be walking around and checking your progress, and I'm here for any questions you might have."

I look around the room for a potential partner. As a relative newcomer to science club, I don't know my fellow members very well. There isn't anyone left from my brief time attending during my first year. Three of the pairs quickly form based on working together before, leaving me and a shy first year student who looks very stressed about the whole thing. I guess I found my partner. He's tall, with dark hair and dark eyes. I smile to myself, because he's the exact kind of guy I would have had a crush on during my first year. I had such a type back then.

Now I'm with a short girl. Shows how much types really matter. Of course, she does have sort of dark hair and eyes…

I walk over to where he's sitting, since he's already in front of one of the workstations. I give him my best encouraging smile and say, "Hi, can we work together?"

He smiles back but his eyes still look very nervous, "Yeah, I guess we're the only ones left. You're Kayoko, right?"

"Yep! And you're Toshiro?"

"Yeah, but I usually go by Toshi."

"Got it."

He scratches his head nervously and points at the equipment in front of us. "Do you…know how to do this?"

I laugh, "Not exactly. But I have some idea. And we have instructions."

I open the kit and pull out the manual and I show it to him like I'm presenting a game show prize.

His eyes linger on my wrist immobilizer. "Should I be the one doing the hands-on stuff?"

I start unfolding the manual and I say, "Well, I can do most things with this on. But it is possible there might be something I can't do. I will let you know."

After that, we follow the instructions to make our plates. It involves mixing together some packets with water, and then heating up the mixture and letting it cool. We were able to split the workload equitably. Right now, we are waiting for the substance to cool and become solid before we put it on the plates, which we will then refrigerate overnight. Now that we've completed the hard part for today, Toshi seems more relaxed.

"So…you're in your third year, right? Do we do lots of hands-on experiments in science club?"

"I am a third year, but this is actually my first year in science club."

"Oh, gotcha."

I smile, "My dad actually used to be the science club teacher, and I know he did 3 or 4 hands-on projects a year. I think Ms. Hamada is similar."

"Oh, that's cool. That's why you like science? Your dad?"

"Yep. He got me interested in it. Why do you like it?"

He laughs, "I dunno if I do for sure. But it was the club that interested me the most. I sort of wanted to find out if I like it by joining."

I am very tempted to ask him if Ms. Hamada being extremely attractive played a role in him joining, but we don't know each other that well.

"And?"

"I like it so far, I don't know if I love it though."

I smile, "I'm trying to figure out whether I love it enough too. I am really excited about this project, though."

He unenthusiastically looks at our plates and then back at me. "Yeah? Yeast?"

I laugh, "The genetic engineering part, yeah."

Our timer goes off and I check the temperature of our now thickened liquid. It's ready to be put in the plates and refrigerated overnight.

"Toshi, do you mind doing the pipetting? With my wrist like this I'm worried I'll mess it up."

He laughs nervously, "My wrist is fine, and I'm worried I'll mess it up. But, sure."

Despite his misgivings, he does a good job of carefully dispensing the liquid into our plates and we put them in the refrigerator. Everyone else is finishing up too and leaving the classroom.

As I'm looking over at Ms. Hamada and thinking about talking to her, Toshi asks, "Are you heading back to the dorms, or…?"

"Hm? Oh, no, not yet. I want to talk to Ms. Hamada, you go on ahead." He leaves and I approach her as she's gathering up her things.

"Ms. Hamada, this is a really cool project. Is it just a coincidence that it is genetic engineering?"

She smiles, "Well…this is something I have wanted to do for a while, but let's just say I was more motivated to do it because of you." She winks at me. "I know you're having a hard time with your health so I thought it would distract you a bit if I went with a subject you are really passionate about."

"Wow that's…really going above and beyond. Thank you."

She smiles, "It's no problem Nakai. I also want to do my best to get you to study science at university. I'm biased of course, but that's something you seem very well-suited for."

I laugh, "My dad would be very happy with your efforts."

She smiles, "I hope so. He convinced me to study it. I'm sort of repaying the favor."

"You know…I hear my dad coming through a lot when you teach…and I've really loved that these last couple years. I was sad that I wasn't going to be taught by him, but I got the next best thing."

Ms. Hamada looks moved by my words. So much so that she steadies herself by leaning on the counter before sitting down. She gets out a handkerchief and dabs away a couple of tears. I knew my dad meant a lot to her, but I don't think I knew he meant this much.

She looks up at me with glassy eyes and surprises me by using my first name. "Th-thank you, Kayoko. As far as I'm concerned…you just gave me the greatest praise I could ever hope to receive. Your father was the best teacher I ever had, and…he's exactly who I wanted to be. That's part of why I followed his footsteps here."

I smile at her, "I think he would be very proud."

She smiles up at me, "I hear him when I talk to you too, you know. Not just how smart you are and how good you are with science…but you're kind and patient with everyone. Just like him. Good traits for a science teacher. I have no doubt he would be very proud of you too."

I sit down now and shed a few tears too. "Th-thank you."

I really want to hug her, but I think that's probably off limits. I'll save that for graduation.

She smiles, "You're quite welcome." She stands up. "Well, Nakai. I've gotta run. Have a good evening, and I'll see you tomorrow."

I wave her goodbye and spend a few more minutes thinking about my dad. He was very happy I liked music so much, but I think he would be ecstatic if he knew how seriously I am considering science as a career now. It's kind of funny to imagine his enthusiasm. We would probably have long conversations about science all the time. That would really annoy my mom.

When I leave the classroom, I'm surprised to see my lab partner standing to the side of the door. It's probably been 20 minutes since he left. He's been waiting this whole time? He looks really nervous, too.

I playfully say, "Hey Toshi, whatcha doing?"

He looks at me with red cheeks, "Hey can…I um…have your number? Y'know, just in case we need to talk about the…project…or s-something."

I smile at him, "You can have it. But…given how…nervous you were to ask, I feel obligated to tell you that I have a girlfriend. We can only be friends."

He turns redder and looks at the ground, "I…uh…r-really s-sorry."

I smile at him, "You don't need to be sorry. You haven't been here long enough to know I'm not single. Nothing wrong with respectfully asking a girl for her number. In fact, kudos to you for asking an older girl so early in your time here."

He laughs and looks up, "Thanks. You are making this less embarrassing. I appreciate that."

"Do you still want my number?"

"Yeah, sure. I could use a science club buddy."

…

I just got to the cafeteria after science club and I'm in an amazing mood. I just sat down with my friends, and it hasn't gone unnoticed. After I give Akari my usual 'hello' kiss, she says,

"Science c-club was that good, huh?"

I laugh, "It was pretty great. Ms. Hamada has us doing a genetic engineering project."

Ai says, "Oh yeah? That's like…exactly what you are interested in, right?"

"Yep. It's really cool. I don't know if I have been this excited about a school thing in a while."

Akari smiles and says, "Yeah, I'm n-not sure you ever felt this happy about b-band."

"Hmm…maybe not. At least not because of band." I smirk at Akari. "There is this really hot girl in there though, just seeing her puts a smile on my face." Akari giggles and gives me a quick kiss.

Carsten groans, "Is this what we're like when we get lovey-dovey?"

Akari laughs. "You're worse."

Ai gasps in an exaggerated fashion. "How dare you." She scoops up some curry for Carsten, holds it to his mouth and says, "Say 'ahh'," making us all laugh.

…

After we return to the dorms and get in bed for the night I say,

"So…the guy I am doing that project with asked for my number. I immediately told him I have a girlfriend. But it seems like the kind of thing you should know."

She looks up at me and raises an eyebrow. "Hmmmm…everyone in school knows about us." Then she sighs and sounds annoyed, "If…not by name, then at least as 'the lesbian couple.'"

"I know, but he's a first year. He legitimately didn't know about us. He was really embarrassed when I told him."

She smiles with some pride on her face, "So he took rejection w-well, then?"

I laugh, "If I didn't know better, I'd think you like it when this happens. You made the same face about Koji."

She giggles, "I like it a little. It m-makes me feel extra special that other people want you and you reject them because of me."

I laugh, "I suppose that makes sense. He did take it well. We don't have to worry about him making some kind of move." I squeeze her tight. "Plus, nobody has any moves that would get me away from you anyway."

She smiles and kisses me deeply while her hand makes a familiar journey up my inner thigh, making me shiver in anticipation. Then she breaks the kiss and stops her hand just shy of its destination and says, "I kn-know. My moves are the best."

She's not wrong.

It's the last day of our genetic engineering project in science club. It's the moment where we find out if we actually managed to modify the genes of our yeast. They've been incubating for a few days.

Now we have them in front of us.

After we look at them for a moment Toshi says, "Um…they aren't glowing, are they? Did we mess up?"

"We don't know yet. We have to look at them the right way." I hand him a piece of transparent orange plastic that came with our kit.

"I look at it through this?"

"Yep. And I shine this light on it. Ready?"

"Um…don't you want to see first? You're the one who is so excited."

I laugh, "Okay. I won't object to that." I take the orange filter from him and hand him the light.

I hold the filter up to my eyes and look down at our yeast. Toshiro turns the light on. I don't see anything and I feel really disappointed, but then our yeast starts to glow green. I feel a huge smile form on my face.

"This…this is amazing! We did it!"

"Cool! Can I see?"

I hand the filter to him and take the light so he can see.

"That is really cool."

"Yeah…this is an organism. With its own DNA. And we changed it, to do this!"

He smiles softly, "It sounds pretty impressive when you put it that way."

I have to restrain myself from jumping up and down in excitement, "It is impressive!"

Ms. Hamada has noticed my excitement, so she smiles and comes over. She silently looks at our yeast through the filter.

Then she smiles at us, "Well done, you two. You are the only ones who got it on the first try."

If her plan is to get me to decide I want to study science, things are certainly going in the right direction.

My mom is visiting my grandma in Sendai this weekend, and Akari and I are watching the house for her. While we normally don't do anything sexual when we're here, I think that's going to change without my mom around. Especially because we are trying to be more adventurous. Akari is usually the one who starts things, but I don't think I can wait tonight. In fact, we just walked in the door and I'm more than ready.

Once we're inside I embrace Akari and kiss her deeply and I start unbuttoning her shirt. She seems a little shocked at how forward I am at first, but then follows suit as she starts removing my top too. Once we're both shirtless I break the kiss and say,

"I've wanted you all day…and I've been thinking of making love to you in one place in particular. Do you want to see?"

She nods eagerly and I take her by the hand. While I really love letting her take charge most of the time, I'm enjoying doing a little bit of it myself right now. Especially because once we get started, it's going to be harder for me to be in control.

I lead her to our bathroom, which has a traditional Japanese bath. I turn around and passionately kiss Akari, and while our tongues are exploring one another's mouth, she removes my bra with a flick of her wrist and starts caressing my breasts. I break our kiss and giggle, "You've gotten quite proficient at that."

She giggles back, "Yeah…w-well, the more quickly I get it off, the sooner I can see, touch, and feel the best breasts in the world." As if seeking to prove her hyperbolic compliment, she immediately starts kissing them. I put my hand on the back of her head and stroke her hair while I moan softly. We're so intoxicated with each other that we are sort of losing track of what the plan is. In between moans I manage to say, "Mmn…we need…mmn..to turn on the bath."

Akari reluctantly pulls herself away from my chest and lets me turn the bath on. As it fills, we go back to making out. I take her bra off and we remove each other's skirts, and then our underwear, until we're pressing our naked bodies against one another and deeply kissing each other while running our hands all over each other's bodies. I stop and think about how into each other we are. It's hard to imagine that will ever change. We've been together so long already, and every time we're together we just can't get enough of each other.

I break the kiss with her and frown a little because I just realized something.

"Um…there are some things with my condition that might make this complicated…that I only thought of now. I have to take off my braces…and we will have to be even more careful than usual. So...maybe we can do it somewhere else and take a bath after?"

Akari frowns, "Didn't you really want to make love in the bath?"

I nod, "Yeah…but I didn't think about the specifics until now. I guess this is why you are usually the one planning things out." I smile and take her hand. "Let's go to my bedroom." Akari doesn't budge.

She hugs me and smiles up at me, "I think we can do it. We'll be careful. If…your final word is that you don't want to, that's fine too. But…I know that you really wanted this. I can make this work in the b-bath. I promise."

How can I say no?

"Okay. You're right. Why don't you get in, and I'll take my braces off?"

Akari smiles, "Do you want me to do it?"

"You…want to? It isn't exactly sexy."

She shrugs, "Maybe not 'sexy' exactly…but intimate. Who else takes them off apart from you?"

I smile, "No one."

She smiles back, "See? I should probably learn to do it anyway."

I sit up on the counter and nod.

"Just slide them off really slowly. Start with the ankles. Those are easy."

After undoing the velcro and loosening it, she starts to pull on the one on my left ankle slightly. "Try not to pull too much. Sort of…shimmy it off. Move it back and forth."

Just as I am thinking I am horrible at giving her directions, she does exactly what I wanted her to. She slides it around my foot and sets it aside. Then she kisses the spot where the brace was.

I giggle and she does too, "Okay. Maybe there is a way to make it a little sexy."

She removes the one from my other ankle with ease and gives my ankle a kiss. She moves up to my left knee now and slowly slides it down my leg. She traces the inner part of my leg with her finger the whole way down, and then kisses my knee before repeating it on my other knee. Her touch makes me sigh softly.

"I…can't believe how sexy you're making this. I love you so much."

She giggles, "Because I'm sexy?"

"That's part of it. But…like you said, this is intimate too. And…this is just something I have always been a little self-conscious about. And you're making it really sexy."

I feel tears welling up inside of me. I am such a crybaby. But at least she is too.

She stands up and stands between my now braceless legs before kissing me and pushing her own genitals against mine. I reach around her and push her against myself more firmly. I break the kiss and start kissing her neck and collarbone while she moans softly and moves her hips against me.

I start sliding one of my wrist braces off, but Akari says, "Mmm…no. I'm doing that." and peels her body away from mine.

I laugh, "You seemed a little distracted."

She smirks at me and slides off my wrist braces before kissing each wrist and doing the same for more elbows.

She pushes herself against me again and puts her arms around me. "How careful do we need to be?"

"Very. I'll be even less able to make any fast movements. Especially if they involve bending. I'll have to move even less than normal." She nods.

I get off the counter and take her hand as I slowly move towards the bath. I step into it and sit down, and Akari sits down next to me.

"I'll just do things for you then, okay?"

"Nope."

She looks at me with concern and sharpens her voice, "What do you mean 'nope'? You d-don't need to be moving, Kayoko. So…just let me do the moving. We can do other stuff after we get your braces back on."

She starts kissing my neck and slips her hand down between my legs. After all the foreplay her touch feels incredible. My body has been desperate for it.

"Okay…We…c-can do this first…but I have a plan for how...mm…I can make you feel..mmm…good without me needing to move too…mm-much."

She smiles at me and continues rubbing me below and kissing my neck and shoulder. She slides a finger inside of me and slowly pushes it deeper until she hits a particularly sensitive spot.

"Mmn…right there is r-really good."

She identifies the spot with some more probing, guided by my moans. Then she slides a second finger inside of me, stimulating the spot even more.

She moved her fingers back and forth, rubbing against the spot with more and more force. I feel a fire burning inside of me that becomes more intense with every stroke. She increases the speed with which she is pumping her fingers inside of me. She roughly grabs my right breast how I like and gives me a deep kiss just as I reach the point of no return. I don't have to muffle myself like in the dorms, so I break our kiss and let out a moan that echoes through the bathroom, and probably the entire house. My body convulses completely outside of my control as waves of pleasure travel throughout. When I come out of it, I open my eyes and see Akari smiling at me lovingly. I kiss her.

"That was amazing as usual." I rest my forehead on hers and sigh happily. "Being with you is just…amazing. In like…all the ways."

She kisses me. "Good. I feel the same. B-but don't try to do stuff for me in here. I don't see how we can do that without taking dumb risks."

I smile at her, "It won't be risky, I promise. I don't want to get hurt either."

She looks really confused, and worried. It's really cute. I kiss her deeply and then smile at her. "Just trust me, okay? I won't do anything risky for me. Close your eyes."

She hesitates but then does as I ask. I carefully stand up and get the shower head. I turn it on, put it on its lowest setting, and sit back down. It has a long handle, so I will barely have to bend, and I certainly won't need to make any fast motions. I kiss Akari deeply and gently move the shower head, so it is between her legs. She jerks suddenly when it gets close enough to stimulate her.

I break the kiss, move the shower head away and frown. "Too intense?"

"N-No…it just surprised me. Try again." I nod and slowly move the shower head towards her again. This time, I get the reaction I was aiming for, as she moans softly. I smile at her and kiss her while using the shower head to make her feel good. I break the kiss and whisper to her. "Do you like this?"

She nods.

"I'm going to turn the pressure up a little, okay?" She nods again and I take the shower head and increase the pressure. It makes a satisfying 'click' sound when I do. Then I lower it back between her legs. Her body tenses up and I can tell she's already very close. This is more effective than I thought. There are still three more intense settings, but I don't think we'll need them.

I notice a few tears falling from my girlfriend's eyes, and as usual it makes me emotional too.

I whisper, "I love you so much Akari…I love making you feel this way. I love how you make me feel. I want to be yours…forever."

Just as I finish these words her legs begin to shake rapidly. I kiss her neck while she reaches climax. For the first time, I really hear what Akari really sounds like when she has an orgasm. She might even be louder than me. I kiss her neck all through her orgasm, and then I put the shower head aside. I kiss her deeply while her body continues to have aftershocks for several minutes.

Eventually, she's recovered enough to move and speak. She gently wraps her arm around mine, taking special care not to bend me at all. She rests her head on my shoulder and sighs happily. "I love you too, by the way…and want to be yours forever too. I tried to say that, but don't think that's what c-came out."

I giggle. "No. But you were saying it with your eyes. This was a pretty successful first time out of the dorms, wasn't it?"

She nods, "I f-felt a little guilty about doing this at your mom's b-but then I realized she would probably just be happy."

I giggle, "If I called her right now and said, 'Akari and I just had sex in your bathtub.' I'm 99% sure she would say, 'Aww, that's nice.' or something like that."

Akari laughs, "What do you think m-my mom would say?"

I try and do an impression of Mrs. Yoshida, "Well, that's to be expected from a young couple in love, but I certainly don't want to hear about it."

Akari giggles, "That sounds about right."

I just finished a lesson with Junichiro, who has progressed quickly over the last month. He is now playing beginner level songs on the piano. His small hands are going to hold him back some when the chord progressions become more extreme, but he has impressive hand dexterity for a novice and that serves him well.

It is a pretty great feeling to see how much he enjoys playing. I helped him experience that. That is one thing that teaching music has over science, that's for sure.

As we're about to leave the music room for the night, Junichiro asks, "Do you mind if I take you up on your invitation?"

"…Invitation?"

"Oh. I suppose it has been a while. You invited me to lunch with you and your friends after our first lesson."

"Ohhhh, right. Yeah, of course. It is an open invitation. But…didn't you have a group of friends you were eating with?"

He frowns, "I was hoping you wouldn't remember that."

"Oh. Well, you don't have to tell me anything. No worries."

He sighs, "I probably need to talk about it anyway. I confessed to one of my friends today. She rejected me." He grimaces. "She…hurt my feelings, so…"

I feel a flash of anger and suddenly my hands are on my hips. "What exactly did this girl do?"

I guess I'm oddly protective of this kid. I really am his senpai.

"Well…she didn't say anything mean. But her response was…to laugh. She apologized for it but…not an easy thing to forget."

What. A Bitch.

"Yeah…I would think not. I'm sorry. Love sucks sometimes. Anyway, yeah, you're welcome to join us for lunch."

"Thanks. Don't…tell your friends about this, okay?"

"None of them will think less of you for it. But I won't tell them if you don't want me to."

He nods, "I don't think they would, but I don't know if I want their first impression of me to be, 'Oh, he's that kid who just got rejected.'"

I nod, "Yeah, okay, solid point."

He smiles, "Thank you, senpai."

I'm definitely going to need to warn my friends that he calls me that.

We're at lunch out on the main quad. It's May now, and really the first day of the year that has been anything even approaching 'warm.' I'm enjoying it quite a lot. Akari is too. She's lying down with her head in my lap and looking at the clear blue sky. I'm looking up too.

"Hello, senpai."

Oh. I sort of forgot we had company coming today. I probably wouldn't have put myself in this position.

I look at Junichiro and say, "Hey there. Come have a seat wherever you like." He takes a seat a few feet away from me.

Akari sits up and smiles at him and I introduce the two of them and they exchange greetings. Then I say, "Normally, we have two other friends with us. I'm not sure where they got to."

Akari giggles, "P-probably the library bathroom." This makes me laugh, and I notice Junichiro is looking at us with a confused expression.

"Um…those other two friends are a couple. And we recently learned that sometimes they have sex in that bathroom."

Junichiro's eyes get wide, and he turns bright red from chin to forehead and from ear to ear. He looks down and seems to be trying to steady his breathing. He's even trembling a little. I look at Akari, and she gestures towards him, indicating I should do something. I was sort of hoping for more guidance than that, since this resembles a panic attack. But maybe she's as confused as I am.

I gently put a hand on his shoulder. It makes him jump. He looks up at me.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

He shakes his head rather violently and averts his eyes, "N-no…it's okay. I…know people do that. There's nothing wrong with it. I just don't have m-much experience…even talking about it so…I'm very sorry, senpai."

I give his shoulder a squeeze, "You did nothing to be sorry for. I'm the one who made you uncomfortable. That's not very senpai of me. Let's just forget I said it and move on."

He looks up at me and smiles softly and nods. Just when I think I have salvaged the situation, Carsten and Ai arrive. Judging from the large band aid on Ai's knee, they were probably at the nurse. It doesn't look like anything serious, though.

"Oh, here are our other friends now. Ai, Carsten, this is…" I turn to look at Junichiro and he's staring fixedly at them. He's even redder than he was before, and I think I see tears forming in his eyes. He…must be thinking about what we were talking about. I find myself unable to react.

He's so upset. And it's my fault.

Akari says, "J-junichiro?"

He snaps out of it and says, "I…I n-need to go."

He gathers up his things and leaves as quickly as he can. I'm so upset with myself that I can't bring myself to even say goodbye to him before he goes.

Ai frowns, "What was that?"

I massage my temples. "Me fucking up. I…think I need to go find him."

Akari puts her hand on my shoulder and shakes her head. "He wants to be alone, that's why he l-left. You'll have time to t-talk to him later."

I start to tear up and put my hand over my mouth. "I can't believe I upset him that much."

Carsten says, "What did you do?"

"I made a joke that you two weren't here because you were having sex."

Carsten looks at Ai. "That's all?"

"Yeah. He…really wasn't comfortable with it…as you saw."

Akari hugs me, "You can't have known he w-would get that upset."

I sigh, "Still. M-making a sex joke around my younger classmate who I'm mentoring is probably…not good."

Akari frowns, "I'm the one who m-made the joke. You just explained it."

I sigh. "Yeah."

Ai frowns, "We will be better in the future."

I'm worried he has nowhere else to go for lunch now, but I will try to fix that later. I can't do anything about it now.

"What happened to your knee?"

"I fell out of my chair. No big thing."

Akari raised an eyebrow, "You…f-fell out? Has that happened before?"

"Not for a while, but yeah. It happens. I was going full speed and hit a new uneven spot in the sidewalk, got launched out. Kind of lucky I only hurt my knee."

"Jeez. Well, glad it's nothing big."

Carsten sighs and says, "Yes, me too. But you need to be more careful, Ai."

She sighs, "Yeah, yeah. What's life without a little risk, you know?"

Carsten laughs, "Relaxing."

…

Later that evening, Junichiro doesn't show up for our piano lesson. It's the first time he's ever missed so it isn't a coincidence. I am tempted to call him or text him and apologize to him, but Akari thinks I should give him space. She knows better than me what he's going through, so she's probably right. But I'm still really worried about him.

I really like this fanfic. You're now past the point where I read it on fanfiction.net last time, and I enjoy new chapters.

Usually I don't like OC-centric stories, but your creation keeps me entertained and I look forward for new chapters. Thank you!

hdkv wrote: ↑Mon Dec 11, 2023 6:28 am

I really like this fanfic. You're now past the point where I read it on fanfiction.net last time, and I enjoy new chapters.

Usually I don't like Oc centric stories, but your creation keeps me entertained and I look forward for new chapters. Thank you!

I'm glad you're enjoying it!
I had some misgivings about a fic entirely from an OC's perspective, but when I finished Learning to Run, I realized I really wanted to know what Kayoko's life at Yamaku was like and this is a result of that.

guthrum06 wrote: ↑Mon Dec 11, 2023 9:58 am

I'm glad you're enjoying it!
I had some misgivings about a fic entirely from an OC's perspective, but when I finished Learning to Run, I realized I really wanted to know what Kayoko's life at Yamaku was like and this is a result of that.

Glad you decided to take a shot of writing Kayoko story.

BTW, there is only one other OC-centric story that I fully enjoy, and it's striking similar in settings (returning to Yamaku many years later to explore a story of next generation of students). It's Sharp-O's Miraimyth, you definitely want to check it out, if you're not done it already

It is three days after the incident at lunch, and Junichiro just arrived for his piano lesson. I breath a big sigh of relief. I hadn't heard from him at all and was worried I had permanently burned that bridge.

Our lesson doesn't feel any different than usual. I consider never talking about what happened, but I'm worried he is really isolated. So, I don't think I can just ignore it.

After the lesson, I say, "I am really sorry for the other day, Junichiro. I made you uncomfortable and-"

He interrupts me, "I-it's fine…"

"I really don't think it is. We shouldn't have made a joke like that. Lots of people would be offended by that kind of thing."

He frowns and looks down and quietly says, "I wasn't offended…n-not exactly, anyway. Not in the way you think. I don't think it is morally wrong. There's nothing wrong with…t-talking about that kind of thing. Or… d-doing it. It's n-normal for people our age."

"Well...maybe I guess, but you clearly aren't comfortable with it, and that's fine."

He looks at me with a serious expression, "A-aren't you…going to ask me why I'm not?"

"No. That's your business. You can share if you want to. I'll listen."

He sighs, "I think I want to. S-so you know…I'm not offended, and I don't think less of you because you and your friends have…it. And talk about…it."

"Junichiro, you don't have to do that for me."

"Fine. I want to do it for myself too. I need to get it off my chest, now that you…saw what happened..."

I nod, "Okay. Well, take your time."

He looks at me with suspicious eyes, "Promise you won't tell anyone what I'm about to tell you?"

"I promise."

He nods, looks down, and wrings his hands. "I…can probably never have…s-s-sex. And I get…anxious and depressed when the topic comes up. I can…barely say the word. It's…part of everyone's life, except mine so I feel…like a freak when it gets brought up."

"I understand why the topic would upset you, then. Well…now that I know, I won't bring it up again when you're around. My friends won't either."

He shakes his head violently. "I don't want you to all change your behavior because of me. I just…won't be coming back to lunch."

I put a hand on his shoulder, "Junichiro…changing behavior for one another is kind of what friends do."

"Huh?"

"There's stuff…about all of us, that we have to take into account when we are around each other, and we have to change our behavior sometimes so everyone can be together."

In response I get an identical, "Huh?"

"Well, Akari has bad anxiety. We have to be careful about putting her in situations that might trigger it. Ai is in a wheelchair of course, so if we want to go out together, we have to make sure the place is accessible for her. Carsten has a prosthetic leg, so there are some activities he just can't do, like ice skating or whatever. For me, well…my joints are messed up, and I can't do a whole bunch of basic things like walking down the hill or going dancing, so we have to avoid those."

He's still looking at me blankly. I haven't convinced him yet. I'll be more blunt.

"We all choose to do things a little differently so that we can all be together. We are happy to do that for you too, so you can have lunch with us. You see what I mean?"

He looks really embarrassed. "Th-the others know?"

"Well…they don't know what you just told me. And I won't tell them. But…they picked up that talking about sex is what upset you, yes."

He blushes, "A-and…they still want me to come?"

"Of course."

He starts to look worried. "You won't even tell Akari…about…about how…I…can't?"

"She doesn't need to know if you don't want her to."

He nods and looks relieved. "Okay. Th-thank you, senpai. I think I will come tomorrow, then."

"Stuff still not good with that other friend group?"

He sighs. "I don't know. They all act differently around me in class, since I confessed. And…they haven't seemed to care that I stopped eating with them."

I feel a familiar flash of anger and my hands end up on my hips like they did the last time he told me about someone being mean to him.

"I want to talk to these jerks. Where do they eat?"

He raises his eyebrows and shakes his hands wildly, "N-no… please don't. It's fine."

I sigh, "Sorry. You're right. I had an overprotective moment. Probably wouldn't be great for you if some third-year girl chewed out some people from your class, huh?"

He laughs, "No. But…I appreciate the sentiment."

I just finished another piano lesson with Junichiro. He continues to progress quickly, and he really seems to be enjoying himself. As much as I've enjoyed science club, and especially our genetic engineering project, teaching Junichiro something that he enjoys so much is an amazing feeling. One that I think I could get used to.

The bad news is I was doing this and science club to help me figure things out, but right now I'm just as confused as I was at the start. My love for both has only increased, making the decision even more painful.

Just as we're about to leave for the day, Junichiro says, "C-can I…talk to you some more about my…stuff today? The things we talked about…last week?"

I raise my eyebrows, "Sure. But I'm surprised you want to."

"Well…it made me feel a lot better to have someone know about my… problem… and you were really nice. So…I wanted to talk about a related thing I'm having a hard time with."

I sit down on the bench next to him, "Sure, I'll listen."

He frowns and then quietly says, "I told you before that I can't have…it. Well…I'm…not sure I can experience romance either."

"But…you confessed to a girl, didn't you?"

He nods, "I thought maybe I felt something for her, something like romantic feelings. But I'm not sure now. I didn't get a chance to find out. It was…kind of an experiment, I guess you could say. One that didn't get off the ground. I was far from sure about my feelings."

"I see. Why don't you think you can experience romantic love, exactly?"

He looks at me incredulously, like he's surprised he has to spell it out for me. "Because I can't have…it."

"Love isn't just sex, you know."

He frowns, "I know. But…it's part of it. I don't even experience…" He trails off and very quietly says, '…arousal. So…that kind of attraction? I don't know if I can feel it."

I really wish I understood more about him. But he's already at his limit with what he's willing to tell me. I can't think of why he isn't receiving hormone replacement therapy. If he did, I think he'd go through puberty and experience arousal. But…there's still a lot he hasn't told me. I have no idea what his condition actually is, after all.

"Well, I don't think you have to experience arousal to love someone."

"I've thought about that but…" He starts to tear up and looks down. I put a hand on his should, and he looks back up at me and continues. "E-even if I could love someone without being…aroused, I wouldn't be able to have…it. So…who would want to be with me?"

"Junichiro, I think there is something you need to hear about sex. Something that might make you feel better. I…don't want to make you uncomfortable, so let me know if it's okay for me to continue. And if you want me to stop at any time, just tell me to shut up."

He grimaces, then blushes before nodding.

"Sex…isn't just intercourse. I mean…obviously Akari and I can't do that, right?"

He blinks a few times. "Wh-what are you saying?"

"Just that…you could experience sex, if you wanted to. It would be…different, obviously. But you aren't incapable of that kind of intimacy. You aren't unable to physically express to someone just how much you love them."

His face scrunches up in confusion. "I…don't think you understand. I'm sorry I wasn't more clear. I…my…it doesn't work."

I just have to be blunt.

"I know. What I'm saying is it doesn't have to. …neither me nor Akari has a penis. But we still have sex. You can too. If you ever love someone and want to make them feel good, you can use…other parts of your body to do it."

He turns bright red and for a moment I'm worried I've triggered an anxiety attack again. But then his face relaxes.

"Th-thank you. I avoid thinking about that kind of thing and…I was so fixated on my…that…I didn't think about that. Knowing I can do that for someone else at least…makes me feel a little better. Makes it feel…l-less impossible, I could be with someone."

He scoots closer to me and hugs me. I hug him back. It's the first time we've ever done this. Touching him like this, it's even more evident how small he really is. I can feel his spine and his ribs. "Thank you, senpai. You've become more than just a piano mentor…I know you didn't sign up for that."

"I am happy to have you as more than just a piano student."

He breaks the hug, "You…know more about me now than anyone. I think…maybe that makes you my best friend."

I laugh, "Only maybe, huh?"

He sighs, "I only said 'maybe' because it's embarrassing."

"Embarrassed to have me as your best friend? Ouch."

He smiles, "No. Not that. Just…we haven't known each other that long. Just a few months..."

I pat his head, "That's okay. You're my friend too."

He nods, "I-if…you ever have hard things to talk about…I'm here. I know you have Akari and everyone…but, if you need me. I'm here."

It's another nice late Spring day, and another great day to be having our lunch outside on the grass. Junichiro has settled in as a regular member of our group. He even comes to dinner with us sometimes.

We've all finished eating and now we're all sort of sprawled out enjoying the weather. Ai has turned Carsten into a lap pillow. Junichiro, Akari and I are laying on our backs looking up at the sky.

"Junichiro…?"

Junichiro sits up and looks in the direction of the voice that is unfamiliar to me. Akari is sitting up now too, clearly curious about the situation. I'm in the process of sitting up but have to do it more slowly than they do.

"Um…h-hey, Keiko."

There's some serious tension here. Either this is the girl who rejected him, or a girl who wants to confess to him.

"Can I…talk to you?"

"Yeah…sure."

"Um…alone?"

By now I am sitting up, and I see that Keiko is a classically attractive girl. She has very long brown hair that she is wearing down, blue eyes, and she's somehow slender and very busty at the same time. She probably has her fair share of suitors apart from Junichiro.

Junichiro looks at us. "Th-they are my friends. So…I am okay with them listening."

I whisper to him, "You can talk to her alone."

He just shakes his head in response.

She sits down next to Junichiro and looks at us wearily. It is probably strange to her that he is friends with four third-year students. She probably wishes we wouldn't hear what she is about to say, too. For our part, we go back to doing what we were before she got here. At least giving her the illusion of some privacy. I am still listening intently, though, and I'm sure the others are too.

"I…um…just want to apologize, for…everything."

"…everything?"

She sounds ashamed. "Yeah. I shouldn't have reacted…how I did when you confessed."

"Y-you…already apologized for that. It's okay."

"It…really isn't, Junichiro. You…told me your honest feelings. A…really hard thing to do. And I laughed."

"W-well…I forgive you."

"Okay...but that's not all. After…I should have reached out to you and told you that I…wanted you to still hang out with us. I…do want you to."

Junichiro sounds more than a little irritated when he says, "Then…why did it take you this long to say something? Why did you just pretend I didn't exist?"

She sighs, "I dunno. I'm stupid, I guess. I was in my own little world. I didn't…stop and think that I hurt you…so much that you didn't want to eat with us anymore. Th-that's…why I want to apologize. It was really awful of me. All of it."

Without sitting up I say, "Someone rejected you, didn't they?"

Akari pokes me in my side for saying something. I probably deserve it, but I couldn't help it.

Junichiro says, "Um…this is Kayoko."

I slowly sit up again and see that Keiko looks mortified and Junichiro a little embarrassed.

"Hi…Keiko, nice to meet you. Sorry, I should have stayed out of it."

She looks at me for a moment in silence and then says, "I-it's…okay. You're r-right. I got…hurt by someone, and that made me realize…how he must have felt. Selfish, huh?"

Junichiro looks at me expectantly, like he wants me to answer her. So I do. "Well…if you hadn't been rejected before, maybe you just didn't know how it felt. It seems like…once you understood, you felt bad for it. Selfish would be not ever realizing you hurt him. But you did. And you apologized. That's not selfish."

She nods, "Okay. That makes me feel a little better." She stands up and dusts off her skirt. "So…let me say what I should have said then - You're welcome to come to lunch with us, Junichiro." She smiles at me. "Although, it seems like you found good friends, so I wouldn't blame you if you didn't."

"Y-yeah…um…I'll think about it."

She nods, "It's an open invitation. You don't have to say yes or no right away. Alright, I'm gonna go. See you in afternoon classes."

"Y-yeah…see you." Junichiro watches her walk away. He has a confused expression on his face.

Ai says, "I'm glad you butted in Kayoko, I was about to, and I wasn't going to be nearly as…diplomatic as you were, let's say."

Carsten laughs, "You got all tense. I'm glad you weren't in your wheelchair. You would have slammed it into her or something."

"Probably. Something to hurt her, that's for sure."

I laugh and say, "Aww…Junichiro, Ai must really like you. She only offers to do violence for her really good friends."

Junichiro laughs, "Um…thanks, then?"

Ai smiles, "No problem. Kayoko's way went much better, I think. No injuries, and you guys made up. Neither of those would be true if I acted on impulse."

Carsten laughs, "Thank goodness you're learning to control yourself." She sticks her tongue out in response.

Junichiro asks, "Um…h-have any of you…been rejected?"

Carsten and I say, "I have" at the same time. For a moment I want to say Ai and Akari aren't being honest, but then I realize that neither of them have been rejected.

"What did it feel like?"

Carsten looks confused, "Why are you asking? You've experienced it too."

"…I have, but I'm just curious what it was like for you."

"Um…okay. Well, disappointment is…probably the biggest emotion. But…also a little pain."

I butt in, "I don't think Carsten is the best person to answer this."

He laughs, "What does that mean?"

"Well…you are very level-headed and calm. About everything. Even heartbreak. When…it happened, you didn't even want any space from me."

Junichiro's mouth hangs open for a moment. He looks at Carsten and he points to me and says, "It was…her?"

Carsten laughs, "It was. Early on in our first year. Seems like forever ago."

Ai laughs, "It was forever ago. Akari and I weren't even in the picture yet."

He laughs, "That's true."

Junichiro laughs and turns to me. "How did rejection feel for you, Kayoko?"

I sigh, "Awful. Like the worst thing that had ever happened to me, at least for a brief moment. There was lots of crying."

Carsten laughs, "Are we sure you are the best person to tell him this? You're kind of a crybaby."

Just as I'm about to mount a defense of myself Akari chuckles and says, "So…somewhere in between the cold, emotionless German and the crybaby is p-probably about right, Junichiro."

Carsten and I say, "Hey!" in unison and then we both crack up. Her characterization of us isn't that far off, so we don't have much more to say.

Junichiro nods and smiles softly, "Okay…thanks."

…

Later that evening, after our piano lesson, I sit down on the bench next to Junichiro and say, "So…I saw how you were smiling at lunch, and you have been in a good mood all night. Care to share why?"

He laughs, "I think I confirmed I can have romantic feelings. Talking to you and Carsten about rejection…I realized I felt the same." He smiles. "I definitely like her."

I pat his head, "That's great. I'm really happy for you. She is really pretty."

He smiles, "Yeah, she is."

"I don't…want to rain on your parade, but I still don't think she feels that way about you."

He looks at me like I'm an idiot. "I know that. I'm just happy that I can feel this way about someone. After talking with you all today, and thinking about my feelings, I'm sure of it now."

"Well…that's good. I'm not sure anyone has been as happy about unrequited love before. But…I get it."

He nods, "I'll find someone else. Someone who can love me too."

"I'm sure you will."

He smiles, "I want what the four of you have. Seeing you two couples…and how happy you are…makes me really want it."

"Your parents don't make you feel that way?"

"Um…no. They got divorced when I was little. I don't ever remember them being together. Neither got remarried either."

"Ah, I see. Do you think you'll eat with Keiko?"

"I don't think so."

"There's not a very good chance she will ever feel the same…but I will say there is more of a chance if you spend time with her."

He thinks for a moment, "Maybe I will…sometimes."

"Any other cute girls in that group?"

He laughs, "I guess so. It seems like you're trying to get rid of me."

"Well…I'm not…not exactly, anyway. But…the four of us really aren't here very much longer. And even when we are…we'll be killing ourselves studying. We have mock exams after summer, then the national exam in January, then entrance exams in February."

He looks a little hurt, "So…you're saying you guys won't…have time for me?"

I pinch the bridge of my nose in frustration. I am really not wording this well. "We'll have time. I'm just trying to make sure you make some friends this year that will be here next year." I smirk at him. "And if they happen to be cute single girls, well…all the better."

He laughs, "Okay, I get it." He scratches his head and frowns. "I might need…lessons or something."

"Lessons?"

He nods, "Like…how to flirt, how to confess…stuff like that. I'm…completely lost. I don't know what to do even when I do think a girl is cute."

I tap my finger on my chin as I think. "Hmmm…I think we can arrange something like that."

He laughs, "Really?"

"Really. Akari, Ai, and I can help. Maybe…my mom too. She wants to meet you anyway."

He blushes, "That's…kind of embarrassing. You can't just do it alone? Or maybe just you and Akari?"

"Well…we definitely could. But I think having the point of view of 4 women is better than just two. Why do you think it's embarrassing?"

He sighs. "Because I need so much help for something so basic for everyone else."

I laugh, "It isn't as basic as you think. My friends and I have all consulted my mom and one another about romance before. This isn't any different. I was clueless my first year. I couldn't even talk to guys if I liked them."

He still doesn't look convinced, so I put my hand on his shoulder. "Look, you have lots of older female friends who want to help you. You may as well take advantage of it."

He thinks for a moment and then nods, "Okay. I'll do it."

I'm with Akari, Ai, and Junichiro in the faculty parking lot. We're waiting by my mom's car. We're going down to her house for dinner. Then we're going to help Junichiro with his romantic skills.

Junichiro is wringing his hands and can't stay still, so it's no surprise when he says "I'm…getting nervous."

Akari says, "A-about talking about romance stuff?"

He nods.

"W-well…I would be too. Especially b-because you haven't met Mrs. Nakai. So, if you are uncomfortable, y-you don't have to. We can just hang out. M-maybe do it another time. Doesn't have to be tonight."

He looks at me with uncertainty, almost like he's checking to see if his second parent agrees with the first one.

I laugh, "What, did you think I was gonna make you? She's right. We'll feel things out and see from there."

His face relaxes significantly.

Ai says, "By the way Junichiro, you'll have to let us know if you think Mrs. Nakai is pretty." Junichiro immediately turns red.

Akari slaps Ai's arm, which is good, because I was tempted to do it and it wouldn't be a wise decision for me.

"What!? I'm just curious. Carsten, you, and Koji think she is."

"W-well yeah, but he's already nervous, you don't need to hit him with that."

Ai frowns, realizing she's in the wrong. "Sorry, Junichiro."

"I-it's okay." He smiles, "Um…I'll let you know."

Ai laughs, "Okay."

"Speaking of my mom…I should warn you, she's a little silly, and…might even be a little flirty."

Junichiro's eyes get wide, "F-flirty?"

Akari says, "Y-yeah, but in a harmless way. She will probably just make you feel g-good about yourself."

Just then my mom arrives and greets the three of us she already knows with hugs. Junichiro stands stock still during all of it. Then my mom turns to him and smiles, "You must be Junichiro. It's nice to meet you. Are you a hugger?"

"Nice to meet you too, Mrs. Nakai…um, yes. We can hug."

My mom smiles broadly and hugs him. It is so unusual to see her hug someone smaller than her. They break the hug, and my mom smiles at him, "You're cute and a good hugger. Are you sure you need help?"

I am very glad I warned him.

A very flustered Junichiro says, "U-um…thank you. You're…cute and a good hugger too." He realizes what he said a second later and turns even redder.

This makes all of us laugh, and my mom goes in for another hug, and Junichiro gets redder still. Ai looks at me with a smirk on her face and I roll my eyes.

Yep, mark that as another friend attracted to one of my parents.

…

I'm showing Junichiro the piano at my mom's, while Akari and Ai are chatting with my grandparents. We're sitting on the bench and he's playing one of his warmup songs. When he finishes, he says, "Does your mom play too?"

I laugh, "Absolutely not. She's…not really a music person. I mean, she likes music, but she doesn't know much about it."

I hear my mom yell, "I heard that!" from the kitchen.

I yell back, "Well…it's true, isn't it?"

"Yep, every word!"

Junichiro laughs, and then notices the picture on top of the piano. He gets a very surprised look on his face. He points to Saki and says, "I…I know her."

"You do, huh? I didn't think you got into music until recently."

He gets an almost reverent look in his eyes. "I did…but…she's on the school website under notable alumni. So, I've read about her. Enomoto, right?"

"That's right. She was my dad's first wife. That's him in the picture. She's why I like music."

He doesn't respond and seems to be lost in thought while looking at the picture.

"You seem…kind of in awe of her. Think she's cute or something?"

He blushes, "I…hadn't thought of that…she is pretty. But I just…really admire her. She was amazing. I wish I could have met her."

"Yeah, me too. My mom knew her, but not well. My grandparents and the band teacher knew her really well, though. I'm jealous."

My mom comes into the living room and says, "Okay everyone, dinner's ready."

…

We just finished eating and cleaning up. My grandparents turned in early, so now it's just me, my mom, Junichiro, Akari, and Ai. We're sitting in the living room. I can tell Junichiro is getting anxious.

I put a hand on his shoulder. "Remember, you don't have to do any of this if you don't want to. But…if you do want to, we're happy to listen and help how we can."

He nods, takes a deep breath and says, "Thank you…all of you, for being willing to help. I'm…a little confused by all this stuff. I…only recently started to be interested in it, so I'm kind of behind."

Ai smiles, "No problem, we always help each other. And Emi's an expert."

My mom laughs, "I don't know about that. But I do have experience! In other words: I'm old."

Junichiro smiles, "W-well…I think you can all help me a lot. You've all been in love and had really happy relationships. I want…to do what I can to have that. So…I'm ready to learn, but not really sure where I should start."

I say "How did you confess to Keiko? If we start from there, I think we will have an idea of what advice to give you."

"Um…I asked her to be my girlfriend."

Ai says, "That's all?"

He nods, "Was…that not good?"

Akari says, "W-well…it isn't bad. But there's more you can say, to let someone know how much you l-like them."

Ai says, "Yeah. Honestly, the thing a lot of people should do but don't, is tell the girl exactly what makes them want to confess in the first place."

Suddenly I feel my curiosity is piqued by something that might also be useful for Junichiro to hear about.

"Ai…how did Carsten confess to you?"

Akari and my mom both look eager to know as well. I think we all just realized that we don't know.

She looks a little uncomfortable, "A-aren't we talking about Junichiro?"

He says, "Actually…hearing a concrete example might help me."

Ai sighs and looks embarrassed, "He…didn't really. I…confessed to him. We were hanging out in his room the same day he got my number, and I just…sorta blurted out that I thought he was cute and amazing, and I wanted to be his girlfriend. He accepted, obviously." She smiles away her embarrassment. "Who wouldn't, right?"

We all laugh and then Junichiro says, "So…I should tell a girl she's amazing?"

My mom says, "That's a good starting point. Like Ai said before we got sidetracked…just tell her why you like her. Tell her she's pretty, tell her about personality traits of hers that you like. Things like that."

He nods, "Okay."

I add, "Yeah, she'll appreciate hearing all that stuff. Anyone would. Especially when it's what you truly think. It won't always mean they return your feelings, but she'll still appreciate it."

Ai says, "So…let's do an example. What would you say to Keiko now?"

He looks down and thinks for a minute, "That she's beautiful, and I really like talking to her, and she's really smart."

My mom applauds, "Very good. Sometimes it can be hard to say those kinds of things. It's a little embarrassing. But a woman is much more likely to give you a chance if you tell her those things."

He nods and smiles, "Okay. I think I get it."

My mom asks, "Do you have any other questions?"

"How do I know if a girl likes me?"

Akari laughs, "Well, if it's a girl like Ai, there's no w-way you wouldn't know."

Ai crosses her arms and says, "Hey! Why are we back on me?"

I laugh, "The point is, some girls are very obvious. They'll do things like kiss you on the cheek and blurt out a confession." I wink at Ai who scoffs in response. "Most aren't, though."

My mom says, "If a girl laughs at your jokes a lot, goes out of her way to talk to you, touches you unnecessarily, or looks at you a bunch, there's a good chance she likes you."

Akari adds, "B-but…some girls are shy, and it will be harder to tell."

I conclude, "So basically…it depends on the girl, the only way to know for sure is to confess."

He nods and then he furrows his brow and looks lost in thought.

After he has been silently thinking for several seconds, I exchange a look with Ai and then she asks what I was thinking, "Is there a girl who you think might like you?"

He comes out of it and says "Maybe. There's a girl in art club who always insists on partnering with me, and she does some of those things you mentioned. Touches me, thinks I'm funny, compliments everything I do in art club..."

I try to contain my excitement when I ask, "Do you think she's cute?"

"Yeah. I think so. She's really nice too."

Ai says, "Ooo, things just got really interesting."

He laughs, "I know what to look out for now. We'll see. I'll think about how I feel too."

"Y-yeah, let us know if we can help."

Ai adds, "You can also talk to Carsten about this kind of thing, you know. To get a guy's perspective. After all, he landed the best girl at Yamaku, you know?"

I laugh, "Ai's…lack of modesty notwithstanding, his perspective might be useful too."

Junichiro grins, "Will it? It doesn't really sound like he did anything other than say 'yes.'

This makes us all crack up. Except Ai, who crosses her arms and glowers at all of us. "Dammit! I almost made it to graduation without you jerks finding out about that."

It's been three weeks since we all talked with Junichiro about romance. I was really hoping something would happen with this art club girl, but so far, he hasn't said anything else about it. I want to ask him what's going on every time I see him, but I think that would be a bit much. He must be uncertain about his feelings for her, and given his complicated situation, it makes sense that he is hesitating.

Today, however, he brings up the topic himself after one of our lessons.

"Remember that girl I told you all about?"

"YES!"

Woops. Too eager, Nakai. Roll it back.

He flinches at my raised voice. "O…kay…well um…I asked her if she wanted to eat lunch with me and my friends. She said yes. Is that okay?"

I put a hand on each of his shoulders and shake him excitedly, "Of course it is! I'm so proud you did that! I can't wait to meet her."

So much for rolling it back.

He looks at me cautiously, "Don't be…too over the top when you meet her though. For example, don't shake her like you're a crazy person. Or yell."

I get the hint and let him go and then pout at him. "It sounds like you're embarrassed by me."

"Well…if you shake her or yell excitedly at her, I will be embarrassed by you."

I cross my arms and huff. "I will be on my best behavior, promise."

"Yeah, just act like you normally do. Don't try and help. Just be friendly."

I scoff, "You seem to think I need a lot of direction here."

"Well…I just know you're going to be really excited and try your hardest to get us together. But I'm not sure I want that."

I nod, "Understood. I'll relay the message to Akari, she'll keep me in check."

He laughs, "Really? Maybe I should just tell her, cut out the middleman."

"I'll behave, okay! I know…I'm a busy body, but I will be good. Promise."

The next day at lunch, when Akari and I get to our usual spot, Junichiro is already there with his new friend.

Be cool, Nakai. Don't interrogate her. Or scare her. Or be overly enthusiastic. You've got this.

Akari and I take our seats across from them and say hello to Junichiro. The girl he's with grins at us all along.

"Kayoko, Akari, this is Chisa. We are in art club together."

My first thought about Chisa is that I recognize her from somewhere. I guess I must have seen her around.

She appears to be something of a tomboy. She's wearing the skirt all the girls at Yamaku wear, but she's wearing a boy's button up shirt and tie, instead of the blouse and bow the girls usually wear. She has dark brown hair that is probably shoulder length, but she has it up in a scrunchy with a sloppy looking ponytail so I can't say for sure.

She has some beautiful green eyes and a playful grin. A combination that reminds me a bit of my mother. She also has a slim figure and very long, slender legs that make me think she is probably taller than me. She and Junichiro probably look a little silly next to each other. But if they like each other, who cares?

"Hi Chisa, it's nice to meet you."

Akari nods, and says, "Yeah."

"Nice meetin' ya."

I think that's Kansai dialect. I haven't heard much of it, so it takes my brain a second to catch up.

"Y-you…live on our floor, don't you?"

I knew I recognized her.

"Yup. A few doors down from…well…down from one of ya. I ain't been sure which of ya lives in which room."

I giggle, "We kind of live in both together. So, it makes sense you're confused."

She grins, "That's what I figured. Junichiro, how're ya friends with third years?"

"Oh, Kayoko is teaching me piano. She introduced me to everyone else. Speaking of which…"

Ai and Carsten just arrived. Ai has a huge grin plastered on her face. Maybe someone needed to warn her about being too excited.

Shit, that someone probably should have been me.

As Carsten picks her up and puts her in the grass, she directs him to place her near Chisa.

Junichiro introduces them, and then Ai says, "You're really pretty. Isn't she pretty, Carsten?" Carsten looks unsure how to answer but goes with a reserved nod.

I make eye contact with Ai and give her a 'calm down' gesture by subtly holding out my palm.

"Thanks. You're pretty too. Actually…" She looks at me and Akari for a moment, "...all of ya are." She gently bumps her shoulder into Junichiro's. "This is an attractive friend group ya got here."

Ai giggles, "Well, that means you fit in. Really well, I think. I hope we'll be seeing a lot of you."

Guess I was TOO subtle.

Junichiro is starting to look flustered. I subtly poke Ai this time, and she looks at me. I make the same hand motion from before, and she notices Junichiro is uncomfortable too. So, she nods slightly. Hopefully that's the end of that.

"I like it here so far. I especially like the company." She shoots a big smile at Junichiro, and he smiles back just as big.

Kiss each other!

Carsten says, "So, how's art club? What are you two up to in there?"

Junichiro says, "Sculpting, right now."

"Yup, Junichiro is really good at it. Lotsa hand dexterity, an' very patient an' careful. Me? Not so much. I'm too impatient."

I smile, "Yeah, he has good hands for piano too, so that makes sense. What kind of art do you like to do, Chisa?"

"I'm a painter. Mostly abstract. I paint what I feel."

Carsten says, "What you feel, huh? Sounds interesting."

Junichiro says, "She's really good. I didn't really like abstract stuff before, but hers is really beautiful."

Chisa blushes and puts her hand on his arm. "You didn't tell me ya thought that. Thanks."

He turns a little red and responds, "Um…y-yeah. No problem."

Kiss each other!

"It would be cool to see some of your work some time."

Chisa smiles, "That's pretty easy since we're neighbors. Just knock on my door some time. If it ain't class or club time, I'm usually paintin' in there."

"Oh yeah! We will definitely come by sometime."

The bell rings, and we all get up and head back to class. I notice that Chisa and Junichiro walk side by side as they do.

"What did you two think of her?"

Akari and I are in the band room with Junichiro. After lunch, he asked if Akari could come to his lesson tonight too, at least for a little while. We both suspected it was to talk about Chisa. Now that suspicion has been confirmed.

I gesture for Akari to go first, "She seems really nice. And G-genuine. And very pretty. Like really pretty. Those eyes especially. W-wow."

No wonder she recognized her more quickly than I did. She's got a crush on her. Probably been checking her out in the hallway.

I scoff half-playfully, "Okay. Getting a little too descriptive about another woman with your girlfriend standing right here."

Akari blushes and giggles, "You know I think you're a b-billion times prettier."

"Well now you are making it sound like she isn't very pretty."

She sighs, "I just c-can't win, huh?"

Junichiro is watching us with a bemused expression.

"Anyway, I agree that she's pretty, and very nice. Funny too. She also almost definitely likes you."

"Really?"

"Oh yeah. She touched you lots, smiled at you lots. Do you like her?"

"I've been thinking about it for a couple of weeks. And I…think I do. I smile every time she smiles at me. And…I always look forward to art club because of her."

Akari replies, "Th-then you like her."

He nods and then smiles, "I…think I want to ask her on a date. And…maybe confess if it goes well. But…I'm nervous about what to do. I've never been on a date. And…just r-really anxious about it all."

Akari smiles and says, "W-well…will making it a double date help?"

He thinks for a moment, "I dunno. It would help with anxiety I guess, but if it goes well, I would want to be alone with her to really confess, I think."

I know what Akari is going to say before she says it.

"Well, we can be there to help you get settled. And w-we can have a signal, so you can tell us to leave if you want to. You can scratch your head or something."

He smiles, "That's a really good idea! You're a genius."

Akari giggles, "Well, don't g-give me too much credit. Ai and Carsten did it for me once, I'm st-stealing it."

I laugh, "I was going to let him think it was all you."

"This is my first time eatin' here, what's good?"

Junichiro says, "I…actually haven't been here much either." He looks at me expectantly.

"Well…I've never ordered anything I didn't like, but I would say none of their entrees are exceptional. The dessert is, though."

Akari and I are at The Shanghai with Junichiro and Chisa for a double-date. We have a table for the four of us. I'm sitting across from Chisa, with Akari next to me, and Junichiro across from her.

It's been about a week since we met her at lunch. Since then, she has joined us every day, and it has only gotten clearer that there is something between the two of them. So clear that Junichiro got the courage to ask her on this date.

Akari says, "I actually r-really like the Chicken Karaage. But the dessert is better. Especially the cake."

Chisa laughs, "Okay, so I should save room for dessert, got it."

…

We've just enjoyed our entrees and ordered dessert. So far things have been very vanilla. And a little quiet. Our young friends have flirted less than they do when they are at lunch together. I think they are both nervous since this is an actual date.

Chisa says, "I'm gettin' warm. Let me take off my jacket."

I bet she's wearing something cuter underneath that she wants to make sure Junichiro sees. At least that's what I'm hoping.

As she goes to stand up, she suddenly looks unsteady and loses her balance. She manages to land back in her chair, but the sudden force of her sitting shakes the table and Junichiro's barley tea goes into his lap.

He doesn't seem to notice though. He turns to her with very genuine concern in his eyes. He puts his small hand on her shoulder, and asks "Are you okay?"

It's a really good question. She looks pale, disoriented, and embarrassed.

She frowns. "I'm okay. Havin' an episode. I get dizzy spells. I feel like the room is spinnin' and it makes me feel sick. It should pass in 30 minutes or so." She grimaces. "Sorry for…makin' a mess."

Before I can tell her not to worry, Junichiro says, "Is there any way we can help?"

She smiles, "Actually…yeah. It's best if I don't move my head until this goes away, so I can't do much. In my bag, I have some anti-nausea medication. Can ya get it?"

"Yeah. It's the red bag under the table, right?"

"Yup, that's it. It's the only pill bottle in there."

Junichiro reaches under the table and gets her bag. He finds the pill bottle, opens it, and hands her the pill.

"I'll go get you some new water and a straw, so you don't have to move." He gets up and talks to the nearest waiter.

She smiles and quietly says, "It actually dissolves under my tongue, but I didn't know what to say."

Akari and I laugh, and she says, "W-well…we won't tell him."

Junichiro comes back with the water and the straw and holds it for Chisa while she takes her pill. Even though she probably wanted to take it right away, she held onto it until he came back. I have a feeling if they end up together this will be a very cute story. Five years in she will let him know she didn't really need the water and they can laugh about it.

"Thank ya. Now I just need to stay seated for a bit until it goes away." She sighs. "I…didn't want this to happen on our first date…but seein' how sweet ya are about it is definitely a silver-lining." She smiles broadly. "I'd turn towards ya, but movin' my head is not a great idea right now. So just pretend I'm smilin' at you an' not Kayoko, okay?"

I laugh, "Aw. That's not for me? But it's so pretty."

She laughs softly, "Nope. Sorry."

They bring our desserts, and then I say, "Junichiro, come switch spots with me, so you can get the smile you deserve."

He laughs, "It's a little wet over here, though."

"That's fine." I stand up and wait next to him impatiently until he moves, then I sit across from Akari, and he sits across from Chisa.

When he does, she smiles at him and reaches a hand out on the table. Junichiro doesn't react. Akari picks up on this and nudges him and uses her eyes to direct his attention to Chisa's hand with her eyes.

Junichiro tentatively outstretches his hand and takes hers.

Chisa giggles, "I felt like a smile wasn't quite enough to repay ya. I hope this is okay."

Junichiro blushes bright red and says, "Y-yeah…it is."

She smiles wider, "It's pretty cute I made ya blush like that. You must think I'm real pretty."

He turns redder and sounds very flustered when he say, "Y-yeah…I..um…do."

She absolutely beams at him. "Good."

Akari nudges me with her foot to get my attention and gestures with her head towards the door.

She's probably right we should leave them alone, but Junichiro hasn't given us the signal. He might not be ready to be alone with her. Plus, I haven't finished my dessert.

Then, Junichiro scratches his head.

I guess I'm going to be leaving some dessert behind. I hope he appreciates this sacrifice.

"Well…Akari and I are going to get going. It was fun, you two. I…hope we can do more of this."

Junichiro nods without even looking at me, "Yeah, see you later."

He sounds eager to be rid of us. Not sure I saw that coming. I am overjoyed but can't show it.

…

Later that evening, there's a knock on my door while Akari is in the shower. When I ask who it is, I'm a little surprised to hear, "It's Chisa."

I open the door and welcome her in. She looks very happy. I take a seat on the bed, and she sits at my desk.

I smile knowingly at her and say, "Good first date?"

"Very. He is a little sweetie. He asked me to be his girlfriend an' I said yes, an' we talked an' talked, an' then walked up the hill holdin' hands. I can't stop smilin'."

I do my best to conceal my extreme excitement when I say, "That's great!"

"Yeah. I was wonderin'…do you…know what his…thing is? You know…like…I have dizzy spells. Meniere's syndrome, it's called. Is his why he's so small? I don't mind him bein' small, obviously. Just curious."

I feel the excitement fade from my face and I start to feel very uncomfortable. "Um…this… really isn't something you should be asking me."

She frowns and looks down, "Oh. Crossed a line?"

"It's up to him to share that with you. After all…it's about him."

Of course, I don't know what it is either.

She frowns, "I'm real sorry. I was feelin' all excited after our date, an' then I started to wonder about that…an' then I was walking by your door..."

"It's okay. I'm guessing you're new to being around other people with disabilities?"

"Yeah. I'm from a small town where I was the only one. An' I haven't been real social since I got here, just been paintin' alone after classes and art club."

"Okay, well would you like some advice about how to approach this?"

She nods.

"Some people are very private about their medical stuff. Some aren't. It can be hard to navigate. But it's usually best to let the person in question make the decision whether to tell someone. So…asking some else to tell you about them isn't good."

She cringes at herself, "When ya put it like that…I see what ya mean." She looks at me with pleading eyes. "Please don't tell him about this."

I smile, "My lips are sealed."

Just then, Akari comes into the room with only a towel on, and promptly turns bright red when she sees Chisa.

I wonder if she'd turn that red if she didn't think she was SO pretty.

I quickly update Akari on the situation, informing her that our young friends are now a couple.

Akari smiles nervously as she tightens her towel around her, "O-oh…that's g-great."

Chisa smiles at her, "Sorry. I'll go."

"Y-you…don't have to. I w-will get dressed in my room." Akari goes across the hall.

Chisa looks back at me. "I'm gonna go, but first I wanna say - Thanks. I…really like him. I have for a while. I was so happy when he invited me to lunch…an' then on a date. I don't wanna mess it up."

"I'm glad you like him, and glad you two are together. Seeing you two at lunch this last week was super cute, I was rooting for this all along."

Chisa smiles at me and nods. "I'm glad he's my boyfriend, but, havin' his friends as my friends is also really great."

I stand up as she does and say, "Are you a hugger?"

She laughs, "Sure."

We hug and I say, "If you ever have things you need advice with, we can try to help. We are neighbors after all."

…

Later that night, I've just climbed into bed with Akari after my shower. There's a very strange atmosphere. She's barely said a word to me since I got back from the shower. Things seem tense, and I'm not sure why. Just as I'm about to comment on this and see if everything's okay, a nervous Akari says,

"Um…I…have s-something I really need to tell you."

Now I feel nervous too, but I try not to show it when I say, "Okay. Tell away."

"Okay…um…j-just…give me a minute to think how I want to say it."

We're silent for a while. But I'm starting to get more and more worried with each second that passes. I can't even think of what she might be having such a hard time telling me. But it can't be good.

Finally, she says, "S-sorry…for having a crush on Chisa. Now that we'll be seeing more of her and s-stuff…I'm not gonna be checking her out or anything. Just so you know."

I let out a long laugh that releases all my nervousness. "Seriously? You were worried about that? I really thought this was going to be something serious."

"Oh…um…w-well…I thought it was serious."

"Why?"

"I dunno. I didn't want you to be j-jealous or…worried."

I squeeze her, "I trust you, so I'm not worried. It does make me a teeny tiny bit jealous. Like, when you got so flustered about her seeing you in a towel tonight. But it's very, very far from being a big deal. Besides, you said I'm a billion times prettier, right?"

Akari giggles and squeezes me back, "Y-yeah."

"So, it doesn't matter. Like at all. Feel better?"

"Yeah..."

"Really? You don't sound like you feel better."

"Um…I'm just tired, I think. I d-do feel better."

"Okay…well, let's get some rest then."

At lunch today, Chisa invited me and Akari to stop by her dorm this evening to check out some of her art. I've been curious about it since hearing about it the day I met her. I'm also interested in getting to know her a little better, since she's Junichiro's girlfriend and part of our friend group now.

When we go into her room, the first thing I notice is the lighting. She has several large lights set up and pointing at canvases that she has set up in the middle. They all look like they are in various stages of completion. There is also a stack of canvases against the wall, and several more of her paintings hanging on the walls. The only furniture in the room is her bed. I am not sure what she did with her desk, but clearly, she wanted more room for painting.

Akari takes this all in and says, "W-wow…you're prolific."

Chisa laughs, "Sure ya don't mean crazy?"

Almost all her paintings feature swirls of color, with some shade of green making a prominent appearance in almost every one. There is something somehow…beautiful and unsettling about them.

"W-well…most artists are a little crazy, right?"

Chisa nods, "I worry sometimes I'm a lot crazy. When I'm really in the zone, I paint one every day."

I say, "That's amazing. They are beautiful. Like Junichiro, I don't normally love the abstract, but I really like these."

She smiles, "Thanks. Can each take one if ya like. Not like I am short on 'em."

She grabs the stack against the wall and spreads them out on the floor. There are 10 to choose from.

"Aren't they important to you?"

"Kinda. The most important ones, I keep. They're on the walls. So if ya like one of these, I'd be happy for you each to have 'em."

I nod and study them thoughtfully and then say, "Akari…none of them have any pink in them. What're you gonna do?"

She scowls at me, "I d-don't only have pink stuff…"

I giggle, "Really?"

"Really." Then she quietly says. "J-just almost only."

Chisa laughs, "Sorry…I don't really use pink."

'You don't ever feel pink, huh?"

She smiles, "Guess not."

I pick one up and look at it closely. It's a big forest-green swirl of color, with light yellow, brown, and light red swirls on its periphery. I think what makes me feel so unsettled about these is how…asymmetrical they are. Every swirl is lop-sided, and the general composition is too. But maybe that's the point.

"Do you mind if I ask…what you felt when you painted this one?"

I hand it to Chisa, and she looks at it for a moment and hands it back to me before saying, "Uncertainty."

Oddly fitting given my current career conundrum. Feels like a sign. Maybe it will help somehow.

I smile and say, "Okay, I think I'll take this one."

Akari is looking at one that is almost entirely green of several different shades. There are tiny flecks of brown throughout. I hadn't seen that one. It's the most…muted and relaxed of all of her paintings. I might have picked it if I had seen it. But my eyes were really drawn to the others.

"Wh-what about this one?"

Chisa looks at it for half a second and then says, "Calm."

Akari smiles and nods, "Yeah, I n-need that sometimes. I'll take it."

Chisa smiles, "Great. I'm glad you like 'em. It'll be neat seein' 'em in your rooms."

"We'll have to…pay you back some time. This is really generous of you."

Chisa waves her hand dismissively at me, "You've already done a lot, helpin' me an' Junichiro. It's the least I could do. They were just sittin' around in here anyway. Plus…I'm sure I'll be needin' your help again some time."