Apology Letter

Tan-Tan walked home from school after the disbandment of the club. Rather than taking the train, she trudged along the sidewalk, her mind occupied with the display of brutality she had just witnessed between childhood friends. She could envision the bloody face of her once handsome senpai, his eye swelling from a hard punch. Tears rolled down her rosy cheeks as she sniffled in silence. Tan-Tan had always loathed physical violence more than anything in this world, considering herself a pacifist. Any act of savagery caused her great despair. Having been the victim of bullying and past physical trauma from her classmates, she understood all too well the experience of getting injured and the consequences that follow.

As she trudged past Nishi's house, the faint illumination of police lights circled the neighborhood. Tan-Tan watched as the police officers came to a halt in front of her senpai's house. Startled, Tan-Tan's body moved before she could even think. She sprinted to the doorway, squeezing her way past gossiping neighbors and curious onlookers.

"Aoi!"
Tan-Tan ran up to Nishi's mother, Aoi, who was in the midst of speaking calmly to a familiar face. Tan-Tan's father, Shinichi, looked down at his distraught daughter, studying her frightened expression.

"Shina? You know this woman?"
Shinichi patted his daughter on the head, gently massaging her scalp.

"Daddy? This is Aoi Kuromoto, Nishi-senpai's mother!"
Tan-Tan pushed past her father, immediately gazing up at Aoi.

"Nishi-senpai? The boy you went to camp with?"
He began writing on his notepad.

"Tan-Tan... Nishi's missing."
Aoi leaned against the doorframe. Despite usually having a carefree personality, there was a hint of worry in her eyes. She calmly lit the cigarette resting between her lips, the smoke curling around her medium length hair.

"Missing?! What do you mean missing?! I just saw him a few hours ago!"
Tan-Tan began clawing at Aoi's wrists, her grip was unforgiving.

"Relax; my son isn't stupid. He's probably got a lot on his mind. Here, he left this on his bed."
Aoi handed Tan-Tan a small envelope, two pieces of paper hanging loosely from the top.

Tan-Tan rifled through the papers quickly. She opened the first one, reading only a few words before she understood everything.

"Manga Publishing... We're sorry to inform you... Declined... Please contact VIA email..."

The paper fluttered out of her hands and onto the concrete below. Shinichi had continued talking to Aoi, but Tan-Tan couldn't focus on a single word. She wondered how Aoi could be so calm in this situation; her son had just lost the biggest battle of his life, and disappeared without a trace. Then again, Aoi hadn't seen the fistfight that took place just a few hours ago. Opening the second slip of paper, Tan-Tan read through it more carefully. It was a handwritten note by Nishi.

"Sorry for the sudden disappearance, Mom. It seems like things aren't going to be in my favor anytime soon. Maybe, I need a journey to reflect on myself and my actions. I promise I'll be okay, so please don't stress. If Tan-Tan comes searching for me, tell her I'm sorry. If Minami comes searching for me, tell her I didn't mean what I said, and that I love her dearly (as a friend). If Aki comes searching for me, tell him that he throws a killer left hook, that bastard. Love you, Mom.
-Nishi"

"Idiot... Idiot, idiot!"
Tan-Tan curled into a ball, hugging her knees tight to her chest. Her school uniform fluttered in the gentle breeze that caressed the evening air. Nishi was nowhere in sight; nowhere to save her from this dilemma. She felt a strong hand pat her shoulder.

"Shina, do you have any leads?"
Shinichi squatted next to his daughter, his eyes full of tenderness.

"I don't..."
Tan-Tan looked at the ground, trying to think of something; anything to help her find Nishi. The only thing that came to her mind was to contact Sakai Akinari. Reluctantly, she pulled out her cellphone; her fingers hesitated to press the call button. Once she finally did, she held it to her ear, fighting back tears.

"Hello? Tanaka-san?"
Akinari's comforting voice was just enough to send her into a frenzy. He could hear the sharp gasps muffled by her hand on the other line.

"Tanaka-san?! What's wrong?!"

"Sakai-senpai... It's Nishi-senpai!"
She managed to sneak in just a few words between sobs.

"Nishi? Tanaka-san, calm down. Where are you?"
Akinari could be heard leaving his house, his soft panting came through clearly over the phone speaker.

"Nishi-senpai's house. Please, hurry, Sakai-senpai."
Tan-Tan wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

"Just stay there, Tanaka-san. I'm getting on the train in a minute."
Akinari knew he was acting out of line; he had never been emotionally there for Tan-Tan in her times of need. Perhaps, it was the guilt of truly losing his best friend that was starting to eat at him. Whatever it was, he knew Tan-Tan needed him, and if she was a friend of Nishi and Minami's, then he considered her a friend to himself as well. While he hurried to catch the late train heading toward Nishi's house, she waited by the doorstep in silence, occasionally letting out a quiet whimper of sorrow.

Once Sakai Akinari arrived, it was evident that he was feeling regret. Slipping past the police officers and over to Nishi's doorstep, he dropped to his knees in front of Tan-Tan, panting heavily from running so fast. Tan-Tan looked up at the sweaty boy, he was wearing a loose shirt and a pair of shorts; a flip flop missing from his left foot. He must have lost it along the way.

"Tanaka-san... Please, tell me what's going on."

Tan-Tan pointed to her father, still conversing with Nishi's mother by the door.
"Nishi-senpai ran away from home. The manga got declined."

Akinari's eyes widened in denial. He slumped next to the small girl, still trying to catch his breath.
"The manga got declined? Shit."

"Sakai-senpai... do you know where he could have gone?"
She gazed up at him with tears prickling in the corners of her eyes.

Akinari hesitated. He had known Nishi for over a decade at this point. If there was one place he could be, it would definitely be-
"His father's house."
Akinari cursed under his breath.

"Nishi's dad? You mean, the man that Souichi lives with?"
Tan-Tan wiped her nose with the back of her hand, feeling lucky to have a real chance at finding her senpai.

"Yeah. The only problem is he lives on the other side of town. If we go now, we're going to miss the last train home."
He offered Tan-Tan a hand, assisting her back to her feet.

"I don't care about going home. I want Nishi-senpai to be okay! I want to hug him, kiss him, and let him take his anger out on me. It's not fair!"
Tan-Tan ran a hand through her hair, not caring to hide her true feelings anymore; after all, Akinari was painfully aware of how she truly felt.

"If you're going to go... I won't stop you, Tanaka-san. But please, offer him my regards. That bastard needs to reunite the club before Minami cries her eyes out."
He patted her on the head, gently rubbing her fragile scalp with his fingertips.

"You're not coming, Sakai-senpai?"
She peeked up at him through her bangs, looking surprisingly cute to the man who claimed not to have any interest in her.

He quickly removed his hand, hiding his slightly pink cheeks behind a casual neck rub.
"No way. If you do kiss him, I don't want to see any of that lovey-dovey crap. Just... tell him I'm sorry."

He yanked out his cellphone, emailing Tan-Tan the exact address of Nishi's father's home.

She checked her notifications, inputting the coordinates into her GPS. She swooped down to grab her school bag, and dashed down the street.
"I'll never forget this, Sakai-senpai! Thank you!"

Akinari watched her disappear into the night, his own heart feeling slightly less heavy. He chuckled softly to himself, smiling at the thought of Tan-Tan finally confessing to Nishi. He couldn't help but whisper.
"You really found yourself a cute one, Nishi."

Sitting on the train, Tan-Tan slipped her earbuds into her ears, pressing play on her favorite album. The train looked so different late at night; there were a few businessmen coming home from a night of drinking, the occasional wannabe yakuza causing a small ruckus a few cars down, and a few families enjoying some silence on their way home from the grocery store. Everybody had their own problems, each one appearing just as important and special to them as Tan-Tan's was to her. Sending a lengthy text message to her mother, Tan-Tan turned her notification sound off: knowing all too well she would be in for a lecture when she returned home.

She stepped onto the platform near her destination. The gloomy train station was a bit eerie at this time of night. She clutched her school bag close to her body, her eyes darting around at every shadowy corner. She rushed down the street, not paying attention to what was in front of her.

*Thud*

She fell to her butt, letting out a startled yelp of pain.
"Sorry! I was just-"
She froze. Standing before her were three college students dressed in designer clothes, each one covered in tattoos across their arms and necks.

"Whoa, a little girl? Check it out, she's in high school."
The three surrounded Tan-Tan, blocking her path.

"Shit, she's cute too. You lost?"
One of them waved a knife by her face, silently threatening that if she didn't comply, there would be an issue.

Just as she she began to stutter, a fist sent one of the three stumbling into a nearby trash pile. The other two whipped their necks to face the attacker. Tall, messy hair, and a bruise surrounding his left eye; it was none other than Kuromoto Nishi, his glasses nowhere to be found.

"You want to let my underclassman go?"
He spit toward their feet. It might have been due to the lack of glasses, but Nishi's eyes squinted with a burning anger. He clenched a shopping bag in one hand, his other hand bruised from a previous brawl with Akinari earlier that day.

"Shit, this kid's crazy!"
The three punks scurried to their feet, not daring to make eye contact with the angry teenager.

"Nishi-senpai?"
Tan-Tan peeked through her fingers, the blinding neon lights casting a mysterious shadow around her crush.

"Tan-Tan? Is it really you? I can't see a damn thing right now."
He stumbled around, doing his best to help her stand up.
"You're the only silver haired girl that size around this town, so it was kind of a hunch."

She immediately nodded, throwing her arms around Nishi's waist. She buried her face in his chest, whispering half hearted insults.
"Idiot. Don't you ever scare me like that again."

His hand rested atop her head.
"I'm glad to see you... I'm kind of in a situation right now. Can we hug a little longer?"

She nodded against his chest.
"I'll hug you all night, Nishi-senpai."