Chapter Three - Roof

“You’re late, Kasumi,” Mizuki sniffed in irritation as I emerged from my house the next day. Remarkably, the skies were clear blue with only faint hints of clouds like pinches of cotton on the horizon. It also felt like it could be warm today, too. Of course, I’d been fooled before by the weather, but even the weather app on my phone which had become increasingly disillusioned by the twitchy weather seemed cautiously optimistic, so I dared allow myself to hope.

“Jun’s back from college until Saturday and he has to make himself pretty in the morning so he can troll the middle school for dates, so I had to wait to get into the bathroom,” I replied, falling into step with her. Mio had already left some time before, so it was just Mizuki and I today.

“Well, your brother is pretty,” Mizuki replied with a giggle.

“Not you, too, Mizuki,” I sighed irritably.

“All the girls think Jun’s cute, right?” Mizuki shrugged.

“He’s a moron,” I replied.

“Well, yeah, but sometimes as a woman you just need some eye candy,” Mizuki said, following me as I skirted a wide patch of mud.

“I’m unbelievably disgusted with you right now,” I said.

“You can’t expect a howler monkey to be a capybara,” Mizuki said, affecting an air of supreme wisdom. I giggled at her.

“What does that even mean?” I asked, reaching into the package of Pocky Mizuki carried carelessly and removing one to nibble on as we walked.

“That’s mine!” Mizuki protested, grabbing at the stick in my mouth. “I like the green tea ones!”

“And…”I prompted, smacking her hand away effortlessly. “They don’t carry the Azuki ones this time of year. It’s fine to share, right?”

“You’re just like Jun, you know,” Mizuki pouted. “Any port in a storm, you harlot.”

“Any Pock in a storm,” I corrected her with a grin, wrestling one more from her pack.

“Jerk,” she muttered, moving away and holding the package as far from me as she could. “You’re so rude.”

“Ugh,” I gagged as we emerged from the high pass and onto the street leading to the bridge, wrinkling my nose in distaste. “What is that horrid stench?”

“Hi, guys!” Yuto greeted us as he lounged near the bread shop, waiting as he did every morning for Mizuki.

“It’s you,” I gagged again as he drew nearer. “What the hell, meatball? Why do you stink?”

“Oh!” Yuto chuckled, running his hand through his mixing bowl haircut in embarrassment. At least he’d reached acceptance of his new nickname. It was an important first step. “I was cleaning Fan-Fan’s tank this morning and he got angry.”

“Ugh,” I exclaimed, recoiling in horror from the pungent odor emanating from him. “You still have that nasty thing? I thought you were going to let it go.”

“I was going to!” Yuto protested. “But he looked so scared and sad I couldn’t do it!”

“At least three meters today, meatball,” I said, grabbing Mizuki by the arm and leading her across the street to get away from him.

“Bitch!” The yell was loud, cutting through the dramatic music of my game like a knife and causing me to glance up from my phone to find the source. Someone was being very loud around the corner, apparently, I thought. I shrugged and returned my attention to my phone game. If I could get enough coins for three more spins, I could get a new hero. Maybe even Astrid. She had an amazing distance attack and wore just the most adorable cat-I looked back up, distracted by the sounds of a scuffle and yelling. Sighing heavily, I got up and went to investigate. There’d be no peace until I did.

To no one’s surprise ever it appeared Midori had found out about the foreign student and her impromptu date with Midori’s boyfriend the previous day and had brought her little enforcers, Otoha and Shuko to make the girl pay. The foreigner huddled against the chain link fence lining the roof, the contents of her backpack spread on the ground, two buttons ripped off her uniform shirt and a red welt on her face where she’d been hit. Tears flowed down her cheeks and her hands were scraped and bleeding from when she’d been pushed down. She looked a bit like a trapped and injured animal as her eyes searched for a way to escape, her mascara running in rivulets down her cheeks. Those deep blue eyes found me and got wider as a mixture of hope and fear rushed into them.

“What’s the issue, Midori-senpai?” I asked, leaning against the wall, crossing my arms over my chest, one leg crossed over the other absently. Midori turned; her dyed brown hair half-covering her face as she jumped in surprise.

“Oh! Fujimura, what are-uh, what are you doing here?” She asked. She was a bit taller than I was and broader with breasts so large my brother Jun would have proudly displayed their photo on his laptop as wallpaper for some time. Who knows? I asked myself. Perhaps he already had. Jun had the moral fiber of a pit viper after all. Not that I was particularly knowledgeable about the morals of a venomous reptile.

“Well, Yuto got juiced by a salamander this morning and smells even worse than usual so I figured I’d get away from him and Mizuki and eat lunch on the roof today,” I glanced meaningfully toward the foreigner on the ground. “Seems I wasn’t the only one using the roof today.”

“Heh,” she chuckled, putting her hand behind her head bashfully. “Well, we’re just talking is all.”

“Seems like you might be on the cusp of an international incident here,” I noted meaningfully.

“We need to maintain order and discipline, you know,” Midori explained. “She needs to learn the rules.”

“So she went for coffee with your boyfriend and you are teaching her not to do that anymore,” I translated. “Or am I off-base?”

“How did you know?” Midori asked, cocking her head to the side.

“I saw them at the café yesterday,” I shrugged.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Midori glared back at the frightened blonde on the ground.

“It didn’t look like a hostage situation, so I figured it wasn’t my business,” I answered, spinning my earbud by the cord absently. “Now, I could be wrong, but it seemed to me that Daishi probably invited her since he also invited you there the first time you went out, right? So, if that’s the case, which it almost assuredly is, you’re mad at the wrong person.”

“B-But she should have known!” Midori stammered in protest.

“How would she? Yesterday was her first day here,” I reminded her. “Look, I don’t get it but I guess I can empathize a bit, but you really need to vent your anger on the guy who was cheating on you, not the person he was cheating with.”

“We didn’t do anything! He just asked me to coffee!” the American protested from the ground. Midori glanced back uncertainly at the girl before nibbling on her lower lip.

“You need to respect yourself more, Midori-senpai,” I said, patting her shoulder reassuringly. “If you’re going to get mad at anyone, get mad at Daishi. Stand up for yourself or it’ll just happen again with the next pair of boobs and you can’t beat up every boob in the world.” Midori giggled, covering her mouth.

“Y-You’re right,” Midori replied, hugging me. My eyes opened wide in surprise and I paused for a moment before patting her back awkwardly. “Let’s go, you two, we need to talk to Daishi. Thank you, Kasumi!” I nodded to the three of them as they filed from the roof and down the stairs. I looked down at my phone and sighed. Only ten minutes left for lunch, I thought, turning to go back to my spot near the air conditioners. I could always pay the 200 yen to buy some coins, I suppose, mentally doing the math about how much allowance I had left. If I hadn’t bought that manga, I wouldn’t be cutting it so close but I really, really wanted it and now I didn’t have Astrid and that sword/whip hybrid weapon she had. I could tear the stage 19 boss up with that and the new tank I’d found, even though I’d heard you had to have multiple tanks I thought I could manage with just one tank and Astrid.

‘Thank you,” the American said. I waved to her without turning and returned to my spot, folding my legs beneath me as I sat, putting the earbud back in. I straightened my skirt and glared at the screen, finger hovering over the purchase button. A shadow fell over my screen and I looked up to see the American with her tear-stained face staring at me hesitantly, hands clenched together in her skirt.

“It’s ok,” I said, more loudly than I intended due to the sound from the game. “Just don’t date anyone else’s boyfriend.” She mouthed something at me, and I removed my earbuds, closing the screen in disappointment. The event didn’t end for another few hours so I could always sneak in some playtime in class. “Eh?” I said.

“You’re from my class, I said,” she said louder than she had to.

“Yeah,” I replied.

“I’m Aria,” she smiled, flashing her dimples at me.

“I got that from the introduction yesterday,” I said. Maybe this girl really was just stupid.

“Oh! Haha, yeah, I guess so,” she laughed. “I just wanted to thank you for helping me.”

“You already did,” I pointed out. She blushed fiercely. Yep, I thought. She was stupid.

“Could I buy you coffee or something after school, maybe?” She asked nervously. I almost sprained my eyes trying to keep them from rolling.

“There’s no need to buy me anything, glad I could help,” I replied as politely as I could manage. She smiled hesitantly and nodded.

“Ok!” She said, trying to sound unconcerned about the dismissal and failing miserably. “I’m sorry to bother you! Thank you again.” She turned to go and I sagged. I hated social interaction.

“Coffee after school tomorrow would be fine,” I said. “Thank you.”

“Really?” She enthused, turning back around, a smile bursting onto her face, hands clasped together.

“Sure, that would be nice,” I lied, uncoiling myself and standing, brushing my skirt off. It would most assuredly not be nice. It would, however, be a free cup of coffee and free things should not be turned down, I reasoned. “You might want to wipe off your butt and fix your makeup.” I suggested as I passed her to return to class, silently bemoaning my lost lunchtime. That was fifteen minutes I’d want back at the end of my life.

“Oh! I guess you’re right. Thank you!” She said, trying to look behind her while patting at her dirty skirt. I nodded, waving slightly while putting my earbuds back in.

“Three more confession letters, eh?” Mizuki said, glancing over my shoulder at the letters, two wrapped in red ribbon the other bound in a green one sat on top of my folded gym clothes. “Is that a new record?”

“Nah,” I replied, carefully taking the letters and putting them in the front pocket of my backpack so they didn’t get damaged.

“Oh! That’s right! You had four on Valentine’s Day and like two full baskets of chocolate, didn’t you?”

“Five,” I corrected her.

“Why don’t you just shut them down immediately?” Mizuki asked as we changed shoes.

“Someone poured their heart into a letter for me,” I replied with a shrug. “Who am I to be rude and hurtful?”

“You’re always rude and hurtful,” Mizuki chuckled.

“Only to you,” I grinned back, pulling my backpack over my shoulder, and walking out the door into the afternoon sun.

“I would say you’re more like Jun than I thought but that isn’t really true, and I don’t want you to hit me,” Mizuki said as we headed toward the gate. I nodded.

“You’re right,” I admitted. “I would hit you.”

“You’re sarcastic, rude, and often angry, but you’re a romantic at heart,” Mizuki continued on, ignoring me. “You’re going to be a really awful wife someday.”

“That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me, Mizuki,” I laughed.

“I’ve been waiting for you, Fujimura,” a male voice said, appearing from behind one of the pillars flanking the front gate of school. He was handsome enough, I supposed, though on a scale of 1 to 10 he’d probably rate about a 5, a -8 if you considered his personality. He had expertly coiffed hair and what almost passed as a goatee on his chin. I sighed. This is why I don’t get involved in things.

“Oh! Hi, Daishi,” Mizuki beamed at him. At some point Mizuki had a terrible crush on him but had never gotten so far as to confess, she had merely stalked him from a distance for several months before getting together with Yuto. “Why, pray tell, were you waiting for little old me?”

“Why’d you tell Midori about the café, huh?” Daishi demanded, ignoring Mizuki.

“Wow! Rude much? Well, since you asked so nicely it’s because I had no reason not to,” I replied with a shrug. I affected a shocked look before whispering dramatically. “Oh my God! Was that supposed to be a secret?”

“You should have kept your nose out of my business,” he scowled.

“You shouldn’t have flaunted your business in a public place and, oh, I don’t know, maybe stuck to one girl while you were at it,” I returned with a sneer, positive I could beat him into the ground if push came to shove. “Rather than blaming everyone else for being an ass you should accept responsibility for your own stupidity like a real man.”

“You’re going to lecture me about how to be a man?” Daishi scoffed.

“Someone has to,” I retorted with a smile. His face darkened further in anger. My sister would call me decidedly not cute for antagonizing people.

“You walk around like you own the school but you’re just a bitter bitch with a bad attitude,” Daishi seemed to feel he’d really scored some battle points and grinned.

“Look at you! Using big boy words! I bet mommy would be so proud! Here I thought you were basically a subhuman and you go and use words like that! Color me impressed!” I fanned my face dramatically with my phone. “You might one day graduate to having a fully functioning frontal lobe! What then, proper word tense? Rudimentary tool usage? Maybe even a useful member of society? The sky, it seems, is the limit for you!” I glanced down at my phone, tapping a button before rolling my eyes. “As amusing as this truly is it’s getting late and it’s my turn to do dishes today. Are you done? Do you feel you’ve intimidated me, yet?”

“No,” Daishi smirked at me. “I think you owe me an apology for wrecking things with Midori, actually. And make it sweet. Why don’t you show me how nice you can be? If you’re nice to me I might not have to beat your ass and take your apology that way.”

“Hmmm,” I tapped my head as if thinking. “No. No, I don’t think I will be apologizing to you and you certainly won’t be anywhere near my ass, Daishi.” He came forward aggressively until he stood several centimeters away from me, chest puffed out in a way he most likely felt to be threatening. I looked up bemused at him and smiled, ignoring Mizuki shaking beside me while pawing impotently at my arm. At this point in time, I felt I had two choices, either a hiraken tsuki to the adam’s apple, spin kick to the knees and ippon ken to the bridge of his nose as he fell or take the less dramatic but only slightly more satisfying route of crushing his spirit. With a grin I chose the latter.

“Why don’t you just mind your own business, huh? How about that?” He growled. I glanced behind him to the several people who had gathered to talk on their daily walk and my smile brightened.

“How aggressive you are today! Are you going to beat me up, Daishi Teruya?” I called loudly enough that it drew their attention. “I doubt your father would appreciate you trying to beat up a girl!” It took him a moment to realize what was happening. The moment realization kicked in his face blanched in fear and I sighed. It really was too easy. I looked back down at my phone, pressed another series of buttons before holding the phone back up.

“If you’re nice to me I might not have to beat your ass and take your apology that way,” Daishi’s disembodied voice said from my phone. Daishi’s pale face grew paler still, though I hadn’t been sure that was even possible.

“I’m not sure daddy would appreciate you talking to someone like that in front of voters. What do you think?” I smirked at him.

“J-Just stay out of my way!” He stammered, taking a step backward.

“Be a good boy and go home before you get more than just butt hurt,” I snorted derisively and stepped past him, pulling a terrified Mizuki with me.

“W-What was that about?” Mizuki whispered after we’d crossed the bridge. I waved my hand dismissively. No doubt about it, the American was far too much trouble.

“So that’s that,” I finished explaining things as we began the descent toward our houses.

“You’ve always done these things,” Mizuki shook her head. “Remember that time Tadaki pushed me down and took my bento and you got him suspended from school for a week and then beat him up?”

“Tadaki…” I mumbled. I wracked my brain, trying to remember him. There had been an incident regarding a bento, I thought. Something to do with making him scream obscenities at me in front of a teacher if I recalled. “Um…Vaguely?”

“You’re just the little wrong righter,” Mizuki gushed, grabbing onto my arm and beaming at me brightly. “You’re my hero!”

“Ugh,” I pushed her away. “Stop it, you stink like Yuto. This American really is bothersome, though.”

“She seems like it, yeah,” Mizuki empathized before completely changing the subject. “Say, doesn’t Emi come back Friday?”

“Does she?” I asked, trying to remember. I opened my phone and looked through my LINE messages with her. “Oh, yeah, she’s back Friday afternoon.”

“You both should come over to my house and sleep over. My parents are going to Okayama on business and Emi always brings back the best sweets from Osaka!” Mizuki enthused.

“She really does, huh?” I asked. “That sounds good to me.” I texted Emi to ask as I walked. “I’m sure she’ll be up for it. After all, she’s had a week and a half of her grandma and she always gets antsy after the first few days.”

“What’d her grandma catch this time?” Mizuki asked, stepping around a mud puddle left over from the rains.

“I don’t know,” I shrugged, putting my phone away. “It was like Botulism or something last time, wasn’t it?”

“Do you think she’s just making diseases up to get Emi to visit?” Mizuki asked. Four times in the past six months Emi’s grandmother had caught some dread illness or other and guilted Emi into going to Osaka to visit. I honestly didn’t think Emi minded too much since her grandmother spoiled her terribly when she went, but it was inconvenient for Mizuki and I to constantly have to help Emi catch up on schoolwork.

“Probably,” I replied with a shrug. “After all, someone that old catching so many diseases you’d think she’d just drop dead from one of them at some point, right?”

“Most likely, yeah,” Mizuki replied as we stopped in front of her house. “See you tomorrow, Kasumi.”

“Yep, yep,” I answered, waving at her as I continued down the path to my house.