Harmonious Spring (和泉 Izumi) Part I: Prelude

Another Friday has descended upon us. But it doesn't feel like just another Friday to me. This time last week I was completely alone. By choice, but still. Yet now, somehow, I have friends. This week has been a rocky road, but somehow I've made it through without losing my "Lone Wolf" persona and without losing what I have gained.

However, I have also hurt both of them. . . And I even selfishly asked Izumi-chan to play along with my charade even though it's pains her. . . This is no good. I have to find a way to change.

**bzzt**

Don't look so sad. I'm really looking forward to after school. ₍ᐢ｡ ˬ ｡ᐢ₎

This girl is an angel. I almost smiled. I looked around to see if anyone noticed, but it doesn't look like anyone did. Izumi-chan is reading again. She's wearing a pretty good poker face right now. That kind of surprised me. I have no idea how she's feeling right now.

So am I.

You don't really have to pay for me. It's okay.

No I insist. It's the least I can do.

She didn't reply. She's just quietly reading. I was about to put my phone away, but then I remembered her crying yesterday. Because of me.

I feel bad asking you to help me up keep my image. . .

It's okay. I'll manage.

It's not okay. It's really, really not.

We'll talk about it more at the ice cream parlor. So just for today, don't try talking to me at school.

No reply. I look over and she's staring at her phone in her lap. Her hand is hovering over it and she has a serious expression on her face.

Don't worry. Smile!

She smiled a little, though it felt a little sad. This can't continue. Even if it means loosing my reputation, I don't want to see this girl sad.

I really am looking forward to after school.

After she sent that message she put her phone away. Her smile was more natural now and she was blushing a little. I'm a little relieved.

_________________________

It was a nice day today and we had planned to meet on the roof for lunch. This time I left the classroom first and they would join me a few minutes later.

**click**

That must be them.

". . . . . . . ."

That's Yasu alright. "I'm here." I called out to them. However, only Yasu appeared from around the corner. "Where's Izumi-chan?"

"She said she wanted to read in the club room." She came over and sat beside me. To be honest, I don't know how three of us would fit here anyway. Maybe we should go to the club room from now on.

"Should we go to the club room, then?" I went to stand up, but she grabbed my arm. She wasn't looking at me, but I could see she had a serious, concerned look on her face. "What's wrong?"

"I think this is her way of apologizing. . . to me."

"For what?"

"For having you all to herself after school." I don't know Izumi-chan very well yet, but somehow that does seem like something she would do.

"Oh." I can't really say that I get it and Yasu still seems bothered by something.

"Besides. . ." She squeezed my arm a bit. "I wanted to talk to you alone."

"Yasu. . . Is something bothering you?"

"Yes. You're okay with it?" She stared at me with those beautiful blue eyes. "I'm worried about you, Chika."

As I recall she looked worried when we parted after lunch yesterday too. "Is it because of yesterday?"

She shook her head. "It's because of today."

"Today?" All I'm doing today is. . . Ah. . . Could it be? "Because I'm going to be spending time with Izumi-chan?"

"No, I'm okay with that." Her face is kind of telling me otherwise. . . "Do you even know where it is that you're going?"

Now that she mentions it, I actually don't. I just know it's an ice cream parlor. "No. . . Why? Is there something about the ice cream parlor?"

"Not really. . . It's just that it's really, really popular."

A light bulb just went off in my head. "Ooooh. . . It's going to be busy. . ." That. . . could definitely be an issue. . .

"Well it is an ice cream parlor. And it just became July today. So. . . Probably." Why didn't I think of this before?!? "Are you going to be. . . okay without me?" That's right. . . Yasu won't even be there. . . If I have an episode. . . It'll be a hospital trip for sure. . .

I guess it would be pretty awkward to invite Yasu along with us now, especially seeing how she went out of her way to give us some alone time now. "It. . . shouldn't be as busy as breaks at school, right?" I tried to smile to reassure her, but I'm kind of nervous now, so I doubt anything I do or say right now will be particularly convincing.

"It would be impressive if it were. . . If you get a seat in the back. . . Away from the street." That was the plan all along, but it makes me happy to know she genuinely cares about me and is concerned for my well being.

"I should be able to manage." She doesn't seem convinced. "Hey, I get through school just fine. . . Most of the time. . ." I mean I maaaaybe faint once or twice a week, but who's counting, right?

She sighed and hugged my arm gently. "I wish I could talk you out of it." Me too to be honest. . .

"It'll be fine. I promise." I need to change the subject. "Ah. I notice not as many people are talking about me now, I guess the plan is working?"

She let me go and started eating her lunch, I realized I hadn't started yet either because I was waiting for her and Izumi-chan to get here. "I was asked by five girls about yesterday. They seemed disappointed, but it looks like they believed me. At least two of them passed it along."

"That's a relief. . ." The sight of Izumi-chan's tears once again sprung up in my mind.

"You could probably tell her you know. . ." Are you sure you can't hear my thoughts?!? Because I'm not! "If it's her I'm sure she'd accept it."

But she's probably right. If Izumi-chan knew why I was trying so hard to maintain my loner image she'd probably help me happily, just like Yasu has been. But is that really the best thing to do?

"Have more faith in your friends." She gave me her usual warm, sweet smile and lightly punched my shoulder.

I smiled back warmly. "I'll give it some thought."

"You do that." She leaned on me and quickly snatched an omelette from my bento. Before I could even react she had already eaten it.

"Hey!"

Her face lit up and she looked at me seemingly in shock. "It's really good! Did your mother make it?"

"No, she's usually too busy with her work. I make my bento every day." I puffed out my chest a bit. I'm actually quite proud of my cooking.

"Seriously?!?" If she wasn't shocked before she sure is now. "I never would have guessed you could even make instant ramen!" Ouch. Don't you think you went a little too far there, Yasu? Just for that. . .

I quickly sniped one of her omelettes and wolfed it down before she could react. An egg for an egg. It's only fair. "O-ho! Yours aren't bad either. Did you make it?"

"No. . ." She pouted. "My mother made it. I can't cook."

She honestly didn't look like the kind of girl who couldn't cook. I guess what they say about books and covers is true after all. Both for me and for Yasu. "Hmm. . . Maybe some day I should invite you over and teach you."

"I. . . I'd like that, actually." Awww aren't you cute getting all embarrassed like that.

We wiled away the rest of our lunch break with pointless, friendly banter. This is nice. This is how friends are supposed to be, right? Will a day come when I don't have to worry about my condition or my image anymore and I can be this way all the time with everyone? It seems like a distant dream, but I can hope, can't I?

_________________________

I texted Izumi-chan on my way to class to meet me at the fountain after school. According to Yasu the ice cream parlor is also close by but in the opposite direction of the café so it's a convenient place to meet today as well.

Today will be the same as it was with Yasu. Izumi will leave immediately after class and I'll wait until everyone leaves before heading out myself. That way, hopefully, no one will see us together.

There's a bit more risk in being spotted this time, however. Unlike the café, the parlor is very popular among our schoolmates. I made sure to bring the hat Yasu bought me to school today. I'll put it on before I get to the fountain. Izumi-chan is already expecting it, too, so she knows what to look for.

The day ended and I did my usual. I stared out the window and waited for everyone to clear out. Today was noisy too. It seems like every day gets a bit noisier lately. I blame exams and summer vacation. The fact that it's Friday today doesn't exactly help either.

I close my eyes and await the next daydream. Where shall I go today? I didn't have to wait very long to find out.

Oh this is kind of nice. Though I'm not sure why I would imagine this on a warm day like today. I'm inside what appears to be a log cabin, sitting on a big, soft couch in front of a warm, crackling fireplace. I believe this is a cup of hot cocoa I have in my hands. I take a sip. Yep. That's cocoa. It even has little marshmallows floating on top. It's so warm going down. It feels nice.

I look out the window that's right next to me. There's about an inch of snow nestled on the outside of the window frame. And it's snowing. Nice, big, fluffy snowflakes gently falling almost straight down outside the window. This is amazing. I've never actually had this daydream before. I've outdone myself today.

Suddenly I feel something warm on my arm. I look and see that girl again. I still can't really see her, but she's wrapped her arms around me and is nuzzling her cheek against my shoulder. Her long hair is flowing freely down her back, a few strands tickling my arm. Was Yasu's hair this long?

Slowly my dream began to fade and I came back to reality. Was it just me, or did that daydream feel more intense than usual? I opened my eyes and the room was empty, as expected. I checked my phone. It's been about fifteen minutes since school ended. I text Izumi-chan that I'm on the way, pick up my schoolbag and head out to meet her at the fountain.

She was already there when I arrived sitting on the rim of the fountain. "Yo!" I called out, waving. She looked up at me and smile brightly with rosy cheeks. Yes. You should always smile like this.

"Were you waiting long?" I ask as she stands up to meet me, even then she didn't reach my shoulders. I'm not even tall, she's just really small. She really is a rabbit, as I thought.

"N. . . No. I took my time. I've only been here a few minutes."

"That's good." I smile warmly and she blushes even more.

"W. . . Well. . . S. . . Shall we?" She's fidgetting with her plush toy again. I can see now that it's actually a little black and white dutch bunny. Seriously?!? Now I really do want to call her Usagi.

"Lead the way." I bow and motion in the general direction of the ice cream parlor. I know it's over there somewhere, but the rest is completely up to her.

"Yes!" I like that smile. She's even skipping a little as she walks. She wasn't kidding when she said she was really looking forward to this. If it makes her this happy then we should go out together more often. Maybe next time we could go to the café and bring Yasu too. I'm sure the waiters would really get a kick out of seeing her with not one, but two new friends!

The ice cream parlor was a little further from the fountain than the café was, but we got there without incident. We actually didn't see many people on the way, which was nice, and I only had to hide behind my hat once when we passed a couple girls from school hanging out in front of a crepe stand. I think one of them was Akita-san. . . I couldn't see the other girl. It couldn't be Yasu. . . Surely. . .

**bzzt**

. . . Forget about whether she can hear me or not, is she psychic?!?

I'll be at karaoke with Hikaru if anything happens. It's nearby.

This has to be a coincidence. . . Right?

We'll be fine! Have fun!

The café was a sight to behold, but this place. . . This place was something else. The building itself was rather plain, but it was painted in pastel pink. It had two windows, one on either side of the door. The window frames and door were a pastel blue. The contrasting pink and blue store front made me think of cotton candy. The store's sign was over the door, a big pastel blue oval with wavy white script that read "Tanaka's Ice Cream Shoppe". Oh my god. . . even the door handles are shaped like ice cream cones. Wait. . . Now that I'm looking at it, the window in the door is shaped like a big scoop of ice cream. This is too much!

I take that back. . . The inside is too much. . . There were high stools in front of the windows, a few tables and some booths along one of the walls. The other wall was lined off with more ice cream flavors than I've ever seen. We'll be nabbing that booth waaaay in the back, but I'm getting sidetracked. All of the seats and tables were in pastel colors. Pink, green, yellow, orange and blue. No love for purple? All of the chairs and booths have backs shaped like ice cream. The walls were vertically striped in pastel pink and blue, the same colors as outside. Oh my god. . . The light fixtures on the walls are large ice cream cones sticking out of the walls. . . I feel like I've already eaten a deluxe choco banana sundae just by being here.

I silently followed Izumi-chan deeper into the store. She was going to sit down at one of the tables, but I ushered her over to my booth.

When we sat down I continued ogling the decor in the store. Izumi-chan was chuckling at me. I stared at her for a moment with a deadpan expression and said "I think maybe they serve ice cream here." which elicited a snort and a few laughs from her.

Thankfully Yasu's fears were unjustified, at least for the moment. There were only four people here, plus two servers. The noise was tolerable, I shouldn't have any trouble. I sent her a quick message to let her know everything looks like it will be a-okay.

A waitress was quick to see to us. . . Wait. . . There's the purple. . . I didn't notice before, but the servers are wearing pastel purple flared dresses with white trim.

"Did you need a menu?" She asked with a pleasant smile.

"I. . . I don't. B. . . But my friend might." Just as shy as ever. All of those days trying to talk to me must have come in handy. She managed to speak before I could.

I look around at all the ice cream decor. Suddenly I'm not feeling very hungry. I doubt that was the intent when they renovated this place. "Um. . . Do you maybe have milkshakes?" Maybe I can handle a milkshake. . .

She hands me one of the menus that she's carrying with the back side facing up. "Milkshakes are listed on the back. We have eighteen different flavors at the moment. We're out of mint chocolate and piña colada."

That's still a lot. . . It is for me anyway. What the heck is a piña colada? I thank her and gaze upon the long list of flavors in awe. I kind of want to try most of the ones I'm seeing here. . .

"Um. . . I know what I'm getting."

"Sure. Go ahead." She took out a notepad and got ready to take our orders. I think I know what I'm getting now.

"I want the. . . um. . . s. . . super d. . . deluxe choco banana s. . . sundae." She's that embarrassed just ordering it? Suddenly I'm picturing a sundae so big I won't be able to see her once it's planted down in front of her.

The waitress giggled. "Someone is brave today." I guess I'm right. Izumi-chan is trying to hide her blushing face in her hands. Can she even eat this monstrosity she's ordering? It's going to be worth the money just to see her try.

"I know what I want to." I handed her the menu. After that daydream I had earlier there was no way I could order anything else. I'm actually craving it. "I'll have the chilled cocoa marshmallow milkshake."

She jotted it down and bowed slightly. "I'll be back soon with your orders."

"Thank you." I turned and noticed that Izumi-chan was staring at me wide-eyed. She was still blushing and her hands were still where her face was a moment ago, but she was sat up straight now so she was completely visible. Her mouth was just hanging open. "Um. . . Did I say something wrong?"

"N. . . no. . . It's nothing." She averted her gaze from me and stared at the table still looking quite shocked. Am I missing something here?

This is awkward. . . "Hey I noticed you always carry around this cute little bunny plush. Can I see it?"

That brought her back to me. Good. "Oh? You mean Wa. . . Um. . . D. . . Datchi-san?" Actually she seems even more nervous now. Was this a bad idea? "O. . . Okay. . ." She reached into her schoolbag and procured the tiny plush. It's a ketchain plush. I didn't notice before. She then extended it towards me.

I gently picked it up by the keychain ring. Datchi for Dutch, huh? Not exactly original. It is a cute little trinket, though. I've never seen one before. "It's really cute. Where did you get it?"

"Oh. I ordered it online." She's perking up a little now. I'm glad. "I like rabbits. I've always wanted to see a Dutch rabbit."

"Yeah, they would be an import wouldn't they?"

"Yes. . . Sadly. . ." Damn it. . . Now she's frowning again. . .

"Sorry for the wait!" Perfect timing! I hand Izumi-chan her plush and anxiously await my milkshake. "One chilled cocoa marshmallow milkshake." A decently sized milkshake is placed in front of me for my enjoyment. "Aaaand. . ." Izumi-chan's sundae arrives with a loud thud. It shook the table! "One super deluxe choco banana sundae!"

Holy mother of pearl! Izumi-chan disappeared alright. This is even bigger than I expected. With Izumi being so short she's actually has to look up to see the top of it. There's three layers of ice cream built up like a pyramid. It even has a whole banana sticking out of each side. It's drizzled in chocolate syrup, coated in sprinkles with a candied cherry on top. Is this seriously meant for one person?!? You're going to be sick, Izumi-chan. . .

"And here's your spoons." The waitress hands us each a spoon.

"Huh?" I look to her in confusion. "I don't think I need a spoon."

"Oh it's not for the milkshake." She points at the sundae and giggles. "She's going to need all the help she can get."

Correction. . . we're going to be sick Izumi-chan. . . I'm regretting ordering at all now. . .

She surprisingly ate a lot. I have no idea where she put all that ice cream. And two bananas. Still, even between the two of us there was about a quarter of it left. And half a banana. I never want to see chocolate ice cream again for the rest of my life. I'm going to be stalked by killer bananas in my sleep tonight. I can't even move. It doesn't look like Izumi-chan can either. The big difference between us right now is that she sitting back with a satisfied smile on her face and I'm half dead with my head on the table and ice cream leaking out of my mouth.

"I thought I was ready. . . I have never been so wrong in my life. . ." **burp** "That was. . . totally. . . unladylike. . ."

She chuckled. "Someday you'll look back on this as a happy memory."

"Maybe. . ." She's probably right, but. . . "But not now. . ."

I slowly pry my heavy head from off of the table and glance around. For a busy store there weren't any more than five customers in here at any one time. Right now there's only one besides us. My sorry state aside, I got really lucky. I really don't want to know what I look like right now, though.

"Thank you for today." She sat up with a smile. How can she have so much energy after eating all that. . . She ate more than me. . . Still. . . I'm glad. If this is all it takes to make her smile then it's money well spent.

"Why do you want people to hate you?"
"You could probably tell her you know. . . If it's her I'm sure she'd accept it."

. . . I'm sorry, Yasu, I don't think I'm ready to tell her. . . But I don't want her to cry anymore. . . So wouldn't it be best if she just stopped trying to talk to me at school? Asking her to continue is just my own selfishness. If the other girls start asking questions then I'll just have to put my faith in Izumi-chan's ability to lie.

**ding**

"Say. . . Izumi-chan. . . About having to. . ."

"I. . . Ichika-san!" Izumi-chan was suddenly white as a sheet. She was looking at the door. I was about to turn around when suddenly everything went black.

"Woah!" It could only be the dreaded hat attack. "What's going on?"

"Shhh! Two girls from our class just walked in!"

"Huh? Yasu and Akita-san?"

"No it's Hayase-san and. . . Kurata-san!"

Not good. I have no idea who Hayase-san is, but Kurata-san has carried me to the infirmary too many times to not recognize me. I tried to turn away to hide myself a bit more, the hat was over my eyes, but she might still recognize me.

**wham**

That would be the sound of my knee kissing the table. I grabbed my knee and fell forward. Right into Izumi-chan's lap. Well I'm certainly hidden now.

"I. . . Ichika-san!" Huh? What's going on? I feel light headed. My body is heavy. Everything was already dark because of the hat but now it's going even darker than dark. Am I about to pass out? From hitting me knee? Is that even possible?