My Friends are On My Side.

"I love you, Takkun..."

Her breath is hot on my neck, as hot as her body is. She's burning up. I'm barely touching her, as gently as I can, and I can still feel the heat radiating off her skin. It's so smooth and soft.

She squirms a little and makes a noise that sounds like a cat, or maybe a bird.

All the blood's rushing to my head, too, just like her. I can barely think. It's like my animal instincts have taken over.

My hand reaches her stomach, parting her shirt and pants. It's firm. There's no fleshiness, no baby fat, at all. As I cross over her belly button, she lets out a muffled shriek and recoils. It's the cutest noise I've ever heard.

I can't help it. Out of instinct, I draw her neck close and latch my lips onto it. Her labored breathing grows heavier.

"Takkun..." she pants. "Lower...Put your hand...aah!"

You don't have to tell me twice. My hand scurries down her stomach toward her waist-

Suddenly, loud music starts playing. I stop in my tracks. Instant buzzkill.

Who put that on? It's annoying, and it's looping over and over...I swear, I'm gonna kill Tamaki...

Wait...Is that my alarm? Why's it going off now?

She's not here anymore...there's nothing in my hands...

Ayappi!

I jolt awake, sitting up in my bed as my phone buzzes and vibrates with that annoying alarm song on the nightstand next to me. Ugh. My head hurts. I was having such a great dream...but I'm already starting to forget it. Ayappi was there and I confessed...or did she confess to me? And then we went and did something and then something else that I can't remember and then we...wait...

I quickly throw off the sheets, grabbing for my crotch. It's dry. Whew. Dodged a bullet.

Still groggy, I swipe on my alarm. Seven-thirty. Sunday, September the 25th. It's zero hour. The last day that my family's salon is open for business. The last day to decide whether I get to stay in my childhood home or whether we all become the property of a criminal organization.

For something so life-changing, I'm surprisingly calm about it. I roll over, throwing off my sheets and putting a shirt and some blue jeans on, and then head to the bathroom to wash my face. The house is surprisingly quiet. I don't hear tiny feet running up and down all over the creaky wooden floors upstairs like I expect.

I make sure to slap myself a couple times in the face as I wash it. I need to get it together. Today's one of the most important days in my life. Maybe even more important than my high school entrance exams.

The stairs creak as I climb down them, but downstairs is silent. The blinds are closed in the living room, and there's no one laying on the ratty old couch with the tacky, multicolored throw over it. There's no one in the kitchen, either. The fridge is rumbling like an old bike, but no one is using it.

What's for breakfast? I guess it's only bread for me. It's not like I'm gonna cook something. We don't even have a toaster, so it's gotta be plain. If I tried to put it in the oven, I might end up burning the whole house down.

Still...where is everybody? Are they all downstairs? I expect Mom would be, since we're getting ready to open, but it's at nine. Tamaki and Tasuku and the twins don't usually wake up early on the weekends.

I slowly make my way down the stairs to the salon, still chewing on my slice of bread. As I push through the curtain, I mumble "Good morning..."

And then I stop in my tracks.

The store is a madhouse. My mom's frantically setting up every shampoo station and barber chair, making sure everything is lined up properly, while Tamaki rushes to and fro, opening drawers and the sanitizing containers, grabbing tools and handing them to Mom. The door's wide open, and Reika Suzuran is standing in the middle of the store, framed by it, a bandana covering her long hair, pointing and barking orders like a drill sergeant. Touka is clinging to her leg like a shadow, her eyes sparkling.

I'll admit, she may act stupid and nosy 95% of the time, but when she's like that...yeah, I can see why people elected her president.

Then, I see what's going on through the glass windows- what she's pointing at. Outside, the street is filled with purple and silver, sparkly banners with stars on them, and a few people are setting up a couple tables outside. Tasuku is one of them, carrying a tablecloth in both his hands as he dashes toward the others who are hard at work dragging tables and chairs into place. Touya is trying to help, but he can't do much. He's just fiddling with a sign.

Besides my brothers, there's a tall, shaggy-haired kid with bangs that are long enough to cover his eyes, hunched over as he arranges items on top of the tables, a serious-looking girl with glasses who's staring intently at a manual, and...Sudou?

The ribbon perched on top of her head, weaving through her hair, is purple and silver today...and so are her nails. She looks up, catching sight of me, and waves- and President Suzuran notices me, too.

She rushes over with a smug look on her face. "Took you long enough, Aikawa-kun. Are you impressed? I told you I had something big planned today."

"What's with everyone?"

"Come on, I'll show you!"

Sighing, I trudge after her, following her out the doors...and nearly get run into by Tasuku, carrying a box that's way too big for him as he stumbles, swerving left and right.

"Whoa there, buddy." I pluck the box from his arms. "Don't carry that much at once."

"I'm being useful, Tatsu-nii! They said I was useful!"

"You can be useful with two trips."

Tasuku pouts, rushing back over to the stack of miscellaneous items lying in the street. He loves being praised. That's his biggest weakness.

What's in this box, anyways? It's super heavy.

I look down, and then I see it. It's CDs. Loads and loads of CDs, with artwork of an anime-style character on the front, and in large katakana: Lara.

The president, noticing my astonishment, smirks. "That's my surprise. Last night, Lara announced the exclusive pre-release of her fifth single I'm Not a Child Anymore on Tw*tter, along with a merchandise sale. It's her first merch drop since Comiket. There's only 500 CDs available...and they're all signed. Guess where you can get them? Here. It's the only place you'll ever be able to buy them. And all proceeds will go to Salon Biwa. Of course, I was the one who suggested that she should do this. She loved the idea. All this merchandise alone will easily get five hundred people to show up."

"Five hundred?!" I feel like my mouth is about to hit the ground. I haven't listened to this Lara person at all, but from what I've seen on the internet, she's really blowing up...and she's mysterious. She gets millions of views on her music videos without ever showing her face. And somehow...she decided that she wanted to put her popularity toward helping my family.

I still don't know why this happened. Some things just make no sense. But I have to accept them.

"Yup." President Suzuran grins. "At minimum. I'm expecting a solid thousand today. But don't worry...they're not all getting haircuts."

"That's insane, though...we've only got Mom working. There's no way we'll even be able to take twenty customers...let alone a hundred."

"I've got that covered!" the president crows. "You'll see in a second." It's that attitude that I don't like about her. She's acting like she's a genius that planned everything out. What good will a thousand customers do for us if only the first twelve end up getting a haircut?

Man, this box really is heavy. I slam it down on the table closest to me. My arms hurt.

"Aikawa-kun, I've got some people I want you to meet." At the sound of President Suzuran's voice, the three working on the tables and banners suddenly stop and line up quickly. "These are my officers! They're a great help. You know, with all the paperwork and stuff. I hate doing that, so they do it for me." The girl with the long hair and glasses gives President Suzuran the stink-eye. "Self-introduction time...tell Aikawa-kun what you're doing today! Rina! Go!"

Sudou's so excited, she stands up on her tiptoes for a second. "I'm Rina Sudou, first-year class representative and head of the festival committee, and acting treasurer! Today I'll be manning the Lara merchandise booth. We have signed CDs, t-shirts, fans, glowsticks, magnets, phone straps, towels, body pillows-"

"No, we don't! Ignore that!" The girl in the glasses suddenly interjects. "We agreed, absolutely no body pillows!"

"Eh? But I saw it on the order summary..." Sudou puts a finger on her chin. "And there were also Lara-branded cond-" Suddenly, her face goes red. "Um...sorry, Aikawa-kun...ignore that, please...anyways, it's nice to meet you...no, wait, we know each other already..."

"Yeah, we do..."

The girl in the glasses rushes over toward the table, grabs a piece of paper out of the box, and runs back toward the president with a look that could melt steel, jabbing her finger at the paper. The president smirks and looks away. Instantly, the girl rips the paper in two, stomping back over to the table and turning over several boxes, rummaging through them and then returning to the president with murder in her eyes. All I can do is stand there and watch the scene unfold.

"It was a joke." President Suzuran shrugs.

"That WASN'T FUNNY!"

"Your reaction was the funny part."

"Reika-senpai...you...how could you do that to Rina-chan?! I swear..."

"Go on, Yui. Aikawa-kun's waiting, you know."

The girl with the glasses suddenly notices me watching the scene unfold, blushes, and then immediately stammers out, "I'm Yui Tsukumo, second-year. I'm the secretary. Today I'll be helping with host duties and controlling the flow of customers...and making sure Reika-senpai doesn't try anything funny..." The last word drips off her tongue with extra venom.

"Yui's great at doing boring work." President Suzuran shrugs. Tsukumo looks like she wants to kill her, even more than she already did.

I notice that the tall guy with the long bangs in the tracksuit hasn't said anything...he's just been standing there the whole time like a statue.

"President...who is that over there?"

"That's Miki."

"Who?"

"Saburou Miki. Third-year. The vice president."

"...Why hasn't he said anything?"

"Because he doesn't want to."

"What happened to the real treasurer?"

"Fukazawa tried to hit on the headmaster's granddaughter and the next day his father got transferred to Brazil."

"...That's rough."

"I told him not to do it, but he didn't listen...Oh, by the way, Yura and the Disciplinary Committee are also here. They're handing out fliers at the station. You just missed them."

"That's great and all, but we still only have my mom working-"

"Um, excuse me...is this Salon Biwa?" A female voice suddenly interrupts us. I turn to see four good-looking young women in a bunch, all stylishly dressed. Here we go. We've already got customers, and we haven't even solved the issue of how we're going to give even 1% of them haircuts.

"Yes, ma'am, it is, but we open at nine." I put on my best fake customer-service voice and smile. "If you'd like to wait, please do so over there."

"No, I'm Katagiri from Noble, and these are my coworkers."

Noble? I've heard that name somewhere before.

The girl at the head of the group nods. "We're trainees at Noble's Shibuya branch. My boss told us that we would be working at Salon Biwa today to gain some more experience. Is Sayuri Soejima here?"

I lean my head through the door. "Mom! Somebody wants you!"

Instantly, Mom stops wiping down one of the barber chairs and rushes toward the door, seeing the group of young women standing outside, and Tamaki follows. Mom bows deeply to the women. "Sayuri Aikawa, proprietor of Salon Biwa. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Kimiko Katagiri! I'm a trainee at Noble Shibuya!" The woman looks almost surprised and nervous. "Are you the Soejima that my manager talks about so much?"

"Yes, that's my maiden name..." Mom replies sheepishly, "but I haven't used it in years. Is Utsuro still the manager at Noble?"

"Yes, he is. He talks about you all the time, and complains about how all the stylists aren't as good as you were."

"Oh, please. I'm glad to hear he thinks so highly of me after so long...but I'm not that good."

"He sent all of us here to be temporary workers for today and learn under you. We'll do our best to work hard today!" All the women nod.

"Oh, my..." Mom looks down at her hands. "Well, then, come inside, please, if you don't mind. I guess I should show you where everything is..."

Mom leads the group of trainees through the store, as they (and Tamaki) cluster behind her like ducklings following their mother.

"Aikawa-kun..." I don't like the president's voice. I just know she has something up her sleeve. "Can you help us put the banners up? And take out the garbage? You're the strongest one here."

"No thanks. I'm gonna help Mom set everything up." I've done it a million times before.

"Are you being insubordinate to your senpai?" President Suzuran smirks.

"I'm the senpai here. I've worked here for way longer than you have."

"But we really need a strong guy for all the heavy lifting..."

"Can't he do it?" I cast a quick glance at the vice president, who still hasn't moved.

"Despite how he looks, Aikawa-kun, Miki is extremely weak," the president says with authority.

Damn. She dissed him right to his face, and he didn't even flinch. He's still just standing there.

"Does this mean I gotta do it?"

"Well, no, but kinda...yes. You have to."

Ugh.

An hour later, the mess of banners on stands is organized into two rows leading away from the front door of the salon, and the mess of boxes are no more- all the merchandise is neatly arranged on the series of tables outside the front window, covered by purple cloths. Wow, there's a lot. There's like two hundred t-shirts. And the prices are outrageous, too. Five thousand for a shirt? That's more than the haircut! Are internet singer fans crazy or something?

"Good job, Aikawa-kun!" the president chirps, slapping me on the back. I flinch. My back actually hurts. I wasn't ready for heavy lifting so early in the morning.

She's looking so proud when I'm the one who did all the work. All she did was direct traffic.

"By the way, before I forget, I have something for you."

"What? Another task-"

She slips a large white envelope into my hand. "Open it."

Hesitantly, I rip open the top, and a piece of cardstock slides out. I hold it up to my face.

Good luck Aikawa! You're an awesome guy...I hope you win! -Satake

Don't give up hope, I'm there with you every step of the way! -Rina Sudou

Keep fighting! -Your friend Miyabi

Show them who's boss! -Uchiyama

You're a great person, Aikawa-kun. I hope this is enough. -Hiura

"Everyone..."

The whole card is filled with signatures from all my classmates. Every single one of them. Even Banri Sakuchi wrote something, even if it's just her name.

My eyes focus on the bottom left corner. In handwriting bigger than every single other signature, taking up the whole space, with a doodle of a smiling character beside it, is Don't believe in yourself. Believe in the me that believes in you! -Ayappi

Taped to the back of the card is an envelope. I hesitantly open it, and a wad of bills stares back at me. With shaking hands, I count it. One thousand, two, three, four, five, six-

Ten thousand.

I'm almost at a loss for words. "How did they know..."

"I'm sorry, Aikawa-kun!" The yelp makes my voice disappear in my throat. "I know you didn't want anyone else to know about this, but I couldn't help myself...it just made me so upset that you were going through all of this alone...so I told everyone...the teachers told us to make a farewell card for you, but we wanted to surprise you instead...so we made this...I'm really sorry!"

Sudou is bowing frantically in front of me.

They know. My rich classmates know everything. They know that I'm poor and my family needs handouts. They know I'm human garbage, that I don't belong at a wealthy prep school. My life should be over. They should avoid me from now on.

Who told Sudou? Did she find out herself? Or was it...Ayappi?

I should be enraged. This was the one thing I didn't want anyone to find out. I wanted to be accepted. I wanted my classmates to think I belonged with them, and now they know I don't. They should hate me from now on. And I should hate them too.

But...I can't hate them. All the messages are words of encouragement.

“This one’s from your club.” The president hands me another envelope. This one is blue. I open it to find another card, with fewer signatures, but still ones I recognize.

Aikawa,

It was an honor to have you as part of the team. Even though you’re new, you have loads of potential. In my mind, you’re already caught up to everyone else. Keep working hard, and hope to see you with the black belt soon.

Your former captain,

Shunsuke Takeno

Aikawa- I admire how hard you’re working every day, especially since we found out what you’re dealing with at home. Keep doing your best! I know I’m not Captain Takeno, but I hope I’m helping you improve!

Captain Nagase

Aikawa- you’re a great sparring partner and you’re always asking for tips on how to get better. You have a great mindset. Hope you get over everything troubling you at home and come back stronger. We’ll be waiting. -Vice-Captain Aoki

“You guys, too…” Another ten-thousand is in the envelope as well.

"Aikawa-kun," the president softly says, "everyone likes you more than you think."

"Really?"

"I told you before. You're thinking about it all wrong. You thought your classmates would hate you when your secret came out. I can tell you right now, they don't care. They still like you, because you're you. That's the only thing that matters."

"Will you quit that?" I can feel my face starting to burn.

"Quit what?"

"That lecturing. I hate when you do it."

"I'm just stating facts. I know enough from watching your class, and interacting with you."

I huff. As I browse over the card, I notice...there's only 29 signatures. One is missing. Same thing on the karate team card. Only six.

The president peers closer. "You noticed, huh?"

In her hand is another envelope. This one is red. "Haruto-kun wanted me to give this to you. He doesn't look like it on the outside...but he really is a softie."

"Haru did?" I take the envelope and open it...and two bills fall out. One is a ten thousand, and the other is only a thousand. Seemingly on reflex, I snatch Yukichi-san off the ground the second the bill hits it, stuffing both of them in my pocket.

I expect one card in the envelope...but there's two. Hesitantly, I take the first one.

To Tatsurou

I'm really sorry to hear what's been going on with you and your family. I was shocked when I found out...I wish you would have told me sooner, even though I don't know what I could have done to help you. Even so, I hope this gift helps.

Thanks for being a good friend for so long. I hope I'll see you back at school soon.

Take care,
Haru

"You..." I almost feel like tearing up. Damn it. I can't even hate him as a rival when he does things like that. He's really thoughtful. Everyone thinks he's a moody loner, but he's a good person.

Then, I pull out the second one. This one is written in orange ink.

Aikawa-kun,

I don't know if you remember me, but my name's Kaede Kouga. I'm Haruto's younger sister. We've met before, but it was very brief. Still, you were super nice to me. I'm really sorry about what's going on with your family, and I hope you do your best to overcome it. I don't have much, but I hope this helps.

Also, thanks for taking care of Niichan. I know he's hard to get along with.

Hope I talk to you soon,

Kaede

"Damn it. You have got to be kidding me." Hold it together. Stop sniffling. I remember Kaede-chan...everything about her. And I remember that she liked me. She obviously liked me. Here she is pouring out her feelings to her crush and giving me money...and I can't return them.

"Honored guests, Salon Biwa will open in two minutes! Please form an orderly line this way!" Yui Tsukumo's shout jolts me back into reality. I look up, and there's already about twenty people in line. She's holding a megaphone, directing them to line up to the right of the merchandise tables.

Really. Is anyone going to buy that overpriced garbage?

"Two minutes, Aikawa-kun. It's go time." The president stands next to me, puffing out her chest confidently.

Yes, she's annoying, and nosy. But without her...we never would have even had a fighting chance to save our family business.

She looks...kinda cool.

Tamaki runs to the sign in the window, flipping it to "OPEN".

We've done all we can do. Now is the moment of truth. This day decides what direction our lives will go from this point on.

A woman steps up to the front door, and immediately, I switch into customer service mode. "Please come this way, ma'am." The door jingles as I show her inside and my mom greets her.

This is the busiest the salon has been in years.

"My boyfriend and I will take two Lara shirts and a magnet and a bottle opener and some pom-poms, please."

"That'll be ¥16,435, please," Rina Sudou replies with a smile.

Oh yeah, Lara fans are crazy.