My Crush Got Herself Mixed Up in My Business.

"Good work today. I guess we should all go celebrate or something..."

Of all the people to finally break the ice, I didn't expect it to be the serious-looking secretary. She's been right beside me as we sweep for minutes. All the part-timers, including the student council members, are busy helping us close- it's going faster than I ever remember it with close to twenty people cleaning up instead of just Mom and I. Even Ayappi is busy, nodding at everything my mom says before dashing off to put something away and then repeating the whole process. I don't know why she wanted to stay here instead of go home. I told her that she was a guest and didn't have to do anything, but she insisted. Her mother is standing near the door, nervously looking down at her wrist every so often, then back to her daughter.

Maybe Ayappi wanted to stick around because she wanted to be around me some more?

...Yeah, right.

After our "landlords" left, we finished up the final few customers as quickly as we could and closed up shop even more quickly. It seemed like nobody was comfortable rejoicing just yet, as if we were afraid that the thugs would come back if we did. Beside, the cop lady standing around and occasionally talking on a radio made me even more nervous. We had to keep it professional, though, so nobody said anything. She finally left, but not before handing Mom something and telling her to call if there were any other issues.

"I don't know. It's getting pretty late." It's around six-thirty- the sun is already fully down by this point, and the streetlights have come on. Tomorrow is Sunday, but I'm already worn out from today.

"Good idea, Yui. Already planned." Here comes trouble. "You're all coming, too, aren't you, Aikawa-kun?" The student council president grins as her orange bangs fall in front of her face slightly. She pushes them aside.

"I don't know." After all that's gone down, I don't have the energy, or desire, to snap at her. Regardless of what I think of her...she saved us. Her prediction came true. "I'm kinda tired, and we'll need to put the twins to bed before too long. I'm not sure Mom's in the mood to party."

"That's too bad," she sighs, putting a hand on her forehead. "And after I went to all the trouble to get reservations..."

"Hold up. You what?" There's tempting fate, and then there's calling in reservations for your victory party before the fate of your life is decided. That's the kind of thing that gets people struck by lightning in those old books we sometimes read in lit class.

"It's yakiniku."

"I think that's out of our budget..."

"Yakiniku?!" Tasuku suddenly pops out from behind the counter with his cute little face covered in dust and his eyes sparkling. "I want yakiniku! Tatsu-nii, I want some! Can we go?"

"You need to ask Mom," I sigh. She'll probably say no. How are we going to afford something like this? We don't actually have any of the sixty-three million in our hands. It's all on paper. In practicality, we're as poor as we ever were. And what if the Yakuza finds some way to weasel out of the deal...

"You want some brisket, Tasuku-kun?" President Suzuran pops a squat, facing my little brother who's staring at her wide-eyed. "It's all you can eat. Or some short ribs? Marbled...falling apart in your mouth..."

"Yakiniku?!" Ayappi pops out from behind my shoulder with a stomach rumble that sounds like a rocket launch. I swear she and Tasuku are both drooling. "That sounds so good..."

"You're invited too, Ayame-chan!"

Ayappi doesn't say anything other than closing her eyes and making a squeal of pleasure.

As the merry band of idiots over here have been busy fantasizing about meat, on the other side of the store, the part-timers have congratulated each other with chirps of "Good work today!" and trickled out one-by-one. As I look up, I realize only Mom is left, spreading a tarp over the last of the uncovered chairs. Tasuku immediately dashes over to where she is, jumping up and down and spreading his hands wide.

"Hold on. Who's gonna pay for all of this?" I don't want to be a buzzkill, but like I said...having sixty-three million on paper doesn't mean we can afford a fancy restaurant right this instant.

"I got it all planned out!" The president winks. "It's coming out of the student council budget."

"Wha-" Tsukumo's jaw drops three feet and it looks like the top of her head explodes.

Suddenly, Tasuku comes dashing back over with a big smile on his face, Mom trailing behind more slowly, the twins trailing behind each of her legs.

"Tatsu-niichan! I told Mom!" He's beside himself by this point.

Mom looks aside nervously. "Thank you for the kind offer, Suzuran-san...but I'm not sure we can make it. I already don't know how we can repay you for everything you've done for us as it is..."

"Ehh?" Tasuku's face suddenly drops.

"Yakiniku! Yakiniku!" The twins bounce up and down behind Mom.

"You don't have to repay me." The president puffs out her chest with faux-humility. "I just did what I could. Besides, it looks like the little guys really want to go. Everything's paid for. Don't worry."

"I'm still not sure, though..."

"I think it'll be good to get all of your minds off what happened today."

"Well...if you insist."

Tasuku and the twins break into shouts of happiness, throwing their arms up in the air. Tsukumo still has her head down and is mumbling something so softly that I can't tell what she's saying. Miki stands there, unchanged. I think Ayappi's still drooling.

"Tamaki?" Mom looks over toward my sister.

"Well..." she sticks her nose in the air. "I don't like red meat...but if you're making me...hmpf."

"Let's go!" Tasuku practically runs toward the entranceway where Ayame's mother is still standing. The rest of us follow, some enthusiastically, some not so much.

As the crowd disperses, an elbow hits me in the ribs.

"Ow!" I yelp, turning to see the student council president leaning toward me. "What was that for-"

"Now's your chance," she whispers.

"Huh?"

"With her." She gestures toward Ayappi, whose back is turned to me in the other direction.

"What do you mean with her?"

"Are you gonna ask her out or not?"

"What?!" Suddenly, I feel my face start to burn. "No way! Not right here, not now..."

"You like her, don't you? Go ahead and confess."

"Are you insane? I can't do that in front of everyone here!" I hiss, trying to make my voice low enough that Ayappi can't overhear.

"You don't have to do it here. Ask her to go somewhere else with you and then pop the question."

If you know I like her, you also know I don't have a chance. Obviously, she does. She knows everything about everyone. "I'm fine with just going to get dinner with everyone..."

"...And you're giving up again. I thought you learned your lesson about that. Guess not." She gives me a disappointed look. "You looked like such a man protecting her, and you're still gonna chicken out? You haven't changed a bit."

"I don't want another lecture."

"Real men aren't afraid of getting their hearts broken," she smirks. "If I told Haruto-kun to confess to her...he would. If you're too scared of rejection to say what you really feel...of course you're losing to him."

My forehead throbs as I glare at her. "Shut up about Haru." I know Ayappi likes him. I don't know if she realizes it herself, but I do.

...Or is the president right? Does she really like him like I think she does? Am I just projecting so I can justify myself? So it'll make it less painful when she and Haru start going out? I'm not going to ask her out because I already know she likes someone else.

Does she really? That little voice of doubt is in the back of my mind. What if I don't do anything, and years later, I find out she's with a guy that's not Haru? And I had a chance all along with her, but I didn't act?

Am I a coward?

Fuck. I don't know anymore.

The president grins at me, like she's looking straight through me.

"You know what? Maybe I am scared," I growl. "But I don't wanna hear it from you."

"Ayappi!" As I call out to her, she turns around, and instantly it feels like my mouth goes numb. I can barely force words out. "You know, that one time when you, uh, asked me to hang out...I, uh...wanted to return the favor...but I don't have a lot...and if you want to eat yakiniku with everyone, that's, uh, fine too...but if you want to...you know...do something fun together, too..."

She pauses for a second, and then replies happily, "Sure! Let's do it!"

A wave rushes to my head. I didn't think this would actually work. Holy shit.

"Uh, so, what are you in the mood for?" I ask as we walk to the door, quickly trying to conceal my nervousness.

"Eating." Her stomach growls again. It sounds like a bear.

"I dunno if we can go get yakiniku, though..."

"Anything's fine so long as it's yummy!"

"Ayame?" A soft voice stops us as we step outside, the crisp autumn air blasting both of our faces. "Are you ready to go home? It's getting late..."

Shit. I didn't think about her mom...

"I'm gonna go hang out with Takkun."

"Your father just called and-"

"Shiritori-san!" The president jumps between us, grinning like a Cheshire cat, putting her hands on Mrs. Shiritori's back. "You're invited to our yakiniku party!"

"I- wait a minute-" Despite Ayappi's mother's soft, flustered provocations, the president starts to move her out of the way.

"Come on! We'll have fun." The president keeps slowly pushing her as Mrs. Shiritori's voice trails off. She looks absolutely flustered.

"Bye, Mom! I'll be safe!" Ayappi waves as the president pulls her mom away to where the large crowd is gathering, and soon it's just the two of us.

Then, Ayappi's stomach growls again. This time it sounds like a foghorn.

Ten minutes later, we're at a ramen shop on the other side of the river. It's a dingy place sandwiched between two residential buildings with yellow stains on the peeling wallpaper, the smell of cigarette smoke in the air, and one silent old guy working alone. It's a ticket ramen place, not a fancy one at all. The food isn't even that good, but it's the only place I can afford. And yet Ayappi is demolishing her second bowl, slurping the noodles up like a starving dog. Broth is going everywhere. I'm only halfway on bowl one. I've had to stop for a second just to watch her go. It's the least ladylike thing I've ever seen and she's still adorable.

That's what I like about her. I never feel uncomfortable around her. Around everyone else, I always have to act like I'm this cool, friendly guy so no one will figure out I'm some poor dumb kid from the streets. But she doesn't do that. No matter what, she's always herself. And that lets me be myself.

"That was so good..." Ayappi says with a satisfied expression as we leave.

"Yeah, it was..." I'm blatantly lying. That ramen place is mid as hell. I only know about it because Dad took us there every now and then...and now I realize why. It's the only place he could afford.

A cool breeze tousles my hair as we walk along. We're the only ones walking down this tiny side street. Most of the city has turned in for the night. In the darkness, you can't see that the buildings are crumbling. It's actually a little peaceful.

"I hope that was good enough," I sigh. "Sorry it wasn't yakiniku like everyone else was having."

"It was really tasty," Ayappi says, satisfied. "It was even better because you were there."

"I-" I can only stutter out a syllable as we cross the small bridge over a tiny, barely-flowing river. Ayappi says these things- I'm not sure that she even knows what they mean, or that she's intending to say them- but they're so blunt that no man's gonna be able to resist them. I'm sure I'm scarlet by this point.

"There's not much to see around here...sorry," I sigh.

"I think it's pretty nice," Ayappi replies. "It's cozy."

"That's not how I would describe it."

"You know, this is like a scene out of a manga. Just me and you, hanging out, doing nothing. The kind of scene where there's a bunch of big, wide-panel shots of the setting."

We pass by a boxy building- in the shadows, it's hard to make any details out, but I know exactly where it is. "This is where I went to middle school."

We stop to look- I can't see much, but memories flood into my mind, both good and bad. Neither of us says a word. After a few seconds, we turn around and keep walking. Ayappi's normally a chatterbox, but she's only asking me this or that about my childhood every now and then. She's being pretty restrained, believe it or not.

To the right of us is a large, black body of water, and further along the way is Shakujii Park- I can't see it in the darkness, but I know what it looks like. In the day, there's ducks that swim in the giant pond, and there's a whole load of greenspace. Not far away is the playground that I used to use when I was younger. The swingset is still as I remember- it's even more rusted now, and the paint has peeled even more...but the memories keep coming.

It may not be the best place, but it feels like home.

A side street leads to another, and then another, and then we're back in front of the salon, with the only streetlight around illuminating the ground in front of it-

And both of us stop in our tracks.

There's shards of glass all along the road, everywhere- and then I see it. The entire front window of the salon is shattered, with barely a few jagged icicles of glass remaining at the very edge. The holes are so wide you could walk through them.

My mind's racing. It's barely been...thirty minutes? An hour? Maybe two? Who could have possibly done this? Did anyone see?

I can still barely comprehend it. It'll cost at least a few million to repair...after we worked so hard...we won't have sixty-three million anymore...does this mean the yakuza won't cancel our debt after all? Am I going to be property for the rest of my life?

This isn't over. The hissed, strained voice comes back to me.

The sound of something metal scraping on the pavement rings out behind me.

I whirl around.

An ugly, sneering wannabe gangster is standing, dragging a baseball bat by his side, half-lit by the flickering street lamp.

It's someone I never want to see again.

"Tough luck, Aikawa," he sneers. "My boss says that's gonna be at least five million to fix. Now you won't have enough to pay my boss off. Too bad. You were so close."

"Wahira, you-" I'm so furious, I can't even spit any words out. I thought making sixty-three million in barely four weeks was impossible. Somehow, we did it. We used every bit of luck we had, and we made the impossible come true. And now it's getting ripped away from us. We're not just losing our beloved home. We're losing everything. Our lives are the property of some crime boss now. I knew they wouldn't keep their promises. They were going to do something else, and we'd be screwed at the end.

But damn it, I wanted to believe. Don't take that away from me. Don't. We worked so hard.

"Yeah, I did it." He starts walking closer and closer, bat dragging behind him, smirking like he's being proud of being a worm. "I left those reviews, too. And I ripped down your posters."

Normally he screeches obnoxiously, but his voice is completely cold, devoid of emotion except for sadistic pleasure.

The sinking feeling in my stomach has turned to white-hot rage. I don't have anything to lose at this point. We've lost everything because the world hates me and my family. If I have to suffer...I'm taking this motherfucker with me. I'll beat him to a pulp.

"What's your problem?!" My yell is half anguished cry, half murderous growl. "What did we ever do to you, Wahira?!"

His mouth twists into a sadistic grin as he slings his bat over his shoulder. "You think you're better than this town, Aikawa. You get into one little prep school and act like you don't know nobody. You're walkin' some rich broad around here like you're big shit. You know what you are. You're gutter trash, Aikawa. Just like me. You don't get to leave."

Ayappi lets out a quiet shriek. I realize that she's holding onto my shirt for dear life. She's terrified. And this guy doesn't care.

"I'm not like you, Wahira," I spit with all my rage. "I'll never be like you."

"You could have just cooperated, Aikawa. Now you're gonna end up crippled. You and your little rich girlfriend. All 'cause you thought you could be someone you weren't."

"I'LL KILL YOU-"

Out of nowhere, a boot comes flying out of the shadows, landing flush on Wahira's jaw as he draws the bat back, sending it flipping through the air. He rolls about fifteen times, landing face-up. Close enough for me to see he's out cold. He's not getting up.

Reika Suzuran lands on one knee like an action hero, arm outstretched, beneath the yellow glow of the streetlight, getting up slowly. She stares at the two of us for a second, and then smiles, raising a finger to her mouth in a mock shush.

"You'll be okay," she says softly, seeing Ayappi's terrified face, and my shocked one. "I'll take care of everything."

Then, grabbing Wahira's lifeless body by the arms, she drags him into the shadows, and they both disappear.

We stand there, Ayappi still clinging onto me. I guess we're both in shock. It's only after a few minutes that I notice she's no longer shaking, and her hands drop from their grip on my clothes.

"Listen, I-" I turn around quickly, trying to calm her down. "I'm so, so sorry I got you caught up in all this...you should have just gone home..." Her mom will kill me if she finds out what nearly happened. Hell, her dad will come all the way out here just to kill me.

"No," she replies softly. "It's alright, Takkun. You were...really cool today. I don't know what would have happened without you."

There's a voice screaming out in my brain as she smiles at me. Do it now! But then there's another one screaming at me even louder that it's wrong, that it's taking advantage of her to say what I really want at this moment, when she's obviously shaken up. It's what I've wanted to say almost since I met her.

And then my own voice rings out through my head. Maybe I am scared. As soon as the words came out of my mouth, I know. There's no "maybe" about it. I am scared. I'm terrified of what will happen if she turns me down. I don't know if our relationship will ever go back to the way it was. But if I say nothing, I may not get another chance. I still don't know if I'll even be here tomorrow. If I say nothing, I'll regret it. For certain.

"Aya- Ayame!" My voice is timid, cracking as I bend down as far as I can, squeezing my eyes shut. "I like you, please go out with me!"

The only response is silence. I don't dare to open my eyes. I'm bracing myself for the rejection that is going to follow.

"I'm sorry, Takkun!" Her flustered voice breaks the stillness. Here it comes.

"I can't give you an answer right now! I'm really sorry!"

I snap upright, looking at her with shock. She's clearly blushing, looking away, squirming nervously...I can't do anything but stand there with my mouth agape like a fish. It's an answer I didn't even know was possible.

"What...do...you..."

"I like you...as a friend..." She's so nervous that she can barely stutter the words out. "But I don't know if I like you...that way...I just don't know how I feel...I'm sorry! Please just give me until the end of the study camp next month! I promise I'll tell you by then!" This time, it's her turn to bow deeply.

"Okay." That's all I can say as I stand there. I don't know what else I can say.