Chapter 102: Kouta learns of her past.

She’s on top of me. I can feel the naked heat coming off her body, yet there was nothing sexual happening between us.  I hadn’t claimed her as my mistress again, and she had respected that.  My loyalty right now was to Ume.  Until Ume accepted it and we were all together, I wouldn’t go all the way with her.

“Good morning, Danna-sama.”

I woke up as if I was in the garden again.  Ruru’s kisses fell upon me like the mist off the crashing rock below a waterfall.  It was rainbows and sunshine, and I held her comfortably in my arms.

“Can I get some of that too?”  I hear a voice from my side.  It’s my mom.

“Of course!” Ruru says, and moves to her side.  Ruru is careful not to climb on, because my mother is rather swollen with Kizuna, and Ruru gives her some cute affection.  Just a peck on the cheek.

“How’s Kizuna this morning?” She asks, laying a hand on her belly.

Ruru and my mother seem to have bonded well in recent days. This morning, after the events of yesterday and my announcement to restore my garden, Ruru is now as much my family as possible, and seems to be working into the role of a surrogate daughter in place of Kanae for my mother.

I don’t mind it.  I’m happy everyone is happy.  Though, is it my imagination, or are the nightgowns my mother wearing getting more and more revealing?  I… must be imagining it.  Mom’s probably just going through her wardrobe, dusting it out.  It’s a pity Ruru is too small to fit into her clothes.  I’d like to see her in something revealing, not that I dislike that lithe loli form of hers.

“What about you, Kouta?  Do I get one too?”

“No, but Kizuna does.”  I roll over and kiss her stomach.  “Good morning my precious Imouto. Onii-chan can’t wait to meet you soon~”

I get up from the bed, leaving those two women to go back to sleep together.  Mom likes to sleep in, and Ruru is a night owl, so this early in the morning is no good for them.

I get up, eat breakfast, just a bowl of cereal, and then brush my teeth and take a shower.  When I’m done, I get dressed for school, and in time to hear a knock at the door.

It’s Ume.  She greets me and I take her in a hug, destroying the artificial distance she works so hard at creating.  “Good morning, Ume.  I love you lots today too.”

Ume… doesn’t return my hug.

“Good morning Kouta.  …  last night with her… did you…?”

I shake my head.

“Not until you accept it properly.  It’s still only you.”

Now she returns my hug.

“Ume is my good girl.  She’s my very good girl.”  I stroke her beautiful silvery-blue hair.

“Kouta… shall we go?”  She looks up at me cutely.

“Let’s.”  I say and I take her hand in mine and lock the door behind me.

We walk to school, and Ume is silent.  Usually we will talk about something, but today it’s just silent hand holding.   The stares we got were less than if I was doing it with Shi-chan, but that’s also perfect.  No drama, no stress, just a simple happy morning walk to school.

When I get to the locker to change, there is a note sitting on my shoes.

“Come to lunch with us.  Bring your girlfriend too, it’s fine.  -Mahimahi”

I fold the note up, and put it in my pocket.  I enter class, and find Kawazu and Natsume-san are there early for a change.

“Whoa, you look pretty nice today, showing your appeal to this playboy over here?” Kawazu says to pick on us playfully.

“She’s always beautiful to me.” I say cheesily to Ume.

Ume smiles. 

“BARF.”  Natsume-san pipes in.  “You are such a geek.”

“Maybe.  But a happy one.” I reply to her.

“Still no luck on the Shi-chan front.  It’s strange though, I expected with you dumping her, that she’d go on a rampage by now.” Nacchan tells me.

“Rampage?” I ask.

“It’s not like it’s not … known.  Shi-chan would usually have done it with someone in school by now.”

“She might have.”  I say, remembering her aversion to answer that very question I had asked on Saturday.

“Do you know something?”  Nacchan asks me. 

“Not really, only that if she did, it wasn’t with me.”  I look into Ume’s beautiful blue eyes as I say that.

“So you really are done dating her?”  I hear Kawazu ask.

“Yes.”

“Then is it cool if I ask her out?” He says to me. “I won’t do it unless you okay it.  Bro code and all.”

…

“Uh…”

“Not cool with it?” he asks me.

“I don’t know.  I think the question is, can you be with a girl who’ll only call out my name?”  I think of the video Mahiro showed me.

“It might be interesting.” He says, but I see his reluctance when I say that.

“She didn’t call your name out though, when you had sex with her.” Nacchan says, about that night Ruru gave her to me while I was still upset about the Kanae incident.

“Well, it was me, wasn’t it?” I say to her.

That was all we could talk about.  Homeroom teacher arrived and class began.  I looked at the note a couple more times, before deciding I would go see them at Mahiro’s request.

I write a note and pass it to Sakuraba.

[Invited to lunch with Shi-chan’s friends.  I’m going.  Come with me.]

I get a reply.

[Why?]

..

[Because they want to discuss how to keep her from acting out.  I might be able to help, but only as a friend.]

..

[I’ll come with you, then.]

So, with plans set, the only thing to do is wait until lunch.  It feels like forever, mainly because I am worrying about Ume’s reaction.  I sprung Ruru’s pregnancy on her rather suddenly, and I don’t want her to act any crazier than she is.  She wants to keep up the good girl act, and I want to let her.  Honestly, it’s centering.  With Kanae and Shi-chan it’s nonstop, and Ruru is just … Ruru?  I’ve got nothing to worry about with Ruru.

Lunch bell finally sounds, and I take Sakuraba-san’s hand and walk her over to the copse of trees that is gyaru central.  Shi-chan, Mahiro, and Rina are all there.  I bring Ume along with me to sit down.

“Kouta!” Shi-chan is happy to see me, of course.

“What’s she doing here?” Rina immediately gets defensive upon seeing my girlfriend.

“Don’t get mad Rina, I told him it’s fine to bring her.” Mahiro tell her.

“Tch.”

There’s not much in the way of lunch, Sakuraba made a bento for us to share, but the girls only have buns, coffees, and of course delinquent supplies.  So we sit down, and Mahiro begins to talk.

“So.. ex-boyfriend-kun.  I thank you for calming our Shi-chan down. However, if you are going to go any further, as her friend, then you should know everything you need to know, right?”  Mahiro states.  What she is saying sounds dangerous to me.

“...”

“Shi-chan, how much have you told him.” Mahiro asks.

“He knows about.. the beginning.  And… he saw me one time… and he asked about another…”  Shi-chan is being vague, but it’s enough to go on.  The rape, dad, and me asking about Arai.  The video isn’t even mentioned.

“That’s no good.  Ex-boyfriend, please hold onto your girlfriend’s hand.  You are going to need it.” Mahiro states.

Ume immediately holds my hand without any prompting from me.

“Shi-chan as you know, has had a string of bad luck since middle school.”

“I’m aware.”

“But how aware?”

I hold up a hand with four fingers on it.  What Kii-chan had me do.

Mahiro looks to Rina and they both look at me and shake their heads.

“Wishful thinking, though.” Mahiro says. “Do that with the other hand.”

… Eight?  I’m holding both hands out with my thumbs tucked in.

“Girlfriend-chan.  Your turn.”

Ume sticks out her hand, and slowly unfurls fingers.  When it gets to be the same… Mahiro stops her.

“That’s everything, including you, ex-boyfriend-kun.”

There are twelve digits out, between Sakuraba-san and I.

Minus me… is 11.

11.

That’s a rough number.

I look at Shi-chan, but she is having trouble holding a composed face.

“Am I… the last one?”  I dare to ask.

Rina holds Shi-chan as Mahiro shakes her head.

“... sorry.  It was Rina’s boyfriend…”

10.

“EX.  EX ASSHOLE!” Rina corrects loudly.

I see…  That’s why she… didn’t answer.

I shouldn’t be so concerned.  Honestly.. I could have accepted two more and probably have been ok… probably.

What hurts the most is that I failed to protect her afterwards.

“First was.. that.” Shi-chan says, her lips trembling.

“In eighth grade there were three, I think. I don’t remember their names, Kouta.  I don’t care to… they were all you.”  She goes on.  “Last year, it was four.”

“Arai, Ryu, Takasugi, and … some nobody who took a shot.” Mahiro clarifies the names.

Shi-chan is crying hard into Rina’s chest.

“This year… she was good.  But, none of them were classmates until you and… Rina’s...”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”  It’s coming out nonstop from Shi-chan.

“That’s the truth of it.  Will you still be there for her knowing it now?” Mahiro asks me.

…

“Hello… ex-boyfriend kun?”  Mahiro calls out to me.

I can’t move.  I’m paralyzed.

Is Ume squeezing my hand?  I can’t tell.

Is my blood circulating?  I’m.. not drawing a breath.  I can only hear pounding in my ears.  My chest feels like a car is parked on it...

My eyes start to get hazy.

…

When I regain focus, I’m lying on a bed.

I’m staring at a light fixture above me.

There is no one around.

So I get up.  I must have made enough noise… when the nurse walks in.

“Feeling better Kawamura-san?  You collapsed outside.  Thankfully the track coach was nearby and brought you here.  You worried a lot of those girls you were eating lunch with.”  I’m told.  “Do you remember what happened?”

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“I…”  I remember feeling unable to move. “I felt paralyzed for a moment when I heard some bad news.”

“Bad news?”

“Yeah. When I heard it I … couldn’t breath and couldn’t move at all.  I felt like there was something stepping on my chest all of a sudden.”

“Kawamura-san.  Has anything stressful happened in your life recently.  Maybe at home as well as school?  One of your friends mentioned you had a part-time job?”

“Nothing to do with the job, that’s actually fun.  My home life… went bad.  My dad and mom are divorcing, and my mom is pregnant.  My sister and I… had some issues… and I went through a breakup.”

“Then it makes sense.  What you just suffered was an anxiety attack, and from the looks of it, a pretty hard one.  You should visit a doctor and see if they can offer you some options.  Unless you want to visit the counselor here… though I think there are better options available if you go elsewhere.”

“I appreciate the honesty.  … so… what does it mean to have an anxiety attack?”

“It means you need to destress.  If you know the cause of it, it might be best to steer away from it for now, until you can sort your feelings on the matter out.  Take a day off and play video games.  I’ll even give you a note to do so, just give it to your homeroom teacher.”

…

“Mind If I lie down a bit more?”

“I don’t mind.  School will be out in twenty minutes.”

“Thanks.”

“Feel better.  If you need me, I’m right over there.”

…

So I stayed in bed.  I tried to clear my mind of everything.  The most comforting image in my head right now, was Ume holding the knife against my heart.

Ume.

On top of my bag to the side, is my phone.

When I go past the lock screen, which is unlocked, there is a naked picture of Ume at full brightness to greet me.

Ume was here.

I slide my fingers between her breasts and throw the window to the side, opening up my message app.

[Apricot Blossom  (2)

(1) Kouta, please be okay.  It’s okay, everything is okay?  Okay?

You… really do care for her don’t you?  She… freaked out when you passed out.  I did too!  Thankfully Mahiro is really fast.  She got a teacher to help bring you to the clinic.  I stayed with you for a bit, so did Nakada-san.  We had a talk.  Don’t worry.  Just message me when you wake up, okay?]

[(2) Kouta.  I love you. I really do. I want you to know that as much as possible. Sometimes bad things happen to good people.  You are the good thing that happened to this bad(good) girl!  And you probably were as well for her, even though I hate it.  Let’s go home together, and I’ll take care of you.]

…

Ume… 

When the bell for dismissal rang, I got up.

Fuck.  Today is Monday isn’t it?

I grab my pack, and thank the school nurse, who had a note prepared for me.  “Take care of yourself, Kawamura-kun.”

I nod.  Then I head to the lockers to change into my shoes, and meet with Sakuraba-san.

On the way there, I see the other friend of Shi-chan’s.  Rina.  She sees me too and makes for me quickly.  What now?

She is standing in front of me, looking at me with hateful eyes.

“I’m.. sorry I couldn’t control my ex.”

…

I shake my head.

“It’s my fault I couldn’t be strong enough to love her properly.  I’m sorry my inability caused you to lose a lover.”  I bow slightly.

“She really loves you.  Even now.” Rina says, reluctantly.

“I know.”

“Don’t ignore her if you can.  You took it really hard, which means you still care, whether or not you want to believe it.”

“I won’t.   I want her to get better… for herself.” I say.

Rina pats me on the cheek.  Maybe she was slapping me in a friendly way so she wouldn’t have to seem like she cared about me.  I’m okay with that.

I make it to the lockers, but don’t see Ume.

When I get to the gate, she’s there, waiting.

“Kouta!”  She gives up on the distance and hugs me.

“I’m alright Ume.  The nurse said it was just some Anxiety.”

“Bullshit.  We thought you died.  Nakada-san was the one with Anxiety.” She corrects.

“Is… she okay?”

“She’s fine.  She’s just devastated you learned everything.  It was her idea to tell you, but she couldn’t do it, so she asked her friends to help.”

…

That explains a great deal.

“Let’s go to your house.  I’ll let you play with me as much as you want.  I don’t have to go home to cook or anything.  I can be all yours.”

I shake my head.

“I have to go to Akiba to deliver my work.”

“Then I’ll come with you!”

…

Ume and I head to Akihabara, and she is just holding on to me like I am suddenly fragile.

“I’m fine, you know.”

“No, you aren’t.  But you will be.” She tells me.

“Rely on me, okay?”

I nod.

…

We get there, and Senpai is surprised at seeing my new lover.

“She’s cute.  Cosplay material for sure.” he can’t help but say.

I’m greeted by the group as my usual self, ‘freeter-kun’ and meet with Chiba-san and deliver what I’ve done.

She hands me the next drive with no hassle this time.

“This is the last of it.  Next week is the polish, and debugging.  I’d like you to playtest it as well at that time, okay?  We’ll be discussing what our next project is then, as well.”

I nod.

“Thanks… Empress Fuuko.”

“Finally.  Hurry up and graduate, so you can work here, and I can see how you interact with your co-workers and pair you properly.”

“I’m no uke anymore.”

“I’ll be the judge of that.”

…

“There’s a cosplay cafe here!  Want to have a date?” Ume says to me when I come back.  She waited patiently in the lobby for me.

“Okay. If she’s there, I might be able to get us some special service.”

“You know someone who works there?”

“I know a couple, yes.  Let’s go!”

I take Ume’s hand and we enter the elevator.  Just my luck, Hiromi-san is working today.  I flag her over.

“Oh, Michio’s little friend.  How’s everything with Ruru?” Hiromi-san asks me.

“It’s… going.  She’s pregnant now.”

“...”

“You got my Ruru pregnant?”

“Yes.”

“That’s so great!  We can have our babies together!  Michio and I.. are pregnant too!” Hiromi-san happily reveals what I've already known.

“I’m happy for you both.  Senpai was showing me his infant cosplay outfits.”

“Yeah,  I hope she takes after me, then she’ll be bigger than Min-Min ever was.”

“Who’s this” she asks, looking at my girlfriend.

“This is Sakuraba Umeko.  She’s my lover.”

“Didn’t… you have… a blonde one?”

“We’re not together anymore…”

“Oh.  Sorry to hear that.  Table for two?”

“Yes, please.”

“Right this way.”

We are seated and we leave the order to her choice.  There are only three girls on the floor today, and they are all dressed up as american wild-west characters.  Low cut shirts, blue jeans, gunbelts, it’s pretty cool.  Ume seems to be enjoying it as well.

“You like this stuff?” She asks me.

“From time to time.” I say.

“I.. wouldn’t mind dressing up like this for fun.”

“I’d love to see you in it sometime.”

…

“She knew Nakada-san.  Did you take her here often?”

“Only once.  She’s not an otaku, so this isn’t her kind of thing.” I explain, thinking fondly of Nyakada-sanya.

“Chikako likes this stuff too.  I just prefer to read manga.”

“Nothing wrong with that.”

…

We came at the right time.  The waitress staff engaged in a little skit, and Min-Min sang a song from an old space western.  It was fun, and she received a good applause.  We ate then, Hiromi came over and whispered something to me.  Something good.  I agreed that I would try it next time.

We bid farewell and left, heading to a small manga shop nearby to enjoy our little outing, then we headed home.

Ruru wasn’t there when I got in.

Ume stayed with me until late, just letting me hold her tightly.  We were going to do stuff, when she suddenly got a text from her sister begging her to come home.  So we parted reluctantly.  We never got to do anything.

I ended up hanging out with mom, who had actually cooked dinner for a change, and then we retired to bed.

I didn’t tell her about anything, and there was no Ruru to heal me further.  So feeling unusually sleepy, I just closed my eyes, and drifted off to sleep, my feelings for Shi-chan no less than ever.

(Secret 77:  Hiromi-san told Kouta secretly that if he texted her in advance, she’d prepare an outfit, and a quiet room to… enjoy it in.  It seems she and Michio did enjoy a private time away from Kimiko every now and then.)

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