Disclaimer - the main characters and some of the plot ideas of this story belong to Yoshizumi Wataru
"Attention all passengers, this will be the final announcement of the night. The ship is now out of Japanese waters, and it will two more days until we reach Hawaii. Dinner services will be closing now, but drinks and light snacks will be served in the Holbright room until 3 am. Dancing in the main ballroom will commence shortly. Also, the pool will be opened until midnight. We want your first night aboard the Pacific Soyakaze to be a memorable one, please do not hesitate to ask our crew for anything. Once again, thank you for choosing Holiday Transport and, in particular, the Soyakaze, for your vacation cruise."
The announcement was spoken by a gentle but authoritative male voice. It was repeated in Japanese, this time by a higher pitched, female voice, which took considerably longer due to numerous Sumimasens and like apologies. This was followed by the Cantonese and finally the Korean versions. At the end, there was the eight bar refrain from the TV adds and then a click as the PA system was turned off.
Norris Greenwood, Head of Guest Relations, smiled, appreciating the blessed silence. It did not last long. The door to his office swung open violently, and a petite, but forceful woman strode through. She turned to face him, a scowl across her face, and then fell backwards.
"Do not, I repeat, do not ask me how the dinner went." Sally Mckinion spoke the words in a dramatic voice as she sank deeply into the couch. She rolled over, smashing her face into the velvet cushions.
Norris, her boss and most elevated of human resources for miles around now that the ship had exited the port, counted silently.
One, two, three, four. . . Oh my, he thought, if I make it to ten then I’ll fear food poisoning. Luckily he only had to wait till seven.
"Well, it’s better that you hear it from me. You are interested, are you not?"
Norris made a silent shrugging gesture. It didn’t work to give her too much encouragement.
"As you know, the Kumodochis canceled, the Fumeshitas are on their honeymoon so it’s not surprising they ordered in, the Domeus were obviously seasick and the Togowaris were either quietly drunk or ogling the waitresses. So you can imagine the pleasantness of the evening. It was like I was talking to myself the entiretime. I don’t know. I just don’t. The cruisegoers always complain that they never get to meet anyone, so we throw these shindigs and what happens?"
There was a pause and Norris was almost tempted to reply. He was saved by Sally’s own answer.
"You bloody sit around, pretend you’re the cheerful fairy, have to listen to yourself being the cheerful fairy, and maybe, if you’re ever so lucky, one of them will ask you to pass the butter. Is my Japanese that bad? Oh Norris, what am I doing wrong?" this last ended in a wail and Norris commenced the comforting routine.
"Come now, Sally, your Japanese is quite good. I’m sure it was just the customers. Were they all bad? Weren’t there some other couples?"
"Oh yes, the Koishikawas and the Matsuuras. Lovely couples, didn’t do anything but stare at each other the entire time and try not to look embarrassed. Odd really, I thought those four would hit it off. I even brought up the fact that they both had children the same age. But no good, it only settled the ice more firmly. I suppose they’re from different social classes or something. They’d probably never associate in a hundred years."
Relationship Chart (Chapters 1, 2, & 3)
It was a cold, blustery day, more akin to winter than spring. Returning to boarding house, Chiyako was glad to slip out of her fashionable but now wet sandals and into her extra fuzzy slippers. She had been walking about campus, familiarizing herself with the locations of her classes. More importantly, she had timed the distance and now knew that it took precisely 17 minutes to walk from her room to her first class. Assuming half an hour to wash and get dressed, that would mean she’d have to wake up before 8:45. Way too early, she thought. Why were advertising majors required to take an accounting class anyway? She smiled ruefully. Maybe she could find someone to take notes so she need not attend the lectures.
Opening her door, she found a unfamiliar pile of luggage on one side of the room. Well, it’s about time her roommate moved in. I’ve been here almost a week and she waits until the day before classes begin.
Chiyako Namuki bent over to examined the unpacked possessions. She stared carefully at their color, make, design, sizes, and scruff marks before accepting that there wasn’t much to learn about a person from their luggage, at least from the outside. The nametag read "Yamashita Rumi," but Chiyako already knew that from the landlady. Neat, clean Kanji, maybe this Rumi would be a practical sort of girl, humorless and hardworking. An individual that studied all the time and went to bed early. Maybe Chiyako could learn a bit of patience; she’d meet this Rumi soon enough.
Still, Chiyako couldn’t help but wonder. This was the person she’d be spending the next six months with, at least. What would they be to each other? Nearest and dearest of friends? That would be novel, she hadn’t had a best friend since grade school. Where was this Rumi? She should be here so they could make introductions.
"What is she doing anyway?!" Chiyako moaned at the ceiling.
"Um. . ." replied a terribly small voice.
Chiyako spun about. Had her curiosity been less, she might have taken the time to be embarrassed. Standing just beyond the room’s entrance was a petite young woman about Chiyako’s size. Not that I’ll be borrowing any outfits if the rest of her wardrobe is like that, observed Chiyako. The girl was dressed in a dumpy sweater skirt combo, far too pastel for her skin tone. Chiyako’s critical eyes also noted the severity of the stranger’s hairstyle, straight and pulled back into a ponytail, her lack of makeup, and horrors, her thick hornrimmed glasses. On the positive side, she need not worry about having her boyfriends stolen away. Realizing she was staring, Chiyako made introductions.
"Hi," Chiyako bowed slightly, "You must be Yamashita Rumi, I’m Namuki Chiyako."
Rumi smiled softly, almost apologetically, "Pleased to meet you, Namuki-san."
"Oh, call me Chiyako."
"Chiyako," Rumi repeated, and her fixed smile became a shade less reserved.
Chiyako had a dozen questions prepared for this moment, and found herself unable to remember a single one. She smiled dumbly at Rumi, whose blank smile probably indicated the same problem. Chiyako glanced about, willing the dorm room itself to present a suitable topic for conversation.
Seizing on the first thing that sprung to mind, she asked "You don’t mind me taking this side of the room, do you? Because it wouldn’t be hard to change. . ." her voice trailed off as she recalled the three hours she and her mother had spent arranging things "just so" earlier that week. Silently, she cursed her impulsiveness. If she only considered consequences of actions, she wouldn’t have to devote so much of her time to damage control.
"Oh no," Rumi said quickly, "this arrangement is going to work out just great. This way, you get the sun in the morning and I get to sleep in." She grinned.
Chiyako smiled back. There was a mischievious streak to this girl that Chiyako wholeheartedly approved of. And her smile was nice. It lit up her otherwise plain features. Really, she wasn’t half-bad looking. A different outfit, maybe shorter hair, get rid of the hideous glasses. . . Chiyako gave Rumi a mental makeover and was quite pleased with the results. Imagining Rumi’s future appearance relaxed Chiyako and from there conversation flowed easily, satisfying Chiyako’s curiosity.
Rumi was from a small country town in the Shizuoka Prefecture and this was only her third time in Tokyo. She was majoring in chemistry, although she insisted that she really wasn’t all that smart. But where she really scored points was in her display of overt and unabashed awe of Chiyako.
"So you’re here all by yourself?" Rumi asked, "I just couldn’t do that."
Chiyako was confused, "What do you mean? You’re a lot farther from home than I am."
"Well, I suppose. But Jin, that’s my boyfriend, he’s going to school here too."
"High school sweetheart?" Chiyako asked somewhat cynically and silently thanked the gods that her old flame was attending another university so they could break it off cleanly. As far as she was concerned, college was for fun dating, you were married long enough as it was.
"Yes. Or no," Rumi scrunched up her face slightly, "we’ve been dating since middle school."
Chiyako felt her jaw drop involuntarily, "No kidding."
Rumi replied with a shy smile as if apologizing.
"Well. . .". Dating someone from before they reached puberty. She thought back to the boys she’d dated in middle school, and barely stifled a groan. Chiyako searched for something to add. "You guys must be serious. We should work out a system so I don’t walk in on you unexpectedly. Is he going to spend the night much?"
Rumi’s smile dropped and she went beet red. "We never, I mean, I wouldn’t, I mean. . ." her voice trailed off and suddenly a look of horror covered her embarrassment. "You aren’t going to be bringing men over for the. . ."
Chiyako’s mind was swimming. How to get out of from this one gracefully? "No, no. I’m not dating anyone now. I want to have fun, but not — I’ve never-"
"Oh, not that there’s anything wrong with it-"
"No, but it would have to be someone really special-"
"Of course, of course. If it was someone really special-"
"And I haven’t met that person yet-"
"So there’s nothing to worry about." Rumi concluded.
They both visibly relaxed, having talked themselves down from a possible conflict area. Well, I’ll be careful not to go there again, Chiyako promised herself.
"Anyway, we can go on double dates. You, Jin, me and whoever I’m interested in that week."
Rumi’s smile grew large again. Unguarded was the way Chiyako would describe it. This could work out. It could really work out.
*******
Must. Not. Fall. Asleep. Desperately Jin repeated his mantra while the student to his right snored on, oblivious. Emerging World Markets 107 was boring, the teacher was a prattling fool, the room was stuffy, it was after lunch, and dear gods, it was only the first day of the semester. Jin had tried counting the ummms the lecturer used and gave up when he hit 41 in the first five minutes. He’d tried pinching his arm until his skin turned red. It was no use, time for desperate measures.
The only choice was to completely drown out the old geezer and do something to wake up his mind. He scanned the room for a good distraction and it was then that his eyes fell upon the long light hair of the girl seated kitty corner from him.
He had seen her earlier, in his accounting class. She had made quite an entrance, arriving fifteen minutes late. The hall had been packed, and rather than sit in the isle, she had politely worked her way past several students to get at an inner seat. The professor had looked rather put off, but just grimaced and said nothing.
Jin could understand. The woman was stunning. Not just good looking, but stunning. It was something in her attitude, something that Jin had not seen in a woman his age ever before, unless you counted TV idols. Jin guessed that she could sweet-talk any man here, including himself.
Still, there was something more to the woman than just looks and style. There was a purposefulness in her manners. It radiated from her with every move, every gesture. If this were a movie, she would be the starring role, and this classroom and all students would be simply the background, establishing her superiority to the audience through sheer contrast.
The woman turned slightly and their eyes locked, holding for a fraction of a second before Jin turned away. He could feel the color rise in his cheeks. Well that was real smooth, he admonished himself, now she’ll think you’re some sort of pervert.
Afterwards, he tried to keep his focus on the professor, but there was something nagging his subconscious. It was than ten minutes before he gave into the temptation. As discretely as possible, he turned his head, and instantly regretted it. The woman was unabashedly staring at him. Catching his eyes, she gave him a slow smile, winked, and turned her attention to the front of the room. What’s that supposed to mean? He found himself still looking at her, and self-consciously looked away.
The rest of the class went by quickly. Whatever the professor was now droning was lost in Jin’s distracted musings about the woman’s actions. What did it all mean? Was she laughing at him, or had he inadvertently sent her some signal, and if so, what did that signal mean? Should he apologize or simply sneak out? He was leaning towards the latter course of action, but just then the bell rang, and she turned around to face him. There was no way to avoid her.
She smiled coyly. "You were looking at me" she accused him.
"Guilty," said Jin sheepishly.
"I could get angry," she continued, "But I’ll let it pass, if you take me out for coffee."
Jin managed to say "Ahhh," as his brain ran out on him. Was this a date offer? She was sure forward. His hand unconsciously began rubbing the back of his neck.
"What?" she pursed her lip and raised her eyebrows and Jin understood precisely why the accounting professor had not reamed her out.
"I, ahhh, I have a girlfriend." There, that wasn’t so painful.
"Oh, that doesn’t bother me."
For the past few days Jin had entertained the idea that he looked as cosmopolitan as any other student. With this conversation he felt like he had just stepped out of a rice field. The looks the woman was giving him indicated she was just as aware of his discomfort. He suspected she was enjoying it.
"It’s only a coffee. Don’t worry, I’m not out for a relationship, I just like spending time with cute guys." She said it flippantly, as if the explanation negated any objections.
"I rather doubt my girlfriend would see it that way."
"I won’t tell." Her coy smile was back. She was determined and there remained no subtle way of backing out. He had one option open to him, short of having coffee with her.
Jin actively glanced at his watch and exclaimed, "Oh my, look at the time. I gotta run. Bye." and with that he put his long legs to use, sprinting up the stairs, out the room, down the hall and thought the doors. Once outside, he took off quickly in an direction free of people and not stopping until he was several blocks from the building. Only then did he turn around. Jin relaxed, relieved not to see her. He was safe, at least until his next class. Well, he’d have to think of something before then.
*******
"Tell me about your day," commanded Rumi. "Anything of interest happen?"
Jin looked up from behind his cup. His eyes were sparkling, but because his mouth was obscure, Rumi couldn’t read his expression. It didn’t matter, she was just glad to be with him.
Jin had been in the city for nearly a week while she had just gotten in yesterday. He had met her at the train station and helped he get her baggage to her room, but it had been hurried, and they hadn’t had time to really talk. Dinner had been at a hip but noisy pub and it was only now, sitting in a coffeehouse, that they could really carry on a conversation.
"Oh it was alright," replied Jin. "They’re all introductory classes, not too interesting. And your day?"
"Similar," Rumi fibbed.
Actually she could say a lot, but she didn’t want to monopolize the conversation. There was a pause, filled nicely by the waiter bringing their desserts.
"So what’s your roommate like?" Jin asked.
"Oh. . ." Rumi thought a moment. "Her name is Namuki Chiyako and she’s exceedingly pretty. Her hair is something else; light and long, really fine. She’s from the city, a sophisticated type."
"Sophisticated?"
"Well, into boys, parties, the like."
"Sophisticated?" Jin asked again, this time more dubiously.
"That came out wrong. It’s more the way she acts. She’s not the least nervous or worried, even though she’s just as new to the city as we are."
Jin frowned, "Are you nervous, Rumi? I thought you wanted to go away for college."
"I do, I do. But isn’t it scary? All these students and professors, and all of them so smart. It’s just different from the country. Anyway," not wanting to worry Jin, Rumi went onto change the subject, "she has this air of knowing just what she wants."
"Sounds like she might be hard to live with."
"Oh no!" Rumi paused, "alright," she admitted, "maybe. I got the impression that she thought dating the same guy since middle school was pretty boring."
Jin gave a mock sigh and drawled, "Yep, them’s just our country folk ways. Boring."
Rumi giggled and leaned over to Jin in a confiding manner "But, Jin, she’s sooo cool! I wish I was like her."
Jin laughed, "Are you going to dump a country bumpkin like me?"
"Maybe." Rumi kept her face straight for all of ten seconds. Then she completely broke down. Regaining her composure she said seriously, "If I broke up with you Jin, I would have no one to talk to, or to steal dessert from!" she added judiciously while snatching the last of Jin’s cookie.
They continued their banter as Jin paid for the meal - another perk according to Rumi. From the restaurant it was a quick walk to Rumi’s boarding house. There was a short debate about whether Jin could come up or not. The landlady would disapprove, but it wasn’t very late. It would surprise Chiyako, but she was sooo coool, it would be okay. In the end, a compromise was reached whereby Rumi ran up and checked with Chiyako first and then brought Jin up.
*******
Chiyako waited, full of curiosity. What would a boyfriend of five years be like? Gosh, wasn’t that longer than most people were married?
Rumi knocked gently on the door to alert Chiyako of their presence. Chiyako turned, smiled woodenly and her first thought was, help. And then, this couldn’t be any more comical if it was planned by a writer.
Standing in the doorway, looking just as uncomfortable as she felt, stood the guy she had hit on earlier that day. The one who said he had a girlfriend. The girlfriend who was obviously Rumi. Help.
I wonder. . . she thought absently, if they broke up, what would be the minimum required waiting time before making a move on him wouldn’t be considered tacky. Mentally Chiyako slapped herself once for the thought, and then again for not being ashamed of having entertained it. She couldn’t help it, he was just as good looking as he’d been in class.
Priorities, Chiyako, priorities. How much more crass can a person get than stealing her roommate’s boyfriend? But then, why couldn’t Rumi’s sweetheart at least have glasses or something?
To hide her discomfort, Chiyako threw her frustrated energy into small talk. It was a trick practiced since childhood, and she could tell that Rumi was completely taken in by it. If anything, it was Jin’s agitation that stood out. Rumi commented more than once on his lack of attention.
It’s really a bummer he’s taken. Jin was taller, more muscular, and far better looking than she had given Rumi credit for. Even his awkwardness, magnified no doubt by his discomfort, added to his cuteness.
Analytically, or as analytically as she could, Chiyako looked at the couple. Much as she’d like to dismiss it, they looked good together. They were like some matched secondary characters in TV series, the ones who were to be supportive of, but not distracting from, the more dramatic leads.
Chiyako found she liked that analogy. Koishikawa-san wasn’t the most suave guy she’d ever met, she’d seen that when she talked to him in class. Not a problem for Rumi, but Chiyako had always imagined herself paired with a more sophisticated guy.
Slowly, she began to relax. She wasn’t madly in love or anything. It was just a passing infatuation, a crush, if that much. If Koishikawa could keep his mouth closed, there would be no harm done at all. She’d have to catch him after classes tomorrow to make sure.
"Hey Jin," Rumi was saying, "Chiyako’s convinced me to join the tennis circle." She held up a flyer, "would you be interested?"
"Hmmm," he looked even more uncomfortable, but as he paged through, Chiyako could see he was interested, "This doesn’t seem too physically intense. Optional practices and lots of other activities, skiing even. I’ll. . ." He glanced at Chiyako and she tried to look casual. "I’ll think about it."
"There’s a meeting on Friday. Let’s go and see if we like it." proposed Rumi.
Rumi gave him the puppy dog eyes treatment and Koishikawa melted. Then, making like he suddenly realized how late it had become — how often does he use that trick?- he begged off and Rumi escorted him out. Chiyako worried briefly that he might blurt something out about their other encounter, but Rumi returned almost immediately and seemed not the least bit ruffled. If he was my boyfriend, I would have taken more time saying goodbye. It irked her slightly to find the two of them as chaste as Rumi had implied.
No wonder she got so flustered by my comments. Well, it was an honest mistake. She had probably come out as quite the floozy. But how was she to know? Chiyako had been acquainted with several long term couples that had, well at least implied they had had, that type of relationship. It was an unfamiliar area for her. She had had been a plethora of boyfriends over the years, but she had always set some very strictly observed limits for all of them.
"Koishikawa-san seems real, um, nice." She said to Rumi after they turned out the lights later that night.
"Yes he is." Rumi agreed. She sounded sleepy, but Chiyako was curious, and it was barely twelve.
"How did you guys meet?"
"Oh, we lived next to each other."
"Your whole life?"
"Yep. Jin was my best friend growing up."
"Wow." Chiyako’s amazement was genuine. "That’s like straight out of a movie. Was it true love from the beginning?"
Rumi didn’t reply for a moment. "I guess so. I can’t think of being with anyone else."
"So how come you aren’t engaged yet? Don’t your parents approve?"
"Oh no, everyone’s okay with us getting married. They were all kind of assuming we would even before we started dating. We’ve decided to wait until after we graduate." There was silence and Chiyako was about to ask something else when Rumi continued with her chain of thought. "We’ve never really discussed it. With Jin and me, it’s as if we know each other’s minds. There’s no hurry. We have all the time in the world."
Chiyako was going to challenge her on that point, but thought better of it. Rumi seemed so sure. What would it be like to love someone that strongly, she wondered, and fretted. Something was troubling Chiyako and she was pretty sure she knew what it was. Put simply, she was jealous. Not of Koishikawa, but of Rumi’s relationship to him. Chiyako hadn’t admitted it until now, but the university life was lonely.
Having a boyfriend would make it easier. Chiyako always valued her independence and she didn’t like these feeling of longing. They were only temporary. Soon she’d know lots of people, enough to fill all her hours. When that happened, she’d look back at these emotions and laugh at herself. Still, Rumi’s boyfriend was quite the looker.
"Well, I really like Koishikawa-san." She said with all honesty, and added, "You have my approval." That was more of a vow to herself. Hands off, girl.
Rumi didn’t reply. In the darkness, Chiyako could hear her rhythmic breathing. Asleep already?
Jin was running late, a natural state for him, and barely caught his first class of the day, Accounting 101. The professor was just starting lecture as he slid into a seat near the back and quickly rummaged though his bag for a pencil. There was movement to his right. Looking up, he saw someone he knew taking the seat next to him.
Namuki smiled mirthfully. "Looks like I’m even later than you."
Jin had been preparing for this meeting. Last night he had even rehearsed a speech. But he had been hoping to confront her later in the day. Namuki’s bravodo unnerved him and he reverted to staring.
"I want to talk to you after class." she said smoothly and turned her attention to the professor, who was speaking into the blackboard.
It was the longest class of Jin’s life, and he got nothing else out of it. He was intimately aware of Namuki’s every aspect: her scents, the way she fiddled with her pencil, and the curses she muttered under her breath whenever the lecturer used math. He tried to stop himself, but found he couldn’t help glancing at her. At one point, she began painting her nails. If he wasn’t dreading what she was going to say afterwards, he would have been quite amused.
Why did she have to start this whole mess in the first place? Had she not pulled that stunt earlier, they could have just been good friends. If only. . . Honesty forced him to admit he was also to blame; it was his wandering eye. He continued to puzzle out the situation, trying to remember his speech. It just got him more flustered. As class ended, he decided he’d just let Namuki do the talking. I just hope she doesn’t try asking me out again.
She stood and looked him squarely in the eye. Taking a breath, she began, "About what I did yesterday, it was a mistake."
Inwardly, Jin breathed relief.
Namuki continued, "I thought you were interested."
What? That’s not what I remember." he said defensively.
"I thought you were playing hard to get." Namuki shot back, "You were looking at me."
"I," Jin stopped himself. Escalating this to an argument was not what he wanted.
"I was, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it."
"You just like staring at strange women?" Namuki was giving him a peculiar look now.
"No! Look it was a boring class. I was almost asleep, my eyes just wandered, that’s all." Urk. That was a pathetic thing to say. "I’m sure you must have guys looking at you all the time." Oops, that was meant to come off as a compliment.
He was sure she’d slap him for that, but she actually seemed to relax. "It was a boring lecture, wasn’t it? I kept getting this urge to stand up and scream, just to wake up." She giggled.
Just like that, the tension was broken. "I am sorry I was staring at you. It won’t happen again." Jin smiled. This was one unusual girl.
"Darn right, I’m never attending that class again. I dropped it yesterday. Seriously Koishikawa-san, you don’t have to worry about me stealing you away from Rumi. It would be pretty stupid, considering that we’re roommates."
Jin wanted to know if she’d try it if Rumi wasn’t her roommate, but decided it was better not to ask. Namuki looked as if she wanted to ask something as well. Jin kept his mouth shut, waiting for her to speak,
"You’re not going to tell her, are you?"
"What, tell Rumi that you. . ."
"Yeah. Please don’t. It was a mistake, and I don’t want to have to change roommates already."
"Okay, but if it was just a mistake, Rumi will understand."
Namuki looked at him skeptically, "I think you have a lot to learn about women."
Jin found himself getting defensive again. "Rumi’s not like that. She’s very reasonable."
She shrugged, "Just promise me you won’t tell her."
It wasn’t a big deal, Jin thought to himself. Namuki’s request wasn’t unreasonable. He had purposely avoided mentioning the incident the previous night. But it felt uncomfortable to keep anything from Rumi. Nevertheless, he sighed and agreed not to tell. Namuki brightened considerably.
"Okay, that’s settled. I’m meeting Rumi for breakfast just now. Want to come?"
Jin looked at her, thoroughly disorientated. "It’s past 10:30. Isn’t it a little late for breakfast?"
"10:30 is a perfectly reasonable time for breakfast. It’s actually early by my standards. If I had my way, I’d sleep until noon every day."
Jin shook his head, grinning in spite of himself, "At least you and Rumi are on the same schedule."
"Oh I wouldn’t sound too high and mighty. My sources say you’ve been known to sleep through whole weekends."
"One time, and Rumi will never let me forget," he muttered dramatically. What other Jin anecdotes had Rumi passed onto her roommate?
They continued their banter as they walked out the building and Jin found himself warming to Namuki. She had her character flaws, impulsiveness coupled with a slight shallowness, but her witt and charm and charm more than made up for them. Still he found himself worrying about Namuki’s relationship with Rumi.
Not that he wanted to control Rumi’s life, but sometimes she could be too trusting. She seemed to think that her honesty would protect her. It had worked back home. But back home, where everyone was someone else’s cousin, karma wasn’t just an abstract concept but a tangible web of remembered debts and potential retribution. Here everyone was pretty much a stranger and wouldn’t necessarily be accountable for their actions.
On the surface, Namuki seemed extremely pleasant. The way she moved radiated confidence - small wonder Rumi stood in awe of her. But what kind of person would she be like to live with on a daily basis? Jin began to probe Namuki with questions, justifying it as protective boyfriend’s duty. Namuki gave willing if short answers.
She was born in a small Japanese city, raised in Hiroshima, had one younger brother, no pets, and had only been out to the country for vacations. Like himself, she was majoring in business, with plans to be an office lady for a few years and then marry a rich CEO. Jin found himself slightly disappointed. He had expected something more unique.
In a notably smooth manner, Namuki shifted the conversation and began asking him questions. Soon he found himself talking about his brothers, his dog, the family hotel business. This woman was obviously a much better interrogator than himself. Much, much better.
"Well, I’m getting a degree in business, but I before I settle down, I’d like to travel, maybe study abroad or something." it was a dream no one save Rumi knew. Why had he just told her, of all people?
She was looking at him intently now. What was she thinking of him? She opened her mouth and might have said something, had not Rumi suddenly popped up from behind Jin’s other side.
"Jin, Chiyako!" she sounded both surprised and happy. "When did you meet?"
"We have a class together." Namuki replied.
"Neat." Rumi reply enthusiastically and then added ruefully, "I wish I knew the people in my classes."
"Oh, you will soon enough," Jin assured her.
"Maybe, but they’re almost all guys." she complained.
"Really?" Namuki looked interested. "Maybe I should sign up. What are you taking?"
"Just the basics. Chemistry, physics, calculus-"
Namuki gulped, "Forget I mentioned it. And anyway, I wouldn’t want to date a nerd."
"You’re so evil, Chiyako," Rumi tried to look disapprovingly and failed. Her inability to hide her feelings was both a strength and a weakness, and one of the things Jin liked best about her. "Besides, they’re not all bad looking. I saw one who was quite cute." she giggled.
"Really," drawled Namuki, "What’s his name?"
"Oh, I couldn’t ask him that. I didn’t even talk to him."
"Admiring him from afar?" Chiyako teased.
Jin walked silently in-between them, just listening to their banter. He decided he liked Namuki. And Namuki liked Rumi. And Rumi liked Namuki. And he was getting one of those goofy smiles on his face. Oh well, he was walking between two very good looking women, it was only perfectly natural.
*******
The Tennis Circle’s intro meeting was packed. Rumi looked about carefully but did not catch sight of either Chiyako or Jin. It didn’t concern her. Jin had never been on time for anything in his life, and Rumi’s experience with Chiyako indicated she was possibly even worse. Oh well, the meeting wasn’t officially starting for another fifteen minutes or so. Until then she could mingle.
Spotting a crowd, mostly women who looked fairly friendly, she was about to set off when someone tapped her shoulder. She turned and did a double take. Standing in front of her was the cute guy from her calculus class, the very one that Chiyako had teased her about earlier.
"What a coincidence," she said without thinking. Oops, didn’t mean for that to slip out. Jin was right, she was picking up Chiyako’s impulsiveness.
Luckily, he seemed to have misinterpreted her, "Yes, we’re in the same math class. I’m Matsura Youji."
"Pleased to meet you Matsura-san. I’m Yamashita Rumi." He was unmistakably cute and certainly not nerdy. Well, maybe he was a bit young, and he did sport a cowlick, but the overall effect was quite endearing. Already in her mind she was introducing him to Chiyako.
"Are you into outdoor activities, Yamashita-san?"
"A bit. I like hiking and swimming. Are you into outdoor activities?" Why did she always get a stilted conversation with strangers? Must be that old self confidence problem again.
"Oh yes. I was president of my tennis team in high school. And I’ve run in several marathons." He said confidently. Maybe a bit too confidently. Kind of full of himself, isn’t he?
"Really, I could never do that. I get tired just running for the bus."
Matsuura looked flustered as if he’d realized that he had been bragging.
"Actually I do too. For marathons I psyche myself up. And I couldn’t do it right now, I’m out of shape."
"Oh." she looked around for Jin and Chiyako.
"Anyway, I really want to join the club so I can meet more people. I don’t know anyone else here."
Rumi looked at him again. His voice carried less certainty this time. He was probably just nervous and wanted to make a good impression. She felt sympathy and a measure of friendliness towards him. Besides, he looked cuter when he was unsure of himself.
"Yes, I’m joining for the same reasons. Well, that and I don’t want to get fat." She laughed and he joined in, relaxing visibly. Again she looked around.
"Are you meeting someone?" he asked.
"Well, my boyfriend and roommate are coming to the meeting, but I suspect they’re both late." Yes, a voice inside her said, remember you do have a boyfriend. So what, another voice said, you can look at other boys. Chiyako and she had just recently read a magazine article that affirmed such urges were normal and even healthy.
"Oh, you have a boyfriend." he said, his voice lackluster.
Off in her own verbal chastising and justification, Rumi realized that she hadn’t heard what he said. There was something in his tone that made her look at him carefully. He seemed especially nervous now. Darn my scattered brain, what did he just say? She was about to ask him to repeat himself when over his shoulder she saw Chiyako making her way towards them.
"Oh," She pointed over his ear, "There’s my roommate. Come on, I’ll introduce you. Matsuura-san, this is Namuki Chiyako, my roommate in the dorms. Chiyako, this is Matsuura Youji, he’s in my calculus class." Rumi gave Chiyako a pointed look.
"Very pleased to meet you." Chiyako said. She gave Matsuura the once over and asked almost seductively, "So does this mean you’re smart in math?"
Matsuura took a second to process this. "Yes." he spoke slowly, and then repeated himself with more confidence, "Yes, math’s my favorite subject."
"Excellent," Chiyako practically bubbled. She turned to Rumi to explain. "Jin and I have decided that we need to form a study group for our accounting class to do homework together. Can you get Matsuura-san to join us? That way he can help us out on the hard problems."
"Chiyako, I just met him!" Rumi said, blushing slightly. Chiyako’s forwardness was fun to watch, but Rumi found herself caught up in the resulting discomfort all too frequently.
"Oh, I think a study group would be a great idea." Matsuura interjected quickly, "I used to tutor math in high school."
Chiyako smiled, "Great, I used to be tutored in math in high school. That’s how I used to get dates too." Her eyes darted up and down Matsuura as a devilish smiled played across her face.
This time both Rumi and Youji blushed. Rumi decided that she didn’t like the way this conversation was proceeding. This was not the first time she’d seen Chiyako pull the seductress routine with a boy.
Grasping for something to derail it, she spoke up with mock hurt. "Why didn’t you ask me to help you guys out. I’m in calculus too, you know."
"That’s what I asked Jin," Chiyako defended herself, "He said you’re great with numbers but when you try to explain them, you get your negatives confused and spend an hour looking for your mistake."
"That only happened once! I can’t help it if he never asked for my help again."
"I didn’t want to risk it again. I was more confused after your explanation."
Rumi jumped. Jin had somehow snuck up behind her. She tried to glare at him, and would have succeeded if he hadn’t tickled her. Boy, she wished her neck wasn’t so sensitive.
Introductions were once again made and before more could be said, the club’s president was calling the meeting to order. Jin asked Matsuura to join them and they found seats together, Chiyako managing to situate herself between both men. Sitting next to Jin, Rumi felt very much at the periphery. But then the meeting started, and it didn’t seem so bad. Besides, she had the distinct feeling the girl on her other side was checking out Jin, just as well that she was between them. Still it would have been nice to hear what Chiyako was whispering. After the first few minutes the president stopped mentioning useful information and started congratulating committee members and retelling stories about people Rumi had never met. Still, it seemed like the members had fun together and the price wasn’t too high considering the equipment they got access to. The club even organized a skiing trip, something that she had always wanted to do. Afterwards there were booths to visit and organizing sempais to meet. Overall, it was not a wasted night and Rumi discovered that she was looking forward to the club picnic scheduled for Sunday.
Still, it was getting late. The original plan was for Jin to escort the girls back to their boarding house. Unfortunately, it seemed impossible to decide when the escorting should occur. Rumi had had a long day, and was anxious to get to bed. Chiyako, on the other hand, showed not the least desire to depart. A hasty solution had Jin escorting them each in turn, which pleased no one. Luckily, Matsuura volunteered to stay and walk Chiyako home later. The new arrangement was agreeable to all.
"Matsuura-san really does seem nice," Rumi told Jin as they strolled home. "At first he seemed the bragging type, but I think he was just nervous. Wouldn’t it be something if he and Chiyako. . . Well they seemed to get along. I think what Chiyako needs is a kind boyfriend, it would settle her."
Jin smiled, "She told me she wanted to marry a older, rich man so that she could have fun spending his money after he was dead."
"Oh she just says things like that. It’s just that she’s never been in love. One of these days she’ll meet someone so special and perfect for her that she’ll fall head over heals. And then she’ll get married, have kids, and live happily ever after." Rumi found herself sighing after this prophecy.
"And you think that special someone is Matsura-san?" Jin looked at her dubiously.
"Probably not, but wouldn’t it be funny if it was? I really do wonder who Chiyako will fall in love with."
They walked on silently through the evening. As spring unfolded, the evenings were getting almost warm. Rumi looked forward to wearing her skirts, especially the new ones she’d bought on sale last fall. Chiyako had even offered to share some of her stuff, which was much more grown up than Rumi’s wardrobe.
"Rumi," said Jin softly.
"Mmmm?" replied Rumi absently.
"Don’t."
"Don’t what?"
"Don’t think too much about her affairs. I think Namuki-san is a very different person than you. I wouldn’t get too wrapped up in her relationships."
Rumi stopped and tried to puzzle out what Jin had just said. She gave him a confused look. Jin looked uncomfortable.
"I mean. . . Nevermind."
Rumi was even more confused, but she just nodded. If it was something important, Jin would have said.
At the dorm, they said their good-byes, kissing briefly.
*******
The telephone was ringing when Youji returned to his apartment. He made a dash for it, but the line was dead when he picked up. It didn’t matter, he had a fair idea who had called. Quickly he prepared a cup of instant ramen, the only food he was really proficient at cooking and dialed a sequence which was all too familiar. The dial tone barely sounded once before it was answered. Just as he suspected, Emiko must have been perched by the phone.
"Where have you been?" was the first thing his younger sister demanded, "I’ve been trying to call you all evening!" Youji moved the receiver a inch further from his ear. Emiko had been speaking in exclamation marks since she’d hit puberty.
"I told you I was going to a sports club meeting." he defended himself.
"But it’s so late! What did you do all that time?" not allowing him to answer she jumped to her own conclusions, "I bet you met a girl, didn’t you?"
She was teasing him slightly, but Youji had a perfect comeback . "Actually I did."
"Really? I don’t believe it!" Emiko squealed. "It wasn’t the girl from you calculus class, was it? The cute one you were telling me about?"
There were times that Youji wished he confided less to his sibling. "Well, yes."
"I don’t believe it! I don’t believe it!" she repeated, stressing each syllable, "Tell me about her, what’s her name? What’s she like? Huh, huh, How come you never answer me?"
"Maybe because you never let me get a word in edgewise." Youji encouraged his sister to be open with him; she was so shy around strangers. But he had to be careful not to let her take advantage of him too much.
"Sorry. I’ll listen now." Her voice toned down a couple of notches, and he could tell it took a concentrated effort on her part.
"Good. Well, her name is Yamashita Rumi, but before you get your hopes up, she already has a boyfriend."
"Bummer. Hey is he cute? — oops, sorry I’ll try to be quiet."
"It’s okay. Actually he’s very good looking. But there is some good news."
He waited for Emiko to jump at the bait.
"What, he has a younger 15 year-old brother?"
"No, Yamashita has a roommate. And before you ask, she’s incredibly good looking."
"Better looking than Yamashita?"
"Oh yeah. And she doesn’t have any boyfriends. And I walked her home. And we had a great conversation. She’s cool."
"Are you going to ask her out? What does she look like?"
Youji found himself playing twenty questions for the next half an hour. He didn’t mind, his family would reimburse him for the call. Besides, he knew that he missed Emiko as much as she missed him. The first week had been quite lonely. His rented apartment was quite spacious and grand, but he was finding that he missed having people about. Especially at night when it was all too apparent that he knew no one in this large city.
But now things were looking up. He had met Namuki Chiyako, and he was enamored.
*******
It was Sunday, and Jin had decided that for once he’d be early. He had gotten up at 9:00 AM, a rare occurrence in itself, and then proceeded to get ready keeping a careful watch on the time. When he was done, he was pleasantly surprised to see there was still a half an hour until the picnic. Should he show up early and wait around? Maybe. Wait, wasn’t it a potluck, should he bring something? He called up Rumi to check.
"Well of course you should bring something. Weren’t you paying attention at the meeting?"
"Hey, they said a lot of stuff."
Rumi sighed, "Men." Jin made a mental note to tell her later how much of Namuki’s mannerisms she was picking up. "Look, why don’t you stop by the store and pick up a dessert of something."
"Is that what you’re doing?"
"No," Rumi’s reply was smug, "Chiyako and I are making potato salad. It’s American." she added.
"Is it complicated?" Jin had eaten Rumi’s cooking on more than one occasion. She wasn’t a terrible cook, but when she got overwhelmed she tended to mistakes, like the time she used baking soda instead of corn starch as a thickening agent in stir fry.
"It isn’t hard at all," Rumi protested, catching Jin’s implications. "Besides, Chiyako is doing it with me. We already bought the ingredients anyway. And. . .one of my professors said that cooking is just like experiments, and I’m great with those."
Jin debated what to say next. It didn’t matter, Rumi either knew him well enough to guess his thoughts, or she had been thinking along the same lines.
"I only set the chemistry lab on fire once, and it wasn’t even a big fire. Sensei said that he had heard of much worse." Rumi finally said.
"Okay, okay," said Jin apologetically. I only asked if the recipe was complicated. Who made the rule that when females were irrational, it was the males duty to apologize. "I’m really looking forward to trying it."
"Really?" Gosh, but she sounded sweet.
"Absolutely." he assured her, "I’m sure it will turn out great. I’ve got to go shopping now, see you at the picnic."
"Okay, we’ll see you there. Don’t be late." she added.
Jin hung up and headed out to the nearest grocery store. Finding the dessert section proved to be no trouble, but the prices surprised him. Did he have to buy enough for everyone? That would cost quite a bit. Maybe he could just buy one. Just as long as he showed up with something, right?
"Man," said a familiar voice next to him, "I thought the idea of a potluck was to eat cheap."
Jin turned to see Matsuura standing next to him.
"Maybe we could get cup ramen for everyone?" Jin suggested.
"Sure," Matsuura smiled, "I’ll bring the water."
Jin smiled back. He hadn’t had much time to talk to the guy at the meeting. Rumi had said he was nice, if a bit arrogant. But Rumi had very high standards for the way men were supposed to behave. To Jin, Matsuura seemed just fine. After all, guys had to show off for women, it was part of their nature.
"I know," Matsuura said suddenly, "let’s go in together on the purchase?"
It was a smart solution, Jin agreed. They spent some time selecting the desserts. Nothing too fancy, as they also wanted to partake of them. Many of the sweets looked to be for female only consumption.
Jin could have sworn they were still on schedule when they left the store. Apparently though, the walk to the park took longer than he realized. When they arrived the picnic was already in full swing, with Rumi and Namuki nowhere to be seen. And they told him to be on time.
It didn’t bother Jin. He and Matsuura were having a very pleasant discussion which they continued as they wandered the picnic grounds looking for the girls. Jin recognized how much he missed real male conversation. Back at home his family was dominated by men; he, his four brothers and numerous uncles and male cousins had constantly filled the house. Here, the only other guy he knew, his roommate, was something of an otaku, and hardly ever around. Over the past week, he had found himself spending most of his time with Rumi and Namuki.
The two were a lot of fun, but there were only so many conversations about fashion, shopping, and the female perspective that one could stand. It was the worst when they were scoping out men. I suppose I should feel flattered that they’re that comfortable around me, but hearing critiques of men’s posteriors is something I could gladly do without. And pointing out his gender didn’t help, then they wanted to get a "man’s" perspective. Jin knew enough to predict that an honest answer would not be appreciated.
With Matsuura he could talk guy style. It wasn’t just the subject matter of the conversation, although sports and cars did figure prominently. Girls weren’t, what was the term, analytical. Like the other day when he had dismissed a professor as a pompous windbag. Namuki had shot back that he was still fairly young and he was probably inexperienced. That lead to speculation about his personal life and before Jin knew it the conversation had shifted to acceptable ways to pick up a teacher.
Jin shook his head at the thought, and related the tale to Matsuura, who gave him a knowing pat on the shoulder.
"I have a kid sister myself. Emiko’s just great, but with her it’s just boys, boys, boys."
"Do you think our fathers had to put up with this?" Jin mused.
"Oh yes, they just didn’t find out about it until after they were married. At least we know what we’re getting ourselves in for. Today’s women are, what’s the term, more liberated. Like Namuki-san."
"Oh yes, she is most certainly liberated."
Matsuura’s voice took on a more serious tone, "What kind of a person is she?"
Jin looked up. So much for analytical conversation, Matsuura’s question could have only one interpretation. And Jin, despite finding he enjoyed Namuki’s company, still carried a trace of reserve from their first meeting. He was able to hide these feelings from Rumi, but a guy could get hurt by Namuki.
"Namuki-san has some growing up to do."
Matsuura-san looked confused, which made Jin feel guilty. After all, he didn’t really know Namuki. He tried to soften his judgement of her. "I don’t think she’s a bad person, underneath it all. It just that, you know, starting university and being away from her parents and all. . ." he paused and said honestly, "I think once she adjusts to college life she’ll settle down."
There, that didn’t sound to bad. Matsuura nodded enthusiastically and Jin wondered how he had taken it. It just wasn’t his place to pass judgement on Namuki. And he barely knew Matsuura. Better just to keep his mouth shut and let them work things out themselves.
The girls still hadn’t shown up when the first food items were served. Initially it was amusing, after Rumi admonishments that he should be on time. Half an hour passed, and the situation seemed less and less humorous. Finally, after an hour’s wait, Jin’s annoyance, started turning to genuine worry. Matsuura was less concerned, but agreed with Jin when he suggested calling the apartment.
The phone booth in the park was out of order, forcing Jin to walk several blocks to find a working one. It didn’t do him any good. Despite calling Rumi several days in a row, her number had slipped from his memory, and trying to recall it only made him more frusterated. Because they had only just moved in, information didn’t have their listing either. He returned to the park intending to inform Matsuura that he was going to look for them, only to find Rumi, obvious as everything, in conversation with Matsuura.
"So anyway, after all that trouble with boiling the potatoes, it turned out that we hadn’t even bought enough. Oh, hi Jin. I was just telling Matsuura-san why we were so late. You just won’t believe." That was all the acknowledgement she gave him before returning to her narrative. "So, anyway, I told Chiyako we should substitute rice, but she thought it would make a decent soup the way it was. It might have, if we had come straight to the picnic, but we needed to get disposable bowls and they were harder to find than you’d think. And then," Rumi sputtered into a giggling fit, taking several moments to recompose herself, "I guess we shouldn’t have let it sit in the sun. When we got back, it smelled soooo bad. You don’t even want to imagine. The entire apartment needed airing out. And then we still needed to get a food item." Rumi was laughing again, tears coming to her eyes.
The rational part of Jin’s mind told him he should be feeling relief right now. That there had been no way for Rumi and Namuki to get a hold of him. The explanation for their tardiness was standard Rumi catastrophe. And any anger against Matsuura would be even more unsound. Each of these points were logically sound, but together they did nothing to settle his emotions. If anything, they just made him angrier.
Later that night, after a long walk and a shower, it all seemed terribly silly to Jin. But at the picnic he couldn’t help getting more and more perturbed. While he never actually blew up at anyone, he made several sharp comments which caused Rumi to become more withdrawn. Matsuura also seemed distracted, although that could have been because of Namuki.
Namuki, in contrast to the others, was in her element. She had surrounded herself with no less than four gentlemen, with whom she was holding court worthy of a queen. Rumi seemed quite willing to avoid her roommate and Jin suspected that the day’s cooking fiasco had engendered more conflict than Rumi’s tale implied.
After the picnic, Rumi and Jin walked home, Matsuura accompanying them part of the way. Things remained civil while he was around. But after he left, all the evening’s accumulated frustrations that had been quietly simmering within in Jin boiled over. Without provocation, he snapped at Rumi, and she snapped back.
"It wasn’t my idea to screw up the salad." she shot back, frustrated.
"I don’t care about the salad." He growled.
"Then what? What are you so ticked off at?"
It wasn’t any one thing, and even at that point he knew it. But the urge to justify, to be self-righteous was strong, and at that moment Jin was weak, "I just don’t like you acting like Namuki-san, okay?"
Rumi looked taken aback. "What’s wrong with the way Chiyako acts?"
"Flirting with four guys is legitimate behavior?"
Rumi rolled her eyes, "There’s nothing wrong with flirting. Especially when you’re not dating anyone." This explanation irked him all the more since he had been telling himself exactly that all evening.
"There is, if you’re just leading them on."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"It means that Namuki-san likes playing with men."
"You don’t know that, you barely know her."
"I know she was ignoring Matsuura-san pretty well. And that’s after she was so friendly with him on Friday!" His voice sounded harsh, even to his own ears.
Rumi glared at him. He could tell by the way she opened and closed her mouth that she could come up with no counter-argument. Finally she said in a steely voice
"I can walk the rest of the way home from here. Goodbye."
This last had been delivered in a high-pitched falsetto. She turned walking a deliberate pace around the corner. Jin stood his ground, listening to her footsteps as they sped up to a run.
He should have gone after her then. Apologized. Let her chastise him. But, he told himself, I just can’t. Or really, he just wouldn’t. It was his fault, some part of him knew that.
Lying in bed that evening, sleep evaded him. As he tossed and turned, the day’s event flashed by him unbidden. It had all begun so bright and promising. Where had it started to go wrong and what could he have done prevent it? Why had he gotten so mad? And why had he said all those things about Namuki?
Mulling that last question, he got the uncomfortable feeling that he knew. For all the awkwardness their first meeting had caused, secretly he had been flattered when she had asked him out for coffee. It hadn’t bothered him that she had later latched onto Matsuura at the meeting, but then she had been such an obvious flirt at the picnic. It hurt his pride to acknowledge that she couldn’t have meant anything by her earlier comments. Had some other guy looked at her, she would have done the exact same thing. Heck, if he’d tried to take her up on the offer she probably would have stood him up.
He should have known better, but it had been a blow all the same. In turn he had taken his anger out on Rumi. Jin spent a moment longer feeling sorry for himself, then sat up and shaking his head. Nothing could be done to change the past. He’d just have to make up for his mistakes. What to do?
Well, a simple apology to Rumi wouldn’t be enough. He’d have to think of something much nicer. Flowers? That would be a good start, and a date, a nice one. He’d have to find the right restaurant. Slowly he relaxed and lay back down. He still felt like a louse, but with such productive thoughts of planned reconciliation he was finally able to drift off to sleep.
The bell rang, class was over. Standing quickly, Rumi tramped for the exit. Well that was a waste. Not only had she been late, but she hadn’t even been able to pay attention to was being said. It was all Jin’s fault, every last bit. The thought made her feel self righteous, but did nothing to improve her mood.
Mentally, Rumi growled. If Jin hadn’t been such a jerk the previous night, she wouldn’t have tried to stay up, waiting for Chiyako to come home. She could have gone to bed at a reasonable time instead of falling asleep at her table around three am. If she had gotten more rest, than she wouldn’t have overslept. Even skipping breakfast, she had still arrived late for class. The withering look the professor gave her as she slipped into her seat had embarrassed her She had gotten mad at Jin all over again and wasn’t able to pay attention in class.
So now, along with being angry, she was sleepy, hungry, and frustrated. She repeated her mantra for the day. It is all Jin’s fault.
Leaving the building, Rumi noted that the day was on it’s way to being truly beautiful. It only made her temper worse. Now Jin was spoiling yet another thing. Men were so stupid! She didn’t blame Chiyako a bit for not wanting a boyfriend. They were nothing but trouble.
Behind her she heard a male voice call her name. She spun about, sure that it was going to be Jin, and just caught herself from blowing up at Matsuura. Still the look she gave him must have quite something, he literally jumped back.
"What?" Rumi tried to keep the nastiness she felt out of her voice, but it still sounded sharp to her ears.
"I, uhh. . ." Matsuura broke off and he just stared at her.
Add being snappish at Matsuura to the troubles-caused-by-Jin list. She took a deep breath and said as apologetically as possible, "I’m terribly sorry, Matsuura-san. I just didn’t get breakfast this morning. I get this way when I’m hungry." Boy that was a stupid sounding lie, but Matsuura relaxed somewhat so it looked like he believed her.
"Oh, me neither." he agreed, nodding his head vigorously. A look of thoughtfulness passed his face. "There’s a very good place around the corner. The food’s quite good, and the prices are reasonable. Would you like to join me there?"
Rumi was taken aback. This was awfully forward of him.
Matsuura took in her new look and went slightly red. "Actually," he said softly, "I wanted your advice on something." Suddenly, he reminded Rumi of her younger cousins, so cute and earnest. For the first time that day, Rumi felt her mood lightened, abet slightly.
"Oh, all right then." Being angry at Jin was causing her to take everything the wrong way. Well, she just wouldn’t think about him. She’d push all thoughts of that uncouth lout who thought he knew far more than he did, giving his opinions about others when they weren’t asked for and on top of that were completely wrong and —
Her pace had increased and Matsuura was jogging to keep up. She took a breath. Matsuura wanted advice. She wouldn’t think about that jer-, about Jin, she would concentrate only on what Matsuura wanted to ask her about. Relaxing, she slowed down and gave her companion what she thought was a reassuring smile.
Matsura seemed even more nervous now. They said nothing as they entered the restaurant. They found a table and ordered, all the while not talking or making eye contact. It’s almost like a first date. Finally Matsuura broke the silence,
"Is Namuki-san. . . I mean, is she. . .I. . ." he wasn’t able to get anything else out and lapsed into silence.
Rumi glanced about uncomfortably and then hazarded a guess. "You want to know if she’s interested in you. Correct?"
Matsuura looked greatly relieve. "Yes," he said, "at the meeting she seemed very open, but then at the picnic, well. Koishikawa-san was saying-"
"Jin doesn’t know what he’s talking about!" said Rumi decisively. The nerve, now Jin was telling others his views of Chiyako. "He doesn’t even know her; I’m the one that lives with her."
"Oh. Well then, what is she like?"
Rumi started to speak, but then paused. Of course Chiyako wasn’t the person Jin thought she was, but Rumi owed it to Matsuura to give an honest answer. She needed to be open about Chiyako’s weaknesses as well as her strengths.
"Chiyako is. . ."Rumi looked at Matsura-sans eager face. He looked so willing, so open. He really would make a good match for Chiyako. "She’s really sweet. She’s just impulsive and sometimes does things without thinking. But underneath she really means well. She’s just starting college and is away from her family." That sounded accurate, but Matsuura’s face showed disappointment. Her explanation didn’t justify Chiyako’s behavior at the picnic. Why did men always get stuck on silly points like that? "You know, she’s never really dated just one person before."
"Oh" Matsura seemed surprised.
"No, I don’t think she’s ever been in love." And if you’ve never been in love, you can’t know what it’s like. Of course Chiyako would carry on with any number of men, she just thought of them all as friends. When she finally fell in love, the way Rumi had fallen in love with Jin, then she wouldn’t go to such lengths to attract men.
Jin. Even when he was a jerk, Rumi still knew that she loved him. Growing up together, they had been best friends, completely inseparable And then he had spent a summer break visiting relatives. Without Jin around, she felt empty and only half alive. When he returned he told her he had felt the same. It was then that they pledged their love and started dating. She felt a smile creep onto her features. Drat, she wanted to stay mad at him some more.
Rumi became aware that her companion was speaking, and forced herself to return to the present conversation.
". . . Namuki-san seems so worldly, I would have thought that she . . ." Matsuura looked even more seriously, "Do you think she might want to date me?"
Rumi gave this some thought. There was no worse thing a person could do than give bad advise. Part of her wanted to assure Matsuura that her roommate would love to date him. But it was a cruel thing to get his hopes up now only to have them dashed later. Right, honesty was the best policy.
"I can’t answer that. The only way to know is to ask."
The other nodded. It wasn’t the answer he was hoping to get. Rumi found herself wanting desperately to cheer him up.
"Hey, I know. I’ll ask her for you. I’ll see if she’s interested."
It was as if a weight had been lifted, Matsuura even seemed to get taller. "Would you? I’d really appreciate it."
"Sure, no problem." It really shouldn’t be, Rumi rationalized to herself. It might even be the best way. Rumi knew if she wasn’t dating and a guy asked her out, she’d probably say yes just so she wouldn’t hurt his feelings. This way, Matsuura would know for sure.
"Listen," said Matsuura, getting up, "I have another class now. Can I pay for your breakfast?"
"Oh, I couldn’t-"
"No, I insist. You’re doing me a great service." He went the lightest shade of pink and Rumi wondered if he was blushing or if it was only the light, "Look, if Namuki-san isn’t interested, that’s okay. I’m very glad to have met both you and Koishikawa-san, we should get together and do stuff regardless. Okay?"
"Sure, absolutely." She smiled as Matsuura left. What a nice fellow. It would be just perfect if Chiyako was interested. She finished her breakfast imaging all sorts of futures. They weren’t serious, just frivolous little stories to amuse herself. Still, wouldn’t it be something to have a double wedding?
When Rumi got home she was pleased to see that Chiyako was up, although still in her bed clothes.
"I’ve decided to skip all my classes today." she announced happily. "You want to go shopping?"
"I still have physics," Rumi said apologetically.
"What, didn’t you take that in high school? Come on, college is all about avoiding work."
Only for non-science majors, thought Rumi, but she wanted to spend some time with her roommate and so she said "Okay, besides I couldn’t concentrate in class anyway."
"Why's that?"
Rumi sighed. "Jin and I had a fight last night."
"A fight?" Chiyako sat up, alert. "You didn’t break up or anything."
"Oh no!" Rumi assured Chiyako and noticed the other’s shoulders relax a bit, "It wasn’t a big fight or anything. But I was mad. Shopping is just what I need."
"Great. Listen, I think we should get you some new clothes. I was looking through your closet and couldn’t find a thing to borrow.
"Not at all?" Rumi realized that her wardrobe wasn’t quite as stylish as Chiyako’s but she didn’t think it was quite that bad.
"Nope." Chiyako was getting dressed, which mostly involved holding outfits up, snorting at them, and throwing them down on the bed. "You’re stuff isn’t bad, but it’s so quiet. I think with just a few flashier pieces you could really stand out. In a positive way I mean. I know you already have a boyfriend, but it’s still fun to have guys heads turn when you walk by."
Chiyako was both insulting and complimenting her. It left Rumi feeling mostly flattered, but still a bit offended. "Well, that sounds okay. I guess."
Her roommate had finally deemed a shirt appropriate, and pulled it over her head. She continued on in an enthusiastic manner. "And if you want, I was thinking that we should get you a makeover, and maybe a haircut and a perm. Oh, yah, and we should get you contacts, those glasses hide your eyes too much."
Rumi looked in the mirror, trying to imagine herself. "How about if we start with the clothes, and I’ll think about the rest."
"You don’t trust me, do you?" Rumi blushed embarrassed, and Chiyako continued dramatically, "I’ll have you know, that I have read hundreds of magazine articles on makeovers. I went though a period in my high school days when I made myself over every week. Excuse me, I need the mirror for my make up."
Moving out of the way, Rumi asked doubtfully, "You didn’t really, did you?"
Chiyako was puckering her lips to apply lipstick and simply nodded. Rumi watched carefully. She had been forbidden to wear makeup until after high school graduation. Over the spring break she had experimented, but the results hadn’t pleased her. Maybe she would let Chiyako give her a make over, eventually.
"There was a time when I couldn’t remember what my real hair color was. I had to wait a month so I could see the roots." Her face finished to her satisfaction, Chiyako gave one last look in the mirror and said, "Well, shall we shop till we drop?"
It was precisely what they did. Chiyako turned out to be an excellent bargain shopper and in the end, Rumi was surprised by how little they paid. The downside was that they were completely worn out from the hunt. They relaxed in a coffee shop.
It had been a great day, and Rumi felt comfortable enough to ask the question that had been on the tip of her tongue since she got home.
"So Chiyako." Chiyako looked up, "I was wondering what you thought of Matsuura-san?"
"Matsuura-san?" she got a distant look on her face and Rumi started to get nervous. Maybe Matsuura had left no impression on her at all. "Oh, Youji-kun! The cute mathematical tennis player! What about him?"
Taking a deep breath, Rumi blurted out, "Well, I think he likes you, and I was wonder if you’d ever consider going out with him."
"Sure."
Rumi was taken aback. She had been certain she’d have to do some convincing to get the other to consider the possibility.
"I was planning on asking him out myself. I’ve always liked dating smart guys. Besides, Matsuura-san’s family is pretty well off, you never go wrong by getting the rich ones to take you out."
Rumi gave a tight smile. The reasons Chiyako was giving seemed awfully superficial. And if anything, gave support to what Jin had been asserting the previous night. But he had to be wrong. Chiyako wasn’t really that shallow, she just sounded like it.
Like the whole business with the clothes this morning. Rumi had worried that Chiyako would pressure her into buying all sorts of things. But in the end, her roommate had been quite consciencious of both Rumi’s taste and expense allowance. They had only purchased items that Rumi really liked and felt comfortable with. In the case of a more expensive sweater, Chiyako had bought it herself, assuring Rumi that she could wear it whenever she wanted.
It was just Chiyako’s way of speaking that made her seem petty, nothing more. Her actual character was truly good. Of course, Jin would have only seen the superficial stuff, that’s why he’d jumped to his inaccurate conclusions. When he got to know Chiyako better, he’d see just how off base he was.
"You know, I think I’ll ask Youji-kun out this Friday. And you need to make up with your boyfriend. We can go out, the four of us. Wouldn’t want all these outfits to go to waste."
*******
Jin took a quick look about the table. Rumi sat to his right, across from him sat Chiyako, and on her left, facing Rumi, sat Matsura. For about the tenth time that evening the thought to himself, I shouldn’t be having this much fun.
He had been apprehensive about this evening. No, that was an understatement. He had been dreading this evening for the entire week. If it had been up to him alone, he would never have agreed to go on a double date with this lot.
Under normal circumstances, he would have just told Rumi no. Unfortunately, he was not allowed to act like a jerk when he was apologizing for being one. Rumi had not been nearly so mad at him as he expected. Jin would have liked to think that it was due to the lovely roses he brought, but he soon found that Rumi had been hatching a plan, and he was an integral part of it.
"I think a date this Friday would be super. Let’s double date with Chiyako, she knows just the place. How does Italian cuisine sound?"
"I was thinking just the two of us — "
"Oh no, this is an apology date, so I get to set the rules. Besides, I think you’d be interested to know who Chiyako’s date will be."
"You’re obviously going to tell me." Jin was interested despite himself.
"Hmmpf, I should just make you wait until you pick us up. But I can’t keep a secret like that from you. It’s Matsuura-san." Rumi’s face lit up like she’d just received a present.
Jin wasn’t terribly impressed, "Does Namuki-san know about this?" He asked drolly.
Rumi’s answer was just as deadpan, "I should think so, after all, she was the one who asked him out." Rumi went back to excited sunshine mode, "See, you were wrong about Chiyako. Which is another reason to go on a double date. You owe Chiyako an apology, or you would if she knew what you said about her. Don’t worry she doesn’t. So Friday at 7:00, the reservations are for 7:30, and it’s close, so we should have plenty of time to get there. Oh and I love the flowers, yellow is my favorite color."
Jin said nothing, aloud that is. Mentally he said: Just because your roommate has conceded to date Matsuura does not mean she has any intention of starting a serious relationship. In fact, it would probably hurt the guy a lot more to get officially dumped, or worse, linger on thinking he has a chance, than if he never dated her in the first place.
But if Rumi were to take his opinions seriously, he’d have to tell her of his first meeting with Namuki. Which was something that he had promised not reveal, and he just couldn’t bring himself to break that promise. So he remained silent, feeling guilty for what he was sure would transpire.
But it hadn’t. From the very beginning the date had gone well. And it was mostly due to Namuki.
"Okay, first we break the ice." she announced as she and Rumi came down to meet them. "I’m calling you Youji-kun and I’m calling you Jin-kun, otherwise this will feel too much like a business dinner. Got it? Now, compliment your dates, we worked quite a while to get ourselves looking this good."
"You," Matsuura-san replied on cue, "You both, look great."
"Absolutely." agreed Jin. And they really did. Chiyako could have stepped off the cover of a magazine and Rumi. . . Rumi always looked pretty, but tonight she looked different. More grown-up. Her hair was undone, held back with a hair band. And she was wearing a skirt blazer combination that he hadn’t seen before.
The evening proceeded smoothly after that. The restaurant was quite charming and the food was excellent, although Jin wasn’t sure if Tempura pizza was classic Italian.
Afterwards Rumi proposed a walk, to get rid of all the extra calories, and so they had headed off for the park, the large one where the picnic had been held. At this point, the two couples drifted apart. Rumi and he, lagging just far enough behind to be out of earshot.
"Well, did you think the evening would go this well?" Asked Rumi in a semi-whisper.
Jin smiled and shook his head, "Not in a million years."
"I told you." she said smugly, "I didn’t think it would go this well either, actually. But I think those two are really hitting it off, don’t you?."
"Could be."
"Did Matsuura-kun say anything when you went to the washroom?"
"Rumi," Jin pursed his lips, "Men do not used the bathroom at a pretense for conversations. We didn’t discuss anything."
"What a waste. Chiyako said she’s having an absolutely great time. She says none of the college boys she dated before were as witty and intelligent as Matsuura-kun."
"When was she dating college guys before?"
"When she was in high school. Really Jin, not everyone’s boring, like us."
"I like boring."
"Me too." said Rumi, laughing.
Eventually the two groups rejoined. It’s a perfect balance of personalities, us four, Jin thought. Chiyako’s the worldly one, Matsuura’s the one with the quick wit, Rumi’s the mischievous one, and I’m the all around nice guy. Well maybe not.
Overall it was one of the most pleasant evenings of his life. He was sorry to see it end.
*******
"No, not that rose, the one next to it, please."
"Oh," said the flower lady, "You want the big one."
"Yes." replied Youji sheepishly.
"Well," the woman smiled kindly at him, "It’s the prettiest. I’m sure the recipient will be very pleased."
"I hope so."
Youji paid for the wrapped flower and started for Chiyako’s place. He hoped this wasn’t too forward. Girls liked to get flowers, and well, he wanted Chiyako to know he was serious about her.
Last night had been incredible. Everything had just clicked. There were no awkward pauses, no one had been left out. They were all well matched. And more than that, he felt he had hit it off with Chiyako.
She was, as he had told his sister a week ago, soo cool. So stylish and poised. Whereas Yamashita-kun would break into giggles, Chiyako-kun could convey her ammusement in a grin.
He had to keep himself from sprinting. As he rounded the corner he could see another fellow with flowers. Must be that kind of day, he decided. The guy looked familiar. Where had he seen him before? While he was pondering this, Chiyako came out of the building. What luck, he had just caught her. Youji was opening his mouth to call to her, when the other guy presented his flowers to Chiyako. She took them, smiling and the guy pointed to the car standing by the curb.
Silently, Youji watched as he opened the door for her and then got in his side. As the car pulled away, he noticed the bumper sticker for the Tennis circle from the previous year.
He knew where he’d seen the fellow. At the picnic, and at the meeting earlier. It was the Circle president, Hirokazu Nibashi. He looked to the wrapped flower in his had. Well, I’ve got to be the world's biggest idiot.
There was a bus stop bench nearby, and he sat down. But she had said she was having the best night. She said she really liked being with me. We made plans to get together by ourselves this week.
Maybe she had made the other date previously and was committed. Who was he kidding. More likely she just tells every guy those lines, said a nasty voice inside him. He searched his vocabulary for a nasty word, none of the Japanese ones seem good enough, so he resorted to his English. What was the word? "Duck." he said under his breath, it sounded slightly wrong, but it made him feel better, "Duck. Duck. Duck."
"Youji-kun?" a voice behind him said.
He jumped up, spinning about to find Yamashita-kun looking carefully at him.
She smiled. "What’s that? Flowers for Chiyako? You better hurry, I think she was going to run errands today."
"I saw her leave already," Youji informed her. Were you in on it too, were you laughing at me as I left?
Rumi looked confused, "But if you saw her leave, why didn’t you give her the. .."
Her face scrunched up, concerned. "Would you like to wait for her?"
"That won’t be necessary."
Rumi’s voice became soft, "What’s going on, Matsuura-kun?"
He didn’t want to say anything. Part of him was screaming for him to just turn around and go home. But another part of him wanted desperately to tell someone. And Yamashita-san seemed genuinely concerned. She obviously didn’t know where Chiyako had gone. He took a breath and said:
"I saw her get into a car with the president of the tennis circle. I think. . . I’m sure, they were going on a date."
A look of horror passed across Rumi’s face. She looked up at the apartment building, and back again at Youji. Behind her glasses, her eyes looked terribly sympathetic. "Oh, Matsuura-san. I’m sorry," she repeated it in a whisper, "I’m sorry."
Youji tried to laugh, to keep his voice upbeat, "Does she do this a lot?"
Rumi could only look at the ground. "Matsuura-kun," she said, her voice more serious than he had heard before, "I don’t know why she did this. But I will find out."
"You don’t need to. . ."
Yamashita-kun shook her head, refusing his offer. "No, I’ll find out. And I’ll give her your flower."
*******
It was a very disgruntled Chiyako who returned to her apartment a few hours later. Well that was a wasted afternoon, at least it was a nice meal.
When that Hirokazu had invited her out on Wednesday she had been wonderfully pleased. He was a fourth year student, and had already been accepted at a large company. Furthermore, he was also an advertising major, and Chiyako was hoping he could give her some contacts.
The date had started quite well. The flowers she still held in her hands were pretty, even if they were only tulips. He had been charming, and they had found they had very similar personalities. He had even commented that she reminded him of himself, his first year. She had thought that meant he wanted a relationship, which was why his next comment threw her for a loop.
"So, tell me about your roommate, Yamashita Rumi?"
"What? Why do want to know about her?"
"Well," he actually had the nerve to blush at this point, "She seems really sweet. Is she dating anyone seriously?"
Chiyako’s mouth fell open and in a voice not nearly as sophisticated as she wished she said, "Excuse me, but aren’t we out on a date?"
He laughed uncomfortably, "Namuki-san, I’m sorry. I. . .well the truth is, if I were a year younger I’d be more than pleased to date you. Unfortunately, I’m graduating, and my family is expecting me to marry. I don’t think your ready to settle down yet, are you?"
"No, of course not."
"That’s what I thought. But your roommate, Yamashita-san, she’s not from a big city and I was thinking that she might be more agreeable to such a suggestion. Besides, my mother is quite picky when it comes to future in-laws. She actually did some background checking, and Yamashita-san’s family turned out highly acceptable. You understand of course. No hurt feelings?"
"None what so ever." she said evenly, although inside she was raging. "As for my roommate, I’m sure you won’t have any troubles. She has a boyfriend, but they’re not too attached. I’m sure with just a bit of persuasion will take care of it."
She excused herself as soon as it was possible to leave. He offered to drive her home, but she refused. She needed the walk to calm her nerves.
What a loser. Oh well, there were plenty of fish in the sea. Youji-kun for one, or this one guy who lived down the hall. One thing was for certain, she thought as she climbed the stairs to her room, she wouldn’t be staying home moping after that guy.
And she already had some plans for Hirokazu-san. Rumi would help her too, this could be fun.
She opened the door to see Rumi looking up at her. "Want some flowers?" Chiyako asked dryly.
Rumi did not smile. "You can put them in the vase, along with your rose."
*******
"Uh, Koishikawa-san." said his roommate in a shadow of a voice, "There's a girl downstairs asking for you. I think she’s, like, upset or something. Make all the noise you want, I’m going to be unconscious for the next eight hours." He did a controlled fall onto the futon and appeared to be instantly unconscious. Jin counted. I last saw him Thursday, did he get any sleep since then?
Quietly he left the room to see who was his visitor. It was Rumi. She looked a mess. Her nose was running, her eyes were red.
Jin ran to her and she threw herself into his arms and commenced sobbing.
"There, there." he said softly. "It’s okay, it’s okay."
After a bit, Rumi calmed done. "Sorry," she mumbled into his shirt.
"It’s okay," Jin assured her again.
"Chiyako and I, we had a fight." she sniffled, "Can we go to your room, to talk?"
"Umm, actually my roommate chose today to come home. But there’s a garden out back which is pretty private. Let’s go there, okay?"
She nodded, and they proceeded to the back yard and found a bench. Rumi blew her nose in Jin’s proffered hankieand composed herself before beginning her story. She started with her meeting with Matsuura that morning and how she had waited for Chiyako to return to confront her about her second date.
"She wasn’t the least bit apologetic. And when I said she shouldn’t be leading him on, that she should choose one guy and stick with him, she got nasty. She said I was just a simple country girl and I should stick to simple relationships. And it just got worse from there. Oh, Jin, you were right. She isn’t a nice person. She isn’t at all what I thought." Rumi broke down completely and Jin held her tightly.
He tried to appear calm, but inside he was fuming. If only he had said something earlier about Namuki-san’s character, neither Rumi nor Matsuura would have been hurt. Why had he let her talk him into silence?
Rumi sniffled and said, "I can’t go back. I can’t stay there, Jin." horror dawned on her face, "Where am I going to stay tonight? My wallet’s back in my room, I need money to rent a hotel room, or-"
"Don’t worry about that," Jin assured her.
"But I can’t stay with you, especially if your roommate is in!"
"There’s a girl across the hall from us. I’ll ask her. I’m sure it will be just fine."
"But, I don’t have any things, I-"
"I’ll go to your apartment. I’ll get whatever you need. Don’t worry about a thing."
This calmed Rumi down. They sat for while, Rumi telling him more and more of the details, while Jin listened and privately fumed. It had been quite the fight with name calling and accusations. After about an hour, Jin arranged for Rumi’s room and headed out to her apartment to collect her necessary personal items. He hadn’t mentioned it to Rumi, but he had some things of his own to say to Namuki.
He removed his shoes and went straight to her room. She didn’t answer his first knockings. "Namuki-san," he said in a loud voice while knocking again, "It’s Koishikawa, I’ve come to get some of Rumi’s things."
This time the door was answered. Namuki didn’t look at him, she just returned to her desk and sat down at her chair. Like Rumi earlier, she was a mess. But where Rumi had been a bundle of nerves, ready to burst, Namuki looked like she had burst and now had nothing left to fray.
He started gathering Rumi’s things in a bag. He had planned a few different speeches on the way over, but seeing Namuki like this, he had lost the energy to say anything. In the end, it was she who broke the silence.
"Is she moving out?" she asked flatly.
"Yes, yes she is."
There was more silence, and then, "I really messed things up royally." It was a statement, not a question.
"Yes, yes you did." He agreed. He had found all the things Rumi needed. He could leave now. Instead he went to the other chair and sat down, watching Namuki. This wasn’t what he expected. He was sure that she would be self-righteous, indignant, and convinced that she had done no wrong. He hadn’t expected this at all.
"Why did you do it?" He asked, curious more than anything, at what she would say.
She shrugged and sighed, "Which part? I always act and say stuff without thinking. I always screw up that way. I don’t know why. I shouldn’t have said those things to Rumi." Chiyako’s eyes met his, "I really like her, you know. I didn’t mean any of those things I said, not really. I know she doesn’t want to see me. It’s okay, but, could you tell her I’m sorry?"
"Are you going to tell Matsuura-san your sorry?" Jin’s voice held more of an edge than he wanted it to, but Matsuura had been injured by all of this also.
Namuki’s eyes narrowed slightly, and in a more controlled voice she said, "I’ll apologize to Youji for not being who he thought I was. He’s a great guy, and I like him. But, unlike you and Rumi, I don’t want a significant other." Her voice became louder, more decisive, "I don’t want to be tied down. I don’t want to be on an emotional rollercoster and spend my time trying to second guess what someone else wants. I don’t want be like my-"
She stopped. Her eyes were wide, staring at him. He looked back at her, saying nothing. After a time, Namuki slumped slightly, not taking her eyes off him, she began speaking, again in her flat voice,
"When my mother has too much to drink, she tells me about him. About the man she fell in love with. She gets all happy at first, telling me about how the sky was bluer, and the birds sang sweeter, and how everything was just wonderful because they were in love. All the stuff they sing about. And they were going to get married and every thing. But then she got pregnant, with me. And he didn’t stick around. She waited for him for almost two years, but he never came back. So much for true love, huh?"
Jin saw her jaw clench, saw her make a fist. It was a different Namuki than he had seen before. And yet, there were aspects of her personality, that he had seen glimpses of, but that he hadn’t picked up on earlier.
"You know," Namuki’s voice was almost a whisper, "I’ve never told anyone this. You don’t mind, do you?"
"No," replied Jin quietly. "You don’t have to tell me."
"I think I want to."
"Alright then."
Namuki took a few breaths and continued. "She moved away, from her family and his, my father’s family. She went to Hiroshima and said she was a widow. And one day, she met another man. He said he loved her, and wanted to marry her. And she told him she wasn’t really a widow, and he told her he didn’t care. He offered to marry her, to adopt me, to bribe the Family Registry to list himself as my father so no one would ever know. She told him that she didn’t love him. He said he still wanted to marry her, and eventually she’d grow to love him.
"So they got married. And that’s why my last name is Namuki. Namuki-san’s nice to my mother and me. He gets us whatever we want. I call him father because Mother tells me to. And I tell him I love him because Mother tells me to. And she tells him she loves him, and that she’s happy.
"Except, when he’s away on business trip, she drinks, and then she tells me the truth. Never fall in love. Never give yourself to a man until he gives you his promise in writing. When you get married, be smart. Think with your mind and your stomach. Don’t follow your heart.
"She’s lying when she says she loves Namuki-san, but she’s not lying when she says she’s happy. She can be happy because she doesn’t love him, because he can’t hurt her."
Shaking now, her teeth chattering, Chiyako stood. Defiantly she spoke,
"I’m going to be smart. I’m not going to get hurt like that. I’ll date whoever I want, and if they fall in love with me, then it’s not my fault. I’m never going to fall in love. You can’t make me fall in love." Chiyako started gasping, the tears ran down her face.
In a single movement, Jin was out of his chair, holding her. At first she tried to resist, tried to struggle. Jin almost let go, confused why he had acted.. But then she stopped wriggling and threw her arms around him. She was sobbing now, like Rumi had done earlier.
But this was deeper, more primal. Jin held Her for a long time before she became quiet. Still she didn’t let go. One of Jin’s legs was falling asleep, but he said nothing. What kind of mother tells her daughter not to fall in love? What kind of person can one become if they deny their emotions?
There were sharp needles driving into his leg right now. He’d have to move soon. Jin shifted slightly, and Chiyako looked up, releasing him.
"I’m, I’m, I’m so sorry, I-"
"Don’t be sorry, Namuki-san. Sit down." He gestured and she sat down. Jin stretched his legs for a few seconds and then pulled his chair over to her.
"I should be the one apologizing. I didn’t know."
Chiyako hiccuped, "And I was dropping so many clues." She hiccuped again, maybe it was a giggle. Then more softly she said, "Koishikawa-san, I really have never told anyone this before. I don’t know why I told you. Koishi-"
"Jin." he said.
She looked at him. "You can call me Jin. And don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone." He turned to face her, wanting her to read the earnestness in his eyes. He had looked into her eyes on the first day of class, and they had looked nothing like they did now. Back then they had been flashy and knowing. Now they were red-shot, and wide open.
As he looked at her, unable and unwilling to turn away, she moved slightly, raising her face closer to his. He could feel her breath on his face, hear her heart pounding. Or was that his own? She continued to advance, and now her lips were pressed to his. Their noses touched. Their eyes stared at each other without blinking. They were kissing.
Copyright Kim Smuga-Otto 1999
