Chapter 13
Her Strings of Disaster :: Gokusen 2 :: Yabuki Hayato
Chapter 13
Sweet Tooth Café
Upon entering the café, Reiko let out a sigh. Teku, who was busy arranging orders for other customers, noticed her and greeted her warmly. "Ah, Reiko! It's been a while!" Reiko looked at Teku, offering a meek nod before making her way to the farthest corner of the café.
Teku sensed the gloomy atmosphere surrounding the girl. He went to his bar and began preparing her usual order. After finishing it, he brought it over to her table. "Here's something to cheer you up," Teku said, offering her the special parfait.
"Are you here alone? Where's that guy you're always with?" Teku inquired, prompting Reiko to pout.
"He's just a friend," she replied quietly, taking a small spoon and tracing the ice cream that had started to melt near the glass.
Teku shrugged and looked at the bar next to her table. "Give me a shout if you need anything."
"Sure, thanks, Teku-san," she gratefully responded before letting out another sigh, finding it difficult to start eating the sweet treat.
Reiko continued to play with her parfait, and then she heard the door open and footsteps approaching her table. She recognized the person who had entered the café. "He was at our school earlier," she began, as the individual took a seat in front of her.
It was Mizuo, and he gazed at her with a blank expression as Teku brought him a cup of Jasmine Tea. "He's one of the representatives invited to Kurogin Academy," Reiko explained, leaning her arm on the table, resting her cheek on her arm while toying with her parfait. "Hey, Mizuo..."
Mizuo calmly regarded her as he sipped his tea, and he paused when he heard her call his name. It seemed she didn't know what to do anymore after encountering the man who had broken her heart and nearly tarnished her dignity. No, he hadn't defiled her purity, but it had been a close call, and Mizuo had intervened just in time.
Mizuo noticed her fingers trembling as she played with the spoon in her sundae. "Do you want me to take care of him?" he asked bluntly. Reiko's eyes met his, filled with a helpless expression. She didn't have the courage to order him to do such a thing; she wasn't that heartless. She was just lost, unsure of how to handle her feelings because of a certain guy.
She had found herself becoming more interested in another guy, but she was deeply afraid of the consequences. She feared that her past would repeat itself. She let out a bitter chuckle, shaking her head. "Takizawa... he's a nightmare from my past. Hayato... he’s, my present. I'm starting to like him more," she admitted lamely, eyeing Mizuo with a sigh of frustration. "Can you just kill my feelings instead?" she asked bluntly, pointing to her heart before sitting upright and continuing to eat her parfait.
"Takizawa might continue to pop up around you; be cautious," Mizuo cautioned. Reiko shrugged her shoulders. "Don't make hasty decisions based on your conflicting emotions."
Reiko paused from eating and looked at Mizuo with a meek expression. "I wish you were at the Academy," she said childishly. Mizuo sighed and shook his head at the girl's playful request.
"I'm still here," Mizuo replied bluntly. Reiko pouted briefly but then grinned mischievously. "Let's get married instead," she suggested playfully. Mizuo flicked his finger against her forehead, causing her to wince and rub her head in pain. "Geez, I was just kidding... I know you already have your Eu-chan," she added, snickering at the nickname she had come up with for Euna. Her eyes twinkled teasingly as she noticed Mizuo's slight frustration.
"What's this? Mizuo getting impatient already?" she teased.
"Tch, don't joke around, Reiko. Your problem is still unresolved," Mizuo stated with a proud smirk, to which Reiko pouted in response. Yes, her problem was far from being resolved.
Reiko wandered near the Game Center, walking aimlessly while observing the busy evening crowd. She had deliberately not allowed Mizuo to follow her, aware that he should be spending time with his girlfriend. She sighed, her thoughts drifting to the secretive relationship between Mizuo and Euna. Although they tried to keep it discreet, everyone knew they were together.
She bit her bottom lip, a realization dawning upon her.
As she moved forward, she suddenly halted, noticing a particular guy standing a few meters away. She paused in her tracks, recognizing that the guy was searching for her and had found her in the usual place she frequented with her friends.
However, this time, she wasn't with her friends, and she resolved not to run away from the situation or her problems any longer. The man with expressive brown eyes came to a stop in front of her, offering the same laidback, friendly smile she had been accustomed to.
"Reiko..." She regarded him with a blank expression as the man calmly looked down at her. "Can we talk for a minute?"
She sighed, walking past him, and the man began following her. "Didn't I tell you it's Masaki to you?!" she growled, taking long strides as he continued following her. "Takizawa?"
The man let out a deep sigh and nodded to himself. "Okay," he murmured, moving in front of Reiko and causing her to stop. "Masaki-san." Reiko halted and looked up at him, her arms crossed in front of her chest. She impatiently nodded in acknowledgment.
"I'm giving you a minute to explain. Now," she demanded.
With that, the man smiled and nodded, preparing to speak. However, a loud voice interrupted them as Reiko's attention was drawn to the Game Center. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she dashed toward the commotion, leaving the man standing there, looking at her with a bemused expression. "That hurts!"
Reiko stopped a meter away from the loud voice and saw Tsuchiya, accompanied by the girl from Inspection Day and Tsuchiya's former junior high teacher. Takizawa, who had regained his senses after being left outside, followed Reiko into the Game Center and witnessed the scene.
"If you're going to blame someone, blame me," Tsuchiya asserted firmly as he pushed Ishikawa away from the girl. "I asked her to keep me company."
Reiko furrowed her eyebrows in confusion at Tsuchiya's statement. "You asked her? Him?" she said, bewildered. Takizawa exchanged glances with Tsuchiya, then turned to Reiko and sighed. He then grabbed Reiko's arm and pulled her away from the Game Center.
"What the-" Reiko exclaimed as she was forcibly removed from the Game Center.
Takizawa led her to a quieter spot, and Reiko reluctantly followed because he was still holding her arm. After a minute, Takizawa released her arm and stood in front of her. Reiko glanced around the area and then at Takizawa, giving him a threatening glare. "What the hell?! Who are you to drag me like a ragdoll away from the Game Center?!" she burst out.
Takizawa pinched the bridge of his nose as he tried to maintain his patience with the agitated girl. "Rei—Masaki-san, will you please hear me out? I thought you were giving me a chance to explain something important," Takizawa blurted.
Reiko scoffed, crossing her arms in front of her chest as she nodded impatiently. "Three years ago, when you and your friends were my students, when the two of us were involved..." Takizawa began, and he could see the troubled emotions in Reiko's eyes. "I'm truly sorry for what happened between us, for nearly doing something that we would both regret, for almost compromising your dignity." Reiko's eyes shifted away from his apologetic brown eyes as he spoke. "These past three years have made me realize how foolish I was. I regret what I did because it caused you to become distant from someone."
"I know you may never forgive or forget that memory, as it replays in your mind whenever you think of or see me. But...I'm here in front of you," he continued, dropping to his knees in front of her. This surprised Reiko, and she looked at him with wide eyes. "I'm here in front of you, expressing my deepest regret and apology."
Reiko remained dumbfounded by Takizawa's actions, frowning. Takizawa still knelt and bowed his head. "Oi, don't make lame excuses for your actions," she said, glancing around the park. "Stand up and act like a man."
"Being a man means knowing how to apologize for one's past mistakes," Takizawa replied, "I'm not doing this solely as a man, but as a human who deeply hurt someone so precious in my life." Reiko sighed and suddenly crouched in front of him.
"Face me," she said bluntly. Takizawa slowly raised his head to meet Reiko's gaze as she hovered in front of him. After a moment, Reiko's actions caught him off guard as he found himself on the ground, nursing a bruised cheek. He looked at Reiko, who stood up and shook her right hand after punching him. "You won't be forgiven until that bruise fades," she said. With that, she turned and walked away, leaving the man behind, confused and in pain.
Reiko let out a sigh, rubbing her shoulders to warm herself up as she made her way home. She was just about to turn right at the intersection when her phone suddenly started ringing. Retrieving it from her skirt pocket, she frowned upon seeing the caller's number – it was Hayato.
Biting her bottom lip, she reluctantly answered her phone, "Yes?"
"Where are you?" Hayato's voice came through the line.
She frowned as she turned right at the intersection. "Why do you want to know?"
Hayato let out a sigh from the other end, sounding somewhat frustrated or impatient. "Just tell me."
"I'm heading straight home," she replied, shrugging her shoulders as she was now just three houses away from her own. "Why? Where were you, anyway?" She decided to return the question.
"It's a good thing I called you this time," Hayato responded, causing Reiko to furrow her brow. She looked at her phone, but then a soft thud of footsteps caught her attention, and she turned her gaze forward to see Hayato leaving her house. She came to a halt, and Hayato also stopped, facing her. "Don't make me so damn worried about you, Reiko," he added.
Reiko heard his words, and her heart began to race. Hearing him call her by her name for the first time made her realize the significance of the moment. She ended the phone call and discreetly placed her phone back in her skirt pocket. Hayato did the same, tucking his phone into his pants pocket, before approaching her with a smile on his face.
"Why are you here?" Reiko asked softly when Hayato stood in front of her.
"To make sure there's no disaster waiting for you," he replied simply. Reiko sighed and looked down, nodding in response.
"Where have you been anyway?" Hayato inquired; his gaze fixed on her intently.
She sighed again and felt Hayato's piercing gaze. She looked away, finding the ground suddenly interesting. "None of your business..." she said, her tone colder than she intended it to be. It surprised her to hear herself speaking so coldly to him. Hayato was equally taken aback by her sudden change in demeanor.
Hayato sighed; his hands clenched in his pockets. "It is my business to know."
She looked at him irritably and scoffed, "Business to know? To stop me from what? To prevent all the strange disasters that seem to come my way? Disasters always find me, Hayato, because I'm nothing but a disaster myself!" She blurted out, Hayato looking down at her with an impassive expression. "What gives you the right to interfere in my affairs? I was just your friend. Friends can still have secrets from each other!"
"Tell me..." she continued, looking away from his gaze with a pained expression, biting her lower lip as she sighed. "Tell me one reason why you wait for me, why you worry so much about me, why you kissed me as if you own me?"
An awkward silence filled the air as Reiko awaited Hayato's response, desperate for any answer to her questions. She needed to understand her place in his life.
"Give me a favor, Hayato," Reiko whispered, her voice soft and filled with tears that threatened to spill. She didn't want Hayato to see her like this. "Ignore me... don't bother me unless you know what I mean to you."
"You're..." Hayato sighed, finally breaking the tension-filled silence. "You're special," he admitted, his gaze still averted as Reiko stood there, stunned by his words. When she looked up, she saw Hayato turning towards her, running his hand through his unruly hair. "It may be a simple and plain answer, but it's the truth. It's my feelings, Reiko. I like you."
Hayato then met her gaze, closing the distance between them until he stood directly in front of her, gently tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "Please don't ask me to ignore you or stay away from you, Reiko," he implored, but what surprised Reiko even more was Hayato's next action – he embraced her warmly.
One revelation struck Reiko profoundly:
A relationship isn't defined by public announcements or attention.
It's about the mutual appreciation, care, and love that partners share for each other, without the need for explicit declarations, whether written or spoken.
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