Episode 11.5 Part 3. The Best Gifts are From the Heart

“Tomo-chan, Ai-chan!”

“Hana-chan!” Furukawa greeted Sakura.

“Saku-chan, you’re late! You live next door, so how could you even be late? I asked Haruka when I ran into him and you had already left!”

“I had to stop by the theatre. We had a run-through of what’ll happen during the opening day for the play,” Sakura said.

“What? But Ken’s studying with Chika and Sayoko.”

Tomo had heard nothing about a meeting concerning the play. Ken hadn’t even spoken about it at all lately, and Tomo had forgotten it was going to be the next week. Until now.

Sakura was silent for a second. “Nah, I went for him too. I have copies of all the info that he can check, and if he has any questions, I’m sure someone asked them anyway, so I can tell him. I told Hayashi-senpai Ken was studying, and she said the world must be ending. Or maybe he’s just realising he’ll still have to study while studying drama.”

Tomo noticed something was off with Sakura, but before he had time to ask what was wrong, Furukawa spoke.

“When’s the play?”

“Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday next week. There are other plays too. It’s the anniversary celebration of the theatre, so the troupes put up a play each. Most of the children or hobby ones, like Yama-senpai’s and mine, only work on two or three plays a year. Hayashi-senpai needs to manage more, on top of the voluntary work she puts in for the troupe.”

“The anniversary means there are a lot of plays to watch for free and is a way to attract business. Surrounding businesses use the opportunity, so it’s like a week-long festival.”

He had hated being on stage during the anniversary play, but even after he quit, he couldn’t feel comfortable. It brought back too many memories.

“Anyway, you wanted to meet up. What’s up?” He turned to Furukawa.

The girl had asked Sakura to ask him along, but not what she wanted. Sakura had suggested Furukawa had feelings for him and what that could lead to, until Tomo had kicked her out, not wanting to listen to her imagined scenarios.

“We wanted to go shopping!” Furukawa replied joyfully.

“Okay, I’m going home.”

“But I thought you’d have a good eye. You know how Yuu says it doesn’t matter as long as I like it… Well, I can’t think like that. I want to show others who I am and for them to see it, not see ‘Airi who likes purple’.”

Tomo rubbed his fingers nervously. He could somewhat relate, but Furukawa was much braver than he was.

“…or that I’m fat…”

“You’re not fat, Ai-chan! I think your curves are hot.”

“Saku-chan’s right. I mean that you’re not fat. I think you look cute as you are and I think Yuu would say that too.”

“Yuu would never tell me I’m cute.”

“I swear, Ai-chan, he would.” Sakura grinned as she took Furukawa’s hands in hers. Tomo was glad she respected Yuu’s secret and sounded more like she was convincing her friend. “If he was honest, he’d say you look great. Trust me, I know a sexy girl when I see one.”

She did respect it… right?

“Hana-chan… Just because you talk like a boy when you’re with friends, you don’t have to say things like s-s-se…”

Furukawa’s face was slowly turning bright red.

“But it’s true! Tomo-chan, help me!”

“Well…” He put his hands in his pockets, rubbing the fabric between his thumbs and index fingers. “If you just want my opinion…”

***

He sighed as Furukawa stepped out of the fitting room in a white sundress, asking: “Do I look far in this?”

“I don’t think you could even look fat with just cushions covering your body. If that’s all you’re going to ask, I’m going home.”

“Don’t go home, Seki-kun! Help me choose something nice!”

“Ken would have been better for this.”

Sakura nodded. “I said that too, but she insisted. ‘If I can get closer, maybe he’ll stop calling me by my last name’ or something like that.”

“I didn’t say that!”

“Your heart did. Anyway, Tomo-chan, I picked these out for you. Try them on.”

“I’m not supposed to be trying any clothes!”

“You’re here, so I want to see how things look on your body these days. You won’t let me see you naked anymore, so it’s difficult to give you anything.”

Tomo flushed.

“Hana-chan, I know you’re childhood friends, but seeing Seki-kun without clothes when you’re both sixteen is a little…”

“What? It’s not like I’m interested in him. I don’t mind undressing in front of Tomo-chan either. Yama-senpai’s also cool.”

If Ken was the only one he was comfortable with, Sakura was the opposite. His problem wasn’t if she liked how he looked or not, but what she might say. She wouldn’t insult him or even talk about how she could be taller or more muscular — Sakura didn’t care about these things. No, it was the comments unrelated to how his appearance he had a problem with.

He also didn’t want Sakura to assume anything. Sure, they had bathed together as children, but a part of him wanted her to have forgotten what she had seen and not assume his gender.

“You shouldn’t undress in front of senpai, Hana-chan. I don’t think he would like that. And I don’t think the problem is that you’d be interested in each other, but boys and girls…”

He frowned as his stomach felt tense. He hesitantly took the pile of clothes from her.

“Where did you get these from?”

“Here and there. Whatever should work, since clothes are sexless.”

“People don’t think wearing—!!” Sakura pushed him into the empty fitting room next to Furukawa’s. “We’re in the women’s department!”

“I won’t drag Ai-chan to the men’s just for your sake. Hurry up!”

He noticed her slightly furrowed brows. He pressed his lips together for a few seconds.

“... Fine. I won’t wear anything feminine.”

“Anyone can wear anything. Right, Ai-chan?”

“I guess?”

“See?” Sakura said and pulled the curtain to give Tomo some privacy.

He sighed. Her stubbornness was a wonderful trait when she used it for her studies, and less so when he was the victim of it.

He started sorting the clothes by category — tops and bottoms.

“Saku-chan, this is definitely a dress. I’m not wearing this. Ever!” he said and pulled the curtain open.

Sakura clicked her tongue and took the garment. “I thought you might try it. Guess I overestimated your comfort zone.”

“You mean, you overestimated yourself,” Tomo heard Furukawa say, and he chuckled.

“Saku-chan does that a lot.”

“She does. She’s also not as quiet as I thought she was.”

Tomo closed the curtain again.

“You’re right, Saku-chan’s loud once she’s herself. And she talks a lot.”

“Hey! Less talking and more changing!”

“Saku-chan, how about you ask if you can lead one of the children’s groups? You’re very much like Hayashi-senpai.”

“That’s not a compliment at all, Tomo-chan…”

***

“Hmm.” Sakura held her chin with her brows furrowed and her lips pressed against each other, as she looked at Tomo in a pair of shorts and a short-sleeved blouse. The blouse was similar to what he wore at work, so he didn’t feel too anxious wearing it.

“I think you got his size wrong.”

“I thought more about his height, to be honest. He’s been growing a lot lately. I didn’t think it’d be that loose. I’ll have you try them in a size smaller.”

“Not the blouse. And make it two sizes smaller…” Tomo said slowly.

“I’ll bring both. I don’t believe it until I see it.” Sakura turned around and disappeared into the rest of the store.

Furukawa looked at the light yellow blouse. “You wear lots of cold colours, don’t you? Like your glasses, or some stuff at school. Is it because you think they’re better for you?”

“I know anything looks fine,” he answered honestly, looking at the blouse. “I just like cold colours. They are calming. Like, you get calm looking at them. That’s nice. I don’t know if Yuu’s told you, but… Never mind. Mint and pastel green are my favourites.” He pressed his lips together.

“So, you like light and bright colours? I figured, actually. You use a lot of bright green things at school, but your glasses are paler.”

A chill ran up his spine at the thought she must have looked at him a lot. He found it a little creepy. Though there were a bunch of ‘guys’ gathered in one spot in the classroom and one of them a close friend and another a third-year, so perhaps she noticed by accident.

He could think of another explanation though: she liked boys love. He wasn’t sure he liked the idea of being paired up with his friends — or even Ken — in someone’s fantasies.

“The pink glasses are cute too. And you got a lilac pair last time.”

“Mm. I need to pick those up.”

“Let’s tell Hana-chan we’ll do that before we leave. It’s just a station away.”

“It’s in the opposite direction for us though…”

Furukawa peered inside the fitting room behind Tomo. Tomo had hung up everything after sorting them further to categories like long sleeves, short sleeves, no sleeves, prints, and so on. He knew she’d not only see that, but also that practically all of it was pastel or light grey and white.

Sakura had picked things she thought Tomo might like to wear, instead of what he usually wore.

“That’s a lot. We’ll be here all day. When were we supposed to meet up at your house? Let’s remove the things not in your colour.”

After he had changed back into his own clothes, Furukawa slowly, but meticulously removed all warm colours, including warm green tones.

“That’s better.”

“Thank you, Furukawa-san.”

“Just call me Airi already.”

Tomo shook his head.

“Why not?”

He laughed awkwardly. “You call me ‘Seki-kun’ anyway.”

“Tomocchi, then?”

He looked down, feeling nauseous.

“Momo, like Suzuki? Or Momocchi, like Yuu? But only if you call me ‘Airi’ or ‘Ai-chan’.”

“Airi…-san.”

Furukawa sighed with a smile. “I guess I’ll settle for that, Momo.”

“Why are you carrying all of those?”

“I rejected all of them. We need to hurry. Momo needs to get his new pair of glasses.”

“Give me a moment. I have a few I definitely wanted to see Tomo-chan try.”

The glint in Sakura’s eyes gave Tomo goosebumps.

***

Tomo opened the door. “I’m home!”

The three cardboard boxes on the floor confused him.

“Kyou, welcome home! How was the girls-only party?” Shouji shouted while out of sight.

“Shouji-nii, Tomo isn’t a girl, so stop calling it that!”

Despite what Shouji called it, it warmed Tomo. Shouji was thoughtful in his own peculiar way, and it wasn’t unlikely he had phrased it that way just so Ken would confirm he wasn’t a girl.

“Excuse the intrusion,” Sakura and Airi said as they walked in behind him.

As Tomo put down the bags on the floor, Ken came out of what his mother treated as storage with another box and Shouji followed.

“What are you two doing?”

“Taketo needed a break, so we’re getting my things,” Shouji said and put down his box.

“You mean you dragged me out because you’re afraid I’ll hit on Sayocchi, right? Already told you we’re done with the dates.”

“There should be one or two more, but I think I’ve found them.”

Ken put the box down, glanced at Ichirou, before he walked up to Tomo and kissed his cheek. Tomo’s face instantly turned hot.

While they had told no one aside from Tomo’s grandmother and Shouji, they didn’t hide it either when in safe spaces. They weren’t certain what Ichirou thought, but the man had said nothing about how close they were before. Sayoko and Sakura they determined to be safe, since both girls had known them for some time. Sayoko had met Ken in the past, but become friends with him through Chika when they entered the same high school, and knew Tomo since childhood; Sakura was their shared friend, and though she hadn’t known the truth, she hadn’t been blind to it either.

They weren’t quite ready to put it into words to tell everyone.

“Welcome home, Tomo. Sakkun didn’t bother you too much, did she? Did you have fun? Yuu and Tatsumi should be here soon, but they’re bringing… ‘Watanabe’ and ‘Satou’… was it? Do you want to get changed?”

Tomo looked at his light green shorts.

Were they passable? The shirt was fine.

Wait.

“Aren’t we ten people now? Do we even have enough space?”

“Sawa-san’s office.” Ichirou’s smile was bitter.

Tomo’s mother had unmistakably done something.

“I’ve had it cleaned out and she can no longer step into it. I’ve decided it’ll work as a study and reference room from now on.”

Tomo looked towards Shouji, who laughed.

“Sawa didn’t realise Ichirou-san would without question notice the decrease in her pay. He just thought it might have been a temporary thing, but two months in a row? Nah, something’s up. She worked fewer hours and didn’t take any work home. She’s been pretending to work to avoid housework.”

“All the while your salary increased after you changed from freelance, and worked full-time for Shinnosuke-san.”

“I suppose grandfather saw use in someone taking over negotiations for him. He’s not young anymore.”

“Wait, you’re working in some business?”

“I do. Mum and dad raised me to take over after grandfather passes away. Mum doesn’t want to take over the business. Neither do I, but it’s a source of income, you know? Without a degree and grandfather’s support, I have to take what I get, even if it separated me from my family.”

Ichirou sighed. “If I had just married Naomichi-kun instead, all my troubles would have been simpler, but I would still have my lovely children.”

Shouji grinned. “It’s not too late. You seem like the reasonable sort, so I wouldn’t mind. Since I’ll be living around here anyway, it’s not much difference.”

“I might consider it, Naomichi-kun, if the day comes when I can no longer handle Sawa-san’s unpredictability.”

“Right. Did you need any groceries?”

“Oh! You’re right! That’s why I came downstairs. Here are the list and the car keys. Sawada-san next door probably also needs a hand, so could you take a moment to help her? And if it’s not too much trouble on the way back, could you get some—”

The four teens snuck past the men and hurried to the office upstairs.

“Yo!”

Sayoko smiled as she and Chika looked up.

“Sakura! Long time, no see! Kenta, Chii-chan told me you stopped going on dates with me because you finally settled on Tomoki!”

“I didn’t settle on anyone! You’re not cute when you say things like that, Sayocchi.”

“I think it’s rude to promise kisses on the sixth date, but I didn’t even get to hold your hand after ten.”

Tomo looked at Sayoko, then at Ken.

“I’ve only said I might kiss, but not when. Besides, you just made me carry your stuff. I wouldn’t even have been able to hold your hand even if I had wanted to.”

Sayoko laughed.

“I’ll go change,” Tomo mumbled, and was about to turn when Chika glared at him.

“Why can you pull off those shorts? They just look awful on me!”

“Because he’s prettier.”

Tomo spun around and took a few walking steps before he fled.

***

There was a knock on the door.

“Tomo-kun, can I come in?”

“Sure.”

Ichirou found Tomo sitting on the floor. He had changed to a different pair of shorts but felt too ashamed to leave his room. Ichirou sat down beside him.

“You know that Shouji-kun is very proud of you.”

“You usually call him Naomichi. Are you really considering a relationship with him?”

Ichirou smiled. “While he would make for a wonderful husband to anyone, I love my wife too much to leave her. She may be carefree, but I’m sure she would be very hurt as well. As for his name… I’ve heard it quite often recently, so perhaps it’s begun to stick.”

Tomo chuckled. “I guess it would. You’re pretty stubborn, Ichirou-san.”

He thought for a moment. “I prefer to say I’m true to my ways. But stubborn would also be correct.”

Tomo chuckled again.

“You left these bags at the entrance, so I thought I’d give them to you.”

In the bad were a few items he had bought because Airi had been excited when she thought she saw something he liked. He wouldn’t wear any of it outside, and one of the items he had got was clearly for women.

“And,” Ichirou added and Tomo looked away from his bags. “This is from Sakura-san and Airi-san, while this is from Yuusuke-kun.”

He gave Tomo a small bag from the clothing store he had visited with the girls earlier. The other was a box from the brand Tatsumi liked. Regardless of what that was, it must have been expensive.

He couldn’t take it.

“Open them,” Ichirou urged him. “Sakura-san and Yuusuke-kun both said it was better you opened them where you felt comfortable.”

“That sounds terrifying.”

Ichirou sniggered. “They’re your friends.”

“But this must have been expensive,” Tomo said and held the box.

“Then give Yuusuke-kun a gift you think has the same value in return for the gift. It’s not that difficult, is it?”

Tomo couldn’t really argue against Ichirou-san. He put the box down and looked inside the small paper bag. He laughed when he picked up the small wrapped gift.

“Why give the bag if it was wrapped?”

Ichirou shrugged with a smile.

Tomo opened it and found a set of a few hair ties with bunnies, puppies and kitties, and a scrunchy with all three. He smiled. He had worn the bunny ear hoodie before, so it wasn’t too surprising. And he used hair ties and bobby pins all the time.

He picked up the box. It was difficult to open; the guilt making the lid heavy. However, Ichirou’s silence was worse than the heavy lid, and he opened it as he swallowed.

Inside was a pastel green hair band. The outside was a soft fabric with the logo embroidered onto it. It felt sturdy, while also thin and not eye-catching. On a note Yuu had written: “I thought this wouldn’t be a problem while you wear glasses. If not, you can have it exchanged. Yuu”

Yuu putting so much effort into this one item made his cheeks warm, and he couldn’t hide the smile that grew. It gave him a little more courage.

Tomo stood up, looked around in the top drawer on his desk until he found a notebook, and picked out the case with his new glasses from his bag, before he took his homework.

Ichirou closed the door behind them as they left Tomo’s room.