Chapter 48

The next day you decide to try school again. You don't plan on talking to anyone though. You just want to go to avoid your school grades dropping way more than it is already. You get dressed and left the bakery. Your grandmother gave you breakfast for the morning. Just a soft pastry. You eat it on your way to school. Once you got to school you head towards your class. Everyone in your class stares at you when you walk in.

"Uh... Yuki- You can't participate in the class project for the festival..." A girl says behind you. You slowly turn your head towards them.

"What?" You look at her confused.

"Well, you haven't been in class to help with our classrooms activity... and like- the festival is in a couple days... so yeah... you can't help- cause we don't know where to place ya..." The girl says. You slowly nod and look towards Eli whose head was down at the desk.

"So, what... we don't have class today?" You ask.

"No... we don't have normal classes today..." Another girl says.

"We had exams last week, so we don't start a new curriculum until next week... Besides the festival is in a couple of days..." A boy says from the distance.

"Oh... yeah right." You say nodding and walking out the classroom. You walk towards the home economics room in hopes of seeing Mitsuya there. Once you made it to the room you see girls working on a few outfits. Your eyes dart towards Mitsuya who's stitching something to a piece of cloth. Your eyes widen when you remember what Kisaki said to you. You close your eyes and sigh, turning around and wanting to leave.

"Yuki!" Yasuda yells out as she quickly walks over to you. Mitsuya looks up from what he's doing and smiles at you. You stare blankly back at him which causes him to stop smiling at you. "Hey... come in..." Yasuda pulls you into the room. You look around at what the other girls were doing. 

"So... uh- what am I supposed to do?" You ask in a nervous tone. Yasuda motions towards Mitsuya. You furrow your eyebrows and slowly nod as you approach him. "Hey" You quietly say. Mitsuya looks up at you and smiles.

"Hey." He bubbles. You slightly smile. He pulls out the chair beside him and pats for you to sit down. You sit down beside him and watch him fix a stitch on the cloth he was holding.

"So, the festival... what are you all planning to do?" You calmly ask. Mitsuya puts a pin in his mouth, holding it with his teeth and pulls a string from beside him. He pulls it and takes the pin out his mouth, putting the string through the hole of the pin and begins stitching the cloth. You watch as he does so.

"There's going to be a mini fashion show... so we will be doing that. The clubs from other schools are going to go against us as like- a competition thing. There won't be prizes... it's just for fun." He replies.

"Oh... okay."

"How do you feel?" Mitsuya asks looking up at you. You stare at him for a bit before looking down. 

"I don't know... I'm confused I guess..." You softly say.

"Confused? About what?" He asks looking back at the cloth and fixing his stitch. You stare down at the table unable to give a response.

"..." Mitsuya looks back at you waiting for your response. When he notices you weren't going to answer he takes a deep breath and pulls another string out from beside him.

"I saw Baji the other day. I'm glad he's alive." He quietly says.

"Yeah..." 

"And for Kazutora... its sad honestly..." He continues. You look at him and he has a sad look on his face.

"I don't know much about Kazutora... I've only met him a few times and it wasn't good any of those times... I wonder how he is as a person for Baji to want to stick by him." You softly say. Mitsuya's eyes relax and he slightly smiles.

"I can't really tell ya honestly... I don't know Kazutora that well either... But Mikey cared about him." Mitsuya sighs and turns towards you. "Mikey cares about you too, you know... And I know you care about him. You should really go check up on Mikey-" He calmly says. You furrow your eyebrows confused to why he suggested that. But you weren't going to question it.

At the end of the day, you slowly walk outside, making your way to the bakery. A lot is on your mind. Mikey and Kazutora... if Mikey cared about Kazutora then why did he kill him?

"I read the freaking book... why the hell don't I remember anything..." You say to yourself in an irritated tone. I've become so useless...

"YUKI!" A voice shouts from behind you. You slowly turn your head to see Kasumi. It's been a while since you have seen her.

"Kasumi..."

"Hey... You haven't forgotten me... right?" She says as she skips over to you. You stare at her for a bit before shaking your head and continuing to walk.

"How has your sister been?" You calmly ask.

"Shes doing great actually... I think she's going to recover soon!" She bubbles loudly. You look at her confused and then slowly nod. 

"Has she been getting treatment?" You ask.

"Yep!"

You stop walking and turn towards Kasumi who looks back at you confused. "How have you been able to pay for treatment?" You question. Kasumi stares at you for a bit before looking away.

"Donations..."

"Donations? From who?" You ask. She looks back at you with an irritated look on her face.

"Why does that matter?" She fumes.

"Woah... relax... You don't have to respond to me like that..." You huff. Kasumi's eyes widen and she sighs as she scratches the back of her head.

"I'm sorry- I didn't meant to be bitchy..." 

You slowly nod and turn around, continuing to walk. Kasumi slowly follows behind you.

"What happened between you and Hana?" She calmly asks. You stop walking and look back at her again.

"Why is it when I ask you questions you act weird about them... but then you go and ask me personal questions." You ask as you cross your arms. Kasumi furrows her eyebrows and looks away.

"Am I bothering you?" She asks. You squint at her and then turn, continuing to walk. "What did I do...? I was just asking a question... All I did was not want to share something personal... why do you keep acting so meanly to me... Ever since that day your friend insulted you at the bakery you've been acting so petty to me." She rasps. You stop walking and relax your eyes.

"You're right... I'm sorry." You softly say looking back at her.

"It's whatever... I'll leave you alone. I'm sorry for bothering you..." She walks away and you watch as she does. You furrow your eyebrows and sigh, looking out into the distance.

You slowly walk into the hospital and making your way to the room Baji stays in. You decide to visit Baji instead of heading home. Maybe seeing him will brighten up you mood. You slowly open the door, walking in. Baji is sitting in the bed, reading a manga. He looks up at you and smiles.

"Hey." He bubbles.

"Why're you so smiley?" You ask, smiling back at him.

"I don't know... maybe because you came~" He sooths. You look at him a bit not knowing how to respond. He looks back at his manga and continues to read. You grab a chair and sit down on it.

"What has the doctor been saying?" You calmly ask.

"I don't really know... but I will be having surgery again... That's all I know." He answers.

"Surgery for what?"

"Surgery on my lower back... I think- I can't remember. You would have to ask my mom." He softly responds as he turns to the next page. You slowly nod and lean a bit to see what it was he was reading.

"Yuki-" You slowly look up at him to see him looking at you.

"Do you think you would have been friends with Kazutora... before everything that had happened?" He calmly asks. You look at him confused.

"What do you mean?" 

"I mean... back when we were little... If we had met back then... do you think you would of been friends with Kazutora?" 

"I don't know... I don't know Kazutora like that... So, I can't really give you an answer. Why do you ask that?" You ask, tilting your head at him a bit. He looks up from his manga and stares at you.

"I feel like if we met back then, and you got to know Kazutora... you both would of became good friends..." He softly says. You stare at him confused. "For a while I've been thinking about it... What it would of been like if you met us when we were in grade school. Would things be different... cause you're a girl and all. I didn't like you when we first met, but now I understand why Mikey likes you a lot. You bring me a little peace." 

"I do?"

"Mhm... but you're weak as shit though-"

"Eh?" You furrow your eyebrows. "I'm not that weak... I can fight-"

"Not that- I mean... you're a push over. Sometimes what you get yourself into bothers me a lot. Stop being like that... I know you can be better- Like me... wait...not like me- I'll hate you if you were like me. Just- stop being a push over alright? It's annoying as fuck." He states, going back to reading his manga. You stare at him a bit not knowing how to respond. Instead, you sigh and nod.

"Okay."

After spending a little more time with Baji, you slowly walk down the hallway in the hospital. You pass a vending machine and think about what Katsumi said to you earlier. Is that why Hana has been like that lately too? Am I really being a bad friend? You approach the vending machine and decide to buy a drink for Kasumi's little sister. 

After buying the drink and receiving the sticker you make your way to the room Asuka was in.

You stop walking when you see someone familiar. You squint your eyes trying to make out who it was. 

"Is that Kisaki?" You question, trying to get a closer look at him.

The guy looks at you and smiles and the girl with her back towards you turns her head.

"Kasumi... Kisaki?" You look at the both of them confused. Kasumi looks at you with wide eyes and Kisaki smiles at you with relaxed eyes. You squeeze the sticker in your hand, crumpling it a bit and then quickly turned around. 

You quickly walk outside and down the alley.

"YUKI!" Kasumi yells out from behind you. You ignore her, walking faster. "YUKI! PLEASE WAIT!" She yells out, reaching out towards you and grabbing you. You yank away from her. "Can we talk..."

"What do you mean can we talk?" You fume.

"I know what you saw looks bad but-"

"Is Kisaki your donator?" You question. Kasumi looks at you in shock. "Is he?"

"Maybe..." She quietly says looking down. You scrunch up your face and then quickly turned around, walking away again. "YES! He is..." She shouts out. You stop walking and look back at her.

"What's your relationship between the two of you? He wouldn't just give you money for free..." You huff. Kasumi looks away and then fidgets with her shirt.

"He's my cousin." She quietly says. You smile in an irritated way.

"Cousin?"

"Yeah..." She looks at you with a sad look on her face.

"I thought you said you had no family..." You fume. Her eyes widen and she looks down. You sigh and shake your head. "You know what... I don't care... I don't want to deal with this bullshit- I'm not in the mood for any of it. Just leave me alone."

"I'm sorry Yuki, I just-"

"I don't like liars... You made me feel bad but in reality you were lying to me... Leave me alone. I don't care for your apology." You quickly walk away.

You slowly make your way through the park, stopping by the swings. Staring down at them.

"What a coincidence..." A voice says from behind you. You quickly turn your head feeling really nervous. Chifuyu slowly approaches you.

"Chifuyu..."

"We always end up crossing paths here." He chuckles. You slowly nod. "Knowing you- the only reason you're here is to sulk..." He says as he sits down on the swing. "Come... sit- lets talk about it." He says motioning to the other swing. You stare at him a bit and then slowly nod before sitting down on the swing beside him.