The Secret Life Of Nagisa Sensei

(5-8) In Memoria

The day of the funeral of Tatsuo senior and Ren had arrived. All of class 3-5 met at a tree on a hill, a short distance outside the centre of Tokyo. The tree in question was very close to another tree, but those two stood alone on the hill, watching over the city together. This would be the perfect place to commemorate the victims of the Yellow Sun gang.

Tatsuo and Kazuhiko had arrived first. They were the ones organising it after all. It didn't take long however for the rest of the class to arrive in small groups at the trees, holding back complaints of having to walk up a rather steep slope.

Unfortunately, Nagisa could not come. He had business with Karasuma and the ministry of defence that day which he couldn't put off. He wanted to be there and tried all he could to get out of the meeting, but failed.

Michio also couldn't stay for too long. His family had planned a trip to Kyoto and would be leaving in a couple of hours. He had just enough time to arrive for the ceremony.

Tatsuo had some ash from the fire place, to play the part of the ashes from the deceased. Him, Juro and Shizuka had also made plaques to attach to the tree, one for Ren and one for Tatsuo senior.

It came as a surprise to most how Chie and Saiki did not arrive together. They had helped set up a date night for them and as Hirose reported Saiki not getting home until late, they assumed all had gone to plan. The only one who was any the wiser was Natsumi, who hadn't told any of her classmates about Saiki getting flustered and walking out on her.

In Chie's mind, Saiki was a terrible person. She planned to avoid him as best as possible during the funeral, and afterwards as best as possible. In her mind, Saiki had left her out of spite, backed up by the fact she saw him kissing Natsumi the following day. She also hated Natsumi, but was also surprised she didn't say anything to stop the set up date from going ahead. It's almost as if she wanted to hurt Chie.

Eventually, everyone arrived, wearing black clothes, as smart as they could for poor families. It was Kazuhiko who walked into the gap between the trees and begin the service.

"Welcome friends." He began. "As I'm sure you are aware, we are gathered here today to mourn the passing of two very great individuals, one part of our class, the other a very important person to another member of our class. We shall begin with our deceased classmate, Ogino Ren."

As he finished this, Hideo walked up to the tree on the left holding a jar of ashes. He opened the jar and sprinkled them around the base of the tree. Michio then walked up holding Ren's plaque and with the help of Hideo, hammered it into the bark of the tree. Once it was attached, Hideo turned to face the rest of the class and began to speak.

"I'm sure many of you have mixed opinions of Ren." He began. "When he was alive, he wasn't the nicest person in the world by a long shot. Still though. Ren was my friend. He stuck with me when everyone else did not. He also indirectly gave me the push I needed to improve myself as a person, and truly get to know all of you. If any good came of his death, it's that. I wish it were under better circumstances, but Ren. I thank you."

He turned back to the tree and hung his head down, an action repeated by all the classmates. This silence lasted for a minute, before Kazuhiko broke it and continued the service.

"The next memorial will be dedicated to Tatsuo's dear brother, who was unfortunately murdered by Ipanaika. Tatsuo, over to you."

Tatsuo walked up to the tree also holding a jar of ashes. He spread them around the base of the tree as Hideo had done with Ren's. Then, Juro walked up with the plaque and the pair of boys hammered it into the bark. It was then Tatsuo's time to talk.

"I doubt any of you will have known my brother, so I will begin by telling you about him. His name was Tenya. Tenya Tatsuo was like a father figure to me. After my mother died and my father disappeared, he was the one who kept food on the table, clothes on my back and money in the bank account, however small it was. His mistake, which lead to his death, was to borrow money from the Yellow sun gang, an action which he could only repay by becoming a member himself.

He joined a gang for me. He put his life on the line for so many years, for me. He died, trying to keep me out of the gang life and standing up to Ipanaika. He died protecting me, and I am thankful for it. I truly am Tenya. I truly am."

Once he finished speaking, the class once again undertook a minute of silence in respect for the dead. And, once that minute was over, it was Kazuhiko who wrapped up the congregation.

"So, that concludes the service. Feel free to stay around and chat, I'm sure we will all need to. Thank you for turning up. It means a lot to both me and Tatsuo. Thank you so much."

Once he finished talking, the class have him a round of applause, marking the end of the funeral.

Most students stayed for a couple of hours. Michio, unfortunately, had to leave shortly after the sermon was finished. Natsumi also conveniently disappeared. It was as if she could sense Chie's rage.

Saiki could also sense Chie's rage. And that was why he decided he should speak to her about the past week.

He found her on the edge of the hilltop, stood by herself.

"Chie," he began, "I've been meaning to talk to you."

"Oh yeah. About what? To apologize."

"Yes."

Chie scoffed.

"Chie, I mean it."

"Yeah right."

By this point Saiki was getting annoyed at her responses. He also thought they were completely warranted, but still, he was annoyed.

"Chie. Seriously."

"Saiki. I don't care about your apology. You left me in a restaurant looking like a fool. You didn't even tell me about Natsumi. If you had just said 'sorry, I have a girlfriend' I would have been sad, but not angry. Why Saiki? I thought you were nice." Chie was getting angry now. Her voice was raised to the point of almost shouting.

"Chie. I don't have a girlfriend."

"Huh?" Chie's anger turned to complete surprise. "Then why were you snogging Natsumi?"

"If I'm going to be honest, when you confessed to me, I didn't know what to do, ingot flustered, so I ran. I went to Natsumi the day after to seek advice. She gave me some and then wanted to test my kissing skills."

"And I'm supposed to believe that am I?" Chie scoffed.

"I'm telling the truth. I swear on my life."

"Even if you are, I'm not going to stop being angry. A simple 'Im sorry, I only like you as a friend' would have been fine. But you left me."

"I was scared!" Saiki snapped back. He then calmed himself and decreased his volume. "Chie. I was scared because. Well. The feeling was mutual. I like you Chie. I just didn't know how to say it."

It seemed all the anger had been sucked out of Chie. For a second she even started to blush a little.

"You. You like me too?" She asked.

"Yes. Chie. I like you." Saiki said back. Chie smiled. Her blush faded and her complexion returned to how it was before.

"Hold that thought Saiki. Before we go any further, there's something I need to get to the bottom of. Don't you think Natsumi was acting weird. On the day you two, well, kissed, she saw me and then kissed you. She also has been avoiding me, and hadn't told anyone else about what happened. She has also disappeared. I want to know what's gotten into her. Also to give her a piece of my mind."

"Yes. I guess that's fine. You leaving me hanging is just what I deserve anyway. Just, please don't hurt Natsumi too much."

"Why, she your girlfriend?" Chie kicked.

"Haha. No. Not in a million years." Saiki replied back.

The pair smiled. Their relationship was suddenly becoming so much more.