Serendipity

VIII - Yume to Akumu (夢と悪夢)

 Ever since the end of summer Suzuka's family sensed a different tune emanating from her. At the recording studio her father could feel a lack of enthusiasm from her usual work ethic. During lunch he decided to confront Suzuka about her recent change in demeanor. "Suzuka," he began, "you haven't been yourself lately. Is there something on your mind?" She shook her head, "No, papa, why do you ask?" He squinted his eyes, calling her bluff. "You've been more quiet as of late; even studio regulars share the same sentiment." She bit her tongue, anxious about whether or not her father would be able to understand her suffering. "Forget it," she turned her attention to the monitors, "it's nothing worth mentioning."

 He sighed. A little annoyed by her daughter's passive behavior he pulled up a chair and sat next to her, having no intentions of moving from her side until he gets to the bottom of it. "Suzuka, I'm your father. I don't know why or what lead to start acting like this but I'm not going to let it slip away. So what's wrong?" 

"Just..." she rolled her eyes and reluctantly caved in to her father's demand, "boy stuff."

"Ah, is that so? I'm surprised that you're able to squeeze in a relationship with a hectic schedule--" "It's not a boyfriend problem," objected Suzuka, "it's just boy stuff. I... I thought this guy liked me but it turned out he was talking about someone else. I feel stupid and awkward about this, can we just leave it at that?" 

"Mm... it sounds like a miscommunication to me. You didn't make it known that you were the one who liked him and, in turn, he ended up thinking about someone else he had had in mind." He got up from his chair and pushed it back to where he got it from. "I don't know who this guy is or why you're so bummed he has someone in his sights but don't be so down. That problem isn't worth anything in the long run so I recommend you bounce back and brush it off." As he walked away Suzuka said to herself, "Can I really do such a thing? If only you knew how much he means to me."

 Back in the Sugisaki household Nene and Yousuke have been more open around each other behind her family's back. Attributing school work to be the cause of their recent bonding no one in the family thought otherwise. "Ne, Nene-don?" "Yeah, Yousuke-kun?" "Don't you feel a little, I don't know, awkward about all of this? What if your family finds out what's really going on between us?" "Psh! What are they gonna do? Kick you out?" "M-Maybe? You never know." She lifted her head from his chest with a look of Really? You really think that'll happen? "Come on, Yous' they won't do that to you; you're like family to them now. Plus, even if we were to disclose whatever we have to them, they're not gonna freak out. They know you and trust you." She buries her face into his chest. "For someone who's academically inclined, you can be kinda dumb in certain situations."

 When semester classes resumed, they carried on their student responsibilities like any other. Whenever either was done for the day they would wait near the other's class by some benches or trees until they were out. On some occasions one would buy some food from the cafeteria and wait for the other before tackling lunch. The walks home from university were filled with jovial, nonsensical conversations that usually took up the commute time from school to home. When winter recess came, Yousuke, with the accompaniment of Nene, decided to pay his family a visit in Yokohama for the holidays. Because he left for university without being given a spare key to the house, he had to knock on the door. Pushing the doorbell they await for someone to respond through the intercom.

"Hai?", answered a deep voice. They both looked at each other in confusion. "Does that sound like anybody you know?", asked Nene. He shrugged.

"Who is this?"

"Who needs to know? You're the one to bother me -- Ora! Kaeru, omaera!"

"This person sounds like a jerk," said Nene, "we should look up the address again, just in case we messed up." "Hold on. That won't be necessary." Pressing the button to speak on his end, Yousuke called out, "Oi! Nanya kore? Dare ga omaera? Omae aho chau ka!?" "Yousuke, what are you doing!?" The other end was dead until, "Oi, oi, oi! Nani shitennen!? Hayo kaere omae!" He smiled. "Oi, Horenso-kun..." "Hai?" "Unlock the gate for me before the neighbors call the cops." "Okay, Yousuke!" Nene was at a lost for words over what just happened. "Wha--I'm sorry, what was that all about? Is that how you normally greet your family or something?"