[Thursday, September 8th]

Today, Miyuki and I have our appointments with Airi at 10 and 11, so it’s going to be a short day at school. Not to mention I have to ask my teacher about making up the exams.

In the classroom, I walk over to Mr Tanaka, who is seated at his desk and clear my throat to get his attention. “Excuse me, Mr Tanaka.”

He glances up at me and says, “Hmm? Did you need something?”

“I do. You remember that Miyuki and I have a doctors appointment today?” He nods. “Just checking.” I lean on his desk so I don’t have to speak so loudly. “Mr Tanaka, I won’t be here tomorrow either, so I need to set up a time to take the exams.”

“Why aren’t you going to be here?”

“Uh, I suppose you could say I have some business to take care of. Believe me, if I didn’t have to do it, I’d be here.”

“Alright. You informed administration, right?”

“Not yet, but I’ll do that during break.”

“Make sure you do. As for your exams, I realize it’s kind of redundant for you to take them, but rules are rules. So, are you ready to take them now?” I nod. “Okay. Once I get the class started, I’ll give them to you.”

“Thank you, Mr Tanaka. I appreciate it.”

He nods and I head to my seat. Kimi and Ako come in a few moments later and I wave to them. They come over and we talk for a few minutes until the bell rings. From here, it’s pretty much the normal routine, except he assigns the class a couple of chapters to read and says he will return in a few minutes. Once he returns, he beckons to me from the door and takes me to an empty room with a desk and a chair in it. After I seat myself, he hands over a folder.

“Those are all your tests. You are not to divulge what the questions are to anyone. Is that understood?”

“Of course.”

“I didn’t think you would, but I have to say it… Alright, well, you know what to do. Bring them back when you are done.”

Without waiting for a response, he heads out and closes the door behind him. It takes me about 90 minutes to finish all 8 tests. Placing them back in the folder as I finish each one. After I complete the last one, I head back to class and turn the folder over to Mr. Tanaka, who merely nods when I hand it to him. I take my seat again and idle my way through class until break time.

During break, I inform admin that Honoka and I won’t be here tomorrow and hand over a note from Dad excusing us from school. Quickly making my way back, I spend the rest of the time with my sisters and friends. Right before break ends, Miyuki and I tell Mr. Tanaka we’ll be back after our appointments.

I won’t go into detail about our appointments since it’s the usual thing for the both of us. Afterward, we head back out for school and make it just in time for lunch. I’d thought about us stopping by a restaurant, but we’d much rather spend it with our friends.

After eating lunch, we head outside to enjoy the weather and Kimi and I are talking. I have no idea how the subject got changed to her family, but after listening to Kimi, I think I’ve figured out why she was the way she was and why she was after Ryu so hard and heavy. While it’s true that our Ryu is very handsome, by no means is that all he is. He’s smart, although he tends to focus more on the more physical side of things, which I will be changing to make sure he can become the man I know he can, and wants, to be. Not to mention that he’s kind, gentle, caring, protective and so much more that any girl would love to have in a boyfriend. Though, that isn’t the whole reason she was after him.

Her father and her older sister had a huge falling out when Kimi was still in primary school. It seems that she fell in love with some dirtbag, according to her father, and married him the moment she turned 16. Ever since then her father has pressured her to be and have the best in everything, which no one can ever achieve, although she does a fair job of coming close and I have to agree with her assessment that Ryu meets and exceeds any reasonable man’s idea of a great boyfriend.

Personally, I think he is trying to have her make up for what her sister did. I told her that it’s not up to her to fix what someone else broke, especially when she had nothing to do with it. The tears in her eyes and the tight hug she gave me after I said that made it clear just how much she appreciated the thought. Her father looking at her the same way as if she is going to make the same mistakes her sister did is insane in my opinion. She’s herself, not her sister and her mistakes shouldn’t be taken out on Kimi.

Look, she’s smart, beautiful, friendly -when you get past the rough edges- and athletic. Her grades keep her in the top 10 for our grade and top 50 for the whole school. She tends to push people away because of her father and his unreasonable demands on her. He says having friends and fun are something you are supposed to worry about when you are more settled in life. It’s no wonder she’s a bit hard to get to know.

I found out during our conversation that Ako isn’t just a friend, she’s also Kimi’s cousin, and was her only real friend until yesterday. Her father wanted her to focus on schooling and finding a “decent” man to “devote herself” to. Archaic in the extreme in my opinion. Does he think we still live in the Meiji Era where women were property and banished from the family for disobeying their fathers or husbands?

She amazes me at how strong and resilient she is. Had it been me when I was still Sora-nii, well, I needn’t say it, do I? I’m really happy that she reached out to me yesterday and it makes me more than a little ashamed of myself that I was simply going to leave things as they were as long as she left me alone. I know just how wearing it can be and how badly it feels to be so isolated, yet there I was willing to do the same thing to someone else merely for my convenience. Just the thought of it is enough to make my heart ache.

So, then the conversation turned to me. I told her the cover story Dad came up with for me. I feel bad about it, especially when she was so sympathetic about my coma and “memory issues.” Just before the bell rings, she invites all of us over to meet her parents. Apparently, she isn’t allowed to have any friend that her father hasn’t met and approved of. So, with that in mind, I sent a text to Mama and Dad telling them where we would be after school.

After the final bell rings, we wait at the classroom for Honoka, then head down to the SUV. Kimi and Ako’s expression makes me giggle when they see it.

Ako looks at me with a strange expression and asks, “I knew you girls were well off, but just how well off are you?”

I shrug. “We’re comfortable and our parents are more than able to pay for everything we need. Anything else doesn’t matter, now does it? The way I see it, money and status shouldn’t define who a person is, although for some people it does.”

They both nod and I usher them into the vehicle. Kimi tells Mr Okami the address and we arrive about 40 minutes later. While their house doesn’t begin to compare to ours, it’s larger than what you would normally see, so I’m guessing her father has a fairly well paying job.

She announces, “We’re home and we have company,” as we enter the house and remove our shoes.

Her mother pokes her head into the hallway and says with a smile, ”Welcome to our home. Come in and relax.”

We give the usual reply of, “Please excuse our intrusion.”

After we sit down in the living room and drinks are passed around, her mother takes a seat beside Kimi.

She looks at Kimi and says, “This is certainly unusual. You’ve never brought anyone, other than Ako, home before. Why don’t you introduce us?”

She introduces us to her mother, Asuna, and we chat for about a half an hour. Her father comes home and announces himself at that point.

When he enters the living room, we are introduced to her father, Banri. He may be smiling, but it never reaches his eyes when he tells us, “Pleased to meet you.”

He takes a seat beside Asuna and we talk, albeit quite a bit more stiffly than before and with a lot of rather pointedly rude remarks in our direction. I’m about ready to get up and leave rather than put up with him anymore when he takes a good look at us and interjects, “Excuse me, but haven’t I seen you girls before?”

Honoka shakes her head as she replies, “Maybe.”

His eyes widen as he quietly says, “Oh shit!” If I hadn’t been sitting so close to him, I’d have never heard him. He stands and bows to us, “I apologize for my language. I remember where I’ve seen you ladies before. You’re Eiji Kobayashi’s daughters, aren’t you?”

Honoka nods as she replies, “That we are.”

“I apologize for my rude behavior and if you’ll excuse me, I have work I need to do.” He makes it to the doorway and turns around. “I do hope you’ll be friends with my Kimiko.” Without waiting for a reply, he turns and leaves the room.

Asuna turns to look at us wide-eyed. “What was that about and who is Eiji Kobayashi?”

I reply, “Your husband just figured out who we are and as he said, that is our father.”

“That doesn’t really help. Would you mind explaining. I’ve never seen Banri apologize, ever.”

I shrug. “I believe he apologized because he was being rude to us and didn’t want to offend our father.”

“But… why would he be worried about offending your father?”

“It could be because our father is a rather prominent attorney in Tokyo and very well connected.”

She nods, smiles, and then quietly says, “I’m going to like you girls being around,” which makes us giggle. We visit for a little while longer, then announce that we have to get home. I give Kimi a hug and tell her, “I’ll see you Monday.”

She pulls back and asks, “Why not tomorrow?”

“I have something to do tomorrow that takes precedence. Hey, do you and Ako want to come hang out or do something this weekend?”

“I’d have to ask, but sure, that sounds like a lot of fun. What would we be doing?”

I shrug. “Whatever. You decide and we’ll do it. For that matter, why don’t you two spend the weekend with us?” Leaning close to her ear, I whisper, “It looks to me like you could use some time away to have some fun.”

“I’ll ask, but with the way father reacted when he figured out who you are, I don’t think there will be a problem.”

“Good! We’ll have a lot of fun.”

“Thank you, Sora.”

“For what? I’d love for us to hang out for the weekend.”

“That’s not why I’m saying thank you. Thank you for everything.”

She gathers me in her arms and hugs me so tight I groan.