Hikaru was still feeling very tired when she left for school Tuesday morning. She tried to leave quietly, and left rice in the steamer and a note asking the couple to lock up when they left.
School was school.
When she got home she found a note from Chiharu. "It's OK now, he explained everything. Thank you so much. Let's be friends!" She felt relieved that putting them together last night seemed to have been the right decision.
The afternoon was filled by homework and a Red Tuesday intro.
It was late before she got to talk to Kiri again. They were both tired and didn't speak long.
--
Wednesday was much the same, apart from Miri finally making an afternoon visit. She brought food, which made Hikaru laugh.
Hikaru awkwardly offered her mother tea, and Miri poked around inquisitively during her visit. She exclaimed over the garden outside Kiri's office window, and they went out to explore it. Even though it was still early in the year, there were quite a few things in bloom.
--
Thursday dragged on forever until she got home after school. Kazuha was seated at the table with several bottles of alcohol. He looked up at her as she entered the house and his face fell.
"Hi?" she said awkwardly.
"Hi, sorry, I'm waiting for Kiri," he replied. His words slurred a little, showing he'd already been drinking for awhile.
"Kiri's still in Korea," Hikaru said worriedly.
"Fuck, sorry, I forgot. I'll go," he said, and rose unsteadily to his feet.
Hikaru dropped her bag and hurried over to him and took his arm. "You're not driving are you?" she asked anxiously.
He wavered and replied shakily, "No, I guess I'm already kind of drunk." A tear ran down his cheek.
"Why?" Hikaru asked, still holding his arm.
His face crumpled when he looked down at her and he shook his head mutely. Hikaru looked at the collection of bottles on the table, half of them were already empty.
"Are you sure you should leave? Maybe you should just stay and let me make you some tea and food?" she asked.
"That's not right, Kiri's not here," he protested, but he listed to one side when he tried to step away from the table. "I need to pee first though," he said, and then flushed and pulled his arm away from her. He staggered a little but made it to the bathroom.
Hikaru stepped into the kitchen and quickly started a the hot water. She prepared a couple bowls for ramen, poking through the refrigerator for anything that looked easy to add to it. By the time Kazuha got out of the bathroom she had a pot of tea and the noodles started soaking.
He dropped down beside the table and took another drink. Then he remembered and looked up at her. "Sorry, I'll leave," he told her, and stood again and began gathering his bottles.
"No, sit, it's OK. If you're this drunk, it's probably better not to go wandering around," she said anxiously and carried the tea to the table. She gently coaxed him into sitting down again, and collected the bottles.
"Hey," he protested.
Reluctantly she left the one he'd grabbed first. "Don't you think you've had enough for now?" she asked.
"There isn't enough in the world," he responded bitterly.
She took the rest into the kitchen anyway and carried back the ramen bowls. He just stared at the bowl blankly when she set one in front of him. "Try to eat a little?" she suggested. "They say drinking on an empty stomach is bad."
"I can't eat," he said, and took another drink from the bottle in his hand.
She bit her lip and watched him helplessly. "What happened?" she asked after a few moments.
"She's dead," he said flatly, without looking at her.
Hikaru stared, uncertain if she should ask more, or leave him alone.
He avoided her gaze, so she stared down at her ramen and stirred it instead. After a few minutes, the rest of it poured out of him in painful bursts.
"The guy she ran off with, drove off a cliff. They both died," once begun, he continued for a while, ending with, "I know I shouldn't care so much, I already decided it was over." He buried his face in his hands.
Hikaru reached out and awkwardly patted his shoulder. "Why shouldn't you care? Just because you weren't together, doesn't mean you stopped caring if she lived or not?" she asked uncertainly.
"Yeah," he agreed, and cried for a while with silent shuddering sobs.
Hikaru moved the bottle away and poured a cup of tea.
After awhile he took the cup and sipped. "This is so embarrassing," he said eventually, and glanced at her.
Hikaru shrugged. She looked around for another topic. "How did you get in?" she asked.
"Kiri's neighbor let me in this morning, she knows me," he said uncomfortably. "I forgot Kiri was gone. I shouldn't have come here."
"It's OK," Hikaru said again. "You're safe here, and I'm sure Kiri wouldn't mind."
"But you shouldn't have to deal with his drunk friend," Kazuha protested.
Hikaru pushed the cooling bowl of ramen toward him and said, with some embarrassment, "But I don't want to be the kind of wife that pushes away her husband's friends."
Kazuha gazed at her with shock and asked, "You got married?"
Hikaru blushed and shook her head. "Not yet, but we're engaged." She hesitated a moment then asked, "Kiri didn't tell you that?"
"I don't know, maybe, everything's kind of fuzzy." Kazuha shook his head again and began eating the ramen.
Hikaru finished her own bowl and then stood and carried it into the kitchen. She picked up her school bag and carried it back to the table. She laid out her homework.
Kazuha watched with an uncomfortable expression. When she raised her brows at him he muttered, "I can't even get used to the idea that Kiri's dating a high-school girl, aren't you too young to get married?"
Hikaru leaned back on her hands and pondered a little bit before answering. "Yes and no? I don't think I'm ready to get married right now, and when I asked Kiri to sign stuff so we could stay together, I wasn't sure if I'd want to marry him." Kazuha frowned at her and she continued, "But now I'm sure I do want to marry him eventually. I guess I'm a little slow."
Kazuha choked and had to recover a little before he could reply, "Slow? I think it's way too fast."
Hikaru shrugged and replied shyly, "But Kazuha-san, Kiri seemed sure when we'd been dating less than a couple weeks."
"I didn't mean that you're the only one who's moving too fast," Kazuha replied wryly.
Hikaru shrugged and said, "Well, I definitely don't want to get married before I'm old enough to do it without my mother's permission."
"She objects?" Kazuha asked.
Hikaru shook her head in negation. "No, she'd probably be thrilled. But, I just want it to be something I do completely by myself. I mean, with Kiri, but…" she trailed off, uncertain how to explain.
Kazuha nodded in the carefully sober fashion of the very drunk and said, "I think waiting at least that long is a good idea." He finished the over soaked ramen while she started her homework.
Afterward he lay back and covered his eyes with one arm. A little while later his open mouthed breathing revealed he'd fallen asleep. Hikaru paused and fetched a blanket and laid it over him before continuing her homework.
When Kiri called, she retreated to the bedroom. She laid out the story a little anxiously. "Gods," he replied and was silent for a bit. "Thank you Hikaru."
"Why?" she asked, confused.
"For taking care of my idiot friends this week," he replied wryly. "First Chi-chan, then Kazu, and you've had the situation with Mirage. How are you doing? How can I help?"
Hikaru laid back on the bed where she'd sat, and said, "I'm OK, a little tired maybe. You don't need to do anything but come home soon?"
Kiri didn't reply right away and she asked anxiously, "Has the tour been extended or something?"
"No. No, I'll be home Sunday night," he reassured her. "Sorry, I was just thinking."
"OK," Hikaru replied.
"I love you," Kiri said quietly.
"Me too, I really love you too," Hikaru said with a jumble of feelings.
She could almost hear his grin when he replied, "I can't wait to get home."
"How is it going, is it bad?" she asked anxiously.
"No, it's been good, almost surprisingly trouble free the last few days. I just want to sleep with you," he replied warmly.
Hikaru blushed and replied shyly, "I'm glad, me too."
They talked awhile longer. Kiri asked her to wake Kazuha in a couple hours and get him to drink more water and move to the couch for the night. Hikaru managed it, though she had to call Kiri again and have him talk Kazuha into sleeping on the couch instead of leaving, because he was embarrassed all over again when he woke up.
