August 27th: Unrequited and Uninvolved

Just as everything is getting better with hopes and many new routes, this is not what I expected for a second souvenir hunt for my uncles, parents, cousins and sister. I'm stuck here in the middle of the town with so many four inches of water raining down the district area. With just an umbrella, borrowed from Torahiko (yeah, I know, I didn't dared to borrow Toshi's new cheap umbrella), and holding two bags of nice souvenirs for my family since they are coming for me. At least I did my little chores, this village has nice things to offer as souvenirs. As I'm not expecting the rain to stop, I better get going ahead before I get myself blown-away by the wind.

Walking on in my raincoat and umbrella, my feet are getting a little wet. Puddles started to form on the cobblestones and grass. It's so wet like my hometown. Walking pass the park, I heard someone shouting close by.

"Kelly-san!" I face the origin of the voice. Two young huskies are waving under a gazebo. The two aren't wearing any protection for the rain and are half-wetted. I approach them.

"Hey, Kimi-chan. Hey, Masa-kun. You kids need a ride?" I said.

"Yes, please! Take me home before I get soaked!" Kimiko cried.

"Ugh, why you have to be our answers." Masashi complained.

"Oh, alright. Might as well go ahead and leave you both here."

"Masashi, shut up! Why do you have to be so mean!?"

"You'll regret it if you didn't want me take you back." I smirked.

"Fine! Let's go." He reluctantly said.

"What's the magic word?" I teased.

"Please, takes us back before I change my mind." He said between his aggressive teeth.

The two huskies gathers with me under the umbrella. We started to walk along the wetted path. Asking them were to go, Masashi wants to go his grandparents' house which is closer, and Kimiko wants to see her brother at the inn. So I can do it without problems. The three of us walk together until Kimiko started a conversation with Masashi.

"So, who is it, Masashi?"

"Eh?"

"Who's this special one?"

"I-I don't know what you're talking about!" He's frustrating.

"But I overheard you have someone that you don't love back, and you just want to be friends."

"Where'd you heard that!?"

"At camp, don't you remember?"

"GYYAAHHH!" He freaks and his face says it too. "H-How much did you heard?"

"Not much, except the part you said you and her are just friends." She said.

Masashi groaned and I somehow stop walking when these two did. We're not even there yet, and I'm kind of not interested of hearing this. But thanks to this dreadful rain, I'm now stuck with them. Kimiko keeps asking. "Who is it, Masashi?"

"No! I'm not gonna talk about it!" He shouts.

"Come on, maybe I can help!" She holds his hands and jumps for begging. This causes Masashi to fluster. I'm just standing here and watching something that I don't see everyday. Does she still doesn't know? Kimiko continues her carefree behavior. "Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! TELL ME!"

"Why do you have to provoke me this way?" He cried.

"Because, I'm your friend and I'm want to help you. So tell me who she is? Is someone from your town, right? Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! TELL ME!"

"AAAHHH!" Masashi screamed at her. "No! Is not someone from my town! Because she's not real!" He screams of fluster.

"You have an imaginary girlfriend?" She calmly and confusedly said. Not bothered by his screams and yells. "Ugh, how lame."

"No! Is not like that!" He exclaims. "The person I can't control my feelings to is YOU!" He sharply stated. I don't know how to handle this, but they're talking if I weren't here. Like they think I don't speak their language. Kimiko slowly reacted to this.

"Me…?"

"Yes, you! I can't help myself being nice to you." I tried to interrupt them but Masashi kept talking, but with a calmer tone. "You're the most beautiful husky I've ever met. I-I wanted to be just friends but I can't avoid treating you nice, like the way I do it with my friends. But you're so different than other girls, though. And I keep questioning myself: who the heck are you? And why I'm falling in love with you?"

Kimiko said nothing nor me (because I'm not involved in this). "What I only want, is to have nice friendship, not a romantic one. I want to say this to you now because I don't care about this at all. Not even one bit. I like you, but I don't love you." Masashi lastly said.

I could not tell if he hurt Kimiko, but she just stayed there, listening with no impact reaction on her face. She stayed there like a silent stone. Is she okay? "Kimiko? You're listening?" Masashi asked, hoping he didn't broke her.

"Umm…", she slowly responds, "I… I don't love you, too." She smiles. What?

"Huh?" Masashi confusedly said.

"I said I don't love you, too." Still smiling. Masashi couldn't believe it. "I'm sorry if I driven you crazy, but I'm also not interested, too, Masashi. I just like you, as a friend."

"Why you're sorry for?"

"For kissing you while playing Truth-Or-Dare the other day. I guess I shouldn't have gone that far, huh?"

"Never mind about that, but, I'll accept your apology, Kimi-chan." Masashi recovers and calmly said. He's must be surprised that she also felt the same way as him. The two smile together, having a moment of their friendship as little kids in their early pre-teen years.

"Umm, sorry to interrupt, but, can we continue ahead?" I finally said something. The two nodded and we continue our wetted path. Masashi's house was just around the corner of trees around, it's such a nice house. This is must be where Saki lives along with her grandparents. If I'm correct, their last names are the Yukimuras as it says in the mailbox.

"This is it." Masashi confirmed his destination. "Thank you, Kelly-san."

"No problem, Masa-kun."

"Bye, Kimi-chan. I don't love you." Masashi waved as he heads towards the house's door.

"I don't love you, too!" Kimiko waved goodbye for the day. This is one complicated relationship. How exactly do they ship together?

"Come on, Kelly-san. I want to see Onii-chan." Kimiko said. So many questions in my mind after this event but what can I say, they're just kids. So, let them be. We proceed to our next final destination for the day in this poor weather. But Kimiko couldn't help stare at my shopping bags. "What's in the bags, Kelly-san?" She asked.

"Just souvenirs for my family, they're coming in a few days. So, I didn't want to be empty handed when they come." I said.

"Oh, so, what did you bought?"

"Tea, books, coffee, mugs, and a tea set." I said.

"That's it?"

"Well, I did bought a kimono for my sister, I'm sure she'll love it."

"That's nice."

"So, why you wanna go to where Toshi's working?" I asked.

"I just want to see him, he always works too hard in that inn." She said. "I hardly see him around the house."

"Hmm, really?" I remember that time when Toshi said that his sister is spending more time with her friends than him as she's growing up. I think this is way to show that she's still wants to be with her big brother. But that was a kind of an excused from Toshi to hide the fact that his father is the one in need. He's just trying to keep things in order to surpass this.

The Ooshima Inn was in sight, the rain haven't stopped yet. Can't wait to get inside to dry myself and relax. So tired already. "Here we go, Kimi-chan, we're here." I open the main door and again meeting up with Toshi at the lobby behind the reception desk. He's talking to someone on the phone. He hasn't noticed us we're here.

"I don't know where Kimi-chan went, Mom. She's probably at the park…" He finally noticed us we're here as he turned around, "Oh, forget it, Mom. She's here now with me. Bye!" He hangs the phone. "Kimi-chan, what are you doing here?" He asked.

"I was at the park with Masashi, but it started to rain and we got stuck in the gazebo and thankfully Kelly-san gave us a ride back." She explained.

"And where's Masa-kun?" Toshi asked.

"I dropped him at his house." I fulfilled said.

"Ah, well, thank you, Kelly." Toshi said.

"You're welcome, see you." I said and head straight to the stairs to my room.

…

Relaxing in my room this afternoon after a little of shopping spree, and then encountering Masashi and Kimiko in their friend zone conversation. I'm relaxing on the bed, with a cable phone on my left side of my head, telephoning with Kouya for a casual chat. Our conversation changed when he asked what I did today. I told him about my shopping list of souvenirs for my family. Then, I started gossiping about the unrequited relationship of Kimiko and Masashi.

"Masa-kun and Kimi-chan together? That's a strange pair." Said Kouya on the phone.

"Well, it happened." I said. "Masa-kun just confessed his feelings to Kimi-chan. Boy, they really felt the same way."

"So, they started on a relationship, officially?"

"Sadly, no, they both agreed to be just friends. W-what kind of friend zone is that?"

"Well, Kelly, they are just kids and they just don't get this feeling, yet, even if they feel it." Kouya stated. "Once they hit puberty, they'll know."

"I think Cupid would do his job anytime soon." I said. I heard Kouya chuckling. Just then I hear someone knocking the door. "Hold on, Kouya, there's someone knocking." I leave the phone and walk to the door. Just as I opened it, "Kimiko?"

"Hi, Kelly-san."

"Kimi-chan, whatcha doing?" I'm puzzled.

"Onii-chan told me to come here."

"Why?"

"I…don't know." She stated. Why Toshi told her to come to me?

I went back to the phone and told Kouya. "Kouya, uh, I'm going to hang up, or," I look at Kimiko, "why not talk with Kimiko for a while, okay?"

"What?" Too late, I handed the phone to Kimiko. I'm sure that'll distract her.

"Kimi-chan, I'll be right back, okay?" I said to her. She nodded and I left the room, walked through the hallway to the stairs to the first floor. Expecting to find Toshi at the lobby, I found Torahiko instead, must be his shift as he's now working the reception desk.

"Torahiko, have you seen Toshi-san?"

"I think he's talking on the phone. What is it? You have something to complain?"

"Toshi-san told Kimi-chan to stay at my room and she doesn't have any reasons to be there." I said. "Something's going on and I want to ask him why." Torahiko stood there thinking. "Tora, is there something you know?" I asked.

"Give me a moment, uh, I think he did that because he's talking to his father just now." He said. Behind him, the slightly open door, I see the husky talking. Just when we hear him whimpering.

"Is he crying?" I whispered. Torahiko and I got closer to the half-opened door and hear his conversation.

"It… It just that… I don't want to see you in a wheelchair, Dad." Toshi said. "We'll get you that surgery… No! No! I will not give up, Dad!... I will not quit!"

I stand back from the door and face Tora. "Surgery?" I asked.

"Kenta-sensei needs a spine surgery after an accident he had several weeks ago before you came here." Tora explained. "That's why Toshi began working here."

"What happened to him?"

"He fell down some stairs and nearly snapped his spine. We tried to be supportive but Toshi couldn't accept that. And Toshi is been taking care of his family since then. If only we could help him."

"Gosh, does Kimiko-chan knows?" I asked.

"She does, but, she doesn't know how serious this is." Tora replied to me. Well, that explains why Toshi sent her to my room. He doesn't want her to know. Torahiko heard the phone being hanged and he walks through the door to a crying Toshi for comfort. I left them and I just went back to my room where Kimiko is. That little innocent smile of hers that make us smile during the hard times. Those times that we can't break a promise in Christmas holidays. My family continued on without my brother as he goes missing. But we all know that on the inside of our hearts we miss him dearly.

I went back to my room, Kimiko hanged up the phone. She told me that Kouya said to her goodbye for me. As I sit next to her at the bed, I asked her a basic premature question that's easy for her to understand: 'Why Toshi is working the inn?' To her answer; she basically knows that her father can't go to work, because of his back pains. She of course knows that he fell down the stairs, but she wasn't there at that time to see how seriously his injuries were. Clearly to me that she doesn't know how serious is. I don't want to be the one involved and tell her that her father would be on a wheelchair soon. Toshi is all down there, taking all the responsibility to himself, crying, comforted by Torahiko.

What am I going to do?