True Confessions 8:
It was during the
second week at her new school that the bullying began. The first week had been
sort of okay, since no one knew what to make of the new girl with the big
glasses. But, by the end of the second week, she had begun to experience a pain
she never thought possible. Being called names she did not understand and
beaten by the bigger kids almost became the norm.
She could still
remember the day she had run all the way back home, too afraid to deal with the
kids who seemed to enjoy teasing her. Grandfather listened to her story but had
given her an advice that would remain with her for as long as she lived.
“Running away from
your fears will never solve anything, Kumiko. You must confront them head on,
no matter how many times you get kicked down and beaten up. Stand up to them
and be strong, Kumiko! That is the only way you can survive.”
She sighed softly and sat
down on the bench, staring blindly at the koi pond before her. It was a
relatively cool night and the soft breeze did more to help cool her fevered
flesh and ease her troubling thoughts. It was foolish of her to have run out
like that. It felt and looked as if she had been too stunned at the proposal to
act rationally. This was not the way a woman like herself ought to behave. She
should have handled the situation with more dignity and cheerfulness. She
sighed again and took off her glasses, wiping it slowly with the hem of her
robe. How was she going to go back in there and look at them in the eye without
feeling like a complete fool?
“Ah, thought I’d find you
out here,” came the cheerful and familiar voice of Kawashima. “
She sat beside the silent
teacher and together they remained that way for some time, watching the
colorful fish leap in and out of the water every now and then. Yankumi slid her
glasses on and managed a weak smile.
“I’m sorry for making you
both go through all this trouble for me. I had no idea this was going to
happen…”
“No one can predict
anything in life,” Kawashima replied quietly, her gaze still trained on the
fish. “Unless you are a psychic and a very good one at that. Sometimes we all
have to adjust our schedules to accommodate the new things that happen in life.
Take Yunta for example.”
Yankumi nodded softly at
the name of Kawashima’s ‘adopted’ son. Although he was the child of her late
husband and his ex-wife, she had raised the boy like her very own. And although
he had lived with his grandparents for a while, both mother and son were
together again and quite happy with their living arrangements.
“I don’t regret having
Yunta in my life,” Kawashima said softly. “He’s the best thing to ever happen
to me and I don’t think I’d have it any other way. Yes, I would have liked to
have my own kids, but fate has decreed it not to be so.”
“Kawashima sensei…”
“I’m not bitter at least
I no longer am,” the older woman reassured Yankumi with a warm smile. “I’m
quite glad that things turned out this way. I have a son who loves me, a great
job and some wonderful friends.” She nudged Yankumi gently, causing the other
to blush lightly. “Now you on the other hand…I don’t quite know what to make of
you.”
“What’s that supposed to
mean?” Yankumi asked with an attempt at a scowl.
“It’s like you have two
different personalities,” Kawashima replied with a thoughtful look on her
features. “On the one hand, you act so…mature and almost frightening with that
weird language you speak…almost yakuza like.”
“Ah ha…that’s…that’s
because I love yakuza movies,” came the hurried reply. “I tend to act them out
sometimes and it’s a habit I’m trying to stop. Really.”
The nurse didn’t look
convinced. “If you say so. I love Julia Roberts, but you don’t see me acting
out her lines, do you?”
Yankumi looked blank but
remained silent. Not really expecting an answer, Kawashima continued with a
wave of her hand. “My point is that you are such a contradiction, Yamaguchi
sensei. One the one hand, you are your…yakuza self and on the other hand,
you’re really just a nice, clueless and cute woman who has no idea what she
really wants.”
Clueless? What the…?! Despite the mild insult, Yankumi
blushed at the compliments all the same. “Rea…really?”
“Uh huh. Take for
instance, your love life.”
“Eh…”
“You already have
Shinohara sensei. He’s kind and smart and obviously rich from the way he sounds
and looks.”
Yankumi looked
flabbergasted. “How do you know all this!”
“I saw him that night you
and the others went bowling. He was talking to you outside the building and I
was just passing by.”
“Oh…”
“Anyway, he’s obviously
the right man for you but…”
Yankumi wasn’t sure she
wanted to hear the next part, but she bit her lower lip and remained obediently
silent.
“…but your heart and mind
belongs to someone else, doesn’t it? You find yourself thinking more and more
about this other person and how he makes you feel, don’t you?”
Of course she did! She
couldn’t stop thinking about that damn brat!
“It’s hard for you
because one, he’s younger, two, he’s un-dateable at least in society’s eyes and
now he already has a wife waiting for him once he graduates…”
“I don’t think Sawada
will be that quick to get married,” Yankumi suddenly blurted out, her cheeks
darkening as she realized that she had given away her concerns. She tried to
frown to mask her embarrassment. “I’m just saying that the boy has to think
about his future…education…”
“Marriage is part of the
future,” Kawashima reasoned softly. “He’s not going to remain single forever,
is he?”
“I know that! I just
don’t…I mean he…he…” He’s wha?t! Her mind screamed in agony. Why wasn’t
she happy about it? Why couldn’t she walk into that room and look him in the
eye and tell him the dreaded ‘congratulations’ on the impromptu omiai –
if you could call it that. She groaned and slapped her hands over her flushed
visage.
“I don’t know…” she
finally muttered weakly. “I don’t know what’s happening…”
“Maybe it’s because
you’re jealous?” Kawashima offered. “You had him for three months,
Yamaguchi-sensei.”
“Hello! He’s my student!”
she blurted out in a plaintive but harsh whisper. “I can’t encourage that!”
“Love is no respecter of
age, race, creed or disposition in life, Yamaguchi sensei. I thought you would
have known that by now. Besides, the whole student-teacher routine won’t last
once he leaves school in a week’s time. Then you’ll both be free to do whatever
you want.”
Free…free to do
whatever I want with Sawada…Shin.
Her heart beat quickened.
“No…it’s still not…ouch!”
It wasn’t a strong cuff on the head but painful enough to get her message
across. “What did you do that for?”
“Because if someone
doesn’t knock some sense into you, you’re going to lose that boy eventually,”
Kawashima replied with a light snort as she rose to her feet. “Don’t you think
he’s waiting for you to rescue him…again?”
Yankumi’s eyes widened as
she watched the older woman smile knowingly. Her blush darkened and she lowered
her gaze, worrying her lower lip again. How could she deal with someone like
Ayumi? And besides, this was all speculation. She still wasn’t sure if she
really did love Shin or not. It was true that she couldn’t stop thinking,
worrying and caring about him, but she had only assumed it was a brother-sister
type relationship.
How many brothers and
sisters kiss each other that intimately, Yankumi, you fool!
“So, think about it, ne?”
Kawashima said with a warm smile. “Don’t forget that time’s running out.”
Yankumi could only nod
numbly as she watched the older woman walk away. She remained seated on the
bench for a moment longer, her mind whirling with thoughts on what she could
possibly do. If Ayumi was correct in saying that the marriage was a
pre-arranged one, then it was going to be extremely difficult to set things
right. Yankumi already had a strained history and relationship with Shin’s
father. The last thing she wanted to do was to make it even worse.
To
everyone who cared to listen, Ayumi regaled them with tales of the how the
Sawada and Hayasaki families had betrothed them when they were much younger.
All the girls sighed and gushed about how romantic it was, while the boys (some
still trying to recover from the shock) teased and made fun of their classmate.
“I wonder why Yankumi ran
out like that though,” Kuma said with a thoughtful look on his visage as he
took a sip from his cup. “You’d think she was acting jealous or something.”
“Jealous?” Noda screeched
in disbelief. “Why would Yankumi be jealous of Shin! It’s not like they have a
relationship…or is there something you’re not telling us, Shin?”
The dark-haired boy
ignored the question and nudges from his friend, his angry gaze still pinned on
the redhead who was talking excitedly to her friends. He couldn’t believe this
had happened. Here and now of all places! He had always had an inkling that his
parents, especially his father, had seen to this arrangement since both families
stood to benefit from the merger. But with Ayumi’s worldwide success as a model
and actress, Shin had assumed that his father had cut all ties with the
Hayasakis. Apparently from this new announcement, it didn’t seem like that had
been done at all.
He caught her eye and she
waved to him shyly, causing Shin to grit his teeth. He tore his gaze away and
noticed for the first time that Yankumi was no longer in the room. He had been
too stunned at Ayumi’s announcement to notice anything else.
“Yankumi,” he muttered
eyeing the boisterous room with light concern. Where was she?
“I told you she ran out
of the room,” Kuma replied as if he had heard the unspoken question. “She just
dropped her cup and ran out. It was pretty weird.”
Shin rose to his feet
quickly and ignoring the surprised cries from his friends or the small frown
his ‘fiancée’ threw at him, he all but ran out of the room. All he could
imagine and think of was Yankumi’s reaction. How had she acted? Why had she run
out of the room? Did it mean that she really did give a damn about him after
all? His heart, pounding harder than ever before and not just from his run,
seemed to throb with an emotion that was only being manifested with each step
he took. He would tell her how he really felt. He would try to explain that
this was all one big mistake and hope that they could work things out. He would
plead with her to wait for him for as long as it took. He would do all he can
to win her even if it meant going against his father and being disowned for the
rest of his life.
“Ah, Kawashima sensei,”
he called out as he noticed the pretty nurse walking towards him. “Where’s…?”
“By the koi pond,” came
the swift reply. “Hurry before she decides to drown herself.”
“Eh?”
Kawashima laughed. “Just
kidding. She’s there though, so go talk to her.”
Giving the woman a small
smile of gratitude, Shin made his way towards the doors which led to the
gardens and almost found himself barreled to the ground by something or rather
someone.
“Don’t go,” came the
muffled voice against his chest and the surprisingly strong arms which wrapped
themselves around his waist. “Don’t go to her, Shin. Please.”
“Let me go, Ayumi,” he
replied tightly.
“No,” the girl replied
firmly, lifting shimmering green eyes to meet his cool ones. “Why won’t you
leave her alone? She doesn’t care for you. She told me herself that she loves
Shinohara sensei.”
An image of the beautiful
diamond necklace and the happiness he had seen in Yankumi’s eyes at the moment,
flashed through his mind and he shook his head slowly. “I know that.”
Ayumi looked confused.
“You know she loves him and yet…”
“I’m willing to wait,” he
replied quietly. “I know I will have her someday.”
Her lips quivered and
Shin braced himself for a tantrum or a scream, but instead, she pressed herself
even closer to him, her arms now wrapping themselves around his neck.
“She’s too old for you,”
Ayumi whispered against his lips. “Do you honestly think she’s going to wait
for you? By the time you think you’re ready, she’ll be happily married with
Shinohara and living her life as a…”
“Oh…excuse me, I didn’t
know you two were here.”
Shin all but pushed Ayumi
away from him at the familiar voice and opened his mouth to deny anything that
Yankumi had thought was happening. But to his surprise, the older woman had a
wide smile on her face and looked genuinely…pleased about something.
“I just came to
congratulate you two!” she said with a clap of her hands. “Love is such a
wonderful thing, isn’t it?”
Even Ayumi looked bemused
at the happy well-wishes but recovered quickly. “Yes, it is, Yamaguchi sensei.
Thank you so much for your words of advice. I’m sure you’ll be very happy with
Shinohara sensei.”
“Oh, don’t be silly,” the
teacher said with a wave of her hand, trying to look coy. Shin thought he would
be sick. “It’s too early to think of that.”
The females laughed and
the insincerity in their motions was enough to make the dark-haired boy even
more irritated. What the hell was wrong with them?
“Yankumi,” he began but was
silenced as the teacher placed a finger against his lips.
“Don’t worry, Sawada,”
she said with a firm nod. “I’ll make sure the other students leave you two
alone. I’m sure you both have a lot to talk about.”
Shin frowned and tried to
speak again but Ayumi was already dragging him away. “Oh, you are so wonderful
Yamaguchi sensei! Thank you!”
Yankumi waved happily as
she watched the couple make their way back to the banquet room. Once out of
sight, she lowered her hand and allowed the false smile to vanish from her
features. Goodness that was even more tiring than she had thought. She had
assumed she would be able to face them as naturally as she could, but it had
been much tougher to actually do it. Just seeing the two making out in the
hallway had been bad enough.
“Might as well make use
of the onsen,” she mused out loud as she walked up the stairs and towards her
quarters. “I think I need a good long soak.”
It wasn’t
until the last girl had crawled into her futon, did Yankumi finally find the
time she needed to be alone. She had thought of going after the debacle with
Shin and Ayumi, but to her dismay,
At last, it was peaceful
and quiet and she could take that long and much needed soak she had been
looking forward to. Changing into a fresh yukata, she tiptoed over
She stared at the two
stairs that led to the onsen and squinted to make out which said ‘men’ and
which said ‘women’. Nodding softly to herself with satisfaction, she walked
down the right flight of stairs and towards the steaming springs which looked
like pure heaven at this point. It was quiet and empty (thank goodness!), and
still slightly damp from the quick bath she had taken, she slipped out of the
robe and dipped her toes into the water to check its temperature.
She giggled a little at
how good it felt and then glanced around quickly just to be sure that no one
had heard her act so childishly. Satisfied that she was alone, she stepped into
the pool and sighed in content as the warm water soaked her completely.
Remembering the rules which stated that she didn’t have to stay in for too
long, so as not to get too dizzy or possibly faint, Yankumi closed her eyes and
allowed herself to drift away. For a while, all the stresses and worries of the
day seemed to melt off her shoulders. There were no thoughts of failed romances
and upcoming weddings and even for a time, Sawada Shin was completely erased
from her mind.
Ah, pure bliss. If only
things could last this way…forever…
Shin knew
he should have said something when she walked into the onsen, but as if his
mouth had been wired shut, he was unable to utter a word. Of course he had been
ready to yell out a warning to whomever came in, but seeing that it was none
other than Yankumi…well, his thought processes had changed dramatically. He
remained as still as death in the pool, thankful for the natural alcove which
hid him from any prying eyes. His entire being flushed with unbearable heat as
she took off the robe and for a moment, the urge to cover his eyes like a child
caught doing something bad, overwhelmed him. But he had stared helplessly,
knowing that if he was discovered, he would barely live to tell the tale.
She might not have been
as voluptuous or as curvy as Kawashima or
He had only come out for
a quick soak since sleep had not come easy. How could he get some sleep anyway?
It was bad enough he had to deal with Ayumi and her advances, but Yankumi’s
eagerness to wish them good luck was even more aggravating. He just couldn’t
understand her at all! Just when he thought they were making progress, she’d
turn around and do something completely different! He sighed and accidentally
shifted, causing the water to ripple a little.
Yankumi opened her eyes
at the subtle motion and frowned lightly. She couldn’t put a finger on it, but
there was something definitely wrong. She hadn’t fallen asleep that much was
certain, but she was now aware of someone else in the onsen. Another woman
perhaps? Maybe someone else who couldn’t get enough sleep and decided to stop
for a soak as well? She treaded water for a moment, squinting through the steam
to make out her unseen companion. She had heard about ghosts haunting onsen
before, but she refused to think about that at this time. She hated ghosts and
horror stories. They scared her to no end.
“He…hello?” she called
out tentatively. “Is anyone here?”
Silence and now she could
feel her breath coming out in short gasps. There was someone else here, she
just knew it! Damn this steam!
Shin decided it was as
good a time as any to make his escape. He had been in here for too long anyway
and didn’t want to shrivel up like a prune or pass out from the heat. Pushing
himself away from the wall, he began to swim towards the deck as quietly as he
could. The steam was becoming even thicker and it was a bit hard to make out
Yankumi’s position at the moment but he was sure he was almost to the edge. He
stretched out a hand. Just a little bit further and then…
What the…?!
Something soft, warm and
definitely not a wooden edge.
“Eeeeek!” came the
piercing shriek and she struck out blindly, her fist almost colliding with
Shin’s head. But he ducked away in time and splashed away, biting back a curse
at her ferocious attack.
His cheeks were flaming
red now, aware of just what part of her anatomy he had touched. Shit! If he
didn’t get out of here soon, he was toast!
“PERVERT!” Yankumi
screamed and dove for him again.
Shin began to swim as
fast as he could towards the merciful safety of what he assumed was the deck,
but to his chagrin and no thanks to the steam, he found himself swimming even
further away. And from the sound of the splashes behind him, Yankumi was fast
on his tail and gaining on him.
Oh crap! I do so want
to have children someday, he begged as he swam even faster.
“Get back here, you
bastard!” Yankumi growled. “I’ll teach you how to sneak up on people!”
No longer caring where he
was going, just as long as he got away from her, he grunted in pain as his hand
suddenly struck the stone wall. He was trapped! He had somehow managed to swim
right back to his original position!
Fuck!
He spun around and was
promptly caught in a headlock as Yankumi began to duck him into the water.
“Got you!” she yelled in
victory. “I’ll teach you a lesson, you pervert!”
Stop! He screamed, not sure if he was saying that aloud or not. He could
barely breathe and she was going to kill him! He somehow managed to catch her
upper arm and with a desperate yank, he untangled himself from her death grip.
“Yankumi!” he gasped,
trying to get some air into his lungs. “Goddamn it! It’s me!”
She had lifted a fist to
punch his face, but it froze in mid air at the sound of his voice. “Sh…Shin?”
she whispered in disbelief. “Sawada…Shin?”
“Yes, it’s me,” he
admitted as the steam began to clear a bit. They could both see each other now
and what a sight they made.
Again due
to the semi-graphic contents of the upcoming chapters, the story might be
shifted to the M rated section. So just in case you check on the main page and
the story's no longer there, don't forget to switch to the other side! Thanks
so much for reading!