章 118: Snow
Arata was looking for Yuki now, so he went to find Yogi. If that girl was anywhere, it was most likely to be with her cousin. However, it seemed she took those lessons with him more seriously. Instead, choosing to avoid both him and Arata as an attempt to be a little less shy.
What he did find, was the trio of Yogi, Akiba, and Akaki.
"Arata, I'm glad you decided to find some time for us." Yogi joked that Arata was getting too busy running around to want to just hang out with friends. Something that couldn't really be denied with how many people were here.
"Yeah…" He didn't really have time to chat, for there was someone he was looking for. "But, I was wondering if anyone here's seen Yuki?"
"I think she went to use the bathroom." Akiba answered. If that was the case, then he figured that he could stop for a moment. They were his friends, and it wasn't like there was a ticking time bomb to take care of.
"I gotta say." Yogi started. "Your present for Akiba was pretty good." He laughed, believing that it was hard to top something like that. Arata certainly didn't think it was that special. It was just some merchandise from a manga that neither of those boys knew about. But to an untrained eye, it did looked like a rather elegant necklace.
"Yeah, it was pretty nice." The way that Akaki was eyeing him didn't make Arata feel so good about that statement. He just nervously chuckled in response. It wasn't like he was trying to one-up him here.
"Oh, you won't believe what Akaki got me." Unsurprisingly, Akiba pulled out the copy of the movie to show him. After what they agreed on, Arata was hopeful that Akaki would hold up his end of the deal.
"That's nice." Arata responded. "I hope you like it when you get the chance to watch it."
"Actually, I know you never got to see it. So I was wondering if you wanted to see it when you have any time?" He didn't need to look over to his other friend, to know that some not-so-happy eyes were on him.
"Gee, I'm not so sure." He said. "I can be busy sometimes, so you don't have to wait on me."
"Really?" She was a little sad to hear that news. "I just thought with how excited you got when you heard I had the manga. That you would've loved to see it."
"I'm sure if you were hoping to watch it with someone, they'd speak up by now." He emphasized the latter part of that sentence, while also nudging Akaki in the arm a bit.
"Yeah, I mean... I was a little c-curious to see it... Um, after we did the play." Akaki said, stumbling over his words. The only thing Arata did, was stare at him in disappointment. That boy knew her for how many years now?
"You wanted to see it too?" She replied. "That's great, I guess that's probably why you thought of it as a gift then." The boys all agreed with that statement, even if Yogi was the only one genuine in that expressment.
He dodged a bullet with that one. While those two were discussing plans, there was one other things he wanted to take care of. The reason why he was here in the first place.
"So, where has Yuki usually been hanging at?" Arata asked Yogi.
"Well, she tried skating for a little bit…" That was cut short as she couldn't handle the slipping around that was happening. Then after that, she tried to talk with the kids. But with so many of them asking questions. Especially since they didn't understand the concept of letting her answer the first one before asking another one. Well, that ended poorly.
Finally, there was the library club. Unfortunately, Ichiri just wouldn't shut up about what she did on the rink. That Yuki wasn't able to get any words in that conversation. Plus, Hifumi was trying to talk about manga with her, which was a bit concerning in public for her. So she faked using the bathroom.
"So she went through all that, huh?" Arata couldn't believe what she did. That sounded like a far cry from the scared girl he first saw in class that day when she transferred. "I think I know where she is then." He said farewell, and went to where he was certain she'd be at.
He went out the front door, looking around for some benches that were set up for people. Sure enough, there she was. Sitting all by herself on one of them.
"Arata?" She saw him approach her. "What are you doing here?" Yuki was certain she'd made sure no one saw her leave the party.
"I was looking for you. Well, let's just say that I figured you'd be here." Arata asked if he could sit beside her, which she permitted. They didn't say a word for a while. Just sitting silently out in the cold Winter. She's the one to break this silence.
"I'm sorry." She began. "I tried, but I guess I'm not really good at parties."
"I don't see why you need to apologize to me." He informed her that he was aware of her exploits. If anything, he was a little proud that she was brave enough to step out of her comfort zone. This girl hasn't changed who she was, but it was clear that she was working towards accepting that part of her. While also trying to open up, just a tiny bit.
They talked about it for a little bit. From the way she was speaking, Arata was really glad that they could do something like this. Sure, they did this dozens of times online, but when she found out the truth about themselves. It felt a little lonely, when they weren't talking anymore.
All this talking, almost made him forget about why he was searching for her in the first place. Of all the people here, it just had to be her. But, how would he tell that to her? Was that even true, or was it some other girl he didn't even think of?
"Huh?" Arata stopped what he was saying, when he felt something cold land on his face. Since it was close to Christmas, snow wasn't an uncommon sight. Gently, the icy flakes landed atop them, and everything around them. Slowly, but surely, covering the world under a white blanket. "It's snow."
Arata hung out his hand, waiting for a snowflake to gently fall to the palm. As soon as one did, it melted. Not allowing him the opportunity to enjoying its unique design.
"Snow…" She repeated after him. Though her attitude towards it, was the opposite from his. "I hate snow."
"You do?" He turned his head to look at her with a quizzing look. The reason for his question was obvious to both of them.
"I know." After all, her name does mean snow. However, that doesn't stop her from feeling this way, or from feeling about what she was about to say next. "I hate my name too."
"Why would you hate your name? Yuki's a beautiful name."
"Because I hate snow." She answered, looking down to her knees. "It's hard to touch because it's so cold, makes it hard for people to walk, and melts when it gets a little hot…" She paused for a second, before she finished her thought. "Like me."
"Yuki…" Arata was stunned to hear that. That wasn't something he heard everyday. Without saying another word, he embraced her with a hug.
"A-a-a-arata, what are you doing?" She was thrown off balance from his seemingly random action. "You're… You're so close."
"Hehe." He laughed a little as he gave her some space. "See, you didn't melt." For a second, she just stared at him. Then, it hit her. Yuki started to giggle, covering over her mouth to contain her laughter.
The two of them shared laughs from his dumb joke. It worked, he was able to brighten up her mood. Even under this freezing cold, they didn't feel its chill because of how funny they thought it was.
"Thank you." She said, wiping a tear from her laughing away. "I'm sorry, I just get like that sometimes."
"No worries." He said, but from what she said. Arata remembered one other thing. "Hey, how come you don't like my name?" It had been bugging him from the day they met. For her to be so upfront about it, especially since she was so reserved otherwise.
"That? Well, it's a bit of a long story." She started, but there was a way to easily shorten it. "But, when I was younger. I... Actually had a friend. If you can believe me." Arata did, but only because Yogi had mentioned it once before, when they were at those two's old school. "I don't remember his name, but I do know one thing about it.��
"What was that?"
"That I called him Ara." His eyes shot wide open. Did he just hear her right? Did she really just say, 'Ara'? "When I heard your name. It reminded me of him, and it made me sad. Because I had no way of finding him again."
"…" He was speechless. Was the girl he'd been looking for, really sitting right here?
"So that's why. It's kind of embarrassing, huh?" She was caught up in the cheesy nickname, to comprehend the look of disbelief on Arata's face.
"Back up a second. You said, you called him, Ara?"
"I did…" She was feeling self-conscious from his questioning. "But, it was just some silly nickname. I was just a kid… Please don't judge me too hard."
"No, no, you misunderstand." He clarified. "This Ara kid. I bet he called you, Y?" Yuki was taken aback a bit that he somehow nailed it.
"He did." Since she told Ara about her disdain towards her name. The boy came up with the nickname, to make her feel better. "But, how did you know that?"
"…" Arata could only smile in response. He had finally found the girl he'd been spending months trying to figure out. "A + Y" Was all he replied with to her.
"You're Ara?!" She couldn't believe it. This sounded like a dream, but all of this was real. The boy in front of her. The one that sat besides her cousin. The one that chatted with her online. Was also the one she was friends with, when they were very little.
"I am, and it looks like you're Y." He said, barely able to contain his excitement. The mystery was finally solved, and he could move on from it. Plus, it wasn't bad that it was Yuki either. Despite their struggles, she was someone he care about deeply, even before knowing that. So it was a win-win situation. Except for one thing.
"Let's not tell anyone about this." Yuki brought this high, down to the ground.
"What? Why?" He asked. This seemed more like a cause for celebration. Especially since some of their friends were also a little curious about it as well.
"I can't tell you." With all the circumstances around them, Yuki knew something he didn't. Something that was important enough, that it wasn't worth telling everyone about this. At least, not yet. "Can you trust me? I promise we'll let everyone know, but I want to… Take care of something first."
"Okay, if that's what you want." Arata gave in to her. Of all people, he knew that she was type that really was desperate to hide certain things. It wasn't like he was going to force her, if she didn't want to. "Can I at least tell my mom? Technically, she already knows, but she wanted me to find out on my own."
"Just make her promise she won't tell anyone, especially Yogi." Arata made a vow to do just that. With that, it was time to rejoin the party. And there was only one last thing to do, before calling it a wrap.
That being, it was time to take a picture.
Everyone got together, ready to snap one for the memories. With what he learned tonight, Arata made sure to sit besides Yuki for this one. Glancing over to her for a second, he gave her a wink. A sign to show that their secret was safe. She smiled, and returned it.
This party celebration was a success.
週次パワーステータス
-- 推薦
ランキング 
-- 推薦
チケット