Chapter 17
“I’m so glad you got invited to a hanami”, her mother said when she gave her the bento boxes. “I packed up some rice balls, karaage, and both sweet and savory mochi as well. Oh, and in the pink box there is some fruit for everyone.”
“You didn’t have to do all of this, I know you’re busy too Mom…”, she said, feeling a bit guilty for all the work her mom had put into the food.
“You know I like doing this for you.” Her mom gave her a warm smile. “Is your friend Haruka going to be there as well?”
“Yes, she is.” Just thinking about her made her blush. So that her mom wouldn’t notice that, she put the bento boxes in her bag and turned to the door. “Okay then… I’m off now.”
Riho left the house and went to get on the same train she always used to go to school. She then got off at the usual stop and walked to her school. Once she arrived there, she took out her phone and checked her messages. She read the description Haruka had sent to her so that she would find the place. Riho had to smile at how carefully she had written the message, even pointing out buildings and shops on the way so that it was impossible for her to get lost. It’s so cute how she’s caring for me, Riho thought. That’s what she’s always been doing, ever since we met in the school hallway that day.
When she got to the park, she blinked in surprise at all the people sitting under the trees, laughing and eating. Considering the warm weather and spring break, she should have expected this, but Tokyo and its masses of people still surprised her. In Hiroshima, there were very popular spots as well, but even those didn’t usually get as crowded as this. Well, I should finally get used to this, Riho thought, sighing. Just when she wanted to step into the crowd and look for her friends, she heard someone call out her name. She turned around and saw Haruka walking towards her, waving. She wore a more girly outfit than usual with the long socks and the cute sweater, but this look suited her well, too. She was always so stylish! Riho felt like her simple long-sleeved dress couldn’t keep up with that at all.
“There’s no way you’d find our spot between all these people, so I came looking for you!” Haruka grabbed Riho’s hand and showed her the way. Riho blushed from embarrassment. Was it okay to hold hands in front of all these people? Haruka never seemed to worry about things like that. But that was another thing she liked about her, so Riho decided to just go along with it.
The spot they had reserved was laid out with blankets. Riho had to smile as she could immediately make out which one was Haruka’s. Maa-chan, Sakura and Haruna were already sitting and filling the cups with tea. Haruka introduced her to her friend Haruna, since it was the first time the two of them met. “Nice to meet you!”, Riho said politely and bowed slightly. Haruna smiled at her in a friendly way and asked her if she had to take a long way to get here and if she was adjusting to Tokyo. She seemed really nice and Riho felt at ease around her right away.
Just when she sat down as well, Riho’s phone rang. It was Kanon, asking for the exact spot they were at. Riho tried to describe it the best way possible, but since there was nothing but trees and people around them, she couldn’t find a good explanation. At some point, Haruka just took the phone and told Kanon she would come to get her. She went off and disappeared in the crowd, leaving Riho behind together with Maa-chan, Sakura and Haruna. Since she wasn’t particularly good at conversations, Riho simply started to take all the bento boxes out of her bag and put them in the middle of the blankets. Maa-chan made excited noises, amazed by the amount of food she had brought. “Did you make all of this yourself?”, she asked. “What are these filled with?” She pointed at the rice balls.
“No, my mom made them for us. And I actually don’t know what they are filled with, because it’s always a surprise.”
“Oh, Haruka told me about that. She said your mom’s rice balls are the best.” Haruna looked at them more closely. She then looked at Riho and smiled at her. “You know, Haruka really, really likes you. I’m glad everything worked out with you guys. These past few weeks weren’t really easy for her. And for you neither, I guess.”
Riho nodded. There really have been a lot of hard times, she thought. When I first moved here, I had no one. Haruka was the first one who talked to me… because I’m always too shy to talk to anyone. And I was so happy to have a friend like her. But then she suddenly kissed me, and that moment, everything changed. I didn’t think I liked her that way. That’s why I left the school roof that day. Riho looked up at the cherry blossoms above her. There were lots of branches on the tree they sat under, and each one must have carried a hundred blossoms. I know I put her through hard times because of my constant running. But it wasn’t easy to understand all those feelings. I think I still don’t understand them. But for now, it’s all good. She looked back at her bento boxes. I know I like her too. That’s all that matters.
Haruka came back, bringing Kanon with her, who greeted everyone with a big smile on her face. They both sat down next to Riho and Haruka got excited seeing the rice balls Riho’s mom had made. She turned to Riho and winked at her, her shimmering eyes telling her that she remembered exactly the last time she had seen those. Riho did, too. And she blushed again.
They all put the food they had brought next to Riho’s bento boxes and in the end, there was a nice amount of different dishes waiting to be eaten by them. Haruka had even brought matcha chocolate, Riho’s favorite matcha food. Riho knew that Haruka had bought it thinking about her, and that made her really happy. As they enjoyed the food, they talked a lot about the exams and their results, about the upcoming break and what they would be doing. Riho, Haruka and Sakura got asked about their dance competition and the others promised they would come to see them. Haruka told everyone about Riho’s dance skills and how she admired them, and everyone teased her about how in love she was.
“It might be true that Haruka is in love, but Riho really is a good dancer.” Sakura felt like she had to clear that up.
“No, but you are very good, as well!” Riho praised Sakura. “Getting to school early to practice… I really admire that discipline.”
“I can’t wait to see the show, I’m sure all of you are great!”, Haruna said. She sounded like she honestly looked forward to the thing. Riho couldn’t wait to show everyone what they had been practicing for. She might have gotten the hang of the routine quickly, but she still put a lot of effort into it. And she was also very proud at Haruka, who had gotten really good. She wondered if her dad would find the time to come and see the competition, as well. In Hiroshima, he had always supported her dancing career and came to every show. But in Tokyo, he had been very busy and Riho didn’t get to see him much. While everyone else was chatting, Riho became quiet and her gaze went off, when suddenly, she felt someone touch her hand. As she looked to her left, Haruka smiled at her. She seemed to have noticed that Riho felt a bit sad that moment. The feeling of being understood so well by someone was amazing. Cherishing that, Riho managed to smile back.
The only food that was left now were some of the rice balls Riho had brought with her. Before anyone could take one, Maa-chan announced that she had a great idea, grabbed the whole box and grinned at everyone. Each one of them should take one rice ball, and the one who didn’t have a filling in theirs would have to sing a song all by themselves. Even though the game didn’t particularly make sense, Maa-chan’s excitement made everyone agree to the terms. Every girl grabbed one rice ball and they started giggling. There was no point in this, but Riho kind of felt nervous when she looked at her rice ball. Maa-chan sure was a funny girl. She understood why Haruka liked her so much.
As each one of them took a bite off, it was very silent. Then, Maa-chan jumped up and shouted that hers had salmon in it. Both Haruna and Sakura made relieved sounds, as well. Kanon grinned at everyone and showed them the tuna filling of her rice ball. So Riho and Haruka looked at each other, both still chewing. Suddenly, Haruka’s face lit up with a grin and she started pointing at Riho. She was right. Riho was the one who got the bland rice ball.
Which song should she sing? She closed her eyes and decided to go with the one that first came to mind. She wasn’t particularly unconfident about her singing, but she usually didn’t sing in front of other people. And at the actor’s school she had been to in Hiroshima, she concentrated on dancing mainly. Nevertheless, after taking a sip of tea, she started singing. The song that their dance club danced to.
She sang the verses and when she reached the chorus, Sakura joined in as well. A little later, Haruka, Kanon and Maa-chan did too, and Haruna clapped to the rhythm of everyone’s singing. They all had big smiles on their faces as they continued the song. The other people around them looked at them strangely, but they didn’t mind at all. When they finished singing, they ended up clapping and laughing loudly. Riho felt Haruka’s hand grabbing her and pulling her closer, so that their shoulders touched.
Moments like these make Tokyo so much more beautiful, Riho thought. Moments like these make me happy. I want to thank everyone for this. She looked at Haruka, who laughed so much she had to wipe tears out of her eyes. And I want to thank you the most. You are the best.
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thanks for you comments, as always!
for this chapter, I decided to shake it up a bit by changing the perspective. Hope you liked it anyways!