Hey everyone. I'm so sorry for taking so long. I have been having a very stressful time with school, family, relationships, etc. ever since I last updated this story, and I haven't had time for it. But I feel bad, so here's another chapter. Please don't hate me. ;-;

I'll just post this to see if anyone's still reading. If you are, please review so I'll know, and I can start writing chapters again. This is a leftover from before that I edited ~

Again, I'm sorry, and thank you so much to everyone who's read this and reviewed.

-x-

Chapter Nine: Sunday

-x-

On Sunday morning, Rika got a phone call from Jeri. Why was her best friend always such an alarm clock?

"Hello?" she said, voice muffled by her pillow.

"Riiiika! How are you? Okay, total plan for the day! Ready for it?"

Jeri after just waking up was like eating cotton candy for breakfast: disgustingly sugary and would probably make you throw up afterwards. Not the best way to start your day.

"Um, I guess…"

"You're not doing anything with your family and Akira and Ryo, are you?" Jeri asked, and Rika couldn't help but be rather impressed that she'd already memorized their names.

"No, thank god. We had them over for dinner last night, remember?"

"Tell me about it in person, cause here's the plan! Okay. We go get Takato and some bread, and then we go stop by the cybercafé where Henry works. We can hang out there and get some yummy tea and set you and Henry up!"

Rika looked over to her clock. It was barely nine. Ouch. "Henry doesn't start working until eleven," she said.

"Wow, you know his schedule? You totally like him! And we're going early because… Takato's bread!"

Rika sighed. "Okay," she replied. "I have to shower and get dressed first, though, so… It'll take me a few minutes."

"Meet you at Takato's?"

"Okay."

"Cool! Bye! It's a double date!" Jeri hung up.

Rika flopped back onto her pillow. She didn't want to get up, but saying no to any of Jeri's ideas would only make her sad and possibly cry. So after a few moments, she got up and forced herself into the bathroom.

-x-

Ryo woke up around the same time Rika was about to leave for Takato's.

However, it was by choice. Kind of. There was something terribly depressing about having to set his alarm on a Sunday morning, but he'd promised he'd go see Kameko in the theatre troupe play she was in.

So he dragged himself out of bed and into the shower, where he nearly fell asleep again. They'd stayed at Rika's house – er, rather, Rumiko's house – until late last night, and once they'd gotten back he still couldn't get to sleep. He'd actually paced around in his room until he caught himself doing this and realized it was not exactly normal. And he wasn't quite sure why he had the urge to ramble around his room, anyway.

He was trying to make sense of his thoughts, he guessed.

However, he'd failed. Even after he'd forced himself to get in bed and began watching a boring movie to try and fall asleep, he found that he was still thinking. His brain wouldn't shut up. And now, even in the shower, he was thinkingthinkingthinking.

Which did not, in any way, shape or form mean that he was thinking about Rika in the shower. Not exactly. In fact, when he began to think about the strange conversation they'd had, he felt grossed out that he was thinking about her while he was in the shower, and instead forced himself to figure out a calculus problem on the steamy glass walls of the shower. Naturally, this didn't help him wake up much.

When he emerged from the bathroom, Akira was still asleep and snoring away – must have been the sake – so Ryo just grabbed some weird-looking bread to make toast for breakfast. His hair was already styled, and he'd spent several minutes choosing an outfit to wear. It was the first time he'd be seeing Kameko and her group outside of school, so he wanted to look… presentable. And she'd said the "event" as she called it would be smart-casual. He opted for a plain black collared shirt, some comfortable jeans, and some old sneakers… and then decided it was too casual and not smart enough, so he added an unbuttoned blue blazer and a skinny pink tie to wear loosened around his neck. Ryo was definitely not a guy afraid to wear pink.

After he'd brushed his teeth, he stuffed his keys, cell phone, and wallet inside his pockets and exited his apartment, with the directions to the theater he'd printed out online gripped tightly in his hand. It would be his first time riding the subway since he'd gotten back, and he was hopeless with directions anyway.

He left the building and walked outside.

-x-

One of the unfortunate things about going to Takato's was that she had to walk through her neighborhood. This, of course, meant that someone from her school could pop out of anywhere. Including Kameko and her crowd. Including Ryo.

That would be severely awkward, after last night. Or just in general.

Maybe nobody would recognize her without her uniform – or the old grungy clothes she'd worn when Akira and Ryo came over. Although she claimed not to care much about her appearance, she had to admit that deciding what to wear always took a couple minutes longer when she was going to see her friends. Okay, okay, to see Henry.

She'd finally decided that she wanted to look like she didn't care about her appearance. Thus, she'd grabbed a tight black t-shirt with a lightning bolt dangling from a grey cloud (with an angry face) and some old jeans (her favorite ones). But it was expected to rain again, and it was cold in the courtyard anyway. Plus, she realized that this shirt was too tight, and she'd feel weird wearing it around Henry. Then, she changed her mind and thought that it might not be a bad thing to wear it around him. Then, she nearly shot herself and hauled out her biggest, baggiest sweatshirt to wear over it.

Though she left it unzipped, telling herself it wasn't cold enough to zip it up anyway.

After she'd said goodbye to Seiko and had put on her messenger bag and tattered sneakers, she began the fifteen-minute walk to Takato's house. Listening to her iPod, of course.

And since she had no idea where Ryo lived, it wasn't her fault that she chose to walk the most direct way – down his street.

-x-

Ryo came to the happy conclusion that there was a metro station a few blocks away, though he didn't exactly relish the fact that it was in the direction of Rika's house.

But he told himself not to be paranoid. After all, the vampire queen didn't wake up this early.

It was a nice day, although it was overcast. He preferred cooler weather most of the time, unless he was going to the beach or something. Ryo also finally felt awake. Even though he hadn't slept much, his black eye seemed to have healed some more overnight, and it was barely swollen anymore.

The thing that was bugging him was that he couldn't really figure out who Rika was.

Maybe that's why he'd been pacing around last night. She seemed so different sometimes, like she let her guard down. When she was talking about the garden, for example. He didn't understand.

There he went again, thinking too much. This was the reason he couldn't sleep, he knew it.

How could he avoid thinking so much this time? Ah – of course – study the map some more!

Ryo stared at the piece of paper intently, with the same kind of concentration he usually awarded his notes right before finals. He would learn his away around, and would avoid thinking about Rika.

After all, she was probably telepathic thanks to her contract with Satan, and he didn't want to get another black eye.

-x-

Rika was not watching where she was going. Instead, she was looking down at her iPod, thumbing through her playlist, trying to find a specific song to listen to. When she'd found it, and the familiar music began to play on her headphones, she looked up again.

And nearly had a heart attack.

Walking towards her on the sidewalk was Ryo Akiyama, wearing okay clothes, curse him. It was only thanks to the fact that he was staring at a piece of paper, and that she was in a rich neighborhood where people had small front yards, that saved her. And, of course, her lightning-fast reflexes. Before she even knew what she was doing, she was leaping over a low stone wall and ducking behind it, her heart beating fast.

Of course, it only took a couple seconds for her to realize this was completely ridiculous. She would never live it down if she was caught, which was likely considering it was right next to the sidewalk. So she added insult to injury, and actually crawled through the tiny garden to a small hedge, which she crouched behind, hugging her knees to her chest in a fetal-like position. She turned her head slightly to peer out through the holes in the hedge, watching as Ryo came walking by, his eyes still on the paper, thankfully.

-x-

Ryo hadn't put down the paper until he'd nearly ran into a light pole. As he realized it was there, he jumped back, startled.

He could have sworn he heard a stifled snicker coming from the house next to him, but when he looked, its front yard seemed to be empty.

In any case, he gave the map one last look before tucking it into his blazer pocket, blushing slightly. No need to kill himself on the way there.

-x-

By the time Rika reached Takato's house, the bakery downstairs already had a long line of people extending out the door.

"Excuse me, sorry, move," she said, trying to push past the stubborn, hungry people. "I'm not going to steal your bread!"

Takato's father grinned at her when he saw her and handed her a small pastry – earning her a lot of nasty looks from the people waiting. "Takato and Jeri are upstairs, as usual!" he said, and she thanked him before quickly climbing the stairs and entering Takato's room, already speaking: "I swear, the people here are like ravenous wolves – "

She came face-to-face with two blushing teenagers sitting on the bed, looking quite guilty as they sprang apart from each other.

"Talk about ravenous wolves…" she muttered, feeling herself turn a bit red too. "Um… Do you two need a minute?"

"No!" Jeri squeaked. "No, we're done. Um, we're fine." She took a deep breath and Rika just knew what was coming next: the mindless babbling as a way to change the subject. "So, you took your time, you know? It's almost eleven! We should head over to see Henry soon! I can't wait; the tea there is the best ever. Not the pastries, though – the best ever pastries are right here! Downstairs in the shop, I mean. Did you have anything on the way up? And what took you so long to get here, anyway?"

Rika was used to this, so she wasn't taken aback by all the questions. "I kind of… ran into Akiyama," she said, though this wasn't exactly the reason she'd taken so long (annoyingly, it was because she'd been choosing her outfit).

"Ryo?" Jeri asked. "What do you mean, you ran into him?"

"The kid who came with us to see Attack of the Super Flame Bots?" Takato murmured. "Kazu and Kenta's friend?"

"Wait, I want to hear all about dinner last night! And how come you ran into him? Just on the street? Walking here?"

Rika shrugged, flopping down in Takato's chair and dropping her bag on the ground. "Yeah, right down the block from me. I guess he lives near me."

"Well, how was that? Awkward? What did you guys say?" Jeri asked, eyes wide.

"Um. Nothing?"

"What do you mean?" Jeri pressed.

Rika really, really didn't want to have to tell this story. But she knew Jeri was going to get it out of her anyway. "Okay, I saw him coming. Right towards me. And I just… hid."

Takato couldn't help but grin. "Wow! Really? Rika, afraid?"

"I was not afraid," Rika growled scathingly. "I just did not want to see him. I did that enough last night. He just kept talking and talking, and we tried to break up our parents but it failed miserably. And he kept asking me questions – like about my courtyard garden and stuff. And he never, ever shut up."

"He seemed friendly enough," Jeri said with a shrug. "Maybe he's just shy around big groups! Next time, let's invite him without Kazu and Kenta."

"No. Way. I am never voluntarily hanging out with that guy."

"What's so bad about him?" her best friend asked.

Takato cleared his throat. "So as much as I love to hear conversations about other guys, could we maybe talk about this on the way to the cybercafé? It's almost open…" He was always eager to be around another guy if Rika was around. He could handle time with his girlfriend, but when there were two girls and him he always seemed uncomfortable.

"Fine," Rika said, standing and picking up her bag again. "And I can sum it up easily. He's an arrogant, egotistical, completely vain jerk who uses people to get his way and to get ahead in life. Did I tell you guys he's like best friends with Kameko and her group?"

Jeri made a face as she pulled on her bright pink coat. "You mean with Ami too?"

Rika walked to the door and yanked it open. "Obviously. She's one of Kameko's little followers." She began to descend the stairs back into the noisy bakery, so she had to raise her voice as the other two followed her. "But until Akiyama, there was no boy to infiltrate the bitch squad, besides Yukio. What does this mean, you wonder?"

"I do!" Jeri affirmed.

"Excuse me, sorry," Rika said unconvincingly as she pushed past the crowd again. "It means that he's working even harder than those girls to become a part of that group!" she ended up yelling back to the others as she reached the door. Squeezing out, she sighed with relief as the cool air stung her warm face.

Jeri, and then Takato, soon caught up.

"Wait, I'm confused," Takato said, as they started to walk towards the cybercafé where Henry worked. "Why would he try so hard to be friends with them?"

"Takato, have I not told you so many times before? They are the stereotypical elitists of the school. They are experts at rising to the top of the food chain. Their parents are the kind willing to support them in whatever they do. They vacation around the world with other children of other CEOs of other multinational corporations. Basically – they have connections. If you're friends with them, there's no way you can fail financially in life. You make connections, and you're way ahead of anyone else, no matter how hard they work. That's why they're so powerful and respected at school. Because if you have connections with them, even if it's hard, hard work to achieve this, you will never have to work hard again in your life."

"I know that," Takato said.

Rika was annoyed. "Then why didn't you interrupt me?"

"Because I still hurt from the last time I interrupted you," he replied. "What I'm wondering is why Ryo would care about that. Doesn't he have connections too?"

"Everyone wants more connections."

"Absolutely everyone?"

"Yes."

"Including you?"

"Hell no! I want the least amount of connections I can get to those awful people at my school."

"Well, there's my point. Maybe he doesn't want connections either."

Rika narrowed her eyes at him. "I seriously hope you didn't just compare me and Akiyama," she said coldly. "I am a different kind of person than him. All he cares about is money and stupid things and connections! There is no other reason to be friends with those reject mannequins!"

"What does that even mean?"

"Shut up, Takato."

"Rikaaaaa," Jeri whined. "Let's stop talking about this guy and talk about something better instead! How about… Henry?"

Rika shrugged, feeling colder every step they got to the cybercafé.

-x-

"Oh my god, you made it!" squealed Hoshi, throwing her arms around Ryo's neck and nearly jumping on him.

He just kind of blinked for a moment, surprised that as soon as he'd entered she'd found him (also surprised to see her in ordinary clothes: black skinny jeans, pink heels, and a loose white top) and then awkwardly patted her back in a kind of lame sort of hug. "Yeah… I… sure… did…" Suddenly, her words dawned on him. "Was I not expected to come?"

She let him go and shrugged, eyes bright. "Nobody knew! But it's great that you came! Here, let's go find the others!" She grabbed his hand and led him away through the theater's elegant lobby to the top of the seats.

It was a huge hall with state-of-the-art equipment. The stage itself was enormous, and Ryo couldn't help but wonder how professional this all was. The theater had rows and rows of velvet stairs, along with eight boxes that surrounded the stage. An orchestra was seated below the stage, and was currently playing a simple musical piece as people sitting in their seats chatted with one another. They seemed strangely dressed-down, though Kameko had said that was the appropriate attire. Since it was a daytime performance, she'd said, it wasn't necessary to wear fancy clothes.

"Wow," he couldn't help but say. "Is this a touring play or a group of high school students?" He laughed, a bit nervously. He hadn't been expecting this.

Hoshi giggled, and he wondered why they were just standing there instead of finding their seats. "The troupe is very advanced, Ryo. A lot of the members are professional actors already. Some are on TV shows or even in some movies, so you might recognize them!"

"Wow," he said again. "That must be a lot of pressure for Kameko." He wondered why she never talked about acting. Probably because she couldn't have much of a part, with a cast like that. "So what part is she playing, again?"

"Katherina," Hoshi replied. "Have you ever seen The Taming of the Shrew performed before?"

Ryo's mouth hung open. He hadn't expected the play to be Shakespeare, and also hadn't expected that she would have that big of a part… "I-I had to read that for school, in America," he replied. "Isn't she… the main character?"

Hoshi smiled, not paying attention. "Kaede is waving to us! Here, let's go!" She grabbed his hand again and towed him away, leaving the auditorium.

"Wait, where are we going?" Ryo asked.

"To our seats," she said.

"Aren't we… going the wrong way?"

Hoshi giggled again. "Not to get to the boxes!" Before Ryo could say anything, she continued, throwing her head back as she navigated through the people standing around in the lobby. "Every one of the main characters gets a box for them. Usually there aren't more than eight main characters. This time, there were about six they gave boxes to. Kameko's box has six seats in it, so it's perfect." She began dragging him up a set of stairs, after flashing two tickets at an usher, who nodded them in. "We're right up here!"

She pushed some curtains aside and suddenly Ryo was standing in a box, in a giant theater, looking out over the audience. Two girls, also standing, turned to face them, and Yukio, who had been sitting, rose with a grin.

Kaede, in a navy dress with bright gold buttons and a pearl necklace, came forward to kiss either of Ryo's cheeks. "So glad you could make it." She was almost at his eye level, thanks to her heels. This was smart-casual? At least they were espadrilles and not stilettos… Not that Ryo knew the difference.

"Ryo! You found it okay? I guess the theater really stands out, it's so big," Yukio drawled, coming forth to shake his hand. His baggy jeans seemed to clash with the dress shirt and argyle sweater vest he wore, but that was definitely an intended effect. Thankfully, he seemed about as dressed up as Ryo. Yukio glanced back smoothly at Ami, who stood there in a black A-line dress with a light pink waist belt, silently. "Well, aren't you going to greet Ryo?"

"…hello," Ami said, though she didn't come forward. He was used to her cold demeanor by now, and wasn't surprised.

It was then that Ryo noticed the champagne cooler beside one of the seats in the box. And the glass that Ami held in her hand.

Um… huge theater, seats in a box, dresses and pearls, and champagne? Definitely not the kind of high school plays he was used to…

-x-

"What a surprise," Henry blinked as he saw his three friends standing in front of him at the counter of the cybercafé.

"A good surprise, right?" Takato asked.

"You're not happy to see us?" Jeri wondered desperately.

Henry shared an amused glance with Rika. "No, no, I am! Definitely a good surprise. Nobody comes in at this time anyway, so I'm the only one working until twelve. So… make yourselves at home."

"Yay! Come on, Takato, I want to show you that email my teacher sent me about my art project!" Jeri led her boyfriend away to one of the farthest computers. Subtle as always…

"Hmm. They didn't even want to come to see me," Henry observed, faking a tragic face. "At least you haven't abandoned me."

Rika rolled her eyes. "It won't be long if you keep talking like that. Can I get some tea here?"

"Of course!" Henry said, grabbing a dishtowel to wipe down the counter with. "Sit down."

She sat at one of the stools at the counter, then wished she hadn't. It sounded too much like an order. He'd turned around, grabbing a cup and beginning to prepare the water for the tea. "I don't care what kind it is, as long as it's black tea. I hate green tea, so don't start about how it's better for me."

"I remember," he said, his back turned to her.

What was that supposed to mean? Why did he know what kinds of tea she liked? Wasn't that a bit creepy? It made her feel sort of happy, though.

"So how come you all decided to come down?" he asked, making his way to the teas and looking through them carefully.

She shrugged, then realized his back was facing her. "It was Jeri's idea," she said. "She really wanted some tea…" Was that stupid to say? She wasn't even getting tea now!

"Yeah," he replied, sticking the paper cup under the hot water machine as it poured out, steaming. "So Jeri dragged you and Takato along so she could get some tea?"

"Yup. Well, I mean. You know Takato. He gets all awkward when he's around just me and Jeri. Like he's afraid he'll become too feminine being around us, with no other guys."

Henry chuckled. "That sounds about right." He unwrapped the tea bag he'd picked out and stuck it into the cup of hot water, though his back still faced her as he stirred it. "No sugar or milk, right?"

"Right."

He turned around, setting the cup before her, still with a tea bag floating in it. "So how about you?" he asked, and she couldn't seem to escape his eyes.

"What do you mean?" she asked, trying to keep a normal tone.

"Didn't you have a reason for coming?" he asked, staring right at her.

Rika did not think of herself as an easily-flustered girl. Certainly, she remained calm and collected when others became flustered. However, she could feel the faint hints of flustering approaching her. Dammit! She had to expel them, quickly. "Like Jeri," she replied, her voice even despite the fact that she couldn't break the gaze between them. "I just wanted some tea."

Oops. That had actually come out somewhat bitchier sounding than she'd meant it to. Not the words, exactly, but her tone.

Something changed in his eyes, and he looked away. "Right. Well, hope you like it." He moved away, towards the door to the back of the café. "There's a problem with the computer in the back, and, ironically enough, it's the only one we can use, so… I have to try and fix it. Let me know if any customers come in, okay?"

"Yeah," Rika said, but he'd already left.

-x-

"You. Were. Amazing!" Hoshi cheered, squealing and giving Kameko (still dressed as Kate from The Taming of the Shrew) a huge hug.

Kameko laughed as she patted Hoshi's back a bit – carefully, as if she were still playing the character who didn't exactly relish human contact. "Thank you," she said softly.

"Let us have a turn!" Yukio whined, shoving Hoshi aside and lifting Kameko, giant dress and all, off the ground to spin her around in the air. "You're a star!"

She shrieked, giggling as he spun her. "Yukio, put me down!" He obeyed, and she smiled as Kaede was next to come forward, giving a stiff hug with her tiny, thin arms.

"Great job," the petite girl congratulated her. "You were so believable, especially at the end."

"You mean where I had to kiss Hideki's boots?" Kameko laughed. "That scene took some work." She glanced to Ami, not saying anything but seeming to speak with her eyes.

The dark girl stepped forward as Kaede slid away, and she gave a curt nod. "Good work," she said simply.

Kameko smiled broadly at her. "Thank you, Ami."

Ryo somehow felt it was his turn; as if it was this long line and he was finally supposed to go hug her and congratulate her or something. But he didn't know what to do. Hugging seemed… too intimate. Not in the United States, he'd found when he studied abroad, but in Japan it was reserved for closer friends. He was a newcomer. Although he managed to step towards her casually, with a grin across his face, and hold up one hand towards her, this was all very thought out.

Kameko laughed airily. "What's this?" she asked.

"It's a high five," he explained. "We do it in Amer – "

"I know what a high five is," Kameko replied, and brought her hand against his very gently. "I was just wondering where your idea to do it came from, that's all," she giggled.

"I'm an individualist," Ryo replied with a grin, without having to think about it.

Kameko looked pleased at his response, then turned to look at the whole group that was gathered around her in their box. "Thank you all for coming!" she said happily. "And I'd love to go to an after party, but I'm exhausted. Plus my parents are going to drive me back home, and we're going to have some family meal." She rolled her eyes, shaking her head, but with a smile on her face.

"Oh, your parents came?" Ryo asked, also without thinking. "Did they watch the play?"

Her eyes narrowed in a slow smile. "Of course, Ryo," she replied with a laugh. "They're not just coming to pick me up. They were sitting in another box," she explained.

"Oh," Ryo said, though he'd thought Hoshi said each major actor only got one box. Maybe he'd just heard Hoshi wrong. She talked so quickly, anyway…

"So I have to go backstage to change and everything, but we totally have to party next weekend! Some of the people here are thinking of arranging one with me; maybe we can have it at my house?"

"Awesome!" Yukio grinned. "Now go; your public awaits!"

Kameko chuckled and made a kissing sound. "Air kisses for you all," she called as she began to leave the box. "See you tomorrow!"

"Bye!" most of them trilled (minus Ryo and Ami, who simply waved).

"Damn," Kaede said as soon as they'd gone. She emptied the bottle of champagne into her glass before taking a sip of that. "I was hoping she'd want to do something afterwards. I guess I'll just have to drive back now; does anyone need a ride?"

"Ami, Hoshi and I came in Hoshi's family's car," Yukio said – and Ryo knew he didn't mean the car their family took turns driving, but the towncar that their family driver drove. Ryo remembered that Ami and Hoshi lived in the same apartment building, and Yukio's was two buildings down.

"Ryo, how about you?" Kaede asked, turning to him. "How did you get here, anyway?" she inquired before taking another drink of champagne.

"I took the metro," Ryo replied. Kaede stopped in mid-sip and Yukio gasped audibly. Ryo suddenly felt like an idiot for taking the subway – but why should he? It was really more idiotic to drive around Tokyo, even on Sundays. Still, he felt the need to explain. "I don't have my license."

"You poor thing," Kaede said. "You should have asked me for a ride! I do live just a few blocks away, you know. I would have been happy to pick you up."

"Kaede, you have to give him a ride home," Hoshi pleaded. "You can't let him take the subway back!"

Kaede shook her head. "No, of course not! He'll get all kinds of diseases down there."

"They have a name for them. STDs," Yukio added. "Subway-transmitted diseases."

"You're coming with me," Kaede said. "Friends don't let friends take the metro."

-x-

"You guys didn't have to wait all this time," Henry told his friends as he waved goodbye to his coworker.

"We wanted to wait until you got off work!" Jeri argued. She'd hurried over to Rika after Henry had disappeared in the back. Predictable Jeri had wanted to know both what they'd been talking about and why he'd so suddenly disappeared. Rika had told her, and Jeri had sighed, claiming that Rika needed to stop playing hard to get. Rika argued she didn't want to be gotten anyway. But Jeri had whined and pleaded and finally Rika had agreed to her plan.

"Yeah," Rika said casually. "We should all go do something."

"Definitely!" Takato said, eyes lighting up. Rika wasn't sure if he was in on it or genuinely wanted to hang out (probably the latter; he was quite oblivious to Jeri's constant plotting).

Jeri was about to sound her approval, but Henry made a bit of an apologetic face and replied, "Sorry, I'm kind of tired from work."

He didn't sound sorry. Jeri's face fell – her whole plan was ruined! She looked like she was about to start crying.

"Well," Rika said, trying to save the situation, "how about next Sunday? Do you have work then? My school's doing this whole culture festival thing. Our class is probably gonna be really lame, whatever we decide to do, but – "

"That sounds fun!" Jeri jumped in. "Takato, let's go! Henry, do you work?"

Henry shook his head. "Nope, I have the Saturday afternoon shift next week."

"Yay!"

"Okay," Rika said, with the smallest of smiles at Henry. "See you then, Wong."

-x-

For some reason, Ryo hadn't expected Kaede to have a car. Probably because Kameko always drove them around at school. Though he didn't know why he was surprised. It seemed everyone here had their own car to drive around (or be driven around in by some quiet man in a suit).

Ryo had also expected the ride home to be slightly awkward. Kaede was no Ami, but she didn't seem very talkative either. She had a quiet, but controlling, voice that commanded attention when she did use it; usually, though, her comments were few.

But he'd realized that perhaps she just seemed quiet compared to Kameko, Yukio, and Hoshi. In fact… he probably seemed quiet around them too. He didn't say much unless they asked him a question. Too bad Rika couldn't see him then – see, he could shut up!

Kaede, in fact, had the ability to both drive carefully and carry on a fairly comfortable conversation simultaneously. They had been talking about school, the upcoming culture festival, and other things like this for most of the car ride.

"I can't wait to find out what our class does," Kaede said as she slowly rolled up to a stop sign. "I have homeroom with Yukio and Ami and it's a Japanese class, so maybe we'll do something traditional? I have no idea. We all have to come up with one idea to bring in tomorrow, so I was thinking…" She paused, a faint smile on her face as she looked both ways before pulling out across the intersection. "It's stupid."

"No, what's your idea?" he asked, curious.

"Well, we've read some plays in our class. I thought we could perform one. I guess the idea of Kameko's play made me think of that."

"Don't you think that Kameko will want to do a play in her homeroom?"

"No, she's always really tired of them after being in one. And don't you mean your homeroom? You're in that with her, aren't you?"

"Right, sorry."

"Is it calculus?"

He nodded. "Yeah. No idea how to tie that into a culture festival."

"Well, usually it doesn't have much to do with the actual classes. Thankfully. That's the reason why everyone love culture festivals so much; at our school we actually spend a whole week preparing. Meaning… no classes. At all."

"That's awesome," Ryo replied. And it was, actually. The classes at this school were more difficult than those he was used to. It would be nice to have a break… already.

Kaede nodded as she rounded a corner. "Yeah, it is." There was silence for a moment, and Ryo felt awkward. Kaede had been carrying on the conversation for most of the car ride; it seemed strange now that he'd have to work to keep it going. He was trying to think of something to say when she continued speaking: "This may be coming out of nowhere, but do you have any idea what you want to do when you graduate high school?"

"Well, I'll probably go to college. Either here or in the United States somewhere. How come?" He glanced over at her curiously.

She shook her head. "Oh, no reason, really," she replied. "I figured you'd either go to college or work for your father."

Ryo was confused. "Do you know him?"

Kaede shook her head. "Not personally. I've heard the name… Anyway, I was just wondering if you'd go on to college or work for him."

"Maybe neither." It made him feel kind of uncomfortable, like his life was so predictable. "I might do something completely different. I mean, I have no idea what I want to study in college anyway so it might just be more of something that's ingrained into me – I have to go, to get a good job, and whatever." Another glance at her, already awaiting her response to his next question: "What about you? What do you plan to do? Your father is a CEO, right?"

"Yes, that's right. But I won't work for him. He believes that women should stay at home, like my mother. I may go to college, if I have to, but…" She hesitated, her eyes on the cars she was passing but her concentration obviously on what she was talking about. "If I can, I'd prefer to just get married out of high school."

He knew Kaede didn't like school, but this was still surprising. He wanted to ask why she wanted to get married that soon – but if that was what she wanted, how could he question it? Just because he couldn't see himself getting married so soon…

Kaede quickly changed the subject: "But I suppose I do have a reason for asking. Everyone else already knows what they want to do with their lives. Kameko wants to be a famous actress, maybe in Hollywood. Yukio can't wait to take over the business his parents co-manage. Hoshi wants to go to New York and study fashion design. And Ami wants to study biology at some university. But you… You're different from us; I guess because you've lived overseas. It's not a bad difference," she explained, making quick eye contact before focusing back on the road, "it's actually really interesting. But I wanted to know if you, too, had plans for the future. Or a dream, I guess I mean."

Was it wrong that he didn't know what he wanted to do? It sounded like he should already have his life planned out for him. "Well, I like math," he said, and suddenly that sounded so infantile. What could he say? Something that would be… respectable, and impressive. Something that was already approved by them. "But… directing is my passion." What? Directing? Where had that come from?

Kaede's eyebrows raised and she nodded. "I can see that," she replied. "You mean in movies? Which is your apartment?"

"Yeah, for movies," he replied, feeling uncomfortable with this lie. "The building right there, the grey and white one with the doorman."

"I remember now. This is a nice one," she said as she pulled up to the curb. "A lot of students at our school live here. But I wonder why your father doesn't move to an even better one, down by our building? All the best are around where Yukio and Hoshi and Ami and I all live. He can certainly afford it, right?"

She was asking all the questions he couldn't, or didn't want to, answer. "He's lived here for a long time," he found himself saying. "I guess he's used to it… It has sentimental value and stuff. I was born here…"

"Oh, I see!" she turned to him, a smile on her face. "It still is one of the best apartments in this area. Though just because you're down a few blocks, don't think that you can take the subway! Let me know the next time you need a ride."

He nodded, smiling back. He still felt uncomfortable, but it wasn't her fault. She didn't know that these questions would make him feel that way. And it was genuinely nice of her to give him a ride home. "Thanks, Kaede."

"Anytime." As he opened the door, she called after him: "Hey, Ryo?" He turned slightly. "Get ready for the culture festival preparation week! See you tomorrow!"

"Seeya," he said with a grin, and slammed the door behind him. He walked to the door of his apartment building, where he was slowly starting to feel at home again.

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End of Chapter Nine: Sunday

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I hope you liked it. Again, please review if you're still reading this so I know if I should begin to write this story again or not. C: