The trip to the aquarium was like no other.
The fishes swimming in the clean tanks filled with clear, sea blue water. Completely out of the ordinary. And exquisitely beautiful.
I was kind of surprised knowing the teachers weren't going into the aquarium with us.
For some, it meant freedom. While for others, it meant more romance.
But I somewhat expected the tour guide, cause after all, the school needed someone to keep the students in check.
The tour guide showed us countless amazing species, and even gave us a tour around the aquarium.
Cameras flashed.
Fascinated eyes glued to the tanks.
Girls giggled and whispered.
Everyone seemed to be having the time of the lives.
But after hours, people got bored and tired. The crowd slowly became smaller as students broke away and formed their own little groups.
Some guys took it as the perfect opportunity to confess, get cheesy and do some romance.
And I also left, not because I wanted to confess, but because I needed some privacy and some personal time after everything.
And even if I did want to confess, the girl I liked wasn't here. She was still among the crowd.
I stopped infront of one of the massive tanks and sighed deeply.
Suddenly, I noticed some movements behind the tank, and it wasn't the fishes.
It was people.
A boy and a girl.
But they looked quite familiar.
I looked closely and saw that it was Takeshi and Miko.
But what was he doing with Miko? Cause I heard he likes Miku, not Miko. Don't tell me this guy can't differentiate between the twin sisters.
Miko:(Blushing hard) T-Takeshi, w-why did you bring me here?
Takeshi: 'Cause I've been dying to confess my feelings to you.
He turned to her, looking her straight in the eye.
Takeshi: I like you.
Miko let out a soft gasp, and her eyes gazed at the floor as her cheeks burned.
Miko: I like you, too, Takeshi.
Oh no! Miko likes Takeshi?!
Of course she would. After all, we're all in the same class.
He took her hand and she looked at him with those lovey-dovey eyes, and he kissed her.
"Oh My God! Takeshi, you bad boy", I said in my head as I shook my head in disapproval.
I felt somewhat bad for him though, 'cause he got the wrong girl.
Takeshi broke away from the kiss and Miko started panting.
Takeshi: I like you, Miku. Alot.
Miko:(Confused) Miku?
After hearing that, Miko withdrew her hands forcefully from Takeshi's hands.
Miko: So, you like my sister?
Takeshi: Wait, you're Miko?
Tears gathered in her eyes.
Miko: I can't believe this.
Miko ran away crying.
Takeshi: That was Miko? What is happening?
Yikes! Such a bad way to end things.
He turned to the tank and stared at it, his brows furrowed. And for once, I thought he saw me. But luckily, he didn't. He just sighed and walked away.
I sighed in relief, but I still couldn't believe that neither of them saw me.
Maybe it was because my blue hair and ocean eyes blended beautifully with the sea water — making my presence hard to notice.
And because of that, I saw alot of things that I wasn't meant to see.
After, I got tired of seeing every romantic scene play right in front of me. So I stopped in front of a tank, sat on the floor, looking at the beautiful fishes swim without a care in the world.
Akio: Wow. Look at 'em koi fishes go. I wish I was a koi fish (I whispered softly to myself).
Almost instantly, I realised some movements behind the tank.
I groaned in frustration.
Akio: Here we go again. Another duo of love birds.
I forced myself to stand up as I was curious to know who they were.
As I got closer to the tank, their faces began to look familiar.
My heart sank to the floor as I realised that those love birds were Minato and Kiyomi.
Her eyes were glued to the tank in awe, and his eyes were glued to her in fascination.
Kiyomi: It's soo beautiful (She said softly).
Minato: Yeah... beautiful (He said, his eyes still glued to her).
Akio: What are they doing here? (I questioned myself)
They suddenly said something at the same time, and Kiyomi gasped as her face flushed red with a smile. Then he held her hand she looked at him.
Kiyomi: M-Minato... What are you doing?
Akio: Yeah, man. What are you doing? (I whispered to myself again).
Minato: You know what I'm doing, Kiyomi. Stop pretending you don't. Let's both stop pretending. I see you as more than a friend, and you also see me as more than a friend. So why are we pretending?
Pretending? More than a friend? What is he talking about?
Kiyomi had asked him exactly what I had thought — while stuttering, of course.
Minato: So you still want to pretend, huh? Well, let me make it clear. I love you, Kiyomi. And you love me too....
I couldn't pay more attention to rest of the trash he was saying.
So he's confessing?
He loves her?
Bad news is, Kiyomi doesn't do love. Minato has just gotten one rejection ticket coming his way.
Kiyomi: M-Minato... I don't know what you're talking about.
He raised up her chin — forcing his eyes on hers.
Minato: Look me in the eyes and say you don't love me. And...
I rolled my eyes, totally ignoring the rest of his sentence.
Kiyomi stuttered again.
Minato: You still want to lie even when your face is so red?
Kiyomi: S-sorry... It's just that-
Minato:(Interrupts) Don't apologise. I love it. It shows that you love me.
Who do you think you are, Minato Shimizu?
Kiyomi's hand now held his wrist as she stuttered once more.
Kiyomi: Minato... I-I don't do l...l...l...love (She said softly).
Oh My Word, she said it! She actually said love!
Minato, what have you done?
Minato: You don't do love, yet, you feel it. Stop lying to yourself, Kiyomi. I'm willing to accept the truth and so should you-
Kiyomi: But how?
Tears began rolling down her cheeks, unexpectedly.
Kiyomi: How do you love?
Minato couldn't respond.
Of course he wouldn't. No one exactly could answer that question.
Kiyomi:(Crying) But... how do you feel love? How?
He still stayed quiet and that made her cry harder.
Kiyomi: God! You don't know anything, do you? But you came here saying it like it's so easy.
She began sobbing, and suddenly closed her eyes. And more tears rolled down her cheeks.
Kiyomi: Don't you dare say anything. Do you know what you've done? You made me break a promise I kept for more than a decade. You made me say that stupid word. And you made me cry over it.
She sniffled.
Kiyomi: Now get your hands off me… or I'll tell everyone what you just did. I'm pretty sure Sakura and her friends would love to gossip about this.
His hand slowly left her chin. And she turned immediately and ran away.
And I followed her secretly.
She entered into the females toilet.
Just great.
I have to comfort Kiyomi in this situation to be able to win her trust, and our friendship back. Now that Minato has kicked himself out of the picture, I'm sure everything will go back to normal.
But how could I possibly get in there?
I stood there for minutes, thinking of how I could enter the toilet without raising an alarm to the other girls in the toilet.
But as I stood there thinking, I noticed that no girl had entered the toilet. And the ones that were there had left while I stood thinking.
I sighed.
It's now or never, Akio.
You've got only one chance to make things right. And you can't just throw it away, or screw it up.
With my mind made up, I went into the females toilet.
I was met with the sound of her cries.
Soft. Sad. Heartbreaking.
It could almost make a man crumble to his knees.
But I walked over to her stall gently and knocked on the door.
Akio: Kiyomi? Are you in there?
I heard some movements happen in the stall.
Kiyomi: Akio? (She sounded confused).
Akio: Are you okay?
Kiyomi: What are you doing here? Wait. I'm coming out.
She unlocked the stall and came out.
And I stood there. Right infront of her.
Kiyomi: What are you doing here?
I had already prepared a good lie in less than a second.
Akio: You've been gone for a while. Hinata told me you were in the toilet.
She crossed her arms.
Oh no! I don't think she believed it.
She said something, but I didn't quite catch it 'cause I intended to change the subject immediately.
My brows furrowed in pretence.
Akio: Were you crying?
She said nothing.
Akio: Are you okay?
Suddenly, she broke down and began crying again.
Just the opportunity I'd been waiting for.
I pulled her into a hug, and let my arms wrap around her. And she clutched my shirt while she cried against my chest.
She sobbed and cried. Then, unexpectedly, Hinata burst into the toilet.
Hinata: Akio?! What are you doing here? Why is she crying?
At first, I thought she was going to blow my cover, but I'm so glad nothing of a sort happened.
She joined our hug, wrapped her hands around Kiyomi and began to pat her head.
Hinata: Kiyomi... are you okay? (She asked softly).
Then she turned to me.
Hinata: What happened to her?
Akio: I don't know. She hasn't told me yet.
After a while, her crying died down. And she slid down and sat on the bathroom floor.
Hinata and I both moved closer to sit beside Kiyomi, but she shook her head in disagreement
Kiyomi: I need some space (She said as she leaned back against the bathroom wall).
After hearing this, Hinata sat to her right. While I sat to her left, leaning against the door.
There was silence, before Hinata spoke.
Hinata:(Softly) We're going to have lunch in a minute. We should head back.
Kiyomi: I'm not going.
Hinata: Aren't you hungry?
Kiyomi: I am... but I'd rather starve than go out there.
Hinata sighed.
If they were fighting, I'm going to have to step in and resolve it.
Akio: Do you want us to bring you something?
Kiyomi: If you want.
Akio: What do you want?
Kiyomi: Anything will do.
I smirked slightly.
Akio: Including toilet water?
I had expected to get a laugh from either of them, but... nothing.
Kiyomi:(Annoyingly) Anything edible and healthy would do.
I can't believe I'd just annoyed her.
Hinata and I both stood up.
Hinata: No crying while we're gone, okay?
Kiyomi: I'm done... for now.
Then we left.
We went to the food stall, and I grabbed a meat bun, while Hinata got a strawberry flavoured yoghurt.
As we walked to the cashier, I started thinking.
I got to know what happened to a side of the story — Kiyomi. But what about the other side of the story?
What about Minato?
I need to find him.
After we had paid for the snacks, we both headed to the toilet. And on our way, I found the perfect excuse.
Akio: Hinata.
She stopped and turned to me.
Akio: Look, I'd like to follow you in there again, but that's the Females toilet. If I get caught there, we both know what serious trouble we'll all go through. And I don't want people whispering. Saying I was doing something inappropriate with or without any of you. So, I'm not going.
Hinata: It's okay. I completely understand.
Akio: So I'll stay here. Think of me as your inside man.
Hinata laughed a little.
Hinata: Of course. Just tell me when we're about leaving.
Akio: Sure.
She turned, and continued walking towards the bathroom.
Perfect! Just the space I needed to find that nerd.
I went around the aquarium, searching for any red hair and garbage green eyes. But surprisingly, I didn't find him.
As I was walking around, looking for Minato, I overheard the tour guide say something.
Tour Guide: Visit your favourite spots and fishes, cause you all will be leaving any moment from now.
Leaving? Just great!
I grabbed my phone and immediately informed Hinata about it.
I decided to look around once more quickly, maybe I might find him. But I didn't.
I gave up and finally entered the bus. And when I did, I saw him seated on his seat.
Head bent, red hair covering his eyes, and his phone in his hand.
It looked like he was watching something, but I couldn't see what he was watching.
I just passed him and went to take my seat.
A few moments later, Kiyomi and Hinata entered.
Kiyomi was wearing a pink hoodie. It looked like Hinata's, and it covered most of her face.
She looked completely different from the girl who had entered the aquarium that morning.
After everyone got in, the bus started moving. As we drove, it felt like we were reversing every turn we took to get here.
When we finally got back to school, we all went home immediately.
Kiyomi walked with Hinata, Asahi walked with me, and Minato walked alone.
He didn't even follow the same route we all did. He took another path.
When I got home, my step mom and brother were in the dinning hall. Having dinner without me.
Stepmother: Akio, honey, how was your trip? (Her seemingly sweet voice came from the dinning hall).
Akio: You're having dinner without me?
Stepmother: You know I really didn't mean to hurt you, but I had to make your big brother wait. And when he did, I hurried to make dinner cause it's been ages since we last ate together.
My eyes tried to find my stepbrother around the room, but he wasn't there.
Stepmother: Don't worry. He's somewhere, trying to escape from me (She said with a smile).
Yeah, that's how home is.
Classically nice stepmother trying to trap her own son in the house. At least, I'm glad it's not me.
I walked up the stairs, and got into my room.
I couldn't stop thinking about the way Kiyomi hugged me. The way she clung to my shirt.
Now that Minato has kicked himself out of the story, I'll have to step in now.
I took out my phone and texted her.
"You okay?"
But, of course, she didn't reply. Not after what he had done.
I flung my phone to the bed, took off my uniform and went for a bath. After I was done bathing and changed my clothes, I went downstairs and had dinner.
It was just me and my stepbrother in the dinning room.
We didn't talk. Not because we didn't get well along, but there was just always this silence between us.
I'd convinced myself that it was because of the age gap since he was five years older than me. But it wasn't about that.
A part of us just didn't want to accept this family, but our parents wanted it so we were forced to have it too.
Things are cool, but I think maybe we just find it hard to let go of the past.
Yes, you guessed right. Five years age gap means he's a bit hotter than me. Yes, that also means he's ripped.
Akio: Couldn't escape from mother?
He gave that knowing laugh.
Akio: So, what's your next move now? You know, to leave this house and run to your girlfriend's place?
Yes, he has a girlfriend. I bet she's just as hot as him.
Akio: Or don't tell me you're actually giving up?
He shook his head signifying no.
Why was he suddenly quiet? He's only quiet when he tries to think. And his silence just gave me an idea.
Akio: Why don't you tell dad about it? Maybe he'll support you and free you from mother's captivity. Oh wait, dad is too busy to care.
Then he smiled. It seemed innocent, but it wasn't.
Akio: I know that smile. You have an idea, but it's risky and dangerous.
He just got up in silence. Maybe he's looking for mother to execute his plan.
I know you have a lot of questions, but I don't quite have time to start explaining the complicated love story of my stepbrother and his girlfriend. Just bear with me please.
After I was done eating, I went to my room and slept off.
On Saturday morning, I woke up and went down for breakfast.
Of course, I met him there with mother already.
And my dad you may ask?
Probably in the study room as always. Trying to think of a business strategy to blow away the Waters' company here in Japan. But those people have got the whole world under their feet. They're global, and literally everywhere, so you can't just take them out from Japan alone.
No, no, no. I'm not going to dive into this business, since he was already going to hand over the company to my stepbrother.
But here's the twist.
He doesn't want it.
He even took a job at another company and is currently working there. He says the company should go to me, not him. But our parents don't seem to agree with that.
I sat down opposite him.
Akio: Good morning. Aren't you supposed to be at work? Oh, sorry. I forgot today's Saturday.
Stepmother: I've told you to quit that job, haven't I?
But he just ignored her.
Stepmother: I'm talking to you!
Stepbrother was not one to talk back to our parents, so he just got up and walked away.
Stepmother: Come back here!
But he didn't listen.
Stepmother: Don't you dare leave this house to go that girl's place.
He left the dining room.
My stepmother just sighed.
Stepmother: Sometimes I just wish he was like you.
I wanted to support him, but I just couldn't.
So the morning sucked and went just like the wind.
I went back upstairs and started gaming.
For a while, it distracted me.
But eventually, Kiyomi came back into my thoughts.
I wondered if she'd replied.
I checked my phone. But nothing.
No reply.
I stared at her name for a while.
I knew she was probably still hurting. I knew Minato's confession had shattered something inside her. And I knew something else.
I had been there. I had seen everything. I had heard everything. I knew exactly what had happened. But Kiyomi didn't know that.
To her, I was simply the friend who happened to find her when she was crying.
The friend who comforted her. The friend who cared.
And perhaps that was the most dangerous part.
Because I wasn't just standing beside the story anymore.
I was becoming part of it.
Behind the curtain, I knew what everyone else didn't. And for now...
I intended to keep it that way.