After my call with Midori yesterday, she wound up calling me again just before bed explaining the situation. Which leads us to today, the first day of the new school week.
"Hey uhm. Could you come with me?"
"Hmm? Sure."
Nothing really happened during the first half of classes, but when lunchtime came around, Midori led me to the school rooftop to eat lunch rather than the cafeteria.
The last time I was up here would be when my brother first appeared in school. There's some students out here already beginning to eat lunch, but Midori guides me to a more secluded area under the sun. Despite the wind being pretty chilly, the sun does help to combat the cold.
"...So no cafeteria today?"
"No..."
I tried to break the awkward silence, but Midori still seems quite upset as she stares down into her bag on her lap. After a few moments, she gently pulls out a box, wrapped in colorful cloth before turning it towards me.
"Here."
"Huh?"
"I made you lunch..."
Wait. Midori did? She's at her father's place so it's not like her mother helped, right?
"The plan was for Nicole to taste test it, but... you know..."
"Nn..."
During our second call last night, it didn't seem like it went too well. Apparently when I sent that message to her, she was already in a call with Nicole at the time and wound up talking about it right then and there. Nicole hasn't been all too talkative since...
"...Damn it!"
Once I took the bento from Midori, she slams her fist down on the concrete roof to her side, causing my body to stiffen instantly.
"Why did he have to go and do that?!"
I don't think I've ever seen Midori like this before... It's a bit-
"Right when I thought things were going great!"
"Hey-"
I end up putting a hand on Midori's lap in hopes to calm her down, but it's then that I see a couple tears slip out from her eyes, slowly gliding down her cheek, not making any sound...
"I knew I had a bad feeling about him when I first met him, yet I just let Nicole go ahead with it... I'm-"
"No. It's not your fault."
I stop her before she could say anything further.
"But if I had just spoken up about it, then maybe she'd-"
"You can't."
I cut her off once more, pressing my palm against her lap a bit more as if trying to make a point. She simply locks her moistened eyes with mine as I continue.
"You can't change the past. Trust me, I've thought long and hard what it'd be like if I had spoken up during that day when my family went to that amusement park. If we had just stayed home, none of those things would've happened... and Reina... she'd still be by my side..."
"Luna..."
"But you can't change the past. You just wanted to see your friend happy, right? Even with your feelings about him, I bet seeing Nicole happy outweighed everything else, right?"
It's how I felt at the time during Reina's and my birthday. I'm sure she also wanted to see me smile, and we did. We had a blast of a time that day. It's almost impossible to think that if I'd get the chance to go back in time that I wouldn't accept such a day like that.
"...Yeah."
"So it's pointless to blame yourself like that. You only had your best friend's interest at heart."
"But now she's not even attending school! And when I tired to call her this morning, she never answered."
"Well how would you feel knowing that the person you loved and adored cheated on you? I'm sure you'd probably want to seclude yourself away as well, right?"
I mean... that's what happened to me. Of course it's a different kind of love, but I think this still applies in this situation. My love for my sister... I ended up shutting out everyone until Midori stepped into my life.
"Hmm?"
Just then, I notice Midori's expression change as she casts her eyes down, her face flushed red, however I can still feel the sadness emanating from her.
"Ah- it's nothing... Really."
Wait...
"Could it be you actually like someone?"
"E-eh?! N-n-no! I don't have anyone... like that."
Her expression says otherwise. I know it all too well from the countless confessions I had to deal with over the year and last year. But if she doesn't want to talk about it, I won't push it.
"I see."
"Hnnng! Just open the box already~!"
"Heh, alright."
With a light atmosphere seeming to be returning, I finally open the bento to reveal the lunch Midori made for me. Her face refuses to relax as I stare at the contents, if anything it looks like her face is only getting redder.
"D-don't just stare at it!"
"Sorry. It's just been a long time since I had someone cook food for me."
"...So you don't count the rice I cooked for you?"
"Pfft. I wouldn't call 'that' cooking, haha."
"Hey~!"
We joke around, but from the looks of it, the lunch she made does look quite good. It's quite basic, but I think that's a good thing in Midori's case. There's rice, some salad and two rolled omelette, all neatly packed into the box. Although the omelettes do seem to be quite… disfigured if I had to say the least, looks more like scrambled eggs, but I choose to not point it out. Plus… I find it cute seeing her try her best.
"You did season the rice, right?"
"Of course I did! I wouldn't make the same mistake again."
"Heh. Alright. Then thank you for the meal."
I begin eating the food, starting with the rice. It's clear that it's definitely seasoned this time, and quite well in my opinion. The salad you can never go wrong with, but I find it cute that the sliced tomatoes are of vastly different thicknesses. As for the omelette, it's definitely the weakest part, albeit still delicious. She must've been worried about under cooking it that she wound up over cooking it, leaving a little bunt sort of aftertaste.
"S-so? How do you like it?"
"Nn. It's good, but what about you?"
"Ah- I'll eat later, hehe. I only got enough time to make yours, so..."
Before she could finish her sentence, I pick up a piece of the omelette before raising it towards Midori.
"E-eh?!"
"I can't have you go without, so here."
"No! I made that for you, so-"
"So? If it's mine then I can do what I want with it, yes?"
"Y-yes..."
"Then, open wide~"
"...A-aah."
With a bit of hesitation, Midori timidly opens her mouth, letting me plop a piece of the omelette inside her mouth as she begins to eat the lunch with me.
"Mmmgh!"
But the moment she began to chew, her face tightened a bit, causing me to chuckle at the sight before me.
"Did you even taste test this?"
"Mnnmnmn... I forgot! Ahhh! I'm so sorry!"
"Pfft. It's fine~"
I chuck another piece of the omelette into my mouth. She might think it's a failure, but I think she came quite a long way in comparison to that rice she made me when we first met.
"I-I'll make it better next time..."
"Oh? Wait, you're going to cook for me again?"
"Ah! I uhm...! If... that's okay with you?"
"Sure. Then I guess I'll also make a lunch for you then."
The moment I suggested that, Midori's face lights up, in clear contrast to the depressive mood from earlier.
"Really?!"
"Nn. It's no worry."
It's not like I need to save as much money anymore. Hell I could maybe even quit my job at this point with how much I have saved. But I guess it might be a good idea to continue saving since after I find Reina, I want to be able to support both her and I. My guardian is currently paying for the rent of my apartment, which does make things easy for me, but once I've graduated, I'll be fully on my own at that point.
"Mmmm... It's getting a bit cold now, huh."
Interrupting our lunch, a heavy gust of wind blows over us on the rooftop, sending chills down our spines... or more specifically, Midori. She seems to be feeling the cold a lot more than I am. It reminds me of the time when we all went to the movies together.
"Here-"
"Eh?"
I wrap an arm around Midori, shuffling us closer together as our shoulder rest against one another.
"It's not much, but it's better than nothing."
"R-r-right..."
Thankfully I'm on the side that's taking the brunt of the wind, acting as a shield for Midori, but it still seems like she's shivering.
"Shall we move back inside?"
"N-no! Uhm... This is fine."
"Okay?"
Is she cold or not? Now she seems more at peace as she rests her head on my shoulder, with her eyes growing heavy.
"Hey. We have to finish your lunch. Here."
"...Aaah~"
With her eyes still closed, she opened her mouth as I plop a combination of the food into her mouth. I continue to alternate between the two of us until all the food is gone. But even after the food was all gone, Midori continued to relax on my shoulder. It was only when the school bell rang did we finally get up from the rooftop and head back to class.
The following day, both Midori and I met up at the school rooftop to have and exchange our lunches together. Seeing her happy really did help lift my spirits with everything happening with Reina, not being able to get a hold of her. Apparently Nicole is still not wanting to talk with Midori yet so I try to comfort her the best way I can, which in turn always led to her resting her head on my shoulder. Only this time, we did come prepared as I managed to stuff a small blanket in my bag when coming to school, wrapping it around the both of us, but more so Midori.
Shin and Zhen did come by the next day, wondering what was happening and just decided to join us on the rooftop. I was planning on doing the same thing with Midori, letting her rest on me with a blanket around us, but for some reason she was a lot more reserved. Of course we didn't tell Shin or Zhen about what's going on with Nicole and Kai.
Which leads us to Thursday.
Both Midori and I once again meet up on the rooftop, only unlike yesterday, we're back to being just the two of us as Shin and Zhen felt too cold and returned to the cafeteria.
"You're getting better at the omelettes."
"Thank you."
I've noticed that she's slowly figuring out my preferences, adjusting the seasonings to fit my taste. Unlike me, she stuck with making the same thing. The other day she wanted to do something different when she saw that I changed what I made for her, but I figured it'd be best for her to continue working with what she already knows for now.
"Any luck with Nicole?"
"She messaged me this morning, but she's still not wanting to talk or call."
"Well that's progress, right? What did she say?"
"..."
It's then that her expression turned sour as she paused eating the bento I made her. I simply wait patiently for her to continue.
"...She said that she'll speak with Kai after school."
"About what you said to her?"
"Yeah..."
From the looks of it, it seems like it's going to be quite heated which might be the reason why Midori doesn't seem all too thrilled about this.
"...I just hope she'll be okay."
"I'm sure she'll be fine. I might not know Nicole as much as you, but she seems like quite a strong person."
"Pfft. Well, I guess you're not wrong, but she can be quite emotional... I just hope Kai doesn't feed her any sweet-poison filled words. I can totally see her forgiving him depending what he says."
"Did you maybe want to be there with her just in-"
"No."
She cuts me off, which I found to be quite surprising.
"I know she'd prefer to do this alone, it's why I never asked her this morning. Once she's done, if I need to, I'll be there to catch her when she falls."
"I see."
I'm knew to all of these kinds of things, but talking with Midori like this does help in me understanding social things like these.
"Oh but trust me, I wish I could actually be there with her, hehe."
"You sure like Nicole, huh."
"Eh?! I-It's not like that!"
I was a bit stumped at Midori's reaction. I tried to make things light hearted, so to see Midori react that strongly caught be a bit off guard.
"Ah- Uhm. We're just friends."
"Nn. That's what I mean."
"Ah... Right."
"Pfft, jeez. What's up with you lately, hmm?"
Wanting to try and get the warm atmosphere back, I gently poke Midori's side playfully, trying to ease her nerves. But the moment I sink a finger into her side, she stiffens up, almost as if she's about to stand up from where she's seated.
"L-L-Luna?!"
"Yes?"
"I… It's nothing... Haah~"
After a few moments, she calms down enough to breathe a sigh of relief. Well she does look better than before so I guess that's what matters.
"...Hey, Luna."
"Yeah?"
"...Do you- like... anyone?"
"Hmmm, you mean like romantically?"
"Y-yeah..."
I could more or less figure that out, but I wanted to confirm just in case. That said, I don't think I've ever had an interest in these kinds of things.
"Nope."
"I-is that so?"
"Yeah, well it's not like I even have an interest in things like that. I've been too focused on working on myself and finding my sister all this time."
"Right... But then what about- after you find her?"
"Hmmm."
Now that's a good question.
High school is meant to be a place where you make social bonds, right? Not just for academics. You could say that I've failed in that aspect. Really the only guy I talk to semi-often would be Shin, but would I want to start a family with him?
"Ughh."
"Luna? What's wrong? Your face is a bit-"
"It's nothing. I was just imagining my life with Shin."
"E-eh?! Wait, you like Shin?"
"Pfft-ahahaha! No. God no. But he's the only guy I really know besides my brother."
"What about g- irls..."
"Huh?"
"N-nothing! aha."
I couldn't really understand what she said as she was muttering it under her breath, but now her face seems to be boiling despite the coldness of the air. Seriously, what's up with her? I feel like she's been acting more and more strange recently.
"Here, you're cold, right?"
"Ah-"
Just like the other times, I wrap an arm around her side, adjusting the blanket so it covers more of her while shuffling our bodies close together, our shoulders pressed up against one another. Only this time, Midori didn't rest her head on my shoulder and remained quite stiff.