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Chapter Four Part One: Confessions

"Frankly speaking, I was really happy when he proposed. For now, we're busy about the location of our marriage and making the invitations. He was so excited when we were picking our rental clothing, I hardly even knew what to do!" She gave a short chuckle. "But, as things keep getting more concrete, sometimes I think to myself,

'Is this the person I should be getting married to?'"

Waitwaitwaitwaitwait! What the hell is she babbling about?! I thought this was supposed to be an anime that is aimed at adolescents? They're just women in their early twenties!! And to think that it is shown in prime-time! Never mind, I'll just change the channel.

*Click*

"And now, we return to 'Futari wa Nervous'..."

*Cue background music: An upbeat singing and a down tone chanting of "Nervous~ Nervous~ Nervous~ Nervous~ Nervous~ Nervous~ Nervous~..." somewhat resembled in summoning an ayakashi.*

Just go on with the show already! This music is literally making me nervous!

"I'll be fine Mom, really. The doctor told me to be active."

"Oh? You always worked hard I'm actually worried that you overdo things. You're just like me when I was your age!"

"Oh Mom. Well, I'm heading out now!

_One could say I'm confident, and happy. I couldn't be more pleased with my husband and mother-in-law. But... As the weight of this life within me grows and grows, this vague feeling I have weighs heavier and heavier, _

'Can I really raise this child?'"

Hold on a second! What the hell is this now? A woman on her last stage of her pregnancy is highly doubting her maternal skills? And to think also that this is also shown on prime-time! Jeez, just what are they showing people here nowadays? Alright, that does it, I won't be wasting any more of my precious brain cells over these crappy programs. I'll just go do my homework. Right, a little bit of brain exercise isn't that much of a torture, isn't it?

"Let's see here, in order to derive x with respect to y, I must bring down its exponent and subtract the exponent by one. Or maybe the number in front is supposed to be subtracted? The constant turns to zero? Wait, I'll leave it as is? Gah!! I give up!" _Ruffling my hair, I furiously flipped my notebook in the air, not showing any care whether it will end up in a haphazard manner. _"Seriously, how is this supposed to help me in life? Does it cure cancer? Does it solve world hunger? And more importantly, does this even invoke world peace?! Screw this, whoever invented calculus must be completely bored and clearly had no life."

It's past ten-thirty in the morning, the temperature had dropped down to at least fifteen degrees Celsius, and I clearly had no idea how I ended up struggling over a homework in pre-calculus. Perhaps I stand corrected. Just as I laid my body down to the cold floor, our doorbell rang.

*Ring-a-ling-ding-dong!*

Thinking grandma would answer the door, my mind continued to wander, asking myself what good will it do if I learn to derive. Suddenly, I remembered that Grandma and Grandpa are out in Kazenari, and they even asked me to guard the house while they're gone! Oh crap, better reach for the door!

"Hello? Is anyone home? Hiroyuki!" Called by the voice.

Dashing to the door, I yelled, "Yeah, coming!!" Sheesh, what's with the people here nowadays? They seem to be busy.

After the tell-tale sound of our sliding door opening, there stood a tiger beastman wearing a really thick sweater added with a wide muffler. I tried to conceal my laughter the best I could, but to no avail.

"T-Torahiko? Is that you? And what's with the sweater?" I muffled.

With a sigh, Torahiko replied in a muffled voice, "Yeah it's me alright. And please don't laugh, it's already embarrassing for me to come here in this silly clothes"

"Pfft right. Come on in." He stepped inside, took off his muffler and stuffed it haphazardly on his pants' pockets.

"So, what brings you here today?"

"Nothing much, jus' wanted to hang with you, that's all. 'sides, we haven't spent much time together haven't we?" He gave a shrug.

"I suppose we haven't. But can you at least call me before coming over?"

"Ehehe, sorry 'bout that man. Anyways, what are you doing before I got here? Wait, let me guess. Analysing the given situation here, with both of your grandparents gone and a really messy room, particularly the desk, I suppose," Then he dramatically gasped,"...you perverted little man!!" Torahiko gave a near-devilish smile.

"You idiot, I wasn't even doing that!" I smacked his head. "I was just simply doing my homework like a good student in winter break should be."

"Hehe, I kid. Anyways, I got you a lil' sumthin'. Heads up!" Torahiko then passed me a small aluminium canister. A nostalgic aroma soon filled the air as I opened the lid.

"What is this? Wait, don't tell me..."

"Eyup, the one and only." Torahiko nodded.

There's no doubt about it, it's none other than the famous special Jasmine tea that can only be accessible here in Minasato, particularly the Ooshima inn. From what I can recall, it's one of the Ooshima family's pride and joy, of course next to their inn.

"Thanks! Boy, I haven't drank this thing in ages!"

"Remember the first time you taste it?"

Come to think of it, this really had an interesting story. It all began nearly ten years ago, same season as this, when Torahiko invited us all to the inn for a sleepover...

"You're late again, Kounosuke!" the young Torahiko scolded. "I thought I told you to come by at five, it's already late man!"

"Same-difference!" the young tanuki replied. "Besides, I'm only twenty-five minutes late."

"Whatever man, just go inside and unpack your stuff. Dinner's going to be serve at six."

Inside the vacant room, you can see me and Shun-kun playing Speed track 9000, Tatsu-nii and Kouya both cheering on us, Juuichi and Kyouji-senpai are preparing the futon, Shin-kun reading in solitude, and Kounosuke unpacking his mostly anime-related things. Back then, everyone's personalities and physical appearance were a little different. Well, save for Torahiko and his childish personality.

Juuichi used to be a little chubby, like my whole arms can fit around his chest and he's pretty much a loose screw back then. His Judo training started the following year as a new year's resolution to lose weight.

Tatsu-nii wasn't much of a drunkard yet. I believe this was his first time being drunk, if I recall. About his appearance you may ask? He didn't have a beer belly and was more than 1.5 metres tall. I think this was also the time when we tried to convince Tatsu-nii that he could fly.

Kouya, well don't tell him about this but believe it or not, he used to be a papa's boy. Quite ironic isn't it? He used to be drove to school and picked-up after class by his dad. One time, I got to experience being drove back home by my soon-to-be father-in-law, Mitsuhisa-san, thanks to Kouya for his offer or else I might have caught a cold back then.

Kyouji-senpai, again believe it or not, he had a very lanky body. No, not like Shun-kun... Well, maybe a little. But believe me that he's still as wise and constant as back then.

Kounosuke is less chubbier but still wasn't the early bird. Full-time weirdo and self-proclaimed otaku even though he started watching 'Attack on Sailor Death Ball Z: Bebop Alchemist High School' a couple of days ago.

Shin-kun, well I couldn't tell much about him since around by that time, we just only met thanks to Shun-kun. One of my first impressions for him was having a funny and hard accent.

And finally Shun-kun, he's the type of a truly obsessed gamer guy and a partial weirdo. It's still a mystery of how's he able to maintain his grades in an average of A's and B's even though he talks about his adventures in full detail all day.

"You can never defeat me in any video games, Hiroyuki-kun!" Shun-kun boasted

"Oh yeah? Let's just see about that!" I immediately used my nitro to speed my vehicle, overtaking Shun-kun's yellow Lamborghini. And for a weird fact, he called it the 'Solar Blast' due to its design of sun rays, resembling somewhat a yakuza's ride. Similarly, I call mine the 'Aqua Jet' due to the design of Aqua blue waves on my Ferrari.

"Go, Hiroyuki!" Tatsu-nii cheered. "Yeah, that's it! Use your nitro!"

"Fufufu! Fool, you fell for my trap! Only an idiot would use a nitro in the middle of the last lap! Now for my turn:" Then Shun-kun started to say something that resembled a chant "Eliminate the blanket of darkness and bring light to my path, Solar Blast!" Similar to what I did, Shun-kun used his nitro to speed up his own vehicle, quickly overpassing mine and thus, ending the game.

"PLAYER 1 WINS" The screen flashed.

"Yeah Shun-kun! Show them who the boss is!" Kouya applauded.

"Alrighty, My turn!" Tatsu-nii took the controller.

"Hey, I thought it was my turn now!" Kouya disputed.

"Nuh-uh, you already played a while ago!"

"You're such a lousy liar, Tatsu-nii" Kounosuke butted in.

"Would you buffoons keep it down? I'm trying to read here." Shin-kun reprimanded.

"I think that's enough video games for tonight." Juuichi intervened.

"I agree. We might be disturbing some other customers here, so it would be best to keep our indoor voices and behave like a civilized men." Kyouji-senpai added.

"Say, where's Torahiko?"

Then, a bellowing voice filled the air. "Guuuys! Dinner's readyyy!" It was Tora. Ah, speak of the devil. And just when Kyouji-senpai warned us to keep our voices down.

Moving on, we all marched our way to the dining hall where everyone, including the staff, ate meals together. We were then seated to a long, low table where food is already served. For tonight, we are having Cole Slaw for appetizer; Fried tempura, curry, and steamed vegetables for the main dish; Rice, corn kernels, and mash potato as side dish; and frozen tiramisu for dessert. Of course when I was young, I was a picky eater, and I mean really picky. I ignored the Cole Slaw that was given to me, the steamed vegetables, especially the broccoli, and the corn kernels.

"Mmm! Wow, Torahiko, Your father sure do knows how to cook!" Kounosuke praised as he munched on the steamed vegetable. Eugh, how can he stand that disgusting dish?

"Sure he does! That's why I aspire to become a great chef just like my old man!" Torahiko boasted with a mouthful of Cole Slaw.

Looking down to my plate and there I saw all of the parts I despised the most.

"What's the matter Nishimura? Not feeling well?" Juuichi asked.

"Ah, no. It's just that-"

"Hey Hiroyuki-kun, you didn't eat your veggies." Torahiko's father interfered. "Hmm, ah! This might do the trick. Hey Dori-kun, give me a pot of our specialty over here and nine cups as well!"

"Coming right up, Chief!" the rooster responded.

"Let me do a simple magic trick, kids." Ooshima-san gestured. "I want you all to close your eyes. No peeking, especially you Tora."

"Here you go, Chief."

"Thanks. Now go on and keep entertaining our customers. Now where was I? Oh yes, after I fill your cups with this tea, I want you to drink three gulps and take a bite of what you have left on your plates."

Are you kidding? How am I supposed to eat all the rubbish in front of me?

"Ready? Now go. Remember, take only three gulps. One, two, three. Simple as that. Now eat whatever is in your plate."

At first I was hesitant, but I did as I told to. I grabbed the cup in front of me and took three gulps. One... two... three... The taste was actually good. I can hardly taste a hint of sweetness in it with something I'm not familiar with. Then I shakily grabbed my chopsticks and picked up whatever is in there. I stuffed it into my mouth and to my surprise, it tasted like Umaibou, the sweet kind that you can find in the candy shop. I savoured the flavour for about a whole minute as I masticated it softly within my upper and lower molar teeth, tossing and juggling towards my upper palate, and squeezing out every single juicy liquid just to savour the sweet taste.

"Good, now open your eyes and tell me what your food tastes like."

One by one, we all happily shouted what flavours we had tasted.

"Vanilla! Vanilla!" Torahiko exclaimed.

"Taste like honey." Juuichi said.

"Mine is like Takoyaki." Kouya joined in.

"I taste a sweet-tangy flavour. I like it." Shin-kun muttered.

"Mine's salad!" Kounosuke called.

"Mine's a f-funny tashte, but ah *hic!* llliike it!" Tatsu-nii slurred.

"Mine is sweet!" Shun-kun said.

"Cheesy." Kyouji-senpai uttered.

"Well how about you, Hiroyuki-kun?" Ooshima-san asked. "What does yours taste like?"

"Mine tastes like Umaibou, the sweet corn flavour. Why is that?"

"Want to know the secret?"

"Yeah!" We all shouted in unison.

"Well, I have no choice then. The secret is within the tea itself."

Then murmurs can be heard among us.

"The tea?"

"It looks like an ordinary one."

"I wonder what's in it."

"Could it be a secret ingredient?"

"I knew it!"

"Now, now fellas." Ooshima-san hushed us. "There's no need to be fretting over something. You see, this Jasmine tea is special and one of a kind because it is one of the Ooshima clan's pride and joy, of course next to the inn. It is a tea only made by the Ooshima family to be passed down from generation to generation. What makes it special is that it can match the taste of your food into something you really desire, like the flavours you tasted earlier. In addition, this tea also helps induce rejuvenation and provokes relaxation and calmness of one's mind and soul."

"Wow!"

"Amazing."

"Ah didn' know it cun' *hic!* do that!"

"That explains something."

"Now who wants seconds?" Ooshima-san offered. Then we all raised our hands in a jolt to savour again the flavour we longed for. Much to my surprise, I finished everything left on my plate without any leftover to be seen. And after a long series of eating and talking, our dinner ended eventually.

After that, we all went our way to the hot springs and took a bath, then got dressed up in our pj's, and finally had a chance to spend more time staying up late, telling spooky stories, playing pillow fights, and more video games. Truly it is a night worth remembering.

"And remember the day after that, we all pestered dad to make us more?" Torahiko chuckled.

"Haha, yeah! We even got kicked out in the kitchen because of that!"

"Yup! That was totally embarrassing!"

"By the way, did your father made this?"

"Nah, I'm the one who made it. Remember when we met at the store in Kazenari? Well, I try to apply my old man's teachings to that until Shin-kun decides to help me."

"Wow, I never realized you were that persistent." Then, an idea struck on my mind, "Maybe if you can apply your perseverance to your studies..." I provoked with a shit-eating grin on my face.

"Hey! Don't take it too personal on me! Besides, this is only the first batch. I would never realize that it went well on the first try."

Okay, so maybe I went too far. "Hehe, I'm just kidding Tora."

"No!" Torahiko stood up and pointed a finger at me. "You deserve a punishment! A divine punishment from the gods who penalizes bad kids that make a fool out of their best friends!"

Wonder if that even existed. Either way, he sprang himself towards me and played his fingers around my body. And if anyone would ever come by at this moment, I can just die from the embarrassment seeing that our position looked like something inappropriate, lewd, and obscene from other's point of view.

"Ahaha! Torahiko, stop it! Please, I beg you! I can't take it much longer, nyaa~" I plead as tears form at the edge of my eyes. Suddenly, Torahiko stopped tickling me inevitably. "Hm? What the matter, Tora? Did I do something unusual?"

"N-no..." Torahiko stuttered. "It's just..."

"Just what?"

After a long pause, he took a deep inhale as he build up his courage, "It's just too sexy for me to handle considering you just used a very cute voice while I'm tickling you..." He bashfully answered while holding his tail in an adorable manner.

"e-EEEEEH??!!" I crawled back quickly. "D-did I really do something like that?"

Torahiko nodded slowly. Then an awkward silence soon entered the atmosphere. "Must've killed the mood." I thought to myself. Meanwhile, Tora seemed to be mumbling to himself, and once that he made up his mind, he gingerly crawled in all fours to my front with a determined face mixed with slight bashfulness.

"H-Hiroyuki," He put his right hand to my cheek. "I-I've been meaning to tell you this ever since you came back. But I couldn't bring myself to say it out. W-Would you... hear me out... just for a bit?" His hand is all warm and considering the way he talked was kind of sincere.

I know where this is going. This is one of his pranks, right? Bravo Tora, for trying to make a fool out of me. But guess what, I'm not falling for that, because I am the once known great prankster, Hiroyuki-sama, your partner in crime since childhood! I can read you like an open book!

"C-cut the joke already, Tora. You got me, now will you please-"

"Just fucking listen, I'm serious man!" Torahiko grabbed me tightly by the shoulders, tightly shutting his eyes. "Hiroyuki... I-... I..." He then took a big gulp and inhaled deeply. After recollecting himself he looked straight into my eyes and spat out these words: "I'm in love with you!"

That's it. That's the words he's been hiding away from all these years of waiting and holding back.

"Listen, I've been planning to tell you this since summer, albeit it was settled to tell you this on my birthday, but I couldn't find a chance how to say it to you. Nor even a slight idea where to find you. But, that's all in the past. Like you once said to sempai, 'you can use past's failures as an inspiration to do better in the future'. So please, hear me out for a bit, okay?"

Torahiko then took a deep breath and build up his confidence.

"Every time I see you, my heart is pounding more than it should be. Every time you smile, I feel a tingly feeling in my stomach. As if it can do backflips and other shitty acrobatics along with my heart. And I couldn't help but thinking about you all day! Ever since we were kids, I already had a crush on you. Puppy love as you can call it. You were my inspiration, my encouragement to improve more!

Until you left us five years ago. Five fuckin' goddamn years, man! Do you realize how painful and difficult it is for us-, for me to think that the last goodbye that you gave back then, will probably be the last, not even thinking that we'll never know when we'll say 'hello' to you again! Every day Hiroyuki, I died a little inside, wanting you and only you within my arms. All this time, I've been holding it back until you came home, to where you rightfully belong, right here." He pointed to his chest, positively sure that it's his heart he's pointing at. "I was a coward back then, I've been very afraid of losing my only best friend, my first and only love. But what matters is now that I officially say my true feelings towards you. When there's a will, there's a way, right?

So please, Hiroyuki Nishimura; I sincerely ask you, will you please go out with me and be my lover for the rest of all eternity?"

Wordless from the overwhelming speech, I tried to recollect myself and my words best suitable to respond to his request without hurting his feelings.

"Torahiko," Giving a small, sad smile; I said to him, "As much as I value our friendship, I'm afraid that..."

"That? That you need some time to think about it?"

"No. It's that-"

"That you're really going out with me?" Torahiko said as he showed a little encouragement within his voice.

Then something inside of me snapped as if it can be heard by others.

"Fuck, Tora! The reason is that-, that I'm fucking flat-out refusing you, okay?! Maybe at first I would, but... you were too fucking slow!" I irately said. "Don't you get it over that shitty thick skull of yours, Tora?! Or do I fucking need to repeat myself?

Torahiko, I cannot fucking reciprocate to your goddamn feelings because there is already someone else! There will fucking never be an 'us', okay?!"

Shit. I blew it. I felt bad for hurting his feelings. Nice job, me. Way to go. Woot-woot...

A quick inhale passed through his teeth, then his ears and tail dropped gradually. Awestruck from the sudden rejection I gave him, the life that shone within his eyes had faded.

"So I got dumped huh? Should've at least expected that." Torahiko muttered to himself in a wearily tone. Then his ears perked up and said, "Wait, you said there's someone else?"

Jumping from the very word of 'someone', I forgot that I almost blew our cover as lovers. But that won't stop me from telling the truth. "It's classified, but I can at least give you the idea." Concealing my embarrassment, I avoid eye contact with him. "Listen, I already found someone else." I sighed in defeat. "But, you'll get to meet that person, sooner or later. A-and, I'm sorry, for snapping at you rudely, my irritation took over me. I never should've yelled at you. B-but even though I rejected you, can we... still be friends?" I tried to encourage his mood. Then silence again filled the space between us, only waiting for Tora to respond. Fuck, the longer the silence, the longer it hurts for me to dread all the things I threw. After a while, Torahiko then managed to put up his usual smile and said:

"Y-yeah sure. We can still be... friends, right? I don't really have to worry since we can spend much more time together... as friends that is. And one more thing, if ever that person hurts you or treats you badly, I swear once I find that out, I'll make sure I give that person a one-way ticket to hell. I promise you that."

Reading through his bitter smile, it's obvious enough that he's pushing himself too hard just to absorb all the harsh words I just threw at him. Yet he's still acting tough. With that, tears also form at the edge of his eyes. Shit Hiroyuki, think fast! What would be the best way to overcome such a gloomy situation?

"T-Torahiko, I get that you're really sincere and all but... I know deep inside of you is breaking apart. You can cry on my shoulders, if you want. Don't be afraid to let it all out." I offered as I gestured to embrace him. It's the least I can do to help him overcome such an emotional impact. And in a second, he once again leapt to me and started to mourn. He held me tight like there's no tomorrow. It hurt a bit but I have to endure just for him. I can feel his tears though my shirt as I pet his head. "Tora, a-again I am sorry for snapping back at you and hurting your feelings." And here he was, in his weakest, vulnerable state.

"D-don't mind about it. At least,*sniff* I know the person I once loved is comforting me in his own arms. That alone is enough for me." He gave a reassuring smile.

"Oh Torahiko, if only you knew..."

Next part: Double Date