99 (Not) Scared

It's great to be back again, that's what Arata was thinking as he got back to eating lunch with the others. Not only that, but he could finally unwind and read some manga he had planned for the day. Which is what he grabbed out of his bag when he sat down.

Though it wasn't the only book he was hoping on reading. There was still his old journals that he had yet to read through to attempt to solve the mystery of his childhood friend. It was troublesome that he had yet to make a dent in finding out any clues. Things just kept getting in his way.

"Oh right." He snapped his fingers, as he remembered something. "I'll be right back, just need to grab something from the cafeteria." With, Arata put down his book and left. Surely they wouldn't take a look at what he was reading when he wasn't there. Surely… Not.

"Ooh, he left this behind." Yogi said playfully as he picked it up from the table. "I wonder what he's been into lately?"

"Well, I think it would be rude of us to take a look without his permission." Misei crossed her arms and faced away to not look at it. After what she saw from before, she didn't want him to get embarrassed.

"I wonder what type of stuff he really likes to read anyway?" Erina wondered aloud. Sure she was aware of some of his tastes from their discussions. However, this book looked different from the ones she normally saw him with.

"I don't know if you should read it." Yuki warned, she recognized what the contents of the book were going to be. "You wouldn't like it."

"Oh come on, I wouldn't be so mean to Arata." Yogi chuckled, opening to the first page. He misunderstood what problem she was referring to. The first page seem innocent enough, what exactly was she so worried about?

"…" She wasn't confident to say why she knew he wasn't going to like it. It was too much with everyone here.

"Ahh!" Soon enough, he reached the part she was worried about. Yogi freaked out from the sight he got, dropping it straight to the ground. "What, what was that?"

"Hmm?" Akaki looked at him in confusion, what exactly would rattle his friend that badly? So he picked it up, where it landed face down on the part that frightened Yogi. But when he saw the same thing, he had the exact same reaction. "Ahh!"

"I didn't think you were the type to... Dislike that type of stuff." Misei commented, unsure of why they reacted the way they did.

"Why would either of us like that?" Akaki asked, appealed that she even suggested such a thought. "I mean, the faces… And the circles..." He was in awe as to the sight he just witnessed.

"Circles?" Erina was curious to what he was describing, so she was about to reach for the book as well. However, unlike the boys before her. Someone actually stopped her. That someone would be the boy rushing back when he heard yelling.

"What's wrong?!" He slammed open the door, scaring everyone in the room. "Is everything okay, did something bad happen?" When he entered, Erina had just picked it up, his arrival caused her to flinch and toss the book up into the air.

He acted fast, Arata dove and saved it from falling on the ground again. Once he got back up, it wasn't hard to piece together what happened in his absence.

"You guys took a peek at this, didn't you?" He questioned the other two boys who looked like they saw a ghost.

"Yes." They put their heads down in shame.

"But, I thought said you like… a different type of manga?" Yogi asked. "You know, with the girls and all."

"I do." He answered. "But, I'm reading this because it's a special occasion." The looks on everyone's face surprised him. Apparently no one knew what day it was. "You know, it's Halloween?"

"Ohhh…" The date had completely eluded everyone.

"Say, Yuki." Yogi turned his attention back to his cousin. "Have you read that story before? It sounded like you knew what was going to happen."

"I... might've checked it out once." She admitted, but the truth was that she owned the entire collection by the artist.

"Really, I never figured you to be a fan of Ita's works." Arata said, skimming through the pages. "Now that's a guy who can really draw some spine-tingling art."

"It's not what I usually read, but it's something different I can look at." She replied.

"Arata, if you spent so much time chatting her up online." Yuriko started. "Shouldn't you know more about her tastes?" Arata thought it over for a moment, they only talked for a few months at most. It wouldn't be what he called super deep conversations, but it was fun. Shame that it stopped, or at least it did, until something happened recently that affected his mind.

But it wasn't like he lost the memories he had during his spell of amnesia. Arata knew for a fact, that Yuki started messaging him online again. All the while pretending to be a person he thought he didn't know in person.

"It's not like we talked about everything." He answered. "I'm sure there's plenty I don't know about all of you." Yuriko's face turned grim from that statement. Why did it, he wondered.

But it wasn't something he wanted to hang on for too much. It probably wasn't a big deal if she had a secret. If that was the case, then he'd respect it.

What was more important for him right now, was the rift between him and his friend's cousin. It was a shame to think they were close, even if it was just through messages. Just the thought that they could meet in real life should've been a good thing. Then they'd be able to talk about the enjoyment of their hobby in person.

That ended up being the complete opposite. Not only did she start to talk to him even less than she already did. Acting as if it was a big discomfort for her. She practically cut him off online. The only messages he got from her since finding out the truth, was when he didn't have his memories.

Which is something that confused him. He understood the reason she stopped talking online. She told him that it was too hard for her to talk about private things now that she saw the person behind the account. But, why did she really feel it was the best time to try again when he lost of his memories of her? Seemed kind of odd to him.

It's not something he can just ask her in front of everyone. Not only did they not know about it, she most likely wouldn't want them to either. Yuki would definitely hide behind Yogi if he tried. However, an opportunity would come for him soon.

"So, does anyone have a place in mind?" Yogi asked. It was now the end of school, and they were planning on studying and eating together.

After some debate, everyone settled on a location. However, there is a person missing in this meeting.

"Where's Yuki?" Akiba asked.

"Oh, she's still back in class." Yogi answered. "I think that she said she had something to take care of first." He wasn't sure what she meant by that. Though it wasn't like he was going to stop her.

"I think I'll go get her then." Arata offer, seizing the chance.

"Are you sure?" Misao asked, shouldn't Yogi be the one to get his cousin?"

"I mean…" Arata had to come up with an excuse. He didn't want to let on the real reason for him wanting to see her. "I think I forgot something, so I was going to go back anyway."

"You want to talk to her, don't you." Yogi caught onto his plan. He didn't reply at first, worried about what he might say. "It's fine, I know you wouldn't do anything bad."

"So, then. You all don't mind?" No one did. After all, Yuki wasn't one for talking. If Yogi couldn't get her to open up to anyone, perhaps Arata might? At the very least, he was motivated to doing so.

"Before you go though." Yogi stopped him once more. "She's still my cousin, so please be patient."

"Heh, don't worry." He assured his friend. "I'm not one to just give up so easily." With that, he left the group to return back to his classroom. Most of them were fine with his statement, but Misao had a different opinion. She wondered if that foolhardy attitude was actually not so good for him.

It didn't take long to get to class. Arata hoped that it wouldn't take long to reunite with the group after this. When he entered the room, it was empty with one exception.

There she was, sitting by herself at her desk. With the way the sun was setting in the window next to her was majestic. Yuki looked so beautiful in this light. He felt like he was in a scene where he was going to confess for a moment. Probably the type of scene where a baseball would sling through the window to interrupt and ruin the moment.

Arata is usually a pretty quiet guy, so it's not a surprise that she didn't hear him come in. Though, the reason that she didn't notice is whatever is on her desk at the moment.

She's writing down things, then erasing them. Very deep in thought while doing so. He walked up to her, and got her attention.

"So what are you working on?"