Chapter Fourteen: A Round Of Apologies

If there was only one word to describe Itsuki Yukimura, it would be energetic. Her personality of positivity, humor and casual attitude made her a favorite among both her fellow classmates and her underclassmen. It was precisely because of those qualities that Itsuki had gotten recruited to the track team. Thanks to her, her teammates were never nearly as tense as they could've been before meets.

But, while she was happy she was able to help them out, Itsuki didn't maintain this personality solely for that reason. In truth, she had never really given stuff like that much thought. Whether it was about herself or her friends, Itsuki usually just took things from the surface and continued on, not bothering to think deeper about it. However, thanks to some of the new friends she had gotten in the last year, more of those questions had begun to permeate her mind.

Itsuki was how she was because that was just the kind of person she was. That's how Itsuki had always thought about it, and it was that kind of response she would give when people asked her how she could remain so energetic all the time. But, with more questions coming into her mind, Itsuki had started to wonder more about herself. When coming back to the question she was always asked, she still felt like she had the same answer, but there was also something more. Itsuki was energetic because she just was, sure, but when thought about more seriously, she also realized that it was for Mayu.

Ever since they had met, some part of Itsuki had always felt like Mayu was lacking… something. Despite her calm and gentle demeanor, Itsuki couldn't shake the feeling that there should be more. That was why she had tried to get more reactions out of Mayu, in an effort to find out what that something was. Of course, over time she mostly gave up on that idea, but it wasn't like the feeling she had just went away.

Instead, it stayed dormant for a while, until the day came that Itsuki saw something new from Mayu. It was something she had never seen before. Mayu had made a pouting face. She was genuinely irked. It lasted only for a moment, but in that moment, a thousand thoughts rushed through Itsuki's mind.

Why is she making that face?

Since when does Mayu do that?

Why couldn't I get her to do that?

And so on. Naturally, the cause was Jasmine, not Itsuki, which led to different feelings forming in Itsuki's heart. At first, she tried to ignore them, but as time went on and Jasmine got closer with Mayu, Itsuki was beginning to feel like she was the one missing something. Day after day, Jasmine got Mayu to make all sorts of faces and say or do all sorts of things that Itsuki had never been able to get her to do. So, why was it that Jasmine could and Itsuki couldn't?

What was she missing? Was it because Jasmine was more laid-back than her? Was it because she was "experienced?" Or was it something entirely unknown to the girl? The more Itsuki thought about it, the more frustrated she became, and, perhaps… a little jealous.

The unfortunate thing about jealousy is that as long as even a small sliver of it exists within a person, it can be enough to drive them to do regrettable things. In that moment that Itsuki eavesdropped on Mayu and Jasmine, she became driven by jealousy. All she wanted was to get Mayu and Jasmine apart. At the time, she could've just walked up to them, but looking back, Itsuki realized that she had been too frozen in place to do anything. Hearing the two girls call each other so intimately was just too much.

It was that reasoning and jealous drive that compelled Itsuki to go to Mayu's house in the morning. Of course, she had no idea about Ai's demands that Mayu stay away from her new friends or else she would be transferred. But, what Itsuki did know was that Ai, being the kind of mother she was, would not like finding out that her daughter had snuck out late. There was a bit of assuming by Itsuki. It was possible that Mayu had told her mother about what she was doing.

However, when Itsuki told Ai, her reaction told Itsuki all she needed to know. A part of her wanted to celebrate. Mayu would get in trouble and maybe even be kept away from Jasmine somehow. Did Itsuki feel guilty about doing what she had done? A little, but it was a small price to pay to get what she wanted.

...Or at least, that's what Itsuki had thought until she heard about the transfer ultimatum. Once those words hit her ears, her brain tried to process them as fast as possible. During that time, she also experienced her first glare from Mayu, which ended up delaying her processing. Trying to run after Mayu only delayed her further, and by the time Itsuki understood, it was too late. She ended up saying things she didn't want to, and in turn, Mayu had gotten mad at her.

All Itsuki had wanted was to figure out why Jasmine, a girl who had known Mayu for less than a year, was able to do so much more for Mayu than Itsuki ever had. What did the gal have that she didn't? It was a question that repeated on loop in Itsuki's head, and even now, after fighting with Mayu, Itsuki still wondered. She desperately wanted to know. There had to be something. What was it? "I need to know," she thought.

So, when the time came for gym class, Itsuki decided it was the perfect opportunity to just go for it. "Jasmine-chan," she said suddenly as everybody else left the classroom. Jasmine turned to look at her. "Can we talk?" It was phrased as a question, but it ended up sounding more like a demand. For a moment, Jasmine seemed to think it over, but then eventually she agreed.

As they walked, it was quiet between the two girls. Itsuki had suggested that they go somewhere else for their conversation, but she hadn't considered how awkward the journey to their destination would be. Not only that, but she wasn't really the kind of person that knew about good spots to have private conversations. "Ugh… I'm so out of my element," Itsuki groaned to herself. "Why'd I have to call out to her like that? I mean, sure, I wanna know, but what should I say to her?"

Before Itsuki could get her thoughts sorted out, she noticed that they were outside. Specifically, they had reached the roof. "Eh? Why're we out here?" Itsuki asked dumbly. "Everyone's in class," Jasmine explained. "So no one should bother us up here." "Oh, r-right," Itsuki said. Then, the two of them walked over to the edge of the roof, and Jasmine leaned up against the fence.

"So, whaddya wanna talk about?" she asked casually. Although, when Itsuki looked at her, it seemed like a part of Jasmine already knew due to her expression. "Well, um…" the tomboy started. "It's about Mayu-chan…" Jasmine didn't say anything, so Itsuki took that as a cue to continue. "I'm guessing… you heard about her mom and what she told Mayu-chan?" "How I'm a bad influence on her daughter and she should stay away from me, or else?" Jasmine repeated mockingly. "Y-Yeah," Ituski said. "Well, the thing is… I sorta saw you two last night and told Mayu-chan's mom, and now Mayu-chan is gonna get transferred!"

"Huh," was all Jasmine said. "Wha…? That's it?" Itsuki said, shocked. "Don't you care that Mayu-chan's going away?" Jasmine shrugged. "It's not like she's going to the other side of Hokkaido." "She might, you don't know!" Itsuki exclaimed, then muttered. "If you hadn't been so selfish…" "So it's my fault," Jasmine said, not even asking. Honestly, she had a feeling this was coming. Ever since she had begun noticing Itsuki's minor mood changes, she had a feeling it had something to do with her spending time with Mayu. "The question is, is Itsuki-chan just jealous, or is there something more?" Jasmine wondered.

"Y'know what? Yeah, it is your fault," Itsuki said, angry. "Mayu-chan was fine before you came along. Now she glares at me and is breaking rules… She becoming a completely different person! She's doing things… that I never thought she would…" "You're starting to sound like Fukuhara-san," Jasmine commented. She had both witnessed and heard about the strong opposition Michi held toward things changing. Was Itsuki the same, or was it something else?

"It's not like that…" Itsuki mumbled. "Mi-chan got mad because Kana-chan got an old friend back. And, yeah, I guess that changed some things, but I think that those changes were good. I got to meet you, and Chiyo and Haruna-chan because of it. But now, things are happening that I don't understand… Why does Mayu-chan make those faces with you? Why does she act so differently when she's with you? Why can you… get Mayu-chan to do all of the things I never could? I've known her longer… I'm supposed to be her best friend! I tried, for so long, to see more in Mayu than the calm, gentle girl she always is, but no matter what I did, it was always the same! I started thinking that maybe there wasn't more to her, and just as I started to believe that, you showed up and brought out the sides of Mayu-chan I never got to see!"

"So why can you do that and I can't?! Why can you get Mayu-chan to act like a normal girl with all sorts of emotions when I never could?! What makes you so different from me?!"

"What makes you so much more special than I ever have been?!"

"Ah…" Jasmine let out. "So that's it." Simply put, it was jealousy. Itsuki didn't care that Mayu had changed. She cared about the fact that she hadn't been the one to cause it. Jasmine could understand her frustration. Itsuki was Mayu's best friend. As far as the gal knew, they had been together for most of their lives. And, apparently, in that time, Itsuki had tried to do what Jasmine had done with little effort. It was like the argument of hard work versus natural talent. One side puts in years of work, and in a matter of months, all of it is seemingly put to waste as someone with natural talent surpasses them.

Of course, Jasmine wasn't going to go as far as saying she had a natural talent for drawing out new sides of a person. All she had really done was have a bit of fun, and in turn, it had brought about that change that Itsuki was so jealous of. Although, if Jasmine really thought about it, she knew that "having some fun" wasn't all there was to what she had been doing either.

"Hey, Itsuki-chan," Jasmine said. "Do you hate me?" "...Eh?" Itsuki let out. "I… of course not… I mean…" She denied it, but her hesitation, mixed with the uncertainty on her face, told Jasmine all she needed to know. "It's fine," Jasmine said with a dry laugh. "You definitely wouldn't be the first girl to tell me that you hate me." All Itsuki could do was look at the ground. She didn't want to hate Jasmine, but part of her just couldn't help it.

"You're jealous, right?" Jasmine said. Itsuki gave a very small nod. "Me too," the gal said, causing Itsuki's head to jolt up. "What?" she said, surprised. "What're you jealous of?" "You," Jasmine said plainly. "You've gotten to spend years with Mayu, and I've only had less than one. I'm sure you like, know all sorts of things about her I don't."

"Does that really even matter though?" itsuki grumbled. "You've already done more for her than I ever have." "Have I?" Jasmine said wistfully. She stared up at the clouded sky for a moment, then looked back down. "I'm not as special as you're making me out to be Itsuki-chan."

Quiet filled the air, but it wasn't long before it was broken by Jasmine speaking again. "When I first met Mayu, I really thought we were the same. Here we were, two girls both with shackles around us, stopping us from doing the things we really wanted. But, the more time we spent together, and the closer I got to Mayu, the more I began to realize something."

"Beyond the surface, we're nothing alike. And I think… that made me kinda angry."

"Angry?" Itsuki repeated. Jasmine nodded. "Yeah, angry. While I was stuck with shackles, I saw that rather than chains, Mayu was really just standing there. It was like she was a bird locked in a cage, except the lock was just an illusion. If she really wanted to, she could fly out and be free, but instead, she always seemed perfectly content with just sitting in her cage."

"Mayu-chan said something like that earlier," Itsuki mentioned. "She said she felt drawn to you, like a lock to a key." Jasmine smiled, then continued. "As I watched her, I kept thinking, 'why doesn't she fly? She can do it if she tries. It's not fair that she can fly, but doesn't, and I'm stuck here on the ground, wishing I could.' But, the funny thing about shackles, chains or cages, is that it usually takes someone else to give you freedom. So, I decided I would try to give Mayu hers."

"This kind, gentle girl that everybody knows isn't natural, and the more I spoke with Mayu, the more I realized what was missing. Irritation, anger, sadness, true joy… all of those things were absent. That's kinda why I started teasing her. I wanted her to get annoyed with me, to get mad… and maybe have a little fun too." "That's why?" Itsuki asked. "Well, that and she's just too cute, so I can't help myself," Jasmine commented wryly.

"When I kept teasing Mayu, I started to notice that more of her was coming to life. Rather than just stand in that birdcage, she was starting to spread her wings and realize that there was more to life than the inside of that cage. I think right now, that's the point we're at. She wants to go outside, but her mom won't let her, stifling her with things like tradition and outdated standards. It's infuriating."

Jasmine paused, looking at Itsuki to make sure she had the girl's attention. "I want you to understand something, Itsuki-chan. Everything I've done for Mayu, all this 'good' that you say I've done, it's always been for selfish reasons. I didn't push Mayu forward to just make her feel better, I did it to give myself some false sense of hope that maybe someone could do that for me too. So, if you say you hate me, I get it. I'd be mad too if someone told me they were with my best friend for some reason like that."

"But, before you answer that, I have one more thing I want to say," Jasmine said. "It's true that my relationship with Mayu and your relationship with Mayu are different. And yeah, maybe you aren't a pillar of emotional support, and sure, you don't necessarily push her forward, but… you do so much more for Mayu than you realize, Itsuki-chan. When we're together, your name always comes up. It's always little things like how you got tired from playing with Kanade, or how you and Mayu went on a walk and talked about all sorts of random things, but despite how small all that seems, it actually matters a lot. To have someone to have stupid conversations with… to have someone who's just there, wanting to spend time with you for no reason in particular… to grow up with someone and feel like they'll never leave your side… you have no idea what I would've given to have that when I was younger."

"So, Itsuki-chan, don't be jealous of me. I know, that's totally another selfish thing for me to say, but hear me out. The things you do for Mayu-chan are things only you can do for her. Having spent all that time with her, there's no way someone else could take the place you've made at her side. And, if I made you feel like I was going to, then I'm sorry about that."

When Jasmine finished speaking, she waited for a response, but the first thing she heard instead was a "snf…" Hearing that, Jasmine tried to peer around to see Itsuki's face that was pointed downward and covered by an arm. "That's not fair…" she uttered. "H-How can you say such kind things to me a-after I, snf, yelled at you like that?"

Reaching Itsuki, Jasmine brought her hand up and pushed gently on Itsuki's chin. The girl followed the motion, and soon, Jasmine was met with Itsuki's face, covered in tears. "Y-You're right," Itsuki squeaked out. "You're right Jasmine-chan! I shouldn't have been so jealous! I shouldn't have been so mean to you! I'm sorry! I-I'm really sorry!"

Wrapping one arm around the girl's back and bringing the other on up higher so she could caress Itsuki's head, Jasmine pulled her into an embrace. "It's fine, Itsuki-chan. I'm the one who should be apologizing." But Itsuki denied Jasmine's words. "No!" she said, shaking her head vehemently against Jasmine's shoulder. "I'm the one who's been causing all the problems!" "Then let's just say we're both at fault," Jasmine suggested. It seemed like Itsuki wanted to protest, but instead all she did was continue to cry into Jasmine's uniform top.

After a couple more minutes, the two girls separated, and Itsuki's eyes were puffy and red. "Aw man," she said. "there's no way I can go back to class looking like this." "Don't worry, I have makeup that can cover that," Jasmine said confidently. "Thanks," Itsuki said with a weak smile, but it soon disappeared. "Ah… I need to apologize to Mayu-chan too…"

"It'll be fine, Itsuki-chan," Jasmine said. "I know Mayu will understand." Itsuki nodded, though she still looked a bit nervous. However, that expression quickly changed to one of curiosity. "Hey, Jasmine-chan," she said. "Are you, um… are you in love with Mayu-chan?"

"...Eh?" Jasmine let out, completely caught off-guard by the question. "It's just," Itsuki went on. "Sometimes, the way you talk to her and act with her, sometimes I get that feeling. Oh, I'm not saying that's a problem or anything! I'm just kinda curious, that's all."

For several long moments, Jasmine was quiet. When she finally spoke again, Itsuki got an answer she wasn't expecting. "I… don't want to call this feeling love," the gal said. "Huh? Why not?" Itsuki asked. "Because," Jasmine said. "Whenever I do, that's when it all goes wrong. So, for now, I'll just leaving this feeling as it is." "Sooo, is that a yes or a no?" Itsuki asked. Looking at her, Jasmine winked. "It's a secret."

"But while we're on the topic," Jasmine continued. "What about you? Are you in love with Mayu?" "Huh?! M-me?" Itsuki sputtered. "N-No way. I mean, I think when we we're kids, I kinda thought about it, but it just never really worked for me. Then, when I found out about Haruna-chan and Kana-chan, I thought about it again, but decided it just wasn't what I wanted. And well… I kinda have someone else I like, actually." "Oh yeah?" Jasmine said, intrigued. "Who is it?" "You can't tell anyone, okay?" Itsuki insisted. "I promise," Jasmine swore. "It's… an underclassmen in the track club," Itsuki admitted. "We worked together a lot last year, and he's always so nice, not to mention talented… I just couldn't help it." "Well, I think that's usually how love works," Jasmine laughed. "You better confess to him before he gets taken, if he's as good as you say." "Wah! Don't scare me like Jasmine-chan! I'm nervous enough to tell him already, and now I feel like I'm on a deadline!" Itsuki cried. "Sorry, sorry," Jasmine laughed.

*****

"Hey, you think we'll get in trouble for skipping class?" Itsuki asked. After wrapping up their conversation on the roof, the two girls were on their way back to the classroom. Jasmine shrugged. "Probably." "I was hoping you'd say no…" Itsuki said, disappointed. "Well, whatever. Worse they'll do is make us clean." At the mention of such activity, Jasmine tensed up. "Cleaning…" she muttered, reliving her past trauma of being made to clean all the time. "Now I'm worried."

Luckily, when they got back to the classroom, all the two girls got was a lecture from their teacher and relayed information that the gym teacher would be making them do extra laps next time. Taking their seats, Itsuki looked at Mayu. She clearly still seemed annoyed. "Yeah, of course she would be," the tomboy sighed to herself. "I really acted like an idiot this morning, didn't I?"

With plenty of regret in her, Itsuki decided she would fix things between her and Mayu at lunch. When that time came, Itsuki approached the girl's desk. "Um, h-hey, Mayu-chan? Can we talk?" Turning around, Mayu made a face that told Itsuki she wasn't in the mood. "Why? Are you going to tell me about my poor tastes in friends again?" she snarked. "Mayu," Jasmine suddenly said. The gal had stood up and was beginning to walk away from her desk. "Why don't ya hear Itsuki-chan out?"

At first, Mayu looked confused, then hesitant. But, after another moment of contemplation, she agreed. "...Alright. Perhaps we should go somewhere private then…" "Uh, here's fine, actually," Itsuki said shyly. "Are you sure?" Mayu asked. "Other people will be staying in here to eat." "Yeah. I mean, it's not like this'll take long, and it's not really overly serious or anything…" Itsuki said. "Well, if you insist," Mayu said. "I'm listening."

Taking a deep breath, then letting it out, Itsuki abruptly bowed. "I'm sorry Mayu-chan!" she said a little loudly. A few of the people near them looked over in curiosity, but Mayu was too surprised to notice. "Is this… about this morning?" she finally asked. "Yeah," Itsuki said, standing straight up again. Then, she took the seat across from Mayu. "Listen Mayu-chan," she said. "I was really wrong earlier, and I shouldn't have said what I said. It's just that… I was getting kinda jealous of you and Jasmine-chan… B-But we're okay now! That's actually what me and Jasmine-chan were doing earlier. We talked everything out, and now I feel a lot better about everything."

"Still though, I knew I needed to apologize to you. You were right. The people we've met recently aren't just your friends, they're ours. And those people mean a lot to me too. I just got caught up in my feelings, and I said something I shouldn't have. On top of that, I really got you in trouble. I wish there was some way I could fix that too…"

Once Itsuki trailed off, Mayu spoke. "You were jealous of Jasmine and I?" she asked. "You guys just seem so close these days. I don't know, I guess it was weird to me, considering we've never been like that, and I've known you longer," Itsuki explained. "...Perhaps we aren't as close as we should be," Mayu said. "But I very much treasure our friendship Itsuki-chan. I hope you know that." "Yeah, I do," Itsuki said with a smile. "It just took Jasmine-chan spelling it out to me for me to realize it."

"So, um…" Itsuki said tentatively. "Are you not mad at me anymore?" "Hm, maybe a little," Mayu said teasingly. "But I'll fully forgive you if you eat lunch with me." "Deal!" Itsuki said back immediately. "Ah, actually," Mayu added, "I need to talk to Jasmine about something." "Can I come with you?" Itsuki asked. "Yes. It has to do with what happened this morning anyways," Mayu said. So, the two girls, with lunches in tow, headed to the cafeteria.

There, they found Jasmine, who surprisingly, was not sitting alone. As Kanako was still out hunting for clues for where Haruna went, there wasn't really anybody else that would've been with the gal. And yet, someone was with her. It was another girl, in fact, and one both Mayu and Itsuki knew quite well.

"Ah, it's Mayu-chan and Ituki-chan!" the girl waved energetically. Having been called out, the two of them went to the table. "Heya guys!" she said happily. "Hello Chiyo," Mayu said pleasantly. "I'm surprised to see you here. I thought you were absent?" "Oh," Chiyo said. For just the briefest of moments, her expression changed to one of gloom. But, before either Mayu or Itsuki had time to dwell on it, she shifted back to her usual cheerful expression. "Sorry 'bout that! I just slept in too long today, but I decided I'd try to be at least kinda a good girl and come to school!" "If I were you, I totally would've just stayed home," Itsuki joked.

However, while Chiyo and Itsuki seemed to be having fun, the other person at the table was the opposite. Jasmine looked rather bothered by Chiyo even being at school. "But why would that be the case?" Mayu wondered. As she thought that, Jasmine made eye contact with her. Mayu went to look away, but before she could, she saw Jasmine do something. The gal brought a finger up to the corner of her eye, tapped it twice, then motioned lightly to Chiyo. "Does she want me to look at something?" Mayu wondered.

She tried following Jasmine's instructions. "Should I be looking at Chiyo? Perhaps at her eyes? They're quite a lovely shade of brown, but I doubt that's what I'm supposed to be seeing. Maybe in the corner? ...ah." It was then that Mayu figured out what Jasmine had been signaling. Looking closely at the corners of Chiyo's eyes revealed a bit of redness. Considering all the makeup Chiyo put on, the fact that it was still showing through meant the spot must've been decent size and quite red. Naturally, there were only a few plausible explanation for why the corners of a person's eyes would be red, and most of them involved tears.

"Has Chiyo been crying?" Mayu wondered. She was tempted to ask, but didn't. It wasn't really in Mayu's nature to pry like that, and Jasmine had gone through the trouble of just using motions to point it out, so it was probably something to not be discussed at the moment. So instead, Mayu simply sat down at the table as Itsuki did the same, still talking with Chiyo.

When the two of them finished, Mayu looked at both gals who were across from her. "Um, Jasmine… and, actually, Chiyo too," she began nervously. "I was wondering if I could ask a favor." "Oooh, a favor from Mayu-chan? This is rare," Chiyo cooed. "If you're asking both of us, it's because you want a flower on each arm for something, right?" "The only kind of flower you are is wilted," Jasmine said. "So mean!" Chiyo cried.

Once their back-and-forth subsided, Mayu continued. "This is… very selfish of me to ask, but… can I ask you to talk to my mother?" "Huh? Talk about what?" Chiyo asked. Next to her, Jasmine gave her the brief summary. "What the hell?!" Chiyo immediately exclaimed once Jasmine finished. "Transfer? That's so dumb! Like, for real crazy dumb!" "I totally agree," Jasmine said. "But, Mayu, what do you want us to do about it? Like, we can talk to Ai-san all we want, but I doubt it'll make a difference."

"...You may be right," Mayu admitted. "But, I would still really appreciate if you would try. My mother won't listen to me anymore, so my words won't have any impact. However, if two of the people she claims to be against come to speak with her, then perhaps she'll listen to reason again. I've never known my mother to act like this, so if the individuals she takes issue with appear before her, I feel like she won't be able to remain so…" "Stupid?" Jasmine finished. "...I don't want to talk disparagingly about my mother… but yes," Mayu said.

Before Jasmine gave an answer, Chiyo spoke up. "I'll totes do it! You're my friend Mayu-chan! I don't wanna see you leave!" Hearing that, Mayu smiled, but she saw that same bothered expression cross Jasmine's face. This time, Jasmine said something. "Are you sure you're up for this?" she asked quietly. "Huh? Why not? We gotta help out Mayu-chan," Chiyo said, like it was obvious. "Chiyo, c'mon…" Jasmine said even quieter, looking worried. Mayu could barely make out what she said next. "This past weekend was pretty rough for you. Are you sure you wanna do something like this? Mayu's mother might just end up yelling at us. It might be better if you just focus on Fuku-"

"I wanna help Mayu-chan," Chiyo said defiantly. Although, despite her tone, her expression was a pained one. Her fists were clenched tight together, and she looked like she could burst into tears at any moment. Seeing a face like that on Chiyo made Mayu wonder all the more just what had happened to the gal.

"Chiyo, if it's too much trouble-" Mayu began to say, but she was cut off. "You need my help, right Mayu-chan? You need me?" Chiyo said, like she was desperately hoping Mayu would say yes. But, before she got the chance, Chiyo corrected herself. "Ah, I didn't say that right. I just meant that you need me because of the kind of girl I am, yeah?"

Then, Chiyo smiled. "You can count on me, Mayu-chan! We'll save ya!" "...Thank you," Mayu said. Chiyo beamed. "This'll be great! We're gonna be heroes Jas-chin!" "Don't be over-dramatic," Jasmine said, although she almost seemed to be looking forward to their upcoming conversation too. Then again, it only made sense for girls like Jasmine and Chiyo to be excited about being a little rebellious.

However, while they talked, Mayu thought she heard a weird sound. It almost sounded like a scoff. Looking around for the source, she spotted Michi at a table some distance from them. Michi was looking straight at them, but when she noticed Mayu's gaze, she quickly turned away. "Did Mi-chan make that noise?" Mayu wondered. If so, it was quite loud. Perhaps she did it louder than she meant to. Either way, Mayu wondered why Michi would do something like that in the first place. "We haven't been that loud, so I don't think she overheard us," Mayu thought.

She tried tracing Michi's line of sight in her head. If she wasn't imagining things, then Michi was most likely looking at Chiyo. "Does Chiyo's odd behavior have to do with Mi-chan?" Mayu guessed. "But I didn't hear that noise until Chiyo looked really happy… it doesn't make sense… although, I guess I don't know for sure if Mi-chan was the one that made that noise after all." With no way to know the answer, Mayu turned back to the conversation at her own table.

"So… you will help me?" she asked, checking for confirmation. "Yep," Jasmine said, and Chiyo nodded next to her. "Thank you," Mayu said gratefully.

*****

After the rest of school day passed, Mayu escorted Jasmine and Chiyo part of the way to her house. Then she split off, going with Itsuki to her house. Earlier, Mayu explained that she thought it would be best if she wasn't there. That way, all parties involved could talk freely about her if necessary. So, the two gals of Iwanai walked along until eventually, they arrived at their destination.

"I don't think I've ever been here before," Chiyo commented. "It's a pretty traditional place," Jasmine said. "Looks like it," Chiyo said. "It kinda reminds me of this guy's house I went to. This one time I went there and this vase ended up breaking because we totally-" "That's enough of that," Jasmine said, cutting her fellow gal off by clamping her hand over Chiyo's mouth.

They walked up to the door and knocked. It was quiet for a moment, then they heard the thumping of feet on the wooden floors inside. They were much to quick to be Ai's, and only a second later the door flew open. Behind it was a girl of very short stature with black hair tied into a singular braid. "Oh, I think this is Kanade," Jasmine said. "Whoa, is this Mayu-chan's lil' sis?" Chiyo squealed. "They look so much alike! Wait, what do you mean, you think?" "Well, I've only been here once, and I didn't get to meet her, so like, I'm just guessing," Jasmine explained.

Staring up at both of them, Kanade was wide-eyed. "Kanade dear, who's at the door?" a female voice called from inside. "Um… two pretty girls!" Kanade responded. "Aw, she called us pretty," Chiyo squirmed with delight. "Does it make you that happy to be complimented by a young girl?" Jasmine asked, pretending to be grossed out. "There's just something about being told your pretty by the youth that makes you feel all warm and fuzzy," Chiyo said happily. "The youth?" Jasmine repeated. "If Kanade's the youth, then what does that make us? Senior citizens?" "You do have some wrinkles Jas-chin." "Shut up," Jasmine said, though she pulled out her hand mirror just to double-check.

During the time of yet another back-and-forth between the two gals, the mother of the Kawaguchi household made her appearance. "Kanade, saying 'two pretty girls' isn't the proper way to tell me. You should ask for their… names," she said, trailing off as she entered the entryway and spotted the two gals. "...I'm sorry, but my daughter isn't home from school yet." "We know," Jasmine said. "We came to talk to ya, Mayu-mama!" Chiyo chimed in.

For a moment, Ai was surprised. "Mayu-mama?" she repeated under her breath before speaking louder. "And what business do you have with me? ...Ah, it's probably about Mayu's transfer, isn't it?" But, just before Jasmine could speak, Chiyo put her hand out to stop her. Then, she shook her head. "Nope," Chiyo said calmly. "We just wanna talk about Mayu-chan."

"You just… want to talk about my daughter?" Ai said, confused. "I would think you're here to convince me to put a stop to her transfer." "We will," Chiyo said breezily. "But first, let's talk about Mayu-chan." "...I suppose I should put on some tea," Ai said. "We can speak in the dining area. Kanade, could you go to your room?" The girl complained a little, but after Chiyo promised to play with her later, Kanade went off happily.

Once the two gals were alone again, Jasmine turned to Chiyo. "What the hell are you doing?" she asked harshly. "We're supposed to be telling Mayu's mom not to transfer her." "Just trust me, Jas-chin," Chiyo said confidently. "I get the feeling that Mayu-mama here doesn't really wanna do this. But, if we push her too soon, she'll just stay stubborn." "So we're just gonna talk about Mayu?" Jasmine said with doubt. Chiyo nodded. "Just say whatever comes to mind. Speak from the heart."

Honestly, Jasmine was worried. If she spoke from her heart, would she really be able to help? With Mayu in trouble, she wanted to do all she could for her, but there was the potential that Jasmine could do more harm than good if she spoke too much from the heart. "I don't wanna leave all the talking up to Chiyo," she thought. "But how much can I really say?"

Before she could come up with an answer, the two of them had moved to the dining table, with them on one side and Ai across from them. "So," the woman began. "You wish to speak about my daughter?" Based on her tone, it was clear she was still confused by what exactly Chiyo had meant. "Yep," the gal nodded. "I wanna tell ya just how much Mayu-chan means to both of us." "And you think that will change my mind?" Ai said doubtfully, but Chiyo shook her head. "No one changes overnight. But if you'll at least listen to what we have to say, I think it might give you a different perspective."

Chiyo paused, closing her eyes before opening them again. "Mayu-chan is a nice girl," she started. "She's helped me study, and she obviously cares about people. She's also proper and modest, which I think are good things in their own way. I'm sure that, as her parent, these are all qualities you've instilled in your daughter, all of which will help to shape her into a fine woman."

"I want you to know that I don't have a problem with how you've raised Mayu-chan," Chiyo continued. "You're simply doing the best you can and know how. I get that. But… sometimes, I think parents get a little too focused on what they think is best, instead of what actually is." "What do you mean?" Ai asked, skeptical. However, instead of giving an answer, Chiyo just shrugged somewhat dramatically. "I don't know!" she said with a laugh. "I'm just a kid. And besides, what's actually best isn't the same for everyone. That's something you and Mayu-chan have to figure out."

"But like, as Mayu-chan's friend, I think it would be horrible for her to transfer. Not only has she helped me out a couple times, but I've also gotten to see her slowly change, and that's something that's happening because of where she is. If you take her away from that, it'd be like trying to drive a car with three wheels when it should have four. Sure, it might get you places, but like, it'll never be quite the car it should be without all four wheels." "I don't think I follow your analogy," Ai said flatly. Chiyo cleared her throat. "What I mean is, don't take Mayu outta the pot half-done. With the way she is now, I'm sure she'd never forgive you for doing something like that." "I don't need her to forgive me. She simply needs to listen," Ai said. "If that's really true," Chiyo said. "Then why do you look so hurt by the idea of your daughter always hating you?"

Ai froze. With no mirror in front of her, she couldn't see her own expression, but she had a feeling Chiyo was right. Of course, she had no desire to be hated by her own child, but she also felt the need to protect Mayu from those she deemed to be bad influences. Although, now that they were right in front of her talking to her the way they were, she was beginning to wonder about that judgment too…

"Go on Jas-chin," Chiyo urged. "It's your turn." Hearing that, Ai's focus shifted to the other gal. She was more skeptical of this one, as she had witnessed her be quite intimate with her own daughter. "I wonder what she'll say to me?" Ai thought.

Across the table," Jasmine had a similar thought. "What the hell am I suppose to say?" There wasn't much that was coming to mind. Next to her, she felt a poke on her thigh. Turning to her left, she saw Chiyo pointing to her own heart, smiling. "Right," Jasmine thought. "Just speak from the heart…"

She did her best to clear out any unnecessary thoughts, then took a deep breath. After letting it out, she looked straight on at Ai. "Kawaguchi-san," she said formally. "There's something I'd like to say as well." "I'm listening," Ai said. Jasmine paused for a moment, then went on. "I know you haven't said it, but Chiyo and I already can tell you don't like us. I'm sure something in your past happened to make you dislike girls like us, and whatever it was, it must've been important enough for you to form a prejudice for your own protection."

"I can't do anything about your past, but I can tell you about the present. Right now, your daughter is friends with a girl who really doesn't have much going for her. In my own past, I was known for dating a lot of guys. The list of ex-boyfriends I have is definitely longer than the list of names in the contacts part of my phone. No matter how many relationships I got in, I never really invested myself in them, which usually was the reason why they ended."

"I'm sure you've heard about Endo-san and Nakatomi-san's relationship, and I know you have your own feelings about that. But for me, their love is very special to me. Because of being able to watch Endo-san's feelings bloom, I got a first-row seat to seeing what real love looks like. It made me wish I could have something like that too. So, I stopped dating entirely. I wasn't that attached anyways, so it wasn't too hard, but I suddenly found myself to be very alone."

"During our second year of high school, I started getting to know Mayu, and for the first time, I experienced what it was like to have someone so caring in my life. Just like Chiyo said, I'm sure I have you to partially thank for that. Having Mayu in my life helped to make my serial dating stop permanently, which is definitely a good thing."

"But, Kawaguchi-san, there's something about your daughter that just isn't normal." "Oh?" Ai let out. "She seems perfectly normal to me." "No," Jasmine said. "She's what you want her to be. But, Mayu has the ability to be more. She needs to be more. That's the only way for her to become a complete person." "What are you talking about?" Ai asked, beginning to get irritated. "A girl that doesn't get to experience anger, sadness, pure joy, a lot of guilt or even jealousy… That's what you shaped Mayu into," Jasmine said sternly. "You called me a bad influence, and y'know what? Maybe you're right. Maybe I screwed up the future you wanted for Mayu."

Jasmine paused, gathering her thoughts before speaking once more. "Y'know what I want for Mayu? I want her to be free. Free to choose whatever the hell she wants, free to love whoever the hell she wants, and free to feel however the hell she wants to."

Ai's eyes widened. Whether it was because of the boldness of Jasmine's statement or the crass way she said it, it was hard to say exactly why she was so surprised. Before she could say anything, Jasmine went on. "Mayu means a lot to me," she said. "Without her, I wouldn't be experiencing so many of the things I am now. But, it's also because I care so much about her that I have to be here, telling you all of this and hoping you'll understand."

"Mayu is a great girl, but if you keep her locked in the cage you made for her forever, the only thing you'll be doing for her is stopping her from being the greatest person she can be."

Next to Jasmine, Chiyo stifled a laugh. "That last bit was a little cheesy," she whispered. "S-Shut up," Jasmine whispered back. She knew Chiyo was right, but Jasmine also believed what she said. In her own way, little by little, she'd been trying to bring out more and more of Mayu's locked away personality. Unfortunately, there was only so much she could do if Ai was going to get in the way. If Ai remained stubborn and went through with Mayu's transfer, what little Jasmine had managed to accomplish would just end up being wasted effort.

In order for Mayu to be the girl Jasmine hoped she could be, it would take a collaborative effort of Jasmine continuing what she had been doing, and Ai allowing it to happen. The question was, could that happen? Was Ai willing to see the error of her ways?

For a long moment, Ai was silent. Neither gal could tell if she was shocked into silence or just thinking. Finally, she opened her mouth. "I… simply want what's best for my daughter," she said. "But… perhaps this is no longer the time to be making that decision for her." Her expression a mix of somber and regretful, she went on. "I must admit, I didn't really plan on listening to either of you much. However, I cannot deny the points you've both made. Perhaps… I acted too rashly. I had thought that if Mayu came to hate me, in time, she would forgive me one day, but I no longer think I can believe that. To use your phrase, Chiyo, I certainly wouldn't want to take Mayu out of the pot 'half-done.' If I did, she really might end up hating me for the rest of her life."

"The way I was raised taught me to be modest and not draw attention to yourself, so I thought I'd raise Mayu the same. For quite some time, she had also followed that. It was only after she met you two and the others that she began to change. At first, I thought it was a bad thing, because I was starting to not be able to recognize my own daughter anymore. Instead though, all it was was Mayu making her own choices."

"I know I can't protect her forever, and one day, Mayu will have to decide for herself. In my own life, that day came much later, but it appears it already came and went for my daughter. It's only now, looking back, that I'm able to see just how caught up I became in keeping her the way I thought she should be when Mayu herself had already gone ahead. What a fool I am…"

Chiyo and Jasmine were both surprised. They had gone to Mayu's house with just the hope that maybe they could get Ai to think about not transferring Mayu. Instead, they appeared to not only have stopped the transfer, but made Ai rethink her parenting approach completely.

"Mayu-mama," Chiyo said. Ai looked at her. "I want'cha to know that I don't think you're a bad parent at all. You just got a lil' lost. As long as ya find your way back, that's all that matters." She smiled at Ai, drawing an uncertain reaction from across the table. "That's all that matters, is it…?" she repeated quietly to herself. "Who would've thought I'd learn so much from the girls I thought were bad… Now I truly feel like a fool." Ai let out a self-depreciating laugh, then stood up from the table.

"Chiyo, Hiraoka-san," she said, then bowed deeply. "I'm sorry for the trouble I've caused you." In kind, the two gals stood up as well and bowed too. "Sorry for bein' kinda blunt," Chiyo said. With apologies made and accepted, they all stood back up straight again.

"Now, I do have one last thing I'd like to say," Ai said. She looked specifically at Jasmine. "I understand you and my daughter have gotten very close lately. It's fine if you wish to do so, but I would appreciate it if you kept your more intimate actions to a very low minimum. To which I mean, if I may be so blunt, stop seducing Mayu please."

"Ah…" Jasmine let out, her cheeks gaining a slight blush. "I-I'll do my best…?" "That's not very reassuring..." Ai sighed, but she didn't press the matter any further.

*****

It was shortly after that that Mayu came back, with Itsuki tailing behind her. Then, it was Mayu and Ai's turn to talk. Luckily, it didn't take long, and within the hour, everything was well again in the Kawaguchi household.

Mayu went back to her room where she had the other girls waiting. "So, how'd it go?" Jasmine asked. "I'm no longer transferring," Mayu said happily. "Although, she did give me warnings about you Jasmine." "W-Warnings?" Jasmine sputtered. "She called you dangerous," Mayu said, looking at her suspiciously. "I'm perfectly harmless," Jasmine stated confidently. "All I want as an owner is to watch over my pet." "I'm not a pet!" Mayu cried and pouted.

Her sour mood didn't last long though, as she noticed one member was missing. "Hey, where's Chiyo?" she asked. "Kanade got her," Itsuki said mournfully. "Rest in peace Chiyo." Then, right at that moment, the door to Mayu's room flew open. "Mayu-chan, ya gotta save me from your lil' sis! She's too much!" "Wow, there's someone that even Chiyo can't handle?" Jasmine said with wonder. "Kanade is a force of nature," Itsuki said.

"Chiyoooo! Come back!" a little voice cried from down the hall. "Nooo, I don't wanna!" Chiyo whined. "C'mon Mayu-chan, help a gal out!" "Sure," Mayu said, giving a pleasant smile.

End of Chapter Fourteen.