Chapter Five

“Well, aren’t you just the cutest thing I have ever seen!” Mrs. Yoshida squealed.

Kuro’s cheeks were stretched far past their limits. Katsumi’s mom was showing no mercy. The two teens stood in the middle of the main hall in Katsumi’s house. It was there when the teen boy was ambushed by the eccentric mother. The squealing and cheek pulling continued. Katsumi had a smile on her face one would consider anxious or even forced. By the time Mrs. Yoshida let Kuro’s cheek snap back in place, they were red and sore. Pouting, Kuro rubbed the more painful cheek. Perhaps introducing Kuro to her parents so soon was a mistake on her part.

“I say, Katsumi, good choice,” Mrs. Yoshida giggled as she intertwined her fingers together. Her hazel eyes sparkled with child-like excitement. While Kuro grinned out of pride, Katsumi’s cheeks tinted the slightest pink. Way for her mother to put it bluntly.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, ma’am,” Kuro greeted politely, bowing at a ninety-degree angle.

The mother’s smile grew. She placed her hand over her mouth, muffling her giggle slightly. “And so polite, too.”

“Mom,” Katsumi began, her voice sounding exasperated. “This is Kuro. He’s my—”

“Boyfriend?” another voice cut in. A tall man with neatly combed dirty blond hair walked into the hallway. He beamed down at the teenaged boy, his ocean blue eyes gleaming with aged kindness. It surprised Kuro how equally blue both Katsumi and her father’s eyes were. But then again, he had genetics to thank for that. Mr. Yoshida stood in front of the boy, far past six feet tall. Just like his daughter, his skin tone lacked much color. His face was well shaved and very few wrinkles settled on his face. “We’ve heard a lot about you.”

“Katsumi won’t shut up about you!” Mrs. Yoshida laughed goodheartedly.

Kuro heard a groan escape the young girl standing next to him. It took all of Katsumi’s self control to not slap the palm of her hand against her forehead. She was only thankful she inherited a portion of her dad’s personality rather than her mom’s. The woman had a tendency to act like a child living in an adult’s body, to put it simply. Kuro grinned politely as he returned his attention to Mrs. Yoshida. The first thing his azure orbs landed on was the woman’s hair.

“I can see where Katsumi gets her hair color,” Kuro couldn’t help but comment.

Just like her daughter, Mrs. Yoshida had allowed it to grow long, but not even remotely as long as Katsumi’s. While Katsumi had allowed her hair to reach just inches past her waist, ending in a slight curl, her mother had only allowed it to grow up to her shoulder blades. There was one noticeable similarity, though. Mrs. Yoshida seemed to also have orange hair. Kuro’s comment caused the woman to smile broadly. Her hair was actually such a light red color it appeared to be orange. Throw in Mr. Yoshida’s dirty blond hair into the mix, and you somehow end up with Katsumi’s bright tangerine orange hair.

Mrs. Yoshida, sun kissed and slender, sent a smile at Kuro once more. “It just makes our little Katsumi that more special.”

Out of the peripheral of his vision, Kuro could see Katsumi frown. Obviously, her parents were embarrassing her in front of the very person she’d rather not be embarrassed in front of. Katsumi cut in quickly, fearing her boyfriend would also mention the similarity in her eye color and her father’s eye color. That would start a rant that would never end.

“I brought Kuro over because he said he’s been dying to meet you,” Katsumi said much too quickly, almost one complete word.

Mr. Yoshida held out his hand, grinning a toothy smile at his daughter’s boyfriend. “Hello Kuro. You seem like a polite gentleman.”

Kuro took the man’s hand, smiling.

“Oh, he is, Daddy,” Katsumi chimed, reverting back to her cheery self.

“I would hope so,” Mrs. Yoshida said. “We wouldn’t our daughter to date someone who wasn’t worthy to even be in her presence.” The woman smiled widely.

Katsumi refrained from groaning. Her mother and Hikari would have gotten along quite nicely.

“Hey, Katsumi,” her father broke the awkward silence. “Do you think we should invite Kuro along?”

Katsumi’s face lit up instantly. “Oh, yeah!” She turned directly to her boyfriend, tugging on his arm. “We’re going on a camping trip this weekend. My friends are coming along, too. You want to come along?”

Kuro folded his arms behind his head, the grin never leaving its comfortable spot on his face. “Sounds like fun. Is it alright with you, Mr. and Mrs. Yoshida?”

“Of course it is!” Mrs. Yoshida shook her head so quickly, it would have come flying off if it weren’t connected to her neck. “We’ll go hiking, and camping, and fishing, and everything!” She stopped to catch her breath. Kuro found Katsumi’s mother entertaining already.

“You might have to share a tent with us, though,” Mr. Yoshida cut in. “Nothing personal. Just can’t have you sharing a tent with the girls.”

Kuro nodded his head. “It’s understandable.”

Katsumi tried to ignore the color rushing to her face. He might not have mentioned it, but she knew Kuro was talking about the recent incident where she assumed he was trying to get into her pants. The situation had been an awkward one, especially when the tangerine haired girl learned her boyfriend was in fact not thinking about having sex at all. In the end, though, Kuro only laughed and ruffled Katsumi’s hair like she was a naïve child. In reality, she sort of was. And she didn’t need her parents’ comment, along with her boyfriend’s, to remind her of the embarrassing incident she put herself through. What other reason would her parents not want her to share a tent with Kuro?

“It’ll be fun!” Katsumi exclaimed, trying to distract her reminiscing mind. “It’ll be you, me, Nami, Akiko, and Minori! Just the five of us!”

Kuro began rubbing the back of his neck as he looked away from his girlfriend’s gaze. “Yeah,” he laughed, his voice laced with uneasiness. “Just the five of us…”

-- x -- x --

“Konnichiwa, everybody!” Hikari chimed loudly, a huge smile plastered all over her ivory toned face. She held a bag in each hand and a backpack was slung over her left shoulder. Standing next to her was Kuro, and he did not look happy. In fact, he looked agitated. It was the weekend and the day of the camping trip. The campers stood out in front of Katsumi’s house. They were waiting to pile into the van they were using on the camping trip.

Katsumi almost exploded at the mere sight of the evil minded blonde. What was she doing here? Kuro forced an almost unnoticeable smile, giving his sister the forced smile through a side-glance. If Katsumi remembered correctly, she had invited Kuro. Not both Kuro and Hikari. She continued gawking at the blonde Takahashi sibling, her eye twitching every so often. Nami, Akiko, and Minori stood on either side of Katsumi. The three of them were glaring at Hikari. Standing behind the girls were Katsumi’s parents. They beamed politely at Kuro’s sister.

“Why, hello there!” Mrs. Yoshida greeted. “You must be Kuro’s sister, Hikari.”

“That I am.” Hikari bowed for Katsumi’s parents. “I hope you don’t mind, but when Kuro mentioned something about a camping trip I just had to come.”

“Not at all,” Mr. Yoshida laughed with a wave of his hand. “Any friend of Katsumi is welcomed.”

Hikari laughed. She appeared suddenly by Katsumi’s side and wrapped her slender arm around the tangerine-haired girl’s shoulders. “Oh, yes! We’re the best of friends!” the Takahashi sister fibbed, laughing and smiling simultaneously. Quickly, much too quickly, both Hikari and Katsumi sent each other a glare filled with hatred before anyone could see.

Minori, Nami, and Akiko had suspicions about Hikari. About how truly evil she could be. But Katsumi had decided not to divulge that little tidbit to them. She didn’t want her three friends to worry about her, after all. And Kuro was completely unaware about the war going on between his sister and his girlfriend. Once again, Katsumi didn’t bother to tell him what Hikari was up to. Katsumi also didn’t find it necessary to tell her parents about her evil-Takahashi-sister problem. If anything, the orange-haired girl figured she could handle Hikari on her own. But she didn’t expect Hikari to actually crash their camping trip.

“Then we better load our stuff into the car and get a move on,” Mr. Yoshida ordered as he slid the door on their van open. He motioned for the teens to hurry in.

All three of Katsumi’s friends piled into the very backseat of the van. They had done so purposely so that Katsumi would get a chance to sit next to Kuro throughout the whole trip. However, when Kuro sat down in the second row of seats, Hikari shoved Katsumi out of the way and plopped herself next to her brother. Kuro sighed loudly and annoyingly as Hikari strapped in her seatbelt. She looked up and gave her brother a toothy grin. Frowning, Katsumi climbed into the van and sat down next to Hikari. The blonde Takahashi sister sat contentedly in the middle between her brother and Katsumi. Behind her, Katsumi’s three friends were glaring daggers into the back of Hikari’s head. Just as they had suspected, Hikari only came along to sabotage Katsumi and Kuro’s relationship. That was something they wouldn’t let her do so easily.

The van tore down the street, Katsumi’s father almost taking out a mailbox in the process. Hikari was squished between Kuro and Katsumi as the van filled with campers finally made it out into the country. The sky seemed to be a clearer tint of blue and the clouds even seemed to be whiter. The setting was certainly much different from that of the city. Outside Katsumi caught a glimpse of a vast field of lush grass. She almost squealed at the sight of the colorful flowers. The bundles of flowers growing together looked like a gigantic rainbow sticking out of the grass. She noted the green mountains in the distance, most likely their destination. Hikari shifted uncomfortably next to her. Katsumi made the mistake of turning to look at the blonde Takahashi. Sapphire blue met ocean blue.

The two girls almost instantly glowered at each other. Katsumi knew why Hikari was there in the first place. The blonde didn’t seem much like the camping type. She was more of the type you would see window-shopping at the mall. The two girls quickly wiped the scowls off their faces when they saw Kuro look over at them from the peripheral of their vision. Hikari and Katsumi quickly glanced at Kuro and gave him the best forced smiles they could. Being none the wiser, Kuro simply grinned back. Nothing brought him more joy than seeing his girlfriend and his sister get along.

At least that’s what he speculated.

In the third row of the van, the very back seat, Katsumi’s three friends were whispering hastily among themselves. Every so often they would pause to take a moment to glance over at Hikari. They would then return to whispering. And the very subject they were discussing was Hikari herself.

“Why is she even here?” Akiko snarled under her breath as the three girls huddled together tightly.

“Something tells me she’s not too fond of Katsumi-chan,” Minori whispered with a worried tone.

“You think?” Akiko conked Minori on the head.

“Ow!”

“We have to do something,” Nami went on, ignoring the other two’s antics. “If this keeps up she’s bond to ruin Tangerine and Kuro’s time together.”

That was when the three girls noticed a sign the van drove by. The sign read that a rest stop was coming up. They had been driving for quite some time, and Nami could feel a certain feeling swelling up in her lower intestine. A smirk instantly flashed onto her face. The first step to defeating Hikari and her evil plot was to at least get the two lovebirds to sit together.

“Mr. Yoshida, I have to go to the bathroom!” Nami screeched so loudly she caused Katsumi’s father to swerve a little. The car lost control on the road for a moment before the man regained control of the wheel.

Mr. Yoshida cleared his throat anxiously. “All right, Nami. There’s a rest stop right ahead. We can take a break there.”

Hikari frowned to herself. That would mean she’d have to get out! And that would mean giving the skank a chance to sit next to her brother. The blonde Takahashi sibling curled her slender fingers into a tight fist. She began gritting her teeth together when Katsumi’s father pulled into the rest stop and parked near the restrooms.

Impudent man! Hikari reluctantly got out of the van when the door was swung open. The three girls hurried out of the backseat and were followed by Katsumi and Kuro. Just as Hikari was contemplating some wicked ideas, she felt an arm link around her own. She blinked and looked down only to come face to face with Nami. Surprisingly, Nami was smiling sweetly up at Hikari.

“Come on, Hikari!” Nami chimed as she tugged on the girl’s arm. “Let’s go to the bathroom together!”

“What?” Hikari snapped as she began getting dragged over to the smelly bathrooms. “Let go of me!”

Before she knew it, Nami had pulled Hikari into the bathrooms and shut the door behind them. Katsumi and Kuro watched curiously, only able to blink at the strange sight. Suddenly, Katsumi felt someone tugging at her waist. She screamed when Akiko threw her over her shoulder. Minori was forcing Kuro over to the van by the wrist. Katsumi flailed around and screamed as Akiko trudged over to the van.

Akiko smirked to herself. “Time to get back into the car!”

Katsumi’s parents watched strangely as they watched Katsumi’s friends force her and her boyfriend back into the van. Kuro and Katsumi were shoved into the third row. Akiko sat on the other side of Katsumi, pushing her closer to Kuro. Katsumi’s face flushed when she could feel the warmth of Kuro’s arm against hers. Her boyfriend was laughing by now, his orange-haired girlfriend’s friends amusing him. Minori sat herself in the second row of seats, sitting next to the window. She turned around and sat on her knees, facing the three in the backseat. There was a large smile evident on her face, and the sun reflected blindingly off of her glasses.

“Now isn’t that much better?” the tiny brunette giggled.

Akiko sent Kuro a warning glare. “Just don’t get any ideas, lover boy!” she hissed, pointing at him from across Katsumi.

“What can we possibly do?” Kuro chuckled nervously. “Her parents are right there.”

Katsumi squeaked uneasily, not realizing Kuro was merely joking. Kuro’s joke, however, seemed to have only angered Akiko. Just as Kuro had feared, Akiko shouted furiously and tried to lunge at him from across her tangerine-haired friend. Both Katsumi and Kuro screamed, and Minori had to reach over and pull Akiko off the poor boy. By the time Katsumi’s parents, Nami, and Hikari returned to the van Katsumi and Minori had finally managed to pry Akiko off Kuro. The boy was now gasping desperately for breath while Akiko was huffing and blowing strands of her hair out of her face. Katsumi sighed loudly and hung her head. Not wanting to know, Katsumi parents returned behind the wheel. Nami slipped into the seat next to Minori.

Hikari remained standing where she was, glaring darkly at Katsumi. Just as she had presumed, the tangerine-haired girl took advantage of her absence and sat next to Kuro. Growling quietly to herself, Hikari sat next to Nami with a plop. She huffed and crossed her arms, pouting. She buckled in her seatbelt when Mr. Yoshida burned rubber down the road once more. Time passed and the car was filled with silence. The silence was comfortable to Katsumi, though. Even though Kuro was staring out the window the whole time, not trying to make any sort of move on her, she still enjoyed the feeling of sitting so close to him. For once, her friends actually did something right.

However, the moment was ruined.

“So kids,” Mrs. Yoshida shattered the silence with her angelic voice. “Know any good road trip songs?”

Katsumi groaned stridently and slapped her forehead. She slumped further down in her seat, wishing to disappear. The last thing she needed was her mom to embarrass her in front of Kuro. If there was something she didn’t want him to see or hear, it was her parents singing together. Her boyfriend laughed lightly at the sight.

“We could sing ‘The Wheel on the Bus’ to pass the time!” Minori exclaimed excitedly, her eyes lighting up.

“No way!” Akiko disagreed as she crossed her arms over her chest. She added a pout to her stubborn disagreement. “That’s childish. Let’s sing something cool.”

Minori turned around in her seat and stuck her tongue out at her ebony haired friend.

“How about a game?” Kuro suggested, trying to spare his girlfriend.

“I Spy?” Nami proposed.

“I spy with my little eye a skank!” Hikari shouted whilst turning around in her seat and getting in Katsumi’s face.

“I spy with my little eye a whore!” Katsumi retaliated as she lurched forward to get into Hikari’s face. Kuro scooted away from the two girls. They were practically giving off electrical charges with the way they were glaring at each other. If looks could kill, one of them certainly would have been dead.

“Katsumi!” her mother scolded, looking at her daughter through the rearview mirror. “We do not use that kind of language.”

“Maybe a game was a bad idea…” Kuro laughed, a nervous tone dripping from his very sentence. Still oblivious, he couldn’t fathom what would cause his sister and his girlfriend to snap at each other like that.

“I know a game I’d like to play,” Akiko snickered, looking straight at Hikari. When the blonde made eye contact with the tough tomboy, Akiko cracked her knuckles, which echoed throughout the van. Mr. Yoshida shuddered at the sound.

For once in her life, Hikari showed a sign of fear. Her sapphire orbs grew to twice their size, and she quickly spun back around in her seat. She faced forward, not daring to look back, as her face paled. She didn’t need her perfect face scarred.

“No need for games,” Mr. Yoshida called from the front. “Because we’re already here!”

Katsumi quickly peered out the window in time to see the van weaving its way in and out of trees. Her father drove down a paved path, and she could have sworn she saw a deer munching away on a bush. She gasped in delight at the sight of the nature around the van. Several oohs and ahhs were heard from the group of teenagers as they absorbed the beauty around them and appreciated it. Even Hikari was taking the time to admire the sight. After a few more minutes of taking in the scenic attraction, the van gradually came to a complete stop. The teens piled out of the car in excitement. As Katsumi’s father began unpacking the necessary equipment, her mother took the time to divulge the young adults on the camping information.

“There’s a lake nearby,” she said with child-like enthusiasm. “Once we’re all set up we can go to the pier and rent a boat, if you kids would like that.”

“Sounds fun,” Akiko agreed, nodding her head. Minori squealed excitedly.

Hikari scoffed and stuck her nose in the air. “Ew. Get that close to fish?” Fortunately, her mumbling was inaudible.

“Kuro, do you know how to set up a tent?” Katsumi’s dad called from a pile of what looked to be like tent parts. “I might need some help over here…”

“Coming,” Kuro called, leaving Katsumi’s side.

“We’ll have two tents,” Mrs. Yoshida went on as she clasped her hands together. “One for you girls and the other for me, my husband, and Kuro.” The woman gave her daughter a teasing smile. “That is, unless you want Kuro to sleep in the same tent as you.”

“Mom!” Katsumi hissed under her breath. She glanced over at Kuro out of panic. He didn’t seem to hear her. He was too busy trying to untangle the tent’s cloth from Mr. Yoshida.

Hikari, however, heard. And the comment did not make her happy. Saying it pissed her off would have been an understatement.

It took a while, but after several unsuccessful tries the two had finally put both tents together. Kuro and Mr. Yoshida stood proudly in front of their creations, posing in a boasting manner. The females stood behind them, tilting their heads as they continued staring at the tents.

“Have you ever seen such a fine specimen of a tent?” Mr. Yoshida laughed.

“Why is our tent lopsided?” Nami asked, pointing a limp index finger at said tent. With one powerful gust of wind, the thing could have been toppled over.

“Is our tent supposed to be that… angular, honey?” Mrs. Yoshida inquired sincerely. For some odd reason, their tent had some strange angles going on.

“Bah!” Katsumi’s father huffed. “You’re all just too picky.”

Kuro sighed, smiling, as he hung his head. Either the girls were picky, or they had done a terrible job at setting up the tents. After they had placed their backpacks in the tents, they circled around the unlit campfire Katsumi’s father had made. She wasn’t looking forward to the night, when she would have to share a tent with the very person she couldn’t stand: Hikari Takahashi. The only reason she even put up with her was because it made Kuro happy. But Katsumi felt she should have at least said something when Hikari tried to come along on the weekend camping trip. Her dad stood up and stretched. He cast a smile down at the teenagers before him.

“So about that lake,” he chuckled. “Anyone feel like taking a boat out there?”

The kids (excluding Hikari) cheered. The blonde Takahashi sibling almost cursed when she learned they were going to have to walk all the way to the lake. Not only walk, but also carry all the bags that had fishing supplies in them. She grunted as she shifted the heavy backpack onto her other shoulder. She trudged behind the other teenagers, who also seemed like they weren’t having any fun with the hike. It didn’t help that Katsumi’s parents had broke out into song. Katsumi’s face turned completely red when it happened, at which Kuro laughed at. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the lake came into view.

The dark blue water was completely still. The sunlight reflecting off the surface made the lake water look like glass. It sparkled beautifully because of the reflecting sunrays. Boats and tiny yachts dotted the surface of the vast lake. The lake stretched far beyond what Katsumi could see. It wasn’t a fitting title for this body of water, lake. Surely, there was something bigger than a lake but smaller than an ocean. That would have been a better name for the body of water spread out before the campers. There was a sandy shore surrounding the lake, footprints noticeable in the sand. Katsumi could see some people fishing, some people swimming, and some people sunbathing on the decks of the small yachts. There was a calm breeze passing over the lake. The lake was trapped in a large circle of trees that provided shade. And above the lake, clearly visible, was the pristine sky. White fluffs lingered in the sky, lazily drifting by.

“Wow,” Katsumi heard Kuro breath. She quickly gave him a side-glance. He returned the look with a perfect smile of his own.

Before Katsumi’s heart had a chance to melt, her father cut in. “Look over there.” He was pointing at a structure built near the shore of the lake.

A pier was built nearby. Several boats and yachts were docked there, bobbing up and down in the water. Katsumi noted a sign that said RENT on it. The renting place was a small, square building made out of wood. The teens followed Katsumi’s parents to the pier. They stepped inside the square building. All that was inside was a long counter with a person sitting behind it. Several other things accompanied the counter and person, but nothing that looked extremely major to Katsumi. Her parents went up to talk to the man. The teens were left to converse among themselves.

“I saw people swimming,” Akiko spoke up with a grin. “You think we can, too? I’m in the mood for Marco Polo.”

“Akiko, you know Tangerine can’t swim that well,” Nami chided. She gave Katsumi a sympathy hug, at which she frowned.

Hikari perked up at the mention of this. She tried to cover up her devilish smirk as best as possible. Evil plots seemed to reproduce like bunnies in her head.

“Then I guess we’ll just have to swim in the shallow end,” Kuro joshed, winking at Katsumi. While she blushed profusely, Hikari’s temper was on the rise again.

“You just want to see Katsumi-chan in a bikini!” Minori giggled, wagging a finger at Kuro. The joke made him chuckle, but made Katsumi’s jaw drop.

“Yep!” Nami laughed. “That’s exactly what he wants.”

“He better think again!” Akiko snarled while waving a fist at Katsumi’s boyfriend.

“Guys! Stop it!” the orange-haired girl demanded, her face turning a darker shade of red.

“What’s this I hear about bikinis?” Mrs. Yoshida laughed when the parents approached the kids again. Katsumi yelped, wanting to drop the subject completely. Her odd antics caused Kuro to laugh again.

There was a child-like, almost naïve, smile on Mr. Yoshida’s face. The grin itself gave him an immature demeanor. Katsumi could only guess how much willpower it took him to not do a happy dance. “We got ourselves a yacht!” he exclaimed, exciting the kids once more. “It’s small, but it’s perfect for us.”

“A yacht!” Akiko whooped. She thrust her fist in the air. “Awesome!”

“That means it has two levels,” Nami pointed out the obvious in a quieter tone. “A lower deck.” Mentioning this made her wiggle her eyebrows suggestively at Katsumi. The orange-haired girl simply huffed and quickly looked away. She made sure to try and stay in her parents’ sights at all times.

The campers returned outside and stood on the dock of the pier. Their yacht was a small thing, a dull creamy white color. It looked like it wasn’t that brand new. But then again, it had a sort of contemporary aura about it. And it wasn’t in terrible condition at all. In fact, it looked like it had been taken care of very well. The yacht bobbed in the water, the breeze rustling through its white sails. There was a railing along the outer edge of the yacht, and for some reason that one detail made Katsumi think of the Titanic.

Closing her eyes, a certain scene played through her mind. But instead of it being the main characters from the movie on the bow of the gargantuan ship, the female lead character pretending she could fly with the male’s help, it was Katsumi and Kuro. She had her arms stretched out and she was leaning over the edge, practically falling overboard. The only thing that was keeping her on the ship was that Kuro was holding onto her tightly by her waist. The wind blew against her face, softly kissing her skin. The water splashed against the Titanic and danced its way around the ship. The sound of the waves was like melodic music, a tune of the ocean.

“I’m flying, Kuro! I’m flying!” she exclaimed, leaning out further to get to the feel of ‘flying’.

“Oi! Yoshida!” a voice interrupted her rather cheesy daydream.

Katsumi’s eyes flickered open at the sound of Akiko’s voice. She finally realized that she was standing alone on the pier while everyone else had boarded the yacht, which happened to be titled the Rosemary.

What the heck is rosemary? Katsumi questioned in thought as she forced herself onto the yacht. The others noticed the frown on her face, and the facial expression made Kuro raise an eyebrow in curiosity. Katsumi had been enjoying that daydream, and then it had to go and get ruined. The yacht didn’t even look anything like the Titanic.

“Something up, Katsumi?” he asked as her father tried to get the tiny yacht started.

“I want to fly,” she murmured irritatingly, glaring at the lake surface. Kuro tilted his head, utterly confused. Such a random thing to say while on a yacht.

Katsumi was resting against the railing, her head resting in her arms, as the yacht drifted out into the middle of the lake. The others were either on the lower deck, or around her somewhere talking about whatever. Katsumi would have been enjoying the time more if it hadn’t been for Hikari, who was so far successfully keeping her away from Kuro. Every time Kuro made an attempt to get near his girlfriend, Hikari would drag him off with some lame excuse. At this rate, Katsumi was never going to get to ‘fly’. And it didn’t help that she was completely surrounded by water. Nami was right when she said she couldn’t swim well.

“Maybe getting on the yacht was a bad idea,” she mumbled to herself. Not only did the flying scene from Titanic play through her mind, but also so did the actual fact that the Titanic sank. Katsumi screamed suddenly, jumping up on the spot. It was a possibility that the very yacht she was on could also sink to the bottom of the lake. “I’m going to die!”

Katsumi began thrashing her limbs about, her limbs nothing more than a blur. Kuro looked up from the conversation he was having with his sister. They were sitting on some foldable chairs that had been placed on the deck of the yacht. He looked up only to see his girlfriend was freaking out for some unknown reason. Dismissing his sister, he hurried over to the tangerine-haired girl. Hikari narrowed her eyes and quickly followed after him. As for Katsumi’s friends, they were too busy to realize what was taking place.

“I’m going to die!”

“Katsumi?”

Katsumi stopped her thrashing for a moment to see that Kuro had finally gotten the chance to approach her. Hikari popped up next to Kuro, not looking happy. But Katsumi ignored her presence and went on with her freaking out. Kuro looked genuinely worried about her, and Katsumi couldn’t help but admit that his worried face was adorable. She settled down slightly, but still worried about the fact that she might go to a watery grave.

“We’re gonna sink!” she told him, about ready to cry.

Hikari scoffed. “Please. This piece of crap isn’t in that bad of a condition.”

“Katsumi, we’re fine,” Kuro laughed, placing his hands somewhere on his waist.

“What if I drown?” Katsumi continued worrying, like that of an innocent child.

As evil as it was, Hikari couldn’t help but think that was a good idea. After all, they were completely surrounded by water. And Katsumi happened to be leaning against the railing enough to be pushed off. All she needed was the perfect opportunity…

“I would go in after you and save you,” Kuro romanticized, ruffling her bright orange hair as he did. Katsumi could feel the heat rushing to her cheeks.

She could also feel the huge bump the boat took. A large wave must have crashed against the side of the yacht, because it rocked unsteadily. Kuro stumble slightly where he stood. Hikari lurched forward and elbowed Katsumi hard. Hard enough to send her falling over the side of the yacht and plummeting into the water, anyway. Katsumi held her breath quickly and shut her eyes tight. The water was a lot colder than she expected. She curled herself into a ball, forgetting how to swim suddenly. She flailed about, trying to break the surface. But she was still surrounded by water, and she was sinking deeper and deeper. Katsumi tried to scream, but instead wasted her last breath. Her breath escaped the water as bubbles, and she could feel herself sinking closer towards the bottom of the lake. She was aware of her lungs clenching together and tightening, screaming for a breath of air. Katsumi grew dizzy and even a bit drowsy, like she wanted to go to sleep. But the only thing she could think of as she sank deeper and deeper into the water was, Why isn’t Kuro coming in after me?

Kuro was leaned over the railing of the yacht, watching the water intently. He saw several bubbles pop and fizzle at the surface. But the one thing he wanted was the sight of orange. He gripped the railing tighter. However, this didn’t cause Katsumi to return to the surface again. Her friends were on his other side, rushing in after hearing their friend splash into the water, waiting for Katsumi to come back up. There was an expression of panic on each and every one of their faces. Except for Hikari, who was smirking slightly to herself enough so that the others wouldn’t have noticed.

“Katsumi!” Nami gasped piercingly, almost shouting, as she clasped her hands over her mouth. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong.

“Why isn’t she coming back up?” Kuro asked, his tone laced with panic, as Katsumi’s parents finally arrived on the scene.

“Is everyone okay?” questioned Mrs. Yoshida through a gasp. After quickly looking around, she realized they were missing one. “Where’s Katsumi?”

“She went overboard!” Hikari dramatized as she tried to play innocent. She had been successful enough so that everyone else didn’t realize she was the one who pushed Katsumi overboard.

“And she can’t swim!” Minori yelped, her eyes watering up behind her glasses.

“Katsumi!” Without so much as another word, Mr. Yoshida dove into the water after his daughter.

Kuro took a step back, staring anxiously at the others as they gasped and yelped with each other. His girlfriend could have possible just drown, and he realized that he didn’t do anything to try and save her. Catching sight of this, Hikari turned her back on the others and leered. She tapped the tips of her fingers together, her back hunching over slightly. Step one was complete. She only hoped Katsumi really didn’t drown. The last thing she wanted was to be responsible for a murder. Even if it was that skanky tangerine.

Mrs. Yoshida gasped loudly and pointed down at the water. Hikari followed the trail of her finger and saw that Mr. Yoshida had retrieved his daughter and broken the surface of the water. Katsumi’s friends went to go retrieve a life preserver. Katsumi was in her father’s arms, spluttering and gasping for breath. Had he taken another minute longer, she might have drowned. As the burning in her lungs began to die down, Akiko threw the life preserver at them. Katsumi’s mother then began attempting to pull the two back on board. Katsumi looked up to see Kuro leaning over the railing apprehensively. An angry bubbly feeling swelled up in the pit of Katsumi’s stomach. Some boyfriend Kuro was, not going in and trying to save his drowning girlfriend! And why was he smiling like that?

Katsumi and her dad finally returned to the deck of the Rosemary. Katsumi coughed into her hand, trying to rid her lungs of the water. Her father stood up to retrieve the towel his wife was holding out for him. Kuro fell to his knees and sat next to Katsumi. He placed a hand on her shoulder while laughing. It was at the moment that Katsumi felt like punching him square in the jaw.

“You had me worried there, Katsumi,” Kuro laughed as if the whole thing was a funny joke. Katsumi glared at him as his laughter continued.

“You think this is funny?” she yelled, startling her boyfriend. “I almost died!”

Katsumi jumped to her feet and dashed off, leaving a bewildered Kuro behind. She descended into the lower deck, hoping to get some time alone. After the incident, she didn’t feel like dealing with anyone. Especially her boyfriend, who hadn’t gone into the water to save her. Her three friends were farther off, watching the whole scene worriedly. It wasn’t like Katsumi to blow up on anyone, let alone her boyfriend. Hikari was different, however. Her grin could challenge that of the Cheshire cat. Step two was taking place.

Kuro got to his feet, truly and genuinely baffled. He could understand why Katsumi was upset, but blowing up on him wasn’t going to make it any better. And besides, he hadn’t been laughing at her! He was simply so nervous that she was doomed he couldn’t function properly. But there was no way his tangerine-haired girlfriend would understand that. Frowning slightly, Kuro followed after her. He went into the lower deck of the yacht. It looked like a large bedroom. There were wood furnishings, a TV hanging from the wall, and a bed placed against the wall. A small refrigerator was noticeable in the corner of the room. On the other end of the room was a door that led off to the bathroom. There was a single window that showed the outside world. One could hear the waves of the lake splashing against the yacht better down in the lower deck. Lying on the bed was Katsumi, facing the wall.

Inhaling deeply, Kuro trudged forward into battle.

“Katsumi?” he spoke up softly. She curled up into a tighter ball, clearly not enjoying his presence.

“Go away!” she demanded. She placed the pillow over her head.

“Katsumi, I wasn’t laughing at you,” Kuro continued even though she didn’t want to listen. “I’m really sorry.”

“Liar!” Katsumi shouted as she quickly sat up. Kuro stepped back, startled by the dark look she was giving him. “You big, fat liar!”

“What?” Kuro stammered. “I really am! Look, I know you’re upset but that doesn’t mean you should yell at me.” He furrowed his brows together, trying to make his point. The two glared deeply at each other.

“You said you would save me, but you were going to let me drown!” Katsumi yelled. She wouldn’t have been surprised if the others on the upper deck could hear what was going on.

“I—”

“And then you laugh at me!”

“I already told you I wasn’t laughing at you!” Kuro fired back, finally raising his own voice. “And quite frankly, I don’t appreciate you yelling at me!”

“Then go away! I want to be alone!” demanded Katsumi. She threw the pillow at Kuro. He grunted when the fluffy thing made contact with him.

“Well, then fine. I’m going,” he agreed gruffly as he turned his back on her.

“There you go again, running away from your problems!” Katsumi taunted darkly. She couldn’t help but let all her pent up anger out on Kuro. And it seemed he wasn’t holding back, either.

He quickly shot a glower at her from over his shoulder. “Since when have I run away from my problems?”

“Shut up!” Katsumi shrieked, her face turning red from frustration. She could feel salty tears of anger stinging her eyes. “Go away! I hate you!”

The room fell quiet suddenly. Even in her current state of anger, Katsumi hadn’t meant to let those three little words slip out. But nevertheless, she didn’t drop her infuriated facial expression. The sentence didn’t seem to faze Kuro. Alarm certainly didn’t erupt onto his face when she said it. Instead, his face fell blank with traces of glares and glowers evident. The two breathed rather loudly after their aggressive spat. They exchanged dark looks through the silence. After what seemed like much too long to the both of them, Kuro slowly turned around, his back to Katsumi, and stormed out of the room to return to the upper deck. Groaning angrily to herself, Katsumi plopped onto the bed. The anger was still bubbling violently in her stomach like an active volcano. But guilt gradually washed over he gently like the calming waves of the ocean. Katsumi’s narrowed eyes relaxed until her expression of rage was replaced by a look of grief. Her tears of anger turned into tears of sadness. She didn’t stop them from spilling out of her ocean blue pools and down her face.

Hikari had been outside the door, eavesdropping on the young lovers’ quarrel. Though, it hadn’t been necessary. One could have heard the two from space. She quickly hid herself when Kuro slammed the door open and burst out in an angry frenzy. The door slammed shut behind him and he stomped up the stairs. Hikari popped back out, a familiar iniquitous leer tugging at her plush pink lips. She did her best to contain her well deserved, maniacal cackling but failed. Still, she basked in her victory. Step three was done and over with. There was no way Katsumi and Kuro were going to make up after this. No way! She had finally won.