Kaho's gaze flickered to her friends, Ryota was the one who made the move, striding to the front of the trio and intercepting the confrontation. He bounced his neon pink basketball between them and watched Kikiyo snap to attention and turn to face him. Mamoru watched the ball knock over one of the empty seats, and went to righten it. He tossed the ball back to Ryota. He caught it without even turning his head to Mamoru.
"Hey, Kikiyo, how you feeling? Better?" Ryota asked.
She seemed to stop sizzling with rage when Ryota spoke. Like he'd doused her in water. She scowled for a moment and ran her hands through her hair.
"Yeah, I'm fine, thanks," Kikiyo shrugged, "Feeling much better."
"I'm glad," Kaho said, joining Kikiyo in the classroom. "I was really worried about you."
Kikiyo sighed, sitting on a desk and crani9ng her neck back, "Thank you, Kaho, who knows what would have happened if you hadn't been there – and thanks for the protein bar."
"I'm just glad you were okay, that could have been awful, you know, on the stairs and all."
Kikiyo nodded and ran her hand through her hair, "So, talk to me, what did I miss?"
Ryota grinned at her and sat on the table beside her, "So, turns out Fumiko, the basketball manager is dating Naoru, Naseru's older brother and he is going to teach me some volleyball skills so I can be the best player on the starting line-up. Coach said I'm going to be their secret weapon."
"Good," Kikiyo said, "You're going to do great. I have faith in you, Ryota."
Was it her, or did that sound final? Like she knew. Did she know? Kaho frowned, her gaze flickering from Mamoru to Kikiyo. Nothing. No indication at least. What had Mamoru's newest letter said? Kaho's hadn't said much:
'Keep your eyes, heart and mind open. Listen.'
Had that been a dig about Kikiyo, or Tatsuya, Kaho couldn't tell. Or was something else happening behind the scenes that she couldn't quite grasp?
"Promise me you'll come and watch?" Ryota asked, holding his pinky finger to Kikiyo. Her breathing hitched for a second. She lowered her head and took his pinkie finger in hers.
"I promise to do my best."
Kaho watched them, her gaze flickering to Mariah and Mamoru. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair, "Hey, Kikiyo?"
"Mhm?"
"I'm glad you're here," Kaho said quietly, producing the cat tracker and sticking it in Kikiyo's bag, "Let's go out tonight!"
"I can't," Kikiyo said, staring at the ceiling.
"Work?" Mariah asked.
"Ichigo?" Ryota asked.
"Yeah…" Kikiyo said, not offering insight into what she meant. She glanced up at the clock and rummaged in her bag, making Kaho's heart leap into her throat. But instead of the guilty cat tracker, Kikiyo producing an apple. She glared pointedly at Mamoru and chomped down on the waxy red flesh. He shuddered. She turned her nose up at him.
Mamoru made a fist, opening his mouth to speak when the warning bell chimed. He scowled and watched Kikiyo continue munching her apple, completely gnawing it to the core.
Kaho sighed and got to her feet, beckoning Mariah and Ryota to head out and over to class, so they could sit and watch the clock tick by. Until they had to chase Kikiyo down.
When Kaho didn't think her day could drag by any slower, her afternoon classes proved her wrong. Kikiyo hadn't joined them at lunch, just stoking the frustration building in Mamoru's core. He had a lot of making up to do. He'd declared to the lunch table he would go home via the bakery and order a whole cake for Ichigo and hand deliver it to Kikiyo's house by dinner time, after all, Ichigo hadn't seemed to notice a lack of cake. Or, at least, she hadn't said anything when they passed her in the canteen and wished her a happy birthday.
Everyone had the app on their phones, watching the blinking cat icon sit stationary in Kikiyo's house for hours. She didn't have work after school. Which meant they had probably been right and the work she was referring to was at the 'Luvrz Motel'.
At 7pm, Mamoru called, and said Ichigo answered the door, so her surprise birthday cake, despite being a bit melted, wasn't thrown in his face. She hadn't known it was coming. Had Kikiyo not believed him? Had she not trusted him to remember his promise? He hadn't, but that wasn't done maliciously. Kaho knew that. But Kikiyo didn't. He'd been celebrating, cheering down the phone about forgiveness when her phone trilled. Kikiyo, Kaho's "cat" was on the move.
"Kaho," Mamoru said, his breathing rigid, "I'm like forty minutes away from the motel. I won't-"
"We've got this Mamoru, sit tight!" Kaho said in one breath and stumbled down the stairs, taking them two at a time.
Taiga was at the door, putting his trainers on, "Oh, you okay?"
Kaho squeaked, "Y-yeah, I was um, wondering if you er, wanted to go for a run?"
Taiga raised an eyebrow and nodded, "Ryota just called me and invited me for a run too! What are the odds?"
Kaho forced out a laugh, "Yeah! Funny how that works!"
Kaho stretched her legs on the doorstep. Rana and Tama bounded out onto the street behind her. Kaho sighed, attempting to corral them back in with her feet. Tama went back in. Rana turned and raised his tail to the sky and strolled off in the opposite direction.
Kaho stuck her tongue out at her cat and raced down the street after Taiga. She didn't have time for an actual warm up. Kikiyo needed her.
_____
"Where are we running to?" Kaho asked, picking up the pace to match her brother's stride.
"Ryota wants to run to the canal."
Kaho pumped her arms as she jogged, concealing her relief that the notification had reached her other friends. While Mamoru was forever away on the train, it was a relief to know that Ryota was there and ready to help.
He was at the edge of his street, waving his arms overhead. He had a big grin on his face, but Kaho could almost sense the tension in her friend's jaw.
"You okay there Ryota?" Taiga asked, raising an eyebrow.
Ryota nodded.
"Yeah!" He said, his voice raising an octave, "Why wouldn't I be?"
Taiga elbowed him in the arm as he pulled ahead of them on the path, "This is the first time I've seen you without that bright pink basketball in your hands."
Ryota forced out a laugh, it sounded like a bark, "I didn't think a late evening run was a good time to practice endurance."
Taiga shrugged, picking the pace up a bit more. His stride was greater than Kaho's and Ryota's. He pulled ahead and set the pace with ease. The canal was close, the flashing heart shaped neon light that hung crookedly from the roof was flickering. The bright red sign's bulb flickered on and off for three short moments, then three longer bursts of light between flickers, and then back to three short ones again. Kaho wrinkled her nose. The whole building was a flare against the night sky.
Their running route had been quiet, Mr Shinohara was walking his three-legged toy poodle on one side of the road, and a few businesses were closing, including the Kurosaki Deli. Kaho felt a pang in her chest, wondering how Katsuo's family were feeling.
As they approached the road to the canal, Kaho glanced down at her phone. Her icon and Kikiyo's were due to meet in just a moment. She glanced at Ryota, who slowed his pace. Taiga was getting further and further away. Ryota glanced at Kaho's trainers and nodded at her before bounding a few steps ahead.
"Ah!" Kaho called, "Wait a second, guys! My shoe is untied!"
Kaho untied her shoe and propped her foot up in a nearby bench, slowly tying her laces, making individual bunny ears and tying them together instead of using a quicker method. Taiga turned to wait for Kaho when Kikiyo, who was running briskly to make her appointment at the motel collided with taiga's large, muscular back. She stumbled back, her eyes wide.
"Coach Aigawa?" Kikiyo said, her lip trembling.
"Kikiyo? What are you doing out so late?"
"Oi!" a fat middle aged man said. He shoved past Taiga and grabbed Kikiyo by the wrist, pulling her forward. She was in a silk slip dress and a white cardigan, like she was about to go on a date. Non-descript. But pretty. Kaho clenched her jaw, willing her brother to react.
He did, wrenching the man's hand off Kikiyo's. The man sneered at Taiga, he was squat in stature, with bruises on his face, and a split lip. He had a prominent beer belly and unruly chest hair, peeking up through an ill-fitting black silky shirt. He had rolled the sleeves up, baring a few scars, and the tail end of a tattoo.
He pulled his arm out of Taiga's grasp, smirking to himself. He looked past Taiga and Kikiyo froze. Her knees buckled under her silk slip.
"Whore! You're late!"
"Excuse me?" Taiga said, spinning on his heel. He stood a head taller than the older man, and was much more muscular, "You've got the wrong girl you asshole, she's sixteen. Now scram before I call the cops!"
He raised his fist at the guy. He looked vaguely familiar to Kaho but she couldn't place him. Not from that far away.
Kikiyo looked up at Taiga, her eyes welling with tears. Taiga put an arm around her shoulder and froze for a second, unzipping his tracksuit top and draping it over Kikiyo's shoulders. She zipped it up and let the fabric swallow her.
"Come on Kikiyo, we'll take you home."
"W-we?" Kikiyo asked, pulling away from Taiga. He pointed to slightly further up the street where Kaho was, still bent over her shoe. She looked up and stepped closer to Kikiyo. Ryota grinned at her.
Kikiyo wiped her teary eyes on Taiga's sleeve and made her way to her friends. Ryota opened his arms to her and she ploughed into them, her lip trembling. She bawled into the fabric of his black t-shirt and he held her as she cried, rubbing little circles on her back. Taiga smiled and ran a hand through his hair.
Kaho lingered a step behind. She glared at the middle-aged man, retreating back to the motel. She lowered her head and scampered to catch up with her friends.
She didn't notice a boy on a motorcycle had been watching too.