An Unheard Voice - Chapter 43: Chapter 43

"Akito, wanna spend new years with me and the others? I know you don't have that many friends, so you should be thankful I'm inviting you." Ena leans over the couch, showing her texts with Mizuki. Ew, were they just flirting?
I stare up at her, then push her face away.
"I'm not going to a party. Also, why would you tell them I was going to go without actually confirming I was going to say yes?"
"It's not a party, more like a.. hangout.. Only Mizuki, An, Kohane and I are going to be here. What do you say?" She grins, backing me into a corner here. If I reject, what am I going to do? Stay in my room all day?
Plus, what impression is she going to leave on Kohane about me?
"Fine." I scowl, turning away from her and getting ready to rest before doing anything.
"Not so fast. You're getting our items." Ena throws my jacket and shoes at me, then the money. The hell?
"Like drinks?" I ask, giving in.
"No, fireworks. That's what we're doing this year. Clever, huh?"
Fireworks.. really?
"Sure. I'm just going to get whatever, so don't complain about whatever I get." I frown, slipping on my shoes and opening the door.
I walk around, grabbing random stuff in my budget without even reading it, and go to the cashier.
After checking everything out, I begin to walk home until someone approaches me from behind.
"I'm sorry, do you know if anything here is good..?" A girl taps my shoulder, and I turn around. Purple hair? Wait, I've seen her before.
"Asahina?"
"Oh! You're Ena's little brother!"
"Yeah..." I blush, sighing. That makes me wonder, how many people has she told about me? And I can only imagine what she says.
"Oh, sorry, I'm not sure. I just grabbed anything that was here."
"That's okay! But if you don't mind, I have another question. We met one time, but not properly. I was with a shorter girl with long hair."
"Yes, I'm familiar with Yoisaki. She's also a friend of my sister. And.. his." I chuckle, staring at the ground. Crap, I just have to go and bring him into every conversation I have.
"Do you mean Aoyagi?" She asks.
"Yeah. I wouldn't be surprised if you already knew the situation." I scratch the back of my neck, avoiding eye contact.
"Do you have time to go to the food court with me real quick? I just want to have a chat with you. It'll only be a couple of minutes." She asks, and I nod then follow her. I feel like Ena will nag me, though.
After getting a table, we sit down in silence for a few moments, causing me to grow nervous. The hell.. why does she have such an intimidating stare?
"I know it's not true, but- did you perhaps say some stuff to Aoyagi that you shouldn't have?" She asks bluntly, getting straight to the point.
"..? What do you mean?"
"Like for instance, belittling him or something. Maybe something along the lines of he became a disgrace to his family..?"
"What the hell?! Of course not! What kind of person do you think I am?!" I shout, offended, but back off when I notice the staring people.
"No..! Where did you hear this? He was everything to me! The last thing I would do is insult my friends like that."
"I didn't think so. I was just curious because of a classmate. However, I am aware that she likes stirring things up, so it's probably a rumor she started. Don't worry, I'll have it taken care of."
A rumor? What the fuck did I do to that girl to make her spread something like that?
"Wait, in an all girl's school again..?" I scoff, noticing her uniform. She nods, seemingly disappointed.
"Sorry. This must have been rude of me." She apologizes.
"I'm glad you told me about this, because if someone accused me of that, I would've lost my sh- composure." I shake my head, reassuring her.
Then again, was she just confirming I wouldn't do that..? I swear, if this is because of that jackass Kutabare...
Still, how did he leave after telling me that shit?
We talk for a while, about Ena and I catch her up on what happened a few days ago with Kutabare, it seems like she's infuriated.
"Ah, I must hurry with my shopping." Asahina stands up, and she decides to walk me to the exit.
"Again, I apologize for my accusation. Here, let's meet up again some time. I would like to get to know you more, Shinonome." She lends her hand out for my phone, which I give her.
After exchanging our contact info, we say goodbye and she leaves from there. I haven't talked much with her, but she's nothing like Ena says. Well, she talks crap about everyone, so...
Guess I have a new friend now. And maybe more information of Kutabare's ties...
"I'm back." I say, throwing the bag on the couch. Ena's looking for a lighter still, huh?
Time passes by so slowly now. I used to go out a lot, but now I just rot in my room staring at my phone all day. It sucks.
Speaking of which, she gives me the same vibes that blue haired girl did. I only got to see her for about ten seconds, but that was only because she picked Airi up from school one time.
I wonder who she was, anyway. I feel like I just forgot about her. Whatever, it's not any of my business.
"Thanks. By the way, if you want to help, I could always use another pair of hands." Ena smiles, coming into the living room with a huge box of juice.
I know her well enough yo know what she actually means-- 'You better help or you won't wake up tomorrow'...
"Okay." I take the box from her as she opens the cooler for me to dump them in.
"We're going to head to a nearby park, so get your jacket again. Also, take the cooler, I'll take the fireworks. Azusawa is bringing the snacks!"
It's just one thing after another, isn't it? Jeez, why's she acting like this is a huge occasion.
It's probably 'cause Mizuki's going.
"Be careful! Come back no later than at least two, got it?!" My mother shouts, and I close the door behind me.
"You take too long!" An says through her clattering teeth, waving at us.
"I would've made you wait out here longer. I could've filed a report for a stalking." I shrug, and she punches my rib, then makes a run for it. Shit!
"H-Hello, Shinonome-kun! Shinonome-san!" Kohane nervously greets us.
"Do you need help with that?" I ask, offering to carry the bags for her. She brought so much.
"No, it's okay! I've got this." She declines, walking beside me.
As we're walking, I notice Kohane seeming pretty embarrassed in the large group of people.
"Hey, stop acting shy. Raise your head when you're walking, or you'll bump into someone." I frown, and she tenses up. Interesting...
"Don't you dare try messing with her." An gives me a death glare. Rolling my eyes, I back off.
"Sorry about her. She behaves that way a lot with you, doesn't she..?"
"If it's worrying you, forget it. She's probably the only one who would ever punch me and get away with it. You won't find her dead in an alleyway." I joke, but Kohane seems to take it seriously.
"O-Oh. That's a relief..." She smiles as we both stare at An carrying Mizuki on her shoulders. Maybe that argument allowed Kohane to be more open about her thoughts.
"Shinonome-kun?"
"What's up?"
"Don't let An know, but can you involve me in stuff about Toya?" She whispers the last part, anxious. I nod, since she is one of his closest friends.
Or, at least that's what he told me.
"That's not a problem. But what's in it for me?" I smirk, teasing her. It's amusing seeing her flustered and panicked reactions.
"Archived photos of Toya. I know it's not the best time to pay you with that, but it's something." She smiles, pulling out a few of them.
"Deal." I immediately respond. She knows her stuff, huh?
"G-Great! I look forward to our acquaintance." She nods, handing me the photos. Holy crap, these are so beautiful!
"Same here."
"Ena, place it more further. You're gonna explode your pretty face and the pictures are going to be ugly." Mizuki smirks, knowing damn well it's pissing Ena off.
"Shut up! If you're so worried about it, you fix it! Or I'll set it off in your hair!" She hisses, attacking Mizuki.
"S-Stop arguing..!" Kohane gets in between them, on the verge of tears.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Azusawa!! Were we scaring you?" Ena quickly switches up and goes to comfort Kohane, shocking Mizuki.
"Well, it's the end of the year. How do you feel?" An sighs, bringing me a water bottle. I take it, shrugging.
"You didn't have to spend new years with us. I know Kohane wanted to go with Hanasato and her friends to the shrine." I sigh, leaning away from her.
"Huh? We were okay with this. Are you seriously saying I'd abandon you for her? You're my best friend, plus you got a lot going on." She sighs, grabbing the lighter and handing me a stick. The hell?
Oh, yeah. Fireworks.
"I wouldn't say abandon." I frown, rolling my eyes.
"Last year we were all together, and now everyone is doing their own thing. Guess things don't stay the same forever, huh?" She scoffs, lighting it up.
"Yeah."
Hopefully things haven't fell apart because of his absence. My parents stayed inside because they were tired. But that was just an excuse to not worry about us catching on fire.
"Hey.. you seem less tense than before. I'm guessing something went well?" She smirks, elbowing me. She probably wants the whole Toya situation to be resolved as soon as possible.
"Oh, not at all. If not, worse. Toya blocked my number." I laugh, taking her by surprise.
"Huh?! Then why are you so damn happy? Isn't that when you usually become depressed and stuff?"
"No. It's not that bad, I just met someone.. who apparently knew about how he was doing. But, he left midway because of 'something important'. Also some girl tried to spread a rumor that I manipulated Toya or some shit."
"Are you serious? When she gets a piece of my mind, she'll definitely think twice before speaking shit about one of my friends." An cracks her knuckles, but soonly winced in pain after.
"We're scheduled to meet again on the weekend, though. Wonder how that'll play out."
"Huh? You're meeting with a girl? Damn, you move on fast." An cringes.
"No! It's the same guy, stupid." I glare at her, smacking her head. She really can't think about anything other than women. Oh, it burned out.
"Okay, that's that. Look- let's just forget about this whole thing, okay? It's almost the start of a new year! We have a lot ahead of us, bro." An smiles, punching my arm.
"Don't call me that." I laugh, pushing her away.
We hear a click followed by a flash, and turn to Kohane, who got caught red handed.
"Kohane? If you wanted to take a picture of me, you could've said so! C'mere!" She squeals, lunging at her.
Huh. She really is like a sister I never wanted.
Well, there's not that much time left. It's still pretty cold.
"Shut up, the count down is starting!" An gasps showing her phone to Akiyama and jumping on them.
"Ow! I wasn't even talking!" They snap, throwing her off. Their bond seems to have grown stronger.
"Five!" Kohane nervously starts, and the other two go along. She must be so tired of our bullshit.
"Four!"
"Well, this year was chaotic. Don't you think?" Ena asks, crouching next to me as she watches her firework go off.
"Three!"
"Sure was. Everything basically happened at once." I chuckle, but soonly stop and stare at the ground.
"... He's going to come back this year. We have a lot of time to make that happen. I'll do everything I can." She turns to me, giving me a smile I've never seen from her before.
"Two!"
"I promise." She puts out her pinky.
They begin to light the firework up, and shriek once it begins to go off.
I look back at her in surprise. I hate it whenever she looks out for me.
"One!!"
I raise my hand, unable to hold them back anymore. This is seriously my breaking point.
"Happy new year. Fuck you." She laughs and hugs me, allowing me to cry in her shoulder.
After the other three calm down and their fireworks burn out, they notice us.
"Stop touching me there." Ena snaps at Akiyama, who tried to join the hug but backs off.
"Kohane, open the bag! I'm hungry!!" An whines as Kohane complies.
"They really are tiny." They say, literally awakening the demon within Ena.
"You're dead."
Weirdos.