My Teacher is a Tanuki

章十八 Eighteen

While I allowed my writing entry to sink into everyone at school, I focused on finding Hiyori the perfect gift. I had listened in on her conversations with friends, watcher her diligently, but discretely, and yet I still couldn't think of anything that she would absolutely adore.

"Tempura would be perfect." Ponchi said, as he tried to help me think up the perfect gift in a not so helpful way.

"I don't think that Hiyori would like to have just tempura lying in her shoe cubby..." I say.

"That would be the best thing in the world..." Ponchi said dreamily, not really paying attention to the fact that his idea had not been a good one.

"Jewelry is something that all girls seem to like, but it's very expensive...I would want to be sure that I got something that she would like a lot before I would spend the money for it..." I say mostly to myself now as I try to mull over the exact thing I should buy for her.

"Just get her a flower." Ponchi says as he rolls around in the grass, his thickening winter coat getting tangled in twigs and leaves.

"A flower would be nice; but I wanted something...I don't know...a little more original? But still with the same subtle message a pretty flower would bring." I say, thinking really hard now.

"Well..." Ponchi said getting up and shaking all the forest debris out of his fur. "I may not know much about your complicated human females, but it has always been my experience that females tend to enjoy things more when they are completely not what they were expecting. Why not try and surprise her with something that she may not know that she likes yet...?"

I wasn't sure about Ponchi's proposal, but this actually sounded not as half bad as it seemed. Sure, it could end up being a very risky gamble, but it may also be the best thing I could ever do for Hiyori – in secret of course.

That evening when I was at home, I sat at my desk almost all night in deep, contemplative, thought. Every idea that I was coming up with was no better than the last, and they were all garbage. Finally, after my mother finally insisted on me getting to bed, my mind formed an idea. Maybe I couldn't think of anything because I myself wasn't a girl. So, if I could find out what girls liked, then I could come up with something to get for Hiyori Asada! Currently, the only girl I could think of was Aki, and even though she was a strange girl, she was the only choice I had without letting my mother figure out that I actually had feelings for someone. I could just imagine how well that would all play out...especially after I had gotten my job thanks to her...What would Hiyori think if my mother actually interfered and told her that I–!

My forehead fell against the desk. I couldn't bear to finish the thought.

The next day when I was at work, I was constantly looking for openings to talk to Aki about things that girls liked, but it was difficult what with her running around collecting medical supplies and me cleaning up the hallways and dog kennels. Whenever I saw a chance, Doctor Saburou Sakamoto or Doctor Ayako Sakamoto would call me to clean something, grab them something, take this dog or cat to be measured on the scale, or put something away for them. No matter how hard I tried I couldn't get the time to talk to Aki because the busy day would not allow me to.

It was only when I was cleaning out a newly vacated dog kennel that I heard the door open and I saw Aki walking in with its new occupant.

"This dog needs a kennel – are you almost done with that one?" She asked me, indicating to the kennel I was kneeling down in and scrubbing clean.

"Yeah, almost..." I say as I start scrubbing up the rest of it faster, then drying it off and putting back the food and water dishes.

As Aki led the orange furred Akita Inu into its temporary home, I felt this the perfect opportunity to ask her what I wanted to know.

"Um Aki...? Could I, uh...ask you something...?" I said, fidgeting and avoiding her eyes.

Aki looked at me with interest on her face. "Yeah Sure. What?" She asked, closing and latching the door to the kennel.

"Well, uh...it's about...well... it's about what girls like..." I say slowly and quietly, feeling somewhat embarrassed asking her about this since I knew that she was just going to make a big deal about this, but she was the only girl I could ask.

"What girls like?" Aki said with somewhat confusion in her voice. "What do you mean exactly?"

"Well...I guess like a gift or something..." I say. "Something that girls like to get as a present..."

When I thought the teasing was coming, Aki surprised me by being very sincere. "A gift for a girl huh...?" She said in thought. "Well I know flowers or chocolates make good gifts."

I could just feel Ponchi saying "I told you so!"

"Most guys don't know this." Aki continues, as she stared down at the Akita Inu in his kennel. "But most girls are happy just to see them care. A gift doesn't have to be expensive or anything, all that really matters is the thought that he had put behind it." She looks at me and smiles with a small laugh. "Even if the gift isn't a very good one."

I smile too. Why did girls always seem so complicated...? I had always thought that the best gifts were the ones with a fancy price tag, but I guess I had to take Aki for her word since she was a girl herself.

"Is this gift for someone special to you Kuzumiya-kun?" Aki asks me.

I stare off into the distance, my mind filling with images of Hiyori Asada; her kind heart, her beautiful, sweet smile, and her wonderful aura. "Yes..." I say slowly. "Very special to me..."

"Then trust me." Aki says assuredly. "Your gift should be something from your heart. No matter what it is, if you get it from your heart she is sure to love it no matter what." She then smiles at me. "Well then, I need to get back inside; my mom is waiting for me to give a sick cat his medicine."

Before she goes I call out to her. "Thank you Aki!" I say sincerely. "You really helped me out."

She grins at me. "She must be very pretty." She said before leaving the dog kennel.

As I rode the subway back home, my mind was elsewhere for the entire trip. I thought of Hiyori Asada and Aki Sakamoto's words to me the whole time, and by the time I got home, I knew exactly what my gift to her from my heart was going to be.