Tokyo's Calling

Chapter 4: And so We Meet Again

              "Do you know how stupid you sound?" Katsumi said gently tugging on her shirt in the mirror.
            "It's not stupid Katsumi! You should have heard what he said to me! The breeze was perfect, the city noise was quiet and he was all, "That might not be a bad thing"," Asami sighed happily, "It was just perfect!"
           Katsumi rolled her eyes. "Obviously it wasn't that  perfect since he's barely spoken to you since then." she uttered without much thought.
          "He doesn't talk that much Katsumi! Besides, he doesn't need to, he's very expressive you know," Asami defended, going off on a day dream.
          "Get real, its better that you accept reality instead of you living in your own little fantasies," She was a bit harsh, but this was their 7th conversation about Tashiro that day. Katsumi couldn't take much more of that.
            "Hey Asami, wanna do something fun?"

Asami looked up at Katsumi with a grin. "Sure, what?"
         Katsumi examined herself in the mirror one more time. "Run to your house and put on the best outfit you can find. Meet me in the hall in 30 minuets, okay?" She said coolly.
          "Okay," Asami said, grinning as she walked out the door.
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       In times like those, Katsumi finally got the advantages of having your friends living close to you. After the 30 minutes they each entered the hallway looking quite stunning.
Asami saw her friend and smiled. "Okay, so where are we going?" She asked innocently.
           "Anywhere we want," Katsumi said with a smirk, leading her friend down the hall.
                                   ________
               The city was already full when the girls made their way onto it, but that just made things more interesting. Katsumi wasn't a huge fan of being at the center of attention(unlike Asami who lived for eyes being on her), however, because she had been blessed in her upper body, that made it almost inevitable. So, ever since she was about 13, she had gotten used to the routine whispers, stares, and glares directed towards her. At this point, she was just beyond worrying about what other people thought about her.
Katsumi really enjoyed talking with Asami. She was such a dreamer, Katsumi didn't feel embarrassed about some of her own hopes. Just then they were talking about the world and exactly where they wanted to go on it. Because of her fathers's business, Katsumi had lived almost everywhere. Russia, Canada, China, Italy, the U.K, France, and even Brazil. But now she was back in her home country of Japan, and thats where she wanted to stay for a while. However, she knew there was still a great big world out there and she just had to see all of it. Maybe she could take Asami with her, maybe.
           The two ended up browsing through the crowded mall only 15 minutes after leaving home. Department stores seemed to have a magnet effect on Tokyo's teenagers. It was packed with people more than relieved that the week was done. The two of them made their way across the mall where it seemed that every window they passed caught Asami's attention. Sure, like most girls, Katsumi liked to glance at things that interested her, but shopping took far too much effort for clothes that would only squeeze her in the wrong ways. So, by the time they had made it to all the department stores, and looked through all the sales, Katsumi was exhausted and more than annoyed. She thought bringing Asami to the mall was something the average teen girl would do, but after spending almost four hours there, she didn't think being average was worth it. Asami was beginning to pluck at her nerves as well, so she decided that she's had enough.
She grabbed Asami's wrist and began to pull her away from the wrack of shirts that looked just like all the others. "We're done here," She said forcefully, Asami's sneakers making streaks on the floor. Katsumi had to drown out Asami as she protested, fighting Katsumi's grip as they passed sales they hadn't visited yet. Katsumi was almost free of that wretched place, the overpriced clothing, aggressive perfumes, and most of all, the unwanted judgement. Almost to the door...
"Tashiro!"
There he was, standing in an amazingly crowded cafe. Of course Asami had to spot him just before they stepped out the door.She then knew they wouldn't be leaving anytime soon.
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As soon as Asami began to walk over to him, loudly saying his name, Tashiro winced a bit. Now all the conversations that his group had been previously having ended abruptly and then attention was now on him. He hated that, and had been doing a good job of staying unnoticed, but when she was there that was all for nothing. He tried to shrink into his sweat shirt as all eyes turned towards him. Asami made her way through the crowded coffee shop smiling as she arrived next to him. Katsuro was there of course, along with Hiro, Hinata, and half the girls of the junior class. Katsumi took a breath and took slow steps towards the crowd, only hoping she could save her from doing anything too stupid.
"Tashiro, I didn't imagine I would ever see you here. This doesn't seem like something you would enjoy." Asami spoke plainly, not knowing that she was embarrassing him terribly.
"W-Well I guess I don't- I uh" he was struggling greatly. That was such a bold thing to say that made him seem like he disliked half the people in the room. Thankfully, Katsuro was there to save him and brush off the awkwardness.
"Asami." He said with a bright smile, "It's great to see you again. I know you're new here, so I'm glad you found your way here. You'll get used to everything in no time." He was being as charismatic as possible. That seemed to work for everyone else so they went on talking, but Asami wasn't satisfied until she could get a conversation out of Tashiro.
"Thanks." She answered sweetly, quickly turning back to Tashiro. "But really, what are you doing here? Correct me if I'm wrong, but this just doesn't seem to be you're speed."
He was kinda shocked at how unfazed she was. It seemed rude to him that she would say something like that, but he couldn't fight the fact that he agreed with her. "A-Asami, you can't just-" he began, but was cut off by her.
"Unless you came here like, you know, on a date or something." Her eyes were wide as she looked up at him. "Are you on a date?"
Each time he tried to interject, however he was cut off by her each time. "I never said tha-"
She was beginning to interrogate him now that she thought someone else was in the picture. "I didn't know you were seeing anyone. How long has this been going on?"
His face was becoming more and more red. "What? What are you talking about?"
She continued right on. Too far out in her heart break fantasy to even hear what he was saying. "Is she here right now? Have I met her before-"
"Asami please!" He said stopping her making his voice firm and slightly cold. "I can't understand you when you say a million things at once. And I don't even know what you're talking about, or why." He sighed and brushed his fingers through his hair nervously. Asami was a bit taken back but then finally let everything sink in.
She had always been a bit hyperactive to most, which had made it hard for her to make friends in the past. Now that she was older, times like those didn't happen very often, but they did still occur when she got excited. She realized how overwhelming she'd just been and immediately felt embarrassed. She hadn't meant to attack him, but just like always she had come on too strong. She placed her head down slightly and thought hard on something else she could say as a way to try again. But she felt like everything she said was just not right and she didn't want to even try it.
But just that moment, Katsumi came strolling in to retrieve her friend. "Okay, that's enough. We gotta go, come on." She said, nudging Asami gently.
"Bye," Tashiro said plainly, trying to disappear within the crowds again.
Finally the girls were making their way out. Asami kept mumbling under her breath. "Idiot" she repeated time after time. Katsumi put a hand on her throbbing head. She already had a headache and now she was gonna have to deal with Asami's moping for the next week. If she could only get home...
"Katsumi, I didn't know you were here."
She turned around with annoyance breeding on her face. She was in no state to talk to anyone, especially not Katsuro. "We were just leaving actually." She said, trying to handle herself coolly.
"That's a shame, you should join us. You always make things interesting." There he went again, putting on that annoying smirk and false charisma. The girls around him were buying every bit of it, surrounding him in every side, gazing at his every feature.
Katsumi rolled her eyes and sighed "And wouldn't you just love that?" She scoffed. "Sorry, but I can't take this place any longer."
"Come on, you show up looking like that and then leave without even saying hello?" He hadn't meant to sound like that much a jerk, but he definitely did. By that, he was referencing the sliver of Katsumi's stomach that could be seen. She was wearing a slightly cropped shirt and she'd been getting reactions from people all night. But she couldn't let that one slide.
"Excuse me?" She turned around slowly, beginning to grip her hands.
          He began speaking again, wanting to get a re-do. "All I'm saying is, you should stay." Yeah, that sounded better to him.
          "I think I'd rather go run through some street traffic thanks." She said turning back around. She tried to ignore the comments coming from her classmates. Let's just say not everyone wanted her around as much as Katsuro did.
           Asami had already sulked her way to the door by the time Katsumi made it too her. Well, almost made it to her. She felt a hand on her arm stopping her, and then another slide gently around her waist. Then he spoke. That same stupid tone that was supposed to lull her into seduction or something.
            "Come on, stay with us for a while. Stay with me."
         She couldn't control herself any longer. How could anyone expect her to stay calm after that? She absolutely wasn't a pushover, no matter how much people said she looked like one. Instinctively, she turned around and her hand met his face with an impressive amount of force. It left a mark on his "perfect" face, making all the other girls wince when they saw it. The sound of impact seem to echo, despite the cafe being filled to the brim.
          "What is your problem!? Why can't you just leave me alone?" Katsumi said pushing him away.
         He said nothing really, just stared at the ground and thought. The look of shock on his face could hardly be described. Honestly, he couldn't think of a time when anything like that had ever happened to him. He knew he messed up, but he couldn't really process anything else.
           Suddenly a girl who had been practically throwing herself on Katsuro all night stepped in between the two of them. "You little slut!" She snapped, "What kind of person slaps someone who was just complementing them? I've been trying to get him to notice me for months and get nothing, but he's after you the moment you stroll in?" She kept going, though Katsuro wasn't even listening. "And in return you attack him? You're just like everyone says, just a crazy-"
          "God I didn't ask for this! I don't care about your love life, all I know is that if I spend one more minute in this stupid place then he won't be the last one to end up like that." Katsumi cut her off, not feeling like arguing anymore.
            Katsuro put a hand out to stop the other girl from saying anything else. "No no, really it's fine. It seems like I've overstepped my boundaries once again," he said sliding his hand across his cheek. Though, he wasn't upset really, he just kept smiling meekly and almost laughing on some words that he spoke.
          Katsumi sighed and left swiftly through the doors. Asami was quick to follow, but not before she said a sweet goodbye to Tashiro. She did so after she'd waved at him, leaving him with all the attention going his way.
          Katsuro thought to himself once he was actually able to think again. She'd almost broken his arm the first time, and when he tried again he got slapped. He laughed under his breath; how cool was that? It kinda made him laugh out loud. He'd never had a problem with girls in his life, and now he'd met the most beautiful one he'd ever seen but she hated his guts. It felt interesting. The game gets boring if you never play anyone as good as you. And though she seemed to want nothing to do with him, Katsumi had just given him a goal to work towards, no matter how much effort it took. She'd crack, all girl's had to. Or at least, that's what he thought.
                   _____________________
            Asami went home and attempted eating out her feelings to distract herself from what had happened. Katsumi needed to cool down terribly, so she barely bothered to see Asami inside. She walked into her home loudly and angrily, not that anyone cared. Her father was away on a business trip and based of the note on the table, her mother had gone to a meeting in central Tokyo. So, just like almost every other night, she was all alone. She threw her handbag down on the couch and headed straight for her room. She figured that she got what she deserved. That's what she got for even trying to be like everyone else. Do something nice with her "friend". Yeah, well she'd learned her lesson and she wouldn't make the same mistakes again. But now unlike before, she wouldn't be able to walk the halls unnoticed by her classmates(which was a huge headache). She rolled over face down and sighed. You'd think someone who'd met people from almost everywhere would have better people skills. Too bad that wasn't the case for her. That Katsuro was just too much, and she still couldn't believe what he'd done even as the girls went walking home.
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