Into The Water

Chapter Fifteen: Sworn Enemy

At lunch-break, Taiga follows Mizuki to the roof, breathing in the fresh air. Taiga chows down on a ham sandwich she packed in her bag along with a small jar of pickled onions and a bottle of orange juice.

They've been sitting there for a while, not saying anything, merely comfortable with their own company. Taiga, having finished her sandwich with the occasional breadcrumb on her face, smiles.

"You know how happy I am right now? We get to be in the same class again."

Mizuki, sitting beside her friend, fights a smile. "The more I look at you, the more I recall the fact that you left for America two years ago without saying goodbye."

"You know I'm not good with that mushy stuff," Taiga sighs.

"You don't even look like you're sorry for leaving."

Taiga lowers her emerald-green framed glasses on the tip of her nose and squints at Mizuki. "Isn't it amazing how I can feel so bad and still look so good?" They both laugh.

The small, shoulder-length auburn-haired Minami Taiga was Mizuki's beloved but restless friend through middle school. Despite the pair of cute buns tied up at the top of her head and small size, reaching 150 cm, the troublesome girl is quite sadistic. Her big devious eyes often makes Mizuki wonder how they became friends in the first place.

Ah yes, both girls had fallen in love with the same guy in middle school, confessing simultaneously to see who's worthy of his love. When he chose Taiga and unknowingly hurt Mizuki's feelings, he triggered Taiga's sadistic side and avoided her like the plague till graduation.

They might not have been childhood friends, but Mizuki feels like she'd known her all her life. Taiga has seen her at her best and at her very worst and they're still friends. That has to mean something, at least.

"Hey, what are you smiling at?" Taiga asks her.

"Reminiscing the old days."

"Ah, yes. The brace-face chapter of your life, as I recall."

Mizuki hit Taiga's arm as a light warning. "Don't tell anyone about that," she says, growing embarrassed by the memory of having to wear those ugly braces. Of course Taiga just laughs.

"Do you still play?" Mizuki asks carefully, recalling the time they picked up their first instruments together.

"Well, about that—"

"I'd love to hear you play the guitar again. You must sound amazing now. Wasn't that the whole point of moving to New York? To study music, right? So you've definitely grown!"

"You're still a blabbermouth Mizuki, god," Taiga stands up, unimpressed. "I haven't grown an inch…"

She's staring at Mizuki, her features unexpectedly relaxed. Calm. And for one moment, one very brief moment, Mizuki catches a glimpse of the scared girl her friend once was. The part of her she hides away from others.

"What's going on?" Mizuki asks seriously. They look at one another. Taiga chooses her next words carefully, letting them roll around her mouth before saying, "I just don't feel inspired to play lately. It is what it is. Let's keep it at that."

"You won't tell me why?"

"Did you just hear what I said?" Taiga says angrily. "I don't want to talk about it."

During a minute of silence, Mizuki can't stop thinking there's something seriously wrong. A large bird circles downward and squawks nearby, eyeing them suspiciously, and then flies away. "He's off to tell his friends about us," Taiga says.