Waltz of Truth | Shigatsu Wa Kimi No Uso ;; Watari Ryota |

Chapter Fourteen

Maika

Watari and I arrive in front of the Miyazono's bakery where Tsubaki and Kousei wait for us. I wave to Tsubaki and she sprints towards me, tackling me with a hug.

"Yo!!" She shouts in my ear.

"What'd you say?" I joke and she laughs.

"Overdramatic as usual," She rests her arm on my shoulder and whispers, "So why were you at Watari's dorm this early, huh?" She raises her eyebrows in amusement.

"I... Stayed the night, but nothing like that happened!!" I quickly tell her and she squeals.

"Oh my gosh!!" She playfully hits my shoulder while squealing and I try to defend myself.

"What're you talking about?" Kousei inquires as he and Watari look over at us.

Tsubaki puts her elbow on my shoulder and winks. "Just girl stuff,"

"Ugh, I hate it when she does that," Watari comments and Tsubaki starts firing off at him.

"Settle down, you two, we're about to go in," I intervene and they cross their arms, silently sneering at each other.

"Knock it off, you'll scare the poor people if you keep this up," Kousei smacks both of their heads and they jump in shock and I laugh at the sight.

I open the doors to the bakery and the smell of sweet pastries immediately envelops me. "Hello, welcome-" Mrs. Miyazono begins to say and then turns to face us, stopping her sentence abruptly. "Oh my goodness! Honey! Come out here! You'll never guess who's here!"

Mr. Miyazono runs out from the kitchen and a smile appears on his face. "Holy smokes, it's been years since we've seen all of you together! How have you all been?"

"We're great, Mr. Miyazono! How's everything here?" Tsubaki replies.

"Business is good and booming, why don't you kids sit down and we'll get you something to eat," Mrs. Miyazono doesn't let us speak and rushes us to sit down so we can refuse and brings out drinks and pastries.

"Thank you so much!" Watari thanks graciously and digs in.

"Of course, dear! We're so glad you're all here now, especially you Maika since you've been gone for so long. You didn't have to visit," Mrs. Miyazono says.

"We wanted to visit you! And we were hungry too," Tsubaki replies and takes a bite of a croissant.

"You are such good kids, I wish Kaori was here with you guys," Mrs. Miyazono comments with a melancholy smile on her face.

"I wish she was here too, she would've accomplished so much," I respond with my hands wrapped around a coffee mug.

"I never got to thank all of you properly, but you guys becoming friends with Kaori really helped her get through the rough times. I'm glad she got to meet all of you, even if it wasn't for long,"

"She helped all of us too, Mrs. Miyazono. As you said, our time together with her wasn't long, but we're all still grateful for everything she gave us," Kousei finally speaks up, bringing tears to Mrs. Miyazono's eyes.

She places her hand on top of Kousei's and smiles. "Yes... So thank you for becoming the light during Kaori's last moments,"

The rest of the time, we casually talk and catch up on the past between all six of us. However, more customers enter and they have to get back to work. Feeling guilty for ending the conversation, they give us free pastries and wave goodbye, us mirroring them as we leave.

"It was nice to see them again, thanks for inviting me, Tsubaki," I look back at the short-haired girl and she gives me a thumbs up.

"Of course! Now, can we just chill at your place? It's not too far from here, right?" Tsubaki questions me.

"Tsubaki, we shouldn't barge in-" Kousei reasons with her but I intervene by shaking my hands.

"No, no! Of course you guys can come! After all, the last time you were there, you just helped me unpack so you can see what my house looks like now,"

We all walk to my apartment and I unlock the door, letting them all in. "Wow! You really cleaned up this place!" Tsubaki compliments while entering.

Watari walks to the counter and notices the vase of flowers he gave me a week ago and points at them. "So they're still alive,"

"Do you think flowers die that quickly?" I raise an eyebrow.

"Who knows what's going on in that brain of his," Kousei nonchalantly comments and walks past us, Watari frowning and we all laugh.

Tsubaki skips to the living room area and flops down on the bean bag chair while Kousei takes a seat next to her in the Papasan chair I just bought. "I could get used to this view," Tsubaki says while staring out the window.

Watari walks near me in the kitchen area and starts raiding my cabinets, asking, "Hey, babe, do you have any chips, I need something salty," As soon as he says "babe" my face reddens a tad but I cool myself down. However, Tsubaki makes a fake gagging noise.

"Tsubaki, stop being so dramatic!" I yell and then face Watari. "Yeah, it's in this cupboard," When I open it, the doorbell rings and we all look at the door, confusion spread across our faces.

"You expecting people?" Tsubaki asks and I shake my head.

"No... Who could it be?"

I take out the chips for Watari and then walk to the door to answer it. I go on my tip-toes to look through the peephole and gasp at the sight of who's on the other side. I immediately unlock the door and swing it open, my eyes widening.

"Surprise!!" Sera, Mariella, Jade, Eric, and Lucca cheer as soon as I open the door. Sera tackles me with hugs and I stumble.

"O-oh my gosh, you guys! What in the world?!" I shout in disbelief.

Sera chuckles and looks me in the eyes. "Did we surprise you?" She sticks out her tongue and I lightly slap her.

"Of course!! Why wouldn't I be surprised?!"

Tsubaki clears her throat and I jump, forgetting for a moment that they're inside. "Hey, Maika, do you want us to go...?"

Mariella panics a bit and tugs on Sera's sleeve. "W-we can come and visit later!"

"No, you guys can stay! And you can meet my friends from when I was younger!" I first tell Tsubaki and then my friends from Italy.

"Are you sure-" Mariella starts but Sera interrupts.

"Thanks, then!" All of them enter and behind the group, Zeno stands in the hallway as he was hidden behind the rest.

"Hey, Maika," He sheepishly waves and I smile.

"Zeno! I was wondering where you were, come inside!"

He takes a step towards me but then freezes for a moment. I raise an eyebrow and look behind my shoulder to see what stopped him. Watari stands behind me, coldly glaring at Zeno sending chills down my spine.

"Is... He jealous? I told him that I didn't have feelings for Zeno though!" The air becomes still as the two stare at each other intensely, like a battle that neither of them can refuse to lose. "Well... I hope there aren't any misunderstandings, I need to clear things up!"