A Songbird's love

Chapter 10: Fireworks

I waited for Neru to come to the rooftop. She had noticed me, and from what I last saw, was right behind me. If she had changed her mind and was waiting for me to go down to check on her instead, there was another way back to the twins. The way the school rooftop was positioned, it wouldn't be difficult to land on my feet.
I didn't need to go down apparently. Neru burst through the door, panting angrily. How she managed to run in such a long yukata was something I couldn't answer. The door slammed behind her as her gaze fell on me. She stalked closer, attempting to corner me to the railing. The scissors glinted in the moonlight, emphasising on how dangerous they were. I didn't flinch, neither did I move backwards. I had weapons of my own with me. Neru stopped a few feet in front of me, a little too far for me to throw a punch, not daring to come closer.
"Why are you doing this?" I asked, genuinely curious to know.
She hissed at me, "To get rid of competition."
"What competition? You want to get the prize for the games? Go ahead, I don't mind."
"Not that, you fool!" She was close to yelling, "Len likes you. He cares about you. He's never cared that much for anyone before, other than his sister. You're the first. And I hate it. I want him to care for me, as much as I care for him. And to do that, I need to get rid of you, before he gets too attached. I can't get rid of Rin, it would break his heart. And that's the last thing I would do."
I sighed, I'm getting really tired from all this. Where did the peace go to? "Look, I can't decide for him on who to pick, okay? That's his choice. You killing me won't make a difference."
"So it's true? You do like him?"
Do I? I really have no idea, I've never had that kind of feeling for anyone before.
Neru didn't give me a chance to reply. She rushed at me with the scissors, aiming for my heart specifically. As she came closer, I dodged to the right and pushed her hand to the left. As she stumbled to the side, I stuck my foot out. It connected with the joint just above her foot. She fell to the floor, face down.
Lucky I got a yukata which was short, easier for me to move. As she slowly got up, I decided to give her a chance, "Drop the scissors. You don't have to kill me, we can talk things out."
She laughed at me, "Talk? Why would I want to talk to you?" And charged at me again. Well, I tried.
I moved to the side again, but this time instead of just pushing her hand with the scissors away, I slammed the side of my hand on her wrist. The sudden force made her drop the scissors, and she stumbled backwards gasping in pain. I quickly scooped up the scissors and hurled it off the building, as far as I could throw it.

All of a sudden, my phone started to ring, which made the both of us froze. I put a hand up to signal to Neru to wait - which she surprisingly did - and took my phone out of the small pouch tied to my waist. "Hello?" "Miku, where are you? We got the drinks, and you left your plush on the bench," Rin's voice rang through the phone. Ah yes, my corgi plushie. It was left alone on the bench, poor thing. Hopefully it didn't get stabbed. "I'm at the rooftop, dealing with a slight problem." Neru's eyes narrowed at my words. Yes, she's a slight problem. "Why don't you guys come on up? We can watch the fireworks here."
"Okay! We're on our way. We'll bring some food too, it can be like a picnic." Rin was excited, I could imagine her jumping up and down in excitement. "And don't worry, we'll bring your plush."
I laughed, "Sure, take your time." Hopefully, they wouldn't come up here while Neru is still attacking me.
I hung up the phone, and said, "Yeah, okay I'm done."
For some reason Neru looked scared, "Who was it?"
I gave her a look, "The twins. Why? What's wrong with you?"
She gave herself a once over, "Len is coming! How do I look? Is my yukata okay?"
Excuse me, what? First she attacks me, and now she wants me to check if her yukata is okay?
I threw my hands in the air in exasperation, "If you're going to kill me, then stick to it! Don't just give up halfway for a guy! Besides how you look doesn't matter, Len would be looking at the fireworks, not you."
She stared at me, processing my words. Her eyes widened in anger, well at least her fighting spirit is back now. She barreled towards me, her fist raised to throw a punch.
"Neru!"
That distracted her and she failed to swing in time. I grabbed her hand and twisted her arm to the back, not to break it, just so that she wouldn't move. Len and Rin was looking at Neru with alarm and a hint of disgust. They were holding platters of street snacks and drinks. I spied my plushie under Len's arm. So it didn't get stabbed after all, yay.
Neru struggled against me, "Let me go! It hurts!"
Rin took the things Len was holding and put them all on the floor some distance away. Len came up to us, and scanned me, "Are you alright? You're not hurt?"
I shook my head to reassure him, "I'm fine."
Rin came to join us, "What were you doing, Neru? Why were you attacking Miku?"
I let her go, making her almost fall again. She hastily stood up straight, and rushed to explain herself, "I didn't want to! You have to believe me, if it wasn't because she was always with you I wouldn't even bother about her." She was only speaking to Len now, "She always wants your attention, don't you ever get tired of her? I never get to spend time with you anymore, and it's because of her! I want you, Len but she's always in the way. So I tried to get rid of her. I took my scissors with me wherever I went to let her see me as a threat, I thought maybe she would back off that way. But she didn't! I had no choice but to kill-"

A slap resounded on the rooftop. I was shocked, the amount of force Len had put in that slap was scary coming from him. I wasn't the only one shocked. Neru was too, and Rin got scared enough to come burrowing into my side for comfort. I patted her hair to calm her down, holding her close to me as I listened to the conversation. Len slowly forced the words out, "You tried to kill Miku?"
Neru placed her hand on her red cheek, looking at Len with disbelief. She struggled to come up with words, "I... didn't-"
"Didn't what? Didn't say that? Well too bad, you did. What is wrong with you, Neru?" He grabbed her shoulders and shook her.
"Len-" I wanted to intervene, but Rin clung onto me tighter. She whispered, "Don't. He's scary when he's angry. He could do something to you that he might regret."
Neru was on the verge of breaking down, and was just yelling at Len now, "There is nothing wrong with me! I'm doing this because I like you, okay? I care for you so much, I want you for myself. And I wasn't going to let some new girl take you away from me! Len, I..." She faltered, a little out of breath, "I love you."
I froze, not exactly sure why. Rin rubbed my back to try to get me to loosen up (funny how she was comforting me now), but I stayed tense and waited for Len's response. He was just staring at her, probably processing her words. He said in a monotonous voice, "Really? That's your reason?"
Neru was a little offended, "Was that not a good enough reason?"
"No it wasn't. That doesn't give you any right to try and kill someone. Whatever, I don't bother explaining to you. I'm too tired of this." He ran a hand through his hair, he was mentally exhausted. I want this to end quick so he could sit down and take a break.
"So...?" Neru prompted him. He looked her straight in the eyes, and said, "No. I don't return your feelings."
She lost it then. She finally broke down, and raised her fists to probably hit Len in the chest. I let go of Rin and caught Neru's fists before they could land. She glared at me through her tears, "Let go! Don't touch me!" She shook me off and ran out the door leading to the staircase. I sighed, lightly patting my cheeks to clear my mind. Hopefully she would stop. If she didn't, well I could always go to the police and get her arrested for attempted murder.

Rin was still standing a little off to the side, watching her brother warily. Len closed his eyes, and took a few deep breaths. He opened his arms wide, and reassured Rin, "I'm okay now, Rin."
Rin immediately went in for the hug. I heard her sigh in relief. Relatable.
I let the siblings comfort each other and went over the where the food and drinks were placed. They weren't cold, which was a surprise. The whole conversation felt like an eternity. I examined my corgi plushie, checking to see if it was all okay. It wasn't stabbed or losing any fluff so that's a relief. Else money might be wasted. I hugged the plushie close and inhaled in its scent. The smell of a new plushie. Kind of nice, actually.
A hand tapped my shoulder. I turned to see Len standing behind me, looking a little apolegetic. Rin had come to sit down beside me, and had shoved a mochi into her mouth, everything forgotten. I patted the empty space next to me, gesturing him to take a seat. He did, and gently took my hand. His fingers interlaced with mine, and he apologised in a low voice, "Sorry about just now. I hope I didn't scare you."
I squeezed his hand a little, giving him a small smile, "You didn't scare me."
"Oh yeah, almost forgot!" Rin exclaimed, then held up a small clear plastic bag. Inside held two tiny goldfish, swimming about frantically, "We got these two for you." I took the plastic bag and held it up so I could see the two fish clearer. They were of different shades of orange, but both almost bordering on yellow. "You didn't have to," I tried to argue. Rin shook her head, "Keep them. They're yours now."
I ruffled her hair, "Yes ma'am." She gave a short laugh.
Suddenly, the sky lit up with the most colourful fireworks. They were loud, but they gave the night sky different colours. Red, blue, green, yellow... it was really beautiful. This school doesn't do things halfway.
We just sat there and enjoyed the view, not talking at all. Then I asked Len, "Why did you do it?"
He glanced at me, confused, "What?"
"Why did you reject her?" I didn't want to say her name.
He understood anyway, "Because I didn't have feelings for her." He made it sound so simple.
"Really?"
"Really. My feelings are for you and you alone."
Did I hear that right?
He looked at me when I didn't reply. I could feel how heated my face was, but I couldn't look away. I searched his eyes for any bluff, to say that it was a joke, but there was nothing. Pure, genuine and admiring. I felt the need to clarify as well, "I feel the same way."
He smiled, "It's official then."
"What is?"
He let his lips lightly brush my hand which was intertwined with his. "Us."
Us. That's nice. I think despite the night's events, I quite liked the festival. I enjoy just being here, with two of the people that I care the most about. Yes, it's a good night.