Author's Note: Sexual Content
Summer vacation is almost here, which is great. But that also means we have a pile of tests to prepare for before it does. So, we're spending this particular Friday afternoon in the library. My friends and I are all at a big table cramming as much as we can and helping one another with the topics we're best at. Koji is working, but he's studying with us too. He's really become part of our friend group, and that makes me really happy.
Akari and I are the first to reach our limit. So, we say our goodbyes to our friends and we're planning on getting something to eat in the cafeteria.
As we're leaving the library holding hands, we hear a familiar voice call out behind us.
"So…you're dykes, huh? I guess it all makes sense now."
We both freeze in place, unsure of whether we should turn around or just try and escape from this awful human being. Ultimately, Akari decides to turn around and I follow her lead. It's exactly who I thought it would be - Hiroshi.
Must. Not. Punch.
Akari snaps, "Sh-shut up and go away! N-No one wants you h-here."
In a mocking tone he replies, "Wh-what i-if I-I d-don't? A-are y-you g-gonna d-do s-something? Listen to yourself t-t-talk, what's wrong with you?!"
Must. Not. Punch.
"Come on Akari, we don't need to listen to this." Akari hesitates for a moment, but then she turns around and we head to the elevator.
I should probably stop here and keep walking away. Things might escalate if I say something else. But…I just can't help myself.
"Besides, he's just jealous you got what he didn't."
He scoffs, "Who would want you anyway? Obviously, no guy did, or you wouldn't be with a girl. I thought I might get a look at those big tits of yours, but it's not keeping me up at night that I didn't. I've fucked lots of hotter girls since that day."
Must. Not. Punch.
Akari lets go of my hand and whirls around with a look of pure rage on her face. Something I've never seen before. It reminds me a little bit of the time I angered her mother. I didn't know she had that in her.
With clenched fists, she yells, "SH-SHUT UP!"
He takes a step forward and so does Akari. "Don't like me talking about your dyke lover's tits, huh? Don't worry, that's all she has going for her so there's nothing left to talk about." He looks her body up and down and gets a disgusted look on his face. "Of course, you don't even have tits, so you're even worse off. You two have gotta be the ugliest couple in school."
Must. Not. Punch.
If steam was ever going to come out of Akari's ears, now would be the time. Her fists are clenched and her face is a deep red. I need to keep her from making the mistake I did last time.
I put my hand on her shoulder and as calmly as I possibly can I say, "Akari…he's just trying to make us mad. He isn't worth it. We learned that last time."
She exhales and nods as we both turn back around to finally leave his presence.
As we do, he says "See you later, you ugly dykes!" Then we hear a pained grunt and a thud.
We turn around and see Hiroshi lying on his back and clutching his face. His nose is bleeding. Carsten is standing over him.
"Someone needs to teach you to shut your fucking mouth, Hiroshi. I guess it has to be me. Talk about my friends like that again and I'll do a lot worse."
Hiroshi laughs as blood trickles down from his nose and around his mouth. At first, I'm confused by his reaction. But then I see Ms. Hamada standing about 10 meters away. She just came out of the bathroom. I don't know for sure if she saw the punch, but she definitely heard the threat, and it isn't that hard to connect the dots. She walks over to the two boys.
"Mr. Leipziger, you're going to have to come with me. You too, Mr. Yamamoto. You'll need to see the nurse." Carsten has a look of dread on his face. Hiroshi gets up and smiles even bigger. It's a disturbing sight with all the blood trickling out of his nose.
In a pleading voice I say, "Please…just let this go?"
She bows her head slightly and says, "I can't. Even if I did, I'm sure Mr. Yamamoto would report this, and everything would end up the same. I'm sure you two will be expected to tell your side of the story. That's the most you'll be able to do to help your friend."
I nod and then stand by helplessly as Ms. Hamada takes the two of them.
Carsten puts on a brave face and gives us a thumbs up, but underneath it I can see that he's really concerned. Who can blame him? It's the end of the trimester. We have a ton of tests, and he's probably going to get sent home for a while. Away from his girlfriend who means everything to him. And…away from us too. While I wish he hadn't hit Hiroshi, he did it out of love for the two of us and it is heartwarming, in a way.
Akari asks, "W-what's going to happen?"
I sigh, "Remember that story about Saki my mom told us when I punched Hiroshi? It's similar…"
She thinks for a moment, recalling the story. "S-so he'll be s-suspended?"
I nod, "Yeah, probably. We…need to go tell Ai about this, I'm sure she's still in the library."
We go back into the library, and sure enough Ai is dutifully studying. Koji is still there too. Carsten must have gotten up to go to the bathroom and stumbled upon our altercation with Hiroshi, because all his stuff is still here.
I walk up to the table and say, "Hey…Ai. Something… bad just happened."
She looks up from her book with a raised eyebrow, "Um….Okay…just tell me. You're freaking me out."
"Well…Hiroshi was saying some bad stuff to us out in the hall, and Carsten heard it so he punched him so hard he fell down and his nose was bleeding…"
Koji looks up from his book and says, "Shit."
Ai smiles, "Really?! Damn…that's sexy. Where is he now?"
Akari says, "Th-that's the bad part…Ms. Hamada saw. So…she took him."
I add, "There's a very good chance he gets suspended. In fact, I would say it's almost a certainty."
She deflates, "What does that mean, exactly?"
"He'll have to go home for a little while."
She crosses her arms, "That's bullshit. If he punched him, he must have said something really horrible. Carsten doesn't just go around punching people. I don't think he's ever punched someone."
Akari replies, "W-well…he did say horrible things, but…the school will say punching him was crossing a line."
Ai sighs, "Well, this sucks." She slams her book shut. "Can I even see him or anything?"
"I don't know. We can go to my dorm and call my mom. She'll know more."
Akari agrees and we start gathering up Carsten's stuff.
Koji says, "Good luck you guys. Let me know if I can help somehow."
"We will. Thanks Koji."
We set off towards the dorms and remain mostly in silence.
In the elevator Ai suddenly looks very guilty. She says, "Shit. I'm sorry…I really should have asked. Are you two okay? What did he say?"
Akari and I look at each other. I don't think either of us is 'okay.' But we've been so focused on Carsten we haven't had time to think or talk about it.
Akari fidgets with her skirt. "…whatever offensive thing y-you can imagine someone would say about two girls d-dating…he s-said it."
"What an asshole."
The elevator opens and the three of us go to my room. Akri and I sit on the bed and Ai parks herself across from us.
I call my mom.
"Hey sweetie, how are you this evening?"
"Hey mom. You're on speakerphone. I'm with Akari and Ai. We had…an incident."
"Is everyone okay?"
"Well…yeah, mostly. Here's the summary: Hiroshi said awful things to me and Akari about us both being girls. Carsten lost it and punched him in the face and threatened him. Ms. Hamada heard the threat."
"Hiroshi? Again?!"
"Yeah…"
My mom's voice is trembling with rage, much like last time there was an incident with Hiroshi. "What did he say exactly?!"
"We…can talk about that later. Our immediate concern is what happens to Carsten now. I mean…he probably gets suspended right?"
She sighs, "Yes. Assuming Hiroshi wasn't threatening you two, that's what will happen. There will be a hearing in the morning, I'm sure."
"Hey, Mrs. Nakai, it's Ai, where would he be now?"
"Probably…in his room, with security keeping him there."
Ai scoffs, "Security?!"
"Yes. They want to make sure nothing else happens between the two of them. I'm sorry, Ai. You probably can't see him. You should be able to call him, though."
"Okay…thank you."
"Akari, Kayoko, Don't lie at the hearing tomorrow. That will make things bad for everyone."
"W-we won't lie."
"Good. I'm sure you're all tired and stressed, so I won't ask any more tonight. I'm sorry about this. Love you all."
We all thank her and end the call.
Ai sighs, "I'm going to go call Carsten. I'll let you know if there's anything to report. Thanks, you two…and I'm really sorry you had to deal with this." She hugs us both and then leaves.
With her gone, Akari almost immediately breaks down crying. I start to tear up too. I hug her and stroke her hair. Then we get into bed and hold eachother. We've been together for a month and a half, but this is the first time we've really felt…singled out for both being girls. This is something Daisuke told me about of course, but I guess we had a false sense of security since we hadn't encountered anything like this. After crying for a while Akari says,
"I-is this s-something we h-have to deal with? J-just for loving each other?"
I sniffle and wipe my own tears away. "Sometimes, I think. I wish it weren't." I pause for a moment. "But…I think it's worth it."
She sits up and smiles at me. I wipe away some of her tears and smile back.
"M-me too."
She leans forward and kisses me. I can feel the moisture on her face from her tears. It starts out as a soft little kiss but we gradually get more into it, and before we know it our tongues are involved and our bodies are pressed together. Things are starting to get hot and heavy before Akari pulls away and blushes.
"D-do you maybe wanna t-try some…other stuff?"
I smile at her, "Are you sure? We had a hard day. Tomorrow will be hard too."
"Th-that's…part of why I want to." She puts her hand on my cheek and gazes into my eyes. "I love you Kayoko…n-no matter what people say about it. No matter what we have to deal with. Saying it is good but I…w-want to really show you…physically. But…if you aren't ready…."
"I'm ready to show you how much I love you. And..I really want to show you all of me…to show you I'm yours." I realize I'm being a little too sappy so I add, "Plus you're really sexy."
She lets out one of her adorable giggles before we pick up where we left off. After a little bit, we let our hands wander places they haven't been before. I slide my hands up her shirt and rest my hands on her hips. She reaches out and starts caressing my breast over my bra and shirt. Even with those two layers of fabric in the way, I can't help sighing happily at the sensation of her touching this part of me. Before long, we both get tired of putting up with all this clothing in the way. She leans back and takes her top off before helping me do the same. When I see her exposed collarbone and neck, I feel myself powerfully drawn to them. I start kissing her up and down her neck and along her collarbone and I am pleased to hear she's deriving as much pleasure from it as I am. Eventually she lays back on the bed to get in a better position, I position myself over her and continue kissing her on her collarbone. I am surprised but also more than a little aroused when I feel her deftly undoing the clasp on my bra. Now, my breasts are hanging freely over her.
She starts caressing them as I kiss her body, running her finger around the nipple causing me to start moaning softly. After a bit of this I lean back and smirk at her, "No fair, your bra has to come off too." She doesn't seem to hear me. Her eyes are fixed on my chest and her mouth is hanging open. I realize she couldn't see them before and now they are distracting her. First Hideki, now her. I giggle, "I'm glad you like them so much. But I want to see yours too."
She smiles and reaches behind herself to take off her pink bra. I've seen her topless before of course but seeing it in this context is very different. I get on my side and start kissing her while caressing her breasts, and she reaches out and does the same for me. I can't help but think about how silly it is that she used to complain about not having boobs. Her breasts aren't large, but they aren't tiny either. They make for a nice handful and I have fairly large hands for a girl. They are soft and very nicely shaped, and I am absolutely thrilled to have my hand on them. I can tell she feels the same.
After doing this for several minutes, I start to slowly move my hand lower and lower on her body. She follows my lead and does the same to me. We both still have our skirts on from our uniform and I gently slide my hand under the hem of hers. She starts shuddering from that alone. When my hand reaches its destination, I can tell that she's incredibly aroused, even through her underwear. The moment my hand makes contact she convulses with pleasure. Seeing her body move to my touch like this is amazing.
She reaches down to do the same to me and my body starts to shudder too. I sit up and sit back so we can both have access to each other. We move so that we are both sitting with our backs against the wall, each of us with a hand down the other's skirt. We use our free hand to caress one another's breasts and we continue to kiss each other.
I continue rubbing her as we lean into kiss each other. We both moan softly as we kiss and caress each other. It feels like time is standing still. I hope it does.
Eventually, I want to make her feel even better. I reach my hand into her panties. Making direct contact with her genitals makes both of us gasp. It's nice doing this for a girl. With Hideki I was never sure what I was making him feel, with another girl, I have at least some idea. I continue to rub her up and down for several minutes, and then I begin to focus on the area just above her opening. I use my finger to circle around her most sensitive spot and the movement of her body instantly intensifies. After about a minute she is so deeply in the throes of passion that she can no longer kiss me or pleasure me. She leans back against the wall incapable of anything but allowing her body to experience the intense pleasure I'm giving her. I start kissing her breasts to add another layer of pleasure for her.
She gently puts her hand on the back of my head as she gets closer. Eventually she pulls up slightly, indicating she wants me to kiss her. So, I move up and look her in the eyes while I continue pleasuring her with my hand. I see some tears on her cheeks, so I stop for a moment.
"Are you okay?"
She smiles. "Yes…k-keep going. I…j-just love you…so much, Kayoko."
I guess that means they are happy tears, which is enough to choke me up a little too. I'm glad sex means so much to her. Because it does to me too.
I smile at her and give her a soft kiss. "I love you too, Akari."
In between moans she says, "I…I never want anyone else. J-just you, K-Kayoko...you're making me feel so…good… I've never felt so...I…I…I'm going to…"
She trails off, losing her ability to speak as she loses control over herself.
I kiss her again and whisper, "I'm so happy I'm making you feel good. I love touching you like this…"
This has the intended effect of pushing her over the edge.
To my surprise, she suddenly grabs my left breast just as her entire body begins to quake. It's a very nice surprise. She's holding it surprisingly roughly and she squeezes harder the more intense her pleasure gets. I moan softly myself as pleasure cascades throughout her body for a full minute.
Afterwards, she's breathing heavily, and she snuggles into my side for a little bit before regaining the ability to speak. She says,, "I wanna do that for you now…is that okay?"
I kiss her. "More than okay. I really loved how you grabbed me at the end."
She giggles, "Y-yeah that's what I thought." She blushes a little. "I…really like your boobs."
I smile at her and turn my body, so they are in full view for her, "Well…I really like it when you touch them." I feel my face flush. "Th-they…are just as much yours as mine now…"
She smiles at me before coming in for a passionate kiss as she gently pushes me. I get the hint and lie down. She's straddling me now as she kisses me with her body pushed against mine. Feeling our bare chests pressed together is wonderful. This kind of closeness is really great with her.
After kissing me on the lips for a while, she starts to snake down my body. She slides her hand under my skirt for a moment and then pulls it back and says, "C-can I take this off?"
I smile at her, "Of course. Like I said I wanted you to see…all of me. You can take everything off if you want to." She blushes but also looks very excited.
She slides my skirt off me. Then she locks eyes with me and wriggles out of her own skirt. She's wearing pink panties that went with her pink bra of course. She continues making eye contact with me as she removes her last article of clothing. When she does, I briefly notice her hips are very scarred, but then everything else distracts me. Seeing all of her is amazing. She's slender and has a flat tummy, but she definitely has curves in the right places. Her breasts fit wonderfully on her small frame, and she has more of a butt than I had expected.
Now, she slides my panties off too. She takes in my naked body for a moment before she lays down beside me with our naked bodies pressed against each other.
She kisses me and says, "Your b-body is…just…so beautiful."
I smile at her and lustily look at her from head to toe, "So is yours. Remember, I was checking you out even with two incredibly painful dislocations."
She giggles proudly before going back to what she was doing before we got completely undressed. She reaches her hand down and starts rubbing me. Feeling her bare hand on this part of me is heavenly. Just as I'm enjoying the touch down below, she starts kissing my breasts. Based on how passionately she is kissing them, I can tell she loves them. She increases her movements down below and starts running her tongue around my nipple I'm feeling such intense pleasure in two different places…and I love the person who is doing it so much. It…felt really good with Hideki. But it feels great with Akari. She just...means so much more to me, than even he did.
After stimulating me for some time, she changes the focus of her hand's attentions to the area just above where it's been spending it's time so far. She continues kissing my breasts and using her tongue on my nipples. As she moves her hand, my body starts intensely shuddering.
"Ak-kar-i…I l-love y-you…I f-feel s-s-so…" In the middle of my sentence, I lose control of my voice as she pushes me to the point of no return. My mouth stays open but all I can do with it is moan as she continues to stimulate me. I cover my own mouth to muffle the sound. After a minute or two, my body relaxes and Akari makes her way back up towards me. She lays on her side and wraps her arms around my naked waist. I'm out of breath but do my best to speak,
"Th-that was…"
"I'm glad you l-liked it." She sighs happily. "This was r-really nice. And...really special to me."
I'm about to agree when we both hear a knock on the door that makes us both bolt upright. Were we too loud? I briefly think it might be Hiroshi. Luckily the door is locked.
I say, "...who is it?"
In response I hear, "It's Ai. Have some updates about Carsten."
Thank God she didn't show up a minute earlier.
"Um…just a minute!"
Akri and I both giggle as we throw some clothing on. I put on my underwear and throw a shirt on. Ai is a little more conservative and puts her skirt back on too. Our clothes are all wrinkled and askew. Once we are both…somewhat clothed, I open the door.
Ai rolls in without looking at me at first, but once she turns around and looks up at us, her eyes dart between us, to my bra on the floor, and to the bed and she smiles. "It took you a while to open the door. You both have messy hair, you're both only partially dressed, and the bed is all messed up. Did you two…?"
We both stand silently, undoubtedly bright red. That's all the answer she needs.
Ai giggles, "Was it your first time together?"
We look at each other and realize it's fine for us to answer. She just wants to know as a friend. We both nod.
Ai smiles even wider, "Aw…that's really great. I'm happy for you two."
"Thanks. Enough with our sex lives, though. What did Carsten say?"
Ai's smile dissipates, "It's like your mom said. There's a hearing in the morning. He has to go talk about what happened, and you two will be going too. You probably already have emails. You were probably just too…busy to notice." She winks at us.
She is too much like my mom sometimes.
It takes us both a minute to find our phones since things are sort of chaotic in my room because of our...activities. Eventually, we find them.
Akari says, "Y-yeah…looks like we go around 9."
Ai sighs, "I wish I could do something. But I can't even comfort him or anything, other than on the phone. He's really upset. He's almost definitely going to get sent home and then I might not see him again until after summer."
Akari and I sit down on the bed. "Yeah…that's tough. I don't know what he's going to do about all the tests either. Hopefully he can still take them home or something."
Ai sighs, "Yeah. I think he'll be able to make them up. The thing I'm the most worried about are his parents. They are strict. They are nice when you don't cause trouble, but he's told me that even messing up in a small way doesn't go well with them…so I have a feeling he'll be 'grounded' or something the whole break."
"Yeah…that stinks. It's only temporary at least."
She nods, "Okay. Well…that's the update. I'll let you two get back to it."
Akari rolls her eyes, "W-we're just going to go to bed you know."
Ai laughs, "Okay. Well goodnight then. Call me after the hearing tomorrow?"
We agree and then Ai leaves. When she does, we both look at each other and giggle again before taking off our clothes and returning to the same position we were in when Ai knocked on the door.
"I think you said something about that being really special before Ai came right?"
Akari nods.
I start stroking her hair. "I agree…it really was. You're amazing at it…and I think how deeply I love you made it even better." I sigh happily.
"You were amazing too." She blushes and says, "I m-meant what I said. I didn't just say it in the heat of the moment."
"What did you say?"
She looks up at me with serious eyes. "I don't want to be with anyone else. Ever. J-just you, Kayoko."
This level of commitment should probably scare me as a 17-year-old, and there's a tiny bit of fear…but…it seems insignificant compared to how much I love her.
I smile at her, "That's what I want too, Akari."
Akari and I are in the waiting room outside the dean's office. The nurse, Ms. Hamada, and the dean are in there questioning Carsten now. Apparently, they questioned Hiroshi before we ever got here. I'm thankful that they kept us apart.
We're both very anxious and holding hands to assuage some of it, but it isn't as helpful as usual. This is stressful. We don't want our friend to get in trouble, and it sucks that us being verbally assaulted is at the center of it. That means we will both have the joy of telling them all the details all over again.
"Wh-what do you think they will ask?"
"I think just what we saw and heard."
Akari nods.
"Are you going to be okay? Anxiety wise? I can't imagine three people throwing high stakes questions at you is ideal for you."
"I f-feel okay. I think because it's for Carsten I'll be able to do it."
It looks like there is some movement inside the office. They must be done with Carsten. He is the first to exit with Ms. Hamada right behind him.
This is the first time we've seen him since the incident. He looks downtrodden, to say the least. Akari and I get up and approach him. For a moment, Ms. Hamada looks like she's thinking about stopping us. But then she turns around and goes back into the office.
We both hug him, and I ask, "How was it?"
He sighs, "Not great. I really messed up. I'm almost definitely getting suspended. I shouldn't have hit him. I just…snapped."
I whisper to him, "I've been there. At least you didn't hurt yourself."
He laughs wryly. "That's true. I'm sorry you two have to go in there and…relive the stuff he told you."
Akari shrugs, "I-it's fine. Hopefully w-we can get them to be lenient."
A security officer comes in as we're talking and when Carsten sees them he says, "Hey, if I don't see you two, good luck on your tests. I don't think I'll be seeing you until after summer."
The security guard escorts Carsten out of the room as we say our goodbyes. Not long after, Ms. Hamada sticks her head out of the door and says, "Nakai, we're ready for you."
It sort of seems like they let us say our goodbyes. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing.
I nod and give Akari a quick hug before I follow Ms. Hamada into the office. I sit down in front of the dean's desk. I've never interacted with or even seen him before. His job mainly consists of raising money for the school and disciplining students, and I'm not usually involved in those things.
He's a very stern-looking man in his 50s. The hair on his head and his goatee are both entirely gray, and he has wrinkles on his head that indicate he must furrow his brow a lot. He's wearing black-rimmed glasses and a designer suit. He's probably meeting with prospective donors later. I can't imagine he dresses this way just to discipline students.
"Good morning, Ms. Nakai. How are you this morning?"
"Good morning, sir. I'm…not great."
He nods, "Well, let's get through this then. What can you tell us about your interaction with Mr. Yamamoto yesterday?"
"Ms. Yoshida and I left the library. We were holding hands. As we were approaching the elevator, we heard Mr. Yamamoto behind us start to…accost us. "I pause for a moment. "Do I have permission to repeat what he said? It's…very vulgar, and I don't want to get in trouble."
I think reproducing things word for word is far more likely to help Carsten. I imagine at least one other person in this room would be tempted to punch him for what he said.
The dean nods, "You have permission."
"M-Mr. Yamamoto called us…dykes. We turned around and told him to leave us alone…but he continued. He…t-talked about wanting to see my 'big tits'."
I'm starting to tear up. I didn't know this would happen, but now that it is I may as way milk it for more sympathy for Carsten.
"H-he then started to insult our appearance, called us dykes several more times…told us about all of the hotter women than us that he has f-fucked…"
The dean raises his hand and says, "I think we get the picture. Suffice it to say, he used homophobic slurs and was generally vulgar and insulting. "
I nod and the dean hands me a box of tissues. If he's moved by this at all, it doesn't show on his face. The nurse and Ms. Yoshida look disturbed to hear these details at least. The dean gives me a moment to compose myself a little before asking the next question.
"I am given to understand you and Mr. Yamamoto have a history, is that true?"
I thought this might come up, hopefully I don't get in some kind of retroactive trouble.
I sigh, "Sort of. Last year we…kissed once, but I stopped it because he had a girlfriend and I made him leave. He came back the next day and insisted I let him into my room. I told him no several times, but he wouldn't listen. I w-was scared he was going to try to force himself into my room. Akari lives across the hall from me, and she intervened and told him to leave. He s-said some horrible things to her and still refused to leave. I w-was scared so I…punched him in the back. Then he left."
I embellished it a little. I wasn't even thinking about being threatened at the time, at least not consciously. Akari thought he was threatening me though and I agreed after the fact. That's not really a lie, right?
The dean responds, "So this isn't the first time you or your friends have gotten violent with Mr. Yamamoto."
I sigh, "No. B-but both times he acted very…aggressive, vulgar and belligerent."
The dean nods, "Yes, that is well established. What did you see between Mr. Leipziger and Yamamoto yesterday?"
"Ms. Yoshida and I had our backs turned because we were trying to get away from him. He was still hurling slurs at us. Then we heard him grunt and turned around to see what happened. When I did, I saw Mr. Yamamoto on the ground with blood coming from his nose. Carsten...I mean, Mr..."
The dean nods, "Leipziger."
I really need to learn how to say one of my best friend's names.
"Yes, he told Mr. Yamamoto to…stop saying such horrible things to us, or he'd do even worse next time."
The dean nods. "Thank you for your testimony about this. It will prove very helpful." He looks at the nurse and Ms. Yoshida. "Do either of you have any questions?" Both of them shake their heads.
"Um…can I ask something?"
"You may. But I can't guarantee I will answer."
"Since the nurse is here, I was wondering…is Mr. Yamamoto…okay?"
He looks at the nurse and nods to her and she says, "He has a broken nose."
Shit. That makes things worse. Especially because that can be permanently disfiguring.
The dean says, "Okay. You're free to go Ms. Nakai. Thank you for your time. When you go out there, ask Ms. Yoshida to come in."
"Yes sir."
I get up and go back to the waiting area outside of the office and I send Akari in after exchanging another quick hug with her.
I sit down on the couch in the waiting room and wait for her. While she's in there I start to get a little worried they might give her a panic attack even though she said she thought she could do this. Luckily it isn't too many people, she knows two of them well, and she's focused on trying to help Carsten.
After about 10 minutes she comes out a little teary-eyed. She cried about what he said to us too. Ms. Hamada and the nurse were probably even more disgusted to hear Akari relate the same things. Hopefully that helps.
As we head back to the dorms, we discuss what they asked us, and we realize we said pretty much the same stuff, which is good.
"D-do you think you will get in trouble now for punching him?"
"I don't think so. Maybe he'll try to make that happen, but I think there's a reason he never brought it up before. He knows those girls who saw would be on my side, like my mom said back then."
Akari nods and loops her arm around mine, "I hope so. Th-thinking about you getting suspended and n-not having you for a while is…hard.. Makes me realize how bad it is for Ai and Carsten."
We call Ai and she's waiting for us outside of our rooms by the time we get there. We go into Akari's room to discuss things.
Ai has a lot of hope on her face when she says, "So, how did it go?"
"Well…we saw Carsten. He thinks he's getting suspended for sure. I think he'll find out soon what they decide. But…I know we both told the truth. And we both cried when talking about what he said to us. I think…they will be a little more lenient than they would otherwise be. He…did break his nose, that part probably won't help."
Ai shifts in her wheelchair, "I'm really sorry you two had to deal with that. It makes me want to go punch him in his broken nose. But I guess I shouldn't, huh?"
Akari laughs wryly, "Probably n-not."
I sigh, "Well…unfortunately, we all probably need to study. Might be good for taking our mind off things I guess."
We drag ourselves to the library and study while waiting for news about the situation. Koji greets us and we rehash everything.
I get a call from my mom around noon.
"Hi, mom"
"Hey. Are you with Akari and Ai?"
"I am."
"Can you get somewhere private?"
"Um…we're in the library but…maybe. Give me a second."
I tell Akari and Ai the situation and the ask Koji,
"Can you let us in a private study room? My mom has something she wants to tell us…I think it's about the Carsten thing."
"Yeah, sure." The three of us follow him to one of the rooms and he unlocks it for us.
We thank him and go inside.
I put the phone on speaker phone.
"Okay, we're somewhere private now. You're on speaker phone."
"Okay well I have…poked around a little, and I have some news about everything."
My guess is Ms. Hamada and/or the nurse told her everything. She knows both pretty well.
"The bad news is Carsten is getting suspended. He'll be sent home for the rest of the trimester."
Ai sighs, "Yeah…I kind of figured but it still sucks to hear. You made it sound like there is good news too, though."
"There is. Hiroshi is getting expelled."
This brings a big smile to all our faces, but then I have lots of questions, so I voice them.
"What!? How!? Wasn't he supposed to be the victim here?"
"It turns out he has been in significant trouble before for saying vulgar and profane things to women and acting menacing towards them. That isn't much of a surprise to us of course. But apparently, he's gotten in trouble several times. He was even suspended twice. So, he was on extremely thin ice. The dean decided that this whole incident was the last straw."
Akari exhales and smiles. "Th-that is really good news. Makes me feel…safer."
"Yeah, me too."
My mom says, "Yes. I'm glad he's gone. I'm not sure what I would have done if he wasn't. But I may have done something that got me fired." She exhales, "Sorry about Carsten, but I think it'll all be fine in the end."
Ai says, "Thank you Mrs. Nakai."
"It's no problem, dear. Happy studying to you all."
As we hang up and are getting ready to head back out into the library, Ai gets a call.
"It's Carsten."
"Okay, do you want us to go outside?"
She nods and we step outside and wait outside the door. She comes out after a few minutes.
When she comes out, she has a gloomy look on her face. She says, "Yep, he's suspended. His parents are on his way to get him now. They are…apparently not happy, like I expected. I won't get to see him before he goes. Maybe not over the break either." She sighs. "It sucks, but at least everything is concrete now. Don't have to worry about the possibilities."
After that we resume studying. We have a week of tests and then it's summer break. Hopefully we can relax and put this whole thing behind us.
It's the first day of summer break.
I just woke up to the sound of pounding on my door. It's really loud, but Akari doesn't seem to be stirring. Who the hell is banging on my door? It can't be…Hiroshi, can it? He's expelled…right?
I grab my cell phone, select security in the phone book and cautiously say "...who is it?"
"I-it's Ai…p-p-please let me in." It sounds like she's crying.
I get up and Akari starts to stir. She grabs my hand and sleepily says, "Don't go. Stay in b-bed a little longer. N-need more snuggles." She must think it's morning. It's pretty cute, but unfortunately, we don't have time for cute right now.
I give her a quick kiss and say, "Ai's at the door and sounds really upset. So, I'm going to let her in."
This has the effect of waking my girlfriend up all the way. She sits up in the bed and nods.
I open the door and see a very distraught Ai, sobbing into her hands. This is an unusual sight and must be a result of something awful. Akari and I are crybabies, but I've never seen Ai cry before.
"…let's get inside, okay Ai?"
She nods and wheels herself in.
I sit down on the bed and Ai positions herself in front of me. I take her hands.
"What's wrong?
She can't even lift her head to look at me, and when she tries to speak, she starts sobbing.
"C-C-Carsten's p-parents are sending him b-b-back to Germany…He l-leaves in t-two d-days…"
This causes me and Akari to both tear up too. We don't want Carsten to leave, but there's some guilt too, at least for me. This is kind of my fault.
Akari says, "B-because he got suspended?"
Ai nods, "After his t-trouble a couple years ago and then this th-they decided he sh-shouldn't go to school here anymore. B-b-but…I love him so m-much. I d-don't want him to leave…I…I need him…"
I remember how much it hurt with Hideki, and they have been together for longer and love each other far more deeply. I can't even imagine what it feels like.
I hand Ai a box of tissues because it's the only thing I can do. We're completely helpless here. We can't stop his parents from sending him away…can we?
"What do you want to do, Ai?"
She wipes away some of her tears and shows some resolve in her eyes. Thinking about the actions to take must be helping her a little.
"I want to s-s-say goodbye at least. M-m-maybe convince his parents…"
Akari says, "We can try that. We can go to Tokyo tomorrow and stay with m-my family."
This is surprisingly impulsive for Akari. She REALLY cares about Ai and Carsten.
I look at her, "Your parents would be okay with that? We aren't supposed to be there for another week."
She nods, "I th-think they'll d-do it. I can check in the morning."
Ai has some new hope on her face as she wheels herself next to Akari and hugs her, crying into her shoulder.
"Thank you…Akari…I j-just….I n-need to see him before he goes…if he's going t-to."
Akari hugs her back. "I know. You deserve to. We'll m-make sure that happens one way or another."
I start tearing up again like the crybaby I am. "I'm sorry about this Ai…if we had just…completely walked away from Hiroshi…if I hadn't made one of the comments I made…none of it would have happened."
She scoffs, "Even if C-Carsten has to l-leave us, I w-would say punching him was w-worth it after what he s-said." She laughs softly.
She wipes her tears away again, "So…we'll leave tomorrow if Akari's parents agree?"
Akari nods, "Yeah."
Ai has a determined smile on her face now. "Thanks…both of you. I woke you two up from snuggling in the middle of the night and threw this at you…and then you even have a plan. I love you two."
"Of course, Ai. We love you and Carsten. We don't want him to go either."
Ai starts tearing up again, "Yeah. It's…gonna be really hard if it c-comes to that. But w-we have each other, right?"
Akari nods, "Y-yeah. We'll get through it if we have to."
The next morning Akari called her parents. Apparently, her mom was a little put out by the situation at first. But when Akari explained things, she agreed to let us stay with them without much of an argument.
Carsten's parents agreed to meet the three of us tonight. They think we're only going to say goodbye. They don't know that we're also going to make a desperate attempt to change their mind. Luckily, they really like Ai, or I don't think they would have been so willing to meet at all.
In addition to all the Carsten stuff, I'm a little nervous to meet Akari's parents as her girlfriend. Her mom still scares me. She did tell them about us a couple of weeks ago, and they took it better than she expected. So at least there's that. Right now, though, that's kind of on the backburner. We only have so much time to try to keep our friend in Japan.
We're in the car now. My mom's driving us to the train station in Sendai. We're almost there.
"You girls be safe, okay?"
I nod, "We will. Akari's parents are meeting us once we get there, and this train is direct, so we won't be on our own for too long."
My mom seems satisfied with our answer as we pull up to the train station.
"Have a good trip, you three. Call me if you need anything."
She hugs us all and gives Ai an extra squeeze before she gets back in her car.
Our luggage situation is not ideal because Akari is the only one of us with no real mobility or weight restrictions.
I packed as light as I could, but because me and Akari will be staying a week, there was only so much I could do. We did manage to only bring one piece of luggage but it's quite large. Poor Akari has to lug our huge suitcase on her own and it's about 75% her size. At least it has wheels.
Ai packed lighter than we did. She is going to visit her parents after one or two nights in Tokyo, so she didn't need to bring much. Luckily her bag is light enough for me to carry it over my shoulder.
We make our way to the train and find a nice table with wheelchair access.
Ai has been quiet and gloomy all morning. Right now, she's just sort of staring at a blank space on the table. I understand why, but I wish I could do something to help her. There is something I should probably figure out how to do before tonight and it might distract her.
"Hey…Ai, can you teach me how to say Carsten's family name correctly?"
Akari says, "M-me too."
Ai smirks at us, "Sure. Would probably be bad to start out on the wrong foot with them."
The first hour of the train ride is spent with her trying her best to get us to make the correct sounds. She's eventually satisfied.
"Carsten had to teach me to say it too. And some other German things…" She starts to tear up. "I d-don't know what I'm going to do if I l-lose him."
Akari reaches out for her hand and Ai smiles and gives it to her. "You t-two love each other so much. Even if he goes…d-don't you think you can do long distance?"
Ai nods. "We've talked about it. We w-would try. But…if I'm being realistic. It would be really hard to do that for a year and a half."
I say, "Well…that's true. But even if he has to go…it isn't all over. I know you two will fight as hard as you can to stay together."
She nods, "Yeah. We will." She sniffles. "But hopefully it doesn't come to that."
...
We're leaving the train station in Tokyo now. We have a few hours before our meeting with the Leipzigers.
"There's m-my dad."
Akari points and I see him. It looks like he's alone, I'm thankful for that. We head in his direction, and he greets us. I realize this is the first time I have ever been around him when his wife isn't with him. He seems far more relaxed. I guess I don't blame him.
He smiles when he sees me. It feels warmer than normal. I wonder whether it's because he knows I'm in a relationship with his daughter or because his wife isn't here.
"It's nice to see you again, Kayoko."
"Yeah, I'm happy to see you too Mr. Yoshida."
"D-dad this is Ai, my friend who I told you about."
They exchange introductions, and then we get in a cab. Thankfully, Mr. Yoshida has a much easier time with a wheelchair than my mom does. I was a little worried about that. He's bigger, a man, and at least 10 years younger, so I guess I shouldn't have been.
We arrive at Akari's home. It is not far from the university. Her parents walk when the weather is nice. It is a modestly sized two story house with a modern design. It is a very sterile-feeling clean environment. I imagine her mom runs a tight ship. But it's a little bit extreme. It's almost as if no one is living here and it is being staged to get people interested in buying it. The bland, sterile, generic decorations don't help much with that.
As Akari gives us a tour I notice there are two exceptions to this. One of them is Akari's room which is just as pink and girly as you would imagine. The other is her father's office. It's clear he spends a lot of time in it. It's kind of a mess with papers strewn about. He has lots of interesting things on the walls in there too, including what looks like a wrestling championship belt and some medieval manuscript pages with musical notation, like the one Hideki has. Those rooms must be the tiny places these two have carved out for themselves in this house that is dominated by Mrs. Yoshida.
I am sharing the guest bed with Ai tonight, and Akari has her own room. I'm guessing the configuration is a result of not wanting the two of us doing anything sexual here. Of course, I would never dare to do something like that in this house. I think I would be too scared to even get in the mood.
Apparently, her mom is teaching right now, and we won't see her until tonight. That's good, I won't have to deal with her until after we go see the Leipzigers. One thing at a time.
We decide to rest and save our energy for the tense meeting that is undoubtedly ahead.
...
We just arrived at Carsten's parents' home, which is quite literally right next to the German Embassy. Clearly the German government provides this housing for them.
We go through a security gate and once we do we find ourselves in a very nice garden. It is the kind of place that it would be very nice to sit down and relax if we had the time and weren't in such a tense situation. The flowers and fountain are beautiful, but nothing's going to calm my nerves right now other than confronting this situation head on.
The house is unsurprisingly in the western style. It isn't especially large, but it is very nice. When we ring the doorbell, we are greeted by Mrs. Leipziger. Like Carsten, she is tall, has blonde hair, blue eyes and very fair skin. She has a figure much like mine and a pretty smile. I think most would say she is a beautiful woman.
She greets us in Japanese that is significantly more accented than her son's, but she is clearly fluent. She seems to make some "r" sounds silent so sometimes it takes my brain a second to figure out what she's saying. It's the kind of thing I would get used to if I talked to her enough.
She smiles and says, "Hello, Ai. It's nice to see you again."
Ai smiles, "You too Mrs. Leipziger. These are my friends Akari and Kayoko."
She nods, "Yes, Carsten told us about them. It is nice to meet you both."
At the same time, Akari and I say, "It is nice meeting you too Mrs. Leipziger."
I hope we said that right. She didn't flinch or anything, so I'm going to call it a win.
She smiles and says, "Come in and we'll have a seat in the living room."
When we get to the living room, we see that Carsten is already there sitting in an armchair. I can tell Ai is more reserved than normal because she doesn't rush towards Carsten at Mach 1. Instead, she takes a leisurely pace, and once they are together, they exchange a quick hug and kiss. His parents must really be strict if their presence is enough to slow down Ai.
Akari and I also say hello to Carsten before taking a seat together on a couch. His mother takes a seat on another couch that we are all facing.
She smiles and says, "It was very nice of you all to come and say goodbye to Carsten."
Ai grimaces and I feel a pang in my stomach.
This can't really be a final goodbye…
Her husband arrives in the living room not long after this. He is a very tall man with steely blue eyes that possess a quality that makes you feel pierced by them when he looks at you. He has a strong, square jawline, almost like a comic book super hero. He's intimidating. Based on his appearance and the way he holds himself, he may rival Mrs. Yoshida. Hopefully he isn't quite that formidable, or we're in for some trouble. We all exchange pleasantries and introductions. His accent is similar to his wife's.
He sits down next to his wife and gets directly to the point. Carsten did tell me German people were blunt.
"Am I right to assume you aren't all here just to say goodbye?"
Ai says, "You are, sir."
I've never heard Ai say "sir" or "ma'am" to anyone. Note to self: be very formal with Mr. Leipziger.
Mr. Leipziger lets out an annoyed sigh, "Very well then, let's just get to the point. We have a lot of travel ahead of us tomorrow."
Ai grips the hem of her skirt tightly and closes her eyes when she says, "We…were hoping you might consider…not sending Carsten to Germany, sir."
Carsten's father furrows his brow and his steely blue eyes stare a hole through her before he says, "I understand that you want him to stay, Ai…But…it has unfortunately become clear to us that school in Japan isn't a good fit for Carsten. This isn't the first time there has been an issue. He had problems in middle school, too"
His mother adds, "We…nearly sent him to school in Germany after that. So…when this happened, we felt that it was a sign."
Just as I'm about to raise my objection, Akari gets there first. "B-but that's not true! School in Japan is good for him. A-at least…Yamaku is." She pauses for a moment and realizes she wasn't as polite as she should have been and adds a very late, "…sir."
Mr. Leipziger turns to Akari and says, "Oh? Then why did he have an altercation with another student? Why was he suspended from school? That kind of behavior is unacceptable."
Not quite as scary as Akari's mom…but not too far off either. Oh boy.
Akari wilts and then freezes up, so I say, "You're right, sir. He…shouldn't have hit the other student. But he only did it to try to protect his friends, sir."
Mr. Leipziger sighs in frustration, "Yes, the other student was calling one of you names, right? We know the story. It doesn't change the fact that he acted inappropriately."
Through gritted teeth Ai says, "It…wasn't just calling names…it wasn't as trivial as that."
Mr. Leipziger raises an eyebrow at Ai. "I like you quite a lot Ai, but I don't appreciate your tone."
She bows her head. "I'm sorry sir, that was disrespectful of me."
He nods approvingly at her apology and then continues. "Unless he was threatening one of you, it seems fairly trivial to me."
Akari has now recovered from her earlier setback. She says, "Sir, H-he…m-may not have threatened us physically. B-but…Kayoko and I are…t-together." She takes my hand as she starts to tear up, "A-and he was using slurs b-because of that…" Her voice starts to crack. "...B-because of who we l-love...so it wasn't just s-silly name calling on the playground. He w-was attacking us for who we are. It did…hurt us b-both. Just not ph-physically…sir"
Both of her parents look at least somewhat affected by what Akari said. His father's eyes have lost some of their sharpness, and his brow is the most relaxed that I've seen it so far. His mother is glassy eyed.
I don't know whether Carsten has told them all this but, even if he has, hearing it from us is different. Especially because Akari phrased it so well, and with genuine emotion.
I add, "Sir, I don't know if you know this…but the other student was expelled, because this wasn't the first time he did something like this."
His father raises his eyebrows and looks at Carsten.
Carsten says, "Father…can I say something?" His father nods.
"Sir, I know I shouldn't have hit him. I know it was a mistake. I wouldn't do it again. I should have helped them get away from him or gotten a teacher to intervene. But…I lost control because Yamaku is so good for me. I never really had friends at school…before Yamaku, but Akari and Kayoko are my best friends. I love Ai, and I love Akari and Kayoko. We're kind of like…a little family. That's why I…had a hard time hearing him say what he was saying to them."
Mrs. Leipziger says her husband's name and then whispers to him, I think in German. I can't make it out. It seems like she's been more moved by everything than he has. Maybe she can convince him.
After a rather lengthy conference, Mr. Leipziger says, "It means a great deal to us that you all came here because you care so much for our son. We can see that he has a community that cares for him at Yamaku, and we better understand his actions thanks to you."
We look around at each other hopefully, but Mr. Leipziger's next words hit us like a hammer.
"However, he still has to go to Germany for school."
Ai bows her head and starts crying, Carsten has a bitter grimace on his face. I'm on the verge of tears myself and Akari is sitting stock-still with her eyes wide open. Coming in we didn't think we had much of a chance…but then I think we all got our hopes up.
Seeing our downtrodden faces Carsten's mom adds, "He still has to go. But only this term. We have already paid the school and arranged everything. So, he will spend a term in Germany, but if he still wants to return to Yamaku after that, we will allow him to."
This lightens the mood in the room significantly. What a rollercoaster ride the last minute has been.
It's unfortunate he's going to be gone for several months but given what we thought was going to happen a minute ago this feels like a victory. Carsten and Ai give each other a quick kiss and then hug each other, and Akari and I do the same.
Carsten's father says, "Thank you all for coming, but as we have a long day of travel ahead of us tomorrow, I think it is time for us all to part."
Carsten says, "Father…mother, thank you."
His mom smiles at him and says, "Thank your friends." Then his parents leave the room.
We say our goodbyes, but luckily, they aren't as final as they could have been.
Carsten says, "Thanks for coming to help…I'm glad we made it better at least."
Akari and I give teary hugs to him, and then we leave Ai and Carsten alone. We wait for Ai outside the front door. After it becomes clear it's going to take awhile, we take a seat on a bench in the nice garden and hold hands.
"I'm glad he's going to come back…but I think this will be a hard time for Ai."
"Y-yeah. We will have to help her."
I nod, "We'll have to invite her to hang out more and stuff. Might be a little less alone time for us" I wink at her and nudge her gently, "But I guess we'll be okay."
Akari laughs and squeezes my hand, "We will s-still have plenty of time, I bet."
We hear the front door open and Ai wheels out. Her face is tear stained, but she's smiling.
We get up to meet her and I ask "How are you?"
She smiles up at me, "I'm okay. Really, really gonna miss him. But we'll make it a few months."
Akari hugs her, "Y-yeah. I know you will."
"I know we aren't Carsten, but we'll do our best to help you."
She smiles up at me. "I know you will. You already did a lot. I think it's you two who really got them to change their mind. Carsten does too."
"Well…good, I am glad we helped."
After that we make our way back to Akari's.
In the car on the way home my main concern for this visit shifts back to Akari's mom. I really hope this week goes well. I need to really mind myself around her.