Fikush-ON!

Ch. 9: The End of Summer

It made me stutter: "Uh, um... hi."

Hirasawa sounded to sigh out of relief. "Hey, nice to hear of you! How have you been?"

"Uh, fine, I guess," I answered. However, before Hirasawa could talk, I quickly corrected myself: "...or, well, I've been better. I feel kind of lonely right now."

"...is there some way I can help?" Hirasawa asked, sounding worried.

"Nah, you did already by calling me. By the way, sorry about my negligence. I didn't mean to worry you nor Suzuki," I said. I couldn't control my mouth, I told her everything I felt.

"Ah, well, that's nice to hear," Hirasawa said. "Um, would you like to come over for some tea?"

Few months ago I would've been uncertain, but not now. I really needed to see somebody familiar. "Sure."

"Great, my sis and I will be waiting for you here."

"Alright, then. I'll be there in about half an hour, see you then," I stated, before ending the call.

I threw my hoodie on my shoulders, stopped by at the bathroom to fix my hair a bit, and headed downstairs. After getting my shoes on, I stepped on the porch, smelling the refreshing summer air, and started heading towards the Hirasawa residence.

Soon, I was standing in front of the three-story house. It sure has been a while since I last visited this place. I walked to the front door, and rang the doorbell. To my surprise, it was Yui who opened the door. She had her usual goofy smile on her face, which soon disappeared when she laid her eyes on me.

"...who are you?"

"Are you kidding?" I asked her, a bit frustrated.

Somehow, my annoyed face helped her to remember me. "Ah, Sugimoto-kun! Come on in."

I followed Yui up the stairs. When I got there, I turned to face the living room, finding Hirasawa sitting at the coffee table. Our eyes accidentally met, and I couldn't turn my gaze away. I felt ashamed for making her worry about me. Hirasawa, however, just smiled and cocked her head.

"Hey, Sugimoto-san."

"Uh, yeah, hi," I muttered, walking over to the coffee table, and sitting down at my usual spot.

I raised my head to see Hirasawa better. "Been a few months, huh?"

"It sure has been. Nice to see you again," she said, handing over a steaming cup of tea to me.

I nodded for a thanks, and took a sip. Man, I've missed this taste. At the same time, Yui took a seat next to Hirasawa.

"Huh? Were you somewhere?" she asked, having listened to our conversation.

I thought about it for a bit, and answered: "I was in my thoughts."

As I guessed, Yui looked very confused, which made me smirk. I took another sip, and decided to explain a bit better.

"I mean, I was at home, thinking about stuff."

Yui didn't seem to listen to me, but was still trying to process my previous answer.

"Ah, now I get it!" she stated, giggling.

I glanced at Hirasawa, who just smiled at her sister. She turned back to face me.

"What were you thinking about all that time?" she asked.

I raised my eyebrow. "Does it matter?"

"Uh, I guess not, just asking," she said.

I kept gazing at her, and sighed. "Well, to be honest, I can't remember. Never have my thoughts been too important. I always worry too much about stupid and irrelevant things. Bypassers' gazes, the weather, stuff related to school... that kind of things. And while I wasn't thinking, I wasn't doing anything too important, neither. Just playing some videogames, browsing internet, watching movies... I feel like I've wasted this summer, but there's nothing I can do about it now, so whatever, I guess. I also turned 16. That's pretty much about it."