Class of 2017 (After Party)

Epilogue One

I lie sprawled on the bed, my shirt undone, staring at the ceiling of the bedroom. The party went very late and it seemed no one wanted to leave or admit that it was over. The last few people that trickled out of Yamaku included Lilly, Hanako and myself.

When we arrived at home, Hanako immediately yawned and said she would be sleeping in her own room. We have come to the conclusion that sharing a bed is not conducive for us to sleep.

Lilly is in the bathroom, preparing for the night. "That was a very lovely evening," she says, her voice muffled by the closed door.

I sigh. "Yes, it was. Very eventful."

"I want to thank you again, Hisao. You behaved yourself admirably."

I look up towards the door. "Really? I flirted, I got into a fist fight, argued with several people, caused a stir with the Yamaku Foundation and blew the lid on us and Hanako to several people. That's 'behaving myself'?"

Lilly laughs, the sound of running water cutting off from the running sink. "Well, considering everything, you had a surprising amount of decorum tonight."

I smile and snuggle down into the pillows "I don't think the Foundation will agree with you once word gets around how I handled my speech."

"Well, we'll handle that when the time comes. I just wanted to say that I was proud of you again."

I look up at the door. "I recall you saying that if I behaved myself tonight I would get to take those dresses off of you and Hanako. So, where's my reward?"

Lilly giggles. "Well, I can't say anything for Hanako and I've already changed. I'm terribly sorry."

I chuckle, sounding mock upset. "All that good behavior gone to waste."

"Well," Lilly says, "not a total waste."

"Oh?"

"Yes. I had a little something planned for tonight. All this talk about the old days at school put a question in my mind and I hope I was right."

"What question?"

The door opens and Lilly steps out, leaning against the door as she does. I think my eyes bulge out of my head when I see what she's wearing.

Lilly is standing in a familiar looking white blouse with a long green skirt, a black ribbon around her neck and one in her hair.

"Well, does it still fit?" she asks, playfully waving the uniform's skirt.

I look her up and down, taking her appearance in slowly. It does still fit, but the places where it's a little tight are perfectly fine to my eyes. "Oh, yes," I say, taking a deep breath, "it fits just fine."

Lilly finds the edge of our bed and crawls atop it, feeling out with her fingers and finding my foot. She follows it up my leg, slithering along my body until she finds her hands on my chest, her legs straddling my hips. "Good. I was concerned I had lost my girlish figure."

"Oh, you still have it," I say, running my fingers along her legs, now exposed just slightly from the bunching of the skirt. She puts her hands on my shoulders and leans forward, pressing me into the bed.

"You know," I tell her, "this could be considered especially perverse considering some of my female students wear the exact same dress."

Lilly pouts and presses me firmly into the bed even more. "You'd better not be thinking of your female students when you're with me...."

"It's all right, Lilly, when I'm with a female student, all I think about is you."

She smiles and lowers herself atop me. "Good."

I reach over and lift the music box's lid, the old familiar song filling the room as our lips meet.

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Epilogue Two

It's been a week since the reunion and I think I'm recovering nicely. I've got the dining room table set up. A few drinks, some snacks and a deck of cards ready for Nurse and Mutou's arrival for the game.

I called Kenji and left several messages, but I haven't heard back from him at all since that night. I wanted to talk to him, call for a Manly Picnic and discuss what happened, but I think he's avoiding me.
Funny, it was always the other way around when we were young.

The doorbell rings, Nurse and Mutou arriving earlier than I expected. When I answer it, it isn't the pair of them. Instead, as if out of thin air,  Kenji stands on my doorstep. A taxi idles on the street in front of my house.

"Hey," he says.

"Hey," I reply.

We stand there silent for a while.

"The taxi's paid for; should I get back in and leave or am I still welcome here?" Kenji asks hesitantly.

I look behind him and wave the taxi away, the car pulling off down the road. "You're always welcome in my home, Kenji."

He nods, a little thankful dip of his head, but he's more reticent to talk than he usually is.

He rubs the back of his head nervously. "So, about the Reunion; Hisao, I'm sorry about what happened."

"Kenji, just drop it. It's fine. We both said some things we regret."

Kenji nods. "I know, but I need to apologize anyway. I'm sorry I called you a gimp, man. I know you hate that."

I nod. "We were both trying to piss each other off. It's okay."

"And I'm sorry for almost killing you. I promise, it wasn't on purpose."

"I know that."

Kenji nods once more. "Absolutely. If it had been on purpose, I wouldn't have failed. If I wanted you dead, I would have swapped your pills."

"You've thought of how to kill me in the past?"

He blinks. "Well, yeah. Haven't you thought of ways to kill me?"

"No."
Not since we were teenagers, at least, I think.

"That's not smart. I could turn on you at any moment. You don't know if someone got to me. Tell you what, if it comes down to it, you could probably just shoot me. I'd never see it coming."

"Good to know, Kenji. Thanks."

He holds up a bottle. "I brought a peace offering."

He hands it to me and I check the year. "Very nice. You'll need it after tonight. I just hope you brought enough money to lose at poker."

Kenji smiles and holds up a pack of playing cards in his other hand, large and over-sized for the visually impaired. "All ready."

I nod and smile. I hesitate for a moment before speaking. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Kenji, I mean are you really okay?"

He blinks a few times and adjusts his glasses, a slight glare from the lenses. "You were right, Hisao. The conspiracies, the plots and cover ups; they're all excuses. Reasons I make up to avoid doing what I'm too much of a coward to do. I talk a big game, but really, I'm just a bad joke."

I think about my words for a moment. "You should have gone after her. You'll regret it."

He nods. "I already do. I'm sorry, Hisao, I told you before; I'm not like you. I can't run off to stop the girl from getting away. You and me don't do things the same way."

I nod and pat him on the shoulder. "You'll get another chance. I'm sure of it."

He shakes his head. "No, I won't. That was my one shot and I blew it. But I don't play by the rules."

"What do you mean?"

"I told you, Hisao, I can't do the things you did. I'm a wild man! You never know what I'm capable of next! I don't know what I'm capable of next! You have a bad heart and you went running after Lilly and it nearly gave out on you. I'm practically blind, I can't run after a girl, I could run into something! Unlike you, I think ahead, plan ahead, look for the contingencies, think out the possibilities."

I blink. "What do you mean?"

He smiles and pulls out a cell phone out. "I call people."

"You what?"

"I didn't run after her. I got her number from Miki after the party. I called her, Hisao! I talked to Yuuko!"

I stare at him.

"I did!" He continues excitedly. "Over the phone! I couldn't face her, so I didn't! We're...going to see each other this week. I don't think it's a date, but it's a start, right? Just two people catching up. See where we are, see what's left over. New beginnings, right, pal?"

I smile and grasp Kenji by the shoulder, giving him a hard pat. "Good for you, Kenji! I'm proud of you." A flicker of concern passes my face. "What about...?"

Kenji nods, adjusting his glasses. "Hanako. Yeah, I know. I don't know what I'm feeling, okay, so I'll just keep it to myself."

I wince. "Kenji, I'm sorry."

"It's okay," he shrugs. "I'm used to keeping secrets. I don't know how I feel about her, but if I do love her, then it's my own fault. I didn't act soon enough. In my line of work, you hesitate, you get a bullet in your head and that's it, end of story." He smiles broadly. "It's cool, man. We're golden."

I look at Kenji and he stares back at me as best he can.
I don't think he's being honest. He stands on my front porch and he may very well be lying to me, right to my face. It's hard to tell when Kenji really means something, to see through all his shit.

If it works out between him and Yuuko, that's great, I couldn't be any more happy for the two of them.
But if not, if he still has feelings for Hanako, I don't know what that will mean for our friendship. Kenji is strange, but he isn't petty. He would never talk about Hanako, Lilly and me out of spite.
I just hope we can get past this, but I'm not sure if we could if it comes right down to it. We can both be pretty stubborn.

As I have thought many times before, some choices cannot be taken back.
Others have to be set aside for later.
For the sake of friendship.

I open the door to my home and welcome Kenji in.
"Glad to hear, Kenji. I've learned the hard way that honesty is always best. If you can't be honest with your friends and the people you love, what do you really have?"

-The End-