Takumi's phone went off, and he set down the box he was carrying to answer it.
"Where are you?" Sora asked plaintively. "My key doesn't work?"
"What are you doing here, I mean there!?"
"Um, long story."
"We just moved," Takumi explained. "I didn't tell you yet because we're still moving everything. Actually, I'm surprised your key doesn't work, I just turned mine in this morning."
Sora's tiny image almost visibly sorted through the information, and then he asked, "We who?"
"My girlfriend, Eri, she's adorable! You'll love her," Takumi said enthusiastically.
"Who is it?" Eri asked from the new bedroom's doorway.
"My best friend," Takumi informed her cheerfully.
"Oh," she replied. She felt surprised, but when she thought about it she hadn't really taken the time to introduce Takumi to Chisa yet either.
Sora's image grinned. "So, back to my original question, where are you?" Takumi gave him the new address, and Sora said, "Okay, I'll be there soon."
--
Sora ended the call, and then turned and headed back to the elevator.
When the doors opened, Takumi's ex was standing inside, and he gazed at her with surprise. She blinked at him for a moment without moving.
"Kasumi-san," he greeted her warily.
"Sora…" she replied uncertainly as she stepped forward.
She stopped beside him as though she expected something more. He took in the basket she was holding, and asked, "You're living here?"
Her mouth trembled, and then she burst into tears and he wished he hadn't said anything. The elevator closed as he hesitated.
Kasumi explained in a confusing and tearful fashion, "I thought if Takumi just saw me more often he'd want me back!" She said a lot more than that, but he couldn't make out very much of it through her tears. Takumi's new girlfriend was mentioned though with the phrase, "replaced me with some little girl."
Sora asked a little roughly, "Why the hell would he ever take you back? Why would you even want him to? You said he was boring!"
She sniveled, "I thought he was boring, but then I realized he would never have… that he was always nice to me. And I was wrong."
He regarded her with exasperation. "Then go find some nice guy who's not Takumi."
"No one nice wants me!" she wailed. "Takumi didn't even look at me twice! And you hate me!"
He covered his eyes and groaned, "So ridiculous! This kind of thing is why I don't like you, but I don't hate you. There's a ton of guys who would even willingly put up with your annoying personality to have such a beautiful woman beside them."
"You don't really think I'm beautiful! You're just saying that so I'll go away," she protested tearfully.
"I do wish you'd go away, but I've always thought that you were beautiful," Sora told her honestly.
"Do me then," Kasumi demanded. "If you really think I'm beautiful, prove it!"
"Have you gone crazy?" he asked incredulously.
"I knew you were lying," she snapped scornfully, her tears seemingly forgotten even though they still glittered on her cheeks.
After a long moment Sora said, more calmly, "You're just upset, it's okay. You don't really want me to do you when I don't even like you."
Kasumi reached out and he gazed down at her in disbelief as her mouth made contact. He couldn't help glancing down the hall and back toward the elevator door.
Sora called Takumi back on voice only, and asked unsteadily, "Do you care if I do your ex?"
"I don't care, but you don't even like her?" Takumi replied with surprise.
"No," Sora agreed. "But she's demanding it rather forcefully, so what the hell. I'll come visit later."
"Okay," Takumi agreed bemusedly as Sora ended the call.
Kasumi abruptly dragged him to her apartment, which was two doors down from Takumi's old one, and Sora muttered, "No wonder he moved out."
--
When they were both finished, Sora showered and then got dressed without saying anything.
Kasumi asked frantically, "You're leaving?"
He looked at her. Maybe it was a little cold, but he only asked, "What were you expecting?"
She burst into tears again, and curled up in a tight ball, as though he'd hit her. As annoying as she'd always seemed, he'd never seen her cry so much before, and he knew that she wasn't some kid who believed sex equaled love. She seemed damaged, even though there wasn't a mark on her body.
Sora stared at her and asked, "What the hell happened to you? Why are you doing this?"
She just shook her head and sobbed.
After another minute of indecision, Sora pulled out his phone. When it connected he said, "Something is wrong with her Takumi, I mean… her confidence…"
"She's annoyingly self confident and self centered?" Takumi suggested dryly.
"That's… I've always thought she could be annoying as hell, but I think something is really wrong with her. Do you still have her mother's number?"
"Yeah…"
--
Takumi reluctantly called Kasumi's mother, and Sora waited until she arrived.
He informed the tired looking woman, "I don't know what's going on with her, but she's… irrational."
Kasumi just lay there weeping instead of protesting his words and her mother regarded her with worry. Sora grimaced. When he shifted toward the door the woman's gaze snapped back to his face accusingly.
"I think someone else hurt her, not me," he protested. "She needs help. She's only hurting herself more this way." He left quickly with an apologetic mutter of, "I'm sorry, I just can't deal with her long term, even when she's making sense."
Kasumi's mother watched him go regretfully, and then settled herself to try to figure out what had happened to her daughter.
--
Takumi had wanted to get new dishes right away, but had given in quickly when Eri had asked tiredly, "Can we do that another day?"
She was leaning on the counter as he finished putting the old dishes away in the new cupboards when Sora called again and announced, "I'm here."
Takumi promptly opened the door and demanded, "So, why are you here?"
Eri watched Sora walk in with wide eyes. He was taller and broader than Takumi, and she suspected that he was totally Chisa's type even though he wasn't overly muscular. Like Takumi he seemed very fit, and a little flashy with tints of red in his hair.
Sora grinned at Takumi and told him too cheerfully, "I got fired." He shrugged. "It really is a long story, so make me dinner? And I was hoping you'd take some vacation time and go somewhere with me."
"You got fired?" Takumi asked.
Sora grimaced and asked plaintively, "Can you feed me before you question me?"
Takumi agreed with amused resignation,"Yes yes."
Sora looked over at Eri and said, "Hi, you must be Eri-chan?"
Eri didn't reply directly, instead she asked suddenly, "Takumi, is he the tall handsome man who's going to sweep you off your feet if I don't marry you?"
Sora laughed. He looked at Takumi and said dramatically, "Darling, you should have told me you were waiting for me!"
Takumi rolled his eyes. "Don't. Just don't. No Eri, that was entirely a joke." He walked back to her and reached out to caress her cheek as he explained, "This idiot is my childhood friend Konami Sora." Then he turned to Sora and said happily, "This is my girlfriend Mitsui Eri, and she's going to have my baby in about nine months."
Eri blushed and clung to Takumi. She would have hidden behind him if it wouldn't have looked so silly.
Sora stared incredulously at his friend, until Takumi blushed too. After a long moment he looked at Eri instead and said, "Congratulations."
Eri couldn't help it, she burst into tears, and Sora froze. Takumi grimaced at him over Eri's head as he wrapped his arms around her and cuddled her closer.
"Apparently this is the effect I have on women today. I'm sorry," Sora said helplessly.
Eri sniffled back her tears with embarrassment, and insisted, "It's not your fault. Excuse me."
She pulled away from Takumi and quickly dashed into their new bedroom. The door shut behind her, leaving a silence behind the sharp sound. The two men exchanged glances and then stared at the door.