Chapter 7 - Friends?

~Chapter V: Friends?~

- And finally, these are the changing rooms. The boys' is on the right and the girls' is on the left.

- I have a question.

- What is it?

- Why are you here?

- Can't I be here? - After I said that, he closes his mouth. - It's because I want to and because I made a, how shall I say, deal?, with my father.

- What type of deal?

- One in which if in less than eight years I can't beat a monster of at least three stars, I'll have to go live with him and his other family, and if I win, he leaves us alone forever.

- But it takes three well-trained people to kill a three-star monster. What a dangerous deal.

- Yeah, but if I win it, I can win something I've wanted since I was much younger. And now that I remember, we still have to see who is faster at climbing trees.

- That's right, you're the weird little girl who wanted to climb a tree while wearing a dress.

- Well, I have already climbed many trees wearing skirts and dresses, it would not be something new for me.

- You are so weird.

- Me weird? I'm not weird, it seems normal to me, even if my mother scolds me afterwards.

- Yes, you are strange, because if you were like the other noble girls first you would not climb trees, second you would try to impress me, third you would not have made such a dangerous deal with your father and lastly you would not be here.

- Let us see, all that can be easily answered. First the other girls do not climb trees because they will not let them or because they can get hurt if they do not know how. Second, why do I want to impress you if I do not even know you? Third, I made that deal because I do not want to see my so-called father anymore and fourth I am here because I want to and because of the deal.

- Do you not realize that is not what anyone else would answer?

Is that so? I really don't know because I don't get out of the house much, so I don't know many people in this world. Let's see, I think the deal I made with my father several people wouldn't do it, because your life is at risk, but the other things like that a lot of the modern minded people, basically the ones in my other world, would say that.

- I do not know. I do not know many other people just the ones here, the servants in my house and my mother. The people at the party do not count because they had masks on. (Not literally)

- So you live in a bubble.

- No, that is not either. I know a lot of things outside the four walls of where I live, I just do not become acquainted with many people.

I know more than you because before I came to this world I had another life and I remember it, you don't know how I lived there, how I was able to survive it.

- How are you going to know a lot of things if you hardly know anyone?

- Due to circumstances that no one knows.

- It may be because you have escaped, that is why no one knows.

- That is not why, although if you want to think that, I am not going to stop you.

- So if it's not that, what is it?

- It is a secret.

- And will you tell me someday?

- Not for now, since we hardly know each other, but in the future, nobody knows.

- Ah, ok. But you might tell me in the future.

I don't think I'll ever tell you. It is my secret, my past, my life. I don't know if I'm going to tell anyone, I haven't even told my mother who I trust the most. I have to change the subject before I remember it.

- Yes, well, we have strayed too far from the topic, so we are back to the previous one. To find out who climbs trees faster we have to climb the tree where we stop to rest in its shade. And to make it more interesting the winner has to make a wish and the other has to grant it, but it has to be something we can do, that is a matter of course.

- Are we going to do it now?

Good thing he hasn't found out that I'm avoiding that topic and am changing the subject because of it.

- No, we are going to do it after our training, because I do not want Yuu to get mad. And trust me you do not want him to be mad, unless you are a masochist.

- What is being a masochist?

- Fufu, someday you will know.

- Are you not going to tell me?

- No. We have to go with them already to train or else he will get really angry.

- Umm, ok.

We are going to continue with the training.

┅┅┅┅┅┅┅༻❁༺┅┅┅┅┅┅┅

- I am going to say it again, you cannot cheat and, as we said, whoever gets to the top first is the winner and can ask a favor or wish to the other, as long as it is within his reach, of course. - We are going to climb the tree. I'm a little tired from training, but I can still climb it easily, although I don't know if he can do it. - Are you sure you can do it? If you cannot, it does not matter, we can do it another day.

- Yes, I can do it right now.

- Okay. So when I count to three we have to start. One, two and three.

I climb as fast as I can, I look like a giant bug, says my mother, because I climb very fast. Come on, I've already reached the end of the tree, I'm going to see where he has stayed.

- Hey, Tamaki, are you still at the beginning? - If you're wondering why I'm calling him by his name already, it's because he's let us all call him by his name, because he says that or else it's too long.

- How did you go up already?

- Climbing, perhaps.

- I'm not saying that. How did you climb the tree in that short amount of time?

- Being me?

- Are you telling me or asking me?

- I am telling you, I suppose.

- Now what, are you going to be able to come down?

- Of course I can, I am not a cat that can only go up and then does not know how to come down.

- Then come down now.

- And if I do not want to?

- Why do you want to be up there?

- Because it all looks very nice. You come up here too and you will see it.

- Ok.

°:. *₊ ° . ☆ ☾  °:. *₊ ° . ° .•

He takes a long time to come up here, it's been a few minutes already.

- You are finally here. I thought I was going to die here because of how long you take.

- It's not that easy to climb either, this tree is quite tall.

- But it took me almost no time at all.

- You are special and you climb very fast, plus we just finished our training today.

- Yes, yes, where we were. Take a look at things from here. Doesn't it all look pretty?

- Wow, it is beautiful.

- Why did you think I was climbing trees? It's because the world looks beautiful from up high.

- You are right, from here you can see the things more beautiful.

- Isn't it right?

We stayed a while looking at the places from up here.

- Tamaki, my wish for you is that you never betray me, that you support me as much as you can. I want to have a true friend I can trust.

- Okay, that I can do but you have to do it too.

- That is ok with me.

- But can't you trust those at the school?

- I trust them to a point, but nobody knows, maybe they help my father to take me to his house in exchange for something.

And there are times when the people you trust the most betray you, that's the sad truth.

- Well to go down, or else the adults will get angry.

I start to climb down from branch to branch until I reach the part where there are no more branches and I start to climb down holding on to the trunk of the tree. When I reach the ground I see that Taki is stuck in the place where there are no branches.

- Ey, do you need help?

- What do you think?

- Yes, you need help. If you jump I will get underneath and catch you.

- No need for that.

- Really? It does not seems so.

He stops for a while to think, I guess that's it.

- Okay, but you have to catch me.

- No, if you want I will let you fall to the ground. Come on jump, I am going to catch you.

Okay, maybe I'm going to regret doing this a little bit, but he has already jumped in so I have to catch him.

More than catching is that I have cushioned its fall.

- Nozomi, are you okay?

- Phew, yeah. I'm fine, I didn't die. And you can call me Mii, I'll call you Taki in return.

- Okay, that's fine with me.

It looks like he has stars in his eyes.