"You two seemed like you've had a lot of fun." Yuri Hamani stated in an ominous tone, as his eyes analyzed us. Just like the other two who were sitting at the table, he was dressed in his school uniform, and his expression was more than just a bit serious. Looking at the seriousness of everyone sitting at the table, which was in great contrast with the happiness that I and Hikaru had been experiencing just seconds ago, left my brain in a state of confusion and incongruity. However, Hikaru, simply walked over to take a seat at the table, gesturing for me to do the same.
And so, I did. I took a seat between Masayoshi and Hikaru. Across the table, Yuri and Phi faced us. As much as I tried to ignore it, I had a feeling that Phi was staring at me.
Yuri sat in silence for a few seconds, glancing over each one of us. His facial expression shifted and morphed until it finally rested on one that showed a hint of confusion and tiredness. "Alright, I'm sure you all know why your here, so I won't waste any time with that-" Masayoshi's raised his hand into the air slowly. Yuri, who was interrupted, paused, before nodding for him to continue.
"Well, in truth, I have no idea why I'm here."
Yuri's facial expression than fell into one of shock. "W-" He took a deep breath before he spoke. "All of you who were called here, volunteered to do this meeting, no?" He phrased it as if the answer was obvious, however the silence that meet him gave a different answer. He looked into the eyes of each person sitting at the table for a few seconds, unable to believe what was going on. "So, your saying you didn't volunteer to join the defense team which is responsible for planning the defense of our culture festival?"
I shook my head.
Masayoshi shook his head.
Phi shook hers.
And Hikaru nodded.
Everyone had answered no to Yuri's question, except for Hikaru, so all eyes were drawn to her. She was still sitting there with an innocent smile, as if she knew everything, and that there was no mystery.
"The only reason that I came here, was because I received this note." Masayoshi pulled out a rolled-up piece of paper from his pocket and held it out so that everyone else could read it:
Come to Sebby's Cafe at Sendai Mall immediately after school for a conversation about Justice. Love, Hikaru."
There was even a small smiley face drawn in the bottom right-hand corner of the note.
"A conversation about Justice, that is why I decided to show up." Masayoshi said as he rolled the piece of paper back up and stuffed it into his pocket. "Though, I'm starting to develop a keen feeling that I've been played." He directed his gaze to the smiling Hikaru, who pretended not to notice.
Yuri then slowly turned his head to Phi, his gaze reading, "So what brought you here?"
Phi removed the pink lollipop from her mouth before she spoke. "Simply enough, Aura had asked if I could show up to this meeting in her place because she was busy. I would never turn her down, so I decided to go." She then put the lollipop back into her mouth.
Finally, Yuri brough his gaze to me. As his dark black pupils, which were usually covered with sunglasses, stared into mine, I couldn't help but get the disconcerting feeling that he was trying to look into me. Trying to find out just what kind of person I was, just by staring me in the eyes. "What about you? You walked in here together with Hikaru, and it seems like you guys walked around the mall a bit before coming here, so?"
"Well, it was directly after school when Hikaru asked if I could accompany her to Sendai Mall because she felt a bit nervous to go on her own. I had nothing else to do so I went with her. We ended up getting sidetracked a bit before we finally made it here." I answered.
Yuri's gaze lingered on mine for a moment before turning to Hikaru. It was obvious he didn't trust me.
But it was also starting to become increasingly obvious as too the cause behind the three of us who hadn't volunteered for this meeting, somehow ending up here. And it all had to do with Hikaru.
As everyone's gaze turned to her, she laughed before throwing her hands up into the air. "You've caught me!"
"Explanation." Yuri asked, not amused.
"Jeez, no humor?" When Yuri didn't reply, Hikaru sighed before going into her explanation. "Alright, so it was me who ended up volunteering everybody. The first question you might ask is, why I was chosen, and well, I can't really answer that. However, when Ichijo had made the announcement that they were looking for volunteers, I decided that I had to help out. And when it comes to why I chose to volunteer who I chose, I guess it was because you all were people I knew had a keen sense for justice."
"Thats very ambiguous, don't you think? Are you saying that the only reason that you decided to volunteer the three of them was because of their sense of justice?" Yuri asked.
Hikaru nodded. "That and because I saw that there was a chance to bridge some gaps, and make people smile." Her answer was completely mysterious and probably made sense to everyone else, except for me. Everything that I had witnessed in this short mall venture with Hikaru had given me an insight into the kind of person she was.
Not only was she extremely emotionally perceptive, able to read how people are feeling within a glance, but she also possessed a strong drive and obligation to help others. Not only that, but she was also good at speaking with others. Therefore, if through her conversations with me, Masayoshi, and Phi, she picked up on the fact that we seemed be off, in a bad state, or even slightly sad or out of sorts, she would immediately hop unto any opportunity to try and fix that.
"My father always told me that smiles are the cure to any negative emotion, if your sad, nervous, or tired, you should always try to find a way to smile, because it will kick those emotions right out!"
Her words from before popped back up into my mind. She had gathered us together her because she had seen a group of people who for one reason or another, needed to smile. Needed to cure their bad emotions.
"I knew from all of my conversations with Aura, that Phi would always talk about things that would happen in the world, always sparking discussions on the latest topics. When the Sendai mall attack occurred, she spent day's just endlessly taking about how unjust it was, how ridiculous things were, and how out of hand things were getting. I also knew from my conversations with Masayoshi and Raiden that there existed a question in the world that needed to be answered. That question being,"
"Where does true justice lie?" Masayoshi interjected, finishing for her.
She nodded. "With all of this, I realized that I had found a perfect group of people who would most definitely do an amazing job in preparing the defense of the culture festival." Yuri began to slowly nod, seeing where she was coming from. "However, there was a problem. I also knew from my interaction with you guys, that for one reason or another, you would never willingly volunteer to participate. Which is why, I did things this way."
"Thats why I decided to ask Aura if she could ask Phi to attend a meeting in her place, knowing how much Phi cares for and is a good friend to her."
Phi's eyes widened a little.
"Thats why I wrote that note for Masayoshi, because I knew he would come if it was something about justice."
Masayoshi nodded, impressed. "Read me like a book."
"And for Raiden, I knew that he was just too nice of a person to turn me down." She chuckled a bit.
"So, my fault was just being a nice guy? Pretty lame." I joked. But In reality, I was beyond impressed with how Hikaru managed to use information from her interactions with all of us, to masterfully weave situations in which she knew that all of us would be forced to go. It was beyond just reading people like books.
Yuri nodded. I could tell that he was a bit impressed. "Yous said something about making people smile?"
Hikaru paused for a brief moment, taking a deep breath. Her eyes began to water. "10 years ago, my father was killed in the war. You know, the one between Asia and Africa? I was only 5 at the time, but it stayed with me. He was an amazing parent who always cared for me and was nice to everyone. He always taught me that it was best for everyone to get along, and that you should do everything in your power to do that. He taught me that a smile was the cure to sadness. A cure to any negative emotion that you feel." She sobbed for a few seconds, the tears streaming down her eyes uncontrollably "So when he passed... I-I made sure that I did everything in my power to not cry for long. I took his words to heart. I took every given opportunity to make my mom and brother smile. Because, because that's how he would have wanted everyone to live. So that's how I live. Thats how I've resolved myself to go through life. My dad was a wonderful person, who was killed fighting in a terrible war. However, he would never want me to remember him in anger or sadness. He gave me the name Hikaru Hina for that very reason! So, I live always wanting to bring a smile to others. Even if it's only a small bit of negativity, If I can cure it I should. I do it because that's how he would want me to live!"
Everyone was shocked into silence by Hikaru's emotional outburst. I, and everyone else sitting at the table, couldn't help but feel bad. Yuri clenched his fists together, and Masayoshi closed his eyes taking a deep breath. The war, all of the war, the fighting and the terrorism. It took something from everyone. And it definitely made them sad, and angry. However, here was someone who had been hit just as hard by this war, by this conflict, sitting in front of them, and despite being consumed by her tears, she wasn't consumed by the weakness that came with it. She was going strong, going out of her way to help others. She was always smiling despite the horrible things that she experienced.
Coupled with how she acted towards that little girl, towards me, it made me come to a realization.
Hikaru Hina was a representation of strength. A true representation of what it meant to be strong.
Someone who I wished I could match, even if it was only a fraction.
"I didn't tell you this story for you to feel bad. No. But I hope it discouraged you from leaving and hearing me out." Just then, a waitress arrived, holding a large platter filled with coffee and biscuits.
And then Hikaru shocked us all again, by putting on a smile. Despite the tears streaming down her face, she put on a real, genuine smile.
"Besides, I'm sure you all wouldn't leave a crying young Maiden alone when she already ordered coffee and biscuits for you, right?" Even more shockingly, she made a joke.
And with that, Hikaru Hina had cured, everyone sitting at the table.
Her smile and laughter spread, all around the table, like the seeds of a dandelion.