It’s already 2 in the morning but Reina couldn’t sleep at all. When she got her keitai back and joined the dining girls at the restaurant, she saw that they had invited Maki to join them.

“You look rather excited tonight. Did something happen?”

“I guess you could call that. I’m meeting someone on Saturday.”

“EEEHHH?!?” Maki’s mouth was quickly covered by Reina’s hand. The other girls didn’t seem to care about them. They were enjoying how Miki and Yossie fought on the last piece of A grade yakiniku with the chopsticks.

“They’re fighting like kids!” Mari commented.
“Don’t fight over that piece of beef, we can order another one!” Abe called out to them.

Reina let go of Maki’s mouth after seeing that no one heard them.

“Who are you going to meet?”

Reina didn’t want to lie to Maki. She wanted to tell her everything: about the 13th floor, about the old transceiver and about a new found friend, Toma.

“I’m just going to meet a friend. We’ve known each other through the phone.” Reina told Maki. It was somewhat like that. She just removed the fact that she knew that person from the transceiver on the 13th floor. Maki might think that she’s some kind of a weirdo.

“Is it a guy or a girl?”

“Girl.”

“Have you already seen her?”

“Not yet.” Reina listened carefully to the tone of Maki’s voice. There was a tinge of sadness or jealousy on her tone.

“And you’re willing to meet up with her?”

“Hai! She was friendly and my instinct tells me that she will not do anything that will harm me.” She looked straight into Maki’s eyes. She knew that the other is only worried about her that’s why she’s asking those questions.

“How could you tell that? It’s only through the phone that you knew each other. There are many people out there that only want to deceive others. You may be the victim in the end. Though your perception of her is good, still, you cannot let your guard down.” Maki looked like she was deeply hurt by something. But as always, she just hides what she feels.

“I know because I could feel that she’s good. I don’t care whether you want to believe me or not. I’m still going this Saturday. I don’t want you to worry about me. I’m not a kid anymore. Goodbye!” Reina stood up and got her bag.

“Where are you going?” Eri asked her friend.

“Ano… Gomen ne, I have many things to do at home. I’ll be leaving now.” She took one last look at Maki who’s looking at the different direction and left.


“AHHH!!! Baka… Baka… BAKA!!! She’s only worried about you and then you said that stupid answer without thinking whether you’re hurting her feelings.”
Reina put her pillow on her face to minimize the noise created by her scream. She looked again at the clock on her table.

“2:30… Is she still awake? Would I call her to say that I’m sorry? If I did that, would she answer my call? What if I just mailed her? AHHHH!! This is so frustrating!!”
Reina reach out to her cell phone.

Hi! It’s me… Sorry about the incident… I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.

“Ahhh!!! It’s so lame! I don’t know where to start.”

Maki, I’m sorry. I just wanted to meet that person. If you’re worried about me, you could come along.

“What the hell am I thinking? Maki’s really busy; she wouldn’t have time to come with me. And why did I think that she’s worried about me? Maybe she’s not. Maybe that’s what I want to hear from her. Maybe it’s just my imagination…”

Reina screamed on her pillow again. This time, the scream mixed with the sound of her phone ringing. She looked at the name… She wasn’t expecting this to happen. It was clearly her fault, but Maki’s the first one who’s calling her…

“I’m not ready for this! What should I tell her? Should I apologize right away? What if she didn’t want to hear it? What if she’s calling right now to end our friendship? What should I do? Should I answer her? This is really getting on my nerves…”

Just as Reina was about to answer the phone, the ringing stopped.

“There goes my opportunity to say sorry. You’re so stupid!!! What if she thinks that I’m still angry at her?”

Her remorse didn’t last for a long time. There was a message on her phone from Maki.

“You must be asleep at this time. Sorry to bother you. And about the incident, I’m really sorry. I guess I was just afraid that you will get hurt in the end… I once experienced it when I decided to met up with this girl when I was new in Morning Musume. What I felt back then were the same as what you said to me in the restaurant. I was deeply hurt when she did not arrive. I’ve waited for her for about 3 hours.”

Reina waited… She knew another message will come. Now, she understands what Maki feels. She now knows that Maki really did care for her. Her line of thinking was interrupted when the 2nd message arrived.

“I was soaking wet that afternoon because it was raining really hard. I called her again. She said she’s the one waiting for me…And she even told me that I was such a bad liar: that her skin almost turned brown because of the sun’s rays. I can’t believe that the person is really my fan. I guess she turned chicken when she saw that the one she’s supposed to meet is me and she just made that lie.”

Reina’s having second doubts about her meeting on Saturday. What if the person she’s going to meet didn’t show up? Will she feel bad about it? Another message came up.

“I never talked to her again. It was hard, really. She ran away on my last call. Ever since then, I can’t contact her anymore. I guess our ‘link’ just broke up. I hope you understand why I acted like that earlier. I’m sorry. If you still want to meet her up, it’s ok with me. Whatever happens… Be strong. Always remember that I’m here for you. Even if I have a busy schedule, just give me a call and I’ll be there for you. Sleep well, my little angel.

Reina read Maki’s message over and over again. She now understood Maki deeper. Maybe she acted cool and hard to approach because she was afraid to be hurt again by the people she thought as a friend. Reina slept with a smile on her face. She will call Maki the moment she wakes up tomorrow.