-Late November, 2004-

I heard them before I saw them, and started running. Girls.

"Oh, you want it back? Excuse me, I'm sorry! Isn't that what you always say? Excuse me, here you go!"

"Whoops, I caught it instead! I'm sorry, let me pass it to you!"

"Now I have it! Excuse me!"

Three girls. The ones from our choir club. Chieko. Kaede. Aiko. I wanted to take them to their graves. Aiko saw me first. Running from the edge of the yard. I threw my bag down in the grass, going full tilt. Her expression changed to one of a demon.

"Look, your boyfriend is here!" She called out. "Come on, I don't want to play anymore. Take your stupid violin, I guess."

My heart stopped in its tracks when I saw the violin case fly into the air. Straight up, like an oblong shaped rocket. My breath caught in my throat and I leapt, my arms out. I fell into the dirt like an outfielder, and the case fell into my arms. Safe. The other girls were walking away casually, like they did nothing wrong. Bitches.

I got up, dusting myself off. My mom was going to kill me for this. Another dry cleaning bill. I rubbed Sakura's violin case with my sleeve, wiping off the pale blue, gold embroidered case cover before giving it back. Trying to rub away those girls' stains, their dirty fingertips. They didn't deserve to touch it. They didn't deserve to touch any of Sakura's things.

She wasn't saying anything, looking at the ground. I handed it to her, and she took it in her arms, hugging it like a beloved puppy. Quietly, I took her hand, and we went over to the grass. She sat down politely, making sure her skirt was arranged correctly, in seiza position. I plopped down, not caring where I put my legs. She put her violin case across her thighs, and opened it with deep respect. She gazed inside, her eyes flicking this way and that, checking the contents.

"Please hold the top as I arrange it," she said to me. Always such a formal way of speaking. The more Japanese she learned, the more formal she got.

I nodded to her, and did as she asked. Carefully, her hands touched the objects inside as if they were holy. She took out a bow, inspected it, and placed it back inside, the locks snapping. "It came loose," she said. "I will have to tell my father that the case is not secure, for it to come loose like this. There will need to be a repair."

"I think these were extraordinary circumstances," I said, scratching the back of my head as she took the top of the case back from me and closed it, locking it. "It's not every day that the whole things twirls thirty feet off the ground. I don't think it was made for that."

She gave a little smile. Her hand hovered over her mouth, and she began to laugh her sweet little laugh. I laughed with her. She deserved to laugh after what those girls did.

"Maybe you are right," she said. "Still, these are Hill & Sons bows. They require the best. Maybe they need something a bit stronger to stay safe."

Why didn't she blame those girls? It wasn't the case's fault. The case was made in Cremona. Hadn't she told me it was the best in the world? The kind that houses Stradivariuses? It wasn't the case's fault. It was those girls. The case didn't need a repair, it was the girls who needed to be fixed.

I got up first, and offered her my hand. She shifted her case to one side, and took it. I pulled her up, and she swept down her skirt. It was perfect, anyway. She was always perfect to me.

"You know, you didn't have to wait for me," I said, as we walked to the front of the school. "I told you music appreciation club would run late today. We were watching a movie. You know, you should really join with me. I think you'd enjoy it."

"I have so much going on. I'll think about it, though. I don't get to have much free time."

I eyed her hand. It would be so easy to take it right now. I blinked long and hard, staring forward.

"So, you spent your free time waiting for me? That doesn't sound like fun. Especially since those girls found you. What happened? Why were they there?" I could already guess at the answer. They were waiting for her. They were always studying her patterns, seeing where she would go. Trying to get her alone, to make fun of her. It was like a sport to them. Hunting her like a deer. On my other side, my hand went into a fist. Those girls. One of these days, I'd teach them a lesson. They'd never come near her again.

"They came up from behind. I didn't see them. They took my violin case, so I went after them."

I sighed. Of course they did. "Why didn't you take it back from them? Or go tell a teacher? You have to defend yourself."

She shook her head, smiling slightly. Why was she smiling? "What if they dropped it? Some people say that when a violin is dropped, it never plays true again. I couldn't live with myself if my violin's voice were compromised. It's like a singer who can't sing anymore that way. My poor violin. I'd feel so bad."

My fist clenched tighter. Those girls. "But it wouldn't have been your fault if they dropped it. They're the ones who'd have done it. They're the ones who took it from you in the first place."

"I'll be more careful in the future."

Why was she blaming herself? She was devastating me again. The urge to take her hand was the worst.

At the gates of the school, I turned to the left. She followed me like a stray cat, not questioning why we were turning left instead of right, which is the direction of where her home is. She knew where we were going, turning like this. Trusting me.

"Come on, let's go home," I said. "My mom said she was going to prepare cut up vegetables, hummus, and crackers. You like those things, right? Health foods. I got a new video game the other day, too. A racing game. We can play." My hand almost dipped down and took her hand absentmindedly. It clenched into a fist again, unclenching and clenching again over and over.

I caught her grin. It made me smile, too. She never wanted to go home. With a mom like hers, I understood why. She'd get mad at her for being late, so why not be even more late? What was the difference?

When we got to my apartment, we heard Astro inside barking. She knew we were outside. We'd have to take her for a walk before eating, but I could swear this was one of Sakura's favorite things to do. I opened the door, and Astro was right there. She ran outside, twirling around Sakura's legs. She knelt down and rubbed around her ears, and Astro licked her face. The pretty smile she had at this made me pause. She really was the most beautiful girl on earth.

We took Astro for a walk, enjoying the late Autumn air. During this, we passed by a sweet potato vendor, as the sweet potato cart sang a song about its wares. Sakura looked at the cart with interest, her finger on her chin. Did she want a sweet potato? My hand went into my pocket, fiddling around with the coins I knew were in there. It was enough. On the way back, we'd get some. I could wrap up the snack my mom had prepared for later. After what those girls did, she deserved something she wanted.

We made a loop, and came back. Without saying anything, I got in line behind some other customers. Astro was panting heavily, pretty ready to go back home. Sakura got in line beside me, looking curious.

The other customers left, and we stepped up. "Two sweet potatoes, please," I said, holding up two fingers. I fished my coins out of my pocket. It was the last of the money that I'd earned doing chores for my mom. It was worth it, though. To see Sakura smile.

The vendor handed us the sweet potatoes in two little paper bags. My hand clenched again, resisting the urge to take her hand for the millionth time today. I wanted to lead her away, take her somewhere good.

We walked a little down the road, and entered a small park. Even from this distance, we could still hear the cart singing. Birds were tweeting above in the trees, the leaves all changed pretty colors. Just the sort of thing Sakura likes. The breeze was getting colder. I wondered if her school blazer was enough to keep her warm.

Children ran by us down the path, and somewhere nearby we heard other children yelling and playing. We sat down on a bench, and I handed a bag to her. She wrapped the bottom half of her potato in the bag, unpeeling the top carefully. I watched as she broke off some of it, and fed it to Astro, always considerate. I copied her, and Astro looked delighted to get a second helping. She eagerly looked up at us for more, sitting down obediently to try to impress us.

Like this, we ate our potatoes. I couldn't help but feel like it was a date. It was oddly romantic, the leaves brushing above us in the breeze, the cornflower blue sky beginning to be tinted with the pink of the sunset. It was barely six o'clock, but the beginnings of Winter were coming fast. It would be dark soon, and Sakura would have to go home.

I didn't want her to go home, with all of myself. I didn't want her mom to yell at her. She'd done nothing wrong at all. Since when is it a crime to go to a friend's place? Wasn't that normal? Everyone was so mean to her all of the time. Those girls, teasing her and taking her things. The teachers at school, using her as an example of what not to do, because she didn't understand what they were saying, causing her to get bad grades. Her mom, yelling at her because of those bad grades. Yelling at her, because she was hanging out with a boy after school.

As I thought this, I heard her giggle next to me. I looked up, and she was smiling so much. How could she smile? Thinking now of these things, her life. Would I be able to take all those negative things all the time? I didn't think so.

She gazed at me, her mouth full of sweet potato. A tiny bit of it was on her lip, but I didn't dare touch it. She swallowed, and her hand landed on my knee. My eyes went big, and I stared at her happy face. She squeezed it.

"This is one of the best times I've ever had," she said, so simply. She went back to her sweet potato, holding it now with both hands, and bit into it again. Her eyes closed, enjoying it deeply. She breathed in the fresh air, making a huge sigh. Her chewing was so cute.

I wanted this to be a date so bad that I couldn't stand it. The urge to take her hand was too strong again. I wanted to interrupt her, hold her hand in mine, and ask her to be my girlfriend. Just be my girlfriend. It would be so right.

But, she'd never made any indication that she liked me that way. It wouldn't be fair to pressure her. I didn't want our friendship to change. I had to tell myself this over and over. Every day.

After we finished eating, we got up. She smoothed out her skirt again, always proper. We set off up the path, and I pondered the color of the sky. A purple had joined it, off in the distance. I picked up my pace, wanting to get her inside before the darkness fell and she would tell me it was time for her to go home.

Hoping for just a little more time with her, before the stars came out and ruined it all.