How to be Happy Segment #1

Chapter 15: The Note

I woke up from a crooked, messy bed. Someone knocks on the door downstairs, as I got dressed and ready to say hi. As I dragged down the stairs, I noticed Okawa wasn't on his couch. I remembered that there still isn't school today, but I shrugged it off and walked to the door, opening it to see Akira, smiling and waving.

"Hey Yuki! I was wondering if you wanted to have a drink and talk about things!" Akira said, as I smiled and nodded.

I took a step outside, as the sunlight hit my face like a brick. I looked over at Okawa's house, and began to walk there, as Akira followed.

"Uh, Yuki? The coffee shop is down there, what are we doing here?" She asked, as I stepped inside of the house, burnt and crumbled.

"I'm wondering, why haven't the police began investigating it? Okawa himself said someone must have done it, but they determined it was from the stove. But something doesn't add up.." I said, as I began searching cabinets and drawers. 

Eventually, I saw a drawer at the door which seemed the most burnt to hell. I opened it's doors and began searching through the soggy clothes and burnt remnants of Okawa's life. Eventually, I found a Pen. 

The pen was out of ink and broken, and as I tried writing down on it, it was bled dry. But the pen had paper around it, kind of like a note.
"Kira, over here." 
"Don't call me that." She said, as I unwrapped the paper.

"31 🄳🄰🅈🅂 🄵🅁🄾🄼 🄽🄾🅆. 🅃🄷🄴 🅈🄰🄼🄰🄶🄰🅂🄷🄸 🄲🄰🅂🅃🄻🄴. 🄸'🄻🄻 🄱🄴 🅂🄴🄴🄸🄽🄶 🅈🄾🅄 🅃🄷🄴🅁🄴, 🄾🄺🄰🅆🄰."

As Akira backed up, I was in confusion. Why hasn't Okawa told me about this yet? Who sent it?

"I.I just wanted to have some coffee, why can't we have nice things?" Akira asked, as I began walking out with her.

"Who do you think sent it?" I asked, as Akira began to scratch her head.

"Well, Okawa's made plenty of enemies. If it's not one guy, it's another. You changing him didn't change how was." She says, as I ponder who at school could've done it.

"I'm not surprised you didn't know, it's all underground because of how much of a loner he wa-"

"HEY!"

"Sorry. But it's true, he was kind of an asshole and people couldn't see he was actually really cool." She said, as I looked at the note again.

"This handwriting.. it's sloppy. Someone wrote this with their off-hand, probably." I said, observing the note and tacking in every little detail.

"Can we make assumptions over coffee.. Please?" She asked, as I nodded and stuffed the note into my pocket.

As we sat down, we began discussing the history of Okawa, and it helped me know him better.

"Okawa's a very controversial person, especially before he met you." She said, as she began looking over the menu.
"He's had a very odd history, from the quiet kid nobody messed with, to a flirt, back to the quiet kid." She said, as she began ordering a coffee.
"Wait.. what do you mean a flirt?" I asked her, getting a coffee as well.

"Oh, he hasn't told you? He has an Ex."
"Really, huh? Hm, I'll ask him again later. What was she like?" I asked her, as she began explaining. 

"She was just someone who used Okawa as a wall so people wouldn't bully her. She wasn't anything more than an asshole, don't worry." 
"Then how'd he meet Rhed?" I asked her, as she shrugged her shoulders.
"Rhed won't even tell me, it must be special for them.

"Hey, why don't we talk about you now, Yuki?" She asked me, as my eyes widened.

"Oh! I don't like talking about myself.. I'm really not that special.." I softly said, as Akira smiled and chuckled.

"Oh come on! I wanna get to know you!" She said, as my face turned a bright red.

"Fine.." I said, as she clapped and I began speaking:

"So I never knew my dad, but mom always said he was in the war. I knew she was lying because everyday she'd wait for him on  our doorstep. He never came back, and my mom still does it to this day. I was bullied, but I never knew why. Still, I endured it until a few weeks ago, when I met Okawa for the first time and he talked me out of it. I still thank him for it." I said, as Akira just sat there.

"That was.. beautiful." She said, as I took a sip of coffee. 

"My turn! So I was expected to be a male, but I came out as a girl by surprise. Hooray, great surprise, right? Not for them, and I was always shamed by my parents for being a girl. Eventually it came to school, and I was ashamed of my gender. I was too scared to speak up about it, and eventually adapted a male look and began acting like a guy to fit in. Fruity was one of the only people I told this to, but he jokingly began making fun of me like they did. It pissed me off, and that's how the cafeteria fight started." She said, as I sat there. 

"I'm so sorry to hear that, Akira." 
"It's not your fault, you're one of the people to accept me for who I am. Thank you, Yuki." She said, as I smiled at her.

"But.. after the lunch fight, I heard the two of you talk about something. I didn't want to bring it up though, Rhed always had my eye from the first time I saw him." She said, as she began glaring into the wall.

"I developed feelings for him in that hallway. I thought he was just some misunderstood friend until he stood up for you. And when I asked him about it, his response just made my heart beat so much." I said to her, as she covered her head with her sleeves. 

"God, you two are adorable!" She said, as I began patting her back from across the table.

Suddenly, I realized something about the note.
"Wait, the note."

As I pulled it out, I felt the paper and noticed it's folded.

I looked and saw a bunch of none-coherent scribbling, but only two letters were eligible. 

"🄺🄾"