Note: This is my first time writing for Jurina and Rena. All mistakes are mine, and I apologize for them.
Title: Just missed my stop
Pairings: Wmatsui and Mariharu on later chapters
Word count: 3,457
PrologueRena has no idea how things had spiralled into this, clutching the leather straps of her bag more tightly in her hands, she took a deep breath, raised her eyes from the tiled floor, tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and dared to clarify.
“Ano... sensei, did you just ask me to marry you?”
The man in front of her didn’t bother looking up and continued playing with his fingers, his forehead breaking out in sweat. He remained seated on the opposite side of the table as Rena sat on the other side, books and paper-works acting as a fortress between them. Rena opened her mouth to ask again when he suddenly grabbed at his tie and cleared his throat.
“Yes... Yes. I did.” He finally answered, his voice shaky in parts.
Rena immediately closed her mouth and looked away. She stared at the report on her lap that she was planning to turn in when sensei had just blurted out that he wanted her to marry him. The situation so drastically changed in a dime that it almost seemed surreal.
The thing is... they haven’t even dated.
: :
Rena hates crowded trains with a passion akin to a thousand burning suns... well not really, but she really does hate it. She hates the way that she constantly had to curl in on herself to stop her books from falling and being trampled on, the way that she can never get out without her clothes being wrinkled, the way that strangers can just breathe down her neck and press their bodies against her. What she hates the most though is that she can never get a seat.
The train passed a station and the great mass of standing people started to move as other passengers squeezed themselves through all the bodies to reach the automated doors, the woman beside Rena raised her hand to adjust her shoulder bag and in the process elbowed Rena sharply in the gut which caused her to lose her grip on her books and they started to slide down. She was already panicking when a hand reached out to push them back up again as Rena scrambled to hold them properly. Crisis averted, she immediately threw a glare at the culprit before bowing to thank the person who assisted her. When she raised her head, the girl was smiling back at her, waving a hand to tell her it was nothing before placing it back to the straps of her backpack. Rena noted the sailor uniform and instinctively looked around- these high school students always moved in packs- to be surprised that the nearest group of similarly clad girls were all the way in the front of the cabin.
“Shall I hold some of those for you?” She looked back at the sound of the girl’s good natured question, noting the confused frown on the younger girl’s forehead. Rena immediately blushed, the girl must have found her actions weird.
“That’s very... nice of you, but it’s ok.” She answered, tightening her hold on the books.
The girl pursed her lips, scratching at her cheek as she stared at Rena, “Please, just let me, carrying that much can’t be easy.” The girl smiled and raised her right hand slightly, “I promise I won’t steal them.”
The girl looked so eager, grinning from ear to ear with her hands outstretched playfully, that it almost felt like Rena was the one doing her a favour. She figured that it was fine, the girl was the one insisting anyway.
She sighed dramatically and handed her two of the lightest books, which the girl immediately took a hold of. “I guess it’s fine but only because you promised not to steal it.” She said mock sternly then smiled back at the girl, “Thank you...”
“You’re welcome.” The girl looked down at the books in her hand, “... Matsui Rena-san.”
: :
Sensei finally looked up at her with pleading eyes and Rena swallowed her rejection, as she nervously played with her necklace.
“I heard that your older sister is sick.”
Rena froze, holding unto the pendant of her necklace that the little anchor was digging into her palms. Airin... He was going to use Airin as a bargaining chip.
It wasn’t like Rena could answer anything else after that.
“I’ll marry you, Matsui-sensei.”
~*0*~ 0 ~*0*~
Chapter OneAirin’s laughter woke Rena up to the sunrise clearly visible on her sister’s hospital window, throwing the room momentarily in shades of orange and black. That Airin looked vibrant, was the first thing she thought of, as her sister continued laughing at the movie that was playing on the screen of the hoisted up television. She looked... full of life. At that moment, while the whole of Sakae was probably asleep and lethargic, Airin was alive.
It was silly but she almost wanted to cry.
These four walls were all Airin had known, she would have had a lot of great friends, she could have watched this exact movie with them. Airin was so full of life and had so much to offer, Rena shouldn’t be the only one who knows of it. Isn’t that just unfair?
She reaches out to tuck a strand of unruly hair behind her sister’s ear and Airin turns shining eyes full of mirth at her. “Hey, Rena. Did I wake you? You shouldn’t be sleeping like that you know.”
Rena just stuck out her tongue and proceeded to stretch her aching back, the metal chair she was on scooted back a little with the action creating a sound that made them both cringe.
Airin glared and Rena laughed back.
Her sister was just about to return to the movie when she asked monotonously, “Ne... what do you think of marriage?” Airin turns to her again cocking her head a little to the side, her eyes losing focus as she thought about it.
“I don’t really have an opinion in particular...” Airin narrows her eyes “...just that my little sister is too young to be thinking of it.”
“Well, I really can’t help it. With a face like this, I’m just reeling them in, you know.”
Airin nods furiously at that and Rena loses the teasing grin as warmth crept up her neck. “My imouto is definitely the prettiest.” Her sister declares, raising both her hands to do a double thumbs-up, Rena swats at her arm.
“Stop it, nee-san. You’re really embarrassing sometimes.”
Airin laughs at her, reaching out to pinch her cheek. She speaks through her sister tugging at her. “But don’t you think... I mean... if it seems practical... you know. If the husband-to-be is financially sound, it wouldn’t be such a bad decision, right, nee-san?”
Her sister stops pinching her, the bright smile on her face disappearing. She scowls at Rena for a long moment as her little sister squirms at her seat. She hated disappointing Airin, it was just the two of them now, and there’s no approval she craves more than that of her sister.
“If you want to marry now, right at this very moment, I’d let you, Rena. With a smile, I’d let you. But only if you said that you can’t live another day without the one you love. Do you hear that? I said love. It doesn’t matter if you waited ten years to get married as long as the only reason you can think of is ‘financially sound’, then no time is long enough. You’re marrying a person, not a bank account, Rena!”
The overwhelming urge to lash out at Airin surprises Rena and she scoots back further into her chair and clenches her fists roughly, digging her nails into her palms to ground herself. It was true that Airin didn’t know how hard Rena worked to make ends meet. It was true that she didn’t know how many part time jobs Rena had... but it wasn’t her sister’s fault. If Airin could, she’d be the one working twice as hard for Rena.
“You’re right nee-san. Don’t worry, when that time comes, I’ll present you a man that I couldn’t possible live without... no matter how corny that sounds.”
Airin smiles at her again and pats her lap. “Of course you will, Rena. I know you will.”
:: ::
The train was heavily crowded again and all Rena could do was sigh as she surveyed the packed cabin, reaching out for one of the handle bars to settle in for a tiring ride. The loud chatter of a group of high school students up front was starting to get to her and she desperately rooted through her bag for her ipod to drown them out, when a hand suddenly grabbed her own. She looked up, one of the earphones already in her ear, to see the girl from her last ride looking over her shoulder at her, grinning. She pulled her forward hurriedly, then turned around to push on her shoulders. The next thing Rena knew, she was finally seated.
So this is how it feels.“Rena-chan, you’re always so pre-occupied. This is why you never get to seat.”
“Rena...chan?” she voices out, almost subconsciously as she looks up at the girl currently smiling down at her, slightly swaying from the movement of the train. Now that she gets a good look at her, she looks quite imposing for a high school kid, her eyes holding such intense vibrancy that it’s hard to look at, but also hard to look away. She just looks so self-assured that Rena feels hesitant before her unwavering smile. The girl looked so eager and good-natured but Rena could never shake the feeling of being shy in the face of such confidence. Even the black sailor uniform she was wearing adds to the constant determination shining in her eyes.
“Shouldn’t I call you that? You could call me Jurina-chan, if you want. Or you know, just Jurina. Oh... that’s my name by the way...” the girl’s smile immediately changes to a sheepish one as she once again scratches at her cheek, “... Matsui Jurina.”
Rena processes the torrent of words, blinking back as the girl continued... she didn’t look so self-assured now.
“I... don’t you not remember me. I guess you wouldn’t huh?” at this, the girl steps back and looks to the side, Rena follows her gaze to the now-quiet high school students who were staring back at them, the girl sighs and made a slight bow. “Gomen ne, I’ll leave you alone now.” She says, dejectedly letting go of the handle bar she was holding on and trying to squeeze through two office ladies who immediately looked away from the two of them, they were definitely eavesdropping.
The high school students up front started to make noises again, all of them making gestures for the other girl—Jurina—to go back to Rena, one of them even said out loud, “What is wrong with you? Go back, go back.”
Rena tried to reach for the girl but Jurina finally succeeded in squeezing herself through the two ladies and immediately proceeded to hurriedly walk away, she almost tripped in her haste to get away from Rena, and Rena’s “Matsui-san” was left in the stale air inside the cabin as Jurina finally arrives to her group of friends, too far to hear Rena’s wavering voice.
Rena watches as one of her friends pushes her playfully, as the others all stepped closer, their indecipherable mutterings starting up again.
Rena sighs deeply, leaning her head against the glass pane behind her, everyone seems to be moving at a pace far faster than the one she was moving in and she was always a little bit slower to answer, always a little bit lost.
“You should have been a little bit sensitive, you know.” A disappointed voice says and Rena rights her head to glare at one of the office ladies. The girl just flips her black hair back, fixing her fringe absentmindedly as she continues to lecture Rena.
“The girl even found a seat for you, if you didn’t remember her, you should have at least pretended.”
Rena eyes the name tag clipped on the girl’s gray uniform, as the other office lady decided to also butt in. “Kids these days are equal parts outgoing and sensitive, huh?”
“I know this may sound rude... but please stay out of it, Sasshihara-san, Minegishi-san.” She answers pointedly, jamming the dangling earphone in her other ear just slow enough to hear the office ladies teasingly say, “Oh don’t be like that, Rena-chan.”
Apparently, everybody wants to be close to her.
:: ::
Yuki was staring at her weirdly when Matsui-sensei’s class ended, and Rena really can’t blame her as she had almost slid off her chair in her desperation to not make eye contact with Matsui-sensei. Her friend continuously tapped her fingers on her table as Rena finally pulls herself to seat properly.
“What is happening, Rena?” Yuki says suspiciously and Rena pretends to laugh before grabbing Yuki’s hand and pulling at her to move closer, the screeching noise from Yuki’s chair was the only sound in the room since all her classmates had gone out to lunch. Nevertheless, Rena peers around her friend to check for any bystander, returning to clasping Yuki’s hand when she sees no one.
“Yuki... I have a big problem.” She says, and Yuki nods a little, pursing her lips and moving a little bit closer.
“What is it? You can tell me, Rena.”
“Don’t say anything, okay... I mean you could, just don’t freak out.”
Yuki nods once, staring at Rena expectantly as she gathers her courage. “Matsui-sensei... just asked me to marry him.”
Yuki bursts into laughter, struggling out of Rena’s grip as she doubles over, now clutching at her stomach. “You...you got me...” another bout of laughter escapes her and Rena had the overwhelming urge to push her so that she falls to the floor.
“What the heck, Rena... that was so random...” she continued, now trying to breath through her uncontrollable laughter.
Rena clears her throat and deadpans, “At least I made you happy.”
Yuki immediately stops laughing and looks at her with widened eyes, “You—you can’t be serious, can you?”
“Apparently I can be.”
“But... but... when did you two start dating? Why didn’t you tell me?”
Rena sighs and narrows her eyes at her friend who raised both her hands, “Sorry sorry, not the point I know, but when did you start dating?”
“That’s the point we didn’t. Sensei just sprang it at me when I came to pass my project.”
Yuki’s tapping severely increased and Rena found herself counting it as her friend sorts through her news quietly, “Why did he want to marry you?”
“Apparently... I look like his first love. He never got to be with her since he was younger than her and she married early, long before he made a name for himself.”
Yuki shoots back, a hand covering her lips, “Ehhh... isn’t that a bit creepy?”
Rena nods absentmindedly; she did find it a lot creepy and wanted to run out of the room when sensei admitted it. “I thought so too. I mean, I still think so... but... Yuki...” she leaned closer and Yuki did the same, they both looked around conspiratorially, “Airin-nee needs constant medical attention and I’m at my limit. I’ve already said yes.”
Yuki blinks back at her, her mouth opening and closing and Rena bumps their shoulders to wake her from her daze. Yuki immediately slaps her so hard, Rena could only look back in shock as her eyes grew misty with tears.
“Yuki!”
“What is wrong with you, Rena? That wasn’t the answer I was expecting you to give, not in a million years. You should have laughed yourself out of that room, not say yes, you idiot! This isn’t some summer class, Rena. You’re going to be his wife for life.”
Rena reigned herself from slapping her back and just hisses her answer heatedly, “Do you think I don’t know that. I always have a plan, Yuki. You know that. I didn’t plan on marrying so early... but isn’t this a chance? I’ve always had Airin as my priority, wouldn’t this be best for her?” Rena asks, she could almost cringe from the way the anger bled out of her voice to give way to the desperation she felt. She needed Yuki to be on her side.
“What about falling in love, Rena?” Yuki asks and Rena could almost roll her eyes, not her too.
“When have I ever fallen in love, Yuki? I’ve never thought about it. And anyway, what makes you think I won’t love sensei.”
Yuki sighs, clutches Rena’s hands tightly and pulls her into an embrace. “You know why I don’t think you’ll love him...” her friend begins in a despondent manner, “... You won’t because he doesn’t. He’s not in love with you, he’ll never fall in love with you... He’ll see her instead of you, and for your sake Rena, if you do marry him...I hope you won’t come to love him. That’s just cruel.”
Rena closes her eyes as Yuki lets her go. “I really need to, Yuki.... I really need to.”
She hears Yuki sigh heavily and she opens her eyes to see her friend getting up from her seat. “I know you do, Rena. I just wish your ‘chance’ wasn’t something like this. Come on... I’ll treat you to lunch.”
:: ::
The group of high school students were for once clustered near her.
Rena closes her eyes for a moment and leans her forehead on the metal pole she was holding unto as she notices one of them glace at her for the hundredth time. They’ve been doing that for most of the silent ride—like the dark set skies visible through the blurred windows, almost all of the passengers looked tired and gloomy, preferring to nod off to sleep or to silently contemplate the world through the rain-streaked windows of the train than to regale each other with the current highlights of their day.
The only one who didn’t look at her—who was visibly ignoring her—was Matsui Jurina. Their eyes met once, earlier , the other girl surreptitiously taking a peek at her while she adjusted her bag, however before Rena could offer her a smile, Jurina had already turned away scratching at her cheek, her ears visibly red.
Rena blinks when she notices that she had been staring at the other Matsui for quite some time—that was probably partly why the other girls kept glancing her way. She shakes her head to ward of the drowsiness she was feeling, her stop was close and she had work. This was no time to think up apologies to a high school kid, especially when she really hadn’t done anything wrong.
She hears Jurina say heatedly, “stop looking at her”; as she opens her leather bag to search for her umbrella.
This must be her lucky day.... It wasn’t there.
Rena yanks the zipper down fully and started to rummage in earnest, but there was no sign of her yellow foldable umbrella. She even found the burger wrapper that she had placed there yesterday but not her freaking umbrella!
The curse word left her mouth before she could reign it in and all Rena could do in the aftermath was to continuously bow to the old man seated in front of her in apology and to look out the window afterwards, desperately hoping that the rain stops.
She reached her station but the rain did not stop.
Time to face the music. Rena moves with the departing crowd, going with the flow and waiting to be ejected out of the train like vomit from a person who just had so much to drink.
Really, she has no reason to make the comparison prettier; her day had been shitty so far.She barely kept her balance as she stepped out of the train, the other passengers all hurrying around her and not caring whether they shove her down the filthy floor. Umbrellas were already opening left and right, as she descends down the stairs. The ground beneath the stairs was no longer covered and Rena could see the splashes the hurrying pairs of feet make. She was definitely going to get sick.
When she walks out however, expecting the sudden downpour, she was surprised to find that there was none. She was even more surprised with the green umbrella over her head, and the person suddenly huddling close to her.
Matsui Jurina bows down in greeting and Rena just stares at her.
[TBC] Thank you for reading.