Alright here we go! I don't why I'm so excited but I'm really happy to be able to post this chapter
These last couple updates will be a bit longer than those short af middle ones
@abcari: That's reassuring! Phew!
Haha suffering's pretty much over after this tho
Oh lol good timing haha, and glad you liked that kiss~
@Yuki88: Well 'yet' is here now
Sorry to keep ya waiting so long
@junchan48: Lol double updates are always good
The sister thing will be explained in the next update and ya that frustration's gotta explode at some point right?
Glad the kiss was good haha
@Ruka Kikuchi: Haha thanks, I'm not really good with scenes like that
LOL It's about time right?
Chapter 9: The StoryThe following weeks were...awkward to say the least. They didn't take walks together anymore, Sakura would just stay in her room and sulk, refusing to come out and Haruppi never called for her anyways so why should she? Only for meals would Sakura drag herself out of her room. She thought about skipping, but she wouldn’t be able to skip forever, and then decided it’d better to get it over with sooner rather than later.
Sometimes Sakura felt bad about it – for snapping at Haruppi. Whatever progress she may have made in her relationship with Haruppi seemed to be reset, and that made Sakura feel pretty depressed too. But then seeing Haruppi seem so completely unaffected by it, Sakura was pissed, constantly bitter and on edge. So most of the time now, breakfast, lunch, and dinner were quiet - the tension in the air almost palpable. And sometimes Sakura wouldn’t even see Haruppi the whole day (even during meals) and she figured that Haruppi was avoiding her again. Sakura felt hurt about it, something heavy in her chest weighing her down. But then again she was mad that Haruppi refused to even face her anymore.
Coward...Sakura thought as she headed back upstairs, ready to drown in her covers once again. But then she changed her mind last second and headed for the library, thinking that maybe reading a book would help keep her mind off things.
She hadn’t really read any books since her school days, and had only skimmed the titles of Haruppi’s library, so might as well take this chance to catch up a bit now. Without even looking at the cover, Sakura grabbed the first book off the shelf. Outside was dark and stormy, rain pouring down on the windows violently and flashes of lighting illuminating the empty house as she sunk into a recliner and curled her legs up, ready to sit there for a good few hours immersing herself in another world.
The story she picked was one about an angel, a messenger of God that was charged with watching over the humans and taking them to heaven after their lives ended. Then one day, she met a demon who had the same job as her, but taking people to hell instead. The angel was scared of the demon, she had no intentions of getting along with her and had heard many stories, thinking of them as angels’ natural enemies. And this demon knew that, so she kept bothering the angel, always hanging around and teasing her, bugging her about every little detail.
But eventually, the angel grew used to the demon, the two always meeting up before going to Earth and doing their work. They became inseparable, and the angel learned that not all demons were as the stories told them, that this demon was actually nice (once the bugging stopped) and so they started meeting up whenever they could.
Every day, the angel would go down to Earth and meet the demon at their special place – a garden hidden deep in the forest. Every day, the demon would be there waiting for her, without fail, and the angel started looking forward to their meetings every day. Until it got to the point that the angel neglected her duties, skipping them just to see the demon.
And that was unacceptable.
God found out and was about to banish the angel for her incompetence, but the demon stopped it. She found her way into heaven, suffering heavy injuries that she would not survive from just to save the angel. She pleaded for God not to banish the angel, saying that she would take the punishment instead. The angel protested this but the demon wouldn’t have it, adamant in her decision. It didn’t matter to her that she would lose everything. So she reasoned that she would die anyways, and at least this way she could save the angel - the one she loved.
The angel burst out in tears and refused to let go of the demon, realizing that she loved the demon as well – that the demon was a special being in her life. Seeing this scene, God was moved by their feelings for each other and made a decision. Even though angels and demons were never even supposed to interact in the first place, the angel had been one of his best before, so he was willing to make an exception just this once.
Together, they would be banished to Earth, living out the rest of their lives as mere humans. However, he gave them one gift. After death, they would be reborn once again, and they would be able to meet the other in each lifetime, forever finding each other’s embrace. Their memories would not be retained until they met each other and after coming of age, but then they would be able to live happily together until the end of their days when the cycle began anew.
The angel and demon gratefully accepted this proposal and were sent to Earth, countlessly living out this routine endlessly. But their love never faded, and they always managed to find each other again no matter what happened.
At the end of the story, Sakura closed the book gently and set it down. She noticed wet spots on her shirt and realized that she had been crying, the silent tears flowing freely down her face. She couldn’t decide if she was sad or happy, but she did know that it was very a beautiful story. And with that last thought, Sakura glanced at the clock and saw that several hours had already past. It was nearly six o’clock - almost time for dinner.
Slowly, Sakura stood and straightened herself out. Tonight, she would face Haruppi. Hearing that story made her realize something, made her find her resolve again. Because Haruppi wasn’t the coward, she wasn’t the one avoiding conflict, she wasn’t the one refusing to answer.
It’s me.But no more, Sakura was determined, resolve set and fists clenched tightly. She would find out the truth. Maybe she was scared too, just like Haruppi, scared of what the answer would be. But even so, Sakura was prepared to face it now.
---
Third time’s the charm right?
At least that’s what Sakura kept telling herself as she got ready. No more waiting. She can’t wait anymore. So instead of asking at dinner like always, Sakura stood outside of the hidden room in the library. And her definition of getting ready was psyching herself up before actually going in. She was sure that Haruppi was in there because there was no other place she could be. She also figured that Haruppi already knew she was there and was most likely waiting for Sakura to show herself.
There was no way that Haruppi hadn’t noticed her yet, no way, Sakura was sure because Haruppi was just like that.
“Come in.”
Sakura nearly jumped out of her skin at the voice.
“H-Hai!”
Pushing in the trigger, the shelf sunk in then swung to the side, revealing the hidden doorway. Entering cautiously because she never actually gone inside before, Sakura stepped into the furnished room. It was antique but not old, more books lined the shelves in the room and a dim lamp lit the place from the corner. A large mirror took up the entirety of one wall behind the large oak study desk that stood in the center, a fur rug decorating the hard floor in front of it, and a leather chair behind it where the girl Sakura was looking for was seated.
As usual, Haruppi wasn’t even looking at her. Instead, the girl chose to stare intently at the rug on the floor, hands resting on the chairs arms, seemingly lost in thought but also seemingly staring off into space without thinking of anything at all.
Why won’t you look at me? Is it because you can’t see me? Why can’t you see me? Is it because I can’t see you? Why don’t I know what that means? Is it because—“Do you know what the date is? It’s the same date we have a special dinner on every month.”
Does that mean it’s already been a month since I snapped at her? “I don’t know, I forgot about dates since I never have anything planned.”
“Hmm.”
There was silence after that. Normally Sakura would feel awkward invading the room like that, but recently she felt kind of uncaring of anything at all. And she didn't feel like speaking up either, not right now at least. But it seemed that Haruppi wasn't done.
“Do you know what countries’ cuisines we’ve tried so far?”
“Eh?” An odd question. Sakura glanced around the room as she answered, nonchalantly taking in every detail. “I guess I could name most of them but some I didn't recognize.”
“Hmm.” The whole time Haruppi spoke to her, she didn't ever look up, as if she didn't really care to pay any attention to Sakura’s answers.
Wait a minute, why is she asking me all these things? Obviously, this wasn't normal. Usually, Sakura would be the one doing all the interrogating but now it was Haruppi’s turn.
“Do you know when your birthday is?”
“What? Of course I know when my birthday is. What kind of question is that?” Sakura responded, her attention snapping back and she glared at Haruppi who still refused to look at her.
“Hmm.”
“...Would you quit it with the ‘Hmm’! It's getting irritating.”
“You know...today is the 19th. I assume you can figure out what month it is from there.” Haruppi finally looked at her, gaze almost penetrating into her soul.
The 19th? What's so special about the 19th? It was just another day on the calendar, and days had even less value ever since Sakura came here and starting repeating the same routine endlessly every single day.
“Why? What’s so important about the 19th?”
Haruppi just got up from her seat and made her way towards the door.
I’ve been trying so hard to stay away...I won’t be able to hold back much longer.Sakura heard the voice in her head – the same one from her dreams – but she knew it was real this time. In the back of her mind, she briefly wondered if it really was another’s thoughts or if it was her own. Then she stepped in Haruppi’s way, effectively blocking off the exit.
“Answer me.”
“...”
“Answer me, dammit Haruppi!”
“...Wh-What did you just call me?” Haruppi stared at her incredulously.
But Sakura was unfazed.
“I said,
tell me Haruppi. I’m tired of your games.”
With each word, Sakura gradually stepped closer towards her, eventually backing her up farther until the backs of Haruppi’s legs bumped into the desk - she was trapped.
Haruppi was stuck between the desk and a very angry Sakura, but at this point, Haruppi would have even preferred being at the verge of falling off a cliff than facing her. Sakura wasn’t angry like last time when she exploded on Haruppi, no this time it was more of a quiet rage – the terrifying, seething kind.
Her eyes bore holes through Haruppi’s head, and it was obvious she wasn’t planning on moving anytime soon, not until Haruppi gave her some answers.
“Haruppi.”
“...” Haruppi still wouldn’t look at her, gazing down at the floor and cowering instead.
“Haruppi.”
“...”
“Haruppi.”
“...Sakura.” It came out as a quiet whisper.
“Haruppi, I’m done. Do you understand? I’m done playing your
games.” Sakura’s voice was eerily calm and level. “
Tell. Me. NOW.”
Suddenly, Haruppi froze. As if someone was controlling her like a puppet on strings, her eyes dark and pupils dilated, she looked up and started talking.
“We know each other.”
No longer was it ‘you know me’. Now it was ‘we know each other’. Finally she was telling Sakura something about herself.
“It’s been a long time. A long time since we last saw each other. I missed you. I want you.”
Haruppi spoke like a robot, monotone and without any expression.
“I tried so hard to stay away...I tried so hard to control myself...I could only see you in your dreams, but even then I couldn’t be myself. I couldn’t tell you, I couldn’t be
with you—” For a split second, she almost came back, letting her emotions take over the control, but then she went back under.
“I-It’s been a long time...too long...since you died.”
Because?......Usually we grow old together...but last time...there was a war... The blood all rushed to Sakura’s head.
I died even before I met her...Abruptly, Sakura caught a glimpse of herself in the large wall mirror behind Haruppi. She couldn’t even recognize herself. Slight twisted horns protruded from her scalp, slitted pupils and blood-red irises shining faintly in the dimly lit room. She looked so...demonic.
Is that really me?Then her attention was caught by something else - tears welled up in Haruppi’s eyes, the emotions overwhelming her. She couldn’t take it anymore. It looked like she was fighting, physically shaking from the effort, and fighting
hard. She looked in pain because she couldn’t move, couldn’t even cry. And that snapped Sakura out of it.
In the blink of an eye, Haruppi collapsed and Sakura caught her in her arms before she fell.
Haruppi leaned against her for support and Sakura held her securely. All of a sudden Haruppi seemed so small, so frail and easy to be broken, and Sakura felt that she would do anything to protect her. Anything at all. She would even...die for her.
Sakura’s head was pounding, like a thousand drums beating next to her ear. Everything started going in and out of focus. Images flashed like a montage. The room was spinning. Her senses were overloaded, a touch here, a hushed whisper there. Darkness, then not.
I-I would’ve died for her......but we were lucky.“Sakura.”
Then it went away again. Calm washed over her in waves and Sakura relaxed, feeling like everything would be alright, that it
was alright. Because then Haruppi’s arms enveloped her and Sakura felt more safe than she ever had.
“I’m sorry...I’m so sorry Haruppi...”
There were so many things to apologize for that a simple ‘sorry’ definitely wouldn’t cut it. Sakura wanted to apologize for using her powers on Haruppi when she promised that she never would. She wanted to apologize for pushing Haruppi so far. She wanted to apologize for taking so long to remember Haruppi. And most of all, Sakura wanted to apologize for forgetting about Haruppi and the feelings she had for her.
But Sakura was a bit traumatized and couldn’t get anything else out, crying quietly and only repeating, “I’m sorry...”
Haruppi didn’t respond though, not with words, she just kissed Sakura on the head lovingly and rubbed her back in a reassuring manner. They stayed like that for a few moments, wrapped up in each other’s embrace, Sakura still shaking and sniffling, taking time to recover from the shock but she managed another soft whisper.
“I missed you too...Haruppi.”
---
Sakura awoke slowly, like she was coming out of a nice dream (for once). It was one of those sleeps where you can’t really remember the dream, only the feeling it left behind and she felt more refreshed than ever. But Sakura could just vaguely recall being surrounded by a shower of soft white feathers, and having her lips curved up in a soft smile.
Then she figured out why she slept so well. She was still on the floor of Haruppi’s study, lying on the furry rug which was nice and warm, her reflection in the mirror back to normal. But best of all, lying next to her (and somewhat under her) was Haruppi. Her face was so angelic and different as she slept that Sakura couldn’t help but stare for a while.
Haruppi was always so...guarded (at least recently). But when she slept, it was like she was open, relaxed, free.
Then Haruppi started stirring but Sakura didn’t notice until she found a pair of hazel eyes meeting her own.
“...”
“...”
“...I’m glad this rug is here.”
It started as soft giggling until Haruppi couldn’t hold it in anymore and full on laughed, which was music to Sakura’s ears as she hadn’t heard it in forever.
“Hahahaha! Hahaha~...Is that really the first thing you have to say?” Haruppi giggled.
This time there were tears in Haruppi’s eyes from laughing too hard and Sakura thought that she liked those tears a lot better.
“Sorry~” She apologized with a sheepish smile. “I just...couldn’t think of what to say.”
“Hehe it’s okay.” Haruppi smiled then – a real one this time.
And Sakura knew - she was forgiven.
Topic: Forgotten Memories [SakuRuppi] - COMPLETED (Read 21573 times)