CHAPTER 5
Nagoya Station on Friday night was full of people. Most of them were in a hurry, trying to avoid the unpleasant cold breeze of January’s weather and impatient to reach their warm, cozy home.
Rena looked expectantly at the neon schedule board which indicated the time arrival of the trains. The green scarf she wore made her warm despite the autumn weather. When Airi told her she would arrive by train the evening before the exhibition, Rena insisted to pick her up.
“The train will arrive in five minutes,” Rena murmured.
“I know.” Jurina held her hand. It was really cold.
In fact, these last thirty minutes, it had already been the third time Rena announced the time. They arrived to the train station after work. The traffic was surprisingly smooth. Rena was nervous to meet her old best friend; their last meeting was not a pleasant moment to remember.
Initially, Rena wanted to pick her up by herself. Even though Airi knew about Jurina, Rena understood very well that Airi didn’t feel comfortable meeting new people. But later, she changed her mind. The sooner Jurina and Airi met, the better they would get along.
“There she is!” Rena quickly approached a girl with shiny long black hair holding a purple suitcase.
Jurina immediately followed her.
“Airi!” Rena waved at her, and smiled when Airi’s eyes met hers. Airi returned the smile. It was like years ago; it was as if they were fine.
“Airi, this is Jurina. Jurina, this is Airi,” Rena introduced them to each other.
“Nice to meet you,” Jurina slightly inclined her head.
Airi replied with the same gesture. “Nice to meet you too,” she avoided Jurina’s gaze shyly.
Jurina had seen Airi on one of Rena’s pictures, but meeting her directly was a different story. It didn’t take long for Jurina to notice that Airi was a quiet and timid girl. Jurina wondered how this awkward girl standing in front of her was once the same girl who broke Rena’s heart.
They left the train station, and walked in silence towards the parking lot where Jurina had previously parked her car.
“What about barbeque for dinner tonight?” Rena broke the silence.
Contrary to Jurina, Rena didn’t like meat and they rarely went to a barbeque restaurant. Even though she found Rena’s suggestion a bit odd, Jurina nodded in agreement. Both looked at Airi in expectation, who immediately agreed.
They went to a barbeque restaurant in the center of the city, and chose a table in a quiet area. Rena took a seat next to Jurina, while Airi sat opposite them.
“Apparently, you’re still fond of this place,” Airi said, suddenly feeling nostalgic about the place. Rena used to bring her to this restaurant each time she visited.
“Yes, I like their soup. Jurina also says the meat is tender and juicy.”
Jurina couldn’t agree more; they had indeed eaten here a couple of times now. While she often chose grilled meat, Rena usually ordered the vegetable soup.
“You come to a barbeque restaurant only to eat soup? Rena, you never change!” Airi suppressed a laugh, before adding. “I thought you would be more tolerant to meat after all this time.”
“Not really, but both of you enjoy eating meat, so I think this place is perfect for us,” Rena smiled.
The waiter arrived with the menu: plenty choices of different meats and vegetables. He turned on the stove and put the fat on it to melt. On the same table, he also started to boil the water in a pot for the soup. With her chopsticks, Jurina began to place some meat on the grill, while Rena put some vegetables in the pot.
“Airi…” Rena started, while cautiously stirring the soup. “What kind of exhibition will you be attending tomorrow?”
Airi explained that her company was launching a game based on their anime adaptation at the Japan Anime Festival. It was an annual event, and this year Nagoya was chosen to be the host. Airi was one of the illustrators of the anime so she – along with with her small team – would be attending the event at the Nagoya Convention Center.
“I’m one of the junior illustrators in my team so initially, I was not on the list of people who was supposed to attend the exhibition. Later, my company added me to the list,” Airi said while seasoning the prawns, before placing the food on the grill.
“My company had originally booked four rooms in a hotel near the venue, then booked another room for me. Apparently, the hotel staff forgot to add that room,” she sighed. “I checked other hotels, but all are fully booked this weekend. This exhibition is pretty famous, even among international visitors.”
She turned some prawns upside down and continued. “I can go back and forth from Toyohashi to Nagoya but it’s not practical,” she referred to her hometown. “Not to mention, it will take a lot of time. Then I remembered you,” Airi said sheepishly. “So I called you to ask if I could stay at your place.”
“You are always welcomed,” Rena smiled. She turned to Jurina who – unlike her usual distracted self – was attentively listening to their conversation tonight. “Right, Jurina?”
“Yes, sure,” Jurina confirmed.
“Thanks. This exhibition is really important for me. I will meet many senior illustrators there. It’s a great opportunity to learn a lot from them,” Airi said enthusiastically.
There it is, Jurina thought. Airi transformed into a completely different person once she began talking about a subject she liked. She didn’t look anymore like that quiet and awkward girl Jurina barely met an hour ago. She changed into a girl who was proud of her passion and her dreams. Jurina couldn’t help thinking that it might be one of the qualities Rena liked the most about her friend. Not to mention, she looked really cute and sweet with her long and black perfect shiny hair.
Just when Jurina was lost in her own thoughts, she was startled when Airi suddenly put a grilled prawn on Rena’s empty plate. Rena didn’t like meat or seafood. Or at least, that’s what she always believed.
As if realising she made a mistake, Airi stopped herself. She shouldn’t be doing that kind of thing - not when Jurina was with them - even if what she did was something very ordinary. Something she casually had done pretty much before. She liked barbeque a lot, but felt terrible that Rena couldn’t enjoy the meat and only ate soup. So, one day, she had suggested Rena to try grilled prawns.
Rena had enjoyed it, but for some reason she wouldn’t take it unless Airi put it on her plate. That was something Airi did unconsciously, without thinking.
Rena could see her best friend stiffening. “Thank you, Airi,” Rena carefully peeled the prawn’s shells. “It’s sweet and fresh. I like it. You should try one, too, Jurina.”
Jurina did as she was told and tasted one: Rena was right. It was really good.
Jurina always thought she knew Rena very well but that night, Jurina learned something new about her girlfriend.
They arrived home before 9 PM. Airi still felt familiar with the ambience of Rena’s apartment; it didn’t change much. Tonight, she would be sleeping in the guest bedroom for the first time. Usually, she stayed with Rena in the main bedroom.
Since the exhibition would start early in the morning, Airi preferred to go straight to bed. She remembered all those nice moments she had spent with Rena, and felt a pang in her chest when she realised how badly she had treated her friend in the past. Deep down, she missed her so much.
What made her feel even worse, was the fact that Rena hadn’t changed at all. A few days ago, when she called Rena for the first time in years, she wasn’t sure how Rena would react to her call. But Rena was still the nice and warm person Airi remembered.
When Rena told her about Jurina, Airi wondered what kind of person was dating her dear friend. She knew Rena would pick her up at the train station, but she didn’t expect Rena to come with Jurina.
The first time she saw Jurina, she was amazed by her beauty. Fair skin, short hair, adorable small brown eyes. And what about her perfect smile? It could warm any cold heart. Airi might have avoided looking directly at Jurina, she was a good observer. Her intuition as an artist helped her capture every moment acutely. Airi believed that Jurina was that kind of magnetic person who could capture people’s attention effortlessly.
At first, Airi feared Jurina might be not be a good person; like many girls she knew with pretty faces, who were extremely presomptuous and arrogant. But Jurina was the complete opposite. She was incredibly nice, even with her, a stranger she had just met. Jurina treated her with respect, Airi could feel her sincerity in every word. When, earlier on in the restaurant, she sat opposite the two other girls, Airi didn’t miss the love shining in Jurina’s eyes each time she gazed at Rena. Yes, this girl was definitely one of a kind, and was a good match for her equally adorable Rena.
At that thought, Airi let out a small sigh, before progressively closing her eyes to sleep. Tomorrow, a long, busy day awaited her.
Airi couldn’t be happier with the outcome of her first day at the Japan Anime Festival. She got recognition for her work, not only from the medias but also from her seniors. Jurina and Rena even came to her booth, a nice surprise that made her extremely happy.
Tonight, they decided to have dinner at home. Both Matsui prepared the meal so when Airi came home, the food was ready. Airi told them about the exhibition, that a movie producer was interested in working with her team for a new anime.
It was still early when they finished dinner.
Jurina entered the main bedroom, followed by Rena.
“Are you sure you want to sleep now? You just had dinner,” Rena asked her.
“I’m not sleepy. I want to watch a movie,” Jurina turned on the TV.
Rena sat next to her and stayed quiet.
“Rena, I think you should talk to Airi. Both of you have a lot of catching up to do. Tomorrow night, she will return to Tokyo.”
“Why don’t you join us? I don’t feel at ease leaving you watching a movie alone while I’m with Airi.”
Jurina’s heart warmed up at Rena’s statement. She stroke her girlfriend’s hair gently.
“It’s okay. It’s only for tonight. I can spend the rest of the night and many other nights with you,” she said with assurance. When Rena leaned over to capture her lips in a kiss, her mouth tugged into a smile of pleasure.
“Airi, are you sleeping?” Rena knocked on the door.
“No. Come in, Rena.”
Rena slowly entered the room, seeing Airi playing with her phone.
“Where is Jurina? Is she sleeping?” Airi asked.
“She’s watching a movie,” Rena answered, moving closer and taking a seat on the bed next to Airi.
There was a lasting silence, althought it was not as awkward and uncomfortable as they anticipated.
“I forget the last time we sat like this,” Airi started.
“It feels like yesterday, right?”
More silence.
“I’m sorry, Rena, for what I’ve done to you. I didn’t deserve a good friend like you.”
“No, please don’t say that. You were my best friend, and you still are. People make mistakes; we’ve made mistakes. Let’s learn from our mistakes, okay? I’m happy we can be friends again.”
“Me too.”
…
“Rena, I missed you.”
“You have no idea how much I missed you too.” Tears began rolling down Rena’s cheeks. She didn’t want to remember those painful times when Airi avoided her, but those unpleasant memories resurfaced without her consent.
As an introvert, Airi was not the type of person to naturally initiate a hug, but she felt she had to make the first step. She leaned forward and hugged Rena tightly, apologizing once more. Against Airi’s shoulder, Rena couldn’t stop crying. It was almost as if a heavy burden had suddenly been lifted. She had really missed Airi. She had truly missed her best friend.
For the rest of the evening, they talked and talked, going through what had happened in their life during those last years. Without even realising it, it was already past midnight.
When Rena left Airi’s side and joined her bedroom, Jurina was sleeping with the TV on. It was not the first time such a thing occurred, and Rena always wondered how Jurina was capable of sleeping with so much noise. Rena turned the TV off, listening to Jurina’s soft and quiet breathing. Before turning the light off, Rena paused to admire the beautiful, peaceful expression of her girlfriend. Day after day, her affection for Jurina was growing stronger and stronger.
At first, she was afraid Jurina wouldn’t get along with Airi. She feared feelings of jealousy towards Airi might emerge, but none of it happened. During Airi’s stay at her place, Jurina had acted as the mature person she had always known.
Rena turned the lights off and kissed Jurina’s temple, carefully enough to not wake her up. “I love you, Jurina,” she whispered.
Words of love she hadn’t had the courage to utter out loud until now.
(to be continued)