Chapter XVII: 50 Ways to Say Goodbye
The sound of a gentle beeping and mechanical hissing greeted the elder Tanaka when she awoke, the former keeping time with her pulse and the latter, her breathing. Dim fluorescent lights cast a glow overhead, and Reina quickly deduced she was in a hospital bed; as if the oxygen mask plastered to her face weren't enough of a clue. Carefully, so as not to bother the IV taped to her hand, the old woman slowly propped herself up so she could look around.
She was not alone; Aika sat dozing in a chair on the other side of the room, next to another bed that was also occupied. Reina wasn't surprised they'd moved her here, since it would be much easier for her sister to keep an eye on the both of them. In fact, she also wouldn't have been surprised if Aika had personally requested such a thing.
Reina gingerly moved her legs so that they hung off the bed, grumbling something about her body not working the way it should. She discarded the oxygen mask, silently hoping some doctor would notice later so she could argue with someone. The old woman reached for the stand that her IV and pulse monitor were hooked up to, and after rising from the bed, used it for balance as she rolled herself over to the other side of the room.
She sat on the edge of the bed almost reverently, careful not to touch or wake its occupant. Not that she could; the woman was in a coma after all. It had been too long since Reina last saw her, though she knew if the woman were awake, forgiveness would come easily. Still, the old yankii felt guilty, even if her absence was due to mourning.
"How are you today, Eri?" She questioned the still form, reaching for the unconscious woman's hand. Her eyes fell on the wedding band as her fingers brushed against it, and she smiled, "Aika and I were talking about you just before I ended up here, you know. I was beginning to think perhaps you were sick of me since you don't visit anymore."
Eri's breathing remained steady, and though it hurt to see her friend this way, talking to her still helped. And Reina liked to think that somehow the turtle could hear her anyway.
"I know I haven't been here since..." She gripped Eri's hand for strength, unable to say the name. Three years wasn't enough time to heal some wounds. No time would be enough for this one. "Well, I haven't ever been here alone. I'm sorry. I know you'd tell me it's alright and that you understand, but that's just you being an amazing friend and me being a terrible one. And I guess that's how it's always worked between us, hasn't it? As much as you try to argue differently..."
She paused as Aika shifted in her chair nearby, but her sister wasn't waking up anytime soon. Another pang of guilt ran through Reina's system, considering what her own plans were. She turned back to Eri, voice softer now.
"She misses you terribly, you know. She doesn't ever leave, unless it's to check up on me," Reina brushed stray hairs from Eri's face, "So I'm afraid I have to ask you to hurry up and wake up soon. She's gonna need you even more when I go, you know?"
The old woman sighed, leaning back against the wall.
"I've been dying since... Since I lost her, you know? It's my time to go, Eri. I'm tired. But I've still got a few things left to do. Gotta make my peace to die in peace I guess."
Reina picked at the flimsy hospital blanket, wondering if she'd live long enough to do what she wanted. As old as she was she no longer feared death, but certainly wished she could outrun it just enough to have no regrets.
No one's that lucky, though.
"...Can I tell you a story? Aika and I were just getting to the good parts."
----------
When Eri returned home that night, it was late and and she felt absolutely terrible. All she could focus on was getting to her fix; fortunately, the overwhelming urge hadn't kicked in until she and Aika left the concert. But by the time she dropped the artist off at her home, she was gritting her teeth and making her most valiant effort to keep from shaking in front of the younger girl.
"Thank you for coming with me tonight." Aika said shyly, staring at the ground near Eri's feet, "I had fun."
"So did I," The drummer tried her hardest to smile, thankful that the girl wasn't looking at her. It'd been quite some time since she regretted picking up this addiction, but she definitely wished she weren't bound by it now. "We should hang out again soon."
"Y-yeah?" The younger girl squeaked, head jerking up to meet Eri's gaze. The drummer hoped it was dark enough that Aika didn't notice much.
"Yeah. I'll call you sometime this week, okay?" She replied with a grin, shoving her hands in her pockets as she turned to leave. The drummer only managed to walk down one step before a hand on her shoulder stopped her.
"Eri?"
"Mm?"
As she turned to face the artist again, she felt warm lips on her own, Aika using the height advantage to surprise her with a kiss. It was chaste, and over too quickly for Eri to react fast enough, blinking as the younger girl pulled away. Aika was too red now for even the drummer to be oblivious.
"A-ah, I'm sorry-" She began apologizing, and even in her shock Eri thought she was cute, "I just-"
The drummer smiled, forgetting her aching head for a moment and reaching for one of Aika's hands.
"Don't be sorry," she murmured quietly, leaning up to give the artist a kiss of her own. The younger girl sighed happily against her lips, and after a moment Eri broke the contact to look up at her, still smiling, "I'm not."
Aika slowly smiled back at her, and the drummer gave her hand a squeeze before turning again to descend the steps.
She could still taste the faintest hint of strawberry lip gloss, and couldn't help but smile even as she wandered through the quiet mansion towards the kitchen. But regret soon crept into her mind; what was she thinking, spending time with someone so innocent? And then letting herself start to develop feelings...
Eri needed those damned drugs. Now.
As soon as she entered the kitchen, she was greeted with the sound of clanging metal, watching as an avalanche of pots crashed down in the corner of the room. Risa was in the middle of this, cursing loudly as she surveyed her mess.
"Gaki-san?" The ex-gangster looked over at her, eyes narrowing slightly, "What are you still doing here? It's nearly midnight..."
"Didn't really feel like being around Aichan tonight," Risa grumbled, "Figured you wouldn't mind if I just crashed at your place."
"Oh, I mean, I don't mind, but..." She could no longer ignore the burning, but she could tell her friend was definitely bothered by something, "What's wrong, Gaki-san?"
Risa shook her head, kneeling down to gather up the scattered kitchenware, and Eri sighed. When the bassist was in this state it was best to let her speak first, and the drummer decided to take care of her own problem in the meantime. She wandered into the pantry and pushed aside a few boxes on the shelf, reaching into the darkness to find a small metal case she knew was 'hidden' there. Her secret wasn't so secret from the staff, who minded their own business, didn't ask questions, and didn't touch her stuff.
Eri drew the case close to herself, giving it a slight shake to hear the contents rattling inside. She had about a week's supply left before she'd have to get more... Aika's face popped into her mind, and she felt a pang of guilt, unable to open it.
The drummer walked back into the kitchen, where Risa had set a pot of water on the stove to boil, everything else back in its place. Eri walked around the bar to sit across from her, setting the case down on the counter with a sigh before burying her face in her hands.
"What's eating you, Kame?" Risa grunted, looking over her shoulder.
"I don't want to do this anymore, Gaki-san..." Eri replied, even as her fingers trembled against her face, "Today was the longest I've gone without and it was like... stepping out of a cloud or something. I can speak easier... Think more clearly..."
The ex-gangster raised an eyebrow, turning to face her friend fully.
"You gotta be serious to get out of this kinda shit, Kame. And you have to want to do it for yourself, not some girl you like." She replied, firm but not unkind, "You tried that before with Michishige and it didn't work. Same thing will happen with Tanakacchi."
Eri blinked, lifting her head to glance at Risa.
"Gaki-san, about Reina-chan..."
"You don't have to explain anything, I saw you two in the garden..."
"Gaki-san..."
"...I mean, it's not like I care or anything but..."
"Gaki-san."
"...you should probably know she has a thing for Aichan-"
"Risa!"
The bassist stopped her rambling, confused.
"What?"
"Reina and I are just friends," Eri clarified, smiling softly, "I know maybe it looked a bit fishy, but we were just talking when you saw us. I told her about a lot of things and I started crying. She was just trying to comfort me."
"Oh," Risa replied dumbly, looking a mixture of sheepish and relieved, "Then, what were you doing tonight? I thought you said you were going to her house?"
"I did, but it was to pick up her sister," The drummer fidgeted with the clasp on the case, aware of Risa's questioning gaze. Risa was smart enough to figure things out on her own, however, and began to chuckle, shaking her head.
"Oh man, you have a thing for the kid? I so called it... But you're so dead. If Tanakacchi finds out, she'll kill you. Does she know about this?" The bassist gestured towards the case.
"No... I was trying to tell her in the garden before I started crying, but then someone interrupted..." Eri groaned, slumping back down on the table, "But forget Reina... If Aika finds out I bet she won't want anything else to do with me..."
Risa watched her friend quietly for a moment, trying to come up with something to say. It'd been a long time since Eri showed interest in somebody, and the short-lived thing with Sayumi... The drummer had started using during all of that, and her inability to care for herself, let alone the other girl, had destroyed that relationship. And to think the bunny had actually been good for Eri once...
But that was then, and thinking of Sayumi even for a moment made Risa see red, so she shook the thoughts from her mind, returning to the present. Aika was an innocent kid, and probably just what Eri needed in her life... but only if Eri could rid herself of the drugs. And if she did it for Aika and then the girl left her, Risa knew things would just go back to the way they were.
"What if I help you quit this," She held up a hand just as Eri sat up to thank her, "But, you gotta promise you're doing it for you. And you need to tell Tanakacchi and this girl of yours soon. Nothing good will come of keeping something like this from a woman like her..."
"Okay... I promise." Eri replied slowly, seeming to think hard about the answer, which was good enough for Risa, "And I'll tell them. But since we're making deals here, you do a few things for me as well."
"Why?"
"More incentive for me to be serious about this."
"Depends on what you're asking, I guess," Risa replied, but she couldn't help but be curious, "What is it?"
"First, you quit smoking."
The bassist scowled, leaning on the counter so she could be eye level with her friend.
"The hell I'm doing that."
"Come on, Gaki-san... It's terrible for you, and besides, how am I supposed to listen to someone when they're tearing up their own body?"
"Fine," Risa growled, eyes on the case under Eri's hands. She fished around in her jacket for her pack of cigarettes and tossed it on the table, holding her hand out for the case in exchange. The drummer stared at her.
"And the one in your back pocket as well, Gaki-san."
The bassist scowled harder and reluctantly complied, pulling the mentioned pack out and tossing it next to its twin. Eri obediently slid the case into Risa's hands, pocketing the smokes to dispose of them when the older woman wasn't looking. Risa knew she would regret this later, but maybe Eri was right, and besides, she would do whatever she needed to get her friend sober. She definitely owed her that.
"What's the second thing?" The bassist asked, trying to keep the irritation out of her tone.
"You should go apologize to Reina for being such a jerk today."
"What?!" Risa jumped to her feet, the look on her face telling Eri that the older girl would much rather throw herself off a cliff. The way the girl reacted sometimes, honestly...
"It wouldn't kill you," Eri replied flatly, "She's trying pretty hard to fit in here and you and Sayu aren't making that easy for her."
"Don't lump me in with that bitch," Risa warned coldly, but the drummer was unphased.
"Then stop being an idiot about things," Eri replied gently, tone contrasting with the insult, "I don't understand why you're suddenly all standoffish with Reina anyway, you stood up for her when Sayu harassed her once, and even today you took a swing at Sayu for saying... well..." It had been a really lewd comment about taking the singer to bed--not too uncharacteristic of the bunny, of course, and Eri wasn't a prude but she didn't say things like that. "Anyway you were there. It just seems like since that day you taught her to drive you've been kind of rude to her."
Risa was aware of the way she'd been acting. But she couldn't help it, not with the singer slowly getting closer and closer to the woman she loved. Especially with the thought that Reina was so much better for Ai than she could be floating around in her mind. Reina didn't carry around 50 tons of baggage and a bad attitude, and she was good-looking and talented beyond that.
It wasn't Reina's fault Ai was taking an interest in her, and Risa certainly couldn't blame Reina for liking Ai. There was the other thought that crept into the bassist's mind, the one that told her she was probably just holding Ai back by not letting go of what they'd had before.
And maybe... If something were to happen... Maybe Ai could be happy again with her instead of me.
She buried the other thoughts in her head, the strange ones that confused her thinking, like the way she'd felt when Reina had fallen on top of her in the restaurant, or what it was like to hold the other girl in her lap as she taught her to drive. It was easy to filter them out, and she chalked them up to the fact that Reina was simply an attractive girl, and Risa noticed. It meant nothing more than that.
Risa sighed. No, it wouldn't kill her to make peace with the yankii.
"Fine, I'll do that too." She finally responded, eliciting a pleased grin from Eri. "Now come here and help me with this, I'm starving..."
----------
Sayumi realized something was out of place as soon as she approached her apartment door. The untrained eye would have completely missed it, of course, but the bunny noticed everything, and the fading watery footprints leading up to her place didn't escape her gaze. She reached for the handle, turning it slightly, her apprehension fading into annoyance when she realized the lock had been tampered with, rendered useless.
The guitarist kicked the door open, stomping inside and throwing her bag on the floor when she entered the kitchen.
"Koharu! That's the fifth one you've broken! It's not exactly cheap to get the lock replaced every time you decide to drop in, you little brat..."
"If you would just give me a key, I wouldn't have to break in every time," A tired voice responded, coming in from the living room. Sayumi huffed angrily, following the sound to find her half-sister curled up on the couch.
"You know very well why I don't do that either. Look, you can't crash here tonight, I've got someone coming over and-" The bunny halted as she realized Koharu's current state. The girl was soaking wet--not really surprising considering the way the rain was coming down outside--jet-black hair plastered to her face. An angry bruise graced Koharu's otherwise lovely cheek, and Sayumi could tell her sister had been crying. Eyes that were generally sparkling with energy stared back at the bunny, completely hollow.
"Oh Koharu," She sighed, quickly and silently moving back into the kitchen. Sayumi pulled a large dry towel from one of the top cabinets and then opened the freezer to retrieve an ice pack. These things she returned to the living room with, and she handed the latter to Koharu while forcing the younger girl to sit up.
Sayumi and Koharu shared the same mother, and thankfully had gotten most of their looks from her as well, rather than from their absent fathers, both of whom the bunny had been told weren't exactly handsome. Their mother had chased after them for their money, just like every other man she'd ever had in her life, unsurprised and uncaring when they left at the first mention of pregnancy.
Sayumi had inherited her mother's cunning, and was all but following in her footsteps; the only difference being that she never saw the same partners more than once, save for Ai and occasionally Eri. She had been ousted from her mother's home when she was three, and bounced around from foster home to foster home until she eventually simply aged out of the system. She took up exotic dancing and sold her body when she needed extra money, careful to avoid getting caught.
Koharu hadn't even been a factor in her life until her mother returned to the city a few years ago, and Sayumi had to deal with the double shock of seeing her mother again and coming to terms with the fact she now had a half-sister.
Where Sayumi was cold and ruthless, Koharu was somehow kind and cheerful. The bunny mostly thought her sister was an idiot, and never missed an opportunity to tell her so. What was irritating was that Koharu generally answered her with a dopey smile. She tolerated the younger girl, however, and would die before admitting out loud that she liked the kid.
Koharu enjoyed a more stable home life than Sayumi ever had, save for the fact that their mother took up drinking and tended to get violent at times, meaning that the girl was prone to becoming a human punching bag. It was after these episodes that the kid would flee to Sayumi's apartment for a few days, returning when her mom threatened to call the cops to bring her back. It was a cycle that Sayumi hated, and as much as she wished she could take the kid in, she was barely able to take care of herself.
She couldn't force Koharu to turn their mother in, either; the kid was adamant about not doing so for whatever reason. The most the bunny could do was nurse her sister back to health each time and give her a few days of refuge.
Sayumi threw the towel around the girl's shoulders and dug in her pocket for her phone, dialing the latest number she added to her ever growing list. As Koharu sniffled and settled into the crook of her arm, the bunny cleared her schedule for the next few days.
She would do what she could to take care of her sister.