Hai confrontation time!
Haha Rena is such a worrywart~ Lol
@Blackdawn: Lol 'Furuyanagay'?! And I love how you always save a spot to re-edit later, it's cracks me up
@abcari: Yeah...Rena's depressed. But you know, that's her character, maybe Jurina can help her out?
@nezukara: Haha thanks for always commenting bud~ I love to hear what you think! And well I did say Airi died so I couldn't just say she disappeared (Lol she needed a proper death and according to my English teacher 'every death must have a meaning') Ah yas, Rena's friendship with Yuki is something I put in there as borderline possible relationship but more sisterly (in other words I wanted to add YukiRena in there just for fun haha cuz I can)
Aww man there were less reviews this time
Nah I'm just kidding. I'll just have to try harder and earn more!
And without further ado~
One and the SameChapter 6“Rena... You have to go to school at
some point.” Acchan tried to coerce me through the bedroom door. But I wasn’t going to have any of that and just wrapped the covers tighter around myself. I heard her sigh and leave soon after, her footsteps echoing down the stairs.
I wanted to go out, I’d been holed up in this room for a week already and barely ate anything, not to mention all the trouble I was causing for Acchan. She gave me spare clothes and let me stay here this whole time without prying too much.
Although...we did talk a couple days ago. She explained that those thugs were hired by some students in our school to target her. They were jealous that a new transfer student suddenly became so popular and even took the title of Student Council President. Well screw them, that’s what I said. She also said that it wasn’t the first time they attacked her and that she had fought some off the first night she was in Japan. So THAT’S why she told me she wanted to walk home, having noticed those guys following us from inside the car. I admired her guts, I at least had to give her credit for that. But I didn’t even feel sorry for almost killing that guy back in the alley that night, if he was targeting Acchan then he had it coming. What I did feel bad about though, was that breaking my promise to Airi.
I lost control and went berserk fighting just like I used to, even after I’d promised to take care of myself since I didn’t have anyone to watch my back anymore. And Jurina...she watched me almost beat that guy to death... What did she think of me now? Did she think I was a freak? A psycho? I wouldn’t blame her if she did. I probably would too.
Thinking about it again...Did I blame myself for Airi’s death? Maybe. Was I beating myself up over it? Probably. Do I hate myself for breaking our promise? Definitely. Did I try to do anything about it or get over it like I also promised her? No. Not in the least bit.
I sort of tried, like I said I was going to. It was a half-assed attempt though. I kind of just pushed it to the back of my mind rather than get over it.
But really I was just dwelling in self-pity for all this time, feeling bad for myself even though Airi had it worse.
Just like I am now with Jurina.
I informed Acchan of my worries and she was a really good listener, like the protective older sister I never had. I gave her the short version of course and she advised me to talk to Jurina as soon as possible to sort it out. It was good advice, but I was too much of a coward to even leave the room. Thinking of these things for the nth time, I drifted off to sleep again.
I was rudely awoken by having the covers torn off of my body and I shivered at the sudden loss of warmth. I slowly sat up, slightly groggy and ready to bite anyone that came too close, but instantly changed my mind when I saw who it was.
Yuki. No wait... MAD Yuki. So in other words......Black.
Shit I am so dead.
The scowl Yuki had on her face sent shivers down my spine. Yep, dead. So dead. I knew I forgot about something!...
“Umm Yuki...I can explain...”
“Explain what?”
I gulped, oh god please help me...
“I assume you would want to tell me what happened about an ENTIRE week ago, but you don’t really have to since Acchan already spilled everything.” Yuki put her hands on her hips menacingly.
Wow she even made Acchan talk? That’s extremely impressive...and not in a good way. Her tone was so cold and seemingly uncaring, her face blank and eyes boring into my very soul. I found it much scarier than when she just freaks out and yells at me, thinking that I’d rather prefer the yelling, but Yuki did do plenty of that later.
“I thought that maybe my BEST FRIEND would tell me when something big like this happens...but I guess not.”
I flinched every time she emphasized a word and thought that maybe it’d be a good idea to stay quiet and just let Yuki vent for a bit. I sat like you would during a traditional tea ceremony and folded my legs under me with my hands in my lap. Better just be a good girl and take the bitching head on.
“Honestly Rena, what were you thinking? First of all, call a car if you’re going to go home so late. I don’t care if you want to spend more time with Jurina.”
I opened my mouth to retort but the glare she sent my way made me shut it again instantly.
“And don’t run towards trouble! I thought that maybe you would’ve learned that by now! At least call for help!” Yuki was getting really worked up now, pacing around the room and gesturing wildly. “I don’t know what you were thinking! Running to fight those guys without any back up? And I don’t want to hear about how you’re a good fighter. That cut on your head proves otherwise.” Her glare boring holes through me.
So maybe I was a little rusty.
“And lastly...why didn’t you tell me sooner?! I’ve been worried sick! You haven’t been coming to school and I thought that maybe you died or something!” She grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me. I could tell she was really worried and felt like shit for forgetting to tell her.
“I...I’m sorry, Yuki.” I looked down, unable to face her. “I didn’t mean to make you worry... I just......I’m scared. I broke my promise to Airi and I don’t want to go to school and face Jurina... What do I DO?” I said, almost breaking down again.
*SMACK*Yuki slapped me across the face, HARD, and it stung like hell. “Damn it all, Rena. You should’ve really asked me sooner, what are best friends for? I’m here to help and stop sounding like a lost puppy. We’ve talked about this before.”
I realized that I did sound pretty pathetic just now. I rubbed my cheek absentmindedly but then smiled, “Thanks Yuki. I think that’s exactly what I needed.”
“You’re welcome~” She smiled back and I was already starting to feel better.
“Knock knock~ Is it safe to come in now?” Acchan’s head peered through a crack in the doorway.
“Sure~ Yuki was just abusing me a bit but it’s fine.”
“Hey!” Yuki crossed her arms and pouted, having let go of my shoulders. “I was not~”
I laughed as Acchan came into the room and saw that Haruna was right behind her, the latter looking at me rather uneasily. “Hey Rena... Are you okay?”
Looks like I made just about everyone worry about me this past week. I smiled and reassured her that I was alright, except for my stinging cheek then Yuki just smacked me on the arm to make me shut up. Jeez that woman was so violent.
“So why are you all here? And where’s Takamina and them?”
“Well I’m here because this is my house.” Acchan decided to be a smartass but I knew she didn’t mean anything by it. So I just ignored it this time.
Haruna actually answered me though. “We’re here because Yuki was going to come over anyways and I thought I’d tag along. Everyone was so worried and we thought that it’d be best to pay a home visit~”
Wow. It was really nice to have friends and just to know that someone actually cares about you. You don’t find people like them very often.
“...Thank you.” It was the most genuine expression of gratitude that I’d ever spoken, and I really was thankful for all that they did for me.
They all smiled and told me that it was nothing, Acchan even patted me on the head. I pouted and said that I wasn’t a dog so she called me a puppy, saying that I was the pet of the group. I retaliated, saying that it had to be Jurina, not me...
Jurina.
Yuki said that she had sent Mayu and the guys over to talk to her, since she had been skipping school for the past week. I frowned at this. What had she been doing this whole time? How had SHE felt when I left her there in the alley? Damn I was such an ass.
I still hadn’t spoken to her yet. And I needed to get on that right away. She deserved to know. Now that I was all rejuvenated and ready to go, I felt that I could do it. No problem, how hard could it be?
Really hard, actually.
I went to school the next day and all my classmates welcomed me back, those little frauds, they probably didn’t even care or notice until I came back.
Fortunately, my hair could cover my head wound but my hands hadn’t completely healed yet and were harder to conceal. I had to wear these frilly, lacy as hell and dainty-ass little white gloves (that Acchan had given me) to cover up the scabs on my hands. I’d stared with horror when Acchan first presented them, but she just remarked (with a deadpan expression I might add) that it was either wearing the gloves or letting people know I’d gotten into a fight. And we all know how THAT would’ve went. So I begrudgingly put them on and had even gotten quite a few compliments on them (to which I just smiled while cringing inside).
The teachers were all informed that I had been sick and my parents thought I was over at Acchan’s for schoolwork, so overall it was basically a foolproof lie.
Lunch came creeping around the corner and all the dread I was feeling suddenly resurfaced. I thought I had calmed myself down already but apparently not. Yuki came over though, and gave me a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder before pushing me out the door. Thanks friend.
I headed up to the roof where Acchan told me that Jurina would be waiting, at least I hoped she would be.
She was.
I saw her as soon as I gathered enough courage to open the door, which took about ten minutes by the way.
Jurina was lying down on her side near the fence, at a closer glance I noticed that she was sleeping. Who could fall asleep with their head propped up with their arm? It was such an awkward position. Her mouth was slightly open and I sat down, listening to her even breathing. It was oddly relaxing.
She stirred though, and groaned a little while rubbing her eyes. I thought it was cute the way she woke up.
“Rena-chan?” Her voice was tired sounding, like she hadn’t slept for days.
“Hey Jurina...” I said as she turned around to face me, until we were both sitting cross-legged about a foot apart.
She just watched me and I did the same to her. I was observing her every feature, her lips that looked like a cat’s whenever she grinned, her shoulder length black hair that was slightly ruffled from her nap, and lastly her eyes. The same eyes that I came to love.
“Rena-chan...”
I tensed as I waited for what was coming next. I honestly had no idea how she would respond but I was at least pretty sure it wouldn’t be like Yuki.
“You look like shit.”
I scoffed, “Wow, thanks for the compliment. You look pretty great yourself.”
She gave me a small grin and I realized that I had really missed seeing her smile. “Well it’s the truth. Though I guess I look pretty bad too...”
I laughed at this and her grin grew. Somehow the light banter made me feel better.
“And what the hell...” Jurina pinched the edge of one of my gloves and lifted my hand to get a better look while frowning all the while. “...are THESE?”
I pulled my hand away with a slight blush. “Hey quit judging me~ Acchan MADE me wear them.”
Jurina laughed and shook her head, probably still making fun of me in her mind, but it was alright since I was kind of judging myself for listening to Acchan anyways. Honestly there MUST’VE been another pair of LESS FRILLY gloves available!
So I laughed right along with her until the sound eventually faded into a few merry chuckles.
“...Oh and if you’re going to apologize then don’t bother. I don’t want to hear it.”
I blinked in confusion, all of a sudden reminded that I still had to make up with Jurina. But she doesn’t want to hear it? What does that mean? Does it mean she wouldn’t accept it? Or does she not care? She seemed to read my thoughts though.
“I know you came here to tell me sorry probably about a thousand times, but that’s not necessary. I’ve already forgiven you.”
“Really?” I asked her, incredulous.
Jurina rolled her eyes at me, “Of course. How dense do you think I am? Now if you’re calling me stupid then I’m not going to take that, THEN you’d better say sorry.”
I could tell she was messing with me though. She always had this glint in her eye whenever she was playing. “So you’re not mad at me? Like, at all?”
“Nope.”
Phew! I thought she’d bite my head off! Or worse...she’d hate me. “But why?”
Jurina shrugged, “I don’t know. I guess I like you too much so maybe I’m a little biased. But honestly it’s not that big of a deal.”
She was really trying to reassure me, it was kind of a weird way of doing it...but it really did make me happy to hear her say that. Every time she so casually mentions that she likes me, my heart skips a beat, and then I remember that I still never gave her an answer for her confession.
“I don’t see why you always think that I hate you or something. Like, where does that even come from? Do I seem like the type that hates things easily?” She kind of did to be honest, of course I didn’t say that out loud.
“I just...care about what you think...that’s all...” I murmured it real quiet so I didn’t know if she caught it or not. A quick glance up was all it took to find out.
Jurina had this huge grin plastered on her smug face and I thought I’d have to punch her to make it go away. “So SOMEBODY missed me this past week~”
My face flushed as I smacked her shoulder, “Sh-Shut up!”
It didn’t stop there though. “Oooh and now you’re blushing~ Kawaii~”
This girl is going to be the death of me.
Jurina kept up her teasing for a good 15 minutes before I think she realized it was no good because all the blood had rushed to my head - that obviously wasn’t good for my health.
“Haha sorry~ But you were too cute and I couldn’t help myself~”
“Hmmph~” I huffed and tried to fan myself, god my face was burning.
The rooftop was silent for a few moments before Jurina decided to break it with a shy voice.
“But Rena-chan... Can you tell me about your past? I heard some from Yuki but she told me to ask you directly and I was planning on that anyways. No worries if you don’t want to!” She waved her hands frantically and I was struck with how young and child-like she could be. She must’ve been really scared when we were fighting those thugs. I forget sometimes that Jurina was still an ordinary person, just a normal high school girl like me.
“No, it’s fine. I was going to tell you anyways... I just didn’t know where to start or how to even breach the topic.” I smiled sheepishly.
“Well why don’t you start from the beginning? Tell me everything.”
“But...aren’t you scared of me? I mean...it was pretty......bad.” I ended lamely. I was still confused. Jurina was just so...nonchalant about this. Like she understood for some reason. “I wouldn’t blame you if you thought I was crazy and violent. I certainly wouldn’t be upset if you don’t want anything to do with me anymore.”
But Jurina just shook her head, “No. You just surprised me a bit. I’m not scared of you, I mean, it was kind of scary when we were fighting because I thought you might get hurt. Or hurt yourself. I didn’t even know you were capable of fighting since you definitely seem like the sweet and fragile type...”
“I didn’t know you could either...” I muttered under my breath and Jurina didn’t seem to catch it.
“It seems like I didn’t have anything to worry about though~” She ended on a lighthearted note, her smile so dazzling I thought that maybe SHE was the crazy one.
“...” I didn’t know what to say. She wasn’t scared of me. She didn’t hate me. She didn’t even find me repulsive for being so violent. What is with her?
One part of me criticized her judgement, thinking that she
should hate me,
should resent me or even get away from me. But then another part of me...was really glad – that Jurina accepted me for the way I was.
“I’ll admit that it was kind of frightening when you wouldn’t stop punching that guy - surprised the heck out of me! But then I thought about it, and in the end it didn’t really bother me after all.” Jurina said it like it was nothing and I wondered why. She wasn’t like most people would find it pretty disturbing or horribly gruesome and repulsive.
“I still wanna hear what you have to say though.” Jurina confirmed. “I want to hear about your past and I don’t care how bad it is.”
“It’s a really long story you know.” I warned her, with a small smile making its way onto my face, but she told me to give her the long version anyways. So I told her everything, down to the very last detail, and she listened intently. Her attention never strayed at all. I told her all about my childhood and how I was a yankee, told her about Airi and Akane, and everything that happened afterwards. It took forever and lunch was almost over by the time I was done. “And so that’s it. That’s basically my whole life story.”
“Well...you weren’t kidding. That
was long.” She shot me a playful smirk. “But I’m glad you decided to tell me. So now I just have one, final question...” Jurina looked right at me and it felt like she was staring straight into my soul. “Airin...Did you love her?”
I was speechless. I opened my mouth but nothing came out. Wait a minute, I don’t think I ever mentioned Airi’s name let alone her nickname...I’d told Jurina the whole story without mentioning a single name. “How...How do you know that name?”
Jurina sighed and looked away, suddenly seeming tired as she rubbed the back of her neck. “I met her once, Airi I mean. She appeared nice enough, at least my sister seemed to like her a lot...”
“Your sister?”
“Yeah, my older sister...... Akane.”
I couldn’t breathe. Her sister...was Akane? Jurina was Akane’s little sister? Since when did Akane have a sister?
“Sorry I didn’t tell you, but it’d kind of a hard topic to bring up, ya know? Like, hey I had an older sister but...”
I didn’t have anything to say. What could I say? “Akane...Do you miss her?”
I don’t know why I asked that. Out of all the questions going through my head I chose to focus on that one.
“I do. I miss her a lot.”
Ouch that hurt somehow. I really shouldn’t be jealous of her sister but...
“I lost my dad when I was really little, like when I was two, so I didn’t really know him well enough to miss him. But Akane...well it hurt. A lot. I wasn’t even there to see her go since I was at a boarding school. My mom worked hard to support us and as soon as we got some cash she sent me to a private academy. I believe it was Akane’s idea, but she didn’t come with me, probably had certain reasons for wanting to stay at her old school. She was a caring sister though, sort of bird-brained at times but I still loved her. In the end, I didn’t even get to say goodbye...”
“Do you...want to talk about it? You can let it all out, I’ll listen.”
Jurina shook her head, “I don’t have much to say. But I didn’t know that Airi was your friend, promise! Heck I didn’t even know you existed until this year!” She tried to smile. It must’ve been hard for her, but she was trying. Much harder than I was.
Jurina was just so strong, even though she’d been through so much just like me, she was still fighting it head on and I kind of envied her. Heck she was even trying to lighten the mood when I was supposed to be the one making
her feel better.
“I had a bad episode after Akane’s death though. I started fighting, I think I was just angry at the world to be honest. Mayu probably told you what I was like as a kid, well after that I sort of became gloomy and dark all the time, like how I am now.”
I could only keep quiet, but I did pull her closer into a hug as she talked. She didn’t resist and snuggled even closer, almost onto my lap with her head leaning on my shoulder.
“...I heard about this girl - Gekikara they called her. They said she was the strongest - the unbeatable queen - and I wanted to fight her. Thought I’d be able to prove myself somehow by beating her. But I’d also heard that she’d completely stopped fighting around the same time I started, so I didn’t have a chance. Guess now I know why, huh?” She glanced up at me with a small smirk.
“I don’t think you’d want to go against me.”
“Oh ho you think you can beat me? Is that a challenge?”
That’s when it hit me. I smirked, “Of course not~ I don’t think I’d be able to defend myself against the infamous
CENTER after all these years~”
Her eyes widened, “You know me?”
I snorted, “I heard some rumors floating around~ It wasn’t hard to put two and two together.”
She laughed hard, her whole body shaking with the action and I thought she’d fall off my lap. The sound made me smile though.
But then she brought up that subject again.
“Seriously though, Rena, you haven’t answered my question...Do you or do you not love Airi?” She was staring at me again, her gaze boring into mine. It didn’t help that her face was only inches away...
“I-I...”
Jurina sighed, “I thought so...” She began to pull away. “I really like you, but I somehow sensed that you had someone else...someone that you hadn’t gotten over yet. But I had to try even though I knew that deep down I was just Airi’s replacement. I’m not good enough for you anyways...”
I pulled her back abruptly and held her by the shoulders. “Really? That’s what you think?”
“Well excuse me for being insecure...” She sneered. “I just wish you would trust to me to watch your back at least.”
“Jurina...” No, no, she can’t leave. Not now.
“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.” She shrugged like it was nothing and tried to pull away again. Why does she always do that?!
“Jurina...” I said with more urgency.
“I won’t hold it over you or anything, promise.”
“Jurina would you listen to me?! NOW who’s being the dense one?! I’m trying to tell you that I LOVE YOU!” I pulled her close and smashed our lips together. It was messy and sloppy and I think I bruised my lip but totally worth it.
She didn’t respond right away, probably out of shock, but she soon did and her arms snaked around my neck. I didn’t think our bodies could get into closer contact but I was wrong. My hands made their way into Jurina’s hair and she moaned into the kiss. God that was hot.
But after a few moments we had to pull away due to lack of air, both of us flushed and breathing heavily. Jurina’s hair was all messed up, way worse than it already was earlier. Did I do that? I couldn’t remember. I couldn’t even recall my name at this point.
“Rena...” Jurina said breathily. The way she was panting and her red-tinted cheeks...even the way she said my name was sexy...
I was about to apologize again but she put a finger on my lips, chuckling. “Nope I don’t want to hear it, I thought I told you that~ And why are you saying sorry anyways...it’s not like I didn’t enjoy it...” She said the last bit in a whisper but I heard it loud and clear.
I grinned like an idiot and wrapped my arms back around her, it was a perfect fit. “Well then would you like to do that again? Because I don’t know about you, but I sure as hell do.”
Jurina laughed and it felt nice, I could feel it where she was pressed right up against me. “You’re insatiable~”
I kept grinning and kissed her on the lips again, just a quick peck though. But then I got all shy again for some reason, just trying to get out what I was trying to say. It was embarrassing you know! Trying to tell someone you love them, my smile turned bashful as I glanced at her through my bangs. I never really answered her properly and she deserved to know. So I spoke up. “...Just so you know...I did love Airi, I still do. But the one I’m
in love with...is you.”
Jurina turned beet red and I found that extremely adorable. She tried to bury her face in my shoulder and I chuckled at her embarrassed reaction. She was even more embarrassed than I was, how adorable! It was nice to turn the tables every once in a while and make
her blush for a change.
She was smiling though, I could feel it.
---
A/N: So yeah, I could've ended it there. But if I was reading this then I'd hate to not know about what happens afterwards. I mean, it's easy to guess, but then again I'd still like to read it myself. And so~ That means that I've written 2 more chapters. TWO WHOLE CHAPTERS OF LITERALLY JUST FLUFF AND WMATSUI TOGETHER. I hope that's not too much hehe
So see you next time~