Reposting.
For days afterward, thoughts of Rika and Erika swarmed around in her mind. Nono wondered if maybe she should say something to Rika or tell Erika to do something different. The worry that her friend was collapsing inside of herself and that maybe there was something she could do about it was starting to eat away at her mind. Right this second, though, any worries were far away.
It was a fine Tuesday morning as Nono lay lazily in bed watching her formerly naked lover pull a shirt over her head with a seductive smile, covering up a lacy white bra. It was a little game they had started playing years ago, on the days that one of them had to work and the other didn’t, both girls would get up at six, share a long shower and then dry off. The one that had the day off would go back to bed and prop herself up for the spectacle of the other getting dressed.
Neither of the duo were morning people, Aibon couldn’t speak for at least an hour after she woke and Nono was prone to uncontrolled bursts of giggles, but even Aibon managed to put on a show for her lover, bending over for an unnecessary amount of time and slowing down every single action until it was unbearably teasing.
And Nono? Well, Nono liked to dance.
Now, her fun was almost at an end and Nono was trying to think of some way to milk every ounce of pleasure from this encounter, “How about a kiss before you go?” Nono suggested, folding her hands behind her head.
“I think you’ve had enough kisses this morning.” Aibon said warily, starting to back out of the room.
“Oh, please. Just once more.” Nono gave a cute pout and watched her lover instantly give in.
“Well, I guess it couldn’t hurt.” Aibon walked back over to the bed and leaned down to peck Nono on the lips, realizing the trap when the older girl locked her arms around her neck. Although, Aibon didn’t struggle when Nono deepened the kiss or when she slipped her hand up underneath her short skirt or even when her fingers….
Aibon let out a muffled sound and pulled away from the kiss, eliciting a protest from her lover, “Just once more, please” Nono licked her lips sexily.
“’Once more?’ That’s what you said about the kiss.” Aibon laughed breathily, straightening up, “You’re going to make me late, you fiend.”
“Well, can we finish this when you get home?” Nono begged, sitting up eagerly.
Instead of giving an answer, Aibon just turned and walked away, trying not to let any giggles escape and hearing Nono hobble out of bed after her. Aibon made it all the way to the door with her very naked lover following before she stopped and turned to address her, “Well, maybe if you’re good, you’ll get something special tonight. But only if you don’t get into any trouble today.” And she was out the door before Nono could speak.
“How could I possibly get into trouble?” She called to the closed door, throwing her arms in the air. Nono decided to go get dressed and then spend the rest of the day being lazy. It wasn’t like she could take a jog or do any strenuous work outs, so it seemed that her old habit of pigging out in front the television would have to do.
For about an hour, the plan was great, but Nono quickly grew bored of soap operas and just started to flip through the channels. Feeling herself begin to slip into a trance, Nono was extremely grateful when her cell phone rang, snatching it up off the low table in front of her. The caller ID flash Rika’s name and Nono was confused, she thought the older girl had work today.
Cautiously, she flipped open her phone, “Hello?” she was expecting bad news.
“Non? I was wondering if you were busy.” Rika’s voice was unreadable and that only made Nono worry more.
“I’m,” She took another look at the infomercial for adult videos on TV, “pretty free. Why?”
“I need your help with something. Can you come to Yossui’s place?” Upon hearing that, Nono was already putting on her shoes and grabbing her crutches.
“I’m half way there. See you in a few.” And she was out the door, leaving the TV on and locking the door behind her. She snapped her phone closed and hobbled down the steps as fast as she could, almost falling in a few places. She reached the bottom floor without incident and propelled herself across the lobby and the parking lot, finally coming to a rest on the sidewalk outside.
Panting for breath, Nono hailed a cab and gasped out the address to her friend’s apartment. The cab drove off and Nono slumped back into the seat, sighing as her worries from the past few days drilled back into her mind. What could it be? No matter how much she tried to tell herself that it was probably something stupid, dread kept eating away at her hope.
No, whatever Rika had called about, it wasn’t a good thing. The cab pulled up to the curb and Nono handed the cabbie a bill, not even waiting for change, and got out of the car. Every step closer she took made her fear a little bit more. By the time she reached the stairs, she was practically shaking and with the crutches already slowing her down, it seemed to be ages before she stood in front of her friend’s door. She raised her hand and knocked.
Instantly, the door opened and Rika was escorting her inside, “I didn’t want to have to call you, but I can’t do this alone. You have to help me.”
“Help you with wh-?” It was then that Nono noticed the very dead body of Yoshizawa Hitomi lying face up on the small carpet in a mostly dry pool of her own blood.
“What have you done?” Nono stared in horrified fascination at the body in front of her.
“I didn’t have a choice.” Rika piped up from behind her and Nono finally pulled her eyes away from the remains of her friend to notice the damage that Rika had taken. The whole left side of her face was covered in bruises, her left eye was swollen and there was a cut on the right side of her lip.
“Jesus Christ, Rika. What the hell am I supposed to do? You killed Yossui!” Now that she’d said it, the words hung in the air, “What happened?”
“I told her I was leaving her; she was cheating on me anyway. We fought and she… She started to hit me. She’d done it before, once or twice, but I was scared. I thought she was going to kill me.” The words started to come in a frantic jumble, “I had a knife in my hand and I was swinging it and then I was stabbing at her and we were on the ground and I just kept stabbing until she stopped moving. I didn’t know what to do so I didn’t call you until now. Do you think maybe I can say it was self defense?”
“It stopped being self defense when she was on the ground!” Nono started to pace, “We have to get rid of her. We’ll burn her body, I’m going to have to make a phone call.” there was only one person who could help her with this. She pulled out her cell and had to look up the number, “Erika, it’s Nono. What’re you doing now?”
‘I’m having an early lunch with Maki. Why?’ a tiny voice came through the speaker. Rika started to freak out.
“No! I don’t want Erika anywhere near this!” Nono ignored her, turning her back and continuing her phone call.
“Cut it short, we’ve got a problem. I need you at Yossui’s apartment, get out some paper and I’ll give you the address.” Already her mind was trying to sort through the paths she’d have to take and her words her harsh to her own ears.
Rika was still yelling in the background as Nono relayed the address and hung up the phone, “I called you because I didn’t want anyone else to know!”
“I trust Erika! Be lucky that I love you, because I wouldn’t do this for anyone else!” Nono lowered her voice to a whisper, “Yossui was my friend; no matter what she was to you, she always treated me right. And now you’re asking me to help you hide her dead body.” Tears welled up in both girls’ eyes as the full force of what was happening sunk in.
“I was scared. I’ve been scared for weeks. What else could I do? How else could I protect myself? And now, I’ve destroyed my one reason for living.” Rika fell to her knees with a sob.
“No, maybe it was extreme, but you’ll probably live longer now. At least you better live for a long time!” Snapping back into leader mode, Nono handed Rika her purse, “Go to the store and buy cleaner. Lot’s of it, every kind you can find, bleach, ammonia, Windex. I don’t care, just bring it here And masks and goggles and gloves! Go!” Nono went over to the body and kneeled down next to her.
“What are you going to do?” Rika paused at the door.
“I’m going to pray.”
~~~~~~~~~~~
A knock at the door brought Nono back to reality and she slowly stood, tearing her eyes away from her friend in order to open the door. Outside was a curiously worried Erika and she stepped cautiously through the door. Nono didn’t say anything, just pointed to Yossui, lying there on the floor and watched Erika’s eyes go wide.
For a minute, it was quiet as the older girl tried to process what was in front of her, then Erika nodded in understanding and turned to Nono for instructions, “What are we going to do?”
“Get rid of her.” Nono limped into the living room, edging around the body and took a seat on a clean cushion on the couch.
“How?” Following her but staying on her feet, Erika felt her eyes drawn to the body of her senpai.
“I know a place we can bring her; it’s a crematorium. I used to go there all the time with my friends and I still go there sometimes when I want to be alone. The furnace works, should be enough.” Nono slumped forward, placing her chin in her hands.
“Where’s Rika?” Erika finally took a seat next to her, placing an arm around her shoulders hesitantly.
“I sent her out to buy stuff, she’ll be back soon.” Nono smiled in appreciation of the gesture, pulling out her cell phone and dialing a familiar number. She waited for the other line to pick up before she spoke, “Hey Aibon, I’m not coming home tonight. No, no, I’m staying with Rika. Just, you know? Yeah, sorry, it was kinda sudden but I couldn’t just say no. I love you. See you tomorrow. Bye.” She snapped the phone closed and the two sat in silence.
The door opening bought their attentions to Rika, walking slowly into sight, she didn’t say anything either, but it looked as though she’d been crying. Nono and Erika watched her put down the heavy looking shopping bags she was carrying, before Nono stood with resolve, grabbing a mask, a pair of gloves and some goggles, “I want to go over this room with a fine tooth comb. We will clean every once of blood that we see and afterwards we will go over the whole room with a bleach solution. That should be enough to hide any stains.”
The other two exchanged glances and started picking up supplies. What had happened to the beloved Bakajo? Who was this strange, reliable leader? Neither was sure, but they felt compelled to follow orders for now.
The cleaning was painstaking and took a long, long time. By the time the three of them, or rather, Nono was satisfied everything except for the small, loose carpet underneath Yossui’s body was spotless. They gathered around, looking down at her silently.
“Now what?” Erika asked, putting her arm around a teary eyed Rika.
“Roll her in the carpet. We’ll wait until later, and then take her down to the crematorium.” Nono supervised them as they slowly positioned Yossui to better wrap her in the carpet. After they were done, the three were at a loss. How were they supposed to waste away time?
Nono flipped on the TV, “Have a seat and pretend not to think. It works for me.”
Topic: Of Roses and Fame (Read 11938 times)