@sapphire: lol that's a good talent to have, right?

@Michi.Pinku: we all want Reina to give her a chance... but what will happne? MWA HA

@kurosawa87: we'll see what they do...

@Haruka: LOL that's a lot of exclamation marks

i don't know, will eri die?

@aussie: all the insults you said is what Reina thinks she should be saying, but for some reason she can't

@yukirei: you don't need to wait that long~

@XcuteX: ... maybe...

@gracula: lol get the Reina-radar, now on amazon

@mmsuki: lol how about a massive body slam towards teh right direction

and love the picture. but you never know, i'm a pretty evil person...

@kano-chan: well, will they harm eri? maybe yes, maybe no..

@rndmnwierd: oh yeah, Eri's gonna die... maybe

@kRisZ: Okaeri~ I haven't seen you around in a while

did some major catching up there, i see~ I love reading your quote-by-quotes

@kawaii beam: lol I actually already started brainstorming... but maybe i'm getting to ahead of myself

@Shiawase_Honoo: what will the gang do...

@reikoshi: oh Eri's cell is on fire

wow that was a LOT of comments to go through. I thought for a moment that maybe i should skip replies but then i thought, you guys are making so much effort to post comments and read my fic, the least i can do is reply individually

Once again, thanks so much for commenting!!!

So here's a new years present

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Chapter 28 “Oi, Kame! Wait up!” Risa yelled, running after her friend. She grabbed Eri’s shoulder and spun her around. “Chotto, didn’t you hear me? I said wait!”
“Huh?” the turtle mumbled, her eyes widening a little bit. “Oh. Gomen, Risa-chan… I must’ve been spacing out.”
Risa rolled her eyes as she linked arms with her friend, as if to support her. After Eri had come out of the nurse’s office, she had spaced out for the whole entire day. The only time the light returned to her eyes was when she checked her cell phone; after realizing there was no reply, her pupils would turn to glass again as she slouched over in her chair.
And now, for the first time since they became friends, Eri had left Risa in the classroom and walked out of the school right after the bell rang. The bean had to run after the fast-walking turtle to catch up to her.
“Come on, Eri, pull yourself together,” Risa sighed. “I know you’re upset but becoming lifeless doesn’t solve anything. You’re seriously starting to worry me now.”
Eri suddenly stopped her in tracks and abruptly turned to face the bean. She smiled sadly. “Gomene, Risa-chan. I’m sorry for worrying you. Nobody else needs to feel down about this but I guess my depression kind of rubbed off on you. I’m sorry.”
“That’s not what I want to hear,” Risa groaned. “I don’t want you to be sorry about dragging me down with you, if that’s what you’re thinking. I
want to know how you feel, Kame, you’re my best friend. I’m worried that you’re feeling bad, not me. So don’t apologize for stupid things like that; I’m with you all the way.”
“…You’re such a good friend, Risa-chan!” Eri suddenly yelled, making a puppy-dog face. She jumped into the bean’s arms and gave her a good squeeze. “I’m so glad you’re always beside me! I don’t deserve a friend like you!”
“Okay, okay, too much drama,” Risa laughed, patting the turtle’s back.
Well, at least that cheered her up a little… “You’re starting to choke me now, Kame. Let go.”
Eri took a step back and gave a small smile. The two friends linked arms again once more and walked towards the school exit together. There were a lot of other students in the front field, heading toward the gates. But there were three students waiting by the exit, not wearing a school uniform. They were drawing a lot of attention to themselves, but they didn’t seem to care so much.
The tall black-haired girl was leaning on the brick wall, twirling a chain of keys that was connected to her belt; she was wearing a large black sweater with baggy jeans and sneakers. The girl with short wavy hair was crouching, wearing layers of camisoles with jean shorts and long boots. The third girl was standing the most casually, wearing a plaid miniskirt with a tank-top and a hoodie; she was the only one smiling pleasantly at the students of Haro Kotogakko, trying to be polite. The crouching girl was keeping her glare on the ground as though her looks would kill someone if she lifted her head. The tallest girl was expressionless.
Eri spotted them first and faltered in her steps a little. Risa looked at her friend and followed her gaze to the three girls standing by the gate. She gasped softly and fear swept over her; who were those girls? Eri seemed to know them… Could they be Reina’s friends? Whoever they were, Risa didn’t like the vibe she was getting from them.
Eri composed her face and continued to walk towards the three girls, dragging the bean along. The truth was that she was feeling a little scared too; Reina’s friends had been nice before when they first met but that was back when Eri was still a boy. Things were different now. But the turtle knew she couldn’t avoid them forever. They were here to speak with her and she knew it. Besides, she even felt like she deserved whatever treatment she was about to get. She had hurt Reina, and that was an ultimate sin to her.
The girl in the skirt was the first to spot the turtle and the bean, linked to each other. She smiled brightly and waved. The girl on the ground noticed what her lover was doing and stood up, glaring at Eri. Junjun dropped the chain of keys she was twirling and faced the approaching students. She grinned.
“Oshisashiburi, Eri-kun,” she greeted. “Or should I say Eri-chan now?”
“Good to see you again too, Junjun-san,” the turtle said quietly. “And Mitsui-san and Linlin-san.”
The younger panda gave an energetic wave with a quick greeting while Aika just continued to glare.
“Well, let’s get straight to the point,” the yankii leader said. “We need to talk.”
“I know,” Eri answered. “Can we do this behind the school? I’d prefer it if we didn’t do this in public.”
“Good, I feel the same way,” Junjun smiled. She motioned to her underlings to walk behind her as she turned to go to the chosen location. Linlin took Aika’s hand to get her to stop staring at Eri and start walking instead.
Eri started to follow behind but Risa tugged on her arm, reluctant to let her go; the bean felt like she was letting her friend walk right into the lion’s den. None of these girls seemed like they were in a happy mood except for the one wearing the skirt; her happiness actually seemed out of place at the moment.
“Go home, Risa-chan,” Eri whispered. “I’ll be fine.” She actually didn’t know if she was going to be fine or not. But hey, as long as they didn’t break her leg, she’d be able to walk home somehow.
“No, either you’re coming with me or I’m coming with you,” Risa said determinedly. “But I prefer you coming with me.”
“I choose neither,” the turtle replied. “Look, this is my problem. I’m happy you want to stay with me but this is something I have to face alone. Please trust me on this?”
“… You better come home on time,” the bean muttered, staring straight into the turtle’s eyes as if to hypnotize her. “I’m going to come up with dinner later so you better be there to answer the door.”
“I will,” Eri smiled.
After a couple more seconds of staring and silently reassuring, the two friends finally let go of each other. The turtle turned and quickly ran after her visitors.
They reached the back of the school in no time, where litter was scattered in the corner with shards of broken glass and ripped pieces of paper. Eri stood a couple feet away from the three delinquents; Junjun seemed to be silently observing her while Aika, who was standing in between the pandas, was just glaring again. Linlin had a slightly nervous face, her eyes flitting from her girlfriend to her leader to the turtle. For a gang member, she seemed to be the one who wanted peace the most.
“It’s kind of odd to see you in a girl’s school uniform,” Junjun chuckled, stroking her chin. “I guess you really are a girl… and a cute one too.” She winked.
“… Well that’s something I’ve never heard before,” Eri said, blinking.
“Really? Because I do think you’re pretty cute dressed like that,” the yankii said, examining the turtle again. “Your friend from before was cute too.”
“This isn’t what you came to say, right?” Eri sighed, changing the subject. “Can we just get it over with?”
“… You know, I’m kind of surprised that you just voluntarily followed us here,” Junjun remarked. “Weren’t you scared?”
“A little,” the turtle admitted. “Why, did you expect me to run?”
“Actually, no,” the panda laughed. “You didn’t seem like that kind of type.”
“And I’m not,” Eri sighed. “I’m not going anywhere until you’re done. Just… do whatever makes you happy. Hit me, cut me, I don’t care anymore so go ahead. ”
“Hey, wait a minute,” Junjun started, “we’re not here to—”
“Gladly!” Aika interrupted. She suddenly flipped up her girlfriend’s skirt and snatched away one of the knives secured around Linlin’s thigh with a leather band. Then, she dashed forward while switching the knife open in the process and swung the weapon at Eri’s neck. The turtle gasped as she shut her eyes tightly.
“Aika!” Junjun shouted angrily, stopping her kouhai’s action. “Step away from Eri, now.”
“She offered!” Aika yelled, still glaring at the turtle with pure hatred. “She said I can hit her or cut her or do whatever I want—”
“I said, stand back NOW,” Junjun ordered firmly.
Aika held the knife against Eri’s throat for a couple more seconds. The turtle could feel the cold metal of the blade touching her skin, but felt no pain. At least not yet.
“Aika!” Linlin pleaded, opening her mouth for the first time.
“… Damn it,” the attacker muttered, pulling away her weapon. She whipped around and walked back to her gang members where Junjun was holding her hand out. Aika placed the closed switch blade on her leader’s hand and walked around to stand next to her girlfriend.
“Don’t do stupid things,” Junjun sighed, closing the knife. “You had no real intention of hurting her anyway.”
“Did too,” Aika muttered, not wanting to seem weak.
“Yeah you totally wanted to kill her,” Junjun smirked. “That’s why you were holding the knife the wrong way.”
Eri now understood why she could feel the blade on her throat but no blood or pain. Aika had held the knife so that the smooth side was touching the turtle’s skin while sharp edge was facing out.
“It was an accident,” Aika argued.
“You don’t make amateur mistakes,” Junjun grinned. She tossed the weapon back to its original owner. “Keep your knives to yourself, Linlin, will you?”
“I didn’t know she was going to take it from me like that,” the younger panda mumbled.
“Well then, make sure you keep your girlfriend from reaching up your skirt again,” Junjun snapped. Linlin looked down, mumbling an obedient answer. Aika slipped her hand into her girlfriend’s hand, whispering a quiet apology under her breath. Only then, Linlin smiled and looked up at her lover, reassuring her.
So now, Eri knew three more things about this gang. One, Aika could be scary…
really scary, and very fast. Two, Linlin kept knives under her skirt; Eri wasn’t sure if she wanted to see her use them because being the owner of the weapons, chances were that she was even more skilled at using them than her girlfriend. And three, Junjun was stronger than both of them combined; that was how she could keep even a frightening little monster like Aika in check.
“Well, that was something I hadn’t planned for,” the yankii leader sighed, scratching her head. “Sorry about that, Eri-chan. But really, we’re not here to hurt you.”
“You’re not?” the turtle asked.
“Not at all,” Junjun smiled. “I just had a couple things to relay to you. Is that okay?”
“Um… sure,” Eri answered hesitantly. So the gang wasn’t here to beat her up for what she did to Reina. What could they need to say to her?
“I’ll be straightforward with you,” Junjun said, taking a step forward. “I’m here as Reina’s friend but I’m not on anybody’s side or something like that. I’m not saying this for your benefit or for mine or for whoever’s. All I care about is Reina’s wellbeing and her happiness.”
“It’s the same for me too,” Eri said quietly. “I… I really didn’t mean to hurt her like that. I tried to tell her earlier but…”
“You don’t need to tell me what happened, it’s too late anyway,” Junjun sighed. “I just wanted to tell you something; Reina isn’t angry at you.”
“She’s not?” Eri said loudly, her eyes widening.
“No, it’s more like she’s confused,” the panda smiled sadly. “You have to understand, Reina has gone out with other guys before but she’s never been with a girl and has never thought about being with a girl. She doesn’t quite admit it but I think it’s safe to say that she still has feelings for you.”
“She… she does?” Eri croaked, choking on her breath.
“She just finds it hard to accept that she might actually like you for who you are rather than your gender,” Junjun said straightforwardly, rolling her eyes. “I find it kind of stupid but of course, I didn’t say that to her face. Anyway, my point is that it’s not over for you yet.”
“… What do you think I should do?” Eri asked. “Is there a way I can talk to her?”
“I wouldn’t suggest that,” the panda said, shaking her head. “Her natural instinct would tell her to shut you out. I think you should actually do the opposite: don’t call her or text her anymore. Don’t contact her in anyway and don’t beg her for anything. Give her some space and some time to think. I think that’ll do the trick. That’s the only chance you have now.”
“… Will that really do it?” Eri whispered.
“I don’t know if it’ll help you,” Junjun admitted. “But giving her some alone time will help her organize her thoughts and truly think about what she wants. Her choice might not be in your favor but she’ll be happier. Isn’t that what you want?”
“… Yes,” the turtle answered, decidedly. Even if she and Reina wouldn’t be together, all she wanted was for Reina to be happy. She didn’t deserve to feel the horrible pain that Eri gave her…
“Then it’s settled,” the yankii leader sighed. “That’s really all I wanted to say. I don’t know how long it’ll take but it’s better to just stay away for a little while, okay?”
“Or stay away forever,” Aika muttered under her breath, causing Linlin to squeeze her hand.
“And I’ll keep that girl away from you too, so don’t worry,” Junjun laughed.
But Eri didn’t smile. She could only stare at the ground with blank eyes. Would giving Reina space really help her? If it does, will Eri be okay with the choice the kitten makes? What if Reina decides to completely throw her away? Will she be able to stand it?
Junjun sighed and smiled a little, reading the turtle’s mind. She walked over to the worried girl and patted her on the shoulder, causing her to look up.
“Hey, I know you’re scared,” the panda murmured softly. “And I know you may find me hard to believe… but you just have to trust me on this. It’s going to do Reina some good. And if things go way off course, I’ll be there to set it back in track, alright?”
“… Why are you helping me so much?” Eri questioned.
“I’m not helping you,” Junjun grinned. “I’m helping Reina. I’ve never seen her happier than when she was with you; I think you’re doing plenty of good for her. So I’m kind of trusting you on this too. See how that works out?”
“Um, I guess…”
“Great!” the yankii replied. “We’ll catch you next time, Eri-chan!” She snapped her fingers to signal to her underlings. Aika and Linlin immediately flanked her sides.
“Arigatou, Junjun-san!” Eri called.
“Call me Junjun!” the yankii leader yelled, lifting up her hand without looking back.
“And call me Linlin too!” the younger panda yelled, looking back and waving. “And you can call her Aika!”
“Don’t you dare call me anything!” the third girl growled, glaring back.
The three yankiis soon disappeared around the corner, leaving Eri alone in the empty lot. So it seemed that Junjun could be quite smart and serious, despite her joking manner. She really seemed concerned about Reina’s future. Aika definitely held the most contempt for the turtle; after all, Eri had hurt her most respected senpai. She probably just wanted to cut off ties with Eri entirely. Linlin was actually the most mysterious of all; either she was stupid or she just didn’t care. But considering how the rest of the gang was, Eri deduced that Linlin probably had a different reason for not hating her so much. Maybe that was just how she always is; smiling and friendly.
Eri was determined now. She would do her best to make Reina happy again. And if giving her space was going to help her reach that goal, then she would do it. Maybe this was even a better punishment than begging. After all, doing nothing seemed harder than chasing after the girl.
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Hope that answered a couple questions. I feel like I elaborated a bit more on the gang

I want to thank you all for your support during 2010!!! I first started writing this summer and it has been a very memorable year for me on JPH!P, thanks to all of you!

I will continue to do my best in 2011!!!

Happy New Year everyone!!
