@risa_ai: lol i just REALLY love emoticons
@KirikomoriHime: yay you caught up!
and just in time too!
Thank you for the wait! I present to you the seriously freakishly, therefore, the longest chapter i've ever written
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Chapter 90 Eri placed another bag of chips inside her shopping basket and moved onto the next shelf. Her basket was already filled with enough snacks, ranging from candies to chocolates to cookies, yet she could never be too sure. Her girlfriend was quite tiny but a long trip in the car, all the way back down to Fukuoka, may starve her quite a bit.
The turtle was currently in a convenience store, gathering various sustenance for Reina. A week and a half had passed by in the blink of an eye; Tanaka-Shachou had been relocated to a hospital in Fukuoka about a week ago with his aid, Kaneda, right beside him. Alas, today was the day Kaneda was coming back with a limousine and a truck to pick up Reina an all of her belongings.
Although the two lovers had originally been determined to do lots of fun activities together with the time they had had left, reality became that they didn’t do much at all. They met up every day, yet most of the time they just sat in Reina’s living room with the television turned to a channel that neither of them were paying attention to, snuggled close together. They didn’t say much or do much; just being together was enough. The presence of each other was what was to be missed. The emptiness of the spot beside each other was what was to be loathed.
After adding a couple more boxes of pocky to her shopping basket, the turtle deemed her shopping basket full enough and moved towards the cash register. She lined up behind a small girl with dyed brown hair who turned around to silently acknowledge the fact that there was a costumer waiting behind her. Eri nodded silently as well as a déjà vu experience overtook her mind.
^^^ ^^^
In front of her was one of the cutest girls she had ever seen. The girl had straight, light brown hair, almost orange, that traveled down to her chest. Her eyes were honey brown that glistened in the light. She was wearing a pink dress and black stockings that went above her knees. She looked intimidating in a way, because of her cat-like eyes, but her petit figure begged to differ. She smiled as she narrowed her eyes a little.
“You’re supposed to say sorry, pretty boy,” she said.
“Huh… Oh! Sorry! I, um… it’s, ah… it’s my fault,” Eri stammered.
“Apology accepted,” the girl chuckled as she turned back to the cash register.
Eri’s eyes stayed wide open as she breathed in and out to calm herself. She stared at the back of the girl’s head, trying to imagine the beautiful face she had just seen. And her cute voice that called her…
Wait. Did she just call her “pretty boy”?^^^ ^^^
Eri smiled at the memory, remembering her pounding heart at having met the love of her life. Who would’ve known that such a menial encounter would be so fateful in the end?
“Next costumer please!”
The turtle stepped forward as she quickly started to place all her food items on the counter. The cashier rapidly checked out each one of them and calculated the total cost.
“That’ll be 2200 yen, please,” he said.
Eri went into her wallet and counted out the amount of money she needed and paid the cashier. The employee carefully counted the money and sighed, annoyed.
“This is 2000 yen, Ogyaku-san,” he said. “You’re short 200 yen.”
^^^ ^^^
“You’re short 200 yen,” she informed.
“Really?” Eri gasped. “Um… Just… just wait a moment…”
She started to dig through her wallet again and checked all her coins. Why didn’t she think of refilling her wallet before she left home? After all, her worrisome parents had left quite a number of yen behind for her.
As Eri continued to bit her lips in frustration, the cat-like girl from before stared at her intently. Her lips curved into a small smile, entertained by how unorganized and air-headed this person was. She opened her own wallet and took out the amount of money the turtle was missing. She handed it to the store clerk.
“Here,” she smiled, “this should make up for his shortage.”
“No, it’s fine!” Eri quickly said, shaking her head. “I can just not buy something; you don’t need to pay for me!”
“It’s fine,” she reassured. “It’s just 200 yen.”^^^ ^^^
“200 yen…”
Eri mumbled to herself as she dug out the missing amount of money. She softly chuckled to herself; 200 yen had been the string that tied them together. Just 200 yen. Except this time, the turtle had brought enough money to finish paying for her things.
“Arigatou gozaimasu,” the cashier thanked, receiving the 200 yen. He quickly typed into the cash register and printed out a receipt. “Please come again.”
Nodding, Eri grabbed a hold of the plastic bags filled with various snacks from the counter and walked out of the store. She quickly checked the time on her cell phone: she still had some time left. She could probably still get to Reina’s house early by walking instead of catching a cab. Relaxing, the turtle started to walk down the street, humming an incoherent tune to herself. She soon approached the slightly more bustling shopping district where a series of stores were lined up. She passed by her bean friend’s favorite shop: the book store. There was a large poster, announcing the release of the final book in a series that Risa was so obsessed with. Perhaps Eri would reserve her a copy now.
Deciding to do this small act of kindness, Eri walked into the book store.
^^^ ^^^
The welcoming voice of the store clerk rang out along with the chime of the bells hanging over the door. She started to walk down the rows of shelves, looking for the right column to go down in.
She finally found the right shelf and started to walk down the row while searching through the chain of books. When she didn’t see the right title the first time, Eri looked up to the upper shelves and walked down the row again. She stopped at one point and let out a sharp breath of air as her shoulders slumped.
It has to be all the way up there? She thought, biting her lips in frustration. Risa-chan will be doing my homework for a year!
With a sigh, Eri started to reach up towards the wanted book while standing on her tippy toes. Still unable to quite reach, she tried to stretch her muscles a little more. Her fingers managed to get a grip on the spine; but as she tried to pull it out, a couple other books on the side slid out with it. Eri reached her left hand up as well to push the unwanted books back into the shelf while grabbing the novel she needed with her right hand.
I got it! The turtle thought to herself, smiling. Now to just pull it out…
At that moment, the book that was right in front of Eri’s face got pulled out from the other side by someone. It was a girl with straight, light brown hair with a headband. She had a cute face and cat-like eyes that scrutinized the turtle’s surprised expression. Eri gasped. The girl on the other side of the shelf blinked a couple times before opening her mouth a little.
“Ara.”
“You!” Eri yelled, recognizing the petit girl that she had met before at the convenience store. “It’s really you— WOAH!”
Her feet started to falter from shock as Eri lost control over her motions. She tripped backwards as her right hand pulled out the book that she wanted along with a couple other heavy books in the same row. Eri let out a yell as she fell on her bottom while the chain of books fell on her head. She started to rub the back of her head that was in pain while looking down at the floor. A final book fell down from the top shelf and opened up on her head like a hat.
Before the turtle could reach up to remove the book, someone else took the weight away first. Eri looked up to see the petit girl wearing a brown school uniform, crouching in front of her while holding the book that had attacked her head.
“Still clumsy, huh, pretty boy?” she grinned.
“It’s you!” Eri yelled.^^^ ^^^
“It’s you!”
Eri turned towards the voice that had called out to her to see her best friend, standing by the front register.
“Eh?! Risa-chan!” she yelled out. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m reserving a copy of my favorite book,” Risa answered, matter-of-factly. “The question is, what are
you doing here? I thought you hated even stepping into book store.”
“I was… gonna reserve a copy for you…” the turtle mumbled.
“… Wow,” the bean breathed. “That’s actually quite thoughtful of you. Didn’t expect that at all.”
“Hey, I’m not always an aho, you know!” Eri pouted. “Besides, shouldn’t you be in school right now?”
Risa frowned. “I’m suspended, remember?” she spat out.
“But… it’s been one week…”
“I told you, it was extended to two weeks,” the bean groaned. “The PTA wasn’t satisfied with my punishment. Gosh, you never listen, Kameha!”
Eri laughed nervously, scratching her head. After rolling her eyes, Risa also started to grin at her airhead friend.
“So… what about Sensei?” Eri asked.
“She’s in school, teaching,” the bean sighed. “She wanted to cut but I said that wouldn’t look good at all. She’s coming over later today, though. We’re all having dinner together: me, Ai-chan, and Mama.”
Eri nodded as she smiled. She was informed of the way her friend’s mother had so freely accepted her daughter’s relationship to her teacher and was happy for the bean. And to hear her friend calling Sensei by her first name so easily… there was a sense of peace and calmness that Risa didn’t have before as the uptight Iinchou. She was looking even more mature these days, as though she was truly becoming an adult instead of a child attempting to be a grown-up. Something was more natural about her.
“Hey, what about you?” Risa asked. “Shouldn’t you be in school right about now?”
“Oh… I, um… I cut.”
“Why?”
“Because… Reina is leaving today.” Eri bit down on her bottom lip.
“… Oh, that’s right,” Risa sighed. “Today’s the day, huh?”
A moment of silence ensued as though they were commemorating a loss. Eri fidgeted uncomfortably; she didn’t like the fact that the atmosphere had become as though Reina was disappearing for good. Risa seemed to notice as she quickly spoke up.
“You know, I kind of respect Tanakacchi for making such a decision,” she said. “I don’t know if I’d ever be able to leave Ai-chan for such a reason… And I know Ai-chan wouldn’t be able to leave me of her own choice. It may be difficult to fully understand but… you have to give her credit for that courage.”
“I know,” Eri sighed, smiling. “That’s why I’m going to send her off on a happy note. We’re not letting go… It’s just a small interlude in our lives.”
“That’s a nice way to think of it,” the bean laughed. “Maybe Ai-chan and I should think that way, too.”
“Nee, I better get going,” Eri said. “If I’m late just a little bit, Reina will throw a fit.”
“Alright, off you go,” Risa grinned. “Give Tanakacchi my regards and tell her to take care.”
Nodding, the turtle left the book store and continued on her way. She found that she actually still wasn’t that pressed for time. Normally, it would be a chore to walk through the crowded shopping district. However, as it was a school day, the streets were not as occupied as on weekends.
Then, a brightly decorated shop caught the turtle’s eyes and stopped her in her steps. It was a small café; through the glass, Eri could see that the shop was decorated cutely with pastel colored ribbons and ornaments. Further in the store, she could see a tiny stage with a microphone.
^^^ ^^^
… Eri leaned in closer until she placed a gentle kiss, right at the corner of Reina’s lips. The audience let out a groan of dissatisfaction, as they had been looking forward to an actual lip-lock. The turtle backed away as the kitty opened her eyes again, looking surprised.
“I’m sorry, the rules are that you have to kiss her on the lips…” Momoko said into her microphone.
“Give me that,” Eri ordered, snatching the mic from Miyabi’s hand. “I’m sorry for breaking the rule, everyone. But the truth is, we haven’t been going out for very long.” Yeah, zero days and zero minutes. “And I didn’t want to kiss my girlfriend in front of all these people when I wasn’t sure if we were even comfortable kissing at all. I won’t do anything that Reina will regret.”^^^ ^^^
I should’ve just kissed her then, Eri thought to herself, sighing.
But I guess I didn’t have to wait long for the actual kiss… As she continued walking, the turtle slowly drifted away into another memory, one of her happiest ones. Her vision blurred as her body changed dimensions in her mind, shifting her to the kitten’s home.
^^^ ^^^
Slowly, Reina inched closer and closer to the “boy” until she was practically on “his” lap. She slowly reached up and placed her hands on Eri’s shoulders, and started to crane her neck up. She leaned in closer and closer until her lips were only an inch away from Eri’s before she stopped, still unsure of her actions. Unable to take the wait, Eri just leaned in herself to kiss the lips of the girl she loved. Reina quickly backed away, but only slightly.
“I’m sorry,” she apologized, thinking she had done wrong.
“No, don’t be,” Eri quickly whispered.
She leaned in again, this time while cupping Reina’s cheek. She wound her other arm around the small girl’s waist. Her lips worked slowly against the kitten’s mouth, who started to loosen up more from her stiffness. Reina wrapped her arms around Eri’s neck and pulled herself closer to her, eager to feel more intimacy. She slowly parted her lips to catch some air, but Eri took the advantage to snake her tongue in. The ex-yankii moaned softly as she felt her mouth being explored by the new flavor. But the intruder left through the lips all too soon, leaving Reina breathing hard.
“Well?” Eri asked, who was also struggling a little to catch some oxygen.
“It feels so wrong…” Reina answered, “yet so right.”
“Um, care to explain?” the turtle smiled nervously.
“It’s wrong because you’re too good to someone like me,” she chuckled. “But it’s right because I know how much I want to be with you… how I feel so much at home when I’m with you.”
“Then don’t think anymore,” Eri insisted. “You belong with me, and I belong with you. Isn’t it much easier that way?”
“That’s so like you to just make it simple as possible,” Reina laughed.
“So…” Eri hesitated, “does this mean we’re going out now?”
The kitten burst into giggles once more. She placed a quick peck on the turtle’s lips and smiled.
“Yeah,” she grinned, a hint of pink returning to her cheeks. “It does.”^^^ ^^^
Eri smiled to herself again, blushing from the memory. She could’ve sworn the people in the streets stared at her as though she belonged in a mental hospital but she didn’t care. She knew she was in her right mind.
At least she is now. She wasn’t sure if she could’ve been deemed sane back when she and Reina was first getting to know each other. After all, she had pretended to be of the opposite gender in order to get the girl. Risa had warned her continuously but she had kept on running away from reality… until reality had caught up to her.
^^^ ^^^
Eri turned to look at her intruder and gasped, slowly processing the short girl by the door with her straight hair reaching her chest. Reina’s eyes widened as she scanned her lover. The turtle was wearing a pair of sweatpants but her t-shirt was still around her neck, revealing her bare upper body clad in a black bra. Her white skin, her slim waist, her two breasts… everything was visible.
“Re… Reina?” Eri croaked, her voice choking in her throat.
The kitten didn’t answer. She couldn’t take her eyes off of her “boyfriend’s” body that was so much like a girl’s… better than a normal girl’s, maybe even better than hers. Her mind processed everything slowly and painfully as she started to form words.
All Eri could do was watch her girlfriend’s facial expression wrinkle into something horrible. The voices in her head screamed at her to put on her t-shirt but she was frozen and could not move. She could feel the intruder’s stare prickling her like a thousand needles.
“Reina…?”
“Eri, you…” Reina breathed, trying to form coherent words, “you’re… a g-girl…?”
“Reina, I can explain—”
“You’ve been a girl all along and I never knew?!” Reina shrieked, finally breaking down. Her expression wasn’t that of anger nor sadness; it was pain and regret. “You… from the beginning… I thought… but you’re…”
“Reina, please, I—”
“Stop!” she screamed. Her hands clutched her head as she shut her eyes tightly. “This can’t be real… This isn’t… This can’t… be…”
Her eyes suddenly softened from burning anger to complete sadness. A single stream of tear was blinked out of her eye and traveled down her cheeks. Her mouth opened to say something but only gasps of breath came out. Watching Reina cry only made Eri feel as though her heart was being ripped out.
“You…” Reina whispered roughly, her voice cracking. “I trusted you. But you… lied to me.”
The word hit Eri’s chest like a sharp knife that was ran through fire beforehand. Reina bit on her lips to keep herself from crying more but it was no use. So instead, she glared up at the turtle again with hatred and fury.
“I never want to see you, ever again,” she said through her teeth.
With that, Reina dashed out of the apartment and ran down the stairs. Eri was frozen in her spot as she sank down to the ground. She couldn’t bear to chase after the girl she loved anymore. Only her last words echoed in Eri’s head.^^^ ^^^
Only her last words echoed in Eri’s head. The turtle closed her eyes and breathed slowly, calming herself down from the unpleasant memory. Thinking back was still painful but she knew she deserved it. Her pain had been nothing compared to Reina’s. Yet, after all the terrible things she had done, Reina had still forgiven her. Despite the hatred she felt for Eri’s action, she still found the compassion to continue loving her.
^^^ ^^^
“I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!” she mumbled, over and over again. “I hate you so much, Kamei Eri!”
The turtle broke into her own quiet sobs as she covered her eyes. “Of course you do…” she whispered, laughing weakly. “You have every right to…”
“… But… more than hating you… I hate that I still love you…”
Eri slowly lifted her head as her eyes widened. She examined her ex-girlfriend’s face, soaked in tears. Reina was biting down on her bottom lip with her eyes shut, which didn’t stop the tears from overflowing.
“I feel like I should hate you so much,” Reina cried, “but I can’t help but love you! You made me feel the worst emotions a human could possibly feel but for some reason, I still wanted to see you… I hate loving you, Eri… I hate it!”^^^ ^^^
So this was what fate was like. Destiny had played them like dolls, and still was. Eri and Reina couldn’t help but stay together despite all the horrible happenings. And because they were so young… they were even easier to manipulate. If there was a god, he must’ve been having fun.
But there had been joyful days as well. Every little moment they had spent together was pure bliss. Eri closed her eyes, remembering pieces of memories that passed through her mind. The café, the aquarium, the park… where else…?
^^^ ^^^
“This one, this one! I want to play this one next!”
Reina dashed over to another game machine and popped a 100 yen coin in. She immediately took a hold of the game controllers and started to blast away the aliens by furiously pressing the “gun shoot” button. Eri couldn’t help but laugh.
“You know, I still can’t believe the place you’ve always wanted to go to is the arcade,” the turtle giggled.
“What’s wrong with wanting to go to the arcade?” Reina asked, still focused on the game. “I’ve never been here before.”
“There’s nothing wrong with wanting to come here,” the turtle explained. “But you just always seem so ladylike and a real ‘ojou-san’. It’s not something I would’ve expected.”
“Well, I didn’t expect to ever see you wearing a skirt either,” the kitten smirked, eyes glued to the exploding aliens. “But that happened too, didn’t it?”
“Touché,” Eri grinned. And she was awfully glad that it happened. After the little “experiment” session she had with her girlfriend the day before, both of them had gotten a lot comfortable with the idea of seeing each other.
“Yes! I win again!” the ex-yankii exclaimed as the game screen displayed a “You Win!” fanfare. Chains of tickets started to stream out of the machine and the kitten collected all of them, folding them carefully. “This is so much fun. I can’t believe I haven’t been here before!”^^^ ^^^
Aww, she was so cute back then, Eri thought, giggling.
Well, she’s still cute… Suddenly, the turtle came to a halt as she looked around. She didn’t quite remember when but she was out of the shopping district and was in a peaceful residential street at the moment. She looked around again, trying to figure out where she was. Then, she realized that she had walked too far while reminiscing and quickly walked back up the street until she arrived at the familiar white house.
She gently pushed the fence open, recalling back to the night when she and Reina had completely given themselves to each other.
^^^ ^^^
When she walked back into the bedroom, the first thing that she saw was her beautiful girlfriend, turning off the lights. In the dark shadows of the night, Eri could make out the petit girl gliding over to the curtains to close them against the moonlight, and then towards the small lamp by the bedside table. The dim light gave the kitten’s white, plain room a rather warm feeling, almost cozy.
Eri smiled as she walked over to her lover, who seemed to be shying away already. Her cheeks were dyed soft pink as the little droplets of water from her wet hair still patterned parts of her collar bone area. She gasped softly when Eri gently touched her hands, and took a hold of them.
“Don’t be scared,” Eri murmured. “I’m here.”
“I’m not scared,” Reina denied, shrugging with a small smile. “Just… nervous?”
“Me too,” the turtle chuckled. “But we’ll be fine. If we stay linked together like this… we’ll be safe.
Eri entangled her fingers around Reina’s and brought her lover’s hand up to her lips to give it a gentle kiss. The kitten smiled at this, and nodded. Taking that as an approval, Eri leaned in slowly to take Reina’s soft lips. The kiss was warm and loving, just like they wanted. But both lovers knew that this was only the start.^^^ ^^^
“Eri?”
The turtle snapped out of her reminiscence at the sound of her name being called. She blinked until her eyes focused on a familiar figure of a petit girl by the open front door. She then smiled and gave a small wave. The petit girl grinned happily as she dashed over to the turtle and embraced her.
“You came!” she exclaimed. She then backed away quickly and narrowed her eyes. “Did you get what I asked for?”
“Ten different kinds of snacks for the long trip back home,” Eri grinned, holding up the plastic bag in her hand, “at your disposal.”
“You’re amazing,” Reina laughed, kissing her lover’s cheek. “Come in. We’re almost done packing.”
Pulling her by her hand, Reina led her girlfriend into her home and entered the hallway. The house was completely bare now: all the furniture was covered with brown paper and bubble wrap. There were large boxes everywhere, some taped shut and others still open. A group of girls were busily packing things inside the boxes while chatting amongst themselves. A black-haired girl came out of the kitchen, holding a couple water bottles, and spotted the turtle.
“Kamei-san!” she greeted, happily yet quietly. “O… oshisashiburi desu.”
“Shige-san, konnichiwa!” Eri greeted back. “It’s been a while.”
“Ara, Kame-chan is here? Took you long enough!”
A tall girl called out to the turtle from the living room, standing up from the large box she was sitting on. The rest of the girls also turned their head and yelled out greetings, acknowledging Eri’s arrival.
“Hi, Junjun,” Eri smiled. “You guys were helping Reina pack?”
“They offered,” the kitten shrugged. “I thought, why not? It beats having me do all of it myself.”
“Anything for Tanaka-senpai!” Aika exclaimed.
“And anything Aika wants to do, I want to do!” Linlin chimed in.
“It was the least we could do,” Captain smiled. “We all wanted to help in some way.”
“Besides, the job gets done faster with more people, right?” Maimi said.
“Ah, Shige-san!” Airi exclaimed. “You got the water! Could you toss me one?”
“Me, too!” Miyabi yelled. “I’m so thirsty.”
“Here you go,” Sayumi said, gently throwing the water bottles towards the two girls. “Anybody else?”
“Mai, are you thirsty?” Chisato asked her girlfriend.
“Not really,” the younger girl shrugged.
“Here, I’ll take one,” Junjun said, stepping into the hallway to personally take a bottle from her lover. “Thanks.”
“Are you guys almost done?” Reina asked. “You don’t have to force yourself too much; Kaneda and the other employees can probably finish before I leave…”
“It’s okay, we can do this much,” the panda grinned. “We’re yankiis; there’s not much we can do for you so we want to do everything we can. That’s how the girls feel, too. They all respect you a lot, you know.”
“Sometimes, I think your gang is too ridiculous,” the kitten sighed, smiling. “They’re not like delinquents at all.”
“Yeah, well, we’re more like a family at this point, aren’t we?”
Junjun put her arm around Sayumi as she glanced by at her group of girls. Eri also looked into the living room where all the girls were goofing around with the tape and the sheets of bubble wrap while still getting the work done. They were the ones who were always looked down upon by society, yet they had so much laughter and satisfaction in their lives because they had each other. Eri smiled, gaining a new sense of admiration for Junjun and her gang.
“Eri, come upstairs with me,” Reina said, taking the turtle’s hand. “I want to show you something.”
“Don’t take too long,” Junjun said. “The truck’s going to be here any minute.”
“We won’t be long,” Reina answered.
She led her girlfriend up the stairs, down the hallway, and into her room. Eri looked around her girlfriend’s bedroom; she didn’t remember it ever being so big. The furniture was wrapped up with brown paper, just like the ones in the living room. The bed was gone and nowhere to be found; only a large mattress was present in its place. However, the large life-size mirror in the corner of the room remained unwrapped as the light flashed off is surface. There were pages of newspaper, scattered on the floor in front of the mirror. On top of the pile was a pair of scissors.
Reina pulled her lover towards the mirror and stood on top of the newspaper. She eyed Eri’s hair which reached her chest and then looked up.
“Remember how I said I want you to grow your hair out?” she asked. “Because I want to see what you look like with really long hair?”
“Yeah,” Eri answered.
“Well, since we might not see each other for a while,” Reina said, “I expect your hair to be super long the next we meet each other.”
“It probably will be,” Eri laughed. “I promise I won’t cut it.”
“And for that promise,” the kitten said, “I should give you an oath in return as well.”
Reina reached down and quickly picked up the scissors that lay on the floor. As Eri’s eyes grew wide in realization of what the kitten was about to do, Reina swiftly chopped off a thick lock of her own hair and let drop to the floor. Eri blinked furiously, frozen in shock, unable to say or do anything about the unexpected action her girlfriend had committed. Ignoring the turtle’s reaction, Reina continued to snip away at her hair until the strands were all about the same length, reaching her chest. It wasn’t that short but it was significantly shorter than what it was. She examined herself in the mirror, and when she was satisfied, she put the scissors down.
“This is my promise to you,” Reina said, turning back to face her lover. “The next time we see each other, my hair will be back to its usual length. I won’t be any different from the way you remember me. I’ll always be the same old Tanaka Reina that you know and love. And the way I feel about you will not have changed either. I promise you, Kamei Eri, that I will always remain the same.”
“… In other words,” the turtle mumbled, “you’re saying I better grow out my hair if I want you to grow out yours?”
“… Pretty much, yeah,” Reina said nonchalantly. She slowly grinned as she watched Eri’s shock expression freeze in place. “Relax, Eri. I just thought it may be better this way. We’ll both grow our hair out together. Okay?”
“It’s such a shame though…” the turtle pouted. She let her fingers touch Reina’s short locks. “I really loved your long hair…”
“And if you ever want to see it long again,” the kitten threatened playfully, “you should never cut your own hair!”
“Yeah, yeah, roger that,” Eri laughed. “But I do appreciate your promise, though. I won’t change either.”
Reina smiled at this as she leaned in to kiss her lover. Eri kissed her back a bit more intensely, wrapping her arms around the kitten. Moaning softly, Reina also put her arms around her lover’s neck to embrace her and continued to kiss passionately. They were so close yet they felt as though they were already so far away. Fear and loneliness was eminent, yet they both knew that they would somehow make it through alright. Physically being away from each other didn’t mean farewell. As long as their hearts remained the same, they would be “together”.
Suddenly, someone cleared their throat loudly, causing the two lovers to jump back. Junjun stood by the door with a mischievous grin.
“So sorry to interrupt you two lovebirds,” she said, winking, “but the limo’s here.”
“Oh, right.” Reina quickly wiped her lips with her fingers, blushing a little. “Thanks, Jun.”
“Mm-hm…” Suddenly, the panda’s eyes grew wide in shock, realizing the change in her friend, before her expression quickly turned into a knowing look. “Nice hair-do, Reina.”
“Thanks,” Reina muttered, sticking her tongue out. She knew it was a little jagged at the moment; she would have to have someone trim it properly later.
Smirking, Junjun disappeared from the doorway. Reina looked at her girlfriend whose cheeks were blushed pink from embarrassment, just like hers. She took a hold of the turtle’s hand and squeezed it gently.
“I guess it’s time,” she murmured.
“… Yeah.” Eri bit down on her lips as if she wished to prevent the utterance of her true desires. She couldn’t possibly think of weakening Reina’s resolution now; it wasn’t fair to the kitten who had worked so hard to make this decision in the first place.
Silently, keeping their fingers entangled around each other’s, the two young lovers walked out of the nearly empty bedroom and down the stairs. Men wearing work clothes were already busily moving the furniture and boxes out of the house and into a large truck parked outside. A man wearing a suit stood by the front door bowed as the two girls approached him.
“Reina ojou-sama,” he addressed. “And Kamei-san.”
“Konnichiwa,” Eri greeted meekly.
“Good to see you, Kaneda,” the kitten nodded. “How’s Papa?”
“He’s doing well,” Kaneda answered. “The doctors think that returning to his hometown helped him.”
“I would assume so,” Reina smiled.
“I like what you did with your hair, Ojou-sama,” the secretary man complimented. “I haven’t seen it that short since you were a toddler.”
All of a sudden, there was a series of gasps from behind the kitten and the turtle along with varying degrees of thuds. They quickly turned around to see Junjun’s gang, standing with their eyes wide and mouths popped open, a couple of them with their hands suspended in the air. On their feet were the boxes that they had been holding. No one expressed pain; only exaggerated shock.
“R-reina-senpai’s… h-h-hair…!” Aika stammered, her legs starting to shake.
“Oh… my… gah…” Linlin mumbled.
“But… it was long!” Airi babbled. “Just a second ago!”
“Wait, what did we miss?” Chisato blabbered. “What happened?”
“Relax, girls,” Reina laughed. “Nothing happened. I just thought it might be a nice change.”
“Leave her alone, kids,” Junjun grinned, gently smacking a couple of the yankiis on their heads. “Come on, get those boxes outside and in that truck!”
Slowly unfreezing, the gang started to pick up the boxes that had dropped and continued on with their job. Eri couldn’t help but chuckle at the goofiness of the delinquents, yet their utmost obedience to their leader.
“Well, with that being said,” Kaneda said, “we will swiftly load everything onto the truck as soon as possible.”
And Kaneda kept his promise. As Reina and Eri sat together on their stairs, making last minute small-talk that was so insignificant yet so precious to them at this point, the combination of the Tanaka employees and Junjun’s gang got their job done quickly. In the blink of an eye, Reina’s house was stripped bare of any signs of a person living there. Minute by minute, Eri could feel the moment of farewell creeping closer and closer to her, until it reached her.
“Ojou-sama, it’s time.”
“Thank you, Kaneda.”
Determinedly, Reina stood up from her seat as Eri followed suit. She took one last look around the naked house, the place that she had called home for the past three years. Her eyes stopped at the faint spot in her wall where nails had been in. She smiled. At least she had managed to decorate it somewhat with pictures before leaving. She had made her mark.
Breathing in, Reina walked out of the white house without hesitation and met the bright sunlight. She strolled towards the street where a limousine was waiting for her. Kaneda opened the back seat door for her and waited. Reina turned around, knowing her girlfriend would be right behind her, waiting to say goodbye.
“Well,” she mumbled, “this is it.”
“No it’s not,” Reina grinned. “Don’t make this out to be the end of something. It means nothing. It’s not a significant point or a climax. It’s just another scene in our lives.”
Eri smiled at her lover’s logic. Same old Reina. “You know, I… have something to confess.”
“What is it?”
“The truth is… I really cried a lot these past few days,” the turtle laughed shakily. “Every night.”
“Mou~ Eri!” Reina groaned, rolling her eyes.
“I mean, I figured it was better to cry beforehand rather than cry in front of you today,” Eri smiled, shrugging. “And see, I’m not crying right now. I’ve used up all my tears.” She reached out and gently took Reina’s hands. “I wanted to send you off with a smile.”
“Then do that,” Reina grinned. “I’m going to leave, regretting nothing, and I want your blessings.”
Smiling, Eri leaned in and kissed her girlfriend’s forehead. “I’m proud of you,” she murmured. “I’m proud to know that I have such an amazingly brave and strong girl as my lover. I love you.”
Reina closed her eyes for a brief moment, a faint smile appearing on her lips, and leaned in to kiss Eri’s lips. “I love you…”
The two gazed at each other for a moment, both with an unreadable expression. Neither of them had to say anything more; their full emotions had already been conveyed, just through mere silence.
Nodding determinedly, Reina turned and got into the limousine. Kaneda closed the door and walked around to the other side to get into the passenger’s seat. The tinted windows rolled down to reveal Reina’s face one last time to the smiling turtle, as well as the rest of her friends standing behind.
“Have a safe trip, Senpai!” Linlin said.
“Come back to visit us!” Captain requested.
“Don’t forget us!” Maimi said.
“Bai bai, Tanaka-san!” Miyabi said.
“Tanaka-senpai!” Aika yelled, blushing. “I… you know… I really, really, really… like you! You’re my aspiration so… I’m going to work hard!”
“Arigatou, Aika,” Reina laughed. She reached out and ruffled the young girl’s hair. “Ganbatte ne.” Aika blushed at this as her lips spread into a huge grin.
“You know, I can follow you to Tokyo but I can’t follow you back,” Junjun joked, knocking fists with the kitten. “I won’t be around like old times anymore so… try not to get beat up by anybody down there.”
“I’ll stay on the safe side of the road, thanks,” Reina grinned.
Eri reached out and touched her girlfriend’s hand one last time. “Take care of yourself,” she said, smiling.
Reina nodded. “See you later,” she said, gently squeezing the turtle’s hand.
As the two hands parted, the limousine drove forward slowly, following the moving truck that had already left. The last thing Eri saw before the picture blurred was Reina’s smiling face, refusing to lose to the world. Same old Reina…
In the car, Reina finally leaned back in her seat, exhaling deeply. She chewed on her lips, feeling a sense of uneasiness. If she could hear her voice one more time… just see her one more time…
“Kaneda, open the sun roof!”
In a spur-of-the-moment decision, Reina stood up and stuck her head out of the window on the roof of the car. She looked back at her old home to see her lover’s back turned to her.
“Eri!”
The figure turned around to meet the kitten’s eyes. She put her hands around her mouth to carry her voice further out. “Reina!”
“KAMEI ERI!” Reina yelled. She needed to say something. Anything. “Are you sure you’re a girl?!” She could see Eri’s confused expression although they weren’t so close anymore, and laughed. “You’re not going to turn back into a boy next time, are you?!”
She could see Eri laughing out loud before she yelled back. “Does it matter?!”
Reina grinned, realizing Eri knew her answer already. And she knew it herself, too. “No!” she shouted back. “I love you either way! I LOVE YOU!”
“I LOVE YOU!”
As the car drove further and further away, the two lovers continued to wave towards each other until their vision completely disappeared. However, the echoes of each of their declaration rang out loud and clear to both of them.
I love you… I love you… I love you… "And because we are young… this is only the beginning."~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And with that,
Chigatte Mo Iin da yo! has officially ended!
Readers, Lurkers, Thankers alike, thank you so much for reading
It took me about a year and a half, but I did it! It's done! 90 chapters!
And I couldn't have done it with all your support!
Some of you may think this is a sad ending, but I don't really see it that way. The point is that they're both still 17 years old and their future is still undecided. Anything can happen. Which is why I threw that last quote in
As for epilogue chapters, I have 3 of them planned! So Chapter 90 is officially the end... 91-93 is more like little omake stuff
I'll continue posting them here, so check back!
As for the poll, it's locked
But I'm not telling you what I'm writing next... because I haven't decided yet
I'll post SUPER brief summaries... sometime... when i get around to it
Once again, thanks so much for reading!!!
Topic: Chigatte mo Iin da yo! ~Mainly TanaKame, TakaGaki~ [FINALE - Ch. 93 - (1/30)] (Read 409578 times)