@oddy so much stuff gotta be solved
well the more twists, the more the story continues
Chapter 23Eripon felt beyond miserable, she wanted to just go home, and let the time go by but work beckoned and she ran over to the cafe where Reina had just exited. She slipped through the door and headed back where Fuku-chan was resting her head on her elbows.
"Where's Sayu?" The younger girl asked as Fuku-chan turned to see her co-worker ready for service.
"She's out today." She replied not paying attention to her co-worker as she went out for her first order.
I wonder when I should tell her...Fuku-chan returned back to earth and helped out with service with it being slower than usual. The baker clocked out after his last set while they took the rest but they were away from each other for most of the time until closing when they were wiping tables. Despite the room being empty, the buzz in the room was still loud for both of them.
"Eripon..."
"Yes."
"Did you like the concert?" She asked despite not being the question she wanted to get out.
"I did. Did Reina have a snack to eat?" The elder worker nodded.
"She also..." Fuku-chan clamped her mouth but it was already too late as she headed over to her side.
"What else did she do?"
"She gave me a letter to the art school I was interested in..."
"Did they accept you?" Eripon curiously asked.
"Yeah..." She wrapped her arms around her and pecked her on the cheek.
"Congratulations!"
"Thanks..." Eripon released her hug but noticed a bit of concern.
"What's wrong?"
"I can't be working here, if I go there." The younger worker nodded.
"I see." She said in a soft voice. "I want you to go there."
Fuku-chan's head jolted upwards in surprise as she never wanted words of encouragement. The elder girl wiped the tears from her eyes as she returned the hug. Fuku-chan began to feel her tears penetrating through her uniform.
"What's wrong?"
"I... want you to go..." She sputtered through her tears.
"You can tell me to not go." Eripon shook her head.
"But... it is your dream to go to a school that won't make you feel pain." She responded as Fuku-chan bit down on her lip.
She began to think about everything over the past few weeks and couldn't understand why she would give into anything. Fuku-chan grabbed her shoulders and demanded for an explanation but she bowed out ran out of the restaurant. She couldn't understand why she did not want to explain what was happening and that weight only became heavier as she closed it down for the day.
Eripon ran into the alley and dove into Risa's shop where she had been lounging on the chair before she popped in unexpectedly. Risa picked her up from the floor and took her to the back where Ai was napping and wiped the tears from her eyes.
"Mou, why are you crying?"
"..."
"Sigh, calm down." Risa let her wash her face in the sink before she returned reddened from rubbing her face.
"Fuku-chan is going to art school."
"Really? That sounds good. You should be happy” Risa replied as she jerked away her head from sight.
"The reason why is because I like her and I don't want her to leave but someone took a picture of us at the restaurant and gave it off to my father." Eripon explained to in a loud, clear voice.
Risa placed her finger on top of her chin as she tried to add up the pieces but Ai woke from her slumber and grabbed the bean's hand. Drowsy, she grabbed the younger female and shook her violently.
"If you love her, why don't you say that?" Ai advised.
"Because..."
"Because of what? She feels the same way you feel at the moment. You are stronger than this. Stand up to him and do what is needed." Ai instructed her as she closed her hands.
Eripon took a moment to reflect before walking up to Risa and bowed towards her. "Can I stay with you for a while?"
Risa shook her head as Ai looked at her weirdly. Ai didn't know what was uttered and asked politely to stay with them and Ai agreed without question causing Risa to explode with anger. The two started to talk while Eripon was stuck in the position and ended the conference with the agreement to stay with them for the time being.
Fuku-chan returned home to the smell of burnt food and Sayu leaning onto the wall with her head craned over. She awoke when Fuku-chan slammed the door and pointed toward the plat on the table. Expecting it to be burnt, she declined to eat the meal and traveled to her room where she found an envelope by her side. She opened it up to discover a picture of her and Eripon kissing in the restaurant. Fuku-chan didn't expect anything about it until she turned to find a message on the back:
Eripon knows.
She placed the picture down and reflects over the weird behavior that she performed today and soon began to piece it together. The art school letter came into mind and found a number at the bottom and called Iida-san. She was glad that there was a call but sounded surprise when the letter came into mind. Iida-san heard the description of the letter and was shocked that someone had used their letterhead. Iida asked if it could be faxed over but there was no luck in Sayu's apartment so she asked for an emergency meeting with her and informed Sayu that she would be tagging along.
The 15-minute walk to her apartment was convenient as she waited outside with the letter in hand and walked into the complex where they would meet and she scanned over the letter and confirmed it was their letterhead.
"Who gave this to you?"
"Harunan." Iida's eyes opened wide.
"Hmm, I don't know what happened here, but I never let any of the students hand delivers it to you." She informed her.
Her heart feel to her stomach as her dream wasn't coming through as Iida looked over at Sayu and quickly nodded. "I know what happened."
"Why are you looking at me?" Sayu responded toward the stare.
"She wants something from you, I suppose." She spoke to the ceiling.
"I don't understand."
"Tanaka Reina."
"I told her to buy land before I could put my name on it." Sayu replied.
"She can't do that."
"Why not?"
"Criminal record, she can't do any of that with her name on the books." Iida informed her as Sayu quickly understood.
Iida explained about her problems before her arrest and it was to a similar circumstance but she didn't give in and a developer struck a deal on a half-written agreement with amendments. It ended up a bust because the amendments confused the building company with instructions that contradict her purpose and it fell through immediately after. The two were shocked that Reina had gone through many different ventures only to fail in the early stages.
"Thanks for informing us about the letterhead." Sayu bowed as Fuku-chan quickly followed.
They left with news that it could have been a scam for them but now with the option out of the way she was happy that it was a fake but to Eripon's concerns, she was desperate to know what she was threatened with.