She's gone, Hanayo!
For some reason, part-time shrine maiden Tojou Nozomi suddenly thought of the old, neglected shrine when the first long rays of sunset appeared at her feet as she swept the steps.
She had long known there was another, older shrine behind and a little to the north of the one she helped maintain. Over the years, it had been neglected and started to fall apart. Undoubtedly, the presence of the more popular shrine had eclipsed it. Nozomi knew that the bonze who had this shrine built a coupole of generations ago had written that the other shrine wasn't spiritually upright anymore. She also knew the one time she'd gone to look at it, it had filled her with unease. But saying so to other people would just look like reiigious competition, she assumed.
She tried to tell those close to her that it would be a bad idea to visit it. It did not seem to be maintained, and perhaps not even any priests lived there anymore. It was a wonder that someone in Tokyo hadn't reclaimed and used the real estate it represented, but often shrines had a preservation clause which the city had to honor. If it weren't so close to her shrine, Nozomi would have almost felt a little sad about it.
The building of this shrine had been seen as an aggressive move at the time and had engendered ill will. Especially so as people neglected the older shrine in favor of the new one. But that was many decades ago now; no one cared about shrine squabbles of the past nowadays.
One of Nozomi's friends who had not listened to her - because she'd been too excited about her upcoming skateboarding exhibition to pay attention - was Hoshizora Rin. In fact, Rin had been headed to the shrine Nozomi worked at while the shrine maiden was pondering it.
On seeing Nozomi, Rin was embarrassed about praying to show off in a skateboard competition on video.
"I'll do this another time," she thought, although the exhibition was soon.
Rin made her way away from the shrine, and by coincidence, she made out another shrine not far from the bigger, newer one Nozomi was at.
"Maybe this is a spiritual place just for me?" Rin wondered. She noticed a couple of blank wishes lying near the collection box. She pulled out the marker she'd brought to use at Nozomi's shrine and wrote a wish on it, then hung it on one of the pins still sticking out of the eaves.
Unhesitatingly, she dropped a coin into the mossy contribution box and rang the bell. It had a deep but muffled tone.
Placing her hands in front of her in prayer, she wished:
"I wish Rin can make a great impact in the skateboarding, and even get on the news nation-wide. Rin wants to do something unforgettable."
Rin somehow felt like her wish had been heard, and even granted. Satisfied, she turned around and walked home. On the way out she saw a couple of weathered hand-painted signs. One designated this as "Zankoku asobi jinja." And another, leaning towards the ground, said "Zangyaku akugi jinja." Well, Rin was never cruel, though she was often mischievous and playful. Maybe she had met the shrine half-way. So maybe it would grant her half a wish. Who could say.
Hoshizora had proven the most athletic of all the Otonokizaka "school idols."
Now in her senior year, she had enthusiastically agreed with some new kouhais that skateboarding should be a club there. The headmistress, Minami-sensei, did not agree and so Rin and the others had to practice away from school. Amazingly, Rin took to skateboarding more than anything before it. A natural, she even won a contest after only five months of skateboarding. She also looked dashing in her tomboy way. Boys thought she looked young and vigorous. Even some girls saw her as a "prince." At any rate, Rin got sponsors and started to skate at competitions and exhibitions that were televised. But the upcoming event was specail: only the best skateboarder girls in the Kanto area would be there. It was Rin's first time in the big leagues, so naturally she was dancing with excitement.
The exhibition and competition had gone well, and Rin had been a standout. Afterwards, some of the "extreme" skateboarders had gone on to do dangerous individual stunts. One of the sponsors had suggested someone skateboard down the railing of steps that ran a full two blocks, and had some curves and bends on the way down. Even the veteran skateboarders had refused. The railing was rickety and smooth and the conditions were terrible.
Rin eyed it curiously. "No way, Hoshizora!" said one of the best skateboarders. "If your curiosity gets you up on that rail, you will lose all nine lives, kitty!"
"Rin is pretty light and agile, nyan." Rin wanted to do it. It was just as she'd wished, something that would really stand out, and make an impact.
Some of the boarders turned away, others said angry words to the sponsor whose idea it was. The cameras, of course, all swung to Rin. She buckled on her helmet and squared her shoulders. With a nimble flip, she'd settled herself and her board on the flat part of the rail. Then with a cry of "Nyan!" she pushed forward, on to the down slope.
It was already on the news everywhere by the time Nico woke up and went online. "No!" she shouted. Hanayo was woken up, and looked at Nico, bleary-eyed. Nico was flipping from story to story, clearly upset. When Hanayo asked "What's going on, Nico-chan? Was there an attack?" Nico looked back at her. She knew she had tears in her eyes. She wondered somewhat frantically if there was any way she could delay this, keep Hanayo in the dark just a little longer. And really, there wasn't. How did Nico want Hanayo to learn about the awful truth?
She came back over to the bed. "Hanayo, pumpkin, something really awful has happened and I don't know how to tell you. It's Rin."
Hanayo got a really cold feeling.
"Is she - is she hurt, Nico?"
"She's gone, Hanayo. Some crazy skateboarding contest had her do something she wasn't able to and they killed her."
"Ki-killed her? Rin is dead? Rin is dead?"
"I'm so sorry, baby."
"No," said Hanayo. "You're lying. I know you are. Why would you say that?"
Nico opened up Hanayo's travel bag and packed some of her clothes and her toothbrush in it.
"What are you doing, Nico?" Hanayo demanded, angrily.
"I am going to take you home. You need to be with your family."
Hanayo started to believe this might not be a cruel joke, or a stupid mistake.
"Let me see."
Nico bowed her head and pointed at her computer.
The article that was up said that a young girl skateboarder had been killed doing a suicidal stunt riding a third of a kilometer on a steep, winding rail, at the prompting of an unethical sponsor in a competition that had not had any real oversight. Editorials were already saying there should be no more skateboarding competitions in Tokyo and the Hoshizora family was demanding justice. The picture of Rin was from another competition - she looked brave and very alive.
Hanayo couldn't stay standing. She staggered over to the bed and fell on it. Nico heard her tortured sobs and gave her a pat and kept on packing.
"Hanayo, honey? I'm ready to take you home. You shouldn't be away from your family at a time like this."
"Nico... Ni-Nico?"
"Hanayo, baby."
"Nico, you're my family too, please stay with me tonight at home."
Nico was really touched. Especially since she'd expected Hanayo to withdraw into herself. Without her best friend around, Hanayo lost some of her identity, and Nico was aware.
She knew, too, that Hanayo would be too devastated to be angry, right now. Well, Nico did anger well enough for two. The Rin she knew could be very shrewd when someone was running away from a problem, or giving her a dubious argument, or lying. But when it came to her personal safety, Rin was basically an idiot. Had she even turned 18 yet? Nico didn't think so. So they'd talked a young girl into killing herself on camera. That was murder in Nico's book.
Hanayo, meanwhile, had gotten herself together. The idea, the good, good idea, the only idea she had, she only had room for one idea at a time right now, was to just keep moving. Let doing things you needed to do numb you for a while.
She couldn't help herself - she read more in Nico's article. At the speed Rin had hit the railing at the fastest part, the rickety structure had entirely separated - it was a freak accident that she hit the joint just when a heavy-set group of about ten men had been leaning on it. They were all injured, though none of them had died.
The railing had catapulted Rin away, then fallen on her. For some reason the story used the word "obliterated" to describe what happened to Rin. As if they wanted to hurt Hanayo as much as possible.
Nico dragged Hanayo away and shut down her computer. "Please get in the car, baby."
Hanayo headed to the car, and Nico got in with the keys. Before she started it, she pulled out her phone. "I have to do this now, Hanayo, I promise I won't be long."
"Maki, this is Nico. Hanayo and I just heard the news. I am taking her to her parents' house. We thought of you, Maki. I'm so sorry. Some time soon, we should meet up." From Nico's face she wasn't hearing anything. Then Hanayo heard Maki's voice "I don't want to talk to anyone! Are you an idiot!? Go away!"
"Damn." Nico said as she pushed the off button. "That could have gone better."
Looking at Hanayo's even-more-stricken face she hastened to reassure her.
"Maki will eventually be glad we called right away, Hanayo, I promise. This is just her with her guard down. She needs time to build her armor back up."
Not for the first time, Hanayo thought Nico was a little cynical in her evaluations of people. But compared to Nico, she felt like she'd been spoiled. Oh, and Rin was dead.
Better not to think, she looked at Nico hopefully, and Nico started the car up. Pretty soon, they'd be at her parents house, and Hanayo could be hugged by her parents. And Rin was obliterated.
Wait. "So Rin didn't ..."
"No, I don't think she did. It was very quick."
"Nico.."
"Hanayo."
"Being a school idol, it's tough."
"It is tough, honey."
"But it doesn't KILL YOU, Nico! It doesn't .. doesn't ... O-OBLITERATE you."
"It wasn't my place to tell Rin what to do. You know we weren't talking. And when you told her, she promised to be safe. She started at least protecting herself. And what do you think Maki is thinking? She's going to be a doctor. You think she wanted Rin doing this?"
"Why couldn't Maki talk her out of it?"
"We'll probably never know, honey. I am not going to ask Maki a question like that. It's not like I dislike her."
"When Maki's over it .. when she is ... Nico, she'll be single again."
"And so what, Hanayo? You think I'd leave you for her? I am not secretly harboring an intense and guilty love for that girl."
Hanayo had to smile at that - awfully SPECIFIC denial.
Then she remembered. "Rin's dead, Nico! She's dead! my best friend and we'll never see each other again! What do I do, Nico?" Nico was driving slowly so it didn't matter that Hanayo was clinging to her arm as she drove. "Let's just get you home," Nico said.
When they got there, however, the Hoshizoras were there.
Even though her parents smothered her in a tight hug, Hanayo pushed her hand back. Nico, who had been standing back, took her hand.
Mr. Hoshizora asked who that was. On being introduced to Nico, he asked if that wasn't the girl who got Rin in trouble all the time then stopped speaking to her. The Koizumis said that wasn't true. Nico was polite and respectful, and said "Sometimes, I think I did have ideas that got Rin, Honoka and me in trouble. I regret that. And I haven't been seeing Rin much after high school, I am sorry to say. Ummm" Nico paused. "I talked with Rin on the phone about three days ago, though."
The Hoshizoras were surprised. "What did she say?" As is unfortunately usual, before Rin's exhibition they hadn't had any long conversations, just the normal family talk in passing.
"She said she was on her way to the shrine to pray for success. She seemed very excited and happy. But"
Nico paused again. "But she never made it there. We have a friend who cares for it and she never saw Rin-chan, not all day. I happened to phone her that day, so I asked. Her name is Tojou Nozomi, she's at university now but it's not far. Rin's parents, I think you should talk to her. She told me she had a bad feeling about Rin, she's really spiritual."
If it had been Maki's parents, they would have dismissed Nico right then. As it was, Mr. Hoshizora looked at Hanayo - the girl they knew was Rin's best friend, and trustworthy.
"I .. I thinkyoushouldtalktohertoo!" Hanayo blurted out. Sbe also gave Nico a hurt look. Why hadn't she told Hanayo about those conversations? If Hanayo had known something ominous was coming, she could have pleaded with Rin to be extra careful, after all. But she agreed that talking to Nozomi would benefit Rin's parents. Her graceful and sympathetic personality was a good fit for grieving, angry parents.
Nico responded to what Hanayo was saying with her glance. "Hanayo I didn't mention it to you because I didn't see what you could do about something like Nozomi having a bad feeling. I did say she should talk to Maki about it, and I didn't suggest it in a nasty way."
Mrs. Hoshizora and Mrs. Koizumi had quietly started a conversation in low tones. Mrs. Koizumi turned to them at that and said "where is Maki-chan, and how is she doing."
"Umm she's at the place her parents rented for her near school .. and she's not doing well." Hanayo said. "Nico called her and she basically yelled at her and told her she wants everyone to leave her alone. But I don't think being alone is good."
Mrs. Hoshizora smiled sadly. "As Rin-chan's parents, we know how she feels. And you're right, it's not good. Do you have the address, and her phone number?" She turned to her husband "We should visit her. We'll understand her, and we may all feel a little better. It's what Rin-chan would want us to do, honey."
Mr. Hoshizora still had a hostile and suspicious feeling about the Yazawa girl. "Why are you here with Hanayo if you don't get along with Rin?" he asked her suddenly.
"I wa-wanted her to come, I asked her to come, I really want her here, Mr. Hoshizora."
"I understand that somehow there is the idea out there that Rin-chan and I were enemies, or on the outs or something?" Nico said pensively. "I actually have a history with her, and it's certainly not all bad. And it was often very close."
"Nico-chan, Honoka-sempai and Rin-chan were a kind of trio at Otonokizaka," Hanayo explained. "They did get in a lot of trouble, especially for pulling pranks, but they also had a lot of fun. Rin-chan used to tell me all the stories and she was so filled with enjoyment. And also her and Nico sometimes were closer than other times."
"If we keep hinting around, they are going to lose patience with me, Hanayo," Nico said. "They deserve to know as much about Rin's life as we can tell them, I think." She turned to the Hoshizoras.
"What do you know about Rin's dating life?"
Mr. Hoshizora answered, looking uncomfortable. "She told us she was dating a girl from Otonokizaka. I don't understand how that could be. Otonokizaka is a respectable school, and they are both girls. She said that it was Nishikino, a girl from her year, who was doing that 'school idol' thing with her. I didn't approve of them putting Rin in flashy clothes that showed off her body too much. But then again, maybe if we'd insisted she wear dresses, after she suddenly refused to one day, she would have had a more normal school life."
"Well," said Nico, "I am not ashamed of Rin. Hanayo isn't either."
Hanayo wanted Nico not to say any more but realized she would. So she shook her head. It's not like she could agree with being ashamed of Rin.
"So ..." Nico looked thoughtful. Then she said, decisively: "before Nishikino, was Hanayo here, and before her, was me."
She let that sink in.
"So, right now, you are looking at two of Rin's three girlfriends. And if I had been able to get through to Maki today you would be seeing the third one. We can't know if Rin would have grown up to like boys, too. Or get married. But we do know she liked girls. Some girls have always liked girls and girls have always dated. In the old days, they just had to sneak around and hide shamefully and lie about it. And Rin would never do that. It's not like Rin robbed a bank. I am not telling you to shame you or make you feel sad. Rin was happy with how you treated her, even after she told you she was dating Maki. You have nothing to feel bad about that way. I'm just saying, Rin was successful in her social life as well as her school life and her sports life. She got what she wanted, just not what other people might want for her."
"And there's this ..."
She pulled out a photo. It was Rin looking completely girly - and happy - in a beautiful white dress with a gigantic pink bow. She gave it to Mrs. Hoshizora who showed it to her husband. Nico stepped back, because she knew they wouldn't want her to say anything more. Indeed, they grew quiet and both of them had tears running down their faces.
A little while later Mr. Hoshizora went out with Mr. Koizumi to smoke.
"So, what weren't you two telling us about Rin," Mrs. Hoshizora asked, when the door was closed.
Nico looked at Hanayo, but kept quiet.
"What?" said Hanayo. You could tell she wanted to say "Someone help me!" but - and Nico realized it with a bit of both sadness and disappointment - normally that meant "Rin, help me!" and now Hanayo couldn't say that.
"It's nothing, it's just that when Nico said she and Rin were girlfriends, both of you looked uncomfortable, like she wasn't telling the truth. And you didn't explain why Rin had three girlfriends in a short time. Or why you two are together. I thought over what you said, and I agree: the time to know all about my daughter, so I can remember her properly, as she really was, is now."
Nico still left it up to Hanayo. She was the known quantity, much closer to Rin.
"We-well …. Really? You want to know?"
Mrs. Hoshizora nodded.
"If this is something I shouldn't be hearing about, I can go make more tea," Mrs. Koizumi said.
"We-well … it involves me as well, Mama … so … so I think you should hear, if I can tell Rin's mama."
Then, after quite a pause, where Hanayo looked down at the floor and gathered her courage from somewhere:
"Okay … you … you're right. Nico and Rin .. they weren't exactly girlfriends … umm I always loved Rin .. but .. she had a problem with .. sometimes … knowing what people were feeling or … what she should do … I don't know how to put it … she would just kind of charge forward and … sometimes .. it caused problems."
Mrs. Hoshizora nodded, it wasn't entirely a new element of Rin for her, after all.
"And … and … I know I was considered very innocent, and Maki, too … but Rin was the most innocent … about … such as .. sex and such."
"And Maki got some manga from Honoka … and Maki was reading … girl's love manga … and Rin .. saw it. And she nagged Maki a lot. I saw it. Until .. until Maki let her read one and she liked it but she made me and Maki explain it and it was super, super embarrassing. And I don't know, but she got excited while reading it and she figured .. who could she talk to about it besides me because I was getting so flustered, and Maki was saying 'I don't want to talk about it any more, Rin, show some modesty.' "
"So, ummm her usual gang was Honoka and Nico, right? And somehow she thought Honoka would be embarrassed because it was her manga, and she'd tell Kotori and Umi and Umi would say it was shameful, Rin was sure. So she thought, Nico! Nico will not only talk about this but maybe she'll know about it. And she did wait and drag Nico off to a room to discuss it. Nico was completely embarrassed but she was, umm a little worried about Rin running around school talking about girl's love, so she discussed it. A little less nervously than me and Maki, I guess? She is older. But anyways, umm Rin suggested they try doing what was in the manga and Nico said well you should do that with people you really like, and Rin said she really liked Nico, and Nico was flustered and trying to explain, and while she was explaining, Rin kind of umm pushed Nico against the wall and kissed her. It was Nico's first kiss and she was really shocked."
Mrs. Hoshizora and Mrs. Koizumi were obviously shocked as well.
"And," and by now Hanayo was in the moment, remembering what Rin and Nico had told her about that day, so she wasn't even looking up, just looking down and remembering and talking, "Nico was so shocked she didn't say anything, so Rin kissed her and her neck and kind of nibbled on her ear, and Rin put her hands on Nico's shirt and pushed it up and Nico wasn't wearing any bra, and Rin put her hands on Nico's … br-breasts and kept on kissing her and Nico was so shocked she just stood stark still and couldn't mo-move and Rin even .. she even touched Nico's place and she kept rubbing Nico's breast and kissing her all over and touching her and Nico had her mo-moment even though she was shocked and kind of hu-humiliated and when Rin was done Nico pulled her shirt down and she straightened her clothes and she ran away without a word and went home and I guess she went to her room and didn't talk to anyone and then she phoned me pretty late and she told me all about it and she was crying. So yeah calling that being Rin's girlfriend is pretty much a lie."
Mrs. Hoshizora asked gently, "Is there any more?"
Hanayo looked up with tears in her eyes and nodded.
"So, ummm even though Rin and I are usually inseparable, I was super, super mad at her and Nico couldn't stand to even see her and that's where Rin probably talked about it to you? And that went on for quite a while. We managed to keep doing practice somehow, but after that mostly Nico and I went home and Maki and Rin went home."
Mrs. Koizumi asked, "When did you and Rin get together, then?"
Hanayo looked up again.
"Well, after a few weeks, I decided to try explaining to Rin again. I mean, she looked so sad and she had no idea, really why everyone was mad at her. As hard as that is to believe. She was just so innocent in some ways."
Mrs. Hoshizora said, "You know, that's our fault. We just assumed Rin would figure out everything on her own, and now I see that that was never true. She takes after both her parents, I am afraid."
"I finally got Rin to understand that what she did with Nico was a sacred thing, that she took Nico's first kiss and first time without permission or any cooperation from Nico. That took a while. I told her what Nico meant, that only if you love someone should you do sex with them? Or something. And yes, people had sex just for fun, but Nico wasn't like that, even though normally she was one of the fun-loving trio. So the very next day Rin wanted to go home with me. And she said she thought that she and I liked each other the way Nico said people should to have sex, so we should try what was in Honoka's magazines. I wasn't really ready for that, or even to completely forgive Rin. I wanted to teach her that she should really try to be more aware of the situation and how people felt. But."
Hanayo looked down and didn't lift her head.
"I also thought about … about not just that I was super, super mad at Rin for what she did to Nico, but that it was Nico first, not me. And if Rin was wanting to do sex for fun, then all the girls that thought she was a handsome prince because she was cute and good at sports, she'd probably find a girlfriend right away. So, to keep Rin with me, I said yes. So we did. Even though I really wasn't ready and I didn't want to and I was so insecure. But the way Rin enjoyed my … my body .. was good and … and she said she loved me and only we would be together like that from now on. And I wanted that. So I said to the other girls in Muse that they should keep it a secret from the school but Rin and I were girlfriends now. Nico looked at me like I stabbed her in the back."
"I sent her a text and said, if Rin and I are together, Rin won't bother Nico. She never replied."
"And after that, it was Nico and Maki going home and Rin and me."
Mrs. Hoshizora said, "But how did it end up with Rin and Maki together, then?"
"We-well," Hanayo continued, "It wasn't for quite a while. When Rin told you about Maki is when they got together. Before that, it was me and Rin and Nico and Maki. When Rin did that with Nico, Nico was already in love with Maki. And once they went to Maki's house to study, and Maki had noticed how shaky Nico was these days. So it all came out and Nico was crying her eyes out and she stayed over and slept next to Maki, so it came out that Nico loved Maki. Maki liked Nico more than she liked anyone else, already, but she probably wasn't ready to be a girlfriend, just like I wasn't. But she felt sorry for Nico and she was curious as to what having a girlfriend would be like, so she said they should go out. Eventually they even did sex things together, but Nico was always nervous now. But she really clung to Maki. They didn't have their fights anymore, but sometimes if Maki slipped back to the old ways, Nico couldn't always fake a reply … she just got hurt or even teared up. Anyway, some days Maki had a great time with Nico. It was nice being so adored. Honestly, Nico was like a little kid the way she looked up to Maki, just worshipped her. But she was very clingy and jealous, I guess."
"Anyway, after a while .. months … Maki was under pressure from her family to cut out music .. under pressure from her teacher to work even harder at piano … under pressure from Muse to write more songs … and she started to think of her being with Nico as just more pressure. Everything was so serious. Nico was all she would love Maki forever. And in the meantime, Rin was becoming curious about what it would be like to .. umm to do sex things with other girls besides me … and because she's Rin … she told me … and I wouldn't go home with her and I almost stopped talking to her. And I guess Maki was complaining about the stress she was under to Rin … and complaining about how clingy Nico was … and finally I think she even said Nico was very shaky when they had sex and she even cried sometimes. Although she was very loving when they cuddled afterward. I hate saying all this, Nico!"
Nico just squeezed Hanayo's hand.
"Hanayo, you are my brave girl, and I give you permission to talk about anything. This is a once-in-a-lifetime conversation. Everyone here is taking this seriously. I am not worried a bit that what happened with me in the past is going to come out, except to people who are involved."
Hanayo looked Nico in the eye for a while, then hugged her. She turned around to the two older women. But she was looking at the floor again.
"Anyway, that's about it. When I was ignoring Rin and Nico was busy doing something with her siblings, Rin and Maki had sex. Then Rin told me, and I phoned Nico. Nico phoned Maki and they had a screaming fight over the phone that Nico's siblings heard. They'd never heard anything like it, and Nico couldn't forgive Maki for making her get like that. Maki knew she was doing something hurtful and wrong, but Rin, I think, only got it a little bit. If Rin felt guilty at all, she probably thought me avoiding her for a while was like breaking up, maybe?"
She looked up again ..
"It's amazing we were all able to still do our practices and performances. Nico and I both sent texts to Rin and Maki. We basically said we wouldn't drag our fight into Muse, and we wouldn't see each other outside of Muse, and please honor that. We were so heart-broken, and only each other understood each other. Eventually, we got together. Not in a fast-moving sexy way, but in a slow, careful way. I like how Nico always - always - pays attention to me and my feelings. It's how Rin was as a friend, but not as a girlfriend."
"The same is true for me," Nico said. It was her first time adding to the story. "I love how Hanayo knows how much things can break your heart and hurt you. And it was the same with Maki. When we were friends, even though we fought, she always had a sixth sense about how I felt, and that went away once we were girlfriends."
"And then we all sort of reconciled, eventually," Hanayo continued. "So that's why Nico's a little upset people would talk about it like she was Rin's enemy. I mean, Nico never, ever did one thing wrong dealing with Rin. She was a victim and she forgave Rin and tried to patch things up and let us be like before. It wasn't, quite, but we started to be able to be in the same place outside of school and outside of Muse. Things happened fast, it's true, but that was due to Rin and Maki. That's why Nico called Rin. It's not like it's super uncommon. And Rin and I started doing friend things again. It took longer for Nico and Maki and Nico wouldn't go somewhere where Maki was if she started to feel bad. But anyway, the truth is Rin and Maki cheated on us and broke our hearts, I guess."
Nico said then, "Well, I am now awfully glad Rin and I started to get along, now. I would hate to add guilt over not being reconciled to the sadness. And I can get mad along with you, Mrs. Hoshizora. And Maki. Maki and I are better at getting mad than Hanayo and Rin were. It's almost our specialty."
Mrs. Hoshizora took a very deep breath.
"Okay, I think I get the picture. I had no idea a girls' high school academy could be such a soap opera. So part of Nico's grievance with my daughter is that because Rin molested her and humiliated her, Nico was anxious about sex, and that's one of the complaints her girlfriend had, which led to her leaving Nico for Rin. I love my daughter, but I can't blame Nico."
"Well," Nico said, "I wouldn't wish away my relationship with Hanayo. Maybe Hanayo and I were meant to be - we have so much in common - and Rin and Hanayo and Maki and I were meant to be best friends. Although my friendship with Maki never really recovered. I am going to push it. She needs someone. You and your husband visiting her is a great idea. But I can't get too close to Maki right now because that would make Hanayo feel more insecure. Eventually I can, but now is too early. And without Rin and Maki getting together, I wouldn't be with Hanayo."
Mrs. Hoshizora smiled a little. "Yes, life can be strange like that. So as far as I understand Nico, she buried her quarrel with Rin and was back on good terms. Did you and Rin and Honoka return to your old ways?"
"Yes," Nico said. "We did go out, just the three of us, a couple of times sort of recently, and have fun. We visited an arcade and a ramen place and even put on a performance for a bunch of school kids at a playground when they asked us to. It was a lot of fun."
"And what about you, Hanayo?" Mrs. Hoshizora asked.
"Me-me?" Hanayo said. She touched her nose.
"Were you able to reconcile with Rin, too? And Maki?"
"With Rin, of course! I mean even when I was super, super mad at her I missed her. I'm so used to showing everything to her, discussing everything with her. Without her it's like missing an arm or something. And Maki is Nico's business, mostly. If it hadn't been her, if I am honest, it would have been someone. I still look up to her in a lot of ways. The one thing, though, is I don't want her trying to win Nico back now that she doesn't have Rin. If that makes me a bad person, so be it."
Mrs. Hoshizora smiled again. "I don't think you have it in you to be a bad person, or a bad friend, Hanayo-chan. Alright, the men went out to give us this time, and I think we're nearly done. You telling me all that was, of course, quite a shock, but Nico-chan is right, you are a brave girl. I thank you, I really do, for telling me the truth. We will definitely visit Maki as soon as we can. Perhaps even tonight. And the other girl - Tojou-san?"
"Tojou Nozomi," Hanayo said, nodding.
"You want us to talk with her for various reasons, correct?"
"Ye-yes." Hanayo couldn't explain why, exactly. Nico wrote down Nozomi's address and phone number and handed it to Mrs. Hoshizora. Below it, she wrote Maki's details.
"Very well, but would you two do me a favor, then?"
Hanayo and Nico looked at her expectantly.
"Would you go and talk to her about all this, first, and ask her if she's up for a visit from Rin's parents? It seems like simple courtesy to do that."
Nico and Hanayo looked at each other, then both nodded.
"Hanayo, it surprises me you never talked about any of this with us. We could have helped you, baby," Mrs. Koizumi said, "but then, you take after your parents, too."
Meanwhile Nico sent Maki a text: "We are at Hanayo's and we met the Hoshizoras. They want to visit you. Put up with it. You can't say they don't understand. They do. They won't be disapproving. Hanayo and I are going to talk to Nozomi. The offer to meet up is open forever."
"It was good to meet both of you, Hanayo, Nico." Mrs. Hoshizora paused. "Nico, I will mention getting angry together to Nishikino-san. I feel no mother should go through this, and to suffer for the foolishness and greed of another, it is not to be tolerated. I wish now I had kept Rin more controlled, but a great deal of the blame rests with the exhibitors and the sponsors. Rin would not have wanted to end skateboard contests in Tokyo. But if these people are punished so strongly they can no longer do this, that will be a lesson to the rest."
"Umm," Hanayo interrupted. "I wanted to say .. I wanted to say I will miss her every day, forever."
Mrs. Hoshizora teared up again. "Thank you, Hanayo, it's good someone else feels that way, too. And thank you both for telling me that before she was lost to us, Rin had happiness and romance and accomplishment in her life. I think she was better off when eight others were watching over her, so thank you for that. Hanayo, you are always welcome at our house, we have always felt like you were part of our family."
And with that, she left.
Mrs. Koizumi saw her to her car then came back in.
"Hanayo, Nico, I think you should get ready for bed. If you go to bed later, you will still probably talk much of the night and you won't get any sleep. I will come in in a bit with some tea and I will sit by the bed and we can talk a bit more."
With Nico and Hanayo sitting up and clinging to each other, they talked out their feelings with Mrs. Koizumi. Hanayo cried herself out, and after her mother went to bed, Nico and Hanayo still talked quietly for another couple of hours. They did manage to sleep, finally, and with Nico holding her, Hanayo didn't have nightmares.
They woke up at a normal time, and it was time to visit Nozomi.