Last Leap, Last Chance

Miyuki Kono, 92 and bedridden, watched her older sister, Makoto Konno, 96 as she stared nostalgically out of the clear glass windows. The two sat in companionable silence and listened to the sounds of their grandchildren playing in the gardens below their countryside house.

"Hey, Nee-chan?" Miyuki turned her head to her older sister.

As a respose, the once full- of- spunk girl nodded to show Miyuki she had her attention.

"I was wondering why you never spoke of high school so much, especially after that Chiyaki Mamiya left. Whenever mom or dad asked about your day, you would give some sound, just to show that it was okay," Miyuki cocked her head to the side, proving that she still had that little bit of innocence, despite her old age.

Makoto glanced at her trembling hands, tears threatening to fall, glistening in the warm summer evening sun. A slight smile made its way onto her lips. "I never did go into detail after that did I?"

At the lack of response, she closed her eyes and everything that happened that summer came back to her. "Chiyaki Mayima, was my best friend, along with Kosuke. We were always together, until the day I found out about something called the time leap…"

And that afternoon, it was as if the events of that summer happened all over again, playing in both the womens' minds, like a well rehearsed play, filled with colour and emotions, naught but a single scene in black and white.

He leaned forward, not to kiss but to hug, the only person he would never throw out of his heart, for if their love was sealed by a kiss, he would never be able to let go, returning back to his era, forever stuck in a world not of his own.

Makoto sighed remembering more, the day she married Kosuke Tsuda. They weren't really in love, but as Kaho had died in a freak accident, they married for convenience's sake, to stop from hurting and also to stop their parents' complaints of their marriage, of lack thereof.

Kosuke had always been nice to her, but they both knew- from the way he smiled, he talked, he moved, Kaho would be the only one in his heart, and Makoto would always and forever be his best friend. Not that she minded.

Chiyaki was also constantly on her mind. She'd lived for him, breathed for him, dedicating her whole life to research on time leap, and anything in relation. She never told Kosuke of her secret with Chiyaki until the last hours before he died.

He smiled and nodded, as if she was telling him of how the day's weather was like. His last words were to name those whom he kept in his heart, safe and in the small paradise of memories where they were all together, laughing, playing, and enjoying each other's company. He looked up at her with his eyes, full of love for a friend and whispered to the dying wind breezing past the bench behind their humble house.

"Chiyaki, Makoto, Kaho, Ka... Kaho, itsumo aishiteru" and closed his eyes to await eternal rest.

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NOT THE END! TBCTBCTBC

This will probably become a two-shot unless I can think of something more to write.

Adizzo,

Utimia.