I'll rebirth for you
MariMii version
Chibi chubby cheeks Mariko looked up to the cheaply apartment building. From that day on, that place would be her home. Her mother tightened the grip on her hand and sighed deeply. Despite the young age, Mariko understood the situation that they had been passing through. Her father passed away few months ago due to an accident at work leaving them with just his life insurance and half of Mariko's studies fees paid. Her mother decided that they had to start a new life in another place, so there they were. An apartment on that building was the only one she could afford pay with her current job.
The apartment was on a calm family neighborhood, in an old ten-floors building. It had a small room, an average room, a single bathroom and a kitchen separated from the living room by a counter. It was smaller than their previous house, but it fitted the two. The rent fee was also really cheap for that type of building, but the house renter didn't say the reason. Mariko's mother thought about numerous reasons, but it wasn't time for being pessimistic.
Few minutes later, a young woman appeared and greeted the two. She was their neighbor. Mariko's mother met her when she had gone to check out the apartment. She was a very simpatico woman and liked kids. She told them that all their belongings were already on their apartment. And that she was going to buy the ingredients for lunch and asked if they needed something. Mariko's mother asked the woman to buy two ready-to-eat meals, but the woman refused to buy ready food and said she was going to prepare a meal for them. While their neighbor was on the market, mother and daughter headed to their new home.
They walked upstairs to the third floor. The two stopped at a door with 304 on it. Mariko's mother told her that that woman she met minutes ago lived on 305. The mother took the keys of her purse and opened the door. Mariko walked in first. She was really curious about her new home and room. So, Mariko ran until the middle of the living room, where she suddenly stopped. Something really visible called her attention. A girl in gym clothes with round cheeks and eyes with long dark hair floating near the living room's ceiling. She was pouting with stuffed cheeks. Mariko and the girl exchanged looks.
"Mom," Mariko said without take her gaze of the girl.
"Yes, darling." Her mother said walking into the living room.
"We have a ghost in our home." The kid simply said. The girl's eyes widened without undo her previous expression.
"Really? Is a boy or a girl? It's a good or a bed being?" The mother asked placing her purse on the table. The girl was really confused.
"Un! It's a girl and since she is doing a dumb face, I guess she is a good one." Mariko smirked. The girl finally undid the strange expression, leaving just the pout.
"Mou! I'm not dumb! I was just bored!" The girl shouted shifting on the air.
"Mom! She can talk!" Mariko said still with her gaze on the girl. But something inside de girl's mind told her that the kid was teasing her.
"Good! Then, ask her name. If we are going to live under the same roof, we should at least know her name." Mariko's mother said sitting on the couch. The girl just kept observing.
"Nee, nee, blowfish face, what's your name?" Mariko asked, obviously teasing.
"I'm not blowfish face! My name is Minami!" The girl said angrily, floating down to Mariko.
"Mariko! You shouldn't tease someone you just met!" The mother reprehended.
"Sorry, mom." Mariko looked at her mother. Then turned to the girl who was now floating in front of her. "Sorry, Minami. My name is Shinoda Mariko. Nice to meet you." Mariko offered a hand, and Minami shook it firmly. "Woah! You are one of those ghosts who can touch things!"
"Yeah... I had a lot of time to practice..." Minami said sadly. "So, you and your mother can see me for real?" The ghost girl asked just to make sure she wasn't dreaming.
"No. Just me. But mom believes in supernatural beings. And she believes me because I'm like dad. I was born with the same gift as him." Mariko explained.
"So, your name is Minami. I hope we can live in peace from now on." Mrs. Shinoda said with a smile.
"It's going to be nice." Minami answered even knowing the woman couldn't hear her.
"She said it's going to be nice." Mariko repeated.
"Especially with a cute chibi chubby cheeks kid like you, Mari-chan!" The ghost girl hugged Mariko and ended up lifting her of the floor a bit. "How old are you chibi chubby cheeks Mari-chan?"
"I'm five. And I don't have a chubby cheeks!" Mariko shouted the last sentence pouting, releasing herself from the strange feeling it was being hugged by a ghost. "And you, Miichan?" Mrs. Shinoda just laughed.
"I died on my twentieth birthday." Minami answered with a blank expression.
"I hope we can be friends." Mariko said smiling. Minami smiled widely.
"Sure! Let's play a lot!" Minami said happily, jumping in the air. Mariko smiled happily and Mrs. Shinoda decided that ghost girl was a good happening after all. So, she stood up and went to check if their belongings were all there.
"Let's go play outside!" Mariko said trying to grab Minami's arm, but her hand slipped through. The kid blinked confused. Minami could touch, but couldn't be touched. 'How sad' Mariko thought.
"I can't! I can't leave the apartment." Minami shouted in a sad way. Mariko immediately understood it was related to the girl's death.
"Okay... So let's play inside, then." Mariko said a bit sad, but trying to understand the ghost girl. Minami smiled to the little girl and asked her what she wanted to play. Mariko said she wanted to play with dolls and went to her room to look for her toys. The ghost girl silently followed the kid.
Mariko suddenly stopped when she entered her new room. Surely it was smaller than her old room, but her bed, her study desk and the boxes she helped her mother to pack were there. The bed was leaned on the wall, on the opposite side of the room door. Her study desk was on her left side. There was a built-in wardrobe on the right side of the room.
After the recognizing moment, she walked to the boxes and looked for the one that has a 'toys' written in it. Minami arrived in the room through the left wall. She starred at the little girl circling few boxes, then stop. The kid looked at the box with a thoughtful expression. Then, she looked at the ghost girl. Her face lightened up, indicating she had an idea. Mariko asked Minami to lift the box that was on top, so she could push the one that was at the bottom. Minami agreed, but warned Mariko that she had to be fast because she couldn't hold the box for too long. The kid nodded and they started. Minami held the upper box while Mariko pushed the bottom box. The box was heavier than Minami thought, so the time she could spend holding it decreased. Luckily, Mariko was fast enough, so when the box passed through Minami's hands and hit the floor with a silent thud, the little girl was already far away from it. Mariko could finally get her doll to play with.
The neighbor lady had returned from the market saying that the lunch would be ready in an hour. Meanwhile, Mrs. Shinoda made her daughter help her unpack their belongings. Minami wanted to help too, so Mrs. Shinoda gave her few tasks. It was really weird to see things floating on their own. But after few minutes, she started to get used. With six hands, by the time the neighbor lady called for lunch, they had finished unpack. Let's just say that mother and daughter didn't have much.
The days were passing and Mariko could successfully made friends at school. But when she arrived home, there was just one thing on her mind: play with Minami. One thing she liked to do was make the ghost girl lift things. It was fun to watch. They spent lots of time together. Manami even helped Mariko to take a bath. It was so fun that Mariko didn't even care about the other kids of the building. But one day, Minami scolded her, telling she should do as much friends as she were able to. From that day on, Mariko started to pay more attention on her neighbor kids.
Of course Mariko always talking cheerfully and playing alone at home didn't go unnoticed by others. Mostly to the helpful neighbor lady. She always felt that Mariko was different from other kids. But, as she liked the little girl, she didn't want to think about the worst. So, she talked privately to mrs. Shinoda about that matter. The mother smiled, not wanting to reveal her daughter's gift, and said that Mariko had an imaginary friend. The neighbor lady felt relieved hearing that and let it be, since it was so normal for kids at her age to have imaginary friends. Mrs. Shinoda spread that over the building and soon everyone knew that Mariko had imaginary friends.
Minami didn't bother to be called imaginary friend. She actually liked that term. It made her feel like she wasn't dead. She grew very fond of the girl who always made a disapproval face when she hugged her. It was funny to see Mariko struggling even knowing that Minami couldn't be touched. Minami liked to play with Mariko and didn't bother to wait alone in the apartment all day long. To spend the time, she always ended up cleaning the house.
One day, Mariko was playing with her favorite doll watching TV. It was randomly turned on just to make noise. Minami was cleaning the dust on it when something called Mariko's attention. She looked at the TV, and then looked at Minami. She repeated this action few times and said, pointing at Minami.
"Oh! Miichan is Gachapin!" It was tone of amuse.
"What?!" The ghost girl looked at the TV to see what that Gachapin was. She didn't liked what she saw. "No! Take it back!"
"Yes you are! I won't take it back!" Mariko said teasing. Minami looked at her with a defiant look.
"Take it back!" Minami said approaching.
"No!" Then, Minami took Mariko's doll and float to the ceiling.
"Gimme back my doll!" Mariko shouted looking up.
"Not until you take back what you said!" Minami said thinking about how light that doll was and that she could hold it as long as she wanted.
"No! Gimme my doll back!"
"Take it back!" Seeing that it would lead to nowhere, Mrs. Shinoda decided to intervene.
"Ok. Time to go to bed." She ordered wanting to put an end to the fight.
"But mom..." Mariko tried to whimper with tears on her eyes.
"No 'buts'. I'm sure Miichan will give it back tomorrow. Mariko pouted, not wanting to argue with her mother and walked to her room. She just stopped to stick her tongue to Miichan, who playfully returned the gesture. Alone on her bed, Mariko started to cry silently. She loved to sleep with that doll. When she was almost sleeping due to fatigue, she felt a light weight on her. She smiled slightly, knowing what it was. Though she had already forgiven Minami, that would have a payback.
Few days later, Mariko decided to put her plan to action. Every day, Minami woke her up with hugs and she always made a face. But this time was different. She pretended she didn't felt the ghost girl touches and whispered "oh, where is Miichan?". She stood up and got dressed for school. When she met her mother at living room, she asked.
"Mom, have you seen Miichan?" She was really puzzled.
"Dear, you know you're the only one who can see her. Why?" The mother looked at her daughter a bit confused.
"I can't seem to find her anywhere." Mariko simply said.
"Oioi! I'm here! You're kidding me right?!" Minami said. But when she got no answer, she started to worry.
"I'm sure you will find her anytime soon." Her mother said gently.
"Un!" Then Mariko started to eat her breakfast. Minami floated in front of Mariko and started to make faces. She made a blowfish face. Nothing. She sucked her cheek and turned her mouth into beak shape. Nothing. She widened her eyes and stuck her tongue. Nothing. She tried other faces, but still no reaction. So, she lifted something on the table, but at the same time, Mariko closed her eyes and... "It's delicious, mom!" Minami sighed, but she hadn't given up yet. Then, she started to lift things from the table. But every time Mariko turned her face or closed her eyes.
Mrs. Shinoda understood what her daughter was trying to do. She didn't expect her daughter to be so vindictive. She decided to not interfere the situation. The two have to pass through it by themselves. Minami tried a different approach. She started to touch Mariko. She pinched Mariko's cheeks. Called the kid chubby cheeks Mari-chan, but nothing. Mariko was trying hard to not show any emotion. She stood up to brush her teeth and get her school bag. Minami hugged Mariko from behind and rubbed their cheeks together begging the little girl to talk to her.
When everyone left home, Minami started to cry. She cried her heart out floating near the ceiling. Was Mari-chan ignoring her or she really lost her ability to see her? Both options were really sad to her. If it was the first one, she wanted to know the reason. For the first time in months, Minami didn't clean the house. After crying the entire afternoon, she decided to ignore Mariko as well.
When mother and daughter arrived home, they greeted the house out of habit. Mariko was waiting an answer, but it didn't come. She got bit puzzled by that. What could have happened to Miichan? She walked in and saw the ghost girl with a bored expression floating near the ceiling. She decided to keep up with her plan. But this time, there was no reaction from Minami. Somehow it wasn't funny anymore. While bathing on her own, she felt so lonely. For the first time since they moved in, there was a silent night. At bed time, Mariko couldn't hold any longer.
"Miichan, I'm sorry!" Mariko shouted sitting on her bed. Seconds later, Minami appeared floating fast and hugged her. Mariko felt on the bed, surprised by the impact.
"Nee, Mari-chan, don't ever do this again! EVER!" Minami was crying so much that Mariko couldn't believe that she was the playful girl she knew. So, Mariko tried to hug her, just to fell her arm slips through the girl's body. Then, she felt loneliness. She wanted so bad to touch her friend, but she couldn't. Mariko also cried. She slept feeling the good and weird touch of the ghost girl.
The next day, Minami woke Mariko up like always, hugging. And this time she also tried to kiss the kid's cheek. Surprisingly, she didn't receive the usual scold from Mariko, nor even a weird face. Instead, she received a smile, followed by a light pink blush. This was very unusual. But she was happy with that. She helped Mariko pack things for school and have breakfast.
The helpful neighbor rang the bell. She wanted to know if Mrs. Shinoda had few things to lend her. Soon, the two women started to talk cheerfully. Mariko left the house and said she would wait her mom downstairs. She walked happily to the stairs. Minami was watching Mariko as always, but this time she sensed danger. Mariko was already far, so she wouldn't hear her. The mother and the neighbor couldn't hear her. The moment was closing, and she was felling so helpless because she couldn't even leave the apartment. The only thing on her mind was Mariko. She floated as fast as she could when she saw Mariko stumble on the stairs.
Mrs. Shinoda and the neighbor lady felt an weird wind pass through them and a ghostly voice shouting 'Mari-chan'. They turned to the stairs just in time to see a blur curl over Mariko, while she fell from the stairs. Mrs. Shinoda ran as fast as she could. The neighbor lady just stood there too terrified with what she had seen. The mother saw her daughter fly over the stairs and hit the next floor with a soft thud. Mariko was there alone and unconscious, but she didn't seem to be seriously harmed. She took her daughter on her arms and carried her inside, silently crying and thanking god that nothing bad had happened to her daughter.
Mariko woke up several minutes later. She was in her room, and her mother and the gentle neighbor lady were looking at her worriedly. She looked around to look for Minami. The ghost girl was behind her with the same worried look. Mariko asked herself what had happened. The last thing she remembered was that she had stumbled near the stairs. Then a gentle touch and it was completely black after that. She looked at Minami again and saw a tear drop. Then, it started to glow. She widened her eyes. She knew what that meant.
"Mom, untie. Can I be alone for a moment?" Both found the request a bit strange, but left the room. Mrs. Shinoda closed the door when she passed through it. "Miichan. Thank you." The ghost girl smiled. "You're shining."
"I'm so glad you're fine. And I guess you know why I'm shining." Minami said softly. Mariko nodded.
"Why do you have to go? I don't want you to go..." Mariko said starting to cry. She knew that answer too; it was the same for the reason why Minami was shining. Minami approached.
"It's needed. I also don't want to leave you." Minami said hugging the kid. "I enjoyed every moment we spent together, I'll never forget about them."
"So do I! I won't ever forget about them!" Mariko said between sobs.
"So, if you never forget about them, I'll always be here." Minami said placing a hand on Mariko's chest. "Think about me and you'll never going to feel lonely."
"Miichan... I love you!.." Mariko started to cry again. Minami patted her head.
"I love you too, Mari-chan." Minami said with a genuine smile.
"I love you like... mom loved dad..." Mariko said sobbing. Minami blusehd.
"You... you are too young to know this kind of love..." Minami said softly.
"But... I do.." Mariko insisted.
"Okay.." Minami smiled. The she leaned closer and kissed Mariko's nose. The kid blushed and watched Minami's figure slowly fade away. Before the girl vanishes forever, she leaned up and tried to kiss Minami's cheek. For her surprise, she felt her lips touch a soft skin for a second. The last thing she saw, was Minami's surprised eyes. Then, she found herself alone in her room.
Mariko skipped school that day. But her mother had to go to work. So the gentle neighbor lady took care of her. Mariko was crying when she called back her mother. And saying between sobs that 'she went away'. Mrs. Shinoda explained that 'she' was Mariko's imaginary friend. The lady was worried and didn't want Mariko to think that she pitied her. She called Mariko in a sweet voice. And said she wanted to share a sad story with her. Mariko nodded, wondering what the reason of that was.
"When I was a bit older that you," the lady started. "I had a really sweet, cute and cheerful girl as a neighbor. She was full of energy and liked to help others. I really liked her. But one day, she started to be bullied at school. And she didn't tell her parents the reason. She got so depressed that she dropped school and started to spend the whole day inside her room. She just stayed inside the apartment. As the years passed by, she started to be afraid of leave it. So, one day, her parents travelled for few days and left her alone. They wanted to make her a surprise and backed early with a cake and a nice birthday gift. When they arrived, they found her dead inside her room. They found a note with her. 'I don't want to be a burden anymore' that's what it said. I liked her a lot, so I cried my heart out when my parents told me she was dead." Mariko had tears on her eyes again.
"Why did you tell me this?" Mariko was silently crying.
"Because sometimes the ones we love goes away, even if we don't want them to. I liked her, not only because she played with me. It was because she was a nice person. And she didn't deserved what she was passing through. I swore that if one day I had a child I would name him or her after her name. Well, I just wanted you to know that everyone have their own sad moments in life. And unfortunately, not just one. But you can always count on your friends and family to surpass those moments." She said. Mariko looked at her amused and smiled.
"Nee. Where did you live when you were around my age?" She wanted to know.
"I always lived in this building." The woman answered with a smile. "Now, rest. It's a miracle that you have no scratches after falling from the stairs." Mariko shifted on her bed and slept.
The months were passing and Mariko was finally recomposed. The neighbor lady invited Mrs. Shinoda and her daughter to a party at her house. It was unusual for the couple next door give parties, even though mother and daughter are always invited to eat meals with them. And the contrary happened a lot too. There were other people that Mrs. Shinoda didn't know, but she assumed that they were friends from the lady's husband's work. After the meal, the lady's husband asked for attention. He happily announced that his wife was waiting their first child. Mariko looked at her lovely neighbor carefully. So, that was the reason the woman was so different lately.
As time was passing by, Mariko noticed something familiar with the lady's growing belly. Everyone was saying to Mariko that she should take care of the child to be born like her own sister. And she was willing to do that so. But after seeing that, she could no longer do that. But she would treat him or her with love and care anyways. And it was amusing to see the belly growing through the months.
Mariko smiled and played as before, but she never forgets about Minami. She knew Miichan would want her to do that. Her heart always skipped differently when she thought about the ghost girl. She just needed to be patient.
The lady didn't want to tell the name she wanted for her child. She wanted to wait until the birth day. Nine months had passed and a cute girl with round cheeks was born. And the lady finally said her name. I was Minami. Mariko almost cried when she heard the name. But she had already decided she would be strong. But she was so fascinated that the baby gave her the same vibe as that girl.
The two girls were growing healthily. At first, Mariko thought the baby Minami was really cute, since the first word she said was Mari-chan. But when Minami was old enough, they started to bicker each other. It was funny and worrisome at the same time see two kids arguing. But Mariko grew up fast. So when she entered on her teens, she started to ignore every attempt from the kid Minami to bicker or tease.
Soon, Mariko's interest for boys appeared. And she stepped into the world of dating. It wasn't difficult to her to find boys interested in her, since she grew pretty and tall. Dating boys were nice, but nothing compared to what she felt a long time ago. And she didn't even have time taste it well, since kid Minami followed her everywhere. Sometimes, she felt really grateful for that. If the guy were a pain in the ass, she always had Minami to make her day a bit funny.
Minami always admired her neighbor Mariko. They were together since she could remember and she had that urge to follow the older to everywhere. She liked to see the outfits the girl used on her dates, even though she didn't liked Mariko dating at all. So she always played pranks on Mariko's boyfriends. One day, she was between Mariko and a boy, interfering everything they wanted to do. So the boy asked why she was doing that. Minami looked at him and simply said "isn't it obvious? It's because I like Mari-chan." She was ten at that time. Mariko hissed and blushed discreetly.
For everyone surprise, Minami managed to pass to the school Mariko went to. Even for just one year, the young girl insisted she wanted to study under the same roof as Mariko. Minami entered on drama club and it started to boost her popularity. Mariko pretended she didn't notice it, but she didn't like the attention Minami were getting. It deeply worried her.
It was about time Mariko decided to what she wanted to do for living. Her mother thought she would go for fashion, since it always caught the girl's interest. But she said she wanted to be a school nurse. Her studies started to let her full scheduled and she hadn't time to see her noisy neighbor. Few semesters of studying, and she could get a trainee scholarship. When the school she wanted opened vacancy, she applied. She easily got the vacancy, due to her good grades and for had being a student there.
Every day, the famous sempai from drama club Miichan went to visit the school infirmary. Everyone on school knew that most of the time she got trolled by the nurse trainee, but the girl insisted to go. Soon, rumors about those two started to run. But the person who spread the rumor didn't get what she wanted, since Minami said openly she liked the nurse trainee, but the nurse didn't liked her back. It just made her fans squeak more.
Time also passed to Minami, and she saw herself having to choose a career. And she picked psychology. She was on of the firsts students who applied the career papers. But she hadn't told anyone her reasons she wanted to take psychology. The truth was there was a motive she didn't want to share with anyone. She knew that the path she was taking was hard and would make her turn away to lots of things, but Minami wanted it anyway.
Minami was giving her best on studies. When she wasn't at college, she was at home with her face buried on the books. She rarely took a break, but when she managed to, Mariko was working, so she ended up hanging up with her other friends. She missed her cranky neighbor, but it was the path she choosed. Parallel to this, a really important day was approaching.
Mariko was now living alone on that apartment. She loved that old place and when her mother found a man and got married with him, she announced she wanted to stay on that place. Her mother wasn't against it, since Mariko worked and earned her own money.
It was a cold night and Mariko left her work really late. On her way home, she felt she was missing something. As soon as she turned to the third floor hallway, she saw a feminine figure curled on herself at the floor, leaned on her door. Mariko sighed approaching. She knew who the girl was.
"Oi, Miichan. What are you doing here?" Mariko asked leaning down and shaking the girl gently. The girl looked up and smiled.
"Mari-chan. I was waiting for you..." She answered in a groggy voice.
"Why hadn't you waited in your apartment?" Mariko asked helping Minami stand up.
"I was afraid to miss you." Minami said in a serious tone. Mariko sighed defeated. Then, she opened the door and let the girl in. Minami took her shoes and walked in the living room. Mariko locked the door and went straight to the kitchen to make some tea. "Nee, Mariko..."
"What?" She turned to the girl sitting on her couch.
"Today is my twentieth birthday." Minami said simply. Mariko blinked few times. So this was what she was missing... "I want my gift."
"I don't have a gift for you." Mariko said raising an eyebrow. What a lie. Mariko always buy a gift for Minami.
"I don't care. I want a gift from you. It can be anything!" Minami insisted.
"Right. Let me think about something." Mariko took a deep breath, while Minami waited anxiously. "How about I do anything you want until midnight?" Mariko said in a bored tone, but inside she was nervous. Minami smiled widely.
"This is great!" She said cheerfully standing up. "Let me see what I want. I want to cook dinner for you; I want to take a bath with you..."
"Wait! One thing per time. What do you want first, dinner or bath?" Mariko interrupted the girl to make her calm down. Maybe it wasn't a good idea.
"Dinner!" Minami said walking to the kitchen and pulling up her sleeves.
"Let me help you. The two of us can make it faster. And I'm hungry, you know." The idea of having Minami cooking for her made Mariko a bit flustered. Minami just nodded.
The two cooked the dinner in silence. They just talked to each other to ask for tools or ingredients. It was an awkward silence. When the meal was ready, they arranged everything on the counter and ate. Mariko broke the silence to say the food was tasteful.
"Nee, Mariko..." The older looked at the younger holding a bow. "You know I like you. Why you never say a thing?"
"I thought it was a kid thing." Then she finished her meal. "I'm done. Would you like to bath now?" Mariko really wanted to avoid that subject. Minami nodded discouraged. Why does it seem like Mariko wasn't enjoying her company? She used to be cranky, not displeasured.
The two headed to the bathroom and started to strip. A suddenly shyness caught both of them; it wasn't like the two hadn't took bath together. They decided to ignore the feeling. Mariko was just wondering if the two will fit in the tiny bathtub, they would be too close in that. Mariko took the sponge to wash Minami's back, but the girl stopped her. Minami said that Mariko never let her wash her back, so this time she wanted to do it. Mariko sighed and let the younger do what she wanted to. Minami sighed happily.
"This is so nostalgic..." Minami mumbled. Mariko turned to Minami with a confused glare. "What?"
"Why this is nostalgic if I never let you do this before?" Minami blushed and gulped. "Is there anything you are not telling?"
"Ah..." Minami wanted to say, but she couldn't find the right words. So, she leaned closer, making Mariko retreat a bit, and kissed the other woman's nose. She rested her head on Mariko's shoulder while the other processed all the information. Mariko was stunned. She didn't know the reason for her reaction, since she knew all that already. Maybe it was because she was seeing and knowing what the other side saw and felt.
"I know that, silly." Mariko finally said, touching gently Minami's bare back. Her heart was beating faster than she wanted. The younger looked into the older eyes confused. "I'm a sensitive, forgot about that? What I don't get is why you remember your past experience when most of the reincarnated spirits don't."
"I.. I know it won't make sense but... I left unresolved things here." Minami said blushing. "I thought you had forgotten..."
"I never forgot you. You're always in my thoughts and in my heart, so I can never feel lonely. You told me that." Mariko said seriously.
"I know. Your thoughts always reached me. And it made me feel grateful and warm." Minami said with a smile touching her chest. "But when I rebirth, you started to treat me differently. I wanted to ask you why, but I couldn't."
"Why?" This time, Mariko didn't know the answer. "What is your unresolved problem?"
"There is a rule that says we can't talk about our ghost period experiences until we reach the age of our death. So even if I wanted, I couldn't." Minami explained already thinking about how to answer the second question. "On the moment I felt your lips on my cheek, my heart raced and I knew I loved you like mom loves dad." A tear fell from Mariko's eyes. "I also know that your behavior towards me was because you knew the situation under my previous life death. Mother told me the reason my name is Minami, and that she had told you that story once. I was really surprised to know that she was that kid... Well, I knew that you didn't want me to be bullied. But this is my second chance and I wasn't willing to let it happen again. I wanted to be true to my feelings, even if I you didn't like me anymore." Mariko was crying silently. "Ah! I'm so relieved that I could finally let it out." Minami said stretching, with tears on her eyes.
"Miichan..." Mariko whispered and hugged the other girl. Their hearts started to race due to their feelings and their bare skin contact. "Who said I didn't like you?"
"Huh?!" Minami felt lips on her again. But this time wasn't on her cheek, it was on her lips. She felt like she was melting, but she didn't wanted to stop time.
"Baka! I never stopped loving you... Like mom loves dad." Mariko said in a so rare soft tone. Minami buried her face on Mariko's neck. The taller girl tightened her grip around the smaller when she felt her trembling. She was crying tears of joy. "How about we finish this bath so we can go to bed? It's week day, so I work and you have classes." Minami nodded.
After they washed each other, they got in the bathtub. Minami was between Mariko's legs, leaning her back on the older woman's body, with their heads supporting each other. Mariko's arms were lightly wrapped around Minami. They were in a warm and comfortable silence.
"Mari-chan."
"Hum?"
"I love you." Minami said leaning closer.
"I love you too, Miichan." Mariko said tightening her grip.
After that, the two started to see each other more often. They finally stopped to avoid each other and Mariko decided to be true to her own feelings as well. Minami started to spent nights in Mariko's apartment gradually, until one day she moved in. And they continued their love/bicker relationship.