Tuesday morning, May 13 - Furukawa Bakery
Sanae Furukawa had a moment of panic when the school had called her. Nagisa was a good student and a good girl in general, so there was really only one reason the school would call her. Nagisa's inexplicable health issues had not plagued her for most of her primary and middle school years, but they had come back to haunt her since she started high school. Fortunately, that was not the case this time. Her relief was short lived though. The counselor passed the phone to Ryou to explain, and to ask a favor.
"Ryou-chan," Sanae asked, "what's wrong?"
"Furukawa-sama, there's been an accident at school involving Kyou-chan and Okazaki-san." Ryou explained quickly to remove any fears that Nagisa was involved, "and Okazaki-san was hurt pretty bad."
"Oh my," Sanae was relieved that her daughter was okay but concerned that Nagisa's new friends were in trouble, "what can I do?"
"The school wants to send us home but our parents won't be available until this evening."
"If it's okay with your parents, you are welcome to stay here." Sanae offered.
"Thank you very much," Ryou told her, "but you will have to come get us. The school wants to hand Kyou-chan over to an adult. The accident..." Ryou choked back a sob at the still too fresh memory of Tomoya taking the subsonic dictionary to the face, "The accident was Kyou-chan's fault."
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Tuesday morning, May 13 – High School Administration Building
When Sanae Furukawa arrived, she was met by Toshio Koumura. He explained only as much as he was allowed to under the circumstances, but encouraged Sanae to talk to the twins and help them, if she could. When the twins appeared, Kyou looked as if she had been crying all morning and was about to start again. Ryou also looked despondent, but strangely, was dressed in her gym clothes and was carrying her gym bag which appeared to be stuffed with her school uniform.
"Ryou-chan," Sanae inquired, "why are you wearing your..." She stopped when she saw Ryou raise a finger to her lips.
Ryou then moved so that she was blocking the view from her older sister and opened the gym bag to show Sanae the blood covered jacket inside the bag. Sanae understood. She didn't have the full picture, but she had enough.
The walk home was in silence. Sanae walked between the twins but she could tell that there was no anger between them. In fact, Ryou seemed much more concerned about Kyou than for anything that had happened to herself. That concern seemed warranted. Kyou was keeping up with them but she wasn't there. Her shoulders drooped, her eyes unfocused at the ground, it was as if the lively teenager had died inside and only her animated body was left. Sanae had seen this before and knew it could end very poorly for Kyou. Looking back over at Ryou, their eyes met.
Sanae could see the urgency and the fear in Ryou's eyes. It would seem that Ryou had already come to the same conclusion that she had just arrived at. Sanae was impressed with Ryou. Although timid, the girl had a wisdom beyond her years. She gave Ryou her best 'everything will be okay' smile to encourage her. When they got to the bakery, Sanae stopped them before they went in.
"Ryou-chan," Sanae used her cheerful sing-song voice, "Have you already washed up?"
"Yes," she answered, "I showered at the gym when I changed clothes."
"Very well," Sanae asked her, "do you think you could help Akio-san in the bakery while I have a chat with Kyou-chan?"
"Yes!" Ryou knew that Sanae was going to try and help her sister. Tears started to well up in her eyes as she looked at Sanae in a new light. She could see where Nagisa got her warmth and kindness. Ryou had already thought that Sanae could easily pass for Nagisa's older sister and now she knew that they were alike in spirit as well. At that moment, she was ready to throw her arms around Sanae just as she had been ready to throw her arms around Nagisa that day on the roof top…
Sanae saw Ryou suddenly blush and wondered what memory the girl had just conjured up, but now was not the time for idle talk and teasing. She turned Ryou towards the door and gave her shoulders a little push, then she turned to the elder twin.
Kyou was in her own world and it was a colorless place. She hated this place. There was a monster here. She wished the monster could be destroyed. Nobody liked the monster. She hated the monster. The monster was vicious. The monster was spiteful. The monster was Kyou.
"Kyou-chan?" a sweet voice interrupted her day-mare with the images of flowers and a few spots of color.
"Kyou-chan?" she heard it again and realized she was in a strange place. She was in a park and looking at the front of a bakery. Someone was holding her right hand. She looked to her right and saw Sanae Furukawa sitting on a park bench next to where she was standing. Looking between them, she saw Sanae's delicate fingers gently holding her accursed hand. The hand that had thrown the dictionary… She started to dwell on that again.
"Kyou-chan?" Sanae's voice brought her back again. Looking at Sanae she saw the ever present smile and eyes that looked back at her not with accusation or scorn, but with caring and concern.
"Y… yes?" Kyou spoke so softly, she thought for a moment that she hadn't really said anything at all.
"Here," Sanae pulled on her hand, "sit next to me for a bit."
"Okay," Kyou obediently sat on the bench. She ended up sitting quite close as Sanae pulled her in as she sat.
"You've had a pretty rough day, and it's not even lunch yet."
"Yeah." Kyou agreed.
"I imagine you've already had a pretty long conversation at the school."
"Yeah." Kyou trembled as she remembered the options that Toshio Koumura had given her and how horrified she had been at the prospect of listening to the nurse describe what might have happened.
"You will probably have another long conversation after you get home tonight."
"Yeah." Her mother would cry. Her father would be furious. She didn't look forward to it but she knew she deserved every bit of it.
"So, let's keep our conversation short and just focus on what is really important, okay?"
"Yes." Kyou steeled herself to hear the worst. That this kind woman would be disappointed or angry with her was bringing back the tears that she thought she had already cried out.
"Do you think Tomoya-kun will forgive you?" Sanae asked.
"No." Her hands squeezed to fists as she thought, How can he? How can anyone forgive me? I am a monster! And… monsters are unforgivable.
"Are you sure?" Sanae asked the despondent girl, "We've only known him since the beginning of this school year, of course. But I thought his character was better than that."
"What?" Kyou was shocked by the comment on Tomoya's character. "No, there's nothing wrong with Tomoya!"
"I heard that he was strongly opposed to you getting any kind of disciplinary action." Sanae said.
"He… He tried to take the blame for the whole thing." Kyou said softly, "Baka."
"Hmm… It sounds to me like he's already forgiven you." Sanae said confidently. "Of course, you'll still have to apologize. But it will be a lot easier knowing he has already forgiven you, right?"
"Um, I guess so." Kyou acknowledged the sentiment but she didn't really want it to be easier.
"The hard part will be your own forgiveness." Sanae said softly. Kyou looked up from her lap into Sanae's eyes and she knew she was right. "At some point, you are going to have to forgive yourself."
Across the street from the park, Akio Furukawa watched through the big window at the front of the bakery. He saw the girl with the long lavender hair fall against his wife on the park bench. Sanae wrapped her arms around the sobbing girl and pulled her in tight against her chest. Shoulders heaved and her whole body trembled as the girl cried away her misery.
"You're good Sanae," Akio smiled, "that little girl is going to make it."
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Tuesday afternoon, May 13 - Furukawa Bakery
The sun was in its afternoon position when Nagisa walked in the bakery entrance and took in a scene that was both familiar and unfamiliar. Akio was making the face of someone that had just put something horrible in his mouth and he was holding the remains of a hard, flat, oblong, cookie looking thing in his hand. But it wasn't Sanae holding the tray full of similar oblong cookie things, it was Ryou.
"I thought you were supposed to be a really good cook?" Akio grunted as his teeth bore down on the petrified pastry.
"That's my sister Kyou-chan," Ryou looked defeated, "she… helps me a lot whenever I try to cook."
"This..." Akio swallowed painfully, "might actually be worse than Sanae's bread. And her bread could close us down if a health inspector ever tried it."
"Dad!" Nagisa called out too late, "Mom is right behind you."
"What!?" Akio spun to see his daughter in the bakery entrance and spun again to see Sanae on the verge of tears.
"I see how it is," Sanae ran for the door, "my baking is a health hazard!"
"Sanae wait," Akio called out as he grabbed two of Sanae's latest pastry attempts and crammed them into his mouth. As he ran out the door after her he cried out, "Ahh woove uuuuuu!"
Nagisa walked over to Ryou and looked at the baking pan. Ryou looked more concerned than dejected now.
"Aren't you worried about your mom and dad?" Ryou blinked as she noticed Nagisa looking at her failed baking attempt.
"No. That happens all the time." Nagisa looked up at Ryou and offered, "The cookies don't look too bad to me."
"They're supposed to be croissants." Ryou looked back at the tray as she set it down on the work counter, "Onee-chan is the one with all the talent."
"Not all the talent." Nagisa said with a smile, "I heard that Okazaki-san would have died if it hadn't been for you."
"What?" Ryou was shocked, "No! I didn't do that much."
"Yes you did," Nagisa took Ryou by the hands, "they are calling you a hero."
"Who is?" Ryou gasped with alarm.
"Probably the whole school by now."
"What?" the blush was rising in her face and her eyes were open like saucers as she tried to take in this news. "You're joking, right?"
"No, I don't do pranks." Nagisa said as she smiled at her friend. The comment made them both think of Tomoya and Youhei and the prank the boys had pulled on them on the roof top. Now both the girls were blushing. Nagisa was about to let go and take an awkward step back when she felt Ryou squeeze her hands harder.
"I… I hope Okazaki-san will be okay." Ryou choked out as the tears started falling, "Oh Nagisa-chan, I was so scared!"
"It's okay," Nagisa pulled the purple haired girl in and hugged her. She hugged Ryou the way Sanae had hugged Nagisa when she had been unhappy. Although Nagisa was several centimeters shorter than her friend, Ryou looked like a little girl crying on the shoulder of a big sister at that moment. "It's all okay now."
This was the scene that greeted Sanae and Akio as they came back from their chase. Standing in the doorway of the bakery, they watched with pride as their daughter comforted her dear friend. Nagisa looked up and saw her parents in the doorway. She returned their smiles and, moments later, Ryou stood back up from the hug but still held Nagisa's hands.
"Thank you Nagisa-chan," she looked into Nagisa's kind eyes, "I feel much better now."
"Oh Nagisa," Sanae said as she walked into the bakery, "Ryou-chan will be spending the night with us tonight."
"Really?" Nagisa said happily.
"If it's not too much trouble," Ryou added apologetically.
"No trouble at all. You're welcome here any time." Akio added, "Besides, you two look as close as sisters already."
"They sure do." Sanae agreed, "Why don't you two take a bath together while I start getting dinner ready?"
"Mom!" Nagisa blushed.
"It's okay," Ryou explained, "Kyou and I take baths together all the time." Suddenly remembering that troublesome rooftop incident again, Ryou blushed and added, "Unless you don't want to."
"I'd like to." Nagisa admitted, "I never had a brother or sister. I'd like to do a sister thing." Nagisa looked around, "Speaking of sisters, where is Kyou-chan?"
"Her mother picked her up about an hour ago," Sanae explained, "Ryou is staying with us tonight so her parents can focus on Kyou-chan."
"I hope she won't be in too much trouble." Nagisa worried. Ryou's expression mirrored Nagisa's words.
"Her mother and I had a nice chat," Sanae comforted the girls, "I think Kyou-chan will be okay."
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Tuesday evening, May 13 - Furukawa Bakery
Nagisa and Ryou relaxed in the over-sized tile bath. The hot water felt so good to Ryou. She realized she had been pretty tense all day, but it had been a pretty tense day. She soaked a wash cloth in the hot water then laid it down over her eyes.
"So," Nagisa asked, "What do you do when you take a bath with Kyou?"
"We relax and talk about stuff." Ryou answered without moving the cloth or opening her eyes.
"Oh," Nagisa fidgeted for a moment and finally asked, "Do you ever wash each other's hair?"
"Sometimes," Ryou pulled the wash cloth off her face and said, "sometimes we wash each others backs too."
"Really?" Nagisa sounded excited.
"Yes," Ryou asked, "would you like to do that with me?"
"Yes!" Nagisa said with such enthusiasm, it made Ryou laugh.
"Since it's your first time," Ryou proposed, "I'll wash you first so you know what to do."
"Okay," Nagisa asked, "what do you want me to do?"
"Turn around and I'll wash your hair." Ryou instructed, "After I rinse it, I'll put the conditioner in and let it set while I wash your back."
"Um," Nagisa admitted, "I don't think we have hair conditioner."
"Really?" Ryou ran her hand through Nagisa's short auburn hair and felt the supple strands in her fingers. "Well, I guess your hair doesn't need it. You have great hair, Nagisa-chan."
"What about your hair?" Nagisa was concerned for her friend.
"I'll be okay tonight." Ryou smiled and reached for the shower handle.
Ryou knew there was a conversation going on. She remembered talking but for the life of her, she could not remember anything that was said. She was lost in other thoughts. Her hands massaged the shampoo into Nagisa's thick auburn hair. Her finger tips touched the older but smaller girl on the ears and neck as she worked in the shampoo. And all the while, she kept coming back to the events on the roof top. Tomoya and Youhei had tricked her into believing that Nagisa was confessing her love to Ryou, when she was really only asking about reforming the Drama Club. Ryou had been shocked at first, but Nagisa was so very cute and Ryou saw passion and a pure love of life in the girl that had taken her breath away. She came to realize that she had said yes to the question she had expected to hear. She had said yes to the question she wanted to hear. She had already said yes, and yet the question remained unasked.
Ryou rinsed off the shampoo and started washing Nagisa's back. Her fair skin was every bit as delicate and smooth as her hair had been fine and supple. Ryou panicked a little as a part of her wanted to confess to Nagisa, right there in the bath. She could feel a deep blush coming on as she ran her hands over Nagisa's lovely back. She was glad Nagisa was facing away from her at the moment. Such a blush would be hard to explain.
All too soon, it seemed – it was time for her to be washed at Nagisa's hands. She turned around and sat still for Nagisa. The blush was coming back as she felt Nagisa's gentle hands running through her hair and massaging her scalp. For several days now, Nagisa was the first person she thought of when she woke in the morning and the last person she pictured when she went to sleep. Ryou longed to be near Nagisa to see her smile and to hear her laugh. Nagisa's natural cheerfulness was magical to Ryou.
Tomoya's choice of Kotomi had been a catalyst for Ryou. For a while, she had entertained thoughts of Tomoya herself, and it had been troubling to her to see Tomoya and Nagisa getting closer. Ryou didn't like to think of herself as the jealous type, but seeing Tomoya and Nagisa together had triggered the green monster insider her. But it was so confusing! Her heart was chaotic and her feelings were painful. She tried to understand her heart, and the best she could do was come to two dreadful possibilities. She was either jealous of Nagisa for being with Tomoya, or she was jealous of Tomoya for being with Nagisa. Either way, she would lose if they chose each other. But they didn't. In the end, Tomoya would choose Kotomi – his long lost childhood friend. When that happened, she thought she would feel the bitterness of loss and defeat. And as cold as those feelings would have been, they would have at least been an end to her inner turmoil. Instead she felt relieved.
She saw Nagisa in a new light. She felt that she had a chance, and she would not waste it. But a chance for what? Ryou wondered if Nagisa would ever see her as more than a friend. Or could she? Was it even in Nagisa's nature to see another girl that way. Ryou had not believed that of herself until the rooftop.
The rooftop. It would forever be a pivotal moment in her life. She would remember that moment forever. Even if by accident, something had come to life inside her that she had not known to be possible. Nagisa had made that happen. True, she had inspired Ryou's heart innocently, but that was a quality that Ryou admired about Nagisa as well. In that moment, Nagisa had become an object of Ryou's affection. It started as a smoldering ember of longing and passion and she was able to hide it well. Even her sister didn't know. But now it was a fire that burned so very brightly. Hiding those feelings was becoming ever more difficult.
And now they were in the bath together. Nagisa kneeling behind her. Nagisa's delicate fingers working the shampoo into Ryou's lavender hair. Closing her eyes and taking deep breaths wasn't helping. She could still feel the heat in her face as those wonderful fingers ran through her hair and caressed her neck and the sides of her face.
"Ryou-chan?" Nagisa sounded surprised and a little concerned.
"What?" Ryou wondered how many times Nagisa had called her name before she responded. She knew she was a little out of it.
"Are you okay?"
"Yes." Ryou answered quickly if not entirely truthfully, "Why do you ask?"
"Well, you were making these little sounds and it looks like you're blushing."
"How...how would you know if I'm blushing?"
"Um, well… the wall in front of us is mirror tile and I can see your face."
"What?" Ryou's eyes sprang open and saw the reflexion of Nagisa behind her and looking right into her eyes, "Ah!" Ryou panicked. What should I say? Should I confess even now?
"Do you have shampoo in your eyes?" Nagisa asked.
"Yes!" Ryou seized the excuse, "Shampoo in my eyes… that's it!"
"Here," Nagisa handed Ryou the shower handle and made sure it was running a gentle spray of warm water.
"Thank you Nagisa-chan," Ryou said as she let the gentle spray wash against her face. Nagisa was so sweet. So nice. So wonderful. Ryou wondered if she would ever have the nerve to tell her… to confess to her… the feelings in her heart.
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Tuesday night, May 13 - Furukawa Bakery
Ryou woke with a start. It was still dark and she was breathing in short pants as if she was scared. A nightmare perhaps? Whatever it was, she could remember nothing of it. Looking around the dark room, she knew she was in a strange place. Disoriented, she realized this was not her room. There was further confusion as she realized her head rested on someones shoulder and there was a hand on her head.
Moving slowly, she raised her head and saw the silhouette of Nagisa's face in the darkness. She was sleeping and looked peaceful… and beautiful. Ryou often woke up snuggled with Kyou but this was different. Nagisa's arm was around Ryou. Nagisa's hand rested on her head as if she were holding Ryou to her. Only centimeters away, it was no difficulty at all to give Nagisa a gentle kiss on the cheek.
"Forgive me Nagisa-chan," Ryou whispered to her sleeping friend, "but I think I love you." For a few minutes, she gazed at Nagisa's angelic face, then she put her head back on Nagisa's shoulder and drifted off to her own peaceful slumber.
