A few things troubled Funami Yui. First of all, she couldn't remember whether or not she left the rice cooker on before she left for school today. Hopefully she didn't come home to an apartment building in flames. Second, Kyouko had been quiet the entire way home and she didn't know why. Yui found the silence between them to be extremely uncomfortable but she wasn't sure what to do about it.
Did she do something? Did she and Ayano have a fight? What's with her? Yui looked to Kyouko and could tell there was something troubling her.
It was odd enough that Kyouko decided to walk home with her instead of the student council vice president. Those two always went home together whenever they got the chance, but this time, Kyouko had actually turned down her girlfriend and told her she needed some tutoring from Yui. Ayano definitely looked a bit hurt at that.
The awkward atmosphere became almost too heavy for Yui to bear. The weird thing was, Kyouko seemed perfectly fine and happy while she was with Ayano earlier. Then when school ended and the blonde went over to accompany her, it was as if her personality suddenly flipped an entire 180 degrees. Immediately after Kyouko bid Ayano goodbye, Yui noticed Kyouko's smile completely disappear.
The blonde otaku's despondency was beginning to affect Yui's mood, too. Usually her bright and energetic personality was just at the right level to balance out Yui's calm and cool demeanor, but without it, it seemed there was nothing to compete with the dark aura that surrounded those two. It was time to do something about it.
"Kyouko," Yui said, finally breaking the silence.
"Hm."
The two stopped at a sidewalk, waiting for the signal to turn green. Perfect timing, Yui supposed. "Is there something wrong? Did you hit your head again or something?"
Kyouko remained emotionless and stared at the red light. Was she ignoring her?
"Kyouko?" She placed a hand on her shoulder and made the blonde face her. "There's something bothering you, isn't there." Yui searched her blue eyes, as if she were prying directly into her conscious. However, those orbs were seemingly empty, and she didn't find anything.
There was nothing between them except for the clouds of vapour that escaped their lips in the freezing air. Though it looked like Kyouko was staring back at her, it was clear that her gaze was elsewhere.
People began to walk past them and Yui realised the light had turned green already. Kyouko pulled back her shoulder and walked ahead without her. Yui went and caught up to her, now confused.
"Kyouko! What are you-"
"It's all your fault!" she suddenly yelled.
Yui stood there, dumbfounded. "What?"
"You're the one who did this to me. You..." Yui noticed her voice falter.
"What did I do?" She went over to Kyouko and gently grabbed her wrist, leading her to a nearby bench for them to sit on. She didn't show any resistance. Next to the bench was a vending machine, so Yui put in a few coins and got her a warm cafe au-lait. "What do you mean, 'it's all my fault.' I don't remember doing anything. Did you and Ayano get into an argument?"
"No."
"Then what?"
Kyouko took a sip of her drink and set it on the bench. She didn't say anything for a long time, adding on to the suspense. "Promise me you won't get mad at me. No matter what I say right now."
"Promise."
She sighed. "You remember how you didn't wear a condom that one time?"
"Yeah…?" 'Wait... don't tell me…'
"I took a pregnancy test lately. It came back positive."
It took a while for the words to register, but once they did, Yui felt as if her heart stopped. "What?"
Kyouko wiped her eyes as she sniffled. "I'm sorry, Yui…"
The black-haired girl attempted to calm her nerves as the news sunk in. Her heart began to pound in her chest as panic set in. A baby? There was no way… there was absolutely no way this was happening to her…
Meanwhile, Kyouko continued to sob. Was she supposed to comfort her? 'I'm stressed, too, dammit…'
"It's not mine, is it?"
"Of course it is!" Kyouko asserted, a bit louder than she intended. "Who else would it be?"
"Well, you aren't exactly faithful in the first place."
The blonde couldn't argue against that.
Yui looked up into the night sky and sighed. "Abort it, Kyouko."
"Huh?"
"What do you mean, 'huh?' How are you gonna raise that thing? You're still in high school. Just get rid of it."
Kyouko looked hurt. "This 'thing' is our baby."
"It doesn't even have a brain yet. Go to the hospital and get an abortion." Yui was thankful the bustling noise of traffic drowned out their conversation so that people who passed by weren't able to hear them. She didn't want anyone knowing about this situation she got herself in.
"I… I don't know if I can do that."
"Why?"
"It's… I feel a connection to it. I can't just kill our growing baby."
"Kyouko," Yui started, becoming frustrated. "Do you want to ruin your future? What about Ayano?"
"I'll tell her when I'm ready. Besides… it's my baby, so I wanna keep it."
"Unbelievable." Yui got up from the bench.
"Where are you going?"
"I need some time by myself."
"Yui, please don't leave me," she pleaded.
"Sorry. I just can't comprehend all this right now." And with that, she headed down the street, leaving Kyouko alone on the bench.
…
Cold air filled Yui's lungs as she fast-walked to her apartment. Breathing became increasingly difficult and she felt as if the entire world was crashing down on her. 'Why is this happening to me… why me, of all people?'
Yui always considered herself a rational person. After all, someone needed to keep Kyouko in line whenever she was up to her usual antics. She knew to always use condoms no matter how tempting it might be to just go in raw. And yet, she somehow wound up in this mess.
She climbed up the stairs into the apartment building. It felt like she reached her room in no time because of the fact her mind was completely elsewhere. She did everything by muscle memory. Once she shut the door, her legs gave out and she slid down onto the floor.
'God, why do I deserve this… after all the studying I do so I can get into the university I want, my life comes to this? Dammit, Kyouko… why don't you wanna abort the baby? You don't even know its gender yet, how could you possibly feel anything towards it…'
The black-haired girl stood up and attempted to calm her nerves the only way she knew how. She sat down and turned on her console, wanting to lose herself in the fictional universe just for a moment until she would have to come and face reality once more.
Ayano felt her heart flutter as Kyouko grabbed her hand and squeezed it gently. Sometimes even the slightest touch from her love could send butterflies down her stomach.
Really, it was the little things that made Ayano feel as if she were falling in love all over again. That dazzling smile and endless enthusiasm never ceased to amaze Ayano. It was that carefree attitude that relieved her stress each and everyday that resulted from her responsibilities as student council vice president.
Although Kyouko did put her off the other day to go to Yui's again, her disappointment that day was easily remedied when Kyouko promised to take her to the city the following weekend. She hadn't failed to keep her promise, so Ayano was thoroughly enjoying their cold but relaxing stroll.
They headed inside a bookstore to warm up. Kyouko rubbed her hands together as she shivered, then brought her girlfriend over to sit down on one of the seats in the corner. "Ayano, guess what?"
"Hm?"
"I just snagged us two tickets to see the new Mirakurun movie today! Let's go watch it later!"
"Another Mirakurun movie? How childish of you, Kyouko," the purple-haired girl giggled.
"Oh? You want me to act more adult?" Kyouko unbuttoned her coat and exposed both of her boobs. "How's this for mature?"
Ayano turned red from head to toe and her mouth hung open in shock. "K-K-K-Kyouko! We're in public!"
"Calm down, there's no one around," reassured Kyouko, laughing a bit as she covered her breasts again.
"There is such thing as being too open about that kinda stuff, you know," Ayano scolded.
"Boo… I'm pretty sure no one would actually mind seeing some high school girl's boobs, though."
"Of course not! But…" Ayano fidgeted with fingers nervously. "Only I want to be the one to see them."
Kyouko smirked back at her girlfriend. "Oh? Have you laid claim to Toshinou Kyouko's breasts?"
"Yes. I signed the paperwork and everything, they're officially my property."
The blonde snickered, then placed a hand on one of Ayano's breasts as well. "These are mine, too, then."
Ayano blushed slightly and turned to the window at her left. Outside she could see couples walking by, a strange-looking old man with a variety of cages containing raccoons strapped to him and his bicycle, two young kids wearing their adorable red randoserus, and some students standing in line for a sushi restaurant. The city was very much alive this afternoon.
Unexpectedly, Kyouko lay her head down on Ayano's lap and looked up at her. 'She really is beautiful,' she thought to herself.
"Ayano."
"Hm?"
"I love you."
Ayano beamed, reaching down to run her fingers through those blonde locks. "I love you, too, Toshinou Kyouko."
"Back at it again with the full name basis?"
"It is my most famous line."
Kyouko chuckled. "My favourite one." Her expression fell somewhat. "You'd never leave me, right?"
"What are you saying? I would never, Kyouko."
Her face remained the same. "You're so sweet to me, Ayano…"
"Eh? What's with that all of a sudden?" she asked with concern.
"Ah, never mind." Kyouko's expression brightened again, as if nothing happened. "Before we watch the movie, let's get rum raisin."
Ayano released her breath contentedly. "Good thing I brought some extra money for this just in case."
"You know me too well."
"Unfortunately."
"Hey, where did your dere side go just now?"
"Shut up," Ayano reprimanded, flicking Kyouko's forehead.
"So, in the end, you're still keeping it?"
"Yeah. I know it sounds stupid, and it probably is, but I just don't think I can bring myself to terminate it."
"Not even considering adoption?"
"I may as well raise it if I go through all the trouble giving birth to it."
Yui sighed as she folded her arms over the railing overlooking the school's campus. Kyouko had arranged to meet during lunch break up on the roof, saying she wanted to discuss their current dilemma undisturbed. Yui agreed apprehensively.
There was quite a bit of awkwardness between the two as they hadn't exchanged a word to each other in over a week. They shared only a few occasional glances in the hallway whenever they passed by, but it was clear to both of them that the other didn't want to talk. Inevitably, however, Kyouko couldn't ignore the fact that she was carrying Yui's child.
"What about school, Kyouko? They'll force you to leave."
"I already know that. But it's not like I was really looking into going to college for my future, anyway. Unlike you."
"Well, if you're fine with that… did you tell Ayano already?"
"No."
"You have to tell her sooner or later."
"I know. But I don't want to hurt her."
"I might be guilty too, but you shouldn't have cheated on her then."
"..."
"What about the others? Do they know?"
Kyouko shook her head. "This is only between us."
"I see."
Kyouko tugged at the hem of her friend's uniform. "Yui."
"Yeah?"
"Are you gonna take responsibility?"
Yui blinked, not turning to face her. "I dunno."
The blonde retracted her arm and leaned her back against the railing. "It's fine. You still have your ambitions, after all."
"It would be nice to get to Tokyo after graduation."
"Shooting for Toudai, huh… no matter what you do, I'm still rooting for you, Yui."
The dark-haired girl gave a half-smile. "Thanks, Kyouko." The chime of the bell started to ring across the campus, bringing an end to their discussion meeting. Yui briefly looked at Kyouko before returning to school without another word.