A/N: This chapter marks the half-way point of this story. It is also the longest chapter so far!
I've gotten a few reviews and really appreciate the time some of you took to shoot me a quick message. I was wondering if this is still okay and hoping people are not bored reading it. What do you guys think so far?
Once again, thank you, everyone, for stopping by!
Whatever it was - Chapter VI
Noriko spent a few weeks with Touko and Kanako, recovering from her yearlong expedition, catching up on sleep and eating the foods she missed the most. When she actually felt rested and ready to face the world again, she traveled, mainly rural areas, trying to capture the essence of people who lived off the land. Noriko found uncomplicated people fascinating and so she ended up working for a very small rice farmer for a month before actually going back to the city. To Noriko, the time she spent at that family's farm, during the last leg of Tokyo's summer, had as much effect on the healing of her tired soul as the days she spent at Touko and Kanako's had on her body.
When she returned to Tokyo, she stopped by the university to sign her contract and meet the Dean she would be working under. That same day Noriko settled in her old room at her aunt's house, where she promised to stay until she found a place near the university. She visited with Sumireko-san for a few hours before excusing herself for she had promised Sei she would meet up with her that Friday night for drinks and 'the greatest food in Tokyo.'
Really, Sei-sama?
Noriko stood in front of the bar's entrance making sure the address written on top of the door matched the address Sei had given her earlier through a text. A pair of old ripped jeans and a plain white shirt on, Noriko slowly made her way through all the boys wearing similar outfits. Once the dark-haired woman saw Sei leaning back at a very comfortable booth in a corner, she shook her head wondering how in the world could the blonde have gotten an entire booth all for herself during such a busy night. As Noriko prepared herself to sit by the blonde, Youko's voice travelled across the air almost louder than the music that was blasting through the speakers, "No-ri-ko..." At that particular moment, when the light hit all of the right places, Youko looked beautiful: a breathtaking tight-jean and suit-jacket wearing version of Maria-sama.
Youko halted her steps and looked at the younger woman up and down before approaching the table, placing four beer bottles upon it, "please, tell me you didn't wear those jeans when you sign your contract today…"
"Yes, I did." Noriko responded, a bit confused by Youko's question.
"Did they ask to see your ID after you introduced yourself as Nijou-sensei?"
" They… d-did…"
"No wonder!" Youko huffed, "pardon me, Nijou-sensei, but you look like you just got out of prison."
Sei tried to stop Youko, but the woman wouldn't have any of it, "If you learned, Sei, then Noriko will have no problem retiring the jeans and picking up a few pairs of slacks." She turned her attention to Noriko, "If you don't play the part properly, your students will eat you alive!"
Noriko contemplated Youko's words for several moments while watching a few boys order drinks and talk to each other by the counter near them. When her eyes finally focuses upon Youko once again, Noriko had understood," I guess I haven't really thought about the fact that I look as young as the students I'll teach. A nice wardrobe might be a step toward the right direction."
Sei shook her head in disbelief of the interaction between Rosa Chinensis and Rosa Gigantea, "Youko…" Youko's gaze moved from her beer to Noriko, then back to Sei.
"You know," Youko started, "I'm just making this a big deal because I want you to succeed," the former Rosa Chinensis finished.
"I see," Noriko's acknowledgment didn't keep Youko from continuing to explain that Japan is not America and that in order to be recognized professionally, Noriko would have to at least play the part, "Once you walk through those gates, you're Nijou-sensei. You have to assume that persona, own that title."
Sei decided to sit back, listening to Youko's teachings, all the while drinking her beer and continuing to shake her head.
"Almost like the persona we all assumed when we walked through the gates of Lillian," Noriko added, watching Sei roll her eyes.
In reality, none of the girls were perfect maidens, though they played the part to such an extent that in a way, for many, they had indeed become the perfect daughters their parents expected them to be.
"Exactly," Youko said, taking a sip of her beer and then pointing the bottle toward Noriko before continuing, "With this concept, us, as Grand Soeurs, were able to use the identities we had developed in order to teach our little sisters what we thought was right… And… although you didn't have that experience, I am sure you saw the way we all dealt with our Petite Soeurs. You should use that idea, Noriko, as a blueprint when you go into the classroom."
"I guess you should listen to her, Riko," Sei finally smiled, "She dealt with the worst little sister of all and was somewhat successful."
"Hey! I would like to think I was very successful in rearing my little sister."
Noriko laughed, thinking of Sachiko and wondering how horrible the woman's temperament might have been before Youko broke her down and Yumi built her back up, and for a second, the dark-haired woman thanked Maria-sama for meeting Sachiko after Yumi came along.
Sei snapped her fingers bringing Noriko's mind from drifting again. The blonde was standing up and tucking her shirt back in, while Youko seemed to have disappeared through the doors and into the busy street, "Come on, child, we're needed down the road."
Noriko didn't understand what 'down the road' really meant, but like a good sport she stood up and followed Sei across the bar and out the door. Youko stood outside, head down, texting, when Sei walked behind her and whispered something in her ear. Noriko stared at the interaction for a moment but then decided to give the couple a second of privacy by looking down the road, toward the bright lights and the loud voices coming from the same direction. In the midst of so many distractions, Noriko's eyes focused on three women walking up the road, and still holding on to the door that gave access to the bar, she watched as the three women stumbled through that open door and into the bar without saying a word or acknowledging Noriko's existence. The dark-haired woman lifted an eyebrow but then laughed inwardly at the ridiculous thought that had crossed her mind.
"Are we going up or down?" Noriko asked, while the door shut behind her and she watched the former Rosa Chinensis power off the screen of her cellphone and point north.
"Toward the lights, Nijou-sensei."
The three former roses walked down the road, through pockets of men and women who stood outside bars and restaurants smoking and finishing their beers until Sei sped up her pace then spun around toward Youko and Noriko before spreading her arms open, "Ready?" she offered.
"For?" Noriko questioned.
"The best food in Tokyo!"
Noriko looked at the woman standing in front of her up and down then to Youko who leaned against a light poll, arms crossed, grinned at the blonde's antics.
"It's closed," Noriko finally uttered.
"Not for us," Sei fished out a set of keys from her pocket and proceeded to unlock the door. Once inside, the blonde stuck her head out and invited Noriko in as Youko had already stepped inside, "You coming or not?"
The dark-haired woman shook her head then followed Sei in.
Inside the small western-style café of six tables and four booths, Noriko spotted her friends sitting along the sushi bar.
"What's on the menu for tonight, Nana-chan?" Sei asked the woman from across the bar, who at that moment, realizing Sei had walked in, had turned around to pour the oldest of the Gigantea sisters a pint of beer, "Rei and I made burgers, meat and veggie! We tried to make some curly fries also but they didn't turn out as good as we expected, so we settled for thick cut fries."
Rei, who was at that particular moment bringing out a tray full of sandwiches chided, "We figured Noriko would be craving some greasy food by now."
"It's Nijou-sensei for you, Rei-chan…" Yoshino jokingly admonished the older woman.
The blonde turned around and squinted at her cousin and wife, "Then you should call me Hasekura-sensei from now on, my dear."
"Call me Touko-sensei, please, Yoshino," Touko smiled before continuing, "you can also call Kanako, Kanako-sensei and Onee-sama, Yumi-sensei, and Sachiko-one-"
"Ice-Princess-sensei!" Sei said as she stopped Touko from finishing.
"Satou-san! I didn't even say anything against you!"
"But you're so easy to annoy, Sa-chan!"
"Sei-sama…" Yumi pouted, snuggling closer to Sachiko, "please, don't be mean to Sachan… Now, come over here so I can give you a hug!" Yumi's bright smile made the entire room shine.
The women sat at the bar eating while Noriko was informed that the restaurant was Nana's, – the one she heard so much about through Yumi, Touko and Kanako – although Rei played a very important role in developing an ever-changing menu that was rotated seasonally, according to the local vegetables and meats that were available. Nana explained in detail how the layout of the place was carefully designed by Yumi, and that Sachiko and Yumi were also partners in that project. "Yumi and I believe that Nana is an amazing chef, and we were happy that we had the means to help make all of this a reality. We're very excited that the place is well known around this area. It makes us happy and gives us an excuse to be even more involved in these girls' lives," Sachiko said, looking at Yumi and smiling.
Yoshino, a proud Onee-sama, explained that Rei's cooking was very influential in Nana's decision to pursuit the culinary arts and not a physical education degree like Rei had done, "It's amazing how things just worked out as such, that the connection we have has remained strong even after all of these years. Nana helps with the Kendo and we're very much a part of this crazy dream of this amazing Petite Soeur that literally was bulldozed by me in that bathroom when I was trying to hide from Eriko-sama so long ago," Yoshino finished with a grin as Rei, standing behind the always very talkative and opinionated teacher, enveloped her arms around the petite woman's figure and rested her chin on her shoulders.
"And Eriko-sama?" Noriko questioned.
"Eriko shows up when she can. Between her work and kids, the woman has a lot in her plate and juggles everything like a champ!" Sei answered.
Noriko looked around, soaking in the fact that the girls around her had blossomed beautifully into successful, hard-working women. The soon-to-be university professor stood, grabbing herself another sandwich, then she walked around the counter, entering the bar and standing there, back toward her friends as she poured herself another pint of lager, she then asked, "And Shimako-sama?"
"Shi-Shimako-sama… Shimako-sama," Nana stuttered.
Yoshino also tried unsuccessfully, "Noriko-san…"
"Last time I heard, she had left the Convent. That was quite a while ago. Maybe five, six years." Rei admitted, knowing that even though Noriko had avoided the subject for so many years, she had the right to know at least some things.
Yumi's sweet voice pierced through Noriko's ears as if the always gentle woman was screaming at the top of her lungs, "The last time Sachiko and I saw her I think she was in town visiting her dad. She asked about you, I remember like it was yesterday, Sachiko just saying you were somewhere in America."
"It was not our business to meddle," Sachiko added.
"Sei-sama?" Noriko's questioned.
"In all truthfulness, she wanted to go look for you. As soon as she left the Cloister she begged me to tell her where you were. Just like Sa-chan, I told her you were somewhere in the U.S. and that it wouldn't make any sense for her to go look for you. She left Tokyo, but once in a while would come back. I'm not going to lie to you, Noriko, she still reaches out, every time she does, she ask about you," Sei finished, chugging the remainder of her beer.
Youko, who had been quietly watching the situation unfold decided to add, "I've seen her a few times throughout the years walking the streets of Tokyo and visiting shrines in this area."
For many years Noriko had avoided the subject, and her friends made sure not to mention Shimako. The omission of information was indeed intentional in the beginning: anything to keep Noriko's mentally sane. As years went by, not speaking of the blonde had turned into an unspoken rule. To everyone, Noriko was in charge; it was up to her to ask – and she never did until that night.
"Thank you for telling me the truth… and for protecting me and consequently my future. If it wasn't for everything that happened, today I wouldn't be where I am professionally," Noriko bowed, then continued, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I believe I might need fresh air." the dark-haired woman turned around and left the restaurant in a hurry, failing to acknowledge the 'wait' calls from within the small establishment.
Outside, Noriko breathed in the thick air filled with cigarette smoke and fried food fumes coming from the carts that flooded the sidewalks. She crossed the road heading back up the street and as she approached the bar she had met Sei and Youko at, she walked in. Noriko found a seat at the bar near the pool tables and the bathrooms, worse comes to worst, I can bolt to the ladies room, she thought before getting the attention of the barkeep.
"What kind of shot?" The older woman asked, "Jack, please," Noriko replied. A few minutes later the woman on the other side of the bar placed an imperial stout and a caramel-colored liquid in front of Noriko. The former Rosa Gigantea took a few large gulps off her beer then drank the shot. Clasping her hands and placing her elbows on the counter she watched a few guys dance at one side of the bar while others talked loudly about the soccer game that played on the corner T.V. The dancing and conversations couldn't keep her from turning when a woman about her age sat at a stool near her, trying very poorly to get the barkeep's attention.
"What are you drinking?" Noriko tried to help.
"Gin and tonic," The woman replied, giving Noriko the money she held in her hands. Noriko took two bills out of the messy wad then handed the money back to the woman, "No, please order yourself something."
Noriko crooked her head at the woman's antics, "I already have a drink."
"You can order yourself a new one!" The woman answered, then watched Noriko flag the barkeep with ease and order the drink.
Noriko watched the barkeep pour the gin over ice and top it with tonic with such a precision, it was clear that the woman had done that a few times before. When the drink was placed in front of Noriko with skeptical eyes, the former Rosa Gigantea picked the cup up and still looking at the barkeep, she placed the drink in front of its rightful owner, "Here's your shitty-ass drink,"
"Shitty?" came the awaited question.
Noriko had pulled a Sei, – and she was proud of it – and knowing she had pulled a Sei quite successfully, she turned to regard the new acquaintance.
"Tastes like shit, doesn't it?"
"In a way you might be right."
"Then why do you drink it?"
"I… I don't know. I usually stick with what I know."
"And all you know is gin an tonic?"
Noriko watched as the woman looked at her drink then toward the tower of liquor against the wall then back to Noriko.
As pulling a Sei required, the former Rosa Gigantea finished her beer, stood up and placed a few bills under her empty cup.
"Let me buy you another drink!"
The Sei had never failed.
"Why?"
Noriko wasn't as good as Sei, after all.
"Because… I would like to." The woman answered calmly, to Noriko's amazement. "Please, have another beer," she continued.
Noriko looked around and then back at the stool she was sitting on, tapping lightly on the rim of the glass when the barkeep looked at her. "Coming right up, the older woman said and proceeded to pour Noriko another stout."
"You remind me of someone I knew a long time ago," the woman started as she watched Noriko adjust herself on the chair so she could face her.
"Is that so?"
"From high school, when I didn't even think about drinking shitty gin and tonics," the woman finished with a smile on her face.
"And that's what? About two years ago?"
"Beautiful and has a sense of humor!"
Noriko's left leg shook, a very un-lady-like impulse she had developed through the years, "Thanks."
"So, where did you go to university, Miss Dark Beer?"
"Why do you assume I went to college?"
"I didn't mean to pr– "
"Okazaki," Noriko spilled forth.
"I see."
"You?"
"I went to a small private university here in the Tokyo area. But then I moved to Sapporo for my graduate and post-grad. work."
"Should I be calling you sensei, then?"
"No need for that!"
"So, what should I call you?"
"Shimako. Todou Shimako"
Noriko was right. From the moment the woman walked into the bar with her friends as the dark-haired woman held the door and watched her: long, blonde locks curled perfectly, bouncing against the woman's back with every step she took, and those hazel eyes that much like Sei's had once, carried the weigh of a lifetime of mistakes and regrets. Noriko wasn't used to the laugh lines and the small crinkles that appeared by Shimako's eyes when the woman smiled, though those additions just made the woman's beauty all the more human.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Todou-sensei,"
"Just Shimako is fine."
"Shimako-sama…" Noriko bowed.
"And you are?"
"Naru… Sakurai."
"Sa-Sakurai…Naru…"
"Do you not like my name?"
"Oh, please forgive me if my tone of voice implied that! It's a beautiful name!"
Noriko lifted her hand from her beer for a split second then pointed at Shimako's drink and the barkeep was quick to pour another gin and tonic, bringing it back to the couple.
"Are you sure you don't want anything less… bitter?" Noriko asked.
"It suits me well, Naru-chan."
"You drink a shitty drink because you think it suits you well?"
"I guess…"
"Ma'am," Noriko raised her voice to get the barkeep's attention, "Yes," was the response she received. Shimako watched as Naru explained to the bartender what she wanted in a tall cup. The older woman then went back to the wall of colorful liquors, grabbing four bottles at once: vodka, gin, rum and peach schnapps, poured some of the liquid over ice in a tumbler then went back, retrieving two more bottles: triple sec and blue curacao. She then returned to the counter and repeated the process, pouring the liquor into the cup, lastly she cracked open a can of energy drink and topped the cup off with it.
"Here," The bartender handed the cup to Noriko, who slid it toward Shimako who hesitantly stared back at Naru.
"Drink it up…" Naru said, watching the blonde take a small sip followed by a much bigger gulp, "Delicious!" she smiled, then thanked the woman sitting by her.
Shimako drank two more of Naru's concoctions while she asked the dark-haired woman about her college major and what she did. Noriko bull-shit her way through it, in a very well done Sei impersonation – thank you, Sei. At the end of the night, the former Rosa Gigantea paid the tab, stood up and bowed to the blonde who was still sitting. This time she wasn't pulling a Sei.
"I… live down the road." Shimako whispered.
That was not what Noriko expected and there was silence: pure, awkward and long silence.
"I'm serious. You can take the couch! I live alone."
Noriko nodded and still in silence followed the woman till they reached a small apartment complex. Shimako stood in front of the door fighting to unlock it, though Noriko was the one who took the key from the blonde's hands and let them in. Only Maria-sama knew what Noriko was doing following a stranger home.
Noriko's rationale was that Shimako wasn't a stranger. Though if one was to really rationalize that situation, Shimako was the one taking a complete stranger home. Noriko knew who the blonde was, thought about that moment happening for years – in a different dimension or parallel universe, perhaps – and right there, at that exact instant, when things were just handed to her, she couldn't. When for so many years she conjured and was haunted by the ghost of Shimako, she couldn't. When for so many years all Noriko could do was to think of forgetting the blonde, she couldn't.
And she didn't.
As the kettle whistled in the kitchen and there was clinking of mugs being placed on a metal tray, Noriko knew she didn't have much time. She stood up from the couch and walked out the door, locking it before she actually exited the apartment, then she ran, as fast as she could toward her aunt's house, only stopping when she reached the front lawn. Kneeling on the grass she finally lost the fight against the tears that stubbornly spilled forth, and between sobs she also lost the food she ate and the drinks she had with the ghost of someone who she thought never deserved her heart.