With a sigh, Yukari threw the last of her clothes into her suitcase, sitting down heavily on her bed as she stared dully at the luggage. It was senior summer, Yukari was about to go to college, and she felt absolutely miserable.
She didn't want to leave Yamaha, much to her parents' surprise. She wanted to stay at home, and commute to college. Except, all the colleges were a far drive from Yamaha, and even Yukari knew that it wasn't really worth it. Still, she didn't want to leave.
After all, she knew that the moment she walked out that door to live her college life in a college dorm, it would be much harder for Ia to just come by and knock on her door…because Yukari wouldn't be around.
Except, Yukari thought dryly, it was stupid to expect that. After all, it had been three years. Three years since that day when Ia disappeared from her side, and Akasaka Ia woke up. Three years of waiting for Ia to decide that she wanted Yukari back in her life. Three years of hoping that Ia suddenly remembered her, the girl back in Yamaha who gave her her heart.
It was really stupid. The Akasakas didn't even live in Yamaha, it was just their summer home, and ever since that summer, they had left without coming back. Ia was in the large, faraway city of Cevio, leaving Yukari marooned alone. Yukari wondered if Ia even thought of her these days. After all, Ia was in a different world now. She had a large mansion, probably several large mansions. She probably had countless friends too – how could she not? Someone as wonderful as Ia probably had friends who were ten times better spoken, better educated, better dressed, better everything than Yukari.
And Ia was so beautiful. She was so patient, and kind, and clever…she probably dated a ton of people afterwards. She probably had everyone, both boys and girls, falling all over themselves to have a chance to have those earnest blue eyes trained on theirs as they kissed those perfect lips.
Maybe the moment Ia woke up, she realized that she only became friends with Yukari because she had no choice to. Only fell in love with Yukari because she had no choice to. After all, in her new life, why would she give Yukari a second thought?
Still, Yukari couldn't help herself. She wanted to stay here, and wait for Ia, even though she knew that with each and every year her chance was fading. As time ticked cruelly onwards, Ia would surely forget her more and more.
Yukari buried her face in her hands. She could see that day so clearly in her mind's eye – sneaking into the summer estate with Ia, going to Akasaka Ia's bed, seeing Ia disappear before her eyes as Akasaka Ia opened her own. Yukari had thought that the Ia she knew since childhood, the Ia she loved, was the same Ia who woke up in Akasaka Ia's body. But the truth was painfully clear to Yukari now that her Ia, and Akasaka Ia, were two completely different people.
Her Ia had died the day Akasaka Ia woke up.
Yukari sighed as she got up from the bed, surveying her room. Her eyes passed by the window, and all at once she remembered the countless number of times Ia had climbed in through it. She remembered Ia laughing, Ia crying, Ia smiling. She remembered Ia's arms tightly around her, Ia's lips pressed against her own.
Yukari clenched her hands into fists. She really had to stop torturing herself. Maybe moving out to a different city for college was just what she needed. There were too many memories here in this room, too many memories here in this entire neighborhood, and Yukari couldn't put her life on hold forever.
As she lugged her luggage down the stairs, Yukari tried to put on a smile for her excited parents. She would be leaving for college with her friend SeeU, much to their happiness, who had worried so much about Yukari's 'imaginary friend' when she was a child. Somehow, even though Yukari couldn't really bring herself to care much about homework over the past three years, SeeU had, through sheer determined bloody-mindedness, managed to get enough necessary material into Yukari's brain that Yukari could scrape by enough to qualify for the same college as her. As such, they were going to pile in and leave for college together.
"Oh my gosh, Yukari, I'm so excited!" her mom gushed, and Yukari forced a chuckle as she hugged her.
"Yeah, it's a, uh, big step," said Yukari. "Is SeeU here yet?"
"Yup," said SeeU, peeking in from the open front door. "Got all your stuff?"
Yukari managed a smile. "Yeah, I think. Not much to pack."
"Great," said SeeU. "I'll be waiting in the car, whenever you're ready."
Yukari nodded, and turned to face her parents. There were hugs, and tears, and Yukari tried her best not to remember that memory of the Akasakas huddled around Ia, their backs blocking Yukari's view of her forever.
"Oh! Almost forgot," said her mom, "there's a letter for you." She handed Yukari a small white envelope, and Yukari took it with a quiet thanks. It was probably from Mayu – the girl was fond of old-fashioned gestures like writing letters, and after Ia's disappearance, seemed to have taken it upon herself to be Yukari's penpal, even though they lived within walking distance of each other. It was a nice gesture, anyways. Still, Yukari felt a pang in her heart. After all, Mayu would be going to college all the way out in Cevio. They had promised to visit each other often, but it was still a ways away, and Mayu was the only person Yukari trusted enough to talk to about Ia.
Yukari didn't think to open the letter until after she and SeeU were in the car and on their way. It was a long stretch of highway, and their conversation had lapsed into silence when Yukari remembered the letter in her pocket. She took it out and opened it, and at the sight of the handwriting, Yukari couldn't help the choked gasp that came out of her throat, the sudden acceleration of her heart, the delicate letters on the paper swimming before her eyes.
Dear Yukari,
I hope this letter gets to you in time. It's time for college to start soon, isn't it? It's strange how long it's been. I'm sorry we never got the chance to celebrate your birthday together, the way we used to.
Oh, Yukari, I hope you're reading this, and haven't forgotten me. I want to see you again. Can you meet me? I'll be in Cevio, at a café at 10th Street, between 2nd and 1st Avenue, next to a curry store, every day for the next week between 1 to 4 PM. From Yamaha, you can take the train.
I know you've probably moved on, with all your other friends – SeeU, Cul, Miki, and Mayu. I know you've probably met someone else by now, and that you're probably happy. But I'd really like it if I could see you again, if only you are willing to.
Sincerely,
Ia
Yukari stared at the letter numbly, reading it over and over. Cevio. Ia was in Cevio. Waiting for her. She wanted to see her. Wanted to see Yukari. She still remembered her. Relief flooded Yukari, leaving her knees weak – she would've fallen, if she wasn't sitting.
But quickly, the relief receded, replaced by unease. Yukari scanned the letter again, reading it over and over. In some ways, it had been what she hoped – a letter, from Ia, wishing to see her again. But in other ways, it had been not at all what she wanted. There was no I miss you. No I love you.
It wasn't the letter Yukari would've written, for sure. She would've spilled her feelings for Ia all over the page, if she had only known where to send it. Would've written in blotchy ink how much she missed her, and how much she loved her, and painful it was, the time she had spent waiting and waiting and…
Yukari sighed and shook her head. She hated how Ia still made her feel this way. Every inch of her body was screaming at her to get to Cevio now, but she was with SeeU on the way to college in Artech. And the letter itself was still so vague. Did Ia have someone else in her life now? She didn't say, and Yukari couldn't really tease out what Ia had meant from those sentences.
God. The missing I miss you's and I love you's were painful, because Yukari missed her, and Yukari still loved her, and she was so angry at Ia for leaving her alone. But Ia did say that she wanted to meet her. Was that enough?
What a foolish question. Of course it was. Ia could have asked Yukari to try to catch a falling star, and Yukari would have at least tried.
"SeeU," said Yukari, and SeeU looked over briefly before doing a double take and looking more closely at her.
"H-holy shit, Yukari," SeeU said, eyes wide. "Are you okay? D-did you forget something?"
"How…how far is Cevio?" Yukari stammered, hands clutching onto the letter. "From Artech. I…I kinda need to get there. I mean, I don't want to inconvenience you, so I'll just take a train…"
"Whoah, whoah, slow down," said SeeU, glancing back at the road every so often, though it was a straight stretch of highway. "Cevio? Why do you want to go to Cevio?"
Yukari was silent. She had never told SeeU about Ia, had never really considered it. Her secret sat uneasily in her chest, even though the letter was real in her hands. She could have read it to SeeU, but the words felt too private to be shared.
SeeU looked at Yukari a few moments before sighing and turning her eyes back to the road. "Well…we missed the turn to Cevio a while back. But we're a half hour from Artech now. We can drop off all of our stuff at the dorm first, go through a little bit of orientation…" SeeU glanced back at Yukari then.
Something in Yukari's eyes must have moved her, for SeeU groaned. "Alright, alright. Are you in a big hurry or something?"
Yukari chewed her lip. Ia said she would be waiting a week. All considered, Yukari did have time. But, she couldn't fight the screaming urge in her body to see Ia as soon as she could. It had been so, so long since she had last seen her that any longer than necessary felt like torture. "N-not really…"
"You sure look like you are," said SeeU. "Anyways…how about this, we get to campus and you can drop off your stuff. I'll sign you in for orientation stuff while you go and…pursue whatever mysterious business you have in Cevio."
Yukari swallowed. She felt guilty, leaving SeeU all alone. "Well…it's okay, we can go through-"
"No, no," said SeeU abruptly, waving her hand to banish the thought. "You really have no idea how miserable you look. I mean, you've been pretty down in the dumps for the past few years, so…well," SeeU sighed, "if there's something that's so important in Cevio to you…I don't want to stop you from going there. I dunno what any of this is all about, but, y'know, I want you to be like, happy and shit."
It wasn't exactly the most eloquent speech, but Yukari felt her heart brim over anyways. "Th-thank you. Thanks, SeeU, I really owe you. I owe you a ton, I—"
"Okay, okay," SeeU interrupted, eyes focused on the road. "Geez. You don't need to owe me anything. Just…" SeeU sighed and glanced back over at Yukari, eyes serious, "after you finish, just…tell me what's going on, okay? Like, what's wrong, and stuff. We've been friends since we were ten, so…you know...it'd be nice, to know what's going on inside your head sometimes." SeeU said the last words quietly, and abruptly turned her head back to the road, a light smattering of red on her cheeks while Yukari stared at her. She remembered all the times SeeU and her friends had inquired after her when she was down, asking what was wrong. Yukari always made excuses in those times, though – after all, most of the time, her sadness had something to do with Ia.
Still, even though SeeU had expressly asked, Yukari still found it hard to move the block in her chest. How could she possibly explain this wild circumstance to SeeU? It was crazy, absolutely crazy, and Yukari still remembered how people treated her back then. Even now, when Ia had a body, and Yukari could prove her existence…it was still hard. But it was true, what SeeU said – they had been friends for a long time.
"Yeah," said Yukari softly, and she looked out the window at the endless strip of road. "I'll…I'll try."
-xxx-
The moment Yukari finished checking in and dropping her bags at her dorm room, she gave SeeU a quick, tight goodbye hug before racing over to the train station. Thankfully, it wasn't too far from where she lived – a mere ten blocks east – and Yukari weaved through pedestrians, jaywalking whenever she was able. Once she got to the train station, she hastily bought a ticket for the next train to Cevio, checking her phone to see where she would end up. It seemed that the train would bring her to a station in Cevio's midtown. It wouldn't be too long – Yukari would get to Cevio around two in the afternoon, allowing her ample time to make her way downtown to where Ia would be.
On the train, Yukari examined the directions provided to her by her phone. When the train arrived, she would be deposited on the west side of Cevio, so she needed to take a subway line over to the east side. From there, she could make a transfer to another, heading downtown, and the rest would be walkable from there. It didn't seem too complicated, thankfully, and when Yukari arrived, she quickly followed the directions on her phone and soon enough was walking down 10th Street, crossing between avenues as her eyes scanned for a coffee shop, that was also next to a curry shop.
Then, she found it. The spicy aroma of curry floated out, and Yukari glanced over to her right and saw patrons hunched over a white counter, eating. Right next to it was an unassuming looking café. It wasn't especially crowded, but seated at the counter with a cup of coffee next to her, book open in her hand, was Ia.
Ia, in the flesh.
Yukari didn't even realize when she had entered the space. "Ia!"
Ia turned, and the sight of those familiar blue eyes, fixed on Yukari with such intensity, was enough to take Yukari's breath away. "Y-Yukari…"
Ia looked good, Yukari thought. She looked better than Yukari had imagined. She had grown, though she was still slightly shorter than her, and retained the waifish, delicate frame of her youth. Her face was the same, but there was a new sense of maturity and authority in her eyes, accentuated by her clean, minimalistic dress. Yukari is suddenly, searingly, aware of the fact that she had spent her life in stasis ever since Ia left, whereas Ia had clearly changed.
They stood there, Yukari staring at Ia and Ia staring at her. Yukari wanted to say something more, but she wasn't sure what else to say. This was the reunion she had been dreaming of…and yet, what was this strange sense of awkwardness?
"Can I…get you something to drink?" asked Ia after a little bit, her voice polite, yet distant.
Yukari's heart sank.
"Water is fine," was all she could manage to say, and Ia nodded, turned to the person at the counter, and ordered the water. Even now, it was still a surprise to see the barista nod and smile at Ia, to clearly be able to hear her words, and to be able to see her. The barista placed the glass cup of water on the counter, and awkwardly Yukari took it.
"Let's sit down," Ia said, getting up from her seat, carefully marking her place in her book, and walking over to a small corner table. Numbly, Yukari followed her, and soon they were sitting across from each other, the abyss of years gaping between them.
Over the last three years, Yukari had imagined all sorts of scenarios for when she would meet Ia again. Nearly all of them involved tears, hugs, kisses. Some of them involved Yukari moving to Cevio, others involved Ia moving to Yamaha, still others involved the two of them going together to some distant place. All of them were happy, all of them had them professing to each other their love and how hard it had been, to be without the other.
None of them were like this. None of them involved Ia and Yukari, sitting across from each other at a table in complete, palpably awkward silence. None of them involved neither Ia nor Yukari being able to look each other fully in the eye.
How could it be like this, when they had known each other for so long? All of a sudden, Yukari felt foolish for her haste. She had freaked out SeeU so much, caused so much trouble for her…for this? Ia had even said that she would be here waiting the whole week. If it was going to be like this, then there was no need to have rushed, no need to have ran all the way here to see her.
And yet…even now, Yukari knew that there was no way she wouldn't have run to see Ia.
"It's good to see you," said Ia quietly, after a long moment of silence.
Those words twisted something in Yukari. All of a sudden, she couldn't take it anymore. She wanted to lash out, she wanted to make Ia feel the pain she felt over the past three years. "You could have seen me anytime you wanted," Yukari said, anger bubbling beneath her words. "I was right there. In Yamaha. Right where you left me."
Ia winced. "It's complicated," she said, eyes not quite meeting Yukari's.
"Compli…complicated?" Yukari said in disbelief, eyes wide. "You're…you're the one who left me! You just…you just disappeared for years out of my life!" Almost as if you were really imaginary, Yukari wanted to say, but she knew the words would be too painful to use.
"It's not that simple," said Ia, and Yukari noted how her voice sounded different. It sounded…cultured. More refined. It was steady and implacable, and hearing Ia speak like that made the pain in Yukari's heart twist even more.
"I was…I was worried about you," Yukari said. "I missed you, so much. Didn't you ever think about that?"
"Of course I did," said Ia, quietly. "I thought about you every single day."
"Then why didn't you ever come? Or call? Or send a letter?" Yukari asked. The anger had gone now, drained out of her body to be replaced by sadness. She could hear the slight whine in her voice, how pleading it was.
Ia bit her lip. "I wanted to. Please believe that."
Yukari frowned, eyes directed down at her water. These words weren't good enough to placate the pain in her heart.
There was a silence before Ia spoke again. "So…I'm eighteen now. My birthday's just a month after yours…January 22nd. I guess we were close, to celebrate it together all these years." She smiled at Yukari, weakly.
"Ia…" Yukari said, but it was all she could say. It was as though someone was wearing an Ia costume. She walked and talked like Ia, but Yukari no longer knew her, could no longer understand her.
Ia leaned in, her eyes pleading. "Yukari…I'm really sorry. I really wanted to send you a letter, or call you, or do something…anything. But I couldn't. They thought I was crazy."
"Who?"
Ia smiled wryly then, her lips twisting in a cynical smile. "Everyone. When I tried explaining to my parents what happened…they didn't believe me. But why would they? After all, I had been in a coma, and you and I both know that our experience together…it was fantastical. It's funny…after so many years of being the one who was imaginary…when I tried telling everyone about you, they thought that you were the one who was imaginary. And when I wouldn't stop trying to convince everyone that you existed…well," Ia shrugged, "then the visits to the psychiatrists started. A lot of them told me that people dream in comas…a lot of them told me that all along, I had only dreamt of a girl named Yukari. They told me that, day after day, month after month, year after year, that you weren't real."
The words brought back all the memories of Yukari's youth to her mind again. The pitying way her teachers looked at her, the disappointed and worried expressions of her parents, the jeering of her peers…
But Yukari was still reluctant to let Ia off the hook. After all, it should have been easy to prove that Yukari existed – a simple call would have sufficed, or asking around Yamaha. Yukari would have done anything, absolutely anything, she could to have shown everyone that Ia was real…
"Why didn't you just…call me?" Yukari asked.
"I…I didn't know your number," said Ia, looking down at her coffee. "After all, back when I was invisible, I didn't own anything, I didn't have a cellphone. I wouldn't have known what your phone number was. But the first thing I asked when I realized that you had left the house was to go to your house, to let you know I was okay. But my parents thought I was confused. They said that there was no way I could ever have known a girl named Yukari. None of my playmates growing up had that name, and from their perspective…those were the only people I could have ever known."
Ia breathed out a sigh, her blue eyes becoming distant as they looked into the past. "And it wasn't like I could have just jumped out of bed, either. I've been in a coma for ten years. When I tried…all of my limbs, they were like noodles. I didn't have any strength in me to do anything. No matter how much exercise my spirit got, it wasn't like that would have done anything for my body. I had to get in a wheelchair, just to get out of bed."
Yukari bit her lip. Somehow, she hadn't really thought of that – that Ia just wouldn't be physically able to come by and knock on her door after a few weeks. She had attributed the superhuman healing powers of Ia's spirit to Ia's body…but of course, a real human body is much messier than that of a spirit.
"I saw so many doctors," said Ia, shaking her head. "I kept asking about you though, so soon I started seeing psychiatrists too. My parents were worried that maybe I had gotten some kind of brain damage, with the accident. It was so complete," Ia laughed a little, softly, "I started thinking, what if maybe…all that I experienced with you was just a dream? A long, feverish dream in a coma, dreaming of a childhood I never had. But then, I would have hoped that I had dreamed something a little more upbeat than what happened."
Yukari wanted to reach out and touch Ia, to stroke her hand and make sure she was okay. But the Ia speaking to her now was no longer her Ia, and Yukari only shifted in her seat uncomfortably, her hands clenched under the table as she tried to repress the urge.
"Anyways," Ia shook her head, "my parents kept a close eye on me. They had made a big announcement that I was back, and so I was in the public eye from then on as the heir to the Akasakas. I had to go to all the parties, I had to take on an internship at the company…I had to represent the Akasakas adequately, as the heir to the company."
Yukari tried to imagine Ia in the midst of high society, but couldn't. All she saw in her mind was the same Ia she always knew, head bent over a book, giggling at Yukari's jokes. She could see Ia getting excited about all the facts she learned in her books, but she couldn't imagine Ia in a fancy dress at a fancy party.
"I couldn't let myself be seen as crazy…my parents wouldn't have allowed it. Everything I did was closely monitored. I couldn't make any unauthorized calls, or even really go on the Internet that much. Not that I ever grew up with the privileges of those, so it wasn't too bad. And my parents didn't want to go back to Yamaha again – there were too many bad memories there. They had only come back because they had a superstitious feeling that if they did, maybe I would have woken up. They were right, but they didn't want to chance some other unfortunate event happening. So I couldn't go back to Yamaha…I couldn't go back to your place and knock on your door. I couldn't call anyone, I couldn't use the Internet to look up any information. All I could do was go to tutoring, then my internship…go to the parties, and mingle with other heirs of other families...and read."
"Oh…" said Yukari, numbly. Her mind was caught on that last sentence – 'mingle with other heirs of other families'. "Then…how did you send me the letter?"
"I'm eighteen now," said Ia. "I can't get institutionalized unless I seem like I'm going to harm myself, or others. My letter still had to get read, and edited...but I could at least send it to you. And I've learned that if I wanted to get by, I needed to stop talking about you, and once I did, I've managed to convince my parents enough to let me move out. I'll be getting my own apartment, close to where I'll be going to university."
"Oh," said Yukari, again. She didn't know what else she could say, and she wasn't sure what to think. Throughout the conversation, Ia had not once referred to the state of their relationship with each other. "That's…that's great." She tried to smile. "I'm glad you're able to pursue…everything you wanted to pursue."
There was a brief silence then, neither of them looking fully into each other's eyes. Then, slowly, Ia spoke. "I…I know you must be angry with me. And I know you must have a million things to do, what with the beginning of the semester starting at a lot of places. But maybe…you can stay over tonight? We can catch up. It'll be just like old times."
Somehow it felt like it wouldn't be like old times. But Yukari looked at Ia and knew that she couldn't refuse. Something in her heart was inexorably tugging her towards her. Yukari felt helpless before her, even with the new awkwardness, and the uncertain state of their relationship.
So…what else could she do but say yes?
-xxx-
Ia smiled at the doorman as she led Yukari inside, and the doorman smiled back, though his eyes drifted over to Yukari questioningly as Ia led Yukari over to the elevators. She had to enter some sort of special code into the keypad before pressing the letter P, and the elevator slowly ascended.
When the elevator reached their destination, it opened immediately into a large, opulent living room, and Yukari's breath caught in her throat. The only memory she had of really seeing the wealth of the Akasaka's was back at their summer home in Yamaha, but Yukari had been too nervous and scared at the time to really take it in. Now, all the details of their wealth crowded around her, from the large, open windows that looked out at a dazzling view of the city, to the various art pieces installed around the sunken living room.
"My parents are out tonight," said Ia, obliviously leading Yukari through the wealth, as though she was used to it. But why wouldn't she be? After all, she lived here. Yukari remembered the countless hours they spent in Yukari's ordinary middle-class home, and felt something weird coil in her stomach. This was what Ia was used to now – this was her social class. "They'll be back late, so they won't even know you're here."
Something painful twisted in Yukari's heart. It felt like she was a dirty secret, having to be kept hidden away from Ia's parents and her life.
"Anyways, here's the living room," Ia gestured, "and the kitchen…down this hallway there's a couple of bathrooms and guest rooms…and here," Ia flung open a door, "is my room."
Yukari stepped inside, and the first thing that struck her was the sheer amount of books that Ia had. There were stacks and stacks of them, teetering off the shelves. There were books on the windowsill, books on the desk. And the desk…Yukari swept her eyes across it. There were reams of notebook paper, mathematical formulae scribbled across them. Two large monitors, one of which displayed some text editor, the other of which was paused on what appeared to be some sort of college lecture on physics.
It was exactly the kind of room Yukari imagined Ia would have, if she had a room. Every detail screamed Ia, and all at once, a flood of relief ran through Yukari's spine. The fear that had dogged her ever since she met Ia in the coffeeshop, the fear that maybe she no longer knew Ia, that Akasaka Ia was different from the Ia she loved…it dissipated the more and more Yukari looked and took in every little detail of the room. This was it, after all.
This was the room of the Ia Yukari knew…the Ia Yukari loved.
"Wow," said Yukari softly as she perused the titles on one of the bookshelves, the spines reflecting Ia's eclectic taste in subjects. She felt calmer now, on surer ground, here in Ia's room, a little more removed from the reminders of how much things had changed. In Ia's room, it seemed like not much had changed at all. "There's really a ton of books in here."
Ia blushed, ducking her head a little. "Y-yeah. Well…you know."
Yukari smiled at Ia then, and returned to looking through Ia's books, trying to discern their lost years from them.
After a silence, Ia spoke. "It's hard to believe that you're really here."
Yukari's lips quirked. "Yeah…same here. It must be weird, living out here. It's really different from Yamaha."
"Yeah," said Ia, moving over to the window and gazing out at the city. Yukari followed her, looking down at the people below, and out at the park that the residence was next to. It was large, but on the other side, Yukari could make out another set of buildings, nearly all with lights on. "There's always stuff to do here. All sorts of parks, and events…all sorts of museums, and galleries."
Yukari nodded, thinking back on the childhood they spent together in Yamaha. It had been nothing like this. If the car accident had never happened…Ia would have lived here, for her childhood. Right here, in this bustling city, overflowing with life. Living, in a way that was completely alien to the sleepy suburb Yukari grew up in. "It sounds exciting. There must be tons of people here…millions."
"Yes," said Ia, her voice suddenly becoming distant. "But…none of them were the one I wanted."
Yukari's eyes widened, and she turned her head to look at Ia.
Ia ducked her head again, her face flushing a deep red. "You…you're probably dating someone now," she said, all in a rush. "I know that…I know that a lot of people liked you. You're probably dating someone pretty, and popular—"
"No," Yukari interrupted, a wild hope leaping up in her chest. "No, I'm not."
Ia looked up then, her blue eyes startlingly intense. "Really?"
"Ia…of course not," Yukari said. "How could I have…" she trailed off then, a question catching in her mind. When she spoke again, her voice faltered a little as she asked. "Are…are you? Dating someone else?"
Ia shook her head. "There's never been anyone, other than you."
The words were an invitation, as clear as Ia could make it. Yukari swallowed. "I—"
"I missed you, Yukari," Ia said, softly. "So much."
At that, Yukari didn't hesitate. She stepped forward, reached out to hold Ia's hand as she lowered her lips to hers. It was, briefly, awkward, noses bumping into each other – Ia had grown a little bit, or maybe it was Yukari who had grown a little bit, or both. In Yukari's dreams, when they reunited, their kisses had always been perfect, slotting together the way everything should, but of course, reality was different.
But the awkwardness lasted only a moment before they settled together, lips slanted against each other as Yukari rested her hands on Ia's hips. Ia was more demanding than she remembered, her lips seeking out Yukari's with feverish intensity, her hands pulling Yukari closer. And while Ia's body and lips weren't exactly what Yukari remembered, Yukari realized that that didn't matter. Surely, they both changed over the past three years…but that didn't matter, when the core of them was the same, when they could learn each other all over again.
"Yukari," said Ia, drawing back slightly, though her breath still caressed Yukari's lips, "I missed you every day, for the past three years. I'm getting my own apartment…y-you can stay with me, if you want. If it's convenient." Her eyes gazed up at Yukari's, suddenly wide and pleading, as though she was afraid of Yukari leaving. In her eyes, Yukari could read clearly that Ia meant every word, and all at once, Yukari started to grasp a little more of how much Ia had suffered, in the intervening years.
"I…I wish I could," Yukari said. "But…my college's in Artech."
Disappointment flashed through Ia's eyes. "Oh…"
"But it doesn't matter," Yukari said quickly. "I'll come visit you." She brought her hand up to caress Ia's pale cheek. "Every weekend. It's not that far. It's only an hour away by train."
Ia sighed, leaning into Yukari's hand as she glanced up at her from beneath her eyelashes. "Are you sure?"
"Of course," Yukari brushed a kiss against Ia's lips. "You think I'd leave you now, when I finally found you?"
"But you'll have school, and all your friends…"
"It doesn't matter," Yukari assured her, and it was true. What mattered to her was the girl in her arms now, the girl she first found sitting on the bench when she was five, swinging her legs and gazing out at the sky. The girl who became her first friend in Yamaha, the girl she spent her childhood with, and fell in love with. Ia had always been her home. It didn't matter if the whole world could see her now, because she was Yukari's, and Yukari's was hers. "Besides, they can see you now, remember? You can come down to Artech sometime too. I can introduce you to everyone."
"O-oh," said Ia, eyes widening as she blushed. "Right. I…I forgot," she said awkwardly, "that they'd be able to see me."
Yukari laughed, and hugged Ia tightly. Even after all these years, and even after all these changes, she still felt like a perfect fit. "Of course they can."
Ia smiled then, and kissed Yukari again, slow at first, but steadily, her kisses became more and more heated as she insistently pulled Yukari towards her. They stumbled blindly, Ia backwards, Yukari forward, tripping over stacks of books, laughing into each other's mouths as they fell into bed.
These kisses felt different than when they were younger, Yukari thought. They had burned with desire back then too, but neither of them went too far, the weight of Ia's questionable reality weighing too heavily on both of their minds for them to take it all the way. Due to that, their kisses had been more pure, as expressions of trust, and comfort, and love. But now, Yukari was acutely aware that they were older, and three years of missing Ia, of missing her smile, her lips, her body, were pent-up in her.
"I…Ia," Yukari stuttered over the word, her tongue heavy in her mouth. Her heart beat fast, fast, fast, as she stared down into those heady blue eyes. "Are you…is this—"
"Yes," said Ia almost instantly, bringing her hands up to tug Yukari closer to her. "Please."
Despite herself, Yukari couldn't help but to smile. It all seemed so right, here in this moment, and she was fiercely glad that she had never considered going this far with anyone other than Ia, the person she trusted most in the world. Still, she couldn't help but to tease Ia a little. "So…is this why you wanted me to come over to your place?"
Ia blushed furiously. "N-no! W-well…maybe."
Yukari laughed, then, and brought her lips down to Ia's.
.
.
- Epilogue -
"Yukari!" said Mayu cheerily, much to Yukari's surprise. She stopped still at the door of the café, eyes wide. Ia had told her to meet her here in the afternoon. It was a small café, close to Ia's campus, and while Yukari knew that Mayu went to college somewhere in Cevio, it was still crazy that she ran into her here, of all places.
Still, Yukari smiled. She was still glad to see her friend, and walked over. "Mayu! What're you doing here?"
"What am I doing here? Geez, Yukari, you forgot already? I go to school here," said Mayu, grinning that same grin she always put on when she knew something Yukari didn't. "I should ask you, what're you doing here? Don't you go to school out in Artech?"
"Well, I'm meeting—"
"Hey everyone!" said Ia out of nowhere, pulling out the seat next to Yukari as she sat down. To Yukari's astonishment, she sent Mayu a sunny, familiar smile. "I see you two met each other."
"Met each other?" said Yukari dumbly. "Wait." She glanced back and forth between Mayu and Ia. "You two know each other?"
"What're you talking about?" Mayu affected confusion, her eyes comically large as she widened them in mock hurt. "You're the one who told me about her when we were kids, remember?"
"I dunno if I told you about her…I mean, you kind of just overheard…"
"Mayu and I are in the same Astrophysics class," Ia informed her.
"I recognized Ia right away," said Mayu with a grin. "After all those descriptions you gave me. You're right, by the way – she does have really distinctive hair. So naturally, I took the seat next to her, introduced myself, and from then on, we became friends."
"Well," Ia said, smiling. "It was a little more complicated than that."
"Okay," Mayu allowed. "Maybe I was a little overenthusiastic. Anyways," she checked her watch, "I should probably leave you two to it. Wouldn't want to third-wheel," she said with a wink.
Despite herself, Yukari blushed at the mention of their relationship. "I-it's okay-"
"No, no," said Mayu, laughing as she got up. "I just wanted to stop by and say hi. We should all hang out sometime – you, me, Ia…you should bring SeeU, too. I haven't seen her since we graduated. Has she met Ia yet, by the way?"
"Yup," said Yukari, smiling a little at the memory. Ia had visited Yukari at Artech a few weeks ago, and Yukari had taken it upon herself to immediately introduce her to SeeU. While Yukari was still reluctant to give her the full details of how they met – even with Ia being visible now, the story was still a bit too fantastical for someone like SeeU to really buy – to her great relief, SeeU and Ia seemed to get along well enough. They were both fairly intellectual, and had bonded, to Yukari's mortification, over how they had both had to help Yukari a lot with homework back in the day.
"Oh, great," said Mayu cheerily. "Anyways…have fun, you two. Ia, we're meeting up later this week to go over Astrophysics?"
"Yup," said Ia, waving her off. "See you later."
"Huh," said Yukari, looking at Mayu's receding figure. "She's a physics major too?"
"Oh, no," said Ia. "She's just taking it as an elective, for some reason. I think she's a Criminology major or something. Anyways," Ia got up, "do you want to head back to my apartment?"
Yukari gave the affirmative, and the two of them headed out. As they walked down the street, Yukari asked, "So…One's going to the play too, right? What time?"
"Yeah," said Ia, her lips easing into a fond smile. "She'll be meeting us at my place around four. I still can't believe she's already sixteen." She shook her head.
Yukari knew that Ia wanted, badly, to make up for lost time with her family. While of course, it would have been nice to go to the theater with just her and Ia, she welcomed One's presence anyways. The girl was still a little prickly around her, but Yukari just chalked it up to overprotectiveness of her older sister, who had been comatose for most of her life.
Indeed, the Akasakas were still rather prickly to Yukari as a whole. To make their relationship easier to explain, Ia had vaguely said that she had met Yukari when Yukari was visiting Cevio on some pre-college trip. Her family seemed to have bought it, but Yukari was sure that the relative speed of their relationship probably raised a few eyebrows…not to mention, Yukari shared a name with the girl Ia incessantly spoke of back in the day that the Akasakas thought was merely a product of a dream.
Yukari's parents, on the other hand…they were only overjoyed to know that Yukari had somehow ended up in a relationship with one of the famous Akasakas, and didn't seem to pry too deeply into how they met. Yukari wondered if her parents still remembered the name of that imaginary friend she had spoken of so often as a child, and cared to match Akasaka Ia to Yukari's imaginary best friend, Ia.
Well…not that that really mattered to them, anymore. After all, Ia was visible now, and they had each other. Yukari shook her head and smiled, looking back up at the sky. Ia's hand was warm and undeniably real in hers, and Yukari hummed as they walked, feeling a heavy sense of relaxation fall over her like a gentle cloak.
The world seemed right, holding on to Ia's hand, and the two of them walked the steady path home.
A/N:
Thank you all for reading, and I hope you all enjoyed the story!
When I first started writing this, it actually turned out to be a fairly dark tale, all in all. Originally, I had it written to when they become eighteen, and Ia was never reunited with her body. I think Ia was psychologically at her breaking point at fourteen or fifteen, so at sixteen, I had planned for her to be quite messed up, and really unsure of who she is, and how real she herself is. Thus, her relationship with Yukari grew more and more obsessive/twisted on both ends. And at eighteen, shit got real. Looking at the happy way they ended up here, it's hard to believe that I ever wrote such a messed up ending for this story haha.
Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed! Thank you to all who read, favorited, followed, and reviewed!