Chapter Thirty-Two: Do You Still Love Me?

Haruna:

Yuki's first crush is here, but I'm the one engaged to him. I knew Chieri was a major bookworm with a thing for our world, but she was unpredictable. What are her intentions? Why did she come out here to see him?

After leaving that letter and breaking his heart like that, I don't know how someone could have the audacity to appear years later. He thought she was dead. WE thought she was dead.

For some reason, an older and obviously alive body of her is here.

Yuki and I spent the night together in Evangeline's cabin. Apparently, word traveled around quickly between the dean and the ground guards, so Evangeline was already waiting for me to arrive that evening.

"I don't blame you for choosing to stay the night," Evangeline said as we knelt at the dinner table together. "I've already gotten used to the two of you being in my basement. Besides, with whatever threat may be lurking out there, it's better that you're here under our protection."

"Thank you for doing this," I replied. At this time, it was the only thing I could say. The thought of asking Yuki about Chieri was on my mind, but I couldn't ask him. He's obviously shaken up at the sudden appearance of his childhood best friend returning all so suddenly from the future in his universe. "I've always felt pretty close to all you school guardians. Ever since Yuki arrived."

For the first time, Yuki's vampire landlord did something I never saw her do before. Evangeline tilted her head and held it with her hand, using her arm to prop it up with the elbow on her knee. A rather sheepish look on her face. "Tell me something Haru-chan. You two aren't planning on speeding up the wedding anytime soon, are you?"

And finally, I turned to look at Yuki, who now looked at me. I could tell he was worried, but why should he be? He could obviously read my mind! I have no belief in one moment that a girl from his past would come to this universe and time to try and sabotage our plans of staying together!

I reassuringly placed my hand on his knee and turned back to look at Evangeline. "No. I'm not going to do anything drastic. Personally, I think it'd be a good idea if Yuki had some time to talk to her. I trust him, and I trust her."

Either I let him go and risk losing him, or I force him not to talk to her and risk losing him anyway. This was a lose-lose situation to the risk of him and her getting back together, but she deliberately left him a letter saying she was going to die. He spent all these years thinking that she was dead.

I doubt anything's going to happen.

I don't believe anything would happen either, and I'm the one writing this fanfiction.

Laying in Yuki's bed together later that night, he and I had the talk. The talk about Cheri. It was inevitable either way.

Both of us were wearing clothes as opposed to the other times when we were doing our thing. However, I wasn't in the mood to force him into it plus I was still overwhelmed by his demeanor at that rooftop janitor closet earlier today. Like, what on Earth was that about?

As much as it felt good, it was a weird position for him to have me in. From behind. I never had it that way before.

"I'm still marrying you," he said. "I don't care if our next conversation involves her wanting me back. Haru, you're going to be my wife whether she likes it or not. Chieri may be my childhood friend, but if she wanted to stop this, she would have traveled to the past and broke us up."

He had a point, but I already told him that I trusted him.

"I'm not worried," I reassured him, drawing closer to him. "Trust me."

At that point, I planted a long, lasting kiss on him. He did his usual and wrapped his arms around me and kissed me back. After that, I fell asleep into his arms.

Yuki:

To my surprise, Konoka and Setsuna were waiting for us outside the school building. As soon as Haruna and I walked within range, the two joined us. Evangeline and Chachamaru not too far behind us.

Once we were inside, Setsuna pulled me out of range from the rest of our classmates and out into the hallway away from everyone else. "I heard what happened."

"Chieri?" I asked. "Yeah, she's here. In this universe and time."

"Not just that. What on Earth were you doing with Tsukuyomi?"

"Talking. She's fucking Takahata-sensei."

"You mean this school's former sensei? He left when he broke Shizuna-sensei's heart. She's now a struggling single parent with a young boyfriend."

"Yeah. If it's about her continuing to stalk you, I think it's stopped. She's even talked about stalking me."

Setsuna bugged her eyes out. "What?"

"Yeah. She's obviously over you and into this guy. She wanted to talk to me without fighting."

"Yeah, but still. That's weird she just wanted to talk to you."

"It's probably because that enemy that showed up happens to be after me and not any of you guys out here."

"Are you thinking it's for vengeance?"
"I didn't even kill Salazar! It was Fate! Speaking of Fate, he's been plugging Chigusa. Oh, and Tsukuyomi's obsessed with sex now thanks to our former professor." My face went red.

Setsuna blushed as well. "You already know about Kono-chan and I, but damn!"

"Haha made you swear!"

Mana could now be seen walking up to us from behind Setsuna. Along with Kaede nad Ku Fei. As soon as they spotted us, they joined us.

"So," Mana began, "we just had a talk with the dean. Yuki, did you tell the dean that Tsukuyomi was present on school grounds as well?"

"With no threatening intentions yes," I replied. "I had to as soon as I got done reacting to the fact that someone else showed up."

"Chieri," Kaede said. "But what's so significant about her?"

So they didn't know.

"Yuki's childhood friend who he thought was dead," Evangeline said from behind them, "and I don't think that now is a good idea for the bunch of you to crowd this very hallway. Class is about to start in five minutes and even Kagurazaki-san is in her seat today doing today's morning assignment!"

"WHAT?" We all exclaimed, darting for the classroom to get a good look at this sudden change in our classmate's behavior.

Don't ask me. I'm just the writer. *shrugs*

School went by quickly much to my displeasure. I was really not looking forward to meeting Chieri again. After I was a complete asshole to her, I could only assume she wanted to see how much I've changed.

Yeah. Hopefully that was it.

She stood right outside the school gate as Setsuna and I approached her. Konoka would keep an eye on Haruna for me today. According to the swordswoman flanking me. Along with Mana, Kaede, and Ku Fei.

"We'll be here if you need us," Kaede said. "Right Ku Fei?"

The blonde nodded. "Now go!"

"Remember," Setsuna warned, "you're engaged now. Don't dishonor your fiancé. I'll be by my phone until your return."

As soon as Chieri and I were within feet of each other, everyone left. Much to her dismay, it was just the two of us. For now at least.

If she doesn't misbehave and ask for me to leave Haru, she can be a part of this world for a bit longer. As long as she tries not to stop the wedding. Then again, I was the one being the complete ass the day everyone thought she had died.

Her wavy black hair blew sideways from the wind to her side, and her brown eyes were glistening as she looked up at me. "Yuki, I'm so glad you finally decided to come outside to talk. I waited here outside but you never left."

"I'm staying in Evangeline's cabin," I replied. "My fiancé stays there sometimes too."

"Haruna Saotome?" she asked, smiling. "I'm not surprised you picked her."

"Who did you expect me to get? Ayaka?"

She gently punched my shoulder and snickered, prompting me to snicker as well. Like we were still best friends and nothing had ever changed. "Yuki, baka!"

Now, if I did really pick Ayaka, that would have been something. More access to money and riches, but that's not me. Haruna and I were bound to be together through the fate of this universe, and even Professor Negi pulled one of her sisters in at one point. A fortune-teller.

Haruna:

I know he's with her, but there was nothing I could do about it. My fiancé was with a woman that he once had loved as a child. Setsuna came back, much to Konoka's dismay, but I reassured them that I was okay with it.

"No really," I said, continuing to restock one of the library shelves. "I'm not daunted at the fact that they're alone together somewhere in this city. Yuki needs some time to get back in touch with Chieri."

And only Evangeline, Chachamaru, and I knew why. Yuki fessed up this morning on his real intentions on meeting Chieri.

"How could you say that when you know he once loved her?" Setsuna asked. "I could have been there with him to make sure nothing happened."

"He screwed up the day he thought she died!" I spat out. "Basically pissed her off and sent her running home and crying. She was so upset that she ran into a busy street and got hit by a bus!"

Both women looked at me in shock.

"Her parents straight up lied to Yuki's face and said she was dead when they were really transporting her some place to be repaired. Like, her pancreas was replaced- or something like that."

He did say she had pancreatic cancer. Poor girl. Then he told her how she was stupid for reading the manga and watching the anime of this world. And now she's suddenly back in his life and he's part of the world she craved and is about to marry me.

Can't be more complicated than that.

"If she's not concerned then we shouldn't be," Nodoka said, much to my shock. The purple-haired girl with the bangs covering her face stepped into the aisle and joined the conversation. "Haru-chan, Yue told me to tell you that if you need to leave early to make sure they're not doing anything, then you can go."

"I'm not going to," I replied. "Thanks, but having trust in my future husband is one part of marriage that I'm going to have to deal with."

Deep down inside my mind however, I didn't feel right about any of this. Even if Yuki screwed up, she still showed up. Why did she even show up?

Yuki:

To my surprise, Chieri sported a driver's license and even drove a bright red Ferrari. She took me to the apartment she was staying in and we sat in her dining room. Much to my surprise, this place was pricey as well.

We ordered delivery and didn't go out. Obviously because we needed some place private to talk. Some place where we weren't in the public eye, vulnerable to passerby who just so happened to be from Mahora. After all, both of us weren't even from here.

Not even from this universe and time.

As we sat there in her rather small apartment dining room, I casually sat on my small, metal stool and politely kept my elbows off her square glass table, which was propped up by a golden stand that reached out to the corners with its upper arms. She sat across from me, mesmerized in the structure of my now manly face.

"I'm still in shock that you're a guy," she said. "I thought procedures like this didn't exist out here."

"They don't," I replied. "Magic did this to me."

"Who did it?"

"Eva-chan." I smiled.

Her jaw dropped. "The antisocial vampire?"

"She's been getting more social ever since I arrived in this universe."

"I still can't believe this world exists! Like, I should have moved here a long time ago!"

"But you can't randomly go three years into my past, now can you?" I replied, crossing my arms and smiling at her. "Chieri, you sure as hell haven't changed as much!"

"Actually," she briskly replied. "I stopped getting into this world recently. My parents are now working alongside your parents. Believe it or not."

Now it was my jaw that dropped. "As inventors? Impossible!"

"They discovered the artificial pancreas," she replied, pointing down at where hers is. "I'm half bionic now. I'm surprised your parents didn't tell you I'm still alive."

Of course they didn't. They obviously knew that I fell in love with Haruna and didn't want to wreck it for us. Not to also mention that letter of Chieri's broke my heart at fourteen. If this is a means for mocking my stupidity as a teenager, she was only hurting both of us further.

"They already knew I fell in love with Haruna," I said, face now expressionless. "Listen Chieri, I'm sorry about everything I said that day. That day you were hit by that bus."

"Nothing a metal skeleton replacement couldn't fix!" She said, going "knock knock" on the side of her head, which let off a metal sounding clank each time. "Besides, I'm already over what you said. I'm more sorry about leaving that letter in your backpack. I didn't know my parents had a backup plan in mind like the one they did."

"Please don't tell me you can fly too," I said, eyes moving down towards the table. She had no idea that I could fly.

"I can!" she replied. "I have a jetpack for that. To be honest, I'm kind of a superhero now. No one knows I'm still alive anymore, and I've been living in our universe in hiding. My parents are worried that if people discover me I won't have a life, and you're already a missing case according to the newspapers and tabloids."

The hairs at the back of my neck stood up. Tabloids? Newspapers? Media?

Oh hell no!

"So you have no place in that universe?" I said in shock. "Then how the hell were you able to obtain a driver's license and live out here?"

"Your parents hooked me up with a copy of that invention that's probably sitting in your pocket. And some forged identity."

I tried to smile. "There's nothing cool about being out here when your entire life background is in a different universe. You should see my parents trying to pretend to live abroad."

"I know. They've been coming to visit you like normal. My parents are wondering about you as well. They still think you're a girl."

We both laughed. Try explaining that Chieri's treasured world actually exists in another universe and time!

However, behind the laughter was yet another pain. Cheiri was secretly hurting from the fact that she was too late to tell me. She still loved me, and she was hoping that I'd return from this place and time to be with her.

My telepathy could easily read the truth.

Haruna:

Yuki returned to school grounds later that evening. He left me a message wondering where I was, but I already returned to the dormitory. I wanted him to have as much time and space to himself, because there was no telling what was going on.

"I'm surprised you came back to the dorms tonight," Yue remarked as she settled into her bed. "You could have stayed at Evangeline's and waited for him."

Laying back in my own bed, I shook my head. "We're not married yet, and he needs to take care of whatever's going on between him and her on his own."

It's secretly my problem too. She could still be in love with him if she had to show up like this. Even if Yuki and I are already engaged and in love.

I texted him back saying that I'm staying in my dorm room. To give him some space. A meeting with someone like that was already too much.

Haruna has a lot on her mind other than that.

I didn't show up to class until Asuna got there, and we were hella late. Actually, we both ran together. Much to the shock from the entire class.

Although, I silently went to my seat and simply sat there. Didn't turn around and acknowledge Yuki at all. Even though we were out to the entire class.

We had to talk, but I needed some time and space away from others to do that. Bringing up what I wanted to talk about was not a subject to be spewed out to our classmates. Especially Kazumi, who kept on looking back at us along with various other classmates.

Come on Haru! Get your act together! He still wants to be with you! Ugh!

I led him to the roof. The same one where that janitor's closet was. Where lunch had become that one session.

"Chieri is a hybrid-human now," Yuki told me, crossing his arms. "I can sense that she still has feelings for me, but she never mentioned it. Not once throughout our whole dinner together last night."

Also crossing my arms, I didn't face him. "I'm not concerned about that. Yuki, do you still love her?"

"Haru, you already know that I'm moved on from that."

"But the way we last had sex. It seemed desperate. I could feel it as you and I engaged in it. Like you needed to get your mind off something."

I couldn't read his mind. Not like he could read mine. He knew everything that crossed my mind when we were together, and he was able to tell what I wanted and quickly respond to it.

"Yuki, again, do you still love her? Do you still want to be with her?"

"No. She left me a letter that convinced me she was dead. Remember? There's no way I could fall for her the way I did back then. Ever."

My eyes widened in surprise as I turned to him. "You're not doing this because you can read my mind. Are you? Because, I'm not going to…"

He grabbed me and drew his face up against mine. His lips passionately locked with mine, and he grabbed my free hand and moved it to his chest. Over his heart, and I could feel it beating heavily.