Chapter 20.
Till Sundown'
Part 2.
"Mhmm," a twelve year old Asami grunts as she struggles to tie the back-strings of her complicated, and not to mention glittery, performing outfit. Glancing at the clock, the young girl quickly notices that her time was ticking, as she was set to perform in about twenty minutes.
Still unable to tie the flimsy pieces of string, Asami anxiously looks around the dressing room in hopes that her mother, who had created the silver sequined outfit, would magically appear out of nowhere.
Realizing she was all by herself, Asami pokes her head out the door in an effort to find someone who'd be able to help her out. But sadly enough, there was no one around. That's because by now, everyone was probably already backstage getting ready for their own performances.
Reluctantly stepping out of the dressing trailer, Asami decides that she had no other option than to look for her mother.
Above her, the sky now had a mixture of both purple and pink hues, a sign that the show was going to begin soon. Carefully stepping around the uneven wet patches of grass, Asami slowly walks around the circus field, in search of her mother.
And as she strays further from her trailer, the sound of the circus music begins to grow fainter, while the chirps of crickets grow louder.
"Mom," Asami calls out, peeping into the windows of different trailers, wondering where she could possibly be. By now, there was only about fifteen minutes left till showtime, and for some odd reason, her mother was nowhere to be found. Something which was unusual to say the least, especially considering that the woman always liked to be punctual.
In fact, now that she thought about it, her mother had left the dressing room quite abruptly.
'Maybe she went to go get a snack,' the young girl tries to reason with herself, as her mother occasionally liked to grab dessert from the food station before a show. Then again, whenever she did, she'd always go back to the hair and makeup trailer in order to help Asami get ready. It was why Asami originally didn't question her mother's sudden departure.
Exhaling deeply, Asami ultimately decides that perhaps, she was simply better off changing into a different outfit. Yeah, her mother would probably get mad at her for not coordinating with the rest of the circus cast, but it wasn't her fault that she was nowhere to be found! Nor was it her fault that she had been left with such a complicated outfit. Plus, it wasn't like she didn't attempt to put it on, she just couldn't! Not without help at least….
Ready to walk back to her trailer, Asami mentally prepares the excuses she'd give, 'I tried looking for you, but you were absolutely nowhere to be found mom!'
The redhead shakes her head, 'Too aggressive,' she notes, as she knew her mother would only scold her for being so brash. Placing a finger to her chin, Asami slowly begins to walk back, 'Maybe I should—'
"Why? Just why?" someone says from the trailer behind Asami, a small crack of light appearing from it.
Immediately recognizing the voice, Asami smiles, "Mom," she excitedly whispers under her breath, knowing she was now saved from a harsh lecture. Running towards the trailer door, the young girl prepares to eagerly burst in. That is until…
"You wouldn't get it Misaki, you just wouldn't," a second, and not to mention unfamiliar, voice is heard from behind the door.
Freezing in her tracks, Asami eyes widen as she recognizes the voice to be that of a young man.
And it's at this person's words that her mother seemingly explodes, "What's there not to get? She was my best friend! You think I don't wish things could've gone more differently! You think," Misaki takes a deep breath in, trying her best to calm herself down, "You think I don't regret everything that happened."
"..."
Silence.
Meanwhile, Asami inches closer to the door, trying to get a better listen into the conversation while thinking to herself, 'Who is it behind that door? And just what kind of relationship do they have with my mother?"
"You know he's been calling me for the past few months, I'm assuming since this whole thing started. Of course, I just ignored each and every call, told my husband that it was just some annoying telemarketer," Misaki sardonically chuckles before continuing, "But then one day, for some odd reason, I picked it up…."
"He said he needed my help and that I was the only person who could talk some sense into you…" she says, "And at first I didn't believe it, but now… now I don't know what to say!" Asami hears her mother's voice shake, almost as if she was on the verge of crying, something which the young girl had never heard in her entire life.
"You're just like him, you know that?….I should've known better than to think you actually wanted to see us," the person mutters before continuing with something else, "He misses you, you know?"
This time, Misaki remains silent.
"...Dad," the person adds, wanting to make sure she understood who he was referring to, "I know he's always had a tough way of showing it, but he wants us to all be a family again…"
Asami feels her heart drop, 'Wait…' she thinks to herself, trying to make sense of the person's statement.
Misaki scoffs, knowing that it was the desire of the person in front of her, not her father's, "I find that hard to believe."
"Don't you think it's time to hash out everything? I mean, there's no better time for it than now! You have a family of your own, and so do I! And I'm sure your daughter would love to meet—"
"There is nothing to hash," Misaki interrupts, not wanting to entertain the person's foolish idea, "Didn't you just hear me? Father and I are on speaking terms. Isn't that enough for you? Isn't that enough for everyone?" she states with a sour tone.
Meanwhile, whoever she was speaking to sighs, "Look, what I'm saying is … we can all be a family again. A real family," Asami hears the sincerity in their voice, almost as if they were pleading with her mother. It's enough to make her own heart twist.
"I already have my family here," Misaki coldly says, shocking the young, red headed girl behind the cracked door.
"And I'm—we're," Misaki quickly corrects herself, "We're happy here. She's happy here."
"No, you're hiding her," is what the person calmly says in return, "You're hiding her from the family she deserves to have. You're hiding her from her true pot—"
"I'm protecting her," Misaki corrects them, "Just like how I'm trying to protect you."
"I don't need your protection, and I'm sure she doesn't need it either. Anyways, if this is all you needed me for, then I should get going. You're already running late as it is and well, you know how newborns can be," the person sighs, "They need all the sleep they can get."
Eyes widening, Asami immediately begins to panic when she hears the person's footsteps coming closer towards the door, finding herself unsure of what to do, or where to run. But luckily, before she can throw herself off the rail of the trailer, her mother stops the person by presumably grabbing their hand.
"Will you just listen to me!?" she desperately pleads with them, having reached her limit.
But it seems like whoever she was talking to, had reached theirs as well, "Why should I? You said it yourself, you have your family here! Who am I to stop you from believing that?" they say, still hurt by the woman's harsh words, "I have my family, and you have yours."
"But—"
"But what? What am I then, huh? Because clearly, as long as I'm not a part of the circus, I'm nothing to you."
"That's not true," Misaki says, teeth gritted not out of anger, but despair.
"Isn't it?" the person retorts, "I mean even now, the only reason you called wasn't because dad asked you to. It's because you see us as a potential nuisance, just like you always have."
"W-What?" she asks in disbelief.
"You see us a problem that you need to fix now before it can cause any future problems for you…. before it pops this fantasy of a bubble you're living in," they explain, and all it takes is a simple twitch of the brow for them to confirm that deep down, Misaki knew they were right. That no matter how much she tried to deny it, there was some truth in their words.
Of course, she still tries anyway, refusing to accept their words, "N-No—"
"It's okay Misaki, I understand," the person's tone returns to its original calm demeanor, almost as if being angry was something out of character for them.
"Back then I didn't understand why, but now…." the young man's voice softens, "... now that I have a child of my own," he says the words with such sincerity, that only a fool would question the love he had for his child, "...I do."
"And though I may not agree with your beliefs, I understand now that this is your dream life, so who am I to try and take that away from you?..."
"And why are you trying to take mine away from me?" is the unspoken question.
And as she closes her eyes, the tears that had been clinging onto Misaki's eyelashes fall, "You don't get it, you just don't," she grips onto the counter next to her in anguish, almost as if she was having an internal battle with herself.
"What's there not to get?" he repeats her question from earlier. The only difference was that there was no anger in his voice. If anything, he seemed quite … sad.
"I'm not doing this because you're a nuisance, nor am I doing this because dad asked me to…." Misaki wipes any remaining tears in her eyes, before finally looking up once more.
"I'm doing this because you're my little brother," her voice breaks, "And I'm your big sister...I'll always be your big sister," she repeats, "Meaning it's my responsibility to look after you!"
And it's at her mother's words that Asami lets out a tiny, accidental gasp. Quickly covering her mouth with her hand, Asami hears the room go dead silent. Thinking she'd been caught, Asami holds her breath as she expects the worst.
But it seemed that fate was somehow on the young girl's side, as Misaki's judgement was currently clouded by the wave of emotions she was feeling. Excusing the sound to be some kind of squeak from the trailer, Misaki and her brother resume with their argument.
"Look, I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you when you needed me most, but I'm here now," Misaki says with a shaky voice while trying her best to keep a strong front, "And I'm telling you to think."
"Think about what?"
"About what you're doing … about what you've done!" she yells, "It's wrong! Can't you see that?"
His silence speaks volumes.
"You'll die if you stay with her."
She says it, not as an opinion, but as a fact. Meanwhile...
"Welcome to the amazing Kiyoshi Circus!"
"Oh no," Asami quietly whispers to herself as she hears the announcement from afar, knowing that she had to get going. Tempted to stay just a bit longer, the young girl shakes her head before preparing to make her way to the main stage, 'I just can't believe mom has a young—"
Asami's thoughts are put to a sudden halt when she feels a sudden tug at her outfit. Looking down at the floor, the young girl feels nothing but panic flow through her veins, 'No, no, no!' she gulps, for the loose strings of her outfit were somehow stuck to not only to the rail of the trailer, but the stairs as well.
Attempting to gently tug at the pieces, Asami's heart begins to race as the thought of getting caught begins to slowly crawl into her mind, "Come on," she frantically says to herself, the grip of the stairs making it hard for her to move.
With her back facing the door, Asami tries to untangle the pieces of string, internally cursing her mother for making her such a complicated outfit. Fingers now clammy, Asami uses one hand to tightly hold onto the rail while the other focuses on pulling.
At the same time, the argument inside continues.
"You left to create your own family, why can't I?"
Misaki runs her hands through her hair, "Because what you have isn't a real family! Don't you understand that, J—"
"AH!"
Asami's nervous state of mind causes her to carelessly tug at the strings too hard. As a result, her body gets pushed back due to the sheer amount of force used. A back which had been facing the door of the trailer….
With her pants now ripped, the small, red headed girl hesitantly looks up as she feels the burning stare of her mother. Beside her, stood a tall, handsome man wearing a burgundy logoed baseball cap and glasses, who physically looked almost nothing like her.
"Young lady, what are you doing here? You should be at the show right now!" Misaki quickly questions her daughter, a mixture of both anger and shock now on her face.
Getting up from the floor, the young girl tries to explain,"I-I'm sorry mom, i-it's just—" she continues to stutter, anxiously blinking as she tries to form the correct sentence.
Crouching down, the young man grabs the ripped piece of cloth from the floor before handing it back to Asami, "You needed help putting this on," he says for her, giving her a small, close eyed-smile.
And though originally she thought the young man and her mother looked nothing alike, it wasn't until he gave her that distinct smile, that Asami could finally see the clear resemblance between the two.
Staring at him with wide eyes, the young girl shyly nods before looking back at her mother, "I-I needed help tying my outfit and well …" she gulps before continuing, "I c-couldn't find you so I came looking for you."
Misaki, who now had a million different things running through her head, pinches the bridge of her nose.
"She's gotten big," the handsome man comments, causing Asami to blink in surprise. Noticing the young girl's reaction, he then sticks out his hand for her to shake.
"You must be Asami," he says, chuckling at the girl's timidness, "We've met before you know? I'm not sure if you remember because you were…" he makes a straight line with his finger, hovering it just a few inches above her waist, "this small."
"But I'm your uncle, J—"
"Asami," Misaki suddenly interrupts, her cold tone from earlier having returned, "Go back to the dressing room, I'll help you over there," she says, an empty look now in her eyes.
"B-But—" Asami looks at her uncle as if to ask for help. Though she didn't recognize the man, for some odd reason, she knew that she could trust him.
"Misaki," he gives his sister a disappointed look. One that said, "Why?"
Noticing her daughter's hesitance, Misaki clenches her jaw, "I said, go to the dressing room …..now."
Feeling a chill run down her spine, Asami hesitantly pulls away the hand that was about to shake her uncle's, "I-I'm sorry," she whispers while bowing, frantically stepping back as she reaches for the door.
"Asami," her uncle tries to reach out to her, but by then it was too late, for she was already out the door.
Shutting the door behind her, Asami tries to process everything that just happened, her mind currently feeling as if it were racing at a hundred miles per hour. Trying to catch her breath, Asami quickly reminds herself that she needed to get back to her dressing room.
'I still can't believe it...' Asami thinks to herself while going down the small set of trailer stairs, 'Mom really has a brother… I have an uncle….' a small smile begins to form on the young girl's face….
"And that's my family tree!" Yasu exclaims, awkward claps immediately following as she makes her way back to her seat.
Mrs. Hanako, Yasu's and Asami's 6th grade history teacher, pushes her reading glasses up while scoring the purple-haired girl's presentation, "Nice…" she hums before looking down her list.
"Okay, who's next," she runs her index finger down the paper, "Asami, you're up," she gives the young girl a smile, already having her expectations high. After all, she was an A plus student.
Placing her poster board on the stand, Asami awkwardly fiddles with her fingers before beginning her presentation, "So… this is my family tree," she starts off with, internally squirming when she sees the confused looks on everyone's faces.
Feeling her face get red, Asami continues by pointing at her parents, "So here we have my parents, Misaki and Tsuyoshi. They got married around fifteen years ago," she says before pointing at the person above her dad, "Lousy Lou, the ringmaster of the circus, took my dad in when he was around fifteen."
The sound of whispers begin to fill the room, causing Mrs. Hanako to frown, "Everybody, quiet down, now," she says with a stern voice, motioning to Asami to continue.
"My dad has a lot of siblings, but I narrowed it down to just three," Asami points at the three pictures beside her dad, "So here we have Pepper, who's a unicyclist for the circus. She's known my dad since she was six, so she's sorta like my aunt. Jumbo Jun here can walk on—"
"Wait," Mrs. Hanako furrows her brows in genuine confusion, "They're not actually related?" she asks.
"Well no, but—"
"Asami, the project was supposed to be on actual family, not circus family," she says, "How about we move on to your mother's side instead…" a subtle look of disappointment appears on her face when she sees the singular line pointing from her mother's picture to the circus.
"My mom said she considers the circus to be her family as well…" Asami quietly whispers, avoiding eye contact by looking down at the floor below her.
Sighing, Mrs. Hanako writes something down on Asami's grading sheet, "I see," she feigns a gentle smile, "My apologies, you may continue," she says, but by then it was too late, for the whispers were at their peak.
Awkwardly coughing, Asami swiftly finishes her presentation, receiving even fewer claps than her best friend. Walking back to her seat, Asami hears someone murmur "Circus freak," to their friend.
Biting her tongue, the young girl chooses to ignore the comment.
"Well that was messed up," Yasu whispers to Asami while the next presenter makes their way to the front, "I thought you told Mrs. Hanako about your dad being you know…"
"Orphaned," Asami says before sighing, "I didn't want to."
"Why?"
The eleven year old sighs, "Because, I didn't want to force my dad to talk about the accident," Asami explains, "Especially not for some bogus school project."
"And your mom? I thought you finally asked her about her side?"
Asami shakes her head in annoyance, recalling her mother's distinct attitude, "She just shrugged me off, said that she considered the circus her family, and that was that."
Yasu frowns, "Oh…"
"Yeah, oh," Asami mockingly says before crossing her arms, "Tch, and not to mention she made me do the dishes after, as if I struck some kind of nerve for her."
"I'm sorry," Yasu apologizes, despite having absolutely nothing to apologize for.
Asami softly chuckles, "It's fine. Like I said, it's just a bogus school project…" the young girl rests her head on the palm of her hand, while longingly staring out the school window, wondering what it was like to have a real family.
With a wide grin now on her face, Asami covers her mouth with her hand as she tries not to squeal.
Though she considered the people at the circus to be just like family, for Asami, the thought of having a real family member was … exciting.
That's because to her, it meant having something, no, someone outside of the circus to talk to and could teach her things that didn't have to do with the spectacularness of a show.
'I even have a grandpa!' Asami's eyes glimmer, recalling Yasu's excitement whenever talking about her own grandparents, something Asami always wondered what it was like having … till now.
Preparing to run back to her trailer, Asami thinks about the many questions she was going to ask her mother later, 'What's his name? How old is he? Why didn't you tell—"
"Hmmhmmhmm…."
Asami suddenly stops in her tracks, goosebumps crawling onto her skin as the cold breeze of the night reaches into her bones. Above her, the full moon timidly peaks out of the gloomy, hazy blue sky.
"Hmmmhmmm…."
'Go back to the dressing room,' her mother's words repeat in her mind, as if warning her not to follow her curiosity. But all she could think about was where the humming sound was coming from. It was comforting in a sense, almost like the gentle spirit of a mother.
Turning around, Asami cautiously begins to follow the soft sound, any background noise having subconsciously been muted.
"Hmmm…"
With every step she takes, the sound gets closer and closer. Closing her eyes, the young girl relishes each melody, her long locks of hair blowing against the wind. And when she finally opens her eyes, in front of her sits a woman on an old wooden bench, cradling a baby in her arms as she soothes it to sleep.
Realizing this was her final opportunity to turn back around and head to the trailer, Asami takes in a deep breath before ultimately deciding to walk towards the woman.
"Hmmhmhmm…"
The humming comes to a sudden stop. That's because by then, Asami had gently tapped the woman on the shoulder, informing her of her presence … or so she thought.
Gently rocking back and forth, the woman seems to ignore Asami, immediately making the young girl's heart twist in sadness. Quietly apologizing, the young girl bows as she prepares to leave. That is until...
"What's there to be sorry about?" the woman looks up, the shadow of her hair no longer covering her face.
Jumping in surprise, the young girl quickly begins to apologize, fearful that she may have offended the woman, "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to—"
"It's okay , I'm used to it," the woman softly chuckles, offering Asami a small, sincere smile.
"O-Oh," Asami laughs, immediately covering her mouth when she realizes how loud she's being, almost forgetting that there was a baby in her arms, "Sorry," she whispers.
Smiling to herself, the woman playfully shakes her head before saying, "Come, sit," to Asami, scooting as she makes space for the young girl.
Peaking over to the baby, Asami smiles when she sees how peaceful they look, "Is it um ...a boy? Or a girl?" she hesitantly asks, curious to know the gender of the baby.
"A boy," the woman answers simply, "A beautiful, beautiful boy."
Silence follows.
"So what brings you here?" the woman decides to ask a question of her own.
"I heard you humming and well … it sounded really nice," the girl says, embarrassed by her own answer, "Sorta reminded me of my mom," she nervously laughs, once again forgetting that she needed to be quiet. Looking down at the ground in shame, Asami scratches the back of her neck.
The woman chuckles once more, "I guess it's a motherly thing, Asami."
Looking back up in shock, Asami recollects a once forgotten memory…
"Congratulations!"
A four year old Asami hides behind the pillar of her kitchen, as she watches her mother excitedly hug a woman.
"God, I'm so happy for you two!"
Asami watches the woman her mother was talking to place a hand onto her flat stomach, softly rubbing it as she fights back tears, "It's really happening," she says.
"A-A-ACHOO!"
Asami covers her mouth with her hand as she knows her hiding spot has been compromised. Attempting to remain completely still, she gulps when she hears footsteps coming towards her.
Slowly looking past the pillar, Asami nervously smiles when she sees her mother with a wide grin on her face.
"I thought little miss cranky was taking a nap!" Misaki playfully grabs her daughter by the waist before tickling her.
With her face now red, Asami continues to giggle even when she's placed back onto the ground, "Again, again, again!"
"First you have to introduce yourself to my friend," Misaki says, leading Asami to the front of the kitchen.
From there, the woman who her mother had been speaking to, crouches down to Asami's level, "Asayme, correct?"
The young girl shakes her head, "A-sa-mi," she corrects her, pouting in the process.
The woman laughs, "Ah, I'm sorry. A-sa-mi, Asami," she repeats after her, but for some reason, she still used a bit of an accent when saying it, "I really like that name…"
"I know you," Asami says, having recognized the woman's voice, "You're my mom's friend…"
"So you do remember me…" the woman quietly whispers, almost as if she was shocked herself. A certain glint then appears in her eyes as she gives the young girl a small nod of confirmation.
"You were pregnant back then too!" Asami smiles as she begins to ramble, "My mom seemed so excited for you! So how's the kid? Are they at the show right now? I'm sure they're going to love it!" she grins, beginning to make sense of everything. The reason the woman was outside right now was because the circus was probably too loud for her baby.
"Did you end up having a—"
"Asami," the woman interrupts her, feigning a small, sad smile, "The baby…" her eyes begin to water, "The baby didn't make it," she whispers, trying her best not to cry.
"W-What?" Asami goes pale, "What do you mean … didn't make it?"
The woman remains silent.
Realizing what her words meant, a single tear rolls down Asami's cheek, "I'm so sorry. I-I didn't know!" she begs for forgiveness, cursing herself for being so intrusive.
"Don't cry Asami," the woman surprisingly comforts her, "A strong, special girl like you should never cry," she looks up at the moon, smiling at its luminescence.
"What happened back then wasn't the first, nor the last," she pauses, letting her words sink in, "But if there's one thing I've learned, it's that whatever is meant to be will happen, one way or another," she says before looking back at Asami, "Sometimes it just takes a bit of sacrifice to get there."
Asami blinks at the woman in surprise.
Looking down at her child, the woman continues to rock him back and forth, "For that reason, I call him my miracle baby," she softly outlines the features of his face with her finger, "Would you like to hold him?" she takes the young girl by surprise.
Eyes widened, Asami nervously scratches her neck, "Oh I don't know… I've never held a baby before, so I don't know if I can—"
"Of course you can!" the woman frowns, "You're family."
The girl raises a brow, "Huh?"
But before she can bother pressing for an answer, the woman was already handing her baby off, "Use this hand to hold him from here," she guides Asami's right arm, helping her get into proper holding position, "And that hand to support him from there."
Asami timidly follows her instructions, quietly gulping when she feels the newly added weight in her arms.
"Don't be nervous," the woman laughs, "Trust me, the fact that he's not crying right now tells me that he really likes you."
Looking down at the baby, Asami suddenly feels her heart warm, for the goosebumps that had been prickled onto her skin were no longer there, "He's so cute," Asami whispers to herself, softly smiling as she studies his features.
And perhaps it was because she had never held a baby before in her life, but for some reason, Asami found herself getting emotional.
"Hi," she quietly talks to the baby, "My name's Asami," she introduces herself, acting as if he could understand her, "What's your n—"
BANG. BANG.
Fireworks begin to loudly pop into the sky, a spectacular ray of colors then appearing in the night sky, a sign that the circus show was beginning.
"WAH! WAH!"
The baby in Asami's arms begins to hysterically cry, the loud popping sound of the fireworks causing him to wake up in distress.
Panicking, Asami's own breathing pattern becomes erratic as she cradles the crying baby in her arms, having no rhythm at all, "Help me," she says, motioning to the woman to grab him.
"Calm down," the woman says, not to him, but to Asami, her tone reminding the young girl of the strict teacher's back at school. In fact, her whole demeanor had now changed, having gone from gentle to apathetic. It was almost as if she was … annoyed … at Asami's state of panic.
"B-But—"
"Sway left to right … gently," the woman adds, motioning to Asami to follow her rhythm.
Slowly, but surely, the girl does as told.
"Now start talking to him just like you were before. Just that this time, you need to tell him that everything's going to be okay," the woman sees the look of confusion on Asami's face, "He may not understand your words, but he'll understand the sincerity."
Exhaling deeply, Asami quietly nods before speaking, "Shh, you're going to be okay," she hesitantly whispers, feeling a bit silly, "You're going to be okay because…" Asami tries to think of something else to say, smiling when she does, "You're going to be okay because I'm here."
"I'm here to protect you," Asami gently runs a hand through the baby's hair, its cries growing fainter by the second. Soon enough, he was quiet once more, his eyes now open as he stared at the young girl hovering above him, almost as if studying her appearance.
Proud of herself, Asami continues to cradle the baby as she softly places a finger onto his cheek.
"Aren't you a fast learner," the woman chuckles, running a hand through her short strands of hair.
"Mm," Asami hums, her complete attention now on the baby.
"Mind if I can hold him again?" the woman asks.
"O-Oh yeah, sorry," Asami timidly laughs, realizing how selfish she was being. Handing over the baby back to her, Asami gets up from the bench, realizing she still needed to get back to her dressing trailer.
"I should get going, my mom is going to kill me if—"
"Asami?"
The young girl turns around to see her mother standing there in complete shock, behind her stood her uncle. Soon enough, she felt two arms wrap around her, pulling her into a tight hug.
"Oh my God!" her mom breathes heavily, almost as if she were out of breath, "Are you okay?" she pulls away, frantically checking Asami for any injuries.
Asami frowns, "Of course I am, why wouldn't I be?" she quietly asks, confused as to why her mother was in such a state of panic.
"I was looking everywhere for you! I thought I told you to go back to the dressing room! Why didn't you listen to me?!" Misaki grabs Asami by the wrists, trying her best to hide her anger.
"I'm sorry! I-I-," Asami stares into her mother's pitch black eyes, for the first time in her life feeling genuinely scared of her, "You're hurting me," she whispers.
Immediately pulling away, Misaki sees the red marks on her wrist, a wave of guilt quickly washing over her, "I-I'm sorry Asami," she stutters in disbelief, shocked by her own actions.
"Are you mad at me?" Asami quietly asks.
Misaki shakes her head, "No! No! Of course not. I was just worried," she grabs Asami by the hands, trying her best to keep her composure, "I was looking for you everywhere, and well … when I saw that you weren't in the dressing room, my mind just went haywire, you know?" her voice breaks, tears welling in her eyes as she takes a deep breath in.
"Asami, start walking to the dressing room, okay? I need to say goodbye to my friend, so I'll meet you over there in just a bit," Misaki calmly instructs, giving her daughter a small, closed eyed smile.
Hesitantly nodding, Asami begins to walk to the trailer, but not before hearing her uncle call out to his sister,
"Misaki," he says, fearing that she was going to do something.
But all Misaki does is raise a gentle hand before standing in front of the short-haired woman, whispering something that only they could hear.
Turning one last time, Asami feels a chill run down her spine when she meets the calm, eerie smile of the woman she had just befriended minutes ago.
"Well that's not a very nice thing to say now is it, sister-in-law?"
GASP.
Asami suddenly lurches forward, clutching onto her stomach as she coughs up any remaining water in her lungs. Around her, the sound of gasps and murmurs could be heard, things like, "She's alive," being mumbled all around her.
Heart still thumping, Asami finds herself confused as to where she was, and how exactly she got there.
With her vision still blurry, the red head feels someone roughly tug at her hand, causing her to instinctively swing at them.
"Asami, it's me!" a familiar voice tries to get her to calm down, but sadly, the red head wasn't having it.
"I need you to calm down!" they demand, trying to grab her by the arms, "We're going to get you to a clinic, okay? But I need you to calm down!"
"A little help here!" a struggling voice says from afar.
Feeling as if her chest was burning, Asami frantically taps onto her chest, unable to voice out her pain.
"I know, I know, I know! You're burning up! The only way we can help is if you calm down!"
Becoming lightheaded, Asami somehow has enough rational to know that there was no point in fighting. So instead, she grabs whoever this person is by the collar of their shirt, "Where's…." her throat burns with every sound she makes, "Satoru."
"Gojou, don't!" the person yells, as Asami then gets placed onto a stretcher.
"Asami!"
She hears him. A confirmation that everything was going to be okay.
Allowing herself to finally relax, Asami feels an oxygen mask get placed over the lower part of her face. From there, everything becomes a big old blur. All she knows is that the last thing she sees before blacking out is …
"Welcome to Seikatsu Village."
Meanwhile, 10 Minutes Earlier ….
"Damn it, come on Asami," Naomi breathes into the young girl's mouth, refusing to give up as she waits for the much-needed defibrillator.
Continuing to press onto her chest, Naomi glances at the white-haired boy, who was currently staring off into the sunset, nothing but emptiness in his eyes.
Deep down, Naomi knew that the chances Asami would wake up were now at an all time low. And even if she did, the chances of her waking up without some kind of internal brain damage were even lower. And though Naomi wasn't one to believe in medical miracles, she knew it was what they needed at this point.
"I have it! I have it! I have it!" Nikushimi comes running to his mother, quickly handing her the defibrillator as the villagers follow him from behind.
Soon enough, each and every medically trained professional from the village was surrounding the young girl, helping in any way they could.
Grabbing the paddles, Naomi prepares to shock the girl until she feels someone place a hand on top of her shoulder, "Let me," the woman looks to see her husband, who was the head doctor of the village.
Due to her own personal relationship with the girl, Naomi finds herself hesitating for a second, before ultimately handing the paddles to him, "Don't let her die," she whispers to him before glancing back at Satoru, "Please."
Giving his wife a sympathetic look, Toshio nods before continuing with the procedure.
And as the intervals of shock went on, so did the lack of response, for any signs of life in the girl were now gone. Knowing what was coming next, Naomi grabs her son by the hand and quickly leads him to the shore of the lake before running back to the girl, as she didn't want him witnessing …. it.
"Just stay here!" she instructs.
"Is she going to be okay?" Nikushimi asks, but by then his mother was already running back.
In front of him sat Satoru, who currently felt numb to everything.
'Asami is dead. Asami is dead…' Satoru closes his eyes, "Asami is dead," he whispers to himself, forcing himself to come to terms with everything.
Dead. Dead. Dead.
Running a hand through his hair, Satoru wants nothing more than to turn back time…
Because where the fuck did everything go wrong?
'You shouldn't have let her go, you shouldn't have let her go, you shouldn't have—'
"Time of death—"
Satoru lets out a tiny chuckle, his head pounding as everything goes mute, any sign of her cursed energy was now gone.
But what he didn't know was that a miracle would soon happen, for the young boy behind him, had gotten a spur of the moment idea. Running over to his mom, Nikushimi whispers something to her, causing her to stare at him in worry.
Contemplating with herself for a few seconds, Naomi ultimately nods before taking over compressions for the young girl, making herself appear as someone in denial.
Toshio stares at his wife in shock, "Naomi, what are you doing? She's—"
Naomi stares at him before glancing at her son, hoping he somehow understood her message.
And for a tiny second, Toshio is unable to put the pieces to the puzzle together, as he still didn't know that his son was able to control his …. abilities. But somehow when he finally does, the plan quickly goes into action.
Creating a distraction for the surrounding villagers, Toshio motions at them to step back, purposely blocking the young girl's foot from their line of sight.
Meanwhile, Nikushimi prepares to put on the act of a lifetime.
"A-Asami-san!" he begins to cry, making it known that he knew the girl.
"Nikushimi, step back!" his father "yells" at him, but the boy simply ignores him, reaching out for his loved one. And as he reaches out for her, he manages to grab her by the foot, quickly attempting to absorb as much of the injury as he could. Enough to get her heart started again.
'I'm sorry to say this, but your daughter is dead,' Satoru begins to picture the dreaded conversation, knowing he was on the verge of a mental breakdown.
'Your daughter is dead because—'
Satoru suddenly looks up from the ground, a spark of Asami's cursed energy reappearing. Getting off the ground, Satoru stares at the scene in front of him in complete shock. The girl who had just been declared dead three minutes ago, was now alive.
"She's alive!" someone gasps, and soon the overwhelming power of Asami's cursed energy reappears.
Coughing up the remnants of water in her lungs, the red headed girl swings at her saviors as she begins to frantically look around.
Still in a state of shock, Satoru slowly begins to walk over to her, "A-Asami?" he says to himself, convinced that he was seeing things.
"I need you to calm down!" he hears Naomi shout at the girl, causing him to instinctively run towards her.
But as he's about to make it to her, a hand suddenly stops him, "Sir, you need to step back," the stranger instructs him, only further angering the boy.
Grabbing the hand on his chest, Satoru sends the man a death glare as he prepares to twist it, "What did you just say to me?"
"A little help here!"
And then she calls for him….
Asami calls for him.
"Where's … Satoru?"
He quickly pushes past the man, but is only met with several others, 'Use your infinity Satoru, use your infinity,' is what his subconscious tells him, 'No! If you use it, you expose yourself to these villagers and the efforts of this whole mission goes to waste!' is what his rationale tells him.
"Gojou, no!" is what Naomi shouts from afar, almost as if she were able to read his mind.
Tightening his fists, Satoru exhales deeply before shouting, "Asami!" his way of telling her that he was still with her, every step of the way.
Friday.
December 6, 2005.
2:00 AM
"Mmm," Asami groggily begins to wake up, a dim light slowly coming into focus.
POP!
She winces, her eardrums having finally gotten rid of all the water.
'Where the hell am I?' she thinks to herself, now able to hear the sound of an old cartoon playing in the background.
Attempting to rub her eyes, Asami frowns when she feels nothing but soreness. Feeling a squeeze at her hand, Asami frowns, wondering who the hell was beside her. That is until …
"You're up," Satoru hovers over her, a small smile of disbelief on his face, "The brat really did it," he whispers to himself, observing Asami as she musters enough strength to push herself up into an upright position.
"How are you feeling?" he asks.
"Go—" the red head immediately clutches at her throat, still feeling as if her throat was on fire.
"My bad! I forgot to mention, but Dr. Know-it-All said that all the water that went down your throat may have caused inflammation, meaning you may feel extreme soreness for a day or two when it comes to talking," Satoru explains, recalling his long list of questions for the man.
Asami frowns, as she now has a million questions running through her mind, but no way to verbally ask them.
"So, how are you feeling?" Satoru asks again, and this time, Asami gives him a hesitant thumbs up.
"Good," Satoru smiles, as it meant that he could….
Asami's eyes widen, feeling a harsh, punishing squeeze to her nose. Pushing his hand off, Asami immediately sends him a glare, making a "What the fuck was that for?" motion.
"For stupidly fighting that woman! And for stupidly telling me to activate my cursed technique, knowing damn well you couldn't swim!" he gets up from the visitor's chair he'd been sitting on for several hours now, unable to contain his anger any longer.
Asami stubbornly pouts while crossing her arms, "Mm," she grunts, frustrated that she couldn't defend herself.
"I mean seriously, what the hell were you thinking?!" he throws his arms in the air, still frustrated at the whole situation.
Trying to think of a way to get her words out, Asami looks for a clipboard and pen. Sadly, there was nothing worth using around her, so instead she sticks her palm out and begins to write some letters using her index finger.
Looking down at her, Satoru tries to spell out the letters, "P-L-A-M?" he tilts his head in confusion.
Asami shakes her head, repeating the last letter.
"N," he corrects himself, "Plan? It was a part of the plan?" he asks, his blood beginning to boil even more, "Are you serious? Why the fuck would you plan something like that? What if I didn't get you on time? Then what?—"
"MM," Asami interrupts him, shaking her head as she makes an "X" motion with her forearms.
"Huh?"
Asami respells "Plan" on her hand before continuously motioning an "X".
"So … it wasn't a part of the plan?" he asks, and the girl quickly nods.
From there, she uses dramatic, and not to mention childish, motions to explain what happened.
"You were originally on the dock?" Satoru sees her nod, somehow able to understand her charades, "And Dalma was able to somehow climb back up and get a hold on you?"
Asami frantically nods, demonstrating the act by making an ugly face, and pretending to climb out of something.
"She then pulled you and you both ended up being underwater?"
The red head gives him a thumbs up as she dramatically places her hands onto her throat, symbolizing her drowning experience.
Satoru stares at her suspiciously, carefully studying her features for any signs of lying.
"Tch," he huffs before rolling his eyes, still upset at the girl.
Tapping on her hospital bed, Asami motions to Satoru to sit, having made some space for him.
Still standing, Satoru stubbornly avoids eye contact, instead choosing to focus on the cartoons he'd been watching, not caring for how silly he looked.
Sighing, Asami tugs at his sleeve, purposely annoying him.
"Will you stop that?" he scowls at her, tempted to turn on his infinity.
But she refuses to relent, giving him a face that said, "I could do this all day."
Tightening his fists in annoyance, Satoru mumbles sly curses to himself before sitting beside her, "You're an idiot," he mutters, "A big, stupid idiot," he says, causing Asami to quietly chuckle.
"This isn't funny Asami," Satoru huffs, his usual playful demeanor nowhere to be found, "You were dead, Asami! Like a flatline kind of dead! I mean, if it weren't for that twerp, you'd be be in a fucking casket right now," the veins on his neck begin to pop out as he finally explodes, "And I'd be stuck having to tell your parents that you died because of m—"
The sound of a scared whimper puts his rant to an immediate halt.
Feeling his heart sink, he sees the fearful look on Asami's face…
She was afraid of him.
"Look I'm sorry," he quickly apologizes, running a hand through his hair, "I was just…" he sighs, the words at the of his tongue, "I was…" he gulps.
"I was scared," he finally admits, "Really fucking scared," he exhales, feeling a weight come off his chest.
From there, any fear Asami felt was gone. That's because behind all the anger, she could see it.
She could see his genuine worry.
Soon enough, she found herself hugging him, not caring if he was still mad.
And slowly, but surely, his hands wrap themselves around her waist, tightly squeezing her as he whispers, "Don't do something like that again, you hear me?"
Asami nods before motioning to him that she wanted to sleep.
Preparing to get up from the bed, Satoru's shocked when he feels his sleeve get tugged on once more. Looking down, he sees Asami point at her shoulder.
Softly chuckling to himself, Satoru sits back down, allowing her to lean her head against his broad shoulder.
Tightly squeezing onto his arm, Asami quickly falls asleep with a smile on her face.
No longer fighting his need to sleep, Satoru decides to rest his head on top of hers, soft snores coming out his mouth as he falls into a deep slumber.
Stretching her arms over her head, Asami yawns before looking at the clock.
'1:00PM? And I'm waking up just now?' she frowns, not a fan of feeling like a couch potato.
Knock. Knock.
The door then opens.
"Oh, you're up!" Naomi walks in with a plate of food in her hands. Behind her, Satoru towers over her with a head full of wet hair, having presumably showered.
"We brought you food," Naomi states, placing the tray on the bedside table, "It's grilled eel and matcha green tea."
Asami immediately makes a disgusted face while shaking her head.
"She doesn't like green tea," Satoru says for her, plopping himself onto the visitor chair.
"Well, I'm glad to see you're feeling better," Naomi chuckles, as she's always said that a picky eater is a healthy eater.
Furrowing her brows, Asami uses her fingers to outline the room she was in before making an invisible question mark.
"Where are we?"
Asami nods.
"We're at the clinic," Satoru chuckles, confused by her question before realizing he forgot to mention…
"Oh and we're also in their house," he points at Naomi, causing Asami to point at her hospital bed and raise a brow.
"We live upstairs," Naomi explains, "This is our family clinic," she says.
Asami quickly makes an, "Ohh" face before taking a bite out of her grilled eel. With a mouthful of food, Asami decides to ask another question.
Sticking out her hand, she lowers it to about five feet above the ground, causing Naomi to look at her in confusion.
"She wants to know where the brat—"
"Mhmm," Asami grumpily coughs, making a "no" motion with her finger.
Satoru sighs, "She wants to know where Nikushimi is," he corrects himself, giving Asami a "There, you happy?" look.
Asami then gives him a pretentious thumbs up, proving that they truly were an old married couple.
"He, along with his father, are helping the villagers get ready for the festival," Naomi says, resulting in an eyebrow raise from the two.
"Festival?" the limitless user asks.
Naomi nods, "From tonight till Sunday. It's to celebrate the founding of the village." she explains, "There's a variety of games, food, and art for everyone to enjoy."
Grinning, Asami immediately turns to her partner-in-crime, causing him to give her an obnoxious look.
"Are you not seeing your current state?" he asks in a know-it-all tone.
Asami rolls her eyes, as if to say she doesn't care. She then makes a walking motion with her fingers.
"I know you," he scoffs, "You're going to want to do more than walking," he crosses his arms, already imagining her endless spending.
"Oh come on, aren't you two leaving tomorrow?" Naomi sides with Asami, "Considering all the bad that's happened, don't you think you two deserve a break?"
Asami childishly nods, making a pleading motion with her hands while forcing herself to get up from the bed, hiding the painful soreness she felt with a giant smile.
Pinching the bridge of his nose, Satoru sighs. Ever since this trip began, he's found himself in a constant uptight mood. Something which was way out of character for him.
'Since when did I become like Masamichi?' Satoru scoffs to himself, finally getting an inner look into the man's mind.
"Fine," he surrenders, a small smile appearing on his face when he sees Asami excitedly clap.
"Great!" Naomi exclaims, "I'll help you two prepare your kimonos—"
"Wait, what?" Satoru rudely interrupts, a frown now on his face.
"It's a bit of a formal event as well, meaning everyone has to be dressed in traditional attire," Naomi explains, causing Satoru's left eyebrow to twitch in annoyance.
It wasn't that he hated kimonos. In fact, he found hakamas and kimonos to be quite comfortable. He just hated when he had to wear one, as it reminded him of all those stupid clan rules he was forced to grow up with.
Deciding to bite his tongue just this once, Satoru exhales deeply before nodding. Turning to Asami, he chuckles when he sees the lopsided grin on her face, an idea suddenly coming to mind….
8:00PM
"There," Naomi claps her hands together, having finished tying the final piece to Asami's kimono. Motioning at Asami to turn around, Naomi smiles when she sees Asami's childlike reaction.
Carefully looking at herself up and down the mirror, the red headed girl traces the small details on her turquoise colored kimono, a color which never fails to make her hair pop.
"It's—" Asami squirms in pain, forgetting that she still couldn't talk for the day.
"What is it?" Naomi asks, curious to know what she had to say.
Pointing at her wrist, Asami makes the motion of time before gently tugging at the hem of her kimono.
"Ah I see," Naomi laughs, "It's been a long time since you've worn one," she guesses correctly.
Asami gives a thumbs up.
Meanwhile, the sound of footsteps could be heard coming down the hallway, "Mom, why is my room lock—"
"Asami!" Nikushimi immediately runs over to the girl when he spots her, hugging her out of sheer happiness, "You're okay!" he mumbles into the cloth of her kimono.
Ruffling the boy's hair, Asami smiles before pointing at her throat.
"Oh, you can't speak?" he asks, quickly understanding her message.
Asami shakes her head as a response.
"Gojou's currently in your room changing," Naomi answers her son's incomplete question, "I didn't think you and your father would be back so early," she says, originally expecting them to arrive by 9.
Nikushimi nonchalantly shrugs, "You know the villagers…." he tries his best to remain void of emotion, but Asami could see that deep down, he was hurt.
Knock. Knock.
"There you are," Mr. Sato enters the room, greeting his wife with a gentle kiss to the cheek.
"Ah Asami," Naomi urges Asami to come, "This is my husband, Toshio."
The young girl politely bows before shaking his hand.
"You must be Asami," he chuckles, her strawberry-red hair being quite the identifier, "You sure gave us a scare yesterday," he jokes around, flustering a crushing Asami.
'Wow is this man handsome…' she gulps, realizing she was childishly drooling over a married man.
"Did you pick up the girls?" Naomi asks, reminding Asami that not only was the man married, but he also had kids. One of them having saved her life.
Shaking her head, Asami chooses to mute out their conversation, motioning to Naomi that she was going to get going now.
"Have fun!" the older woman says before resuming the conversation with her husband.
Walking down the hallway, Asami prepares to pull out her phone to text Satoru that she was ready. But just as she was about to, the door to Nikushimi's room opens, revealing a formally dressed Satoru.
Smiling at the sight, Asami playfully looks at him up and down as a way to compliment him.
Going along with the joke, Satoru begins to pose in dramatic fashion, making the red head cover her mouth in laughter.
Walking over to her, this time Satoru gently stares at her, wondering how she managed to take his breath each and every time, "You look beautiful," he says, for some reason, feeling extra confident tonight.
Softly blushing, Asami gives him a small smile before offering her arm, the roles having been reversed this time around.
Preparing to intertwine his arm, Satoru grins, "Don't mind if I—"
Asami roughly tugs at his arm, taking him by complete surprise as she leads them into their night of fun.
11:45PM
Heaving for breath, Asami internally groans when she sees another hill in front of her.
"Oh come one! Don't tell me you're tired!" Satoru laughs at her from atop the hill, "You're the one who wanted to watch the fireworks so bad!"
Asami glares at him before making a mocking face, 'Only if we get the best view in town,' is what he said to her, something she painstakingly agreed to without fully understanding what he meant by that.
"And let me tell you! This view is …. AMAZING!" he shouts from the top, knowing no one could hear him.
Playfully rolling her eyes, Asami gives herself one final push before finally making it to the top, dramatically placing her hands on top of her knees as she attempts to catch her breath.
"Come on," Satoru offers his hand out to her.
Begrudgingly grabbing on, Asami allows him to lead her to the final spot, eyes widening when she sees the view in front of them, nothing but complete adoration appearing on her face.
"Worth it?" he asks.
Asami eagerly nods, as from where they stood, the lanterns of the village now looked like tiny little specks of stars.
"Wow indeed," he gently tugs at the sleeve of her kimono, motioning at her to sit down.
Leaning her head against his shoulder, the two teens enjoy a warm, comfortable silence as they admire the view in front of them. Soon, the villagers would be lighting up their fireworks, something Asami considered to be a rightful way to end their …. eventful… mission. To think this all came from her wanting to throw Satoru a—
Asami suddenly pulls away from Satoru's shoulder, immediately staring at him with confused eyes.
"What happened?" he stares at her in wonder.
Placing a hand to her heart, the red head begins to rapidly tap at her heart, thus symbolizing a thumping heart. She then points at his fingers, which were slightly trembling, almost as if he was …. nervous… about something.
Gulping, Satoru furrows his brows, pretending to act like he had no clue what she was talking about.
Placing her hands to her hips, Asami gives him a, "Don't lie," look. She then points at the village, as if to ask, "Is something wrong?"
Satoru immediately shakes his head, "No, no! The village is fine," he chuckles before biting his lip.
She then points at herself, as if to ask, "Did I do something wrong?"
This time, the teenage boy frantically shakes his head, "No! No! You've done nothing wrong!"
She then points at him, as if to ask, "Then what's wrong?"
Taking a deep breath in, Satoru closes his eyes as if he was having an internal debate with himself, "Well…." he hesitates to continue, knowing a possible rejection was now on the table.
"Okay," he exhales, "What if I told you, us coming here … wasn't a coincidence?"
Asami tilts her head in confusion, before air drawing a question mark.
"I've been wanting to talk to you about something important for quite a while now, and it seems like everytime I try to bring it up, something always seems to happen," he laughs, "I mean seriously! When you think about the stuff that's happened this year from the ball to this mission, you could really write a movie on it!" he begins to nervously ramble, causing Asami to quietly laugh.
Tugging at the sleeve of his kimono, Asami reminds him that he was going off topic.
"Right, right," he scratches the back of his neck, "As I was saying, since so much has happened this year, I sorta realized that every moment you, Suguru, Shoko, and I spend, really shouldn't be taken for granted..." he says, taking Asami by slight surprise.
Though he often acted like a selfish idiot, it was times like this that Asami was reminded that Satoru was just like everyone else. A human with genuine feelings.
In fact, she knew that him voicing his feelings like this, was something that very few people ever got to see or hear, as stuff like this didn't come easy to him.
"Especially with you," Satoru adds, "Because wow has a lot happened with you," he jokes around, making Asami playfully hit his shoulder.
"Anyways, I just thought that tonight would be the perfect night to finally get this out the way," his fingers begin to get clammy as he knows it was only a matter of seconds before he confessed.
"Asami, what I've been wanting to tell you is that—is that," he begins to fumble with his words, feigning an awkward chuckle, "Damn, this seemed a lot more easier in my head," he tries to play everything off as a joke, despite knowing deep down, he was having a bit of a nervous breakdown.
Forcing himself to shake off his nerves, Satoru shakes his head before continuing, "Fuck it, I'm just going to say it. Asami, I-I l—"
She presses her lips against his, taking the boy completely by surprise….
"Ha, so that little "I'm a shy nice girl" persona of yours just now was a sham? "Or are you acting out of character just for me?" Satoru mockingly pouts.
"No this is me alright, or at least for you," Asami says, "Get used to it.
"Thanks to your lovely classmates' idea, I've decided I'm going to have you," Masamichi points at Satoru, "Help train her," he then points at Asami.
Eyes bulging out of their sockets, the two immediately begin to argue against the idea, for the first time finding themselves fighting for the same cause.
"No way!"
"You've got to be kidding me!"
"If it makes you feel better, I think she might like you too."
"Oh you have lost it!" Satoru laughs.
"You're really going to sit here and tell me you don't like her just a tiny bit? Not even find her a bit attractive…"
"You my friend, are de-lu-sion-al."
"Hey, if you don't get it then that's okay. We'll just move on and come back to it another day, " she flips the page of the textbook, whispering something to herself that she originally believed he wouldn't hear….
"People must forget you're human sometimes…"
"I like her."
"Huh?"
"You heard me."
"What are you talking about?
"I like Asami."
Unable to move his lips, Satoru wonders if what he was feeling was nothing, but a dream. Blinking in surprise, he expects Asami's lips to somehow fade away. He expects the fireworks in the background to suddenly disappear. He expects her to pull away and yell at him for being well … him.
But as she fails to pull away, the feeling slowly, but surely begins to settle in. Closing his eyes, Satoru hesitantly wraps his arms around her waist before he finally melts into the kiss.
'Strawberries,' is all he can think of, for her lips, which were not only soft, also tasted like a hint of strawberry flavored lip gloss. To him, it was … addictive.
Placing her arms around his neck, Asami pulls him in closer, a soft smile now on her face as she runs a hand through his hair, relishing every second of their first kiss.
Finally pulling away, Asami gives him one quick peck before smiling at him, "I like you too," she whispers in a completely raspy voice, throwing her head back in laughter when she sees how red he is.
"So, that's what it's like…" he says, unable to hide the idiotic grin on his face, "Mind if we do it again?" he asks.
Intertwining her hand with his, Asami smiles as she goes in for the second kiss, giggling when he then chooses to give her an attack of chaste kisses.
Behind them, the golden fireworks continue to pop, celebrating the start of a new chapter in their lives.
Saturday.
December 7, 2005.
8:00AM
"...And remember, you two can visit anytime you like!" Naomi shouts from where she stands, two little twin girls shyly standing behind her legs, as they watch the high school teens enter their auxiliary manager's car.
Next to them stood Mr. Sato and Nikushimi, who just like Naomi, were waving goodbye to the teens.
"Bye Asami-san, bye Gojo-san!" Nikushimi excitedly shouts, hoping to see them soon in the future.
Shutting the door, Asami lowers her window as she waves back at them, Satoru squeezing his way beside her in an effort to hog all the space.
Playfully nudging him, she forces him to sit back onto his seat, but also fails to notice the hold he had on her waist, which brought her right down with him. And soon, a tickle sesh commences.
From afar, Nikushimi makes a disgusted face, "Tell me you two weren't like that when you were their age," he looks up at his parents, who only laugh.
"I just pray for that auxiliary manager," Naomi chuckles while shaking her head, "Young love can be…"
Naomi's face flushes when she glances at the car, not exactly surprised to see that their game of tickles had become a full on makeout sesh in the backseat.
"...quite overwhelming," she says before covering her daughter's eyes. Mr. Sato follows the lead by covering Nikushimi's eyes as well.
Meanwhile, Hitomi internally begs for someone to save her, knowing the three had a long car ride ahead of them.
Jujutsu High.
6:00 PM
"Ah! Finally!" Asami jumps out of the car, voice still slightly raspy due to her throat, which thankfully, was no longer as painful as before.
"And so the mission ends," Satoru chuckles before wrapping a single arm around Asami's shoulders.
"So it does," Asami slyly says in return, the two now walking alongside each other as they make their way back to the dorm building.
Playing with Satoru's dangling hand, Asami begins to ramble about the different things she'd seen on their mission, fascinated by the distinct differences of every prefecture they'd been to.
Meanwhile, Satoru thinks of the special day that was … today.
Realizing his girlfriend had yet to say happy birthday to him, Satoru debates on whether to confront her or not. Though he was a bit bothered that she had forgotten, he had to consider that the last forty eight hours were quite eventful, meaning he couldn't really blame her for forgetting.
Either way, it wasn't like he actually cared that much for his birthday to begin with. In fact, the only reason he was looking forward to it so much was because this was the first year he'd get to celebrate outside of his clan household. Something he expected to not be boring for the first time in his life.
Politely opening the door for Asami, Satoru laughs when he hears her say, "Ah, I can finally eat those brownies I baked!"
Grabbing his hand, Asami swiftly leads him to the kitchen.
"Wait..." Satoru stops right outside the door, his six eyes suddenly feeling a surge of cursed energy coming from the kitchen. "Get behind me…" he gently pulls Asami to the side, who unbeknownst to him, was grinning wide.
Slowly opening the door, the pitch black kitchen suddenly bursts in light….
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"
Confetti pops all around Satoru, making him jump in genuine surprise.
Slowly blinking, Satoru looks around to see not only his friends, but the school staff, along with different shamans all around him. Looking back at Asami, a flash goes off from the disposable camera in her hand.
"Surprise!" she says, quickly pulling him into a hug, "You didn't actually think I forgot your birthday … did you?" Asami gives him an offended look when she hears him gulp.
"N-No ….." he pauses before admitting the truth, "...Yes, I did."
"You should've seen your face!" Shoko and Suguru walk towards the two, Shoko holding a second disposable camera of her own in her hands. Around them, the school staff and shamans begin to socialize amongst themselves.
"So, how was the mission?" Suguru asks with his hands casually in his pockets.
"It was... good," Asami looks up at Satoru, who was still processing what he was seeing, "You seem to have gotten better pretty quickly!" she comments, as the curse-manipulation user looked almost good as new.
"You know me," Suguru smugly yawns, expecting some kind of remark from Satoru.
But it seemed like the boy was in his own world, as he kept staring at the decorations around him.
Noticing his lingering state of shock, Asami tugs at his sleeve as a way to grab his attention, "Hey," she offers him a smile as he looks down at her, "You okay? I'm sorry if this was a little too much, I just really wanted to go all out after hearing you talk about your past bi—"
Asami's sentence is quickly interrupted with a kiss.
Staring at each other in shock, Shoko and Suguru slowly blink, as smiles begin to form on their faces.
"Ew, get a room!" Shoko covers her mouth with her hand while also taking a picture on her own disposable camera.
"It's about damn time," Suguru shakes his head as he crosses his arms, "It's about damn time," he repeats.
Cheeks now flushed, Asami stares at her boyfriend in wonder as he pulls away.
"Thank you," he whispers, "For everything."
Giving him a warm smile, the young girl simply squeezes his hand before leading him to the front, "Come on, let's cut the cake!" she announces, leading Satoru to his chair.
Shoko soon pulls out the custom made, extra-sugary cake from the fridge, placing it on top of the counter as Suguru carefully positions the candles.
Pulling out a lighter from one of the drawers, Asami lights up the one and six.
And as he stares into the lighted candles, Satoru is brought back to a childhood memory of his own….
"This is lame and stupid," an eight year old Satoru pouts, rolling his eyes when he feels the party hat get placed on his head.
"Stupid? This isn't stupid," Yuna frowns, placing the vanilla cupcake onto the table, "It's your birthday, meaning today's a special day. And you know how special days are to be celebrated?"
Satoru remains silent, refusing to answer the woman's question.
"Spectacularly," she says, making a popping motion with her hands, "Oh come on! You know you wanna smile! Look, I even bought the extra sugary cupcakes you always like!"
Avoiding eye contact with the woman, Satoru fights the twitching feeling in his lips.
"Look at that!" Yuna quickly snaps a picture with her camera, knowing this was the best reaction she was going to get.
Placing the candle onto the cupcake, Yuna quickly lights it as she prepares to sing, "Okay, let's do this. Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you…."
"Happy birthday dear Satoru, happy birthday to you!"
Everyone begins to clap as they wait for Satoru to blow his candles. Still staring into the candle, Satoru slowly blows onto the flame, closing his eyes as he makes his wish.
'I wish for…..'
And as the flame disperses, Satoru immediately feels a pair of arms wrap themselves around his frame, gently embracing him from behind. Glancing beside him, he sees Asami rest her head on the crook of his neck.
"So what'd you wish for?" she softly whispers, wanting to know what the great Gojo Satoru could possibly want.
"Haven't you heard? If I tell you, it won't come true," he playfully says, making her roll her eyes.
"You really believe in that stuff?" she teasingly asks, poking fun at him.
"Of course I do," he says.
"Mmm," she hums, "Still, you're better off telling me."
"And why is that?"
"Because I'll make sure it comes true," she playfully winks at him. But behind her bold words, were genuine truths.
Satoru chuckles, "What if I told you I wished for …..nothing."
Asami groans, "Liar," she sticks her tongue out at him, "I don't believe you."
"I'm being serious," he laughs, "I mean really, what more do I need?"
"Mm, I don't know: A lamborghini, a mansion, a yacht, an island," she begins to list superficial things, making Satoru roll his eyes.
"But in all seriousness, what did you wish for?" she asks one final time, expecting to hear a change of answer.
"I wished for… nothing," he repeats his answer from before, "I'm being serious babe," he uses the new name for her, hoping it'd get her to back off. Luckily, it does.
"Mmmm," she narrows her eyes at him, "Fine," she sighs before flagging down Shoko.
"You think you can take a picture of us?" Asami hands the girl her camera, who begrudgingly nods.
"Ready? One, two, …."
"Wait!" Asami puts her hands up, confusing both Shoko and Satoru, "You have to take these…" she grabs his sunglasses, "...off."
Chuckling to himself, Satoru quickly fixes his hair before posing, flashing his pearly white smile at the camera.
"One, two…"
Click.
"Thank youuu," Asami grabs the camera from Shoko's hand, "I can't wait to develop them! They're going to be so cute!" she smiles, "Now wait here, I'm going to go get you your gifts alright?" she instructs her boyfriend, quickly pecking him on the check before running off to his gift table.
And as he watches her gleefully smile, Satoru thinks of the wish he made….
'I wish to never see Asami dead in my lifetime, I wish for her to never stop smiling, and most importantly, I wish for Asami to always live a happy life...'
.
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Meanwhile…
Ding!
Misaki places the lid to her pot before grabbing the flip phone in her apron, 'Ah, Asami,' she smiles to herself, thinking of what her daughter could possibly need on a Saturday evening.
Flipping the phone open, Misaki Okada soon feels her heart drop as she reads the text message on her screen. A text which reads…
"Mom, we need to talk."
A/N: (VERY LONG)
AND SO WE'VE FINALLY MADE IT. Six months and twenty chapters later and we've finally reached their first official kiss! Wow, wow, wow! To any future readers who are reading this when this story is done, this may not seem like a big deal, but for my OG readers, this was one heck of a wait!
Now that we've reached this point, I can confidently say that this story is about 33% done. The next 33% of this story is reaching the point of love between the two and Asami's present day return to Tokyo, while the final third of the story is the buildup/finale/aftermath of the Shibuya Incident.
With this checkpoint, I'd really appreciate it if any usual silent readers (along with the rest of you amazing readers) could leave some kind of review or feedback for not only this chapter but chapters 1-20 so far. Let me know what your favorite moments have been so far, chapters that really stuck with you, things you've seen me improve on and things you'd like to see in the future. Have I been consistent with Asami's character? What do you think about her? What are your predictions for her? Etc.
Lastly, with this, I will begin my rewrite of this story, starting with chapters 1-5 next week! Don't worry, I will also be writing the next chapter as well, but after rereading certain chapters I think right now is the perfect time to go back and touch some things up. Of course, nothing big will be changed. I'll only be adding details, fixing major grammar mistakes, and etc. Everything that has been established already, will remain the same. Of course, you can always do a re-read if you'd like, but that's all up to you!
I must also announce, that from this point on, whatever happens or is established in JJK post chapter 155, regarding familial history or things of the past will/may not coincide with this what i'm saying is that this is where the story officially (sorta? Not really?) parts ways with canon. Sadly, I can't predict what Gege is going to reveal meaning some of these things i have to theorize or make my own story for, so please if you're looking for strictly canon material, I think this is where you'll find yourself feeling just a bit iffy with the story.
In other words, this story will be written in the perspective of someone whose only read chapters 0-155. I say this now because I feel it in my guts that Gege is about to reveal something that's going to completely mess with what I got going on in this story, and for me to go back and change everything would just be GAHH!
See you all next time and stay safe y'all!
Confession: If I'm being honest I sorta rushed through the resuscitation scene cause that was like the least important scene in this chapter. I just needed to get from point A to B. Also, I was gonna add a little gift opening scene, but I couldn't think of gifts to give Gojo in terms of like ... What would Asami get him? What would Shoko get him? Geto? What about Masamichi? They all have distinct personalities and relationships with the dude so comment what you think they'd gift him!