Chapter 25 – The Friendship Ranks Up

We ended up going to Chinatsu-san's house since it was the closest one from downtown. And because of that, I had asked Ikumi-san to cover for me and say to Rukia that I was staying at her house again. To which, she reluctantly agreed.

So now, after eating dinner and nearly getting cuddled to death by Hasumi-senpai, we were both in Chinatsu-san's still surprisingly girly room (stuffed animals and all) sitting next to each other in silence as the topic of us being here was about to be brought up again.

So…this is it. I'm going to learn the FULL story. Of how our shattered paths came to cross…

"*sigh* I can't believe I'm talking about this again…" Chinatsu-san said under her breath. "…so, what do you want to know now?"

"Well…you left off talking about your sister, so…maybe that?"

"Geez…figured you would start with that." Chinatsu-san then went silent for a bit. "Well…my older sister is named Tomoko. And I haven't seen her since the abuse ended. Nearly 3 years ago."

"Why? What happened?"

"Well…*sigh* my sister's abuse was a lot worse than mine. Not only was she beaten and humiliated constantly…but she was also raped repeatedly. Similar to how Ikumi was when she was younger."

"W-Wow…"

"For the next three months, her innocence and sanity slowly left her body. She went from a soon-to-be college girl ready to make her dreams come true…to a demented psychopath wanting revenge for all the shit this world had brought on to us."

…

"And on April 13th, 2019…she finally achieved it."

"Wh-What did she do?" I asked. Feeling nervous about hearing the answer.

…

"When that bastard was sleeping, she grabbed a knife from the kitchen, went over to his room, and went on a rampage. Stabbing him repeatedly in the chest, gouged out his eyes, cut his neck to the point where he was nearly decapitated…

…and even severed his dick off."

"W-Wow…" Was all I could say to such violence.

"When she was all done, she dropped the knife next to his destroyed body, stripped completely naked due to her clothes being covered with blood, and walked towards the living room to call the police.

Paying no attention to the fact that I saw everything."

Sh-She saw EVERYTHING?! The moment her older sister murdered their abusive step-father from start to finish?! That must've been traumatizing for her!

"When the police came to arrest her, she didn't put up a fight. And when she was brought to court for murder, she pled guilty. That entire time, I looked at Tomoko…and it looked like she had given up on everything. Her dreams, her freedom, life as a damn whole…" Chinatsu-san then went silent as I saw tears run down her eyes and her arms twitching in anger. "…it was at that point I knew that I had lost my sister. All the suffering she endured completely destroyed her. And there was no fixing her! My original thought of her was gone and was never coming back!"

…

"That when I decided…to give up, too. This world had brought me endless suffering. And I was determined to bring that same suffering to everyone around me.

And thus began my personality change."

"W-Wow…" I said for the third time.

"The rest of my time in middle school went on a downward spiral from there. Both before and after I pummeled Akaza. And when I somehow managed to graduate to high school, I was going to continue my path of despising this shitty world. And make everyone else suffer along with me."

…

"That is until I met you. The girl whose life was 10x shittier than mine ever was."

"Chinatsu-san…" I spoke softly.

"I'll be honest, Kyouko…at first glance, I freaking hated you. Even after I stole and read your file, I still had some resentment for you. But after getting to know you…and learning more of your past…my perception of you did a 180. A rather HUGE one, honestly. T-To the point where…" Chinatsu-san then went silent as she gained a blushed face and looked away from me.

"Chinatsu-san?" I asked.

"H-Hey…wh-what I'm about to tell you…pr-promise you won't laugh."

"Why would I laugh? Is it some kind of joke?"

"N-No, it's…j-just promise me, damnit!"

"O-Okay, I promise. I won't laugh. Just…what do you need to tell me?"

"W-Well…*sigh* I can't believe I'm actually going to say this…" Then, after going silent again, Chinatsu-san said something that I never thought would come out of her mouth.

"Kyouko…I…I-I love you."

…

…

…

"Huh?"

Well…tried to. She was talking so low that I couldn't hear her. Plus, she was still looking away from me.

"C…Could you repeat that? I didn't hear you well."

…

"I-I said…Tch. I-I said I love you, damnit!"

"Wh-What?! Y-You…l-love me?! S-So, you DO swing that way?!"

"L-Like I said before, it was only a thought. B-But the more time I spent with you, the more that thought became a reality. You've been the first person since Tomoko that's ever given a damn about me. To stick by my side and call me a friend…despite knowing my past and how it screwed up your life.

…

Basically, all of that…made me fall for you."

"W-Wow…" I said in total shock.

…

"W-Well, Chinatsu-san…can I think about it for a while?"

"Think about it?"

"To be honest…I'm not really sure if I swing that way myself. With how my life has been up until now…being in love has been something that's never come to mind. I believed for a long time that the world hated me and did everything it could to take me out. So, for someone to say to my face that they loved me…it isn't something I could give an answer to right away."

"R-Right…I get it. I would probably feel the same way."

"So, you don't mind waiting?"

"*sigh* Yeah, it's fine. I mean, it's not like I was expecting for us to be scissoring on the bed or anything."

Already with the sex references… I gained a mental sweatdrop.

"But…c-can we at least kiss a little?" Chinatsu-san asked with a small blush on her face. "I-It'll make the wait somewhat bearable, you know."

"O-Oh…right. S-Sure…w-we can…you know…k-kiss." I replied with a blush of my own.

"Gr-Great. W-Well…h-here I come."

Chinatsu-san then started leaning closer to me. To the point where we were staring at each other eye-to-eye. And as her blushed face came closer to my own…slowly feeling the intense heat all over…

…our lips touched.

All that tension ended up with Chinatsu-san kissing me fully on the lips. With her eyes closed and face red beyond compare.

…

And I didn't fight back. Not one bit.

In fact, I countered the same force she was giving me with a kiss of my own. And even wrapped my arms around her and held her tight. Not wanting to let go.

It was weird…but it also felt amazing. Even though it was my first kiss, it felt like the best one I've ever had. Is it really because it was from Chinatsu-san?

Can I really have romantic feelings for her? Another girl?

"*pant* *pant* Okay…I think that's good enough." Chinatsu-san said as she parted away from me after 3 minutes of kissing.

"*pant* *pant* Y…Y-Yeah…" Was all I replied with.

…

…

…

"You're a really good kisser, Chinatsu-san."

"Sh-Shut up!" Chinatsu-san gained a huge blush on her face.

*BANG* *BANG* *BANG*

"China-chi!"

"Gah!" I screamed in fear after Hasumi-senpai barged into the room through the window again.

"What is it, Misaki-senpai?" Chinatsu-san asked.

"*giggle* Check it out, China-chi…I finally found a copy of Ultra Street Fighter IV!"

"Wh-What?! Seriously?! That game's hard to find unless you're willing to pay a shit ton of money! How did you get one?!"

"I found one at a garage sale on the way home from college classes! And I got it for a steal, too! ¥2600!"

(About $20)

"TH-THAT cheap?! Holy crap, that's insane!"

"Right?! Rise and Jin are already downstairs ready to play! Wanna join?!"

"Hell yeah, I wanna join! I ain't passing up a chance like this!"

"Alright! It's SO on!" Hasumi-senpai cheered. "Oh! And you can come along too, Kyo-chi!"

"Um…thanks, Hasumi-senpai." I said.

"Hup!" We then watched as Hasumi-senpai jumped back out of the window and landed on the ground. Re-entering the building through the downstairs window.

She really does not use doors, huh?

"*sigh* Man, to get a chance to play a rare game like that…this is gonna be a hell of a good night."

"I'm glad you're happy, Chinatsu-san." I said.

…

…

…

"H-Hey, Kyouko…c-can you not tell anyone about my love confession? It's gonna…look HIGHLY hypocritical on me if people found out that I've fallen for another girl."

"Oh…sure, Chinatsu-san. Your secret's safe with me."

"Great. Thanks."

"China-chi! We're starting without you!" We heard Hasumi-senpai from downstairs.

"I'm coming, damnit!" Chinatsu-san yelled back before turning back to me. "Well, Kyouko…I'm proud to let you bare witness to my skills at fighting video games. A prime source of how I became a professional ass-kicker! Hahahahaha!"

"Can't wait to watch, Chinatsu-san…" I said with a sweatdrop.

The two of us then left the room to meet up with the three college students downstairs. Our friendship bounded even closer together by dark memories and secret feelings.

…

The latter one…I still need to think about.

Author's Note: Not only did she finally hear the full story behind Chinatsu's past, but Kyouko also learns that the girl who unintentionally caused her horrible life has fallen in love with her. And now…she has A LOT to think about.

Yep! The story's back! After a nearly 7-month hiatus, too. And with a few changes to the plan, as well. For one, the new goal to end the story is 35 chapters. Maybe 40. But definitely no more than 40. It's a lot longer than what I originally planned, but it'll all work out. Hopefully.

And second…I'm sure at least some of you have noticed that Tsu's Twinsanity Effect has been taken down. The thing is…I have a lot (and I mean A LOT) of ideas for the revival of the Inner Struggles series. And doing it story-by-story is just gonna take too long. So…once this story is over, I'm going to just mash all of these ideas together into one big story. I did start on something similar months ago, but never went back to it. So, I can at least try again later.

Thanks for reading. Later.