forgive and forget ;
luka

The moment Rin spoke her name, Luka's eyes widened.

Her appearance was so different from what she recognized. Those same blue eyes that daggered her beloved sister four years ago were now covered with anxious worries and a throbbing sense of guilt.

"It.." The blonde's sentence trailed off, "It is you, right?"

Luka didn't say anything.

Luka coughs nervously as she waits intently for the floor to devour her completely and take her somewhere else. "I'm sorry, do I know you?" The pinkette asks, gulping anxiously. While Rin raised an eyebrow in confusion, Luka clenched her purse tightly. 'She still has that same stubborn look.' Luka thought.

"..You don't..remember me?" Rin says nervously. Anxiety coursed in the air, and Luka couldn't help but clench her bag even tighter, her palms beginning to sweat uncontrollably.

"Rin! I got the food-" Gumi's eyes widened as she cut her own sentence off. "Luka?" Gumi spoke.

With her stomach churning with a rising wave of anxiety, Luka stared at the greenette, feeling as if her organs were being sucked away effortlessly. Why does Gumi have to be here too? I don't want to see anyone. In an effort to suppress nervous laughter, the pink-haired woman forces a smile. I should leave. "I have to go, I-I'm in a hurry," Luka says hastily, sweat trickling down her forehead as she glanced down at the ground, trying to get away from her problems once more. "Wait, Luka!" Gumi called out, grasping the pinkette's wrist gently as ever, "W-we haven't seen each other for so long, how have you been?" The greenette smiles nervously, the tension in the air rising to another anxious level.

Luka didn't say anything.

Rin was starting to become annoyed. Why the hell isn't she saying anything?

"S-say," Gumi started, slightly letting go of Luka's wrist. "D-do you want to get some coffee? Let's catch up, it's been a while since we've last seen each other, and..we..." The greenette's sentence trailed off as she glanced over her shoulder, hesitant eyes staring into Rin's assertive ones.

An exhausted sigh escaped from Luka's lips.

The pinkette turned around, her cherry blossom bangs washing over her saddened blue eyes as she faced the two females. "We should talk."

Quietness reigned. The only thing that could be heard was the sound of people chattering out and about in the crowded food court, anxiety lingering in the tension-filled atmosphere.

Luka slowly drew circles onto her plastic coffee cup with her thumb, her ring being illuminated by the dim lights of the bustling cafeteria. Meanwhile, Gumi and Rin sat together across from her, nervousness written over their faces. "It's been a while, hasn't it?" Luka spoke, her rich deep voice breaking the silence. A smile slowly formed on her lips; a smile that was filled with all sorts of secrets. "...Yeah, it..it really has been a while," Gumi replies, looking down at the ground as she fidgeted with her fingers.

Rin reclined against her seat, pursuing her lips together as she thought about what to say. Why was it so awkward? Maybe she just felt guilty that Luka knew she had been so terrible to Miku, what if she even blames her for her friend's death?

"Have you talked to anyone? I haven't seen Lily in so long." Gumi asks, sighing a little. Rin at that moment remembered what she had seen earlier. "Yeah, I still talk to her. She's aware of what happened to Miku, and well...she's not over it." Luka states, sipping the bronze liquid which tickled her throat. "I don't think any of us will be over it, we just need a lot of time to heal." Gumi sighed in exhaustion.

Yeah, we do. We really do. Rin thought in the back of her head.

"How.." Gumi gulped the anxious air, her little spirit hoping that this wouldn't upset the pinkette. "How have you been..you know, after what..happened..?" Luka chuckles a little, smiling a bit to reassure Gumi that it was okay to ask. "It...It's still a little hard, but I've been doing okay."

"Oh, that's a relief." Gumi sighs, a weight pulled off of her shoulders. "Me and Rin are here for you if you need anything." She smiles a little, her palms holding her warm coffee cup. "Yeah, thanks." Luka sighs. "What about you two? How have you two been doing?"

Gumi hesitantly glanced at the blonde sitting beside her; Rin didn't say anything and only stared at the ground. "I've been doing better. Fukase is also doing okay." Gumi replied instead, sparing tiny glances at the anxious female who was now biting her nails.

"You guys are still dating?"

"Yeah," Gumi smiles, "We are."

"They have been, for a while." Rin sighs as she reclined against her seat, crossing her arms over her chest. "I'm surprised they're not engaged yet." The blonde scoffs as Gumi sent her a playful, murderous glare. "Rin, not now." Gumi sighs.

"...Sorry," Rin mumbled.

Luka softly chuckles, sighing a little. "Oh, I meant to ask," The pinkette looks at the blonde-haired female, a gentle smile on her face.

"How's Len doing, Rin?"

Gumi froze, and in an instant, she began to laugh nervously, a bit louder than she had anticipated. "A-ah, um...Len is..he's doing just fi-"

"He's dead."

The smile on Luka's face disappeared.

What did she just...

It took her a moment for her brain to gobble up those heart-wrenching words. Her palms flew to her mouth in an attempt to hide her jaw drop, and tears began to well in the corners of her eyes.

Len is...dead?

Luka's cheeks were flowing with aching tears. No way...He..he can't be-

"He committed suicide a month after Miku died," Rin says simply, her words poisoned with nothing but self-hatred as she bit her bottom lip as hard as she could. "...But I'm sure he's doing just fine."

Gumi gulped.

"...I'm sure he and Miku are together," The blonde spoke, her voice cracking up a little as she tried her best not to let the waterworks turn on. "I'm sure...they're somewhere happy together.." Her sentence began to trail off as she couldn't help but sob. Even after four years, bringing the topic up and talking about it hurt like hell.

Rin sniffled as she looked up at the shocked pinkette, letting out the words: "I'm really sorry, Luka. I get it if you hate me," The female sobbed, chuckling a little as tears escaped from her eyes. "I was such an asshole. I treated your sister like shit, and even though I was such a bitch she was so, so nice to me."

Silence filled the air, hiccups flowing in the saddened atmosphere.

"...She saved me, but I couldn't save her." Rin sobs. "...I'm sorry."

Luka only stared at the blonde, bewildered at what she had just said. She took a moment to think about what to say, and she sighed in frustration as she tried not to cry as much as Rin did. "Even though we weren't biologically siblings, I still cared about her a lot." The pinkette sighs in frustration.

"Huh?" Rin blinked, a tear rolling down her cheek. "Miku..." Luka sighs. "I found her in the streets one day when I was in my first year of high school," Luka softly spoke, eyes tracing either side of Rin's sweltered face. "She was so thin and so small. Back then I thought, 'Why would a ten-year-old be roaming the streets?'" She softly chuckles, a warm smile forming on her lips.

Gumi's eyes began to well up with tears. Oh, Miku...

"Her father was abusive towards her, and she was staying with her aunt then." Luka continued, "At the time, her aunt kicked her out since she couldn't afford to take care of a child, so me and my family took her in."

Rin swallowed hard. Why didn't Miku tell her any of this before? She was aware of the tealette's self-harm, but...she never would have expected something like this.

The only thing she could feel at the moment was utter guilt.

"Stop it." Luka sighs. "I know what you're thinking right now, Rin. It's not your fault, and I don't hate you, so don't give me your pity." Luka roughly began.

Rin couldn't help but cry even more.

"If I'm being honest, I really disliked you because you were such an asshole to my sister, I just didn't understand why you were so aggravated at her. I despised you, and all I wanted was to somehow get back at you for being so goddamn awful." She says, her tone a bit stern yet somehow gentle. "But," Luka sighs as she continues, placing her coffee cup on the surface of the table. "I won't hold any grudges. As time passes, we all need to learn how to forgive and forget, right?"

Rin sniffles, giving her a low, hum of confirmation.

"...I don't forgive you for what you did to Miku, of course, but that doesn't mean I dislike you. I was just pissed off." Luka stated, scoffing a little. "That's fair," Rin sniffles as she rubs her nose, shaking uncontrollably underneath her tears. "You don't have to forgive me for that, I understand. I'm just really glad you don't hate me."

"And I won't ever, Rin." Luka smiles a little. "We just need to learn how to forgive and forget."


[NOTE]

(Sorry for reuploading this chapter! I forgot to add something, and I had to do some minor adjustments.)

Woah, double update?

Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Have a great day/night wherever you are!