-Part VI-
James threw one end of the rope over a sturdy branch of the cherry tree as he stood on the large loose rock underneath it. He tied the ends together and gave the whole thing a slight tug to see if it was secure. Blossoms fluttered down and gently graced his face like a lover's soft kiss. A kiss that he would never receive.
The boy bowed his head silently, tears finally finding an exit from his eyes. He was alone and glad that Meowth wasn't there to stop him.
Even now, he was afraid to admit to even himself he had…loved his partner. He had been afraid of slipping up and landing in trouble with Jessie who probably would have hated him now if she were still alive; not to mention the Boss and those were the last two things he'd ever do.
It didn't matter now; nothing did. Taking a deep breath, James carefully balanced himself as he began to put his head through the loop he had made. Trembling, he prepared to kick the stone out of the way as he did so, hoping it would be a quick death. But fear held him back and he ended up slipping. Loosing his balance, he felt the rope catch on the under-part of his chin, making his head snap back before he fell off the stone and hit the ground. James started sobbing quietly against the rock.
Why was he such a coward?!
A hand touched him lightly on the shoulder. Caught by surprise, James leapt up into the air and clung to the branch. The blossoms were knocked off by the hundreds.
"James-sempai! It's me, Mondo!" A familiar brown haired (now with lots of petals in his hair) boy looked up him.
The branch wasn't nearly as sturdy as James had thought for it snapped and James found himself back on the ground again.
"Sir! Are you alright?" Mondo hurried to his side and shook his shoulder. James brushed the hand away.
"Just leave me alone," James said a bit angrily, wiping his tears away in vain.
"Where is Jessie-sempai?" Mondo asked, trying find out why his friend was crying. "I found this down by the river a while ago as I was coming to your cabin and-what is wron-"
"Leave me alone!" James screamed, giving up on holding in the tears and ran towards the cabin, bawling. Mondo didn't pursue him but looked at the looped rope entangled in the branch that was now on the ground. He scooped down and rubbed it between his thumb and index finger. He looked at the heart-broken man running down the path.
Mondo reached into his pocket and took out the sparkling locket he had found by the banks of the river while he was walking to check up on his friends. He had recognized it immediately and picked it up. He held it to his chest as he remembered the day Jessie told him what the locket meant to her; when she was alone and upset one day and he had comforted her…
"Mondo…I want to show you
something."
Jessie somewhat shakingly
reached into the depths of the neck of her jacket and pulled out a shining
heart-shaped, sapphire-like locket. It
looked like it was carved from a perfect gem. But…why show this to him?
She fiddled with the latch and opened it. On the right side was a photograph of
James. On the other side was Jessie. Both people were in their early teens and
the pictures were two halves of a single photo, each half on in one side of the
locket. They had originally had an arm
around the other's shoulder and you could still see a bit of each other's hand
in the other's half of the photo. Mondo eyed the half of Jessie especially.
"It is very nice, Jessie-sempai…almost
as beautiful as you. You were as beautiful as you are now in that charming
photo."
"Thank you, Mondo…the locket really special to me. James had given it to me when he still had a bit of money and
after we quit the bike gang. He said it
matched my eyes: sapphire blue. As best
friends in the whole world; we had made a pact that we would never be separated
and we never had. If only he'd…" Jessie had stopped there and sighed.
She didn't bother to finish, knowing she probably said too much but
Mondo knew: Jessie had always wanted to be more than best friends with
James…she loved him for who he was, even when she got annoyed with her partner
in crime. Mondo swallowed.
"Perhaps he'll see the truth
one day, my senior," Mondo said slowly and understandingly, not knowing if his
heart was aching because he loved Jessie or that he wanted help Jessie to be happy.
"Mondo?"
"What is it, Jessie-sempai?"
"Thank you for your
kindness…my friend. I had wanted to end it al after that happened…but I made a
promise to both you and James…I shall never forget it like I shall never part
with my locket, no matter how hard my situations become."
She tucked the locket back
into her collar and embraced the young boy into a hug. Mondo put his arms around her and felt her
tears moisten his hair again. He gently
tightened the embrace, feeling like he was going to cry himself. She would never love him the way he had
loved her…but it was nice to dream…
Mondo stood by the river and watched the sakura blossoms dance in the air like snowflakes. He looked from the locket, to the river, and back at the locket.
"Jessie-sempai…you had made a solemn promise…would you truly break it?"