Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Super Gals Characters. I am only using them for this fanfic. Thank you for understanding.
Chapter 2: The Arrival
All passengers of flight 14324, please prepare for we are about to leave the plane...
'I'm finally here!' Aya smiled to herself.
"Aya, let's go. The car's waiting." Gestured her mom.
"Yes, mom... Coming!" Aya replied gleefully. Just then, Aya's nanny came, shouting her name, tears in her eyes.
"Oh, hi Aya! How you've grown!" commented Nana Rosa, one of their old maids and a very close friend of Aya, more like her second mother.
"Nana Rosa! It's so nice to see you! It's been three years!" Aya hugged the old maid.
"Hey, don't forget us!" reminded Mang Berto and Aling Ising in unison.
"Oh, I didn't forget you... Why should I?" Aya smiled and hugged them tightly.
"Come on, let's go home... I prepared a special dinner for the two of you..." Nana Rosa invited.
"Thanks! I'm really hungry..." Aya commented and they all laughed.
Shibuya SquareRan, Miyu, Tatsuki and Yuuya are sitting at the Square, talking about Rei and Aya...
"I hate those two!" Ran mouthed.
"Ran, don't be too hard on them..." Miyu calmed her.
"Yeah, I mean, they're the ones who'll shape their future so don't you worry too much Ran..." Yuuya commented.
"Yeah, but the problem is, I'm the one who always bridges them... Without me, they wouldn't even know each other!" Ran complained because to her, all her efforts to bring them together were not fruitful.
"I know that and I thank you for that..." Rei answered. They all looked at him, shocked obviously.
"Uh, how long have you been standing there, Rei?" Miyu asked.
"Long enough..." Rei replied blankly.
"So, what're you gonna do now?" asked Ran.
"I'll wait for her... No matter what..." Rei finished. All were shocked at the sudden change of his behavior. Then he continued, "I have work to do. See you later."
"He'll wait for her? How long would that be?" Ran scoffed.
"Probably not long enough for him..." Miyu answered her question indirectly.
"Why do you say that?" Ran asked, confused.
"There's desperation in his eyes that I had never seen before... Love, maybe..." Yuuya spoke quietly.
"Exactly." Miyu smiled.
Hoshino Residence"Wow, your cooking really didn't change at all Nan! It's still good as ever!" Aya commented, sitting on the sofa and leaning her head back.
"Where's Mr. Hoshino, Ma'am?" asked Aling Ising.
"Oh, he couldn't come with us. He has a very important meeting. Maybe he'll be here after 3 days."
"Oh..." Aling Ising replied.
"Mom, I'm going to my room now... Stomach's really taking its sleeping effect on me..." Aya said as she stood up slowly and ascended to the stairs. 'I will surprise all of them tomorrow!' Aya thought to herself and smiled as she entered her room.
She took out a photo album of her high school life here and began scanning it. Tears fell from her raven eyes as she looked at the picture of her beloved, who denied her feelings twice and yet, admitted his feelings before she went to Ireland. She didn't even have the chance to say how much she loves him... And with that album wrapped around by her arms, she fell asleep, thinking of him.
The following night..."Ran! Let's go to the Starbucks! Rei's there and he's working..." Yuuya invited.
"Yeah, maybe we can cheer him up! Ran, don't you think it's a great idea?" Tatsukichi asked. Both Yuuya and Tatsukichi looked at her with dreamy eyes then glared at each other.
"What do you think Miyu?" asked Ran.
"Wait a minute, he has two jobs?" Miyu asked in disbelief.
"Yeah, day at the hospital and night at Starbucks. That's MWF." Yuuya finished.
"Oh... He's working so hard, for what?" Miyu asked, this time, a bit insistent.
"He wouldn't tell me..." Yuuya answered gloomily.
"Miyu, how about my question earlier, should we visit him?" Ran asked.
"Hey, that's my question!" Tatsukichi corrected. Ran glared at him and he fell silent.
"Well, it's worth a try... Though, I couldn't deny that it is not us he wants to see, it's Aya..." Miyu replied, rather gloomy at the memory of Aya.
"Are you guys, by any chance talking about me?" asked a very familiar voice. They whipped around to see who it was – Aya!
"Aya! You – you returned!" Miyu and Ran shouted in unison as they ran towards her and embraced her tight.
"Hey, take it easy..."
"Sorry" Ran and Miyu uttered in unison between sobs.
"Oh, you guys have no idea how much I missed you!" Aya said as she cried, hugging her two best friends for life.
"Hey, don't you leave us out here alone you know... It isn't polite..." Yuuya commented, smiling.
"Oh, Yuuya, Tatsukichi! How are you?" She embraced them both, "It's been three years!"
"Yeah, Aya, three years with no communication..." Ran said a little dejected.
"Sorry Ran, I was only able to send you at least two letters because my sked's quite thick... Hope you can forgive me..." Aya apologized sincerely.
"Apology accepted!" Ran beamed at her.
"By the way... uh... where's... uh..." Aya was blushing now, obviously.
"Otohata? Oh, he's right there, working... Thinking of you every step of th-"Miyu interrupted Ran by covering her mouth.
"What!?" Ran said in annoyance.
"Let her figure that out!" Miyu whispered.
"What are you two up to?" Aya asked a bit curious.
"Nothing... Anyway, I know you want to spend some time with him, so, go on ahead... We'll wait here, ok?" Miyu said, with a tone of finality.
"Bu- Okay..." Aya said blushing as she started to walk towards the café.
"Are you sure she's going to be alright?" Ran asked.
"Of course she will be... I can see it in her eyes that she misses him so badly and same goes to him..." Miyu replied with a smile.
"I hope you're right..." Ran asked, a bit nervous.
At the café...Aya entered the café, her blue ¾ fit blouse and beige knee-length skirt and sandals being evident, giving her that sophisticated look. She tipped on her toes and raised her head due to the number of people inside the café. Finally, she saw him at the bar and luckily, he isn't serving anyone. He was busily fixing the trays and was facing down when she approached him.
"Uh, one cappuccino with milk please..." Aya happily ordered.
"One cup of cappuccino with milk, coming-"he was cut off when he raised his head. He was looking straight into the woman of his life, his love, Aya Hoshino and no other else!
"A-Aya..." He mouthed, jaw dropping. 'Man, she looks so beautiful!'
"R-Rei... Good afternoon... How, what, I mean... How have you been doing?" She was staring at him, obviously blushing.
"Good!" He said with a smile, "Are you still going for that cappuccino with milk?"
"Well, if you're going to serve it then yes..." She smiled.
"Your wish is my command, Mademoiselle..." He bowed courteously and smiled at her. She blushed at his gesture. After a few minutes, he returned with her coffee, smiling.
"Hmm... Tastes great... You made this?" Asked Aya.
"Yep! Just for you..." He replied, just staring at her. 'God she's so beautiful... I missed her so much...'
"Rei?" Aya asked.
"Hmm... What is it?" He asked.
"You changed... You smile a lot now... And there are less girls swooning over you..." She commented.
"Well, that's because I'm not # 1 anymore..." He replied smiling.
"Really? Then who is?" Aya asked.
"Johann. Johann Crawford. The one sitting there." He pointed to the blonde young man with a smooth beard.
"Hmm? He looks like a younger Santa to me..." Aya laughed.
"Really? You don't find him handsome?" Rei asked, trying to fight back a smirk.
"No, I... it isn't that. I don't like a person just because he's handsome..." She replied.
"That's what I like about you Aya... It's simply being you..." He stared at her intently, not wanting to avoid her gaze. She blushed and he slightly laughed.
"What?" She asked innocently.
"You're so cute when you blush..." He smiled.
"Are you teasing me?" She asked, trying her best to stop the blood from flowing to her cheeks. He laughed harder and then she realized it was her who made him laugh and the laugh was contagious so she laughed as well.
After a while, they stopped laughing and silence fell between them. Tense is the proper word to describe it. Feeling a bit impatient, Rei asked.
"Aya, why didn't you... uh, well... uh, write to me... well, what I mean is..." Rei staggered at his words. He didn't know how to ask it.
"Well, I have a very busy schedule... I'm really, really sorry for that!!! I suppose it's not enough to say 'sorry' to a person close to you yet you shun just even writing or calling him..." Aya felt guilty.
Suddenly, Aya felt his hand cover hers at the table. She felt heat flush her cheeks and she stared at him.
"I don't mind, Aya... What's important is, you're here..." Rei said with a romantic stare. Aya blushed even redder, if that's possible.
"Uhm... Thank you, I guess, thank you very much..." Aya replied with a smile. 'Oh my, he looks so handsome and angelic at the same time... He is much more – human – now...'
"Uh, Aya... Do you mind if I spend more time with you, this night?" Rei asked her, staring at her straightly. She could feel desperation in his eyes and she gave in to it.
"Yes, sure..." She replied, wholeheartedly.
"Well then, will you wait for me? I'll go get changed then we could go..." He said with a grin from ear to ear. Aya smiled back. 'I'm going to spend this night with him...' she thought.