Author's Note: This is the final chapter of my first ever fan fiction story. If you have read up to this point, I thank you so very much for all the support! This will definitely not be my last story, so stay tuned for more if you liked it!
They arrived at the front door of the Komi residence. The sun was almost below the horizon now, with the sky turning a shade of deep ocean blue.
"Are you… really sure I can go in…?" Tadano felt a little awkward. He was slightly afraid of what her parents would say.
Komi nodded. "It's… going to be alright… t-they won't judge you…" She reached out to open her gate, careful to make sure Tadano's injuries weren't aggravated.
She slowly swung open the door to her house, Tadano still holding onto her shoulder. His injuries stung due to their exposure to the open breeze.
"Welcome back Shouko! You're a little late today-" Shuuko came running around to the main hallway, before stopping and gasping in shock.
"Oh dear! What happened to you, Tadano-kun?"
"Uh… Well… I…" He started, but Shouko quickly gave him a concerned look, then met her mom's eyes with a look that her mom understood. She would explain it later on.
"Alright then… The first aid items are upstairs… Just call me if you need anything!" She darted back to the kitchen.
"Don't worry about me… I should be able to climb these stairs…" Tadano gave Komi a reassuring look, and they slowly made their way up the steps.
Komi reached out to grab a towel and placed it on a large pillow at Tadano's feet, gesturing him to sit.
"Oh… well… thanks…" He carefully bent down to sit, but the injuries stung, and he fell onto the pillow. Komi immediately turned around with her hands visibly trembling.
She's really worried about me, isn't she?
"I'm fine…! It's just… uh… my hands slipped…"
Komi placed the first aid kit down on the floor, then opened it and took out some of its contents.
She quickly took out a bag of cotton balls and a small bottle of saline solution from the first aid kit.
"I'll… clean it… first… This might hurt a little…"
"I don't think it'll hurt too badly…"
She reached into the bag for a cotton ball, then picked up the bottle of saline solution. Her hands trembled as she attempted to dab some solution onto the cotton ball and it ended up spilling a little on the floor.
Tadano instinctively stuck out his right hand, where the stab on the back of his palm was.
"I'm… going to w-wipe it now… Are you… ready?"
"Yeah, I'm ready." Tadano took a deep breath, as Komi slowly went to dab the back of his wound.
"Ah…!" Tadano flinched, the pain from his wound along with the saline shot across his body.
Dang it, I told her I was ready!
Komi stopped and retracted her hand, looking up at him in worry.
"Sorry… I…"
"It still hurts a lot… doesn't it…?"
Tadano looked at his girlfriend's eyes. Tears were swimming in them, as concern was ever present in those loving eyes of hers.
"Yeah… It really does…"
"Shouko? Do you mind coming down here for a second?"
Komi glanced at Tadano before she sprinted downstairs.
A few seconds later, she came over with a tray, and on it was a pot and two ceramic cups which had tea.
"Here… it's chamomile…" She slowly picked up one cup and handed it to Tadano.
"Oh… thanks…" He took a few sips before he slowly placed the cup back down, and Komi returned to tending his injuries. The chamomile had slightly reduced the pain due to its effect on the nervous system, and Tadano didn't flinch as much. Albeit he still did a little bit from time to time.
They remained silent as Komi bandaged his arms from the dagger wounds. The fight he had with Ramorou remained in his head, and the scene kept replaying in his mind.
Komi reached up to bandage the wound on his head, and her face was right next to Tadano. He could hear her sniffs and soft sobs as she bandaged his head injury, and it stung at his heart a little to hear her like this.
His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the first aid kit closing. Tadano looked around on his body and saw at least 4 different bandages, minus the one on his head.
How badly did I get hit? It didn't even feel like much when I was fighting them…
"Here…"
Tadano looked up and saw Komi holding a fresh set of clothes and a towel.
"You should… wash up a little…"
"Oh…! It's fine, honestly… I can just head home and wash up there…"
Komi shook her head, blushing a little as she held out the clothes and towel.
"Are you… alright with it…?"
Komi nodded.
"Oh… thanks…"
"Just… a-avoid washing the bandages…"
"I will."
Tadano turned on the shower head, and carefully washed the uninjured areas of his body, careful not to splash too much water on the bandages.
He looked over at his uniform, which was placed in a separate pail. It was stained to seemingly no end with fresh red blood. He had a feeling that not all the blood on the uniform belonged to him.
He then looked down on the floor of the shower. There were tiny red splotches in the water as they flowed down into the drain.
How badly hurt was I?
I'm so lucky to have Komi help me…
He walked out of the shower with his fresh new clothes (which were some of Shousuke's slightly oversized ones) and almost ran right into Komi, who was waiting outside for him.
"Oh… were you… waiting for me?"
"I… want to make s-sure… that you are… a-alright…"
She stretched out her hand to hold onto his, then slowly led him to her room.
They sat down awkwardly next to each other by her bedside.
"Hito…?"
"Yeah, Shouko…?"
"I… I'm so s-sorry… for everything…"
"What do you mean…? Not all of this is your fault…"
"It is…! If only I had… t-thought more logically… and chose to stay with you and not break up… none of this… would have happened…"
"It's alright, Shouko, I forgive you." He smiled a little, which brightened the atmosphere in her room.
"Hito… I…"
She was interrupted by her phone ringing. It was a call from Najimi.
"I'll answer that for you…" He reached out to grab her phone. "You can rest a little first, you've been through a lot too…"
"Hello, Najimi?"
"Oh hey, Tadano-kun! Are you at Komi-san's place right now?"
"Yeah, I am."
"Well, I tried to ring you several times, then I realised you left your bag in class, and you had also left your phone in it too…"
"Oh! I completely forgot about it… Could you bring it to Shouko's place when you leave the school?"
"Alright, sure!"
"Also, what about the gang we were dealing with earlier?"
"Oh, them? We had a ton of fun until they were all knocked out. Quite the bummer, honestly…"
Sadistic… classic Najimi. Tadano smiled a little.
"So, what did you do with their unconscious bodies then?"
"Oh, we just called the nearby hospital… told them a gang fight happened and all the members had been hurt badly."
"Are you guys alright though?"
"Yeah, we are! Well, most of us, at least…"
"What do you mean…?"
"Oh… Ogiya-kun had his jaw bruised… Manbagi-san had her shoulder slightly dislocated from a strike… Kometani suffered a black eye… and a few more super minor scratches and bruises… but we're all good! They already left, so I'm just gonna tell the paramedics that I saw the fight and didn't take part in it. Also, we didn't really see Yamai, Shinobino, Chiarai or Sonoda anywhere, so we assumed the cowards just ran off. Anyway, see you soon!"
"See you," Tadano returned the phone to Komi.
"Everything's alright, everyone is safe."
"Are we going to be…?"
"Yeah, we are safe for now…"
"W-what about Y-Yamai-san?"
"She didn't show up to that brawl apparently. She left… or something."
"What about… your attacker…?"
"Oh… I… threw him down the stairs…"
Komi looked at her boyfriend in awe, her figurative cat ears shot out and she let out a pomph!
"It's… nothing special, really…" Tadano blushed a little, reaching up to scratch his head, before wincing as the pain from his arm and head shot throughout his body.
"I'm fine…! It's nothing much…" He stammered as Komi moved closer to him.
"We're dating again… right...?" Komi asked softly, blushing a little.
"Well, I assume we are…"
"Perfect…"
Slowly, she shifted forwards, her palm placed on his cheek.
"Shouko…?"
"Hito…"
"Oh…"
Slowly, they closed their eyes before planting their lips on each other. The warmth spread throughout their bodies as they remained intertwined in a seemingly never-ending kiss.
Their path the past few weeks had been tumultuous, but they had emerged a stronger couple.
Communication: Love's Unsteady Path- The End.
(Part 2 soon?)