New series, I hope nobody was waiting for me to make another release because I wasn't sure if I ever would. I got busy with life but here I am. Hopefully you'll enjoy my different take on COTE/
Corgi Out.
CH 1. A Turbulent Trip
Over a thousand kilometers from Tokyo, I sat on the balcony of an inn which was laid across a mountain ridge.
A week had passed since I had graduated from the Advanced Nurturing High School. It was a hard road, one with many twists and turns, but I persevered through it all. I learned many things in the journey, about myself and others as well. Following an intense battle with my father, I managed to make it out and finally free myself from his clutches. It all feels like a dream.
"Whatcha thinkin so seriously about?"
Breaking my gaze from the view of Hokkaido mountains, I turned my head and met a pair of familiar purple eyes.
"Just reminiscing about the past, nothing too serious Kei." I said with a warm smile to my girlfriend, something the me of three years ago would have never thought possible.
"Is that so? Well, if you have any worries let me know, I'm here for you ya know." She said as she plopped down on my right.
Kei and I had both gone on a graduation trip to hokkaido in a hot spring inn. She was very excited about the idea and who was I to stop her.
"Noted, I'll let you know if there's anything bothering me."
"Hey now, what're you guys up to?! Don't leave me out." The final occupant exclaimed as she sat down on my open left.
"Ah, mou Honami, we were having a moment." Kei pouted.
Ichinose Honami had joined us on the trip, partly due to the advancement in our relationship over the second and third year, and partly because she wanted to spend some time with the two of us before we went our separate ways. Honami was going to attend Tokyo University's Business School, something I was sure she'd excel at. I was uncertain of what to do right now, and Kei had made up her mind to follow me wherever I went.
"Hahaha, sorry Kei. But still, this view really is nice isn't it. All these mountains, each unique but coming together to form one range. It's kind of like us, we're all totally different and yet here we are. Makes me wonder if we're gonna be able to meet like this in the future." Honami said, her eyes growing distant near the end.
"Of course we'll see each other in the future, isn't that right Taka." Kei looked at me for affirmation.
Realistically, most friends from high school don't often see each other, the same also goes for college friends. I wasn't going to say that though, despite how true it seemed.
"Yeah, we'll try to get together every once in a while when we're all free. Although with Honami being such a go-getter it could prove a bit difficult." I joked.
Honami lightly punched my shoulder.
"Haha you might be right there." She said giggling.
Tonight was the last day of our trip, tomorrow we'd all fly back to tokyo. When we saw each other next, I was not sure. Life was full of new encounters and farewells, would this turn out to be a farewell? I hoped not.
We spent the rest of the night talking about our futures, what kind of places we wanted to travel to during vacations, all sorts of stuff any normal high school graduate would do.
[2:45 AM]
I woke up, needing to use the restroom. I started to get up but Kei's erratic sleeping posture tangled her limbs between mine. Carefully untangling myself from her net of limbs, I went to the restroom.
Once the deed was done, I washed my hands, and headed back to bed. As I walked to the bedroom I saw a lonesome figure sitting in the balcony staring off in the distance.
"A lot on your mind?" I draped a blanket around her and sat down beside her.
"Do you have any regrets Kiyotaka-kun?"
Regrets huh, I guess she really did have a lot on her mind. Did I have any regrets? If I had to choose between yes or no, I'd say yes. There were many things I wish I'd done differently but this wasn't about me right now. Honami wasn't one to easily show her emotions and this was one of the few ways she could.
"I'm not too sure but it sounds like you have some of your own." I replied.
"Yeah." She replied without breaking her gaze from the aloof mountain range.
"I'm sure you know this without me telling you but I've lived my whole life living for the sake of others. Whether it be my family, friends, or classmates I never hesitated to put others before myself. It wasn't until I met you that I started to think to live for myself. I want to live without regrets and work towards gaining my desires. Do you think that's a good idea?" She looked me in the eyes as she asked the question.
"Whether it's a good idea or not, I think that's up to you to decide." Honami didn't and shouldn't rely on me to figure out her path in life. She was a strong woman and more than capable of making her decisions, it would be a discredit to her if I kept her tied to me.
"I see, you're right. I need to grab life by the reins and take it where I want to. Very well then, may I ask you for a favor then? Could you close your eyes? You absolutely can't peek!" Uncertain of what she wanted I did as instructed.
Several seconds passed by, the only sounds audible were some deep breaths on Honami's end as she seemed to gather her resolve.
A few more seconds later a soft sensation pressed against my lips. My eyes shot wide open. Honami, with her eyes shut, had planted a kiss on my lips. It was hard to believe. She moved back and our lips parted.
A blush came across her face but she quickly poised herself.
"Kiyotaka-kun, I like you. A lot. I'm not sure exactly when it happened but my feelings are real. I really like you. I realize how discourteous it is to say this to you knowing your girlfriend is in the room over but I wanted to live without regrets and I felt if I didn't say anything now I would never say it at all. I-I'm not expecting anything from you regarding an answer, I just wanted to unbottle my feelings for you. I-I-I'll see you tomorrow." After dropping a bomb like that, she scuttled over to her room leaving me alone, baffled.
The following day I woke up tired. Honami's words kept ringing through my head all night, I couldn't sleep.
"You look exhausted Taka, couldn't sleep?" Kei asked with some concern for me.
"Yeah, don't know why." I wasn't sure if I should tell Kei about the confession from Honami, they both were good friends after all.
After a brief exchange we packed our bags and all left for the airport. Honami looked as tired as I did and was silent the entire ride even as we boarded the airplane. Looks like we both had it hard. Honami didn't ask for an answer but it seemed only right to give her a proper response. The issue was I didn't know what to say.
Ichinose Honami is a woman with many charms attributed to her amazing personality and looks. Many if not most guys my age would die to have her as a girlfriend. Even my heart raced when she confessed to me, that was where the problem lied. I didn't dislike her, rather I liked her but I had a girlfriend one that was also important to me. I don't know what to do.
As I wrestled with my inner thoughts the airplane encountered some heavy turbulence. Kei let out a cry and hugged my arm tight. Honami motioned to do the same but then retracted her arm and clutched the arm of her seat.
Typically turbulence lasted very a few minutes at most and this concerned me, fifteen minutes had passed and the turbulence had yet to end. On the contrary, it was only getting more violent.
BEEP
The airplane's speaker system turned on.
"Attention all passengers, we're currently experiencing rough turbulence that is lasting longer than usual, please rest assured it will end shortly. Fasten your seat belts and stay seated."
The announcement ended and we endured it further. Five minutes of turbulence passed when the world went spinning. It felt as if someone had yanked the airplane and threw it like a football. Everything was spinning. This was bad. The inhalers dropped down but nobody could reach them.
"ATTENTION ALL PASSENGERS WE'VE ENCOUNTERED A SEVERE STORM. ONE ENGINE IS OUT AND WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE A CRASH LANDING. BRACE YOURSELVES FOR IMPACT."
BAM
In the middle of the sea of Japan, an airplane crashed.
Damage: Severe
Number of survivors: Unknown
Not sure when the next chapter is out but hopefully soon. I hope...
Thanks for reading!