A/N: Hey guys. Sorry that I haven't posted anything in a couple of weeks. I have been very busy lately because my grandmother recently passed away, so I was helping my parents with the funeral arrangements.
In fact, I'd like to dedicate this fanfic to her in her memory. Love you and miss you, Ko Poh Poh.
The first part of this fanfic takes place between Episode 21 and Episode 22.
Living In Our Hearts
For five whole minutes, Mai had been staring at Kanami's door, wondering whether she should knock. It had been five days since Tagitsuhime killed Hiyori and three days since the Heijou Toji's funeral. There had been no sightings of the evil aradama princess causing everyone in the Toji workforce to be on high alert. But even though Tagitsuhime didn't appear, many other aradama did and in greater numbers. Mai and her friends were constantly sent out by Director Maniwa onto the field, their hours full and busy.
However, even though her missions kept her fairly occupied, Mai couldn't help being mainly concerned about her best friend's mental and emotional state. Like Tagitsuhime, Kanami hadn't shown her face out in public since that awful day. She didn't even attend the funeral. That in itself was worrying. Mai, at last, made up her mind, took a deep breath, and firmly knocked on Kanami's door.
"Kanami-chan?" the Yanase heiress called. "Can I come in?"
No answer.
Discouraged, Mai knocked one more time, before deciding to try turning the knob. To her surprise, the door was unlocked and opened quite easily.
"Kanami-chan, I'm coming in, okay?"
Her eyes were not met with a welcome sight. Kanami's bedsheets were strewn over the floor in a tangled mess. The rest of the floor was hidden by heaps of rumpled, unfolded clothes. The desk against the wall was likewise in a disorganized state with papers scattered everywhere on it. Yet, something was missing—the room's occupant.
'Where is she?' Mai internally panicked.
After unsuccessfully scouring throughout the Minoseki Academy grounds, Mai turned to President Hashima for help, but the president was just in the dark as she was. Her anxiety growing, the purple-haired Toji phoned every one of their friends, and even Kanami's father and brother to no avail. It was as though the sword-geek enthusiast simply disappeared off the face of the Earth. She wasn't at the Special Sword Administration Bureau. She wasn't back at her house. She wasn't even at the dojo where she'd normally practice sparring.
Mai hopelessly buried her face in her hands, overwhelmed by worry and sadness. It was her fault. As Kanami's best friend, she should've been there for her from the start of it all. She only gave Kanami space because she believed it to be necessary to allow her to grieve.
'I shouldn't have let her grieve alone though,' Mai thought. 'Hiyori-chan had always been important to Kanami-chan since they first met. Kanami-chan is definitely hurting more than the rest of us.'
Mai raised her head once a thought suddenly struck her. There was still one place she hadn't searched yet...
It took her a while to make the journey all the way from Gifu, but at last, Mai reached her destination—a humble little farmhouse situated amongst the Nara rice fields. The Yanase heiress had never once been to Hiyori's house before. Indeed, she only just got the address after asking President Gojou about it. She thought it looked rather quaint and snug-looking, but now was not the time to admire architecture. If Kanami was indeed here, Mai needed to get in that house now.
The Yanase heiress slid open the front door, before taking off her shoes at the entryway. The house was bare, save for a few pieces of traditional Japanese furniture.
"Kanami-chan?" Mai called. "Are you here?"
Like when she first knocked on Kanami's door, there was no answer. Mai sighed, her shoulders drooping. She should've known. The purple-haired girl was about to turn back until her ears picked up something. A faint noise from upstairs that sounded like someone was sniffling, but trying to keep quiet.
"Kanami-chan? Is that you?"
Mai ascended the wooden stairs, letting the sounds of the sniffles lead her until she entered a bedroom. The Yanase heiress only had to look at the room's green colour scheme to know that this was Hiyori's bedroom. Mai's attention turned to the platform bed, where a shaking figure was hidden under the olive-green bedsheets. That was the source of the sniffling.
"Kanami-chan..."
As gently as possible, Mai sat on the edge of Hiyori's bed, before carefully lifting up the bedsheets. Kanami was curled up in a ball, her eyes puffy and red. Her hair was unkempt and the tears that weren't already rolling down her cheeks had left stains on them. She was also still in her uniform. Judging by how wrinkled it was, Mai guessed that Kanami hadn't even changed her clothes since that day.
The purple-haired girl maternally brushed a few damp, brown locks from Kanami's face, before soothing, "Ssh. It's okay. I'm right here, Kanami-chan."
For several minutes, neither of them said anything. The silence was only broken whenever Kanami would sniffle or let out a little gulp down her throat.
Just when Mai was about to say some consoling words, Kanami broke out in a wavering voice, "You can leave me here, Mai-chan. There's no point anymore."
The Yanase heiress's eyebrows knit together. "You know I can't do that."
"There's no more life in me left," Kanami said. "All of it is gone with Hiyori-chan."
"Hiyori-chan was indeed a good friend," Mai agreed. "And I also know how important she was to you."
Kanami turned her body the other way so that her friend wouldn't see her crying again. She buried her face into the pillows, letting the fabric soak her tears. The bed had a lavender-mint aroma to it, which Kanami knew to be from Hiyori's shampoo.
"But do you think Hiyori-chan would want to see you like this?"
Kanami stirred and Mai knew that her words were slowly, but surely having an effect on her brown-haired friend. Choosing her next words carefully, Mai continued.
"It's okay to grieve, Kanami-chan, but right now, I think Hiyori-chan is as sad as you are. I don't think she'd want you to be like this forever, Kanami-chan. I certainly don't. And everyone else is just as worried."
Kanami's reply was muffled, due to her face being in the pillows. "Hiyori-chan is dead. Gone forever."
She hiccupped, before adding, "I now understand Hiyori-chan's hatred and sorrow. Tagitsuhime has taken the two people I love the most. First, she's stolen Mother's life and now Hiyori-chan's!"
"Hiyori-chan is still with us," Mai said. "She may not be with us in person, but she lives on in our hearts. Especially yours, Kanami-chan. Please, please don't let what remains of her disappear inside you!"
Kanami did not move or say anything, which made the Yanase heiress think she ignored her. A sigh of defeat and despair left Mai's lips and she stood up to go. However, just as she was about to leave the room, she heard rustling behind her. The purple-haired Toji turned to see Kanami, sitting up. This was an improvement.
Edging back to the bed, Mai breathed, "Kanami-chan?"
Her friend rubbed her eyes, trying to dry them. Taking out her handkerchief, Mai assisted by gently wiping away the tear-stains on Kanami's pale cheeks.
"Are you ready to return to us, Kanami-chan?" Mai asked. A mist-like glaze had also come to her peridot-green eyes.
Kanami gave a somewhat melancholy smile, but her voice was still dead. "You're right, Mai-chan. I've spent too much time in a dark world of sadness, but I'm ready now."
"Take it easy, alright?" Mai soothed. "You're strong, Kanami-chan, but always remember that you have us too. We all owe it to Hiyori-chan. We can all work together and support each other."
Kanami nodded, a determined glint appearing in her eyes. "And then we'll avenge Hiyori-chan."
Mai's lips pressed together, before helping Kanami up. "Come on. You look rather thin. Let's get you something to eat, okay?"
Kanami's stomach growled in response and a dark blush came to her cheeks. Then, she giggled for the first time in days. Taking Mai's hand, the brown-haired girl allowed herself to be led out of Hiyori's house, but not before casting one last wistful look at it.
'Please watch over me, Hiyori-chan.'
One Year Later...
Cherry blossom season had once again come to Japan. Flying in the wind and laying like a pink carpet on the ground, petals were seen everywhere. Underneath one such cherry blossom tree was a group of girls, dressed in kimono and having a picnic.
Her mouth stuffed with cookies, Kanami managed to say, "Mai-chan, can you pwrease pash me moar cookieesh?"
Shaking her head in amusement, Mai giggled, "Finish the ones you have in your mouth first, Kanami-chan, or you'll get bad digestion."
She was about to reach for a cookie herself, however, her eyes widened in shock. What used to be a place full of cookies five seconds ago was one with no cookies at all. It wasn't hard to know who the culprit was. Laying on her back with her arms folded beneath her head, Kaoru appeared to be absentmindedly taking a nap. Although she appeared to be doing something totally innocent, she didn't do a very good job wiping away the evidence as around her mouth were clear traces of crumbs.
"What?" Kaoru asked, with a frown.
"Kaoru, you could've at least saved some for the rest of us," Ellen sighed.
The white-haired girl next to her had an equal look of disappointment. "I didn't even get to try any."
"Don't worry, Sayaka-chan. Luckily I brought more with me," Mai said, pulling out another batch from her basket. "Sorry, Kaoru-chan, but as you already ate an entire plate, it's only fair that you let the rest of us have this one to ourselves."
Kanami swallowed the remaining cookies she had in her mouth, before looking around. "Where's Hiyori-chan?"
Not lifting an eyelid, Kaoru mumbled, "She mentioned something about visiting the cemetery two blocks away. I think I also heard her say something about some sort of anniversary."
Kanami didn't need any more clues to fit the pieces together. After excusing herself, she went in search of her ebony-haired friend. It didn't take long for Kanami to find her, kneeling in front of a stone monument, hands clasped in prayer. Kanami could guess whose gravestone it was. She made sure to approach quietly, in case Hiyori wished to not be disturbed. After Hiyori bowed one last time, the Minoseki Toji took the chance to call her friend's name.
"Hiyori-chan?"
"Kanami? What are you doing here?"
The Minoseki Toji approached, her face bright as the sun. "I came looking for you, of course."
"I was just laying flowers at my mother's grave."
The answer was straightforward, almost as though Hiyori was telling Kanami what day it was. However, the Minoseki Toji could faintly hear her friend's voice waver slightly.
"Hiyori-chan, is today...the day your mother passed away?"
There was a pause hanging in the air, before Hiyori answered, "Yes."
"It doesn't hurt as much as it did before," she added. "If I didn't have you or the rest of our friends, it'd probably be a different case."
Kanami wrapped her arms around the ebony-haired girl, subtly catching a whiff of the familiar lavender-mint scent of Hiyori's shampoo. She gently placed a kiss on the Heijou Toji's cheek, before resting her head on her shoulder.
"I meant to tell you this before, but I forgot," Kanami said. "Did you know that my mother wanted to be buried next to yours?"
This was a piece of new information that Hiyori had never heard of and it obviously perked her interest.
"Mother died when I was very small. Obviously, the name Hiiragi Kagari didn't ring a bell in my mind as I didn't know you and your mother at the time," Kanami said. "But I did overhear my father talking about it once with the funeral director. My mother's last wish though...was never fulfilled."
"What happened then?" Hiyori asked. Clearly, just by looking at the gravestones next to her mother's, she could tell that Minato wasn't buried anywhere nearby.
"Origami Yukari happened," Kanami said, bluntly. "Well, more like Tagitsuhime. My guess is that she didn't want them buried next to each other."
Hiyori frowned but said nothing.
"But, that's in the past, Hiyori-chan. Our mothers live in our hearts, along with the rest of those we love," Kanami said. "A very good friend once told me that."
"Very wise words," Hiyori commented, with a small smile.
She rested her head on Kanami's, as they both stared at the gravestone of Hiiragi Kagari. Even though Minato's final wish did not come true, the two young Tojis knew that somewhere Minato was happily together with Kagari in a better place.
"Come on, let's go," Kanami said, extending her hand to Hiyori.
As they walked back to join their friends, in their minds, both Kanami and Hiyori prayed to the most important and influential women in their lives.
'Please watch over us.'
A/N: Short, but bittersweet was what I was going for with this fanfic. I'm still brainstorming a lot of ideas for two big writing projects, so keep those fingers crossed! I'll try to write a few one-shots in between then so that you guys can have new material to read for entertainment. Until next time and peace out!