Author's Notes: This chapter is going to feature another convention of mine, something I started fairly recently and will probably use in the future until further notice. Events in the past will be in bold, while events in the present will remain in their usual plain text. Enjoy!
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Omitsu had been through a lot of trying situations in her life. She had been kidnapped. Humiliated. Abused and tormented for no good reason at all. However, she had never been as scared in any of those situations as she was at this very moment. This was a completely new and shocking experience for her; being forced to do battle with an opponent much larger, much stronger, much more imposing and deadly than herself or any of her friends. All she could do in this situation was hold on to Goemon's arm and whimper.
"It's all right, Omitsu..." Goemon reassured her as he watched the freak of nature that was, until recently, Bismaru Elegant swing wildly to try and reach the nooks and crannies that his friends had hid themselves in. "Impact will be here any second, just you wait...And then we'll show this clown who's boss."
In fact, it had been nearly five minutes since Goemon had summoned the giant mecha. He had been promising Omitsu that Impact was on his way ever since, like a parent trying to comfort their sobbing child, assuring them that everything would be all right when they knew the likelihood of that actually happening was slim.
The battlefield was getting progressively smaller. As Ebisumaru, Sasuke, and Yae would find new spots to conceal themselves, Bismaru would eventually grow tired of trying to force them out and would simply destroy their hiding places, forcing them to run to a different area and repeat the process all over again. Fortunately for Goemon and Omitsu, and unfortunately for the rest, Bismaru had not noticed them all the way in the back.
Such luck could only last so long, however. While trying to follow a scampering Ebisumaru, its gaze moved from the Ninja of Justice to his two companions in the back. With no good place for them to hide, Goemon stood in front of the frozen Omitsu and spread his arms out in a futile attempt to protect her from the charging robot.
---
"Wow, look at 'em go...They're like a couple of animals."
"Really, where is their shame? Come on, Goemon, I needed some fresh air anyway." She pulled on Goemon's arm in the direction of an exit.
"Huh? Oh, right. Let's go, Omitsu." Goemon turned his back on the young couple, trapped in each other's arms and connected by their lips, and walked outside with his friend.
Omitsu, now 14, had become significantly more popular since she first moved into town. Usually she wore her hair up in the complex style of the geisha she hoped to one day become, but tonight it was let down and braided intricately, the strongest act of rebellion she had performed up to this point in her life. It flowed smoothly down to the middle of her back from which it hopped slightly when the wind blew. She chuckled softly as she leaned on the balustrade at the edge of the balcony. "I'm so sorry about that, Goemon. I should've known those two would be going at it like that as soon as I found out they were invited to this party. Now everybody else will probably be doing the same thing before long."
"Y-Yeah..." Goemon couldn't help but glance back inside where, as Omitsu had predicted, another couple had copied the first one in their actions.
Any teenage male inside the house, or even in all of Oedo, would have loved to be kissing Omitsu like that. However, she had consistently refused all of their advances, being both shy and doubtful of her own abilities.
Omitsu smiled at her oldest friend. Her smile was enough to win over anybody with even the slightest bit of softness in their hearts, Goemon not excluded. "You know you're the only guy our age I've met that hasn't begged me to make out with them, right Goemon?"
"Yeah, I know," he replied, blushing slightly and rubbing the back of his neck. "It just doesn't feel right to pressure somebody into doing something like that."
There was no sound besides the crickets until Omitsu sighed and leaned on Goemon. "Can I tell you something, Goemon?" she said in a voice that bordered on a whisper. "To be honest...it kind of scares me. Doing stuff like that, I mean. A kiss is supposed to be important, so I don't want to give it to just anybody. It needs to be somebody who I really care about, and who really cares about me, you know?"
"Y-Yeah, I know what you mean..." As he absorbed Omitsu's innermost thoughts, Goemon couldn't resist stealing glances into the house every so often, where the number of lovers was increasing rapidly.
---
Bismaru Elegant pulled one of its sword arms back in preparation to strike. Down on the ground, Omitsu clung to the back of Goemon's gi and buried her face in it. This was it; death was imminent.
Suddenly, there was a loud roar from the skies above, and a red blur dropped in front of Goemon just as Bismaru Elegant swung its massive sword at them. There was a sound of metal clashing with metal as sparks flew in the air. Goemon looked down at the floor, where Bismaru Elegant's arm lay motionless under two oversized sandals with rocket boosters at the backs. His gazed moved upward as he examined his gigantic, metallic savior. "I-Impact?"
The giant mecha standing in front of him was about the same size as Impact and had the same basic shape. However, there were several differences as well. He was covered in a layer of dust that, even though it had most likely thinned on his way over here, was thick enough to create noticeable flakes. In addition, an unsightly rust was beginning to form over much of his body, making the familiar colors even more difficult to recognize. Not all the changes were cosmetic, though. Curved blades protruded from the ball-shaped joints in the middle of his arms, and a large jetpack had been added in the middle of his back.
Goemon and Omitsu ran to the side of the newcomer to get a better look at him. As expected, he had the same face as the old, familiar Impact, but there were even more upgrades to be seen on the front. Doors on his chest that assumedly held missiles and a thick, flat glass lens that covered his eye were among them. "Impact!" Omitsu shouted excitedly. "I've never been so happy to see you!"
"Yeah, now let us in, quickly!" Seconds after he said this, Goemon was rising steadily in a green beam of light emanating from Impact's mouth. Omitsu joined him immediately after, and Ebisumaru, Sasuke, and Yae hurried over and followed them inside. They all breathed a sigh of relief; now they would have a fighting chance in this, the final battle.
---
"You wanna do WHAT?!"
"J-Just hear me out, Omitsu..." Goemon put his hands up defensively as a thoroughly confounded and slightly irritated Omitsu stared at him with a raised eyebrow. "Think about last night...Didn't seeing all those people make you wanna try it, just once, just to see what it's like? Aren't you even a little bit curious?"
"NO!" This sudden response made Goemon lose his balance and fall back onto the hard street below his feet, and also drew the attention of confused passersby. "Goemon, are you nuts?! I mean, we're best friends, what do you think doing something like this is gonna do to our friendship? Did you even bother thinking about that?"
"Of course I did, and it's not gonna do anything bad to our friendship. If anything, it'll bring us closer, and we'll be better off a hundred years from now because of it. Trust me, Omitsu, this is a...a good idea." The two blinked at each other before Goemon took a few small steps towards his friend. "So, whatd'ya say?"
Omitsu rubbed her arm and looked down at the ground. "I don't know, Goemon...Honestly, you're starting to sound a lot like all the other guys that have been pestering me to--"
"But the difference between me and them is that I've been your friend from the very beginning, while they teased you about your fat head for your first five years here!" Goemon interrupted. Omitsu went silent; her eyes narrowed viciously at Goemon, but, after several seconds of shaking, she turned her back on him with a sigh of exasperation. Goemon released his own sigh before moving to Omitsu's front, where he hugged her and rubbed her back soothingly. Omitsu resisted at first and tried to pull away, but quickly gave in to her fate when she realized that there was no escape from the much stronger Goemon's arms. "I'm sorry I blew up like that, Omitsu..." he said quietly, his embarrassment increasing with each stranger that had stopped to stare at them.
Omitsu, whimpering quietly into his chest, shook her head. "I-It's all right, Goemon...You're right, you are different. You're better than all of them put together."
"So...I hate to bring it up again, but will you do it?" Even as the words left his lips, he was looking around frantically, trying to scare the expanding crowd away with his glare. "Because if you don't, um...well, one of those other jerks will force you to, and you really wouldn't want that, would you?"
Omitsu sniffed and looked up at Goemon. He could see tears just starting to form at the tips of her large, brown eyes. "Th-They will?"
---
"All right, time to teach this jerk a lesson he'll never forget! Huh, I don't remember this button here..." Without wasting another moment, Goemon pushed the button he was eyeing, one of many, along with levers, flashing lights of all colors, and huge, comfortable leather chairs (which Ebisumaru was thrilled to see upon his arrival in the cockpit), that had been added sometime between the Edo period and this distant future.
On the outside, a door on Impact's chest slid open, and a missile flew out and hit Bismaru Elegant in the face. There was a huge explosion, which the ninjas back inside the cockpit watched in awe. The dust settled eventually, revealing a Bismaru Elegant that was missing part of its left cheek. After blinking several times, Goemon finally spoke. "Wow...That was awesome! This'll be a piece of cake!"
Yae shook her head reprovingly. "Don't get overly confident, Goe--Aah!" Bismaru Elegant had delivered a punch straight to Impact's midsection, shaking the mecha and everyone within.
"R-Right..." Goemon climbed back into his seat and held onto the familiar controls; it was ultimately up to him whether they would win or lose, as the others mainly provided support. He concentrated on what lay ahead, the enemy, their foe; nothing mattered more to him at this moment than defeating him and putting his dastardly plans to an end.
His concentration was broken when Yae shouted suddenly. "Goemon, something's coming in from the left!"
"And the right!" Sasuke added quickly.
"Huh?!" With no time to think of an alternative course of action, Goemon made Impact hold up his arms on either side of his head. Fortunately, they held up better against the missile attack than Bismaru Elegant's face did, with nothing more than a few black marks to show where the damage had been done. "I hope his armor's been improved, too...But anyway, no more fooling around, let's go!"
Shots were fired, punches were exchanged...Impact was by far the more physically powerful of the two, but centuries of neglect had made him slow and jerky in his movements. Bismaru Elegant could easily land several blows and finish with a slash, while Impact could only counter with one huge swing that rarely hit and Goemon and the others tried their best to learn some of Impact's new functions.
Bismaru Elegant brought his sword down towards Impact's head. It was blocked by one of the elbow blades, but before Impact could attack with the other he was shoved into a wall in the back of the courtyard.
"Eek! Goemon, what do we do? We're losing a lot of oil, we'll be doomed at this rate!" Ebisumaru continued whining, but Goemon wasn't paying attention. He scanned the console in front of him looking for a solution, hopefully before his opponent could use a follow-up attack.
"Aha! I've got it!" Goemon said as he pushed the button to release a missile. Silence, and no movement whatsoever, came as a result. "...Well, what a gyp! Stupid piece of junk!" Goemon growled and pounded the console as he stood up in defiance of the surely long-dead Wise Man.
"Goemon, look out!" But Omitsu's warning had come too late. Bismaru Elegant's next punch made a hole where Impact's uncovered eye had been, and right in front of the spot where Goemon was currently standing. Goemon, shaken by the sudden attack that he had once again failed to notice, stood up and was met by an overpowering vacuum to the outside. While Ebisumaru, Sasuke, Yae, and Omitsu held on to their seats, Goemon was sucked out of the gaping hole and plummeted to the ground below.
---
Even though she had finally agreed to Goemon's proposal, and assured him that she was fine and definitely ready, Omitsu couldn't keep herself from shaking. "It'll be fine...It'll be fine..." She repeated this mantra to herself as she waited for Goemon to arrive at her house. She waited at the designated place, her bedroom, at the designated time, about 8 pm, but she knew Goemon too well to expect him to be prompt. She paced her room, sat down, and got up and paced some more, repeating to herself that all would be well in the end.
At a few minutes past 8, Omitsu heard the front door to her house open, which made her heart jump into her throat and get lodged in their so deeply that she couldn't even speak. She could hear her mother and Goemon talking briefly in the foyer before footsteps approached her bedroom, slowly, one by one, her heartbeat accelerating with each step she heard.
Finally, the door to her bedroom opened, and Goemon let himself in without a word, making sure to close the door behind him. Omitsu breathed in deeply and exhaled slowly; it would be best to just get this over with.
"Are you ready?" Goemon asked quietly. Omitsu nodded, though her vibrating body suggested the contrary, and sat on her bed. "Are you sure? I mean, we don't have to do this now if you're not ready."
"Goemon, it's fine," Omitsu said suddenly, which surprised both herself and her friend. "I, I've given it some thought, and you're absolutely right. I want to do this."
Goemon nodded and sat down next to Omitsu on the bed, but what seemed like ages passed while they both did absolutely nothing. Despite the conviction of their words, neither of them would dare to make the first move. "Well?" he asked finally.
"Well, what? This was your idea, I expect you to start it!"
"Okay, okay...Geez..." Goemon shifted slightly. "Should we...I don't know, hold hands or something?"
"If you want..." Omitsu held out her hands for him and felt them become clasped in his larger ones. This was followed by even more silence. "All right, this is ridiculous. Let's just do this and get it over with. On the count of 3, all right?"
"R-Right...One..." The two of them each took a deep breath. "Two..." They leaned in closer to each other. "Th-Three..." They closed their eyes and leaned in even closer, their lips just barely touching.
---
"Goemon! No!" As soon as the vacuum had been reduced enough in power, Omitsu ran to Goemon's seat and tried to climb onto the console to peer out of the hole that had just formed, but Yae held her back, both of them screaming along with Ebisumaru and Sasuke, who were in a panic at the sudden loss of their leader. "Yae, let me go or I swear I'll--" Omitsu kicked and screamed the loudest of them all, but to no avail. Yae held on tight, berating her for her foolishness in this situation.
In her fury, Omitsu ended up pushing a small button near Goemon's chair. The lighting inside the cockpit became slightly darker, and a cold, metallic voice rang throughout. "Autopilot activated." Looking to the outside, the group could see Impact fighting Bismaru Elegant on his own, though not very well. Very few blows landed on Bismaru Elegant, and the ninjas always knew when Impact was hit because of the violent shaking it caused.
Yae took advantage of the confusion resulting from this new situation, grabbed Omitsu's shoulders, and turned her so that they were face-to-face. "Listen to me, Omitsu!" she said sternly. "I know you're worried about Goemon; we all are. But you can't get this upset! We need you now more than ever." She had tried her best to keep the speech brief while Bismaru Elegant hammered at Impact. "We'll look for Goemon when this is over. Get in my seat, I'm taking over the controls!" Omitsu sniffed before nodding and doing as Yae commanded, while Yae sat herself in Goemon's old seat and deactivated the autopilot.
Even with limited experience, Yae was able to handle Impact fairly well. He blocked an incoming punch, and then another before pushing Bismaru Elegant back and slicing into the remaining sword arm. It was not cut off completely, but instead dangled by a few wires. Because it was completely useless in this state, Bismaru decided to get rid of it completely. The entire arm fell off, down to the floor after it disconnected from the main body. Yae knew this was their chance, so she had Impact push Bismaru into a nearby column with all his might. The top part slid off and fell, first to Bismaru Elegant's head and then to the ground. "I hope Goemon's okay..." Yae mumbled as she fanned at the now dusty air. "All right, how did he do this again?" She pulled some massive levers back and pushed a button before all of them watched a violent flurry of punches hit their opponent in the face.
And that's when Yae noticed it. A large, red flashing button right next to her hand caught her attention. "That's strange...I never noticed that one before..."
"Ooh, pretty..." Ebisumaru said. "Hey Yae, can I push this flashing one here? Pretty please?"
"That's odd...There's one here too," Sasuke said.
"And here," Omitsu added. "It just started flashing a few seconds ago."
Yae looked around and then stared back at her own console. "Hmm, there must be a reason it just started flashing like this...All right, everybody push it on the count of three! One...Two...Three!" Four fists pounded on four buttons, and the minds within the bodies they were connected to all hoped for the best.
On the outside, one of Impact's arms shot out and pinned Bismaru Elegant to the column. The other fist jutted out, and a cylinder rose out of the newly opened section. Several twists and turns of the new part later, Impact was aiming a giant cannon not unlike Yae's bazooka at his foe. A slender pipe extended from the main body of the cannon and went all the way to the glass over Impact's eye.
Back inside, Yae could see Bismaru Elegant from the point of view of the gun on a nearby screen. The message "FIRE WHEN READY" flashed on and off below the image. Yae was only too happy to oblige. With a sly smile, she slammed her palm against the lone button below the screen and sat back to watch the fireworks.
Light built up at the end of the cannon that practically touched Bismaru Elegant. The hearts of every one of the passengers inside Impact beat furiously. The two mechas that had been locked in combat remained emotionless in this decisive moment. Finally, a beam shot out of the cannon and pierced the chest of Bismaru Elegant. Roaring loudly, it created a giant hole as it went straight through its target; the only recognizable part remaining of Bismaru Elegant was the head that had popped off and sunk like a rock to the floor while the rest of its body, nearly burnt to a crisp, followed it. The column it had its back to was reduced to rubble, one of many such architectural casualties of the battle.
Omitsu, Ebisumaru, and Sasuke each gave their own unique brand of celebratory cheer while Yae watched their defeated foe plummet to the ground with a wide grin. "We...We did it...We won!" she finally shouted. She stood up and joined in the cheer before she, as well as the others, came to a sudden realization.
---
Goemon's lips had just met Omitsu's when he felt a firm hand on his arm pull him off of the bed and out of the room. The shouts of four people, including himself, were mixed into an indecipherable concoction, but the ones that seemed to come from the two adults consisted of such words as "filthy," "bastard," and "whore," while Goemon spent much of his energy shouting "I can explain!" Dragged by the arm by a force more powerful than he could possibly fight against, Goemon soon found his feet leaving the ground as he was tossed onto the street outside of Omitsu's home. He landed with a muffled "Oof" and rolled to face the house that he had been inside mere seconds earlier.
"Stay away from my daughter, you slimy rat!" shouted Omitsu's father before he slammed the door shut. But even then, Goemon could hear shouts and screaming from inside the house, with quite a bit of it coming from Omitsu herself. Goemon sat outside, motionless, staring at the house. He had come so close, so close he came within microseconds of literally tasting it. Finally, after several minutes of futilely waiting for the door to open again, he left, the argument inside showing no signs of stopping anytime soon.
Days passed, and Goemon saw no sign of Omitsu at any of their usual places. He went to her house a few times, but always saw her father standing outside with clearly murderous intent in his eyes and decided it would be better to turn back. Though Goemon, the lone-wolf type, would never admit it to anyone else, he really did miss her.
It was just over a week after they tried to kiss that Goemon saw Omitsu again. He was sitting on the edge of a bridge looking at the river rushing below when he felt a hand on shoulder. Panicked at what he perceived to be a possible attack, he whirled around with a scream.
"Eek! C-Calm down, Goemon, it's just me," Omitsu said as she pulled her hand back to defend herself if the need should arise.
"Oh, Omitsu!" Goemon said with a sigh of relief. "Geez, don't startle me like that. I thought you were...I don't know, someone else."
Omitsu giggled and sat down next to him. "Sorry. I'll be sure to announce myself when I'm a few yards back so I don't scare you again." She reached up and ruffled his hair, a playful gesture that she knew would annoy him just as much as a good friend would be allowed to.
"H-Hey, cut it out!" he said as he swatted her hand away. "How many times do I have to tell you not to mess with the hair?" Omitsu giggled again, and Goemon chuckled in response. "Heh, anyway, are you sure it's okay for you to be seen with me? What did your parents say?"
"Oh, you know, the usual stupid parent stuff...They were really mad for a while, they wouldn't let me leave the house unless I absolutely had to, and Dad boarded the window in my room. But I talked to them, and it looks like they've calmed down. Dad says he's forgiven you, and he's letting me go out again so I'm assuming we can hang out now."
"Phew, that's good..." he sighed as he leaned back on his elbows. He closed his eyes and listened to the river running below and the footsteps stomping behind them.
"So...Did you miss me, Goemon?" Omitsu asked sweetly. No response. "Hmm?" She smiled at her friend, and although he wouldn't admit it he began melting inside like he always did when that beaming smile would shine on him.
"Heh...Nah, not really, Omitsu." He grinned, and she smirked and slapped him playfully on the shoulder. "All right, maybe a little. But...we probably shouldn't try something like that again for a while, you know? I don't want you to get in trouble again."
"Oh...R-Right, y-you're right, uh, about that..." Omitsu's shoulders lowered a bit, but perked up again when she saw some fish jumping in the river. She smiled at Goemon one more time before watching them.
---
"Ah! Help me!"
"Here, I've got it! All right, ready...go!" Ebisumaru and Omitsu each took one end of a giant slab of rock and lifted it off of the pile. Strewn all over the battlefield were what must have been literally tons of stone from the columns and parts of the ceiling that had crumbled during the battle. None of the ninjas could see Jurokubei or Bismaru when they disembarked from Impact, and they didn't care. The only thing that mattered to any of them was finding Goemon.
The search was frantic and disorganized. All four of them, but especially Omitsu, panicked upon seeing just how much debris there was from the battle. And since Goemon had not been waiting to greet them on the ground, they could only assume that he was buried somewhere under the piles of stones.
Yae, breathing rapidly and red in the face, clawed at the smaller pieces and tossed them behind her. "Gotta find him...Goemon, please..." She was about to hurl more of the rocks behind her when she saw what appeared to be three fingertips sticking out of the rubble. She smiled and called to the others. "Guys! I think I found him!" But even before any of them could rush to her side and help release him, she had already cleared most of the debris.
It was indeed Goemon. His face and hands were bruised, parts of his clothes were torn, and Yae guessed that he had some fractured or broken bones. He was motionless. Yae put two fingers on his wrist and opened his eyes. "All right, the good news is he seems to be alive. But--"
"Really? Let me see!" Omitsu shoved Yae out of the way rather forcefully, much to the latter's surprise, and leaned over Goemon. "Goemon? Goemon, wake up! Please wake up!"
"Ow..." Yae rubbed the back of her head, which had hit the ground when Omitsu pushed her. "Anyway, as I was saying, he's probably just hanging on by a thread. I don't think he'd survive if we tried to move him out of here in this condition, but I don't know if there are any medical supplies here that we can bring to him...I'd say our chances of seeing him alive again are pretty slim."
"No...No, that, that can't...I don't believe you!" Omitsu cried. Ebisumaru and Sasuke hung their heads, while Omitsu shook uncontrollably as tears began flowing down her cheeks. "We can't give up on him! Goemon would never give up on any of us, and you know it! Can't we at least look around here for bandages or something?"
"I, I suppose..." Yae stammered. Like Ebisumaru and Sasuke, her eyes were focused on the floor. Seconds later, she shook her head quickly, wiped her eyes, and took a deep breath. "You're right, Omitsu. We can't just sit here doing nothing. We have to at least try!" Ebisumaru looked up and blinked, while Omitsu sniffed and tried to crack a small smile. "Omitsu, can you stay here with Goemon and try to revive him while the rest of us look for medical supplies? You'll have to be careful, Bismaru might still try to attack you."
"I'll be fine, Yae," Omitsu said with a nod. "Just...hurry back. And good luck." She waited no more than two seconds after Yae, Ebisumaru, and Sasuke had left before turning back to Goemon, but all she could do was shake and cry. She slammed her fists on the ground and ignored the pain that came as a result. The emotional scar that was growing inside was much more of a hindrance.
"I, I said I wasn't gonna give up on you, and I meant it!" she whispered to her motionless friend. She looked behind her. Still no sign of Jurokubei or Bismaru, and the others were long gone. With no idea of what else to do, she put one of her hands on top of the other and placed them beneath Goemon's rib cage before pushed down as she counted. "One! Two! Three! F-Four..." Unable or unwilling to go any further, the inundation of tears began again and she rested her head on his chest. No noticeable response from his heart. "All right..." she said through sniffles. "Time for Plan B." She took a deep breath and pinched his nose shut before putting her lips over his and breathing as much air as she could manage into his mouth. Several times she did this, but still no response. Not even a small flinch.
This was almost too much for her to bear. She moaned loudly and buried her face in her hands. "Why? Why did this have to happen..." Her reddened eyes stared down at him as she stroked his hair and rested a hand on his cheek. "Y-You know, Goemon..." she whispered. "There's something I've wanted to do for a long, long time...Ever since that...incident, when we were teenagers, or maybe even before that...Heh, do you remember that, Goemon? How disgusted I acted, and how nervous we both were when we finally agreed to it? I was so mad at my parents that night...Feeling your lips just barely touch mine, it was...it was like magic, you know? But I couldn't tell anybody that, especially not them. And I couldn't wait to get the chance to actually finish what we started.
"There might not be another opportunity after now, so...I'm gonna give it a shot, okay? Heh, and who knows, it might actually work, by some crazy miracle. Wouldn't that be something? It would be like a fairy tale..." She tried her best to smile and stroked Goemon's hair again. "My hero...and so handsome, too. From the day we met you've been so good to me. Fending off bullies, standing up for me around my parents, rescuing me from psychotic villains...Please let me say thanks for all of that and more." She sniffed and wiped her eyes before taking a deep breath. She put one hand on his shoulder and another on his cheek, stared at him for a brief moment, and then leaned in and kissed him, not at all like the one she had given him minutes earlier or several years ago. She put as much passion as she could manage into this one act, hoping in her desperation that it would be enough of a shock to his system that he would suddenly wake up and return the gesture.
Even if it was a long shot to begin with, Omitsu was still sorely disappointed when Goemon refused to move at the end of the kiss. Her breathing accelerated, her face tensed as she tried to keep herself from crying even more and failed, and she covered her eyes as she burst into tears. "No, this can't be! I tried my best and you're still...you're still..." She pounded her fists against Goemon's chest before practically collapsing from exhaustion and just buried her face there and sobbed loudly. "Goemon, please..." she moaned through clenched teeth. "If you can hear me, you have to wake up! You have to! There's something I've been dying to tell you." Still nothing. His eyes remained closed and his chest remained flat. "Well, even if you won't listen," she sniffed, "I'll just tell you anyway. I love you, Goemon. I love you, and I would do anything to see you open your eyes again." Her sobs softened slightly as she rested her forehead against his chest again. Tears slowly and steadily rolled from her eyes and onto his chest.
And that's when the seemingly impossible happened. Maybe it was her confession of love, or the fact that, even while asleep, Goemon couldn't stand the thought of a beautiful woman crying, or maybe it really was the kiss, but Goemon finally responded to Omitsu's pleas. It was just a slight groan at first, but this was more than enough to catch Omitsu's attention. Her eyes shot wide open and she stopped crying in an instant. "G-Goemon...?"
"Ugh..." His arm twitched just a bit, and this little bit of speech and movement ended up exposing him to more joyful shrieks from Omitsu.
"Goemon!" Omitsu lunged for his neck and wrapped her arms around him.
"Ow, ow...OW! Omitsu, that really hurts..."
"I don't care! Oh, Goemon, I'm so happy you're awake! Did you hear any of the things I said while you were unconscious?" She pulled back and looked at him with her usual warm smile.
"Huh? You said stuff while I was unconscious? No, of course I didn't hear you." He rubbed his head while groaning. "Man, that really hurt...So, what did you say?"
Omitsu blushed and looked away. "Um, nothing...Just, you know, begging you to wake up and all that...Oh, it's really great to have you back!" She hugged him tightly once again, much to Goemon's chagrin, and kissed him all over his face. "Goemon...I was...so scared..." The next kiss ended up right on his lips. Goemon tried to resist as best as he could at first, which consisted of raising his good arm and lightly trying to push her away, but gave in eventually and wrapped his arm around her to pull her in close. Omitsu was equally shocked that Goemon responded in such a way, but somehow couldn't bring herself to stop him.
This was it. The moment both of them had been waiting for ever since they were old enough to have a strong enough attraction to each other. And it was as sweet as they had both been hoping it would be for all those years.
The kiss had just started to slow down and decrease in intensity when Goemon opened his eyes. "Urk!" He quickly put his hand on Omitsu's shoulder and gently pushed her away before turning away in embarrassment.
"Huh? What's wrong?" Omitsu asked before turning around herself. "Eek!"
"Aww, come on, keep going! I wanna see more," Ebisumaru whined. He was standing next to a snickering Yae and a clearly confused Sasuke. All three of them had splints, bandages, and medical gels in their arms.
Goemon and Omitsu each blushed deeply. "So, um...how long have you guys been watching?" she asked.
"Oh, since about the time you started your flurry of kisses," Yae said with a grin as Omitsu turned an even brighter shade of red. "But the important thing is that Goemon's awake. Welcome back, Goemon."
"Yeah..." Omitsu turned back to him and smiled.
Goemon smiled back for a brief moment, but then picked something up from his pocket and hurled it somewhere behind Ebisumaru, Sasuke, and Yae. The others gasped and looked around as there was a loud clang and an equally loud "Ow!", their eyes soon landing on a fallen Bismaru. His forehead was bruised where the coin had hit him, and he was groaning and mumbling curses at his foes.
"Wow, nice shot, Goemon," Ebisumaru said.
"Yeah, you've still got it, Goemon," Yae added. She stared down at the male nun. "Look at him. Pathetic, isn't he?"
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Author's Notes: Sorry about that. Scenes involving any kind of romance tend to be pretty difficult for me (and end up being really cheesy) because I'm not drawing from any personal experience. But anyway, there's only one chapter left after this, so look out for that!