Umeshu
Rain
The weather in Heaven had always intrigued her, confused her, made the hair stand up straight on the back of her neck. It was warm and sunny that mid-morning, puffy picture-perfect white clouds floating in the sky above. Below, between them and Tokyo, rainclouds pooled, ominous and dark. She could see, through patches of loosened fog, the city misting in the distance. It had to be raining hard… It was like Heaven had its own bubble of comfort, while the Humans had to cover their heads with newspaper in the hopes of staving off all the wet.
Tokyo mirrored her mood.
"So, you're leaving?"
Yumemi was smiling down at her, warmly, but with that tinge of sadness Ichiko remembered from their teenage years. She sighed, looking back at the thread of light connecting Heaven to downtown Tokyo. She'd been sitting there with her duffle bag for almost half an hour, staring at the open sky. A few feet away the beam of magic crackled and sparked, pulsing like a living heart.
"I don't belong here," she said finally, gesticulating to the world around them. It was a sentiment she had tried to put behind her with the oncoming of Yumemi's wedding, but now all the unpleasant feelings she suppressed were swimming to the surface. It was a miracle she could even muster the stomach to travel up to the Kingdom. Each time it was a reminder of what she was missing.
Yumemi sat down beside her, "No one 'belongs' anywhere."
"You do. Here." Her words were met with an encouraging pat on the arm. Ichiko's shoulders hunched. "He told you, didn't he?" Munto must have relayed his wife their discussion over breakfast.
Yumemi smiled, "Even if he didn't, don't you think I would be able to tell that my best friend is having a bad day?"
"Bad day? What an understatement… I can't believe this happened. I am so stupid."
It would happen to her, wouldn't it? Add another item to the list of idiot things she'd done…
"Don't beat yourself up over it," the blonde frowned at her. "You made a choice, it's in the past." As if to emphasize her point she folded her arms across her chest.
The wind whistled, magic thrumming the air.
There was a particularly large elephant neither of them were mentioning. Ichiko wondered if Munto had included his own insight when speaking to Yumemi, but that was almost a rhetorical question. Worse, what if Yumemi agreed with him? Ichiko had to ask, it was eating her alive-
"Do you think I love him?"
Her friend looked contemplative, but not at all struck off guard, which was a bad sign. "I think," she ventured slowly, "that only you can make that decision." Ichiko was about to make a noise of acute frustration when Yumemi held up her hand. "I must admit, you two do bicker… a lot… and it's not like he was particularly pleased when you were going out with Takashi."
That was true; Rui never had the best attitude where Takashi was concerned; civil, but icy, as if talking to a child. Then again, he had the same attitude where she was concerned… usually anyway.
"I can't live up here, away from the city."
Ah, yes, subject change.
Yumemi didn't skip a beat, "I'm surprised you're even considering this."
"Me too."
"I thought you hated it up here," she continued, hugging her knees to her chest, "Do you want to stay here?"
"No."
"But you want to see him?"
Ichiko didn't answer.
"Have you even talked to him yet?"
"No, I just ran out of the room like some college hussy," Ichiko hated the way her voice sounded so small, "I can't believe this. I insulted him, didn't I? His strange since of nobility? Oh my god he must had been as mortified as I was and I just turned tail…"
"Now you're just stressing yourself, Ichiko."
"I don't know what to do! I am stressed!"
Yumemi stood up, brushing herself off, peering at the bright blue sky. "I think you should go home, get some rest, and just relax. Take a break from everything. Maybe a nice long bath?"
But that was scary in itself. It was different now, Ichiko knew, going home now that she was the only one. It would be empty, devoid of Yumemi's tinkling laugh. It frightened Ichiko, almost as much as this whole thing with Rui did. What if she was destined to be alone forever? What if her only chance had been Rui and she'd all but thrown it in his face…
Yumemi must have seen something dark pass over her friend. "I can come with you if you want."
"No, you're right," Ichiko said finally, giving in, not sure if their little talk had helped or just aggravated the whole situation. They did agree on one thing: she needed a break.
"I know. Are you going to be okay?"
"I'll be fine… you need to stop worrying about me and go back to enjoying marital bliss," Ichiko took hold of her bag, getting to her feet. "I'll be seeing you around."
"Don't sound so forlorn, it'll be sooner than you think," the blonde hugged her tight, and Ichiko relished in the touch. It was like they were twelve again, dependent on each other for everything- comfort, friendship, love. It was hard to let her go, like she was leaving a piece of herself behind Yumemi was frowning when she pulled away, glancing down at the storm below. "Do you need an umbrella?" Her lips quirked, "Perhaps a pink one?"
"I packed one," Ichiko lied.
"Oh…okay I'll call you after the weekend, huh?"
Ichiko nodded, smiling, but she felt hollow, as if some part of her was being left behind. Stepping into the beam of light the world of Heaven rotated away, pixilation into shimmering fractals. The all-to common queasiness swelled in her stomach as the Tokyo park came back into view, the ground rushing up to meet her. Ichiko bent over her bags, breathing deeply.
She didn't puke… barely, and that was mostly because the hard, cold rain was cooling her heated face, running down the back of her shirt and soaking her skin. At least, Ichiko mused, her bag was weatherproof. And even in the downpour it was relief to have her feet back on solid ground. Back where you belong, she thought harshly, trudging down the path.
She just felt like such a jerk; hot all over inside but freezing in the storm. The only sound was the water thrumming off the leaves of trees, pavement, and the background crackle of magic. Looking back over her shoulder, Ichiko frowned. Even in this weather the thread of magic looked bright and cheery.
Her mood did not improve as the apartment loomed closer. All she could think about was how she'd have to start putting ads in the local paper if she kept living there; the rent was too high with one room empty.
By the time she dumped her bags inside the door, Ichiko was soaked all the way through to her socks. She was shivering, hard, and the nausea she had been able to clamp down on so well now churned inside her stomach. Ichiko took a deep breath of air, teeth grit. The whole place smelled like Yumemi and magic- familiar. It was hard to keep from running and hiding in her closet.
Rain pelted the kitchen window, tinkling, and the front door slammed closed from a burst of wind, the noise echoing about the room.
Ichiko shuffled to the pantry, its door ajar, and reached in for a box of crackers. She needed something to soak up all the alcohol. Munching wearily, water pooled at her feet as she peered at the shelves of pasta, cereal, and other non-perishable foodstuffs, eventually she settled for some water from the fridge.
Reaching for the icemaker she froze.
It wasn't until a few seconds after staring at the photo-booth pictures of her, Yumemi, and Suzumei magnetized on the fridge did Ichiko realized she was about to throw up.
Rushing to the sink she proceeded to empty the contents of her stomach. Crackers, water- Ichiko clung to the countertop as her body contracted with a few painful heaves. Shakily she washed her mouth from the tap, the world spinning. She glanced up. From the kitchen window there was a very clear view of the island floating high up in the sky.
"I'm fucking sick of this," she moaned stripping off the t-shirt plastered to her chest, tossing it into the sink. Jeans next, dropping into the stainless basin before her knees gave out and she slid down onto the kitchen floor. Staring off into the middle distance, Ichiko ran her tongue over chapped lips. She was so tired, so down-to-the-bone tired. From her position on the floor everything seemed to tower above her, spiraling away. Her hangover still clouded her mind, wreaking havoc. Laying down on the tile floor, head pillowed on her arm, she lost consciousness.
Ichiko dreamt she was being held by Gntarl again, that the world was dark and cold, and that he was making her drink glass after glass of plum wine.
She could feel it running down her chin, shirt soaked in it, and yet she drank gulp after gulp. It was as thick as honey and just as sweet. Her head pounded and she could hear laughing- loud and manic- only realizing the noise was coming from her own mouth.
High above, the spiral magic connecting Heaven to Tokyo was snapping like electrical wires.
Waking with a start, Ichiko clawed at the kitchen floor, frantic for a moment before realizing she was safe at home. Alone. Alone but safe. She was panting.
It was nighttime, the rain had ceased, and the moon cast a pale glow in through the kitchen window.
Groggily she turned to the clock above the oven. She'd slept that long?
Ichiko could still taste the nightmare on her tongue as she pulled herself up, staggering into the hallway. Passing Yumemi's old room she resisted peering inside. It would be empty of course, white and barren.
Sniffing, she collapsed into her bed, peeling off her still damp under clothes. Ichiko stared up at the ceiling, unable to arrange her limbs into any comfortable positions. Lamplight from the street flickered on and off at varying intervals. She shivered.
Truth be told, Ichiko didn't really want to fall asleep again. The nightmare before had been too vivid and her body still ached terribly. She turned over again, face now buried in the pillow. Trying to take deep, calming breaths, Ichiko willed herself to sleep. Only every time her body felt on the verge of blankness she'd jerk awake again.
He was kissing her…
His mouth… his mouth… warm…
Ichiko groaned.
She clung to him, crushing her body against his. Pleasure ran like lightning down her spine as she raked her fingernails down his chest, marking him with thin red lines.
His mouth… hands… on hers… everywhere…
It was bad enough what they'd done without the painfully sharp pornographic memories of it plaguing her. Ichiko rolled over to stair at her clock. The red pixel numbers shone 1:30 AM.
Heat… his mouth…
It was going to be a very long night.
A/n- Thank you for waiting so patiently!