A/N6/11/10: And thus, I present to you the third and final chapter of 'Tokaimoya'. This story was forgotten by me while I was working on my longer stories, but I finally decided to finish it. A lot of the scenes came to me as I was writing them, although some of them I had in mind for a while. I wrote the first few paragraphs quite a long time ago, so it might be written a little differently. This chapter is also one of the longest things that I have written in a long time. (It was 8 pages in Microsoft Word.) A lot of the interactions are probably out of character, but its 1:30 AM, and I haven't gotten enough sleep lately, so I really don't care anymore. I should probably proof read it when I'm more conscious though…

This chapter is also dedicated to a friend of mine who I believe said that she was reading this story. Don't worry; I could never think anything bad about you.

Goodbye, Tokaimoya.

Sincerely, Zen.

(Although it's a very short story, I feel oddly accomplished in actually finishing a multi-chapter story. I think that this is my first time ever doing such a thing.)


Kisshu had asked him when he arrived back in their dimension, "What's wrong?" Pai simply stared vacantly past him, not bothering to pat the snow off of his clothes. "Pai?" Kisshu had stared, concerned about his comrade. Pai murmured something that Kisshu couldn't hear, even with his acute senses. "What?" Pai looked at him, his eyes blank.

"It's nothing."

He slowly opened his eyes now, entering back into the world of the awake. Her scent was strong here… overpowering even. He guessed that it was her house. He blinked slowly, running his hand along the irregularity in his face. He shut his eyes again, simply taking in the warmth in the sweet-smelling room. The door clicked open, and he turned to look as she entered the room.

"Good morning, Pai-san." Retasu said softly as she gracefully slipped into the room, closing the door behind her. He blinked again, and then blushed.

"Good morning." He responded as she sat in the chair next to the bed.

"How are you feeling?" She asked as she smiled slightly. Almost as if on queue, Pai's stomach growled. His face turned redder as he turned away in embarrassment. She giggled into her hand as he glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.

She was definitely older. She had completely filled in her curves at this point, causing her body to look rather different than it had five years ago. She had cut her hair as well, he noticed. It now just barely hung loosely past her shoulders, falling around her neck in green strands. She had, in addition, abandoned her older, circular glasses for a sleeker, more mature looking pair.

"You're beautiful." He said softly as Retasu stopped giggling. She blushed and glanced away, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"O-oh… thank you..." She said quietly as she glanced nervously between the floor and his eyes. Pai blushed again and turned his head to stare up at the ceiling.

"How long have you been hiding here?" He asked as she sat up straight and looked at him again.

"Since… right after I left, I believe…" She said, turning away from him once again. He said nothing for a while and simply stared at the ceiling.

"Why?" He whispered as he clutched his sheets. She turned back towards him to see him looking at her, his eyes blazing with fury. Her eyes darted about, unsure what to say. "I asked you why, Midorikawa-san." He hissed as she clenched her hands into fists.

He sat up, looking at her accusingly. "Is it because you were pregnant?" He growled as she stared at him.

"What?" She whispered as he swung his legs off of the bed and stood up, towering over her.

"I've been looking for you for five years." He whispered as her eyes widened. "Ever since you left." She drew back slightly as she saw the hurt in his eyes. "I saw you." He choked, fighting back the tears that were forcing their way to his eyes. Retasu stared at him in confusion, and then, understanding, and finally, regret.

"Pai-san, I-" She began, but she was cut off by Pai grabbing her shoulders and forcing his lips on hers. A million different feelings swept through her as he kissed her. She even kissed him back, but she ended it by pushing him away. "No, please, I barely even know you, Pai-san." She said as she shook her head. He looked crestfallen as he stared at her, his hands dropping from her shoulders.

"I'm sorry, but this is all so sudden," she said, almost as if she were pleading with him. "I mean, I've always felt compassion for you and your people – well, you especially - but the one that I loved was…" She trailed off as he sat back down on the bed, almost falling into it.

"I know. I'm sorry, I was out of line." He said, cradling his head in his hands. "I mean, as angry as I am at you for running away, I guess… well… I guess that I love you." She noticed that Pai's voice began to sound strange as he talked, but then she realized that he was beginning to cry.

"Oh god, Pai-san-"

"Just stop." He growled as he lifted his head, wiping away his tears. "You've already said enough." He got up, searching around for the rest of his clothes. "I would get out of your hair as soon as possible, but I promised everyone that I would bring you back when I found you." After he ascertained that his other clothes were nowhere to be found, he sat back down, clasping his hands together. Then, realizing that something smelled very strange, he smelled his long hair, and then grimaced.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to use your bath." He said coolly as Retasu smiled at him sadly.

"Of course."


Pai had forgotten how refreshing it was to be clean. Of course, he remembered as soon as he was immersed in hot water. He couldn't help but sigh peacefully as he stretched his feet out of the tub. He had not been this relaxed in a long, long time. After lying silently in the steaming water for several minutes, he decided that it was time for some serious bodily cleansing. He sat up, water rushing from the rest of the tub to take his spot. Examining Retasu's selection of shampoo and body wash, he frowned slightly, realizing that no matter what, he was going to be emerging from the bath smelling strongly of fruit.

After he cleaned himself with the appropriate soaps, he sunk back into the water, immersing his head so that only his face was above water. He stayed like this for a long time, looking at the pictures that he could see in the texture of the ceiling. No matter how hard he squinted, he imagined that all of them looked like Retasu. He sighed again, closing his eyes. He felt pretty bad about the way that he had blown up at her like that, but he couldn't take what he said back now. He had always known that she would be unattainable, but he hadn't expected it to be like this. Then again, a lot of things happened that he hadn't imagined.

Like that night when he arrived outside Retasu's window that snowy day, a small, wrapped trinket in hand. He had been preparing a gift for her for so long, using the excuse that it was in the spirit of 'Christmas', although she was the enemy. He was about to knock on the window until he actually looked inside. He always thought that it was impossible for a heart to break, but his certainly did in that moment. He watched for a while, crying on the inside, until he finally went 'home' to his only allies on this terrible planet, Kisshu and Taruto.

Coming back into the moment, Pai looked at the ceiling again, thinking about what might have occurred if Ryou hadn't been there that day; if he had given his present to Retasu. Or, perhaps if he had knocked on the window anyway… He sat up again, the water dripping out of his ears, his hearing clarified. He held up the necklace that he had around his neck; Retasu's forgotten Christmas present. He sat looking at it for a while, until he heard the door to the bathroom click open. He turned; slightly alarmed at the sound, but his expression turned to confusion when he saw Retasu standing before him, her cheeks pink.

Blushing, he grabbed the bottle of bubble bath that was on the edge of the tub, poured a large amount in and swished the water around to make as many bubbles as possible. Retasu giggled, covering her mouth. "Don't worry Pai-san. I won't look." She said, as her blush deepened. "Umm… is it okay if I…" She began, becoming redder by the second. Pai raised an eyebrow, as she glanced back and forth between him and the ground.

"If it okay if… what?" Pai asked, waving his hand around for emphasis.

"Is it okay if I join you…?" She asked, biting her lower lip. He stared at her in confusion until he realized what she was talking about, at which point he too began to blush.

"Join me, uh, what? Didn't you just say that you weren't ready for me to kiss you?" He asked, now thoroughly confused. Retasu frowned, brushing her hair behind her ear.

"I guess… I'm sorry… please pretend that I didn't say anything." She said as she turned towards the door.

"Wait, I didn't say that I minded," Pai said, blushing even more as he spoke. "I just don't understand you." He couldn't help but smile slightly at the color of her face.

Slowly, she began to unbutton her shirt, causing him to look away out of politeness. He listened to the rustling of her clothes as they slid off, a sense of excitement flowing through him. In ways, this what he had always dreamed of, except he didn't really feel the same way about it now. He wasn't so much aroused, just… excited. After a few minutes, she gracefully slid into the tub. Pai shivered as he felt her smooth legs slide along his. He looked towards the beet-red Retasu that sat across from him in the tub, self-consciously gathering bubbles to cover her half-submerged breasts.

They sat in silence for a few moments, until she finally spoke. "I've always liked you." She said quietly, clearly afraid to admit how she felt. Pai looked up in surprise to find Retasu looking at him, her eyes sad. "Because we were enemies, I refused to fall in love with you." She whispered, looking away. Pai liked her without glasses. He could see her so much more clearly now and perhaps understand her more. "But, ever since you came here, looking for me, I can't help it…" She looked up, her eyes tearing up. "Ever since you found me last night, I can't stop thinking about you."

Pai could feel his heart thudding in his chest as she spoke. "I don't know you very well, Pai-san, but I really want to now." She said, tears rolling down her cheeks as she smiled softly. "Since you saw me and Ryou, I understand if you don't want anything to do with me, but I-" Retasu was cut off once again by another furious kiss from Pai, who had abruptly sat up, pulling her into his chest. This time, she allowed herself to kiss him back without any interruptions. After he pulled his lips away from hers, he embraced her tightly, resting his head on her shoulder.

"I'll always love you Retasu, even if you decide that you don't love me back." He whispered, ignoring the fact that they were both naked. Retasu returned his embrace, closing her eyes. They sat there, wrapped in each other's arms for a while until Pai finally pulled away, leaning back against the edge of the bathtub.

"I only need to know one thing." He said as Retasu looked up at him, a little nervous. "That child… is he yours…?" He asked as Retasu smiled slightly.

"No." She said plainly, causing Pai to raise his head, a little surprised. "He's the son of one of the other mothers here." She looked down at the bubbles in the tub sadly. "I was never pregnant." She said, making a little pile of bubbles. Pai realized that he probably wanted that kid to look like Retasu, just so everything would make sense.

"Why did you leave, then?" He asked, looking at the ceiling.

"I thought I was pregnant, but it turned out that I wasn't." She said, turning her bubble pile into a castle. "By the time I found out, I was already here. I didn't want to go back after all that had happened." She smashed her castle into the water, causing a splash. "I didn't want to face my family, my friends, Ryou…" She paused. "Or you." Pai furrowed his brow.

"Why me? Like you said, we don't really know each other." He said, feeling a little silly due to the fact that they were bathing together when he said it. She smiled uncertainly, beginning to rebuild her bubble castle.

"Again, I liked you… and… well…" She blushed. "I'd seen you lurking around my house before." Pai blushed furiously at this. "And, the way you looked at me sometimes… I guess you could say that I kind of knew how you felt." He suddenly felt incredibly embarrassed, now that he knew that Retasu had known how he had felt all along.

"Wow. Um…" He honestly didn't know what to say. "I really don't know how to respond."

"It's okay." She said, grabbing his hand and holding it against her face. He then realized that Retasu was staring at his eye, her face filled with concern. "How did you get that scar?" She asked, lightly touching the marking that ran from his forehead to his cheek. Pai frowned.

"You wouldn't like my answer." He said softly, looking away. Her eyes filled with understanding.

"Ryou did that, didn't he?" She asked, cradling his cheek. His eyes seemed sad as he looked into her sapphire eyes. He didn't speak, but instead he nodded once. Clearly remembering something, he chuckled cynically.

"You should have seen him. He was so mad." He laughed, running his hand through his wet hair. "He thought that I was the reason that you ran away." Retasu looked like she was on the verge of tears. "Hey," He said, leaning forward, holding the back of her neck. "It's not you fault, never was. It's all in the past now." He said, brushing her hair back.

"I'm so sorry that he did that to you." Pai simply shook his head and turned her around in the tub to allow her to lean against him. "Really, really sorry…" They sat in silence for a moment before Retasu spoke again. "This is a little strange." She said softly, blushing as she looked down at her hands. "I wouldn't have ever thought that I'd be here with you, like this." Since she couldn't see his face, Pai allowed himself a sincere smile as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders, politely making sure not to look at her or touch her indecently.

"We're pruning." Retasu observed as she lifted her hands to look at her fingertips.

"Just let me hold you a little longer." He whispered as she closed her eyes, placing her hands on his arms.


Pai was standing in the kitchen of Retasu's house, drinking out of a milk carton when the front door opened, revealing Amaya, Umeko in tow. He furrowed his brow at the entrance of the two, not so much because they had shown up, but because they hadn't bothered to knock. Amaya didn't seem to be particularly surprised by Pai's presence, although Umeko squealed in delight at the sight of him. "Good afternoon." Amaya said politely as her daughter screamed something about "the weird cosplayer" being "Onee-chan's" boyfriend.

"Good afternoon." He responded, ignoring the little girl.

"Is Retasu here?" The woman asked, closing the door behind her. Pai blushed, an awkward smile creeping onto his face.

"Um… yeah… she'll be out… soon…" He said, nervously ruffling his shoulder-length hair.

"Pai, can you grab my bra? I left it-" Retasu stopped in mid-sentence as she poked her head around the corner and noticed that she had visitors. Blushing furiously, she said "just a moment, please" before she disappeared again. Amaya and Pai stood in awkward silence while Umeko giggled uncontrollably. Turning to face him, the woman smiled knowingly.

"I presume that you found who you were looking for?" She said as Pai blushed again.

"Uh, yeah, I did. By the way, any ideas that you may have gotten from that," He said, waving in the direction of the place where Retasu had appeared. "You're completely mistaken. Amaya chuckled at this, shaking her head. Finally realizing that he was still holding the milk, Pai decided to put the carton back into the fridge. After a few moments, a fully-clothed Retasu walked into the living room where her company stood.

"I'm sorry, I was…" She began as she smiled awkwardly at Amaya. "Uh… yeah, you know." She finished, pushing her glasses a little higher up her nose, blushing. The older woman laughed a little bit. "So, what did you need?" Retasu asked.

"Well, I was going to invite you over for tea, but I guess that I should probably let you two be." Amaya replied, nodding towards Pai (who was leaning on the counter). Retasu blushed and looked down at her feet.

"Um… I'm sorry. We just have some things that we need to work out." She said as the older woman shook her head.

"Don't worry about it." She said as she squeezed Umeko's hand. "Well, we will see you around, Retasu, and maybe you too, 'Pai'-san." She said, smiling in Pai's direction. He nodded in acknowledgement. With one last smile to Retasu, Amaya left, taking the bubbly, waving Umeko with her. When the door shut, Pai and Retasu stood in silence for a moment until she looked over to the man in her kitchen.

"Are you going to call home now?" He asked, resting his head in his hand. She looked at the ground for a minute, thinking. "I'm going to call Café Mew Mew first. I'm a little scared to talk to my parents right now." She said, twiddling her thumbs. "Or Uri, gosh, he's fifteen now! He probably has a girlfriend." She smiled at the thought of this. "I've really missed home, Pai-san." She said as she sat down on one of the chairs around her coffee table.

Pai watched as she flipped through the phonebook until she found the number for the café. He noticed that her hands were shaking as she dialed the number, so he entered the living room, taking a seat in the chair nearest hers. As she held the phone by her ear, listening to the phone ring, Pai placed his hand on hers, squeezing it. She smiled at him softly, turning her hand over so that she could squeeze back.

Then, the phone at Café Mew Mew was answered.

"Uh, yes, hello… it that you, Keiichirou-san? Um, yeah, it's me… Retasu, Midorikawa Retasu. I'm so happy to hear your voice! I've missed you so much. Oh, hi Ichigo. Yes, yes I'm fine. Pai found me. No, he hasn't done anything bad to me." Pai smiled at this, and Retasu smiled back at him.

"I'll be headed home as soon as possible. How is everyone? How about my parents? And Uri? Thank you. Can you tell my family that I'll be back soon? Thank you so much. I'm in Tokaimoya. It's on a small island in the north. I'll tell you all about it when I get back, so please be patient. No, I'm not going to disappear forever if I hand up. Again, I'll be home soon. I love you guys, and I'll see you soon. Bye."

When Retasu put down the receiver, she breathed a sigh of relief. Turning to Pai, she smiled softly, tears welling up in her eyes. "I'm going home."


Retasu was now standing in front of the train, bags packed, and Pai at her side. All of Retasu's friends from Tokaimoya had gathered at the station, giving her lots of hugs and kisses, bidding farewell. Umeko was crying when the time came to board the train. Retasu gave her a final kiss on the forehead before she got on the train, all of her bags already on board. "I'll miss you all. I hope that I can see you again someday." Retasu said out the window as the train left, leaving the foggy town behind.

When she could no longer see her friends through the mist, she sat back down in her seat next to Pai, smiling sadly. "I'll miss them." She said as she pulled her coat tighter around her. Pai smiled very slightly, draping his arm around her shoulders.

"How did you end up there anyway? I couldn't find it on the map until recently." He said as Retasu grinned, looking up at him.

"Local legend says that the island of Namika can only be found by those that are truly lost." She said as Pai scoffed, looking across to the empty seat in front of him.

"I guess that makes sense." He said, looking back at Retasu. "But you're found now, right?" She nodded, snuggling into his chest.

"That's why I'm going home." She smiled. "With you."

"Oh." Pai started suddenly, reaching into his pocket, and producing the necklace that he never gave to Retasu. Dangling it in front of her he smiled slightly. "Merry Christmas." He said. Retasu furrowed her brow in confusion (due to the fact that it was March), but she smiled and took the necklace.

"Merry Christmas, Pai-san," She shifted her body to reach up and kiss him on the cheek. "And thank you for everything."