Chapter 8
Stop by my house two days from now. We'll discuss our plan of attack there.
As the commuter rail went along its way down the track, Konata reread the text message stored in her cell phone. She had received it from Sawako the day after the teacher made her sudden visited to the Izumi residence, which was now already two days in the past.
Thus far, Konata still had not a single clue as to what Sawako had planned. She had her speculations, of course, but nothing to draw a real conclusion toward. Each possibility seemed to worry her more and more. But before such feelings got the better of her, she shook her self awake and pocked the device.
"Maybe I should just head back now." She had had a bad feeling since she had woken up that morning. "No. No, I shouldn't. Sawa-chan will be expecting me to show, and if I don't, I'll never hear the end of it. Plus, I'm trying to get through this, and running away won't solve anything."
The forty minute ride to Sakura felt longer than it should, and the thirteen minute walk from there to the Sawako/Kuroi residence seemed even longer. Each step felt heavier and heavier, but eventually she reached the front step of the Kuroi/Yamanaka household.
Sawako answered the doorbell a minute or two after Konata rang it. "Great, you're here!" she said upon opening the door.
"Thank you for having me over," Konata replied, given the older woman a bow, "and for helping me out. Is sensei here?"
"Nanako? Nah, she's off tonight on… school business. Well, come on in. I made tea."
"Sawako's being really… nice." Konata thought. "This isn't exactly the same kind of teacher the members of Houkago Tea Time talked about before. Maybe she's being extra kind given the circumstances?"
Konata entered the home and followed Sawako into its kitchen, where she poured tea for the both of them. They sat down at the kitchen table before the brunette got down to business. "Ok, Konata, I'm going to be blunt with you, ok?" From what she had heard about Konata from Nanako, being blunt was perhaps the best thing.
Konata nodded. "Sure."
"How badly do you want Ritsu back?"
She took a deep, apprehensive breath in before replying "A lot."
"And would you be willing to do anything to get her back?"
"Uh, well, anything's a pretty broad term-" She halted when she noticed Sawako glaring. "- But just about anything, sure."
The glare then vanished, replaced with a grin. "Good. That's all I need to hear. Follow me upstairs then. We'll discuss our plan of attack there."
Konata wondered why they could not do it where they were but said nothing on the thought. She left her mug of tea on the table and followed the older woman upstairs, to a door at the end of a short hallway. Konata entered the room first and her eyes immediately fell upon the expensive gaming computer tucked away under a window in the far right corner. Only when she glanced to the left and noticed the king sized bed did she realize that she had been led into Sawako's bedroom.
"Why did you bring me here?" Konata finally asked. "Couldn't we have talked downst-?" *Slam* A loud noise from behind Konata caused her to jump. She spun around to see that the door had been slammed shut with Sawako standing on the other side. The bang was followed shortly after by the click of the lock.
"What the- Sawako? What are you doing?"
The woman's muffled voice sounded from the other side. "Sorry, Konata, but this is the only way you'll go willingly."
"What are you talking abo-?" She stopped short when she heard another sound: the sound of the door to the bed's left- the one that led to the master bedroom's bathroom- opening. Konata turned just in time to see a girl with a yellow headband step out.
"Hey," said Ritsu, "what's with all the noi-?" She stopped as well when she noticed the bluenette in the room. "Konata?"
"R-Ritsu!" the other stuttered. This was not how Konata imagined things going, not at all. It was too much and too soon. Though in the back of her head she knew she would be ruining her chance of getting better, in that moment, Konata wanted nothing more than to get out of that room.
She made for the door and grasped the doorknob, only to find it firmly locked. "Come on, Sawa-chan, this isn't funny. Let me out!" she pleaded.
"This is for your own good, Konata. You're not leaving until you set things straight with Ritsu." From the other side, Sawako stood with her back leaned against the door. Her plan to get Konata and Ritsu in the same place worked out better than she had imagined. Just as the front doorbell rang, Ritsu- who had come by earlier that day- had asked to excuses herself for the bathroom. Sawako told her to use the upstairs one with a lie that the downstairs one was in disrepair. She also made the off-hand comment that it was probably Nanako at the door, just to ward help off any suspicion Ritsu might have had.
Sawako heaved a heavy but quiet sigh. She whispered to herself "I hope this all goes well…"
Back inside the room, Ritsu was the first to question things. "So wait, Sawa-chan invited you over as well?"
Konata hesitated with her answer. "E-Eh…" Again she looked back to the door. "Sawako-?"
"Stop wasting time and tell her."
"Tell me what?" Ritsu asked. "What's going on here, Konata?"
Konata swallowed what pride she had left before turning back to Ritsu. "… Ricchan," she began. "I… I don't want you see Mio anymore."
"H-Huh? What are you talking about?"
"I- I mean that- Damnit-… I want you to see me." Her choice of words were as stilted as the way they were spoken. But she was getting her message across nonetheless, though it took Ritsu a second to understand.
"What are you talking about?" she repeated.
"Damnit, Ritsu, don't you get it. I… I love you!" She blurted her truth rather quickly, so much so that it took Ritsu another second's time to comprehend. When she did, her eyes widened.
"Wha-?" she initially drew out. "I-Is this another test or some-" The drummer halted when, after reading Konata's expression some more, she realized that this was no test. "Oh my God… B-But if you do, why were you trying to help me get close to Mio?"
"I-I didn't figure it out until we started hanging out, when we did our lessons." Konata found it odd that she was still calling her time with Ritsu their "lessons." "A-And after all those things we did together…"
Both the girl's faces began to blush intensely. Ritsu pushed through the embarrassment as best she could to speak further. "Uh, Konata, I-I think you might be confusing sex with love."
At this, Konata's jaw dropped open with disbelief, unable to believe how cold her outcries were being received. "W- But how can you say that! You said you were willing to learn, to go down on my-"
"L-Look, I know what we did! … I'm sorry, Konata, but this is just so confusing. You helped me win over Mio, and now that we're together, you tell me you loved me the whole time and never said anything? Why didn't you say anything, Konata?"
At this, Konata, by instinct, lowered her gaze. She knew the question would arise and she hated the only true answer she could give. "I… wasn't thinking. I- I got so caught up in helping you that I… forgot myself. I was stupid. So very, very stupid…"
Ritsu now looked as befuddled as could be. "This- This is insane. I…" She took a step back and reached her right hand to her forehead, whipping away a small bead of sweat. "I need to think about this. I… I'm going back home." She turned and made for the door.
"Ricchan…" Konata's use of the nickname caused Ritsu to pause for split second, but failed to stop her completely. She reached for the knob only to quickly remember that the door had been locked. "Sawa-chan, please…" her now drained voice said.
The door clicked and opened a moment later. Ritsu didn't give Sawako a single glance as she walked by her and toward the stairs, only keeping her eyesight straight in front of her. Sawako waited until Ritsu was about halfway down the steps before going into the bedroom for Konata.
She tentatively approached the bluenette and bend down onto her knees, meeting the other at eye level. "Hey…" she said softly. "You doing ok?"
Konata gave back a single nod. "She… I don't think she believed me, Sawa-chan…"
"No. I think she just needs a bit of time to think this over… You going to be fine?" Again the girl nodded back. "Come back downstairs, there's still some tea if you want some." Again Konata nodded before walking toward the door. Before she passed through, though, she stopped and told Sawako "That was a really dirty trick you pulled, Sawa-chan."
"Sorry," the woman apologized.
"No… Thanks. I think a good kick to the ass was what I needed."
Sawako couldn't help but grin. "I'll be down in just a minute…"
Sawako again waited until Konata had ventured far enough down the stairs before springing into action. She quickly entered her room, shut the door behind her, and walked over to the computer. Unbeknownst to Konata and Ritsu, the computer had been turned on throughout their entire exchange. And what's more is that another person was watching in.
"If you thought that was underhanded," the brunette thought to herself, "you don't know the half of it."
Sawako put on the headset sitting on the stool before turning on the monitor. A few seconds past before it lit up and showed the feed of a webcam with a picture-in-picture image of herself in the bottom left corner. The window showed what looked like another bedroom but no one else could be seen in it.
"Hey, Mio, you there?" Sawako asked. She received no response. "Mio?"
"… I'm here." The girl's voice sounded off camera. Furthermore, it sounded rather shaken.
"Move in front of the camera so I can see you." A few seconds later the raven-haired girl appeared. Her eyes were cast downward, seemingly toward the keyboard. "Did you see everything?"
"Y-Yeah… Oh my God…" It seemed to be, at the moment, the extent of her verbal emotions.
"Sorry you had to see that, but I thought it would be best if you found out."
"No, i-it's ok… Thank you, for showing me."
Sawako nodded back. "… What are you going to do now, Mio?"
"… I think I know what to do… See you in school, Sawa-chan."
"Ok… See ya." Mio cut the camera feed, rendering the video window black. Sawako took a moment to give a few deep sighs before finally turning her computer off. She wondered if she had done the right thing, making such an underhanded move by having Mio secretly watch in. She rationalized that, if she hadn't, the problem might have never been solved.
"I just hope Mio knows what to do now…" Sawako headed back downstairs, where Konata was already sitting at the kitchen table, a mug from before sitting in front of her. The two spent a few silent moments merely sitting opposite each other, sipping their drinks. Eventually, Konata had settled herself down enough to where she felt she could get back home on her own. She made sure to thank Sawako once more for the help she gave.
After Konata had left, Sawako poured herself another cup of tea and awaited the return of her wife, who had set off for the Hiiragi residence an hour before Ritsu had stopped by. She briefly wondered if Nanako was dealing with similar stresses…
-o0o-
Ritsu gave neither "Tadaima" nor any sort of greeting upon returning home that evening. Her mind was weighed down heavily with the previous events. After removing her shoes, she made a b-line to the kitchen and refrigerator, where she retrieved a bottle of water for herself. Then, as she made her way toward the living room, she became aware of the sounds of the television. She assumed Satoshi was there but still asked "Sato? You there?"
He was, but Ritsu did not make it through the threshold before her little brother called out "Don't come in here!"
Ritsu stopped in her tracks. "Huh? Why not?"
"J-Just don't come in here!"
"… Satoshi, what are you doing in there?"
"N-Nothing…"
"Well, if you're doing nothing, why can't I come in?" She received in reply only silence. "… Misao's in there with you, isn't she?" Again, silence. "Misao?"
The girl's voice called back an embarrassed "… Hi."
The drummer sighed. "Jesus Christ… Fine, just- I don't know- W-whatever." She had not the energy, drive, nor the will to deal with whatever was occurring in the next room, so Ritsu turned back around and sat down at the kitchen table. This turned out to be a better place to be because she needed a place to simply think, and this room seemed quieter.
Only a few minutes passed before Satoshi and Misao walked to the front door together, where they shared a few more moments saying their personal goodbyes before the latter took her leave. Once gone, Satoshi entered the kitchen and retrieved a drink of his own from the fridge. He was glaring at his sister out of the corner of his eyes.
"I can see you glaring at me, shrimp," Ritsu threatened.
"Good… I thought you were going to be out for longer…"
"Aww, what's the matter? Give you blue balls, did I?"
The boy blushed a furious red as he said a stuttered "S-Shut up…" back. "S-So, you were at Sawa-chan's house, right?" Ritsu nodded back. "So what did you two do?"
For a moment, Ritsu considered not telling Satoshi about what happened, but then she remembered how he kept his promise in the past. He remained silent when he found about her and Konata's original "yuri zone expansion lessons." In fact, he was still keeping the secret from their mom and dad. Loyalty of that level deserved an explanation of the current situation, Ritsu concluded.
"Well, actually-"
A knock came at the door before Ritsu could explain further. Satoshi assumed aloud that it "Must be Misao" and went to answer. A few seconds later he called out to his sister "Nee-chan, Mio wants to see you."
"Mio?" Ritsu checked the time on her mobile. "It's not terribly late, but she never usually stops by around this time." She got up and went to the door to see that indeed Mio was there waiting for her. Before she could give any kind of greeting, Ritsu was suddenly grabbed by a wrist and pulled outside, not given time to put back on her shoes.
Mio pulled the girl out the door, off the front porch, across the lawn, and right to the end of the driveway, putting the two well out of earshot of the on looking Satoshi (though he could still watch from a distance.) When the two finally came to a stop, Mio whipped around and gave what was perhaps the most intense glare she had ever given Ritsu in her life. It was enough to cause the girl Tainaka to take half a step back.
"How could you do that to her!" Mio started off, promptly rearing her left hand back and striking the other across the cheek.
"Ouch… H-Huh?" Ritsu said back, clutching her newly formed wound. "What are you ta-?"
"Konata! Y-You- You fucking used her! Used her to get to me!"
Ritsu yelped from surprise. "Wha-! I- What are you-?"
"I saw everything that happened at Sawa-chan's today. I. Saw. Everything."
"But how could you have even seen that?" Ritsu thought back to the room she and Konata had been in and realized a how this could have been possible. "The computer! I thought those lights meant it was in sleep mode or something- You were watching through the webcam, weren't you!"
"How could you do that to someone, Ritsu? She really loves you and you ignored her!"
"S-She wanted to help me get close to you, and she's never really hinted that she actually liked me-"
"How fucking dense are you?" Tiny tear droplets were beginning to form in the corners of both her eyes. "So what, am I some prize for you or something? It doesn't matter who gets hurt, so long as you get what you want, huh? I-I'm am so angry at you that…" Anything further she attempted to say was too choked up by tears to understand.
"Mio… I-"
"No!" Mio interrupted, regaining her speech. "You can't talk your way out of this, Ritsu… We're done." Mio, without another moment's hesitation, spun around and began to walk down the street in the direction of her house. But before she walked out of earshot of Ritsu, she gave one final command.
"Please, Ritsu… Do the right thing."
For the longest time, Ritsu remained unmoved from her spot at the end of the driveway, lightly cupping her struck face. Her feet began to grow cold standing on the asphalt. She finally moved when her brother Satoshi walked outside and over to his sister's side. "What the hell happened?" he asked.
"… Mio found out about Konata," she answered.
"Oh… Oh… So…?"
"She broke up with me."
"Ouch…" Satoshi felt like saying more, but simply could not think of what he could say to comfort his sister. He had no personal experience to do so with. "You, uh, going to be good?"
She replied with a silent nod and nothing more. She and Satoshi then headed back inside where, after retreating to her room, Ritsu made a very important phone call to a certain blue-haired friend.
-o0o-
During that same evening, Nanako was taking the train back to Ryoo. She had made sure to neat-up her appearance for what could possibly be a hectic ordeal. The struggle of young lesbians was something she could obviously sympathize and defend, but to have it between sisters…
The wanderings of her head made Nanako lose track of time, and before she knew it, she had arrived at the Ryoo station. Stepping off the platform, she followed sidewalks until she reached the Hiiragi residence. She remembered the route from past visits.
She took one final moment to fix her clothing and, more importantly, calm her racing thoughts before taking the final steps to the door and ringing the doorbell. A few moments later, the door opened to both Kagami and Tsukasa, the latter standing behind the former.
Both their eyes widened as they said in unison the woman's name. Just then, the door opened wider revealing Tadao. "Hello, Kuroi-san," he greeted.
"Good evening," she said back, giving a bow. "Is, uh… Is she home?" It was quite obvious she was asking about the twin's mother.
Tadao nodded back. "Yes, she is, but she insists on no visitors."
"Well, no offence, Hiiragi-san, but I'm not taking 'No' for an answer in this situation." She then walked herself into the front door of the home, past Tadao, Kagami, and Tsukasa. "Where is she now?" she asked as she removed her shoes.
"In the living room," Kagami answered. "Doorway on the right."
"Ok… You two ready? Hiiragi-san?" Slowly, but surely, the sisters and their father nodded. "Ok…" Nanako paused herself to take a deep, calming breath before finally taking the final steps into the living room… But then she wished she had prepared a bit more.
Nanako recognized Miki's face the very instant she set eyes on her. She had retained a surprising amount of youthfulness since her high school, and after four kids, a slim waistline. Some women get all the luck, it seems… But this was not the time for complements. This was still the very same woman that made her younger years a living hell.
But unlike Nanako, Miki didn't seem to make the recollection just yet. The teacher noticed this and immediately took the fact to her advantage. A mischievous grin set upon her face. "Well well well… Nice to see you again," she taunted.
Miki was too angered to catch the comment. "You shouldn't be here," she shot back. "This is a family matter and it doesn't need the school's involvement. So please, leave."
"It does become a school problem, Hiiragi-san, when the student's performance begins to decline. And in Kagami and Tsukasa's case, it has." This was, however, a complete and outright lie. The two's grades had not dipped in the slightest since the beginning of the entire incident; a testament to their individual strength.
"W-Well it doesn't matter! I still want you out of here. We can handle this on our own."
"Because you've got such a firm grasp on things as is…"
"Who- Who the hell do you think you are?" Miki made a sudden approach toward Nanako, placing herself within arm's reach. She stood firm and with conviction. "Poor grades or not, teacher or not, this is a private matter, so I'll ask nicely for the last time: please leave."
Unintimidated, Nanako instead began to stifle back a laugh. Not because she found Miki's display amusing, but rather the fact the lavender-haired mother still had yet to realize who Nanako was.
"And why the hell are you laughing?" Miki demanded.
"Ha ha, sorry," Nanako answered with a now straight face, "but- You really don't remember who I am, do you?"
"What? What are you ta-?"
"Well, I just figured you would remember the woman who got you expelled from Ryoko." It took all but a second for Miki to realize who stood before her: the Legendary Woman N, Nanako Kuroi. The mother's eyes suddenly widened from surprise, her mouth hung slightly agape. "Now you remember, huh?"
"… Expelled?" Tadao asked. "From Ryoko? I thought you started out in Tokyo University." Miki's eyes quickly shifted to her husband, then back to Nanako. She quickly found herself in a pit of her own lie. Nanako was secretly pleased how quickly she was getting the upper hand. She had to strike now, while the iron was hot, to give the Hiiragi sister's a fighting chance at normalcy.
"Oh, so they don't know?" Nanako asked Miki. "Maybe I should tell them how you-"
"Stop, don't!" Miki exclaimed. "They don't need to know about that."
"Well, the cat's out of the bag already, so either you listen to what I have to say and you can explain things later, or I can tell them all the details right now."
Miki opened her mouth to protest but quickly found she was without words. She had been knocked down to the lowest peg before she even realized she was there. Miki finally gave a defeated breath before replying "Fine. Ask what you must."
Nanako grinned back. "Ok then… Let's take a walk."
-o0o-
Much to the rest of the family's confusion, they were all asked to stay inside the house as Nanako and Miki went alone for a walk around the neighborhood. Nanako knew the tension of the room would be too much for both her and Miki to discuss things in, so she thought a stroll would both ease said tension and give them alone time to talk freely.
The sun had already begun to set on that day, turning the air brisk. One could claim the faintest visibility of their own breath. Nanako and Miki strode side by side along the sidewalk, the only others out at that hour. At first they spoke nothing. They kept their eyes forward and said not a word.
The silence finally ended after five whole minutes. "So," said Nanako. "Nice to see you again, Miki Inoue."
The mother blinked at hearing her former surname, giving a nervous chuckle afterward. "W-Well, I'm surprised to see you again, Nanako. I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me when you stepped in."
"So you actually did recognized me?"
"Of course. I could I forget you? Legendary Woman N. Your face was only plastered on the news not long ago. That and- Well, all the things I did when I was younger…"
"But you acted as if you didn't remember who I was."
"I was pretending. I actually thought you didn't recognize me."
…
Nanako decided to get down to business before the conversation got any more convoluted. "*Sigh* Ok, Miki, this whole thing needs to stop. I don't care if you don't like lesbians, but thes-"
"But I don't not like lesbians," Miki quickly defended. Her reaction back was a disbelieving look on Nanako's face. "I'm serious!"
"Do you really expect me to believe that? After what happened with Kagami and Tsukasa? After the things you did to me in Ryoko?"
"Please, listen. Let me explain… After I was expelled, I realized what kind of monster I was and how much pain I put you through. I felt terrible, and I promised myself never to discriminate like that ever again." Again, Nanako looked completely unconvinced, and even began to look a bit angered. "I'm not lying to you. It's the truth."
"You kicked them out of your house. How the hell else am I suppose to take this as?"
"But I'm not mad about them- Ok, I'm a bit mad about them being gay- but that's only part of the reason-"
Nanako suddenly stopped and halted Miki with a forceful grasp of her left shoulder. "Damnit, Miki, if you don't start making sense right now-"
"I'm angry because they're sisters!" This caught the blonde off guard, so much so she released her grip and took a half step back. She began to berate herself within her head for not considering this earlier.
"Sisters…" Nanako repeated, as if coming to the realization.
"Yes. If people found out about this I- our family would be disgraced. Times change, I know, and thanks to you and Sawako, Nanako, being gay is practically a status symbol."
"Uh… Not exactly how I'd word it, but thanks, I guess…"
"But i-incest…" One could tell she struggled to speak the word. "N-No, I can't allow it. I won't. When they both came out that day, I-I was so afraid of what would happen: What would my parents think of me? What would others think of us? Of them? I didn't know what to do so I just sort of reacted on impulse and-"
Miki stopped when she felt Nanako's other hand rest on her other shoulder. "Miki," said the blonde. "I know how you feel. Back when Sawako and I were still in the limelight, young woman would always approach us an tell us stories about their coming out to their friends and families, about how scared they felt and how afraid they were about what people would think of them.
It made me realize how lucky I was that things went as smoothly as they did for me. Because the sad fact is that many others don't have it so easy. And with most stories, they got through it all on one thing: support. From their lovers, friends, from family, anyone. And right now, Tsukasa and Kagami could use the support of their mother."
"B-But they're- They're sisters, Nanako. W-What am I going to do? I can't change people's viewpoints, not about something like this!"
For a moment Nanako went silent, turning her gaze to the sidewalk below her feet. "That…" she finally answered. "That's something I don't know how to solve. I'd be a lot easier if this was something that was at least somewhat accepted in society, but…"
"… So," said Miki after another silence. "Are you saying I should tell them to stop?"
Nanako looked back up to face Miki. "I… I think what you should do, Miki, is be completely honest with them. First, apologize to them about what has happened." Miki nodded. "Then, be honest. Tell them exactly what they're getting themselves into and what could happen not only to them but the rest of their family and friends. Also, tell them how you feel about this.
Finally, make them ask themselves this: Is what they have really worth losing everything over?"
The last question struck Miki visibly. "I see… Thank you, Nanako." She forced a frail grin on her face. "You're the last person I would have expected help from, given everything that happened between us. But thank you."
The blonde waved it off with a motion of a hand. "All water under the bridge," she dismissed. "And I'm glad to have helped out. After everything those two and their friends have done for Sawako and I, it's the least I could do."
"Well, again, thank you." Miki glanced up at the sky which had now begun to grow dark. "It's getting late. Will you be heading back?"
"No, no, I'd better get back home myself. I think you and Tadao can handle things from here… Good luck."
With a nod and one last thank you Miki turned about-face and headed back down the sidewalk toward home. Nanako watched the woman shrink into the distance for a moment or two before continuing down the sidewalk in the direction she had already been going. Her mental exhaustion finally matched her physical exhaustion by the time she reached a train station and boarded a train home.
The teacher finally returned home later that night, after the sun disappeared behind the horizon. She gave no "tadaima" as she stepped through the door and into her living room. Sawako was already there waiting for her with both a bottle of their favorite sake and a pair of warm arms to cradle herself into.
They spoke not a word to each other that night of what happened. No words needed to be said, for both knew they had completed exactly what they had promised, and that this entire ordeal was finally behind them.