A/N: Slowly but surely I'm coming back with new chapters. This is a second re-written chapter, and the first one to receive some drastical changes compared to the two former chapters. I think I'm gasping everyone's character more here than before.
Grave Three: Tearful Reunion
~ And A Boy With Dazzling Eyes ~
"Aiko, Yukiko!?" Razel yelled in disbelieve, being unable to grasp the truth unfolding before her eyes. Was she only seeing things, or where those two truly standing before her eyes? Her legs wanted to take her to the girls, but something had frozen her body completely and Hikari thought she needed a light push. Razel turned back at the girl, who smiled kindly at her (or maybe she was just forcing a smile to fit the mood).
"Go to them, this is the very reason we brought you here."
Razel didn't need another push to have her dash towards her dear friends, and Hikari watched her running off to the people she had once thought of good friends as well as enemies. If she was to describe their current relationship, they were something like friends-turned-into-enemy-turned-into-rivals. She hadn't forgiven Aiko yet for stealing her first love. "What?" Hikari glared at Suzuno as she felt intense stare coming from his way, and the boy immediately averted his eyes.
"I said nothing." He mumbled and the trio then headed after Razel.
Okazaki Yukiko sat on her wheelchair while being pushed by her older sister and noticed a figure running towards them. Her dark copper eyes widened and she pulled her indigo-colored hair behind her ear. It couldn't be anyone else. She would never forget seeing that small structured girl with blonde hair. "Nee-san, isn't that?"
Aiko turned to look towards the direction Yukiko was pointing at, and her eyes widened. A girl of small height with her long blonde hair slashing trough the ground as she ran, was advancing towards them her eyes filled with tears. "Rapunzel!" Aiko barely managed to mumbled, when Razel ducked and ran into the older girls' arms, almost throwing Aiko off balance.
Yukiko watched with gentle smile as Aiko and Razel embraced each other, having reunited after so many years. Even though Aiko had expected for Razel to come back, it seemed that she did get over-emotional after seeing the blonde, once it came to the real deal. It had been a while since Yukiko had seen her older sister crying so hard, her amber-colored orbs started to shine. Just watching them got a frog in her throat.
All of a sudden, Yukiko felt someone poking her and once she turned her head, she saw the four managers staring at her with curious eyes. "Mind if I ask, who's that girl?" Kino Aki walked to Yukiko, questioning and Otonashi Haruna, Kudou Fuyuka and Megane Kakeru were following her closely. They stared at Yukiko intensely, waiting for her answer to reveal the identity of the blonde girl.
Yukiko smiled lightly at the managers and turned to look at Razel, who had laid her head on Aiko's chest. "She's our friend… someone we've known ever since our early childhodd." The indigo-haired girl revealed, turning her wheelchair to face Aiko and Razel. Their first meeting had happened so many years ago, that Yukiko had no longer any memories of it. They had been so young back then.
"I see, a friend." Haruna wondered and then turned to look at the older indigo-haired girl, whose hair unlike Yukiko's was flying freely on her shoulders, and then at the least head shorter blonde girl. Well, a friend of those two couldn't be a bad person.
Having managed to collect her feelings, Aiko wiped away the light pearls decorating her face and patted Razel's head. "Come on, why are you crying? This is supposed to be a happy moment." She scolded the younger girl, despite having shed tears just moments before. After that Aiko embraced the girl even stronger.
Razel enjoyed the sweet moment with the indigo-haired girl and after few sniffs, she dried her wet eyes and smiled at Aiko. "I'm crying because I'm finally able to see you. It's been around five years since we've met, right?" Razel flashed Aiko the sweetest smile she could make, but it ended up as a big fail, due to her face being messed up from all the crying. Seconds later, Razel started to weep again.
Aiko chuckled at the reaction and wiped away Razel's tears.
"So, mind to explain me why we had to go all the trouble to find her and bring her here?" A male voice spoke all of a sudden and they saw the trio, who had brought abducted Razel and brought her there, walking towards them.
"Ha-Haruya…" Aiko blushed and averted her eyes from the guy, who was staring at her intensely while demanding an answer. Razel looked at Aiko, then at the red-haired boy till her eyes shifted back to her friend, and a light smirk appeared on her face. He must've been the 'Haru-kun' Aiko had always mentioned in her letter, her guess had been right. Given that they had gone to first name basics, it meant that either one of them had confessed. Razel was sure to ask about it later, once she had the chance.
After averting Nagumo's stare for about five minutes, that made particularly everyone around her impatient, Aiko seemed to finally manage collect herself. She took a deep breath and bowed deep. "I'm earnestly thanking you guys for all the trouble you had to go through in order to find her and bring her here." Her eyes then shifted to Razel. "Now I can finally ensure her wellbeing. After all, it was her guardian's desire."
Patting Razel's head, Aiko took hold of the blonds hand with the free one and squeezed it, as if she would never let it go. Razel raised her, confused of the sudden action, and realized that the indigo-haired girl was forcing her smile. For the first time in her life, Razel found Aiko scary.
Silence filled the court.
"… Can we leave then?" A high pitched voice questioned all of a sudden, and Aiko saw Hikari walking forward between Nagumo and Suzuno. Apparently she had avoided meeting the indigo-haired girl at any cost, but had gotten impatient of the over-sentimental mood and decided to break the ice.
She wanted to get away from the people who were only suffocating her with their actions.
"Hikari-chan!" Aiko's eyes started to shine and she ran to hug her friend. Her behavior towards the buff haired girl was almost all too innocent. Compared to her, the managers seemed to show troubled looks of the sudden appearance of their former enemy. Of course, the alien thing was finished and long forgotten, but something about the former aliea project children made them feel uncomfortable.
"Don't come near me, STUPID!" Hikari backed off while trying to push Aiko away. She was never good dealing with the idiot girl who had unexpected mood swings from extremely childish to the most pessimistic person in the world. After being chased by Aiko for a while, Hikari then quickly hit behind Nagumo, using him as a cover.
The moment Aiko's eyes came into contact with Nagumo's, she froze and flushed red. With almost too robotic moves the girl turned around and hid behind Razel, as if using her as a shield from Nagumo's stare. "You meanie!" She then pouted, only to receive deadly glare from Hikari.
Yukiko laughed at the two childhood friends fighting and chuckled while her eyes took her to Hikari. It wasn't that the girl hater her sister, or anything, she was angry about Aiko's betrayal and even more about the fact that in the end Nagumo choose Aiko, and so the girl stole her first love. They had both loved him for a very long time, but in the end it was him who had to make the choice.
And for some reason he choose her naive older sister.
"Well, I guess you're free to leave whenever you want, Baka Hika." Yukiko spoke, giving Hikari finally the answer she wished to hear. The girl then moved her wheelchair towards Razel. She rose from her chair, trying to stand on two feet, but her knees betrayed her and she almost fell down.
She was caught by two strong arms and when Yukiko looked up, she saw Fuyuka supporting her on one side, while Megane was on her other side. "Thank you." She thanked, sounding slightly flustered and embarrassed of her sudden clumsiness.
With the support of her two friends, she then slowly but surely made her way to Razel. After small glances the two let go of her and Yukiko pulled Razel into strong embrace "It's really so nice to have you back, Razel."
Razel's eyes widened as she was taken aback of the sudden actions of Yukiko, and she felt her tears forming into her eyes again. She was left standing speechless and Yukiko then made her way back to the wheelchair. Razel was amazed at how strong willed Yukiko was. "What exactly happened to you?" The blonde then questioned, referring at the wheelchair.
She had only little information about the twins' life during the time they hadn't met up, and news about accidents or injuries weren't included there. She had never heard anything about Yukiko ending up into a wheelchair.
The twins shared a glance and after a nod, Yukiko then spoke. "Long story shortly, we got into an accident what took out brothers life, put me into coma and sealed Nee-sans' memories of us. I was in coma for four years till Nee-san brought my spirit back to the body. Much due to that, my body is still little weak..."
Before Yukiko could even finish her explanation, Razel had already ran to her and ducked her head into the older girls' chest while weeping openly. She apologized for not being with them while they were living such hard times.
Yukiko smiled gently at the girl and caressed her head. "You had your own troubles in the other side of the world back then, of course you couldn't be there to help us. No need to feel bad about it." She comforted the other girl who was wining loudly.
"Such a tearful moment…" Haruna whispered while sniffing loudly, breaking the dream world for Razel and bringing out the truth, that there were people beside Yukiko and Aiko present. Yukiko sweat dropped at the comment and apologized for making them to witness such moment. Razel raised her head, and looked around her finding four faces she didn't recognize. Her face got pale.
"Wh- Who are they? I don't remember seeing them…" Razel mumbled in horrified tone, feeling her breathing fastening at the stranger eyes staring at her, and she backed off to hide behind Aiko, feeling secure near the older girl. She spoke as if she hadn't noticed the four managers being with them the whole time. Razel took hold of Aiko with trembling arms.
Aiko glanced at her friend and then at her sister. Yukiko looked as dumbstruck as her older sister, and the two girls look troubled. "They're our managers. Aki, Fuyuka, Haruna and Megane." Yukiko told, explaining that Japan was currently participating in football frontier international and they were part of the team who were representing Japan. The four before her eyes were the managers who took care of the players and gathered information about the opposing teams. Yukiko then added that she and Aiko were there only to give mental support, and that the people on the team weren't bad people.
Razel seemed to buy Yukiko's explanation, as she ventured to peek from behind Aiko's back, but quickly retreated back as soon as her eyes met with Haruna's.
"It's nice to meet you," Aki smiled at the girl and bowed as a greeting. She then introduced herself to the girl, much like what Yukiko had told. The rest of the managers repeated this after her, introducing themselves. Razel remained behind Aiko, but her pupils slowly started to grow larger as she took interest in them.
They didn't seem to come at her with ill intentions and seeing that Aiko and Yukiko were so comfortable around them, Razel slowly started to lower her guard. She got as far as stepping in front of Aiko. Eyes wandering everywhere, without a certain fixed point to look at, Razel felt her heart beat raising and heat rising to her cheeks. "It's… I…" And after those words she was behind Aiko again.
Razel couldn't even introduce herself to strangers. Aiko saw how much effort it had taken the blonde just to stand up before the managers without any kind of protection, and patted the younger girls head as a reward. Razel looked up with puzzled expression and received a sweet smile from the indigo-haired girl.
Aiko then turned to look at the managers. "I'm sorry for her behavior. She's little shy, and well… due to her personal issues doesn't like to get close to people she doesn't know well. I hope that you can forgive her." She apologized instead of Razel and bowed, surprising the managers. Razel saw what the older girl was going, and followed after Aiko. After all, it was her fault.
"I don't really mind it," Aki answered, slightly troubled off the sudden seriousness in Aiko's behavior. She was usually so out of place that seeing her so silent and formal made her feel uncomfortable. The rest of the managers agreed with her and Aiko seemed relieved. She glanced at Razel and smiled once their eyes met. It meant that she was being accepted to the team.
"The training is starting, so everyone should gather around here soon." Megane suddenly announced, as if to remind Aiko of rest of the team still had to meet and accept Razel, before she could truly sigh of relief. It would be big trouble if even one of the guys would refuse her stay with them. What was she going to do then? The thought hadn't crossed her mind before, and now that it actually did, she started to panic.
"I think it's wise if we take Razel to meet Kudou-san." Yukiko's comment interrupted Aiko's twisted train of thought and brought the girl back to reality. She glanced at her sister with confused her expression and Yukiko tried to communicate with her without words by pointing at the managers with her eyes.
It was only after a while, that it finally hit Aiko. Of course, if Razel got freaked out just by meeting the managers, what would happen once she was to meet the whole team? She would most likely froze to the point they had to bring her back to senses for the next three or four days. The girl seemed to be fine around Hikari and the boys, but that was most likely due to the circumstances they had met up. They were forced to co-operate with each other, what brought her to trust them.
But meeting the whole team at the same time, would bring chaos.
Literal one, not the team led by Nagumo.
And how did Suzuno allow him to take the position as captain?
"Yes, I believe it's wise if we leave before the others start to gather here." Aiko then told and glanced at Yukiko. The twins nodded, and Aiko walked to Yukiko's wheelchair while not letting go of Razel's hand. They were stopped by a small touch to Razel's shoulder. Once she turned around, she saw Hikari standing before her while handing out something to her.
"Here, I think you need it back." Hikari told and Razel took a black cloak from her, the very one she owned. She thanked the girl and wrapped the cloak around her, also putting on her hood. Without it, she felt uncomfortable walking around a place with so many strangers. Aiko smiled at her friend and Hikari just rolled her eyes. "I guess this is a farewell for now, Crystal. We're staying at a hotel in the city, so by chance we might be bumping into each other." She announced and was ready to leave.
"I will surely see you around." Aiko grinned as an answer, adding that Hikari shouldn't call her by that stupid nickname. Her eyes then wandered to Nagumo and she blushed slightly. "You too, Haruya…" She managed to mumble between her breaths, before turning away from the guy. It seemed that he used it as a good chance.
Nagumo walked towards Aiko and called her name. The girl reacted to it and turned around, only to be pulled into a kiss by the older boy. Flustered, Aiko tried to understand what was going on long after they he had broken their kiss. Nagumo chuckled at this and ruffled Aiko's hair. "Be sure to call me, and don't eat too much lollipops, they drive to crazy." He then left, leaving the flushed and frozen Aiko alone, staring into the emptiness like an idiot.
Yukiko chuckled at Aiko's reaction and shared a kiss with her boyfriend, who had come to say his goodbye. Hikari waited patiently, but obviously irritated, as the two boys took their leaves on their girlfriends. The trio then left, heading towards the city.
"Should we go too?" Yukiko questioned, not receiving answer from her sister. The younger sister rolled her eyes and started moving her wheelchair leaving her frozen sister all alone. "Come on Razel, let's leave that idiot behind. We're in a hurry." They didn't have time for Aiko to recover from the shock that should be the most obvious thing for dating couples.
How come she was so awkward with dating, while having chased after the guy so boldly?
Razel stared at the older indigo-haired sister, but quickly chased after Yukiko. She made a quick turn and accidentally crashed on someone, falling down. "I'm so sorry!" She heard a boys voice apologize and saw from the vision of her hood, that he was offering his hand to her in order to help her up.
She looked up and her eyes met with dazzling dark-green ones.
The girl felt her heart skipping a beat, and flushed red as soon as she realized what had just happened. She panicked and found her way up on her own, and ran after Yukiko while leaving the boy standing there confused. He then ran into the field after hearing someone yell out his name.
Razel peeked behind her and found herself staring at his figure as he ran to the field.
She had never seen a pair of such beautiful eyes.
A/N: Aiko is obviously the type to confess boldly but get's all weak once it's the real deal. I am very sorry for the very OC-centric chapter, I'm still working on the character dynamics, we'll have more of the original cast appear in next chapter. I would love you hear your guys thoughts about this chapter.
