wow...has it really only been four days since I last uploaded a chapter?

since last Thursday a combination of college, two school clubs, and preparing for Anime Boston have fried my brain. Then tonight I realized that I really wanted to finish up and upload this chapter. Amazing what a little Dragonforce can do to motivate me...

Anyway, here you go!

Chapter Six: Running Just to Stay In Place

"Make the best of it, huh?"

Yomi sat in class, now taking notes. By the time she had returned, it was already after lunch and Mato returned to her seat. With the time she had spent in Saya's room Yomi had not eaten. Her stomach had growled regularly throughout class until break, when she managed to struggle down the food she had brought.

She could see the back of Mato's head from where she was sitting. It was no more than two rows in front of her, yet to Yomi she may as well have been on the other side of a canyon. She was Mato and yet not Mato; the same girl that had said she liked Yomi's height and last name the first day of Junior high, yet not the girl Yomi had known. Not the girl that she had shared everything with for more than a year. Not the girl who had come to rescue her from Dead Master.

Yomi would hopefully not have to wait too long before she could return to her own world. Still, dealing with this would be much easier with Mato back by her side. Well, what reason was there that she could not? After all, there she was, two rows in front of Yomi. Perhaps this version of Mato did not know Yomi very well yet, but that could change. It could all be almost the way it had been before; the two would go to see movies together, sleep over at one another's houses, and most importantly they could help each other through their problems. All it would take would be a little encouragement.

Yomi sighed. It was not in her nature to do something that bold. She tended to simply allow things to happen to her, and hated herself for it. She wished that she could be more like Mato at that moment. Mato would not let this situation get the better of her. Mato was the kind of girl who made things happen, and would not take no for an answer.

The bell rang for the end of classes, and the students around her began filing out to their various clubs. Several of the girls from class converged on Mato's desk. "Hey! Mato-chan! The shrine near the train station is holding a festival."

"All of the girls are thinking of going as a class. Do you want to come?"

"Well, I…" Yomi could feel Mato's gaze on her. "No, that's alright."

"Aww, why not?" The girl sounded disappointed.

"Yeah, come on, all of the other girls are going!" one of the other girls responded, "It'll be fun!"

"No, that's alright. I'll see all of you later."

Yomi heard Yuu's words once again in her mind. "It's your life, Yomi-chan…"

It was now or never; Mato was packing up her bags, getting ready to go to basketball. Yomi stood, the sound of her chair scraping the floor echoing in the quiet classroom. Resolutely, she walked up to where Mato was sitting. This was something she had to do for herself.

Mato looked up as she saw Yomi's shadow fall across her desk. "Hey, Yomi-chan? Do you want to—"

"Let's go to the festival together!" The words came tumbling out of Yomi's mouth before Yomi could think twice about them.

Mato blinked. "To the festival…"

"You want to be friends, right? We can go together, as friends!"

"Wow, Yomi-chan, that's amazing! That's exactly what I was going to ask!"

"It's the kind of thing you would," Yomi muttered under her breath.

"Huh? What was that?"

"Oh, nothing. One more thing, Mato; Just call me 'Yomi.' You don't need to be formal with me at all."

Mato's smile could have melted a frozen lake. "Okay, Yomi! I'll see you tomorrow at the festival then. How about around four-ish?"

"Sure thing!" Yomi smiled both to Mato and to herself. Everything the way it was before she thought to herself.

The next afternoon Yomi had her mother help her into her Yukata. The promise of spending Saturday with Mato had made her evening with Kagari bearable, though only just. Yomi was still convinced that the girl was mentally unbalanced, and that the fixation she seemed to have on Yomi could be dangerous for them both. Still, it was over now; that was the important thing.

She felt light on her feet as she crept down the stairs. Her situation, if not looking up, was at least now much better. She did not think that anything, for the time being could go wrong. She reached for the front doorknob.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Yomi turned to see Kagari in the doorway to the living room. "Kagari-chan?"

"I asked you where you think you're going in such a rush? Surely you haven't forgotten about me."

Yomi had not. She had hoped that she could quietly leave the house without Kagari noticing. "Well…you see…there's this festival today. I'm going to be meeting someone from school.

"You're not going."

"Wh…what?

"I said you're not going to go."

Yomi felt a flash of anger, something very rare for her. "Why not?"

"I want to spend the day with you."

"I'm going to the festival. I promised Mato I would meet her there."

"I said I want to spend the day with you."

Yuu's words to her the previous day passed through Yomi's mind once again. "It's your life, Yomi-chan, not hers." That almost seemed to be becoming Yomi's mantra in this world. Of course, it was not really her life. Her life was back with Mato in her own world, with her own version of Yuu, with her German books and second-year classes. This was the life of the other her; the Yomi Takanashi from this world. The one that, from what she could tell, was shy and who gave in to Kagari's every demand. Still, Yomi herself was the one who had to live it for now, and the decisions had to be hers.

Yomi looked Kagari straight in the eyes. "Why don't you come with us then?"

Kagari raised her eyebrows. "What?"

"Come with Mato and me! Don't just keep yourself locked away in here!"

"Don't be ridiculous! I can't go to a festival in this chair!"

"I'll push you."

"It'll be hot. And people will stare!"

"It'll do you a lot of good to get out and see the sun."

"I'd rather stay here anyway!"

"It won't kill you if we don't spend one evening together!"

"It's all your fault, you dumb bitch! I can't walk because of you!"

The images of the blonde girl Yomi had fought passed through her mind again. She remembered especially the girl's legs; how they were replaced with wheels. "You're not trying," she muttered.

Kagari glared at her. "What did you say?"

"You're not trying to walk!" It exploded from Yomi with more force than she thought she had. "You're not even making an effort to go on with your life! You're just wallowing here in pity!" Yomi walked through the front door and slammed it behind her. Then she ran, as best her Yukata would allow her to, until her house was out of sight. She wished she could banish her thoughts about Kagari as easily from her mind.