Emi's mother drove them back to Yamaku. The trip back is very quiet, while Lenny was thinking about what Emi meant, what she said about making green. Once they got out of the car. Lenny and Emi wave goodbye to Meiko as the car drives off. Lenny takes a glance down at the girl leaning on his arm.
"How are you feeling?" Lenny asked Emi. He was feeling his heart flutter in a good way. Emi shrugs noncommittally.
"I'll be fine. Come on, let's go." Emi told Lenny as they began walking beside each other. Emi looked up as Lenny seemed to have shed off the sadness he had at the beginning of the week. The pulse monitor was unusually calm. "You seem pretty happy Lenny. I bet you've come to terms with your past." Emi began.
"Yeah, it just happens. All I can do is accept it for what it is. The future might be uncertain, but we should enjoy the time we have." Lenny told Emi. Emi looked up at Lenny while she was holding his hand.
"Hopefully you can stop being sad like me. Although regular trips to the grave will be what unnerves us. However, the grave is only for one day, we still have all the other days to smile, hug and kiss each other under the sun, clouds or moon." Emi replied. She took her hand off of Lenny's and wrapped it around his waist. "Debating if we should continue our education or we should stay together and live stress free. I want this happiness to last for tonight." Emi and Lenny were approaching where they were going to split.
"Yeah. It's going to suck." Lenny admitted. They paused outside the girl's dorm and Lenny turned to face Emi, ready to say goodbye. "Well looks like this is goodbye for now." Lenny told Emi. He turned and began walking away. Emi began thinking of something. She remembered now and she wanted Lenny to experience it with her.
"Wait, Lenny?" Emi asked. Lenny turned and began to walk back to Emi. He was puzzled to see what she needed. "Why don't you come up for a while?" Emi asked Lenny if he would want to spend the night with her. Lenny began to think about it as he was trying his best not to tear up.
"Okay." Lenny softly responded; he knew his emotions were getting the better of him. He needed Emi. Emi nodded as they began to walk up to her room together.
The walk up to her room is in silence. Lenny was not sure why he supposed he'd be turned away at the door. He guessed that he just assumed she'd want to be alone. Her mom, the nurse, hell, everyone who knew the significance of today seemed to think it best to leave Emi alone. But she took him into the graveyard with her. She told Lenny the whole story of what happened on the day she lost her legs. She wanted Lenny around. Lenny told his story to Emi, and she seemed to be taken by the heart too. The significance of this does not escape Lenny. Emi opens the door and steps into her room, not even bothering to invite Lenny in, holding the door for me expectantly. Lenny steps in, and the door swings shut behind him and makes sure she locks it. Emi's room had been partially emptied as she was moving the stuff from her dorm back to her house. It was much the same thing for Lenny as his stuff was getting taken to Emi's house where Meiko had taken Lenny in.
"Hey, can I ask you a favor?" Emi began. Lenny was beginning to think of what Emi needed. He was feeling his eyes water a bit as Emi was putting on Aria De l'Etoile to play in the background. The soft music was drifting around in the room. He wanted to cry a bit, but this was going to be a happy moment they wanted to both cherish.
"Sure. Can't guarantee I'll do it, but..." Lenny responded as he began blushing a bit. Emi giggles and swiftly pulls Lenny into a kiss that starts out soft but deepens into something almost desperate.
"Stay with me? Please?" Emi softly asked Lenny. Her voice has dropped to a whisper, the question is barely audible over the sound of his own breathing. There's something about the way that she asks that question, the hesitancy in it, the quiet voice, that makes me think she doesn't mean tonight. No, she means exactly what she said. "Stay with me." Not "tonight" or "forever," because both of them know there's no such thing as forever. There's no time limit to her request, there's just the request. The favor. Can he do that? Can Lenny stay with her?
"Of course." Lenny told Emi. He sniffed a bit as Emi's music was getting to him. Emi embraces him again, guiding Lenny towards her bed, stepping backwards with care, until she sits down on the edge. Emi began to unbutton Lenny's uniform while she was talking to him.
"I never thought of all the people I can find myself being with. I'm the luckiest girl to be alive." Emi began. She finished undressing Lenny while she began to undress herself.
"Me either. You were the first person I made friends with in Yamaku." Lenny admitted. He watched as Emi's clothing became nothing. She then fumbled around as she was looking for something.
"Ever since you were in the hospital for your second heart attack. I was wondering if I wanted to do it with you. I would have been emotionally devastated if I couldn't see you. I wanted this one night with you." Emi's eyes were watering up as she finally had the chance she needed. Emi reaches over into a drawer on her nightstand, removing a small foil package. She tears it open with a quick jerk of her teeth and reaches down to apply it. "I was asking, do you want to do it with me?"
"If it makes you happy, I want to cherish it as well." Lenny's cheeks seemed to have a couple of tears streaming down it. The music was getting to his mind but also his heart. Emi finished applying the protection when she noticed something on Lenny.
"Wait a second... Are you still in your socks?" Emi asked in a teasing manner. Lenny pauses and looks down. Apparently, he was.
"Er, yeah. Does that matter?" Lenny asked while he scratched the back of his head. Emi looked at him and she giggled at Lenny.
"Take 'em off, it's weird if you still have them on." Emi happily told Lenny. Lenny moved his feet before he noticed something about Emi as well.
"You know, you've still got your socks on too." Lenny playfully teased Emi. Emi looked at him and she began speaking to him.
"Yes, but I don't have my legs on. So, it doesn't count." Emi smiled before she giggled. Lenny was unable to deny her logic and impatient to have the conversation over anyway, he quickly removed the offending items. He was so eager to get back at Emi for telling him to remove his socks. But Emi was a step ahead. She practically jumps on top of him, pushing Lenny down playfully.
Akira, Lilly and Hanako were moving some of the stuff out of the dorms when they heard some kind of rustling from her dorm.
"Anyone know what is going on with Emi?" Hanako asked. Lilly paused before she closed her eyes and began to speak.
"Healthy Adolescent Sex Drive Hanako." Lilly softly replied. Akira nodded before she giggled.
"Just like you Lilly." Akira spoke through her giggle. She found it funny. They walked forward as they were going to find an elevator to bring the stuff down.
After a few minutes, Lenny collapses next to Emi, who almost immediately curls against him, smiling. Mentally, Lenny felt grateful that Emi keeps her nails short, otherwise he thought she might have drawn blood. Lenny sat up briefly to dispose of the now-used condom into the garbage before he lays back down next to Emi, who's in turn taking care of cleaning herself off. For a while, they lay in silence, savoring the feeling of being next to one another. Emi is the first to speak.
"Hey, Lenny." Emi began. She cuddled up to Lenny before putting an arm around him.
"Hmm?" Lenny asked, did they make green already? Emi just smiled before she closed her eyes and began speaking.
"Thanks for coming with me today." Emi told Lenny. "We managed to open each other up." Emi smiles and plants a kiss on his head.
"Of course. My pleasure." Lenny softly replied. Emi snuggles closer, and Lenny could feel her breathing begin to slacken as she begins to drift off to sleep. Just as she's about to fall asleep, she wakes up enough to mutter a single sentence.
"I love you, Lenny." Emi muttered. Then she's out liked a light, leaving Lenny feeling like he was on top of the world. Lenny drew the slumbering Emi as close as possible, pulled the covers over them to keep the chill off, and fell asleep as happy as he had ever been.
The morning light seems to reach further into Emi's room than it does into Lenny's. This results in him waking up later than Lenny would have if he had gone back to his room last night, as had previously been his routine. Lenny did not realize it until this morning, but this is the first time they've actually spent the night together. Probably the first night where they were both happy.
A small movement from his partner's still-slumbering form causes Lenny to look to the side. Hair splayed across her face; Emi continues to sleep peacefully curled up next to him. It's slightly weird to Lenny, seeing her without her trademark twin-tails, but it's also a look he could get used to. The small size of the beds here necessitates her curling up, but he's pretty sure she would have done so anyway. The covers are nearly over her head, and Lenny smiles as an errant strand of hair causes her nose to twitch slightly. Unable to help himself, Lenny draws her a little closer, a move which she seems to think is a good idea.
Her steady breath raises a trail of goosebumps on Lenny's scarred chest, but he doesn't mind. He was no longer tired, but Lenny did not feel a need to move from his current position. Emi's warm body in repose against his is far too comfortable to move. Lenny gazes up at the ceiling and considers how it is that they got to this point of having a moment of bliss together. They have been close for a while, but not this close until they tore down the walls completely separating them. It seems like only yesterday that she ran into Lenny while at the nurse's office and decided to take an interest in his well-being. But that grew into something else, which Lenny at least was not expecting. One thing is for certain: having found Emi, Lenny will try as hard as he could not to lose her.
Her morning musing is interrupted by further movement from Emi. Her eyes flutter open, and she seems briefly confused by his presence in her bed as well as her current state of dress, which is nonexistent. Then she smiles happily and sits up, her face looking down at him.
"Good morning, Lenny." Emi began. Lenny was looking up at Emi who was happier than ever. It made him happy as well.
"Hi. Sleep well?" Lenny asked while he was still numb from the encounter he had with Emi.
"Yeah. Yeah, I did. Exhausting day yesterday, you know?" Emi asked Lenny. Lenny began to think back over yesterday's trip to the graveyard. Emi's father and now his parents are gone from their lives. Lenny looked at the pulse monitor as it was flashing normally, he was surprised his heart didn't give out when Emi was having her moment of happiness with Lenny.
"Yeah. Glad to hear you slept well." Lenny told Emi that he was happy that she had a good night's rest.
"How'd you sleep?" Emi asked while she patted his forehead.
"Well, enough, although you kept hogging the covers..." Lenny teased Emi. This earns him a shove and a stuck-out tongue as he gives a chuckle, and Emi giggles a little, and we fall quiet for a while. Lenny began to soak up the feeling of how right it all seems, waking up with Emi by him, crammed into a bed made for one person. It's something he could get used to.
"Hey, Lenny…" Emi asked him. Lenny didn't want to sit up with his head to the pillow.
"Hmm?" Lenny asked Emi. Emi smiled before she began to speak again.
"Thanks for sticking around." Emi told him. Lenny nodded.
"No problem. Saved me the walk back anyway, right?" Lenny asked. This draws another giggle from Emi, but then Emi's expression turns serious again.
"No, really. I kept trying to push you away, because I thought that was the right thing to do, and you stuck around through it all. I haven't made any of this easy for you, but you stuck it out anyway. So really, I mean it. Thank you." Emi explained about what she meant about yesterday, they needed each other to make themselves happy. She punctuates this by giving Lenny a kiss, pulling back and looking at him with an expression of affection. Lenny reaches up and ruffles her hair, smiling all the while. Lenny was stupidly lucky, he thought. To have come through everything after having two heart attacks and to somehow have found this girl is nothing short of a miracle. Last night was all he needed, that one moment of bliss to Lenny.
"You're very welcome, Emi." Lenny told Emi. Lenny couldn't bear the thought of giving her up.
"I'll even continue to stick around, if you want." Emi told Lenny. He thought about it for a couple of moments.
"I'd like that." Lenny sweetly told Emi that he would be happy to see her by his side. That settles it, then. Lenny didn't know how long his heart will keep working, and he doesn't even really know what he'll do after this year is over, apart from debating whether or not to go to university. As long as Emi's around, Lenny thought he'll be okay. He had managed to help her, and she's managed to help Lenny back. If they keep doing that, they'll be okay, Lenny thought.
"So, Lenny?" Emi asked him. She patted his head afterward.
"Hmm?" Lenny asked. Emi gleefully smiled before she spoke.
"What do you want to do today?" Emi asked.
The night before, the students were enjoying one last night in Yamaku Academy before they were going home for the summer. Shizune, Misha and Kenji were on the roof and were still contemplating what had happened. Sharing a bottle of whiskey and pretzels.
The Last Of Us- The Path (A New Beginning)
"How can this all go wrong?" Misha asked while translating what Shizune was saying.
"Beats me, just enjoying the manly picnic before going home. I think my mother has given us the single malt whiskey to help kill the time." Kenji sighed; it looked like he was enjoying his bottle. Shizune took another sip of it as the three of them were getting drunk. Shizune began to sign to Misha.
"The stuff tastes bitter, you think we should be up here drinking?" Misha asked. Kenji just laughed.
"Still the best set up, I come up here to drink alone and if anyone else comes up here, well it's a picnic." Kenji told Misha and Shizune while he took the bottle of whiskey and began to drink it. Shizune took a pretzel and ate it. While crunching on it, she began to sign to Misha. Misha began to sign back as they were going to pull a nasty trick on Kenji.
"Hey Kenji?" Misha began. Kenji turned to Misha, and he began to speak to her.
"Yes Misha?" Kenji told her. Shizune began to sign something for Kenji while they continued to plan on pushing him over.
"Have you ever wished you wanted to troll someone so hard that they ended up falling over and off of the fence?" Misha asked. Shizune and Misha got up and began to edge closer to Kenji. Kenji began to drink the whiskey until there wasn't a single drop left in the bottle.
"Uh… yes. Yes, I have, when I was talking to Hisao about going to a picnic, he said he'll come but he never showed up. Now it's you two and I feel like everything is going okay." Kenji tried his best to explain in a nervous manner while Shizune and Misha took another step forward to try to corner Kenji. Kenji continued to back away.
"Have any of your wild conspiracies gone true?" Misha asked. Shizune smiled in a cold manner while she continued to push Kenji back.
"Not that I am aware of. I keep them all in a notebook of mine and I want to be able to expose any form of corruption." Kenji began to stutter. Shizune and Misha continued to take another step forward while they pushed into the fence. Shizune began to sign to Misha as she noticed the fence was unstable and if they kept pushing Kenji into it, it would give way and Kenji would plunge off the building.
"I guess we found an easier time than throwing Lenny off the rails. If it weren't for Hisao. I think we have ourselves an easier person to try throwing off." Misha was translating what Shizune was saying. Kenji recovered his speech and began speaking again.
"Why are you doing this?" Kenji asked. The fence began to creak while Shizune and Misha went closer. Shizune turned to Misha, and they began speaking with their hands. Misha decided to translate everything.
"Well ever since we got thrown off the road and lost the person we failed, we decided to pick on you. I hope you are okay with us coming to your picnic." Misha's voice was borderline shouting as she was happily ready to push Kenji off of the roof.
"It… it was a pleasure to have you come, I never have company especially with women trying to take over the world." Kenji tried to express how he liked his company though the metal bolts continued to snap. It looked like their plan was working and they continued to push Kenji into the fence.
"So, anything else you wish you want to tell us?" Misha asked. She turned to Shizune and signed with her about it.
"Nothing more than I am aware of." Kenji told Misha, suddenly the last bolt gave away as a drunken Kenji suddenly fell over. He flipped around and one of his hands was grabbing the ledge, the other held the empty whiskey bottle.
"Good. I bet you're willing to give us that notebook then?" Misha asked. Kenji was sweating intensely as he was in a precarious position. Rin was below, Hisao was helping her escort her belongings so she could go home for the summer.
"That notebook is off limits; I don't think I'm ready to give it to you." Kenji told Misha. Shizune and Misha began to sign to each other while deciding what to do with Kenji. They came to the conclusion, strip the drunken Kenji's fingers from the concrete slab. Shizune walked over as Misha began to speak happily.
"Cute little fingers." She admitted. Shizune went over and began to pluck Kenji's fingers from the roof. "Your thumb has gone to the market for whiskey. Your pointer decided to stay home. Your index finger had made conspiracies and the one next one did none. And your pinkie will go weee all the way to the bottom." Kenji felt his fingers getting plucked off of the roof and within a moment, he felt his fingers slip and he began to fall to the bottom.
Shizune and Misha were getting smaller and smaller to Kenji as his vision was going black, the ground below him seemed to have opened into some kind of void and it was sucking him in. They continued to get smaller and smaller as Kenji fell in slow motion to the bottom. He looked at the whiskey bottle he had before the let go of it, the bottle was falling slower and slower than he was. For Kenji this was nothing.
It was a bad way to end a very very bad year. Splat. Shizune and Misha watched as the whiskey bottle shattered on the ground.
"Well that worked well. Now should we go into Kenji's room and find what he was talking about?" Misha asked. Shizune signed with the words of indeed Misha. They got up and began to walk off the roof top as Kenji was laying on the ground unresponsive. Shizune and Misha have played a trick on him at his own game, and no one seemed to take notice.
It all backfired on him.
[A/N]: Woo this fanfic is finished. I was wondering why it wasn't successful. But we did manage to get in a steady stream of views, and I never felt so free compared to before. Having something to reflect on. I really liked how this turned out though I wasn't pleased about getting any reviews or followers to show that my ideas were catching on. Could be the fact that this isn't a popular group to take viewers in. I've done all I can and got about 80k words roughly out of this. Some of it was copy and paste with some editing as the story is unexpectedly good. Music kind of has me tearing up I will admit.
Now I might ask, how was this? Was it good? Was there more I could have done to make it better? What should the score be on a 1-10 basis? I've done this in less than a month and I feel like this was a breath of fresh air. Don't know if I should make more stand-alone stories like these and introduce new people?
Let me know as I will have to continue the other fanfic I've abandoned. I'm not looking forward to it.
Anyways, I'm just rambling, I'll let you off of the hook. Goodbye for now.
"Also, I am saying: Gentle Giant is Trainz." Rin Tezuka.