Part 2

A tiny voice crawled into her ear, "L-Lilly?"

She immediately sat up straight, prim and proper, and folded her hands on the table, making sure that her elbows were off it. She was dressed in her best, like everyone else, and she needed to act it, too. She had a small smile on, her body now relaxed. Years of training at her prep school had given her that ability. But inside, she was in turmoil. She didn't just carry herself in a graceful manner because it was deemed the right thing; it was actually a part of who she was. But her grace was being trampled by the lethargy and hopelessness of her nicotine deprived brain. She felt like she was in a fight for the control of her body, and it was driving her nuts. Every so often, there would be a strange moment where she wouldn't have an honest idea on what she wanted; she would get the signals mixed up and be stuck in between herself and her addiction. It was only when her hands held the now folded notes from her talk with her sister that she was able to pull herself back.

Still, she managed to use a pleasant voice, "Oh, Hanako? I'm so glad you arrived. How was the trip?"

She could feel Hanako's sweet little smile, "It was okay. Everything was crowded, but I managed. I didn't have anything to read or do, though."

Lilly's jaw tightened. She was supposed to meet Hanako half-way, but she had an... episode. As in she overturned a chair in her apartment while looking for her keys. Which were in her purse. She was forced to call Hanako and apologize. She never would have made it, and besides, she didn't want Hanako to see her like that. The fact that she had called out of work to meet with Hanako wasn't anything compared to the fact that she had broken a promise to her closest friend.

"I'm so sorry, Hanako." Lilly's face saddened a little. "I've just been a little stressed today, and I keep making silly little mistakes."

"T-that's okay. I understand." Lilly could tell that Hanako's smile had never left. "Today must be really hard for you, but I believe in you."

"Hm?"

"W-w-well, you quit smoking, r-right?"

Lilly swallowed hard. She hadn't told Hanako anything.

Akira. What a bitch.

Lilly rubbed her temples, hoping that would coax her less lady-like thoughts out of her brain (that was her loving sister, after all), "Ah, so you spoke to my sister today."

"Mmm-hmm. She called me this morning."

Lilly's massaging stopped, but she kept her hands up. "She called you?"

"Yes. She was very excited. She asked me to...," she stopped, and it was probably a good idea.

Lilly hated having people dote over her. Under the usual circumstances, she wouldn't be angry at either Akira or Hanako, but that obviously wasn't the case that day. She drew a breath, and remembered that her sister loved her, and was just trying to make sure that everything would be okay. It was hard to swallow. It felt like she was forcing down a still-living tarantula that figured it still had a lot to live for, like it's family and the little house it had in the countryside.

...

What a weird thought. Damn, she was really losing it, wasn't she?

"L-Lilly?" That smile definitely wasn't there now. "W-we didn't mean to..."

Lilly reached over and felt for Hanako's hand, taking it in hers a giving it a little squeeze. "It's alright, I don't think you're imposing at all. Thank you, Hanako. I actually feel a bit better now."

"O-okay. We just want you to be happy, Lilly."

She honestly was now, and she said so to Hanako.

And then, "SAAAAAAATTTTOOOOOUUUUU~!"

Oh good God.

Misha.

Lilly picked a hell of a day to quit smoking.

The floor was actually bumping a bit form the force of her hurried steps. Misha was keeping herself from running, but only barely. But she couldn't keep herself from throwing her arms around Lilly, "Oh my God! Satou! It's been so long!"

Lilly would have liked to reciprocate those feelings to her cousin's best friend, however, that would have required air.

Luckily, Hanako was able to answer for her, "H-hello, Mikado. It's good to see you too, and I'm sure Lilly feels the same, but..."

But her display of increased communication skills was cut short by Misha realizing that Hanako was there as well, "IKEZAWA~!"

Now it was Hanako's turn to see how she would fair against an anaconda. Not too well, it would seem. Not too well at all.

Lilly managed to get her now diminished voice to crawl through the cracks in Hanako's near-constant gagging, "It's nice to see you too Mikado, but I'm sure Hanako would appreciate it if you let her answer."

Misha's eyes widened in realization, and she nodded to Lilly, though it was for only her own benefit. Chalk it up to excitement, with no offense intended. Letting go of Hanako (while taking a minute to smooth out any wrinkles she might have put in Hanako's dress), she took a seat at their table, leaning forward over it, but keeping her hands in her lap. Her legs were bouncing slightly, but the tremors were to Lilly like rough waters to cruise ship. Misha licked her lips, and she honestly put an effort into containing her excitement, though you'd have to know her pretty well in order to spot a difference, "I can't believe it! It's been ten years! Isn't that crazy? You both look so much different~! I don't mean you look older, you just look so... so much more... I don't know...~"

"Mature?" Lilly suggested with a slightly pained smile.

"Yeah! I guess. Wow, I'm so sorry," she said that with a little giggle, "I'm acting like such a kid~! I haven't felt this excited in a while! Well, wait. Maybe it's better to say this kind of excited in a while. Does that make sense?" Misha's face was scrunched up in worry, though only slight worry.

Her look made Hanako giggle a bit, "A-actually, yes. It's a bit of a rush." She spoke quietly, while looking at the floor, but she was slightly blushing, and she had her small smile back, "I don't want to sound weird, but it's like... like I found something in my attic. I don't know how else to say it."

Lilly gave her a hand, "I think I know what you're getting at, Hanako. It's almost like...," she pondered her words for a moment, and then chose ones that wouldn't leave Misha out, "Like we walked into an old photo, maybe?"

Lilly made a pretty good guess, judging by the sudden burst clapping from Misha, "Yeah!" Then, in a somewhat sadder tone, "Though to be honest, I wish we were at the school."

Lilly sighed, "I agree, but we know the rules. All this excitement probably wouldn't have been too good for the students."

Hanako piped up, "I wish I had been able to make it to the open house they had earlier today. It would have been nice to see how everything was."

Misha tried to cheer them all up, "Well, they still do that festival every year, and the doors are open then!"

Lilly nodded, "Yes, that would actually be a good time to go. Though to be honest, I don't mind being here. This city is only a short bus ride away."

"But it's not Yamaku! It's not even the town!" Misha's attention span still needed work, it seemed.

"I s-still came here, sometimes. Lilly, too."

"You did?"

"Not this place exactly," Lilly said warmly, "But Hanako and I came to this city often. We even did karaoke sometimes."

She also came to town with Hisao a few times. Her hand crept into her purse, but found folded paper with advice, not rolled with tobacco. A sudden attack of Misha's trademark laughs didn't help. Lilly swore she could actually feel the sound waves reverberating inside her own skull, each one slowly shaking loose her grip on her thoughts.

Misha managed to get her own thoughts under control, "I'm sorry, but really, Ikezawa? I'd honestly never peg you for someone who'd do karaoke."

Hanako looked up at her, and even though her shoulders were still hunched, she gave Misha a playful grin, "We should go t-together sometime, m-m-maybe do a duet."

"Wahahaha~! Pick a day!"

They both laughed, and Lilly started to relax. So far, so good. While she did have a lot of faith in Hanako, Lilly was really surprised that she was able to handle the boisterous Misha this well. She had come a long way from the shy girl that Lilly met all those years ago. Well, maybe the transformation was more from shy girl to shy woman, but at least Hanako had a bit of wit was able to stand up for herself in a conversation. Hanako had become someone who didn't really go out and crave human interaction, but she had no big issues with it anymore. She only spent any real time with the people she cared about, keeping her circle of friends very small, but at the same time, very close.

That reminded Lilly, "So, Mikado, how have you been?"

Misha launched into a brief summary of the past ten years. She had traveled a bit for a year, a bit like Hanako had, but had left for Europe. Lilly would have never guessed it, but Misha actually spoke a fair bit of English, and it helped her a bit, being that it was one of the most used languages in the entire world. Afterward, she had returned to Japan and continued to become a certified JSL teacher. There weren't that many these days, which was something that upset Misha quite a bit, especially when she found the demand wasn't so great, either. She started to take up ASL, and was doing very well in it, but unless she stayed on American Army bases, it wouldn't be the best. Still, it was a stepping stone, and after ASL she would probably learn another form, though she hadn't decided on any in particular yet. Lilly was actually quite impressed. Altogether, Misha spoke four languages, and was looking to learn another. That was another thing Lilly would have never expected of her. It was more than just impressive. As for work, Misha was working as a JSL translator in a school for the deaf, and occasionally was a JSL and ASL tutor for an American man and his wife who lived on an Army base, who had recently learned that their newborn son was deaf.

"D-do you still keep in touch with Shi-Shizune?" Hanako asked.

"Of course~! We really don't see each other in person that often, but we meet up when we can. And when we can't, we just use a video chat! Well, we try. She still isn't very good with computers, wahaha!"

Lilly sighed. "I still have problems with them, too. I'm a little frustrated that we rely on them so much, even more than when we were kids."

Hanako chuckled, which caught Lilly by surprise, "Y-yeah, Lilly is pretty hopeless when it comes them. She calls me all the time for even the smallest things." Hanako was clearly ignoring the spreading blush on Lilly, "O-one time, she had to have me w-write up a memo for her class on researching things on the internet. She had no idea on how to do it. Ugh, it can be frustrating sometimes."

Now Lilly was stammering, "W-well, the school I work at has a large library, and I don't see why..."

Misha pounded the table with her fist, "Wahahahahaha~! Oh my God, I know right! And they don't even get it! That reminds me of this one time I had to explain to Shizune how to hook up a web cam to her laptop! She texted me, with half of the words misspelled because she was so mad, that the box didn't come with a power adapter for the 'camera device!' I told her, 'Shicchan, you just plug it into the USB port, and that's almost it.'" Misha wiped some tears that had collected under her eyes. "Oh man, I remember her asking, 'Bus?! Why would I have to take a bus?!' And telling her how to install the drivers was a nightmare. By the time we finally had it set up and had vid-chat going, I couldn't stop laughing! Her hair was all sticking out by the sides! I could totally tell she had been doing this the entire time~!" Misha pulled a bit at her hair on the sides of her head, her face messed up into a look of mock rage.

Hanako couldn't stop laughing. She had both of her arms wrapped around her stomach as if it was about to burst out, "Oh... oh God! Lilly makes that same face!"

"They must be related~!" Misha was rocking her chair so hard that if she wasn't careful she would send it backwards and roll across the floor.

From somewhere, there was a growling sound, like a chainsaw idling, but they both ignored it.

Hanako tried to catch her breath, "Wai...wai... wait! How about this one!" She calmed down, then looked up towards the ceiling with big innocent doe eyes and a finger held up to her chin. With a slight English accent, "But whatever do you mean?"

The laughing was so loud that almost everyone was staring at the two of them. Somewhere in the midst of it, you might have heard Misha say, "Shicchan signs that same thing~!"

Funny, that growling noise was starting to get rather loud. Misha and Hanako both opened their eyes to see Lilly standing over them, her eyes twitching, and both sounding and looking as menacing as a chainsaw. "If... if you'll excuse me, I have something to attend to." She did her best to not stomp off, and under the circumstances, did a pretty good job.