Yuru Yuri: The Inner Struggles
By TheBlackKid
Chapter 1 – The Struggles Begin
Chinatsu's POV
We've recently begun a new school year here at Nanamori Middle School. And so far, it's been pretty normal. Much like last year, it's been Kyoko, Yui, Akari, and I...taking part in the famously unofficial Amusement Club doing whatever nonsense Kyoko comes up with. Sometimes involving the members of the Student Council and even people not included in either group for "extra fun". As Kyoko calls it.
Meanwhile, I'm doing my very best to be together with Yui as her lover. This is my last chance to do so before she heads off to high school. So, I'm pulling all the stops to make it happen. My dream of being Yui's princess will DEFINITELY come true!
And for Akari...well...she's doing okay, I guess. To be honest, I sometimes forget she's even around due to her presence. Something that pisses her off every single time. I don't do it on purpose. In fact, none of us do. It just...happens. A lot. And none of us can really give a better excuse than "you just lack any presence". Which is a pretty crappy one, now that I think about it.
But one thing's for sure...us three forgetting about Akari one last time would have us all rethinking what we consider "normal" around here. For better or worse.
And for some of us…it'll REALLY be worse.
It started as the final school bell rang for the day. Akari and I were making our way to the clubroom, as usual. Only this time, I almost went there by myself because Akari didn't want to go. She was complaining again about always being ignored and forgotten wherever she goes. And I kept telling her that she was just overreacting.
"But what about all those times I get marked absent when I'm sitting in clear view?" Akari asked me.
"You're overreacting."
"But what about all those times I keep getting left behind whenever we go on class trips?"
"You're overreacting."
"What about that whole Akarin! thing?"
"Okay, to be fair, you're the one who started that."
"Yeah, but…"
"Seriously, Akari. You're letting this "no presence" thing get you paranoid over nothing. All those times were just accidents. Nothing more, nothing less."
"Oh, really?" Akari then looked at me with a pissed-off look. "You've been doing it a lot more recently, Chinatsu. Tell me...were those just "accidents", too?"
"U-Uh…w-well…"
O-Okay yes, it's true. I've been forgetting Akari a lot more lately. But unlike the others, I have a perfectly good reason for it. Like I said before, Yui and Kyoko will be going on to high school next year. And I've been using all this time to finally confess my love for Yui…even though she's somewhat aware of it. Not completely, though. Surprisingly, she's too dense to figure it out.
And yet, she's supposed to be the smart one between the four of us…
But I'm willing to put aside those flaws of hers. Soon, my life-long fantasy of Yui being my girlfriend will finally come true. That is...if Kyoko doesn't get in my way. I'm getting rather suspicious of those two being together a lot.
I mean, I know they're childhood friends, but still…
"*sigh* It's okay, Chinastu. You don't have to explain it." Akari said. Sounding even more pissed than before.
"W-Wait, Akari! Look, I'm sorry for ignoring you a lot lately. But I'm getting so close to confessing to Yui and..."
"You've been saying that ever since we've met."
"I know, but...love is complicated, Akari."
"I find that hard to believe, but...whatever you say, Chinastu." Akari said as she walked ahead of me, still sounding pissed as hell.
Why do I feel like I just screwed up big time?
I managed to catch up to Akari by the time we were reaching close to the clubroom. She also managed to calm down a little...but I could still tell that she wasn't in the mood for any new conversations. So, it was just a quiet walk the rest of the way there. When we opened the door and went inside, we realized that Yui and Kyoko weren't there yet.
"Huh. Looks like we're the first ones here." I said. "Want some tea, Akari?"
"Yeah, sure. I guess." Was all Akari answered with.
Yeah...she's still upset.
As Akari sat down at the table, I went to the mini kitchen to prepare the tea. I really wanted to have Akari in a better mood. So, I made her favorite tea. Hoping that it would at least count as some form of "I'm sorry". Once that was done, I went to the main room and sat with Akari as we both drank our tea in peace.
"Ah. Isn't this nice, Akari? I asked her.
"Yeah…it actually is. Drinking my favorite tea with my dear friend...maybe you're right, Chinastu. Maybe I am getting paranoid over noth-"
"CHINA-CHAN!"
"*sigh* Never mind."
Just then, Kyoko came barging into the room, breaking the door in the process, and came charging at me. Squeezing me too tight as she kept cuddling me.
"Oh, I miss you, my little China-chan!" Kyoko yelled in my ear.
"D-Damnit, Kyoko! Get off me! You're hurting my back!" I shouted while trying to push her off. But to no success. I honestly don't know why she does this to me and me only. It hurts like hell and it makes me fear Kyoko sometimes.
Hopefully, she comes here soon...
"Kyoko, get off of her." A voice said. One that I've fallen in love with and pretty much gotten addicted to.
There she is! My savior!
And not long afterward, my darling Yui came into the room and tried to break Kyoko's hard-as-hell grip on me.
"But Yui, she's so cute and cuddly and soft and smooth! I just want to squeeze her for all eternity!~"
"Y-Yui...h-help me!" I was starting to lose my breath.
"Hold on, Chinastu. I'll get you out."
Yui then placed her hands on each of our heads and attempted to pull us apart. Unlike me, she has a lot of upper body strength. So, although it took a bit of effort, she was able to get Kyoko off me.
…
Problem is, the force Yui gave while pushing Kyoko off was super strong. As she ended up slamming the overly-excited third-year blonde into this giant shelf we had in there. Cluttered with a bunch of her Mirakurun stuff.
"Oh no! My collection!" Kyoko panicked as she stood over the now rocking shelf. She tried to hold it up in an attempt to stop it…but even with her strength alone, she couldn't do it. And everything that was there fell to the floor. Some of which ended up hitting us on the head.
"Ow!" Yui yelled. "Kyoko, I thought you were going to take this stuff home with you!"
"I was…" Kyoko responded. "…but then something happened."
"And what was that something?"
"I forgot."
"*sigh*" Yui-senpai facepalmed hard.
"You are seriously hopeless, Kyoko." I said as I got up from the floor. Then rushed over to Yui-senpai and hugged her as tightly as I could (which is a lot less power compared to Kyoko). Showering her with my gratitude of love.
"Thanks for the help, Yui!"
"Y-You're welcome, Chinastu. B-But can you let go of me, please?"
"Of course! Anything for my prince of the night!"
"Pl-Please stop calling me that." Yui gained a sweatdrop. "It just reminds me of the multiple times Sachiko has called me a boy."
She isn't that far off, to be honest…
"So…you guys want some tea? Akari and I were drinking some not too long ago."
"Sure, I can go for some tea."
"Huh? Akari's here?" Kyoko asked. "I didn't notice."
"You would if you weren't snuggling Chinastu so hard." Yui retorted.
"But my China-chan is so cuddly~!"
"Quit calling me that!" I yelled at her. "*sigh* Sorry about this, Akari."
...
...
...
"Akari?"
As we all remembered that Akari was in the room (I know. AGAIN), she was lying on the floor with her back facing us. She wasn't moving at all. And was lying in a very weird position.
"Did she fall asleep?" Kyoko asked.
"There's no way she could've slept through all that." Yui said.
"Hey, Akari. You okay?" I asked as I went up to her. I moved her body a little...and eventually gained a view of something I wish I didn't see.
"*TERRIFIED SCREAM*"
What I saw...was Akari lying limp and unconscious. With a big sharp object piercing her left eye.
"AKARI!"
"OH MY GOD, AKARI!" Yui shouted.
"OH CRAP! OH CRAP! OH CRAP!" And Kyoko began panicking hard.
We were all too horrified to move...but we knew that if we didn't do something, Akari might die from this. So, despite all three of us being traumatized of what we were seeing, we had to help Akari FAST!
"Sh-She still has a pulse!" Yui yelled as she went over and placed two fingers on Akari's neck. "We've got to take her to the school! Chinastu! Grab one end of her! Kyoko! Call an ambulance!"
"R-Right!" We both replied.
I grabbed one end of Akari's limp body while Yui grabbed the other. As we ran out of the clubroom and headed for the school, Kyoko was right behind us on the phone with the emergency staff.
"Yes, hello? M-My friend! Sh-She got stabbed in the eye! Sh-She's bleeding everywhere! PL-PLEASE SEND HELP!"
It didn't take long for an ambulance to show up at the school. They placed Akari on the stretcher and loaded her into the truck. As it drove off, nearly the entire school was watching. Including the members of the Student Council, Sachiko, Hiro, and Aoi.
"What the hell happened to Akari?!" Sakurako asked.
"She got stabbed in the eye by one of Kyoko's figurines." Yui answered.
"KYOKO! I thought you took those home with you!" Ayano yelled at her.
"I'M SORRY, OKAY! I FORGOT!" Kyoko shouted.
"I'm going to meet her at the hospital!" I said.
"W-Wait, really?" Yui asked. "Shouldn't we let Akane know first?"
"I'll call her on the way there!"
"I'm coming with you!" Sakurako said.
"Me too!" Himawari added.
"I'm worried about Akari!" Chitose said.
"I'm worried, too…but all of us don't need to rush over there." Ayano said. "We'll disturb the doctors and other patients."
"COME ON, AYANO! Can't you be less considerate of other people just this once?!" Sakurako yelled. "Akari could DIE from this and you're thinking about disturbing other people?!"
"That's kind of a bad way to phrase it, but…Sakurako has a point this time." Hiro said.
…
…
…
"*sigh* Alright." Ayano gave in. "I'll see if Nishigaki can give us a ride."
"Please hurry, Ayano!" Kyouko pleaded.
Nishigaki agreed to give us a ride to the hospital. And even Rise-senpai, who was visiting that day after getting out of school, wanted to tag along.
She seemed a lot more concerned than the rest of us, though. I wonder why?
…
A-Anyway…once we got there, we met up with Akari's sister Akane, along with my sister Tomoko. They were both getting out of college classes when we broke the news to them. And once we met up, we were more detailed about it.
"A figurine STABBED her in the eye?!" Akane shouted. Obviously in a panic for her little sister.
"How the hell did that happen?" Tomoko asked.
"I-It was *sniff* a-an accident, I swear! I-I didn't mean...f-for Akari to get hurt! *sniff*" Kyoko was crying hard tears as she tried to explain herself. She cried all the way here. Only stopping once when we stepped foot inside. From the looks of it, she really feels bad about this whole thing.
I mean...the two are childhood friends. But even then, that's totally not like her...
"*sniff* I-I'm sorry *sniff*…A-Akane! I-I really am! I-I never intended *sniff*…f-for this to happen! Hontōni HONTŌNI gomen'nasai!"
"W-Wow…she even used Japanese in the sentence." Sachiko said in shock.
"Maybe she really is sorry." Himawari added.
"Kyoko…" Akane said as she grabbed Kyoko and held her in a hug. "…look, I know you. You wouldn't purposely do this to Akari. You may be a hopeless idiot as times, but you're still a good friend towards my sister. I forgive you for what's happened."
"Th-Thank you *sniff* A-Akane…"
"Uh…was the "hopeless idiot" part really necessary?" Tomoko asked.
"It…depends on who you ask." I replied.
Hours went by as we waited in the hospital while the doctors did surgery on Akari's eye. The entire time we were there, a lot of us were worried about the outcomes that could come from this. If Akari does manage to survive (which I'm hoping she does)...would she still want to be in the Amusement Club? Would she even want to be friends with any of us? She was already in a bad mood from how we always treated her. Would this be the last straw for her?
...
If so...I...I wouldn't blame her...
*Inaudible Whisper*
"Yeah…I hope so, too." Nishigaki said to Rise-senpai. "I know how much she means to you."
Wait, what does THAT mean?
"Y'know…we wouldn't even be in this mess if Kyoko wasn't so damn hopeless." Sakurako grunted.
"I said I was sorry!" Kyoko yelled.
"SORRY'S NOT GOING TO FIX AKARI! IF SHE DIES FROM THIS, IT'LL BE ALL YOUR FAULT!
"DON'T YOU THINK I KNOW THAT?! I ALREADY FEEL HORRIBLE FOR ALL THIS AND I DON'T NEED YOU TO MAKE IT WORSE!"
"YOU SURE?! CAUSE I THINK A FEW BLOWS TO THE HEAD WILL MAKE YOU TRULY CARE ABOUT HER, YOU HOPELESS SORRY EXCUSE OF A FRIEND!"
"AS YOU'RE ONE TO TALK! YOU'RE JUST AS BAD A FRIEND AS I AM!"
So, she's admitting that she's a bad friend?! That's DEFINITELY not like Kyoko!
"YOU HAVE SOME FUCKING NERVE TO COMPARE ME TO YOU! YOU DAMN HOPELESS BITCH!" Sakurako continued shouting as she got closer to Kyoko's face in pure anger.
"STOP CALLING ME HOPELESS OR YOU'RE REALLY GONNA GET IT!"
"BRING IT! I FUCKING DARE YOU!"
"Guys, stop! We shouldn't be fighting at a time like this!" Ayano shouted as she and Aoi managed to pull the two away from each other.
"Ayano's right." Chitose said. "We should be hoping for Akari's recovery, not ruining our friendship."
"Hmph. I don't remember ever being friends with a hopeless dumbass." Sakurako said.
"I can say the same thing." Kyoko said.
"Why you little..."
"I've never seen Kyoko this upset before." I whispered to Yui. "Is she really remorseful about this?"
"I'm shocked, too...but it's hard to say now. Knowing Kyoko, she might be completely fine tomorrow as if nothing ever happened."
"I see..."
We waited for another hour in sheer tension and worriedness. None of us really made a sound since that small fight Kyoko and Sakurako had. It was then that one of the doctors came into the waiting room. Sighing from exhaustion as he took his mask off.
"How is she, doctor?" Akane asked. "Will my sister be okay?"
"Well...you'll be good to know that the operation was a success."
"YES!" We all cheered and celebrated the fact that Akari had survived through it all.
"Although…we had to do some…modifications."
"Huh? Wh-What do you mean by that?" Akane asked.
"Well, she's awake now. You all can see for yourselves."
Oh geez. I hope it's not too bad...
The doctor took us through the hospital to the room where they had Akari in. As we stood outside the door, he said one last thing to us.
"Just so you know...we didn't tell her what we did to her yet. So, please keep your reactions to a minimum."
Although some of us were worried about what he meant by "what we did to her", we all agreed to what the doctor said and he opened the door. Letting us inside the room. When we went inside and saw Akari laying on the bed, we were happy to see her alive…but then saw the "modification" the doctor was talking about.
Needless to say, we were horrified at what we were looking at.
Oh my God! Akari! What did they do to you?!
"Oh. Hey, everyone. I didn't think you all would come." Akari said with a weak voice while wearing a weak smile. Which was understandable since she just came out of surgery.
"H-Hey, Akari. How're you feeling?" I asked.
"Well…I do have a headache."
"Yeah, you usually get those once you get out of surgery." Yui said.
"I guess. But…for some reason…I can't open my left eye."
We all went dead silent after hearing that. We didn't know how (or if) we should tell Akari what happened to her.
"Akaza-san. As you know, the surgery was a success." The doctor said. "But…we had to make a few…changes."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Well, I'll go get a mirror and show you."
As the doctor looked for a mirror, Akane went by her sister's side and held her hand tight.
"Sis, what did they do to me?" Akari asked.
"W-Well…" Was all Akane was able to say.
"Okay…here it is." The doctor said as he held up the mirror to Akari's face. When she took a look at it, she nearly burst into tears.
"Wha…"
"What the..."
"WHAT HAPPENED TO MY EYE?!"
Akari looked at her reflection…to see that she only had one eye. The spot where her left eye used to be was replaced with a giant red scar patched up by stitches.
"Well, Akaza-san..." The doctor said. "...when you were brought here, we only had a few minutes to save you. Your eye bled so much that filled up a good part of your head. It was deemed untreatable. So, we had no choice but to remove your eye."
"R-Remove my eye?! Oh, God…" Akari then began to cry as she now had to live the rest of her life with only one eye. Making the rest of us feel even worse about this whole thing.
"A-Akari…"
"Hey, Chinastu. I think we should let Akari rest a little." Tomoko said to me with her hand on my shoulder.
"Your sister's right, Chinastu." Yui added. "She did have a long day."
"B-But..." I honestly didn't want to leave. I wanted to stay and make Akari feel somewhat better about all this. But I knew I didn't really have a choice. "...o-okay. B-Bye, Akari."
"Goodbye…everyone." Akari said. Still crying hard and now sounding more depressed than she did this afternoon.
After everyone had gone home (except Akane, who stayed with Akari), I took a shower and got into bed. But…I couldn't sleep.
I mean…how could I? My best friend nearly died from getting stabbed in the eye, got said eye removed, and is forever stuck with only having one eye. And it's kinda my fault.
Sure, I didn't cause the injury...but it's still my fault for forcing Akari for coming to the clubroom when she didn't want to in the first place. I felt horrible that I was basically part of ruining Akari's life. And I hated myself the more I thought about it.
Some friend I am...
I continued to stare at my bedroom ceiling rummaging through the negative self-hating thoughts that were swarming in my head. Eventually feeling tears run down my face as I tried to close my eyes and sleep this horrid day away.
And mentally pray that it doesn't get worse from here.
Author's Note: So, you know how I posted that "story" that was more of an update about what I wanted to do with this series? Where I described that I wanted to merge all of the stories together into one big story and add new stuff alongside me rewriting some of the old ones?
I know most of you didn't get to see it. Because I took it down later that same day. But I figured that the best way to explain what I mean was to just show it in action. This first chapter was a (re)re-write of the first chapter of Akari's Depression. Most of that story's done with the grammar checks…but I'm still going to add new stuff to it. Extra stuff within the old chapters and even brand-new ones. The next chapter will be a prime example of that.
Thanks for reading. I know it's been a while since I've done a new Yuru Yuri story. So, hopefully, this will be entertaining to you guys. Later.