The billboard of discord
A long and tired yawn escapes Yoshiko's lips as she tries her best to hold tight onto the handles of the coach of the train she's in to not let the smooth swinging lull her to sleep after a long day at work.
Luckily for her, or maybe unfortunately, an elbow hitting her ribs and making her yelp in pain it's what the blue haired girl needs to "wake up", grumbling in return to the timid apology of the girl that just hit her.
The blue haired game developer barely has the time to place the strap of her bag over her shoulder in a better way ready to get off the train at the next stop, when once the train's doors open, she finds herself trapped in a sea of hasty people, being tossed around like a rag as the besuited people around her push her in their rush to get back home as fast as possible.
This is one of the things she dislikes the most about having to get out of home from time to time to go to work to the office: the rush hours, the trains full of people, the mix of sweated bodies and strong colognes along with the smell of food that either makes her hungry or disgusted, before it comes the pushing to either try to find a gap to get off at her stop at the very morning or like in this case, to get her out of the way after being a hindrance so the people trapped inside the train with her can get home sooner as if by some kind of miracle that would help them, or as if she wasn't in their same situation.
An irritated grumble escapes now her lips as she manages to step aside of the pushing and place, this time for real, the strap of her bag better over her shoulder ready to go back home herself, when a blur of blue and burgundy colors in between the sea of still remaining people catches her attention.
Yoshiko waits a prudential time until the sea of people disappears completely, leaving her all by herself at the waiting area of the station, to then begin walking to the large billboard in front of her, observing the blue and burgundy colors that remind her to her and her beloved girlfriend.
The game developer can only smile at the thought, before she focuses on the actual colors of the hair of the girls in it, and can't help then but stop to contemplate it in a better way, curious thinking about the similarity of both girls with her and her beloved girlfriend.
- Woah, they really look like I and Riko.
She comments aloud, staring at the light blue haired girl with a side ponytail and a yellow hoodie kabedoning and grabbing the chin of the burgundy haired girl in front of her and that strangely looks like an exact copy of Riko.
Wait, what!? She isn't an identical copy of Riko, but HER RIRI HERSELF!
Yoshiko screams internally as her eyes stare fixedly at the large image of her girlfriend in the billboard, a churning feeling growing in her stomach as a constricted feeling settles in her chest upon the sight of her beloved girlfriend blushing while being kabedoned by a girl that isn't her!
The nerve! The girl can't even be called a lame substitution of my wonderful self!
Yoshiko huffs as in a quick movement takes her phone out of her pocket to take a picture of the large billboard, saving it ready to walk back home fueled by it and to demand her girlfriend an explanation of it while the constricted feeling persists in her chest.
What does that billboard mean? Was that burgundy haired girl really her Riri or maybe it was something made by AI?
But… what if it was really her Riri and she was cheating on her?
No, no… that wouldn't be… she would never cheat on her, right? Right!?
The blue haired girl thinks to herself, panic rising and oppressing her chest harder upon the possibility of her beloved girlfriend being unsatisfied with their current life together and her constant bad luck. Upon the possibility of her beloved Riko being afraid of telling her about it and breaking her fragile heart in tiny pieces, opting to do something as cheating on her, before finally having the courage to break with her and toss her to the streets while she keeps their small cozy apartment to herself so she could enjoy it with that lame copy of her.
Yoshiko can't help but try and take a deep and long but shaky breath trying to calm herself and her racing mind as well as the tears that threaten to fall, before continuing walking until reaching their lovely and small cozy apartment, introducing her key in the lock to twist it open.
- Riri!? I'm home!
She manages to croak as calmed as she can muster, before she's greeted by the most absolute silence.
The sound of her bag hitting the entrance floor resounds loudly, almost painfully through the empty apartment, before a sob breaks through.
Unable to stop the train of thoughts racing at full speed in her mind, Yoshiko lets her tears finally fall, wetting her face while sprinting to their shared bedroom to hide inside their bed, pulling the blankets over her head to hide herself from the ugly truth. Hiding herself from the fact that her beloved Riri will inevitably break up with her.
More sobs escape her lips as she clutches Riko's precious creamy pajama full of patterns of musical notes tightly against her chest, slowly and accidentally falling asleep.
Hardly thirty minutes later, she's awakened by the sound of the front door closing, footsteps almost tripping probably over her bag, her coat and shoes left disordered on the entrance floor, before the melodic and lovely voice of her girlfriend fills the tense and painful silence reigning over their small cozy apartment.
- Yocchan!?
Riko calls out her name, making Yoshiko flinch and hide further under their blankets not ready to face the sure break up with the pianist.
More tears flood her eyes as a sob escapes her lips mixing with the sound of steps approaching their bedroom.
- Yocchan, baby? What's wrong? Did something happen at work?
Riko asks worried now, kneeling next to Yoshiko's side to pull away the blankets from over her head.
- You… you tell me…
Riko hears Yoshiko mumbling, confusing her, before her girlfriend's mesmerizing yet watery eyes shine with an unexpected pain in them.
- What do you-
- What's this?
Yoshiko's agitated voice cuts her off, finding herself looking into the blue haired girl's phone screen and staring into the image of a large billboard in a waiting area of the train station: a light blue haired girl kabedoning her.
Riko quickly falls silent, a light blush tinting her cheeks that far from finding it endearing as Yoshiko usually does, only makes her heart break.
- So you were really cheating on me…
Yoshiko whispers with evident hurt in her voice, making Riko gasp loudly, before grabbing the younger girl by her shoulders to look into her eyes serious.
- I'd never do that, Yocchan!
And yet, even though her fiery declaration, it seems that her girlfriend doesn't believe her, pain and insecurity flashing in her beautiful eyes.
- It really isn't what it seems, Yocchan. I mean it.
Riko says desperate now and on the verge of crying too upon seeing the pain and insecurity on Yoshiko, thinking how the idea of her cheating on her with a random girl (and that yes, she has to admit that ironically looks like her beloved girlfriend from afar) even passed through the younger girl's mind.
- T-then, what is it?
Yoshiko asks quietly, placing one of her hands over Riko's one hesitantly, giving it a squeeze as she sits up so they can have a much needed serious talk.
- It was just a photo shoot to promote a new project about idols. I… I'm not really sure why they chose that exact picture to promote it when they had better ones to do so, or why they wallpapered the train stations with it when it was due for the next week... Yocchan, I'm really sorry I didn't have the time to tell you about it so you had to find it out like that.
Riko admits dejected, and it pains Yoshiko's heart to see her girlfriend so discouraged and have doubted about her and their relationship and love.
- I-I'm sorry to have jumped into conclusions so hastily without hearing you out first.
Yoshiko whispers ashamed, feeling Riko squeezing her hand, before locking eyes.
- I'd never ever cheat on you, Yoshiko. Never. I really love you, with my whole heart.
- I… I know… it's just… – the younger girl trails off embarrassedly as Riko arches an eyebrow at her prompting her to continue – she looked so like me that I thought…
She confesses quietly, so quietly that Riko almost misses it, before she lets out a quiet giggle.
- Don't tell me you were like jealous of that girl?
- Of course I was! Nobody can grab my Riri's chin and kabedon her like that unless it's me who does it!
Yoshiko blurts out accidentally, blushing almost as hard as Riko's hair, eliciting a squeak from her also blushing girlfriend, before Riko takes her cheeks in her hands, cupping them and stroking them.
- I love you, Yocchan. And nobody will ever change that. Not even a random girl that looked like you, nor even Kanan.
- Wait, what? Kanan!?
Yoshiko exclaims shocked as Riko bites her lips purposely upon having admitted she might have a thing for blue haired girls, especially if they kabedon her. She can only chuckle and pull her pouty and huffing girlfriend into a deep kiss to clear all her doubts and insecurities, and her jealousy too.
- I was kidding, silly. There's nobody else that can ever compare to you nor that can have my heart.
Riko reassures Yoshiko with nothing but fierce love in her eyes, making the younger girl blush, before they share another deep kiss to clear their doubts and jealousy completely.
- You still have to make it up to me for scaring me like that.
Yoshiko says with a cute pout adorning her face, making Riko giggle, before she leaves a kiss on her nose.
- You think a kiss will be enough?
- Nope, I need a lot of them.
Yoshiko says cheekily, and Riko can only laugh, more than happy to keep kissing her girlfriend over and over again hoping she can reassure her and let her know that there's nobody she'd wish to be with and spend the rest of her life with but her perfect and lovely fallen angel, making her forget about the billboard and the insecurities and jealousy it brought with it.
When Yoshiko gets off the train the following day, the billboard is nowhere to be seen much to her great delight, letting her walk back their small cozy apartment with a wide smile on her face waiting to see her beloved girlfriend already waiting for her in there.