Perfect View

After Hina's question a silence only interrupted by the muffled sounds of the festival hung between the sisters as Rui's mind continued to race. Hina's eyes traveled up and down as she observed her sister before she said, "Your yukata is beautiful. Is it new?"

This question caused Rui's mind to come to a screeching halt as she clenched her hands into fists and asked, "That's what you say first? You ask about what I'm wearing? Where have you been? Do you have any idea how much we were worried about you?"

Hina lowered her head, looking away from her as she replied, "I'm sorry Rui. I know that apologizing won't help but... I'm sorry."

Rui was quiet for a brief moment as she collected herself before she said, "I'm glad to see you're okay Hina-nee."

"Same to you," Hina replied with a small smile before adding, "How's Natsuo-kun been since... you know?"

Suppressing her urge to sigh Rui thought to herself, "Not even a minute in and she's shifting the conversation to Natsuo...". She took a steadying breath before she answered, "The first few weeks were bad: he barely slept at all. But after that he improved steadily, he hasn't woken up from a nightmare in the middle of the night for a couple of weeks now." She watched her sister's body language as she answered, and despite the dim lighting she caught a small wince when she said Natsuo had been sleeping more soundly.

"That's good," Hina responded slowly, "It's a good thing you were here with him. I'm sure that helped him a lot."

"There was no way I couldn't be here for him. I'd never have forgiven myself if I just left him to deal with what happened on his own," Rui stated assuredly.

"He wouldn't have been alone... he'd have mom and Fuji-san, his friends, Mari-san and..." Hina trailed off without finishing the thought that had burst out before she could stop herself.

Rui watched her for a moment, but when it was clear she wouldn't finish her statement asked coldly, "And you? You asked me if we could talk, alone at that, so let's talk Hina-nee. Where were you? Natsuo was assaulted and in the hospital, where were you when we all needed to be there for him? Why didn't you respond to us until the middle of the night?"

Hina mumbled something incoherently as she looked away as if in shame, her right hand gripping her upper left arm tightly. She was quiet until Rui pressed her to repeat herself before she admitted, "I was there..."

"What do you mean?" Rui asked her, coldness giving way to confusion.

Taking a deep breath Hina answered, "I was there that night. I admit that I didn't see your or mom's messages until later in the day. I was in Tokyo and went to Mari-san; he drove me out to the hospital where Natsuo-kun was. We got there just before visiting hours ended."

"Then why -" Rui began to ask but was cut off.

"Because I saw you," Hina said simply, tears forming in her eyes.

Rui stared in confusion before she asked, "What do you mean 'because I saw you'?" When no response came from her older sister she walked closer before demanding, "Hina-nee I need to know what's going on. Start from the beginning: why did you leave?"

Looking up to meet her younger sister's gaze Hina almost flinched; there she saw the cold resolve that Rui had always possessed and could still call on when she needed to, but she also saw the pain behind it. In that moment she knew that Rui already suspected what her reasons were, but she had to tell her if there was to be any closure. She asked, "It's not a short explanation.. will Natsuo-kun be worried about where you went?"

"I messaged him on my way here. He had to call Tougen-sensei so he'd gone to find somewhere quiet... I told him you messaged and wanted to talk to me alone. When we're done here I'm meeting up with him for the fireworks before we head home," Rui explained succinctly before motioning for her to speak.

"Okay," Hina said shakily before answered, "It started back in April when Misaki was staying at the apartment with me. She and I talked about a lot of things: childhood stuff, things we wanted to do in the future, things we'd tried doing and... things we had to give up. I realized that there were things that I hadn't managed to put fully behind me yet, but was sure I'd be able to – I never questioned that about myself. It wasn't until Misaki and I were both taken and Mari-san and Natsuo-kun tracked us down and saved us from those thugs..." she paused to take a trembling breath before she finished, "that I realized I was still in love with him."

Rui's eyes narrowed as she asked, "So Natsuo and Boss coming to save you and Misaki made you realize that you still loved him? So does that mean you were holding onto that the entire time you said you supported our relationship?"

Nodding her head shakily Hina responded, "I was denying it to myself and pushing it to the back of my mind. I had been ever since I found out about you two... and I thought that by devoting myself to supporting you that it would fade away."

"So you lied to us," Rui snapped at her, almost a hiss. Before Hina could reply she added, "All that time you kept our secret, when you consoled me and gave me advice and when you helped us tell mom and Fuji-san... all that time were you just hoping we'd split up so you could swoop in?!"

"No Rui," Hina answered with determination, "I hid how I felt about him but I never once wished you two would break up. I saw how happy you both were... and I didn't want that to end even if meant I couldn't have him. I should have told you right away... but I was afraid."

Rui took several breaths before she asked, "What happened next? Keep going."

"For the first few days after what happened I kept to myself at home to try and think through it, to convince myself it was just an in the moment thought that I was stuck on. But the more I thought about it the more I realized the truth: I wasn't over him and my feelings that I'd been burying had completely resurfaced," Hina answered solemnly, not able to meet Rui's eyes as she finished.

"And then you left," Rui stated simply.

"And then I left," Hina confirmed with a nod, "I decided that I needed to get away from him before I said or did something awful. I know that it scared all of you, but I was sure the only way it would work was if I went completely no contact until I could sort through my own thoughts and feelings. I needed to leave so I could process everything and be done with it."

Another silence hung over them as Rui processed the meaning behind Hina's statements, while Hina waited anxiously for her to speak. Eventually Rui broke the silence with a question, "And did it work?"

Giving a dejected sigh Hina answered, "I thought it was... at first."

"What does that mean?" Rui asked, impatience with Hina's vagueness becoming apparent.

Hina turned her gaze back to Rui to meet hers as she answered, the tears that had formed now streaming down her face, "That night at the hospital... when Mari-san and I got out of the parking area and I saw you and dad rushing up to the door and into the building I froze. Because at that moment I realized two things: that deep down I wanted to get there and be his main support... and that I was jealous of you Rui. I was so jealous of you, and ashamed that even though you'd been over seas you still managed to get there before me. It made feel so sick that I turned around and left... I couldn't face any of you like that."

Rui gave her a moment to compose herself before she asked another question, "And now you're here telling me all of this... what now Hina-nee?"

"I decided that I couldn't run anymore... Living in denial and lying to everyone hasn't fixed anything, so the only other option is to be honest about it," Hina answered, her gaze not leaving Rui's eyes. Rui wordlessly approached her sister, her face an unreadable mask, as she reached her and Hina saw her arms start to move up she closed her eyes expecting the inevitable slap in the face she deserved. She gasped and her eyes shot open as she felt herself being pulled into a stiff embrace, the question leaving her mouth before she realized it, "Rui?"

"You can be a real idiot Hina-nee, you know that right? All of this could have been avoided if you just talked to us," Rui replied sternly as she continued to hug her sister.

Hina's tears came anew as she returned the hug and managed to choke out, "I know... your big sister is an idiot alright. I'm so sorry Rui."

The sisters stood in their embrace until Hina's tears subsided again and her breathing calmed. Once she was calm Rui ended the embrace but kept her hands firmly on Hina's shoulders as she spoke, "I need to make something perfectly to you Hina-nee."

Nodding, Hina replied, "Of course."

Rui took a deep breath before she said, "Back when you and Natsuo started dating... it destroyed me. I'd confided in you that I had feelings for him, the first time I'd ever had any romantic feelings for anyone... and you betrayed my trust and completely disregarded how I would feel by getting into a relationship with him and hiding it from me. I forgave you for that... and I appreciate your honesty now in telling me how you feel and why you've done what you've done... but if you ever try to get between us and take him for yourself: I will never forgive you, we won't be sisters anymore. Do you understand?"

Hina stared at her sister, not surprised by what she said – she'd expected her to say something along those lines. What surprised her was the way that she said it: there was the expected coldness but underneath that there was a pleading... almost fearful tone. After a moment she found her voice and asked, "Rui... do you really think I would do that to you?"

"You did it before!" Rui snapped in response, her hands shaking as they tightened on Hina's shoulders, "You don't get to ask me if I think you'd do that! Ever since Natsuo and I started dating I've always wondered what would happen if you suddenly told him you love him... the only reason he and I were even able to get together was because you ended things with him."

She felt the tears in her eyes stinging again as she blinked to try and clear them, her hands still holding the faded embrace with Rui. Collecting herself, Hina responded, "Rui... I'm so sorry. If I could go back and stop myself from doing that to you I would. I was awful to you. And I'm sorry this has been on your mind all this time. My feelings are mine alone, Natsuo-kun does not feel that way about me... you don't ever have to worry about him picking me over you."

Rui's eyes narrowed as she countered, "I know I can trust him Hina-nee. If he wanted to be with anyone else, including you, he had the perfect chance while I was gone to do it. It's you that I'm worried about right now. So I need to know that I've made myself clear to you and you understand what will happen if you do anything."

"You did, and I understand," Hina answered simply, a few tears managing to escape and run down her face as she did.

"Good," Rui said just as simply as she pulled her sister into another embrace.

This hug was much stiffer, and more awkward than the previous one had been. As they parted Hina asked, "What now?"

Rui sighed as she thought for a moment before answering, "For now I think it's best if you give us some space. I'll tell Natsuo what we talked about, so he doesn't get blind sided with it all later... but not tonight. I don't want any of this weighing him down tonight. Mom and Fuji-san are here somewhere, you should go see them."

Hina nodded before saying, "Okay. Let me know when you and Natsuo-kun want to see me, you call the shots on this Rui."

"I don't imagine it will be too long. I'm sure you've heard about it from Misaki but Natsuo needs to interview you for the book he's working on. We'll need to set up a time for that... I'll be there too," Rui replied, thoughts already moving to when would be good for both of them.

"She did tell me about it, I'm glad he's finally broken through his writer's block. Misaki sure was blown away that he wanted to write her story," Hina answered with a small laugh and smile.

Despite the overhanging tone, Rui found herself smiling as well. Checking the time her eyes widened slightly before she said, "I need to get going, the fireworks will be starting soon and I need to meet back up with Natsuo."

"Oh! Of course! Don't let me keep you any longer, go enjoy your night!" Hina urged genuinely, making a shooing motion to emphasize this.

Turning to leave, Rui paused and said, "See you later Hina-nee... love you."

"Love you too Rui... now go!" Hina replied, continuing the shooing motion. Waiting until she could no longer see her younger sister or hear her footfalls, Hina let out a loud sigh as she leaned against a nearby tree. Looking up to the night sky she mumbled to herself, "Now what am I going to say to mom and Fuji-san...?"

Back at the bench...

Natsuo approached the bench he and Rui had rested on with confusion as he looked around the immediate area. Reaching the bench he asked aloud, "This is the right spot isn't it? Where did she go... maybe the restroom?"

Deciding to wait he sat down and pulled out his phone, noticing as he did so that a message had come in while he was on the call that he hadn't noticed. Seeing the message was from Rui he opened and read it, his eyes widening as he did.

Rui: Hina-nee messaged me. She's here at the festival and wanted to talk to me, so I went to see her. Sorry if I'm not back before you but I'll meet back up with you before the fireworks. I promise.

Natsuo jumped to his feet and made to go search for the sisters, but was stopped by a voice calling from behind him, "Where are you off to in such a hurry Natsuo?"

Pausing to look behind him, Natsuo replied, "Misaki? You manage to give your fans the slip?"

Chuckling at his answer, Misaki responded as she walked up to the bench and sat down, "Yeah, for now anyway. But never mind that, you looked a bit panicked for a second there."

"Oh... Yeah well I left Rui here so I could take a call from Tougen-sensei, but she's not here so I'm going to go find her," Natsuo answered as he made to walk away.

"She's with Hina isn't she? I think you should give them their privacy, they must have things they need to talk about," Misaki stated coolly, stopping him in his tracks.

Stopping to turn and look at her for a moment before he asked, "You knew she was back?"

Misaki simply patted the bench seat beside her in response, urging him to sit back down. When he finally complied she spoke, "Hina came to see this morning, so yes I knew she was back."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Natsuo asked, agitation leaking into his voice.

"Because I've stayed out of the situation between the three of you. Hina came to see me, it seemed like she needed to see how everyone was doing before she saw any of you... I decided to respect her choice not to announce she was back just yet. If Rui-chan went to see her alone there must be a reason for that right?" Misaki explained as she leaned back against the bench with a sigh.

Panic showing in his eyes, Natsuo stammered, "I-I don't know w-what you mean by the situation between the three of us..."

"Don't bother Natsuo. I know that you and Hina were... involved with each other. I don't know the specifics just that it happened," Misaki stated flatly as she glanced at him from the side.

"How?" was all Natsuo managed to ask.

Shaking her head Misaki answered, "It wasn't that hard. I put two and two together based on a few things that Hina said here and there. I asked Boss and he confirmed it, gave the bare basics and here we are. I'm not going to press any of you for the details, I figure if you none of you told me there's a good reason."

"Thanks Misaki... and sorry," Natsuo sheepishly muttered in reply.

"No need to apologize," Misaki reassured him before continuing, "But yeah... I told Hina that she needed to talk to you two in order to settle everything. Looks like she took my advice and decided to talk to Rui-chan first, so let them talk. I know you want to be there for her in what I'm sure will be a very emotional discussion... but let Rui-chan handle this for now. She's got this."

Natsuo's expression displayed the inner conflict he was experiencing: torn between trusting Rui to handle things with Hina and his desire to be involved. Eventually he sighed and his face relaxed as he spoke, "You're right... I'll leave this to her. I can't jump into and handle everything that comes our way by myself."

Misaki made an exaggerated gasp as he eyes widened and she placed her hands over her mouth as she teased, "Oh my! Look that that: you're learning!"

"Knock it off," Natsuo grumbled as he looked away and crossed his arms.

Giving a heartfelt laugh Misaki added, "Don't be that way Natsuo. I know better than most how much you want to help people... and I'm grateful for it. But I'm glad that you're learning restraint too, just throwing yourself into everything will get you burned in the end."

"Yeah... you're right about that..." Natsuo admitted quietly as he watched the crowd.

Only a few minutes passed before Misaki stood and said, "Well then, I need to get back and see if Boss needs any help closing up the stall before the fireworks. Whatever happens between those two: let Rui-chan tell you in her own time."

Nodding, Natsuo replied, "I will. Thanks Misaki."

"That's what friends are for. See you later!" Misaki called with a wide smile as she left him and waded into the crowd back towards the stall.

Waving after her until he couldn't see her anymore, Natsuo sighed before opening the message app again and typed out a reply to Rui.

Natsuo: Got it. I'm back at the bench, let me know if you need anything. See you soon!

He waited for several minutes, doing his best to suppress the anxiety he was feeling, until he heard someone making an announcement with a megaphone that the fireworks display would be starting in about thirty minutes. As he opened the message app to type out another one he received a reply from Rui.

Rui: Thank you! That took longer than I expected, I'm closer to the hill where we can watch the fireworks than the bench. Can we meet at the path here at the foot of the hill?

Natsuo: Of course, I'll be right there.

Rui: Great! See you there!

It took him longer than he would have liked to reach the area Rui had asked him to meet up at; he had initially tried to push his way through the crowd but as he got further in the more difficult that became so he eventually relented and went along with the flow of the crowd. It was just as another announcement was made saying the fireworks would start in fifteen minutes that he spotted Rui standing to the side of the torii gate that marked the beginning of the path up the hill. She was searching the crowd for him, and he couldn't fight the smile that formed as her eyes lit up when she spotted him and waved him over.

Breaking off from the crowd he managed to reach her and said, "Sorry for the wait, the crowd got too dense to force my way through."

"What are you apologizing for? We've still got time to find a good spot so let's go!" she cheered excitedly as she grabbed his hand and started pulling towards the uphill path.

Resisting her pull for a moment, Natsuo asked, "Everything okay Rui?"

She turned to him quizzically before giving a reassuring smile and replying, "Yeah, I'll tell you about it later but I'm okay. Promise."

Remembering Misaki's words of advice he nodded as he said, "Got it. Let's get going before all the good spots are taken."

Surprise flickered across her face for just a second before her smile shifted back to excitement as she tugged him along. As they picked up their pace she taunted, "We're going to have to hurry since someone took their time getting here."

"Hey! Didn't you just say we had plenty of time and I didn't have to apologize?" he asked with mock pain in his voice.

"Shush you," she retorted playfully, turning her head to stick her tongue out at him. Sharing a mirthful laugh together the couple made their way up the path, oblivious to the varying looks the crowd around them had, varying from envious to reminiscent.

Upon reaching the viewpoint they found that a spot had been saved for them by Fumiya and Kasumi, who'd had the forethought of making their way to the hill before even the first announcement. Dodging the questions of what took them as long as it did to arrive they settled in to wait the final minutes before the show began.

"Not telling huh? Well knowing you two you probably just snuck off to have some time alone," Kasumi teased when it became clear she wasn't going to receive and answer from the other couple.

Rui, seeing her own opportunity, retorted, "Oh yeah? What about you two getting here so early? I bet there was nobody else around."

"No comment," Fumiya quickly interjected when Kasumi failed to reply.

A comfortable silence fell over the group as they waited, the hustle and bustle of the crowd around them providing more than enough sound without them adding to it. As the deadline approached the group of four was joined by Misaki and Kobayashi, while they noticed that Miyabi and her family were also close by. Wordlessly, Rui leaned back against Natsuo's chest and he gently but firmly wrapped his arms around her waist as he felt the tension in her body loosen in response. She'd told him she was alright and he believed her, but she very clearly needed this at the moment.

Suddenly and without warning, a sharp whistling noise captured the attention of all present as a streak of light shot into the sky before erupting into a vibrant display color. All chatter of the gathered crowd ceased as they all turned their collective gaze upwards as the solitary firework was quickly followed by several more.

As the show progressed and the intricacy of the fireworks increased a gasp from Rui in response to one of them caught Natsuo's attention. He found himself gazing downwards to where Rui's head rested against him: the angle her head tilted at allowing him to see her eyes – and the fireworks being reflected in them, and while he couldn't quite see her mouth he could tell she was smiling widely, causing his own smile to widen as he watched the show reflected in her eyes.

It wasn't long before Rui noticed him and leaned her head back a bit further to lock eyes with him as she asked, "What are you staring at me for? You're missing the show."

"No I'm not," he chuckled, "I've got the perfect view."

Even in the dim lighting provided by the fireworks Rui's blush was obvious. She spun around in his arms before pulling him into a quick but fervent and passionate kiss. Once they separated she resumed her previous position as she muttered just loudly enough for him to hear, "That was cheesy and you know it."

Tightening his embrace slightly he replied, "Yeah I know... but you like it when I'm cheesy."

"Maybe just a bit..." she mumbled softly as her hands rested atop his as they watched the colorful blooms of light continue to erupt above them, the rest of world fading away leaving them with this moment of bliss.

AN: This chapter ended up being a bit shorter than most of the chapters I write for this, by a full two pages in my word processor. You can kind of think of this as a "Part 2" of the previous chapter: combining them would have made it too long and I felt that the conversation between Rui and Hina and the fireworks scene both deserved the highlight of being in their own chapter even if it ended up being shorter.