Chapter 63 – An Illegal Proposal with Time & Space

Jun's POV

"So, the third-years left for their school trip already?"

"Yep. They're on their way." Ui told me as we sat in class waiting for the final bell to ring. "Onee-chan was packed up and ready to go. She sure was excited about the idea of going to Paris with Himeko-senpai."

"Yeah, no kidding. The Love Capital of the World…any couple would be super happy to go there. It must suck that you and Zoé couldn't go, right?"

"Well…yes, it does. But I feel like someone else is having it worse than we are."

"Huh? What do you…"

"*depressed moan* Miharu-senpai…"

"O-Oh. Right…" I gained a huge sweatdrop as the two of us started at Azusa being the most depressed I've ever seen her.

She's been in this mood ever since the day it was decided for the third-years to go to Paris for their school trip. Miharu-senpai wanted to bring Azusa along…but was told that she wasn't allowed to go because she was a second-year. And the trip was only for third-years.

…

Which is actually ridiculous since school trips are normally reserved for second-years in the first place.

The point is…both Azusa and Miharu-senpai threw a fit about it and it took a lot of convincing from Nodoka-senpai that this was the rule. And that there was nothing she could do about it.

Which leads up to today.

"Can't you just get over it already?" I asked. "It's only for a week."

"Yeah, A full week of me missing my girlfriend as she gets to explore her hometown~! The Love Capital of the World! I wanted to go, too~!"

"I know you did. You wouldn't shut up about it for two whole weeks. But it was only for third-years and there was nothing we could say or do about it. So, give it up."

"Can you not be a negative prick about this~?"

"Hey, I'm just spitting facts. And besides, the one who should TRULY be upset about this is Zoé. She's from there."

"*sigh* Yeah, you're right…" Azusa said as she finally lifted her head off of her desk. "…speaking of which, where is Zoé? She came with you didn't she, Ui?"

"Yeah, she did." Ui said. "She's making a phone call with her sister. Said something about it being important."

"I see…"

"You know, I've always been curious about how real bonified French people talk with each other." I said. "I never get to at least hear Miharu-senpai and Zoé talk with each other."

"I speak to Miharu-senpai in French all the time."

"Yeah, but you're not French. So, it doesn't count."

"Hmph. I can be a bonified French girl…" Azusa pouted.

"There there, Azusa-chan…" Ui said as she patted her back out of pity.

*INSERT JAPANESE SCHOOL BELL CHIME HERE*

"Welp…time for class." I said.

"Wait, is Zoé still not back?" Azusa asked. "How long is that phone call?"

"*moan* I knew it was a bad idea to leave all alone back there…" Ui said in a worried tone.

"What? Why?" I asked. "She's 18, Ui. Not a little child."

"I know, but…Zoé-chan's not that great with directions. Pl-Plus, her Engrish get people confused. A-And then there's…"

"O-Okay, okay. I get it." I stopped Ui before she started crying. Didn't need TWO friends in a depressed mood today. "Let's just go find her before the teacher shows up. She couldn't have gone that far."

"*sniff* Y-Yeah, you're right, Jun-chan. H-HOLD ON, ZOÉ-CHAN! I'M COMING!" Ui then rushed out of the classroom in a panicked fit. Scaring the rest of the class while doing so.

"U-Ui…" I gained a huge sweatdrop. "*sigh* I'll never understand why she dotes on her so much."

"At least her girlfriend IS here to dote on her…" Azusa said.

"For Christ's sake, just drop it already!" My sweatdrop grew even bigger.

I have to deal with this for a whole week? Just kill me now...

We couldn't find Zoé anywhere. The bathrooms, the cafeteria, the courtyard…we even asked Sumire and Mikuru if they'd seen Zoé anywhere recently. To which they said they haven't.

We were just about to give up and go back to class (much to Ui's dismay) when one of the janitors told us that he saw a foreign-looking girl head up to the roof. Humming to herself as she made her way up there.

I didn't know there was a way to the roof. Guess you do learn something at school every day…

The three of us reached the roof and there was Zoé sitting on the edge. Humming to herself as she looked over the city skylines.

"Zoé-chan!" Ui called out to her.

"Oh. Ui, Azusa, Juné…"

Still screwing up my name…

"Zoé-chan, what are you doing up here? Classes have already started."

"Have they rearry? *moan* I am sorry, dearu friends. I guess mai tarku with Big Sis tooku rongeru than I thought."

"To be on the phone with her for well past an hour…what were you two talking about?"

"Just catching up. Nani schooru rife in Japan is rike, nani we have been doing recentry...and...o-otheru stsuff."

"Other stuff?"

"Tch! Oh, boy...rooks rike I said tū much." Was all Zoé said while looking away from us.

Does she sound…less happy than normal?

"H-Hey, Zoé…are you feeling okay?" Azusa asked. Sensing the same emotional difference in her as I was. "You seem sad all of a sudden."

"Yeah, you're usually the happiest person amongst us." I added. "To see you depressed is definitely not normal."

"I-It is fine, dearu friends. There is nothing tū worry about me. Now, ret us arru retsurn tū crass before we get in turrouburre." Zoé tried to drop this conversation and walk right past us to reach the door to the stairs. But before she got there, Ui grabbed her by the hand and pulled her toward her face. Gaining a serious look on it.

"Zoé-chan…something is definitely bothering you. The fact that you haven't said anything sexual in French for the whole morning is proof of it."

"What the hell? Is that what she's been saying this whole time?" I whispered to Azusa.

"Pr-Pretty much…" Azusa replied with a sweatdrop. "And she gets REALLY detailed about it, too. T-To a point where it just turns you on."

"D-Damn…"

"Do you two mind…?" Ui said to us with an exasperated look.

"S-Sorry, Ui…" We both replied.

"*sigh* Anyway…if something is troubling you, Zoé-chan, then I want you to tell me. I'm your girlfriend and I should have every right to know."

"Ui…" Zoé went silent for a bit. "…a…arright. Tū be honest…something has been on mai maind as of rate."

"On your mind? What could that be?"

"Werru...with Miharu going tū France foru heru schooru turrip...and seeing ouru ord friends again..."

"I get it now…" I said. "…you're homesick aren't you, Zoé?"

…

"Yes...I guess that is turrue." She finally admitted.

"Homesick?" Ui asked in shock. "Well…I guess it has been a while since you moved to Japan."

"6 months, to be exact." Azusa added. "Any foreigner would be homesick after that long away from their home country. Miharu-senpai was feeling the same way."

"And the otherus did arru they courd tū herp heru retsurn home again." Zoé continued in a sad depressed tone. "Whire I dó feeru happy foru Miharu...I just wish they incruded me in such a turrip."

"Zoé-chan…" Ui said as she gave Zoé a hug. "…I understand how you feel. But we don't get a say in such a thing. The School Trip was only for third-years."

"But I am 18-years-ord! I am basicarry the same age as them arr! And they STIRRU reft me out! How is that fair?!"

"It really isn't." Azusa said. "This school just loves making up stupid-as-hell rules that don't make any sense. And we can't say or do anything about it because we're only high school students."

"That sounds putain de connerie…"

"It really is f*cking bullsh*t, to be completely honest."

"G-Guys…" Ui and I gained huge sweatdrops.

Azusa's definitely gotten bolder over the past year…

"*sigh* I just want tū see mai home one more taim. That is arru I asku."

"I get that, Zoé-chan. I really do." Ui said. "But that's not something that can be done right now."

"Ui's right, Zoé." I added. "I mean…it's not like we can just jump into a box and head straight for Paris."

"WELL, NOW YOU CAN!"

"Gaaaaah!" We all screamed like hell after seeing someone pop out of a box that was (apparently) sitting next to Zoé the whole time.

Someone that didn't expect to ever show up in this story, to be completely honest.

"S-Sakurako-chan?!" Ui yelled in shock.

"Wh-Why the hell did you just come out of a damn box?!" Azusa yelled. Pretty much pissed that she got scared by Sakurako of all people.

And I don't blame her…

"*giggle* You like?" Sakurako asked as she stepped out of the box. "It's a teleportation box that lets you travel through Space-Time to whatever destination you want. Nishigaki made it before she quit being a teacher."

"Wh-Why?!"

"Hmm…not sure. But it was too cool to just throw away. So, I kept it. Makes traveling to school a freaking breeze."

"S-Sure…" Azusa, Ui, and I each gained a sweatdrop.

Just another weird-ass thing from Yuru Yuri…

"Um...aru you three acquainted with this girr?" Zoé asked. Completely confused about what was happening.

"W-Well…this is Sakurako Ohmuro." Ui explained. "She's a friend of ours from a different city."

"A city that experiences weird and oftentimes unexplainable things on a regular basis." I added. "This box thing being one of them."

"I see…werr, it is nice tū meet you, girru known as Sakurakó. Mai name is Zoé Richerieu. Ret us both be superu duperu friends~!"

"Woah…that's some STRONG Engrish there." Sakurako said. "You really are Madeleine-senpai's younger sister, aren't ya?"

"You know Big Sis?"

"Of course, I do! We went to the same school before she graduated back in March. She's SUPER cool. Broken English and soulless abilities and all."

"Yep! That is why I rove heru! She is the best big sisteru ever!"

"S…Soulless abilities?" Azusa and I asked Ui.

"I-It's…complicated." Was all she replied with.

Another Takaoka thing, I guess…

"A-Anyway, Sakurako…why are you here?" I asked. "And what did you mean by "Well, now you can!"?"

"What else could I mean by it? You guys can use this Space-Time Box to head on over to Paris."

"Wh-What?"

"O-Okay, first of all…I don't know if you're aware of this, but sneaking into another country through a box is ILLEGAL!" Azusa yelled. "And second…how long have you've been in that box to hear about that?"

"For a while. I was trying to get to Joypolis when I took a wrong turn somewhere and ended up here. I was going to jump out earlier…but then you guys showed up. So, I stayed in the box and listened in to your conversation."

"You just explained all of that as if it was normal. That's ABSURD."

"Yeah, well…that's just how it is. Unfortunately…"

"Huh? Unfortunately?"

"N-Nothing. Just…f-forget you heard that. Much like a lot of things I want to forget…

"What?"

"N-Nothing! Just…q-quit asking already!"

"Fine, fine. No need to yell."

Is it me, or does Sakurako seem less cheerful than usual?

"So, this box wirru take me bakku tū visit mai home in France?" Zoé asked as she held Sakurako's logic-breaking box in her hands.

"Sure it can. Just think of where you want to go, jump into the box, and it'll take you there in less than 30 seconds. Guaranteed!"

"Did you had to shout "guaranteed" like that?" Azusa asked.

"Everyone...I thinku we shourd turry this."

"Wh-What?!" Ui yelled in shock. "Z-Zoé-chan, think about this for a second. Traveling to France from inside a box that…apparently goes through Time & Space is just flat-out ridiculous."

"Not to mention illegal." I added.

"B-But I want tū see mai home once more. It is nearu and dearu tū me...prus, I am sure Azusa wantsu tū see Miharu, tū."

"But I'M sure that Azusa wouldn't risk international laws just to see her girlfriend. Right, Azusa?"

"I-I could go see Miharu-senpai? A-And see her hometown with my very own eyes?"

…

…

…

"Well, screw international laws and crap. Let's jump inside the warpy box."

"THINK ABOUT THIS LOGICALLY, DAMNIT!" I yelled at her.

"Ui...we courd use this opportsunity tū gó on a wonderfurru and romantic vacation." Zoé said as she held Ui's hands together with her own. "Ouru 6-month anniversary is coming up and i wourd rove tū spend it showing you mai one turrue home. The birthprace of rove itserf."

"Zoé-chan…*moan* Such a romantic date for us is something I just can't turn down! Sakurako-chan! I wish to tag along, too!"

"You CANNOT be serious, Ui…" I retorted with a sweatdrop.

"Welp, that's 4 out of 5." Sakurako said. "Just need ONE more vote…"

"Have you all lost your minds for real? We're talking about sneaking into another COUNTRY! Hell, an entirely different CONTINENT! We're gonna be so screwed if we get caught!"

"Then, we won't get caught." Azusa said. "We'll just go over there for a day…Ui and Zoé can have their little date and I can go see Miharu-senpai…and then we'll come back before anyone here notices that we're gone. It's fool-proof."

"Couldn't have said it better myself, Azusa." Sakurako said with a thumbs up.

"You said that with so much confidence that it scares me…" I gained a pale look.

"Come on, Jun-chan. It would be great if all of us could go together." Ui said.

"Ret us arru make wonderfurru memories in the birthprace of rove, Juné!" Zoé cheered.

"Ugh…guys…"

I should say no. Not only is this idea stupid and illegal as all hell, but I've also got nothing to look forward to in Paris. I not dating anyone…and I don't have anyone waiting for me over there, either.

Not to mention that I'm still questioning myself on whether or not I'm actually a lesbian. It's been bugging me ever since Golden Week. And freaking 4 months later, I still haven't decided on it.

And besides…even if I do accept the fact that I'm gay, I'm not in love with anyone. So, going all the way to Paris, France…The Love Capital of the World…that's just a slap in the face.

I shouldn't go…I REALLY shouldn't go…but leaving these three lovebirds in the hands of Sakurako of all people is just too risky to ignore.

Especially since she's acting weird…

"*sigh* Fine. I'll…tag along."

"Alright, Jun!" Azusa cheered.

"Glad we were able to convince you, Jun-chan." Ui added with a smile.

"You know, you two are supposed to be the reasonable characters of this series. The fact that I had to do it is absurd. My head hurts like hell…"

"And now you know how we feel." Both girls said with smartass smirks.

"So, now that everyone's on board, let's talk deets." Sakurako said. "We can leave the day after tomorrow so that people won't be too suspicious of us. Oh, and try to pack lightly. This box can only fit one person and a bag at a time."

"So, clothes enough to last us a single day?" Azusa asked.

"Sure, I guess. Or you could just go with the clothes on your back. Whatever floats your boat, really."

I'm definitely changing. Going in my school uniform is WAY too risky…

"Oh, and…don't tell anyone about this. It'll be bad if someone here found out you guys were just going to another country like this. Plus, I don't want Ikumi and the others to come looking for me…"

"Huh?"

"N-Nothing. Just talking to myself…"

Who's Ikumi? And why would she not want her looking for her?

"L-Look, the point is…we're gonna have a hell of a great time in Paris. And I, Sakurako Ohmuro, will guarantee that to the fullest! Hahahaha!"

"Well, don't you sound confident…" I said with a sweatdrop.

*INSERT JAPANESE SCHOOL BELL CHIME HERE*

"Damn…we skipped all of 1st period talking about this." Azusa said.

"I hope we can at least sneak back in for gym class." Ui said. "It may not be possible, but…"

"Dó not worru, dearu friends." Zoé said. "If they dó asku where we were, I can just say that we were arru frottant nos chattes mouillées sous la douce brise d'automne japonaise. Nous rendant encore plus excitées alors que nous sombrions dans une mer mentale d'orgasmes sans fin. Se pulvérisation partout sur le toit. I am positive that wirru worku."

"Z-Zoé…please don't." Azusa said with a huge blush on her face. "I don't want people believing that."

"Wourd it rearry matteru if they dó not know nani I am saying?"

"It matters because I KNOW what you're saying!"

"Don't you ever wonder what Zoé's saying whenever she speaks French?" I asked Ui.

"Yes…but also no. I've heard from her sister that some things that come out of her mouth are just better off unknown."

"I see…" I gained a sweatdrop.

"Welp…see you guys in two days." Sakurako said. "I'm off to Joypolis to do an all-day arcade binge! It's gonna be so freaking cool."

"Shouldn't you be at school, Sakurako-chan?" Ui asked. "I'm sure the others are wondering where you are."

"Heh…please, Ui. I've got better things to do than to just sit in class, listen to the teacher yap about nothing, and be around friends who all have girlfriends. I'm a special type of girl, ya know."

"B-But…"

"*sigh* Just leave it alone, Ui." Azusa said in an exasperated tone. "This is Sakurako we're talking about. Stuff like this is normal of her."

"Hahahaha…yeah. Normal…" Was all Sakurako replied with.

Okay, something's definitely bugging her. She usually has a comeback ready for whenever someone insults her way of life. The fact that she didn't…and throughout that whole conversation, too…

As the others made their way off the roof and back to class, I secretly stayed behind. And watched Sakurako as she was about to jump back into her Space-Time Box to go to Joypolis.

"Alright, now…hopefully, I can correctly get to Odaiba from here. Though, I'm pretty sure Shinga is farther from there than Takaoka is. That's gonna be a setback…"

"Hey, Sakurako. You got a minute?"

"Huh? You're still here, Jun? I thought you were heading back to class."

"Eh, it's no big deal. I hate gym class, anyway."

"Oh, that's…interesting. Well, I'm kinda in a hurry. I don't want people catching up to me after ditching school. So, can it wait until later?"

"Wait until later? Why would I do that when something's clearly bothering you? You've been acting strange this whole chapter."

"Look, will you just drop it already? I don't want to talk about it! Now, if you excuse me, I'm due for some Ridge Racer!" At this point, Sakurako was dead-set on getting in the box to warp all the way to Odaiba to play arcade games all day. And was positive that nothing was going to stop her.

…

Until I said this:

"I know what happened last April. With you getting shot."

…

…

…

"H…How do you know that?"

"Honestly, I didn't know for a while. It took a message link from Misao to get me fully caught up with what happened."

"*sigh* Great. Misao knows, too…"

"Sakurako, if you've got issues going on in your life, then I should be allowed to help you through them. We are friends, aren't we?"

…

…

…

"W-Well…" Sakurako said after going silent again. "…th-they're not so much "issues" and more so "inner struggles" but…do you REALLY want to hear it all? From the moment I got shot?"

"I wouldn't be asking if I didn't."

…

"*sigh* Fine. I'll…tell ya."

And so, Sakurako had stepped out of the box and sat on the edge of the roof. And I sat next to her ready to hear what's been happening with her for the past year. From the day she got shot…to now.

So, I'm about to hear one of these "Inner Struggle" stories these girls have been dealing with. I've heard that some nightmare-fueled stuff is tied behind them all.

So, let's see how dark they can REALLY get…

Author's Note: Though means that sound totally absurd, the second-years are soon about to make their way to Paris. Each with different goals in mind.

And it's all thanks to Sakurako Ohmuro, of all people.

So, yeah…Sakurako is one of the two new guest characters to be used in this story arc. If you can recall, her name's been brought up several times throughout the story. And I thought not having her appear despite that would be a little unfair. So, here she is.

The other guest character is still a couple of chapters out and still a secret. Though, what I CAN say is that this character is from a series most of you have never heard of. And that's what makes this one special.

FYI: If you're familiar with the Inner Struggle series, then keep an eye out. Sakurako's story is next in the series and is currently being worked on. It's part of me trying to revive the series again and…well…it might be darker than the previous ones. And they've had some serious stuff in there, too.

Also, another HUGE milestone reached! 20,000 views! Granted, this isn't the first story to pass that mark. But the fact that THIS one managed to do so is unbelievable. This is my 3rd most-viewed story on this site and I have all of you to thank for that. It really means a lot.

Thanks for reading. Later.