Chapter 22 – Her First Childhood Friend

Kyoko's POV

After a few more minutes of me hugging Ikumi in pure unadulterated glee, the two of us finally decided to go to a small restaurant nearby and talk for a while. Catching up on all the things that happened ever since we parted ways all those years ago.

"Mmm! Tonkatsu! No other food can beat this delicious classic!"

"*giggle* It's good to see that tonkatsu is still your favorite food, Kyoko-chan." Ikumi said as she watched me devour the food in front of me.

"You kidding? Why wouldn't it be? Coating the fillet and loin slices of pork with panko bread crumbs and then frying them in oil to a perfect golden crisp…the crunchy juicy taste you get every time you take a bite out of it…it's clearly the best food in the world!"

"And no other food beats it…" Ikumi said with a few more giggles. "...Sitting here eating tonkatsu with you…it's just like old times."

"Old times…" I thought for a moment as I swallowed a piece of tonkatsu down my throat. "...That reminds me…what are you doing here in Takaoka, Ikumi? Kind of a huge distance from Harajuku, you know."

"I actually moved here last year. I'm going to school on my own for scholarship reasons."

"Scholarship reasons? What school are you going to that offers scholarships?"

"Uh…well, the name's kinda out there. Have you heard of Yukako before?"

"A-As in Yukako Private Acadamy?"

"You've heard of it?"

"My cousin and her friend also go there. And…I might be going to that school myself."

"*GASP* Really?! That's great, Kyoko-chan!"

"Yeah…I guess." I gained a sweatdrop. "But what gave me the chance to go to such a school isn't all that great. For several reasons…"

"Several reasons…" Ikumi went silent as she gained a sad look. "...You mean with your father…right?"

"Y-You still remember that?" I asked in shock.

"How could I not? Seeing you with all of those scars and bruises on your body…the smallest of things made you cry out of total fear…the other kids may had made fun of you for it, but only I knew the truth to it all. And telling them wouldn't have solved anything. At least in my eyes…"

"I-I see…"

I thought I had kept it a huge secret back then. But for Ikumi to know the whole time…maybe I was worse at it than I thought I was…

"But on the bright side…at least he's finally gone now."

"He's…gone?" Ikumi asked.

"His last-ditched attempt to get rid of me failed. He was arrested at my now former school about a month ago and I haven't seen him since."

"H-He came to your school? W-Wait…the news about RTM showing up at a middle school…K-Kyoko-chan, don't tell me…"

"Y-Yeah…it's true. RTM is my father."

"N-No way…" Ikumi had a look of shock, fear, and sadness all at once. Learning about this hidden secret from her childhood friend whom she hadn't seen in years really short-circuited her brain a little. "...It…It all makes sense now. No one would be THAT evil unless they were a serial killer."

"Guess that makes me unlucky, huh?" I gained a sweatdrop.

"Th-That's not what I meant, Kyoko-chan! I-I was just…uh…aw, crap, what's the word…?"

"It's okay, Ikumi. You're not the first person to be shocked by the realization. It's slowly becoming a normal reaction."

"I see…well…as long as you're happy, Kyoko-chan, then I can breathe easily. And at long last, as well."

"That's good to hear, Ikumi." I said with a smile.

She's still this caring after all these years. Never did I believe that I would ever run into Ikumi again. It's really good to see her…

"Anyway…enough about me. What about you? What have you've been doing all this time? You mentioned something about a scholarship earlier, right?"

"Oh, right. I did. It's for volleyball. I'm a part of Yukako's Girls Volleyball Team in hopes of getting a scholarship to go pro."

"Go pro?"

"Well…that's still a long way. For now, I'm trying to get accepted into Tohoku Private High School. They give out full sports scholarships to universities all across the country. Including volleyball."

"Wow…that sounds perfect for you, Ikumi."

"I know. Which is why I've been studying like crazy in preparation for the entrance exam in Febuary. It may be a long way…but I CANNOT mess this up. Going there would be the first step in making my ultimate dream come true."

"Your dream?"

"To be the best volleyball player in the country! No…the world, even! Recognized enough to be even a part of the Volleyball Olympic Team! If I could get THAT far in life, I would truly be the happiest person in the universe!"

"The universe…" I went silent as those two words replayed in my mind in a dramatic echoy effect. Remembering what that last word has brought into my life lately.

"…you know how they say the weak are the first to die off? Well…all of that PLUS the injury I got…it's obvious that it's the universe's way of saying "take a hint, dumbass".

"*sniff* A-Akari was right…th-the universe is evil…"

The universe doesn't favor anyone. I've learned that personally on TWO separate occasions. So, seeing Ikumi so passionate about her dream…wanting to be the happiest person in the universe…it's…i-it's just…

"...H-Hey, Ikumi. Be really careful about mentioning "the universe" like that. You can't always rely on it."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Ikumi gained a confused look.

"Well…going by past experiences…it's just never been good to bet your dreams on such a grand scale like that."

"I don't really get it but…if it's coming from you, Kyoko-chan, then I'm sure it makes perfect sense."

"Glad you think so." I gained a small smile.

"TONKATSU MEAL TO-GO?! TONKATSU MEAL TO-GO!"

"Ooh! Over here!" I yelled out to the server as he was holding a to-go bag in his hand. "Mmm~! Finally~!"

"You ordered MORE tonkatsu? But you just ate some."

"Yeah…but this is dinner. That other portion earlier was just a mid-afternoon snack."

"It's 7:30…"

"That's still mid-afternoon. K-Kinda…"

"Your love of tonkatsu holds no bounds, huh?" Ikumi gained a sweatdrop.

It's the only thing I love more than Rum Raisin… I wanted to say that. But I feel like that would only dig me further down the hole. So, I let that conversation end right there.

"In any case…" Ikumi continued. "...Now that we've reunited again, Kyoko-chan, we should hang out together."

"Hang out? Is that really okay? I-I mean, there's exams going on. And I'm not exactly in school right now…"

"Summer break's coming up, right? Let's save it for then."

"Summer break…sure. I've got nothing going on then. Let's do it!"

"Great!" Ikumi cheered as she grabbed my hands in excitement. "I don't know where to go yet, but I'll keep you updated! You have LINE, right?"

"Yeah, I have LINE." I then thought for a bit. "But if you want, I could share you my username for PictoChat!"

"PictoChat? You mean the messaging system from the DS? Didn't that shut down?"

"Yeah, but a friend of mine's working to revive it. Even has a phone version in beta testing. I could ask her to let you join, if you want."

"Wow…that sounds cool! I'd totally be a part of it! But for now…let's just stick with LINE."

"Fair enough."

Once we traded our LINE account info, we paid for our food and exited the restaurant. Making it to the end of the block before realizing that we live in different directions.

"I gotta go this way." I said. "See you later, Ikumi."

"You too." Ikumi replied as she gained a light blush on her face. "A-And, uh…I-I gotta say…it was really nice to see you again, Kyoko-chan. Knowing that you came out of that horrid ordeal alive…it truly makes me happy. I've had aches in my mind and heart for so long…"

"Ikumi…" Feeling the sadness coming from her, I grabbed Ikumi's small frail body and embraced her in a tight, comforting hug. Catering to her as she eventually released the tears she'd held in for well over 7 years. "...I'm sorry for worrying you, Ikumi. Back then and all this time. I've made a lot of people worry while living under HIS control. And now…I'm regretting it all."

"*sniff* I-It's fine…K-Kyoko-chan. *sniff*...A-As long as you're finally happy once more…I'll support you to the very end. It's my duty as your childhood friend."

"*giggle* Thanks, Ikumi." I said with a huge smile.

That sounded like a love confession, but I'll keep that to myself…

Once Ikumi had calmed down enough, we finally went our separate ways for the day and headed home. With me being very excited about my delicious tonkatsu dinner.

But that was when…

*NOTIFICATION CHIME*

"A text? Who's messaging me this late?" I asked myself as I pulled out my phone. And panicked greatly once I saw the name.

"I-It's from…Ch-Chinatsu?"

And panicked even more once I read the message.

"Sh-she wants to…h-hang out?!"

Author's Note: A quick reunion dinner with an old childhood friend ends with a sudden invitation to be with a possible current crush. Kyoko's life refresh sure is an interesting one…

As stated in the previous chapter, Ikumi is an OC I made for a different story, but I brought her here. There may be other OCs from different stories that I'll bring here…but I'm not sure about that yet.

So, the next chapter will be the LAST chapter of Kyoko's story. Again, as stated before, a lot of the original had to be scrapped because it no longer fits with the story. That being said, I'm going to salvage what I can from it and make a great big finale. One final send-off to the girl who's suffered so much (she'll still get more chapters, though).

Thanks for reading. Later.