Five Year Illumination (A Reunion Tale). Updated 8/02

[Dr. Robotnik]

They should arrive shortly after noon, he thinks. Looking around at the five young women in the car with him, he has an odd thought.

I wonder if Kenji will be there?

Shit just got real.

Also, this:

[Helbereth]

I was wondering when someone would catch that little thought bubbling from Samantha.

When I wrote it, I was kinda, "But Hisao's Japanese."

Then I thought, "Meh, most people see one Asian guy, they've seen them all."

I also had the thought that using a famous actor's broken English as a reference point for a reader would be a little cheap, but I decided it also fit Samantha. Besides, Rush Hour 3 was headed into theaters in 2007.

And yeah, I put that much thought into one sentence.

Because I care.

[Helbereth]

This chapter is a bit short, but it's heavy - kinda like Emi.

I don't have much else to say, so I'll just get on with it.

__________________________________
Act 2 – State of Reunion

Scene 1 – Yamaku, Oh Yamaku

As the suburban expanses began drifting away, and the roads became lined with corpses of trees instead of corpses of homes, the realization they were drawing near to Yamaku began to creep into their heads. Neither of them said anything, watching the beech, cypress and birch cascade across the windows like a natural green waterfall. The heat that had plagued their journey early had dissipated – floating out the open windows and held away by the constant breeze. The smells of the city were also fading away, sinking into the world behind them. Now the smell of spring filled their noses as it caught in the gusts floating through the windows, bringing with it memories -mostly good memories- of years gone by, lost in the haze of life, now recalled.

The smile on her face was hard to keep in check. She was recalling something from her youth -not that she felt old- something that sparked her drive to become a nutritionist and a physical education teacher – a paragon of healthy living. A memory she held like a tiny bird in her hand, sheltering it from the outside world, but knowing it would someday have to seek its own way – the way she had begun that search. A beautiful day in late summer when someone she thought had walked out of her life returned to ask a simple, honest question, “Can you help me out?”

It hadn't felt so momentous at the time, she recalled. The look on his face hadn't held nearly as much desperation as she imagined in her mind's eye. Nor had her reaction. All she said to that question at the time was, “Sure, Hisao.” Innocent and carefree, it had been so easy.

From that simple request, a friend in need, she'd found her path in life. Maybe that's why she became so infatuated with him in the following months. His simple question had made her realize what she really wanted to do with her uncertain future, and she couldn't help but be grateful. Every morning from then on, she awaited his arrival at the Yamaku track to help him get the exercise his heart needed to stay healthy. They talked, of course, when she let him keep up with her usually brisk pace. They became fast friends, laughing and talking about everything – except one thing. That memory brings a cross look she hopes her passenger doesn't see. She recalls when they helped Rin prepare for a gallery opening, and when he got her involved with the Student Council. Every day they would visit Nurse, her incognito confidant, to check on the progress of his recovery. It had been so easy to befriend him, but it also made her feel empty.

But there was nothing she could say.

That one thing they couldn't talk about became like an impenetrable wall. It never occurred to her, but he avoided the subject as much as she did, and that had made it worse. He was in love with Lilly, not her. When he'd approached her about helping get back in shape, she didn't feel anything other than the desire to help someone; but when she realized she'd fallen in love with him, she secretly cursed that request. Every conversation after that realization became a delicate balance of friendly humor and vanishing eye contact. He'd nearly killed himself chasing Lilly back from Scotland, he had once confided in her. He risked everything he was, his entire future, to be with his true love, and Emi knew there was no breaking that bond. Telling him she fell in love with him would have ended their friendship, and not telling him was driving them apart.

There was no way to win.

She started running harder around that time, trying to avoid the friendly conversations; to prevent herself from ruining everything with an outburst she felt welling inside her like a volcano. She lost sleep, unable to face the dreams -hopeful as they were- that could never be fulfilled. She kept up the personae of the happy-go-lucky friend straight through graduation, biting back her tears all the while and silently torturing herself as she lay awake each night. She only told Rin because she had to tell someone – anyone. Who better than her other best friend? She didn't want to be alone with the hurt anymore, and seeing him every day was slowly killing her. At the time, Rin had already had her suspicions, but she said nothing. She was a shoulder to cry on, someone to keep a secret that could never be spoken.

Unreasonably reasonable Rin.

After graduation, when everyone went their separate ways, she thought the pain would fade away. She tried to divorce herself from the feelings, but they remained. Following her to college, pangs of unrequited love returned every time she ran, every time she studied nutrition, every time she laughed at an inside joke or talked with Rin about the past. The pain she thought would work itself out in time, like a muscle cramp, became a weight so heavy and terrible that it was stopping the fastest thing on no legs. The heartache and the silent resignation, the fear of losing a friend, and the fear of becoming her own worst enemy; those memories followed her, weighing her down, stopping her from feeling joy with anyone. Other men pursued her; available men whom she thought could fill the void, but there was only one with the key to unlock her heart.

They left; and she felt even more empty.

Rin tried convincing her there was nothing she could have done, it was a no-win situation, a zero-sum game, a Kobayashi Maru without a Kirk to cheat the solution; but she couldn't believe that – wouldn't believe that. Holding onto hope had been the only thing preventing her from stopping completely; hope that everything would work out in her favor. That secret was too dark and terrible even to tell Rin – that she thought there might be a way to win Hisao's heart someday. It was a false hope, but she kept it anyway. Holding onto it like that tiny bird, not willing to let it go for fear that it would abandon her forever.

And she deserved to be abandoned again.

That thought frightens her even more than talking to Lilly. Since she realized she'd fallen in love with Hisao -and he could never reciprocate- she had become an awful friend; lying to his face, acting coy and evasive - playing him for a fool. Everything she'd done to deal with it had made her feel worse, made everyone feel worse. Especially what she did to Hisao. He didn't deserve to be played for a fool and avoided – neither did Lilly. They were great friends and Emi threw them away, falling out of contact completely as soon as the diploma was in her hand. She made up excuses for herself, that she was too busy or needed to help Rin, or had a responsibility to her mother – more lies. She couldn't bear the thought of facing herself -of facing the lies- so she used the end of school as an escape.

But she was done running away.

The five years of unanswered questions about a friendship she wasn't sure had even been real, with a man she couldn't have. It was slowly killing her. So be it, if telling Lilly ends up bringing that friendship to a crashing halt. So be it, if bearing her heart honestly, maturely, and realistically betrays the love her younger self denied. Her future self would never forgive her for squandering the opportunity to make things right. She needed release from the pain, the guilt, the restlessness and the fear. The end of the tragic tale hadn't been told yet, and she was tired of sitting on the edge of her seat. She wanted to see the end of the play, the end of the run, the end of everything that had held her back since those dark, final days at Yamaku.

The sight of the building almost made her stop and turn the car around.

Rin notices the car slowing erratically and breathes a contemplative sigh. “Second thoughts?” she asks plainly.

Emi washes the bewildered expression off her face by brushing her hand over her eyes, feigning a stray hair. “No,” she says flatly. Pounding the gas a little too hard to prove her point, and planting some rubber in the road as a result, she continues their final approach. It's still somewhat early, so there's plenty of parking available, but Emi decides to find a spot at the end of the lot farthest from the school – to give her ample time to turn and run.

As they pull into the space, Rin is shaking her head. “We could have parked closer, y'know. We came here early for that very reason, I thought,” she says, finally settling her cloudy gaze on Emi.

Letting out a nervous giggle, Emi lies, “you need the exercise. Being cooped up in that studio you've gotten soft.” it's a tactical lie – the kind that bears a kernel of truth. However, it still fails against Rin's logic.

“You just want more time to think about it, and decide whether to turn and run away before we get to the building,” she says, turning her far-away eyes back to peer out the window.

Rin's ability to see through Emi has never really surprised her; still, she can't help but look shocked. “Okay, maybe that, too...” She lets out another nervous giggle and turns to open her door. After stretching to get the kinks out, she walks around to let Rin out of the car.

Rin has already abandoned their previous discussion, asking, “hey you think that blind artist will be here? I wonder what he's been not seeing lately.”

“You just have a crush on him still,” Emi jokes, but Rin looks a little bewildered.

“Why do you think that?” Rin asks, her mouth hanging agape.

They stare at each other silently for a few moments before Emi breaks out laughing. Rin joins in a few second later, apparently deciding it's better than getting an actual answer. They start walking across the parking lot in silence soon after, still chuckling to themselves. About half way across, Emi stops. Rin stops a few paces away and turns to see a pensive expression she has little trouble interpreting after eight years. “Don't worry so much,” she says reassuringly.

Emi can't help it; seeing the school brought all the memories flooding back again, and the old doubts haunt her expression. A cascade of questions fly through her mind; each seemingly darker and more painful than the one she had been following.

Luckily, Rin is there to snap her out of it. “They're probably not even here yet. We can at least enjoy the festival for a while until then,” Rin looks longingly at the forming crowds -or maybe the trees, or that cloud, Emi can never tell- as she speaks.

There are no answers in her statement, but what she says is true. Hisao never was great at being on-time, and he's probably taking responsibility for more than him and Lilly's transportation. He had a whole circle of friends outside of Emi and Rin, and there wasn't any indication he planned to abandon them. He even tried to call Emi a few times, but she just gave him a string of excuses until he stopped calling – another batch of lies to fill her with guilt.

She shakes the thought away, looking at Rin; whose unusually excited look as she glances back and forth between Emi and the school is infectious. Emi starts doing the same, looking at Rin and then the school, and back to Rin. “You're right,” she says finally, marching up to her friend and wrapping an arm over her shoulder. “We'll deal with that when it comes up.”

Rin just nods, her cloudy expression making Emi grin playfully. “Let's go find Sora,” she says deviously.

Rin stares at her blankly as they start walking. “Who's that?” she asks, looking perplexed.

Emi cracks up laughing and barely manags to say, “your blind friend,” between guffaws. “Don't you remember?”

Rin smiles happily and shrugs her friend's arm away, “Sure I remember him. I always wondered what his name was. I wonder why he never told me. Or maybe he did, and I forgot? I forget things sometimes. Like I forgot where I left my shoes last week.”

“You'd forget your head if it weren't screwed on right.” Emi keeps laughing as they walk, forgetting about the heaviness in her heart. They're there for reasons other than dealing with her past, after all. The festival is enough reason to be here for now. When they see Hisao and Lilly, then they can decide what to do about the past. For now there are old friends to meet, and a million other memories -good memories- to recall. Letting just one bad memory dampen the whole experience would be betraying the part of her that enjoyed High School. As they walk, though, one final question sticks in her mind.

Are Lilly and Hisao even still together?

She holds onto that thought as they walk, hoping it can push some of the darkness away for a while, even if it isn't true. Her darkest secret longing -which probably isn't much of a secret in this company- lets her smile and walk with giddy strides toward a past she has tried to forget.

A past that seemed to be catching up with her, one way or another.
_________________________________
Previous|Next

A flashback to Yamaku through Emi's eyes after Hisao's second heart attack.

Yes, I referenced Star Trek. Trekkie4lyfe. It seemed like the kind of show Emi would watch - if she watched TV.

Also, I don't exactly know if Rin's blind artist friend was ever named, so I just pulled one out of thin air. Kinda. I wasn't going to use it, but I looked it up and found it means 'sky', and I thought that was perfect.

[LOL WUT]

Previous|Next (yeah, if only you had a time machine)

Marty fire up the DeLorean

As the suburban expanses began drifting away, and the roads became lined with corpses of trees instead of corpses of homes

Jones come with me! We are going to find the murderer of these tree and houses!
TROLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

No back to serious mode here...
Pretty Damn good story if I do say so myself.

[Mirage_GSM]

The blind artist was not named in the VN. In my fic I called him Takashi, but that's by no means canon. At the moment I don't remember any other fic that featured him.
Sora is a name I have so far only heard used for females. Not sure if it is also used for males.

Very nice new chapter. Carry on.

[Helbereth]

Sora is a name I have so far only heard used for females. Not sure if it is also used for males.

I plucked it out of the air recalling the male lead from Kingdom Hearts. The consternation at using it is because I didn't like that game - only deciding to go with it because of the meaning I'd found behind it, "sky." The page said it was a unisex name.

[Panthour]

Pretty Damn good story if I do say so myself.

I second this!

[Catgirl Kleptocracy]

Alright! First multi-chapter story I've picked up on since coming back, and I have to say it was a good choice. It's also the first reunion type story I've read, and I'm glad you decided to keep a sense of conflict running throughout it instead of doing a "happy feel-good nothing's wrong circle-j...."

I'll end that one there.

Anyway, the conflict here keeps it an interesting read, and I hope to see that continued throughout (and it sounds like you share that opinion). Great story so far, and I'm looking forward to reading more!

There were a few tense issues, but you seem to know that already. I have to give you props for writing in present tense - I can't do it myself. Something about it never sounds write when I'm typing it, and I always seem to fall back into past tense mid sentence or paragraph. I guess old habits die hard. What do you, as the author, find is the most difficult part of writing present tense, especially in a story like this that has characters reminiscing about past events a lot?

[Panthour]

Something about it never sounds write when I'm typing it

Whoah, was that pun intentional or just a spelling error?

[Catgirl Kleptocracy]

*Cough*

Totally intentional. Yeah. Totally. *Cough-cough*

[JTemby]

Hello.
I love what you've done with the characters, especially with Shizune and Sam and I feel you've set yourself up perfectly to tell a truly intriguing reunion. I'm a little bit iffy about Emi's portrayal as being clingy as all hell but I guess you need some element of drama to arise.
I'll admit, your writing style was jarring at first but I came to appreciate the various perspectives of a single situation.
It's becoming a common phrase for me now but I mean it when I say "I look forward to seeing more."
Good luck, have fun, etc.

[Helbereth]

What do you, as the author, find is the most difficult part of writing present tense, especially in a story like this that has characters reminiscing about past events a lot?

Mostly, going back over and editing the whole chapter to correct the tense. When I'm in the moment writing, I try to make sure things stay consistent, but my brain moves faster than my hands sometimes (well, most of the time - I'm a horrible typist... ha!). I end up having to scan back through and read the whole thing, check the context and correct all kinds of 'ed' mistakes.

I think when you're writing anything, the natural thought is that, because it already happened in your head, it comes out in past tense. You can fight against it, but you're going to screw it up here and there - that's why I usually give my writing a once-over four or five times. Before I approve of anyone else reading it, I try to make sure I correct the tenses, fix any other errors, clear up the prose... editing stuff. I still miss things, which people have been quite willing to point out - and I certainly would rather have it pointed out than left broken.

I don't think I've figured out a magical way to write everything perfectly on the first try. If that were the case, I'd throw away all my erasers and pluck the delete button off my keyboard.

[Helbereth]

Okay, this is basically Part 2 of the previous scene. I kinda got finished writing Emi's bit and it was really heavy narrative so I needed a little break - especially since I had to dip into Rin's head next. So I spent some time on my other fan fiction for a bit, and came back to this today. Yay for seeing some peripheral characters.

With that in mind, I present:

Act 2 - Scene 1 - Yamaku, Oh Yamaku (part 2)

The waving trees in the distance held her attention as she walked with Emi across the parking lot. Whatever is going through her friend's mind as they went, Rin could see her smiling, and that seemed like a good thing. This trip was going to be hard on both of them, but she put that dark thought aside, smiling at her friend's mood change. Emi was always like that, even when they first met. Like a light switch, she'd go from being depressed and angry to happy and confident – it was something to be admired.

The sky is still mostly cloudless, but there were more important things to be looking at – at least incidentally. The crowds at the festival haven't picked up yet since it's still early in the day -the festival didn't officially start until 1pm, after all- but there are already people arriving for various reasons. It wasn't long before someone in the crowd caught sight of them –or at least caught sight of Emi, bouncing ahead- holding up a hand to wave, keeping the other one behind her back. It took a second to remember her name, but the long dark hair and cat-who-caught-the-canary grin -do cats really catch canaries?- were good enough indicators. Emi darts ahead awkwardly on her regular prosthesis and gives a big cheery smile calling, “Miki!”

It had always been interesting to see Emi at her Emi-est. She had so many friends back in High School, it was hard to keep up with all their names. Most of them weren't close friends like she and Hisao had been. Rin wondered just how close a friend she is to Emi, but they end up spending so much time together it didn't seem to matter. They see each other almost every day, so if they're not close friends they sure spend a lot of time together.

Miki offers a wave with her stump hand as Emi wraps her in a hug, and Rin responds with a smile. Miki immediately drops her arm down and gives an apologetic nod. Rin doesn't know what it was like to have arms, much less lose one – or part of one. Hands seemed like they were pretty... handy. Miki lost hers in an accident and found herself at Yamaku sometime late in their second year; it was before winter, but after fall. In the interim somewhere.

Finally closing the distance, Rin stands beside Emi as Miki speaks, “you two are here early.”

Rin cocks her head and raises an eyebrow. “You got here before us, shouldn't we be saying you're early?”

Miki smiles a toothy grin and shakes her head, “Man I missed that – straight to the point. How ya been, Rin?”

Feeling a little outed by the question, Rin looks to Emi, who simply shrugs, then back to Miki. “Well, I've been missing some sleep lately even though Emi keeps telling me to go to bed. Otherwise, I've kept busy doing what I do.”

Miki's grin fades for a second, but it quickly returns. “Yeah, I guess that's what I do too,” she claims, nodding and smiling.

“Really?” Rin leans back, a little surprised. “I thought I was the only one who did what I do,” she says.

Miki lets out a laugh and slaps Rin on the shoulder, turning to Emi, “I meant I do what I do. How do you put up with that all the time?”

Emi squirms a little and giggles, looking apologetic. “I think I enjoy the clarity between the philosophy,” she says, smiling sweetly.

“I thought philosophy was supposed to bring clarity, not skirt around it,” Miki states, crossing her arms and offering a sideways smile.

Rin looks Miki over as she nods. Unlike those years before, she's not wearing a masculine shirt and tie, which makes her harder to recognize. Instead she's wearing a black A-shirt with frills along the edges, white shorts and running shoes. She's even carrying an over-shoulder satchel of some kind, and there's a wide-brimmed hat hanging on a chin strap over her back. She actually looks feminine, which strikes Rin as odd, but not altogether unpleasant. The new Miki; a little more mature, but still not.

Having apparently taken stock of the sight at the same time, Emi speaks up, “What's with the getup, anyway?”

Miki looks a little bewildered. “What? This? Yeah, I kinda got into frilly stuff in college. My hubby tells me I should dress sexy, but I think he just wants to see me in a bunny-suit." She rolls her eyes and crosses her arms in front of her, "This is as far as I'd go without wanting to kill myself; know what I mean?”

Emi bounces, excitedly asking, “You're married?” The lilting upturn of her voice sounds like a baby bird greeting its mother.

Miki smiles, “yeah...” she casts a glance around the school grounds and then smirks, looking annoyed. Looking back at Emi, she rolls her eyes, shaking her head, and says, “he's around here somewhere. I'd introduce ya, but he seems to have wandered off.”

Emi holds out a hand and offers a pleading expression, “I wanna see the rock.”

Miki looks a little flustered as she reaches for her satchel. Curious. "Does she keep a hand in there with the ring on it?" Rin wonders to herself. A few seconds later Miki draws a little plastic bag out of the satchel containing a gold ring with an impressive-looking multi-faceted diamond, holding it up for Emi to inspect.

“I keep it in there 'cause it's still too big. Slender fingers. We're getting it re-sized, eventually." Miki rolls her eyes again; it seems to be her go-to expression when referencing her husband. "Apparently, it was his grandmother's.”

Emi's eyes sparkle as she looks over the ring. “He treats you right, though, right?”

Miki drops the bag back in her satchel and grins widely, “Of course. I wear the pants in the relationship.” She looks out at the crowd again, presumable scanning for her missing husband. Shrugging, she looks back at Rin and asks, “What about you two?”

Emi's expression darkens and she looks away, like she's pretending to look for Miki's missing husband, hiding her eyes. Rin finally speaks up, “We've been a little too busy for boyfriends and husbands, I think. Emi's got droves of kids following her around all day, and I'm still...” She stops and looks away, trying hard to think of a simple enough word, “painting.”

Emi turns back, the smile back on her face, as Miki breathes a sigh saying, “well, I highly recommend it. Guys might smell funny, but they'll do most anything if you're willing to go down on them on occasion.” She winks at her crude remark and cracks up laughing as Emi squirms uncomfortably - though maybe not for the reason Miki thinks. Rin just nods, not finding the remark to be far from the truth. Collecting herself, Miki's face turns more serious. “Nah, I don't mean that. My hubby's great for all kinds of stuff – manual labor, mostly.” She holds up her stump-hand and grins sheepishly.

Emi rolls her eyes and blushes a bit, shaking her head and crossing her arms, “So, what about kids?”

Miki shrinks away and frowns. “You sound like his mom,” she says, turning away defensively.

Emi uncrosses her arms and puts a hand on Miki's shoulder. “Hey I didn't mean it like that.”

Miki turns back around and smiles. “I know. We had our second anniversary last month, though, and she called to ask that question. It's been bugging me, is all. We don't have time for kids yet, I told her.” Her expression sours, though, and she looks away ashamedly, "And I dunno if I'd know how to be a mom, anyway."

Miki was always so stable, so Rin is surprised she'd have doubts about having kids. The way she used to watch out for people –especially Suzu– made her seem like a perfect candidate for motherhood. She decides to say something to that effect. “I wouldn't worry about being a mom, Miki. You were already like a mom once before, so it should be like riding a bike. Albeit a smaller, less mobile bike without wheels that screams a lot and smells funny.”

Miki flashes her toothy grin and nods, looking less worried if not more happy. Emi decides to ask, “Hey speaking of you being a mom, is Suzu around?”

Miki laughs, “She's not my daughter.” Immediately she starts scanning around the crowd again, cocking her jaw to the side and standing on her toes. “There she is!” She points over to a tree in the grassy field between the school and the parking lot. Beside it, or, rather against it, is the blue-green haired form of Suzu Suzuki, quietly sleeping. Rin wonders at how she could always fall asleep anywhere. She used to try and practice it in High School to see if she could spend that much time asleep, but it usually just made her cramp up and feel exhausted. Suzu had a talent for it, though being a narcoleptic probably helped.

Miki and Emi start walking toward the sleeping girl and Rin follows, curiously glancing at the booths they're walking away from and commenting, “the festival is back the other way, y'know.”

Emi looks over her shoulder and giggles, but keeps walking.

As they approach, Miki makes a few running strides and ends with a kick to Suzu's foot. “Hey! Wake up, Snoozu.”

Her head lolls to the side, grumbling something about not liking that name, and lets out a whine, “aww, but I was just resting.” She yawns and reaches her arms skyward in a stretch, then lets them drop to her sides before sleepily looking up at Miki. She grins, “It was a long drive.” Her hair is longer than it was in school, but not as long as Miki's. She has a navy-blue sun-dress on over yellow tights and some expensive-looking black shoes. There's also a pen stuck behind her ear, and her handbag seems more like a briefcase.

Miki chuckles, “Yeah and you slept the whole way. C'mon, someone wanted to see you.” She extends her hand and Suzu takes it, being yanked to her feet almost immediately.

Suzu looks around and finally sees Emi, then Rin. She smiles happily and extends her hand in a wave, “oh, hi~!”

Emi giggles, “Morning sunshine!”

Rin offers a nod and looks away, trying to look past Miki toward a figure walking across the field nearby. He looks familiar, and he's carrying a cane –or a long stick– but he disappears behind a group of trees and doesn't emerge on the other side. Evidently her gaze doesn't go unnoticed as Suzu leans forward and smiles, “Rin's still off in dreamland, I see.”

Rin balks, “I thought that's where you were.” Giving up on the familiar man, she turns to face Suzu directly. "Dream anything good?"

Suzu simply giggles and leans against Miki – to stay awake more than for support. It must be hard to have narcolepsy and always need someone around to pick you up like that. Rin could do most things with her feet that other people did with their hands, but it probably wasn't as easy to compensate for falling asleep at random.

Miki pushes Suzu back upright and smiles, “You should've seen her at the wedding. When she fell over, and my family thought she was fainting.” She lets out a giddy laugh and knuckles Suzu's shoulder. “Her dress was up in the air as she fall into the flowers, and I had to run down the aisle to help her get back to her feet so we could continue the ceremony.”

Suzu stomps her foot and pouts, “I didn't drop the ring, though.”

“No, I did... right off my finger as we walked out through the rice shower.” Miki starts laughing again.

Suzu shakes her head, “The whole crowd started searching around on their hands and knees.” She makes pawing motions, imitating the knee-walkers, grinning sleepily the whole time.

“Yeah, and then she fell asleep sitting on the steps.” Miki's uproarious laughter draws some attention from some passers by, but she ignores their looks. Suzu joins in as well, though her laughs are more subdued – probably from fatigue. "My wedding photos are at home, but you can imagine," she said, giggling gleefully.

Rin looks at Emi, who's sharing that laugh, and a question comes to mind. “I didn't know it could rain rice,” she asks, but the three of them are too caught up in laughter to hear. She figures it might be better that way, since the thought of rice raining from the sky gives her an idea. She makes a mental note to think more about what a cascade of falling rice might look like flying from the clouds – a hailstorm of little oblong pellets. It must have been a painful experience, especially for a happy occasion like a wedding.

After their laughing calms down, the four of them spend some time reminiscing about Yamaku. Emi avoids the subject of Hisao, as well as the gallery incident, instead focusing on their track meets and graduation – and boys other than Hisao. They make a few lewd comments about the gym shed and the Track Captain, but most of it goes over Rin's head. They discuss what they've been doing since High School, as well. Miki is apparently working as a bartender and putting herself through night school studying early childhood learning – planning to become an elementary school teacher. Suzu's narcolepsy prevents her from doing more than Rin suspected, but she found her niche – writing fantasy novels. Evidently she had already published two of them. She says they're about a strange fantasy realm where people play battleship with Death - among other things. It sounds interesting, but reading never was one of Rin's favorite pass-times.

As they talk, they also walk around the school grounds watching the students set up their booths. Aside from the unfamiliar faces, it looks mostly the same. Rin feels a bit serene as she watches them darting around, checking the supports, adding the last few details, and getting the various cook-tops and other kitchen equipment sorted out. One of the booths nearly falls down when a student leans against the inside wall, but they quickly set about staking it to the ground. It's like watching a film reel from her past with different people playing the roles.

Eventually their walking brings them around to the wall where she had painted a mural. A mural meant to look like a mural. It had faded a bit in the years of rain and heat and cold, but it was still vibrant. Nobody had painted over it or tried to alter it, either. It looked the same except for one small difference. Ignoring the other three girls, Rin walks over and stands in front of the small plaque affixed to the far left end of the mural and kneels to look at the picture.

On the left is Mr Nomiya, his thumbs looped into his belt, that perpetual grin affixed on his face. On the right is that gaudily-dressed, balding man who bought one of her paintings at the gallery. In the middle is an image of herself, shoulders slumped and eyes withdrawn, looking away from the camera. Below the picture is an inscription in bronze that reads:

A Mural by Rin Tezuka
Dedicated to Yamaku Academy
September 23rd, 2007

The date seems wrong since she finished it on June 8th, but that doesn't seem to be the point of the plaque. Remembering is hazy, but the picture helps. That gaudily-dressed man became a Yamaku benefactor after Rin's artwork piqued his interest. Nomiya said it was a good thing, but she didn't like him for some reason. This plaque was added at his behest; he wanted the school to remember who brought him to it as a benefactor. Like it was an accomplishment of note to inspire some rich dilettante to throw his money at a school for crippled kids.

More than that, he didn't even understand the art. Nobody really did, except maybe Emi. Their penciled grins and courteous words were full of flowery adjectives, but they didn't understand the meaning – if there was one. She had tried to forget how cold it made her feel to listen to someone praise her paintings without having the slightest idea what she tried to convey, but this plaque was a sickening reminder. She bowed her head and couldn't help but let a tear fall from her misty eyes – looking away from her friends, ashamed.

Emi appeared behind her, placing her warm hands on Rin's slight shoulders and breathing words of comfort. She was such a good friend, it didn't matter whether she really understood the paintings. Emi was Emi, and that's all she would ever be. Rin had to be Rin, and do what she does. Miki and Suzu offered concerned looks as Emi helped Rin back up to stand, her eyes still misty. Emi brought her sleeve up to let Rin dab her eyes off and offered a comforting smile.

Miki was the first to speak, “Nomiya was a dick,” she said flatly. Suzu nodded in agreement. Placing a hand on Rin's shoulder, Miki continued, “he had a thick head and a lot of balls, but he didn't get it any better than that Takai guy.”

Rin nodded, understanding the sentiment. Nomiya wasn't so bad really, but his drive to push his students was often overbearing. She put up with it because she didn't really have a choice. He had pushed her to put together a grand gallery selection, and it seemed like the next logical thing to do at the time, so she did. Emi had helped get her settled, but Rin told her to stay away until she was finished. She came to regret that later. Three weeks in a dusty old studio -which Nomiya referred to pretentiously as an atelier- spending all day with her feet, brushes, paints and thoughts. Some days, she just stared out the window, and others she walked around in the city streets - searching for inspiration, searching for herself. At night, she sat in the cold studio with the lights off, dreamily staring at the stars through the skylight. Most days she spent focused on the canvas and trying to think without thinking, letting the shapes play and colors combine. It was the happiest, saddest three weeks of her life, and when it was done she felt exhausted.

Nomiya's friend, Sae, ran a local gallery, and she put the whole production together. All Rin had to do was show up – she brought Emi; who was more excited to see Rin than she was the paintings. Hisao and Lilly attended the event as well, though Rin wasn't sure why Lilly bothered until later. The entranced voices asking prying questions about inspiration -half hidden behind wise-cracks about her missing arms- sent Rin reeling, and she had collapsed in the middle of the gallery. Emi picked her up and they went outside, Hisao and Lilly had followed, looking concerned. At the time, she didn't understand why.

Her friends wanted to help. They wanted to understand. Even if they couldn't, it didn't really matter. They didn't try to ask what it meant, and that was enough. Rin didn't know what it meant and didn't know how to tell them. They were real friends, who loved her because she was Rin. It was so simple, but so peaceful and serene. Even though it had been a dark experience, she was able to see the light in it, and push the regret out of her mind.

Rin finally smiled and offered Miki a nod. Miki responded with a sagely nod of her own, but had to quickly catch Suzu before she fell over from another sleeping spell. Rin began laughing and the others joined in, laughing with her even if they didn't understand why. Emi leaned against Rin affectionately and giggled her friendly giggle. Her friends were there to help with a smile, a laugh, or some friendly advice whenever she needed it, and it was enough.

Because that's what friends do.
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And that's all I have to say about that.

[Panthour]

"Because that's what friends do."

Aaaaawwwwwwwww, Rin is just great in this, I think you portrayed her quite well.

Also,

"What? This? Yeah, I kinda got into frilly stuff I college."

Shouldn't it say "...stuff in college."

[LOL WUT]

Sir, You deserve a medal for going in and out of Rin's mind and surviving.
I always saw Rin as just.... Well just random. But wise. Kind of like a really old Grand Dad.