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Another great entry. Can't wait for the next .

I hope yall are comfortable with my OCs, because there about... Umm... about six significant ones left to reveal.

There are some fandoms that just seem tailor-made for OCs, and this is one of them. It's a big school, after all. So I say unto you: Bring it on.

Also: D'awwww. Cute chapter.

Mellowcorks wrote:There are some fandoms that just seem tailor-made for OCs, and this is one of them. It's a big school, after all. So I say unto you: Bring it on.

Actually, most of the OCs made up for this fanfiction aren't even Yamaku students, although the next one you'll meet comes close.

Now what's a villain without an origin story? One of the more challenging parts of this FF was trying to keep Shinnosuke within the fine line between a mere disgusting creep and an irredeemable rapist/complete monster, so that his eventual fate would be appropriate and neither too harsh nor too lenient. I guess I did okay there.
This is not the last we'll see of the broken Ojou.
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Intermission: Siren Song
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Shinnosuke Yamada is...
Smart.

“Wow, Shin! The top of your class again?!”

Shinnosuke Yamada is...
Popular.

“Do you think Yamada will read my love letter?”

“Get in line! He even has boys confessing to him!”

Shinnosuke Yamada is...
Fearless.

“SHINNOSUKE YAMADA, THE YOUNGEST TEAM CAPTAIN IN HIS SCHOOL'S HISTORY WINS THE MATCH WITH A SKILLFULLY EXECUTED HIT.”

Shinnosuke Yamada is...
Going places.

“Son, your test scores are excellent. We'd be honored to reserve you a spot for this school's entrance exams.

Shinnosuke Yamada is...
Victorious.

“Did you hear? Shimada left her boyfriend to go out with that guy.”

“Really? But isn't he an underclassman?”

“Seriously! Crazy, huh?”

Shinnosuke Yamada is...
Impotent.

“Wahahahaha! Oh my. Is that all you got?”

“Just gimme a moment, Sayuka. I just... gotta get started.”

“Might as well give it up, big boy. You're going to rip it right off if you keep tugging at it like that.”

“No, no! I can do this!”


...

“Give it up, Shin.” Sayuka said while she started putting her clothes back on.

“I... I don't know what's wrong with me.” Shinnosuke replied as he gave up trying to wrestle an erection out of himself. “Just give me another chance.”

“Another chance? Hmm, it depends. How big are you?”

Shinnosuke marked out a generous estimate in the air with his index fingers.

“That's all? Forget it.”

“B-But Sayuka!”

“Maybe you should try boys instead, Tiger.”

Sayuka excused herself and left the hotel room, laughing all the way down the hall. There she went, the hottest, richest, most desirable girl in the whole school and Shinnosuke blew his chances with her.

She was supposed to be his final, triumphant conquest. Shinnosuke almost had everything he wanted up to that point, the adoration of his peers, a future practically guaranteed on a silver platter, and godly good looks. All that he needed was a bombshell girlfriend. The night of the kendo team's victory party was supposed to be the night when he unleashed his manhood upon the eager world and made Sayuka his own.

But he couldn't bring himself up to task. Soon, she was going to tattle on him and turn the golden boy into the laughing stock of the whole school.

What happened? Was it her adversarial personality? No, that just added to her allure. Was it her looks? Couldn't be, she was every bit as good looking as himself. She was perfect.

Perhaps too perfect.

Sayuka was a finished portrait. Add Shinnosuke into the picture and she'd be ruined, cluttered, gaudy, overdone. What Shinnosuke needed was a girl who wouldn't steal his spotlight, a girl who would make him look good, and a girl who needed improvement.

Shinnosuke brooded on his predicament on the ride back home. The chartered bus he shared with some of his teammates was second in the convoy, the one ahead contained the coaching staff along with several of the team's girlfriends, friends, and supporters. The bus shuddered and shook as it navigated the mountain road's curves in the rain. The unseasonably heavy downpour eroded away at the roadside cliffs.

And then, the taillights of the bus ahead of them disappeared into the night...

...

“Sh-Shin...” Sayuka ashamedly looked away from her visitor. “Why are you here?”

“To visit you. I still care about you.”

“But I was cruel to you back then and...” She stroked the empty air where her right arm used to be. “And look at me.”

Shinnosuke did look at Miss Shimada. The accident had taken her entire right arm, as well as the little finger on her left hand. Faint scars marked her skin in various spots where abrasions just recently healed. She was helpless, damaged, and her days as a beauty queen were over. The fiery attitude inside had been broken, tamed.

And she had never been so beautiful.

“Does it still hurt?” Shinnosuke asked, inching his hand across the hospital bed towards Sayuka's thigh.

“No...” She replied as she looked at the stump of her little finger, the scar tissue still bright pink. “My arm ...no, my shoulder is pretty much healed. They say I can go home tomorrow.”

Sayuka sighed and slouched in her upright adjustable bed. “My teachers say that I won't have to repeat the whole year, but I have to take makeup classes so I probably won't be able to graduate along with everyone else.”

Shinnosuke got up and jammed his chair up against the door. The poor, vulnerable, broken girl on the bed needed his help feeling sexy again.

“Shin... what are you doing?”

That afternoon, Shinnosuke Yamada learned the true nature of beauty. It was the flaws and defects that made people unique, not fickle standards set by society.

...

Shinnosuke soaked in the sight of his new toy box with ecstatic eyes. Hundreds and hundreds of wounded birds were in this cage, and he was going to save them all from their misery. Only he could appreciate them for what they truly are.

After Sayuka graduated, the two parted ways and she recuperated with her family before going to college. Anticipating the departure of his former true love, Shinnosuke decided to transfer to yet another exclusive private academy for his second year of high school. He arrived on campus three days before the start of the school year, while the other students began settling into their dorms.

On his way to the counseling office, Shinnosuke ran into a surprising sight amongst the hobbling masses, a normal girl. Her dark hair and smooth skin glowed in the sunlight and radiated an aura that sucked him right in. Why was she there anyway? She had glasses, but poorer than average eyesight was hardly a disability. She must have been a normal student like himself. However, Shinnosuke had not found any normal women attractive since his awakening with Sayuka, so why her? He approached the girl to investigate.

“Hello there, I'm Shinnosuke.” He reached out his hand in greeting. “How do you do?”

The girl shook his hand but said nothing, merely giving him an attentive stare.

“So what's your name?”

Again, nothing. After a few moments, she reached into her bag and handed him a small notepad and pointed at some handwritten lines.

“Hello, my name is Shizune Hakamichi. I am a deaf-mute.”

It seemed that Shinnosuke was subconsciously aware of this girl's disability the whole time. With his extra-sensory perception, he read everything he needed to know of this girl. She had a charisma about her that made her Yamaku's own Sayuka Shimada. This Shizune wasn't perfect, she was actually better than perfect. On the outside, she was a whole that wouldn't normally interest him, but inside she was disabled. She was missing something... something that only Shinnosuke could give her.

“Can you understand sign language?” She continued.

Shinnosuke shook his head and Shizune handed him a another notepad along with a pencil.

“What's your name?”

”Shinnosuke Yamada. I just transferred here this year.”

Shizune flipped past the prepared lines and wrote onto a blank page.

“Nice to meet you, Shinnosuke. I'm sorry but I better get going. I have to meet with my teachers. I'll see you around.”

After exchanging some smiles and a friendly wave with Shizune, Shinnosuke continued on to the counseling office.

“So, Mr. Yamada, what brings you to our fine school?” The portly guidance counselor asked.

“I'm going to the National University of Health and Learning for college so I can be a doctor someday. They tell me that I can get a real experience advantage and maybe even qualify for a scholarship if I transfer to a school like this.”

“That is a good school. A lot of the staff here went there so you're in good company. But... you could have gotten the same experience and qualified for the same programs if you just did volunteer work. You didn't need to switch schools.”

“It's also a personal thing, sir.” Shinnosuke let a single crocodile tear flow down his cheek said while laughing his ass off inside. “Several of my friends were injured in a bus accident last year. Some of them are now permanently disabled. It really opened my eyes and... I really want to help disadvantaged people in the future. That's why I chose to come here.”

“My boy, it's rare to find young men with your virtues.” The counselor enthusiastically shook Shinnosuke's and and bowed his head. “Our school is very fortunate to have you aboard. Is there any particular focus you're interested in?”

“Actually, yes.” Shinnosuke recalled his chance meeting with Shizune. “Are there sign language classes I can attend?”

Shinnosuke filled out his class schedule with a zeal that he had not felt in years. After all that time being the unquestioned prince of the world, he finally found a worthy challenge. He would have to test the waters first and get a feel for the girls here. There were countless broken girls who needed Shinnosuke's affection.

Shizune was worth the wait. Or rather, she was worth the effort. All the gimps in skirts would be practice and entertainment to pass the time. Bagging the deaf Sayuka would be Shinnosuke's magnum opus, for only she could fill the void in his soul. Her silent song had set his heart ablaze.

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The Unbreakable Sisterhood of Yamaku
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Text Message
From: Shicchan ^_^
Message:
Shiina, I need you. I am in Yamada's bedroom. It is just as we suspected. BRING EVERYONE.

-

”So, how am I doing? I've taken JSL classes for two years in a row.”

”Yes, I know. I can understand you just fine. I would like to talk to you about something.”

”There will be plenty of time to talk when we're finished.”

”This is important. I want you to stop...”

”Please. I've waited nearly two years for this moment. Don't tell me you don't feel the same.”

Shinnosuke ignored what Shizune was trying to tell him and crept forward to smell her hair. Thoroughly creeped out, she reached into her bag and sent out a pre-written text message to the Vice-President from behind his back. Although the anonymous accusations and photographs she received in her email were already quite damning, she still wanted to see for herself before opening up a world of hurt on the boy.

“I'm sorry, did you say something just now?” Shinnosuke said slowly as he gently but firmly grabbed Shizune's wrists together in one hand and pulled her blouse open with the other. With Shizune silenced, he pried her feet apart with his own before leaning her over on his bed.

“We're finally together, Shizune.” Shinnosuke spoke slowly and exaggerated his syllables, hoping that Shizune could understand at least some of it. “None of the others mattered to me. It was all about you; you're my holy grail. Go ahead and scream all you want.”

Shizune darted her head around, looking for a way out. The more she struggled to free her hands, the tighter his grip became. Silently, she bid farewell to her new eyeglasses and arched her back.

“WHACK!”

...

“Oh my God. I am so sore right now.” Yoshiko griped as she walked up the hill to school, with one arm over Eri's shoulders for support and clutching a cheap aluminum cane with the other.

“Perhaps it was too soon for you to stop using the crutches?”

“No way,” Yoshiko scoffed. “I had to lose those sooner or later! By the way, how's your back? Am I crushing you?”

“Not at all,” Eri giggled. “I wore my hard girdle today. I figured something like this would happen.”

“Oy, you know me too well.” Eri and Yoshiko continued up the hill until they reached the front gate. Instead of finding the usual quiet tranquility that they would find at dusk, they saw a restless mob of at least a couple hundred girls raising a ruckus outside the boys' dorm building.

It was like a scene from a classic monster movie. About half of the girls were holding lit torches, while the other half were carrying pitchforks and were whacking the handles onto the pavement in unison. The ominous racket ceased only when Misha triumphantly burst through the front door, wearing a tricorne hat. Hopefully, both Kenji and Hanako were safe inside their rooms.

“Sisters, We have captured the beast!” Misha raised her hands and announced, prompting rhythmic crashes of pitchforks striking pavement. Yoshiko, thinking the spectacle might be partly her doing, gestured Eri to walk her towards the boys' building.

After a moment of hooting and howling from the crowd, they were silenced again by the arrival of Yamaku's Student Body President. Shizune sternly marched out of the building, visibly roughed up with her blouse torn open and the frame of her glasses bent. A small amount of blood appeared to seep out of one of her nostrils and she was holding an ice pack to her fist.

Shizune turned around and flashed some commands towards the open entrance. Shinnosuke was carried out by a group of girls, badly bruised and hanging from a long wooden pole like a cannibal's meal. Shinnosuke's bearers, along with the spanking paddle-wielding guards who flanked him all wore black hoods and sashes that read “UNBREAKABLE SISTERHOOD OF YAMAKU.”

“YOU, TACHIBANA!” Although Shinnosuke's fate was sealed, there was still a small bureaucratic loose end to resolve. Misha grabbed a paddle from one of her troops and pointed it at Yoshiko, then returned it so she could interpret to Shizune. “Are you the one who levied charges against this man-child?”

“Me? What makes you say that?” A few weeks earlier, Luke talked her into sharing her story involving Shinnosuke with some sort of authority figure so that he could meet justice. He probably meant the police or school administration. Yoshiko, however, figured it would be far more amusing if she reported him to the Feminist Conspiracy.

“In the accused's own personal records, your name appears second to last on his list of exploits, just above the President's own.”

“Indeed,” Yoshiko gulped. “That's me right there.”

The fact that Yoshiko was the last girl Shinnosuke tried to mess around with before getting caught after several weeks amused her. She must have made a bigger impression than she thought for him to exercise so much restraint.

“So what happened? I see no activity is marked by your name. Did he or did he not have his way with you?”

“P-Please Nikki! Tell them it was just a misunderstanding...” Shinnosuke cried out, wanting Yoshiko to back up his side of the story. “Tell them about how we just got in a lovers' quarrel and...”

“Lovers' quarrel?” Yoshiko grabbed Eri's hand with her own and held up both for all to see. “I don't think so. As you can see, you are not my lover.”

“Your Grace, I did not have sexual relations with this man,” Yoshiko testified to Misha. Even though Eri knew the full story by then, she did not want want the extent of her experience shared with countless strangers. “However, the accusations are true. I am the one who filed a complaint with the President and his actions are just as I described in my email.”

“N-No...NOO!!!”

“Very well then. What punishment shall we render upon the condemned, My Lady?”

Shizune coldly swiped her index finger across her neck, a gesture everyone understood.

“Sisters!” Misha addressed the crowd as Eri and Yoshiko walked away. “Prepare the tar and feathers. READY THE CATAPULT! WAHAHAHAHA~!”

“So,” Eri poked at Yoshiko's side as they stepped inside the girls' building. “Lovers, huh?”

“Well, what would you like to call each other after we've been going out all this time?”

“'Girlfriend' is fine.”

Yoshiko's heart shot up into the sky. She finally had a ____friend. Sure, she and Eri still haven't kissed and most of their dates consisted of arguably platonic activities such as window shopping and going out for cheap meals. Yet, despite the tame dates, Yoshiko felt like she had the most romantic girlfriend in the world.

“So, have you decided on what you're going to do this weekend?” Yoshiko asked when they reached the door to her room so Eri could drop her off. They had a long weekend with three extra days off ahead. Yoshiko was going to go back home, but Eri had nowhere to go.

“I'll be fine here.” Eri reassured Yoshiko with a tug of the hand. “Go on and have fun back at home for me.”

“Come home with me!” Yoshiko blurted out.

Eri had no family of her own and was raised in an orphanage. Her medical care and daily expenses were taken care of by a charitable organization, but her education was only partially covered. She had to work hard to qualify for every scholarship and grant she could get hold of to help offset the financial disadvantage of being alone in the world. However, neither covered the emotional disadvantages.

Then she met Yoshiko.

“I don't want to be a burden on your household. Are you sure?”

“Yeah, yeah. Totally. My family will love you and we'll have a great time.”

“Well, okay.” Eri surrendered without a fight. “I just need to get my things ready. When do we leave?”

“My parents are coming up tomorrow morning, I think. But... I don't think they're ready for us, so is it okay if I introduce you as my friend?”

“I don't mind. I'm not ready to meet them as my girlfriend's parents anyway.”

Eri giddily quivered where she stood.

“They're going to be very pleasantly surprised when they see how much progress you've made in your recovery.”

“I couldn't have done it without you.” Yoshiko put her arms around Eri and looked down to meet her eyes. “Thank you.”

Eri replied after a long pause, her breath even shorter and more rapid than usual.

“No. Thank you. For everything.”

For a split second she thought that her brace was on too tight, but the warm sensation rising from her heart and flooding the rest of her body told her what was really happening.

“Yoshiko Tachibana...” Eri said, grabbing Yoshiko down by the collar as she tried turning away to go inside her room.

“...I love you.”

Eri grabbed Yoshiko by the shoulders and stood on her tiptoes to give her a kiss. Yoshiko propped herself up against the door frame with her right arm and held Eri up to her with her left. Warmth and electricity flowed between the two as if they were both still pure virgins who never kissed before. The outside world withdrew further and further away beyond the amber colored world of their closed eyelids when they started familiarizing themselves with each other's mouths.

“Yoshiko?!” A pair of mortified voices shattered the silence as Eri and Yoshiko pulled away from each other to catch their breath.

“M-Mom?! Dad?!”

[...(To Be Continued)]

This story is something incredibly awesome.

Including the feminist conspiracy is always a plus

Again, another great entry.

Part 6, reading that opening, first voice in my head was the movie voice guy Don LaFontaine, seriously I couldn't have thought the perfect voice for that. It was like watching a movie trailer.

Part 7, all I have to say is wow! Like the references of mob mentality. Almost like Franknestein. Only question is, was Kenji anywhere near this? I mean WHO WOULD PASS UP ON THIS CHANCE OF PROOF he needs.

Again great read

Yea, the story is great. Good job, senior writefag ^^

Wren wrote: Only question is, was Kenji anywhere near this? I mean WHO WOULD PASS UP ON THIS CHANCE OF PROOF he needs.

As far as Kenji is concerned, it was the end of the world(IT'S ON NOW, MOTHERFUCKERS!). He was barricaded in his room, curled up in the foetal position, and clutching a bottle full of cyanide pills(they're actually breathmints).

Part 6, reading that opening, first voice in my head was the movie voice guy Don LaFontaine, seriously I couldn't have thought the perfect voice for that. It was like watching a movie trailer.

I also had this in mind when typing it out. Derp.

kosherbacon wrote:
I also had this in mind when typing it out. Derp.

Completely forgot about that also.

Catapults make everything better. This is a scientific fact!

Mellowcorks wrote:Catapults make everything better. This is a scientific fact!

You could use a trebuchet as well, but then you'd just be showing off.

So yeah, another story featuring parents finding out that their kid might be gay or bisexual. Have I mentioned that I am heterosexual today?

So Yoshiko's mother is named Yumi, is comparatively short, and has firsthand knowledge of romantic two-girl friendships. Hmmm...

The hard drive that contained my downloaded Yuri collection died earlier today. It's a sign.

The bit about German cars is what everyone tells me whenever my car has issues.

Protip: Doing what Eri does will not fix your relationship problems. In fact, you might get arrested.


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Nikki and Yoshiko
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From: Disciplinary Office.

To: Housing Department Staff.

Subject: Visitors and Dormitory Rules.

Be advised that rules concerning indoor noise apply to everyone, not just students. Peace and quiet is essential to the wellness of many of our pupils and is an integral part of a good learning environment in general.

Make sure that visiting family members and guests know this.

-

“Yoshiko!” Mrs. Tachibana screamed. “What is the meaning of this?!”

“Is it too late for me to say she's just my friend?” Yoshiko nervously responded, trying to look like she was as cool and composed as usual.

“Don't get smart with us, young lady. Your mother and I deserve an explanation.”

Eri emerged from her hiding place behind Yoshiko's back and tried to greet the Tachibanas civilly.

“Hello. I'm Eri Koyama, Yoshiko's...”

“We know what you are, Miss.” Yoshiko's mother interrupted. “Just what do you think you're doing to our little girl?”

“HEY! You can't talk to her like that!”

“Ah-em!” A school volunteer in her early twenties came into the hall. “If it's alright with you, can you guys please keep your voices down?”

“Sorry.”

“Sorry.”

“Sorry.”

“Sorry.”

The discussion outside of Yoshiko's room continued with loud whispers that were actually louder than normal speaking voices.

“What are you guys doing here so early? Why didn't you tell me?”

“Your father got today off so we left early.”

“You should've warned me!”

“Why?” Mrs. Tachibana interrogated. “So you can continue ...this in secret?”

“I was gonna tell you guys... eventually.”

“Okay, Nikki. Get your things ready,” her mother said. “We have a LOT to talk about at home.”

“Can Eri come with spend the weekend with us?”

“ABSOLUTELY NOT!” Both of Yoshiko's parents broke the whisper barrier simultaneously.

“If she doesn't come, then I'm not going back home. Ever.”

“You really don't need to... I can stay here.”

“No, Eri, it's fine. I want them to get a chance to know you.”

“Ugh, alright, fine.” Yoshiko's father scratched at his bald spot that was sweating from the heated discussion. “If your parents say it's okay, then you can come too.”

“Junichi!”

“Look,” Mr. Tachibana took charge of the situation. “If we're going to sort things out, we might as well have everyone involved present, right?”

...

The car ride to Yoshiko's house was the longest, most uncomfortable, and most awkward one she's ever been in. Usually, her parents would ask for updates on her schoolwork and her health, to which she'd monotonously answer “fine.”

This time, there was almost nothing. Aside from one of her parents occasionally saying a couple words towards a question and giving up after losing momentum, the car was filled with dead silence. The circumstances were lousy at best, but at least Yoshiko managed to clear the hurdle of introducing Eri to her parents.

The cold war persisted all the way to the Tachibana residence. Oblivious to the tension, Yoshiko's older brother came outside and cheerfully helped the girls unload their luggage.

“Well, now that we're all here,” Mr. Tachibana said, “I guess some introductions are in order. I'm Junichi, Yoshiko's father.”

“I'm Yumi.” Yoshiko's mother nodded towards Eri, while biting her lip.

“Hello,” Yoshiko's unkempt looking brother straightened out his messy hair with his fingers and shook Eri's hand. “My name is Takuro. I'm twenty-eight years old and I own a classic car. I'm a freelance philosopher and my hobbies include dining out, the fine arts...”

“This isn't a singles' bar, Takuro,” Yoshiko's mother cut in. “She's Yoshiko's... um... Yoshiko's friend.”

“Ohhh,” Takuro read right through his mother's facial expressions. “I told you guys that Nikki was gay.”

Yoshiko snickered at her brother's comment. Usually she'd slap him for something like that but she was glad that there was finally someone else to keep her parents on their toes and take some of the focus off herself.

“A 1990 Daihatsu Mira is not a classic car.” Yoshiko poked at Takuro's boast about his car.

“It's got character.”

“It was a piece of crap when it was new!”

“You weren't even alive back then!”

“Freelance philosopher, huh?” His father asked. “Is that the new politically correct term for unemployed?”

“Hey, hey. I'm taking a sabbatical between jobs right now...”

...

“It's none of your business!”

“Of course it's our business! We're your parents!”

“Oh yeah? Then why do you just NOW care about what I do with my life?!”

“Not this again! What do you think the neighbors would say?”

“They won't care! I've always been the weird girl next door! They probably thought I was always into girls.”

“What ever happened to that nice foreign boy we met last time?”

“He's got a girlfriend!”

“So? It's not like they're married.”

“Mom!”

“I'm just saying... have you even tried dating boys?”

“Yeah, I have. I've been with a boy before.”

“B-Been with?! So you're opening your legs to just about anything now?!”

“I didn't say that!”

Takuro and Eri watched from the sidelines as Yoshiko got into an after-dinner yelling match with her mother. Takuro was munching away at some instant noodles like he was watching a wrestling match on TV while Eri felt blow after blow hit her heart as if all the verbal jabs were aimed at herself.

She was hating herself inside for starting all this. If she hadn't kissed Yoshiko, none of this would have happened. If only she had a little more restraint and waited till they got back, this could have been a nice, enjoyable weekend.

Yoshiko's family was falling apart and it was all Eri's fault. Her own mother, whoever she was, abandoned her at a police station shortly after she was born. She was beginning to recognize her bad back as the mark of a curse. She was never meant to have a family, and everything she touched turned to dust. Now, through her foolish greed, Yoshiko was suffering too.

“Hey,” Takuro asked. “Koyama, right?”

“Y-You can call me Eri.”

“How'd you and Nikki get together anyway?”

Eri was surprised that Takuro actually wanted to know something about her and her relationship with Nikki. Mr. and Mrs. Tachibana's interest in her was limited to the fact that she was the Jezebel that was corrupting their daughter.

“Well, we found each other through our common interest in movies, but I started really caring about her when we started helping each other recover from our... injuries.”

“Wow.” Takuro dropped his clump of noodles into the bowl with a splash. “Nikki actually let you help her work out?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Ever since her accident, Nikki never let anyone help her with anything. I wasn't around when she got hurt due to some... legal difficulties I was having. When I was released, she had just gotten home and she was different.”

“Like how?”

“Dark, hateful even. She would barely let our parents touch her. I know she was in a lot of pain, but she'd refuse to let anyone lend a hand. Just being around her, you'd feel the emotion get sucked out of you.”

“Really? She's always been open and kind to me.”

“I can tell. Since you guys got here, Nikki has been acting more like the kid she used to be. Well, whenever she isn't trying to bite Mom's head off anyway...”

“Oh, by the way. How did you guys come up with “Nikki?” Yoshiko herself doesn't know the answer.”

“Funny story, actually. When she was a really little kid, there was another girl at her daycare named Yoshiko who even kind of looked like her. Nikki got upset and was convinced that the other girl was copying her. So one day she cut her own hair short and insisted that everyone call her Nikki instead. You think our mom is pissed now? You should've seen her face when Nikki chopped her hair off.”

“Where'd she get “Nikki” from?”

“Who knows, she might've heard it on TV or maybe made it up herself. The thing is, she didn't want to be like anyone else in the world. Whenever the kids would catch onto a fad, she'd do the exact opposite just to assert her individuality.”

“That does sound like her.” Eri laughed.

“She might not want to admit it, but she and I are very much alike. Neither of us are meant for the world we were born into. My folks expect her to be a proper housewife like my mom, while they would want nothing more than for me to grow up into a respectable salaryman.”

“What's wrong with that?”

“Can you imagine a ronin like me in a suit, sitting in a cubicle? Me neither. Fortunately for Nikki, her uniqueness probably won't land her in prison. Yet.”

“You're a ronin? What schools do you plan on going to?”

“No, I meant ronin in the traditional sense. Sounds a lot more bad-ass than 'unemployed bum who lives with his parents,' don'tcha think?”

“Takuro, stop trying to hit on your sister's friend and go wash the dishes.”

“Yes, Ma'am!” Takuro saluted his mother and marched to the kitchen. Yoshiko had switched arguing partners and was now tearfully shouting at her father.

“So,” Mrs. Tachibana sat down next to Eri and got uncomfortably close. “Yoshiko tells me that you'll be graduating this year.”

“Yes, Mrs. Tachibana. I plan on...” Eri was about to recite a carefully prepared spiel to sell herself as a worthy suitor for Yoshiko.

“So isn't it time you stopped playing games with her?”

“W-What do you mean?”

“Look,” Yoshiko's mother put on a face of feigned friendly understanding while trying to hide her barely contained rage. “I know it's normal for girls your age to... experiment with each other. I've seen it myself when I was in high school.”

“But we're not...”

“But eventually, we all have to grow up, right? A phase like this can't carry you for the rest of your life. What's going to happen to Yoshiko when you decide to pursue a career or start a family?”

Eri did not have an answer.

“Look, dear. Perhaps it would be best if you let her go easy now than to drag things out and break her heart later.”

Eri sat there, her lip fluttering as she tried piecing together a response.

“Think about it, okay?” Yoshiko's mother got up and went to the kitchen to check on Takuro's progress.

Eri went upstairs to Yoshiko's old room and unpacked her things. Yoshiko has been using the guest room downstairs since her accident because of her issues with stairs. Eri sat on Yoshiko's old, undersized bed and looked at the photos and posters from her old life.

Takuro said that Eri had helped Yoshiko return to her cheerful self, but she screwed it all up in an instant by getting too close. Eri knew that family was the most important thing in the world. She had no right to take that from Yoshiko.

“But why, Nikki?” Downstairs, the arguing between Yoshiko and her father continued, albeit filled more with passionate pleading than anger.

“Why does it have to be a girl?” He asked.

“You don't get it! It's not because she's a girl. It's because she's Eri.” Yoshiko squeaked out, with an hour's worth of tears and mucus encrusted on her face. “I'd love her even if she was a boy.”

“Why her, then? Couldn't you find someone else?”

“B-Because she would never abandon me if I needed her!”

...

Takuro slapped his portable DVD player closed and put away the lotion. His late-night quality time with himself had gotten interrupted by slow but steady knocking at his door.

“T-Takuro...” Yoshiko stood there, standing limply against the door. She wore a vacant, crushed look on her face.

“What's wrong, Nikki?”

“...Eri...” Yoshiko looked down at her shaking hand, which clutched a crumpled sheet of notepad paper.

“What? You guys get in a fight or something?”

“N-No.”

“Then what?”

“She.. SHE'S GONE!”

================================================================================================================================
Junk
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Dear Yoshiko,

I'm sorry for all the troubles I've given you and your family. Thank you for everything.

Love,
Eri

-

Takuro read Eri's letter while Yoshiko collapsed into a pitiful wreck on his bed, heaving and gagging, since she ran out of tears to weep with much earlier in the evening. With a groan, Takuro got up from his chair and picked up his keys.

“Ugh, okay, okay. Fine. I'll take you. Let's go.”

“G-Go where?” Yoshiko asked, after struggling to gather enough breath for start speaking.

“To go find Eri. That's the plan, right?”

“Eri doesn't want me to find her. Sh-she left m...” Yoshiko's voice cracked and she began hyperventilating again.

“Judging by the fact that she left you this note outside of your room so you two couldn't discuss it and by the letter itself... I'd say she didn't leave YOU, she just left, period.”

“Wha... Why would she do that?”

“She probably saw you fighting with Mom and Dad and thought we were all going to kill each other if she didn't leave. I'll bet she's not used to seeing families argue.”

“She isn't.”

“Okay then. Let's go!”

“Where? She could be anywhere!”

“Well, she's a high school student, so she can't afford a taxicab. Chances are she's going to take the bus or the train back to your school or her home, right? Since it's about two thirty in the morning now, she's not going to catch either until around five or six. We've got plenty of time to go find her.”

Yoshiko grabbed Takuro by the wrist as he set out of the door.

“Wait... Maybe we shouldn't. I-I thought I could handle introducing her to you guys but I couldn't. It's just like me, huh? I keep thinking I could do everything myself but I gotta accept it. There are just some things I can't do.”

“What the hell, Nikki?”

“It's true. I should just let her go.”

“So let me get this straight. After what you've been through, you shouldn't be walking, but you are. You should also be locked up with all the crazies who chew on their wrists and eat their own hair, but you aren't. You've practically gone to hell and crawled your way out yourself and you're giving up NOW? It's just stupid teenage drama. Suck it up.”

“Psh,” Yoshiko rolled her eyes, “you're talking like I'm some kind of Amazon super hero but I'm not. I'm just a kid.”

“Am not. When you're locked up like we were, you get two choices. Either stick up for yourself and don't take anyone's shit, or give up and become someone's bitch. Either way, you're probably gong to get fucked up, but only one option leaves you with your self respect intact.”

“But I'm not tough like you are.” Yoshiko said, poking at the gang tattoos on Takuro's arms and neck.

“You're wrong. Whenever I'd hear about you from Mom or Dad, it got me thinking, `If my kid sister can handle her business, then I should too, no problem.' You're the strongest person I know. If you were in the slammer with me, you'd make it though, I'm positive.”

Yoshiko laughed at the mental image of herself beating up burly Yakuza gangsters and grabbed her cane, having decided to head out.

“Besides,” Takuro concluded as he put on a jacket and set out to leave. “If you seriously let Eri wander around out there in the cold outdoors with all those rapists and muggers out there, then you're the worst boyfriend in the world.”

“Hey!” Yoshiko objected, but finally smiled clearly. “Why do I have to be the boyfriend?”

“You're the tall one. It's a rule.”

Indeed, Yoshiko was a great deal taller than Eri. Takuro was the second tallest member of the family, and he only came up to Yoshiko's nose. Both of her parents only reached just above her chin.

...

“I'm just sayin', if I wanted to drive a big ugly American thing that drove like a truck, then I'd buy a truck.”

“What about European, then? Germans make a lotta cool cars.”

“German? Over-engineered with the cheapest possible parts. They're fun for three or four years then BOOM! You explode and die in a ball of flames because some Kraut thought it was a good idea to make something plastic when it should've been metal.”

“B-but they're so much cooler than domestic cars.”

“Nikki, when you reach my age, you'll get fed-up with all that flashy foreign junk and come to appreciate the sublime beauty that is the Japanese economy car.”

“Yeah, well, I'm sure that “foreign junk” at least have seats that slide back.”

“I've been meaning to fix that.”

Yoshiko was folded in half sitting in the front passenger's seat of Takuro's cramped Daihatsu. She had initiated a conversation about automobiles to get her mind off of her heartache. Takuro suggested that she was driven away by their parents, but Yoshiko feared that she was dumped for other reasons. Half of her was eager to be reunited with her love, but the other half was frightened of what she might find.

...

With the night-time painkillers making her feel woozy, detached, and unbalanced, Eri gave up on staying awake to wait for the morning bus. The commotion of morning travelers and station attendants would probably wake her up in time anyway. She didn't need a full night of sleep, usually these drowsy spells cleared up with a quick nap.

Eri struggled to find a comfortable position on the outdoor bench. As soon as she found an arrangement that seemed to work, the rods and seams of her back brace would start poking into her flesh, inflicting just enough discomfort to keep her awake. Having left her orthopedic sleeping pad on Yoshiko's old bed, she opened up her suitcase and improvised a back pad out of wadded up clothes.

As soon as the bus comes by to take her back to school, she would be all alone in the world again. She wouldn't leave empty-handed, though. She had memories of Yoshiko to cherish for a lifetime. Trying to find the serenity needed to fall asleep, Eri searched around inside her head for her most precious memories with her and found that they all were her favorites. Even the time she freaked out when Yoshiko almost discovered her back brace on their first date.

The early morning air was cold, but Eri's drugged inner world kept her bathed in warmth. Her mind's ear could hear the muffled crunch of Yoshiko's cane striking the ground and the creaking of her leg braces. She remembered how the heat from Yoshiko's hands on her cheeks would permeate throughout her body like adding drops of color in a glass of water. And those lips...

This wasn't a dream. This was better than a dream. The memories of all that sensory information was making her feel... squishy. Yoshiko wouldn't mind if Eri's imagination moved on to more bold ideas, right? With her better judgment fast asleep in a drunken stupor, Eri let her instincts draw her hand lower and she started pretending it was Yoshiko's.

It was an unusual way to cope, for sure, but her decision ensured that she would never have the chance to do this with her girlfriend. With Yoshiko present in spirit, ethereal lips locked to hers, Eri gave their love one last, triumphant goodbye all by herself. Her free arm flailed around until it landed where Yoshiko's back would be if they really were kissing in that position. In the quakes of ecstasy, she clutched a handful of memories and held them tight before letting them go.

But the lips didn't move. The tangible pressure and heat on Eri's lips snapped her back into sober lucidity.

Eri opened her eyes and saw not the corrugated metal canopy of the bus stop, but Yoshiko's closed eyes. Just how long she was there, she could not tell. The hot breath brushing across Eri's face from her nostrils were very much real all along. And it was getting faster. Yoshiko's breath sped up and got increasingly irregular and shallow before suddenly pausing and slowly returning to normal.

After finishing, Yoshiko opened her eyes and slowly pulled away.

“Nikki? What...”

Yoshiko didn't answer. She gingerly pulled Eri's occupied hand out of its hiding place and stuck the middle and index fingers into her mouth and gently sucked on them.

“I-I can explain. I just was dreaming about...”

Eri was silenced by Yoshiko's own fingers in her mouth. To her, the distinct flavor tasted vaguely sweet. No explanations or apologies were needed for her awkward situation. Yoshiko was there ensure a proper send-off too. Their business finished, Eri mumbled, trying to get Yoshiko to return home and let her be.

“Please, Nikki. It's for the best. I don't want to keep-”

“Come back home with me.”

In an instant between words, on some cosmic subconscious level, Eri transmitted all her protests to Yoshiko, who flat out refused.

“Okay.”

“Good, now let's go. Kneeling on the concrete like this is really bad for me.”

With nowhere acceptable to go but back to the Tachibana household, Eri put away her makeshift beddings and followed Yoshiko back out to the parking lot where her brother was waiting.

“But what about your parents? I don't want the rift between you guys to get bigger.”

“They're my family. They'll get over it. We've had issues long before you and I happened.”

“I really don't think that they'll approve that easily.”

“Yeah, probably not. But they will eventually. Families are funny like that.”

“You shouldn't take them for granted like that. If I had a family I would do everything I can to...”

“You do have one.” Yoshiko stopped in her tracks and gave Eri a tight hug that lifted her off the ground.

“Besides,” Yoshiko said after returning Eri to the ground. “My brother likes you. And that's a start.”

“That's good. He appears to be very kind.”

“He is, but he does have a bit of a temper. That's kinda why he wasn't around much when I was a kid. I'm sure if I told him about Shinnosuke, that creep would be scattered across the countryside somewhere.”

Yoshiko wasn't kidding. Takuro was gentle and polite but fiercely protective of his friends and loved ones. He spent his teenage years running around with the “wrong crowd,” and spent his formative years bouncing around between reform schools and juvenile detention facilities. He would more than willingly throw away decades of freedom to protect his kid sister's honor.

“Oh wow.” Eri giggled. “But what do we do about your parents?”

“We just go on. Just like how we've managed so far.”

“Oh, and Eri?” Yoshiko asked after the sappy mood diminished somewhat. She didn't want to spoil things with her question.

“Out in the open? At a bus station?”

“I-I was getting woozy from my drugs and I had to clear my head.” Eri blushed. “And... you were doing it too.”

...

Yoshiko pensively hobbled her way towards the kitchen for breakfast. Another day meant another sixteen hour marathon shouting match with her parents. Armed with prepared arguments and comebacks, she rigidly stepped into the dining room and saw Eri at the table with her parents, no doubt cornered and outnumbered in battle.

“...seeing you guys all together makes me feel glad that Yoshiko has a loving family to come home to.”

On second though, Eri seemed to be holding her own fairly well. That attempt at sucking up passed through her lips smoothly.

“You're too generous,” Mr. Tachibana said in response. “We're sorry that you had to see that side of us.”

“Please,” Yoshiko's mother apologized, “don't think of us as a pair of backwards bigots who only care about our reputation.”

...And it was working.

“Oh no, it's okay. I understand. I'd be just as protective if I was in your position.”

Yoshiko coughed to make her presence known.

“Good morning, Yoshiko. Have a seat. Your father and I were having a discussion with your girlfriend.”

“Wait a second...” Yoshiko pulled out a chair and planted herself in it. “You just called Eri my girlfriend. So you're okay with it?”

“Honestly,” Her mother replied. “...We're not sure. But we'll try, if you'll let us.”

“Why the sudden change of heart?”

“You see, Nikki,” Mr. Tachibana twiddled his thumbs and drooped his head. “When you got hurt, we thought we could take care of you, but... things just got so out of hand, so overwhelming, that we just couldn't handle it. Before we knew it, everything just spun out of control. Then the doctors told us that our baby was never going to get better. And then when, when...”

Yoshiko watched her father squirm and struggle with a topic he was very uncomfortable with discussing.

“It's okay, Dad. I want her to know about this.”

“When we heard that you wanted to kill yourself, we thought we lost you and just let the experts take over. But... seeing you there, begging us to take you home... That's when we found out that we failed by giving up on you far to early. When you came home, we swore that we would never let anything happen to you anymore. Then we saw you and Eri and we thought we were losing you again.”

“Please don't forgive us,” Yumi cried out through a wad of tissues. “Just know that we love you very much.”

“I... I love you too.” Touched by her parents' candidness, Yoshiko began crying as well.“But why did you start this discussion without me?”

“Your mother and I decided to wake up Eri earlier so we could get a chance to know her without getting worked up arguing with you and with each other.”

“She's a very nice girl, Yoshiko.” Her mother tried to smile as she wiped away some tears. “Take care of each other.”

“So we can stay together?” Yoshiko put on a relieved smile and grabbed onto Eri's hand on the table.

“Yes. Knowing you, you guys would probably keep dating in secret even if we told you not to.”

“And kiss?” She asked after briefly kissing Eri on the cheek.

“Er, Yes.” Junichi flinched. “Just... no hanky-panky in this house, please.”

“No problem, dad. But there's one thing still bothering me. Where's breakfast?”

“Oh! That!” Mrs. Tachibana clapped her hands together with delight. “How about we just pick up something to eat on the way to the beach?”

“We're going to the beach?!” Eri and Yoshiko's faces lit up like excited children. Yoshiko had not been to the ocean since her accident, and Eri couldn't remember the last time she went at all.

“What's this about the beach?” Takuro appeared in the room, having just returned from his morning jog.

“Not you.” His father replied, annoyed. “You're going into town to look for a job.”

“Aw, come on. All the places hiring would be closed today, ya know? Besides, I haven't gone to the beach with Nikki since I got out.”

“Fine, just cover up, will ya?” Mr. Tachibana pointed at Takuro's visible tattoos with his newspaper in disapproval. “Put on some long sleeves.”

“No way, Pops. I've earned these. Girls are into outlaws these days, anyway.”

...

Mr. and Mrs. Tachibana sat in the shade of their beach umbrella while Takuro went off searching for female companionship, ready to scare off his competition. Eri and Yoshiko ran off to splash around in the water. Eri's backbrace was visible but still relatively hidden under her one-piece bathing suit, while Yoshiko's spandex and plastic leg braces were sure to make for some interesting tan-lines. Cleaning the sand and salt out of the girls' hardware when they return home was bound to be a hassle.

“Junichi,” Yumi asked. “Are you sure we're doing the right thing in letting them stay together?”

“Look at them,” he replied, watching the girls frolic in the water, laughing. “When was the last time you saw Yoshiko that happy?”

“I suppose you're right. It's almost as if nothing happened to her. She's come back to us.”

[Just two more chapters left of the main story. Hang in there! WAHAHAHAHA~!]

The story keeps getting better.

Aaaaannnd you just HAD to put a lime scene in there somewhere, didn't ya?

That's because I'm no good with actual lemons.

Here we are, folks. The last chapters of Broken Dolls' main story. Bet ya didn't know one of the traps from Princess Princess got a school named after him.

Anyone interested in me posting up a couple one-shots featuring Nikki&Co after? They feature diminishing amounts of KS. Perhaps this story represents my inner writefag's desire to move on from fanfiction onto original characters, then to original characters and my own setting. Might do another, shorter multipart with these characters later.

See? No Emi abuse today!

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Completion
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Yamaku High School Class of 2008 Graduation Dance.

Admit one couple per ticket.

Name: Eri Koyama, Of Class: 3-1

Guest: Yoshiko Tachibana, Class 1-3

Family: [_]
Yamaku Student(Specify homeroom above): [X]
Other outsider: [_]

-

“I'm gonna really miss you, Nikki!” Emi wrapped her arms around a very uncomfortable Yoshiko's and squeezed hard. She seemed to be wearing her short legs that day, or perhaps Yoshiko had gotten even taller since last time they talked.

“Um, same here.” Yoshiko responded after choking down a mouthful of the sandwich she was was trying to eat before Emi hug-attacked her. “Take care.”

“Keep up the good work!” Emi waved goodbye to Luke, Eri, and Yoshiko as she bounced off to go bid farewell to her other victims/classmates. “You should try out for the track team next year!”

“Uh, sure.” Yoshiko's halfhearted waving was winding down as if she was a toy draining the last bit of juice out of some dead batteries.

“See,” Luke said, “she's not so bad, right?”

“I guess,” Yoshiko shrugged. “Maybe the reason why I don't want to bite her head off is because I know that after today I'll probably never see her again.”

“You're starting to like her, admit it.” Eri poked at Yoshiko, teasing her.

“Ew, not even.” Yoshiko strained, trying to think of ways to disclose the secret truth that she was beginning to think of Emi as a friend. “I just... um. I just loathe her a lot less now.”

“Excuse me,” a cultured voice from behind called out. “I'm looking for Shinnosuke Yamada. Would any of you know where I might find him?”

Eri and Luke turned to greet the classy young lady with wavy, bottle-blonde hair, while Yoshiko ducked her head into her lunch box and opened up a bottle of Tabasco sauce. The stranger appeared to be about twenty years old and was missing her right arm along with the little finger on her remaining hand. Her clothes, although casual were crisp and deliberately styled, dripping with expensiveness. Her picturesque features and flawless makeup would easily land her on the cover of a magazine if it weren't for her obvious handicap.

“Were you a student here?” Eri asked.

“I can see how you might have come under that impression,” she replied, taking out a hairclip and securing her folded right sleeve up to keep it from flapping in the wind. “Unfortunately, I was never given the opportunity to attend this fine school.”

“Y-You know Sh-Shin?” Yoshiko turned around and faced the woman, feigning distress and smacking her lips to draw attention to the oozing sores around her mouth. “I used to be his girl and l-look what he did to me!”

“So you ARE familiar with him, huh?” The lady laughed, wiping off one of Yoshiko's hot-sauce ulcers with her finger. “On his behalf, I apologize for that little-dick bastard's conduct.”

Yoshiko, Eri, and Luke stared blankly at the woman, amazed at how ladylike she uttered the words “little-dick bastard.”

“Yeah, he's made quite an impression on the school.” Luke said, pointing towards the school buildings. “If you're really looking for him, he's supposed to be either preparing for the graduation ceremony with his class in the main Gym or in his homeroom. But as you've probably noticed, most kids have ditched today and are just hanging out around campus.”

“Wherever he is,” Yoshiko added, “he's probably with a girl. Either hitting on her or getting hit by her. What do you want with him anyway?”

The young ojou smiled. “I'm here to take him home with me.”

“I've gotta warn you, Ma'am.” Luke worriedly approached. “He's an abuser who only dates girls for their disabilities.”

“Thank you for your concern, young man, but you're wrong.” The stranger stroked her empty right shoulder. “He wasn't whoring himself out looking for just disabled girls. It was me he was trying to find here all along. I'm the one who made Shin the way he is.”

After the strange woman left, the trio continued their lunch.

“Oh yeah!” Eri excitedly announced. “I got in! After I heard that Yamada was banned from applying to NUHL, I took the entrance exam and I was accepted!”

“Really?” Yoshiko asked, shocked. For the last few months, she had deliberately ignored Eri's talk of her post-graduation plans. Eri going to college meant that she would be leaving. Yoshiko wanted their carefree days at Yamaku to last forever.

“What made you decide to apply there?”

“It was your father's idea. He said that I needed to take responsibility for what I've done to you and get a good job so I could support you.”

Yoshiko laughed and sprawled out in the grass the grass beneath the tree. Normally those were words of gloom and damnation, but in this case, it meant that her parents finally accepted her relationship with Eri.

“That place churns out future doctors and professors. Which do you plan on being?”

“I want to be an orthopedic surgeon, Nikki. So I could help kids like us someday.”

Yoshiko closed her eyes and reflected on her eventful year. Most of her friends were third-year students who were about to graduate. Hanako the library girl was going to leave, Eri was going to be buried in school for at least six years, and Luke was going to head back to America the next day. She turned to her brother from another continent and handed him something she was keeping in her pocket.

“What's this?” He asked, looking at the flash memory drive that was labeled “GIRLS OF YAMAKU.”

“I saw you scrambling to find some sort of souvenir to take home. I figured that a copy of Shin's amateur porn collection would make a better memento than stealing a doorknob or something.”

“Is this going to freak me out?”

“Hopefully not. I transliterated the names into Latin letters as best as I could and sorted out the pictures that show Shin's noodle. They're in a clearly marked folder if you really want to see them.”

“Thanks, Nikki. I'll wait till I get back home before looking this over. It'd be really awkward to see these girls naked THEN see them again at the graduation ceremony. Anyways, I'm going to go and see if Hanako is done visiting her teachers. I promise that I'll stop by and visit you guys before the end of the day.”

“You better. Or else I'll have to swim all the way over to your house and kick your ass.”

“I'd like to see you try.”

...

“It's Emina Kinosaki, sir.” The shy girl in the wheelchair replied. “I plan on going to this school next year.”

“Well, Emina,” Shinnosuke gleefully said as he latched onto the handlebars of the girl's wheelchair. “There's plenty of time left until I need to meet up with my class. Would you like me to to show you around the school for a little while?”

“I'd love to, Mr. Yamada. Thanks.”

“Please, call me Shin...”

“THERE YOU ARE!”

Shinnosuke stopped dead in his tracks upon hearing a familiar shriek. Looking down, he saw a three-fingered hand reach around from behind and mash a Taser against his groin.

“GAHRUUURK!”

“I'm sorry you had to see this, young lady.” Shinnosuke's attacker addressed Emina. “For the sake of your own safety, I suggest you avoid men of his sort.”

“S-Sayuka?!” Shinnosuke cried out in agony from the ground while Emina wheeled herself away. “Wh-what are you doing here?”

“I'm here to take you back home, Shin. So you can make me your bride.”

“Y-You want me to marry you?! Why?!”

“Shinnosuke Yamada,” Sayuka pushed him flat on his back with her foot. “You disgust me. I find you to be the most contemptible man I've ever met and I dislike everything about you. Your lecherous ways and predatory habits bring shame to everyone you touch. But for some stupid reason I do not understand... I still love you.”

“You better do what she says, Shin.” Shinnosuke's father arrived at the scene after conducting his own search for his son.

“D-Dad?! Please! Protect me from this witch.”

“Boy, I am sick and tired of cleaning up after your fuck-ups. I had to pull a lot of strings just to keep this school from throwing you out.”

“But I learned my lesson!” Shinnosuke pointed out the pale patches on his skin where the tar-burns healed. “They covered me in tar and feathers and even shot me out of a catapult.”

“Quit your whining. I hear they just flung you out four meters into a pond. They should've tried a brick wall instead!”

“Please, Dad. Help me out. Just one more time.”

“If you don't go along with Miss Shimada's generous offer, consider yourself cut-off and disowned. Unless you want to live on the streets, I suggest you go make a man out of yourself.”

“But if I marry Sayuka, what'll I do then?”

“I've collected on some favors and if you're willing to straighten out your act, you can attend the Toru Kouno Memorial College.”

“But that's an all-men's school!” Shinnosuke protested as he got up to face his father, still cradling his electrocuted gonads.

“Yes, it is. And IF you graduate, I might be generous enough to give you a job as my personal administrative assistant. You'll make a decent salary doing backbreaking labor while closely supervised, with very little time to yourself.”

“That would be worse than prison!”

“If it's prison you want, then go right ahead and keep conducting yourself the way you always have. You won't see me or your mother around to cover your ass anymore!”

Mr. Yamada scratched his mustache and toned down his scolding.

“You may yet grow up and lead a good and decent life, but the best way for you to do that would be to marry Miss. Shimada.”

Shinnosuke's gaze darted between a life of servitude to Sayuka and his father, and a life as dirt grinding below their shoes.

“Fine. I'll do it.”

Sayuka grabbed his hand and placed a very expensive looking engagement ring in his open palm. Begrudgingly, he placed the ring onto her extended ring finger.

“That rock is coming out of your first paychecks while working for me.” Mr. Yamada said to his son, who was awestruck at the size of the boulder on Sayuka's finger.

“Sayuka dear, are you sure you can make an honest man out of my boy?”

“I will, sir. Even if it kills him.”

Beneath her combative exterior, Sayuka was overjoyed at being reunited with Shinnosuke. Some day, he would be a good man, an honest husband, and a suitable father. Maybe then, she could tell him the truth about why she left him to live with her distant relatives. On that day, she could take him to her aunt and uncle's house and introduce Shinnosuke to his son.

...

“Nikki,” Eri said while she propped up Yoshiko, taking her back to her room. “You really overdid it tonight.”

“I couldn't help it.” Yoshiko sighed and landed in Eri's chair. “This was the first time I've danced in years. I had to go all out.”

“Oh hey, thank your Takuro and your parents for me. I'm glad they came to watch me graduate. I was getting jealous of all the other students who got to see their families.”

“Yep, it's official.” Yoshiko acknowledged with a smile. “They love you.”

“I'm going to miss this when I start college.”

“I know. Please don't forget me when you're in your new school.”

“Never.” Eri said. “Whenever I am, I'll have you with me.”

Eri and Yoshiko kicked off their shoes and embraced. Yoshiko wondered why her girlfriend brought her back to the room after the graduation dance.

Well, she did hope for something naughty, but even if it was just to talk, it would have been good enough for her. Even though their physical relationship after the bus stop adventure didn't go any further than making out, neither felt that that anything was lacking.

“Nikki, before I go, there's something I want to show you.”

Eri removed her glasses, then turned to face away from Yoshiko and unzipped her dress. It fell to the floor, followed by her bra and panties. Wearing only her back brace and still facing away, she looked back at Yoshiko.

“Take it off of me, please.”

“Are you sure it's okay?”

Even though she had not yet seen Eri's private areas, it was the prospect of seeing her bare back that really got Yoshiko's heart racing. Even when Eri was intimate with her past boyfriends, she never removed her support. With the exception of a handful of nurses and doctors, nobody had seen Eri truly naked before.

“Please. I want you to be the first one to see me like this.”

Yoshiko yanked off several velcro straps and pulled apart the hard plastic shell and the corset-like garment that was within. The skin on Eri's back was moist, pale, and had the lines and patterns of her appliance imprinted on. Yoshiko traced Eri's backbone from her tailbone to the base of her neck with the tip of her finger, making her gasp deeply with all her lung capacity, something that the restrictive device kept her from doing before.

“It's straight.” Yoshiko noted with amazement.

“Thanks to you, it is. If you weren't around to help me with my rehabilitation, my back muscles would have atrophied and I would have stayed crooked forever.”

“No,” Yoshiko replied and unstrapped her leg braces. “You did the work yourself. I was just there to watch.”

“Well, it would have taken a much longer time without your support. My doctor says that I can leave my brace off for half the day now. Hopefully within the year, I won't need anything at all.”

The joints in Eri's lower back popped and crackled as she twisted around and arched her torso, enjoying her newfound freedom.

Yoshiko got up from the chair and steadied herself on her wobbly knees to undress. Eri had bared herself completely and it only seemed right that she do the same. When she was finished, Yoshiko placed her hands on Eri's shoulders and turned her around.

“Look at me and just me. Nothing is in your way. No straps, no rods, no buckles. Nothing.”

Eri and Yoshiko looked each other in the eyes, then snickered when they caught each other's gazes drifting lower. They pulled each other close, their bodies touching. After several minutes of kissing in each other's arms, Eri pulled away and slowly guided Yoshiko by the hand towards her bed. With the press of a few buttons, she turned on both her electric fan and stereo to drown out the noise of what she had planned.

“Come join me, Yoshiko.” Eri laid down on her bed and scooted towards the innermost edge against the wall, leaving room for another. “Make me yours.”

...

Back home, Luke fired up his computer and scoured through Yoshiko's parting gift to him. He got out his yearbook from Yamaku and compared school portraits with the scandalous photos Shinnosuke took. Even after surviving the initial shock of the first photos, his jaw dropped closer to the ground with every girl he recognized.

He paused and caught his breath after looking through nearly all of the collections. It was weird enough seeing pictures of his classmates and friends, but he wasn't sure if he could browse through that one final group of photos. There was no identically named folder among the files that featured Shinnosuke, so they must have been added after Yoshiko stole his collection.

TACHIBANANIKKI
Type: File Folder
Location: J:\girls\2007-2008\no_shin
Size: 29.4 MB (30,871,232 bytes)
Contains: 38 Files, 0 Folders

Luke checked to make sure the door to his bedroom was still locked. It was. He nervously clicked on the icon to open the folder. Surely its existence was some kind of practical joke.

“She wouldn't.”

The view of the thumbnails hit him like a sack of bricks.

“She did.”

With a hand over his face but looking through a gap between fingers, he double clicked the first file.

...

“Nikki! Can you answer the door, please? I'm in the kitchen and my hands are dirty!”

Yoshiko quit her spacing out and rolled out of bed to follow her mother's command. For the past few days, all she did was mope around dreading the start of the new school year. Most of her friends were gone. Eri was all the way over in God-knows-where, getting ready to start school. She stopped checking the emails she had been receiving from her departed friends because they kept sending her into spells of longing depression. She even ignored Eri's messages because they kept reminding her of the geographical distance between them. Wherever the National University of Health and Learning was, it might as well have been on the moon.

She trudged along on her own two legs towards the door, only wearing her light-duty leg braces. Now, Yoshiko only used her cane whenever her legs got too sore. She was probably mobile enough to go back to a normal school and just go to a private gym or clinic for her rehab, but her parents insisted that Yamaku was still a better school than the ones in town.

The next day, she was going to go back to Yamaku to move back into the dorms, starting a new life there from scratch. She was almost completely back to normal, but what was the use? Nobody would be around to show off to. Yoshiko laughed at herself for even entertaining the thought of taking a break from physical therapy. She never needed external motivation before, so why now? It was because she realized that she was part of the world she lived in, not apart from it.

Another trio of doorbells rang through the halls, followed by more nagging from the kitchen, asking Yoshiko to hurry up. Her parents were going to be renting out her old room to some college student. Maybe if Yoshiko acted surly enough, the intruder would leave so they wouldn't defile her room.

“I'm coming, jeez.” Yoshiko grumbled as she opened the front door.

“Hello. Is this the Tachibana residence?”

“Eh-Eri?! Is that you?” Yoshiko grabbed up the surprise visitor and landed kisses all over her face.

“Hello, Nikki.” Eri laughed. “Weren't you expecting me? I kept leaving you messages on your phone.”

“Sorry, Babe.” Yoshiko put her hands to her head and shook off the huge grin on her face. “I haven't gotten around to checking. I thought you were busy looking for a place to stay near your school?”

“You didn't know?” Eri snickered at Yoshiko and raised an eyebrow. “My school is only a few blocks away from your house. I'll be living here now.”

“So THAT'S what the big school here is?”

“Oh, good. Eri's here.” Mrs. Tachibana showed up at the foyer and called out to her freeloading son. “TAKURO! Get down here and help your new roommate with her luggage!”

“Oy, can't she carry her shit by herself... Eri!” Takuro ran down the stairs and grabbed Eri around the shoulders. “So you're the one who's gonna be living with us? Finally someone I can go drinking with. Let's go hit up some strip clubs tonight, yeah?”

“Um, Takuro, I don't think I'm old enough...”

“Nonsense, the places I go don't card you. I've always wanted a little brother.”

“Hey!” Yoshiko shouted. “Why is Eri a boy all of a sudden?”

“She's older than you so she has to be the man. It's a rule.”

“Takuro, don't drag your sister's partner down to your level. Unlike you, she's doing something with her life.”

“Mom,” Yoshiko griped, “please don't adopt Eri. It would make things very weird for me if she became my sister.”

The four shared a good laugh by the doorway. Yoshiko finally had something to look forward to that year and a good excuse to return home whenever she could, while Eri finally found a family and a home.

================================================================================================================================
Epilogue: Rebel Yell in New England
================================================================================================================================

English is a tricky language full of identically sounding words with different meanings. These are called homophones. It is very common for even native speakers to use there, their, and they're incorrectly in writing.

-

“When did she say she was going to get here?” Hanako asked.

“Last I heard, she said she was a couple hours away. She should get here any minute now.”

Hanako and Luke sipped their iced tea in the living room of his family's house, periodically checking the curb outside for a taxicab bearing their guest. Although Yoshiko had moved to the United States for work, neither had seen her in the four years since graduating from Yamaku and they had a lot of catching up to do.

Their quiet afternoon was suddenly shattered by the grumble of a truck's obnoxiously loud aftermarket exhaust shaking the house. A hulking jet-black monstrosity lumbered into their driveway. With its impractically high suspension lift and huge off-road tires, the strange vehicle even dwarfed Luke's Ford Raptor.

“Who is it?” Hanako asked, looking out the window.

“I dunno. Some idiot. One of the neighbors' spoiled kids probably went and bought himself a mall-crawler and now he wants to show off.”

“Hey buddy!” Luke grabbed a baseball bat and ran out the front door. ”You can't park your rig here... Nikki?!”

”HIIII!” Yoshiko jumped out of the cab and ran up to give Luke a hug. ”Miss me?”

”Yeah, wow...”Luke looked at his estranged not-sister and laid down his flattened palm on the top of her head to get an idea of her height. ”You're walking on your own and... Holy crap, you're huge! What are you, like six-one now?”

”Don't worry. I stopped growing two years ago. I was getting worried that there was something wrong with my pituitary gland but it turns out I'm okay.”

Luke tried in vain to keep from laughing at Yoshiko's accent while speaking English.

“I'm sorry, but I'm more comfortable talking to you in Japanese. Do you mind?”

“No. But it does sound like you're getting rusty. I thought Hanako was supposed to keep you from slipping.”

“She insists on speaking English around the house for practice. So, um, is this really your truck?”

“Yup!” Yoshiko proudly framed a view of her ride with her arms like a game show prize presenter. “It's a Power Wagon!”

“I can see that.” Luke walked around to the rear of Yoshiko's truck and pointed indignantly at the mud flaps that bore the Confederate battle flag. “What's up with these?”

“I can't help it. I'm a Rebel at heart.”

“But you're Japanese. The straw hat and Daisy-Dukes aren't fooling anyone.”

“Nuh-uh, eventually I'll officially be an American. And what's wrong with the way I'm dressed? It's really hot here and I've got these nice long legs...”

“And you live in Massachusetts. That's about as Yankee as it gets.”

“I think I've got it,” Luke put the pieces together in his head and figured out the motives behind Yoshiko's walking stereotype/tourist act. “You just want to piss off your neighbors, huh?”

“It's terrible, big-brother! They're all a bunch of snobs. All they do is guzzle exotic coffee and talk about how smart they are.”

“You poor thing,” He laughed while yanking the brim of her hat down past her eyes. “Why don't ya come inside and we'll talk some more. Want something to drink?”

“Soda is fine. Or do you guys call it pop?”

“'Round these parts,” Luke spoke in his most comically exaggerated backwoods accent, “if it's Coke, it's Coke. If it's Sprite, it's Sprite. And if it's Fanta, 'den you better git!”

Yoshiko plopped onto the couch inside and sipped her Fanta.

“How are the people in Massachusetts?” Hanako inquired.

“Oh boy... They like stroking their egos and pretending they care about social issues. This vegan family next door keep nagging me about my truck. Since then, I keep finding sales brochures for hybrid cars in my mailbox. Really, they're nice people, but I just wish they'd drop their act and chill out once in a while.”

“From what I've seen of the pictures you've sent us,” Luke wondered out loud, “it looks like a really rich neighborhood. How can you afford a big house like that?”

“I made a fortune in malpractice lawsuits. And I've got another book coming out, remember?”

While most of her peers went straight to college after high school, Yoshiko decided to dabble in everything from landscaping to modeling. After spending enough time not doing anything with her life, she suddenly wanted to do everything. Eventually, she found her niche as a writer, which brought her to the US, where she wrote short stories and features for magazines while gradually returning to school. Despite her excellent grasp of the English language, she still had problems with homophones and other grammar subtleties. Having a staff of dedicated proofreaders was expensive.

“Oh yeah! I got picked up by another magazine! Have you seen my new column?”

“Yes, we have.” Luke disapprovingly opened up a magazine and opened it up to Yoshiko's article. “That's you, right, Miss Nicole Fisher?”

“Heh, yeah. Sorry.” Yoshiko giggled and blushed. “I was going to ask if I could borrow your last name but I forgot...”

“Jeez, now people are going to think we're married.”

“No way. If anyone asks, I'll tell them you're my brother. Don't ya see the resemblance?”

“How's Eri?” Hanako tried restoring order after an extended fit of laughter.

“She's good. I just came back from visiting her last week. She'll still be in school for a few more years, then she'll try passing the board exam here or something. Right now she's still living with my folks.”

“And how's your brother?”

“Still complaining that my parents like Eri more than him. They nag stuff like 'Eri and Yoshiko are making something of themselves, why don't you?' But he did find a steady job at his friend's mechanic shop. And a girlfriend. Would ya believe he's dating a cop?”

“Yoshiko! Your finger!” Hanako pointed in shock at the sparkle on Yoshiko's left ring finger.

“Oh, that. Why do you think I live all the way up north? Some day, I'm going to be a doctor's wife.”

The bitter little girl from the rehab room had finally grown up. She might have fully regained the ability to walk, but no matter how hard she tried, she still wasn't normal like everyone else. And she couldn't be happier.

[Stay healthy, kids.]

Very nice wrap up KB. Tied up the ends and end the story with excellent writing.

Good show, Baconman. Damn good show. You did a fine job of developing your character, and she and her little world were a delight to read about. Loved the ending.

I don't think anyone here would object to seeing more of your stuff. Perhaps you could find some kind of online journal for the non-KS related stuff? (Or, y'know, it too.)