[Dawn and Dusk] Day 662: Today, My Ex-Girlfriend Shall Defy Her Weakness

The next morning was as normal as normal could possibly be. After saving the world and the fragile fabric of time itself from falling apart, everyone was right back to their normal lives. The sun rose exactly as it was supposed to, and time flowed forward, without mercy, as it was ordained to. That's not to say everyone's little adventure had no effects on the world, though.

Isabella sat with Yoko in the kitchen, the both of them scrolling through Yoko's computer and browsing through trending news stories. Their curiosity of how the temporary lapse in time messed with other countries was too wild not to do so. Yoko twirled one of her twin tails with her index finger as she flicked her fingers on the computer's trackpad.

(Turns out the world didn't come out as unscathed as we thought...)

"Hmm...'Volcanic Eruption in Hawaii displaces hundreds'..." Yoko read aloud.

"Okay, well it's just Hawaii. Volcanic activity is high there, isn't it? I'm sure that wasn't us." Isabella reasoned.

Yoko continued on to the next headline. "'Eiffel Tower Collapses in Sudden, Freak Earthquake'."

Isabella's wall of denial began to crack. "Ah crap..."

"'Hilary Clinton Wins U.S. Presidency'."

"Are we sure the world hasn't already ended yet?!" Isabella recoiled.

"Who's Hilary Clinton?" Yoko asked.

Isabella rubbed her arms as she shuddered from the chill that shocked her spine. "A reptile wearing human skin."

"You Americans sure have it rough back home when it comes to politics." Yoko tittered.

Isabella sighed and rolled away from the counter. She headed towards the front door to get her shoes.

"Going somewhere?" Yoko asked.

"Yeah, Osamu told me Rei wants to meet me at the bowling alley." Isabella answered.

"You're going alone? Want me to come with you?"

Isabella suddenly flinched and grabbed her stomach. She sat hunched over in her wheelchair as her face scrunched up in a pained expression. Yoko sprung out of her chair and ran over to Isabella, kneeling down by her side.

"Hey, are you okay? Another tummy ache?"

Isabella nodded. "I'm fine, I'm fine. These cramps almost make me feel like I'm pregnant or something."

"Well...are you?"

"Don't flatter me." Isabella chuckled. "I can't feel anything below the waist, remember? Even if I wanted to have sex with Osamu, I couldn't. Obviously, we haven't been doing that. Especially not with you gatekeeping him."

"I'm sorry. I'll be more than happy to purchase a vibrator for you, if you really start feeling lonely.

Isabella's face instantly turned red. She dismissed Yoko's idea almost immediately. "I don't need a vibrator, dummy! I just said I can't even feel anything down there anymore!

"Oh, I see. Do you already have a vibrator? I used to have a pair of vibrating panties when I was younger." Yoko said.

"What? They make those? That's an actual thing?" Isabella questioned.

"Yeah, I couldn't believe it either. Walking into a sex shop is like taking a trip into an alternate dimension."

"I don't think I want to talk about this anymore. I'll end up getting curious and I'll go there with you." Isabella sighed.

"Very well then. Are you sure you don't want me to go with you though? That Rei girl is the one who bruised your face up." Yoko said, inhaling a huff in her chest before uttering Rei's name.

Isabella nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure. It's something I have to handle on my own. I'll be back shortly."

Yoko opened the door for Isabella and watched her as she went on her way...until she fell over on the street, forgetting that there was still rushing water flooding the roads of the neighborhood.

"Holy cow! I forgot all this water was here! Help me!"

"I'm coming!" Yoko shouted.

In the end, Yoko ended up pushing Isabella to the bowling alley. There were great, white clouds in the distance, and birds happily singing in the summer sky. Once they arrived, Yoko allowed Isabella to go in by herself.

"I'll be here waiting. If I hear any screams, I'll run inside immediately. Understand?" Yoko said.

"Yeah, got it. Thanks, Yoko."

Yoko sat on the bench as Izzy went inside. She rolled through the dilapidated entrance doors, her wheels crunching on shards of broken glass on the purple rug. She continued through the lobby, then through the lounge, and finally into the bowling hall. She spotted Rei by the bleachers in front of the stained glass, sitting there patiently in her plain, black shirt and jeans. The two finally faced each other, one on one, in the uncomfortable silence and multi-colored glow of the bowling alley.

"You really came. I wouldn't blame you if you had decided to stay home." Rei said.

"I'm not a coward. You wouldn't have tracked down Osamu after all these years for no reason. You had a purpose. If I'm right, it was so you could get back at me, wasn't it?" Isabella asked.

Rei clapped. "Bravo! You saw right through it! Originally, I was going to sleep with Osamu, but I couldn't risk doing that with that dangerous set of ex-girlfriends he has. You know how exes can be sometimes. If two people really loved each other, they don't ever stop, not even after a break-up. Feelings like love and jealousy still linger."

Isabella bowed her head and closed her eyes. "And you knew I still had feelings for him. I get that."

Rei looked back at the stained glass, the sun shining the patterns onto her face. "You were always the popular one in school, remember? The exotic foreigner with glowing, green eyes and silky, blonde hair. You always had people gather around you, ask you for your name, your number, your sign, and your interests. As I sat alone in the corner for four years, I wondered why it was you. Why was it always you? I didn't even want popularity. I thought that one friend would be fine. But I couldn't even manage that much. And then, Osamu came to our school. He was different. He had that 'outcast' aura around him as well. He had a few mates if I recall, but he wasn't very popular, even for a new student.

Isabella smiled as she recalled those days. "Yeah, I remember that."

"I really wanted to get close to him. I wanted to talk to someone who could probably understand me. Maybe he could figure out why nobody ever talked to me, or why everyone seemed to float around me like I didn't exist. Maybe he could tell me why my words never came out the way I wanted them to, or if my hairstyle was cute, or if I was just overdoing it. Maybe he could teach me not to be nervous in front of others, and how to smile more often. But of course, the me back then didn't know how to approach him. I didn't know what to say if he were to speak to me, or where to look if he ever looked at me. The whole thing drove me mad and made my chest feel tight."

"I see now. You fell in love with him." Isabella said.

"Of course, the popular girl came along and did everything I couldn't do, right down the very width of her smile and the smell of her hair. It was hurtful to overhear the chatter of our classmates. They all said you two were going out. 'Rumors', I thought. But you two were always together, always holding hands wherever you went. Even an outcast like me could see that Osamu was stolen before I even knew what to say to him."

"Osamu...he really is a beacon to lonely hearts." Isabella said. "He's just odd enough to not be very popular, but interacted with people enough to know how to be a sweetheart. That's what makes it so easy to connect to him."

"Look. I'm not going to beat you up again. Just tell me something. Why him? Did you feel the same things I felt?" Rei asked.

"Your perception of me from back then is flawed, Rei. I wasn't the perfect girl you thought I was. It's easy to attract people when you've got all the money in the world. Everyone notices when you wear nice clothes and smell like heaven, and when you walk back home into a large mansion. But, Rei..."

Isabella brought herself closer to Rei. "It was just me here in this country. Alone. My father and mother are in the United States, and I didn't know anyone here."

"If you didn't know anyone, why did you come here?"

Isabella pursed her lips and hung her head. Her chest rose higher as her breaths became deeper. "Want to know the truth, Rei? I wanted a fresh start. I didn't know what else to do with myself after my brother was deployed to fight in the war."

Rei had no idea that Isabella had a brother, or that he was deployed into the Middle East during the War on Terror. "Your brother...went to war?"

Isabella nodded. "He served in Iraq and Afghanistan multiple times. I called him Huxley but his actual name was Henry. Henry Bailey."

"Was?" Is he..."

"Yeah. He died last October. He died and I started hating myself for not going back home, just once, to go see him when he wasn't on duty. I still have all the money in the world. I could've taken a plane, or maybe even a boat to go see him. Maybe I could've flown him out here so he could see what Japan is like. I always told myself 'He's not invincible. His work could get him killed one day, and you'll regret not seeing him'. I told myself that over and over and let time pass me by. Now I'm an only child. There was always so much worry and doubt behind my smile. I tried to fool Osamu with it, but he saw right through it. He'd always tell me to let it out if something was bothering me, and eventually, I vented everything to him. That's when I started loving him. He was the first person here I was able to talk to. The first person I could cry around. That's why I loved him, Rei. We're no longer officially together, so feel free to take him if you want. If it makes you feel better, that is."

Rei scrambled for words, hesitating for a few minutes before speaking again. "I'm sorry. I didn't know."

Isabella took a deep breath as if a weight had been lifted off of her shoulders. She scratched the back of her head and smiled. "Geez, sorry I ranted and got all heavy on you there. I don't usually do that, but I wanted to give you and honest answer."

Rei smiled too. "No, I'm sorry. I horribly misjudged you. I'm glad I didn't really go through with it in that case."

"Well, you're not a loner anymore. You're one of Japan's greatest rockers. Millions of people love you and chant your name whenever you're up there with Aika and the rest of the band." Isabella said with a smile.

"Come on." Rei scoffed. "Outside the band, I don't really have any friends."

"Well then? Go out and make some!"

"I can't. Going out and making friends normally seems kind of impossible now..."

Isabella didn't say anything as she heard the word 'impossible'. A fire sparked inside of her belly. She wanted to remove that word from Rei's vocabulary. So, Isabella did something completely unexpected, completely unfathomable. She used her hands as leverage and slowly began to stand up from her wheelchair.

"I-Isabella! What are you—"

"Can it, Rei!" Isabella screamed.

She staggered and nearly sat back down a few times, but Isabella kept pushing herself to try and stand.

"Nothing is impossible! If you don't believe me, just watch! I'll prove it to you! We all have the time in our lives to do what we think is impossible!"

She was now completely off of the wheelchair. Through her groans of tiresome might, Isabella was able to pull it off. She stood up straight on her own two feet for the first time in a year and a half. Her breaths were deep, and her knees wobbled a bit, but she was still standing in the glory of the light from the stained glass. Rei was left speechless.

"Rei...nothing is impossible." Isabella muttered, drenched in sweat and gasping for air. "If I can stand up like this, you can pursue any goal your heart desires, whether it be Osamu or gaining friends. Don't you ever say something is impossible ever again!"

"That...that's amazing!" Rei sang, an awed smile on her face. "You're seriously standing up!"

Isabella chuckled, as she was quite proud of herself too. "You can't defeat a girl like me with a wheelchair. Not for long."

It's always better not to jinx your own misfortune. Isabella's sight grew blurry as she stood, and she soon collapsed on the floor unconscious. She could hear Rei call out to her as her voice sounded like it was growing more and more distant. Once she awoke, she found herself on Yoko's back, carrying her home. Yoko waded through the wet streets, sticking to the sidewalks to avoid getting her shoes and socks soaked.

"Oh man..." Isabella groaned.

"Oh, you're awake? I'm glad." Yoko said. "I almost thought I had to take you to the park and bury you. I was almost on my way to purchase a hacksaw."

Isabella smiled. "Thanks for carrying me, Yoko. Where's my wheelchair?"

"I heard you stood up. I figured you won't be needing it anymore." Yoko assured.

"Yoko, I'm pretty sure that was a fluke! I appreciate your faith in me, but I think I still needed it!"

Those empty streets, alleys, and avenues of the neighborhood were more peaceful than ever during the day. The setting sun's glare reflected off of the windows ahead and gave a gentle glimmer to the water using the road as a riverbed.

"I remember what you said to me the day Osamu came back. You told me you were going to walk again." Yoko said. "I didn't think you'd be able to stand up for a while, but I guess it's just like you to push yourself to prove a point."

"When I say I'm going to do something, I really mean it. You know that by now." Isabella replied, resting her chin on Yoko's shoulder.

"I'm proud of you, Izzy. Just rest on my back for now."

"All right. Thanks again, Yoko."

"No problem."

Isabella, exhausted from her great feat, slept like a baby as Yoko carried her home. Osamu opened the door for them, whispering as they put her in bed upstairs.

"I see. So she stood up." Osamu said, looking on at the sleeping Isabella.

"Yeah. She's completely exhausted. Let's let her rest, Osa." Yoko suggested.

Osamu and Yoko sat in the kitchen, the orange sunlight shining through the windows. Osamu seemed to be keeping up with his sixties hippie style of clothing, wearing a neon tie dye shirt and his peace sign necklace.

"I know you're not a doctor, Yoko, but I wonder...will she walk again soon?" Osamu asked.

"I think Isabella can put her mind to anything and achieve it." Yoko replied. "She wanted to save Tsukiakari back then, and she was prepared to die if necessary. When we lost the Shoku Twins, she's the one who stayed up working hard to find them."

Yoko's bright blue eyes met with Osamu's. "And I think that if that girl wants to defy her condition and walk, she can definitely do it. I'll help her every step along the way."

"And to think you two once hated each other. That all seems to far away now." Osamu teased.

"Well, that was years ago. I guess she grew on me overtime."

"Can't fully admit it in a more humble way?"

Yoko crossed her arms and looked away. "I'm not a very humble girl. You know that."

"Whatever you say, Yoko."

(Indeed, Izzy was the kind of girl who could defy her own situation if she needed to. She was strong, all the way down to her bones. I guess, that day, I grew nostalgic too. I thought back to the time when I met her in school, and realized how much she was keeping buried under her smile. Thankfully, Izzy isn't the kind of girl to break under any amount of pressure. Whatever she went through in America before coming here, it made her a woman as strong as steel.)