Chapter 5: Love Takes Time

Airi and Makoto were walking through Akihabara before stopping at a nearby retro games store.

“Ooh, they have some of the Xeno games here. Score!”

“I didn’t know you were an RPG fan Mako-chan.”

“Totally! This series rocks! I really like the robot girl with blue hair. She’s so badass.”

“Well, you of all people should know a badass when you see one, so I’ll take your word for it.”

“Did you know they’re making a new game in the series next year? It’s got some blonde guy with a cool red sword in it.”

Airi was only half paying attention. She felt a strange tension in her stomach. Something didn’t feel right.

“Hey, you good?”

“Oh, it’s nothing. Just distracted is all.”

“Maybe we should go somewhere else. You should sit down and clear your head.”

“Yeah.”

Airi and Makoto walked out of the building and headed in the direction of their favorite park. A burst of pain shot through Airi’s head in an instant, stopping her dead in her tracks. The loud sound of screeching tires and a following crashing sound rang through the air. Airi looked up to see Makoto, laying in a pool of blood. She ran over to her, her stomach churning at the sight.

“Makoto!” she shouted at the top of her lungs.

“Airi… Why? Why did you let me die?”

“Huh?!”

“Why Airi? This is all your fault… You could have stopped this. You let me die!”

Makoto’s eyes were sunken deep into her skull, her disconnected lower jaw flopping around as she talked in a harsh raspy voice.

“No… No, I- I didn’t know this would happen, I can fix this.”

Airi fumbled around with her bag before a panicked look washed over her. She dumped everything out onto the ground, frantically searching through her possessions.

“Where is it?! Where the hell is it?!”

“Ai…ri… Why…?”

“No… No… No!”

Airi shot up out of bed, panting heavily. Her chest beat louder than any drum. Sweat rolled down her forehead. She looked to the side and saw her alarm clock. The display read ‘3:47 a.m.’ It was still early in the morning. Airi laid back down while catching her breath. She had to get some sleep before school started.

Visions of Makoto’s corpse flashed hauntingly in her head. Those chilling words rang out in her ears.

Airi got up out of bed and walked to the bathroom. She splashed her face with cold water before giving her cheeks a smack back into reality. She got back in bed and laid in silence for a while.

“Why is this happening to me? What would have happened if I hadn’t had this stupid thing to save her? She was right, it was all my fault. I was the one who wanted to go to that store. If we hadn’t been there that day, Makoto wouldn’t have…”

Airi started tearing up before coming back to her senses and wiping her eyes.

“No, it’s not my fault. I couldn’t possibly have known that would have happened. Besides, I still have Makoto, so there’s nothing to worry about. I hope. It’s late, I need to sleep.”

Some hours later, after eating breakfast and getting ready for school, Airi headed for the station. On her way there, she ran into Makoto.

“Mako-chan!”

“Yo, what’s up? Didn’t think I’d see you ‘till lunch.”

“Me too. I’m happy to see you.”

Airi gave Makoto a huge hug. Makoto looked around nervously, hoping nobody would see the cool and strong Makoto being hugged. Luckily for her, nobody else from their school had gotten there yet.

“Hey, so, what’s the deal with the hugging today?”

“I just wanted to, ok? Is there something wrong with that?”

“N-no. Of course not.”

“Oh? Are you sure? You’re not afraid that anybody will see you, are you?”

“Of course not! I won’t let anybody judge me just because I’m hugging my best friend. And if someone does give me hell for it, I’ll just have to beat some sense into them!”

“Good, I’m happy to hear that. So then, you wouldn’t mind if maybe I hugged you at school too?” Airi said teasingly.

“No! I mean, isn’t showing affection against the rules at school? And besides, we wouldn’t want anybody getting the wrong idea, would we?”

Airi, like a snake in waiting, saw a chance to strike.

“Since when were you one to follow rules? Oh, also, what wrong idea?”

“Well, you know… We’re both girls and all, so…”

“So? What’s wrong with that?” Airi leaned her face closer to Makoto’s. “Who are they to judge us? If they want something to gawk at, let’s give ‘em something.”

Makoto stepped back nervously, almost tripping backwards.

“I- uh, n-no.. Um…”

“Hahaha, I’m just teasing you Mako-chan. I’m not actually serious. Or am I?”

“Cut it out Ai-Ai.” said a flustered and blushing Makoto. “L-look, the train is here. Come on.”

Makoto and Airi made their way on board the train, which departed for their school. While on the train, Makoto busied herself with a video game. Airi stood close by, watching over her shoulder.

“Woah, those people in black coats look cool. That giant key sword looks pretty funny though.”

“It’s actually a really powerful weapon. And that guy carrying it is connected to this other guy who has it, but they’re also kinda like the same person, and-”

“Woah, slow down Makoto. I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll get you to play it some day.”

“Right… It’s not as confusing as it sounds, right?”

“Uh… I don’t really know how to tell you this…”

“Great. Maybe I’ll give it a chance, but only if you play that MOBA with all of the different champions that I’ve been into recently.”

“I dunno man, I was told to stay away from that game. I heard it can get pretty heated at times.”

“Oh yeah? Who told you that?”

“Akira.”

“Akira plays it too? Oh, wait, you’ve heard from him?”

“No, I heard he was coming back to school today from his girlfriend.”

“Oh, so he’s finally back from his studying in America? Cool! Now the three of us can finally talk again.”

“I wouldn’t get your hopes up. Dude has been gone for months, and you know he hasn’t talked to us much since he got a girlfriend either. I think she’s jealous of us.”

“But we’ve known him for years.”

“Yeah, well, maybe he’s just moved on. Besides, I’m sure his girlfriend will be begging him for attention since he’s been gone for so long.”

“You know Mako-chan, I really cannot stand that girl.”

“Same here, but what are we supposed to do about it? At least we’ve got each other still, right?”

“You’re right. I didn’t expect to hear something like that coming from you though.”

“Well, I’m just feeling a lot of good emotions today, that’s all.”

“Well, if you’re happy, then I’m happy. Let’s do our best at school today!”

“You do know we have an English test today, right?”

“Wait, for real?! I didn’t study for it at all!”

“Aren’t you half American though? Shouldn’t this be like, second nature to you or something?”

“Well, no, not exactly. I only talk in English to my mom, but we don’t really talk that much anyway. I’m much more comfortable with Japanese. Besides, I’m not really big on the whole literature thing.”

“Well, you’re such a nerd that I bet you’ll still ace it.”

She did not, in fact, “ace it.”

During lunch, Airi and Makoto sat in the school courtyard.

“A D, seriously? I mean, first of all, how did I do so badly? Second off, how the heck does the teacher grade that quickly?”

“It was multiple choice, grading those are super easy. Anyway, don’t beat yourself up over it too much Ai-Ai.”

“My parents are gonna be so disappointed.”

“Ah, right. Rich kid. Totally forgot about that.”

“Won’t your parents be upset too? You got the same grade I did.”

“Nah, they don’t expect much from me. They just think I’m some delinquent kid who drinks after school with some shady gang or something. Hell, they don’t ever bother actually sitting down to talk much about me personally.”

“Hey you two. How’s life been going?”

A boy with dark hair and glasses approached the girls. Holding onto his arm was a girl with black Hime cut hair and a gold ribbon tied into a bow sitting on top of it.

“Hey Akira, how was your trip?” Airi asked.

“Sup. Been a while.” Makoto added.

“It was really fun. I got to see a lot of things while I was there. Did you know that there are games we have here that they’ve never even heard of? Don’t even get me started on how terrible their anime stores are either. All they have there are trading cards and a bunch of bootleg stuff. I saw them selling a horrible fake figure there for double the retail price of the real deal.”

“Man, Americans really have no standards, huh?”

“Hey, I’m right here.”

“No offense to you Ai-Ai. Besides, you’re only half American, it doesn’t count.”

“Great. Well, it was nice talking to you losers, well, actually it wasn’t, but we have better things to do.”

“Ah, Mari. I see you’re a ray of sunshine as always.”

“And I see you’re still putting on that tough girl act.”

“Oh really? You wanna meet me behind the school and see who’s really acting here?”

“Mako-chan, stop it. It’s not worth it.”

“Oh, so the spoiled rich kid is going to come to your rescue now. What a sweet little girl you are.”

“Shut the hell up you bitch! You can insult me all you want, but you leave her alone, got it?!” Makoto said, getting up close and personal with Mari.

“He-hey, I think we should get going now. I haven’t gotten my lunch yet.” Akira said, in an attempt to diffuse the situation.

“You’re right sweetie, we don’t have time for these losers. Hmph!”

“See you around guys.” Akira said nervously before walking away, Mari upturning her head as they left.

“I really hate her, you know that?”

“I think I got that from you threatening to beat her up. I seriously don’t get what Akira sees in her.”

“Clearly she’s manipulated him into the relationship somehow and he’s too dense to see it. I mean, seriously, what does he get out of it?”

“Probably bragging rights that he’s the only one in his friend group with a girlfriend.”

“Whatever. I’d never date a girl like that.”

“Oh? So what kind of girl would you date?”

Makoto blushed as she found herself trying frantically to remedy the situation.

“Uh, nothing! I mean, I’m not interested in girls.”

“Uh huh, sure.” Airi slid closer to Makoto. “So, what about a girl like me?”

“Well… you’re really nice, and we like the same things, not to mention you’re super cute. I mean, redhead and glasses? That’s a killer combo right there. Tons of guys would kill to have a girl like you.”

“Would you kill to have a girl like me?”

Makoto saw what Airi was doing and decided enough was enough. It was time to fight back. She got close and put her hand on Airi’s face. Airi jumped a little when she felt her caressing her cheek.

“I’ve already got a girl like you. Want me to show you just how much I care about you?”

“W-wait a second. Hold on! I was just joking around with you. Stop!”

Makoto stopped her face just centimeters away from Airi’s before throwing her head back in laughter.

“Oh man, I really got you good there didn’t I? Though, you didn’t pull back at all.”

“What?”

“I said you didn’t pull back. I got that close to kissing you and you didn’t even try to get away from it. It’s almost like you wanted me to do it.”

“No no no, I uh… I was just caught off guard is all. You know, paralyzed with fear.”

“You’re so cute when you get flustered, you know that?”

“A-anyway, I have to figure out a way to get my grade back up. My parents are gonna kill me if I don’t.”

“Just get the answers and go back in time to retake the test.”

“Wait, you said something smart.”

“Hey, what the hell?!”

“I’m kidding. Well, you did actually say something smart though. How am I gonna get the right answers though?”

“Didn’t the teacher write them down on the corrected papers?”

“No, not this time.”

“Maybe you can get someone who passed to give you their paper.”

“Ok, but who?”

Makoto scanned the surrounding people and spotted a boy with glasses. She didn’t know his name, but she did know that he was a shy and quiet kid who always got straight A’s.

“Yo, glasses. Come here.”

“What are you-”

“Shut up and let me do the talking. Just go along with this, trust me.”

“W-were you talking to me?”

“Yeah. You passed our English test today, right?”

“I did. Why?”

“Give us your paper.”

“What? Why would I do that? How do I know you aren’t going to do something weird with it?”

“Please, like we’d be the ones to do something weird. Come on, just give it to us, please?”

“What do I get out of it?”

“You little… Alright, how about you get a date with her?”

“Wait, I didn’t agree to-”

“Absolutely! Here you go!”

“Great, she’ll meet you at the front gate after school. Now leave.”

“Yes ma’am!”

“Ok, what the hell was that about Makoto?”

“Relax. You have all the right answers now, and there’s nothing to worry about. Remember, when you go back in time, he won’t remember that any of this ever happened.”

“You’re right. Oh, but you won’t remember anything either, right?”

“Eh, doesn’t matter. Today’s been pretty uneventful anyway. Go on, get that A.”

“Thank you.” Airi said, giving Makoto a hug before setting her Timeagotchi for just before the test started.

On her second try, she aced the test, all thanks to her cheating on it. After class ended, the teacher stopped Airi to talk.

“I’m very impressed with your grades Miss Himura. Have you been thinking about continuing your education after graduating?”

“Well, I haven’t really thought about it. I’m not exactly sure what I want to do in life.”

“Well I think you have a wonderful mind. I’m sure whatever you choose to do, you’ll be successful at it. If you ever need somebody to vouch for you, I’m happy to do so.”

“Thank you, I appreciate it.”

“Well, I’ll let you go now. Wouldn’t want to starve such a bright young thing like you. I remember being like you when I was your age.”

“See you tomorrow!”

Airi looked at the time. She was running a bit late for her meeting up with Makoto in the courtyard. As she approached the door leading to said courtyard, she heard a commotion coming from outside. A group had gathered around two students. Airi rushed over to see what was happening, only to witness Makoto’s fist going straight into Mari’s nose, knocking her to the floor.

“Makoto!” Airi shouted.

“Sorry, Ai-Ai. She was saying some really shitty things about you, and I just couldn’t let her get away with it. Talk shit, get hit.”

“You can’t just do that! Do you know how much trouble you’re gonna be in now?”

“Whatever. It felt real good finally getting to give her a good clean hit to the face.”

“I don’t care about that, what if you get kicked out of school? We’ll hardly get to see each other anymore. Or worse, what if they send you away for assault?”

“I’m tougher than I look. I can handle it.”

“I know you can, but can I?”

Makoto lowered her guard and looked Airi in the eyes. She saw the disappointment in them. She knew she had messed up. A moment later, the crowd dispersed as the principal and a security guard showed up, taking Makoto away to the principal’s office. Airi tagged along, but was forced to wait outside. After what felt like forever, Makoto finally left the room. Airi got up to talk to her.

“So, what’s going on?”

“I’m not getting expelled, but I am suspended for the rest of the week.”

“Oh, that’s terrible! I mean, I’m glad you didn’t get expelled, but I won’t see you much this week.”

“Eh, I don’t really care. Besides, it’s basically a week off of school for me. I’ll probably just stay home and play games or something.”

“Will we still be able to hang out after school?”

“Sure, it’s not like I’ve got anything else to do. Wait, couldn’t you just go back in time and stop this from happening?”

“No, I already did it today to cheat on our English test.”

“Oh well, it can’t be helped. Anyway, I gotta go before they force me to leave. I’ll be at the park waiting for you, the usual spot.”

“Alright. See ya.”

Makoto slung her bag over her shoulder and made her way for the front door.

“So she doesn’t remember anything. I mean, why would she? It’s not like she can go back with me.” Airi thought to herself.

The rest of the day remained uneventful. School went on as usual, Mari went to the school nurse to get her nose looked at, and everyone kept to themselves. After school, Airi made her way for the park. It was lonely walking there without Makoto by her side, but there wasn’t much she could do about it.

“I got that close to kissing you and you didn’t even try to get away from it. It’s almost like you wanted me to do it.”

Those words rung out in Airi’s head. Maybe Makoto was right. Maybe Airi did want her to kiss her.

“Well, we have known each other for such a long time. I feel like nobody knows me better than her. Is it ok for me to feel these things though? Would she accept my feelings if I told her how I felt?”

Airi thought these things to herself as she approached the park. She saw Makoto laying down on a bench close to the swing set they usually sat on.

“Hey Mako-chan.”

“Hey.”

“What’s wrong? You sound sad.”

“It’s just that damn Mari. I mean, she deserved it! She can’t just get away with talking bad about you like that.” Makoto shouted as she sat up.

Airi sat next to her and hugged her.

“It’s ok, I know you were just trying to defend me. Thanks.”

“I-it’s nothing really. Now uh, could you stop hugging me?”

“Why? You don’t like it?”

“No, it’s not that, I just… ah, whatever. It’s not so bad.”

And with that, Airi felt one step closer to Makoto. Maybe someday she could tell her how she felt, but for now, this is all she could manage.