Chapter 7: Time for the Climax

Friday was an uneventful day for both Makoto and Airi.

Airi spent the day at school taking tests and listening to lectures. Makoto slept until the afternoon, after which she spent the next few hours playing video games.

Airi came over to visit Makoto and the two had a great time. They played games together, talked about anime, and made plans to hang out the next day.

“So, same place as usual, right? The arcade by the station?”

“That’s the one. See you then.”

“Alright, get home safely Ai-Ai.”

“I will.”

Makoto stared at Airi as she faded into the distance. She walked back inside and was about to head upstairs when her mom started talking to her.

“Oh, she left already? I was going to ask her to stay for dinner.”

“It’s fine, mom. She has a curfew.”

“I see. Well, I’m going to get back to cooking now.”

“What about dad? Aren’t we going to wait for him?”

“He said he had to stay late at work tonight. He might not even come home until tomorrow.”

“Again? This is the third time this week. I wish he could just get some other job so he’d have more time to spend with us.”

“Me too sweetie, but this is just how it has to be. You know as much as I do that he hates that job, but he does it so he can pay off his debts and keep us safe.”

“I guess. Really wish he hadn’t dragged us into his mess.”

“I will admit, I don’t think I would have married him had I known we’d be dealing with people like that for the rest of our life. Don’t tell him I said that.”

“It’s fine, I won’t. He’s probably already guessed it by now though.”

“I wonder if he’s really staying at work to get in extra hours, or if there’s some other reason he’s avoiding coming home. I know I shouldn’t think these things, but I just do, you know?”

“Look mom, I don’t think dad would ever do anything like that. Although if he ever does, you let me know so I can kick his ass for you.”

“You really are his kid. He used to talk like that when we were younger and he was still dealing with those thugs regularly. It was the tough-guy act mixed with his funny appearance and true personality that made me fall in love with him. He always made a fool of himself, but there was a certain charm to it.”

“So you fell in love with an idiot? You’ve got low standards. Anyway, what do you think made him fall in love with you?”

“Oh? My drop dead gorgeous looks of course!”

“Uh huh, sure. Seriously though, what does a girl do to make somebody attracted to them?”

“Got your mind on someone? Go on, we can share our secrets with each other.”

“Cut it out mom. I was just curious is all.”

“Well, if I’m being honest, I think it was a combination of reasons. For one thing, I was the only woman who ever even looked at him, and my looks also probably had something to do with it. But if you want my opinion, the best thing you can do to earn somebody's love is to just be yourself.”

“Oh great, what a generic answer. I’m sure that’ll totally work.”

“It’s true. You may think that men are only after the hottest women out there, and while sure, that’s the case for some, it’s not the case for all of them. What men really want is a woman who isn’t afraid to be herself, and who won’t make fun of or belittle them for doing the same.”

“That’s, actually kinda deep mom. I think you gave some good advice for once.”

“Hey, watch it you. You’re lucky I’ve cut you some slack for getting into that fight at school. I could still ground you, you know.”

“Alright, I’m kidding. Learn to take a joke.”

“Then learn to make a good one.”

“Harsh. I’m going to my room. Let me know when dinner’s ready.”

“Nope, you’re going to starve tonight.”

“Haha, very funny.”

Makoto went off to her room as her mom let out a laugh. She was clearly pleased with herself and her terrible jokes.

Makoto sat down on a worn out pillow she had sitting on the floor and started playing Xenosaga Episode III. As she played, she thought about Airi. Makoto was supposed to be the cool and serious one, but she couldn’t help but feel warm inside whenever she saw Airi smile. If Airi was happy, she was happy.

That night, Makoto laid in bed looking at her phone. She scrolled through pictures of her and Airi together, smiling as she remembered all of the fond memories. She went to sleep with a smile on her face, something she only let show when alone or around Airi.

Makoto’s mind went fuzzy as she drifted into slumber. Upon regaining awareness, she was inside a dream. She looked around and gathered that she was in her bedroom during the day, most likely around noon. Airi was there at the side of the bed looking at her wide-eyed.

“Good morning! Sleep well sweetie?”

“Yeah. How long have you been there?”

“About an hour. I didn’t want to wake you. You looked so cute while you were sleeping.”

“Only while I’m sleeping?”

“Well, you look cute all of the time, but you look extra cute while asleep.”

“I’m happy to hear it. So, why are you here Ai-Ai?”

“Oh, I just wanted to visit you one last time like this.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Don’t you remember? You aren’t supposed to be here. You’re supposed to be dead.”

“Airi, you’re scaring me.”

“You? Scared? I’m the one looking at a walking corpse right now. I should be petrified.”

“This isn’t right. I want out of here.”

“But you did get out. You died. You left me all alone. You don’t know how destroyed I was. I watched you get hit by that car. I was there on the ground watching your blood spilling out from around your lifeless body.”

“Stop it, stop it stop it!”

Airi’s face began to contort and deform. Her flesh began to rot away, her eyes sinking into a black void.

“You did this to me. I ended up like this because of you.”

“I didn’t do anything! Leave me alone!”

Makoto was panicking, backing herself against the wall.

“I loved you, and you just went and died on me. Did you even think about how that would affect me?”

“How was I supposed to know? I didn’t exactly plan on dying you know.”

The melted and deformed Airi’s face morphed into an equally distorted version of Makoto’s face. Her torso flattened itself, the sounds of bones cracking as it did.

“This is us. This is what we’re supposed to be. We should be dead right now.”

“No, I’m not supposed to be dead.”

“Oh really? But our precious little Airi said so. She saw us with her own eyes. We should not exist.”

“STOP IT!” she shouted at the top of her lungs, grasping her head while curled up in a corner.

Makoto flew awake, gasping for air and sweating. She looked around frantically to make sure she was alone. She glanced at her clock and saw that it was still really early in the morning. The sun hadn’t even risen yet.

“Damn it, that was so ‘effed up.” she thought to herself, wiping the sting of sweat from her eyes.

She laid back down and let her thoughts flow free. She really was supposed to be dead in another time, and that was just something she had to live with now. She wondered how differently things would have gone had she stayed dead.

The next day, Airi and Makoto met up at their favorite arcade. The two went against each other in many different fighting games and rhythm games. Airi managed to prevail in the fighting games, but Makoto easily beat her scores in the rhythm games, due to her superior athleticism.

“I’m so tired. I can’t keep up.”

“Come on Ai-Ai, you need to be more active. Hey, I know. How about instead of coming back here tomorrow or just sitting around at home all day, we go out somewhere and do something?”

“Can’t we just go hang out at the park?”

“Well sure, but why not go do something more fun?”

“Alright, any ideas?”

“Let’s go to the beach!”

“Sure, I haven’t been in a long time. Won’t it be a bit cold though?”

“Nope, it’ll be just the perfect temperature. Not too warm, not too cold, just right.”

“Well, you do go outside more than me, so I trust you on that. I’m getting kinda bored here. Wanna head to the park now, Mako-chan?”

“Sure, let’s go.”

As the pair walked, Makoto’s nightmare replayed in her head. It was true, she was supposed to be dead, and she could be dead at any moment. She decided that from now on, she was going to live every day like it was her last.

“Hey, Airi. Mind if I ask you something?”

“Huh? What’s this about all of the sudden?”

“Well, it’s kinda personal. Can I see the Timeagotchi?”

“Sure, but what for?” she asked while handing the device over to her.

“I’ll uh, I can’t tell you yet.”

“Alright then, keep your secrets.”

As the two arrived at the park, Airi sat down on a vacant swing. Makoto stood nervously next to her, fiddling with the Timeagotchi.

“What’s wrong? Sit down.”

“Well, there’s been something on my mind recently. It’s pretty embarrassing for me to say though.”

“That’s ok, you can tell me. We’re friends, right?”

“Yeah, friends…”

“Wait, what does that mean?”

“Ah, who cares. I’m gonna just go back and you’ll forget about all of this anyway. Look, I like you Airi. I mean, I really like you. I just can’t stop thinking about you, and you make me happy. You’re funny, and smart, and super cute, and I just can’t stand it.”

“Makoto…”

“It’s fine, it’s stupid, I know. It’s not like we’d ever work anyway.”

“No, wait.”

As Makoto was about to hit the button on the Timeagotchi, Airi reached out and grabbed it. A bright white flash engulfed the pair before setting them right back where they were.

“You’re a coward, you know that?”

“Huh? What are you talking about Airi?”

“You were really just gonna confess something like that and make me forget about it? What happened to you being tough and able to handle anything?”

“Oh crap, you know? Oh, right, you grabbed it as I hit the button. Well, this is embarrassing now.”

“Mako-chan…”

Airi stood up and hugged Makoto.

“It’s alright. I’m not going to reject you.”

“So, you feel the same way then?”

“I have for a while. I was just too afraid to tell you. I thought it would change things between us, like we’d split apart.”

“Nothing will ever split us apart Ai-Ai.”

“Yeah.”

The two embraced each other for a moment longer, sharing in this warm moment, together.