REMAID- Those Golden Days

September 20th, 2020

I remember crying. Holding me was a girl I didn’t know. She treated me softly, assuring me in a soft voice that I was okay. Where she was leading me I didn’t know. I only understood anything when I heard the jingle of a store door open.

“Aya, what’s wrong?” I heard a man’s voice.

“Miura was bullying her. I kicked his ass and brought her here. She’s too scared to go home right now. Do you mind if she stays here for a little bit?”

“Of course. Hey, hey, can you look at me?” Sniffling, I finally opened my eyes. Crouching to meet my height was a man with orange hair and brown eyes. His kind, older face reassured me. “Don’t worry, Miura never comes here. Too busy getting his butlers to cook for him. What a loser, you know?” He started to laugh, before the girl named Aya slapped him on the shoulder.

“Aw jeez, Aya, don’t be so cruel. I’m just playin a little. Alright, alright jeez, don’t punch me now.” He turned his attention back to me. “Now then hun, what’s your name?” Staring him in the eyes, I felt the lump in my throat start to calm.

“R-Rimi. Rimi Ichigaya.”

+++

September 25th, 2020

“Rimi! Is that my new pal Rimi?!” Miura wrapped his arms around me. “Hey there babe, how are we doin today?” I bit my tongue. A chill so violent it almost shook me echoed through my body.

“L-leave me alone, please.” I whispered.

“Aww, why would I wanna do that? Not like Aya is here to interrupt us this time. Come on, just be nice, would you? I only want a kiss.”

“S-stop it, please.” I whimpered.

“MIURAAAAA!” I looked up the street and saw a girl dressed in a ripped pink tee and blue jeans. Her hair blew in the wind. “UNHAND MY GIRL BEFORE I BEAT YOUR ASS!”

“S-shit!” Miura let me go, running off to who knows where. I felt a warm hand touch my shoulder. Looking up, the only face that greets me is Aya’s.

“You know, he’s not gonna stop till you stand up to him.” I pushed into her. She hugged me tight. “Oh my Rimi, no need to be scared.” Aya giggled, rubbing my head.

“Aya…”

“Let’s go to the store, kay?” She took my hand and led me away, toward the shop. When we arrived inside, her father, Keiichi Minagoro, was sitting at the front, holding his newspaper.

“Well, looks like our new friend is back. Take her upstairs, I brought you two back some ice cream from Kaniyawa Village.” Aya’s face lit up with joy.

“Thank you daddyyyyy!” She kissed her father’s hand before bounding for the stairs. I was quick to follow, but was called back. Turning around, Keiichi stared at me with a warm gaze.

“My daughter really likes you, ya know? She’s known you for a few days and already she won’t stop talkin about you. I would really like it if you two stayed close. My Aya…she’s a bit of a punk. Rub off on her a little, would you.”

“Y-yes sir.” I bowed some before walking upstairs.

Stay close. I want that more than anything.

+++

October 10th, 2020

“Rimi, this is it. This time, I’m gonna nail it.” Aya says before picking up her little toy microphone. “Hit it hun!” I tap the play button.

What follows is the worst possible rendition of Butterfly by Talking Tako I’ve ever heard. I still clap, my lips twisted into a big fat grin.

“Oh, thank you, my stunning audience.” Aya bows, before giggling. She pounces on me, and the warmth of her against me makes my heart burn. She sighs. “Oh Rimi, what am I gonna do?”

“Uhm…what do you mean?”

“Do about you! I can’t just take a trip and leave you here all by yourself.” Aya sighs, burying herself in my chest.

“D-don’t worry about me! I have to watch Yoru anyways. Besides, Mom may come back, and if we’re not there she’ll throw a fit.”

“Yoru..GASP! Rimi, I got it! Get a job here!”

“W-what?!”

“I’ll get dad to buy you and Yoru tickets, and you can work it off!”

“W-why do I have to work it off?”

“Because it’s such a joy to be with me. Consider it the happiness tax.”

“W-well, my mom could still come back.”

“No she won’t. She’s a jerk who leaves her cutie patootie daughter in the hands of villains like me!”

“You’re dumb.”

“And you’re a dummy. It’s a match made in heaven!” Aya grins before snuggling me again. “I don’t wanna be without you for that long anyways. Do this for me, okay?”

“Do you really need me that bad?”

“Absolutely.” Aya stares me in the eyes, her desperation clear. I can’t tell her no.

“Okay.”

+++

October 20th, 2020

Standing at the train station, I hold my little sister’s hand. She looks around with wild curiosity. I feel my stomach churning. What is this feeling? Not anxiety. Is it…excitement? Am I excited? I really…really can’t wait. I wish I could feel like this forever…I hold my luggage tighter when the Minagoro’s arrive. They wave so lovingly it makes my heart beyond happy. Yoru, just happy to be there, waves back.

When we get on the train, Keiichi and Haru, Aya’s mother, sit Yoru between them, keeping her happy and content. Meanwhile, I’m tasked with keeping Aya content. She shamelessly lays her head on me while watching the passing scenery. A trip to Tokyo…the thought gives me goosebumps. I haven’t been back there in so long. To get to explore it all with Aya made me so happy. I reached out, and held her hand. She held it back.

The train went on and on.

When night came, we were still riding. Keiichi, Haru, and Yoru were asleep. The only ones awake, in the whole car as far as I knew, was me and Aya. Aya was laying her head on my shoulder still.

“Hey, Rimi?”

“Yeah Aya?”

“I’m really glad you came.”

“Thank you for having me. I’m…thankful to get to spend my time with you.

“I wonder if you mean that like I would mean that.” Aya whispers, her hand holding mine tighter.

“How would you mean it?” I felt my heart starting to race.

“I would mean it like…like I can’t imagine spending a day without you.”

“Ah…that’s…that’s how I mean it too.”

I feel her hand move to my cheek, adjusting my face. Staring into her eyes, I can feel all the emotions pouring from her.

We kiss. That was the night Rimi Ichigaya and Aya Minagoro became girlfriends.

+++

October 21st, 2020

“Rimi, Rimi!” Aya dragged me down through the busy sidewalks. I had lost track of where we were, but god knows if I cared.

Aya had been insistent on visiting Shibuya. Taking the subway had been nerve wracking, but it was easier when holding her hand. She dragged me through the bookstores to buy the dirtiest manga she could hide from her parents in her luggage, into game stores to find the next visual novel or RPG to sink all her time into. We visited food carts and enjoyed crepes and all the while, the only thing that mattered to me was her face, her voice, the sounds she made when she was excited or sad. Everything about her was gracefully making my heart race.

When the day ended and we found ourselves in our hotel room, we laid next to each other. Aya was pumped up, kicking her legs and talking all about what we’d do tomorrow. I just listened. Eventually, though, she stopped, and rolled onto me.

“Does that all sound fun?”

“A-anything is fun…with you.” My face burned red. She smiled at that, pushing my hair out of my face.

“Good. I feel the same.” She says before kissing my forehead. “I want it to be this fun forever. You’re such a warm girl.”

“W-what does that even mean, dumbo!?” I ask, flustered.

“It means I love you.” She says, rubbing my cheek.

“I-...” I stare deep into her. “I love you too.” She hugs me tight. “Good.”

The night passed, and we never let each other go.

+++

October 24th, 2020

We exited the train, stepping onto the platform. My hand was clasped tight with Aya’s, and the thought of being this way in Malikawa makes me feel bizarre. She seems to feel the same way, even if she doesn’t say it. With a gentle readjustment, we walk our way into the village, where bizarre looks are given by the passerby. Suddenly, their stares feel far more cutting than ever before. With all I have, I force myself to think only of the girl next to me.

When we arrive at the store, Aya drags me up to her room while her parents feed Yoru. At first I’m confused, but when she locks the door I begin to panic. She walks over to me and holds my shoulders.

“Rimi.”

“A-A-AAA-A-A-A-A-A-”

“Rimi, I need you to be serious.”

“Y-y-y-y-yyyy–you l-l-l-lock-”

“Rimi, I want to know if you can take being girlfriends.”

“...what does that mean?”

“I mean…I know you aren’t as mentally strong as me. I don’t want this to torture you.”

“I-I can take it!”

“Rimi-”

“I love you! I don’t-don’t care about Miura, or-or anyone else! P-please be my girlfriend!”

Aya kissed me. Her lips are tender and warm.

With my eyes closing, I accept her gently. I promise to myself I won’t mess this up.

+++

November 3rd, 2020

Miura stood frozen, His face was pale white. I couldn’t move either. The only one moving was Aya, her body falling into the river. Her head slammed against the rocks, and blood began to rise to the surface. Miura ran. He didn’t scream, didn’t call for help, didn’t do anything but run.

Left alone, I screamed. I screamed for help.

A part of me wanted to dive in and grab her before she fell to the bottom, but I couldn’t do it.

I couldn’t swim.

So, my girlfriend descended to the bottom of the river. She was pulled out dead.

+++

There is no more time.

Everything is the same.

No change of the dates is going to fix my ravaged heart.

Everyone had decided to believe in Miura, out of fear.

Keiichi, who was out on business at the time, was only told the story that Miura had spun, and out of fear of the village leader, his wife refused to let him believe anything else. He didn’t wanna believe I killed his daughter, but the village, his wife, they left him with no other conclusion.

And so, I no longer existed to anyone.

The only friend I had was the girl who had just as big of problems as me. She treated me nice, and I appreciated it so much, but it wasn’t enough.

I began to wonder why I kept going.

Yoru would be fine if I was gone. She’d be better even, taken into an orphanage that can care for her better than I can.

What will mom care? It’s not like she’s ever here anyways, lost in business trips that conveniently consist of bars and escorts. I’m tired. I’m so tired.

I feel Aya’s voice echoing from the river. When I visit in the morning, I care little for the turtles. I just want to know if I should jump in, if she’ll open her arms to me if I do.

And then one day, someone finally calls my name.

“Rimi, go handle the new kid.”

It was supposed to be a slap in the face. Giving the job no one wanted to the kid who they didn’t want around. I took it that way at first. Just confirmation I may as well not exist.

And then I met the new boy. Nothing special, really. He seemed about as perverted as they come, and like he would abandon me once he heard what had happened.

But, the days passed, and he turned out to be just as uncared for by the students around him as me. The perfect target for Miura. The average man who’s hated by Mina. The nobody who hung out with the only girl who showed him kindness.

I began to see him as a friend.

His name was Yuta.

And on the day when Miura had taken things too far, to put me in my place, to remind me I deserved everything I was going through, he showed up. He helped me hobble home. When my legs stopped working, he carried me. When I needed someone, he wrapped his arms around me and promised me that I was real.

I began to see him with affection

His name was Yuta Mamoya.

When he learned everything, when I told him about the girl I had lost, he held me tight and told me he loved me.

I began to love him too.

His name is Yuta Mamoya.

He can see me…

And if he can see me…

And it feels so good when he does…

Then why should I stay invisible?

Why not make everyone see me?

+++

September 16th, 2023

I run. I run from the door, from Yuta and the man of my memories. Feelings of pity and loss fill up my soul. I can hear running behind me. I don’t care.

I run to the river, and jump inside.

“RIMI!” Someone screams. They’re lost in the muffled sounds of down below. My eyes can’t focus, lost in the pitch black. I reach out my hand, and I feel as though hers reaches back. Our fingers interlock.

Her last gift to me. A cure to invisibility.

It’s death…It’s always been death.

Death for awful girls like me…

I feel someone’s arms around me.

It’s…bizarre…

We move up for a bit, but only for a bit.

Eventually, the movement stops.

All is black.

All is consumed by the coming of death.

As I see Aya’s face in my mind, I smile.

“..real..”

I smile.

“...you’re real…”

My smile starts to fade.

“...you’re real…I love you…”

As my consciousness fades, I begin to think about who must be in the water with me.