| Fan Fiction |
by Reisa
I thanked her and quickly walked up the stairs to the first door and knocked.
“Come in,” a voice said.
I smiled and opened the door. Boxes lay about, half-filled with books and clothes. Sunlight streamed into the room, making the white walls seemingly shimmer. Ryu looked up from where he was packing his shirts into a duffel bag.
“Kana,” he said, surprised. He stood up and brushed himself off before walking up to me. He kissed me before looking at the object in my hands curiously.
“Thought you might want to take this to college with you,” I said, handing him a small photo album. The rest of his classmates had helped me compile some pictures from throughout the year. Copies were being passed around to everyone in the class, but I wanted to hand deliver Ryu’s.
Ryu took my hand and we sat on the bed, looking over the pictures together and laughing about some of the sillier moments of 3-D. I couldn’t believe that their graduation had only been a week ago.
“You almost ready to go?” I asked, looking around at the clutter in his room.
“Almost,” he said. He would be leaving tonight for Tokyo, where he would be attending college. It was too far away, but he wouldn’t be home in a while.
“And you?” he asked. “You’re leaving soon, aren’t you?”
I nodded. I had decided to contact my grandparents again after all that had happened this year. It had been an extremely emotional phone call as I apologized for my past behavior and explained that I now understood what had happened to my parents. They, in turn, wanted me to come back to stay with them, and I had agreed. Going back to Shizuoka would make the distance between me and Ryu even farther, but he, as well as others, had encouraged me to take the step to mend the estranged relationship between what family I had left.
I stretched my arms and flopped back onto the bed. “It’ll be different without you,” I said, closing my eyes. I felt Ryu’s hand caress the side of my face before I felt his lips brush against mine.
I opened my eyes to see Ryu above me, his eyes level with mine. I laughed a little bit when I realized that he was doing his best not to crush me.
“Dork,” I murmured. “I’ll miss you.”
He leaned down to kiss me again when the door slammed open.
“Ryu, we’re going out to eat remember! We’re all ---”
Hayato stopped short when he spotted us on the bed. He gaped for a moment before yelping and running out again, slamming the door shut behind him. Ryu and I burst out laughing upon realizing what Hayato had mistakenly thought we had been doing.
Ryu stood up and pulled me to my feet. His arms tightened around me for a moment before he took my hand and led me downstairs where the others were waiting. We were greeted by teasing grins from Tsuchi, Take, and Hyuuga, while Hayato was furtively looking in all directions but ours. We quickly cleared up the situation, leaving an embarrassed Hayato who vigorously tried to justify his actions.
Later, we sat in a circle at Café du Rovne. It would be the last time we would be able to do something like this with all six of us. Tsuchi had snagged a job with a large filming corporation, while Ryu and Take were going off to college. Hyuuga and Hayato would be sticking around, but who knew what the future had in store for them.
“Until the next time we can meet like this,” Hayato said, holding up his glass of root beer. We all cheered as our glasses clinked.
* * * * * * * *
I stood in front of a large mirror, tugging at my dress. I was so unused to formal clothes like this…it was almost uncomfortable. That wasn’t to say that the dress was ugly. Noda had been ecstatic when I had asked him to design a dress for me. He had been extremely pleased with the outcome, and I had to agree that it was a great dress. It was sleek and simple, to suit me, as Noda had put it. I was just unused to this attire. My hair had been curled and was styled in some manner that I didn’t know the name of.
Natsumi grabbed my hands, forcing my attention off of my own reflection. “Kana, you look beautiful! Ryu is going to be shocked when he sees you!”
Noda grinned from the doorway. “See Kana, you look great in dresses. I should make you a few more.”
“Haha…no need,” I insisted. “I like it, but one’s enough. How’s the bridegroom?”
Shin appeared next to Noda, along with Kuma and Minami.
“He’s a nervous wreck,” Shin answered. “He’s so out of it.” We all laughed.
“Just wait until he sees the bride,” Kuma said.
“Kana!” a familiar voice called out.
We all turned, grinning expectantly. “Yankumi, you came!” I said.
“Of course I did! I have to take part in a former student’s marriage!” she said proudly. I smiled. She hadn’t changed one bit.
It was July, one year after Kurogin 3-D’s graduation. Yankumi had taken another job in Okinawa, so it had been quite a trek for her to come back up here. Well, not really, but it was a longer trip for her than for most of us.
Natsumi had now graduated high school and was attending college. Shin had also decided to go to college, and as far as I could tell, he was enjoying it. The fashion company that Noda worked for was hitting it off, so he was constantly busy. Kuma’s store was full of service as always. Minami’s company was also going well.
As for me, the time I was spending with my grandparents was rewarding. I learned a lot about my parents from them. Meanwhile, I was co-managing as small café in their hometown, which gave me a chance to meet a lot of new people. I never forgot my old friends, though.
“The ceremony is about to start,” someone announced. There was a flurry of motion as people rushed to their places.
“Come on, Kana,” Natsumi said, tugging me along.
The doors opened, and Shin took my arm in his. When we stepped side by side into the church, I saw the bridegroom waiting nervously. I gave him a wink when I walked past him to take my place at the side of the altar. Shin, Kuma, Noda, Kuro, and Minami took their places next to Uchi. They all looked grown up in their tuxedos.
I looked out into the congregation and found the person I was looking for. I smiled when Ryu turned to look at me. He was now in his second year of college, which made him busier than ever. We were hardly able to meet, but today was special. Uchi had been really nice and extended an invitation to Ryu so that he would be able to attend the ceremony as well.
The organ began to sound the procession music and everyone stood up to welcome the bride. Everyone was smiling but no smile was more radiant than the look shared between Uchi and Rie.
Yes, they were finally getting married. After that fateful meeting at the onsen two years prior, their relationship had blossomed more than I could have ever imagined. I was so happy for them. When Rie had asked me to be her maid of honor, I had been stunned, but readily accepted. It seemed appropriate to see them off as they started their official life together.
-----
“The wedding was beautiful,” I said to Rie and Uchi at the reception. They both smiled.
“It’s all thanks to you, for setting us up that one night,” Rie said to me.
“Trust me, Uchi would have done it himself. He was that much head over heels about you,” I laughed.
“Thank you for inviting me,” Ryu said to Uchi.
“No problem,” Uchi said. “Just don’t forget to invite us to yours.”
“Uchi!” Rie and I exclaimed as Ryu looked sheepish.
The reception was almost coming to an end when Rie announced that she would throw her bouquet. She asked all the unmarried women to form a group. Yankumi linked arms with me and dragged me to the crowd. I didn’t want to catch the bouquet but Yankumi insisted that she didn’t want to go by herself. I had a feeling that it had to do with the fact that she was older than most of the single ladies. I thought that the idea of bouquet-throwing was kind of lame. The next person to get married should be determined by themselves, not by catching a bunch of flowers.
I stood on the outskirts of the group and when the women shrieked, I knew that the bouquet had been thrown. Suddenly, Yankumi jumped, crashing into me. Luckily, there had been a chair behind me, so when I fell, I sat down hard in the chair. I looked over to see that Yankumi hadn’t been so lucky and had fallen on the ground. And her hands were empty.
So where was the bouquet?
When I looked down, I gasped. The beautiful assortment of white roses, carnations and lace now lay on my lap. I looked up in astonishment to see Rie announcing that I had “caught” the bouquet.
“May the next wedding be yours,” she said, smiling at me.
Yankumi was exclaiming over how close she had been, while the guys were clapping Ryu on the back. I looked at the flowers in wonder. White flowers. Shun would like these. Suddenly, the idea didn’t seem so lame after all.
The reception ended and I left, one hand holding the bouquet and the other grasping Ryu’s hand tightly.
“What do you want to do now?” Ryu asked me. “And what are you going to do with those flowers?”
“I have the perfect idea,” I said and began leading him away from the church.
We walked for a while before stopping in front of a gate. “This is the place,” I said.
Fifteen minutes later, we walked back out. Ryu kissed me gently before taking my hand. We began to walk away.
Behind us, by a certain grave, lay a bouquet of white flowers.
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Thank you SOOOOOOOOOOO much for reading! I really really appreciate all of your comments and for supporting me even when it took me forever to get a new chapter up. I really wouldn't have finished without your constant uplifting comments, not just about the story but about my life as well.
It may take a while for me to start writing anything new (eg Season 3?) but I'll post here and let you know when I get something started.
I love you!!!
~ Reisa