Sin (part 5 of 6)

a Tenjho Tenge fanfiction by cbman

Back to Part 4
Author's Note: In the last chapter, we saw a change in Isuzu's 
character, and in this one, we get to see more of that change.  We'll 
also get to see a Maya and Isuzu rematch as well in this chapter, but 
this won't be their last encounter in this fic.  Not sure what else to 
say, so let's continue.


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Chapter 4: Love


(Aya's POV)

     
"Oneechan, it's time for school!" I knock on her door.  "Oneechan?"
     
I slide her door open and find the room empty once again.  She must 
have left for class without me again, she's been doing this for more 
than a week now.  Ever since that night, my sister has been like a 
ghost.  Every time I go to her room, every time I go to her classes, 
even during the Jyuken Club meetings, I never see her.  Every once and 
a while I do bump into her around the house, but every time I try to 
address her, she quickly turns away and runs, her face always colored a
bright red.  I'm worried about her, and I'm sure everyone else in the 
Jyuken Club is as well.
     
"Aya-chan!" I turn around to find Takayanagi-senpai waving at me.
     
"Good morning," I greet him.
     
"The captain's not with you again?" he asks as we make our way onto the
school grounds.  "I haven't seen her for more than a week, did 
something happen?"
     
"...no, nothing happened," I lie.  "Oneechan's just... a bit under the 
weather lately."
     
"Really?  I thought that it might have something to do with what 
happened during that one weekend," Takayanagi-senpai remembers.  "She 
seemed pretty angry about what that punk did to make you cry.  Come to 
think of it, I haven't seen him in school either."
     
That is true, I haven't seen Souichiro-sama in school either since that
weekend.  There were times I was thinking about going to his apartment 
or calling him to check up on him, but every time I would always get 
cold feet.  It would just be awkward to see him after what he said that
day.  I wouldn't want to upset him even more by trying to visit, he 
might think I was just being obnoxious again.  Wait a minute, up ahead,
is that...?
     
"Souichiro-sama?" I find myself running to him.
     
He turns to face me, his face not showing his usual energetic self.  He
looks at me with a somewhat blank look on his face, it looks almost 
like how it did after he was defeated by Takayanagi-senpai.
     
"Hey," he greets me with a simple wave of his hand.
     
"Good morning."
     
A moment of silence follows after we greet one another.  I'm not sure 
what I want to say to him, I'm guessing that he'd probably tell me to 
get out of his sight or something like that.  He begins to scratch the 
back of his neck, it seems like he doesn't know what to say either.
     
"Um, Souichiro-sama...," I try to come up with something to say.
     
"About what I said during that weekend," Souichiro-sama begins to 
speak.  "There were...  Well you know...  I didn't really mean...  What
I mean to say is..."
     
"Don't worry about it, Souichiro-sama," I assure him.  "You were just 
angry after what happened between you and Isuzu-san.  It's all right, 
really."
     
"But Aya, I didn't want to..."
     
"No, it's okay," I assure him.  "We're still friends, right?"
     
"...yeah, ...friends...," he barely nods.
     
"Well class starts in a bit, I'll see you later, Souichiro-sama, 
Takayanagi-senpai!" I wave as I hurry into the school building.
     
I run up to the second story of the building now, finding my classroom 
the moment I turn the corner.  My hand reaches for the door, but my arm
stops before I slide it open.  I wait several seconds with my hand 
still an inch away, but I decide to pull it back and run back to the 
stairway and hurry to the next floor.  I run down this floor's hallway,
stopping at the fifth classroom and quickly pulling the door to the 
side.  The entire classroom shifts their focus on me at the moment, but
I pay no attention to them.  My eyes wander throughout the classroom, 
only to end up disappointed after surveying the room.
     
"Is there something I can help you with, Miss?" the teacher asks.
     
"...no," I answer before I close the door once again.
     
Oneechan skipped school again.  I thought that today she would 
definitely show up, but...  Is it too much for me to ask if I can see 
her again?  I don't just want to see her in the hallways of our house 
and have her run away from me each time she sees me, I want things to 
go back to how they used to.  No, that's not the truth, I don't want 
them to go back to how they used to.  I want to walk beside her when we
go to school, arm-in-arm, I want to feel her embrace around me
everyday, I want to wake up beside her every morning, I want to...
     
I have to confront her.  I can't just let her run away each time, I 
have to stop her from doing so, but I don't even know where she is.  
It's cheating but...  I don't really want to use it, but the only way 
I'll find her is if I use the Ryuugan.  I'm sorry, Oneechan, but I have
to know, I have to know where you are, I have to know how you truly 
feel about me...


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(Maya's POV)

     
I can't believe I cut school again today.  I wouldn't be surprised if 
they expelled me for not showing up to any of my classes for an entire 
week.  I'm so pathetic, doing all of this just to run away from my own 
sister.  No, it was even more pathetic what I did that evening.  I 
kissed her, not a kiss that was meant between family, but an actual 
kiss. I took advantage of her sadness, but I couldn't just stand there 
and let her cry, I just had to do something.  
     
What that kid said about her wasn't true at all, he had no right to 
break her heart like that!  When I saw what he did, I never felt so 
angry in my entire life.  I wanted to do more than just slap him, I 
wanted to tear all of his limbs off.  And when I heard her cry, I 
couldn't help but cry with her.  I really did mean those things I said 
to her when she was distressed, but...  Why did I go and do that?  It 
was the same as that night after the two of us went out.  When I slept 
with her, I felt most at ease with my body pressed against hers, how 
our heartbeats were in synch with one another.
     
I'm smiling as I remember those things, my heart once again aflutter.  
This feeling, this trembling in my knees, this shortness of breath, 
it's like what I felt about Mitsuomi back then, but at the same time, 
it's different.  I...I really am in love with Aya, but...  I'm such a
coward, I can't even tell her how I truly feel, I always run away 
whenever she tries to confront me about that night.  I mustn't run 
anymore, I have to...
     
"Hey, hey, sweet thing, you here all alone?" I look up to find three 
young men standing over me.  "Last I checked the swings and the rest of
the playground was meant for little kids, unless..."
     
"Leave me alone!" I seethe.
     
"Hey baby, come on, we just wanted to ask you out for a drink and...," 
he places his hand over mine.
     
"I said leave me alone!" I push myself off the swing set now.
     
"Bitch with an attitude," another remarks.
     
"Well we were gonna be nice and ask you nicely, but if you're gonna be 
like that..."
     
Each of them takes out a switchblade from their pockets now, each of 
the blades partly rusted and the edges chipped.  Two of them edge to my
sides, another standing right in front of me.  None of them look too 
skilled, they just seem like a bunch of street punks.  This shouldn't
be too difficult, all I need is...
     
Before I can finish thinking, the one to my right lunges forward with 
his blade.  The stab misses, my body simply stepping to the side to 
avoid it.  His arm is wide open afterwards, giving me an opportunity to
disarm him.  My left hand quickly takes hold of his wrist at this time,
my right hand pushing forward at the same time so that my palm can meet
with his jaw.  He drops the knife afterward, trying to lunge forward 
again with his other fist.  I spin out of his punch's path, my right 
arm quickly wrapping his shoulder and my left arm jamming the rest of 
his arm back.  A loud crack fills the area after, the man falling to 
the ground crying in pain.
     
The other two charge in at this point, but I manage to dodge each one 
in the same manner, both of my hands taking hold of the back of their 
heads so that I may slam them into each other.  One of them drops their
weapons at this point, but the other tries to swipe at me with his 
knife.  I jump away to dodge the slash, only to find the two charging 
once again.  The one with the knife tries to go for another stab as the
other tries to rush in from the side.  I manage to grab his wrist like 
the first one, twisting it with my left hand until he drops his blade. 
I manage to catch the weapon before it touches the floor, grabbing it 
by the handle and swerving it to the side so that its tip finds itself 
resting on the throat of my other attacker.
     
"I told you to leave me alone," I repeat myself, "and if you do value 
your lives, you'll do as I say."
     
"All right, all right, we can take a hint," the man with the knife to 
his neck says.
     
I release the one in my grasp now, him and his two friends running away
afterward.  I sigh as I watch each of them run, throwing the blade in 
my hand into the trash several feet away from my side.  I sigh as I 
watch the three men run away; I lost my train of thought because of
them. 
     
"Not bad," I hear an applause after, "you're as skilled as ever, 
Natsume-san."
     
"Vice President of the Enforcers, Isuzu Emi!" I quickly turn around to 
find the bread-haired girl standing behind me.
     
"It's President now," Isuzu corrects me.  "With Mitsuomi-san's death, I
naturally became the new president due to the chain of command."
     
"What do you want?" I ask, my eyes narrowing.  "I know you didn't come 
here to give me your inauguration speech."
     
"As a member of the Enforcers, I've come to take you back," she 
answers.
     
"Am I supposed to be honored that the new president is willing to 
escort me back for ditching a week of school?" I say in a sarcastic 
tone.
     
"It's come to my attention that you were with Mitsuomi-san on the 
evening of his death," she continues.  "That oaf, Tawara, woke up from 
his nap at the time and saw you running away from Mitsuomi-san.  I want
to know what happened between the two of you during that evening, tell 
me everything that went on."
     
"...that's none of your business," I tell her.  "What happened that 
evening between Mitsuomi and I is none of your concern.  Now if you'll 
excuse me...," I try to brush past her.
     
"It is of my concern, Natsume-san," she tells me with my back still 
facing her.  "I have the right to ask..., no, I have the right to 
demand to know what happened that night.  You will tell me what 
occurred, or else."
     
"Or else, what?" I look back, my eyes as narrow as ever.
     
"I will cut it out of you!" she answers, two of her trademark annki 
appearing between the spaces of her fingers.
     
"I admire your persistence, but if we were to fight, it will only end 
like it did in the bowling alley," I can't help but boast.  "I have no 
desire to..."
     
Before I can say another word, I find a large gust of wind suddenly 
passing me by.  The blast is short, but its effects leave me shocked.  
One of the annki in her hands is now missing, a small clunk barely 
echoing in my ear after.  I turn around to fine the blade lodged into a
tree, a small crack on its trunk.  The crack begins to grow into a web,
the lines growing longer and longer until they engulf the whole tree.  
In seconds, the tree splits in two, each of the halves quickly falling 
to the floor and make the ground shake.  I turn back to my opponent to 
find her with three more annki in her hands, each of them ready to be 
thrown at any moment.
     
'She's definitely improved,' I think to myself.  'The last time we 
fought, her throws weren't as strong as this.  This environment is more
open as well as opposed to the last one we fought in, and I can't risk 
using the trees behind me, some innocent bystanders might be on the
other side and may get caught in the fight.'
     
I look back at my opponent now, her eyes different from before.  So 
narrow, so cold, it was unlike anything from what they were the last 
time we fought.  I can't sense her ki either, all I feel is emptiness. 
Just looking at her sends chills down my spine.  Mitsuomi's death, 
that's the only thing I can think of to have made her like this.
     
To my surprise, the annki in her hands begin to disappear.  Her fingers
close and ball into fists now, her left hand moving forward and her 
right back.  Her legs begin to arch as well, the bending of her knees 
parallel to the ground.  This is different, she wants to fight me in 
hand-to-hand combat.  I do the same at this moment, my left hand moving
forward with my palm facing her and my right making a fist as my elbow 
rests an inch from my side.
     
She begins to rush forward now, her charge changing into a jump kick.  
I manage to dodge her kick, but to my surprise, her right hand catches 
the floor and twists her body toward me, her leg once again lunging 
forward.  This sudden change in direction has caught me by surprise, 
the heel of her shoe meeting with my abdomen and knocking me back.  I 
ignore the pain of the blow, readying my stance again as she runs 
toward me once again.  I try to stop her with a jab with my left, the 
punch blocked with her right.  
     
I try to follow with my other hand after, but she manages to dodge it. 
I follow with two more punches, each of them dodged so easily.  She 
bends backward slightly to avoid my last punch, but she misses my 
roundhouse kick that follows after.  My foot meets with her cheek
shortly after, a spittle of blood escaping her lip upon contact, but 
the force of my attack only stuns her momentarily.  My opponent quickly
counters afterward, rushing in once more with her shoulder.  I'm unable
to dodge this one, my back suddenly meeting with the floor, creating a 
jolt of pain throughout my entire back.  
     
I try to push myself back to my feet afterward, only to find her foot 
meeting with my abdomen.  I fall back to the ground after her kick, the
wind knocked out of me with the blow.  The attack doesn't stop there 
however, her foot continues to push itself against me, this time
stomping on my spine.  I can't help but cry in pain each time she 
stomps on my back, each hit draining more and more strength from my 
body.  Finally the pain comes to a stop, but her fingers grab a lock of
my hair now, pulling me upward so that the edge of my eye could see the
annki next to it.
     
"Are you going to tell me now, Natsume-san?" she asks, her voice filled
with resolve.  "I'll be willing to finish that haircut I gave you last 
time if you aren't?  What should I do this time, should I cut off all 
your hair?  No, why stop there, I think a blush of red would fit your
cheeks very well."
     
'So cold,' I think to myself.  'She's nothing like how she used to be. 
Even if I were to transform into my child form right now, it wouldn't 
do anything if she's grabbing my hair.  But still, I can't tell her 
what happened that evening, I just can't...  Why though?  Why am I 
unable to tell her what happened?  Is it because...  No, I can't still 
be...'
     
"Well, choose!" she yells.
     
"Let her go!" another voice fills the area.
     
"Aya?" I turn around to find my little sister with a bokken in her 
hand.
     
"Isn't this cute?" Isuzu says sarcastically.  "The little sister coming
to save the older one, I thought it was supposed to be the other way 
around."
     
"I said let her go!" she yells again.
     
"Aya, get out of here," I order her.  "She's..."
     
Before I can say another word, my little sister begins to rush in, the 
tip of her wooden blade sliding across the ground.  The bread-haired 
girl releases me at this time so that she may rush forward as well.  
Aya swings first, her weapon swinging upward in an attempt to attack
Isuzu's jaw.  Her attack misses, the bokken's blade being caught 
beneath Isuzu's arm and side.  Isuzu then brings her fist into the oak 
weapon, the wood shattering upon impact.  I try to rush in at this 
point, my fist leading my charge.  Somehow my opponent notices this, 
catching my hand with her palm and quickly retaliating with a backhand 
strike.
     
"Oneechan!" Aya screams.
     
Before she can act, Isuzu's left leg springs forward, her foot quickly 
connecting with my sister's stomach.  The blow sends her toward the 
ground, but she doesn't finish there.  Isuzu then turns her attention 
to me, bringing her fist across my cheek causing a small river of blood
to escape my lip.  Her knee meets with my stomach after, knocking even 
more wind out of me, and finally her attack ends, her arm tossing me 
toward my sister and sending us both to the floor.
     
"When are you going to talk, Natsume-san?" my nemesis asks as she 
stands over us.  "How much more punishment must I deliver until you 
give me the details on what happened between you and Mitsuomi-san that 
evening?  Judging by that look on your face, you're not going to tell 
me anything regardless of what I'm going to do with you.  Your sister 
on the other hand, maybe that will change your tune when I'm done with 
her..."
     
"Aya!"
     
My eyes widen the moment she mentions Aya, my nails digging into my 
palms with blood seeping through the skin from which they press, and my
jaw tightened.  I try to rush in again with my remaining strength, but 
she easily pushes me back to the ground with her foot.  The heel of her
shoe buries itself into my chest, preventing me from moving any 
further.  Another annki appears in her left hand now, her right taking 
hold of my sister's collar.  My sister tries to look away as the edge 
of the kunai is brought to her cheek, her entire body beginning to
tremble.  I continue to try and struggle out of Isuzu's grasp, but 
despite what I do, I can't get her off me.  I can't let her touch Aya, 
I can't let her do it, I can't let her take away what's dear to me!
     
Before she moves any further, a ringing sound begins to echo in all of 
our ears.  The bread-haired girl immediately removes Aya from her grasp
upon hearing it, her hand reaching for a cell phone in her jacket 
pocket.
     
"What is it?" she speaks into the phone.  "What?!  Of all the times 
to...  Fine, I'll be there right away.  You two got lucky this time, I 
have more pressing matters at hand," she spits.
     
She pulls her foot away from me at this time and proceeds to leave the 
area.  I try to do nothing as she walks away, knowing that she'll go 
after Aya again if I were to try anything.  I look beside me to find my
sister pulling herself off the ground, exhausted but unharmed.
     
"Oneechan, are you all right?" she asks as she wraps my arm around her 
shoulder.
     
"What are you doing here?" I ask as she carries me.
     
"I came here to look for you," she answers.  "Do you have any idea how 
worried I've been about you this last week?" she changes the subject.  
"You've been like a ghost this whole time; you haven't been showing up 
to school at all, you're not home most of the time, and when I do see 
you, you always run away.  Why, Oneechan, why do you keep running away 
from me?!"
     
"...I'm sorry," is all I can say.
     
"...it's okay," she tells me.  "Let's get you home right now and get 
those wounds looked at."
     
"All right."
     
Isuzu Emi, why are you so desperate to know what happened that evening 
between Mitsuomi and I?  Just when I thought I had gotten over his 
death, you go ahead and bring it back up.  No, the real question is why
I can't tell her or anyone else what happened.  I...I'm still...
clinging on to that memory so dearly.  Even after his death, my heart 
is still longing for him, but at the same time, it longs for Aya's.  
But that's not fair, I can't long for two people, especially if one is 
dead.
     
"Oneechan, is something wrong?" my sister asks me.
     
"...yes, Aya, everything's wrong," I answer.


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(Aya's POV)

     
Everything is wrong she said, it's just like that day when she tried to
kill herself.  Oneechan hasn't said a word since we returned home, she 
barely even ate anything off her plate.  She's just sitting there, her 
eyes drawn to the table, it's worrying me how she's doing nothing. 
Isuzu-san mentioned something about Mitsuomi-san earlier this morning, 
something about them seeing one another.  Could it have something to do
with the night when she left the house so abruptly?
     
It was the evening when Mitsuomi-san died, we got a phone call rather 
late.  I was in the kitchen when the phone rang, I tried to hurry over 
to the living room to pick it up only to find that my sister had 
answered it.  There was something different about my sister after she 
hung up the phone, her face showing more resolve than it ever did in 
her entire life.
     
"Who was it?" I asked her after the call.
     
"...I have to go now," she answered, hurrying to the door.
     
"Wait, where are you going, Oneechan?"
     
"Don't wait up."
     
I didn't know where Oneechan went that evening, or what happened.  I 
remember waiting for her in the living room the entire time, she came 
back an hour later.  I went to go greet her at the door, only to find 
her back pressing against the door and her eyes turned to the floor.  
Her nails were digging into the frame of the door, she was breathing 
very heavily, and tears were rolling down her face.
     
"Oneechan, what happened?" I tried to ask her.
     
She didn't answer me at all, all she did was run to her room, crying.  
I wanted to go after her, but my intuition told me to leave her alone. 
I'm pretty sure she cried herself to sleep that night, but the morning 
after, she acted fine, or at least she tried her best to act as if 
nothing happened.  I tried to confront her about what happened, but she
told me that nothing happened.  Later that day when Isuzu-san came in 
to inform us about Mitsuomi-san's death, I couldn't help but wonder.  
Did Oneechan have something to do with it?  Could she have been the one
that was responsible for his death?
     
No, there's no way Oneechan could have done such a thing, but she 
blamed herself for it when she tried to jump off the school rooftop.  
Just what did happen on that evening two weeks ago?  No, none of that 
matters right now, my sister is crying right now and I have to do
something to make her feel better.
     
"Oneechan...," I barely call her.
     
"I...I'm pathetic, aren't I?" she suddenly asks.
     
"Oneechan?"
     
"I couldn't... I couldn't let that bread-haired girl know what happened
between Mitsuomi and I that evening," she continues.  "It's sad, I'm 
clinging onto his memory so dearly as if he were still here."
     
"No, it's not sad," I assure her.  "Mitsuomi-san meant a lot to you, 
Oneechan, I know that you loved..."
     
"I think I still love him," she interrupts.  "Even though he's already 
passed on to the next life, my heart still races when I think of him.  
But I don't want it to long for him, I want it to..."
     
"Sh, it's okay," I find my arms wrapping around her.  "It's just as you
told me, Oneechan, you can't help who you fall in love with.  It's like
a spell that's difficult to break out of."
     
"I know, but..."
     
"It's just like how I thought I fell in love with Souichiro-sama.  I 
don't know what it was about him that made him different from the other
boys, but it must have been his spirit, it reminded me a little of 
Oniichan.  That cocky attitude, the wish to grow stronger than anyone
else, everything about him, it somehow reminded me.  I fell for that
likeness, from the very moment I saw him.  It was a strong spell I 
think, almost like the spell you have cast upon me, Oneechan."
     
"Aya...?" she begins to calm down.
     
I find my hands cupping her cheeks now.  I can feel her breath becoming
slow and her face growing warmer.  My own heart begins to hasten, my 
throat dry, and my body quivering.  I look into her cerulean blue 
irises, losing myself in what seems like an endless blue.  Now, my 
heart tell me, now is the time to tell her.  Tell her the words I have 
kept inside for so long, tell her the words that were meant for her and
only her, tell her the words that will free your soul.
     
"Oneechan, I love you," the words finally escape my lips.
     
My eyes begin to close, my own face beginning to press forward.  I can 
taste her mint-like breath as she breathes onto my lips, I feel the 
smooth texture of her fingers beginning to grasp my shoulder, if this 
is what heaven is like, please don't stop me now.  Something does stops
me however, it is her fingers pressing against my lips.  I begin to 
peel my lips away from her hand now, finding my sister turned away from
my face as if she were ashamed of something.
     
"I'm sorry, Aya," she apologizes out of the blue.  "But... I can't love
you..."
     
Everything in my body begins to paralyze at this moment, as if my very 
heart was ripped out of my body.  My eyes feel as if they are melting, 
everything in my vision beginning to blur as rivers begin to escape 
them.  My voice begins to hiccup, my smile melting into a frown.  Again
I have been hurt, not with physical force, but my words.
     
"Why, Oneechan?" I ask her, my voice shrill.  "Why can't you love me?  
Is it because we're both of the same gender?  Is it because we're 
sisters?  Why?"
     
"...I can't love you if I dedicated my heart to another in the past," 
she answers.  "I dedicated myself to Mitsuomi two years ago, and I 
still did even after he killed our brother.  Even though he has
passed on, I..."
     
"But your heart still longs for me, doesn't it?!" I interrupt.  "That 
day when we went out together, can you honestly say that you felt 
nothing the entire time?  What about when we fell asleep together, was
there no warmth in your heart as our bodies clung onto one another?  Or
when you kissed me, was there no spark in passion inside you?  Was 
there really nothing at all, Oneechan...?!"
     
"...I did feel something that day, Aya," she admits, "I did feel my 
heart burning that evening, and I did feel the spark of passion when we
kissed...  I do want to be with you, but..."
     
"Then be with me!" my arms wrap around her once again.  "I don't care 
if you dedicated yourself to Mitsuomi-san in the past, I don't care if 
you were both in love, all I care about is now, Oneechan.  I too cared 
about Souichiro-sama, I still do, but how I care for him now is different,
how I've dedicated myself to him has changed.  It's you I want to 
dedicate my heart to from now on, it's you that I have fallen in love 
with, it's you, Oneechan."
     
"...I'm sorry."
     
She begins to get up now, my arms sliding down her shoulders and onto 
her hands.  I try to pull on her wrists to stop her, but she does 
little to acknowledge my presence.  She continues to look forward, her 
eyes covered by the bangs of her hair.  She begins to walk again, my 
body dragging with her steps.  I cannot hold on for long, my hands 
falling onto her own, falling further onto her fingers, and finally, 
falling into the air.  
     
The evening breeze has never felt so cold before, my tears burning like
magma.  I find my body beginning to lurch forward, my arms wrapping 
around my body as if she were still in my embrace.  I call for her 
again and again, my cries growing louder and louder with every second. 
Regardless of how I feel, regardless of how loud I call, she never 
returns.
     
"Oneechan..."


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(Maya's POV)

     
Aya, I really do want us to be together, but I want my heart to long 
for yours and yours alone.  I do love you, Aya, I love you as more than
a sister, but I think it is unfair if I love someone who is dead at the
same time.  There is also our brother's words to take into account as 
well.
     
"If you run away, I'll kill.  Of course, it won't be you.  I'll kill 
the person you ran away to or who you resorted to.  I'll kill every 
single person who you have been involved with."
     
Would he do it, would he keep his word even if the one I ran to was our
own sister?  Even in death, I believe he did manage to kill Mitsuomi, 
the one person he trusted to take his place.  He killed him by using my
emotions, by using me as an avatar.  I don't want to risk it, I don't
want to put Aya in that kind of danger.  I don't want to put anyone 
else in that position ever!
     
"I don't care if you dedicated yourself to Mitsuomi-san in the past," 
Aya's words begin to echo in my ears once again.  "I don't care if you 
were both in love, all I care about is now, Oneechan.  I too cared 
about Souichiro-sama, I still do, but how I care for him now is 
different, how I've dedicated myself to him has changed.  It's you I 
want to dedicate myself to from now on, it's you that I have fallen in 
love with, it's you, Oneechan."
     
Can I change the way I feel about Mitsuomi as well, just as Aya changed
how she felt about the kid?  ...no, I can't.  My time with Mitsuomi has
stopped, his face and memories forever frozen in time.  Though his time
has stopped, I still love him, but it can never be the same as it once 
was.  I can never hope to go any further with him, but I can never go 
back.  It is at a standstill, and always will be at a standstill.  I'm 
sorry, Mitsuomi, but I have to let go, I have to move on without you.
     
I make my way out of the garden now and begin to traverse down the 
hallway back to the living room.  I open the door to find my sister no 
longer there, only a dried puddle of tears where she last sat.  I shut 
the door immediately after, running to her room after to also find it 
empty.  I hurry to the bath next but she also isn't there.  The 
practice hall, the garage, the forest area, all of it empty.  Where 
could she have gone, she couldn't have left the house, could she?  
Wait, there was one place I haven't checked yet, it's a long shot, 
but...
     
I open the door to my room and find Aya huddled in the corner, her arms
wrapped around the bear she won for me at the arcade.  

"Aya...," I barely call her name.

I find my heart once again beating rapidly, butterflies in my stomach, 
and my knees trembling.  I decide to take a seat next to her in order 
to calm my nerves, but it does the exact opposite.  I find myself even 
more nervous now, unable to control myself as I sit beside her.  I 
thought I knew what I would say to her once I found her, but now...
     
"Oneechan," she says, her words almost in a whisper.
     
"Yes?"
     
"Do you not love me?"
     
"Aya, I..."
     
'Don't stop,' I think to myself.  'This is your chance, tell her how 
you truly feel before you lose her forever.  If you're ever going to 
tell her how you feel, then do it now.'
     
"...I dedicated my heart to Mitsuomi two years ago," I tell her.  
"Mitsuomi was different from the other boys, there was something about 
him I fell for.  It wasn't right away, slowly but surely I fell for 
him.  I was in love with him, and I was still in love with him even 
after we broke up.  He's dead now though, my memories of him forever 
frozen in time, and with that, our love.  Aya, what I felt about 
Mitsuomi and what I feel about you are different.  My time with 
Mitsuomi will always be in my heart, but it can do nothing more, but my
time with you has yet to begin.  Please, Aya, let our time begin, let 
us walk together from now on for as far as we can go."
     
"Oneechan...?" her eyes begin to light up.
     
"I love you, Aya," I finally tell her.
     
"Oneechan, I...love you too."
     
Her own eyes begin to close at this moment, her lips pushing forward.  
My own face begins to lean as well, leaning until the outer layers of 
our mouths meet.  They meet for a second, pressing against one another,
her mouth pulling away after but mine tries to pull it back in.  They
press again in a different angle, the soft texture of her lips gliding 
against mine.  Both of our mouths pull away for a second, only to fall 
upon one another again from a different angle.  Our mouths continue to 
bicker with one another, fighting so desperately to indulge in the full
taste of the substance within.  They continue to wrestle over and over 
again, the battle ending after an eternity of pushing and pulling, but 
in this  fight there is no loser, only winners.
     
"I love you, Aya," I tell her once again, my hand gliding down her 
face.  "I really do."
     
"And I love you, Oneechan."
     

-----------------------------------------------------------------------


(Isuzu's POV)

     
The evening's breeze is so gentle this evening, so cool.  The pale glow
of the moon is also perfect, but it is also enough to shield my 
presence on this rooftop.  What is not pleasant however, are the words 
that carry on in the floor beneath this roof.
     
'How disgusting,' I think to myself.
     
Natsume-san, I gave you more respect than you had deserved.  Falling in
love with Mitsuomi-san was one thing, but this new relationship with 
your sister goes beyond that which is moral.  You claim that your love 
for Mitsuomi-san is frozen, his memories at a standstill with time, but
you are wrong.  My love and memories of him still live on in me!
     
"Aya, do you want to make love to me?" I overhear my arch-rival from 
the floor below.
     
You really are disgusting, Natsume-san, taking your little sister's 
virginity like this.  Enjoy your moment of bliss, because until I found
out what happened between you and Mitsuomi-san on the night of his 
death, I'll make sure you and your sister's lives are a living hell.


-----------------------------------------------------------------------


Author's Note: Well there you have it, now you know how they ended up 
together, but the fic still has a way to go before it reaches its 
conclusion.  So how are the other Jyuken Club members going to react to
Aya and Maya's new relationship, what exactly did happen between 
Mitsuomi and Maya during his night of death, has Maya truly let go of 
Mitsuomi, has Aya really let go of Souichiro, and what does Isuzu have 
in store for the sisters?  We'll find out eventually as the story goes 
on.  So yeah, review if you like, but no flames as usual if you are 
going to review.  Well I guess that's it for now, hope to see you all 
in the next chapter.

Onwards to Part 6


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