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Arisa looked at the clock and sighed. Just ten more minutes, then she could go home.
It had been a long and draining day at the convenience store. She had caught a guy trying to steal food that morning. She had slipped him enough cash to pay for it, but he took offense at the gesture and caused a scene. Then, some kids were horsing around and knocked over one of the small display stands at the front. She tried to get them to take it outside, but they were stupid and cocky and thought they could take her. She rarely had to use her pipe, but those kids sure as shit took off the minute she flashed it. She was grateful it didn’t go further than that.
She winced as she remembered the time she had to rescue someone from the alley behind the store. They had taken a pretty savage beating by the time she went on her break and found them. If she never saw another injury that bad, it would be too soon.
She saw Fujiwara rushing in and smiled to herself, shaking her head. That boy was always cutting it close.
“Sorry, senpai!” he called as he scrambled behind the counter with her. Arisa started her close-out duties; it never took long when she worked the first shift.
“’Long as I get to go home on time, s’no problem,” she said. “We had a little bit o’ trouble today with some kids. Just keep an eye on that stand and call me if it falls over again.”
Fujiwara looked like a deer in the headlights as he turned to the display stand in question. “Yes, senpai,” he gulped.
Arisa didn’t know why they hired such a young kid to work night shift. It didn’t seem right.
“Well, see you tomorrow, kid.”
“Bye, senpai.”
She grinned. One of these days, he’d start using her name.
Pulling on her jacket, she walked out the door, rolling her eyes as it chimed.
It was brisk outside. She zipped her jacket all the way up, pulling the hood tightly around her face. She couldn’t wait to get home to Kureno. Today would be a perfect day for a steaming bowl of ramen.
She decided to stop by the grocery store to get some of her favorite ingredients. Kureno had always been partial to shoyu ramen, but she couldn’t get enough when it came to shio ramen. Shouldn’t be hard to make both, she thought.
As she turned the corner to head toward the grocery store, she ran smack into a tall figure.
“Hey! Watch where you’re go-” she began, before something about this stranger’s face made her voice stick in her throat. I know her , she thought.
“Uotani?” said the tall woman.
“Holy shit! Akimoto?”
Arisa hadn’t seen any of her former gangmates in at least a decade. She knew better than to go where they caused trouble, and they had enough respect for the Crimson Butterfly to leave her alone after her beating.
She’d always wondered what happened to Akimoto. Rumor was that she moved far away from Tokyo and was never heard from again. She knew she owed that girl her life; Kyoko said she came to warn her when the beating was going down. She hoped Akimoto had been able to go straight, but it had always nagged at the back of her mind since that night.
She never would have guessed they’s run into each other like this.
“Hey, you busy right now? I know a place.”
Arisa sent a quick text to Kureno, then followed Akimoto to a mid-rise tower with a gated courtyard.
“I work security here,” Akimoto explained, as Arisa followed her through the courtyard. They climbed several flights of stairs before emerging onto the roof.
“You got taller,” Akimoto observed.
“So did you,” Arisa responded. “I always wanted to reach the one-eighties.”
“You’re still a giant compared to most,” Akimoto reminded her. “One seventy-five?”
Arisa nodded, grinning. She loved being tall, even if she never caught up to Akimoto.
“So,” she said, smiling. “You were able to go straight, too. I always wondered what happened to you.”
“I’ve moved around a lot since the old days,” Akimoto replied. “Was up in Hokkaido at first, then Shikoku for a bit longer. Did warehouse work in Aomari for a couple of months. Roamed a bit after that. Now I’m here.”
Arisa gazed out at their new town, surrounded by trees on all sides. “Never would’ve thought I’d run into you here, of all places.”
Akimoto gave a small smile. “It’s nice to see you. You seem good.”
“I am,” Arisa answered, thinking of everything that had happened since she left the gang. “I owe you for that, Akimoto.”
Akimoto looked surprised for the briefest moment before her eyes crinkled in a genuine smile. “Ah. Kyoko told you. Did you ever meet her kid?”
“Yeah,” said Arisa, a hint of sadness in her voice. “We’re still best friends. She lives in Mie, just an hour or two away.”
“What’s with the long face?”
“Kyoko... she died just a couple years after that.”
“Oh. Sorry.”
Arisa sighed. “It was pretty sudden. She got hit by a car one morning. But I think she’d be happy to see Tohru now. She’s married now, and her husband’s a good guy, though we teased him somethin’ awful in high school. They’re ridiculously happy; it’s disgusting,” she laughed. “They’re actually expecting their second kid!”
Akimoto glanced at the gold band on Arisa’s left hand. “And you?”
Arisa grinned. “We just tied the knot last year. Been together since third year.”
“So, you graduated, too, huh?”
“Like I said, I owe you for a lot.”
“I owe you, too,” Akimoto replied. “When you got out, it, uh... it made me want to make a life outside the gang.”
“How’s life been?”
“You know,” Akimoto answered, gazing off into the distance. “It has ups and downs. I had a girlfriend back in Shikoku who I thought might be the one, but she left me. Haven’t dated much since then. But I’m glad to be making an honest living. And having normal problems has almost been nice.”
Arisa nodded. “I know what you mean. Worryin’ about whether or not I can afford to take a weekend to go see Tohru when the baby’s born instead of worryin’ I’m gonna get jumped or arrested or worse. It’s a nice change.”
Akimoto appeared lost in thought. “What do you think of Aichi?”
Arisa shrugged. “It’s fine. My dad’s still back in Tokyo, and Tohru’s down in Mie. It’s not too far to visit either of them. And Hanajima's been travellin’ so she usually comes to see us, but I hear she’s goin’ back to Tokyo soon. Apparently, she met some guy in Argentina... Diego somethin’? Sounds like he’s comin’, too. But Kureno’s here with me, and that’s what matters.”
“Kureno, huh? How’d you two end up out here?”
“That’s a long story,” Arisa chuckled. “Short version is he had to get away from a bad situation back home. Long version... maybe after we've both had a few drinks.”
Akimoto laughed quietly. “It’s really good to see you, Uotani.”
“Hey,” Arisa replied. “Call me Arisa. Hearin’ you call me Uotani... it brings me back, and not in a good way.”
“I know what you mean,” Akimoto replied. “In that case, Arisa, I’m Tomo.”
“Tomo, eh?” Arisa grinned. “Never would’ve guessed.”
Akimoto gave her a playful nudge. “Never would’ve pegged you as an Arisa,” she retorted. “It really is nice to see you, Arisa.”
“You, too,” Arisa smiled. “Hey, you have a phone?”
Tomo pulled out her cell. “Here.”
Arisa punched in her phone number and added her address. “You ever need anything, you call, visit, whatever. I work at the Ministop round the corner from where we collided.”
Tomo smiled as Arisa handed back her phone. “Will do.” She sent a quick text. “That’ll be me.”
They headed down the stairs together in silence. Once outside the gate, Arisa turned to Tomo.
“Hey, don’t be a stranger, okay?”
Tomo smiled. “I won’t.”