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Chapter 125 – The Woman Who Can Never Win
December.
Tsuru was back in town and invited me to hang out. We promised to meet at our usual spot, the area near the stained glass of the Sendai Station. When I got there, she was already waiting for me.
“What happened to you? Did you suck someone’s blood before I got here?”
She was wearing a deep red lipstick. The red color was so thick that it wouldn’t be strange if someone mistook her for a vampire.
“There’s a story behind this, okay? I was supposed to buy a lighter-colored one, but I bought the wrong one. Since it would be a waste to throw it away, I decided to use it instead. Well, at least I look sexy~”
“Bad men will crowd over you. I’m worried about your safety now…”
“Forget about that, look at you. Jeez, how do you look so pretty without makeup? You’re even prettier than before too. You’re pissing me off, seriously.”
“I’m glad that you’re still the same old Tsuru. Let’s go.”
The city was covered in golden lights. Every December, Sendai transformed into a city of gold at night. The trees were all decorated with countless tiny lights like something out of a movie.
We entered a restaurant, took a seat and ordered our drinks. Tsuru ordered a Vodka Tonic, meanwhile I ordered a Lemon Sour.
“You don’t drink alcohol, Arina?”
“I don’t like its taste. I can drink it if you want me to, though.”
“I see. That’s exactly the image I have of you. If I find you drinking too much alcohol, I’ll probably slap you to make you come to your senses.”
“I should be the one who worries about you drinking too much alcohol.”
“Aw, you always worry about me, Arina~ Mommy Arina~ Babu~”
“Just because I’m an adult now, doesn’t make me a mommy. Besides, I still feel like a child.”
When our drinks arrived, we toasted.
Tsuru immediately gulped half of her glass. She said that thing about slapping me or whatnot and then she did this. I should consider slapping her for real or something.
“You haven’t changed much, have you, Arina? …No, actually, you became more bewitching. I have the feelings that you’re the type who won’t age even in a hundred years.”
“We’re still twenty years old, it’s too early to come to that conclusion. Who knows, maybe when I get older I’ll become like a dried plum and become all boney.”
“You’ll turn into a witch! Arina is a witch~ See, you even have the witch’s glare!~”
“Are you drunk already?”
She denied my accusation, but her face had already reddened. It seemed this girl was a lightweight and she had zero clue whatsoever about it. She didn’t restrain herself and immediately asked for seconds. When it arrived, she chugged the whole thing in a second.
I decided to ask her what I wanted to ask before she got too drunk.
“So, have you decided on a job yet, Tsuru?”
“I’m a law student, so I’ll try getting a job related to it.”
“I see.”
“I want to be a lawyer though.”
“Now, that’s a surprising choice.”
“Well, my parents are prosecutors and I’ve always wanted to become one since I was a little. I always think that it’s cool as it’s the most powerful weapon mankind could ever wield! Everything is written in the Book of Six Codes! Of course, I’ll be taking the bar exam too!” (T/N: Book of Six Codes refers to the Six Codes, the six main codes that make up the body of the law in some of the East Asia countries, mainly Japan, China and South Korea. Bar exam is an exam for lawyers.)
“I see. I’ll ask for your help if I ever need it, okay?”
“Leave it to me! I’ll rip your enemies to pieces!~”
She had never talked about her dream even back in high school, so this revelation was a huge shock to me.
“What about you? Will you stay as a bookstore clerk? Or will you move to Tokyo to hunt for a good job?”
“I’m still thinking about that…”
“Like I said, become a model! You’ll be an amazing model for sure!”
“I’ll consider that when I’m in desperate need of money, for now though… Actually…”
“What’s up?”
“Um… Promise me you’ll keep this as a secret…”
“I promise~”
I moved closer to her and beckoned her to do the same. I whispered to her.
“Actually, my novel won an award just the other day…”
“EH?! N-Novel?!”
“H-Hey! Not so loud!”
“S-Sorry, I was just surprised. So, what’s the story then? Are they going to publish it?”
“They said that they’ll get into the details next spring or summer. So I won’t know anything until next year…”
“Amazing! Have you decided on a pen name yet?”
“I’ll be using my real name. I’m not fussy about that kind of thing.”
“Alright, tell me when I can pre-order it, okay? Also, don’t spoil anything!”
Honestly, I didn’t want any of my friends to know about this. The title of the book was ‘My Beloved Comet’. The content had nothing to do with what happened in reality, but everyone who knew me would guess that it was inspired by my relationship with Sui. Of course, it was still a tentative title. They would probably change it when they publish the book for real.
“Ahh… Now I’m getting embarrassed…”
“Why though?”
“Because everyone will read everything that I wrote. It’s basically a public execution! It feels like they’re staring at my naked body…”
“Alright, take off your clothes then! Let’s make a photobook!”
“I should forbid you from drinking from now on.”
“Kyah! Well, you’ll be making your debut then? You should still try to get a job though, just in case.”
“Yeah, I’m thinking about it too. I don’t think that everything will turn out well that easily.”
“By the way, will you go to the class reunion next month?”
“Yes.”
“I see~ You have to be careful though, everyone will take the chance and hit on you relentlessly~ Well, if it comes to it, just hit them with a glass bottle~”
“Don’t worry, I’ll just tell them that I still love Sui.”
“That card is too strong. When will he wake up anyway? We’ve turned twenty already, seriously! When he finally wakes up, we should show him how sexy we are as adults. We should try ara-ara-ing him with our sexy voices.”
“I should try. People told me that I have that Onee-san vibe, it will definitely work if I were to try.”
“I agree. Well, the way you normally talk is like that already, though. You have this classy air around you. A bona-fide sexy woman.”
“I learned it from my mom.”
Afterwards, we talked about our lives in university and compared the situation in the cities we lived in. Tsuru kept on drinking even when I tried to stop her. Her eyes started to turn dim and her speech became slurred at one point.
After paying the bill, I called a cab and headed to my apartment with Tsuru.
“Sorry, toilet.”
As soon as we arrived, she immediately went to the toilet. As you’ve guessed, she threw up. I called out from behind the door.
“Tsuru? Are you alive?”
“Barely…”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
“It feels horrible.”
“Take your time vomiting.”
I left her and changed my clothes.
After a while, I heard a flushing sound and Tsuru came out of the bathroom with heavy steps.
“Wash your mouth properly.”
When I said that, she went back inside the toilet.
After she came out again, she had turned into the usual Tsuru.
“Sorry. I’ll clean everything up later. I’m really sorry.”
“It’s fine, don’t worry about it. I’m worried about you now. Are you like this too over there?”
“I’m only like this when I’m with you. I don’t drink often with other people, especially men. There are a lot of them trying to take me to their houses. They’re disgusting, seriously. What about you?”
“Me? I don’t have many friends, so I don’t drink with them often. There are parties and the likes, but I’ve never attended them.”
“If you went there, the party would turn into a war.”
“I don’t understand why people are so desperate to get a lover.”
Tsuru laughed.
“You feel that way because you’ve found your love in Sui already. Other people haven’t found their love, that’s why they’re desperate.”
“I see.”
“You know, I used to like Sui too.”
She suddenly dropped those words with a straight face. I instantly froze with my mouth half opened. I didn’t know how to react to that.
“Surprised?”
“Yes… I… Don’t know what kind of face I should make in a situation like this…”
“Hahaha, what’s with that reaction? Don’t think too much about it, I mean, Shirona liked him too, no?”
“Still, I never imagined that you’d come to like him…”
She took a sip of water.
“He’s an interesting guy and his face isn’t bad either. He is a weirdo, but if you look past that, he’s a good guy. But, whenever I saw you with him, I just couldn’t bring myself to make a move.”
“What do you mean?…”
“Have you ever seen yourself whenever you were around him? You looked exactly like a maiden in love. Even your voice was a note higher than usual.”
Was it that obvious? Then, everyone noticed it? My face started to redden at that thought.
“Besides, I know that he felt the same way about you, that’s why I didn’t do anything. They said all is fair in love and war, but I’m not that much of a bitch to come in between two people that are clearly in love with each other.”
“I wonder if he really likes me…”
“Of course he does.”
“But I’ve never received an answer from him. It has been two years, you know?”
“…I knew it, I’m no match for you. How long will you keep waiting for that dummy?”
“Until he wakes up or until the day I die.”
Tsuru made a satisfied smile and laid down.
“If you ever come to Tokyo, you should come to my house, Arina. I’ll cook something for you. My takoyaki tastes good, you know?”
“Sounds good, I’ll take your words on that. Oh yeah, I remembered everything about Sui.”
“Eh?! You remembered him?! You got your memory back?!”
“Yes. It took a while, but I finally got it back…”
Then, we talked about our high school days until we eventually fell asleep.
That night, it felt like we became high school girls again.