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“Misaka-san, there’s someone looking for you.”
Misaka Mikoto with some puzzlement looked toward the source of the voice to see a server standing at the doorway looking at her.
“Did they say who they were? Can I help them with something?” Right now, who could be looking for her? After all, it wasn’t much longer before the wedding, and she didn’t want to walk around dragging the long dress train all over the place if she could help it.
“Yes, they did, they said they were your underclassman from middle school.”
As soon as the server finished speaking, through Mikoto’s mind flashed the image of a girl with wine-red hair.
“Alright, I’ll go then.” Could it have been her? It had been so long since Mikoto had last seen her.
“Huh? Right now? Do you need me to come with you?” inquired the woman who was responsible for holding up the dress train.
“Mm, yes, sorry to trouble you.” Even though it did seem troublesome, it also didn’t seem that great to have the dress train trailing across the floor behind her the entire time.
Walking into the long hallway, only to see at the far away end the petite figure of a woman—she was quietly standing there, and even if it was looking at her like this from far away, she had an atmosphere of someone you couldn’t ignore, someone you couldn’t look away from.
Walking a little closer, Mikoto could already make out a few features of the other woman’s face. Despite her not turning around, and it was only the side of her face that was visible, it wasn’t difficult to tell that the woman was beautiful in a way that made her stand out from the ordinary. If the woman turned her head, would she become even more dazzling and eye-catching?
As if she sensed what Mikoto was thinking about her in her heart, the woman turned her face around, her gaze first landing on her dress, before rising to stop on Mikoto's own face.
“Long time no see, Onee-sama.” Those pink lips parted gently, a familiar voice sounding out.
She was still that person as in her memory, the one who called her that nostalgic phrase ‘Onee-sama’. For a moment, it made Mikoto feel like it was still many years ago and she was a student at Tokiwadai.
She didn’t know precisely what sort of emotion she was feeling at that moment, only that her eyes all of a sudden stung a little.
“Long time no see, Kuroko.” In an extremely short period of time, Mikoto adjusted her feelings and spoke the name of the person in front of her.
Ah, that little underclassman who had once always followed her around, that little underclassman who had loved to chatter to her on and on about this and that, when had she become such a calm and moving person?
The corners of Shirai Kuroko’s mouth slightly curled upwards, revealing a gentle smile: “Onee-sama dressed like this really is very beautiful, very feminine.”
After she said that, Kuroko squinted her eyes a little bit, like a mischievous little fox.
Mikoto understood her meaning, wasn’t all Kuroko was trying to say was that compared to how she was before when they were at Tokiwadai, back then, she hadn't been feminine and ladylike at all?
But she didn’t become angry, instead, she thought, Kuroko like this was simply seeing past her outer layer to the truth of her person inside.
It had already been so long since they had last seen each other. These days Kuroko was always out of the country, and even though they sometimes would video chat and talk, the many years where they hadn’t seen each other face to face had made Mikoto troubled. In her heart, that little underclassman of hers would always be so deeply important.
It wasn’t as if Mikoto had never asked Kuroko to come back, nor had she never brought up the idea of her leaving the country to see Kuroko, but Kuroko was always saying she was very busy. In the past it had been schoolwork and academics, now it was work, traveling all around the world like a bird without a nest, flying unceasingly and never once coming to a stop.
Even if she wanted to, Mikoto couldn’t really do anything about it. She could only look forward to Kuroko’s occasional phone calls or video chat requests.
She didn’t know why, but seeing the other woman looking over her now appraisingly, Mikoto felt a bit of heat rise to her cheeks.
But she didn’t think too much about it.
She only thought, it had been so long since she had felt this happy.
At that moment she finally remembered she hadn’t come over here alone, there was someone else standing beside her.
“Yamamoto-san, I’m sorry, why don’t you go back first?” Mikoto glanced toward Kuroko and said, somewhat apologetically, “I still have a lot to talk about with her.”
“Of course, I understand,” Yamamoto nodded, originally a very simple and straightforward answer, but then when the woman had half-turned her body away, she turned herself back around, as if having suddenly thought of something, and looking pointedly at Mikoto’s long dress train, she said, “Going back by yourself, will you be fine?”
“It’ll be fine, I’ll help her carry it.” Kuroko, who had been standing at the side, suddenly spoke.
Seeing that Mikoto didn’t have any objections, Yamamoto once more nodded. “Then, sorry to bother you.”
When Yamamoto had left, Mikoto said, “Actually, if we just let it be as is, it’s also no big deal.” She really didn’t mind how it was either way, and she also felt that if Kuroko had to hold her dress train the entire time they were talking, it would be too inconvenient.
“But if I let it go it’ll fall on the floor, and like that it’ll…” Who could have predicted, the one who was worried about the dress wasn’t Mikoto who was the bride but rather Kuroko, who right at the moment was staring at the dress train with a pained expression, as if not knowing whether or not to do as Mikoto had told her.
The pristine white wedding dress would very easily pick up stains and bad colors.
“It’s fine, it’s just for a little while.” Mikoto thought that Kuroko’s internal conflict here was a bit funny, how come she cared more about the dress than she did?
“Onee-sama is still so unmindful about the little details.” Kuroko smiled helplessly, but in the end, she still didn’t let go of the dress train. After all, this was a dress of great significance to Onee-sama, she couldn’t just stand by and let Onee-sama make a mess of it.
“That being said, doesn’t Onee-sama think that this is kind of tiresome?” Kuroko looked at the way they were positioned now, with her behind Mikoto holding onto the dress train, and Mikoto standing in front of her and somewhat awkwardly twisted around.
Not to mention, not too far ahead of them was a rest area, so as long as they carried the dress over there, it would be fine.
“Yes, yes, you’re right,” Mikoto agreed. She also looked over at the place ahead of them, and then she said, “I don’t think that it’s me still being unmindful about the little details, but rather, I feel like there’s no use in worrying about them anyway, because as long as you can’t see that it’s dirty on the outside, isn’t it fine hahaha…”
This laugh of hers was not ladylike at all, and in an instance, the feeling of distance that had pervaded the air between them just a moment before evaporated.
“And besides, the truth is that I have changed, and you’ve changed as well, Kuroko.” Meeting someone face to face again, that was the only way to correctly judge the aura of a person that couldn’t be sensed in a video chat or call, and Mikoto could tell that compared to before, Kuroko really had become much calmer. As for herself on the other hand, it was completely possible she wasn’t as mature as Kuroko was now.
“With all these years that have passed, the both of us changing is very normal, but there are some things that will never change,” Kuroko said, her smile seeming to carry with it a deep meaning.
But Mikoto wasn’t able to perceive what Kuroko had been trying to say. “You’re right, there are some things that will never change, just for example like how we’ll always be good friends, won’t we?”
Good friends, huh? Kuroko seemed to mull over those two words for a second. “Right, we’ll always be good friends.”
“Speaking of which, right now Onee-sama must be living very happily, right?” Kuroko brought up. When Kuroko had looked over Mikoto just a moment ago, she had thought that Mikoto’s complexion seemed pretty good.
“How, how could that be, it feels like I’m just getting by very clumsily.” The bride, who was supposed to be a dignified and virtuous person, scratched the back of her head without paying any attention to her image. It was a scene that Kuroko couldn't help not only slightly screwing up her eyes but also laughing softly at.
Those eyes that had become a little narrowed, instead of hiding the beauty in them, they looked even more overflowing with color, and Mikoto remembered that those eyes had watched her for countless days and nights in the past. Kuroko had always done things very seriously, the way she looked at people had also always been very focused, so that it never failed to make Mikoto feel that she was not only the only person in her eyes but also the only existence in her heart.
This was so nice. This feeling was just like in the past when she had been with Kuroko at Tokiwadai. If Kuroko had always stayed by her side, how nice that would have been, maybe then…
Then what? She didn’t know how things would have been, but for some reason, she just felt that the future would have definitely been different. Mikoto had to laugh a little bit at herself, why was she thinking about her future all of a sudden? But just then, she really had just thought of those two words without realizing it. It looked like at the end of the day, Kuroko really was so deeply important to her.
The teasing smile on Kuroko’s face seemed to be lasting for a little too long. Mikoto began to feel self-conscious.
“Don’t laugh, the way I am now… is it really that strange?” So she hadn’t grown up to be a good adult after all? In Kuroko’s eyes, was she still a person who hadn’t matured?
“No, of course not, Onee-sama is still just as cute as she was before~” In response to Mikoto, Kuroko’s words still carried a teasing note.
It’s true, you’re still like how you used to be, and so am I. So we are destined to be parallel lines, no matter how close we get to one another, we can never intersect.
“Oh, that’s right, Onee-sama.” As if she had suddenly thought of something, Kuroko asked, “Isn’t this dress a little too long? I feel like it’s not the kind of dress that you would usually like, seeing as how you dislike troublesome things.”
Hearing Kuroko’s question, Mikoto’s face reddened slightly, and she scratched the back of her head again. She said, "Ah... Because the one in my family said that it makes me look better, since it has more of the... feeling of getting married?"
“Wow~ 'The one in my family’! Ah, Onee-sama must be very fond of that gentleman," Kuroko said, jokingly.
“What—what are you saying!” Mikoto’s face became more red.
Just like before, Onee-sama couldn’t be honest at all.
“Then, you really like him?” Kuroko knew what the answer was, but she still wanted to hear it with her own ears.
“Mm!” Mikoto answered Kuroko with an unmistakably brilliant smile.
Ah, that’s good.
Then like this, it’s enough.
“That’s good!” Kuroko suddenly slapped Mikoto’s shoulder with some force.
“Ow!” Mikoto rubbed her shoulder with her hand and gave Kuroko a grumbling look. But Kuroko knew that Mikoto deep down really wasn’t angry.
“This slap, it’s because Onee-sama was the first one out of the two of us to find happiness, and I really am too jealous, so I couldn’t stop my hand from moving on its own hahahaha~"
“Hey now, Kuroko will definitely find her own happiness,” Mikoto spoke firmly.
Her own happiness?
“Let’s go,” Kuroko said.
“Huh?” Mikoto said. Weren’t they going just now?
“The moment that belongs to you is almost here,” Kuroko looked at her wristwatch, speaking with a little bit of regret.
So fast? I thought there should have been a lot more time? Obviously, I still want to sit down and properly talk with Kuroko for a long while, how could I have just let so much time pass us by without feeling anything?
‘Feeling anything’? Ah, from which place could that phrase have come from…
“As the bride, you definitely can’t be late, can you? Let’s go!” Kuroko urged, starting to push Mikoto back where they had come from down the hall.
“Ah—I know, I know, I can walk myself…” As Mikoto was pushed forward, she let out some words that were tinged with complaint, but at the same time, a sense of warm joy was spreading through her heart. Kuroko was still willing to be this close to her. It really was so nice.
May time not weaken the friendship between them, may Kuroko be her good friend forever, may Kuroko be able to find her own happiness.
"No—way—" Kuroko wasn’t going to listen to Mikoto.
Although it's not me who will step into the marriage hall with you, although it's not me who will complete that special ceremony with you.
But I want you to always remember that I'm the one who pushed you in.
One step at a time.
It happened back when they were in high school, hadn’t it? Misaka Mikoto, who had just attended the graduation ceremony, stood at the entrance of the school to say goodbye to everyone, and although many admirers stopped by to talk to her, the only one who stayed until the end was that person.
Her most important person.
"Kuroko, afterward, I'm going to leave this city." I hope we can be good friends for the rest of our lives. This sentence Mikoto did not say, perhaps because she felt that it was a kind of perfunctory statement, and that if she said it out loud, it would lose its meaning and value.
Some words are better left unsaid, or they’ll come out seeming pretentious.
Misaka Mikoto has a pretentious dream, but she isn’t willing to say it out loud. If she says it, she is afraid that later, when the dream doesn’t come true, she’ll be even sadder as well as somewhat embarrassed.
Look, didn’t you believe in this so much when you were younger, you swore it so much back then, and yet what are all these doubts now? Maybe your future self will also laugh at the you who’s like this.
Forgive me for being such a coward, Kuroko. She admits that she has always been tongue-in-cheek, to save face, afraid to tell the truth. Afraid that if she says her feelings she will be caught red-handed in the act.
Don't you think so, too? If you say your feelings, it's as if you've been caught by someone who can flaunt them and use them to hurt you. Words are like sharp objects, you don’t want to expose your soft spots to others and let them stab you.
Kuroko has known this about Mikoto for a long time, but inevitably, she still became sad because of how Mikoto could not get out even that single sentence.
She lowered her head and her bangs covered her eyes, so that Mikoto could not see her expression. Mikoto only felt that the aura around the other girl was a bit low, not like how she was usually full of vitality.
Mikoto thought they should rarely feel this way around one another, silent and still, with none of their usual laughter.
She wanted to apologize, but she didn't know what position to take nor what to use as the reason for the apology.
''I'm sorry, Kuroko, I shouldn't leave you alone by yourself.''
That wasn’t right.
“It's okay, Kuroko, even if I leave Academy City, we can still stay in touch.''
Not right either.
It all sounded not that bad on the surface, like something that she could potentially say, but Mikoto nonetheless felt that none of the words were right. And yet at the same time, she still didn't know what to say.
Mikoto was still debating whether or not to say anything at all, when she noticed that Kuroko in front of her had lifted her head up, revealing her clear face. Her eyes were steady and resolute as if she had made up her mind about something.
“I want Onee-sama to promise me one thing.”
“If I can do it, don’t just ask me one thing, even ten things I won’t hesitate.” As long as it’s you who asks me.
“If… in the future, Onee-sama gets married, please don’t forget to invite Kuroko.”
That was it? Mikoto was a little startled, but still, she promised, “Okay.” Ah, marriage or whatever it was, to tell the truth, she really hadn’t thought that far into the future.
"If Onee-sama is living happily then, please wear a wedding dress with a long train, okay?"
If she wasn’t happy, why would she be getting married in the first place? "Okay, I promise you."
If you are unhappy, I will steal you away from him. If you are happy, then I wish you the best in everything.
Shirai Kuroko looked at Misaka Mikoto who was smiling very happily in front of the gathered crowd and tried her best to suppress the urge to cry.
Onee-sama, I wish you happiness.
Misaka Mikoto, goodbye, from now on you will bear another person's last name, and in this world, there will no longer exist a person who is named 'Misaka Mikoto'.
But still, I want you to be well.
She didn't want to hear the vows anymore, she wanted to escape from this place.
Anywhere was fine, as long as it wasn’t this place.
She had known that coming here would only make her upset, but she hadn’t been able to control herself. She had just wanted to see her truly for one more time, she had only wanted to confirm for herself that she was blissful and happy.
Outside, she looked at the sky full of flying cherry blossom petals above her, tears finally flowing down her cheeks.
That day it had been like this, too, she remembered, that day. The falling of countless cherry blossom petals, witnessing her once more begging for what she wanted but could never have.
So my feelings are just like these flowers… They fall to the ground without anyone noticing.
She had tried so hard, trying not to contact her, knowing that she would never return those kinds of feelings for her, which was why she…
But still, it had been no use, even if she wanted to deliberately forget everything, she could never forget.
Always being worried and always being terrified, wondering if there would be a day when she would receive a wedding invitation with her name on it. But in the end, it still came.
Sure enough, from beginning to the end, the only thing left for her is this sky full of cherry blossoms?