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Tsushima Yoshiko was a peculiar girl in society’s eyes. Ever since she was born, her family members recognized that she had a personality in stark contrast to a normal person’s. Her family wasn’t void of uniqueness either; for example, her mother had a crippling addiction to AKB48 and would sometimes steer the direction of a conversation to the idol group or even approach random strangers, asking them to talk about it.
From an early age, she developed a fallen angel persona, often referring to herself as “Yohane” and calling herself a fallen angel. This also extended to other areas of her speech; she would refer to other people as her “little demons” and sometimes bestow upon them nicknames if they were friends, though she would usually loudly speak in public and express herself.
She would wear her dark blue hair completely straight except for one bun on the right side of her head, with her bangs symmetrically covering her forehead. Sometimes, she would stick a black feather in her bun to enhance her image of herself as a fallen angel. While in public, she would wear normal clothes, such as a school uniform, but in the isolation of her room, she would unleash her true fallen angel’s fashion. She had loads of fallen angel clothes in her closet, which would allow her to transform into a fallen angel at any point. The outfits were mainly completely black; there would be white patches on the clothes; some of the outfits also had purple midsections on them. The wings that came with the outfits were all black. The set of fallen angel clothes also featured long black reverse sleeves that started with gloves and ended slightly away from the shoulder. These eccentricities would often repel other people from her, especially those her age, as similar electric charges would. However, there was one girl her age that wouldn’t reject her. Her name was Sakurauchi Riko.
Sakurauchi Riko was the sun to Yoshiko’s moon; they were polar opposites. She was a model child. While Yoshiko was boisterous, she was quiet. For almost any perceived negative trait Yoshiko had, Riko was absent. For almost any perceived positive trait Riko had, Yoshiko was absent.
Riko grew up in a traditional Christian family. Every Sunday, her mother and father would bring her to church to preach about the gospel, sing hymns, and praise God. They worshipped the cross and memorized Bible verses, making sure Riko was on top of her studies, both in theology and academics. Unlike Yoshiko, who scored average marks most of the time, Riko always excelled in her academics. Her tests and papers would often come home with 97 or 98 on them; while a perfect score was a rarity for her, she still performed well above any other student in her cohort. Her parents provided her with the clothes that any good Christian girl would have, being modest in quality and not showing off any unwanted parts. They would often be colorless, though she would sometimes wear pink; the designs of the clothes were also simple; her standard of clothing would make her gawk at what Yoshiko would wear sometimes.
From an early age, she had been conditioned to be perfect. When the other children played in the streets, having fun, Riko would sit inside her house, working on her books or homework, whether it be for math, Japanese, or any other subject. Sometimes, she would watch the other children from afar, wondering what it would be like to be in their position. When the other children mentioned video games in elementary school, her parents’ brains rang alarm bells. They quickly signed Riko up for piano lessons, making sure she was trained in the likes of the great master such as Bach, Beethoven, and Chopin. As her fingers fluttered across the keys of the piano, she sometimes wondered what it would be like to be sitting in front of an electronic device, playing video games.
Her parents also fed her some ideas, a few more harmful than the rest. One of them was to stay away from dangerous characters. Types of people encapsulated in the “dangeorus characters” category included those who played video games, those who didn’t attend church, and those who wore outlandish outfits or rejected the precious words of tradition; Yoshiko fit into all of these categories.
As time passed, Riko was praised inside the circle of parents. She was complimented on her academic marks, her devotion to all that was sacred, her avoidance of dangerous substances and people, and her ability to listen to authority in an age when many young people resisted the word of their elders. In middle school, she was already hailed as a candidate for a first-class musician; her talent and performance on the piano weren’t jokes. By the beginning of middle school, she played as well as many students in a school dedicated to music; her parents attributed her success to “steering clear of the Devil and his influences.” In competitions, her fingers danced across the keys, recreating the beautiful sound the ancient composers had once adored so much.
In high school, Yoshiko and Riko met each other. Riko, in her moral upbringing, saw Yoshiko’s social plight; she knew she had to take action. On the second day of school, she walked up to Yoshiko, hoping to make friends. “Hello there; my name is Sakurauchi Riko. What’s your name?”
Yoshiko looked up, her face absent of a crestfallen expression; previously, no one except her family had voluntarily approached her to ask her to be friends. “This mortal is clever; she senses the most powerful presence of the fallen angel, Yohane! Due to your wisdom, I will humbly oblige your request. I will call you … little demon Riri!”
“That’s very nice, Yocchan.”
That night, Yoshiko told her mother and father about the friend she made, Sakurauchi Riko, when she was asked about the events that transpired at school. She explained how Sakurauchi Riko, the one hailed as the embodiment of every parent’s dream, voluntarily came to her and asked to be friends with Tsushima Yoshiko, the epitome of parental disappointment in many people’s eyes. Her parents giggled; they had a premonition that something special would happen between them; after all, wasn’t it always the story of the perfect girl and the outcast, shunned by a society that was the most romantic?
Riko had to tread in more dangerous waters; her parents were the most disapproving of the people who resembled Yoshiko and Yoshiko herself the most. They saw her as someone who vehemently rejected the precious word of God, instead walking down the satanic path to eternal damnation. They saw her as someone throwing away the kindness that the kindest deity had provided, opting instead to spend her days immersed in mortal pleasures. They saw her as lavish, extravagant, superfluous, and hedonistic. When her parents asked her what events had occurred during the school day and whether she had made any friends, she replied that she had met someone in need and was morally obligated to help. Her parents accepted that response without question.
As spring’s sakura petals faded, giving way to the vibrant green that decorated the scenery of summer, Yoshiko and Riko grew ever closer. They spent more time together, with Yoshiko talking about their meetings with her parents and Riko hiding her secret from her parents, fearing reprisal. When the green leaves turned red, signaling the beginning of autumn, painted with sparkling varieties of red, Yoshiko mustered her courage.
Riko knew that she was lesbian ever since the sixth grade, though she never told a single soul; she whispered her secret to nothing, not even the blades of grass, for even the smallest of living beings could spread secrets far and wide. The feeling had come to her after a stranger with the most distinct blue hair approached her and started blabbing about an idol group named “Akihabara 48.” Her parents pulled her away from the stranger after the conversation started mentioning “idols.” However, in the dark of night, she secretly took out her electronic device and searched for what the strange woman was talking about. Searching through the members of AKB48, she randomly clicked on one of them, Nakagawa Haruka. She instantly knew when she saw the idol’s face that she was lesbian; after all, when pretty girls like her existed, how could any girl be straight? It wasn’t even a topic of discussion for Riko; she was lesbian.
It was a day when red leaves fell from trees, turning a static setting dynamic. It was slightly before the first bell, and Yoshiko had asked Riko to meet her under the wilting trees near their high school’s courtyard. Both of them knew they had feelings for each other, though they were in the dark about the other’s reciprocation. “Yocchan? What is it you wanted to talk with me about?” Riko asked, wondering what was so urgent it would have required a private conversation between the two of them.
Yoshiko breathed in and out for a few seconds; it was one of the few moments where she had doubts about speaking her mind. “Little demon Riri, for your loyal service to the fallen angel Yohane, I wish to present to you a reward; would you engage the pleasure of accompanying the fallen angel Yohane, not as her servant or little demon, but as her companion and girlfriend?” Yoshiko asked, making outlandish hand motions as she made her proposal.
Riko’s heart was on fire, the bonfire of her feelings lit aflame by the spark of Yoshiko’s confession. “Of course I will, Yocchan. How could I say no to you, as your most loyal little demon?” The two girls felt the temperature rise in their facial area and then hugged, having just become an official couple.
“By the way, we’re meeting my parents tonight. Don’t worry; no matter what you do, you won’t make a bad impression on them.”
That night, when Riko went over to Yoshiko’s house, she told her parents that she was going to a friend’s house to study, have dinner, and sleep over; it was a female friend, so they wouldn’t have to worry about sex. Yoshiko’s parents served Yoshiko’s favorite food, an extra spicy rendition of Mapo Tofu. Riko watched as Yoshiko gulped down her food and hesitantly took a bite. It didn’t take long for the feeling to set in; her face set alight, and her body temperature increased by many degrees. The Tsushima saw her reaction and stifled laughter. “Can’t take spice well, Riri?” Yoshiko teased, poking Riko’s cheeks.
“It’s not that, Yocchan,” Riko said, desperately trying not to explode from the heat of the spiciness of the dish.
“Don’t worry about it, Riko; our little Yoshiko was just like you when she first tried spicy food,” Yoshiko’s mother teased, eliciting a look of embarrassment from her daughter.
“Mom! What the heck!” Yoshiko blurted, ashamed that one of her secrets had been revealed.
“Really, Mrs. Tsushima? I always thought, that with her talk of ‘the flames of hell’ and ‘eternal damnation’s temperatures,’ that she had been able to have a heat tolerance her whole life,” Riko said, laughing, erasing the burning sensations caused by the Mapo Tofu.
“You don’t need to call me Mrs. Tsushima, Riko; you can just call me mom; after all, we’ll all be family soon,” Yoshiko’s mother said, teasing the pair.
“You like teasing, Mrs. Tsushima,” Riko said, earning a glare from her target. “You like teasing … Mom.”
The Tsushima parents cheered, hugging the two girls, celebrating their unofficial marriage. The two children blushed under the spotlight.
When the scenery of winter showed only bleakness and death, Riko agreed to let Yoshiko meet her parents and introduce the chuunibyou as her girlfriend. She had been hesitant to introduce Yoshiko as her girlfriend to her family, but now she was sure that she had a safe place if the worst scenario occurred.
When Yoshiko walked into Riko’s abode, she gasped at the simplicity in front of her. The walls were plain white, with no decorations, save for a few religious paintings and some motivational quotes. “Make yourself at home, Yocchan; my parents should be home any minute.”
Yoshiko observed her surroundings, an eerie feeling already creeping down her throat; she now understood why Riko was reluctant to let her meet Riko’s parents. The floor was void of life; not a single dirty spot lingered on its surface. It seemed that it was either regularly cleaned or that there was a strict protocol in place to prevent any dirty substances from landing on it. What presented itself as even more of a surprise was the cleanliness of the stair handrail; while one could enter a person like Riko’s house and not be surprised by a clean floor, it was out of the world to see a spotless handrail. It seemed like the house was about to be presented to some billionaire who wanted to buy it. Yoshiko inspected the house from her vantage point, realizing that, just as Riko felt out of place in her home, she felt out of place in her girlfriend’s; the orderly and following culture that clearly was pervasive throughout the household was present in every corner of it, whether it be in the arrangement of the shoes, cleanliness of objects, symmetry of the dishes on the table, or the unique design and decorations of each room, all of which were incredible feats of organization, protocol, and labor.
As Yoshiko’s gaze lingered, first observing furniture, then appliances, and then miscellaneous aspects of the room, the door to the house opened, revealing a couple, presumably Riko’s parents. On this occasion, Yoshiko deviated from her normal fashion and clothes style; instead of wearing one of her fallen angel costumes or one of her eccentric outfits that perfectly reflected her personality, she wore a plain gray dress that symbolized the values that Riko’s parents sought in a partner, such as modesty, plainness, and respect, among other things. “Hello mother and father, welcome back home; as you both can see, I have brought a friend over; I believe I have informed you of this arrangement, and that you both have acted accordingly; I observe an extra plate, glass, and set of utensils on the dining table; thank you for accommodating her, it is deeply appreciated.” Her parents only nodded, hinting that they wished for Yoshiko to introduce herself; Yoshiko only hoped that she didn’t make a poor impression on her girlfriend’s parents, though that would prove difficult, as she practically had to force every rehearsed word out of her mouth.
“Thank you for letting me into your home, Mr. and Mrs. Sakurauchi, it is a delight to be here tonight; my name is Tsushima Yoshiko, and I am a fellow student and friend of your daughter; she has been extremely to me, and I must thank her for that,” Yoshiko said, swallowing increasing feelings of anxiety that were making their way around her body and brain.
“You flatter us, Miss Tsushima; there is no need for such profuse thanks, as we only raised our daughter; she was the one who knew right from wrong. Please, I believe that it is time for dinner; seat yourselves as you please, though I believe that both of you would like be seated adjacent to each other?”
Yoshiko and Riko agreed, sitting next to each other at the dining table. As they talked about things, exchanging friendly banter, Yoshiko tried not to expose herself; however, she found that increasingly difficult as they began approaching more difficult topics; she signaled to Riko that they should reveal their relationship with each other. Riko tapped her fingers a few times, acknowledging Yoshiko’s request and agreeing to fulfill it.
“Mother and father, I have a confession to make to both of you.”
“What could it be, Riko?”
“Well … Yocchan is actually more than a friend; we’re actually girlfriends, and we thought that this would be the appropriate time and setting to make this announcement.”
For a few seconds, all parties were in silence; Yoshiko silently hoped that this meant that her girlfriend’s parents had accepted her. However, in 1929, things crashed. Riko’s parents flew into a rage, throwing a plate of food right into their daughter’s face. “What the fuck, Riko! How could you do something like this? Being in love with someone of the same sex is a sin, and you know that! It goes against the teachings of the almighty God! You were perfect; you would complete your studies, be a good role model, marry a good man, and educate your children well to live in bliss in Heaven and old age; you’ve ruined it all by going out with this devilish agent of the devil himself! You both, get out of this house, and never come back. I don’t want to see either of you sinners again.”
Riko broke down in tears, disheartened that her parents had thrown such a straightforward, direct, and insulting rejection towards her and her girlfriend. Yoshiko, however, was unfazed; she struck back, and her tongue was filthy and sharp. “You fuckwads! Your daughter lives up to every single one of your expectations, exceeding most of them, earning awards on an extremely consistent basis, and then she misses one of your bullseyes, and not you do this? This isn’t stupidity; this is child abuse! And so what if God says that this is a sin? If he tries to prevent two people from living happy lives, I say this: he can suck my balls,” Yoshiko said. “And one more thing: you can bet we’re getting out of here and never coming back; neither of us wants to be in such an unwelcoming household anyways, fuckwads.”
Yoshiko took Riko in her arms, holding the crying girl as she escorted her out of the door to her former house. “Don’t worry, Riri, we’ll be alright; you can just stay at my house and we’ll take care of you; you saw how they treated you well, didn’t you?” Yoshiko comforted.
Riko sniffled, looking up at Yoshiko. “T-thank you, Yocchan; I didn’t know what I’d do after they kicked me out; my whole life, I’ve lived here, trapped in these confined; thanks to you, however, I think I’ve broke free of my shackles, and I can live freely. Thank you, Yocchan.”
The two girls cried into each other’s bodies, slowly walking to Yoshiko’s house, where angry parents wouldn’t scold them for loving another girl.