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“Yocchan? Can you come over to my house for a bit?” Yoshiko heard as she picked up the phone when Riko called her; her girlfriend on the other side of the line carried a sense of urgency with her message, so Yoshiko flew into a panic.
“What is it, Riri? The fallen angel Yohane will use her powers of swift flight and teleportation to land at your abode momentarily and resolve your issues.”
“Thanks, Yocchan; I’ll hang up now, and we’ll talk later when you come to my house, okay?”
“Alright!” Yoshiko took a few belongings, such as her school bag, with her as she sprinted to Riko’s house, wondering what could’ve gotten her to sound so tense. After knocking on the door and being let in, Yoshiko took a seat on one of the soft couches in Riko’s living room. She noticed that her girlfriend’s face looked unhappy and gloomy, and she knew something was up. “What is it, little demon Riri? Are there are any mortal troubles that you’d like the great Yohane to erase off of this planet?”
Riko shook her head. “It’s the opposite, Yocchan.”
“What do you mean, Riri?”
“My feelings for you have disappeared along with spring’s sakura petals, Yocchan.”
“You mean that … you want to break up?” Yoshiko said, tearing up.
“I truly apologize, Yocchan, but that is the message that I was trying to convey with those words.”
“Please, Riri; if there’s anything where I erred ….”
“There’s nothing you can do about it now, Yocchan. Take this, as a token of our continued friendship, though we’re not dating anymore.” Riko took a pendant out and, using both hands, placed it in one of Yoshiko’s hands. “I’ll leave you alone for a while to process your feelings, Yocchan; I know you need it.”
Riko turned around and walked up to her room, her pink hair disappearing out of Yoshiko’s sight after mere seconds. Deciding to walk back to her house, even though she would have to endure Numazu’s brutal summers, she cupped her head in her hands while she walked. “Riri … I hope that your prophecy and token hold true.” When she reached her home, she took a shower to dry her body from her sweat and tears.
Yoshiko woke up early on 19 September, a Sunday. Aqours had planned to go to Riko’s house to throw her a birthday party. However, as Riko’s ex-girlfriend, she decided that she needed to arrive early to keep her good favor; while she didn’t believe that the chances of them getting back together were large, she wanted to stay on good terms because she didn’t want their relationship to become awkward and affect things that were outside the scope of it. As a gift to Riko, she had prepared a collection of books that she thought Riko would enjoy; she had seen her reading often and thought it customary to send her some books.
She, in her abundance of caution, also decided to bring a specialty of her own to the party, the “Fallen Angel’s Tears.” It was a special she had concocted, with its trademark being its extreme spicy taste. Early in the morning, she prepared her ingredients, remembering to substitute the octopus with Tobasco Sauce. She took out the cooking appliance required for the cooking, putting the balls she had meticulously crafted onto it, watching them sizzle as they grew hotter. Injecting her hot sauce into them, she set a timer for a few minutes. When the timer expired, she turned the appliance off and put her creations in a tray, and began to walk out the door. “Yoshiko! Where are you going! And what are you carrying?” Yoshiko’s mother asked.
“The fallen angel Yohane descends upon Riri’s realm to deliver the appropriate gifts to celebrate the date when she stumbled upon this world.”
“Isn’t her birthday celebration’s planned beginning in two hours though?”
“Yohane finds it fitting for a mortal of Riri’s caliber to appear before the designated time.”
“Alright, just make sure you come home early enough.”
“Alright,” Yoshiko said. She waved her mother goodbye as she stepped out of the door, walking to Riko’s house.
Meanwhile, another person had decided it would be a good idea to arrive early at Riko’s birthday party: Watanabe You. She had an important to deliver to her fellow second year. Sprinting to the other girl’s house, she began to have doubts; however, she dispelled her thoughts. She knew that birthdays were the optimal time to deliver these types of messages.
When she finally made it to Riko’s house, the other girl was distressed at her state. “You-chan? What happened to you? Did you get robbed?”
“Thanks for your concern, Riko-chan; I just rushed over to your house to deliver an important message to you. It’s very important to me.”
“What it is, You-chan?”
“I wanted to confess something to you … I’ve started to develop romantic feelings for you. Will you accept my feelings?”
Riko paused for a second, still remembering Yoshiko. However, her kind and polite personality kicked in; not wanting to hurt You, she decided against rejection. “I … I accept your feelings, You-chan.”
You’s face beamed, and she jumped onto Riko! “Yay! Thank you, yousoro!”
At that moment, the door opened; it was Yoshiko, and she had just witnessed the spectacle that had unfolded in front of her. “Riri? You? What’s going on?”
“Well,” You began to say, though she was cut off.
“You don’t need to reply, You. I need Riri’s response; though, I already know what my little demon will say. This fallen angel sees through all deceit and barriers. It hasn’t been that long, Riri, and now you’re with someone else? You’ve struck deeper than anyone else into this fallen angel.”
Riko desperately tried to salvage the situation. “Yocchan, please listen to me; we can still be friends, right? Remember the pendant?”
Yoshiko bent her head down before facing up to respond to her ex-girlfriend’s query. “When you delivered that blow to me that day, I thought your thoughts as this moment; we could still be friends. However, all lies must fall, and the truth will climb the wall. It seems your barrier has fallen, little demon; I see through your scheme. I realize that belief was incorrect, and this fallen angel has altered her perspective to the one that most represents the truth.”
“What does this mean, Yocchan?”
“Even though you have dealt against me a second devastating hit, I still hope that we can part on friendly terms. This time, however, the fallen angel will be the one delivering the items of peace. Though, any prospects of the union of the fallen angel and her little demon are ruined.” Riko’s eyes widened; however, Yoshiko only continued. “To amend for that fault, I believe I must give you something, Riko. ” She made sure to place as much volume and tone into that final declaration of separation as possible. “As a testament to our continued friendship, you can have this.”
Yoshiko handed Riko the tray of Fallen Angel’s Tears first. Then, she handed Riko the bag of books along with a third item. After sending her gifts, Yoshiko stormed out of Riko’s residence to sulk and cry; she was about to deal her second blow of spite to Riko, even though she still truly loved her.
When Riko rummaged through the bag of books Yoshiko had given her, she found the pendant that she had given Yoshiko on the day of their breakup.