Chapter Text
2002
Yomi always liked to play the mature one of the group. In some way, she still was, but she was nevertheless childlike at heart. After all, her eyes twinkled the most when her and the others waltzed into Magical Land. It was everything she had been waiting for since Tomo rubbed it in her face the day she got sick. The sweet scent of fried dough, the sleek brick walkways, and the weird feeling of anticipation she got when she saw especially long wait lines.
"And I'm not missing out this time. I'm on a roll!" Yomi said, proudly putting her hands on her hips. Chiyo looked just as excited as Yomi, quite literally being the most childish of them. Her eyes went to and fro; first the scrambler, then the distant ferris wheel, then the cheap little kiosk handing out overpriced sparklers to oblivious parents.
"What do you think you'll try first, Miss Yomi?" Chiyo asked, that familiar innocent trill in her voice.
"I read the brochure. That new ride we were talking about is called the Tokyo Screamin', and it's right over there."
Yomi points toward a winding roller coaster, specifically in the spiral loop standing proudly in its center. Suddenly, Tomo butts in and drives a wedge between the two with her body. "I'll race you there! If I win, you have to treat me to juice!" she yelled, already taking off before Yomi had a chance to adequately respond.
"You...you're on!" Yomi snapped back, chasing after her. Chiyo giggled quietly; Tomo never changed, and neither did her one sided rivalies with others. The others trudged behind, trying to avoid the conflict. Sakaki, stone faced as ever, stuck to her trademark silence. Meanwhile, Osaka rustled and figeted with something in her hands.
"Hm? Watcha got there, Osaka?" Kagura asked, tilting her head. She hadn't noticed Osaka brought something in with her.
"Oh, itsa camcorder!" she gleefully replied. "Ah thought I'd take some pictures or videos of the fun stuff, y'know?" Osaka took aim towards Yomi and Tomo in the distance, their harebrained chase looking like something from an old cartoon.
"And it looks like I've already found somethin' interesting!"
"Just don't let Tomo find out you're carrying that..." Kagura muttered, looking off to the side. Osaka kept the camera rolling, catching Yomi almost tripping on her own feet, then pointed its lens towards Chiyo.
"Hey Chiyo-chan, smile real big for me!" Osaka sang, happily filming her friend.
"Ah, a camcorder! And it looks new!" Chiyo replied, reaching out towards the lens. "How'd you get it, Miss Osaka?"
"Well, let's see..."
Osaka waved her hands around, apparently trying to appear mysterious.
"It all started...in mah room..." Osaka droned, narrowing her eyes. "It was a dark an' gloomy night...crrrh! Crrrrrrh!"
Osaka clawed her hands, trying to mimic rolling thunder. She could see Chiyo begin to tense up as her smile slowly dissipated into an uneasy frown.
"I creeped towards mah dark, void-like closet..." Osaka continued.
"...y-yeah? What happened next?" Chiyo warbled, shaking ever so slightly. Sakaki was mildly unnerved by Osaka's spontaneous storytelling, but hardly ever expressed it, and this moment was no exception. Kagura, though, was certainly invested.
"Is this really related to the camera?" Kagura chuckled, patting Chiyo's shoulder in an attempt to calm the poor little 13-year-old.
"Let me finish!" Osaka replied, narrowing her beady brown eyes further. "Ah creeeeeked the door open...an' what I saw..."
"Wh-wh-what did you see?!" Chiyo shrieked, jittering like a bee. Kagura kept trying to comfort her.
"You really wanna know?"
"Yes! YES! Wh-what was it...?!"
"...this camcorder~!" Osaka revealed, playfully roaring and thrusting the lens in the pitiful Chiyo's face. Of course, she jumped and squeezed onto Kagura, apparently bracing for it. The latters palm met her face.
"Is that it?" Kagura scoffed. "You played all that up just to find it in your closet?"
"Mhm. Don't know when ah got it, but I'm not complaining." Osaka crooned, clicking at random buttons on the camcorder. "Lotsa memories will be made here today..."
Chiyo grumbled as she simmered down. How embarassing of her to act so childish in the face of a scary story that was already played for laughs. Meanwhile, the gentle Sakaki quietly looked the other direction and covered her mouth. 'Chiyo is so cute...' she thought.
"Hey hey, Kagura!" Osaka unexpectedly blurted out. "Do somethin' cool for the camera!"
The tanned tomboy was stunned into freezing. "Oh brother, not again..." she muttered, stumbling over her words before snapping her fingers as an idea came to her. She crouched down as if she was preparing to roll into a somersault, before planting her hands onto the sandpaper-like pavement and into a wobbly handstand.
"Check it out, Osaka! Check it ou-AH!"
Less than six seconds had passed. She had expected her balancing stat to be quite high; nevertheless, the leaning tower of Kagura crumbled onto the hard ground and in front of multiple onlookers. But worst of all, Osaka filmed the entire thing.
"...d-delete that!" Kagura winced, peeling herself from the pavement.
"Oh, ah don't know...I read somewhere that you shouldn't erase history." Osaka innocently reasoned, lowering the bulky camcorder.
"Juice! Juice! Look who's got juice and who DOESN'T got juice!"
Who else but Tomo? She pranced all around in a really aggravating way, sipping on a can of sugary juice that Yomi begrudgingly paid for. Yomi just tried to keep her high spirits; the Tokyo Screamin' was definitely all it cracked up to be and more, and she still felt the dizzying energy from it, especially following the loop-de-loop. Tomo ocassionally pointed her finger right at Yomi, announcing how dehydrated she'll be by the end of the day due to her "juicelessness". Yomi grumbled; every time Yomi had to fish out some money for Tomo, she felt just a little more miserly.
"Enjoy it. That can was beyond overpriced. 950 yen a can? Really?!" Yomi groused, feeling a vein pulsating on her forehead. It wasn't all bad, though; the prices of goods was part of Magical Land's charm somehow, and amusement park charm in general. Maybe being 950 yen in the hole was worth it?
Actually, no. Not this time. That money was spent on Tomo's juice and not for herself. The sweet scent of fried dough still radiated in the air, making the poor Yomi's mouth water. Alas, all her pocket money had just gone to funding Tomo's juice addiction. 'What a waste' Yomi thought.
"Was the Tokyo Screamin' fun?! I wanna try!" Chiyo asked Yomi, the former looking like she had twinkling galaxies in her eyes.
"Yeah, it was awesome! There were all these loops and it was so fast and...oh, well..."
Yomi put her finger to her chin. She wasn't exactly sure how to tell Chiyo the truth.
"Well...Chiyo, you aren't tall enough to ride."
Chiyo could swear she heard the sound of glass shattering.
"...h-huh?!"
"You're just too little and cute! They won't let you on!"
Yomi tried her hardest to not let a giggle escape her throat. Tomo kept skipping around like a moron, too focused on her oh-so-beloved juice. Chiyo's face contorted in all sorts of ways; first of horror, then abject annoyance. She stomped like a drummer over to Sakaki, who was standing close by and trying to ignore the confrontation.
"You stole my height again, didn't you?"
Sakaki blushed and began to shiver.
"Huh? I...I stole it?"
"You stole it, didn't you? Give it back, Miss Sakaki! Give it!"
Chiyo thrust her hands up and down, precisely like an irritated child. Sakaki was confounded; this adorable little girl was suddenly being so accusatory. She sputtered and stammered to try to ease the pigtailed terror, until Osaka walked over to negotiate.
"It's alright, Chiyo-chan. I'll ride the Screamin', and I'll bring the camcorder so ah can record the experience for ya!" Osaka explained, sounding like a strong knight in shining armor. Though not entirely satisfied, Chiyo nodded and ended her assault against Sakaki...but not before grumbling one more time.
"You sure you aren't gonna drop the thing?" Kagura asked, tilting her head.
"Yeah. If it slips from your hands, you could take out an innocent bystander." Yomi followed, never missing a chance to make a cruel joke.
"Ah won't drop it! Cross mah heart an' hope to die!" Osaka said, smiling like a star as she slowly shuffled into the long queue for the Tokyo Screamin'. The rest of the group just stood around anxiously, even grinding Tomo to a hault as they watched Osaka walk of.
"...she's definitely gonna drop it." Tomo said.
"I hope it hits you, Tomo." Yomi playfully groused.
"...m-miss? Are you sure you want to take that with you?" The brown-haired technician asked Osaka, pointing at the camcorder.
"Yup!" she joyfully replied. "I promised a friend I would."
The technician reluctantly nodded as she ushered Osaka and the other parkgoers into their carts. Osaka could feel the suspense Yomi was talking about as she buckled herself in. When the mechanisms began to whir and clink, she started recording her viewpoint, ready for takeoff. Osaka never really thought of herself as a thrill seeker, but as the ride began to slowly make it's ascent, her gut started to tighten. She had to remind herself why she was doing this. Osaka pointed the camcorder at her friends on the ground, looking like a bunch of little ants to her. She grinned.
"For you, Chiyo-chan." she said under her breath.
Up, up, up it went. Osaka's heart beat in anticipation as the rails kept clink, clink, clinking. Just when the carts hit the top of the incline...
"For you, Chiyo-ch-WOAH!"
Her breath hitched as the ride began hurtling down and through the twists and turns. Osaka hardly had any time to think before the world started losing its shapes and colors, being replaced with blurs crafted by the Screamin's swirling spirals and loops. However, it was just for a moment; Osaka started settling down. She had suddenly distracted herself with the thought of something far, far more important.
'Little ants...' she thought. 'Chiyo-chan...looked like an ant.
A little ant with detatchable pigtails. Does that mean even littler pigtails? Can I hold them in mah hand?'
The ride blazed through a thousand dizzying somersaults, and like a shuttle through reentry, it was just a few miles-per-hour away from combusting. Osaka didn't even notice she was pointing the camcorder at her shoes now.
'What would her name be...Chiyo-ch-ant? Chiyo-chant!
The adventures of the Chiyo-chant colony...taking food an' gifts to her Chiyo-chant queen. If they're well-behaved, Chiyo-chant queen gives 'em a new pair of pigtails!'
Osaka saw it in her mind. A queen in the shape of Chiyo-chichi. A million little Chiyo-chants saying "We're Chiyo-chants! We're Chiyo-chants!" in unison.
That's when she saw her friends once again as she approached another turn. Though in a bit of a blur, it looked like they were cheering her on in the distance, reinvigorating Osaka once again. She held the camera up high, trying to wave.
"Hey! Hey you gu-"
There it went.
Osaka could hardly react as the camcorder slipped from her hands and started flying like a meteor. There was a powerful swoosh roaring through the air wherever the camcorder went. It was so small that the girls on the ground didn't initally see it. Chiyo looked harder, narrowing her eyes and stepping a little closer.
"Chiyo-chan, watch out!" Kagura suddenly blurted out, shoving Chiyo to the side. Kagura came to the rescue just in time, as the camcorder was only moments away from plowing through Chiyo at a speed that could break the sound barrier. With an earth-shattering CRACK, the camcorder was all but done for as it slammed into the pavement.
"WOAH! Osaka launched a precision strike against Chiyo-chan!" Tomo cried out, her eyes the size of saucers. Chiyo was lying on her side in a trance-like state, all of the color having drained from her face.
"E-e-e-eh..." she stammered.
"Chiyo-chan, don't worry! You're safe!" Kagura assured, helping her back onto her feet. The same obviously could not be said about the camcorder, it's mangled remains splayed out across the hard amusement park ground.
"...well, crap. Maybe this can be salvaged..." A discontented Yomi sighed, scooping up the remains of the camera. "Osaka won't be happy about this."
Yomi picked and prodded at the broken mess of wires and metal for a while until a noticeably tougher compartment caught her eye. She took a moment to peel it open, and she found her salvation.
"Hey, the memory card still looks fine. Maybe it'll live on!" Yomi said, proudly displaying it in her palm with her other hand on her hip. Chiyo blinked and finally exited her state of abject terror, walking over to Yomi to inspect the blue storage device.
"Oh, that's great! Just keep it safe until Osaka arrives!" Chiyo informed, her smile lighting up the whole park. It was as if she wasn't stone-faced and colorless only moments earlier.
"You guys, you guys~!" Osaka beamed from the distance, trotting over to her friends. Speak of the devil. Yomi tried forming the speech she'd give Osaka about her clunky camcorder being turned into a fine paste. No matter how she put it, Osaka wouldn't be pleased.
"Hey, Osaka. Your camco-"
"You almost put a hole through Chiyo-chan!" Tomo cut Yomi off, loudly expressing her dopey and energetic voice. Osaka's brows unhappily curled upwards.
"What? I almost put a hole through Chiyo-chan?"
"Yeah. Well, it's not like you tried to." Kagura confirmed, awkwardly scratching her head. "Also, your camcorder was flattened."
Osaka heard that same glass shattering sound Chiyo heard earlier. She felt her eyes
"What?! But...mah camcorder...was it really all for nothin'?" Osaka fretted, sounding quite upset.
"No no no, it's okay!" Yomi reassured, walking up to Osaka and patting her on the back. "All the photos and videos survived on this little memory card."
"Memory card..." Osaka said to herself, her frown beginning to invert. "Ah, a memory card! A happy ending!"
Yomi smiled and placed the storage unit in Osaka's palms, urging her to keep it in her pocket for the rest of the day. Osaka nodded.
"Was the roller coaster fun?" Sakaki asked, breaking her own silence after several minutes. Just then, Osaka remembered. She had been so distracted with her fantasies about ants that she somehow failed to notice this churning feeling in her gut spurred by the loops and turns of the Tokyo Screamin'. Just as quickly as she regained her happy face, it contorted into one of pain yet again.
"Eughh...ah think I'm gonna hurl..." Osaka trembled, feeling her body coil.
"Crap! In the trash can, in the trash can!" Kagura urgently ordered, grabbing Osaka's shoulders and dragging her to the nearest bin. Sakaki felt a sudden guilt seeing Osaka being dragged off like that...perhaps she shouldn't have asked?
"So, the day is saved?" Chiyo rhetorically asked, referring to the memory card.
"Yeah, I guess it's saved. Maybe you can watch Osaka's recording when we get home. She made it just for you, after all." Yomi assured, patting Chiyo on the head.
Tomo drove a wedge between Chiyo and Yomi to make an annoucement of her own. "Maybe Osaka should record something for ME next~! Something really cool, like a-"
As a universal punishment, Tomo was cut off by a distant Osaka.
"Bleeeeugh!"
A concerned look manifested upon Chiyo, Yomi, Tomo and Sakaki.
"...I guess she's easily sick, too." Yomi said, promising herself to be more careful next time they bring Osaka to Magical Land.
Another beautifully shiny day. Crisp air, low cloud coverage, and an athlete who was willing to exploit the weather by going for another jog.
Kagura thought to take a different route this time. After all, college was very near, and she ought to explore while she still could. She'll miss it, this little suburb she'd grown so accustomed to over the last two years. But Kagura knew the way forward was out there, far from here. She kept running, dreaming of the swim team she'd be sure to join the moment she set foot on the campus. Kagura almost broke into a sprint, but decided against letting her excitement get the better of her again. She had to take it one day at a time.
'I think I heard that in a song once.' Kagura thought to herself as she kept her steady pace.
Kagura turned the corner and was about to pass by Osaka's house. With a keen eye, she saw the Osakan in her yard, dressed in overalls and a white sunhat. From a distance, it looked like she was kneeling on the ground, working on something that was obscured by her form. Kagura was initially preparing a wave, but she opted to get a closer look at whatever Osaka was doing...was she digging a hole?
"Hey, whatcha digging for?" Kagura asked, obviously amused. Digging holes was something Kagura could get behind, whether there was a reason to or not.
"Oh, ah didn't see ya there!" Osaka replied, tossing up dirt with a cheap little spade. "I'm just pushin' this lil' box into the ground, so it could stay there forever."
"...forever?" Kagura tilted her head. The box was indeed little, spangled in random bright colors. It looked like a recycled birthday gift box.
"Yup, forever!"
"Well, what's in it?"
Osaka began shoveling the dirt over the box and flattening it.
"It's the memory card from yesterday's trip." she gleefully responded.
"Oh really? Why're you burying it?"
"Ah just wanted to make up for the last time capsule, y'know?"
Kagura nodded in understanding.
"Hey, you're coming to see Chiyo-chan off, right?" Kagura asked, assuming Osaka would confirm.
"Chiyo-chan's goin' off?" Osaka asked, it having slipped her mind.
"You forgot?!" Kagura disapprovingly shook her head. "She's flying to the States in just a few days!"
For a moment, Osaka thought of Chiyo's hair, flapping and fluttering for the little girl to take flight. Was it fact or fiction? Osaka put her hand on her chin.
"She'll be holdin' all her clothes and luggage and stuff. Will her pigtails be able to support all that weight?" Osaka asked, her eyes narrowing like a sleuth.
The confused Kagura replied "What the heck are you talking about?!"
Tsukutsuku bou-shi! Tsukustusku bou-shi! Tsukutsuku bou-shi!
What a racket. When this familiar cicada cry is heard, some feel the palpable sense of dread and worry. Not due to any unseen omen or sign for impending calamity, nor as some sort of icon of misfortune.
This cicada conjurs dread for one solitary purpose: it signals that summertime is coming to an end.
That was hardly what the girls were thinking about today...except maybe Tomo. Seeing the swarms of people in the airport coming back home after vacation made her pout; it was just another reminder. The girls stuck together like glue, trying to not get themselves lost in such a crowded space. Chiyo's luggage was large, almost abnormally large, especially for a girl her size.
"Isn't it ironic?" Yomi said to Chiyo. "Everyone's coming home, and you're the only one leaving."
"Y-Yeah, ironic..." Chiyo replied, a little warble in her voice. She dragged her suitcase along the ground and looked around herself one more time. Osaka, Yomi, Tomo, Kagura, Sakaki...even Kaorin was there to say goodbye.
"Nng..." Tomo whimpered quietly. She looked on the verge of tears.
"Oh no...Tomo-chan, what's wrong?" Osaka asked, assuming it was about Chiyo.
"...I DON'T WANT SUMMER TO END!" Tomo finally admitted, throwing her arms up.
The rest of the girls sighed. Was this really what was on her mind right now?
"I'm gonna miss you, Chiyo-chan. I wish we could've done more together during the summer..." Kaorin warmly said, a bittersweet smile curled on her face. Chiyo was visibly struggling; she promised she wouldn't cry, that she wouldn't get too emotional. But words like this...they don't make it easy. Not at all.
"Mhm, maybe we could do more next time I come back to Japan." Chiyo responded, praying nobody heard her voice crack.
There wasn't more left that she could say. The group was approaching the path to Chiyo's jet bridge, and the time to takeoff was approaching. It was Chiyo's last chance to get it all out there, as well as for the others. Chiyo walked forward just a bit, the rest of the girls staying behind her, before turning to face them all.
"W-Well...I guess this is goodbye for now." Chiyo plaintively announced, her eyes starting to glisten. It looked like a tsunami of tears could ravage the airport at any moment.
"...I guess we should all say something to Chiyo-chan before she goes." Kagura added, seizing the opportunity. "You were uh...brilliant in school. I admit, I was a little jealous. I think you'll be America's greatest college student ever!"
Kagura sniffled a bit herself as she stepped back, throwing an enormous thumb-up into the air for Chiyo. She bumped Tomo's shoulder, wordlessly urging her that it was her turn.
"Well, Chiyo-chan..." Tomo began. "...you weren't so bad! But you could never beat the Knuckleheads collective test scores, so keep practicing!"
"Th-Thank you, Tomo-chan.." Chiyo reluctantly replied.
Kaorin facepalmed at that. Tomo side-eyed her, apparently wanting her to make her speech next. She quietly stammered when she looked at Chiyo, the 13-year-old looking like she was ready to explode from her emotions. Kaorin didn't want Chiyo to cry; if she cried, Kaorin would too, by nature. She chose her words carefully as she took one step forward, almost seeing her own reflection in gleaming eyes of Chiyo.
"I know it won't be forever...but it'll feel like it!" Kaorin said, trying to cojur optimism. "It was so much fun hanging out with you, especially at your summer home. I'll await your return!"
After a few seconds of just standing around, Sakaki's lip subtly quivered, suggesting she couldn't find the words she wanted to say to Chiyo. Yomi could see that Sakaki would be shy to the very end, so she shuffled to her side and put her hand atop Sakaki's shoulder.
"Sakaki and I think you'll make a name for yourself!" Yomi announced, speaking for the former. "Get to the top of the class and don't let your cuteness get you down! We believe in you!"
Sakaki blushed nodded in agreement, especially regarding Chiyo's adorable appearance. The pigtailed girl just giggled quietly, unappreciative of being called cute but too emotional to really refute.
The last one left was the poor Ayumu Kasuga. Osaka had been unnaturally quiet as the others spoked, and she seemed to be deliberately gandering to the side. Chiyo stared in her direction, anticipating whatever she had to say. She didn't appear to be lost in thought again, proven by her sudden focus on Chiyo as she turned her head. Unlike the others, Osaka slowly walked towards and right in front of Chiyo, looking down at her with a uncharacteristically solemn facial expression. The girls were confused and even slightly intimidated; it wasn't like her to be so quiet and somber.
"M-M-Miss Osaka?" Chiyo asked, her voice as unstable as an old building.
"Chiyo-chan..." Osaka started. "Ah never really told ya, but..."
She gulped.
"...you're mah best friend. Mah bestest friend."
As silly as her accent was, Osaka tried her hardest to sound earnest. Chiyo understood.
"Miss Osaka..." she sniffled. With little hesitation, Osaka kneeled to Chiyo's height and slowly wrapped her arms around her, gently cradling her form.
"Ah wish only the best for ya, Chiyo-chan. Call me when you can." Osaka finished, still staying earnest.
The fuse had finally ignited the bomb that was Chiyo's tear ducts. She buried her face in Osaka's shoulder and just let it all out, sobbing like a baby. The vehement display of emotion tuned out whatever noise the airport reverberated. Osaka kept squeezing Chiyo, unknowingly shedding just a tear or two of her own.
"M-M-Mi...Miss..." Chiyo could hardly talk; even if she could, it would all be muffled. Osaka didn't answer, staying just like this for a good long while. When she eventually had to let Chiyo go, she took a step back. Right now, Chiyo looked like a wreck. Osaka didn't usually cry, she hardly ever had a good reason to, but just this moment was different. Raising her hand to the air like a referee, she delivered her final message.
"Do your best, Chiyo-chan! Do your best! Do your best!"
Her friend's face lit up.
"I'll do my best! Just for you guys!" she said, dashing through the jet bridge and on the path to America.
...at least, she tried. Her suitcase, as large and heavy as it was, proved to be a mighty foe as she strained to drag it across the jet bridge. She cursed herself that she didn't bring a rolling one.
"Hnng! Hhrrrrng!" Chiyo grunted, struggling all the way to the door and out of sight. Osaka wiped a tear from her eye; she knew that Chiyo could've lifted it with her pigtails instead of her arms.