5th of January, 8:30 pm, Streets of Tokyo
The bright and packed streets of Tokyo felt like a dream as Ruby and Keiko walked down the busy sidewalk, holding each other's hands to not lose each other in the big crowd of salarymen rushing home to their families. Ruby was still figuring out where they should even go while she confidently pulled on Keiko's hand. When she went out, she usually went shopping or looked for a quiet place to eat something. But now?
Keiko wouldn't want me to spend any more money on her.
And I get it, it can feel totally weird when somebody else pays for you.
But like… Should we just sit down in a park and stare at a tree, or what?
The crowd around them became smaller as they passed by a train station. This left them surrounded by only a few people, yet the sound of quick steps and passing cars was still just as prominent. Suddenly, Ruby heard a light growl come from her left. When she turned, she saw Keiko quickly looking away, with her pale cheeks flushed faint red. "Oh? What was that?" Ruby's voice was a bit teasing as she stopped walking and lightly poked Keiko's tummy with her index finger. "Is there somebody hungry?" Ruby looked at Keiko while her lips formed a mischievous, yet gentle grin.
"No- Not much. I probably have food at home, I can wait," Keiko stuttered.
Ruby gently shook her head without looking away. They stood in the middle of the sidewalk, pedestrians shooting annoyed glances in their direction as they had to maneuver around the two of them.
"Nuh uh. Come on, let's go eat something. We can't do anything else anyways, just see it as a reward since you did great today. And if you don't want to do that, just pay it forward with your first salary," Ruby said.
Keiko looked left and right before looking back at Ruby, finally hesitantly agreeing as she continued to trail along behind Ruby.
…
They walked into the first ramen spot they saw. It was semi-crowded, but they were still quickly able to find a table to sit down at. Shortly after they had sat down, a waiter walked up to them and took their orders. This time, Keiko, much to the joy of Ruby, instantly ordered the same thing she did, instead of trying to pull the same move from earlier.
"Ruby?" Keiko said a few moments after the waiter had left, her tone was so quiet that she was barely louder than the ambient sounds of the restaurant. "Why are you so kind to me?"
Ruby tilted her head slightly to the left, seemingly confused by Keiko's question. "I honestly think I'm doing the bare minimum. I was the one who asked to spend time with you, so paying for the food is not that special."
Keiko softly shook her head. "No, I don't think anybody was ever this kind to me… But that's not what I meant, Mem-Ch-… I mean, Mem and the boss are kind too, but your kindness feels different. You are treating me like I'm an old friend of yours, even though we just met…"
Caught a bit off guard, Ruby fell quiet.
She's right. Why am I doing this?
I never paid for someone else's food before.
And now I'm doing it for the second time today already.
No, I have never been in such a situation before.
She actually needs this food. I don't know her background, but look at her.
She is so thin that's the reason.
"I just don't want you to watch while I eat; you're interpreting too much into this," Ruby said. "Also, I have a lot of income and no expenses, my money would just be piling up anyways."
Keiko took a long sip from the straw of her lone drink.
"Can I ask you something?" Keiko asked with a quiet voice, "I feel like I know the real reason behind it, something maybe you're not even aware of."
Ruby nodded
"Alright… Could it be that you're seeing a replacement for anybody in me? I mean I don't really know you, and I'm not a psychiatrist… Please don't get mad at me for assuming." Keiko took a small break. "I assume it's Miss Arima, but I can't be certain… Anyways, what I want to say is, please don't have too high expectations of me." Keiko bowed a bit as her sentence ended.
"No, don't worry," Ruby quickly replied, "I am not projecting Kana onto you… But Kana is great too, would you maybe want to meet her someday? I think the two of you could become friends."
It is definitely not Kana, I mean, I still talk to her daily. But she is probably right…
Could it be that I am still longing for Ai? Mom died one and a half decades ago, I thought I was over it…
But Aqua clearly isn't over it either, maybe this is really it after all… But I shouldn't treat Keiko differently because of this.
Keiko raised her head again, speaking up, which drew Ruby back into reality. "I would love to."
Their conversation went on, and their food eventually arrived five minutes later, too. They dug in and finished their bowls in a record time, leaving the warm light of the store behind as they stepped back into the by neon signs flooded streets.
They walked for a while until they found themselves amidst a big shopping district. Around them were various stores. Some sold anime merchandise, and others sold electronics. Ruby initially wanted to avoid the stores since they couldn't buy anything anyway, but her mood shifted. They started strolling through the streets, looking into showcases, sometimes even entering the stores to look around, before eventually leaving again, every time without actually buying anything. Eventually, Ruby's attention got caught by a store; it looked to her like the store had called out for her specifically, sparkling extra bright. She walked up to the glass display, almost pressing her face against it. Inside the store were various plushies. Some were anime themed, some were cute animals, while others were foods with faces.
Her gaze eventually landed on a bunny plush,whicht was about 40 centimeters tall, and held a carrot while smiling at Ruby with a typical kawaii expression. Ruby's hand already hovered over the handle, ready to enter the store, but then she pulled it away again. She had almost forgotten about her Keiko predicament.
"You can buy it if you want it. I don't mind," Keiko said, her eyes glancing down at Ruby's hand.
Ruby put her hand back into her pocket and took a few steps back. "No chance. I don't really need it anyway… Let's go shopping together someday, then I'll buy the bunny."
Ruby began to stroll again, and Keiko caught up with her just a moment later. Suddenly, a man who watched through the window of the store pushed past them; their shoulders touched hard enough for Ruby to snap to the side a bit. Yet, by the time she had turned around, the man had already disappeared inside the store.
"What a jerk." Ruby just shook her head, unwilling to cause a scene.
The rest of the evening had seemingly gone by in just a second. It was already 9:00 pm when Ruby looked at her phone. She yawned, sitting next to Keiko on a bench while both waited for their respective trains. The train station was bright, light seemingly came from everywhere, the shadows that were thrown by the salarymen rushing to catch their train barely had any room to breathe. Ruby felt hot; spring seemed to come early this year.
"Today was super fun. But make sure you're punctual tomorrow. I think Miyako didn't mean what she said, but… Just be on time. Alright?" Ruby leaned forward ever so slightly to be able to look into Keiko's eyes, who was just staring straight ahead.
"Oh, what? Yeah, I will totally be on time, this time was just a minor slip-up, sorry again," Keiko, who had been lost in her thoughts, stuttered out.
Ruby leaned back again and stretched her arms in the air. "Don't worry about it," She yawned," Miyaemon only acts hard; she is a total cutie once you know her."
Keiko looked to the right, her expression confused. "Miyaemon?
"Yeah. I came up with that name myself," Ruby said without moving an inch, "you should probably not use it for the time being, though."
…
Keiko hesitantly pulled her phone out just 3 minutes before her train was expected to arrive, holding it out to Ruby. "Uhm, could I maybe get your number? You know, now that we are in a group."
Ruby took the phone and started to type. "Are you sure that I can trust you?" She murmured with her face buried in the screen, "Maybe you're just a crazy fan after all…"
Keiko's face turned red.
"I'm just joking," Ruby giggled, "Here you go, I will also send you Mem's number later. I'm sure she'll be cool with it," She held Keiko's phone right in front of her face, slightly waving it left and right until Keiko grabbed it out of her hand and put it away into her pocket.
Keiko stood up as her train entered the station right on cue. After a few steps, she stopped and quickly turned around, giving Ruby, who also stood up, a quick hug before disappearing into the crowd. Ruby was left alone at the station as the train departed. Suddenly, just as she sat back down, she got struck by a weird feeling. She looked around, but everywhere she looked, she just saw people minding their own business.
Did somebody just say my name? But where is that person then? I don't see them…
Wow, this is all so super embarrassing. I'm seriously going psychic over here.
It was probably just my imagination… Perhaps I would've wanted for someone to call my name…
Nah, I'm not good enough of a philosopher to break my head over this.
Ruby really didn't want to let it go already, but she also didn't want to look like she had schizophrenia, so she reluctantly kept quietly seated. 10 minutes later, her train arrived, and she got on it. The weird feeling wasn't entirely gone even now, but she tried to ignore it as best she could. The ride was quiet; there were only a few people in her wagon, of whom none seemed to take any interest in her whatsoever. She got off four stations later at the same quiet stop, Aqua and Akane stopped at 2 weeks prior. Her walk home was uneventful; she didn't meet a single soul on the street, and every window was either completely dark or the sight into it was obscured by annoying curtains.
As always, every light in the house was off as she entered, not like she had expected anything else. Miyako had lots of stuff on her list, especially now that the 15-year-lie movie was scheduled to release soon, and Aqua didn't really leave his room anymore either. She deliberately kept the lights off as she went up the stairs; she knew this house and its layout by heart, enough to avoid obstacles even when it was pitch black around her. Much to her surprise, then, when she tried to reach for the handle of her door, it was gone. She tried again and a third time before she finally noticed that her door wasn't closed but ajar.
Weird, I thought I closed my door when I left.
Did Aqua enter my room and forget to close the door?
Such a dummy,
I left the radiator on, but now my room is cold anyway.
I mean, closing a door is really not that hard.
What did he even want to begin with?
She frowned
Ruby stepped inside and turned her light on; her window momentarily acted as a mirror before she pulled the curtains together. Only then did she notice the box placed on her bed.
She halted for a moment as she thought.
Is Aqua trying to bribe me with a gift?
Maybe he really felt bad for what he did.
But why can't he just apologize like a normal person then?
Say that you won't do it again, and I would maybe even give you another chance.
But like this? Not even handing it to me in person? What did he get me anyways…
She picked the box up and shook it lightly while holding her ear next to it; yet, there came no sound. The box itself was red, and a pink ribbon was placed on top of it. Opening it was easier than most of the other things she had gotten during her lifespans; out of it, she pulled the exact bunny she had eyed earlier, a small note attached to the foot. "I hope you like my gift for you, it's for being the best idol of all time. I love you," she read quietly.
The best idol of all time?
I love you?
She read the message over and over again, her BPM rising every time she did. Eventually, the note slid out of her hand and landed on the other side, revealing a drawn fan art. Nothing out of the ordinary, Ruby had gotten countless fan-arts before. The only difference was that none of them was ever of her lying on her bed, drawn from the point of view of her window.