#this is only supposed to be a bliplet DX

[athyrabunlord]

Yoshi and Riko 16

“If you want, we could go together?” [Prompt List]

A/N: Aaaand I got carried away again XD;;; Loosely based on SIF’s Angel Set, with some Guilty Kiss tooWords: 1,610

“Checking up on Yohane-chan again?”

Riko quickly hides the binoculars under the cloud pillow, ready to deny it. One glance at Mari’s knowing smirk tells her that it’s futile to argue. Sighing, she sheepishly takes out the binoculars again and resumes her observation.

“Now now, don’t ignore me, Rikocchi~! Talk to me.”

Riko scowls but refuses to answer.

“Riko. How is she?”

Mari’s playful tone now gains a soft quality, the same concerned tone that she uses whenever she inquires about their former friend. Riko’s hand subconsciously tightens on the binoculars as she tries to keep her voice from trembling.

“Yocchan is doing alright. She seems to be having trouble with rain, and various odd misfortunes keep happening to her but overall… she’s doing alright. She’s happy.”

The pang in Riko’s heart is somewhat soothed by the sight of the raven-haired girl, grinning and chatting with her two friends.

“That’s good to hear.” Mari gingerly lies down beside her and reaches for the star pillow. Riko glances at her friend, watching the latter whimsically play with the fluffy cushion. Mari then switches her attention to the open book between them, eyes glinting in recognition at the cutesy demon caricature on one of the pages.

“You know, you could go visit her.”

“I can’t,” Riko says immediately, reflexively. She’s toyed with the idea countless times, to just enter the mortal realm and speak to Yoshiko. But no, she must not break the rules. She must not endanger Yoshiko, not when she’s already suffered because of her once.

She cannot sin again.

“Yes you can,” Mari smiles, appearing rather exasperated. She nudges the star pillow against Riko’s face, giggling when the latter blushes at her next words. “After all, you still love her, don’t you?”

“I-I…”

“It’s okay,” Mari’s majestic angel wings spread behind her as she stands up and gazes at her with resolution. “I’ll help you, both of you. Last time… I was only able to help you, while Yohane-chan…”

Riko closes her eyes, unwilling to recall the painful memories. “She’s not one of us anymore, Mari-san. She’s a mortal now. She doesn’t remember me, and she doesn’t have to. She’s perfectly fine there-”

“But you’re not fine.” Mari’s voice is low, half-pleading and half-irate. “You may think her fall from Paradise is your fault, but I’m just as guilty as you. I could not save her then, and if I continue to let you be like this, it would’ve put her efforts to waste!”

Taking a deep breath, Riko also unfolds her angel wings and gently places the binoculars to the side. “…you’re right. I should do something, instead of just moping around. I’ll go see Yocchan and… well, perhaps afterwards, I’ll finally be able to move on.”

“Don’t be so pessimistic, Rikocchi~” Mari winks, holding out her hand. “You’re going to the mortal realm, ne? It’s where life is full of shiny possibilities!”

Riko returns the smile and places her hand in the blonde’s.

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“I’ll see you tomorrow, Ruby, Zuramaru!”

Yoshiko waves her two friends goodbye as they part ways at the intersection. Humming, she skips down the road and tries not to dance along too. Today is the day! After a long time of searching, she’s finally found the perfect spot to do her ritual.

She knows that she’s different than everyone, that she’s special with hidden powers. She’s a former Angel who fell from heavens, one must have committed a terrible sin and was thus cast out from Paradise!

This is the only explanation for her string of bad luck and her dreams about this exotic realm above the clouds!

No one, not even her parents, believe in her identity as a fallen Angel. While her two best friends are supportive of her, she could tell that they do not believe her either. That’s fine, all of this shall finally come to an end when she opens the portal connecting the two realms!

Her excitement, however, is dampened by the series of misfortunes that delay her journey. A bird that flew by poops on her shoulder; when she goes to clean up the mess in the public washroom, the pipe bursts and drenches her like a rainstorm; after drying herself with a spare towel she always brings in her bag, she stumbles into a deep puddle that she swears wasn’t there moments prior.

“Why does this keep happening to me!!” Though irritated, she is also unnerved and frustrated. Her karma seems to be worse than usual today. Is the divine power really that reluctant to let her achieve her goal?

The ache in her heart, something she’s gotten so good at ignoring, churns fiercely as if to reflect her predicament. Whimpering, she crouches and covers her head with the towel.

“Are you okay?”

Yoshiko wipes her tears away as discretely as possible and pretends to be drying her wet hair before peering up at the stranger. The pretty girl appears to be her age, maybe a bit older, and she has cascading burgundy tresses and a pair of warm amber eyes. She looks oddly familiar, though Yoshiko couldn’t place her anywhere in her memories.

She wants to reply with ‘do I look like I’m okay’, yet she finds herself shrugging. “Yeah, I’m fine, I’m used to this.”

The stranger’s inquiring gaze coaxes her to elaborate. “Bad things tend to happen to me. Heh, I’m probably cursed.”

Rather than the dismissive reaction she usually receives, the taller girl simply crouches down beside her. “How so?”

Maybe it is the stranger’s sympathetic voice, or the fact she genuinely sounds intrigued, for Yoshiko finds herself sharing her life story, about her being a fallen Angel, and her theory on opening a portal that connects the two realms.

“Erm, you probably think I’m weird huh?” She folds her arms in embarrassment, unprepared to have the stranger’s complete attention.

“Not at all. I think it’s very interesting. Who’s to say it’s not true?” The girl has a distant look as she gazes at the sky. “So… you’re on your way to open this portal?”

“Yeah. I found this obscure, abandoned park in the woods over there. My instincts tell me that must be the place!” Yoshiko clenches her fists and lowers her head. “But, I’m kinda nervous. Like I said, the bad luck is worse than usual, so maybe something terrible will happen if I really go there…”

“If you want, we could go together?”

Yoshiko blinks at the girl, both startled by her kindness and a strange prick in her mind. Suddenly, images of places she has never visited before flash across her vision, like an old broken movie.

Paradise was infinitely wide, full of countless places still unexplored and unknown to even the most ancient of Angels. Therefore, she considered it an amazing feat that she managed to locate an ethereal garden, where its exotic flowers felt holy enough to purify any onlookers. As mesmerized as she was, she also sensed a foreboding aura and that compelled her to leave the area in haste.

However, she’s been unable to get the garden out of her head and her heart yearned to explore it again to her heart’s content. She was unsettled by that foreboding aura and thus hadn’t acted until now. Finally making up her mind, she sought the opinion of someone she deemed special above all others.

“If you want, we could go together?”

“Are you sure? Like I said, I sensed something off about the place-”

“More the reason to go with you.” The other Angel’s gaze was unwavering. “You shouldn’t go there alone.”

Unable to turn down her crush’s offer, Yoshiko agreed and brought the burgundy-haired Angel to the Secret Garden. They explored the breathtaking place together, admiring its beauty and relishing its soothing ambience. That foreboding aura was nowhere to be felt, for she was so blissful to be in the company of the person she loved, far away from the scrutiny of others.

There, beside a spring of crystal-clear water, she confessed to her amber-eyed companion and kissed her whole-heartedly. Before the other Angel could respond, the water abruptly turned murky and a heavy fog descended upon them. Intangible ropes, seemingly made of shadows, burst out from the fathomless spring and flew towards them.

Yoshiko managed to push her loved one out of the way before she was captured and her senses became muffled. Even then, she could see that the Secret Garden was crumbling and that several Angels have arrived at the scene. She could feel a shiny presence reaching for her.

“No, save Lily! She shouldn’t have to suffer with me!”

She acknowledged what was happening to her. She had sinned after all, so her punishment was to fall, to fall from the heavens and into the mortal realm. This was all her fault, and hers only.

Let her beloved Lily stay in Paradise.

The dark ropes pulled her down into the abyss and she knew no more.

“H-Hey, are you okay?”

Yoshiko blinks, shaking her head and breathing raggedly. “Lily…”

The burgundy-haired girl flinches, her eyes widening. “What did you just say-?”

The overwhelming sensation alleviates like a deflating balloon and, with it, the images vanish into thin air. Yoshiko furrows her brows and rubs her temple. “Nothing. I just… no, it’s nothing. Anyways, you said… you want to come with me. Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.” Those amber eyes are determined and just a little bit hopeful. “You shouldn’t go there alone.”

Yoshiko grins and takes her hand. “Yoshiko. Tsushima Yoshiko. Thanks for keeping me company.”

“Riko. Sakurauchi Riko,” the girl’s smile is just as pretty as the one in the fading memory. “Pleased to meet you… Yocchan.”