N/N: Phew! This is the final chapter of this fanfiction and I would like to thank all the people out there for reading this humble fiction of mine. Also, would like to thank Maomai, Spoutnik, SarahNThachter & az09 for taking the time to pen down their reviews.
OVER…OR NOT?
Final Chapter
Is it over?
"What is this for?" Makino questioned pointedly and wondering if her eyes were playing tricks on her as she stood in front of a pink Subaru Legacy Sedan with a gigantic navy blue silky ribbon secured on its top, during the morning of her twenty-first birthday.
In as calm a manner, Rui answered, "For you to drive to school and to work, that's what this is for."
"Hanazawa Rui," Makino paused and drew in a deep breath. "Did a meteor just fall and hit your head last night?"
"Return it to the car agent."
"Why?" Rui let out a frown, "This is your birthday gift and you cannot reject a gift during such a special day." Rui rebutted.
"Why do I need a car when I don't even have a license?" Makino finally exclaimed.
"You don't have a license?" Rui's eyes were so widely open that Makino was rather insulted by his reaction. "Why would I need a license when I cannot even afford a car?"
"Oh…" Rui took a quick glance at Makino and then stretched out his hand to reach for the ribbon. "Then you won't need this car until you get a license. Why not keep this ribbon first and I will let you have the car until you've gotten your license?"
"You just don't get it, don't you?" Makino remarked with a toss of her head.
"I DON'T NEED A CAR!"
"RETURN IT!" Makino turned and returned back to the house with the ribbon in her hand, leaving Rui alone outside trying to figure out why she had gotten so frustrated over the entire issue.
Later that afternoon, Makino received another surprise when both Akira and Soujirou showed up in front of her with two beautifully wrapped boxes in their hands.
"Happy birthday…!"
"Thank you guys, but I don't really need these." Makino said after she opened up her presents when they insisted her to do so.
"Girls like perfume, and don't you forget you are a girl too, Makino." Soujirou reminded pointedly.
"Jirou is right; you really do need a little feminine touch and our perfume is just perfect for you." Akira added. Even though Makino did not really agree with their theories on feminine touch, she bestowed a quick smile on the guys, "Thank you."
Makino received nothing from Domyouji during her twenty-first nor did she receive anything from him on her twenty-second birthday, not even a simple card or birthday note to reassure her about the wait.
In order to prove to herself that she had made the correct choice by ending the relationship one-sidedly, she had her mobile number changed and started working very hard at her studies and also her part-time job, harder than before. Immediately after she graduated from university, Makino took on the job as a secretary for one of the senior managers inside the insurance company which she had been working part time as a clerk during her school days.
"Makino-san…" Makino slowly opened her eyes and in between the piles and piles of unsettled documents, she noticed an unfamiliar face as she tilted her head a little to see who had brought her back from the dreamland.
"It's late, you should be going home."
"Gomen ne..." Makino quickly sat up straight to readjust her attire. "I didn't realize it is already that late."
"It's okay; you can continue your work tomorrow. You know, work is never-ending."
"Hai!" Makino stood up and quickly bowed to the stranger as he made a move towards the office's exit without telling her who he was.
His name was Yamano Kenchi and he was tall, stocky and charming in his own inimitable style. He was the new sales manager taking over the one who Makino was currently assisting. For Kenchi, it was love at first sight when he saw Makino's sleeping face the night before he officially reported for work. Jovial, cheerful and with an acute sense of humour, Kenchi was in habit of giving Makino little gifts like cards and flowers for no particular reasons.
"Makino-san, you are very beautiful." He said with simple sincerity and against her will, Makino was captivated by his disarming manner. At times, Kenchi would take her out for drives in his Honda. Makino did not feel the same attraction for him that she had once felt for Rui or Domyouji, but she liked him a lot, and she knew she was falling under his spell.
I used to owe Domyouji... but now, I owe him nothing. Makino thought to herself and it was true. Deep down inside she also knew that she and Domyouji were over and had been over for a long time, but her feeling of loyalty still persisted. She thought that perhaps talking to Kenchi about Domyouji might help, but in the end she wisely decided against it.
This was something she had to work out for herself.
One week before Domyouji had made the call to Makino; Kenchi took her out on a drive again. Somewhere along a quiet street, he parked his car and they just sat there talking and listening to the radio, feeling very close together in the night. Then the words ran out and they sat there looking at each other and in that instant Makino made her decision and let Kenchi kiss her gently, softly, carefully, as if she was some rare and precious thing.
Makino knew she had made a commitment, and the commitment by her own principles demanded that Domyouji Tsukasa be ruled out.
"Tsukasa is coming back tomorrow." Rui said when he surprised Makino by showing up at her door without telling her.
"I know. He called me…" Makino left the door open and started walking back into her room.
"There is something I need to tell you." Rui quickly caught up with her and his tone was as solemn as a priest.
"What?"
"I know how much you have been suffering during the past few years, but …" Rui paused when he noticed a picture frame on the table."Who is this man?" Rui questioned out.
"My…boyfriend…"
Rui shook his head sadly because he knew Makino was not lying and the picture was already a clear answer to his question. "You are not the only one suffering, you know?" Rui shot Makino a cold glare as he continued, "Where are your weed powers?"
"They are long gone…Rui…they are no longer working after all these years." Makino covered her face with both her hands, feeling as guilty as charged.
"Do you know how hard Tsukasa had been fighting all these years against his mother in order to regain his freedom and come back to you?"
"NO! I DON'T KNOW AT ALL!" Makino screamed out hysterically. "HOW CAN I POSSIBILY KNOW WHEN ALL HE LEFT ME WITH WAS -- SILENCE IS GOLDEN?"
Makino finally broke down and tears were gushing down like waterfall. "I really wanted to wait…"
"I know he still loves me, but I have already lost the strength to carry on with the wait…"
"Perhaps this is the reason why his mother has given in to him." Rui sadly commented as he stared at the photo on the table.
"But it is still not late, Makino."
Rui left something on the table before going back. It was a birthday card and it was the one which Makino had sent to Domyouji on his twenty-first birthday:
"Give me a short phone call once you received this card and I will wait for you, whether it might be another three or even six years."
X
X
X
"I really wanted to call but you know I cannot do that…so I called them…"
Makino could not comprehend what Domyouji was trying to say until she remembered the birthday gifts given to her by Rui, Soujirou and Akira during her twenty-first birthday. Immediately, she rushed over to her closet and took out the navy blue ribbon that Rui had taken down from the car, then heading towards the drawer where she kept the two bottles of perfume from Soujirou and Akira which she had never once used.
What was he trying to tell me?
Makino tried her best to figure out as she stared at the three items now lying in front of her, totally clueless about what she had to look for. Suddenly, Makino noticed something at the corner end of the ribbon. After taking a closer look, she quickly diverted her attention to bottles of perfume and started searching for more clues.
"Why now?" Makino muttered to herself…
On the night of the business function, Makino wore the gown that she had bought at the cost of half a month's pay and she wore the silver chain that Domyouji had given to her on her eighteenth birthday. She wanted to look beautiful and she was determined to enjoy the night with Kenchi.
Kenchi, wearing a silk tie to go with his finest suit, whistled appreciatively and said, "That's a beautiful chain you are wearing. It looks really beautiful on you."
It doesn't really matter now.
In her mind she kept repeating the thought to make it true: it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter, it doesn't, doesn't, doesn't, doesn't.
For it was all too late, and if things could have been different, the chance for that had passed a long time ago. So she clung onto Kenchi in his elegant, stylish cut French suit and let him hold her very close. When the lights went dim and the music went very slow, an involuntary tremor ran through her. Kenchi gently fingering the silver chain around her neck, asked softly, "Are you okay? Do you want to sit down?"
But Makino kept her eyes closed, nodded quickly and went on dancing and thinking, it doesn't, doesn't matter. So the music kept on playing and they went on dancing slow and tight and close, and all this time, all she saw in her mind's eye was Domyouji Tsukasa's face.
The End
N/N: Well, I have to end the story here and minnasan must be wondering what Domyouji was trying to tell Makino through Rui, Soujirou and Akira, right? Well, I couldn't pen it down in the story because it might be a spoiler for the conclusion.
Now, I am going to disclose what Makino had discovered in the three items:
a) Silky Navy Blue Ribbon had a tiny letter 'I' embroidered at its corner end
b) The two bottles of perfume had a heart shape and the letter 'U' engraved at the bottom part.