It was hard talking to the ramen shop owner, especially after everything that happened. Aoi couldn’t even meet his eyes.
One afternoon he came in, knocking on the open door quietly so as to announce his presence. He smiled at her, and she forced a smile back. He, her father, and Kiyoko’s parents were the only people outside the Linked who knew what really happened. Everyone else thought Momoka fell off a ladder. Somehow, having Mr. Nishihara know the truth made his presence all the harder. He walked over to Aoi and put a hand on her shoulder.
“Thank you for looking after my daughter while I work,” he said.
Aoi shook her head. “I don’t deserve any thanks. I wasn’t there for her when she needed me the most.”
His lips drew together in a thin line. For a moment, he was silent. But then, in a quiet voice, he said, “I don’t blame you.”
“What?”
“I don’t blame you for her getting hurt. You did your best, Arisawa-san. If it wasn’t for you, my daughter might not be alive. So don’t blame yourself. I don’t blame you.”
Aoi’s eyes grew wet, but she wiped away the tears on her sleeve before they came. “Thank you, sir. Thank you so much.”
“You don’t have to thank me. Just keep looking out for her in the future.”
“I will.”
She didn’t deserve his kindness. What happened to Momoka was her fault. She let her down. Momoka was hurting because of Aoi, and she couldn’t stop blaming herself.
The next day, there was a new visitor. Seiji came to the estate for the first time.
He quietly entered the room, eyes focused only on Momoka. He was silent as he made his way over to the other side of the bed.
The silence was overpowering. Aoi had to break it. “Namakabe-kun . . .”
He looked up at her. “I’m sorry I couldn’t come sooner. Parents insisted I had to study first.”
“I see.”
“Everyone says she fell off a ladder at home.” He watched her carefully. “But the Nishihara house doesn’t have a ladder tall enough, do they?”
Aoi couldn’t meet his eyes. “I don’t know.”
“Don’t know?” he asked. “Or won’t tell me?”
She chewed at her lip nervously. Could she tell him? But this was related to the Linked. Even if she left out the Linked, he would know too much. She couldn’t risk him getting hurt too.
“I know, but I can’t tell you.”
“Why?” he demanded, raising his voice. “Momo-chan is hurt and I want to know why!”
Her shoulders slumped. “It would put you in danger.” She didn’t need another friend hospitalized. She couldn’t bear the guilt.
“Like Momo-chan was? Did you know what she was getting herself into?” He stomped to her side of the bed, gripping her pale blue blouse in his shaking hands.
Aoi’s small frame trembled. Seiji was angry, and she didn’t know how to calm him down. But she had to be strong for Momoka’s sake. This couldn’t be the first thing Momoka woke up to.
Gently, she removed his hands from her top. “I knew, Namakabe-kun, but so did she. This was her choice.”
“She knew? And she did it anyways?”
Aoi nodded. “She chose to do this.”
“But what did she do? Please stop hiding this from me!” He was more than angry now. Bitter tears welled up in his eyes.
Aoi hadn’t meant to make him upset, but his safety was more important than this knowledge. “I can’t tell you. I’m sorry.”
His brows furrowed as he looked around for anything—anything he could ask about. Finally his gaze fell on her bandaged hand. “What happened?”
“A fight,” she replied. That was where the rest of her injuries came from.
“I mean your hand. It’s been bandaged since the day we met.”
It took him five months to notice that? She’d go with her default lie. “It’s a burn.”
“You’re lying.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You’re lying to me, Nee-san,” he said. “Does it have to do with the gem on the back of Momo-chan’s neck?”
A chill ran down her spine. He knew. When had he learned about this? How had he? Momoka must have been really careless. But it was too late. He knew, and now she had to deal with that.
“So I’m right,” he said. “What are those gems?”
Aoi gave no reply. She’d already said too much. So she just stared at the floor.
“You won’t say?”
She shook her head.
“I’ll find out, you know. That way I can protect Momo-chan.” That said, he turned and left.
Aoi was left alone with Momoka once more. She sighed and took the girl’s hand in hers, watching the open doorway. “We’re in way over our heads, huh?”
“Yeah,” a tiny voice whispered.
Aoi looked up and was met with a conscious girl smiling at her.
“Nishihara-chan!”
“Good morning, Onee-san.” Even her smile was full of life. Of course it was. Momoka wasn’t dead. “How long have I been out for?”
“A week or two.”
“No wonder I’m so hungry.” Her laugh was music to Aoi’s ears. She couldn’t even be upset about Seiji now. But Momoka could. “Sorry about Seiji-kun.”
Aoi just shook her head. He was just worried about Momoka. “It’s okay.”
Momoka’s eyes widened. “Oh, geez!”
Aoi’s body tensed up and she summoned her weapon, just in case. “What’s wrong?”
“I missed so much homework while I was out! I hope I don’t get held back!”
Aoi let her ring disappear and laughed a little. What a relief. She was okay. They were both okay.
Momoka was awake now. Everything would be okay. It would be even better once she was fully healed. But she had still been hurt. Bad things had happened because of her carelessness.
“Nishihara-san,” Aoi whispered, “Should we quit being Linked?”
“It was scary fighting Tachibana-chan.”
Aoi agreed. “So, you want to stop?”
Momoka sat up. “What? No. If we don’t stop them, no one will.”
That’s right. Only the Light Linked had the strength and powers to fight against the Dark Linked. “I guess you’re right.”
“I’ll become stronger so no one gets hurt again.” Momoka was full of confidence. Aoi didn’t understand it.
But she still smiled. Their cause was noble, and Aoi wanted to be part of it. “We’ll both get stronger—together.”
Chapter 31
Every day, Momoka got better and better until, finally, one Sunday morning she was well enough to leave the Shiroyama estate. And Aoi planned on sharing every moment of that freedom with her.
When Aoi stepped into the room, Momoka pulled her close and hugged her tight. She was back to normal again. Thank goodness.
“Good morning, Onee-chan!”
“Good morning, Nishihara-chan.”
Momoka rolled her eyes. “You can really just call me Momo-chan,” she said with a small whine to her voice.
Aoi decided to ignore her.
Momoka’s father entered the room. He was beaming from ear to ear at the sight of his healthy daughter.
“Let’s go home,” he said. “I invited Arisawa-san to lunch, so she can come too.”
It wasn’t long before they arrived at the Nishihara house. Momoka walked in the lead and eagerly opened the door.
“Welcome home!”
Everyone was inside—the Linked, Seiji, and Tatsuo’s gang. A banner hung above the counter that read “WELCOME HOME” in curly, pink letters. The room was decorated for a party.
Momoka’s mouth fell open and her eyes went wide. Everyone waited for her to say something, but no sound escaped.
“Do you not like surprises?” Aoi said hesitantly.
Momoka shook her head. “No way! I’m super happy! I just didn’t expect this!”
Pocahontas looked around, her eyes wide and
full of awe. She must never have had a party thrown for her like this. Aoi guessed that made sense. Momoka’s birthday wasn’t until the spring, before Momoka had Linked.
The party went smoothly, just like Aoi planned. Mr. Nishihara made ramen for everyone and there were sweets from the café across the street.
While Momoka stuffed her face with sugar, Seiji approached Aoi again. “Nee-san.”
“Yes?”
“Asa-chan isn’t here.”
“No,” Aoi replied. “She isn’t.”
“Is she why Momo-chan was hurt?”
Oh great. He wasn’t going to let this drop, but she didn’t want to deal with this again. Not today. But he’d already figured out so much on his own. Aoi might as well give him an answer.
“They got in a fight. I don’t think they’re friends anymore,” she said.
“Why did they fight?”
Aoi didn’t have the heart to answer anything else.
Lucky for her, a tanned arm snaked across her shoulders. Tatsuo. “Are you bugging Aoi, kid?” The older boy glared down at the Seiji.
“No,” he squeaked. “Not at all!”
“But I think you are.” Tatsuo narrowed his eyes. “So back off.”
He fled without an argument.
“Thanks, Senpai.”
“It’s nothing. I got your back.” He kept his arm around her shoulder. A few people raised their eyebrows at them, but Aoi decided to ignore them. She was happier feeling his arm around her anyways.
The rest of the party went without a hitch, but Aoi waited impatiently for the Linked to be alone. Seiji left first—Aoi was certain Tatsuo had scared him off. After that, the yankii left over time.
Finally, only the Linked and Momoka’s father remained.
Touya started to head for the door. “I’ve got to go. I have studying to do.”
“Wait!” He couldn’t go yet. Aoi wanted to talk to everyone about something. “Just wait for a little bit, please.”
He turned to her. “Something you need?”
“It’ll only take a bit.”
“Fine. But make it quick.”
The group gathered around Aoi, with open ears and, hopefully, open minds. She turned to Kiyoko. “Shiroyama-senpai, what else haven’t you told us about the Dark Linked? We need to be ready in the future.”
“Well, we know how many there are now, and we know their names.” Kiyoko folded her hands before her. “And we know they want us dead, so we have to be more careful in the future.”
Was that really all they could do? Just be more careful?
Tatsuo was quick to call Kiyoko out on the idea. “And just—what?—wait until they kill us one by one?”
Aoi spoke next. “Tachibana-san said something about serving greater powers. Do the Dark Linked have a master we don’t know about?”
Everyone looked at Kiyoko for a response. “I don’t . . . I don’t know.” Her shoulders slumped. “My family has never heard of such darkness.”
The room was quiet.
“That’s okay!” Momoka singsonged. The mood lightened with her words. If she was the one talking, they couldn’t argue. She faced the worst injuries, and still thought that. “We’ll do just fine, right?”
“Of course,” they chorused.
“Oh, and one more thing!” Momoka said. “We’re friends, so we need to be less formal.”
Aoi wasn’t sure if any of them knew how. Except Momoka, of course. And maybe Tatsuo.
Kiyoko certainly didn’t. “How should we go about that?”
“By calling each of by our names. No more last name stuff.” She pointed at each of them and started giving them nicknames. “You’re Onee-chan. You’re Tatsuo-kun.”
He quirked a brow. “I see.”
“You’re Kiyoko-chan. You’re Touya-kun. And I’m Momoka-chan. Or Momo-chan. Whichever you prefer.”
Everyone was uncertain. Aoi didn’t blame them. It would be a while before this felt comfortable. But this would be a step closer to being better friends. Aoi was sure of that.
“Sounds good, Momoka-chan.” She looked to the others. “Don’t you think so?”
“Definitely,” Kiyoko said, then hesitated. “Aoi-chan.”
This would certainly take some getting used to.
Not long after, the party came to a close. Aoi grabbed her light blue jacket and headed down the main street towards home. The town glowed in the late afternoon sunlight, and a breeze ruffled her blonde hair.
It’s really been a strange year, she thought. Things have been different since we met.
Mulan hesitated. “Is different bad?”
Aoi gave a small smile. “I don’t think so. I’ve made lots of friends thanks to you.”
She was even strong enough to protect them now, not that she was very good at it. It seemed she was always making mistakes. But at least her friends were the kind to forgive her easily for them.
Aoi opened her mouth, but someone interrupted her. “Yo! Aoi-chan!”
She waited for Tatsuo to catch up before greeting him. “Hey, Senpai,” she said. “I thought you were going home.”
“I wanted to walk you home,” he said with a shrug. “That okay?”
“That’s a-okay.” It had been a long time since she walked anywhere with Tatsuo. For the most part, she’d been glued to Momoka’s side because she was so worried about the girl. But now that could change.
He offered his hand awkwardly to her. “Let’s go.”
She took it. “Let’s.”
The walked side by side in silence. It was only then Aoi realized how strange it was. Tatsuo was a guy, and she was a girl. They held hands and spent most of their time together. But they never admitted to being any more than best friends. She couldn’t help but wonder if they were more. As if to answer those thoughts, Tatsuo kept walking past Aoi’s house, down the forest path Aoi traveled down all those months ago.
“Hey, Senpai?” she asked finally, once her house had disappeared behind them.
“What’s up?”
“What exactly are we?”
His cheeks reddened. “What exactly are you asking?”
“You know.”
His blush deepened. “Just a sec. I wanna go somewhere quieter, where your dad won’t interrupt.”
“Good idea.”
He led her deep into the forest, stopping near the rock where she’d first found Mulan’s gem.
“You were saying?” He asked with a small smile.
“How do you feel about me? Us?”
“You mean, like, love?”
He said it. Of course he did. Tatsuo was always braver than she was. Aoi couldn’t even speak. She just nodded.
And then he fell silent, letting a heavy, awkward weight fall between the two. Aoi wanted to break the silence somehow, but she didn’t have the words to speak.
Finally, Tatsuo spoke up. “About what I was saying at the estate . . . Well, there’s a reason I wanna protect you.”
She looked up at him, her eyes wide. He’d never been anything but perfectly honest with her in their friendship. He must have had some deep secret if he hadn’t told her what was on his mind. She waited to hear what that secret was.
“I wanna keep you safe ’cause . . .” He glanced away and cleared his throat, before looking back at her. “’Cause I love you, okay? Don’t make me say it twice.”
Her cheeks turned as scarlet as the gem embedded in his arm. He may have had the courage to look her in the eyes and give his confession, but not Aoi. She was a coward. But she had enough courage to admit her true feelings.
“I . . . me too. Love you, that is. I love you too.”
He cupped her cheek in his hand and stared down at her blue eyes. He hesitated, cheeks flushing deeply, before he spoke. “Can I kiss you?”
“Of course you can.”
He bent down and pressed his chapped lips to hers, kissing her gently. The breeze picked up, dropping fiery leaves down around them in the golden afternoon light. Aoi had never
been happier.
No matter what came their way, Aoi was sure they’d be okay. They were Linked, after all. They were strong on their own, but stronger together. Everything would be okay. They just had to take things one day at a time.
About the Author
Hey there!
If you’re reading this, you must have made it through my book. Thanks for that! I really hope you enjoyed it. I sure enjoyed writing this.
But I’m sure you’re wondering what kind of nerd wrote something like this, because the name on the cover didn’t give enough away. So I’ll gladly tell you a bit about myself.
I know the cover says Alexandra Johnson, but most of the online folks just call me Ichi or Sero. The latter is tied to my Tumblr account, sincerelyserotonin.tumblr.com, where I post a lot of fandom things and more writing content as time goes by. I like anime and manga, reading a good book, and writing whatever my little heart desires, including fan fiction.
As of writing this, I’m 25 years old and happily engaged to a guy who couldn’t write his way out of a wet paper bag. But he’s supportive, and that’s all I ask for.
I honestly could have used him around when I started writing Linked, back in 2013. I had just watched a certain anime—I’ll leave which one up to your imagination—and had the brilliant idea that sparked all of this. It took about a year to write the first draft, then about two more years to get through enough drafts to make it workable.
I can’t remember the exact date, but it was around late 2015 or early 2016 that I decided to take the project to the next level. I worked with Amber Helt from Rooted in Writing to take my draft through enough developmental edits to really make it shine. For that, I’m eternally grateful to her. If you’re reading this, Amber, thank you for everything! I hope to work with you again soon!
I know I tend to ramble and you’ve got other books to read, so I’ll let you go. Thanks again for reading this.
See you in the next book!
Linked: The War of the Gems - Book 1 Page 29
