My One With The Guys

Chapter 20: Atusko!

I hope my guess is right, I called Yasuo and Genki and told them to meet me at the cemetery. Atusko told me the day her mother's first grievance was, she's gotta be there. It's a half hour walk but it only took me ten minutes, I couldn't wait for the rest of them to catch up, I want to find her first. I get to the cemetery and start looking around, searching for her in every row.
"ATSUKO!" I'm yelling at the top of my lungs, waiting for a response that I don't get "ATSUKO!" I yell again, I've gone through half of the cemetery already, did I go to the wrong cemetery? I look at the date and time, I don't think I'm wrong. I'm about to pass one of the last rows when I hear a teary voice say,
"Kaori?" I look down on my left side, I see Atusko on her knees in a praying position with tears streaming down her cheeks.
She starts wiping her tears from her cheeks trying to show that she hasn't cried, I take one step towards her as she puts one hand in front of her
"Don't come near me," she tells me
"What happened to you? Where have you been?" I start asking her questions that I want answers for, "why did you isolate yourself from us?" She's not answering, I can see her eyes starting to form tears again, I take another step forwards
"Stop!" her voice sounds desperate, I'll stop moving for now, I sit down where I am and wait for her to say something.
We didn't speak for a while, I could feel my phone going off but I didn't answer.
"Go home Kaori," she tells me
"Not until you tell me what happened," I tell her
"I just need space," she says,
"I'm giving you space on the ground aren't I?" I'm trying to get her to smile, she gave me the death glare
"Screw off," she tells me
"Why are you trying to block people from your world?" I ask her
"You know why," she says
"If I knew, why would I be asking you this question?"
"Then go ask Yasuo, or Genki or deep down yourself and think of how much I've been a burden to everyone," she says, I'm honestly speechless "...I..." she starts searching the ground, looking for the perfect sentence
"We never think of you as a burden," I tell her
"That's not what I heard when you and Yasuo were talking, he said he never wanted to be friends of how much of a burden I am," she heard that conversation?
"Yasuo only said that because I was..." I don't really want to tell her the truth
"You were what?" She asks, I don't think this is the best time to bring it up but...do I have a choice?
"Well..." I'm really hesitant to tell her "I was making him tell me that he liked you" I tell her
"You think Yasuo likes me? So you pushed him into words he didn't mean?" she says, i nod my head "do you really think I would believe that?"
I hear footsteps coming from behind me "It's true," I look back and see Yasuo, I look back at Atsuko and see her in disbelief
"You guys probably set this up," she says
"I've liked you since I ask the teacher to sit next to you, I like you smile and the way you laugh," Yasuo starts saying, it's annoying me "I like how when you're stuck on a question you will stab yourself with a pencil and retract it thinking your a doctor as you think of answers," HE'S THAT INTO DETAIL?! She looks at both of us, tears are reforming in her eyes "I know you don't like me back, I know you like someone else, ever since I talked with Kaori and you disappeared I noticed everything hitting me if you never came back, I would rather be your best friend then have to lose you completely," Yasuo finished talking, she looked at her mom's grave. She kissed her fingers and placed those fingers on the grave, she then got onto her feet and looked at both of us.
"So," her voice starts to get teary, "no one thinks of me as a burden?" she asks, I smile and take two steps towards her
"No one here would dare think of you as a burden with me around," I say, I could tell by her face that she was going to cry. She starts running to me with open arms, I take one step forward as she gets up on her feet and runs to me. My arms were open as soon as she got up, she kept crying, I felt how cold she was, how long has she been here? I wrap my arms around trying to give her the warmth that I get when she's around me. Now that she's in my arms I can tell, just her, her warmth that I missed these past few days without her, it feels like my world without her was dark, she's the one who brought me here, into this light she created, these friends I've made thanks to her. I won't let go. I feel another body, I look up and see Yasuo on the opposite side of me. She kept crying for a couple minutes, neither of us moved (I wasn't going to move).
She eventually lets go, I look behind me as I see her father and Genki standing beside each other, her father is in tears.
"Atusko," I can see where she's so sensitive from, she ran to her father and gave him a big hug. She looked up at Genki and smiled and let go of her father and went to him.
"Did you all come looking for me?" she asked still hugging Genki
"Of course we did," Genki said with a smile, and kissed her hair "how could we not save our princess?"
She let go of him and looked at everyone, "I'm sorry for not answering you guys, after wonderland I stayed in my room and isolated myself, thinking that I was a burden and that without me around that you guys would be happier," she says, she starting to walk towards me, my heart is racing faster, "I have to thank all of you to come looking for me and being worried," she's right in front of me, I can't tell if my face is turning red yet. "Thank you for finding me."
she grabs my hand as she pulls me down to her level as she pecks my lips, her face turns red, I smile and pull her hips towards me as I put our lips together as I dip her head as I can feel the heat coming from inside her mouth. I feel like we're the only one's here, that's how I always feel with her around. I can tell my face is turning red and I can feel her father's eyes on the back of my head. She tries to stop but I put my hand under her chin to keep her head up for one last peck, I open my eyes and see her red face in front of me, I smile as I hug her, hiding her red face (only I'm allowed to see it - it's too cute).
"Well...we'll just meet you in the car," Atusko's father says, Yasuo and Genki follow him, Atusko followed him as well, I walked to her mother's grave, it's been polished in the past little bit.
I put my hands in a prayer form in front of the grave, and bow my head. I want to give you my thanks, you've raised an amazing daughter, with her own thoughts and actions. Who brought people from the dark into the light, of people in the light to dim down. Thank you for giving birth to an amazing daughter, friend, girlfriend, I promise to protect her no matter the cost, life or death, till death do us part. I will cherish her.
"Thank you, but you don't have to do that," Atsuko said, I smiled and opened my eyes
"Of course I did, she's going to be my mother-in-law soon," I tell her, her face turned even more red
"Don't get ahead of yourself," she says as she walks away, I do a slow jog to catch up, when I'm beside her, I pick up her hand and kiss her ring finger
"This is my spot, no one but me and put a ring here," I tell her, she looks away as I bring our hands down as I interlock fingers walking to the car.
We smile at each other and realize this won't end, she'll be mine and mine alone.