Rearranging Fate | Tokyo Revengers x OC

57 • Happy New Year

"I can't believe you have a fuckin' pool!"

"Taiju's the only one who likes to swim. Hakkai and I barely use it. We prefer the jacuzzi," clarified the middle Shiba. "It's high maintenance and expensive, but it's good if you like privacy. I'm sure you, of all people, can afford a pool though."

"I'd rather not have my house turned into a mosquito breeding hospital." The two-piece swimsuit Yuzuha lent her did nothing to hide her scars. But it wasn't like Yuzuha had never seen them before, so she didn't mind. Reina hopped into the warm water of the jacuzzi—because apparently, no sane person would take a dive in the middle of winter—with a big splash. "I wonder what chlorinated water tastes like though."

"You wanna drink it?" Yuzuha giggled, hanging the towels. "Have you never swum before?"

"Not in a swimming pool, at least," answered the younger girl as Yuzuha climbed into the water. "There used to be a river near the house," she explained hovering her arm over the bubbling water. "It's pretty deep and the current is mellow, so Victoire would teach me how to swim and fight underwater there."

"Your house sounds like a fantasy castle."

Chortling at that, Reina couldn't help but shake her head. "Shiki's house was in the rural parts of Osaka, so it's still...natural, I guess?" She shrugged, trying to remember what the surroundings of that house used to look like. "There are fields and forests and rivers and lakes. It's a peaceful place to live in if you just ignore the mansion isolated from the rest."

"I'd like to visit there someday." Yuzuha sighed wishfully, leaning against the jacuzzi. Reina stared at her, unable to tell her that she didn't really know what 'there' looked like since she was always locked inside the house. Her only world back then was the house and the forest where she would secretly meet up with Victoire. She didn't know about the locals or the rice fields and traditional festivals. She didn't know about the snails clinging to the crops, or the scarecrows built by children. She only knew the forest and the house. Even after getting out, she hardly remembered a single detail about that village.

"Hey, Rei," Yuzuha suddenly called out and Reina realized she was staring at her too. "Do you like someone? Anybody you wanna date right now? Mitsuya or Baji or Chifuyu or even Mikey?"

Yuzuha honestly didn't know what she wanted to hear. A dull ache spread in her mouth as she bit the insides of her cheek, gauging Reina's reaction to her absurd question. Of course, she couldn't help but notice how close Reina was with the boys. From the way she seemed to be so at ease with them to how much she obviously trusted them. It wasn't like her, but Yuzuha felt something akin to jealousy burning inside her; jealousy for a girl who wasn't even hers.

Reina blinked, tilting her head to the side as she wondered what to answer. Eventually, she just shrugged. "Feelings like... romantic attraction is a bit foreign to me." Perhaps she was born that way, or perhaps it was the fault of her upbringing. Either way, Reina could not bring herself to view someone as a life-long partner. "I can't say for sure whether I really love someone romantically or if I just love them in a way that's not romantic."

The ancient Greeks had seven types of love and while Reina was sure she could love someone for being her family and friends—it had been proven by how much she loved her siblings and Victoire, as well as the friends she made in Toman—she wasn't sure she was able to feel love for someone in a romantic or sexual way. She somehow always felt like they were her siblings by heart, never her lover. But at the same time, she craved to love and be loved in a special way.

"Ah, I think that makes sense." Yuzuha breathed out a sigh of relief, giggling lightly at Reina's puzzled face. It certainly wasn't the answer she was expecting—maybe she was expecting a love confession or a simple 'yes, I love one of them'—but hearing Reina admit her inability to differentiate between platonic and romantic love, if she could even have romantic attraction, actually made more sense.