Ryou's hand trembled as she accepted the cup of water. "Th-Thank you."
"Are you okay?" the older twin asked; she had been holding her sister ever since Pastor Ashton had finished the 'exorcism'. "Do you hurt anywhere?"
"I'm...a little tired," the younger twin replied. "My muscles are kind of sore, too."
"I'll bet," Jeff said as he wrestled with his chopsticks. "You're stronger than you think."
"I'm...sorry if I hurt either of you," she said with a voice filled with regret.
"Don't worry about it," I said, laying a hand on her head. "Kyou and I can hold our own."
"It wasn't you, anyway," Jeff remarked. "Was it?"
Ryou's eyes lost focus. "It was, but it wasn't. I was aware of what my body was doing, but I didn't feel like I was in control...completely, that is."
"That's what I figured," he said just before downing an onigiri. "How long have you hated yourself, sweetheart?"
"I don't...really hate myself..." she said, then gently took her head as she wobbled in her seat. "I feel so light-headed."
"I've heard that that can happen after...this kind of thing..." he said awkwardly. "So how do you feel about yourself...or maybe a better question would be: What do you think of yourself?"
She looked from her sister's kind smile to me, then to the floor. "I'm what was left after Onee-chan was born."
"What do you mean?" I asked. "You make it sound like you think you're the leftovers or something."
She nodded slowly. "That's exactly it; Onee-chan got all the good stuff and I got the leftovers."
Kyou's face fell almost instantly and she held her sister even tighter. "Ryou...you don't really believe that, do you?"
Ryou raised an arm to interrupt the tears that otherwise fell to her lap. "You're so outgoing and pretty and everyone likes you and you can cook and you're so strong..."
"Hold on a minute," Jeff said, stopping her tirade with a hand. "You have value, too."
"No, I don't-"
"Wait, hear me out," he interrupted, and I briefly imagined her going ballistic again. "Your value – anyone's value – doesn't come from being strong or able to cook or anything like that."
"What do you mean?" she asked as she and Kyou both looked at him with teary eyes.
He smiled, and I could swear that a glow like sunlight came from him. "Oh, your value comes from something much greater, much more than just strength or skill...it comes from God."
Had I heard him say this any time before, I would have rejected it off-hand. But after what I had seen...
"He knew you before you were born," Jeff, now in 'Full-Pastor Mode', continued. "He loved you long before your parents conceived you, even before your parents themselves were conceived."
Ryou expression looked uncertain, but hopeful.
"When He created light, he knew and loved you. When Adam and Eve sinned, he knew and loved you. The flood, the exile...Ryou, He knew you and He loved you. Even when Japan went through all of its god-emperors He knew and loved you. Even now, with you thinking so little of yourself, He knows you and loves you."
"B-But why?" she stammered, "...wh-why does he love me?"
Pastor Ashton's smile turned softer than I had ever seen; he must have really been in his element. "Because that's what He is. If He stopped loving, He'd stop being God, Yahweh, Elohim..." he trailed off, looking at her like she was his own daughter; I thought I even saw a tear escape his eye. "And because I'm His and He loves you, I love you too, sweetheart."
"Y-You do?" she asked with wide-eyed disbelief.
"Hey, I just got through fighting a spirit or maybe even a demon for you," he said, and now the tears were unmistakable; he didn't even seem ashamed of it, if he even noticed them in the first place. "And I did that because He and I love you."
"I...need to think about this..." Ryou said, sounding really tired.
"Okay," he said, still giving her a fatherly gaze. "I'm sorry for dumping so much on you at once; It's tough for me to stop once I get going."
I chuckled along with the twins. "Maybe we should focus on eating for now; it'd be a shame to waste Kyou's cooking."
"Yeah, and I worked hard on it," Kyou complained, though half-heartedly. She then turned and gave her sister a loving kiss on the cheek. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"I feel...funny," Ryou admitted as she picked up a pork cutlet. "But I'm starting to feel better."
Jeff angled his head from side to side, and I could hear light cracking sounds. "That's good to hear. You're very blessed to have a sister like Kyou and a boyfr-a friend like Tomoya with you."
"I r-really am," she said as she cast a shy glance my way.
"Thanks," Kyou and I said at the same time, then looked at each other and shared awkward smiles.
***
"Give yourself the rest of the day off," Pastor Ashton ordered as Kyou and I walked on either side of Ryou to see her home. "You've had a long day already."
"Yes, Ashton-sensei," Ryou giggled as she waved daintily. "Thank you and have a good day."
"You too, sweetheart," he called as we departed.
I watched him go back inside the church before fully devoting my attention to the road ahead. "That guy had better get some sleep; he busted his ass today."
"No kidding," Kyou agreed. "I can't believe he pushed himself that much!"
"It's what he does..." I grunted, then shook my head. "Actually, it's who he is."
"You're right," Ryou said. "What an amazing man; I think I know why Onee-chan likes him so much."
"I didn't know he could do that," the older twin said. "But I'll admit that he looked really cool doing that...whatever it was."
"Still want to be part of his world?" I asked with an impish grin.
"Absolutely," she replied without hesitation.
I sighed heavily. "You understand that he can't be with you unless you're a Christian, right?"
"I understand," she said. "It's just that...well, I..." She ran her fingers through her hair. "I just feel like I'm supposed to be with him or something, like I'm supposed to be by his side, supporting him, helping him."
My eyes widened as I remembered my earlier conversation with him: "I know that God's always with me but, as you pointed out, having a helpmate – a wife – is part of His design, so..."
This was getting really weird...not like it wasn't weird enough already. "Um, Kyou? By any chance, do you have a copy of the Bible?"
"What's that?" she asked.
***
She accepted the book from me with a puzzled expression. "So this is what he reads?"
I nodded; I was still uncomfortable with the idea, but if she really wanted to be with him... "Yeah. It's hard to explain, but it's not a book of rules or laws and it's not just a history book..." I scratched my head as I tried to remember what the pastor had told me. "It's...kinda both? Neither?" Finally, my addled brain remembered: "It's a history of God's relationship with us," I said. "It's...to help us understand him or something like that."
"Okay," she nodded. "I don't get all of that, but reading this should help clear things up." She smiled as she laid a hand on my shoulder. "Thanks, Tomoya."
"You're welcome," I said, feeling the heat rising in my face. "Just...be careful with it okay? It's my copy," I told her, which was the truth; I had purchased it a couple of weeks prior, and had left the girls at the bakery and run home to grab it.
"I'll be careful," she said as she flipped open the book. "This'll be kinda fun!"
"Onee-chan..." Ryou giggled as she rested on the bench just outside the bakery.
"Well!" a pleasant voice sounded, and we looked to see Sanae exit the shop and stand next to Kyou. "Can anyone join in, or is this exclusive?"
"Hey, Sanae-san," I greeted with a smile; seeing her was always a treat. "No, you can join us but I don't know how interesting we'll be right now."
"Speak for yourself," Kyou grunted, her nose buried in the book.
"Ah, is this one of Pastor Jeff's books?" Sanae asked, trying to look over Kyou's shoulder – or arm, really.
"It's Tomoya's copy," the older twin replied absently. "He's letting me borrow it."
"I see," the older woman said with a knowing smile.
"Hey!" a masculine voice grunted, and Akio soon joined us. "You're not harassing my wife, are you?" Before I could say anything he continued. "No, you're after my daughter...well, I won't give her to you! Either of them!"
"I'm...fine, thanks," I said, unsure of how to respond. "Your wife and daughter are...high-class, but I'm not looking."
"Akio, catch me; I think I'm going to faint," Sanae said as she fanned herself. "Okazaki-san, you have a way with words!"
"A lousy one," Kyou quipped, still buried in her book.
"Hey!" I protested.
Ryou giggled as she rose to her feet. "Onee-chan, I think I'm ready to go home, now."
"Walk her home, Tomoya," Kyou ordered, flipping a page as she turned to enter the bakery.
I shook my head with a smile as I looked over at Ryou. "Can you walk on your own? Or do you need me to support you?"
She ducked her head meekly as she looked up at me from under her eyelashes.
***
"Thank you for walking me home," Ryou said as we stood by the front door to her home. "Would you like to come in for tea?"
"Thanks, but I'd better not," I sad. "You've had a pretty exciting day, and I'm beat."
"I can imagine," she said with a giggle. "That's okay; I probably shouldn't have offered this time."
"Yeah." I looked into her eyes as she smiled at me, and I noticed something different about them. Maybe it was the lighting or the skin below her eyes...I wasn't sure. "Fujibayashi? May I...hug you again? I'll try not to cry this time."
Her eyes glistened as she studied me. "I'd like that," she finally said.
I reached out and carefully pulled her to me, resting my hands on the back of her head and the small of her back. I could smell the sweetness of her shampoo along with a slight sweaty smell. Her hair felt so soft and her body felt so warm. She felt...perfect.
We pulled away from each other too soon, and I looked down into her eyes again. They looked so clear, so lovely...I lowered my head toward hers and...we kissed...oh man, it had been so long. I savored the feeling of her lips against mine, my overwhelmed brain doing its best to memorize her touch.
We pulled away yet again and touched foreheads as we looked into each other's eyes.
We separated with great reluctance and she unlocked her front door. She opened it and then turned to look at me over her shoulder. "Good night, Tomoya-kun."
I floated all the way home.