Yami No Matsuei Fan Fiction ❯ Black Cherry ❯ Halloween Tokyo Tower ( Epilogue )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
Omake: Halloween Tokyo Tower:
Wait! The story's not done yet! There's one more chapter!
October 31st, 2009.
Ah, Halloween. European tradition with treats, costumes, and all things spooky, this Western import found its way to Japan in the late 90's. Happy times, right? Not for Anna, of course. The reason? Well, that's rather obvious.
6:00 p.m.
Rihoko knocked on Anna's door. "Anna!" she yelled. "Yoko-chan and I are going out trick-or-treating, want to come?"
"No!" the other woman shouted. Rihoko couldn't understand the situation at first.
"You sure?" she asked.
"Leave me alone!" her roommate yelled.
Rihoko still missed the boat. "Anna, is something wrong?" The door slid open and the young mother saw a tired Anna. She blinked in confusion. "Is… something wrong?" Anna didn't speak at first. Her eyes looked rather worn.
"Do you know what day it is?" she asked. Rihoko paused.
"Halloween… why?" she asked. Anna looked hurt.
"That's never a good day," the tsukai murmured. She slid the door closed. It was then that Rihoko understood.
"Oh…" she said, "I'm so sorry." Inside, Anna lay down on her futon. Papa…
Rihoko stood in the hallway. It all clicked to her. Of course! Her father died that day. No wonder she's been depressed all day. The young mother leaned against the wall. Hm… I can't have her like this. What can I do? Rihoko pondered the whole situation. I'll have to get Tsuzuki.
"Mama," a small voice said. "Is Anna-san going with us?" Rihoko looked up and saw Yoko-chan standing in the doorway. Her mother shook her head.
"No," she said.
"Oh," her daughter said in disappointment. Rihoko pressed her lips together as she nodded.
"Yeah," she said. The young mother she went down to the kitchen. Her little pirate looked confused.
"Where are you going?" she asked.
"To make a call!" Rihoko yelled. She found Anna's cell phone charging in the kitchen. Perfect! She picked up the phone and made the call. She waited as it rang.
"Hello?" Tsuzuki asked on the other line.
"Hey," Rihoko said. "There's a little problem."
"Rihoko? What's wrong? Where's Anna?"
"That's why I'm calling. I need your help."
-------
7:00 p.m.
Rihoko and Yoko-chan waited in the doorway when they heard the doorbell ring. The young mother looked up.
"It's open!" she called. Tsuzuki walked inside.
"Hey, I got here as soon as I could. Where is she?" he asked.
"She been in her room all day," Yoko-chan said.
"Please help her," her mother said. Tsuzuki gave her a serious look.
"I'll see what I can do," he said. The man made his way down the hall. He came to Anna's door and knocked on it.
"What?" his woman asked from inside.
"Anna-chan, it's me," Tsuzuki said. The woman glanced at the door.
"Asato-kun?" she asked.
"I'm coming in, okay?"
"Whatever."
Tsuzuki paused. Oh, this is serious, he thought. Tsuzuki gathered up his all and opened the door. Anna lay on the futon, eyeing him.
"What do you want?" she sighed. Tsuzuki knelt down next to her.
"Hey," he said as he brushed aside her bangs. "Rihoko told me what was wrong."
"Yeah…" she muttered.
He sat down beside her on the old futon. "Ten long years."
"Yeah."
Tsuzuki looked over at her. "You okay?"
"Yes, yes." Her tone didn’t sound so convincing.
"You sure?"
She clenched her teeth. "Yes!"
"Want to talk about it?"
"No!"
"Okay, okay…" The shinigami’s eyes darted to her pictures against the back wall in the darkened room. An idea surfaced in his head. He leaned in close to her ear.
"Let's go out tonight," Tsuzuki whispered. Anna gave him a puzzled look.
"What?" she asked. Her fiancé smiled.
"Just get your coat and come on," he said. "We're going out tonight."
--------
In a few minutes, Tsuzuki waited by the front door. "You coming along?" he asked.
"Yeah, yeah," his woman mumbled. She joined him at the front door.
"Good," Tsuzuki said, smiling. "Let's go." Anna rolled her eyes.
"Fine," she mumbled. They headed out the door into the night. They didn't speak at first. Tsuzuki looked over at Anna. She still looked rather sour. The man gently rubbed her shoulder.
"I know that you still miss your father," he said. She said nothing. They walked down the street to head into the city.
"You loved him, didn't you? He was your world," Tsuzuki began.
"Where are we going?" Anna asked.
"You'll see in a moment," he told her. They passed a group of trick-or-treaters. The kids walked into the next neighborhood, laughing and talking.
"They seem to be having fun tonight," the shinigami commented.
"Yeah…" his love mumbled. Tsuzuki felt his spirits dropping when they came into the city. Time to act on the plan, he thought.
"Listen, Halloween doesn't have to be depressing,” he spoke up. “Don't let your father's murder bring you down. I'm not saying forget about him, but he wouldn't want you depressed like this."
Anna gave him a rather annoyed look. "Why are we out here? Where are you taking me?"
Tsuzuki turned to Anna with a smile on his face. "I wanted to show you something."
She gave him an odd look. "What?" Tsuzuki pointed behind him. Anna looked on, confused and blinking.
"So what? It's Tokyo Tower," she brushed off. Tsuzuki smiled and grabbed her by the hand. The couple disappeared in a flash. When they reappeared, he turned his attention to her.
"Now you can look," he said. His fiancée looked around them. They had reappeared on the Special Observatory deck of the tower. The bright city lights below took every single word out of her mouth.
"See?" Tsuzuki said in a low voice. "Halloween doesn't have to be depressing. It can be rather beautiful if you look really hard."
"Wow!" Anna murmured. She turned to her lover. "Can we do this every Halloween?" the woman asked. Tsuzuki put his arm around her shoulders.
"Whatever you like," he replied. Anna bowed her head and kissed him on the cheek.
"Thank you," she whispered. Both turned back to the view before them.
And Now… Owari