CHAPTER 20: Love?
It’s 2am. The neon city is bustling with pedestrians, drunkies, druggies, robots, holograms and people wearing their Zenith’s. Mitsuko and I walk side-by-side. We don’t speak much, but we shoot each other a smile every so often. I soak in every moment, knowing this will all come to an end the moment we’re at school. I hate how we cannot be together in public, but I would never jeopardize what we have together now. It’s not perfect… But maybe I can win her over someday?...

“Mitsuko?” I break the silence. She stops and looks at me inquisitively. “Can we stop in here for a second? I’m hungry and need to use the bathroom.” I point to a little shopping district with various stores. Mitsuko shrugs and claims she could use a soda and some bean paste sesame balls. I smile at her quirk of eating so many damn sweets, despite her athletic physique. She’s been blessed with glorious genetics, mingling that with her hard work ethic, she’s a modern day valkyrie.

Mitsuko goes to a food stand. I go to the ‘bathroom’. I return with a bouquet of lapis lazuli flowers. Her jaw drops. She almost lets go of her two paper plates of sesame balls. She hands one to me and grabs the bouquet. She’s fixated with awe. Her cheeks glow red.

“Jin… What…”

“It’s for you. Thanks for everything. I can carry them if you want—”

“No…” she centers her nose in the bouquet, inhaling the rare scent of flowers. In the concrete jungle of neon lights and robot birds, the sight of flowers stirs up feelings of a time we never get to experience except for in the Zenith. I used to love the Zenith landscapes and never cared much for flowers, but ever since I met Mitsuko… I’ve been thinking differently. Spontaneously I wanted to give her an expression of my love. I couldn’t tell her I loved her. I was too afraid to lose her. So this will have to do.

“Thank you…” Mitsuko says softly. The entire walk back she does not eat her sweets, despite my reminders that they’re getting cold. Her gaze is glued to the bouquet. I don’t know if this is a good or bad thing because she’s so quiet.

We get to the outskirts of the city. The neons drift away into darkness. I walk her to the front door. I stay at a distance to say my goodbyes.

“Um… Do you mind coming inside for a bit? I know we have school in a few hours and you should probably get home, so it’s cool—”

“I’d love to,” I respond. Mitsuko seems relieved. We step inside and Mitsuko’s mom, Mae, is in the living room with her Zenith on. She hears the door open and takes it off.

“Mitsuko! You’re late! Where were—” Mae’s angry voice softens at the sight of the flowers and then me. “Oh, my… Jin! Did you walk my daughter home?”

I nod. “Yes, Miss Williams. Thank you for letting me spend time with your daughter.”

Her mom blushes and looks at Mitsuko who is still shaken up by the flowers. “Are these flowers… Ah, nevermind! Don’t you two have school tomorrow?”

“Yes. I just want to be with him for a few minutes. Please, mom?”

Mae is astonished by Mitsuko’s soft temperament and gentle request. She waves us away without a word, looking at her daughter like she doesn’t recognize who she is.

“Mitsuko, wait.”

We freeze. Mae gives Mitsuko a glass vase filled with water and winks. “Thanks, mom.”

We go upstairs and to her room. Mitsuko sets the bouquet on her desk next to the Yumeko figure I gifted. I feel privileged she’s displaying the waifu openly and it’s not in the trash.

Mitsuko sits on the bed and pats the spot next to her. I sit. Mitsuko’s eyes are somewhere else. We sit in silence, but I do not mind. It’s nice to be with her.

“Do you know where I learned about triggers?” Mitsuko breaks the silence. I shake my head. “My mom is a hypnotist. That’s what she does. Did you know that?”

“No, I didn’t,” I respond, unsure why she’s telling me this.

“That’s how I know how to put you in a trance. How to hypnotize you. Your triggers… I can use them against you. Do you understand?” Mitsuko speaks toward the wall, not looking me in the eyes. I’m disturbed by her behavior.

“I… I don’t understand.”

“Why did you give me those flowers?” She looks at me. I’m the one who turns away this time.

“To show you my appreciation…”

“For what? Bullying you at school? Making your life hell? Pushing you against the wall? Calling you names? Hurting your heart?”

I smile and shake my head. “For being the girl I—” I stop myself. I cannot tell her the truth. But it seems I’m too late. Mitsuko’s eyes are wide in shock.

“I see… Aren’t you scared of me? Are you not afraid that it’s not really you that cares about me, but the fact I hypnotized you earlier? Do you not recognize that I put you in a trance each time we…”

“I don’t care. I liked it…”

Mitsuko is surprised, unconvinced. “Really now?”

“Yes. I…” Searching for the right words, I only hear a single repetition in my thoughts. I bite my lip, ready to dive into the flames where there is no return, launching myself into the one-way stargate. “I want to be with you.”

Mitsuko looks down at her thighs, her blonde hair covering her blue eyes. “I see.”

She stands up, her eyes still concealed by her bangs. “Let me walk you out,” she says coldly. I get up and we step outside her house. The moon looks beautiful. At a distance we can see the neon glow of the city that subtly lights up the pathway.

We say goodbye. I walk away. “Jin,” Mitsuko says. I turn around…

Her lips press against my cheek, warm, delicate, loving… For two seconds I bask in her affection. I never felt so warm in my body. My heart has a happy face.

She pulls away. “I’ll see you at school,” she says, sounding embarrassed. We wave goodbye.

I slowly walk home, rubbing where she kissed, happy with how deeply I’ve fallen in love with my bully.