The Rat and The Radish

9: The Rat and The Realization

Nene was surprised at herself, because she felt so happy right now. Tsukasa was wrapped around her, pinning her to the wall.

He reminded Nene of Hanako in at least a hundred ways, but there were also things that made Tsukasa unique. His bluntness, for one. He never evaded a topic, but dove straight into it-- no matter how odd or embarrassing it was.

Tsukasa leaned into Nene, and she was surprised to learn two things; one) As Tsukasa deepened the kiss, she wasn't blushing. She felt oddly at peace in the moment. And two) Nene realized her eyes were closed. This wasn't shocking on its own, but the fact that some part of her felt okay with being vulnerable to attack.

Somehow, she knew Tsukasa would protect her.

~~~~~

Much sooner than Nene or Tsukasa would have liked, Tsukasa broke the kiss. In one swift motion, he had both Nene and himself in the office chair again. Tsukasa just hugged Nene.

"What'd you decide?" He whispered in her ear, surprised to see that the girl in his lap was returning the hug.

"I . . . I think you're right." Her face was warm. After all, this was kinda the equivalent of a confession. A confession . . .

"Really?" Tsukasa asked, surprised. He leaned back and looked at Nene. She blushed harder.

"Y-yeah, I m-mean . . ." She trailed off. Nene took a breath and started again. "Y-yeah, I kinda think so." Tsukasa smiled and pulled her into a hug.

Nene didn't notice he was crying softly.

~~~~~~

Tsukasa had known that his game would end, eventually. But not once had he dreamed that he would be the winner.

Nene felt warm, and soft, and she smelled like cherry. And she made Tsukasa happy. But he knew what he had to do.

"Nene." He whispered.

"Yeah?" Nene asked, still held in his embrace.

"I'm going to end the game. And . . . and I need to make you forget about it." Tsukasa released Nene and she leaned back, shocked.

"W-what? Why?" She was heartbroken. For a second, Nene had believed that they could stay together, like this, in the Broadcasting Room. "Is it because you think this is all fake? Since you used an arrow?" Tsukasa laid his head on Nene's shoulder.

"No, it's not that." He took a breath, and sat up again. "I'm going to give Amane the blue arrow. Then he'll stop going crazy and stuff." Tsukasa sighed. "And then I'll erase your memories."

Nene stared at him, shocked. "Y-you can't!" she shrieked. "I want to remember this, all of it!" Tsukasa gave her a sad smile.

"No, I have to." He paused, debating whether or not he should ask. "Will you do one more thing for me? One final request?" Nene nodded, tears showing in her eyes.

Tsukasa leaned closer to her and whispered his last request. "You do it." Nene smiled. One last request.

She kissed him, one last time.