Scar Tissue- A Hanako Story (Pseudo-Complete)

[Doomish]

Oh, good God, you guys are making me really nervous now.
I pray I can deliver.

I believe in you!

Also, your avatar has never fit more than it does at this moment.

[Mealforthree]

I feel quite terrible for secretly desiring Hisao to ditch the infertile Scot and get it on with Hanako.

I am a bad person, it seems.

[mainframe004]

I feel quite terrible for secretly desiring Hisao to ditch the infertile Scot and get it on with Hanako.

I am a bad person, it seems.

You're not the only one, bro.

[FluffandCrunch]

Part Seven

Over the next several days, Hisao and I take turns staying at home to keep Lilly company. Neither of us say it, but I get the idea Hisao might be worried Lilly could hurt herself, accidentally or otherwise.
Both he and I contact Shizune and explain the situation to her and Misha. The two of them tell us to take as much time off work as needed.

When Lilly is awake, she's silent, sitting up in bed, her bandaged hands folded on her lap. She feeds herself, she drinks tea and she sleeps, but she never talks. Hisao lies in bed with her and the two of them just hold each other. When I watch Lilly I sit in a chair, sometimes with a book. I do very little reading and I usually end up doing nothing more than hold onto it.
I'm not comfortable in their bedroom.

On the fifth day I leave to answer the phone, Lilly asleep in the bed. It's Hisao calling from Yamaku. He asks all the same questions he has been the last several days when he heads into work; How is Lilly? Is she eating? Has she said anything?
I give him all the same answers as every time before and none of them are what he wants to hear.
He thanks me and hangs up.

I want to scream and slam the phone into the receiver and smash it into little, tiny pieces. Every time I have a chance to talk to him I screw it up. I end up passing by every opportunity and things just keep getting worse and worse.

[Friendship]
Going back to the bedroom, I'm surprised to find Lilly standing in front of the open window wearing her clingy night robe, her hair unbound and moving through the breeze.
“L-Lilly?”
She turns towards me and she smiles like she used too.
“Hanako, hello. Tell me, what time is it?”
“It's just after lunch.”
“Hm. I thought I was getting hungry.”
I stand outside the room looking in through the door.
“Are y-you okay?”
Lilly thinks about it for a while before answering.
“I think I am now.”
She waits for me to come closer.
When I don't, she smiles at me and curls her long fingers, beckoning me into the room.
“Hanako, dear, you don't have to stand in the doorway. Come in, please. I just wanted some fresh air in here, that's all. I'm glad your back; I've become terribly bored.“
She holds up her bandaged hands helplessly.
"I'd do some reading, but I guess that would be difficult given the circumstances."

It must be hard for her without her sight having to reply on her other senses so much. Losing one of them, like touch, must be very troubling for her, especially knowing it was through her own actions that led to it's loss.

I meekly enter but only a few steps inside the door.
Lilly turns away from the window and moves through her bedroom with ease, every piece of furniture and object memorized and kept in it's proper place. When we all first moved in together, it was hard to get into the habit of making sure everything was exactly where it was supposed to be. Even a table a few inches off center could be a dangerous tripping hazard to Lilly. Still, it ended up giving the whole house a very neat and tidy appearance and that was no where more evident than Hisao's and Lilly's bedroom.

From her dresser Lilly picks up a long ribbon of black silk with a few stray gold hairs on it. She sits back in bed and lightly tosses the covers back.
She pats the bed next to her.
“Hanako, would you join me?”

I do and enter further into the room, sitting meekly on the bed next to Lilly. She carefully gathers her hair up and ties the black ribbon into a distinctive bow. Then she arranges the pillows propped up against the headboard and pats the bed again.
“You can sit here, Hanako.”

I already feel uncomfortable enough sitting on Hisao's and Lilly's bed, but I don't want to deny Lilly so I climb in next to her. She wraps the covers around the two us and we lay next to each other.
I have to admit, it feels really nice.
My discomfort slowly vanishes and I rest my head against Lilly, she doing the same.
"Thank you for watching me the last couple days. I really didn't want to be alone and it was nice having the company."
I smile up at Lilly and try my best not to stutter.
"It's o-okay. Hisao and I were worried about you."

Her face grows concerned and a frown appears on her lips.
"I'm sorry to have troubled the two of you. I should not have acted that way and I apologize for it."
Her face screws up a little.
"On top of that, I broke our favorite tea set."

I shake my head, snuggling closer to Lilly as I do.
"No, it's all right. You just...j-just were upset, that's all."

Lilly smiles and puts her arms around me, trailing her fingers up and down my arm, making goosebumps quiver on my skin. She begins humming and the sound, after all the trouble over the last few days, makes me feel drowsy.
Her gentle touch brushes against the bandage on my arm and I can't help but flinch.
"What's this?" She asks concerned.
I hesitate before telling her, not sure if I should tell her.
"I just...got a little burned from the tea, that's all."

Lilly's mouth drops open a little in surprise and alarm and she speaks in a tiny, broken whisper, pulling away from me as if her touch would harm me.
"I...burned you?"
I try to reassure her.
"It's all right. It's all better now, Hisao helped."

She looks monumentally upset and she takes me by surprise by wrapping me in the tightest hug she's ever given me.
I become aware that she's naked under her silk robe.
Lilly starts crying and I can feel her tears run down my neck.
"I'm so sorry, Hanako! I'm so sorry! I was so upset, I never meant to hurt you!"

My face turns red as I feel all of her against me, her warm skin against mine. She gives a little sob as she continues to pour out her emotion.
"I just...I just don't understand what's happening to me. It feels like everything has gone wrong. I thought...I thought it was Hisao! I never imagined the problem was with me. I never even thought it was possible. I didn't notice anything wrong, I thought that it was bad luck or his medication. But it was me! It's all my fault!"

She breaks the hug and I'm sad to see her pull away. Tears roll down Lilly's porcelain cheeks and her chin quivers, her hands clutching at her stomach protectively.
"For the first time in my life, I feel like there's something wrong with me. I feel like I'm... ugly and rotted out inside!"

I hate the sounds of those words coming out of her mouth. I want to shout and shake her out of it and tell her how wrong she is, how perfect she actually is!
There's nothing wrong with Lilly! The idea is impossible!

[Innocence]
"Lilly, you're wrong!" I shout.

Lilly stiffens a bit and sniffles a bit.
"What?"

"Lilly, you're the most wonderful person in the world! When no one else would help me or reach out to me, you did. You showed me I could make friends and do the things I wanted, gave me courage and confidence. Without you and Hisao I don't know where I would be. I'd....I'd be dead, I just know it!"

I can feel the tears start rolling down my own cheeks.

"You and Hisao are the most important people in my life and I can't imagine living without you. You taught me it doesn't matter how you were born or what you look like or what problems you have. My scars and your scars don't define us as people!"

Lilly is very quiet, her eyes open in surprise, tears gently resting on her cheeks as she listens to me talk. I gently touch her face and wipe them away.

"You mean so much to me, Lilly, I can't even put it into words. You showed me once how beautiful I could be and hearing you say these things breaks my heart! They're not true, Lilly. They can't be true about someone I love so much!"

Lilly keeps that surprised look on her face, as if something were going on in her mind, a long, complicated process slowly winding up into full movement.

She seems to come to a realization, smiles at me and wipes her remaining tears away.
The she holds me close and wraps my face in her hands, touching our foreheads together before she kisses me.
Then she kisses me again.
And again.

Each time I can't help but gasp in surprise at the intimate feeling of her lips against my skin. My body shakes and again I'm aware that nothing is between me and Lilly except her silk robe.

Lilly presses herself against me and we lie in bed together again, our breathing slowly matching one another.
I start to get drowsy, surprised by how comfortable this feeling is, Lilly's arms wrapped around me, my arms around her, slowly drifting off to sleep in each others embrace, slowly melting into one another.
If I wasn't suddenly so tired, I'd change out of my clothes.
The last thing I remember before sleep overtakes me is Lilly's breath against my ear.
"I love you, too, Hanako."

[Mealforthree]

>mfw lesbo scene

Great, although it felt a little weaker than the last one - guess it's mainly because things seem to be picking up for the little menage a trois that's going on between the protagonists.

By the way, there's a typo there: 'quiet' instead of 'quite'.

[mainframe004]

^ My sentiments

[Mahorfeus]

This is all screwed up, and I'm loving it.

Now everybody in the triangle seems to be torn between the other two. Now where might that lead?

[themocaw]

And now the third leg of the triangle has been drawn.

BRING ON THE THREESOMES!

THE GLORIOUS WONDERFUL, TEARFUL,. HEARTWARMING THREESOMES!

[Bagheera]

Yeah, I predict a busy future for Hanako. Most people have their hands full with their own kids, but she'll be having kids for Lilly and Hisao as well! Bet she never saw that coming in her early days at Yamaku.

[MrDogsniper]

wow, what incredible writing continue on.

[Nivyan]

dude wtf?! (in a good way)

for gods sake man, if you leave us hangning I'll find you!

Great writing so far, keep it up!

[FluffandCrunch]

Part Eight

"Can you hear me now?
"I can hear you, but I can't see you! What the hell is wrong with this thing?!"
"I can't see you either, just be patient, it might be buffering. Is it buffering on your end?"
"What the hell does buffering mean? Oh, God, what is this, I'm not good with computers!"

I try not to laugh at her expense.
I'm in my room, sitting in front of my computer after getting up particularly early. It's been a couple weeks since the doctor's appointment. Lilly, Hisao and myself are back to work but every day seems more stressed than the last. Our dinners, usually so warm and friendly, have become subdued and quiet affairs. There's no sense of discomfort, but we don't talk much. We just kind of float around the house together doing nothing in particular.
I still haven't talked to Hisao about the kiss yet. Lilly doesn't know either.
I think.

The truth is, I don't know anymore how I feel. About Hisao or Lilly or even myself.
I need someone to talk to. Someone I can trust.

"Try checking the U.S.B cable in the back, it might be loose."
There's a few shuffling and clicking sounds coming over my speakers. Eventually my screen flashes and I get an image.
My face goes totally red and I avert my eyes.

I'm now staring down the shirt of a modestly endowed woman wearing a frilly and expensive looking black bra.
"Um, Akira? Y-you might want to be careful about the camera...."

[Red Velvet]
The woman pulls away from the camera, after having leaned over her computer to plug in a cord behind the monitor. Akira looks down at her partially unbuttoned shirt and then smiles at me with all her teeth.
"Sorry about that, Hanako! Didn't mean to give you a free show!"

Her eyebrows waggle a bit.
"Although these cameras are a little pervy, when you think about it."

It's been a while since Akira visited us in Japan. She hasn't changed much, but I can see just a tiny touch of smile lines beginning to crease her face. If anything it makes her look even more open and friendly than before. She's grown her hair out just a little and she looks as if she just climbed out of bed.
Considering what time it is in Scotland, that seems unlikely.
Then again, Akira was never very predictable.
As usual, she has a glass of something in her hand, amber with a few ice cubes floating around freely, holding it with a carefree and loose grip.

Akira peers through the camera at me.
"Damn, Hanako! You've done some growing up! Look at you! You must have to keep the guys off with a stick, huh? I bet you got Hisao watching your back, right?"

I blush and thank her. Even with so much distance, Akira's presence can sometimes feel a little suffocating to me.
She chuckles and smiles like the Cheshire cat.
"I hope there's no problems. Pretty girls like you can be a real temptation to a married man!"

I wince and try to hide it. I know she's only trying to compliment me, but the jab hits too close to home.

Akira doesn't seem to take notice, though.
"So how are things in Scotland?" I ask, changing the subject.
Akira sighs and bobs her head back and forth in a so-so manner.
"Head of Legal isn't all that's it's cracked up to be. Sometimes I pine for the luxury of nepotism. Being the Boss' kid here though just means everyone is either afraid of you or watching for any mistake you make."
"How is your family, anyway?"

Akira grins mischievously.
"As belligerent as ever. Tell Lilly, Mother and Father say 'hello'. If you can, scowl while you say 'hello' for Dad. And tell Hisao not to accept any unmarked packages from Scotland. He still hasn't forgiven him for stealing his daughter away."

Her eyes light up for a minute.
"Speaking of which, did he get my latest care package?"
I nod and smile.
"Yea, Hisao loved it. The Scotch didn't last long after he and Kenji got a hold of it, but he wore the kilt for a few days until both me and Lilly had to make him take it off. He looked ridiculous."

Akira looks a little confused.
"Every time he wore it," I explain, "he spoke in a really bad accent. Lilly hated it! Kept calling her 'bonny lass' and singing 'Will you, Go, Lassie, Go'."
Akira throws her arms in the air, nearly losing he drink when she laughs.
"Record it and send it to me! It'll drive Father nuts! I'll make it my new ring tone!"

We both laugh for a while before we get control of ourselves again.

"So what's up?" Akira asks, "When I got the e-mail to set this little video chat up it sounded like you had something pretty serious on your mind. I would have been on sooner, but my boyfriend is the computer literate one here and I banished him from the Internet for downloading porn."

I wring my hands together for a minute before I decide how to proceed, steeling myself with a long breath.
"Have you...talked to Lilly or Hisao at all lately?"
Akira shakes her head.
"No, not really. Is something wrong?"
I sigh.
"Well, yea. A little."
I tell her everything.
Hisao and Lilly trying to have a baby, Lilly's doctor appointment, I even tell her about the kiss.

By the time I'm done, I'm holding back my tears. It feels good to confess to someone, but at the same time, it's heartbreaking to admit what happened.
Akira listens silently, patiently letting me talk until I'm done and finished. With a very thoughtful expression, she drains her glass and twirls it in her hand, letting the ice cubes clink against the sides.
"First," she says after a long pause, "sorry about the married comment earlier."

I nod.

"Second...."
Akira stops, looking very unsure. The cameras may bring us face to face, but even all the miles between us isn't enough for us both to be totally comfortable with the situation.
"Second, you're not helping yourself or the two of them by not talking about it. Hanako, this sort of thing can blow up if you don't deal with it right away. It's not going to be easy, but my suggestion is to sit down and have a talk about it with Lilly and Hisao."

She looks at me poignantly through the camera's eye.
"You need to talk to them, Hanako."

I nod again.

"I just don't want Lilly to hate me."
Akira shakes her head, reaching off camera and pouring more into her glass, replacing a few ice cubes from a small silver bucket.
"That's impossible. Lilly could never hate you, Hanako. Neither could Hisao."
She looks thoughtful for a minute.
"They love you more than I can say."

Topping off her drink, Akira holds it mid air between table and lip.
"Still, I'm surprised Lilly didn't say anything about her health to me."
Akira looks sad and disappointed, upset that Lilly either wouldn't open up to her about this sort of thing or that she would be holding back so as not to worry her older sister on her behalf.

"Lilly really hasn't had a chance to talk to you since then. I'm sure it only slipped her mind."

Akira shakes her head and takes a rather long drag.
"No, that's not her style. Even after all this time she won't open up to others and let them worry about her for a change. Always the strong one, always the one who has to take care of others. Did you know once when we were kids that she got lost and didn't call me to help because I was at work and she didn't want to trouble me? How ridiculous is that?"

I didn't know that about Lilly, but it sounds like something she would do.
"She's strong, I'll give her that," Akira continues, "but no one should have to keep everything bottled up like that. She's more open with you than she is with me."

I shake my head.
"That's not true, Akira. You two are very close."
Akira shrugs and drinks more.
"Maybe we used to be. But with work and the distance...me and Lilly aren't as close as we once were. I talk to Hisao over the Internet more than I do with Lilly and that's only partly because she's terrible at computers, worse than I am. Even over the phone, our conversations are pretty short nowadays."

Akira shrugs.
"I just guess that's how things are, you know. Lilly and I started down different roads a long time ago. She got a family. She has you and Hisao. I went the professional route, the safe route."

Akira looks off camera, her eyes trailing around the office she sits in.
"Lot of good it does me these days."

Akira fixes me with a steady look and I can see a little bit of the drink getting to her.
"You're more of a sister to Lilly than I've ever been, Hanako. That's why I know you'll do the right thing and talk to them. They need you now more than ever."

The entire time Akira talks, I listen to her words, thinking what she says over.
She's right. It's not fair to keep this quite. Lilly deserves to know what happened and I need to make sure she knows it was my fault, not Hisao's.

Thinking about it though, he did kiss me back.
How do I explain that?

I realize Akira is still talking over the speaker.
I snap to attention.
"I'm sorry, Akira, what did you say?"
She looks at me with a little bit of a lazy eye.
"I said it would be kind of fun. Thinking about if we had done things differently. You know, Lilly became the professional and I settled down with a family. I don't blame you for kissing Hisao, Hanako, he's gotten a little sexy in his age. First time I met him I didn't think much of him, just another guy chasing Lilly's skirt, but after I got to know him, he kind of grew on me. I'm glad I didn't have to end up scaring him away like all the other guys. All I'm saying is that I wouldn't mind switching places with Lilly for a little while, see what it's like."

I think about what Akira says and a thought occurs to me. A smile stars to spread on my face.
"You know what, Akira? You can get pretty smart when you drink."

She looks at me through the camera lens a little surprised, then seems to notice her now empty glass for the first time.
She winks at me and clicks her tongue playfully.
"Really? Thanks for saying so. I get a lot of practice in Scotland dealing with the family."

----------------------------------------

Next, The Conclusion....

[Mahorfeus]

Always Akira! But ha, she was definitely a good choice for Hanako to turn to. The Skype-ish bit at the beginning made me laugh.

I want to say I can see where this is going, but that's what I said three chapters ago.

[FluffandCrunch]

I want to say I can see where this is going, but that's what I said three chapters ago.

I don't think it was ever much of a secret.

[Robnonymous]

Pics of Akira's cleavage NAO!!!

And Hanako's too, while you're at it!