Emi Epilogue - Stopping Short: Chapter 5 (Decision 2)

Stopping Short – Chapter 5: The Finale

Decision 2: Find and talk to Emi

Standing here and staring at that arch will solve nothing. I care about her. I want to see her. I want to be there as comfort and reassurance.

This isn’t to save her.

This isn’t to protect her.

This is to show that I love and support her in every way.

After my brief mental pep talk, I take a deep breath, look both ways, and head across the street. Without breaking my stride I reach the sidewalk and immediately enter the cemetery.

It hasn’t been too long since I was last here, but it still takes a moment for me to get my bearings and begin moving in the correct direction. Within a minute I spot a familiar figure sitting cross-legged in front of a headstone.

Clad in a white t-shirt with a green tank top and khaki shorts, Emi is seated in the grass with her head bowed deeply. Her posture contains none of the usual confidence and energy that is a staple of Emi’s character. The complete lack of movement makes the small girl look…lifeless. At the thought a chill runs through my spine.

Taking another deep breath, I begin to approach Emi, making a point of taking louder steps to avoid startling her. Even as I move straight to her side and settle down next to her on the grass, Emi remains entirely frozen, not stirring in the slightest.

“Hey, Emi.”

I offer a casual greeting and hope for the best. Without turning to face me, Emi replies.

“Hi…Hisao…”

A slow and extremely quiet reply at that.

“What are you doing out here?” I ask carefully, fearing that the slightest slip up could be devastating.

“I could ask you the same thing,” she whispers. “Here to fix everything and save helpless little Emi?”

The sudden accusation catches me off-guard and causes my brain to falter momentarily. Fortunately, I came prepared for something like this. I just wasn’t expecting it to come up quite this early.

Breathing deeply (third time’s the charm), I deliver a calm response.

“Nope.”

“Listen, Hisao, I don’t ne-“

Emi’s voice comes to an abrupt halt as she processes what I just said.

“…Did you say no?” she murmurs.

“Yup.”

“…then…why…”

It’s clear that the girl wasn’t exactly ready for an answer of that sort, so I push forward with a newfound confidence.

“Because I WANT to be here, not because you NEED me here.”

Emi stays silent, offering no input of her own just yet.

“Maybe I’m here for me,” I continue, hoping that this is coming across correctly. “Maybe I feel like I need YOU sometimes."

The girl next to me averts her gaze, opting instead to stare at the flowers laid out in front of her father's grave. I can't tell if she believes me or not, so it's probably about time to wrap this up. Quietly, I rise to my feet, dusting off the grass and small bits of dirt that are clinging to my pants. Noticing my movement, Emi's eyes flit in my direction, betraying the small amount of curiosity she's attempting to mask.

I whisper a silent prayer to some unknown deity and open my mouth to speak.

"Emi, do you mind doing me a favor?" I ask in what I can only hope is a gentle tone of voice.

The small girl ponders this for a moment before consenting. "What...do you need?"

"Could you stand up and walk with me for a second?"

It's an odd sounding question. I realize that. The timing might be far from ideal, but this is necessary.

Emi gazes at me for a moment longer, seemingly searching for an explanation. When nothing of the sort is delivered, she sighs quietly and pushes herself to her prosthetic feet. I set off immediately after we stand and Emi quickly falls into step alongside me.

The two of us make our way though the cemetery, weaving in and out between the graves as we move towards the exit. Neither of us start a conversation, instead taking in the sounds of birds chirping in the trees and wind pushing its way through the leaves, rustling them in a gentle manner. The sun warms our skin while we walk, blazing in the sky and emitting even more heat than before I had entered the cemetery.

After a moment the front archway comes into view. Beyond it we can now spot the street which seems to be rather deserted at the moment. Upon crossing the border between the threshold and the outside world I come to a halt, stopping at the edge of the sidewalk and glancing both directions down the road. To the east I hear the roar of an engine; before long a bright red sports car comes into view, screaming down the street and buffeting us with wind as it passes. The car moves down the road away from us and I silently declare the area to be safe.

"Could you go across the street and pick one of those flowers, Emi?" I request, pointing towards a flowerbed filled with bright plant life.

Clearly confused but seeing no reason to object, Emi looks both ways once more before striding across the street. Keeping myself rooted to my spot on the curb, I watch her proceed to the other side of the asphalt. Once she has crossed, the small girl stoops down and carefully plucks a flower from the earth. With the task completed, Emi pivots on her heels and begins to return, though her eyes are aimed at something to my left.

Turning, I notice a cyclist rounding the corner quickly and speeding down the sidewalk. Air rushes over my back as he passes behind me and continues on down the pavement. The event instills a minor amount of fear into me, as I was merely a foot away from being directly in his path.

Pulling my gaze away from the retreating man on his bike, I turn towards Emi to find that she is back by my side. In her hand is one flower, a dainty blue plant of some kind with inner splashes of white mixed among it. Hell if I know what type of flower it actually is, but it's quite beautiful.

"You've got quite an eye for these types of things," I say nonchalantly. "That's a really nice flower you picked out."

Emi smiles a bit in response, regaining more of that cheerful disposition that defines her. "So what next?" she asks, assuming that more tasks are coming.

"Let's head back," I answer her, spinning around and walking back under the archway and into the cemetery.

After a few moments we find ourselves back at her father's grave. Once we arrive, Emi leans over and places the flower next to the bouquet that already adorns the smooth slab of stone. Without a word, she fixates her eyes on me with an air of expectation.

Phase 1 complete. On to phase 2.

Before I can initiate, however, Emi interjects.

"Are you going to explain what the point of that was, Hisao?" she inquires in a tone that only seems slightly befuddled.

"I will," I assure her. "But first, do you mind sitting down for me?"

Keeping her sight locked onto me, the girl plops down in the grass where she was seated before my arrival. Wasting no time at all, I lean over next to her and scoop her into my arms, bridal style.

"Hey, whoa, Hisao! What are you doing?!"

"I promise I'll explain, Emi. Please, just let me do this."

"You'd better start explaining right now, Nakai." Emi glares up at me from my arms which, while a rather fierce expression, is pretty darn cute in its own way.

I sigh and nod in agreement. "Alright. I'll explain as we go." With that, I set off down the same path we took moments earlier.

"I think I finally understand what you've been wanting me to understand, Emi," I begin, trekking slowly towards the entrance of the cemetery. "I don't think this is just a fight like I had first assumed, and I believe you're not exactly angry at me. This is an issue revolving around trust, isn't it?"

The girl stays quiet, but the way she awkwardly shifts her gaze and tries to avoid looking at me answers my question.

"You're afraid that if Iwanako could appear out of nowhere and almost snatch me out of your life, then practically anything could steal me away from you, right? I imagine it's hard to trust me when I say I won't leave you, especially after an incident like that."

Silence.

"You might very well be sick of me trying to fix everything about you, too, huh? I'm really sorry, Emi. That's not what I'm trying to do at all, honestly."

"Then what ARE you trying to do, Hisao?" Emi mutters in my arms.

"I just...I just want you to be able to trust me. To trust me enough to believe me when I say that I know you can take care of yourself. And to trust that I can take care of you despite the fact that you don't need my help."

I stop just as we pass through the archway and onto the sidewalk, glancing backwards at the path we just traveled.

"I know that you can get yourself from place to place, but sometimes I enjoy being your legs."

Looking back out towards the street, I check for traffic before moving across it with Emi in tow. Upon reaching the opposite side, I look back down towards the girl.

"I know that you're capable of protecting yourself from dangers like cars, but sometimes I enjoy being your protector."

Setting my sights onto the flower bed, I scan over the dirt before finding a flower similar to the one Emi picked out earlier, though with an orange color rather than a blue one.

"I know that you're able to make your own decisions and have good judgment, but sometimes I enjoy picking things out for you."

Handing Emi the flower, I turn around and silently retrace my steps again, taking us all the way back to her father. I crouch down close to the ground and allow her to place the orange flower next to her blue one. The two added colors alone create a nice change which livens up the gray of the headstone. Still cradling the small girl in my arms, I sit down in front of the grave once more. For a moment, neither of us speak. Unfortunately, I have to be the one to break the silence and finish what I started.

"Emi."

She looks up at the sound of her name, meeting my steady gaze with her not so steady one.

"I know that you can do anything and everything that is necessary for you to live your life. I understand that you don't need me to do those things for you. Sometimes, though, I just want to do them. And I want you to trust me enough to allow me to do them. Not because I think you need help, but because I love you and I want to always be there for you. After all, you're always there for me, right?"

Emi nods her head slowly, keeping her eyes firmly locked onto mine.

"So...do you believe me? That you being unable to handle yourself is NOT the reason that I offer my help?"

A moment of silence before her response.

"I believe you, Hisao," Emi murmurs quietly, staring up at me.

I crack a smile at her words. "Meaning that you also trust me when I say I won't leave you?"

Emi wraps her arms around the back of my neck and pulls me into a soft, passionate kiss. It only lasts for a few seconds before our lips part, but the emotion behind it is clear and radiant.

"I trust you," the small girl assures me, resting her hand on my cheek. "I should've known that you were never trying to imply that I couldn't take care of myself. I'm really sorry for not trusting and believing in you more..."

"To be honest, I kind of betrayed your trust on Saturday. But I don't intend to do it ever again, Emi."

Nuzzling her head up against my chest, Emi purrs her words to me. "Don't worry, ya goofball. I don't intend to let you do it ever again, either."

Phase 2 complete. Mission success.

Holding each other tightly and savoring the body warmth (despite the fact that it's already excruciatingly hot outside), the two of us sit for a while longer. After some unknown length of time, we finally lighten our embrace and I allow Emi to slip from my grasp. We rise to our feet together and both look down towards the headstone in front of us. Silence takes hold of the area until Emi eventually breaks it.

"Dad......thank you for everything. You haven't always been here, but even without you around you seem to always be influencing me. You and Mom both helped me to get to where I am now, to be who I am. Maybe I didn't always need it, but I appreciate every single thing you two did for me. And now, even though you're gone and I'll be away from Mom during college, I think I've found someone else to be next to me along the way."

Emi glances over to me, a small smile slowly spreading across her face.

"He may be a doofus and a goofball, but he and I are going to keep moving on together. Maybe I didn't always understand why he was so insistent on helping me, but now I think I do. Being helpful doesn't always have to be about pity or being someone's savior. Sometimes it's just a way to show that you care. I promise, Dad, that we'll help each other grow the way you and Mom helped me."

Emi's voice suddenly catches a bit, but she finishes her sentence before allowing the tears to flow.

"I know you'll never meet him, but I believe that you'd approve of Hisao...I love you, Dad."

With that, Emi stands up straight and turns to face me. She's clearly doing her best to hold back tears, but this effort seems wasted as they begin to gently stream down her cheeks as she sniffles.

"C'mon, Emi," I say, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and beginning to walk towards the exit. "Let's get home."

The girl follows without protest, continuing to stifle her sobs as they try to climb out of her throat. She's insanely strong...

As we walk the path out of the cemetery, I give a silent goodbye to Emi's dad.

Thank you, Mr. Ibarazaki. I'll make you proud.

==========

The bus ride home is quite silent, every seat in the vehicle empty save for the two of us huddled into a spot in the back corner. Creaking about noisily as we travel down the streets back home, the bus moves at a pace that feels far slower than normal. At this rate it doesn't even feel like we'll get home before dark.

Beside me sits Emi, contentedly leaning against me and humming some tune quietly to herself. Quite adorable, this one. That is, until her head shoots up in surprise and catches me in the chin.

"OMIGOSHHISAOIJUSTREMEMBEREDSOMETHING!" she exclaims in an excited manner.

"GAH, well could you maybe remember it withOUT breaking my jaw?!" I hiss, slightly aggravated by the pain now embedded beneath my mouth.

"Don't worry, Hisao," the girl declares in a cheeky tone. "You won't even feel that once I tell you what I remembered."

"Fine, then. What did you remember?"

"Weeeeeeeellllllllll...you know how I promised you a special reward if the Saturday date went well?"

"Yeah, but I'd say that went about as far from well as possible."

"Very true, Mr. Nakai. However, for being the gentleman that you are and doing your best to smooth things over, I'm willing to administer said reward tonight instead." As Emi says this she slowly presses her body closer to mine and brings her lips directly next to my ear. The warm breath that escapes as she speaks tickles my skin and makes my entire body tingle.

"W-wait...are you serious, Emi?"

"Maybe you should just roll with it instead of questioning me, Hisao," Emi states, moving her lips to my neck and beginning to suckle gently.

"Whoawhoawhoawhoawhoa Emi we're in a public place and I think that you should probably stop."

The pink-haired girl's lips come off of my skin with a tiny *pop* and she shoots me a pouty face.

"Don't give me that look. You know damn well that the bus is not the place for this."

"Hmph, I guess so," Emi concurs, moving away slightly and retaining her pouting expression and posture.

I can't hold back the following chuckle at her expense, as the entire scene is too adorable for me to handle after such a stressful day. Upon hearing my laughter, Emi delivers a swift punch to my arm and resumes her sulking. In response to her attitude, I press my lips up against her cheek. This immediately melts her icy expression and causes her to latch back onto me like a baby koala.

"You're an insufferable jerk, Hisao," the girl murmurs, rubbing her head on my chest.

"And that's why you love me, right?"

"Nope, I love you because you're sweet and, despite being naive at times, you always seem to know how to make everything just a bit better."

"In other words, I make you happy?"

Emi plants a quick peck on my lips. "Yup, exactly. I love you, Hisao."

"I love you, too, Emi."

We both stay silent for the remainder of the bus ride home, simply enjoying each other's company. It isn't too much longer before I feel the vehicle begin lurching to a stop. At long last, the journey ends and Emi and I depart the bus, thanking our driver as we clamber down the stairs. As the loud hunk of metal slides away from us we set off towards Yamaku, creating a leisurely pace that Emi would normally scoff at.

In fact, she does just that once we reach the foot of the hill.

"Let's go, Hisao! I'll race you to the top!" Emi exclaims, excitement flashing across her eyes.

"Can't we just take it easy for once, Emi?" I plead, already exhausted from the day's events.

"No, we cannot!"

With those words, the track star bolts off, streaking to the school nestled at the peak of the hill before us.

"Shit, Emi, wait up!" I call out, scrambling after her.

Despite her speed, I'm somehow able to catch up to Emi and match her stride, lagging only slightly in her wake.

"Gah, Emi! Can't we *huff* stop for *pant pant* just a second?!"

Emi looks over her shoulder at me and behind her eyes I can spot a spark of determination, a flickering flame that burns with the intent of never going out until its purpose is fulfilled. It's the same thing that appears in her expression when she races or is facing a challenge of any sort. Nothing at this point is going to make her quit.

"Never, Hisao!" Emi shouts as she continues to pump her legs even faster. "You can't just drop out when the challenges on the path become difficult to overcome! You've got to keep pushing until you've completed your goal or until you can't push anymore! There is no giving up, especially when the sky's the limit! Together, we reach for the stars!!!"

Out of nowhere comes Emi's hand, shooting back to grab mine as I begin to fall further behind. With her help, I'm able to pull back into a steady stride and maintain it. Together, the two of us bound up the hill towards Yamaku. Eventually, the gates come into view, showing how close we are to the finish line. Both Emi and I go all out as we shoot towards the entrance to the school, mustering all our energy for this final sprint.

"Besides," Emi declares, a gleeful smile plastered onto her face as we race forward. "What's the point in trying if you're just going to stop short?"