If Jealousy Could Kill

- 1 year later -

“Are you ready to go?”

The short brunette turned around, smiling at her girlfriend who stood behind her now. She looked down at the hands that clutched her bag, noticing the small ring that glistened in the bedroom light. The term ‘girlfriend’ wasn’t very applicable to them anymore, although she didn’t know if the word ‘fiancée’ was any more applicable either. At this point, Haruna felt the two girls were teetering in between the two. The ring Haruna adorned wasn’t necessarily an engagement ring; Tomomi had called it a promise ring to symbolize her love for Haruna. Tomomi really was very old fashioned. It didn’t matter though; they were both just silly titles. Haruna was together with Tomomi and that’s the only thing that mattered to her.

A lot had happened in the year and a half since the events with Rina. It had been filled with more chaos than Haruna could ever remember experiencing in her life. It was over a year ago that Haruna sat down with the police for the second time. She sat down with them only a week after she had been released from the hospital. She had visited Rina multiple times during that week and each time, it made Haruna realize just how sick Rina really was. She had to get better and to get better, Rina couldn’t hold anything back.

So she told them what was possibly one of Rina’s darkest secrets. She told the police about the murder and everything Rina had confessed to her. Haruna had felt guilty for days, even weeks, after she told the police but in the end, she knew it was the right thing to do. Tomomi had helped convince her of that. She knew in the beginning, Rina would probably be mad at her when she found out but in the long run, Haruna knew Rina would understand why she had told them. Haruna hadn’t done it for him; he didn’t matter to her anymore. Rina was what mattered. Even if it meant confining Rina to that hospital for months or even years, Haruna would be willing to do it for Rina to get better. She would be willing to do it so her little sister could come back to her.

Confining Rina was just what had happened too. Haruna and Mami had somehow managed to convince the police to grant Rina an insanity plea; Tomomi didn’t help out too much with that but it didn’t surprise Haruna that she didn’t. She couldn’t be mad at Tomomi for being upset with Rina after all that had happened. Even with the insanity plea, Rina had been given an indefinite sentence. She was kept, held at the hospital until she was better. But it had been a year and Rina was still there; Haruna had been told nothing of her possible release.

“Haruna?”

The brunette snapped out of her trance and her thoughts to look over at her girlfriend again. She laughed softly when she saw the concerned look Tomomi was giving her. She had gotten that look a lot in the past year; every little thing worried Tomomi these days. As annoying as it could be at times, Haruna wouldn’t change it for the world. Tomomi’s constant worries were a reminder of how much Tomomi cared for the older girl.

“Sorry, I’m just spacing out a bit,” Haruna said. She made her way over to Tomomi, wrapping her arms around the taller girl’s waist. Tomomi shook her head, clicking her tongue in a scolding manner before placing a soft kiss onto Haruna’s lips.

“Let’s go, slowpoke. Mami and Miyuki aren't going to wait forever, you know,” Tomomi told her, tapping her lightly on the nose. Haruna laughed and nodded her head, separating from Tomomi and allowing the younger girl lace their hands, pulling her out of the house.

Haruna’s body was fairing a lot better these days. The nurses had been right; it only took Haruna a few more weeks to completely heal. By the end of the second week she had been released, Haruna felt barely any pain in her abdomen. The only remnant of the wound was the scar she still carried where she had been stabbed. Tomomi was much like her, completely healed but she still had a light scar on her face from where the knife had sliced her.

As the two girls walked down the sidewalk hand in hand, Haruna began thinking back more on the last year she had together with Tomomi. Her girlfriend hadn’t seen Rina in over a year; she never went to visit Rina in the hospital. Every time Haruna would go, either alone or with Miyuki or Mami, she would always ask Tomomi to go with her but the brunette never would. Tomomi was still scared of Rina, even after all of this time. She still didn’t want to face the brunette in fear of what Rina might do. She still had trouble feeling comfortable with the idea of Haruna continuing to see Rina. The fear had gotten worse when Haruna had told the police about the murder so many years ago, Tomomi could admit though that she was surprised by how well Rina had handled the news that Haruna had told the police that. But it didn't add too much comfort. Rina had hid this for years, who was to say she wasn't hiding her feelings now?

Tomomi’s worry had gotten so strong that even when Haruna was able to care for herself again, the brunette had practically begged Haruna not to go back to the apartment. At least not alone. Haruna would never admit it but she didn’t want to go back either. She spent a few nights in the apartment here and there but most of the time, she was staying over at Tomomi’s. The couple was practically unofficially living together at this point. There were just too many memories for Haruna; she didn’t want to go back to that apartment alone while things were still held in such a limbo.

“There they are!”

Tomomi’s high pitched voice broke Haruna out of her thoughts, the brunette looking around their surroundings curiously. She hadn’t even noticed how far they had come when she had been lost in her thoughts. Then again, the place they were meeting Mami and Miyuki wasn’t too far from where Tomomi’s house was.

“It’s about time you two got here,” Mami commented when the couple made their way over to where their friends were standing. Tomomi huffed softly, stomping her feet.

“Don’t blame me. Blame her,” Tomomi said and pointed a finger accusingly at Haruna. The shorter girl rolled her eyes, giving Tomomi’s hand a hard squeeze. Tomomi giggled, giving Haruna a small peck on the cheek.

“I can believe that,” Mami said, laying her hands behind her head to stretch them a bit. “Short stuff here has always been late; she wouldn’t know what punctuality was even if it smacked her in the face.”

“Oh ha ha,” Haruna commented sarcastically and sneered at the grinning blonde.

“Before you two rip each other’s throats out, can we get something to eat first?” Miyuki chimed in for the first time. As she said her words, Tomomi’s eyes began to sparkle.

“I’m with Miyuki!” She announced happily. “I’m starving.”

“You’re always starving,” Haruna grumbled. Tomomi giggled again, hitting her hip against Haruna’s, forcing the older girl to stumble a bit. Haruna caught her balance again, glaring at her laughing girlfriend. Haruna’s glare turned to a smile; she liked hearing Tomomi laugh. She was slowly returning to her old, happy self.

“Then let’s get going!” Mami said and turned on her heels. She and Miyuki started off down the path, the blonde beckoning for the couple to follow them. Tomomi nodded her head, starting off and giving Haruna a pull, the older brunette yelping in surprise from the sudden pull.

“Don’t fall behind,” Tomomi taunted her lightly before flashing her a smile. Tomomi was happy; she was happy to have Haruna safe and sound. She wasn’t going to let anything come between them again.

***

“Ah! I’m so tired!” Tomomi said in a content voice as she slipped further down in the booth seat, her hands coming to drape themselves over her stomach. From beside her, Haruna looked over at her now half laying girlfriend with a raised eyebrow. She sat the glass she’d been drinking from down on the table, poking Tomomi on the cheek only for the younger girl to slap her hands away and whine softly.

“This is why I never feed you anymore; food puts you to sleep these days,” Haruna scolded her. Tomomi let her eyes flutter shut before she stuck her tongue out childishly at Haruna, who could only roll her eyes in return.

“You know, Haruna, it’s not nice to starve your girlfriend,” Mami chimed in.

“I don’t starve her!”

“Yes you do!” Tomomi protested, her body shooting up. “You never cook; you always make me do it for you.”

“What happened to being tired?” Haruna asked her. Tomomi didn’t respond, instead simply took to smiling sheepishly at the brunette next to her. Haruna huffed softly, turning her head away from Tomomi. “And why should I cook? You always volunteer to do it. Cooking is so bothersome, might as well let someone else do it if they’re going to offer.”

“Maybe Tomomi should stop offering then,” Miyuki put it.

“I don’t know, I think Haruna would starve if Tomomi did that. She really doesn’t know how to cook for herself at all,” Mami said. Haruna glowered at the blonde across from her. Mami chuckled softly, waving a hand at Haruna who could only huff and puff her cheeks in annoyance. "You better get used to it too, Timo. If you're going to marry Haruna, she'll be requiring you to cook for her daily."

"But she already makes me cook for her daily!" Tomomi protested in a whining tone. Haruna chuckled softly, picking up the glass and taking a small drink. She was waiting for Mami's words to register. "Wait..."

"Finally," Haruna mumbled.

"Marriage?!" Tomomi shrieked loudly. "Who said anything about marriage?" Haruna looked over at her girlfriend, smiling at the deep blush that was present on her face now. She reached over, lacing her hand with Tomomi's.

"Oh come on, don't deny it, Timo. We all know you want to marry her.... Wow, I never thought I'd ever say someone wanted to marry Haruna," Mami said. She groaned softly when she felt Haruna kick her in the shin for the comments. "Remind me to stop sitting across from you; you're dangerous." Haruna smirked at the comeback, taking to simply sipping her drink in silence.

The chatter and occasional bickering between the friends continued for minutes, each of them enjoying the company. Whenever the four of them went out like this, it always made Mami happy. It made her feel like little by little, their lives were returning to normal. When Rina got better and got released, their lives could really go back to normal. All of them could put this behind them and not think about it again.

The conversations between the friends was interrupted when Mami heard her cellphone go off, rather loudly too. Tomomi stifled a laugh when she saw some people from other booths turn to give the blonde a dirty look for the volume of her phone.

“Good going,” Haruna said with a fake clap. Mami sneered at her playfully before fishing out her cellphone and quickly answering it to stop the loud ringtone.

“Hello?” Mami answered.

“Is this Mami Sasazaki?” The blonde in question furrowed her eyebrows together; she certainly didn’t recognize the voice she was hearing.

“This is her; may I ask who this is?” Mami answered with a bit of hesitancy.

“This is the hospital; we’re calling about Rina Suzuki.”

***

“Come on, dear,” the nurse said in a soft voice, leading Rina down the hallway. Rina paid no mind to the tone that the nurse had spoken in. After a year, she was used to the nurses speaking to her in such a childish manner. Even if her doctors said she had gotten leagues better, she didn’t expect the treatment from the nurses to become any different. She didn’t expect much to be any different.

Rina allowed herself to be led quietly down the hallway until the nurse got her to a room she was all too familiar with. She had met with her doctors in here multiple times now over the last year, it had become just another common routine of Rina’s everyday life in this place.

The nurse knocked on the door lightly, waiting until she heard a soft ‘come in’ from the other side of the door. She pushed it open gently, stepping aside and motioning her hand for Rina to step inside of the room. Rina nodded to the nurse, thanking her under her breath before making her way into the room. She sat down where she knew she had to before looking up at the psychiatrist, giving her a confident smile.

“You’re very happy today, I see,” the psychiatrist said, taking immediate note of Rina’s upbeat attitude.

“Yes, ma’am, I’ve been feeling a lot better lately,” Rina answered her in the best tone she could think of. Rina was going to do whatever it took to get out of here now. She’d bided her time for a year and now she knew it was time. Rina felt better; she knew she was better. She didn’t belong here anymore and she would say anything and everything to make them let her out.

“I’ve noticed. You seem to be in a better mood every time I see you. I’m quite impressed, you know. You’ve come a long way from the shy and quiet girl you were when you first came in here.”

“Thank you…” Rina murmured. She looked down, bowing her head a bit and beginning to twist her hands on her lap. What did she say now? She believed that she was better but she didn’t know if she could get the psychiatrist and the hospital to see it the same way she did.

“The nurses are impressed with you as well,” the psychiatrist continued.

“T-they are?”

“They are,” she confirmed. “I know they don’t show it but it is all part of the job, Rina. They really think you’ve improved. You’re happy and you’re talking to more of your fellow patients.”

“It’s easier to talk with people these days,” Rina admitted. The doctor nodded, writing something down on the notes she kept for Rina’s file before speaking again.

“You haven’t mentioned her in a while either.” The doctor knew she was taking a risk here but she needed to know how Rina would react when she was brought into the conversation. She got a bit worried when Rina’s body tensed but the young girl soon relaxed, a small smile coming back to her face.

“I don’t think about her as much anymore,” Rina said. It wasn’t a total lie. Rina did think about Haruna a lot but she didn’t think about her in the same way that she used to. She still wished more than anything that Haruna would return her feelings but she felt more ready to accept it if Haruna didn’t. As long as she didn’t have to see them together too often, Rina felt like she might just be fine with it.

“I’m glad to hear that, Rina,” the doctor complimented her. The doctor wrote something else down before setting the pen onto the table. She leaned back, placing her hands on her lap and giving Rina a confident smile. “I have good news.”

“What is your news?” Rina felt a bit nervous. After the question her doctor had just asked, she couldn’t imagine the possible news that her doctor could have waiting for her. She did her best to cover up the nervousness. She wanted out of here; she didn’t want to give anyone in this place any kind of reason to keep her any longer.

She was better. She knew she was. They had to let her out.

The doctor leaned forward on her desk, placing her arms crossed over the papers. She had noticed Rina’s nervous actions but it didn’t faze her. Everyone got nervous; it didn’t take away the leaps of improvement that Rina had made over the years.

“You've made a lot of improvement and I think that you're at the point where we can consider outpatient." Rina's head lifted, her eyes widening. Was she hearing this right? "You're not completely better, Rina, but I think you are well enough to handle outpatient treatment. Would it be something you would like?"

"Y-yes, ma'am," Rina answered softly. She looked down again, feeling touches of nervousness come back to her.

"You will be on a strict plan. We've already talked it over with the courts and they've confirmed out plan. To start off, you will have a case manager, you must report to them weekly. You will be sent back here if you fail to keep up with your case manager. Do you understand so far?"

"Yes..."

"Secondly, you will see both a psychiatrist and therapist regularly. You must also keep up with them. Any breaking of your treatment plan will land you back in here. Understand that we do this for your safety and the safety of those around you." Rina's smile turned bitter at the words. They were releasing her but they still saw her as a danger. Was there much improvement there? But even so, Rina was happy. She was getting out. She could be free again... She could see Haruna freely again. She could see Mami freely again.

"I understand. You won't have to worry," Rina said in confidence.