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yhrkcnrk · 7 days ago

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Tainted Hearts

Chapter 93: Off-Handed

https://archiveofourown.org/works/59749615/chapters/167436181

Morning light streamed through the windows of the Sakurauchi household, casting a warm glow over the dining table where Riko and her mother sat, enjoying breakfast together. The soft clink of utensils against plates filled the air, a peaceful contrast to the lively conversation between them.

"So, dear, how was your date yesterday?" Riko’s mom asked with a teasing smile as she took a sip of her tea.

Riko blinked, momentarily pausing as she swallowed a bite of her toast. "It wasn’t really a date, Mom," she corrected. "Yocchan just came with me to apply for school."

Her mother chuckled knowingly. "Honey, spending time with your special someone—whether it's for school or anything else—is still a date."

Riko giggled at that, shaking her head. "Well... in that case, it was very eventful, to say the least."

Her mom raised a curious eyebrow. "Oh? What happened? Did they not accept your application? Did you have trouble finding an apartment?"

Riko quickly reassured her, shaking her head. "No, nothing like that. We toured the school, submitted my application, and the staff was really nice. They said I just have to wait for an email with the entrance exam details."

"That’s wonderful," her mom said with a smile. "And the apartment?"

"The real estate agent showed us a few options, and I found one that felt right. They agreed to hold it for me until I get accepted into Geidai."

Her mom nodded in approval. "That all sounds perfect. But then, what made the day so eventful?"

Riko hesitated for a moment before finally saying, "Well... I kind of met her parents."

Her mother’s eyes widened. "You met Yoshiko’s parents? Even the cheating father?"

Riko nodded. "Yeah, but separately."

Now fully intrigued, her mom leaned in slightly. "Oh, do tell."

Riko took a breath. "Well, while we were eating at a café, her father suddenly walked in... with another girl."

Her mom made a disgusted face. "Ugh. A girl? What happened next?"

Riko hesitated for a beat before sighing. "Yocchan punched him."

Her mom nearly dropped her chopsticks. "She punched him?!"

"Yeah," Riko confirmed with a small nod.

A slow smirk formed on her mother’s face. "Well, I would’ve done the same thing if that were my father. Good on her." She paused before smirking playfully. "Did you find it hot?"

"Mom!" Riko gasped, blushing furiously.

Her mother just laughed. "Kidding, kidding." Then, with a teasing glint in her eye, she added, "But honestly, I think I’d punch every cheater in the world—including your father, if he ever dared to cheat on me."

Riko giggled at that. "I don’t think Dad would ever do that."

Her mom nodded, smiling. "I know." Then, with another mischievous grin, she added, "But if Yoshiko ever cheats, make sure to punch her too."

—

Meanwhile, across town at Yoshiko’s apartment, the very subject of their conversation was sitting at her small dining table, casually eating a bowl of cereal.

Without warning, she suddenly sneezed. Sniffling, she rubbed her nose and muttered to herself, "Is it getting cold already? Maybe I should take a hot bath later."

—

Back at the Sakurauchi household, Riko giggled at her mom’s words. "I don’t think Yocchan would ever do that. She promised me. And, well… she’s too dense for that."

Her mother let out a chuckle. "Oh, that’s right. I forgot that Yoshiko is completely oblivious. You wouldn’t even need to worry about someone stealing her away—she wouldn’t get it even if they tried!"

Riko laughed softly, then suddenly remembered something. "Oh, speaking of that, yesterday on the shinkansen, the attendant lady tried to flirt with her using a pickup line."

Her mom raised an eyebrow. "Really? That’s bold."

"Right?" Riko agreed. "She said something like, ‘You look like something I’ve been looking for.’ And do you know what Yocchan said?"

Her mom smirked. "Let me guess—she didn’t get it?"

Riko giggled and nodded. "She just tilted her head and asked, ‘Did you lose something, miss?’"

At that, her mother burst into laughter. "Oh, wow. That is dense." She shook her head, wiping a tear of laughter from her eye. "Lucky you, dear. Yoshiko is immune to other girls flirting."

Riko smiled, feeling warmth spread through her chest. "Yeah… lucky me."

Her mom then leaned forward. "So, what happened next with her dad?"

Riko’s expression turned more serious. "Well… after Yocchan broke his nose, she confronted him calmly, introduced me, and told him to never show his face again."

Her mom blinked in surprise. "She handled it calmly? And even introduced you? That’s pretty mature of her. And she really broke his nose? That must’ve been one hell of a punch."

"It was," Riko confirmed. "But… she also fractured her knuckles."

Her mom gasped. "She broke her knuckles?!"

Riko nodded. "Well, the doctor said it’s just minor fractures. I took her to a clinic, and they put a splint on her hand. It’ll take about a month to heal."

Her mother sighed and shook her head. "Poor Yoshiko… I’ll bake her something for tomorrow to help her feel better."

Riko smiled. "She’ll love that."

"Make sure you get it from me tomorrow, okay?"

Riko nodded.

Her mom then shifted the topic. "So, how about Yoshiko’s mother?"

Riko’s face softened. "After everything, Yocchan asked if I wanted to meet her, and I said yes."

Her mother nodded thoughtfully. "They haven’t seen each other in years, right? How was she?"

"She cried when she saw Yocchan," Riko said, chuckling. "And she treats her like a baby."

Her mom laughed. "Well, that tends to happen when a child returns home after so long. How did she treat you?"

"She was really kind," Riko said warmly. "She kept praising me… she even asked if she could brag about me to her friends, saying something about her daughter having a talented girlfriend." She giggled at the memory.

Her mother let out a soft laugh. "Well, she’s not wrong—you are talented. I’m glad she likes you."

"Me too," Riko agreed. "But when we told her about the student-teacher relationship, she was skeptical at first. Since she’s a teacher herself, she was worried about it. But in the end, she accepted us."

Her mom nodded. "That’s understandable. But I’m glad she did."

"She even said I could stay at her place sometimes when I move to Tokyo," Riko added. "Oh, and she wants to meet you too."

Her mother’s eyes lit up. "I’d love to meet her!"

Riko then giggled, remembering something. "Oh, and she asked us when the wedding was—she thought that was why we were visiting her."

Her mom burst into laughter. "Oh, she’s a teaser, huh? I like her already. Now I’m even more excited to meet her."

Riko laughed along with her as they finished their breakfast, the warmth of family and love filling the air.

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

As Riko, You, and Chika sat at their desks, waiting for the first class of the day to begin, their conversation naturally drifted to the events of the previous day. Chika, brimming with curiosity, leaned closer to Riko.

"So, how was the school yesterday, Riko-chan? Did it look super fancy?" she asked excitedly.

Riko chuckled softly, shaking her head. "A little bit, yeah. It was kind of overwhelming too. Everything felt so professional and serious."

You grinned. "Don’t worry about that, Riko-chan. You’ll fit right in there because you’re fancy too."

Riko laughed lightly. "I don’t know about that… But how about you two? How was your trip?"

Chika gasped dramatically. "You-chan’s school was so futuristic! I was blown away!"

You let out a chuckle. "It’s really not that futuristic…"

Chika ignored her, still animated. "And I thought her school would be surrounded by water everywhere!"

You furrowed her brows. "Why would it be?"

"Well, you’re studying to be a ship captain, right? I figured it’d be like a school floating on water or something!" Chika said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Riko giggled. "Oh, Chika-chan… never change."

"I mean, it makes sense in my head!" Chika pouted before turning to You. "You were saying something about my school?"

You nodded. "I was going to say that your school is—"

"Huge!" Chika cut in dramatically, throwing her arms in the air.

Riko blinked in surprise. "It was?"

You nodded. "Well, it’s not that big, but to us country folks, it felt massive."

"Big enough to make Chika-chan get lost," You added, snickering.

Chika groaned. "Hey! I thought you weren’t going to tell anyone about that!"

You laughed. "I never promised! It was too funny to keep to myself."

Riko, intrigued, asked, "Wait… Chika-chan got lost?"

"Yep. We were wandering around the campus, and I turned around for one second, and she was gone. Completely vanished." You smirked. "And guess what? She left her phone in my bag, so there was no way to call her."

Chika groaned, burying her face in her arms. "Don’t remind me…"

Riko giggled. "So how did you find her?"

You grinned. "Well, I had no choice but to ask a teacher for help, and we used the school’s PA system to call for her like a missing child."

Riko burst into laughter. "So the whole school heard about a grown woman getting lost?"

"Yep." You nodded proudly. "She’s already famous, and she hasn’t even enrolled yet."

Chika groaned dramatically. "I can’t believe I got humiliated before I even started school there…"

You laughed, patting Chika’s back. "Look on the bright side! You’re already popular!"

"Not the kind of popular I wanted!" Chika whined and decided to change the subject. "So, how was the apartment hunting?"

Riko, still giggling. "It was nice," Riko replied.

Chika perked up. "Did you find one?"

Riko nodded. "Yeah. I picked one that was the right size, in a calm area, and had good soundproofing."

You raised an eyebrow, smirking. "Soundproofing, huh?"

Chika gasped. "That’s amazing! You can scream as loud as you want, and no one will hear!"

You stifled a laugh, glancing at Riko teasingly. "Exactly, Chika-chan. Especially at night."

Riko turned beet red. "You-chan!"

Chika tilted her head. "Why at night? Because of ghosts?"

You facepalmed. "Is your head just filled with mikan? Come here, let me spell it out for you." She leaned in and whispered it into Chika’s ear.

Chika’s eyes widened in realization. "Ohhh!!" Then she turned to Riko, grinning and giving a thumbs-up. "Nice one, Riko-chan!"

Riko covered her face, groaning. "I can’t believe you two…"

You chuckled. "What? I had to explain it to her. She was so slow."

Chika pouted. "Hey! Is it my fault that I’m cute and innocent?"

You deadpanned. "Where did cute come from?"

Chika dramatically framed her face with her hands. "From here, obviously."

You turned back to Riko, completely ignoring her. "Anyway, Riko-chan—"

"Hey! Don’t ignore me!" Chika whined.

Riko giggled as You continued, "Our apartment is a bit big. It has two rooms and one bathroom."

Riko nodded. "That is big."

"Yep. I just hope Chika-chan doesn’t get lost in it," You teased.

Chika huffed. "Hey! What do you take me for?"

"A lost child." You smirked.

Riko burst out laughing again, while Chika groaned dramatically. "From now on, You-chan is forbidden from entering my room!"

You snickered. "It’s not our apartment yet, remember? So technically, it’s not your room yet."

Chika blinked. "Oh…" Then she started laughing along with them.

Just then, the classroom door opened, signaling the start of their first class. The three of them quickly settled into their seats, still giggling to themselves.

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

Yoshiko stepped into the faculty room, exhaling in relief as she realized no other teachers were around. Since it was already first period, most of them were in their classrooms, and luckily, she didn’t have any morning classes today.

She let her backpack slide off her shoulder and drop onto her desk before plopping down onto her chair with a sigh. She wiped her forehead, already feeling exhausted from just getting ready this morning.

"Ugh… stupid splint," she muttered, lifting her right hand to glare at the black brace wrapped around her fingers. "You may look cool, but you're making everything a hundred times harder."

Her morning routine had taken twice as long—buttoning her shirt, tying her hair, even holding her toothbrush felt awkward. And now, she had to figure out how to get through the school day like this.

She leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms and closing her eyes in thought. How am I even gonna teach like this? Writing on the board is going to be annoying. Maybe I’ll just have them do experiments today… less writing for me.

Just as she was settling into her thoughts, the door swung open. Yoshiko cracked one eye open, only to groan internally.

"Hello~!"

It was Momoko.

"Oh. It’s just you," Yoshiko muttered before shutting her eyes again.

Momoko gasped dramatically. "‘Just me’? That kinda hurts, you know."

Yoshiko ignored her, hoping she’d go away if she didn’t respond.

Momoko strolled over to her desk, which unfortunately was right in front of Yoshiko’s, and set her things down. That’s when she noticed Yoshiko’s hand.

She gasped loudly. "Oh my gosh! What happened to your hand?"

Yoshiko barely opened one eye, too lazy to come up with a good excuse. "Uh… my hand hit a door or something."

Momoko clasped her hands together. "Oh, poor you! How are you gonna teach like this? Want me to come with you and help?"

Yoshiko furrowed her brows. "What? No. I can still teach just fine."

Momoko hummed. "Working while injured… oh, how brave."

The heck is she talking about? Yoshiko thought.

Momoko tapped her chin. "Hmm… but how will you eat? Want me to feed you?"

Yoshiko opened both eyes, staring at her blankly. "What? No, thanks. And remember, I don’t eat here."

"Oh, right," Momoko said, then suddenly smiled shyly. "Then maybe I can assist you at home? I could feed you… help you dress…"

Yoshiko blinked, then shut her eyes again. "What are you even saying? Thanks, but I’d rather you not."

Momoko studied her, watching as Yoshiko leaned back in her chair, looking completely uninterested. She’s just too shy to accept my help, huh? Maybe I should give her a little encouragement.

Smirking, Momoko subtly shifted her leg under the desk, brushing it against Yoshiko’s.

Yoshiko immediately flinched, her whole body jerking slightly. "What was that?" She glanced down, thinking something had just touched her.

Momoko giggled. "Oh, it’s just me, silly."

Yoshiko frowned. "Oh. I thought it was a snake or something."

Momoko giggled again, trying to keep her flirty tone. "You’re so funny~"

Yoshiko just stared at her, not getting it. "Do you not have enough legroom or something? I’ll just move back."

Momoko waved her hand. "Oh, I have plenty~" she said suggestively.

Yoshiko blinked. …Okay? She had no idea what that was supposed to mean, but she didn’t care to figure it out.

Standing up, she stretched her good arm. "I’m heading to my classroom to prepare. See you later."

She walked out, leaving Momoko sitting there, grinning to herself.

"She said ‘see you later’? Does that mean she wants to see me again?" Momoko giggled.

She completely ignored the fact that they literally worked in the same school and would see each other anyway.

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

By the time Yoshiko got to her classroom, most of the students hadn’t arrived yet. She sat at her desk, glancing down at her notebook.

She grabbed her pen and carefully started writing, trying to adjust to the awkward feeling of the splint. Her ring and pinky fingers were completely immobilized, making it hard to control her grip. She sighed as she finished writing a short sentence.

"That… kinda looks readable?" she muttered to herself, though her handwriting was noticeably messier than usual.

Just then, the students began arriving, filling the classroom with greetings. "Good morning, Tsushima-sensei!"

"Morning," Yoshiko replied casually, standing up from her desk as she prepared to start class.

Among the students, Riko, You, and Chika made their way to the back, taking their usual seats.

Once everyone was settled, Yoshiko stood in front of the board. "Alright, good morning, class."

"Good morning, Tsushima-sensei!" the students chorused.

One student raised a hand. "Sensei, what happened to your hand?"

Yoshiko glanced down at her splint. Crap, I should’ve thought of a proper excuse. She quickly blurted out, "Uh… science stuff."

The class collectively gasped in admiration.

"Whoa! Sensei, you’re so dedicated to your work!"

"I know, right? This is the second time she got injured because of an experiment for us!"

"She’s so cool, even with an injury!"

"I think she’s even cooler now!"

At the back of the room, You leaned over to Riko and whispered, "I can’t believe they actually bought that. No way I’m believing it."

Riko stifled a giggle. Meanwhile, Chika, completely convinced, whispered, "Poor sensei…"

You gave her a deadpan look. "Chika-chan, no. Don’t be gullible like that."

Chika blinked, then laughed sheepishly. "Oh… haha."

You turned back to Riko and asked, "So what really happened?"

Riko whispered back, "I’ll tell you two later."

Meanwhile, Yoshiko clapped her hands to calm the excited students. "Alright, alright. Since I won’t be able to write properly, we’ll be doing practical experiments instead."

The class erupted in cheers.

Yoshiko smirked. "Or… maybe I’ll make you all write down everything I say?"

The students groaned in unison, making Yoshiko chuckle at their reactions.

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

Lunchtime arrived, and as usual, Yoshiko and Riko were seated in Yoshiko’s classroom, ready to eat together.

Riko carefully set down the bento boxes she had prepared on Yoshiko’s desk, opening them up and arranging everything neatly. Yoshiko’s eyes sparkled at the sight of her meal, but then she blinked and scanned the desk.

"Hey, Riri, where’s my chopsticks?" she asked, confused.

Riko let out a small chuckle. "Yocchan… you can’t use them, remember?" She motioned to Yoshiko’s hand, which was still wrapped in its black splint.

"Oh. That’s right," Yoshiko mumbled, looking down at her hand in annoyance. "So, where’s the spoon, then?"

Riko simply smiled. "You don’t need it. I told you I’d feed you while your hand is still injured, remember?"

Yoshiko's entire face lit up. "Oh yeah! Riri is gonna feed me!" She practically bounced in her seat, her imaginary tail wagging excitedly.

Riko giggled at how adorable her dorky girlfriend looked. "Yes, yes, so calm down and behave, okay?"

Yoshiko eagerly nodded, sitting up straight like a puppy waiting for a treat.

Still giggling, Riko picked up her chopsticks, took a piece of karaage, and held it up to Yoshiko’s mouth. "Here, Yocchan. Say ahh."

Yoshiko obediently opened her mouth. "Ahhhm!" She took a bite, chewed happily, then leaned back in her chair with a blissful expression.

"Am I in heaven?" she sighed dramatically.

Riko giggled again.

"Being fed by my beautiful girlfriend while eating her delicious homemade food," Yoshiko said, opening one eye to glance at Riko before adding, "And I get to sit here and just admire her prettiness."

Riko blushed, nudging Yoshiko’s face away gently. "Oh, stop it, you." She lifted another bite of food to Yoshiko’s lips, distracting her from teasing.

Yoshiko ate it happily, grinning as she chewed. "You know, if I get fed like this every day, I wouldn’t mind never healing at all."

Riko pouted. "Don’t say that, Yocchan. That would be bad. You need to heal as fast as possible."

Yoshiko chuckled. "Why? So I can do normal things again?"

"Of course," Riko said firmly. "You arrived late today, didn’t you? You told me earlier it was hard to hold things while getting ready."

Yoshiko sighed dramatically. "Yeah… tying my hair, putting on my jacket, even brushing my teeth—everything was a struggle."

"See?" Riko said. "That’s why you need to heal properly."

Yoshiko suddenly leaned in closer, smirking. "Are you sure that’s the only reason you want my hand to heal?"

Riko blinked. "What do you mean?"

Yoshiko’s smirk deepened. "Or do you want it healed for your own purposes… or rather, your pleasure?"

Realizing what Yoshiko was hinting at, Riko turned bright red. She quickly pushed Yoshiko’s face away with one hand while covering her own face with the other. "If you keep teasing me like that, I won’t feed you anymore!"

"Nooo!! I was just joking, Riri! Please feed me!" Yoshiko whined, fake-crying dramatically.

Riko giggled. "You’re such a dork, you know that?"

"But you love me," Yoshiko grinned.

Riko sighed, her blush still lingering. "A lot…"

Yoshiko’s grin widened.

"Here. Just eat," Riko huffed, stuffing another bite of food into Yoshiko’s mouth to shut her up.

Yoshiko was caught off guard but quickly recovered, happily chewing as Riko tried to regain her composure.

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

Later that evening, Yoshiko was at the usual izakaya, hanging out with Mari, Kanan, and Dia. The table was filled with drinks and snacks, and the atmosphere was lively as always.

Mari, however, was more focused on Yoshiko’s phone than anything else. She had snatched it earlier and was now taking selfies and random pictures, sending them directly to Riko’s LINE messages.

Yoshiko groaned, resting her chin on her hand. "Mari, why don’t you just use your own phone to message her? Why does it have to be mine?"

Mari, still posing for another selfie, grinned. "Because your phone has better camera quality~!"

Yoshiko deadpanned. "We literally have the same phone."

Mari ignored her. "Besides, Riko-chan compliments me every time I send her pictures~" She took another selfie, doing a peace sign and a pout, and sent it to Riko.

A moment later, Riko’s reply came in: "You look so cute, Mari-chan!"

Mari beamed, holding the screen up to Yoshiko’s face. "See? She said I’m cute~!"

Kanan laughed while Dia simply shook her head at Mari’s antics.

Yoshiko, however, just groaned. "Why are you even sending it to Riko? Why not just take pictures for yourself?"

Mari grinned. "Because she compliments me! And unlike you, she’s nice to me~"

"Because there’s nothing to compliment," Yoshiko deadpanned.

Kanan burst into laughter while Dia smirked.

Mari gasped dramatically. "Such harsh words!"

She quickly turned the camera on Yoshiko and snapped a picture. "I’ll tell your girlfriend that you’re bullying me!"

"Wha—hey!" Yoshiko tried to snatch her phone back, but Mari was too quick.

She sent the picture to Riko with the message: "Riko! Yoshiko is bullying me! Help!"

A moment later, Riko replied with a giggling cat sticker and a message: "Yoshiko, be nice to Mari."

Mari smirked triumphantly, shoving the phone in Yoshiko’s face again. "Ha! She said be nice!"

Yoshiko snatched her phone back. "Ha! Got it back!" She quickly typed a response to Riko. "Don’t believe her, Riri. She’s crazy."

Riko’s reply came with a laughing sticker.

Yoshiko smiled and typed one last message. "Got my phone back, so I’ll text you later, okay?"

Riko sent back a flying-kiss cat sticker. "Okay, have fun~"

Yoshiko put her phone away, finally done with Mari’s antics.

Dia cleared her throat. "Now that that’s settled… can we finally ask what happened to your hand?" She gestured toward Yoshiko’s splint.

Yoshiko blinked. "Oh, uh… I bumped into a table?"

Dia stared at her, unimpressed. "That’s the excuse you’re going with?"

Kanan chuckled, and Mari laughed. "Wow~ Sooo believable~"

Yoshiko blushed in embarrassment. "I ran out of excuses, okay?"

Dia sighed. "So what really happened?"

Yoshiko sighed and finally explained everything.

Dia listened carefully before nodding. "That must’ve been tough… seeing your father with another woman."

"It was," Yoshiko admitted. "But I’m over it. I got my revenge, and he walked away with a broken nose as a souvenir."

Mari grinned. "I bet Riko thought you were hot."

Kanan chuckled. "It’s so like you to punch him. Honestly, he deserved it."

Mari leaned against Kanan. "If you ever cheat on me, my Kanan, I’ll have my bodyguards punch you~"

Kanan rolled her eyes, laughing, while Yoshiko thought, Mari's was probably just joking, right? I mean, why would she say that, it’s not like they are dating or anything.

Ignoring Mari’s antics, Dia smiled at Yoshiko. "I’m just glad you handled it calmly and maturely… well, except for the punching part."

Yoshiko laughed. "I’ll take that as a compliment. Thanks, Dia."

#yohariko #yoshiriko #sakurauchi riko #tsushima yoshiko #aqours #ao3 fanfic #love live sunshine #fanfic

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