Sorry to Keep You Waiting

Kiana adjusted her posture again, held up her third finger, and said cheerfully, "The third step is to confess to her!"

The Nightingale was about to nod, froze.

She wondered if she had misheard; otherwise, how could she have heard Kiana say "confession"?

Confessing your feelings... is for someone you like...

"Confess your feelings?!"

"Uh-huh!"

She had a plan. This was a combo attack: a series of apologies, declarations of love, and calls of "wife." Mei definitely wouldn't have the mind to continue settling old scores with her.

As long as Mei becomes shy.

She definitely wouldn't want to bring up the past.

"It's decided! After we meet, I won't call Mei by her name anymore; I'll call her 'wife' directly!"

Kiana became more and more excited as the Nightingale, she started spouting vulgarities.

"Mei will definitely feel embarrassed, and then I can press my advantage, and Mei won't bring up the past with me!"

In her daze the Nightingale only heard the words "You won't bring up the past with me," and was so shocked that she couldn't speak. Only then did she barely regain her senses.

"Isn't it just to avoid having old grievances brought up? Saying things like that would be misunderstood, wouldn't it?"

The Nightingale had a strange feeling about it and said, "What if your friend gets even angrier?"

"No, no, don't worry!"

Kiana confidently stated, "Mei will absolutely not be angry."

Mei herself knew about her feelings for Mei, but there wasn't time for them to consider those things back then.

"But such words..."

The Nightingale pursed her lips and said tactfully, "Perhaps you don't need to do this; she will forgive you anyway."

Kiana shook her head. "I want to do this not just to escape this calamity, but because I want to do it."

Understood.

Kiana and the friend she's been searching for aren't friends at all; it's someone she likes.

If that's the case, then many things can be explained.

For example, why is Kiana so determined to find that friend? Why did Kiana even come up with this idea?

In love...

It turns out Kiana has someone she likes.

"So that's how it is."

"The Nightingale, what do you think of my idea?"

Kiana sought the Nightingale's advice.

Does she like you?

"Certainly!"

Kiana answered without hesitation; she was very confident about this.

It means mutual affection.

"Perhaps we can give it a try."

The Nightingale unaffected, though a pang of sadness welled up inside her, since she had always believed Kiana was...

I never thought about these things.

She felt comfortable and happy being with Kiana, and even though they had to part ways, she wasn't too sad because they could see each other again anytime.

It's just a matter of spending a little more time.

But Kiana suddenly found someone, a piece of news that caught her completely off guard, leaving the Nightingale stunned for a long time.

It hasn't recovered yet.

"Let's do it that way!"

After this series of moves, she didn't believe Mei had any other ideas.

The Nightingale hesitated, looking at Kiana was radiating joy, and forced a smile.

This news came too suddenly.

She hadn't heard Miss Sirin mention that the important friend Kiana was looking for was someone Kiana liked.

Blink.

Two days that felt like an eternity passed.

In her hotel room, Kiana fidgeted, glancing at the time and occasionally glancing towards the door.

The agreed time.

It's today.

She clutched her chest and took a deep breath; these last few moments were just too painful to bear.

My heart was beating much faster than usual, and my emotions were fluctuating wildly, even though I had imagined the scene of meeting them many times in my mind.

But I'm still very nervous.

She wasn't this nervous when she saw Sirin, or when she saw Yae Sakura, whom she thought was dead.

What should I say when I see Mei?

haven't seen you for a long time?

No, no, no, I should hug Mei and apologize, sincerely admitting my mistake to Mei.

Yes, it means admitting your mistake.

Then, when Mei reminisces about the past, she pours out her heart and expresses her longing. Yes, that's exactly it.

Then...

"Ding-dong--"

The doorbell rang, abruptly stopping Kiana's wild thoughts. She jumped up and rushed to the door, opening it in a few strides.

"Old..."

The last word was forcibly swallowed back. When Kiana opened the door, the first thing she saw was a hotel employee, an Intellitron life form.

Thankfully, I managed to hold back that word.

"Hello, this lady claims to be your friend. She got lost in the hotel, so I brought her here."

The waiter stepped aside, allowing Kiana to see the person with her. Kiana, who had just swallowed her words, widened her eyes in surprise upon seeing her.

"Mei..."

"... Haha, yes, she came to see me. Thanks for your help, I'll give you a good review."

Kiana stepped forward, grabbed the person's hand, pulled her into the room, quickly left a message for the waiter, and closed the door.

The door closed, shutting out the outside world, Kiana felt the hand of the person in front of her gently touching her cheek.

Kiana... it really is you.

It was that familiar voice.

Although a long-awaited reunion should be a happy occasion, upon hearing her voice, Kiana was overwhelmed with a torrent of emotions.

Unable to control herself any longer, and unwilling to control herself any longer, she hugged the person in front of her tightly, choking back tears as she called her name: "Mei!"

84

Chapter Eighty-Four: Sorry to keep you waiting.

All my prior mental preparation was useless, because the moment I saw her, all the defenses I had built up crumbled.

I thought you were still in Izumo.

She shook her head in her arms, Kiana voice nasal due to her emotional turmoil.

I left there two years ago.

Two years ago...

This moment caused Yomi to pause slightly. The Remembrance from two years ago had not faded, so she still remembered what happened back then.

She hadn't left yet at that time.

But the focus was on nothingness...

Was it really that we missed it back then?

She lowered her eyes and gently stroked Kiana's white hair. "I'm sorry to have kept you waiting so long."

If she hadn't left, perhaps she would have been able to reunite with Kiana long ago?

"I'm the one who should apologize!"

Upon hearing her words, Kiana could no longer hold back her tears of longing, and choked out, "I'm sorry, I lied to you back then and made you worry about me for so long."

His gentle patting of her back paused slightly, and remembering this incident, she remained silent for a moment.

That incident was indeed vivid in her Remembrance.

That was the day I lost Kiana, and also my homeland and everything else.

I accept your apology.

She wasn't angry about remembering that incident; her eyes were simply filled with complex emotions when she brought it up.

Are you angry?

When it first happened, she was indeed angry because she had been deceived, but not because Kiana had concealed or lied to her.

It was herself.

It's all because she's too weak.

If she had possessed the strength she has now back then, perhaps neither Izumo nor Kiana would have ended up in that situation.

Kiana felt even more upset, expecting to be questioned, as if she wanted to express all her longing for her at once.

"Mei, it's so good to see you again."

"It must have been very tiring. I'm sorry, I haven't been paying much attention to what's happening around me, and I didn't realize you were looking for me."

"It wasn't hard at all! I didn't really do anything, it's just... I just missed you so much."

"... I've always missed you too."

Every day I think about Kiana, wondering how I can return to Izumo and check on her.

This went on for a long time.

Kiana held Mei for a long time; Mei's scent made her feel at ease. But it wasn't appropriate to hold her like that forever. Kiana forced herself to calm down, rubbed her eyes, and pulled away a little.

I met Sirin about half a year ago.

Kiana pulled her into the room from behind the door, saying, "I learned a lot from her."

"Sirin?"

Hearing the name again, she fell silent once more. She didn't want to trouble Sirin to help her find the person, so she had never thought of contacting her.

Her relationship with Sirin was neither particularly good nor bad; it was the kind where they could help each other out if needed, but otherwise, they preferred to avoid contact.

She never expected this.

Sirin actually found Kiana before I did, and because she didn't have any way to contact her, she couldn't tell me the news even if she wanted to.

"Yes, I initially thought I could find out about you from her."

Kiana couldn't bear to take her eyes off her.

Her current attire bears no resemblance to her appearance when she was in Izumo.