Author's note: This, my friends, is a little something I cooked up to give my story a happy ending (because I'm in a fluffy mood). After a long bit of though, I've decided that chapter four -s- the true ending, and this is just for those people who need the happy ending to feel good. I plan to continue this story from the point of view of not Tomo (probaby Yomi, since she's the only other main character. :p), and it will definitely take place as though Tomo had died. In any case, I hope you all enjoy this last piece. ALSO! I, like... don't have a spell-checking computer at the moment, so if anyone sees typos or misspellings, please point them out. Thank you so very much! I love you all!

Chapter 5

Tomo the Kitten

Tomo bolted upright, breathing heavily and sweating. She took a few quick glances around the house, sighing with relief once she was sure it was truely there. She was still tired, and with good reason; a look at the clock revealed it was only nine in the morning.

Huh... that musta been some dream to wake me up so early... I thought I'd sleep for at least the next week. The last thought made her chuckle. Or at least another hour or two. Well, I suppose I should go take a shower. I've already dirtied Yomi's couch up enough anyway...

Tomo turned and stood slowly, legs still a bit shakey from their underrested state. She hobbled towards the bathroom, stripping off her homeless uniform and tossing it into the garbage. Glad I'll never haveta wear that again. Itchy piecea crap... She mumbled to herself as she stepped into the bathroom, pulling a towel from under the sink and hanging it up on the rack. She then turned and took a deep breath. This is gonna feel soo good! Hehe...

She pushed the shower curtain aside and gasped as she saw what was behind it. A pair of eyes stared back at her, one brown, the other brown, both shocked and confused. Attatched to these eyes was a tall, fit girl with long brown hair, not unlike the girl she had seen the night before, though this girl was covered in soapy lather and looked ready to smack her.

"Damnit, Tomo! What do you think you're doing? Trying to scare me? I coulda slipped in here, y'know" Yomi mumbled a bit longer and gave Tomo a long, disapproving glare. Tomo simply stared at her, blushing deeply and biting her lip as the lather washed away from her friend's body. She waited till the bubbley cover had nearly completely slipped away before asking reluctantly. "You, uhm... you gonna cover yourself...?"

Yomi blinked, then smirked a little and shook her head. "Why? It's not like you haven't seen me like this before". She looked Tomo over, noting her rather crusty state, then waved her in. The girl simply stood gazing at her wet friend for a few more moments before cautiously stepping into the shower. She barely noticed the water, both because of her thick layer of dirt, and because of her state of mind. She was trembling nervously, her eyes locked on Yomi, watching her closely to make sure she didn't disappear and prove this a dream. Y... Yomi's letting me shower with her...? This is... it can't be true...! I must have died and gone to heaven!

A familiar voice interrupted her day dreaming. Y'know, Takino, this doesn't mean she's taking you back. She probably just feels sorry for you. Or maybe she's even trying to getcha back, hm? Get your hopes up, then rip them out from under you and tell you she doesn't love you?

"Just shut up. I don't have time to quibble with you right now, I have a goddess to dream about"

I'm sure you're very happy with your dreams, Takino, but I think sitting here staring at her is getting her annoyed. You should hurry up and get washed so you can get out of her way, hm? I doubt if she wants to look at you for any extended period of time.

"You know what? You can't do this to me anymore. I'm going to prove to you that she wants me here, and then you won't have anything to say. You ready?"

Tomo reached her hands out shakily, leaning in slowly and wrapping them around her bathing partner. She heard the girl say something in surprise and start to wriggle from her grasp, which she held firm.

See, this is why we can't have nice things. Your first day back and already you're being too foreward and fucking everything up. Just go back to your tent, Takino. Get some money from Yomi, go find your sandwich and that liquor store and drink yourself dead.

"Sh... shut up... maybe she's just... just enjoying the moment"

Hah! You tell yourself that, Tomo. I'm gonna find a nice frontrow seat to her kicking your ass and booting you back out on the street.

Yomi had stopped her wriggling, causing the girl holding her to look up slowly. "Please don't be mad..."

Before she could lift her gaze completely, she felt a pair of arms wrap around her and pull her in closer. She looked up into her friend's face and saw that she was smiling. She couldn't tell if the drops running down her cheeks were tears or shower water, though she suspected it to be a mix of the two. She could hear the brown haired girl's heart beating, and she tightened her grasp a bit as she felt her friend do the same. "Promise me you won't leave me again, Tomo..." she heard her friend whisper. "I promise" she replied.

Yomi pushed her girlfriend back a bit and winked. "Now then, how about that shower, hm? As lovely as your grime coating is, I'm sure you can't wait to get rid of it". She picked up a sponge and a bottle of soap, pouring a thick coat of it over her grimey lover before sponging her down. Tomo nearly melted on the spot, literally and figuratively, as the thick coat fell from her body. "Heh, I feel lighter!" she commented, giving her and her girlfriend a laugh.

"Alright, sit down. I haveta get your hair". Tomo nodded and complied, lowering herself to the shower floor and eeping with surprise as her lover's body press up against her. The two sat there for a long while, one girl content to hold her love, the other content with being held. Tomo's darker side tried to start up a conversation during this downtime, though it had a hard time being heard over the party going on in Tomo's mind.

This is all quite touching, hm? I bet you never though this'd happen during your drinking sprees. You know, you're just going to break her heart again when you die from your overdrinking.

"Oh be quiet, you. You barely have a leg to stand on anymore. Face it, I'm happy now, and you can't do a thing about it. So just shut up and go away, I don't need you anymore. I'm done hating myself, I'm done questioning everything I do, and I'm done with you and your cynicism. Tomo Takino's back, the real Tomo Takino, and if you don't back off, she's gonna boot your ass to the moon".

Dark Tomo simply growled and turned away, slinking off into the shadows and waiting for Tomo to do some other stupid thing. "Whew, that was surprisingly simple. Now then, I believe my hair is getting washed, I should be there for that".

Tomo sighed happily as she felt her lover's fingers running through her hair, though she couldn't help but wince as those fingers hit the thick, tangled sections. "You know, I'm surprised you don't have full dreadlocks. You must have gotten lucky..." Yomi commented as she washed one of the tightly wound knots. "Actually, I found a pair of scissors a week after I got back to Tokyo. I used those to cut off any bits I thought would be a problem" She whimpered as she felt another painful tug and murmured "I hate having long hair...".

"Well, we're going to get you a nice haircut then. Probably tomorrow, though"

There were a few sudden bangs on the door, followed by a voice Tomo vaguely recognized. "Hey, Yomi! I need to use the shower, I got called into work today! Hurry up in there!"

Tomo looked back at her lover curiously, asking softly "Yomi, who is that?"

"Ah, that's Hikari... she's been my housemate for about a year now, works as a supermarket clerk. You'll like her, I'm sure".

Hikari called from the other side of the door again. "Hey, who're you talking to? Do you have new girlfriend you've neglected to tell me about? Hello Yomi's new girlfriend! Don't do anything naughty in there, I haveta bathe there y'know!"

Yomi growled softly. "As you can see, she's a bit like you... well, we should get out, now, I guess..." She sighed as she stood up, offering her hand to Tomo "We'll do more cuddling later, alright?" Tomo nodded and grabbed her love's hand with her right one, causing the girl to cry out in surprise. With the dirt gone, she noticed the many burn scars on her smaller companion's hand, as well as the burn under her eye, and for the first time noticed the missing finger. "T... Tomo! What happened to your hand?! Did you get attacked?"

Tomo chuckled a little. "Naw, these were all my fault. Except the finger, that was the dog"

"Tomo... you have some explaining to do"

Hikari called again. "Hey, is everything okay in there? Did someone fall? Do I need to call the ambulance?"

Yomi stepped from the bath and wrapped herself in a towel, her newly cleaned lover following suit. "No, Hikari, we're fine. You can open the door now"

Yomi barely finished her sentence before the door burst open. The girl on the other side was just as Tomo remembered her from her dream the night before: black haired, seemingly frail, two different colored eyes, and nude. "Hey there Yomi and Yomi's girlfriend! Hey, I'm in a hurry, we'll get aquainted later, okay?"

Yomi sighed and rested her face in her hand. "Yeah, yeah, you go ahead and get ready..." Hikari hurredly pushed the two out of the bathroom and closed the door, calling from the other side."By the way, Yomi, we need more toilet paper! Go get some!"

"Get it before you come home, damnit!" Yomi called back, putting on her glasses that she had barely been able to grab from the bathroom counter.

"You still wear those things? I though for sure you'd go for contacts..."

"Pssh, I like these better. They complete my look, I guess you could say. Besides, you've told me I look good in them"

Tomo nodded and gave the right lense a quick poke. She then turned her attention to the clock and smirked. "Hey, Yomi... I think I'm late for my job interview..." There was a long silence, followed by by a soft response. "Yes. Yes, I believe you are".

"Oh well. I'll get a new one set up later this week. In the meantime..." Tomo looked to her partner, grinning mischeviously. "Whadda ya say we head into our room and... 'cuddle' a bit more" Yomi began to blush deeply, which was all Tomo needed. She pulled her lover down the hall and into the bedroom, slamming the door behind them.

Fifteen minutes passed. Hikari got out of the shower, headed to her room to get some clothes, and left the house blushing at the sounds she'd heard.

An hour passed. the door remained shut. Two hours, a delivery man came to the house, knocked on the door, shrugged and left a slip of paper on the knob. A few minutes after this, the couple's adventures came to a close, and the two layed side by side, fingers intwined with eachother, breathing heavily. They soon rolled to face eachother, Tomo's free arm wrapping around her lover's waist, Yomi's hand moving to stroke her girlfriend's cheek. They gazed lovingly at each other, each admiring the other's beauty, holding eachother in silent bliss. Tomo broke the still silence, first with a kiss, then with a simple statement.

"Y'know, Yomi... I dunno where I'd be without you..."

Yomi squeezed her lover affectionately and planted loving kiss on her lips. "I'd prefer we not think about it..."

Tomo nodded a bit and rested her cheek against her girlfriend's chest. "I love you, Yomi"

"I love you, too"