Reincarnated Into A Dead Woman's Body In Another World-Chapter 344: Arc 5, - 38: Rain Drops to Heartbeats

Tiffany shifted a little closer, "I get that being an insensitive brat is in your nature, but I doubt you were being insensitive there," she forgave.

"Obviously not," Fumeko scoffed. "It’s hard to- Guh!" she clenched her fists.

"It’s not all happy days, I get it," the blonde replied and groaned. "This world can be really unfair and annoying."

"You can say that again," Fumeko turned and met the blonde’s gaze... "Sorry, I guess calling myself an orphan is kinda an insult to you..."

"One such as I, has tolerated insults of a much more abysmal calibre. To call thyself an orphan, is by a hair’s breadth an offence to I. Thus, thou needn’t be reprimanded," Tiffany fluttered her hand indifferently.

"Well, good; there’s literally no ’reprimanding’ you could do that I couldn’t escape anyway," the brunette rolled her eyes.

"Hmph."

The two watched the clouds roll by and wet grounds below whilst silence reigned over them. Light thunder rumbled in the distance.

"Saying that," Tiffany muttered. "I guess calling myself an orphan isn’t technically accurate anymore."

Fumeko turned and furrowed her brows, "Happy belated birthday?"

The blonde’s eye opened up more, "...Thank you. Was that a complete guess detective?"

"How else would you ’technically not be an orphan’?" she squinted back. "Unless you got adopted recently—even then, we’re graduating in the same batch-"

"The void merely extended its curiosity and I guided its question upon thou," Tiffany pouted. "Tis not to say I, myself, question the intelligence of the adventuring detective."

"Uh huh..."

"Anyway, yeah you’re right."

"I don’t know how to put this, but that doesn’t technically mean you’re not an orphan anymore."

Tiffany tilted her head, "That’s enough in the eyes of the Burntish government and the orphanage. I’m considered independent ever since I turned eighteen last week."

"Then, no more allowance per week from the orphanage I assume?"

Slowly, Tiffany shook her head, "Not exactly. The orphanage doesn’t give me my allowance, it’s from government subsidies, part of an old programme."

"I’m surprised it’s not the void," the brunette snarked under her breath.

...It was still enough for Tiffany to catch it and give her the side-eye. "As I was saying, I’ll be getting the last of my governmental aid till my next birthday, but it’s a lesser amount.

So, I’ll have to find work and settle costs myself. Especially before I have to leave the orphanage."

"All your stuff’s packed and ready to go?" Fumeko raised a brow.

"Most of it. I already got a lot of my things from my dorm to the room in my orphanage, there’s just some things leftover."

"Like all that makeup...?" Fumeko stared with pinched lips—some of said makeup on her own face.

"Hmph, you look better than that innocent schoolgirl traipsing in today—you looked like a proper pious nerd," Tiffany giggled with the tips of her fingers covering her lips.

Fumeko pouted, "Still better than all this gaudy junk."

Tiffany scoffed, "Gaudy!? How dare you!?" she jabbed Fumeko’s shoulder with her sharp fingernail.

"Ow," she said out of habit rather than actual pain. "What happened to striking and dapper and me looking good?" she leered back.

"For the momentary occasion that has now long passed," the blonde tipped her chin up. "Besides, tis uncouth of one such as I to not compliment thou who yearned for mine presence~"

Fumeko growled as her complexion took on a pinkish shade, "Like, I, said, I DIDN’T ’YEARN’ FOR YOU!" She huffed. "Besides, you were the one waiting for me like some lost lover!"

Tiffany turned her face away with a- "Hrmph! I gave thou mine word from the void. Naturally, I upheld it," she crossed her arms. "And to assert mineself as some lost paramour of yours, the impudence..."

"Oh cut the crap with the void, you couldn’t wait to see me," Fumeko sneered.

"If so? I was merely perplexed by thy visage, it was unalike than that of the maiden I had first met," she bobbed her head and kept her eye on the sky. "Tis not to say thou were unappealing by any means."

The shoulders of the brunette relaxed, akin to a wild animal calming down. Her brows furrowed away from anger and into uncertainty as her eyes darted away from Tiffany, "What? You’re saying I looked better a little messier?"

Tiffany lowered her gaze to catch a glimpse of the other, "Perchance..."

Fumeko traced her fingers along her forehead and into her hair; each pin clicked and snapped as she took them out. With a handful of jingling pins, she faced Tiffany, "Better?"

The blonde turned to see that the hair framing the sides of Fumeko’s face and her bangs had been let loose. Fumeko ruffled them out and looked at the other meekly.

Tiffany kept her mouth shut, but smiled and gave a nod, "Mhm."

"I expected a speech for how pretty I look, not a ’mhm’," her eyes narrowed.

The blonde could not really stop her face from going redder, "Words can hardly convey thy spellbinding beauty my fair detective," she wore a coy smile.

"Yeah," Fumeko’s lips puckered to one side, but had a smirk still, "That’s what I thought." 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

...

...

Tiffany cleared her throat and looked elsewhere.

However, something caught the detective’s eye, "What’s with the eyepatch anyway? Just a fashion thing too?" she leaned forward to get a look at the blonde’s left side.

"Ha! Tis-"

"Don’t start... I doubt the power of the void is trapped in your left eye or something," Fumeko’s eyes glazed over.

"Tis actually the power of the Sea of Stars," she mocked.

...

She sighed, "Very well, you’ve been warned." Tiffany traced her finger over her lacy heart-shaped eyepatch and played with the small reddish-black ribbon on it before she flipped it up.

The blonde looked to Fumeko with both eyes, "I might as well decorate an eye so useless." It was the same bluish-grey, except, wait no.

With enough lighting, the eye seemed a little more dull and faded in the hues of the iris, appearing more bluish than grey. Tiffany winced said eye as she focused on looking at Fumeko.

"You’re, half blind?" Fumeko got closer to peer at it.

"I might as well be, but no," Tiffany blinked her left eye more. "It just got worse and worse over the years—I’m just horribly short-sighted in one eye," she groaned. "You’re half a blur," Tiffany winced her left eye close completely. "Better."

"Uh... so they can be fixed with some glasses?" Fumeko’s brows furrowed.

"I’m not a fan of the glasses aesthetic," she flipped the eyepatch back down and waxed her right wide open to steady her vision.

"I’d take sight over looks..." the brunette fluttered her lashes. "How about a monocle since your other eye’s fine?"

"Disgusting," the other grimaced at the thought.

"If you’re gonna go adventuring, both eyes might be useful," Fumeko clearly had an insight that few others possessed.

"I can see everything just fine, hell, better than most people even," Tiffany rolled her eye. "I’ll be at the orphanage for a bit longer before adventuring anyhow, I’d have to be in or around South End.

For now, I’m looking at nice apartments and I already have three potentials marked down."

"Whatever you choose, don’t move to Mandrake," Fumeko cautioned with a stare.

"I... guess that takes one of the cheaper options off my list..."

"There’s a reason it’s probably cheaper..."

"You might be right there," Tiffany heeded. "Anyway," she looked up to the sky, "I should be off to the orphanage about now. I’ve stretched enough time for you today," she smirked.

Fumeko smiled as well, but she could see a sort of, sorrow in Tiffany’s smirk... Or perhaps it was just normal to suspect everything of the woman who hides behind an eyepatch and an eccentric persona.

Of course, the question lingered on both their minds—will they ever meet again?

"I should be going back home too. I can, walk you to the orphanage," with shadows, Fumeko blinked onto her feet.

Tiffany looked up and, smiled, "I’ll take you up on that offer."

_

Tiffany had a backpack slung over one shoulder as the two departed the school; it was black with red zippers—multiple pins and reddish rhinestones in patterns. "Fleur Borough?"

"Yup, lived there most of my life," Fumeko walked alongside her down the damp pavement. They had walked a bit a ways from the school.

"Hm, what’re the rent prices like there?"

"I wouldn’t have a clue," Fumeko pursed her lips.

"Fleur’s fairly high-class all boroughs considered," Tiffany pondered aloud.

"You don’t have to move there, do you? I’m sure there’re better prices in other boroughs and stuff," Fumeko shrugged.

"No, I don’t have to move there," Tiffany played with the curling blonde locks framing her face.

The brunette squinted, "Huh? Then-"

"Drip." "Drip." "Drip-drip-drip."

Fumeko glared to the sky- "Gah!" a raindrop fell right into her eye and she rubbed it with a hand.

"We ought to be swift," Tiffany looked up and opened her mouth. "Ahhh..." slowly she voiced and let out echoes in ripples around the two. The drizzle began to pick up its pace and thunder boomed above.

As Fumeko glanced back up from her predicament, she watched each rain drop, drip against Tiffany’s echoes. The droplets bounced off and slid down like rain against a clear window.

The pavement and streets around them began to darken and soak it up, but they stayed dry in their little umbrella of sound. The blonde’s voice muffled the rainfall around them. Fumeko looked up through her lashes to the blonde...

As each raindrop sprang off of Tiffany’s harmonized voice, nearly falling upon their heads, but not falling any closer—Tiffany was, bewitchingly pretty...

Fumeko’s pulse quickened and she gulped before asking, "H-how long can you keep that up?"

Tiffany did not reply and instead closed her eyes. The detective could surmise Tiffany was concentrating; and if that was the case, then they didn’t have a large window of time.

However, with no clue where the orphanage was, Fumeko could hardly guide the blonde. Carriages that were leisurely began rushing off the streets and people ran with umbrellas and raincoats—some held onto their hats.

The rain only got heavier each second they wasted. With her vision lessening in the rain, Fumeko perceived all that was around her and noticed a bunch of red bicycles in bicycle racks with a booth next to it.

She took Tiffany by the hand and crossed the street. Tiffany’s eyes bubbled open and her echoes rippled up and down, getting a few raindrops onto them as she managed to keep the rain at bay.

Fumeko dragged Tiffany into the booth and noticed papers with a pen chained to the small desk inside.

"I can keep that up for maybe six minutes; it’s easier to shout, harder to do that," Tiffany now answered.

The rain peppered the threshold of the doorless booth. Fumeko looked out, "I don’t know how to get to the orphanage. And we’re a bit far to go back to the school. I can’t really teleport us either."

"You can teleport...?"

Fumeko winced an eye, "Eh... ’Can’ is debatable. Would you like an arm on your head and your leg on your toe?"

"...Uhm..."

Fumeko shook her head, "I can’t teleport to the orphanage anyway, I haven’t been there before. Which means, if we wanna get there, we need you to guide us.

If this rain gets too heavy, you’re pretty much stuck here; I can maybe blink back home, but I’ll probably still get wet. There might be a quick way to do this," she held a hand to her chin.

Tiffany tilted her head to the other, "...Tis baffling to see thou regard this as a mission of some sort. Tis merely the angels of the heavens above weeping away their sorrows detective," she gave a chuckle.

"Yeah, yeah, anyway we need to escape before the rain gets any heavier. What’s this place used for? I’ve seen lots of people in Burnetrout on those red bicycles," Fumeko glanced to her.

"The public bicycles? Well, we sign the paper in the booth, take up a bike and ride it," Tiffany explained.

"That’s it?"

"It gets magically recorded by the government; you’ll have to pay during the month, the post office’ll send you an invoice. I’ve used them plenty of times, but it’s raining-"

"Alright, we’ll take a bike, you hop on behind and I’ll get us to the orphanage while you guide me," Fumeko picked up the pen and searched the document to find where to write her name.

"Or, we can just wait out the rain right here...?"

"You don’t get it," Fumeko gravely uttered as she wrote her name on the paper and watched as the ink glow faintly. Fumeko took off her blazer and put it over her head, "I can’t miss lunch today."

"What? F-fumeko!"

Fumeko dragged Tiffany into the rain and grabbed a red bicycle off the lock which came detached to her touch.

"Let’s go!" Fumeko hopped onto the bike as rain quickly ran down her face and drenched her blazer.

Tiffany shielded her head with her backpack, "Okay, okay, go!" she got on the metal back seat over the tyre and held onto Fumeko’s shoulder with one hand.

Fumeko’s shoes pressed down on the wet plastic pedals and she clanked the bicycle onto the pavement before she pedalled out of there in haste.

Tiffany guided her down the streets in a yell each time, covering their heads with her backpack or pulling up Fumeko’s blazer before it slid down from the speed.

Even so, it was impossible to avoid the increasingly heavy storm pelting bullets of raindrops. They were drenched before even five minutes passed.

"Left! Left! Left!"

"AHHH!!" Fumeko narrowly avoided skidding the bicycle off course, curved left, bumped off of the corner pavement and landed onto the street with a bounce.

Her eyes shrunk the longer she cycled, the rain becoming harder to see through. Tiffany squinted her one eye and opened her mouth—she released a soft echo, but it was easily buffeted back by the sound and force of the rain.

The rain became bright white for a moment and for said moment, Fumeko came to a halt—there was no seeing through any of this!

From what little she could see, she cycled to the side of the road to a row of few red and gold booths set along the pavement. Panting, Fumeko got off the bicycle, prompting Tiffany to hop off as well.

Both of them rushed into one of the booths and shut the glass door. Rain stormed all around, but at least it was muffled in this enclosed space.

Behind the two was a telephone with a rotary dial fixed to the only not-windowed side of the booth. As the bicycle’s back wheel spun, fallen on its side, Fumeko caught her breath inside.

There wasn’t much space in the booth for two, they were barely avoiding bumping elbows and foreheads. All of Tiffany’s blonde drills had flopped down to straight blonde strands, stuck behind her shoulders—drenched.

Water trickled down Fumeko’s braid and bangs as it weighed her head backwards. Both their winter school uniforms were soaked and there was practically a flood inside their shoes.

"Springtime approaches soon indeed..." Tiffany slopped hair away from her face.

"Yeah," Fumeko shivered. "R-rain in Dolpool is nothing like rain in C-cravolta City."

"Shit, we need to get you somewhere warm quick, you’re shivering like hell," Tiffany said as though she wasn’t cold herself.

"I-it’s fine, I have a lot of metabolism," she replied.

"You’re lucky I used my expensive makeup on you," Tiffany stated.

"Expensive?"

"It’s a well-known brand, they enchant their products to be waterproof," Tiffany wrung out her eyepatch.

"Sorry," Fumeko shook her head like a wet dog—some of her bangs got a bit drier.

"That was so reckless," Tiffany wrung out her blonde locks. "And we’re just stuck in another booth anyway."

"Yeah..." the word reckless haunted her once more. "Well, I can still blink back home. If you wanna take the bicycle and get home."

"I’ll probably remember the way, sure, but do you really wanna go back home in this storm? Do you know where to even go?" Tiffany questioned.

"I’ll have to get back to the school first to know my way, but you said you stretched your time with me, didn’t you?"

"It’s just a lunchtime curfew I have to get to, but considering the weather, I’m sure they’ll understand."

"Fine, if not for you, I have to get back home for me. I told my friends I’ll meet them back at home before we went for lunch. It’s not just some lunch, it’s special today," Fumeko clenched her fists.

Tiffany furrowed her brows.

"A nice big lunch after graduation to celebrate. I was gonna drink champagne and everything with all of them, it was gonna be..." Fumeko sighed. "I really wanted to see today to be a special happy day... I’m not really gonna graduate again..."

Tiffany’s eye softened, "Well, I’m sorry. But the day isn’t over yet, no need to get so sentimental. Besides, isn’t dinner better anyway?" she attempted to comfort.

"I guess..." Fumeko looked up to face her. "Sorry, I just wanted today to go as smoothly as possible," she took a deep breath and let it go.

Tiffany giggled to herself.

A little smile painted itself on Fumeko, "What?"

With little space in between them, the blonde looked her in the eye, "Fumeko Namora, thou’st given me one of the most memorable days of mine existence upon this world~ Thou shan’t be wallowing over foregone lunch."

Fumeko mused within her own mind... As she faced Tiffany, her brown eyes glimmered with purplish-black shadows... Her brown brows eased and she gave the sincerest of smiles.

The blonde whipped out her soaking wet blazer and put it over Fumeko, "That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try your hardest either, so stop saying sorry already.

If you had such an important lunch why didn’t you leave me behind? Why’re you still here and not blinking away?" Tiffany posed questions as her heartrate quickened...

"Did one of the raindrops hit you too hard on the head? I’m not gonna leave you behind in a storm," she leered.

Tiffany sighed, "You can’t even say that nicely you bitch."

"I’ll leave you behind right now..."

"Like I want you to."

"Huh?"

"I’ll get on the bicycle and get back home; you blink back and get to that lunch. The day still goes smoothly, right? I’ll be fine, it’s just a bit more rain."

"And you’re complaining that I’m reckless?"

"I don’t necessarily think you being reckless is a bad thing. You said it yourself, adventuring’s about taking risks," Tiffany looked out to the fallen bike being attacked by the rain.

"So," Fumeko stared at Tiffany with a pout, "You’re sure you want me to just go? I know some rain is barely a risk, but still."

Tiffany laughed vivaciously, "You’re too good for this world."

The brunette flushed pinkish-red as her panting breaths had mellowed within the booth. Tiffany collected herself and observed the other...

Drops of water trickled down Fumeko’s ruffled bangs as Tiffany took the opportunity to lean forward... There was pause—uncertainty on both ends as the rain drummed outside.

Fumeko moved her face forward by the slightest millimetre and closed her eyes. The blonde took the invitation and gave her a short sweet peck on the lips before drawing away, blushing.

Blood rushed to the detective’s face and her heartbeats ran a marathon. Both of them looked to each other—a ripple of transparent white waved up Tiffany’s eye, while shadows glimmered in Fumeko’s.

Not another word came out before Tiffany opened the door and smiled to Fumeko, before running out into the rain. Fumeko’s feet felt stiff as Tiffany got the bicycle up and rushed to get on her way.

Fumeko barely even realized she was waving to Tiffany as Tiffany cycled away in the pouring rain.

She waited and waited, till hopefully the rain died down just a tad before she’d blink off. That kiss, her first—a lot of thoughts ran in a jumbled mess inside her head.

Most of all, that kiss meant something else too; it meant, they will see each other again.