story

Spoiler warning for the ending of the Kill la Kill anime.

It's been almost two years.

Crickets began to chirp as birds settled in for the night, landing in the higher branches of the forest to preen and prepare for sleep. A slight creaking of burnt wood sounded off as the ruins of the Matoi mansion settled from their recent disturbance. Ryuko was slowly cleaning the site by hand in her spare time during her summer vacations. It was much easier once she established her smaller self-made cottage nearby. As much as she loved family life with the Mankanshokus, it was always nice to get away to some summertime solitude.

Letting out a sigh of relief and wiping the sweat from her brow at the end of her workday, she tugged off her dusty shirt, water running into her outdoor bath. No peeping toms to be had way out in the wilderness, thankfully; just her and the birds, who were uninterested in her undressing. After stripping down, she winced lightly as she slowly submerged her legs, followed by the rest of her body. The water was a bit chilly, which was both startling yet comforting for her aching muscles.

The crickets seemed to grow louder, though it was only because they were the one noise piercing the otherwise silent evening. Ryuko's head lay against the side of her wooden tub as she looked up into the darkening sky. Hues of pink, purple, and orange were slowly fading into the deep blues of night. The stars were already bright and gleaming, more and more popping into sight as the sun descended. A red-tinted star came into view, glimmering against the dark backdrop.

They just remind me of him.

Her neutral expression deepened to a frown. "There comes a time when a girl outgrows her sailor uniform," she mumbled, lifting a hand from the water to run through her black and red hair, rinsing the dust and soot from her locks. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, splashing her hand back into the water in frustration as she sunk lower, her hair becoming submerged. "You idiot."

Senketsu wasn't just a sailor uniform. He was Ryuko's closest friend, whom she loved dearly and could confide in and trust when things were at their worst. His parting words stung despite it being well over a year ago. She thought time would heal her wounds, but the thought of him clung to her brain despite all the cheerful distractions she now had in her life. Mako and her family, Satsuki, former Honnoji Academy students who were now her friends and colleagues. Why couldn't she just move on? Why was she still thinking about him?

The bath drained into the nearby grassy clearing as she dried off with a towel and slipped on a fresh set of underwear, forgoing a spare shirt. Being mostly nude in a private setting like her secluded home in the forest was oddly comforting, given her past experiences. She haphazardly shoved her dirt-covered garments into a smaller tub to wash later that night. Bringing her belongings inside and kicking the door shut, Ryuko let out a quiet, annoyed grumble. What was supposed to be a calming bath ended on a not-so-great note. She cast a glance out the window before treading into her small kitchen and deciding on a jerky snack with some juice to try and lighten her mood.

It didn't work, of course. She sat at her table for one, glaring at a blank section of wall as she tore chunks of jerky apart and chewed ruthlessly. A lantern affixed to the ceiling kept this area of the house lit comfortably, while the rest was growing fairly darker with the onset of night. The light from the lantern glimmered subtly off the red handles of her father's scissor blades, propped up against the wall in the next room over.

Author's note: This is an excerpt from my Kill la Kill fanfiction, which takes place after the anime's ending! It takes a few loose plot threads and makes a much happier ending for my poor lil heart. If you're interested, it's called Heartstrings and can be found on my AO3!

credits

Kidakins

Kidakins

Lea

Kidakins