There was rain…
It was pouring hard with gusts of wind…
It was a very cold, windy and wet evening…
"It's pretty heavy, don't you think?"
"Hai…"
"Are you cold?"
"…"
"Want to talk?"
"Iee…"
"Sigh…"
Anji Mito pouted, pushed back his small frames of glass over the bridge of his nose before he placed a fist under his chin, staring lazily at the pouring rain. Baiken, the redheaded, one eyed, one armed swordswoman sat next to him, barely touching. She had her lonely eye closed, this calm expression on her usually-frowning face. Sitting quietly under a small shack-of-a-bus-stop, that was probably neglected for a fair couple of years, they sheltered themselves with the blue-clad man's parasol for the shack's ceiling was dripping as well.
The bus-stop's stop-sign was barely visible, erased by the effect of passing years. The shack itself was in a very bad shape, the pillars that kept the small frame of wood above their heads leaked and there was moss at the bottom of the bench, not to mention the grass and weeds that grew all over the place. The bench was at least two meters long, but the legs were all rusty and didn't seem too strong, but still strong enough to take their weight for so long.
Anji Mito sighed again, entertaining himself with the small cloud his breath had formed. The rain had been pouring heavily for the last two hours, and his seat hurt from sitting on the hard wooden bench for so long. Earlier, he had spared his blue geisha sleeves to the woman to keep her small body warm, thus leaving himself topless. Still sitting Indian style on the wooden bench, the seat wasn't very wide, but only a small part of it was dry by the time they got to it, the rain had already soaked the rest of the seat.
Mito looked at the woman, she still sat in her usual Indian style as well, except that she had covered her usually exposed leg with his sleeve piece. She looked so calm and peaceful, so beautiful as well. It also made him worry. He remembered arriving late, Baiken had already met That Man and he said something to her, for when he got there she was already a broken shell of what he knew her, she was on the ground, crying her heart out ever so quietly it almost killed him, and no matter how much he wanted to talk to her about the matter, he didn't want to end up getting her upset.
He had met That Man as well and learned much of it, he had so much to tell her, but obviously this wasn't the time, or the place. 'Barely a romantic gesture, though.' He caught himself thinking, he blushed and lightly shook his head. No matter how much he loved her, he never confessed his feeling to her in words, he just showed her that he cared by motion or hinting, he really didn't know how she felt towards him and he feared that she didn't like him back, so he never said anything about it matter to her.
He sighed again…
"… uh,"
He instantly turned to her, "Hai?" he spared a sweet smile.
She was staring at her lap, sitting on the bench Indian style hurt her rear as well so she shifted, leaning just the tiniest bit closer to him, "Nothing, my leg just felt numb." She murmured, "Ita… I think it's asleep." He knot her brows.
Anji blinked and stood up, "Spread it out, it'll hurt more if you keep it buckled." He told, now leaving the seat empty for her.
The redhead shifted just a little and stretched out her legs on the empty space, teeth gritted, "Ita… this might take a while." She rubbed at her numb leg.
Anji stared at her and hung his head, she looked just so depressed, "It's raining pretty heavily, don't you think?"
"Hai…" she nodded, now she stopped rubbing her leg, she looked up and realized that the man is standing at her feet, "Nani?"
Anji looked up at her and blinked, "Hn?"
She stared, her lonely peach-colored eye seemed a little dim, "Aren't you cold?"
Anji grinned and shook his head, "Iee, Ore wa, daijubu!" he smiled sweetly, hands crossed over his chest.
She hung her head and leaned aside at the bench, thinking to herself.
Anji regarded her small frame. She looked all so small and helpless, the way her small, long fingered hand tugged at his sleeve piece for warmth made her look all much too frail. He smiled. She can act so tough and yet bottle in such pain, 'Such a strong woman.'
"What's so funny?" he heard her hiss.
Anji flushed and rubbed the back of his neck, "Oh, nothing. I just remembered a silly encounter with Zanuff." He bluffed.
She blinked and rolled her eye, "Him again? I don't see how you stand the guy, he's a major pain in the ass!"
Anji smiled and stood a little closer to her, "Well I don't know, he's nice when you get to know him better." He shrugged.
"Opening too many doors would always make a house too drafty." She growled.
Anji huffed a small cloud of breath. Crouching at the foot of the bench where there weren't much of weeds around, rear not touching the ground, Anji crossed his arms on his knees and somewhat hugged them to his chest, chin between his kneecaps, he spaced out, staring at a small puddle in front of the small shack. Black bangs danced before his sight when he tugged off his head band, his head hurt a little and he didn't want it pressing on his weary brain anymore. Forking back a few stray bangs he noted how damp his hair had become, probably because of the still pouring rain and the leaking of the roof atop him.
Talking about leaking, he tried his best to ignore the sound of dripping water next to him; that, of course, until a droplet landed smack down his neck, sliding it's heartlessly-cold way all the way down his spine. With the stifled yelp and his leap up to his feet startled the redheaded woman. Anji blushed brightly and felt his spine, fighting the rough shiver that pinpricked his whole body. Rubbing his prickled arms, Anji fought the shiver that crawled up his scalp, he had not realized just how cold it had turned until he really thought about it.
She laughed, and he stared, it had been the first time for her to laugh since her encounter with That Man!
"Something up your ass, Mito?" she stifled her giggles to send him a smirk.
Anji blushed a little more and shrugged, "Ah, no, nothing."
Her smile was worth a few more seconds before she brushed back her stray bangs and sighed lightly, back to her train of thoughts.
Anji blinked, adjusted his glasses and brushed back his hair.
"Your nose is red." She then said, voice quiet and humble.
Anji blinked and felt his cold nose's tip, "Ah, I'm okay, really." He shrugged.
There was the sound of rain, pouring even harder than before.
"Sigh…" another cloud of breath came from his mouth, "This just isn't our day, is it?" he murmured.
She didn't reply, she just smoothed back her hair and pulled in her legs again, "Ah, my legs feel better. You can sit down, Mito." She told, not looking at him.
Anji blinked and saw that she sat on the bench, her legs down, her sandals barely touching the muddy, grassy ground below, "Your feet might get dirty." He noted, now standing closer to her.
She looked at him and shook her head, the tiniest little smile on her fine, pale lips, "Sit down."
He breathed out and sat down next to her, his rear prickled and sent a shiver up his spine for some reason, but he just shook the feeling off.
Baiken tugged at his sleeve piece over her shoulders, "You sure you're not cold?"
"I'm fine." He grinned, smiling warmly at her.
"Your fingers are blue." She noted.
"No they're not." He pouted and crossed his arms over his chest again, hiding his cold fingertips.
She frowned and pulled the sleeve piece off, "I don't want your sympathy, Mito." She shoved the piece into his chest and slumped back in the wooden seat.
Anji blinked at this sleeve piece before looking back at her. Earlier, she had pulled closed her cleavage and her hand tugged at her empty sleeve, looking away. "I don't need it." He said as he flapped it and attempted to place it over her shoulders again.
She frowned and pushed it back, "Well I don't want it!"
"But it's cold out here, Nee-chan. You'll catch a cold!"
"I'm fine!"
"No you're not!"
"I am!"
"You're not!"
"Am!"
"Not!"
"AM!"
"NOT!"
"I don't want it, damn it!" she cried and slapped his hand, sending the piece of cloth away.
It was carried away with a strong gust of wind and fell in a near by mud puddle.
Anji stared at the cloth for a few more seconds before he actually got up, slowly walked under the rain and then picked it up, he watched the mud drip in blobs of ugly dirt from the cloth and back to the puddle. The cloth was completely soaked! Baiken stared. She never meant to actually toss it, she just didn't want it. Now, staring at his pale, ashen-skinned, broad-shouldered back, he looked so hurt, clutching the cloth like that, and then when he turned around, how his wet, black hair clamped on his neck and cheeks, the way he turned around to walk back into the shack, how the rain trickled down his chin like endless tears, the wet ebony bangs dripping, shading his eyes, she felt a small twinge of guilt. Sure Mito was an annoying, too-perky-for-his-own-good kind of guy, but he really weren't that bad; actually, he was a pretty nice guy, she hated to admit it but she actually liked him, to an extent at least.
"Ano… Gomen…" she hung her head, not meeting his gaze.
"Mou… at this rate you'll defiantly catch a cold." He mumbled childishly, looking at her with a playful pout. He then tossed it over to the arms of the bench to dry.
She looked up. Why is it that no matter how much she'd be mean to him, he never failed to keep that smile?
He blinked and soothed back his wet hair, almost like clamping it with gel, it stuck back in beautiful black, shining streaks, but still kept dripping, sending lines of water down his obviously shivering body.
She stared again. His body looked so wide, and yet so frail, still she could make out the smallest signs of old scares and cuts from the battles he had gone through.
"Nani? Is something on my face?" he asked giddily, hardly sounding upset or hurt; actually, he sounded pretty pleased.
She stood off the bench and listened to his wet-ruffling slacks as he stood up behind her.
"What is it?" he asked, voice full of concern.
"How…" she began, staring at the transparent cloud of her own breath, "How is it that you're always smiling?" she bit down the crack in her voice, she just couldn't take it anymore, "No matter what you go through, you're always smiling. Why?" she clutched at her empty sleeve and tugged at it, her chain was accidentally released and it fell to the muddy ground with a loud clatter.
"Oy! Are you alright?" Anji quickly recovered the muddy item and used the soaked-by-rain, not-mud part of cloth to wipe away the mud, "Nee-chan, be a little more careful, the thing might get rusty, then it wont be of any use to you, you know." He softly scolded.
He heard a small sob…
"Gears killed our family, our friends, they destroyed our home! I'm surely positive that you know of that, but I just cant take it!" she jerked her head around to glare at him, her peach-colored eye was blurred with tears, her small red brows knot tightly and the jerk in her breath only made her sob more clear, she cupped her face and shook her head, "How can you be like that? How can you still smile like that? I just don't get it!"
She felt a touch around her shoulder, the rattle of her claw jingled like silver bells. She cracked her teary eye open and blinked once, realizing that he had wrapped his arms around her, one hand holding her close, still holding to her fallen claw, yet careful so he wont injure her with it, she was pressed gently against his broad, wet chest, the other on her head, tucking it on her shoulder. It felt nice. So warm so tender, and still nice. She drew down her hand from her face and felt his chest, the beating of his heart was all so clear and rhythmic. She caressed his chest as her lonely hand slid around his broad chest and went flat against his shoulder blade, burying her face in his neck.
She sobbed a little more…
But then she stopped…
'What am I doing?' she shot her eye wide and pushed herself from his hold, blushing. Stepping away, she felt him tug at her claw.
"Please." He whispered, taking one step closer, "I'm only smiling for your sake."
She stared at him, this confused expression on her face.
The ebony haired man smiled sadly, still holding her claw, he reached with his free hand to cup her cheek, his thumb brushed away a teardrop, "I smile because it's my only window to you."
She stared, silent tears trickled down her cheek, she still said nothing.
"When- whenever I look at you, you're always so sad and angry, I smile because I think it's what makes me- me!" he shrugged with a tiny chuckle, "A smile might seem lifeless, but if you smile from your heart, you can make the ones around you smile." He brushed a wet strand of hair that was stuck to her lips, "You can tell a real smile from a fake one by merely looking into their eyes. Eyes can tell things the lips won't." he took a step closer and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her lovingly again, "I smile because- maybe one day, when I look at you and smile, you'll smile back at me."
She stared. Those brown eyes, those sad brown eyes… He looked down at her, his eyes peeking from that drape of long, black clamped hair. Still he had that sweet, sad smile, those humble chocolate brown eyes. That smile looked all so honest and innocent, it looked so nice as well, the cute face he was giving her only made her brows rise, and her lips parted. She wanted to say something to him, to tell him something, but she didn't know what to say, she had nothing in mind. She didn't feel angry with him, nor did she feel annoyed, she was holding him, her hand on his that lay warmly on her cold face, his fingers dived into her hair and his thumb brushed over her lips, her lonely eye felt stingy and she felt like crying again.
But she shook her head, she will not cry! Not again, not anymore!
"Why… why are you being so nice to me? After all I have done to you!" She murmured, not meeting his gaze.
To her surprise, he chuckled, so she looked up to meet his gaze.
"Well I understand how you feel, Nee-chan. My concern is because I simply care." He said quietly, "You're always drowning yourself in your own worries, pushing me back. I'm not caring for you from pity, I'm just concerned. I really care." He said the last word much too quietly.
Those brown eyes never looked so dim before. She knot her brows and hung her head, she brushed her thumb over the back of his hand, sensing the different feeling between the softness of his skin and the less-softness of his glove, and in reflex his hand slid up the side of her head, forking back her damp hair.
"Please, don't stress yourself." He slid down his hand, letting it rest on her shoulder. He picked up her claw and pulled up the chain, "Okay now, how do you hook this thing?" he gave her a childishly, puzzled look.
Baiken stared, his pouts and murmurs to himself made her look at those sad brown eyes again, a small smile tugged at her lips.
"Okay, so this goes here," he flipped the claw upside down and one of the three claws fell out of place, "Oops!" he grit his teeth and watched it smack into a mud puddle, "Mou! Gomen nasai." he groaned, annoyed.
The smile tugged on her lips again, she pressed her fingertips on her lips to suppress a small giggle.
Anji picked up the fallen claw and flinched, "Ita- !"
She blinked, "Nani?"
He pressed his thumb to his lips and pouted, "Ah, nothing." He chuckled and tried to hook the fallen claw back in it's place.
Baiken smiled and whipped away the remains of tears, now she took the fallen claw from his hand and moved his hand around, making him flip her claw vertically, "It goes like this." She pressed it into the hole and pushed it sideways, a small click came.
"Sugoi!" he grinned, amused. "I wanted to ask you this for some time now, Nee-chan."
She stared, expressionless.
Anji Mito stared back, something about her cheeks turned- pink?
She knot her brows and tilted her head a little, "Nani?" the pink turned into a darker shade of red.
With a pleased grin, "Ano, this claw, from where did you get it?"
"An old shop from the colony I used to live in." She forked back a stray bang, paused and then tugged at her hair band, releasing her hair, letting it down.
Anji spaced out, staring at that marvelous beauty.
"It felt damp and itchy." Was her excuse for her previous action, not she started grooming it, forking her fingers through her scalp.
"Oh…" he blinked twice before a dreamy look splashed over his face, "You look beautiful with your hair down."
She looked at him, brows arched high.
Anji mentally beat himself up, his face turned bright red, "Ano! I meant- that- I- " he waved his hands like a crazy chicken.
She stared for a second before she puffed into a fit of giggles.
She blinked, feeling absolutely clueless. Though the tiniest bit of him felt- contented, for some reason.
Her cheeks turned red and her smile, that giggling felt real, Anji knew she was laughing from the heart because she looked like she couldn't stop!
"Nee-chan?" he asked, feeling completely silly, "What's so funny?"
She composed her laughter and cleared her throat, "Nothing. It's nothing." She turned around and sat on the bench, forking back stray bangs of hair.
Pouting, Anji sat next to her, scooting a little close, "Aw c'mon! What was so funny?" he begged, leaning closer to her.
"Nothing!" she giddily whined, pushing his face back.
Anji pouted again and adjusted his spectacles.
Croak
Baiken perked and looked away. The rain had begun to seize, but still raining like a small drizzle now, not as heavy as before. A few frogs had appeared, clearly wanting to cross the road. There was this big green frog, a really big one! Its yellow eyes stared aimlessly at nothing before it slowly started crawling on the muddy path, it didn't jump very high, obviously too heavy to carry itself, but after a second of rechecking the scene before her, she noticed that there was another smaller frog behind it, on the bigger frog's back?
"Ah, is it the frog mating season already?" Anji Mito chuckled besides her, leaning back in his seat.
"Mating season?" she turned to face him.
"Yes, the male would climb on the female's back and travel till they find a good place to mate." He looked at her, faintly blushing.
"Male on the female?" she gawked, "You're telling me that the big one is the female? Don't tell me that the big one is the female." She frowned.
Anji blinked and nodded, "Okay, I won't tell you." He said playfully.
She felt her brow twitch, strangely so did her lips, "Not funny, Mito."
He grinned and then looked back at the frogs, an idea sparkled in his brown eyes, "Hey! I know!" he quickly turned to face her again, clapping his hands once, "How about I catch one?"
She stared, "Why would you want to do that?"
Anji gave her a small smile, "I remember when I was younger, I used to hang out with the kids from my neighborhood and do a little competition, whom ever can catch more frogs is the winner." He told her and happily pointed to himself, a small boost of ego was clear in his way of speech, "I always win first place, though! No one could catch frogs as well as I did!" he said in triumph.
She arched her brows, "Poor frogs, being caught by a ditz-king like you." She stifled a laugh and shook her head, "Must've been tortured, the poor things."
Anji pouted, ego comically broken, "Ah, we always release them when it's over, so there was no harm done. Well, to the frogs at least."
"What do you mean?" she asked innocently.
The ebony haired man blushed and scratched his head, "Ah, when I get back home, my clothes would usually end up being all dirty and muddy, so I used to try and sneak into my room through the bedroom window, change and then take a quick bath before my mother finds out, or else my butt would be asking for it." He chuckled shyly.
She rolled her lonely eye and stifled another giggle, "Mou you're no batter than I was." She smiled.
He perked and stared at her, "And what is that supposed to mean?" he quirked a brow.
"You are talking to the family's brat, Mito. I practically put an ice cube down my dad's shirt!"
He gave her a shocked look, "You didn't!"
"Yes I did, and my butt still hurts whenever I think about it!" she blushed and looked away.
There was a small pause…
"Why are the happy memories always so painful?" she murmured quietly.
Anji said nothing, he just scooted closer to her and wrapped an arm around her hip, pulling her closer.
Baiken blinked and leaned closer, her head on his shoulder.
The rain poured harder again, the roaring of rain almost deafened their ears…
The frogs began to croak…
"He…" she began, her lonely hand reached out to take her claw from his lap, she tugged at a small object under her kimono and the chain slowly coiled back into her sleeve like a slithering snake. She brushed back her hair and then looked out at the frogs that crawled and hopped near by, "He told me…"
Anji was hesitant, should he just listen, not comment, or should he simply change the subject?
"He said it was his Sin…" she stopped, not sure if she should continue.
Anji swallowed and hugged her closer, comforting her, as if asking her to continue.
She drew in a deep breath and looked far away into the distance, her ear to his chest, listening to his rhythmic heartbeats, "He said that he cant die, not yet." Her hand reached down, resting on the man's thigh.
Anji smiled a little and let his free hand cup hers on his thigh.
"I don't get it…" she murmured, "Why couldn't I kill him? What was stopping me? He was right there and I couldn't kill him."
"I met him as well." Anji spoke, earning a small perk, she didn't look at him, she stayed still, listening to his heartbeats, "He said that he had something to do, he also said that he won't die until he had accomplished that goal."
She moved her head just a little up, "Why is he doing this to us? Are we some sort of entertainment to him?"
"No, I don't think he looks at us that way." The Asian man smiled at the Asian woman, "I think that he's probably as confused as we are."
"Think so?" she asked and felt him nod, "I don't see what he could possibly be confused about. It was he who started all of this." A small growl escaped her throat, but it was more of irritation than anger.
"When I met him, he looked sad. Apologetic, hurt even." Anji told, now feeling her breath against his throat. He nuzzled her temple, his lips brushed against the side of her head, where her injured eye was. "I don't know what he's living for, Nee-chan, but- how about we give him a chance- to undo his sin?"
"Keh! Like what? Resurrect the dead?" she snarled, pushing herself from the man's embrace. "He's a murderer, Mito. I will never forgive him for what he had done!" she fisted her lonely hand on her knee and looked away, "Never."
Anji Mito hung his head and sighed, forming another small cloud of breath.
"But- "
He perked up to look at her.
"I'll just give him one chance, nothing else." Her fist eased it's grip as it slumped into her lap.
Anji smiled, she could be so considerate sometimes, he liked it about her.
The rain went weak again, another soft drizzle, yet softer than before, almost stopping.
The frogs were almost gone now, only a few were left…
"Frogs are strange creatures, don't you think, Nee-chan?" Anji Mito chuckled, "They're born out of eggs, begin their life underwater with gills, then die on dry land with lungs. The funny thing is- once they gain their legs, they lose the tail, and they no longer use their gills anymore." He paused, "I don't think I've ever seen a full fledged frog with a tail before, have you?"
She looked up and ahead, to the lonely frog that stood in the center of the road, staring aimlessly at nothing. "It's almost as if it's making fun of us…"
"Hn?" he blinked, "What do you mean?" he adjusted his spectacles.
"The frog." She tilted her head at the lonesome frog, "It's just sitting there and staring at us, as if it's saying 'I'm better than you so Hah!' or something."
Anji blinked and looked at the frog, "To me, it looks more as if it's saying 'Why are you looking so lonely when there are two of you?' or something."
She blinked, realizing what he meant, so she shook her head and shed a tiny smile, "Ah, well, you never know with a frog. It could be thinking anything."
"If anything at all!" the man chuckled, "Maybe it's thinking 'I wonder if there are any tasty flies on the other side, I'm hungry.' or something."
The woman tilted her head, "Why flies? They're disgusting!"
"Well Nee-chan, that's the food chain for you. To us, flies are annoying, pesky and darn disgusting, but to other animals and reptiles they're the favorite snack time. To frogs, it's the main course!" The Asian man shrugged, nonchalant.
"Yeah, Gears are probably somewhere in the middle, huh?" she knot her head when she murmured.
Anji looked at her, "Actually, Nee-chan, I think I've gathered enough information about Gears by now, and I think that- they don't need nourishments." He told.
"They don't?" she twirled her head to look at him, strands of crimson hair lashed around like a silken sash.
Anji spaced out, dazzled by the beauty.
There was the sound of trickling water, tiny droplets made a rhythmic tapping on the ground.
The rain had stopped…
"Hatcho!" Anji Mito rubbed his wet nose, blinking a few times.
"Bless you." She said.
"Uh, thank you." He sniffled and touched his cold nose.
"Now really, they don't?" she asked again.
"Hn?" he stared, she was giving him a face, as if expecting an answer, "Ano, what was the question again?"
"You said Gears don't need nourishments." She quirked a brow.
"Ah, yes." He nodded, "For all I know, Gears are actually a human-type android, there are many types, but anyway, they don't eat because it's not programmed in their system. They don't age, they don't die, they just look like us humans, while they're completely different living creatures." He leaned back in his seat and stared at the parting clouds, "Sometimes I wonder, though. Do they feel the same way we do? Do they understand things the same way? Do they have commonsense?"
"Do they have a sense of direction?" she huffed a small laugh.
Anji blinked, not getting her joke.
She brushed back a strand of hair and turned to face him, "Mito?"
His cheeks turned to shades of red, that gorgeous face she was showing him was all much too heavenly, and the burst of sunlight between the clouds, the touch of sunlight against her ashen skin looked all so godly beautiful!
She stared, that lonely peach-colored eye shone under the light, it looked like a jewel, staring into his soul. Her fine, pale, thin lips were parted, so tempting, and her hair like a tattered silken sash over her shoulders, ever so brilliant, she looked absolutely magnificent.
He stared…
She stared back…
The rain had stopped…
The frogs were all gone…
"You look lovely." He smiled.
She blinked, taken back.
Anji smiled a little wider, amused of how many shades of red her cheeks had turned.
"Mou baka-Geisha!" she huffed and looked away, pouting.
The Asian man chuckled, clearly she was getting back to her good –grouchy- self.
There was a distant sound, and it was coming closer by the second. It was the sound of a something clattering, like- horseshoes? Yes, they had the rhythm of horseshoes, alright. Who would use horses in transportation in the age of Gear technology? Anji Mito blinked at the road and then looked far off into distance. Yes, there was surly a small cart being pulled by a big, brown horse! An old man sat behind it and whipped the strap and made the horse go a little faster, the small cart carried a huge stack of hay, all golden in a giant, bushy heap.
The old man lifted his straw hat and looked at the two strangers who sat at the old shack. After a short conversation, Anji learned that this road was abandoned a very long time ago due to it's rocky condition, and because vehicles couldn't go through during rainy days, the mud would clog the tires and it would take hours for a truck to arrive and pull them out, the out man told that a tow-truck actually got caught in the mud once or twice while trying to pull out a bus, so then bus's don't pass through the road anymore and had been forgotten for a fair couple of years.
Also, he learned the horse was the only animal light enough to pass through the muddy ground; there was a small farm up ahead and that was the animal's fodder. Anji managed to convince the old man to let them ride till the next town, and he was a kindhearted old man so he allowed them to ride on the back of the cart, it was a muddy path and it was cold, so he didn't want to just leave them behind, so happily, Anji picked up his items, told the woman and soon they were off.
The trip was silent, the redhead had leaned back against the hay stack, leaning her head on the man's shoulder. He smiled and wrapped an arm around her waist, they both dozed off during the whole trip. Once in town, they thanked the old man and then bid him farewell. They rented a room and took a well deserved rest, they were tired and in need if refreshing their lost strength. Next morning, it was time for them to part as well. Standing at the roads junction, they stood still, each looking ahead at the trod s/he had chosen.
"So? Are you going to be alright?" Anji asked, sparing a small smile to the redhead besides him.
"Hai." She nodded, hauling her traveling bag over her shoulder she had her usual appearance, just like before. Hair up and tied in a pony-tail, except that she didn't have the cleavage, and she didn't look as angry as she used to be.
Anji smiled, he was heading southeast while she chose to go northwest, they were two completely opposite directions.
"Mito?" she began, turning to look at him.
"Hai, Nee-chan?" he smiled sweetly.
"Next time we meet, let's have a match, okay?" she said with a small, tender smile.
The blue-clad dancer did not recall seeing a smile so lovely, having the redhead to smile was something that didn't happen often, that was a defiantly treasured moment, it made his heart flutter, "Sure! But go easy on me, okay?"
She smiled a little wider and nodded, now slowly turning away, "Itadasahai!" she said quietly.
"Hai! Itadashai, Nee-chan!" Anji Mito chirped back, waving a hand.
When she was ten feet away, he blinked.
"Ano! Chotto matte!" Anji Mito cried urgently, remembering something very important.
Startled and a bit curious, the redhead turned to face him, "Nani?" she blinked.
The Asian man flushed and stepped very close to her, "Ano, there was something I forgot." He began, "I want to give you something." He paused.
She looked at him, "What is it?" she asked, wondering what he could have possibly wanted to give her.
Anji Mito blushed, now leaning closer towards her.
She felt his hand cup her cheek, his thumb brushing her lips while his lips pressed ever so gently over her temple.
Blushing beat red, she gawked at him.
"It's for good luck." He chuckled, still blushing.
She still stared, heat tingling strangely in her cheeks.
He drew away his hand and took a step back, "Well then, you take care, Nee-chan!" he grinned and twirled around, picked up his traveling bag and started waltzing away, waving a hand to her, "You take good care of yourself, and don't drink too much sake, okay?"
She pouted and knot her brows, "Baka!" she could tell that she didn't mean it because it came quieter than she meant it to be, not to mention that a small chuckle came out with it.
Watching his figure fade away with breeze, she smiled…
Yes, she will take good care of herself…
'You too, okay?'
It was merely a whisper, but she was sure he felt it…
===== END =====
LATE disclaimer: yes, I meant o let this in the end, didn't want to ruin the opening of the story… ahem: No, I do not own any of the GG characters, Daisuki Ishiwatari and Sammy artworks so, wish I had Anji though…
A/N: just felt like writing a small, soft-fluffy Anji X Baiken one shot again. God I just love that pairing! More romantic than a Sol X Millia! And much more healthy than Anji X Chipp! ;
Well R&R please! : D