A sigh escaped her mouth heavily. She hadn't noticed it yet, but she had been sighing every two minutes for the past two days. Her eyes strayed out the window, her mind going into a complete blank, a state in which nothing is remembered. Finally, she sighed again and flipped open her cell phone, pressing the button that dialed his number. She had asked him to take her to an amusement park that was holding concerts that weekend. After calling every night for the past two days to no avail, she decided she'd try one last time. The day before the concerts. A male voice picked up the phone in his usual monotone manner.
"Hello?"
She felt her chest tighten at his voice. She wasn't quite sure why, as she had called him a million times before. Her lips tightened as she answered him.
"Narumi-san?"
"Eh." He slightly groaned in affirmation and recognition of her voice.
"How are you?" She spoke uneasily.
"Eh." Came his stagnant reply.
She growled irritably, "Narumi-san! You weren't at school! Tell me why!"
"Nn. Got sick."
"But you're never sick, Narumi-san!"
"Lie."
"You're the one that's lying! You and I both know that there hasn't been ONE time that you've been absent from school because of a sickness!"
He didn't answer her this time. She thought she heard him exhale, but all she heard after that was silence.
"Narumi-san? Are you still there?"
"Yeah."
"I just thought...you weren't talking and all I heard was nothing, so..." Her voice scrambled awkwardly. She winced at her own awkwardness and rushed to change the subject. "Um, tomorrow...I still really want to go, and still don't have a ride."
"Can't. Sorry. Madoka has to do some something for work and she needs me to deliver it. Then I have to go to work, then Asazuki wants me to go with Rutherford to tell him to do something for Kirie's birthday."
The girl on the other line sighed again, heavily, before suddenly piping up with one of her crazy ideas. "Hey! I have an idea! I'll go with you!"
The brunette on the other side had different ideas, "No. You can't come."
Normally, the girl would have growled and told him he was an evil demon and begged him to let her come, but something inside her just fell instead.
"Oh...okay, Narumi-san. Sorry."
He breathed, "Don't be sorry. You're starting to scare me."
At this she stared at the phone for a moment, smiling gently. Suddenly something hit her and she found herself slightly gasping, "But Narumi-san! You have no idea about how the female species works! How are you going to help Eyes-san?"
"Nn. You'd be surprised, Hiyono."
Her heart throbbed quickly and desperately inside her chest. That's one of the only times she recalled that he had ever called her by her name.
With that, Hiyono Yuizaki heard the other line click and then a tone, signaling that he had hung up. Hiyono found herself staring out the window, sighing again. She glanced toward the clock. For once she didn't bother him for that long. It was only 10:30 this time. With another sigh she flopped herself back on her bed and shut her eyes tightly. After a while she noticed herself choking gently at regular intervals. She put her fingers up to her scrunched eyelids and pulled away at the salty clear liquid on her hand. While she didn't see the liquid because she couldn't see through the blur of her tears, she felt the warm salty substance make its way in trails down her cheeks. She found herself crying out, "I can't do this anymore. I can't live like this. It hurts too much."
She continues complaining about the feelings she couldn't confess until the wells of liquid from her own eyes lulled her to sleep. The moment before she fell asleep, she told herself, "I have to tell him."
She knew in her heart that there was something special about him from the first time she saw him. From the first time she stared into his deep brown eyes. From the first time he smiled at her. She knew.
There was also the time that he did the most unexpected thing. The first time he called her. She was sitting on her bed reading and listening to music when she heard a piano playing during a song that was based on guitars and drums. So strange she thought it was, until she figured out it was her cell phone. Urgently she picked it up, making a confused face at the unknown number on her Caller ID. She answered it anyway.
"Ello?"
"Guess who?"
Hiyono was silent for a moment, in complete shock. She couldn't figure out who would call her, not to mention the deeper male voice on the other end. Finally she took a wild guess, hoping she was right.
"Narumi-san!!?"
"Yep."
She couldn't remember much more of that conversation now, except that she could barely talk for at least fifteen minutes because of the shock she had undergone.
There was a time, though, that she was scared, almost to death, on his account. She was on the computer, looking up something or other, when someone anonymously instant messaged her with no warning and no information about who it was.
BladeJoker: Hey how's it going with little Narumi?
After three minutes of silence on Hiyono's part, the mystery person revealed himself.
BladeJoker: It's Kousuke Asazuki
BladeJoker: Little Narumi gave me your screen name.
X SoulMelody X: Ah! Asazuki-san! Yeah I was like...who?
X SoulMelody X: Eh, it's goin ok, I guess...lately he's getting inhumanly quiet
X SoulMelody X: He doesn't email or call, so I'm getting a little tired of waiting by the phone all the time, since I only really have two other friends that I talk to outside of school(haha, I'm a loser...) Do you know if Narumi-san's ok? He kinda seems as though something's on his mind, but he keeps insisting everything's fine.
BladeJoker: I'll talk to him.
With that, Kousuke was gone. Hiyono would later get word that her friend was fine, but she still had her doubts. Her worries only got worse as a couple weeks progressed.
X SoulMelody X: Narumi-san didn't call me for a ride on Saturday because he 'didn't want to bother me'.
BladeJoker: Maybe he doesnt want to bother you.
X SoulMelody X: That's what bothers me.
BladeJoker: What, that he cares?
X SoulMelody X: That he thinks he'd be bugging me by calling me.
BladeJoker: He might not want to risk losing you.
X SoulMelody X: Did he say that??
BladeJoker: No,
BladeJoker: I'm just saying.
X SoulMelody X: Did he tell you anything that would make you think so?
BladeJoker: No,
X SoulMelody X: That's so like him.
BladeJoker: Can't blame him.
X SoulMelody X: Hmm...he doesn't have to think that way though.
BladeJoker: Like I said maybe Little Narumi likes you.
BladeJoker: Or maybe he doesn't.
BladeJoker: He hasnt told anyone either way.
X SoulMelody X: Not knowing what he's thinking...that's what really scares me..
BladeJoker: I can try to find out if you want.
X SoulMelody X: You said that before...but I think it's best if he told me himself, thanks anyway Asazuki-san.
BladeJoker: Allright, take care of yourself, jou-chan
Hiyono found herself sighing infront of the computer again. She had leaned her elbow on the desk and rested her chin in her hand. She told Kousuke goodbye for the night and went to bed before her eyes fell to the comfortable cushions of her lower lids.
Three days later Hiyono knew that her monotone friend was supposed to go with her somewhere, nowhere specific, just somewhere. She called him that morning and beamed with her normal energy as he answered the phone, surprisingly awake.
"Yeah?"
"Narumi-san! Don't forget lunch! We must have delicious obentous to munch on through the day!"
He sounded more silent and depressed than usual, which is very unusual in itself, "You mean YOU must have my food to steal and inhale throughout the day."
"Hey! That's not nice, Narumi-san!"
"Look, uh, I can't go. My grandparents came into town yesterday and they want me and Madoka to come over."
Hiyono's cheery, bubbly heart crashed to the hard wooden floor like an anvil. "Oh...that's okay, Narumi-san. Don't worry about it. I'll take a rain check."
"Yeah, allright." He sounded relieved, until Hiyono tightened her lips and struggled to keep her eyes open. Her breathing came in muffled heavy strains, she closed her mouth, trying not to let him hear it. Even through her efforts, she knew that he had heard. He stayed silent, the silence awkward and guilty. She knew he had heard her crying. Finally she whispered a goodbye through her coughs, her voice cracking at numerous points. She cursed herself for letting her voice crack while he answered her, "Yeah, okay. See you later then."
As he hung up, Hiyono broke down in tears. She knew he had seen her cry before, but this time was different. School had been stressful, her friends uncaring, and her homework overwhelming. She was really looking forward to that day. To a day spent with the person she cared about the most. The one she supported, the one she talked to, the one she admired, the one she revered, and the one she loved.
The reason she didn't want him to know her tears was simple in some ways, yet complicated in others. The other times she had cried in front of him were because of something else. The time she recalled was because of a movie. Hiyono Yuizaki was an incredible sap at movies, and she knew it, but there was nothing she could do about it. At that time, she didn't mind crying in front of him. This time, though, it was because of him that she was crying.
She didn't want him to know her pain. She didn't want him to see her struggle. She didn't want him to lay eyes on her tender broken soul. She was the one that had to be strong for him. She had to be his strength. She had to be the one that kept him up, to bring a smile to his face, to convince him he could do it when faced with a challenge he thought he couldn't.
Hiyono was the one he depended on, the one he looked to for help, the one who was always there for him. Though he didn't know it, she was his girl. Something else he didn't know was that she needed him more than he needed her.
Feeling guilty for making him feel guilty, Hiyono decided to pay him a visit. She put on her big beige coat and scrambled out the door, leaving a note for her parents, telling them where she went, though if she hadn't, they would already know where she was.
The girl with the thick maple hair tensed as she pushed the doorbell. A young woman with black hair answered the door, "Oh, it's you." She wore a black turtleneck under a light tan suit. She had her bag in hand, causing Hiyono to make the assumption that she was going to work, on a Saturday. The young woman paused, her eyes drifting to the floor, she knew that Hiyono was here for her younger brother-in-law. At the silence, Hiyono composed herself, covering her tear-stained face with her cheery facade, "Good morning, Madoka-san!"
Madoka looked up at Hiyono, trying to mask a smile before stepping out of the doorway, closing the door silently behind her. She whispered, "You're here for Ayumu, aren't you?" Hiyono nodded slightly, her maple-brown eyes straying to her shoes. Madoka's mouth twitched slightly as she began to explain.
"Yesterday, Ayumu came home at eleven o'clock, he could barely walk, it looked like something happened to his legs or something, because he could barely even limp. Also, he wouldn't speak, wouldn't cook, went straight to bed in his clothes without brushing his teeth, and he had a bloody bandage wrapped around his hand. I don't have any idea what happened to him and he won't tell me, but he was hobbling around the house at five o'clock in the morning in his boxers."
Hiyono could only stare at Madoka, losing all recognition that she was staring at anything at all. The astonished high schooler couldn't comprehend what her best friend's sister-in-law had just told her. She knew full well that Ayumu Narumi would never go to bed without brushing his teeth, let alone go to bed with a bloody bandage on his hand, he was just strangely neat like that. Another thing she knew that he would never ever do was to go around the house at five o'clock in the morning, on a Saturday, in his boxers. A well-known fact(at least by her) about her best friend was that he never walked around anywhere wearing only his boxers. He was too introverted to let anyone, even Madoka, see him like that. Hiyono wanted to burst through the door and demand that Ayumu tell her everything, but something else took her instead.
Hiyono sighed sorrowfully, which she never does, and tried to smile, "Thanks Madoka-san, I'll see you later, and tell Narumi-san to give me a call when he feels better!"
Madoka nodded, walking slowly past Hiyono and around the corner towards the elevator.
Hiyono stared at the door for what seemed like forever, almost wishing that Ayumu would open it, staring annoyingly at her but inviting her in for lunch like she was a starving puppy. Her eyes narrowed painfully, like she was hiding something under her eyelids, hoping no one would notice. Suddenly her lips twisted slightly, letting a small whine escape from her throat. Standing there, she felt like he could be looking straight at her from a window or the peephole in the door. Even if he couldn't see her, she knew he would hear her. She hadn't sung the song for weeks now. It would be nice after so long.
"Outside the window...
Kira kira kirari
A shooting star streaks...
Kira kira kirari
The moon glows brightly
Yura yura yurari
Napping so peacefully
In the ocean of the stars
Then somebody came along
And...and...Oh, Narumi-san!"
Hiyono collapsed to her knees in tears, sobbing drastically into her hands, her braided hair falling over her face.
Inside, a slow sad sigh came from silent lips. Sweat from a covered forehead coated chocolate bangs. He wore a cotton white tank, showing the slender bare arms that were now overlaid with deep purple bruises. Indeed, his right hand was bandaged with a bloody cloth, from his knuckles to his elbow. A pair of raddy sweatpants hung from his hips, almost unaware of the waistline of his black boxers showing from under the low-cut sweatpants.
He stood there uneasily, watching her from the peephole. His hair covered his depressing eyes, his mouth shifting into a struggling frown as he gulped sadly. Seeing her like this tore him apart. The fact was that he knew very well that she was trying to hide her pain from him. She was trying to be strong for his sake, yet he couldn't even tell her the truth about what happened to him. He didn't want her to worry about him. He didn't want to see her like that. He was too afraid of what she'd think if he told her. He was embarrassed, but this was worse than if he had told her.
The only thing that would comfort him even a little bit was if she would come back tomorrow afternoon and demand to know why he didn't tell her. When he wouldn't answer her, she would bring out her hand puppets and beat him over the head with them. It never hurt though, which was one of his secrets that he would never tell. This though, hurt ten times more than being rejected by Madoka, who was still obsessed with finding Kiyotaka.
Something else hurt him, though it wasn't nearly as bad and he was starting to get used to it. He hated it when she called him by his last name. Every time she said it it reminded him of his brother, who shared the same name. The first thing that everybody thought about when they heard his last name. In his eyes, the word 'Narumi' would always be a synonym for his brother's name. The best thing that she could ever do for him would be to call him by his first name, even if it was only once. Right now though, watching her, he felt like dying. She didn't want him to see her pain, and he didn't want to see it either.
Hiyono Yuizaki always had to carry the strength for both of them, the faith for both of them, and the happiness for both of them. He was always the one that was moping around, pitying himself, and she didn't even blink once. Her smile shown through everything, even though she had to carry his burdens on top of her own. Seeing her break like this made him want to burn a hole through his heart.
Even when he was at the edge of his reason, she literally slapped some sense into him. She knew exactly what would get him back on his feet. She even risked her life to help him into his right mind. Now here she was, on her knees, trembling on the ground, crying. It hurt him so much, but what hurt him more is that he couldn't bring himself to do anything.
After a few minutes he let himself fall back against the wall, closing his eyes and sighing heavily, "I'm sorry."
Ayumu just stood there, awkwardly and in pain, waiting for her to stand up and either leave or beg him to let her in. He hoped that she would leave because he wouldn't bring himself to let her see him like this, but a still small part of him hoped she would, he had an ache to see her eyes again, to make sure she'd be allright.
A few moments went by before she slowly stood up and stood at the door. She didn't knock and her hair fell over her face as she merely stroked her fingers over the painted wood of the door. She whispered something under her breath but he couldn't catch it. She slowly walked away after another few minutes. He had no idea it would hurt so much to watch her walk away.
Hiyono rubbed her eyes in an effort to wake up. She stood up and got dressed, hoping she would be early enough to catch her friend before he made breakfast. By this time her sorrow about Ayumu not telling her what happened to him subsided, though even after a few weeks he hadn't said a word about it. Everything had mostly resumed its normal routine. Except, she had decided that she would tell him today.
She rushed out the door, taking her empty stomach with her.
When Madoka Narumi opened the door, she smirked and pointed towards Ayumu's closed door. Hiyono snickered and walked into the house, tiptoeing up to his door and opening it slowly, trying not to let it creak. The brunette's sloppy sleeping form snored lowly, his blankets scattered halfway off the bed. Hiyono crept up silently and blared in his ear, "Wake up, Narumi-san!!"
Ayumu's eyes popped open, yelping as he fell off the bed, now wide awake. He propped himself on his elbows, his chin rested in his hand and the fingers of his other hand tapping the ground as he glared at her, groaning tiredly, "You, it's Sunday, at eight in the morning. What do you want?"
Hiyono smiled and raised her fist triumphantly, "I want your delicious gourmet home-made breakfast!" Ayumu groaned and glared at no one in particular, "Go figure."
Hiyono extended her hand to help him off the ground. Ayumu turned back towards Hiyono, still glaring, "First you blare in my ear with a megaphone that who knows where you stole it from, THEN you offer to help me off the ground to make you breakfast? What's with you?" Despite his words he accepted her hand and pulled himself up, letting her pull only half his weight so he wouldn't pull her over. When they walked out to the kitchen, Madoka had obviously already gone, leaving a note about how late she was already and that she needed to leave if she wanted to keep her job. Ayumu sniffed slightly and tossed the note aside as he took his apron out of the cabinet. Hiyono made herself at home in a chair at the table. She lacked her usual attitude, however, as she stared into space.
Ayumu stared at her for a moment, thinking that something might be up. He wanted to say something, but instead he took out a frying pan and began to heat it on the stove. As he opened the refrigerator door, she finally uttered two words, "Narumi-san...omelette."
Her speech puzzled him but he nodded and stirred a couple eggs around a bowl with a whisk. Deep down, he knew something was up. For her to ask for something so simple without any strings attached perplexed him, but he wasn't going to complain so he merely followed his order down to the neat fold in the omelette to make it decorative.
When he handed it to her she merely looked up and smiled at him, mouthing a 'thank you'. Now he knew for sure that something was wrong. He sighed and sat down, resting his chin in his hand, "Allright, what's going on?" She accidentally looked up at him once and quickly looked away. Ayumu's mouth twitched, his eyebrows furrowing together, forming what Hiyono loved to call 'twinkles'. After a minute of silence he studied her carefully, "Tell me, Hiyono."
Hiyono jerked back towards him, avoiding his eyes, "What do you mean?" Ayumu sighed and stood from his seat, walking over to her end of the table as she stiffened, as if she was scared of what he might do. He knelt down and tugged on one of her braids, whispering harshly, "Tell me why you're acting so strange or I'll take back the omelette." Finally forced to look into his eyes, she looked away and began to speak quietly. This was it. This one conversation could make her or break her. She couldn't hold it back any more, she had to say it.
"Narumi-san...would..." Hiyono closed her eyes tightly, "Would you go to homecoming with me? 'Cuz...I-" Her stomach clenched, knotting itself until she couldn't speak, but she had already come this far, she couldn't go back now. She might as well say it. "I really like you. There, I said it. I said it." Ayumu let her braid slip through his hand. For a moment he just stared at her. His stare was not quite blank, but had a slightly positive but expectant air. Slowly as he stood up she began to speak again, her old spark beginning to return to her voice, "I'm so glad I got that off my chest."
Ayumu blinked a few times, then sighed and stood up, his dark bangs covering his eyes. He walked back over to his chair and fell into it to the point that if the chair hadn't been there and he had fallen on the floor he wouldn't care one bit. He sighed heavily once more and turned his gaze to stare out the window. Hiyono stared at the floor, impatiently waiting for him to say something. She finally raised her eyes to look at him.
He was still staring out the window, but on his face a frown was plastered. Suddenly something in Hiyono's stomach stirred, what if he turned her down? What if he never thought of her as more than a burden after all?
His voice snapped her out of her thoughts. "I'll go." She looked at him, shocked that he actually agreed to go with her. He still had his head pointed towards the window, but his dark eyes stared right into hers. She smiled and began eating the omelette, staying silent for the rest of the visit. Hiyono desperately wanted to know if he liked her back, but he was never one to give straight answers, so she somewhat expected something like this.
After finishing the omelette, she stood up and smiled, gently put her hand on his shoulder as she was about to walk past him. He didn't turn to look at her, but his shoulder twitched. This was one of the first times she had actually shown an emotion like this one towards him. He couldn't place it. In all his knowlege of logic and everything else, he couldn't place this one moment that she looked down and smiled at him. The whole thing was too irrational to even consider using logic. The way she just stared at him without saying a word intrigued him, judging by how much she usually talked. After a long time only a few soft words exited her mouth, "I'll see you tomorrow, Narumi-san."
As she shut the door behind her, Ayumu sighed heavily, running his hands through his disheveled hair. After everything she had done in just two hours worth of time, he felt obligated to return her information with his own. But that would be the logical thing to do, and today defied all methods of logic and calculation.
She herself defied all methods of logic and calculation. Her food intake and the fact that she never gained a pound was alone completely devoid of any sense whatsoever. Her cheerful attitude and undying loyalty was another mystery he simply couldn't comprehend.
Among all her illogical behavior, today was off the scale. Today she had done something so unexpected yet expected at the same time, all manner of logic and science could never explain any of it. He finally stood up, pushing the wooden chair in and walking back to his sister-in-law's room. She wouldn't mind if he used her computer, or he wouldn't get in trouble if she never found out. He opened the door to her room and walked over to the computer, sitting down in a surprisingly comfortable chair. He stared at the mouse for a moment. Hiyono always did the computer work for him. He never had to do it. Now he had to try to make the computer work long enough for him to accomplish what needed to be done.
He clicked on the icon for instant messaging and signed in the screen name he never used but somehow remembered, it was something Hiyono picked out and he couldn't find anything better at the moment and couldn't care less, so he let it go. Now that he was actually using it, it began to bug him. As the buddy list popped up, as expected, Hiyono was on. He typed slowly, awkward with computers as he slowly plucked the keys, one by one.
ChefSociopath: hey guess who
XSoulMelody X: GASP!!!!! Narumi-san?!!!
ChefSociopath: yea...Hiyono? I gotta tell you something
To Be Concluded In Chapter Two...