I felt a hand over my mouth. My eyes shot open at the same time as my reflexes kicked in, slow from sleep. I lashed out with both my fists, unable to tell from which direction the hand had come.
"OOMPH." I recognize that groan, and I recognize the soft fingers that fell away from my face.
"Kano what the-" I started to say, speaking softly so as not to awaken Marry and Momo.
"Shhh." he said, his voice strained from pain. In my defense, the idiot deserved it. He should not have surprised me like that.
His hand reached beneath the covers and found mine, his fingers intertwining with mine. He pulled our hands out and tugged, pulling me towards him.
I understood what he wanted. He wanted me to get out of bed. I knew it was useless to ask; he wouldn't tell me the reason. He was annoying like that.
I kicked him (purposely) as I slid my legs out from underneath the covers. He fell over and let go of my hand. Good; his palm was sweaty.
"Get out." I said, poking his ribs with my foot. "I'm gonna change."
"Oh well then why don't I just stay here and- ERK." After a few seconds of pants and gasps, he croaked, "Okay, okay, I'm leaving." His sense of humor was terrible as always. Still, I rather like his crappy jokes. At the very least, it gives me a reason to punch him (and he gives me a lot of those reasons).
It took me less than a minute to change into something clean and comfortable, wearing my usual hoodie; the one Ayano gave me just before she died.
When I exited the room, he was waiting for me, leaning against the wall to the right of the door. He had a grin on his face, a grin I never trusted.
"Put this on," He said, holding out a blindfold. When I didn't move to take it, he was already behind me and starting to tie it around me head. I elbowed him in the stomach. He fell, making a loud thump as he hit the ground.
"Can't you fall quietly?" I said, not looking at him. "You'll wake the others." I glanced back at the hotel room I shared with Momo and Marry.
"Sorry, I was in a hurry to embrace the floor." I heard him get up, but didn't turn around to look at him. I felt his hands near the back of my head again and had to resist the urge to use my elbow as I listened to him explain; "I have a surprise for you. Trust me." For some reason, some stupid, unidentifiable reason that I'm probably going to regret later, I did. I let him slip the blindfold over my eyes and tie it around my head, shrouding vision in darkness.
I heard the shuffling of his long jacket as he moved around me. He took my right hand and held it up, guiding it to his shoulder. My left hand soon followed.
"One step at a time now." he said, leading me slowly forward. The ground was relatively smooth where we walked; nice and carpeted. "One foot in front of the other."
I dug my fingernails into his shoulder. "I know how to walk, idiot."
"Ow ow ow okay! Okay!" I heard him chuckling, that annoying but kind of cute chuckle I love. It made me want to slap him.
A moment later he said, his left hand reaching up to meet mine, "Careful, doorway." The door creaked open and he stepped forward. "One step forward, then step over the ledge." he said.
The carpeted ground beneath my feet disappeared, replaced by a cold tile. That was when I realized I was barefoot. "I need my shoes." I said, sliding my right hand off of his shoulder. He held on to my left, even when I dug my nails in and whacked his spine with the back of my free hand.
"Don't worry." he said with a small cough. He continued taking my down the hallway. I didn't try to take the blindfold off or to pull my other hand away. I blindly followed him down the corridor.
He pulled my hand off his shoulder and turned around, gently pushing me back by my shoulders. The back of my knees pressed against something and I fell, landing on some sort of bench.
I wanted to kick him. He could have warned me there was a bench there.
Before I could lift my foot, he had grabbed my ankle. What the hell was this idiot doing?
"Today, you get to be Cinderella." he said. I didn't have to look at him to know he was smiling at me. He was probably wearing that little smile that made his eyes ten times brighter. I loved that smile, but there was no way in hell I would ever tell him (or anyone else) that.
He slipped something on my feet, first on the right, then on the left. I heard his fingers moving as he tied the laces of my converse. When had he taken my shoes?
His hand found mine again and his fingers wrapped around the palm of my right hand. His left hand did the same and he pulled me up, leading me down the rest of the hallway the same way as before.
"Elevator." he said as the same time as a small "ding" sound signified the arrival of the metal coffin.
The downward motion of the elevator made me sick (as always). I hated elevators, but I knew I wouldn't be able to walk downstairs blindfolded and I figured he wouldn't let me take it off, even though it was useless to wear it. I knew what the damn hallways and the stairs look like. No surprise there.
He led me all the way outside, straight out the front doors of the hotel. The door man said something in French but I couldn't understand. I wasn't listening when he repeated it in English.
The first thing I noticed was the stench of someone smoking. Same as Japan, you could not walk three meters here without someone blowing smoke in your face.
The second thing that caught my attention was the presence of so many people. I hated large crowds of people. They rarely seemed to notice me, but it was much harder to disappear when anyone could walk into you at any moment (and it was always awkward when someone did).
Kano continued to walk ahead of me, leading me through the crowds. Surprisingly, we didn't run into anyone. Either we were really lucky or he was making an effort to steer me away from people.
The trek was long and perilous. There were many moments where I nearly tripped. The ground outside was not smooth like the carpeted and tiled ground of the hotel. There were small rocks and ledges at random intervals. Each time, Kano caught me. Each time, I dug my nails into his shoulders, annoyed that he was bringing me out without being able to see. I could feel him flinch beneath my fingers. Good, he deserved it.
"Jump up." he said. "I'll catch you."
He didn't have to explain any further. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and jumped. As he promised, he caught my legs, wrapping his skinny arms around my knees. His waist was thinner than I thought. My legs wrapped around easily.
He took a step forward. I felt the downward motion and knew we were on an escalator. "Hey," I said. "You should hold on to the sides. It's dangerous." I clung to him tighter to signify that I didn't need his support.
He didn't move. "I'll never let you go." he said. His tone of voice was more serious than I had ever heard coming from his stupid mouth. I didn't dig my nails in this time.
I bounced with each of his steps once we got off the escalator. He was walking slowly but I still felt a jolt every time his feet hit the ground. There were people near us. They bumped into me every few seconds, breaking our invisible shield. I'm sure they gave us really strange looks, wondering why I was blindfolded. I wanted to shrink, to disappear from Kano's back.
He tilted his head to one side, resting his cheek on my arm. I heard him whisper, "It's alright. We're going to be there soon."
I stayed on his back until he stopped. I tried to unwrap my arms but he didn't let go of my legs. "Wait a little longer." he said. He still didn't move. I slipped a little but he adjusted and kept me up.
I heard the voices of people moving around us and the shuffling of clothing as someone walked right in front of us. We were still in a crowded place. And the crowded place smelled like a hundred sweaty people.
Something was approaching us, something fast, very fast. It was closing the distance between us and it, whatever it was. It created a strong wind blowing towards me. I felt as though I would be blown away from Kano's back.
A hissing sound acted as a starting pistol. Kano walked forward a few steps before pausing and stepping onto something.
He spoke to someone in a language I didn't understand. Assuming we're still in Paris, he must have been speaking French. Another voice spoke back and he turned around.
I felt him lower me and my butt hit a seat at the same time as a loud buzzer sounded. His presence disappeared from near me as the seat (and me with it) lurched backwards. My back hit a cold, hard wall. I lurched right and hit someone. "Sorry," I muttered, quickly leaning to the left.
The backwards, forwards, right, and left motions made me sick. I was in some sort of moving vehicle, one with other people. Am I sitting in a bus? Why would I be sitting in a bus?
Where the hell was he taking me?
More importantly, where the hell was that damned, useless idiot? I could no longer feel his presence near me. I know he wouldn't leave me behind, blindfolded and lost but I couldn't help stressing when he wasn't next to me. He was the thin (but strong) door between me and anxiety. He was the only one who really understood me; the only one I could really trust to protect me. NOT THAT I NEED PROTECTION OR ANYTHING. I DON'T. I'M TOTALLY FINE WITHOUT HIM. HE'S USELESS ANYWAYS. HE'S JUST AN IDIOT.
A voice coming from a speaker above me announced something, a word; a location. The person next to me stood up and moved away. The hissing sound came again, followed by new voices. Someone sat next to me. Their hand gently touched my arm. "It's me." Kano said, leaning against me. His head rested on my shoulder. I felt somewhat comforted.
The buzzer signified the return of the hissing. The vehicle lurched forward again.
"We're going to be there soon." he said. "Next Metro stop."
I couldn't hear the announcement over the sound of the wheels grinding on the tracks, but we finally at the mysterious destination.
I held out my arms and he took my hands, wrapping them around his neck. He picked me up effortlessly and carried me out as the buzzer sound warned the passengers that the doors were going to close. I knew people were giving us strange looks as we walked past them and I hated it. I hated being carried. I hated being in crowded places. And, for a second, I hated Kano. Where was he bringing me that I couldn't see the way to? Why did he have to be so damn embarrassing?
He carried me around a bit and then up an escalator before letting me down. 'The rest of the way is really short." he said, resting his cheek on my arm before leading me forward.
People milled around us, some speaking English, some speaking Spanish and Arabic, most speaking French. Shutter sounds from cameras were all around us. We must have been going through a tourist hotspot.
The air was cold and whipped my hood off my head, only hanging on a little bit because of the bandana. I didn't dare let go of Kano to fix it. With so many people around, I didn't want to lose him.
A person bumped into me. "Pardon!" a voice said, right next to me ears. "Je ne tais pas vu!"
"Pas de problème." Kano said in a very heavy Japanese accent. When did he learn French? I couldn't even understand what the person said; let alone respond.
The wind was really cold. I shivered, my hands shaking on Kano's shoulders. I didn't want him to see me, but I couldn't let go. I clutched his shoulders tighter, trying to hide the fact that my hands were shaking.
It didn't work. He reached up and covered my hands with his. "We're almost there."
He was right. We stopped less than a minute later. There were less people where we stood. It was much easier to disappear. Kano let go of my hands, and stepped away. I heard fabric rustling as he took off the long jacket that Ayano had given him and moved behind me, draping it over my shoulders. Before I could protest, he was untying the blindfold.
"Keep your eyes closed until I tell you to open them, alright?' he said, speaking right into my ear. I nodded, then elbowed him, in the stomach, hard. "OOF." I heard him crumple to the ground behind me. "What... was that... for?" he gasped.
"You're a pain." I responded. He is; he really is. He woke me up in the middle of the night, blindfolded me, and brought me all the way here without telling me anything. He totally deserved it.
When the blindfold slipped off my eyes, the first thing I noticed was the sun. It was so bright in comparison to the darkness of the black fabric he'd tied around my head. It had been dark in my room, but the blinds had been pulled. Had it been sunny when we left? What time was it anyways? How long had we been gone? Wouldn't the others be worried? Of course this idiot wouldn't have thought ahead; he's too stupid to realize the others will freak out if we disappear without telling them.
He got up faster than usual. Maybe his stomach has hardened after all the hits it's taken. I need to find a new place to punch.
He walked around me and took my hand, leading me forward. "Open your eyes."
I did.
His smiling face greeted me. His eyes are bright with excitement and something else... Something I've seen before, but only when he's around me...
Behind him, a river gently meanders, the crystal clear water splashing up the cement sides. A boat slowly sails across the dark water with a few passengers standing on the bow. They were waving at someone on the bridge. A tall middle aged woman in a long black and blue dress waved back with her left hand while snapping pictures with her right.
On the bridge's railing were many, many, MANY padlocks. I can't imagine why someone would want to lock the railing of a bridge; it's not going anywhere.
Kano kept smiling at me.
"What?' I asked.
"You should leave your hood down more often; you're really beautiful when you let people see you."
My face became hot. I don't like it. I want to punch him but I'm conflicted. Can I punch him for complimenting me or should I just ignore it? Or should I say something? This is why I don't like dealing with people.
I punched him, but not as hard. I punched him again (much harder) when he commented on my strength. That time, he was literally asking for it. He doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut.
When he got back up from kneeling on the ground (in pain, I presume), he took my hand. His bony fingers intertwined with mine. He turned to look at the bridge and I followed his gaze to the overload of locks.
"I read about this in a tourist guide." he started. I'm surprised he knows how to read. "Couples go to bridges and add padlocks to the railings." He stopped, offering no further explanation. Had he really brought me here to look at a locked, tourist-attracting bridge?
I looked up at him. He was staring at me, waiting for me to ask a certain question. I knew what he wanted, but I was tempted to stay silent; see what he would do then.
"Why?" I asked, giving in out of curiosity.
"To seal their love. To make sure they'll always love each other and always stay together." He reached behind him, locking his eyes on mine. He pulled a small padlock and two keys on individual chains. He took one of the keys and slipped the chain over head. The key clinked against the zipper of my jacket. He pulled the other chain over his head with one hand. He held the lock out to me. There were two "K"s engraved on it. "Will you love me forever, like I love you?" he asked. His facial expression fluctuated from calm to anxious. He was trying to conceal how he felt, but his eye ability wasn't working very well.
He is really, truly, absolutely a complete, total, utter idiot.
I took the open padlock from his hand and turned it over. It was really heavy and definitely engraved by hand. This must have been very expensive.
I glanced at the bridge. There was a small spot of railing that was free of padlocks. I knelt down in front of it and hooked the padlock on it, then looked up at him.
This is the idiot I love. This is the stupid, nervous, golden-haired boy I've spent many years of my life learning to love. I'm willing to spend more years with him.
"Together?" I asked.
He grinned, his true face shining in the Paris sun. "Together." he said, his tone conveying a promise.
His hands closed over mine. In perfect sync, we closed the padlock.
We would always wear our keys, even on our wedding day, but neither of us would unlock the padlock. We would go to Paris many times and see our lock, but neither of us would remove it. And we would always, always love each other and always, always remain together.