A/N: Guess who's back? :D I did say that I will write this during sem break but I couldn't wait, so... yeah. This time it came out pretty satisfying. I think I've grown quite a bit throughout the years when I was missing in action... Eheheh.
On another note, congratulations to the Vocaloid section for being in the top three in Misc! Our forces are growing stronger XD
Anyway, hope you'll enjoy this little sequel-y thing! :)
I look and see the blue sky reigning above. Wind blows into the classroom and plays with my hair. Sitting right next to the window, it cannot be helped that my hair keeps getting messed up by the wind. My gaze rests on the Sun of my life. The wind is ruffling his red hair too. He looks beautiful today.
Speaking of the Sun, I must not forget Mikuo. I do not know if Pitiful Teal-Teal is really gone, but Mikuo is back for now, and I do not care for other possibilities. Yes, as long as Mikuo is here, the Sun will be happy. And seeing the Sun happy will make me happy too.
It is because I love the Sun. He is the Sun of my life after all. How can I not love him?
Although my love for him differs from how the Sun and Mikuo love each other. I do not know what the Sun means to me in the way humans would perceive. A handful said it is a lover thing, another lot said it is friendship. I myself believe that it is something much deeper. I cannot live without the Sun; he has become a necessity in my life. I need him, but he does not have much need for me. Therefore I call him the Sun.
But, secretly, I call him my Sun.
The Sun might have shone on someone else other than me. Mikuo. Yes, I see that clearly now. The Sun shines warmly and generously on Mikuo, and Mikuo does what little he can manage for now in return. How beautiful that is.
I wish I can do something for the Sun too. How much I wished that the Sun would depend on me sometimes! But that is simply folly. Just as a patient is helpless to repay the life-support which has sustained his life, likewise I am helpless to be of use to the Sun.
I turn my gaze towards Mikuo. I like seeing him change little by little, in unexpected ways. He did not return to wearing wigs or contact lenses after he came back, and nowadays I can begin to see a twinkle in his eyes. It is a nice little sparkle, and I am sure that is what captured the Sun's heart back when it was barely visible. Perhaps back then one can only catch a glimpse of it when one is very close to Mikuo.
People think that I am jealous of Mikuo, but that is not the case. In fact, I am thankful for him. I know for one that the Sun was quite lonely, even if he did not look like it, and Mikuo brought happiness and love to him. Mikuo was as much a saviour to the Sun as the Sun was to him. I cannot wait to see more great things coming from them.
"Sakine-kun, please come up and answer this question."
Ah, Mathematics. The balance of logic and nonsense everyone seems to complain about. I stand up and stride towards the board. I take the chalk in hand and scratch out the answer, figure by figure, step by step.
I finish my task and walk back to my seat.
"Thank you. Now… Shion-kun, can you answer the next question?"
The Sun… I watch as he blinks and rapidly switches his gaze between board and book. "Uh…" He stands up awkwardly and walks to the front of the class. He scribbles his answer on the board hurriedly and goes back to his seat.
The teacher sighs and corrects his answer.
I smile and spend my time looking at the interaction between the Sun and Luki sitting beside him. Luki seems to be confused about how the Sun could make a mistake like that.
The bell rings, signalling that school is over for today. Time goes by so quickly sometimes. I stand up, ready to leave, when Luki calls out to me.
"Meito! Don't forget, we're meeting up after Akaito's done cleaning the classroom."
I smile at him and walk out of the classroom. It is already understood that I get the message, because I always do this. I have to get to Meiko before she goes home. She does not wait around after classes, so I have to hand my bag over to her to take home before she leaves. I do not like to bring unnecessary things with me.
"Meiko," I call her name as soon as I catch her walking out of her classroom.
"You're going out again?" Meiko, used to my behaviour, asks.
I nod, handing my things to her. "Sorry."
"It's nothing." She smiles. "Say hello to the gang for me."
I nod again.
"See you later." She turns around and leaves.
"Bye-bye," I reply. She likes it when I say 'bye-bye'.
She waves a hand. I then turn and go back to my classroom to wait for the Sun. I arrive at the classroom to find Mikuo waiting outside too.
Mikuo sees me and smiles a bit. "Hi."
"Hello." I watch the Sun move about, sweeping the floor.
"You… really like him, don't you?" Mikuo's attempts at small talk are also one of the changes he had made. It was poor-average, but it was good progress. After all, not many people try to start a conversation with me.
"I love him," I tell him.
"… Oh."
"Not to worry. I do not love him the way you do." I do not mind explaining this to Mikuo. He is a bit slow, since he just started poking out of his shell. It feels nice to take care of people who are just starting out.
"But I heard them saying-"
"Would you trust the words of others rather than words I say myself?" I give him a concerned look. This mind set may be troublesome in his relationships with people.
"I just… don't want you to be too hard on yourself…"
"I do not have such concerns." I smile kindly at him. "I am, as you can see, not skilled in the area of being too hard on myself."
"Oh." Mikuo smiles a little. "That's great, then…"
"You love the Sun a lot, that much I can see. But I am concerned. If you widen your circle of friends, would you find someone whom you love even more?" That is the only worry I have of them. I do not wish to see the Sun get lonely again, especially not after he has obtained so much happiness.
Mikuo falls silent. It is understandable. I have asked a hard question.
I continue to watch the Sun. He looks like he is almost done with his duties.
Soon enough, the Sun joins us. "Sorry for the wait! Let's go get the others."
We walk in the direction of the school gates, where everyone else is waiting. Mikuo is apparently still thinking about the question I asked him. He looks troubled. I begin to wonder if I really should have asked him that question.
"What's wrong, Mikuo?" The Sun has finally noticed something wrong with Mikuo.
"Ah, it's nothing… Just thinking about something." Mikuo's reply irks me. Why does he keep doing that? Why does he love to keep things to himself? I cannot understand such decisions, especially about serious things like the question I asked.
"C'mon, you can't fool me. Tell me." The Sun presses.
"Not now…" Mikuo answers. Perhaps I have asked a bigger question than I thought. I sigh, catching their attention.
"Do you know anything, Meito?" The Sun turns to me. I smile. He knows how to get around; that part of him never fails to amaze me.
Mikuo looks nervous now. He stares at me, shaking his head ever so slowly.
"I suppose I might," I answer, receiving a glare more intense than the last from Mikuo.
The Sun does not answer. He simply looks at me, expecting me to go on and tell him what happened.
In a flash, I know what to do. I do not fancy just telling the truth and making them all troubled. That would not solve anything. I gaze at the Sun, and lift a hand. The Sun looks puzzled. My hand gently touches his face, making him jump, and slowly guides his face close to mine.
"W-What are you doing?" The Sun's breath falls on my face.
"Akaito," I whisper his name, attempting to make things look significant. My calling the Sun by his name should mean something important.
"Wait, Meito, this isn't-"
"STOP!"
Mikuo's voice rings throughout the empty hallway.
I turn to him, dropping my hand. The Sun looks surprised as he faces Mikuo also.
Mikuo walks briskly up to me. "Why are you doing this, Meito? You know that I'm Akaito's boyfriend, so how could you just... k-kiss him like that? We haven't even done that ourselves! And you say that you don't like him that way?! I don't believe it and I never will! Don't come near-"
I laugh, interrupting his sudden burst of emotion. "I do not understand," I say, still laughing. "I truly do not understand."
"I'm the one who isn't understanding a thing, Meito," The Sun says, staring at Mikuo in amazement.
Mikuo's face grows red. "I-I'm not... That wasn't..." He panics for a bit, then mumbles in a whisper of a voice, "I didn't mean to talk like that... I didn't know what came over me... I'm sorry. That wasn't me, I swear. I didn't mean to do that. Please don't hate me. I'm sorry..."
The Sun, although not knowing anything, is quick to put an arm around Mikuo. "No one is going to hate you for that, Kuo. You don't have to apologise."
Mikuo's eyes start to water. "But you hated me when I tried to be popular..."
The Sun wipes away the tears still in Mikuo's eyes. "This is different, see? Besides, I already told you. I will support you if you want to be more outgoing and active, but only if that's the true you, not some quick change in character. I want to see you grow into that character, okay?"
Mikuo nods a bit, then blushes, perhaps in embarrassment.
The Sun looks to me. "Now what was going on just now, Meito?" His voice is stern, something I am not used to. It makes me feel uncomfortable. A bit angry, even. Or is it sadness?
All the same, I do as I have planned. I speak, not to the Sun, but to Mikuo. "I do not understand, Mikuo. If you are so quick to defend your relationship, what do you have to worry about?" I have a knowing smile on my face, letting him catch on what I am implying. Mikuo is a smart child; he will get it soon enough.
And he did. His eyes widen, then he smiles a beautiful, innocent smile. "So that's what you're trying to do..."
"Yes." I confirm his words. I have attempted to kiss the Sun on purpose, to induce a reaction from Mikuo. Mikuo did well. He probably did not have the time to be nervous as he quickly reacted. The reaction itself was priceless. In that one moment, Mikuo, the quiet person who did not dare to speak others' names, actually shouted and called our names with no problem. If he was willing to jump to that extent for the Sun's sake, I have little to doubt his love for the Sun.
"What ARE you guys talking about?" The Sun asks, still hopelessly clueless.
I smile again. "That will be our little secret."
I look forward to seeing more great things coming from these two. They influence and change each other so very much.
A/N: Typed this without a lot of proofreading, which I do quite a lot when I write on paper, so if something doesn't make sense then it's understandable... Thanks for reading! Hope to update soon!
