Waiting
The moonlight shone through the window, bathing one corner of the dark room in a heavenly aura and illuminating the raven hair of a young girl residing in the room in multiple shades of blue.
She sat on the windowsill; on top of a velvet throw, her legs pulled up to her chest and her arms wrapped around them. She stared up at the moon, a shining pearl in the midst of a dark sky, her eyes glittering in its light in sheer desperation. And it was there in the small hours of the night that she wished, and prayed, and hoped that he would return.
The young girl's name was Reiko Kanazuki, Gothic Lolita and vice president of the Black Magic club although more importantly in love with a certain blond martial arts master with a- ahem- hobby of eating sweet things.
Mitsukuni Haninozuka or rather 'Honey' had been the object of the dark girl's affections for quite some time, ever since she'd first lay eyes on him one hot summer day; it was love at first sight.
But of course the strange and somewhat awkward girl had mistaken her love for the loli-shota for the ridiculous notion that Honey had stolen her soul therefore leading to her several attempts of 'cursing' him for his soul -or rather affections; all of which were futile. In the end with the help of Honey and his friends she finally realised that she loved him however whether or not these feelings were returned was a mystery.
Reiko breathed in deeply; taking in the sweet smell of incense that regularly wafted about the room; letting it calm her frantic heart beat and relax her rigid body then breathed out in a long, despairing sigh. Slowly she uncurled herself from a ball and stretched, feeling her aching muscles contract and loosen before stepping off the windowsill.
In the light of the moon the raven haired girl was a sight to behold; she was adorned in a Victorian nightdress made of the finest cotton and imported straight from England. The dress was of the purest of white contrasting with the soulful darkness of her eyes, its sleeves long and elegant ended at Reiko's wrists, her neck and chest was exposed but any sign of cleavage was hidden by ruffles of stretchy material which cut just below her chest. The dress flowed down to her mid-calf then stopped, puffing out slightly while her long hair travelled past her shoulders to the middle of her back; completely straight not even a hair out of place. It was as if she was some sort of celestial being sent down from the heavens themselves to bring light in this gloomy room.
Reiko walked towards the wardrobe at the side of the room gracefully, her dress swaying around her showing off the smooth creamy skin of her legs. She stopped in front of the wardrobe, allowing herself a second to admire the elegant shape and dark oak colour, it was quite an old wardrobe; she had purchased it at a charity shop along with the majority of her other furniture much to her father's displeasure as he was a proud man of incredible wealth and did not want people to know one of his children buying their furniture from something as absurd as a charity shop. He had tried to convince her countless of times to buy furniture of a much higher quality though she did not care to buy something of such a great price for little mystique.
Her father reluctantly let it slide as Reiko was a very obedient daughter and did not cause any trouble compared to her siblings who were always creating some ruckus or other. Even her older sister was very troublesome when it came to her job.
Reiko shook her head, blinking a few times; she was getting distracted. She'd become much more out of touch with people, less intact with the world and more 'away with fairies' as the Irish saying goes, although, it wasn't as if anybody noticed.
Reiko was quiet by nature, being taught to never talk unless addressed to when she was younger and in result it had always been hard for her to talk to people freely, being able to laugh at people's jokes or simply being in someone's presence had always been somewhat challenging especially when they expected her to contribute to a conversation. It was probably the reason why she liked the Black Magic club so much; they understood her problems and were content to let her be herself even if that meant she barely talked to them.
Mitsukuni on the other hand had been another story; even though he just let her be herself the majority of the time they'd been acquainted, he did encourage her to talk more although he wasn't harsh about it as her father is. He'd left hints that he wanted her to talk more and she had, briefly; she could see it made him pleased to see her actually expressing herself for once.
Maybe that's why he left so easily? He didn't want anything to do with her anymore? She didn't blame if he did; what self- respecting boy- no… man- would want to associate with such a dark, emotionless girl? It would be a complete waste of time; an encounter were he would look back and cringe in remorse and annoyance, wondering why did he ever bother with her? She's not even good-looking.
Reiko bit her lip and stared at herself in the mirror, studying her reflection; her hair was long and straight, the colour that of a raven's feathers, her eyes black and reflective, her lips red and plump. She supposed she was OK, not beautiful; she was too shady by society's standards to be considered as alluring and lovely as her sisters. But at least she was- what? Pretty? Admirable?
Dark beauty.
Reiko let out a breath, staring into her reflection's eyes; seeing the sadness there slowly being overtaken by grief.
You're a dark beauty Reiko.
Reiko swallowed thickly, hearing her mother's laughter ringing in her ears. It was almost as if she was in the room with her, brushing back her hair and tucking her bangs behind her ears. She felt the warmth of her mother's arms around her and the ache in her heart clenched in pain. Reiko closed her eyes, feeling a sob crawl up her throat.
She was taken back to the time when her mother had first uttered those words. She was a child then and her mother had been brushing her hair in order for Reiko to look presentable at the garden party that had been going on outside her parent's bedroom window. It was a beautiful spring day, with the sun shining in the room and lighting up the extravagant room. Reiko had been sitting in front of her mother's dressing room table, watching her mother in the mirror lovingly brush her hair with her other hand following the brush to stroke her strands.
Reiko had been wearing a wonderful dress much simpler compared to the dresses she usually wore at parties -or 'balls' as her grandmother had called them- it was a dark purple that complimented her pale skin wonderfully and was styled in a fashion that looked similar to the dresses of the old films her and her grandfather used to watch.
You're a dark beauty Reiko.
Her mother had laughed before wrapping her arms around her shoulders and resting her head on the curve of her neck. Her eyes warm and tender, glowing with love looking back at her in the mirror.
Don't ever forget that okay?
Reiko opened her eyes and looked at the ghost of her mother in the mirror. Her mother was in the same position like in her memory; arms around her, head on her shoulder, eyes affectionate but …. She wasn't leaning over this time. Reiko felt the pain in her heart ease.
I miss you, she thought. So much.
Her mother showed no sign that she heard her, continuing to smile at her in the mirror…. But wait….was her smile bigger? Her mother's lips were curved upwards and her eyes seemed to shine brighter; her mother looked…much more vibrant than before. Her hair ticking her neck, Reiko felt her mother's arms tighten around her; squeezing her comfortingly.
I love you Reiko. Wherever you go, whatever you do, I'll always love you. You know that don't you?
A noise startled Reiko, snapping her out of her dazed state and making her whip round, staring into the darkness of her room. It was completely silent, only the sound of her breathing and the pounding of heart shattered the silence. She scanned her room, starting from the farthest corner of the room to her door. Her gaze swept past her four poster bed its curtains not yet drawn, her unlit fire place, her pentacle cloth above her alter were her candles flickered casting shadows on the walls, her laptop which was perched on her desk, her built in bookcases, her furniture such as chairs and tables scattered about the room, until her eyes rested on her door.
It was probably one of the servants, or her siblings maybe even her step-mother if she was having another one of her migraines. Reiko paused in her thoughts of the flamboyant woman to let a ghost of a smile bless her lips.
Most likely.
Whoever it was they wouldn't be able to get into her room, she'd made sure not even the maids could enter to clean her room without her consent first considering she'd set up a medieval lock on the door and only Reiko had the only key which she kept with her at all times.
Although it hadn't stopped her step-mother; Reiko had caught the woman on numerous occasions climbing through her bedroom window- which was on the fifth floor of the estate- for a 'girly chat' when in reality she was actually trying to plant a couple of pretty dresses in her wardrobe.
Her step-mother was a very eccentric woman and young too; only being twelve years her senior but appeared to be much younger as her childishness was astounding however she was a good woman who clearly cared for her father, herself and her brothers and sisters. She surprisingly -being the fact they were complete opposites of one another- got on well with her older sister as there was hardly an age gap between them. It was the same with the rest of her siblings although with Reiko she tried harder than all of her siblings put together; she was very kind and loving and did her best to understand her even though she didn't share the same interests as Reiko but she tried; she got tickets to Reiko's favourite bands, went to Reiko's favourite bookshop/café with her, accompanied her to the movies when a particularly interesting horror movie came out and even paid visits at the Black Magic Club. All in all she was a great woman although she could never replace her moth-
Reiko eyes widened in realisation; she could feel the heat draining out of her. Her mother's words echoed in her ears.
I love you Reiko. Wherever you go, whatever you do, I'll always love you. You know that don't you?
How could she have forgotten something so wonderful? Reiko turned to look in the mirror hoping to see if her mother was still there. Her heart sunk; it was just her reflection in the mirror.
It hadn't have been the first her mother had appeared to her; it seems whenever Reiko crisis of some sort, her mother would appear to comfort her. When her mother died she was there, when Reiko's father was about to be remarried she was there, when Reiko started High School she was there and when Reiko had finally realised she loved Mitsukuni yet again her mother was there.
Now it happened once more. Some people would say it was psychological; that Reiko was subconsciously reviving her mother's memory in her times of need but Reiko wasn't 'some people' she knew it was her mother or rather her mother's spirit coming back to let her know everything was going to be okay, there was nothing to worry about.
As if to prove her statement her laptop chinged; alerting her of a message that had been received. Reiko looked over at her laptop curiously, wondering who it could be but also sort of knowing who it would be. She crossed the room to her desk, feeling the front of her nightgown flow around her legs and sat down on her wooden desk chair, flipping open her laptop and turning it on.
Truthfully she hadn't had a laptop before; she'd only bought one in order to stay in contact with Mitsukuni, other than that it was of complete uselessness to her although she'd now been able to chat with the Black Magic club more often in debates such as spells and curses.
The screen lit up followed by an alert, notifying her that there was a new email in her inbox. She guided the arrow over to the alert then clicked on it. She waited; in a matter of seconds the laptop had finished loading and her screen opened up to her inbox. There next to the unopened email in crisp, bold letters was the name: Mitsukuni Haninozuka.
Reiko felt her heart skip a beat. Warmth flooded her cheeks and she quickly opened the email. Her screen exploded into a series of sentences, exclamation points, question marks and emoticons; all courtesy of Mitsukuni.
Her heart pounding in her chest, Reiko took a deep breath and began to read.
Hiya Reiko-chan! ^_^
How've you been? Takashi and I have been really busy at the university lately so has the rest of the Host Club; we've still got to make up for the trip to Barcelona to meet the girl Nanako-chan, who Kyo-chan had to entertain until his brother Akito arrived in Spain. You remember me telling you about that don't you?
Reiko smiled slightly; she did remember him telling her about his adventure to Barcelona. She'd been quite annoyed that Mitsukuni had been even farther away from her than he was before in Boston but by the time he'd told her he was already on the plane back.
Takashi still won't let me take Usa-chan to university with me. Which upsets me and he won't even let me eat as much cake as I used to; I've been cut down to five cakes a day! WAHHH!
Reiko stopped herself from snorting with laughter; Mitsukuni was still so much like a child. She supposed that was one of things that she first loved about him; he was being himself and for Reiko- a girl who could never really be her true self so openly- it was inspiring.
There is good news though! We all went trick or treating this Halloween for the first time and we all got lots and lots of yummy sweets! The Host Club even gave me some of theirs especially Kyo-chan; he gave me all his sweeties 'cuz he doesn't like sweets ^_^ Usa-chan and I are still not finished them!
Reiko smile grew as she read the sentence; she was glad he was having fun.
It's 2 O'clock here-
Reiko glanced at her clock; the numbers glowing bright red stated it was 3:09 AM. Considering Boston was 13 hours behind Reiko calculated it was about- like Mitsukuni said- 2:09 PM in Boston.
-and I didn't have anything to do so I thought I might as well write to Reiko-chan! I knew you'd be up about this time!
Reiko couldn't stop herself from bursting into a wide grin.
I'm sorry I haven't written in a long time Reiko-chan! I hope you don't hate me D8 I don't want Reiko-chan to be angry with me (;_;) Especially since I left her in such short notice! Reiko-chan must've been upset huh? Or was Reiko-chan just lonely?
Reiko froze in disbelief, her grin slowly disappearing off her lips; how, how did he know?
I can't believe it's been seven months since I last saw you Reiko-chan! It must be hard on you! I know it's hard on me, nobody- not even Haru-chan - likes hot chocolate and cake together:( It makes me miss all the times we had lunch together and of course, I miss you the most! Not a day goes by that I haven't thought of you, Reiko-chan.
Reiko felt her heart flutter; why did he make her feel this way? This was him practically torturing her.
But in all seriousness Reiko-chan please don't be lonely or upset okay~ it'll give you wrinkles! Usa-chan and I don't want you to have wrinkles; you're too young and pretty for that!
Reiko blushed; he'd never really complimented her before….well not her looks at least.
I know it'll be a while until we see each other again Reiko-chan but it'll fly in, I promise! I'll be counting down the days Reiko-chan. You wanna know why?
Reiko leaned in towards the screen, wondering what he had to tell her.
I can't tell you yet, but I can give you a hint.
Reiko raised an eyebrow in curiosity.
It has something to do with my soul. I think you can figure it out right Reiko-chan?
Reiko flushed bright red; it couldn't be true…could it?
I'll tell you properly when we next see each other. Until then Reiko-chan… wait for me?
Love Mitsukuni.
Reiko felt tears form in her eyes and had to cover her mouth with her hand to stop herself from heaving sobs as she felt the tears pour out and roll down her cheeks. Of course she would; she would wait for him. She would wait for as long as it took; even if it took an eternity.
In that dark, gloomy room in the early morning, with her candles flickering and the moonlight shining through the window, Reiko felt- no she knew- her prayers had been answered. Her mother appearing and Mitsukuni's email had proven this.
Warmth flooded Reiko and joy filled her heart. Reiko let out a shaky breath.
He'd be home soon.