Just Breathe
~Natsu~
A/N: This part really seems to drag a bit to me, but I had to explain it all before anything major can happen. I promise the next part will be more exciting. One note…I know that in Japan most people are…Buddhist? Is that right? Well, whatever it is, I don't know enough about it to actually include that religion in a fic, so…to stop me making a fool of myself, in this fic, everyone is Christian. Okay? No offence meant, nothing implied, it's just for the sake of argument. I've never written anything like this before, and I just know it's gonna turn out crap. I think I've been playing too much Final Fantasy and watching too much Gundam Wing, you know…
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Basic idea:
The World's at War. This is kind of a 'what if' fic, like what if somewhere really got blown up during the Cuban missile crisis and it caused a third world war. There's civil war in Japan, with two sides; the Kágè Senshii and the Tetsú Senshii. That's about it really. Hope you're not too confused .'She knows the human heart
And how to read the stars
Now everything's about to fall apart
I won't be the one who's going to let you down
The trick is to keep breathing'
~Garbage
Ishida Yamato was known for his short temper. It was common knowledge among the agents working under him that it was in your best interest to stay on his good side. As some soldiers would snidely remark after he had left a room, "Never had a fucking temper to lose in the first place". Maybe it was hereditary; Takeru saw more of Yamato's father in him every time he looked at his dear oniisan, but whatever it was, it seemed to have momentarily seeped out of Yamato's character. For at this moment, one time when he should really be angry, he was doing nothing but pacing calmly with his hands folded behind his back. Takeru sat rigidly at the kitchen table, staring intensely at the swirling grain of the pine, not daring to meet his aniki's eyes. He glanced up as he heard Yamato pull out a chair from the table and swallowed hard as he watched him sit down. He wasn't acting at all like he normally would. He was taking it so calmly…and sitting forwards in the chair. Normally when he was just talking to Takeru, he would turn the chair around and sit backwards, arms resting casually over the wooden back. But seeing him take a seat in the conventional way, Takeru knew he was deadly serious.
Yamato leant his elbows on the table and folded his fingers together in front of him, resting his lips against the delicate curves of his knuckles. Takeru bit his lip, wishing that he had the courage to speak first…and normally he would, but…it was different now.
Finally, Yamato lifted his gaze and drew a breath.
"Takeru…I hope you realise what you're doing." He said quietly, and the younger boy hesitated before nodding slowly. "You sure?" This time the movement of his head was much more decisive. Yamato sighed and got roughly to his feet. He walked a few paces away from the table before turning sharply, fire dancing in his icy eyes. Takeru almost changed his mind there and then, he could tell that if he kept pushing this he would be in for the shouting match of his life, but he had to do it. He was going to make his aniki understand if it killed him. Which, judging by the look in Yamato's eyes, it might well do. "What about Mom and Dad, huh? Have you forgotten what killed them?! What about your beliefs? You're just gonna forget it all?!"
"I…," Takeru started and swallowed again, "I thought…you'd understand"
"Understand?! What's to understand? You're suddenly switching loyalties, just like that! I thought you believed in what we stand for!" The mirror image of Takeru's own eyes blazed into him, daring him to retaliate. And retaliate, he did, getting to his feet and moving around to stand in front of Yamato. If he had to do this, he might as well do it properly.
"Stop it, Yamato! You sound just like your father! YOU never believed in it, so how do you expect me to?!" He rushed on before Yamato had a chance to answer back. "It's bullshit, all of it! We both just went along with what Mom and Dad believed! You're fighting for them, not for the cause! But you know something, Matt? They're DEAD! They're dead and they're not coming back, so you don't have to perform for them anymore! I don't know where along the line you suddenly started caring about what they thought, but it doesn't matter anymore! They're not around to make me stay, so instead of this, I might as well fight for something I actually care about!" Yamato's face stayed cold and impassive, but Takeru could tell from his eyes that the words had hit home.
"And what would that be?" he asked calmly, and Takeru hesitated, despite his impressive scene. "It's Hikari, isn't it?" Takeru nodded, tears gathering at the corners of his eyes.
"I hate this," he replied, voice wavering, "I hate it so much…but I can't…I can't…"
"I know."
"I…Matt, I'm sorry…"
"Do you have any idea how hard it'll be for me to have to fight AGAINST you? Hell TK, I can't even yell at your properly, let alone…y'know." Takeru closed his eyes and took another deep breath…this was the part of the conversation he had been dreading, mostly because he already knew what the answer would be.
"But you don't have to." He said cautiously.
"Takeru - "
"You don't! Matt, you can…you can come with me," he rushed on desperately, seeing the way his aniki sighed and looked away sadly, "Then we wouldn't have to fight each other! You don't believe in what either side stands for, so if you have to fight for something, then why can't it be -"
"Takeru, stop it. You know perfectly well that I can not join the Tetsú Senshii."
"But why?"
"TK! They'd never accept me! I'd be shot on sight! I've caused too much trouble for them to just say 'oh sure, forgive and forget, right?' Sorry, TK, but it ain't gonna happen"
"But if Tai –"
"Tai's not gonna do anything to protect me either, so you can just forget about that. You know what your problem is, TK? You have too much faith in humanity. And even if they did all decide to suddenly turn good Samaritan, you know that I can't leave the Kágè Senshii. They need me. Think about it. You know all this already, you just don't want to accept it." Takeru looked down at his feet, desperately trying not to cry.
"I know," he whispered "but what if…"
"Don't make this harder than it is!" Yamato cried, his own voice choked with tears. "Takeru, look at me." The boy complied, lifting his eyes and meeting those of his aniki. "If this is really what you want…then…then, I'll stand by you. But you have to understand that once it's done, it's done. You can't change your mind. And you have to understand that the Tetsú Senshii will be more dangerous. You won't have me to cover for you any more. You'll be on your own."
"I understand." Takeru said formally.
"And you have to realise," Yamato paused, trying to grasp what he was about to say, "you have to realise that…you won't be able to see me again for a long time. Maybe not ever. Mimi and Koushiro too. Because if…if something were to happen to…"
"I understand." Takeru repeated, not feeling that he truly did.
"And do you accept that?" Yamato said, reverting to the standard speech. Takeru nodded, sensing Yamato's sudden change of role from older brother to military superior.
"I do, Yamato-san." Takeru said, the required response during these events.
"And do you pass your loyalties permanently to the Tetsú Senshii?"
"I do, Yamato-san."
"And you accept that you will no longer be a part of the Kágè Senshii, and thereby relinquish all benefits and…and contact with…with…" Yamato stopped and swallowed hard, finding it difficult to remember the words that he had repeated so many times. But Takeru knew them. And they didn't need to be said.
"I do, Yamato-san" he repeated. He had seen this ceremony many times, but he never for a second thought that he'd be on the receiving end of the accusing questions asked by Yamato. This had to be the hardest part. He couldn't bear not being able to be in contact with Yamato and his Kágè friends.
"Well then. You, Takaishi Takeru, being of consenting mind, body…and heart, I hereby formally strip you of your position, your accomplishments and of…of your honour as a Kágè Senshii," Yamato said. He stepped forward, reached out and ripped the Kágè Senshii badge from Takeru's navy uniform. Takeru winced as he did so. This was it; it felt as his part of him was being torn away with that sleek silver badge. He looked into his oniisan's misty eyes, meeting them with as much dignity as he could muster.
Yamato blinked back fresh tears as he completed the speech. "May God be with you. Goodbye TK." He said briskly.
"Goodbye oniichan." Takeru muttered quietly, well aware that with the tag of traitor now attached to his name, he could be executed for not addressing Yamato formally, but he couldn't have cared less. In fact, an execution would end all his problems. He watched in silence as his brother turned away from him and pulled his phone from the inside pocket of his black Fourth Division Kágè uniform. He pressed a single button and spoke into the phone.
"This is Ishida Yamato, I would like an exchange escort sent to my house immediately please. No less than three…Yes…Yes, to the Tetsú Senshii …No, not her…No, you may not. Just send the damn escort, I don't have all day." He snapped, rang off and tucked the phone back into his pocket. He glanced once at his brother, still standing uncertainly, head held high, then turned to pour himself a cup of coffee while he waited for Takeru's escort to arrive.
* * * * * * * * * *
"That bastard's going DOWN!" Hiromi cried enthusiastically, punching the air in front of her to emphasise her words. Taichi glanced absently at his companion. Being only 26, she would have been the youngest Tetsú Senshii General had it not been for him. Taichi was 21, and it was unusual for someone so young to achieve the rank of General. But he had managed it…somehow. "Him and all his fucking cowardly spies!" The snow crunched beneath Hiromi's boots as she threw back her head, shouting her claims into the attentive night sky.
Taichi kept walking steadily…it was way too cold to mess about tonight, and he was exhausted from a day of punishing training. The two had originally been quite close, but now he actually didn't much like Hiromi. They stuck together when they were working though, because the other three Tetsú Generals were all over forty. Plus, walking alone in the city after dark was never safe for high-ranking officers like themselves. They were prime targets for the First Division that always prowled the dark streets. So, it had become somewhat of a ritual that the two would meet up after a day's work and walk home together. They were both part of the same accommodation block, so it had made perfect sense at the time.
But on days like today when Hiromi had too much sugar inside her and was starting to get kind of trigger happy, Taichi wondered whether he'd be safer braving the walk alone. Hiromi always struck him as somebody who was not entirely sane. When they'd first met, she'd seemed perfectly nice, but as things got more intense she'd started to go a bit…funny. After her fiancé had been killed in an attack on some office block Taichi had noticed that she'd become increasingly distracted.
Hiromi giggled maniacally as she kicked at an empty beer can and jogged a few paces to fall in step with Taichi.
"What d'you think, Tai-kun?" She asked
"Hmm?"
"We're gonna get him, right?" The 'him' she was referring to was of course Akira Sakaguchi the leader of the infamous Kágè Senshii Fourth Division – an elite group of spies that had been causing hell for the Tetsú Senshii since the start of the war.
"Yeah, I guess so…"
"Good Boy! That's the spirit!" Taichi watched anxiously as she pulled her gun from it's holster and began to aim at invisible enemies. He bit his lip. When she got like this it always scared him and in an attempt to distract her, he voiced his own thoughts.
"I don't get why we're so obsessed with getting Sakaguchi. Surely it wouldn't do any good? I mean…it's the spies themselves that are the bigger problem. Like those three that we keep hearing about?" Hiromi paused in the middle of shooting down the invisible Kágè soldiers (with sound effects) and turned to look at Taichi sharply.
"The Three Musketeers?"
"I…no, Hiromi."
"Oh. Well. That's okay then." The eh-eh-eh-eh machine gun noises started again as she waved the little gun frantically to her left. Taichi was never certain whether she was just acting for attention or…well he didn't like to think about the other option.
"Yeah. Anyway…like I said, Sakaguchi doesn't actually do anything except give orders. Anyone could do that. We need to go for the really skilled spies. You know what I mean?"
"Sure. We'll just kill 'em all!"
"No, that's pointless. We need to get those three that set that explosive last week. I'm sure that they're the ones that really support the Fourth Division. And then we could work on training some half-decent spies of our own." Hiromi stopped again and looked at Taichi seriously.
"If we got rid of the threesome," she lost her composure at had to stifle a giggle at the mention of a mildly dirty word, but then continued rationally, "… but keep one for questioning, then we could find out who trains them all and get them working for us. Then we'd have a little elite group that's even better than theirs. And since we have the strongest army – their pathetic First Division would be a total joke if they didn't know all our plans beforehand because of those bloody spies – it could win the war for us." She beamed happily at her plan, eyes twinkling with the glorious light of sanity. For a moment Taichi was able to forget all her problems and view her once more as his friend and military partner.
"Yeah!" He agreed enthusiastically. The end of the war was what he wanted more than anything. "But I don't think the others would go for it. You know how set they are on getting Sakaguchi."
"Well…if they don't agree, we'll just arrange everything ourselves. You and me, eh?"
"Alright then" Taichi said with a grin that quickly disappeared as Hiromi suddenly swung the gun round and pointed it at a poor defenceless snowman that stood, sad and lonely, in a deserted alley they were passing. The shot rang through the chill air as the round head suddenly exploded in a flurry of white. Hiromi blew the barrel of her gun like John Wayne in some cheesy black-and-white TV western and slipped it triumphantly back into its holster.
"Hiromi! That was some little kid's snowman!" Taichi said in disbelief.
"Yeah. And?" Taichi shook his head.
"Come on, let's just get home." He said and quickened his pace before Hiromi could confuse him with a snowman.
* * * * * * * * * *
Yamato tapped his pencil irritably on the desk in front of him. He thought that when he'd left school years ago that that would have been the end of this kind of torture, but no. Maybe if he was really, really lucky today, some trigger happy Tetsú soldier would burst through a window with a machine gun and blow his head off before he was forced to commit suicide by means of multiple paper-cuts. Sure that death by paper would be a lot more painful he glanced hopefully at the scornfully dark and uninteresting window and mentally cursed the strong, expensive and verging-on–indestructible glass.
"If I may draw your attention to the display on the screen here, you can clearly see the new formation of the troops in section B-9. We believe this to be an attempt on the part of the generals to…"
Yamato wondered if his pencil would be sharp enough to puncture a vein.
"Of course it is of the utmost importance that we..."
Someone beside him groaned and Yamato's lips curved as he turned to see Tomohiro Ito slam his head against his desk in frustration
"Ito! This is important and I'd thank you to not try and knock yourself senseless while I'm talking!"
"Sorry, Akira-san. It'll never happen again." Tomohiro said through a grin after peeling his face from the wooden surface.
"It better hadn't! I mean it Ito, you take this stuff far too lightly! You better watch yourself or you'll be the one wearing Lara's cocktail dress on the next assignment! You got that?!"
Tomohiro nodded, still smirking, and Akira scowled in annoyance and continued the lecture. Yamato caught Tomohiro's eye who winced and mouthed 'Shit, that hurt', before turning his attention to an elaborate doodle that had systematically been taking over the assignment brief in front of him since the start of the not-so-brief briefing. Yamato tried to look attentive as Akira threw a glance his way, but quickly sagged in his chair the second his commander turned his back. Why was it that they had to go through all this before every assignment? There had to be more useful things they could be doing with their time than this, this was war after all. Or if nothing useful, at least something more interesting. Yamato could think of a thousand and one different things that fell into the category of 'more interesting than this'. Having both his arms ripped off, for instance.
"Yama–chan…" a familiar softly-accented voice sang enticingly from the seat behind him, providing him with a very interesting alternative to listening to Akira. Yamato tipped his head back to meet a pair of dark, heavy-lashed eyes staring out of a face that was tilted to one side. Lara Shibata raised an amused eyebrow at the sight of Yamato's upside down face and chewed one meticulously-lined lip as his enigmatic blue eyes burned into her own.
"What?" He answered, mimicking Lara's flirtatious tone of voice. The girl was half-Italian and had her wholesome slut of a mother to thank for her classic Latin beauty.
"Bored out of your mind?" she asked finally.
"Are you kidding?" Yamato answered easily and Lara was reminded once again of how her mother had ended up pregnant and alone miles from the comfort of home.
"Do you think anyone would *really* care if we helped the Tetsú out and just killed him now?" Lara asked, tipping her head towards Akira.
"Probably not. But can we really trust these guys not to rat us out?" Yamato said, referring to the dark-haired boy engrossed in his drawing and Mimi. Lara grinned.
"Well Mimi ain't gonna be a problem" She extended a finger to Yamato's cheek, guiding his face to the left so he could see Mimi at the desk next to him. She was leaning forward and although her silky hair concealed her face, it was pretty damn obvious that she was asleep. He couldn't suppress a laugh, and Akira was on him in a second.
"Would you care to tell me exactly what you find so amusing Matt? This is serious!" He shouted, the anger creasing his brow making him look much older than he actually was. Lara turned her face from their commander to hide her smile as Mimi jerked suddenly awake and nearly fell out of her chair at the sound of Akira's voice. Yamato sat up in his own chair again, desperately trying to wipe away his smirk, which would only irritate Akira further.
"Sorry." He said simply. Akira glared and grunted his disapproval, but said no more. Lara shook her head in disbelief. Yamato could…and probably did if Lara thought about it…get away with murder when it came to their commander. The two had trained together and were pretty tight. Tight to the extent, where there were countless rumours surrounding them. Not quite as many rumours as there were about Yamato and Mimi, though. They shared an apartment over in D-block, and as far as Lara could remember, they always seemed to come as a pair. She scowled at that thought. Maybe it was time she started some rumours about herself.
"So…you all have copies of the assignment. Nothing should go wrong…it's pretty straight-forward. No bombs, no guns, no hacking…just do what you do best, okay?" Akira said, studying the three spies before him. Yamato glanced at Mimi, who was staring, crestfallen at her hands clasped together and resting on the desk before her. She so badly wanted to be a part of this…
"Akira…what about Mimi?" Yamato spoke up, looking Akira straight in the eye as he spoke. It was something that he did automatically now, whenever he wished to gain the dominant position in a conversation. It tended to make the other person feel uncomfortable and back down. One of the fundamental skills. It would have worked on anyone else, but not Akira, whose skill and discipline exceeded all other members of the Fourth Division. As it turned out, Yamato was the one to look away.
"Maybe next time, Yamato." Akira said with an air of finality.
"Aww come on! What the hell was the point in her coming to the briefing if she wasn't gonna be a part of the mission?" Tomohiro argued from his desk, gesturing to Mimi's wide-eyed face with one hand.
"I just don't think she's ready yet…"
"Ready? I've taught her everything I know, she's not going to get any more ready, Akira." Yamato said with gathering force, encouraged by Tomohiro's support. Sensing the chance to improve her credibility, Lara sat up to contribute.
"If it's such a simple mission, surely it would be the perfect chance for her to experience the real thing. C'mon, I know she'll do great. We won't let anything happen to her and you're coming along too, so…" Akira sighed at Lara's words, glancing at Mimi's hopeful face.
"Alright. Mimi, here you go." He leaned over to hand her a sheet of paper and Mimi squealed happily.
"Oh, wow! Thankyou so much Akira-san! I promise I won't let you down!" She hugged the paper to her chest protectively, grinning at her co-workers.
"Okay, okay. Now…report back here at 1800 hours. You all need to collect your clothes, and…Matt, I want you and Tomo to accompany me to prepare the location as soon as we're through here. Alright?"
"Yessir, Akira-san!" Tomohiro barked, with a mock salute. Yamato just nodded.
"Lara, you get those floor plans from Koushiro, please. We'll need them for when we leave, in case we get into trouble and have to get out quick. And get an order to the provisional squad that they are to assemble now and then make their way individually to the bar. They have their orders. And Mimi? Costumes, as usual." Akira added curtly, as he gathered his papers together.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Alright! Shut up, both of you!" Taichi sighed and covered his face with his hands for a moment before looking up at the two scowling soldiers sitting in front of him. "It has been a very long, very hard day and I do not have the patience to deal with your pathetic whining," One of the soldiers opened his mouth to speak, but Taichi stopped him by holding up a hand "Let me finish. I don't have the patience to deal with it. Yes, we do have a new ex-Kágè recruit, but it's really not your place to object, since in the short time that he's been here, he has done far more than the both of you put together. And yes, he is staying in my apartment. With my sister, in fact. She's a Medic, in case you wanted to know that too. No, I am not getting rid of him, because he is a personal friend of mine, an excellent soldier and always true to his word. Does that satisfy you? Or do you want me to clarify any other rumours while I'm at it?" He finished acidly. Both soldiers grudgingly shook their heads in unison. "Good. Get out of my sight." Taichi leaned back in his chair as the soldiers left and wondered for the ten thousandth time that day if he would ever get the chance to be a normal person again.
"Tai-kun?" Hiromi asked, pausing in the doorway and glancing disapprovingly down the corridor after the departing soldiers, before turning her attention to her comrade. "You look beat. Bad day?" Taichi nodded. Hiromi had been her normal self all day, and it was nice to finally see a sympathetic face. "A bunch of us are going down to the bar. Wanna come?" Taichi frowned and Hiromi guessed that her friend didn't feel up to a night out. "Or would you rather not leave your sister right now?" She asked gently, glancing at the picture of the young Medic that sat on Tai's desk.
"No, it's not that…" Taichi began uncertainly, not sure whether he was willing to confide in Hiromi or not.
"You can tell me Tai. You know that. " She said encouragingly, taking a seat on the edge on the mahogany desk and picking up one of the photos for a closer look. It wasn't exactly what you'd expect to find in the office of a military leader, but Taichi refused to remove the countless photos, claiming that they were his only way of keeping sane. All the warm smiles and plastic poses brought back happy memories and made the meticulously clean office seem brighter and friendlier. "Are these your parents?" Hiromi asked, and Taichi glanced at the photo in her hands.
"Yeah. They're living up North somewhere now…we don't really keep in contact anymore."
"I thought your Dad was a soldier?"
"Yeah. Was. He retired early because of an injury to his leg. I think he's working as a technician now or something." Hiromi nodded, glancing around and picking up another photo.
"And what about this? Who are all these people?"
"Just…you know. Friends of mine."
"This one's Hikari isn't it? She looks so…different." Taichi looked away.
"Yeah…" Hiromi sighed and got to her feet. She delicately placed the photograph back in place and then leaned forward, resting her palms against the smooth wood of the desktop. "Tai, how come you never talk to me anymore? We've been working together for years…am I never going to get to know anything about you? Because, like, you know all about me and…you look like you could use someone to listen. Hmm?"
Taichi swallowed. He had stopped confiding in people a long time ago. The war had had that effect on him. He never felt like he should trust anyone anymore. No, he knew he shouldn't trust anyone anymore. It had been drilled into him for years now. Trust no one but yourself and the other Generals. But then, Hiromi was a General…
"I don't really have anything for you to listen to." Taichi said finally. And Hiromi smiled and took a seat in front of the desk once more.
"Sure you do. Tell me anything. Introduce me to all your friends here." She gestured to the photographs that littered the desk and sat back expectantly. Taichi examined the pale face of the girl before him. She seemed to be sincere in wanting to know, so he reached out and turned his favourite picture round to face Hiromi.
"This is the last picture I had taken with all my friends before the war." He said simply, and Hiromi made a sympathetic face. "This is Kari and her boyfriend Takeru Takaishi, he's that new soldier."
"The one from the Kágè Senshii?"
"Yeah. This is Koushiro…and Mimi. They're both part of the Kágè. I guess Koushiro must be a technician, but I have no idea what Mimi would be doing in the army. Unless she's a Secretary or something. The one with the glasses is Jyou. He disappeared right at the start of the war…he's probably dead by now…or maybe he just left the country." His voice continued emotionlessly, but his finger tracing over the glass paused on the next figure. "This is Sora Takenouchi. Do you remember her? She was a soldier with us until…last spring." Hiromi blinked uncertainly, brow furrowed as she tried to remember. "I doubt you do. She used to be my best friend. God, I miss her."
"What happened to her?" Hiromi asked with a kind of sad, child-like awe that didn't quite seem to fit with her starched green uniform.
"She was shot during that attack on the munitions bunker in B-section."
"I'm sorry." Taichi shrugged.
"It had to happen, you know? It's war. You can't expect not to lose anyone…I wish it hadn't been Sora, but if it was her time, then it was her time."
"Do you really believe that? That everyone has a 'time'?" Taichi paused, trying to get his thoughts in order.
"I'm not sure…I don't know what I think about anything anymore…maybe I should start trying to work it out. Before it's too late." Hiromi's eyes were downcast as she nodded solemnly, and Taichi realised that all this talk about losing people probably wasn't doing her good. He was desperately trying to think of some way to get his foot out of his mouth, when Hiromi tossed copper curls out of her eyes and smiled.
"Maybe you're right. But let's save that for another day. What about him? Who's that?" Taichi glanced down at the picture that he had almost forgotten he was holding, his eyes coming to rest on the slender blonde that Hiromi was pointing to.
"That? That's Matt."
"Matt?"
"Yamato."
"Oh." Hiromi grinned. "He's cute. Looks kinda like…Jason." She was referring to her late fiancée and Taichi shifted uncomfortably. But once again, Hiromi seemed unaffected and continued as normal. "Where is he now? He is still…here, right?"
"As far as I know. But he's with the Kágè Senshii…"
"A soldier?"
"Um…probably." Taichi muttered. He doubted very much that his friend would have become a soldier. It wasn't glamorous enough. Yamato was a member of the Fourth Division, Taichi was certain of it. Yamato would never have settled for anything less.
"Wow, so I guess it's been a long time since you saw him, huh? You guys look pretty close." Hiromi observed as she studied the photograph in which the two boys stood side by side, one of Taichi's arms slung around the other's shoulders.
"Yeah." Taichi answered softly, laughing inwardly. Hiromi had no idea quite how close the two had been. "You know what?" Taichi said suddenly and Hiromi tore her eyes from the photo to look at her friend.
"What?"
"I think I will come for that drink. I'm feeling a lot better all of a sudden." Hiromi's face lit up as she smiled.
"Really? Great! I'll get my coat!"
* * * * * * * * * * * *
A/N: Ack…I screwed that up pretty bad, didn't I? Well…let me know what you think okay? In the next part there's going to be lots of romance and some character death. And hopefully, an actual plot line. ^^