So, it turns out that my campus' library has this strange effect for the mind. I could sit for hours and hours with a piece of paper and a pen in hand or an open laptop with Microsoft Word ready to be filled and not have the slightest idea how to start a paragraph. Put me in the library and these words bellow popped out of nowhere.
This is my first fanfic after a very long time, so please be kind to me. And it's my first KnB story.
It's messy. I think I'll tidy it up later, when I'm not struggling with college stuff. College absolutely murdered my writing.
I hope you'll like it.
Was listening to Melted by Akdong Musician when writing this. ^-^
Disclaimer: This thing is stupid. If I own KnB, why the heck would I be here? And the anime/manga won't be as awesome if I were the one to make them.
P.S.: Past and present events and dialogues are separated by horizontal lines. Words in Italic are either thoughts or past event(s) being recalled.
I wish Rakuzan would win against Seirin… (Sorry, Tetsu-kun! I love you, but Sei-kun is my hubby, so…)
Lily Of The Valley
Chapter 1
Shrine
When Shirayuri was sad or angry, she would slip out of everyone's gaze and hide at the back of a nearby shrine. It was a well kept shire just a few hundred meters away from her grandfather's house in Kyoto. People don't usually come there unless there was a festival or a ceremony of some sort. The only person who would come was the caretaker, and he usually came early in the morning. In short, the shrine was deserted. A perfect place to cry.
It's quite odd that almost every time Shirayuri went to Kyoto, she would be visiting the shrine at least once. The source of her grief most of the time, though not every time, was her grandfather himself.
"I could almost swear he really hates me." She whispered to no one in particular as she whipped another stray tear running down her cheek. She had been at her usual spot for more than forty minutes and the tears still refused to dry out, though her sobs had mostly subsided.
It's odd, she often thought, that people always expect grandparents to always be loving, gentle, kind, and compassionate.
Those are lies, thought she. Or, maybe, they are true in other people's lives. But it's not in mine.
Other people are lucky. Other people have grandfathers who put them on his knees and told them stories of his younger days. Other people have grandfathers who would listen to their problems and give them comfort when they felt sad. Other people have grandfathers who were proud of them and called them the most precious thing God had ever created in the world. Other people have grandfathers who would prepare a shot gun and a six feet hole in the backyard if a guy dared to even make his granddaughter frown in distress.
The thought sent another wave of sobs that made her petite body tremble like a fluttering leaf.
If she were someone else, how nice it would be…
"Disgrace." Rakuzan Yamato whispered in distaste, though it could be heard quite clearly, as he stared at the kneeling small form before him, trembling and afraid to look up. "I do not accept you as my granddaughter," he muttered a little louder, loud enough for all twenty people in the room to hear. "Not now. Not ever!"
Where were her parents? They should be here by now. She didn't want to spend so much time alone at her grandfather's house. He's bound to get mad sooner or later.
As Shirayuri's mind occupied itself in worry, the door before her slid open. Shirayuri clutched her teddy bear tighter. Much to her dismay, the person on the door was not her daddy or mommy.
"Why are you still here?" her grandfather said coldly. His face was redder than usual, but Shirayuri didn't dare to point that out. His eyes were mad as they locked their gaze to the seven year old.
"I'm waiting for Okaa-sama and Otou-sama, Ojii-sama," Shirayuri answered meekly.
The elder Rakuzan frowned and stepped inside.
"I do not want to hear you call me that. And if you want to wait, wait outside."
"Hai. I will be at the living room the-"
"No. you will be waiting outside of this house."
"But-"
"Do not defy me, child!"
He looked so angry, Shirayuri could only sit and tremble in fear. When she failed to remove herself from the room, Yamato stepped forward until he was standing in front of the girl, took a cutter that was placed on a nearby table, and grabbed Shirayuri by the upper arm so that she was forced to stand up.
He lowered his face unto her level, until his face was all that she could see and brought the cutter close to her face.
"Leave," he ordered. "Or I will kill you."
He's serious, Shirayuri thought in horror. She could see it clearly in his eyes. Her legs were numb. He's going to kill me.
She could almost feel the cold metal of the cutter against her skin. It was only an inch away from her chin. Yamato moved it slowly upwards until she could see the sharp point of it glinting under the too bright lamp. The cutter was a bit rusty, but the sharp edges still glinted in the moonlight.
If that thing cut me, I'm going to die…
"Out." He let go of her. Her legs stumbled.
So slow, Yamato glared at the trembling girl. He wanted her out of his sight. The mere sight of her was repulsing. He yelled in rage.
"OOOOOUT!"
She was running before she knew it. The road outside was empty. She was lucky because she didn't spare even the simplest thought of her surrounding. Her goal was to get away, far away from him. She ran until she reached the stairs to a shrine and collapsed there, wailing.
Shirayuri sat and buried her face in her hands as she cried as loud as she could. The loud sobs made it hard for her to breathe, but she couldn't stop them. She didn't want to.
"Wh-where d-did I go *gasp* wrong?" she gasped in between sobs. "Wh-why do you *sob* hate me so much?" she struggled to inhale. Her chest felt hurt.
Fifteen minutes later, her tears were still running. Her sobs have decreased, though she was still struggling to let air into her lungs, heaving for air with a hand clutching her chest as if she had asthma. She was starting to calm down. A little.
But calming down meant awareness of the situation she was put in. Looking around, Shirayuri didn't know where she was. The area was unfamiliar and dark. The only source of light was a post lamp a few feet away from where she sat, on the bottom of a set of stairs so high, she couldn't tell where they lead to. There were trees along the road. Houses were scarce and far away, the closest one being a small one around a hundred meters away on her left. No one was around, despite her cries that should have been able to wake the dead.
A new kind of dread rose on the bottom of her stomach. She realized that she was alone, lost, and had nowhere to go. Her parents wouldn't find her. They didn't know what happened to her. And when they looked but I was nowhere to be found, Shirayuri thought. Will they keep on looking, or will they give up and forget me?
She wanted to go home, yet unable to go back.
Should I cross the bridge over there?, Shirayuri thought. I remember Aruto-Nii said, a bridge near Ojii-sama's house will lead to the main road. If I go where there are many people, someone might want to adopt me. But if nobody wants to, then I'll have to be a beggar or a homeless. But I don't want to be a beggar, it's cold!
Shirayuri turned her head to her right and frowned.
Or should I try to go the direction I came from? I could go to Tanaka-san's place. She might take me in, even if only for a while..., she pondered to herself. But from where did I come? Mou, I should've paid attention earlier!
She stayed put for two hours in dilemma until one of her grandfather's maids found her and took her (almost dragging her) back. The maid said her grandfather delivered her his deepest apology. She didn't care. He sickened her.
When her parents finally came and questioned the reason of her distress, she said she couldn't find her teddy anywhere. The maid who picked her up retrieved it from the room the confrontation took place, where she left it in her haste to escape.
She refused, until now, to look at her grandfather in the eyes.
Shirayuri stood up after making sure that all traces of tears had been cleaned. It was dark already. She needed to make her way home before people started to look for her.
Anxiously, she took out her phone to check on time. 18.40. If she ran, she'd have plenty of time to slip inside unnoticed, which would take some effort because her grandfather hired new guards who didn't know she liked to walk around outside on her own. Then, she'd take a bath and show up like she had never left. Plus, she couldn't afford to be late. There would be a meeting tonight.
"I have decided on a husband for you."
Her throat felt clogged when memories of what happened earlier that day returned. Shirayuri gulped and tried to hold her tears at bay as she picked up her pace.
She should have brought her bike along.
Then again, it'll alarm people that she was gone without permission.
"This marriage will purify the noble blood of our family."
She could still recall the cold look he gave her and her mother.
"It is the least you could do to repay your debt to the Rakuzan Clan."
My debt...?
"You will marry the grandson of my old friend."
The grandson of the person who could stand being so close to someone like him. She doubted the guy would be a pleasant one. But then again, Shintarou-kun knew the guy, so he can't be that bad. Hopefully, this arranged marriage won't be filled with disasters.
"His name is Akashi Seijuro."
Slight adjustment had been made. Though I'm still not satisfied... Thanks for annoyed by you for pointing out mistakes! I could spend hours proofing and some mistakes will still escape me, somehow.