After All
by: L'il Will
I just don't know what to think anymore. The greatest girl in the world, the love of my life the only one I've wanted to be with, is going out with one of my friends. Ha! At least that's what I used to think. Ever since I saw the way he treats her, I've started disliking him more and more. I mean, the guy's friendly to most of us but to her...well lets just say he treats her like she's just one of the horde. One of the flunkies in an army of his wenches. She thinks he'll change, but the rest of us know better
As of right know, I'm hiding in the bushes about 20 feet behind the bench where the two so called 'lovebirds' are sitting. I'm spying, eavesdropping, whatever I can to figure out how to break them.
I reflect on all the times I've tried to convince her to dump him. Every single one of them failed before I could even finish. I once told her that she was just a drudge to him, but she didn't know what a drudge is.
It's one of my several problems in life. My vocabulary is too large. So, sometimes people don't understand what I'm saying.
Slowly and hesitantly, she picked her head up off his shoulder and spoke...
"I love you." she told him trying to ignite that tiny spark of a chance at a conversation.
"Yeah, whatever." he simply replied
She turned her head toward him and simply stared. Oh, and it wasn't a nice stare either, she looked really pissed.
Yes! Yes! This could be it! She might just dump his sorry ass once and for all!
Instead, he turns to her and puts an the cheesiest, fakest smile that anyone could plaster on in two seconds, and she actually buys it! She smiles back and returns her head to his shoulder. She's so...impercieviant.
Now this action just gets me angry. If I didn't have the will power I do, I go down there and give him a black eye. And what's worse, I ask you? The three simple words get him horny. He starts kissing her neck and feeling her breast as if she wanted it. I don't think she does. He gets fulsome from that simple little phrase that he doesn't even care about.
Argh! There I go again using words that nobody but my English teacher can understand again.
Well, there's always an advantage to a disadvantage. I'll just go on down there and use my oversized vocabulary to 'my' advantage.
I stealthily creep down to the other side of the park and hope they don't see me...they don't.
"Hey Mimi! Yamato!" I call out waving to them
They quickly jolt apart, hoping I didn't see Yamato clutching Mimi in the specific area that he was.
"Jyou!" she cries out subconsciously hoping I didn't see their little scene. I'll pretend I didn't.
"I was out jogging and I saw you two sitting here watching the sunset together and I had to say hi." Well its true! I just decided to spy on them for a while.
"Well, if that's all then, hi. So I guess we'll see you later then." does he really think I'm ignorant enough not to be able to see he's trying to get me out so he can get in Mimi's bra again.
"You didn't speak or move when I showed up." I tell him cheerfully. "I thought you weren't talking to me or something."
He grumbled something under his breath and leaned back on the bench.
"So Yamato, you still great coistrel you always were?" I say this with enough enthusiasm to make it sound like a compliment, but a coistrel is actually a worthless little dung shoveler.
"I...guess you could say that."
"You're still a great knave, if you ask me." That's some one who has nothing an honest men has and nothing and honest man should have.
"Yeah, I guess so." He's so ignorant
Like I said, I have great will power. If I didn't, I'd be hysterical right now.
"Are you still the old jade I haven't seen for a while?" That would be some one who is sexually over the hill.
"I suppose so." he responded
As of now, my will power is breaking. I can't hold it in any longer. I start giggling and before long, I'm hysterical. The two of them are now confused and can't figure out what's so damn funny. Oh gees! Now I've got to think of an excuse.
They put on their confused expressions. You know. The one where one side of their mouth is in a half smile and the other half is in a confused frown. Plus, the left eyebrow is slightly higher than the one on the right. Not to mention the single chuckle they give out every three seconds.
Well, I've decided on an excuse. I hope you like it. It's true story. I thought it was absolutely hilarious at the time, but now, I actually find it very embarrassing just to think about it.
"Oh, sorry you guys, but that confused look on Yamato's face when I said jade reminded me of something our dear friend Taichi did about three weeks ago. Okay, so what happened is, Taichi suddenly decided that I was too tense and worked up over school and working, that I should go to some bar with him." He probably just wanted me to drive him there so he could practice some new pick up lines. "I would have been willing to go out, but not to a bar. If my dad caught me drinking, he'd kill me. So, Taichi begged me for about an hour to go until I finally cracked and agreed. So, we drove around town searching for a place suitable to Taichi's needs. Until we finally came to a dilapidated, run down shack. I'm forced inside and Manuel Rodriguez, or so indicated on Taichi's ID, ordered himself some drinks and became as drunk as a Russian on New Years Eve. I asked for a water. I had to be a designated driver. Half an hour later, the bartender decided that Taichi had had enough. I was forced to drag him out right the middle his happy dance, drive him home AND explain to his parents why the walls are waving at him. On the way home, we see Taichi's sister, Hikari and Yamato's brother, Takeru out on a date, and, unfortunately, the split second that Hikari decides to take a picture of Takeru, is the exact same split second that Taichi decides to stick his ass out the window, and the exact same split second that we drive by. You two were out of town the next day when all us friends decided to do something together. Hikari finally showed up and shoves a the picture in Taichi's face and starts screeching at him. Apparently, she tried yelling at him last night, but, he only laughed at how wide open her mouth was. The confused look on his face when he tried to remember the events of the previous night was the exact same as the one you wore when I said jade."
I sigh to myself. 'This isn't me. The real me wouldn't be upset because the girl I like is in love with someone else. The real me wouldn't be secretly making fun of his friends, especially not to their face. The real me doesn't tell disgusting anecdotes about disgusting perverts whose hobbies include getting drunk and flashing people. But especially, the real me doesn't try to break up to people when they think they got a good thing going. I don't agree, but if they believe it, I should let it alone. God, I should be happy for them, not jealous.
"Look, I'm sorry you guys, but lately, Taichi's been telling me to lighten up, tell a few jokes, have a few laughs. That's the only reason I went to that damn bar in the first place. I'm telling them this with an angry tone in my voice. I jam my hands into the pockets of my slacks. "He tells me if I don't loosen up, I'll die at an early age." The scary thing is, he's right.
"I'll just go back home and get to my studies, leave you two alone to do whatever it was you were doing." I flash a smile similar to the one Yamato gave Mimi earlier and I'm on my way.
So now, I'm walk home and I'm pretty sure raining any second. As if I told it to happen, a light drizzle starts up and quickly turns into a downpour. If weather reflects on a person's feeling, it definitely was not reflecting on mine. If it was, it would be hailing by now, and I would have been struck by lightening several times already.
As if on cue, lightening strikes a tree no more than a fifty yards away. The clash is extremely loud and it throws me back. Well, at least it hasn't started hailing yet, or maybe I should shut up now and not press my luck! Ha! What luck? First, the only girl I've ever loved is probably making out under a tree with a guy who doesn't even appreciate her. Second, I make a complete ass of myself in front of her and her boyfriend. Third, I am forced to walk home in the pouring rain and ruin some perfectly good clothes in the process. Sigh. I can honestly say that I have 'not' had a very good day.
Finally, I get home. An apartment I share with my brother, Shin, but he doesn't come home until midnight and it's know quarter past eight. Gees. Maybe he won't come home at all. Maybe he'll spend all night at his fiances apartment, doing the vertical, baby-making hustle.
Now I can get out of these soaking wet clothes. I put them in the dryer and make my way toward the washroom for a nice long shower. I slower turn the hot water head and steamy water shoots out of the showerhead. I turn on the cold water so that the two temperatures mix and I can get just the right final temperature. The steam rises from the linoleum floor as the heated liquid shoots upon it. I step into the inviting sound of the water violently hitting the floor.
Forty-five minutes later, I turn both hot and cold water off and step out of the shower. I quickly dry myself off and wrap the towel around my waist. I spent too long in the shower and now my skin is all pruny. I suppose I spent all that time in there thinking about Mimi and Yamato as opposed to clean that I simply didn't realise how long I was actually in there for.
Its about now that I realise that my five o'clock shadow has decided to show up at nine. So, I pick up my shaving cream and rub it all over my face. The razor is slowly brought to my cheek and I begin to slowly caress it with the razor.
After two minutes, I'm done. I wash the razor off and start to but it away...but stop. I bring it closer to my face to admire the sharp, little pieces of steel. After I'm done gazing at the blades I look at my own wrist.
I begin pondering: 'Should I? No! I couldn't! No girl is worth that!'
Yes, I know. I'm well aware I'm in denial. I'd kill a dozen and die just for a peck on the cheek from that muse.
I put the razor away deciding it's not worth it. I apply some aftershave to my cheeks and neck and walk out of the bathroom to get some clothes from my room with the towel still wrapped around my waist.
"Jyou!" someone screams from the living room. I spin around quickly in surprise, startled by the unexpected screech from the living room. I...uh...spun around a little to fast and my towel drops about four inches below my waist. A little too low for my liking. I grab the towel before it can fall any further any see Mimi, with her head to the side and her hand blocking her view of me.
"Mimi...What..."
"Jyou! I'm so sorry! I thought you saw me sitting on the couch and...I'm so sorry! I swear, I didn't see a thing!
"Mimi...what are you doing here? How did you get in?"
"Well," she started, "you left the door open so I came in because I wanted to talk to you about...sniff...about..." Her eyes started to water and tears caressed her cheeks. "Oh Jyou!" Now she was really crying. She lunged herself at me and wrapped her arms around my chest as she cried. I almost dropped my towel again, but I learned from the last time and held on tightly.
"There, there." I cooed. I gently stroked her hair as she cried. I left her alone for a second, then I wrapped my fingers around her shoulders and managed to push her off me gently. "Why don't you have a shower. I put your wet clothes in the dryer, and, once you're clean, you can tell good ole' reliable Jyou all about it. Alright?"
She looked at me through those bloodshot eyes of hers and gave me a smile. It was a weak smile, but a smile nonetheless. And besides, I knew she meant it.
"Thanks Jyou." she whispered and gave me a quick little kiss on the cheek. It was short but sweet. And I didn't even have to kill a dozen or die for it.
A few minutes later, she came out of the washroom with a towel wrapped around her hourglass body. She hands me her wet clothes so I can put them in the dryer. By this time, I've gotten my clothes out of the dryer and on of course. I toss her clothes in the machine and she heads back in the direction of the bathroom. I turn on the dryer and wait, and wait, and wait.
The water turns off in the bathroom, so I open up the dryer and feel her clothes. Oh great! Still damp.
Just then, the bathroom door opens and out walks Mimi. She still has that towel wrapped around her chest. Then she asks "Are my clothes ready yet?"
I shake my head slowly. "No." I respond.
"That's okay." she dully replies. Her pink hair drips onto the tiles of the floor as she says this. "I'll just dry off and wait a little." She turns around and heads for the bathroom again. She stops suddenly. "Can you knock when they're ready?" She starts up again. I've never seen her like this before. She's usually so bright-eyed and cheery, now she seems so upset
"Mimi!" I call out to her. She stops and swivels around to reveal her face to me. She doesn't 'accidentally' drop her towel though. Oh, well.
"Yes" she replies
"I've...uh...got some extra...uh...clothes in my room if you...uh...want to wear some of my...uh...clothes until yours...um...until they...uh... until they dry." Well how would you react if the most beautiful girl you've ever laid eyes on is standing right before you with nothing on but a tiny article of cloth.
She smiles at me. It's the first time I've seen her smile since she showed up in my house tonight. "Thanks Jyou. You're so sweet." She then proceeds to walk to my room. She's been here before so she knows where everything is.
She steps in my room and closes the door behind her. I sit in the hall leaning against my bedroom door. "So I can wear anything in your room?" She asks. Her voice is muffled as the sound travels through the door, but I can make it out clearly.
"Sure. Anything." I tell her, but stop a second. "but something from the closet."
"Okay. First of all, why?, and second of all, why would I want to? It's all suits and dress clothes." It almost sounds as if she's cheered up.
"Well, to tell you the truth, my great uncle died about one year ago and he left me his complete wardrobe. He could have gave me his estate or some cash, but I had to get his dust collection. I think you should avoid the grey on the far right. That's the one he died wearing"
"Gross! And you actually keep that thing in you room. That's disgusting." she said and I heard the dresser drawer open.
"Well, my parents think it would be disrespectful to get rid of them. Oh, and to answer your other question. I have no clue. The feminine fashion sense has always been a mystery to me in the first place."
She giggled and pulled the door open. I, who was leaning on the door at the time, fell backwards and hit my head on the floor.
"Ow!" I exclaimed rubbing the back of my head.
"Sorry Jyou" she said with a mocking tone. She was definitely happier now. "What do you think?" she asked spreading her arms out.
She was now wearing a white dress shirt and a pair of jeans.
"You sure you don't mind me wearing your pants?"
"I'll wear them everyday and never wash them again."
"Stop it." she said giggling and she gave me a playful slap on the shoulder.
Well, I hate to bring her back to that emotional state she was in when she first arrived, but I had promised her, and I never break my promises. "Come here. To the living room." I said using a hand to beckon her.
"Alright." she said softly, lowering her head to the floor. Her warm smile became a cold frown. "But you're not going to like it."
"Mimi, it doesn't matter whether I like it or not. It's whether I can help or not."
I sat on the couch and she sat down beside me.
"Tell me everything, from the beginning." I told her. "I don't care how insulting or dramatic it gets. I'm here to listen, and to help."
"Well," she began. "it all started before you came to the park and saw Yamato and I together. We weren't watching the sunset like you had thought."
I think I'll keep the spying and the eavesdropping thing to myself for now. "Continue." I told her.
"Well, Jyou, he...he was...touching me." she buried her face in her arms and started crying.
I wrapped my arm around her shoulders. "It's okay." I cooed. "I'll tell ya what. I think your clothes are done, so you can change back into your clothes and get calmed down while you do change, or you could my clothes on and continue with your story. Your choice, of course."
"sniff...I'll continue, it gets worse."
" Alright," I said softly. "Continue."
"Suh, so heh, he was touching me wuh, when you came along. Wuh, when you leh, left, he went buh, back at it but I fuh, felt suh, sorry for you. You suh, seemed so sad. I suh, said 'We should have huh, helped him.' and he suh, said 'It's none of our buh, business.' and went up my shuh, shirt again."
I could tell how upset she really was. I've never seen her stutter before, and now she couldn't stop.
"I shoved him down and suh, said 'Wuh, when he's our fruh, friend, it IS our business.' He turned to muh, me and suh, said 'Fine go ruh, run off with him! See wuh, what I care! I can get any guh, girl I want.' and it was thuh, then I realised I nuh, never loved him, because he nuh, never loved me in the fuh, first place. It was then I ruh, realised that it was yuh, you that I had always luh, loved. Always." She then proceeded to lay her head on my shoulder and cry.
I didn't know what to say. How would you respond if the only girl you've ever loved comes up to you, and out of the blue says she carries the same feelings for you ever since you met? Do you tell her you love her back, or do you wait until the right time? I'm probably just so overwhelmed with joy that I can't think straight. However, its not just joy that my mind is overwhelmed with. It's got many thoughts of fear, confusion, and anxiety up there too. She might just be upset over her break-up with Yamato, that she just think she loves me because she can't stand the thought of being alone. But, then again, she did say she was worried about me. Oh, I don't care! I can't take the never-ending negative thoughts driving in and out of my brain. I'm going for it!
"I love you too, Mimi."
She then looked up at me and her upset frown turned into a bright smile, before she returned her fragile head to my shoulder. She suddenly stopped crying. I guess now that she knows I love her back, she has no real reason to be upset.
" Now that we've confessed, maybe we could go on a date sometime." I questioned.
"I'd really like that." she told me while she lifted her head off my shoulder. She closed her eyes and started leaning in towards me. I leaned in and her lips pressed against mine. She wrapped her arms around me and mine, her. Her robust breasts pressing against my chest. Her hands moved up and down my back, and my hand did the same thing to her.
She opened her mouth. I know what happens now. I awaited the moment our tongues would meet, but they never did. Her arms fell from behind my back and her body went limp. Okay, so maybe I didn't know what would happen next, but, at least I got that far.
Well, the way I see it is, it's always easier to get to sleep after a good cry, and she did plenty of that, and, our little moment must have exhausted her to the point where she passed out. Not that I'm bad or anything.
I've learned in first aid school, that you should always check a persons vital signs whenever they pass out. So, I place a hand an inch above her mouth and the other on her neck. Her breathing and pulse seem normal, so, I walk over to the phone and punch in Mimi's telephone number. It rings twice before a familiar squeaky, high-pitched voice answers the phone.
"Hello!" it squeaks
"Hi Mrs. Tachikawa!" I respond. "This is Jyou."
"Oh! Hello Jyou! Mimi's not here right now, but I can take a message for you."
"I know. She's over here at my house. Don't worry! Nothing sexual! She just broke up with her boyfriend and came to me for comfort."
"Oh, that's to bad. She's probably going to be mopping around the house for days."
'Actually, she's got me now.' I think. I don't think I'll say it. I don't want her thinking I took advantage. "Anyway, she had a good cry and fell asleep on the couch. I didn't want you to worry. I was thinking you might want her to come home. I can drive her over if you wish."
"It's alright Jyou. I know you're a decent boy and I trust you. I wouldn't want to wake so she can spend the night at your place, but can you have her back by noon tomorrow, okay?"
"Okay, Mrs. Tachikawa, I'll do that. Bye."
"Bye, bye."
I put the phone back in it's cradle and went to the laundry room. I retrieved Mimi's clothes from the dryer and neatly folded them before placing them in a pile beside her sleeping body. I then walk to my room for a dose of literature.
I have to read a pointless book by some redneck nobody who writes with a southern drawl for English class . God only knows how you can write with a southern drawl. After half-an-hour, I put down the book and shut off the light
The next morning, I'm up and running. I walk down the in a slow and lazy movement. Well, maybe the running part isn't true, but at least I'm up. Mimi's still in the same position she was in when she fell asleep last night.
The door to my brothers room is closed. I guess that means he's home. He's a great gut but he talks to much about ghosties and goblins. He's in University and his major is mythology. He's a great guy and all, but he never shuts up about the subject. He probably came home last night, saw Mimi sleeping on the couch and thought 'Wow, I never thought Jyou would bring a girl home.'
I take the eggs and pancake batter out of the fridge so I can make everyone breakfast. It's my turn to make breakfast anyway.
A little while later, everything is ready. I've made eggs and pancakes and coffee, but I feel as if I'm forgetting something. 'Hmm...think, think, think...that's it!' I snap my fingers triumphantly. I dig through the bottom shelf of the refrigerator and, after a minute of looking I pull out the maple syrup.
I place it on the table when my brother comes out of his room. His eyes are groggy and his face is covered with short bristles of hair.
"Man, why don't you shave before breakfast, huh?"
The only reply I get is a loud groan as he trudges off to the bathroom. As he passes by I see Mimi sitting up straight, stretching.
"Hi, Jyou." she says in her usual perky voice, but she's still half-asleep. "I was waken up by what sounded like a gorilla."
I laughed at this before I told her "That was Shin, my brother. He looks and sounds like a gorilla before he has his coffee. However, the stench remains until he has a shower. I did tell you we live together, right?"
She giggled for a second before responding "Yeah, you told me a month ago. Hey, you made breakfast."
"Yeah, I made eggs, pancakes and coffee. I got the syrup for your pancakes and eggs. I know how much you love syrup on you eggs. This particular is grown in northern Canada." I tell her eying the maple leaf on the label. "Guess you can't get maple syrup much better than that. Shin and I are allergic to though. Don't ask me why we have it."
"Oh, that's so sweet. You remembered a totally irrelevant piece of pointlessness from my childhood. I guess that means you remember my birthday, my parent's birthday's, my favourite clothing, my..."
"Alright, I get the point."
"Well, it was sweet anyways." She leans up and gives me a peck on the cheek, then she stopped and said "Oops, I almost forgot." Then she put one hand on either cheek, pulled my face down and gave me a big wet kiss on the lips. "I love you." she whispered.
"And I, you." I respond
"Okay," comes a voice from behind us. "I never thought I'd see you do that." Shin finishes, but then a sly grin arises on his face as he takes a look at Mimi, who he can know see eye-to-eye. He begins to approach us. "Especially, not one that looks like you Miss..."
"Mimi," she responds. "Mimi Tachikawa."
Shin lays one knee on the floor and takes Mimi's hand. He kisses it chivalrously. "Miss Mimi Tachikawa." he repeats.
"I believe we've met before." Mimi tells him. "Jyou introduced you to myself and all of our friends
"Ah, yes. I remember you."
"Uh, shin." I interrupt. "Don't you have a fiance."
"Yes, but that doesn't mean I can't use proper etiquette to introduce myself properly to a female."
"Jyou, do I detect a hint of jealousy in your voice." Mimi asks in a joking manner.
"Humph. Probably."
This gets her from simple giggling to laughing out loud. Shin too. Then a smile spread across my face and I began laughing too.
"Breakfast, anyone?" I ask, spreading my arms out to reveal the smorgasbord on the table.
"All right." Shin said. "I always did enjoy eating as opposed to listening to my brother talk about his relationships."
Several minutes later, Mimi was staring wide-eyed and confused at my brother while I just rested my head in my hands, making an extremely bored face.
"...and, of course, the poltergeist, which is German for 'moving spirit', obviously moves things like furniture around in the vicinity it vacates, as interpreted in its name..." Shin was rambling on about those ghosts he loves so much again.
He was interrupted by three loud knocks on the door. 'Yes!' I thought as I got up to open the door. A loud thump hit the door right before I opened it. When I did, a lifeless body fell flat on the floor. A bottle rolled out of his hand on rolled across the carpet. I recognized this man immediatly as Yamato.
"Gees!" I said, for he had startled me.
After my heat regained a steady pace, I started yelling orders at Mimi and Shin: "We've got to help him. Shin, you help me carry him to the couch. Mimi, there's an ice pack in the freezer. Our good friend here, was out all night drinking..." I picked up the bottle and read the label. "Canadian lager." I continued to read the writing on the label out loud.
"Spare us the advertisements, Jyou. I thought you were going to help me carry him."
"I'm looking the alcohol percentage. You should know that too much alcohol can cause brain damage...6.9%"
"You pick up from the legs. I'll pick up from the shoulders" we carried him to the couch and laid him down. Mimi placed the icepack on his head.
"You know, I think I recognize this guy from someplace." my brother announced.
"He used to be her boyfriend." I told him while taking Yamato's pulse. "You met thetwo at the same time. His name is Yamato."
"The jerk was so insensitive." Mimi added. "He only cared about sex, but I wouldn't give it to him, so, I broke up with him."
"She came to me for comfort, and we got together."
"Hmm...wha?" Yamato mumbled, staggering to his feet. "What am I doing here?"
"You know, we should be asking you the same question. It's a shame you don't know. It was probably all that booze you were drinking last night." I told him in a smart ass tone of voice."
"Now I remember. Mimi's mom told me she was over here and I came to apologize for what I said."
"It's not that easy." she piped in. "You can't just come here drunk to apologize and expect me to forgive you. You said some pretty nasty things last night. Besides, there's a new man in my life now, Jyou."
"What!?" he snarled.
"That's right. I've moved on. She walked over to me and put an arm around my waist.
I smiled cheezily and pratically drenched myself in a nervous sweat.
"You!" he yelled and tackled me to the ground. Mimi stumbled backwards but remained on her feet.
He sat on my stomach so I couldn't get up and hit me in the face. I panicked and hit him back. He fell to the side and landed on the floor. I got up. I had no idea I had that kind of strength..
"Yamato, we don't have to fight. That's not the way to get her back. You should know more than any of us that Mimi hates fighting."
"Whoever said I wanted her back?! She left me! She hurt ME! I just want to teach you a lesson for taking her away!" He ran up to me and jabbed me right in the nose. Blood began to trickle from my nostrils and down my cheeks. I suspected it was broken.
"I'm not going to fight you!" I screamed. The blood was now gushing from my nostrils. It ran down on dribbled off my chin. It began to stain my shirt and probably ruined it forever.
"Then don't fight! Just stand there and get beaten!"
Just then Mimi walked up to Yamato and punched him right across the face.
"Mimi...What...What are you doing?" he asked in a softened tone of voice.
"The better question would be 'what are you doing?!' Jyou here was the only one worried about you when you came in here in what looked like a half dead stage. Plus he loved me from the beginning. When he found out we were dating, he left well enough alone. But, you...you come in here and start attacking the only person who actually cared about your well being. Not to mention the fact that whenever someone needs comfort, he helps them, and that includes you. I'm surprised he's not a psychiatrist."
She's actually defending me. I was always said to be nerd when I was younger, but now, one of the most popular people in Tokyo was defending me from an attacker. This would be the happiest moment of my life if I wasn't bleeding so heavily.
"Uh, guys." They all turn to stare at me. But, Mimi's still glaring daggers at Yamato, Yamato's confused and upset, and Shin's still trying to break up the whole confrontation. "I'm kind of bleeding really heavily over here. I'm not a hemophiliac, but I can change!"
"Oh, right." Mimi says pretending she realised I was here as opposed to trying to stare down Yamato.
Yamato watches unmoving as Mimi runs off to get some tissues and a trash can. He stares in disbelief as she rubs my back and talks to me as I pinch the bridge of my nose. He gawks in awe as she comforts me.
He finally decides he's seen enough and slowly trudges away. He drags his feet across the floor as he heads out the door. He whispers something inaudible and closes the door behind him on his way out. Judging by the way his lips moved, I'd say he said 'I love you Mimi.'
"Yamato, wait!" I call out.
"Leave him." Mimi tells me. "Anyone who does something like that to a friend, deserves to wallow in self pity."
"You just said he's a friend."
"So?"
"You said earlier 'When he's our friend, it is our business top help him.'
A tear forms in her eye. "I wish could be as forgiving as you, Jyou."
"I know." I respond, and head out of the apartment, closing the door behind me.
When I get outside, Yamato is gone. "Yamato! Yamato, where are you!?" I call in a desperate hope that I'll get a response, alas, I get none."
His apartment is a few floors lower than mine. He's probably gone there. I guess i kind of lucked out in that area, but I still have to get there before he does anything stupid.
I finally reach his door and I jiggle the handle. Locked, of course.
"Yamato, are you in there?"
"The doors locked, so go away!" comes the muffled reply from behind the door.
"I will, but on one condition. You have to promise me you won't do anything to hurt anyone, and that includes yourself. Alright?"
Silence. It was the silence that befell around me when I asked him that told me he wouldn't be able to grant my condition. He was either going to hurt himself...or he already had.
"Yamato!? Are you alright!?" I yelled through the door, but still, I got no response. "That's it! I'm breaking the door down, Yamato. Still, no answer. I was serious. I kick the door with all my might, but it didn't move. It hurt like hell, but I wasn't about to give up. He could be ready to kill himself. I tried again. Still, the door didn't budge.
I was about to try again, but was interrupted. "Let a real man handle this." It was my brother, who was followed closely.
My brother pushed me aside so he could work on the door. I walked over to Mimi and wrapped my arm around her. Her eyes were full of tears and her hands tightly clasped themselves. She stared at Shin in a hopeful gaze.
Shin reared back slowly and ran at the door with all his might. The door went swinging open and slammed against the wall. Shin fell inside and landed on the floor. After he hit the carpeted floor he let out a loud shriek and grasped his shoulder. "It never worked like that in the movies!" he screamed.
"He'll be fine." I informed Mimi. "Right now, we have to find Yamato before he does anything stupid."
I run through the small apartment with Mimi trailed behind me. I check both the bedrooms before I notice a small amount of light coming from underneath the bathroom door. Mimi stops her search and looks at the light when she notices it.
"Open it." she commands.
I do as she orders, and throw the door open.
She screamed and I just stood there. Staring at the horrific sight before us. Stare at the lifeless body before us. The wet clothes cling to the boys skin and soak in all the moisture around him. His hair soaking wet and his head almost completely submerged in the water. Ugh. The water was barely even water any more. It was a disgusting red colour from all the blood he had lost. There were razor blades lying beside the tub. What he had done was obvious.
I broke down and started crying. "Muh, Mimi. Go cuh, call and ambulance."
She closed her eyes and nodded. She was trying to prevent those tears from running down her cheeks, but it was futile. All I could do was stare in disbelief.
Five minutes later, the ambulance arrived with several police officers.
Shin, Mimi and I stood huddled together in the hallway, outside the bathroom. The door was closed so we couldn't see what was going on inside.
A man opened the door to the bathroom and came in to the hallway to speak to us. He closed the door behind him. I saw some men on the other side of the door, writing things down and flashing pictures of the horrid scene.
"I'm sorry." the man said. "We didn't get here in time. He might have survived if we had gotten here earlier. I'm sorry."
Mimi burried her face in my shoulder and started crying. I wrapped my arms around her and silently cried.
I guess I was wrong. He did love her. He loved her enough to take his own life. God knows I hadn't. Maybe if he hadn't been so angry at the time, he wouldn't of done it. He really did love her. I guess he's just not very good with emotions.
They say 'Tis better to have loved and lost that to have never loved at all.' I guess Yamato didn't believe that. He would rather never have existed than to have a life without Mimi.
He really did love. It's only more evident when I open the door and notice something that we hadn't yet seen. The forensic men probably had, but Mimi and I were to fixated on the carnage in the tub to notice such other things.
On the wall, in sloppy letters, printed in a very thin coat of blood are the words:
'I love you, Mimi.
I guess he really did love her after all.