December 13, 2003
Title: Providence
Chapter: Thoughts (2/?)
Author: Charlie (Lycthem)
Disclaimer: See part one.
2.
A week passed before Taichi gave the Ishida Issue, as he had taken to calling it in his head, more than just a moment's thought. During that week he had helped several with minor problems and had managed to buy a bottle of that delicious eggnog an old lady in his apartment building made every December. It was always in very high demand, and it was only after paying her weeks in advance that he managed to snatch a bottle so early in the month.
Instead of serving as a wake up call for him, thinking about Ishida, not the eggnog, those thoughts only served to dampen a bit of his holiday spirit. It had to do with his innate goodness and desire to help out, but leaving matters unfinished in such a way was not something he was proud of. So, he decided that precise moment he began to think too much about it, what course of action he was going to follow.
He was going to help Yamato, if and only if, he happened to come by him while he was still in need of his help.
It was a reasonable plan. If it were him who was to help Yamato, then somehow his superiors would make sure that they meet again. He was positive that meeting him the first time was no coincidence, but if he indeed met him a second time, then he would intervene and do his duty. If not, then he would live on with the thought that someone better suited was charted to help him out.
The sensible thing to do, a part of him had argued, was to look for Yamato and be of assistance as quickly as possible. He might lose his chance otherwise. And though mostly an impulsive creature, existing for almost a thousand years tended to develop the more rational and logic oriented side of you and sentimentalities didn't hold much of a candle anymore for Taichi. And so it was decided.
He would've thought, that once he had decided that, his superiors would make sure that they'd cross paths again. So, the day after, he left his apartment with the notion that he'd see Yamato again. When he didn't, he returned and waited for the next day. When the next few days came and went and he didn't see the blue-eyed man, it was then Taichi let himself worry.
"What do you mean the superiors have no assignments for me?" an ill-tempered Taichi demanded from the small, yet tough-looking woman behind the counter. She was rather petit, but that didn't refrain one bit from the fact that she could take up anyone and beat whatever out of him or her.
"I meant what I said, Taichi. They haven't had any assignments for you in the past year. Not ever since you stopped being a permanent and made that rouse about 'freedom to choose whom ever you wanted'." She said that quite coolly only damaging the effect a bit by adding those ridiculous bunny fingers at the end to quote him. He stared at her for a moment, his disbelief and anger temporarily rendering him speechless before he gathered his wits.
"And since when have they paid attention and actually followed through with something I've suggested?" he said in disbelief.
"Just that once, I think. I suspect it had something to do with her since she is rather fond of you, but there you have it." She turned away from him and picked up a small pink notebook from the shelf behind her. When she turned around she threw the notebook at Taichi and he caught it expertly.
"Look for today's date." She said before leaving the room through a door in the back. She did that quite often and he was used to it. So instead of being mad at her dismissive attitude, he opened the book and looked for the day's date.
Written in pink ink (she was so predictable) he found the names, times, and locations, of people that needed permanent and semi-permanent guidance in the area. Odaiba was not a very extensive district, but the list was quite long nonetheless. He scanned the list quickly, one name distinct on his mind, when he found it. Near the bottom of the list, written with the same flourish as all the others with one small difference only a few others had.
Ishida Yamato – Reassigned.
*
*
It began with a tingling that started from the top of his head then made its way down to the bottom of his feet. He began to feel light-headed and then the coldness swept in. So sharp, so acute, he had to blink a few times before his vision cleared up. He couldn't believe the words. He saw them, but assimilation was far out of his reach. That was quite possibly the most he had been surprised for about a decade.
Somehow he closed the notebook, placed it on the counter, and left the shop, but he couldn't remember how, just that moments later he was sitting on his usual chair at the café with a hot cup of black coffee in front of him. Not much was going through his mind, and the only thing that was had nothing to do with the blue-eyed man, rather with a memory of a time not so long ago, in which he had thought nothing could go wrong.
The sound of laughter and the soft clinking of glasses were constant in the background, yet Taichi found himself immune to all noise that didn't concern the young girl in his charge. She was small and innocent, with big bottle green eyes and a dimpled smile, her delicate face framed with soft curls of auburn hair. She was dressed in a simple yet beautiful dress a shade darker than her eyes. All in all she looked the part of a cherub.
She was playing with one of the napkins that had earlier decorated the dinner table and used to hold the figure of a swan. Now she was folding it into smaller and smaller squares, the look of concentration in her small face, great enough to rival that of a scientist at work. She wasn't bothered by neither the music nor the people and continued with her things, just as Taichi's attention was never deferred from the three-year-old girl. He had asked for her before she was born. He had felt her potential and wanted to help her nurture and develop it.
Her father summoned her; petit, he affectionately called her, come join papa. She looked up just as he beckoned her and left the napkin there to reach her father. Her parents were always hosting a party of sorts, it went with the business, but this was her first time in a Christmas ball hosted by them and you could see they were both excited. Her mother was a bit apprehensive, she thought her too young still, but her father had laughed and so had little Clarisse. Secretly, Taichi agreed with the Madam, but he could only guide the girl, not bend her will.
She laughed a lot that night. A smile was constant in her face and her angelic giggle lightened the room. She was polite and charming and utterly adorable. She spoke to more people than she had ever seen in her life, and was constantly flattered by them as well. And every step she took, she was guarded vigilantly by her guardian angel.
But he watched her as well. And his intentions were not sincere.
"Are you feeling okay, Mr. Yagami?" he was interrupted from his thoughts. The waitress was new and he had yet to know more of her, but as he stood up and handed her the exact change he didn't hesitate to reply.
"No, I don't think I am."
*
*
He was an angel with a mission.
It did him no good to dwell on matters that were already out of his control, but he couldn't shake the feeling that whoever was guarding Yamato now wouldn't be able to do a better job than him. It was going to come bite him in the you-know-what, but he didn't care. This he wanted. But this he couldn't get.
"Just give up on it." Came a soft accent-less voice from behind the dark haired angel. Taichi turned to look at him and frowned. He felt the other angel was entirely too calm after listening to his plan and decision that he was to convince the other permanent he was better suited for the job.
"Just give up on it? Just…? You have to be joking." He voiced out. "I can't just give up on it."
"What do you mean you can't just give up on it?" the smaller red-haired said. He had this way of speaking that make you think he had something better to do than talk to you. Once you got to know him though, you learned enough not to take it personally. Taichi knew him enough, however, to tell that this time Koushirou did have something to do he deemed more interesting. "What's it to you if you become this guy's angel or not? You won't be anyone's permanent, so you really are not the best candidate for the job."
Taichi stared at his long time best friend for a moment and then sighed. He didn't want to say he felt drawn to help this young man. He didn't want to say he could feel great potential in him. Didn't want to say he could feel that he knew what to do to help him in everything. But most of all, he didn't want to say that the young blonde reminded him of someone he should've taken better care some time ago.
"So? Why can't you give up on it?" Koushirou questioned when Taichi remained quiet for too long.
"I just can't." Taichi said quickly.
Koushirou cleared his throat then picked up the remote control from besides him. Taichi's apartment was the yin to his yang. Where Koushirou's apartment was clean and organized and very colour-matched, Taichi's screamed disorder from every angle. Obsessed with soccer ever since the time it was invented, his whole apartment was filled with trinkets from every possible game imaginable.
A red and blue jersey covered the top part of the TV, including the small censor that allowed the remote to turn it on, and so Koushirou's efforts to turn the device on went in vain. Stretching a wing, Taichi threw a gust of wind towards that general direction and it flew off to the floor.
"Show off." Koushirou muttered as he turned on the TV to a rerun of some old show. Taichi only smiled, yet they both knew that that conversation was far from over between them.
Having known each other for centuries now, they both were granted guardianship duties around the same time, they knew each other inside out. The smaller angel knew enough not to ask until the other one was ready and gave signs of wanting to talk about it, or things became too noticeable to ignore. So, at the moment, Koushirou did the only sensible thing.
"Do you want some chips?"
Taichi turned around to look at him with incredulous eyes, and then just as quickly his expression became neutral then to a look of gratitude. Jamming a hand into the bad of said chips, he helped himself to some of the greasy delights.
"Thanks Izzy." He said, using the long time nickname.
Koushirou just waved a hand in dismissal and continued watching television. Taichi grinned, Izzy was right, that was what friends were for. He turned towards the screen and it was a while before they stopped watching the black and white reruns, but by that time, they weren't thinking about anything serious anymore.
*
*
The vibrant colours of fluttering scarves decorated the ever-busy main street in the district. Location of several of the most important businesses, museums and the like, it was professionally illuminated with what seemed like millions of fairylike spots. Festive decorations adorned every corner, and even those who didn't celebrate the Christmas holiday were taken into the warmth and cheerfulness those ornaments sang of.
Sporting a vivid red scarf around his neck, Taichi found himself making way through the multitude of people cluttered in the way. He had left his card making a bit later this year, and was now on his way back home after spending a few hours buying his usual utensils. He was the athletic type, outwardly and inwardly, but his love of soccer didn't defer his attraction to art.
It came as a bit of a surprise to him a few centuries ago to find out that he was good at painting the ever-famous cartoons of people everyone was always entertained with. Not to say he couldn't draw a decent portrait of someone shall the need arise, but his true passion there lay drawing cards to those he deemed needed them most. His friends, old and new, received some, as did those he only knew by name. Those he passed by that left an impression on his received those little gifts, as well as those that didn't.
He arrived to his apartment building, his cheeks bright from the wind, and greeted the concierge cheerfully. Koushirou was away with a charge, and that left him in his apartment to do as he pleased; Koushirou tended to spend more time in Taichi's apartment than he did in his own. After placing his coats and scarf in the hanger, and the bag of utensils near his desk, he kneeled down on the floor and took out a few white papers from a cabinet.
Walking towards his couch and turning on the TV, he lay on his back and started drawing the first of his sketches. As a woman's face started to take shape he smiled, he had the whole weekend to draw as he pleased. So many people would get more than they expected, and others wouldn't know that hit them. He added a nice bag on the woman's hand, and the smile on his face widened. As he began to draw the outline for a car, he noticed the song being played in the movie. Shaking his head he turned to his drawing humming to the tune of a Christmas version of Shania Twain's Man, I feel like a woman.
There was not a thought in his head that didn't involve his drawing, but as the minutes ticked by and one of his cards began to take the form of a certain cerulean-eyed youth, he stopped a moment and sighed. Looking at it rather despondently, as if it were the cause of all his woes, he placed it on the floor and picked up a blank one. Slightly less inspired than before he began his usual beginning doodle. Shit.
*
*
- [Lycthem] -
Written: December 01, 2003 – December 06, 2003
Revised: December 08, 2003 – December 11, 2003
Posted: December 13, 2003