A/N: I don't know why the edit comman did't work last time. Of course I meant Tuesday, not Thursday. Grr. Well, it's better this way around.
Chapter 2 : (Honey,) I've got your ringtone on my Blackberry
"Takuto? Is- is that you?" Meroko asked as thoughts whirred around in her head. Why did Takuto have her cell phone? Why was he answering it? What had he thought of when he realized it belonged to Meroko? Had noticed that the ringtone was his latest single and that the screensaver was a picture of his face?
"Yeah, it's me," Takuto's voice returned her back to the current moment, "You'd forgotten your cell to the club. It was on the sofa you sat on," he explained. "Too bad I only noticed when you'd already gone. I figured I could take the phone with me and call someone in your list to find out how I could bring it back to you, but...this is easier, I guess."
"Oh," Meroko said. "It must've fallen out of my purse at some point. I didn't notice at all."
"That's probably it," Takuto agreed, and Meroko heard the sound of a starting car. It sounded like he was outside, but somewhere were there wasn't much traffic. He was speaking again.
"So, can you tell me someplace I could come to drop your cell? Your workplace or something?"
"No, no," Meroko objected, suddenly remembering that Mrs. Asakura was there, too, looking at her knowingly, "you don't have to go that far, really. It's my fault you have the phone in the first place. I can come get it from you today, if it's okay. Where are you now?"
"I'm at SEED's, the building near the bridge. I have a meeting here, then lunch at 2 a' clock. Can you come then?"
"Sure, it's not that far," Meroko said quickly, doing the math in her head. She had to be at work at 3 P.M. sharp. The SEED building was on the other side of the city, but if she had luck with the buses, she would make it. She decided to overlook the fact that she almost never had luck with any means of transportation.
"Good. I'll be waiting for you in the lobby. Just walk straight through the main entrance, you'll see me there."
"Right. Thanks and...bye," Meroko said nodding. She heard Takuto hang up and slowly put the receiver back to its rightful place. Then she turned to Mrs. Asakura.
"I'm sorry. I really didn't expect anyone to answer the phone."
"It's quite alright," the old woman said, still smiling like she knew a little more than she ought to, "You know where to get your phone now, don't you? So it was worth an extra call to my bill. Well, was he a friend of yours?"
"Not really," Meroko said, unsure how to react to the way Mrs. Asakura called Takuto her friend, "I only met him last night. But I have heard about him. He's Takuto Kira, the singer."
"Hmm, I see, I see," Mrs. Asakura said. "Well, you had better be going, isn't that right?" she informed Meroko, pointing at the clock hanging on the wall. It was almost 1 o'clock.
"That's right, I need to hurry! Thank you very much, Mrs. Asakura," she bowed again before dashing back to her own apartment. She packed her bag and quickly devoured a toast to silence her grumbling stomach. Then she applied some quick fix makeup, all the while lamenting that she didn't have enough time to think of something nicer to wear.
Finding the right building was not hard. You could see the company's huge logo from miles away, and the building itself was thirty stories tall. Meroko wandered to the biggest door she could find, reasoning that it had to be the main entrance. The glass doors slid gracefully from the way to let her in to the chillingly cold lobby. Apparently it was important for the company to show off its power by making their offices so cool on a hot summer's day. One of the receptionists – the one who wasn't chattering to the phone in a language Meroko didn't understand – looked at her and frowned a little suspiciously, as if she was wondering whether or not to call the security to take Meroko away...or maybe it was just in her head. Meroko scanned the lobby with her eyes and was relieved to see Takuto sitting in one of the tables with a paper cup in one hand, waving at her with the other. Meroko went to him with a smile, relishing the feeling of being treated by Takuto like she was a close friend of his.
"Here you go," Takuto said, handing her the pink rabbit-like object, "and don't worry: I didn't look at anything there," he added, quelling Meroko's earlier fear of having her personal business being probed at by a stranger. She wouldn't have minded so much if it was him, though...
"Thank you," she said again, "and sorry. This was so stupid of me." Takuto shook his head.
"It's alright, it happens. I lost my cell once, too, and it was a real pain to buy a new one and rewrite all the names and numbers. So, you're on your way to work?" he asked, taking a sip from his cup, which faintly smelled of coffee.
"That's right," Meroko nodded. "I guess...I should be going. Don't want to waste your lunch break," she cracked an apologetic smile as she took a step backwards toward the door. Takuto stood up and turned to leave to the opposite direction. They were going to go separate ways again. Without any promises, or anything else that actually meant something. Meroko had dreamt of meeting Takuto half her life. Her wish had already come true once, but she hadn't done anything about it. Now Fate had given her another chance. Takuto had found her cell phone, and he had cared enough to return it to her. Was she really going to let another chance to get closer to the idol of her life? There might not be a third time – Fate wasn't that patient.
"Actually," she began and Takuto turned back to face her, looking mildly surprised. Meroko bit her lip, trying to think quickly. "I'd like to...meet you again. Not just in a concert or anything, if you know what I mean. It's okay if you don't want to, I understand, but..."
"Why not?"
"Huh?" That was way too quick!
"I had fun talking with you last night. I wouldn't mind doing it again," Takuto said, shrugging.
"Really? I had fun, too. So...we'll see again?"
"Can you give me your number?"
Takuto took his own phone from his pocket – a blue modern-looking device with a cat mascot attached to it, she noticed gleefully – and Meroko shared her phone number for the second time that day. Takuto pressed on the call button and her pink cell burst out singing in Takuto's voice. She blushed as she silenced it and saved the number.
"I like your ringtone," Takuto joked. Meroko cleared her throat in an attempt to save face.
"Okay. Now I've really got to go, or my boss will put a chain on me and never let me out," she said and started to make for the door.
"Sounds dangerous. Let's hope you'll manage to escape," Takuto nodded and finished his coffee. Meroko gave the receptionist, who was now looking somewhat irritated, a triumphant glance and left the building, immensely pleased with her life at that moment. She had Takuto Kira's cell phone number. He had promised to meet her again. Now she could say she knew Takuto Kira personally.
She missed the bus and was late for work, but even as she was cleaning up after the store had closed, she couldn't help humming to herself – the song was Route L's, of course.
"I had a good feeling about today in the morning", she thought to herself, "but this is just amazing. Maybe Mrs. Asakura can see to the future, seeing as she looked at me like that?"
Meroko went to her locker and switched her phone from silent settings to regular. She smiled at the picture on the screen and blew it a kiss.
"I love you Takuto," she whispered, unaware that Takuto's phone rang in his room at the same moment, miles away from her. It rang for a long time before he picked it up, but he didn't say anything. He didn't need to, as the person who had made the call spoke for him.
"Takuto, why do you always take so long to pick up?" a female voice complained.
"I was in another room," Takuto lied. Actually he'd been sitting right next to the device. The woman accepted this explanation.
"So where'd you go from the party last night? No one knew where you were. I looked for you a long time!"
"I thought you were busy so I didn't want to bother you," Takuto said blankly.
"Whaat, don't be silly, Takuto! You wouldn't bother me, I love you and you know that,"the woman said laughing. Takuto could hear the tune of a popular TV show from the other side.
"Did you have something to say? I was just going to go to bed," he told the woman. She paused.
"Well...no, I just wanted to know how you're doing. That's not a crime, is it?" she huffed, sounding a little offended.
"No it's not. I'm fine, just a little tired. I'll give you a call some other day."
"Fine, be that way," the woman sighed, "Good night, Takuto."
"Good night...Hikari," Takuto said, but she had already hung up. Takuto listlessly tossed the cell phone towards his bag, cursing under his breath when he missed his target by a few inches.
Four short days later Meroko was walking on the street in yet another part of her hometown she barely knew. She should start going out a bit more. She was young, for goodness' sake, and she couldn't waste her life on just going from her home to work and back. But then again, meeting Takuto was already changing that.
'He actually called me this quickly.'
The thought brought a smile to her lips. It was just a meeting in a café because he had some free time before he had to be somewhere nearby, but still, Takuto had gone through the effort to call her and ask if she wanted to hang out. It couldn't be just her imagination anymore, could it? Maybe he really was interested in her!
'This time, for sure...everything will be perfect!' Meroko told herself as she turned around the corner and her eyes registered the name of the café where Takuto was supposed to meet her. It was a small, cosy place called Jonathan's. Its mascot was a strange ghost with cunning eyes and a top hat. It was a bit weird, but somehow it suited the place perfectly.
When Meroko stepped inside, she was greeted by a tall, handsome man with long, white hair. Well, perhaps the word "greet" wasn't the best choice – but the man nodded slightly when Meroko met his gaze. The eyes of the man were somehow similar to those of the ghost, and they followed her all the way from the door to a free table next to the window. Actually most of the tables were free – the only customers were a solitary businessman reading a newspaper, a middle-aged woman with several shopping bags next to her, and a young couple chatting quietly. Meroko liked the calming ambiance of the café and wished there was a place like this closer to her home.
Meroko didn't see the waitress coming before she was standing right next to her. The woman was similar to the white-haired man in that she seemed too ethereal to be of this world. She had deep, gray-blue eyes and there was an odd foggy aura about her. Meroko resisted the urge to lean back as the waitress asked her what she would be getting.
"I'd like...um, a Vanilla latte, please!"
"Very well," said the waitress and floated back behind the counter just as quietly as she had arrived, handing her notebook wordlessly to the white-haired man. He, in turn, disappeared to what Meroko believed to be the kitchen of the café. On second thought, maybe it was good that the strange café wasn't that close to her apartment after all.
Meroko was halfway through her drink when Takuto arrived. He ordered an iced tea. Meroko watched the waitress drift away and again the white-haired man went to make the drink. Was that really how those two handled a business?
"Do you come here often?" she asked Takuto, wrenching her attention off of the eccentric pair.
"Well yeah, every now and then," he replied, "It's peaceful here, and the drinks are good. Jonathan's not the talkative type, but he knows his business."
"So his name is Jonathan?" Meroko asked, wondering if the man was a foreigner. Takuto shrugged.
"That's the only name he's ever given me and that's what I call him." He stirred the contents of his glass absently as he continued.
"After I was discharged from the hospital, I had to come back for check-ups. It's nearby, so this was a convenient place to come and have a breather in – better than the hospital cafeteria, at least."
"You were in a hospital?" Meroko asked worriedly. She had never heard of Takuto being injured in any way or coming down with anything more serious than a regular cold.
"Oh...right. Of course you wouldn't know. Keiichi and me, we decided that we should keep it under the wraps. Wonder why'd I start talking about it, in the first place..."
Meroko anxiously watched Takuto stare the tablecloth as if it could somehow let him go back in time and take back his words a few moments ago.
"It's...that bad?"
"More like it was. Now I'm completely fine... So you can stop looking at me like I might keel over any second now."
"What? No, I...wasn't thinking that," Meroko laughed nervously
'He doesn't want to talk about it', she chastised herself. She shouldn't pressure him. It would only make him feel uncomfortable. 'It doesn't bother me. Not at all. Okay...I've got to think of something else to talk about...hmm...hmm...'
"...It's bothering you, isn't it?" he gave a defeated sigh. She was so easy to read – her eyes were like a television screen projecting all that went through her head. Right now she was looking him guiltily.
"Bother? Me? No, that's not what –"
"I had a tumour in my throat."
Meroko's mouth was left hanging open mid-sentence and she stared at Takuto, who observed her like a gambler who has just told his opponent he has a miserable hand with nonexistent chances of winning.
"There. I said it. But I'd appreciate if you didn't tell anyone. If it gets to the press, they'll make such a big deal out of it and I'll never be able to do anything without people remembering it. I don't want anyone's pity."
Meroko closed her mouth and looked at Takuto, surprised at how calm she felt at hearing the news.
"So that's why you disappeared after Route L?"
"Yeah. Everyone was already on the edge because of Aoi's accident and all... I guess we all needed some time to think about what we want to do with the rest of our lives. In the end, Keiichi became a full-time doctor and I decided I want to sing again. And, I haven't regretted that decision, not even once," he said with a boyish grin. Meroko's heart skipped a beat.
They stayed for a while, chatting light-heartedly. When it was time for Takuto to go, Meroko left together with him to see him off before taking the bus home.
As soon as the two had walked out of sight, a new customer entered the now completely empty café. He went straight to the counter, where Jonathan was cleaning glasses.
"I'll have your strongest coffee," the man said, and the golden glow of his eyes was just as hard and metallic as the silvery steel of Jonathan's irises, "and you'll tell me what you know about the man who left with the pink-haired lady just now. Do we have a deal?"
Jonathan placed the glass he had been holding to the counter and left the room without a word. The waitress, who hadn't moved even an inch from her post next to the counter after bringing Takuto's ice tea, now smiled ever so slightly at the golden-eyed man.
"Your order will be delivered momentarily."
A/N: That was it this week. Somewhat shorter, but the development might be even more fast-paced...or maybe not. You can be the judge of that ;)
Next week: unexpected encounters. Meanwhile, you can leave me a review and call it a birthday gift (I'm turning 19 this week!) Many thanks for neko-Taku-chan, who already did!