'Ai Kotoba'

By L. Adeline


00: 'Once Upon a Me (Us)' 2/2


He had his moments; Grief, pain, pressure and humiliation, but they didn't matter too much. Every time they came toppling down on him, he didn't hesitate to face those head on; they weren't a problem to him. He was strong against them, well, his ego was at least. He didn't dare himself to cross between those borders of emotions, he didn't want to. He was selfish in fact, selfish about keeping himself in check, and that he won't fall into a useless daze, he wouldn't allow himself, never.

He didn't want to be affected by the grief. It would keep him from his focus; it would keep from moving forward.

He didn't want to feel the pain of the situation. He had to be strong, to be able to grasp the courage to face the future pains that would come.

He didn't want to be pressured. Nervousness, inconsistency and loss of focus, the boy didn't want that, so he endured every situation that came like weight; he carried them and made them a challenge to make him stronger.

Humiliation? It didn't exist in his world. Sure, there were times where he was laughed at, there were times where he was stared at like he was some type of display, but really; the teen was never bothered about it. Not once did he let those go to his head, it would escape, dispersed and forgotten like it was nothing.

People admired him for that. His old classmates did, his distant relatives, and a few strangers that saw him keeping his cool even after something embarrassing happened right in front of their eyes.

But why? He asked; face red and heart beating out of normal pulse. He felt his blood rushing through his veins quicker than it supposed to. He shifted uncomfortably, a nagging voice crying annoyingly at the back of his head.

"You're screwed"

He groaned, almost annoyed that his conscious was purposely taking his ego down the drain; dragging it into the abyss leaving the bitter shock as an after taste. Minato wanted to stand, to leave as soon as he could to make save his self, from embarrassment itself. But he couldn't, the bluenet was frozen, and it happened it the most awkward situation he could ever experience. Perhaps it was the intimacy? Or was it his inexperience with females? Well, regardless of the reason, the fool was certain that, that one moment would easily topple the other moments in his short list of awkward days; without even trying, he knew it would definitely garner the top spot. But Minato tried, tried to keep the pressure down and that event from ever scarring him, like he usually did.

"Um…c-could you get off me…? You're crushing my innards…"

His voice staggered a bit as he stared into pooling red, eyes wide and shifty. Minato could feel her breath as she breathed in and out swiftly, almost as if she had a hard time to even process air into her lungs. But the blue-haired male could hear it, her voice barely surpassing a whisper, but considering their distance, Minato could hear her.

"If you take your arm off me first…"

The way she voiced it out was enough for him to swiftly pull his arm away that oh-so innocently stayed on her small waist. Minato didn't put too much thought on it, just pulled away fleetly. Not bothering whether he had hurt her in doing so. His mind was too hazy to process anything at the moment.

"Ah- sorry" Minato swallowed, refusing to meet her gaze. The brunette stood, and (much to Minato's surprise) outstretched her right hand to help him up on his own feet. The blue-haired teen didn't hesitate, just nodded, mumbling a small 'thank you' before accepting her help gladly. As soon as he could stand, he took the gratitude of releasing the girl's hand. She didn't seem offended for such harshness, and somehow, he was glad she wasn't.

"Don't mention it" she said, dusting her skirt before dragging her palms through the messy strands of her rich brown hair. Straightening out some of the curls and crumples and re-arranging some bobby pins. Then the gentle air started to settle, replaced with a heavy atmosphere that seemed to cut bruises unto both their skins. His mind started racing, and his eyes could only look at the ground. He noticed, though, that the brunette beside him also seemed to be a daze – a fixed daze; eyes hidden through her brown bangs and her body looking limp. Could she be thinking of the same things as he?

There was a silence, an eerie silence that hung heavily in the air between them, and for a while, it seemed that neither of the two even dared to speak. The fragility of that moment bothered Minato a bit; it would break, he was sure of that. In a matter of minutes, he would either expect a somewhat harsh action from the brunette, or even find himself ambling across the floors to the stairs in a blink.

But instead, he found his voice cowering at the back of his neck before finally spluttering out what Minato described as a forced introduction of himself.

"…Ari-sato…"

Through the darkness that enveloped the dorm in a shady green, Minato caught the sight of her eyes flutter rapidly, almost, slightly, confused.

"What…?"

Cue mental face palm. Regardless though, he managed to out stretch his left –which he strived to keep it from shaking too much, and in a voice that sounded much like his normal voice (he was glad that his voice didn't shrink fully), he repeated his introduction. "Arisato, Arisato Minato" this time, he managed to speak without making his words fall out of his tongue carelessly. He made sure his voice was solid; cool and calm before grating out the words, and he was very happy with the results.

The girl eyed him, almost passive of the entire situation; blinking a few times until finally understanding. She began to rub the back of her head sheepishly, "Ah- Shujinko, Shujinko Minako to be exact" she said, shaking his hand with a bright smile plastered on her lips. The ecstatic beat in her voice made the boy take a small mental note; the girl was definitely MUCH different from what he had proposed she would be. Silent, over-reacting, too innocent- those were the things that swelled in his mind when he first caught sight of her (from a very awkward view point as a matter of fact). Up-beat, happy-go-lucky, smiling- this was the image that embedded itself in his mind five minutes later.

It was a very big difference. But he couldn't say himself whether it was a good or bad type of change. He wasn't very certain of his reaction to it either. Nevertheless, at that moment, he felt at peace again. That tension that once bubbled in his chest was gone. The deep wrenching dread that came toppling down on him after seeing the brunette in silence was no longer clawing on his insides. Minato could feel his shoulders slumping a bit. He stifles a yawn and later rubs his right eye gingerly, and all the while, all he could think was the feeling of a pillow underneath his head and warm blanket wrapping him like a cocoon. Oh the heaven.

"Err-you ok Arisato-san? You seem sleepy…maybe we should retire for the night?"

He felt her gaze on him, and it wasn't very long until reality suddenly came back at him like a brick. Minato blushed slightly, feeling rather embarrassed from dozing in front of someone whom he just met. But wait? How DID he end up below her? And how did she manage to fall on top of him?

He groans; his mind is too tired to even think of such things. Maybe he'll try to console her later? Who knows; only time will tell when he'll ever question about the matter.

"Mmm…sleep sounds good"

Minato hears her giggle, and later feels a strong grip across his shoulders and back.

"Ok…I guess we're both tired. Seeing it's already, I don't know…22 minutes past midnight? Eh, I'm not sure. Let's just get some sleep" her voice sounded flat, but he could understand that, her face mirrored his in terms of drowsiness after all.

He chuckled lightly, "You know…I can lift myself up"

"That's not a reason for me not to help you. Your argument is invalid, Arisato-san"

The blue-haired teen could feel his body being dragged against cold cement, and for a moment, he briefly considered that Shujinko wasn't your average, scrawny, figure-obsessive teenage girl. She was strong for someone of her size, being able to carry him easily like that, and Minato was certain he towered her in a fair 2 inches or more.

"H-hey, Arisato-san, I'm sorry…for earlier…hitting you like that…"

Oh. So she was the cause of that?

"It's fine…really. Just…don't do that ever…again" Minato restrains himself from further expanding the matter, to further dive into the events. He decides, mostly for himself, that it's best to let it at ease until the right time.

He feels her head shift, and despite the darkness, he knew she was nodding feverishly.

Then silence bickers; lingering as he forces to keep up with the pace of girl's legs. However, the boy feels, or rather, knows that such a dead silence was a product of their drowsiness, and not because they didn't have anything to say at that point. Minato purses his lips into a small smile, and suddenly, all feels well.

Until, a voice –a creepy, lingering, child-like voice, echoes in against the walls. It makes them shiver, and both fools soon realize that they weren't alone.

"Welcome~"

Needless to say, Minato could've sworn he was about to fall merciless on his bottom again as soon as he felt the startled shift in Minako's stance. Thankfully, before he could even reach the floor, Minako had managed to grip his shoulders, roughly, but it was better than falling for the third time.

"You're late. I've been waiting a long time~"

…Scratch that. He could've sworn that floor must have liked him so much, it became a magnet.

Peachy, just peachy.


Minako Shujinko knew better that a child wearing prison-like clothes staring at them eerily in a place where it most likely dark and green and where she could have sworn that the clock had already passed the tick of midnight was definitely not a normal sight. And it took a lot of persistence to keep all the shock that threatened to come out as a scream hidden. Even so, she was glad she was able to manage her reactions.

Still, she couldn't help but shiver a bit from the boy's voice. Honestly, she would've ran straight to her room as soon as she heard the creepy little 'welcome' by the lounge if she didn't have Minato barely gripping unto her shoulders, refusing to fall again.

"You're late. I've been waiting a long time~"

Bam. That was all it took for Minako to give into the nagging voice that persuaded her to at least yelp in shock. And no sooner, did the boy next to her begin to cower in pain as he sat on the cold floor. The brunette tried to say sorry, she really did, but her voice was nowhere to be found at that point; almost as if it just deliberately dispersed itself from her throat, landing in an uncomfortable crash at the bottom of her stomach –which, in turn, was doing unconscious flips and churns as she felt the mysterious boy's piercing blue gaze.

If it wasn't for the contract that was held out to them, Minako would have already picked up the poor boy.


He smiles back at them. Gently holding out the contract out to them, and waits for their reaction before continuing his speech.

"If you want to proceed, then please sign here. It's a contract."

The brunette eyes him suspiciously, then back at the contract that he had held out.

"There's no need to be scarred" he said, smiling ominously as if fully aware of the tension that grew inside the two.

"It only binds you to accepting full responsibility for your actions."

He slowly, very slowly, drew nearer, and held out the feathered pen out freely with his other hand. Then just stared at them; waiting for either to take the initiative of signing their names.

Boldly written in blank ink was,

"I chooseth this fate of my own free will"

Both teens seemed to notice. Who wouldn't though? The letters scaled on a great size, and the color of its black ink topped the ones before it.

He smiles, as he watches the first fool boldly grab the pen from his fingers, and he lets out a small, very small, chuckle as he watches the other fool looking at him in such disbelief.

The young male signs his name, and looks back at his companion, slightly amused.

"Are you going to pretend to be a lamp post all night? Or are you going to sign?"

He laughed silently as the girl quickly rushes to his side and grabs the pen from him, cheeks obviously flustered from emotions he thinks he'll never understand.

"Ha-Of course not!" she says, and he knows all too well that her voice was laced in pure resolve and determination, and a faint hesitation, from what he sees.

She signs much differently from him, he inquires. Loops with messy spirals; a very feminine type of cursive, and then there was his, clean and very organized gothic letters; another manifestation that it was hard to believe that these two were of the same kind. 'They have so many differences, and fate choose them to be what they are', he thought, 'But I guess I cannot really question that…It is fate who decided, and no one can interfere'. Regardless of this, he still thinks that these two are definitely, a weird set for people who are about to make the greatest journey, for both life and its answer.

He pushes that thought away quickly as soon as he sees two signatures fill the blank space of the contract.

"…Very well"

The boy stares at them intensely, and then it gently lowers into a small, yet caring gaze.

He's interested in them, quite fond of them actually. So he makes sure he'll come visit them again.

"Time is something no one can escape. It delivers us all to the same end. Wishing won't make it go away."

He gently pulls the contract away and then spoke of the words that would probably begin their journey, a sign of the genesis of their year together, facing various events that would test them; ready them for the future that is about come.

"And so it begins…"

His body starts to sink into the night, fading like gentle dust against the cold, eerie wind. But he has no hesitation in doing so, because he knows he'll come back, for them.


End of part two


[A/N]:

o A o Sudden change in writing style is kinda creepy for me….I dunno know…maybe it's because I listening to Bad End Night? Or maybe because I was kinda…enveloped into Pharos' deep, creepy kind of character… seriously…I never knew I could write something like that…man…Pharos is such an influence.

Ahem, anyways, here's part two of Once Upon a Me (Us). This took me a while…three days to be precise. Two whole days of having constant writer's blocks…and I'm barely pushing through today since I have really low inspiration…

Neh…guess Tartarus won't allow me to get into higher blocks. . .

Fuck, I sound like Ikutsuki. - A- Not good.

-cough, err…yeah…next volume is going to entitled 'Two Breathes Walking' mostly gonna consist of 6 or more chapters... Depending on my pacing that is. So, hopefully you enjoyed this chapter…because my neck is killing me, and I just skipped dinner…soo hungry…-gnaws arm.

R & R Please.

[ P.S. Anyone willing to Beta read this…? It feels kinda off…for me]