Kazuha giggled gleefully at the peck on her cheek that she received from Ohashi before he left her doorstep. They had gone out to dinner and then rented a movie and watched it at her house. It was a comedy film, which kept the mood light. Ohashi was no fool, and he knew a romantic movie would have been horribly awkward for both of them. Their conversation during the dinner had been very superficial as well, mostly talking about school and their respective martial arts. Now she was alone, and she waltzed merrily through her bedroom door and threw herself onto her bed. This night had been the perfect pick-me-up, just what she needed. She was now left with only her thoughts as she pondered the substance of her date. While it had been fun, she new there was nothing to it, and she felt a tinge of guilt as she considered that poor guy who probably thought the date went great and he was getting a second date for sure. Despite the fun she'd had on her date, she was now, once again, plagued with unsettling thoughts of her "best friend". She was really beginning to hate that phrase.
Sigh no more, no more
One foot in sea, one on shore
As he ran, he was convinced he could get to her house in five minutes if he continued at his current pace. As he ran, he could feel his lungs about to implode, but he had been feeling that long before he started running. Truthfully, his lungs been on the verge of collapse since the second he saw Kazuha with Ohashi. He thought of their fingers interlocked, and it made him sick. But, despite his feelings, he had resolved to leave her alone. He knew it wasn't his place to pressure her into requiting his feelings, and aside from that, she was already happy without him. Yet here he was, running full speed toward what may very well have been the biggest mistake of his very young life. He still couldn't quite comprehend the reasoning behind his decision to confront her. This may have had something to do with the fact that there was no reasoning involved. But then again, reasoning wasn't really necessary in this instance
My heart was never pure
As she laid there, both distraught and puzzled by her ever-constant fixation on this one man, she couldn't help but wonder "If I were Heiji,, what would I be doing right now?" As she thought this, she decided to give him a call. No answer. "What could he be doing that would keep him from picking up the phone?"
You know…me
There were only a few reasons he wouldn't answer his phone: he was either on a case, eating or running. If he was on a case, he would have been done with it by this hour. And due to the speed at which he finishes his food, he would have called her by now. So running? He did have a tendency to run at night. But he usually only ran during the school week, and he definitely considered Friday night the weekend.
You know….me
"There it is! Her house is only a few yards away!" As he steadily approached her door, he stared ominously at it. "I'm here" he thought "Now what?" That was Heiji, never planning more than five minutes ahead. He raised a closed fist to knock on the door, his mind ravaged by doubt, shame, guilt and any other emotion that would discourage someone from doing what he was about to do. He squeezed his eyes tightly and, in a moment of boldness, struck the door a few times.
Oh man is a giddy thing
Her mind was still going in circles trying to figure exactly where Heiji could be when she heard a knock at her door. It was a fairly loud knock, almost like one that her father would employ if he was angry with her. She cringed for a moment, doing inventory over the past few days to make sure she had no reason to fear punishment. Once she reassured herself, she glided down the stairs to answer the door, opening it slowly which allowed a gust of cool air to circulate through the room. When the door was opened completely, she came face to face with a dark figure standing in her doorway, comparable only to the most stationary of statues.
Oh man is a giddy thing
There she was, the girl that had given him the horrible soreness in his chest the past six hours without laying a finger on him. She was standing right in front of him, just a few feet away. He stood completely still. So still, in fact, that if not for all the blood that had rushed to his face he would've assumed he'd been frozen in ice. The only evidence that he was even alive was the visible air that flowed out of his mouth with his rapid breathing. His hands were trembling, but he had them stuff so deeply in his pockets that there was no way she could have noticed. She took a step closer to him, making his hands shake more violently. After a few steps, they were face to face, separated only by a few inches.
Oh man is a giddy thing
"Heiji what are…" she couldn't even formulate the question in her mind. She could only stare at him. She gazed deep into his eyes, analyzing them thoroughly. She noticed no visible difference from the last time she had seen him. But this was not surprising nor disheartening because the difference she sought was not an aesthetic one.
Love, it will not betray you
Dismay or enslave you
It will set you free
What she searched for in his eyes was something far deeper than color or shape. She looked for something she had seen many times in her own eyes. It was something that both empowered her and demoralized her. It was a certain inner desire that could only be seen through the eyes
There is a design
An alignment to cry
At my heart you see
"Kazuha I…" his boldness failed him and he was left to speak despite all the fear that continued to bind his tongue
"I wanted to, well, I mean…it's just I was….look, I need to talk to you"
"Obviously" she said, looking extremely uncomfortable and straining to smile and appear normal. "Why else would you be here?" Heiji took a deep breath and composed himself
"Kazuha" his voice took on a more serious inflection "I saw you with Ohashi after school" he looked directly into her eyes as he said this, startling her to the point where she ducked her head in order to break there eye contact. After a moment of silence, she turned her back to him and shuffled into the kitchen
"Do you want tea? You look cold" she received no response. He didn't move at all, in fact. He maintained his position in her doorway. When she reappeared from the kitchen she was shocked to find he still hadn't moved. She smiled, evidently trying to fake a level of comfort with the situation that was clearly not there
"Kazuha" he repeated sternly once she had come back and readdressed him in the doorway
"What? What's the big deal? So I walked home with Ohashi-san. You know him pretty well, he's a nice guy"
The beauty of love
As it was made…to…be
They were both silent after. For what seemed like an eternity, they just stood there in the doorway. He moved his eyes around the moved erratically, trying to avoid her eyes at all costs.
"Aho are we just gonna stand here and freeze all night or what?" Throughout this whole conversation Kazuha had been dressed in nothing but a t-shirt and her pajama bottom. Needless to say she was probably freezing by now. Without response, he took a few steps past the doorway then stopped. His stop was abrupt and seemingly unnoticed by Kazuha, who had already turned around and started walking back toward the kitchen.
Love, it will not betray you
Dismay or enslave you
It will set you free
He took a few steps back toward the door. Once he was repositioned in the doorway, he cleared his throat and spoke up
"Why were you there with him Kazuha?" his voice was much colder now. He was stern and unrelenting, making certain she wouldn't avoid the question again. She poked her head around the corner, looking at him curiously
"This again? Look we went on a date tonight i-"
"You what!" Heiji screamed angrily, suddenly abandoning the cold, reserved façade and replacing it with uproarious fury
"Look I told you" she said, taken back slightly by his outrage "It was just a date. Don't be so weird about it; I'm free to date whoever I want"
The beauty of love
As it was made…to…be
After that, she disappeared into the kitchen again. She leaned over sink to rinse out the cup she had just used for her tea. Despite her seemingly upfront attitude, she couldn't help but think that Heiji really knew something was wrong. She continued to watch the running water hit the porcelain cup in the sink, trying to come up with an impromptu course of action.
"Kazuha!" She heard Heiji scream from the other room. She was alarmed at first by the volume of his voice, but deduced that the he had just took into consideration the distance between them and tried to compensate for it. When she went back to see what he wanted, she found him standing in the doorway again.
"Aho! Are you trying to get sick or just freeze me to death?"
"Do you like him? Are you d-d-dating now?" Once again she could hear his voice revert back to a more defensive and vulnerable tone. He seemed to have a hard time even saying the word 'dating'.
Love, it will not betray you
Dismay or enslave you
It will set you free
"What difference does it make if we are!" she screamed back at him. He felt his fist clench as anger once again onset and took the place of good judgment
"Because you're weren't supposed to be with him!" he roared forcefully at her, being sure to could his head down at the ground to avoid eye contact
"Is it that big of a deal that I didn't walk home with you? It's not like you're incapable of walking by yourself!"
"That's not what I meant Aho!"
Be more like the man
You were made…to…be
She heard the unmistakable seriousness in his voice. She had only heard him speak like that a few times in their entire friendship, and those times were usually directed at criminals that tried to deflect their guilt at a victim. Nothing made him angrier than a murderer that blamed a victim for their crime.
There is a design
An alignment to cry
At my heart you see
She approached again, closing the gap between them even further than she had a few minutes earlier. They were now chest to chest and she blushed slightly when she felt his heart beat faster at her presence. She looked up at him and awaited his eyes to lock with hers. When they did, she finally saw what she had been waiting for, the yearning deep in his eyes that she had seen so many times in her own reflection.
"What did you mean then?" She asked tenderly, not allowing her eyes to stray from his even for a second. He hesitated at first, appearing to have calmed down and now tried valiantly to conjure up something in response "Heiji…" she trailed off, squeezing his shirt tightly
"I…." he stared down at her, searching his mind for the words to say. Finally after a few moments of silence he swallowed hard and thrust his head forward and planted his lips on hers. At first the contact almost pushed her off her feet, but once she settled into position she closed her eyes and received his answer. The kiss was chaste and only lasted a few seconds. Once it was over they smiled madly at one another as Kazuha pressed her head against his chest. They held each other tightly in the doorway of her house, the wind blowing vigorously causing her ponytail to whip around behind her.
"You know I had no lunch today?" he whispered teasingly in her ear
"Of course I did" she pushed off his chest briefly, sharing a smile with him.
The beauty of love
As it was made…to…be
