- AKI -
"This looks nice, don't you think?" I picked up an ornament made of coloured glass and the hanger was bright red yarn weaved in the style of cord necklace. There was even a small flower woven in just above the glass, which was reminiscent of traditional Chinese ornaments. "You could hang it up anywhere and it would change the atmosphere right away."
"Uh," was his reply. I don't think he took it to heart, but at least he was looking.
"Ah, well. Let's see what else there is."
Yūsei and I were taking the curve around the lake; it was quite a long walk, probably around forty minutes or so, but there were stalls set up along the trail. We were able to stop and look around before moving on again.
"Aki, look at this." Yūsei was leaning over something red and black. I moved over to what he was looking at and I was immediately stunned by what I saw.
With light reflecting off its wings like tears or morning dewdrops, there stood a Black Rose Dragon made out of glass, perhaps no bigger than the palm of my hand but radiating in all her beauty. I couldn't even take my eyes off it; everything about it was just stunning. The yellow glow of the lanterns even made the red and black appear orange and dark-green at times. "It's beautiful… how much is it?"
Without a word, Yūsei simply gestured to the tag that said: 50,000 YEN
"Fifty-thousand yen?" I gasped, backing away. "For something that small? No way! My father wouldn't approve…"
"Irrashaimase!" the vendor called out, startling me. Where did she appear from? "May I help you, miss?"
"No, that's alright," came my sheepish reply. "We were just looking."
As we moved farther along, I realise that the lantern glow was gradually dissipating. Immediately, I felt a chill trickle down my spine. I must have shivered involuntarily for Yūsei suddenly put a hand on my shoulder.
"Are you cold?" he asked. Even under the dim light, I could make out worry in those beautiful blue eyes of his. "We can always head back."
"I'm fine," I said. As I slowly turned away from him, I explained, "It's just that the dark… kind of brings back some memories…"
"Is that so—"
"I don't usually walk in the dark," I began. I didn't need to turn around to get Yūsei's attention for I knew he was listening. He was always very attentive, especially when it concerned his friends. "Ever since I was still the Black Rose Witch, even walking in the dark was a living nightmare. I was alone but I was also the Witch, so it always felt like someone was after me. Someone who wanted me to suffer after all the things I had done. After all, I had done a lot of damage but I wasn't fully aware of the consequences at the time..."
He was still listening to me.
"But now…" and this was where I felt like something was stuck in my throat. Please, not now, I thought. I was suddenly at a loss for words, but I made every effort to make way for what I would say next. Turning to him, I mustered all my courage and said, "When you're by my side, I don't feel afraid of… anything."
There was a brief but awkward silence. "That's good," came his reply. "I'm glad to hear that."
For a moment, I was speechless. That's all he had to say? But then, I knew what to expect. After all, this was Yūsei, a man with little words and emotion. You could also say he was quite oblivious to anything remotely intimate, too. After a few more minutes of silence and watching the people on the other side of the lake, I spoke again.
"Yūsei?"
"Hm?"
"I'm glad I'm able to be here enjoying the festival and watching the scenery with you tonight." With one hand, I leaned down to gently swat at a lantern floating close to the shore at the surface, watching it bobble away on the waves.
This was as close to a love confession I could get… for now.
For now, I'm lucky to be walking and talking to him, all under the beautiful warm glow of the festival. If I'm very lucky, I can even hear his heart beating along with mine. This feeling is never adequately described, but somewhere deep inside your rapidly fluttering heart, you know how alive you feel.
Someday… I thought as I looked up at the starry sky. I suppose my eyes were full of hope at that moment, and I was back to being a little girl wishing on a star. Someday, I'll be able to show him how much he truly means to me.
- YŪSEI –
I was planning to tour around the lake alone, but Aki decided to walk with me. I usually enjoy the company of the wind against my face, listening to the occasional rustling of leaves alone. Regardless, I value all my friends more and I don't try to object with them if it's unnecessary to.
But tonight was different. Tonight, knowing that a close friend is walking with you and looking at the same scenery as you are, that feeling is… it's a lot different. It's something you can't quite feel when you're walking alone.
"This is the end," I said as Aki and I reached the corner of the lantern-lit area of the bay side. "It's only trees and darkness from here on." But I didn't mind investigating the dark; I found it fascinating even though there was likely nothing to see. However, after Aki told me she was afraid walking in the dark…
Not today. "It's time to head back." I figured she might not want to walk the same way back again so I pointed at the boats lined up at the dock. We were in great timing, too, for it was still a bit too early for midnight boat rides so we didn't need to wait through the hassle of a long lineup.
We got in front of a small red boat that I let Aki pick out. "Ladies first," I said. She was afraid she would slip in the dark, so I reached out and caught her hand. Her slender fingers possessed a much stronger grip than I thought.
"Don't step on the tire," I reminded. "Just lift your leg over onto the plank."
"I know," was her reply. Then she stepped on the tire and fortunately, I saw it before it happened. I abruptly wrapped my arm around her waist to keep her from falling.
"Ah-" was her initial reaction, but she only said, "Thank you, Yūsei." I got into the boat after her, sitting right across from her. It had been a long time since I was on a vehicle that wasn't mechanically-powered… come to think of it, I believe it was since my days in former Satellite. So much has changed since then… but looking back, I couldn't imagine it happening any other way. Giving the helmsman the signal that we were ready to row out, I then averted my attention to the scenery the lake offered.
Something I liked about this boat ride was even though it was still man-powered, retaining its old-fashioned charm, the small boat managed to glide across the lake with a tranquil calm. The boat wasn't even that large, but it moved steadily with very limited rocking. Either the boat was quite heavy, for I had seen what appeared like metal plates along the bottom of the boats, or the waves were particularly still tonight. That couldn't have been the case; I could constantly feel the summer night breeze against my face.
The bottom of the boat is made of metal then, I concluded. That's why it is dense enough to push against the wave motion near the surface.
"The moon…" Aki began, snapping me out of my thoughts. She seemed to be hesitating over something. "I…I just love how it reflects off the water, creating this flat paradise. I think I could be out here all night."
"Me too," I agreed. "The breeze is refreshing. I remember when Rally and the others used to drag me out fishing for a day just to get me away from my machines... back when Satellite and Neo Domino were still two worlds apart." I smiled as I thought of those memories from long ago. "Sometimes I wonder how they're doing now…"
"You miss your friends there, don't you?" Aki asked. I turned to look at her.
"Uh. But I know they're doing well and because of that, I can rest my head at night."
"Are you going to visit them again?"
"This summer. Crow, Jack, and I are planning to visit Martha and the kids to check up on them, just see how they've been doing." Subconsciously, I reached out and put a hand on her hands, which were rested on her lap. "You and the twins can come along, too, if you'd like to see how we used to live as kids."
"Of course!" Aki said, the moonlight spreading across her pale skin. "I'll be there." She had a wide smile on her face and I've never realised how smouldering her dark eyes were…
Until now.
It was fun writing about shy (and maybe a little insecure) Aki and the typical clueless-when-it-comes-to-love Yūsei.
He has a beautiful woman in front of him yet he cares more about the build of the boats.
So here's some (very) subtle romance for you! They're only teenagers and I find it OOC if they jump into it too soon.
Thank you for reading! Review if you like; I would appreciate any and all feedback.
