Senko-san: ASSIGNMENTS! WRITER'S BLOCK! ASSIGNMENTS! WRITER'S BLOCK! ASSIGNMENTS! WRITER'S BLOCK! ASSIGNMENTS! WRITER'S BLOCK! ASSIGNMENTS! AAARRRGGHHH!
Riyo-san: ………I think she covered the reason of the looong wait… Gome ne, minna san… (Sorry, everyone)
Searching for a blood-red lotus
Chapter 4
"So… what are you guys doing in this side of town, anyway?" I leaned back on my chair, trying to get comfortable.
"Well, actually, I bumped into Hakkai coincidentally during shopping for food supplies." Yue explained.
"Oh? With a 'bodyguard' trailing you?" I grinned.
"You really don't value your life, do you, kappa? (Water sprite)?" Sanzo began to boil again and Yue tried to calm him.
"Err… Actually, Sanzo has a business discussion to attend to…" Yue smiled apologetically on Sanzo's behavior.
"I see. No wonder you looked so formal… 'Sanzo-sama'…" I grinned.
Man! I really liked to piss him off! There he goes again, with his boiling temper, cursing… Heh! Funny!
But at some points, I also snuck a few glances at Scarlet. She was now getting use to Hakuryu, letting him nibble some tidbits off her plate.
"So, the discussion is held here, is it, Sanzo?" Yue asked.
"A'ah. (Yeah.)" Sanzo calmed down.
"Hmm… such an expensive restaurant… That person must be of high rank, eh, Sanzo?" I sipped my coffee.
"…Urusei… (Shut up…)"
"Yare yare desu ne… (Oh, boy…)" Hakkai sighed helplessly. "You two just can't talk harmoniously, could you?"
"If Goku was here, it would be worse…" Yue admitted.
"That's true. Luckily his holidays aren't up yet… Wonder how he's doing…?" Hakkai smiled.
"I'm sure he's doing fine. He's gonna graduate soon, right?" Yue looked at Sanzo.
"Ch! Whatever!"
I turned to look at Scarlet. Looking at her smiling, she seems to enjoy their company. I'm glad for that.
"Ah, so you're already here." A voice caught our attention.
"…We just arrived…" Sanzo replied casually.
"Oh, so it's you whom Sanzo is expecting…" Hakkai smiled.
"Shoulda' known…" I smirked.
"It's been awhile, minna san (everyone)." The man gave a firm smile in return.
That guy…It's been a long time, and he still looked damn good! Heh! Some 'anti-ageing cream' he has!
"Shall we get down to business?" Sanzo stood up.
"Oi, you guys are just gonna leave us like this?" I stood as well.
"I've already paid the meal for you guys, if that's what you're worried about…" Sanzo spoke.
"Ch! What do I care about that? I'm talking to THIS guy right here! Not YOU, 'BLONDIE'!" I pointed at the man.
"Teme…- (Damn…-)" Sanzo began, but stopped when he caught a glance of Yue's expression. "Ch! You're not worth my breath, anyway…"
"What else do you want me to say to you, Gojyo?" The man sighed.
"At least, let me introduce you to someone…" I patted Scalet on the shoulder.
Getting my message, she stood up.
"Scarlet, this is an old friend of ours, Kougaiji. Kougaiji, this is Scarlet."
She gave a formal bow.
"Pleased to meet you. So… you're Gojyo's company, eh? You better take care of him. He really needs a 'babysitter'." He grinned.
"NANI? (WHAT?) Why you…-!"
I could hear the others suppressing their laughter. It was then, I felt my cheeks were red from embarrassment.
Suddenly, Kougaiji noticed Yue beside Sanzo.
"I believe I haven't seen you before either…"
"Ah, yes! I'm Yue. Pleased to meet you." Yue introduced himself.
"Hmm… Likewise, Yue-san… I'm Kougaiji. And I believe you're now the one 'babysitting' Sanzo, correct?" He smirked.
Now it was Sanzo whom turned red. Even I can't help but chuckle.
"Looks like the troublemakers all have 'nannies' now, eh?" Kougaiji seemed to enjoy himself.
Both Yue and Scarlet tried to strain Sanzo and I from tearing him apart.
"All except one more…" Hakkai chuckled.
"Hmm… so I see…" Kougaiji said, understandingly. "How about you, Hakkai?"
I turned to look at him. Through that smile of his, I knew he was still hurt deep inside. First love is always the hardest to fade away…
"I'm still kinda' busy at the University." He told him.
"Are we going to get on with it? I didn't come here for nothing…" Sanzo cut in.
"Ah, yes… Let's get on with the discussion."
All of us watched them heading for the private room.
"I don't know how long I'll be…" Sanzo turned to look at Yue.
"Daijobu. (It's okay). I'll manage." She smiled.
"Is it alright if I drove her back, Sanzo?" Hakkai offered.
"Ch! Do whatever you like." He grunted and continued on to the room.
"Well, I think this is where we take our leave." Hakkai announced.
"Leaving so soon?" I asked.
"Well, I've still some things to do… and I think Yue does too…" Hakkai mentioned.
Yue just gave a warm smile, agreeing with Hakkai. She slowly picked up her paper-bags filled groceries and motioned to Hakkai that she was ready.
"It was nice to see you again, Gojyo." She bowed. "And it was really a pleasure of meeting you, Scarlet-san."
"Ha! Ha! That goes for the two of us." Hakkai chuckled.
"Heh! I see you guys enjoyed yourselves at the humiliation I got before…"
"Well, gome ne… (sorry…) We can't help it, though…" Hakkai pushed the door open as we all left the restaurant.
We chatted a bit more, and before Hakkai drove off with Yue, he called me closer and whispered something into my ear.
"…Don't you dare hurt her, okay, Gojyo? I won't forgive you if you do…"
I looked at him, startled.
"W-What do you mean by that? Why would I?" my voice sounded more like a demand than a question.
But he only smiled, leaving the two of us once more. I let out a heavy sigh as Hakuryu vanished down the road. Sometimes… I just don't get him…
Suddenly, I realized that Scarlet was looking at me the whole time! Embarrassed, I smiled at her.
"Oh, gomen (sorry), Scarlet! I got carried away there…" my voice drifted away as I see her shook her head, still smiling.
I slowly looked away, with my mind blurry.
"So, uh… where do we go next? It's still kinda' early…"
I looked at her once more. From the way she looked back at me, I understood what she was telling me.
"…So it's up to me, eh?" I thought for awhile and a place came to mind. "Okay, follow me…" I took her hand and guided her towards our next destination.
Scarlet's POV
His hand… is so warm… His grip is firm and comforting… He has beautiful hair and eyes… I…-
My mind snapped back to reality. He was still holding my hand, guiding me on… He gave me a somewhat warm and comforting feeling… I've… I've never felt like this before…
I could feel my heart thumping fast… and I could feel my face feeling hot… Why am I feeling all this? Wh-… Suddenly, it dawned on me…
…Am I… in love with him?
The more the question began to repeat over and over in my head, the more embarrassed I felt.
It can't be… I shouldn't feel that way… He wouldn't fall for a girl like me, anyway…
I could feel my heart sank at that comment. I refuse to think of it again.
"Oi, Scarlet? You okay?" His voice starled me.
I gave a quick nod and smiled, letting him know I was okay.
"That's good…" He smiled back.
I realized that we had reached our destination.
"Well, what do you think?" He asked.
I couldn't respond. I didn't know how to! The view… the scenery… all of it… It was simply beautiful…
"I know you'd like this place…" He smiled, looking at the scenery.
I wanted to ask how he found such a beautiful place, but before I did, he continued.
"Years ago, a friend of mine discovered this place. It became our playground ever since…"
……A friend? But… where is this person now? Is this person… among the friends he introduced to me before?
"She… moved away… 13 years ago… Leaving this place…" His voice grew softer as he recalled all the memories he had with her.
…Leaving this place…and…leaving…me…
The breeze swept through their faces, and played with their hair. Scarlet was still looking at him, slightly saddened.
This friend he was talking about… was a girl…
From his face, I forced myself to look away. I could feel my heart sunk deeper into despair.
…But… Why should I feel this way? …Was it… because… I know he is still waiting for her… after all this years…?
I never knew… that under that cheerful, mischievous, teasing face of his… he had another face… How blind I was…
My gaze stopped at the lake and something in it caught my attention. I find myself walking towards it and kneeling at the bank of the lake, still gazing at it.
…Lotuses… How beautiful…
There, floating gracefully on the middle of the lake were pink-petal lotuses.
I couldn't help but smile. The lotus flower always seemed to cheer me up.
"You like the lotus flower too, eh?" His voice broke away my thoughts.
I nodded as a response.
He sat beside me, gazing at the flowers too. I didn't want to interrupt him, so I let him be.
"I never thought that I would bring anyone else here… This was, after all, our little get-away…" He chuckled. "But… I guess… you kinda' reminded me of her…"
I could feel my heart skip a beat as our gaze met, but I quickly tore away, blushing slightly.
…Am I… suppose to feel happy? …Confused? …Sad? …I'm not sure…
"…She loved lotuses as well…"
His words made my heart sank deeper. Am I comforting or hurting him?
Suddenly, he chuckled lightly and lay down. I looked at him questioningly.
"She liked red flowers too. Just give her any red flower, she'll be happy the whole day!" He gazed at me. "She always tried to make me like them… but… somehow, I just couldn't…"
I noticed his gaze saddened as he stared back to the sky, deep in thought.
…Why? Why is he sad? Is it because red flowers remind him of a painful past… or… Am I the cause?
"She kept telling me that I'll like them eventually… but till now… I'm still not fond of them…" he muttered.
At that point, I realized I didn't know what to do. Was I suppose to comfort him? Or let him be? I felt so useless…
"Ah! I'm done reminiscing!" He got up. "Let's head back, okay?"
I simply nodded and stood beside him.
"Sorry that you have to bear with me… Scarlet… but… I really enjoyed your company…" His warm smile returned.
I felt better, watching that smile and his old-self return. I gave him a relieved smile and motioned that I was happy to accompany him.
"I'm glad to know that." He smirked.
Both of us looked back at the scenery one last time before we left.
"Scarlet? You are always welcome to this place… I'm sure 'she' wouldn't mind, either…" He winked.
I nodded in return.
We both dropped by at a mini-market to buy some things on the way back. As I was planning of what to cook for dinner, Gojyo's cell phone rang.
"Yeah?" He held the phone to his ear. "Oh, hi Zhan! Care to join us for dinner?" he smirked.
I watched him chatter on the phone as we walked on.
"Is that so? Hmm… Okay, I'll drop by the store, then… See ya!" he hung up and looked at me.
"We're gonna drop by at the store awhile. Is that okay?" He asked.
I simply nodded.
"Okay, let's go."
As we got closer to the store, more questions flooded my mind. And this uneasy feeling in my chest got heavier and heavier.
The sign on the door was already flipped to "CLOSE" an hour ago, but Gojyo still turned to doorknob open. We both stepped inside and looked for Zhan.
"Yo, Zhan! You in here?"
"Hi, boss! Scarlet! Just tidying up a bit…" he was stacking new tapes on the shelf.
Beside him, we saw someone else. A woman. She gave an excited smile when she saw Gojyo and quickly helped place the last tape on the shelf. She then quickly approached us.
"So this is her, eh? Zhan?" Gojyo asked, lighting a cigarette.
'Her'? Was the conversation before about her?
She had brown wavy hair, emerald-green eyes, cherry-colored lips and slightly tanned skin. She wore a baby-tee and pocketed jeans and leather-boots.
"Ah? You're SMOKING? TAKE THAT OUT OF YOU MOUTH RIGHT NOW!" She snatched the cigarette from his lips angrily.
"O-Oi! Nani sundaiyo? (What are you doing?)" He demanded.
"I hate smokers!" She crushed the cigarette using her boots.
"That still didn't answer my question!" Gojyo's anger rose.
"Rika-chan… You shouldn't have done that…" Zhan gave a nervous chuckle.
"Ri…ka?" Gojyo paused.
"I knew it! You've forgotten me!" she sulked. "After all these years I've never forgotten you, and now, you don't even recognize me!"
"O-Oi! Slow down a minute! I've a long list of girls in my head with that name, how am I…-"
"AH! You're a PLAYBOY NOW? I DON'T BELIEVE IT!"
"Just who the hell ARE you?"
"Huh… You really have forgotten me… And why am I not surprised? You have lotsa girls to entertain you…" She looked hopefully at him.
"You… No way… It can't be you…" Suddenly, a thought struck him.
Her cheerful smile returned. "NOW do you remember? It has been 13 years… I could understand if you have difficulties remembering… but I could help you jog your memory if you want."
My heart sunk deep once more. I know who she is… Finally, she returned…
"You look much more handsome now, Gojyo…" Rika smiled.
"…You said… we were apart for… 13 years…?"
"Slow aren't we?" she smirked.
Suddenly, he beamed.
"GOD! YOU REALLY TOOK YOUR TIME COMING BACK HERE!" He gave her a hug.
"Yeah! Yeah! I missed you too…" Tears of joy filled her eyes as she hugged back.
I watched them helplessly. I didn't know whether I should smile or leave… Either way… I could feel I was loosing myself… I felt as if I was torn into two…
"Scarlet, you okay?" Zhan's voice startled me.
Forcing to smile, I nodded in response. Both of us remained where we were, watching the two rejoicing their reunion.
Well… they've been apart long enough… I should be happy for them…
Nevertheless, deep down, I wasn't sure what to feel…
Senko – san: Phew! This is the longest chapter I've written so far! I'm sorry to keep you guys waiting! But the next chapter's gonna be much more interesting! …I hope… See you guys soon!