Even if we refuse to look back and even if we cease to remember, there will always someone to call our name so we can turn our heads and there will always be something to remind us of how it used to be.
Chapter 6: Drown Out
Chiyo happily bounced into Lorelai's arms as she exited the nursery house with her backpack being dragged behind, much to her attention. But then again, she was no more than five—she had little knowledge and lesser care of how the world worked. Because to young Chiyo, everything was there because they just were. And anything was together because, again, they just were.
Lorelai smiled as she carefully set the brunette's backpack on her childish back. "Someone's happy!"
"Because! Big sister and Big brother came and pick me up together!" Chiyo giddily replied looking from her said Big sister and up to her said Big brother, who had merely shot his own grin back towards the young girl.
"You see us together everyday, Chiyo." Ran answered as the five year old moved to embrace the blond boy. "Oh, and I hope you didn't give your teacher a hard time."
"Of course I didn't!" The brunette smiled, perking up—letting her pigtails bounce. "I'm a good girl! Big sister always teaches me to behave properly!"
Ran frowned, casting his teasing gaze towards the raven teen beside him. "That's what I'm worried about." He smugly commented, earning him a light smack on his shoulder—courtesy of one Lorelai Kumiko.
"What's that suppose to mean?"
"You know what it means." The blond answered back.
The couple playfully argued as the youngest of the three merely giggled at the scene that unfolded before her innocent view. Forgetting (and ignoring the fact) that her mentor had been watching from the doorway with her own gleeful smile gracing her face.
"Oh!" Chiyo blinked as she earned the attention of the teenagers before her, turning to the earlier neglected middle age woman. "Teacher! This is my big brother!" The young lass beamed, motioning to pull the lady closer to their group.
"So I see," The woman smiled widely, eyeing the latter two. "Your sister told me a lot about you, and of course, your beautiful companion!"
"Me? Beautiful?" Lorelai released a pinkish blush. "Uh, thank you?"
"And she also tells me that she couldn't wait until you two are married!"
And then, it was a certain Midori male's turn—the blond, in a second's time, turned to an interesting shade of crimson as he looked down towards his little sister. "C—Chiyo!" His tone was reprimanding, yet his expression showed otherwise.
"It's true!" The youngest pouted. "I want Big brother and Big sister together forever!"
At that, both eighteen year olds froze in spot as they ignored the nursery teacher who merely laughed off their disposition. "Now, now," The woman stifled. "I know you two will make a lovely couple!"
"I—ice cream!" Lorelai exclaimed, hoping the topic would change. Or for the better, hoping that they could leave the nursery house behind. "W—who wants ice cream?!"
-.-.-
It was quite agitating, at least for Yuuri, how the whole world seemed to be happy just when every single thing in his part fell to little bits of shattered pieces, rendering them forever destroyed. To the king, it was fate's way of telling him that he failed not only in his life, but also in the lives of the other people he had truly cared for.
That, or Shinou was making fun of him.
"What a coincidence, Kumiko! Midori!" Yuuri watched as Murata conversed with the other two teens that were coincidentally passing by the park as well. "And, my, who is this little girl?" The sage asked with a grin as he kneeled to meet a small brunette who clung tightly on her older brother's hand.
Ran's expression was sour. Way too sour for Yuuri's liking.
"Go on, Chiyo." The blond nodded, trying to smile as he looked down towards the young five year old beside him. "Introduce yourself to these nice young men." The emerald eyed boy forced out of his mouth.
"Hm?" Chiyo nodded hesitantly before casting her own gaze towards Lorelai, as if she was searching for confirmation from the older girl. "Can I?"
Lorelai sighed while she looked towards her boyfriend who was nonchalant as he looked away from the group. Ran seemed to have found the tree more interesting than their little accidental encounter in that very place and time.
"Of course, you can!" She nodded and the youngest stepped forward, out of her brother's hold.
"I'm Chiyo Midori," The brunette curtsied as she wore a bright smile. "Nice to meet you, misters!"
"Nice to meet you too, Chiyo." The sage happily greeted back. "I'm Ken Murata! You can call me Muraken, for short."
"Okay!"
Yuuri was well aware of what was happening; it was another introductory piece of the people inside Ran Midori's inner circle—another reason for the raven king to ponder about Wolfram and what it would have been like if he got to know the mazoku prince a little bit more. And, if they had ended the 'engagement' right, another aftermath for Yuuri to imagine.
"Hey, mister!" A tug came about on the said king's shirt, calling for his attention. "Why don't you speak?" Chiyo asked, blinking her angelic blue eyes towards the monarch.
Ran snorted, addressing his upcoming comment to Yuuri. "Don't tell me you forgot to speak too. Idiot."
The youngest frowned as she turned towards the blond. "Big brother!" She started just as Lorelai snickered.
"…here it comes." The black haired girl grinned.
"If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all!" Chiyo scolded, earning Ran more snickering and stifled laughter.
"Yes, yes," The sole blond playfully rolled his eyes towards his sister as he smiled one of the most gentle smiles the world had ever seen. "I'll keep that in mind."
"Chiyo's a smart girl, isn't she?" Yuuri happily applauded, kneeling down to talk to the brunette. "I'm Yuuri." He grinned brighter.
Ran tightly closed his eyes in an attempt to hold back a wince, which did not escape both Lorelai and Murata's attention—while the royalty obliviously played with the pained blond's adorable younger sister.
The sage's glasses flashed just as the eighteen year old Kumiko spoke.
"Chiyo," She called as the brunette turned to her. "I think it's time we go; we have to get ice cream! Remember?"
Blue eyes glistened, turning back to Yuuri. "Would you like to come too, Yuuri?"
"I… uh," Lorelai stiffened at the moment Ran held her hand. "I think Yuuri and Muraken have something to do… tonight."
"…actually," Murata intervened right before Chiyo could move away from the king. "Shibuya and I have nothing to do," He said, placing his glasses back onto his nose—his lips, stretching into a sinister grin. "And we'd hate to disappoint Little Chiyo, right… Shibuya?"
"I… guess." Yuuri's brow rose quizzically as his lips moved to add another sentence—only to be cut off by an excited little girl who dragged the king away from the group and down the direction of the ice cream stand.
"Yey!" said little girl exclaimed…
…quite ignorant of Lorelai's worry and Ran's frustration.
-.-.-
"Choco-banana, please!" Chiyo beamed to Ran as Lorelai moved towards the park bench where the double blacks sat. In her hands were two cones of ice cream that started to melt the very moment they were set out of the stand.
"Here you go." The raven lass chirped, passing the cones to their respective owners.
"Thank you." The sage joyfully accepted.
While Yuuri, on the other hand, stiffly reached out for his own. "Thanks." The monarch whispered underneath his own light breath.
Lorelai merely smiled back, sitting on the fountain ledge across the duo. Her brown eyes turned their sights upon the far side of the park, eyeing her boyfriend and his little sister who were standing together, as she kept wondering if Ran's headache finally disappeared.
"Hey, Kumiko."
The called girl slightly flinched, turning her attention towards Murata. "Y—yes?"
"Not to pry or anything, but… how did you end up with Midori?"
Taken a back, the lone female of the small group blinked towards the random question just as Yuuri frowned at his companion.
"You're being nosy, Murata." The king stated, looking back at Lorelai with a forced smile. "Forgive him."
"Uh, no… it's alright."
"I'm just curious." The sage defended. "I mean, I'm just wondering how a snappy man like Ran ended up with his exact opposite."
From there, it was Lorelai's turn to frown. "Ran maybe snappy, but he's the sweetest guy I've ever known." She started with a firm voice. "Sure he's clingy at some points and his temper goes through the roof and he's a snob, a real snob—but…" The eighteen year old girl slowly reverted back to a smile. "Ran's determined and sincere. He tries his best to make everyone he cares for happy." Her voice gently trailed off, her eyes cast towards their subject. "And he maybe selfish… but then, who isn't?"
…at that very moment, Yuuri blinked, drowning out Murata's commentary.
Don't you understand my love?—Wolfram's voice echoed once again within his mind, bringing back more and more memories of what he and the prince had. A pang soon banged the walls of Yuuri's heart, letting him feel the mocking guilt as his gaze landed onto the walkway.
"Shibuya, you're ice cream's melting." Ran's voice rang, snapping the king's attention back to reality.
"Ah…" The king sighed in hopelessness. "There goes my shirt."
"Yuuri's sticky now!" Chiyo happily cheered while she bounced around the bench.
The blond frowned, "Chiyo, you're gonna get sticky too if you keep flailing your ice cream up in the air like that." He scolded while he passed another cone to his girlfriend who had graciously accepted.
"Where's yours?" Lorelai questioned when the Midori lad sat beside her. Both their backs, turned against the crystalline water that sprouted from the fountain's sprinkler.
"I don't feel good." The emerald eyed boy mumbled for only the girl to hear.
"We better get you home then—"
"Big sister!" The youngest of the group called, running towards the playground nearby. "Play with me!"
"—but Chiyo, your brother—"
"It's alright, play with her. I can last long." Ran smiled, reassuring his girlfriend. "Go." He whispered, only to have the said girl smile back with a hesitant nod before she stood to walk away.
Leaving the blond all alone with the company he had never ever longed for.
Yuuri watched the closeness of their relationship open before his dark eyes—somehow, the king felt annoyed. And somehow, he found himself even more deeply in distraught of the fact Ran was the exact replica of Wolfram. That he was smiling Wolfram's smile… not to him. But rather, shooting it to another person.
"Jealous, Shibuya?" A certain sage spoke up, not to loudly.
"Don't start, Murata." The king replied. "I'm not in the mood."
Murata smirked, glancing towards Ran who seemed to have been busy watching the two women in his life, going off to a distance not too far. Of course, until the prince-look-alike turned to meet the sage's gaze.
"Care to tell me what you're looking at?" Ran frowned—just as his phone rang. "On the second thought, don't." The blond added, answering the ringing item within his jacket pocket. "Hello… mom?"
"He's not Lord von Beilefeld," The sage of double black stood. "But… it wouldn't hurt to push him into the fountain, just to check if he sinks or he swims."
"…what are you talking—oh, no." Yuuri's eyes widened as he stood up, dropping his ice cream on the ground. "Murata, don't you dare."
"I just wanna check. There's no harm in checking, you know." Murata swiftly walked towards the, fortunately, distracted blond.
"Ran! Get out of there!" The king's eyes widened as he raced towards the Midori youth, getting farther ahead of his scheming companion. "Ran!" He yelled again, barely noticing the medium sized rock that rested within the path he ran—thus, the eighteen year old monarchy leader tripped. "Shit, Ran get away!"
"Yes, I've already—Shibuya, what the hell?!" The blond screamed in the motion of being tackled into the cold waters of the fountain, only to be swallowed into a rapid whirlpool that appeared out of nowhere.
"…looks like they both sunk."
To Be Continued