Chapter 8
Newly Regained Friend
Noel pulled up a small table from the corner of her room and set the tea set and condiments down on it. She pulled two chairs up to the table as well, adjusting the cushions a little to make them look decent. The only light she kept on in the room was the small lamp on the stand beside her bed. "I hope Jin will like the tea," she said to herself while opening up the balcony door curtains. "After eight or nine tries, I finally got the recipe right for once." Noel looked through the glass, gazing at the black night for a moment, then turning away to look at her clock. 11:15. "He will be arriving soon," she said to herself. For some reason, her heart was racing a little at the thought of Jin coming again, even though she was starting to get used to the idea of him coming to visit her in the night as he had done for the past two nights.
"Hmmm…" Noel then turned around and looked around for a little while pondering to herself, until her vanity mirror had finally caught her eye from directly across the room. The mirror was large and round, bordered by a decorative white wooden frame that complemented the rest of the white vanity. Noel was standing in the perfect spot from across her bedroom where her reflection was right in the center of the mirror, and indeed her reflection was very visible and clear enough for her to see detail. She remained facing herself, perfectly still as she took note and witnessed whatever she saw. "So this is the girl whom Major Jin Kisaragi visits in the night," Noel said to herself while she carefully scanned every feature from head to toe. She did not come upon an imperfection on herself until she noticed that her long hair was slightly frizzled in one spot on her head, and so she was immediately compelled to smooth it out with her hand until it was normal. Although the minor flaw was fixed, Noel still adjusted her hair a little more, stroking it here and there to see what looked best, just to see what would compliment her eyes more or what would look better with her nightdress and whatnot. After fixing her hair, she started to fix the rest of herself a little more, from adjusting her dress a little to making sure her lips were not too dry. All this fixing and checking were going on with none other than Jin on Noel's mind; this was rather peculiar for her, mainly because she had never felt so concerned about her overall appearance before, let alone for a man such as Jin. On the other hand, however, Noel knew to look her finest, especially for someone significant. The only question was,…. why for Jin Kisaragi?
Footsteps sounded from outside on the balcony. Noel snapped out of her thoughts and turned around while looking through the glass. As usual, she saw the moving silhouette of a male figure yet again, and by the reflection of the moonlight she could catch a slight glimpse of blond hair. Right away, the girl's heart started to strangely throb in her chest, but she ignored this by unlocking the balcony doors. After a slight tug on the handle, Noel opened the door slowly, letting a slight, cold rush of evening air flow into her bedroom a little. She finally opened up the door completely, and she stood there in the middle of the doorway, looking straight at the shadowy figure of the night.
"Good evening, Noel."
"Hello, Jin."
"Sorry I came a bit earlier than usual," said Jin as he stepped further into the dim light. "I had to because of more serious reasons."
"It's not a problem at all," replied Noel. "Please come in."
Jin walked behind Noel as he entered into her bedroom, looking around and then setting his sword by the doorway. As he turned to look at Noel, he suddenly noticed the table and two chairs, along with the tea set. He noticed slight steam coming from the spout of the teapot, and so he raised an eyebrow. "You… made tea for us?" he asked.
Noel sat down in one of the chairs. "Yes, of course," she replied. As she looked back at Jin, she noticed Jin's skeptical look, and this did not surprise her since the major knew how horrendous of a cook she usually was. The fact that Noel had actually gotten a tea recipe right for once was something that Jin would definitely not expect from her at all.
"I remember the last time you tried to prepare tea for me," said Jin. "And, no offense, but it nearly tasted something like cat piss."
"But this is different," the girl replied. "I got it right this time."
"Prove it."
"Very well." Noel took the teapot and poured some hot tea into one of the cups. "I will try some first. If it tastes absolutely awful as usual, then you will be able to tell right away just from my face. That way, you will know if it's bad without having to suffer from the taste yourself." She put some sugar and lemon into her tea and mixed it with a silver spoon. She set the spoon down and, holding the cup with both hands, she lifted it up to her lips and took a sip of her concoction. She tasted the flavor; it was nowhere near the likeness of cat piss. In fact, she did not make a face at all as she tasted it. For once, it tasted just like sweet tea. Jin watched her carefully and with slight surprise. Noel set her cup down and looked back at him and told him, "See? Nothing wrong with it."
Jin blinked but squinted an eye in curiosity. "How do I know that it was you and not someone else who made it?"
"Everyone in the household is usually in bed by ten o' clock," said Noel. "As you can see, this tea was made just a few minutes ago, and I'm the only one who's been up."
Jin still remained slightly suspicious, but at the same time he was practically amazed. "Alright. I'll take your word for it," he said while having a seat on the other chair across from her. He looked at the teapot for a few seconds and then at the empty cup in front of him. Slowly, he picked up the cup and, holding it out to Noel, said to her, "Pour me some… please…"
Noel nodded and poured some tea into his cup. When the cup was full enough, Jin added a slight bit of sugar and honey into it and stirred slowly. He then took the cup and raised it to his lips. Before he took a sip, he looked down curiously at the warm, golden tea, his green orbs carefully searching for anything in the liquid that might have looked unusual. After all, this was a tea prepared by Noel herself, who was supposedly the worst cook he ever knew. Noel watched Jin as he finally tipped the cup a little toward his lips, taking one little sip of the tea. "How does it taste?" she asked him, eager for the feedback.
Jin set the cup back down on the table. There was a small pause for a moment. So far, he was not spitting out the tea in sheer disgust. Even his face was not showing any sign of revulsion whatsoever. In fact, Noel could plainly see that the Major's eyes were slightly widening with a sense of surprise. "Well,…." said Jin, "It… it tastes like…. tea."
Noel's eyes widened a little with anticipation. "Is it… good?" she asked him.
"Well,… it's not disgusting….. not at all… In fact,…" For once, Jin finally cracked a slight smile. "It's good. Very good."
Noel's heart immediately went aflutter. She couldn't help but to smile back, knowing that she had incredibly astounded Jin with her culinary skills for the very first time. This was the very first time she impressed anybody with her culinary skills. However, she was glad that Jin was the first to be, because he was the one she meant to impress this time. She did not know why, but she wanted to do whatever it took to make this tea just right, just for him, just for Jin Kisaragi.
Jin smiled and chuckled a bit in disbelief before taking another sip of the tea. "Wow, heh… I'm impressed, Noel. I'mvery impressed," said Jin.
Noel chuckled a little as well, her heart completely filled with tickling warmth. "I'm glad you like it," she said to him cheerfully.
The blond male took another sip of his tea and then set the cup down, grinning and looking straight at her. Noel responded by halting her giggling, and her face turned from happiness into slight confusion, then a bit of nervousness. Was Jin suspecting her of something? Was he going to let out some sort of surprising insult? The girl asked these questions in her head until Jin started to speak. "Lemme guess," he said to her. "You had to practice a lot to get this right, didn't you?" He was still smirking a little, so it was obvious that he was not unsatisfied with anything.
Noel calmed down a little and smiled again. "Ehe… It took me quite a few tries to get it right," she replied, rubbing her arm a little. She was prepared for any slight embarrassment that might have come within that moment.
Jin looked down and then back up at Noel, as if gesturing his unusual lightheartedness to her. He sat back in his chair and told her, "That's fine. Doesn't really matter how many times you tried. Somewhere down the road, you got it right, and that's all that matters. Don't you agree?"
After hearing this, Noel felt relief, and her full, lovely smile returned yet again. "Of course," replied Noel.
"In fact,…." Jin took his cup and held it towards his host again. "May I have some more?"
"Yes, indeed you may." Noel heartily took the teapot and poured some more tea into the cup. Jin added some lemon and honey to it and took a sip or two. Noel had some more of her successful tea as well. And so, those warm moments were spent right there, with nothing but a generous teatime, with no one but herself and her newly regained friend, Jin Kisaragi. What touched Noel the most about the moment was that, for the first time in so many cold years, upon Jin's fair face was something far more radiant than the sun—his warm, golden smile. It was as if Noel was once again looking upon that gentle, blond haired boy she first met on the emerald hills of Kagutsuchi. For a brief moment, the memory was so vivid that it nearly felt as if becoming real to Noel. She could feel the fresh grass on the bottom of her delicate feet. She could smell the fresh midsummer air of blooming lilies and wildflowers. She could feel the soft winds caress her fair cheeks and golden hair. She could hear the sound of wind chimes in the distance. She could see herself and Jin in school uniform as children once again…
"Noel…"
The memory ended. Noel was back in the present, in her bedroom in the middle of the night, sitting with Jin. She looked straight at his face. Jin was not looking back into her eyes but was looking down, and his smile had disappeared. What remained was a weary, colorless frown, as he usually had, but only this one was slightly tinted with a bit of remorse. His teacup in front of him remained only half empty. Noel's heart began to sink as she looked at Jin with concern and sadness. DidIdosomethingtoupsethim?She asked herself in her mind. "…. M-Major?..."
Jin looked up at Noel, his emerald gaze soft, yet so piercing to Noel's eyes. "Forgive me, Noel," said Jin softly. "This is… nice… what you have done…" Jin sat up straight, and before Noel knew it, he was right back to his typical, calm and barren demeanor. "However,… that is not why I'm here. I came to discuss something far more serious with you,… especially after what happened tonight."
"You mean… Hazama's visit?" asked Noel with a quiet voice.
Jin nodded but looked down to the side. Noel sat and remained quiet while continuing to observe his expressions. "You know, I told you to try to not be anywhere alone with him," the blond said with a slightly stern voice.
"I had no choice," said Noel. "My parents had already set up the date between us. It would have been too suspicious if I had refused."
Jin looked up at her and made a face. "Your parents actually trust the man enough to be alone with you for a whole night?"
"Apparently," sighed Noel, looking down and crossing her arms.
"Dammit. Worse than I thought," whispered Jin to himself while looking back down at the table, a hand on his forehead. "He obviously wants something to do with the family."
"J-Jin, what do you mean?" Noel looked back up at him. She was beginning to feel a little more worried and could tell by his face that he was on to something about Hazama or what the serpent could have been planning, if anything.
The young man sighed wearily and rubbed his forehead. "What I'm saying," he said to her, "is that whatever is going on, Hazama seems to be focusing much of his attention on your family, not just on you. He's not going to find it worthwhile to gain the trust of your parents unless they're something of his interest."
"So what you are saying is,… the Captain could be developing a relationship with my parents so that he can use them to gain something," said Noel.
"Somewhere along those lines, maybe," replied Jin.
Noel looked down in agreement, pondering deeply to herself. She then commented in a low, somber voice while looking down, "Indeed, it wouldn't surprise me, especially with the way he has been treating me. This night,… it was just awful. Everything about it, from beginning to end, was all just a horrid, degrading two hours. Hazama never let me speak, he never respected my emotions, and he never showed a care in the world about my own space. Not to mention, he…. He…." She closed her eyes in distress, then finished her sentence, "He forced me into a kiss… and then threatened me when I pulled away."
"… I know…" Jin gritted his teeth a little.
"J-Jin… your hand…" Noel looked in shock while pointing at his hand, which was noticeably gripping his teacup very tightly, causing it to crack a little.
Jin immediately noticed the light damage he had done to his cup, and he ceased his grip, taking it away shamefully and turning away from Noel as if to conceal his emotion. "My apologies," he said lowly. "That tea set must have cost a pretty penny. I will try to mend it for you if you wish."
"It's… alright…" said Noel hesitantly, still shocked by his sudden display of aggression towards the subject. "The tea set is old anyways…" Noel reached over to take the cracked cup, but when she grabbed it, her arm had accidentally knocked over her teacup, sending a small puddle of tea flowing out on top of the wooden table. Jin's gaze shot back toward Noel and then at the table. Noel gasped and covered her mouth in embarrassment. "O-oh my gosh, I'm terribly sorry!" she said panicking, worried that she would be criticized by Jin for her clumsiness.
Surprisingly, Jin did not show any signs of disdain towards Noel. "N-noel, it's fine," said Jin while quickly grabbing a napkin. "I'll help you clean it up."
"No, it's my fault. I should do it." Noel grabbed her napkin and instantly dabbed at the mess.
"No, no, I can do it." Jin reached over.
"M-major, please, I have it all sett—" Before she could finish her sentence, Noel completely paused at that moment. Her heart was electrified and racing from the significant jolt which suddenly shot through her nerves and into her entire being. When she looked up in front of her, she noticed that Jin's green eyes were suddenly widening from shock and that his jaw was slightly dropping despite his stunned appearance. Her gaze met his directly in a sharp stare of bewilderment, and then the two golden-haired youths slowly looked down. In the partially dabbed up tea, Jin's hand had ended up exactly on top of Noel's.
