Chapter 10: What About Your Friends
On the way to school: "Man, Sakura and Tenten are draggin' me to go shopping after school. This'll be a real drag," said Ayamei. "Okay, I'll miss you," Shikamaru replied. "Miss you back," Ayamei said, kissing him, "You'll be at home, right?" "Yup, sleeping is likely," Shikamaru answered, yawning.
Later: "So where are you and Kiba goin' after school?" Ayamei whispered to Hinata in the middle of geometry. "Uh…Downtown Tokyo…For a movie," Hinata whispered back. "Cool, that's where me, Tenten, and Sakura are headed after school too," Ayamei smiled. "Yea…Maybe we'll um…See you guys there," Hinata said shyly. "Hinata…You're not scared, are you?" Ayamei asked.
"Meet me…In the west bathroom during lunch…I'll tell you," Hinata murmured when she caught Kiba looking at her. "Uh…Okay," Ayamei smiled weakly. "Poor Hinata. She's scared outta her mind," she thought sadly, "But wait a sec! I was scared too…After the first time…Me and Shikamaru……Oh, forget it!"
Next period: "Hey Ayamei, you're still comin' with me and Sakura after school, right?" Tenten asked, raising an eyebrow. "Unfortunately," Ayamei said annoyingly. "Come on Ayamei, you've gotta change your look sometimes," Tenten replied helpfully. Ayamei growled at her, "I don't wanna change my look."
"Well you're gonna," Tenten teased. "You know, it's time like these that are a real drag. So tell me, why do I hang with you guys?" Ayamei teased back. "Because we're your best friends, along with Sanaki and Hinata. Now deal with it," Tenten answered. "Man…You guys are a real drag to hang with sometimes," Ayamei sighed.
When the bell rang to leave calculus: Ayamei, Neji, and Tenten gathered their stuff and left the classroom. "And where are you headed?" Neji asked, turning around when he saw that Ayamei going in the opposite of the cafeteria. "I'll be back in a second. Just uh…Go in without me Tenten and save me a seat," Ayamei called to Tenten from a distance. "Okay," Tenten called back. She and Neji turned back around and went in the cafeteria.
When Ayamei walked in the west bathroom: She saw Tenten standing by a window. "Hey Hinata," Ayamei said awkwardly, "So tell me what's wrong." She walked closer to Hinata slowly. "Ayamei…I'm so scared," Hinata said hesitantly. "What is it—you don't like Kiba?" Ayamei asked her. "No, it's not that…It's just that…This is so weird…
Because I've never…Dated anyone before," Hinata said in a hushed tone. "Um, Hinata…I've never actually been on a date before either," Ayamei replied. "Are you for real Ayamei?" Hinata asked louder. "Unless you count spying on you and your friends' best friends and happening to bond with someone…Yup, I'm for real Hinata," Ayamei answered seriously.
"Oh…" Hinata mumbled as her mind drifted. "So how do you feel about Naruto?" Ayamei asked after searching Hinata's mind. "I uh…I still like him a little on the inside……But it's like Kiba just…Took my mind off him," Hinata replied, smiling a little, revealing her watery light lavender-colored eyes.
"Come on Hinata, you'll have fun with Kiba. He's already obsessed with you so I'm pretty sure he's bustin' his ass to make today perfect," Ayamei smiled weakly. "…I know but…What if he kisses me?" Hinata questioned. "Then just ki—Oh, sorry. If he tries to kiss you, just don't hold back on it," Ayamei suggested, "Actually, that's if you want to. Well, you do wanna kiss him, right?"
"…Yea," Hinata said, feeling embarrassed. "Okay, cool. So what you wanna do is don't hold back in it and put aggression in it then," Ayamei continued. "Uh, thank you. Ayamei," Hinata put on a nervous but brave face. "Don't mention it. You know, Hinata, you're a good person. Sometimes I'd rather hang with you than with Sakura, Tenten, and Sanaki," Ayamei smiled.
"…But I…I barely even speak," Hinata said back. "I know, and that's why. Sakura, Sanaki, and Tenten are too much to hang with sometimes. It can be a real drag a lot of the time. I like that you're quiet. It makes people respect you more," Ayamei explained. "Oh…Thank you…Ayamei," Hinata thanked her again. "Like I said: Don't mention it. Now come on, we're missin' lunch," Ayamei smiled.
In the lunchroom: "So how's everything going with your twin girlfriend?" Neji smirked. "She's not my twin, Neji. Drop it already," Shikamaru answered, sounding like he was both annoyed and bored. "Hmmm…Let's see: You both say that school's a drag (even though it's true). You're both lazy," Sasuke explained.
"And let's not forget that you were both born on—" "You guys can't be serious," Shikamaru cut Naruto off, forcing himself to laugh. "Dude, why don't you just face that you and Ayamei are LOVERS!!!" Kiba cackled. The rest of the gang, except Shikamaru, began to laugh too. "Love? No way Kiba. Come on, me in love? Chouji back me up here!" Shikamaru exclaimed, looking at Chouji expectantly.
"Sorry Shikamaru…But they're right," Chouji said sadly. "Damn it!" Shikamaru thought, "Not Chouji too. Man, these guys are such a drag to hang with," "You guys are on crack. I'm not in love damn it." "Cheer up Shikamaru," Sasuke said, "Naruto is in love with Sakura and no one cares (anymore)."
"Hey, I've never been in love and I'm not in love now," Shikamaru growled. "Yea, but Kiba's in love with Hinata and he seems fine," Chouji offered, laughing still. Neji's eyes darted to Kiba. "But that's because only we know right now," Shikamaru responded. Kiba sunk n his chair a little. "Neji's gonna kill me. Especially for my date with Hinata. Man this sucks," he thought.
On the way out the school: "So I guess I'll see you at the house," Ayamei yawned, walking next to Shikamaru. "Okay," he said, looking at her. She grabbed him and kissed him. "Later then," she said afterward, heading toward Tenten's car with Tenten.
Later: Tenten pulled up to a curb and parked her car. She, Sakura, and Ayamei emerged from her ride and entered the mall. The first store they went into was a French place called Charlotte Russe. "For Shikamaru's sake, let us pick you some clothes Ayamei. You wear too many dark colors," Sakura begged. Ayamei hesitated to speak.
"…Okay, but I draw the line with yellow. Yellow is way too gay," Ayamei finally answered. As the three girls toured the store, Tenten picked out numerous outfits that they wanted Ayamei to try on. Of course Ayamei picked a few outfits that she herself approved of. She sent back a few outfits that Sakura and Tenten had offered as well.
About 10 minutes later: "You guys really wanna see me in this?" Ayamei asked from behind her dressing room door. "Yup," Sakura answered. "Just show us Ayamei," said Tenten. "I hate you both," Ayamei growled, slowly opening the door, "You guys are such a drag and I seriously mean that."
The outfit Ayamei was wearing looked like something that only Sakura, Tenten, and Sanaki would wear. She had on a long-sleeved pink shirt with hearts all over it, fuzzy pink boots that almost reached her knees, a pink hat, a pair of long pink silk gloves, and a pink headband with hearts on the ends of it.
"Ayamei, you look great!" Sakura exclaimed. "If you mean great as in like you guys and Sanaki threw up on me: then yea, I guess so," Ayamei smirked. "Get serious Ayamei. You look great! Every guy at school would try to eat you alive," Tenten added in. "Come on, you both know that this outfit is really not my style," Ayamei sighed.
"You have to get it Ayamei!" Sakura whined. "No, actually I don't," Ayamei responded in an uncaring voice. "But it complements you," Tenten said. "Ugh…But this outfit sucks," Ayamei pouted. After a few minutes passed, full of Sakura and Tenten complimenting her, Ayamei finally decided to give the stupid outfit a chance.
"…Alright! Fine, I'll get the dumb outfit. But you two have to shut up already," Ayamei gave up. "We got her!" Sakura exclaimed. "Took her long enough! But who cares? Ayamei's gonna get a pink outfit!" Tenten added in. "Oh, I almost forgot: change the pink to light blue and it's a deal," said Ayamei, smiling evilly.
Later on: "Hey, there's Kiba and Hinata leaving out the movie theater," Ayamei pointed, two floors up from them. "Wow, they look close," Tenten cooed, tilting her head. "Hey! Kiba, Hinata, get up here!" Sakura yelled, looking down.
"Um…Hi," Hinata smiled when she and Kiba met up with Sakura, Tenten, and Sanaki. "Hey you two. So how's the date goin'?" Tenten asked, looking at Kiba. He had his arm gripped around Hinata's side. "Go ahead and tell 'em Hinata," Kiba said, looking at Hinata. "Well, um…Me and Kiba…Are together now," Hinata blushed, looking at her new boyfriend and then at her friends.
Later, when Ayamei got back to Shikamaru's place: "Shikamaru, I'm back," she bustled through the door, dropping her stuff down in the living room. Shikamaru was sprawled out on the couch asleep. "Damn, can I ever win? Everytime I see him…Sex comes to mind," Ayamei thought, feeling a little embarrassed.
Just when Ayamei sat down, her cell phone began to ring. "Hello?" she answered. "Ayamei, come by my house," Juline said back. "Why, what happen?" Ayamei asked, standing up when she heard Juline's voice. "Just come okay! It's important," Juline responded, hanging up the phone right after.
Chapter 11: Beware
Ayamei knocked on Juline's front door in the freezing rain. Juline answered after a few seconds and let her in. "The whole family wants to kill you," Juline began, "They think you killed my father…But you and I both know who did it if I know you correctly." Ayamei remain standing. She had no clue what to do or say.
"You've got to stay away from most of them or they'll try to kill you," Juline explained. "Juline…Why all of a sudden do you care about me now? Nine years ago, you acted like I didn't even exist," Ayamei finally said. "Nine years ago…After her, that weekend…You weren't the only one who wanted to die," Juline looked down at the floor.
"What happened?" Ayamei asked, sitting down on the floor. "I…I…I remember, my husband yelled at me until you came. Then…I left. I wanted you to come with me so bad. But I couldn't cross him," Juline said, sitting down next to Ayamei. For the first time, Ayamei noticed that she and Juline's eyes were the same color.
"Why? What are you talking about?" Ayamei asked, getting a little angry. Juline looked back down at the floor again, "He…He'd hit me. He always did ever since the day I was married to him…I hated him…Constantly, he'd pound on my back." Ayamei observed Juline's actions closely. "She reminds me of someone…Someone I've met. But I don't know who anymore," Ayamei thought.
"Uh…So who did you leave with?" Ayamei asked after a few minutes of thinking. "A friend," Juline replied quickly, "Just a friend." "Uh, okay. So is there anything else I need to know?" Ayamei asked. "Um, no that's all I can say for now," Juline said, standing up. Ayamei stood up as well and headed for the door. "If something happens, please let me know," said Juline, hugging Ayamei.
"Wow, I haven't hugged her since I was seven," Ayamei thought. Just then, something finally hit her: Did Juline know about Toshiki's death? "Juline, there's one more question I have to ask you before I go: What happened to your husband?" Ayamei questioned. "I know what you did. Thank you," Juline replied. "But how do—" "Don't worry about it right now," Juline answered, cutting Ayamei off.
Later: Ayamei opened the door to Shikamaru's apartment and walked in. He was lying on his back, on the floor. "Hey, what took?" he asked. "Oh, you're up. Uh, my aunt Juline wanted to see me," Ayamei answered, hopping over Shikamaru, onto the couch. "Okay," Shikamaru said. "Man…" Ayamei sighed, "I'm tired."
"So what happened?" Shikamaru asked. "She's sayin' that my whole "family" wants to kill me pretty much," Ayamei began, "It's because her husband, my rapist, killed her father, and most of them think I did." "Oh man, but you did kill her husband, right?" Shikamaru questioned. "Yea, I did that purposely," Ayamei answered. "But do her sons know?" he asked. "I don't know," she responded.
"Damn, I hate talkin' to him about this! It's all a drag for him. I shouldn't do this to him," Ayamei thought. "What is it?" Shikamaru asked, reading Ayamei's body language. He could tell she was thinking about something and that her mind was wandering. "Oh, it's nothing really. I gotta get somethin' to eat," Ayamei answered, sitting up, "Did you eat somethin'?" "Uh…No," Shikamaru responded.
Later: Ayamei and Shikamaru lay on the floor in the living room. They had just got out of a pointless conversation. "Shikamaru, I can't stand hospitals," Ayamei whispered out of the clear blue. "Huh? What's so wrong with them?" he questioned, whispering back. "Everything: Their smell, the needles, and the people. I just hate it all so much," Ayamei shivered.
"Okay?" he said, suggesting that she go on. "If something happens and I wind up in a hospital, you better stay with me, the whole time," Ayamei continued, almost falling asleep. "I'll be there," Shikamaru promised, falling asleep. Ayamei moved a little closer to him and kissed him. After kissing him, she fell asleep too.
Chapter 11: Ayamei's Nightmare
Ayamei was falling in a pit of darkness. She felt like she was falling at extreme speed. And to worsen things, she couldn't see shit. After a few minutes, she felt the ground form under her. When she looked ahead, she saw that she was outside of Mihara's house. When she walked in the house, she heard Toshiki and her deceased "grandfather" arguing.
"So you were the reason Ayamei would cry in the closet and try to starve herself! What the hell did you do to her Toshiki?!" the grandfather yelled. "Relax old man. She's not even your granddaughter and you know that," Toshiki smirked. "You…You raped her didn't you?! You raped her just like you raped my daughter! I knew there was something strange about you!" The old man yelled, running at Toshiki with a kunai.
"No…This can't be how it happened…But if this is his death…Why does he care about me?" Ayamei thought frantically. She stood and watched as Toshiki beat her "grandfather" to death. And the only reason she watched was because she couldn't tear her eyes away from the pain that she was witnessing. Nor could Ayamei get the rest of her body to move.
In the end, an old-aged man's body lay motionless and bloody as Toshiki fled the scene. He hops out of Mihara's bedroom window, leaving the old man's body on the bed. A few minutes after Toshiki flees the scene, Mihara enters her bedroom to find her husband lying in their bed, bloody and battered.
Ayamei watched as Mihara wept for several minutes. While weeping, Mihara went around the room throwing around all of the things that reminded her of her husband. She especially kicked around the mysterious box of papers that her husband had sealed.
For the first time since the day she killed Toshiki, Ayamei actually felt pity for Mihara. But then again, Ayamei couldn't. Mihara thought this was all Ayamei's doing in the first place. But still, Ayamei wondered what it felt like to lose someone that close to you like that.
And then to enter your bedroom and find that person in the bed where the two of you made your precious children. That must have really blown it for Mihara. Ayamei wished she could feel the pain that Mihara was feeling at this moment. Ayamei wanted to know what it was like to cry over someone the way Mihara was over her husband.
Even if that meant crying over Shikamaru, Ayamei would want to. She thought it was worth it to cry over him. Well, he was worth it. She wanted to feel that kind of compassion for a person. But that would mean she'd have to…Fall in love. For starters, Ayamei didn't even know what it was like to be in love.
The scene changed: Ayamei now saw herself talking to Sasuke. They were in the same exact spot where they first kissed. "Hey, Sasuke! Man, I haven't talked to him in a while now," the real Ayamei thought. "You're still an important part of me. You always will be Sasuke," she said, "I love you."
What the—this hasn't even happened yet! And does this mean…Me and Shikamaru break up?" the actual Ayamei thought. The whole scene grew blurry when Ayamei saw her and Sasuke moving closer to each other. "Damn, so I'm actually gonna go with Sasuke? Great, now Sakura and Naruto won't shut up! This is such a drag!" she continued to think.
The scene changes: Ayamei now saw herself in an unfamiliar place. It looked like a warehouse sort of. She couldn't see anything but she could hear. She heard Kiyoshi, Ryuichi, and Ryoichi laughing about something. Then, she hears Kiyoshi yell something but couldn't make out the words. This scene was sort of weird for her.
Ayamei had barely known the Kawashima Triplets since Seilin died. And because of this, Ayamei couldn't tell if they were happy or mad when they were laughing. But she did know that Kiyoshi as a clash between the two when she heard him yell something. But what did it have to do with her?
The scene changes again: Ayamei was standing outside in the rain with Shikamaru. They were right outside his apartment to be particular. It looked like they were in a really heated discussion. "It's like I was an accident! Nobody wants me and nobody needs me!" Ayamei had screeched.
She gave Shikamaru an evil look that looked a little scared and sad. He looked at her for a second and then he slapped her. Then the scene got blurry and Ayamei couldn't see anything really. "Damn…What the fuck is my problem? Why would I say that? Is this really me?" the actual Ayamei thought.
Just then, everything Ayamei had seen in her dream turned into a tornado. It was a giant tornado of thoughts, flashbacks, and flash-forwards. And there she was in the middle of it all. There was nothing Ayamei could do to stop any of it. She was nothing. Useless.
Chapter 12: Missing In Action!
Ayamei woke up breathing heavily. She felt like she almost had a heart attack. Shikamaru was looking at her with a small relieved look, "Good, you're up." "Huh? What makes you say that?" she asked. "You were crying and screaming. Plus you're skin is freezing," Shikamaru responded. "Oh, I'm sorry," Ayamei said softly.
"My family…Why don't I know mine? Why is all this happening to me? Now I'm gonna fuck up and lose you too…But, you're the only one who's ever cared," Ayamei thought. "Hey, what's on your mind?" Shikamaru asked. Ayamei laid her head by his neck and he put his arms around her. "Oh man, this dream must have really messed her up…I've never seen her like this before," Shikamaru thought.
After telling him what happened: Ayamei nipped at Shikamaru's ear. "So you really saw me hit you?" he asked her to make sure. Ayamei nodded her head, meaning yes. "Maybe it means we'll break up," Shikamaru thought. "Shhhh! I'm not letting you go that easy. You're one of the first people to ever care about me. I trust you," Ayamei whispered.
"Alright, we won't break up," Shikamaru smiled a little. "Thank you, Shikamaru," Ayamei murmured. Then she kissed him. Ayamei could feel her body temperature rise and her heart beat increase. She got the feeling that something fucked up was going to happen but she also thought that she'd get through it. "You stupid bitch! You really think he would fall in love with you?" the voices screamed.
Ayamei ignored the voices as best she could because they made one giant mistake about her: the fact that Ayamei Lei Mei couldn't fall in love. It was pretty much impossible. To the naked eye it would probably seem very much so, possible. But looking deeper into Ayamei, you'd realize that she really can't fall in love with anyone, not even Shikamaru.
Sure Ayamei cared about him just as much as he cared for her, but she just couldn't push herself that far. Ayamei had seen love before and it wasn't good. The only love she knew was the kind where you trusted a person very much and they wind up stabbing you in the back, but they say they love you. Yea she'd seen love: and she never wanted to embrace it. Love could never wrap Ayamei up in its evil clutches. Not as long as Ayamei had breath in her body.
The only good kind of love was when you loved your family and maybe a few friends. But the love between a man and a woman (or gay people too) was 60 stupid and 40 false. Most of the time, all the male would want is to beat on his wife and then come along later and force her to have sex with him. Occasionally, the man would force the woman to bare his son or firstborn.
"Hey, it's time to get up for school," Ayamei's conscience told her, "Oh well…School can wait a few hours…It's a drag anyway." "Hey, we have to go to school," Shikamaru stopped kissing and touching her. "Man, I hate school. It's such a drag," Ayamei groaned. "Yea, but lucky for me, my mom and dad tend to come around to check on my grades and I already get hell for that. Skipping school would be an even bigger drag," Shikamaru sighed.
Ayamei smiled a little at the way Shikamaru said 'mom and dad.' She remembered a little after they started hanging out when he had first mentioned his parents to her. Each time he said it, he always sounded like he was about to throw someone through a wall. "Okay, we've gotta get ready," Ayamei smiled a little, even though she'd rather stay at home than go to school.
Today: school seemed to have flown by today at extreme speed. "Hey Ayamei, you wanna hang out today. We're goin' to the mall with Hinata so she can tell us everything about her date with Kiba," Sakura offered. "Uh…Sure," Ayamei nodded half-heartedly. She didn't really want to go. She wanted to go home and lie around with Shikamaru and fuck, if it led to that, which was much likely.
On the way out the school: Ayamei walked with Shikamaru. "Hey, Sakura wants me to come hang out. So I'll see you around 6," Ayamei sighed. "Okay," Shikamaru responded. Just then, Ayamei pulled him by his shirt against a wall and began to kiss him. "That's just payback for this morning and last night," she purred, releasing him. Shikamaru tilted his head at her, "I'm not complainin'."
Later: "So tell us everything Hinata!" Tenten urged. She, Hinata, Sakura, and Ayamei were hanging out in the food court. "Um…We were at the movie and he…He kissed me in the middle of nowhere…But I didn't stop him…And he asked me to…Be his girlfriend…" Hinata explained shyly, blushing a little. "Awwww," Sakura cooed, "Hinata that's so romantic!"
"And I thought Kiba was mean and un-romantic-ish," Tenten said, sounding surprised. "…Thank you, Ayamei," Hinata thought, looking at Ayamei, who was looking at her too. Ayamei nodded her head at Hinata. "At least one of us is getting romanced," Sakura thought, thinking about Naruto. "Ayamei's getting romanced," said Tenten. "Uh…Yea," Ayamei chimed in playfully.
"Ayamei and Shikamaru haven't even been on their first date, so they don't count!" Sakura boasted. "Oh…Okay," Tenten and Ayamei said nervously. "What about you Tenten?" Hinata asked. "Me, getting romanced, no. I really like Lee but he still has no clue about it," Tenten explained, blushing under her breath. Sakura looked at Tenten and cleared her throat expectantly.
"Aren't you using the wrong word?" Sakura asked, nudging Tenten. "No…Well…Fine! I'm in love with Lee!" Tenten confessed embarrassedly. "Eh…I could've guessed," said Ayamei, taking a long sip of her soda. "Actually…I could've guessed that too Tenten," Hinata added, smiling weakly. "AM I THAT OBVIOUS?!" Tenten demanded.
"Honestly…Yes," her friends said in unison, all smiling weakly at Tenten. "Damn it! Then why doesn't Lee know if I'm so obvious?" asked Tenten. "Because, that's just Lee. He's just that oblivious to girls' feelings," Sakura answered. "Then how did you wind up with him?" Tenten asked, turning reddish-pink. "I had Naruto and Neji tell Lee I liked him," Sakura smiled.
"Why don't you do that?" Ayamei asked. "Because…What if he likes someone else?" Tenten questioned. "Ten, I'm pretty sure Lee likes you," Sakura replied. "You sure Sakura?" Tenten checked. "Yes Tenten. And if you ever doubt me, I'll just get Naruto to ask Lee how he feels about you," Sakura answered. "Come on, Tenten! You and Lee have been best friends since forever. Just get over yourself," said Ayamei, growing a little annoyed at Tenten's shyness.
As conversations flew by, Ayamei's mind began to zone out. "Shit, I feel…Watched. Something's up," she thought, "Uh…I need to head home." "Ayamei, you feelin' okay?" Sakura asked. "Not really…I've gotta headache," Ayamei said back. "Okay, let's go," said Tenten, standing up.
"Man, my head is killin' me," Ayamei said to herself as she walked in Shikamaru' apartment building. Shit, the power on the main floor was out. Before Ayamei could pull out her cell phone for lighting, a hand darted over her face and covered her mouth. Then two hands grabbed her arms before she could throw a fist. So she decided to use her teeth and bit the hand over her face.
Her bites didn't do anything.