Chapter 10: Lime juice

He looked at the ground then left the house. She seemed to be surprised by that but followed him. "Where you going?" she asked as trying to keep up with him. He was walking with determined and quickly heavy steps to a location, without looking at her. "Wait, wait! You knew it all this time?" she continued because the fact that he seemed to know it shocked her a bit.

They walked and he arrived on another street, but she still followed him. She followed him until they entered a bar but she didn't notice it until Kyoya took a seat at the counter. Hikaru looked surprised around at that bar with red walls, were cigarette smoke was everywhere and where men were drinking strong drinks at their tables, with their expansive cells and packs of cigarettes on the tables. The bar was full. She also took a seat at the counter, on a chair next to him.

"Two beers. Yeah, without alcohol cause I'm with the girl." Kyoya gave an order and the bartender looked with a warm expression from the other part of the counter and gave him two beers. "But... no people with contagious diseases in here, please..." he pointed as looking insistently at Hikaru. She startled at that, while Kyoya had no reaction. She tried to lie somehow: "It's... an allergy... to... grapes! Yeah, I drank some wine in the morning and I have an allergy." The bartender raised an eyebrow, being suspicious, "Hm..." but shrugged and went back to his work.

Kyoya looked at Hikaru and gave her a bottle of beer. "Drink." Hikaru looked at Kyoya then at the beer with an expression of uncertain. She bit her lips but finally took it.

They started to drink and talk about it. He started the discussion first, looking at the floor while talking:

"Listen... I know how is to love someone when that someone loves another person and I also know how is to be betrayed and... I know how you feel. I'm not a teen who fell in love with a girl which is five years older than him and who is looking bewitched at her and... I understand..."

"Oh... Sorry, Kyoya." He smirked at that but didn't say anything.

'Well, I guess you should be sorry.'

She sighed and put her elbow on the counter and her hand on her temple. She was looking in nowhere. "He was a sweet boy. And she also was a sweet girl. I'm not sweet. But... I cannot understand... She wasn't even 16... and he was... (she moved her revolted gaze to him) He left me!"

He looked indifferently at her and took a draft of beer. That reminded her about something. She removed her elbow from the counter and her hand from her temple. "You knew it all this time?" she interrogated him, just like he was guilty. He looked at her for some seconds, then shook his head with nonchalance. "No." He lied somehow with that.

About 15 long minutes flew away until he shattered that noisy silence between them:

"You cannot leave, Hikaru. You are still sick and... maybe I am selfish... but I cannot continue without you. So you have to stay here... for me." That surprised Hikaru but didn't let Kyoya see this.

"Well... By the way, Kyoya, I have to say something about this." she murmur, adopting a half worried and a half determined expression. Kyoya didn't say anything and just prepared to listen to her. As Hikaru noticed that, she continued: "Do you know if mercury is illegal?" Kyoya widened his eyes to express his surprise. He thought a bit, however. "Well... mercury is very poisonous, so it is illegal if used for poison people. For example, if added in food which is selling in shops. However, thermometers can contain mercury." Hikaru nodded and express her surprise and how clever Kyoya was. (Me: Just joking with that sentence, don't worry, it's not like she will suddenly kiss him, nah...)

"Um... Kyoya... I'm still leaving." she muttered, but still being determined. Kyoya sighed and drank from his beer. "Then I guess I have nothing left to do. Once Hikaru said something, she never gives up. Fine. I don't know what's going to happen. I'm coming with you. Seems like I don't have anything left to do here." he explained as he was looking at the bottle of beer on the counter with interest. Then he stood up, wanting to leave. Kyoya called the bartender and gave him a bill which he took. "C'mon." he told her. Hikaru stood up and they both left the bar.

On the street

They were walking together on that quiet street, on a low pace, without really looking one at each other, just playing with their gazes, now at the sky, then at the ground.

"It's a good bar." dared Hikaru to start an innocent dialogue. Kyoya smiled but still didn't face her. "I heard that the bartender is the owner. Well, it is nice. I guess." he admitted just to make conversation with her. "It's a new town for me, so I'm here just for the second time." Hikaru couldn't hold her curiosity and surprise back: "The second?" He looked this time at her and nodded indifferently, very vaguely.

"Yeah. I was last night..." She startled at that but quickly hid it by putting on her usual expression. 'Hm... Does he know something about the mercury...?'

"You were?" she tried to seem surprised. Kyoya nodded again. "And... What did you drink?" she maintained that boring discussion and Kyoya just took over the relay by answering her question: "Well... A beer with a whisky chaser I think. But I'm not a drunkard. On the news I always hear about 16 years old teens that drank too much and then fell from the third floor. Well, I can drink a lot without going to the hospital... I just like to drown my pain in a petty glass of alcohol, sometimes. It is... calming me down when I feel everything is surreal and fictive. I need someone next to me and... the drink is my friend sometimes. And maybe you can say it's weird that I tell you all these things... Anyway, where you were last night? Cause when I..." She cut him off:

"Well... I was... at the bathroom, yeah... I guess so..." she lied, tittering. 'Kyoya mustn't know about the story with the mercury... If that mercury is illegal, then he can be in danger.' "But... Why did you give me beer if I'm sick?" she asked on a mixture of softness and loudness in her voice.

His relaxed expression changed into a serious on, looking straight in her eyes. "I think you can realize that I'm expecting from you to be strong after this. I don't wanna see you crying for him. It would annoy me very much." Then he cast his eyes down.

"Why are you so weak when I'm around you?" she slowly asked as looking in his wild eyes with sadness. He smirked tiredly. "Yeah... I can ask you the same thing. Hah. Why don't you meditate about it? Cause I... I actually did and..." Something seemed to cut him off. He put his hand at his head and moaned.

"Hey, you ok?" she asked as looking inquiringly to him. He just smiled tiredly to her and nodded. "It's just... the nightingales. I think is 5 o'clock. I forgot to feed them." That let her a bit speechless. "The... nightingales?" Kyoya nodded again. "Yeah..." He got something from his pocket which seemed to be a pill and swallowed it. "Done. If I'm not feeding them at 5 o'clock everyday, then my head starts to shake and the nightingales in my head are screaming." She started to worry for those 'birds'.

"Wait... Did you visit the doctor?" She just smiled with an ill expression. "It's not a big deal..." he calmed her worried mind. "It's just... It's okay. Excepting the part with the pain. It's a bit annoying, but it's okay. But... Can I ask you a question?" She nodded and waited for his question.

"Do you feel that you cannot hold back your tears sometimes?"

"Should I be surprised by your question?" she asked while trying to control her anger and contempt. He didn't answer. "Well, yes. Just like now. But even I say I cannot continue holding back my tears, I can, because you don't let me cry and I hate this." He smiled.

"Then... Do you wanna go back to the bar and cry together with a glass of strong drink beside us?" She stared without moving for some moments at him. Some tears fell on her checks then she burst into tears at that. "I need some morphine!" she yelled. Kyoya also let some tears flow from his eyes. He got something from her pocket which was a white pill. "Look. It's... morphine. I took it sometimes..." Hikaru took and swallowed it but didn't stop crying. They both stopped walking.

"I cannot stop!" she wailed between her sobs. "I cannot stop! I just cannot stop... I cannot stop! I was right! I cannot stop! I have chicken pox and let a guy take care of me and... I cannot stop!" As seeing her crying so much, he also burst into tears. "Neither me. I also need morphine!" He got another pill of morphine from his pocket and swallowed it.

"I feel like shouting and screaming! I cannot stop. I am so depressed that I'm almost euphoric and I cannot. I'm just seeing that and I'm telling myself 'I cannot'. I wanna go home, Kyoya."

"Me too."

"Kyoya... Give me your whisky cause God sent me here but I disappointed him. So let me enjoy my pleasure until the end." babbled Hikaru on a bored tone in her voice, sitting on a chair at the counter at the bar. "I didn't send anyone... but you are my crazy person... I hate you because you can persuade me so easy." he sighed and gave her the bottle. Hikaru drank from it and sighed, too. "I have chicken pox... and I have drunk beer, then wine, then vodka, then tequila, and now I'm drinking whisky. Ah, it is strong. Why I love acting like a drunkard?"

Kyoya looked at her from the chair beside her with his confused eyes and snatched the bottle of whisky from her hand. He got a draft of whisky and chuckled. "I cannot suffer the sight of you." he reproved to her as seeing her sitting so nonchalant. "But... Did you ever realize how beautiful you are when you are drunk?" She laughed then growled to him. "Why am I so fond by you?" she asked as she snatched the bottle from his hand. The bartender came to them from the other part of the counter. "You still resist? You will regret next morning." he warned them. They looked bored to him. "We know." they simply answered.

"Gimme a glass of tequila. I realized I like it more than whisky." muttered Hikaru, being a half asleep. "And for me... I'm in a good mood. Do you have some... water? You know what kind of." he joked with the bartender, who understood what Kyoya meant and smiled to him. He brought a glass of tequila to Hikaru. Hikaru drank from her tequila and sooner, the bartender brought Kyoya a glass of gin. "Thanks, bro." he whispered and the bartender just smiled to him.

"You rock, man." whispered the bartender as leaning to Kyoya, who smirked. "Is she your girlfriend?" the bartender asked, casting a glance at Hikaru, then looking back at him. Kyoya chuckled slightly. "Nothing of the kind. Her boyfriend just left her. She's too silly for me." He drank a bit from his glass while the bartender looked surprised. "Are you going to win her?" Kyoya laughed. It really amused him. "Um... You have serious ambitions, man." he whispered. "But..." he continued, "Do I look like I'd run for girls?"

They suddenly heard Hikaru's cell ringing. She sighed and took it. "Hello. What? Oh, I'm drinking at the..." Kyoya snatched the cell and talked instead of Hikaru. "We are busy right now. What could we be busy with at eleven o'clock? (he drank from his glass) Well, is something important and we had to hurry up. Oh, well... It's music and noise because we are on a street where they sell, you know, panties and... No, no, Hikaru didn't buy, don't worry. We cannot. Ah... What? Nothing. I told you already. Listen, I'm not the Charming Prince and she's not Cinderella! Again: Do I really look like I'd run for girls? She's not Cinderella, even if she's neglected. Wait, I'm not Tsubasa! I'm not bewitching all the girls from the first sight! Yeah, yeah... (he drank again) Hello! I have... I told you already! No, no, we're not playing Scrabble. I don't care if she's not a virgin anymore! And WHAT? Oh, man... You cut a rat's head with the scissors? You rock, dude! But I still can't. Yeah, I know, we all do it. No, I'm not. WHAT? You are a dead man! If you... NO! Where can people go to find normal partner to discuss with? I DON'T CARE! (he drank from his glass) Bro, it's not about... YES, I DO! This is what you wanted to hear? No. I have a reputation so I'm not going to... Are you on the fritz? Of course not. No, I'm not lying. Calm down! I didn't mean this! DO YOU REALLY WANNA SEE IT? You may regret sooner or later! I understand that we all have responsibilities but I'm just tired, bro. AND WHAT? I'M NOT GIVING A DAMN! Look... Can you please understand me? I know, I am mean and selfish and jackass and narcissist and whatever you want, but just chill out. Do you challenge me? Interesting. I'm accepting. What? Did Snow White do this? Maaaan! And what was his answer? Really? I'm imagining... We need some drums here. Pam pam pam!"

"I didn't know Kyoya is good at gossiping..." remarked Hikaru as looking puzzled to him. "Nah. He's just drunk." the bartender corrected her.

"I also liked that gimlet. It was alright. Nah. They cannot stay even one day without watching The Amazing World of Gumball. Just some innocents. Oh, so you say you liked it. How was the girl? Oh! No, it's not my kind. Yeah, I guess so. I gotta go. NO! I don't like her! Ok, dude, chill out; it's just Snow White's fault. I gotta go. Bye."

He gave the cell back to Hikaru and drank from his glass of gin. "What did he say?" Kyoya looked indifferently at her. "Nothing."

"I feel terrible." she muttered with boredom. He didn't look at her because it didn't surprise him. "Me too. I never find what I want." he responded with the same boredom. "But... even if I never found anything, I never cried for yesterday. And I know you don't like and you wanna scream... But do not cry. Cause tomorrow is a new day and you have to hope." he continued his speech in an infinite monotony. Well, it was obvious he didn't believe in all those things he talked about. She chuckled at that.

"Yeah... Hope... What a slut." she moaned and took another draft of tequila.