Chapter 9 – What is a Best Friend?
Author's Note: Hello all! Haven't uploaded in a while, I'm actually in Italy right now for school for 4 months, with limited data, but I'll be back in December with some time off to hopefully get more chappies up! This story is at the moment Pre- Kohane-chan and the old lady fortune teller, and also they are in Grade 10. It was a sudden thought that occurred to me as I wrote this chapter. Speaking of which this chapter is a continuation of the previous one but also has some depressing bits. I do hope you like it though, be sure to review please! As always, thank you to my reviewers!
James Birdsong : Thank you as always :D
Kirorokat: Thank you! Here's another chapter uploaded for ya :P
Natsuki cried most of the night. She mourned the loss of her Angela. Doumeki offered to bury her body on temple grounds, and while Natsuki thanked him profusely through her tears she shook her head in refusal. She had gotten up and taken Angela's body down by the river where she had found her as a kitten. Watanuki frowned as he didn't want his newfound friend to mourn by herself. So the two boys followed her.
Shion was waiting beside a small pit, and Natsuki lowered her down. One of the cats dropped a flower in the grave and Natsuki quietly picked herself up and walked a little distance away so the others could mourn the loss of their friend. The cats crowded around the pit silently, heads bowed. They lamented in soft meows and it broke Natsuki's heart to hear them. She crouched down and sat with her forehead to her knees and let the tears escape.
She didn't know how much time had passed but she felt warmth to her right and a gentle hand caressing her hair. Startled she looked up and met eyes with Watanuki, his face solemn but kind, and his hand on top of her head. "I know Angela meant a lot to you. Demo, at least she was loved to the end and beyond that." He murmured, never once stopping his caress on her hair. Doumeki had sat silently beside her and as she cried into Watanuki's shoulder. He felt as though Watanuki had said the right thing and chose to say nothing. Though, he was startled at the small hand grabbing his index finger. His eyes softened as he let her hold his finger. Eventually her cries subsided, and her breathing became softer. Watanuki looked down at the younger girl's sleeping face. She must have been exhausted. Tendrils of hair were tangled in her face, sticking to her by tearstains. Watanuki's heart went out to the girl. Unsure if she had parents, but seeing the way she treated these cats, they seemed like family.
However, with the situation at hand Watanuki was confused. What do they do with her? They can't leave her here, obviously and all the cats were watching them. Doumeki took charge and knelt down in front of her.
"Oi."
"My name isn't Oi!"
"Put her on my back."
"Ha?"
"Put her on my back"
"Why?"
"You lift her then"
"Oh."
"Oh."
"SHADDAP."
They walked down the street, Shion leading the way. All the cats dispersed into the night, as they came upon the little plaza. Everything was closed except the grocery store. Shion walked towards the café and nudged the door open. Bewildered, Watanuki glanced up and down the street, sure they were breaking in somewhere. Nothing was amiss as the two boys followed Shion in. The café looked like it was coming along well. The tables looked all set up, the cash register was there but not set up. Behind the counter was a fridge, a coffee machine, and open shelving waiting for cups and plates. The streetlights outside lit up the walls enough to see that they were painted a bright but soft yellow, giving a warm feeling to the place. Curiously there was a large, white piano along the wall. Possibly for esthetic? Watanuki wondered.
They continued their glances around until they heard Shion meow from the top of the stairs they hadn't noticed before beside the counter. They went up the stairs and found a small flat. Nothing extravagant, just a small living room with a couch and a coffee table, a bathroom, and a small room with a Western-style bed. The bed was low to the ground, with a cute pink duvet and multiple fluffy pillows. Doumeki laid Natsuki down on her bed, tucked her loose hair behind her ear and pulled her blanket up to her chin. Doumeki turned to leave but saw something curious on the ceiling. He frowned as he squinted slightly.
On the ceiling were many pieces of paper, tiled out with about 3 inches of space between them. They covered her ceiling in her room and they were written almost like…profiles? It was too dark to make out what was written on each page, but they could see each paper was clearly labelled with name, age, height, weight, and a few other things they just couldn't read. The boys glanced at each other. Was this some weird hobby? Granted, they didn't know much about their new friend so they weren't sure what to make of it.
Natsuki shifted and her brows furrowed in her sleep. She made a slight noise of distress and a pathetic mewl. Her eyes clenched, as she grabbed the blanket and she began a panicked murmur Watanuki couldn't discern. However, he saw Doumeki's eyes widen. He swallowed slightly and opened his mouth to ask Doumeki what was wrong, but in a flurry of blankets his mouth just stayed open.
In a matter of seconds, Doumeki had climbed onto the bed and was holding Natsuki close in a sitting position.
Watanuki could only blink.
And a minute later, Natsuki had calmed down and gone back to sleep.
xXx xXx xXx xXx xXx xXx xXx xXx xXx xXx xXx xXx xXx xXx xXx xXx xXx xXx xXx xXx xXx xXx xXx xXx xXx xXx xXx xXx xXx xXx xXx xXx xXx xXx xXx xXx xXx xXx xXx xXx xXx xXx xXx xXx xXx xXx xXx xXx
Fifteen minutes later, with the café locked behind them, they found themselves in the grocery store. At Doumeki's insistence he get his bento the next day.
"I'M NOT YOUR SLAVE! YOU CAN'T DEMAND A BENTO THIS LATE AT NIGHT!"
Watanuki reared up for more yelling till he followed Doumeki's finger to the clock in the store. 6pm. Only 6 pm. All that had happened in 3 hours?
Watanuki grumbled, as they walked around in the store. They were the only ones there save for the cashier. The nodded their hello at his smiling face. He had long hair tied into a ponytail and dark onyx eyes. And a genuine smile. "Let me know if you need any help!" he greeted. Watanuki had a vague idea what he was going to make as they made their way to the produce, but his mind was still on the scene in Natsuki's bedroom. He had known, known, using that word loosely, Doumeki long enough to see that he was never interested in girls at school. Really to point where he had assumed Doumeki may have – well, maybe liked boys. Watanuki's ears turned bright red at the thought. No. NO. At this point he didn't think Doumeki liked ANYONE, male or female. He was too stoic for that. Granted he had never asked him. But-
Well. He had never asked.
Besides Doumeki wouldn't be the type to answer that would he?
Watanuki picked up a daikon. How does one broach the subject? He knew guys and girls at school, close friends would go and giggle over it together, but somehow he couldn't fathom Doumeki giggling over anything. Opening his mouth, the question came out more like a statement. "You have a soft spot for her." He said as he was studying the daikon. Mentally he smacked himself. Was this his way of asking Doumeki if he liked her? GAH. Doumeki was never going to answer him-
"She just reminds me of someone."
Ha? He answered?
"Someone?"
"Mm."
Watanuki wanted to stop his tongue but the statement flew out, "Must have been a pretty close someone." And looking at Doumeki after that made him want to bite his own tongue out of his head.
Doumeki was reaching towards the cauliflower but when Watanuki said what he said, his hand faltered. His shoulders slumped slightly and something that looked like pain settled in his eyes. He clenched his hand loosely and let it fall to his side. Gritting his teeth slightly, his lips parted.
"Kimihiro."
Time stopped for a moment as the daikon fell out of Watanuki's hand. He blinked furiously as he stared at Doumeki. What…what was the meaning of that? That was his…name! His name! Why, why would Doumeki off all people –
"How many people in your life have called you that?"
It was an honest question, and Watanuki wasn't able to decipher the look Doumeki was giving him. "Tw-Three." He replied, after thinking. He turned to the daikon on the shelf and touched them gently as if remembering a story. "My… Mother. Father. And, after…they passed… the kind, obaa-chan that ran the veg stall around the corner from the apartment. No one else, not even the landlord that took care of me after called me by name." he finished, his glasses reflecting the light. "Why…why do you ask?"
Doumeki said nothing, and continued walking down the aisle. He picked up the rest of the groceries, and paid. The young boy smiled again at them, that lovely genuine smile and wished them a good night. The left and continued walking down the road, Doumeki still not uttering a word. Watanuki however, was almost losing patience. The mentioning of his name brought back so many painful memories, Doumeki had NO right reminding him of. He swallowed a bitter taste in his mouth and grabbed the other boy's elbow. "Oi! You still haven't ans-"he started, until he realized the other boy had stopped and was holding something. Following his grasp Watanuki's brow furrowed.
It was the wrought iron gate of the house they had passed by the day they met Natsuki. The one Doumeki had refused to look at. Why were they here?
"Shizuka."
Doumeki's sudden voice startled Watanuki out of his thoughts. Watanuki was behind him so he couldn't see his face but stared at his back waiting for him to continue.
"Shizuka was the name I believe only four people would ever use. Mother. Grandfather. Grandmother. My…father. I thought a first name was only a name used by family to refer to you as. Nothing more. Nothing less.
I didn't plan on there being a fifth person to use that name. And bringing along six more people. Eleven. I heard the name Shizuka from eleven different people, eleven different ways. It gave new meaning to having a name.
Tell me Watanuki. Do you know what a best friend is?"
Watanuki gaped. He had no words, no answer for Doumeki. He couldn't read anything in his tone, and his posture was rigid. His words however sounded so lonely, it made Watanuki want to cry. Mutely, he shook his head. A dry humorless chuckle sounded from the boy in front of him.
"It's someone you meet through a strange twist of fate. Your encounter would seem so insignificant, but bears all the significance in the world. And this twisting fate somehow keeps you together until eventually you realize you're not going anywhere without this person. So, a friendship blossoms. And when you and this person spend every day together, doing everything together, a stronger friendship takes the place of the first one. And it keeps going until both of you become two parts of a whole. Inseparable."
At this point Doumeki had dropped the groceries and grasped the gate with both hands. He lowered his head just enough to hide his eyes but left his mouth open to talk. Watanuki kept his mouth shut, wanting to hear more.
"So when I saw Natsuki, she reminded me of a strange twist of fate that happened 9 years ago. I can't let myself see her in pain and not do anything."
This jolted Watanuki as that was the most humane sentence he had ever heard from the other boy. Watanuki started, "That, that means you have a best friend – "
"Had."
Watanuki stopped dead. A bitter taste returned to his mouth. They just stopped being friends right? Maybe his stoniness pushed them away. Maybe they need a reason to call. Surely Doumeki didn't mean...he didn't...
"Doumeki…can't…can't you call or go see them? I'm sure they'd love – "
"Hard to answer a phone when you're dead, Watanuki."
A lonely breeze whistled through the night.
A/N: Depressing, I'm sorry. Necessary though, so do review!