Hearts Everlasting
By. Indigo Siren
Disclaimer: Tekken is © to Namco. All characters, situations based on the games and such are not my property and are being used only for entertainment purposes only. No money is being made from this story. I do however own the idea for my story as well as any character of my own creation that doesn't appear in the Tekken games. All rights reserved.
A/N: After checking out previous chapters, I am going to do a few edits so correct grammar and such so they read better. Anyway, this chapter is a short filler while I'm building up to the real meat of the story. After this, the plot is going to take a whole new turn. Anyway, hope you enjoy!
Chapter 10
Miharu had reached the biology room ahead of everyone else. She took up a seat on a bench next to the window, turning to gaze out at the sunny surroundings outside. It was a nice, bright day - all green and fresh-looking. Not that the cheery atmosphere did anything for her ever depressive mood.
Why she continued to allow herself to stew, she never knew. Over and over she'd told herself that life went on and love came and went on its own accord. Though, she just stung, deep down. Time wasted wanting something that she knew now was not worth waiting for. Or was it? Or were these feelings just a bitter bite back at her ex-boyfriend for the break up?
Most likely.
As the class began to fill up around her, she pondered what she would do next. A part of her wanted to smother the pain with new affection by chasing after a new, little romance, but it was much too soon to start thinking that way. Wounds were still wide open in her heart, and it was obviously going to take time to heal over.
'If ever…' She bit her lip, and stared down at her biology book and started to scribble cartoon fishes and skateboarding cats in the margins.
A piece of four-folded pink paper landed on her desk and she looked over at it. Glancing up, Xiaoyu gave her a friendly wink and sat next to Mika on the bench diagonal to hers.
Curiously, Miharu reached for it and unfolded the pastel-coloured paper, revealing neatly scrawled, black handwriting printed in the paper's middle.
Xiaoyu Presents:
The Big, SUPER, Girls Only, Slumber Party Bash!!!
And you, have been invited to enjoy a night of music, gossip, dancing, karaoke, unhealthy food and pillow fights!
This will all take place on SATURDAY NIGHT
Be there or receive beats!
(N/b: Bring old photos and stuff we can get all soppy over!)
Miharu snorted, looking up to Xiaoyu and Mika who were nodding at her with smiles. Rubi came to sit down in the empty seat beside her, dumping her bag on the desk.
The girl beamed at her when she saw the invite in her hands. "You're coming, right?"
"Maybe…"
Rubi tugged her sleeve, pouting. "Oh, you have to! It won't be the same if you don't come."
Yumi in front of them leant back against their desk. "No maybes, only yeses."
Miharu gave a half shrug, re-folding the paper and placing it into the front of her book.
"Miharu, I know you're feeling down, but it won't last forever," Yumi assured. "We want to see you smile again, and I promise, this will be the perfect opportunity to be all happy and carefree! You'll feel all good and you won't had a reason to frown again."
Relenting, the auburn-haired girl nodded. "Oh… Alright then."
Secretly, Xiaoyu and Mika had a little high five under the desk. The other girls smiled also, and turned as the teacher came into the class, beginning the lesson.
Three Days Later…
"I declare this BIG, SUPER, GIRLS ONLY, SLUMBER PARTY BASH, officially started!" Xiaoyu turned and snipped a thin pink ribbon she tapped in front of the door to her room, prompting a cheer from the four girls behind her.
All but the Chinese girl ran in, leaping into the piles of fluffy pink and yellow cushions scattered across the room. She came back with plates of frosted biscuits, jelly beans, homemade dorayaki, daifuku, apple fritters in syrup and some yokan.
Hungry hands were grabbing at the plates, taking as much as they could.
"Hey, hey! Leave some for me!" Xiaoyu protested, reaching for what was left.
Mika licked some syrup from her finger tips as she put on the television, intercepting a singing talent show. She burst out laughing at the man on TV who was singing badly off key. Rubi joined her to view the butchering of a good song. Miharu flopped back into a gathered pile of covers while she enjoyed a nice piece of dorayaki.
Yumi removed some photos from her backpack, waving them around.
"Hey, I brought some nostalgia!"
Mika's attention snapped to the girl. "Oh, give me some of that! A good old trip down memory lane is just the ticket!" She muted the television and they all gathered around Yumi, who passed out the photos. "Oh! These are pictures from our middle school!" The recognition of the beige turtlenecks and navy-pleated skirts had her laughing a loud. The uniforms had been atrocious.
"I never went to your middle school," Rubi said, looking at a picture of Yumi waving at the camera on a snowy day. "My school had black uniforms with yellow bows, hats… You name it. We looked like bees." Her friends giggled at the analogy.
"I didn't go to their school either," Xiaoyu said sadly. "Wish I had. Mine was so boring - so strict."
"Ours was a bit rubbish," Miharu said, chuckling when she saw a picture of herself, Mika and Yumi dressed up as ducks for the class play. "They were just too easy going, so there was always a lot of trouble going on. Boys breaking the windows with footballs on a regular basis and girls running around throwing at each other. It was the beginning of the end of people."
"Oh yes, it all went down hill from there on in." Mika leant back against Xiaoyu's bed, looking up thoughtfully. "But they were really good times. The work wasn't so hard and the teachers were a lot more fun to talk to. They use to have foreign teachers in a lot too! We had a Canadian woman in and a man from, oh, where was it? Spain? No! Wait! Portugal! That was it! His Japanese was very broken, and it was funny to hear him talk, though, he told the best jokes!"
"They were always jokes about women's breasts, though," Yumi said, covering her face.
"Well, he's a man, you have to humour him!" Miharu threw a cushion at Mika's face. The latter smirked. "It's true!"
"What's your most embarrassing memory of Middle School, Rubi?" Xiaoyu asked her.
The girl blushed. "Oh, well, I remember this little boy from the first year who had a crush on me, always following me around and one day, just before one of my classes started, he ran in the room and declared to everyone he wanted to have sex with me before running out. Quite humiliating, but I did feel a little flattered. He was a sweet boy, even if still very child-like."
"Oh! Does he go to our school now?" Mika asked. That question could only cause trouble.
"Lucky for me, he doesn't," she said, blushing wildly. "He went to a private boys school. I see him now and again. He's really posh and upper class now. I don't think he remembers me. It's kind of sad."
The room filled with 'awws' and she received a few pats on the back, before they all broke down giggling again.
"What about you, Miharu?" Xiaoyu turned to her best friend.
The girl under questioning put down the photo, thinking back. "Uh… I think my most embarrassing moment was jumping into a puddle, not realising it was a few feet deep. I had to go to school covered up to my neck in mud. My mother was so angry was I got home. The thing is, it was more embarrassing because all the whiny girls from my class saw it happen."
"Oh wow!" Yumi's eyes bulged. "When did that happen?" Miharu shrugged.
"We MISSED it!" Mika explained with a little disappointment. "That bites!" Miharu hit her again with a cushion. She had plenty of ammo left for the night, threatening a little with another cushion at hand.
"I think mine and Mika's most embarrassing moment was when we got on the wrong bus for a class trip," Yumi suddenly put in, covering her reddening face. Mika suddenly turned, expression close to cracking up with laughter. "We were wondering why all our class mates had turned into pensioners."
"We were suppose to be going to the local art gallery, but ended up going to a… uh, well, sex museum…"
Xiaoyu fell back. "WHAT! A SEX MUSEUM!?"
Miharu covered her mouth. "That's disturbing… You went with old people to a sex museum…"
"Shameful…" Rubi left off as she started to laugh hard, getting everyone going full on.
Mika's laughter broke off as she noticed someone on the television. "Hey! Isn't that Yamaki?"
"What?" The group piped in unison, scrambling in front of the TV.
"Turn it up!" Xiaoyu squeaked as Mika grabbed the remote, taking it off mute.
He was on the news with a few other boys from their school for winning a soccer competition. Yamaki, as team captain, was getting all kinds of questions thrown at him and he proudly, if not smugly, answered them.
"What do you think of him?" Mika whispered to Rubi.
"He's okay. A bit arrogant if you ask me."
"I agree," Yumi added.
There was silence for a moment as they watched the report on the team end, though not before Mika added, "He's kinda hot…" And a agreement of 'yeses' followed. All besides Miharu.
After her experience with him, she wouldn't say yes. Poor Hiki was caught up in love with such a self-satisfied idiot. He stilled pined after the young Hirano girl even though he knew they could never be together. As kind and good-natured as he was, there was always an underlining of something that made he seem all superior over everyone else. It made her dread even more having to act as the lover of him in the play.
As the news finished, another music programme came on, and faces were lit up when veteran pop star, Ayumi Hamasaki was announced to be headlining the show.
"She's so good!" Mika said all starry eyed. Yumi and Rubi were nodding in agreement. "I wish I were a superstar…"
Xiaoyu jumped up. "Lets pretend! I know its childish, but lets give each other a superstar make over!" The girls looked between each other, then suddenly jumped up screaming girly-like. Well, Miharu didn't, but she couldn't help but smile at the idea.
"I brought some make up!" Mika was scrambling to her night bag, searching for her lipsticks and eye shadows. Yumi and Rubi did the same.
"Do you have some?" Xiaoyu asked Miharu.
She nodded. "I do have odd bits that sit in the bottom of my bag. I'll get it out."
Kneeling down in the doorway, she pulled her bag over and looked through. Nightwear, spares clothes, bathroom essentials… No make-up yet in sight. Frustrated, she tipped the back upside-down and dropped everything out. The make-up was now revealed sat on top of the little pile.
She picked the few pieces up, though noticed a piece of glossy paper poking out between her pyjamas. Brows knitting, she reached down and carefully pulled the long piece of printed paper free.
Her heart skipped a beat as she turned it around.
Photo booth pictures of her and Jin from over two years.
Why were they in this bag?
The knapsack was one she hadn't used for a while, and she considered that the picture may have been put in the bag sometime back and had stayed there ever since. She'd forgot to clean out some other stuff when she'd packed the bag for the sleep over. It was one thing she hadn't expected.
Seeing it, remembering that date, her chest tightened and her eyes began to brim with tears.
"I've… just got to go to the bathroom…" She mumbled, standing and rushing out of the room.
Mika, Rubi and Yumi were oblivious, though Xiaoyu had seen her pause when she had the little pictures at hand. She'd seen the tears begin to form and worried for her friend, and was quick to follow after her.
When she reached the bathroom down the hall, she noticed the door on a jar and decided just to go on in. It was time to be true to one and other.
Miharu was sat on top of a lidded-toilet, staring down at the picture with a tear-stricken face. She snapped up to noticed Xiaoyu step into the room, shutting the door behind her. The Chinese girl knelt on the cold tiles in front of her friend.
"I know what's happened, Miharu," she said softly. "He told me."
A loud sob emitted from her friend, who quickly covered her mouth. Xiaoyu carefully moved to wrap her arms around her, looking down at the little pictures in her hands. Pity welled inside her.
"I'm so sorry…"
"I loved him so much…" She wept, sinking against her friend. "So much…"
"It's okay. You just cry. Let it all out."
And that's what she did. Miharu cried her soul out, muffled by her friend's vest, which absorbed the bitter-sweet tears. Xiaoyu soothed a hand down the Japanese girl's shaky back, saying nothing.
It was like this for a few minutes, until Miharu controlled her sobs, pulling away and reaching for a wad of paper from the toilet roll, dabbing her pinked face.
"I can't believe it ended," Xiaoyu said softly. "I thought you two were made for each other. Well… Maybe I still do. Is there still a chance for you to get back together?" Miharu shook her head. "Why not?"
"He doesn't want love, Xiao," she said in gulps, steadying her whimpering voice. "He's not the same guy I met two years ago. He just thinks about himself. I was just a sweet little distraction for a while."
"That's not true, and you know it," Xiaoyu softly tried to reason, but Miharu shook her head firmly.
"I feel so used…" She rubbed a hand beneath her slightly dripping nose. "But I guess it's my own fault. I should have known someone like him wouldn't… Wouldn't…" Her head drooped. "Wouldn't really want me…"
"Miharu…"
"I loved him, and he broke my heart," she whispered as she turned her glittering eyes to her friend. "I don't think I can forgive him… I… Don't think I can forgive myself."
All Xiaoyu could do was hug her friend, whisper wonderful promises of happiness. What the outcome would be would soon start to take shape.
A/N: A sad little filler, though more emotional matters are about to be dealt with...
In the next chapter, Miharu tries her best to carry on, even with some not-so welcome faces popping up, and things go directly down hill for Jin...