I have practically no idea whether I have updated or not, but for your information I write for the fun of it. And yes I still do love all my reviews and the people who care to read. I'm trying to keep my wits up. A routine and mundane life is not what anybody wants, is it? Unbothered to write more. This is the chapter. And I'm not sure whether you can take a train from Tokyo to Hokkaido.
So he was here and she was there, but he didn't really mind. All this hard work was keeping his mind from wondering and right now, there was nowhere to wonder to. He was cleaning one of the tables as the customers took their leave to pay at the counter. Shougo was cashing in the money, while at the same time trying to take orders down for the cook. As he slid over to the counter to help, Shougo shooed him off. "Go get some menus for those customers at table 22 and take orders for some others at 19. Start with the latter table, they're getting rowdy," he had to yell over the surge of customers. All he could do was nod, hastily get some menus and a note pad before making a beeline towards the customers.
"And how may I help you, sirs?" he said politely. "Beer all round. And hamburgers. Two without pickles and one more thing, uh, 4 ice creams, make one a banana split, one strawberry, another a chocolate chip and one vanilla with apple pie at the side." A burly man at the table said. "Move it boy, make it hasty," another growled. The boy nodded and reeled off from the notepad the items to be bought. Another man chased him off as he headed towards the counter to give the orders before heading towards table 22 to give them the menus.
It was five minutes later before he had time to rest. But before he could take even the smallest sip of water, he was whisked off his feet towards another table to clean and take orders from. This boy was Himura Kenshin. So maybe it wasn't t the best paying job and it was air- conditioned either, but still he was getting reasonable pay for this job and he was lucky that he was getting it off easy. Makoto and Rorenzo were helping Cook in the kitchens, usually peeling potatoes while making soup and frying vegetables at the same time. Soujiro was nowhere to be seen.
"Oi! Boy! Where is my food? I ordered it like 15 minutes ago!" it was the same man from just now. The man who had him taking down twenty orders in one scribble. It was a miracle that Cook could still read his handwriting at the rate. He moved forward towards the table and made a small bow, "I'm sorry sir, but you might have to wait for a little while longer. If you can see the queue, and the other customers you might understand our situation. But we guarantee that the food will still come too you piping hot." This was the standard phrase that he would repeat at least twenty times a day.
"Well, I'm not very happy. Maybe you might be feeding customers who ordered later than me? How am I supposed to know? How am I supposed to know that you're not sneaking off to eat by yourself, eh?" the man sneered. Looking slightly flustered, the boy replied, "Sir, you must remember that w e have no time for such shenanigans. We still have many customers to feed before and after you. Please give us a chance to at least serve you the food." The man shook his head and gave him an eerie smile, "No can do little boy. Apparently, we are starving and we don't like to be keep waiting. What are you going to do? Try to beat us at this game? Don't you remember your boss telling you to care about the customers?" The other 4 men sitting around him gave evil chuckles and cracked their knuckles.
Oh why did he get all the problematic customers? Soujiro seemed to be handling his perfectly, so why him? From the tables where he had left the ice-cold beer, the men picked up the beer bottles and glass mugs. Breaking them so that the rims were sharp, they advanced slowly towards the boy, giving off the air of the almighty.
Just as one of the men swung to the boy's left, he dodged the blow nimbly and reached out to grab a long sheathe blade from the walls that was there for display. Unhitching the blade from the sheathe, he held his ground and his stance. He would not give up. And in a way, he was protecting the other customers.
The room had become deathly quietly starting from the time when the men had started cracking glass bottles on the edge of the metallic tables. A ring started to form around the seven people as six ganged up against one. Already, Soujiro was holding off the crowd while Makoto and Rorenzo was popping out their heads from the kitchen doors. Even Shougo had put down his pen and paper and was staring at the boy.
"Why don't you attack? Are you a man or a sissy?" one of the men taunted the lithe boy. Really, he actually looked more like a female with his long orange-red hair and a small stature. They're just making fun of me; they're just trying to provoke me; the young teenager psyched himself. "Argh!" One of the men blindly charged at his opponent. Once again, he moved with the speed and agility that was not possessed by a normal human.
There was a quick jab to the spleen before the man collapsed. Apparently, the boy had sheathed his sword and used the hilt to hit the man. Before he even had time to knock another man to the floor, Shougo had appeared. "There will not be any fighting in my inn," He said softly but nobody could miss the edge in his voice. Either the headman had not heard the innkeeper or he was just plain stupid.
"Well, too bad, I'm fighting, and nobody isn't gonna stop me," he sneered. Lunging towards Shougo and a frenzied attack, he whipped out a shard of glass and tried to cut Shougo. All the innkeeper had to do was grab the man's hand and twist it ever so slightly that the man gave up and followed by his henchmen, he disappeared into the crowds.
A round of applause broke out around the tightly knit circle. Soujiro started ushering the customers back to their seats amidst the hushed whispers that started from one end of the room and travelled to the other side.
Kenshin heaved a sigh a relief. Wow, was he lucky to have a boss that knew at least the basics of fending off trouble. "Kenshin, a word please." His boss called out. Reluctantly, he headed towards the already crammed counter; he knew what he was in for. Shougo Amakusa leaned over the counter and gave a wry smile. "Well, that's a first to see a green horn waiter fend off so many attackers at once. Good job. But once again, I must ensure that you do not fight again in the inn unless it is really needed. Do you understand?" Shougo said seriously and patted Kenshin on the back. Kenshin nodded and promise before heading back to serving.
"So how is that lovely bruise coming along?" Ryoujin Makoto joked. It was ten in the evening. The customers had slowly gone down in rate as Kenshin and his friends stacked the chairs and cleaned the tables. Even the floor had to be swept clean and mopped. Kenshin grimaced and kept on mopping the floor even though the bruise on shoulder was making his whole arm ache. He knew he hadn't come out unscathed from that fight. The man with that beard had given him a lovely bruise that would not heal for at least another four days, even though he had tried putting on ice on it, and not forgetting some frozen lean meat that was supposed to be his supper. Well, his supper wouldn't taste as delicious as last night's one, but when did meat that was just used as a band-aid ever taste good?
"Don't laugh Makoto-san," Soujiro chided softly as he stacked the heavy chairs one on top of the other, "It's not everyday that you get beaten up and live to tell the tale." Even then, Soujiro was already trying very hard to keep a straight face. Shouzo Rorenzo was beginning to break out into fits of laughter. "I give up, if you guys really want to know, it's sore, and hurts like nuts," Kenshin sighed. "Well, you had better be happy, because if it wasn't for Boss we'll probably be dead, or rather you would have been," Rorenzo replied. Out of all of them, the only serious one was Rorenzo and it was probably because of the way he looked. He had a strong jaw and deep set black eyes that were so observant he could have seen a black cat skulk by in the middle of the night, without the moon.
"Hey you guys, we haven't got all day! Dinner is going to be served in a moment!" Shougo yelled from the kitchens. With quick nods, the four teenagers cleared the remaining scraps and dust from the floor and rushed to the kitchens. By then, the delicious scent had started to waft out. Making their way across the clean linoleum floor, they found themselves standing in front of a wooden table with food piled high on top of it. Chairs scraped the linoleum as five hungry people sat down in front of the sumptuous feast. It was beyond their wildest desires, there was salmon and tuna, along side the many tempura dishes and pork cutlet. Rice was served in a small china bowl and chopsticks were distributed. Spoons would come later along with the miso soup.
Then came the person who had brought this feast to the table. It was a lady by the name of Sayo. "Dig in, everybody. There's enough to feed the army," She said with a warm smile. Everybody attacked the food after a quick "Itadakimasu!" except for Sayo, Shougo and Rorenzo. With a quick prayer under their breaths and an even faster "Amen", the feast had begun.
"Come on girls! We must hurry and learn the routine," Mrs Hall snapped and clapped her hands. Kaoru sat down on the black dance mat by the side. Beside her were her classmates and competitors. Everybody in her dance class was vying for the three places in Julliard's. There were twenty of them and only three spots. This would give them a free scholarship for the Arts College in Chicago. That would mean that she would be able to study and accomplish whatever she wanted to do. And that meant dancing!
Mrs Hall wasn't Mrs Hall until she got married last month. She was Ms Pinze back then. Now that she was pregnant, her moods had gone off the rocker and the upcoming exam was putting a lot of strain on her nerves. Well, if she got through this, she would definitely be able to do well in others. The music had stopped and she found herself stand up as Mrs Hall called her name out. Suddenly, she found herself standing in the middle of the room with her hands in the correct position.
The music started and Kaoru flowed with the music as if they were one. Then came the tricky bit, a grand jete and a pirouette. She could do this...she's been training on this move for days already. And the time came...she would leapt up and come straight down in a graceful leap that would wow the crowd and leave her dance mates shocked. And then, just as she was about to give that stunning leap...
"Mrs Hall!" An unfamiliar voice called out as the doors suddenly burst open from behind her. THUMP! Ooh, that really hurt at all. She had come down safely, yeah, on her behind. There was a murmur of 'oohs' and 'ahs' coming from her dance mates. Rubbing it sorely, she saw a hand reach out and grab her up. "Sorry about that. You're okay aren't you?" The same voice said. She heard her dance mates whisper and mumbled a quick thanks as she was pulled up. When she was standing and rubbing her sore behind the person stuck out his hand once again before she could leave. "Hi, I'm Takatsuki Gentatsu. I'm new here. Nice to meet you. And I'm really sorry about that. It's just that I was kind of in a hurry," the man said.
Kaoru looked up only to see a pair of warm and friendly eyes looking down at her. "Nah, it's not that big a deal. But it's not everyday I fall on my butt. I'm Kamiya Kaoru by the way," Kaoru grinned back and shook his hand. Just as she was about to leave, she remembered something, he looked awfully familiar. "Wait Takatsuki-san, but are you Toki's brother or something? Because you look like her." Kaoru cocked her head to the side and asked curiously. Gentatsu nodded his head and replied, "Yeah I am. I'm from Julliard's. My sister already has a permanent scholarship there. She's pretty good you know."
Kaoru only nodded before she walked away. He really did look like Toki and wow, was she good. She had the perfect dancer's body and every time after class, she would still be practicing on her own in the studio. No wonder she got in. Besides, she was 19 already this year and had just completed her exams. Not only was she a graceful dancer, she had the brains along with it. She was awarded a place in Tokyo University and I everybody/I knew how hard it was to get in there.
Mrs Hall clapped her hands impatiently to get everyone's attention in the room. "Everybody, this is Takatsuki Gentatsu. He will be teaching you girls for about two weeks during his summer break. And he is also Toki's brother. We should really thank Toki for persuading her brother to come down from Chicago. By the way, he is also attending Julliard's. Maybe he might give you some pointers and experience on it." Mrs Hall said in her broken Japanese to the class with a smile.
There were a few gasps among the girls and they rushed forwards to
see Gentatsu close-up. As Kaoru walked to the back of the room to stretch
and practice, she passed the swarms of giggling girls.
"Did you see him? He is so good looking!"
"Yeah! And those pectorals of his?"
"Man, he is soooo cute!"
"I wonder how old he is?"
"Well, old enough to be my boyfriend!"
More giggles emitted from every girl except Kaoru and Toki. Toki was already at the back of the room and was practicing her leaps. "He isn't that great you know," Toki shrugged as she saw Kaoru. Kaoru agreed, "Yeah, but apparently the girls like him."
"Well, you should see him at home. He hated chores and homework and loves bribing me to do them for him. But he is a good older brother." Toki laughed. Kaoru gave a small smile. Well, lucky for her she has an elder brother who adores her. She only had two younger siblings and the boyfriend who she wasn't sure still wanted to be her boyfriend after that quarrel last week. Well, he agreed to see her at the Tokyo Central Station after the two weeks for both of them.
By then, she had already started her stretching and the group in front of her was beginning to disperse; only leaving Gentatsu and Mrs Hall in a heated discussion. "Watch her because she is a really good dancer and I really have high hopes for her." Mrs Hall said urgently. "I can tell. Will keep her in check." Gentatsu nodded and walked off to watch the girls practice.
"All right girls, get into position and we'll start from the beginning again!" Mrs stood up and ordered the girls to the bar. Groans emitted from everybody including Toki and Kaoru. This was going to be a very long day indeed.
"Boys! I need you to carry the rafts out, pronto!" Shougo yelled over the noisy crowd. Immediately, Kenshin and Makoto were hoisting a big yellow raft out followed by four girls. "Wow, would you look at them. Fresh chicks in the summer!" Makoto whistled. Kenshin inwardly groaned. So his friend hadn't changed after five years.
"Don't you have a girlfriend or something? You aren't that young you know," Kenshin sighed. "Old? Are you telling me I'm old? For your information young man, I'm only 18 and that makes me only ONE year older than you!" Makoto shot back furiously.
Back at the inn, Soujiro and Rorenzo were washing dishes under the running water. "Okay, you scrub I wash and wipe okay?" Rorenzo asked Soujiro. Soujiro nodded and scrubbed the dirty dishes and putting them into a pail of soapy water.
"You see ladies, if you put the raft perpendicular to the waves and current, you won't capsize and drown. But just for precautions, wear these life jackets to keep you safe. Blow on the whistle if you need..." Kenshin had already zoned out from Makoto's instructions to the four girls. He was too caught up with others things. Especially Kaoru. The seawater looked like her eyes. Just like when he had got lost in them. Why did he have to argue with her? Why did he have to come up with these ridiculous comments that just hit him smack in the centre. He should have known than to question her about anything. And so he held on to the rubber dinghy that reflected the sunrays off the yellow rubber. And from behind, loomed a great shadow.
BOOM! The wave hit him straight on. He should have known better. He should have been listening. "And that's what you get. A very wet person." Makoto joked with the giggling girls. Why did all girls have to giggle? Didn't they have anything else better to do? What was the point of giggling? He found it profoundly ridiculous. And his mood was getting from bad to worst as the minutes past. And there he was, face down in the knee- deep clear seawater, struggling to get up as his clothes pulled him down into the soft sand. Sometimes, he really wanted to drown himself. His miseries were getting the better of him. Too guilty to admit anything, he would have preferred. And there it was. The stupid wave just had to make Makoto's point. Crashing right into him. Maybe he should control the weather. When he was sad, it would rain.
"Get you cold drinks here! Only 300 yen each! Cold drinks!" one of his friends yelled. He didn't bother to remember who it was. Just a black hair one. He seemed to be much happier here than back at Tokyo. Maybe he should copy him. Just smile at anything. But then, holding misery back could implode him. Or explode. He preferred neither.
"Gee, why did Rorenzo get to stay back in the shade?" Makoto whined. "He's a great cook. And he's been helping Cook so much that he's taken a favour on him," He replied back dully. "Well, there's a great view out here," Makoto chuckled, taking in the bikini-clad girls walking around on the beach. "So many fish in the sea, just out for me to get." Makoto continued. Soujiro smiled. He was getting used to his new friend's behaviour patterns. "And why is Himura-san so quiet?" Soujiro questioned. He was not used to this. Usually the quiet one was him, definitely not his best friend. So why the sudden mood swing?
None of your beeswax, he wanted to growl back. Already, the straps of the stupid cooler box were burning into his flesh. He knew that he would actually felt nothing if he wasn't this moody. His routine training usually consisted of lugging more weight than this on his back. Maybe he should just quit this job and take a train back to Tokyo and go vent his frustration on hitting his sensei. It seemed reasonable. But he was still saving up for anything. He just felt bored with life in Tokyo and wanting to get rid of his mundane city style, he had travelled great distances to get here.
He had to apply for stuff. He had filled up at least ten application forms before getting this job. Apparently, he wasn't the only one who wanted a job by the beach. His sensei was not happy with the sudden want of a job. He still needed to train. And here he was being grouchy and complaining. He wanted to scream and kick all the sand underneath his feet away. But why was he getting so worked up for? There was nothing he could do. And then he realised. It was over a girl that he was getting worked up. Just ditch it, he thought. There are plenty left here to be his girlfriend. Then he remembered, that night when he had kissed her. He seemed to stick to her. It had been a perfect moment. He would have said to her that she would be his eternally, if only he had said something, he wouldn't have regretted it so much.
Before he knew it, his cooler box was empty, all there was left was ice and cold water. Without any hesitations, he poured the water over his head. The water calmed his thoughts and relaxed his tensed muscles. Yeah, that's right. I'll get her back. I'm never going to go guilty again. Never.
Then, he found himself kneeling in front of a big open umbrella with Makoto on his side and Soujiro standing behind him. "You want me to help you put suntan lotion?" Makoto grinned wickedly. Before he had even reached the bottle a giggle had emitted from the shadow that made Makoto freeze in his tracks. "So this your friend, Kenshin." A familiar voice spoke up. He had heard that voice before. That energetic and cheerful voice. Soujiro bent down to look under the umbrella, he couldn't be hallucinating, could he? He thought he had left the voice behind him...
"Misao!" Soujiro yelled.
"My, were these drinks delicious, thanks a lot," Misao smacked her lips and lay down on her towel. "Of course it is, it's free," Makoto grumbled, "I cannot believe you know these two people Kenshin." Kenshin grinned and patted Misao on her head. "Hey, I'm not a dog you know. Tsubame and I were bored, so we decided to go for a Japan trip. Go hit the major islands. We only have Toyama left before it's done. Then we're going to the Hot Springs at Beppu, and try their ramen." Tsubame gave a smile and lay her can down. "So who's going to put suntan lotion on my back?" she asked slyly. Immediately, Makoto jumped at the chance.
"I cannot believe you got a kiss out of her that fast," Kenshin said sourly later on. "I have my techniques," Makoto replied later on. "All you did was give her a backrub," Soujiro raised his eyebrows. "And some soothing words and you got her," Makoto carried on. "Oi! Table don't clean themselves! Get you lazy butts here pronto!" Shougo yelled from the restaurant. "Yes sir!" The trio immediately said in unison and made their way to the restaurant.
"You're saying that you went to Julliard's? And you said that you didn't find it hard at all?" Kaoru questioned Gentatsu later on. Gentatsu nodded. "How hard can it get? It's just that you gotta dance and there a contemporary art one, so you better pick some dance style that's the total opposite of ballet. Try swing or pop or maybe hip-hop. There's this girl who had her boyfriend teach her hip-hop. She got in on that day itself. All she could do was smother her boyfriend with kisses later on. She wouldn't have made it without his help," Gentatsu replied. They were sitting at a small café near the hotel. Gentatsu had asked her out that evening. It was two days ago since he came to Mrs Hall's dance class.
"Sway with the beats girls. I know you can do it!" Mrs Hall's voice rang like a bell in the enclosed room. Beats were pumping out from the stereo. Mrs Hall was training her girls for the contemporary art piece and it just happened that pop music came up when she switched on the radio. All she did was tell the girls to come up with their own moves that suited the beat and tempo of the music.
Kaoru was rather surprised by Mrs Hall's class this time round, but she did not lose out. Her body was already in time with the music and she just moved like there was no tomorrow. So did Toki. She seemed to have a different personality that suited the music. She moved her legs and hands in difficult moves and practically seemed one with the music. Whoever who could get to her level would have touched the best. Gentatsu was sitting by the side and tapping his foot to the beat of the music. Sometimes, he raised his arms before putting them down again. Always, his eyes were trained on the bodies of all the girls. He would know who was the best from there beside his sister. His sister was just plain exceptional.
Mrs Hall suddenly turned off the music and the dancers froze in their positions. Mrs hall commented on everybody. Then she let them rest before training them on ballet again. Soon, it would be Kaoru's turn. It did not take long. She was called up.
She moved into her position and stood facing the open windows where to late morning sun beat down on her. The red looked so much like his hair... like his long hair that he always tied up in a hasty ponytail. The music started and she moved with the time and then she pushed off from the start. From slow to fast, she moved, but her thoughts were not on the dance, it was on Kenshin... she never saw that leg a girl had stuck out. She fell down, just like in slow motion, except there was not Kenshin to pick her up anymore.
"Your ankle is twisted. You'll have to rest. You might not get chosen to go for the preliminaries even. It might take at least a week to heal," Mrs Hall had said sadly. She had wanted her best dancer to go into Julliard's, now she had to wait for another year before trying again.
Kaoru knew there was no way out of this. She would miss the chance of a lifetime, but she still had to live with it. She could see the smug smiles the other girls gave her. This way, they had a better chance to get into Julliard's. Maybe they had done it on purpose. Maybe they had purposely stuck their legs out just to catch her off guard. She didn't care now. All she wanted to do was to see Kenshin and apologise.
Gentatsu had apologised, so he said he would bring her out. Just this once, as a date. She agreed half-heartedly. She didn't want to spend the next week doing nothing and as this was the only perk she had so far after that accident. But then, it felt like betraying Kenshin, for all he had done for her. so that's how she found herself at the quaint café, sipping on her coffee and laughing at Gentatsu's jokes. It was already five in the evening and the sun was setting. Once again it seemed to remind her of his brilliant purple eyes that somehow showed his true feelings. Another admonition. Before she could do anything, Gentatsu had hoisted her up and brought her to the car. "I have one more thing to show you," He said quietly. She nodded silently as she buckled herself up.
The ride was smooth with only soft music coming from the radio. After half and hour or so in the convertible, Gentatsu pulled over. They were at a cliff and as she looked down, Kaoru saw the brilliant lights of Toyama shining up at her. "It's beautiful," Kaoru whispered as she held her breath while the cool wind blew through her hair. "It's the first time I've shown this to anybody. I found it by accident a few years back when I was studying here. It's where a chill and cheer up. After that incident, I realised that you might need some help cheering up, it's okay, I know you'll pull through." Gentatsu nodded and replied.
He leaned down to Kaoru's height and brushed away the silent tears that coursed down her face, calmly soothing her. He pulled her chin up until eye level and came closer to her. Just as he was about to kiss her, she pulled away.
Maybe he shouldn't have done that. He should have known she was attached, or somewhat like that. And now he had just made a complete fool of himself.
But amidst the surprise, she hugged him tightly and kissed his cheek. "So it was true. You aren't as great as everybody thinks you are. Just as gawky and sometimes silly. But the truth is that you stand apart from everybody else," She joked, "Because you know the meaning of true friendship."
He suddenly understood her words. He hadn't brought her up to complete the dare set by his sister. He was here truthfully to cheers her up. Not to be dared to kiss, not to be dared to do anything stupid. She was really a truly innocent child in his arms. And there he thanked her with her in his arms, the teaching him the true meaning of friendship.
End of chapter. Will update later. Cheers. Ming. It's 45 minutes to midnight. Next Chapter: so all goes well and the troupe is back in school with another big surprise in stored. Guest starring: not gonna say. :)
Read and review. Argh. Too lazy to write in full sentences.