III
Her Other Worldly Smile
°Skylar°
"Alright, that's enough," Mayu-sensei said, "Pencils down, everyone."
"Like anyone uses actual pencils anymore," Sano said, "It's all about the mechanical pencils."
"Shut up before I take ten points off," she retorted. "Now pass your papers up; and don't even think about running out, you still have homeroom."
"Argh. That was brutal," I groaned, resting my head on my desk. "I've been so distracted I haven't been paying attention in class at all."
"Not that it matters," Ally commented, "You always end up passing anyway."
"Barely," I muttered.
"By choice," she countered, "We both know how great you would do if you'd actually, oh, I don't know, studied?"
"Ally~" I whined, "Don't be so cold."
She rolled her eyes. "Well, on the bright side, thanks to Yuki and Tohru, I managed to do pretty well."
"That's good, but don't you always pass?" I asked.
"That's because I study."
I stuck my tongue out childishly.
Because of Finals, Ally, Tohru, Kyo, Yuki, and I hadn't really done anything fun since the fiasco with the double dates. Sano still came by every once in a while, being sure to irritate Kyo and Yuki every time, but those were few and far between. Thankfully, though, everything went okay. Mine and Ally's boss were pretty lenient about our schedules, giving us the entire week off except when we were really needed, so studying was easy.
…Except for those like me, who spent the entire time freaking out over Shigure.
When he came back from Hatori's, everything seemed to be normal. He hasn't said anything about my outburst, hasn't been overly warily around me, and even seems to be treating me the same as before. Which means Hatori got through to him.
"I think Kyo's being picked on again," Ally said, pulling me from my thoughts.
I looked over to see Arisa and another girl questioning poor Kyo on his studying habits.
"You're one of them, aren't you?One of those people who cram all of the studying in the night before the test and then blow it because they can't remember anything," Arisa accused.
"You didn't do that again, did you?" the girl continued.
"He was locked up in his room for a good bit of the time," Ally said, looking over at me. "Was he studying?"
"Yep," I popped, stretching back in my seat. "You should've seen him with his face buried in the book; it was too cute."
She rolled her eyes.
"Sohma~" Mayu-sensei suddenly called out and immediately, all of our heads look over at her. "C'mere a sec."
"Which one?" Yuki and Kyo said at the same, shooting glares at the other.
"Not you two," she said, "Alayna and Skylar."
Ally and I looked at each other then back at her. "Us?" we said.
She nodded.
Ally raised a brow at me and I shrugged as if to say, No idea.
I wasn't really sure which she was referring to – calling us "Sohma" or calling us out of the room – but either way, I didn't have a clue what was going on. Since we helped pay for the chocolates, Tohru shouldn't be having any problems…
When we got into the hallway, Mayu-sensei studies us. "First off, congratulations on being adopted; I'm sure you both were really excited when you found out."
My eyes widened. "What?"
She tilted her head. "You mean you didn't know? The papers were finished this morning; you're both official members of the Sohma household."
Ally blinked. "No way."
She nodded slowly. "I can't believe no one told you," she said thoughtfully, but quickly shook her head. "Anyway, since the two of you started late in the year, and no one told you about it, I thought I should tell you. All the third years go on a trip before they graduate. In order to pay for it, however, the school has students make payments of ¥100 every month starting their first years. Since school started almost four months ago, you owe ¥400 (about $40). If you want, we can give you an extension, since you two are new and had no idea, or you can pay it all next month; it's up to you two, really."
"What do you think, Als?" I asked, "Think we can pay it all next month?"
"Well, I don't really want an extension, but that'll mean we have to work longer hours."
I sighed. "Yay."
Mayu-sensei nodded and opened the door. "Alright. Just pay it all next month if you can, and if you can't, just tell me and we'll make an extended time."
We nodded and went back in the room, faced with questioning glances.
"What happened?" Yuki asked.
"Yeah, what the hell was that about?" Kyo demanded.
"Nothing really," Ally said easily, taking her seat.
"Guess we're just going to have to work a little more this month," I grumbled.
Yuki tilted his head and Kyo simply looked confused.
°°°v°°°^°°°v°°°
I leaned against a wall, wiping the sweat from my forehead. "These stupid outfits are hot."
"Deal with it," the manager, a snarky doughboy, said. "You want a raise? This is what you have to do for it."
"Look, you little Swiss roll," I growled.
"Sky, cut it out," Ally reprimanded, looking up from the table she was cleaning, rag in her hand, "Leave him alone. He's just being hateful because he's getting fired."
He snarled at her, waddling to the kitchen with extra strength in his step.
"I can't wait to find a new job," I grumbled, standing up straight.
"Skylar! Ally! Someone's here for you!" one of the other waitresses shouted at us.
"Must be Yuki and Tohru," Ally said. "Alright," she yelled back, "Give us a few."
We quickly headed past the kitchen into the girls' changing room, slipping out of our uniforms and into our street school clothes, hurrying as we always do. When we get to the door, we were both surprised to see Momiji standing in between Tohru and Yuki.
"Hey, Ally and Skylar!" Momiji chirped, too much energy for almost eleven-thirty. "How was work? Huh? Did you have fun?"
"Uh, you could say that," Ally said.
"What're you doing here, Momiji?" I asked, stepping in pace with Tohru and him.
"I'm staying the night at Uncle Shigure's tonight!" he cheers, "And, I have a present!"
"What kind of present?" I wondered.
"That's a surprise." He giggled.
°°°v°°°^°°°v°°°
"Guten Abend (Good evening)!" Momiji announced our presence in the living room with something in German, his voice loud and clear. "This is my first time at Uncle Shigure's! I'm so excited~"
Shigure was placed at the kotatsu, snuggled under the warm covers with a kimono draped around his shoulders. "Oh, you're here. You're awfully hyper for so late at night."
Kyo made the mistake of walking in just at the time, hair dripped, towel draped around his neck. "Oh great. What are you doing here?"
"Ah! You're all clean Kyo~" Momiji chimed.
Kyo growled and rubbed his knuckles against Momiji's temples. "You know, you're energy really pisses me off."
"Wah! Kyo's being a meanie!" he whined.
"Are you hungry, Momiji?" Tohru asked.
"I am~"
"Like I said," Kyo grumbled, continuing his assault on Momiji's head.
°°°v°°°^°°°v°°°
"Have you told them yet?" Shigure asked.
"Not yet~" he sang.
"Tell us what?" Ally tilted her head.
I took the opportunity to steal one of her crackers, popping it in my mouth. She shot me a glare and jabbed her finger into my side. I squealed, jumping into the air. Without meaning to, I bumped into Kyo, causing him to lean into the table.
"Sorry, Kyo!" Ally said.
"Goddamn it, you two. You're as bad as him!"
"Kyo~ That's not nice~" I mocked Momiji's high-pitched voice, poking Kyo's shoulder.
"Ah, dammit!" He glared at me as I laughed, hand snatching my wrist. When his fingers wrapped around it, however, his anger seemed to drop and his face grew darker for a different reason.
"Kyo?" I tilted my head.
"Question for Tohru!" Momiji interrupted us, causing Kyo to drop my wrist and look out the cracked door, avoiding eye contact. "What's today?"
She blinked, thinking. "Uh, the fifteenth?"
"Ding ding ding!" He looked at Ally. "And what was yesterday?"
"The fourteenth?" She looked confused.
"Correct! March 14th is White Day! It's a day late, though. Anyway, tomorrow, I'm giving you three a trip to a hot spring!"
"Huh!?" We all blurted.
"A hot spring?" I glanced at Ally. "I didn't think it was coming this soon."
She nodded. "With everything going on, I forgot about the trip."
"I keep forgetting important details," I said quietly.
"I know what you mean."
"Oh yeah!" Shigure suddenly piped in. "Sorry to change the subject, but I just remembered two things very important. Ally, you and Skylar haven't paid your trip deposit since entering, right?"
"Uh." Ally played with the chocolate cookie in her hand. "You see, we weren't really told about the money until today, so…"
"I see." Shigure nodded understandingly. "I can help you two catch up if you need it."
"No, that's okay," I said quickly. "I've picked up extra shifts at work, so we'll be able to catch up in no time."
"That's another thing." Shigure got up from his place and stepped over to me, kneeling down.
Instinctively, I leaned away from him, almost into Kyo again. "What?"
His cool hand touched my forehead. "As I thought. You have a slight fever."
"Huh?"
"The assistant manager called as well. Apparently, you have a new uniform, yes? One that's meant more for winter?" He questioned. I nodded slowly. "She noticed that you were looking pale and was worried. You know, if you work yourself in such thick clothing during summer, you'll collapse again."
"I'll be okay," I said, smiling. "No need to worry–"
Suddenly, Kyo pounded his hands on the table, glaring into my eyes. "YOU ID–" He stopped and clenched his teeth, nail digging into the wooden fibers on the table. When he managed to calm down a little, the muscles in his arms were twitching as he pointed. "The bath… you… go…"
"Er, why…?" I tried to ask.
"Come on, Ms. Skylar." Ally tugged on my arm, pulling towards the stairs. "Time to get you a bath and put you to bed. Don't want you to have a fever tomorrow, do we?"
"I better make her some herbal tea to drink before bed," Tohru said, standing up, "It'll help with her prevent a cold."
I was confused as I followed Ally upstairs.
°°°v°°°^°°°v°°°
°Third Person°
"Very good, very good." Shigure said, smirking a little. "You controlled your anger well."
"Shut up," Kyo snapped, falling on his hands and knees.
"Well, it's not like this isn't the first time. Our little Skylar has always been a stubborn girl."
"Why the hell does she have to be like that, though!?" he barked. "She's only making it harder on herself! She could just ask for help or something, tell someone she's not feeling well at least. She's such an idiot! One day she'll really regret it. She's going to end up killing herself from overexertion!"
"Hey, hey!" Momiji chirped. "We had a class meeting today."
"What?" Kyo deadpanned.
"We decided to read this one story, too. We always read things on Mondays, something about opening our minds for the week–"
"Did you have a point in there?" Yuki interrupted.
"Oh, right, anyway, we were reading this one story called "Her Otherworldly Smile". It was about this girl who had this really confusing personality. One minute, she was fun and outgoing and crazy and the next she was a raging mess! She liked to play tough, especially when in front of other people, but she was secretly insecure and delicate. Anyway, in the story, this guy gets to know the hyper and fun side of the girl; only hearing rumors from other people about her temper and tough-girl act, and ends up falling in love with her smile that was "beyond this world". See, since she was always trying to hide her pain and sadness, she smiled often. The guy fell in love with her smile because it was twanged with sadness and he felt like he had to get rid of it. So, one day, the girl gets infected with the plague. In order to save the man she loved, she pretended to be in love with someone else, breaking the guy's heart. Eventually, this guy meets another girl and they fall in love. The girl watches this happen with tears of happiness in her eyes and is found in her bed with a smile on her face." Momiji paused. "The class thought she was stupid."
Everyone in the room had a dark look on their face.
"But, I closed my eyes and thought about how… lucky, that guy was. The moment the girl found out she wouldn't make it, in order to save him, she broke his heart, knowing that he would get over her and find another. He didn't have to suffer with her as she died and risk the chances of him getting infected. She genuinely loved him and selflessly saved him. I wouldn't call her stupid; I'd want to show her the same kindness she shows everyone else, even if she doesn't believe she deserves it. I'd want to show her she deserves happiness." His eyes met Kyo's. "Do you think that's stupid? When you close your eyes and see the man holding hands with his new wife, the girl in her bed with a smile laced with sadness, what do you think?"
°°°v°°°^°°°v°°°
°Skylar°
"I'll hang the laundry," I said, grabbing a basket.
"Don't work yourself too much!" Ally shouted.
"Yeah, yeah," I grumbled. "Paranoid woman.
I picked up a sheet and lightly tossed it over the line, trying to even it out.
"I'll go," someone said behind me.
I whirled around, staring up at Kyo. "Morning, Kyo. You're up pretty–"
"To the hot spring, I'll go too," he repeated more forcefully.
I blinked, confused. Didn't he do something like this in the manga…?
"I don't have a return gift or anything, so instead, I'll put up with that damn Yuki and go with you." He face was kind of red and I felt a smile stretch my mouth. "Maybe you don't care whether I go or not, but–"
"Are you kidding?" I burst, grinning. "Of course I care! It'll be so much more fun with you there! This is awesome! Thanks, Kyo!"
His eyes widened for a minute before a breath-taking smile reached his lips. "You really are an idiot," he said fondly.
My heart practically stopped.
Oh, Kami-sama, please don't let anyone but me see that smile. Ever.
BLAH BLAH BLAH: 5
Oh my. Hot springs ahoy~ So, Ally and Skylar are official Sohma members! What's in store for them now? Also, just a little note please don't compare my Her Otherworldly Smile to the Foolish Traveler. We all know that it doesn't compare on any level because I can't write something like that worth crap. And for that, I'm sorry, but you got the point: Momiji told a different story and now things are turning. Love you guys~
Happy Reading(: