Chapter Twenty-One

Until We Meet Again

Mizushima Kasumi's Point of View

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

The alarm buzzed in a clamorous manner, waking me up half an hour earlier than Nanase would be to go to Hokkaido—5:30. I wanted to prepare a special breakfast for Nanase—mackerel. Of course, I wasn't just going to feed him just plain mackerel. I would make it into sushi . . . there would also be sides of seasoned rice, seared vegetables, and tea or coffee. This meal was also for Masaru since I never cooked mackerel that often preferred tilapia or salmon instead.

I dragged myself out of bed, rubbed my eyes, and then brushed my teeth and so forth before tiptoeing downstairs to arrange the surprise meal. I took the mackerel out of the freezer, placed a pan on the stove as I turned it on, and then unpackaged the frozen fish. Taking out the sharpest knife I had, I began to cut the fish's outer skin in my own particular fashion, took the bones out, and cut it into thin slices . . . making about . . . eight rolls per person. After the pan on the stove began to steam, I took some vegetable oil out of the cabinet and poured some into the skillet. After doing so, I put the slices of mackerel onto the pan, causing some sizzling noises to be heard.

As the fish was cooking, I began to cook the rice in the rice cooker, and let the contraption do its job. I then put a grilling set on top of one of the other stoves after I had cut the broccoli, spinach, and asparagus accordingly. After placing those on the grilling set, I returned to the mackerel, which had been perfectly cooked at that point in time.

Taking out three plates, I placed the eight rolls onto each person's plate and sprinkled it with soy sauce. Returning back to the vegetables, I turned them over, causing the vegetables to sear the other side of the veggies. I took a pot and poured some water into it, in mind that the water would boil in time before Masaru and Nanase would be in the kitchen.

Again, back to the vegetables, I turned off the grilling set and placed the vegetables onto the plates for each person evenly. After I had scattered some salt onto the vegetables and heard the water boil, I put some tealeaves in pot, before orientating the food on the plate to look professional.

Posterior to hearing the rice cooker buzz, signaling the rice cooked, I took three small, porcelain bowls out of the cabinet and placed the rice into them. Of course, soy sauce being my favorite seasoning of all time, I sprinkled some of the sauce into Nanase's and Masaru's bowl before pouring three-fourths a tablespoon of the sauce into mine. What can I say? I love soy sauce. It's a fact.

After setting the three bowls diagonal-right to the plates, I returned to the boiling tea, turned off the stove, and poured the tea into three separate cups and placed them the diagonal-left to the plates.

Getting all the utensils needed to eat the meal—pretty much chopsticks, I wrapped a napkin around the chopsticks and placed it to the diagonal-right of the plate, just below the cup tea.

Just then, a clatter of footsteps stomped down the stairs—Nanase.

His eyes widened at the meal prepared on the table before going to me and kissing me on the cheek before saying, "Good morning."

I chuckled before replying, "Good morning to you too."

His eyes lingered at the food on the table before looking at me as if asking if he could either sit down or start eating. Laughing softly to myself, I gestured him to sit down.

It wasn't long until Masaru came rushing down the stairs saying, "Oh. My. Gosh. Finally some good food after eating eggs every morning."

I rolled my eyes, "That would be because you wake up earlier than me, and I'm too lazy to wake up."

"But yet you wake up early for Nanase," he raised an eyebrow, and I flushed a hue of light coral.

Masaru took his seat across from me and Nanase, said a few words, before starting to eat. After then, Nanase and I began to eat. I stole a few glances at Nanase as to see if the food was all right with him and just in case I didn't accidentally poison the food with something.

As he ate with one hand, his right hand, from under the table, he wrapped his left hand around my right, causing me to blush once again at his romantic gesture. Since I was a leftie, thank goodness, I could still eat, since my stomach was literally growling the moment I woke up.

None of us said anything as we ate until Masaru decided to say something.

"So, um," he began as he smoothened his crinkling suit and straightened his tie. "I proposed to my girlfriend yesterday."

Nanase and I looked at each other before I began to congratulate him jovially.

"Oh my gosh! Took you long enough!" I exclaimed, giving him a 'disapproving' look.

"Yeah . . . I just wanted to be . . . ahem . . . sure that she was the 'one,'" he said as he smiled, drinking his cup of tea. "Which reminds me to say when you two will get married."

He guffawed as he looked at our scarlet faces, Nanase and I staring at opposite directions from each other.

"I was just joking!" he continued to laugh before suddenly turning serious. "Not saying that you two are going to break up or anything . . ."

"How negative," I chuckled softly before feeling Nanase squeeze my hand. "When is your flight again, Nanase?"

"In two hours, but I need to get to the airport in half an hour to pass through security checks," he said simply before returning to finishing his cup of tea, as he had already finished his plate.

"Well, I'm leaving to leave you two some . . . privacy," Masaru smirked as he emphasized the word. "Just don't go and lose your innocence just yet.

"Masaru!" I glared daggers at him as he just laughed his way out of the house.

"That just made things really awkward," I thought mentally as I took all the plates and cups out of the dining room and into the kitchen to clean up.

As I was rinsing the dishes, I felt a pair of arms wrap around me, and a chin at the crevice of my neck.

"You can clean the dished later," he told me passively.

After a slight pause, I replied, "Alright."

He nodded his head before lifting me up bridal style away to the couch, placing me to sit on his lap once there.

He cupped my face in his hands . . . His cerulean eyes staring straight into my dull ones before pulling me into an ardent kiss. I placed my arms around his neck to deepen the gesture as he placed his hands at my waist. Our kiss was different this time around . . . Our movements were docile and flowing in a "dance."

He bit my lip softly, asking for an entrance, but to mess around with him, I didn't allow him to do so. On the border between vexed and annoyed, he embraced me tighter, pushing me down against the couch. By this time, we lay down side by side in our passionate actions. His tongue explored my mouth as we continued our last moments together before he would leave me yet again to follow his dream . . . Not that it was a bad thing or anything.

It wasn't long before we were both out of breath, breathing heavily. He leaned down, so that his head was at the crevice of my neck.

"I'll miss you . . ." he whispered in my ear.

"I'll miss you too . . ." I replied sadly.

We stayed like that for about ten more minutes before we both got up. As he attempted to put on the jacket to complete his suit and tie attire, he failed to get his arm into the other sleeve, and I helped him put it on.

"So you're driving me there and dropping me off at the kiss and ride, no?" Nanase asked me, staring directly at my eyes, mesmerizing me completely.

"Yeah . . ." I replied, sad at the thought of him leaving me yet again.

He glanced at his wrist for a moment before letting his arm fall down to his side, "We better get going. I can't exactly be later for the flight, now can I?"

The care ride there was silent, as neither of us had anything else to say . . . We knew it would be yet a while before we would see each other again . . . but . . . we relished the moments that we did have together, and that was enough for me.

As I pulled into the kiss and ride lane, I stopped the car, unlocked it, and opened the trunk. After helping him getting his luggage out of trunk, he took my face into his hands and gave me a final kiss, which I was raptured immediately.

But the kiss broke off too soon . . . for he turned around to the airport's entrance and didn't even look back once. Maybe it was too much to bear or even too much effort to do . . . Either way, it tore my heart to see this happening, so I returned back to my car . . . and drove away into the soundless silence . . . wondering . . . when we would cross paths again . . .