Chapter 25

There are those moments in life where you realized it seemed like no time had passed at all, and then suddenly it catches up with you. It slowly begins to dawn on you that it wasn't a matter of days that passed so fast but weeks. In the soon to be Princess Jellyfish Boutique the passage of time could be measured in the amount of discarded ideas that had littered the hardwood finish of the second floor studio before being tossed in the trash. It could be measured in the transformation of the blank space that had once been the first floor. Where there had once been completely bare gray walls there was now a framework mock-up that charted out what would go where. It became more than an intangible idea of what the boutique would look like. It became more solid and real. It could be measured by the initial annoyance the creative designers had with the noise of carpentry tools in use; to the transition of being able to block those noises out. And yet, Kuranosuke almost felt as if no time had passed at all. It had taken the news written in poorly legible kanji on the crumpled letter that he held tight in his left hand for time to catch up with him.

Kuranosuke's eyes froze over Tsukimi's bent over diligent form. Her back was to him so she couldn't see the frown that was frozen on his face. Could all of this? His career? His future? His happiness? Could it all be taken away by one person?

He hadn't had to scrutinize the words overly long before he began to feel overwhelmed and perhaps even threatened. Not the type of threatened where you felt you had to always peer over your shoulder. Not the type of threatened where you felt all of your moves tracked by a shadowed enemy. No, this was far worse. This was the type of threatened that you really had no physical control of. This was the type of threatened where it felt like your life was cartwheeling away from you in expedited repetitions.

He knew what he had to do next but he simply didn't want to. He wanted to wait out the inevitable as long as he could. But Kuranosuke knew that the sooner he shared with Tsukimi what he learned the better he would feel. The stress would become more manageable once he got it off his chest. It would cease the rolling turmoil he felt in his stomach that would eventually make it unable to eat or sleep properly. No, the sooner he told her the news the better.

The crisp white paper crinkled as he clutched the letter tighter in his grasp. He knew as it became even more crumpled that the already nearly indecipherable kanji would be even more difficult to read. At the moment though he didn't really have much mental control over his actions. His left hand curling into a fist of its own accord.

Tsukimi was knelt over her sketchbook at the drafting table in the far corner that had somehow over the course of time passing had become "her" station. He knew she had chose it because of the two windows. Her favorite time to draw had become the later part of the afternoon into early evening. It was the perfect time for her location. The time when the sunlight streamed in both at the corner of the window to her right and just behind her over her right shoulder.

Tsukimi was engrossed in what she was doing. He took a moment while he had caught her off guards to gaze at her handiwork. He was a preoccupied but the beautiful artistic dress she was sketching still resonated with him regardless. Her tongue stuck out at the corner of her mouth while she concentrated heavily on shading the folds to give the dress more of a three dimensional effect.

She currently wore her hair high on the back of her head. It was one of those swift knotted bun hairdos that took no time to accomplish and always came loose rapidly because of the little effort that was put on clasping the strands out of the way. He watched as a few strands escaped their confines and fell to the base of her neck. He couldn't have stopped reaching out to her even if he had made a conscious effort to do so. He winced as she flinched in surprise responding to his unexpected touch.

She swiveled around a quarter turn to focus on Kuranosuke's face. She smiled up at him. "Hey stranger!" She studied the look on his face for only a brief moment before reaching out her left hand to cup his right. "It's okay you didn't startle me that bad. No need to worry."

If only that was what had shadowed my face with concern right now. "That's not it, Tsukimi." He pulled the letter from his tight grip. "I got some news that I need to share with you." He looked around at the others who had slowly began to break away from what they had been focusing on and were now diverting their attention to the two of them. "Could we go talk about this upstairs, please?"

OoO

sukimi watched Kuranosuke pace the length of the open spaced apartment once again. She was trying to remain patient but he had yet to say a word. Before he started another trekking path she reached out and grabbed his arm. "I don't mean to rush you. It's just that we have been up here for fifteen minutes and you have yet to tell me what's going on." She watched as the corners of Kuranosuke's mouth dropped even lower than before. "Would it be easier if I read the letter myself?"

She watched his chest rise and fall as he took a long sigh. "Sorry, I just...this has gotten me a little frazzled."

"A little?" Tsukimi joked hoping it would take some away some of the stress he was feeling.

It might not have had as big of an impact as she was hoping but the corner of his mouth lifted in a half grin before he responded. "Honestly, I could be blowing this entire thing out of proportion. I just...I don't know how you are going to react to the news and I guess I am worried."

"There's only one way to find out. Tell me."

Kuranosuke took a deep breath once again. He walked over to the dining room table, placed the letter there, and smoothed out the crinkled folds as best he could before allowing her to read over his shoulder.

Dear Kuranosuke,

As you know, I am not one for pleasantries so I will just say what I wrote you to say. Shoko has been struggling on deciding which is more important her work or a relationship with me. She hasn't said anything directly about feeling this way. I know she's struggling handling business the same way she had before while being in a relationship. Because of this I have decided to break things off and move back in with father.

He has shared with me how you are going into business with Tsukimi. Fashion? Correct? Sounds like a promising adventure for the both of you. You with your impeccable tasted in clothing, and I have never seen her looking any less than stunning in the outfits she chose.

I sincerely hope that my leaving hasn't damaged what I had hoped was a blossoming relationship with her. Perhaps, when I can back, I can begin to repair what I might have lost in my rash choice of leaving her behind.

Please, Kuranosuke, could you do me a favor and let her know that I will be returning. You do not have to apologize for my actions or anything. I would like to try to make amends for the damage I may have caused myself. I only hope that she will forgive me and we can pursue a future together once again.

See you soon,

Shu

"So, your brother is coming back?" Kuranosuke tried to read the widening of her eyes. He tried to determine what she was feeling at the news that was shared in this letter. But all he saw was surprise on her face which could lead to anything really.

He nodded. "It appears that way."

"This is your big news? This is what you were worried about?" Tsukimi studied his face and all she saw there was fear. She didn't completely understand it but she also couldn't mistake those feelings for anything other than what they were. "Why does this worry you? I don't understand."

It had been awhile since Kuranosuke had raised her voice at her. He had never done so quite in anger before but he almost appeared to be angry now. His nose twitched and he practically snarled at her before beginning his tirade. "Don't you see?! You can go back to the brother you want now! You don't have to settle second best. You can be with the better of the two Koibuchi brothers."

Tsukimi arched her eyebrows in disbelief at the words that were tumbling out of Kuranosuke's mouth. Did this beautiful man in front of her actually feel threatened? She had to reassure him somehow but she wasn't sure what she could say. Well, what she could say other than how she felt. Before reassuring him however she had to get her anger out of the way. "Whoever said you were second best?! I don't ever recall verbally rating you two on a scale so it had to be someone else. You are definitely not second best. You and your brother should never be compared to each other. It's like comparing a bright sunny day to a day filled with overcast gray clouds."

"Which of us is the bright sunny day in this analogy?"

Was that doubt on his face now? What in the world was going on? "You of course! Don't be ridiculous!"

He was being ridiculous. He felt his shoulders drop as he felt defeated. He hadn't shared his insecurities only gotten angry with her for no reason. He shouldn't pretend to know how she felt. But there had been a part of him that just spun out of control because he feared losing her. "Let's put these past few minutes behind us. How did that letter make you feel?"

Tsukimi took a minute to consider. She wasn't sure how she felt exactly. She shrugged her shoulders. "I am not sure how I feel honestly."

"Would you rather have a relationship with him than me? If so it will hurt me but I can try to go back to being simply your best friend. I can try to hold your hand and be supportive."

Was that what was concerning him so? Tsukimi took a few moments to heavily consider what he was asking. She pondered how a romantic relationship would go with Shu. "Shu doesnt' really have feelings for me." She shook her head.

"Of course he does! He basically said so in the letter!"

"No, he has feelings for the dolled up version of me that doesn't really exist. He is in love with a fictional me. I can't be someone I am not and that moment he saw the real me he— Well, I am unsure of his reaction. The point is he didn't care enough to see past the glasses and sweats to realize we were one in the same."

"But you are even closer to being that fictional girl than the less fashionable one you used to be."

"Clothes don't change a person, Kuranosuke. They can change how someone feels sure. The right outfit I have learned can make you feel like you can take on the world sometimes. But, they don't fundamentally change the person wearing the clothes."

"Let's put how he sees you aside for now. How do you feel about him?"

Tsukimi once again shrugged her shoulders. "I don't" Kuranosuke arched his eyebrows in disbelief. "I might have at one point, sure. But, I don't have any feelings to him coming back into our lives. He's your family and I guess I can try to get along with him for that reason. But, I have no interest in him on a romantic level at all. I'm not even all together sure I am interested in him on a friendship basis."

"But you…I am positive at one point that you were head over heels for him!"

"I didn't know what love was." She paused in consideration. "You can't really love someone at first glance. I mean sure you can think immediately that the person you are looking at in that first glance is who you want to be with. Sure, some people have formed lasting relationships with someone they claim to fall in love with at first glance. But, I think real love takes work. It takes a foundation of common interest and friendship. It takes mutual consideration and appreciation. It definitely takes physical chemistry. I don't have those things with Shu."

"No, that doesn't' sound like something you have with Shu." Was she saying what he thought she was? He watched her carefully while she seemed to heavily consider her own lecture.

"No, I was naive to think I loved him. These past few months with you have made me understand what love is. You have left me no doubt that you love me with your entire being. That has made it easy to love you in return."

Did he miss it? She didn't say it straight out. He had to get her to say it directly. "I'm sorry. What was that?"

"I said I love you! You dolt."

Kuranosuke closed the gap between them with his body. He breathed against her lips before saying, "that's all I need to hear." His lips pressed against hers and gently coaxed her into a sensuous kiss.