This is the new declaration
We've been losing our patience
Stand your ground and prove yourself to me
This is your new inspiration
The new sound keeping you anxious
- New Declaration, Just Surrender
Countdown, Tuesday, December 31st, 10:14 PM
"Is it time yet?"
"You asked that like a minute ago!"
"No, I didn't."
"Kazu?"
"Yea Ryo?"
"Shut up before my girlfriend kills you."
There was silence.
The redhead, currently lying on Ryo's lap, clenched her jaw. Not a good sign.
"I think we brought out the whole convenient store." Takato called as he and Jeri came over to the spot with bags full of food from 7-11.
"There's too many people here!" Jeri exclaimed, sidestepping carefully so she wouldn't step on anyone.
"It's New Years." Alice said, grabbing her new iPod. "I hate this kind of thing." Her boyfriend chuckled from behind her whereas her best friend nodded eagerly in agreement.
"I think I have a headache." Rika moaned. Ryo began massaging her head before she had closed her mouth. "Did you buy any advil?"
"No. Sorry." Takato grimaced.
"Hey!" Jerry sat up suddenly, excited. "Ryo! Is that new?" She pointed towards the neatly stitched red scarf wrapped around his neck.
"This?" He asked, grinning. "It's my Christmas present." He said and pointed discreetly down at Rika, who had closed her eyes again. "She made it!" He mouthed.
"Wow! Rika! How did you do this?" Jeri exclaimed, "It looks store-bought."
"My mom made me learn when I was younger." Rika said offhandedly, "Took me a while before I got the hang of it again. You have no idea the tantrums I threw having to redo some parts."
"I can only imagine." Ryo laughed. She pulled hard on his scarf. "Ow!"
"It's nice." Henry eyed it appreciatively, while Alice made a face at him. "What!? I'm not saying you have to make one for me!"
"You better not be." She said, teasing. "Be satisfied with what you got."
"I am! The program's definitely upgraded my whole system, the intel-" Both Takato, Kazu, Jeri, Ryo and Rika rolled their eyes while Alice and Kenta nodded in agreement, eager to discuss the benefits of whatchamacallit.
"Here they go again!"
"How about we play cards." Kazu exclaimed, waving the newly brought deck in the air impatiently. "We've still got loads of time, right?"
"Kazu!"
"Is it time now?"
"Do you always have to ask?"
"But it's so frustrating to wait!" Kazu complained, tossing the now un-entertaining pack of cards aside.
"Hold your horses." Takato laughed, checking his watch. "It's almost time."
"The music's damn awful." Rika complained indicating towards the somewhat famous band up on the stage.
"Oh relax," Jeri laughed. "They'll stop playing soon."
"I should hope so."
"Thank you so much everyone!" The lead singer yelled into the microphone. "It's been a pleasure to be here, counting down with you. This is our last song of the night! It's different from the songs we usually play, but to all the gentlemen out there, this is for your lady!"
You play it coy and it's kinda cute. Oh, when you smile at me, you know exactly what you do. Baby, don't pretend because you know it's true, you can see it when I look at you.
And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times, it's you, it's you, you make me sing. You're every word. You're every line. You're everything.
And I can't believe, that I'm your man, and I get to kiss you baby just because I can...
"Oh, no you don't!" Rika scowled, shoving Ryo away.
"Aw, why not?"
"Can't you two give it a break for a few minutes?" Kazu said, making a grossed-out face. "You two are as bad as Jeri and Takato!"
"We are not." Rika said, glaring at him.
"Don't say that." Ryo laughed, "Pumpkin will get all upset."
"Pumpkin!?"
"Besides, have you looked at the Jeri and Takato?" Ryo indicated, nodding towards the two love birds staring at each other intensely. Kazu winced in response.
"Ugh, why do I feel like such a third wheel here!?"
"It's not like I'm with anyone." Kenta said from his corner. He didn't seem so remorse.
"And who's fault is that?" Ryo teased. "Besides, I told you to invite Lina." He said, turning towards Kazu, who mumbled something quietly about how she was busy and couldn't come, his face turning red.
The music suddenly stopped and everyone turned towards the stage expectantly. The two big white screens started flashing, beginning the long awaited countdown.
"Hey, Kazu!" Henry called, laughing. "Guess what?"
"What?"
"It's finally time!"
Ten.
Nine.
"WOOHOO!" He cheered, jumping up and down.
Eight.
Kenta glanced at his watch, and then back at the screen, comparing the two.
Seven.
Kazu stopped and flipped opened his phone, quickly trying to dial a number.
Six.
Henry grabbed Alice's hand,
Five.
She rolled her eyes.
Four.
Jeri and Takato seem to turn towards each other simultaneously.
Three.
Ryo decided to hug his girlfriend from behind.
Two.
She turned back to look at him.
One!
"HAPPY NEW YEAR!"
A chorus of a thousands of people cried, celebrating.
"Happy New Year!" Kenta cried.
"Happy New Year!" Kazu exclaimed loudly over the noise and into the phone, grinning broadly. There was no need to guess who it was.
"To a new year." Henry remarked, smiling.
"To new beginnings." Rika said, tilting her head back on Ryo's shoulder.
"To a new us." He said softly and kissed her.
"UGH! Not all of you guys!"
"What am I?" Kenta cried. "Invisible?"
Shinjuku High, Monday, January 6th, 10:19AM
"Already!?" Kazu whined loudly. The teacher looked pointedly at him.
"Must I remind you every time, Mr. Shioda, that you're a senior and it's very important that we finish all the required assessments in the curriculum on time?"
"But still! It's the first day back." He mumbled, making a face at her once she turned her back against him to continue teaching.
Jeri giggled while the other three girls rolled their eye in exasperation.
"You've got to get used to it."
Kazu checked his vibrating phone underneath the desk and grinned, typing back.
"It doesn't hurt complaining."
"Not like it does anything."
He made a face at Lina, who shook her head, turning her attention back toward the front. Ryo laughed silently at this exchange. Kazu was so hopelessly whipped.
Not that he could talk.
He felt his phone vibrate and checked the text message from his dad.
"Important stuff to be dealt with. Come home straight after school. From Grandma."
Great.
What did his grandma want now?
"Are you telling me you're canceling on me?" Rika teased after school.
"It's not like I have a choice."
"Or so you say."
"You're not mad, are you? You know I'd rather spend all my time with you."
"I should hope so." She said, gathering her books and closing her locker door, turning to look at him with a pretend stern look.
"Good." He grinned, "I better go. I doubt grandmother will be happy if I'm late."
"Is it going to be that bad?"
"Wish me luck? I think I'm going to need it." He laughed.
"And if I refuse?"
"Well, I think this will do." Ryo said, kissing her quickly. Rika gave him a pointed look, but didn't say anything.
"I'll see you later?"
"If you mean if I'll hide out at your place, then yes. I might run away from home by the end of the night."
"Right."
"Just make sure you warn your family ahead of time."
"You know mom would love to have you."
"Maybe I'll drop for dinner."
"I'll let grandma know. She's going to cook up a feast."
Akiyama Residence, 4:46 PM
"Ryou dear? Are you finally home?"
"Yes, Grandmother. " He said, trying hard not to sigh as he took of his shoes and entered the living room. "Dad? What are you doing home so early?"
The expression on his father's face puzzled him. It was a look of displeasure, his mouth was set in a grim line and his eyes were tight. There was a folder on the coffee table between the two.
"Come take a seat." His grandmother smiled warmly at him, patting the empty space beside her.
"What's...going on?" Ryo asked, sitting down hesitantly.
"I received a call this morning and it seems the Naritas are coming back to Japan."
"Mm?" Ryo nodded, not seeing where this was going. The Naritas were a close family friend of his grandmother. He couldn't even remember the last time he saw them.
"Their daughter is arriving in a couple of days time." His grandmother smiled excitedly, opening the folder and pushing it towards Ryo. "I think that this would be the perfect time for you two to get to know each other before your betrothal."
"What!?" Ryo exclaimed, looking down at the picture of the girl. "She's the one I'm suppose to marry!?"
"Why, yes. You two did seem to get along the last time we were together!"
"When we were nine!" From all he could remember, she was shy, tiny, and stick-skinny. The person in the picture was a complete stranger.
"Excellent, you'll reacquaint yourselves in no time, it says here she likes chocolate, make sure you bring her box when you meet her."
"If she likes it so much, she can buy herself one, or better yet," Ryo stood up, "You can give it to her because I sure the hell won't."
"I told you so." The man who sat silently on the couch the entire time spoke up. His mother shot him a stern look.
Nonaka Residence, 6:23 PM
"Grandma?" Rika called, peering her head into the kitchen. Her nose savoured the smell coming from the stove. "Mm…something smells good."
"What are you doing in here?" Seiko asked, smiling, stirring over a pot. "You know you're not allowed before dinner is served."
"Actually, I came to tell you that Ryo's coming over for dinner."
"Is he now?" Her grandmother smiled warmly, "That boy always looks so skinny, I wonder what he eats at home if it's just him and his dad, he can do with one of my home cooked meals."
"Don't worry grandma, they have a housekeeper and Ryo is not skinny."
"Then this will be the perfect opportunity for me to show off my new recipe."
"Grandma!" Rika laughed, sneaking a bit of food into her mouth. "I look forward to it."
"No sneaking food." Seiko scowled, shooing her granddaughter out of the kitchen.
"I'm going, I'm going. I should go calm mom down, she's going ballistic already. You will be on my side during dinner, right?"
"We're taking up sides now, are we?"
"Do you need to ask? It's going to be a horror show." Rika said, making a face.
"I'll try to keep her under control, dear. No promises, of course."
"That's what I was afraid of."
"It was that bad, huh?" Rika asked, leaning in front of her gate, smirking slightly as she watched Ryo slam the car door and hurry over. It was good to be missed.
"You have no idea."
"What happened?"
"Do you really want to know?"
"Would I ask otherwise?"
"Grandmother has arranged for her family friend to visit." Ryo muttered, not meeting her eye.
"That will be something to look forward to." Rika sniffed, then sighed. "Dinner's almost ready and my mom is impatiently waiting your arrival. Let's just talk about this later."
"At least I'm appreciated here." Ryo smiled, pulling her into an embrace.
Dinner, Nonaka Residence, 8:12 PM
"You're telling me that?"
"No! I didn't mean it that way!
"Yes, you did!"
"I didn't!"
"You implied it!"
"I did not!"
Rumiko laughed silently at the two bickering teenagers in front of her. It seemed like only yesterday when her daughter was the stubborn little girl throwing a tantrum at having to play with dolls.
Now she was all grown up. How time flew.
They didn't always have an easy life. Her ex-husband, that bastard, had left them when Rika was young. To make matters worse, their only source of income they had at that time was her modelling gigs and those were few and far in between. She had been a nobody then. They barely made it, living pay check to pay check. Thankfully, her mother was around to help but Rika had been teased constantly at school, about her clothes, about her family…
The bright, cheerful little girl disappeared and nothing Rumiko did brought her back. Instead, it seemed her efforts only made Rika more distant and resentful.
Rumiko remembered the fights they'd have. They had been awful. Half of the time, her daughter wouldn't come home and when she was home, she'd barely speak a word.
Luckily, things became better in middle school when Rika met Andrew. That boy was a saviour. When he left, she held her breathe, hoping that Rika wouldn't pull away again. Thank the stars that was the year when she met Henry, Alice and Jeri. Rika eventually slowly opened up, leaving behind her defiant pretence and cold attitude.
When Rika come home one day last year, ranting about an arrogant egoistic jerk, Rumiko couldn't have been happier. Since then, whenever Rika was annoyed or unhappy, it was always because of him. Whenever Rika was happier than usual, it would be because she had bested him at something or other. Rumiko never once missed the sparkle or clear flush on her daughter's face that went unnoticed by Rika herself.
To think that they would be sitting here, in front of her, so happy and so in love.
Like any mother, she secretly hoped it was only puppy love, a passing high school relationship, but Rumiko knew it was more than that. She knew that Ryo understood her little girl, understood her and loved her for who she was. She knew he would take care of her, but they were still so young…
It was both frustrating and reassuring.
Rumiko smiled a resigned, but content smile. She glanced over at her own mother, who nodded approvingly.
It was a good thing Rika had better taste in men than she.
"So, will you be all right going home to your big, bad grandmother?" Rika asked teasingly.
"Are you offering to talk some sense into her?" Ryo laughed.
"She can't hate me anymore, can she?"
"I appreciate the offer. It's okay, if I don't survive through the night then you know what happened."
"I doubt your grandmother would ever kill you. You're here precious heir, remember?"
"You got a point. At least dad's on my side."
"I'll see you tomorrow then?"
"Aren't you going to wish me goodnight?" Ryo asked, pouting. Rika rolled her eyes in response.
"You're killing me."
"Funny. I thought you'd be the one to kill me first."
Before she could say anything though, he leaned down and kissed her.
"Night."