Chapter 26
"Makoto-kun! Please! Don't leave me!"
"I have to, Akako-san. I have no choice…"
"Uehara-kun…"
"Akako-san…"
"You are my Romeo"
"And you are my Juliet"
"You are my one and only"
"You will forever be in my heart"
"You complete me"
"Akako-san… when I die, remember that you will always be in my mind because you are the love of my life, my sunshine and my most precious gift! When I view my life in that last flashback, all I will see is your face because my life started when I met you. I love you!"
"No, Makoto-kun! You must not die. I am nothing without you. Because you are my life! Here! Take this shirt with my face on it as a reminder of me, and wear it as you go to war! That way, we will forever be in each other's hearts…"
Those were the first things I heard when I came down to my living room, only to find a frivolous Amu and Yaya seated before the flat television. They pigged on a bowl of popcorn and helped themselves to my orange juice without my permission!
"What. The. Heck. Are. You. Watching." I spat, the edges of my tone dripping in disgust. The two's heads slowly pivoted to me- both their eyes screamed death for having been disturbed.
"The title of this movie is 'Makako Love Story'. See, 'Makako' is the combination of Makoto and Akako's names. It's very romantic and tragic!" Yaya sobbed, sniffing her mucus out on my tablecloth.
"Yeah! You should watch it with us, Rima! However, we're already at the climax. Ah well! You'll feel all emotional anyway. This movie is just so…" Amu bawled. "SAAAAD!"
"It's gross" I stated, glaring at the girl on the screen. I think her name is…Akako? "By the way, how long have you guys been in my living room?"
An apparently shocked expression made its way to Amu's face. "We've been here for about two hours! Haven't you noticed, Rima?!"
Ah…no.
"How could I?"
"Rima-tan" Yaya said, a serious expression making its way to her face as she gripped my shoulder. "Amu-chi and I have been making loud clackity-clank-clank noises in the kitchen. And we kept on screaming because…" she paused for dramatic effect, "MAKOTO-KUN IS JUST SO HOOOT!"
"You should watch 'Makako-Love Story' with us, Rima. Yaya and I are wiling to watch it from the top!" Amu smiled.
"No thanks" I groaned, rolling my eyes. I'd rather continue wallowing in my own self-pity upstairs. Why am I like this, you ask? Because I didn't know that Nagihiko would go far when he said that he'd leave for some fresh air! I thought that he was only going to the garden for about ten minutes or something.
But nooooo.
Apparently, he meant that he'd go outside (where there? I dunno!), wearing nothing but a coat and a scarf to disguise him.
He's been gone for about three hours. And no one can tell me that that's a short period. No one can tell me that I'm worrying too much because apparently, it's a small world! And weird Tsukiyomi people are also walking on the very phase of the earth. If they…say…meet (and if by chance, Nagihiko's disguise just happens to off at that time), then we're doomed. And he's doomed.
"Rima, are you okay?" Amu asked, shaking me a little. I snapped out of my daze then stared at her.
"Why would I not be okay?"
"You're glaring daggers at your foot"
"I'm fine" I huffed, "-just annoyed by this cheesy film you're watching"
"It's okay to be cheesy every once in awhile, Rima-tan!" Yaya said, bouncing up to me. "I mean you're always so uptight, scary, mean and unapproachable! You should try fangirling every once in awhile! It's very fun!"
"Do you know what's fun, Yaya?" I challenged. "Going out for some parfait"
Yaya's eyes gleamed.
"YAY! LET'S GO GET PARFAIT!"
Amu smiled, shaking her head as she went to the coat-holder to get her…uh…coat.
"Promise us that you'll watch 'Makako Love Story' with us afterwards!" she said. I nodded my head.
"Only since there's nothing else to do for today"
"We should invite Nagi~" Yaya chanted, snuggling her head into her woolen cap.
"We can't," I stated, putting my mitten on. "He left for some place"
This caught the two's interest.
"WHAT? WHERE?!" Amu screamed. I shrugged my shoulders, pretending not to care. "I don't know. Somewhere over the rainbow, I guess?"
"There are candies and unicorns and cookies over the rainbow!" Yaya slurred, prancing around the room. "Nagi should take me with him the next time he goes there so that I could meet Santa and eat his candy canes and cotton candy, and then I will-"
"Are you pretending not to care about him again?" Amu sighed, raising her brows. I gave her a look.
"I realized how utterly annoying, boring and mischievous he is so now I really don't care where he winds up in"
"But the whole school saw him today. We should be more cautious"
I grabbed the metal knob of our main door- it was cold so I flinched.
"The guy's a smarty-pant. He won't easily get caught"
"But Tadase-kun said that the Tsukiyomi family has a bunch of highly-trained assassins. Do you think that Nagihiko could measure up to them?"
I felt myself cringe.
"He'll be…" I started, turning the knob, "fine"
As soon as I opened the door, an incredibly strong gush of cold wind came rushing in. Amu and I gasped, shocked by Mother Nature's strength and power. When the wind died down, we saw that it was snowing like crazy! (After much struggling), we forced the door to a close.
"Nagihiko's still out there…" Amu said, wide-eyed.
"Ayayay…" I groaned, sliding down to the floor. "Didn't he say that he should be saving the girl? In my eyes, he's always the damsel in distress…"
"Why don't you call him?"
"I already tried that" I huffed. "He won't answer"
At that moment, Yaya decided to bound towards us. She tilted her head at Amu and me. "Why are you two so eerie?"
"The wind is so strong" I gasped. Yaya's eyes widened. "The blizzard came in early?!"
"What blizzard?"
"It's all over the news!" Then she cocked her head at us again, "Don't Amu-chi and Rima-tan watch the news?"
I was about to retort with a 'No, do YOU?" but then the younger girl shook her head, causing her small twin-tails to bob.
"Never mind. Yaya doesn't watch the news either but she hears a lot from her naggy mommy. Anyway…" she allowed her brows to furrow, and for a moment, a wave of anxiety crossed me. For Yaya to be serious something must be up, "they're saying that the biggest blizzard in fifty years will happen around next week!"
"SERIOUSLY?!"
"It looks like blizzard-san decided to come early…but it doesn't look that bad yet" Yaya stated, looking out the window.
"We could still go out!" I said..
"Should we look for Nagi?"
"We should have the police do it!"
And so, we dialed the police. After around ten minutes, it was still ringing. We dialed again and again and it just kept on ringing. No one was picking up!
"Rima, where are you going?"
I recall slamming the door open and hiking towards the great stretch of snow, in hopes of finding the annoying, ugly little hobbit that only proves how horrible my tastes are.
"I'm going to find Fujisaki while the snow is not yet building up. I'll be back before it gets worse."
"Wait! We'll come with you!" I heard Amu scream. I decided not to wait for them and continue to trudge on- hoping that my incredible speed coupled with my strong will would force them to fall behind. I don't want them to get involved nor do I want them to get hurt. I want to be assured of their safety inside my house.
"Hey, Rima! Thanks for waiting for us!"
Amu was beside me in a minute, clad in her favorite beanie and striped coat. Yaya was walking ahead- smiling.
"We thought that you were gonna leave us when you didn't respond to Amu-chi, but then we saw that you hardly moved! We knew that Rima-tan would never leave us!"
"Well I'm…nice…" I grumbled, pretending not to be irritated by the fact that they just indirectly insulted my height and inability to walk through apparently thick and chilly ice.
However, the jolly atmosphere brought by the two was eventually put to an end. As we trudged on, we noticed how quickly the winds were picking up. The houses, walls and trees were starting to become nothing but a bunch of shadowy figures as the storm grew stronger.
"S-should we go back?" Yaya asked, snuggling face into her coat.
"No…" I heard Amu softly say.
I huddled my chin into the fleece scarf I wore, letting the blizzard twist my hair around.
It's cold. Even though I was covered by warm garments from head to toe, I could still feel the storm, with its strong wind and snow, burning the skin off my face. At that point, the idea of going back home seemed like heaven. However, it was a long way back home. We could continue looking for Nagihiko and find some house- any house- to stay at. Surely anyone is willing to let us in! What, in this storm, how could they reject us?!
Suddenly, a strong gust of wind flew into my face. I panicked, because at the moment, all I could see was white.
"W-we should continue this tomorrow. Right now, let's look for shelter!" I yelled. I couldn't see very well so I was dependent on the sounds Amu and Yaya make.
When no response came, my blood ran cold.
"Amu? Yaya?!"
No response.
I started swirling my head around, the panic rising when I saw no shadows or any hint of life- no houses, no walls, no trees…
There's nothing but snow.
Why am I so so stupid? I didn't know that it would pick up this fast! I assumed that this snow would die down and come back next week, when the weather forecast said that the storm should be (if what Yaya said was true)
"AMU! YAYA!"
Fear caused the tears to brim my eyes, adding to my inability to see.
I wanted so badly to see a house, even if it's beat up or run down. Seeing someone wouldn't be so bad either, especially if it were Amu, Yaya or Nagihiko.
"Amu…Yaya…Nagihiko…" I said, my voice becoming shaky.
For today, luck seemed to be at my side. Just when I was about to give up and curl into a ball, I saw a shadow. It started out small, but it was most definitely coming closer.
It was obviously a person. As the person neared me, I could slowly make out the details.
The wind caused this person's clothes to fly around, so I was able to tell that (he/ she) was wearing a coat. Then, I noticed how this person was walking- calm, with both hands lying inside the coat.
"Rima-chan?"
I felt my heart pound. The voice belonged to none other than Nagihiko.
"Why are you out here?!" he cried, almost angry. Well, he's obviously still well and healthy.
"I-I should be saying the same for you…" I stuttered, not really caring anymore if my voice cracked. I heard him sigh. He bent down then grabbed me by the arm.
"Did you come here alone?"
"I came with Amu and Yaya"
"And where are they?"
"I…don't know…"
"What?!" he yelped. I couldn't see him very well, but I could imagine his brown eyes widen and stay like that as he lets things process. "We should find you a place to stay at…"
His tone sounded urgent. He tightened his grip on my arm and I yelped.
"H-hey! Nagihiko, let go! It hurts!".
But apparently, my protest wasn't enough. He forced me to stand with him, and he dragged me away. All the while I kept on screaming about how much it hurts, and how much he should let go…
"Stop complaining. I'm helping you live so you should be grateful"
Something was off. Why was Nagihiko acting so…cold?
"Well, you don't need to give me bruises now, do you?"
"God, Rima-chan. Sometimes you could be so annoying. You need to know that sometimes, your abusive attitude could be really bothersome. Eventually, even your fan boys will find out that you're only using them and they will go for nicer, prettier girls"
My heart dropped. Somewhere along the stretch of snow, I could see the shadow of what seemed like a house.
The wind died down, and I saw Nagihiko with neither snow nor wind to cover him up.
He was wearing a yellow scarf, a woolen cap and a black coat that flew along with the softer wind. I couldn't see his face, however, because he continued to drag me around like I was some sort of rag doll.
All I could see was the back of his head.
"You can stay at that house for awhile. Maybe Amu-chan and Yaya-chan are there too" he stated, pointing at the house that once was nothing but a shadow.
I pulled my hand away from him with a snap before slapping him on the shoulder.
"WHAT'S WITH YOU TODAY?!" I sneered, checking my arm if there were any bruises. There were. "I went out today to look for you. Can't you be an ounce bit grateful?"
"I ended up helping you, though. Rima-chan, I would've been fine on my own"
"Well, I'm sorry for being worried!" I said. My voice was becoming monotonous. I was holding back tears. "And what do you mean by 'I'll stay in that house'? Aren't you coming in as well?"
"I won't"
I narrowed my eyes at him. "Why?"
He refused to look me in the eye. He just looked at his fumbling toes.
"I heard from my mom again…"
"What-"
"She called-off my engagement with Yamabuki-san. She claims to have found someone prettier and richer. That family could tamper with the documents on their own. I don't need Sanjo-kun anymore"
Then, he looked me in the eye. I was taken aback by the small smile on his face. He didn't seem hurt at all by what was happening. In fact, he looked…happy. Content, even…
"I'm going to leave tomorrow, Rima-chan, and start fresh in a new country. I still need to pack. I don't think that I can see the rest because everything will be really hectic so could you please do it for me?" he touched me in the shoulder then made a sickeningly sweet smile. "Could you tell them that I'm leaving?"
No-no-no-no-no-no-no-no-no
"No…" I whispered. He raised his brow.
"Rima-chan, it will hurt them for awhile but they'll eventually get used to it"
"No!" I said again, this time louder. "I won't tell them that! I don't want you to leave!"
"But Rima-chan it's my chance to-"
"Are you really fine with this, Nagihiko?! You're getting married to some girl that you don't even know! ARE YOU REALLY FINE WITH THIS?!"
My shoulders were trembling, and beneath the blankets of freaking out, I thought: 'I'm crying. God…there goes every last bit of my pride…'
Nagihiko sighed before coyly placing a hand on his nape. "Truth is…I've…known this girl for quite awhile. I just couldn't bring myself to tell you guys about her. She is my childhood friend…" then he turned to me. "She knows me more than anyone in this world. Childhood friends are like that. They'll always…always be there for you…"
"I was your childhood friend too! How am I any different from her?!" I said without thinking. Everything was spinning, and I was far too emotional to try and take back what seemed like a confession.
Nagihiko was silent for awhile, and when I finally had the guts to look at him, he was giving me a disbelieving look.
"You always claimed that I was your enemy"
"But you're not really…"
"You're…always treating me like dirt, Rima-chan. I couldn't bring myself to see you as a friend or anything more than a cold classmate. The way I feel about you…falls in line with how I feel about Yamabuki-san…." he trailed off.
I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
All the worrying…all the crying…everything I went through meant nothing to him!
And our arguments…
And his teasing…
After all that I am only worth comparing to Saaya, who meant nothing to him!
I fall below his team mates…
His fangirls…
The teachers…
Those who don't know him well…
I made a mistake. A grave one! And this grave mistake started when I allowed myself to open up to him!
I never should've let myself be open to him. I knew that emotions were unnecessary! I never should've…
"The wind is picking up again, Rima-chan…" He said, looking around.
"Go ahead. Go to your fiancé. I'll go to the house when I feel like it…"
"If you stay you might get sick or a get a frostbite or-"
"Go…"
"But if you get sick then I would be really guilty. I can't spend time with her in peace and I'll feel really really bad"
"I can take care of myself"
"No, you're fragile…" For a second, his eyes flicked with an expression of seriousness but I can't be sure now, can I? After all, I can't assume anything. I might assume wrong again. "You need to go in…"
My emotions reached its peak. I felt something inside me snap, and everything reached its ultimate high.
"I DON'T WANT TO EVER SEE YOU AGAIN, NAGIHIKO! GO AWAY AND NEVER COME BACK!"
More that a week. Urgh. Darn this busy life.
Anyway, thanks for the reviewers: Secret, cookiequeen13, Day1Directioner, Guest, mishixeru, StartTail, SandraStar66, and Kaoru!
I hope that this chapter was okay. I just finished reading 'Let it Snow' when I wrote it ^_^