Last chappie! Wow, this is probably the fastest I've ever written a
story.
Steel and Concrete
Since one of her eyes was swollen shut, Yukino's vision wasn't all that clear when she woke up. The first thing she saw was her mother's worried face. "Mom?"
Mrs. Miyazawa nodded, smiling sadly. "Morning sweetheart. How are you feeling?"
"Better," Yukino croaked, shifting her body as she began to drift back into slumber. But something about her surroundings clicked her mind, causing her to sit up quickly. An IV had been set up near her bed, and flowers, cards, and gifts dotted the room. "Mom, where am I?"
Her mother gently pushed her back down before answering, "The hospital, of course."
Yukino started to fret; there was no way her family's finances could survive the bill, even with health insurance. "But isn't it too expensive?"
"It's our way of repaying you," Mr. Arima replied, suddenly appearing in the door frame. "Without your bravery, the incident last night would've ended very differently indeed."
"You're a national heroine, Yukino," her father announced, gesturing to the presents all around them. "Everyone has come by to praise you for your courage."
In the past, Yukino would've been elated by this sort of publicity. But now she only was concerned about one thing: "Where's Arima? Is he okay?"
Mr. Arima spoke to some unseen person in the hall. "She wants to see you, Souichirou."
Entering solemnly, Arima kept his sight straight, away from her. The adults stood up, agreeing it was best for the two of them to be alone. Arima walked to the window, still not looking at Yukino. There was an uneasy silence for a few minutes until she couldn't stand it anymore. "Am I that hideous now that you can't even stand to face me?!"
Arima kissed her abruptly, long and slow. When he finally broke it off, she panted for breath as he stared at her deeply. "Sorry, Miyazawa. It's not your fault, but mine. You wouldn't be here in this bed if it wasn't for me. I couldn't protect you."
"Arima..," Yukino murmured, realizing that he placed all the blame on himself. Clenching his hands, Arima shouted, "I'm a worthless man who doesn't deserve to have you!"
Yukino hugged Arima tightly to her chest, running her fingers through his hair. "Don't say that. If anybody is worthless, it's me. I'm really a coward, and I'm reckless. I got myself into a situation I couldn't handle, but you saved me. Thank you."
Her words affected him strongly, and his tears stained her hospital gown. Yukino placed her chin on his head intimately and glanced up at the ceiling. God, thank you for protecting us. Thank you for protecting me and this person I love so much it hurts.
*****
It seemed like forever to Souichirou, but it was only a few days before Miyazawa was to be released. He knocked on the inside of the open door, alerting Miyazawa to his presence. "Oh hi Arima. I'm relieved I just changed from the hospital gown into regular clothes, especially with my back turned to you."
"I wouldn't have looked," Souichirou assured her, pulling out a half-dozen white roses from behind him. "These are for you."
Miyazawa gasped in delight as she received the flowers, twirling around with them. Souichirou couldn't help but notice how they accented the floral pattern in her violet sundress. "Miyazawa, you have no more problems getting dressed?"
"Nuh-uh. Once you get used to it, this thing isn't so bad," Miyazawa replied, referring to the cast on her left arm, covered with signatures and messages of encouragement. "But it does itch like hell."
Souichirou laughed for the first time in awhile. "Miyazawa, you're weird."
Beaming at him, Miyazawa then pointed to his suit. "Yeah, but you should be one to talk with that fancy getup you're wearing. What's the special occasion?"
The expression on Souichirou's face dampened at Miyazawa's question. "I had to meet with lawyers today. There's talk of me going to court."
Frowning in confusion, Miyazawa asked, "Why? Everyone knows what happened was self-defense."
"I know, however, my family and I decided to go through with it anyways to close up all loose ends. I'm not too worried about it," Souichirou responded, loosening his tie in aggravation. "But this whole mess made me wonder if you're in danger staying with me."
"Arima, what are you saying?! I already told you my arm doesn't bother me that much, all my bruises are healed, and my eye is opened up! I'm fine now, really!" Miyazawa cried until Souichirou interrupted, "I wasn't talking about that! Miyazawa, I've killed someone! My own flesh and blood for Christ sakes! Doesn't that scare you at all?"
Miyazawa shook her head and held up one finger. "Nope, not even a little bit, because you did it to protect me."
Souichirou leaned wearily against the bed, confessing, "I'm not sure if it was that, or something I didn't know existed snapped inside of me."
"Of course it was! I bet you were so angry that I was being attacked that your protective gene kicked in," Miyazawa stated informatively.
She's so trusting of me.., Souichirou thought, but slammed his fist on the wall as he yelled, "So Miyazawa, are you saying it's okay for me to kill people if I get angry?!"
"No, that's not what I mean-"
"What if I get mad at a stranger on the street?! Or at our fellow students?! Or Asaba?! Or even you, huh?!"
"Arima, stop it!" Miyazawa shrieked, slapping his cheek. Souichirou stepped back in shock as Miyazawa continued to scream, "Do you want to kill me now Arima because I hit you?! Does the blood boiling in your veins make your hand twitch with hatred for me?! I didn't think so. Despite your doubts in yourself, you are a good person, unlike your former parents!! Even the Pope gets mad at someone sometimes, but he resolves his feelings just like the rest of us! Your real father was incapable of that ideal, and if not stopped by you, he most likely would've been captured by the police, but not without some felonies under his belt! You're not a murderer, you're a hero, to me, to our families, to our school, to the whole world and his possible victims! Don't you dare think otherwise!"
Still holding his cheek, Souichirou mumbled, "I just didn't want to hurt you."
Grinning at his sheepish attitude, Miyazawa lightly punched him in the arm. "You big jerk. If you didn't want to hurt me, then you shouldn't have scared me by saying you didn't want to be with me anymore...I need someone to depend on, and more than ever I only want to depend on you."
He embraced her tightly, apologizing in her ear. He moved back, kissing her lips, their tears leaving a salty taste in their mouths.
Rain, Steel, and Concrete. Like the three horsemen of the Apocalypse, those three memories had ravaged Souichirou's emotions, leaving behind an empty shell almost completely devoid of feeling. A fortress built of steel and concrete blocked what remaining soul he had, considered to be unbreakable. But along came Miyazawa, cracking it slightly at first, then finally knocking the whole thing down, letting in light to dry all the rain. And for that, he was glad.
THE END
Author's Notes: Well, it's over. Watch these Author's Notes be longer than the story itself. Anyways, I hope everyone realized why I switched from first name to last name during the story (It was to give the feeling of first person point of view without saying I. I think it's really called third person omnipresent, but I'm not sure.) As for the Japanese names and stuff, they all had reasons. For example, the boy who knew about Arima being taken but didn't say anything, his name was Mamoru Himitsuno, or roughly 'Protector of Secret'. The pizza place had a funny name you often find only in Japan, for Shiawasena Onaka-san is 'Mr. Happy Belly'. LOL. Setsuna Hotel is sort of ironic, for the 'King' Hotel is not what I would think of when going to where Arima and his father stayed. Originally, I wanted to stray away from giving Arima's father a name to make the character seem even more cold to the reader, but Genko, or 'Fist' was an obvious choice. I do not speak Japanese (I just looked these all up in my Japanese dictionary), so I apologize if my grammar is poor. The chapter names are actually the chorus to a song I started but never finished. I thought it fitted with this story perfectly. Thank you all for reading my story, and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. Please review! *kiss*
Since one of her eyes was swollen shut, Yukino's vision wasn't all that clear when she woke up. The first thing she saw was her mother's worried face. "Mom?"
Mrs. Miyazawa nodded, smiling sadly. "Morning sweetheart. How are you feeling?"
"Better," Yukino croaked, shifting her body as she began to drift back into slumber. But something about her surroundings clicked her mind, causing her to sit up quickly. An IV had been set up near her bed, and flowers, cards, and gifts dotted the room. "Mom, where am I?"
Her mother gently pushed her back down before answering, "The hospital, of course."
Yukino started to fret; there was no way her family's finances could survive the bill, even with health insurance. "But isn't it too expensive?"
"It's our way of repaying you," Mr. Arima replied, suddenly appearing in the door frame. "Without your bravery, the incident last night would've ended very differently indeed."
"You're a national heroine, Yukino," her father announced, gesturing to the presents all around them. "Everyone has come by to praise you for your courage."
In the past, Yukino would've been elated by this sort of publicity. But now she only was concerned about one thing: "Where's Arima? Is he okay?"
Mr. Arima spoke to some unseen person in the hall. "She wants to see you, Souichirou."
Entering solemnly, Arima kept his sight straight, away from her. The adults stood up, agreeing it was best for the two of them to be alone. Arima walked to the window, still not looking at Yukino. There was an uneasy silence for a few minutes until she couldn't stand it anymore. "Am I that hideous now that you can't even stand to face me?!"
Arima kissed her abruptly, long and slow. When he finally broke it off, she panted for breath as he stared at her deeply. "Sorry, Miyazawa. It's not your fault, but mine. You wouldn't be here in this bed if it wasn't for me. I couldn't protect you."
"Arima..," Yukino murmured, realizing that he placed all the blame on himself. Clenching his hands, Arima shouted, "I'm a worthless man who doesn't deserve to have you!"
Yukino hugged Arima tightly to her chest, running her fingers through his hair. "Don't say that. If anybody is worthless, it's me. I'm really a coward, and I'm reckless. I got myself into a situation I couldn't handle, but you saved me. Thank you."
Her words affected him strongly, and his tears stained her hospital gown. Yukino placed her chin on his head intimately and glanced up at the ceiling. God, thank you for protecting us. Thank you for protecting me and this person I love so much it hurts.
It seemed like forever to Souichirou, but it was only a few days before Miyazawa was to be released. He knocked on the inside of the open door, alerting Miyazawa to his presence. "Oh hi Arima. I'm relieved I just changed from the hospital gown into regular clothes, especially with my back turned to you."
"I wouldn't have looked," Souichirou assured her, pulling out a half-dozen white roses from behind him. "These are for you."
Miyazawa gasped in delight as she received the flowers, twirling around with them. Souichirou couldn't help but notice how they accented the floral pattern in her violet sundress. "Miyazawa, you have no more problems getting dressed?"
"Nuh-uh. Once you get used to it, this thing isn't so bad," Miyazawa replied, referring to the cast on her left arm, covered with signatures and messages of encouragement. "But it does itch like hell."
Souichirou laughed for the first time in awhile. "Miyazawa, you're weird."
Beaming at him, Miyazawa then pointed to his suit. "Yeah, but you should be one to talk with that fancy getup you're wearing. What's the special occasion?"
The expression on Souichirou's face dampened at Miyazawa's question. "I had to meet with lawyers today. There's talk of me going to court."
Frowning in confusion, Miyazawa asked, "Why? Everyone knows what happened was self-defense."
"I know, however, my family and I decided to go through with it anyways to close up all loose ends. I'm not too worried about it," Souichirou responded, loosening his tie in aggravation. "But this whole mess made me wonder if you're in danger staying with me."
"Arima, what are you saying?! I already told you my arm doesn't bother me that much, all my bruises are healed, and my eye is opened up! I'm fine now, really!" Miyazawa cried until Souichirou interrupted, "I wasn't talking about that! Miyazawa, I've killed someone! My own flesh and blood for Christ sakes! Doesn't that scare you at all?"
Miyazawa shook her head and held up one finger. "Nope, not even a little bit, because you did it to protect me."
Souichirou leaned wearily against the bed, confessing, "I'm not sure if it was that, or something I didn't know existed snapped inside of me."
"Of course it was! I bet you were so angry that I was being attacked that your protective gene kicked in," Miyazawa stated informatively.
She's so trusting of me.., Souichirou thought, but slammed his fist on the wall as he yelled, "So Miyazawa, are you saying it's okay for me to kill people if I get angry?!"
"No, that's not what I mean-"
"What if I get mad at a stranger on the street?! Or at our fellow students?! Or Asaba?! Or even you, huh?!"
"Arima, stop it!" Miyazawa shrieked, slapping his cheek. Souichirou stepped back in shock as Miyazawa continued to scream, "Do you want to kill me now Arima because I hit you?! Does the blood boiling in your veins make your hand twitch with hatred for me?! I didn't think so. Despite your doubts in yourself, you are a good person, unlike your former parents!! Even the Pope gets mad at someone sometimes, but he resolves his feelings just like the rest of us! Your real father was incapable of that ideal, and if not stopped by you, he most likely would've been captured by the police, but not without some felonies under his belt! You're not a murderer, you're a hero, to me, to our families, to our school, to the whole world and his possible victims! Don't you dare think otherwise!"
Still holding his cheek, Souichirou mumbled, "I just didn't want to hurt you."
Grinning at his sheepish attitude, Miyazawa lightly punched him in the arm. "You big jerk. If you didn't want to hurt me, then you shouldn't have scared me by saying you didn't want to be with me anymore...I need someone to depend on, and more than ever I only want to depend on you."
He embraced her tightly, apologizing in her ear. He moved back, kissing her lips, their tears leaving a salty taste in their mouths.
Rain, Steel, and Concrete. Like the three horsemen of the Apocalypse, those three memories had ravaged Souichirou's emotions, leaving behind an empty shell almost completely devoid of feeling. A fortress built of steel and concrete blocked what remaining soul he had, considered to be unbreakable. But along came Miyazawa, cracking it slightly at first, then finally knocking the whole thing down, letting in light to dry all the rain. And for that, he was glad.
Author's Notes: Well, it's over. Watch these Author's Notes be longer than the story itself. Anyways, I hope everyone realized why I switched from first name to last name during the story (It was to give the feeling of first person point of view without saying I. I think it's really called third person omnipresent, but I'm not sure.) As for the Japanese names and stuff, they all had reasons. For example, the boy who knew about Arima being taken but didn't say anything, his name was Mamoru Himitsuno, or roughly 'Protector of Secret'. The pizza place had a funny name you often find only in Japan, for Shiawasena Onaka-san is 'Mr. Happy Belly'. LOL. Setsuna Hotel is sort of ironic, for the 'King' Hotel is not what I would think of when going to where Arima and his father stayed. Originally, I wanted to stray away from giving Arima's father a name to make the character seem even more cold to the reader, but Genko, or 'Fist' was an obvious choice. I do not speak Japanese (I just looked these all up in my Japanese dictionary), so I apologize if my grammar is poor. The chapter names are actually the chorus to a song I started but never finished. I thought it fitted with this story perfectly. Thank you all for reading my story, and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. Please review! *kiss*