Chapter 13 - Unfinished Business
As few days passed and seeing Yume and Suboshi together was becoming no surprise. Amiboshi was less of the miserable wreck than he was before and Kirei was becoming uncertain of herself. Yuri made many attempts to get closer to Tamahome, who was still worked up over Miaka. Tasuki and Hikaru were always together and were pretty much left alone. Mitsukake had become something of a fatherly figure and was told the whos and wheres and whens. Nakago had creepily become more human and was usually found in front of the TV during soap opera hours with boxes of tissues. Chiriko was doing a lot of self-studying over the Internet and Chichiri was popping in and out of everywhere trying to figure out when Tenkou would strike next. Hotohori and Nuriko spent some time with him to do the same. For some like Hikaru and Tasuki, it was a carefree time and for others like Chichiri, it was a time to be cautious and prepared.
Yuri set her teeth. Tamahome was going to be her friend whether he liked it or not. All he did was stay in his room watching Fushigi Yuugi tapes to see Miaka. She walked straight up to his room and knocked on the door. "Come in," Tamahome's voice replied. Yuri opened the door and peeked in. Tamahome was sitting against his bed staring at the TV screen. She could here the voices of Miaka and Tamahome.
"Yo, Tama... want to go play some b-ball with some of my friends?" Yuri asked.
"No thanks... I'll stay home," he said in a toneless voice. She sighed.
"Tamahome... Come on... You're wasting yourself away in front of that screen. Some exercise might do you some good."
"I'm not in the mood."
"When will you ever be in the mood to do anything? Were you whipped by Miaka or something when she was around?? Did you forget to think about yourself in the process??"
Tamahome glared up at her. "Don't talk about Miaka that way!"
"Tamahome! She would not like you wasting away because of her. Miaka is a lively vivacious girl and she wants you to be happy!"
"So you're trying to tell me to forget her."
"No. I'm saying remember her and do what you know she would wanted you to do."
Tamahome stayed silent for a moment. He flicked off the TV and turned to Yuri. "So how do you play b-ball?" he asked with a small smile on his face.
Yuri grinned. "Come on. It'll be fun."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Hikaru leisurely spread herself across the living room couch and opened up a book. The phone rang. She groaned and leaned over to the small stand table to pick up the cordless. "Hello?" she asked absentmindedly. She listened for a moment. "WHAT??"
Kirei entered right then. "What is it Hikaru?"
Hikaru covered the mouthpiece of the phone. "Your ex."
"Which one?"
"Sano..."
Kirei's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. Her mouth went dry and suddenly she couldn't speak. Hikaru handed her the phone. Kirei took it with a shaking hand. She brought the phone to her ear. "Yes?"
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Amiboshi came down stairs just to see Kirei running out of the door. "Where is she going?" he wondered out loud.
"Do you really want to know?" Hikaru's voice drifted up from the living room.
"I guess..."
"To see her ex. He called a few seconds ago."
In a flash, Amiboshi flew out. Hikaru's eyes widened. "Wait! Was that Amiboshi??? Oh shit!!!"
* * * * * * * * * * *
Kirei arrived at the recreation center where her old boyfriend, Sano was already waiting. She forced a smile on. "Hey... long time no see..." she greeted. Sano smiled back.
"Yeah... How are you?" he answered.
"I'm doing fine, you?
"Me too."
"So... umm... how's your girlfriend?"
"Oh that ended a little bit ago."
"Sorry... who dumped who?
"I broke up with her."
"I see..."
"Aren't you going to ask me why?"
"Not really."
"You haven't changed one bit."
"Doesn't seem like you have either."
"Touche."
"So why'd did you want to meet me?"
"I'm not sure how to say this..."
"Try me."
"I want to get back together with you...."
"WHAT???"
* * * * * * * * * * *
Amiboshi froze. Was this guy serious?? "Dude...why are you eavesdropping?"
He jumped and turned to see Yuri and Tamahome.
"Don't sneak up on me like that! And what are you doing here??" he asked.
Tamahome held up a basketball. "So what's Kirei going to do..." Tamahome wondered out loud.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Kirei scoffed at Sano. "You must have a lot of nerve to call me, meet me, and ask me to get back together with you in the same day," she started.
Sano opened his mouth but Kirei continued.
"However, you broke up with me twice- once because you were a fucking coward, and the other for another girl. Two chances used... no more left."
"I still have feelings for you, Rei-Rei..."
"Should've thought of that before you broke up with me. And the name is Kirei."
She brought her arm in front and slapped him across the face backhanded. She then turned and walked away.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Later back at the house, Tasuki, Hikaru, Yume, Yuri, Suboshi, Tamahome, and Amiboshi met up in one of the rooms to talk.
"That bastard... I'm going to mess his face up!" Yume fumed. Her female friends nodded in agreement.
"Should I just give up on her?" Amiboshi asked.
"NO!" everyone else said in unison. He nearly fell over.
"Giving up on her is the last thing you should do! Too many guys have given up on her!! You can't do the same!" Yuri insisted.
"Stick by her whether she likes it or not. Be as stubborn as she is," Hikaru advised.
"You have to show her what you want. Be the powerful one!" Tasuki inputted. Hikaru smacked him upside the head for the "powerful" statement.
"You know what you want aniki... go get it," was Suboshi. Amiboshi stared at them all in amazement.
"Wow...thanks guys."
"Don't forget the money!" Tamahome chimed. Everyone promptly threw pillows at him.
* * * * * * * * * * *
"So you slapped him, no da??" Chichiri asked Kirei. Kirei smiled sheepishly.
"I needed to vent out the anger that I couldn't release on him for years," she explained.
"Hmm... I see, no da."
"Chichiri... You know how people sometime say what they don't mean?"
"Hai."
"Well... How do I know when they do mean it?"
"Look in their eyes. Words may lie but the eyes are always true."
"Thank you, Chichiri."
"For what, no da?"
"For being the big brother I always wanted."
They smiled.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Amiboshi walked all over the house. Where was Kirei?? This girl pulled way too many disappearing acts on him.
Kirei turned around a corner and ran into someone's arms. "Da~!" she exclaimed.
"Kirei?"
"Amiboshi?"
Amiboshi took a deep breath. "Kirei, I need to talk to you." She looked at him to go on. It was time to pour out his heart. "Kirei... I still have feelings for you that I know I can never change. I don't know why you shut me out but whether you like it or not I'm coming back in because I know somehow you still love me!"
Kirei stared at him. "Love? Look how old we are! We're too young to actually fall in LOVE!!"
"How can you say that when we said I love you to each other??"
"Wake up Amiboshi. People in this world say things they don't mean! I love you is just a simple phrase now that's thrown around."
"Well, I'm not from this world and in my world when people say I love you they mean it. I thought you would've known that of all people."
Kirei looked away from him. "Doesn't matter... I ... I don't ... feel the same way."
"Look at me straight in the eyes and repeat that."
Kirei looked up at him with her crimson eyes and into his beautiful blue ones. "I don't like you." She walked around him and left him there standing.
Amiboshi closed his eyes in frustration. He wasn't going to give up. He wasn't. There was hope because she said different words instead of repeating herself.
Kirei walked into her room and shut the door. She fell to the floor crying. 'I don't like you Kou-chan... I love you very much... But I'm too scared...'
* * * * * * * * * * *
Yuri and Tamahome hung out the whole day and had a lot of fun. They sat in the study of Kirei's house alone. "Hey Tamahome?" Yuri started.
"Yeah?" he asked over a book of money management.
"I really like you..."
Tamahome looked up at her and sighed. "Yuri-"
"I know you're still getting over Miaka. I'm not saying that you have to fall in love with me or anything. I just wanted you to know. And 'sides, having your friendship is good enough for me."
Tamahome smiled at Yuri. "Thanks Yuri. Having your friendship is pretty good for me too."
Yuri's smile became brighter. "Yay~"
Tamahome stood up and patted her head. "I'll be right back. I want to talk to Kirei for a moment."
Yuri nodded.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Kirei quickly wiped away the remainder of her tears when she heard a knock on the door. "Come in?"
Tamahome stepped in. "Hey Kirei. Haven't talked to you since I got here."
"Yep... I guess so... heh..." she trailed off.
"I was wondering, if I could just take a look at the shinzaho for a moment."
Kirei looked at him suspiciously. "Sure... why not?" She reached over and extracted the delicate ring from her jewelry box and handed it to him. A strange look crossed his face.
"Do you know what this is Kirei?"
"Umm... the shinzaho in the form of a ring?"
"No... this is the ring that Miaka had in which we used to exchange our wedding vows."
"No way! Let me see!"
Sure enough... he was right. The small gold ring had two entwined hearts. Kirei looked at Tamahome uncertainly. "Maybe I should give this back to you?"
Tamahome shook his head. "That's okay... it's yours now. It was meant for you."
"Thanks Tamahome."
"Kirei... don't forget... that ring is consecrated by love... I hope it brings you love.." he said softly. Kirei shook her head and put the ring back.
"I'm through with that. I'm just not meant for it."
"Everyone is meant for love. They just have to know where to look."
Tamahome stared at Kirei, who said nothing. Realizing, she wasn't going to say anything, he sighed and left the room saying good night.
'Everyone is meant for love... except me' she thought.
As few days passed and seeing Yume and Suboshi together was becoming no surprise. Amiboshi was less of the miserable wreck than he was before and Kirei was becoming uncertain of herself. Yuri made many attempts to get closer to Tamahome, who was still worked up over Miaka. Tasuki and Hikaru were always together and were pretty much left alone. Mitsukake had become something of a fatherly figure and was told the whos and wheres and whens. Nakago had creepily become more human and was usually found in front of the TV during soap opera hours with boxes of tissues. Chiriko was doing a lot of self-studying over the Internet and Chichiri was popping in and out of everywhere trying to figure out when Tenkou would strike next. Hotohori and Nuriko spent some time with him to do the same. For some like Hikaru and Tasuki, it was a carefree time and for others like Chichiri, it was a time to be cautious and prepared.
Yuri set her teeth. Tamahome was going to be her friend whether he liked it or not. All he did was stay in his room watching Fushigi Yuugi tapes to see Miaka. She walked straight up to his room and knocked on the door. "Come in," Tamahome's voice replied. Yuri opened the door and peeked in. Tamahome was sitting against his bed staring at the TV screen. She could here the voices of Miaka and Tamahome.
"Yo, Tama... want to go play some b-ball with some of my friends?" Yuri asked.
"No thanks... I'll stay home," he said in a toneless voice. She sighed.
"Tamahome... Come on... You're wasting yourself away in front of that screen. Some exercise might do you some good."
"I'm not in the mood."
"When will you ever be in the mood to do anything? Were you whipped by Miaka or something when she was around?? Did you forget to think about yourself in the process??"
Tamahome glared up at her. "Don't talk about Miaka that way!"
"Tamahome! She would not like you wasting away because of her. Miaka is a lively vivacious girl and she wants you to be happy!"
"So you're trying to tell me to forget her."
"No. I'm saying remember her and do what you know she would wanted you to do."
Tamahome stayed silent for a moment. He flicked off the TV and turned to Yuri. "So how do you play b-ball?" he asked with a small smile on his face.
Yuri grinned. "Come on. It'll be fun."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Hikaru leisurely spread herself across the living room couch and opened up a book. The phone rang. She groaned and leaned over to the small stand table to pick up the cordless. "Hello?" she asked absentmindedly. She listened for a moment. "WHAT??"
Kirei entered right then. "What is it Hikaru?"
Hikaru covered the mouthpiece of the phone. "Your ex."
"Which one?"
"Sano..."
Kirei's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. Her mouth went dry and suddenly she couldn't speak. Hikaru handed her the phone. Kirei took it with a shaking hand. She brought the phone to her ear. "Yes?"
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Amiboshi came down stairs just to see Kirei running out of the door. "Where is she going?" he wondered out loud.
"Do you really want to know?" Hikaru's voice drifted up from the living room.
"I guess..."
"To see her ex. He called a few seconds ago."
In a flash, Amiboshi flew out. Hikaru's eyes widened. "Wait! Was that Amiboshi??? Oh shit!!!"
* * * * * * * * * * *
Kirei arrived at the recreation center where her old boyfriend, Sano was already waiting. She forced a smile on. "Hey... long time no see..." she greeted. Sano smiled back.
"Yeah... How are you?" he answered.
"I'm doing fine, you?
"Me too."
"So... umm... how's your girlfriend?"
"Oh that ended a little bit ago."
"Sorry... who dumped who?
"I broke up with her."
"I see..."
"Aren't you going to ask me why?"
"Not really."
"You haven't changed one bit."
"Doesn't seem like you have either."
"Touche."
"So why'd did you want to meet me?"
"I'm not sure how to say this..."
"Try me."
"I want to get back together with you...."
"WHAT???"
* * * * * * * * * * *
Amiboshi froze. Was this guy serious?? "Dude...why are you eavesdropping?"
He jumped and turned to see Yuri and Tamahome.
"Don't sneak up on me like that! And what are you doing here??" he asked.
Tamahome held up a basketball. "So what's Kirei going to do..." Tamahome wondered out loud.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Kirei scoffed at Sano. "You must have a lot of nerve to call me, meet me, and ask me to get back together with you in the same day," she started.
Sano opened his mouth but Kirei continued.
"However, you broke up with me twice- once because you were a fucking coward, and the other for another girl. Two chances used... no more left."
"I still have feelings for you, Rei-Rei..."
"Should've thought of that before you broke up with me. And the name is Kirei."
She brought her arm in front and slapped him across the face backhanded. She then turned and walked away.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Later back at the house, Tasuki, Hikaru, Yume, Yuri, Suboshi, Tamahome, and Amiboshi met up in one of the rooms to talk.
"That bastard... I'm going to mess his face up!" Yume fumed. Her female friends nodded in agreement.
"Should I just give up on her?" Amiboshi asked.
"NO!" everyone else said in unison. He nearly fell over.
"Giving up on her is the last thing you should do! Too many guys have given up on her!! You can't do the same!" Yuri insisted.
"Stick by her whether she likes it or not. Be as stubborn as she is," Hikaru advised.
"You have to show her what you want. Be the powerful one!" Tasuki inputted. Hikaru smacked him upside the head for the "powerful" statement.
"You know what you want aniki... go get it," was Suboshi. Amiboshi stared at them all in amazement.
"Wow...thanks guys."
"Don't forget the money!" Tamahome chimed. Everyone promptly threw pillows at him.
* * * * * * * * * * *
"So you slapped him, no da??" Chichiri asked Kirei. Kirei smiled sheepishly.
"I needed to vent out the anger that I couldn't release on him for years," she explained.
"Hmm... I see, no da."
"Chichiri... You know how people sometime say what they don't mean?"
"Hai."
"Well... How do I know when they do mean it?"
"Look in their eyes. Words may lie but the eyes are always true."
"Thank you, Chichiri."
"For what, no da?"
"For being the big brother I always wanted."
They smiled.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Amiboshi walked all over the house. Where was Kirei?? This girl pulled way too many disappearing acts on him.
Kirei turned around a corner and ran into someone's arms. "Da~!" she exclaimed.
"Kirei?"
"Amiboshi?"
Amiboshi took a deep breath. "Kirei, I need to talk to you." She looked at him to go on. It was time to pour out his heart. "Kirei... I still have feelings for you that I know I can never change. I don't know why you shut me out but whether you like it or not I'm coming back in because I know somehow you still love me!"
Kirei stared at him. "Love? Look how old we are! We're too young to actually fall in LOVE!!"
"How can you say that when we said I love you to each other??"
"Wake up Amiboshi. People in this world say things they don't mean! I love you is just a simple phrase now that's thrown around."
"Well, I'm not from this world and in my world when people say I love you they mean it. I thought you would've known that of all people."
Kirei looked away from him. "Doesn't matter... I ... I don't ... feel the same way."
"Look at me straight in the eyes and repeat that."
Kirei looked up at him with her crimson eyes and into his beautiful blue ones. "I don't like you." She walked around him and left him there standing.
Amiboshi closed his eyes in frustration. He wasn't going to give up. He wasn't. There was hope because she said different words instead of repeating herself.
Kirei walked into her room and shut the door. She fell to the floor crying. 'I don't like you Kou-chan... I love you very much... But I'm too scared...'
* * * * * * * * * * *
Yuri and Tamahome hung out the whole day and had a lot of fun. They sat in the study of Kirei's house alone. "Hey Tamahome?" Yuri started.
"Yeah?" he asked over a book of money management.
"I really like you..."
Tamahome looked up at her and sighed. "Yuri-"
"I know you're still getting over Miaka. I'm not saying that you have to fall in love with me or anything. I just wanted you to know. And 'sides, having your friendship is good enough for me."
Tamahome smiled at Yuri. "Thanks Yuri. Having your friendship is pretty good for me too."
Yuri's smile became brighter. "Yay~"
Tamahome stood up and patted her head. "I'll be right back. I want to talk to Kirei for a moment."
Yuri nodded.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Kirei quickly wiped away the remainder of her tears when she heard a knock on the door. "Come in?"
Tamahome stepped in. "Hey Kirei. Haven't talked to you since I got here."
"Yep... I guess so... heh..." she trailed off.
"I was wondering, if I could just take a look at the shinzaho for a moment."
Kirei looked at him suspiciously. "Sure... why not?" She reached over and extracted the delicate ring from her jewelry box and handed it to him. A strange look crossed his face.
"Do you know what this is Kirei?"
"Umm... the shinzaho in the form of a ring?"
"No... this is the ring that Miaka had in which we used to exchange our wedding vows."
"No way! Let me see!"
Sure enough... he was right. The small gold ring had two entwined hearts. Kirei looked at Tamahome uncertainly. "Maybe I should give this back to you?"
Tamahome shook his head. "That's okay... it's yours now. It was meant for you."
"Thanks Tamahome."
"Kirei... don't forget... that ring is consecrated by love... I hope it brings you love.." he said softly. Kirei shook her head and put the ring back.
"I'm through with that. I'm just not meant for it."
"Everyone is meant for love. They just have to know where to look."
Tamahome stared at Kirei, who said nothing. Realizing, she wasn't going to say anything, he sighed and left the room saying good night.
'Everyone is meant for love... except me' she thought.
