The Birthday Gift
[Chapter IX]
By: Raiha-chan
Warnings: Shounen ai, may be a bit OOC in some areas.
Pairings: RanxYoji or YojixRan, hints of SchuxRan
Disclaimers: Weiß Kreuz and its character do not belong to me. Please do not sue me. My wallet is called "The Fly House" for a reason. ~.~;;
// denotes thoughts.
% denotes mental communication
[July 8, morning]
They were all shocked, but other than that, no one really felt anything else. No pity, sadness…nothing. It wasn't as if they hated the poor thing or anything.
"Hey, she's waking up…" Ken looked up from the figure on the bed. Ran rushed over to the bedside, with Schuldich in tow. Omi had disappeared from the room a while back to open up shop. Yoji had followed the young boy.
Brown orbs peered open. Its gaze focused on the three faces before it then widened beyond its limit.
Sakura jumped up from the bed, causing the three boys to take a sudden step backward. "Ran-san! Ken-san! Schuldich-san! W-what are you…? I-I…"
Her mouth pursed together as she turned her head away. The room fell into an uncomfortable silence. Ken was the one to break the trance.
"I'm going to go down to help Omi and Yoji," Ken turned and walked out of the room hastily.
"I'll leave, too," the German said as he turned towards the door. Before he took a step forward, Ran reached out and pulled at his hand.
%Stay%
%What? Why? I think you should be alone…%
%Just stay, goddammit!%
%Alright, fine%
"Tch," Schuldich turned back towards the girl. His emerald orbs hardened as they focused on brown ones. He could see the girl visibly shrink back from his gaze.
"Anou…" a small blush crept over Sakura's cheek. Her fingers was fiddling with the bandage that concealed the wound beneath. "Ran-san, I…"
"Why? Why did you do it?"
Sakura squirmed under both pairs of eyes uncomfortably. She swallowed hard and responded to the question in a barely audible whisper.
"I didn't do it for you…"
%Liar, liar, pants on fire%
Ran glared at the German for a second before turning back to Sakura. "Then why did you do it? For someone else?"
"I…"
%Whoa…you should take a look at all that names she got in that head of hers…%
%Stop it!%
%No, seriously… Look at that. There's Ken, Omi, Brad…she's desperate. She even got Farfarello in there!%
Ran let out a mental groan. "Sakura. Please tell me. Why did you try to kill yourself?"
The young brunette didn't answer. Instead, she threw a question back at the redhead. "Do you have anyone you would die for?"
"W-what?" Ran blinked, taken aback by surprise.
"Do you?"
"Aa…"
"Who?"
"My imouto, of course."
"That's the only one?"
"Aa. Doushite?"
"If I could die for anyone…do you know who I'd die for?" Ran didn't answer so the young girl continued. "You. I'd die for you."
Ran blinked. Schuldich yawned loudly. He wasn't just bored; he was beyond bored. When the redhead made no move to response to the girl's words, the German stride forward and slipped his hand atop the mass of brown hair.
"You…have got to be…" A small chuckle flew past the German's lips.
"Schu…"
"A-anou…"
"…the stupidest girl in this world," the German redhead finished as he withdrew his hand. Sakura was left blinking at the redhead's retreating figure.
%What the fuck was that all about?!%
%It's true%
+~+~+~+~+
"Do you even know what love is?"
"N-nani?"
Schuldich looked at the girl, his eyes held a bored gaze. "Do you?"
"O-of course!"
"So you say you love Ran?" the German suddenly took an interest in his nails.
"Y-yes…"
%I don't understand what you're trying to do here% Ran looked up at the other redhead in the room.
Choosing to ignore that mental comment, Schuldich continued. "How do you feel when someone you love doesn't love you back?"
"…Sad, I guess…and maybe disappointed."
"Would you try to win him over? Even though you knew it'd be pointless?"
"…"
"Would you be willing to sacrifice the happiness of someone you loved for your own happiness?"
Sakura drew in a sharp breath and made no reply.
"This isn't love," Schuldich stared at her straight in the eye. "This is a mere schoolgirl crush; an infatuation."
"That's not true! I really love Ran-san, honto ni!"
"Oh? I have someone down there who also 'love' Ran. Comparing you both, why do I see such a big gap between you two?"
"Who are you talking about?" Sakura's eyes suddenly widened. "Is it…Y-Yoji-san?"
"Yes."
"M-masaka!" Sakura shook her head furiously, the corners of the lips curled upwards. "Ran-san wouldn't like him."
Ran opened his mouth and was about to speak when Schuldich silenced him mentally. The younger redhead obeyed.
"Why not?"
"B-because Yoji-san is a male! There's no way…"
"Are you homophobic?"
"W-what?!" Sakura's head snapped up. "No! Of course not!"
"Good. What if I were to tell you that not only does Yoji like Ran but the reverse is also true?"
"This can't be happening…" the girl mumbled.
"What if it is?"
The young brunette was on the verge of tears. She didn't answer and Schuldich had stopped speaking as well.
"Leave her alone," the silent redhead finally spoke up. Schuldich turned to him and gave him an unreadable look. "Leave her alone."
The German sighed and turned back to the sobbing girl. "I liked him, too. But he doesn't like me. There's nothing I can do about that. I can only sit on the sidelines and make sure he doesn't get hurt. I can sacrifice my own happiness for his. Why can't you?"
The sobs have quieted down a bit but Sakura have still not replied once.
"You can't change the way one feels about another. No matter how hard you try. Besides, there's still a lot of other fishes in the pond and you're still young. Why rush into things? Experiment a little, like me. You only get to be 16 once."
Ran stood up and stepped out of the room. Schuldich gave one last glance towards Sakura and followed Ran out.
Wiping the last of her tears dry, Sakura smiled sadly.
//Sayonara, Ran-san…//
+~+~+~+~+
"Why do I feel that your words were more directed to yourself than to Sakura?" Ran asked as Schuldich ran to catch up with him.
"Does it really matter to whom they were directed to?" Schuldich remarked as he slowed his steps a bit now that he had caught up. "They're true."
Silence swept through and lingered around for a few moments before its shield was broken.
"Ne," Ran stopped and looked up at the German.
"Hmm?" Jamming his hands into the pockets of his jeans, Schuldich looked at Ran, head tilted to a side.
"If I didn't like Yoji…" Ran diverted his gaze to the floor. "…I think I would fall for you if given the possibility."
"That's nice to hear," the German gave a smile.
"Thank you."
"Why?" They resumed walking again.
"For letting me know that you'll be there when I have no one else to turn to."
"Hey, don't count too much on me. Talk to me later and I'll give you a schedule of when I'll be available for talk. Afterall, I'm a busy man. And I ain't referring to missions."
Ran sighed. "Some things never changed, do they?"
"What? That I'm still a horny bastard? Nah, that pretty much stays the same."
The younger redhead laughed. Soon, the German joined in.
[Ende]
