Shards of the Past
Chapter Five
"What was a chicken's other name?"
I blinked. Of all the... "Pardon?" I asked again. I wasn't sure I had heard her correctly. A chicken's other name? Where on earth did she come up with such a stupid idea like that? Was she just torturing me? With Fuuko, it's hard to tell whether she's serious or joking.
She raised an eyebrow at me. "I asked you if you knew what a chicken's other name is. If you do, I'll stay, if you don't, I walk. Deal?"
I shook my head. "Alright, alright," I had succumbed, leaning against the smooth wood of the Starbuck's seats. I recall, a long time ago, she had asked me a similar question and I did not pay any attention to the punch-line. I had just smiled at her faintly, just to cover up the fact that I had not paid any attention to the joke. Strangely, she had stepped back when I did, as if surprised that it was possible that I could. And then her eyes softened and she smiled back.
During my last few months in Tokyo, she had started to hang around me more often than not. I had suspected it was due to the sudden 'pairing up' of the people in their group and since she did not want to talk to Domon, I has guessed I was the only choice. She had tried to get me to lighten up, cracking stupid jokes that became stupider by as time went by. She hung around my house, eating my food, invading my private space... it was enough to drive me nuts.
But as we spent more time with each other, I had started to look forward to her incessant optimism every morning. Everytime I went to school, I looked around to see if Fuuko would soon bound up to me, her cropped purple hair sticking to her neck because of the sweat accumulated from running and her cobalt eyes shining with excitement.
To see me? I disregarded that. Nobody wanted to see me. Nobody wanted to see the real me, that is. All the girls in my supposed fan club just appreciated my looks. To an extent, they also admired my swordsmanship if they happened to come upon me practicing with the Ensui. Their attention was unwanted. All I wanted was my neechan back. Or Yanagi.
But then I felt my attentions turning to Fuuko. Now she... she wanted to spend time with me, not because of my looks, but because she and I could relate to each other. She and I, along with Recca and the others, had gone through a period in our existence where we gambled our lives for Yanagi. We had almost gotten ourselves killed.
I used to think she spent that much time with me because she wanted to show people that she wasn't a tomboy. But then I thought, Fuuko isn't like that. Fuuko doesn't care about what other people thought about her. She didn't care if people cursed her behind her back because she was with me all the time. She didn't even flinch when a girl almost slapped her silly in jealousy. She just shrugged and walked away.
She didn't want me to end up like a depressed lunatic, killing himself in madness. And trust me, I would have, had it not been for her. Recca and Yanagi were getting too much for me and with the added knowledge that my Master had been behind my sister's death, it made me crazy, almost suicidal.
She slowly made me realize that life was much better than the small shell I had enclosed myself in. She had taught me to appreciate the people around me, taught me to let go of Mifuyu's death, taught me to give a damn. And I did. Slowly, not automatically, but very slowly I had started to go out with the group.
And I almost had fun, if not for Yanagi's and Recca's displays of affection. Fuuko always realized by discomfort and made it her personal mission to crack me up with corny jokes and passé punchlines. But I appreciated it, because I wouldn't see Recca make a fool of himself in front of Yanagi.
She knew me. The real me. My fears, my hopes. She understood all the emotions inside me.
Not just for my looks. Not just for my skills.
She cared for me.
When she told me that joke, and I had smiled at her, she had reddened slightly and smiled back, her eyes soft. I still remembered what that smile looked like. It was radiant and pure and genuinely happy. And I liked it.
Then it hit me.
I had started to fall for her.
The visits. The time spent together. The jokes. The smile... little by little, I had started liking them, looking forward to them. Waiting for her by the school entrance every morning. Eating lunch with her in the cafeteria. Spending break times together. Going out with her and the others.
I had started to love her.
I didn't want to.
It was bastardly of me, I know. I didn't want to love her. I did not want to get hurt again. I did not want to be disappointed again. I had suffered so much for eight years already. Falling in love with a girl was not what I had in mind. I had already decided long ago that love was a mere illusion. It did not last. Honor lasted. But not love. It never did.
But I couldn't help love her. After that revelation, every time I looked at her, all I wanted to do was enfold her in my arms and watch her all day. I never tired of those twinkling blue eyes that were so jovial and merry. Nor that smile that was so warm and inviting.
It was unhealthy.
I couldn't stay this way.
I had to leave.
Two days after that, I fled to America. The Land of Opportunity, they called it. When I got there, I finished Law with the scholarship I had won back in Tokyo. Barely weeks after I graduated, I was immediately hired by a successful law firm and quickly became one of the top lawyers there.
I dated. I convinced myself it was to be rid of Yanagi's demons. Not Fuuko's, because I decided to bury my feelings for the wind wielder once and for all. I wanted to forget what I felt for her.
As she sat in front of me now, I couldn't help but feel a swelling in my chest. I was elated at seeing her again. I was still struggling to keep it down but I couldn't help it. I felt bubbly and happy at the sight of her. Yet she was snapping at me and being so antagonistic and, well, rude.
What happened to the cheerful, warm girl I fell in love with?
I was determined to draw her out of her shell this time. One good turn deserves another. What caused her to turn out this way? Where was she staying? Why wasn't she working as a meteorologist as she had studied the course for? Dozens more of questions ran through my mind.
But first, the damn chicken joke.
I stroked my chin thoughtfully, something I did whenever I was thinking very hard. Then her words came back to me, a vague whisper from my past which I had unlocked.
"... Mi-chan! I have another joke! It is the best joke I've ever ever heard! Wanna hear it?"
A raised eyebrow. "Go ahead Fuuko..."
"Alright! Tell me this! What was a chicken's other name?"
Silence from her companion.
"Ya dunno?! Gawd and I thought you were the smart one?"
"What is it?"
"Silly-billy! It's a..."
I smiled, the answer finally coming to me.
Fuuko raised her eyebrow at him. "So do you know? I don't have all night. You've got five seconds before I walk out of here."
"A chicken's other name... of course... it must be..."
Fuuko's eyebrows furrowed suddenly. "Hurry up Tokiya. T-minus three seconds and counting."
I smirked, confident with my answer.
"It's a babysitter."
*****
AN: Eww... corny! Gomen for the joke... at that moment it was all I could think about... *sweatdrops* I understand if I will be pelted with tomatoes now... but please review first before bombarding me with them, hai? ^_^ The more reviews the better... *sneaky grin* Ja!