DISCLAIMER: I do not own CCS or any of its characters. CLAMP does. This plot is a product of my imagination. Any similarities to other fan fictions are unintentional.
UNFULFILLED LOVEBy bishounen lovah a.k.a. touya_mou
Chapter 2: Yoshiyuki Terada
He looked outside his window as the blizzard raged the mountain. He estimated the storm would probably last a day or two judging from the dark sky plus some information from the battery operated radio.
He slowly stirred the casserole on his stove. It was a good thing that he chopped lots of firewood this morning. It would be a hell of a night if he didn't. The cabin may be made to maximize thermal insulation but it wouldn't stand a chance in this kind of a storm.
He heard his dog whimper in the corner of the kitchen. The howling wind always made Bono whimper.
"What's the matter, boy?" he said as he reached down to pat the dog's head. Bono is a Siberian husky---a really big, really hairy dog. "Where's all your courage gone to?"
~Flashback~
It was late in the afternoon. Yoshiyuki Terada was playing another basketball game, shooting his crumpled manuscript in the trashcan bin. God! I hate this writer's block, he sighed. He missed another shot and sighed again. Great! Now I suck at basketball too.
He stood up to light up a lantern. He had shut off his power way before the blizzard started. He didn't want to short-circuit anything. Bono was whimpering again and he thought that it was going to be another long night. It was then that he noticed that his dog wasn't cowering in the corner like he usually does when the weather's bad.
"What's going on, boy?" He went to the dog who was standing on his hind legs while his forelegs were on the windowsill. He kept on whimpering while looking back and forth from him to the woods.
"Do you want to go outside?" Thinking that the dog wanted to do the call of nature thing, he opened the door to let him out. The cold wind rushed in the room so he quickly closed the door again. I'll let him in after a minute, he said to himself.
But as he glanced outside the window, he saw Bono just standing there in the middle of the snowstorm. He looked at him trying to understand what the dog was up to. Bono again looked at the woods then back at his master. And then he let out a creepy howl.
He sighed as he slipped on his snow boots. He grabbed his jacket, ski cap and muffler then went out of the cabin. He knows that Bono won't go in until he shows his master what's bothering him. As soon as he got out on the snow, Bono barked excitedly then ran into the woods.
"Hey, wait up!" He ran to catch up with the dog but a couple of minutes later he had lost him. He stopped and took a deep breath. And when he looked down he saw the footprints. He knelt down and touched the fresh prints on the snow. So that's what Bono is running after, he laughed. And I thought it was just a rabbit.
He moved again, this time at a slower pace. He wasn't worried that Bono would hurt whoever it was. Probably a child or a woman judging from the small print.
He walked faster when he noticed that the prints showed that the person was running. It was dangerous to run in the woods especially in a snowstorm like this. He could already hear Bono barking several feet away.
And then he saw her. Bono was sitting besides her, wagging his tail enthusiastically. She was lying motionless on the snow beside a log. He doesn't need to be a genius to guess what happened to her. He ran to her and knelt beside her.
"Good boy!" He praised the dog as he pushed her body so she would lie on her back. He gasped in surprise. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.
Her long brown hair framed her angelic face. Her cheeks were red from the cold. And her lips…
His thoughts stopped there when he noticed the deep gash on her forehead. A trickle of blood slid from the wound to her hairline. He muttered a curse (more for himself) then checked her pulse. After he was sure that she wasn't seriously injured he lifted her in his arms and headed back to the cabin.
"Come on, Bono. Let's go home."
As they walked back to his cabin, he hoisted the woman up in his arms several times. It wasn't that she was heavy because she wasn't. His thick winter coat prevented him from keeping a good hold on her. She kept on sliding down his arms.
Every once in a while he would look at her beautiful face. The last time he did so, her eyes were open and were looking at his face. He saw her deep brown eyes and suddenly all he wanted to do was stare at them. Her eyes were shiny and so trusting. His heart ached in reaction.
By the time they arrived the cabin, he was having trouble breathing although it wasn't from physical exertion. He laid her down on his bed and started to remove her boots and coat leaving her socks and sweater on. He also wanted to take off her damp pants but he shied away from the idea. It's not that wet anyway, he thought as he covered her shivering body with his blanket and quilt.
He then went to the bathroom and took the first aid kit and a basinet full of water. He placed them on the bedside table then went to his drawers to find a small cloth or towel so he could clean her wound.
Thank God the cut on her forehead wasn't that deep, he sighed after he cleaned the blood out. He treated it and covered it with a bandage.
He leaned back on the chair and stared at her sleeping form for a while. She was young, probably in her early to mid twenties. He couldn't take his eyes away from her. The lantern was glowing its light on her soft skin making her look ethereal.
Yoshiyuki shook his head. He'd been stuck in this cabin for too long. His mind was playing tricks on him. He stood up to rummage her coat and a minute later he found her wallet in the pocket of the inner lining.
"Let's see who you are," he said as he opened it. He took out her driver's license and was surprised at what he saw.
"Sasaki-chan?" He looked back at the woman then at the picture on the license. Yup, it's the same woman, he thought after comparing the picture to the real person. But this can't be the Rika Sasaki that I know.
His mind immediately went back to the time when he was a grade school teacher. He remembered the sweet little girl who was always giving him little presents like cakes and even a teddy bear.
How long has it been now, he wondered. Twelve years…maybe more. God! How time flies. The years had certainly been good to her.
He looked at her again and admired her beauty. He laughed at himself as he remembered his romantic thoughts about her a few minutes ago. Well, that's that. I can't have any romantic inclinations with a student of mine.
But still his heart ached.
~End of Flashback~
"Stop making that noise already," he said to his dog as he snapped back to reality. "You might wake her up."
He turned back to his cooking and forced himself to stop thinking about Sasaki-chan. But luck wasn't on his side because a minute later he felt her staring at his back.
"Ano...sumimasen," she said.
Yoshiyuki had to smile. She may look different but she's still as polite as ever, he thought. He turned towards her and smiled as he saw that she recognized him.
"So you're awake," he grimaced inwardly as he realized how stupid that sounded. That's a suave one! Of all the things you could say to her you just have to state the obvious.
"Hai," she said as she snapped out of her shock. She then saw the large dog that was after her before she hit the log. She involuntarily took a step backward. It wasn't that she was scared of dogs. She was still confused on what had happened and was remembering her fright of being lost.
"Don't worry about Bono. He won't hurt you," Terada-san said. "Actually, he was the one who found you. If it wasn't for him you might still be lost in that blizzard."
He suddenly frowned as soon as the thought formed. What if he didn't let Bono out least of all followed him. Sasaki-chan could have…He mentally shook his head before he could think of anything else. He had actually felt a scary chill when he said those words.
He heard Sasaki-chan sigh in relief before sitting on the floor. Her knees must have given out on her. Her head was bent down. Yoshiyuki didn't know what to do so he just watched her small figure.
Fortunately Bono went up to her and started to lick her face. It was probably his attempt to cheer the woman up. And it worked. Sasaki-chan lifted her face and started laughing. Yoshiyuki could only stare at her uplifted face.
"Arigatou, Bono," she said as she hugged the dog on his neck. Then she turned her face to Yoshiyuki and said, "Arigatou, Terada-sensei."
Her eyes were shiny from unshed tears and relief and her smile was equally bright. Yoshiyuki felt his breath stuck in his throat. He cleared his throat twice before he could trust himself to speak again.
"Why don't you go and rest in the living room? Dinner will be ready in a few minutes." He watched her stand up and looks outside the nearest window.
"Demo," he heard her say but interrupted her gently.
"The blizzard will probably last for a day. Two at most. So you're stuck here with me and Bono for a while."
He watched the play of emotions on her face before she sighed. "Gomen nasai," she bowed at him in apology. "I don't want to be a bother."
He walked around the kitchen counter so he could stand in front of her. He placed his hands on her shoulder. "You're not bothering us. In fact, I'm sure Bono's glad that you're here. He's trifle bored with just having me as company."
She looked at him in question so he added, "I'm also glad that you're here. It's been a while since I had a real person to talk to. I'm getting tired of having a one-sided conversation with a dog."
At that she giggled. "Can I help you with anything?"
"You could distract Bono for a while so I could finish cooking without him begging for scraps."
"Done," she said before going to the other room while calling out the dog's name. He watched her hips gently sway as she glided across the room.
Yoshiyuki sighed as he raised his hand to rub his nape. This is definitely going to be a long night.
To be continued…