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 3: Rika
Rika was glad to get out of the kitchen. Seeing Terada-sensei was such a shock. It's been years since she last saw him. He didn't change that much although he looked more muscular and rugged.
And much more handsome, she thought gasping afterwards and mentally shaking her head. What are you thinking, Rika Sasaki? You're no longer a schoolgirl. You've been over that crush on him ever since you've graduated from grade school.
After reprimanding herself, she blamed everything to the shock of finding herself lost in the woods. And that she was lightheaded because she banged her head on a log.
"Well, Bono," she said to the dog who was now lying on the couch, "it looks like you don't need me to entertain you. Do you think your master would mind if I take a look around?"
The dog just grunted and then closed his eyes to sleep. Rika scratched behind his ears and went to the bookshelves across the room. There were lots of books, most of which were about the history, myths and legends of Japan. She never knew that he was interested in such stuff.
Maybe it was an interest he had developed over the past years.
She touched some of the books as she browsed over their titles. It was then that she noticed his collection of Tokiya Matsuda novels. He was Rika's favorite author. His novels vary from historical romances to thrillers and suspense to inspirational dramas. Tokiya Matsuda was praised locally and internationally for being a great, versatile writer.
She leaned over to inspect his collection. Terada-sensei had every one of Matsuda's novels and they were all hardbound. Looks like he's also a great fan of Matsuda. That's one thing we have in common, she thought.
Not that I care, she quickly said to herself. It's just that this would be one good topic for a conversation. After all, they are stuck together until the storm blows over.
After browsing at the bookshelves, she looked around the room. It was cozy and clean although the floor was littered with crumpled papers. Being the perfectionist that she was, she wanted to clean them up. But she knows better than to mess around with somebody else's things even though they were trash.
She smiled as she remembered her co-workers at her restaurant. They were always extremely careful not to touch her knives. They knew that she would go ballistic if they so much look at those knives. They were priceless to her because her father had saved for a long time to buy her those for her graduation.
After blindingly staring at a painting hanging on the wall, she walked over to the fireplace. On the mantle were several pictures of Terada-sensei. Some were solo shots but most were with family and friends.
One photo frame caught her eye. The picture in it was of Terada-sensei and a woman. He had his arm around her shoulder. They were both smiling brightly.
She gasped involuntarily. It never occurred to her that he might be married. Iie, she thought again, if he had a wife wouldn't she be here with him? She must be his girlfriend.
She sighed as she sat on the floor a few feet from the fire. Bono heard this and lifted his head. A second later he went to Rika and laid his head on her lap. Rika absently stroked his fur.
"What's wrong with me, Bono? Everybody seemed to have found somebody to love except me. Am I destined to live my life alone?"
As though sensing her sadness, Bono quickly got up and pushed Rika down with his forelegs. She was caught by surprise so she easily fell to the floor under the dog's weight. She started laughing when he licked her face. And when she hid her face under her hands, the dog started sniffing her neck.
"Yamete! That tickles Bono!"
She uncovered her face when she felt Bono's nose leave the sensitive area behind her ear. She felt her heart stop beating when she saw Terada-sensei kneeling beside her and smilingly looking down at her. Her flushed face turned a shade deeper.
"Bono seems to like you very much. He usually stays aloof to strangers," he said.
"Hai." Rika replied breathlessly. She could feel her heart beat now. Unfortunately it was beating hard and fast. Terada-sensei was leaning towards her body at a distance too close for comfort.
"Come on. Dinner's ready." He held out his hand so he could help her up. Rika slowly and tentatively took it. And as soon as her fingers touched his, she felt electricity run down her spine, making her gasp inwardly.
She quickly looked at him to see if he noticed her jump at his touch. But aside from the quick flicker in his eyes, his face showed nothing. Must be the flames reflecting in his eyes, she thought as she stood up.
"The bathroom is the adjoining room to the bedroom. You can wash your hands and face there," he said as he handed her the gas lantern.
Rika went to the bathroom and closed the door with a soft click. She leaned her head on the wood and took several deep breaths. It took a while before she could calm down.
What's wrong with me? It's not as if I haven't been touched by a man before.
She turned the faucet on and splashed the ice-cold water on her hot face. When it didn't work, she bundled her hair and held it back so she could place her face directly under the flow of water, careful not to wet the bandage on her forehead.
Minutes later she went out of the bathroom feeling clean and composed. As soon as she set foot on the kitchen, she felt her composure go down the drain.
The whole room was illuminated by lots of candles with varying size and color. Its heavy scent mixed with the delicious aroma of food. The whole scene was so romantic. It was a crying shame it was wasted on an uninvolved couple.
"I hope you don't mind all the candles," Terada-sensei said as he placed the casserole on the table. "I try not to use electricity when there's a storm. Here, have a seat."
He pulled the chair away from the table and waited for her to sit down so he could adjust its distance from the table. He'd make a great waiter, she tried to put humor to her now going wild imagination.
"Do you drink wine?" Terada-sensei interrupted her thoughts. "I don't have anything else to drink. It's either that or water."
"Wine will be fine," Rika replied as she leaned on her chair to see what he was doing. "Ano…can I help you with anything?"
"You still haven't change, have you? You're still the ever-so-helpful Rika Sasaki," he laughed good-humouredly. He came back to the table and poured some red wine in her glass. "Tell you what, you can help with the dishes later on. I'll wash while you dry."
"That doesn't seem fair. I mean, I am intruding your privacy. The least I can do is help out," she said.
"For the last time," he replied as he dished the casserole in her plate, "you're no bother. And if you keep on insisting that you are, I won't let you dry the dishes."
Rika laughed at his lame threat. For a minute there she thought that he was exasperated at her. She did as he said and stopped insisting not because she was afraid of his so-called threat. She didn't want him to think she was troublesome.
"Now eat your food before it gets cold." He took a sip of his wine and watched her from across the candlelit table. "How is it?"
"It's delicious. You're a good cook," she said. She wasn't just saying that to be polite. Nor did she imagine it to be delicious because she hadn't had anything to eat the whole day. The casserole really was delicious.
"Arigatou. I rarely get a chance to show off my culinary excellence since the only mouths I feed are mine and Bono's," he joked and she smiled back.
"So tell me," Terada-sensei spoke up after a few minutes of comfortable silence passed, "how did you end up lost in that blizzard?"
"I was out for a walk. I didn't realize that I veered off the path and when I did the snow had already covered my tracks. I don't know how long and far I've walked blindly in that blizzard." Rika involuntarily shivered when she remembered how lost and scared she felt.
Terada-sensei saw this and tried to divert her attention from unpleasant thoughts. "Where are you staying?"
"My family has a cabin near the Mountain Lodge. I'm staying there for a week." Rika saw surprise register on his face but didn't speak up. Instead, he changed the subject yet again.
"What have you been doing in all these years we haven't seen each other?"
"The usual," she shrugged, "went to high school…graduated…went to culinary school…graduated. Now I work as a chef in a restaurant in Tomoeda." She unconsciously left out about the part about being the most sought after chef and that the restaurant she worked for was hers. She never was one to brag about anything.
"A chef! Now that's a coincidence. Maybe I should have let you cook tonight's dinner."
"It wouldn't matter. I meant it when I said your casserole was delicious. I'm not being patronizing."
The rest of the meal was delightful. They talked about the old days. Actually, it was Rika who did all the talking while he did the asking. She told him all about Sakura and the others, their marriages and children. And by the time they finished feeding Bono and washing the dishes, her throat started to ache.
"Wow. Is that the time," she exclaimed as she glanced at the wall clock. "No wonder my throat hurts. I've been talking for three hours straight. Gomen. You must be bored from all of my blabbering."
"Not at all. I've enjoyed every minute of it. It's nice to see you've changed a bit. You used to be so shy and quiet."
Rika blushed. He was wrong to say that she wasn't shy anymore. She still is. She just blabbered the night away in order to hide her nervousness. Every time he looked and smiled at her, her heart stops beating to the point that she thought she was going to pass out.
"You must be really tired," Terada-sensei said as he walked out of the kitchen to the bedroom. "Let's find you something to wear for the night."
She wordlessly followed him. It had just occurred to her that spending the night there meant sleeping under one roof with him. She worried what the sleeping arrangements will be.
"Here," he handed her a shirt and shorts after rummaging through his drawers. "These are the smallest I have."
"Ano," she said as she held the shorts upright against her waist. However small it was for him it was still huge for her.
"That won't do," he laughed slightly breathlessly. "I guess I could give you a larger shirt so you could use it as a nightdress." He rummaged again discarding several shirts one at a time. Finally he gave her a black t-shirt and a pair of wooly socks. "Will those be okay? I have an extra toothbrush in the sink drawer, feel free to use it."
"H-hai. Arigatou," she said with a blush before going in the bathroom to change.
She leaned with her back against the door and clutched the clothes to her chest. It was embarrassing because some of the shirts that he looked at were thin and slightly translucent. It was a good thing he was too gentlemanly to give them to her even though they were larger than the black shirt.
The shirt was about the right length. The edge of the shirt ended slightly above her knees while the sleeves ran past her elbows. Feeling apprehensive to go out yet even though she had finished changing and brushing her teeth, she borrowed his comb and slowly dragged it through her hair. She felt a little exposed because she was not wearing any shorts or pants. It was not a problem if she was in the privacy of her own home. She felt shy because she never slept in the same house with any man other than her father before.
As she combed her hair she can't help but think about the sleeping arrangements again. She was sure that he would insist on her sleeping in the bedroom while he slept on the couch in the living room. She didn't want that though. Much as he objected, she still feels like she was intruding.
She sighed as she put the comb down. Her hair was already shiny and her scalp tingly from too much combing. She had stalled enough. She placed her folded clothes on the chair in the bedroom then went out to look for Terada-sensei. She found him laying a couple of futon on the rug in front of the fireplace.
I guess I don't need to argue with him after all, she laughed at herself as she blushed at the thought of sleeping beside him. Well, technically not beside him because there was at least three feet distance between the sleeping bags.
"I hope you don't mind sleeping here on the floor," he said when he noticed her standing outside the bedroom door. "The living room will be the only warm place to sleep in since the heat won't reach the bedroom especially as the night deepens."
"Iie. The floor will be fine."
"Get some rest then," he smiled at her before passing by her side to enter the bedroom.
Rika quickly went under the quilt he laid out for her just in case he came back out again. She didn't want him to see the awkward task of lying down while making sure the shirt didn't ride up.
Minutes later as she was starting to feel drowsy she heard the shower running. Now why would he take a shower on a cold night like this? She thought before falling asleep.
To be continued…