**Passion Days**
AUTHOR'S NOTE: (I hope I phrased the chapter title right ^^;) It seems like I didn't make a chapter for months.
Well, a month maybe but…yeah, I'll be writing one now, how 'bout that! I don't have too much to say for this one. Just read, laugh, cry (whatever emotion your face comes with), and then when the painful ending Author's note comes at the bottom of the chapter, you can review!!!
Thank you to the respected, faithful reviewers that return every chapter; it means a lot to me. Domo arigato!This chapter might not make any sense, but I hope it takes to your liking. Whatever floats your boat, I guess! ^^;
P.S.! – I'm using some Japanese phrases more into the chapters so you get the feel of Japan since it does take place in Japan! ^_^ I'll translate it all for you at the end of the chapter. Dontcha hate when people don't translate stuff for ya?
KEY:
* {asterisk} = English translation at the end of the chapter.
***---***
Previously from Chapter 5:
"All right, maybe this'll be easier on your brain function," the electric window rolled down, "does he look familiar?"
Yugi's face appeared, glaring at them outside of the rear window, "Téa, should I make myself some signs and flags plastering all over it: 'I survived a storm—without Téa Gardner!'"
Continuation after the incident:
Téa's face morphed into a fierce expression of awe and perplexity. The strands of thick, waterlogged, auburn tresses slickly clung to her cheeks. A sudden sense of anger swept upon the teenage girl, trying her best to keep it hidden in her chest. "Excuse me?" Téa raised her voice from the storm's intensity of noise. Her voice expressed itself as a firm sound of irritation, though she didn't mean for it to mislead the tone she wanted.
"Yugi, I'm not getting involved." Mai established casually. "If you're going to argue with the crew, then get out! Otherwise, I'll just give you a ride home. But, think of it as a random act of kindness, because there's no way I'm letting you get used to me taxiing you around." She continued to glower out of the windshield without laying an eye on the small boy.
Yugi stared at Mai for a minute and then quickly whipped his head to see Téa folding her arms prudently. Serenity had been dabbing her eyes with the beach towel. It was becoming hard to distinguish whether or not she was crying; perhaps it was just the rain and its concealing façade. You can never tell anymore about people's sentiments and why they're feeling what they're feeling. Finally, she had given up on the soaking towels. It served no purpose at this point. Serenity covered her face with it and buried her head into her brother's arms, hugging him tightly as he returned the emotion.
Joey peered over his sister's skull to Yugi, watching him with a death glare. He never saw Mister Personality himself grow to appear so serious.
"I'll take that voucher for the ride home, Mai; only if you offer to drop off Joey, his sister, and Tristan back to my house, too."
Mai silenced as if deepening into a thought. She then responded, "Aren't you forgetting—" She was cut off.
"Are you going to do it or not?" Yugi ordered a bit sternly.
Mai was very taken aback by this demand, and Yugi's attitude, for that matter. Heck, he was starting to sound like her. Whatever was his beef, she didn't like it. Her shapely, violet pupils widened and at last spat her final decision. "Fine. Get the dry towels in back of you and lay them on the seats."
Of course, Joey being Téa's boyfriend was extremely reluctant to take a ride without her being invited. He advised Serenity to climb in and went by her brother's word into the front seat. Joey grabbed both of Téa's arms stringently and leaned down to kiss the portion of her cheek beneath her bottom row of lengthy lashes. "Whatever is his goddamn problem, I promise I will find out…and kill him if it's somethin' stupid. I'll walk you home."
"GO. Just go. Your sister needs you. I know this city like the back of my hand. I'll be just fine. Just go." Téa grew to be lackadaisical.
"NO."
"Fucking hell, Joseph, just get in the car."
"Not if you tell me you're going to call me right when you get home—I'll tell Yugi that you'll be calling the Game Shoppe and I'll pick up so you don't have to piss each other off. Do you hear me? RIGHT when you step on the damned rug you're slamming your hand onto the phone. If your Dad's using the phone, push him with all your feminine strength until he's on the floor. Or else. Got it?!"
Téa affirmed with a slight nod. "Now go."
Soon after they exchanged words, the Jeep sped off with a brief splash of muddy water. Téa found the willow tree she and Yugi had taken sanctuary under ten years earlier. She shivered placing Joey's varsity sweatshirt over her head and onto her body now, warming the skin gradually. The lonesome Téa scrunched her face in between her legs, curling up into a ball. Drops of water spilled down her soft, rosy cheeks. It wasn't too hard to determine whether it was rain or tears. It was tears; though, not hers. Why else would they call that certain tree a weeping willow?
Later that night, a fairly large amount of words couldn't be said over the phone. However, no one can predict the future…
***---***
Téa had remained quiet and kept to herself mainly through the rest of the week. The weather was surprisingly sunny and comfortably warm. Being so, she poured a glass of iced tea from the pitcher glancing out the kitchen window to the newborn sunset of the evening.
Just as she took a swig of her drink, the telephone rang, causing her to freeze. Cautiously Téa positioned her cup on the countertop. From there, she tread softly to the den, and picking up the receiver slowly; then fervently to her ear. You got to love Call I.D., "Joey?! What happened? I haven't heard from you in a few days. Daijobou?*"
"Mmhmm. Ah, listen, I sorta…kinda need to talk to you…in person." Joey breathed into the phone broadly.
"You lie so badly. Not one thing has been fine lately, Joey, and so if you need to discuss something face to face with me, meet me in my backyard as soon as you get a chance. I've had enough pressure from Yugi; he can just make you feel so guilty…" Téa trailed off as her boyfriend began to chime in.
At this point, Joey projected an intense shaking sound from his vocal cords. "Uh, sure, I'll be over in about an hour."
"What's wrong? Please, tell me; never have I ever heard you talk like a frightened five year-old, and you seem a bit distracted, too." Téa squinted to listen more attentively. There was a distinct sound in the background of glass shattering and possibly clanging bottles being smashed to smithereens. Joey gulped and proceeding himself into a lungful inhalation of air. "Joey, talk to me."
"Listen, I'm gonna go…ja mata ne.*" The click expired the phone call to the monotone hum when disconnected.
-***-
A soft breeze wisped through the summer air of the quaint Japan-based city. In a nearby window, a long piece of green cloth unraveled down the siding of the house.
"Okay, my whole backside is out…that's makin' progress…unh…" Joey grunted as he heaved his body outward, descending sloppily, to much his dismay. Without warning, his palm slid; causing the trouble he was having of maneuvering the window to suddenly become easier. His hidden problems swirled along his teeth and clenched his tongue to keep from yelping as he floored his back against the cherry blossom canopy that luckily pillowed his risky fall.
"Mataku no baka…*" he whispered simultaneously cursing himself, and sputtering the rosy petals, also. One petal fluttered onto the bandaged slash that lay on his forearm.
*--*-__|__-*--*
Seven in the evening…
Every summer season has hearty, fertile flowers. It is the season for growth and prosperity. However, for humans it's played by ear.
Téa fussed over the Irises reserved in her flowerbed in the backyard. That sentiment of happiness, knowing that someone you care deeply about is to arrive at your house wisps a warm chill up your spine; an inexplicable oxymoron known to the lover's plane in this world.
A childhood song sung with her mother just before she passed away, reminded Téa of this serene night that was yet so young and so she began to croon the lyrics as she waited faithfully for Joey's advent.
"Yuugure no sora o nagamete, hoshi ga furu no o matteiru
Ivu wa mada toui
Yuugure no sora wa hirogaru, hoshi ga dondon futtekuru
Sora wa yasumi mo sezuni, hikari o tsukuri-tsuzukeru
Kyou ichiban sutekina hoshi o todokete-ageru wa
Kyou ichiban sutekina watashi de ai ni iku kara
Totteoki no egao de watashi o mattete ne..." She smiled and closed her eyelids for a few seconds to hum a sweet melody before proceeding.
"Ivu wa mada toui
Kono machi ni mo hoshi ga oritara
Tenshi ni nareru kashira...?
Kyou ichiban sutekina uta o todoke ni iku kara
Kyou ichiban sutekina omoi o tsutaetai kara
Totteoki no egao de watashi o mattete ne...
Mattete ne...
Yuugure no sora o nagamete, hoshi ga furu no o matteiru...*"
Téa yanked out her silk-paper fan from beneath the traditional kneeling position she was in. The fan was frayed around the edges, but still it got the job done of its cooling purpose. Unique designs were adorned within the black material; cherry blossoms and celestial blue butterflies.
In the meantime, Joey was listening in on the cute ballad Téa sung a few moments earlier. His back amidst the siding of her home, he inhaled a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Gripping his forearm cautiously, Joey casually sauntered along the fresh turf. "All right, Joe, don't worry her. Act real cool-like," he thought.
"HEY! HOW'S IT GOIN'?" Joey shouted, raising his arm behind his head. This caused Téa to jerk out of her calm state.
"Oh, so there you are. Took you long enough. Did you take a wrong turn and end up on the other side of the island?" Téa balanced herself into a squat upon her palms as she made her way upright. Her fan flapped back and forth continuously near her face to quench her sweat.
"Iie*," he replied, "I was in the audience, let's put it." Joey smiled lightly and added a wink. Téa retorted to his bizarre answer with a puzzled expression.
"Audience? …My recital was a month—" Almost immediately her features flushed and replaced her cheeks with an intense blush; Téa's neck spasmodically sunk in embarrassment. She gulped, "so you heard…and gave me the 'special smile…'"
"You make it sound like you sucked. That's the complete opposite; you don't know how beautiful your voice can sound when someone needs the comfort."
"Thanks. My Mom had always sung those lyrics whenever I was crying, taking tantrums, or just being a moody, little brat. Somehow, it would always manage to soothe me." Silence swallowed the scene for a few moments before Téa spoke again, "'comfort'? What—there is something wrong, isn't there, Joey?" She dropped the bomb on that issue right away.
"No." He bluntly responded.
"For a change, I'd like you to skip the bullshit and get straight to the point. This is how you get yourself into these stupid situations!"
"FORGET IT! FORGET I EVEN SAID ANYTHING!" Joey flailed his arms out, exposing his bloody bandaged arm he had been sheltering with his hand.
Téa gasped and lunged her hand outward, "Joey, let me help you!" screaming in a shaky tone.
"NO!" He lost control of his body actions and clout his girlfriend against her left cheek using the back of his hand. Her reaction sent her flying backwards onto the grass. "You, you…YOU JERK! Why do you have to be so mean?!" Téa's eyes teared up and her voice became more skaken. She vigorously folded up her fan and whacked him on the top of his head, then stomped off to the front portion of her house near the sidewalk. Without forewarning, Téa heaved forward and screams were heard; apparently someone was involved in the accident, also.
"TÉA! I didn't mean it—oh…wow…" Tristan, with his trenchcoat draped over his head, ran up to Joey from the scene of Yugi and Téa jumbled up on the ground.
"Before they start harping on each other…I was never here. If Yugi asks where I am, tell him he was delirious and saw my angelic prescence." He briefly glanced around then bent down to pick up one of the scattered dueling cards, "Shh! If he asks about this here, it fell into the sewer, mmkay?" He ran in the opposite direction leaving Joey completely blank.
"I am frightened." Joey unenthusiastically stated as he watched Tristan flee like an idiot. The smackdown had started very quickly and ended the same way.
The minute the door slammed after Téa, Yugi was busy mumbling incoherently, shuffling up his cards off of the ground with a dour expression. He trudged along the sidewalk, without a word of acknowledgement that Joey had been standing there.
"Well, that was easy." He glimpsed at Téa's door in the prescence of the newly shed moonlight; he walked gingerly to the stoop and took a seat, sighing, "Téa, I have something to tell you…"
"Shove it, Joey," she said, her voice muffled from behind the door.
This alarmed Joey and proceedingly after, his face faulted.
**___**
Remember kiddo, no flames. ^_^ Hope you liked this chapter. It's about time, right?
Now enter the course of Japanese 101! =^_^=
Japanese with MistY BluE:
"Ja mata ne." (jah-mah-tah-nay) = "See you later."
"Mataku no baka." (mah-tah-koo-no-bah-kah) = "Damned fool."
"Iie." (ee-ay) = "No."
"Daijobou?" (die-joh-boo) = "Are you all right?/Are you okay?"
The song that was featured in this chapter was "Yuugure" meaning "Evening." Here is the translation from the Romanji -- Japanese translated into English letters to let foreigners learn and read the language without learning the actual Japanese characters such as Kanji (the Chinese characters of which Japanese had branched out from), Hiragana, and Katagana:
*
Looking the evening sky I wait the fall of the stars
Eve is still far
The evening sky extends, the stars are steadily falling
The sky continues shining without rest
Today I'll send you the most beautiful star
because today you'll come to meet the most beautiful me
Wait for me with a special smile...
Eve is still far
I wonder, if stars also fall in this city,
can I become an angel?
Because today I will send the most beautiful song,
because today I want to tell you the (my) most beautiful feeling
Wait for me with a special smile...
Wait...
Looking the evening sky I wait the fall of the stars...
*
Is everyone in happiness, now? Hope so. Please head on to the review box now! ^_^