Chapter three of my first fanfiction. Spoilers for Peach Girl volume 12!
About names. Kairi is 'Kiley' 's original name in the Japanese tanks. Ryo is Kairi's older (nearly identical) brother. Aki Misao (last name Aki, first name Misao) is Kairi and Momo's school nurse, who has been a character since the earliest chapters.
Dialogue broken off with *** indicates flashbacks. Quotes surrounded by - indicate first-person thoughts.
In Japan, students don't wear outside shoes in school, they wear paper shoes that they store in special shoe-lockers. These lockers are located by the entrance, when the students come in for the day they go to their lockers, remove the paper shoes, put them on, and then put their street shoes in the lockers until the end of the day.
Toji and Sae had been 'going out' since she -forced- him to, several volumes back. In volume 11 and 12, Sae begins seeing (or -thinking- she's seeing) Kairi's brother, Ryo, who is quite the playboy. She doesn't tell Toji, but naturally he finds out. I didn't include anything regarding Sae and Ryo in this fic, because I just really didn't want to get into that mess ^_^.
Again, this is my first fic so if anyone reads this, pleeease leave a review!
I dedicate this chapter to "Inuki" and "Spellcaster: tHe AnImE fReAk". Thanks so much for being my first reviewers ever! =D
-Parakiss
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Circle of Trust Chapter 3: Always Watching You
~~~~
Momo walked slowly through the school entrance, listlessly cutting through the crowd to get to her locker. She felt several pairs of eyes on her and didn't even bother looking up. She knew her appearance must be unsettling, but she frankly didn't care. Her hair was touseled and unruly-she hadn't bothered styling it-her eyes were puffy and bloodshot from hours of crying, and there were still smudges of makeup under her lashes.
This was the last place she wanted to be right now. She slammed her locker shut and dropped her school shoes to the floor, blindly going through the motions of every normal day.
She felt far from normal.
Momo slid the classroom door open and stepped in, hoping to make it to a seat in the back unnoticed. She uttered a silent prayer.
"Mooomo!" Several hands waved at her exhuberantly. Was there no justice in the world?
Momo reluctantly slid into a seat next to the girls who had called her over, Rumi and Yuka. They smiled at her and burst into greeting, and Momo had to revel at the irony. All those times Sae's rumors had left her desperately wishing for someone, anyone to treat her kindly, and now she just wanted to avoid the people who'd she come to know as 'friends'.
"So, Momo! What's this? You actually managed to walk into class by YOURSELF today?" Rumi chided.
Yuka pretended to look around the classroom. "Wait, that can't be! Where's Okayasu? How could Momo manage to walk at all without him attached to her hip? He MUST be around somewhere!"
The two laughed and Momo offered a shakey smile.
-Please talk about something else..please talk about something else..plea-
Rumi leaned forward on Momo's desk and grinned widely. "So what do you two have planned tonight? Definitely a hot date, right? A romantic movie maybe? A trip to a..love hotel?" She giggled.
Momo blanched. "Ahh..no, nothing like that, it's re-"
"Rumiiii!" Yuka exclaimed. "Honestly, Momo, she's just desperate for details since HER love life is totally non-existant."
Rumi stuck out her tongue. "Oh please, like you don't like hearing about Okayasu! You had that crush on him for the looongest ti-"
"Adachi..can I talk to you for a second?"
Rumi and Yuka looked up, their conversation interrupted. Kairi stood in the doorway, offering a hesitant smile despite the sadness in his eyes. Rumi and Yuka didn't notice. The two giggled again and then looked at Momo. She remained seated.
Yuka blinked and leaned down next to her ear. "Um, Momo? Hurry up and get out there already! You two have things to talk about, after all!"
Yuka jumped back as Momo suddenly stood up, hands planted firmly on her desk. Without a word, she stalked past Kairi and out of the classroom.
"Adachi???" Kairi called, blinking.
Yuka and Rumi stood with their mouths agape, not believing what they just saw. Kairi turned and cast his gaze to the ground, slowly shuffling away.
In the back of the classroom, Toji narrowed his eyes watching Kairi's retreating form, a thousand thoughts running through his head.
~~~~
"That's Momo, isn't it?"
"Woah! She's so fast!"
"Incredible, isn't she?"
Momo reached the end of the pool and flipped swiftly and gracefully, continuing on another lap unaware of the girls' comments from the surface. For the first time all day, she felt peaceful, at ease. The water calmed her..all worries drifted away. She didn't think. She just swam.
At the end of her lap, Momo climbed up the ladder, almost reluctant to take a break but forcing herself to slow down. She ripped off her goggles and swim cap, sipping from her water bottle and sighing contently after her thirst was quenched.
A sudden rustle caused her to turn around, and she glanced around the pool until her eyes met someone else's gaze.
-Toji?-
Momo bit her lip and moved slowly to the fence, where Toji stood on the other side.
They stared at each other for a moment, each uncertain of what to say.
Toji started first. "Have..have you seen Sae?"
Momo blinked. "Sae?" Was he joking? No, no..his expression didn't change. "Uh, no, I haven't seen her. At all."
"I see." Toji shifted his backpack to the other shoulder. "Adachi...you know, Sae's not around much anymore.."
Momo remained silent, unsure of what he was getting at.
"I mean, you don't have to..avoid me because of her.." Toji reddened, wishing he weren't so nervous. "I mean..I know I've..I've wronged you in the past. And you don't have to..think of me as a friend or, or..or anything like that. But you know...
He finally lifted his head up again, and met her gaze squarely.
"I'll always be here if you need to talk. I'll always, always be here if you need me. No matter what."
Momo froze, his voice reverberating through her head. Those words..those reassuring words..they took her back to when she and Toji had first started dating. Strong, protective, comforting Toji. The Toji she had relied on. The Toji she had loved.
The Toji that hadn't believed in her.
Not like Kairi had.
Momo's mouth opened to speak but Toji turned slightly, a mixture of sadness and relief reflected in his gaze . "Well..that's all I wanted to say. It was really nice, to talk to you like this..again."
He waved, offering a smile. "Sorry if I bothered you. Just..remember what I said. See you."
Momo watched as he walked away, wishing she'd been able to say something. Anything. He'd caught her so off guard.
-Why now?-
Why did he suddenly, out of the blue, come to say something like that to her *today*? Did he..did he somehow know what happened with Kairi? How could he? He and Momo were a thing of the far, far past. He didn't know what was going on in her life anymore. He wouldn't have any idea of the mess with Kairi. And he wouldn't exactly care, either.
-Right?-
~~~
~~~~~
More chapters coming soon. Feel free to email me, parakiss@prodigy.net
P.S. The names of the chapters are corny, I know, but they're supposed to relate to the thoughts of characters IN the chapter. Chapter 1 was "Don't You Love Me?" and was in regards to what Momo was feeling. Chapter 2 was "If You Only Knew", and was Kairi's thought about Momo and his secret past with Misao. This chapter, chapter 3, is "Always Watching You", and it comes from Toji, who sees everything going on with Kairi and Momo but isn't directly involved..nor has he been for quite some time.
About names. Kairi is 'Kiley' 's original name in the Japanese tanks. Ryo is Kairi's older (nearly identical) brother. Aki Misao (last name Aki, first name Misao) is Kairi and Momo's school nurse, who has been a character since the earliest chapters.
Dialogue broken off with *** indicates flashbacks. Quotes surrounded by - indicate first-person thoughts.
In Japan, students don't wear outside shoes in school, they wear paper shoes that they store in special shoe-lockers. These lockers are located by the entrance, when the students come in for the day they go to their lockers, remove the paper shoes, put them on, and then put their street shoes in the lockers until the end of the day.
Toji and Sae had been 'going out' since she -forced- him to, several volumes back. In volume 11 and 12, Sae begins seeing (or -thinking- she's seeing) Kairi's brother, Ryo, who is quite the playboy. She doesn't tell Toji, but naturally he finds out. I didn't include anything regarding Sae and Ryo in this fic, because I just really didn't want to get into that mess ^_^.
Again, this is my first fic so if anyone reads this, pleeease leave a review!
I dedicate this chapter to "Inuki" and "Spellcaster: tHe AnImE fReAk". Thanks so much for being my first reviewers ever! =D
-Parakiss
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Circle of Trust Chapter 3: Always Watching You
~~~~
Momo walked slowly through the school entrance, listlessly cutting through the crowd to get to her locker. She felt several pairs of eyes on her and didn't even bother looking up. She knew her appearance must be unsettling, but she frankly didn't care. Her hair was touseled and unruly-she hadn't bothered styling it-her eyes were puffy and bloodshot from hours of crying, and there were still smudges of makeup under her lashes.
This was the last place she wanted to be right now. She slammed her locker shut and dropped her school shoes to the floor, blindly going through the motions of every normal day.
She felt far from normal.
Momo slid the classroom door open and stepped in, hoping to make it to a seat in the back unnoticed. She uttered a silent prayer.
"Mooomo!" Several hands waved at her exhuberantly. Was there no justice in the world?
Momo reluctantly slid into a seat next to the girls who had called her over, Rumi and Yuka. They smiled at her and burst into greeting, and Momo had to revel at the irony. All those times Sae's rumors had left her desperately wishing for someone, anyone to treat her kindly, and now she just wanted to avoid the people who'd she come to know as 'friends'.
"So, Momo! What's this? You actually managed to walk into class by YOURSELF today?" Rumi chided.
Yuka pretended to look around the classroom. "Wait, that can't be! Where's Okayasu? How could Momo manage to walk at all without him attached to her hip? He MUST be around somewhere!"
The two laughed and Momo offered a shakey smile.
-Please talk about something else..please talk about something else..plea-
Rumi leaned forward on Momo's desk and grinned widely. "So what do you two have planned tonight? Definitely a hot date, right? A romantic movie maybe? A trip to a..love hotel?" She giggled.
Momo blanched. "Ahh..no, nothing like that, it's re-"
"Rumiiii!" Yuka exclaimed. "Honestly, Momo, she's just desperate for details since HER love life is totally non-existant."
Rumi stuck out her tongue. "Oh please, like you don't like hearing about Okayasu! You had that crush on him for the looongest ti-"
"Adachi..can I talk to you for a second?"
Rumi and Yuka looked up, their conversation interrupted. Kairi stood in the doorway, offering a hesitant smile despite the sadness in his eyes. Rumi and Yuka didn't notice. The two giggled again and then looked at Momo. She remained seated.
Yuka blinked and leaned down next to her ear. "Um, Momo? Hurry up and get out there already! You two have things to talk about, after all!"
Yuka jumped back as Momo suddenly stood up, hands planted firmly on her desk. Without a word, she stalked past Kairi and out of the classroom.
"Adachi???" Kairi called, blinking.
Yuka and Rumi stood with their mouths agape, not believing what they just saw. Kairi turned and cast his gaze to the ground, slowly shuffling away.
In the back of the classroom, Toji narrowed his eyes watching Kairi's retreating form, a thousand thoughts running through his head.
~~~~
"That's Momo, isn't it?"
"Woah! She's so fast!"
"Incredible, isn't she?"
Momo reached the end of the pool and flipped swiftly and gracefully, continuing on another lap unaware of the girls' comments from the surface. For the first time all day, she felt peaceful, at ease. The water calmed her..all worries drifted away. She didn't think. She just swam.
At the end of her lap, Momo climbed up the ladder, almost reluctant to take a break but forcing herself to slow down. She ripped off her goggles and swim cap, sipping from her water bottle and sighing contently after her thirst was quenched.
A sudden rustle caused her to turn around, and she glanced around the pool until her eyes met someone else's gaze.
-Toji?-
Momo bit her lip and moved slowly to the fence, where Toji stood on the other side.
They stared at each other for a moment, each uncertain of what to say.
Toji started first. "Have..have you seen Sae?"
Momo blinked. "Sae?" Was he joking? No, no..his expression didn't change. "Uh, no, I haven't seen her. At all."
"I see." Toji shifted his backpack to the other shoulder. "Adachi...you know, Sae's not around much anymore.."
Momo remained silent, unsure of what he was getting at.
"I mean, you don't have to..avoid me because of her.." Toji reddened, wishing he weren't so nervous. "I mean..I know I've..I've wronged you in the past. And you don't have to..think of me as a friend or, or..or anything like that. But you know...
He finally lifted his head up again, and met her gaze squarely.
"I'll always be here if you need to talk. I'll always, always be here if you need me. No matter what."
Momo froze, his voice reverberating through her head. Those words..those reassuring words..they took her back to when she and Toji had first started dating. Strong, protective, comforting Toji. The Toji she had relied on. The Toji she had loved.
The Toji that hadn't believed in her.
Not like Kairi had.
Momo's mouth opened to speak but Toji turned slightly, a mixture of sadness and relief reflected in his gaze . "Well..that's all I wanted to say. It was really nice, to talk to you like this..again."
He waved, offering a smile. "Sorry if I bothered you. Just..remember what I said. See you."
Momo watched as he walked away, wishing she'd been able to say something. Anything. He'd caught her so off guard.
-Why now?-
Why did he suddenly, out of the blue, come to say something like that to her *today*? Did he..did he somehow know what happened with Kairi? How could he? He and Momo were a thing of the far, far past. He didn't know what was going on in her life anymore. He wouldn't have any idea of the mess with Kairi. And he wouldn't exactly care, either.
-Right?-
~~~
~~~~~
More chapters coming soon. Feel free to email me, parakiss@prodigy.net
P.S. The names of the chapters are corny, I know, but they're supposed to relate to the thoughts of characters IN the chapter. Chapter 1 was "Don't You Love Me?" and was in regards to what Momo was feeling. Chapter 2 was "If You Only Knew", and was Kairi's thought about Momo and his secret past with Misao. This chapter, chapter 3, is "Always Watching You", and it comes from Toji, who sees everything going on with Kairi and Momo but isn't directly involved..nor has he been for quite some time.