Warnings: This is AU. The town in here does not exist. Slight OOC-ness. Tell me when it becomes too much.
Pairings: Ken x Omi some Yohji x Aya
Disclaimer: I don't own squat.
Believing the Dream
Chapter Two: Where there is Yohji
Breathing in deeply, I lifted a finger and rang the doorbell. I had to admit, Yohji had picked quite a nice place to live. It was a little out-of-the-way town called Valensburg. The nearest big city was about twenty miles away. I found that strange, as the Yohji I recalled was one of neon city lights, rowdy bars, and countless dates. Shrug. If Yohji moved here, there had to be "entertainment" to satisfy him. As I long as he didn't drag me into any of his devious schemes, I was perfectly fine with his nightlife. Plus, if Yohji did by some chance get bored, with his driving, he could probably fly to the city in five minutes and leave me in peace.
I inhaled another breath of fresh air as I waited. Yohji was probably struggling out of bed, with a major hangover no doubt. He probably didn't get much sleep with the dates he had and all.
I blushed, realizing a little too late the numerous numbers of things that last thought could have symbolized. Curse the perverted part of my brain. It was almost as worse as the coherent part of it. The coherent part of it didn't send me reeling into sick fantasies about other people's sex lives.
I shook my head absently, wondering if I would be able to get any sleep with Yohji in the house. Probably not. Oh well. You win some, you lose some.
I turned around to scan the surroundings. Valensburg was mostly urban with buildings, houses, shopping centers, the lot. I recalled suddenly that the map had shown Valensburg located on a clifftop that dropped out into a valley. I looked around some more. It didn't take long to spot it.
I gasped.
There in the distance, was the most beautiful, picturesque view I had ever laid eyes on. Rolling expanses of lush green grass as far as the eye could see. I made a mental note to take a ball down there one of these days and play around.
Hey, I said I was going to try to start over, that doesn't mean forget about soccer, right? Even if I tried, I probably couldn't ever forget about it anyway.
As I looked out over the pocket of green, something struck me as odd. Such a wide open space, yet so untouched. It would have been perfect for a park or some other recreational area. Not that I'm for damaging the environment or anything. But the funny thing was, there wasn't a single sign of life aside from the grass and a few stray trees.
I made another mental note to consult Yohji on the matter later. Surely, he, being the social creature he was, managed to date a historian in the making and found out about the history of this place. Or, he, being the studious, curious being I know he is not, decided to actually research the topic. I choked at the latter. Funny images of Yohji in a library poring through books ran through my head. In a perfect world maybe.
Don't ask how I put up with him. I don't know.
The door finally opened. A sleepy, bedraggled looking blonde stood at the doorway, blinking stupidly. Looks like my initial guess was correct.
He didn't seem to recognize me. He would soon enough.
"Ne, Yohji, just HOW much did you manage to drink last night?" I inquired with a smirk. Time to confess, my friend.
He blinked at me some more. I suddenly had that weird feeling that I had come to the wrong place, at the wrong time, being greeted by the wrong person. But this was most definitely Yohji. Damn, that alcohol must have really messed up his mind.
"Ken?" Bingo! Now we're getting somewhere.
"Yes, Yohji?"
"Shut up." There's the Yohji I know and love. Always so delightfully cheerful and easy going in the mornings, don't you agree?
I grinned at him. He began to laugh. What? My smile isn't THAT corny is it? I would have to check in the mirror later...
"For your information, I specifically made plans NOT to get wasted last night!" Yohji managed to look mean and glowering even when he was ready to fall over and start snoring.
"Then, why are you so...?" I gestured to his rumpled, sleep lacking form.
He ushered me into the house before answering in a rather proud voice. "You better believe it. I stayed up all night cleaning up the house so YOU wouldn't have to suffer the alternatives."
Now I blinked. Come to think of it, Yohji's house did look suspiciously...tidy. Being his roommate for two years, I had come to learn that Yohji and tidy do not belong together. I guess everything changes overtime.
He looked me over, from the top of my very flat hair to the toes of my dirty sneakers. "You haven't changed one bit, kiddo."
I smiled sadly. "I wish that were true." The Ken Yohji had once known was long gone. Yohji, as ignorant and lazy he could be sometimes, obviously saw through my pathetic attempt at a smile and frowned.
"Still feeling down, huh?"
I nodded. "A little bit..." That was a lie. Inside, I was screaming and my mind had been plunged back into its happy little dark world. I shook my head, trying to clear away all the negative thoughts circulating around. I was in a peaceful place now with a good friend and I should be happy.
"You know, Ken..." Yohji began, sounding serious though I didn't like the gleam in his eye. "You need...a girlfriend."
I sputtered. "Wh-what?!? Yohji! I do NOT!" I felt unwanted heat rising to my cheeks. That was Yohji for you, never staying serious for long. But I needed the break and was happy I could count on him for a joke once a while.
He winked and turned to walk away. "That's what they all say."
I made yet another mental note to kill him later.
~~~
"So, Yohji, what do you do for a living?" Yohji hadn't really told me what he was doing exactly, just that he had gotten a job. The answer I was expecting revolved around bartender, waiter, and other Yohji-ish things.
He saw right through me. "Actually, Ken," he gave me a smug smile. "I'm a florist."
The answer floored me. Literally. I fell back and banged my head hard against the cabinets.
"A-a WHAT?!" TOO many WEIRD things were happening today.
"You know, a florist, one of those people who make flower arrangements and sell them to people." Yohji drawled. He looked down at me from where he sitting. "Don't we seem a bit...surprised?"
I stood up slowly, rubbing my sore head. I gave him the look. "I KNOW what a florist is, Yohji...but...WHY?"
I have nothings against flowers. Honestly. I think they're pretty and they smell nice when I'm not allergic to them but still...
Yohji? A florist? Nah...
He shrugged. "I found out I like working with flowers, that's all. Come with me to the shop tomorrow, you'll see," his eyes twinkled. "If you're going to live here, you might as well start earning your share."
Me? A florist? HAHAHAHAHAHA!
"Sure, I'll give it a shot." Did I just say that? I did, didn't I? Oh well, can't be that bad. Yohji mumbled something about hot red heads but I wasn't listening. Onto other subjects now.
"Say, Yohji, how much history do you know about this place?"
"History?" he said the word like it was poison. "Not particularly. Why?"
I looked out the window, hoping to get a glimpse of that beautiful valley again. "It's just...the valley over there, why isn't there anyone down there?"
He whistled. "So, you want to know about the valley, huh?" He lit a cigarette, taking a long drag from it and blowing the smoke in my general direction. I coughed.
"Y-yeah." Cough cough cough.
"People say lots of things about that place. A big flood struck down there fifty years ago. People lived in it back then but they were all killed by the flood." He took another long drag. "Rumor now says there's spirits down there or something. Mainly superstitious stuff so they leave it alone."
"Aahh...", that was definitely not the answers I expected. But after today, I'll probably have to expect the impossible. "So no one goes down there?"
"I don't think it would be illegal or anything," Yohji cocked an eyebrow. "You wanna go down there, don't you?"
I fidgeted and felt like I had just been caught with my hand in the cookie jar. "Well...yeah..."
He shrugged. "Okay, do what you like. Just...be careful." He smiled. "So...what do you want for dinner?"
"Anything is fine." I said, getting up and stretching. I never was very picky when it came to food. As long as it was edible, I could stomach it. "I'm going out for a bit."
Yohji looked at me. "Do what you like. I don't want to show you the whole place tomorrow anyway. Better get your places straight. I won't always be around to save your neck."
"Uh huh," I made my way to the door, scooping up my ball as I left.
A tingling ran up my spine as the cool spring breeze surrounded me. I subconsciously started walking toward the cliff edge. The drop wasn't that big. I could probably find some nice footholds and climb down. I looked ahead. It seemed like something was calling me, drawing me to the pocket of grass between the mountains. Something was beckoning to me, urging me forward. I kept walking, ball tucked under my arm. I whistled a lively tune as I trudged, looking forward to dribbling around a bit.
Before I knew it, I was at the cliff's edge looking directly into the wide expanse of green. The rocky cliff edge had many juts and crevices. It wouldn't be too hard to climb down. But the path would probably be easier. I blinked. Path? Sure enough, there was a path carved neatly on the cliff side, leading down to the bottom. Shrug. That was easy.
Taking a deep breath, I stepped onto the dusty ledge and started my descent into the valley.
TBC...
~*~
Please review! Pretty please! ^_^ I SWEAR Omi will come in next chapter. Well..I hoped you liked it, ja! Thanks to all of you who reviewed last chapter. Love you all!
The next chapter might take a while...with school and all. I am very sorry, I truly am. I'll try to get it up ASAP! Promise!