Kitazawa Yuki gently opened the door to young Eiri's bedroom. Bright morning sunlight was trying to infiltrate the room through some closed blinds. Everything was in perfect order as usual. Eiri's textbooks were neatly stacked on the desk.
Japanese
Math
Social Studies
History
It almost made him sick.
***************************************
Broken Doll by Tenshi
Part 2 of 3
***************************************
A normal 16 year old's room should be messy, with posters, and dirty laundry on the floor. Yuki sighed. Eiri was so transparent, always trying to please him. The way he talked, the way he politely changed his correct answers into whatever his teacher said. This kind of respect... this kind of affection... was unnatural to say the least. Sometime soon he'd have to have a serious talk with him. Right now there were more pressing matters. It was time for Eiri to get up.
"Eiri-kun..." he whispered gently.
"Hmm..." the young boy moaned back. "Sensei..." He gave a small giggle in his sleep. "Sensei...you're...my...I..." Eiri unconsciously pulled the blankets closer to his face to hide a smile.
Yuki frowned. Now Eiri was having dreams about him? That talk would have to come sooner than later. He placed a hand on Eiri's shoulder and rocked him a little. "Eiri-kun," he repeated, a little more sternly.
Instead of the desired effect, Eiri grasped the hand tightly and brought it to his face. "Sensei...I..." he mumbled and then quietly switched into his more familiar native language. "Sensei ga suki."
Yuki freed his hand and stared at his pupil. Did he even understand what he was saying? In Japan, Eiri was already picked on for his unusual blonde hair and golden hazel eyes. Did he really want to add this to his list? And even if he did...
"It's time to get up Eiri-kun. If you don't get up soon, we'll be late picking up Tatsuha-kun." Yuki went over to the window and opened the blinds. The sunlight poured into the room. This finally woke up the sleeping prince. Eiri rubbed his eyes and when he noticed Yuki, he quickly covered himself with his blanket like a bashful schoolgirl.
"Sensei!"
"Morning Eiri-kun. You've got 45 minutes until we need to leave. I'll be in the kitchen." With that Yuki left the room.
Eiri sighed. It seemed Yuki-sensei was a little upset with Eiri. Maybe he had been trying to wake him up for awhile? In any case...he pulled the blankets away from his body. His shorts were...stained...and sticking up slightly. He'd been having one of those dreams about Sensei. The kind where Sensei took him somewhere fun and Eiri could tell him how he felt. He had been having these dreams ever since meeting Yuki-sensei three years ago, but they had grow in intensity, frequency... and meaning. He had long come to terms with the dreams. Tohma-san had explained all about the birds and the bees one night when Eiri had been working on a Health assignment. It was just...he'd never met anyone like Sensei before. Sensei was perfect. He was funny and smart. He was always honest with Eiri. But Eiri could never really tell Sensei how he felt. What if he was rejected? What if Sensei left? It was better to keep it a secret. He just hoped Sensei hadn't noticed anything while trying to wake him up.
It didn't take long for Eiri to shower and dress. With 15 minutes to spare, he went down to the kitchen. Yuki-sensei was making some breakfast.
"Pancakes!"
"Yep, about the only thing I can make."
"Oh, that can't be true. I bet you can cook all sorts of things Sensei."
There was a small pause.
"Eiri...kun?"
"Yes, Sensei?" Eiri got nervous. The way he paused...the way he had said his name. What if he had found out? What if he had heard something?!
"Hmmm..." another pause. "Ah, nothing. Here. Eat fast." Yuki passed a plate to Eiri. Now probably wasn't a good time to talk. Eiri was looking forward to seeing his brother after a long separation. There was no reason to spoil his day.
Eiri looked at the plate and gave an inward sigh of relief. If Sensei hadn't said anything, it probably wasn't important. That meant there was no need to worry, right? He put a little bit of syrup on his pancake and dug in.
----
People started filing off the plane looking tired and a bit unsteady on their feet. The flight from Tokyo to the busiest airport in New York was a grueling 13 hours. Most of the passengers were businessmen or elderly couples. However, mixed in with them was a short black haired boy barely 10 years of age. He was filled with energy, excited by being in America for the first time. All the sights and sounds, so many foreigners! Behind him was a rather tired looking flight attendant. She was carrying a backpack and quickly passed it over to the outstretched arms of Tatsuha before heading straight to the nearest bar.
"Aniki!"
"Tatsuha!"
They immediately started to talk in Japanese, waiting at the terminal as Yuki walked to the baggage claim area to pick up Tatsuha's remaining luggage. The subject of Angelic Layer came up soon and Tatsuha wrestled a Shounen Ace comic out of his backpack. He flipped past a few comics including "Angelic Layer: The Official Story" to a two page ad all about Angelic Layer. There was a store location list of all the places in Tokyo where you could buy official Angelic Layer goods. A small section on one page was dedicated to advice on moving your Angel well.
"You should really pick up a copy of Shounen Ace when they come out Aniki. There are all sorts of great tips in here."
Eiri read the tip section. "Put lots of emotion into your movements. Try practicing with your favorite music or dance video." He hadn't thought of that. In truth, he hadn't even tried Angelic Layer again since he made Shuuichi that first night. If he liked it after trying with Tatsuha though, maybe he would pick up a copy of Shounen Ace at the nearby Kinokuniya bookstore.
"Yeah, you really have to put lots and lots of feeling into it. I practice with music all the time! Look here Aniki." Tatsuha pointed to a section marked "This time's Angel". There was a picture of an Angel in a weird blue outfit along with some parameter stats and a picture of a boy that looked about Eiri's age. "He's a really popular Deus right now. Deus Mihara Oujirou and Angel Wizard."
"Deus?" Eiri pronounced the unfamiliar word. It didn't sound English or Japanese.
"Didn't you read the instructions? A Deus is a person who owns and controls an Angel."
"Oh."
"Anyways, look at this." Tatsuha passed the comic to Eiri and pointed to the article on the second page.
"Great Debut in New York!" Eiri read. "Hmmm..." In a few weeks there was going to be a big event, the first Piffle Princess store to be opened in America. This included a debut of their top selling Angelic Layer dolls. The article said there would be a demonstration and a practice area for free. Apparently Piffle Princess wanted to have 20 stores nationwide by 4 years time. The first American tournament would be in 2 years. The article writer said Angelic Layer would be the wave of the future, creating better international relations among all people.
"Rather ambitious, aren't they?"
"So you gonna go?" Tatsuha was beaming with excitement.
"I don't know..." Eiri said hesitantly.
"What? You've had your doll for a whole week now and you aren't even interested enough to go?"
"Well...I..."
"Aniki..." Tatsuha said with some amount of shock. "Don't tell me you haven't tried it yet!"
"I haven't had time! I made Shuuichi the night the package came but I haven't had time to do anything else."
"Shuuichi? What a boring name." Tatsuha sounded a little put off.
"Hey! I doubt yours is much better."
Tatsuha blushed.
"Well?"
"Okay, okay, it's Ryuuichi."
There was a blank stare, followed by some muffled giggling.
"Ryuuichi named after Sakuma Ryuuichi!" Tatsuha cried indignantly. "He's a new up and coming solo artist. Someday he's going to be big...Godlike even! The outfit we sent you is from a series of outfits inspired by him!"
Eiri ignored the little idol worship session and continued to rib his younger brother. "Ryuuichi isn't any cooler of a name than Shuuichi is."
"It is too! And I bet mine looks cooler too." Tatsuha went rummaging through his bag again. He pulled out a small blanket-wrapped bundle and began to carefully unwrap it. Inside was a tiny doll, about the same height as Shuuichi. It was wearing a cowboy style hat over short brown hair, a white ruffled shirt, and some tight blue jeans. Kind of like Shuuichi, you could tell it was a guy...but you couldn't be so sure.
Tatsuha smiled big. "When we get home, I'll show you just how cool he is."
----
Eiri frowned as he stared through the blue lenses of his headset. "Walk" he whispered.
On the tabletop practice Layer, little Shuuichi began to walk rather mechanically. "Turn." Shuuichi turned around and then fell down.
Eiri took off the headset and sighed. Two weeks of practice and he hadn't gotten very far. When Tatsuha was here, he'd been able to get Ryuuichi to do all sorts of things. He'd been able to jump high and do karate moves, all while keeping the little cowboy hat on. He had even played the latest Sakuma Ryuuichi single and made it seem like little Ryuuichi was dancing and singing along.
Eiri, on the other hand, could barely get Shuuichi to walk faster than a snail. The comic had said something about putting a lot of emotion into it but... How could be put emotion into a stupid broken doll that didn't even work right. Eiri picked Shuuichi up off the layer and stuck him on his desktop.
"You're so annoying," he said to the deaf doll. "You take up my time, keep me from what I need to do, and you aren't even worth it. I wish..."
Eiri sighed and pushed Shuuichi to a far corner of the desk. "I wish you'd just get out of my life."
Another sigh. "And you haven't even done anything wrong. It's all my fault you're acting like a broken doll."
With that admission of failure, Eiri decided to put the doll out of his mind and focus on his English studies. Sensei would arrive soon and there was a poem assignment due. He booted up his laptop and looked at what he had written so far. He was supposed to write a poem about himself...but so far it was turning out into something quite sappy. He decided to scrap it. It was trash. All his writing was trash. It was probably just Sensei who liked it and said it was good. His writing would never sell in the real world. The little clock above his desk said there were only 20 minutes left.
"But what to write?" he murmured while a little cursor flashed on his laptop screen.
----
Yuki sat in Eiri's chair, reading the poem Eiri had created.
/Wherever I am
I am without air
Suffocation
Needing
Yet never seeking
Is the air dirty?
Or is that the illusion
Pulled by
Fate
I am without
Wherever I am/
"Eiri-kun."
"Yes Sensei?" This was different from most of what he wrote. Somehow the idea of dirtiness and loneliness appealed to him somewhere deep inside.
"Your writing is quite impressive. That you can manipulate words in English with such skill after just 3 years of study is nothing short of amazing. Your Japanese poetry, the haikus and such, also convey a lot of emotion."
Eiri nodded, trying not to look too happy about being praised by his teacher.
"But this assignment was supposed to be about yourself. Is there something you want to tell me?"
Admit that I love you? Admit that I'm only happy when you are near? Admit that I liked writing something so... dark? Eiri remained mute.
"Eiri-kun."
"Yes Sensei?"
Yuki paused and carefully choose his words. "There is no such thing as fate. No fated meetings. No fated one true love. Everything is the result of your will."
Eiri remained silent as he pondered the unusual serious words from his teacher.
"Eiri." Yuki dropped the standard suffix.
He didn't reply right away. The first thing he could say was a question. "Everything?"
Yuki was pleased to see Eiri taking this seriously, although it didn't really surprise him. Perhaps he'd be able to approach the subject of Eiri's feelings indirectly, without hurting the boy.
"Everything," he said firmly. "Your feelings, your actions, you control them. You must control them." In other words, he thought to himself, you have to control these feelings you have about me.
There was an awkward silence before Eiri spoke. "It's easier to believe in fate, isn't it Sensei."
"Yes." Yuki decided on a partial lie. If you were fighting fate, it was harder. If you were fighting society, it was harder. But that would only encourage Eiri. "It takes a much stronger person to believe in themselves instead."
Eiri nodded his head and seemed to agree. The wheels in his head were obviously turning, thinking, pondering various emotions.
"Eiri."
"Yes?"
"Let's stop with lessons today. Let's..." Yuki quickly scanned around until his eyes settled on Eiri's little doll Shuuichi. "Why don't you show me how Shuuichi works?"
"I...I can't do it well." Eiri said, semi-ashamed. "Tatsuha says I don't put enough emotion into it."
"That seems rather surprising considering your poetry."
"That's..." Eiri started but caught himself before saying "about you".
"Maybe you just don't have any inspiration. In Japan, all the kids learn fast to be like their peers. You don't have that pressure."
"Maybe..."
"Anyways, I suppose I'll just go then. Maybe when you get Shuuichi working, you can show me." Yuki stood up and went to the doorway. "Just think about what I said, okay?"
Eiri nodded and sat down on his bed as he watched his teacher leave. A part of him felt clouded over. If Yuki-sensei said there was no such thing as fate, then Eiri would have to make doubly sure to work hard. Perhaps...if it was just up to his will...he could be with Sensei like in his dreams. Maybe Sensei was encouraging him. But where could they go? Eiri looked at Shuuichi. The Angelic Layer debut! That'd be fun.
Eiri raced out of the house and out to the street. His beloved teacher was about a block up the street on foot.
"Yuki-sensei! Yuki-sensei!"
Yuki turned around, surprised to see Eiri running towards him.
"Yuki-sensei, will you take me to the Angelic Layer debut tomorrow?"
Yuki smiled. "Sure Eiri-kun."
"Thanks!" Eiri returned an even bigger smile. He bowed to his teacher and then went back inside the house.
Yuki continued walking down the street, quite proud of himself. He hadn't had to embarrass Eiri at all, but had masterfully turned Eiri's attentions from himself to a new hobby.
Or so he thought anyways.
~to be continued~
Author's Notes: Well... long chapter. ^_^;; This doesn't exactly seem to be one of the more popular stories I've done, is it? Perhaps I should stick to just writing really sappy stuff... Oh well, hopefully people will read this chapter. The ending will pull everything together. So please just hang in there for me! ^_^;;
Thanks to my one sole reviewer: Tenshi no Megami!
Hopefully more people review? ^_^;; Good or Bad, both will help me learn. Well... flames are unhelpful... but you get the picture.
Japanese
Math
Social Studies
History
It almost made him sick.
***************************************
Broken Doll by Tenshi
Part 2 of 3
***************************************
A normal 16 year old's room should be messy, with posters, and dirty laundry on the floor. Yuki sighed. Eiri was so transparent, always trying to please him. The way he talked, the way he politely changed his correct answers into whatever his teacher said. This kind of respect... this kind of affection... was unnatural to say the least. Sometime soon he'd have to have a serious talk with him. Right now there were more pressing matters. It was time for Eiri to get up.
"Eiri-kun..." he whispered gently.
"Hmm..." the young boy moaned back. "Sensei..." He gave a small giggle in his sleep. "Sensei...you're...my...I..." Eiri unconsciously pulled the blankets closer to his face to hide a smile.
Yuki frowned. Now Eiri was having dreams about him? That talk would have to come sooner than later. He placed a hand on Eiri's shoulder and rocked him a little. "Eiri-kun," he repeated, a little more sternly.
Instead of the desired effect, Eiri grasped the hand tightly and brought it to his face. "Sensei...I..." he mumbled and then quietly switched into his more familiar native language. "Sensei ga suki."
Yuki freed his hand and stared at his pupil. Did he even understand what he was saying? In Japan, Eiri was already picked on for his unusual blonde hair and golden hazel eyes. Did he really want to add this to his list? And even if he did...
"It's time to get up Eiri-kun. If you don't get up soon, we'll be late picking up Tatsuha-kun." Yuki went over to the window and opened the blinds. The sunlight poured into the room. This finally woke up the sleeping prince. Eiri rubbed his eyes and when he noticed Yuki, he quickly covered himself with his blanket like a bashful schoolgirl.
"Sensei!"
"Morning Eiri-kun. You've got 45 minutes until we need to leave. I'll be in the kitchen." With that Yuki left the room.
Eiri sighed. It seemed Yuki-sensei was a little upset with Eiri. Maybe he had been trying to wake him up for awhile? In any case...he pulled the blankets away from his body. His shorts were...stained...and sticking up slightly. He'd been having one of those dreams about Sensei. The kind where Sensei took him somewhere fun and Eiri could tell him how he felt. He had been having these dreams ever since meeting Yuki-sensei three years ago, but they had grow in intensity, frequency... and meaning. He had long come to terms with the dreams. Tohma-san had explained all about the birds and the bees one night when Eiri had been working on a Health assignment. It was just...he'd never met anyone like Sensei before. Sensei was perfect. He was funny and smart. He was always honest with Eiri. But Eiri could never really tell Sensei how he felt. What if he was rejected? What if Sensei left? It was better to keep it a secret. He just hoped Sensei hadn't noticed anything while trying to wake him up.
It didn't take long for Eiri to shower and dress. With 15 minutes to spare, he went down to the kitchen. Yuki-sensei was making some breakfast.
"Pancakes!"
"Yep, about the only thing I can make."
"Oh, that can't be true. I bet you can cook all sorts of things Sensei."
There was a small pause.
"Eiri...kun?"
"Yes, Sensei?" Eiri got nervous. The way he paused...the way he had said his name. What if he had found out? What if he had heard something?!
"Hmmm..." another pause. "Ah, nothing. Here. Eat fast." Yuki passed a plate to Eiri. Now probably wasn't a good time to talk. Eiri was looking forward to seeing his brother after a long separation. There was no reason to spoil his day.
Eiri looked at the plate and gave an inward sigh of relief. If Sensei hadn't said anything, it probably wasn't important. That meant there was no need to worry, right? He put a little bit of syrup on his pancake and dug in.
----
People started filing off the plane looking tired and a bit unsteady on their feet. The flight from Tokyo to the busiest airport in New York was a grueling 13 hours. Most of the passengers were businessmen or elderly couples. However, mixed in with them was a short black haired boy barely 10 years of age. He was filled with energy, excited by being in America for the first time. All the sights and sounds, so many foreigners! Behind him was a rather tired looking flight attendant. She was carrying a backpack and quickly passed it over to the outstretched arms of Tatsuha before heading straight to the nearest bar.
"Aniki!"
"Tatsuha!"
They immediately started to talk in Japanese, waiting at the terminal as Yuki walked to the baggage claim area to pick up Tatsuha's remaining luggage. The subject of Angelic Layer came up soon and Tatsuha wrestled a Shounen Ace comic out of his backpack. He flipped past a few comics including "Angelic Layer: The Official Story" to a two page ad all about Angelic Layer. There was a store location list of all the places in Tokyo where you could buy official Angelic Layer goods. A small section on one page was dedicated to advice on moving your Angel well.
"You should really pick up a copy of Shounen Ace when they come out Aniki. There are all sorts of great tips in here."
Eiri read the tip section. "Put lots of emotion into your movements. Try practicing with your favorite music or dance video." He hadn't thought of that. In truth, he hadn't even tried Angelic Layer again since he made Shuuichi that first night. If he liked it after trying with Tatsuha though, maybe he would pick up a copy of Shounen Ace at the nearby Kinokuniya bookstore.
"Yeah, you really have to put lots and lots of feeling into it. I practice with music all the time! Look here Aniki." Tatsuha pointed to a section marked "This time's Angel". There was a picture of an Angel in a weird blue outfit along with some parameter stats and a picture of a boy that looked about Eiri's age. "He's a really popular Deus right now. Deus Mihara Oujirou and Angel Wizard."
"Deus?" Eiri pronounced the unfamiliar word. It didn't sound English or Japanese.
"Didn't you read the instructions? A Deus is a person who owns and controls an Angel."
"Oh."
"Anyways, look at this." Tatsuha passed the comic to Eiri and pointed to the article on the second page.
"Great Debut in New York!" Eiri read. "Hmmm..." In a few weeks there was going to be a big event, the first Piffle Princess store to be opened in America. This included a debut of their top selling Angelic Layer dolls. The article said there would be a demonstration and a practice area for free. Apparently Piffle Princess wanted to have 20 stores nationwide by 4 years time. The first American tournament would be in 2 years. The article writer said Angelic Layer would be the wave of the future, creating better international relations among all people.
"Rather ambitious, aren't they?"
"So you gonna go?" Tatsuha was beaming with excitement.
"I don't know..." Eiri said hesitantly.
"What? You've had your doll for a whole week now and you aren't even interested enough to go?"
"Well...I..."
"Aniki..." Tatsuha said with some amount of shock. "Don't tell me you haven't tried it yet!"
"I haven't had time! I made Shuuichi the night the package came but I haven't had time to do anything else."
"Shuuichi? What a boring name." Tatsuha sounded a little put off.
"Hey! I doubt yours is much better."
Tatsuha blushed.
"Well?"
"Okay, okay, it's Ryuuichi."
There was a blank stare, followed by some muffled giggling.
"Ryuuichi named after Sakuma Ryuuichi!" Tatsuha cried indignantly. "He's a new up and coming solo artist. Someday he's going to be big...Godlike even! The outfit we sent you is from a series of outfits inspired by him!"
Eiri ignored the little idol worship session and continued to rib his younger brother. "Ryuuichi isn't any cooler of a name than Shuuichi is."
"It is too! And I bet mine looks cooler too." Tatsuha went rummaging through his bag again. He pulled out a small blanket-wrapped bundle and began to carefully unwrap it. Inside was a tiny doll, about the same height as Shuuichi. It was wearing a cowboy style hat over short brown hair, a white ruffled shirt, and some tight blue jeans. Kind of like Shuuichi, you could tell it was a guy...but you couldn't be so sure.
Tatsuha smiled big. "When we get home, I'll show you just how cool he is."
----
Eiri frowned as he stared through the blue lenses of his headset. "Walk" he whispered.
On the tabletop practice Layer, little Shuuichi began to walk rather mechanically. "Turn." Shuuichi turned around and then fell down.
Eiri took off the headset and sighed. Two weeks of practice and he hadn't gotten very far. When Tatsuha was here, he'd been able to get Ryuuichi to do all sorts of things. He'd been able to jump high and do karate moves, all while keeping the little cowboy hat on. He had even played the latest Sakuma Ryuuichi single and made it seem like little Ryuuichi was dancing and singing along.
Eiri, on the other hand, could barely get Shuuichi to walk faster than a snail. The comic had said something about putting a lot of emotion into it but... How could be put emotion into a stupid broken doll that didn't even work right. Eiri picked Shuuichi up off the layer and stuck him on his desktop.
"You're so annoying," he said to the deaf doll. "You take up my time, keep me from what I need to do, and you aren't even worth it. I wish..."
Eiri sighed and pushed Shuuichi to a far corner of the desk. "I wish you'd just get out of my life."
Another sigh. "And you haven't even done anything wrong. It's all my fault you're acting like a broken doll."
With that admission of failure, Eiri decided to put the doll out of his mind and focus on his English studies. Sensei would arrive soon and there was a poem assignment due. He booted up his laptop and looked at what he had written so far. He was supposed to write a poem about himself...but so far it was turning out into something quite sappy. He decided to scrap it. It was trash. All his writing was trash. It was probably just Sensei who liked it and said it was good. His writing would never sell in the real world. The little clock above his desk said there were only 20 minutes left.
"But what to write?" he murmured while a little cursor flashed on his laptop screen.
----
Yuki sat in Eiri's chair, reading the poem Eiri had created.
/Wherever I am
I am without air
Suffocation
Needing
Yet never seeking
Is the air dirty?
Or is that the illusion
Pulled by
Fate
I am without
Wherever I am/
"Eiri-kun."
"Yes Sensei?" This was different from most of what he wrote. Somehow the idea of dirtiness and loneliness appealed to him somewhere deep inside.
"Your writing is quite impressive. That you can manipulate words in English with such skill after just 3 years of study is nothing short of amazing. Your Japanese poetry, the haikus and such, also convey a lot of emotion."
Eiri nodded, trying not to look too happy about being praised by his teacher.
"But this assignment was supposed to be about yourself. Is there something you want to tell me?"
Admit that I love you? Admit that I'm only happy when you are near? Admit that I liked writing something so... dark? Eiri remained mute.
"Eiri-kun."
"Yes Sensei?"
Yuki paused and carefully choose his words. "There is no such thing as fate. No fated meetings. No fated one true love. Everything is the result of your will."
Eiri remained silent as he pondered the unusual serious words from his teacher.
"Eiri." Yuki dropped the standard suffix.
He didn't reply right away. The first thing he could say was a question. "Everything?"
Yuki was pleased to see Eiri taking this seriously, although it didn't really surprise him. Perhaps he'd be able to approach the subject of Eiri's feelings indirectly, without hurting the boy.
"Everything," he said firmly. "Your feelings, your actions, you control them. You must control them." In other words, he thought to himself, you have to control these feelings you have about me.
There was an awkward silence before Eiri spoke. "It's easier to believe in fate, isn't it Sensei."
"Yes." Yuki decided on a partial lie. If you were fighting fate, it was harder. If you were fighting society, it was harder. But that would only encourage Eiri. "It takes a much stronger person to believe in themselves instead."
Eiri nodded his head and seemed to agree. The wheels in his head were obviously turning, thinking, pondering various emotions.
"Eiri."
"Yes?"
"Let's stop with lessons today. Let's..." Yuki quickly scanned around until his eyes settled on Eiri's little doll Shuuichi. "Why don't you show me how Shuuichi works?"
"I...I can't do it well." Eiri said, semi-ashamed. "Tatsuha says I don't put enough emotion into it."
"That seems rather surprising considering your poetry."
"That's..." Eiri started but caught himself before saying "about you".
"Maybe you just don't have any inspiration. In Japan, all the kids learn fast to be like their peers. You don't have that pressure."
"Maybe..."
"Anyways, I suppose I'll just go then. Maybe when you get Shuuichi working, you can show me." Yuki stood up and went to the doorway. "Just think about what I said, okay?"
Eiri nodded and sat down on his bed as he watched his teacher leave. A part of him felt clouded over. If Yuki-sensei said there was no such thing as fate, then Eiri would have to make doubly sure to work hard. Perhaps...if it was just up to his will...he could be with Sensei like in his dreams. Maybe Sensei was encouraging him. But where could they go? Eiri looked at Shuuichi. The Angelic Layer debut! That'd be fun.
Eiri raced out of the house and out to the street. His beloved teacher was about a block up the street on foot.
"Yuki-sensei! Yuki-sensei!"
Yuki turned around, surprised to see Eiri running towards him.
"Yuki-sensei, will you take me to the Angelic Layer debut tomorrow?"
Yuki smiled. "Sure Eiri-kun."
"Thanks!" Eiri returned an even bigger smile. He bowed to his teacher and then went back inside the house.
Yuki continued walking down the street, quite proud of himself. He hadn't had to embarrass Eiri at all, but had masterfully turned Eiri's attentions from himself to a new hobby.
Or so he thought anyways.
~to be continued~
Author's Notes: Well... long chapter. ^_^;; This doesn't exactly seem to be one of the more popular stories I've done, is it? Perhaps I should stick to just writing really sappy stuff... Oh well, hopefully people will read this chapter. The ending will pull everything together. So please just hang in there for me! ^_^;;
Thanks to my one sole reviewer: Tenshi no Megami!
Hopefully more people review? ^_^;; Good or Bad, both will help me learn. Well... flames are unhelpful... but you get the picture.