The moonlight shimmered on the dark
pool. Her reflection wavered as the drops of water slid down her
face and into the lake.
Yui pushed back her short blond hair
and sighed. Any other girl would be thrilled to be in her place.
In two days, she was going to marry Noku. Everyone said she was insanely
lucky for finding such a great guy and they were so happy for her when
she announced their engagement. Yui knew she'd be a fool to turn
down Noku's proposal. He'd stayed and comforted her after her horrible
breakup with Tetsuya and she'd come to think of him as a truly wonderful
person. It seemed only natural to accept when he proposed to her.
Yui knew she was lucky to have him in her life.
So why was she crying by herself two
days before the wedding?
"Why indeed..." Yui muttered to herself
and hastily wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "I'm such an
idiot."
She stood up and began walking back
to the apartment. Noku would be worried about where she had gone.
********
"Yui! There you are!"
Yui smiled slightly and returned Noku's
hug.
"Sorry, I just went out for a walk..."
Noku's face scrunched up. "At
two in the morning?"
"Well, you know me..."
Noku sighed and pointed to the table.
"Well, I figured you might be a bit
hungry, so I made us a little snack."
Yui sat down at the table and smiled
at the plate of small sandwiches and the little candle in the center.
He could be so sweet at times.
"Ah, arigatou, Noku," she said as she
took a big bite. She pushed the plate over to him. "Here, have
some too."
Noku sat across from her, but ignored
the sandwiches. Yui could feel his eyes on her and finally looked
up.
"What is it?" she asked warily.
"... I love you, Yui," he said with
a smile.
Yui choked on her sandwich and coughed.
She could feel the heat rising in her cheeks and quickly looked down.
"Thanks. I mean, I love you too."
She could still feel his eyes on her
and she twitched in her seat uncomfortably.
"Yui, is anything wrong? Are
you upset with me about something?" Noku asked softly.
Yui blinked. "No, of course not,
Noku! It's not your fault. I mean, it's no one's fault.
I mean, there's no fault at all--"
Noku nodded understandingly and reached
over for her hand. "You're nervous about the wedding, aren't you?
Don't worry, I know we're going to be very happy together. Ai shiteru,
Yui..."
His large tanned hand seemed to engulf
her small pale one in his strong grip. He squeezed it gently and
played with her fingers.
I know we're going to be happy together.
He loves me...
She let her gaze drift upwards
to his concerned loving face and smiled. Noku's eyes shone softly
in the candlelight and they held the promise of a sweet and comfortable
life.
Yui remembered another set of eyes
she'd known a long time ago. She stared at Noku's gray eyes until
they slowly changed into fierce green orbs glowing with passion and love.
I love you... Yui-sama!
Yui let out a small noise.
"I love you too... I love you..." she
whispered.
Noku swept her into his arms and she
buried her face in his chest.
I love you too... Suboshi...
*********
"Yui, I can't believe you!" Miaka screeched.
Yui laughed as they made their way
down the street. The downtown market was especially crowded today
and people bustled back and forth all around them.
"It's just a dress. I totally
forgot to buy it before now... Oh relax, Miaka-chan, your face looks like
a tomato!"
Miaka was fuming and making strange
little noises.
"JUST a dress?! A wedding gown
is like the single most important piece of clothing you'll ever buy!
You should've called me up ages ago! Gah!"
"Well, we're shopping for it now, right?"
"Hmph."
Yui sighed and dug around in her purse.
A moment later, she emerged holding a box of Pocky^.
"Ne, Miaka. This should make
you feel better."
"Ah! Arigatou!" Miaka squealed
and ripped open the box. "Itadakimasu..." she whispered softly.
Then Yui spotted it. It was hanging
in the window of the bridal shop across the street. From here, she
could see the small jewels twinkle on the light blue confection.
She poked Miaka.
"You see it?"
"Ahhh!" Miaka cried out, causing some
fellow pedestrians to stare at her oddly. "It's so gorgeous!
Let's go!" She grabbed Yui's arm and started running. Yui laughed
and tried to keep up with her.
"Miaka, wait, we can't cross yet,"
she said as they stopped at the sidewalk. Miaka looked around and
rolled her eyes.
"Look, there aren't any cars coming.
Let's make a break for it!" she grabbed Yui's hand again and dragged her
onto the street.
"Miaka! Miaka, WAIT!" Yui called
out as her friend made her way across the intersection. She nervously
looked up and down the street and gasped as she saw a motorcycle careening
towards them like a red bullet. Yui tried to pull Miaka back and
she let go of Yui's hand in surprise. Miaka fell onto the pavement
and groaned as she rubbed her nose.
"Miaka! MIAKA!" Yui shrieked
as the motorcycle raced towards her. Miaka looked up and gasped.
With as much force she could muster,
Yui hurled herself at Miaka, knocking her 6 feet across the street, and
landed face first onto the ground. The screeching of rubber on pavement
filled the air and Yui looked up to see the rider's horrified face before
the pain smacked into her like a lighting bolt. She drifted off into
a world of black.
*********
"....... Ugh," Miaka groaned as she
flickered her eyes open. "Where am I?"
Taka rushed to her side. "Miaka?
Are you all right?"
"My head is killing me... what the...?"
she reached up and felt the swath of bandages that were encircled tightly
around her head.
Taka moved her hand away. "You
hit your head hard on the pavement after Yui pushed you out of the way.
Then you passed out," he said softly.
Miaka gasped. "Yui!" She
tried to sit upright, but her face twisted in pain and she leaned back
down.
Taka tucked her back into bed.
"Don't move, you need to rest..."
"Where's Yui?! I need to see
her!" Miaka yelled and angrily pushed Taka's hands away.
The doors opened just then and masked
doctors wheeled a cart into the room. Miaka tried in vain to see
who it was under all the tubes and machinery and gasped when she saw a
flash of blond hair.
"Yui, no..." Miaka whispered and watched
as they moved her best friend to the space beside her. Noku trailed
behind with a tense, panicked look on his normally cheerful face.
"She'll be okay, right?" he asked anxiously
and took a seat beside her.
One of the doctors peeled off his mask
and sighed. "To be totally honest, we're not sure. She's gone
through one hell of an ordeal and we're lucky she's still alive.
She's in stable condition right now, but she's sunk into a deep coma.
There's really no way of telling when she'll wake up..."
Noku buried his face in his arms.
"Not years... she can't be asleep for years..."
The doctor hesitated. "It's...
possible. But she seems to be quite strong, so it's very likely that
she could wake up well before that. In the meanwhile, you all could
try talking to her. I can't guarantee that she'll hear you, but there's
a chance she might."
"Thanks..." Noku whispered faintly
and stared intently at Yui.
Miaka moaned and painfully pushed herself
up to get a closer look. Yui's face was an frightening bluish white
and crisscrossed with numerous scars. Her thin hair clung tightly
to her scalp and one of her hands was shaking. Miaka reached over
and grabbed it.
"Yui-chan..." she whispered.
"I'm so sorry... please wake up... please... Yui!" She cried out
and pressed her friend's limp hand to her cheek. It was as cold as
ice.
Noku put his head on Yui's shoulder.
There was complete silence except for Miaka's quiet sobs. Taka looked
down at the small frail girl lying peacefully on the bed.
Yui...
To Be Continued (?)
********
So, how was it? Not too horrible, I hope?
I'll gladly continue it if I get enough postive feedback, so if you liked
it, "be a responsible reader and write a review." ^_~ Or you could
feel free to email me at juri@wish-cafe.net,
if you'd like. Thanks for reading.
********
Japanese Terms Index
Arigatou - Thank you.
Ai shiteru - I love you (deeply).
Itadakimasu - Let's eat! -- Miaka's favorite phrase,
other than screaming "Tamahome!!"
Ne - Sorta like the Canadian "eh."
Pocky - A quite yummy Japanese snack. They're thin
breadsticks dipped in flavored coating. Mmm.
-chan : Name ending for close friends, younger siblings
or children.
-san : Polite name ending for everyone else.
-sama : Very respectful name ending.
Till Life Do We Part
By: Rujia