Forever
Step 02 - Lessons learned
A/N: Revision one of this chapter.
"Mirror, mirror, on the wall. Who's the hottest gal around," Ran muttered to her reflection while trying on a tight black spandex top that had the illusion of ripped sleeves, gold pleather pants, semi-high heels (she had to dance, after all!), and various accessories. Her hair presented a problem. If she wore it down, she could go for that 'sexy wavy hair' look, but it would be hard to move with hair in your eyes. "Up or down? Up or down," she asked, holding the thick brown mass up, then letting it fall, "Argh! At times like this I wish I had a roommate!"
Just then, her phone rang, which put the dilemma to a temporary close. She dashed to pick it up, and jumped at the voice. "Rei? How did you get my number?"
"Yamato."
That was right, she never gave him the specifics on where to go! At least he called, which meant he wanted to go. The evening might not be as challenging as she thought. . . "You need directions, right," she asked, then gave him the route to her home. "Apartment 406!"
Rei glanced at his cell quizzically. Her enthusiasm seemed out of character compared to the somewhat tame personality at the coffee shop. "Umm. Thanks."
"Hey Otohata, should I wear my hair up or down," she asked, seeing a potential end to her plight.
"What," he stuttered out in shock. Her, asking him for fashion advice? It's like they were on a - no, that would be too strange.
Ran laughed. "Nothing, nothing. See you here."
"Up," he quickly replied before she could hang up, although he didn't know why.
"What," she echoed, similar to his earlier outburst. A small smile appeared on his face.
"I like your hair up." Click. Ran stared at her phone for a few seconds, then smiled. With a sigh, she went back into her bathroom to style her hair 'up'. Of coarse, halfway through, her phone rang again. "Moshi Moshi. Kotobuki -"
"Hey Ran, it's Aya." Ran dropped the phone in shock, then quickly picked it up, apologizing. Aya hadn't called in over six months. Two long lost friends, in one day?
"Aya! Wow, hi! Haven't heard from you in forever! How have things been?"
Aya's soft, ethereal giggle echoed in the receiver. "That's what I should be asking you. Things are wonderful. Did you get the copy of my book I sent you?"
"Yep! I liked this one the best. The love triangle was killing me though," Ran replied as she stuck bobby pins in her hair and spritzed parts in place. "When's your next one coming out?"
"Well, I'm going to try and finish the rough draft this week, then give it to Ohkami to edit, and then fix the flaws . . . . Around May, if we're lucky. Am I interrupting anything?"
"No, not really. Oh! You won't believe who I saw today! Rei! He's on internship here."
"Otohata Rei," she asked, voice growing soft.
"The one and only. Hey, now would be a nice time to visit, wouldn't it," hoping to con her friend into both coming here to visit and settle the loose ends she had with Rei.
Aya smiled on the other end of the phone. Ran was the reason her and Rei had 'been together' back in high school, and she was still at her matchmaking ways. Although it would be nice to see Rei again . . .
"Aya," a male voice called from the opposite end of her apartment, "Are you home yet?"
"Just a second," she called back, feeling instantly energized at the sound of her friend's voice. They were going to have a small dinner party to celebrate the international success of Butterfly, which now made it onto the New York Times bestseller list.
"Aya?"
"I'll see if I can. It's hard keeping deadlines sometimes."
"Liar. You want to come. Listen, I'm going out to Tatsuki's club tonight with Rei. I'll throw in a word or two, kay?"
"Ran . . ."
"Listen, I can't talk longer, he'll be here in about five minutes. Bye!"
"Rei-kun," Aya thought as she went to her dresser and pulled out an intricately decorated box. Inside were a few mementoes of her life, and after a few seconds of searching, she found Rei's button, still shiny and new after all these years. "Past is the past, that was the theme of my first book, I must leave behind the past. But part of me still loves him.."
"Aya," the male asked, and she quickly shut the box.
"Hey Ohkami," she said, smiling. "You're back early."
"I wanted to make sure we'd be there on time." He glanced at the clock, "We have a little over an hour."
"I'll be ready in a half hour," she replied while setting the box in its original place.
"Who were you talking to?"
"Ran. She wants me to visit. How about it? Wanna go back to Tokyo with me?"
Ran put the finishing touches on her hair, smiled with satisfaction, and plopped on her couch. Three minutes until eight, plus late time. She reached over to her cell and checked her horoscope.
Today will be full of many surprises. Past will meet present, and perhaps an old flame will spark anew? Be cautious of new friends, however, they bark and bite.
Love - 10
Communication - 8.5
Work - 7
Heh. The darned thing was right for once. She lay the punched out of the menu as Otohata knocked on the door. Well, knocking was an understatement. It sounded like he was trying to break down the door. There goes the theory of him having a good time tonight. "Matte yo," she yelled, and slowly rose to answer the door.
When she opened the door, Rei's brown eyes were the first thing she saw, and they didn't look amused. He wore a black silk dress-casual kind of shirt, with matching slacks and shoes. His ever present smirk was there, along with a white rose.
White rose? Was he making fun of her virginity? Ran fought the urge to punch him in the nose. The rose was probably obligatory, and she smiled with annoyance and took the thing.
Ran looked amazing, and she had worn her hair up. Like he predicted, when she wore her hair up she looked more youthful, radiant, and her energy shone brightly. The rose was an obligation, and judging by her face she realized that, although she wasn't expecting the gesture. To tell the truth, he had no idea why he bought the rose, although there was a flower stand near her apartment complex. "That's the reason," he thought.
Ran took the rose with a somewhat annoyed gesture and set it in a cup. Because she didn't date as often as she used to (keeping her beliefs were hard as an adult), she had no vase.
Rei led her out and into his navy blue Mitsubishi. Again, the awkward silence occurred in the car ride, until Ran chose to bring up Aya. "Rei. . . how do you feel about Aya?"
Aya? They hadn't talked in years. He glanced at her from the corner of his eye, wanting to see whether her motivation had to do with herself or Aya. Judging by her expression, she still wanted him and Aya to marry. Hopeless romantic.
"She's a thing of the past." Ran punched his shoulder hard, "An important thing of the past. But I've moved on. I wasn't ready for a relationship then. I can't see why you're so mad, neither were you."
"Tatsuki wasn't in love with me," she sharply replied.
"Love can be one sided. Haven't you read her book?"
"You . . . read her books," she replied in shock. At the coffee shop, she assumed. . . So, he did care somewhat?
"She sends me a copy."
"She had your address the whole time!?"
"Yeah," he replied matter-of-factly. Ran frowned, she thought Aya had no means of contacting Rei. But earlier he contradicted that statement . . .
"Didn't you say earlier you didn't read her books," she asked dubiously.
"I said 'book'. I've only read the first one." The one based on her love for Rei. He must've avoided the rest for fear it would bring back memories, or he truly didn't like romances. Even thought Ran knew it was the latter, she still hoped that part of him still cared for Aya. "Do you and Tatsuki still go out?"
"We dance together at the club, and go out for lunch occasionally. He's just a friend." Occasionally. That was a lie. Every week they were together. But why did she lie to him? And why does he keep asking me about him? "Anyway, take a right here, and it's down the block."
Down the block? The club was the block. Rei whistled when he saw it. "Big, ne? This your first time seeing Blurry Moon in person?"
"Yeah," he muttered, still in shock of seeing the club.
Blurry Moon had been in business for a little over seven years. In the past three it had boomed in popularity, launching several music stars' careers and a prime star hangout. Tatsuki had sealed a TV deal with Wowow and now had an 'Indie Live' music/talk show. The cover charge was over three hundred thousand yen.
"He's a rich man."
"Not really. He donates allot of his earnings to the needy and lives in an apartment as small as mine. Then again, allot must go into making this the best club in Tokyo! He's matured allot too," she added, "But he's still kept the irresistible charisma people flock to."
"With a cover charge like that, I assume only the rich can enter."
"The price is never set. Every night he stands outside, and lowers the price about a hundred thousand yen or more. Unless he sees a star. He'll make them pay full," she giggled, "I'm good friends with Ayu now. We discuss possible stars for her to produce."
"I get in free too, right," one night here cost almost as much as his schooling.
Ran grinned, "Of coarse! You were Tatsuki's friend too, remember? Besides, you're with me, and everyone that comes with me gets in free. I used to take Miyu, but now she has Takeshi."
"So now you go alone," he asked, pulling into a parking space.
"Pretty much. They call me 'The Unattainable Queen.' I don't care how old I am, and I don't care if I'm fifty and never kissed in my life, I'm not going to give my first kiss away to someone I don't love."
Her determination never seemed to falter, it was one of the things he admired about her. In times of a crisis, she is strong, never weak, at least on the outside. Sometimes, when no one was looking, she exhibited a pain and loneliness that would vanish in the blink of an eye. But the fact remained that it was there.
Ran, after explaining her friend to the bouncer named 'Bruno', led Rei inside the huge club. Oddly enough, upon entering they came upon a series of doors, reminding Ran of Alice in Wonderland each time she entered. "You pick the type of club you want to enter," she explained, and follow the hall or go upstairs to the floor."
"Techno, right?" Rei asked, guessing accurately, for Ran replied with a perky 'yep' and dragged him through the right hand door. After a long hall and a right turn they entered the club, entitled 'New Moon'. A loud pop song shook the walls, people donned with glow sticks and glitter danced under the multicolored lights, and after scanning the room, Ran saw Tatsuki nowhere.
She frowned, then yelped as Tatsuki lifted her up from behind. "How's her Majesty," he asked, putting her down gently. Ran punched him arm playfully and stuck her tongue out.
"You're lucky I didn't kill you for that remark," she replied, then laughed along with her lifelong friend. Ran pointed to Rei, who looked stoic, although his eyes emitted jealousy.
They never changed. Rei saw Ran's maturity disappear around Tatsuki, and they laughed and quarreled like teenagers. It made him feel jealous, that he didn't have a relationship like that. Then again, he left the place, and refused their attempts to keep in contact. It was his own fault.
What relationship did Tatsuki and Ran have anyway? They looked like lovers, although Ran clarified her virginity earlier. Still, 25 and no kiss? That was absurd. Well, if she never found someone, she could be a nun at fifty. Rei fought the urge to laugh at his thoughts, and directed his attention to Tatsuki.
He looked the same, only older. His hair was back to its natural brown, and he had braided like the rappers on TV. His style looked more hip hop as well. Yet his smile, and that mischievous gleam in his eye hadn't lost their intensity. No wonder why Ran still liked him.
"No way! Otohata, is that you?"
"Yo."
"Hey brotha, long time no see," he exclaimed, holding out his hand to shake.
They shook, then the latest club hit started to blare. "Let's go," Ran yelled to her friends and dragged the men to the danced floor. Rei wasn't as adept as herself or Tatsuki, but he still kept up easily.
When a slow song came on, the three left the floor. The men left Ran to go get some drinks and food, chatting about her on the way.
"Hey, Otohata, you gonna ask Ran to dance?"
"No, why?"
"Wonderin'. You sure? Cuz if not, I am."
"Don't see me caring."
"Your loss," he replied, and sat on the stool. "Hey Takui, get us some sake, kay," he called, nodding to the bartender. The man nodded and went to retrieve their drinks. The two drank the small shots in one gulp and looked at each other, sizing up.
"What's your relationship with Ran? You two lovers?"
Tatsuki frowned and shook his head. "She doesn't seem to love me. Not once in our tens years of being together has she let me kiss her."
"Do you love her?"
"Of course! She's mine, you know? My rock. The one I imagined myself being with for the rest of my life. But she doesn't seem to want to settle down. Unnatural, I suppose. We've been off and on for awhile. I think . . . I need to spend some time away from her, and get to know other people. Ones that will return my feelings."
Rei had no comment, and he nodded gingerly. Tatsuki sighed and looked down at his empty cup. "You? Find anyone special?"
"Nope. I've been concentrating on my studies."
"Doctor, right? You look like one," Tatsuki replied with a smile. He feigned yawning, then got up and stretched. "I'm going to go dance with Ran. We'll catch up later, a'ight?"
Tatsuki grabbed Ran's arm and dragged her onto the dance floor. Ran rolled her eyes, but got caught up in the dance soon after getting on the floor. "Hey, Ran, when did Otohata get here?"
"I ran into him this afternoon. He's here on internship. You have no idea how hard it was to get him to come here."
"He isn't that type, ne? Are you still trying to get him and Aya together?"
"Yeah. They don't see how good they are for each other."
"Rei didn't exactly return her feelings most of the time though."
"Yeah, but that's because it's hard to get him to open up period. I think Aya can break down those barriers. I just want to see my friends happy."
"What about you?"
"Huh," Ran asked, stopping.
Tatsuki looked at her seriously. "Don't lie to me Ran. I see the loneliness in your eyes. And up until recently I thought I could fill that void."
Break up? Does he not want us to be together? But, we weren't together in the first place, right? Then why . . .
"Tatsuki, what are you talking about?"
He smiled slightly, face losing some of its seriousness. "Nothing, nothing. You wanna go out for lunch tomorrow? Bring Miyu and Takeshi and Rei?"
Ran smiled, grateful for the change in subject. True, sometimes she did get lonely, but she didn't have time for anything more than a casual boyfriend. Tatsuki had filled that spot off and on for the last ten years, but she hadn't thought of their relationship becoming that serious. . . although sometimes she did long for it. But what if she didn't love him? Then her kiss would be taken away. . .
"I think they'd like that. We could all catch up."
"It's a date then."
Ran nodded and grinned happily. "Yeah."