Nijuusei

Chapter 7: The Phone Call Home (not to be confused with "E.T. Phone Home")

By Kaen

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"Sorry if it's a little messy. I wasn't expecting company anytime soon."

The key slid smoothly into the lock and unlocked the door with a soft click. The door then swung open as a girl's silhouette partially blocked the harsh light streaming in from the hall. Yui stepped inside the apartment and flipped on the light switch as she passed. Hiashi, who was still in awe of how huge the apartment complex was, followed her in. He was secretly thankful that Yui was there to lead the way because he surely would have gotten lost by himself. He watched as Yui kicked off her shoes towards the general area of the closet and walked over to a small sofa, removing her white sweatshirt jacket and draped it over the back. His eyes began to roam as he surveyed the room, presumably the living room.  It was adorned with two denim-blue sofas that formed a near-right angle, a wooden coffee table with a plant on it inside the two sofas, and in the corner that the sofas were facing there was a small television with a VCR. Off-white decorative curtains drooped gracefully from the large single window in the room, which had a similar view to his own window. Adjoining the living room was a kitchen consisting of the basics: a refrigerator, an oven, stove, microwave, and sink. All these furnishings were black and impersonal, obvious that they came with the room. All of which he had taken in he had expected, but he was slightly surprised that the apartment itself was fairly small, especially when considering how big the complex was.

"What? Is it that bad?" questioned Yui in a light voice. Hiashi turned to look at Yui, whose face was the image of mock-shame. Her beautiful cyan-blue eyes were shining and her lower lip was trembling. She stood before Hiashi, who was easily four or five inches taller, with her hands clasped together in an almost-prayer like fashion. Hiashi stared at her, not being quite sure what to do. And then an idea crossed his mind and a small smirk formed on his lips. He then took Yui's hands into his own and stared back at her with an equally mock-earnest expression.

"Yui, I'm sorry. I can't stay here because it's too messy. Even though I see no messes, it's too messy. I'm afraid I must decline all your generous offers, and walk the entire way home. Good-bye, Yui. It was the best fifteen minutes of my life."

With this, he released her hands and turned his back to her, raising his arm to suggest wiping away tears. Yui stared at him with a stunned look as he walked the three steps back to the open door, grasped the doorknob, and stopped in his tracks. His frame shock slightly and soon a soft, suppressed laugh could be heard as he turned back towards her. He couldn't believe she had actually fallen for that! Yui stood there for a few seconds and stared blankly at Hiashi, who was still paused by the door and laughing, and then the meaning sunk in. Her eyes narrowed.

"You… You… uhh…" Yui tried her best to come up with an intimidating insult, but the words wouldn't come as she gazed into Hiashi's eyes that were brightened with laughter. Shaking her head, Yui simply began to laugh herself. It was so stupid of her to fall for such an obvious prank. Still lightly laughing, she walked over to the door, passing by Hiashi, and closed it. Leaning back against it, she closed her eyes and her lips finally formulated the words: "Don't do that again," which were broken from her giggles. Hiashi acknowledged her order with a nod, hiding a sly grin. When Yui opened her eyes, she was startled to see Hiashi's gazing deeply into hers. A blush crept across her face as she felt a huge leap in her heartbeat. After a few uncomfortable seconds, Hiashi broke the eye contact and turned his face away in attempt to hide the blush that was searing his face as well. He felt bad for putting her on the spot like that, even if they were a couple feet apart. Turning away from Yui, Hiashi sat down on the floor and busied himself by taking of his shoes.

"Uh… You can go ahead and sit down on the sofa. I think a little bit of rest would be good for you so why don't you do that while I find the cab money?" Yui said as she walked quickly to the open door adjoining the living to the right, opposite of the kitchen.

"O-okay..." Hiashi stuttered, but Yui never heard him. She had already entered the room and closed the door behind her. He stared at the closed door for a minute before deciding to get up and go over to a sofa. Plopping down on it, he was taken aback at how comfortable it was and as soon as he stretched out on it, he soon found himself being lured off to sleep. Hiashi tried to fight his exhaustion, but as soon as he had begun his battle, he had already lost and sleep claimed his form.

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Yui hadn't even bothered to turn on a light as she closed the door to her room and stretched out on her unmade bed, letting her eyes drift shut. Why did I act like that? It's not like his eyes are any different than Suboshi's… A pained look crossed her features as a wave of guilt washed over her. I had never looked into Suboshi's eyes like that. I was to busy forcing myself to be miserable and pushing him away. Kokuei, I'm sorry, but would you even understand why I'm apologizing? Do you remember me? Gods, I remember you, but is it my place to tell you? Would you and your brother be happy not knowing? Sighing heavily, Yui opened her eyes and observed with mild perplexity the dim red-tinted light that flashed in even intervals across her ceiling. Creasing her brow, she rolled onto her side and found the source of the light. The phone on her nightstand had a message. How strange… I never get phone calls… Extending her arm, she lazily searched for the button on the answering machine and pressed it, dropping her arm almost immediately afterward back onto the bed.

"Friday, August 2, 6:13 P.M.: 'Hey, Yui-chan! It's Miaka! How are you over there? I hope everything's all right. Guess what? I have the best news! Well, I really wanted to tell you this in person, but I'm going to have a baby! Isn't that wonderful! Taka and I are so happy! Please call me as soon as you get this message, okay? I can't wait to hear from you! Bye!'"

Baby? Miaka and Taka… a baby? I smile spread across Yui's face. She was so happy for them! So, this is what happens when I leave Tokyo for a couple of months, eh? I can't believe it! I wish I were there to celebrate with them!

With these thoughts in mind, Yui sat up and lifted the phone off the receiver and hastily dialed the international phone number to Miaka's house. Yui fidgeted with the phone cord, hoping against hope that Miaka would be home. One ring… Two rings… Yui took in a deep breath… Three rings… What if there's no one home?

"Hello?" a girl's voice asked, though it was muffled and sounded more like 'heh-woo.' Yui immediately knew who it was.

"Miaka-chan! I just got your message! Congratulations!"  Yui was going to continue, but violent coughing made her falter. "Miaka? Are you all right?"

From somewhere in the background, Yui heard: "Miaka! You idiot! You should know better than to answer the phone while you're eating! Especially when you're stuffing yourself more than usual!" She grinned. She knew exactly what had just happened. She then heard some scuffling and a few shouts, eventually ending with a man's voice asking: "Hello?"

"Keisuke? Is that you? This is Yui-"

"Yui? Hi! How are you? How is everything? Man, you wouldn't believe how much we all miss you over here, especially Miaka! By the way, did you know that she's pregnant? Aw man, I can't believe it! I think our mom's gonna have a cow! I mean, first Miaka drops out of the high school Mom had wanted her to go to when she actually could have graduated, then she gets married, and now she's going to have a kid! Is that insane or what?! Wait a minute- my sister… is pregnant… That means I'm going to be an uncle! Holy crap! Can you believe-"

"Keisuke!"

"Yes?"

"Breathe, please."

"Uh... yes, Yui. We're all just really excited about all this. We really wish you could be here, all of us."

Yui frowned. She knew what he was implying when he had reinforced "all of us." She and Tetsuya had been going out when she had had to move and after a month of being separated they both just decided it was too difficult to maintain such a long-distance relationship and had called it off. She hadn't wanted to break up with him, but it was so impractical to ask the other to stay loyal when they were literally on opposite sides of the world. She sighed into the phone.

"Yui? Is there something wrong? Oh, I'm sorry! I hadn't meant to get you worked up over Tetsuya. It's just that everyone, including him, really misses you. It's just not the same without our Yui-chan, you know?"

Yui nodded, but Keisuke obviously couldn't see it. She decided to change the subject. After all, she'd called to congratulate Miaka and Taka and possibly tell them about… No, not yet…  "Keisuke? Could I please talk to Miaka or Taka? Don't get me wrong- it was nice to talk to you, too, but the phone bill gets really high when I make these international calls and I really just wanted to congratulate the two of them. I hope you understand…"

"No problem, Yui! It was great talking to you again. All right, let me get them…"

"Thanks, Keisuke. I-" Whump! Yui abruptly fell silent and looked to her closed bedroom door. What in the world was that? Blinking in mild bewilderment, she cast her eyes back down to the dark bedroom floor and tried not to think about it as she waited for Miaka or Taka to pick up the phone.

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Mmmm… so warm… and comfy… yes, very comfy…A contented little smile formed on Hiashi's lips as he enjoyed his luxurious catnap. Sighing, he lazily turned slightly onto his side. Finding that position uncomfortable, he turned some more. Being even less uncomfortable than before, Hiashi continued turning until finally… Whump!

Hiashi awoke with a start and briefly wondered why the entire kitchen appeared to be precariously balanced on the ceiling.  How strange… Maybe I should go tell Yui that her kitchen is on the ceiling… wait a minute! Hiashi then ever so gracefully removed his legs from the sofa where they had been elevated well above his head and placed them firmly on the real floor. Pushing himself up with the help of the coffee table, he eyes the sofa warily. It had been so comfy, but now it had lost his trust. Hiashi decided it would be best to stay awake since he was waiting for Yui so he straightened up and stretched, coaxing his body into waking up. I wonder where Yui went? She did just say that she was going to root up some money for me to borrow, right? Have I even thanked her for all this yet? Letting his gaze rest on the door, he decided that he should tell you 'thank you' and that he should be getting home soon. It was getting late and his parents would be worried. Not to mention that he'd never been alone with a girl so late a night… A crimson blush flushed over his cheeks at the thought. It wasn't like him to have such… creative… ideas. I should just tell her 'thank you' and be ready to go.  With this plan, he slowly approached her bedroom door and was about to know on it when he heard her talking to someone. Hiashi figured that it was a phone call and decided to wait until she was off because it would only be polite to do such. Sitting down on the floor, he leaned up against the wall by her door and patiently waited for her to finish.

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"Yui-chan?" inquired the voice on the other end of the line. Yui's scowl at the floor brightened into a wide grin at the sound of her best friend's voice.

"Miaka-chan! I can't believe that you're going to have a baby! I'm so happy for you and Taka!" said Yui cheerfully and a laugh could be heard from Miaka.

"Thanks, Yui-chan! We're very happy, too! I wish you could talk to Taka, too, but he's not here at the moment."

"Out getting food?" questioned Yui, mischief evident in her voice.

"How'd you ever guess? But yeah! Ever since I've been pregnant, he's been getting me anything and everything I want! I think I should get pregnant more often, ne?"  With this, Miaka let out a short, good-natured laugh which Yui shortly joined in on. "I can't tell you how good it is to hear from you, Yui-chan, but we've only really talked about me! How are things over there with you?"

Yui paused. Should she tell Miaka that she'd found the twins? She was sure Miaka would be happy to hear about Amiboshi, but Suboshi…?

"Yui-chan? Are you there?"

She sighed again. Better now than later, Yui decided as she took a deep breath.

"Miaka-chan, I have some interesting news. Would you like to hear?" Secretly, Yui was praying that Taka would get back and that Miaka would have to go, but no such luck.

"Sure! I'd love to hear about anything that's going on in your life! Please do tell!" came Miaka's ecstatic reply. Yui sighed for the third time. Here goes nothing…

"I met a couple of guys, one yesterday and one tonight. They're both really nice to me- one's actually over right now." Yui stalled, purposely avoiding the real news.

"Ooohh! Yui-chan's got a crush on two guys at once! Am I right? Tell me about them!"

Too late to say 'forget about it' now…

"You know those two guys I mentioned, right?" said Yui, still stalling. She was twiddling the phone cord nervously between two fingers while the other hands clutched a fistful of blankets.

"Yes. And…?" Yui could hear the anxiousness building in Miaka's voice. Better get this over with, thought Yui as she took in a huge breath of air and began.

"WellthesetwoguysaretheincarnateSuboshiandAmiboshiandIsortalikebothofthemandIdontknowhattodonow!" explained Yui frantically, although it probably did more to confuse than clarify. There was a long silence from Miaka's end of the line and then the response came.

"Yui-chan, slow down and say that again because what I heard was probably not what you said," suggested Miaka quietly. Yui squeezed her eyes shut and her hands clenched the blankets until her knuckles turned white. Taking one last breath, she began to whisper what she had tried to elucidate before.

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Hiashi kneeled outside of Yui's door, his ear pressed to it. He had braced his hands up against the door and his eyes were averted away from it, gazing at the ceiling in the most curious fashion. What language was Yui speaking in? It sounded familiar, almost like what his mother would utter in occasionally when she was upset, which was Japanese. His mother was half-Japanese and she had been raised learning the language, which was practically fluent for her now. She had taught Hiashi a little bit of the language, enough to get around with, but he didn't know nearly as much as his mother yet. Hiashi brought one hand from the door to scratch in itch on his forehead. So, Yui speaks Japanese? I would have guessed English was her first language simply because she speaks it so well! He smiled in a newfound admiration for Yui. Not only was she beautiful, but also very smart.

It was just about then that Hiashi realized exactly what he was doing. Although he wasn't eavesdropping, it sure looked like it and, flustered, pushed himself away from the door. Loosing his balance from moving so quickly in a crouching position, he lost his balance and landed square on his butt. Groaning at the impact, Hiashi brought a hand down to rub his sore tooshie as he glared accusingly at the door. Yes, it's entirely the door's fault! How dare it!

As he was picking himself up of the floor and still glaring at the door, Hiashi's ears caught sound of the words "suboshi" and "amiboshi" amidst a longwinded bundle of other words. Those particular words had somehow caught his attention, but he couldn't relate them to anything and quickly dismissed them from his mind with a shake of his head. Turning back to the sofa, Hiashi determined that it would be best to just wait for Yui to come out her own. He just knew that implacable déjà vu was going to drive him insane if he continued to listen much longer.

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"I've found both Suboshi and Amiboshi over here. It seems that, somehow, they've been reincarnated and they don't know about each other. I'm going to try to reunite them, but I don't know if it's for the best," whispered Yui, being barely audible even though the phone was held right up to her lips.

There was a long silence before Miaka replied, "I think that there was a little bit more that you left out from the last time you said that, Yui-chan…"

Another silence followed and then Yui finally incorporated the last part of her announcement.

"Miaka, I think I have feelings for both of them. I'm almost certain that they both feel the same way about me that I do them, but I know that I'll have to choose between them and I don't want to have to do that. I'm just so confused. I've known Suboshi since we were in the book and he did die for me twice, but something about Amiboshi is so endearing to me. I just feel guilty about the path my own heart is taking and I can't do anything to stop it or shut myself away from it… I'm sorry; I'm just confused right now. I should get some sleep and sort out everything in the morning, ne?"

"Yui-chan…Hmph… Yes, you should do just that. Get a good night's sleep and I'm sure everything will be better when you wake up. Oh! It looks like Taka is back! Well, I really should go now! You need your sleep and I'm absolutely starving!"

"Wait, Miaka-chan, before you go…"

"Yes?"

Yui knew better than to get between Miaka and her food and she smiled as she quickly got to the point. "Thank you for listening to me; for being there for me. I had just wanted to congratulations to you and Taka, so please tell him that for me, all right?"

"No problem, Yui-chan! And you're still my best friend! Thank you for calling and I'll talk to you later, okay?" came Miaka's chipper reply.

"Sure! Well, bye for now!" Yui exclaimed, the sadness on her face masked by the cheerfulness of her voice.

"Bye!"

With that, there was a click and the line went silent. Sighing and trying to fight the growing sadness, Yui glanced impulsively at her clock and her eyes widened in surprise. Had it really been twenty minutes? How rude to keep Hiashi waiting that long! Quickly standing up from the bed, Yui turned on the lamp on her nightstand and pulled open the top drawer. After rummaging around for a few seconds, Yui successfully pulled a twenty-dollar bill from the mess and straightened it out using her hands. Upon releasing on of its sides, it rebounded back to its original crinkled form. Shirking off is insubordination and tucking it safely into her pocket, she reached over and turned off the lamp and made her way back over to the door, miraculously avoiding any hazards to life and limb. Yui turned the doorknob and yanked open the door, muttering a quick apology to Hiashi as she strode over the sofa where she'd placed her jacket.

"It's fine," replied Hiashi as he stood from the sofa and stretched again. He watched her pull on the sweatshirt/jacket, concealing her shapely form, and then found himself blushing again. Yui, however, didn't seem to notice this as she grabbed the apartment key off the table and offered him an apologetic smile. They both stood and walked over to the door where they retied their shoes.

"Shall we go, then?" Yui asked simply as she stood, reached for the front door, and opened it. Hiashi nodded as he rose to his feet as well, slightly astonished at her sudden haste. She held the door open for him as he stepped back into the harshly lit hall. Squinting his eyes, they roamed from left to right. He had forgotten how to get out of this place already! He heard Yui close and lock the door behind them, and them stifled a giggle as she noticed Hiashi's helplessness.

"This way," she stated as she gently tugged on his arm, pulling him to the left. He had expected her to release his arm as soon as he was heading in the correct direction, but she instead held on. Yui had actually tightened her hold by slipping her arm through the handle made by his. Hiashi's eyes widened, but he decided he didn't mind this contact. It felt good to know that she trusted him enough to do something like that without hesitation.

In two or three minutes, the two had at last reached the main level. Hiashi had enjoyed the companionable silence that had enveloped him and Yui while they had been walking and he had expected her to stop when they reached the doors, but she had continued to with him outside, which he had courteously held the door for her to. Breaking their link as she passed, Yui gave Hiashi a small gracious grin and stuffed her hands into her jacket pockets. It was obvious that something else was on her mind and that she didn't feel like talking, so Hiashi complied with this silent request and continued to walk alongside her in silence. It stayed like this for several minutes until they had finally reached a busier street, in which Yui then turned to face Hiashi.

"Here you go, Hiashi," Yui said as she pulled the bill out of her pocket and held it out to Hiashi. He nodded and accepted it, but a question soon arose in his mind.

"Thank you Yui, but hadn't you said, when you bailed me from jail, that there was something that you needed my help with?" questioned Hiashi, his eyes wide with concern. It was Yui's turn to nod as she said,

"That's right. I had said that, hadn't I? Hold on one second, okay?" with this, Yui pulled a small piece of paper from a pants pocket and a pen from another. "What's you phone number? I'm going to need to call you later to make arrangements."

"Uh… I still don't know it yet. I'm sorry! Maybe it would be better if I called you?" he offered, embarrassment hinting in his voice.

"Don't worry about it! You don't need to be so uptight around me, you know! Now, let me write it down." Yui began to write, as neatly as possible, on the lone scrap of paper. When she was done, she held it out to Hiashi while instructing, "You need to call me tomorrow. It's very, very important so please try not to forget, okay?"

"Of course! No problem, but before that…" Hiashi's voice dropped as his face reddened again, "Could we maybe get together tomorrow or sometime soon?" Immediately after squeaking that out, Hiashi distracted his eyes by looking at the street, the sidewalk, basically anything but Yui's face. He didn't see Yui's eyes widen and her features soften. She then used her right hand to reach up and touch Hiashi's chin and gently tilt his head back up so that he was looking directly at her.

After a moment of this shy eye contact, Yui answered, "I'd love to go out with you sometime, Hiashi, and I think tomorrow would be fine for me."

"R-really?" he stuttered as he lost himself in her gorgeous sea-blue eyes. She smiled reassuringly and nodded again. A grin spread across Hiashi's face as he wrapped her into a loose, gentle hug. "Thank you, Yui. I'll be sure to call you tomorrow with the news. Thank you!"

With this last expression of gratitude, Hiashi released Yui from the circle of his arms and virtually skipped to the curbside. Signaling for a taxi, Hiashi turned around and waved energetically at Yui. Yui giggled as she shyly waved good-bye to Hiashi and he beamed at her before climbing into the cab. He was still waving good-bye as the cab blended into the busy street. As soon as he was completely out of sight, the grin Yui had previously been sporting faded into a melancholy, nearly inexistent, smile. It wouldn't be hard to fall in love with Hiashi. In fact, I think it has already happened… thought Yui as she wrapped her arms around herself in attempt to relive Hiashi's hug. But what about Kokuei? I've loved him for longer than he'd even be aware of and I couldn't just abandon my feelings for him, could I? Dropping her arms from around herself, Yui began to walk back to the apartment complex, completely lost in her own thoughts.

"Yui!" a voice called out to her from a dark alley. She jumped at the sound and unconsciously took a step back, preparing to flee if need be.

"It's all right! Don't run. Just hold on a sec, okay?"

Yui clutched her hands over her heart and took another step back just in case as she heard some clattering as the figure made its way towards her. The silhouette finally emerged to where she could see the person completely and she gasped, her eyes widening in surprise and guilt.

"K-Kokuei!"

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And Kaen does cliffhangers… Please don't hate me for it! Like I've stated in my other two fics, I'm experimenting with different writing styles and cliffhangers are just one type on the list. Who knows? Maybe I'll get really at it and I'll do it in every chapter… So, who here would despise me for doing that? I know I'd hate myself, so I'm probably not going to. Anyways, this is going to be the first (and possibly last) chapter preview I'll ever give (even if this is very vague): Just expect fluff, lots of fluff. Even though I can't write fluff, we've all got to learn somehow. ^^& I think I'm okay at it now, but it's not between the characters you all want to see, right? I'm sorry; cute scenes just come some naturally between those two. Oi, I don't even know what's going to happen anymore! O.o Oh well, your support in the form of reviews keeps the chapters coming so please review! Remember, I still love to hear ideas for the fics or suggestions for improving my writing style. Thanks to everyone who's been reviewing! I really appreciate it!

-Kaen ^^

More Rambling:

-Cliffhanger idea compliments of Catrina Winner, author of "The Scent of Despair." Now, go read it! Even if you don't like Inu-Yasha, read it anyway because it's very, very god!

-I didn't exactly know how to write Miaka and Yui's phone conversation, given that it was supposedly in Japanese. ^^& Since I don't know Japanese, I incorporated as little "fanfic" terminology as possible, sticking only to "chan." Please bear with me; I really am trying! By the way, Yui is using her knowledge of the English language in this story. (Thanks to Krissy for pointing that out way back when…^^)

-I have another new fic! It's called "Running Away" and it's really sad, so R&R if you can find the kindness in you heart! It's my first deathfic and it's about Suboshi's thoughts on Yui as he's dying. It's very sad and I still can't believe I wrote it! T_T

-Taka…. I hate that name… Miaka and Taka… It sounds like something you could order from Taco Bell. "Yeah, I'd like a Taka with a side of Miaka, please…" Gah! I hate it! And have you ever noticed that "taka" is also the sequence of Tomo's cackle? "Takakakaka…" Yep, leave it to Kaen to point out the most random facts.

-Current insecurities: Can I write humor? Can I write fluff? O.O