Author's Notes: Thank you all for the wonderful reviews! I was so surprised to find 23 of them waiting to be read. ^_^ Thank you! I hope I have not killed you all with the suspense. ^^x More notes at the end of the chapter, since I don't want to spoil anything here. Don't forget to leave a review after!
Night Sky
by: Ezra
Standard disclaimers apply.
Chapter 2: An Avenue For Thoughts
A sharp breath.
"I hate this," Misao muttered. "I hate my lungs. Why couldn't they be like everybody else's?!"
She reached for her handkerchief and used it to cover her nose. The air was getting dusty and she was breathing too much of the solids.
"If I were in a car I wouldn't be having this problem, but I'm not in a car. The only car I can get into, however, is that of an arrogant, self-centered... person, whose ego I cannot stand anymore," she continued, speeding up to the dorm. The white four-story building was in sight, and she was eager to get in her room and fall dead on the bed.
Of course not literally.
Once inside her dormitory she started for the clinic, refreshed her stock of medicine and went up two floors to her room on the third floor. The door was still locked, meaning Megumi wasn't in yet. She probably was still in her whatever department, learning all that she could. Misao sighed in relief. At least she would be getting a few minutes of privacy and a chance to calm herself. She knew that when Megumi arrived, she'd be in for a telling.
"That Megumi," she thought aloud. "I like it better when Kaoru tells me those things."
She tossed her bag on her bed and sighed.
"But she doesn't tell me anymore, and it's been four years," she said, sitting on the mattress and turning on the television. "I need TV... some serious cheering up..."
Aimlessly she surfed through the channels, finally coming across a soap opera she remembered liking since childhood. For the first time that day, she smiled.
"Hey! It's back! Good thing they decided to air it again," she said happily, falling back on the bed and accidentally hitting her head on her bag. With a frown she shoved it off, but her eyes never left the television.
The soap opera she was watching was a story about a group of friends, three boys and three girls, who knew each other ever since they were kids. They were supposed to grow up with one another, but during their pre-teen years, they were separated. One of them moved halfway across the country because of his father's business, while another was sent to another country on a scholarship. Now adults, their paths crossed yet again. Friendships were renewed, and love began to blossom.
After a few minutes' watching, Misao began to frown. She couldn't help but notice the episode's uncanny similarity to their current conflict.
"It started out just like that," she told herself. "I could remember as if it were yesterday..."
Forgetting the TV, she turned to her desk drawer and pulled out a locked journal. Its key hung around her neck, on a chain Kaoru had given to her so many years ago. The journal was also a gift from her, which was why she cherished it a lot. Removing the necklace from around her neck, she opened the book on a random page. She looked at the last entry. It was dated a week ago, about her happiness at getting into university. But at the end, she saw her last word blotched by a drop of what she remembered as a tear. The line read, "But I am sure she will be there, with another friend."
Misao lay her head on her pillow, took her pen and began to write. Her hand moved up and down in different strokes, and she had turned three pages before finally putting her pen down. Turning back to the original page, she straightened up and read what she wrote:
Today is September seventh, college orientations. I was finally able to step into Toudai's grounds as a real student. I got my schedule today, as well as the list of my possible teachers. Thankfully I can pick a teacher for this course, which means I have to choose them very well. I need to contact Aoshi-sama for this... Hehehe. ^_^ Oh, and by the way, my beloved soap opera is playing again! But uncannily the current episode reminds me so much of what happened four years ago.I saw Kaoru. It's been a while since I last saw her. For the past four years we both have been avoiding each other, and we were successful. But I've always wanted to see her. It's just that I can't get away from Kenshin and Megumi's nosy noses... I wish they'd get on with their lives and let go of their pride, especially Megumi. It's obvious that she hates Kaoru, and Sano and I know why. We've known years ago, but we never told anyone about it, not even Kaoru, when in fact, we should have.
Sano. We've been confidantes ever since Kaoru "left the group". She didn't actually leave. We were the ones who sent her away. Sano and I didn't want to. I cannot say the same for Kenshin though, but I am pretty sure Megumi wanted her out. Why? Because she was insecure.
Four years ago, we were all teenagers dealing with the undesirable effects of puberty. But fortunately for Megumi and Kenshin, puberty was on their side. Everyone started taking notice of their looks, while the rest of us were "trying to recover". Sano's voice squeaked at a point in time, and I was shorter than everyone else. But Kaoru seemed to have the worse end. Once, she had a bad case of zits. The next, her voice was very high-pitched she didn't want to talk at all. I guess the bad effects of puberty seemed to lower her self-esteem, and Kenshin made matters only worse.
They were the closest friends ever since we were kids, Kenshin and Kaoru. The guy couldn't leave her behind. They were together every time we saw each other, minus the times when Kaoru came over his house and vice versa. They were inseparable, rather Kenshin was inseparable from Kaoru. Nevertheless Kaoru enjoyed the attention, which was what she confided to me once, when we were eight.
How did we all meet? Well, through our mothers. Funnily they were all flight attendants for Japan Airlines. One flight, Kenshin's and Kaoru's mom met. They were both working in the same area of the plane. They got along pretty well and promised each other to see again. Before they met Kaoru's mom was already friends with my mom while Kenshin's mom was friends with Sano's mom. Pretty confusing? Well, it isn't, really. Anyway, Kenshin and Kaoru's mom decided to meet, and they brought their friends with them. Then to make a long story short, they all became friends because of those two moms. Aoshi-sama's Kaoru's cousin, so I need not explain how his mom met up with Kaoru's mom.
And because our moms were all flight attendants, we all got benefits from the airline. Each family member of a flight attendant gets one free ticket per year, which our mothers used to take us around the world. When we were ten they took us to America. Then the next year, by popular request, it was Paris. Then the next year, it was Venice, but by then there was tension within our little circle. And it was between Kenshin, Kaoru and Megumi.
Sano laughed back then, calling them a love triangle. By the time we were all twelve, Kenshin was one hot guy, although he is much hotter now. At a tender age he already had girls blushing at the sight of him, but by then a lot of them were swooning. I was attracted to him once, but he never replaced Aoshi-sama in my heart. I believe Kaoru seemed to like him as well, but she wasn't as obvious as Megumi. Just by taking one look at her, one could deduce that she had the biggest crush on Kenshin. How it happened is another story that I do not want to narrate right now.
We all went to different schools, so we each had a separate circle of friends. Kenshin unfortunately chose the wrong guys to be friends with. He became part of the popular kids at school who had a whole fan club of girls swooning after them. For a while, we didn't see each other. Our only means of contact was through the telephone and the occasional run-ins at the malls. But those didn't happen very often, and little did we know, we were slowly losing the old Kenshin.
The next time we saw one another, which was during Kaoru's thirteenth birthday, we were all surprised. He looked so different from before, with the smart outfit and the sleek shiny hair. Definitely he looked more handsome, and Kaoru suddenly felt intimidated. Like I said, her self-esteem was getting less and less, and Kenshin did nothing to temper it. Kaoru was less than pretty, and it was during that time she had the bad case of zits. Nevertheless Sano and I stayed with her, all the while giving hard looks at Kenshin, who seemed to avoid her because of the familiar faces in Kaoru's party. He had established a reputation in his old school of staying with the "pretty folks", and at that time, he did everything for that reputation to be left untarnished.
Kaoru was deeply hurt of course, and Megumi took the opportunity to get Kenshin's attention. By the end of the party, she had succeeded, and had Kenshin calling her night after night to talk about the most common things. A few weeks later, I got a phone conversation with Kaoru. That would be one of the most unforgettable talks I had with anyone in my entire life.
"Misao," she had said, "I feel so... sad."
"How come?" I asked, my brows knotting a bit.
"Kenshin's... He's not the guy he used to be... Not anymore."
I knew what she was getting at, but I decided to pretend.
"Well people change Kaoru-chan," I said. "It's natural."
"But his change is more like phenomenal," she chuckled a bit for lack of a better word. "It's like he's taken on a completely new identity, and he doesn't even speak to me at all. Am I really ugly Misao?"
"Of course not Kaoru-chan! How can you say that?" I exclaimed.
"You know his reputation Misao, that he only sticks with the pretty folks. If he keeps on avoiding me, then that is reason for me to believe I'm..."
I interrupted her before she could say anything more.
"Kaoru-chan of course not! You're okay, not ugly, not pretty. And knowing Kenshin, he likes that sort of beauty," I said with confidence. Mentally I noted, 'And I have proof to back up that statement of mine, although I don't think I should say it now.'
"Well, I guess I shouldn't be too bothered by my looks," she whispered. "I was beginning to think that the reason he stuck with Megumi more was because I was getting ugly. I mean, puberty and all. Hey, do you think it'd be 'them' anytime soon?"
"Possibly," I said. "With the way they're acting, it's very likely."
"Well I hope he'll be happy with her," she said.
I gasped a little bit.
"Kaoru-chan, I thought..."
"If he likes her, then let them be," she spoke. "I don't know if I like him enough to want him to be my boyfriend, and I'm in no hurry in getting one. If I do, I want it to be serious, like he really likes me and I really like him. I don't want to waste my time on unstable relationships."
'Twas a sign of maturity which I had not noted during that time.
"All I ask," she continued, "is that it not affect our friendship. We've had a beautiful one ever since we were kids. It's been a decade since we became friends, and I don't want it to end after this long. I want it to last forever."
And then we talked about school, a trivial matter.
Months later, I learned about Kenshin and Megumi's relationship from a phone call from Megumi. She told me not to tell Kaoru, which to me back then, was a mystery. I respected her decision and did not tell Kaoru, my best friend. But I had made a terrible mistake.
We saw each other a week after I learned of Kenshin and Megumi's relationship. She already knew.
"How did you know?" I asked.
"Sano," she simply replied. "Why didn't you tell me Misao-chan?"
I stammered. I couldn't tell her about Kenshin. But her brilliant mind somehow guessed it.
"Did he tell you not to?" Obviously he was referring to Kenshin.
Slowly, I nodded.
"But why?"
"I don't know," I replied softly.
"Why is everybody keeping secrets from me now?" she began in a shaky voice. "Why is it that I'm always the last to know?"
She was referring to an outing Megumi and I had planned two weeks ago, where Kenshin and Megumi's relationship started. Megumi was in charge of informing everyone about it, including Kaoru. But she had "forgotten" to tell Kaoru. I ended up calling her the day itself and asking her if she could come, but Kaoru was the type of girl who wanted to be notified early. She politely declined saying that I had called her too late and she already had plans. I knew she was quite pissed, since it wasn't the first time that happened. In fact, it was the third. I made a mental note never to trust Megumi with the logistics ever again.
"I guess that means you guys really don't want me in the group," she continued, her head hung low. "There must be something wrong with me... I have to talk to Kenshin."
"K-Kaoru-chan!"
But she didn't take notice of me. She walked out on me.
Three days later, I received a phone call from Sano, telling me to come immediately to Kenshin's house. He didn't tell me why. When I arrived Sano met me at the gate, literally dragging me to the garden at the back of the house. There I saw Kenshin, Megumi and Kaoru arguing. Rather, it was Megumi and Kaoru arguing. Kenshin was merely in the background. It was he who advised Sano to call me. Kaoru, I saw, was close to tears.
"Why didn't you tell me? Why did I have to hear it from someone else? We're friends right? Friends tell each other!" Kaoru cried.
"Is that why you're so angry Tanuki? What a lowly reason," Megumi scoffed.
Tanuki= pet name for Kaoru. However in that case, it didn't seem like a pet name, more of an insult.
"I thought we were friends," Kaoru breathed, her head hung low.
A chill crept through my spine. I had only seen Kaoru like that once, and I knew immediately what was going to follow. I quickly intervened.
"Megumi stop that!" I cried, running up to them and hugging Kaoru. "That's enough! Can't you see? You're hurting her!"
I pulled her a little farther from Megumi, not letting go of her.
"You're strong, aren't you Tanuki? Words don't hurt you," Megumi mocked. "Then if what I'm saying's hurting you, what did you take kenjutsu for?"
From behind Megumi, I saw Sano pull Kenshin aside and talk to him angrily. The latter merely listened. My anger was beginning to fuel.
"Listen up Megumi, I..."
"You've already hurt me enough," Kaoru breathed, gently prying my arms off her. I stopped and let her do as she pleased. She raised her head, her eyes cold, her face hard. She stared back at Megumi with her piercing blue eyes. I knew that there was no stopping her from this. But still I had to try.
"Kaoru-chan..."
She ignored me, and moved closer to Megumi until they were only a few inches apart. And suddenly, she slapped her.
Megumi stood frozen for a few seconds, until her mind registered what Kaoru had just done to her. The spot where Kaoru's hand met her cheek was rosy, and Megumi brought a hand up to cover it. Kenshin and Sano stood still, the former's violet eyes wide with surprise.
"How dare you!" Megumi retaliated preparing to slap Kaoru. But their hands met midway and Kaoru kept a firm grip on her arm, preventing her.
"That, Megumi, is what I take kenjutsu for," Kaoru spoke. "Self-defense."
"Why you..." Megumi seethed, her face turning red from anger.
"You listen to me first," she breathed, her voice dangerously low. "My only concern is why you and Kenshin have seemed to change despite the fact that we were so close just a few years ago. The problem is, you jump to conclusions too much. You think that I'm here to steal Kenshin from you. Well, sorry to burst your bubble lady, but I'm not. I came here to ask him why he hasn't been speaking with me lately, even though I'd talk to him. I came here to ask him if he has a problem with me, if I did anything to anger him and deserve his cold treatment. I didn't know you would be here. I didn't know you guys were to go out. I only wanted to talk."
As she spoke, she involuntarily tightened her hold of Megumi's arm, that by her last sentence the latter was already cringing in pain. Noticing this Kaoru let go, revealing a red circle where Kaoru's fingers had been. She was strong.
"And now since the two of you could not give me a good answer, then I think we'd better continue where we left off," she said. Her words had a double meaning, and I knew everyone realized what it was. "I will leave the two of you alone, as you want, so that you can continue whatever you want to do freely, without worrying about me. After all I'm only a burden to all of you, right? That's why I'm always the last to know about outings, why I'm always the last to hear any news about all of you, why I'm always last in everything. I'm sensitive enough to take a hint, don't worry."
And then she turned to Kenshin.
"I don't know what I did to deserve this treatment," she spoke. "I don't know. But I realize that this is how you want things to be. All the while I thought we were friends, but I guess I was wrong."
"Jou-chan you know that isn't true!" Sano exclaimed.
"That's right!" I piped in. "Kenshin still thinks of you as a friend!"
"Misao-chan, for the past few years, I've learned that when it comes to matters like these, you only believe the person himself, not his friends, nor his family, but himself," Kaoru replied. "If he really thinks of me the way you say he does, then I want to hear it from him directly. It's not that I don't trust you Misao-chan, but because of what's been happening lately I don't know who to trust anymore. I don't even know if you trust me.
"For a decade I considered you my best friends, but it seems you didn't think of me the same way. Words are not enough for me to tell you how much sadness and disappointment I feel right now."
She turned around to leave.
"Kaoru-chan!"
"Forgive me Misao-chan, but, I cannot stay here any longer to hear his answer," she spoke. And she ran out.
"Kaoru-chan!" I cried, preparing to bolt after her. Kenshin was going to do the same thing too, but Megumi held us back.
"Don't," she said. "Leave her be."
I looked back at Kenshin. Both of us realized she had some sense, but the nagging feeling inside us never left us. I followed Megumi, but resolved to call Kaoru and try to mend things.
However, that night when I called her, Aoshi-sama wouldn't give me the phone. He said Kaoru wasn't in the mood for phone calls. Then I called again the next day, but she wouldn't talk to me. We saw each other again but she wouldn't speak to me.
Misao shut her journal, re-locked it and returned it to the desk drawer. Tears had formed in her eyes. What good timing for Megumi to enter the room with a bright cheery smile and say, "Tadaima!"End of Chapter 2. To be continued!
Author's Notes: Drama galore, har har har. It's not as awful as it really seems to be, but, hey, friendship is a touchy subject. The reason Misao's angry is that she didn't have enough sense to run after her friend. Maybe if she had, things might have changed, and she and Kaoru would still be in speaking terms up to now. Megumi was too insecure, which I will explain why in the next chapters. And Kenshin, he's just plain stupid. Forgive my language, but here in this fic, he is plain stupid. Half of this story is actually based on my own experiences. Believe it or not, I have a circle of friends similar to the one in this same story, although there're just two boys. That's the reason it's pretty easy for me to write this story. It's sort of an outlet for my feelings. ^_^ To the wonderful reviewers, I hope your questions have been answered, some, hopefully, if not all. I will continue to update soon. ^_^
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