Icy Shadows of a Flower, Chapter 2
"I want to see you smile…"
"…Why?"
"Because your smile makes everything disappear…""Kageyama Reiji," a soft sound came from the little girl.
Reiji's eyes widened. He diverted his attention from playing with the ermine to the quiet girl. "You know my name?"
"I know your past, present and perhaps, your future."
Hisame, realizing that he was not the center of Reiji's attention, started to nudge Reiji's fingers with his small snout. Reiji smiled at it and continued to pat the ermine. "I've met you before, haven't I?"
"Forget the past, treasure the present, and embrace the future."
His eyes strayed from the ermine and he looked up at nothing. He closed his eyes and thoughts…no; memories started flooding into his mind as though he had lived a past life before. Hisame could clearly see that Reiji was in deep thought as just purred under the gentle touch of his palm.
"I'm so sorry. But, what was I supposed to say next?"
(Director cuts in and whispers something into Reiji's ear)
"Oh yes, we can continue…"
Then a needle pierced through his skin, making him wince in pain.
Anger flashed through Yukino's eyes.
"You never listen, don't you?" her voice, still soft, but anger was apparent in her every word.
He looked up at her with innocent, puppy-like eyes. And by diverting his attention to her, she managed to cure the excruciating pain that flowed through his head. He smiled sheepishly as he faced her cold face and words began to recall through his mind. Forget the past, treasure the present, and embrace the future…
Yukino turned away from his smiling face. She could not understand how he could still smile like that after experiencing that kind of pain. She once did…a very long time ago. Her hand went to reach out to the wall made of a substance that she herself could not even identify. All she knew was that they were in the flow.
"What exactly are we in?" Reiji asked as he continued to stroke the ermine's fur.
Yukino's eyes widened. She had never been asked a question that she could not answer. She accidentally showed her hesitation in her fluent movement and of course, Reiji caught that one-second-long pause. He smiled at himself for he finally managed to stump the wise little…girl.
"It does not matter if you cannot answer this question of mine…" Reiji slowly interrupted the sizzling silence of the place. But he was only returned with an angry glare, which is probably one of the rare moments that Reiji or anyone else would catch. If only I had a camera…that picture was…priceless.
Yukino looked away and kept her composure. She had no idea how this…this…person could possibly be pressing the correct buttons and making her lose her calm. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, silently vowing to herself that she will not lose to him again. Yes, her facial expressions may not show anything in connection with her true thoughts, but Reiji seemed to be seeing right through her, predicting her every response without even looking into her eyes.
This cause her to feel irritated with the newcomer. She knew that she should not hate him for a reason as stupid as this but still, she really could not take it. There, she made up her mind only to ignore him. Opening her mouth slightly open, she called for her pet to go over to her.
But Hisame was too comfortable under Reiji's touch that it could not be bothered to scamper towards Yukino. Instead, its reaction was just a relaxed purr. Yukino could not take it anymore. All her anger and rage filled in her mind, though her face was still expressionless. How could her own pet that she had looked after since the beginning of time betray her to a total stranger that they've only met for no longer than 15 minutes?
Reiji sensed that something bad was going on. He looked up only to see Yukino surrounded by floating snow. And behind her was a gate. Then her small petite form disappeared into nothingness. He stood up abruptly and looked around him. How the hell was he supposed to get out of here? He looked at where she was once standing and noticed that she had left the flower that was always in her hair. He clutched it in his palm gently and noticed an odd behavior in Hisame. It was starting to become very panicky. Then again, you cannot blame it as it was never without its mistress before.
Reiji smiled and picked it up. He placed it on his shoulder and said, "don't worry, we'll definitely find her."
Mainey's Corner:
Heya! Sorry that I haven't been updating cause I really have no idea what to write and don't even have the time to write! So forgive me please?