Cye sat at his desk, tapping a pencil on the wood top almost in frustration. Blue eyes almost glared at the half-finished piece of paper. He was stuck. It was hard to admit, especially on such an easy topic. How could one, whose kanji was water and protector of everything that RESIDED in water, be stuck on how to write a descriptive paper on WHALES??
Leaning back in the chair, staring at the ceiling to give his eyes a break, the pencil started tapping even faster in aggravation. He had all his notes surrounding him, everything he wrote down on whales...as if the bearer of Torrent really NEEDED notes on whales. Why was this so HARD? His lips pursed as he sat back up and stared at his paper. It had to be ten pages long, double-spaced typed of course, and his rough draft was bound to get finished any time now. The final was due in two weeks and Cye was lucky enough to get time off from working on pottery with Sayoko. Saying almost half his grade was resting on this was enough to let her give him a week to work on it. After that, if he hadn't finished it by THEN, Sayoko was going to make him work where he was needed.
"Whale is a huge sea animal that looks much like a fish. But whales are not fish. They belong instead to the group of animals called mammals. Other mammals include chimpanzees, dogs, and human beings. Like these mammals, whales have a highly developed brain and are among the most behaviorally complex of all animals.
Most whales are enormous. One kind, the blue whale, is the largest animal that has ever lived. Blue whales can grow up to thirty meters long and weigh over one hundred thirty-five metric tons. But some kinds of whales are much smaller. Belugas and narwhals, for example, grow only three to five meters long..."
It sounded like he was just copying out of the dictionary. While that wasn't a BAD thing for a descriptive essay, it needed more feel to it. 'Originality.' He thought, pursing his lips again. One hand went to rub his eyes as he leaned over the paper. It was eight in the morning. There were no classes on Saturday, the ONLY day he had off. Trying to get a head start and get some headway made on this, especially since the rough draft was to be turned in with the final paper, he wanted it DONE and OVER with! Saturdays were for getting his hands wet with clay and experimenting with what he could make! Although there were many OTHER things he could be doing, working with pottery was just as enjoyable. Cye didn't mind it, course...he didn't really have a CHOICE in the matter...being the one to 'inherit' the family business whenever his mother passed it on. With college and all, Cye just hoped that wouldn't be for a WHILE. Part of his mind wished his mother would just pass the business on to Sayoko, since she was an entire ten years his senior... But he was the only man of the house, and therefore, by most business traditions, the one to get everything.
Footsteps sounded down the hall and stopped just outside his door. In the utter quiet for thought, they were easy to hear. Cye leaned back in the chair again and looked to the door with a mildly irritated, raised brow. There were STRICT orders not to bother him while he worked. He let both his mother and Sayoko know that last night. How would he get anything DONE otherwise??
The knock came anyway. "Cye-ototo-chan." The door opened, revealing an almost timid Sayoko. She gave him a small smile and he pleasantly nodded in return. "I know you're hard at work ototo–chan, but you have company and they wouldn't take no for an answer when I said you were trying to get work done."
"Yea! It's SATURDAY! Take a load off!" Kento marched in around Sayoko and beamed. "Come on, me and the others are getting together and springing from the real world."
Cye raised a brow, fighting to grin at his good friend's boisterous attitude. Kento never failed to make him smile with the attitude he projected. "And how do you propose we do THAT in a city as populated as Toyama? Not to mention I was HOPING to get some serious writing done."
Kento stopped next to the desk and looked to his paper. It didn't take long for Hardrock to find what he wanted near the top. Half his nose wrinkled. "Whales..." Blue met blue. "WHALES."
Cye's brows rose as he waited for Kento to get to the point. When it didn't seem like his friend was GOING to, he sighed. "And your point IS?..."
Kento shook his head and pointed to the topic, as if it was obvious. "It's WHALES, Cye! How hard can it be for YOU to write a paper on WHALES?? Sheesh... I mean, your major IS marine biology! How is it you don't already have your rough draft done??"
Cye looked away with a small sulking face and crossed his arms. "Too much pressure I assume..." He muttered, feeling his face slightly flame. It WAS a tad embarrassing that, with all his real life knowledge of the animals, he was having a hard time getting it all down on paper. His eyes spotted Ryo and Rowen leaning against the wall opposite his door and Cye caved. With a sigh, he pushed the chair back and stood. They apparently had this planned and he hadn't been able to see the others, save Rowen and a few glimpses of Ryo at college, for a few days now... "Fine... Where are we going?"
"Mia's." Ryo called out, already giving a triumphant grin.
Cye's eyes rolled, but the idea already started to sound appealing. "When do we expect to be back and can I take all this WITH me??" He asked, a finger pointing to his notes.
"What...and let you work in the CAR?" Rowen teased, wryly grinning. "If I'd have known THAT, I would've brought my Astrology book! I've got a major test coming up soon."
Ryo cast a mock-irritated look to his side. "Hey...you guys made me finagle my SCHEDULE for this! No WORK!"
Cye's eyes widened. "You all knew about this and didn't TELL me?" His head shook. "And after all I got rescheduled to get work done."
Kento suddenly grabbed Cye's wrist and dragged them both to the door. "Enough talk about school and work!" He boisterously announced. "We're going to rebel from responsibility and everything that's weighing us down." The two stopped in the hallway and Cye was given enough time to turn the lights off and shut his door before Kento continued to drag him down the hall. "We're young, we've got PLENTY of time for that."
"Kento! Let GO!" Cye retorted, finally snatching his wrist back before they hit the front door. He couldn't hide the small irritation as he fixed his sweater. As Cye grabbed his coat and gloves from their respective pockets, as the upcoming winter was promising snow this year, Ryo and Rowen headed for the front door with Sayoko.
"Sorry to take him away from all that Sayoko-san." Ryo muttered, facing her in the doorway.
Sayoko smiled. "It's okay Ryo-chan. He needed a break, even if he DID only start an hour ago..." Ryo and Rowen exchanged a look. Sayoko's hand waved at them. "Go. Have fun. And be sure to bring ototo-chan back before dinner okay? It's his turn to cook tonight." She winked and got dual salutes before they marched off after the duo. Her head shook as she closed the door. That bunch NEVER failed to amuse her.
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"I'm glad you could break away from your studies to have tea with me." Mia kidded, winking. She gazed at her companion in the luxurious living room and smiled.
"Have I EVER denied you your Saturdays?" She asked, giving a tiny smile.
"There've been a FEW times during the weekend..." Mia kidded. She got a quiet snort and grinned into her glass. "I'm just happy you COULD take time off. You do enough typing to get an early case of carpel tunnel."
A raven brow delicately rose. "Which you know why..." She mumbled, bringing the glass to her lips. The warmth of black tea touched her tongue as her nose inhaled its scent. Mia always DID have a nice variety to choose from. Being the guest, she always got the first choice. A weak nudge against her leg got a small smile as her face bent down. A hand extended and was soon met with a furry head, one which she eagerly patted. White Blaze was such an adorable companion to have around, even though she imagined his size was longer than her body. After giving him the attention he deserved, she sat back and cast her head around the room, feeling heat from the nearby fireplace. "But it IS nice to come over here..." She wistfully mused.
"Have you been able to memorize the house yet?" Mia asked, giving her friend her attention.
Gray eyes looked to Mia. She gave a nod and sipped more of her tea. "White Blaze helps. Are you asking me for a reason?"
Mia gave a wry smile. "Because I was wondering if you'd like to go to the piano and play me 'Tranquility'."
A matching wry smile appeared as gray rolled. "How did I know you'd ask for a performance? Other than I give in to you every time I come over Mia-chan."
"Are you saying you don't LIKE using the grand piano?" Mia kidded, setting her glass and saucer on the tray. She grabbed the other and the tray, standing in wait.
A wider smile appeared as she stood, feeling White Blaze stand next to her legs. She knew Blaze would want her to ride him to wherever she wanted to go, but she would just use him as the way she did with Beethoven. Animals were smart and perceptive, and this tiger seemed ten times as sensible to her as Beethoven was. "That's one of the perks, along with your company." She gained a small laugh, something she always liked to hear from her friend.
"Well...if you want, I'll go put this in the kitchen and join you shortly." Mia announced, already on the way to her destination by the direction of her voice.
She waited until Mia was gone to look in White Blaze's general direction. "You mind carrying me again boy?" She got a quick brush against her slacks and gave the tiger a grateful smile. "Well...you know how I hate to be a pest..." She got a light butt against her legs and bent down to keep from falling back to the couch. "Wakarimasu, Wakarimasu. Well...let's get to that piano before Mia-chan does." I know, I know. She gingerly sat on White Blaze and clutched part of his fur as he trod around furniture and out of the room.
Sitting at the piano, she hit a few experimental keys and found herself in the starting chords of 'Moonlight Sonata'. It was always so sad and depressing, but she liked the song since it reminded her of her life. Sad, just like the person. Her lips pursed a little as she absently stared at the vicinity of the keys, not seeing them. That only added to the gloomy mood she was suddenly plunged in. Piano was always an outlet before when she was a child, to punch out her frustrations and get her emotions out. She fell in love with this song as soon as she was able to memorize every note to the point of being able to play it both forward and backward.
Quiet footsteps padded down the hall. "Hey now...what's with the gloomy music? I thought I requested something lighter." Mia suddenly kidded, walking in. Her fingers abruptly halted as she looked to the voice, giving a small smile. She plunked a note to find her position and, recalling the starting notes, moved her hands and waited for Mia to get situated. Her ears perked to every small sound and also heard White Blaze shuffling in his place by the piano. When all was settled and quiet by HER standards, she started in slowly, dragging the piece out and using the pedals for emphasis.
Nearly finished with the song, there was a knock on the door. Even though it was a little ways away, it echoed through the house and disrupted her concentration. Her fingers hit wrong notes in surprise and she stopped. The magic of the music was broken by the baka outside. She scowled as Mia stood and made her way out of the room. She was a little startled when White Blaze suddenly got up and quickly pawed his way after. Left with nothing else to do, she sat on the piano bench and quietly plucked a few notes of 'Moonlight Sonata' as she waited for Mia's return.
Try as she might to concentrate on the notes and give Mia her privacy, she heard voices float to her exceptional hearing. There were two she thought she recognized, and she tried to let it pass. Except they were coming closer. Her eyes pointedly stared at the piano, trying to play quieter. Was her friend expecting company and she had stayed too long? If that was a possibility, then she would take her leave and have Mia run her home real quick. She only lived a few miles away, it wouldn't be that big of a burden.
She stood and kept a hand to the piano, mentally mapping out the room from an overhead look. She had DEFINTELY total knowledge of the room with the piano in it, since she normally played in here all the time for her friend. Slowly and silently, her hand trailed alongside the top of the piano until she was far away enough to let go. One hand idly extended for safety sake to keep from bumping into anything. She stopped next to a side table, fingertips resting on the smooth surface, as the voices grew loud enough to be right in front of her.
One rounded the corner and the entire conversation stopped. She felt the eyes and unconsciously turned her face away so they wouldn't see her eyes. She didn't want their pity or their help. "Mia-chan...if you've got company, do you mind running me home? Onegai?" Please?
Mia looked from her female companion to the five who suddenly showed up on her doorstep. "Anno...gomen nasai?" She queried, giving her friend an odd look, knowing it would show up in her voice. Um...pardon? She received odd, and also sideways knowing looks to her friend and fought the urge to sigh. This was unexpected, and she quietly waved a hand to the five and pasted a smile on. "I'll be back." Her gaze lowered to the tiger as Ryo idly scratched his head. "Blaze...will you keep Kimon-chan company?" The tiger gave a kitty nod and stopped next to Kimon, gently rubbing his head against her legs. "Guys...would you follow me real quick?" Without waiting for an answer, Mia headed for the stairs and to a farther spot in the estate. Knowing they were curious about following her so far away, along with the person she KNEW they recognized, Mia stopped in the hall their rooms were in and turned to them. "Okay...this should be far enough." She quietly announced.
She got five curious and wondering looks. "Mia...what's the deal with going so far away? And the girl?" Rowen wondered, raising a brow.
Mia's lips pressed together as she looked behind then, as if she expected Kimon to hear and follow them. "I'm going to need you to keep your voices down if you ask questions. I don't know if she can hear this far."
Cye's brow rose as he leaned against the wall from Mia and watched. "She's the piano player from that restaurant you took us to a while back." He quietly commented.
Mia's gaze locked with his and she nodded. "Yes...I invite her over for tea as often as I can on the weekend. She doesn't really have many friends and I wonder if I'm it. She needed a break from studies." Her head slightly shook as she eyed them, questions on her tongue for once. "What're you five doing here? Not that I'm not happy to see you, but you just took me by surprise."
"Which was evident by your face after Kento knocked." Sage mused, giving her a small smile.
"We had to make a break from the real world and come out to see you Mia." Kento explained, giving her his normal grin.
"But if you need to spend time with this Kimon, we won't stop you. We ALL have stuff that should get taken care of, if you want us to leave, we won't be offended." Sage added.
"No!" Mia burst out. She quickly smiled and waved a hand. "Sorry. No...don't leave. I'd like you to stay. It seems the last time we got together was Ryo's birthday dinner. I have a feeling Kimon would want me to take her home anyway."
"Why not let her stay? We wouldn't mind meeting one of your friends." Ryo answered, pleasantly smiling.
Mia's smile turned part grimace. "Well...Kimon is...shy. And she doesn't like to be a burden to anyone. She's not much for conversation with new people... And it takes her a while to open up and she's pretty stubborn."
Rowen suddenly grinned and gave Sage a light elbow to the sides. "Sounds like someone ELSE we know..." He kidded, not talking about his blonde friend. Sage gave his friend a tiny amused look, but his brow rose.
Mia smiled. "That's right. How's she doing Sage?"
Sage shrugged, as if the topic didn't mean much, even though he felt a little embarrassed about the topic. "I'm still waiting for her latest letter. I imagine it'll be a few weeks yet."
"Did she say what she intended on doing for Christmas?" Mia queried. Sage just shrugged and looked away. Mia knew the subject was closed by the look in his face. An almost tense silence filled the small group. Mia knew that Kimon would want to go home...she already mentioned it. If only she could do so without the others knowing her obvious secret. Kimon guarded her secrets and didn't like ANYONE to know her most noticeable. Mia knew there were some that she still didn't know that her friend wasn't comfortable telling. Even though they'd known each other a good year... "Well...it's going on one. I'll take Kimon home and then hurry back. It won't take long." Decided, Mia headed the way back to the piano and her awaiting friend.
She found the pair sitting on the floor, White Blaze curled around Kimon with her full attention on him. The white tiger was getting a good scratch under the chin, which halted the second the group stopped in the doorway. Without saying anything, she gracefully stood with averted eyes and felt White Blaze brush against her slacks. Ready Mia-chan?" She quietly asked, keeping her gaze down to White Blaze's head.
"Hai. I'll grab my keys by the door. White Blaze...will you accompany Kimon-chan with us?" Mia got a kitty nod as he brushed against Kimon, off-balancing her to get her to sit on him. There was a quiet gasp as she did so, apparently not expecting it. Both Mia and the tiger knew she wouldn't accept help and that's why he was being sneaky about it. "Go ahead and make yourselves at home while we're gone guys." She announced, heading for the door.
Kimon slightly scowled at the tiger's behavior, knowing he meant well, but not wanting help in front of five strangers. She knew there were five by their breathing patterns and the amount of times they all kept shuffling their feet. She was embarrassed and a large bout of timidity at their unconscious attention. She could feel their eyes, even as she was safely carried to the front door and down the porch steps to Mia's vehicle. Being unable to drive herself, she gladly accepted the passenger side instead. "Arigatou Blaze." She whispered, sticking her hand out. His head instantly butted against it and she scratched him under the chin before Mia opened the door. Her hand stuck out before hitting the upper rim of metal and carefully sliding in.
As Mia backed up and headed down the drive, the five slowly stepped away from the window. Each had seen the exchange with Kimon and Blaze, also with Mia. Something tickled their minds, something oddly familiar about the subtle way she moved and the way she was helped. She didn't want one step from the room to the car and didn't even open the passenger side by her own. She simply waited...with her head upturned to the afternoon sun. Her eyes open.
Sage's lips pursed. It was obvious. Being a healer and able to sense auras with his powers, it was easy to spot the symptoms. "Kami-sama..." He breathed, feeling the other's eyes. "She's BLIND."