She lived by a schedule. It wasn't exact down to the second, but always punctual to at least five minutes within her needed time. She always made time for homework after her classes were over with to kill a few of those spare hours till her schedule came up again. She always had plenty to do in those few spare hours...in the peace and quiet. She liked it like that too, not having to worry about embarrassing herself or doing the wrong thing to draw attention to her person. She didn't like attention anymore than necessary, unless it was from an adult. People her own age made her wary of their eyes.
She never felt like she could get as much done if she was in the presence of other twenty-one-year-olds. She felt subconscious of her behavior, even though she didn't have to worry about seeing their looks. She could feel most of them, could almost SENSE them, and that was enough. So, she never truly did homework or copy notes down until she was alone to work as she saw fit. In public places, or where she knew she was never sure of being alone, she always used the keyboard command to her program instead of the verbal. It was a little harder, but she was used to it as much as the audio.
She loved the program, almost to the point of a crutch. It was designed for her as soon as she was able to learn how to type. It was ingenious, and something she did EVERYTHING on. Her notes, oddball stories, homework, essays...virtually EVERY assignment was typed up on a Word program and gone over with the electronic voice downloaded into her computer. The program was made for people such as herself, to help them deal with their handicap and not work with Braille so much.
She continued to type out the rough draft to Amaterasu, smoothing the edges for a better copy. When she finished proofing the few pages and was finally happy with the result, she would reread it and think of more ideas, before listening again and continuing on. Writing was an exact art, one of the few things she had to work with, and she wanted everything to be perfect. It was something she knew she took after her mother in. Perfection for romance literature.
She always sat in ramrod position whenever she typed...leaning against the back of the chair in a thoughtful pose, a finger pressed against her lips when listening. The ear buds in her ears and lack of clacking keys were key pointers to the position that she was definitely listening at the present moment. Going over the story one final time to make sure everything was as she wanted it before saving, then listening one last time and brooding over more ideas to work out for later. She still had a good week left before the paper was turned in, and it was far from her high standards of being decent.
Suddenly, the subtle aroma of the ocean hit her nose. Salt water to be more precise. She quickly cast all expression from her face and sat up more pristinely, as a lady should do. She knew that smell, though when she finally decided to notice it, or when it arrived, was unknown. She felt like her private space was being invaded, even in the middle of the cafeteria with no one else around. This was HER spot, even though she felt his presence close by. She knew who it was by associating salt water with his voice. The question was...what was he doing here now??
After typing stop on her computer, she pulled the buds from her ears and smelled again to find his position. He was sitting in the chair across from her. How presumptuous. "Can I help you?" She quietly asked, folding her hands in her lap. She felt she presented the picture of a perfect lady.
Cye's lips pressed together as he looked into the sightless eyes that somehow managed to look him right in the eye. It was unnerving to see a blind person's eyes. They could stare you down without blinking, because they didn't know what they were looking at. He felt like fidgeting, but knew from Mia's statement not too long back that her hearing was exceptional. He would have to be wary of how he spoke. "I'd like to thank you on your help with my essay." He quietly began, keeping his voice even.
She didn't even blink. She just sat there in silence, wondering what his angle was. No one had ever thanked her for something like this, since she never helped anyone before. She kept to herself and didn't offer her services to others. What ELSE did he want?? She pinpointed his voice and sat a little straighter to look him down. If this man thought he was going to get a 'you're welcome' from her, he was a little full of himself.
Cye licked his lips and mildly blushed in embarrassment when she kept staring at him. She had nice eyes...a light grey that looked almost blue. The most unusual, aside from Sage's. "I haven't been able to get much written down and I was wondering..." He harshly swallowed and pressed his index fingers together in his uncertainty. "I was wondering if...if you'd be willing to help me again. I can read to you what I have and see if there're any other pointers you can give me."
"Why didn't you talk to the teacher if you wanted more help?" She asked, going for her laptop. She slowly closed the screen, not wanting anyone to see what she was working on. That was for her and her only. "Why did you come to me? The arrangement was for you to talk to the teacher, not me."
Cye blinked in confusion. "It's faster this way. I saw you here on my way out and thought it couldn't hurt since you were doing homework."
Her brow twitched upward in minute irritation, but that's all that showed on the outside. "Yes I was doing homework. I thought the agreement was, if you needed help, to talk to our teacher and she would set up a time I could work around. I do not appreciate my schedule being interrupted."
Cye's brow shot up. He leaned back in the chair and looked at her. "Gomen nasai..." He finally answered, still giving her an odd look. "I didn't mean to interrupt you THAT much... I just...didn't think it'd be that much of a burden."
He sure sounded apologetic; even if his voice was tipping off that he was thinking her situation odd. She didn't expect him to understand the intricacies she lived with day in and out. A voice in her mind also whispered that this was one of Mia's friends...she could tell by the way he shuffled his clothes around. She could tell back then, and the sound was familiar to her ears. She shouldn't be harsh to the friend of one of HER only friends... "You weren't a burden. I don't mind helping for the sake of writing. Writing is an art and you shouldn't slaughter it."
Cye couldn't help but scowl. So he wasn't a Van Gogh of the writing world...sue him. "Not everyone can write as well as you do Kimon-san." He responded, hearing his irritation in his voice.
Her lips twitched. She knew that...because no one put as much effort into a story as she did. "Well I'll help you...but don't expect many pleasantries. I too have my own story to work on and that comes before your homework. Remember, you came to me on this. I can't be expected to put everything aside to help you."
Cye felt his blood boil on low. Was Mia always friends with people who acted so high and mighty? "Yes...god forbid another student help someone else." He muttered, not really wanting her to hear.
Her mouth tightened and a brow rose. Her hand clenched in her lap. "I don't appreciate being talked to like that sir." She quietly answered, trying to keep the venom from her voice. "After all...YOU were the one who sat at the table I was using."
Cye could feel the blood pounding in his temples, and it wasn't a pleasant feeling. It felt like a headache starting, and it was coming from this small argument. He didn't want to fight with her because she SEEMED like a nice person. Though she was quiet and didn't talk to him much besides homework, he still thought she was a nice person inside.
He leaned back in the seat and gave a quiet sigh. "I don't want to argue with you. I'm sorry if I came off as cross. I'm sorry I invaded your privacy. Will you continue to give me pointers? This is due in a week or so and I've been trying my hardest to get it worked on...but I'm not as good a writer as you are. I can't think of anything really original and I'm almost desperate right now. I didn't think you looked really busy, so I thought I'd save myself a day and see if you could help some more. Will you?"
She could tell by his voice he was fully sorry, and tired. He apparently had an overly busy life to attend to. Really busy...unlike hers... True she juggled college and a job that was two or three days out of the week for extra money, but that paled in comparison to the sound of his voice. He sounded stressed out, big time.
Her eyes darted to the vicinity of the table and her laptop. Her mouth pursed in thought. She didn't want to rearrange her schedule for this, since it would mean she would have to use more of her quiet time in the morning to get her story worked on... But... Her eyes looked up again. "You don't SOUND like you have much done." She quietly averted. "How many pages are you into your story?"
"I told you," He sullenly answered, "I have a few paragraphs of different ideas, but nothing definite. I'm on a blank."
"Writer's block." She immediately announced, solemnly nodding. She knew all about it...the horrid little mental block that kept creativity from her at times. It was frustrating to not be able to type when you WANTED to or HAD to. And for a blind person who couldn't do much else to pass the time, the feeling was like a prison. Her lips pressed together again. "What time is it? I've been unable to feel the hour."
Cye's brow rose at that statement, but he looked to his watch. "It's...wow...it's later than I thought." He muttered, knowing he would need to get home sooner.
"The time...onegai?" She politely pestered.
"Five." He announced, sitting as he was.
"I have about half an hour to go over everything. That's not enough time for an in-depth analysis and-"
"All I need is whatever help you can give me." He insisted, leaning forward a little. "I have the papers with me. I came straight from my last class. Can you do me this small favor please??"
Her gaze lowered at his persistence. "You must really need a good grade for this to ask ME for help."
"The teacher said you were the best writer she'd seen...and yes I do." He quietly answered, sitting back.
She exhaled a quiet sigh. "You know you'll really have to work hard in order to get a good paper even remotely close to the time I put into mine..." She vaguely answered. Her eyes speared his again by pinning his voice. "But I'll help you for the little time I've got left. Just let me close this down first. It will take a minute." Her hands went for the ear bud on the keyboard. "Get your things out and we'll begin."
He watched as she pressed a single key and listened for a second before typing on instinct. Even though she couldn't see, her face looked to the screen as if she could. She went through a series of short pauses and typing, before finally closing the screen again. He couldn't help but watch and ignore her command, but snapped to attention as her computer went into an expensive-looking leather bag.
After the papers flipped open, she sat back and folded her hands on the table, having put everything away. She wanted to be totally ready to grab everything and leave when they arrived. She would know as soon as she heard nails clicking on the floor. "Alright...read to me each story idea you have...but be sure to grab a pencil. I'll be giving you pointers to hopefully get you past your block."
He quickly stuck a hand into his bag and grabbed a mechanical pencil ready for use. After that, he quietly cleared his throat and tried not to sound like he was in front of the entire classroom with a report. He only wrote about ten or eleven lines of each idea he had, trying to find a beginning to work with. None were very good to say the least. Each story didn't take more than five minutes to read...with about ten of her giving tips and waiting for him to write them down as fast as he could. Even though he had about half a dozen ideas, they didn't manage to get through some that HE considered he better.
Before she knew it, actually having gotten caught UP in giving him ideas, those nails clicked their way down the hall. Her hands immediately went for the two bags she possessed, startling the person sitting across from her in the middle of his sentence. "That's my ride." She announced, standing from the table.
He blinked and looked around, finding a short, slightly haggard-looking man and a dog making their way down the empty corridor. "Oh..." He spied a quick glance at his watch and mentally kept track of her leaving time. Five thirty it was then...he'd see if he could find a way to work with her before this time sometime later. "Guess I'd better be on my way as well. Everyone will wonder where I'm at."
Her hand paused in the middle of putting her backpack over her shoulder. Her face turned to his and she stared with an almost blank expression on her face, not able to comprehend what he was talking about. "You...live at home then." She quietly stated.
"Yea...I think my sister is making dinner tonight too." He added, putting his backpack on as well.
Her gaze looked to the floor as she finished her action, almost thoughtfully. She didn't know why it seemed out of reach to see this kind, tenor voice with a family waiting for him. "You have enough to go on for now?" She queried, feeling her father's eyes on her. She could almost sense his confusion, but bypassed it as the nails stopped next to her. Her hand reflexively lowered to let her eyes lick it.
He smiled at her affection toward her dog. Of course they would be close, because she would heavily need a seeing-eye dog. "I do." He answered. "We didn't get through them all, but you helped me nonetheless. Arigatou."
She nodded and grasped the handle, feeling uncomfortable...and her heart beating faster. She just bypassed it to the awkwardness of the situation. Taking a step back, feeling Beethoven start to pull her in the direction for the front doors, she gripped the handle and turned to face the table. "Good luck on your essay. I'll......be here if you need more help." Feeling her heartbeat roaring in her ears, she gracefully turned when those footsteps started retreating the way he came in.
Cye had to smile again. He KNEW she was a nice person underneath... "I'll be sure to look for you." He called, walking around the table. "And the name's Cye!"
She gave a single nod, not needing to look around to hear him. She could hear his echo still bouncing off the walls down the way. She walked a little behind her father, Beethoven at her side...and wondered just EXACTLY she just got herself into.
Cye watched in mild curiosity as the pair walked away. They didn't exchange one word, and walked at almost a stranger's distance from each other. His eyes wondrously narrowed as he watched them. If that was her father, they certainly didn't act very FRIENDLY toward each other. They acted like perfect strangers almost. They rounded a corner and left his eyesight, also reminding him that he needed to get home. Grabbing the straps over his shoulders, Cye went in the opposite direction for one of the other parking lots.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Christmas shopping a week and a half before the actual day is a scary thing. He NEVER liked crowds and avoided them whenever possible. Especially a crowd full of people hurrying everywhere in and out of stores with kids in tow. Not that he had anything against the children, he had a small soft spot for them actually...it was the PARENTS he didn't really like. But yet, here he was, being dragged through lines of people by the sleeve of his ever-present button-up shirt, trying to yank himself free. "For the last TIME...I can walk by MYSELF." He ordered, unable to glare at the back of his friend's head.
"No WAY am I going to lose you in this bud."
"Yea...you might be mobbed by hoards of teenage girls wanting your number and/or address and we'd never see you again."
"Very FUNNY." He retorted, glaring to the person behind him.
"I STILL don't see why you didn't TELL me about this in the first place."
"Because you were at WORK Ryo...and none of us are going to call you while you're at work when it's irrational to do so." He returned, looking over his other shoulder.
"You WOULD think that way Sage."
"Don't POKE me Rowen." Sage spat out, narrowing his eyes.
"Ooo, the Christmas season has yet to reach a mister scrooge." Rowen teased back.
"How come CYE didn't come with??" Ryo asked, dodging someone in the crowd. For good measure, his arm reached out and grabbed hold of Rowen's sweater to keep from being lost.
"Sayoko-san said he wasn't home. Which is curious."
"Detention?" Sage queried, turning his head a little.
"Cye?? We're talking about CYE MOURI?? Shea'right."
"Oh and you'd KNOW Kento...mister best friend." Rowen teased, feeling Ryo tug on his sweater as someone else nearly bumped into them.
"Yup!" Kento cheekily added, dodging around people as leader of the little human train.
"Are we THERE yet??" Sage nearly whined, feeling suffocated with everyone around and the young girls that kept looking at him.
"Would YOU like to ask everyone to move out of the way?" Rowen asked, poking his good friend again.
"We can duck in here." Kento suddenly announced, making a hard right. It was a little odd to do so as extremely sudden as he did, since the line nearly bumped into three or four people walking in front of them.
"Just WHAT are you looking for again? And for WHO??" Ryo asked, feeling a little smothered himself with the number of people walking around him. He let someone by and walked around the short display in front of them.
Kento raised a hand and touched his index fingers together and counted off. "There's still Rinfi, and Mei Ryu, and Chun Fa, and ma, and two people at work I'm surprising, then there's the 'secret santa' someone at work dreamed up...then there's Epiphany." A smirk sprouted on his face. "I'm saving that for last. So Sage can get some ideas to shout out on the trip crossing the stores."
"I still don't know why you guys left a NOTE under my door. I DO have an answering machine for that REASON you know." Ryo almost sulkingly announced, sticking his head up.
Rowen grinned and poked his head over from an aisle. "But then we wouldn't be able to see the grounds you live in Ryo."
"You all still have KEYS!" Ryo added, giving his friend an odd look.
"Let's just get this over with. We ALL have people to shop for still, though not as much as mister procrastinator does." Sage announced, breaking it up.
"Sheesh...just turned twenty half a year ago and already you're acting like an old man."
"I don't like crowds. You KNOW that." Sage evenly insisted, idly staring at an item in his hands.
"Is that why we're almost all here?" Kento asked, looking up from kneeling position. "There's strength in numbers??" He got a few snickers for that, but Sage didn't bother to even look his way.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
After five stores, six shopping bags being toted by the others, who still clung to him to keep from getting lost and/or losing him, Sage was ready to call it a night and call a CAB. But Ryo had a grip on his left arm, Rowen on his right. There was no way he was going to lose them in the crowd and have them search the entire place for him, get lost themselves, and end up making it an even worse night than it was now. No...he'd dutifully stay put, even though there WERE a few places he wanted to look in private. He didn't want Rowen picking on him, or Kento cracking jokes. All Sage wanted to do was look at something he had in mind on his own. The only way to do that was...
"Kento...let's go sit down at the food court. I need a break."
"Hey good! I'm in need of a snack too!" Kento gaily announced, making a hard turn. The others nearly got knocked over as he weaved through people in an almost hurried manner. He finally got them to a massive, conjoined table in one piece and everyone set their bags down. "I'm heading out guys. Wish me luck!" With a laugh, Kento abandoned his purchases in favor of the almighty food court.
Rowen was second in abandoning his things, taking off in a different direction than his friend. Both Sage and Ryo watched them go with small smiles. "Can we rename them bottomless pits?"
"One and two." Sage added, smirking. His toes wiggled in the loafers, feeling the blood go back to them. He'd forgotten how long they trekked up and down the entire mall, and how many times. And how many FLOORS. Seeing the two loudmouths gone from eyesight and temporarily averted, Sage's vision turned to the small section of jewelry stores around them. Now was no better time to do this, while he wouldn't get any guff from the others. "Ryo...can I have you watch everyone's stuff? I'm going to take advantage of this brief time and go check something out."
Ryo cocked a brow. "Sure..." He drawled, grabbing the packages from the top of the table. The others wouldn't be so gracious and move them before setting their trays down. Best to do it now and keep from breaking anything.
Sage gave a small nod of thanks and got from the table, feeling tiger blue follow him the entire way. He brushed it off and entered past the fake wood pillars of a jewelry store. He felt eyes from the salespeople, but brushed it off and headed for the women's section. His eyes looked down and easily adjusted to the bright lights that made every jewel sparkle and stand out. But he was intent on a certain thing, if only he could find the right area.
"Hello... Can I help you?"
His gaze shot up and to an elderly man's. His defenses unconsciously lowered and he gave a small nod. "I'm looking for the Topaz section."
"A little further down this way." The man moved to a different section and unlocked the back of the jewelry display.
Sage stopped in front of the relatively good size of choices. There was much to choose from, but he wanted something simple. He wasn't a person of flashy tastes, and knew she wasn't either. He didn't need to be told that; he could tell by her writings. And he also knew her birthday from when she was here. He couldn't forget it. After eyeing the rings, earrings, necklaces, and bracelets, violet locked on a simple set and knew that was it. His finger pointed to it from above. "That one, second row this way...third from the right."
The man brought out the box and kept an eye on the half-caret earring and gold necklace set. It was expensive to say the least, since the necklace was twenty-four caret gold, and the stones not biologically grown. Everything the young man held was natural, but there was a good feeling he found whatever he was looking for.
Sage gave a small nod as he handed the box back. His other hand was already reaching for the money in his front pocket. "I'll take it." It didn't take long to get the purchase paid for and put in a quaint little box. Denying the bag to hide the purchase in his coat pocket, Sage grabbed the receipt and put it with the box.
"Have a Merry Christmas sir. She must be a lucky girl to get something that fancy." The man said, giving a smile.
Sage gave a meek smile and waved as he almost hurried from the door, feeling his cheeks burn. His head ducked and a hand idly went in his pocket, lightly clenching the box. He didn't know if this was a good idea...but he just HAD to get her something special. Something just told him he had to.