"I am NEVER going to come to an airport in the Christmas rush EVER AGAIN."
"This place is NUTS!"
"Keep your eyes open guys. She hasn't sent me a recent picture, but she told me she hasn't made any drastic changes to her appearance in two years."
"Hai."
"Did anyone hear the arrival announcement for her plane yet?"
"Over THIS noise?? Are you crazy?"
"There won't be any delays with the landing will there??"
"If there is, I'm pretty sure Sage will dog his class to be here when she arrives."
"Very FUNNY Rowen." Sage retorted.
"Oh not NOW you two..."
"Yes Mia." They idly replied, eyes above them.
A finger pointed to a digital track of the plane times. "Look...she should hopefully be arriving in about five minutes..." Mia answered, mentally keeping her fingers crossed. The snow clouds over the Toyama area didn't look friendly at ALL and it looked like they would break open any time.
"Man...I hope it doesn't snow today...or at least till we can all get back to our normal stuff."
"Should we stay here? Her terminal is a little ways away from here."
"We'll give it a few minutes before heading for her baggage claim. She'll head for that area first."
"Ryoukai Mia." Roger.
Not even a minute of silence passed before Kento spoke up with an almost eager smile. "So, what're we going to do first??"
"Let's leave that up to Epi." Ryo answered, smiling at his friend.
"Like it matters to blonde...he doesn't get a choice." Rowen kidded, giving his friend a poke to the arm.
"Rowen..." Sage venomously muttered, glaring a little in warning. Knowing that he couldn't spend as much time as he wanted with Epiphany wasn't helping with Rowen rubbing it in every five minutes.
"Didn't I say don't start not even two minutes ago??" Mia butt in, giving them both a reprimanding glare.
The two quickly looked away from each other. "Gomen." They chorused.
Mia's eyes looked to Sage. "Sage, you're not doing any good by getting angry and encouraging him." Her head whipped around. "And Rowen, you should know better than to tease Sage on a day like today. He's been waiting for this for weeks and it's not easy to have to work when one of your good friends, who you haven't SEEN in two years, comes to see you and you can't see them." Her finger wagged in Rowen's face.
Rowen looked thoroughly chastised and dropped his eyes to the floor...but snuck a look at Sage's red face from Mia's little speech and an evil grin stuck out. "Oh look Mia...you made him BLUSH."
"ROWEN!" Sage growled out, glaring even worse than before.
The call suddenly came in the midst of their small spat, relieving not only Mia, but the others from the few glances they were getting from people around them. "Okay you two break it up." Ryo called, playing team leader again. "Let's do as Mia instructed and head for where Epi will be and get out of here."
"Agreed. All these people are making me nervous." Cye piped up, watching all the people around them.
They moved almost as a unit to find the plane inching to a stop outside. The six stood in front and watched the passengers disembark, wondering which one of them was the one they were looking for. Finally, the belt behind them whirred and bags started popping up. A few walked to the front area to look for her. They remained in eyesight of the others, not wanting to get lost and spend precious time searching the airport.
People started to pick up their baggage and soon not many were left. "Where IS she??" Sage muttered under his breath, scanning the crowds. He looked to Cye a foot away in front of baggage claim, hoping his friend had a look of recognition and spotted her. But that auburn hair just kept turning as his did. He sighed and continued scanning the crowds.
Nearly a minute after everyone left from the plane, and Sage was about to stand on a chair and damned the eyes of everyone, a loud voice met his ears. Familiar...yet more high-pitched from the passage of change. "DATE-KUN!!" A body blurred around a few people and attacked him with a fierce hug, nearly knocking him back. He blinked at the name and looked down. The smell of vanilla assaulted his nose and he came face to face with deep brown eyes, and a wide, happy smile.
He blinked and took in her face. "Epiphany??" He breathed. Gone was most of the chubbiness in her face from when she was a young teenager. She sprouted a few inches as well, coming to the tip of his chin. Her body managed to fill out a little better than its stout appearance. Her hair was nearly twice as long as it used to be. She was more woman than girl and he found his stomach flutter again a little bit. "You...you're-" A hand rose and touched her cheek, "You look so different."
Her grin widened even further and the tears of happiness shining in her eyes spilled over. "And you haven't changed I see." She kidded, pulling away to poke his stomach. She gave him another fierce hug, one which he complied with. She missed him so bad and seeing him looking around with Cye not only sparked a bit of mischief to sneak up on him, but gave her the worst adrenaline rush and butterfly combination imaginable. It also made her happy and hyper as all get-out. "Which is good. Otherwise I'd never be able to spot you in the crowd." She giggled despite that possible scenario. It wasn't a good thought to know she might not be able to find them in the crowd, and was glad it never happened. She had never been happier than she could be now.
"Why...don't YOU look all grown up!"
She spun around and came face to face with Kento. She beamed and quickly hugged him. "Kento-chan!" She loudly proclaimed, getting a bear hug. She squealed upon finding herself suddenly lifted into the air as he tilted her back.
"Hey now, don't give THOSE two all the attention."
She looked behind her and locked eyes with Rowen's smiling blue. She was quickly let go and rushed to hug him next. "Smarty!" She giggled, digging the nickname from the depths of her mind.
"Hey shorty..." He murmured, hugging her close. Her perfume wafted to his nose and he inhaled. When he stepped back, he found she reached above his shoulder. "Well...it looks like I'm going to have to find another nickname to call you." He mused.
Her head shook. "I like shorty. It's nostalgic." She winked and went to hug Cye next.
"How's college going Cye-chan?" She asked, giving him a pleasant smile.
He made a face when they pulled away. "I finally turned in a paper that was driving me nuts." A smile graced his face. "I'm stress free, except for work for two weeks."
"Too bad I don't get to say the same." Murmured an amused voice.
"Ryo-chan!" Epiphany let go of Cye and hugged the last of her five guy friends.
Ryo smiled at her use of their language. He had to give her credit for trying. "You don't need to add anything to our names Epi. We're all friends here."
She gave a brief pout. "But I still want to try while I'm here." She pulled back and gave his cheek a light pat. "I'm going to soak up ALL the language I can for classes back home."
"I like how you added that little part to Sage's name though." Rowen piped up, grinning.
"Rowen...don't start AGAIN." Mia groaned, shaking her head.
Epiphany's head whipped around and engulfed the elder woman in an equally tight hug. "Hey Mia-san." She quietly answered. "Arigatou for letting me stay with you for-"
Mia pulled back and clapped a hand over her mouth. "I'll have none of THAT in my presence Epiphany." She seriously answered, eyes amused. Mia smiled and patted her friend's shoulder. "Now that the formalities are over with...shall we get your bags and head home?"
A wide smile plastered itself across her face again as Epiphany nodded. She quickly grabbed the two large traveling bags, but was forced to let Kento and Ryo wheel them out. She didn't have a choice since Kento basically snatched it from her hand and Ryo took hers a little more politely. She wouldn't let anyone else carry her carry-on bags though, since they already took the majority of her things.
"So...how've things been between you five while I've been gone?" Epiphany asked, settling herself in the front of the large van. She twisted in the seat and watched as her friends loaded her stuff and got comfortable.
Rowen looked at Sage with a grin, getting a glare back. "Don't even START Rowen..." Sage warned.
Epiphany giggled behind her hand. "That well, eh? Good to know you haven't changed since I left smarty."
Rowen smirked. "Oh I'm pretty sure I've done a LITTLE growing up in two years."
Sage gave his good friend a dry, bored look. "Hardly." He announced. Epiphany giggled again and he smirked at Rowen's pout.
Epiphany turned in the seat and rested against it, feeling the road underneath as they headed out. "Hai...good to know things are still the same in some spots of the world..." She whispered, closing her eyes for a momentary rest.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Is that all you brought with you Epiphany?" Mia asked, raising a brow.
Epiphany nodded and shut the dresser drawer. "Hai. I made sure to leave extra room for souvenirs for my family." She answered, smiling. A few chuckled from their lounging positions around the guest room. "So...what do we do first??" She asked, looking to everyone.
A few looked to their watches. "Well...I need to be getting to the college for classes." Sage announced, regrettably standing.
"And I really shouldn't stay either. I promised Sayoko-chan that I'd help her as much as possible in the shop later..." Cye muttered, giving a small grimace. "If I get started with you guys, I have a feeling I won't get home till late, so I'd better not take that chance." He gave a brief wink and smile.
"But CYYYEEEE!" Epiphany whined, giving him a pleading look. "My first day here and you can't stay??" She looked at violet. "Et tu Sage??"
Sage gave her a small smile, but nodded. "I'm the teacher, I can't skip out...no matter how much I'd like to put a substitute in my place."
Wide-eyed brown blinked. "N...NANI??" She asked, dumbly staring.
Rowen's evil grin popped back up. "Aw, didn't he tell you shorty? Sage's an instructor of kendo at the college in Tokyo."
Epiphany's eyes widened even further. "MOU??" She breathed. REALLY? Her head turned to one side as she stared at her old pen pal. "When did THIS happen? You owe me an explanation buddy." She kidded.
Sage cleared his throat in discomfort at the way she talked. He didn't mind conversing to her like this in their letters, but the others would DEFINTELY know something was up if he acted like he did when he wrote. "I'll explain it to you later." He evenly answered, his eyes soft. "But I need to be going before I'm late." He looked to the others. "I'll return later in case you guys are here and still want to do something." He gave a parting nod to his Hispanic friend and showed himself out.
Epiphany blinked. What was THAT?? Sage suddenly seemed cut off from her. She watched his and Cye's exits and felt a ping of sorrow mixed in with nostalgia. He often acted that way in the past around her...before they cleared everything between them. Her eyes solemnly dropped to the carpet and she willed away the sudden bout of crying that she wanted to do. Her arms slowly crossed over her chest as she suddenly felt more insecure and unsure about her status with these five in more than two years.
"Well...let's not let THOSE two busybodies spoil our fun." Mia announced, draping an arm over Epiphany's shoulders. She caught a glimpse of her eyes before her bangs covered them up and felt her heart twinge in understanding pity. The girl was still in love with Sage, and his abrupt leaving without a proper goodbye wasn't doing wonders for her self-esteem. "I say the rest of us pile back up in the van and go look around the city. There's PLENTY to do in both Tokyo AND Toyama. If we can't think of any action here, we'll have to go where IT is."
The Hispanic gratefully smiled to her friend. "Sounds good." She announced. "Arigatou Mia-chan." She whispered.
Mia gave her shoulders a quick squeeze and headed for the door. "Well? Shall we go?" She asked, moving to grasp the doorknob.
"Hai." The others chorused, standing. They all piled out and headed for the front door.
"One question Mia-chan." Epiphany called down, a grin rising.
"Hai?" Mia asked, turning once she reached the bottom of the stairs.
"Can he come too?" A finger pointed to one of the hallways, where White Blaze was sitting and watching the proceedings in curiosity. "WHITE BLAZE!" She hurried down and skidded to a stop in front of the tiger, dropping to her knees. "Remember me?" She tentatively held a hand to the tiger to smell and hugged his neck after he gave it a lick. She beamed and hugged his fur tighter, rubbing her face in it. She turned to the group with the face of a pleading child. "Onegai??"
The others looked at each other with a smirk. "Uh Epi, White Blaze isn't the type of 'pet' to take out in the city. If we bring him, we'll have to restrict our expedition to over half the city." Ryo smirked. "I know. It's happened to me before." The smirks around Ryo became knowing smiles.
"He's right shorty. Best to have our fun now and you can roam the woods with Blaze later." Rowen piped up.
A pair of full lips pursed in a pout, but she shrugged. These people knew the large tiger than she did, and she knew very well that taking something of this magnitude wouldn't be a sane idea. "Alright..." She gave the white tiger one last squeeze and stood. "That sound like a plan to you boy?" To her surprise, the tiger nodded and wagged his tail.
"Okay everyone, head out. Let's go." Kento announced, clapping his hands. "Let's get the show on the road." The ones with inside knowledge to the tiger's hidden intelligence headed for the door unfazed while Kento grabbed the Hispanic girl's arm and drug her to the door. He grinned and let go as they walked to the van as a group. "Don't worry Epi...you learn to get used to Blaze's...cat intelligence."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The night fell upon Toyama like any other. With the upcoming of vacation tomorrow and days of nothing to do in between the next time she needed to get back to class, there wasn't much she could do. Her schedule was being twisted and she didn't have anything to do to fill up that spare time. It was annoying, but she would find a way to live through it. Until then, she actually had something planned out for Christmas Eve for once.
The sound of scotch tape being torn from the roll reached her ears as she ran a calloused fingertip over the top to check its length. Satisfied, she tore it off and set the roll on her knee. Her hand felt for the paper edge and she grimaced when the skin broke from a cut. She quickly felt for blood, but was grateful to find it was just a surface cut. She shrugged and went back to wrapping, not too bothered about one little scratch. She had worse than that, even though she couldn't see the scars. Her hands were calloused from the bruises and cuts given throughout a blind girl's lifetime.
She carefully applied the tape to the edge and felt the sides. She gave a small smile at finding out how good a job she was doing. She took a quick second and felt the unfolded paper along with the distance she had to work with. No problem, she had a few inches. Her hand went to the tape and grabbed it off her knee and went back to work. She finished both sides in no time at all. Now was the hard part.
She felt around the carpet for the rest of her supplies. One of the harder parts was trying to get a sticker off the pile to use. It took a few minutes to feel around and find an edge to peel off, since she had no real nails to use. Trying to feel with the calluses on her fingers made it harder to find the delicate cut to the stickers. After that task was done, she picked up a pen and traced a finger around the space she had to work in. This would be difficult. She never really learned how to WRITE, even if she knew her kanji. But THAT was all in Braille and the only real alphabet she knew was romanji from her keyboard.
She positioned a finger on the sticker and situated the pen directly next to it. With her hand put in one position, she slowly created a 'to' and 'from'. She blew on the sticker and gave it a short minute before rubbing her finger down the kanji. Nothing felt sticky on her finger, and she replaced the fingertip and pen to write down the names.
All her hard work paid off. Her Christmas present to Mia was successfully wrapped and marked. She gave a small, triumphant smile and grabbed everything. She put it back in the small bin they had and made for the door. Quiet padding followed as Beethoven dutifully followed her to the cubby hole on the balcony. She felt around for a bit before depositing the box back where it belonged and headed back inside.
Now that she had that task done, there was nothing else to do. Supper wouldn't be for a little while yet, and she already had her stroll outside. She immediately walked to an elaborate keyboard sitting on her desk and picked up a pair of headphones resting on the plastic ivory keys. She was unable to play with the neighbors around, and bought a kind with a headphone jack. She flipped the button and felt around for the piano button. Her father marked all the instrument types in clear glue, putting little Braille bumps for her to read. It didn't come with that option, and he thankfully did it. She was grateful, since she would be unable to use it otherwise.
She turned the volume up as high as it would go, wanting to space out, and touched a key. She played a few to get her fingers up to the right resting spots and started in on her favorite song...Moonlight Sonata. She played many more piano songs, trying to zone out. She felt unsettled and it was disturbing to not know how to act or feel. Normally, she had no problem with knowing what to do. But that changed as of today and she felt an odd sensation in her stomach. She couldn't classify it...the sudden rapid heartbeat and adrenaline in her body. She thought she knew exactly what every emotion she felt WAS. Being so in tune with her body allowed her to figure them all out. Why did she act that way? Because of HIM??
"Kimon-chan!"
Her head shot up and immediately turned to the sound of the voice. She could smell the ocean from him again. She blinked and her head jerked back a tad. What was the deal? Why did he sound so excited? She listened to his footsteps stop in front of her usual table and his breathing. He wasn't as calm as when they met those brief times. His breath was a little shallower than normal. Her eyes narrowed a bit in befuddlement. "Hai?" She quietly asked.
"I just wanted you to know that I finished my paper last night and it's been turned in as of this morning."
Her brow twitched at the tone in his voice. He sounded unreasonably happy for some reason. "That's nice..." She answered, unable to think of something better.
"I just thought you'd like to know... You don't need to help me anymore, but I welcome all the help you HAVE given me. And I'd like to give you something as a token of my appreciation."
Rustling greeted her ears. She had to admit, for the first time in a while, she was intrigued. Without warning, a larger hand lightly grasped hers and placed a relatively large bag in it. Her other hand quickly moved to offset the weight and take it from him, even though her eyes were wide. She looked down and felt with her hands, feeling crinkly wrapping. "Nani kore wa?" What is this?
"Oh...just my way of saying thanks. And it's a small Christmas present as well."
She blinked again at the mischievous sound to his voice. He sounded like a little kid and she wanted to know why. "You don't need to give me anything or say thank you..."
"Nope. I WANTED to. Just take it and make good use of it."
Her brow furrowed a little in confusion at that tone again. Was he trying to be funny? She wasn't getting the joke. Her hands went to the ribbon tied around the paper, but he stopped her. His throat cleared again, almost awkwardly.
"Don't open it here. Wait till you can enjoy it." He answered. Cloth rustling reached her ears and she looked to it. "Well...I'd better get going. It's almost five thirty."
It WAS five thirty. She could hear the faint echo of clicking down the hall. "So it is." She softly answered. Her things were quickly put away as the sound traveled closer. "Arigatou Cye-san." She almost whispered, picking the bags up.
The bag was still unopened, and still sitting on her desk. She paused the once continuous playing and leaned back in the wooden chair. Her eyes went to the bag and stared in contemplation. She hadn't opened it, but could smell a little of something utterly delectable that she hadn't before in the cafeteria. Biting her lip, she wrestled with want and disinterest. She inhaled again and licked her lips as the smell got to her. She quickly scooted the chair over and felt for the bag's exact place.
Her hand also discovered something as she grasped the bottom half. It was a tad warm, though faint. She blinked and had to quell a smile. Instead of saving the crinkly wrapping, hands gripped opposite sections and yanked. The paper separated and more of the aroma greeted her nose. Even though wrapped, it was no match for her highly trained senses. She took a minute and felt every inch of the treasure. Her brow knit in concentration at finding something other than food. She knew part of it was cookies from feeling their cylindrical shape and smelling the sweet fragrance.
She grasped the cellophane and took out a wrapped handful. The cookies were palm-sized and still warm. She unwrapped the half dozen in her hand and seized one to try. The second her tongue touched it, she knew it was a sugar cookie. Plain, yet irresistible. She quickly put the rest in her mouth and let it sit to absorb the flavor. A heavenly sigh sounded as she leaned back in the chair. It crumbled and squished in her mouth, giving off even more flavor. This was what HEAVEN was! She finished it off and went for another. Just as she picked a second from the stash in her hand, a small whine sounded right next to her. She immediately jerked the package out of reach and pushed the rest farther onto the desktop. "Iya BT-kun." She mused. "Watashi no mono!" Mine!
Another whine sounded as a nose rested on her thigh. She looked to its general spot and pouted at her faithful companion. "IYA." She slowly stressed, trying not to smile. She was far too lenient with her eyes and giving him any more treats than she spoiled him with would gain him a few pounds. He whined again...and she caved. Heaving a heady sigh, though not really bothered, she broke a cookie in half and shared it with him. It was quickly licked from her hands and she wrapped the four left to keep them for later. Cye was a good cook and she would have to commend him.
But she would have to wait until she sought out the flavor of the OTHER cookies in the little basket. With a tiny, wry grin, she snatched up the next set and unwrapped it. Chocolate assailed her and she quickly took one, a fan of the substance. She quickly found the rest to be chocolate chip and grabbed another one to split, hearing Beethoven shift restlessly. "You're sad, do you know that?" She murmured, already handing it down. It was snatched up with a small bark, as if he agreed with her. She smiled and rubbed his head before putting that back as well. If there were six of each, she wanted to savor them...especially since she knew she'd be splitting some more with her dog later on.
The next set turned out to be sugar-almond. She had one and a half of that as well before wrapping it up. The last set was gingerbread and she refused to give the second half to Beethoven. Even though he whined three times, she just tenderly bopped his nose to quiet him and put the package with the others on the desk. There was still something inside. Her hands dug in and pulled out more tiny, individually wrapped bags. She set the bags in her lap and pulled one up, finding net cloth tied with a string. Since it was netting, she grasped the top and brought it to her nose.
Her eyes closed in pleasure at finding the delectable smell of jasmine float out. Quickly, her fingers found a delicate bowstring and undid it, feeling around the contents. She realized the jasmine were all individually packaged tea bags. A real smile lit her face and she had the urge to go brew a mug to see how good it was, but restrained herself. She would have it at dinner...unless she found out what else those little packages were.
Another was unmistakably green. She inhaled it a second time, loving the smell. She loved green tea for its healing properties as well as its taste.
The third was harder, since the smell of chamomile wasn't as strong as the other two. She rested a bag against her nose and inhaled once the netting was gone, finding that easier to smell.
The fourth was black. She smelled that as well. These were all her favorite teas and she wondered how Cye... A dry grin tipped her face. Mia...it HAD to be. They were both friends and if Cye said he had a thank-you gift as well as a Christmas gift. He must've decided on the tea after getting the idea for the cookies. Both he probably called Mia on. Mia was the only person she really told anything about herself, if anything at ALL.
She snorted in amusement at the pair and slouched in the chair, idly holding the final bag. This was wasn't hard to figure out, and she didn't drink it much. Curious. She waved the still-tied bag in the air and smelled spearmint wafting around. It must be one he drank and thought she'd like it or something.
A sharp rapt on the door nearly startled her out of her skin. "Supper is ready."
"Hai." She quietly announced. She heard his muffled footsteps fade and turned to her bundle with a tiny smile. Such a nice person Cye was. Though she didn't ask to receive his gift, she was happy to have it. This was all homemade and well thought out. She was definitely touched. She grabbed the jasmine tea bags and stacked the rest on her desk, putting the cookies back to keep Beethoven from getting into them. She'd have the jasmine tonight with dinner. She went to the door and listened as Beethoven follow behind.