~~~~~~~000~~~~~~~
It was a dark and cloudy that late Saturday afternoon and Soujiro was sitting outside the sidewalk cafe, quite alone and quite troubled. Onyx eyes were focused blankly on the steaming mug of coffee being stirred into tiny whirlpools by the mechanical motion of a copper spoon.
"What the heck am I doing?," the lad rebuked himself. Ever since that day he saw his sister with that---that punk, he had thought of nothing else but finding answers to his multitude of questions. Who was that guy? More importantly, what was he doing with Yanagi and why was his little sister allowing her neat self to be soaked to the bone just to *talk*, and for the life of him Soujiro hoped that was all they were doing, to that guy? Naturally, the logical thing to do would be to ask Yanagi straight out so as to put his poor mind at peace. But something---rather some weird feeling, if you could call it that, was pulling Soujiro back from confronting her. He didn't like to admit it but he was feeling a bit *sick*, the way he was getting all worked up over---whom else? His OWN sister. And another thing was bothering him. That guy Yanagi was talking with was no ordinary student, he was damned sure of that. The bastard could actually read his thoughts,a feat that was almost impossible given Soujiro's inborn knack for holding a faultless poker face. Even his best friend Setsuna whom he had known since his childhood years could barely predict the schemes that spun inside Soujiro's mind. That guy was unlike all the rest and that made him a risky business, especially for Yanagi.
"Earth to Soujiro," a familiar lilting voice broke into his reverie.
"Setsuna!"
"The way you're hovering over your coffee one might think you're gonna try drowning yourself in it," Setsuna quipped, a wry smile on his face. He pulled a chair right across Soujiro and propped his elbows on the table. Beads of rain had started to fall and the droplets cascaded like a string of seed pearls from the edges of the umbrella wedged in the center of the table. Soujiro merely stared at Setsuna, still wearing the same blank expression.
"So what's up," his friend asked casually, taking a sip from his coffeecup. "I've been waiting for you call since early this morning. I've been hanging around the house like a zombie all day. You could have at least told me you were going out."
"I wasn't planning on it," came the curt reply.
"Since when do we plan things? Anyway, what's with you today? You're as friendly as a rattlesnake."
"Nothing."
"Biting my head off the first time you see me and you call it nothing?"
"You're too sensitive."
"Yeah right and you're being very weird. Are you going to tell me what's going on in that warped brain of yours or do I have to knock it off you?"
Soujiro looked at him, a warning glint in his eyes. Setsuna automatically clamped his mouth shut. He knew exactly when to stop pushing Soujiro to spill something he didn't want to. That look on his eyes was enough to make a murderous nut stop dead in his tracks. The sky had turned an angry black and rain had started to come down more carelessly. The ground was getting very wet, including the tiled alleys of the outdoor cafes that lined the sidestreets. Setsuna pulled his jacket tighter around him but Soujiro didn't even flinch an eyebrow.
"Let's go somewhere else," Setsuna suggested, shivering slightly at the dampness that enveloped them.
Soujiro didn't reply. He merely stood up and started walking. Setsuna hurriedly left some change on the table and rushed after him. They walked in silence, only the musical pitter-patter of raindrops on their clothing punctuated the air. On and on the duo sloshed through the puddled streets.Then, Soujiro came to a sudden stop.
"Setsuna, how do you feel about Sarah?"
"Nandatou?!," came the astonished answer.
"I said, how do you feel about Sarah?"
"Really Soujiro, it's pouring like crazy and we're both drenched---is this really the right time to ask that question?"
"Why don't you just answer me?"
The other man opened his mouth to reply but quickly withdrew. He stared at his companion, equally soaked but unlike him, a serene look reflected on his angelic features. Tiny rivulets of water tumbled from his wet hair in streams of silver, the transparent liquid catching the beams of light from the passing cars. Setsuna shook his head in disbelief. Trust Soujiro to manage to look so charmingly innocent while muddling things up at the most abnormal situations.
"Well?" Soujiro prodded.
Setsuna sighed in resignation. No sense fighting city hall. It was best he play along with Soujiro's unusual mood swings and the sooner the latter gets his answers, the sooner they can get out of the wretched rain.
"I...I care about Sarah a lot."
A raised eyebrow followed the next query. "That's all?"
"That's all? What do you mean? What else should there be?"
"Do you love her?"
Setsuna's face went from pale due to the cold rain to ashen due to the piercing question. What is Soujiro up to?
"Do we really need to discuss this now?"
"I just need to know."
The next answer came out in a low, snarling tone. "What for? So you could mock me? You know very well how I feel about Sarah. I think I have been more than just obvious on that point."
"Don't you...don't you feel..." and he stopped. Setsuna saw his friend's eyes momentarily flutter. Hesitation perhaps? From the ultra-calm Soujiro?
"Feel what? What's this really all about Soujiro?"
Ebony eyes flickered in a mixture of uncertainty and what seemed to Setsuna---fear.
"Don't you feel---guilty---when you're with her?"
Setsuna's golden-brown eyes narrowed. "What are you driving at? If you're gonna be like those damned assholes who have nothing better to do than preach and taunt me for acting the way I do with Sarah..."
"Iie," Soujiro countered, cutting short the possible outburst. "This has nothing to do with you and Sarah."
"Then why the hell are you grilling me like this huh?"
A small smile, almost beatifc, crept across Soujiro's fair face. The ebony eyes had cleared in an instant as if following the rhythm of the rain that had now lulled to a gentle lullaby.
"Because probably---just probably---I think I understand the way you feel."
It was a dark and cloudy that late Saturday afternoon and Soujiro was sitting outside the sidewalk cafe, quite alone and quite troubled. Onyx eyes were focused blankly on the steaming mug of coffee being stirred into tiny whirlpools by the mechanical motion of a copper spoon.
"What the heck am I doing?," the lad rebuked himself. Ever since that day he saw his sister with that---that punk, he had thought of nothing else but finding answers to his multitude of questions. Who was that guy? More importantly, what was he doing with Yanagi and why was his little sister allowing her neat self to be soaked to the bone just to *talk*, and for the life of him Soujiro hoped that was all they were doing, to that guy? Naturally, the logical thing to do would be to ask Yanagi straight out so as to put his poor mind at peace. But something---rather some weird feeling, if you could call it that, was pulling Soujiro back from confronting her. He didn't like to admit it but he was feeling a bit *sick*, the way he was getting all worked up over---whom else? His OWN sister. And another thing was bothering him. That guy Yanagi was talking with was no ordinary student, he was damned sure of that. The bastard could actually read his thoughts,a feat that was almost impossible given Soujiro's inborn knack for holding a faultless poker face. Even his best friend Setsuna whom he had known since his childhood years could barely predict the schemes that spun inside Soujiro's mind. That guy was unlike all the rest and that made him a risky business, especially for Yanagi.
"Earth to Soujiro," a familiar lilting voice broke into his reverie.
"Setsuna!"
"The way you're hovering over your coffee one might think you're gonna try drowning yourself in it," Setsuna quipped, a wry smile on his face. He pulled a chair right across Soujiro and propped his elbows on the table. Beads of rain had started to fall and the droplets cascaded like a string of seed pearls from the edges of the umbrella wedged in the center of the table. Soujiro merely stared at Setsuna, still wearing the same blank expression.
"So what's up," his friend asked casually, taking a sip from his coffeecup. "I've been waiting for you call since early this morning. I've been hanging around the house like a zombie all day. You could have at least told me you were going out."
"I wasn't planning on it," came the curt reply.
"Since when do we plan things? Anyway, what's with you today? You're as friendly as a rattlesnake."
"Nothing."
"Biting my head off the first time you see me and you call it nothing?"
"You're too sensitive."
"Yeah right and you're being very weird. Are you going to tell me what's going on in that warped brain of yours or do I have to knock it off you?"
Soujiro looked at him, a warning glint in his eyes. Setsuna automatically clamped his mouth shut. He knew exactly when to stop pushing Soujiro to spill something he didn't want to. That look on his eyes was enough to make a murderous nut stop dead in his tracks. The sky had turned an angry black and rain had started to come down more carelessly. The ground was getting very wet, including the tiled alleys of the outdoor cafes that lined the sidestreets. Setsuna pulled his jacket tighter around him but Soujiro didn't even flinch an eyebrow.
"Let's go somewhere else," Setsuna suggested, shivering slightly at the dampness that enveloped them.
Soujiro didn't reply. He merely stood up and started walking. Setsuna hurriedly left some change on the table and rushed after him. They walked in silence, only the musical pitter-patter of raindrops on their clothing punctuated the air. On and on the duo sloshed through the puddled streets.Then, Soujiro came to a sudden stop.
"Setsuna, how do you feel about Sarah?"
"Nandatou?!," came the astonished answer.
"I said, how do you feel about Sarah?"
"Really Soujiro, it's pouring like crazy and we're both drenched---is this really the right time to ask that question?"
"Why don't you just answer me?"
The other man opened his mouth to reply but quickly withdrew. He stared at his companion, equally soaked but unlike him, a serene look reflected on his angelic features. Tiny rivulets of water tumbled from his wet hair in streams of silver, the transparent liquid catching the beams of light from the passing cars. Setsuna shook his head in disbelief. Trust Soujiro to manage to look so charmingly innocent while muddling things up at the most abnormal situations.
"Well?" Soujiro prodded.
Setsuna sighed in resignation. No sense fighting city hall. It was best he play along with Soujiro's unusual mood swings and the sooner the latter gets his answers, the sooner they can get out of the wretched rain.
"I...I care about Sarah a lot."
A raised eyebrow followed the next query. "That's all?"
"That's all? What do you mean? What else should there be?"
"Do you love her?"
Setsuna's face went from pale due to the cold rain to ashen due to the piercing question. What is Soujiro up to?
"Do we really need to discuss this now?"
"I just need to know."
The next answer came out in a low, snarling tone. "What for? So you could mock me? You know very well how I feel about Sarah. I think I have been more than just obvious on that point."
"Don't you...don't you feel..." and he stopped. Setsuna saw his friend's eyes momentarily flutter. Hesitation perhaps? From the ultra-calm Soujiro?
"Feel what? What's this really all about Soujiro?"
Ebony eyes flickered in a mixture of uncertainty and what seemed to Setsuna---fear.
"Don't you feel---guilty---when you're with her?"
Setsuna's golden-brown eyes narrowed. "What are you driving at? If you're gonna be like those damned assholes who have nothing better to do than preach and taunt me for acting the way I do with Sarah..."
"Iie," Soujiro countered, cutting short the possible outburst. "This has nothing to do with you and Sarah."
"Then why the hell are you grilling me like this huh?"
A small smile, almost beatifc, crept across Soujiro's fair face. The ebony eyes had cleared in an instant as if following the rhythm of the rain that had now lulled to a gentle lullaby.
"Because probably---just probably---I think I understand the way you feel."