A/N: I'm *back* (made a great fool out of myself, and in front of Midorikawa Hikaru *ear-splitting squeal* and two hundred or so people, nonetheless) but I'm back and my fingers are itchin' to get writin' ^___^
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Serendipity
[I found a star, lonely and abandoned. I touched it, kissed it softly and brought it close to my heart. It smiled at me, warmly, and then I knew that I found you... and the world didn't seem as cruel anymore. ]
Kai couldn't understand when things got so out of hand. One moment he was on the top of the world, riding the wave to Beyblade stardom, not caring what people thought of him. He was cold then, in control. And now – he shook his head almost ruefully – things changed. Before he could quite realize it, Rei was cracking him open, letting himself in like that was where he belonged. And Kai let him, though unknowingly.
And then he found that he couldn't function without that – now familiar – presence. He would be walking into a stadium and expect Rei to be walking next to him, talking almost animatedly about nothing in particular, though he wouldn't join in the conversation. In fact, he sought out those moments because, to him, they solidified something – a bond, perhaps. At other times, he would look forward to having the Chinese boy next to him, drinking in the same air and sharing the same bubble of warmth; talk wasn't included in those moments – conversations were just pretentious little things that people amused themselves with – and the two of them would just be.
And then there were instances when Kai wanted Rei's presence, warmth, closer. Like that time he woke up with Rei curled into his side, head tucked underneath his chin and purring softly. He, shamefully, found himself wishing that the other boy would snuggle up to him and he would run his hands through silky – and he knew this from close and personal experience – ebony locks. And Rei would softly purr out his name. That was another thing; from Rei, his name sounded like a prayer, soft and endearing, when before it always reminded him of hardships.
And then he would also notice how Rei would walk or move his hands or talk. Rei had an almost ethereal quality to him. When he walked, he would step first with his toe and the soft pad on the sole of the foot before rolling to the heel; it was a precise and meticulous movement, graceful like a cat's or a dancer's. When he laughed, Rei's eyes would close partially until his golden orbs became dark slits, his mouth would part – a little dimple in the corner would show when it was a true laugh – and then sound would escape those lips. There were also times when Kai caught Rei with a sad, pensive smile. His eyes would go dark and misty and his lips would curl just slightly, like he didn't have the energy nor will to make it curve into a full smile.
Of course, Kai would never admit that he knew exactly how an angry flush would spread along Rei's cheeks and tips of ears, or how his voice pitched just an ample when he was furious but refused to admit it. No, those things Kai learned from long, furtive observations of his friend and like most secret things, that should never see the light of day. Besides, he doubted that Rei would appreciate being watched as closely as he was; Rei preferred to keep himself a closed shell, a smiling, laughing, but indiscernible shell.
He would look at the neko-jin sometimes and think to himself that Rei was 'more,' more of what he couldn't quite determine. Perhaps more than he could fathom (for Rei hid a lot of secrets behind his masks) or more than he could handle, or even more beautiful than he gave him credit. Since that time when Kai woke up with Rei in his arms, curled like a kitten with his hair falling wildly about his face, he couldn't help but think him beautiful. Not a fake, ostentatious beauty, but one that glowed and gave the person a god-like quality.
Rei was slowly deciphering him, bit by bit. Kai didn't even know whether that was a good thing or not. Everything changed so much and so quickly; a chance occurrence amongst endless possibilities.
And so Kai, finding himself unable to say 'no' when he could before, followed Rei through the throng of busy people.
"Ne, Kai, you could make the effort to at least look as if you're enjoying it," Rei said laughingly, tugging on Kai's hand.
"Hn."
"C'mon, I don't want to miss anything!"
Kai growled deeply in his throat but followed obligingly. He felt odd being surrounded by a mass of kimono and yukata-wearing people, though he grew up among the same atmosphere. The team returned to Japan on the insistence of Mr. Dickinson, who said that they'd forget their roots with the amount of time they spent abroad.
That morning, not five minutes after his routine shower, there was a knock on his apartment door and after he grudgingly opened it, Rei virtually flounced in. He had a goofy smile on his face that hid his nervousness quite well, though Kai could read through the façade, and was bouncing on the balls of his feet.
Kai grunted at him to get the business over and done with; he wasn't a morning person to begin with, and bouncy neko-jins did nothing to liven his mood. (Besides which, Kai wasn't sure where his thoughts would lead when they were set astray, he didn't even trust his own instincts anymore.)
"There's a festival today," Rei announced with a large grin. "The Nagasaki annual Kunchi festival."
"Hn." Kai wasn't feeling very communicative.
"Come with me?" The bluenette had to quench the urge to tear at his hair; the barely veiled plea in those eyes was almost painful to witness.
"No. I need to train."
"Screw training," Rei said with a little huff. "That's all you've been talking about since this whole ordeal began. One would think that you have nothing on your mind besides beyblades and victories –"
"What else should I have on my mind?" His voice was biting, he knew, but he was feeling defensive; Rei could see him, could unravel everything and Kai didn't want that.
"Like normal things for a change. Fun."
"I don't have time for fun."
"Then if not for fun, then for me." Kai felt a funny churning sensation in the pit of his stomach. "I've never been to a traditional Japanese festival, and I want to go while I still have time. I heard that this particular festival draws its roots from China. There will even be a Dragon Dance. Please?"
"Take Takao or Max with you."
"They're busy with their own things. Besides, I want to go with you."
The bluenette glared at his friend and then, finding no fault with the dark-haired boy, turned his glare at the floor. With a few simple words, his resolve melted."I refuse to wear a kimono." Kai thought that the Chinese boy would pounce or glomp him then, but instead Rei broke out into a soft smile, a small dimple showing at the corner of his mouth.
And so the two of them took the train to Nagasaki, arriving there with the onset of dusk. True to his word, Kai didn't wear a kimono, opting instead for a black shirt and pants. Rei, however, magically came up with a dark blue yukata with a golden plum blossom design [1], wearing his hair in a braid instead of its usual bind.
Kai glanced around him. There were hundreds, thousands of lights surrounding him, suspended from trees, floating on little platforms in the pond or stacked in rows along the roofs. There were many other people about, some dressed in similar fashion to Rei others preferring the 'casual' look (Kai chose to go with 'anonymity' ensemble), browsing through various entertainment stalls.
"Kai, look!" Rei tugged on his hand again, pointing excitedly to a booth selling sweets.
The bluenette suppressed a little smile. Rei didn't always behave his age and that made him look so very childlike. At times like these, Kai could observe him without being afraid of ridicule. Currently, Rei was bouncing on his heals, greedily scanning the assortment of sweets, pointing to a few he never tried before.
"I'll take one of these," Kai said to the vendor, gesturing to one particular sweet, handing over 1000 yen.
"Here," he said, giving the candy to Rei.
The Chinese boy took the offered sweet, smelling the shiny wrapper for any indication of its nature. "What is it?"
"It's ringo-ame," he answered with a sigh though a smile was slowly breaking loose. Rei was a closet sugar-lover. "They're apples dipped in syrup and glazed with various sugars."
Kai felt a certain warmth slither along his skin when Rei hugged him briefly, breathing a soft 'thank you' before digging into his present. Kai had to avert his eyes when his friend stuck out his pink tongue and began licking the sugar-glazed apple.
The rest of the evening passed in similar fashion; Kai didn't have much patience for such simple things, they made him feel strange, normal almost. The two of them wandered along the lights and laughter, Rei occasionally pointing to something and Kai forking out his wallet. During the infamous Dragon Dance, when they were standing among the crowd and watching the brightly dressed dancers, Rei was laughing and clapping along with the rest of the people, moving his hips to the beat of the drums. (Kai felt something *twist* in his stomach.)
Later, when the mass of people began to dissipate, the two of them meandered to a little hillock surrounded by trees and the sky scattered with stars.
"Did you enjoy yourself?" Rei asked quietly, rearranging his yukata about him, tracing the patterns with the pad of his forefinger.
"Hn," Kai grunted in response, looking at the sky. "As I said, I don't have much appreciation for such frivolous things."
The soft smile that used play on Rei's lips fell slightly. "How can you be so cold?"
Kai shrugged. It wasn't something he chose to do, but, rather, a defence mechanism of sorts. People couldn't get close to you when they knew that you'd give them the cold shoulder – this of course only applied to most of the Earth's population, Rei was an exception. People couldn't hurt you when they couldn't get to you. Rei just had a different way of warding people off. He had his masks.
The stars above twinkled teasingly down at him. "Do you know why that little star there, just to the right of the Big Dipper, is so small?" He asked, pointing to the said star.
Rei quirked a brow a him but shook his head 'no'. Kai lay down on his back, still looking at the celestials. Soon, Rei joined him.
"That little star used to be big and bright, more luminous than any other star in the Kingdom of the Sky," Kai began. "It used to be the best and most favourite amongst all the stars. The Queen of the Sky, the moon, used to hold grand balls, one per day. The little star would attend those balls; it would dance along to the heavenly music and at those moments it would shine the brightest. But, you see, the little star was lonely, for even though it was the most favourite among the Nightly Court, he had nothing to share that glory with.
And then at one of the queen's balls, completely by chance he met another star, which was as lonely as he was. The star smiled at him, warmly. The two of them became friends, the best of friends. They would confide in each other, share each other's secrets and fears; with each day, the star grew brighter. And before long, the little star realized that he wasn't so lonely anymore and that he was hopelessly infatuated with his best friend. At the same time, he knew that his friend would never share his feelings, because you see, it was forbidden for stars to love.
One night, during the ball, the little star took his friend aside and kissed him softly, knowing that it was considered a sin to do something like that but unable to stop himself. The queen saw this treachery and took the little star's friend from him, condemning him to shame. Soon, he lost his shine and just glowed sadly because he could never see his friend again. He stopped coming to balls and became cold; he was afraid that something like that would happen again and he didn't want to get hurt. And so, now he is cold and miserable and alone, looking down on people who are happy and smiling sadly. Or so the story goes."
Kai let his voice die along with the autumn breeze; he didn't even notice when he stopped addressing the star as 'it' and called it 'he'.
"Really?" Breathed Rei beside him, looking at his profile.
The bluenette snorted. "No. I made that up."
Rei huffed indignantly beside him. "Meanie. Did you realize that in the past five minutes you said more than you probably have during sixteen years of your life?"
"Aa." Kai said in reply. He didn't really care at that moment.
Rei shrugged and glanced to the silhouette of the trees, where he saw a flicker of movement. He could make out a couple standing underneath the canopy of trees, a thousand little lights suspended above them. The girl – petit and dark-haired – had her arms tightly wound around her boyfriend's neck, who in turn wrapped his arms around her small frame. Her head was tucked underneath the guy's chin, a serene smile playing along her lips. The two were standing like that for a good portion of a half an hour, tightly embraced in each other – he noticed them long before. With a little pang, Rei noted that he wanted the same. He wanted to be able to hold someone that close in a soft huggle until he became oblivious to the rest of the world but that person.
The guy bent his head slightly to plant a soft kiss on the girl's forehead. There was a knot in Rei's throat. He wanted to be held, and hugged and kissed, too. He wanted to wake up cuddled against a familiar warmth instead of his cool sheets. He wanted to have someone else's scent on the pillow next to his; he wanted to open his eyes to butterfly kisses. He wanted what that couple shared underneath the canopy, bathed in their lovely glow.
"Kai?" He breathed out softly.
"Hm?" Kai didn't raise his head.
"Can..." He faltered, feeling his voice becoming smaller with every syllable "... can I kiss you...?"
(tsuzuku...?)
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[1] Hehe... the characters fore Rei's name mean "Golden Plum"; there you go, some irony from me.
*big grin* ^_________________^ You wanna kill me now, don't you? It's too bad that I won't be able to write the next chapter from where this scenario left off. *bashes head against desktop* Gawd, I'm such a dork (in more than one respect) *mutters* ...no plot what-so-ever; OOCs abound; stupid conversations; too little angst... have to save that for other fics... Gah! Kill me now!
