19th March 2003
Hao! ^_^ Next instalment is now complete. Whoop! Some angst, some humour, and occasions to yell at the characters to notice the obvious and get things moving! *laughs* As if things are gonna be that simple... ^_~ I reckon I still have some more elements to chuck into the plot to mess things up nicely...
If you'd like to know when I update (seeing as the LNR's are just about the only fics I'm working on at the moment, and very slowly at that... _ Gomen.) then please just send an e-mail to:
j_ono-subscribe@yahoogroups.co.uk
Hope it's good enough... On with the story!
(Oh, and if FF.net has mucked up my centre alignment for titles and stuff again…I really can't be bothered to sort it out this time, gomen. But as it doesn't affect the story content at all, it doesn't really matter.)
~
Late Night Radio (Edition 2) Pt.5
Snowballs and Cinema's
~Jheya Ono~
Yamato smiled as Taichi crunched through the snow, a wide grin of delight lighting up his face. The brunette's happiness at finding out how much of the white stuff had fallen whilst he was sleeping was infectious, and the blonde's spirit had lifted a little. There was still a weight in his heart with all the things he wanted to know, but it was bearable for the moment at least.
He breathed deeply, the cold night air chilling his lungs, but making his senses feel alive. Looking up into the dark sky, he saw the stars twinkle, even though they seemed faint because of the bright streetlamps that shone down on them as they walked. The stars may have been masked somewhat, but the snow glittered underfoot. Vast stretches of it were still unmarred by footprints, and as soft flakes still drifted down lazily from the heavens, the footprints that trailed down the paths had already been softened, and were fading.
Evidence that children had been playing earlier in the day was visible in the snowmen that were dotted here and there, and the snow barricades built for hiding behind whilst conducting a snowball fight. But such activity was missing now, parents having called the children in as the hour grew late, and he and Taichi were the only pedestrians in sight, and even the sounds of the traffic were muted for they were passing through one of the parkland areas. The two were walking in silence but for the crunch of the crisp snow, but as Yamato looked over at the brunette, Taichi grinned at him.
"Cool, huh!"
"What is?"
"All this!" he whooped, spreading his arms wide, and spinning three-sixty as he tilted his face up to the sky and the snowflakes drifting earthwards. The blonde laughed easily at his friend's antics, his happy facade holding up amazingly well. The brunette didn't seem to be aware that beneath the surface the singer was no way near as calm as he seemed. He didn't know how close Yamato had been to losing control of his emotions. He hadn't guessed when they had been travelling down in the lift together, nor whilst he had been talking to Minoru, who had just started another shift. The receptionist hadn't been able to pick out his true feeling either, and she was usually pretty good at that.
So it was all good. Nobody knew apart from him, which meant that he still had a reasonable amount of self-control left. In fact, he had buried his feelings so far that he could almost fool himself that all was well, that he felt fine.
Almost.
"Yama?"
Taichi's voice, tinged with a note of concern, filtered its way into his mind, and he turned to face the brunette.
"Yeah Tai?"
"Don't you think that this is just so cool?"
"Mm, yeah. Very cool." he smiled.
"Cold too." His voice was filled with suppressed laughter.
"Hah?" the blonde said, nonplussed. "What are you talking about? Of course it's cold, what do you expect in the sno-" He turned to look for his friend who had vanished from his side...and got a face full of snow for his efforts. He spluttered, and shook his head from side to side to dislodge the remains of the snowball in a shower of fine particles. He glared coldly at Taichi who stood a few steps behind him, laughing so hard that tears had come to his eyes. "What the hell was that for?!"
"You really thought I'd be able to resist something like that with all this snow around?!" the brunette replied, still laughing...and got hit by a snowball in the face. He brushed it away with one hand and blinked in surprise. "Hey!"
Now it was Yamato's turn to laugh.
"Hah! Serves you right!"
"Why you..." Taichi growled, and bent down to retrieve a handful of snow. The blonde didn't wait to get his, but took to his heels and ran, still laughing, all trouble temporarily forgotten as he strove to become harder to hit as a moving target.
"Hey!" the brunette protested, finishing compacting his snowball as he ran after his friend. "Come back here!"
"No chance!" He stooped and scooped up some snow as he ran, then suddenly changed direction, and Taichi's thrown snowball missed him by inches.
"No fair!" he exclaimed, and grabbed another handful of snow.
"Perfectly fair!" Yamato retorted with a wink, and stopped momentarily to lob his snowball at his friend, taking off again as soon as he had released it. He laughed, and retrieved more ammo as a muffled curse let him know that he had hit his target. "It's not my fault if you're bad at aiming!"
"I'm not bad at aiming!" Taichi yelled, and as if to prove his point, a snowball thudded into the back of the blonde's coat.
The two were drawing close to another set of barricades that had been abandoned as night had drawn in. Both having the same thought at the same time, they left the path and ran over to them, their breath leaving white clouds hanging in the cold air behind them. The brunette skidded to a halt behind his first, and Yamato, being the only one with a snowball to hand, took his chance before his friend could duck down behind the barricade. It smacked into Taichi's chest and shattered, sending a fine spray into his face, and making him splutter.
Laughing, the blonde quickly reached his shelter and ducked down behind it before the brunette had the chance to recover. He mentally cheered when he saw that whoever had been using this particular battleground last had left behind a small pile of ammunition. He grabbed one in each hand, stuck his head over the top of the barricade and threw one after the other at the brunette. The first struck true, but the second missed as Taichi had the good sense to throw himself flat before it could reach him.
Yamato ducked back down in case the previous combatants had unwittingly left the brunette a supply to throw, as they had with him. They had. Seconds later two snowballs whizzed overhead, and thudded into the ground somewhere behind him. He grabbed another off the pile beside him, stuck his head up for a moment, saw a shock of brown, dropped back down, then rose up again and threw it. He was rewarded with a yelp, and chuckled as he threw himself flat. He was just in time. Another snowball whirled over him, but another struck the top of the barricade and sent a cold shower of particles down on him, some finding their way down the back of his neck and making him shiver.
He cautiously rose so that he was crouching, careful not to rise so far that the top of his showed above the top. Gathering more snow together to top up his depleted pile of ammo, his bare fingers began to go numb with the icy coldness. Suddenly, the blonde paused in his task, listening intently. Had he heard the crunch of footsteps, or had it just been the sound of him compacting the snow together?
Peering over the top of the barricade, ready to duck down at any moment, he swept his gaze from side to side. Seeing no movement, he was about to return to making snowballs when his blue eyes widened as Taichi rose from where he had been hiding on the other side of the wall of snow. The brunette let out a yell of triumph, launching himself over the top, and Yamato gave a startled cry and fell so that he was lying on his back.
A shower of snow cascaded down on him as Taichi didn't quite clear the barricade, and the blonde held up his hands to shield his eyes. The brunette's eyes widened as one of his feet struck the top edge, meaning that he wasn't going over at quite the angle he'd expected to. He let out another yell, this time one of surprise, as he toppled over and landed sprawled full-length on top of Yamato.
There was a moment of stillness as the snow settled around them, Yamato too winded to attempt to move, and Taichi too stunned at this sudden turn of events. Then the blonde groaned, and the brunette quickly used his arms to lift his upper body up off of him.
"Yama? You okay?" he asked, concern evident both in his voice and on his face.
"Yeah... I think so..." the singer gasped, brushing snow away from his face. His cheeks were flushed, and he smiled weakly to try and dispel some of the worry that showed so clearly in the chocolate eyes gazing down on him. Their breath hung white in the air between them as a moment of silence passed.
"Er, Taichi?"
"Yeah?"
"Um, you gonna get off me yet?"
"Oh, er, sorry..." the brunette's cheeks reddened in a way that had nothing to do with the cold. It took him about one second flat to go from practically horizontal, to totally vertical, so acute was his embarrassment. Yamato propped himself up on his elbows, and shook his head vigorously, spraying snow everywhere.
Taichi held his hand out to his friend, and helped the blonde to his feet.
"Damn, you hands are cold!" the brunette exclaimed in surprise.
"Yeah, tell me about it..." he smiled, and held both hands in front of his mouth, blowing on them in an attempt to warm them. He looked at Taichi questioningly when he heard him giggle a moment later. "What?"
"Just thinking... I shouldn't really be surprised that your hands are cold...seeing as you currently look like a snowman!"
"Wha?" he blinked and looked down at himself, and at where snow clung to his coat and trousers. "I guess I do..." he laughed, and began to brush away the thin white layer. Then, looking up slyly with a grin, he added, "And you do too!"
"I do?" It was the brunette's turn to look surprised, only then realising that he too was covered in snow. Then he laughed, and joined Yamato in the task of trying to rid himself of such a burden.
"Tai?"
"Yup?"
"Can you just check that I've gotten all the snow off my back?" the blonde asked, turning round so that Taichi could see.
"Sure!" The brunette moved closer to his friend, "You still have just a little left on you... Let me get it for you..."
"Thanks..." he said, and then felt himself blush as one of the sweeps glided over his ass...
"Hey... Matt?" Taichi asked a moment later.
"Yeah?" Yamato wondered if his friend could hear how loud and how fast his heart was beating. Surely he wasn't so unfit that a little exertion would make his heart race so much... In fact he knew that he was physically fit, as he went to the gym regularly. So surely his heart shouldn't have been beating as fast as it was... Maybe it was because the exercise was coupled with the cold that caused it to do so. Then again, maybe it wasn't...
"You feeling okay?"
"Um... I, uh, I think so... Why do you ask?" he stuttered, his heart still going thumpity-thump in his chest.
"Oh, okay... It's just that your face has gone all red."
"Oh... Probably just because of the cold..."
"Well, if that's the case then we'd better get on to the cinema before you freeze!" the brunette laughed, running forward a couple of steps. Then he paused and looked back at the blonde with a puzzled frown.
"What now?" Yamato grinned, placing his hands on his hips.
"Weren't you wearing a hat before?"
"Uh, yeah..." He raised his hands to his head and felt nothing but slightly damp locks. Looking around he spotted it half buried in the snow a little way away, and went to retrieve it, shaking the baseball cap free of the clinging white particles before replacing it on his head. He hadn't noticed when it had fallen off... In fact he had completely forgotten that he had even put it on in the first place. Noticing that Taichi was still looking puzzled, he shot a puzzled look of his own his friend's way. "Whatcha thinking 'bout?"
"Nothing much." he shrugged. "Shall we walk yet?"
The blonde fell into step beside the brunette, and they walked on a little way before he felt the urge to ask the question again.
"What were you thinking about, Tai?"
"Huh? Oh. I was just wondering why you decided to wear a baseball cap..."
"Why wouldn't I?" he asked, genuinely curious.
"Well... It's not exactly cold weather headwear, so it can't be because of that... And I guess that you just don't really look like a hat person to me."
"I'm not." he admitted. "I don't usually like wearing them."
"Then why are you? It hides your face..."
"Precisely."
"But Matt..." Taichi protested. "Why would you want to hide your face? I mean...you have a damned pretty face!" he exclaimed, and Yamato blushed again, and wondered why. It wasn't as if he wasn't used to such compliments, and he always appreciated them...but he had thought that he had gotten past the stage when he was embarrassed by them... So why was he blushing now? "So why would you want to cover it up?" the brunette continued. "You're not gonna tell me that you have a problem with the way you look, are you? Because you're mad if you do..."
"Nah, Tai, I'm fine with the way I look!" he reassured his friend. "Not to be big-headed or anything, you do understand...?" he added hurriedly, wondering if his comment had sounded arrogant. He hadn't meant it to.
"You're not being big-headed saying you're fine with the way you look." Taichi spoke seriously, with no trace of joviality showing in his face, voice, or even the way he moved. The blonde looked at his face, into those deep brown eyes, and was reassured by the sincerity held in them. "But if you're fine with your looks, then why hide your face?"
"Because it's a very recognisable face." he sighed. "And this is a time when I don't want to be recognised..."
"Why?" Was it just him, or did the brunette's voice sound strange as he asked that simple, one word question?
"Why? Isn't it obvious? It's because if I get recognised, I usually get swamped by fans... Don't get me wrong, I love our strong fan base, and I really appreciate the support they give us... But sometime all I want is some time out. Some time to be me, without having to worry who might be watching, and what they might say about me, what conclusions they might draw about me without ever knowing the full picture. Without ever knowing the real me..." he trailed off, suddenly filled with a sense of deep regret for things that could have been, if only he could have acted with confidence... If only he could have acted without having to worry about the reactions of those around him. Of those watching him, even in his teenage years. And his biggest regret... His throat tightened, and he ducked his head between his shoulders, staring down at his feet as he walked along.
His heart ached as he thought of the thing he regretted most in his life...and how he wished that he could rectify it by just talking to the person walking beside him now, only he didn't dare...
Coward. A snide inner voice raged at him. Always such a coward... Never strong enough... Never good enough... He wanted to clap his hands over his ears, to block out that voice, though he prevented himself just in time, aware of how concerned his friend would be for him. Aware that he would want to know what was wrong. Aware that it was one answer that he could give, wouldn't give... He closed his eyes briefly, thinking that really he shouldn't still have so much self-doubt, only the feeling had just never gone away...
"Yama?" Taichi enquired softly, reaching out gently to touch his cheek. Yamato looked up into his eyes automatically, and instantly wished that he hadn't, for he physically winced when he saw the concern held in the brunette's eyes. And that only made the concern deepen. "Hey, you've gone all pale..."
"Have I?" he said, trying to sound casual, but failing, as his heart just wasn't in it any more. He wasn't sure how much longer he had the strength to keep so many of his feelings hidden from all those around him...
"Yeah."
"Oh." he said, not knowing what else to say in reply. "Tai..."
"Yeah?"
"I'm fine. Really." he smiled at the brunette, who still looked unconvinced. He just hoped that it didn't look as fake as it felt. "Really. Stop worrying about me already."
"Hmm."
The blonde was grateful that they reached the cinema then, because he could tell from the look on his friend's face that he wasn't planning on dropping the issue so easily. At least he'd have some time now to think of more convincing excuses...
Scanning the titles of the films being shown, he chewed his lower lip thoughtfully.
"Any ideas?"
"About what?"
"About which film to see?"
"Uh..." Taichi looked up and read the options.
He hadn't even looked up at them when they had arrived? Yamato was surprised, even though he was careful not to let that show outwardly. He must really have been worried...
"Well?" he probed after a few moments of silence.
"Sorry Matt." the brunette sighed, his gaze dropping back down. "Can't really decide... Do you have any preference?"
"Nope." Then he grinned. "Come on then..." he said, heading for the doors.
"Hey!" he protested. "But we haven't decided on the film yet!"
"So?"
"Bit hard to ask for tickets if we haven't decided yet, isn't it?"
"Well..." he smiled winningly, pushing open the doors, and giving Taichi no option but to follow him. "That just gives me the perfect opportunity to try something out..."
"What-" the brunette began, but the blonde held a finger up to his lips to silence him as he wove his way through the people in the foyer, and over to one of the ticket booths. He stopped in front of a bored looking ticket seller, the cinema being pretty quiet as people had stayed at home, and not ventured out because of the snow. He cleared his throat and the man looked up.
"Yes? How can I help you?" he asked, in a polite but uninterested tone.
"Two tickets please." Yamato smiled, wondering how long that bored look would last if this all played out to plan.
"Which film?" the man asked, turning to the computer, his hands poised over the keyboard, ready to call up the relevant information.
"The next one."
"Uh..." Bingo! Boredom already turning to bewilderment. He'd have to play the next bit carefully though, else this could all very well go completely wrong...
"Two tickets for the next film please." the blonde said, careful to keep his tone polite, and not let the giggle that was building up in his chest break through.
"Uh, the next showing of...which film?"
"Just the next film."
"Uh..."
"How long until a film starts showing? Any film, you understand."
"Uh..." There was some frantic tapping of keys. "There's a film due to start in five minutes?" He looked back at Yamato, a puzzled frown creasing his forehead, obviously not knowing what to make of this peculiar stranger.
"Okay. Two tickets for that please."
"Uh..." the man paused. "Do you want to know what the film is?"
"No, but thanks all the same. Just the tickets."
"Oh, uh, okay..."
"Thank you." the blonde smiled, and paid for them. Then once he had the two small pieces of card, he grabbed Taichi by the arm and dragged him away from the desk before allowing his to speak.
"Yamato?!" the brunette exclaimed as soon as he was able to.
"Yes?" Yamato said innocently, presenting their tickets to the cinema staff who directed them to the correct screen.
"What was that all about?!"
"Well..." he shrugged, and his voice dropped to a whisper as they walked through the right door and made their way to their seats. "We couldn't decide on the film, and we weren't really all tat bothered anyway, so it just seemed like the simplest solution. Saved us from choosing one only to find that the next screening wasn't for a couple of hours."
"But..."
"Yes?"
"You've got to feel sorry for that poor bloke, though! Did you see the look on his face?"
"Yeah." he laughed. "Stopped him from being so bored though, didn't it?"
"I guess..." Taichi also laughed. Then he peered at the ticket stub in his hand. "What film is this anyway?"
"Um..." the blonde looked at his own ticket stub for the first time, the single word printed on it not really helping. "No idea I'm afraid... But it doesn't really matter." he added as the lights dimmed, and the film trailers began to play on the big screen. "We'll find out soon enough!"
They settled back more comfortably in their seats, and watched the images flash across the screen, listening to the sound of explosions and whispered words that nevertheless echoed around the movie theatre. Yamato was happy enough to just sit there, not really watching or listening, but sunk deep in his own thoughts... Or at least until an intrusive voice invaded, dragging him unwillingly back to reality.
"Hey you, mister!" the voice continued in a hiss that was probably meant to leave everyone else undisturbed, but failed miserably in that task. The sound was too sharp for the prevalent hush, and very audible because of it. "Yeah, you mister, the one in the baseball cap."
The blonde sunk deeper into his seat, recognising the tones as those of someone who was pissed off about something, and determined to take that aggression out on someone.
"You in the fucking baseball cap!" the voice continued, rising from the hiss and getting steadily louder, the speaker more or less directly behind the seat in which Yamato sat. "I know you can hear me, so don't ignore me!"
Taichi turned round and glared coldly at the speaker, and the singer groaned inwardly. A confrontation was the last thing that he wanted...
"Tai, just leave it." he muttered, hoping that his friend would just drop it. No such luck.
"Excuse me." the brunette said to the owner of the annoyed voice. The blonde didn't want to turn round to see what the speaker looked like, in case someone also noticed what he looked like. "Exactly where do you get off talking to my friend like that?"
"Keep out of this." he was advised with a contemptuous snort. "It doesn't concern you. It's between me, and him. Hey! Don't just ignore me you arrogant bastard. Take your fucking baseball cap off because you're blocking my view!"
Yamato sunk further into his seat. The guy behind him was obviously just looking for a fight, and he wanted no part of it. It was only a baseball cap, not exactly hugely obstructive or anything, and he was sunk so low in his seat that he was forming less of an obstruction than if he had been sitting normally, minus hat... But obviously that wasn't good enough for the jerk behind him. The man made a disgusted sound in his throat, and lent forward and whipped the hat off the blonde's head.
As the silken strands settled, gleaming even in the dull light of the cinema, Yamato heard gasps coming from those in rows further forward, from those who had turned round to find out what the commotion was. He sighed, and sat up straight in his chair. People had already seen, and recognised his face, so there was no point in attempting to hide any more.
"Oh shit." he said mildly, just as one shocked person finally managed to find their voice, and the first awed voice rang out.
"Kami-sama! That's Yamato Ishida!"
To be continued...
~
So... Care to review and let me know what you think? *clasps hands together and looks hopeful* I am currently working on Part 6 of Edition 1, which should have a nice little cliff-hanger ending of sorts... *chortles* Complicate matters, me? *tries to look innocent*
…
Ugh. Sorry, new development. Still working on the 6th part of Edition 1…but my computer's undergone a crash, and my life is deciding to do a very good imitation of hell at the moment, so it may be some time coming. -_- Gomen. If I could change things I would… But writing is not exactly a priority at the moment.
But would you please leave a review? I think I kinda need something to cheer me up at the moment… u_u
Jheya xxx
