A/N: I'm sorry! Gomen-ne! Je m'excuse! I've apologized in three languages.
Please forgive me for being so late! Rika and Terada are so hard to write
about. Thankfully, I had my prequel to fall back on. Thank you for everyone
who reviewed the E&T chapter. I don't like E&K that much, but facts are
facts.
Foreword: If you would like to read this chapter, please be sure that you have read Young and Old.
~*~*~*~*~
Disclaimer: CCS belongs to CLAMP
~*~*~*~*~
Thanks For The Memories
By Amethyst Beloved
Chapter 4: R&T
~*~*~*~*~
"Are you sure you don't want to come with us Rika?" asked Naoko just before getting in a Tomoeda taxi van. "There's still room for one more."
Rika shook her head negatively.
"Don't worry about me. I'm waiting for my ride right now."
"All right then," replied Naoko as she hopped in the back seat next to Takashi and Chiharu. "Don't forget to call me tonight!"
As Rika watched the van drive away, she didn't notice the person coming from behind her until he wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her lightly on the nape of her neck.
"Welcome home," he whispered in her ear; sending pleasurable chills down her spine.
"It's good to be back," Rika replied as she turned around to take in his handsome features.
All though Yoshiyuki Terada was in his mid-thirties, one would have never known. His upbeat and cheerful personality along with his ability to stay fit made him look much younger than her appeared to be.
"How was the wedding?" he asked as he grabbed Rika's traveling bag and swung it over his shoulder.
"Very beautiful! I had a wonderful time!" Rika exclaimed. "Sakura and Syaoran are on their honeymoon now. During the reception, Tomoyo caught the bouquet, and she seems to be hitting it off with the photographer who caught the garter. Come to think of it, I don't remember if Tomoyo has ever been in a relationship before. But even though he's her first, I'm sure she and Ray will go far. In fact, they might even be the next to get married-"
"Rika," Yoshiyuki interrupted. "Are you forgetting something?"
Rika blushed furiously when she remembered that she was the one who was engaged.
"So tell me. When are we going to give your parents the news about us?"
"I... um... well, you see... " stumbled Rika before taking a deep breath and collecting her thoughts. "My father will be back from Tokyo tomorrow before he has to leave for Beijing next week. We'll tell them as soon as he comes home."
"All right," he answered. "No regrets?"
"No regrets."
~*~(The following night)~*~
The ticking of the majestic grandfather clock nestled in the Sasaki luxurious foyer was beginning to irritate every last one of Rika's nerve. It was only a few minutes before the time Rika agreed that Yoshiyuki should come and help her explain their engagement.
The anticipated chime of the doorbell was enough to launch the woman stiffly on her feet as she helplessly watched the maid open the door and announced the new arrival to both of her parents who were also lounging in the living room with her.
"Well look who's here, Rika! Your old elementary school teacher," gushed Mrs Sasaki. "Now what do we owe this surprise visit, Yoshiyuki?"
"Surprise visit?" he mumbled under his breath as he shot Rika a look before sitting down beside her as she shrugged meagrely in return. All though Rika did not give her parents any warning before hand, he decided that the quickest and least painful way for both of them was by cutting to the chase.
"Mr and Mrs Sasaki, the reason that I have come to see you both is because we are seeking your blessing. I wish to get married to your daughter, and she feels the same way."
"What?" bellowed Mr Sasaki and he stood up with a start. "You want to get married to my daughter? Your former student? What sort of cradle robber are you?"
Ms Sasaki stayed where she was, but her face was turning white with shock. "I though I raised you better than this, daughter," she scolded. Marrying this teacher will only decrease your social status, and we'd be the laughing stock of the community. I forbid you to see this man ever again!"
"I'm afraid that I can not do that, mother," she said slowly through clenched teeth. "You see, Yoshiyuki and I are not looking for your approval. If you do not want to accept us, then we will be on our way."
With those words spoken, Rika went straight to the closet to fetch a suitcase that she pre-packed since she had a feeling that their announcement would cause a fight in the household. Yoshiyuki got up and began to follow her.
"Wait!" cried out Mr Sasaki who couldn't believe what was happening. "Maybe we could work something-"
But his wife held him back, and he painfully watch his only daughter walk out the door.
"If we cave in now, Rika and her teacher would have won," she explained. "Give her a day or two, and she'll come back. After he breaks her heart, and I know he will, I'll set her up with a more suitable man.
Mr Sasaki sighed. For once he hoped that she was right.
~*~(A week later)~*~
"A small wedding sounds nice," said Rika during breakfast. "Just big enough for the people close to us like our friends and fam..."
Yoshiyuki sucked in a breath as he watched Rika's eyes cloud with sadness. Would this feud ever come to an end?
"Hey Rika, it looks like we're out of food," blurted out Yoshiyuki, trying to change the subject. "I guess it's grocery shopping time. Why don't you just relax and let me take care of it?"
"No you've done enough for me already," replied Rika. "It's nice enough of you to share your apartment with you. Please let me return the favour."
"Anything for you," he replied as he leaned over to give her a quick kiss before clearing the table."
"I'll be back soon." Rika called out as she went through the door.
"I miss you already!" answered Yoshiyuki as he was rewarded with his fiancée's tinkling laughter.
It wasn't until after the dishes were done, when Yoshiyuki realized that Rika forget to take the grocery money with her.
Consequently, there was a knock on the door. Collecting the money, he went to open the door."
"I've been expecting you..."
Yoshiyuki was at loss of words. The woman in front of him wasn't his fiancée, but someone who he had never met before in his life. However, there was something familiar about her delicately styled chestnut hair and her piercing topaz eyes.
"And I thought that my visit was going to be a surprise," she pouted as she let herself in and pushed the door close behind her. "But then again, since I couldn't get you out of my mind ever since you met, I'm assuming that the feeling is mutual.
"Do I... know you?" he stuttered as he gave her a once over. She was wearing a proactively tight red shirt with a dangerously low cut and a shamefully short miniskirt.
"Aren't you Yoshiyuki Terada?" she purred innocently enough.
He nodded in a dumbfounded manner.
With that gesture, she lurched towards the man and began kissing him passionately as she wrapped her arms around his neck in order to mold her body with his.
Breaking away roughly and holding her at arms length as he stared at her face when the memories crashed in her head like a water coursing through a newly broken dam. He was sixteen when he met this girl at a club. They had a great time as they enjoyed each other's company until she got drunk. Once he brought her home, they started making out and almost ended up making love if it wasn't for him pulling away from her before things got too far. But now she was back in his life, and this time she kissed him so hard that they fell back on the couch.
Yoshiyuki found it rather difficult to escape from the woman from his past without hurting her physically in the process. She was rather strong, and he was helpless under her weight. With all the commotion, no one heard the apartment door opening.
"Hey! I'm back!" chirped Rika as she entered. "Can you believe that I forget the mon..."
Rika was at loss of words as she witnessed the man she loved kissing a woman she had never seen in her entire life as if there was no tomorrow. Was this the way he acted behind her back?
In a raged fury, Rika slammed the door behind her as hard as she could to make her presence known. The woman stopped kissing Yoshiyuki for a moment, and he took the opportunity to push her away as she landed on the floor with a thud.
"Rika!" he exclaimed as he jumped to his feet. "This is not what it looks like!"
"Oh please! Men have been feeding that line to women for ages!" she shouted with fire in her eyes. "I don't care about your excuses! We're through!"
With those words she slipped off her engagement ring, threw it in his face, and turned to walk away. It wasn't until the door was closed when she burst into tears. Her family was right all along. But did this mean that now she had to face them?
~*~(That night)~*~
The moon brightly lit the sapphire sky as a car drove up to a pretty house that situated in a neighbourhood just outside of Tomoeda.
"Thanks for bringing me here, Naoko," said Rika as she unbuckled her seat belt.
"No problem. Take care of yourself, sweetie."
Rika walked up to the house and rang the bell. When the door opened, she broke into a smile.
"Hi Kara. It's good to see you."
The older woman who was in her forties smiled at the young lady in front of her who was all grown up. She could still remember tending to her as a child. All though Kara wasn't working for the Sasakis now that she was married with three children of her own, the two still kept in touch.
"Can I come in?" asked Rika meekly.
"Sure thing! Make yourself at home!"
Rika walked in the small, yet cozy house, and the first thing she noticed were all the family photographs the sprinkled the wall, which ranged from those taken in a studio to those from vacations.
"The husband has the kids out on a camping trip," Kara said once she and Rika were settled down. "They wanted to give mom some alone time."
Rika smiled in return. All of a sudden, a wedding photo caught her eye, and before she knew what was happening, her vision was blurred with tears."
"Oh Rika, honey, what's the matter?" Kara asked as she handed her a box of tissues."
"I-I was supposed to get married, b-but today I found him on the c-couch with ano... another woman!" she wailed in the end, letting her tears flow freely."
"Shh... hush now," soothed the older woman as she wrapped her arms Rika to give her a comforting hug. "Now, you listen to me. Did you give him a chance to explain?"
Rika tried to speak, but since she wasn't able to get the words out, she just shook her head instead.
"Well, there you go," said Kara. "Let him defend himself. You'll know in your heart if he's telling the truth, and if he's lying, just turn around and don't look back. You're too good for him to be treating you this way."
Rika smiled softly before she could speak.
"I don't want to horn in on your alone time, but can I spend the night here?"
"I wouldn't have it any other way."
~*~(The next day)~*~
Yoshiyuki was in pieces as he paced back and forth in front of the apartment door. Rika left, and she never came back. What if she's lost? What if she was in an accident? What if she's kidnapped? He couldn't stop thinking of the "what ifs", and he wasn't able to sleep a wink that night. Dark circles were under his eyes, and he desperately needed a shave, but his hands were shaking too much with worry to do anything about it. Just then, the opened: it was Rika, and she was more beautiful than ever.
"Oh Rika, I am so glad that nothing happened to you," gushed Yoshiyuki as he gave her a hug, which she did not return.
"I'm here because a friend of mine told me to hear you out," explained Rika coolly. "Let's sit down."
Yoshiyuki waited until Rika was seated before sitting in front of her.
"That woman came back because she thought there was something left between us. I was sixteen when I met her at a club," he began. "She got drunk, I took her home, we began kissing, but nothing happened because I stopped her before things got out of hand."
"Then what happened after that?" she asked nervously.
"First of all, I never wanted to see her again," he confessed," he confessed. "But I wasn't ready for sex, and I knew she wasn't either. I wished that I could find someone who was mature, yet innocent. Would you like to know what happened next?"
"Do tell," encouraged Rika who was drown into the story.
"I met you. At one of your mother's garden parties. You were so beautiful in that white dress if yours, but oh so young. However, I was drawn to you like a moth to a flame, and I refused to let you go. That is when I decided to become a teacher, dearest Rika. "To be closer to you."
Rika couldn't believe what she was hearing. But all in all, she knew that every word of it was true because she could still remember bits and pieces of that day, and she still had the precious daisy he gave her pressed in one of her favourite books. If it weren't for his kind and encouraging words, she would have grown up believing that her father never loved her.
Tears of happiness began to well in her eyes, and without thinking, Yoshiyuki leaned forward to kiss them away.
"So do you forgive me?" he asked hesitantly.
Rika flung her arms around his neck and gave him a tight hug.
"Of course I do," she murmured in his neck. "I love you too much. Oh Yoshiyuki, this is so close to perfect. If only..."
Rika couldn't finish what she was saying since the ringing telephone cut her sentence.
"Hello?" Yoshiyuki said when he answered it. "Okay, please hold on."
Covering the receiver, he whispered to Rika that it was for her. Feeling confused, she took the phone.
"Hello... Father?" she exclaimed in shock before pausing to hear him out. "Really? Oh I am so happy! Thank you! Okay, I love you too. Bye."
As soon as Rika hung up the phone, she jumped on her feet and clapped her hands with glee.
"Father has given us his blessing!" she exclaimed. "And he said with some persuasion, he could talk my mom into it too!"
Yoshiyuki picked Rika up and spun her around before placing her on the ground and dropping a kiss on her forehead.
"I guess it's safe to call things perfect, right Rika?"
Rika only kissed him in response. Finally they could begin their lives together, and this time, for certain, there were no regrets.
~*~*~*~*~
The End
A/N: Ta-da! My story is complete! I hope it met everyone's expectations. If you like it please review. I'm not planning to write an epilogue, but if anybody wants one, just drop a suggestion, and I'll make it happen!
Foreword: If you would like to read this chapter, please be sure that you have read Young and Old.
~*~*~*~*~
Disclaimer: CCS belongs to CLAMP
~*~*~*~*~
Thanks For The Memories
By Amethyst Beloved
Chapter 4: R&T
~*~*~*~*~
"Are you sure you don't want to come with us Rika?" asked Naoko just before getting in a Tomoeda taxi van. "There's still room for one more."
Rika shook her head negatively.
"Don't worry about me. I'm waiting for my ride right now."
"All right then," replied Naoko as she hopped in the back seat next to Takashi and Chiharu. "Don't forget to call me tonight!"
As Rika watched the van drive away, she didn't notice the person coming from behind her until he wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her lightly on the nape of her neck.
"Welcome home," he whispered in her ear; sending pleasurable chills down her spine.
"It's good to be back," Rika replied as she turned around to take in his handsome features.
All though Yoshiyuki Terada was in his mid-thirties, one would have never known. His upbeat and cheerful personality along with his ability to stay fit made him look much younger than her appeared to be.
"How was the wedding?" he asked as he grabbed Rika's traveling bag and swung it over his shoulder.
"Very beautiful! I had a wonderful time!" Rika exclaimed. "Sakura and Syaoran are on their honeymoon now. During the reception, Tomoyo caught the bouquet, and she seems to be hitting it off with the photographer who caught the garter. Come to think of it, I don't remember if Tomoyo has ever been in a relationship before. But even though he's her first, I'm sure she and Ray will go far. In fact, they might even be the next to get married-"
"Rika," Yoshiyuki interrupted. "Are you forgetting something?"
Rika blushed furiously when she remembered that she was the one who was engaged.
"So tell me. When are we going to give your parents the news about us?"
"I... um... well, you see... " stumbled Rika before taking a deep breath and collecting her thoughts. "My father will be back from Tokyo tomorrow before he has to leave for Beijing next week. We'll tell them as soon as he comes home."
"All right," he answered. "No regrets?"
"No regrets."
~*~(The following night)~*~
The ticking of the majestic grandfather clock nestled in the Sasaki luxurious foyer was beginning to irritate every last one of Rika's nerve. It was only a few minutes before the time Rika agreed that Yoshiyuki should come and help her explain their engagement.
The anticipated chime of the doorbell was enough to launch the woman stiffly on her feet as she helplessly watched the maid open the door and announced the new arrival to both of her parents who were also lounging in the living room with her.
"Well look who's here, Rika! Your old elementary school teacher," gushed Mrs Sasaki. "Now what do we owe this surprise visit, Yoshiyuki?"
"Surprise visit?" he mumbled under his breath as he shot Rika a look before sitting down beside her as she shrugged meagrely in return. All though Rika did not give her parents any warning before hand, he decided that the quickest and least painful way for both of them was by cutting to the chase.
"Mr and Mrs Sasaki, the reason that I have come to see you both is because we are seeking your blessing. I wish to get married to your daughter, and she feels the same way."
"What?" bellowed Mr Sasaki and he stood up with a start. "You want to get married to my daughter? Your former student? What sort of cradle robber are you?"
Ms Sasaki stayed where she was, but her face was turning white with shock. "I though I raised you better than this, daughter," she scolded. Marrying this teacher will only decrease your social status, and we'd be the laughing stock of the community. I forbid you to see this man ever again!"
"I'm afraid that I can not do that, mother," she said slowly through clenched teeth. "You see, Yoshiyuki and I are not looking for your approval. If you do not want to accept us, then we will be on our way."
With those words spoken, Rika went straight to the closet to fetch a suitcase that she pre-packed since she had a feeling that their announcement would cause a fight in the household. Yoshiyuki got up and began to follow her.
"Wait!" cried out Mr Sasaki who couldn't believe what was happening. "Maybe we could work something-"
But his wife held him back, and he painfully watch his only daughter walk out the door.
"If we cave in now, Rika and her teacher would have won," she explained. "Give her a day or two, and she'll come back. After he breaks her heart, and I know he will, I'll set her up with a more suitable man.
Mr Sasaki sighed. For once he hoped that she was right.
~*~(A week later)~*~
"A small wedding sounds nice," said Rika during breakfast. "Just big enough for the people close to us like our friends and fam..."
Yoshiyuki sucked in a breath as he watched Rika's eyes cloud with sadness. Would this feud ever come to an end?
"Hey Rika, it looks like we're out of food," blurted out Yoshiyuki, trying to change the subject. "I guess it's grocery shopping time. Why don't you just relax and let me take care of it?"
"No you've done enough for me already," replied Rika. "It's nice enough of you to share your apartment with you. Please let me return the favour."
"Anything for you," he replied as he leaned over to give her a quick kiss before clearing the table."
"I'll be back soon." Rika called out as she went through the door.
"I miss you already!" answered Yoshiyuki as he was rewarded with his fiancée's tinkling laughter.
It wasn't until after the dishes were done, when Yoshiyuki realized that Rika forget to take the grocery money with her.
Consequently, there was a knock on the door. Collecting the money, he went to open the door."
"I've been expecting you..."
Yoshiyuki was at loss of words. The woman in front of him wasn't his fiancée, but someone who he had never met before in his life. However, there was something familiar about her delicately styled chestnut hair and her piercing topaz eyes.
"And I thought that my visit was going to be a surprise," she pouted as she let herself in and pushed the door close behind her. "But then again, since I couldn't get you out of my mind ever since you met, I'm assuming that the feeling is mutual.
"Do I... know you?" he stuttered as he gave her a once over. She was wearing a proactively tight red shirt with a dangerously low cut and a shamefully short miniskirt.
"Aren't you Yoshiyuki Terada?" she purred innocently enough.
He nodded in a dumbfounded manner.
With that gesture, she lurched towards the man and began kissing him passionately as she wrapped her arms around his neck in order to mold her body with his.
Breaking away roughly and holding her at arms length as he stared at her face when the memories crashed in her head like a water coursing through a newly broken dam. He was sixteen when he met this girl at a club. They had a great time as they enjoyed each other's company until she got drunk. Once he brought her home, they started making out and almost ended up making love if it wasn't for him pulling away from her before things got too far. But now she was back in his life, and this time she kissed him so hard that they fell back on the couch.
Yoshiyuki found it rather difficult to escape from the woman from his past without hurting her physically in the process. She was rather strong, and he was helpless under her weight. With all the commotion, no one heard the apartment door opening.
"Hey! I'm back!" chirped Rika as she entered. "Can you believe that I forget the mon..."
Rika was at loss of words as she witnessed the man she loved kissing a woman she had never seen in her entire life as if there was no tomorrow. Was this the way he acted behind her back?
In a raged fury, Rika slammed the door behind her as hard as she could to make her presence known. The woman stopped kissing Yoshiyuki for a moment, and he took the opportunity to push her away as she landed on the floor with a thud.
"Rika!" he exclaimed as he jumped to his feet. "This is not what it looks like!"
"Oh please! Men have been feeding that line to women for ages!" she shouted with fire in her eyes. "I don't care about your excuses! We're through!"
With those words she slipped off her engagement ring, threw it in his face, and turned to walk away. It wasn't until the door was closed when she burst into tears. Her family was right all along. But did this mean that now she had to face them?
~*~(That night)~*~
The moon brightly lit the sapphire sky as a car drove up to a pretty house that situated in a neighbourhood just outside of Tomoeda.
"Thanks for bringing me here, Naoko," said Rika as she unbuckled her seat belt.
"No problem. Take care of yourself, sweetie."
Rika walked up to the house and rang the bell. When the door opened, she broke into a smile.
"Hi Kara. It's good to see you."
The older woman who was in her forties smiled at the young lady in front of her who was all grown up. She could still remember tending to her as a child. All though Kara wasn't working for the Sasakis now that she was married with three children of her own, the two still kept in touch.
"Can I come in?" asked Rika meekly.
"Sure thing! Make yourself at home!"
Rika walked in the small, yet cozy house, and the first thing she noticed were all the family photographs the sprinkled the wall, which ranged from those taken in a studio to those from vacations.
"The husband has the kids out on a camping trip," Kara said once she and Rika were settled down. "They wanted to give mom some alone time."
Rika smiled in return. All of a sudden, a wedding photo caught her eye, and before she knew what was happening, her vision was blurred with tears."
"Oh Rika, honey, what's the matter?" Kara asked as she handed her a box of tissues."
"I-I was supposed to get married, b-but today I found him on the c-couch with ano... another woman!" she wailed in the end, letting her tears flow freely."
"Shh... hush now," soothed the older woman as she wrapped her arms Rika to give her a comforting hug. "Now, you listen to me. Did you give him a chance to explain?"
Rika tried to speak, but since she wasn't able to get the words out, she just shook her head instead.
"Well, there you go," said Kara. "Let him defend himself. You'll know in your heart if he's telling the truth, and if he's lying, just turn around and don't look back. You're too good for him to be treating you this way."
Rika smiled softly before she could speak.
"I don't want to horn in on your alone time, but can I spend the night here?"
"I wouldn't have it any other way."
~*~(The next day)~*~
Yoshiyuki was in pieces as he paced back and forth in front of the apartment door. Rika left, and she never came back. What if she's lost? What if she was in an accident? What if she's kidnapped? He couldn't stop thinking of the "what ifs", and he wasn't able to sleep a wink that night. Dark circles were under his eyes, and he desperately needed a shave, but his hands were shaking too much with worry to do anything about it. Just then, the opened: it was Rika, and she was more beautiful than ever.
"Oh Rika, I am so glad that nothing happened to you," gushed Yoshiyuki as he gave her a hug, which she did not return.
"I'm here because a friend of mine told me to hear you out," explained Rika coolly. "Let's sit down."
Yoshiyuki waited until Rika was seated before sitting in front of her.
"That woman came back because she thought there was something left between us. I was sixteen when I met her at a club," he began. "She got drunk, I took her home, we began kissing, but nothing happened because I stopped her before things got out of hand."
"Then what happened after that?" she asked nervously.
"First of all, I never wanted to see her again," he confessed," he confessed. "But I wasn't ready for sex, and I knew she wasn't either. I wished that I could find someone who was mature, yet innocent. Would you like to know what happened next?"
"Do tell," encouraged Rika who was drown into the story.
"I met you. At one of your mother's garden parties. You were so beautiful in that white dress if yours, but oh so young. However, I was drawn to you like a moth to a flame, and I refused to let you go. That is when I decided to become a teacher, dearest Rika. "To be closer to you."
Rika couldn't believe what she was hearing. But all in all, she knew that every word of it was true because she could still remember bits and pieces of that day, and she still had the precious daisy he gave her pressed in one of her favourite books. If it weren't for his kind and encouraging words, she would have grown up believing that her father never loved her.
Tears of happiness began to well in her eyes, and without thinking, Yoshiyuki leaned forward to kiss them away.
"So do you forgive me?" he asked hesitantly.
Rika flung her arms around his neck and gave him a tight hug.
"Of course I do," she murmured in his neck. "I love you too much. Oh Yoshiyuki, this is so close to perfect. If only..."
Rika couldn't finish what she was saying since the ringing telephone cut her sentence.
"Hello?" Yoshiyuki said when he answered it. "Okay, please hold on."
Covering the receiver, he whispered to Rika that it was for her. Feeling confused, she took the phone.
"Hello... Father?" she exclaimed in shock before pausing to hear him out. "Really? Oh I am so happy! Thank you! Okay, I love you too. Bye."
As soon as Rika hung up the phone, she jumped on her feet and clapped her hands with glee.
"Father has given us his blessing!" she exclaimed. "And he said with some persuasion, he could talk my mom into it too!"
Yoshiyuki picked Rika up and spun her around before placing her on the ground and dropping a kiss on her forehead.
"I guess it's safe to call things perfect, right Rika?"
Rika only kissed him in response. Finally they could begin their lives together, and this time, for certain, there were no regrets.
~*~*~*~*~
The End
A/N: Ta-da! My story is complete! I hope it met everyone's expectations. If you like it please review. I'm not planning to write an epilogue, but if anybody wants one, just drop a suggestion, and I'll make it happen!