Disclaimer: Tasuki and Amiboshi aren't mine, but I wish they were. As I'm sure most of us do.
Hi all, sorry for the delay. I need to get something done on my other story before I lost the idea. And VanyD, I know I'm getting a little off. I digress. But I'm getting back to the plot. My wrting usually is full of sap.
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Ayame's keys clicked in the door as she and Kohana arrived home from another day of running from place to place. They'd just come home from a day of shopping.
"Kohana, I'm gonna start dinner. Wanna help?" Ayame tossed some bags on the couch.
"Nah. I wanna take a nap."
Ayame gave her sister a funny look and touched her forehead. "Are you feeling alright?"
"I'm fine." Kohana wrinkled her nose. "I'm just tired."
"Well…alright. If you say so." Ayame went to the kitchen while Kohana went to her room. But she didn't go to take a nap.
She closed her door and looked through her bookcase for the Shi Jin Ten Chi Sho. It wasn't in the place she last remembered it in. 'Somebody moved it…it's been a couple days since Ami-kun and Ruri put me to bed and Ayame hasn't read to me lately…so Ami-kun found it…' She thumbed through the pages. Then she hugged the book to her small body. 'Please don't go…please don't leave them…'
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Tasuki stared at his ceiling while lying in bed. His blankets tossed around carelessly as if he'd been tossing and turning the previous night. Images of the last day he spent in Konan flashed through his mind all night long. Nothing really came through all that clearly. A misty image of a forest. A young girl's laughter. A flash of crimson. Momentary blackness. So many disjointed images. None of it made any sense to him.
He rubbed his eyes in an attempt to stop the pounding and got up slowly. He took a deep breath and went to the kitchen. Amiboshi was sitting in the dark kitchen with his hands over his eyes. Tasuki sat across from him.
"Bad night?"
"Awful…" Amiboshi moaned. "I couldn't sleep at all. That damn laughing…I wish I knew what it meant…"
"Me too…" Tasuki sighed. "As much as I like living here, I can't help but wonder why we're here in the first place…"
"Does the laughing sound familiar to you at all? I can't help but think I heard it before…"
"Little girls all sound the same. There's no way to tell…"
"No…there's something about whoever we keep hearing laughing. I know I've heard it before…"
"Maybe you're right. There was something sorta distinct about it…"
They sat quietly for a moment before suddenly looking up at each other.
"Kohana…" They both murmured the little girl's name in disbelief.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Ruri whistled a happy little tune as she walked down to a corner restaurant. Her eyes scanned the area for a familiar face to eat with when her eyes rested on Amiboshi's back. His head was down slightly over the table. She bit her lip. 'Why do I run into him so much? Not that I mind. I really do like him…but I can't help but wonder…' She approached him and touched his shoulder. "Amiboshi?"
He barely lifted his head. "Hey, Ruri…" He sounded tired.
"Hey, are you alright?" His tone of voice worried her as she slid into the seat across from him.
"I'm fine. I didn't get a good night's sleep so I have a little headache…"
She reached across the table to touch his forehead. He let out a surprised yelp. "Well, no fever…"
"I don't think I'm sick. I just had a bad night…" He sighed.
"Talking about it might help…"
"No…I don't think it would…"
She gave him a funny look. "You know, ever since I met you I've had this funny feeling that you were hiding something and I think this is part of it… I overlooked it because I really like you…but now it seems like whatever it is is having a bad affect on you…why can't you tell me?"
"It's complicated…"
"Then uncomplicated it! I don't like not knowing what's going on!"
"I can't!" He snapped. Amiboshi felt a tug at his heart when she looked hurt. He didn't mean to lash out at her. "Look…I'm sorry. I'll tell you eventually I know I will, but I can't right now. It wouldn't make any sense to you…hell, I'm not sure it makes and sense to me…"
Ruri frowned. "I really wish you'd tell me. I know nothing about you except that you've known Tasuki for a while and that you had a brother. I want to know more."
He looked up at her with sad eyes. "I want to tell you everything…I really do…but I can't. If…if you'd be willing to wait, you'll know someday."
"You promise?"
"I promise."
"All right. I'll wait."
"Thank you, Ruri. You don't know how much that means to me." He smiled for the first time that day.
"You're right. I don't." She shook her head. "So are we still on for dinner Saturday?"
He looked a little surprised. "You still want to go out to dinner with me even though you don't trust me?"
She blinked a few times. "Who said I didn't trust you? I said I knew nothing about you. That isn't the same." She shrugged. "So you've possibly had a lousy life that you want to hide, I don't know, but that's not a reason not to trust someone. You'd never do anything to hurt me, right?"
"Right…" He blushed.
"Then what do I have to worry about?" She moved his head so his eyes met hers. "Well?"
He closed his eyes for a moment. "Nothing I guess…"
"So what time are you picking me up?"
"Ah…6:30?"
"Alright. See you then." She stood up and kissed him quickly on the cheek.
Amiboshi watched her go in a state of slight disbelief. He couldn't believe she was still willing to put up with his surprisingly cryptic nature. 'I must have found the world's most understanding girl. I can't believe she's not all that mad about this…I wish I could do something for her…but I don't know what…' He paid for his sandwich, which he barely touched, and headed home. He smiled. His headache was gone.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Ayame's legs were folded underneath her as she read on the couch. It was pretty late. Kohana was already asleep. She was grateful for the quiet time. Kohana seemed to always be underfoot today. The phone suddenly rang. She put down her book and picked up the phone.
"Mushi mushi? Ayame speaking."
~Hi. I didn't wake you up, did I?~
Ayame's eyes brightened. "Hi Tasuki. No. You didn't. I was just doing a little reading."
~I was just wondering…you doing anything the Saturday Amiboshi is taking Ruri out?~
"Don't think so. I'll probably just stay home and watch Kohana."
~Want some company? I don't have anything to do that night.~
"Sure. I'd love some company…" She blushed, thankful he couldn't see her.
~He's gonna leave to pick her up around 6:30 so I'll be at your house around that time, okay?~
"Yeah. That's fine. Kohana will be happy to see you too."
~Why's that?~
"She likes you a lot. You know that."
~She's such a cute kid.~
"She is."
~Is she asleep now?~
"Yeah. I was just reading till I felt sleepy."
~How long do you think you'll stay up?~
"Oh…I dunno…" Ayame got up from the couch and went to her room.
~I don't want to keep you up or anything…~
"It's alright. I'm never to sure of what to do after Kohana goes to sleep."
Ayame talked to Tasuki for close to an hour until she started yawning.
~Sounds like you're getting sleepy.~
"A little."
~I'll let you go then. Oyasumi nasai, Ayame-chan.~
"Oyasumi, Tas-kun." She smiled.
~Using Kohana's name for me, are we?~
"I think it's cute." She heard him chuckle. 'That's one damn sexy chuckle…'
~Good night Ayame.~
"Good night." She absently turned off the phone and set it on her side table. She debated changing into her pajamas, but decided she was too tired. She turned onto her side and fell asleep with the light on.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A few days passed. Ruri would be going out with Amiboshi the day after tomorrow. Ayame and Kohana stopped by Ruri's house to see what she was planning on wearing on her date. Ruri's father let them in and they went up to Ruri's room.
She was lying on her bed with a pair of head phones on. Though the volume was so loud, Ayame and Kohana could clearly hear it.
"Hey Ruri!" Ayame tried to get her attention.
No response.
"Ruri! RURI!!!" Kohana yelled louder than Ayame.
Still nothing.
Ayame made a face and whacked Ruri's leg pretty hard. "RURI!"
Ruri yelped in surprise and fell off her bed. "Ah!" She pulled her headphones off and glared at Ayame. "What's the big idea?!"
"You weren't paying any attention to us." Ayame turned off the stereo. "You are going to go deaf. I swear."
"Well, the last thing I hear will be my lovely music."
"I thought the last thing you'd want to hear would be Amiboshi." Kohana said nonchalantly as she looked through Ruri's jewelry. "Pretty…"
Ruri turned bright red. "What did you two come over here for any way? To bug me about Amiboshi?"
"We wanted to see what you're wearing on your date with Ami-kun." Kohana put the jewelry away.
"What? Oh, it's the stuff on the chair." Ruri waved to an inflatable chair in the corner.
Kohana got to it first. She pulled up the pair of cargo pants and a baggy t-shirt with the words 'Baka ni' written across the front. "This? You've gotta be kidding me…"
"What's wrong with it?"
"Try what isn't wrong with it." Ayame shook her head.
"Huh?"
Kohana tossed the clothes back into Ruri's closet. "Waaaaaaaayy too frumpy."
"Wha?!?!" Ruri's eyes widened. "They are not!"
"Kohana is right. They are way too frumpy. To use her words." Ayame went into Ruri's closet. "We're gonna have to find you a better outfit…"
"There's nothing wrong with my choice of clothes!" She protested.
"You looked better the night you were babysitting me! I think Ami-kun thought so too, judging by the way he was kissing you when you fell outta the closet!" Kohana started into the jewelry again to look for perfect accessories.
Ruri turned bright red. "I can't believe you two!"
Ayame threw half Ruri's clothes out onto the bed. "Come on! Don't you own one sexy shirt?!?!"
"Ayame! I don't wear tight stuff!"
"Didn't you get her something like that for her birthday this year?"
"Ah! You're right! Ruri, where's that blue glitter top I gave you? The one that barely goes to the waist of your pants."
"Top shelf. Oh!" Ruri covered her mouth. "Why'd I say that?!?!"
"Because deep down you really wanna look good for Ami-kun." Kohana found some dangly blue crystal earrings. "Perfect!"
Ayame rooted through more of Ruri's clothes. "Ah! The perfect skirt!" She produced an ankle length denim skirt with various patches of other blue patterned fabric sewn in. She set it down with the blue top. "Here! This is what you should wear!"
Ruri stared at the skirt and top. "Are you sure?"
Kohana took the earrings and a necklace she found over to the bed. "With these, it's perfect!"
"You have such good taste Kohana!" Ayame looped the necklace over the shirt hangar and stuck the earrings on it with some tape. "Your perfect outfit Ruri!"
She blushed. "I'm not so sure about this…maybe I should tell him I changed my mind about dinner…"
"No! You can't! You love him don't you?" Kohana stomped her foot.
"Kohana! I do not…" She stopped in mid-sentence. She realized something. "Oh God…"
"What?" Ayame asked.
"I think I am in love with him…" Ruri felt her cheeks turn red.
Ayame smiled. "So wear the skirt and top. Have a good time when you go out."
"I think I'm going to tell him when we go out…"
"Good for you." Ayame smiled.
"What about you and Tasuki?"
"I'm pretty sure I am in love with him. I don't know much about him…but it doesn't matter. I've never felt this way about anyone…"
Kohana looked at her sister and friend and smiled. For once, they were really happy and that was what made her happy.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Saturday came sooner than Ruri would have liked. She changed into her skirt and top, put on her jewelry and grabbed a pair of black sandals. She glanced out her window and saw a blue car pulling up to her house. 'Amiboshi…' She quickly pinned up her hair with a silver barrette and went downstairs as fast as her skirt would let her.
Her father was nearly at the door.
"I'll get it!" Ruri got to the door first. She opened it. Amiboshi stood there in a nice pair of jeans and a dark blue shirt with a white strip across the chest. "Hi."
"Hi." He smiled.
"So this is Amiboshi." Ruri's father came in.
Amiboshi stuck out his hand. "Nice to meet you Mr. Sakamoto."
He shook hands with Amiboshi. "I trust you'll have her home before 11."
"Daddy!" Ruri blushed. "I can't believe you just said that!"
Amiboshi chuckled. "Don't worry. I won't keep her all night."
"Alright. Go have fun then." Mr. Sakamoto smiled and closed the door after they left.
Amiboshi and Ruri walked down the steps to Amiboshi's car.
"If you don't mind me asking, where's your mother?"
"Asleep probably…"
"It's not that late."
"She's sick."
"Oh…what's wrong with her?" He opened the passenger door for her.
"Dunno." Ruri sighed. "She's just been really tried, kinda pale…it doesn't seem to be serious, but she's not getting any better or worse. We don't know what to do…"
"Oh…I'm sorry…" Amiboshi sighed. For the first time since he'd been in the real world, Amiboshi didn't like being a regular guy. He knew if he still had his powers, he could help Ruri's mother.
"Don't worry about it. I know she'll get better somehow. My mother is too strong for anything serious to happen to her." Ruri tried to smile.
"If you say so…" Amiboshi started up the car and drove off.
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Tasuki walked up Ayame's steps and knocked on the door. Ayame opened the door.
"Hi." She greeted him with a quick kiss.
He returned the kiss. "Aren't you worried about Kohana coming in?"
"She's in the bathroom. I got a couple of seconds before she says something embarrassing."
He smirked. "I see." They went into the living room as Kohana came out of the bathroom.
"Hi Tas-kun!" Kohana smiled and ran over to him.
He picked her up and she hugged him. "How are ya, Kohana?"
"Good. Keepin' Ayame company tonight?"
"Yep."
Ayame smiled. "Well, I'll start dinner. Why don't you two wait here?"
Tasuki put Kohana on the couch and sat with her. "Sure."
Ayame went into the kitchen while Tasuki turned on the TV. A few minutes later, Ayame came back in the living room. "Tasuki can you stay here with Kohana for a few minutes? I gotta run to the store. We're out of noodles. I think someone used them all for an art project…" Ayame cast a glance at Kohana.
"Whoops!" She grinned.
"Sure. Fine by me."
After Ayame left, Kohana looked up at Tasuki. "Tas-kun?"
"Yeah?" He looked down at her.
"I'm sorry."
He looked confused. "What for?"
"For making you come here. I didn't ask first."
"What are you talking about?" He had the feeling he knew though.
She hopped off the couch and grabbed his hand. "Come on."
He followed her into her room. She grabbed the Universe of the Four Gods and turned to him. "I know you come from here…"
"How'd you know?" He took the book from her.
"Like I said, I made you and Amiboshi come here…" She looked like she was going to cry.
"How? Why?" He felt a mix of anger and confusion in his head.
"When Ayame started reading this to me…she seemed to get sad when the main characters fell in love…she's lonely 'cause she never pays enough attention to herself. I want her to be happy for once. And ever since Ruri's mom got sick, she stopped thinking about herself too. So I made a wish…I wanted them to be happy. That happened in the form of you guys I guess…" She sniffled. "Are you mad at me?"
Tasuki knelt down to her level. "No…I'm not mad…" He hugged her. "I just wanted to know how we got here."
"Are you and Amiboshi going to leave now? I mean…you can go back in the book if you want to…"
"No…I made a promise to Ayame that I'd stay around as long as she wanted me around. I'm not going back on that."
"Do you love Ayame?"
He paused. It was a hard question to answer, but he did know the answer. "Yes…I do…"
"I think she loves you too."
He smiled. "I wish…"
She sighed. "I really am sorry for making you and Ami-kun come here without asking."
He stroked her hair. "It's alright. No real harm done. Put the book back and we'll go wait for Ayame to come back."
She smiled, put the Shi Jin Ten Chi Sho back, and took Tasuki's hand to go back to the living room.
But when they turned to the door, they were both shocked. "Ayame…what are you…" Tasuki saw her standing in the door.
"I…forgot my purse…" She was holding the strap in her limp fingers. "What is going on here?" She sounded angry, but also like she was going to burst into tears.
Tasuki and Kohana looked at each other.
"How much did you hear, ne-chan?"
"Everything after 'I know you come from here'."
There really wasn't any way around it. They had to tell her. "Let's talk in the living room." Tasuki closed his eyes and sighed. 'I can't believe this…I'm in love with the older sister of a little girl who brought me and Amiboshi here with just a wish and Ayame just heard me say I'm in love with her. Suzaku, could this get any worse?'
Ayame waited patiently for her sister and Tasuki to start telling her what was going on.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Ruri sipped her glass of water. Amiboshi watched her set her glass down.
"Amiboshi?"
"Yeah?"
She absently twirled one of her chopsticks. "Do you think Tasuki loves Ayame?"
"Probably. He's never had much of an interest in women. Now he's practically running about the door to see her for any little thing."
"Did he do something tonight?"
"Yeah. Once he found out when I was taking you out, he called up Ayame and asked if he could come over."
"How cute!" She smiled. "I really hope things work out for them."
"Me too…"
"How have things been going between you and Tasuki?"
"What do you mean?"
"You said he wasn't too thrilled with being your roommate, which I don't really understand, but things seem better now, aren't they?"
He thought for a moment. "Yeah, I guess they are. The only stuff we argue about now is normal roommate stuff like who's doing laundry…" He smiled. "We have been getting along better."
Ruri took a slow deep breath. "Amiboshi?"
"Yeah?" He looked up at her as the food came.
"Do you believe in love at first sight? Or at least finding true love and knowing it right away? I hope I'm making sense…" She bit her lip. "This worked well in my head."
"I know what you mean." He smiled. "And yes. I do."
"Has it ever happened to you before?"
"Just once."
"Did anything happen between you two?"
"Not sure yet."
"Yet?"
"It depends on what you do."
"Me?" Her eyes widened. She was starting to understand what he meant.
"Yeah. You." His hand brushed against hers. "I love you, Ruri."
A deep blush spread across her cheeks. "You really mean that?"
"Of course I do."
She closed her eyes. "Oh man…I wasn't expecting that! Here I was all ready to tell you I loved you and then you go and say it first…oh…I said that out loud didn't I?" She was so flustered she didn't notice him move to her side of their booth.
"Yeah, you did." He kissed the side of her head.
"Well then…" She lowered her eyes. "Now what?"
"You'll see after dinner."
"I'm not sleeping with you if that's what you're trying to get at!" She looked at him funny.
"No! I wasn't trying to get at that! I want to wait for marriage for that!" He was taken aback. "What I meant was, after diner, I'll tell you whatever you want to know about my life. I love you and I know I shouldn't keep anything from you…."
"Oh! Wow…do I feel silly now…again…" She blushed again. "Jumping to all sorts of conclusions…"
"It's alright." He took her hand in his. "This was kind of sudden."
"You know…for once I'm glad Kohana went to look for guys in the park. It could work out this time." She leaned into Amiboshi as he wrapped his other arm around her shoulder.
"I'm glad I was in the park that day."
She snuggled up to him despite a few disapproving stares from some older people. "I love you Amiboshi."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Ayame crossed her arms and stared at Tasuki and Kohana. "I don't know how you expect me to believe that!"
"But it's true!" Kohana protested.
"Tasuki, why are you humoring her?"
"I am not! I'm from Konan!"
"You are not some character in a book brought to life by a 6 year old's wish!" She stood up angrily and pointed at Tasuki.
"I can't help who I am! Why would I lie about something like that?!" He stood up to meet her.
"Because Kohana asked you to? I don't know! All I know is there is nothing magic about that book!"
"I wouldn't ask Tasuki to lie to you! He used to live in the book along with Amiboshi until I made them come here!"
"No! I refuse to believe it without some kind of proof!" She turned away from them.
"You said yourself that I reminded you of a character in the book! Then only proof I have is that Amiboshi would say the same thing!"
"You said you read it when you were little. Maybe it influenced the way you grew up! Maybe Amiboshi read it too!"
"I only said I read it because I knew you wouldn't believe me if I said I was the character I reminded you of!"
"Stop saying that! You two can't be storybook characters!" She closed her eyes and shook her head violently. "You're real!"
Tasuki felt his throat tighten. "Look…I know you don't believe me…but it's true. I have nothing else to say…" He started to turn his back to Ayame. "Maybe I should go…"
"Tas-kun! Please don't!" Kohana grabbed his hand.
"Don't you dare leave this house!" She turned back to him with tears in her eyes. "You told Kohana you loved me. Did you mean it?"
"What?"
"Did you mean it when you told Kohana you loved me or not? I need to know!"
"Of course I did. You're an amazing woman that I'd love to spend the rest of my life with if I could." He swallowed hard.
"Then dammit all to Hell! I don't care who the hell you are, I still want you here! I love you, Tasuki…" She felt her legs give out on her and burst into tears.
He caught her before she reached the floor. Kohana left the room, knowing they'd want privacy. Tasuki picked Ayame up and brought her to the couch. She held onto him as if he'd disappear if she let go.
"Please don't go, Tasuki…"
He embraced her. "I won't…"
"Promise me." She buried her face into his neck.
"I promise. I'll be here forever if that's how long you want me to be…"
"I want you here forever…" She whispered.
He brought her face to meet his and kissed her deeply. "Forever it is then." He brushed her tears away and kissed her again.
Kohana couldn't help but watch them. She had to know if Tasuki was going to stay or not. She breathed a sigh of relief when they kissed again. 'I hope this means everything will be okay…it'd be horrible if Tasuki left…I wonder how things are going with Ruri and Ami-kun…'
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Amiboshi and Ruri sat on the same park bench they met on. "Now…Ruri, I know this is going to sound absurd and you might call me crazy for what I'm about to say…but I swear to you I'm not lying…" He took a deep breath. "Do you know that book that Ayame reads to Kohana? Well, I'm...a-a character in that book. Please, believe me! I know it's hard but, please…"
"Wha...what are you talking about? I don't think I understand..." Ruri gave him a funny look.
"I'm a character in that book. My family, Tasuki, my friends and enemies...everyone from my past came from the book. Somewhere along the line Tasuki and I ended up here, and I'm glad we did." He smiled at her.
She blushed. "But if you lived there...which I'm not sure I believe…I want to know what brought you here."
"We…haven't been able to figure that out. We were there and then we just woke up here. I swear! This is the truth!"
"Would Tasuki say the same thing?" She lowered her eyes.
"Uh, yeah! He was the one who pushed me to tell you!"
"Really? Well...so when you said you stabbed Tasuki in the back somehow...was that something that happened in the story?"
He stared at the ground. "Yeah..." He suddenly looked up at her. "So you believe me?"
"I...I'm not sure." She lifted her eyes to meet his. "It would be hard to make up something so complicated...and you don't have a reason to lie to me...it's weird, yeah...but...I know you wouldn't lie to me..." She played with the edge of her skirt.
"Thanks. I thought you'd freak out or something. The only thing I remember before we came here was a little girl laughing. After that, everything went blank."
"Well, I'm not saying I won't freak out later...but I'll try to hold it in for now." She brushed some hair from her face. "A little girl laughing? Like how old?"
"I-I don't really know. She was pretty young I think. Why?"
"Well...this might sound weird...but Kohana's acted very differently since you've been here. I know it's hard to believe...but she's actually been more serious lately..."
"What?" He looked at her in disbelief. "She sure could have fooled me. I mean…after seeing her in the park that first day…and when she caught us kissing in the closet…"
She wrung her hands together. "I know...it's hard to believe. But it's true. I don't know how to describe it. She's...she's worried I think. About Ayame..."
"Why? What's wrong with Ayame?" He shook his head. "Oh. The 'fun' problem."
"Yeah..." She nodded slightly. "It feels like she has something to do with this...maybe I'm just crazy though..."
"Maybe we should ask her when we get back." He sat there for a moment, thinking. "You wanna know something else?"
"What?"
He blew his bangs out of his face. "Um, well...This may be just as strange. Well, in the book, me and Tasuki had some...powers, I guess. But when we came to this world, they were gone. If Kohana really did do something, then why are our powers gone?"
"P...powers?" Her eyes widened. "You couldn't like blow up the world or something could you?"
"Uh...Tasuki could basically fry people and he was really fast and I, um…" He looked embarrassed. "Used my flute..."
"Your...flute?" She blinked. "Might I ask how? Tasuki always did seem like a pyro to me..."
"That's for sure! Well, not exactly my flute, but I could transfer my ki through my mouth."
"Ki? What's that? Now I'm confused again..."
"It's your life force...I guess you could call it your energy."
"So what happened when you...uh...transferred it? Boy, this is weird..."
"Uh, well...I could do lots of things. I could put people to sleep, um…kill, or heal people."
"Are you sure you don't have that sleep power? I fell asleep so fast when you played for Kohana..."
"Uh, yeah. I've tried it on Tasuki a few times. If you only knew how bad he sleeps..."
She was quiet again. "Did you ever kill anyone? I mean...I know things are different in the book...I can't believe I just said that..."
"Um...yeah. This bastard named Nakago forced me to kill someone. It was either my brother or the person I killed."
"I...I'm sorry..." A heavy silence hung between them. "Healing too, huh?"
"It's okay. Just don't mention it to Tasuki. That was the beginning of a beautiful torment. Yeah. Have you heard the story? I mean, how far has Kohana gotten in it?"
"Um…I'm not really sure how far she is. I don't pay a whole lot of attention to it…I mean…I thought it was just a story..." She looked at the sky. As the sun set, the sky was changing all sorts of colors. "I wish you could still heal..."
He saw pain in her eyes. "Is something wrong?"
"I'm worried about my mother...Even if she's not getting worse, she's still not getting better...maybe you could have helped her..."
"Oh." He felt a tug at his heart. The one time he could have been useful, he still couldn't be. "Is there anything I can do?"
"I doubt it..." She sighed deeply. "Unless you magically got you...uh...magic back...there's nothing that can be done..."
"Sorry."
"It's alright. It's not your fault..." Ruri smiled and shook her head.
Amiboshi looked up at the sky. "It's getting kinda late. I guess we should head back now."
"I...guess you're right..." She lightly kissed Amiboshi on the cheek. "Thanks for taking me out."
He blushed. "Thanks for understanding. Ya know. About the book."
"Well, I'd feel better if I had proof...but I guess sometimes you just have to believe stuff." She shrugged.
He smiled. "I'm glad I got to come here and meet you." He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her deeply.
After letting go, they slowly headed towards Amiboshi's car.
"Whatever brought you here...I'm glad it did too." She let her hand slip into his. "Do you have to pick up Tasuki?"
"Yeah. Wouldn't want to leave him, right?"
She giggled lightly. "He'd be so mad. I wonder how Tasuki and Ayame's night went..."
Amiboshi snickered. "Knowing Tasuki, probably terrific."
Ruri closed her eyes and shook her head. "Well, I hope so. I want Ayame to be happy just as much as Kohana does."
"Yeah. Seems like Tasuki was what the doctor prescribed."
"I guess Tasuki's like her storybook prince or something..."
"Hah! Prince Charming, huh? All hail Prince Tasuki!"
Ruri burst out laughing. "Tasuki would make one hell of a prince."
"Exactly! The price of hell fire and brimstone!" He thought for a moment and smiled. "I know one thing for sure."
"Princesses aren't always just in books." He whispered when he stopped for a moment and kissed her on the cheek.
Her cheeks darkened a few shades. "You're so sweet Amiboshi! I don't really know what to say. I can't count how many times you've made me speechless tonight."
He smiled and they continued walking. "That's in the job description I guess."
Her blush deepened. We really should go to Ayame's house. I don't think my face can get any redder..."
But it's cute!" He wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. "Yeah, I guess your right. We can't leave those two alone with Kohana. For all we know, they could end up in the closet."
"Who said the closet was a bad thing?"
He snickered again. "Not me."
"God, do I love you Amiboshi." She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.
They reluctantly got into the car and Amiboshi headed for Ayame's house. They rode in comfortable silence. All that needed to be said had been said at dinner or at the park.
They walked up the steps and Ruri pulled out her keys.
"Do you have a key to her house?"
"Yeah. She has one for my house too." The lock clicked and they went in. Ruri and Amiboshi went to Kohana's room.
She was sitting on her bed, reading comics. She had a radio on as well. She looked up. "Oh! You're here! Uh…why?"
"Hiya. Where're Ayame and Tasuki? Shouldn't you be annoying them?" Ruri sat on her bed.
"They've been uh…talking for a while now…ever since we finished dinner…I don't think I should be interrupting them when they're uh…talking…" She let her eyes wander to the ceiling.
Amiboshi and Ruri looked at each other. Amiboshi sat on the other side of Kohana. "What do you mean 'they're uh…talking'?"
"They're just…talking…" She sat up and folded her legs.
"Kohana…you usually don't have a problem interrupting people when they're talking. You do it to Ayame and me all the time. There's also a difference between talking and uh…talking."
"Well, Tasuki told Ayame he loves her and then she said she loves him and then they kissed so then I figured I didn't need to be there." She spoke quickly and shrugged.
Ruri thought for a moment. "Amiboshi, why don't we go check on them?"
"Yeah…sounds like a good idea…" They got up and went into the living room.
At first, they didn't see anyone. Then Ruri noticed the couple kissing on the couch. Tasuki was on top of Ayame and her fingers were tangled up in his hair.
"Well…Kohana does know when not to interrupt…" Ruri blinked.
"Would you like to come up for air some time today?" Amiboshi spoke very loudly.
Tasuki inhaled sharply and looked over the back of the couch. "Amiboshi! Ruri!"
Amiboshi smirked. Tasuki's shirt was half opened and there was a smear of lipstick on his face. "Having…fun?"
Ayame sat up and saw Ruri standing there. Her hair was rather messy. "Uh…hi Ruri. Amiboshi. What are you doing here? I didn't think you would come over here."
"Obviously."
"I came to get Tasuki." Amiboshi snickered.
"What do you know? Amiboshi, you were right. Their night was terrific."
Ayame turned bright red. Tasuki growled. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"And here I thought you'd be bored." Amiboshi couldn't help but snicker.
"Will you shut up?" Tasuki got off the couch and rebuttoned his shirt.
"I just can't." He was still snickering.
"So uh…how was your night?" Ayame tried to smooth down her hair.
"Not as good as yours but still good." Ruri relished the chance to embarrass her best friend. "Let's go to your room and fix your hair." She grabbed Ayame's hand and led her out of the living room.
"Did you do that all night?" Amiboshi gave him a funny look.
"No! I had to tell Ayame about the book first."
"You told her?"
"I didn't mean to, but she over heard me talking to Kohana about it."
"Did she believe you?"
"Not really. But she's kinda getting used to the idea. Did you tell Ruri?"
"Yeah. She was pretty accepting of it." He blinked. "Wait…why were you talking to Kohana about the book?"
"I'm the one who brought you here…" Kohana appeared next to Tasuki.
"Wha…what? What do you mean?"
"Ah well…she said she made a wish…I suppose the gods heard her and made it come true."
Amiboshi stared at the floor. "What was the wish?"
"I wanted Ayame and Ruri to be happy."
He was quiet for a moment. "I see…"
Ruri combed the last few tangles from Ayame's hair. "Well, never thought I'd catch you making out on a couch with someone like that."
"Neither did I." She sighed and wiped off her smudged lipstick. "So what did you and Amiboshi do all night?"
"Well, he told me he loves me and he told me all about where he comes from…"
"The book?"
"You know?"
"Tasuki said so…" Ayame frowned. "I don't know if I believe it though."
"Might as well. Amiboshi told me all about the book. Why would they both make up a story?"
"True…I can't believe this is Kohana's doing…"
"What do you mean?"
"Kohana said she brought them here."
"Really?"
"Uh huh. She said it was a wish she made…"
"Maybe you should ask them to stay the night again. We have a lot to talk about."
"Couldn't hurt." She sighed. "Want to call home and telling your parents you're staying?"
"Yeah." Ruri put the comb down and went to call her father.
Ayame went back to the guys. "Tasuki? Amiboshi?"
"Yeah?" They both looked at her. Kohana was hanging onto Tasuki's hand.
"Can you guys stay the night again? Ruri and I think the 5 of us should talk about you know…the book…"
"Am I in trouble?" Kohana looked up at her sister nervously.
"No, you aren't." Ayame picked up her little sister. "This is quite possibly the best thing you've ever done." She smiled at her sister and Tasuki.
He smiled and Kohana grinned. "Yay! So does this mean you and Tasuki are gonna get married?"
Amiboshi smiled. Tasuki and Ayame blushed.
"You know how to make a serious moment embarrassing don't you?" Tasuki shook his head.
"Uh huh!" Her smile widened.
Ruri came back in the living room. "Well, my dad said I can stay. I just told him the guys weren't here."
"So where do we start this talk?"
"We start with Kohana explaining everything she did to bring you guys here." Ayame sat on the couch again with her sister. Tasuki sat next to her. Amiboshi sat on a chair and Ruri sat on the arm.
Kohana made a face. "I can't say I forgot, can I?"
"No." All four of them answered quickly.
"Okay, okay…" She sat up straighter. "Here's how it started…"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Woo…that was like 2 chapters. That's what happens when there's no good place to break it. Kohana's full story will come soon.
Speaking of Kohana, my wonderful friend Aiko drew a picture of Kohana for me. If anyone would like to see it, send me an e-mail with the subject "Kohana" and I'd send it to you as soon as I get it.
~*~Shadow Hawk~*~