Disclaimer: I'm only using FoR and its characters for the fun of it! It doesn't belong to me.
A Cup of Tea
Chapter 11
As the rain carried through her soulful reprise, Mikagami opened the mahogany doors and turned on the lights, revealing the room Fuuko was to stay in for the night. Like the rest of the house, it held an atavistic kind of grandeur, but it contained the necessities of a bedroom, like of course, the bed, covered with a deep red bedspread and a purple afghan. Beside it stood an old oakwood table overtly varnished several times, with an antiquated but ornate bedside lamp on top. On the other side of the bed was yet another antediluvian dresser whose mirror was partly cracked. To the left of the room stood the window, proudly displaying the showcase of nature's ire as its rich velvet draperies were tied at the sides.
Fuuko held her breath as she made her way inside, her eyes traveling around the dark mahogany walls adorned with equally old yet exquisite paintings. She didn't know much about art herself, but she knew a good artwork when she sees one. She stopped before a particular impressionistic painting of a young girl and boy chasing butterflies on a nice spring day with the cherry blossoms around falling around them.
But then something caught her eye… Behind the two children under the shade of the sakura tree sat four more people, who all seemed awfully familiar to her. She returned her gaze to the two children, and noticed that at the foot of the girl was a yellow dog…? Cat…? She couldn't tell. The painting was very well made, in her opinion, but she still couldn't make anything of the blob of running yellow. Was it even a fox? Heck, it even looked like Kondo…
Kondo?
"Mikagami! This is a painting of Kaoru-kun and Ganko-chan!" she exclaimed.
Mikagami was about to hand Fuuko a shirt and a pair of track pants that he has grown out of, as the girl suddenly cried out her observation.
"See, Mi-chan?" she asked again. "Those kids are Kaoru-kun and Ganko-chan." She pointed to the little yellow spot below Ganko. "And that's Kondo, see? At first I thought it was a dog, then a cat, then I couldn't make up my mind…" she laughed, and then returned her gaze to the four people under the sakura tree. "And that's gotta be me, Domon and Recca and Yanagi-chan!" she squealed. 'Where'd you buy this painting, Mi-chan? "
His blue orbs turned to see what had captivated Fuuko's attention so much. He smiled slightly, as the memories of the painting came flooding back.
It was spring, obviously, as the sakura petals swam along with the cool breeze. The season has promised the opening of a new leaf for the Hokage team, especially after their victory at the UBS. And the weekend after they had set foot again in their beloved hometown, they decided that a celebratory picnic at the park would do them well. Preparations were made, particularly those concerning the food. Actually, all they had to focus on was preparing the food, knowing the insatiable appetites those to be fed had. As for the rest of the day that didn't concern lunch and snacks, they knew they'd find some sort of entertainment in each other's company.
Though as expected, Tokiya Mikagami didn't show.
Recca snorted and picked up another riceball. "You actually expected him to show up?!"
Fuuko shrugged nonchalantly as she stretched her legs and leaned her back on the tree truck. "Why not?" she countered. "I mean, it's not as if we didn't spend the last month toiling with our own sweat and blood together…"
"But Fuuko, darling," Domon cooed as he began to settle himself beside her. "You said yourself that frozen meat like him will never thaw even if subjected to radiation."
She slowly inched away from Domon's transparent advances. "Domon, you don't even know what radiation is!" She took a riceball herself and sighed. "But I guess you're right. Well-I'm right, in a way…"
The chestnut-haired healer watched her friend curiously as she sipped from her can of soda. It wasn't everyday that her feisty girlfriend would just stand up to what she considered as the walking yet untalking, breathing yet unliving 'icebloke' that is Tokiya Mikagami. It seemed only yesterday that Fuuko was ready to trounce all she can on his 'pathetic loser ass'. Of course, that was long before they all seemed to have suddenly grown up during the UBS.
As she watched Kaoru and Ganko freely chasing butterflies, she wondered if they'll ever get a chance once more to at least go back to experience how the way things were.
But unknown to them, it wasn't only Yanagi who was wishing to turn back time at the sight of the youngest Hokage members' playfulness.
Said missing person Tokiya Mikagami let out a half-hearted sigh as he positioned himself atop a hill not too far from the rest of his teammates. A good part of him just wanted to go down there and enjoy the festivities of being a normal teenager again, now that the clamor that he has been going through was over, in a way. But it would never be over, he knew, for the minute that he decided to dedicate the rest of his life to the demise of his sister's killer, he'd never come out of that shell again. And what use was trying, since it will all be for naught. It would be useless to dwell on something he thought he could have, but really couldn't.
So he'd just stay here, presumably peaceful and content to the passersby. A handsome 17 year old getting in touch with his artistic side on a beautiful spring day. He knew as much as the rest of the Hokage who were frolicking below how lucky they must've been to still be alive after an ordeal like that. Madougus and combative competence aside, they really were a lucky bunch. And down there, they were celebrating their lives. As for him, he felt that he wasn't ready to celebrate life and its glory yet.
In any case, he would stay there, painting the joyous occasion, to capture their true moment of glory. A simple snapshot would certainly be easier for his part, but the joy in doing so would last for just a brief moment. He wanted to capture the gladness in canvas, as well as recreate it on his own. Perhaps then he'd come to realize just how much happiness there is in this place, enough happiness possible, to even make him feel it fully again.
Was he happy right now?
Obviously, his beaming companion was.
"This is such a cool painting," Fuuko went on. "Did you even realize that it was us when you bought this?"
"Kirisawa, I don't buy things that I can make," he stated in a flat voice.
"Funny, Mikagami," she replied dryly. "I don't think there's enough of you to fall in line for genius painter since you were busy gathering genes for drop-dead looks, superior IQ and cook extraordinaire."
He smirked. "Lower right corner, then."
Fuuko followed his direction and found 'Tokiya Mikagami' painted in clear romanji.
"You are so not human."
"I assure you, I am."
She sighed and looked at him directly. "Yeah, I can see that clearly. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to find out."
He raised an eyebrow at her questioningly.
"I find it funny," she continued. "the way I used to think how inhuman you are, being the icebloke and all… You never seemed to care about anything. But you're actually more human that the rest of us."
"Because I cook and clean and paint and have a garden?" he provided in a skeptical manner, highly doubting himself that it was what Fuuko was pointing out.
"No, duh, I had that realization long before I came here. You doing your emotionless thing is one of the typical defense mechanisms of everyone," she paused, trying to contemplate if she should venture on. "it's an expected reaction when someone gets hurt. Withdrawing and isolating and stuff like that. We're just scared of being hurt again."
He watched her intently as she returned her gaze back to the painting. How could she know all of this? It was the first time he actually thought of it. He was hurt. Very much hurt, by the loss of his beloved sister. And he vowed to himself to avenge her death, and in a way, consciously donned on an apathetic mask, thinking that if he did so, he wouldn't be subjected to the reality of pain and suffering.
And again, what Fuuko Kirisawa said made sense. Everybody must have, sometime in their lives, donned that same mask, that it has become ultimately a human characteristic to do so.
"And I think we're scared to get hurt because…"
"Because of our pride." He finished for her.
She grinned. "It's really weird, right? The way it seems to stop us from fully living, but the way we need it to exist."
He was about to ask her again what she meant, but then noticed that the person before him was still drenched and was not-so-gracefully dripping on the carpeted floor.
"I'd figure as much," he handed her his old garments and pointed to another door. "Take a shower now, then I'll take you up on your little idea."
Fuuko looked down on the items of clothing that he has given her. The gesture in itself was greatly appalling some part of her mind, telling her that what was happening right now was no longer a fabrication of her highly active imagination. She earlier expected that the tea had taken its toll on her, and that Mikagami inviting to stay for dinner was just her hallucinating. But her fancy seemed to transcend itself as it turned out to be real. And now she found herself holding one of his old shirts and track pants, feeling as if it was now the weather that has taken its toll on her.
"Kirisawa, I am not afraid of monkey fleas, if that's why you're hesitating."
The girl snapped out from her reverie and forced a smile. "Well that's certainly endearing," she replied sarcastically. She walked pass him and went inside the bathroom.
Tokiya sighed at the sight of the retreating figure. It was his cue to leave and take a shower of his own. This day was definitely much more than what he bargained for.
And it wasn't even over yet.
TBC
A Cup of Tea
Chapter 11
As the rain carried through her soulful reprise, Mikagami opened the mahogany doors and turned on the lights, revealing the room Fuuko was to stay in for the night. Like the rest of the house, it held an atavistic kind of grandeur, but it contained the necessities of a bedroom, like of course, the bed, covered with a deep red bedspread and a purple afghan. Beside it stood an old oakwood table overtly varnished several times, with an antiquated but ornate bedside lamp on top. On the other side of the bed was yet another antediluvian dresser whose mirror was partly cracked. To the left of the room stood the window, proudly displaying the showcase of nature's ire as its rich velvet draperies were tied at the sides.
Fuuko held her breath as she made her way inside, her eyes traveling around the dark mahogany walls adorned with equally old yet exquisite paintings. She didn't know much about art herself, but she knew a good artwork when she sees one. She stopped before a particular impressionistic painting of a young girl and boy chasing butterflies on a nice spring day with the cherry blossoms around falling around them.
But then something caught her eye… Behind the two children under the shade of the sakura tree sat four more people, who all seemed awfully familiar to her. She returned her gaze to the two children, and noticed that at the foot of the girl was a yellow dog…? Cat…? She couldn't tell. The painting was very well made, in her opinion, but she still couldn't make anything of the blob of running yellow. Was it even a fox? Heck, it even looked like Kondo…
Kondo?
"Mikagami! This is a painting of Kaoru-kun and Ganko-chan!" she exclaimed.
Mikagami was about to hand Fuuko a shirt and a pair of track pants that he has grown out of, as the girl suddenly cried out her observation.
"See, Mi-chan?" she asked again. "Those kids are Kaoru-kun and Ganko-chan." She pointed to the little yellow spot below Ganko. "And that's Kondo, see? At first I thought it was a dog, then a cat, then I couldn't make up my mind…" she laughed, and then returned her gaze to the four people under the sakura tree. "And that's gotta be me, Domon and Recca and Yanagi-chan!" she squealed. 'Where'd you buy this painting, Mi-chan? "
His blue orbs turned to see what had captivated Fuuko's attention so much. He smiled slightly, as the memories of the painting came flooding back.
It was spring, obviously, as the sakura petals swam along with the cool breeze. The season has promised the opening of a new leaf for the Hokage team, especially after their victory at the UBS. And the weekend after they had set foot again in their beloved hometown, they decided that a celebratory picnic at the park would do them well. Preparations were made, particularly those concerning the food. Actually, all they had to focus on was preparing the food, knowing the insatiable appetites those to be fed had. As for the rest of the day that didn't concern lunch and snacks, they knew they'd find some sort of entertainment in each other's company.
Though as expected, Tokiya Mikagami didn't show.
Recca snorted and picked up another riceball. "You actually expected him to show up?!"
Fuuko shrugged nonchalantly as she stretched her legs and leaned her back on the tree truck. "Why not?" she countered. "I mean, it's not as if we didn't spend the last month toiling with our own sweat and blood together…"
"But Fuuko, darling," Domon cooed as he began to settle himself beside her. "You said yourself that frozen meat like him will never thaw even if subjected to radiation."
She slowly inched away from Domon's transparent advances. "Domon, you don't even know what radiation is!" She took a riceball herself and sighed. "But I guess you're right. Well-I'm right, in a way…"
The chestnut-haired healer watched her friend curiously as she sipped from her can of soda. It wasn't everyday that her feisty girlfriend would just stand up to what she considered as the walking yet untalking, breathing yet unliving 'icebloke' that is Tokiya Mikagami. It seemed only yesterday that Fuuko was ready to trounce all she can on his 'pathetic loser ass'. Of course, that was long before they all seemed to have suddenly grown up during the UBS.
As she watched Kaoru and Ganko freely chasing butterflies, she wondered if they'll ever get a chance once more to at least go back to experience how the way things were.
But unknown to them, it wasn't only Yanagi who was wishing to turn back time at the sight of the youngest Hokage members' playfulness.
Said missing person Tokiya Mikagami let out a half-hearted sigh as he positioned himself atop a hill not too far from the rest of his teammates. A good part of him just wanted to go down there and enjoy the festivities of being a normal teenager again, now that the clamor that he has been going through was over, in a way. But it would never be over, he knew, for the minute that he decided to dedicate the rest of his life to the demise of his sister's killer, he'd never come out of that shell again. And what use was trying, since it will all be for naught. It would be useless to dwell on something he thought he could have, but really couldn't.
So he'd just stay here, presumably peaceful and content to the passersby. A handsome 17 year old getting in touch with his artistic side on a beautiful spring day. He knew as much as the rest of the Hokage who were frolicking below how lucky they must've been to still be alive after an ordeal like that. Madougus and combative competence aside, they really were a lucky bunch. And down there, they were celebrating their lives. As for him, he felt that he wasn't ready to celebrate life and its glory yet.
In any case, he would stay there, painting the joyous occasion, to capture their true moment of glory. A simple snapshot would certainly be easier for his part, but the joy in doing so would last for just a brief moment. He wanted to capture the gladness in canvas, as well as recreate it on his own. Perhaps then he'd come to realize just how much happiness there is in this place, enough happiness possible, to even make him feel it fully again.
Was he happy right now?
Obviously, his beaming companion was.
"This is such a cool painting," Fuuko went on. "Did you even realize that it was us when you bought this?"
"Kirisawa, I don't buy things that I can make," he stated in a flat voice.
"Funny, Mikagami," she replied dryly. "I don't think there's enough of you to fall in line for genius painter since you were busy gathering genes for drop-dead looks, superior IQ and cook extraordinaire."
He smirked. "Lower right corner, then."
Fuuko followed his direction and found 'Tokiya Mikagami' painted in clear romanji.
"You are so not human."
"I assure you, I am."
She sighed and looked at him directly. "Yeah, I can see that clearly. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to find out."
He raised an eyebrow at her questioningly.
"I find it funny," she continued. "the way I used to think how inhuman you are, being the icebloke and all… You never seemed to care about anything. But you're actually more human that the rest of us."
"Because I cook and clean and paint and have a garden?" he provided in a skeptical manner, highly doubting himself that it was what Fuuko was pointing out.
"No, duh, I had that realization long before I came here. You doing your emotionless thing is one of the typical defense mechanisms of everyone," she paused, trying to contemplate if she should venture on. "it's an expected reaction when someone gets hurt. Withdrawing and isolating and stuff like that. We're just scared of being hurt again."
He watched her intently as she returned her gaze back to the painting. How could she know all of this? It was the first time he actually thought of it. He was hurt. Very much hurt, by the loss of his beloved sister. And he vowed to himself to avenge her death, and in a way, consciously donned on an apathetic mask, thinking that if he did so, he wouldn't be subjected to the reality of pain and suffering.
And again, what Fuuko Kirisawa said made sense. Everybody must have, sometime in their lives, donned that same mask, that it has become ultimately a human characteristic to do so.
"And I think we're scared to get hurt because…"
"Because of our pride." He finished for her.
She grinned. "It's really weird, right? The way it seems to stop us from fully living, but the way we need it to exist."
He was about to ask her again what she meant, but then noticed that the person before him was still drenched and was not-so-gracefully dripping on the carpeted floor.
"I'd figure as much," he handed her his old garments and pointed to another door. "Take a shower now, then I'll take you up on your little idea."
Fuuko looked down on the items of clothing that he has given her. The gesture in itself was greatly appalling some part of her mind, telling her that what was happening right now was no longer a fabrication of her highly active imagination. She earlier expected that the tea had taken its toll on her, and that Mikagami inviting to stay for dinner was just her hallucinating. But her fancy seemed to transcend itself as it turned out to be real. And now she found herself holding one of his old shirts and track pants, feeling as if it was now the weather that has taken its toll on her.
"Kirisawa, I am not afraid of monkey fleas, if that's why you're hesitating."
The girl snapped out from her reverie and forced a smile. "Well that's certainly endearing," she replied sarcastically. She walked pass him and went inside the bathroom.
Tokiya sighed at the sight of the retreating figure. It was his cue to leave and take a shower of his own. This day was definitely much more than what he bargained for.
And it wasn't even over yet.
TBC