Chapter 3: Visiting hours
Wheee! Thanks for the reviews! :D Teehee, what will this chapter tell or even foretell? Read on to find out! ^.^
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Kitchel straightened her skirt and checked her hair. Everything looked all right. As she walked down the stairs she looked once more at the pictures hanging along the walls. She didn't know why, but she had this strange feeling. As if none of this actually existed. As if she and Cesia did not belong…Oh what in the world am I thinking?! Kitchel scolded herself. Cesia-chan is waiting for me! No time for this! She shook her head and exited the house, making sure she locked it. It was not exactly necessary to lock the doors in this neighborhood, but no one knew when something could happen.
The sun was starting to set as Kitchel walked down the street to the newly sold house. She could not wait to see who had moved in. She started singing a song that had no particular tune to it when she turned the corner. When she saw Cesia waiting at the door, she started to run over but stopped quickly when the door opened. She gasped a little in surprise when she realized who it was and ducked behind a tree to watch. This should be interesting…
Rath had noticed Kitchel's movements but did not change his position. He kept staring at Cesia, surprised to find her there. There was something about her that made him put his guard up and he never figured out why. There was also a sense of familiarity about her. He remembered their first meeting, sitting up on the branch looking down at her and Kitchel. He was not able to tear his eyes off from her that time and it unnerved him. He hated it when he could not figure out things.
He placed a hand against the doorway and leaned against it. "So, what brings you here?"
Cesia blinked when she realized he had asked a question. "I…I didn't realize that it was you who had moved in here…"
"Oh, I see."
That was his only response. Cesia heard Rune in the background calling for Rath and figured Thatz would be in there as well. "I'm sorry if I came at a bad time…"
Rath started to turn. "…It's alright. You can come in." He rose his voice a little as he said, "Oh, and tell Kitchel to quit hiding. There's nothing going on here that would interest her." He turned around and walked inside.
Cesia blinked and turned to see a sheepish looking Kitchel waving from behind her hiding spot. She waited for her friend to walk up to her and turned to walk inside. The two were amazed at how big the house was. It looked smaller from the outside, but from the inside Kitchel thought it was the same size as Cesia's place. The furniture was neatly arranged and dust free. There was still some evidence of moving in, but even the boxes were neatly stacked up.
Rune blinked when he saw the two girls walk in. He was wearing a white shirt and jeans reading a book. He stood up from the couch and bowed hastily. "Irasshaimase, Cesia-san, Kitchel-san."
The two girls bowed back. "Arigato gozaimas," they replied.
Thatz walked in and he too had changed into more comfortable clothing, wearing a sleeveless, faded khaki color shirt and white jeans. He also had a sandwich in his hand. "Oh, hey guys."
Kitchel almost fell over. "Thatz!! I should have known!!"
He blinked and looked at his sandwich. "What?"
Rune sweatdropped and took the cake from Cesia's hands. "Arigato, Cesia-san." He looked at the cake and blinked. "Did you buy this?"
Kitchel grinned and placed an arm around her friend's shoulder. "Nope! Cesia-chan made it!"
Cesia looked a little embarrassed. "Kitchel, you helped, too!"
"Oh come on! All I did was put in the stuff. I had no clue what I was doing!"
Thatz had come up behind Rune and was staring at the cake drooling. "Cake…………"
Rune backhanded him, a vein popping. "THATZ!!!!" He sighed and placed it on the coffee table in front of the couch. "I'll get the knife and plates. You girls can sit anywhere you like," he added as he went into the kitchen. "NO EATING THATZ!" he yelled from the kitchen as Thatz tried to sneak a taste.
Rath sat on the right side of the couch and looked at the cake. "…Looks really nice."
"It's better than nice!" Thatz said. "It's ENTICING!!"
By this time Rune had come back and they all were staring at Thatz, silence filling the room. Rune coughed and placed the plates and silverware in front of everyone. Cesia watched a little nervously as the three guys took a bite out of it.
Rune blinked. "Oh, wow! This is absolutely delicious!!!"
Thatz was already on his third piece. "This has GOT to be the BESTEST cake I've EVER eaten!!!!!!"
Rath took another bite. "It's good."
It was all he said, but Cesia felt all the tension flow out of her. He liked it! That's a relief…
After they had finished the cake, the time made shorter by Thatz's ferocious eating, Rune gave Kitchel a tour around the house upon her request. She noticed the pictures hanging on the wall. They were all of the three of them. She did not see anything with their parents. She wanted to ask, but she thought that maybe something happened to them and did not want to bring up a touchy subject.
There were a lot of rooms for just three boys. Kitchel sweatdropped at Thatz's room. It was all a mess, which was not exactly that surprising. She wondered how he could find anything in there. Rune's room was a lot neater and she could actually see the walls, which were a light blue color. Rath's room was also kept neat though the walls were black, the carpet a dark crimson. Oh yeah…this reminds me of vampires for some reason…Kitchel thought, shuddering.
"I never did understand his choice in colors," Rune said frowning a little. "I get this depressed feeling just looking at it."
"I see he likes sword fighting," Kitchel said, noting the large rack of various swords. They ranged from the Western medieval models to the typical Japanese katanas.
"Very much so," Rune said sweatdropping.
"By the way…" She turned to Rune. "Why do you wear your hair long like that? I almost thought you were a girl."
"I don't know! Every time I cut it just grows right back overnight!!" Rune said frustrated. "It gets really frustrating to have guys hitting on you," he said, a vein popping.
Kitchel laughed. "Well, you're still cute!"
Rune blinked. For once he didn't have anything to say. "Er…uh…thanks, I think?"
She laughed and turned to go back downstairs. "Thanks for the tour!"
"…Kitchel-san…"
"Hm?"
"…Could you please put back that expensive Ming vase that was just on the table before?"
Kitchel turned around and looked at him sheepishly. "Eh-heh…bad habit of mine!" She hastily placed it back and went down the stairs.
Rune fixed the vase's position. "Odd for her to choose the same vase Thatz tried to steal…"
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Cesia was busy cooking in the kitchen. Thatz had begged her to stay and cook dinner for them, claiming that though Rath's cooking was satisfactory, Rune's was horrible, and it was Rune's turn to cook. They apparently did not trust Thatz himself to cook. I don't think I would either, she thought to herself, giggling as she diced up the carrots. She enjoyed cooking for some reason. Maybe it was because it kept her occupied so as not to think about her own problems. Or maybe it was because she enjoyed making others happy, and food is the easiest way to a person's heart. She started humming a little tune, already feeling a lot happier than before.
Rath looked over his shoulder at Cesia. He was helping her out in the kitchen since he had nothing else to do. Or was that the only reason? He shook his head and put his focus back to making the miso soup. But it was hard not to notice how happy Cesia seemed to be. After checking the soup he leaned against the island in the center and watched her. He again felt as if he had seen her somewhere before. But where? She reminded him of someone… Couldn't hurt to ask, right?
"Hey, Cesia…did you used to live somewhere else?"
She blinked and turned around. "Um…" She tilted her head a little thoughtfully. "Actually I did used to live in this small town…"
He blinked. Small town? "Really?"
She smiled. "Mhm…it was really peaceful there…It had this large field with the most beautiful flowers! I'd go there everyday just to lay in there or make flower crowns," she said, laughing a little. "I even had a few friends…"
"I see…"
She blinked. "Why?"
Rath shrugged. "Just wondering…" You just remind me of this girl… he added silently.
"Oh…okay." She turned back around continued working. "This should be ready, soon. Could you get a large for the salad, please?"
"Sure." He went over, took out the salad bowl and placed it on the island. "Anything else?"
"No…but I think you should check your soup," she added without looking up.
Rath blinked as he realized he had forgotten all about the soup and quickly went to it. He sighed in relief when everything was still okay.
"You always forgot about the things that you were doing…"
He blinked and turned. "What?" I've heard that before…
She laughed a little. "It was just something I remembered saying to a boy at my old home. He'd sometimes help me cook, but he always forgot to keep an eye on other things." She laughed at the memory.
Rath stared at her for a moment, thinking. Something was nagging at him in the back of his mind, but he could not figure out what it was. He decided to try to figure it out later. "Well, we better get this out before Thatz starts whining," he said smiling a little.
Cesia blinked. "Oh, wow! You're actually smiling!! Okay, well it wasn't a full one but still!!"
Now it was Rath's turn to blink. "Huh?"
She laughed. "You've had this serious expression on your face since this morning…" She stopped. "Hey…you were going to tell me something earlier. What was it?"
Rath looked at her then turned away. "…It's nothing."
"Rath!!"
He just ignored her and went out the door with the rest of the meal, leaving Cesia standing there dumbfounded, the salad bowl in her hands. She sighed and walked out.
Thatz was sitting at the table, eyeing the food hungrily. Rune had already laid out the tea and had also set the table. After everything was in place, they said "Itadakimas!" and dug right in. Rune had to keep yelling at Thatz to stop eating everything, but he couldn't help it. The food was delicious.
The girls helped clean up after dinner. Kitchel and Cesia were washing the dishes in the kitchen while the guys helped straighten things out in both the dining/living room and the kitchen. After everything was back to its original place, the trio bid the two girls farewell, Kitchel promising to come back often to visit.
Since it was rather late, Cesia invited Kitchel to stay over, which Kitchel immediately accepted. The two girls laughed as they went inside, Cesia locking the door behind her.
Kitchel looked out her window before turning in. She was staying in one of the many spare rooms that were in the big house. The room was very spacious, but it was so comfortable Kitchel wanted to stay in it for the rest of her life. She rolled over, propped herself up on her elbow, and studied the scenery around the area. It was a peaceful neighborhood. She could even see the guys' house from her vantage point. There was only one light on and she figured it was probably Rath's. Wonder if he could see out this way, too…He seemed to be in a better mood during dinner…he's just too complex for me, she thought shaking her head. She turned to go to sleep but blinked and looked out again. She thought she had seen something looking up at Cesia's room, which was next to hers…
"I've seen too many movies," Kitchel said to herself as she discarded the event out of her mind and fell asleep.
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o.O Whoa, a little long…maybe TOO long…oh well .; Well hope you guys are likin it so far. Review please!! :D :D :D :D