My eye hurt.
Well, not in the sense of really hurt type of hurt, but it felt...strange. I don't know why. Sometimes, it throbbed, as it possessed a life of its own, but otherwise, the pain only buzzed faintly in the background. Weird. As said.
Well, telling Meihou hadn't helped any, for she simply reached out a finger, intent on poking my eyeball out of its socket as she grinned innocently. "They say it takes a good jab to fix something, Emtato bakayaro," she grinned as I glared at her, one hand shielding my right eye. "Come on! Just ONE little poke..."
"Do that and I'll send you to the back alleys where the gangs are," I threatened and she paused for a minute, seeming to think twice. Then, she lunged at me. Owwwwwww.
"If you do that again, I'll really send you there," I mumbled as I rubbed the red spot beside my eye ruefully. "Do you know that you could have blinded me or something?"
She threw herself onto the grass, lifting one finely arched eyebrow at me as she tilted her head slightly. "Maybe," she shrugged, turning onto her stomach as she pulled up a handful of brown grass. "Still, you should go and see a doctor for that. It might be serious."
"Well, I'm glad you're FINALLY talking sense, but I...can't," I spoke slowly as I looked down from the hill towards the village. "No one will treat me, even if I paid a fortune for it."
"Why not? it's not as if you're a criminal or something."
I averted my eyes, gazing down at the brown soil that crumbled beneath my fingers. "You've only been here for two weeks, Meihou. You won't know about it."
Frowning slightly, she raised herself to a sitting position, leaning heavily on her arms that were stretched out behind her. "So tell me about it. Is this also why you can't get a job in the village although winter is setting in?"
I was silent.
"I take that as a yes," she spoke decisively as she pushed her fluttering, messy chestnut hair behind her shoulders. "I don't get why everyone doesn't seem to like you, Emtato; you seem like a decent guy. Really."
"You're not helping," I added sourly, frowning slightly as she turned her head sideways so that she could look at my face. "Put it this way: everyone's afraid that if they come in contact with me, they'll be stuck with bad luck for the rest of their lives. Keeping me away is the only way for them to have a chance at having a shot of good luck."
She contemplated this for a while, her eyes never leaving my face. "Well, I've been with you for two weeks, and so far, nothing's gone wrong. Those old crones in the village talk rubbish. I can't believe you actually believe that junk!"
Her language shocked me slightly, but my mind returned to my current situation, and I sighed. "You can't blame them. I'm practically...cursed. Besides, it was you who wanted to be friends with me on your own free will, remember?"
"Oh...so it's my fault now, is it?" she raise an eyebrow, her face scrunched in a way that she looked both irresistably cute and angry at the same time. "I'm so insulted!"
She must have noticed the irritation on my face as her hyperness subsided and she glanced at my face before speaking. "But...really. If you listen to them, you'll never have any friends in life. Trust me on this!"
"If then, who are you?" I asked, gazing sharply at her. Squeaking slightly, she blinked rapidly before flushing a bright shade of red, looking very flustered. The question itself had been nagging in my mind since that night, and I was anxious to know her reply.
Her hands contacted with the ground, her long fingers digging into the solid earth slightly as she averted her eyes. "Well...I'm your friend, of course."
"That's all?"
There was a flash of gold as the sunlight reflected off her eyes, and I felt her studying me for a moment before she turned away. "Were you expecting anything else, Emtato?"
I noticed the obvious change of mood, the sudden disappearance of the friendly 'bakayaro' behind my name. Somehow...I feared that this was one of her jokes. "Perhaps."
The tension in the air was so palpable, and I suddenly had the urge to run up and down the hill, screaming at the top of my voice for no apparent reason. I could NOT stand this tension. Either answer yes or no, but make it a yes...but if you don't like me, you can say no, but I'd prefer a yes...
"Well...then you'll be disappointed."
I stiffened, feeling as if all the air had rushed out of every pore in my body with one sharp whoosh, leaving me a deflated paper bag. I knew it. I knew it. It was SO obvious that NO girl in her right mind would even come to even think of being together with me. It was stupid too try and-
"...But I guess I could live being more than just that," she added, looking at me carefully when I stood blinking in the sunlight. All air came back. WHOOSH.
Before I knew it, I had taken her by the hands and was dancing up and down the hillside despite her loud squeals to let her down or she'd mutilate my head or something. She said yes! Yes to be with me, the outcast of a million centuries! Old crones of the village, you were WRONG!
"EMTATO BAKAYARO, IF YOU DON'T LET ME DOWN, I'LL FLY STRAIGHT OFF THIS HILL!" Meihou squealed as I swung her around for about the fifteenth time. Her eyes were wide as I seemed to get a hold of myself and ceremoniously let her down, although not to gently at the same time. Yesyesyesyesyesyes!
She bounced slightly on the grass, shooting me a dry glare as she rubbed her shoulder slightly. "You could have torn my arm off its shoulder!" she complained, then grinned. "Then again, I've never seen you so happy before. What would you do it I told you it was only a joke?"
I froze.
A laugh escaped her lips as she threw her arms around me and hugged me tight, her grin infectious. "I told you that you were vulnerable. Why ever would I joke about something like that?"
"Because you're about to be tickled?" I offered, and she squealed, screaming with laughter as she squirmed this way and that as I dove down, trying to poke her right in the ribs. For a moment there, I was afraid that she had really meant it. I didn't know what I would have done if it had been a joke. Well, no matter.
"Are you aware that us coming here every day makes all those gossips in the village think that we're doing...things?" I grinned as she finally rolled away, laughing nonstop.
She sat up, wagging her finger as she pouted slightly. "One thing's for sure, Emtato bakayaro: if YOU ever try doing things to me, I'll make sure you'll never hear the end of it!"
"Says who?" I challenged.
"Says me. I'm a girl too, if you haven't noticed."
I grinned. "You're a GIRL?" I tried to sound horrified. "How come I didn't know?"
She laughed, throwing a handful of grass at me. "BAKAYARO!"
Author's notes:
I mess up BIG time in sap. You don't have to point it out; I know I'm terrible at writing romance. It just isn't me.
Just in case anyone was wondering, this chapter is set a week after the last chapter. Shorter chapters are easier to write, but not much to read. No, I don't think I'll be making them longer, if anyone was wondering. Too much work. I still need to work on Stars of Hope and Destiny (further references as Stars). Besides, my muse hates me. (He's Tomite, if anyone was wondering)
Has anyone read Diana Wynne Jones' books? That woman is soooo cool!
I'm currently working on 3 fics at one time, so for my next update, expect a few more chapters for Stars, this fic...and PERHAPS I might upload a Slayers' fic that I'm writing. Maybe.
Don't forget to review! Yes, it's mandatory.
Okay then, until next time, ja ne~!