Pride and Prejudice – Part 15
By: Ghostwriter
----------{@
"Cheers!" "We're the strongest!"
Everyone raised their cups to the toast and drank.
They were at Danny's, celebrating their win against Shoyo. That'll put them up against Kainan in the final round to determine the Kanagawa representative to the Winter Championships. In just another five days. Five more days till they get another chance to prove themselves at the national championships.
They used soft drinks, juice, and tea to substitute for alcohol, since almost of all them were under-aged.
Of course, Anzai-sensai prefers his green tea to alcohol. Mitsui was sorely tempted to get some beer. He could have gotten it if he wanted it – he possessed a fake ID. After all, his thoughts were in a jumble and he would rather not think at all. But he caught Akane frowning at him, so he stopped himself. He can swear that the girl can read his mind.
His face broke into an evil grin when he remembered how he had utilized the fake ID that lay in his wallet for the past few months. Heck, he had been living like a saint!
*****FLASHBACK*****
Mitsui excused himself from the table and walked in the direction of the washroom. As soon as he was out of sight, he walked round the bar and went up to the bartender.
"One glass of Irish Bailey please," he said in a clipped authorative tone. "And please send it to table 29."
The bartender looked at Mitsui dubiously. Sighing audibly, Mitsui flashed his fake ID for him to see. He then nodded and asked, "Milk?"
Mitsui grinned devilishly, "No, serve em plain."
*******************
"Your drink, sir," the waitress said, smiling warmly at him as she sat the glass down.
"Thanks," Mitsui said as the waitress walked away. He picked up the glass of brown liquid and raised it to his lips. Perhaps he can still fortify himself some alcohol.
"Mitchy, what are you drinking?" Hanamichi asked curiously.
"Something good," Mitsui said coolly. He resisted the urge to bang the red head's head for calling him Mitchy. But then again, it wouldn't have done much good would it? That boy has a head of steel!
"Are you saying Tensai can't handle some drink?" Hanamichi's exclaimed as his warm brown eyes widened in anger. "Give me that!" he shouted rudely as he grabbed the glass from Mitsui's hands. In a single flourish, he gulped them down.
"Hmmm…it tastes good," he exclaimed. He signaled at the waitress, "Give me another one!"
The waitress looked expectantly at Mitsui and he gave her a discreet nod. She then went off to get them another glass.
[Ten Minutes Later}
Hanamichi had not drunk two glasses or even three.
He had drained four undiluted glasses of Irish Bailey.
It was enough to knock anyone down.
"Nyahaha – Tensai Sakuragi!" Hanamichi laughed and swayed maniacally. He rubbed his eyes when he looked at Rukawa and pointed, "Nani? Why are there so many kitsunes?" He walked towards Rukawa, but tripped over a chair leg.
Rukawa's arm shot out and steadied him as the red head fell neatly into his lap. In fact, he was sort of cradling him. "Do'aho."
"Teme Kitsune!" Hanamichi hollered, shaking his head to clear himself. He was experiencing double vision and he can't even look straight. "Don't you," he hiccupped, "dare *hic* call tensai *hic* a' *hic* hou."
Akane looked worriedly across the table at the red head. He was actually leaning against that icicle! The Hanamichi she knew would rather die than accept assistance from Rukawa. In fact, he doesn't seem to be clear-headed at all. Not that he was clear-headed at other times, but not to this extent. Maybe he will throw a few head butts around when his anger clouded his common sense – but this?
In fact, Hanamichi looked as though he has been foxed (gotten drunk).
Akane looked at Mitsui and Miyagi, who were exchanging sly and knowing looks across the table. Realization struck her.
'Mitchy no baka,' she said under her breath to Mitsui who was sitting next to her. "What the hell did you let him drink just now?"
Of course, Mitsui assumed the most innocent expression he was capable of. Inwardly, he grinned maniacally as he watched the red head struggle to his feet. He knew that Hanamichi couldn't hold his drink that well.
And Mitsui had experiences with people who can't hold his drink. He himself once blabbed out about a crush he had on a girl after his cousins tricked him into 'tasting' a little of their grandfather's whisky.
He had a nasty headache the next morning and everything looked yellow.
But then again, he needed a little fun, a good laugh to take his mind of things. Especially if it was at Sakuragi Hanamichi's expense. Who knows what the red head will reveal, Mitsui thought slyly. Something interesting, no doubt, he thought as he recalled his earlier conversation with Miyagi.
"You better wipe that sly look of your face," Akane muttered as she casually leaned over under the pretense of taking the ketchup. Mitsui caught a whiff of the scent of the shampoo she used – lemon. (Ghost: Hnnn…LEMON) "You look like an evil schemer the way you look at the baka ninjin atama, which in a way, you are," she said, referring to her remark about him being an evil schemer.
"Do you know what other evil schemes I have in my head?" Mitsui asked huskily.
"I'll rather not know an eighteen year old guy's perverted fantasies," Akane replied shortly.
"It depends who the fantasies are on," he countered in the same seductive tone of voice. He watched gleefully as Akane flushed a pretty shade of red. He probably shouldn't have done that but the idea was just irresistible.
All the people at in the small diner automatically covered their ears when Hanamichi started his horrendous rendition of his 'Ore Wa Tensai' song – from Rukawa's lap. It was dreadfully out of tune and Hanamichi's voice just wasn't meant to sing at such high decibels. It sounded more like a wild cat screeching.
"Do'aho," Rukawa grunted, grabbing a handful of napkins and shoved it into Hanamichi's mouth successfully gagging him. "I'm taking you home."
The red head struggled but Rukawa carefully manipulated him and steered him out of the diner. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Something funny occurred to Yohei, who was sitting with Haruko. "Since when does Rukawa care so much about Hanamichi?"
The all looked at one another, "Masaka... (Can it be…)?"
Mitsui and Miyagi exchanged grins.
***
"I cannot believe you spike that baka's drink," Akane said as they stepped diner. "You guys are all evil schemers, every one of you," she said heatedly as she jabbed her finger into his chest. "They leave me to settle the bill, and poof – they just disappear."
"Hey, leave me out of this – I went with you to settle the bill, remember?" Mitsui reminded her. "Anyway, I paid."
"I offered to share the bill," Akane argued.
"We can't very well take out our credit cards and break them into two, hand them to the cashier and tell her to bill it!" Mitsui retorted. When Akane and Mitsui went to get the bill from the counter, Akane practically fainted at the bill. From the total they were supposed to pay stated on the bill, it was either they had just gotten fleeced, or they just fed an army.
But with Sakuragi Hanamichi eating with them, it was a good thing that they only had to pay for one army. The boy alone eats the amount of two armies!
When they went back to tell the other members to pitch in, they had mysteriously disappeared.
Both Akane and Mitsui found out that none of them brought enough money to foot the bill. Without giving Akane a chance to do anything, Mitsui had handed the cashier his credit card.
"Anyway, no gentleman lets a lady pay for her meal," Mitsui said as they continued to walk down the street.
"Tell me, since are you a gentleman? And even if you're a gentleman, you should know I'm no lady!" Akane said. She was certainly in a most argumentative mood. "And…" she stopped and her entire face scrunched up as she sneezed violently. "And for some demented reason, they took my coat with them!" she said as she rubbed her nose.
Her face was red from the late autumm wind but her eyes were bright. Mitsui looked at her face intently before unbuttoning his long coat. He slipped his right arm out of its sleeve.
"What are you doing?" Akane asked curiously as she watched him do it. "Aaaah-Choo!" she sneezed again.
"Making sure you're not going to freeze to death," Mitsui said wryly as he pulled Akane to his side and placed half the coat over her.
Akane felt warmth seep into her rather cold face. "You can give me the whole coat," she muttered. They were pressed intimately by the side because the coat just wasn't made for two people to share. Too rather large people in fact.
"I don't intend to freeze to death either," Mitsui replied. "I want to play in the game against Kainan. It'll be my last game during high school." There was a hint of sadness and regret in his voice.
"Since when do you care whether an obake like me freeze or not," Akane mumbled. "Won't you be happier?"
"Aww, you know that I'm your friend," Mitsui said, pretending to be slightly hurt. "Anyway, to answer your question, I care since I know that," he paused for a while, before he decided, "I know we'll be dissecting a rat in biology class next Tuesday." His eyes were twinkling mischievously.
"Baka," Akane said as she punched him lightly on the chest. She yawned as she placed her head on his shoulder, "I'm tired."
Mitsui relished the physical contact they shared at the moment. His right arm held her close to his side and her head rested on his shoulder as they walked towards her apartment. A part of him never wants this walk to end.
Akane looked at the sky. She had never felt so safe in a long time. With his arm around her, holding her close, it was as though he is ready to protect her against anything that might happen. She closed her eyes briefly and made a wish to the stars. I wish that I'll never lose this feeling, she thought. The stars winked back at her.
The two people sharing one coat walked beneath the pale moonlight in silence, content with each others company.
A light drizzle fell but the (soon to be) couple continued their slow walk. Neither of them wished it end so soon.
***
"How did it go?" Ayako asked, twirling the telephone cord with her fingers as she leaned back into the cushions.
"As smooth as though the whole thing has been oiled," Miyagi's voice came from the other end.
"Aha! I knew it!" Ayako said happily.
"You did not see how Mitchy reacted to my suggestion of spiking Hanamichi's drink," Miyagi said merrily, "Priceless!"
"And did you all evacuate Danny's immediately after you sent the pair away?" Ayako demanded.
"Yeah. Thank goodness Anzai-sensai had left earlier," Miyagi replied. "The others thought it was a bit weird when I picked up Katsura-senpai's coat and told them to go. But I guess the threat of 200 push ups tomorrow were enough to stifle whatever curiosity they had about the matter."
"Good," Ayako said in a satisfied tone of voice. "Whatever happens now is up to Rukawa and Mitsui-senpai. It'll be some time before we can put plan B into action."
"Ano – Aya-chan, how many plans do you have?" Mitsui asked.
"Well, enough plans to make sure they get together," Ayako said as she shifted slightly on the couch. One whole week in hospital with only the TV for company during the day for over a week was excruciating boredom. More than enough time to allow her to rack up all sorts of matchmaking plans.
"Don't you think they'll get mad?"
"Nah, they'll thank us for it later."
Miyagi yawned widely. Ayako heard him over the phone and said, "You must be tired after the game today. Maybe you should go to bed. Oyasumi – Ryo- chan," she blushed at the honorific.
Miyagi's eyes instantly snapped wide open at how Ayako called him. "Oyasumi Aya-chan," he practically shouted into the receiver.
Ayako replaced the receiver back onto its hook as she blushed slightly. She had never called him by such close terms before. She stood up and rearranged the cushions before heading off to her room, humming softly.
As for Miyagi, he suddenly felt so energetic, he started jumping all around. (Ghost: Sweat-drop
"This calls for a game of basketball!"
***
Akane twirled her spoon absent mindedly around the mug of chocolate in the kitchen. She glanced towards the living room where Mitsui was.
The light drizzle had turned into a full fledge storm right after they reached her apartment. She couldn't possibly just turn him out into the raging storm. So she invited him in.
For once, Akane wished she had kept her apartment in a better state.
Mitsui looked around the spacious living room from his place on the white couch. It was done up in warm tones. There was a digital piano and electronic organ side by side in the corner. A few Chinese calligraphy scrolls hung on the walls and there was a low coffee table. The apartment was incredibly modern.
But it was impossibly messy as well.
There was loads of manuscript paper with musical notes scribbled all over them as well as diskettes. Mitsui picked up one of them with the title 'Carpe Diem' hastily scribbled on and began to read the melody. It sounded vaguely familiar like the song she played on the day they first met. He walked over to the piano, switched it on and began playing.
"Ah!" Akane cried as the knife she held made contact with her flesh, resulting some a wound in her finger. She was somewhat startled when she heard someone playing her composition. But too late – the blade had already cut into her finger.
Mitsui hurried into the kitchen after hearing Akane's surprised cry. He walked in to find her suckling her finger as she fumbled, as though looking for something in one of the drawers.
"What happened?" he asked as he stalked in. "Let me see that," he demanded as he tug at her hand.
"It's nothing," Akane mumbled. Mitsui remained silent as he searched the drawer and took out a strip of plaster from the messy drawer she had been going through just a moment ago. Akane offered no resistance as he took he washed her finger under the running water and used a piece of paper towel to dry the wound.
Akane kept talking to diminish the tensed silence between them. "I was just surprised that you could play the piano and…" she continued. Having him so close was unbearable.
"There are a lot of things you don't know about me, Akane," Mitsui replied as he applied the bandage neatly on the wound. Akane stopped voicing her incoherent thoughts as he lifted his blue eyes and looked into hers. "And would you care to find out?"
Blue and green were locked together for a moment that seemed to last for an eternity.
"Yes," she answered breathlessly, uncertain of her own mind.
Mitsui smiled as he lowered his face. Akane could feel her heart thundering with each beat as she turned her face upwards expectantly.
Everything exploded the instant his lips met hers.
***
Standard Disclaimers Apply.
Akane: BAKA GHOSTWRITER! I can't believe you made us kiss!
Ghostlie: Well…err… we… err…
Akane: And you left me hanging there kissing with him! How long am I supposed to kiss him?!
Ghostlie: Until you write the next the chapter?
Akane: NANI?! Ghostwriter-san …
Ghostlie: Uh-oh…ok…gotta run…Ja!
[Disappears just as Akane took out a charm written on yellow paper. (You know those that they use on evil spirits.)]
Thanks to all those who reviewed and do send those reviews coming in!!!
Ghostwriter
9 May 2002
By: Ghostwriter
----------{@
"Cheers!" "We're the strongest!"
Everyone raised their cups to the toast and drank.
They were at Danny's, celebrating their win against Shoyo. That'll put them up against Kainan in the final round to determine the Kanagawa representative to the Winter Championships. In just another five days. Five more days till they get another chance to prove themselves at the national championships.
They used soft drinks, juice, and tea to substitute for alcohol, since almost of all them were under-aged.
Of course, Anzai-sensai prefers his green tea to alcohol. Mitsui was sorely tempted to get some beer. He could have gotten it if he wanted it – he possessed a fake ID. After all, his thoughts were in a jumble and he would rather not think at all. But he caught Akane frowning at him, so he stopped himself. He can swear that the girl can read his mind.
His face broke into an evil grin when he remembered how he had utilized the fake ID that lay in his wallet for the past few months. Heck, he had been living like a saint!
*****FLASHBACK*****
Mitsui excused himself from the table and walked in the direction of the washroom. As soon as he was out of sight, he walked round the bar and went up to the bartender.
"One glass of Irish Bailey please," he said in a clipped authorative tone. "And please send it to table 29."
The bartender looked at Mitsui dubiously. Sighing audibly, Mitsui flashed his fake ID for him to see. He then nodded and asked, "Milk?"
Mitsui grinned devilishly, "No, serve em plain."
*******************
"Your drink, sir," the waitress said, smiling warmly at him as she sat the glass down.
"Thanks," Mitsui said as the waitress walked away. He picked up the glass of brown liquid and raised it to his lips. Perhaps he can still fortify himself some alcohol.
"Mitchy, what are you drinking?" Hanamichi asked curiously.
"Something good," Mitsui said coolly. He resisted the urge to bang the red head's head for calling him Mitchy. But then again, it wouldn't have done much good would it? That boy has a head of steel!
"Are you saying Tensai can't handle some drink?" Hanamichi's exclaimed as his warm brown eyes widened in anger. "Give me that!" he shouted rudely as he grabbed the glass from Mitsui's hands. In a single flourish, he gulped them down.
"Hmmm…it tastes good," he exclaimed. He signaled at the waitress, "Give me another one!"
The waitress looked expectantly at Mitsui and he gave her a discreet nod. She then went off to get them another glass.
[Ten Minutes Later}
Hanamichi had not drunk two glasses or even three.
He had drained four undiluted glasses of Irish Bailey.
It was enough to knock anyone down.
"Nyahaha – Tensai Sakuragi!" Hanamichi laughed and swayed maniacally. He rubbed his eyes when he looked at Rukawa and pointed, "Nani? Why are there so many kitsunes?" He walked towards Rukawa, but tripped over a chair leg.
Rukawa's arm shot out and steadied him as the red head fell neatly into his lap. In fact, he was sort of cradling him. "Do'aho."
"Teme Kitsune!" Hanamichi hollered, shaking his head to clear himself. He was experiencing double vision and he can't even look straight. "Don't you," he hiccupped, "dare *hic* call tensai *hic* a' *hic* hou."
Akane looked worriedly across the table at the red head. He was actually leaning against that icicle! The Hanamichi she knew would rather die than accept assistance from Rukawa. In fact, he doesn't seem to be clear-headed at all. Not that he was clear-headed at other times, but not to this extent. Maybe he will throw a few head butts around when his anger clouded his common sense – but this?
In fact, Hanamichi looked as though he has been foxed (gotten drunk).
Akane looked at Mitsui and Miyagi, who were exchanging sly and knowing looks across the table. Realization struck her.
'Mitchy no baka,' she said under her breath to Mitsui who was sitting next to her. "What the hell did you let him drink just now?"
Of course, Mitsui assumed the most innocent expression he was capable of. Inwardly, he grinned maniacally as he watched the red head struggle to his feet. He knew that Hanamichi couldn't hold his drink that well.
And Mitsui had experiences with people who can't hold his drink. He himself once blabbed out about a crush he had on a girl after his cousins tricked him into 'tasting' a little of their grandfather's whisky.
He had a nasty headache the next morning and everything looked yellow.
But then again, he needed a little fun, a good laugh to take his mind of things. Especially if it was at Sakuragi Hanamichi's expense. Who knows what the red head will reveal, Mitsui thought slyly. Something interesting, no doubt, he thought as he recalled his earlier conversation with Miyagi.
"You better wipe that sly look of your face," Akane muttered as she casually leaned over under the pretense of taking the ketchup. Mitsui caught a whiff of the scent of the shampoo she used – lemon. (Ghost: Hnnn…LEMON) "You look like an evil schemer the way you look at the baka ninjin atama, which in a way, you are," she said, referring to her remark about him being an evil schemer.
"Do you know what other evil schemes I have in my head?" Mitsui asked huskily.
"I'll rather not know an eighteen year old guy's perverted fantasies," Akane replied shortly.
"It depends who the fantasies are on," he countered in the same seductive tone of voice. He watched gleefully as Akane flushed a pretty shade of red. He probably shouldn't have done that but the idea was just irresistible.
All the people at in the small diner automatically covered their ears when Hanamichi started his horrendous rendition of his 'Ore Wa Tensai' song – from Rukawa's lap. It was dreadfully out of tune and Hanamichi's voice just wasn't meant to sing at such high decibels. It sounded more like a wild cat screeching.
"Do'aho," Rukawa grunted, grabbing a handful of napkins and shoved it into Hanamichi's mouth successfully gagging him. "I'm taking you home."
The red head struggled but Rukawa carefully manipulated him and steered him out of the diner. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Something funny occurred to Yohei, who was sitting with Haruko. "Since when does Rukawa care so much about Hanamichi?"
The all looked at one another, "Masaka... (Can it be…)?"
Mitsui and Miyagi exchanged grins.
***
"I cannot believe you spike that baka's drink," Akane said as they stepped diner. "You guys are all evil schemers, every one of you," she said heatedly as she jabbed her finger into his chest. "They leave me to settle the bill, and poof – they just disappear."
"Hey, leave me out of this – I went with you to settle the bill, remember?" Mitsui reminded her. "Anyway, I paid."
"I offered to share the bill," Akane argued.
"We can't very well take out our credit cards and break them into two, hand them to the cashier and tell her to bill it!" Mitsui retorted. When Akane and Mitsui went to get the bill from the counter, Akane practically fainted at the bill. From the total they were supposed to pay stated on the bill, it was either they had just gotten fleeced, or they just fed an army.
But with Sakuragi Hanamichi eating with them, it was a good thing that they only had to pay for one army. The boy alone eats the amount of two armies!
When they went back to tell the other members to pitch in, they had mysteriously disappeared.
Both Akane and Mitsui found out that none of them brought enough money to foot the bill. Without giving Akane a chance to do anything, Mitsui had handed the cashier his credit card.
"Anyway, no gentleman lets a lady pay for her meal," Mitsui said as they continued to walk down the street.
"Tell me, since are you a gentleman? And even if you're a gentleman, you should know I'm no lady!" Akane said. She was certainly in a most argumentative mood. "And…" she stopped and her entire face scrunched up as she sneezed violently. "And for some demented reason, they took my coat with them!" she said as she rubbed her nose.
Her face was red from the late autumm wind but her eyes were bright. Mitsui looked at her face intently before unbuttoning his long coat. He slipped his right arm out of its sleeve.
"What are you doing?" Akane asked curiously as she watched him do it. "Aaaah-Choo!" she sneezed again.
"Making sure you're not going to freeze to death," Mitsui said wryly as he pulled Akane to his side and placed half the coat over her.
Akane felt warmth seep into her rather cold face. "You can give me the whole coat," she muttered. They were pressed intimately by the side because the coat just wasn't made for two people to share. Too rather large people in fact.
"I don't intend to freeze to death either," Mitsui replied. "I want to play in the game against Kainan. It'll be my last game during high school." There was a hint of sadness and regret in his voice.
"Since when do you care whether an obake like me freeze or not," Akane mumbled. "Won't you be happier?"
"Aww, you know that I'm your friend," Mitsui said, pretending to be slightly hurt. "Anyway, to answer your question, I care since I know that," he paused for a while, before he decided, "I know we'll be dissecting a rat in biology class next Tuesday." His eyes were twinkling mischievously.
"Baka," Akane said as she punched him lightly on the chest. She yawned as she placed her head on his shoulder, "I'm tired."
Mitsui relished the physical contact they shared at the moment. His right arm held her close to his side and her head rested on his shoulder as they walked towards her apartment. A part of him never wants this walk to end.
Akane looked at the sky. She had never felt so safe in a long time. With his arm around her, holding her close, it was as though he is ready to protect her against anything that might happen. She closed her eyes briefly and made a wish to the stars. I wish that I'll never lose this feeling, she thought. The stars winked back at her.
The two people sharing one coat walked beneath the pale moonlight in silence, content with each others company.
A light drizzle fell but the (soon to be) couple continued their slow walk. Neither of them wished it end so soon.
***
"How did it go?" Ayako asked, twirling the telephone cord with her fingers as she leaned back into the cushions.
"As smooth as though the whole thing has been oiled," Miyagi's voice came from the other end.
"Aha! I knew it!" Ayako said happily.
"You did not see how Mitchy reacted to my suggestion of spiking Hanamichi's drink," Miyagi said merrily, "Priceless!"
"And did you all evacuate Danny's immediately after you sent the pair away?" Ayako demanded.
"Yeah. Thank goodness Anzai-sensai had left earlier," Miyagi replied. "The others thought it was a bit weird when I picked up Katsura-senpai's coat and told them to go. But I guess the threat of 200 push ups tomorrow were enough to stifle whatever curiosity they had about the matter."
"Good," Ayako said in a satisfied tone of voice. "Whatever happens now is up to Rukawa and Mitsui-senpai. It'll be some time before we can put plan B into action."
"Ano – Aya-chan, how many plans do you have?" Mitsui asked.
"Well, enough plans to make sure they get together," Ayako said as she shifted slightly on the couch. One whole week in hospital with only the TV for company during the day for over a week was excruciating boredom. More than enough time to allow her to rack up all sorts of matchmaking plans.
"Don't you think they'll get mad?"
"Nah, they'll thank us for it later."
Miyagi yawned widely. Ayako heard him over the phone and said, "You must be tired after the game today. Maybe you should go to bed. Oyasumi – Ryo- chan," she blushed at the honorific.
Miyagi's eyes instantly snapped wide open at how Ayako called him. "Oyasumi Aya-chan," he practically shouted into the receiver.
Ayako replaced the receiver back onto its hook as she blushed slightly. She had never called him by such close terms before. She stood up and rearranged the cushions before heading off to her room, humming softly.
As for Miyagi, he suddenly felt so energetic, he started jumping all around. (Ghost: Sweat-drop
"This calls for a game of basketball!"
***
Akane twirled her spoon absent mindedly around the mug of chocolate in the kitchen. She glanced towards the living room where Mitsui was.
The light drizzle had turned into a full fledge storm right after they reached her apartment. She couldn't possibly just turn him out into the raging storm. So she invited him in.
For once, Akane wished she had kept her apartment in a better state.
Mitsui looked around the spacious living room from his place on the white couch. It was done up in warm tones. There was a digital piano and electronic organ side by side in the corner. A few Chinese calligraphy scrolls hung on the walls and there was a low coffee table. The apartment was incredibly modern.
But it was impossibly messy as well.
There was loads of manuscript paper with musical notes scribbled all over them as well as diskettes. Mitsui picked up one of them with the title 'Carpe Diem' hastily scribbled on and began to read the melody. It sounded vaguely familiar like the song she played on the day they first met. He walked over to the piano, switched it on and began playing.
"Ah!" Akane cried as the knife she held made contact with her flesh, resulting some a wound in her finger. She was somewhat startled when she heard someone playing her composition. But too late – the blade had already cut into her finger.
Mitsui hurried into the kitchen after hearing Akane's surprised cry. He walked in to find her suckling her finger as she fumbled, as though looking for something in one of the drawers.
"What happened?" he asked as he stalked in. "Let me see that," he demanded as he tug at her hand.
"It's nothing," Akane mumbled. Mitsui remained silent as he searched the drawer and took out a strip of plaster from the messy drawer she had been going through just a moment ago. Akane offered no resistance as he took he washed her finger under the running water and used a piece of paper towel to dry the wound.
Akane kept talking to diminish the tensed silence between them. "I was just surprised that you could play the piano and…" she continued. Having him so close was unbearable.
"There are a lot of things you don't know about me, Akane," Mitsui replied as he applied the bandage neatly on the wound. Akane stopped voicing her incoherent thoughts as he lifted his blue eyes and looked into hers. "And would you care to find out?"
Blue and green were locked together for a moment that seemed to last for an eternity.
"Yes," she answered breathlessly, uncertain of her own mind.
Mitsui smiled as he lowered his face. Akane could feel her heart thundering with each beat as she turned her face upwards expectantly.
Everything exploded the instant his lips met hers.
***
Standard Disclaimers Apply.
Akane: BAKA GHOSTWRITER! I can't believe you made us kiss!
Ghostlie: Well…err… we… err…
Akane: And you left me hanging there kissing with him! How long am I supposed to kiss him?!
Ghostlie: Until you write the next the chapter?
Akane: NANI?! Ghostwriter-san …
Ghostlie: Uh-oh…ok…gotta run…Ja!
[Disappears just as Akane took out a charm written on yellow paper. (You know those that they use on evil spirits.)]
Thanks to all those who reviewed and do send those reviews coming in!!!
Ghostwriter
9 May 2002