GoodGurl: Hey where are all the Ayame-Miine fans out there? I thought there were a lot? :( Awwww! Onegai! Someone please review! I want reviews! I know it's selfish but....ONEGAI! ^_^;
Chapter 3 - Ayame The Snake
Strange. It was really strange. Miine couldn't continue on a day without glancing at her tencho once in a while, when he wasn't looking. It was the first time she has ever felt awkward around him and the first time she was unable to argue about what style was in or out just like the time she first met Tohru and Yuki. Miine, for once, was speechless with the news of her tencho turning into a snake. At first she thought it was a dream- but dreams were impossible to repeat three times, especially when she knew she was awake.
"Miine?" Ayame stared at her, worried. He wished there was something he could do, but of course everything he could do was keep himself less serious.
"Hai, tencho?" Miine responded. She looked up and was surprised to find herself staring into Ayame's golden eyes. For the first time, she saw something in them that were quite different from the Ayame she has known a long time. What changed? Whey were they both feeling awkward around each other? Miine kenw the answer and she guess that Ayame knew it too.
It was Ayame the snake.
Suddenly, for no reason at all, Ayame threw his head back and began laughing. He didn't know why, but there was something humorous about the situation they were in. He could still see himself nude in Miine's oddly strong arms. Laughing, was of course contagious. Miine joined her tencho in a joyous giggle. Her laughter, soft and abrupt, rang along with Ayame's loud and contagious fits of merriment. Miine, put a hand on her stomach that was beginning to ache from the chuckles that had no reason of being there. She knew there was no reason for her to be worried. Ayame was still the same tencho she knew and she knew that being a snake must be harder for him that it was for her.
She stopped, the laughter dying away, only to be replaced by a kind smile as she watched tears of laughter fall from Ayame's eyes. "Tencho... when did this curse begin?"
As if slapped in the face, Ayame's own sound of laughter faded. He looked at her, his eyes turning into slits. The white haired man, wanting to break the awkwardness between them, just laughed. He stood up and stared into nothingness dramatically. Entranced by the beauty he possesed, as if no woman could ever compete with it, Miine swore she saw a bright spotlight that shone briefly over him.
"The curse..." He thought for a minute. Even he was unsure what the answer was. For as long as he could remember, him, Yuki and every member of the Sohma family in his generation were born with the same curse that took place from the time their great ancestors lived (which was a thousand years ago). His parents never told him how it happened and if he kept asking, he could get punished for it. Neither of his other cousins dared to ask their parents about the curse. They have grown up to life with it, no matter how much it pained them. Ayame, for the longest time, chose not to think about it. He didn't want to think about the possible horrible things their Sohma ancestors did in the past that led to this curse. Having the curse since they were bornled to the breakups in the Sohma household. Born with the spirit of the jyunishi snake, his instincts as an older brother to his born mouse-spirit younger brother, faded. He turned away when Yuki needed him. At that point, Yuki must have already figured it out that Ayame had nothing to do with his little brother. The white haired man regretted of ever turning the other way when Yuki needed him the most.
Miine continued to stare at him. She wanted so much to comfort him. She knew Ayame was probably thinking about his brother again. The girl wanted to embrace him in her arms- anything to to make him feel better, but it was impossible now. She always thought it was possible, at least to have his arms around his comforting shoulders so he could lay his head on hers. Miine wanted to be his best friend- the only one who understood him and the only one who could fill the one empty hole in his heart as a result from the curse. Was it really possible for an assistant and her tencho to become best friends? Before she could answer her own question, she felt something warm on her lap. Miine looked down and found him on his knees, his hands rested on her lap, while he laid his head on top of them - the same position he had the first time he mentioned his brother to her. She sat silently, watching him. Ayame just laid there, with his eyes closed, thinking how warm Miine was.
"Ayame-san..." she whispered.
The white haired man looked up, hearing the soft tone in Mine's voice, when she called him by his first name. Gently, the girl lifted up a hand to Ayame's cheek for the first time and stared warmly into his eyes. "Ayame-san, you shouldn't have to regret anything what you did, because that is all in the past. What's important is that you're doing your best now to mend the broken relationship you have with your brother. Just be glad that he is not turning his face away when you call out to him."
Ayame smiled slightly, still doubtful. When he was about to tell her that he did just the opposite when Yuki turned to him, Miine's other hand moved to press against his other cheek, which stopped the man from speaking.
"Yuki knows that you regretted the things you did to him in the past. All you have to do now is accept his forgiveness. He might not show it, but even you know it's there, despite his actions."
Her words. They were like music to his ears. This was the first time she has spoken genuinely about anything before. She would just sit there, while he complained about his life (which was mostly about Yuki) and just listened. Ayame never knew how much knowledge Miine had and when she did, her voice made him feel better. Just hearing it made his heart sore. Without thinking, he stood up slightly, just enough so he was leveled with Miine and leaned his face closer to her.
"T-tencho? Nan-!" Miine gasped. His lips against her had stopped the words that came out of her mouth. It was as if time had stopped just long enough to feel Ayame's warm lips against hers. None of them knew what to do at that point. Both had no experience in kissing anyone. Miine never let Ringo kiss her anywhere other than the back of her hand.
As if in a long trance, Ayame broke away from the kiss first and backed away. "G- gomen nasai, Miine..." He stood up suddenly, turned and left the room quietly.
Miine sat there, shocked by what just happened. She placed a finger on her lips, the warmth of Ayame's lips still lingering there. Realizing it was no dream, Miine suddenly blushed a beet red.
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What was he thinking? She was his assistant for goodness sakes! Shaking the incident that happened earlier from his head, Ayame greeted the customers who dropped by to check out the items they had in his usual, hyper active personality. There was no point in him worrying about it now, or it will even get worse just by thinking about it. Though it was hard getting rid of the thought of someone's lips against his own, especially when her face kept popping into his head. Ayame has never felt this way before, not even towards Miine - whom he hired as his assistant. What changed? Is it because she knows of his secret that he felt he needed to be closer to her and talk about his snake self to her other than Tohru and his family? Yes, it's true, but why did he kiss her? Was it out of impulse because his hormones were acting up again or did he feel something more towards Miine? True, in high school he had these feelings to some women in his class, but they usually ignored him, because they probably thought he was really gay. He was often found hanging around Shigure and Hatori wearing girls' clothes. And his constant flirting with Gure-san must have added the suspicion from his classmates that he was indeed...gay. However, he never thought they would misjudge him and think him as a homosexual. When he met Miine, she did not think of him as gay, nor did she even make rude comments about the clothes he was wearing, maybe only when he was wearing clothes that were 'out of date.' Their conversation then, did not go beyond to the point that Ayame dreaded the most in conversations... which was the issue of him (as a guy) wearing women's clothing. Miine was understanding about wearing feminine attire and agreed that they were indeed, "comfortable." Then, when she started working with him, they quickly became friends. People often thought they were married, because they argued a lot, but it was not the type of fight that ended up in breakups later. The argument (though mostly about fashion) was friendly- an act of mutual understanding for each other. Like his reflection, Miine agreed to everything he thought about certain products from Gap to Tokyo Fad and sometimes disagreed.
"Oi!" Ayame blinked, the thoughts finally clearing away from his head and looked up at the sound of Kyo's familiar voice. Kyo, Tohru and Yuki all stared at him. Tohru, being the one to worry too much about Ayame's constant daydreaming in the last couple of days, stared at him, disturbed by his changes.
"Daijoubu desu-ka, Ayame-san?" Tohru asked.
"Nani?" Ayame glanced at his brother. For the first time, Yuki was concerned for his older brother. The white haired man waved his hand at them. "Oh!" He chuckled. "I'm fine, Tohru-kun, Kyonkichi and Yuki-kun! I was just thinking..." He paused, which raised more questions from the trio. Even Kyo turned his head, wondering what was up, instead of blowing his temper about his nickname. Frantically searching for his head mentally to erase the curiosity growing in the trio's eyes and grinned as wide as he could. "Well, I was just thinking about my... PICTURE IN THE FRONT PAGE OF RAINBOW MONTHLY!" He put his fists on his hips and looked into the horizon, though for Yuki and Kyo, all they saw was a wall. Tohru was too engulfed with Ayame's news that she clasped her hands behind her and smiled, happy for the white haired man.
"Sugoi, Ayame-san! You're going to be in a magazine?"
"HAI!" Ayame lifted up one arm and proudly looked into the sky dramatically.
Dark cloud hovered over Yuki. "Rainbow Monthly? Isn't that a gay magazine?" Yuki asked, folding his arms across his chest coldly.
Kyo made a strange look at Yuki, pursing his lips together. Tohru felt large beads of sweat fell at the sides of her face. She had forgotten about Yuki's thoughts about Ayame's 'lifestyle.'
"Hai, Yuki-kun! My beautiful face will be admired all over Japan - men and women alike!" Ayame replied proudly.
Yuki's face colored even darker.
A moment later, they heard the back door open and Miine stepped out. As usual, she wore her maid costume, her hair in two braided pigtails and round thick glases, covering her glimmering, green eyes. She has her usual expression - a very contagious smile that Tohru often found 'kawaii!' "I thought I heard familiar voices! Konnichiwa, Tohru-chan, Yuki-kun and Kyo-kun!"
"Miine!" Ayame spoke, turning his head to look at her. "I was just telling them about my picture in the front page of Rainbow Monthly!"
Miine smiled and nodded. She was actually listening the whole time she was in the back room, while at the same time trying to concentrate on her work. "Suteki-da ne? (Isn't it wonderful). My tencho, in the front page of a popular magazine!" Miine clasped her hands in front of her and rested her arms on the counter.
"Popular...?" Yuki spoke quietly.
More sweat fell from the side of Tohru's face. Yuki and Ayame's relationship will never progress unless they stop talking about Ayame and his 'life' as the manager of a clothing store. It seems Miine noticed Tohru's anxiety, that she grabbed her hand and began pulling her out of everyone else's sight. "Ne, Tohru-chan! I want to show you some clothes that I want you to try on! You too, Kyo-kun!" On their way to the back room, she grabbed the oranger haired teen's hand and dragged both of them away from the brothers.
"D-demo..." Tohru glanced over her shoulder, worried that if she wasn't there, Yuki might end up beating Ayame to the pulp or something.
"Oi! Matte! Nani-o!?" Kyo yelped, trying to pull himself away from the clerk's grasp, but her grip grew tighter when he did. "Itai! You're gripping too hard!"
"Kyo, I made some dresses of your size, why don't you try some on too?" Miine suggested.
The orange haired teen grimaced. "Itai! I said you're gripping too hard!"
Tohru grimaced. Miine was INDEED gripping their arms too hard. When they were inside the room, both Tohru and Kyo were relieved when the woman finally let go. They both rubbed their wrists to get the feeling back. Miine closed the door quickly and leaned her ear against the door.
"What the hell was that about!? Why are we here?" Kyo complained.
"Kyo-kun... daijoubu," came Tohru's soft voice.
Kyo glanced at the long haired girl, lifting an eyebrow curiously. "Nani?"
Miine glanced at the orange haired teen and smiled. "Gomen nasai, Kyo-kun! I had to get you out of there. It must be obvious for Yuki by now on why I keep dragging Tohru at the back room. Yuki needs to be alone with his oniisan."
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He stared at his white haired brother. Folding his arms across his chest, he turned away and stared at some pictures Ayame took of the models that he hired to model for the clothes he made. Indeed, just as Miine mentioned before on his recent visits that there were models of both sexes. Some even wore their right clothes. A man with short brown hair modeled a very attractive black suit and a tie that went with his blue eyes. Yuki's eyes traveled from the picture at the corner of a woman dressed in the same maid suit as Miine wore to a picture of Ayame's clerk herself. He wasn't sure if it was her, because her hair was down, but the glasses was a dead giveaway that it was in fact, Miine Kuramae, smiling at the camera, wearing a very glamorous and revealing dress. No one could have noticed it was Miine if they didn't look close enough, but Yuki, seeing the girl lately these last few weeks, knew it was her. He wondered if Ayame put her picture above everyone else's for a reason.
"You know she can have such a talent for beauty! I was thinking of giving her something special for her birthday." He stood up and approached the picture. Ayame stared at the picture for a moment, wondering why he never saw closely to the picture before. This was the first time he has actually looked closely enough to notice how attractive Miine was. He smiled at himself, which posed a curious look from Yuki's face. The teenager just watched his brother as he sat on the couch. Ayame turned around and smiled. "Ah! It's hard to find something special to give Miine! What do you give Tohru-kun on her birthday, Yuki-kun?"
Yuki looked away. Was he supposed to answer that. "I... I don't know. I give her anything and she accepts it. Why do you ask, 'ni-san?" He looked back at his brother, wondering what caused these many questions from him.
Ayame shook his head and laughed. "Nevermind! I was just curious that's all!" He sat back down on the seat across from Yuki and folded his leg over the other and smiled, staring at his brother.
After a while, Miine came out, along with Tohru and Kyo. Both men looked up, surprised that none of them had changed into the clothes Miine had asked them to try on. Yuki snickered at the thought of Kyo wearing a wedding dress that Ayame wore, which he, unfortunately showed Yuki. The grey haired youth shuddered at that memory. He stood up and nodded at his two companions. He turned back towards Ayame and nodded as well.
"Well, we better go. Shigure must be wondering where we've gone. I have to take an early sleep today anyway. Ja, 'ni-san..." Kyo and Tohru joined his side seconds later. He glanced at Miine and waved good bye to her as well. "Ja ne, Miine-san."
"Ja ne, Yuki-kun, Tohru-kun, Kyo-kun!" Miine replied.
"Oyasumi nasai, Kyo-kun!" Ayame said, waving his hand as the three left the building, once again, leaving him alone with Miine. "Well! We should get working on those dresses, ne?" He smiled at Miine.
Miine nodded. "Hai!"
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Tohru suddenly giggled, startling both boys as they walked in the sidewalk back towards Shigure's house. "What's your problem!?" Kyo hissed, worried that Tohru had gone insane- laughing for no reason. Yuki just glanced her curiously, obviously sharing the same thought as Kyo.
The girl clasped her hands behind her and began skipping down the street with the two boys walking by her side. "Kyo-kun, you were leaving the room by the time Miine-chan told me this. She is planning on having a surprised birthday party for Ayame-san next weekend. And then I began thinking..."
"Nani?" Yuki asked, getting interested on where this was going.
"I was thinking that we should do something for them BOTH! Like take them out to the hot springs that same weekend she's giving Ayame-san the surprise party! It will surely surprise Ayame-san AND Miine-chan!"
"Keh!" Kyo just said, folding his arms across his chest. Though, he didn't think it was a bad idea. In fact, it was the best idea Tohru has ever planned up. He didn't know Miine that much, but he guessed the girl and his tencho needed time to relax- away from their store.
Yuki nodded slowly. Was it really a good idea? Did she mean ALL of them spend there too if they were going to 'take' them there? He wasn't sure if he would be able to stand it, spending the whole weekend with his brother in the next room, or rather... in the same room as him.
"What do you think, Yuki-kun? Kyo-kun?"
Both boys looked at her. It was hard to resist Tohru's desperate eyes. Kyo turned away, blushing, confirming his agreement to her idea. Yuki smiled and nodded. "That is a good idea, Honda-san!"
"Yokata! I thought you weren't going to agree to this, Yuki-kun! Since... you know... ALL of us are going to be with them that weekend. I mean, not all of us of course, just those are able to come."
"Keh! That would be almost everyone in the family household, baka! Our family likes it in the hot springs, especially when the hot springs are owned by Ritsu's mother."
"Hai!" Tohru spoke, remembering that now. Well, it couldn't hurt to have everyone come! It was, after all... a surprise party. The only problem was... reachng Miine's own family. She doesn't even know where her family lived. Maybe she can ask Ayame-san. Nodding to herself (confirming her decision to ask Ayame), she skipped down the street, followed by the two boys towards home.
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Ayame stayed up that night, still thinking about that kiss him and Miine shared. He tossed and turned, trying to go to sleep, but couldn't. It was already three o'clock in the morning and he has to work the next day. If he didn't sleep soon, he would only have two hours of sleep before he has to go to work again. He needed the sleep so he and Miine can work harder on the clothes Ringo was asking for. He tried closing his eyes, but his mind kept coming back to Miine's face. Why was he suddenly thinking about her? Was he really lonely? He wasn't lonely. After all, he had Gure-san and Tori-san and the rest of his family. Why should he suddenly feel lonely after that kiss?
The white haired man tossed in his bed once again. Sighing, unable to handle it any longer, he got up from bed and walked to the window. The moon was really beautiful tonight, but when he looked at it, all he saw was a pair of green eyes. Ayame shook his head and looked away, trying to find another thing to focus on, but everytime he did, he found her image on the couch, on the bed, and even in the kitchen. Her smile was simply introxicating. "Mou... what's wrong with me?" Deciding what to do to get rid of his thoughts of Miine, Ayame went back to the kitchen and prepared a cup of tea. A cup of tea usually put him to sleep, but as he poured the tea into his cup after it has been heated up, he suddenly didn't feel like drinking the tea anymore. He never had trouble sleeping, except maybe when he was excited about something, but he was able to sleep then. It was different this time. He couldn't sleep at all!
Ayame sat in the dining room, staring at the untouched tea in front of him and thought about things to do tomorrow, but, just like before, her face would keep popping up into his head. He slammed his head gently down on the table and sighed. He suddenly lifted up his head again and thought about calling Miine. If he didn't resolve this soon, it will continue to eat him up.
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The white haired man wasn't the only one who couldn't sleep that night. A young woman, turning twenty one in a few days was sitting alone in the kitchen as well, unknown to both of them that she too drank tea so she could go to sleep. Miine stretched and yawned. Akina jumped on the counter and purred, rubbing her head against her arm that was propped up on the table. Normally Miine didn't like Akina on top of the table, but at that moment, she was too tired to think, too busy thinking about what had happened this afternoon that kept her from sleeping. She could still feel her tencho's lips against hers. Akina rubbed her head again, this time, against Miine's face. The girl shook her head and pushed her out of the way. "Stop it, Akina..."
As if the cat heard, Akina got off the table and left. Miine rested her chin on her hands and sighed. Why was Ayame acting like nothing happened? Then again, he didn't expect the kiss to happen and he didn't want anyone else to know. Though, Miine couldn't help but wonder what he was hiding from her. Was it the rest of his family? Would they disapprove if he did something that was unlike Ayame? She didn't know much about his family. He mentioned a lot more about Yuki, Kyo and Shigure. He mentioned Yuki and Kyo forming a love triangle with Tohru, because both boys, unfortunately were in love with her. Ayame talked to her about Shigure, about how he was irritating the editor because he wouldn't continue on with his adult writing. Ayame talked about Hatsuharu, or Haru for short, Kisa, Hiro and Kagura. Hatori was also mentioned, telling her about his love Kana, but never really told her why they broke up.
Miine sighed again. She put away the unfinished tea and went back to bed, deciding on just laying there and trying her best to sleep, but as she did, her eyes were still open and her mind kept popping back, but this time, it was no longer back to the kiss. It was the thought of Ringo and his 'plan' to get rid of Ayame's business. The young woman's heart suddenly pounded. She has to do something about Ringo Ishida or else Ayame Sohma will lose his business for good. Miine thought about Ringo and the time she met him. She was only sixteen when she did. He was nineteen. He had a crush on her, but she never did. She loved fashion more than him and when he started having feelings more than just a crush, Ringo Ishida grew obessive over her. He called her every night, asking how she was, no matter how late it was. Miine was too shy and too softspoken to tell him off and she admits that she was glad that someone at least called her. And when the obsession became more troublesome, Miine began feeling uncomfortable. One night, she told him off, but Ringo kept on forcing himself into the household. Miine knew at once that Ringo's obsession was not for her, but for the family. He was trying to force his way into the Kuramae family, for the family was rich. Miine's father never knew what was coming, when Ringo Ishida suddenly asked her hand in marriage. Her father was fooled into believing that the Ishida boy was a son of a family who ran a business company, but Miine was the only one who knew the truth about him. He lived in a large estate all right, but his family did not do business to keep their land, but owned a large club, for both homosexuals and straight people. Miine knew that her father did not approve of such business, however her father, blind for Ringo's actual intention, agreed to have his daughter married to the 'rich' Ishida boy. Miine refused, but her father declined her refusal and physically forced her hand into Ringo as he popped the question. Miine had no choice but to take the proposal, but one night, after they got married, the girl of sixteen years of age ran away. Far away from the man who had accomplished his goal- to be part of the Kuramae family estate and still fooled her father. That's when she met Ayame Sohma, nineteen, who owned a clothing store that Miine eventually fell in love with when she was hired by him as easilly as her trying to remove herself from her marriage with Ringo.
Riiiinnng!
The girl jumped, taking her mind off of her past and back into reality. Did she hear the phone ring?
RRIIIINNG!!!!!!!!
There it was again. Miine got up and went to the living room where the phone sat still and noisy. She glanced at her watch... three o'clock in the morning. Who would call at this hour? she thought to herself.
"Moshi, moshi," she spoke quietly, as she answered the cordless phone.
"M- Miine?" came a deep voice on the other line.
The girl immediately recognized her tencho's deep voice. "Tencho! Daijoubu-desu ka?"
"Hai... Miine... I- I coudn't sleep."
Miine sat down on the chair beside the counter and nodded, as if he was there watching her every move. She sighed, thinking that Ayame couldn't sleep either because of what happened. "Ayame-san... You couldn't sleep either because of that incident, ne?"
"Maybe..." His voice grew quiet.
"Tencho? Why do you think it happened?" She wanted to hear from his own view on why the kiss happened. Miine thought it was because her that led him to do it or just in the moment. They would have pulled themselves away from 'that moment' but none of them did. That was the question she wants to ask him. For a moment, the other line was quiet. Miine was afraid that Ayame had fallen asleep, but as he spoke again, she was wrong.
"I don't know. I couldn't sleep and I needed to talk to someone."
Miine's heart sank. Was he really talking to her so he could go to sleep or wanted to talk to her about the kiss? She was going to say something, when Ayame's voice interrupted her. "Gomen nasai, Miine. I don't know why I called you, but... I have to go... Bye." Before she could say anything, he had hung up the phone. Miine stared at the phone in front of her, disappointed. Why wouldn't he say anything about it? Why? She put the phone down on the counter and rested her chin on the table, hoping against all hopes that he would call back.
An hour later, he didn't and Miine had already fallen asleep.
GoodGurl: Awwwww, it must be hard for Ayame to talk to Miine, now that 'something' happened between them. What does this mean? Does it mean that Ayame has feelings for her, or is it something else? o_O Questions questions....and what about Miine? Will she be able to stop Ringo from doing something horrible for her dear tencho? Hee hee! Stay tuned!
Chapter 3 - Ayame The Snake
Strange. It was really strange. Miine couldn't continue on a day without glancing at her tencho once in a while, when he wasn't looking. It was the first time she has ever felt awkward around him and the first time she was unable to argue about what style was in or out just like the time she first met Tohru and Yuki. Miine, for once, was speechless with the news of her tencho turning into a snake. At first she thought it was a dream- but dreams were impossible to repeat three times, especially when she knew she was awake.
"Miine?" Ayame stared at her, worried. He wished there was something he could do, but of course everything he could do was keep himself less serious.
"Hai, tencho?" Miine responded. She looked up and was surprised to find herself staring into Ayame's golden eyes. For the first time, she saw something in them that were quite different from the Ayame she has known a long time. What changed? Whey were they both feeling awkward around each other? Miine kenw the answer and she guess that Ayame knew it too.
It was Ayame the snake.
Suddenly, for no reason at all, Ayame threw his head back and began laughing. He didn't know why, but there was something humorous about the situation they were in. He could still see himself nude in Miine's oddly strong arms. Laughing, was of course contagious. Miine joined her tencho in a joyous giggle. Her laughter, soft and abrupt, rang along with Ayame's loud and contagious fits of merriment. Miine, put a hand on her stomach that was beginning to ache from the chuckles that had no reason of being there. She knew there was no reason for her to be worried. Ayame was still the same tencho she knew and she knew that being a snake must be harder for him that it was for her.
She stopped, the laughter dying away, only to be replaced by a kind smile as she watched tears of laughter fall from Ayame's eyes. "Tencho... when did this curse begin?"
As if slapped in the face, Ayame's own sound of laughter faded. He looked at her, his eyes turning into slits. The white haired man, wanting to break the awkwardness between them, just laughed. He stood up and stared into nothingness dramatically. Entranced by the beauty he possesed, as if no woman could ever compete with it, Miine swore she saw a bright spotlight that shone briefly over him.
"The curse..." He thought for a minute. Even he was unsure what the answer was. For as long as he could remember, him, Yuki and every member of the Sohma family in his generation were born with the same curse that took place from the time their great ancestors lived (which was a thousand years ago). His parents never told him how it happened and if he kept asking, he could get punished for it. Neither of his other cousins dared to ask their parents about the curse. They have grown up to life with it, no matter how much it pained them. Ayame, for the longest time, chose not to think about it. He didn't want to think about the possible horrible things their Sohma ancestors did in the past that led to this curse. Having the curse since they were bornled to the breakups in the Sohma household. Born with the spirit of the jyunishi snake, his instincts as an older brother to his born mouse-spirit younger brother, faded. He turned away when Yuki needed him. At that point, Yuki must have already figured it out that Ayame had nothing to do with his little brother. The white haired man regretted of ever turning the other way when Yuki needed him the most.
Miine continued to stare at him. She wanted so much to comfort him. She knew Ayame was probably thinking about his brother again. The girl wanted to embrace him in her arms- anything to to make him feel better, but it was impossible now. She always thought it was possible, at least to have his arms around his comforting shoulders so he could lay his head on hers. Miine wanted to be his best friend- the only one who understood him and the only one who could fill the one empty hole in his heart as a result from the curse. Was it really possible for an assistant and her tencho to become best friends? Before she could answer her own question, she felt something warm on her lap. Miine looked down and found him on his knees, his hands rested on her lap, while he laid his head on top of them - the same position he had the first time he mentioned his brother to her. She sat silently, watching him. Ayame just laid there, with his eyes closed, thinking how warm Miine was.
"Ayame-san..." she whispered.
The white haired man looked up, hearing the soft tone in Mine's voice, when she called him by his first name. Gently, the girl lifted up a hand to Ayame's cheek for the first time and stared warmly into his eyes. "Ayame-san, you shouldn't have to regret anything what you did, because that is all in the past. What's important is that you're doing your best now to mend the broken relationship you have with your brother. Just be glad that he is not turning his face away when you call out to him."
Ayame smiled slightly, still doubtful. When he was about to tell her that he did just the opposite when Yuki turned to him, Miine's other hand moved to press against his other cheek, which stopped the man from speaking.
"Yuki knows that you regretted the things you did to him in the past. All you have to do now is accept his forgiveness. He might not show it, but even you know it's there, despite his actions."
Her words. They were like music to his ears. This was the first time she has spoken genuinely about anything before. She would just sit there, while he complained about his life (which was mostly about Yuki) and just listened. Ayame never knew how much knowledge Miine had and when she did, her voice made him feel better. Just hearing it made his heart sore. Without thinking, he stood up slightly, just enough so he was leveled with Miine and leaned his face closer to her.
"T-tencho? Nan-!" Miine gasped. His lips against her had stopped the words that came out of her mouth. It was as if time had stopped just long enough to feel Ayame's warm lips against hers. None of them knew what to do at that point. Both had no experience in kissing anyone. Miine never let Ringo kiss her anywhere other than the back of her hand.
As if in a long trance, Ayame broke away from the kiss first and backed away. "G- gomen nasai, Miine..." He stood up suddenly, turned and left the room quietly.
Miine sat there, shocked by what just happened. She placed a finger on her lips, the warmth of Ayame's lips still lingering there. Realizing it was no dream, Miine suddenly blushed a beet red.
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What was he thinking? She was his assistant for goodness sakes! Shaking the incident that happened earlier from his head, Ayame greeted the customers who dropped by to check out the items they had in his usual, hyper active personality. There was no point in him worrying about it now, or it will even get worse just by thinking about it. Though it was hard getting rid of the thought of someone's lips against his own, especially when her face kept popping into his head. Ayame has never felt this way before, not even towards Miine - whom he hired as his assistant. What changed? Is it because she knows of his secret that he felt he needed to be closer to her and talk about his snake self to her other than Tohru and his family? Yes, it's true, but why did he kiss her? Was it out of impulse because his hormones were acting up again or did he feel something more towards Miine? True, in high school he had these feelings to some women in his class, but they usually ignored him, because they probably thought he was really gay. He was often found hanging around Shigure and Hatori wearing girls' clothes. And his constant flirting with Gure-san must have added the suspicion from his classmates that he was indeed...gay. However, he never thought they would misjudge him and think him as a homosexual. When he met Miine, she did not think of him as gay, nor did she even make rude comments about the clothes he was wearing, maybe only when he was wearing clothes that were 'out of date.' Their conversation then, did not go beyond to the point that Ayame dreaded the most in conversations... which was the issue of him (as a guy) wearing women's clothing. Miine was understanding about wearing feminine attire and agreed that they were indeed, "comfortable." Then, when she started working with him, they quickly became friends. People often thought they were married, because they argued a lot, but it was not the type of fight that ended up in breakups later. The argument (though mostly about fashion) was friendly- an act of mutual understanding for each other. Like his reflection, Miine agreed to everything he thought about certain products from Gap to Tokyo Fad and sometimes disagreed.
"Oi!" Ayame blinked, the thoughts finally clearing away from his head and looked up at the sound of Kyo's familiar voice. Kyo, Tohru and Yuki all stared at him. Tohru, being the one to worry too much about Ayame's constant daydreaming in the last couple of days, stared at him, disturbed by his changes.
"Daijoubu desu-ka, Ayame-san?" Tohru asked.
"Nani?" Ayame glanced at his brother. For the first time, Yuki was concerned for his older brother. The white haired man waved his hand at them. "Oh!" He chuckled. "I'm fine, Tohru-kun, Kyonkichi and Yuki-kun! I was just thinking..." He paused, which raised more questions from the trio. Even Kyo turned his head, wondering what was up, instead of blowing his temper about his nickname. Frantically searching for his head mentally to erase the curiosity growing in the trio's eyes and grinned as wide as he could. "Well, I was just thinking about my... PICTURE IN THE FRONT PAGE OF RAINBOW MONTHLY!" He put his fists on his hips and looked into the horizon, though for Yuki and Kyo, all they saw was a wall. Tohru was too engulfed with Ayame's news that she clasped her hands behind her and smiled, happy for the white haired man.
"Sugoi, Ayame-san! You're going to be in a magazine?"
"HAI!" Ayame lifted up one arm and proudly looked into the sky dramatically.
Dark cloud hovered over Yuki. "Rainbow Monthly? Isn't that a gay magazine?" Yuki asked, folding his arms across his chest coldly.
Kyo made a strange look at Yuki, pursing his lips together. Tohru felt large beads of sweat fell at the sides of her face. She had forgotten about Yuki's thoughts about Ayame's 'lifestyle.'
"Hai, Yuki-kun! My beautiful face will be admired all over Japan - men and women alike!" Ayame replied proudly.
Yuki's face colored even darker.
A moment later, they heard the back door open and Miine stepped out. As usual, she wore her maid costume, her hair in two braided pigtails and round thick glases, covering her glimmering, green eyes. She has her usual expression - a very contagious smile that Tohru often found 'kawaii!' "I thought I heard familiar voices! Konnichiwa, Tohru-chan, Yuki-kun and Kyo-kun!"
"Miine!" Ayame spoke, turning his head to look at her. "I was just telling them about my picture in the front page of Rainbow Monthly!"
Miine smiled and nodded. She was actually listening the whole time she was in the back room, while at the same time trying to concentrate on her work. "Suteki-da ne? (Isn't it wonderful). My tencho, in the front page of a popular magazine!" Miine clasped her hands in front of her and rested her arms on the counter.
"Popular...?" Yuki spoke quietly.
More sweat fell from the side of Tohru's face. Yuki and Ayame's relationship will never progress unless they stop talking about Ayame and his 'life' as the manager of a clothing store. It seems Miine noticed Tohru's anxiety, that she grabbed her hand and began pulling her out of everyone else's sight. "Ne, Tohru-chan! I want to show you some clothes that I want you to try on! You too, Kyo-kun!" On their way to the back room, she grabbed the oranger haired teen's hand and dragged both of them away from the brothers.
"D-demo..." Tohru glanced over her shoulder, worried that if she wasn't there, Yuki might end up beating Ayame to the pulp or something.
"Oi! Matte! Nani-o!?" Kyo yelped, trying to pull himself away from the clerk's grasp, but her grip grew tighter when he did. "Itai! You're gripping too hard!"
"Kyo, I made some dresses of your size, why don't you try some on too?" Miine suggested.
The orange haired teen grimaced. "Itai! I said you're gripping too hard!"
Tohru grimaced. Miine was INDEED gripping their arms too hard. When they were inside the room, both Tohru and Kyo were relieved when the woman finally let go. They both rubbed their wrists to get the feeling back. Miine closed the door quickly and leaned her ear against the door.
"What the hell was that about!? Why are we here?" Kyo complained.
"Kyo-kun... daijoubu," came Tohru's soft voice.
Kyo glanced at the long haired girl, lifting an eyebrow curiously. "Nani?"
Miine glanced at the orange haired teen and smiled. "Gomen nasai, Kyo-kun! I had to get you out of there. It must be obvious for Yuki by now on why I keep dragging Tohru at the back room. Yuki needs to be alone with his oniisan."
********************************
He stared at his white haired brother. Folding his arms across his chest, he turned away and stared at some pictures Ayame took of the models that he hired to model for the clothes he made. Indeed, just as Miine mentioned before on his recent visits that there were models of both sexes. Some even wore their right clothes. A man with short brown hair modeled a very attractive black suit and a tie that went with his blue eyes. Yuki's eyes traveled from the picture at the corner of a woman dressed in the same maid suit as Miine wore to a picture of Ayame's clerk herself. He wasn't sure if it was her, because her hair was down, but the glasses was a dead giveaway that it was in fact, Miine Kuramae, smiling at the camera, wearing a very glamorous and revealing dress. No one could have noticed it was Miine if they didn't look close enough, but Yuki, seeing the girl lately these last few weeks, knew it was her. He wondered if Ayame put her picture above everyone else's for a reason.
"You know she can have such a talent for beauty! I was thinking of giving her something special for her birthday." He stood up and approached the picture. Ayame stared at the picture for a moment, wondering why he never saw closely to the picture before. This was the first time he has actually looked closely enough to notice how attractive Miine was. He smiled at himself, which posed a curious look from Yuki's face. The teenager just watched his brother as he sat on the couch. Ayame turned around and smiled. "Ah! It's hard to find something special to give Miine! What do you give Tohru-kun on her birthday, Yuki-kun?"
Yuki looked away. Was he supposed to answer that. "I... I don't know. I give her anything and she accepts it. Why do you ask, 'ni-san?" He looked back at his brother, wondering what caused these many questions from him.
Ayame shook his head and laughed. "Nevermind! I was just curious that's all!" He sat back down on the seat across from Yuki and folded his leg over the other and smiled, staring at his brother.
After a while, Miine came out, along with Tohru and Kyo. Both men looked up, surprised that none of them had changed into the clothes Miine had asked them to try on. Yuki snickered at the thought of Kyo wearing a wedding dress that Ayame wore, which he, unfortunately showed Yuki. The grey haired youth shuddered at that memory. He stood up and nodded at his two companions. He turned back towards Ayame and nodded as well.
"Well, we better go. Shigure must be wondering where we've gone. I have to take an early sleep today anyway. Ja, 'ni-san..." Kyo and Tohru joined his side seconds later. He glanced at Miine and waved good bye to her as well. "Ja ne, Miine-san."
"Ja ne, Yuki-kun, Tohru-kun, Kyo-kun!" Miine replied.
"Oyasumi nasai, Kyo-kun!" Ayame said, waving his hand as the three left the building, once again, leaving him alone with Miine. "Well! We should get working on those dresses, ne?" He smiled at Miine.
Miine nodded. "Hai!"
************************************
Tohru suddenly giggled, startling both boys as they walked in the sidewalk back towards Shigure's house. "What's your problem!?" Kyo hissed, worried that Tohru had gone insane- laughing for no reason. Yuki just glanced her curiously, obviously sharing the same thought as Kyo.
The girl clasped her hands behind her and began skipping down the street with the two boys walking by her side. "Kyo-kun, you were leaving the room by the time Miine-chan told me this. She is planning on having a surprised birthday party for Ayame-san next weekend. And then I began thinking..."
"Nani?" Yuki asked, getting interested on where this was going.
"I was thinking that we should do something for them BOTH! Like take them out to the hot springs that same weekend she's giving Ayame-san the surprise party! It will surely surprise Ayame-san AND Miine-chan!"
"Keh!" Kyo just said, folding his arms across his chest. Though, he didn't think it was a bad idea. In fact, it was the best idea Tohru has ever planned up. He didn't know Miine that much, but he guessed the girl and his tencho needed time to relax- away from their store.
Yuki nodded slowly. Was it really a good idea? Did she mean ALL of them spend there too if they were going to 'take' them there? He wasn't sure if he would be able to stand it, spending the whole weekend with his brother in the next room, or rather... in the same room as him.
"What do you think, Yuki-kun? Kyo-kun?"
Both boys looked at her. It was hard to resist Tohru's desperate eyes. Kyo turned away, blushing, confirming his agreement to her idea. Yuki smiled and nodded. "That is a good idea, Honda-san!"
"Yokata! I thought you weren't going to agree to this, Yuki-kun! Since... you know... ALL of us are going to be with them that weekend. I mean, not all of us of course, just those are able to come."
"Keh! That would be almost everyone in the family household, baka! Our family likes it in the hot springs, especially when the hot springs are owned by Ritsu's mother."
"Hai!" Tohru spoke, remembering that now. Well, it couldn't hurt to have everyone come! It was, after all... a surprise party. The only problem was... reachng Miine's own family. She doesn't even know where her family lived. Maybe she can ask Ayame-san. Nodding to herself (confirming her decision to ask Ayame), she skipped down the street, followed by the two boys towards home.
***********************************
Ayame stayed up that night, still thinking about that kiss him and Miine shared. He tossed and turned, trying to go to sleep, but couldn't. It was already three o'clock in the morning and he has to work the next day. If he didn't sleep soon, he would only have two hours of sleep before he has to go to work again. He needed the sleep so he and Miine can work harder on the clothes Ringo was asking for. He tried closing his eyes, but his mind kept coming back to Miine's face. Why was he suddenly thinking about her? Was he really lonely? He wasn't lonely. After all, he had Gure-san and Tori-san and the rest of his family. Why should he suddenly feel lonely after that kiss?
The white haired man tossed in his bed once again. Sighing, unable to handle it any longer, he got up from bed and walked to the window. The moon was really beautiful tonight, but when he looked at it, all he saw was a pair of green eyes. Ayame shook his head and looked away, trying to find another thing to focus on, but everytime he did, he found her image on the couch, on the bed, and even in the kitchen. Her smile was simply introxicating. "Mou... what's wrong with me?" Deciding what to do to get rid of his thoughts of Miine, Ayame went back to the kitchen and prepared a cup of tea. A cup of tea usually put him to sleep, but as he poured the tea into his cup after it has been heated up, he suddenly didn't feel like drinking the tea anymore. He never had trouble sleeping, except maybe when he was excited about something, but he was able to sleep then. It was different this time. He couldn't sleep at all!
Ayame sat in the dining room, staring at the untouched tea in front of him and thought about things to do tomorrow, but, just like before, her face would keep popping up into his head. He slammed his head gently down on the table and sighed. He suddenly lifted up his head again and thought about calling Miine. If he didn't resolve this soon, it will continue to eat him up.
****************************************
The white haired man wasn't the only one who couldn't sleep that night. A young woman, turning twenty one in a few days was sitting alone in the kitchen as well, unknown to both of them that she too drank tea so she could go to sleep. Miine stretched and yawned. Akina jumped on the counter and purred, rubbing her head against her arm that was propped up on the table. Normally Miine didn't like Akina on top of the table, but at that moment, she was too tired to think, too busy thinking about what had happened this afternoon that kept her from sleeping. She could still feel her tencho's lips against hers. Akina rubbed her head again, this time, against Miine's face. The girl shook her head and pushed her out of the way. "Stop it, Akina..."
As if the cat heard, Akina got off the table and left. Miine rested her chin on her hands and sighed. Why was Ayame acting like nothing happened? Then again, he didn't expect the kiss to happen and he didn't want anyone else to know. Though, Miine couldn't help but wonder what he was hiding from her. Was it the rest of his family? Would they disapprove if he did something that was unlike Ayame? She didn't know much about his family. He mentioned a lot more about Yuki, Kyo and Shigure. He mentioned Yuki and Kyo forming a love triangle with Tohru, because both boys, unfortunately were in love with her. Ayame talked to her about Shigure, about how he was irritating the editor because he wouldn't continue on with his adult writing. Ayame talked about Hatsuharu, or Haru for short, Kisa, Hiro and Kagura. Hatori was also mentioned, telling her about his love Kana, but never really told her why they broke up.
Miine sighed again. She put away the unfinished tea and went back to bed, deciding on just laying there and trying her best to sleep, but as she did, her eyes were still open and her mind kept popping back, but this time, it was no longer back to the kiss. It was the thought of Ringo and his 'plan' to get rid of Ayame's business. The young woman's heart suddenly pounded. She has to do something about Ringo Ishida or else Ayame Sohma will lose his business for good. Miine thought about Ringo and the time she met him. She was only sixteen when she did. He was nineteen. He had a crush on her, but she never did. She loved fashion more than him and when he started having feelings more than just a crush, Ringo Ishida grew obessive over her. He called her every night, asking how she was, no matter how late it was. Miine was too shy and too softspoken to tell him off and she admits that she was glad that someone at least called her. And when the obsession became more troublesome, Miine began feeling uncomfortable. One night, she told him off, but Ringo kept on forcing himself into the household. Miine knew at once that Ringo's obsession was not for her, but for the family. He was trying to force his way into the Kuramae family, for the family was rich. Miine's father never knew what was coming, when Ringo Ishida suddenly asked her hand in marriage. Her father was fooled into believing that the Ishida boy was a son of a family who ran a business company, but Miine was the only one who knew the truth about him. He lived in a large estate all right, but his family did not do business to keep their land, but owned a large club, for both homosexuals and straight people. Miine knew that her father did not approve of such business, however her father, blind for Ringo's actual intention, agreed to have his daughter married to the 'rich' Ishida boy. Miine refused, but her father declined her refusal and physically forced her hand into Ringo as he popped the question. Miine had no choice but to take the proposal, but one night, after they got married, the girl of sixteen years of age ran away. Far away from the man who had accomplished his goal- to be part of the Kuramae family estate and still fooled her father. That's when she met Ayame Sohma, nineteen, who owned a clothing store that Miine eventually fell in love with when she was hired by him as easilly as her trying to remove herself from her marriage with Ringo.
Riiiinnng!
The girl jumped, taking her mind off of her past and back into reality. Did she hear the phone ring?
RRIIIINNG!!!!!!!!
There it was again. Miine got up and went to the living room where the phone sat still and noisy. She glanced at her watch... three o'clock in the morning. Who would call at this hour? she thought to herself.
"Moshi, moshi," she spoke quietly, as she answered the cordless phone.
"M- Miine?" came a deep voice on the other line.
The girl immediately recognized her tencho's deep voice. "Tencho! Daijoubu-desu ka?"
"Hai... Miine... I- I coudn't sleep."
Miine sat down on the chair beside the counter and nodded, as if he was there watching her every move. She sighed, thinking that Ayame couldn't sleep either because of what happened. "Ayame-san... You couldn't sleep either because of that incident, ne?"
"Maybe..." His voice grew quiet.
"Tencho? Why do you think it happened?" She wanted to hear from his own view on why the kiss happened. Miine thought it was because her that led him to do it or just in the moment. They would have pulled themselves away from 'that moment' but none of them did. That was the question she wants to ask him. For a moment, the other line was quiet. Miine was afraid that Ayame had fallen asleep, but as he spoke again, she was wrong.
"I don't know. I couldn't sleep and I needed to talk to someone."
Miine's heart sank. Was he really talking to her so he could go to sleep or wanted to talk to her about the kiss? She was going to say something, when Ayame's voice interrupted her. "Gomen nasai, Miine. I don't know why I called you, but... I have to go... Bye." Before she could say anything, he had hung up the phone. Miine stared at the phone in front of her, disappointed. Why wouldn't he say anything about it? Why? She put the phone down on the counter and rested her chin on the table, hoping against all hopes that he would call back.
An hour later, he didn't and Miine had already fallen asleep.
GoodGurl: Awwwww, it must be hard for Ayame to talk to Miine, now that 'something' happened between them. What does this mean? Does it mean that Ayame has feelings for her, or is it something else? o_O Questions questions....and what about Miine? Will she be able to stop Ringo from doing something horrible for her dear tencho? Hee hee! Stay tuned!