Disclaimer: Shaman King belongs to its creators. The piece of fanfiction is exactly what it is: fanfiction. Blah blah yea yea.
For Mummy Ringo, my beloved muse for this story in so many ways.
Pieces Of Heart
written by: da*mouse ®
Chapter 4: First Time, First Try
Lyserg stared out of his office window listlessly, tapping his pen on the pad of paper on his desk, seemingly unable to focus on the report he was supposed to write. But of course, who could blame him? No one.
Beyond his window, the drizzling rain created a misty, gloomy London atmosphere. Most adapt to my current mood. Just perfect. Lyserg thought sarcastically. He sighed loudly, with frustration, dropping his pen and burying his head into his hands.
Why did things have to be so complicated?
A pang of regret was gradually settling itself in the pits of his stomach. If he could turn back time, he would choose to keep his mouth shut. He would rather have Jeanne as his friend than to have her avoiding him. Subsequently, he couldn't even bring himself to face her now. He was right. He should've kept all those feelings of his hidden and bottled up. It did no good to reveal them.
Not to him, not to Jeanne.
"Hey, Lyserg!" His colleague's voice interrupted his lonely reverie.
"What is it, Grant?" He answered, without lifting his head.
"There's a dame outside to see you." The man named Grant nudged his head to the direction of the visitor's room of the detective agency.
"What dame? Is she a client? " He said shortly, in no mood to see anyone at all, client or not.
Grant shrugged. "I don't know. Definitely not an old client. But maybe a potential one. Anyway, she insisted on seeing you."
"All right, thanks." Lyserg pushed himself out of his easy chair, downing a cup of cold chamomile tea before proceeding to the waiting room. Sighing, he pasted a bright, cheery and definitely false smile on his face as he approached his visitor.
"How may I help…" His question died away when he focused on his visitor. She stood up, looking a bit nervous.
"Hello, Lyserg."
It was Jeanne.
-
Lyserg set down a cup of tea in front of Jeanne. "I don't have any coffee left."
"Tea's fine." She picked up the cup.
An awkward silence settled between them. Lyserg kept his head down, unwilling to meet her eyes. Jeanne, on the other hand, kept sipping her tea, tongue tied, and not knowing where to begin. She planned on seeing him tomorrow, when everyone had some time to calm themselves and sorted out the feelings, but a part of her could not wait. She just wanted to see Lyserg, at that very moment, and impulsively chose to drop by at his office.
"I…" Lyserg began, and Jeanne looked up. He swallowed hard, and directed his gaze out of the window. "The weather today is dreary, isn't it?" He said lamely, and mentally kicked himself in the shin for his completely useless comment.
Jeanne gingerly placed the teacup back on its saucer, and clasped her hands together. "Lyserg…I…" She hesitated, searching for the best way to express her feelings. "I've been thinking about what you told me. Just now."
Lyserg felt his heart pummeling to his feet. This was it. This was the part where she told him that preferably she would never want to see him again. This was the part where he saw the final consequence of his rash explanation. "And…?" He hated the way his voice sounded, shaky and unsure.
"And…" Jeanne paused, still twisting her hands together, while every nerve in Lyserg's body screamed in agony, anticipating her words.
A little smile formed on Jeanne's lips. "There…was always something between us, wasn't it? Something more than mere friendship."
He heard her. But he must have heard her wrong. She just said…something more than friendship between us.
"What?" Lyserg croaked out, not daring to place too high a hope. There was always a chance of mishearing and misinterpretation.
Her shy smile widened. "There were always stronger feelings than plain platonic ones. Lyserg, I…I care for you. Very very much. Much more than those of an ordinary, or even a close friend. There's something, something very special."
He stared at her beautiful face in absolute wonderment, hardly daring to believe what he was hearing. "Jeanne…" He whispered.
She held out her hands to him. "Let's not let this special feeling fade away. I want to hold on to it. I want to give this a try."
"This?" He repeated.
She took his hands in hers, holding them tightly. "This. Us."
A smile breaking over his face, Lyserg pulled Jeanne to him in a hug, and she wrapped her arms around her waist.
Thank you, God.
He had his chance. He was given this precious chance, and he was going to hold on to it. No matter what.
-
Lyserg picked up some papers and stuffed them into his drawer. "I'll be just a minute!" He called to his girlfriend.
"Take your time!" She called back.
Girlfriend. Lyserg smiled to himself, whistling a corny, happy tune under his breath. He could think of Jeanne in those terms. And it never felt so right.
A head poked into the room. "What happened to the gloomy Sunday face?" Grant said teasingly.
Lyserg just grinned.
Grant shook his head. "Ah, the wonders of a woman." He raised his eyebrows suggestively at Lyserg. The green-haired man flipped a piece of paper at the older man, in which he cleverly ducked.
"Shut up, Grant." Lyserg said good-naturedly. Grant chuckled, shaking his head.
"I'm going. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Yup. Don't keep her waiting." Grant winked, and disappeared into his office.
Lyserg grabbed his hat, and trotted into the waiting room. Jeanne was waiting for him, already dressed in warm clothes. He offered his arm to her, and she hooked her own arm through, leaning against him.
"Supper?" He suggested, as they exited the building into the cold London weather.
"What time is it?" Jeanne asked, casting her eyes at the clock tower. She gasped then. "Oh my goodness! It's almost ten o'clock!"
"And?" Lyserg frowned, failing to see her panic.
"Marco's going to kill me." Jeanne explained.
Ah. Marco. Thinking of the overbearing blonde man, Lyserg winced. Suddenly, he was filled with trepidation. His dating Jeanne…what would Marco say to it? Nothing too pleasant, he imagined. Marco was definitely not going to react with joy.
Jeanne seemed to read his mind. "Don't worry, I'll talk to him."
"Can you make sure that he won't kill me?" Lyserg asked warily.
Jeanne laughed, and punched him on the shoulder playfully. "Marco's not that bad."
"Oh really? Could've fooled me." Lyserg muttered.
"I'm twenty years old. I'm old enough to make my decisions. Besides, whatever Marco chose to say would not affect anything, all right?" She said reassuringly, hugging his arm.
He shrugged, pacified, but still a tad unconvinced. "By the way…" He said, his eyes on the white cloak draping around her shoulders. "Where did you get that cloak? It looks familiar."
"Hmmm? Oh, this clock?" Suddenly, a nervous expression appeared on Jeanne's face, as she automatically pulled her arm away from his, clutching the cloak. "Oh, this thing, haha."
A puzzled look settled on Lyserg's face, not understanding her apprehensiveness. Jeanne racked her brain for an explanation, and was about to tell him it belonged to one of church members when a thought popped into her mind.
If we're going to have a trusting relationship, then we must trust each other. She couldn't lie to him. Not now. Besides, she didn't do anything wrong. Jeanne took a deep breath. "It's Asakura Hao's." She admitted in a small voice.
Lyserg's expression immediately changed from anger to fury. "Hao…?"
"I just ran into him, that's all!" Jeanne said hurriedly. "It was cold and drizzling, and he offered me his cloak."
"Why did he?" Lyserg asked, his voice low.
"Because he…" the rest of her sentence died away. She was about to say that Hao was just being nice. But those words would no doubt infuriate Lyserg like non others. "I…don't know. He didn't do anything to me!" She quickly reassured him.
With one fluid motion, he tore the cloak from her shoulders, and dropped it onto the streets. Shrugging off his own warm coat, he placed it around Jeanne's shoulders, and keeping his arm there, steered her away. "Let's go."
"Lyserg, wait!" Jeanne kept her feet planted on the ground. "You can't just leave Asakura Hao's cloak on the street. As a matter of courtesy, I have to return it to him."
"Courtesy?" Lyserg repeated cynically. "Does he even know the meaning of that word?"
Jeanne heaved a sigh, turning and picking up the garment. She tucked it over her arm, and looked at Lyserg squarely. "You promised me you'd try." She said quietly.
He opened his mouth to retort, and then clamped it shut. As a matter of fact, he did promise her that he would at least try to forget. Not forgive. But to forget.
"I know."
"Try." She squeezed his hand. "I'm here." She added reassuringly. "I'm here for you, always."
"Thank you." He whispered, kissing her hand softly.
-
It was late at night, Hao realised, surveying the emptiness of the bar around him. The bartender was rinsing out some beer mugs, and a busboy was wiping down the tables. Hanging up the beer mugs, the bartender then slid a small glass of martini towards Hao. "Mate, we're about to close." He reminded.
Hao lifted the glass in acknowledgement, and downed the drink it two gulps. As the alcohol burned down his throat, he leaned back on the easy armchair and lighted up a cigarette, inhaling, and then exhaling with a loud whoosh.
Why couldn't he stop thinking about a certain pair of ruby-red eyes? This was the first time he ever felt something like this, which was probably why he couldn't explain his own feelings.
Hao shook his head. He must be getting soft up there, to spend so much of his time thinking about a woman. Women, to Hao, were nothing much. He knew that it was probably chauvinist attitude that would sent him flying to Mars at a hundred miles per hour if Anna would ever to know about this thought of his. But that was the truth. He dallied with a few, all of them captivated by his good looks, charm, and the dangerous quality he possessed, being the ex-Destroyer.
Nevertheless, he never found one that he could commit to, or really cared about. Not one.
Was it perhaps a certain ex-nun is never far from your mind? An irritating voice within him piped up. Frowning, he signaled the bartender for another martini, as he took a long drag of his cigarette.
"Onii-chan!" His silent reverie was broken by a cheerful voice. Yoh plopped himself down on the armchair opposite his twin. Twisting his head, he waved to the bartender. "Sparkling water, please!" Turning to face Hao again, he frowned at the lighted stick between Hao's fingers. Sighing, the offender stabbed the offending object into his ashtray.
"Is Anna around?" He automatically craned his neck, hoping that his sister-in-law was nowhere in vicinity.
"You're safe." Yoh grabbed a handful of peanuts. "She's taking a, and I quote her, nice long bath."
"A bath? This late? What have the two of you been up to?" Hao raised an eyebrow as a deep flush crept up Yoh's neck. Coughing, he began stuffing peanuts into his mouth.
Hao chuckled amusedly at his flustered twin, and refrained himself from teasing the red-faced Yoh any further. "Don't worry, Otouto. The details of your sex…" He barely finished his sentence when a horrified Yoh interrupted. "Onii-chan! Can you please lower your voice?"
"What for? There's no one here." Hao said indifferently, picking up his martini.
"Still…" Yoh's eyes lowered to the martini glass, spotting the chance for a change of subject. "Is that alcohol?"
Hao just gave him a look. "No, it's orange juice." He said sarcastically.
"Remember what you said about toning down the smoking and drinking?" Yoh's expression was stern.
"Don't be such a prude, Otouto." Hao said lazily, twirling the martini glass. "A drink or two won't kill me."
The bartender then interrupted with another martini and Yoh's water. "More like your tenth." He grinned at Hao.
Hao lifted his glass. "Compliments to the bartender."
Yoh shook his head, switching the subject away from the older twin's drinking. Or else they would be at it for the entire night. "What are you doing down here, anyway?"
"What, should I have joined you upstairs? More action, ne?" Hao grinned at Yoh mischievously, unable to resist a dig at his younger brother.
"Onii-chan!" Yoh said exasperatedly.
"Just joking…"
"Is something on your mind?"
Hao began shaking his head, and Yoh stopped him with a slight grin. "Don't bother denying it. I am your twin after all."
"Fair point. Yes, something on my mind." Hao admitted.
"Must be big." Yoh leaned back on the sofa. "After all, it's rare to see you…bothered by anything."
A corner of Hao's mouth lifted sardonically. "Nothing ever ruffles Asakura Hao's feathers, right? But this…" he lapsed into silence. He didn't know where to begin, what to tell Yoh. How to, when he himself didn't understand the whole situation? With Jeanne…with everything else…
Yoh seemed to read his mind. "If you don't want to tell, leave it." He said. "But if ever you want to talk, well, remember your kid brother, okay?"
Hao looked at his twin, grateful for his understanding. Yoh always knew what to say, what to do. Yoh gestured to the bartender again. "A martini, please, dry."
The older Asakura twin raised an eyebrow questioningly, as Yoh grinned. "It's no fun drinking alone, ne, Onii-chan?" The bartender approached them, laying down Yoh's martini and the bill. "We're closing." He affirmed.
Yoh picked up the glass, and tossed it down his throat quickly as Hao watched with an amused expression.
"You do realise, of course, that Anna would kill you if she found out that you've been drinking."
"…Damn."
-
Lyserg was tapping his foot, lingering outside the church, waiting for Jeanne, when a blonde-haired man accosted him. "Lyserg-kun, it was disgraceful that you brought Jeanne-sama back to the church so late last evening. And may I ask what is your business here today?" Marco's tone was cold, and he looked displeased.
Ah. Lyserg reflected on the older man's words. So Jeanne had not told him anything yet. And it would be his pleasure to set Marco straight.
"Marco-san. I'm here to take Jeanne out for lunch."
"She will be having lunch with me. Good day, Lyserg-kun." Marco said crisply, a note of dismissal in his tone.
Lyserg just smiled. "You must be mistaken, then. Jeanne promised me yesterday that she would see me for lunch. Not you."
Anger flashed across Marco's face, and he took a step forward. But Lyserg barely noticed as a young lady made her way out of the church, and hurried towards him. "Lyserg, sorry I'm…" her voice trailed off as she looked at Marco. "…Marco?"
"Jeanne-sama, I must ask you to…lessen your acquaintance with this young man. It is, unbecoming indeed." Marco looked at Lyserg as if he was a speck of dust.
"Marco." Jeanne said warningly. "I must request you to be polite to Lyserg. He…" here she hesitated, but she lifted her chin and continued. "…things between me and him are different now. We're…" in love. She was about to say. But she stopped herself.
Love? That's not quite right…is it? It was too soon to speak of love…Lyserg told you he loves you. But she herself…unsure…
"We're together." She said firmly, linking her arm through Lyserg's. Try as he might, Lyserg could not stop himself from smirking at the pompous former X-Laws leader.
An expression of total horror crossed Marco's face. "Jeanne-sama! You…you don't mean…you can't…" He sputtered, and tried to regain control of himself. "What I meant to say was, Jeanne-sama, as your guardian, I shall deemed you unsuitable…for this kind of relationship." He glared at Lyserg.
Jeanne sighed. "Marco…you do know that I appreciate your values and concerns. But I'm twenty-years old. I'm an adult, and I am capable of thinking what is right for me, and what is not."
"But Jeanne-sama, I…"
She shot her guardian a warning look, causing the blonde to shut up. "My decision is mine to make."
"Yes, Jeanne-sama." His tone belied absolute displeasure, and he shot a murderous look at Lyserg. "And we shall talk when you return, Jeanne-sama. That is a must." Abruptly, he turned and walked away.
Jeanne then let out her breath in a whoosh. "Well, that was…unpleasant."
Lyserg squeezed her hand. "I would say he didn't take it too badly."
She frowned. "I know Marco. And he is probably going to be insufferable for the next few days." For a moment, her lovely face clouded, and then brightened, apparently determined not to let the thoughts of her stubborn guardian to ruin her day out with Lyserg.
"I'm hungry." She said decidedly.
"I was hoping you'd say that. Let's grab a bite. I needed to be back at work at about two o'clock."
"But I'll see you for dinner?" She said hopefully.
"Wild horses couldn't stop me."
-
Jeanne gave Lyserg a hug, and he waved at her as he disappeared up the steps of his office. Stepping away, Jeanne smiled contentedly to herself. Lunch was great, and she enjoyed her time with Lyserg so much.
He was so sweet, so attentive.
It was the right decision to try. She reflected.
Being with him made her felt so happy, so at ease. Is that love?
Throughout lunch, that was the only question bugging her. Love.
She didn't know how to define that notion. Lyserg said that he loved her. But why? When? How did he know? She would have to ask him all that.
A small blush appeared on Jeanne's face. She was so unaccustomed to all this. Lyserg was her first romantic encounter. And she felt that there were so many things that she was so unsure of. How to act. What to do.
All that.
Heading back to the church, Jeanne temporarily put matters of relationships on hold as she revised her afternoon's work. She promised the children some dolls, and she supposed that she should get to sewing them soon enough.
Approaching the church, she saw a young man standing outside, reading a plaque that was outside the building. Smiling, she walked up to him.
"Sir, do you need some help regarding matters of our church?"
The man turned, and she instantly recognised him. A strange feeling came over her; as he grinned at her charmingly.
"Certainly, Jeanne-sama. I would, as a matter of fact, like some information."
Undoubtedly, Asakura Hao.
-to be continued-
da*mouse ®
posted December 9th 2003
Urm…don't know what to make of this, really. But…do tell me if this is getting draggy. Sorry for the quite presumably boring chapter. Hopefully things will be more fast-paced the next chapter.
What to expect: jealous Lyserg. *wince*
The next chapter would be up fairly soon. I don't plan on this story for being any longer than 5-6 chapters, but guess I'm just a long winded old bag. Still have a lot to go. Well, quite a bit anyway.
Remember to review/flame/comment/whatever! It would be lovely for me to get some feedback and suggestions. Thanks! ;)