Early mornings were always the best for Suzuhara Misaki. She always had a certain animated smile, that people would usually find irritating. She'd have breakfast ready in a snap. Eggs would have been sizzling on a frying pan at this hour. But not this Saturday morning. No. It was different this morning.
This morning her aunt forcibly yanked Misaki out of bed, dressed her, and made her wear tiny amount of make-up. A date, she thought nervously, he said it was a date. Shouko had primed her from head to toe. When she was done with her torture Misaki turned out to be completely acceptable. At least in Shouko's eyes she was. Though Misaki had seen different. After hours of countless attacking it all seemed…worth it. Her hair brushed nicely, her clothes comfortable and proper for summer weather, and her face was left sane. A blue purse accompanied her light blue clothes. Hikaru was snug in her brand new case that Shouko purchased for her in honor of graduation.
Around noon the doorbell rang, and an anticipating Misaki answered. A date, her mind repeated. Ohjirou stood casually at the door with his own case in his hand.
"Konichiwa Misaki-chan," he smiled.
"A-ano…hai," she managed out. Shouko was polar to Misaki's emotions at the moment. She felt like an ecstatic schoolgirl, like Tamayo. She was bit envious and proud at the same time. Before hand she over ran her poor neice with questions like, "Did you brush you teeth?" Shouko had entirely forgotten how that felt, when her own mother ran her and her sister through the same routine as children. She acted juvenile for once in her adult life. It felt wonderful.
She stood behind Misaki in the foyer bidding her a farewell, a have fun, and finally the most important. A good luck. She waved and flashed a jolly smile at the two as they made their way down the sunny but cool temperature. It was opposite from the previous day's scorching heat. A crisp breeze flew through the streets. It was a perfect day for ramen.
Hustle and bustle crowded the streets of Tokyo. Billboards were filled with advertisements, and idols. News casting screens were filled with recordings from Seto Ringo's live house the night before. Businessmen carried briefcases filled with important papers. Pollution filled the air. Yes, this was definitely the city. This was a place foreign to Misaki since she lived in the suburbs.
"Ohjirou-san," she asked curiously, "Where are we going for ramen?"
- He smiled and replied, "Not here. We're going to take the bullet train to the northern suburbs, a town where I once lived and where Nee-san lives now." She sighed in relief. Misaki felt uncomfortable in cramped up space. The city felt too vulgar for her liking.
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They stepped out of the stuffy bullet train, and were greeted by the clear suburban air. Southern suburbs were much more hectic than the Northern. It was clearer and cooler than her air down in the southern suburbs. Strange faces passed by as they walked into town. The sidewalks were made of special shaped bricks, which formed a perfect tessellation. The building pieced together with the sidewalks. To Ohjirou this was home. His eyes seemed brighter the farther they ventured. The familiar scent of ramen met his nose. They were here.
"The Ramen House" as it was called filled with steamed noodles. The savory aroma of beef, chicken, and shrimp elevated from plastic bowls. Ice cream would have been favorable during this season, but no one could really ignore the sweet smell of ramen. The business had probably belonged to a family. The setting seemed to have a queer peacefulness. This had been something foreign to Misaki.
"It so pleasant here," Misaki commented.
"Mm," he nodded, "I came here a lot after school when I was young. So everyone kind of knows me well." She went on with studying the small restaurant. The walls vanilla color painted on all sides. The tables were plain pinewoods, and the floor was tiled with beige color. There were many people seeing as it was a Saturday.
"Ohjirou Senpai!" a brown haired girl called. She looked possibly one or two year younger the Ohjirou. He smiled as if though he was glad to see something. The girl ran over to the table with her red apron on and a pad and pencil were clasped in her hands. At first Misaki had assumed it was yet another fan of Ohjirou, but the happy look on his face told her different.
"Konichiwa Aika-san," he said.
"Long time no see!" she eyed Misaki curiously, "Is this your girlfriend?" Ohjirou laughed in response. Aika leaned over inspecting Misaki carefully. She tilted her head to the left and then tilted it to the right. "Kawai!" she squealed in delight. She pinched Misaki's cheeks in approval. " It's 'bout time you got one!"
"Aika this is Suzuhara Misaki. Misaki this is Izumi Aika," he introduced.
"Konichiwa Izumi-san," she said politely.
"Iie! Iie! Onegai! Call me Aika," she said joyfully. Aika had an uncanny resemblance to Ringo-chan personality wise. There was an extra burst of energy in her. It was something Misaki always admired. "And what type of ramen would you like?"
"I would like shrimp. No miso on mine please. I don't like miso," Ohjirou replied.
"I would like the beef. No miso either," Misaki added. "Arigato."
"Very well then," Aika said finishing up what she was writing. "ONE SHRIMP AND ONE BEEF! HOLD THE MISO FOR OHJIROU SENPAI AND HIS LOVELY GIRLFRIEND!" She yelled out for the whole restaurant to hear. Heads turned in their direction swearing they could have heard the name "Ohjirou" before. Misaki blushed furiously, but Ohjirou continued to look at the menu without a hint of mortification on his face.
"A-ano…Ohjirou-san, you're not bothered by this at all?" she asked curiously.
"Why should I?" he stopped looking at his menu. "The public can make any rumor about me whether it's true or false. I am not bothered by it because only I know the truth. I do not allow the rumors to pull me down though. The best I can do is pay no heed to it. And that is what I shall do." This was yet another feature Misaki admired greatly. It was also one of the many reasons why she had thought Ohjirou was so cool and kind. He gave no care in the world what other people thought of him; what people had expected of him. It was also something Misaki wished she had.
Not a care in the world.
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Rooftops were the best place to be when a sun sets. Mihara Ohjirou knew this well. He often gazed his life away on the Angelic Layer Co. rooftop looking at the view of Tokyo. Misaki had agreed mentally as a, "Kirei" escaped from her lips. She had meant all of it as well. The view was truly beautiful. The busy city life disturbed Misaki, but in bird's eye view the thought seemed to forgotten temporarily.
Practice at the Piffle Princess had been normal as usual, but a bit faster. For Ohjirou was much too eager to practice, and was anticipating to see the wonder on Misaki's child like face. Seeing Misaki smile was the highlight of his life. He was always overwhelmed with joy when he saw her happy. He was sad when she felt sad. Ohjirou felt any feeling that Misaki was feeling. It was instinct to him. He could always somehow predict her emotions. He could sense when she was in trouble, or when she just needed company. He also seemed to know where she was. It was like a special bond between him and her. It was inevitable.
Misaki had felt nervous in the mention of a date. Shouko-san had scared her out of her wits. This isn't a date, she told herself. It's just a mere get together. It was a lie, but Misaki chose to ignore it. Her eyes wandered all over the view. There was an external solace among them, but in Misaki's mind thoughts ran fiercely about. Few were about the day, some were about Ohjirou, and many were of Shuuko.
"Ohjirou-san would you really like to know what's wrong with me?" Misaki said ready to feed his curious mind.
"Hai," he said calmly looking into the sunlight.
"I am scared. I have a scholarship that fully pays for any high school of my choice. Kami-sama knows I would like to study abroad, but when I'm away I fear she will…will," she struggled with the last word.
"Don't think that way," he said reading her thoughts. "You shouldn't. You must have faith in Shuuko-san. If she has made it this far, she will not leave you. Kami-sama also knows how much you care for her. She won't Misaki. Rest assure you she won't." He said reassuringly.
"I hope so," she whispered into the wind.
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A bit longer for you guys! Sorry it took me long to update. I can only go on during the weekends. Meaning I only have Friday night, Saturday, and Sunday to write this. And for all of you fanfiction writers, you know this isn't exactly easy! So please review and spare me sometime! Gomen nasai! Ja!
-Tsukiyama Umari