CHAPTER 8
"Makino, I would like to have a word with you." It was Doumyouji Kaede who touched Tsukushi's arm as she was turning around to go home. Doumyouji Kaede waited for everybody to exit the mausoleum before she spoke again.
"I have learned of my son's plan to elope with you and get married in Barcelona only after the accident. Although I admit if I had learned sooner of this plan, I would've hindered it in any way I can. After the accident had happened, I also learned that you were pregnant and that you had a miscarriage. That would've been my grandchild who would carry the name Doumyouji." She walked over to Tsukasa's framed picture and stared at it. "I am not here to apologize for all the mistakes I've created regarding your relationship with my son."
She faced Tsukushi again. "I have seen my own spirit and determination in your eyes. I was once like you. I would never accept a simple apology for all the atrocities I've done to you if I were in your place. But the truth of the matter is that Tsukasa's gone. And I owe it to his memory to continue protecting and taking care of the person he most loved."
Tsukushi arched an eyebrow. "You're right, I won't. You were the reason why we had to hide. If it weren't for you, Tsukasa and I would have had a family and none of this would have happened."
Doumyouji Kaede ruefully smiled. "None of us won in the end. I lost my son and grandchild, just as you have lost the love of your life and unborn child. We're equal now."
"So what are you suggesting?" Tsukushi crossed her arms.
"That I would adopt you."
Tsukushi's jaw dropped. "Why would you do that?"
"As I have told you, I will take upon myself the last act my son has died for as his last wish---to see you taken care of." She walked pass Tsukushi who was still astonished at her proposition and stopped at the door. "Think about it." Without turning back, Doumyouji Kaede left.
CHAPTER 9
I sat there on the edge of the cliff overlooking the ocean. The salty air stung my eyes, hurting them. Tears pooled in them, waiting for the downpour.
"Why does it always have to be me? Why do the heavens punish me? Why does the universe conspire against my happiness?" I hurled a rock over the cliff and unto the ocean. "Why me?!!" I shouted to the sky. Mentally cursing my fate, I kept on hurling stones over the cliff, my eyes blinded by tears. I wished to hurl myself into the ocean's embrace if Hanazawa Rui was not there behind me.
A hand turned me around and crushed me against his hard chest. Compassion.comfort.kindness. I came undone. Closing my eyes, I entwined my arms around his neck and buried my face in his thick sweater. Hanazawa Rui closed his eyes too, tightening his embrace. I let the tears flow, dampening his sweater.
I cried for my love, Tsukasa. We have gone through hell and beyond and opposed the world with our love. We held the hope that someday the world will be able to accept our love. I never thought anything can ever break us apart. Until death, that is. You should have let me die, Tsukasa. There is life in me yet but I can never feel alive again.
I cried for my unborn child. Tsukasa, take care of our little angel. Our child.I should have been the mother of your children, Tsukasa. Had our child survived, my loss would have been palliated somehow your demise.
Lastly, I cried for myself. Alone in this world.where will I go now? What direction should I take? The excruciating pain of having taken away everything you hold dear, I am bleeding inside. Empty.empty and alone. I can feel myself slowly sinking into that fathomless abyss of despair and desolation. I am bleeding inside yet I can feel nothing anymore. I am the living dead.
I think these thoughts were the cause of the release of our inhibitions. The emotional abyss that I was talking about had already begun to denervate me as I sought to find something to hold on to. It was at that moment I felt Hanazawa Rui's lips brushed my forehead, his hand stroking my long hair. Tears flowed once more. Thank you, Rui. How many times have you always saved me? From the others and from myself. No one can understand me like you do. Before I became aware of what I was doing, my hand stroked his hair and twirled the softness in my fingers. His lips brushed against my temple this time. Pure instinct made me raise my head to level my head with his chin. Rui lowered his lips and met mine.
Warmth immediately spread from his lips into mine, infusing my soul with life. I succumbed to the sweetness of Rui's kiss, his strong arms enveloping my petite frame. His callused hand cradled my face gently while his other hand stroked the small of my back. We were kissing and crying at the same time. I buried my fingers in his hair and traced a finger along his jaw down to his adam's apple. Rui deepened the kiss, exerted a little more pressure at my back. My hands moved up and down the front of his sweater, feeling his hard, broad chest underneath the chenille sweater. I vaguely remembered hearing a sigh from Rui's lips.
He touched the tip of his tongue on my lips, as if asking permission. I parted my lips slightly to this new sensation. The kiss exploded as our tongues frolicked with each other.
Something akin to lava flowed in my veins; this slowly building heat made me restless. I could feel Rui's kiss healing, touching, caressing my wounded soul. This spread across my body, and made my skin inflamed and acutely sensitive to tactile stimulation. Our tongues wildly sought each other, generating more and more heat. His index finger traced my jaw, my chin, down to my collarbone, and even lower. My hands found themselves under Rui's sweater somehow, lightly touching his muscular chest. A barely audible moan escaped his lips. "Tsukushi," he whispered, raggedly. I raked my fingers lower.
"Makino, I would like to have a word with you." It was Doumyouji Kaede who touched Tsukushi's arm as she was turning around to go home. Doumyouji Kaede waited for everybody to exit the mausoleum before she spoke again.
"I have learned of my son's plan to elope with you and get married in Barcelona only after the accident. Although I admit if I had learned sooner of this plan, I would've hindered it in any way I can. After the accident had happened, I also learned that you were pregnant and that you had a miscarriage. That would've been my grandchild who would carry the name Doumyouji." She walked over to Tsukasa's framed picture and stared at it. "I am not here to apologize for all the mistakes I've created regarding your relationship with my son."
She faced Tsukushi again. "I have seen my own spirit and determination in your eyes. I was once like you. I would never accept a simple apology for all the atrocities I've done to you if I were in your place. But the truth of the matter is that Tsukasa's gone. And I owe it to his memory to continue protecting and taking care of the person he most loved."
Tsukushi arched an eyebrow. "You're right, I won't. You were the reason why we had to hide. If it weren't for you, Tsukasa and I would have had a family and none of this would have happened."
Doumyouji Kaede ruefully smiled. "None of us won in the end. I lost my son and grandchild, just as you have lost the love of your life and unborn child. We're equal now."
"So what are you suggesting?" Tsukushi crossed her arms.
"That I would adopt you."
Tsukushi's jaw dropped. "Why would you do that?"
"As I have told you, I will take upon myself the last act my son has died for as his last wish---to see you taken care of." She walked pass Tsukushi who was still astonished at her proposition and stopped at the door. "Think about it." Without turning back, Doumyouji Kaede left.
CHAPTER 9
I sat there on the edge of the cliff overlooking the ocean. The salty air stung my eyes, hurting them. Tears pooled in them, waiting for the downpour.
"Why does it always have to be me? Why do the heavens punish me? Why does the universe conspire against my happiness?" I hurled a rock over the cliff and unto the ocean. "Why me?!!" I shouted to the sky. Mentally cursing my fate, I kept on hurling stones over the cliff, my eyes blinded by tears. I wished to hurl myself into the ocean's embrace if Hanazawa Rui was not there behind me.
A hand turned me around and crushed me against his hard chest. Compassion.comfort.kindness. I came undone. Closing my eyes, I entwined my arms around his neck and buried my face in his thick sweater. Hanazawa Rui closed his eyes too, tightening his embrace. I let the tears flow, dampening his sweater.
I cried for my love, Tsukasa. We have gone through hell and beyond and opposed the world with our love. We held the hope that someday the world will be able to accept our love. I never thought anything can ever break us apart. Until death, that is. You should have let me die, Tsukasa. There is life in me yet but I can never feel alive again.
I cried for my unborn child. Tsukasa, take care of our little angel. Our child.I should have been the mother of your children, Tsukasa. Had our child survived, my loss would have been palliated somehow your demise.
Lastly, I cried for myself. Alone in this world.where will I go now? What direction should I take? The excruciating pain of having taken away everything you hold dear, I am bleeding inside. Empty.empty and alone. I can feel myself slowly sinking into that fathomless abyss of despair and desolation. I am bleeding inside yet I can feel nothing anymore. I am the living dead.
I think these thoughts were the cause of the release of our inhibitions. The emotional abyss that I was talking about had already begun to denervate me as I sought to find something to hold on to. It was at that moment I felt Hanazawa Rui's lips brushed my forehead, his hand stroking my long hair. Tears flowed once more. Thank you, Rui. How many times have you always saved me? From the others and from myself. No one can understand me like you do. Before I became aware of what I was doing, my hand stroked his hair and twirled the softness in my fingers. His lips brushed against my temple this time. Pure instinct made me raise my head to level my head with his chin. Rui lowered his lips and met mine.
Warmth immediately spread from his lips into mine, infusing my soul with life. I succumbed to the sweetness of Rui's kiss, his strong arms enveloping my petite frame. His callused hand cradled my face gently while his other hand stroked the small of my back. We were kissing and crying at the same time. I buried my fingers in his hair and traced a finger along his jaw down to his adam's apple. Rui deepened the kiss, exerted a little more pressure at my back. My hands moved up and down the front of his sweater, feeling his hard, broad chest underneath the chenille sweater. I vaguely remembered hearing a sigh from Rui's lips.
He touched the tip of his tongue on my lips, as if asking permission. I parted my lips slightly to this new sensation. The kiss exploded as our tongues frolicked with each other.
Something akin to lava flowed in my veins; this slowly building heat made me restless. I could feel Rui's kiss healing, touching, caressing my wounded soul. This spread across my body, and made my skin inflamed and acutely sensitive to tactile stimulation. Our tongues wildly sought each other, generating more and more heat. His index finger traced my jaw, my chin, down to my collarbone, and even lower. My hands found themselves under Rui's sweater somehow, lightly touching his muscular chest. A barely audible moan escaped his lips. "Tsukushi," he whispered, raggedly. I raked my fingers lower.