My mom's coming to visit for the weekend, so I have to clean the bathroom since no one else is apparently able to care or to clean it, and I don't want her to think we're living in squalor. But first I'll write an update!

Pain Inside

Part 11

"So in this arrangement, the choir is really just our backup. They sing the chorus with us, and then they fill in the background as we sing our solos." Yaten was explaining his understanding of the piece to a rather listless Hotaru. "Here, here, and here." He flipped through the book of music pointing out their parts. "You sing this first one alone, then it's my turn, and then we sing the last one together, but we always sing the chorus and this last line together."

"Yeah." She answered after a long pause, not looking as though she'd heard a word of his explanation.

"Hotaru, I know you already know this." He pursed his lips, thoroughly annoyed. They were to practice alone, singing through their parts at least two or three times every afternoon after regular choral practice ended. If she would not listen to him, he'd be there past dinnertime. And then he would get very angry. "You are perfectly capable of reading music. So what's the deal? Why are you so distracted?"

"Oh…nothing, I'm sorry." She shook her head swiftly as though snapping back into reality at his prompting. "I just…well, this afternoon, when I went to get my stuff out of my locker, someone had taken my things, and my locker was full of garbage." She looked very near to bursting into tears, and Yaten felt the heat of guilt and discomfort come over him in a sickly wave.

"Really?" he gulped, putting on his most innocent face. Sure, he'd helped remove Hotaru's possessions from her locker, but he'd hid them somewhere safe so that later he could replace them. "Wow, that's too bad. Any idea what happened to your things?"

"I don't know. Maybe you could ask your friend for me." She sighed, not sounding the least bit angry. It was clear that Hotaru was wearing down under the pressure, not only of studying and singing, but also of dealing with Seiya's daily pranks. "I'm sorry…I know it isn't you doing it. I just wish I knew why he picked me. I wish I knew what I did to make him so angry." She sighed deeply, looking extremely dejected for a few moments before she slapped on an utterly fake smile and faced Yaten again. "But never mind things like that. I suppose we should get to work on the song, shouldn't we?"

"Yeah, you're right." Yaten felt like he would be sick. Why did he even care, though? Hotaru was a nice girl, sure, but he was mean to a lot of nice people without caring one way or the other. "Even if it is Seiya, I'm sure he'll stop pretty soon, once he finds a way to distract himself." Yaten tried to think of what might distract Seiya from Hotaru, and he saw a pare of violently red eyes, pale skin framed by equally red hair. What was that girl's name again? Kakyuu? If only she'd start dating Seiya, maybe the dark-haired boy would forget about the "fun" of pranking Hotaru every day. Maybe.

"That would be nice. I'm sure…I mean, he'd never do it to you, since you guys are friends." Hotaru shuffled her feet slightly as she drew imaginary shapes on the piano with her fingers. "But I'm sure that if you were in my shoes, you wouldn't even care. You'd probably…fight back or something. That's why I like you, Yaten. You never do something just because it's expected of you." She blushed deep red then, as if speaking so frankly was an utterly embarrassing experience, and Yaten felt his own cheeks coloring slightly, so he sat down at the piano bench and busied himself by positioning the book of music and then resting his fingers on the keys.

"Well…let's get started, shall we?" he prompted her and she gave him another smile, but this one was real. He momentarily forgot how to breathe and subsequently decided that he should stare at the music rather than looking at Hotaru and forgetting what he was supposed to be doing. He pretended he did not feel her sit down next to him, her eyes on the music, the gentle lilac scent of her wafting into his awareness.

"Are you going to start?" she asked, and he realized he'd been sitting without doing anything for nearly five minutes straight since she sat down.

"Oh…yes, that's right. I was just thinking." He cleared his throat and gave her the most serious, business-like face he could muster. "Do you want me to play the melody for you first, or do you want to try and sing the notes from memory…and um…the music written here?" Yaten could hear a voice in his head repeatedly chanting stupid. He thought the voice would be more useful if it would have told him what to say in the first place, so it had no room to talk.

"I think I'll be able to remember how it goes." She offered him a slight smile and he blinked at her before turning back to the sheet music and playing the first few notes. This was going to be a long afternoon, he could feel it.

----------

"I'm going out, Grandpa. I'll be back before ten." Rei told her grandfather as she stood, dressed in a simple black skirt and blouse, clutching her purse nervously as he looked her over.

"Oh, Rei, you can stay out later than that." He assured her, smiling so that his eyes seemed to disappear in the wrinkles of his cheeks. "How about…midnight?"

"Grandpa! You're supposed to be worried! I'm going out with a boy." She told him, pouting so that he might change the curfew back to the one she had come up with.

"Well then! Is he here to pick you up? I want to meet him!" the little old man stood from where he'd been steaming some rice for dinner, making his way over to his granddaughter and ushering her out of the kitchen of the shrine they lived in.

"Yes…" she felt like crying. Of course her grandfather would be impressed by Jadeite. Everyone was, because they didn't know what sort of boy he really was, but Rei was not fooled by his act. Apparently she was the only one. All day Usagi had impressed the rest of the girls with stories of how cordial and gentlemanly he had been when they met, and thereafter, she had received absolutely no sympathy about having a date with him that night. In fact, Minako had told her to stop bragging about it. As if she was proud! "He said he'd wait for me at the gates." She let her grandfather follow her the whole way, feeling like he was a guard marching her toward a slow and painful execution.

"Hino-san." Jadeite, as promised, was acting the perfect gentleman. At least he was now, probably since he had seen her approaching with her grandfather. "This must be your grandfather. Good evening, sir. Hino-san often speaks of you." And of course, he dipped into a polite bow before offering his hand. Rei wished she had a knife in her handbag.

"Yes, well, we're very close." He assured Jadeite, readily shaking the hand that the young man offered, his smile wide and excited. "Which is why I'm so glad she's finally taking an interest in boys. I don't believe my Rei has ever gone out on a date before."

"Grandpa, shush." Rei felt herself flushing in embarrassment as she tried to pretend she couldn't feel Jadeite's eyes on her, as if she couldn't imagine the look on his face. "Now, you've met, so can we go?"

"I haven't been properly introduced." Her grandfather insisted, and after letting out a long-suffering sigh, Rei humored him.

"Grandfather, this is Jadeite Akahito. He goes to my school in the very bottom class. He might do better on his schoolwork, but all he cares about is soccer and chasing girls, so that doesn't leave a lot of room for outside studying." Rei turned to Jadeite, who seemed completely unfazed by her recital. "Akahito-san, this is my grandfather. He loves me and is very protective of me, and while he seems fragile, along with his many spiritual trainings, he also studies martial arts."

"Martial arts? Really?" Jadeite appeared impressed rather than frightened, which annoyed Rei utterly. "I've always had an interest in learning a bit about spirituality and self defense. Perhaps that was what drew me to Rei, who is so clearly spiritually aware, far beyond ordinary girls."

"Yes, Rei is a very great asset to the shrine." Her grandfather seemed content to waste the night away talking to Jadeite, which seemed a lot like prolonging the torture to Rei herself. "Of course, there is always a lot of work to do around here, but with her, we just manage. Sometimes I think it would be better for me to hire an assistant so she could be more free to spend time with her friends…"

"Don't be silly, Grandpa. I love working on the shrine." She assured him in a voice tempered by the company they were currently sharing. "Now, can we leave?"

"Hino-san is quite eager, it seems." Jadeite looked so smug, she wanted to slap the look right off his face. "I had best not keep her waiting. It was a pleasure to meet you, Grandfather. What time should I have her back?"

"Ten." Rei interjected.

"One is fine." Her grandfather overruled her, and she let out a deep sigh. Whose side was he on, anyway? "You two just have fun."

"Thank you very much, we will." Jadeite gave another bow, and then offered his arm to Rei, who ignored it completely and rushed through the gates, not wanting to say anything to anger her grandfather when she knew that the person she really felt frustrated with was Jadeite. "Hino-san! Please wait for me!"

"Nice performance." She spoke once she heard him catch up to her, no longer offering the arm he knew she would not take if her life depended on it. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you were a respectable young man."

"Look, Hino-san." Jadeite's tone sounded a bit annoyed, which Rei found intriguing. "I know that you don't like me. I don't know why you've decided that I'm the worst guy in the world, but I'm really trying to make it up to you here, and you're not giving me half a chance! Now, with most girls, if I was having trouble, I'd just charm their socks off, get in one or two good nights of fun, and then ignore them so that they could become obsessed with me and follow me around and let me get away with anything, because I would be so annoyed with their bad attitudes from the beginning that it would seem like they deserved it. But I'm not going to do that with you. I like you a lot, Hino-san."

"Thanks, your honesty is touching." She sneered, but he plowed right on.

"A lot of girls pretend to have a backbone just to pique guys' interests, but you really don't put up with any of my shit. I have to say, it pisses me off a little bit. But mostly it makes me want to get you to change your mind about me. And I know I can." He assured her.

"After all that, I'm never going to trust you, stupid." Rei assured him. "You just verified my suspicions that you treat girls like shit."

"Only the girls I don't like." Jadeite told her. "And anyway, try to tell me you don't treat most guys like they're subhuman." There was a long silence as Rei refused to answer. "See? We aren't really that different if you think about it."

"Wow, that is so insightful." Rei blinked at him in mock amazement. "Now that you've romanced me with your utter lack of decency, can we call this date over with and take me home?"

"We haven't even started yet." He ignored her snappish comment yet again, apparently no longer in the mood for a good fight, which Rei thought was really too bad, as he seemed like he might be good for such things. "We're going to eat at this great place, you'll love it. It's pretty close by, so don't worry if you're getting hungry."

"Whatever, as long as you're paying for this ridiculousness, I could care less where we eat." Rei rolled her eyes and followed his lead when he finally turned into what looked suspiciously like a dive restaurant. "Ugh, are we really eating in here?" she asked him as she surveyed the dim lighting and the loud music inside blasted her senses.

"They have great food! And the music's always live. It's one of my favorite places to go." He told her, grabbing her hand before she could resist and pulling her in, seating themselves and then waiting for menus to be delivered. Rei allowed herself more than a cursory inspection of the area after a few moments, when she saw that Jadeite was not watching her so minutely, as he was trying to flag down a harassed looking waiter. The decoration was eclectic, but somehow, everything went together. There was everything from vintage posters and advertisements to random pieces that must have been gleaned at garage sales. Rei was impressed by the amount of work that must have gone into creating such an environment, and while it was loud and brash, it went just right with the music, which was actually quite good, now that the shock of the volume had worn off. In a corner, she saw some kids and an adult or two playing what looked to be vintage arcade games, and when she turned back to Jadeite, he was watching her closely. "You wanna play a game?"

"Um, no, I'm fine." She told him, and he shrugged, giving in with surprising ease. This made her suspicious, but while she had been looking around, he'd secured menus, and he moved onto the topic of what they would eat too fast for her to question his behavior.

"So I thought we could split a medium pizza, but I'm not sure if you could eat more or less than that. Usually I wouldn't take a girl to get pizza, cause she'll just take three bites and then say she's on a diet or she's full or something, but I think I can rightly assume you don't give a shit what I think about your eating habits. Am I right, Hino-san?" he looked up from the menu, and she blinked at him, momentarily dumbstruck. "So, do you eat pizza?"

"Sure." She answered, before clarifying. "Pizza will be fine."

"Okay…well, what sort of toppings do you want? They have all these specialty pizzas, those are all really good. Or if you want, we can get something more traditional." Jadeite waited, and Rei realized she would have to select something, so she glanced the menu over before pointing at her selection without comment. "The six-cheese? That's a good choice, I've had it before." He grinned to show her he approved, as if she cared, and then waited for the waiter to notice them again. Rei took the opportunity to skip off to the bathroom and wash her hands, and by the time she had returned, he had placed their order and also procured a pitcher of root beer and two glasses of ice.

"You ordered drinks all on our own." She commented. "I'm so proud."

"I know, it's a big step." He gave her a mock solemn look. "But I figured I should take the risk. Plus, that was what you were drinking when we were at the arcade the other day, so I knew you wouldn't mind."

"You remembered that?" she blinked at him. "How could you remember something so stupid?"

"I like you a lot, Hino-san. I told you." He smiled at her, and she felt herself wanting to smile back before she reminded herself that he was an asshole who took advantage of girls all the time and respected no female. "If you'd give me a chance, you'd see that."

"If I gave you a chance, you'd forget my hair color, and probably my name." Rei shot back. "You only pay attention now because you're like a little kid, and you want me, so your attention is all focused on me. But as soon as you get distracted or you get what you want, which you won't, then you won't remember anything about me. You won't care."

"You have serious male trust issues, Hino-san." He told her, a slight pout on his face. "Why can't you just accept that I'm serious here? You could ask any of my friends. How long have I known you? Almost two months, and this is our first date, and I've been trying that long just to get you to agree to this. Ask them if I ever put more than two weeks of effort in. I never do. Except for you, Hino-san. You're special."

"I'm sure you tell every girl you dump that they're special." She told him, sipping her root beer. "So excuse me if I forget to be flattered."

"You are! You…I just, I want to know about you, okay? I want to know what makes you work, what you think about, what you like, what you don't like, all of that. You're just a really cool girl, Hino-san, and I want to get to know all about you." He told her.

"Line." She examined her fingernails as if she were totally disinterested in what he had to say. "Try again."

"I really do!" he sighed and seemed on the verge of giving up before he spoke again. "Okay, how about this? I'll answer a question if you answer a question, back and forth, and we can't lie. Okay?"

"Sure." Rei was intrigued. She was not hiding anything deeply scandalous, so she did not worry that this game would hurt her, but she was sure she could catch Jadeite in a lie at some point. "But if I catch you lying, the date is over."

"I won't lie." He assured her. "First question. Why do you live with your grandfather instead of your parents?"

"Okay, that one's easy." She was disappointed he was asking her questions that were so innocent and mundane. "My mother died when I was a baby, and my father is a big businessman, so he doesn't really have time to raise me. Lucky I have Grandpa, or I'd be one of those children who just raised themselves while their parents were out of the house." she sipped her soda. "Now it's my turn. Why did you pick me to harass that first day we met?"

"Honestly? I wouldn't say I picked you, so much as you appeared, and I just…forgot how to breathe. That hair, those eyes, that voice…and you were such a bitch. I love that about you, Hino-san." He smiled cheekily, and she rolled her eyes at him. "Next question. What do you want to do when you grow up?"

"That is such a stupid question." Rei snorted in annoyance. "Of course, I'll take over the shrine for Grandpa."

"I didn't ask what you will do, I just asked what you wanted to do. If you could do anything you wanted." He clarified.

"Oh…well, I guess in that case, I'd probably travel all over. I'd like to see the world, and I've never even been outside of the country, so I guess I have a long way to go." She admitted.

"Really? Not even to Korea or China?" he wanted to know.

"You already had your question." She pointed out teasingly. "It's my turn. How many girlfriends have you had?"

"Ever?" he asked, and she nodded curtly. "Well…I mean, there was this girl in kindergarten who said she was my girlfriend, but I still believed in cooties and all that, so I didn't really—"

"Okay, consensual girlfriends only." She revised her question and he paused, looking up at the ceiling for some time.

"So…girls that I would actually say, 'hey guys, this is my girlfriend, have you met her?' with? Because…" he paused still thinking.

"Yes, exactly." She prompted.

"Um…well, really…none." He admitted. "I mean, I've been out with probably…twenty girls, or something around there, but I never really wanted to go out with them more than once or twice. Usually, by ten minutes into a date, I'm wondering if she'll let me put my hand under her shirt or not, because otherwise, the night's a total bust."

"No pun intended, I'm sure." She prompted, and he laughed, seemingly surprised she had made a joke. "Well, just in case that was your next question, I'm not letting you put your hand under any of my clothing."

"That's fine, I didn't expect you to even let me consider getting action until like…the tenth date." He estimated.

"You would actually stay with a girl that long? That's at least two more months. That's almost half your school year." She informed him.

"Well." He pulled a napkin out of the holder and began unfolding and refolding it nervously. "I told you. I really like you. A lot."

"Still not getting your hand down my shirt." She assured him.

"Got it." He smiled, and she returned it, apparently forgetting to be horrible to him. Maybe he was making progress after all. Jadeite felt his heart race, ignoring the weird idea that he was committing so much time and effort to being with one girl, just to see her smile, just to hear her talk, to be near her. What was wrong with him? He didn't know.

And suddenly, he just didn't care.

The End (Of Part 11, That Is)