Eye Gate Deep 03
"Under the cherry tree"
By Elanor PamHi! What do you think, eh, guys? Changed the title. The other was too lame. Well, this one too, but at least sounds mysterious. Not that it makes much sense, but, hey, it has a mysterious meaning… anyway, you mustn't forget my wonderful subconscious (is that right? Spellchecker says so…), that made me create the word "Fanelorn" and later realize it was a mix between "Fanelia" (Escaflowne) and "Quest for Tanelorn" (Blind Guardian). My story really has some things to do with the title… ^____^ So I'll let you try to guess what kind of twisted sense that thing has, while I'll go take a bath and wash my hair, for goodness sake, or I won't survive the night.
Oh, before that, today is August 6, 2002. I think this chapter will take a while… I slept the whole afternoon and forgot to look for a book my friend asked me. I also almost slept through my physics class. Understandable, I wasn't the only one dozing off on the classroom… It must be some nervousness, because my mother has been on a trip to France for over a month and is coming back tomorrow ^_____^!!! Anyway, I'll go wash my hair. Sit and wait.
(After washing hair, replying to an email, waiting for nee-chan to finish looking at her boyfriend pics and messing around with Meitantei Conan scanlations) Well, can you believe it, I'm back, feeling clean and refreshed. It was tough, though, because the bathroom light bulb burned and I had to take a bath with a candle inside the box. Unpleasant. Anyway, with my still wet hair ruining the chair, let's fly!!
August 7, 2002: MOM GAVE ME A FRENCH YGO MANGA, VOL. 6!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YAY!! BUT I'M STILL WRITING THE FIRST PAGE OF THE FIC!! BUAAA!!
Disclaimer: Oh, you read it at chapter 2 already. Stop bugging me.
~*~*~*~*~*~
The phone rang once. And again. And once more.
Yuugi opened his bedroom's door, walking slowly, his snow-white pajamas rustling and his light blue slippers barely leaving the floor. That sucked. It was Sunday, all right, but being in bed on Sunday was, for him, just as bad as for anybody else, no matter how weird he was. He didn't like being kept from school, but he'd prefer five school days lost than a Sunday away from the freedom outside the window.
It was raining; but, as much as Yuugi loved to sleep breathing in the fresh air and hearing the lulling sound of the rain, he had to get going and answer the phone. Grandpa was out on "business meeting" again; the store was closed again; he was weak, tired etc and all again; but at least he hadn't woken up at 1:00 p.m. again – it was eight in the morning. He picked the phone.
"Mushi mushi, Mutou residence." He said, his voice as audible as he managed.
"Yuu-chan, it's me."
The feminine voice was serious, a bit worried; although it seemed used to severity, it had a soft undertone, that could be barely picked but was impossible to hide.
Yuugi gripped onto the phone with both hands – but, in reality, he wasn't sure which was going to fall if he let go, the phone or himself. He tried to talk, to utter a word, but he just couldn't; everything inside his chest seemed suddenly full of spikes…
"…m… mom…?"
Oh, gods, it hurt so much to say that single word, so much; he wished he could die that moment.
"Dad told me you were sick. I'm sorry I can't come back right now, I have things to do that can't be delayed…"
He made a choking sound, his eyes drowning between tears. He wished he wasn't feeling so weak, because it seemed even more painful to control his tears, to hear that voice…
"It's one of those chances that come only once in a lifetime… if I manage to do things correctly, we won't have anything more to worry about for a long, long time."
So painful… so painful…
"Maybe so long that you won't even be alive when the worry comes… can you manage?"
He made an effort to make a sound. "I'll… I'll try…" it was barely a whisper.
"No, you won't. You'll do it. You're strong, and I'm sure your friends will help, won't they?"
For once, the wound into his chest didn't fell tore in deeper.
"They're great!…" he choked, before he could restrain himself, and noticed he was losing the feeling of his legs; unable to keep standing, Yuugi fell on his knees. He could barely talk, but kept on, his voice shaking. "They've been going through so much to ease everything for me… they're coming home everyday to talk with me… they're helping me with the school work I'm losing right now… and…" his voice was becoming lower and lower, barely a murmur, but he still tried. "…and… they… they're amazing… they're… wonderful…"
That was it. Yuugi started crying, sobbing desperately on the phone. The tears he held up with all his strength finally overflowed, and he couldn't hold it back anymore. A gaping sound was heard from the other side of the line, but the woman stayed quiet and waited patiently for him to calm down.
Some more minutes passed, and Yuugi calmed down, little by little, until he could finally talk again. "S-sorry…"
"Don't be." She was quiet for a moment. "I have no contact phone to give you, but you've cried so much I'm thinking you've gotten too spoiled for my taste. So, you'd better learn to depend on you, and not on your grandfather or me!"
Yuugi laughed, but his laugh was weak and agonizing. "Right…" he muttered, trying to wipe his tears off his face, to no avail. "We'll be waiting for you" his voice was softer than what he intended to, but he couldn't help it. "Please come back safe… and soon, okay?"
"Yes, yes, I will. Both safe and soon." A smile could be heard in her voice. "And you, now, go REST. You're always worrying everybody. And behave yourself."
"I will…"
"You had better. I have to hang up now, so go back to sleep."
I was awake, thought Yuugi, but said nothing. "Ok, I will" his voice was steadier.
"Bye, then."
"Bye."
The annoying 'busy line' sound replaced her voice, but Yuugi still kept the receiver between shaking hands. For some minutes he did nothing besides crying quietly, knelt on the floor, shoulders slumped; then, as if suddenly gaining life, he hanged the receiver up and slowly stood up.
The boy walked down the corridor to his bedroom, a hand on the wall to equilibrate himself. Opening the door to his little corner, the sound of rain came to his ears again, and fresh air washed over him.
He turned his eyes to the slightly messed-up bed, but didn't see it. Slowly, he turned his head to the semi-opened window. Still, his eyes seemed to see nothing.
He walked slowly towards the window, raising a hand absently as if to open it. He put his hand on the window glass, his empty eyes looking ahead, towards the clouded sky and the blur of the city underneath; his pale and thin reflection stared at him, unnoticed, with a speck of worry into its eyes.
But the true eyes were glassy, completely devoid of emotions, as they looked towards some indistinct place; suddenly the eyes blurred, and tears came out again. But Yuugi's expression didn't flicker at the least, as trails were made once again on the face he had wiped with such effort.
"You are there" he said, his voice cracking, but his tone steady. "I know you're there, and you're looking at me now."
Only silence answered this disturbing comment.
"I want to see you."
The rain pounded stronger, blurring the city even more.
"I want to meet you…"
His tone also started to waver, as the hand on the glass trembled. As quickly as it had strengthened, the rain weakened until it became just a drizzle.
"I want… to know you…"
The weather seemed to calm slightly, the rain gently falling, as the clouds got a bit lighter in tone and the city seemed to receive a bit more of light. Yuugi finally blinked, letting more tears flow, and slowly slid the window to the side.
He leaned on the windowsill, looking down at the street. Drops of rain fell on his hair, looking like pearls, shining under the dim light of the clouded day. A sound box played on a lamppost near that window.
So many nights alone
Without you by my side
I never knew what I was missing…
He smiled lightly. "I want to visit you…" he muttered, leaving the open window behind him and stumbling to the chestrobe. He paid little attention to the song playing into the rain, and fumbled into a drawer until he found a photo. Looking at it, his eyes softened as if they were ice melting into water…
Yuugi looked terrible; his face pale and wet from tears, his eyes ringed, his hair messier than the usual, apart from his growing thinness. But the water drops on his messy hair… the soft light shining into his eyes… and the smile that slowly sneaked into his lips, full of tenderness, of sweetness, of innocence, while he looked at that picture…
Outside, the song had kept on going.
Angel on my shoulder
You give me shelter
You give me love and affection…
The lights were off, the sky was clouded; but still he seemed to glow. The white clothes… the glowing spots on his hair… the shining eyes… the pure and kind smile… one could even swear seeing wings on his back. He held the photo to his chest, his heart warm, without a single idea of how angelic he just looked at that moment, as if inspired by the song.
And every time I turn around
You're still right here…
"…I'm coming to you" he whispered, and even his voice sounded heavenly.
And that was when a silhouette formed above him, arms open wide, leaning over him as if to embrace; as quickly as it came, it disappeared, leaving just an indefinite feeling.
Angel, my angel…
Yuugi yawned, his fingers too numb to keep holding his treasured picture; he stumbled backwards, trying to keep his balance, but eventually fell on the bed, completely asleep. The picture fell on the floor, at the same moment.
Indeed, an angel had fallen in the Mutou residence.
Oooh, my dear…
~~*~~*~~
Sugoroku had come back earlier, that day. It was barely past noon and, judging by the frown he had on his face, his "business meeting" hadn't been that successful. Shaking the umbrella and spilling water on the shop's floor, he closed the door behind him with a bang. Indeed, he was in a bad mood.
He sat on the counter for some time, thoughtful, and looked at the clock. He was sure the boys would be there at any time… standing up, he went to check up on Yuugi.
'Good', he thought as he saw Yuugi sprawled on the bed. 'He's not wandering around. He'd better stay in bed all day.'
He frowned, noticing he seemed to have fallen on the bed from a standing position. 'Must have tried to get up, though. So stubborn, hell…' Fixing the boy's position, he covered him again, tenderly moving some blond bangs of hair away from his face.
He smiled and left the bedroom, without glancing at the floor. It would be useless if he did, though.
There was no picture on the floor by then.
~~*~~*~~
Jou sighed, preparing himself for the worst.
"Guys, I…" he gulped and blurted the rest out "I know you'll probably think I'm crazy and I'll probably be sent to a madhouse or something but I swear on my life I saw a creepy shadow above Yuugi last Monday when he passed out and I swear there's something weird about the new cleaner and the school." he panted heavily, wiping sweat from his brow and looking at his audience.
His Dragon Ball Action Figures kept a sepulchral silence, standing completely still on his writing desk, each one in a different pose. For some reason, Jounouchi doubted his friends would have a different reaction, at least for the ten seconds that would pass before they fell on the floor laughing.
As if on cue, the Vegeta action figure fell, knocking all the others in a big mess.
Jounouchi sighed pitifully. "Fine, laugh all you want…" he muttered, falling sat on the floor. "Now there has to be a better way for that… now, hm, how can I begin…?"
After some more minutes of pondering, he got up, rearranging his action figures again. "Ah, hm, this has to sound natural. Hey guys, remember that new cleaner that came on Monday?"
Silence.
"Oh, yeah, she was called Haruno Takasugi. Didn't you think she was weird?"
Silence.
"Yeah, and those weird comments she made about Yuugi, and that we had to take care of ourselves…"
Silence.
Jounouchi sighed, glaring at the little innocent action figures, that looked at him curiously, each one in a different pose.
"Know what? You're not helping."
The Vegeta action figure fell, knocking the rest in a big mess.
"SCREW IT!! CRAP!!" Jounouchi threw the poor action figures on the floor, and leaned on the desk, trying to suppress a sudden urge to bang his head on the wall. "I may be crazy, but oh heck, someone needs to know about this!" Not necessarily, was what some part of his brain answered. What was the problem of doing it alone? He wasn't afraid… was he?
He didn't know; but he had a bad feeling that seemed to get stronger each passing day. The old cleaner, guarding a specific point at the third floor; the excuse of a planned robbery, that was given by the man; the new cleaner, acting as if she knew a lot more than she should; Yuugi, passing out, at bed, drained; the puzzle piece under the same desk for almost a week… puzzle… yeah, it looked like a nasty puzzle, and the pieces were there – not all of them but enough to begin – and they had to assemble the thing before it was too late and someone had to finish it if he couldn't.
Something cold gripped at his guts. That thought had come by itself, he didn't… he wasn't conscious of that. But some part of him knew it was right; he was getting himself in something dangerous, and wouldn't get out of that mess unscathed.
'They'll probably laugh… say I'm seeing things… but if something happens to me, they'll know it was true. Yes… I'm definitely telling ev'rything to them!!'
He got up, not bothering with picking his action figures, and went out of the house before he could give up. He didn't even notice his hands were trembling… he looked at his clock – 1:00 p.m. Just in time for them to go to Yuugi's. Maybe Yuugi could give him some help with that… turning a corner, he saw the others a bit ahead.
He shouted "Hey", but what came out was little more than a squeak. Anyway, they heard him and turned. "You're late!!" Honda lifted a wrist, showing his clock to emphasize his point.
Jounouchi approached them, feeling his legs like jelly. "S-sorry" he tried to say, but his voice wouldn't come out.
"Uh, what?" Honda leaned closer.
"SOOOOOOrry, I said" Jou finally managed to make a sound, but his voice trembled.
Honda and Anzu looked at each other, and then at Jounouchi again. Some seconds passed, the lively street buzzing around them, and then Anzu voiced their thoughts. "Are you feeling all right, Jounouchi?"
"Yes, I am" he squeaked again, twisting his face in a pseudo-smile, while he tried to dry his hands, leaving a wet stain on his jeans. He kind of expected a certain something when Honda approached him, with a serious face, and put a hand on his shoulders…
"Look, Jounouchi, we know that you're as stubborn as a rock, and also that you're very worried about Yuugi and all, but… remember what the school doctor said, it isn't healthy for you to get stressed…"
Yes, that was exactly what he had expected. "Honda, it has nothing to do with th…!" He stopped in mid sentence, remembering what he had in mind some minutes ago. He sighed. 'Alley jack east…' he screwed up Julius Caesar phrase.
"Well, it has something to do with what you said, Honda— in fact, two words between what you said…"
"Uh, what was it that I said?" Honda asked Anzu, that shot him an annoyed glance. "Oh, I remembered! Hm, let me guess, then…" he thought for a moment. "'Worried' and 'Healthy'?"
"Nah-ah" Jou shook his head, a bit amused.
"'Stubborn' and 'Stressed'?"
"Nope."
"'Rock' and 'doctor'?"
"That was far."
Anzu finally lost her patience, knocking Honda on the head with her purse. "Stop being dumb!! Whatever it is, surely it has something to do with Yuugi!"
Jounouchi laughed a little. "Yeah, she's right… It's 'Yuugi' and 'school'."
They looked at him, stopping any gesture in mid-air. Somehow it reminded Jounouchi of his action figures, and it felt like a bad omen.
"But we've been taking the school work to Yuugi everyday…"
"Unless you're worried with Yuugi and with school…"
"Yeah, that makes sense, your grades suck…"
Their comments faded while he shook his head. "No, I, I think… I-I-I just t-think… f… FORGETITSNOTHING—" he tried to turn around and drop into a hole on the ground, but that street had no hole and they caught him before he could run.
"No way, you're gonna spit it or I'll make you sorry!"
"HONDA!! And YOU, Jounouchi, are going to spit it or I'll make you feel sorry!!"
"…you're gonna laugh~~~~~" the blond boy whimpered, making the other two stop in their tracks.
Honda sputtered, and suddenly started to laugh ('I didn't even tell him yet…', thought Jounouchi) "Don't tell me… don't tell me… you think there's some spirit or something at school attacking Yuugi or I don't know what…!" he laughed, holding his aching belly and attracting a lot of glances from passersby. He wouldn't be laughing like that if he had seen Jounouchi's face, but he hadn't, so he kept on. "Hah, probably it's an envoy from 'Negaverse' stealing Yuugi's energy… Gyahahahaha!!"
"Yesterday" began Jounouchi, his voice so serious, clear and menacingly low that one couldn't compare it with his squeaks from before. He turned to them, his face completely different from what they had last seen – serious, DEADLY serious… "I went to the school, to check up on something I noticed on the floor. That new cleaner, Haruno Takasugi, was there. I was hidden at the stairs, the place was dark and she was away, but she knew I was there."
"Uhm…" began Anzu. "Are you sure you just didn't hide well?
"I doubt so" he kept on. "She was talking to some guy and he didn't even notice me. She simply knew where I was and why I was there… and that's something damn weird, don't you think?" he put his hands in his pockets.
"Ahn, can we talk about it somewhere that's not the middle of the street?" Asked Honda, looking around at the curious people. Jounouchi grabbed their arms and led them away – now that he had begun, it was much easier to go on. 'To hell with what happens, I need backup…'
The other teens looked at each other again, asking themselves where he was taking them.
~~*~~*~~
Jounouchi wasn't sure of where he was going, but still he felt he was going on the right direction. Geez, he was getting crazier and crazier with each passing day… he had been walking around the city, turning corners and alleys he had never seen before, for about ten minutes. Anzu and even Honda were annoyed enough to snap at him, but his face would shut any of them up – though they didn't know why.
Suddenly his feet stopped walking on their own, and he looked around to see that he had arrived at a park. Although the sky was clouded, the grass was green and wet from the recent rain, and the place gave a peaceful feeling, freshness lingering on the air. The trees were all rusty-golden; some flowers still hadn't given up. It was a beautiful place, even in autumn – almost empty of people, though.
They were standing under the naked branches of a cherry tree. "This place will do", said Jounouchi, turning to see an enraged Anzu.
"Since when did you know about this square?" spat her, indignant, surprising the two boys. "This is Yuugi's secret place!! He was thinking of showing you this on summer!!" she shoved Jounouchi's hand and slapped him on the face. "You've followed him, didn't you? You destroyed his surprise! Don't you have feelings??"
Yes, Jounouchi had a lot of feelings. Right now, he felt his cheek swell, his head dizzy, his body aching after falling on the ground…
"Easy on him, Masaki…"
"Bastard!! Try thinking about people's feelings!!" yeah, she should try feeling what Jounouchi felt, at least that was what he had thought.
He got up, slowly. "Look, Masaki, I don't care if you believe it or not, but I just found this place now."
"Like hell I believe!! You came here directly, you didn't even blink…"
"AS-I-SAID, I don't care if you believe or not. It's the truth."
Some birds and a flap of wings could be heard. Crickets chirped.
They managed to close their mouths.
"Jo… Jo… Jo…" Honda choked, trying to get his voice to work.
"…why are you so serious all of a sudden?…" asked Anzu, her voice a mix of shock and hurt. It was completely unlike Jounouchi to be so sharp, so direct, so… mature. Jounouchi sighed, running his fingers through his hair.
"Well, it must be because I'm trying to say something important, even though none of you will take me seriously. And apart from that you're not even letting me talk, did you expect me to be running around wailing 'yay, yay, so fun, they won't let me say anything!!'? " he didn't let the silence go on. "And I'm gonna spit it as you asked me, BUT – only if you promise me you're gonna listen until the end and laugh later. Got it?"
Anzu sighed and nodded, but Honda just looked at him, with a dubious face. "You don't mean you're going to say some really, really ridiculous thing that nobody in his or her right mind would ever believe, do you?"
Jounouchi glared at him, inhaling deeply, his mouth forming a straight line – and nodded forcefully. "Yes, I do!"
*My, what a brave lad!*
For a heartbeat, all of them were frozen to the core.
As one, they turned to the cherry tree.
Floating just under the branches, all of them could swear seeing a flickering silhouette…
Time stopped.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Can you actually believe I finished this chapter? I was on a big block, so I decided to sit here and take a look at the fic to see what more to do, then a big idea hit me (it still hurts) and I managed to finish this. Only five pages, though. Pity, but oh well, I arrived at the end of the chapter sooner than I thought… do you like the cliffhanger?
Well, today is August 27, 2002. 21 days to write 5 pages?!?! Yay, I can calculate!! (ducks away from the tomatoes) All right, all right, bad joke. This has been a weird month, so forgive me. I've also started another fic, a one-shot that's really nasty to write. I'll post it as soon as I can.
I'll try to write a bit more of next chapter before posting this one, though; I'm arriving at important parts, and details could screw the plot royally. Not that I'm anywhere near the climax, that's a long way from here, but I'm scattering clues around (I'm eeeeevil… *insert evil laughter*) so you can try and guess what's going on. I doubt you will, at such an early stage. But you can give a shot. That's a Meitantei Conan fan for you ^______^ (try reading Ysabet's fics – she's the best!!)
I'm also finishing up a ficart for the fic "Chibi for a Day", from Spyder. The fic is… funny. It's smart. It rocks. And it's funny. If you like yaoi you'll find it there, if you don't like… well, you won't even mind, because it's all humorous things. But I kind of hope Seto's love will keep on being platonic, because by now (in the manga) Jounouchi has risked his life and even begged Yuugi to win and save Mai… and right now (in the fic) Mai entered the scene ^____^ will you allow this non-yaoi couple, Spyder? Please please please??
And, before I forget, the song Yuugi heard by the window is "Angel on my shoulders", by Krystal Harris; I know she sang things around with Backstreet Annoying Boys, but she's ok with me. I like that song, it's very sad. I like sad songs, it seems… is it just me or I'm putting a lot of songs in my fics? TGLoA, now this… well, I like songs. Until next chappie!
Elan-chan
P.S.: Does anybody have the lyrics to Krystal's songs? I can't find them anywhere… ;______;