well, this chapter is much longer than the last one! and hopefully much
better, too! *crosses her fingers *
and of course, thank you to my lovely readers! (and reviewers especially!) i really do appreciate the time you guys take out of your lives to review. it really does mean alot to me! you guys are wonderful! ^.^
rabel-blah-blah-blah: is this update soon enough? ^.^
shaka dragomir nocturnus: glad you're enjoying the story!
angel of pure darkness: very interesting review. ^.^ and this chappie is mostly kai
i luv kai: i agree, it's fun to kick kai's
child of the starts: rei and kai are going to meet...never! never ever ever! *laughs evilly * *gets thwaked by kai * eh...actually...*rubs head and glares at kai * they meet in this chapter....
cloud 1-3-5; headbanging, moshing, and air-guitaring are the best! ^O^ and it is always uberly bouncy ones who love to dance! ballet is so refined and classical, though...which is why i've never done it, and why i thought rei would be good at ballet....cuz he's refined and classical, too...
kitsune crystal queen: this update fast enough?
benevolent pharaoh: *glomps * glad to know you're still alive! long time, no see!
WARNING: this chapter gets a bit angsty, folks. At least, in Kai's scene. He cuts, aka self-mutilation. If this disturbs you, I advise you to skip the first several paragraphs. Also, there is one swear word on Kai's part, but I have bleeped it out, aka censored it. It reads like this: **** instead of the swear.
&&&&&&&&&&
Kai Hiwatari stared down in morbid fascination at the red blood running down his wrists and dripping into the white sink. He marveled at the stark contrast of the brilliant red blood on his pale, nearly white, skin.
There were no new cuts today; he'd merely torn open some of his older, half healed ones that he knew bled well and deep. He'd first made those gouges in his skin when he was in a blind rage. Today he was just slightly depressed and moody, so he'd torn open his best bleeders. His wrists were a mangled mess of self-inflicted cuts. Some were new and freshly scabbed over, added recently, while others were months old and starting to scar an angry pink around their rims. But they all bled when Kai chose them too.
Kai gritted his teeth, enjoying the pain that flowed along with the blood. The air stung his cuts and numbness, relief, washed through him. The physical pain was an outlet for his the pain that was eating away at what little was left of his heart. He never showed it, and fought as best he could. To the outside world, Kai Hiwatari was as cold hearted and emotionless as they came. But inside he was bleeding to death, being driven insane by the pain poisoning his soul. The only release he'd found had been cutting.
Grimacing and biting his tongue against the pain, Kai decided he'd bled enough. His emotions were no longer turbulent, rolling around inside of him and throwing him from extreme sadness and despair to anger, all of it directed at his grandfather, his legal guardian. Kai hated that callous bastard, who cared for nothing other than his precious money. He usually ignored Kai, and noticed the fifteen year old only to degrade, humiliate, or reprimand him. Which was why Kai was often in trouble. He got a sick, defiant pleasure out of ticking the old geezer off. Voltaire hated him, and he hated Voltaire. It was a mutual relationship.
Growing angry at the thoughts of his grandfather, the young teen shook his head vehemently to clear it. He turned the cold water on and gasped as a wave of pain and shock hit him. The cold water instantly numbed his butchered skin, shocking the heat and pain caused by the still bleeding cuts. The new physical sensations washed away Kai's thoughts, and he let himself feel, calming down once more.
After several more minutes, Kai turned the water off, ripped off a brown paper towel from the public rest room, and gently dabbed at his cuts. He then wrapped his wrist with the layers of gauze bandages he'd had on before. Fresh drops of blood appeared next to rusted, dried spots from left from last night. Looking away, Kai pulled down his sleeves, hiding the bandages.
The teen wrapped it tightly to staunch the flow of blood, then pulled down the sleeves of his black hoodi. He glanced in the mirror, noting how dull his crimson eyes, rimmed with black eyeliner, looked. He briefly adjusted his black leather, spiked collar before heading out the restroom.
Kai was making his way back down the hall of the community center, which held many rooms and was used for many activities. He was heading back to the library section when he heard the soft, haunting notes of a piano playing. Kai knew how to play the piano well; his grandfather had forced him to take lessons, and Kai hated it with every ounce of his being.
But the sad notes made him pause. It sounded so familiar... A few moments later, and Kai placed it. It was the notes to one of his favorite songs. A soft, melodic voice that matched the sorrowful, haunting tune wafted out on those heart-wrenching notes to him, and Kai knew for sure that this was his song.
"These wounds won't seem to heal. This pain is just too real. There's just too much that time can not erase."
Kai followed that haunting voice and peered into the open doorway. A Chinese girl, her long raven hair pulled up in a clip, wearing a blue hoodi and wide leg jeans, sat perched at a battered piano, playing and singing her heart out.
Kai liked this song, because he could relate to it. But right now, after just cutting, his emotions still not settled, the song struck a cord deep in his heart. He stood there, watching the girl, and was further impacted when she turned her body slightly to reach one of the keys at the lower end of the piano. He saw the side of her face; she had tears falling down her cheeks, which added to the impact it had on him.
Here was a fellow creature in pain, like himself. The cold Hiwatari heir normally didn't bother with anyone except himself, but he was intrigued. He merely stared at the young Chinese, watching her nimble fingers fly over the keys as she was lost in the song. She leaned low over the keys, her forehead brushing against a stuffed white tiger that was perched on top of the piano.
Rei played his soul out on the piano. He'd been roaming around aimlessly when he found this small room with the dusty, battered piano in it. He'd decided to mess around on it; he might as well amuse himself by doing the one talent he was still capable of using. Along with ballet lessons, Nai Nai had also taught Rei how to play the piano. AT first he'd just messed around on it, but then he'd thought of one of his favorite songs, and he decided to play that.
He was again stretching to reach the keys at the end, when out of the corner of his eye he saw a boy with cold, crimson eyes and wearing all black watching him. He gasped and stopped playing, his wide amber eyes, which were framed by his long, thick black lashes, flew to the ruby ones lined with black eyeliner.
They stared intensely at each other, eyes raking the other over. Red eyes took in the thin, slender body hinted at beneath the baggy hoodi and jeans, and admired the gentle beauty of the flawless face and smooth, blemish free, tan skin. Gold eyes drunk in the sight of the tall boy with two toned, blue hair, the strong, lean muscles, the hoop earring in his left ear, and the cold, handsome face.
Rei's breath caught in his throat as he stared at this boy, who was incredibly cute. He smiled nervously, blushing at the thought of the boy watching him, and very glad his crutches were on the opposite side of the piano from the door, so the boy wouldn't see them. "H-hi." He smiled tentatively, looking down at the floor.
Kai merely snorted, wondering what on God's green earth he was doing here. He felt very out of place and didn't know what to do. He'd felt drawn to the girl sitting on the piano bench, but now that the song was over, and the spell was broken, he was wondering just what had caused him to act so impulsively.
When he got no reply, Rei bit his lip, sure that the boy had seen his crutches and had figured him out for what he was. A cripple. He prayed the boy would just turn and go, and leave him alone. Neither one moved, frozen in the awkward silence.
Kai was still lost and confused, but seeing the girl turn sadly back to her piano spurred him into another impulsive moment. He didn't want to loose her attention, now that he had it. "That song you were playing is one of my favorites."
Rei paused and smiled softly. "Mine too." Another awkward silence, but it was Rei who broke it this time. "I really like it, even though it's sad. I've listened to it so much that it was easy to figure out the notes without looking at any sheets." He said, still looking down at his hands and.
"You play it as well as the band does." Rei's blush deepened, and he raised his thick lashes to smile at Kai.
"Thank you. I've taken piano lessons nearly half my life. My grandmother made me."
Kai's face was impassive, but his voice was full of disgust. "My grandfather made me."
Amber met crimson again and both smiled, though Rei's was a full fledged smile and Kai's lips just twitched a little. Another silence fell, though this one wasn't as uncomfortable. "Do you....would you like to play a duet with me? Lets see if you're as good as I am." Rei 's words were soft and hesitant at first, but then rose a little in challenge, bearing testament to the fire in his soul.
Kai's eyes flashed for the first time, and he smirked, cracking his knuckles. "Just don't expect any mercy, miss."
Rei's eyes widened and he laughed lightly. "I'm not a girl." Kai just shrugged, thinking that boy or girl, this Chinese youth was beauty personified.
Kai was just about to sit down next to the boy, who made room for him on the bench, when he heard his grandfather calling his name. "Mother ****er." He swore and heard the beautiful boy gasp. It was on the tip of his tongue to apologize, but he stopped. He wasn't going to change who he was just to please or impress someone. Though, given the posh community they lived in, he doubted the refined boy heard such vulgar language. Kai couldn't care less. If the boy liked him, he was going to like him for who he was.
He heard his name called again. Voltaire was getting impatient. Kai swore again and sighed heavily. "Trust that wrinkled old bag of bones to ruin it." He growled and stalked off without saying good bye. Or exchanging names with the beautiful boy. They lived in a small, close community; finding out who he was would be easy enough.
Rei blinked as Kai cursed then stormed out of the room. He was slightly breathless and dizzy from the encounter. He was smiling broadly, sure that they would meet again. He began to play again, though the tune was much happier than before.
tbc............
&&&&&&&&&&
well, i'm much happier with this chapter than the last one. i think the last one was entirely pointless and needs much editing. meh...i'll get around to it one of these days. though, i don't think i'm overly pleased with this chapter, either. it just seems lately all my chappies for my stories have been falling flat...or beign utter crap -.- .. though i'd say this one was fairly decent!
Please review! Yes, I beg shamelessly for reviews from you lovely readers who've bothered to read my fics, because I honestly enjoy hearing what you guys have to say! Since you've been interested enough/ kind enough to read this ficcie here, maybe you could spare another minute (not even that!) and drop me a little review? pretty please? It lets me know you guys out there are enjoying the story, and that makes me happy when people enjoy my stories. ( i don't update for my health, you know! ^.^) so....review? please?
and of course, thank you to my lovely readers! (and reviewers especially!) i really do appreciate the time you guys take out of your lives to review. it really does mean alot to me! you guys are wonderful! ^.^
rabel-blah-blah-blah: is this update soon enough? ^.^
shaka dragomir nocturnus: glad you're enjoying the story!
angel of pure darkness: very interesting review. ^.^ and this chappie is mostly kai
i luv kai: i agree, it's fun to kick kai's
child of the starts: rei and kai are going to meet...never! never ever ever! *laughs evilly * *gets thwaked by kai * eh...actually...*rubs head and glares at kai * they meet in this chapter....
cloud 1-3-5; headbanging, moshing, and air-guitaring are the best! ^O^ and it is always uberly bouncy ones who love to dance! ballet is so refined and classical, though...which is why i've never done it, and why i thought rei would be good at ballet....cuz he's refined and classical, too...
kitsune crystal queen: this update fast enough?
benevolent pharaoh: *glomps * glad to know you're still alive! long time, no see!
WARNING: this chapter gets a bit angsty, folks. At least, in Kai's scene. He cuts, aka self-mutilation. If this disturbs you, I advise you to skip the first several paragraphs. Also, there is one swear word on Kai's part, but I have bleeped it out, aka censored it. It reads like this: **** instead of the swear.
&&&&&&&&&&
Kai Hiwatari stared down in morbid fascination at the red blood running down his wrists and dripping into the white sink. He marveled at the stark contrast of the brilliant red blood on his pale, nearly white, skin.
There were no new cuts today; he'd merely torn open some of his older, half healed ones that he knew bled well and deep. He'd first made those gouges in his skin when he was in a blind rage. Today he was just slightly depressed and moody, so he'd torn open his best bleeders. His wrists were a mangled mess of self-inflicted cuts. Some were new and freshly scabbed over, added recently, while others were months old and starting to scar an angry pink around their rims. But they all bled when Kai chose them too.
Kai gritted his teeth, enjoying the pain that flowed along with the blood. The air stung his cuts and numbness, relief, washed through him. The physical pain was an outlet for his the pain that was eating away at what little was left of his heart. He never showed it, and fought as best he could. To the outside world, Kai Hiwatari was as cold hearted and emotionless as they came. But inside he was bleeding to death, being driven insane by the pain poisoning his soul. The only release he'd found had been cutting.
Grimacing and biting his tongue against the pain, Kai decided he'd bled enough. His emotions were no longer turbulent, rolling around inside of him and throwing him from extreme sadness and despair to anger, all of it directed at his grandfather, his legal guardian. Kai hated that callous bastard, who cared for nothing other than his precious money. He usually ignored Kai, and noticed the fifteen year old only to degrade, humiliate, or reprimand him. Which was why Kai was often in trouble. He got a sick, defiant pleasure out of ticking the old geezer off. Voltaire hated him, and he hated Voltaire. It was a mutual relationship.
Growing angry at the thoughts of his grandfather, the young teen shook his head vehemently to clear it. He turned the cold water on and gasped as a wave of pain and shock hit him. The cold water instantly numbed his butchered skin, shocking the heat and pain caused by the still bleeding cuts. The new physical sensations washed away Kai's thoughts, and he let himself feel, calming down once more.
After several more minutes, Kai turned the water off, ripped off a brown paper towel from the public rest room, and gently dabbed at his cuts. He then wrapped his wrist with the layers of gauze bandages he'd had on before. Fresh drops of blood appeared next to rusted, dried spots from left from last night. Looking away, Kai pulled down his sleeves, hiding the bandages.
The teen wrapped it tightly to staunch the flow of blood, then pulled down the sleeves of his black hoodi. He glanced in the mirror, noting how dull his crimson eyes, rimmed with black eyeliner, looked. He briefly adjusted his black leather, spiked collar before heading out the restroom.
Kai was making his way back down the hall of the community center, which held many rooms and was used for many activities. He was heading back to the library section when he heard the soft, haunting notes of a piano playing. Kai knew how to play the piano well; his grandfather had forced him to take lessons, and Kai hated it with every ounce of his being.
But the sad notes made him pause. It sounded so familiar... A few moments later, and Kai placed it. It was the notes to one of his favorite songs. A soft, melodic voice that matched the sorrowful, haunting tune wafted out on those heart-wrenching notes to him, and Kai knew for sure that this was his song.
"These wounds won't seem to heal. This pain is just too real. There's just too much that time can not erase."
Kai followed that haunting voice and peered into the open doorway. A Chinese girl, her long raven hair pulled up in a clip, wearing a blue hoodi and wide leg jeans, sat perched at a battered piano, playing and singing her heart out.
Kai liked this song, because he could relate to it. But right now, after just cutting, his emotions still not settled, the song struck a cord deep in his heart. He stood there, watching the girl, and was further impacted when she turned her body slightly to reach one of the keys at the lower end of the piano. He saw the side of her face; she had tears falling down her cheeks, which added to the impact it had on him.
Here was a fellow creature in pain, like himself. The cold Hiwatari heir normally didn't bother with anyone except himself, but he was intrigued. He merely stared at the young Chinese, watching her nimble fingers fly over the keys as she was lost in the song. She leaned low over the keys, her forehead brushing against a stuffed white tiger that was perched on top of the piano.
Rei played his soul out on the piano. He'd been roaming around aimlessly when he found this small room with the dusty, battered piano in it. He'd decided to mess around on it; he might as well amuse himself by doing the one talent he was still capable of using. Along with ballet lessons, Nai Nai had also taught Rei how to play the piano. AT first he'd just messed around on it, but then he'd thought of one of his favorite songs, and he decided to play that.
He was again stretching to reach the keys at the end, when out of the corner of his eye he saw a boy with cold, crimson eyes and wearing all black watching him. He gasped and stopped playing, his wide amber eyes, which were framed by his long, thick black lashes, flew to the ruby ones lined with black eyeliner.
They stared intensely at each other, eyes raking the other over. Red eyes took in the thin, slender body hinted at beneath the baggy hoodi and jeans, and admired the gentle beauty of the flawless face and smooth, blemish free, tan skin. Gold eyes drunk in the sight of the tall boy with two toned, blue hair, the strong, lean muscles, the hoop earring in his left ear, and the cold, handsome face.
Rei's breath caught in his throat as he stared at this boy, who was incredibly cute. He smiled nervously, blushing at the thought of the boy watching him, and very glad his crutches were on the opposite side of the piano from the door, so the boy wouldn't see them. "H-hi." He smiled tentatively, looking down at the floor.
Kai merely snorted, wondering what on God's green earth he was doing here. He felt very out of place and didn't know what to do. He'd felt drawn to the girl sitting on the piano bench, but now that the song was over, and the spell was broken, he was wondering just what had caused him to act so impulsively.
When he got no reply, Rei bit his lip, sure that the boy had seen his crutches and had figured him out for what he was. A cripple. He prayed the boy would just turn and go, and leave him alone. Neither one moved, frozen in the awkward silence.
Kai was still lost and confused, but seeing the girl turn sadly back to her piano spurred him into another impulsive moment. He didn't want to loose her attention, now that he had it. "That song you were playing is one of my favorites."
Rei paused and smiled softly. "Mine too." Another awkward silence, but it was Rei who broke it this time. "I really like it, even though it's sad. I've listened to it so much that it was easy to figure out the notes without looking at any sheets." He said, still looking down at his hands and.
"You play it as well as the band does." Rei's blush deepened, and he raised his thick lashes to smile at Kai.
"Thank you. I've taken piano lessons nearly half my life. My grandmother made me."
Kai's face was impassive, but his voice was full of disgust. "My grandfather made me."
Amber met crimson again and both smiled, though Rei's was a full fledged smile and Kai's lips just twitched a little. Another silence fell, though this one wasn't as uncomfortable. "Do you....would you like to play a duet with me? Lets see if you're as good as I am." Rei 's words were soft and hesitant at first, but then rose a little in challenge, bearing testament to the fire in his soul.
Kai's eyes flashed for the first time, and he smirked, cracking his knuckles. "Just don't expect any mercy, miss."
Rei's eyes widened and he laughed lightly. "I'm not a girl." Kai just shrugged, thinking that boy or girl, this Chinese youth was beauty personified.
Kai was just about to sit down next to the boy, who made room for him on the bench, when he heard his grandfather calling his name. "Mother ****er." He swore and heard the beautiful boy gasp. It was on the tip of his tongue to apologize, but he stopped. He wasn't going to change who he was just to please or impress someone. Though, given the posh community they lived in, he doubted the refined boy heard such vulgar language. Kai couldn't care less. If the boy liked him, he was going to like him for who he was.
He heard his name called again. Voltaire was getting impatient. Kai swore again and sighed heavily. "Trust that wrinkled old bag of bones to ruin it." He growled and stalked off without saying good bye. Or exchanging names with the beautiful boy. They lived in a small, close community; finding out who he was would be easy enough.
Rei blinked as Kai cursed then stormed out of the room. He was slightly breathless and dizzy from the encounter. He was smiling broadly, sure that they would meet again. He began to play again, though the tune was much happier than before.
tbc............
&&&&&&&&&&
well, i'm much happier with this chapter than the last one. i think the last one was entirely pointless and needs much editing. meh...i'll get around to it one of these days. though, i don't think i'm overly pleased with this chapter, either. it just seems lately all my chappies for my stories have been falling flat...or beign utter crap -.- .. though i'd say this one was fairly decent!
Please review! Yes, I beg shamelessly for reviews from you lovely readers who've bothered to read my fics, because I honestly enjoy hearing what you guys have to say! Since you've been interested enough/ kind enough to read this ficcie here, maybe you could spare another minute (not even that!) and drop me a little review? pretty please? It lets me know you guys out there are enjoying the story, and that makes me happy when people enjoy my stories. ( i don't update for my health, you know! ^.^) so....review? please?