Behind a Smile: 07: Totsuzen no Shitsumon
Author's notes: Ahh…Friday…one whole week of SCHOOL. ^^; Sorry if I was late in updating…I hope you can understand! I guess I'll just try to update every week.
ANYWAY, thank you sooo much for your support and reviews!!! I really appreciate them!
Okay, let's go on, all right? Seems that everyone's hating Misao lately…
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07::Totsuzen no Shitsumon//Unexpected Question::08
***
Silver rays of moonlight shone gently down the mountaintop, a cloudless black sky accompanying the full circle of the moon. Leaves and branches swayed soothingly with the playful winter wind, the very last of the sakuras serving as convoys to the late-night snowfall. As white snowflakes fell to the ground, as if taunting to world to catch them, the breeze blew once again.
"Sou-chan!!" screamed a lively young woman, bouncing towards the half-opened shoji that separated the balcony from the room. "What are you doing out there? It's sooo cold!"
With a simple grin, the figure sitting on the balcony only shook his head in disapproval. "Don't worry, Misao-chan, I'm alright."
Peering curiously at her best friend, Makimachi Misao placed a playful pout upon her cherry-hued lips. "Are you sure?" she asked, trying to step out to the balcony.
"Hai." Seta Soujiro simply replied, staring up to the moon.
Misao was about to ask another question when Kaoru's voice rang against their ears.
"Misao-chaaaaan!" said the drunken girl, a dark tint of pink racing across her cheeks, black locks of hair matted onto her face. "Shinomori's ehehehe…here to see YOU!!!!!"
The girl suddenly sat up from her kneeling position beside the love-struck blue-eyed boy, twirling so gracefully around that her braid swished behind her. "What?"
Takani Megumi giggled a few times, the same blush running across her pale cheeks. "Aoshi's here to see you!!!!"
Full of surprise and excitement, the said girl ran towards the door, expecting to see the smiling face of Shinomori Aoshi.
"Good to see you, Misao-chan. I didn't know you were staying here too." Remarked Aoshi, smiling as Misao stepped out of the room, closing the door behind her. That was of no help though, for Seta Soujiro still could hear their voices.
"Eto…Misao-chan?"
"Hai?"
"Could stay in my room for a while? I need to ask you something in private."
"Uh…okay, I guess."
Hearing the conversation, the yukata-clad soccer star only leaned against the low railing of the balcony, sighing audibly as he averted his eyes towards the moonlit garden below. The silvery light bounced off the steaming water, some of its light shadowing Soujiro's flustered cheeks.
"Oi!!! SOUJIRO!!!!" Sagara Sanosuke yelled with the brusqueness, but somehow friendly tone of his voice. "Come in here!!"
"Haaaaaaiii de goooozaruuuu yooooo…" Himura Kenshin agreed, toppling back and forth in his seat as his eyes continued to swirl. Looking back at the room with a curious glance, Soujiro noticed few empty bottles of the finest sake scattered around like paper.
"IT'S MY TUUURRNN!!!!" Kaoru shouted, waving a half-full sake bottle in her hands.
"No, IT'S MY TUUUURRRN!!!! You served him first!" Megumi moaned, doing what Kaoru just did, sending a few drops of sake trickling down to the floor.
"Not fair, not fair, not faiiiiir!!!!!!!!!!!!! You go serve Sano and I'll serve KENSHIN!!!"
"I don't wanna serve SANO!!!!"
Suddenly, the fighter known as Sanosuke plopped down in between Kaoru and Megumi, eyeing them with drunken eyes, cheeks flushed to a light red tint. "HOW COME NO ONE WANTS TO SERVE MEEEEEEE?!?!?!?!?!?!" he cried, waving his arms. "EVERYBODY WANTS TO SERVE KENSHIIIIN!!!!!!!"
Sano stood up and marched towards Kenshin in his yukata, literally, and shook him until his eyes were complete swirling swirls. "KENSHIN KENSHIN KENSHIN!!!!!" he screamed while doing so, still shaking the poor supposed-to-be rurouni. "EVERYBODY WANTS KENSHIN! HERE – HAVE KENSHIN!" Sano said, throwing the swirly-gazed redhead towards Kaoru and Megumi.
"OOOOROOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Joyous laughter followed, making the forlorn Soujiro smile a saddened smile, remembering how good the times were when Misao was still…Misao. The Misao that would never forget Soujiro, the Misao that cared for everybody…
But now, that Misao was long gone, for Misao only cared for the Shinomori Aoshi.
'This is getting stupid…' Soujiro thought to himself, smiling. 'Misao is still Misao. No one could ever change that…'
Maybe someone could.
His head shot up in alarm, his blue eyes darting towards where the sound came from. On the other side of the balcony, just on the balcony beside them, the shoji opened, revealing a couple shining in the moonlight. Remaining in his sitting position, snowflakes falling on him, Soujiro recognized the couple.
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*** soujiro's POV ***
I titled my head to rest on the railing, trying to drown the voices of Misao and Aoshi with the noise the others were making inside. Just tonight – just for one night, I wanted to be alone and be quiet for some reason, not to be disturbed by the thoughts of Aoshi and my best friend entering my already troubled mind. But alas, everything was lost, every effort I poured into this…this night to be alone.
I never ordered sake – I wanted everything to be quiet for once, on our very first night. It was a Sunday night, a really quiet one at that, if you push the screams Kaoru was making and Misao's giggles a few feet away. But Sanosuke and Misao asked me to, so I did, just for their sake. Of course I drank sake – I like its taste, but even if I enjoy the warm liquid swimming down my throat, I don't and never get myself drunk.
Not unlike them, so free and so happy even if they're out of their minds. Don't take me wrong – I like them all, but I could never do that, be so free and drink all the sake I want until I finally lose my consciousness. No, I always have to watch myself – for if I get drunk I could suddenly blurt out that I love my best friend.
That is the reason why I'm so conscious these days. For months I've been keeping to myself, my best friend not even knowing what's going on with me…maybe because I try so hard not to make her see.
Often, I wondered if Misao-chan never wondered how come I smile a whole lot these days. I confess – I don't smile like this all the time a few months ago, for my smiles back then were real, filled with the emotion of fun and amusement, not empty and full of loneliness like my smiles are now. It was so strange – to have my friends know what's going on, to notice what was troubling me, instead of my best friend. They've sacrificed time and sweat on me, trying to convince me to tell Misao-chan what I was hiding. They've sacrificed part of their lives just to console me…and for that, I am very grateful, that I am.
Ara, Kenshin-san's beginning to rub off on me…well, he does like to say that much, often I wondered how he got it. He's the one who always asked if I was okay, I was all right…just like Kaoru-san and Megumi-san. Sanosuke-san, meanwhile, often tries to push my mind away from Misao and have fun…just like them.
I smiled gratefully as the cold winter wind sifted through my hair. At least, for now, I have some company, basking in the little silence within me. It continued to ruffle my crop of black hair as I smiled once again, trying to listen to the wind's silence.
"Misao-chan…" I heard Aoshi say from the next balcony. I disregarded the question, continuing to try and listen to the playful breeze.
"Hai?"
"This is so stupid, but I would like you to be my girlfriend."
No surprise there. I knew it was coming. I know what Misao would say, and I know how deep I'm going to submerge myself in this pool of loneliness. No worries – I would never make myself crazy just because of her.
Or maybe I would, just for her sake, for her life, for her love… for I'll ache if she would, I'll cry for her if she's crying, I would even get sick just for her not to be. Hell, I would even…I would even…I'll love her even if she wouldn't love me…I'll live for her even if she wouldn't live for me…I'll die for her even if she wouldn't die for me…
I'll do everything for her…even if…she wouldn't do anything for me.
The gale patted me with one sympathetic blow, sending my hair flying a few seconds before it came back to its original position. Sighing once again, I closed my eyes and tried to sleep, not caring if I was outside in the blistering cold.
*
"Sou-kun!"
"Sou-kun!!!"
"Soujiro-dono!"
"Oi, Soujiro!"
I woke up to the voices calling my name, sounding so worried and so concerned as I opened my eyes to see once again, the low railing of the wooden balcony. I guess I fell asleep yesterday night.
Hurried sets of footsteps suddenly rang in my ears, making my head turn towards the direction. Kaoru and Megumi immediately kneeled beside me, worried looks etched on their beautiful faces.
"Doushite na no, minna-san?" I asked, finding myself surprised of my raspy voice. It sounded croaky and gruff, making me an available candidate for a voice-over in Sesame Street.
"Soujiro!" Megumi scolded me, placing her hand under my bangs and feeling my forehead, tsk-tsking a few times. "Why the hell did you stay outside the whole night?!"
I looked sheepishly around me, seeing that snow was resting on and around me, and that the warm sunlight greeted me with its rays.
"You should've come inside, Soujiro!" Sanosuke followed Megumi, shoving the two women gently away as he tried to help me stand up.
"Daijoubu da yo, Sano-san, minna-san," I tried to reassure them, holding on to the railing as I tried to support myself up. My legs felt so heavy I couldn't even raise myself a few inches.
"You're not alright!" Kaoru said a little bit angrily, albeit concerned. "Megumi said you could have pneumonia or even hypothermia!! Christmas Day at that!"
Kenshin looked curiously at Megumi, who was now rummaging through her bag for her emergency medical kit. Sano, meanwhile, helped me up and suddenly carried me in his arms, bringing me inside and plopping me on a warm and comfy futon. Kaoru closed the shoji behind her as she stepped into the room, hurrying to tuck my numb body in.
Megumi, meanwhile, rushed towards me with a thermometer in her hands.
"Here." She said, making me open my mouth as she popped the thermometer in. A few minutes later, she took it out of my mouth and proclaimed that I had a temperature of 43 degrees Celsius.
I only smiled and laughed sheepishly, with Kenshin making tea and Kaoru still hassling over the futon, hurrying to get me out of the yukata and change into a new one. As I settled back in the futon, my body feeling strangely cold but warm, I felt strangely sleepy as my eyelids started to droop.
"Where's Misao-chan?" I managed to ask, my raspy voice once again reminding me of that character that lives in the trash can…what's his name? Gruff? Griff? I think the name's Grouch, but I don't know…
"You're burning hot and the single thing you're thinking about is STILL Misao-chan…" Megumi said a little bit irritated, I think on how careless I could be. I can't help it; I'm only a human being.
"Where is she?" I repeated, raising my heavy eyelids to look around the room.
"She's still sleeping next door – apparently she doesn't know that you're sick." Sano said, handing me the hot cup of tea.
"Don't worry, Soujiro-dono." Kenshin told me, sitting beside my futon. "She's just asleep – nothing happened."
I smiled gratefully as I accepted the warm cup. "Arigato. Tonikaku…"
"Nani?" Megumi asked, putting away the rest of the medicine that she brought and handing the ones I was supposed to take to Kaoru.
"If you could, please give the necklace in my bag to her? It's my Christmas Gift." I muttered, seeing that I could not hold my consciousness any longer. I immediately fell asleep, not able to answer Sanosuke's question of where it was.
Or hear Megumi bonk him upside on his head for before I fell asleep I told them where it was.
Anyway, God, if you could hear me, I'm thanking you for giving me friends like them.
**
Author's notes: Started: June 20, 2003 @ 9:30 pm. Finished: June 21, 2003 @ 10:30 am. Time claimed: 2 hours…?
Anyway, the 'Special Notes for Special People' portion in this chapter was…lost. Joke. I just couldn't do the part since I'm doing this offline and when I go online I'd update right away. ^^
Dewa…mata ne!
A. Pikachu