Behind a Smile: 11: Keikaku
Author's notes: Oh my god, I was so surprised that so many people liked this fic so much! Thank you so much, all of you!!!!!!! You really made my day!!!!! I mean, I was entirely pissed off at people who kept calling me an undesirable name (would you like to be called SQUEAK?! I think not. Gee, I wonder who likes to be called a sound effect)
Like it was FUN being called 'squeak.' Sure, Pikachus are classified as 'mice' because of the 'chu', but Pikachu's don't fucking squeak. They just fucking don't, so I would like to say to certain people that being called 'squeak' in not entirely enjoyable.
SO enough about those people – let's talk about YOU! You guys are absolutely one of a kind – you really made my day, minna-san! I would like to thank you all – White Witch-san, Aino Saori-san, Pixie Ayanami-san, regina-terrae-san, Sasami9876-san, Son Lin (@.@ ORO)-san, Soujiro-fan-san, LunaAngel-san, Ken-san, ZeonReborn-san, Psycho-kyugurl-san, sophomoric-genius-san, Bishoujo(jap-girl)-san, Midaoru-san, Phoe-Chan-san and of course, Chaos-san – so much! Domo arigato gozaimashita, minna-san!
I also apologize for the profanity above. I just needed to get that out of my system. ^^;
So, let's make Misao-chan suffer, ne?
**
11::Keikaku//Attempt::11
**
"Ohayo, watashi wa Honjou Kamatari da yo! Anata wa…Seta Soujiro, ne? Sore ga ojousan wa…Shishio Yumi-san ka?"
Shishio Yumi laughed out loud at the allegation of her being an 'ojousan'. "Ohohohohohoho," she laughed, covering her mouth with her hand. "Thank you so much, Kamtari-chan!"
"Hey, no problem!" Kamatari smiled, then laughing out loud as Yumi did.
"Enough of the laughing, Yumi – we need to go home. Surely Soujiro's tired from the flight."
Out of surprise, Yumi looked towards the speaker's direction, seeing her beloved husband smiling as he stood a few feet away.
"Shishio-san!"
Seta Soujiro turned around to see the businessman smiling at him, dressed in a neat black suit.
"Osashiburi da ne, Shishio-san."
**
**3 weeks later…**
September 7th, 2003.
10:00 pm.
"Soujiro?" Shishio Yumi's voice rang throughout the silent corridor that led to his room. "Soujiro?" she repeated, reaching the door and opening it. She smiled as she saw her nephew standing in front of a mirror, smiling as the late summer wind blew through his open window.
"Soujiro, you should go to sleep. You have to go to school tomorrow, so you'd better rest up –
No one answered Yumi's request. Silence was enveloping the room fast, the wind blowing through the window harsher than before. The curtains billowed throughout the dark room as no light served as illumination – only the light from the hallway lit up the dark room. The eighteen-year-old boy was still staring at himself at the mirror, his smile never fading as he held something near his neck. Misao-chan sat near his feet, wagging her tail as she looked inquisitively at her smiling master.
"Soujiro?" Yumi repeated, stepping inside his dark room. As she entered the bedroom with enlarged purple eyes, what she saw terrified her right to her bones, her hands shaking uncontrollably at the sight before her.
"…Yu…mi…san…" The boy murmured, voice soft and effeminate as he held on to what looked like an old Japanese katana. It was unsheathed; glimmering evilly as Soujiro's fingers loosely grappled the white handle. With the sheath lying silently on the cold, carpeted floor, the katana looked more deadly as the owner continued to grin as he looked at himself on the mirror.
Misao-chan, meanwhile, ran across the room and jumped onto the bed, gripping something that looked like a picture frame and dragged it to her master, pawing at his pant leg.
With that devilish smile etched upon his pale lips, Soujiro looked down at his dog as his grip on the katana tightened.
"SOUJIRO, DAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"Misao-chan…" he muttered, voice nearly inaudible. "…sa…"
He clamped his palm on the katana.
"…yo…"
The boy turned around, still smiling, the vision of Misao smiling etched in his mind as he did.
"…na…"
Smiling for the last and final time, he closed his eyes. Yumi, out of shock, couldn't do anything to stop her beloved nephew. She reached out to him, intent on grabbing his arm to stop him from hurting himself. But alas – all else failed as he moved his arm, the razor-sharp edge of the blade came in contact with his pale, cream-colored skin. Scarlet drops of recognizable liquid splattered across the floor, rushing down his shirt in such a hurry that Yumi couldn't do anything but scream.
The last syllable came out of his bloodied lips as a silent whisper as he fell into unconsciousness.
"…ra…"
His head thumped noisily on the cabinet resting behind him before finally coming in contact with the carpet. The silent dog erupted in barks, running towards her master in worry as she started to paw on his chest.
The lady watched in horrific agony as blood silently crept upon the dark-hued carpet. His hand, now limp and pale, let go of the sword, a smile etched upon his heavenly face as locks of dark brown graced his skin. With a clank of the sword, and a gash impaled upon his outstretched neck, Shishio Yumi screamed in pure terror, kneeling down beside her nephew and cradling his head in her shaking arms. Her amethyst orbs were widened to their fullest extent, tears running profusely down her cheeks as his blood started to drip down her maroon-colored dress. The dog, meanwhile, only whimpered as she tugged on her master's shirt, blood starting to scatter among her short fur.
"SOUJIRO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
**
"Misao-sama, your friends have come to see you."
Makimachi Misao did nothing to reply – she only cried more tears as she buried her head on her pillow. Three weeks have passed since her best friend's departure, with each passing day reminding her that he wasn't here. Seta Soujiro would've forced her to stand up and storm out of her room with his kind, gentle words – but he wasn't here. There was no soccer star to call her on the phone every afternoon and ask if she was okay. There was no school celebrity that would make girls scream and faint when he and her would walk around the park. There was no blue-eyed boy that would visit her often to check if she was all right. No best friend to talk to. No best friend to joke with. No best friend to laugh with.
Tears started to flow once again out of her bloodshot emerald eyes, her pillow completely damp. She shifted her body, settling on a fetus position as she continued to cry. It was heart-wrenching – she was the one who caused him to leave and to cause her pain in her heart. If you summed everything up, it was all her fault. For being so stupid, so dense, so obsessed, so uncaring…
It was all her fault for being so selfish – minding only her own happiness while he minded hers.
He minded hers – but not his own.
"Misao-dono," said Himura Kenshin, gently knocking on the bedroom door. "Please, let us in."
"Misao-chan," murmured Kamiya Kaoru, voice full of sorrow. "We're so sorry, Misao-chan…we didn't mean to be so hard on you…"
Takani Megumi made herself known behind the door. "It's just that…with him leaving…and we just felt so sorry for him…"
Misao raised her head from her pillow, long hair unruly as she turned her eyes to her bedroom willow.
"It's alright…" she said, voice audible to the group of people behind her door. "It was my entire fault. Gomen."
She stumbled out of her bed, opening the said door to let her friends in. One by one, the Kenshingumi entered the room, expressions of concern and sorrow etched on their faces.
"Misao-chan, you should come back to school. You've been missing two weeks of college – you need to go there sometime." Sanosuke said quietly, brown eyes locked on her peach-colored carpet. "You shouldn't lock yourself up like this."
"Hai, hai." Misao replied, smiling a pained smile.
"So you're alright now, right?" Kaoru asked, smiling as well.
"Maybe. I think so…" Misao turned to her favorite picture frame. "I guess." Her eyes streamed over to the picture inside it – a picture of her with her arms around Seta Soujiro, grinning stupidly as she dumped a snowball on his puffy, dark brown hair. He, meanwhile, only smiled at the picture. That happened back then…winter of 2001…when they were still 17 years old.
"Onegaishimasu, Misao-dono," Kenshin pleaded, looking seriously into her emerald orbs. "We're sure that Soujiro-dono's going to come back someday. You just have to believe."
Misao only smiled once again, now looking down at her hands. "Sou da ne…"
"You should stop crying too." Megumi remarked, brushing a few tears out of the girl's face. "It's not good for you."
She sniffled a few more times, smiling. "Arigato, minna."
**
September 8th, 2003.
12:45 am.
The room was enveloped in silence, with the moon silently waning as it delivered moonbeams down the quiet streets of London. Dark clouds of gray encircled the moon, passing by it a few times as five people waited on a certain patient.
They were in room 128 of London General Hospital, waiting on the awakening of a certain blue-eyed boy from his unconsciousness. His head and neck were wrapped in white, linen bandages, a few specks of blood resting on them. The doctor said he would be okay – good thing he didn't have time to make the cut deeper. He said it was a flesh wound, but it was still pretty deep. The exposure and lack of sleep the boy had been suffering through was the said cause of his fainting.
Alexander Hemmingway leaned on the wall, spiky locks of dark blue dancing with the wind as Amelia Richardton stood vigilantly by the patient's side. Honjou Kamatari sat on a chair beside Amelia, while Shishio Yumi sat worriedly on a chair on the other side, Shishio Makoto standing behind her. Misao-chan, meanwhile, laid herself down by the patient's feet, her wagging tail silently brushing against the white sheets.
A soft moan erupted from his lips, making the five pairs of eyes widen in surprise and look at him. Seta Soujiro slowly opened his blue eyes, first seeing the motherly expression Yumi had etched on her face.
"Soujiro! Yokatta na…" she murmured, hugging the patient tightly in gladness that he was alright. Shishio Makoto, meanwhile, only smiled as Emily (Amelia) and Kamatari sighed in relief.
"We thought you weren't going to make it." Alex said out loud, making the boy startled and look at him.
"You must be…Alexander Hemmingway, am I right?" Soujiro asked innocently, the English words rolling off his tongue.
Alex raised his eyebrows in inquiry. "What do you mean?"
"So I am right." Soujiro laughed out, now turning to the surprised lady above him. "Soshite…anata wa boku no obasan deshou? Shishio Yumi-san ka?"
Yumi looked curiously at her nephew. "Don't you remember me, Soujiro?"
Soujiro closed his eyes. "I remember you a little. But I seemed to have forgot so many things…"
Shishio peered down at his foster son. "What do you remember, Soujiro?"
"That you are my uncle…and she's Amelia Richardson, right? And that lady over there…she's…Honjou Kamatari."
"Do you remember who you are, Sou?" Emily asked, crouching to meet his eye level.
"Hai. I'm Seta Soujiro…born on September 20, 1984. I was orphaned…"
Kamatari shook her head, signaling that Soujiro shouldn't continue. She took her the puppy by his feet and held it in front of Soujiro, with Misao-chan wagging her tail and looking expectantly at her master.
"Do you remember who she is, Soujiro-kun?" Kamatari asked, still holding the puppy in front of him.
"Ara, such a cute little dog." Soujiro said, smiling as he scratched Misao-chan behind her ears. "But I'm afraid I don't know her. Is she mine?"
Misao-chan cuddled up to him as he sat up, thinking hard.
Alex approached the hospital bed. "She's yours, Sou. Do you remember who gave it to you?"
The soccer star shook his head, locks of dark brown following his every move.
In an act of desperation, Yumi got her bag and took out a couple of pictures. She took the first one and placed it on Soujiro's lap.
"Do you remember who they are?" she asked quietly, pointing at the four people surrounding him. One with flaming red hair, other with spiky brown, one lady with long blue-black hair tied in a ponytail while another girl having her hair simply laid down her back. Slowly, Soujiro pronounced who they were and who they were to him.
In a last attempt, Yumi took out the second picture and gave it to Sou. It was the picture in the picture frame that Misao-chan dragged to him a few hours ago – just before he tried to commit suicide. He was in the center of the picture, with someone with long, ebony-black hair wrapping her arms around his neck. Her hand was dumping a snowball atop his head, while he only smiled at the camera.
"Lastly…" Yumi breathed out, wanting to know if he still remembered her. "Do you remember who she is, Soujiro?"
Soujiro knitted his brows together in concentration, thinking hard on who she may be. After a few minutes, Soujiro looked back at the picture and answered her question honestly.
"I'm so sorry," Soujiro started, answering their query with his voice soft but inquisitive. "…But who is she?"
Author's notes: Cruel, aren't I? ^^ The reasons on why Soujiro tried to kill himself (=.=) will be explained on later chapters…anyone who's curious on where I got the selective amnesia thing, blame Ranma ½'s Shampoo and her technique. ^^
The Special Notes for Special People portion!!
White Witch-san: Eep! Ang hirap yata nun ha…lahat kayo lalagay ko sa isang chapter? =.= So mas gusto mo na tapos na to? ^^ Gusto mo tapusin ko na with this chapter? ^^ Joke lang! Anyway, you'll see what Kamatari's purpose is…in the later chapters. ^^
Aino Saori-san: Aww…Sou's sad, so are you sad too? Don't worry…Sou's not going to be sad anymore – it's Misao who's going to be sad this time. *nods* Thank you!
Pixie Ayanami-san: WOW. 5:30 – 12:30? ^^ I only wake up at 5:30 am on weekdays. ^^; Kamatari's not going to fall in love with Sou…or will she? *evil laugh* Here's the update – I hope you liked!
regina-terrae-san: I'm making you guys hate Misao and Aoshi…is that bad? O.O Hai, Kamatari is a 100 & 10 % girl. I don't know – to imagine Sou-chan in yaoi seems to be so wrong…
Sasami9876-san: Hajimemashite, Sasami9876-san! *bows* The girl's name is Honjou Kamatari – the one who handles the scythe and fought Misao and Kaoru back in the Aoiya in the Kyoto Arc. In the series, he's a cross-dresser, but in here he's a girl. ^^
Son Lin (@-@ ORO)-san, Soujiro-fan-san & LunaAngel-san: Arigato gozaimashita! I hope you guys liked the chap!
Ken-san: Don't worry – Kamatari's a 100 & 10 % girl! I really don't like Sou-chan liking men – but I accept the idea that men can fall for Sou-chan. ^^;
ZeonReborn-san: Don't worry – I have my ways. ^^ Sou will definitely get Misao!
Psycho-kyugurl: Ara – Misao's heart would definitely break. I think what she'll suffer through is more terrifying that what Sou suffered through…
sophomoric genius-san: You have Kamatari too? ^^ I'll go and try to read your ficcie after reading my assignment! Damn, I have to read some LONG poem from our book and answer and everything…. *nods* Anyway, you are right about someone getting along with the person he loves' friends. ^^
Jap_girl-san: OWS? TOTOO?! *jumps around* Thank you!!!! Nakakainis, kailangan ko pang basahin yung Florante at Laura…. Aww, you're bullying Aoshi! Me too – let me join! *joke* Don't worry – Aoshi won't do anything like that ever again. ^^
YOKATTA NA…*sigh* I'm happy that I was able to reply to you all at last! And I hope you guys can reply to me too – by REVIEWING! Arigato gozaimashita, minna-san!
Please, R&R! Bye!
A. Pikachu