Wow. Long time no post, ne? *dodges thrown fruit* Aie! Sorry! Sorry! Lol. I recently discovered something amusing. Does anyone remember how when you were small and your friends wouldn't want to do something, so you'd say "That's it, you're not coming to my birthday party!"? Well, I recently discovered the author's version of it. "If you don't do (insert whatever thing here) I'll DISCONTINUE!!!!" *shrug* I thought it was funny…
We Will Meet Again
Chapter Eight
Revelations – AKA – Lotsa talking.
Miaka yawned sleepily as she walked into her family's apartment and tossed her purse on the couch. She felt floaty in the aftermath of her short kiss with Andy, almost like her head was no longer attached to her shoulders. She brought a hand to her lips in recollection of Andy's lips. She felt kind of guilty that she had had to end it so soon, but her guilty conscience and lack of experience with anyone else but Taka had made her feel as if she were fifteen again and having her first crush.
Her feet felt nearly weightless with elation as she padded quietly towards her bedroom. She left the lights off so as not to alert her family to her less than on time arrival. No one else appeared to be awake. Which was normal, since her mother had to go to work early and her brother was usually out with friends. Maneuvering carefully through the dark hallway, Miaka felt her way towards her bedroom. She was almost there when a tingle raced up her spine and a heavy weight fell upon her shoulder.
"Aie!!" she yelped, the sound carrying at least three doors down. Almost immediately her mouth was covered and a familiar voice was whispering in her ear.
"Sheesh! Calm down, Miaka! It's just me!"
Oh.
Keisuke.
Her initial fright disappeared and Miaka tore her brother's hand away from her mouth, her heart hammering like a hummingbirds, "You jerk! What'd you think you were doing sneaking up on me like that?!" she hissed through her teeth, eyes flicking in the direction of their mothers room.
This was starting to remind her of when they had both been younger and Keisuke had started sneaking out at night. Miaka had been one of those children that would get up at random throughout the night for a glass of water, and had caught him many a time either going out or coming in. Keisuke had quickly learned that bribery was a very good thing for him, and that haggling with his little sister was harder than trigonometry. (Damn she was picky when it came to pay offs!) And the game of Snoopy Little Sister had gotten old real fast.
Anyways. Now that their roles were reversed…. (Time to play Over-Protective Big Brother!!) Back to the interrogation!
"Who was that?" Keisuke's eyes narrowed as he gripped Miaka's shoulder like he used to when she was small, "That wasn't Taka! What're you doing going out with other guys?" Suddenly he let go of her shoulder and went into a slightly spastic spiel that was typical of him, "Scandal! You're cheating on Taka, aren't you?"
After he was done with his spiel, he quickly became serious again and loomed over his little sister, "You do know that the entire concept of cheating on someone is wrong, right?"
Miaka tensed up at the accusation, "Of course I know that, Keisuke!" her green eyes flared with indignation, "And I'm not…" the look faded, "Technically…." She raised a hand, index finger extended, as though to lecture him on how exactly she wasn't doing something wrong, and then sighed in defeat.
Damn. She hated to admit it. But her brother had a point.
Curse elder siblings and their greater experience!!
It wasn't long before Miaka had told Keisuke the entire story. From going with Yui to the concert to having at last decided to really try giving Andy a chance.
Keisuke sighed. Why couldn't his sister just have married Taka already and had the two-point-five kids and lived happily ever after? Why? Somehow or another, it seemed that that stupid book just kept coming back!
"So that guy out there was actually Hotohori?" Keisuke blinked. Their eyes had adjusted to the dark by now, and he could clearly see his sister give him a 'duh' look from where she stood. Why hadn't he seen it? He'd seen the picture Miaka had taken of all her Seishi only about a million times! Stupid! Moron!!
Keisuke's mind was racing. He considered himself a romantic, and the only plausible explanation that he could think of for Hotohori's reappearance was that Suzaku had deigned to grant the Emperor one last chance at his sister's heart. Keisuke, who had been girlfriendless for quite a while now, could sympathize with the late Emperor. However, he wasn't sure he liked the idea of his reincarnation stealing his friend's girlfriend away. He expressed this thought to his sister, "But… where does that leave Taka?"
Miaka nodded, her face red from her brother's rather… corny, yet sweet, theory, "I know this isn't fair to Taka. But the way he's been acting hasn't been fair to me either." At Keisuke's questioning look she waved her hand, "I don't feel like explaining it all now." She looked up at him with pleading eyes, "Keisuke, I know you like Taka and all, and you've been a great supporter to our relationship. You've been one of the people that was always so happy about us being together and wanting us to stay that way…" she paused, "but… can you… just back off and let me handle this?" she asked quietly.
Keisuke opened his mouth to protest and then shut it, nodding his sister good night and turning to enter his own bedroom.
She was right. As much as he wanted to help her and protect her, Miaka could handle things herself. He hated to admit it, but his sister was probably more mature than he was. She had been through so much more in her young life than most people went through by the time they were eighty.
You didn't see it at first. She was still goofy and overly happy and a regular pig when it came to food, but if you really knew her, you could see something completely different about her that you didn't see in most people. An aura, if you will. She had seen some of her closest friends die and had put her own life in danger, willingly, in order to try and protect others.
After all she had been through, there was strength there; something that she had always had, but more tangible now. Something in her eyes that told people she knew more than they would ever want to know about pain and life and fighting for what you believe in.
Keisuke was infinitely proud of is sister for her strength. For wanting to continue on with her life even as much as she wished that the others were still with her. But Keisuke knew that, even as strong as Miaka was, she still sometimes cried herself to sleep over her lost friends. Blaming herself for their deaths.
Keisuke had told her countless times when she had expressed her feelings to him that it was not her fault that they died, but Miaka wouldn't listen. He supposed that she felt that it she had done something different, or been braver, or stronger that her friends might have lived. Sometimes Keisuke felt that the only way she would ever really be consoled about the issue was if her Seishi came and beat some sense into her.
So perhaps Andy's appearance had more to it than Suzaku simply giving the love struck Emperor another chance. Maybe, this was Suzaku's way of healing his sister's guilty heart.
Mr. Kimoto hummed angrily to himself as he scuttled down the hall of the hotel towards Andy's room. He had a bone to pick with the singer.
Several bones, actually.
Hurriedly checking his watch, the manager frowned. It was a little early to be barging in on his client. Perhaps he should wait an hour or so? If Andy was asleep then Mr. Kimoto doubted any of his outstandingly interesting jabbering would be heard. The singer was a royal pain when it came to waking up in the morning. The boy was never fully awake until at least nine o'clock, and even then it seemed that Andy did his best to ignore Mr. Kimoto explicitly to annoy him.
Five AM is late enough… he thought to himself, throwing open the door and barging into the hotel room.
The manager had expected to see a cocoon of sheets and blankets rolled up on the bed, but the sight that met his eye was an immaculately made bed that hadn't been slept in, and an obviously awake Andy sitting at the desk, scribbling away on a scrap of paper. Brows lifting slightly in surprise, Mr. Kimoto knocked on the door frame before striding over and peering curiously over Andy's shoulder.
He waited for Andy to twitch about someone hovering over him, but he was so engrossed in his project that he didn't even seem to notice that there was anyone else in the room with him.
Mr. Kimoto cleared his throat and chuckled when Andy jumped, sending his pen flying across the room. "New song?" he asked.
"Well aren't you Mr. State the Obvious." Muttered Andy as he rose to go and retrieve his pen from where it had landed.
"What was that?"
"I said, yes." Andy controlled his voice and refrained from growling. He was only slightly cranky. He'd been up the entire night. He sighed, fingering the pen and returning to his seat.
The moment he'd left Miaka's, Andy's brain had been switched into over drive. The entire way to the hotel he had been purposefully getting stuck at red lights (much to the annoyance of the guy behind him) just so he could write down the snitches of lyrics racing through his head.
Mr. Kimoto grunted and snatched up the slips of paper lying on the desk, riffling through them and scanning the words looking as though he'd just tasted something incredibly sour. Andy's heart, which had been swelling with pride and love, suddenly sunk to somewhere near his feet.
"You don't like it?"
"I think it could use some work." He said, pulling out a cigar and lighting it. Andy's nose wrinkled in distaste as the smell wafted to where he stood.
Coughing slightly and waving a hand to try and clear the air, Andy tried not to reach out and strangle to older man. Keep your cool Andy… Like Miaka said… what does he know?
"Lemme see what I can do…" Mr. Kimoto took Andy's pen and bent over the desk, scribbling in the margins and drawing arrows to where he thought things needed to be switched. "There!" he said proudly, "Now that's what I call a song!"
Andy, feeling as though he were about to lay eyes on something so gruesome that he'd be given nightmares, gulped slightly and took the paper, eyes widening as they skated over the lines. He glanced at his manager and pasted on a fake smile, "Nice… Where so you come up with these things, Sir?" he lied through his teeth. He really didn't want to know.
"It's a gift." The man shrugged and turned to face Andy directly, "By the way, Andy. I have a few things to discuss with you."
"Like what?"
"Oh… like this!" the manager whipped out a newspaper and showed it to Andy. It was the same newspaper that Andy and Miaka had seen yesterday. "Can you explain to me why exactly you have been out gallivanting about with some strange girl without your body guards?"
Andy attempted to look sheepish, failing because he truly wasn't sorry in the least, "I met her at the concert last weekend. She's showing me the city."
"How do you know that she's not some psycho chick who wants to tie you up and lock you in her closet?!" Kimoto screeched, his face getting purple, "Or what if someone else were to come up and kidnap you or try to hurt you?" he rolled the paper up and started shaking it in Andy's face, "Kid, you forget who you are sometimes. You are a star! People envy and love you all at once! If you aren't careful, something could happen to you and then it'd cost me big bucks!"
So glad to know that you're worried about me… Andy thought sardonically. "Everything's always about money with you isn't it?" he said.
"Of course it's about money. What in this world isn't?" the manager yelled, exasperated with how thick-headed Andy was being.
"Love…" the word was out before Andy was even aware of thinking it. Andy stared in shock at himself as he watched Mr. Kimoto's face change from purple and angry to purple and amused.
"Love?" he snorted derisively.
Andy's eyes widened and he nervously pushed some hair back behind his ear. Did I just say that? Do I really feel that strongly for her? Already? The concept was frightening. He'd known that he was feeling something more than he should so soon after having met Miaka, but even he had not been aware that his feelings already ran that deep. Slowly he nodded.
"Love?" Kimoto began laughing, sounding like a hyena, "You think that girl loves you?" he slapped his knee and nearly doubled over he was laughing so hard. "You've known her how long? Not even a week? You think she loves you? What she loves is your fame. Your money." Mean, dark eyes looked at Andy from under bushy brows, "You're a fool."
Andy took a step back. Kimoto's words had hit him almost as hard as a physical blow. Andy felt suddenly as though he'd had both his legs cut out from beneath him and he could no longer stand. It felt like something from the past had just flown up and bitten him on the leg. But he couldn't remember for the life of him why exactly. He hung onto the back of the chair for support and glared, "That's not true." He hissed, "You don't even know her."
Eyebrows raised, "I don't have to. I bet the thought that she could be scamming you didn't even cross your mind." He shook his head, "I know that song writers are supposed to be suckers for romance… but this is just sad."
Andy scowled, letting his long hair fall forward around his shoulders and shadow his face. He wanted nothing more than to lay a good solid punch right in Kimoto's face, but he knew that if he did, not only would his career be as good as over, but he'd likely end up facing charges from the police. The only option he really had at the moment was to sit and take it.
Andy's eyes darkened as he listened to Kimoto talk. Everything the man said made perfect sense, but something, something that seemed to be connected deep inside of Andy even more so than his own heart, told him that with Miaka he had nothing to worry about. Miaka was the last person on Earth who would scam somebody for money.
As he listened to Kimoto tell him exactly how stupid he had been for believing that this girl could possibly like him for anything but the fact that he was famous and good looking, Andy felt heat start behind his eye lids and he blinked rapidly in order to stop the tears. He would not cry. Especially when Kimoto was already having a field day.
"Speaking of girls…" Kimoto's voice had changed to the tone he usually used when he was going to ask – order – Andy to do something. "You don't have a date yet for the part this weekend do you?"
Andy growled, "It so happens that I do. I asked Miaka to come with me, and she's already agreed to do so."
Kimoto snorted and eyed the pen as he twirled it around his fingers, "Pity. I was actually hoping that you'd take Shiko with you. She's been asking about you a lot recently." He eyed Andy, "You two would make a good couple. Your looks complement each other. You'd make a good advertising pair. It would bring in money."
At the look Andy gave him he grinned lopsidedly, "Well just think about it for me would you? Shiko's been very upset that you've been ignoring her lately." he checked his watch, "And now I really must be off. I'm busy, busy, busy!"
Andy watched the man leave and then sprawled out on the bed, the butchered lyrics still clenched in his hand, the tears that had threatened to spill over earlier finally having permission to fall. He wouldn't believe it. He wouldn't.
Miaka… she wouldn't do that… would she?
Even though Andy hadn't known Miaka that long, there was a voice inside of him that seemed to be literally screaming that it felt very strongly for the girl. It was that voice whispering in his head last night that had helped Andy write the very lyrics lying crumpled in his hand. And it was that voice that was helping Andy to realize as he spent more and more time with her, that he had every reason to love her just as much as the little voice in his head seemed to, and no reason to mistrust her.
Closing his eyes, Andy sighed. It wasn't long before sleep claimed the singer, and sent him into a morning of fitful dreams. He dreamed of an ancient world and a legend. It was one of the realest dreams he'd ever had.
Miaka sang along to the radio as she reached into her purse looking for her keys. "I'm sleeping, I'm right in the middle of a good dream, when all at once I wake up from something that keeps knocking at my brain," she was sure she was horribly off key, but she didn't really care. Instead of her keys, her hand hit a folded piece of paper. Curious, Miaka pulled it out read it. Her lips quirked upwards in a smile. It was a note from Andy asking her out yet again. It said to call him from work if she was interested in going. Feeling like a school girl again, Miaka giggled at how cute Andy could be. It seemed almost like he couldn't live without her.
"Do you think you love me?" she continued, swaying her hips to the music as she set the note on the counter and turned to grab her lunch.
As Miaka bobbed her head to the music, she mused about her first official date with Andy the night before. She had done it. She had told him that she wanted to pursue a relationship with him. Once she had finally managed to say it, she had felt as though the world's largest weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She had felt… free. Like she had nothing to hide and no problems to deal with.
And of course there had been those little fluttery feelings that seemed to appear every time Andy's hand brushed hers, or when that intense golden gaze locked with hers. Miaka shivered at the thrill that shot up her spine at the thought of seeing him again later today, similar to the shivers he had given her the night before during the movie and during the car ride home. The feeling that permeated her skin with the anticipation of 'is he going to kiss me?' coursing through her blood.
She had been so nervous at first, unsure of how far to let him go and how quickly. She had known him for about as long as she had known Taka, but for all he knew, he'd just met her a few days ago. That being the case, where Miaka was ready to try out a relationship with him, she'd known him long enough to move the relationship faster, she was afraid that Andy, even if he wanted the relationship to move just as quickly, would think that she was easy, or possibly a gold digger that just wanted to be able to say she'd gotten him in the sack.
Because he wasn't really Hotohori anymore was he? Just how much had he changed in this life? From what she'd seen, he was still the sweet man he'd been in the book world, but still… he'd been raised differently, maybe he'd been corrupted by the glamour of the life of a star? Would he just want to use her?
Miaka shook her head. Those were stupid thoughts. How could she even think that of Hotohori? Well… It wasn't like he'd been a complete naïve boy back then either… in fact; he'd even been slightly pushy. Miaka blushed in remembrance of Hotohori leaning in to kiss her as he leaned over her in his chambers.
Nope. He definitely hadn't been all that innocent. (It was just easier to pretend he was!)
So how bad was he going to be now? Modern world + certain magazines + more laid back society rules = trouble. Miaka had the rather disturbing mental image of Hotohori being a player. She shook her head to clear it.
Okay. Enough thinking. It's bad for my health. Let's get to work!
The only question Miaka really had at the moment was how the hell Andy was able to keep sneaking things into her purse. The darn thing was attached to her at the hip during most of the day. Then again, in the last few days, so had Andy. So Miaka guessed it would have been fairly easy for him to drop something in her purse when she wasn't looking.
So apparently he was good at slight of hand too.
Sneaky little…
Ding.
Miaka's head shot up. Who would be coming to visit at this hour? Her mother and brother were gone, and she would be as well in a few more moments. Thinking that it might be one of her neighbors needing to borrow something, Miaka hurried to the door, flipping off the radio on the way, so she could take care of whatever it was and leave as soon as possible.
"Hello?" Miaka swung the door open.
No one was there.
"Eh…. Hello?" Miaka quickly stuck her head out and glanced down the hallway in both directions. No one.
"Alright…" she muttered to herself. "Darn kids…" she grumbled as she went back inside and closed the door.
After gathering her things, Miaka stepped out the door only to notice a small white square on the ground which she had missed earlier. Shifting everything to one arm, Miaka stooped over and snatched the envelope. Ripping it open with her teeth, she pulled out the letter and flipped open the folded piece of paper.
There, made from the cut-out letters of a magazine, was a note:
aNdy iis miN! Leev him alon. Or Elss.
Not sure whether to laugh at the horrible spelling or be worried (the whole ransom letter thing was just cheesy) Miaka read the note again. "Really…" she muttered.
Whoever has the time to stalk famous people and leave other people threatening notes needs to get a life. She thought.
Assuming that one of her younger Andy obsessed neighbors had seen the picture in the paper yesterday and decided to annoy her, Miaka ignored the note completely; taking it as one strange and not really all that funny joke. In fact, she threw the note in the nearest garbage can as she exited the building and went out to her car.
Only to find her tires slashed.
Crap.
"Thanks Keisuke." Said Miaka as she slid into the car when her brother picked her up from work. "I really appreciate this."
"I still don't believe it." He muttered, "Twice in the same week." He pulled out of the parking lot and watched his sister in his peripheral vision, "What the heck did you do to make the automobile gods so mad at you? Forget to make an offering of motor oil at the weekly ritual?"
Miaka snorted, "Funny." Her brother had been kind enough to take off of his job early so he could come and take her home in time for her date. Yui had dropped her off at the Clinic that morning, and despite the fact that her vehicle was, again, incapacitated, Miaka had a very good day. She had even forgotten all about the threatening note she had received, not that she would have bothered anyone else with such a stupid prank anyway…
Not only had she managed to avoid bathing any labs, poodles, or terriers, but Ayame had been very civil to her. Miaka had been worried after seeing the other girl at the dress shop that Ayame would turn into a catty and jealous person that would enjoy making Miaka's life hell, but the other girl had actually been nice. She had even asked how the date had gone and nodded and smiled throughout Miaka's entire story (of course she left out some of the juicier details for the other girls sanity) and had then told Miaka that she was happy for her.
Now, as Miaka and Keisuke headed home, Miaka wondered exactly how tonight's date was going to turn out. There had been one major thing occupying her mind the entire day. Miaka's overactive imagination had run through at least a thousand different scenarios, all of them concerning the problem of Andy's memories.
Did he remember anything at all? Miaka mused. If he recalled anything of his former life, the poor man likely thought he'd gone insane or was merely remembering a dream. Miaka had toyed with the idea of setting him down and trying to explain the entire thing to him, but that idea had quickly been discarded, as it was the surest way for Miaka to wind up in the psychiatric center.
And if he didn't remember now, would he ever get his memories back? Part of the reason Miaka had been so happy to find her reincarnated Seishi was that she could have someone else who shared the memories of the book. If he never remembered… Miaka didn't think that she could bear that. She wanted him to know everything, but when would be the right time to tell him?
And when he finally did remember… how would he take the knowledge that he was the reincarnation of Hotohori? Taka had had some serious issues with that fact, she knew. Taka had fought with himself inwardly about who he really was and who Miaka really loved, Taka, or Tamahome. He had been worried that Miaka didn't see them as two different people, and that she would always favor the original over the replacement, as Taka saw it.
Miaka shook her head in remembrance. That had irritated her to no end. To her, Taka had never been a replacement for Tamahome. He had been Tamahome all along, even if he couldn't accept that fact. He had all the qualities that she had loved about Tamahome; the only thing that separated them was the fact that Taka hadn't done all of the things that Tamahome had done. He had never fought for a country or helped to summon a god. He'd never done anything overly spectacular in his life. And that had seemed to be too much for him. It was like he couldn't conceive the idea that Miaka still loved him for who he was rather than what he'd done.
It was that kind of thinking that had caused them to grow apart since then. Taka maintained the idea that he had to measure up to his past self, and had spent countless amounts of time desperately trying to do just that. Competing with the ghost of himself. Miaka sighed, leaning her head against the window and watching the lights go by. She hoped that Andy would be more accepting of those kinds of things.
She didn't think she could deal with someone else she cared for so deeply go to war with themselves, not being able to accept the fact that she didn't love him for the fact that he was successful, or did great things, but for the simply being himself, however he chose to live his life.
"Miaka…" Keisuke tapped her on the shoulder, jolting her out of her thoughts, "We're home."
Miaka shook her head and hurried up to the apartment. She still had to shower and get dressed before Andy got here. It wouldn't do to go on a date when she smelled to high heaven. She could just see the angels wrinkling their noses as she passed by.
Andy rocked back and forth nervously on the balls of his feet as he waited for Miaka to answer the door. He'd shown up slightly early, he hoped that she didn't mind, but he had gone an entire day without seeing her, and it had almost literally driven him insane. He had spaced out so often during rehearsals that Mr. Kimoto had had to throw Styrofoam cups at him to get his attention.
Three times.
Self-consciously he pulled a last minute final check of his appearance. He was wearing his favorite pair of tight-fitting dark jeans, an off-white turtleneck, and a light brown trench coat that he liked to wear on windy days. He secretly liked to play super-hero when the wind made it billow out behind him.
No.
Really.
He did.
His hair, his pride and joy, was immaculate, tied back in a loose ponytail that started partway down his back. With his free hand he played with some of the strands that insisted on falling in his face, blowing irately at one on particular that obscured his vision. With his other he held a bouquet of flowers that he had picked up on the way over.
He eyed the flowers. He'd had no idea what kind of flowers that Miaka would have a liking for, and so he had gone around to search out the ones he had thought suited her personality. An elderly woman had seen him looking about helplessly and had immediately offered her assistance. She had asked him the situation and a bit about Miaka's personality before she began leading him around the store, rattling off the names of flowers.
"You want one of these… this…. Oh! Several of these…" fairly soon, Andy had ended up with a few daffodils, three or four Hyacinths, a bunch of lilac, and of course, some deep red long stem roses in various stages of bloom.
"Now… why do I need all of these?" Andy had asked.
The woman had smirked and pointed to each of the flowers, "Daffodils; symbolize love, and luck." She eyed Andy, "I can see you care for this girl already, but I thought you could use the luck. Just in case." She pointed to the Hyacinths, "Love, protection, and happiness. All three are good things, don't you agree?"
Andy nodded dumbly. Kooky old bat…
"Lilac; beauty, love, and protection. Always a safe bet." Her eyes narrowed, "I don't have to tell you what the roses symbolize, now do I?"
Andy shook his head, "No… I think I can figure that out on my own." He fingered the blooms in the bouquet, "thank you Ma'am. You've been a big help."
The old woman smiled and handed Andy another set of flowers, "here. Take these too."
"What are they?"
She grinned, "Zinnia, Periwinkle, and Poppy."
Andy was stopped from wondering about those particular flowers meanings when he heard the sound of footsteps approaching the door. He gulped nervously and clutched the flowers tightly. He really hoped she liked them…
The door swung open.
Andy blinked.
"You're not Miaka."
Keisuke blinked back at Andy.
"No. I'm not."
Keisuke stepped aside and motioned for Andy to enter, closing the door behind him. He crossed his arms as he watched the reincarnation of his sisters Seishi standing there, looking every inch the royal figure that he had heard so much about from his sister.
He cleared his throat and walked over to sit down in one of the chair in the living room, motioning for Andy to follow him. "So… you must be Andy. Miaka's told me a lot about you." Keisuke propped his head up with his hand as he watched Andy take a seat on the couch.
He knew that this was Hotohori, and, truthfully, Keisuke trusted the guy with his little sister's life, however; what he wasn't sure about was trusting the guy with his little sister on a date. He recalled that the Emperor had been in love with Miaka even longer than Tamahome had been, and Keisuke was slightly worried that all of that past pent up emotion and frustration would attempt to make itself known if given half the chance.
So now… Keisuke had to do something that he had never done before in his life. Something that he'd actually missed not being able to do since Miaka had never dated anyone but Taka.
He was going to interrogate Andy.
Keisuke took a deep breath. Miaka was still in the shower, so he estimated that he had about ten to fifteen minutes to do his dirty work before she would make her appearance and drop kick him out of the apartment.
Here it goes.
"You do realize that Miaka is my baby sister, right?" he asked.
Andy nodded.
"I realize that you two have only known each other for a couple of days, but I feel that there are some things that you should know." Keisuke steepled his fingers, and Andy leaned forward in his seat as he gave Miaka's brother his full attention.
"Such as…?" Andy asked, curious as to what exactly Miaka hadn't told him yet.
Keisuke sighed, "I'm gonna tell you right now that I'm a little iffy about you dating my sister." At Andy's offended look, Keisuke continued, "I'm not saying that you're a bad guy or anything like that, it's just that… "He paused and stared at some of the photographs that sat on a table not too far away, "In all of the years that she and Taka have been together, I have never once had any doubts that Taka was the one for her." He eyed Andy, "And then you came along."
Although Andy remained poker-faced, Keisuke could see the obvious hurt at this information shining in the other man's eyes. He felt horrible that he had to be the one to do this, but he felt that it was kind of unfair for Andy to go into the relationship without any prior knowledge of where Miaka and Taka stood with each other.
"First off, Taka is my friend, and he and my sister have been together since she was fifteen. She's never dated anyone but him." Keisuke began, "And because of that, I'm going to have a hard time trusting anyone else alone with my sister. This is kind of a new thing for me."
Andy inwardly scowled at Keisuke. Talk about your great conversation starters. If the guy wanted to make an enemy, this was a pretty good way to start. Although, Andy could see it from Keisuke's point of view, he was going to drill Andy because he cared about his little sister. In the midst of all the annoyance that the situation was currently causing him, Andy was beginning to have a very deep respect for Miaka's brother. "So what you're saying is that Miaka has such a deep connection with this guy that I have literally no chance in Hell of her actually dropping him and committing to a relationship with me?"
Keisuke shook his head furiously, "No, that's not what I mean. That's probably how it sounded, but I told you all of that so that you could get a better perspective on what I'm trying to tell you. Like I said, she's dated Taka for a very long time. I seriously thought that he'd be the guy she married." Keisuke sighed, "You have no idea how much pain even some of their minor arguments caused her. She's never been the smartest, and she knows that, and other people tend to exploit that and use it to cut down her self esteem. So when something happens, Miaka tends to blame herself for it even if there's nothing she could have done to prevent it."
"Alright." Andy nodded slowly to show he was trying to digest all of this information.
"Anyways, as you know, she told Taka that she wanted to cool it for a while in order to sort out her feelings. She's never had to do that before. I mean, they've taken little breaks here and there, but they've never seriously had to consider where their feelings for the other lie. To have Miaka actually be sure enough about another man to actually call a time out with Taka is… phenomenal. She's never done that before." Keisuke took a breath and sighed deeply, what he was about to say was completely at odds with his wanting Miaka and Taka to have the happily ever after ending, "And… I want you to realize that that in itself means that she is pretty serious about this already." Keisuke's eyes locked with Andy's, wanting to see the other man's reaction, "About you."
Andy's heart gave an unnatural lurch at Keisuke's words, suddenly the entire conversation made sense. Keisuke hadn't been telling him all of this in order to make him think he had no chance, just the opposite. "You think so?" Suddenly, all the resentment for Keisuke that had been building up inside Andy's chest seemed to evaporate.
Keisuke nodded solemnly, "I know so."
"Know what?"
Both Andy and Keisuke jumped out of their skins at Miaka's question. Keisuke felt his heart thud painfully in his chest. Good grief! She'd scared him near to death!
Had she heard anything? He desperately hoped not. Better cover it up.
With a nervous laugh, Keisuke jumped out of his seat and yanked Andy up out of his, wrapping an arm around him like a good friend, "LIKE I was saying Andy… that's my baby sister. And you remember what we talked about buddy, because if you hurt her, you remember these words." Keisuke lowered his voice and leaned in real close to Andy so that only they could hear what he was going to say next. His eyes holding a dark message, If you break her heart after everything she's given up in order to try and see if this will work, you're dead. "I've got no problem going back to prison."
With that, Keisuke released Andy and snatched up his keys, laughing manically as Miaka shooed him towards the front door, swatting him viciously when he didn't move fast enough. Andy remained where he was, wondering what kind of drugs the man was on. The boy certainly didn't look like a criminal… but he was obviously insane!
Miaka laughed nervously as she swatted repeatedly at Keisuke's back, "Don't mind him. He was dropped on his head as a child. Never recovered. Complete idiot. He doesn't know what he's saying. EVER!" Miaka scowled as she ushered her brother out the door and slammed it shut behind him.
"Is he… always like that?" asked Andy, deadpan and slightly worried. If that kind of behavior was genetic… Miaka must be scarier than Satan when she wanted to be.
"Unfortunately, yes." Miaka sighed closed her eyes. "I'm sorry you had to see…" she trailed off, searching for the right word to describer her brother, "that." She finished, jerking her head in the direction that Keisuke had gone in.
Andy laughed lightly, reaching out and wrapping an arm around Miaka in a kind of sideways hug. He hadn't seen her or heard her voice all day long, and now that he was finally in the same room with her, alone, his Miaka-deprived senses were screaming at him to get as close as possible and remedy the situation. Immediately.
"It's alright, we talked and he gave me the typical 'hurt my sister and I shall burn you at the stake' speech. It was kind of sweet really." Andy used the arm lying across Miaka's shoulders to bring her closer to him and rested his forehead against hers; staring into eyes that he had been envisioning in his minds eyes the entire day. As he did so he realized that that probably wasn't the best idea because once he did, it seemed that the rest of his body was screaming for contact with her. Still trying to keep the conversation light, he continued, "My older brothers did it to both my younger sisters every time they brought a new boyfriend home."
Miaka giggled, "Did you ever try and scare your sisters dates away?" she asked as she allowed him to wrap his arms loosely around her waist and simply hold her as they stood there in the middle of her family's apartment.
"Nah… I was the sweet younger brother… and I was always too scrawny to be very threatening," he admitted, sounding slightly put out that he wasn't very intimidating.
"Ah," Miaka laughed, "I bet." She winced slightly when Andy playfully pinched her side for agreeing to the 'scrawny' part. "Oww…"
Andy grinned and tugged her closer so that she was pressed right up against him and nuzzled her cheek as he whispered, "You're not supposed to agree to things like that… you'll get in trouble."
Miaka wrapped her arms around his neck, "What kind of trouble?" she gazed into his eyes, her green orbs sparkling, daring him to follow through on his threat.
Golden eyes narrowed at the challenge, "I won't give you your present, for one." He smirked slightly when her eyes sparked at the word 'present.'
"What kind of present?" she asked, frowning slightly, an idea forming in her mind and not liking what her overactive imagination came up with.
Andy allowed her to pull back and produced the long forgotten bouquet from the cushion next to where he'd been sitting during his conversation with Keisuke. When Miaka caught sight of all the different blooms her heart skipped a beat and she involuntarily let out a small gasp. It had been forever since she had received flowers.
"Oh…" her lips stretched out into a full grin, "Thank you! They're beautiful." She brought the flowers to her nose and inhaled before holding them out at a certain length in order to examine them.
"Wow… you really went to town…. What's the occasion?" she asked, fingering one of the roses and looking up at him curiously.
"No reason. I just… felt like buying you something." Since you spoiled my dress idea… "Why?"
Miaka shrugged, "I haven't received flowers in a very very long time, and the last few times that I did, it was for some sort of special occasion. You know, like anniversary, birthday…" she trailed off and looked down at them again, "It's kind of nice to know that you were thinking about me and wanted to do something for me without any real incentive." She blushed and started towards the kitchen in order to find a vase to place them in before they started to wilt.
From the kitchen, Miaka called out, "Hey! You hungry?"
"Yeah." He answered as he entered the kitchen just in time to see Miaka finish arranging the flowers.
"Good, because I forced Keisuke to buy all sorts of stuff for us." She grinned and set the flowers on the counter, "So we've got a ton of sandwich stuff and a hoard of junk food laying around." She reached into a cupboard and pulled out some paper plates and a pair of glasses. "Hope you don't mind eating in." she said.
"No. No, of course not. Why would I mind?"
Miaka felt her face heat, "Well, it's just that the last few times we've gone out we've gone to restaurants and that's the kind of stuff you're used to." She grinned, "And technically you asked me out tonight so it's really your right to pick where we go, but I was just really hoping we could stay in and watch movies and talk tonight."
Andy grinned right back at her, "That's absolutely perfect."
"So what do you want to do, Miaka?" Andy asked.
The two had made themselves sandwiches and filled their plates with various junk foods before settling down on the couch and flicking the television on, even though neither of them paid it any attention. They had spent the last hour or so getting to know each other better.
While at first glance Andy and Miaka were two polar opposites, the two had found that they had more in common than many people would have thought. For instance, both Miaka and Andy loved to read. They both held a very strong love for fantasy series and the possibility of magic and supernatural occurrences. Andy had found that Miaka was remarkably easy to talk to and that for being what her brother had described a 'ditz' had a wide variety of hobbies and was quite knowledgeable about things that she found of interest. Miaka had discovered that Andy was not quite as prissy as one would think. He loved a variety of sports, his favorites being sword play and horseback riding, but Miaka had learned that he also had spent time playing soccer and football with his brothers and quite enjoyed martial arts as well.
"You mean when I get a real job?" Miaka asked. At his nod she pursed her lips in thought and stared off to the side. "I don't know. I like a lot of things. I'm not really sure what exactly I'll end up doing." She cracked her knuckles and stretched, a movement that caused Andy's eyes to roam to what lay beneath the soft blue sweater before snapping back up to her face guiltily. "What did you want to be?" she asked, her voice coming out in a near purr with her stretch.
Andy gulped. Did she know what she was doing to him? He was more than ready to kiss her, but something sitting on the end table behind where Miaka sat on the other end of the couch caught his eye. Curiosity overcame him, "Hey," he said, leaning forward and reach past Miaka to grasp a single framed photograph, "Who're these people?" he looked up at Miaka and frowned. He couldn't quite name the expression that crossed her face.
Looking back down at the picture, Andy's thumb absently traced the face of what was obviously a younger Miaka. He guessed she looked about fifteen or so. Blinking a few times in order to clear his head of the rush of images that came along with the sight of the photo. All of the faces looked very familiar. So familiar that Andy felt almost as if he could name them all off without any trouble, only when he tried to find said names it felt as thought a wall had been erected down the center of his brain. The answer was there, he was sure of it. He just couldn't get to it. "Who are they?" he asked again.
Miaka's lips moved, but no sound came out. Why, oh why hadn't she hidden that thing? "Eh…" she blinked, trying to think of a plausible answer to give him. "That's a picture that was taken when I was fifteen." She started, her mind starting to weave a story and log it away for future recollection.
She pointed to each of the faces in the picture, "That's Taka, right around when I first met him. We weren't officially going together here." Her eyes trained on his as he stared hard at the photo. She could almost see him trying to recall the names of the other people in it.
"These are some of my old high school friends. I haven't seen them in a while." She lied. This," she pointed to Nuriko, "Is Ryuenn. That," she pointed to Chichiri, "Is Houjun…" she continued this process until she got to the last one, "And that," she pointed to Hotohori, "Is Seihitei." She grinned slightly, "He looks a lot like you, ne?"
She saw something, some sort of flicker, pass through Andy's eyes as he gazed upon the photo, but as soon as it had appeared, it was gone, and Andy was speaking.
"Are you kidding? I'm much better looking!"
Miaka nearly choked on her drink. "Are you sure about that? You look pretty alike to me!" she gasped, trying to blink back tears caused by her choking, and the effort it was taking not to laugh.
Does he really think he looks better than himself? Now that is a level of narcissism I didn't even know existed!
"So what happened to them?" he asked innocently.
Miaka suddenly lost all humor. "Eh… well…" she bit her lip. "Some of them aren't… alive any more."
Andy closed his eyes, feeling horrible that he'd reminded her of something she so obviously wished to forget. "I'm sorry." He whispered, handing her the photograph back and trying to think of somewhere else the conversation could go, but something in the back of his mind forced him to ask his next question. "How?"
Miaka looked up at him and sighed. There was really no way around it. She'd have to tell him something at least. She stayed silent for a few moments, attempting to gather her thoughts enough to try and tweak the story enough for it to sound modern and believable.
By the time she was finished telling the incredibly summarized, extremely tweaked version of the story, Miaka was amazed at how good of a liar she was turning out to be. She hated to have to lie about how her friends had really died, but she didn't really have that much of a choice at the moment.
"And the other two I haven't seen for a few years." She finished, amazed at herself for having managed to tell (almost) the whole story and keeping it so that it seemed like a really horrible version of a school rivalry that had escalated out of control. Hand me my Oscar now… she thought idly as she watched Andy take in all of the information and process it.
Wow. Andy thought. He'd had no idea how much this girl had been through. Keisuke had hinted at it, and have been very adamant about his sister not needing more grief in her life, but now Andy could see just how true that was. Now Andy could finally understand why Miaka had approached the relationship with him the way that she had. She had obviously been though more than enough pain emotionally over the years and had wanted to spare herself and him as much pain as possible by not allowing herself to get involved with him and trying to push him away because of that.
No wonder her brother had wanted things to work out between Miaka and Taka so badly. After all of that… Andy couldn't even fathom it. Although during Miaka's story he had felt a heat begin to spread throughout his body, starting at the left side of his neck underneath his collar. He had put it off to the cloth being itchy and had ignored it in favor of trying to comfort Miaka when she reached the parts where she had to recount one of her companion's deaths. She had cried during all of them, and Andy had nearly felt like crying himself.
Her story had seemed to forge an almost empathic bond between the two of them and it was all he could do to just hold her when she started crying, trying to tell her that it was all right and that he was here and that nothing would ever hurt her again as long as he had anything to say about it. He had been undeniably puzzled when his saying this only served to make her cry even harder and bury her face in his chest and wrap her arms solidly around his waist as she let out all of her pent up grief and frustration.
Andy sighed as he shifted, Miaka lying silently in his arms, her own still locked securely around his middle. Absently he stroked her hair with one hand, rubbing her back gently with the other, and murmured nonsensical comforting phrases into her ear before he too fell silent and simply held her, staring at the picture from where she had placed it back on the end table.
Four pairs of eyes stared back at him. For a moment, Andy could almost hear them telling him that he'd better take care of Miaka or they would spend the next few years of the afterlife haunting him. Andy rubbed his face against the top of her head, a fierce send of protectiveness suddenly overcoming him. You don't have to worry about that. I'll take care of her. He promised darkly, swearing doom on anyone that would try and do his Miaka harm.
"You never did answer me." She said suddenly, turning her head so that he could look into her tear stained eyes. Andy was nearly blinded by the brightness of the soul that shone through them. It was a spirit that would never give up. One that could not be beaten, even by the pain and loss caused by death. Even though her eyes were red and puffy and her makeup had run with the tears, Andy didn't think he'd ever seen a woman look more beautiful than Miaka did at that moment.
"Answered what?" he asked lazily, his fingers still amusing themselves by twining in Miaka's dark hair and running up and don her back slowly.
"What did you want to do before you became a singer?"
Andy blinked. "Well… It was never really so much what I wanted to be. It was what my parents wanted me to be."
Miaka frowned, "Whaddya mean?"
He sighed, "My parents always wanted me to be a lawyer, or a politician, and I went along with it even though that was never what I wanted to do. Never mind the fact that I hated it… my parents told me that the only way to get ahead in the world was to do something that made money even if you hated it, because money is what makes the world go around." He sighed, "I used to get lectured to no end about the best way to live my life and what to do with my future. I never even got to decorate my own bedroom when I was younger. Mother insisted on doing everything for me."
Miaka's eyes were starting to spark again, "Didn't she care about whether you were happy or not?"
Andy sighed again, "Well… in her own way I suppose she cared about my happiness. Her definition of happy was that my father brought home a paycheck and she got to spend it and be taken care of. So for her being happy was being able to live a comfortable life, and that took money, so by trying to make be start a big career I guess she thought she was being caring…" he trailed off. He couldn't explain his mother. He doubted anyone truly understood her. "In any case, I never really got to think much about what I wanted for myself because I was too busy trying to live up to what others had already decided for me."
"But that's not right!" Miaka burst out; "Your happiness should always come first, even if it doesn't make you rich!" she scrunched up her nose in thought, "What's that phrase again? Quality, not quantity?" she shook her head, "So you went from a controlling mother, to an equally controlling boss. So tell me again how you are getting the better end of the deal in any of this?"
Andy shifted and stared into Miaka's eyes, amused by how passionate she was getting over his predicament. Andy had learned to live with it by now. He knew that you didn't always get what you wanted, and if you did, there would likely be a catch or two. Lifting the hand that had been stroking her back, Andy cupped Miaka's cheek and lowered his voice to a husky whisper, "Well… I've got you, don't I?"
He was pleased when he felt Miaka's body shiver in response to his voice and closed the gap between their lips quickly.
Before Miaka even knew what was happening, she found herself trapped once again in the safety of Andy's arms and sighed against his lips as he pulled back. She was disappointed that it hadn't lasted longer and rested her chin on his shoulder, staring at him for a few seconds before speaking.
"You can't distract me that easily." She said, poking him lightly in the side and narrowing her eyes, "So out with it. What do you want? Why don't you stand up to Mr. Kimoto and tell him what you want to do? Can't you get a new manager? You said he's not doing his job, didn't you?"
Andy sighed. He would really much rather continue with certain extracurricular activities, "Truthfully?" he asked, and Miaka nodded, wanting to know why exactly Andy continued to allow himself to be pushed around by people. Miaka would never stand for that, and she didn't understand why Andy did.
"Well…" he started, "Truthfully, I'd give everything I have up if I could just find that one person that I want to spend the rest of my life with."
"So, true love?" Miaka said, twining her fingers with his and feeling her cheeks get hot. She listened quietly as he explained his boarding school days and how his parents had never really been around much and he'd never stayed in one place long enough to make any real lasting friendships. He had met countless girls, and they had all liked him for one shallow reason or another, either because of his money or because of his looks. After years of being virtually alone, Andy had begun to dream of the perfect girl and wondering if such a person even existed. He loved to sing, but in order to keep doing what he loved; he sometimes had to bend to what other wanted him to do.
Andy sighed, "But what I really want someday is a family. A wife that loves me and kids that will be able to grow up to be what they want to be. I want what I never really had." He was slightly embarrassed to be admitting all of this, but this was Miaka, and it seemed that he could tell her anything and she would be completely understanding. She had never once laughed at him or tried to tell him what he should want. He had the feeling that she was the kind of person who would support someone she cared about even if they wanted to take a cardboard box, set it up in an alley, and live there.
As he finished speaking, Miaka felt something similar to the feeling one gets before a race, like all her blood was excited and her heart was beating unnaturally fast. "How will you know when you find it?" she asked, hoping the look in her eyes betraying the myriad of emotions that were bouncing around inside of her.
Andy brought his face closer to hers and smiled, closing his eyes as he rested his forehead against hers once again, "Trust me. I'll know." He assured her.
To Be Continued…
AN: Oi! This chapter was originally planned to be, like, twice as long, but it was getting so godawfully long that I had to cut it here. Sorry! But it would have been like sisty pages long if I'd kept going… And I figured you guys had been patient enough. I also apologize for there being so little action in this chapter. But this very long drawn out talking session had to happen sometime or another, it might as well happen now dangit! Oh yeah. BTW. I recently posted an Inu-Yasha fic with an OC based off of one of the kennel girls (Rae!) and I was hoping that if any of you are IY fans that I could get you to read it and review, because it's my first OC fic in a great while (haha, you shall nevah see the others… *shifty eyes*) and I'm curious to know how well I did on throwing her in there and keeping her as far away from a Mary Sue as possible. I'd REALLY appreciate any input you'd be willing to give me because I'm desperate and needy. If you recognize it, it's 'cuz it's MY version of my buddy Arcane Legacy's fic Change My World. Her fic never went as into detail of the thought process as I'd have liked, and never explained a few key things. This is my way of fixing it. (Sorry Arcy… don't step on me!!)
