We Will Meet Again

Chapter 14:

Yumiko Kaze

AN: Wow. So far people seem to like chapter 13… Since I wasn't happy with it I expected a bunch of "This sucks!" type of reviews… Ah well. I forgot of happy getting reviews makes me. Gave me such a boost I decided to start on the next chapter right away—not to mention that one of my Student Success Strategies goals was to finish this darn fanfic by the end of the quarter and trying to get at least one chapter done a week. sigh Hopefully turning this into a "class assignment" kind of thing will help me get back in the swing of writing… You realize this gives you all the right to email bomb me with threats during the week right? shudder I think I'm afraid… I'm giving you all WAY too much power over my life.


Andy tilted his face toward the warm water streaming from the shower head and closed his eyes, running his hands through his long hair and licking up the traces of water that fell on his lips. He sighed and leaned his forehead against the wall of the shower, breathing in the steamy air and letting it out in an attempt to calm himself.

Today was the day.

Today was the long awaited party that Kimoto had set up (okay technically it was tonight…). And Miaka was coming with him. He grinned to himself at the fact that he would get to show off Miaka to Kimoto and the rest of the road crew. Aside from the typically annoying dancers and backup singers, the roadies weren't so bad to talk to. If a little rough around the edges…

Wait. On second thought maybe Andy would try to keep Miaka as far away from them as possible. Some of them were known for being crude and would probably try and feel Miaka up or something. Not that he didn't want to do the same thing, but at least he had restraint!

Yup. She definitely wasn't going anywhere near them. Uh uh. Nope.

I am turning into such a jealous freak. Andy thought to himself, shaking his head as he did so. Well. He supposed he had a right to be a jealous freak. What kind of boyfriend would he be if he thought it was okay for other guys to put their hands on his girl?

Your girl? Yes. My girl. Since when has she been 'your girl'? Since…well…since I said so. Sure, whatever. Freak.

Was talking to yourself like that in your head a sign of insanity? Andy didn't know.

Andy stuck his head out or the shower and glanced at the digital clock sitting on the dresser and groaned. He loathed leaving the quiet and comfortable sanctity of the shower, but he'd be late if he dawdled any longer. As it were he was already behind schedule. Why did Kimoto want to talk to him so early today anyway?

Turning off the water and shoving the curtain open Andy reached for his towel just as several people walked in with camera's—including a very familiar looking face.

Andy couldn't stop himself, "Shiko?" Why hadn't he heard the door open? How did they get a key?!

Instantly all eyes were on him and Andy remembered that he hadn't even covered himself with the towel yet. With a very unmanly eep, Andy had wrapped the towel around himself just before the first flashbulb fired.

Shiko raised an eyebrow and looked him up and down appreciatively before speaking, "Andy? What are you doing here? Why are you naked?"

"I should be asking you that!" Andy rethought that for a moment, "I mean, aside form the naked part, why are you here?" What does it look like I was doing? He grumped internally.

"I'm supposed to show the press around your room. Kimoto Okayed it." Shiko shrugged, "And you, my friend, are supposed to be with Kimoto right now." She checked her watch, "Correction. Three minutes ago."

"Well before I go I obviously need to get ready…" he trailed off as the camera's all raised expectantly. He felt an eyebrow twitch before he pointed, nearly dropping his towel in the process, "OUT!"

After watching the small group scatter, he spent the next few minutes dressing, combing his hair, and grumbling about the inconsiderate things that people did to other people nowadays.

Hiding everything he didn't want snooped through and grabbing anything he might need, Andy bolted for the door, opened it, and nearly tripped over the pile of gifts all sitting in a neatly stacked pyramid outside his door. Since he didn't have the time to carry it all to the nearest dumpster, he grabbed the note, stuffed it in his pants pocket, and shoved everything inside his room to be dealt with later.

How had they known where he was when he'd changed rooms the night before?

As he hightailed it to where he was supposed to meet Kimoto, Andy opened the note and read it which was a bad idea considering that he wasn't watching where he was going and that the contents of the note were enough to scare the crap out of him.

Though receiving the condom had been creepy, this note beat it out by being explicit and sexual in nature to the point that it was making him blush and he couldn't read it anymore. Whoever sent this was obsessed beyond reason and needed a straightjacket and shrink as soon as possible. Out of morbid curiosity made him skip the explicit sections to the end and what he saw made his blood run cold.

I won't let anything come between us.

You've been blinded by tricks.

I'll protect our love anyway I can.

I'll even kill for you.

That was it. He was calling the police.


"Mom, I have to talk to you." Miaka shuffled her feet as she entered the kitchen, half wishing that her brother was present so he could back her up and half relieved that she could speak to her mother alone. Without interruptions.

Mrs. Yuuki slowed in her motions of making breakfast and half turned to look at her daughter. "Sure honey, what about?"

"Well." She bit her lip, "Did Keisuke happen to mention that… I met someone new?" she prepared herself for her mother to give her a lecture about loyalty or some such thing, but all her mother did was quirk an eyebrow.

"Oh really?" she turned back to making sure the food didn't burn.

Feeling more confident now that her mother hadn't blown up, Miaka continued, "Yeah. He's really sweet, mom. I can't even believe that someone like him would ever be interested in me, but…he is."

Her mother smiled a bit, which made Miaka give her a curious look. Usually ver adept at reading people, Miaka just couldn't quite place the expression on her mothers face. She got so engrossed in trying to figure it out that her mother actually had to turn around and whack her daughter on the head.

"Well? Tell me more. What's he like? Is he cute?"

Miaka's jaw dropped; she was scandalized. Never in a million years had she ever expected her mother to react like this! Why, she was acting like she was one of Miaka's nosy girlfriends digging for juicy details! Was her mother going through one of those midlife crisis's?

Green eyes so much like her own twinkled. Miaka tried not to smile back. Her mother knew exactly how strange she was making her daughter feel. And she was enjoying it!

Finally Miaka broke down and outright grinned at her mother. "Oh mom he's the greatest! He's so considerate, and gentlemanly, and fun… Did you know he actually kidnapped me from work the other day?"

"Really?" Mrs. Yuuki looked genuinely interested and lowered the heat on the stove so that she wouldn't have to worry about it burning and seated herself at the table across from her daughter.

Miaka nodded and blushed slightly, "Yup! Just walked right in and literally dragged me out of there. We went shopping and he wanted to buy me this uber expensive dress. I wouldn't let him of course, but you know, it was kind of nice that he wanted to. Oh! And he brought me flowers!"

Her mother tapped a finger against her cheek, "I was wondering where those came from!" she said.

Miaka cocked her head and tapped her fingers nervously on the tabletop, "Mom, shouldn't you be, like, I don't know, mad at me for being untrue to Taka or something?"

Her mother looked surprised for a moment, "Actually, I thought you guys broke up quite a while ago."

Confusion played across Miaka's face, "What? Why would you think that?"

Her mother sighed and gave Miaka a look, "Miaka, I may be middle aged and single. It may have been eleven years since your father and I divorced, but I haven't forgotten what it's like to be in love."

Miaka was clueless. "What do you mean?"

Mrs. Yuuki rolled her eyes, "It's obvious that you two aren't in love anymore. You two used to hold hands and touch each other whenever possible as long as you thought you could get away with it. You two used to be so adorable together. You two used to speak with your eyes. Your feelings for each other practically glowed. Anyone could see it. Then, I don't even really remember when it happened, but it was like the glow started to fade. It was slow, but eventually one day it was just… gone." Mrs. Yuuki shrugged. "I don't know how else to explain it. Love is a mysterious thing."

"You wouldn't know it by looking at me now," Mrs. Yuuki said, "But I used to be quite the looker when I was younger. I was no stranger to love. So don't think I don't know what I'm talking about."

Miaka raised an eyebrow. "So did you have a lot of boyfriends?"

Mrs Yuuki laughed, "Actually. No. I think they were all scared of me. In any case, I had this one very good friend. He and I were friends for most of high school. After a while, it was starting to become obvious that he'd developed feelings for me. I'd catch him looking at me when he thought I wouldn't notice. He took every opportunity to touch me, even if it was only in a friendly way. He even liked spending his money on me. I had to learn to watch what I said, or he'd buy me something without question."

"Aww. Mom, that's so cute! So was that dad?" That's just what Andy does…

Mrs. Yuuki laughed again, "Oh heavens no! I always just thought of him as a friend." Mrs. Yuuki's green eyes were a bit far off, reliving fond memories. "But see, I didn't feel the same way for him. The attraction and feelings just…weren't there. And it wasn't his fault, it wasn't my fault. It just wasn't meant to be."

"So, you don't think I'm in the wrong?"

"Of course not. Just because he was the first person you ever fell in love with doesn't mean he has to be the only man you ever love in your entire life. It just doesn't work that way. Do you know how many people on this planet would be miserable if it worked that way?"

Miaka looked down, "I still feel guilty."

Mrs. Yuuki lifted her daughter's chin, "I know you do. And it's okay to feel that way. It just means that you have a soft heart, and that you care about other peoples feelings."

Miaka smiled, "Thanks mom. I think you're giving me too much credit, but thanks."

Her mother nodded, "So. You didn't tell me yet. Is he cute?"

"Mom!" Miaka shrieked and threw a napkin at her mother, who caught it and raised an eyebrow as if to say, 'well?'

"Yes. He's very cute. In fact, I don't think I've ever met anyone more gorgeous than he is. Although, don't tell him I said that because he is such an insufferable narcissist that if his head gets any bigger, he won't be able to get through a doorway. And he even does all those things you mentioned earlier." Her mother laughed at that and gestured for Miaka to continue.

"He's tall. Almost six foot. He's got this long brown hair and these incredible golden eyes. His eyes are what make him so amazing looking I think. They give him a sort of intensity. Like a hawk. Or some other bird of prey."

"Oh this is bad." Mrs. Yuuki muttered.

"What? Why?" Miaka frowned.

"You're getting poetic. That is a sure sign that you are twitterpated."

Miaka blushed. "Me, poetic? Right. He's the singer."

"Oh, he's in a band?"

"Weeeeellll. Yeah." Miaka was getting nervous. Pretty soon she'd have to tall her mom exactly who Andy was and tell her about his offer.

"Is he any good?"

"You could say that." He's only famous…

"Well what's his name?"

Uhm… Miaka looked down and then to the side as though the answer to how to handle this was written on the table somewhere. "Andy. Andy Wong."

Mrs. Yuuki was momentarily stunned. "You mean that singer from china that you and Yui went to go see?" she looked genuinely surprised, and interested. "Now how in the world did you manage to get someone like that to fall head over heels for you?"

Miaka shrugged, "Part of my charm?" she shifted uncomfortably, "There's something else I wanted to talk to you about. Andy, he uhm. Sort of asked me to go on tour with him."

Mrs. Yuuki looked surprised. "Well. When? It sounds like it would be a wonderful experience for you."

"This Sunday is when he needs to know, because that's when he leaves." then she remembered something her mother had said, "And you aren't worried about me going off alone? With a guy and his roadies? For an undetermined amount of time? I have family here. I have friends and school. I have a job."

Her mother moved back to the stove in order to try and save the food in the pan that had just caught on fire. As she calmly put out the fire, she told her daughter, "Of course I'm worried. You're my little girl. But I can't protect you forever. Not only is that not healthy for either of us, but it's time that you started making some of your own decisions. Are you willing to leave everything behind for this guy? Would he do the same thing for you? For instance, say that you didn't go with. Do you think that he would wait for you and come back? Or is the reason you're wanting to go because you're afraid that he'll find someone else and forget about you?"

The truth of her mother's words struck her like a physical blow. She could feel an icy hand grip her heart for an instant. Her mom was right. She was willing to give up everything for Andy. She was willing to leave her family, her friends, and a job she loved behind just so she could be with him. And she knew he'd do the same for her if he had to. In fact, he'd already done so in the book. It was time she gave up a little for him.

Although… she was equally afraid that if she didn't go with that he would find another girl. Images of Houki flashed through Miaka's head and she shook it to rid her mind of them. What if they ran into Houki's reincarnate? Would Andy leave her for Houki?

No. He wouldn't. And you are not going to live with the shadow of Houki over your head. Now stop it.

"So… you're saying I should go?" Miaka asked.

Her mother sighed, "I'm saying that you should be sure of what you want in life. You should do what makes you happy. Because life without happiness isn't worth living."

DING DONG.

Miaka glanced at the door. She really didn't feel like getting up and actually moving just yet. But then again… if it was another one of those letters, she sure didn't want her mother to find it.

"I'll get it." She said, springing toward the door and opening it.

No one there.

And another note.

Miaka rolled her eyes and opened it, scoffing at what it said.

Tonight, you die.


AN: Yet another chapter I cut in half!! Because tyhis chapter would have been friggin long! Damn. This means I have to do two chapters this next week… Argh. The things I put myself through for you people!! Remember! Harass me! I give you permission!!