Stuck
Written by Miko-chan
Summary: My only advice...Never, EVER, forget that umbrellas can be found ANYWHERE.
Author's notes: This would be composed of five one-shot stories about various couples. It must have three main contents: a) The umbrella b) The darn rain sneeze and lastly, c) The romance...Make sure you have a blanket there. This fic is dedicated to those who continue to support any of these pairings.
No doubt about it.
Her predictions were always right.
But sometimes, being a fortune-teller has no use if: a) You misinterpret things. For cold weathers means also moist weathers and it does not always meant only a cold breeze passing here; b) That even it is only a slight drizzle, Anna-sama would never like that she would be coming home late, wet and famished and c) Whether it is rain or shine, no matter what happens, one must always carry an umbrella. Weathers are always unpredictable, they are one of the most mysterious phenomenon of life. No one should be trusted, ranging from weather stations to fortune interpretations.
Her rose-colored tresses was seen through the drowsy haze of the street . She leaned against the gray post, with her head lolling to the side in exasperation and hopelessness. It was no use to struggle and run to straight on the burst of the rain. It seems wiser to wait for it stop. The gloomy skies were becoming thicker, looming over them with such a promising shower. It was a good thing she had been over the shelter of some cafe shop nearby the University, wherein a few students do linger sometimes to chat or have some activities in such a small tables underneath a huge parasols.
With her ruby eyes filled with unexplainable boredom, she looked at the few occupants behind her. The elegant cafe was considered to be one of the most renowned confectionary shop in this place. The baby-blue colored umbrellas with printed Sanrio characters stood on the light pink table overwhelmed the whole areas, as if the whole place was made to infect cuddliness. She suddenly reddened, as she noticed that there were many couples around here. Not to mention that it was embarrassing that she had no stashes of bills to order something. Those were rude manners, for someone to enter in a shop to be idle and Anna-sama would be most disapproving. And on top of it, she was wearing their school uniform. What if someone notice--
"Would you like something to eat?"
Then she remembered that this place was familiar to her, after all.
"Shilva-san!" Tamao greeted as she caught sight of her old manager, when she have been working for him as one of the assistant cooks in creating the much delectable sweets in this certain cafe. "How is your business doing?"
"Fine, fine!" The elongated haired man laughed heartily. He was wearing his casual clothes, with the familiar brightly colored polo that he always wore in some occasions with a confident twinkle in his smile and his contaminating humor. He greeted warmly and asked cordially, "What brings you here? I thought that in this time you'll be at the Onsen by now."
"I'm..."Then she sighed exasperatedly, with a contemptuous glance at the dark skies.
"Oh." Shilva-san smiled wryly, getting the message. With a friendly shove towards a seat, he inclined her to wait in one of the big parasols that scattered in the cafe. "Wait a minute, I'll get someone to take your order."
"Eh?" Why it can't be you, Shilva-san?" Probably there were too many customers, for the whole cafe was packed with steaming mugs.
A humongous mascot, with an attire that rivals any kind of fluffiness that would exist in Funbari, slowly made its way to them. It was the cutest and most plump stuffed bunny that was ever seen, adorned with only a black bowtie against the white plump. The 'stuff toy' was waving at her energetically. Despite the murky horizons that had invaded the whole town, it made Tamao a bit tad delighted at the very sight of the mascot.
"I changed the waiter's uniforms." He said with a grin. "I--uh--suggested that it would bring more customers."
"Oi!" The mascot suddenly burst out. "What are you doing here?"
"Na-nani?" The voice was strangely familiar.
"Never mind." The fluffy bunny ignored the startled look. "Here." He lowered down the tray that he brought, bearing a slice of a sugar-coated lemon bar and a whiff of hot chocolate. She could almost imagine the grin inside that huge mask. "On the house."
"Na-Nanda?" She stammered. The beaming manager merely left with a wave of a hand and went to the other side of the massive mass of umbrellas. The young woman was afraid of this, for she never liked to be alone with strangers. Including stuffed, flabby bunnies that brightens rainy afternoons.
"Eat." It said, as he pushed the plate towards her.
She could have raised the fork, if she was not so stiff.
The bunny sighed, and it complemented well with the drooping long ears against its seemingly thoughtful pose. It settled the silver platter on the cotton-candy colored table. With his large, furry arms, it tried to screw off the head of the bunny. By means of a faint pop, he managed to remove from his shoulders the head of the large mascot. Instead, a grinning facade appeared from the large, fluffy shoulders.
"Horo-kun?"
It was silly to behold such a small head perched upon huge shoulders. But it was quite new to see him smile with his elevated tresses not supported with his ethnic bandanna. Few of his dark cobalt strands were drooping from his forehead, as he scratched the back of his head mischievously.
"Surprised?"
"Ye-yes."
"So don't worry about me." He replied in his most friendly manner, not minding that he was occupying two-thirds of the circumference around the table as he sat down at the opposite side. He produced from his hidden pocket a Crunch chocolate bar, and chomped with delight.
"You're working here too?" She managed to say all the words without wobbling. Thank goodness.
"Yeah." He replied cheerfully, contemplating on the bar with utmost contemplation. "Anna would not let us live there without paying the rent for a few months." He grimaced. "How considerate."
"But I guess, Anna-sama would let you live for free after that." She reassured the Ainu shaman with a comforting smile at him. "It's just that our money could not support all our meals." It was evident that with men on the house, their stomach would be like bottomless pits. She could tell from the way the way they devour the meal, as Anna-sama and Pirika-san would calmly drink their tea.
"Maybe." He sighed.
"Besides, Yoh-sama really knows that Anna-sama would not do that for a long time." She said wistfully, as if thinking about the times that Yoh-sama would talk about the budget with his endearing smile of his whenever he discussed with the impassive itako.
The young bunny seems not to think anything reply, so he allowed her to speak softly.
"It's really hard to say it, but I really like...Yoh-sama." Her voice faded so inaudibly, that if he was not making any sense of their conversation, he might not caught the last word. "But he loves her." She glanced over her head, where the borders between the umbrella and the gray skies seems to mingle.
"Have you said that to Yoh?" He seemed to be covered on a shadow of a rainy cloud.
She became afraid that the gloom of the weather had affected the sun-shiny Horo-horo.
"No. I can't." Tamao merely said, with a disappointed shake of his head. "Anna-sama loves him more."
You do. Horo-horo thought with a sigh. You just don't know it.
"But I guess, someone else is meant for me, don't you think?" She said with an air of patience. Gingerly, she ate her slab of pastry, and sipped a little on her cup. "But he won't like me."
"Why?" He unceremoniously crunched.
"I'm weak." She gave off the list of her flaws, with a disdainful look. "I can't speak sometimes straight. I always look down. I can't seem to..." A drawn breath. "..to face the crowd."
"But you can COOK!" He said triumphantly, that even Tamao and other people beside their table jumped. "And that means a LOT!" With an emphatic nod to her, he gave a winning smile. "I'm sure that you'll go along perfectly fine."
"Thank you, Horo-kun" She said in a confiding whisper. "You're always so good to me."
All the chatters of the crowd and drops of the rain melted into silence. It seems that he forgot to inhale in the quaint image that her flushing cheeks made. She was gazing at her cup that she was idly twirling, attempting to hide her heated face. He could not help but also turn away to look at something except her, as if that scene was something to be revered at.
"You want to go home?"
"Y-yes." She stammered, "But the rain..."
"You have forgotten that you are with the GREAT Horo-Horo!" The Ainu exclaimed proudly, with some few passersby stared with the odd pair in the middle of the bustle. "All we need is a huge umbrella..." In this point, he grabbed the gigantic umbrella from their table with a forceful yank. "...that is big for the both of us."
"Horo-horo kun!" The pink-haired fortune teller squeaked as her face drowned in hues of crimsons. "That's..." She absentmindedly gazed at Shilva, who was impishly grinning both at them. That did not help, for her flushing cheeks seems to spread towards her neck and forehead, as if catching an uncontrollable fever.
"Not to worry, not to worry!" He grinned. "It's part of my advertising talents."
She blushed more profusely, because of the commotion, the amused stares of those around them and Ainu's obvious teasing.
"Horo-horo-kun..." she protested weakly. "You still have work..."
But that excuse failed, as he zipped down the white fuzz with an impatient yank. He shrugged off his costume like an agent in the 007 movies, complete with that confident smirk. He took the outfit in his arms, with his hand grabbing hers unconsciously. The young woman had many objections but silenced with a word.
He dropped his voice in a low whisper, "Daijoubu."
"But..." An assuring wave from the manager came from the over looking window of the cafe.
And she can nearly swear that this was conspiracy.
"Off duty!" Horo-horo proclaimed as he deposited his work uniform in the counter and grabbed his dark bluish bento box and the snowboard slung with ease, along with the scarlet young lady beside him. He did not seem to mind at least that he was carrying a conspicuous cutely azure-colored umbrella, with designs of Hello Kitty, Melody, Baditz-Maru and trimmings of pink laces on the sides. "See ya!" He waved off to the snickering customers who seemed to know him from his constant rounding in the cafe.
It might seem ridiculous, but you could not help but be perfectly aware that he was wearing only the plain white polo of their school uniform with his black trousers. He wore simple clothes, with the quaint snowboard on his shoulders and a rumpled tall collar, but it unusually accentuated his tall stature. If you only just deleted the umbrella from the picture, you could almost admire them both. A beet red young woman, with a clean young man beside him blending with the melancholic gloom of the rain. They were silent, the Ainu staring directly at the road while the Izumo shaman looking at the rain-stained ground.
"Tamao?" The gentleness of his voice was startling. She gazed up at him, with her rose-colored eyes meeting at his dark cerulean eyes. A smile, not a mischievous smirk or a confident smirk, but one that warms you even the whip of the rain was strong.
It was already the same serious calmness radiating from him was the same refuge that she always seek.
"Will you wait for him?"
"I think so" She gave a weary face, one that touched the strings of his chest unexpectedly.
"Even if you grew old and had menopause?" He said chirpily.
She carried a bitter-sweet burden in her smile, ignoring the witty comment at the end. "If he will."
"I'm sure that he'll do his best to deserve you." And with the pluck of courage that the blood of Ainus always carries, he draped an arm over the startled Tamao's shoulders. With an encouraging kiss on her forehead, he added with a grin, "I promise you that."
And the fancy-colored parasol that gaily enlightened the gloomy skies was seen crossing down the street.
A really HUNGRY author. This fic came from staring at a coffee shop in Eastwood, as I craved for sugar that time. (I have no money, of course =3. Namasyal lang.) So that explains all of this fluff. Baditz-Maru, Melody and Hello Kitty are the culprit for infecting cuddliness, courtesy of Sanrio The food were got from looking at the contents of our ref while sisters munched on a choco bar...Halata ba? sweats
Dedicated to Mendori-chan, dahil madaya ang Cagayan kasi umuulan sa kanila. Pero umulan nung natapos ko to. Uuwi na ko ulit...hweheheh. Nagpost lang ako.