I am so sorry it's taken me so long to update! I've been trying desperately to keep up, but I'm a slow typer…Gomen nasai! And after all the errors I made…Ugh…I did a bad job last time didn't I? XD; Sorry…I need to pay more attention to what I'm typing, as well as what I'm reading (I swear, it's this stupid keyboard--whatever I try to type it always comes out wrong). Thank-you, Riles, for being so patient with my many errors, and thanks for reading my stories and pointing out my errors instead of just all around criticizing it. n.n; Sorry…I'll do better this time I think…but don't I always say that? XD Enjoy, min'na!
Chapter 4: Competition"Hiro-chan, let's ride this one next!"
"Eh? I can't ride that—it's a kiddy ride!"
"No, it's not! It's fun! Please? I'll be scared if no one comes on with me!"
She had been playing the same card all afternoon—the rides were "too scary," and she wanted Hiro to accompany her so she wouldn't be frightened. Hiro knew it was a lie, that she only wanted him to enjoy the rides, the noise, the artificially flavored junk food, just as much as she did, and wanted him to have fun. Tohru had been trying her best to keep up, carrying the souvenirs Kisa and Hiro bought, buying the food, and trying to figure out where it was the children were running to next. All the while she tried to keep her serene smile on her face, no matter how hard it was to keep up with the younger kids.
"Please, Hiro-chan? Please? I'd really like you to come on the ride with me. It'll be fun," Kisa continued to beg. Hiro looked up at the monstrosity she expected him to go on—it was a tall structure shaped like a giant mushroom, with swings hanging down from it in the shape of flowers. It was the kind of ride an adventurous kid would want to go on, but an adult could go on too and be perfectly comfortable—except they'd be utterly humiliated. Hiro sighed in defeat, then started walking over to the ride.
"All right, all right, I give," he said, and Kisa smiled brightly.
"Thank-you, Hiro-chan!" They walked over to the ride, Tohru sitting down on a nearby bench, sighing in relief as she put down the heavy load. She watched as Hiro and Kisa got aboard, smiling to herself—Hiro-san really had a weak spot for Kisa-san…
After a few minutes the ride started up, and she fell back on the bench, breathing deeply and starting to fall asleep. Hot days did that to her--they were so relaxing that sometimes she just fell asleep without any hesitation. She remember Kyo had called her an airhead on many an occasion because of it, but he never said why…In the middle of her thoughts, she fell asleep, and starting snoring blissfully, unaware of all the eyes that were glued to her in curiosity.
About 15 minutes later she woke up, yawning and vaguely wondering if Kisa and Hiro had gotten off the ride. She stretched for a few minutes, sighed happily, the turned around as if to see the two children walking over to her. When she turned around, the ride was just starting up again, some of the kids who had gotten off lining up again, but no sign whatsoever of Kisa and Hiro. Tohru felt a small fear sprout in her, and tried desperately to keep it from going out of control as she ran over to the ride.
Don't panic, Tohru, she told herself, they probably just went to the bathroom or something. I'm sure they're all right. She asked the person who controlled the ride if he had seen the two kids, but he only shrugged his shoulders and went back to working the giant toadstool. By now Tohru really was panicking, and was running all over the area looking for them—at food stands, in the bathroom, on rides—but they were nowhere to be found. After searching half the park for another 15 or 20 minutes she started to blame herself, and kept wondering weather they were okay—if they weren't, it would be all her fault, and Kisa and Hiro would never speak to her again. She didn't even take into account that they were the one's who had wandered off—she just stood there in the middle of the crowd, crying, and then yelled to the sky as loud as she could, causing more people to stare at her.
"Kisa-saaaaaaan! Hiro-saaaaaaaan! Where are yoooooou?"
Hiro was in fact dragging Kisa to the other side of the park. Hiro looked both victorious and annoyed, and his grip was hard on Kisa's wrist.
"H…Hiro-chan," she stuttered, "is it really all right to leave onee-chan behind?" Hiro didn't even turn around to look at her as he replied.
"Of course it is. She did say we could go anywhere in the park, just as long as we didn't get lost--"
"Or stray from her," added Kisa. Hiro glared, but still didn't face her.
"As I was saying, we're not lost, are we Kisa?" Kisa shook her head hesitantly.
"N-no, but--"
"Well, then we're fine. That stupid woman will find us eventually. In the mean time, which rides should we go on?" While Kisa was still worried about her onee-chan, she was still anxious to get on some of the new rides she was seeing, and was once again eager and perky.
"Um," she said, "why don't we go on that one?" She pointed to a ride named "The Scrambler," which was a machine spinning around countless cars and jerking them around violently. Hiro raised an eyebrow at the run-down condition of the ride, but nodded anyway.
"All right, then," he said, leading Kisa over to the ride, "we'll ride it, and then I get to choose. We've been going on rides you like all afternoon." Kisa giggled at his remark,
"That's fair enough, Hiro-chan," she said, just as the line moved up and it was their turn to get in a car.
Meanwhile, Tohru had ventured into the east part of the amusement park, and still there was no sign of the two. She asked countless people if they had seen them—a tall, brown-haired boy, and a shorter red-haired girl—but everyone she had asked so far hadn't seen them. Tohru was starting to feel very worried—what if they had been kidnapped or had wandered out of the park? If that were the case, she'd have to go to the Main Sohma House, but she didn't want to do so unless she had searched the park thoroughly first. She ran over to the roller coaster they had first gone on, hoping they had wanted another ride on it, but still no sign. She had searched the entire east and west part of the park by now, and still no sign of them. The only place she hadn't searched was the northern park—and they were sure to be there, unharmed but scared. She ran as fast as she could to the gate marking the entrance to North Park—Hang on, you two, she though, I'm coming to find you!
Hiro and Kisa got off the ride, laughing and joking, until Kisa remembered Hiro's request.
"Which ride should we go on next, Hiro-chan?" Hiro looked around, thinking of a ride he'd actually want to go on—and his eyes came to rest on a huge Ferris wheel. He grinned, and pointed it out to Kisa.
"How about that?" he asked. Kisa clapped her hands and squealed with joy.
"I love Ferris Wheels!" she exclaimed, and Hiro smiled.
"Yeah," he said under his breath, "I had a feeling you would."
"What's that, Hiro-chan?"
"Oh, nothing. Come on, we'd better line up." They walked over to the Ferris wheel, and were surprisingly next in line. The Ferris Wheel came to a stop, letting the people on the first cart off, then spun and let the next group off and so on, until Kisa and Hiro were inside one of the carts. Kisa looked out the window, laughing in delight as they rose higher into the sky. Hiro grinned, happy he had chosen something she enjoyed, and leaned back in his seat, looking out the window wistfully. A long silence followed, only broken by Kisa's happy giggles, until Hiro sat up and faced Kisa. Kisa noticed he was looking at her, and stopped looking out the window for the time being, knowing he had something he wished to tell her.
"Is something wrong, Hiro-chan?" she asked, smiling a small, uncertain smile, and cocking her head to one side. Hiro's face turned a pale red, and he looked down at the floor a he spoke.
"There was something I was going to tell you," he began, "at the taiyaki stand, but that Stupid Woman interfered." He paused for a moment, seeing Kisa was looking out the window once more, but still listening to his words. "I…Kisa, I really…I think I…" He faltered again, not sure what to say, and they sat in silence for a moment more. Suddenly, Kisa let out a small scream, and her face was pressed to the glass, her mouth open in shock.
"Onee-chan!" she cried. "Onee-chan is down there! Look, look, Hiro-chan!" Hiro did look, and saw that she was right—the stupid woman was standing near the Ferris wheel, looking around frantically as if she had lost something and was trying desperately to find it. Hiro sighed in annoyance, and leaned back in his chair.
Figures, he though angrily, All she cares about is her onee-chan. I'm nothing but a "child-hood friend" now—she doesn't care about me the way I care about her. And why should I be surprised? The ride came to a stop, and Kisa ran off, Hiro following slower and a lot less enthusiastically. He watched as Kisa ran to Tohru, and Tohru half laughed half sobbed and hugged her as she came to her. His eyes seemed to be covered in a film, because suddenly the world was gray, like a faded picture, and there was no sound anywhere to be heard, except his own thoughts.
She would have done a better job at protecting Kisa, he thought, I can't even be her prince, her knight, her anything. All I'll even be is a friend—a lousy, no good, smart-mouthed friend who not even someone I've known since I was small would care about. The film lifted, and he walked over to join the group stubbornly, Tohru chastising him about running off on his own and at the same time chastising herself for letting him go, and saying she was so glad he was safe. The whole time Hiro blocked out her words, and thought to himself instead how pathetic all of this really was.