OKAY! (Grins triumphantly) Finally got this done! Wow this is a long one though, I'm sorry of it's slow. I'm not very sure about it's slowness myself as I wrote during bits and pieces of my time (obviously) while I was gone for two weeks. This chapter was complicated but interesting to write so it should be good. I hope the length as well as the story itself make up for the amount of time I had to take.
I mean, this chapter is 20 pages long not counting my reviewer responses and the chapters of this fic are supposed to be no less than 14-16 pages. I'll move likely do the next chapter of this fic again since I did two chapters in a row for my other fic as well. But then again, you never know, things can change at a very fast pace. Anyway, I hope you like it and as always, let me know what you thought of it ;)
Do not own SC characters.
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Chapter 6: Emotions Brought by Love and War
"Well, that was embarrassing." Taki commented in a low tone as she rode inside Mina's burgundy, four-door Mazda3 car. She made sure to keep her eyes upon the passing skyscrapers even though they reflected the sun's orange-gold light off their thousands of windows. After the little escapade they went through, she was nervous that she would suddenly share eye contact with the blonde since they were both sitting in the back seat.
Sophitia felt even more nervous and had the same thoughts as Taki. The entire week seemed to go from bad to worse and lying on top of a woman four years older than her while being on top of their professor's desk was the point where the line had been crossed. "No kidding." She responded before she sighed and propped her chin onto her arm which leaned on the car door. 'I don't know which of our little 'scenes' was worse; Professor Mau's desk, subway, or Taki under the kotatsu.' Inwardly groaning at the memory of all three, she ran her fingers through her golden fringe then let her palm run along the side of her face.
"At least it was an interesting and certainly entertaining sight." Yunsung commented from the front seat that he had eagerly called 'shotgun' for before they even got into the car, much to Mina's annoyance since she believed it was immature for him to do that.
Mina sharply turned to her cousin, knowing that his comment wasn't helping things and she could hear it by the sudden shifting movements from the back as well as a dull growl of aggravation. "Yunsung!" She slapped his shoulder, making him flinch. Although she realized that the auburn-haired boy was right since she remembered a grin crossing her lips when she laid eyes on their close contact. "As true as that may seem, you aren't raising any hopes here!" A smile seemed to involuntarily invade her lips as she scolded the bewildered Yunsung.
Sophitia felt her lip twitch in annoyance towards Mina's persistence that she never seemed to stop since they left. "You just can't stop yourself, can you?" She asked with a quirked eyebrow, only to have Mina pull her lips inside her mouth in an attempt to hold back her sniggers.
"I do have difficulties." Mina stated bemusedly as she glanced towards Sophitia, who sighed at the irritation she felt, although thinking that she should be used to her friend's childlike ways. Her green eyes darted to the streets, trying to find a way to change the subject as they stopped at a four-way intersection. However, one of the streets was blocked so that only public, not automobiles could pass as it led to a section of a small park anyway.
Within the street-way and park, people seemed to be preparing for something which the blonde could never figure out since they had started over two weeks ago. The oriental lamps hung from the streetlights as well as the strings of lights that went from one corner of a building to another at the opposite side. Racks of other lanterns with Asian characters were lifted next to what looked like sales booths. Other booths and stands for what Sophitia didn't know as they were still being set up along the sidewalks although she could guess that they were for games or something close to the sort.
"Hey Mina," Sophitia addressed while not noticing her friend's expression of slight surprise; Mina wasn't sure if she would still talk to her after what she said. "You go out a lot more than I do; any idea what that's all about?" The blonde asked as she pointed towards the construction in the blocked street.
"Uh…" Mina took a good glance towards the busy street as she tried to find an answer. "I'm not sure what that is myself." She stated quizzically while quickly pressing the gas peddle as the traffic began to move, only to cause a small jerk in the car's sudden movement. Of course as they passed the street that was filled with Asians for the preparations, Taki nearly slapped a hand on her face as she caught out of the corner of her eye a rigging full of lanterns and souvenirs nearly crash to the ground due to the clumsiness of one of the workers; it felt as though they were bringing the Asian population a class lower because of the incompetence they showed even if it was brief.
"It's just a new festival that started last year and made for Asians and anyone else willing to come. I think it's called the Departure of Blossoms Festival since it is the middle of Fall." Taki seemed to voluntarily speak although in a dulled, simple-sounding tone. Her eyes swept to the passing trees planted within the sidewalks and finally took notice of their warm-colored leaves as she mentioned the season. "I'm surprised you didn't know that Mina, since you appear to have 'oriental' blood yourself." Pointing out assertively, Taki shifted in her seat and crossed her arms over her stomach as she spoke.
Mina quirked an eyebrow at Taki's statement. "Just so you know, I think you portray more of the 'oriental blood' than I do. And also, I didn't think there would be many Asian festivals in an American city." She responded simply, not taking her eyes off the road, thankfully.
Taki turned to the head of Mina's seat in front of her in slight surprise. "Are you kidding? They have Asian festivals year 'round; the Plum Blossom Festival, Taste of Chinatown, Sakura Matsuri: Cherry Blossom Festival, the Anime and Game Festival, which is my personal favorite, as well as the-"
"Alright! I get your point!" Mina interrupted exasperatedly with a whispered 'Geez!'
"That thing about the Anime and Game Festival doesn't really surprise me." Sophitia commented simply as she leaned her shoulder against her window.
Taki merely glanced at her. "I'm sure it doesn't. But Sakura is more of a fanatic about it than I am and Haitani always loves to tag along." She added then slowly leaned over towards Sophitia as something crossed her mind (of course at the same time, something else crossed her mind and hoped that Mina wouldn't suddenly jerk the wheel in another direction seeing as to how the Asian was leaning directly over Sophitia's upper chest. Otherwise, that would be another little 'fond' memory if Taki was accidentally lunged towards Sophitia in the wrong place). "You know, there's also a 'From The Grecian Isles' festival coming up in November." Since she knew that the blonde was indeed Greek, she couldn't help but mention this with a raised eyebrow.
The older woman slowly pulled back into her seat as Sophitia slowly turned to just look at her with indifference. "You don't need to tell me that; my father's part of it. So it's a bit hard to avoid anyway." She stated simply then sighed as she noticed the confused look Taki gave her. "My father's a baker. He has his own shop but it's relatively small so he sells most of his goods there since more people would be into the spirit of buying during the festival. That must be his favorite time of the year." Looking away for a second, she spoke simply until she thought of all the previous years of walking through that festival suddenly flowed into her head.
"I can understand why, knowing how traditional he sounded when you told me about him." Taki stated in what seemed like a tolerable fashion as she leaned back in her seat with her arms folded behind her head. Of course as she did this, the car suddenly began to slow and pull over by a curb, nearly making her fall forward into the back of Mina's seat. She looked out and was surprised to see that they made it back to Sophitia's apartment complex so quickly.
"Is this it, or did you have some other place in mind?" Mina turned as she asked Sophitia with raised eyebrows.
Sophitia shook her head. "This is perfect; I've already had enough for one day." Looking away as she referred to what happened in Professor Mau's office, she got out of the car with Taki, who was eager to stay in one place as well. "Thank you." She finished as she walked to Mina's window, knowing it was open.
"Anytime Sophie!" Yunsung popped his head out of the window at Mina's side, leaning over his cousin's lap in the process with a wide grin on his boyish face and an eager wave. Sophitia couldn't help but smile at his perky behavior and waved back until the older sepia-haired Korean austerely pushed her right arm in front of his chest.
"Get back you little urchin!" Mina yelled as she pushed him back into his seat. "You didn't drive here so why are you responding!" She asked with a glare.
Yunsung half-sneered as he quirked an eyebrow at her. "Firstly, I'm responding for more than one reason." Mina knew he was referring to the memorable image of seeing the Greek on top of Taki, which made her sneer in return at his dirty thoughts (although at the same time she tried not to grin as the image was hilarious to her). "And secondly, I think I could've driven better than you can, even though I don't have my permit." He stated broadly and confidently, ignoring Mina's rolling eyes.
"Uh-huh." Mina merely responded as she turned to Sophitia. "See you at school?" She asked with a slightly raised eyebrow, already knowing the older girl's answer. However, Mina was just able to hear Sophitia's "Yep" as Yunsung lunged at his cousin again.
"In fact, gimme the wheel!" Yunsung demanded as he grabbed a side of the steering wheel and attempted to hold onto it as Mina was trying to push his hands away.
"No way!" Mina growled before the turned to both girls on the sidewalk who looked at the kindred pair with bemused concern. "I… sigh… I'll see you later; I have to strap him down. Bye." She rolled up her window with Yunsung still struggling to get passed her, although he was still able to raise his hand and bring back his eager expression as he yelled his goodbye.
Apart from their slight waving, the two on the sidewalk didn't move as they watched the burgundy car drive off into the moderately busy street. "Think they're going to be okay?" Taki asked while lowering her hand to her side as she continued to watch as they steadily increased speed.
Sophitia paused as she kept her eyes onto the car. "I believe s-…" She stopped as she watched the car swerve, no doubt Yunsung being the cause by lunging at her again. "I hope…" Once again, she stopped as the car swerved again however nearly into another smaller car. This made her a bit more uneasy so she watched until they were out of their field of view. The slightly shorter girl sighed then turned to the glass-paned front door. "We'll find out tomorrow." She finally finished with Taki close behind.
"No offense towards your friend, but I kind of wonder how she made it into NYU." Taki commented as she leaned against one of the elevator's walls while Sophitia pressed the level number on the panel.
The blonde chuckled in response as she leaned against another of the elevator's walls. "I'm not exactly sure myself. All I know is that she gets herself through and I guess I'm content knowing that." She added as she folded her arms behind her back while they stayed silent until they heard the 'ding!' of their arrival onto their floor.
Taki stepped into the apartment first and basically fell into the couch from slight exhaustion from the day, even though the daylight hours hadn't reached their end yet. Her oriental eyes fell onto the cat, which sat in front of the glass door that led out onto the balcony. Its tail wagged gracefully yet eagerly as its blue eyes were wide and glued to the balcony, a behavior at which Taki's eyes furrowed in curiosity. Her eyes darted to a bird as it flew onto the balcony and was just able to hear a slight tapping sound which the cat made with its paws against the glass door. As more birds flew passed, the more the cat's paws tapped as if it was an addiction and wanted to catch the birds between its paws. Taki nearly laughed at how eager Ember looked with its needing yet predator-like expression.
As the Asian was preoccupied with the cat, Sophitia pulled out the mail that she had previously received although didn't have the time to sort through. She flipped through each one; a muscle soon pulled at a corner of her lips in worry as her eyes landed upon the 'Rent' notice given by her apartment manager, then her worry changed to intrigue as she flipped to the next letter which was one that she didn't recognize. Her eyes widened as she noticed that a corner of the letter indicated that it was from Greece, and there was only one person that she knew who still lived within that country…
The Grecian glanced at Taki, making sure that she hadn't seen the surprised look she had seconds ago. Pulling all her letters in her arms, she nonchalantly made her way to her room to read the native yet familiar language of a certain special someone.
Taki waited for Sophitia to return so that she could present the cat's continuing display to her, although she was quite confused about the hasty way that the younger girl had exited the room as well as why it was taking her so long to reenter. When she did come back, Taki tried not to mention the look that Sophitia held; it seemed fraught with questions. "Hey, take a look at your cat." Taki motioned to the very preoccupied cat, and then her eyes furrowed as Sophitia's eyes suddenly snapped to hers as if she had just noticed her then swept her gaze to the cat, which at least brought out a chuckle.
"Yeah, she does that a lot, that's why I never let her out on the balcony otherwise she'd jump right off." She explained as she leaned her head on her arm which leaned onto the arm of the couch.
"Smart-thinking." Taki responded before a yawn caught up to her, making her stretch slightly. "What are we going to do now? May I ask?" The older woman asked as she shifted to rest her back against the couch's arm on her own side.
Sophitia rolled her neck before she looked at her watch. "Well, it's 6:38 now. Maybe I can help you in math since we weren't able to do it last time." She suggested in a neutral tone due to her own idleness
Taki's eyes snapped to the side of her face as she was looking away. "N-now?" Her tone sounded spiritless at what Sophitia suggested.
The Greek slowly turned to her with knowing eyes at what she was thinking. "Want to wait?" She quirked an eyebrow.
"Yes." Taki answered simply but her eyes still remained still upon the other girl's.
"How long?" Sophitia shifted until she was almost completely towards her and was looking at her with what looked like intrigue.
"'Couple days?" The older woman knew that that wasn't going to work but she figured that she might as well give it a try.
Sophitia sighed through her nose as she blinked. "'Couple minutes?" The scholar's tone didn't make it sound like a question and Taki could very easily sense that, which made her let out a loud sigh as she looked away.
"I'll take it. Just let me do something in the meantime." Not waiting for Sophitia to respond, she reluctantly pushed herself off of the couch and made her way to her room.
"Sure, go ahead." Sophitia encouraged while trying not to sound sarcastic since she wasn't trying to be anyway. She laid herself completely on her back with her hands behind her hand, feeling her eyes become slightly heavy. "It's not like I'd attach a 1 ton ball and chain to your ankle to keep you in one place for the entire night." Adding with a quirked eyebrow at the idea, she let her eyes close yet she still had enough energy in her to not fall asleep.
Taki stopped herself inside of the hallway and held in her smirk as she turned back and poked her head back out into the living room. Her eyes landed on the younger girl's relaxed form. "With you, you never really know." Her smirk broke through as Sophitia opened one eye and just glared at her in response. Taki quickly went back towards her room, shut the door behind her and fired up her laptop after she jumped on her navy-sheeted bed with a bounce. Hoping that her chat friend was online, she also hoped that she would have enough time to speak to her before Sophitia would pull her back into the living room.
8
Sophitia laid her arm over her eyes as she sighed. 'She's just like Mina; she just never stops!' The blonde thought while being relieved that Taki was in her room so that she could have silence of her own. However, the silence soon was broken as a very dull chime came to her ears from the direction of her desktop. Springing herself upright to look at her computer, she grinned as her messenger was blinking on the screen. She pulled herself out of the couch and nearly jumped straight into her cushioned, revolvable chair and read her friend's message:
"DragonMistress48: Are you there?"
Sophitia read the small message quickly as she wanted to reply just as fast. "SacredEmblem12: Whenever it says I'm 'online' then you'd know I'm here :)"
'B-ring!' "DragonMistress48: Well I know that, but I just wanted to make sure :) Did your day go well?"
Sophitia's shoulders almost dropped as she read her friend's question; she was getting tired of having the embarrassing images pop up into her head. "SacredEmblem12: Don't ask, surely worse than yours."
'B-ring!' "DragonMistress48: Heh, don't be too sure. It was pretty bad, but at least it's a little easy to get over."
Quirking an eyebrow, Sophitia became curious of what went on during her friend's day but decided not to ask as she felt like she would be pressing the issue. Plus she knew that her friend would ask about her own day and Sophitia really didn't want to talk about or explain it, especially when she didn't know how to explain it herself. A thought popped into Sophitia's head as she heard the city commotion from the balcony door which she had opened a bit just to let some air in but not let a certain feline out. "SacredEmblem12: Do you know about the Departure of Blossoms festival?" She knew that asking about the festival was a long shot as two out of three people had heard of it but she wanted to give it a try.
'B-ring!' "DragonMistress48: Uh, yeah, why do you ask?"
Sophitia hesitated as she read the reply; not knowing exactly why she asked herself. "SacredEmblem12: Oh,I don't know, I was just wondering if you were going."
8
Taki just blinked at the reply; she wasn't sure if she was going. Then again she wasn't sure if she had a choice in the matter as her father had made her go last year despite how many times she said that she didn't want to. When she went last year, she did find some parts at least interesting and in different ways, so now she felt pretty neutral about the idea. "DragonMistress48: I might. Why? Are you going to go?" Taki quirked an eyebrow as the question came into her head; it was an interesting thought.
'B-ring!' "SacredEmblem12: I…I'm not sure, I just heard about it today. So like you, I might. I will if you will ;)"
The Asian bit her bottom lip; this was getting really tempting! She wanted to go just for the idea of catching a glance at someone who would be her chat-line friend. Her mind wandered over to Sophitia and her heart sunk slightly; she remembered the look of almost carelessness at the topic and she also knew how much of a study-fanatic she was. She sighed as she typed her reply. "DragonMistress48: I definitely would if you were going to go, however the problem is my roommate. She's the kind of person who likes to stay in all the time and study and she's been trying to help me with my grades, so I'm sure she'll try and keep me in and I don't think that sneaking out would be an option."
'B-ring!' "SacredEmblem12: (Frowns) Well, I guess that's good for you on the academic level but bad for us, even though we'd have no idea what the other looks like. I think she should liven herself up a bit or at least let you live the way you want to."
'B-ring!' "SacredEmblem12: But I don't think I'd go then since I wouldn't have anyone to go with since my own family is strange in their own ways ;P And I might be too busy at the point anyway since my schedule seems to change constantly lately."
Taki chuckled as she read her friend's criticism of her own family then relating that description to her Japanese family, finding a similarity easily. She glanced towards her clock and sputtered as she noticed that fifteen minutes had already passed. Knowing that Sophitia would surely knock on her door at any moment, she tried to finish up their conversation with much reluctance. "DragonMistress48: LOL. About family and schedules, I know the feeling, believe me :) But speaking of my 'dearest' roommate, she might be calling me any time know to catch up on the subject I'm worst at. Maybe we can continue this later tonight?" The ebony-haired woman almost clasped her hands together and prayed that her friend would have a positive response.
'B-ring!' "SacredEmblem12: I'm not sure, I've got something going on myself, but I'll sure try :)"
This left Taki to be a little disappointed since the answer was unsure, but she trusted her word and smiled faintly as she wrote her goodbye and didn't log off until she saw SacredEmblem return it.
88
Sophitia had quirked an eyebrow at Taki's impeccable timing but soon brushed it to the side as she continued to flip through the sheets of her roommate's Math binder. She scanned each page once again, trying to get a deeper feel of what and how Taki was doing and found that the math this older woman was doing was the kind that Sophitia figured 'beginner/moderate of difficulty' college standard-wise. However, with all the check-marks on the questions, Taki must have thought of it as moderate/advanced difficulty. Sophitia sighed inwardly in slight aggravation towards all that she would have to re-teach this woman.
"Okay," The Grecian started as she turned the binder towards Taki although not looking up at her as she pointed to a question that was marked completely wrong. "Firstly, your theorems are completely mixed up, you've got your midpoint, distance and slope for (5, 1) and (3, -4) way off; Slope y2 – y1/ x2 – x1. Distance radical (x2-x1)2 + (y2-y1)2. And Midpoint is… Taki?" As Sophitia glanced up during her explanations, she noticed that Taki was staring almost dreamily out the balcony doors into the dull sunset light that was slowly aging into darkness. 'She didn't hear a word I said, huh?' The blonde's shoulders dropped as she looked at the woman who paid absolutely no attention to her.
"Taki." Sophitia addressed in a normal tone along with a simple blink. "Taki." This time, she called a little louder accompanied by a small whistle to attract her attention, but to no avail; Taki just brushed her bangs out of one of her eyes then leaned her cheek on the heel of her palm as she continued to play 'space cadet' in her lost thoughts. Sophitia took in a breath and let it out in a harsh sigh as she crumpled up a sheet of loose-leaf paper and tossed it in Taki's direction.
Taki almost sputtered as she was abruptly brought out of her thoughts by a light object hitting the side of her forehead and bouncing lightly to the ground, only to be batted around by the cat's paws. At the time, she didn't believe she was anywhere anyway, just staring blankly into space out of pure boredom, so it didn't really bother her all that much; of course the other reason for her not minding Sophitia's tactic was because her own siblings would do that to each other all the time, whether for play or not. Her brown eyes swept up to Sophitia's, however slightly narrowed to at least show a sign of aggravation as if to humor the younger girl's action.
"You rang?" Taki asked with a quirked eyebrow and a cocky tone.
Sophitia sighed audibly as she ran a hand over her face. "Do you have ADD or something? You're always zoning out and never paying attention." She commented as Taki shifted to face the younger woman completely.
"Well I'm sorry, but since it's so late in the day, the wakefulness begins to fall and I usually need something to pump up the blood and make me more willing to work." Taki answered in a rather gesticulate fashion.
Sophitia merely blinked at her slowly before laying her chin on her steepled fingers. "Well then why didn't you tell me? I could've gotten you a few sugar packets, one every minute, that should keep you wide awake." The scholar suggested jokingly as she cocked her head to one side while Taki just looked up at her then looked to the side, grumbling in reply. Sophitia looked down as she shifted in her seat. "Well then, what does help you to be 'pumped up' for sessions like this?" She quirked an eyebrow as she waited for Taki's answer.
At first, Taki just went back into her blank expression, her eyes darting from one corner of her eye to the other as she tried to think as she wasn't too sure herself of how to 'pump' herself up. However, as if on queue, the 'vrooom' of a motorcycle passing their street caught Taki's ears, which slowly made her grin from ear to ear as she turned to the younger girl.
Sophitia's eyes were furrowed in confusion, then widened in what looked like horror. "You can't be serious; so late at night? How's that going to help you with your focusing?" Her tone was almost suspicious as she quirked an eyebrow.
"Well, it gets my blood going." Taki explained simply as she stood herself up to get her keys. "It kind of excites me, especially when I'm going at a good speed. And besides," The Asian woman walked around to Sophitia and took her hand. "You look like you need a little 'pumping up' as well since you looked like you were about to fall asleep on me a few seconds ago." With an insisting tone, she pulled the reluctant Sophitia to her feet.
"Y'know, there's two things that I find wrong with this: One, you were actually paying attention to how I was looking a few minutes ago yet you can't focus on your own work. And two, you know I hate motorcycles!" Sophitia protested rather mildly as she tried to get her hand back from Taki's grasp, however soon finding that the woman's grip was very strong although not very painful. She pulled back in nervousness as she noticed her smirk and a soft glint in the taller woman's chocolate eyes.
"Oh come on." Taki seemed to have a knowing look in her eyes which made Sophitia's eyebrows furrow. "I've ridden my motorcycle many times; I can use it better than anyone, so you have nothing to fear with me. You may be stubborn but you can't be this stubborn to not try and defeat a fear." She held her smirk as she quirked an eyebrow at the younger girl who looked back at her with indifference.
"You're calling me stubborn? What do you think you're doing now?" Sophitia returned the quirked eyebrow while Taki rolled her eyes and let out an exasperated sigh as she pulled Sophitia towards the door while grabbing her navy jacket as well as Sophitia's brown coat to have against the chill of the November air.
By the time they reached Taki's red and black Kawasaki Ninja, Sophitia tried to point out that they she needed a helmet, using that as an excuse not to ride. Taki only grinned at this as she pulled out a second helmet which was of normal design which covered all the way to the chin and was black with a clear visor.
"Remember, I have many siblings and never know when one may need a ride." Taki explained with a smug smile that Sophitia furrowed her eyes at. She took in a breath to relieve the tension she was feeling, from both aggravation and nervousness, and reluctantly slipped the helmet on. Swinging her leg over the motorbike and taking her seat behind Taki, she wrapped her arms around the older girl and held on so tightly that the ebony-haired had some trouble pulling air into her lungs. "Geez! I haven't even started the engine yet and you're already holding me for dear life!" Taki proclaimed exasperatedly as she shifted to make herself a bit more comfortable.
Sophitia looked up at her from behind and lifted the visor as well as her eyebrow. "Just thought I'd prepare myself for what's coming." She replied in a cocky tone then shut her visor again and wrapped her arms tight around the older woman's waist, just catching the look Taki gave her before she let her gaze drop back down. 'I can't help it if I have a fear of these things! I've hated them since I heard those stories about horrible accidents so how can I not act this way?' Sophitia thought defensively. 'She should feel content knowing that I even walked up to her bike, let alone give me a ride on it.' Her heart began to pound as she noticed the engine rumble to a start beneath her.
"'Guess I don't need to tell you to hold on tight then." With that, Taki slid on her red and black motocross helmet and snapped the visor shut before she used her legs to push herself out of her parking spot. She eagerly wrapped her hand around the clutch handle and slowly started their way out of the parking garage…
8
The only things that Sophitia saw were lights speeding past her, all from cars, buildings or streetlights and all of which where enhanced by the little light of dusk. While the sounds were the honks from time to time from the cars that sped past and around the Asian biker, the motorcycle's engine and Taki's nearly maniacal laughter brought on by the excitement of the moment's rush.
Taki wound her way around every automobile that got in her way, which didn't help Sophitia's nerves one bit. Instead of going around one block, like the Grecian had hoped, the older woman went around at least five blocks. Sophitia easily learned that Taki loved to do sharp turns and press on the gas, which caused her to hold on even tighter and clamp her eyes shut.
For Taki, however, it just felt like an awesome rollercoaster ride; speeding up in straight lanes whether they were open or not, leaning from one side to the other as she did her sharp turns at intersections, feeling her muscles tense in excitement and dodging every moronic driver that was either just very poor at driving or thought that he/she could do better than what Taki pulled off in front of them. It was a euphoric and exhilarating experience for Taki as it felt like she was playing her own action-packed video game, dodging any obstacle that came her way while having the widest grin of excitement on her face.
'C'mon, c'mon! You can do better than that! Show them that these streets were made for you! Go faster!' Taki could feel her heart pump faster in enthusiasm as her wild, daring conscience yelled inside her head. She would have been more than willing to oblige, however, she knew that she was better, more respectable than that and the pain of Sophitia's arms wrapped constictingly around her ribs reminded her that there was also the responsibility of having another person's life in her hands.
Sophitia snuck a look over Taki's shoulder and noticed that her motorcycle's clock indicated that an hour had passed since they left. She was about to speak when she noticed that they had wound up in Times Square, which ultimately took her attention away from the matter. Taki was apparently at a red light so she took her time to gaze at the many lit billboards and adds absolutely covered with flashing, multicolored lights. It was rare for her to end up at this part of the city so she had trouble taking her eyes off the many lights.
'I feel like a moth.' Sophitia quirked an eyebrow as the thought popped up in her head; it sounded like a cocky comment that Taki would say if she was watching her passenger right now. Of course the only reason she felt so much awe in this square was because even though she had promised Cassandra that she would bring her here, she had never really seen it as well as she did now since she always like to stay at either her apartment or the university library.
Her thoughts quickly changed as another motorcyclist stopped next to Taki with his Yamaha bike which showed the engine. Taki easily noticed the presence since she could feel their eyes upon her. Both Sophitia and Taki could tell that the cyclist was a young male even though he had a green and black helmet on; the fact that he had no bust gave that away. Taki peered over to him and saw a certain glint in his mischievous blue eyes. He rezzed his engine and gave out a competitive rumble. Taki could just see the grin beneath his helmet and she returned the glint, which of course Sophitia noticed. Her eyes widened as her eyes caught the readiness in the other woman's wrists and palms as she held the handlebars tighter.
Sophitia quickly grasped Taki's arm as she spoke next to her ear. "Taki, don't you dare!" Her voice portrayed more desperation than demand. Her eyebrows furrowed as she noticed that the sports-fan seemed to be paying little attention to her. "Taki listen, I've you're going to do something like this – killing yourself – at least let me off!" She spoke as she hastily tried to jump off the bike as the traffic was still waiting for the light to turn green. However, her eyes widened as she felt Taki pulled her back on with a rather suggestive smile.
"Don't worry, it'll be quick." Taki spoke loud enough so that her competitor could hear, which was confirmed as the male biker quickly turned, ready for the light to turn green and for the drag race to begin. Sophitia took in a breath and held onto Taki as tightly as the opposing biker was holding onto his handlebars. She noticed that her roommate's muscles were strangely relaxed as if she had full confidence in her skills. However the tension she felt didn't fade as she heard them both pull their throttles as if to intimidate each other.
Sophitia watched as the light turned green, shutting her eyes and holding on tightly as she heard the loud screeches and smell of burning tires. Something was wrong, however; Taki's motorcycle didn't seem to be moving at a fast pace, or at any pace at all then again, they were stationary within the lane. Opening one eye, she noticed that their opponent had madly sped off onto the streets and was finally able to conclude that they actually hadn't moved, which made her bewildered green eyes look up from Taki's back to her oriental face.
Taki seemed to look out towards the streets with indifference as she calmly turned the corner, heading back to the apartment. She knew that Sophitia would be confused so she glanced back with a wink. "I told you it'd be quick." She smiled. "This is NYC, who in their right mind would drag race in this city, especially during the night!" Rolling her eyes at the thought of someone doing such a thing, Taki continued her way, leaning on every turn while Sophitia made sure to do the same (knowing full well that the Grecian would fall off if she didn't).
Sophitia's jaw almost dropped; Taki had both herself and the other biker worked up over nothing! "Then why did you lead that guy on?" She spoke incredulously.
Taki merely smirked. "Because I wanted him to look stupid since he was willing to do such a stupid thing. I hate people who don't portray common sense." She stated simply as she took what she believed to be a short cut to the apartment complex to end up pulling into the darkly lit garage almost fifteen minutes later.
"I just don't understand you." Sophitia suddenly commented as she held onto Taki tightly even though they had made it into a parking spot; she looked as though she was still afraid to remove her arms after the many scares that the older woman had given her on the 'forsaken' motorcycle.
Much to the blonde's slight confusion, Taki merely chuckled as if her assertion amused her. "What is there to not understand?" She spoke as she removed her helmet then tried to stand only to be pulled back down by Sophitia's tightly wrapped arms. "Wou-would you…?" Her voice was hardly audible as she tried to pry the younger girl's tensing arms off of her.
"Just you in general!" Sophitia answered as she tried to unlace her fingers then, with some difficulty, released Taki's waist. She attempted to unclasp the helmet only to find that her hands were shaking almost uncontrollably, making her fingers fumble in her efforts. Taki swung her leg off her bike then noticed Sophitia's increasing aggravation with the helmet, which almost made her laugh but held it in as she took the helmet off for her. The younger girl sighed audibly as she slumped slightly and seemed to stare at the motorcycle's frame with a look of distaste until she noticed that Taki held out a hand to help her off the leather seat. Sophitia looked at her in a somewhat suspicious way then slowly took her hand.
She lifted one leg only to lose feeling in the joint of the other as her legs felt weak and shaky as well. The feeling didn't seem to return in time and soon felt herself fall to the side only to be caught by the quick reflexes of Taki's arms. 'Ugh.' Sophitia felt like slapping the back of her head for her action. 'I should've seen that coming; the muscles in my legs tensed the entire time I was on that… thing.' She scowled at the leaning-based motorbike as she thought this, declaring that she would never ride a motorcycle of any type or brand again. However, her thoughts were soon shifted to Taki as she was still leaning against the woman with her head against her upper chest.
Taki seemed to be in the position of an embrace with the Grecian girl as her arms were wrapped around her, holding her up. Sophitia could feel her even breaths against her forehead, fluttering her golden bangs with each exhale. She could also feel the warmth from her flesh and steady heartbeat through her clothes, soon feeling the thumping her own as it began to race from the closeness between them as well as now recognizing the fact that her own palms rested against the physically taut abdomen while her fingers wrapped around her sides. Her eyes widened as she pushed away, thankful that the feeling now decided to return to her muscles. "Wha-what are you doing?" Sophitia stuttered, wrapping her coat tighter around herself.
Taki furrowed her eyebrows at the girl's sudden strange behavior; she hadn't realized the representation of their brief embrace. "I was waiting for you to stand! I was wondering what was taking you so long. What, did you think I would just drop you on the pavement?" She quirked an eyebrow as she asked but didn't wait for an answer as she turned and headed for the elevator with Sophitia close to her heels.
88
Sophitia sighed while folding her arms over her stomach as she entered and waited in the elevator; she didn't feel like discussing it. 'At least it wasn't as embarrassing as the others.' She noted while trying to look at the bright side of things.
Once they entered the apartment for the second time that day, they both merely threw their coats onto the wooden chairs by the kitchen counter then settled themselves under to kotatsu. Taki cracked her neck then grabbed a nearby pencil. "Okay, I'm ready. Lay the questions on me." She declared as she waited for Sophitia to address her errors in her Math assignments.
Sophitia looked at her as if surprised at the sudden readiness, then seemed to smirk in an approving fashion as she brought out the wrongly calculated equations. 'Well, I guess that rather frightening spin around the city did help her a bit.' She observed as she watched Taki's expression become more focused and at least a bit more determined than before, which made a smile break through.
"Can I ask you one question though?" Taki suddenly looked up with a small glint of curiosity in her eyes, which made Sophitia lift an intrigued eyebrow. "What is it that you don't understand about me? Seriously." 'I'm relatively easy to understand; I'm just a masculine girl who likes motorcycles and sports while obviously having a certain personality of my own.' Taki reflected as if it all was simple while Sophitia seemed to pause as though uncomfortable with the question however willing to answer somehow.
"I didn't expect a competitive sports-lover like you to actually turn down a drag race. Especially after you went through the streets as if you were in the middle of one." Sophitia started with a knowingly quirked eyebrow and a hidden smirk.
Taki rolled her eyes as she chuckled within her throat; she looked as though she took it as a compliment. She shrugged as she spoke. "Well, what can I say? I love the rush when I do those things, as well as catching a few eyes on the streets even though they might turn into scowls." Raising an eyebrow, she knew that she must have gotten a few of those dirty looks from the other drivers. She inwardly shrugged at the thought to brush it off. "It's kind of a way of impressing the onlookers who see me as well as impressing myself." She added.
"That's what I mean." Sophitia's tone was still soft but sounded as if it was laced with steel; her eyes expressed seriousness. "Using that other biker as an example, people, especially college students, always seem to want to impress or intimidate using their overactive testosterone and can be obnoxious on or off the campus while being completely lazy when it comes to schoolwork. And from what I've heard and seen, they also show no respect for the rules at times." She concluded in an almost philosophical manner, which made Taki lower her head slightly as if she felt put-down by what Sophitia seemed to be implying to her.
"Well, just to remind you, I obviously don't have testosterone to show off. And secondly, you're making me sound as if I'm some kind of bully." Taki quirked an eyebrow as she mentioned this.
Sophitia sighed as she shifted in her seat. "I'm not, I used the biker as an example, remember? Not you." She matched Taki's quirked eyebrow, who's soon fell as she did the same that Sophitia had done seconds ago. Sophitia ran a hand through her hair before she looked down at the table-top. "Anyway, the reason I don't understand you is because you seem to have no respect for the rules on the streets while you refused to do the thing you love most: competing against someone else to prove your worth." She finished as she leaned her elbows onto the table-top while hoping that Taki wouldn't take all that she said as an offense.
Taki merely blinked at her although Sophitia could tell that many thoughts were crossing her mind. The 'sports-lover' merely shifted her sitting position, rolling her back in attempt to stretch it before she leaned her chin into her palm which was propped up on her elbow on the tabletop.
"Y'know," She started calmly, holding no shreds of anger in her eyes but instead slight understanding to the scholar's reasoning. "You say that I have no respect for the rules, well you may be right in some cases. But, after living all my years with a family of my origin, being under the same traditional rules of my Japanese culture as well as my Buddhist religion, it all starts to… well, it starts to make you go insane. Obviously, Haitani's radically spiky hair and perverted sense of humor is an example of how much the traditions get to us."
The Asian leaned back as her eyes went down to her equations just to look them over. "Hell, none of my siblings are as traditional or as disciplined as we Asians are supposed to be. Well, apart from Tsakoto, she's very disciplined and relatively traditional, being the role model that she is for the rest of us." She added in a low tone as she tried to go through the equations as quickly as possible so that she could get to sleep, or even better, chat with SacredEmblem again.
Sophitia blinked at her now hunching-over form as the older woman was leaning on one of her elbows again. What Taki explained was true, so Sophitia believed from her own experiences concerning her family and heritage. She certainly tolerated and believed in her Greek heritage, however there would be times when she felt that she wanted to take a break from it for a time. "I can relate." She spoke up in a low voice, making Taki's eyes snap up to her own.
Although it was faint, Taki smiled in return along with knowing eyes. "Oh I know you can; being stuffed underneath this very table when only your sister showed up pretty much proved that." Her smile became more noticeable as Sophitia smirked with playfully narrowed eyes; they had finally found something they could agree upon, and it, strangely, reminded them much of their pen pals on the internet. Taki's eyes suddenly shot away from Sophitia's as she rubbed her nape tentatively. "By the way, if… um… if I scared you on the motorcycle, I didn't mean to… I guess I kind of just got lost in the rush." The oriental eyes kept themselves upon the sheets of paper in front of her as she heard herself fumble in her speech; she had never been very good at apologies since, having a masculine personality, never felt that she absolutely had to do so until now.
Sophitia let out a hard sigh as she looked down, a faint smile playing on her lips. "I kind of saw it coming since I was afraid of motorcycles anyway. At least you were skilled enough to not get us in a car crash or something like that." She spoke as she rubbed her nape although trying to sound positive.
"Heh, I told you I was good." Taki smirked as she glanced up before she went back down to her old assignment. As she gazed at it with no luck of finding the correct answer, they revision of this subject made her remember something. "Oh, and by the way, I have Math, History and English unit tests sometime this week so-gack!" She pulled her arms up as she saw a pillow fly at her. "Hey! What'd I do?" Looking up as she asked incredulously, she noticed Sophitia's very quirked eyebrow and slightly narrowed eyes.
"You're telling me this now?" Sophitia spoke just as incredulously as Taki's eyes portrayed. "At the rate you're going with you're math alone I'd say that I would have to tutor you every night now." She groaned as she ran a hand over her face then through her long hair, trying to relieve herself of the aggravation and stress she now felt. Peering over to Taki, she nearly smirked as she saw the older woman's slacked jaw, knowing that her decision of nightly tutoring was the cause. Before Taki had time to defend herself as well as her time, Sophitia spoke quickly. "I know how low your grades are now, nightly sessions on each subject will benefit you greatly, Taki. Believe me, I don't like the idea of tutoring every night either but I'm doing this for you. Trust me." Her tone was of soft confidence, which eased the dull tension on Taki's jaw as she brought it back up.
Taki sighed then nodded in her usual reluctance as she looked back down to her paper before finally declaring that she couldn't figure it out. Sophitia willingly helped her the rest of the way during the times when she appeared to be struggling. At first, Taki had an idea that Sophitia's ways of remembering the different theorems would be useless and confusing to her, but, much to her surprise, she eventually noticed herself understanding and knowing how to do at least certain equations.
After doing and memorizing three to four different theorems, Sophitia looked up to notice that over and hour had already passed. Noticing Taki's as well as her own slight drowsiness, she finally ended the session, much to Taki's delight. Taki closed the heavy binder and stuffed it into her bag when her eye caught Sophitia's hand as she pulled out her English binder and laid it on the Kotatsu, flipping through the pages until she found what looked like some sort of short story. Although by the number of pages in the story's packet it didn't seem 'short' at all.
Taki blinked, quite confused. "Aren't you going to get to sleep? It's almost ten." She asked as she zipped her bag and placed it on a chair by the kitchen counter to help her remember it in the morning.
Sophitia kept her eyes on the many lines of the short story. "No. I would, but I just want to finish this so that I could get ahead in class and not worry about it later." The younger girl leaned her cheek into her palm as she answered simply.
Taki raised her eyebrows; spending almost two hours tutoring then going straight to another subject for who knew how long made her mind boggle. 'I would never last that long, especially not so late at night, maybe if it was a project or something I would, but otherwise…' She thought as she just stared at the scholar blankly before turning to go into her room. "Well then, um, 'night." Speaking softly as she wasn't sure what to say in reply anyway, she came towards her room while hearing a faint, sighing "'Night" from her roommate.
Flopping onto her bed while dodging both her laptop and the sand-colored cat that suddenly decided to join her (like every night), she reluctantly concurred not to try and contact SacredEmblem as it was so late that she guessed that she would be asleep anyway.
Groaning at the fact that she didn't have her nightwear on yet she was so tired, she forced herself off of her laying position and threw just any nightwear on in her view, not caring whether they matched or not (she didn't see the point of having to wear matching tops and bottoms anyway). She flicked off her lamp that was on her dresser and let herself fall back into bed with a bounce while hearing and feeling the cat jump a bit in surprise then soon settle around her own pillow in a curled-up ball with its paw over its eyes.
88
Taki found her eyes snapping open as she felt her mouth go dry and her long, silky nightwear feel moist in certain areas. The room, or her bed at least, felt quite hot. She sleepily glanced passed the ball of fur over to her digital clock only to read that it was one-nineteen in the morning. Knowing that at least she didn't have to get up yet, she wanted nothing more than to let her head fall back onto her pillow and hopefully sleep through her own morning alarm. But, the aridness of her mouth and body called for hydration as she pushed herself off of her bed to get a glass of water or any other liquid substance.
She stepped into the kitchen and reached into the refrigerator to pull out bottled iced tea (even though it wasn't hers but she hoped that Sophitia wouldn't mind, if she found out that is). Taking her first sip, she turned around to take a look out at the balcony only to end up both spitting out and choking on her midnight beverage as her eyes had landed on a shadowy figure on the floor of the living room.
Her muscles tensed defensively but then slowly relaxed as she noticed that the figure was not only still but had golden hair, so which she could tell by the little light from the moon and the building next door. She merely blinked at it, took two more gulps of the iced tea as her thirst hadn't been quenched yet, then set the bottle down on the counter before slowly and soundlessly stepping towards the figure.
Her eyes softened as she found Sophitia laying on the floor asleep, a pen still between her fingers of her right hand, the English binder below where her cheek rested and her legs still underneath the kotatsu. Of course, Taki felt like slapping the back of her head and rolling her eyes at her surprised actions in the kitchen; who else would it have been? Her shoulders dropped and her eyes darted to the corner of the room as she sighed at herself, thinking she should've been more fearless as well if it was somebody else.
Sophitia seemed to shift and give out a low sigh, making Taki's eyes drop back to her own to be relieved at the fact that she was still asleep. After all, it would to be difficult to explain why Taki would be looming over the Grecian in the first place. Scratching the back of her head, the only think she could think of doing was to carry the sleeping girl to her bedroom since Taki didn't want to leave her there on the cold floor all night.
She stretched her arm muscles then leaned down to gently bring Sophitia into her arms, soon finding that her weight was lighter than she would've expected although certainly heavier than the kotatsu. Knowing that fact, she staggered a bit as she lifted her strong back upwards. While lifting herself to stand almost straight and just as she felt so proud of herself in doing that, she felt the younger girl slip down in between her arms a few times. But, she was able to lift the girl back up, however by doing something she never though she'd ever do; placing her hands on Sophitia's butt and lifting it back up, thusly feeling her palms press into the younger girl's backside.
Her eyes dropped down to Sophitia's face and was lucky to find that she was still asleep. She quirked an eyebrow as she felt the softness of Sophitia's backside in her palms. 'If you're awake and making me do all this because you're lazy, I'm really going to find a way to get back at you and it won't be pretty.' Taki thought, then sighed as she gazed at Sophitia's content expression as her cheek laid against her shoulder. 'I'm sure she is asleep though, if she was she'd probably accuse me of attempted rape or something… like last time.' Much to her own surprise she found herself inwardly chuckling as she recalled the memory of Sophitia's death glare when she found Taki leaning on all fours over her little sister's partly sprawled body, not knowing the real story.
Feeling her arm muscles begin to ache, Taki carried Sophitia to her room, which just had to be at the very end of the hallway and not closer like her own bedroom, but that was certainly not an option. While she walked, and came closer to the door, she looked down as she remembered the moistness on her very long, silk nightshirt and the coolness around her legs reminded her that she had thrown on a very short and tight pair of shorts-like pajama bottoms. These were being covered from view by her extremely long, button-up shirt so it almost looked as if she was wearing nothing underneath.
'Oh… great.' Taki bit her lip in nervousness, now being extra cautious of her movements so that she wouldn't wake her sleeping roommate up as she made her way through the door, which she had to nudge open with her foot, making the task even more difficult. She tried to gradually lean forward over the blue and silver-sheeted bed (which still had ruffled covers from morning, so at least placing the sheets over her would be a bit easier to do), easing Sophitia onto it. 'If she wakes up and finds me nearly on top of her, on her bed, holding her butt while having an arm wrapped underneath her thighs, and looking as though I'm not wearing anything underneath this sweaty silk shirt, she really will think that I'm trying to rape her in her sleep!' As she laid the girl down upon the mattress, she kept chiming "Please don't wake up" in a voice that was hardly audible. She grit her teeth slightly and clamped her eyes shut as she tried to pull her arms from underneath her shoulder blades and thighs in as slowly as she could.
Sophitia let out a small groan, making Taki's wide eyes snap to her face as she let out a small "Eeep!" in surprise. The blonde's eyes furrowed for a split second before she shifted in a way that she lifted her back up as she rolled onto her side, away from the now-relieved Taki. The Asian pulled back, keeping her eyes upon Sophitia's form as the Grecian moved her hands underneath the pillow her head laid upon. Taki sighed as she let her eyes close to calm herself, believing that she was almost a goner.
Once Taki opened her eyes, she eyed the covers before taking them in her hands and laying them over the other girl's body up passed her shoulders. She pulled back as Sophitia seemed to roll back onto her back while raising an arm to lay it just above her head so that it looked like her nose was lying on her upper arm. Taki merely blinked at her before sighing and running a hand over her face at all she had to do in one night.
Her eyes soon wandered aimlessly over to Sophitia's nightstand where three picture frames stood. She squinted as she tried to get a better look in the dim light and ended up sitting on the edge of the bed next to the nightstand, believing that Sophitia wouldn't wake since the depression Taki's weight caused on the bed wasn't very close to Sophitia's still form. Two frames stood up while the other behind it had been flipped face-down.
Taki looked at the first one, taking it into her hand and bringing it closer to her face; it was obvious that it was a family photo as both Sophitia and Cassandra were in it along with a boy who looked younger than the both of them but had the same eyes, giving off the fact that he was their brother. Taki easily guessed that the two adults in the picture were their parents; the father had an identical hair color to his daughters while the mother's light brown hair matched the boy's. She felt a little guilty that she had forgotten his name, taking a lucky guess that it started with an "L". The three siblings were sitting on a bench in a park with Sophitia on one side, the brother on the other and Cassandra in the middle. Her two parents stood behind them with their hands either on their children's shoulders or the bench. They both looked quite respectable to Taki's eyes; the mother had a warm and sweet smile and patient green eyes while the father definitely revealed his paternal, man-of-the-house image to the camera as his eyes held what Taki considered a 'determined businessman' look. She was happy that he smiled because that at least shows that he has consideration.
Moving to the second photo, she nearly laughed at the image as what looked like much younger versions of Sophitia and Cassandra were having some kind of playful fight which involved bags and handfuls of flour. Taki couldn't read any of the words that could be seen in the picture they were all in Greek, but she could tell that it was inside a kitchen since both girls were wearing aprons. The walls, floor, cupboards, drawers and two girls had spots and blotches of flour all over them. She guessed that the laughing, shorter-haired and flour-spotted Sophitia looked young enough to be just entering her teenage years. Her eyes softened at the image of their strong, sisterly relationship. She wished Sakura and herself were as close and open as the two Greeks; whenever Taki would merely wrap an arm around her little sister's shoulder, Sakura would tense up and look at her strangely before brushing her older sister's hand off and note that Taki was "weirding" her out.
Finally, she gazed at the flipped frame for a moment with curiosity, wondering why it was flipped over in the first place anyway. She took it in her hand and brought it closer to her face to see it better. Her eyes soon softened and her smile faded as what looked like a sixteen to seventeen-year-old Sophitia had her arms wrapped around a slightly taller and possibly older man's neck who stood behind her and had his arms wrapped around her waist and stomach with the side of his head resting against hers. "Rothion…" No sound came through her throat as she simply mouthed her unquestionable realization. His handsomely combed, vibrantly red-brown hair stood out greatly against Sophitia's golden shade. His eyes were deep hazelnut and even softer than Mitsurugi's portrayed; he was indeed handsome and definitely seemed to have a bit of noticeable charisma. The couple looked into the camera with soft eyes and smiles; Taki could tell that they were at the part of their relationship where unconditional love could be felt between them. Even the incredibly soft, dreamy look in Sophitia's eyes took her aback, never had she seen anything close to what her eyes portrayed when Taki was around her.
Flashes of ideas of what the two may have done and shared while they were together came into her mind: The two walking back home after school, hand in hand with their thumbs caressing the other's hand while tentatively glancing in each other's direction. Or having a picnic in the tall grass of a hill with Sophitia's back pressed to Rothion's chest as his arms wrapped snuggly around her while whispering sweet nothings into her ear and letting his nose softly run along its edge, all of which making her eyes close and giggle giddily and lean against him. And then leaning against a tree the night of a holiday celebration, and while the fireworks go off, Rothion takes Sophitia's chin in her fingers, looking deeply into her eyes as she does the same until he gently kisses her cheek before making a slow trail down her face, ending at her lips but making it last much longer and hold mild passion.
'Okay, that's enough.' Taki abruptly thought before blinking a few times and shaking her head once to brush away any other thoughts, knowing full well that she had seen more than plenty. She set the frame back down, making sure to have it be flipped down like it was before.
Her eyes landed on an opened envelope behind where the frame was. Remembering the way Sophitia looked when she returned to this room earlier that day, she took the envelope in her hand with curiosity, only to have her shoulders drop as it was all in Greek and couldn't read it at all. She sighed as she laid the letter back down in its spot, frustrated that she couldn't get a word out of a simple one-paged letter.
She moved her mahogany gaze to the sleeping Grecian and kept it on her for a long thoughtful moment, noting her features as the moonlight came down onto a side of her vanilla-skinned face through a nearby window. "You are really pretty though." She spoke in a low, commenting voice as if she was making a side note for herself as well as to the younger girl who didn't stir. "I actually feel a little bad for him to have to let you go like you said he did." She looked up slightly as she paused. "All is fair in love and war I guess." She chuckled softly as she ran a hand through her hair. "Your love for Rothion and our war." Smiling, she took one last long look at Sophitia's content expression before turning to head back to her room and fall into bed which was surely being occupied by the cat.
8
As the door shut behind her, emerald eyes finally opened from their false slumber and gazed at the door softly. 'T…Taki…?' Sophitia lifted herself upright and felt a blush form on her cheeks; Taki, the masculine, tomboyish, sports fanatic that was easily annoyed by the younger girl's own academic perseverance had stated aloud that she was pretty? And even added a "really" in it! Had she not been pretending to be asleep at the time, her jaw would've dropped open in surprise and disbelief. 'I'm sure she didn't mean it any way close to being an intimate confession or declaration but it still caught me off guard.' Raising a hand to her cheeks, she tried to make the burn of her fluster fade only to find it do so but very slowly.
Her eyes dropped to the flipped frame. 'Gods, she took such a long look at that picture it almost made me nervous! The only reason that it's flipped over at all is because, well… even though I still love the guy (not in the intimate way I used to of course, more of a strong friendship feeling than real love), after knowing how much he wanted me to stay in Greece with him and not do what I love most and go abroad to learn new things, looking at his photo, or then again our photo, it… well, it tends to 'get' to me and not in a positive way, it's even irritating to look at from time to time. But I can't deny that I do admire it at times, especially those lonely times as well.' She blinked quizzically a few times as she continued to stare at it.
'I wonder what Taki was thinking when she saw it… the longer she looked at it, the more embarrassed and nervous I became. The tension of waiting for her to put it down became so great for me that I had to pop and eye open to see what she was doing. But she seemed to just… think… then suddenly shake her head for some reason.'
The letter that she received was the next thing that her eyes focused on. She paused then sighed slightly. 'Rothion… I enjoy seeing you and hearing how you are and I do enjoy your company, but…' Feeling slightly guilty for saying this, she paused once again. 'But I don't know if your decision to visit again is wise, even if your scheduled arrival is a little less than two weeks from now.' Her head dropped back as she felt a twinge of stress coming on. 'Perhaps I should let it go, maybe things will be alright with both Rothion and Taki here.'
She sighed as she fell back onto her bed, closed her eyes and curled up with the sheets of her bed being clutched close to her. She smirked as she recalled the feeling of Taki holding her in her arms; she could even feel the amount of tension the Asian woman was feeling as her shifty movements and grumbled words easily expressed it. It was all play for Sophitia since Taki's presence had awakened her; she wanted to see how far her roommate would go to help another. Indeed, the powerful warmth of her body and the gentleness she exercised did make her blush (not to mention the placement of her hands), but in the end she actually learned more about the older woman that made her gain more respect for her, and that made her smile.
'Our war…' Sophitia giggled within her throat at Taki's implication of how much they argue. 'How true.' She pulled the covers closer, oblivious to the fact that her smile took a very long while to fade.
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Well, yep, trying to think up some more idea's, I'll try to fit some actual writing is as I have a lot of make-up homework to complete for the week. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it, at first I thought that it wasn't going to be any good, but now I think that it went alright overall. There wasn't a whole lot to do with the motorcycle scene, but I'm planning (hoping) to fit another in. I can't have Sophitia like it in this chap. because it would've been way too fast.
Just to let you know, there's no such thing as a Departure of Blossoms festival in NYC, although I think there should be one as I think it would be a good one. I had to make up one because there wasn't an Asian festival during November in NYC. But the others that Taki mentioned when Mina said that there wasn't many Asian festivals are true, I looked them up ;)
(Whistles at the reviews for the last chapter) Thank you so much for them all, that's probably the most I've ever received in one chapter. Of course, that's obviously because of writing the chapters for my other fic twice in a row so more time was given to review.
To Witch-Hunter 51: I really loved your enthusiastic review and I'm really glad you enjoyed it as much as you expressed :) I hope you liked this chap since I know you told me to update soon and it has been a while. I'm happy to have finally finished this and with some humor spotted here and there. And yeah, thanks to an eager reviewer I put him in and I brought him in as his cousin, I'm glad you think the fic is good because of that little add-in since that's the reason I brought him in; to make the background Mina has a little deeper and better. Let me know of what you liked in this ending as I thought it went over well but an outside opinion is always better ;) Thank you again for liking my work so much and even having me mentioned as a favorite writer in your profile (which I had found out a while ago, btw, and was flattered :))
To animereader1: About your teacher, yeah that does make me quirk an eyebrow, especially the fairy dust… must've been a hippie or something, lol. I actually collect cat figurines from time to time, Egyptian ones whenever they cross my eye, but Setsuna is supposed to be worse than me as I only have a single bookshelf of cats while she has a whole office. As I've said, I hope you liked this update considering how long it is and how long it took to actually write it.
To Cococashu: I always read your comments because, like the whole Maiev being a justice-server and not a demon hunter, I want to correct errors I may have made to make it better and more understandable for the reader :) And as for your comments; Whether Ember is checking Taki and/or anyone else off on her list is kind of the mystery of it, the reader is supposed to guess and they can either believe that the cat is actually doing it or they can think that it's just a coincidence and the cat is just being, well, a cat.
For what Taki and Sophitia said about each other as DragonMistress and SacredEmblem, I wouldn't want them to be angry so I made sure that each stuck in at least one positive note about their 'roommates' habits, so nothing too hurtful would be brought about if they did find out. I'm actually quite eager about them finding out their aliases myself as I'm not exactly sure how to go about it even though I have a few incomplete mental notes of how it should go about,
Taki's daydream, well, there isn't much to explain to interpret it, only that she got a feeling that surpassed flattery, SacredEmblem had been so honest and trusting towards her that it felt like SacredEmblem herself was willing to touch Taki's lips. So it just felt like a very real fantasy for Taki as she was wishing that it was really happening and is basically, slowly and almost unconsciously falling fo her chat buddy (when I say unconsciously, I mean that she herself hasn't even admitted or realized it). I'm glad you liked it btw and said how mine was different from other fics as I'm trying to gain a certain diversity from other fics (newer and more original), I wanted it to be a soft but intense moment that not only Taki but the reader could feel.
I think the two extra weeks I gave myself made this chap a whole lot better than I had originally planned it to be, the chapter wasn't as thorough and deep as this one is. So taking my time certainly is better, the only fear I have is that I can become quite lazy often and I have to push myself into writing something that I have no idea is about since I have the common ADD. But at least I did well in this one and I'm pretty proud of it ;)
:) Don't worry about the valedictorian thing, at a point before I had written the fact in the last chapter, I knew what it was but I almost way off in my pronunciation. It's basically who has and maintained the highest grades in his/her graduate class, they usually get an award for it by the time of their graduation.
I didn't really like Yunsung's character in the game much, I didn't think he was arrogant, I just thought he was a pushover and a show-off at times, but I liked his ending when he chose not to fight with Soul Edge and used his own skills instead. It shows that he's a real fighter and believes in himself and not in the words and rumors of others. And in this fic, yeah, I made him so that he'd be like an annoying little brother for Mina while others think that he's cute because of the way he acts to her friends.
Yeah, Mau's office with suggestive 'things' was really fun to write, especially when Mina and Yunsung came into the picture. And yeah, Mina is the perfect 'interuptor' at times I believe, a guy interrupting can be even better but there wouldn't be much for him to say as he would most likely have a nosebleed, lol. Finding something for Yunsung to say when he comes in was actually quite difficult so I put my self in his shoes and thought of what I'd say, of course my first one was "Holy Hell!" but I figured that would be too much for a boy his age so I went with my second idea. I have a few ideas for Mitsurugi, they may take a small while but it will be worth it, I believe.
Yeah, I had to put the Setsuna thing in otherwise I was afraid that people wouldn't get it so quickly so I'm glad I did.
The 'affections' thing with Haitani, It's meant to be dirty, and perverted since that is how Haitani thinks, I though 'affections' but in the right tone would be a perfect word for him ;)
My readers opinions meant a lot to me because if I feel like I did something wrong with the story or if the characters seem a little more 'off' than they should be, then I'll go back and change it. I believe heavily in the dignity of the character so I want to keep it more or less consistent. That's why I love reviews and my reviewers because the more I get, the more positively I think of my work and the more motivated I am to write more and invent better, creative scenes. Plus I love hearing what humorous or emotional scenes touched my readers because that'll give me an idea of what the readers want to see and I think up scenes that almost every reader would enjoy and keep reading.
So your long reviews don't bother me at all, you tell me what I'm strong at or what I need to work on as a writer and that means a great deal to me :) The longer the better, I hope you liked this update and don't hold back on compliments/comments in your review, I can't wait to read them ;)
To Weaselbeast: I hope this one was better for you and not as bland, I know that it may be a little slow in some parts and I'm trying to work on that. It took me a lot of time to do this so I hope the wait was more worth it.
To reika45: I'm glad you liked the last update and how I portrayed Prof. Mau with her peering through the window. This fic is all about character development as are the many other fics by other people but the development is more emphasized. There will be a great point in the fic where Taki will be able to tell more about her background and family as will Sophitia with hers so I'll make sure to fit that in for you ;) I love to make them criticize each other in their chats because they reveal their thoughts and feelings more to each other since their so close, it kind of makes the story deeper. I hope you liked the bits of humor in this fic as well as the feelings they express in this one :) Thank you for your review.
To El Loco: Ha ha, I'm glad you figured it out about Prof. Mau. They are the same characters yes, the only difference is that the Setsuna in this fic doesn't have the ability to change into her cat-self, that would be a little out of place. For you chronology of my fics, it's "When a Savior is Saved", "A New Era" then "My Way". "Meeting of the Dirty Minded" was kind of an extra and isn't part of the whole trilogy, I did it just for fun, although I've begun to loath it with a passion with it's weird and wacky ways so I kind of decided to redeem myself by doing this comedy. I do feel proud for making you think so hard since it's rare, although I'm sorry for making you do that as I remember the last time you thought hard and ended up getting a headache. I sure hope you liked this one, both comically and emotional-wise :) Can't wait for your next review.
To Lokiador: Ha, thanks for the congratulations on my exams and for going the extra mile to put it in another review. I think you should've like this one because of the bits and pieces of comedy in it as well as the emotion put into it and especially in the ending. At least I certainly hope you liked this one ;) Hope to see a review from you :)
To Rain54: Hope you liked this update, I thought it went well and I hope you thought so too. I'm glad you liked the chats so far and the interpretation of the cat with the possibility of her checking off 'suitors' for her owner. When the aliases are discovered, all I can say is that it should be very interesting ;) thank you for your review :)
To mentalretard: Short review for the last update but can't complain since it still means something to me ;) Few words can say a lot :) I hope you can say the same for this chapter that you said for the last with a few extra things (if you believe you need to say them ;))
To 2young2bequeen: Hope this chapter was worth the wait and that you still love the story so far ;)
To star shaper: I'm glad to know that the last chapter made you laugh and feel better :) It makes me proud to know that it had that effect on you, I hope this did the same (or at least nearly the same since the humors in small bits and pieces) :) and yep, I'm (obviously ;P) going to respond to my reviewers, I want them to know that I'm always listening and not disregarding or ignoring them :)
To fireinu: Hope you still like the interaction between them since there's a lot of it in this chapter. Thank you for your review :)
To Nightmare Alchemist: LOL, yeah there's a lot of irony in this fic and the kotatsu incident I had to put in since this was indeed a comedy fic and thought it would be perfect. I'm a Ken Akamatsu fan so 'Love Hina' is a great influence yes and goes along well with my story and character development :) I know it took me a long time to update and I'm sorry, although the extra two weeks that I gave myself to write this really helped as my original idea wasn't as full and good as this chapter is now. I'm glad you liked it and I hope this chapter made up for the wait :)