My Cherryblossom.../Chpt. 4
Flashback/Sherinda-san
NOTE: The next chapters will probably be a bit more serious and in the characters heads that the last three. This particular one is a flashback to the night before Shiko left the U.S. The first couple sentences are present time however.
Tears streamed down Shiko's cheeks as she ran out of the house. Why did she sing that song? That stupid song about that S.O.B. she broke up with in America. She felt like she could punch herself in the stomach. Travis...That stupid name rang in her head as she ran and ran, not caring that she had about twenty tiny sharp rocks in her feet, each time her feet hit the ground, the rocks dug deeper into her skin. No pain was worse than where she was hurting...a hole where her heart used to be. But that bastard had ripped it out and ran it over with a steamroller. She clenched her teeth as her memory took her back to that awful night...
Her Saturday started out as it usually did; take a shower then go down and meet Travis at the coffee house where he worked. They had planned to go to The Box, a club downtown, and have fun there. Shiko had registered to sing that night and he would record it to send to there family members. They had been dating for three months by now. She thought it would last forever...boy, was she far from the truth...
They walked down the street hand in hand as they approached the night club. Shiko was wearing a fancy blue blouse with light blue lace lining the collar and a navy skirt. She was also wearing brown boot that came up to just below her knee. She smiled nervously at her boyfriend. "I'm so nervous!" She said.
"You'll do fine, trust me!" Travis said smiling at her. They walked past the front entrance and turned into the alley. Shiko skipped up the stairs leading to the back of the stage. Travis kissed her cheek and took out the video camera in his backpack.
"You can do it!" He said encouragingly.
"Thanks! I'll look for you when I sing! Ok?" she said.
"Right! Now get up there and make Britney Spears look like a joke!" He said. He turned and ran towards the front. Shiko smiled after him and opened the door.
Fog gushed out of the room from the machines. The man in charge of the entertainment walked up to her. "You're on in five minutes. Get ready!" He said, his cigarette wiggling everytime he spoke.
"Yessir!" Shiko said. She walked over to the group of people standing in a circle. They were Shiko's band mates. A girl about her age waved at her. She had long dark purple hair and was wearing black lip-stick.
"We're all ready to start. Are you?" she asked. Shiko nodded.
"As ready as I'll ever be, Naoko-san." She said to her friend, forgetting she wasn't in Japan. Naoko smiled.
"All right everybody; let's show these sticks how we play!" She said. Everyone put their hands in the center of they circle they formed and shouted "One, two, three...Kupo!" They all walked out on stage and the sounds of people talking filled their heads.
The man with the cigarette came out and shouted into the microphone to the vast audience. "Ladies and gents...Kupo!" He ran off of the stage as thousands of people chanted the band's name. The lights went low and the music began. Shiko swallowed hard then started to sing as she scanned the audience.
"You're giving me too many things
Lately you're all I need
You smiled at me and said
Don't get me wrong I love you
But does that mean I have to meet your father?
When we are older you'll understand
What I meant when I said 'No,
I don't think life is quite that simple'
She had spotted Travis by now and he was recording the show as he talked to a girl in a rather revealing outfit. Shiko assured herself that he was explaining what he was doing. She ignored them and continued to scan as she sung.
When you walk away
You don't hear me say please
Oh baby, don't go
Simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel tonight
It's hard to let it go
The daily things that keep us all busy
Are confusing me
That's when you came to me and said,
'Wish I could prove I love you
But does that mean I have to walk on water?
When we are older you'll understand
It's enough when I say so
And maybe some things are that simple'
When you walk away
You don't hear me say please
Oh baby, don't go
Simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel tonight
It's hard to let it go
Hold me
Whatever lies beyond this morning
Is a little later on
Regardless of warnings the future doesn't scare me at all
Nothing's like before
She had spotted Travis again, but this time, he wasn't recording. He was dancing with that girl. Shiko kept singing. She was angry that he was dancing with that girl, but she could wait to chew him out till after the song.
Hold me
Whatever lies beyond this morning
Is a little later on
Regardless of warnings the future doesn't scare me at all
Nothing's like before
When you walk away
You don't hear me say please
Oh baby, don't go
Simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel tonight
It's hard to let it go
When you walk away
You don't hear me say please
Oh baby, don't go
Simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel tonight
It's hard to let it go
She stopped singing abruptly, but the music kept going. Shiko kept watching her boyfriend dance with that skank and saw what she wanted to never see again. They were leaving the club and were heading outside to do only God knows what. Shiko dropped the microphone and jumped off the stage and ran for the door. Her band mates where confused but finished like they normally would have. Naoko ran after her best friend.
Shiko burst out of the doors like a mad bull. Her face was red and blood was dripping from her palms from were her nails had dug into her skin. She ran towards the alley and saw what she knew was happening.
Travis was making out with the girl he left with. Shiko cleared her throat loudly. Her so called 'boyfriend' looked up and the girl turned around but found Shiko's fist in her nose and a sickening crunch as it broke and blood dripped down as she fell instantly unconscious. Travis backed into the corner of the alleyway, stuttering an explanation. "Sh-Shiko! I-it's not what you think! R-really! I-I was just re—"
"Save it you bastard!" Shiko yelled. "Who the hell was that bitch? You two seemed to get along really well, or could you tell with your eyes closed locking lips with the skank?!" Shiko took several steps toward him, cracking her knuckles. "Now you know I would never hurt someone I loved..."
"Oh thank you, Shiko! But let me explai—"
"No! I'm tired of your friggen excuses! As of now, you are nothing to me but a sorry excuse for a punching bag!" Shiko screamed then punched him in the gut then kicked him in the groins while he was hunched over. She made as if to leave but ran at him and gave him a horrible uppercut. She left him there to bleed in solitude and before she left she said "Cheer up, bastard...you might meet somebody in the hospital!"
She laughed maniacally then tore off towards her house and packed her clothes and other necessities and her kitten, then walked out the door with a note that said: 'Don't try and find me. Naoko, have all my stuff or give it up for charity. Shiko'
Sherinda's Babble: Well, that was a rather strict change of writing. The next chapter will be back on the normal plot. Kinda' showed you the darker side of Shiko, huh? Let me know what you think! And yes, that was the theme song to Kingdom Hearts called 'Simple and Clean'. I love that song!
Sherinda-san