Alright, well, been a long time hasn't it? ; I apologize for that, its just that I've been mad busy. You'd think that once summer starts...life would calm down. But no, life for me speeds up. I'm a big drama/theater person, and over the break I'm doing this summer long musical (Crazy For You. Heard of it? No? Don't feel bad, I hadn't either...) that ended with a full production and TV time. So yes, being the lead, I've been busy.
But now, listening to my newest mixed CD, I've been stuck with both guilt, and inspiration. So I'm going to do my best to remind myself of my writing duties.
We'll see how easily I can jump back in. Flame if I suck, I don't really care. I'm just going to do my best, seeing as last chapter ended on a weird note with me. So, ONWARD::grin:
When your life's going wrong
When the fates are unkind
When you're limping along
And get kicked from behind
Tell yourself...how lucky you are.
Why decry a cloudy sky
An empty purse
A crazy universe?
My philosophy is simply:
Things could be worse.
So be happy you're here, think of life as a thrill
And if worse comes to worse, (as we all know it will)
Thank your lucky stars you've gotten this far.
And tell yourself how lucky you are!
Makoto felt himself grimacing, but couldn't help himself. That stupid song had been buzzing around in his head all day long. He hadn't even been in Japan long enough to remember his new address and already so many things he'd been determined to avoid had come to pass.
On the car ride to the airport, his parents talked incessantly about how worried about him they were. To call them if they needed anything at all, warning him about possible worse case scenarios (ranging everywhere from running out of clean socks, terrorist attacks, and becoming the host family's personal slave) and he couldn't find it in him to actually say anything to calm them down. One thing he hated about himself, it was incredibly difficult for him to explain things. Especially things to do with how he actually felt about the whole trip. Why were they sending him there if they were so worried? It wasn't like he was begging to go...
When the news is all bad,
When you're sour and blue
Then on the plane, he was placed in between two huge businessmen who apparently, hadn't had enough time to shower before their early flight, and insisted on leaning across him to talk to the other about things that Makoto had no knowledge of. They must have been competing businesses, he'd gathered halfway through the flight. At the beginning they were quite friendly to one another, introducing themselves and their professions, but by the last half, they were completely hostile towards each other. Makoto was smooshed the entire way, and, disgustingly, his arms were wet with the men's sweat.
When you start to get mad,
You should do what I do
His day at school hadn't been any better. He'd been determined to find someone to fit in with, but so far, everyone he'd "fit" with were only fascinated by the fact he was American. And the others, well, they hated him for it.
And now.
Now the one secret he'd protected from everyone he knew, the one thing he'd never shared with anyone, was found out and announced by some girl he didn't even know!
Tell yourself, how lucky you are!
How lucky, how lucky, how lucky you are!
How lucky, how lucky, how lucky, how lucky, how--
"Makoto-san?"
He snapped into reality. Toki was staring back at him, looking concerned for his mental health.
He couldn't blame her, really, he was worried about his sanity too.
Amarante had them all at the table now, and the coffee shop was far less crowded then it was before, with only a few lingering customers reading books and sipping lattés at tables in the back. They weren't listening to them, and no one else was nearby, so Amarante had no problem beginning her explanation. God knows they all needed one. Keiji was the first to speak.
"So spill." He said, irritably, "What the hell are you talking about?"
She had already placed her "item of trust" on the table. Makoto thought first that it was quite brazen of her, but then reminded himself that to everyone else, these were just interesting little golden knick-knacks. It was a rod, topped with an emblem and what appeared to be some sort of wings. Toki didn't have to offer hers up, everyone could see it openly and know the two were realated. The sizes were different, but they each had identical Egyptian eyes plainly displayed. Leiko was wearing hers around her neck as well, as a necklace. There was very little to hers, just the eye. Makoto knew very well what these were.
These golden trinkets were the lost millenium items.
"This is amazing..." He found himself whispering, causing everyone to look up and stare at him. He snapped his jaw closed, and Amarante smiled lightly.
"You know of them too, then?" She asked. More of an observation then a question, though.
Makoto suddenly found it hard for him to form words, "Ehm..."
"This is bull..." Keiji muttered, "Sure, let's trust the word of the goody-two-shoes and the American virgin."
"Gee thanks." Makoto shot back, glowering.
"Please guys--" Toki started, sensing an argument.
"You know what, Keiji, just shut it." Leiko snapped over Toki's words, having recovered from her moment of silence and deep concentration, "Quit coming up with opinions before you know the facts, ok?"
Keiji, shocked at hearing her say anything that wasn't cheery and optimistic, didn't say anything more. He simply crossed his arms and sulked as Amarante shifted in her seat.
"After I received my item, my millenium rod," She clarified to the more skeptic of teens, "I started doing as much research on it as I could, which was only to be expected after I'd discovered it's unusual...gift. I knew there was something off, and I was correct. I've been searching for answers for two and a half years now; and I've also been searching for you."
Toki fidgeted a little as Amarante locked eyes with her, in particular. Leiko and Keiji exchanged glances, while Makoto looked at his palms almost guiltily. He thought he knew the most about the subject, but apparently he hadn't even scratched the surface if she'd been searching for more than two years. His half a year dimmed in comparison.
"One of the more important facts I've gathered is that there was more than one of me." Amarante continued, "And by 'me' I mean item holders. There's supposedly seven millenium items in total, each one fated to a holder."
"Wait, seven?" Keiji dared to speak up again, "Unless I really suck at math, there's only five of us here."
Amarante's face read that she felt like she was doing a bad job explaining, Leiko's gaze hardened as she kicked him under the table, muttering a harsh, "Duh." And quieting him down again.
"I was...getting to that." Amarante said slowly, "There are two items that are unaccountable for."
"Which two?" Makoto chimed in, relieved that he could finally ask a question that mattered, and showed that he knew what she was talking about.
Amarante nodded to each member around the table in turn, "Toki-san, of course, is the holder of the Millenium Puzzle. Leiko-san is holder of the Millenium Necklace, Keiji-san is the holder of the Millenium Key, are you not? (areluctant nod)You, I assume, are the holder of the Millenium Scales and I, obviously, have the Millenium Rod."
A/N: Got all that? Heh...surprise! If youhadn't figured it already.
"So that leaves the Millenium Eye and the Millenium Ring..." Makoto mused, "Right?"
She nodded, "That's correct. And the reason I am talking with you tonight is because I'm proposing a search for those last two items."
Makoto grinned. Finally! Something he could be of use for! Leiko cleared her throat quietly and furrowed her brow as she asked, "Not to ruin your plan or anything, but I want all the facts. Why are we bothering to find all of these anyway?"
Amarante's features became suddenly grim, "Because though they may not seem it, our items hold more power than imaginable. And because we aren't the only ones in the world who know of their existence. History tends to repeat itself, and the last time the items were gathered in this very city, very demonic presence's went through all Hell in order to get their hands on them."
"It'll be easier to protect them as a group." Makoto agreed softly.
"Because we all know how many 'demonic presence's' there are lurking around, just waiting to steal--"
"KEIJI." Toki shot forcefully, dark hair snapping aroundher face as she glared at him,"Could you stay quiet, for ONCE please? Not everything has to involve your witty comebacks. Nobody cares right now, alright?"
She settled back down, and everyone was quiet for a while. This was Makoto's first time hearing the girl he'd only seen as quiet and gentle loose her patience and become aggressive. She looked embarrassed now, but didn't apologize. She looked like she wanted to though...but she didn't. Makoto felt a smile tug at his lips. She was the kind of person people took advantage of and underestimated, but at the same time, she had a strong inner strength.
"So," Amarante said chiefly, "Will you all help me find the last two, or not?"
It was quiet for a very short period of time before Leiko said confidently; "I'm in."
Amarante tried to hold back the relieved smile, and only nodded. Toki raised her hand meekly, "I'll help too."
"Of course I'm willing." Makoto said, leaning back into his chair as a weight that he hadn't felt before was lifted off his shoulders.
Keiji glanced at the group, who were now staring straight at him for his reply. His looked very testy (but Makoto now realized, that was probably carried on from the date that went so horribly) and wore a frustrated sort of pout before sighing deeply and shaking his head.
"You people are loony..." He mumbled, "But I guess I don't really have a choice, do I?"
Leiko beamed and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, saying cheerily, "None in the least."
Keiji's head fell, "That's what I thought..."
"I'd better be getting home, though." Toki announced, getting up from the table, "There's still school tomorrow, and I have to walk back."
Makoto looked up at the clock. Geez, had it already been past two hours? Time flies when you don't know what the hell is going on.
"I probably shouldn't be walking home alone this time of night..." Amarante noted.
Makoto perked, a golden opportunity screaming 'SIEZE ME!' in his ears before he could think it over. He simply felt himself standing suddenly and blathering, "Well, I could walk with you."
The reaction to this was...less than positive. They all simply stared for a while, confused, while Makoto felt his cheeks burn as he fought to keep his eyes from looking to the ground. Toki smiled sympathetically as Keiji muttered insensitively, "No you can't. You're riding home with me, moron."
Makoto cursed. Over and over and over in his mind, but only once in reality as he lied, "Oh, right, I forgot."
Toki shook her head, "Don't worry. Besides, I'll be fine." Her hand almost touched the puzzle, but swiftly retracted, she nodded to each of them in turn, taking her leave with a quiet, "I'll see you all tomorrow."
When she was gone, Leiko and Keiji snickered loudly, though Amarante remained stone faced. Makoto scowled at them and crossed his arms.
"What?" He snapped.
Leiko couldn't stop grinning, "Good one, foreigner. Nice and obvious."
"Some guys," Keiji murmured, "can be such amateurs."
"I know, right?" Leiko nodded in agreement, "That's the oldest one in the book." Her laughing grew louder as she rose her voice into a mocking tone, "Never fear, I, the big strong male figure who wants to get in your pants, will protect you!"
People were staring now at what the group of kids in the back found so hillarious. Makoto sheilded his face with his hand as Leiko clutched her side.
Keiji was nodding vigorously now, "You know, maybe I should write a book for the poor clueless--"
"OK, you KNOW WHAT?" Makoto seethed, "If it was SO OBVIOUS that I MAYBE wanted to get to know her a little better, why did you screw it up so badly, huh?"
"It's my job." Keiji said with a shrug, "Besides, the look on your face was totally worth it."
"Yeah, that was kind of priceless...you could practically smell the humiliation from across the table."
Makoto's face darkened, "You are the single most cold hearted people I know. You're made for each other."
This shut them both up immediately. Their gasp of air for a last laugh was held inside as they both looked shocked and terrified. There was a momentary glance between the two of them, but that was it. Amarante, who had simply been watching with a sweet but almost blank look on her face, took this pause to get up from the table and clear her throat.
"I shall see both of you soon." She announced, "We're going to have to discuss our first plan of action in finding the last items."
"Aye aye, captain." Makoto retorted, back to his usual sarcasm and in a suddenly uplifted mood after he shut the two up so quickly.
"C'mon, Mak', we'd better be leaving too." Keiji said suddenly, jerking his head in the direction of the doorway, where the driver appeared to be leaning up against the door, trying to look inside and make sure they were still there.
"Oh, wait!" Leiko exclaimed, getting up and putting her hand on his shoulder.
Keiji turned around, annoyed; "What is it now?"
She smiled and twirled her hair, "Um...I just waned to tell you that...um...I like, really had fun tonight. We should do it again sometime, kay?"
Keiji looked like he'd been splashed with a bucket of cold water, but he smiled weakly anyway, and waited until she was done giggling incessantly and prancing out of the shop before he started cursing. He ground his teeth the whole way to the car, livid and looking for any excuse to pounce.
Makoto had just such an excuse.
"She's totally playing you." He reported, like this information meant nothing at all, though he couldn't help grinning.
A rather painful look was sent his way, "...what?"
"Oh come on, don't play dumb. She's putting on an act. It's so obvious." He continued, "Or did you just neglect to notice her personality change when she was at the table with all of us, versus when she was with you?"
Keiji scoffed, "You would think that, but she can't be. I mean, why would she put on an act if she has no idea what's going on? She's a weird, stupid girl, so I'm not going to be counting on her foresight just yet."
"Suite yourself." Makoto grumbled.
And thus, the first night in Japan came to a close for Tucker "Makoto" O'Brien. It had been a strange one, topping even the more abnormal nights in his hometown and leaving it out to dry. But even so, as 'out of the ordinary' this day was for our cute little red haired teen hero...
It was child's play compared to what was going to happen next.
Tutomu was angry.
Hah, there's an understatement for you.
Toki was sitting helplessly on the porch step, eyes heavy from what she knew was becoming lack of sleep, hair ruffled from the wind as she walked there and back from the coffee store. She was sitting, watching a fuming Tutomu pace back and forth as he thought. He paced quite a bit, Toki had learned over the years, and the more frustrated he was, the faster the pace.
This pace almost tore the rubber right off his shoes.
Toki had come home that night to find Tutomu waiting for her. Apparently her Dad had come home after all, unexpectedly as his idea of a 'surprise' and found that Toki wasn't anywhere to be found. He'd called Tutomu immediately, figuring that was where she was. And of course Tutomu, being the brotherly figure he prided himself on being, panicked more then her own father did.
Tutomu stood there now in his boxers and large T-shirt looking even more rumpled then she was, having searched all around for her and finally discovered the girl walking home safe and sound from the coffee shop.
"YOU DON'T EVEN LIKE COFFEE!" He'd shouted when she first explained where she was, "WHY ON EARTH DID YOU DECIDE TO GO THERE NOW?"
And so, Toki realized there was only one thing to do in order to fully explain the matter.
She told him the truth. The whole truth. The entire truth down to the golden pendant she'd been wearing to the spirit inside it. She'd told him about how Keiji, Leiko, Makoto and Amarante knew, and had items like hers. She told him about how she was going to attempt to find the remaining items with the group, and how they had intense power welled up inside of them that could control almost anything.
And so here we are now.
Tutomu was angry.
There's an understatement for you.
"All this time?" He exclaimed fiercely, "You mean to tell me that the item you have now, the one I actually helped you KEEP, is something that could change EVERYTHING. And you kept it from me? All this time?"
Toki cringed. This wasn't working as she'd hoped it would...
"Oh, but you told Keiji." Tutomu shot, "You told that freak, Leiko! You told some random people you don't even know all that well but you didn't tell me! God, Toki, I've been living next to you, practically WITH you almost all my life!"
Toki looked up meekly, having listened to him say these things for a long time now and not knowing exactly how to respond. She didn't know why she didn't tell him...she really didn't. And him looking so hurt over it was just making it worse.
He seemed far more disturbed by the fact she didn't say anything to him then the fact she was carrying around ultimate power that spoke to her through their mind link. She warily wondered why she didn't find this in the least bit surprising...
"Doesn't that count for anything, Toki?" He continued, almost pleadingly, "Come on, say something!"
"I..." He stopped, listening intently for her answer. She knew now it needed to be important. It needed to mean so much to him that it made him understand perfectly what she was going through. It needed to prove to him that she still thought of him as higher then anyone else, even though she didn't tell him first. It needed to be good. But something inside her withdrew, and she was left with a pathetic:
"I didn't think you'd believe me..."
Tutomu gaped, "...I see."
Immediately, Toki knew she did something wrong, "No, no Tutomu please don't--"
"Well maybe I don't believe you now." He said stubbornly, "Huh? Ever think of that!"
"B-But I didn't know that!" She struggled her words out helplessly.
"TOKI PLEASE!" He exclaimed, throwing his arms up as his temper grew, "Of COURSE I'd believe you! I've know you for forever! Doesn't that mean SOMETHING to you? Or am I alone in my assumption? I mean, I'd believe you if, for no other reason, you've never lied or kept anything from me before."
His eyes turned coldly against her as he added, "Not that I can claim that anymore."
An uncomfortable silence filled the air. She wanted to defend herself, but she couldn't. Tutomu was looking at her, waiting, hoping for an answer that would change everything, but it never came. Her voice refused to work for her anymore. Finally it grew to be too much for him, he exhaled sharply, shook his head, and turned on his heel to leave, "You know what? Forget it. Just...forget it."
"...wait..." She managed to whisper. But it was too little too late.
She leaned up against the porch step for support as she stared in idle disbelief. She felt her mind wandering from lack of sleep and she blinked several times to try and refocus her eyes, finding they were wet with small tears. She reached up to wipe her eyes dry when her arm caught on the puzzle around her neck.
In her anger she yanked the puzzle off and threw it against the floor in frustration. She didn't want to deal with it now. She didn't want to see it, or feel it, or think about it. She wanted to try and remember what it was like before the stupid thing came and wrecked everything. She buried her face in the crevasses of her arms and shut her eyes. Slowly drifting...and though if may have very well been her imagination, somewhere she heard someone scoff and mumble disgustedly...
"You're behaving like a small child."
But she was too tired to lift her head up and see. She decided to let it be. She'd know who it was eventually...
Maybe when she felt better...
Toki barely knew she had fallen asleep until she was awake again. Instantly she'd regretted it. Her skin was cold from being outside in the chilly weather so long, her face especially because of her wet cheeks. Her head felt light, and she could feel a sore throat coming on already. Great, she was getting sick.
When she got up off the hard wooden porch that she'd made her bed, she felt a blanket that'd been draped on her fall down, making it a lot colder. Her muscles ached as she got up, recognizing the blanket from the one that was usually folded on the sofa and going to return it there. She also wanted to make sure it was indeed her father who had put the blanket on her to begin with, and he wasn't still in a panic.
KASHHHHING!
She looked down. Oh, right. She'd left the puzzle lying there. After a while of thinking, and a great inner debate, Toki realized that she couldn't just leave it there, though still refusing to put it back on. She bent down to pick it up when she noticed someone standing there watching her.
It was a boy. He was wearing dark glasses, so she couldn't tell exactly what he was looking at in great detail, but he was definitely staring. His dark brown hair draped long, falling in his face quite a bit and making him look almost feminine. It looked like he was carrying books, and he appeared to be wearing a uniform, even though she couldn't remember seeing him there before. He was big, rough looking, almost definitely a senior. He didn't say anything. She wasn't sure if she should call attention to it.
She thought not.
Toki merely smiled awkwardly, turned, and went back inside to freshen up before school.
"Weird weird weird..." She mumbled as she journeyed to her bedroom, noticing her dad asleep quite comfortably on the couch.
Though, she couldn't tell whether or not this meant that he was just too worried to go to bed, or if this meant her mom had come home early enough to argue and kick him out again. Within a few minutes she was ready enough to leave, thanking her inner clock for waking her up in time, and venturing outside.
She had almost forgotten about the fight she'd had with Tutomu until she saw he was outside first, walking alone to the school. He wasn't waiting for her...why should he, after all? She winced, it hurt. She was sure she deserved it, but that didn't make it hurt any less.
She ended up following behind him, just a house length away. She coughed a few times, trying to draw his attention over to her, but he never once looked back. Her pace slowed as her head hung, she was seriously considering to skip first period just so she wouldn't have to risk running into him in the hallways when she heard a familiar whooshing sound from behind her.
"TOKI-CHAN! OOF!"
"GACK!"
Hands grabbed Toki roughly by the shoulders and held fast as she was yanked back and forth while the skater attempted to regain her balance.
"GOOD MORNING!" She chimed, skates having been successfully slowed. She let Toki free and scooted next to her.
"Oh! Good morning to you as well, Sakura-san." Toki said with as much enthusiasm as she could muster.
"So," She said, lowering her voice to something of a whisper, "Ammy-chan filled me in. We're going to try and get everyone together for a group meeting today at lunch. I would say after school, but it'd have to be really short," Sakura added quickly, mistaking Toki's look of shock for one that said she had time issues, "I mean, Ammy needs to work and everything."
"You...know about the items?" Toki said, mouth open.
"Yep, but don't worry. You guy's secret is safe with me." She said, winking, "I'm completely trustworthy, you'll see. I've know about Amarante and her millenium rod for the longest time, after all, and I haven't screwed up yet."
Toki felt a little uncomfortable about having her secret shared with someone she hardly knew, but then again, she told Tutomu about it last night and she wasn't about to ask the other's permission on how they felt about it. Her thoughts lingered on him again as she felt her mood drop once more.
"Whats wrong?" Sakura asked, "Don't you trust me?"
"No no, its not that...its just..."
She must have looked straight at him, because Sakura gathered the information quickly and nodded knowingly, "Oh, something about him?"
"Well..."
"No, it's ok, you don't have to say anything, I understand." She said, "If there's anything we can do...?"
Toki felt her head pound, but shrugged it away, "...we?"
"Course!" Sakura said proudly, "What, you don't want to be part of a 'we'? That's insulting."
"That's not what I meant! I just meant...who's we?"
"The item holders." Sakura explained, face reading a definite 'duh' as she continued, "Those of impending doom must stick together, right? Oh, and the 'item holder groupies'. Consisting of...well...me." She struck a pose.
And though she tried to hide it, Toki suddenly felt herself crack a tiny smile. She was part of a 'we'! She'd never been a 'we' before! No one had ever shown any interest, except Tutomu. It was nice...thinking she had more then one friend in the world. Toki kicked a rock absently and took a breath to calm her. Neither of them said anything more until they reached the school, but Sakura didn't seem to mind Toki's silence. She seemed to be quite understanding about the entire thing. As they were splitting to go to separate classes, Toki swallowed her shyness and called out,
"Sakura-san?"
She turned around quickly, "Hm?"
Toki smiled cautiously, "Thank you. For listening, it made me feel better..."
"Oh, it was nothing!" Sakura said, embarrassed.
"I hope we can be better friends some time soon!"
Sakura only smiled at this, and left, but Toki was satisfied. She gathered her books with her heart considerably lighter then before, humming quietly to a tune she couldn't remember before she felt someone grab her from behind. She yelped and jerked around to find Leiko and Keiji staring at her with cock eyed expressions.
"Sorry..." Toki breathed, "You'd think I'd be used to it by now. That's the second time today."
Leiko waved her comment off like one would a cloud of gnats, "No problem. Anyway! Ji-kun (a wince at the nickname from the male) and I were just talking."
"She was talking..." Keiji muttered bitterly, Toki now noticing that Leiko had a firm grasp on the cuff of his shirt, "I basically stood there and listened, because GOD FORBID I protest to any of her brilliant ideas."
Leiko closed her eyes to hide her burning glare before reopening them brightly and grinning kindly, though her grip became tighter, if such a thing was even possible. Keiji was pouting, Toki found this hilarious that the most 'high on life' person she'd ever met was pouting because of the powers of a single girl. Leiko was fooling with him, Toki would have been able to figure this out even without the vampiress telling her of her plan before hand.
"Did you see the look on his face?" Leiko had said through a mouthful of something white and crumbly during lunch on the day Keiji 'asked her out', "I'll bet you anything it was a dare date or something. That kind of guy doesn't look like the kind who would let his friend do that on any other kind of circumstance. Well two can play at that game..."
And she had played it well, or so it seemed from the look of extreme displeasure on Keiji's face. Toki suppressed a giggle as Leiko continued to yank him closer and closer to her while he tried to yank farther and farther away.
"I was thinking about the item deal," Leiko looked around quickly to check if anyone was listening, making Keiji snort.
"Who are you looking for?"
"Bad guys." She stated simply, not realizing how ridiculous this sounded to the others.
"Bad guys?" Keiji repeated incredulously, "Well, obviously. Seeing as people with bad guy potential all look the same..."
"Ji-kun..." Leiko said threateningly, daring him to go on. He did.
"Oh, watch out for that guy! He's wearing black. He's not a complete bad guy though because as you can easily tell, he doesn't have a scar," Keiji rambled on, grinning spitefully, "All bad guys have a scar somewhere visible on their body. And most are bald. Oh, but of course, if they have a long curling mustache that makes up for the--"
"SHUT YOUR CAKE WHOLE!" Leiko screeched, causing Keiji to fall back into his taciturn mood, and silencing the air again for serious conversation.
"You were saying, Leiko?" Toki pressed on, politely.
"Yes, I was saying, what we should do is throw a party!" Leiko's false red eyes (a/n: contacts remember?) seemed to glow with a dreamy sort of anticipation, "One where the whole school attends, and we can properly inspect all students for any sort of item holding."
"How are we going to do that?" Toki asked slowly, glancing at Keiji who had his palms up and was rolling his eyes, like this was the obvious question he'd been asking the whole time without any luck.
"Who knows, who cares!" Leiko said casually, "The worst case scenario is we end up in the exact same position we are in now, which is missing –what is it?- three out of seven items. Besides, this is a huge school! We're bound to find out SOMETHING."
"But how?" Toki asked again, feeling strangely wary about the whole thing, "...and it's two."
"So how about we bring it up at lunch with the group?" Leiko said with a pleading sort of smile that suggested she wanted Toki's support on this one.
Toki sighed, defeated, "Fine, go ahead."
She beamed, Keiji looked like she'd betrayed him causing Toki to shed him an apologetic look while Leiko exclaimed, "Great! See you at lunch then!"
And then she skipped off, having gotten what she wanted, leaving Keiji standing with Toki. He sighed deeply, looking thoroughly exhausted as he trudged by with Toki on to their first classes, which were right next to one another.
"That girl drives me insane." Keiji spoke tiredly, "I don't know what she's pulling, but it confuses the heck out of me. It's like she's--"
"How come you didn't tell me you had an item?" Toki interupted.
"--bipolar or something! ...what?" He stopped his ranting, "Oh, well, I didn't know you. You were just Tutomu's friend." He shrugged, adding quickly, "No offense or anything, you're cute and all, but we weren't like best buds who share everything like you are with Tutomu."
"...oh. Well, yes, I guess that's right."
"Why?"
She shook her head, "No reason. Anyway, I'm sorry for interupting, I'll save all questions for later, good?"
"Toki-san, is there something that--"
"What were you saying about Leiko-chan?" Toki looked down at the ground. She didn't want to talk to Keiji about that sort of thing. Esspecially not right now.
"Oh yeah, well anyway." He cleared his throat for an appropriate hysterical tone, "She's always acting all weird! It's like she's bipolar or something!"
Toki could have told him that being bipolar was nothing like how Leiko was acting, and that he was probably searching for the term 'multiple personality disorder' or something of the like, but she didn't. He didn't look like he'd receive it well at the moment.
"She's not pretty, she annoys me, she has that weird obsession, I mean, she's NOTHING like ANY of the girls I've ever dated before!" He grumbled, "Half of me thinks she KNOWS..."
"Knows? About what?"
"Well, I guess Tutomu wouldn't have told you..."
Toki's heart panged quickly, but she swallowed the lump and tried to redirect her mind into happier moments of the day she'd had. Twice. He'd come up twice already just in the conversation with Keiji. She bit her lip.
"--But see, I'm kind of...ENGAGED to her. My family's brilliant idea."
"...oh." Toki said softly, trying to imagine in what kind of situation she'd ever heard of such a thing being done in modern day society. She couldn't. Keiji, apparently couldn't either.
"So instead of coming out and saying it, because who KNOWS what kinds of problems that would cause. I mean, actions speak louder then words. So, since I'm pretty sure she isn't aware we're engaged yet, I've decided to try and make her dump me as soon as possible. That'd be the ideal situation, maybe her family is a little more lenient then mine is, I hope. But anyway, I don't think she realizes my plan yet but,"
"Oh, she knows."
Keiji stopped dead in mid step and turned to Toki like she was just reporting his house had blown up last night.
"Excuse me?"
Toki cocked her head, "What?"
Keiji eyes continued to widen as his skin turned a nasty shade of maroon, "She KNOWS. Knows being the present tense of the word: knew, which suggests time, which leads me to believe..." He laughed in spite of his own realization, "--that you're telling me, that entire time I spent trying to make myself look bad so she'll dump me, she's KNOWN about what I'm doing?"
Toki shrugged, "I guess that's about right."
Toki recalled the exact day when Keiji had "asked her out", and it wasn't a happy one. Mostly a blurr of Leiko muttering things about "stupid boys" and "love's a game to them" "can't take anything seriously" "what does he think he's pulling". Basically, she didn't believe a word Toki was trying to tell her about optimism. She didn't think it was possible for a guy like him to have any interest in a girl like her unless there was some hidden motive.
By the look on Keiji's face, she was 100 correct.
Keiji was in a sate of shock that could not be exceeded. All this time, all this planning, all this hard work, all the blood, sweat, and tears he had put into his master plan...the entire time his nemesis had known about it. But if she knew, why hadn't she come right out and told him so that he'd quit acting like a jerk? Unless...
"She's been playing me." Keiji muttered to no one in particular.
Toki blinked, "Come again?"
"This whole time...she's been playing me like a fiddle...beating me at my own game." He continued to murmur, in a delirious sort of state.
Toki cleared her throat nervously as Keiji suddenly began to laugh. And it wasn't just an, 'I-knew-that' sort of chuckle thing. Oh no, it was a full blown 'I'm-a-total-idiot-why-haven't-they-locked-me-up-yet-before-I-hurt-someone' sort of laugh that made her feel unbelievably uneasy. His laughter then stopped, as quickly and abruptly as it had started, and he looked completely furious.
"Well two can play at that game." Keiji growled, tightening his hands into fists and storming towards the door.
"You mean you aren't going to tell her you know?" Toki called, struggling to match his stride as she hurried after him.
"HA! She didn't tell me she knew, did she? Therefor, I do believe I owe it to myself to turn the situation into something I can control. It's only karma."
"Or you could always try being the bigger person and owning up to your mistake." Toki pointed out, starting to panic now that her plan was going in the exact opposite direction she had hoped.
"Who needs that crap?" Keiji scoffed, astounding her with how serious he was, "I'm just going to need to his her hard and fast, completely stun her with my..."
His words trailed off as he grabbed his coat off the stand and continued to the door, Toki tried to walk in front of him to slow him down. And here she had so hoped that telling him meant this soap opera was going to end before it got out of hand...
"But--Can't you just--"
"--I know!" Keiji exclaimed excitedly, "I'll completely stun her with my charm and manly good looks!"
Toki had to hold back the urge to burst out laughing at this, but quietly re-composed herself as Keiji paced in front of the door to the classroom. He mumbled something about leaving after he had a plan completely set up so he could really get her good, but mumbling made him seem more than slightly insane. His speaking kept becoming faster and faster and made less and less sense as he went on.
"I'll invite her to the movies and act like the perfect man, then DUMP HER for the first bimbo I can snag. Muaha, yes, I'll leave her ON THE DATE. She'll hate me forever and I'll get the revenge I've been so desperately craving. Oooh yessss! And...And I'll send her little magazine clipped letters every day, in her mailbox and her locker and her notebooks and she'll be all like, 'Hmm, what's this?'" (He cackled evilly, raising his voice to a high pitched note to be more girly,) "And then she'll think, 'They probably spell something, ohmigod I wonder what. Like, maybe the VAMPIRES are trying to tell me something!' And she'll dedicate her life to finding out what the letters spell, and there'll be a TON of them, like...SIXTEEN! So it'll take a lot of her time. But then, when she's old and fat and has no life she'll realize that they DON'T SPELL ANYTHING! And that she's been WASTING HER TIME and that now she's...old and fat and ugly with no life and it's all because she was too PARANOID!"
He laughed like this was the perfect form of torture for the girl, but Toki knew Leiko well enough to know that she'd throw the letters away as soon as she received them. Keiji drummed his fingers together maniacally and then swept out through the door without so much as a 'bye' to the black haired girl standing in confusion by the doorframe.
"...I still don't see why he's Tutomu's best friend..." She mumbled to herself, sighing and leaving.
She supposed there were pros and cons to every situation, and becoming friends with a group like this was bound to cause, erm...problems. Shaking her head at the strange day she was having, she entered the classroom deep in thought, sitting down at a desk before properly looking around.
"Toki-san!" A voice exclaimed next to her.
She looked up, surprised for a moment, only to see a rather cheerful looking Makoto sitting in the desk next to her, his green eyes flashing. He waved awkwardly, smiling broadly as she waved back.
"It...looks like we're in the same class together." He said, face falling as he appeared to be thinking of something, "Which...class is this again?"
"Journalism." She said plainly.
Makoto looked shocked, "Journalism? Why on earth did they put me in that?" His mood fell as he rested his cheekbone onto his first and groaned, "Great, hours of homework having to do with writing great papers in a language I don't understand. Brilliant."
"I can help you if you need it." Toki said lightly, "I'm really very good at writing and stuff, I could even explain to the teacher and you can just write your paper in English, then read it to me so I can write it in Japanese."
"Well, thank you." Makoto said slowly, knowing full well it was kind of her to offer, but both of them knew full well such a thing would never happen.
"That's...funny." Toki said suddenly, causing Makoto to look in her direction at a boy who was entering the room inconspicuously, dark hair flying around his face like there was a fan blowing. Makoto scoffed to himself, recognizing a pretty boy when he saw one, and knowing full well to expect the worst if Japanese pretty boys were anything like American ones.
"What's funny?" Makoto said bitterly, "The fact he's wearing sunglasses indoors, or the fact that he thinks he can pull off long hair?"
"Oh quiet." A girl next to them hissed, having a strange almost horse like looking face because of her large teeth, "You're just jealous, and you know it."
Makoto flushed and crossed his arms, saying nothing and pretending to be temporarily fascinated with a crack in the wall that looked just like a profile of Alaska. Toki however, tapped the girl on the shoulder again to get her attention.
"Who is he?" She whispered.
The girl looked positively scandalized, "You don't know who he is?" Then she smiled, a rather smug looking expression on her face, "You must be a freshman."
Toki shrugged hopelessly, as the horse-faced girl turned around in her chair to look at her better, "That's Aikio Ohgami, only the single leading heartthrob in the entire school. He's a senior though, so he'll be leaving after this term..." She girl pouted, "Poo. What will I have to stare at when classes get boring?"
Toki found it a little uncomfortable to be around this girl, and she wasn't sure why, but she hurried the conversation along a little by saying, "Oh, has he always looked like that?"
"Like what? Like gorgeous?"
"Um, no, I just meant," She pointed to her eyes, indicating the glasses.
"Oh, THAT." Sheshrugged, "Not sure, can't figure out why he wears those, but he always has," She smirked, "And those who dare try and touch them mysteriously seem to disappear the next day. I bet he wouldn't even let his own girlfriend take them off, not that he's ever had a girlfriend. He's so weird that way. Especially since he seems like such a sex god."
Makoto made a sound that resembled something of a "psh", but as he caught look of the horse girl's cross expression, he fell silent again and studied a crack in the floor that also looked like Alaska. What a wonderful country Japan was.
"Why do you ask?" The girl said suddenly.
"Oh, no reason. I just...could have sworn I saw him in my neighborhood this morning. He was in front of my house."
She wrinkled her nose, "You're kidding right? God, you're such a wanna-be. Every girl has tried that and I seem to be the only one around here who has any sense. He lives in an APARTMENT. He isn't stalking you, ok? He isn't going to decide he loves you, so just give it up, ok?" She snapped, "You're so annoying. All those questions just to lead up to that?"
Toki backed off quickly, hurt and confused. Makoto seemed equally confused, and mouthed a highly unflattering word about the girl to Toki in an effort to make her feel better. He failed, but Toki was used to it. All her life, people would suddenly dislike her for no reason at all. It was so weird, only a select few could tolerate her, and this didn't include her parents.
It did, however, include Makoto, who was now drawing a series of pictureson notepaper to Toki about horse girl being completely in denial about Aikio the pretty boy being gay, and dying lonely because she wanted only him, and he had no interest in her. This made both of them feel better, for some reason, and by the end of class, they both had many pages of doodles having to do with Aikio to share with each other. Each one having their own story line of torture and pity in crude stick figure form. The only difference was Toki seemed to have attempted to draw 'true to life' anime pictures of her classmates, while Makoto just scribbled crude stick figures with over exaggerated features, like Aikio having hair down to his waste for example. He claimed it was far more productive this way.
"Haha, I love this one." Makoto announced, holding up one of seven sheets of paper Toki had ripped out for him, "The one about Horse Girl making a magic potion for the love of her wonderful Aikio-boy, and ending up turning him into a frog. Nice warts by the way."
Toki laughed loudly at the recollection of that and nodded, "I feel so evil doing this, but its actually very good stress relief."
Makoto grinned, "Welcome to the dark side."
"There's just one thing I'm wondering, Makoto-san..."
"What's that?"
"...how come in all of your pictures and comics Aikio is gay?"
"Oh come on, Toki---"
His words were cut short as Toki rammed face first into something, causing papers to fly everywhere. Makoto did his best to try and catch her, but only ended up being yanked to the floor with her, his own pages flying up in the process. It was like a snowstorm for a moment as all of the notepapers floated gently to the ground.
"A-Are you ok, Toki?" Makoto said, trying to lift her up with no avail, as she sat there looking stunned, "What's wrong?"
She pointed. Standing, no, TOWERING right behind Makoto was the long haired pretty-boy himself, standing completely still, his expression hidden behind thick dark glasses. No one said a word for the longest time. Toki held her breath that Aikio didn't read any of the pages that were scattered all over the floor. Not only would it be bad for them, but it would make Aikio feel bad, and it could really hurt Horse Girl. More then she wanted the girl to be hurt, even. It was one thing to joke about it, quite another for their jokes to be taken seriously.
But strangely, Aikio didn't pick any of the papers up. He just reached out a hand. Toki took it carefully, suddenly being lifted up like she didn't weight a thing and placed gently on the ground. Makoto just gaped.
"Toki Nakagawa, right?" Aikio said.
Toki had expected his voice to be rough, deep, demanding by the look of his bad-boy aura and reactions to things, but it was actually quite different. Gentle, but not in a way that someone would expect it to be. It had a definite edge to it, a sense of danger, but it was more nonchalant than anything else.
"Yes." She choked. Geesh, he was so intimidating. Horse girl wasn't kidding...he was beautiful!
He didn't say anything for the longest time, then finally, he murmured, "Pay more attention next time."
"...sure."
And then, he left. Toki felt a breath of relief leave her as the small crowd that had gathered broke up in a misguided kind of awe of the situation, Makoto gathering papers frantically now, before anyone had a chance to study them. As Toki scanned the crowd, she felt something inside her click when she noticed a familiar face some ways down in the hallway, keeping an eye on the ordeal closely.
Tutomu had been watching. His fists were tight and ready in anxiety, but she could tell even from that distance that his body relaxed quite a bit when Aikio left them. Once he noticed she had spotted him, his face grew stony, and he left immediately.
The whole situation gave Toki mixed feelings.
YES! FINISHED! It's been MONTHS! Heh, sorry about that by the way, ; I sense that as Yu-Gi-Oh falls in popularity, I'll probably loose a bunch of potential readers, but oh well. I'm writing this for me now. It makes me feel better for some reason. Sorry it took so long! SORRY SORRY SORRY!
I'd like to take this moment to appoligize for the weird ending, I know its kind of...sudden, but in my mind I was just sort of like, 'There. Done. That's the end.' So I acted upon it. I'd also like to mention that Japanese school systems are different then American, and that Toki is So I acted upon it. I'd also like to mention that Japanese school systems are different then American, and that Toki is 16, not 14. In fact, if my source is correct, she'd kind of young to be starting High School, but oh well. She has an early birthday anyway, so it works. (June 4th. Yes. I've given all my characters birthdays.)
Wow, I've just realized all the male characters are upset right now. Well, except for Keiji, who is upset to a certain degree, but mostly he's happy to "have the upper hand again"...we'll just see. I'm trying to introduce the characters in the best way I can, even though it can probably get confusing with all those weird names...and I'm sorry for that. I really am. ; If it gets to be too much to remember, just tell me. I know them all by name, first-last-middle, face, character, hobbies, practically by heart, so its no problem for me to keep up, haha.
I'll try to be more prompt for my next chapter. I swear! Now that school has started back up and I'm on a schedule again. It's hard for me to put up little "coming next chapter!" things now, only because I know whats going on, but I don't know how fast things are going to happen. Heh, you may or may not have noticed the fact that something happened in this story that I didn't expect to happen, but upon further thought, realized it worked even better then my initial plan. I just sort of start writing and it all comes out as it needs too...some things get covered, others don't, some things I wasn't going to mention until later I'm like, 'eh, alright, I'll do it now'.
And thus, the result points up at chapter is this kind of writing. There's so much more...I hope I get to all of it. I'm really looking foreward to the end. Although its FOREVER away...maybe 20 chapters or so? shrugs So anyway, let me try it again, and this is just an estimate. It could be, it couldn't be, who knows.
NEXT CHAPTER YOU CAN (possibly...) EXPECT: Lunchtime at last, and everyone is glad for a break in the day, except, of course, when they realize having a 'close knit' group like some of them are expecting is going to be more troublesome then they first imagined. Toki is hit with an idea that could ruin everything for her and the group decides to investigate Aikio more closely.
SEE YOU NEXT CHAPTER!
