A/N: --types on her keyboard-- Isn't it obvious I'm typing these words? Now I'd really try focusing most on the love triangle...
Chapter 10: A Twitch of One's Heart
It's another day again. Two more days before Tatsuki gets out of jail...well I'm usin' that as base of the time...huhu...
Katase looked at his watch and yawned. He's still sleepy but even though he wanted to sleep he still kept on waiting.
Aya is on night shift. Her class was 11pm to 4am. What a schedule! He wished Aya isn't really tiring herself down so much.
On the other hand, Katase's class is scheduled yesterday from 3pm to 8pm...Half-hour is needed to go home...which gives him only two hours sleep or less. Then he goes to Aya's to fetch her and bring her to her university. Then he goes back home and finishes his assignments and follow-up projects...and then he goes to Aya's university one hour away from his house to fetch her again. That leaves him so small a time to take rest for himself. Well, if it's for Aya, then everything's fine.
He yawned again. He was about to decide to lay himself on the bench but his angel came.
"Katase!!!" Aya called. The voice sounded so happy it sent freaking waves to him. He stood up from the bench. Before he could greet her, he was surprised when Aya jumped forward at him and hugged him so tight. He hugged back.
How warm he feels...he felt the soft and silky hair of Aya...it smells so good even after school...well, it felt so good for him and for Aya too.
"What happened to you?" He asked, when she let go.
Aya smiled. "Guess what? I got the highest grade this semester! And they said in two months or so I could already have my works published as a start of my dream!!"
"Really?!"
Aya nodded blissfully. "I can't believe it!! I'd be having my stories published in a short time!!!" she jumped and giggled at the thought. "By the way, why did you bother fetch me?" she asked, knowing he had a hard time doing this, considering the fact that she saw his eyelids almost close.
"It doesn't bother me at all. I mean...you know...For you, I'd always go."
"Aren't you tired yet?" she inquired, worried. He seemed dizzy.
He shook his head. "No, I'm fine."
Seeing there might be trouble if she let him drive, she thought of something to get his attention.
"Hey...uh...you wanna take a walk at the school's backyard?" she invited, pointing to her university.
Katase nodded. "Sure, if you wish so."
On the bench at the back of the building, right after they sat down, which is actually what Aya expected to happen Katase fell asleep, snoring softly. But his head wasn't leaning on anything.
Aya sniggered when she looked at him. "You dweeb, I told you, you shouldn't have fetched me." She told him, though she knew that he's fast asleep now.
Then Aya suddenly couldn't remove her gaze upon the face of Katase. She stared into his face as if she wanted to touch it...involuntarily her hand raised up, getting ready to feel the smoothness of his face...when she came upon realization that she's beginning.
Beginning to like him.
Beginning to live a new life.
Beginning to forget Rei.
--Rei. -- There it goes...she can't help it again. She tried to stop it...but it hurt her more...so she let out one...which is accidentally quite loud. She let out a sob. A tear fell. She touched her cheek, aghast. --I thought I already cried out what I wanted for him. Why am I crying now? -- She wondered. --Do I still love him? -- She thought.
Another sob pushed its way out of her heart and through her...uh...well...throat. This time, Katase bolted upright. "Aya, what happened? Did someone hurt you?" he asked daringly.
Aya wiped her tears quickly and looked away. "I...I...Katase...it's nothing." Then she broke into tears.
"Oh, I know now why. It's Rei again. Isn't it? Aya, how long would it take for you to realize that he's—"
"NOT WORTH IT?" Aya asked. "You're telling me he's not worth it? He IS worth it. But only he doesn't love me. If he just loves me like I do, I could prove it all to you!"
Then Aya shut up. She gasped...she'd hurt Katase again. How could she?
But it was not long before both could realize that they have just rubbed salt into each other's wounds. Ow, that hurts.
--I thought I already forgot about him! -- Aya scolded herself. But it was all nothing compared to how he dumped her. She looked away from Katase, letting her hair cover the side of her face, which Katase could see. That was much better than facing him with shame. He'd been following her since, and he'd also been loving her since...but she was giving it back with crying to him.
She felt it now. She apprehended...that she was doing to Katase what Rei exactly did to her! She's been dumping Katase!
Her eyes widened in shock. Tear sprung to the corner of her eyes. But then after the long thinking, she felt Katase bring her to his arms and wrap her in a very warm embrace.
Hugging her close to him, Katase told her, "Aya, don't conceal your feelings from me. I'd rather be hurt by you, than be hurt by seeing you cry because of someone you don't even know whether he liked you or not."
This time, Aya cried the most heartpiercing cry. She clamped on to his shirt the tightest she could, as she trembled and let out her feelings.
--I'm crying again. I thought I've let it all out before, but I haven't yet. -- She concluded. Katase put a hand on her hair and rested his cheek on her.
"Katase..."
He waited. He didn't answer, but he waited for what she's gonna say.
"From now on, I promise not to hurt you anymore. I would forget about Rei. Starting now."
Aya let go of the hug and she sat up straight. "I have to go on without him. He doesn't love me, and he always dumped me. I don't want to do the same to you, but I know I've done it many times already. I don't know how to pay it back, but I would be starting it by forgetting him."
Katase smiled, leaned on the bench and breathed the air. "I'm glad you're through with it. Not because I could say you're mine now or something that would form in any other guy's mind. But because I could say you're happy now."
Both fell on silence as Aya appreciated his words. Then Katase spoke up. "Now, let's quit the drama, okay? I'd bring you back to your home now. You better take a rest."
"But...you fell asleep awhile ago. What if you fall asleep while driving the car?"
"Well..." Katase put a hand at the back of his head. "I dunno. Should I drive you back to your home now? Or you have some solution to this Tired-so-he-can-not-drive problem?"
Aya shrugged. "You wanna sleep first on my lap?"
"Sure. But you won't like me snoring." He joked.
Aya giggled. Katase looked at her well, so contented that she looked more relieved now, because he can't see a trace of misery in her eyes. Well, maybe a bit, but it wasn't like before. Aya waved a hand in front of his face and so he shook himself back to reality.
Aya smiled at him. "I permit you to sleep on my lap as long as you don't wet it with your dripping saliva."
This time, Katase was struck by her humor. "I don't do that!" he chuckled.
Aya laughed at him. "Go on."
He scooted away from her and then reclined on her lap. He went off then to visit dreamland after a few seconds.
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Ran, with heavy eyelids, twiddled her coffee with her spoon. One of her hands cupped her cheek, as the elbow of it rested on the table.
How tired she was from last night. She can't sleep. She could have cried her trouble about Tatsuki away, but there always came the surrogate.
Morning. A new day. She wondered what would happen next. After Yamato, who would be the next in line to depart?
That was all she was thinking about when a knock on the door sounded. Ran's eyes were opened, and with vigor she didn't know where she got, she rushed to open the door. She even had those quick Who-could-that-be questions in mind. She hoped that the moment she opened the door, Trouble won't be her visitor, instead Solution should stand there.
"Ohayou. Ran." Greeted the astounding friend of hers, Yuuhi.
Who would expect him coming out of nowhere during these kinds of trouble?
With a faint smile, she limply lifted her hand and greeted back. "Yuuhi. Hi. Come inside."
Yuuhi noticed that when she dropped her hand, it was nothing but just a floppy action. As if by any second she would breakdown again. How difficult it is to live the teenager's life. Anyhow, he needs to tell her everything he knew.
"Ran, I have to tell you something." He said, eyeing her hardly, but it turned gentle when he saw her eyelids happen to be heavy. --Actually I have to tell you everything.-- He thought glumly, though he was putting on a fake smile.
Ran turned around and said, "You're welcome here. Come in."
This time, Ran's mind is already full of questions. Her mind raced with things like 'What is he gonna say?', 'He's the only one left of my gang. Would he be leaving too?' and 'What if he says something about Tatsuki? Or about everyone else?'.
All of a sudden, Ran's vision turned blurry. The world seemed to spin around her. So fast. She can't take the dizziness anymore. She gave it up. Everything turned black.
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As Yuuhi entered the house and followed Ran, he saw her stop, then almost lose her balance. When he was about to ask what's wrong, Ran fell lifeless on the floor. He quickly went beside her and caressed her in his arms. He removed the strands of hair covering her face.
Man, her face was full of sweat. --I knew it, she's gonna have a breakdown like this. -- he thought, as he gazed at her with full concern. Then he shook her gently. "Ran. Ran." He patted her cheek softly a few times. "Ran, wake up. Ran!"
Ran's eyes opened the slightest bit and they even rolled under the lids. Yuuhi was relieved.
Ran moaned and put an arm around Yuuhi's neck. She buried her face on his chest, which trembled Yuuhi a bit. "What happened?" Ran groaned so softly.
"You...fainted. You know what? I was so worried—"
"Yuuhi..."
He waited.
Ran's hand on his back clutched on his shirt tightly. "Don't leave me alone. Please." Then she hugged him so tightly he even thought he really almost can't breathe. He hugged her back. "I won't. I promise." Yuuhi comforted.
When Ran let go and looked directly into Yuuhi's eyes after she sat up straight, he thought she was giving him the opportunity to talk to her already. But before he spoke, Ran leaned forward.
And their lips met.
----------
Rei was invited by Mai to be with her by lunch so they could eat together.
Mai noticed the silence between them were too long already. So she spoke up, just in time when Rei was about to take a bite of his tempura.
"Rei." She said, but she only looked at her own food.
Midway to his mouth, he stopped. Then he turned his attention to Mai. "What?"
"Huh?" she asked, pretending she hadn't called him. --I want to talk to you straightly.-- she thought. They are close friends, so Mai is supposed to speak with Rei in an easy way. But it seemed so hard for her now to say something. She always feels like that whenever she notices her friend having problems. And right about now she knows he's got one, and it's really a big one.
"Oh, I thought you called me." Rei said, continuing the serving of his food to his chops.
"I did." She uttered softly, hoping Rei didn't hear. But he did hear.
If only Rei knew how much she loved him. If only Rei knew how Mai wished to be like Aya, who could tell him that she loves him. But Mai can't. Anyhow, she still knows that though he had dumped Aya for the last time, Aya is still the person Rei's heart is yearning for. She is jealous, yes, but no matter what, Rei's still her best friend and she must help him get through it.
"Then what is it?" he questioned coldly, after chewing down his food. --Fine, Rei. Be like that again. Sooner, Mai would also be gone, just like Aya had, because of your coldness.-- an inner voice scolded him.
Mai looked away farther. "I was thinking...w-what's bringing you away?"
Rei was half-aghast by that. "Bringing away? What—"
"I mean...you know...I am your close friend and all, so I know whenever you have troubles. You mind telling me?"
Rei sighed heavily. He played with his juice using his straw. Somehow he found doing that was quite amusing. "I don't know if this is the right time to tell anyone how I feel so downcast right now."
"Telling problems doesn't need the right time to be told, Rei. It just needs the right people to turn to." Mai said, soothing down not only her soul, but she also knew she did the same to Rei.
"You see...there's this girl whom I used to date ever since we were on high school. I only dated her because she liked me so much, and because her friends persuaded me to do so. I didn't like her at all. As in never. But time passed, and the more we meet, I could sense her coldness as well. She tried to come to me many times already."
"I'd take a guess. You dumped her right?"
"As many times as she did came to me." Rei heard Mai let out a gasp. Anyhow, he continued. "I don't know...but...whenever I see her cry in front of me...I just feel like...I wanted to be cold in front of her. So cold that I never noticed I've hurt her so much. Until one day, she told me she was sure she loved me so much...she herself told me. I didn't know what to say...so I said that I hated her as much as she loved me."
Mai took the last piece of her rice cake as she listened to him. "Then?"
"Then I saw her at the club. She was kissing—no, correct that—She's mauling with some other guy. I can't believe she did this to me."
Mai shrugged and said, "You know what? If you can't believe she did that to you, then maybe she also can't believe why you've always been hurting her while she makes a total idiot of herself following you."
That struck Rei a thousand hammers. --Maybe she's right.--
"Besides, if I were her, you'd probably catch me kissing—no, correct that—mauling with other guys at the club. Any girl totally in love with a guy who hated her then be dumped by him would probably do that. I mean, think about it, people who have real drowning problems esp. with romance just drink. Drink and drink!"
"Look, Aya's not the type of girl who actually sinks down herself when she's miserable."
Mai closed the lid of her lunch pack. Then she rested her elbow on the table and cupped her chin with her hand. She stared out the cafeteria's window, since they were sitting beside it. "Well, I think she would have been complete if you had been there all the while. Though I know nothing of that girl, at least I know how a girl feels. And so I know, she had been really hurt."
Rei moved his plate aside and put both arms on top of the table. He sighed and looked down on the table. "I...don't know."
"What are you planning now?"
"I don't know, Mai. I don't know!" he exclaimed, which turned a few heads. But Rei glared at them, so they all turned away from him and Mai.
Mai moved closer to him and whispered. "Hey! Are you making a scandal?"
But Rei was confident and he didn't care. So he said in a normal voice, "I am not making a scandal. Now where were we?"
"I was asking about your plans."
Rei just stared at her blankly. He scrutinized her eyes, searching for an answer. Then he closed his eyes and looked away. "Aren't you even gonna help me with her?"
Mai raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? Haven't I opened your eyes already with my words of wisdom?"
"Add 'lame' to that as an adjective, will ya?" Rei said, rolling his eyes. And so he thought Mai's gonna take that lightly.
This time, Mai's over it. Her jealousy was almost to the extent. She already helped him, and whether or not it made sense to Rei, only Rei know. But because Rei had said that 'lame' thing, Mai got to 'outburst level'. She's not gonna let this pass now. All this time she'd been helping him with that Aya, he took all those for granted?
Mai crossed her arms over her chest. "Okay... 'lame' words of wisdom." Then she slammed her palm on the table, which made an even louder sound, and turned a few heads. But Mai is worse than Rei when she makes a scandal. So she didn't care to even glare at those fuzzy heads looking at 'em. "So you think I'm lame, huh?" She stood up from the table and eyed Rei furiously. "If I wasn't any help, think about it first! You couldn't have known about what she might have felt. So long, cold and proud freak! Don't ask me for any advice again!" she shouted, and started to go away.
"What's happening here?!" someone shouted, probably a personnel.
But both friends didn't mind. Rei hurried up to her and held her back. "I didn't mean anything!"
"You meant something! You meant I'm lame!" she swished her hands to emphasize how much what he said had struck her. Rei forgot that Mai didn't like 'persons who hate her advices' the most. "You meant I'm not worth giving out any advice...Fine! Don't run into me when you break down of that girl. No wonder she left you. Why? Because you're cold..." she pointed his chest with her index finger. "...and you don't accept what others say of how selfish you are!!!!!"
Rei slapped Mai in front of everyone. Mai fell down because of the strong impact. Rei held the hand he used to slap her. "I...I'm sorry, Mai. I—"
"Otohata." A voice called him.
Rei turned around. "Boss?" he mouthed, when he saw his boss in front of him, with darting eyes as sharp as knives.
"Otohata, I suspend you for a week." He told him. As if it would all be that easy for Rei.
But actually it was. Rei looked down on himself. "I understand, sir."
"Joniru! Please bring Mai to the clinic." The boss ordered one of the audience of the 'real' show.
The person carried the unconscious Mai to the clinic. She had a nosebleed. Whoa, Rei really hit her bad
"What are you waiting for? Get out of here now. I want to see you after exactly one week. Or else, you're dropped out of this university."
Rei wanted to speak, but before he could, his boss cut out. "Did you know that you're the first person on record who made a scandal, who slapped another student from his own class, who made a trouble like this in front of me? We never experienced having fights here. So if you do this again, Otohata, you would really be dropped out of here. Do I make myself clear?"
Rei nodded. Then left the room and went back to his dorm.
----------
Yuuhi gave in to the kiss, but only for a short while. How dare he kiss this girl who already has a boyfriend. Yeah, he does love her, but he couldn't betray his friend Tatsuki, right?
He leaned back, away from her. "I-I'm so sorry, Ran. Really, I shouldn't have—"
Ran put a finger on his lips. "There's nothing to be sorry about. I made the move, didn't I?" Ran whispered, though there's no reason at all to whisper like that.
Yuuhi's eyes widened in shock...she was right. She DID make the move. "But..."
Ran put her arms around his neck, moved leaned her forehead on his and said, "You know what? You are always there when I needed you." After that sentence, her voice began to break whenever she spoke. "Tatsuki's in jail...I found Aya drunk, Rei says he loves Aya too late, Miyu gets impregnated, Yamato becomes cold to us, Naoki takes advantage...who's next? You?"
Then she let go of him and sighed. She stood up and turned away from him. "You're always there when I needed to cry...when I'm about to think that there's no one left for me anymore. Don't you notice it?" Tears fell down her cheeks.
Yuuhi stood up from the floor. "N-notice what?"
"You're a true friend." She said, turning to him and embracing him. "I hope you wouldn't leave me alone soon. Please don't."
Yuuhi hugged back, and it was no surprise at all. What surprised him was when Ran, again, kissed him. He gave in again, this time, it was longer. Ran held his face while he touched the soft curls of her hair.
--Ran...I...can't imagine myself with you like this.-- he thought.--But—--
Immediately, he broke the passion between them. "This is not right." He breathed.
Ran turned away quickly. "I'm sorry."
--Sorry?-- Yuuhi thought. Then he moved closer to her and embraced her as he hugged her from the back. "I'd always be here, because I'm your true friend."
--As long as you have Tatsuki, I could never call you mine. And I don't want to tell you about me. Not yet...-- He continued in his mind.
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That night, only Ran and Yamato were left in the house, since their parents both have meetings.
At dinner, no one spoke a word. Yamato is still in kaput feeling with Miyu's problem, while Ran keeps thinking about why she kissed Yuuhi and she can't believe that Yuuhi would be the first guy to kiss her...not Tatsuki.
Author: --taps foot-- What's taking them so long? Hey, speak up! Anyone?....
"I'm done." Ran said, placing the chopsticks on her bowl neatly and standing up.
Yamato suddenly looked at her. "Ran?"
"??" she turned around at her brother.
"Do you think Miyu would come back?"
"We all don't know about it...do we?"
Yamato just shrugged. Outside, it looked like Yamato felt nothing about her loss, but deep inside, his heart is continuing to feel being pierced to shreds every passing day that Miyu's gone.
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End of Chappie 10
A/N: Hey guys, read and REVIEW!!!!! Please, I need encouragements. Anyway, You all don't need to join that stupid and dull, time-wasting contest I made. It was all a crap. And don't worry, I'm not mad on anyone here. I just said that on the previous chappie so that...you know, I'd get someone to hook up on...hehe...LoL..
Oh, about Miyu, Naoki and Tatsuki, you ask? Nah...don't ask. Okay, ask if you want...but no way am I gonna answer that. They have to be out for a while, 'til it's surprise time...ehehe...hey Sechskies...thank you, really!! You're a great author too. But I'm not that good in Japanese just yet...is I understand most of 'em, maybe I could catch up on yer fic...or was that you? Or someone else?
Yippee!!! Another chappie done!!!!!!
So long!!!!