Written ginny who is in college now! Which kinda sucks. Too… much… work… ughhhhh
eight: teaching go
She was bored.
She had been bored most of the time she was holed up in her room, from when she refused to speak to Akira to when she was simply by herself in bed. At the time, however, her determination to be hard to work with and her desire to follow her departed family greatly outweighed her boredom practically to the point where it was unnoticeable.
She may have been bored at the time, but most of her just wanted to die already.
Now, after she realized (bitterly) that she was not strong enough to do her duty of following her loved ones, all her previous determination to cause Akira as much suffering and hassle as possible drained away. Rather, she wanted to give him the least amount of trouble possible. And as the hours went by, turning into days, as Akari realized (bitterly) that perhaps maybe she didn't really want to die, things changed.
For instance, Akari no longer spent every second lying on the bed cursing and feeling desperately the pangs of desiring a well-deserved death.
So naturally, her boredom won out and resurfaced quite painfully.
Akari looked out the window, it was still sunny and Akira was home today. Akari knew because Akira made it a habit to say goodbye when he made his leave, and though Akari would never admit it even though she had a slight suspicion Akira knew already, Akari watched him walk away from the window anyway.
She was really bored.
Akari slowly slipped out of the bed. Her legs felt weak from continuous inactivity, but she was quite capable of walking. Akari walked in cautious circles before she started to hasten into quicker circles. She felt a bit like a toddler learning to walk. Only the whole process just took about a minute. She stopped and stared at the door longingly.
The door—it led to the hallway, which led to the stairs, which led to the living room in which Akira was probably occupying himself with some activity of one thing or another.
Although Akira visited her three times a day to drop off her breakfast, lunch, and dinner, he kept his distance. He didn't say anything, but Akari was aware he was doing this because he was simply trying to give her room to breathe. Which was a highly considerate thing for him to do, but Akari was beginning to feel the effects of solitude. She was starting to miss company.
But Akari didn't want to admit it. She felt like a weak enough person already, failing at everything she attempted. Plus, she thought quite rationally, Akira seemed like a boring person anyway. He was probably doing something mundane and uninteresting, and if Akari went outside to where he was, she'd probably be just as bored—just out there with him instead of in the room by herself.
Was it really worth it to show her want for his company, when she'd be just as bored?
Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesssssssssssss.
If she didn't have a conversation with somebody other than herself—she was now talking to herself quite a lot these days—Akari was sure she was going to go insane. Or maybe she was crazy already. Maybe she already lost her sanity and was at the point of craziness where she couldn't recognize insanity.
She took in a deep breath and opened the door, walked through the hallway, tiptoed down the stairs, and peeked her head into the living room.
Akira was playing go.
Akari couldn't help but roll her eyes and let the smallest smile trickle onto her face.
"Play with me," Akira murmured softly aloud. Akari took a step back in surprise, wondering how he was aware of her presence. She shook her head and ignored it; Akira always had a way about things. Akari stepped towards the go table and sat down on the chair. She stared at him, but tried very hard to put on an uninterested look on her face. (I don't need you. No, I'm not bored. I'm just here for no real reason. I don't really want or need your company. I'm not weak.)
Akira smiled and cleared what he had been playing earlier. He set up a handicap and the game commenced.
The two played with only the noise of the go stones being placed on the board.
Akari broke the silence after she took a huge hit.
"Your diet is horrible," Akari clicked her tongue the slightest in disapproval. It hadn't taken long for her to notice the nutritious meals that Akira was lacking; she had been a mother after all, and all motherly instincts were ringing when she noticed that the majority of what Akira, and consequently her, ate was ramen and other instant meals.
"I don't cook," Akira replied simply.
Akari stared at him. It was rather strange. Akira was a young, wealthy man who could manage hiring a cook and even a maid, but he didn't. And though he was not in any means in need of a maid, he most definitely was in dire need of a cook.
She sighed.
"No ramen tonight," Akari declared as she set down a stone.
Akira was silent.
"Then what will we eat?" Akira set down one of his own and captured a few more of her pieces.
She stared at the board and bowed, "I resign."
Akari looked up and gazed thoughtfully at Akira.
"I'll make you a proper meal," Akari announced.
"Please," Akira murmured and waved his hand to the kitchen, as if giving her the keys to a domain of his house. Akari stood up from the chair and stepped inside the kitchen.
"But just this once," she said nonchalantly. This was payback for him keeping her company, and well… maybe everything else that he did for her.
"Of course," Akira replied with a strangely, knowing, smile that made Akari feel funny. She wasn't sure if she liked the smile. A part of her thought that maybe it was kind of nice, but most of her was confused and trying to decipher it, and some of her was infuriated even, from not being able to crack the code.
Akari had a feeling he understood her too well; that disturbed her.
She ignored it and walked briskly around the kitchen, surveying the different things he had around the cabinets and in the refrigerator.
At dinner, she presented a traditional Japanese dinner that, from the looks of his face, Akira enjoyed immensely. Akari beamed proudly to herself; she was not unaware of the fact that she was quite the capable cook.
"Thank you," Akira bowed.
"It was just this once," Akari sniffed.
She began to cook their dinner on a
regular basis.
A/N: weeeeeeeeee. Thanks for reading (and reviewing) this so far! Fic is now heading into a lighter side, so for all of you who have been waiting for the happier romance, here it comes. And for all you angst-fiends, don't worry, it's not all gone yet. Mwahahahaha. (I am an angst-fiend mahself.)
Okay, at this point Akari is still suffering from guilt and slightly a bit not sane. Akira is unsure of his feelings, but quite perceptive to Akari. Just for clarification.And to Rayearthiann: I was gonna mention it in the last a/n but I forgot. The backpacking trip was actually something me and a good friend just did together right after high school grad. No school was actually involved. :)