Hello and thanks for waiting for so long. Yes. Yuan-san is worth drooling over, hehe. As I said, it will be a while again before he comes back, though. His appearance in the last chapter was a last-minute thing.
I hate story blocks. Soon after Chapter 8 was done I didn't know what to do next! I know what's supposed to go into the next chapter, but they wouldn't formulate! It's exasperating. So I worked on Eyes of the Tiger for a while. And even on that one I was stumped. Finally, school is back for me. Because of all that, so sorry this chapter took such a long time to come. I know you guys were waiting for it. Sorry for this short and dialogue-intensive chapter. Better this than nothing, just to get the story going again. I really can't think as far as I wanted to think for this chapter.
As usual: RK ain't mine, never will. Calling Jiro as such started with me, as far as I know. Yuan-san won't let himself be owned.
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It started off as a nice day. The sun was up, the breezes were blowing, the food cooking smelled wonderful, the gossips were quiet.
The gossip mills were still working, giving various opinions on the situation. Poor Tsubame had been called many good and bad things behind her back in the last few days. It was good to see her with Yahiko again. It seems that Yahiko was finally making his move. It was sad to see her ignore Jiro, the nice young man and great swordsman to boot. It was confusing to everyone how both men stood with her. Thus, some guessed she would go on and marry Yahiko, while others gave reasons why she would marry Jiro. The other young women, jealous of Jiro's attention on her, considered Tsubame a young lady who swam in two rivers.
Tae kindly stood up to all the rumormongerers and defended the waitress. Still, she quietly advised Tsubame to make up her mind, and decide with finality what Jiro and Yahiko were in her heart.
It was not easy to decide. She did not want to decide.
Jiro came in, and smiled and gave a little nod to Tsubame. She waved back as she continued with her work. She would finish the serving first before going to him.
He in the meantime saw the Himuras at their table. "It's a good day!" He said with a happy grin and approached them. The couple gave short bows of acknowledgement and said hello, while their little boy stuck a tongue out at him. He took out a letter from a satchel and gave it to Himura-san. "I'm saved a trip to your house. This is from Saitou-san."
"Thank you," Himura-san took the letter and opened it. He quickly read through the contents, then looked up with surprise at Jiro. "It says here that you are to come with me tonight to the precinct."
"A-re?" Jiro took the letter from him and read it. "Well, now! So that's what the letter to Yuan-san was about…...I will see you tonight, then, Himura-san."
He placed the letter back into the satchel absentmindedly. He bowed politely then started to exit. He almost bumped into Tsubame in his haste. Seeing her, he seemed to be reminded of something and reached into the satchel. He took out a small box and gave it to her. "Sorry I can't stay much longer. I need to get my work done soon, if I want to be ready by sundown. Take care, Tsubame!" He waved to her as he opened the restaurant door and exited.
For better or worse, Jiro seemed to be more absent-minded of late. He seemed to always rush into things. He was not as organized and systematic in his movements as he used to be. She would ask about it some time, but it was not her greatest concern. Maybe he was just busier than usual, that's all.
The day ended well, and the evening was memorable, if simple.
Plays and orchestral concerts were expensive, but dress rehearsals were free. Yahiko had contacted a few friends at the theater, and he and Tsubame were allowed to watch the dress rehearsal for a new play she was eager to see. It was as good as if they had seen the opening night. She loved it. Like most men, Yahiko dozed off in a few places, but in the end he agreed that it was a good presentation. He was happier that he made Tsubame happy.
As they passed the precinct that evening, she noticed the assembly of men just beyond the gate, most wearing uniforms or dark clothing. Among them, Himura-san's red hair stood out from all the shades of blue. He was talking to Fujita-san, one of the chief inspectors. She did not find Jiro in the group. She was intrigued to see Himura-san doing something else besides helping Kaoru-san, so she kept standing by the gate and watching him. Her partner had not noticed that she had stopped, and kept walking.
Just then a small ruckus ensured. Someone still in handcuffs punched a policeman then kicked another before running in her direction, to the gate. One or two policeman fired a shot but missed. The rest tried to form a barricade but were too late.
But as the man reached two feet of the gate, a rush of wind swept by her. She barely saw it. In a second, a young man was in front of the runaway criminal, giving him a stab at the abdomen with a small dagger. The criminal fell back first to the ground.
The young man switched his hold on the dagger, and raised it over the man's neck. "I'll see you in paradise," he said.
Her knees almost gave way. She knew that voice.
A flash of red passed through Tsubame's eyes. She looked again, and saw Himura-san, an iron grip on the hand that held the dagger.
"That is far enough, Soujirou-dono."
The young man, thankfully, had not faced the gate, had not seen her. He dropped the dagger and stepped back. He panted, as he hunched over and covered his face with his hands.
"Why? To stop yourself at just the right time. Why is it easy for you? Why?"
She saw Himura-san take the dagger from the ground, place it inside its sheath, and give it back. "It was never easy."
She did not wait to see what happened next. She ran past the precinct to the next block. She turned her back on the scene, but the scene refused to leave her mind. She stopped at the lamp post, and breathed heavily from the running.
She saw Yahiko running back to her, very worried. "I thought I lost you! Where did you stop?"
"Just here," she said. "Sorry." She looked at the walls of the precinct again.
"I've told you countless times, you gotta stop doing that! That's how you get into trouble, you know!"
"Sorry," she said again.
Yahiko made her walk beside him, to make sure he knew where she was while on the way home. They were silent, until they came to last few meters.
"Yahiko, the police work with Himura-san, is it dangerous?" she asked.
"Just as dangerous as most police work goes, I suppose," he answered nonchalantly. "Kenshin gets called in for his strategic planning. I get to tag along when they need a good swordsman," he raised his nose just a bit higher.
She chuckled for a bit, then frowned again. "So why would they need Jiro?"
Yahiko looked at her oddly, decided to ignore any implications, then shrugged. "I don't know. For his speed, and spywork, I guess? Why do you ask?"
"Would you feel better about Jiro if I said that the police use him for their work, too?"
He stopped walking, and crossed his arms over his chest. "No." He did not give her time to ask why. "Because I still don't know what other things he does."
She bowed her head.
He put a hand on her shoulder. "Look, Tsubame. I just want you to be safe. I'm not sure how safe you will be with him. Yeah, maybe I am jealous of that smiley. But I'm also worried about you. I don't ever want to see you ending up with a sad life, even if it's not with me. You understand?"
She nodded.
He placed a hand over her head and ruffled her hair. "I just want you to be careful. And besides…….," he drew closer, and gave her a gentle kiss on the cheek, "I don't care what he says. You're taken."
This was a rather new Yahiko-chan. She gulped down a lump at her throat. "Taken?"
"Sure. Don't deny it," he said with a serious face. "It's just a matter of time…….before it's for real. Right?"
The lump went up to the back of her tongue. She gulped it down again. "How soon?"
He gave her a very mysterious smile. "Soon enough. Everyone thinks it's been too long, anyway." He gave her a final peck. "Good night, Tsubame."
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"You were tossing and turning all night, Tsubame-chan!" Tae tsked the next morning.
Tsubame indeed looked haggard. There were dark rings under her eyes as she washed the dishes that morning. "I couldn't sleep, Tae-nee-chan," she explained with a yawn.
"Yahiko-kun giving you trouble?" Tae's eyes turned somewhat shifty.
She shook her head, as her messenger friend charged in through the door.
"Maybe it's this fellow, then?" Tae chuckled, and saw the waitress blush cherry red.
Tae made the young man sit down for some tea. "You've been coming here more often, but you haven't been staying!" she teased the messenger. "What will my chief waitress think of you?"
As Jiro gulped down the cup of tea, she found it hard to look at him straight in the eye. He chatted quite nervously about the things he needed to do for that day, but he too found it difficult to look at Tsubame. He searched through his pockets and took out a small trinket, but she did not even smile as she took it.
Eventually he stood up and said his thanks, but she held him back. She held his hand, and did not let go until he faced her fully. "I have to talk to you, alright? Really talk to you."
"Alright, Tsubame. Right now?"
"No, tonight. After hours. Will it be too much of a bother?"
"Oh, no, that would not be a problem," he smiled. "See you tonight, then."
"Thank you." She let go of his hand, and sadly waved as he left.
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It was much like before. The Akabeko was deserted already for the night, and Tae was already asleep upstairs. She waited for her friend of a few months at a table, her eyes at the door. The ledger kept her company on top of the table, but she could not get herself to open it and start the bookkeeping.
He rapped at the door, then slid it open himself. She silently gestured for him to sit beside her. He sat, and waited.
She had planned this. Simple. Concise. Accurate. The fewer words she said, the less it would hurt him, the less likely she would cry.
"You know about the trip tomorrow, right?"
He nodded.
"I am going with Yahiko and the Himuras, you do know that."
"Yes."
She bowed her head, looked at her hands, then looked up at him. "Soujirou." No longer Jiro. The distance. From the Tenken no Soujirou. She wanted to place it, to make it clear. She hated having to do it, but she felt that she had to.
He sighed. "Jiro, please."
She shook her head. "Not anymore."
"But…."
She felt a need to tell him the hard truth. He deserved it, more than any of the other young men who had tried to woo her. "I liked you. I had a crush on you. So I led you on. I led you to believe something. I should not have done that. I should have done what I did to all the others." She felt a tear stream down her cheek. "I should not have given you hope."
"Why? Why are you saying all this?"
"I have reason to believe, that Yahiko will propose to me there. If he does……I will say yes."
It was clear that he was surprised by the statement. But he did not protest, he did not demand an explanation.
He merely smiled.
"I see."
The smile was false, the face was blank.
He moved up his hands to cover hers, and spoke. "You do know that I…….I……..love you, yes?"
Tsubame thought she did, sort of, from all the ways they interacted over those last few months. But this was the first time she heard it for herself, from him.
He gently stroked the hands he held. "If that is what you feel, then it is not for me to fight it. But, but…….if it is alright with you……..I would like to still be your friend. To still see you. To still give you those little treats you like."
"I, I, I, don't know if you still could do that. I mean, yes, I want for us to stay friends. But if that happens, we can no longer be as close as before." As it was, she was already not as close to him as before.
He remained silent.
"I am truly sorry, Soujirou, really." A few more tears streamed down.
The blank face gave an empty smile. He raised her chin, took out a kerchief, and gently wiped away the tears.
"At least……..Tsubame, if things do not work out……..will you promise me, instead?"
"We shall see, Soujirou. We shall see."
……………………………
She lived in a dream, after she told Jiro to wait and see. She barely remembered packing that evening for the weekend vacation at the hot springs. She barely noticed her breakfast. She vaguely remembered how Yahiko fetched her at the Akabeko to go to the train station. It was all a long dream.
A dream of being happy, very happy, being with Yahiko.
But as the dream played on, the words kept ringing in her ears. "If things do not work out, will you promise to consider me instead?" And the sight of a swift young man driving a dagger through another man still haunted her thoughts.
He held out his hand. "Shall we go?"
Yahiko waited for her answer. He stood at the iron steps of their steam train, puffing and readying to depart.
She looked at Yahiko, from the top of his wind-swept hair, the end of the white socks in his sandals, to the hand offered to her. He seemed so familiar, and so different.
Should she go, indeed? Should she go with him? Was she not making a mistake, giving up every other man, for this one? What if Jiro, for all his faults, was better for her……..but could that be? How could Jiro be better than her best friend of many years?
"What's the matter, Tsubame?" he eventually asked. "Are you sick or something? You look like you're about to faint. We can go on the next train if you like."
She shook her head. "No, I will be alright." She took up Yahiko's hand. "Sorry for making you worry."
There would be more time to seriously think about this. Now that she finally had to think about it seriously.
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Ayaya. I don't want to get used to making one-day, quick-shot chapters, but it seems that I don't have much choice now. I can't think straight for stories during weekdays, with the weekly report we have to make. Then there are the other things we have to do in any given week. My life is insane. Why do you think Days of Nightmares came to be?
Wow, more reviewers, thanks so much. Please don't report me for making long endnotes. Again, if you want to keep track of this story, please add me to story alerts, because I cannot say for sure when the next chapter will be.
DomainDie, Genki Ninjagirl, MSN-chan -- I am really trying my best to keep Sou-chan in character. I know he is not a jerk, he is not normally arrogant, he is not inherently evil. I'm just trying to show that he's still confused about his feelings, and that while he is indeed a nice guy, he has an aspect to him that he shows only in crucial situations. I hope you all understand. You can, of course, do what my other reviews do and give analysis. It really helps me think. Thank you!
Maeko-Nohara – You reviewed just minutes after I uploaded, cool! Yes. The man is drool-worthy, Yuan-san. Your jaw dropped? Hehe. Thanks for liking. Btw, contact zantaz, he wants to know why you know Iban. 8 )Tofumice – Hi Aikida. 8 ) Coming from a Sou-chan writer, the fact that you're rooting for Yahiko is neat. Thanks for liking. Zezura – Yes, no epic. Check my other long pieces so you can have an idea how many chapters this will most likely be. Pnaixrose – Thanks for liking the THAT and THAT. I was obvious about Yuan-san anyway, so thanks for suspecting. Whisper of the Wind – Thanks much! Chiki – Yes, I haven't seen PMK. I'm hoping Animax would be kind enough to show it after some time. Enjoy the vacation. Check my blog (link at my profile) and you'll get some idea what I've been doing. Jiro getting wet? I figured he wouldn't expect Tsubame to do that.
Junyortrakr – Why in the world did you read my GetBackers fics when you haven't seen GetBackers? 8 ) Thanks all the same, and I'm glad that you more or less understood it. Sorry for not emailing you my replies to those long things you type. I save them, though. Yup, Tsubame hasn't clearly decided. I have some plans in mind so the ending won't turn out the way you fear. But I already have an idea of the ending that I am happy with. It's not like in White and Black where I wasn't sure until I got to that deciding chapter. I hope I'm right with it.
MK zantaz – The stuff about Yuan-san that you're asking will probably be written in at future chapters. Thanks for reminding me what Sou-chan must feel right now. Sorry about the inconsistency that you pointed out, about checking before seeing the target. But I did try to point out that no one expected the situation to happen.