CHAPTER 2: Summer Fun?
"Bloody hell!" The exclaimation was silently shared by everyone else as well. It was early evening and they had just reached the beach house...which was basically a small mansion in itself. The entire first floor was reserved for entertainment. A wide kitchen that led out back to an open fire pit near the beach, a small garden that was well tended, a servant house (which was a normal sized house) and a patio that was covered with a canopy tent and even had sofas for seating. Inside was a pool room with two tables, a lounge that had a card table and a bar, an arcade and what had to be the biggest flat screen tv ever made and a library of dvds and cds to make any collector jealous.
"WOW! Hajime, look at this!" Mannen grabbed Hajime's arm and dragged him to one of the three refridgerators, Shin following close behind them.
"Holy crap," Kei muttered, eyes going up the wide spiral stairs on either side of the main entrance. "This...is a beach house?"
"One of them," Mawata answered, tugging her red luggage out of the growing pile. She opened a side pocket and pulled out a little envelope that jingled as she moved it. Opening it, a small bunch of keys spilled out into her hand. "Mom made us some keys for the place." She handed them out to all the older knights, Yayoi and Himeno, saving one for the other three who were busy exploring the kitchen.
"One of them? You mean, she has more?" Blaise demanded.
Blushing, Mawata smiled. "She has one on the Meditearanian and another in Los Santos de Playa, in Mexico. We don't use those as much anymore, so she leases them out."
"Bliimey, I knew you were rich but...blimey!" It seemed for once the ever-talkative Knight of Flowers was rendered speachless.
"It's not that big a deal." Mawata began hauling her own bags up the stairs as Mr. Tanaka dropped the last of the luggage on the pile. It was a very battered, very duct-tape repaired suitcase with tons of band stickers all over it. Blaise grabbed it and was quick to follow her upstairs.
"Didn't mean it like that, love! Just...shocked. Oi, let me get your bag for you!" He reached for the handle to her suitcase...and their hands met briefly. Mawata blushed even darker and pulled away.
"I've got it, thanks," she mumbled, heart slamming in chest.
"Right...sorry 'bout that," Blaise mumbled back.
Thudding on the stairs told them that the others were coming up, Kei shouting back to the younger ones to grab their bags and find rooms. Blaise and Mawata were quick to get up the stairs to the second and the bedrooms.
"So, how many rooms are there?" Himeno asked, dropping her bulging suitcase ont he floor and taking deep breaths.
"Twelve, including the master bedroom, which we aren't allowed to use," Mawata answered. She pointed off down the hall at the very end. "That was the room Miyune and I shared. It has a bunk bed in it still, if Hajime and Shin want to share it."
"Cool! I get top bunk!" Hajime found an extra burst of energy and ran down the hall with his bag.
"No fair, no fair," Shin said, running after him. There was a squeal of laughter as Hajime tackled him at the door before it shut behind the two.
" I want this room! It has a water bed!" Mannen grabbed the room to the left of the other two.
"Just don't go freezing it," Kei shouted after him, readjusting the strap to his laptop case.
"Kei, the room over there has a desk in it," Mawata offered, pointing to the room right behind her.
"Great." He opened the door and flicked on the lights, whistling low. "Very nice!"
Sete followed him in, blushing a little when she saw the others watching her. Himeno was grinning happily. "Right, like you guys aren't going to be sharing rooms," she muttered. She slammed the door after herself. And locked it.
"Jaysus, that was less than subtle," Blaise commented, trudging down the hall to the other end and peering into the open doors. "I think I'll take this one."
"Oh, that's my room!" Mawata was quick to go down there and turn on the lights.
"Whoa...you weren't kidding about the music, love!" The walls were covered all over with posters that had been expertly hung and there was a book case along one wall that was filled with cds.
"Thanks."
"Sweet Jaysus, you like Buck Cherry, too?" Blaise dropped his bags and went over to the cd case. "You really have to let me go through this, Mawata! No...is this...?"
Mawata smiled, unzipping her bag. The rest of their group had already found their rooms. Hayate and Himeno were arguing in the next one over about who got what drawer and why. Everything was quiet from Feryn and Yayoi's room...whether that was good or bad was anyone's guess. "Yes, it is."
"Studio recording...of The Who! How did you get this?"
"My dad used to listen to The Who. It had been a birthday present to him, on tape. My mom had it transfered to cd for my thirteenth birthday."
Blaise was running fingers over every cd in the collection, mouthing some of the names. "You've got a bloody brilliant collection here."
"There's more."
"Huh?"
Laughing at the shock on his face, Mawata opened the enormous walk in closet...to show that only one side was used for clothing. "I've got all of these, too. They all go in order of release date. Out here I have sixties and seventies. In hear are eighties, nineties and new millenium. All are alphabatized by artist and then by album release."
"The Ataris...Fugazi...Maroon 5...What's this one?"
Mawata went over and looked at the one he'd pulled out, blushing and grabbing it from him quickly. "Oh, that's nothing!"
"It's not nothin'! Never heard of them before."
"And you never will. This...this is the band I write for. Orion's Tragedy. They only play locally, but they record at the studio and sell their cds at the shows."
"You write their songs?"
She smiled shyly and nodded, biting her lower lip nervously.
"That's...that's bloody brilliant. Can I?" Blaise held his hand out for the cd.
Slowly, she handed it to him, now very shy and very red. "It's nothing special..."
"Let me be the judge of that. Wow, I didn't know you wrote songs!" He seemed extremely impressed.
"Well...it's more like I try to. I'm not very good at it..."
Blaise laughed, flipping the hand written cd jacket over to read the different titles. "Yeah, I bet they're better than anything I've tried to do."
"You like to write music, too?" She already knew he did. He'd sent her some of his sample lyrics. They'd been very good.
Shrugging, eyes sparkling with a wicked humor, he said, "Naw, that guitar case with me is a fake. It's really where I hide all the bodies for transport."
Mawata laughed softly, hugging herself. "Maybe...maybe we can sit down sometime...and read each other's stuff?" She realized what she'd just said after they came out and covered her mouth in shock.
He laughed though, tucking the cd into the pouch pocket of his sweatshirt. "Jolly good! Well, better unpack now. See you 'round, love!" He left her room, picking his suitcase up again and shutting her door.
Mawata stood where he'd left her, grinning. She'd done it! Himeno had been right, all she had to do was ask! She began to unpack her stuff, humming happily as she went.
Dinner that night was held on the patio. Hayate and Blaise had gotten a fire going in the pit further down the beach and someone had found sparklers to give to the younger three. Shin was screaming with laughter and running around, trying to get away from Hajime and Mannen who were chasing him around the beach. Feryn and Yayoi had found a spot on one of the couches, snuggling under a blanket against the slightly chill wind that had kicked up as the evening set in. Sete was standing at the steps leading off the patio onto the beach, smiling when Kei came up behind her with a glass of wine. She smiled, taking it from him and leaned back against, watching as Blaise joined the others on the beach, armed with two sparklers to their one.
"Five bucks says Mannen catches Blaise on fire," she said softly.
"Ten on Shin doing the same thing," Kei replied, resting his head lightly on her shoulder.
"Okay, dinners ready!"
Both groaned at the sound of Himeno mentioning dinner. She and Mawata had been holed up in the kitchen for hours. That couldn't be a good thing. They turned...and were stunned.
Not one plate of food looked burned or undercooked. Shish kabobs with chicken and beef and shrimp, vegetables that had been lightly cooked with balsamic vinegar, a tray of fruit with dip. And Mawata had opened the liquor cabinet to supply a tray of mojitos for anyone older than twelve.
"Please tell me this food is as good as it looks," Kei begged. It would be such a crime if it turned out to be Himeno's cooking!
Scowling, Himeno jabbed him with a fork as she balanced two plates on her arm and two mojitos in the other. "You better not be saying I'm a bad cook or anything?"
"No, you're cooking serves a purpose...like for killing the enemies, poisoning rats and as a way to clear a room faster than Yayoi and Feryn."
The couple in question were too wrapped up (literally) to say anything to that. Mawata brought them a plate of food to share. They took turns feeding each other.
Sete rolled her eyes and tipped back to rest of her wine, grabbing a mojito quickly. "Hopefully there's more where these came from, Mawata?" she asked.
Mawata smiled a little and said, "I made two pitchers of it. They're in the refridgerator. I also made some sangria, if you'd prefer that."
Blaise came up then, out of breath from laughing and running away from the other three. He looked at the display of food and the drinks and shook his head. "A true domestic goddess, ladies and gents! Almost too pretty eat, Mawata!"
The girl blushed and took a seat on one of the couches in the farthest corner from the group. The blush darkened when Blaise loaded up a plate of food, grabbed a drink and sat next to her.
"Hey! Can I have one?" Mannen started to reach for a mojito. Kei slapped his hand and took the glass away. "NOT FAIR!"
"Not for children," Kei said, sitting next to Sete on another couch.
Mannen scowled but tooks his water and plate and joined Shin and Hajime at another couch. Hajime and Shin were battling with their skewers, Shin giggling as Hajime 'stabbed' him. The fight continued for a bit until Blaise yelled at them to stop it.
Hayate was sitting on the beach, watching the dark water roll in when Himeno went up to him, handing him a plate and a drink and sitting next to him. She was wearing a dark blue sweater of his that was much too big on her, but she loved it anyway. It was pretty much hers now anyway. "So, whatcha thinking about?" she asked, pushing the long sleeves back so they didn't drag in the food.
"Nothing. Just...stuff." The way he said it told her exactly what he was thinking about.
"Look, we can't do anything about the Queen of Nightmares yet. So, why not have a little fun for a change?"
Hayate looked at her, smiling gently. The wind pulled at his dark hair and he pushed a few pieces out of his face. "That wasn't the stuff I was thinking about," he said.
Blushing, Himeno smiled, tucking her knees up against her chest. She touched his cheek, heart skipping when he turned into her hand, brushing his lips across her wrist. "Well, it was something serious. No secrets, remember?"
That got him to laugh, but he still didn't tell her. She was about to press further when shouts broke out on the patio. Mainly, it was Yayoi screeching and crying at the same time and Blaise complaining loudly while trying to cover Shin's eyes as Feryn was bowled over the side of the sofa by the hysterical Yayoi. Neither one surfaced from the other side, which led to some hurried moving by Hajime and Mannen to the side where the other three were.
Kei and Sete were coming over to them, Sete carrying her heeled sandals and a bottle of champagne, Kei with four glasses. "It's getting too crazy up there," Kei called. It was obvious the two were a little drunk from the random giggles and slight stumbling in the sand.
"What happened?" Hayate asked, taking two glasses. He ducked as Kei fired the cork off into the water and poured out the champagne.
"Something bad," Sete answered, flopping down in the sand with an uncharacteristic lack of grace. She stretched her long legs out in front of her, burying her toes into the cold sand.
"Did that jerk break up with her?" Himeno demanded, getting ready to go beat the Frenchman into fuzzy pudding.
"Worse," Sete grimaced, taking a healthy drink of the alcohol.
"Feryn proposed to her," Kei explained. "If it was bad before..." He shook his head and followed Sete's example by chasing the awful thoughts with booze.
"He...He PROPOSED! YAYOI!" Himeno was up and running down the beach with her glass spilling all over.
"Hey, such a waste of good champagne," Kei shouted after her. He was drowned out by more shouting from the patio as Himeno and Yayoi hugged and screeched all at the same time. Sighing, Kei refilled his glass and Sete's, glancing over to find Hayate hadn't even touched his. "Hayate, something wrong?"
Blinking, he smiled and said, "No, nothing." He quickly tucked something back into his pocket.
Green eyes narrowed, Sete nudged him and said, "Let me see it."
"Huh?"
"What you have in your pocket. You've been toying with it since we got on the bus. So, let me see it."
Blushing a little, Hayate reached into his jean pocket and showed her.
Sete took it and smiled. "That's very pretty. Kei, darling, look."
Kei squinted and then took what she gave him, peering closer. "That's not a..."
"No, it's not," Hayate said. "It just looked like something she would like."
Smiling, the usual caustic Knight of Light handed it back to the Knight of Wind. "I think she's going to cry."
Laughing and tucking it back into his pocket, Hayate said, "That's sort of the point. But now with those two getting engaged..."
Sete rolled her eyes, pulling a rubber band off her wrist and pulling her waist length hair back into a messy bun. "The ring was disgusting! Seriously, the rock was bigger than Shin's head. The whole band was covered in diamonds, too. It looked heavy."
"You sound jealous," Hayate teased.
She choked on her champagne. "Of that? Hardly! If it weren't for the booze making me all fuzzy, I'd beat the shit out of you for that!"
"I'm not too drunk though, and I certainly don't mind," Kei added, leaning behind Sete to punch Hayate's arm.
Hayate swung back and there was soon a mock fight on the beach that ended in the rest of the champagne spilling over the beach. Sete and Kei mourned the loss loudly and Hayate had to make a run for it to keep from getting beaten for real.
Once everyone was back on the patio (Feryn and Yayoi had resurfaced by this time) there were a lot of jokes made at their expense and much exclaiming over the ring by Himeno. Even Sete managed a rather convincing smile and polite smile. Yayoi was beaming, tears still running down her cheeks. And Feryn...Feryn was almost in tears himself.
"A toast! A toast, a toast, a toast!" Blaise shouted, coming out of the house with more champagne and a container of apple juice for the younger ones. He and Kei worked the corks off while Mawata doled out the juice. Once everyone had a glass, the Englishman stood on the couch, using Mawata's shoulder for balance as he raised his glass. "To the most disgustingly in love couple ever! May you be happy and reproduce like rabbits!"
"Blaise, what the hell kind of toast was that?" Himeno shouted as the Knight of Flowers jumped down, grinning wickedly.
"The only kind yer gettin' outta me in my weakened condition, love! Cheers!" He tipped his glass back and had it done in a few sips.
"Then you must be in this weakened condition all the time, mon ami. It had all grace of your everyday speach," Feryn replied, but he was smiling still.
Blaise scowled and was about to make a rude gesture that was quickly intercepted by Mawata grabbing his arm. Shin was still sitting on the sofa near them, grinning and completely absorbed in his apple juice.
"Okay, a REAL toast this time," Kei announced. When everyone was silent, he said, "To Feryn and Yayoi for finding the happiness they truly deserve!" Everyone took a drink to that.
"Hear that, Blaise? THAT'S what a toast is supposed to sound like," Himeno joked.
"Aw, offended by me gutter speach? And here I thought it a right proper toast that I made!" he retorted.
"I liked it," Shin said, swinging his legs and giving them big innocent eyes. "Rabbits are nice!"
There were a couple sighs of relief that the youngster didn't fully catch what Blaise had said, and a couple snickers from Hajime and Mannen for the same reason.
They stayed out there until almost early morning. Shin had fallen asleep shortly after the toasts, Hajime and Mannen waking him up to go inside when they were too sleepy to really stay awake either. That left the older knights and the girls outside with the sky just beginning to turn pink. They all took up a couch a piece and had a bottle of champagne to themselves as well.
"How long were you planning this, Feryn?" Himeno asked.
Feryn smiled, eyes closed. Yayoi was lying next to him, facing his chest. Judging from the slow breathing, she'd fallen asleep, and he was close to it as well. "I have had the ring for almost three months now," he answered softly. "I was going to wait until the end of summer...but could not. The excitement got the better of me, so it was not as romantic as I had wished."
"I don't think she'd agree with that," Mawata said quietly. She and Blaise were on the couch diagonal from the engaged couple, heads at opposite ends. She was trying not to laugh as Blaise drew little faces on the bottom of her bare toes with a sharpie marker. She'd already done a fair job of tattooing his legs with another marker.
Feryn's smile grew a little and he sighed, running fingers through Yayoi's hair. "She would not."
"Well, I think it's great," Himeno said. Hayate was lying on his stomach with her on top, her head resting on his chest. "You two are perfect for each other."
"Merci boucoupe, ma cherie."
Sete was the only one sitting up. Kei had his head in her lap and she was idly playing with strands of his golden hair. "This is nice," Kei murmured, eyes closed.
"What?" Blaise asked, looking up from his art work. So far he had an angry face, a scared face, a happy face, a sad face and was working on a crazy face. His entire leg was covered over with random drawings and odd quotes. 'Sexy Leg Hair' was the most noticeable in the jumble.
"This, all of us just relaxing a bit. We should do this more often."
"Yeah, but who's gonna watch the kiddies?"
"We could all take turns," Sete suggested. "I think each night we should all go out together to the board walk. Two of us stay behind for the other three and we rotate out who stays and who goes. And each night, we do something different."
"That sounds fun," Mawata said. She stifled a giggle and barely managed to keep from squirming. Blaise was completely concentrated on making a big arrow on her heel.
"Yeah, good idea, Sete," Himeno added.
Yawning, she nodded and slapped Kei's cheek lightly. "Up. Come on, up! Now that I've spouted my genius idea, it's time for sleep."
Kei sat up grudgingly and stood with her. "The day you spout anything genius is the day I give up coffee." He caught the fist aimed for his gut, forcing the fingers open to twine with his.
Himeno stood up, too, and passed over the extra blanket to Feryn and Yayoi. "She's out and I know from sleepover experience she's not getting up."
"That is fine with me," came the sleepy reply.
Blaise and Mawata waved as Hayate and Himeno went inside. They had to wait for their artwork to dry completely before going to their rooms.
Once inside, they took turns using the bathroom to change and get ready for bed. Hayate, being the gentleman, let Himeno go first. Which left her lying in bed alone for a bit. It gave her a chance to think about what had just happened. Engaged. Yayoi was barely eighteen...and she was engaged. She was very happy for her friend, almost as ecstatic as the bride-to-be herself. But...that was young! Yayoi was only a little older than her. She couldn't imagine being engaged! Or could she...
Hayate. He was the one. She knew that already. Hayate was her other half, and she would do anything and everything possible for him. She shuddered, hugging the pillow to her. It smelled like clean cotton and fabric softener. Nothing familiar to it. She buried her hands under it, trying to hide them. She couldn't look at her hands, not after what had happened. Oh, it hadn't been her fault, she knew that. It was the fact that she'd been powerless to stop it...Jikan had almost been stronger than her love for Hayate.
The bathroom door opened, throwing light momentarily into the dim room before Hayate turned it off and slipped into the bed, rolling over onto his side and pulling her back against him. "Himeno?" he asked softly, not sure if she was sleeping or not.
The minute he said her name, the fear and doubt vanished and she smiled, turning over onto her stomach to meet his gaze. Those eyes...so incredibly blue and full of love for her. "Come here," she whispered, arm circling his neck.
Hayate did as she asked, kissing her slow and gentle. Nothing else, just the feel of his lips against hers, so light she almost thought she'd imagined it. Himeno sighed, pushing his shirt up so she could run her hands up his back, hold him closer. His lips touched each of her cheeks before trailing along her jaw and then her neck. No further. After Leafenia, they'd gone over the rules again and come up with a limit as to how far to go, no matter what. He was staying well within bounds, but she knew it wasn't without a great deal of effort on his part. The fact that Hayate didn't press the issue proved to her more than words that he really did care for her.
"H-Himeno?"
Hayate jerked back at the teary whisper, looking to the door. Shin stood there, halfway between the door and actually being inside the room. He was holding his favorite teddy bear and had tears running down his cheeks. "Shin, what's wrong?" Hayate asked.
"I-I had a...bad dream! Himeno was dead and it was scary! Can I sleep with you?"
Hayate met Himeno's eyes and shrugged. Himeno turned back to Shin and smiled. "Come on, sprout." Hayate moved over a bit and Himeno held her arms out as Shin ran for the bed and jumped in, hugging her tightly. He was shaking so bad! "It's okay, Shin, I'm here and I'm not leaving you ever!"
"Okay...it was really bad, Himeno," Shin cried, sniffling against her shoulder. He reached a hand out instinctively for Hayate. Himeno rolled over with him so the Knight of Plants was sandwiched in the middle.
He calmed down after a few minutes and was soon asleep. Hayate's arm was draped over Shin, his hand on Himeno's waist. Their eyes met, both barely awake. Neither of them needed to say it, they could already tell what the other was going to say. Sighing, Himeno closed her eyes and fell asleep.
Blaise looked up over his bowl of cereal when he heard someone enter the kitchen. He relaxed when he saw it was a very sleepy Hayate. Hayate went straight to the coffee pot and poured a cup, adding a little milk, and got some leftover fruit from the night before out for breakfast.
"You look like shit, mate," Blaise said around a bite of Coco Puffs.
"Shin had a nightmare," Hayate said. The tone to the words got Blaise's attention full out.
There was a very quick shift of expression over Blaise's face. Gone was the amused joker and in was a more serious...and very worried...young man. "Oh?"
"And Himeno's been having them a lot recently."
Sighing, Blaise nodded grimly. "I expected this. No worries, though. Shimura won't learn anything from me."
"I'm concerned for you, though," Hayate said softly. There was a tightness to his jaw that said he wasn't going to let the issue drop very easily.
"I'm safer here than at the Palace, Hayate," he said firmly. There was a hardness to his brown eyes that none of the others ever saw. None but Hayate. "We talked about this already, when it all first started sixteen years ago. It was agreed things were better like this."
"Sir, I-," The glare he was given kept Hayate silent.
Blaise glanced at the back door when he saw movement and smiled. Mawata was coming back from her morning run. "Besides, I have a very good reason to stay." Just as quickly as the switch happened, his face resumed the amused expression it always wore. Mawata came in, breathing hard and rubbing her hands.
"Oh, good morning," she said softly, getting a tea kettle down and filling it with water. "Did you both sleep well?"
Blaise smiled pleasantly and said, "Well enough, seein' as me mind was full of that music of yours. Bloody wonderful stuff, that was!"
Hayate stood and left, leaving his coffee and breakfast at the table.
Mawata stared after him a moment, surprised at the abrupt departure. "What's wrong with him?" She sat down next to Blaise, arranging her tea cup in the table. If she had glanced up at that time, she would have caught a shadow of the serious expression from before.
"Nothing. He just didn't sleep last night," Blaise answered.