Switch Chapter 10
K woke up to a very odd sensation. It was nothing like anything he'd ever experienced. It wasn't too uncomfortable, but for some reason his lower belly felt achy and sore. Shrugging it off, he dragged himself off Hiro's couch and padded to the washroom.
A few moments later there was a small shrill yelp of surprise. He groaned, realizing he'd never thought of this aspect of being a woman before.
The monthly curse!
Oh, how anomalous, he thought. What absolute horror a woman had to go through. I'm going to bleed to death! Ok, ok, K told himself to calm down. He knew that he wouldn't die—he wasn't that ill informed, but gah! He suddenly felt so ugly, fat and disgusting today. But his mind raced on about having to get to work and he'd never got those "things" that women use in this situation. Oh the horror…
"Hiro!" he called out desperately.
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Mmm, K was calling his name and using that scared woman's voice. It made Hiro feel manlier, his protector and provider instincts coming out full force. As he dreamed, he nuzzled against the pillow as if it was K's chest. Though even in his dreams he pictured K like a man and not at all like a woman.
"Hiro!"
"Oh yes K, I hear you. I'm right here," Hiro murmured in his sleep. But the calling became more insistent. A few of them lined with a curse now and then. "Wow, K, you swear like a sailor, it doesn't sound very nice..."
Blinking, Hiro frowned as he woke up to the sound of his own voice. He blushed with chagrin upon hearing the last thing he'd just said. But this time he actually heard K calling for him. He worried instantly and dashed to the bathroom door, shaking off the sleepiness.
"What's wrong!" Hiro insisted on the other side, standing in his boxers. "Are you sick or something?" K never called for help. It had to be something important.
"It's so embarrassing…I can't believe I never thought about this. I mean, Judy went through it all the time," K rambled oddly and spoke that he felt like he was going to die.
Hiro was confused, "What are you talking about? Just tell me what's wrong or I'll come in."
"NO! You can't," K shouted. With a deep sigh he told Hiro his "problem".
Shoulders slowly slumped, Hiro's face became blank. "Oh that…well, yeah, I guess its all normal. But you want me to run to the store! What? Are you crazy!" Heh. That was a man's worst nightmare. Hiro whimpered. Sure, married men did that sort of thing—but that took gigantic balls!
But then again, he'd skydived the other day.
Groaning, Hiro barked, "Fine!" He put on the best disguise he could find—his hair up, cap on, a jacket he usually didn't wear and some sunglasses. This would be worse than buying his first pack of condoms as a dare when he was sixteen.
Off he went, entering the store with butterflies in his stomach. Thankfully it was early and not many were here except seniors. Finding the aisle wasn't hard but…my god! There was so much to choose from! Hiro's eyes glazed over, his face burning hot, chills of mortification running up and down his spine. He wanted to giggle nervously. Here he was a famous rock star, plays before thousands of fans and he couldn't get a pack sanitary products. Nope, this, he decided was a hundred times worse than playing for a filled stadium of fans.
After buying the stuff, Hiro literally ran home afterwards. Those old ladies had giggled at him as he paid. Jamming his key in the lock he opened it and slammed the door behind him and sighed. It felt like he'd just escaped a bombing—or worse, a pack of rabid fangirls.
K cried that he wanted to kiss Hiro he was so relived when he returned. He'd showered and gotten changed and came out of the washroom, almost bumping into Hiro. They stood an inch apart; both looking as if they were going to say something.
"Let's not talk about it," K suggested quickly.
"Good idea," Hiro muttered and both went separate ways.
Over coffee both sat smoking their morning cigarette, feeling a little off balance this morning.
"So, any new crazy ideas in mind for today, K?" Hiro wondered.
"Hmm, I have some ideas. You never know," K answered nonchalantly. "But I'm really not into it today."
Hiro sighed, looking worriedly at K, "You know getting us to do a bunch of crazy things may not help your cause."
This was true. But K smiled and looked over, "It's more fun with you guys."
The guitarist guffawed, "Yeah, I'm sure you're getting a kick out of it. I really hope you figure it out. Did those gods give you a time limit?"
K shook his head 'no'.
"Well, then you have time to figure it out. I'll help however I can…if you want," Hiro offered.
"What would I do without you, Hiro?" K chuckled and patted Hiro on the knee.
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Indeed, the band wasn't put through any harrowing, death defying feats over the next couple of weeks. K dealt with them as he always did, bringing them more tasks than ever before. Diving into work was easy. It also made it easier to deal with his dilemma. But K had been thinking a lot about other things. He couldn't just sit around and wait for something to happen, and that's what he thought about as he sat arranging flowers with the old man from the flower shop.
His name was Sato Ryuu, "the dragon of Tokyo". Or so he said.
K laughed as he rested, knelt on his knees placing a sprig of wildflower in a small squat pot. "I wonder what my name stands for. I never thought to look it up. All I know is it's after Claudius the Roman Emperor. But then his wife poisoned him to death…" K said blinking dryly.
This was the third time K had come to visit the old man. The one that he'd run into the morning of his interview. As crazy as he might have once thought about an old man and flowers was a thing of the past. Sure he loved his guns and all that stuff that goes bang. But he had to open his mind, he had to try new things. With all that's happened to him, he was willing to try anything. And he really liked this old man. He made him feel comfortable.
Mr. Sato laughed at his small history lesson. "I imagine your name stands for 'free-willed.' I sense you do whatever comes to mind first…that you are rash and unstable?" the old man said with a tiny smirk.
"I guess so. Sometimes people think I'm insane. I'm really not…but I did make the band jump out of a plane just recently. Is that crazy?" K wondered with a puzzled face. He had told Mr. Sato that that he was the manager for Bad Luck. He didn't seem to care.
The old man didn't laugh. He answered with honesty. "You wanted to share something thrilling with others. No, it's not crazy. You wanted them to appreciate life, although I'd never jump out of a plane myself," he said easily and with a short laugh. The old man looked up and showed K that the red rose did not complete the purple iris. He chose another flower and handed it over. "Harmony, my dear. You can't just stick things together and hope for beauty," Sato declared. "Just like yourself. There is a clash of harmony in you."
K stopped and stared up at the little man. Could he trust Mr. Sato with his tale, or would it kill him on the spot? "What if I said you were definitely correct? That something so strange has happened to me that it's unbelievable, inconceivable. That if I told you, I fear you'd croak right now?"
A chuckle erupted from Ryuu. "Such a lively young woman you are, and one that speaks so strangely. You look so serious. When you reach my age, nothing will surprise you anymore. You see, and hope for things that you once thought were crazy. You do not have to tell me. Just entertain an old man…your company is most enjoyable."
K smiled at that. Yeah, the old timer was right. He didn't have to tell his tale, just enjoy the company.
"So, what is your obsession with guns, Claudia?" Mr. Sato wondered, without any fear in his voice.
"Haha, dare you ask. You have balls, old man," K said roguishly. "Honestly? It makes me think of my parents. And its fun to create some havoc. Sometimes though, I use it as a tool." Yeah, a tool to get work done, it worked!
The old man said nothing and plucked the daisy out of K's hand. "Harmony," he reminded K in a teacher like way.
K sighed and gave up on the flower arranging, "I'm not cut out for this." Who was he kidding? He was never going to be turned back into a man! It didn't matter what he tried, those gods had told him nothing.
Sato looked up with a soft smile. "We don't want to understand our way until we see a lit path. But none other than you can light that path. The key to life is to walk the darkened path with your head held high. Even if you stumble and fall, you get up again and try. If you give up now, all hope is lost," whispered the old man, holding out a soft pink lily. "Here, try this."
Grumbling, K hesitantly took the flower. He placed it in the small pot. He tried to see the "harmony" and adjusted the position of the flower. "I think that fuzzy weed thingy would work too."
Mr. Sato looked delighted, "Yes, you're right."
Together they finished the arrangement, to satisfaction.
"How does one begin to walk 'the darkened path'?" K asked, looking proudly at his pot of flowers.
"Send your answers into the river. The deepest feelings in your heart. Maybe the answer will come back to you, maybe it won't," Mr. Sato suggested.
"A message in a bottle?" K speculated.
"Perhaps. It's up to you. There are no wrong answers."
K thought the real answer was that Mr. Sato Ryuu was losing his marbles. Whatever, it was late and he wanted to go home. All this soul searching was tiring. He thanked Ryuu for his time and went to get up.
"Please take this with you. Or give it to someone who truly matters," Mr. Sato told him.
K knew better than to argue with the old man, so he politely took the flowers and left. Outside in the fresh midsummer air, he walked to the train and headed home…to Hiro's. He smiled when he thought of Hiro. The man had put up with all this crap from day one, and he'd never complained. K felt that it was a little unfair to Hiro. What if he'd never believed him when K told him he'd been turned into a woman? He'd be on the street—god knows what he'd be doing now.
Blue eyes looked oddly at the flowers in his arms. Resorting to flower arranging! It'd be better if Mr. Sato owned a gun shop and they could rebuild an old war rifle or something. But he liked the old man, he was wise and giving. He made him think about deeper things. K thought he was like an old Zen man. What if Mr. Sato was right, though? In some wacky sense, K pondered.
From his purse, he found a notepad and began to scribble the first things that came to mind. When he got to his stop he looked in the trash for an empty pop bottle. Making sure it was dry inside, he rolled up his note and placed it inside. Once out on the street again, he had to walk over a bridge. Down below was a waterway.
"This is for you, old man. Maybe some idiot will find it and get a good laugh," K muttered as he tossed the bottle into the river. He watched it float away—away to where ever.
On the way in he noticed Hiro's bike parked outside the building. K felt elated that Hiro was home, he knew just what he was going to do. He entered the apartment and found Hiro putting dinner on two plates. Aww, he'd made dinner for them both.
"Wow, great timing, K. I just finished this…hope you're hungry?" Hiro wondered and looked at the flowers in K's hands.
K saw where Hiro was looking and grinned. "Here, this is for you." He held out the pot of flowers.
Hiro cocked an eyebrow. "For me?" He began to blush. "Aren't guys supposed to give girls flowers instead of the other way around?" He questioned boyishly.
"Come on, Hiro, I worked hard on this," K informed a little indignantly.
"You put this together?" Hiro asked, completely thunderstruck.
"It's a long story. But you matter, so I'm giving these to you." K stood with arms outstretched, waiting for Hiro to take them.
Hiro looked down a bit shyly. He mattered. "Thank you, they're really pretty." Hiro sniffed the wonderful fragrance. K was the last person he'd ever imagine giving him flowers. He chuckled. "I swear, you're scaring me with all these new things, but it's kinda' cool too."
K looked serious, "I'm scaring myself," he said. "But I'm still me. I'm just having fun trying new things."
"You sound like my brother," Hiro said dryly.
"Hmm, I never really met the guy," K offered.
"Oh, it's no loss," Hiro quipped and placed the flowers on the table. Wow, K and flower arranging. Hiro waited for the herd of elephants to come storming through his apartment.
"So, food, me, starving," K injected, his stomach growling at the aroma of Hiro's cooking.
Hiro laughed and set the plates on the table. Then he pulled out a chair for K to sit. "After you, my lady," Hiro teased and sat down himself.
"Why, thank you kind sir," K joked along with him, putting on a fake Southern accent. His own words and this small dating ritual kind of thing gave him an idea. "I wonder if I should try dating."
Hiro almost choked on his first bite. "What for?" he wheezed and coughed, grabbing his water and sipping.
"What else other than to find love?"
It was almost so ironic that Hiro could spit. "Wouldn't that mean going out with guys?"
"Well, I guess so. Unless I became a lesbian, that'd be sweet," K murmured, thinking of all the pretty ladies. "Ooo, I could kiss them too and they wouldn't slap me," K said dreamily.
"I dunno about that…BUT…that's not the point!" Hiro couldn't believe K's ideas. "This is all for the sake of following your heart?"
"I have to keep trying. I don't want to be a woman forever," K said desperately. "What if falling in love is the key?"
Hiro was so stunned he couldn't speak. How can you not see me! I'm the one that loves you, you stupid fool! Maybe he will never love me. Just give it up! But he didn't want to give up. He had to let K make his mistakes, figure it out. How long would it take, though! Hiro felt like diving over the table and strangling K with the table cloth.
It had to be a very confusing time for K, Hiro knew this. But then, K had come running to him! Did that mean nothing? He had said he mattered! Maybe K didn't mean it. Hiro couldn't put his heart on the line again, not like he had in the office that night. But that kiss, he'd felt it, K had kissed him back! Sigh. If K was ever going to love him back, he had no choice but to deal with whatever K decided.
"Sure," Hiro said serenely. "Maybe it's not such a bad idea. You might meet Mr. Right." Hrmph, K talked as if finding love was so easy. Good luck buddy, Hiro thought sourly. When they break your heart, I'll be here…
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A/N: K's crazy idea's continue lol but not to worry things will come about, although I felt like giving him something calmer and sweet. K needs some vision and the old man is what I came up with. Besides picturing K in this scenerio gives me evil giggles. I feel sorry for Hiro though, he's so humble and sweet. And finally I have cursed K with the rag XD! Again poor Hiro eh? Anyways I hope you enjoyed this! Also I have no idea what happened to the space dividers, they wouldn't work...so I added the dashes.
Reviewers:
the2evils: Aww thanks hun! And yes Sakano will be much more tortured a little later on lol. Not as thrilling as skydiving but nontheless it'll be like Fear and Loathing for him soon -blinks-
TheAnibee: Oh yea leave it to K to do something like skydiving XD But this chapter he found a more calmer hobby lol! I got your reply, THANKS about the Kiro ygallery pics. I think I drew one pic for almost every Kiro story I've done. And yes I did write the Gun and Guitar, only AFF sucks so bad now -sighs- I may put GandG on Gurabite one day. It might be too graphic for FF eh? But I was thinking of puttng My Hero on FF...it wasn't that dirty XD But draw a piccy oh yes! And I may just try K as a girl one day too.
smile78mtl: Thank you, yes its K. But I'm experimenting with K and some of his "open minded" tasks here lol. I want to have the highs and lows. He is crazy and only gets more desperate soon and comes up with some really "Big News" XD -hugs and kisses- once more thank you.
catmum56: hun its perfectly fine a short review XD I"m just happy you enjoyed that chapter. I was a bit nervous of doing that one, its quite maddening lol. Just had to have some crazy K business in there thats all. Thank you muchly for enjoying the fic! -huggies-
