Hey, guys! I'm back with something! As you can see, this is not related to Pokémon. If you don't know, I'm attempting to expand my radius of what I write, so I'm starting with Marmalade Boy. If you haven't seen the series, it's only seventy-six episodes long; not a lot. Anyway, this is a one-shot. Let's get into it!
Miki opened her eyes, taking in the surroundings. The room always seemed welcoming as she returned from the deep depths of her mind. She rolled over and stared at the space. She couldn't bring herself to straighten the mattress cover since Yuu went back to New York.
She rested the side of her face on the semi-warm pillow that she had adorned with her sleeping head only a few moments earlier. Looking at the clock next to her bed, she could see that she had awoken a few minutes before her alarm.
She sighed before sliding out of bed and picking up the phone and the dialer. It was seven AM in Japan and five PM in New York. Was it worth an attempt?
"He might not answer," Miki whispered to herself, racking her brains as she tried to decide on what to do.
After a minute or two of trying to decide, she shrugged, turned the phone and the dialer on and held them together.
Yuu's dormitory phone rang for a few moments before she was greeted by the familiar sound of the answering machine. "Hello, this is Bill and Yuu's apartment," she heard. "Bill and Yuu are out right now. Feel free to leave a mess;-"
Miki hung up, a slight frown edging its way onto her face. She put the phone and the dialer onto her bedside table again, taking a moment to breathe after the overwhelming disappointment.
As she decided to have a shower before anyone else nabbed the bathroom, she stood up before being flung onto the bed in shock as the alarm rang, scaring her.
Michael walked out of Yuu's room as Miki walked into hers, drying her hair with a towel. She was, presumably, going to style it before having breakfast and leaving the house for work. Even though it was Sunday, she was up early. Michael found it funny that people in Japan were adamant to stick to their schedules, something that he had expressed to Brian when he visited New York over the summer.
He walked down the stairs and into the kitchen only to see that a note had been left on the kitchen table. Picking it up, he could tell what it was in an instant.
"Miki!" Michael called up the stairs. "They're gone again!"
"What?" Miki called back followed by a few seconds of silence and then footsteps gradually growing louder as she ran down the stairs.
"Woah! Careful!" Michael exclaimed as Miki almost ran into the corner of the kitchen table, halting herself with her hands and nearly slipping in the process.
"They're gone? Again?" Miki asked, to which Michael nodded, throwing the note to her which she caught and read.
"Miki! Michael! We're off to Argentina for a week. We're sorry that it's sudden and that we weren't able to say goodbye but our plane leaves at eight and we forgot to tell you. We didn't want to wake either of you at one o'clock in the morning, though, so we decided not to say anything. Take care of the house and take care of yourselves! P.s. We need milk."
"Unbelievable!" Miki exclaimed, scrunching the paper into a tight ball and throwing it across the room and into the bin. "How many times have they done this? They can't keep leaving us alone!" She shouted, flailing her arms around as she paced the room.
"Don't worry, Miki!" Michael exclaimed, feeling as if he had to calm her down. "I can take care of the house. I'll cook, clean, do the laundry, whatever."
"No, Michael. It's fine," Miki said, taking a few breaths to calm herself down as she took a seat by the table. "I've gotten used to it now."
Michael threw some bread into the toaster, trying to divert his attention from Miki. After Meiko and Namura's wedding, Miki and Yuu had spent the majority of the summer together. Yuu had to leave a week ago, needing to return to New York to practise his English before his last school year. As a result of this, Miki felt lonely, something which Michael had heard her expressing to Yuu over the phone. Even though school wouldn't start for another week, Miki seemed to be revising an awful lot. Michael had questioned this as he and his friends in America tended to leave revision for tests. Miki only gave a vague answer, muttering something about not wanting to make mistakes. With what? School? Isn't that the point of school: to improve on the mistakes? He had thought as he left.
As Michael tried to shake the thoughts of Miki from his mind, the toaster launched the two pieces of bread into the air before they fell back in, ready to be taken out.
"What would you like on your toast?" Michael asked Miki, who had stood up to make a cup of coffee while they waited for the toaster.
Miki sipped her newly brewed coffee slowly as she tried to decide, eventually pointing at a jar of marmalade on the counter. She didn't know why, but doing so seemed to cheer her up slightly. Almost like a happy memory which she had forgotten was trying to creep into her mind and make her brain feel nostalgic.
Michael started to spread marmalade on the two pieces of toast, putting them onto a plate and giving it to Miki when he was done. She took the plate with a smile and started to tuck into her breakfast. As Michael watched Miki switch from drinking coffee to eating toast, a mundane activity, he started to think about how cute she looked while doing so. It was only after he shook his head and left the room that he reminded himself that Miki was devoted to Yuu and that he didn't have a chance.
"Bye, Michael!" Miki shouted as she slipped her shoes onto her feet. She was about to head to work and knew that if she didn't hurry a little, she'd be late.
"Bye, Miki!" Michael shouted back before poking his head around the doorframe to see her exit the house and close the door.
Miki walked down the pavement with a smile on her face. She had spent the time since eating breakfast thinking about Yuu. After seeing Meiko getting married to Na-chan, she couldn't stop thinking about the possibility of her and Yuu getting married. The reason why she was a little late leaving the house was that she was fantasising about that possibility.
She rounded the corner and could see Meiko's house in the distance. As she walked closer and closer, she wondered when Meiko would get back. She had decided to go with Na-chan to Hiroshima until the end of the holidays and her parents didn't seem to mind. Miki was still impressed that Meiko had managed to convince her parents to meet Na-chan. It had seemed impossible from the start.
As she passed by Meiko's house, she stared into the garden that never seemed to end. The rose bushes, the daisies, sunflowers and trees, the violets, the lilacs, the dandelions and buttercups seemed extravagant. She stared as she walked, almost walking into a lampost as she was so mesmerised.
The house faded from view and Miki returned her attention to the pavement in front of her. She didn't know why, but she could have sworn that time was passing by faster than usual.
After another minute of walking, she turned the corner and could see K's in the distance. She approached, walking down the stairs and turning to enter the building before someone tapped her on the arm.
Confused, Miki turned around only to see Kei stood there, a smirk on his face. "Hey," he said, taking a moment to scratch his face as Miki greeted him.
"What are you doing here?" Miki asked him, to which he held up a folder, giving her a hint as to what he was doing. "Piano lesson?" She asked, to which Kei nodded.
"I'm walking through here to get there," he said, a few seconds of silence passing by before he realised that Miki had to go into K's. "I'll leave you to it," he said, quickly, smiling at her before starting to walk away.
"Bye, Kei! I hope your lesson goes well!" Miki called after him, receiving a wave in response before she walked into the shop.
"Hello, Miki," Rei said, smiling before rushing over to her, taking her bag and taking it to the back before returning with an apron.
After handing the apron to Miki, who pulled it on instantly, ready to work, Rei gave her a few instructions: "There are some boxes in the back with items that need to be put on the shelves," she said. "But, before that, could you make me a cup of tea?"
Miki nodded with a smile before walking into the back and starting her workday.
Yuu sighed as he flopped onto his bed. Bill had decided to study with Brian and Jinny and suggested that Yuu could tag along, but he didn't want to. He didn't have much strength for studying or even talking. He missed Miki and couldn't shake off the feeling.
He pulled his face away from the newly cleaned duvet, glancing over towards the phone. It was half-past-six in New York and half-past-eight in Japan. Would Miki be there?
Hopeful, Yuu slid off his bed and walked over to the phone, picking it up and dialling home. After a few moments of ringing, he heard the familiar click of the phone being picked up.
"Hello!" Yuu exclaimed immediately, excitement rushing through his veins. Was he going to talk to Miki? It had been a few days since the last time they talked and he couldn't stand it. Was the silence going to be broken?
"Hey, Yuu!" Came a familiar voice from the phone, to which Yuu smiled but was disappointed.
"Hi, Michael," he said. "How are you?" He asked before listening to Michael describe his recent feelings. It wasn't a bad thing that he was talking to Michael, but he wanted to speak to Miki. "Is Miki there?" Yuu asked, interrupting Michael's fifth sentence about Jin, Youji, Chiyako and Rumi going to Argentina.
"No," Michael said, making even more disappointment strike Yuu like a blade of suffering. "She went to work not long ago. I'll tell her that you called and to call you back if you like?" He asked, to which Yuu smiled and agreed.
"That would be great, Michael," he said, starting to feel happier. He couldn't wait to talk to Miki.
"I should go," Michael said. "I promised Miki that I'd take care of the house seeing as there's no-one else here," he said, laughing. "Bye!"
"Bye, Michael," Yuu said before placing the phone down with a smile. Even though he didn't talk to Miki, it was still reassuring to know that Michael would have her call him. He didn't want to wait any longer. The past few days had been too much without her, and any longer would kill him.
"Done!" Miki exclaimed, thrusting her arm into the air after placing the last ornament from the box onto the shelf.
"Thank you, Miki!" Rei called to her from across the shop. The flow of customers had slowed to the rate of two people an hour on average and, therefore, Rei told Miki that after restocking the shelves, she could go home for the day.
"Are you sure you don't want any more help?" Miki asked Rei, walking over to her while untying her apron.
"I'll be perfectly fine on my own, Miki," Rei said, turning around to face her and flashing a smile. "Go home and enjoy the rest of your day."
"Thank you, Rei," Miki said, pulling her apron off before walking into the back to hang it up and to collect her bag. "I'll see you tomorrow!" Miki said to Rei as she walked across the shop and out of the door.
"Take care!" Rei called after her as the door closed. She didn't think that anyone else would open that door so what was the point in keeping Miki there?
Miki walked into the house before sliding her shoes off and walking into the living room. She expected to see Michael sat on the couch and watching TV, but he wasn't in the room.
Taking off her bag and jumping onto the couch before turning the TV on, Miki took a moment to think about what Yuu could be doing. She looked at the clock and saw that it was eleven o'clock. That meant that it was nine PM in New York. Should she attempt to phone Yuu?
Almost as if Michael had read her mind, he walked into the room and, after overcoming the shock of seeing Miki at home much earlier than expected, informed her that Yuu had phoned after she left.
"He did?" Miki asked, sliding off the couch and muting the TV in the middle of a character's monologue. "Straight after I left the house?"
"More or less," Michael said, chuckling before going to get the phone, returning with it and throwing it into her hands. "I don't know if he'll be awake but it's worth a try."
"I suppose you're right," Miki murmured, gazing at the phone in her hand. Should she try to phone him? What if she woke him or Bill up? Would she be a nuisance if she called?
Disregarding the thoughts, she decided to phone Yuu. Even if she did wake him up, he wanted her to phone; that's what Michael said, at least.
Walking up the stairs to get the dialer, Miki started to think about what she would talk to him about if he answered. They both seemed to be missing each other. Would that mean that they would talk about what's been happening recently? Would she talk about her nerves regarding school? Would Yuu talk about something that Brian, Bill, Jinny, Dorris or Anju had done?
She walked into her room and snatched the dialer from her bedside table. The closer she was to talking to Yuu, the more and more excited she seemed to become every second. Was she going to talk to him again after five days?
After holding the dialer and the phone together for a few moments, Yuu's dormitory phone starting to ring. Holding the phone to her ear with a shaking hand, Miki took a few deep breaths to calm her nerves and excitement.
She heard a click and her heart leapt before;- "Hello, this is Bill and Yuu's apartment. Bill and Yuu are out right now. Feel free to leave a message."
Miki held the phone next to her ear for a few moments before letting her hand fall onto her lap. The phone was recording every sound, but all that could be heard was Miki's breathing. Her soft breaths seemed to make the room echo with her disappointment.
After a few moments of nothing being said, another click came from the phone, making Miki pull it to her ear instantly as a fresh wave of excitement flooded over her. "Yuu!" She exclaimed, smiling ecstatically.
"No, this is Bill," came Bill's voice from the other side. "I'm sorry, Miki, but Yuu had to leave a few minutes ago. Brian wanted him to help with some homework. Shall I give him a message?"
Miki froze. English. She was terrible with English. She understood the majority of what Bill said and understood that Yuu wasn't there and that he wanted to pass a message along. But how could she word what she wanted to say?
"Could you tell him that I miss him and want to talk to him as soon as possible?" Miki asked slowly, taking care to make sure that she didn't make any mistakes and that Bill understood everything she said.
"Okay," Bill said. "I doubt that he'll call you tonight but he might in the morning. Probably around eight here and ten for you? Ten PM, that is," he said, to which Miki agreed. If Yuu did phone her at ten, she had eleven hours to wait. Would she last that long?
"Thank you, Bill," Miki said before saying goodbye and hanging up. She missed him by a few minutes like Yuu had missed her by a few minutes. It was almost as if fate had decided to torture them simultaneously with something that would tear them apart.
She put the dialer down again, squeezing the phone in her hands. She was overwhelmed with disappointment and almost felt like curling into a ball and sobbing into a pillow.
Despite her initial reaction to the disappointment, Miki took a few deep breaths before standing up and leaving her bedroom to place the phone on its stand downstairs.
Michael saw her place the phone down and, noticing the solemn look on her face, sighed. "He wasn't there?" He asked, to which Miki looked at him for a moment before shaking her head and retreating upstairs again. If she wanted to do anything, she wanted to talk to Meiko. Not over the phone, but via her diary as she had been doing for years.
She closed her bedroom door and strode over to her desk, sitting down before sliding her diary towards her and picking up her pen.
Meiko she wrote, pausing for a moment as she started to think about what to write. I'm finding it harder and harder to deal with being alone. Yuu's in America and I've hardly spoken to him. I can't seem to quell my excitement when I think that we're going to talk and I can't deal with the disappointment when we don't. What do I do, Meiko? It's frustrating, and I can't find a solution. Not only that, but you're in Hiroshima. You're so far away and you're with the man that you love. You're so lucky, Meiko. You had some tough times with Na-chan but you're still together and you're happy. How do you do it? Yuu and I can't seem to figure that out to save our lives.
She paused again, trying to think of something to add but she couldn't. Reluctantly, she closed her diary and placed her pen on the desk, going to lie on her bed.
Yuu returned to his dormitory at eleven o'clock, too exhausted to deal with anything. Brian needed help with two large essays that were due the next day, and, therefore, Yuu felt obliged to help until they were complete, ready to be turned in. He found it annoying that essays were due to be handed in before school resumed. Why not wait to set the work? He thought as he sighed.
He stripped his shirt off as Bill looked at him from his bed. Bill was reading as usual and was slightly amused to see that Yuu was so tired.
"What did he need?" Bill asked him as Yuu undid his belt and threw it on top of his discarded shirt.
"Two essays for tomorrow," Yuu said, sliding his trousers off before jumping into his bed, not bothering to put any pyjamas on.
Bill chuckled before he remembered that Miki had called two hours earlier. He informed Yuu of this, making him sit up and look over at him.
"What did she say?" He asked, his tiredness seeming to fade away instantly.
"She wanted me to tell you that she misses you and that she wants to talk to you as soon as possible," Bill told him, to which Yuu leapt out of bed and grabbed the phone, frantically dialling home.
After the phone rang for a few moments, a click was heard as it was picked up. "Hello?"
"Michael, is Miki there?" Yuu asked, hopeful but expecting that she wasn't.
"She is," Michael said, to which Yuu's heart skipped a beat. "She's upstairs but I think she's asleep. I haven't heard any noise from upstairs in a while."
"She wouldn't mind if you woke her," Yuu said, smiling properly for the first time in a few hours. "I'm sure she won't mind."
"I'll get her now," Michael said, putting the phone on the side before going upstairs to get Miki.
Yuu stood by the phone, not thinking to return to bed as he shivered a little. It was late at night and he was only wearing his underwear, but despite that fact, he didn't move. The anticipation was paralysing as he waited for Michael or Miki.
"Yuu!" Came Miki's voice from the other side of the phone, clearly ecstatic to be talking to her boyfriend.
"Miki!" Yuu said, a smile plastered to his face as he started to think about what to say. "How are you?"
"I'm okay," Miki said, clearly happy by the tone of her voice. "What about you?"
"I'm okay," Yuu said, starting to feel that the conversation wasn't getting any more exciting. "What have you been doing for the past few days?"
"Nothing, really," Miki said, laughing a little as she realised that the most exciting thing that she had done was going to work or talking to Ginta and Arimi.
A few seconds of silence passed, neither of them saying a word before Yuu decided to break the silence. "I'm happy that we're talking," he said, to which Miki agreed.
"I was scared that something similar to last time would happen," Miki said, getting a little sad as she remembered how she felt during the struggle a few months ago.
"I was, too," Yuu said, also becoming a little solemn. "I didn't like to admit it to myself but I thought that it was a possibility."
They stayed silent for a few more moments before Miki exclaimed: "That won't happen again, will it?"
"No," Yuu said, smiling. "I promise that it won't happen again."
Ten minutes later, Miki and Yuu stopped talking as Yuu needed to sleep. They comforted each other and realised that, even if they didn't talk for a few days at a time, they trusted each other enough to survive without having to console in each other every day.
Miki stared at the phone for a few more moments before she smiled uncontrollably. After the past five days of worrying, it was reassuring to know that Yuu felt the same. If we miss each other, it won't be long before we talk again Miki thought, turning to head into the living room as she fidgeted with her fingers.
"Did you have a nice talk?" Michael asked her as she entered, to which Miki nodded enthusiastically, ignoring the TV that had an explicit scene playing.
"Why are you watching that?" Miki asked, covering her eyes with her hands as she realised that she couldn't ignore it for any longer.
"It's part of the show!" Michael squeaked, looking frantic as he hastily muted the TV and turned away to face Miki. "I promise that it's important for the plot."
"How would you know that?" Miki asked, her face growing increasingly redder with every second that passed. "Is this your second time watching the show?"
"Third time," Michael murmured but Miki didn't hear him. Instead, she opened the fridge, grabbed a juice carton, closed the fridge and left the room in one, swift movement. Even though he was strange, Miki felt that Michael had become a brother, just as she felt that Chiyako and Youji had become her second parents and as she felt that Yuu had become the best boyfriend she could ask for.
Miki smiled as she started to walk up the stairs. Even though she didn't talk to Yuu much, sometimes for extended periods of time, she had never felt that she had a stronger relationship in her life.
Done! I hope that was better than my past stories. I'm attempting to include more details in what I write to make it a much more immersive experience. I'm also trying to be considerate of the verbs that I use as to make sure that they're not overdone, but I can't promise that they'll constantly be interesting. Please leave a review with your thoughts as I'm much more nervous to post this than I used to be. Maybe it's because I'm experimenting with my writing technique? Anyway, thanks for reading. BYE!