Author's Note: Um, wait, I forgot what I was gonna say... Oh well, tada! Chapter 11: In which Tooru sings!
Oh I remember! If anyone knows what book Tooru is reading from the line she says, I'll write you a short story of your choosing! :D It's on your honor not to just look it up!
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I can do this. Kakyou told himself for the millionth time since he had gotten up. He took a deep breath and looked up to where Hokuto was lazing in a patch of sunlight by the window, looking over the latest sketches from the men's department. He was momentarily distracted, admiring the way her turquoise tights accentuated the fine curves of her legs and the bejeweled black heels beneath called attention to gracefully slender ankles…
Most wouldn't call Hokuto graceful, he reflected. Bold, lively, vivacious, certainly. She had an all-out approach to life and it was her ability to hold nothing back that shocked and inspired most people. Certainly he himself had been swept away by her at first. It took getting used to, being around someone with that much energy and life. Especially when you came from as reserved and polite a family as he had. He was shocked when he discovered that Hokuto's family was the same way. He absently wondered if they had even spoken to Subaru since he moved in with Seishirou but turned his thoughts quickly back to Hokuto, wondering again how she had possibly become the person she was.
Enough. Kakyou told himself. You're just putting it off. Come on now, it can't be that hard. He steeled his nerves as best he could and pushed back his chair, but then found that his fingers were reluctantly to let go of the edge of his desk. After struggling to convince himself to let go, he gave up. You can do it from here anyway. He decided. In fact it might be better if you're over here where you can't quite smell that sweet orange blossom scent she usually wears that's so distracting… He shook his head, trying to rid his mind of even the memory of it.
"Um, Sumera- I mean…" He voice sounded so weakly hoarse, why couldn't he speak up just a little more? He cleared his throat. "Hokuto-san?"
"Hm?" She glanced up at him and as the sunlight from the window caught her eyes, adding just a little more sparkle to them, he felt his breath catch as well.
"Can I talk to you about something?" He croaked.
"Absolutely not."
There was a moment of painful silence in which Kakyou felt all his dreams thrown over the edge of a cliff to be dashed upon some jagged rocks below.
"I'm kidding!" Hokuto laughed. "You can talk to me about anything, what's up?"
The dreams averted the rocks at the last second, soaring back up on the wings of hope.
"Well, it's u-um…"
Okay so maybe they were missing a few feathers.
Sometimes things are just so perfectly timed as to make one actually believe in miracles. There's a moment when it seems as though all the stars have aligned, every piece falls into place and all is perfect for this one, shining, glorious moment.
Unfortunately, this was not that moment for Kakyou, as the fire alarm went off right then.
"Oh shoot… If Risa set the third floor on fire again with her experiments in making the perfect bra again, I'm gonna kill her…" Hokuto sighed as she pulled herself off the floor, distracting Kakyou for a moment from the shrill, eardrum-piercing screech of the alarm as her skirt hitched a little in the process.
He sighed and followed her out of the building.
Maybe later. He silently consoled himself.
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Despite some initial awkwardness, it turned out Kamui and Kotori both had something of a knack for ballroom dancing. At first this was a relief to Kamui as it meant they didn't make too many embarrassing mistakes. Then their teacher called attention to their success and began using them as an example.
At this point, no one else was dancing anymore, they had all gathered in a circle and were watching the two of them as Terada gave them instructions. Kamui had already tried hiding his face under his bangs as much as possible by letting them fall forward but Terada had told him not to stare at his feet. So there was nothing to do but keep his head up and try as hard as he could not to blush so much.
At least Kotori looked like she was having fun, he thought, watching her give a soft laugh as he spun her, her face momentarily hidden by her hair as it twirled with her, imitating the flair of her skirt. Every time he pulled her back in and her hand found its resting place on his shoulder again, he felt a jolt and found himself wishing it would stay there. How could every little smile she gave him still make his heart skip a beat?
For a short while, Kamui forgot about the other students and was lost in the motion and rhythm, letting himself be carried on the music. He subconsciously pulled Kotori a little closer and for the first time since they had started dancing let himself meet her eyes, surprised to realize that she had been intently watching his face for some time. He wondered if she was trying to pick up clues about what he would do next from his expression. Surely not though as her eyes were locked on his… And amber never looked so beautiful set between a perfect pair of long golden lashes as it did on her, in his opinion. He bit his tongue and resisted the urge to pull her against him and hold on tight and never let her go again. He still couldn't believe that she was alive, much less right here in his arms, smiling up at him.
"You see-" Terada's voice snapped Kamui out of his pleasant reverie. "-they have good chemistry as dance partners." Kamui felt the blush that had subsided a little creep back up his neck to fan out over his cheeks. He unsuccessfully tried to will it to go away, sure that it was not nearly as adorable on him as it was on Kotori, who had also turned a delicate pink at Terada's comment. A few tittering giggles came from the crowd, only making them both blush more. Fortunately, Terada seemed to notice their discomfort and quickly decided it was time to return to their lessons.
While it was nice to not have the entire class staring at him again, Kamui had to admit he was a little disappointed when Kotori pulled away, her fingers slipping out of his grasp, leaving him feeling empty. He watched her return to her seat, resisting the urge to follow her and pull it out for her.
As soon as the bell rang to dismiss school, he jumped up, hoping to get away quickly before he could be distracted watching her again. However, just as he reached the doorway, he felt a small tug on his sleeve and spun around to see Kotori's wide-eyed innocent look.
She hesitated, as though caught off guard by his sudden turning. "Um… Kamui-kun? If it's not too much trouble, that is, if you aren't busy after school…" she blushed most attractively, nervously playing with the strap on her bag. "Would you like to walk home together?"
Kamui felt his heart swell. "But… wouldn't you rather walk home with Daisuke?"
Kotori tilted her head, her eyebrows drawn together in a perplexed expression. "Daisuke? No, why?"
"I thought…" he trailed off.
She blinked and waited patiently for him to finish.
"Never mind." He mumbled, turning his head away slightly.
She shifted her weight then asked again. "So… could we? Please?"
The look she gave him was so hopeful he felt a tug in his chest and agreed.
He had forgotten how ever since they were young Kotori had a way of convincing people to warm up to her quickly and soon they were chatting away like they used to. Not that she knew that, he reminded himself, but still.
"Hey, Kamui?" She inquired as they neared her house. Kamui was intrigued to discover it was different from the temple where she had once lived.
"Yes?"
"Why did you think I wanted to walk home with Daisuke?"
"Oh…" He blushed and shook his head. "I… well I thought you liked him." He mumbled to his feet.
"Oh!" Kotori raised her hands with those long delicate fingers to her mouth. "No! Daisuke is in love with somebody else! It's very sweet really." She took away her hands and smiled brilliantly at him.
"Oh." Kamui wracked his brains to remember who he had ever even seen Daisuke with before. "Who?"
Kotori opened her mouth to respond but was interrupted as Saya ran out the door with her book bag, pulling on a stray shoe. Kamui was stunned to see that she was young, only a few years older than Kotori… But how could that be…
"Onee-san!" Kotori called to her, "Where are you going?"
"Oh, just to meet up with someone to study, sorry little sis, I'll be home in time to make dinner, don't worry! Oh, who is this?" She paused to peer over the small fence at Kamui. "You look… sort of familiar."
Kotori briefly introduced him and Kamui, still shocked to discover that Saya was not in fact Kotori's mother here after all, numbly shook her hand and watched her dash off.
"Sorry about that, what were we saying?" Kotori turned back to him after waving goodbye.
"Oh… I don't remember. I should probably get going though." He blushed and hesitated.
"I guess… thank you for walking me home though." Kotori paused, then leaned forward and hugged him before giggling and heading inside, glancing over her shoulder at him as she reached the door.
Kamui couldn't help but feel that he floated rather than walked home, and even Seishirou's annoying singing while he worked on dinner couldn't bring him down today.
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It turned out the fire alarm had been set off by excessive amounts of hair spray. Kakyou sighed into his desk where he was slumped. Seven hours and three tries later he still had not managed to talk to her. He sat up with a determined look though. This time, this time he would get it right. He always had had trouble really giving up.
Hokuto threw open the door of the office and made a beeline for her desk, rummaging through her drawers.
"Um… Hokuto-san?"
"Hm? What is it?" She looked up at him through a pair of fake glasses she had tried on for effect earlier and gotten rather attached to.
"I was wondering…"
Karen suddenly entered the room. "Have you found the spare keys yet?" she asked, looking unusually panicked.
"Here they are!" Hokuto triumphantly held up a silver key on a key ring shaped like a palm tree.
"Oh thank God… I don't even know how she locked herself in that broom closet…"
"Ah well, kids, you know how they love to explore. It's no big deal really. Once I locked me and Subaru in a freezer at an ice cream parlor and they didn't find us for almost an hour! Poor Subaru took the blame for it so I wouldn't get in trouble, silly boy, you should have seen how blue he was…" Kakyou could hear her babbling all the way down the hallway.
He slammed his head back onto the desk.
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"If you can see whether or not I'm singing, you've sharper eyes than most." Tooru read, pausing at a small sigh. She glanced down at Saya whose head was in her lap, her fingertips resting delicately on Tooru's knee. She noticed that the younger girl's long golden lashes rested gently against her cheeks and her breathing had slowed to a steady rhythm of sleep. Tooru smiled and set aside the book they had been taking turns reading for English class. She leaned back against the trunk of the tree and lazily trailed her fingertips in wandering waves over the long tendrils of hair that had draped over her legs, admiring the way the fine strands appeared to be of spun gold when the afternoon light hit them, shining in glistening little glimmers through the leaves. The light shifted slightly when the breeze caught the branches, briefly stirring the leaves from their own slumber before settling them again.
Reaching the tips of Saya's hair where it lay glinting in the grass, Tooru moved her fingertips to Saya's shoulder and followed the waves draped over her arm, reveling in the silky texture of both her hair and the skin beneath it, glad that the weather had turned warm enough for short sleeves again. She froze at another soft sigh from Saya but returning her gaze to the younger girl's face, noticed that her rose petal lips had curled into a small content smile. Tooru couldn't resist smiling fondly back, even if Saya was not awake to see it.
Saya shifted slightly and a few strands of gold fell across her face so Tooru reached forward to tuck them back behind her ear then trailed her fingertips along the curve of it down along her jaw line, absently tracing her features, humming "Golden Afternoon" to herself. She ran the back of her fingers over rosy cheeks, admiring the faint blush that never seemed to quite leave them.
Saya's eyelids fluttered suddenly and Tooru jerked, realizing that she probably seemed weird at the moment. She started to pull her hand away apologetically, but Saya reached to take it back, entwining their fingers for a moment, tracing Tooru's fingertips with her other hand.
"What was that you were humming?" she asked, still drowsy.
"It was a song called 'Golden Afternoon'." Tooru watched fascinated as Saya turned her hand over to trace the lines of her palm.
"Do you know the words?"
"Yes, but they're in English."
Saya shifted to lie on her back and gaze up at her. "Could you sing it to me?" She reached up to brush away a few strands of hair the breeze had blown across Tooru's cheek.
Tooru smiled and began softly singing, closing her eyes and enjoying the warm air and cool breeze, but most of all the feeling of Saya's soft hands exploring hers. She opened her eyes and gasped in surprise when something else brushed her palm and she looked down to see Saya press her lips against the very center of it, her eyes closed as if lost in a deep peaceful dream.
Saya's eyes flew open herself then, as if she just realized what she had done. "I'm sorry…"
Tooru pulled her hand away to hold her finger to Saya's lips, gently shushing her. She hesitated then leaned down and brushed her own lips against Saya's, pulling back quickly in case the younger girl was bothered or embarrassed or…
She hadn't expected Saya to reach up and pull her back down again. Again they entwined their fingers and there was a sense of something being braided, a pulling together of sorts and Tooru knew for sure this time that it wasn't just her sensing it.
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Kakyou was exhausted. He had tried 12 times today. Twelve. And still no luck. And if you try again, it'll be unlucky thirteen. He bitterly pointed out to himself. He pulled together his portfolio and annoyed with his lack of success, tucked it under his arm and headed out of the office, locking it behind him as he went.
He slumped against the wall of the elevator, sinking to a sitting position, not giving a damn what he looked like at the moment. He was going all the way down to the lower levels of the parking garage from the top floor anyway, he had time to mope. He jumped when the elevator doors opened sooner than expected and was surprised to see Hokuto herself hop on.
"Hey there! You okay Kakyou?" She leaned down, peering at him over the tops of the fake glasses.
"I- I thought you left already!" He stammered, pulling himself up off the floor.
"Oh yeah, I was going to but I got distracted talking to the shoe designers. They're just so entertaining even if half of them do ask to take pictures of your feet every time you walk in the room!"
"Oh." Kakyou stood in the farthest corner of the elevator from her and tried desperately to blend into the wall.
Suddenly the elevator gave a lurch that sent them both to their knees and came to a screeching halt.
When their ears finally stopped ringing, Hokuto looked up. "What just happened?"
Kakyou looked at the little diagram panel, showing where the elevator was on its route. "Um… I think it got stuck." He quickly pulled out the small emergency phone under the buttons and called maintenance, dismayed to discover that it would be some time before someone could get to them. He sighed and hung up the phone, preparing to just sit back and wait miserably when he noticed Hokuto had been strangely silent for the past several minutes.
He looked over his shoulder and saw her leaning against the railing, gripping it tightly, her eyes squeezed shut.
"Hokuto-san?" Was she pale or was it just his imagination?
She gave him a weak smile. "What did they say?"
"They said it might be a little while…"
Even if he imagined it before, she definitely paled some more.
"Are you okay?" He stepped forward, worried she was going to faint. "Did you get hurt when you fell?"
She shook her head insistently. "Nono, I'm fine! Really!"
Kakyou studied her a for a moment, confused, then a thought struck him. "You're not… claustrophobic are you?"
She gave a shaky laugh. "Hey, everyone's got something right? You should see how Karen gets around bees!"
Kakyou leaned against the railing beside her. "Are you alright?"
She took a deep breath. "Yeah. It's okay!"
Silence hung in the air for a moment then Kakyou quickly spoke up. "You know when I was little we used to go to the beach. It was my favorite place in the world because it felt so free and open and while I was out on the jetties I felt like I could positively touch the sky."
Hokuto closed her eyes and smiled. "We used to go somewhere like that when we were little too. I wonder if it was the same beach."
"I can still smell the sea air and hear the gulls crying…" Kakyou watched her features visibly relax.
"Me too, now that you mention it."
"I used to spread my arms out and pretend like I could fly away with them, out into the horizon, just to see what was out there." He recalled.
She laughed softly. "I can just see you doing that."
The elevator gave another small lurch and the doors opened.
"Sorry about that guys, but I came as soon as I could." An elderly janitor apologized profusely for the problems with the elevator. Hokuto graciously forgave him and thanked him for getting to them in a timely fashion before heading off to her car again, Kakyou following silently beside her as he was parked only a couple of spaces away.
She paused when she reached her car and looked up at him. "Kakyou?"
He stopped in his tracks.
"Thank you."
He smiled to himself then turned around to face her as she began unlocking the door. "Hokuto-san?"
"Yes?"
"Would you like to go to that beach with me sometime? In a couple of weeks maybe? We could rent a beach house…" He trailed off as his courage suddenly dwindled again.
She grinned. "On one condition."
He hadn't quite anticipated this. "What's that?"
"We get to go out on the jetties and spread our arms and pretend that we're flying."
Kakyou couldn't think of anything more perfect than that.
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3 I loved writing the last scene. And the one about Tooru and Saya- again, so pretty. *_* And no, there's nothing in the books about Hokuto being claustrophobic, I totally made that up, but it makes sense to me that she would be... And as she said, everyone has something. :P My thing is sea creatures. Which I'm sure comes as a surprise after all the references to them I've made but I assure you, they freak the hell out of me in real life. Why just the other day I had to put markdown stickers on some boy's shirts that had a picture of a shark on them and I had to turn the shirts around and reach over the collar for the tag to do it because looking at the shark freaked me out too much. -_- Sad days.