My finger is slowly healing. It still hurts though.
Destiny and Fate Ch 16
The time flew by slowly and each passing day was nothing noteworthy. School was always boring and tedious to Takeru. During the entire time, he did not tease Hikari's body once. She did not notice that change since he still teased her verbally. However, she did begin to feel a gradual change in the blonde man. Though she was curious to know what was going on, she couldn't figure out because Takeru would simply smile and tease her. Plus, her attention was soon focused on a different matter. The two weeks flew by and was finally the day when Taichi and Sora returns from Europe. Filled with anxious and happy thoughts of seeing Taichi, Hikari was robbed of her sleeping hour. Though she was awake, she remained still in her bed, thinking over complicated matters that troubled her for years. Her peace was disturbed when Takeru finally came into her room.
"Hikari, come on. When are you gonna get up?"
"…"
"I know it's Saturday, but it's already 2 P.M."
"…so…?"
Her voice was softer than a feather and quieter than the breath of a sleeping baby.
Takeru sighed and continued speaking.
"You want to see Taichi-san, right?"
She, then, covered herself in the blanket. Then, he walked up to her bed, looked at the blanket, and took the blanket away. Immediately, she rose up and tried to snatch the blanket back. However, in matter of strength, the cold princess stood no chance. In the end, she gave up and sat up without letting a word out. Hikari remained silent the whole time which forced the pale man to speak first.
"Don't you want to go?"
Then, she spoke quietly.
"…I don't want to see her…"
Hikari's fake boyfriend sighed once more and spoke.
"You hate Sora that much?"
"Try getting your girlfriend stolen. See how it feels."
She replied with anger and irritation in her voice. Still, Takeru spoke with calm in his voice.
"Is there a use in hating her that much?"
"It's not like you can do any better!"
She began to raise her voice in further anger.
"I can do better than what you're doing right now."
He responded with a slight bit of irritation in his voice. His voice became faintly deeper than usual since he was talking in a serious tone. Hikari faced him because of the tone change in his voice. His expression didn't show much change, but she could definitely feel the seriousness from him.
"I understand your pain. But if it was me, I would try to retake my girl instead of hating the person who took her away."
"…"
"Don't forget that Taichi still cares about you. That has to mean something, right?"
"…"
Takeru ignored his affection for Hikari and supported her relationship with her brother in order to improve her mood. And he was successful. His strong, caring words calmed her hatred-filled mind. Then, the hazel haired girl got off the bed and spoke.
"…Let's go, Ishida."
The gold haired man responded with a smile.
"Alright. Let's go."
With that, the two headed for the garage. Once they got in the car, Takeru began driving to the airport. He turned on the radio as he drove. During the past two weeks, he learned all the cars' functions and listening to the radio while driving has become his common habit. Since all the music was in Japanese, he didn't particularly like any station, but listened to whatever he felt at the moment. While he was surfing around stations, Hikari asked him a question.
"Don't you have a favorite genre you listen to?"
"Not in Japanese music."
"How come?"
"Some words too hard or sung too fast for me."
"…That's it…?"
She almost became speechless at the simplicity of Takeru's reason.
"Pretty much."
"Then, what do you like?"
"Rock, alternative metal, classical music and anything that sounds good in my ear."
"Classical? That's unexpected."
"Why? Do I look like a heavy, death metal lover?"
He asked with a joking tone.
"No, you just don't look like a classical type."
"Why's that?"
He asked after a chuckle.
"People who love classical music are usually gentlemen and elegant people."
"Are saying that I'm not a gentleman?"
"No, you're not."
"How so?"
"A gentleman doesn't tease other people, flirt at random times, or touch girls whenever they please."
"If that's the case, I'm fine with not being a gentleman."
"You never were and never will be."
Then, Takeru's tease of the day started.
"I prefer to be rough with you when we're in bed."
"…What?"
Her face reddened and volume of her voice increased.
"Why? Do you like it rough too?"
"…Hell no!"
"Then, I will go all out tonight."
"…T…tonight…? What the hell are you thinking, Ishida?"
"I'm thinking of ways to make you moan and scream in pleasure."
"…You…pervert!"
She punched the pale man's arm with all her strength.
"Oww…That hurts, Hikari."
"Good."
She faced away from him and looked out the window. Then, Takeru chuckled.
"What's so funny, Ishida?"
She asked without turning to him.
"I was just thinking that you've changed a lot."
"How?"
"You didn't try to shoot me just now."
"I can't shoot a gun in the middle of a freeway. You're only alive because you're driving."
"Still, I'm happy anyway."
"Don't care."
A blunt reply came, but Takeru smiled regardless. Whether he was driving or not didn't matter. Normally, Hikari would still threaten him with a gun. He knew she was starting to change and was glad that she's not as deadly as before. Then, he stopped at the classical music station in hopes to relieve her anger with emotional music. Hikari didn't turn her face, but her anger eventually subsided. She constantly stared out the window, looking at the tall buildings and passing cars. After a long while, she finally faced when she saw that no cars in her view were moving.
"Why did you get us stuck in the traffic?"
"Well, this is the fastest way to the airport. And I didn't know that there will be such heavy traffic."
He answered with a nervous smile.
"It's Saturday and you didn't even expect that there will be traffic? You're really hopeless."
"Sorry. But you're partially responsible because you refused to go until the last moment."
"…Still…you could've picked a different road option…"
"Yeah, true. I should've thought about it sooner. Sorry."
He willingly apologized and ended their daily arguments. After observing the road and signs, Takeru spoke.
"The next exit looks like it's pretty far away, so we'll be stuck here for a while."
"How wonderful."
She let out a sarcastic comment. Then, she dug through her purse and pulled out her cell phone. Seeing this, the gold haired man threw a question.
"You're gonna call somebody?"
"No."
"Then, why did you bring your phone out?"
"Checking my bank account."
"You can do that with a phone?"
"It's made by Yagami Corp."
"Wow, it must be a nice phone."
He commented her technologically advanced cell phone and focused his eyes back on the road. While Takeru's eyes were locked on the terrible traffic jam, Hikari killed time with her cell phone. The car didn't even move a quarter of mile and Takeru began to feel sluggish. The sun provided warm rays of light and the pale man was getting sleepy. His eye lids became heavy and his struggle to stay awake became difficult with every passing seconds. Thankfully, he didn't fall asleep because Hikari called his name just before he could fall asleep.
"Hey, Ishida."
"Huh? What is it?"
"Pick one."
She held her phone out to him. On the screen were many of the best phones in the world.
"Pick one? What do you mean?"
"Pick the phone you want."
"Why?"
"So I can get you phone."
She replied with an annoyed tone. Then, Takeru gently asked, trying not to make her mad.
"Why are you getting me a phone?"
"Why are you asking me obvious questions?"
"Sorry. I was just curious because you're doing something nice to me."
"I'm not."
"Buying someone an extremely good phone seems like a nice thing to me."
"I'm not buying it for you. It's for my own sake."
"What do you mean?"
"Your phone also works as a credit card. I'm gonna set my bank account info on your phone, so that you don't bother me whenever you need to buy something."
"That's really generous and all, but I really don't need money, much less yours."
"Yes, you do."
"But I don't want anything."
"I don't care. Either way, you need more clothes than just a shirt and two pairs of pants."
Then, he realized that he had not shopped for clothes and was currently wearing the same shirt he wore days ago.
"Oh…Right…Sorry."
"…Whatever...Hurry up and pick one."
"Anything is fine. Just pick one for me."
She, then, took the phone away and continued her online shopping. Once she was done with the phone purchase, she put her phone away and resumed the tedious task of waiting out the traffic. Minutes went by and Hikari began to feel sleepy as well. Because of sleep deprivation, the warm temperature of the day affected her more than it did to Takeru. She continuously yawned and rubbed her eyes, trying to stay awake. Then, the driver spoke.
"Sleep, Hikari. I'll wake you up when we're there."
"I don't need to sleep."
She lied to sound strong, but her lie was useless and ineffective.
"I know you're excited, but you can't see Taichi-san with a tired face."
"…"
"Get some sleep. You need it."
"…Ishida…"
Takeru never stopped. He never ceased being generous and kind to the icy princess who threatens to shoot him frequently. A small sympathy was shown on Hikari's angelic face and the tall man spoke.
"Don't feel bad for me. You need happiness in life more than I do."
"…why…"
"Having you next to me gives me enough happiness to last 10 years."
"…"
She spoke no further. Her divine eyes closed themselves and let the darkness swallow her. With her vision blinded by the darkness, her mind provided all the visuals in her head. She could see Takeru even though her eyes were closed. Beauty lives with kindness. It was obvious why Takeru was such a handsome person. Nobody could match even the fraction of his kindness. Despite being told not to feel bad for him, Hikari still couldn't shake off the feeling. She felt terrible to have him keep on sacrificing his dream for her sake.
'Only if you came into my life earlier…Then, I probably would have loved you…'
After having that thought, she began moving her delicate hand. Seconds later, her soft hand met Takeru's large hand and held it firmly.
'For now…I guess this is what I can do for you, Ishi…No, Takeru.'
She could see nothing and hear nothing. Her mind became blank and she was diving into the abyss of slumber. However, even at the very bottom of the cold, crushing chasm of sleep, her hand remained warm. The gentle warmth of Takeru's hand was much more comforting than anything that existed in the world.
Dale89, I couldn't update any quicker than I usually do. I'm sorry. I hope you can forgive my evilness in the future.
And I'd like to thank all the readers and reviewers. You guys are the only reason why I continue to write.
Sorry for a super short chapter. I gotta have a chapter transition. (Plus, my finger hurts) Problem starts occurring in the next chapter. I'll try my best to update a good chapter quickly.