I'm so sorry this took so long! School started up and I'm so pressed for time...Anyway. This chappie is very long (I say very long, but it might just be because I had a writers' block) and took me most of the night to type. I'm only getting 3 hours of sleep nowadays, so I'm happy I was able to type at all. Anyway., this starts out in Kiri's POV then Narumi's POV and then back to Kiri's POV. I tried giving Kiri more personality this time. Tell me if it works out or not.
Kiri's POV
"Hey, I'm home. Oh hi, Shampoo. Sorry. No fish," I held out my hands to him. He sniffed them loudly.
"NYAH!"
"Sorry…" I picked him up and carried him off the porch. He didn't purr.
"Seiji-kun, I'm home," I called. I heard voices from the salon part of the house.
A customer?
"Hey! Late daughter of mine! Come over here and clean up this hair!"
I grumbled and trudged to my room.
I thought we were closed…Making me work after hours…he better pay me…
I changed into some more comfortable clothes. Namely, my favorite overalls and an old cotton tee. I put up my hair and finished with my BP hat. I never knew what the BP stood for…
"Kiri! Come on!"
Why is he so pushy today? Who's this customer?
I walked into the salon. One customer with short brown hair…
"Hey…What is she doing here?" I asked Seiji-kun.
The chair spun around towards me. Emi-chan opened her arms wide.
"Kiriii! Come give me a hug! I decided to give a surprise visit!"
I turned to Seiji-kun. "I'll be in my room. Sleeping."
I walked out.
Why does she always pretend everything is all right?
I heard steps behind me.
"Kiri…Why don't you cut my hair? I bet we have a lot to catch up on! You don't email enough…"
I stopped.
"You're trying too hard, Emi-chan."
I continued to my room. She didn't follow.
--
Narumi POV
Wednesday
Where's everybody gone?
I checked my watch. The airplane would be leaving in 30 minutes.
"Hey, Naru-Naru."
b-bmp
"M-Mussy Head. You came…"
She nodded and leaned against a wall. She looked tired, and I don't blame her. Why would Kazuhiko book a flight so late? It was already 10 PM. The first flight would be at least 5 hours, and the second was supposedly two.
"Yeah…My mom was pretty excited about it. Something about my true calling…" she trailed off and rested her head against the wall. I could tell that she hadn't been getting enough sleep lately. I guess I wouldn't either if I had a mother like hers.
I rubbed my cheek absently, remembering the purse that (I swear it had bricks in it) made contact to my face.
I'm alone…with Mussy Head…b-bmp.
"So…uh…Mussy Head. Are you um…"
Crap! What do I say, what do I SAY?!
"…Nervous? Yeah, are you nervous about this?"
Lame!
I waited for an answer. Silence. I looked over and sighed. She had slid to the ground and fallen asleep.
How does she do it? Just instantly like that?
I shook my head and knelt down beside her. Already her breathing was slow and peaceful and she gave off the warmth that only a sleeping person could.
"Hey…" I whispered. I swished my hand in front of her face a few times. She was out.
Good…
"Hey, Mussy Head…" I tried again. No reply. I took a deep breath and…
"Mussy Head, I'm only telling you this because you're asleep, but there's something wrong with me. I seem to have gotten this disease called 'being a boy'. I think it's contagious, because apparently Kazuhiko has it, too."
I paused and checked her breathing. It was still steady. I groaned and sat down.
"Well, the symptoms happen to be pretty serious."
Here's the hard part…
"Mussy Head…I can't get you out of my min-!!"
I jumped as someone kicked me in the back.
"Hey Amateur-san! Whatcha telling Kiri? Are you confessing your love!?" Billy burst out with.
"IKETANI?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?! AND WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?! I'M NOT TALKING TO HER!! SHE'S ASLEEP!!" I shouted, standing up quickly.
If he heard…
"Best time to confess if you ask me. Then they'll dream about you," Billy shrugged.
?! Really?!
"How am I supposed to sleep when you're yelling, Naru-Naru?" Kiri grumped from the floor. She didn't even sound groggy from sleeping.
Shit! Did she hear?!
I tried to think up a reply when suddenly Billy threw himself on her.
"Kiri! You're awake! And I didn't even kiss you like in the movies!" he shouted happily. That did it.
What the hell?!
I yanked on the back of his collar and pulled him off.
"WHAT'RE YOU DOING!? DON'T FLING YOURSELF ON HER LIKE THAT AND DON'T KISS HER!!"
Billy stuck out his tongue. "What? Jealous?"
…So?…Wait! I mean no! I mean yes! I mean that I don't really know!!
Mussy Head stood up and gave a huge yawn. "What're you doing here, Joey?"
"It's Billy," he corrected. She waved it off.
"Billy, then. What are you doing here?"
Oh yeah…I forgot about that…
"Emi-chan bought me a ticket and told me to go with you! I think that she's nervous that you're with a bunch of men…" Billy trailed off and hugged her.
Whaa?!
"BUT YOU'RE A MAN!!" I shouted angrily. Then I added as an afterthought, "Unless you're a boy…doesn't your voice still crack?"
It surprised me when he became angry.
"It does NOT!" he shouted back. I noted that his voice cracked on the 'not'. Several heads turned and chuckled, provoking him even more.
Oh yeah! Ammunition!
"What's this yelling all about?" said a very straight, formal voice. Kazuhiko.
I tensed for a second, and relaxed. I had nothing to hide from him anymore. He knew everything.
Billy, however rushed to him. "Second Class-san! Amateur-san is yelling and hurting Kiri's head!"
Ooh crap. How's that gonna turn out? He made me the bad guy that's 'hurting' Mussy Head but he just called Kazuhiko Second Class…Wait…
"STOP CALLING ME AMATEUR-SAN!!" I screeched. I noticed Mussy Head cover her ears.
"Ah… Naru-Naru…You're so noisy…you're hurting my head…"
Crap! Don't say that!!
Kazuhiko raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth to say, well I expected it to be something like hell or at least similar pain-wise, but it sounded more like, "Me's Kirity! You came!"
Come again?
Kazuhiko spun around and nearly bumped into Iori, who was, like the idiot he was, running with his eyes closed and arms out-stretched like he was going receive a hug. I don't know why he was like that though. He obviously wasn't going to get one.
Kazuhiko dove out of the way as Mussy Head ducked. The result being Iori crashing into Billy.
What the hell? Why the crap am I with these losers?
I glanced at Mussy Head. She wasn't a loser.
Kazuhiko looked at the clock. 5 minutes until take-off and we were still missing people.
"Where's Kei, Ken, Aoyama and Tarotard?" Billy asked from under Iori. For once, I agreed with him. Just where were they?
"Na-kun! I'm here! Sorry I'm late…I had to buy some new snacks…I dropped my others into a puddle…" Kei announced.
Mussy Head, still on the floor from ducking Iori spoke up. "Aoyama and Tarotard aren't coming."
I looked down at her. Her soft face and big eyes…
"Stop staring at me. You make me nervous," she said stubbornly.
I make her nervous? Yeah, baby! Score one for Narumi!
She turned and waved towards someone in the distance. I tore my eyes off her and avoided the daggers that Kazuhiko was giving, Iori's rants (Yeah, you bully!) and Billy's smirks. I noticed Ken, a good seven inches taller than everyone else coming at us.
"Sumimasen! I got distracted…"
Mussy Head stood and gave Ken a small smile.
"Yoshi, Keniichan. We're we just about to leave. Forou…"
I looked away.
She's obviously so much happier with him…
"Come on!" she called over her shoulder at us. At me…
I picked up my bag and rushed after them at the exact same time as Kazuhiko. We bumped into each other and I heard him mutter, "Stay away from her, Narumi…"
I laughed, to his surprise.
No…I won't stay away from her…
--
Kiri's POV
B-12…
I maneuvered through the plane, searching for my seat. We had all been separated in the rush to get on.
B-12, B-12…Ah. There it is…
The seat beside me was empty.
Good…
I flinched as someone tossed his or her bag in the vacant seat. A blue bag with a golden #1 stitched on the side with a pair of scissors.
b-bmp. No way…
"Hey, Mussy Head. We're sitting together," Naru-Naru said.
Why do you sound so happy?
"How observant of you. Hai, we are sitting together, but I'm gonna sleep," I sighed as I adjusted myself in my seat. It was too cold. I switched off my A/C.
This is…awkward. Aw, man…I'm thirsty…
I straightened up slightly and jerked as the plane suddenly roared to life, and started down the strip.
"Whoa…Careful there. Heh. Haven't you ever been on a plane?" Naru-Naru asked with…gentle eyes.
Only slightly creepy. Why does he keep looking at me like that? It makes me squeamish…
"Hai, but I wasn't paying attention. See? I'm not even buckled…" I gestured to my unstrapped belt. I sighed and reached for it, but it wouldn't click shut.
Naru-Naru shrugged. "I never put it on. I'm pretty sure that if we're in any kind of accident, a safety belt won't help."
Point taken.
I still struggled to click it. "I, unlike some people, was raised to use every safety precaution when they're available," I grunted. I could feel the smirk on his face.
"Ngh! A…little…help would be…greatly appreciated…" I groaned as the belt refused to click. He laughed and swiftly put it in with a loud:
TCH-KCK!
"Easy as pie," he bragged. I shrugged. "I never was much of a baker," I replied. He stared at me, but I refused to make eye contact. A flight attendant came up to us and offered a pillow (just one…grumble) and juice. I took both.
As I drained the juice, Naru-Naru decided to say a very irrelevant fact of nature.
"You know, you're gonna have to pee."
Random…
"And when I do, I will get up and use the bathroom and then sit back down just like everyone else."
"Ah. I see that you are a woman of action."
"So glad you've noticed. Now I'm going to sleep."
"Not gonna watch the movie?"
"What is it? I won't watch scary ones."
"Umm…" he flipped down the little screen and seemed surprised that we had options. They were all scary except for one. My favorite.
"Well, there's Beauty and the Beast. That's the only not scary one," he announced.
"Fine."
"Fine? Fine as in…yes?"
"Yes."
"Okay."
"Okay."
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Like really, serious totally really? Because you know…"
I stuffed the pillow in his face. "I said yes, Narumi-senpai. Now play the movie or let me sleep."
"Did you just call me…?
"Yes. Cry me a river, build a bridge and get over it. Play the movie."
"But it looks girly…"
I stared at him.
"You've never seen Beauty and the Beast?"
He shook his head violently.
"Then let me educate you. Hit play."
He selected the movie and it instantly jumped in.
I totally had the hots for Beast. He was ugly as a human, and to tell you the truth, he wasn't so terrific as a hairy monster either, but there was something in his eyes…
I turned to look at Naru-Naru. He was way into the whole 'Bonjour!' thing.
There was something in his eyes, too…a bug? Just kidding. He also had the same scary awesomeness as the Beast. It was a lonely awesomeness, which now that I think of it, isn't so awesome.
Why am I staring at him? Why can't I look away? I love this song…Why can't I just turn my head and watch the movie?
It took a sec to realize that Naru-Naru was looking back at me, and getting closer…closer…
I snapped back to the movie. (Oh! This is where she meets Prince Charming! But she doesn't know it's him until chapter three!)
A/N: I don't like putting Author Notes, but I just wanted to let you know that that was just a scene from Beauty and the Beast that I thought applied very well.
I could feel the heat from Naru-Naru and my own blush was creeping up onto my face.
What was that? He was gonna kiss me!
I buried my face in my pillow.
"Hey…Are you okay?" Naru-Naru asked softly. I shook my head.
"I think I have a small cold. I feel warm…" I muttered into the pillow.
That's a fairly good excuse…except that I feel cold. Why is this plane so cold!?
He put a hand to my cheek.
"You're freezing!" he exclaimed. I nodded.
He unzipped his #1 bag and took out a small lap blanket with a (you guessed it) golden #1 stitched on it.
"Arigato…" I mumbled, my face on fire again. Maybe I did have a cold…
"Yeah, yeah. Just go to sleep. Do you want me to pause the movie?"
Why are you being to nice?
"Nah. You need to see it. I've watched it hundreds of times. I can recite it."
He rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, and we all need that talent. Go to sleep."
I kicked off my shoes and curled into a ball so that the blanket would cover all of me.
This blanket sure does smell nice…
I listened to the movie slowly progress when I noticed that Naru-Naru was asleep. I sat up groggily and waved my hand across his face. He was out.
Good…
I reached down for his bag and started to rummage through it. There was a whole bunch of crap, but I noticed his MP3 player.
Aha! What does he listen to? Ah? Homemade music?
I put in the ear buds. It was definitely Naru-Naru.
(What she hears)
"I'm trying out this new song, for well, I don't really need to say who, but whatever. I'm writing her a song. I call this 'It's What You do to Me. It's a little rough, but I'll improve it later.
It's what you do to me
Everytime I see you smile
It takes my breath away
Every look that comes to me
Makes my heart throb painfully
I really don't understand it,
This feeling deep inside,
but all I know baby,
Is that you're the cause of the turmoil in me.
Chorus:
It's what you do to me
Everyday of the week
Not an hour goes by
Without a thought of you
And what you do
To me
Well, that's all I have, and the words are a little rough, like I said, but I'll work on it. Someday, I think I'll sing it to her."
I felt my mouth fall open, and I looked quickly at Naru-Naru.
I can't be the girl he was talking about! There's someone else…
The next song played, another homemade one, but it wasn't as rough and it wasn't for anybody. It was peaceful though, and it started to put me to sleep.
I…I think Naru-Naru likes me…
b-bmp.
Read and Review please! This chapter was so hard to write...and I think Kiri is OOC...Whatever. I'm tired and I just cranked out 13 pages. (Microsoft Word pages. Double spaced.) There's bound to be something wrong.