Hm, in case some of you were wondering about the slight difference in personality between Kumiko's thoughts and her words; well, you know how when you think only, and don't say anything, you just go wild, cause there isn't the fear of anyone hearing and you upsetting them etc and stuffs?
It's the same with Kumiko =]
She thinks and acts more brave and freely in her mind, but when its down to reality, she's back to her ol little shell lol.
--
"Fine Line"
"Love is like a butterfly, it goes where it pleases and it pleases wherever it goes.
Love is like a butterfly; hold it too tight, it'll crush. Hold it too loose, it'll fly."
Chapter 16: Butterfly Touch
~***~
Hime-sama Douchu.
It definitely was one.
A princess, representing royalty. Though I didn't cut much of a princess. And the voyage….well, I guess the voyage is different for each person.
But one usually does not have the grandeur of royalty life on a voyage. And this event that Atobe held shows both of these together.
Everything was made beautifully, and set up like masterpieces. But the stands, food, games- they were all simple.
A simple game of catching the gold fish. Simple round of targets and darts. Simple and sweet sugared apples.
Oh, and I missed one part of the royalty bit.
Our own 'servant', as they called it here. Though maybe prince would be a better word, with the way they are outfitted and look.
When Atobe had asked the hosts to choose their princess, I got wind it also meant choose who they wanted to 'serve' for that night.
I had just gaped at Marui when I got that out of him.
Chewing slowly on my chocolate covered banana that I got from one of the stands, my eyes took in the simple yet pleasant surroundings, amazed at the wonderful job whoever set these up had done.
Walking along a stand with a small crowd of people squatting around it, I recognized the backs of Rinko and Yuushi. I lightly reached out to Marui who was ahead of me and held onto the sleeves of his shirt, tugging.
He turned around to look at me, tilting his head in question. I pointed over to where Rinko was, before heading over, and he followed.
"Goldfish scooping?" I peeked over Rinko's shoulders, as she watched in glee as Oshitari Yuushi attempted to scoop one from the ceramic basin. Various small and different types of goldfish swam about in there, going helter-skelter when Oshitari moved in for the kill….well, not literally.
But his poi broke not too soon later.
Rinko frowned and pouted, and Oshitari did the same, frowning and pushing his glasses up.
"Another one, if you may." His words came out tight, and determination shown through his eyes. The poi he used that broke was thrown to the side, joining 4 others there that broke as well.
"Here you go sir~" The young man running the stall seemed almost too happy to hand him a poi.
"You can do it, Yuushi-kun!" Rinko cheered, clapping her hands.
My mouth fell open. They were already on first name basis?! ….well, that isn't surprising I suppose, seeing as Oshitari did ask the same thing of me when we first met, and Rinko is quite open about herself.
As if on instinct, the lot of us that stood around watching quieted down; the only sound that can be heard was the short and sharp 'pop's of Marui's gum.
The blue-haired man sat, poised and hand raised in the air, keen eyes roving over the water, waiting for the right prey and right time. And in a flash, his hand shot down into the water and up, the goldfish flying up into the air with it- plop- it went into the bowl in his hand.
Oooh's and Ahhhh's went around the stand, and clapping could be heard as he passed the bowl over to the stall owner who placed the goldfish in a transparent plastic bag. Oshitari presented the goldfish to Rinko.
"Thank you, Yuushi-kun!" Rinko cheered, hugging the bag and I feared that the bag might explode from the force.
The man pushed his glasses up again. "It was my pleasure."
"Wow…he got it with the 5th poi!" I exclaimed, lifting up one of the broken poi's and touching the fragile rice paper that hung limp on its rim. "And its not even one of the stronger types! That's amazing, Oshitari-san."
Oshitari smirked at me. "Would you want me to win you one as well, Kumiko-hime?"
I reddened, feverishly shaking my head. "N-no. It's alright."
I didn't know if it was just my eyes going blind, but I thought I saw Rinko frown at me when Oshitari offered to catch me one. She turned to Marui. "Why don't Marui-san catch one for you?~"
"Eh?" Marui's eyes widened momentarily from the shock of him being suddenly pulled into the convo. He popped his gum, scratching the back of his head before turning to me and grinning. "If you wish it, Kumiko-hime~!"
Marui had taken up to calling me Kumiko-hime tonight, rather than Kumiko-chan. He said that as a 'servant', he was not allowed to talk with such a casual term with the princess. Amazing what discipline these hosts have sometimes; they follow the rules and theme of the event down to the last letter.
"No…it's alright, really." The goldfish will probably die in my hands anyway….
"You don't have to worry, Kumiko-hime. I'm sure Marui will be able to catch you one, although he might take a little more poi's…" Oshitari patted my shoulder.
Marui frowned and seemed to bristled. "Oi, Oshitari! What's that supposed to mean?!"
Oshitari faced Marui, shrugging. "Hm? Nothing~ I didn't mean anything." He said in his heavy Kansai accent, voice betraying his amusement.
"I bet I can get it with no more than 2 poi's!" Marui declared.
"Eh- umm, Marui-san-" I started, fearing that this will escalate into something else.
"Really now? Let's see you do it." Oshitari challenged.
"Oshitari-san!" I whipped to the man, a look of despair on me.
"Whee~! This'll be interesting!!" Rinko clapped like a little kid.
"Rinko-chan!" Why am I the only one against this?
Marui waved his hand airily at me, dismissing my franticness. "Don't worry." He gave me the V-sign. "I'm a genius~"
"Oi, give me two poi's!" He placed out his hand, demanding two from the stand owner who only gave him a sympathetic look. I shared it.
It took Oshitari 5 tries to get the goldfish for Rinko. What are the chances of Marui getting it in two?
I squatted beside Marui who had pulled his sleeves up. "Marui-san, really, you shouldn-"
He waved a poi in front of my face. Seeing that I was silent now, he took it back and winked at me. "Watch closely, I'll show you my genius skills~"
With that, I resigned myself to watching. Doesn't seem like its possible to dissuade him from his decision once its made.
Although my mind told me that it's near impossible to catch a goldfish with only 2 pois, my heart still hoped he would.
I didn't want him hurt…I could tell Oshitari would not let him live it down easily if he didn't fulfill the challenge he set himself.
I gulped and started biting my fingers as Marui waited. [1]
Splash
The poi went in and out. But no goldfish came with it. Luckily though, the poi hasn't broke yet. Marui rolled his tongue around his mouth, and went back to waiting again.
Splash
This time, the poi really did break, and the goldfish it came out with fell back into the water. I bit down on my finger a bit harder from the anxiety as Marui took up the last poi.
Time ticked away as his lavender eyes went right and left, watching for a specific goldfish- I couldn't tell which. I was too nervous and busy chewing my finger.
Suddenly, my mouth was empty of its chew toy, and I looked up to Marui whose eyes pierced mine. I could feel his hands tighten around mine and then loosen.
"Stop chewing your fingers, they wont be beautiful anymore~"
With that, he turned back to face the basin. I stopped chewing my fingers.
Splash
In went the poi not a moment after, and out came a goldfish with a black star on its head.
"Oooh! Sir, you just caught one of our finest goldfish in there!" The stand owner exclaimed, pushing up his hat that had fallen off from shock.
The goldfish was instantly and carefully placed into a transparent bag with water, and Marui handed it to me with a smirk. "Told you I was a genius."
I gazed down at the little fish swimming around in the bag, and a smile could not help but make its way onto my face.
Oshitari adjusted his glasses, and looked away calmly, although I could tell he was quite frustrated. "Maa, I guess it was your lucky night tonight."
"Luck is also a skill~" Marui commented smugly.
Rinko leaned down and peered into my bag. "Heeeh~ Kumiko-chan, can we switch?!" She asked with a chirp.
My hands retracted with the bag gently, away from her. "O-of course not!"
She pouted at me. "But why?!"
"You already have one!"
"But yours is so cute!"
"Marui-san gave it to me…!"
"I'll take good care of it~!"
I shook my head childishly. And she pouted at me again.
Marui whistled and placed his hands behind his head, leaning back casually. "Why don't you ask Oshitari to catch one for you~?" I could see that he was getting a kick out of this.
Shooting up from my squatting position, I quickly grabbed Marui's hand. "Ahah~ I remember there was a stand I wanted to see…We'll see you guys later, bye-bye!!" Hurriedly, I walked away, pulling Marui along.
My heart was still thumping from the nervousness that wracked me as I watched Marui and Oshitari's interaction. I hated it when people I know, whether a little or a lot, fought. And I don't think I'll be able to get a good night's sleep if their affinity with one another diminished that time.
Frowning, I glared at Marui. "That was really childish you know…"
Marui looked at me dumbfounded. "Childish? How was that childish?"
I sighed, resisting the urge to slap my face….or his. "Never mind…"
Mature Marui threw me off. Childish Marui annoyed me.
I don't know which I preferred.
Perhaps neither.
I felt him tapping my shoulders, and I turned to him with a weary stare. "What?"
"Let's go get a drink first~ I'm thirsty." He pointed towards a drinks stand, located next to a cotton candy seller.
Seeing no harm in that (unlike the Goldfish scooping), I headed over there light-heartedly, the anxiety from the goldfish incident leaving me as we distanced ourselves from the stand, Oshitari and Rinko.
Sometimes, I felt like a kindergarten teacher- Always worrying over the kids bickering. Ironically enough, Asuka did once tell me before that I would make a good kindergarten teacher…but then again, I didn't exactly want to spend my days in a school teaching lots of kids whom I probably will spill milk on, rather than vice versa.
A cool plastic cup was raised in front of me, and I carefully held the goldfish in one hand, and took the cup with the other. "Thank you…"
I raised an eyebrow and shook the cup around, mixing the creamy yellow substance with the blotches of chocolate brown in it.
"Chocolate banana flavor~" Marui gave me what I wanted to know, amusedly watching me peer at the drink.
"Oh! I couldn't tell…" I looked at the cup in his hand. "What's yours?"
"Tiramisu~" The straw went into his mouth and he took one giant slurp, literally draining a quarter of the cup in one gulp.
"Tiramisu?!" They had tiramisu drinks?! I didn't think it was possible…
"It's cause of that Gakuto. He wanted a tiramisu drink once, as he was too lazy to chew the cake, so Atobe's chef blended a real tiramisu cake for him. It was really good, surprisingly, so this is what became of it." I listened to him tell me the tale of the tiramisu drink, completely dumbfounded and entertained by it.
These hosts never seem to stop surprising me…
We came to the end of the long trail of stands, to the end of the spacious garden. Ahead it was just a tall stone wall with morning glory vines spun around it.
But it wasn't the end of the festival activities here it seems.
My eyes fluttered repeatedly, when something suddenly landed in between my eyes, and I would have freaked and screamed, but it flew away just as quickly as it came.
"B-butterflies?"
Hundreds of butterflies were flying all around; butterflies of various sizes and colors, of various patterns and shape.
And for some reason, they all congregated there, in just that part of the garden.
I soon found out why though, when Marui pointed to the center of the butterfly park (as I shall call it for now).
A bright and luminous ball of light was located at the center, placed carefully on the center of the altar it was on. The altar took the shape of a…..flower? Leaf?
"It's a forget-me-not." The host beside me spoke up.
"Oh…"
The petals of the flower altar was made to twist up, as if reaching towards the heavens, and the bulb of light was placed in the center of it. Many and many of the butterflies converged on it, covering the bright silver light with their beautiful bodies, casting a dim glow of silver around the area instead.
All the other butterflies that could not converge on the bulb fluttered around it instead, or towards the other small areas of light in the area, provided by the geisha dolls hung around with little lamps in their hands.
"What…is this place?" I asked, breathless. I had never seen so many different types of butterflies in one place before- and combining them together with the beauty of the garden, it was a Wonder.
"Little lady," a aged man in a butler's suit came up to me. "How would you like to take a go at our butterfly catching game?"
"Butterfly catching?" I looked back at the other pairs around the area. Certainly enough, there was a small and short net in their hands. I hadn't noticed it before, because usually butterfly nets are long and large. But this was shorter than a badminton racket, and the width of the net was akin to that of a badminton rackets head. "I…can't really keep a butterfly for a pet…"
"Ohohoho~" The aged man laughed, and although signs of wrinkles were showing on his face, I could see that he used to be a very gorgeous man back in his younger days….probably a host….since they seem to be everywhere at this Prisma Festival, no matter the age. "The butterflies are not for you to keep, even after you catch them."
One flew nearby and Marui reached out a finger to touch it, but it flew away. "These butterflies are taken care of by Yamada-oji here." He said, nodding his head towards the other man.
Yamada-oji smiled. "I used to work as a gardener for Young Master Atobe's dad. But due to the various flora here, it is a great place for butterflies, don't you think so? So several species of them were brought in, and I took care of them. As time went by, more and more gathered, and now we keep most of them in a sheltered greenhouse, and take them out for special occasions just like these."
I cocked an eyebrow curiously. "How do you manage to move them about?"
"Ohoho~ That's a Atobe family secret." Inching away a little from him, I looked back to the Wonder in front of me. Slightly, I was actually creeped out by this man and his laugh. It had a chilling effect on me. Paradoxically, he took care of butterflies…
"So, would you like a go?" He asked again.
I shook my head no. I didn't feel up to an activity that required vigorous movement from me again, and I don't think I could move in these geta anyways. Besides, I really saw no point in catching them if we were not given them as a prize afterwards- not that I wanted to keep a butterfly as a pet…it would probably choke on all the paint fumes on my house.
"I'll take a go." Marui chirped, grinning at the old man.
"Ohohoho~" There it is again with that laught. "Now here we have a sport!"
He went behind a stand nearby, emerged back out with a net similar to the ones the few other pairs were using.
"Catch whichever you wish sonny~"
Marui turned to look at me. "Sure you don't wanna give it a shot? Might be fun~"
I smiled hesitantly, shaking my head. "No…it's alright. Y-you go ahead. I'll wait here."
He paused momentarily to look at me, and I felt as if he was taking in my appearance, recording every single bit of me. Just as I was about to ask him out of nervousness why he was still there, he turned and headed into the gardens, net in hand.
Yamada-oji stood next to me, as we silently watched the pairs go about catching the butterflies, with difficulty. They were fickle, and moved before you can get close enough.
"What exactly is this for, Yamada-oji?" I asked the man running this….thing.
He laughed that laugh of his, and his bright eyes twinkled behind the shadows of his graying eyebrows. "If your boyfriend gets one, you'll see~"
I reddened heavily."B-boyfriend? He i-isnt-"
"Ohohoho~No need to be shy~" Waving his hand at me like a fan, he headed into the gardens as well, to help some pairs that were having especially hard times.
Feeling a bit awkward standing there alone, I started fidgeting around. But I couldn't help but giggle as I watched Marui leap around in his fine costume, trying to get a butterfly. It was like watching a man in a business suit jump on a trolley and roll it down a hill.
I tilted my head when he stopped, and stood there with his back turned. I couldn't see what he was doing, and he just stood there, in place and unmoving. Just as I was beginning to think that he might have got a stroke or heart attack or fainted, while still standing up, he started walking towards Yamada-oji and spoke a few words with him.
What are they doing? Did Marui get one already?
Yamada-oji approached me, with a cattish Marui grinning behind him. The man had his hands held in front of him, cupped together making a closed shell.
"Ohoho~ look what your boyfriend caught~"
I blushed. "Like I said, he's not my boy-" Whatever words I wanted to say left me when Yamada-oji opened his palms a little, giving light to me what was in there. A butterfly sat inside the shelter of his palms, wings swaying up and down. It was a ebony black color, and deep light blue painted its wings. Despite only having two colors on it, it was beautiful.
"Wow…" I murmured, stooping closer to get a better view. But the palms closed shut, closing off the butterfly from my eyes. I gave a half frown, half pout.
The kindly man smiled at me. "Don't worry little lady, you get to have one of your own~"
"Huh?" He walked towards his stand, and I looked to Marui for clearance on what he meant.
Marui shrugged. "It means what it means~"
"Wait, what? I thought the butterflies were not for us to keep?" My question was answered though when Yamada-oji returned, and in his hand was a butterfly clip.
It looked exactly the same as the butterfly Marui caught.
This he placed into my hand.
"That's for you to keep, your very own butterfly~" He smiled and bowed, before heading back into the garden where another pair was waving him over.
I saw clearly why he would still call it a butterfly, and not a clip. These were of extremely high quality. The butterfly was unlike the many other butterfly clips out there- it wasn't made of metal, or steel, or plastic. Neither did it have redundant glitter and bright colors on it.
It looked exactly the same as the butterfly Marui caught. Exactly.
No overarching colors, no exaggerated wings. None of those. It was identical, like a twin. And it was soft and silky, and the wings swayed with any wind that blew.
It felt like I was holding a real butterfly in my hands.
I felt something on my head, and I gazed upwards, meeting with the underside of Marui's palms. He unclipped the butterfly clip Aya had placed on my head.
Blinking, I looked down to see the butterfly clip I just received gone, and I felt something sliding into place between the locks of my hair.
Gingerly, I placed my fingers onto the clip perched on my head.
"Heh~ it looks good on you." The redhead grinned at me.
I blushed. "Thank you…." And then a question occurred to me. "How did you catch it? I saw you jumping about, but then you suddenly stopped for a long while…"
He popped his gum and whistled before replying. "I just stood there, and they came to me. If I go after them they fly away, so I do the exact opposite, and they come to me instead~"
I blinked, never having thought of that. Wow, he was a genius.
"Probably wont work in most places so quickly, but there are so many here, that it works pretty quickly." I was starting to see this man in a new light. He wasn't all looks and physique after all~ he truly was a genius.
My head leaned back instinctively, when he raised a hand towards my face….but it then moved up towards the clip. Briefly, I felt his fingertips graze gently across my cheeks.
He smiled. And I blushed, looking at him suspiciously. "What?"
Shaking his head, he grinned. "Nothing. Just thinking that, this butterfly could be a symbol, you know."
Now he's speaking weirdly. "Symbol of what?"
For a moment, his eyes twinkled, then they turned confused and sad, and then they went back to their cheerful demeanor. I was thoroughly thrown off. I couldn't tell what he was thinking, with the array of emotions I was seeing in him.
"What's wrong?" I was worried despite my confusion with him.
He chewed his gum for awhile before replying. "Nah, I just thought of something I read once in a book."
"You read?" I joked.
He rolled his eyes, drawling at me. "Yes I do. Even geniuses have to study a bit." He went quiet again.
"….What is it that you read?"
"There was a French poet….I was going through a book on his works. He once said that: "The butterfly is a flying flower. The flower a tethered butterfly.""
I turned solemn at his words. Just…what is going through his head?
Marui shook his head, as if to rid his thoughts. "Bah. I've been hanging out with Oshitari too much. That guy has been polluting my mind with his romantic novels." Spinning on his heels, he started back towards where the main life of the Hime-sama Douchu was, the way we came from. "Let's head back and look at the other stuffs~"
I watched him go quietly for a while, before finally starting after him. I was once again following him, staring at his back. It was like staring at the back of a book.
It's like I was reading a book starting from the end….I didn't know where he begun…or rather, maybe I didn't know where he ended.
I can't tell who he is.
……….Or maybe I do. Maybe I don't….
There was so much that I don't know about this man, this host. He acted in ways that I can predict, and sometimes in ways that I can't. He was rational and irrational; Childish and mature. He was lively, and at the same time, sombre. He was the unclouded sun, but moments later he'll morph into a shrouded star.
He was wine and bubblegum.
And it was a combination that I have to get used to….or dissect. Or accept.
Biting my lips, I fingered the butterfly clip in my hair with a shaky hand.
But wine and bubblegum, it was still a taste that repulses me.
If you remember, it was in Kumiko's habit to bite her fingers when she got nervous =D
So sorry for the lateness. School was killing me. Some things are going on for me in school right now, which I do not want to bore you guys with, but please know that its killing me, and I'm at the stage where I randomly throw a tantrum and/or cry =(
I'm hoping it will pass for me soon.
I'm now writing a bit of the story whenever I can, so updates are a bit slower now. It's a lie when they said these are our golden years. Feels so dark, with all that mountains of work blocking out the shining sun x_X;Sigh, Marui and Sasori, and probably little bits of Akaya, are the only things giving me warmth and light in my life right now...~ ....Does Ookawa Genki count? x_X; He's not a character....xp
But man, anyone want to drop by my deviantart, take a look and possibly commission me? ;D I'm trying to get money to buy the PoT Finals Fan Disc Time Comes Around TwT I think I lost half of my body's blood content as I watching the Gouka Kenran PV in the DVD online. I have all the song albums, but not the fan disc T_T Me wants! *pummels parents for money but gets none*
whee 63 reviews! Thanks a lot guys!! XD
hokkyokusei- haha I guess I was updating too much the past week, so my story kept popping up XD *hug* aww, it makes me happy to know you enjoy it ^_^
SapphirebReeze19- haha warm fuzzy feeling XD I think we all get that when we look at Marui ;D well, I do at least. lol xp
elusivemelody- xp yea, I was on some Marui high that day. Died now though with school T_T hmm? Romeo and Juliet? D: Well, I didnt think of Romeo and Juliet writing this though...I never even read the book, to be honest XD never liked those two- suicidal teens D: And inspiration writing him as a streetdancer? I have no qualms about that. I wrote him as a host, wrote him as a selfish jerk, a rich spoiled brat, a mature caring teen- I think I can make him a streetdancer XD I did once thought of writing a story about him being an idol actor once, but I had too many unfinished stories so I left that as a note on my comp for next time XD; but if I have a plot, or if you have one, of him being a streetdancer, run it over to me and I wont mind writing one up if it appeals to me =D and heck, Marui did street dancing with Gakuto etc in the PoT Otome game XD
LadyLadington- haha is it? I thought it was cheesy lol hmhmhm~ not sure what this chapter entailed for their relationship lol I was in english class today and had a funny thought- what if someone annotated this story? What kind of explanation would they come up with for my writings on Marui's and Kumiko's relationships? XD; ahaha school is ruining my mind. Lol Kirihara is cute xD I wanna write a side story of him and Kumiko w *gushes over Kumiko* I think I love her too much, and ignore the others D: and I know I was missing out on something regarding the kobe beef, but I really cant hold it down =/ I usually barf after eating beef x_X;
PhoenixRage92- haha but Kirihara is so cute x3 lol Asuka and Niou's affinity with one another....people should stay away. They might get hurt XD; Note* I am God in this D:
demonsadist- haha thank you XD glad you find the progress of the story to your liking =D