Wings for Mitsuki
>>Renzie>> Chapter 2! This fanfic is getting a little angsty. I can't help it if I get carried away. nn; If any of the readers out there are interested, my other fanfic A Walk in the Park is going through some temporary hiatus. :( Temporary! I've just lost my flame for it, but I'll definitely finish it up. It's just that I'd like to concentrate on this story for now.
>>Note>> The song in this chapter is called "Boulevard of Broken Dreams," by Green Day. You might've heard it. It's on T.V. a lot, and it's also a really cool song :) But anyway, I thought it was appropriate for this.
>>Disclaimer>> If I owned this series, I'd be raking in money not writing fanfiction.
Chapter 2: Meeting Takuto
Take a left on La Enza Blvd., Apartment #54 - Level 3.
Mitsuki looked up from the directions, a softened frown lingering among her features. Taking someone's life...it couldn't be helped. But, she still...
xxxxxxx
"Hinako, I don't...want to..."
Sitting in a room were two girls bound by their duties. The younger one had her hands folded calmly, while the other had her own crumpling up an envelope.
"Mitsuki..." The voice was soft and reassuring. Believable, too. But that feeling was only temporary until facing the truth.
"I don't want to take someone's life!" The other voice snapped back, before slowly calming down. "It's not fair. Why can't we just..."
"Mitsuki. It's not as bad as it may seem. It'll be alright - 'promise."
As the dark haired girl was embraced in a tight hug, her mind was clouded with thoughts.
xxxxxxx
And so, Kouyama Mitsuki ended up doing the unthinkable.
The girl looked up at the sky, her brown locks tumbling down frail shoulders. It was hot. She had to squint her eyes in order to see what lay ahead, which in turn wasn't something she looked forward to. Shallow breaths filled her lungs with hot air. Mitsuki had almost forgotten how warm it was in the city.
Sighing under her breath, she glanced at the oak tree beside her. Just a little rest wouldn't cause trouble would it? And up she went, not sparing another moment of thought.
"Feels nice..."
Mitsuki glanced down at the city people. 'I guess there are some advantages of being a shinigami,' she thought. She could shout as far and wide as she pleased, and no one could give the young girl strange looks of any kind. But being a partner in death...also had its disadvantages. That was most certain. And on a list of comparison, the cons won by many.
Lifting her head lightly, she turned her view up to the sky. The brown eyed girl remembered another day just like this. Spending it with the person she liked - no, loved most. And those days, were the happiest of all. Lost in thought, the reminiscing soul leaned back.
' God, if only you had spared me just this once. Is it really such a crime to -'
Something cut off her thoughts as her world began to shift violently. Without knowing, Mitsuki had leaned back one inch too many. The girl squeezed her eyes shut in that moment before the fall. But when the churning feeling had subsided, she opened her eyes to find herself still above the ground. She hadn't fell. Mitsuki sighed with relief, her heartbeat returning to its normal rate. That was until she found herself locked in the arms of a handsome stranger.
"W-What are -" She squirmed out of the figure's grasp, quickly backing up a couple steps. A flustered Mitsuki revealed herself in an instant, as a bright shade of embarrassment coated her cheeks. The girl hadn't expected such a light landing, let alone being caught by someone.
"Ah...sorry. Didn't mean to scare you like that."
Her heartbeat... it was still so quick. Was it really from the scare, or maybe...from the sight of her savior? His dark hair was gathered into the back, soft brown eyes gesturing an apology. The boy wasn't much taller - perhaps only by a foot.
"Are...you okay?"
Mitsuki stepped out of her daze to see the boy watching blankly. The teenager shook her head in embarrassment. He had probably caught her oggling at him. She was such a weirdo.
"No... I mean - yes! Yes, I'm okay." Mitsuki took another step back. One more might just drop her off the face of the earth. "I-If you don't mind, I'd better be going now."
"Hey, wait a -"
The stranger reached out in protest, but the mysterious girl had already run off.
-
Mitsuki stopped at the farthest block, catching her breath from the long run. Goodness. Why did these things always happen to her? But on another note, the teenager had better get to work. As she looked up, a passing business man wavered into view. "Ah...excuse me. Do you know where -"
And then, she remembered. No one from the human world was to see her. This girl was to be eternally punished. Always and forever. They were two of the most promising words, but also those tainted with such misery. Kouyama Mitsuki was a shinigami. How could she ever forget?
The brown eyed girl lowered her head, a lip quivering in remembrance. And then it hit her. The boy who had saved her. Had he not spoken? Had he not touched her? Had he not seen what wasn't there? It was then that one phrase lingered in her mind.
'Kira Takuto.'
-
A hesitant girl knocked on the door of an apartment room. With a hint of trouble, she had managed to find the place in which this 'Kira Takuto' lived.
"Coming!"
Mitsuki fidgeted at the familiar voice, her feet daring her to run away. But the nervous girl had run out of time. For the door had opened, and there stood a very surprised boy.
"You...you're that girl..."
He blinked, suddenly aware of her nervous reaction. A hand silently reached behind the back of his head, as a gaze shifted elsewhere. "Eh. Sorry about that. Is there...something you need?"
Mitsuki twiddled her thumbs idly. "Um..." What was she supposed to say? 'I'm sorry but I've come to take your life'? There was an awkward silence until the girl spoke again. "You...really don't need to apologize."
He gave her a simple glance that seemed to ask, 'Hm. Is that so?'
"If anything, I should be apologizing." Well that seemed to be a pretty valid explanation seeing she ran off in fright/frustration/embarrassment/all of the above. And just of someone trying to help.
He gave a muffled laugh, secretly remembering the look on her face. "Don't worry about it. Oh, that reminds me - I didn't catch your name."
She glanced up at him, tilting her head lightly. "It's Mitsuki...Kouyama Mitsuki."
"Mitsuki, huh? Like the moon." He smiled softly, nodding his head. "Unfortunately I'm nothing quite as nice. Just Takuto."
Instead of smiling back, the adolescent girl glanced away. She knew that much already. Mitsuki knew many things about her subject that he would've never guessed. After all, it was "required" in the shinigami world. But it was a shame. Although the girl knew so much about him, Kira Takuto knew nothing about her.
"It's...nice to meet you, Takuto."
"Likewise." He glanced at a the watch on his wrist, widening his eyes in surprise. "Ah, I've gotta get going. Someone's preforming at the coffee house today."
"Can - Can I come with you?"
He looked up from the time to glance at the insisting girl.
"Ah - I mean, I'd like to see them too. I...haven't been here in a while." Mitsuki smiled half heartedly as Takuto nodded in agreement. To follow her subject like a shadow. That was part of her job. And nothing more, right?
-
The room was large, but all the more space for visitors. It was fairly dim, so the light could be focused on the musicians up stage. Sturdy balconies welcomed the second level, and modern fixtures brimmed the ceiling. People were everywhere. (A/N: Right. It's a...big coffee house.) Mitsuki and Takuto sat at a table in the corner, watching the red curtains unravel.
"Takuto, do you come here often?" Mitsuki felt like a foreigner as she stared wide-mouthed at the place.
Once again, he could only chuckle at her expression. "Mm. Almost every Saturday. Something about listening to this music is calming."
The girl nodded to agree, though she hadn't listened herself. But when she did, it left her no excuse to say otherwise. A fit of applause erupted from the audience as a band of musicians came up stage. Soon all went silent, and the chords of thought provoking lyrics filled the air.
I walk this empty street
On the boulevard of broken dreams
Where the city sleeps
and I'm the only one and I walk alone
Mitsuki took a moment to glance at the companion beside her. Takuto was smiling.
My shadow's the only one that walks beside me
My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating
Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me
'Til then I walk alone
I'm walking down the line
That divides me somewhere in my mind
On the border line
Of the edge and where I walk alone
Mitsuki stayed silent. It was as if any one noise would break the intriguing words. The last chords of the song strummed to, and a cheering audience broke through her thoughts. The girl smiled tentatively, her own applause being drowned out by the rest.
-
"Looks like we came on a good day."
The two walked along the paved road, which to Mitsuki felt like the longest walk ever. She had to tell Takuto sooner or later. But the thing was, she would rather tell him 'never' than 'later'. Or worse...sooner. But wouldn't it only make things worse if he never found out? If Takuto...never found out Mitsuki was a shinigami? Or even...that he was to die? It could fix all of her problems. But eventually...
Realizing the silence of her reply, the girl quickly snapped 'fro. "Y-Yea, I really didn't expect something so deep."
He glanced at her with a look in his eyes. It made Mitsuki think he could almost...see right through her. That he had everything figured out. That was until a casual voice broke through in a blunt "What school do you go to?"
The teenager blinked, obviously taken aback.
He gave a little shrug, turning his gaze back ahead. "It was just a thought that crossed my mind. You're in highschool...right?"
The brown-eyed girl lowered her head meekly with a short "Um."
She wanted to sit him down and say 'I don't go to school. I don't go to work! I'm just another wandering soul. Get it through your head and please, please save me the trouble! ' But that...would only make things more complicated. Words had a crude way of letting themselves be twisted and turned into something nasty.
An small, internal gasp came from the boy beside her, as Mitsuki quickly turned to his skeptical look.
"W-What?"
"...You're not in junior high, are you?"
Blank...stare.
"No! Of course not!" The girl covered her embarrassed face with a hand, wondering if she really looked like a junior high kid. Of course, her thoughts couldn't drown out the laugh coming from Takuto himself.
"Hah. Sorry, sorry. When you didn't respond I got a little worried. Imagine bringing a middle schooler to some place like that!"
Mitsuki withdrew her hand, pulling it down beside her. She was in high school. Just not...
"Takuto...listen." The teenager closed her eyes, as the two stopped at the curb. The dark haired boy glanced at her in light response. "I'm not...I'm not who you think I am."
There was no avoiding it.
"What are you talking about?" he asked, giving her one of those weird looks. "You're Mitsuki."
"No, I'm not...Well. I am, but...this is..." She clenched her frail hands, opening her eyes enough to see the cars racing by. "...this is something different."
It was different. Very different.
"Mitsuki, I'm not sure if I understand what you're talking about."
She shook her head. He didn't...not at all. How could he? She had a loss for words, it seemed. So all Mitsuki could do...was show him what she meant. They always say that the first step is the hardest. But when the teenager hadn't even begun to lift her foot, the ugly feeling of fear surrounded her. It was stupid. Someone who had died once...could never die again. She closed her eyes tightly, as Takuto's widened in alarm.
And then, it all seemed to go by in a rush. The dull spectrum of colors, the honking of cars, the...shouting of Takuto's voice. And how exactly, did these violent events occur? When Kouyama Mitsuki had suddenly run into the street - directly in line of a coming car.
The impact...there was no impact, per say. Only the dazed fear in her heart as a car sped right through her.
"Mitsuki!"
She glanced to the side, seeing Takuto holding up the cars as he quickly approached. A quick batter of her heart let Mitsuki forget about the current situation. Who wouldn't falter a bit? ...When there was someone that didn't think twice about saving you? The vehicles were swerving and breaking, but the boy didn't turn to look. He made his way through the honking cars, catching his breath beside her.
"Crazy girl - what are you doing!"
His harsh words broke through the silence, as Mitsuki noticed things she hadn't before. Her knees were shaking like a leaf. It almost felt as if her legs would drop out from under. Even though the girl had already become a slave to the underworld, the pain was still so real. The rush of fear still hurt so much. But the worst part...the worst part was that nothing happened. No real pain. Just...that brittle churn inside her heart. And that feeling inside is worse than any sickness, or any curse.
"...God, you're shaking."
She winced at his touch, as the boy pulled back in surprise.
"Mitsuki...just exactly..."
The girl looked away. Her brown eyes couldn't bear that look. The look of confusion...or was it disappointment, she wondered? If Takuto had known she was already dead, would he bother rushing to her side?
"Hey, you kid! What do you think you're doing!" An angry police officer approached, pulling the dazed boy out of the cross section. "Didn't your parents teach you anything!"
"Sorry about that..." Takuto shook his head apologetically. The others...couldn't see what he saw. Not the invisible girl beside him - Kouyama Mitsuki.
"I was just trying to protect someone."
-
-
Thinking back, that was such a stupid thing to do. It's been a few days now, and I only chose to travel the harder road. I'm always messing up. But how can I help it? Sometimes I wonder if there's something I've ever done right... maybe not. But I still have to go back there. Back to Takuto and...explain everything. And that, is something far worse.
"Kouyama!"
Mitsuki sat in her dorm room, lifting a pair of troubled eyes from her journal. Sakamura stood by the entrance, burning gaze in question.
"How'd it go?"
She smiled tenderly, nodding her head in reassurance. "Fine." Simply put.
"Feh. Good." He sighed lightly. Maybe out of relief. "Just...don't forget the collection date."
"...Yea." Mitsuki waved a small goodbye as the door closed shut. And in the comfort of her own emotions, the girl hugged her knees tighter than she ever had. Kouyama Mitsuki still had a lot of explaining to do.
-
The young girl let out a tender sigh, as a warm breeze ruffled the leaves. She was sitting on yet another tree branch, in the world where she couldn't be seen. Only one boy that she knew of. Kira Takuto, he was called. The girl fiddled with the tips of her hair mindlessly, running through those endless thoughts. Just...once more.
Suddenly, the teenager frowned with disappointment. "Really..."
Mitsuki realized that ever since that day, these troublesome thoughts seemed to be eating her away. They were all that ever crossed her mind. The girl grumbled softly. She was tired. Couldn't she think about anything else?
And as if right on cue, a familiar voice called out from behind. "Hey...! Figures you'd be here."
Mitsuki jerked her head around. Takuto! And it was deja vu all over again. Seemed that the teenager had almost fell off the branch in surprise. Almost. If it weren't for the arm that caught her at the last minute. The boy's mouth curled upwards, even letting out a little laugh.
"Really - didn't we go through this already?"
She laughed softly, nodding her head. Mitsuki propped herself back onto the branch, as the boy clutched onto the ends idly.
"Takuto...you know..." She smiled frailly, a pained expression in her eyes. "I..."
"You don't have to say it, if you don't want to."
Mitsuki blinked, obviously surprised. She turned her gaze to see him staring straight ahead.
"You don't have to say anything, unless you feel like it. Since that day, I've been thinking about...what you were trying to tell me." Takuto brushed the hair from his face, letting the hand linger upon his forehead. "Don't...think I'm crazy or anything, but are you..." He turned his gaze to face her.
Mitsuki stuttered in her own silence, fumbling with the words that wouldn't come out.
"Are you...here to take my life?" He could tell right away from the paled expression on her face. Kira Takuto, had guessed dead on.
"...A-Ah. Yes, I mean...I don't want to. It's just...I..."
Suddenly, he smiled. The expression she had expected least.
"Silly girl, Don't act like it's your fault...It really isn't."
And like music to her ears, his words somehow...gave Mitsuki a sense of reassurance. Like everything...was going to be fine. The girl swallowed, her eyes burning to his.
But what was so fine...about this fluttering in her chest?
Long chapter, sorry. Thanks all for the nice reviews! You may not think it makes a difference, but let me tell you - it does.
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