salut et quoi de neuf (hi and what's new)! okay, here's chapter 2. in my opinion, it was shorter than planned, but it's not going to bug me if it is this length. i'll try to keep my attention focused on writing chapter 3 and put finishing up the beginnings of my other stories on hold for a while. sigh, i need more time.
disclaimer: full moon wo sagashite and their songs are not mine, but all new songs mitsuki writes are mine
Now, a burning candle
Can't melt my shaking heart anymore?
Since Mitsuki had been working later than they planned, she ate dinner at Ooshige-san's place. Meroko sat by Mitsuki in her bunny form and began to devoir everything she saw. Takuto, on the other hand, sat by Ooshige-san, and barely ate what was on his plate.
"Hmm, Takuto, are you not feeling well?" Mitsuki asked after she took a sip of water. "Even though you don't eat a lot, I would think that you would be hungry."
"I'm fine," he said and disappeared from Ooshige-san's sight, turning to his original form. "I'll get some rest when we get home."
"Oh, okay," said Mitsuki, noticing how much he was trying not to look at her.
"Mitsuki, be sure to keep working on memorizing those lyrics. You can use a lyric sheet for recording, but you will have a live performance the very next day, so make sure you are prepared," Ooshige-san reminded her.
"Yes, I'll try my best!" she exclaimed optimistically.
"By the way, after this song, we can go to America and you'll be a pretty well-known artist. Isn't that exciting?"
"Yep!"
Takuto grinned at her expression. It was so soft and pure while at the same time determined and competitive. He wondered how someone could contain all of those feelings and release them at the same time. She was like a ray of light, calmly bringing the morning to him.
"But, I would be lying if I said that I didn't have a little bit of help," Mitsuki admitted. "Takuto gave me the inspiration to find the words to go with these feelings inside of me."
Ooshige-san looked around the room, confused with where Takuto actually was. "Well, wherever he his, please thank him deeply for me."
"Yes, thank you Takuto," Mitsuki said warmly to him.
"It was nothing…" he replied, slowly floating up.
"Takuto, where are you going?" Meroko asked, wondering if he was acting strangely due to what had happened earlier.
"I'm going to observe the sky. Don't worry, I'll be down in time to go home."
"Jeez, he has been too weird lately. I think he needs to take a day off with me and relax," Meroko joked, absolutely sure that he would never in a million years want to do that.
Mitsuki picked Meroko up and hugged her. "That's perfect! You two should do that tomorrow while I go with my grandma to the school event."
"Seriously?" Meroko asked, not sure that Mitsuki heard the joking tone in her voice.
Mitsuki nodded and set Meroko down. "He needs to spend time with his Shinigami partner, right?"
Meroko considered Takuto's own feelings versus what he was supposed to do. Most Shinigami partners did have some free time on their hands and hung out with each other. Meroko forgot about all of the fun things they did together before they met Mitsuki.
"Ooshige-san, doesn't it make sense?" Mitsuki asked her manager.
"I'm not an expert on Shinigami, but yes, it does."
"Fine, I'll do it," Meroko agreed at last. She sincerely hoped that she wouldn't be damaging her friendship with Takuto by suddenly deciding to hang out with him.
"Great! Thank you very much Meroko!" Mitsuki said joyfully, helping Ooshige-san clear the table.
Hold me tight, strong enough to break me
If we meet in a biting cold blizzard
I won't feel cold, and
I miss you every time I think of you
This scarf that I knit for you
I'm holding it alone tonight
Takuto leaned against a tree at the park by Mitsuki's house, letting the cold air give him a small chill. "It's unusually warm today, huh?"
Meroko whined as the snowman with angel wings she was making started to fall apart. "Ugh, it's not sticking!" she complained. "Why won't my snow angel stay together?!"
Takuto floated up next to her. "That's because it's too warm out, dummy. Besides, aren't snow angels on the ground?"
"Not this one, cause it's special," Meroko explained, struggling with the wings. A couple of middle schools girls walked by and pointed at Meroko's snow angel, whispering with awe.
"Uh, Meroko…" Takuto started, noticing the girls.
"Hmm?" Meroko used some of her Shinigami magic to give her some ice cubes for a halo.
"You know that it's daylight outside, right?"
"Yes, Takuto, I know what day it is outside," Meroko answered without even thinking about the question. She carefully placed the ice cubes on top of the snow angel's head.
Takuto smacked his forehead, and floated over to her. "No, Meroko, this is what I'm trying to tell you!" He turned her head to see the girls, who were now taking pictures of the snow angel with their cell phone cameras.
Meroko gave a silent scream. "Oh no! They just witnessed a snow angel being build all by itself!"
That's what I was thinking all along…Takuto thought. "Come on, let's go somewhere else, maybe the movies?" He began to hover a bit higher.
"B-but my snow angel!" Meroko whimpered, not wanting to leave her hard work behind.
"We can show Mitsuki later," Takuto suggested as he held his hand out to her.
Wait, didn't I do that earlier? Meroko remembered. "Uh, I guess…" she floated up and gently took Takuto's hand, surprised at how warm it was. The feeling made her shed a few tears, but she was able to convince Takuto that it was for the snow angel. It's nice to be with someone…
If there were an eternally falling snow
This feeling I have for you, could I hide it?
"You know what, today was actually kind of fun," Takuto said to Meroko as they returned home. The movie they watched was hilarious, but not as funny as Meroko's self-building snow angel, which they began to joke about after the movie was over.
"Yeah," Meroko agreed, sad that their day out was over. She looked over at Takuto, desperately hoping she wouldn't be ignored again.
"We'll have to do this again sometime, but maybe when it's springtime?" he asked, quickening his speed.
Meroko nodded wordlessly, knowing that he wanted to get home to Mitsuki. She sighed, disappointed at how jealous she was getting. This is sad. Nothing's going on…or is there?
"Meroko?" Takuto noticed her depressed attitude and slowed down. "You okay?" What is going on with her? He added in his mind
What if I'm right? No, I'm wrong about this… She kept her eyes, which were sparkling with reflected light from the streetlights on the sky. They were almost to Mitsuki's room, so she figured that she should say something in response. "Takuto, I…" Meroko found it hard to form her words.
He watched her struggle and realized that he had been in the same situation she was in. Being around someone you care about, who might be completely clueless about how you feel, wasn't an easy thing to do. There were so many things that couldn't be said, but wanted to get out.
"I don't know if I'm right!" she blurted out at last, wondering if their conversation would help or hurt her. They stopped outside of Mitsuki's room, and floated up higher so that she wouldn't see them.
"About…?" Takuto tried to get her to open up without her crying, but it was too late. Tears were already streaming down her face. At that moment, all he wanted to do was see Mitsuki's cheerful face, but at the same time, Meroko's tears had a hypnotizing tranquility.
"It's like saying all of the things I like to a mirror - they only bounce back to me. It's one-sided…and the pain is becoming too much," Meroko sobbed into her hands, and sat down on the roof. "It may seem sudden to you, but it aches holding everything in for so long."
Takuto took a seat next to Meroko, surprising her. "I get how you feel. I can't say that I love you back the same way, but I will notice it," He lifted her chin up and dried a few of her tears with his hand. She looks so beautiful… "But," he continued, "Without a doubt, you know that letting a heart free leads them back to you, right?"
"Yes…" Meroko finally found some courage to look up at him.
He acknowledged her gaze and unexpectedly pulled her into an awkward embrace. Even though it felt strange, Meroko relaxed and enjoyed the fact that he was trying to make her feel better.
Hold me tight if I think like this
I didn't want to know
What it was like to fall in love with someone
I love you; my chest fills up
I want to cry out to the winter sky
I want to see you now
Mitsuki coughed quietly as Takuto entered her room, using the door, which he rarely did. The cold breeze clashed with the warm air of her room, and she felt a chill, noticing his return.
"Welcome home, Takuto!" she greeted him happily. "Is Meroko with you?"
"She's asleep in the other room," he answered, sitting down and taking a deep breath.
"Did you do a lot together?" she asked, wondering if Takuto actually had fun.
"Yeah, it was nice…" he replied, going over the day again in his mind. Overall, it wasn't as bad as some other times they went out. "Meroko built this beautiful snow angel in the park; you should see it tomorrow."
"I will, and I think I'll bring a camera too!" Mitsuki giggled, glad that they day went well.
"Have you worked on memorizing your song?" Takuto pointed over to her desk, the final copy in an organized binder.
"Yep, I read it five times, said it four times, and sang it twice."
"That's good. That way, you'll be ready for your busy schedule coming up," he added. Suddenly, Takuto remembered what was odd about the song. There was a weird silence while he was considering whether or not he was going to bring it up. When he heard Mitsuki hum the melody to herself, he made his decision.
Mitsuki stopped humming and took out her binder before he could get a word in. "I always have trouble with this part," she stated, showing him a line in the music. "I'll just have to practice more…"
"Mitsuki," Takuto started, looking her right in the eye. "How could we both be thinking about the same song in the same day?"
She sat down, carefully thinking over the question. "If we were thinking about the same song, why didn't you just say so?" she asked back while still in deep thought.
"It doesn't make sense, but I think the words somehow fit the different reasons. Your words are for your Eichi-kun, mine are for…" he trailed off before finishing his point.
Mitsuki looked up, wondering whom his words were intended for. "For who Takuto?"