Quick update in celebration of the completion of my Maths and Commerce exam! Next up is History tomorrow :) This is a shorter chapter but I hope that doesn't make it any less enjoyable XD Acknowlegdment goes to Sin Oan for the word of the chapter :D
Love Letters
D is for DEVOTION
If there is one thing even worse than having Shinku within range of a cat, it must be this. Truly, it is remarkable how her love for Kunkun seems to exceed everything else. Jun thinks it must be a death sentence for a few certain dolls when Shinku happens upon her favourite dog detective, armless and with the stuffing coming out, as it lies in its sorry state on top of Jun's bed.
"HINAICHIGO! SUISEISEKI!" The blonde rounds up on her two sisters, who had been fighting over the dog detective minutes before, resulting in the ripping of his limb. Her cheeks are flushed and her eyes are flashing with an anger of magnitude unseen by even Suigintou. It is probably the closest thing to berserk Jun has ever seen Shinku been, as she pursues her sisters around the room, brandishing her cane like a deadly weapon.
"Oh, calm down, Shinku! It's just a stuffed dog!" Suiseiseki yells, scaling Jun's bed to seek protection behind Souseiseki, leaving the unfortunate Hinaichigo to suffer Shinku's wrath.
"How can you say that, much less even think it? JUN!" Shinku swivels around to snap at her medium, sitting at his computer. "Honestly, how useless can you get? How could you allow such a thing to happen? Are you really so thick-headed that you can't even ensure that your master's property remains undamaged? I do not believe I have ever had such a worthless excuse of a human being for a medium..."
Jun winces at this verbal attack. He has noticed that Shinku is infinitely harsher and nastier when she is riled up, and at times, can be almost sarcastically cutting. Unfortunately, at times like these, it is usually he who is exposed to the full impact of her words. Not even Hinaichigo is yelled at as much as he is.
"Fix it!" Shinku snarls – something which she rarely does – as she thrusts the torn Kunkun into Jun's hands. She is really mad this time...
He almost bites back with a retort, but seeing the dark, stormy look on her face, he deems it better to just bear it just this once. Sticking her nose in the air, Shinku leaves the room in a huff behind a terrified Hinaichigo, who has run off for her dear life. The door slams loudly after her.
"Geez, she's getting more and more like a cranky old lady every day, desu," says Suiseiseki, emerging from her hiding place behind Souseiseki.
"That's just because you guys have been annoying her more lately. Can't you find better things to do than trying to get Hinaichigo in trouble with Shinku?" sighs Jun. Suiseiseki's latest hobby has not only been damaging for Hina, but has also been getting on Shinku's nerves. The blonde doll normally had a relatively long fuse, but where it concerned her darling Kunkun she could get upset even easier than Suiseiseki.
Jun turns back to his careful stitching, brows furrowing in concentration as he tries to put Kunkun back together as seamlessly as possible.
"Why do you do it?"
"Eh?" Jun looked up to see Souseiseki staring curiously at him. "What do I do?"
"Put up with Shinku like that. I wouldn't even think of speaking to Master like that. And yet, she does it all the time to you. She puts you down, insults you, orders you around like a slave all the time...I don't pretend to be an expert on human behaviour, but frankly speaking, if it were anyone else, I doubt they would be so tolerant."
"Shinku can't help it. It's just how she is. Believe me, though, I've had plenty of times when I've wanted to just lock Shinku in her case and never let her out." He mutters admittedly, shrugging and scowling.
"But you'd never actually do that. I have met other humans who would." Souseiseki's eyes bore into Jun's as if trying to delve into his mind and read his deepest thoughts.
"Ha! Isn't it obvious? It's because up there in that skull of his is nothing but fluff and empty space!" Suiseiseki scoffs, folding her arms and sticking her nose in the air. She lets out a yelp as a spool of thread goes flying across the room from Jun's hand and hits her on the back of the head.
"Are you calling me stupid?"
"You are something of a fool. You have pledged yourself to someone who shows more love for a stuffed puppet dog than you," Souseiseki points out. It is true too, of course, that Shinku seems to value Kunkun more than she does Jun.
"Ha! It's because he's an idiot chibi. A masochistic, idiot chibi, desu!" Suiseiseki declares viciously, rubbing the back of her head.
"M-masochistic? Where the hell did that come from?"
"Admit it! It's the only reason – you enjoy it when Shinku slaps you at every opportunity she gets, you like hearing her abuse you...masochist!"
"STOP GETTING WEIRD IDEAS, YOU TWISTED DOLL!"
"Gyyaa, the chibi got violent!" Suiseiseki lifts her skirts up and runs out of the room doing a very good imitation of the classic damsel in distress but sporting a huge evil grin. Jun sighs, rubbing his temple and turning back to his work, but he finds he just can't concentrate.
Instead, he finds himself mulling over Souseiseki's words. He supposes it is quite true; whenever Shinku does have one of those rare moments of frustration she just can't keep in, he is the one she takes it out on. Whenever she has one of those inexplicable mood swings, it is he who suffers the brunt of her stinging words, acerbic tongue and biting comments.
If it was anyone else...
But it isn't.
It's him.
He's seen her angry, seen her sad, seen her tears, and he's seen her broken. But he is also one who has laid eyes on her when she is happy; his eyes have watched her compassion, her kindness, and her smile.
He has heard her crying but he has also heard her laughter.
He has felt her coldness but he knows there is even more warmth in her, if you know where to look.
He has been slapped many times by her, but it is the same hand with which she has caressed him tenderly, the same hand he has held many times within his own.
She shoots him down with her icy tone and sharp reprimands, but her voice is the one that speaks so gently to him, the only thing he wants to hear when all he wants to do is shut the rest of the world out.
It is the same way she has pulled him out of his deepest despair and lifted him to highest peak of joy.
He has seen the worst of her, and he has seen the best of her.
Of course, Jun realises. It is but a simple matter of what is in his eyes and what is in others'. He turns abruptly to face Souseiseki, standing in the doorway, a ponderous look upon her face.
"Souseiseki, do you know?"
The doll stares at him questioningly, surprise evident in her heterochromatic eyes.
"Some people only look at the thorns and are oblivious to the rose. They'll never know what they missed." Jun pauses, lowering his head as he continues stitching, the faintest of smiles flicking across his lips.
"But some people see the rose, and find that it's worth getting hurt by the thorns. They forget the thorns. They accept it as part of the rose's dangerous beauty."
A hushed silence descends upon the room as Souseiseki stares at her sister's medium, eyes widened with astonishment. She continues to gaze at him for some time, until he finally sits up, inspects his sewing, and gives a satisfied nod. The door swings open to reveal the stoic fifth doll.
"Look, Shinku, I fixed Kunkun." He almost expects her to scold him harshly again, but she merely tilts her head sideways, scrutinising his handiwork, and gathers the dog puppet in her arms from him.
"Hmph, I suppose I can show my appreciation once in a while. Thank you, Jun."
Souseiseki watches as Jun's face lights up like the best thing in his life has happened, and wonders. No one will ever quite understand, she muses.
Because no one truly loves Shinku, not the way Jun does.
Outside alone with her sister in the hallway, Souseiseki tugs on the blonde's sleeve.
"What is it, Souseiseki?"
"You're medium is an idiot."
Shinku stops for a good few moments, studying the Gardener with her a cool, considering gaze. To Souseiseki's surprise, she shakes her head.
"He is not a fool." The corners of her lips twist upwards, and her eyes soften. "I do not believe that is the appropriate word you are looking for."
No, on the contrary, Jun knows a lot more than anyone else.
After all, a doll can learn much from standing silently outside and just listening. One thing he doesn't need to know is how she has not left the hallway all this time.
"Seeing the rose, indeed," she murmurs to herself, a wave of affection rolling over her chest. No, Jun is far from an idiot. He's merely found something that discards reason and defies logic.
That word.
She believes it is called devotion.
Hope you enjoyed that :) Thanks for reading~! Next up is E-E-E...
