(Characters © ZUN)
An Eternity With You
Part Five
"Would you like some more tea?"
Mokou picks quietly at her dinner.
"…Mokou?"
The white-haired girl suddenly snaps out of her thoughts, looking up at Keine.
"Hah?" she asks, blinking in confusion. "Sorry, what?"
"Would you like some more tea?" Keine repeats, gesturing towards Mokou's empty cup with one hand.
"Oh… yes, please," the immortal girl nods, siding her cup over to the were-hakutaku. "Thank you…"
Keine notices how the white-haired human looks back down at her meal, a pensive look on her face.
"What's on your mind, Mokou?" the history teacher asks, pouring some more tea. "You've been quieter than usual tonight."
Mokou bites her lip, absentmindedly rubbing her right arm.
It still hurts from a few days ago, but she doesn't need the sling anymore.
"Nothing much," she mutters, taking her now-full cup back from the were-hakutaku. "Nothing important, at any rate."
"That's a lie, and we both know it," Keine frowns, pushing her bowl of udon noodles further away instead of resuming her meal. "You haven't been yourself for a while now, Mokou. Will you tell me what's bothering you?"
Internally, the immortal girl winces.
So she's noticed…
"Well, it — I just, you know…"
She pauses, taking a deep breath.
"I just… wanted to say that… that…"
"If you wait… by the time you do tell them… it may be too late…"
Even with Eirin's words still ringing in her head from the other day, Mokou finds her voice growing softer and softer the more she tries to confess.
"…I just… never mind," the white-haired girl finally shakes her head, her face turning a dark shade of red as she averts her gaze. "F-Forget it… it's not important. Just forget it…"
She winces externally when she hears Keine lightly slam her hand down on the table.
"No, I won't 'just forget it,'" the silver-haired woman frowns, looking directly at Mokou. "Whatever it is, it clearly is important. You've been acting… I don't know, like you're trying to hide something. But it's still eating you up inside."
"Keine, just…"
"Mokou, just tell me what it is already!"
"No, Keine, just — I don't want to discuss it right now, alright?" Mokou snaps, tightly gripping the dark red fabric of her pants as she finally looks Keine in the eye again. "Can we just drop it for now?"
"No! Mokou, you can't keep bottling whatever it is inside of you!" the were-hakutaku barks, scowling.
"Well, why not? It's worked for me in the past!"
"Mokou—"
"No! Keine, I'm not going to have this discussion now—"
"No — wait. Look at me."
"Dammit, I'm not—"
"No, it's — Mokou, you're crying…"
The white-haired girl pauses, momentarily touching her face.
She can feel the tears clinging to her hand.
"Mokou, please. Just tell me what's wrong," Keine pleads, moving from her side of the table over to Mokou. "Please…"
"N—No, I don't…" Mokou stammers, her frustration quickly dissipating as she starts trembling. "I can't—"
She feels Keine lay a gentle hand on her arm.
Abruptly, she stands up, surprising both herself and the were-hakutaku.
"I — I need to be alone," she stutters, stumbling towards the door. "I — just need to… be alone…!"
"Mokou—"
"K-Keine, don't — just leave me alone, okay? J-Just — don't follow me. Just… don't…"
Unable to force herself to keep talking, Mokou dashes out of the small house, tears still streaming down her face.
She doesn't hear Keine yelling for her to stop.
(Aaah, now things are starting to get good.
The emotions were a bit harder to get down this time…
Please review!)