"An Unknown Love Letter "
Chapter 5
A gentle breeze flow through the air. A single leaf rides on it as if it was a surfer catching the waves.
Wear something nice tomorrow.
That was it. That was all the words that the message carried. Ryou glanced at it. The same four words repeated inside his head. For the past few days, Ryou has been thinking about that unknown letter that was sent to him. At first, he thought it was something that one of Ichigo's friends did. But then he realized that it couldn't be. His gut instinct told him that it wasn't true.
"You're still thinking about that note aren't you Ryou?" Keiichiro's voice entered the bare room that Ryou occupied.
"What if it was a joke?" Ryou questioned, that question haunted his mind. What if indeed it was a joke? He couldn't bear to have his heart destroy again, not since the death of his parents.
Rolling his eyes Keiichiro did something that he had never done before. A thud was heard across the room, Ryou looked at him. Shocked and surprise were evident on his face. "Get a grip will you? You just have to put more faith in yourself. Now go on and meet that mystery girl!"
"Hmph, the note didn't specify what time. Besides, how do you know that it's a girl in the first place?" Ryou asked, curious to see how did Keiichiro know what time to meet this person.
"Well I think Lettuce is planning to take you out somewhere so you might as well wear that tuxedo of yours. Who knows how long she's going to take you and it wouldn't seem right to make that mystery lover of yours wait right?" He smirked. Keiichiro knows what was going on, but had decided to torture Ryou. "In fact, I can hear her coming."
No sooner than those words left Keiichiro's mouth did a knock entered the room. "Ryou-san? May I enter?" Lettuce's voice was heard and Ryou was gaping at Keiichiro's proven hypothesis.
"Come in." Ryou's voice rang loud and clear as Lettuce slowly opens the door. There was a moment of silence between the two. To be truthful, Ryou did not know what happen afterwards because soon, he found his world to be in darkness.
It was at a cliff did Ryou found himself there, blindfolded and tied. After speaking with Lettuce did his world went black. Once he regains consciousness, he was shocked at Lettuce, the side she had never shown before.
When the blindfold was taken away from him did Ryou marvel at the sight before him. The sun was setting as it allowed itself to be swallowed by the sea. From that position, the rays that were given off contrasts with the sky, leaving streaks of mixed purple, pink, orange, and red.
"This is nice really. But what does this have to do with something that you wanted to tell me?" Ryou turned around, away from the breathtakingly scenery and faced a pair of sea colored eyes. Eyes that were staring at him. "And most importantly, why was I gagged, knocked out and tied up?"
Blood was rushing to her face. She could feel it. Lettuce looked down, fear and ashamed were all over her. It was all too sudden. Right after they began talking in his room, she knocked him out with Keiichiro's help. She knew what was happening. She wasn't known for being observant for nothing. "Ryou…I…"
Ryou raised an eyebrow. "I what?" A concern look plasters itself on his feature. "Is something bothering you Lettuce?"
Unable to hold it off any longer, she burst. "Ryou! I had liked you for a long time now!" Eyes widen in shocked, Lettuce covered her mouth; surprised at her outburst.
Hearing this, Ryou was not surprised at all. Though he must admit that hearing this from Lettuce herself was surprising. Continuing on, Lettuce turned to look at the sky. Its vibrant and lovely colors of life are slowly changing into darkness. He placed a hand on her shoulder; comforting her. "Lettuce…I…"
"Don't say anything Ryou. I already know who has your heart." Quietly said, Lettuce glanced at Ryou, who wore a shocked expression. 'Am I that obvious?'
Looking right at Lettuce, Ryou told her something that comes deep within his heart. "I hope someday, you'll find someone who will return your feelings. And I hope that someday comes to you soon."
Lettuce grinned. She took out an envelope from her pocket and handed it to Ryou, who took it cautiously. "What's this?"
"It's to show you where to go for someone who is waiting for you right now as we speak." Lettuce's eyes glinted with a mysterious shine that surrounds it. "If you excuse me, I have to go. Good luck Ryou."
Ryou waved, though speechless at the envelope in front of him. His eyes scanning the message before him. He pocketed the note and left the area. Unknown to him, the supposed person who was supposed to have left was still in the area. Another person showed up beside her.
"How did it go Lettuce?"
Lettuce turned around and glanced at him with sorrowful eyes. "It went fine. He received the message." Her eyes downcast and it was evident that there was sadness in her voice.
Keiichiro rubbed her shoulders. "You should be proud that you are moving on. It may by slow, but it's a progress than before. Don't worry, you'll find someone someday."
"Just like Ryou."
Confused, a single word left Keiichiro's mouth. "What?"
Lettuce quickly looked at Keiichiro, she could see the confusion that lies within his eyes. "Oh, what I meant was that Ryou said the same thing to me." After pausing for a while. She added on. "I'm also happy that Ryou finds someone who returns his feelings. I…all the time that I spent with him and known him, I never see him react that way toward Ichigo."
"Same here. I never see him acted that way toward anyone in particular." Keiichiro added his own two cents after giving a considerable amount of thought.
A blanket of silence curtained those two. Unable to take the silence any longer, Keiichiro voiced out. "Was this very hard for you?"
Lettuce bit her lip. After a couple of seconds, she answered Keiichiro's question. "Yes. Yes it was. But…I have to move on. Ichigo may not see it, but whenever she's around, his eyes…there's life inside of them. Without her, his eyes are full of emotionless life. But once she appears, life sparks in those eyes of his. That's when I knew, that he could never feel the same way as I feel for him. Now all I want is for their happiness. Both of them have been very good to me and now I hope they're good for each other."
"Well thought Lettuce. Well thought." Keiichiro put an arm around her. Lettuce looked up in surprised. "Come on, let's head to the café." Lettuce smiled and allowed him to lead her.
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Ryou roamed far and wide for the place. He came to the last place in the area. There, he could see the beauty of it. It was nighttime by the time Ryou arrived at the place.
With the moonlight shining down, a nice calm pond glittered due to the moonlight and as time passed, more fireflies scattered around the pond; giving an illusion of tiny lights floating on top of the sparkling water. A few lily pads were found lying on top of the pond and there were vines of rare flowers hanging from tree to tree as the forest surrounds the pond.
Very few people knew about the pond and Ryou wondered who knew about it. A rustle appeared behind him. He froze.
Ichigo was nervous. In fact, she hadn't wanted to come in the first place. But Zaruko insisted saying how pointless it would be to have the admirer ditched at the last moment when the love of her life waits for her arrival. Nonetheless, Ichigo was afraid. Afraid of the laughter and mockery that usually comes from Ryou. 'Come on. If you could face mutated animals and monsters than you can face this.' She took a step forward; accidentally stepping on a branch. Ryou turned around. Teal met chocolate. "Ichigo?"
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Ryou turned around once he heard a crack. He saw Ichigo standing there looking her best. "Ichigo?" He could not believed his eyes. He had not seen Ichigo like that since that one time at the ball that the Café was holding.
Ichigo grinned nervously. "Hey."
"I...what…why are you here?" Ryou questioned. Part of him hoped this was true and the other party hoped it was not a prank. He frowned. "This better not be a prank Ichigo. I am not up for your childish games."
Ichigo scowled. 'Some romantic date this is going to be.' "For once, just shut up Ryou."
Ryou pursed his lips. 'Who does she think she is? Ms. Queen of Diva?' But for once, he was going to listen to her and do what she said.
Ichigo was surprised when he did what she told him to do. 'Ok, here's your chance.' "Ryou…I know you have feelings for me. And…here's my answer."
'What! How did she know?' Ryou was shocked that Ichigo knew. He always had an impression that she was kind of dense about this kind of stuff.
Looking at his expression, Ichigo gave him the poem that she had found; thinking this might solved his unspoken question of how she knew.
Ryou grabbed the poem. From the moment it was shown to him, he knew already that it was the poem he had wrote. Anger coursed through him, not thinking about the consequences he allowed himself to act how he usually acted toward Ichigo. "What? I can't believe you entered my room like that! I also can't believe that you stole something that belong to me!" Ryou yelled at her.
Tears started to form. Wiping them off, Ichigo said to him. "I'm sorry. I understand if you don't like me anymore." Sniffling, Ichigo turned around and ran away from Ryou.
Rapidly realizing what just happen, Ryou felt that he wanted to punch himself for his stupidity. 'Some prodigy you are.' "What have I done?" He murmured to himself. Looking in front of him, he could see Ichigo running further and further away from him. Urging his feet to move forward, he started to chase after her.
Ichigo tore everything that was in her path. She could not believe how she made a fool of herself. Everything that she had worked so hard for; vanished in mere moments ever since Ichigo had encountered the poem. 'Why why did it went downhill?' Not watching where she was going, Ichigo did the classic moment. She tripped over a branch that was sticking out of the ground. In slow motion, she could feel her body plunging forward. Ichigo closed her eyes and placed her arms in front of her face, waiting for the impact. After a minute or two, Ichigo opened her eyes. There in front of her, was the ground itself. She noticed that she was mere centimeters away from hitting the ground. She did not bother to look behind her. Like in all novels, the dashing prince suddenly saved the falling heroine. She knew in her heart who saved her. But the fear that resides within her took control. A couple of tears escaped from her. "What do you want now Shirogane? Make a mockery of me?"
Hearing those words, Ryou could not helped but frowned upon them. He pulled her up and held her close. "No, it isn't what I want."
"Then what is it that you want? Seeing me fall? Well sorry but you prevented that from happening so you lost your chance."
Ryou wiped a tear away from Ichigo's face. "What I want is you."
Hearing those words, Ichigo glomped Ryou. She chuckled. "It only took a letter to make all of this happen."
"An unknown letter." Ryou added as he held to her close. Under the starry moonlight, two people who are stubborn as a bull realized to set their stubbornness and pride away and wrote their feelings on a piece of paper.
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Sakura Moon:
Well I'm finally done! Sorry it has taken me awhile and somehow I think the ending could be better. But since I timed myself to finish it before next year, here it is. Thanks to everyone who read this story and believed in this pairing! Until next time!