Trickle

Ultra Maniac

By Whimsical Gentleman

A/N – Yo guys! What's up? I haven't updated anymore this summer. Sorry guys. Darn, I just have too many activities to do than write stories locked up inside my room:). Haha.i hope you forgive me. Anyway, on with the story! This chapter will take a break with all the Ayu-Kaji thingie going on. And will narrate about Nina and Tsujiai. Hehehe. Hope you like it

Chapter VIII

Stupid

It's funny. The time lapsed in ease as Tsujiai and I went down and found the music shop and check up Tsujiai's amplifier. I could tell he looked mildly annoyed ay Ayu for spontaneously leaving us alone. And who could blame her for that? It's Aira that met her that instance. That big-time agency whose president suddenly offered Ayu a big job at the day her mom died.

I caught Tsujiai having an obvious side glance upon me again, and I tried my best not to notice it. We went in the shop, as I observantly read the façade lit in cheap green neon lights that got my eyes irritated for a sec, 'JB Music'. It was overcrowded with guitars of all kinds, gargantuan drum sets, synthesizers hung on the walls like museum paintings, and amplifiers stacked up in a corner. It was so much full of stuff, and it seemed like the staff was having a great deal of trouble fixing the whole shop.

"Nina, it's kinda crowded inside? You don't have to go around with me if you want," Tsujiai smiled gently and courteous, even gentlemanly

I shook my head with a denying hand, "Nah, I'll go with you. If Ayu was here she could have killed you."

He laughed a bit, "And why is that?"

"She treats me like a kid," I sighed, "She doesn't like it if I'm not accompanied by someone close at the mall." I heard him snort, "Hey, rude!" Tsujiai just laughed.

The bastard…

"It's like your dumb or something. It's like you haven't learned anything in the human world,"

"I had learned something!" I defended almost reflexively, "It's just that Ayu stopped trusting me after being fooled by fuckers who took advantage of poor, clueless witches on the streets at night,"

"Oh, they never told me that." And then he started laughing again like some weirdo. I pouted at him, giving him a faint, teased slap on his cheek,

"C'mon, at least give me some sympathy."

But I knew there wasn't a word called sympathy or any relative synonym in Tsujiai's vocabulary, and sighed in conclusion. The whole conversation was a funny mess… "—just kidding, alright?" His voice trailed, and I noticed how charming it really was— that is — if he's in the mood to talk… He smiled at that, lifting his camp carefully at the table situated near the cashier's station which was cramped up at the center of the much disheveled music shop.

A tall salesman and technician approached Tsujiai with a smile. That kind of smile that was just practiced and untrue… The forced curve on his lips that shouted 'I'm smiling, tell me what's the problem, then leave me alone so I can fix whatever it is'. "Can I help you sir?" His smile was wanly and forcefully executed.

Tsujiai patted his amp softly like what he would do to his really annoying cat (So annoying I actually forgot the name) I glared at his hand caressing the amplifier. I never liked how Tsujiai does that… and suddenly… I blushed. I suddenly thought what if he was caressing me the same way. Would I still dislike it? "Can you get my darling fixed? I triedit out just the morning ago with my bass and the feedback was abysmal."

Darling? I mentally laughed and was quite skeptic with what he just addressed to his amplifier. Who would call something… Darling?

The tall man nodded, "Okay, do you mind if I check it up first at my room?" Tsujiai told him yes, "Very well, that would take about fifteen to thirty minutes." He informed us both with another smile, this time, telling us to scram and get lost. He lifted the amplifier with one hand without any obvious effort and went away.

"I guess it'd be uncomfortable waiting around here?" Tsujiai asked me.

That was one stupid question. Why would anyone wait in a cramped up shop like this one?

"Say, wanna walk around?" he finally suggested, and I nodded,

"Yup, we might even find Ayu too." We exited the shop. And it was kind of comic when I saw Tsujiai was enjoying himself… With what, I do not know. But it came to me maybe just walking with me was already pleasant for him. I grew crimson just working on the idea. I guess there was simply no way… I shook the idea off my head and started my mouth off again,

"Sooo, how was the practice?" I asked him, remembering from minutes ago they did have rehearsals at Kaji's place, "Even though you amplifier wasn't operating properly."

He gave me a high brow and a shrug paired up together wonderfully like a hot couple dancing with Latino music, "It went bad. We ended up not practicing any of our songs and went here instead… so I guess it's wrong to call it practice, Nina." He laughed, "It's been a series of times that Kaji got heated up with the bad. God, sometimes he gets pissed at us, the music, himself, or nothing at all. It's like he gets pissed at us for the silliest of reasons." His face was thoughtful for a second, and then he resumed talking again, "I remember there was one time Jiro was smoking at his garden— well, his parents were out anyway— the ash fell on the ground and Kaji burst mad like a cranky old geezer. It's almost as if Jiro committed murder or something."

"Yeah? How come he's different when Ayu and I are around?"

"Of course he's different when you girls are around." He said almost without a second passing by, like stating the obvious. Our eyes caught an ice cream stall and we lined up, along with a middle aged blonde woman in a crimson blazer talking on her cell phone while waiting for her order. There was the loud ramble of band music coming from the commotion where Ayu lost herself in… that crazy Aira fair, the mixture of claps and loud cameras blending in.

Thinking back to what Tsujiai told me, I really didn't understand what he meant by what he said. "Bleh. It's a guy thing anyway." Tsujiai dismissed simply and finally ordered as soon as the Blazer Blonde walked away with strawberry sundae grasped on her hands. Tsujiai got both of us two 'supahsize' honey-vanilla ice cream in sugar cones. He told me he'd treat me just before he talked to the ice cream lady and ordered, and he really did, much to my badly-handled guilt since I saw his malnourished wallet.

"Don't you have to pay for the dude checkin' up your amp or something?" I asked, which was already futile since by the time I asked him that he had already paid for the ice cream,

"Oh. No, the manager's a friend of Komai, so sometimes we get free service, cool huh? Since we go there a lot, most employees know us." He grinned at me boyishly, and we sat down on a green bench opposite a magazine stand just meters away from the ice cream stall. "And by the way, my amp has a name you know, it's Sheila."

He said his amplifier's name so lovingly there was a funny feeling inside of me that wished he called me Sheila just the same.

Catching myself thinking things like that, I shoved the idea off my brain, red again, like boiled ham. And then he looked at me, with the ice cream in his mouth. "Hey," he said, trying the best to hide that redness splashed on my face even though it was impossible to do so. "I didn't know you go red when you eat something cold, Nina."

It isn't the vanilla ice cream, stupid idiot.

I only nodded though, yeah, that was some reasonable excuse I guess… other than you infatuating on someone. I sucked harder on my ice cream then, Infatuation? I questioned myself. He did look cute most of the time. Cute in a weird way. In his trademark indifference or his shallow thinking, I find myself in curiosity what really goes around that eccentric mind Tsujiai has. And then I said to myself, maybe his peculiarity fascinates me so much? That was more of a question than a statement. "Just mind your ice cream, Hiroki."

Abruptly, he looked at me in a fashion as if he just witnessed a phenomenal magic trick. Hiroki? You just called me Hiroki? Oh god, tell me I heard you right or I might just strangle you any second now. Of all circumstances why do you have to call me Hiroki while eating ice cream... You couldn't pick a better time, babe. His eyes seemed to say, but in its deception, they were calm and cold.

I decided not to say anything. Rather, he smiled at me, and it seemed so strange, as he smiled with a certain slyness as if it had a secret meaning to it, or maybe even mischief. I guess it was awkward enough to count on the silence between us that moment… have hope the silence comforted the sudden tension building up. The green bench we were sitting on could shake, actually.

And then a brunette I knew so well passed by, she had an athlete's body, with the disposition you knew immediately that person was sporty. You could already buy that impression she's one cool and confident gal, there was just this one thing that made you hesitate: she looked disoriented, like when someone didn't know where to go. It was Ayu. She looked so lost, a metaphor for her would be a desert cactus on an ocean bed. However, as much as I could laugh out loud, I kind of thanked her for suddenly appearing so unexpectedly. She just saved Tsujiai and me from the biting awkwardness swimming around both of us. I side-glanced at Tsujiai; he doesn't seem to notice Ayu who was just standing in front of us looking confused like a half-conscious somnambulist.

I stood up, and started for my best friend, "Hey, where are you going, Nina?" He then brushed his hand against mine promptly, a bit too quick and strangely a firm touch you could replace brushing my hand for pulling my hand. And there was this sickly warm, amiable feeling that began to carry into me. I breathed for a moment, trying to control the circulatory works of my body; my heart was pumping like fuck. And yes, we ended up in one of those ever-so-classical poses that never fail to ring the alarm. Well, one thing was that I was sitting on his lap; the second thing was that his ice cream got splattered on his shirt. I didn't scream or freak out or anything, but the action itself was rather loud. Everyone looked at us; some people were frowning, but most were giggling with their hands covering their mouths.

Both of us blushed at the same time. I thanked that ice cream landed on his shirt, served him right. I sighed, as Ayu shuffled towards us. We didn't even call each other's names. Sheesh. I stood up immediately from Tsujiai's lap, clumsily smiling at that darn Ayu, "Oh… hey! You sure showed up unexpectedly." I said,

Tsujiai's voice was rueful and partly blaming, "Nina, at least you could have helped me first wiping the mess—"

"—you've created." I continued, in this voice I imagined what a mom would be using. I heard him sigh out loud, and he wiped himself with his kerchief,

Ayu just smirked, the scheming type I always thought was boldly suspicious, "And since when did Nina finished Tsujiai's sentences? Not to mention why was Nina on your lap, big guy." Ayu said,

"Oh just shut up," Instantly, Tsujiai and I said in a mumbled tone; I knew both our faces were already ketchup red. Ayu would not simply remove that disturbing, impish grin stapled on her face, "Can we just talk about something else right now?" I asked her impatiently, and I knew Tsujiai agreed with me.

And then Tsujiai finally stood up, the tallest among the three of us, "Can we just go back to the music store have an update on Sheila?" He heaved a sigh, impatient and mild; Can you girls just give a fuck on my ice-cream smeared shirt? He silently said to both of us,

Ayu pinched me on the back of my arm, "C'mon, just pamper the dude, Nina." She whispered with best vixen imitation she could copy, "It's just so unfair; Yuta gets all your attention. And what does Tsujiai get, some lousy conversation, he had to tug you down on his lap just to flirt with you, instead, he gets ice cream on his shirt." Tsujiai walked faster than us both, of course Ayu's voice (she kept it absurdly low and gossipy) was only intended for poor guilty me.

"Okay! Fine! Well, he was the one who pulled me towards him in the first place."

"Just do what you're supposed to do." She dismissed me just like that, "It's about time he gets into picture."

"And what, allow Yuta and Tsujiai to fight over something as silly as a girl— well, to be exact, me?"

And then Ayu had her impish grin there again, "Won't you quit the prissy act? Now you pamper him, I'll leave you guys alone."

It was her subtle victory, I just nodded in my loss, "Where are you going then?" What the hell, she was always the one who was always worried about me in a public place, and here she is, suddenly popping out of nowhere and runs away like she just doesn't care, leaves me alone.

"Tell him I had to go to C.R. or something. What music store did you guys leave that amp of his?"

"JB Music." I told her, "It's—"

"Yes, yes, I know that place. Kaji usually visits there a lot of times. Anyway, good luck. And I'll tell you something weird later." It came out as something like a gust of wind; it could be considered just one whole sentence. All the things she just blabbered about.

"Err— wait…!" And then she just ran off, maybe something had happened before we've met her walking lost and stupid. I wonder what was wrong with her for a minute. And then I guess there was always something wrong with her. I realized that with a sweat drop.

I decided to turn about, at Tsujiai's direction, and he was already at a long distance away from me. Maybe he didn't turn back at us, stupid and pretty bitches arguing in the middle of a walkway (probably because he didn't want to get into the petty trouble we usually cause) Oh come on, he gets pissed at me because I didn't take notice of the ice cream on his polo shirt? How irrational could he get?

"Hey, can you slow down? You could sprint with that walk, Tsujiai." Hiroki… The name popped out in my head forcefully.Surprisingly, he did slow down— well, stop would be a better verb for it. He looked at me then and smiled glumly. The ice cream on his shirt was already dry. Obviously I couldn't clean that off…

"Where's Ayu?" he asked me,

"She loves leaving us alone, right?" I smiled back, exerting effort not to let him think there was hidden meaning in what I've told him. He shrugged, "Well, anyway, she told me she had to go the C.R." (My god, of all the lamest excuses)"…and she'd meet us back at JB's."

"She knows where that is?" He told me, puzzled. Ayu didn't go to music stores when she was in a mall, I think everybody understood that, "Oh yeah, Kaji always goes there, maybe Ayu just tags along or something."

"That's what Ayu said too." I said to him, another thought came to mind. It probably led me to inferring that Ayu and Kaji always went there together. I'm sure maybe Tsujiai was thinking of that too, and here we are, doing the same thing Ayu and Kaji does more or less when they're together and they happen to pass by the mall.

Well— not like I was in heaven or in torture being with Tsujiai for the time being. But it sure was something, that mere walk to the music store, it could be equally compared to a big event like Christmas. And what could I say, in its randomness it felt great somehow walking with Tsujiai… Hiroki… in its anonymity it felt great and significant like Christmas.

We stepped up on the moving escalator, strangely, a little too slow, "Nina?" he called my name. It sounded as if there was some question after it,

"Hmm?"

I caught his hand in a fist, like he was to punch something, "No— it's nothing—"

And of course he's just lying.

"…I just wanna thank you." He finally said it,

Thank me? Heck, he was the one who had to pay for my ice cream. I could tell from his look I had the look that looked like I didn't believe what he just said, "For heaven's sake, thank me for what?" I asked him skeptically, What? For spending time with you?

"For being here," he replied, straightforwardly, his stare that excavated every inch of my face made me consider it was even daring and brave,

Oh yes, what a classic, so classic even Magic Kingdom dudes tell girls that; with those silly mushy eyes and the hilariously corny deep voice. "But we've always spend time together right?"

"But I insist I thank you," he grinned at me. I reached the point I knew Tsujiai's thanks were different. Yuta's weren't as nice, truth be told.

"And you don't have to be so formal, please."

"But you do accept it, right?"

I waved a hand at him, and sighed resigned, "Fine, fine… all for a thank you… How— how—"

"Gentlemanly, haha." His tongue was out, taunting.

Idiot. He called himself gentlemanly? He's a jerk, that's what he is…

A gentlemanly jerk…

I decided not to say anything. He looked he was enjoying his time, and frankly, if I have to be honest with my own self, I was enjoying too. And I was quite amazed that I just noticed it now.

Stupid, isn't it.