Out of Nowhere
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Author's Notes: All characters are definitely out of their original personalities, so don't sue me for the way I portrayed them to be. Peace guys! And one more thing, beware of my long notes at the end. I have no intention to annoy anyone with my lengthy notes so pardon me in advance. Sorry for the very late update. ^^
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Chapter 2: Caught Red-Handed?
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The sun is setting down…
A black-like blanket spreads fast throughout the sky like a contagious disease…
It's night time.
And only the moon and stars illuminates everything around…
The beautiful moon that was hidden the other night is now fully visible.
Millions of stars are sprinkled all over the wide sky.
And a couple of shadows can be seen loitering around…
Sneaking into a white mansion in the middle of the night…
...
A large mahogany door creaked open…
And an azure-haired lad entered, followed by a limping brunette, and a black-grayish haired man…
Two of them are tiptoeing carefully while helping the limping one in making their way to the grand white staircase in the middle. Throughout all this time, they are trying so hard not to make any noise…
They were quite successful.
Until…
"Tsktsktsk…" two synchronized voices uttered.
The three froze on their tracks. Their feet haven't even touch the stairs, and now what…?
They've been discovered!
'Oh no! Who could that be?' the blueberry-head thought to himself.
'We're doomed! Can this day be more depressing?' the brunette thought, while trying so hard not to wobble or else he'll end up far worse than his current situation.
The black-grayish haired man bowed his head in shame. 'Argh! Brace yourself for an early retirement…' He sighed.
'Oh! Lady Luck, what have we done to deserve this…' the three groaned in frustration.
They slowly turn their heads to where the sounds are coming from.
"Tsktsktsk…"
"Where have you been, young men… and you too, Mr. 'Head Butler'…"
Right there on the top of the staircase, two people are watching them. One is having her arms crossed in a demanding manner while tapping her shoe simultaneously on the flooring and the other one is leaning languidly on the banister of the stairs. Both are looking at them with a 'you-have-some-explaining-to-do' look.
Athrun, upon recognizing the two, blurted out, "Mother…? Father…?" He laughed uneasily. "It's late… We'll explain tomorrow… We're going to our rooms now… good night…" He smiled gingerly towards his parents and then nods his head to Kisaka as a way of saying, "See you tomorrow, sir. Good luck!"
Kisaka nods back, as if answering him, 'Thanks! I needed that, although I doubt you'll still see me here tomorrow…'
"Come on, Kira, let's go!" Athrun whispered, placing one of his friend's arms over his shoulder to help him walk.
But his parents intercede…
"Not so fast young men… Stay there." Lenore Zala said, smiling sweetly, pointing at the couch on the lounge area, found at the right side of the grand staircase.
The couple began descending down the flight of stairs…
Patrick Zala, upon noticing that the Head Butler remained standing on the foot of the stairs with his head bowed, said, "You too, Mr. Kisaka… Stay with them. We'll all have a talk..."
Lenore gave her husband a smile and then continued going down the stairs, her attention brought back to the 'red-handed' guys.
...
The long wait (pertaining to the couples' time-consuming manner of descending the stairs) is a moment of agony for the three. They have no idea what will happen to them after this…
Athrun, whether he'll be grounded or not for going out without informing anyone in the household…
Kisaka, whether he'll be fired or not in being such a scatterbrained fool for forgetting to inform the head maid about the ruckus earlier that morning…
And Kira, whether he'll be kicked out of the mansion or not for doing a poor job as Athrun's personal butler…
He can't help but be depress.
But on a second thought…
Going away seemed nice. The idea of it oddly brought a genuine smile to his face. At least, unlike Kisaka, he'll be bringing along with him some mementos that will remind him of his stay over the Zalas.
A fruitful stay that granted him lots of charming memories ranging from… Constant hospital trips, to the extent that his records had been placed separately because his files alone can occupy a whole rack… Bruises all over his body… Black eye, sometimes on both, which made him looked like a raccoon… Crutches that took him for awhile before he mastered using it… And a bloody nose earned from a strong punch straight to his face…
Yeah! Those mind blowing memories that almost took his breath away (literally) a dozen of times…
He'll be going away, alright!
With a genuine smile etched on his face, showing how deeply grateful he is that finally he'll be away from his brutal best friend…
...
The thought of it sounds appealing!
But unfortunately, Kira has a peculiar way of thinking…
He'd rather be beaten to a pulp than be away from his best friend. Heck! He'll even take a bullet that is supposedly for Athrun just to save him. It's without a doubt that he'll be missing those strong punches if he goes away…
...
Upon reaching the end of the stairs and making their way to the lounge area, Patrick right away motioned for them to take their seats.
And when they finally settled their butts on the couch, they didn't waste time and bombarded the poor guys with questions…
"Where have you been? You didn't even notify us that you were going somewhere! We've been worried sick looking for your whereabouts? We thought you fled from us since you hated the 'arrange marriage' that we're insisting to you… But we disregard that fact since, there's no way you'll runaway with 'Mr. Kisaka' tagging along. Of course, Kira's presence is understandable because he's your best friend but Mr. Kisaka's? It's too absurd to think that you'll need a butler or any other possible reason why you'll bring him along–" Mrs. Zala ranted on, her eyes focused only on her son.
If only her husband didn't intervened…
"And you're mother had gone nutssearching for you…" Mr. Zala commented, trying to control himself from laughing some more.
Lenore gave her husband the glare.
'Aww man! Tsk… when I'm nearly having my fun, why does my wife have to use those glares to me?' An exasperated sigh escaped Patrick's his face reverted back to its somewhat serious-lazy look, afraid to have his precious privilege be denied to him.
Lenore smiled triumphantly, 'HAH! I knew that would work…!'
...
While the two are busy having their 'silent talk', the three guys are having their own conversation…
"Hey, Athrun, is it just me or your Mother and Father looked really weird?" he whispered, giving Athrun a perplexed look.
Athrun looks over his parents to observe their behavior. "Huh? I don't see anything wrong? They're practically normal to me…" he whispered back.
"Can't you see? Their having that 'silent talk' again! Whenever I see them doing that, I can't help but have goose bumps all over me..." Kira said, hugging himself as if a chill run up his spine.
"What's wrong with that?" Athrun gave him a baffled look. "It's their way of showing intimacies to each other so we can't do anything about it…" he shrugged, an unfazed expression written on his face.
"But… Is it even possible to communicate with someone silently?"
"Of course… It's just like that of a special bond between twins…" he replied growing a bit irritated with Kira's unrelenting questions.
"You mean, like that word with a –kinesis at the end? What's that word again? Telekinesis? Psycho kinesis?"
Athrun snickered. 'You're more of a psycho if you ask me…' Athrun thought, looking at him as he ranted on and on.
"Or could it be ending in –pathy instead? Telepathy maybe…? Argh! I give up!" he said while dramatically pulling his hair out.
"Yeah! You better be or else you'll end up with a busted head!" Athrun butted in, a smirk making its way to his lips.
"What was that?"
"Huh? What was what?" Athrun said, feigning that he just said something.
Kira scratched his head and muttered, "Oh… I thought I heard something… Sorry."
But in the back of his mind…
'I'm pretty sure I've heard Athrun's response about… about… Right! A busted… a busted something… I don't know… But whatever it is, I'm pretty sure it's something nasty...'
...
"Looks like you're still out of your wits, you should have stayed in the hospital tonight…" Athrun said, a look of concern written all over his face, though a small grin is hidden under that pretense, 'Revenge is sweet my dear friend…'
"Well… I'm not feeling over-all well but I can manage. Besides, I think I don't need to go back in there, and hopefully, for the rest of my life…" Kira said with a grim face. 'Argh! Being there with them gives me goose bumps,' he shivered at the thought.
'This is interesting!' Athrun thought upon noticing his behavior. "Why…? What's wrong in staying in a hospital? It's not like there's a lone ghost or something loitering around once the clock strikes twelve, right?" His arms folded together, and his head cocked slightly to one side.
He waived vaguely with a hand, "You have no idea how horrible it was …"
"Come on, try me… I think I can handle it. And besides, what's there to be afraid of? You do know that ghost don't scare me," he reminded Kira.
"Tch!" he shrugged, 'Cocky much…?' He sighed, and then continued. "I'm not talking about ghosts or any other paranormal occurrences! It's far worse than that…"
"Much better then… Come on, tell me..." Athrun coaxed.
He furrowed his brow. "Are you sure you want to hear it?"
"Of course, I'm dying out of curiosity, so spill the beans…" Athrun said.
"Are you really sure…?" he asked, his arms folded while stroking his imaginary beard. "There's no turning back, you know…"
Athrun, losing his cool, suddenly blurted out, "Quit asking me that or else I'll drag your foot, with your face on the floor, all the way back to your beloved hospital bed." Athrun said an evil smirk etched on his face.
Kira shivered. "No, thanks, I have had enough broken bones and blood loss for the day…"Kira reminded him.
Athrun remorsefully looked down and muttered an audible response, "I'm sorry…"
"It's okay. Besides, it's partly my fault to begin with and I don't regret making fun of you… err…" he laughed nervously. "I mean, it's only fair…" Kira turned to look at him.
"I knew you'll see it my way… Thanks Kira!" he gave him a brotherly hug.
Kira sweat-dropped and muttered under his breath, 'Phew! Thank heavens, he didn't hear...'
Athrun pulled back and for the first time, he stared at his friend's eyes… Amethyst eyes.
Kira stared back. Emerald eyes looking at him…
Looking within each other's eyes, they can feel the special bond between them… A bond surpassing that of brothers and sisters, of best friends, of husbands and wives, and even of lovers…
Their faces a millimeter away from each other.
A single move would seal their fate.
Just a single move…
Almost there…
Almost…
And…
They turned their heads away and awkward silence envelope the two…
'Gross! I almost kissed my best friend! What more, he's a guy for goodness sake!' Athrun thought, wanting to beat himself to a pulp.
'Yuck! What's wrong with you, Yamato! You almost lock your lips with your best friend! Are you nuts? Or are you simply a homo!' Kira thought, suddenly wanting to smack his head on a wall.
Athrun recovered first. "Sorry 'bout that…"
"Yeah, I'm sorry as well! Let's forget that ever happened," Kira answered with an awkward smile, offering his hand for a handshake.
"Deal!" Athrun said, taking his hand to seal the deal. "Hey, Kira! Care to tell me now?"
"Oh! I almost forgot… Are you–" he begun.
But Athrun cut him off. "Shhh! Don't ask me that again or else I'll definitely drag you right now…!"
"Ok… Ok… Sheesh such a hot-headed lad…" he muttered.
"Are you saying something, Yamato?" Athrun asked threateningly.
"Me? Oh nah… I was just checking if my voice is pitchy or not… You know, need to check it before I go on with the story…" he gave him an awkward laugh.
Athrun nods at him, his eyes still holding that inquisitive look. 'I'll be watching your every move, Yamato…'
"So here goes nothing…"
...
And Kira narrated his horrible experiences in the hospital…
Girls, be it a nurse, a patient or just some visitors passing by, came rushing to his room to get a picture taken with him...
Whenever he wakes up, there would always be a couple or two young nurses standing on both sides of his bed, watching him sleep with those creepy smiles plastered onto their faces… Shivers crawls up his spine. Talk about creepiness, this nurses sure got it! He sometimes wonders whether those nurses are psycho or something...
Whenever he had fractures and such that required him to stay, and Athrun, being the 'good friend' he is would be leaving him alone at night to go home and fetch some things, without even bothering to ask someone to replace him for the mean time… (No wonder Kira loves irritating him though he's the one who suffers in the end...) He had no choice but to ask for help.
One particular instance is when he was sent there in a very vulnerable state (broken bones all over his body) that he had to stay for almost five weeks…
Athrun left earlier that day (it's still afternoon when he left) to check on some important matters because, at that time, he was assigned to throw a ball for the upcoming Halloween. And as expected, Kira was left all alone, most likely celebrating Halloween in the hospital. Seeing that Athrun wasn't there to feed him, he asked a certain nurse by the name of Ms. Ayukawa, who had been taking care of him every night shift, to feed him instead…
Ms. Ayukawa, the gentle and lovely nurse, is a medium built young lady with a pale pink hair and brown ashen eyes. A lady who had the right curves in all the right places. The said nurse was unlike other nurses who had been crowding all over him to get a picture or an autograph as if he's a celebrity of some sort. Ms. A, as Kira fondly call her, had been the only 'normal' girl amidst all the craziness and creepiness reigning over the hospital grounds…
But…
He's in for a surprise when he found out that the prim and proper nurse he was fond of was actually hiding some nasty secret…
The same reason why he only sees her at night…
He did not bother asking her because he thought she's a night shift nurse.
Why her skin always feels quite cold for some reason whenever her skin collides with his…
He shrugged that fact since he thought it's the air conditioners fault.
But actually…
The main reason is…
She has been dead for almost a year.
Upon the end of his story, Kira received an odd response from Athrun. Instead of an 'Im-sorry-Kira-it's-all-my-fault' response, a boisterous laugh was given to him. "I thought… There's no… Paranormal occurrences involve…" he said in between laughs.
"Supposedly there's none… But I didn't know that she's a ghost until recently, you know…"
Athrun laughed some more before patting his friend's shoulder. "I never knew that my best friend had been in-love with a ghost…"
Kira blushed. "No… It's not like that…"
Despite the on-going talk between the two, Patrick and Lenore had been utterly clueless of it. Even Kisaka hasn't been aware of anything…
Wondering where he is…? Or do you already doubt his presence…?
Well, worry not, because Kisaka is still there, seated at the farthest corner, caught up in his own world of internal debates, contemplating on what he'll be doing in his retirement days.
After series of disturbances to both parties, their talk has been finally continued.
"So… As I was saying, where have you been…? Huh Athrun…?" Lenore said while looking over at Athrun, then at Kira. "Kira…? Kiiira! Ohh…! Oh my! What happened to you, dear…?" she uttered going over to Kira, then knelt before him to check his condition.
"Don't tell me, you didn't notice that awhile ago…?" Patrick butted in.
He received a glare.
'Phew! Thank God, it's not 'the glare' this time…' Patrick wiped away his non-existent sweat. "Right, what happened to you, son…? (Athrun's parents are fond of Kira that they treat him as their own son)" He also made his way to where Kira is sitting then stayed behind Lenore.
"Uhm… I'm okay, Sir Patrick, Lady Lenore, I just slipped on the stairs earlier this morning…"Kira answered followed by a nervous laugh, afraid that the couple would see through his lie.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Patrick asked while bending slightly to touch his wife's shoulders, his eyes directed to Kira.
"I'm fine, Sir. Don't worry…" He sweat-dropped, 'Phew! Thank God, they didn't question me about it…'
"I mean, we could send you back to the hospital if you aren't feeling well…" Lenore suggested.
Kira turned pasty white.
Athrun, seeing Kira's reaction, answered for him instead. "Mother, I think Kira needs to rest now… And no, he doesn't need to go back to the hospital since we just came there…"
"Oh… So that's where you came from… I think we have some mistakes, Lenore…" Patrick looked at his wife.
"We're sorry for jumping into conclusion. Now I see Mr. Kisaka helped you out, right?"
"Yes, Mother, he's been the one who carried him to the ambulance, actually."
"Oh! That's good then," she paused. "I think you better bring Kira to his quarters since he looked really pale to me… Let's call it a night."
"Thank you, Mother, Father! We're going now… See you tomorrow!" Athrun helped Kira to stand up, assisted by Kisaka. Then they made their way to the flight of stairs.
But before they were out of sight, Lenore called out, "Oh, Mr. Kisaka!"
They stopped on their tracks. Kisaka whipped his head back downstairs and said, "Yes, Lady Zala…"
"Next time don't forget to call anyone in the household…That's a sign of old age you know!" And for the first time, the prim Lady Lenore smirked.
Kisaka turned bright red obviously guilty of being forgetful…
...
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Author's Notes:
1st, I just want to ask you guys, do you want it to be a 'fantasy-themed' or a 'supernatural' one instead? I can't make up my mind, lots of ideas are swirling in my head but I can't put everything together because it will be a disaster… So please kindly help me decide…
2nd, about Patrick's unusual behavior, sorry, I just need to portray him as some sort of an understanding and a playful father unlike the original strict one. About Kisaka, I'm not familiar with his looks so in terms of his hair color, I just guess it. In terms of Lenore, since the scene calls for a worried sick mom, I quite manipulated her personality but eventually she would revert back to her sweet-loving nature. ^^
3rd, I have promised in the previous note that I'll be including the reason why Cags had been falling out from the sky, right? (to Latias_24) I beg your pardon *puppy-dog eyes* in breaking that promise since Cags haven't even been mentioned in this chapter. Please don't hate me…
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Reviewer Corner:
To my reviewers, I won't be including my response at the end of the chapters, but I'll be mentioning your names and sending you a personal message instead… (I'm sorry. I just need to cut down my notes since it's too long…) In exception to the rule, I'll be posting my response only those who don't have a profile here.
To star,I'm glad you're having fun, just as well as I amin reading your reviews*smiling like an idiot (ooh I'm beginning to be creepy just like those nurses)*. Yeah, it would be lacking if I end it up like that so, just like what the others requested, it has been turned to a chapter fic, although I plan to make it short.
To kaede, thank you for the enthusiastic review *hugs*, don't worry, here's chapter 2 ready for you, guys. I hope I didn't disappoint you with it… And thank you for the compliment. I'll try to keep up with your expectations. ^^
To the anonymous reviewer, thanks for informing me about my mistake, I'm really sorry about that. I edited it right after I read your review.
To the other reviewers namely: The_Blue_Mask-cara, Latias_24 (I have included my response to the two of you in chapter 1), Jodeist, mrs_zala, Cagalli_Haruka_Zala and emphateticsympatheticpathetic and to the other readers out there, thank you, guys!
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Mahal ko kayo!
- chiko-chan -