~Chapter 7: Love blossoms~
Angelo had buried himself in his book.
He'd watched Yumiko for a while, noticing how calm she was. How contently she slept. How much trust she had in him to not take advantage of her.
He'd managed to control his blush but needed something to distract himself from the thoughts of going back over and cuddling Yumiko.
He'd finally managed to get his mind off of Yumiko and the situation, controlling his feelings by burying his thoughts in his large book. Older and smarter than his years, he dreamed to somehow help the organisation that helped him so much and gave him a home. So in depth was he in the book, finally learning more and more about the biology of plants he already knew so much about, he didn't hear or notice Yumiko stir.
At first, she seemed to try to go back to sleep, but the simple noise of Angelo turning a page was enough to rouse her sister. Yumiko' eyes flickered a dark crimson red and she sat up quickly as Yumie, alert at her surroundings. She spotted the boy over to the side, his back to her and his head buried in an extremely large book. She quickly recalled the memories of Yumiko waking up the first time and the short talk she'd had with this boy. Straight away, even without a second glance, both Yumiko and Yumie knew this boy could be trusted. There was something special about him.
She pushed off the warm 'blanket' and carefully stood up, surprised there was room for her to almost stand straight up in a place like this.
She carefully walked over to Angelo, standing almost directly behind him. She waited for him to turn around but he never did. She noticed the large book and the pictures of plants she recognised (and didn't recognise) and long words no ten year old should be able to pronounce or understand the 'hidden meaning'.
She carefully kneeled down and sat comfy, just observing the way he carefully flipped the page and absorbed all the information there.
A naughty thought crept into her mind and before Yumiko to attempt to gain control, Yumie reached out and carefully took hold of Angelo' hair, tugging it ever so slightly.
Angelo jumped a little, turning around slowly and seeing Yumie' smile illuminate the dark around them.
"Yu-Yumiko," he saw her arm and released her hand was still on his hair, causing him to blush, "do y-you need anything Yumiko?"
Yumie just shook her head, smiling warmly at Angelo and getting to work.
She brought up her other hand and slowly parted his hair, sorting out small knots and being very gentle.
Angelo gasped and then shut his eyes, absorbing the new feeling. No one had ever touched him in such a way. So soft and gentle and his with her hands in his hair, it felt wonderful. He let the book slowly slip from his fingers and Yumie smiled happily as she slowly began to braid one pigtail in his hair, Angelo being ever so obedient and allowing her to do such a thing to him. He didn't really have much of a choice. He was currently trying his hardest to stay awake from the wonderful way her fingers worked through his hair and her nails lightly grazed against his scalp.
Later on...
Eventually, Yumie had finished her torturous playtime and Angelo had to go through a few gruelling minutes trying to convince her to give him a hand untying the few knots he's made when he'd pulled out the 'pretty' braids to quickly.
"Yumiko-" he turned his head up to look her in the eye, only for her to glare at him.
"Yumie! Not Yumiko...she's...she's asleep and I hate being called Yumiko." She pouted and realised she may have accidentally yelled at him a bit too harshly.
"Oh...asleep? So, earlier with the boys, that was-"
"You saw that!" Yumie yelled this time for sure and quickly stood up in shock, forgetting she and Angelo were a little to big for their current sanctuary. She hit the top of her head and suddenly sat back down, rubbing the top of her crown.
Angelo crawled over and pulled her hands away, looking it over in concern and thankful there was nothing wrong with her. He realised just how close they were when he looked down into her face and saw her own little eyes looking back at him, her green eyes back to normal.
"Yumie?...Yumiko." He sat back on the balls of his feet, finally knowing the way to tell the difference between the two.
An awkward silence filled the room, Yumiko turning away as if she were deathly ashamed of herself, Angelo trying to think of what he could say. Then he realised, the truth would suffice.
"Yumiko...I saw you earlier. I saw you and-and Yumie," he looked down at her face, urging her to understand through his words, "I saw what happened and what came of it. No one is angry or mad at you. Those boys are the ones in trouble. Someone else saw them and overheard them talking and they've been punished accordingly. Yumiko...Yumiko look at me."
Angelo took Yumie' face in his hands and made her look properly up at him, his eyes full of sincerity and kindness.
"Everyone is looking for you. Please...please come back."
"But...but I'm not like the other kids-"
"Neither am I...but...for people like us, the orphanage is the best place. We're safe, we're well treated by the nuns, we're loved by Father Anderson...and now we...we have each other," Angelo carefully pulled her into his arms and cuddled her against him, "from now on I'll look after you, Yumiko...and you too Yumie...I'll be your guardian angel...but please, come back."
Yumiko couldn't help but cry. No one had ever understood her before. No one had ever been so kind and spoken such true and kind words of love to her. She clung onto him fiercely and sobbed her heart out, not caring any more. The floodgates of emotion had been opened and all that she'd kept bottled up, even the stuff Yumie knew about, was all unleashed.
Angelo held her and couldn't help but smile at the way she was holding him. He knew she wasn't sad any more. That the tears she cried were happy ones at finally being understood. He knew because he too was sharing the same tears.
Soon enough, her sobs decreased and Angelo felt her go limp in his arms. He carefully turned her over and laughed softly at her calm face, all blushed and red from the crying.
"She must have had no energy." He smiled and wrapped his jacket around her again.
He sighed and stood up, with a heavy heart, walked towards where he had come in with Yumiko. He crawled out into the cold air, glad the snow had stopped falling. He listened about and noticed the footprints, much larger than his and placed them as the man he was looking for. He followed them until he came to a small clearing, Anderson a little while ahead.
"FATHER!" Angelo called out and waved his arms, making sure he had been seen by Anderson.
Father Anderson did indeed turn around and saw the little figure, someone he recognised but wasn't entirely sure it was them. He trudged towards them, picking up his pace when the other quickened his own pace.
Eventually, Anderson stopped for breath, leaning against an old tree and concentrating at where the other person could have disappeared to. He then allowed his senses to take control. He saw the footprints in the snow, very small and belonging to a child. He smelled the familiar burning of wood.
"Hello?" He called out, walking around the tree and placed the smell somewhere inside or around.
"Father?" A small voice squeaked out back at him and he recognised it instantly as whom he was looking for.
"Yumiko? Could you come out please? I'm afraid I'm a bit big to come in and get you." Anderson chuckled, even though inside he felt like ripping the tree open and taking the small girl in his arms and never letting her go again.
Yumiko did indeed crawl out of a small hole in the undergrowth, Anderson giving her a hand and getting down on his knees to take a good look at her, regardless of the cold, hard snow on the ground.
"Hello. Are you all right?" Anderson tenderly gripped her shoulders and looked at her red face, glad she'd managed to keep herself warm.
Yumiko nodded before giving a small sniff.
"I'm sorry. I thought you were all mad at me."
"No, don't be silly. We could ne'er be mad at you. We were worried. You gave us a fright lass."
Yumiko sniffed and rubbed her runny nose, almost wanting to crawl back underground to the warm safe place she'd been.
Anderson, sensing her discomfort, stood up and carefully pulled her up with him, cradling her in his arms.
"You all right though lassy? Nothing gave you a fright out here, did it?"
Yumiko shook her head and smiled.
"No. I had a dream an angel came to me. He gave me his coat and we played and he kept me warm. And when I woke up, he was gone."
Anderson nodded and thought the girl had been dreaming at first, until he noticed her coat and recalled two things: Yumiko didn't have a coat and the person who had called him towards her.
He shook his head with a smile and talked nonsense to Yumiko, telling her that she best write a nice letter to the angel when they get back.
He didn't even need to turn around to check Angelo was following them, making sure to keep his distance and keep himself hidden.