Chapter 6: Spiraling Up, Down And Around
Light flooded the room and her eyes openly slowly, eyelashes practically resting on her cheeks as she tried to remember what had happened. Something big had been happening. Ugh, it was too much. The light was too intense. She couldn't even open her eyes all the way. She groaned, turning onto her side and flinching in pain from doing so. Her whole body ached. "Satoshi," she whined. Then it hit her. She sat up abruptly, quickly regretting it. Her body slumped over again immediately. Gritting her teeth she looked at the bed next to her. It was empty.
As if possessed, she sat up again, shaking. The previous night's events played through her mind clearly now, at least the ones she'd witnessed. "Satoshi! Satoshi, Satoshi, SATOSHI!" She screamed in agony. Riku and Risa ran in and grabbed her, trying to hold her still. She screamed louder now, not only in agony but also in fright. Tears began to well up in her eyes once more.
Takeshi, having undoubtedly heard the screeching ran into the girl's room as well, blushing brightly as he watched Yuki squirm desperately, dressed in nothing but a white shirt with no bra and a pair of jean shorts that revealed just a sliver of her black panties. His professional instincts homed in on the perfect candid shot; alas his camera wasn't on him.
"Just let her go." Takeshi suggested, standing firmly in the doorway. Yuki slumped over again, the images playing over and over in her mind. She clutched her sides, trembling violently. "Satoshi. Satoshi!" She did not cry though, having no tears left after the previous night.
Riku and Risa looked at each other quizzically, curious about Sakura's mumbling. The next thing Yuki felt was her hair being stroked gently, just as Satoshi typically did. She slapped away the hand responsible for the feeling, refusing to look up. "Go away Takeshi!"
Satoshi was dead. It was sickening that he would use a time like this to try and tug at her heart. "What'd I do?" Takeshi's voice seemed confused, but still, near to her. How stupid was he? Not knowing what he'd done after she had just slapped his hand away.
Risa and Riku chuckled at Sakura's outburst against Takeshi. "Sakura, please, look up." Instinctually, she complied, looking up to see Daisuke's face. Her eyes widened and anger coursed through her as she pounded her fist into his chest. "I hate you I hate you, hate you, hate you!" She shut her eyes again, hitting Daisuke repeatedly. After about the sixth strike on Daisuke's chest, a pair of hands wrapped around her wrists tenderly.
"Sakura, that's enough." The hands pulled her back, away from her enemy, away from the person who'd murdered her loved one. She pulled back, resisting the careful pull on her wrists and ignoring the screaming of her aching body.
"I won't. Not after what he did!" She pulled back harder as the force opposing her attack became stronger. Her body finally caved in though and she was pulled back with ease, her back resting against a firm chest.
Her eyes opened slightly, glittering with just a thin thread of hope. "Satoshi?" She couldn't wait for a response she had to know. Still, if it weren't it would crush her. All the same, she tilted her head back and looked as far as she could behind her with her head in that awkward angle.
What she saw was far from disappointing. There stood a flinching Satoshi, his hands caressing her wrists tenderly. "Yes, Sakura?" Joy returned to her features and she wrenched her wrists from his hands, turning about and embracing him tightly. Satoshi flinched even more now, aching from the sudden pressure thrown against his wound.
"Sakura be gentle." He smiled a bit; glad to see her at ease after her brief fit. He understood her outburst well enough. Daisuke had explained to Satoshi the part he was unconscious for that morning when he awoke. He'd felt almost as awful as Daisuke for worrying her so much.
"Satoshi, I'm so glad you are alive." Yuki nuzzled his stomach gently. She'd been so certain that he was dead. Thinking about it again made her relief ebb away. She pulled up Satoshi's shirt, revealing his stomach. There was no wound. She blinked and glanced up at him, her face riddled with confusion.
Daisuke chuckled. "I'll explain later." Satoshi nodded in agreement and pried Yuki's arms from about him, needing to return to his room.
"Sakura, get ready to go down to the beach. Our class is going swimming today." Like Daisuke, Satoshi had been avoiding looking at Yuki's upper body. With the size of the shirt and the size of her breasts it was obvious to see she wasn't wearing a bra. Apparently, Riku and Risa hadn't been so quick to notice.
Risa's gaze now settled for the first time that morning on Yuki's chest. She froze and twitched harshly. "GET OUT YOU PERVERTS!" Risa threw a stray shoe at Takeshi who lingered a bit longer than Satoshi and Daisuke before reacting. Riku blinked and then turned her gaze to Yuki also, her face turning beet red as she did so.
Yuki nodded, stealing quick glances at Risa and Riku as the trio of boys left. She went over to her back and pulled out the checked bikini she'd picked out when shopping with Satoshi. Going into the bathroom, she changed. Afterwards she put her shorts back on, kind of embarrassed to walk down to the beach without them.
When she came out of the bathroom Risa and Riku stood there, gawking. "They're huge!" Risa listened to her sister's comment and blushed.
"Riku, that's rude to say…" Yuki ignored them and walked out of the room barefoot, not wishing to be dragged any closer to the female duo.
Satoshi was waiting out in the hallway with Takeshi. Takeshi had insisted on waiting for Yuki and Satoshi was far from willing to let them be alone together.
When se saw him it was like being born again. She rushed over and grabbed his arm, holding on to it tightly. Her body still ached, but she'd gotten accustomed to it. Besides, the relief of seeing Satoshi alive was enough to distract her from it.
"Satoshi." She giggled happily and Takeshi rolled his eyes. He held his arm out to Yuki and smirked. "Would you allow me to escort you to the beach, Miss Hiwatari?" Satoshi couldn't help but blush even more at the way Takeshi had addressed her. The name she would have if the two married combined with the feeling of her breasts pressed against his arm was too much.
Yuki's brow furrowed and she looked up at Satoshi who was looking away from her. She poked his stomach gently and watched him cringe. She then looked back over at Takeshi and nodded, releasing Satoshi's arm.
Takeshi hooked Yuki's arm with his without hesitation. "I'll see you at the beach, Hiwatari." He'd won that battle and he was proud of it.
Satoshi watched as the two walked off and frowned. Why had she gone with Takeshi? It was no time to be getting jealous, especially when he still ached so much. If it had been any normal class trip, he'd have stayed in the room and rested. However he had to protect Yuki from the others gunning for her affections.
He began to stagger down the hallway, pain shooting through his body with each step.
It's seemed like an eon before he got down to the beach. It was crowded with his peers. It was easy to spot Yuki thought. She was sitting alone, a few guys standing a bit away from her, shooting occasional glances at her after gazing at the paper in their hands. What were they looking at?
Satoshi began to head over the huddle of boys, still unnoticed by Yuki. His attention was caught elsewhere though by Takeshi's nearby shouting. "Get it here boys, the first official Sakura photo collection, ten dollars a booklet!" Satoshi's eyes narrowed and he redirected his walking towards the table Takeshi was using for business. He snatched one of the booklets and flipped through it. All of them were candid shots of Yuki.
Takeshi had even included pictures from when Krad and Yuki had been locked in the storage room together. Thank goodness that Krad's wings had been cut out of the shots since he was focusing on Yuki. Takeshi snatched the booklet back from Satoshi, a bit bewildered. "Hey, you have to pay to look!"
Satoshi clenched his fists now, grinding his teeth. It wasn't long before a circle formed around them, encouraging them to fight. High school students were so immature. The aching in Satoshi's body seemed to fade, just as Yuki's had earlier. He seized Takeshi by the collar with both hands and shook him violently. "Did you even stop to think how this effects HER? Do you honestly want her to finish high school when everyone sees her as some sort of whore?" Satoshi was rigid with anger and his words were loud and harsh.
The crowd that had formed grew larger and continued egging them on. "Fight! Fight! Fight!" The chant was overbearing and finally Satoshi succumbed to the urge to hit Takeshi. His fist slammed right into the so-called reporter's jaw. Takeshi was thrown back into the sand. However he reclaimed his footing quite quickly and swung a fist at the unsuspecting Satoshi who had turned his back to him.
"You know what your problem is? You keep acting like she is yours! You may be her brother, but you can't always hover over her and keep her to yourself!" Takeshi watched as Satoshi turned to face him, having stood through the punch to his spine.
Satoshi slammed his fist right into Takeshi's gut and Takeshi returned the favor by a swift punch to the jaw. "I can do whatever I want. She is my sister and she isn't ready to be in a relationship!" Satoshi dug his fist further into Takeshi's gut and used his free first to punch the boy in the chest, forcing him to stumble back.
Takeshi lunged at Satoshi, tackling him to the ground and throwing repeated punches at the snide pretty boy's face. Satoshi raised his arms to protect his face. His glasses had already broken and he had to close his eyes in fear of getting a glass shard in them. With all his force, he attempted to push Takeshi over, using the downward slope of the beach to his advantage. As the two rolled over on the sand the glass shards feel from Satoshi's face and onto the sand. He was now hovering over Takeshi.
The crowd continued to chant. "FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!" One voice cracked through the symphony though, one that caught his attention and forced the adrenaline pumping through his veins to slow. Looking up and away from Takeshi he saw Yuki, tears brimming her eyes.
Takeshi took advantage of the distraction and landed another solid punch into Satoshi's chest over his heart, knocking the wind out of him. Yuki, shoving through the last layer of the crowd, ran into the circle. "Sakura, stay there!" Satoshi ordered, not wanting her to get hurt by standing in the way of a fight again.
She froze and bit her lip, scanning her mind for anything she could do. Takeshi, he'd kissed her. As she watched Takeshi start to kick the fallen Satoshi, she became desperate. The whole crowd had stopped chanting, focusing on Sakura's next action. "Please, stop! I'll do anything, just don't hurt him anymore!"
The crowd gasped, surprised by her bluntness. Ideas rushed into Takeshi's mind as he stopped, allowing time for Satoshi to sit up and wipe the blood from his lips and chin. Takeshi raised his foot to kick Satoshi again. "Anything?" he asked, a cruel smirk crossing his lips.
"Yes!" Sakura responded urgently, relieved when Takeshi lowered his foot and took a few steps back from Satoshi.
"You have to go out on three dates with me." Takeshi grinned, returning to his makeshift business counter.
Pain filled Satoshi's eyes as he watched Yuki nod slowly before rushing over to him. Kneeling next to him, she whispered a question into his ear. "What is a 'date'?" Satoshi fell back again, laying on the sand and laughed whole-heartedly. The crowd dissipated, the last few people looking at him as if he was insane. No one else had heard the question and it was a good thing they didn't.
He fell silent again, remembering what he had said in the heat of the moment when he'd discovered the pamphlets, a comment about Yuki finishing high school. Hopefully he wouldn't have to guard the artwork that long. That was right, she was just an artwork, not an actually person. A strong gust of wind blew right then, throwing one of the pamphlets onto Satoshi chest, open to a picture of Yuki's panties. Her face lit up a bright pink. The scream wasn't piercing and desperate like the ones that she'd given that morning, but it was a rather high-pitched squeal of embarrassment. Takeshi smirked, running off with the remainder of his merchandise to sell them elsewhere.
They were alone now. "Yuki, about last night, please, don't worry about something like that again. Due to Krad those injuries aren't so bad." He smiled meekly at he confused face. All her expressions were always so innocent.
"Then how come Daisuke apologized when he saw you?" Her expression became even more quizzical now. Satoshi couldn't help but chuckle at it.
"He was sorry for having scared you so much and felt guilty when he saw you in so much pain." He saw that another question was already on her lips, ready to be sprung. "And the white light was Krad's powers starting to heal me. You passed out after that. Daisuke had to carry the both of us back to the hotel."
Yuki blinked slowly once and hen smiled. "I'll have to thank Daisuke."
Satoshi shook his head. "We're even. You stopped Dark from killing me so you kept him from being a murderer. Helping us was the least he could have done, or at least that is what he'd said this morning." Yuki nodded with understanding.
After Satoshi had cleaned up he took Yuki out to the water. She'd been so excited at first. He couldn't help but chuckle one again as she described it as feeling warm but also cooling as it rushed by her feet and ankles. At first she just splashed around, but something else grabbed at her curiosity and she looked at Satoshi helplessly. "I want to go out there." her arm was extended and her finger pointed out at the waist-deep level that a lot of their classmates were playing in.
Satoshi walked over to her, removing his t-shirt as he did so. He wrapped it around his upper arm and tied it with some difficulty. Grasping her raised hand he smiled tenderly. As he began to lead her deeper she fidgeted more and more. At one point she stepped into a depression in the ocean floor and sunk quite a bit. To Satoshi's amazement she lifted herself up using his arm, trembling as she wrapped her legs around his waist, clinging to him. "You can't swim, can you?"
She nodded shyly, still unwilling to let go and sink into the depression again. Unfortunately, something bumped into her and she released Satoshi from shock, floating back a bit before beginning to sink. Her legs weren't extended this time either so she wouldn't be able to keep her head about water.
A girl with long black hair pulled into pigtails and crimson eyes stood by Satoshi now. She was shorter than Yuki and her bust was much smaller. "Just ditch that chump and swim with me."
Yuki began to struggle, splashing great deal. The girl rolled her eyes. "Don't act like you don't know how to swim. That's the wimpiest thing ever. With those giant boobs of yours you should at least be able to float without thinking about it."
Satoshi shot a cold glance at the girl and reached out to grab Yuki as she attempted helplessly to stay above water. The girl frowned and grabbed Satoshi's outstretched arm, distracting him.
Satoshi, accidentally, grabbed the front of Yuki's swimsuit and trying to ignore the rather flat chest pressed against his arm, he pulled. The top unbuckled and Yuki, no longer flailing her arms, grabbed her chest, covering it. The girl holding onto Satoshi smirked, eyes flashing pink for a brief moment.
Satoshi stared in wonder as Yuki floated there, treading water. "Is that the only thing you have been pretending not to know about?" Satoshi asked angrily. Yuki shook here head.
"I just somehow remembered how to do this. It must have been one of the memories I forgot." She smiled innocently and Satoshi turned his back to her, embarrassed for his stupidity. He threw her top over his shoulder and it hit her in the face. With that he continued to return to shore, ignoring the girl attached to his arm. She'd let go eventually.
Yuki frowned as she put her bikini top back on. Satoshi was nearly t the shore now. Using her freshly acquired memories, she began to swim back to the shore as well. After one stroke however she froze up and began to splash frantically again, sinking. She was now above the middle of the deep depression so there wasn't the option of standing anymore.
Satoshi glanced back at the sound of the splashing and the stranger let go of his arm, walking on shore with him. "My name is Kaurin." She smiled at him happily, glad that he was ignoring Yuki now.
Yuki continued to attempt to keep her head above the surface but was quickly losing. She already felt exhausted and the aching had returned to the joints. She sunk under briefly, getting a mouth full of water, which she inhaled. As she pulled her head over the surface one last time she spluttered, sinking under.
Moments earlier Takeshi glanced at Satoshi and the strange girl from his reclaimed sales table and then out into the ocean. Yuki was out there splashing desperately. Kicking off his shoes he dashed past Satoshi and into the ocean water, swimming quickly over to Yuki and scooping her up just as her head sunk beneath the surface the second time. She gasped for breath, shivering as she threw her arms around Takeshi's shoulders, holding on tightly. It didn't matter who it was, she just didn't want to die.
Takeshi took her back to shore and set her down on her own two feet by his sales table. There were only a few pamphlets left and nobody had stolen any while he was on his rescue mission. Grabbing his towel, he wrapped it around the shivering Yuki. "C'mon, let's get you back to the hotel." The duo walked past Kaurin and Satoshi on their way back. Satoshi refused to look at Yuki and Kaurin, but Kaurin was repeatedly popping up in his face, asking simple questions which he answered in hopes of making her go away.
Takeshi brought her into the boys' room and she sat down on the bed nearest the door that was Daisuke's. She sniffed a bit and pulled the towel tighter around her. She began to cry softly, ashamed of herself for causing such a scene.
Back at the beach snow began to fall steadily. Kaurin was clinging to Satoshi's arm once more. As it began to snow he jerked harshly. "Yu…" He stopped mid-word, shaking his head. "Who cares?" Kaurin smirked proudly. That was exactly what she'd wanted to hear.
"Hiwatari, would you please go swimming with me?" Satoshi nodded, just wanting to forget about Yuki and her betrayal for the time being.
Takeshi came out of the bathroom where the hot water was already running in the bath. He frowned as he saw Yuki hugging her knees and shaking from her sobs. He'd been gone for five minutes and she totally broke down. Sitting next to her, he smiled, stroking her wet hair. "It's okay, Yuki. There is no need to cry. We can talk to Satoshi about it later, but for now we need to get you cleaned up."
His words were so gentle. Yuki couldn't help but stifle her sobs and look up at his face weakly. She gave a meek nod and allowed him to help her up. "Are you okay to bathe by yourself?" Takeshi knew she was a bit shaken, so he had to be sure. There were no ulterior motives to his actions this time.
She shook her head slowly and frowned. "Satoshi always washes my hair for me. I don't really know how." Takeshi chuckled. Satoshi had definitely hovered over her too much. Leading her into the bathroom, he smiled.
"I'll teach you." Yuki nodded and allowed Takeshi to take the towel. He closed the bathroom door and started the water on the shower, standing under the flow of water as it got warm and rinsing himself off first. He was careful not to let Yuki see any private parts as he washed the sand out of his bathing suit. Yuki just watched and allowed herself to be pulled over when he was done. He instructed her to do what he'd just done and get all the sand off her skin. As she cleaned beneath her swimsuit he looked away. When she was done he dragged a stool over and sat her on it, taking a few bottles out of his bathroom bag. He explained which one was the shampoo and which one was the conditioner.
As he scrubbed the soapy mixture into her hair he gave a play by play on what he was doing, asking her to nod if she understood. "Remember, never get it in your eyes, it hurts." She giggled a bit and nodded, her hair all soapy now. Takeshi began to rinse the soap out, leaving her hair clean and no longer sticky. He then squirted some conditioner in his hands and rubbed it over her loose hair and the remnants on her scalp.
He instructed her to wait as he quickly washed his hair and put conditioner in as well. She giggled at the way his typically spiky hair matted down over his face when it was wet. He pushed it all back, laughing with her at the difficulties in doing to. He brought her over to the shower again and rinsed out the conditioner, leaving her hair shiny and smooth. The conditioner on his hair had had time to sit as rinsing her long coral locks had taken so long. He quickly rinsed it out and turned off the shower.
Going over to the bath he turned off the water, not wanting it to overflow. Stepping up on the step, he climbed in, motioning for Yuki to come in as well.
Yuki seemed much happier now that she was clean and no longer in trouble of drowning. She sunk happily into the warm water and sighed in relaxation. Takeshi blushed. He was bathing with a girl. Sure, they were both technically dressed, but still, it was odd. Instead of fretting he chose to relax in the warm water, glad that he'd had this chance with Yuki. Sadly, he hadn't taken advantage of it yet, but looking at her relaxed face, he didn't want to. The last time he'd been so close to her she'd backed herself into the wall of a bus because she'd been so uncomfortable with the situation.
"Do Satoshi and you take baths like this?" She'd said that he'd always washed her hair, so he couldn't be sure.
Yuki nodded happily, glad that Satoshi was mentioned. "Yes, all the time, but we don't wear swimsuits." She then frowned, recalling that she had upset Satoshi earlier.
Takeshi blushed a beet red. "You bathe together naked, at this age?" Yuki nodded slowly, trying not to think about Satoshi and the other girl. Takeshi took a deep breath, assuring himself it was fine since they were related. It was then that he recalled the previous night's cover story.
"How come you didn't learnt to wash your hair when you lived in America?" He raised an eyebrow at her and she sighed.
"I never lived in America." It didn't matter anymore. Satoshi hated her now, so it wasn't necessary to uphold he lie that they were related. "Satoshi just had to cover for me since I slipped up. I'm not supposed to act like that with him when we are around others. I was just so happy."
"So you aren't related?" Yuki shook her head and smiled meekly.
The rest of the bath continued in silence. When they got out they each dried off with fresh towels. Takeshi offered her one of his clean shirts. She pulled it over her head and then lay down on Takeshi's bed, exhausted.
By the time Takeshi had gotten dressed in the bathroom she was out cold. Sitting on the floor in front of the television he turned it on, making sure the volume was low so that it didn't wake her up.
It wasn't until evening that Daisuke and Satoshi turned to the room. Satoshi was lugging Kaurin behind him. She'd refused to let go from the looks of it. "Look who betrayed of you while you were away," Kaurin whispered. She laughed mischievously as the three of them looked at Sakura sleeping by Takeshi.
Yuki's eyes fluttered open and she attempted to sit up. "Satoshi!" she exclaimed happily. Unfortunately Takeshi's arms were wrapped around her protectively, just as Satoshi's usually were. She couldn't get up.
Satoshi frowned and went over to his bag, pulling out her pendant and tossing it at her. "I don't want it."
Yuki stared at the pendant by her face, eyes wide in horror. Kaurin kissed Satoshi on the cheek in full view of Yuki before skipping off. The day had gone perfectly. Takeshi pulled her closer in her sleep and she felt her chest press against her bag.
The rest of the trip was a horror. Satoshi spent his days with a clingy Kaurin and refused to even look at Yuki. She'd followed him everywhere, trying to get his attention. When all seemed hopeless Takeshi would assure her that she did nothing wrong and needed to persevere. If Satoshi's behavior kept up she'd eventually lose interest and come running to Takeshi for comfort and assurance.
Kaurin's appearance was nothing but a benefit to his struggle for Yuki's love.
The last day of the trip seemed to come incredibly fast and just like at the beginning Yuki sat in the back corner alone. There was no interruption from Takeshi this time. All the same Satoshi still avoided her, despite Kaurin's long-awaited absence. It was getting to be upsetting to a lot of their classmates really. Few could stand seeing their precious class mascot, Sakura, so depressed. The guys were only gunning for her affections however, except for Takeshi and she was dead frightened of girls so they'd stopped approaching her all together.
The bus ride back to the high school was a long one and Yuki spent the whole think alone, refusing to move, eat or drink.
When they arrived Yuki was the last one off the bus. She collected her things and looked around to find Satoshi. Finally they could go home and maybe things would go back to normal. Regrettably, when she caught sight of him he was at the gates, getting into a car sent by his father. Yuki frowned, beginning her walk home slowly. When she got there no lights were on ad the door was locked. She set her bag at the door next to her and sat down next to it, hugging her knees tightly. Satoshi had to come home he had to.