"I'll Find You Again"
Chapter 7: Sympathy
+-VII-+
"There really isn't much to say…" Sora said lightly, sitting on the edge of the bed, trying to ignore the slight intensity in his host's eyes. Such a scary face…
"I know, it doesn't seem like it but…" Miharu wondered how much he should say… how much he could say. "…Sora, I lost someone very dear to me… But due to… an accident, I can't remember them… I can't remember much at all about them actually… and it just seems…"
"You seem familiar," The dark haired interrupted, looking at him. "…That's what you want to say, right?"
The brunette froze, slowly nodding. "… I wonder if… just maybe…"
They sat there in uncomfortable silence as thoughts raced through their heads. The only thing that finally broke the tension was when a lean black fur ball jumped onto the bed, meowing happily as he landed in Sora's lap.
"Hey there little guy" he laughed, playing with him quickly. "…I have to say Miharu, Yoite's really friendly."
"…Yeah…" It struck him as… odd. Yoite loved people, yes, but every time he was near Sora he was practically permanently attached… Maybe he was over thinking it, but he knew he'd accidently called the older boy by the cat's name several times… Is it possib- "Ah!"
"Miharu-kun?" Sora looked over to see the smaller boy leaning over, head held between his hands. "What is it? What's wrong?"
"J-Just… A h-headache…." Okay, he felt like his head was going to split open. No need to worry his house guest though… "S-Some water… please…"
Sora jumped to his feet, displeasing the dark feline as he ran out of the room. The tom suddenly seemed to become aware of his owners pain though, and began pressing against him, purring.
Before Miharu knew it, there was a warm comforter wrapped around him and water in his hand. "Take a few sips and lay down…" Sora advised, sitting close. "I've had bad headaches before too."
+VII+
"Miharu…"
He hurt. He was in pain, his whole body ached, and he would have given anything to just curl up and fall asleep. Still, he didn't complain. He had no right to. Not when he looked across the small alley of the broken down train filled with bamboo shoots… There stood the man. The man who saved him… He was certainly taller than most people Miharu had ever seen before, bundled up in a dark long coat and pants, a brown hat atop his head and long obsidian locks… He was beautiful…
He was on guard, nursing wounds, nursing the physical damage that had been done. And though the memory was foggy, Miharu knew he was trying to heal the mental blow as well.
It was raining outside; the storm had just come in. Yet even still, the man was on guard; ignoring his own pain to protect them both. If he could do that, Miharu was not in the right to complain, to sleep, to do anything but stand at the man's side as an equal.
"…You should rest…"
"But Yoite…"
+VII+
Tired green eyes looked up, head still a bit fuzzy as he looked around.
"Yoite?" The taller dark haired boy glanced over.
"Hey, you're awake." He smiled lightly.
'That's Sora…' he scolded himself, realizing he'd done it again. "…What happened…?"
"You passed out… Headache… Your grandmother went to go get some medicine."
"How long was I out?"
"Only twenty minutes." He assured the boy lightly. "…You sure you should be getting up?" Miharu was moving to stand. "Maybe you should rest more?"
"…It doesn't hurt anymore, I'm sure I'm okay…" He moved to grab his cell phone, freezing as he realized how quickly he stood up, his eyesight going blurry for a moment. "I just need to make a call…"
Leaving his pet and guest alone in the room, he made sure he grabbed the device from his jacket, flipping it open to Yukimi's number. He moved himself to the living room, frowning impatiently as it rang. 'Come on Yukimi….'
"Yo?"
"Yukimi!"
"Whoa, you okay?"
"… Yukimi… I don't care how, when, or anything… We need to find out who the missing person is."
+-VII-+
AN: So, Vivacia18 Is our lovely beta for this story now. Yup, we have a beta. You know what that means? You have not one, but two people working really hard on this story now for you.
And yet, there's an average of one review per chapter…
You guys, really, I'm hurt. There are at least four of you who have this story on your watch list. There were a kind number of 3 review's for the last chapter, four including our beta's. There are 503 hits on this, and the Anon. option is on so anyone can leave something.
Seriously, reviews are what's going to bring the next chapter.
I'll count Vivacia's last review for the last chapter, but she's our beta, so two total for the last chapter.
"Ah, this one was heartwrenching, and definitely struck a chord with me; it's akin to some of what I've imagined happening with Yoite and Miharu myself... You feel the left-over pain of Yoite's disappearance shadowing over the words, somewhat marring the peace that seems to have otherwise fallen over everyone. And yet that sadness is balanced by a feeling of hope, that not only can Yoite still have a life, but that he can have a life with Miharu...
I always love the raw emotion that transmits through your work; even if it's a little rough in spots, the overwhelming feeling more than makes up for it. Note that when I say the emotion is overwhelming, I don't mean that you badger and beat readers over the head with literal descriptions, but rather that every word leaks emotion, pulling you deep into the character, leaving you breathless with even the most subtle of emotions."
Even a 'please continue' or 'that was good' will suffice. You don't have to do much.