Amber Memories, Forgotten
-Tonight I will follow You-
A/N: This chapter and the following would be presented in parts and parcels of the moments the characters spend time together. And yes, Hoshino did mention that Tyki favoured fish as food(:
If only you hadn't creep silently into my life, all this would not have happened.
It would even have been easier to forget you then.
The frozen heart inside my body, the way you thaw it down;
Should I be thanking or hating you for that?
Our promise, how can I ever forget it?
"Hmm, that smells good."
Ezzz turned around to find a lady in misfitting clothes gazing kindly down at him. Blushing, he smiled. "Thanks, that's what Tyki said this morning too. Is Aki feeling better now?"
Shruggling her shoulders, Aki sighed and patted her bandaged waist and forehead. "I guess so, where are the rest?"
"Working already," Ezzz murmuered. "They decided to let Aki sleep in but Ezzz didn't expect Aki to wake only at this time."
"Sorry, I didn't expect it to be so late. Do you need help with dinner? I don't cook last time, do I?"
The boy nodded his head a little, yet his hair was so soft that it swayed despite the slow gesture. Was this considered a lie? He did not know, and feared what else Aki would ask. They had only explained that Aki injured herself and thus lost her memories, with Tyki the brother and the rest all worried and such. While she had accepted it well, there were still times when she would pose questions that they had to lie in order to answer. Then again, wasn't this all just a lie?
The silence made Aki stared at him a little, her focus drifting from him to something else. The soft light that bounced off from his blonde hair somehow seemed nostalgic to her. What was that strange tight feeling in her chest?
"Aki – aki?"
Aki shook her head to clear her head. "Um... ya? Why don't I help you with the coffee since dinner is pretty much done with?" She wandered hastily to the stove, took the kettle and began to boil the water from the fire that Ezzz had left behind, rinsed the cups and brewed coffee.
"Hey, we're back!" A loud chuckle signaled the men's arrival as the door closed with a slam behind them. "Dinner smells good!"
"She wasn't as pampered as you thought she was, wasn't she?" yelled Momo across the small room as he splashed another pail of water on himself. The three of them were bathing after dinner, laughing and chatting despite the freezing water they had to clean themselves with. "You were expecting her to throw up all those simple food whenever she placed them in her mouth, expecting her to be uncomfortable with washing the dishes, and hardly able to cook, wasn't it?"
Tyki laughed acidly. "Dinner was made by Ezzz, and the coffee made by her tasted like beans soaked in water."
"I thought that was what coffee was all about," chuckled Crack and Momo. "But I do have to say that I'm surprised she accepted the simple dinner as it was."
"She's not a simple character," drawled Tyki as he put his pail down with clack. "I'm getting out of here."
The two only continued their conversation about Aki and ignored Tyki, whom they felt was not appreciating some female company in this group even though he was the fortunate one. They laughed as they talked about the coffee Aki made, feeling that she was blending into their lifestyle pretty well. Their plan was going well, after all.
"AH!!!"
Momo and Crack immediately stopped the water from running and stared at each other. That scream obviously came from a lady and it sounded as if she would have torn down the sky to avoid whatever she had encountered. Then a smirk crept over their face and they burst out laughing when a much naked and wet Tyki dashed back into the room, face flushed and water still dripping from his hair. The slam that the door had made threatened to knock the whole house down.
"I guess we all know what happened, Tyki!" roared the pair as they stared at their friend who had only a small piece of cloth to provide him with much needed decency. "It's not okay for a sister to see her brother's full glory too, eh?"
Annoyed at being their amusement, Tyki threw the cloth at them. It had been their habit to walk out straight after bathing without a care for the world, but it had been his luck to be the first one to get out of the room and see her walking straight to his direction. "I told you having a girl in our company was a mistake," he grumbled.
The sun had not been up yet by the time they were awake, yet it never was as they had to head to the mines in the wee morning. Holding some bandages and a piece of cloth, he opened the door with as little noise as possible and walked into the dark. Taking some time for his eyes to adapt to the change of lighting, he managed to make out the two sleeping bodies and made his way to the larger one. The guys had given up the only sleeping room for the two of them last night, and were now all preparing to head for work. Since Ezzz did not sleep with them and they had to wake up at an earlier time for this particular mine, breakfast was to be made by Momo and Crack while he was to tend to Aki's injury. He was the only one who knew basic first-aid, anyway.
"Hey Aki," whispered Tyki as he tapped gently at the latter's shoulder and waited for her to rouse from her slumber. She took quite some time as she stretched her body and opened her eyes to adapt in the dark, and was startled when she realised that he had been next to her all these while.
"Bro-"
"Quiet," hushed the latter. "Don't wake Ezzz up. We'll be coming home later tonight so I thought that I'll change your bandages first. Is it-" Tyki stopped when he saw how silent Aki had become. Then he realised what had been wrong and gave an awkward laughter. "I'm sorry that I scared you by walking out of the washroom just like that, but-"
"No, it's okay," said Aki as she turned to gaze at Ezzz. She wondered hard if he could see the colour that was burning her cheeks at the moment. That was not the matter. She had only realised suddenly that her bandages were all handled by her brother. Yet the idea of him coiling the cloth around her waist and head where most of her wounds were was simply embarrassing. "I just felt that I would be fine changing it myself, since I'm pretty much recovering well now. Thanks a lot, anyway."
Noticing the awkwardness, Tyki stopped in his movement before placing the bandages and cloth down and making his way out of the room. Aki snuggled back into the bed when the stream of light that appeared from the opening upset her vision.
He muttered softly, making sure that the young lady was unable to hear him. "You're welcome."
"That's all we're having for dinner?" said Aki as she scrutinised the ingredient they had for dinner. It was nothing much other than for some staple carbohydrates and old vegetables. Ezzz felt his heart skipped a beat and his body going cold. It was inevitable he realised, that a lady like her who was born with a silver spoon in her mouth would soon began to find their food distasteful. It was only going to take a week for her body to yearn for better food, was it not?
Observing that Ezzz had gone all quiet and that she had said the wrong thing, Aki quickly rephrased her words and patted the little boy's blonde hair- somehow, that gesture always made her feel better. "Sorry Ezzz, I didn't mean that your cooking is bad. I just thought that it would be better if we have some meat for the guys since they slogged so hard in work."
"But- but this is all we can afford," muttered Ezzz, his eyes moistened with tears really to flow.
"Hmm." Aki glanced around the kitchen. "I guess we could go fishing! There is a river nearby, right?"
Before Ezzz could react, Aki had already grabbed some wire, bits of vegetables and strings, and dragged him out of the small house they rented. Ezzz was still trying to recover from shock when he noticed that Aki had stopped walking. As he looked up, he saw an enchanted Aki in a daze looking in a faraway direction. He followed her gaze, and was dumbfounded too when he saw the scenery.
The whole stretch of trees had been dried to an overwhelming shade of flame, with the colour so striking that it would have threatened to burn the settlements there without anyone stopping. Such was the power and natural beauty of love, wasn't it?
"Fish! Wow, we have not had that since-" cheered Momo as he feasted his eyes on the spread of food presented in front of him. "What's this," he asked, as he poked at the food on one of the plate. "It seems raw."
"Sashimi," said Aki nonchalantly as set the table in front of the three men who had just returned from work. "We had nothing much I could prepare the food with, so I thought I could make it raw. If it doesn't suit your taste I have made fish soup too. Hmm, I don't use to cook last time, don't I? But it seems that I'm fine with it." With that, she faked a frown and before having a smile taking it all over quickly. "So be my guest and be happy."
Momo chuckled as he took a bite of the raw fish. "So now our lady guest is serving us instead-"
"Momo!" Crack was staring intensely at Momo, with his stern warnings sent telepathically through eye contact.
Aki laughed. "What's wrong? I don't mind if I get to be called 'lady' just because I prepared dinner. However if that is so, Ezzz would be made a king then."
The group burst into laughter at that and was relieved that they had not landed in hot soup and terrible explanations- everyone except Tyki.
"Hey Tyki, why are you so stern?" Crack said as he gave the latter a smack on his back. "Lighten up, dude."
Tyki grunted and continued to tuck in his food. He was not engaged in their conversation and had been deep in thoughts upon seeing the dinner. Fishing, setting up the fire easily- Ezzz had said she got it on her first attempt even though a skilled person may still not get it smoothly. Certainly, cooking was not what such ladies would have to do. Whatever she was, her life was not something his group of friends would know. Ever since she had been here, the group had been in much happier mood as compared to usual times. Why would they even suspect anything?
Just then, it had been Aki's laughter and gentle touch on his shoulder that made him snapped out completely from his thoughts. Looking up, the grinning face of Aki stopped his suspicions momentarily.
"At least Brother appreciates my culinary skills. He seems to be only the one who is able to eat my sashimi without a distorted face."
Suddenly, he realised that he was eating only raw fish and was enjoying every slices of it. Ignoring the laughter in the house, he glanced out of the window so as to distract himself. Why was it that the others could laugh while he could not? The feel of her touch still burnt his skin.
Yet it was also then when he realised the first autumn leaf had been shed.