Hoi guys! I'm back with another chapter of... *rustles through script* ... ahem, "In An Effort to See You Smile"! It actually took me over a week to write this, even though I don't think it's as good as time let on... =_= I've been busy with school and etc. *sighs*
I borrowed a small part of the idea that Wherever Girl gave me a while back. Thanks againn! xD (Y'all should totally check her out she makes bomb stories)
Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy it.
Ryoji smiled a bit as he stared thoughtfully at the Earth that he had once roamed. He silently watched over Hamuko as she slowly started to interact with the SEES members again. The male thought about the happiness that the auburn haired girl was able to feel again, and this in turn made a part of his heart warm. As long as he was able to see her real smile, he would be happy as well, even if he had to accept the fact that he could never truly be with her. He looked up, happily sighed, and closed his eyes, his bright face sporting a quiet grin.
"Ryoji Mochizuki, was it?" A voice sounded from the darkness, and the black haired boy looked over at the shadowed figure who stood several feet away from him. Ryoji brought his hand up to slick back a couple strands of hair from his face and watched as the figure slowly walked over, revealing the sharp yellow eyes that stared deeply into the teenage boy's own blue ones. The teenage boy brought his sword up. The shadowed character stepped over from the darkness steadily, exposing the black and blue colors that dominated the outfit he wore. He smiled at the other male, holding a book in hand. "Hello." He opened his book and flipped through the pages. He stopped. "I understand that you granted Hamuko Arisato the Fortune social link." He chuckled and closed his book. "From Death to Fortune. It's quite interesting, actually."
An equally strange woman stormed over and slapped her companion on the back with her book. "We are not to discuss our guest's personal matters with anyone else," she growled. Ryoji steadily put his sword down and stared at the two. "That information stays classified between the residents of the Velvet Room and the ones who are granted entry into it." The male looked apologetically at the female. The woman cleared her throat and gazed over at Ryoji. "Though we are not to discuss much of our identity to you, Ryoji Mochizuki, since you have helped Hamuko, we felt obliged to come visit you."
"Ah, yes!" The white haired male smiled happily. "I'm Theodore, and this is my older twin sister, Elizabeth." Ryoji smiled back and walked over, sticking a hand out. Theodore looked over, confused, and stuck his hand out as well. "Is this how people greet each other?" He frowned a bit. "I don't think I understand the significance in sticking out my hand to greet someone."
Ryoji laughed. "You're supposed to shake my hand." He took Theodore's hand. "Like this." He shook it up and down, and Theodore simply laughed.
"Ah, this is quite amusing, actually," he said, shaking along with Ryoji. "It is nice to become acquainted with someone as honorable as you."
"Same with you," Ryoji responded. He stopped and let go of Theodore's hand. The teenage boy looked over at Elizabeth. "And a hello to you too, miss." He gracefully grabbed the female's hand and kissed it, grinning as he did so. He let go and walked over to the the seal. Placing his hand on it, he sighed and looked down. "You must know how painful it was for her to hold this position for so long."
"Yes…" Elizabeth looked over and frowned. "Theo and I were planning to take this burden away from her, in such a way that would allow her to rest easily."
Ryoji turned, his face somber, blue eyes quietly resting on the surface of Elizabeth's face. "It's painful for her. Extremely. I wish to take that burden away from her myself, even if only for a month."
"But it's extremely painful for yourself too, no?" Ryoji's face took a pained expression, looking over as Theodore sighed lightly, flipping through his book as he did so. "It wasn't uncommon for Hamuko Arisato to sacrifice her own happiness for others." He stopped at a page. "She sacrificed her life on the 31st day of January, 2010. For the happiness of 6.8 billion people."
"I know." Ryoji bit his lip. "I fought her that day." He balled his hands into fists. "If it was my choice, if I had control over my own body, I wouldn't have fought against her that day. No, I would've fought with her." He threw his fist at the seal. "Maybe I could have helped her fight Nyx. It would've been an easier toll on her body, as well as her friends."
"Her role in life was to become the seal of Nyx. She accepted her fate." Theodore sighed and closed his book. "There was no one else who would have been more suited for her job. She knew that."
Ryoji's sword clattered on to the floor. "It was my fault." He shook his head and gazed up at the sky above them. The two watched on as Ryoji spoke. "She was my vessel. If I hadn't escaped the facility that day, I wouldn't have tainted her." He smashed his fist against the seal once more, which triggered a loud growl from Erebus. Ryoji shot the huge shadow a dangerous look, and it went back into its quiet slumber once more.
"But you would have chosen someone else." Ryoji looked back at Elizabeth, who smiled strangely. "If you hadn't been inside of Hamuko, would there have been a better ending to this?" Elizabeth lifted a finger up to rest against her cheek. "Hamuko Arisato was simply chosen by fate to carry the embodiment of Death because no one else was more suited for the job. If anyone else had been chosen, the world would have been in turmoil by now."
Theodore sighed, "You would have gotten attached to whichever person you were inside of, moreover." He tapped his foot on the floor and looked down. "And it is about time my sister and I take our leave." He grinned over at the teenage boy. "We shall meet again, Ryoji Mochizuki."
The two siblings walked out of view, back into the darkness. Ryoji laughed.
"'Attached', huh?" He smiled sadly down at the Earth. "I guess I am attached to you, Hamuko Arisato."
…
"A-choo!" Hamuko sniffed a bit and lightly rubbed her nose.
"Someone must be talking about you!" Yukari laughed from the kitchen. She walked over to the auburn haired girl to bring her a tissue. "Maybe Shinjiro-senpai?"
Hamuko shot her an annoyed look, "Haha, very funny." She grabbed the tissue from her brunette friend. The brunette smiled and walked back into the kitchen. Hamuko blew her nose and asked, "How are you and Mina-kun, anyway?" Hamuko heard the sound of glass breaking on the floor. "Are you okay, Yukari?"
"F-fine!" Yukari laughed nervously. "W-we're both fine! I just broke a cup…" The brunette sighed and Hamuko giggled. "He's been so happy ever since you've gotten back. It's almost been about two weeks now, hasn't it?"
Hamuko sighed. "Yeah… Shinjiro-senpai hasn't made any advances ever since that day…" She stared thoughtfully out the sliding door, which carried the quiet dark sky behind it. The girl was a bit disappointed that Shinjiro hadn't come to meet her or set a date with her, on that matter. She was worried that maybe he just wasn't interested in her anymore. She wanted to see what she had seen in him before she lost her memories, and with only two weeks left, it seemed highly unlikely.
The girl frowned at herself. Since when did she become this pessimistic? Maybe she just won't be able to fall in love again, and that would save them both some pain when she had to leave again. Yet, the thrill of falling in love again kept her intact to the idea of being together with Shinjiro. Who knows? Maybe she'll remember everything after one date. Even though it wasn't possible, a girl can dream, right?
A buzzing sounded from Hamuko's phone, and after noticing that it was an unknown caller, picked it up and answered a hello.
"This is Hamuko, right?" The gruff voice on the other end nearly made the girl drop her phone. "I'm not bothering you right now, am I?" A rough voice, softened with that sweet hidden tone that everyone else would've have missed. It was definitely Shinjiro.
"U-uhm, no, you aren't." The girl responded hesitantly. She sounded a bit more timid than she should have been and, noticing this, noted that she should be more confident from then on. At this point, Yukari had already walked out of the kitchen to sit next to Hamuko, her cooking mittens still on. She leaned over in an effort to hear the conversation, and Hamuko shifted in her seat uncomfortably. "Was there something you needed, Senpai?"
"Yeah, actually. Well, sorta, anyway. Would you…?" The man's voice faltered on the other side, hesitant to ask her this simple question.
"Just aaAS-" A different voice sounded from the other line, followed by a loud MMFFH!
"Is everything okay over there, Senpai?" Hamuko was concerned, cocking up an eyebrow at the random noise heard from the other side.
"Yeah!" The male growled a bit, then quickly asked, "Would you like to go on a date with me?"
Silence.
"Of course." The girl quietly responded, then smiled happily. "Where to? A-and when?"
"Anytime you're free, is fine. I'd just like to go to the shrine. Is that fine with you? Sorry if it's a crappy date. It's just that Koromaru wanted to go, and he told me that he missed you and wanted to see you, so I just thought to bring you along with us."
"Ahh, I see." The girl giggled. "Tomorrow is fine with me. I'll meet you there at noon." The girl hung up, and Yukari squealed in delight. She hugged the auburn girl with a wide grin across her cheeks. Hamuko sighed, smiling. "I just hope it goes well."
Yukari let go and stared at the other girl. "Hope? Well?" She frowned. "Hamuko! It'll go great!" She giggled. "You and Shinjiro-senpai will finally be together again, you know? It'll be great!"
Hamuko's lips pulled into a broad smile, then she stopped, sniffing the air. "Hey, what's that smell…? Did you burn something?"
"Aw crap!" Yukari rushed into the kitchen to salvage whatever she could without burning herself or the whole place down. "There goes our dinner!"
…
"That was great! You really pulled it off!" Junpei laughed easily, pulling his cap away from his face. "Man, if I hadn't helped you, you woulda been a goner, Senpai!" He rubbed the side of his face. "Though, you coulda been a bit easy on me there, Senpai. I thought I was gonna die."
Shinjiro growled, crushing the paper that he held in his hand. "I can't believe I turned to your ass for advice. It's such bullshit." He sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Whatever. At least I was able to ask her out. As much as I hate to admit it, you saved my ass, Junpei."
"Haha, really? Man! The old Shinjiro-senpai would've never said something like that! I would've broken a damn tooth just for suggesting some advice!" The younger male grinned. "Guess you really have changed, huh? Hamukocchi was right to love someone like you." He turned his attention to the floor. "I thought that I woulda had to fight against you if you did anything to hurt her. But, ya'know," he scratched the back of his neck, "you're a good guy, Senpai. I'm glad she loves you."
Shinjiro frowned. "Get outta here, Junpei."
"Seeya, Senpai!" Junpei opened the door and walked out.
The older male frowned and walked into his bathroom. He looked in the mirror and sighed. Grabbing some scissors nearby, he began to cut away at his long hair. It was about time he got his hair cut.
Woah, woah, wait, Shinji-senpai cuts his own hair?! I dunno, I just thought I'd put that in. The him cutting his own hair part is irrelevant...
Anyway, sorry if this chapter isn't what you guys hoped for. x.x Hope you guys liked it anyway. xD Don't beat yourself up over it. I liked it. Awe, thanks Cy-kun~
Reviews are always appreciated, gimme ideas if ya want something written, yadda yadda yadda... Thanks for reading! :3
~theIdiosocracy, Diocchin and Cy-kun