Me: GUYS. GUYS. GUYS. OMG! :3
Kashino: What's wrong with you?
Me: I'm so excited for this chapter! Although it's only 1.4k, and I rambled a little too much –
Ichigo: That's okay Hoshimi-chan! You just got a little carried away with the descriptions, ne?
Me: Wow. Ichigo. Your personality is too nice.
Kashino: Are you –
Me: Yep, that was what I was implying. Unlike a certain someone, Ichigo is way nicer. I don't own Yumeiro Patissiere and please enjoy this update!
Reunion
Chapter Two: Why does she hate me?
I freeze. My thoughts race in my mind. It's as if my heart has been frozen. Solid. Stopped. Yet, my hands are trembling. No, my ears must be wrong. It's not true. Ichi – Amano couldn't have come back. I hate her. She's cruel. She's heartless. She left me. She wouldn't come back for me. She refused to even look back at me. All these years, we've never contacted. She would never bother to consider my feelings. I close my eyes painfully, more flashbacks replaying in my mind. My fists are clutched tightly.
Emotions surge in my heart. Almost like a hallucination, I fight with myself in my mind. I shouldn't go out to see her. I shouldn't go out and find her. She left me and abandoned me. I hate her. Why would I be so desperate for someone I was absolutely sure I detested? She had no respect for me. She never loved me. But…
Maybe if I went out to find her, she would explain it to me. Why she abandoned me. Why she decided she didn't want me anymore. Why she didn't want to marry me. Why she left me out in the cold. Why she…Why she…Why she did everything she did to hurt me. And maybe, just maybe, she'd love me again. A twinge of hope clicks in my heart. Suddenly, I smile.
What am I thinking? Doing? Thoughts on Amano aren't supposed to make me smile. Even if that clumsy baka had romantic feelings for me, I still hate her.
My body acts exactly opposite to what I'm thinking. One of my tempering tools in hand, I run out of the kitchen. I must look pretty strange. I didn't bother to wear my patissier outfit; so instead, I decide to keep on my casual clothes. This makes me look like a customer. Yet, I run out of the kitchen and I have a tempering tool in my right hand.
Ignoring the customers' rude stares, her voice stands out again. Her back is facing me, so she hasn't seen me yet. She's speaking to Yamagashi. Yamagashi looks more cheerful than she ever did, her eyes sparkling. It's like how she looked like back when she talked to Amano. The trust, respect and friendship…
I'm sure she came back now. Happiness spreads through me as I rush to tap Amano on the shoulder. I grab her hand to turn her around. I have so many questions flooding me already. Why did you leave me? Why couldn't we marry each other? Why did you leave me out, right there in the cold?
She turns around and my heart sinks. I can almost sense my face falling. Disappointed, I stare at her.
She's…
Amano Natsume.
~X~
From her light brown colored hair to her dark honey eyes, there's no doubt about it. I suddenly feel really foolish. I swallow the lump that just formed in my throat. Dropping her hand, my bangs carefully cover the emotions brimming in my eyes. I mutter an apology under my breath. Hastily, I run back to the kitchen, almost in slow motion.
Tears have welled up in my eyes. I don't know why. I want to stop the tears, so I wipe them away quickly with the sleeve of my shirt, hoping that I don't have red eyes. I bite my lip to stop more tears trickling down. Why am I doing this? I'm not sad not meeting the Amano I was looking for. It wasn't like we were destined to meet again, anyway. She hates me. I hate her. It's as simple as that.
That's when it really sinks in. She never loved me. Why do I still care about her? She abandoned me! There's no chance that she'll ever love me again. No matter how hard I plead, no matter how much I beg, no matter how much I say I love her…
She would never ever reciprocate my feelings.
~X~
"Kashino-kun!" Yamagashi calls me, "What's up? You looked a little shocked just now, when you met Natsume-chan."
I wash the tempering tool, waiting for the chocolate sweet I made to bake in the oven. Quiet, I don't try to break the silence. The peaceful, calm ticking of the clock soothes me slightly. It's simple and consistent. Tick. Tock. Tick tock. Beat by beat, the seconds trickle away. When I turn to look at the person behind me, Yamagashi has already sat down. She has her eyes closed. As if she knows that someone is staring at her, she opens them instantly.
"You know, you can always go help out by serving the customers outside…Jeez, you're so inconsiderate." Yamagashi scowls. She's about to stand up, but I push her shoulders down firmly, allowing her to sit down.
My face burning, I look away, "I guess I don't mind helping you out…A little. Y-You can sit down…You need rest, right?"
"Th-Thanks, Kashino-kun."
~X~
I walk out of the kitchen, tying the apron around me by securing the ribbon behind me. I look more like a waiter now, so I can blend in with the workers of La Reve Coleur. I grin gently, looking around, alert for people who are waving for the worker's attention.
Suddenly, a person raises their hand to catch my attention. My heart sinks and my lips are suddenly very dry. It's Natsume. Amano's sister. For the first time in my life, I briefly ponder on the thought. Would Amano's younger sister actually know about why Amano left me?
"How may I help you?" I struggle to grin, but I manage to do a weak smile.
She's not looking up from the menu yet, "Hm, I was thinking…This Linda foret seems pretty good! I'd like to order it, please – "
She looks up and realizes it's me. Her eyes automatically widen, and her lips immeadility form a scowl. Bitterly, she stands up, "You're glad, aren't you? That you managed to get Ichigo to suffer. Instead of you."
I'm shocked. When did…I-Ichigo suffer, in my place…? And what does Natsume know? About Ichigo? What happened to her? I'm slightly worried, questions flooding my mind.
She raises her hand, and to be honest, I'd thought she would call for another waiter, since she looks a little mad. However, she raises it near the left part of my face. And slaps . It's so loud, it sounds like someone clapping. My face burns as everyone in the shop stares at us.
They're probably assuming that we're a couple. That moment when the girl wants to break up. Wants to dump the boy. Is sick of her boyfriend.
Except, we're not. I've already experienced this feeling. When Ichigo left me. It hurt almost as much as the slap. Okay, no. It hurt more than the slap. A lot more…
I'm shocked. What did I ever do? Questions whirl around my mind like whirlpools in the sea. I'm confused. I'm bewildered. I feel lost. Strangely, it's the exact emotion I felt when Ichigo left. When she walked away from me, not even turning to look back.
Tears well up in my eyes, and I grit my teeth to get rid of them. My vision blurs slightly due to the tears. Trying to forget them, I roll my eyes slightly. It seems to be even more of an insult to Natsume. She picks up her bag from the chair that she was sitting on moments ago and seems to being struggling to keep on a lid for her temper.
No. No. No. I am not going to cry. I'm the sweets prince. Not the flirtatious, confident playboy Hanabusa. Not the calming, sweet big-brother, Andou. I'm the blunt, sadistic, emotionless chocolate sweets prince. Kashino Makoto would NOT cry in a moment like this.
My left cheek is burning. I blush a lot, and I never felt the sensation of my face actually on fire. Now I know what it's like. It hurts, a lot. More than I ever thought it would. Natsume glares at me, "This is!"
She grabs my collar and I'm slightly intimidated, "All your fault!"
She shakes me hard. I'm stunned that she is in such a state of fury. If I heard her right, she knows that Ichigo took my place to suffer? …But then…I watch the back view of her as she stomps out the shop. I'm shaken and even more bewildered.
What I don't understand is…
Why does she hate me?
Me: Sorry for the cliffhanger…Heh. I couldn't resist for this chapter. xP Anyway, how was the chapter?
Natsume: You're right Kashino-kun, this Hoshimi-chan portrays characters in such an evil, cruel way…She made me seem like a horribly heartless person.
Kashino: Yeah, I know. She tortured me so much in the other story. You should check it out, it's called –
Me: HEY! T-T Natsume! You have a reason to slap him; it'll be explained in the next chapter!
Natsume: Yay! Okay then! Let's move on to the review replies!
Me: Well, her emotions change fast…
~REVIEW REPLIES~
:) First of all, I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed/favorited/followed this story! You guys are awesome! Seriously, no matter if you thought your review was short or long, you guys really brightened up my day. Free virtual hugs for you all! xD
Animelover0508 – Aww, you're so sweet, Minty-chan! No matter what, you'll always be there for me. xP I don't deserve a friend like you! And LOL! :3 I enjoyed writing that description. I just thought I might write some detail about Andou's house. Heh, thanks so much! For some reason, I can't resist writing cliffhangers for this story...Did you like this cliffhanger?
ICCFOWIGSM – Thanks! Yep! Definitely a part I enjoyed writing. When Kashino says he hates Ichigo and yet she's stuck in his mind all the time…:) Did you enjoy this chapter? Tell me what you think! xD
mimi – LOL. Short review. xP Heh, that's okay! I'm glad you enjoyed it! Here's the update! Did you like it?
Love sparkles – Yep! Thanks for the reminder. I made Kashino call Lemon "Yamagashi" if you noticed. Last chapter, I wrote "Lemon". Oops. Forgot. In Kashino's POV, most of the girls are called by their last names…Anyway! Thanks for the reminder! You're awesome too!
Me: That's so many reviews! xP You guys are definitely the best!
Natsume: By the way guys, Hoshimi-chan would like to thank Animelover0508 for favoriting this story!
Me: Yep! And thank you Dream girl675, ICCFOWIGSM, KawaiiAnimeGirls, and lovelysweetbunny for following this story! You guys mean so much to me! Oh, and by the way, this is my first update after I started school. So, if you guys want anything in particular updated first, please tell me! xD
Natsume: Please review! :)