Thank you, everybody that reviewed! I really appreciate it!
Blue Quartz Foxy, as always, your reviews are a pleasure and inspiration. And I agree with you on the Touya part---it's exactly as I was telling (ranting to?) one of my friends a few days ago---It's as if Yuu Watase keeps using the same paper doll for all of her leading male characters, the only thing that changes is the accessories. Granted, Touya doesn't irritate me half as bad as Tamahome did, but I agree with you 100 about his character in relation to Aya's. I have always felt that he cheapened her character. That she had so much potential, but her obsession with him made her seem weak and desperate. I have made my own theory about that for this series, but I won't get around to explaining it for several chapters yet. Hopefully, it will lay the Touya ghost to rest in this story.
Actually, Anime'sHeavenStoryteller has apologized to me, and we've agreed to disagree on this point. So I'm not letting it bother me. I even agree that this sort of relationship, in most contexts, is inappropriate. But I'm a much bigger believer in 'consenting adults'. shrug This stuff just doesn't bother me, as long as that criterion is met.
Anyway, I hope you continue to like this work, and that the switching perspective doesn't muddle it too much. Aki, especially, has a lot of angst to work through, so we'll probably be seeing things through his eyes more often than Aya. Her conflict is more subconscious, and I've tried to make it manifest more in her actions than her actual thinking. That will come later. Besides, as we know, Aya is the more physical of the two.
Steps
Aya + Aki
By: L 0 K I
Indefinite
Packing was easy. She brought nothing to this house, so really, it was only right for her to leave with nothing. A few outfits to get her through until she could buy her own. And Aki's earrings, of course. But for some reason she didn't think she was going to give them to him. Not yet anyway.
She wasn't sure what she was waiting for, but she figured she would know that moment when it came.
She placed the still-wrapped box in her bag, wedging it gently between some clothes to keep it safe. She snapped the clasp in place then slumped back on her knees, staring down at the floor.
Yuuhi was preparing dinner. When she ran into him earlier after she got off the phone, she stared at him as if startled. And she was. For one long moment she couldn't get past the thought that she may never see him again.
And then came the thought that she had been fighting all along---she was half in love with him already, and it made her sad. Maybe if she had met him before Touya...but no. Her attraction to Touya, she couldn't explain it. It was instantaneous, without rhyme and reason, and almost painful. She felt as if something was drawing her to him, gravity, fate, something irresistible.
Gods, Touya---how was she supposed to live, never seeing him again?
Her nails bit into her palm as she shook her head once. If she stayed, she probably wouldn't live much longer anyway. Besides, this wasn't definite. Maybe someday...
She loosened her fist and sighed. She couldn't allow herself to think about all that, it would only make it harder.
Think about Aki, she instructed, crawling over to her futon and laying down. Poor Aki, who was just as trapped as she was, if not more. Not allowed to make his own decisions, or go where he wanted, surrounded by people who were just as good as enemies.
She was being hunted, yes, but she still had some control of the reigns of her life. She had friends, and freedom---well, mostly.
But if she and Aki could pull this off...
She stared up at the shadowed ceiling, imaging their life far away from here. Maybe sad and lonely at first, but they would still have each other, and they would get through.
And maybe someday...
She shook her head furiously and flung herself up from the futon, springing back into motion. She was going to clean. She needed to clean. Clean away every trace of herself in this bedroom...
It'll be as if she hadn't been there at all...
Indefinite
Not definite : as a of a grammatical modifier : typically designating an unidentified or not immediately identifiable person or thing b : not precise : vague c : having no exact limits
Synonyms: Imprecise. Vague. Hazy. Wooly. Unclear. Blurred. Indistinct. Unspecified. Unknown. Indeterminate. Open-ended. Undefined. Uncertain. Noncommittal. Confused. Unsettled. Confusing.
TBC...