Misakou; Childhood Friends Prompt #2.
Title: "Hatsukoi" ((lit translation being "first love"))
Rating: T
Running, laughing, smiling, playing and saying whatever had come to mind. That seemed to be the idea behind being a child on a holiday weekend like today. Several parents had sat upon their benches, talking amongst themselves and pointing to the young kids along the playground.
Two younger boys seemed to catch attention of the parents. One brunette with rather spiky hair, leaning over a younger blue haired boy, handing him what appeared to be some type of trading card, causing the other to flush. The parents gave their 'ooos' and 'awes' some perhaps not aware both were boys to begin with.
Along the other side of the park sitting alone on the swingsat was a younger girl no older then 8 years old, with long bright lavender hair down to her neck. Unlike the other children though she had not been talking, playing, laughing...or smiling. Her soft blue eyes stared down upon a jewelry box, with several cards being taken a time.
She stared rather intently at whatever image or writing was upon that small card and would place it back into the box. She sighed softly as she rocked herself slowly back and forth on the swing, her feet hardly reaching but an inch above the ground.
Those parents continued to talk amongst themselves. "Who's kid is that? I swear i've seen her here almost every day.", one would reply as if their chatter wouldn't reach the young girl's ears. Said girl clenched, what seemed to be a small pendant, she had hung around her neck.
"I haven't seen her talking to any of our kids, and she's been here for quite a while..." another remarked absentmindedly, again as if the girl they knew nothing of wouldn't simply memorize every aching word and expression when she caught wind of it. A blessing and a curse, but what would be remembered now simply as a curse.
She was just a child. "I feel bad for her, I wonder how long she's been at this park, just sitting there." Another voice would reach out, falling upon the girl's ears, ruthless.
"And what about her parents, are they simply going to let their child stay out there by herself?" Again the voices would keep coming, a sensory overload.
"They probably are not even that involved in her life. You know one of those typical new-age families where both parents simply send in gifts for the child's birthday and drop them off every now and then to socialize..." another cruel voice spoke out, causing the young girl to tighten her grip on the swing set, closing the box. It all had been stored in her memory, whether she wanted it or not.
"She'll have a tough time growing up at this point. Some parents seem to care more for their own life then their child's it's sad."
The young girl held her head down, stopping her motions on the swings, her eyes were covered by the soft lavender bangs.
A rather frustrated and angered sigh was heard from behind the chattering, "adults" as they would refer to themselves.
They turned around to see a younger man, with dark green hair, and large black rimmed glasses that seemed to cover his eyes. He wore a smile despite his previous gesture and spoke,
"Perhaps it's time we "parents" start taking lessons from our "children", by not saying anything if we have nothing nice to say...or should I say you shouldn't say anything at all, On these matters you know Nothing about." the words cast off icy from the green haired man, yet his smile remained so in tact as if natural. He walked across towards the purple haired child, grasping onto her hand. She only continued to look down.
"Misaki-chan," the older male held tightly to the young girl's hand leading her away from the playground. "Are you okay?"
The young girl sniffled, brushing right under her eyes with her fingers. The blue eyes had been puffy and red, but she but on a soft temporary smile that said. "I'm fine."
"Misaki-chan, I'm sorry about this...had I heard them earlier I would have had us leave right away," he assured her.
"Uncle Shin-chan..." the young girl looked up to her parental-like figure. "I don't think I want to go here again...not this park, the school...the card shop. It all just reminds me of mom and dad," she spoke out so helpless, all the older male could do was wrap his niece up into a hug, as he saw those once innocent and cheerful blue eyes begin to fill up with tears.
"Misaki-chan..." he paused the answers really not coming out any easier. "I miss them too" he had lost his own family member to that harsh car accident, so suddenly, and gained a child under his care as well. It had been overwhelming to say the least, but he wouldn't give up hope or let himself get down for Misaki's sake.
He couldn't imagine seeing Misaki having to leave her old school and hometown, to live with a distant relative. She'd make her own friends and start a place here. He had hoped for that. "We don't have to go back to the park again...and we'll see about school too but for now promise me you'll give it another day. Your new semester will start tomorrow so they'll be plenty of kids your age there."
The young girl turned to the side, giving a delayed and unsure nod of approval.
"I'm sure you'll make friends there...maybe even a best friend," he added cheerfully.
Misaki Tokura entered in through the Miyagi academy gates, a frown on her face as she looked rather complacent.
She entered in through the gates, seeing Shin trying to keep up a happy facade as he saw her walk up the stairs and into the building. There were several others students her age, but being dropped off here again...and without her parents, like this it all made her feel ill.
The classes seemed to go through fast enough to lead her to some much needed alone time. She had thought at least during the lunch hour. She took her seat on an empty swing, and occasionally took notice over hearing several students talking about their "Vanguards" and "grade 1, 2 and 3 units" they had seemed so passionate about.
Misaki had known well enough of her own cards, but had , only played a few times with her parents before...
The young lavender haired girl looked down, drawing out the small jewelery box from her backpack. She took the key from her necklace and with a twist unlocked it. Those same cards, it all seemed to flood back to her, every single moment. Perhaps that's what hurt the most.
And Amaterasu...
She had loved that card, the one her parents bought her for her birthday for her first ever vanguard deck. She held the card close up to her chest, taking a breath before-
"Excuse me-" a slightly nervous and childish voice called out.
Misaki looked up ahead of her, it seemed she had become frozen. There was another young girl standing before her. She had long blonde hair, partly tied up to the side with a long black ribbon that almost sparkled under the sunlight.
She had vibrant green eyes that caught Misaki's attention. They seemed rather endless, and the small flush staining her cheeks was also quite noticeable to Misaki. She could remember ever last detail, easily,but right now she felt simply entranced.
"Can I swing next to you?" the rather bashful question caused a light grin to form upon Misaki's lips, something she hadn't felt in a while.
"S-sure," Misaki stuttered a bit, it had been quite a while since she interacted with someone else her age like this.
No other kid had really bothered talking to her until now, they either would simply look at her with a sympathetic frown or act almost scared around her, not daring to approach her or do more then wave 'hello', unless prompted by a teacher.
The blonde took her seat on the swing across from Misaki. This girl didn't press for unneeded informations, ask discomforting questions, but simply looked at her like another person.
"So you like Vanguard..." The blonde began all of a sudden a finger scratching the side of her cheek.
The lavender haired girl nodded slightly, holding out her most precious cards in front of her. "Well sort of..."
Yet the blonde didn't really press for it as she pumped her legs back and forth, back and forth, trying to gain momentum to get up in the air. She simply smiled. "I really like vanguard, but we only have boys playing right now. They're so immature..." the blonde responded making a rather silly gesture with her tongue sticking out.
She slowed down her swinging to look over at Misaki. "So...I thought it was pretty cool when I saw you, you wern't talking to the other girls who are interested in all the dolls and dress up games. I thought you might just be different."
The words seemed to strike something in Misaki as she defensively glared towards the blonde.
The blonde girl crossed her hands in front of her, as is making a shield, before herself. "N-not in a bad way or anything but not into all the boring 'girly' stuff. It's a good thing. And I thought I saw you holding what looked like a card. Oh I should introduce myself by the way," the young girl finished off nervously holding her hand out in front of the girl, having stopped swinging by now. For some reason the previous animosity had it's way of almost fading away hearing the other girl continue her explanation.
"I'm Kourin Tatsunagi", she said with a large grin, hand reaching closer to Misaki, now right in front of her. "And you are?" her grin only intensified, surely her cheeks would be hurting from all of that.
"I-I'm Misaki Tokura," she answered nervously, her eyes gazed towards the ground.
Kourin didn't seem to mind, in fact she seemed to be holding a certain fondness in her smile. "It's my first year at Miyagi...and I'd really like to get to know another cardfighter too are you strong?"
Misaki had turned away, her lip had been quivering and as she gazed down her long bangs covered her eyes. Kourin could just imagine the expression. "Does Vanguard make you sad?" she asked seeming quite intuitive, especially for her age.
Misaki felt a need to reply...honestly this time. She was tired of fighting back the feelings she felt for so long around everyone else. Shin-chan would see her cry, and even her parents... but to simply be this vulnerable now. What was she thinking?
The tears however took over for Misaki, and the other girl could simply see the droplets of water running down her new friend's cheeks.
"H-hey!" Kourin yelped out, holding a hand down over Misaki's shoulder. "If it makes you sad you don't need to play it you know. Why would you play something to make you sad?"
And suddenly it seemed Kourin had been like everyone else wanting to know the details until it broke her up inside.
"Although you don't have to tell me if that makes you more sad..." Kourin added, a seemingly sincere smile to grace her lips.
Misaki shook her head, this urge, this unwanted yet unyielding notion to not lie to the girl next to her. Perhaps some kind of fated friendship, Shin had mentioned to her earlier. One where she'd have to come to terms by opening up, on her own accord. "It reminds me of my parents...we used to play Vanguard all the time..."
"So your parents?" Kourin began leaning over the young girl and wrapping her arms around her.
"They're gone now...and it seems if I actually were to play a match with these cards all the bad memories keep coming back...but I don't want to lose them." she finished, flustered from the girl's light embrace. It had broken apart rather quickly as she felt a hand pulling her to get on her feet.
Before Misaki knew what was happening their hands we're interlocked. "Well It seems like you still love your cards. But I also just really want to be your friend...so can we just be friend's and we don't have to play Vanguard or talk about it...at least until you feel happier about it, and when it goes away, maybe just maybe we'll have a match. Things will look brighter okay?"
Those words and that soft serene smile had locked themselves into Misaki's mind, permanently. She couldn't lie to this girl, it seemed to be that way and vis-versa. And she did indeed agree to their friendship, maybe one day she could enjoy a Vanguard duel again.
Now at 16 and 17, the two girls still remained rather true to each other. Misaki had smiled, she declared "final turn" with an air of confidence. It cause the blonde to smirk. She sat across from her sitting up with her legs sprawled out on the blanket. There was a sense of relief between them.
"It's been 9 years now..." Kourin spoke softly, laying down a level 0 card and declaring her "Guard."
The two were sitting across from each other, in a rather casual manner, They had their two gaming mats out, to hold their precious cards, the mats were decorated accordingly to the game with knights, dragons and oracles that resembled the units from their decks.
Misaki simply nodded, her previous air of confidence deflating that bit, though she seemed to remain focused on her next two draws. She just needed that one trigger to gain her victory of this match. "It has been some time", she spoke revealing her first draw which was to no avail.
"When we first met at this academy I wasn't all that sure about you. I was worried you may not truly ever play Vanguard again...and I guess what really frustrated me is how conflicted you looked you loved your cards and wanted to smile, yet were in such pain to cry all at the same time." Kourin began her hand reaching across towards Misaki's knee, and began brushing her fingertips over the clothing of Misaki's uniform affectionately. This earn a harsh red flush from Misaki.
"Y-you shouldn't be bringing up such embaras-..." Misaki started as she felt her face almost fuming at the soft smile Kourin had on her, it was so innocent, pure. "-sing..things." she breathed out, noticing that serious and determined look upon Kourin's face her green eyes were purely sparkling.
The thought of focusing on anything else was downright impossible. She felt her friend-was it? -leaning closer to her, mindful of the cards displayed before them.
Their faces became impossible close as Kourin moved that bit closer, their foreheads met and they leaned against each other like that. "But you see..." the blonde's voice and breathe was simply felt, and again memorized during that exact moment.
Her warm breath simply ghosted across Misaki's cheeks causing them to almost fume as they were stained completely red. "I still knew I couldn't just give up on you, and I think I am starting to understand why. Why I was and still am feeling my happiest when I see you like this..."
Misaki seemed to retain her childhood notion of turning right away from Kourin when ever she couldn't find her next words to say. Though now it was painfully obvious as to the reasoning behind it, how embarrassed, nervous and terribly excited she was right now, it was a lot to handle.
"I'm so happy you did go back to playing Vanguard, and months after we first met too. You truly do love it don't you...?" Kourin whispered causing a gasp to emit from the lavender girl's throat. They wouldn't lie to each other.
"Yes..." Misaki answered perhaps confirming one of many things on Kourin's mind or she had hoped for it to be understood like that. They remained locked into each other's gaze for a small moment, until Kourin finished again. "Draw your next card.", she spoke so calmly as she leaned back to her side of the dueling area.
"I-I know that!" Misaki blurted out her answer, taking a moment's breath before turning over the next card. "Critical trigger." she responded during the card over as it appeared to have a glow around it when it reached the discard pile. Her attack had made it through.
"It was the final turn after all see Kou-" she began, as her heart completely went out of synch.
Arms were wrapped around her and Kourin had by now crawled over to her side, embracing her body and holding her so close. Misaki felt this before the heat would rush all throughout her body, she'd flush and her heart and mind would just...accelerate. As a child these were much milder and it would be brushed off followed by another cardfight.
Though now those reactions were much stronger and Misaki knew this wasn't what a child would simply feel nervous around a friend.
Every part of her body felt as if it was almost burning at the contact, yet it wasn't painful, it felt as if something numb within her was being liberated. She felt free...and happy. Her heart was racing and couldn't keep a steady beat as she felt her head being held against the blonde's chest. The embrace should have been awkward, yet it was simply perfect. "I'm so happy you never gave up..." Kourin spoke, and they both knew it had nothing to do with the card match just now.
As if to recollect their childhood, Kourin held out a hand and brought Misaki to her feet. Misaki had insisted on collecting their decks first, to which Kourin had to eventually comply with. Still not a second after, she felt a tight grip on her wrist from the blonde's hand, as it slid down to embraced Misaki's own. Their fingers interlocked. Kourin grasped onto her hand running in some unknown direction pulling Misaki along.
''Come with me."
The two seemed to go through all sorts of turns and twists upon the campus courtyard. Misaki leaned over to catch her breath, rather tired of running, and then- At last Kourin found it suitable for them to stop. "Kourin what are you doing?" the lavender haired girl spoke, catching her breath all the while.
The blonde had a victorious gleam in her eyes and beautiful beam upon her lips as they curved upwards into a huge smile. Her pale features made her blush obvious but she refused to look away from Misaki, and held tightly to her hand.
It seemed like the perfect moment, the sky seemed to simply ignite the sun setting at just the right moment, as Kourin stepped closer to Misaki. Kourin started, "You know since I first met you I had this feeling no matter how hard I tried to fight it I'd continue going after you, I wanted you to be my friend, in my life...and well I couldn't take no for an answer. It seemed to make hardly any since. Until lately I have been thinking..." she paused, seeing Misaki's rather serious closed lip expression as her blue eyes buried into her. Misaki could probably hear her heartbeat right now and would have memorized it. "You see, I know why and I should have noticed a long time ago. Misaki Tokura I want to be with you." Kourin spoke nearly glowing as she took Misaki's other hand in her own.
Misaki tried to mask her own excitement as the words, "I thought we were together, all afternoon as a matter of fact." she chided with a cocky smirk upon her lips.
Kourin simply rolled her eyes, intertwining both of their hands. "You know exactly what I mean." And Misaki had and she wanted for so long to be right here...Had she felt anything less then this completely overwhelming yet perfect feeling, she would have left. But she couldn't and wouldn't lie to herself about this.
Misaki nodded softly.
Kourin however, couldn't help but find it unfair after all of the nerve-racking moments and nights in front of a mirror saying that line, Misaki had attempted to brush it off.
She wanted to see Misaki just as exposed as she felt this moment, Kourin knew she was terrible at this moment.
She needed to be sure, and to know that Misaki knew- "I'm serious...Misaki Tokura, there's nothing in the world...or no one else I've felt more whole being around. It's like I'm finally myself...And I'm-" she stopped gazing into the girls eyes, as her face she knew was the same deep shade as Misaki's just now.
There was no use in hiding the inevitable. "I'm in love with you," Kourin finished, making sure their hands were still laced together as she leaned in that bit closer, pressing her lips against the friend she had longed for all this time. Her childhood friend, girlfriend, her one and only...whatever the term used Misaki was the one who told the most room in her heart.
She wanted to same for Misaki. "I love you, too..." she had mumbled in a flush as their kiss had broken enough for air. Kourin's hand reached to Misaki's lower back to pull her in yet again, experiencing everything right now.
Happiness, pain, sadness, joy, loneliness, anxiousness...love. Every emotion and moment spent together all was made to lead up to this. There lips seemed to have met countless times each kiss only turning deeper, more passionate.
Misaki was finally able to be herself, having met that one person who stayed by her side. Things were finally starting to seem brighter. The sun itself set behind the two girls caught in their own embrace, feeling complete right by each other's side.
END