"So..."
"Sooo..."
"The special today is really tasty..."
"Yeah...yum."
Imagine this scene : three beautiful girls sitting in a cake shop with a large amount of empty plates in front of one girl and one plate of half-eaten cake each in front of the other two . Also, add an incredible amount of awkwardness , nervousness , anxiety and worry and then, continue reading.
"Sooo...Ayano ."
"Hmm..."
Yukari took in a deep breath and opened her mouth...and then closed it again after a few seconds of staring...then she ate another piece of cake. Nanase let out a sigh . They weren't getting anywhere.
"Ayano , you said that you wanted to say something ?"
"Oh...well ...um...you guys first ."
"ALRIGHT !..."
Shouted Yukari as she slammed her hands on the table.
"...WHAT'S GOING ON IN YOUR LIFE?ANYTHING OR...ANYONE NEW ...OR RETURNED..."
Ayano looked surprised , then her eyes narrowed .
"Ren told you about Kazuma , didn't he?"
"Yes , and I want to know why he told us and Not You."
"You know he only came back yesterday ,right ?..."
"But you ...you...you're not shouting , Ren told us you didn't try to kill him ...you're not complaining about what a heartless jerk he is for leaving for no good reason..."
*SLAM*
Yukari and Nanase looked at Ayano in shock . She had slammed her hands on the table and stood up . Her bangs covered her eyes and her arms trembled and her lips quivered as she spoke through clenched teeth .
"He...had...a...good ...reason..."
Normal people would feel scared , even people who didn't know how powerful this girl was but Yukari and Nanase were her Friends and they knew she wouldn't hurt them . So , instead of feeling fear , like the other people in the cafe , they felt angry , confused , worried , upset and ...scared ...not for their life but for their friendship .
"Why...why are you ...defending him?"
Asked Yukari ,hoping that the reason was more romantic than serious ,as Nanase pulled Ayano back into her seat .
"He left ...to avenge the woman he loved ...the woman who saved him ...that ...is Definitely a good reason."
She was hiding something . But what ? A tensed silence came over them.
"So , Ayano ...what did you want to tell us?"
Ayano's head snapped up and she began to fidget a bit . Then she took a deep breath and looked the other two girls straight in the eyes ... Her eyes widened and hurt filled them and her mouth fell a bit agape . Whatever she saw in their eyes ...it wasn't good and Yukari and Nanase knew that .
"Ayano-chan..."
"Ayano..."
"Don't ..."
Ayano's voice was low as she looked down . She never raised her head as if afraid of meeting their eyes again.
"...don't ..."
She took a deep breath before continuing to speak .
"..I know you guys are are worried but I can't tell you anything cause I can't risk Ren or ...Kazuma ...finding anything ..."
"We won't tell anyone ...right Nanase "
"Yeah , we'll keep it a secret ."
Ayano shook her head .
"I'm sorry , but...I can't trust you to do that ."
...it was painful. It felt as if a shock of lighting passed through both their bodies . If only they knew how much Ayano's own heart ached .
"You...you...you think you can't trust us ."
Nanase asked in pure disbelief .
"Don't ...don't misunderstand . I'd trust you guys with my life ...but I can't risk you getting into trouble . I mean ...hypothetically ...if..if Kazuma or..Ren ...or even my dad asked whether you knew what's up with me ...or...or ...I'm missing and something I say might be a clue ...you would try to help me and...you might even get into trouble to help me ...and...I ...I can't risk that ... I can't risk ...you ..."
Nanase and Yukari were both speechless . What could they say ? All this time , they thought that she was tired of them or found new friends ...but she was protecting them ...and everything she said was true ..they would do anything for her ...even get into danger .
"...if...you guys got hurt because of me ...I ...I...couldn't take it."
"Why don't you want Ren or Kazuma to know ..."
Ayano looked up a bit ...and then slowly raised her head as if she was unsure of whether it was safe yet . Then she seemed to register the question and she looked away , narrowing her eyes. She felt a hand cover her own and turned back to face them .
Nanase and Yukari was smiling with eyes full of understanding .
"We won't say a single word to them ..."
"...unless we have to ...I mean if you go missing or something , we will be having a panic attack so you better on leave without telling us , missy..."
Nanase felt Ayano flinch. Yukari rambled on until Ayano said .
"Actually , that's what I wanted to talk to you guys about ..."
Both pairs of eyes were on her and both lips were quiet .
"...I'm leaving ...for good ."
.
.
"WHAT?.."
"WHEN?..."
"WHY?..."
"WHERE?..."
"I CAN'T TELL YOU..."
"...but , one of these days ...within the end of next year,most probably ...I'll ...disappear from here . You'll never hear from me again . When that happens , well , you'll both get some letters I've written for you explaining why ...please don't tell Kazuma or Ren or ...anyone before then...I..."
"Why?..."
Ayano was full-out crying at that time . She looked up to she that Yukari and Nanase were also crying , but their faces were rigid with shock and disbelief .
"...because I don't want them to try and stop me ."
"WELL, THEY DON'T HAVE TO CAUSE I WILL . WHAT THE HECK !, THERE'S NO WAY..."
"YUKARI..."
Hearing Nanase raise her voice , Yukari piped down . Nanase looked at Ayano straight in the eye.
"Do you want to go ? Not have to , not need to ...Do you want to do...whatever you're doing ?..."
"Yes.."
No hesitation . It was an unbreakable resolve . Nanase seemed to relax a bit but Yukari was still tensed. Her bangs covered her eyes.
"Why?...why,why,why,why,why,WHY?..."
Ayano's eyes softened .
"Yukari..."
"I don't want you to go...I...I don't want you to leave..."
"...this is some spiritual power thing ,right?, I don't understand . I can't just pretend that I'm okay with one of my best friend's saying that she's gonna...Disappear within the next year ...I...I... "
Yukari looked up to see Ayano . The worry , regret , pain...it was evident in her eyes ...she knew that it was hard for her too. Even Nanase , who was quiet was struggling. But...Yukari looked towards Nanase who was as troubled as she was , only she...
'Yeah ,...but I understand her reasoning , I guess ...after all , we're just regular humans . If its something involving this supernatural stuff . I get why she'd want us to stay in the shadows about it..'
...she understood.
"...okay..."
Ayano and Nanase looked up and Yukari took a deep breath and pointed straight at Ayano .
"...from now on , any time you are free from your missions ...or whatever, You Will call me And Nanase and We Will have fun, like a Lot of fun and you better explain everything in your stupid letters ,okay ."
Nanase gave a small smile.
"Yeah , Ayano , starting now , lets spend as much time together as we can ..."
A smile came upon Ayano's lips .
"I'll try...but I don't have much time these days ..."
"You have now."
Yukari and Nanase jumped while Ayano's head turned towards the voice with slight irritation and pointed a finger at ...an empty space .
"YOU...You planned this , didn't you?"
Yukari and Nanase were confused . Was the person invisible ? Kazuma was the only person who they knew to be able to become invisible ,but it wasn't his voice . Suddenly , a spiky blond guy with blue eyes appeared in a slight movement of wind . He had a wide smile on his face as if he just saw something great .
"Of course ,sweetheart . Had to get you to talk to them somehow ..."
Then he turned towards Yukari and Nanase .
"...you would not believe how panicked she was . 'What if they think I don't trust them?','what if they get worried?','what if they cry?','what if I cry?'..."
"SHUT UP!"
Shouted Ayano before bringing a fist straight down on his head.
*BAM*
"OW!oh,come on,Ayano!..."
"Well, Taichi You need to learn the art of SHUTTING YOUR..."
"HEY!..."
Ayano and Taichi turned to see Nanase pointing at them . There's a lot of pointing going on today.
"...You, ...you're that fu-jutsu artist that Kirika asked about."
Ayano and Taichi let out a couple of chuckles .
"Wow , she even asked you guys , huh."
Yukari's eyes narrowed.
"Yeah , she thought that since we were...oh , I don't know , 'friends', then we would know about your other 'friend', or is it 'boyfriend', huh uhh?"
Ayano looked a bit guilty while Taichi blinked .
"Um,...I have a girlfriend . But it's not Ayano ..."
"OKAY, introductions ..."
All three looked towards Ayano .
"...first of all , I can only tell you guys his name , sorry . If Kirika asks , you can tell her , it doesn't matter ...so...guys , this is Taichi , he's a fu-jutsu artist ."
She said waving towards him.
"Like Kazuma ."
Ayano's eyes flashed while Taichi just nervously shrugged .
"...yeah. But I'm not a contractor . There can only be one of those ."
"Um, guys !..."
"Yeah , Nanase ..."
"...Why is no one looking at us like we're crazy?"
Looking around the cafe , everyone was acting normal , as if no teenage drama or magically appearances from thin air happened. Ayano sighed with a grin .
"It's thanks to this idiot . He put a wind mirage around us ."
"Your welcome , by the way."
Taichi said . Ayano ignored and Nanase had equally confused looks on their faces .
"Wind mirage?"
"It's a technique where you capture the specific reflections of light for an image as viewed from a distance and just set it as a permanent image covering a wind barrier ."
"Huh?"
"What smarty was trying to say was , it's a fu-jutsu technique which makes the people around you see something other than what's actually going on . And the wind barrier trapped our voices too."
"You knew I was here the whole time , didn't you?"
"Yeah...well, kinda...call it a hunch .."
"Wait , wait , wait ...so what are they seeing now?"
Ayano looked at Taichi , curious to know the answer.
"Oh , they're just seeing three girls sitting around a table and quietly chatting .Any who ...today is one of the few days Ayano is Completely free , so if you guys aren't busy , then nows a good time to ...have fun ."
Nanase noticed that the way he said 'have fun' was kind of curious ...as if he didn't know what that meant. Yukari,s face immediately brightened .
"OKAY , LET'S GO!"
As Ayano was dragged of , she gave Taichi a pointed look(with a slight smile) . Her eyes clearly saying 'you totally planned this'. Taichi raised his eyebrows in mock surprise as if saying 'who, me?'. As Ayano left the cafe with her friends after talking to the cashier , a bit of wind whispered into her ear .
"I did it , but Cristy suggested it ".
Knowing full well that he can hear her , Ayano whispered .
"Well , I don't like being played so you're gonna pay for it ."
Taichi just shook his head wondering what he had in store for him when the cashier came up to him and gave him a bill . He looked at the pile of empty and two half-empty plates on the table and groaned .
" .On."
He heard Ayano's chuckle from across the street.
A.N:-
To the reviewer who wrote
"""'I hv som question. 'you only hv eyes for the fujutsu princess' , so Genma's wife was this fujutsu princess? ' their heiress, the kid who hated the kannagi's had a kid with an kannagi enjutsu artist' who is this heiress? Who is this kid? 'a piece of her', who is 'her' and why Genma has a piece? Yes I am making too mang question but actually due to many characters and late update some times I forget the story and sometime the characters. So I hv to re-read it each time..."""'
First of all, thanks for the review , really appreciate it . Second, the whole fu-jutsu princess and how Gemma has a piece and what it is will all be revealed in future chapters . Sorry , but the story in my mind is reeeeaaaallly complicated . I don't really know how to introduce specific characters at correct times of or continuity , so please bear with it . You can ask any doubt you may have , I will gladly reply .
P.S:-To all the other reviewers , anonymous or not . Thank you so much , it's because of you that this chap came out already ...well, I guess it's been a while ...sorry for the wait . Please review.