Chapter 2: Something More?
A girl with waist length black hair, brown eyes, wearing sandals, and temple robes was cleaning the temple when a big white tiger trotted in. She smiled as she reached out, touching the tiger's head. "Hey, White Blaze, how are you doing today boy?" she asked. The tiger nuzzled her waist, making her smile. She walked outside to sweep some more, but feeling slightly tired she walked over to her favorite tree and sat down.
"You work too hard," a voice commented.
Opening her eyes, she let out a scream when she was suddenly looking into a pair of tiger blue eyes. A boy with shoulder-length jet-black hair, the tiger blue eyes, wearing sneakers, blue jeans, and a light blue and tan sweater was hanging upside down from the tree. "All work no play makes Rei a dull girl," he quipped.
"And what does that make you, Ryo? I thought you were at soccer practice?" she asked.
"Yeah…two hours ago," he replied.
"Then why weren't you here helping me with chores?" she demanded.
Ryo stared at her with a raise brow. "And since when did I care about doing chores?" he asked. Rei glared at him before she shoved him hard enough that he let out a shout and fell out of the tree. Jumping back to his feet, he went after her. "Come on, Rei, lighten up a little. You're too serious," he insisted as he walked in front of her.
"Someone has to be serious around here when you just run off with your friends every day," she said rolling her eyes.
"No thank you, I have a lot of work to do, Ryo!" she answered, "Not everything can be fun."
"You don't have any fun!" he snapped at her, "Jeez sorry I asked!"
Rei swung around and stormed away while Ryo just shook his head slowly. "She needs to lighten up, come on boy let's go," he told his tiger as they left to head out on the town.
Ever since he was a child, Ryo lived in the temple with Rei and her grandfather. His mother had passed away giving birth to him while his father was killed during an expedition in the jungle since he was a photo journalist.
When Ryo was five and his grandparents passed away, he was going to be sent into an orphanage and White Blaze was going to be sent to the zoo. Thankfully for him, his little friend, Rei, ran to her grandpa and begged for him and White Blaze to stay at the temple. Her grandfather allowed it and it was a decision that was best for the now teenager.
Letting out a sigh, Ryo was halfway down the block when he looked back at the temple. He felt a nudge to the back of his knees and looked to see White Blaze staring at him. "I know, she drives me crazy but we do owe her a lot don't we?" he asked as they started walking back toward the temple.
Making his way up the stairs, he removed his sneakers and slipped on the slippers by the door when Rei's grandfather turned the corner. "You and Rei had another fight I see," he commented. Ryo cleared his throat.
"Yeah…kinda…" he answered, rubbing the back of his neck.
Her grandfather chuckled lightly as he looked at the teenager. "She is in her meditation room!" he told the boy before rushing off, "Come on, White Blaze, I'm sure you're hungry!" The tiger almost groaned as he followed the short old man through the temple. Smirking a little, Ryo looked towards Rei's meditation room.
Quietly, he opened the door and stepped inside. He could hear her chanting and made his way over to the fire, kneeling beside her.
Feeling a presence beside her, she cracked an eye open to see Ryo kneeling beside her quietly. "Come here to be of use?" she asked.
"Listen, Rei, I don't mean to leave you out if that's what upsets you," he answered.
"No, what upsets me is I do everything in this temple on my own and you just run off and do whatever," she muttered.
Ryo frowned as he stared into the fire in front of him. "Rei…we're 16, we're supposed to be able to go out and have fun. You don't do any of that, you're so wrapped up in trying to make things perfect. You're going to wake up one day an adult and your entire life is going to be gone," he explained.
"And when are you going to wake up and become responsible?" she asked.
Ryo felt his temper start to rise a little, but he fought it. "Your grandfather doesn't seem to have a problem with what I have done around here. You have to admit, Rei, I have done a lot around here too," he answered. Rei sighed, she had to admit, Ryo might not sweep up or leave his dirty clothes piled in the corner of his room, but he did do other things around the temple.
He always made sure that the roof was always in top shape, making sure nothing was out of place. He made sure she had enough kindling for her meditation room. If anything broke in the temple he was the first person on it to fix it, no matter what it was. She let out a sigh, looking over at him. "You have done a lot," she agreed.
"Then can you just cut me SOME slack?" he asked, "And Rei, you do so much. You're 16 and you walk around here like a mother hen."
"Someone has to take care of grandpa," she answered.
Ryo looked at her with a raised brow. "Then who takes care of you?" he asked, making her eyes go wide in surprise.
"I don't need anyone to take care of me," she answered, "I do just fine thank you."
Shaking his head slowly, he moved closer to her. Before she could react, he leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her cheek. "If you need anything at all, Rei, seriously, you know where my room is," he answered. He got up and left the meditation room, leaving the girl there stunned by what he said.
That night, Rei was lying wake in her bed when she heard thunder rolling in the distance. Frowning, she winced when she heard another crack of thunder. Even as a little girl she despised thunderstorms, probably the fact that it was storming the night her parents died and then her grandpa came to get her. She always associated the storms to losing her parents and how frightening it was that it was a storm that made their car slip off the road.
Hearing another loud crash that was so loud that it actually shook the pictures hanging on her wall. Sitting up, she pulled off her covers and slipped her feet into her slippers. She quietly made her way down the hall, opening the door to Ryo's room. She quietly slid the door closed and walked over to Ryo. "Ryo?" she called quietly, biting her lower lip.
"Storm keeping you up?" he asked.
"Yeah," she replied quietly.
Ryo scooted over in his bed, lifting his covers so she could get in. She got into the bed as he pulled the blanket over both of them and she curled up next to him as his arm went around her back. "I've got you," he murmured. She snuggled into his bare chest, her cheeks flushing a little when she realized he was only wearing a pair of pajama pants.
His fingers traced over the ring on her right ring finger. "You never told me what that was," he murmured quietly. She rested her head on his pillow as her thumb traced the ring.
"It's been in my family for generations. It's supposed to go to the first girl in the family to give to the guy she wants to marry," she replied.
"A little small isn't it?" he quipped.
"The man normally wears it around his neck," she replied.
Ryo smiled a little when she jumped because of the storm. His arms immediately went around her, holding her closer to him. "Don't worry, Rei, I won't let anything happen to you," he whispered into her hair. Rei smiled, resting her head on his chest as sleep slowly claimed her. His heartbeat lulling her to sleep and Ryo joined her only minutes later in the land of slumber.
The next day, on the other side of Tokyo, a young man with shoulder-length auburn hair, sea green eyes, wearing a light blue and black wetsuit was surfing a big wave. His eyes glanced over to his left and he saw a girl sitting under a beach umbrella, all wrapped up in the book she was reading. She had short blue hair, blue eyes, and was wearing a light blue one piece.
He was so distracted by the girl he ended up falling off the board with a shout.
As if she heard him, she looked up and let out a gasp to see that the boy had disappeared. She rushed out into the water with fear in her blue eyes. "CYE?!" She called out fearfully. She let out a gasp and nearly fell backwards when her friend and the exchange student living in her home surfaced.
"I'm alright, Ami," He assured her smiling.
She flushed, sitting back on her blanket as he put his surfboard back into the sand and sat next to her. "What are you reading?" he asked. Looking over at the book. He smirked to see the title. "A medical book again?" he asked.
"What else?" she asked, "Oh! I got you something!"
"Really?" he asked, intrigued.
"Yeah, that's why I was late meeting with you," she answered.
She reached into her beach bag, handing him a book. "Since you wanted to be a Marine Biologist," she said smiling.
"Wow, this'll be great, thanks!" he answered smiling.
He leaned forward and kissed her cheek. Realization hit him of what he did and his cheeks burned. Ami blushed, pulling her knees up to her chest. "So…classes are going to be ending soon…that means you'll be going back to England," she murmured. Cye suddenly felt disappointed at her point.
"Yeah…back to England," he answered.
"Aren't you excited to be going back home? Do you miss your mom and sister?" she asked.
Cye looked over at her. "I miss them," he replied, "But I'll miss you more when I go home." Ami looked at him surprised, her cheeks turning even redder.
"We should go home," she murmured.
Standing up, he held his hand out to her. Ami reached up, slipping her hand into his as he helped her up off the ground.
When they arrived back home, Cye watched as Ami went upstairs to her room and he rubbed the back of his neck as he went into the kitchen. Since Ami's mom was always working, it was normally just the two of them in the house. Her mother agreed to the program because she thought it would be nice to help another teenager expand their education and not only that so Ami would have a friend. They were quite surprised when they were matched with Cye.
He was welcomed warmly when he finally arrived in Tokyo. His natural British charm made it an easier transition for the teenagers. Not only that but Cye knew how and enjoyed cooking.
Ami walked into the kitchen to see Cye making some dinner. "Hungry?" he asked, "I made chicken parmesan."
"It smells incredible," she answered smiling.
Cye smiled as he placed a plate in front of her before heading towards his room so he could get a quick shower while she was eating.
After showering and changing, he made his way back into the kitchen and got his own his plate fixed and saw that Ami was reading again. He just smiled as he sat across from her and ate quietly. "Ami," he said suddenly, making her look up, "I don't want to go back." Amy looked at him surprised.
"But that's your home," she answered.
Cye pushed his dinner around on his plate. "It used to be…" he said quietly, "But things have changed." Ami looked at him, unsure of what to say. He let out a deep breath as he reached across the table and rested his hand over hers. "I want to be with you, Ami," he murmured. Ami felt her heart race as she gripped his hand tightly.
"You can't leave your life in England behind," she answered.
"I can finish the rest of my schooling here, then who knows what can happen," he said smiling softly.
Ami smiled back as she gripped his hand tightly. "I don't want you to leave either," she confessed. The two of them smiled at each other as they held each other's hands. Their fingers were entwined together and they both let out a gasp when they felt something rush up their arms. After the sensation went away, they went back to their dinners while holding hands the entire time.