.
.
Marley watched food cooking on the stove, but her eyes glazed over as she looked down at the roti. Her mind still trying to wrap around her the conversation with Isuzu, and since then, the black-haired beauty had seemed to disappear. Isuzu was a complicated person, and Marley had been kept busy with other stuff to really give it much thought. And maybe a small part of Marley was hurt by her friend's words concerning Marley's feelings towards the boy cursed with the Cat's spirit.
How long had she left this way, when did it start?
The first time she had even heard about Kyo was through Kagura. After the girl had basically tackled Marley into the dirt, by mistake. The white-blonde had walked the distraught stranger at the time to her home and sat her down with a comforting cup of chai and tissues, and Marley was told about the boy that would soon become a massive part of her life.
Kagura had gone on a ramble about how much she loved this boy. Speaking so quickly that Marley honestly had trouble keeping up. It was... amazing how many things she could list, good and bad. Marley finally asked how the two met, and it finally made the love-struck girl take a moment, even going a little quiet as she thought back.
.
"When we were kids, I found him drawing a fried egg in the dirt." She was smiling at the fond childhood memory.
"Fried eggs? interesting choice." Marley giggled, thinking of her own odd choices that she would draw in the dirt, flowers, cows, sometimes just random shapes when she lived back at grandmother's farm.
"He didn't have anyone else to play with because... well, I asked if he wanted to play with me, and I promised I would always be by his side." She said a last little bit more quietly, bringing her hand to her chest and smiling genuinely into her cup of chai.
"He's a bit of an angry grump these days... he wasn't always like that... he is.. kind of awkward but a gentle person." She let out a sigh... there was a lot more hiding behind her brown eyes, but all Marley saw was the adoration for the boy she spoke off.
"You're very lucky," Marley admitted, a bit jealous that someone close to her age was already so in love.
"Why?" She asked.
"Well, I don't think I've ever felt so strongly about someone. Not romantically, at least. Back in Vegas, my friends would date, and they would go on about their significant others, but well... That never really happened for me..." Marley was usually so busy with everything else in her life that she didn't socialize all that much.
"But hearing you talk about how much you love this boy. All the stuff you can list... I hope I find a love like that, and I hope I can be accepting of the good and the bad, like you. "Marley spoke softly as she smiles down at her now empty cup of chai, thinking of the love that her parents had. The love that she sincerely hoped to find one day.
"I hope I can be as passionate as you when the day comes that I let love in." Marley quipped, smiling over at the girl, and the short girl couldn't believe a stranger could make her feel so validated and safe with just a look.
She then started crying again and dragged the newly adopted Sohma into a bone-crushing hug. Marley couldn't believe that this girl, who was 5 inches shorter than her, was so strong and definitely wouldn't want to be on her bad side.
"I'm Kagura. Thank you for taking care of me. Sorry for troubling you..." Kagura looked like she was about to start crying again, and Marley quickly jumped in, consoling her and introducing herself all in one breath as she tried to come up with something to cheer the somewhat emotional girl up.
"How about this, as a welcome back you cook him a nice meal. That's the old go-to, right? The way to a man's heart is through his stomach. I'm sure it would make him happy." Marley was trying to give Kagura idea's to show her love to her beloved fiancé.
Though it was not something that worked for her own parents, Marley's mother was certainly not known for her kitchen skills. Which is why her grandmother had taught Marley everything she knew. Well, that and watching cooking shows.
"YES! That's also a great idea to show off my future wife skills!" She pumped her fist and stood up. Marley could just imagine flames of passion burning all around her and knew that this was a woman who was on a mission.
"Only thing... I don't know how to cook." She admitted, going back to a dark place in her mind, any determination she had was gone, and Marley couldn't stop herself from reaching out and trying to do something to help.
"I'm about to get started on dinner, how about you help and you can learn along the way?" I suggested as I got up and headed to the kitchen, pulling my hair up into a tight ponytail. Looking forward to getting to know a new friend better. Kagura's large eyes lit up at the suggestion.
"Thank you, thank you thank you!" Her mood changed again as she got excited to learn to cook for 'her man,' and Marley could only smile at her enthusiasm, completely understanding the joy that came from cooking for the people you love.
.
Back then, Marley never imagined that the boy Kagura gushed over would become such a huge part of her own life.
That had been the start of Kagura and Marley's friendship. Even though it certainly had its bumps and Kagura's temper tantrums had her banned from Dadaji's home due to her breaking one too many appliances... Marley still considered Kagura, a friend. The emotionally turmoiled teenager let out a sigh and wondered how Kagura would react if anyone had feelings for Kyo.
Probably thrash them... that girl is terrifyingly passionate.
Marley was trying to work through the feelings in her heart, and she already felt like she had somehow betrayed Kagura.
Maybe that's why there had been such a disappointment in Isuzu's eyes last night. Her and Kagura were Zodiac members and were family, so perhaps she was looking out for Kagura and telling Marley to back off.
The teenage girl thought back on past boys that she had thought she had liked, to try and maybe figure out the storm that was happening in her heart.
She remembered, back in middle school, there was a boy who Marley thought was just so cool and made her little heart race. Chris Daniels, he was a cute boy with freckles who was really good at soccer and owned a spiderman keychain. Marley thought he was so sweet and confessed to him through a letter. He told the entire class, and Marley was the laughing stock of her entire grade. The girls in class even did a Valentines' prank. It had been cruel, and it made Marley convince herself that romance might not be for her.
Then Miguel came along. He had been such a valuable friend; He had been her first real friend, and her high school life would have been so lonely without him. Miguel loved her. He had been in love with her. Marley loved him. Thought that she could be in love with him and wanted to make him happy.
But you can't force feelings.
And in the end, it hurt him more than anything, and Marley wished that she had handled the whole situation better than she did.
Marley partly convinced herself that since she hadn't fallen in love with Miguel, who was such a wonderful person, handsome and hardworking. Then maybe she wasn't made for love at all.
The girl flipped the roti and watched it as she continued to think, but she felt she was just making herself more unsure. She wished that she could just talk to her Mama and wondered what she would have to say. Marley tried to picture the look on her face or even her voice, but her head started to hurt the more she tried to force something.
Maybe I'm just overthinking it, I mean. Kyo is wonderful, kind, and driven and handsome and -
.
"Oi! What are you doing?!" A voice broke through Marley's thoughts and brought her back to the kitchen.
"Huh?" Marley turned and was met with the very boy she was just thinking off, his eyes looking at her and standing so close that she swore she could smell a slight tinge of minty toothpaste.
"It's burning." Kyo was pointing at the round flatbread on the cast iron tawa that was smoking.
"AYE HAYE!" Marley jumped picked up the roti with her fingers, slightly singing her fingertips as she threw the flatbread on a plate... and indeed, the poor roti was burnt, already too past to be brought back. And her fingers were now stinging.
"WHAT THE HELL! Why would you pick up with your fingers?!" Kyo scolded as he immediately ran the tap and grabbed Marley's hand, running her fingers under the cold water. His own hand cradling hers to keep it under the cold water.
"Ah, S-sorry. I just panicked..." Marley stuttered, her face red, honestly barely feeling the sting of her fingers and instead, she only felt Kyo's gentle hands on her as he moved her hand from the water and looked at the tips himself.
"Just... be careful..." Kyo shook his head, really not know what to say the girl. Between Tohru being clumsy and Marley being somewhat of a space cadet, he felt he had his work cut out with trying to look out for the kind-natured girls.
"Right."
"Keep that under for a bit. Where're the bandages?"
"Oh, um, the cupboard by the fridge." Marley nodded her head, and Kyo immediately found them, bringing out the small first aid and put it at the kitchen table.
He came back and turned off the sink, grabbing a towel and drying off Marley's hand. She stayed in auto-pilot, wondering if she said the wrong thing, then the moment would be gone.
"Sit down," Kyo ordered as he sat her down at the small kitchen table and brought his chair to sit by her.
The intense look in the burning orange eyes as they looked over Marley's hand, gentle and kind, but there was such strength in those hands, the calluses and scars from hard training. He certainly looked very serious.
"Soo... how does it look, doctor?" Marley couldn't help herself, even biting her lip to try and keep herself from smiling too big.
"Hah?!"
"Do you think we should amputate?" The girl asked, a small cheeky smile on her lips, and Kyo gave a look that read 'really?' before shaking his head at her.
"You're such a weirdo." He chuckled as he started wrapping the white bandages around the finger and thumb tip that had been slightly singed.
Marley only giggled, and Kyo finished his handy work; his brow furrowed in concentration, and he would tell her to shush, which made Marley try to put on a serious face, and Kyo told her to stop which caused Marley to giggle.
"Wow, Kyo. That's amazing." Marley admired his work, how professionally done the bandages were.
"Its nothing..." Kyo brushed off the praise, but he still had a small blush on his cheeks over the praise.
"No, it's not nothing. Thank you so much." Marley continued, and she gave him a beautiful smile that only made him blush more, but he covered the lower half of his face with his hand.
"Um, I was just making some breakfast." Marley pointed out.
"I saw that." Kyo teased, and Marley lightly blushed and insisted she only burnt the one thing. All the other food was unburnt, and Marley invited him to stay for breakfast.
Kyo helped her put out everything, and Tetsuo walked into the living room to see everything ready to go.
"Looks great, Marley." He complimented as he sat himself down.
"Aw, thank you, Dadaji. Kyo helped" Marley smiled as she placed the cups of chai, and Tetsuo teasing thanked Kyo as well who just scoffed and waved him off.
"Thank you for the meal." The three put their hands together in a prayer position and then dug in.
"Its been a while since you made an Indian breakfast." Her Dadaji pointed out before taking a sip of tea.
"Ya, was just kind of craving it." Marley shrugged.
"Plans for the day?"
"Ah, I'm showing Miguel around, gonna do some exploring around Akihabara and Shibuya if he's up for it," Marley said as she served her Grandfather some food, and he grabbed some roti from the center of the table.
"It will be so crowded. You sure you'll be okay? I can send a car for you-"
"No, no, I'm going to take the train in, it will be fine. But thank you, Dadaji." And he nodded before turning his attention back to some documents as he ate. Work never seemed to end for the respected member of the Sohma clan.
"You hanging out with that guy again?" Kyo asked before stuffing a piece of roti into his mouth.
"Yep Oh, Kyo? Would you like to come? It should be lots of fun." Marley invited
"No. It'll be too crowded or whatever for me." Kyo shrugged, but he seemed a little on edge to Marley for whatever reason.
"Oh. Right..." Kyo wasn't a huge fan of crowds, and being a Zodiac member would be stressful in a space full of people.
"I gotta go. Thanks for the food. Have a good day with Miguel. And try to be careful." Kyo gestured to her burnt fingers.
"Oh, um, you have a good day too." Her large eyes watched as Kyo gave her a small smile before walking out of the garden and over the Sohma Estate Wall. Marley looked back down at her hands, gazing at white bandages on her fingertips before placing her hand over her heart, feeling it beat rapidly as her cheeks reddened, thinking of his gentle hands.
It's nothing... just the heat...
Tetsuo's dark eyes had watched the interaction, looking at his granddaughter's somewhat flushed face. The Elder knew that this was something he wasn't 'thrilled' about, but he would try to keep his somewhat protective nature in check until he could no longer stand by. Till then, he would just keep watch and try to enjoy the fact that his granddaughter was growing up.
.
.
.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
.
.
Shigure was waving himself with a fan, the summer heat already hitting hard, even in the morning hours. The slamming of the front door was heard, and stomping came through the house.
"Your back early?" The Dog of the Zodiac pointed out to the orange-haired teenager with a scowl on his face. It was hard not to notice that the already somewhat temperamental teen was in a foul mood this past week. Shigure had an inkling to why and honestly was just enjoying watching the drama.
Shigure had to get his kicks from somewhere.
"What's it to ya." Kyo grumbled as kicked off his shoes, and while Shigure couldn't know for sure, he had a feeling that his mood could be due to a certain sun-kissed girl.
"Tsk Tsk. Summer Vacation has barely started, and you're already wasting it, Kyo. You kids are lucky to have summer vacation! Once you become an adult, that's just a dream within a dream!" Shigure teased.
"SHUT UP! You're on vacation all fuckin' year around! Work for once!" Kyo yelled at him
"Wahh Kyo! Your so mean! Been in such a bad mood lately." Shigure tsked at him, shaking his head in disappointment, and this got Kyo more stirred up. Tohru piped up that was excited about summer vacation, but it came with its share of work. More precisely: Summer Homework.
"You should just copy the bright and flawless Yuki-Kun's homework," Shigure suggested and this cause Tohru to started shaking her hands and head, outrightly denying the suggestion.
"I couldn't do that!"
"HAH! Flawless my ass! What is he, a robot? That's creepy. I'm telling you, he's a boring stiff-" Kyo began was soon kicked off the porch, sending him flying into the ground on the garden.
"It's better than being stupid..." Yuki scoffed as he brought his leg down from the kick he just delivered and straighten out his tie.
"YOU ASSHOL! FACE ME FAIR AND SQUARE, YOU COWARD!" Kyo jumped up, ready for a fight, and Yuki only threw him a cold glare, calling him an idiot.
The two began bickering, but Shigure intervened by commenting on Yuki, who was wearing his uniform.
"Yeah... The new council is taking over things from the old one... we're behind on a lot of things, so there's a lot of stuff to get organized before the new term." Yuki explained and then turned to Tohru.
"Well, I'll be back before dinner... So, see you later." Yuki smiled down at her, and she saw him off with a bright smile.
"Right! See you later!" That smile gave Yuki a little strength to hopefully deal with whatever the Student Council had for him.
Yuki walked along the familiar path, trying to shake off Kyo words, but they were ringing out. His insecurities swirling in his head.
.
Boring stiff...
"Tell me something I don't know..." He muttered to himself, a grimace on his face as he walked along the road, hardly paying attention to the beautiful morning.
"Yuki!"
The grey-haired boy was brought out of his thoughts and met the sight of Marley, half of her long hair up in two buns and the rest flowing freely as she wore a summery blue dress that reached her mid-thigh.
"Ah. Marley-San. Good morning." Yuki greeted her, and he watched as her eyes scanned up and down his body.
"Is something... wrong?" Yuki asked, feeling self-conscious under her gaze.
"You're in uniform... aren't we on summer vacation?" She asked as she crossed her arms and tilted her head.
"Ah, yes, don't worry, we are. I have to meet with the student council, so I'm heading to school." He explained, and she looked relieved at the answer.
"Oh. I panicked there for a second." Marley put a hand over her heart as she let out a big sigh.
"You look very lovely, Marley-San. Where are you off too?" Yuki half expected Marley to blush over the compliment as most girls tended to do, but she just threw him a kind smile and thanked him, and Yuki was the one who felt a small blush.
"I'm heading to the train station, meeting up with Miguel and showing him around, he wants to go to this umm... Akihabara and then we'll head to Shibuya, hopefully we'll get a cool picture of the crossing and take a photo with the Hachiko statue." Marley explained, looking forward to seeing the sights as well. Miguel was excited to check out Akihabara, he didn't look like it at first, but he was actually really big on anime, so he was looking forward to seeing all the shops and maybe grabbing a figure. One of his tattoo sleeves had a lot of anime characters illustrated in the design.
Marley had no idea what any of the characters were of what they were from, but they looked really cool, and Miguel loved them.
"That sounds like fun," Yuki commented.
"Would you like to come along?" Marley offered as she stopped to look at a few flowers, admiring the iris flowers' jewel tone.
"Student council. The new one is talking over after the break, so there is a lot of work to do."
"Ah, right, you just said that, sorry." Marley let out an embarrassed laugh as a small blush appeared on her cheeks, and Yuki tried not to laugh.
"How was dinner the other night? Miguel was saying he had fun." Marley mentioned.
"yes, He and Shigure seemed to get along a bit, but perhaps that's just because they were able to speak in English... plus he certainly was able to put away a lot of food." The house was undoubtedly loud with all the guests, and it was a little much, but it plain to see that Miguel was a pretty laid back and everyone seemed pretty drawn to him.
He was one of those guys that made Yuki feel small as he was bright and made people laugh. Tohru was even talking with him. Her English skills were getting visibly better the more they spoke, and Haru and Miguel already seemed to have some sort of secret language as they would get into it about music preferences.
"Yeah, he's always been an eater, you never have to worry about leftovers when he's around." Marley joked as she knew very well about the tall boy's appetite.
"But... I'm glad that he had a good time with your guys, and thank you for having him." Marley thanked him, and Yuki couldn't help but smile back.
The two continued walking and chit-chatting as they walked along till they came to the school entrance. A few female students who had club events wished him good morning and even had a quick chat with Marley. Yuki watched how easily she chatted with people, making them smile and laugh.
The girls gushed over Marley's outfit, and they asked if she was going on a date, and she just laughed and insisted she just felt like looking cute as she slightly twirled in the dress, and the girls giggled. They schoolmates moved on as Marley waved at them as they walked into the school gates.
"Good luck with the student council Yuki. I'm sure you have a good team." Marley gave his hand a quick squeeze, and Yuki froze at the tender touch, but her warmth was comforting. Marley sometimes shined so brightly that he felt like her sunshine was lighting him up too. He thanked her, and she let go and walked down the road.
Yuki watched as she walked away, the sun shining off her long white-blonde hair. The grey-haired boy took a deep breath and continued into the school, feeling a bit better after speaking with the optimistic beauty.
.
Yuki slid open the door to the student council room and was met with an odd sight. A girl was surrounded by papers and folders on the ground, she was huffing and puffing as if she had just run a marathon.
The confused boy's hand rattled against the door, causing the girl's eyes to flash to him and then she shot up.
"Excuse me, I'll clean up." She quickly muttered as she walked across the room.
Who is she? Did she trash the room?
"Ah. Are you not feeling well... or something?" Yuki reached out, but she jumped from him.
"I'm fine...please... Wait." Her face was turned towards the ground as she addressed him, and Yuki slightly panicked that he had something wrong, but he had no time to really think about it as the mysterious girl opened another door.
"Manabe. Manabe, wake up."
"hmm, wake me up if its an alien..." Yuki heard and slightly peeked over to see someone lounging on a couch.
"Sohma Yuki is here." She told him, and Yuki watched as the boy turned his head towards the door, and his dark eyes locked onto Yuki's form.
"Waaaaa!" The boy yelped in surprise.
"Huh?" Yuki watched as the dark-haired boy hustled to get off the couch, muttering things as he cleaned himself up and entered the main room.
"Whoa! What a mess! Machi! Are you up to your old bad habits again?! Put everything back where you found it." He ordered, but he didn't seem to be all that phased by the state of the room.
"Ah, right!"
"Uh?!"
"I'm Kakeru! 'Man' plus 'Abe' spells Manabe for Kakeru Manabe! People call me all sorts of things like 'Manabe' or 'Manabe-Kun' or 'Nabe-Kun' or 'Kakeru' or 'hey, you over there.' Anyway, just call me whatever. I prefer you to call me 'Sho.' Nobody ever calls me that."
"..Um." Yuki could only watch blankly.
"Ah! No, need, it's fine. I know who you are without an introduction. You're Yuki Sohma. I'm a second year in class A. No need to be polite. And that's Machi Kuragi, first year." The boy gestured to the girl who was now picking up books off the floor.
"Well, I said everything I wanted to say, and now I'm sleeeeepy!" The boy yawned, and Yuki could feel himself losing his patience.
"Wait... Would you at least tell me who you people are?" Yuki clenched his fist slightly as he politely let out his words.
"I just said I'm Manabe-" He started again, but Yuki had enough.
"That's not what I mean!" Yuki raised his voice, getting frustrated with this boy that somehow reminded him of someone.
"Manabe... You didn't tell him we're new members." The girl told him, and that seemed to make a light bulb go off.
"Ah, right! I'm the vice president! And Machi here has been appointed treasurer! In other words, we're directly under you, the new president of the student council! So, as I was saying, I'm looking forward to working with you!" The loud boy who eerily reminded him of his older brother announced, and Yuki felt a shudder, realizing he was stuck with him.
…... Marley was wrong... this is going to be hell...
.
.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
.
Out of nowhere, Marley felt a slight shiver as if someone was glaring at her.
"You okay?" Miguel asked as he watched the girl's expression changed suddenly. Marley simply looked around but didn't see anyone giving her a stink eye or anything. People were staring, but that was expected as she stood out a bit, especially now that she was with another tall foreigner, but no one was glaring at the two.
Must be my imagination
"oh, nothing, I just got a weird chill was all." She waved it off and then brought out her phone and gestured Miguel to get in for a selfie.
"Cheese!" Two old friends took a selfie Infront of cartoon statue sitting out an arcade. Marley wasn't sure what the character was, but Miguel had seemed excited about it.
"I still can't get over how long your hair has gotten." Marley awed at Miguel's shoulder-length locks as she quickly checked the picture and sent it off to his sister.
"Maybe I'm just trying to catch up to you." He joked as he rubbed the top of her hair, thankfully not ruining the hairstyle Marley had done before leaving the house this morning.
"Hey, this takes a lot of work." Marley laughed as she slightly stepped away and out of his reach. Miguel looked at her from where he stood. He didn't know what it was, but something was different. Something was there that simply wasn't there before.
They explored the busy area, anime and manga related stuff was everywhere, and it all seemed very exciting. There was even a large multi-story arcade that Marley and Miguel spent some time in. Marley lost most of the games, but it turns out she wasn't half bad at a drum rhythm game and even won a small white cat plushie from a crane game.
Miguel started to get hungry, and after a bit of convincing on Marley's end, they ended up at conveyer belt style sushi restaurant, and the staff was impressed with the piling plates Infront of the handsome man. The two decided to finish up in Akihabara and head towards the chain to head over to Shibuya crossing.
The brown-skinned beauty slightly walked ahead as she looked around, taking in all the sights, a smile on her face, her long hair swaying behind her. Miguel was enjoying the day by his old friend, but something just felt different. Maybe her hair had gotten longer. Had she gotten taller?
Marley turned to point something out to him, but he just watched her face as she spoke. Her lips had some gloss to them, her eyes lined in dark, winged eyeliner, and there seemed to be some sort of sparkle to her. She looked stunning, and she was smiling right at him. But something just didn't sit right with Miguel. Something was pissing him off.
"Miguel, look, look, look. Is this that cartoon you like?" Marley pointed at one of the many white toy machines that seemed to be everywhere in the city.
"You say it like it's a baby show or something- oh sick, that's cool." Miguel came and checked out the machine that Marley had pointed out.
"Let's get some! Maybe you'll get lucky, which character are you hoping for?" She asked as she popped in some coins and turned the dial, waiting for an orb to pop down the slide.
"As long as it's not the old pervert man, I'm happy." Marley handed him the gacha and watched as he tried to open it.
"The fuck? Who- are- they trying to keep out of these things." Miguel's large hands struggled with the small orb.
"Here." Marley simply popped it open and handed the small treasure of the character that Miguel really liked it.
"Momiji and I get them all the time, so we are kind of pros at it," Marley explained as she looked over the various gacha machines.
"We are collecting these ones right now, maybe I should grab a few, and we can open them together later. Oh, and Zuzu won't admit, but she really likes the Pokémon ones. She always gets mad when she gets the Pikachu one, though. Oh, and Hiro and Kisa like these characters, they watch the anime together, it's so cute." Marley was rambling on, and she put in coins and was collecting a bunch of plastic orbs. Was she taller now? Was that what was different.
No, it wasn't that. Her hair hardly looked any different, and Marley had always been on the tall side for a girl, but Marley certainly seemed a bit more confident now. She used to seem a bit more... shy or uncertain when she had lived back in Vegas.
What else was different?
Her body had filled out a bit, Marley had always been beautiful in Miguel's eyes, but now she looked like a grown woman. She looked more like her mother now feature-wise, but Marley still had a softness to her.
His eyes trailed down to the neckline of her dress, just above her bust and spotted a light-coloured scar that was almost white in contrast to her bronze skin. He was reminded of the reason she was here in a foreign country in the first place, the reason she was so far away.
Miguel found himself reaching out, grabbing her free hand, and she seemed to almost jump before looking at him, but Miguel was looking down at their connected hands.
"Everything okay?" She asked, and Miguel made an excuse that he was just looking at her ring and inspected the small gem ring before letting go of her hand.
Her skin was so warm, but it hadn't been like that before. Marley's skin used to be cold to the touch, and they used to joke about it. It didn't seem something to joke about now, especially when he now knew the reason that her skin had been cold.
Her heart... She was essentially dying right in from of me, and I didn't see it
Even when he held her in his arms, flesh to flesh. His own body had been on fire, but he hadn't been paying attention to her and what she needed. How much had he looked past just because he was happy to be with her? And when he realized what had been wrong, she was gone. Lost to a whole new world that he was having trouble getting grips with.
Was there ever a chance? Had he been foolish? Dreaming that if he came here, Marley would just be happy with seeing him. Perhaps he had hoped that... Just maybe something could happen between them.
But Marley had made it clear that nothing could. And Miguel had to learn to accept that.
Or cut all ties
It wasn't that Miguel wasn't happy to see her. He was. He was relieved to Marley see healthy, alive. But... it did leave an ugly feeling seeing her so happy with people that didn't include him.
"oh my god, I gotta send a picture of this one to Kyo." Marley laughed as she took a picture of a machine that seemed to have little karate fighting cats, the giant smile on her face and the very glow that appeared to come from her skin. She even put in a few coins and turned the dial, excited about ninja cat figure she would get.
Marley smiled so brightly and practically seemed to glow. As if the world hadn't taken away those she held dear. How can anyone deal with all that and then come out the other side and smile that way? Was being here on the other side of the world that great? Where her 'new' friends that special to her?
"Oh look, they have some cool looking car ones too-" Marley started to ask, but as she looked over at Miguel, his eyes seemed to be staring blankly at her, a certain sad glaze to his green eyes.
.
"You sure you're alright?" Marley asked, her large eyes looking up at him with concern, but he seemed to blow her off.
"Nothing... I'm just kind of beat." Miguel lied as an uncomfortable ball he felt in his stomach started to travel up his throat.
"We can head back; we have lots of time to explore before summer vacation ends... ah, but we have to head to a different station to head back," Marley suggested. Miguel nodded, already turning around and heading towards the train stop they had gotten off at. Marley purchased one last gacha before running and catching up, falling in step beside him towards. He looked over and watched as she sent a few pictures off.
"Oh! Right I keep meaning to show you. Look how sweet Kisa looks, she got her first sent of pointe shoes." Marley gushed as she showed Miguel a picture of her and the younger girl in ballet wear, and both girls were en point at the ballet bar, a gentle smile on Marley's face while Kisa's face was clearly concentrating.
Maybe somethings hadn't changed?
"So. You're coming back, right?" Miguel tested, still somewhat hopeful that maybe things could go back to before, except this time he could do better. He would be better.
"What do you mean?" The girl asked, slightly tilting her head as she looked up at him, looking downright adorable, and Miguel smiled.
"Back to Nevada. Or like.. America in general, I guess. After graduation... Your gonna go to college in the states, right?" The boy put it out there because it just seemed natural that it would be her choice. She was still heavily invested in dance, and it was always she talked about back before.
"Well, no. I don't think so. I mean I do want to visit one day but I -"
"You said you wanted to go to college in New York. And what about your ballet? All those hours what? Just throwing them away? I thought that was one of your dreams to be in a company and-" It was like the final straw he tried to grasp on, and it wasn't there.
"Miguel, that was…. A long time ago. I still love dance, but- things have changed." She tried to explain. Marley wasn't sure what her after school plans were, but she knew that her Grandfather was leaning her towards some kind of leadership position, but he wanted her to want it. Tetsuo was trying to give her space while also giving her some guidance. But Marley didn't see her future-self becoming prima-ballerina.
"They sure have." He scoffed, and Marley felt the good mood die.
"Excuse me?" Marley felt like he was pointing a finger at her, but she couldn't understand why.
"It just... you seemed like you really moved on fast." He glared at the ground.
"What do you mean?" Marley asked as if she was completely oblivious, and just like that, Miguel felt the dam that he had been trying to build... break. And he knew it was going to be a disaster, but nothing could stop it.
"Come on. I mean... you just buried them what? Last year? Yet you seem right at home with this 'new' family, which isn't even yours. You don't belong here. How can you be this 'happy' after everything? Your smiling and laughing as if...Makes me think like you never cared about us in the first place." The words spilling from Miguel like vomit, and nothing could stop it. Not even the hurt look in Marley's eyes.
Has this been on Miguel's mind for a while?
"Of course, I care! Yes, I know I have a new life here, and I love them, but you're my family too-"
"Whatever, coming here was a bad idea. Take the train without me... I'll walk back." Miguel turned away, and Marley watched as he marched off, and she couldn't move. Frozen to the spot as she thought of his words that had hit her like ice water. A shock to the system.
Marley rode the remotely empty train and took a seat near the far end. Leaning her head against the window, patiently waiting for her stop. The day certainly hadn't gone as she imagined.
Marley got off at her stop and walked through the familiar streets. The girl still felt like she was dragging around a large boulder, and it was getting heavier and heavier with every step.
Feeling an uncomfortable lump in her throat that when she tried to swallow, it only hurt. She could feel the tears prickling at her eyes and the clench at her heart. Marley could feel she was bout to cry, and she didn't want to worry her Grandfather with more tears. Marley couldn't go home, she needed to go elsewhere.
She found herself at the dance rehearsal space in the Sohma Estate, and thankfully, it was utterly deserted. No was crazy enough to dance in this summer heat.
But Marley hardly felt the heat at the moment, all she felt was the lump in her throat. She slipped off her shoes and sneaked insides the clean studio, turning on the lights and slipping off her dress without a care as she wore simple black shorts underneath and a white tank top.
Marley felt that storm of feelings in her chest and didn't know what all of them were. Right when she thought she had gotten her footing, something seemed to rip the rug right out from under her. And she felt like she hurt others in ways that she never intended.
So much had changed, and she had been through a lot, but she was happy at the end of the day as she was thankful for the blessings she had received. But was that okay? Was she not allowed?
Marley looked at the mirror that covered the back wall, eyeing the white surgery scar on her chest. The strong heartbeat thumping inside. A heart that was not hers, not initially. It came at a cost. The straight, clean line that had healed, but it still hurt now and then. She had caught Miguel staring at a few times, but he didn't say anything. Had he hated it? The girl took off her locket and placed it with her other belongings before walking over to the speaker system, swiping through her music and waited for something to click. Anything.
She knew in her head that Miguel was just hurt and that he was projecting onto her. But it didn't mean that it didn't hurt that he thought she didn't care about him or she wasn't mourning the loss of her parents.
He didn't know that at family dinners or gatherings, whenever someone said something funny or a particular song played, she would turn to the left expecting to see her parents, but they weren't there.
No one knew that whenever she learned something new at dance or felt like she did something really well, she went to her phone and wanted to call her mother to let her know.
It was a secret that when she watched the stars, she always had a one-sided conversation with her father about a recent movie she watched.
Marley didn't want anyone to know because she didn't want those looks of pity that people would give her when they learned that both of the parents had been taken away from her in an accident. Nor did she want the Sohma's to worry about her, she didn't to cause any more trouble.
There were times she wanted to talk to her Dadaji about the hurt in her heart, but she knew he could become... uncomfortable when it came to her being emotional. Typically leading to him trying to buy her something. It wasn't Tetsuo's fault, he tried, and Marley could see that. But she didn't need things.
Shuffling from song to song, something new to her library flowed through the speakers and filled the room. Slow, mournful notes that made Marley sway her body lightly to the tune.
.
Yelling at the sky
Screaming at the world
Baby, why'd you go away?
I'm still your girl
Holding on too tight
Head up in the clouds
Heaven only knows
Where you are now
.
.
.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
.
.
The sky bled orange and yellow as the long summer day started to wind down. Kids began returning home for dinner, and the night crickets were starting to come out.
"I went to the dojo, and Kyo wasn't even there," Kagura whined like a child, throwing in a pout as she walked with her fellow Zodiac members.
"a mystery." Haru simply said as he walked with his fellow Zodiac member.
"But you two looked really cool in training!" Momiji piped up as he had tagged along with Haru today.
Kagura began to complain a bit more about Kyo's absence, but Haru was chill enough to withstand it, and Momiji simply didn't care. They walked past one of the Sohma buildings, and their conversation paused by the slight pounding of the music.
"Someone is really blaring their music," Haru commented casually, but Momiji jumped up and down.
"Oh, it must be Marley! Let's pop in and watch!" Momiji was already off, and Haru figured he might as well check it out, curious to what she was up to, and Kagura followed behind.
They slipped inside the building that was warmer inside than outside and was met with the sight that was hard to look away from. Marley's tall form was balancing up on her toes with her free leg high up in the air, frozen in time like a statue as the music seemed to slow down for a moment. Til she gracefully moved through the next step, coming down and spinning. With a grace that came from years of hard work, but she made it look so natural.
.
Never got the chance
To say a last goodbye
I gotta move on
But it hurts to try
How do I love
How do I love again?
How do I trust
How do I trust again?
Marley gracefully moved across the wood floors, spinning and gliding, but there was something more than just pretty dancing. There was a certain look in Marley's face like she was fighting with something. There was a story happening here, and there was pain.
I stay up all night
Tell myself I'm alright
Baby, you're just harder to see than most
I put the record on
Wait 'til I hear our song
Every night I'm dancing with your ghost
Every night I'm dancing with your ghost
.
The dancer did a few stylish flips, but on the third one, she misstepped and fell to the floor on her side, and a hard slap was heard through the studio. Momiji rushed in and opened the door, but the image of Marley curled on the floor, her long white-blonde hair fanned out around her gave Momiji a sharp pain in his heart as he paused. The image bringing up a painful memory.
Marley was lying on the floor, deep breaths as she curled into herself, utterly unaware of the audience she had. And soft cries left her mouth her mouth, barely heard over the loud music that still filled the studio.
Kagura was the first to make it to her and placed a hand to Marley's shoulder, but this caused the girl to gasp and look at her in shock.
"Oh, Kagura! Sorry, I was just caught up in .. a moment." Marley apologized as she tried to will herself to stop crying, and the college girl simply brought out her handkerchief and handed it to Marley.
"I couldn't, I don't want- to ruin it-" But Kagura insisted and even shoved the cloth into the crying girl's face, and Marley had no choice but to use it.
"Marley-Chan! Are you okay?!" Momiji ran to her other side and looked at her with big sad eyes, and Haru stood behind him.
"Oh, Haru, Momiji. Hey, um. Sorry I was just... working on some tricks, and I didn't notice anyone was there, and I guess I kind of got lost in the song.." Marley apologized as she got up and worked hard to compose herself. Even putting on a beautiful smile that could have fooled anyone had they just not seen her opening weeping a moment ago.
Kagura rubbed Marley's back, trying to offer words of comfort while Haru and Momiji offered to grab some ice for her head even though Marley tried to insist that it wasn't necessary. She was sure the fall looked a lot worse than it was, and the girl was used to a few bruises when she was working on some tricky moves. She hoped that the three thought she was crying over the fall and not about the dark thoughts that sometimes sneak in.
"Kagura. Thank you." Marley sniffled as Kagura continued to use the handkerchief on her.
"Its nothing! I don't know what's wrong, but I'm here if you need a shoulder, Marley-Chan." Kagura told her.
"Here, I'll help you get cleaned up a bit. Your hairs a little messy." Kagura offered as she brought out a brush from her bag and helped fix Marley's hair.
.
.
.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
.
.
Haru and Momiji walked with Marley back to her house on the estate, Kagura had skipped off home but not before giving Marley a tight squeeze of a hug. While Kagura had seemed to disappear a bit these last few months, Marley had been grateful for the girl's presence as she tried to comfort her. Kagura had even lent her some sunglasses to hide her red eyes.
"I hope I didn't take you away from your plans." Marley apologized as they approached her home.
"We were actually already heading your way, Marley-Chan!" Momiji told her as they held hands, swinging their arms back and forth as he gave her a bright smile, and Marley returned it with her own. Her heart was still heavy with the earlier events of the day, but she could always put on a smile for her dear friends.
"I think I've got some ice cream bars in the freez-"
"I'll KILL YOU!" A loud yell interrupted Marley's offer and made the three high school students jump. Haru, Momiji, and Marley looked at each other, and instead of going through the front door, they slipped around the back and approached the back porch.
Marley wasn't sure how to explain what she was seeing.
Hatori and Dadaji were sitting at one end of the table calmly, holding cards in their hands. In contrast, Ayame sat back, laughing in only the way he could while a woman wearing short jean shorts and a white T-Shirt was up on her feet and pointing a finger at him before throwing her cards at the laughing Ayame.
"Ah, Gabriella is back, I see." Haru pointed out as if it weren't obvious, and Marley's mouth was still hanging slightly open at the scene.
"Gabiii!" Momiji cheered as he bounced his way over to the beautiful Latina.
"Sup little cutie." Gabriella grinned at the small blonde boy and patted his fluffy hair.
"Oh, Marley, welcome home. Hatsuharu, you're looking well." Tetsuo greeted as she slipped off her shoes and stepped in.
"Hi..." Marley slightly waved her fingers, and the woman turned around and tackled the girl in a tight hug.
"Oi, Marley! This man is a snake!" Gabriella gestured to Ayame, and he actually froze, his sake cup inches from his mouth.
"I – uh! What do you mean by that?!" Marley nervously laughed while Hatori tried to hide his slight smile behind his card, and Tetsuo let out a chuckle.
"He is taking all my money-"
"You wanted to put money on it-" Hatori inputted
"AND THEN HE STARTS CHEATING!" Gabi accused and was getting so excited that even Zazu, who was up in his cage, was chirping like crazy.
"Ahahahahaha, now, now, Gabriella Angel Hernadez Flores, don't be like that." Ayame used Gabriella's full name, and Marley was a little impressed. Gabi was not.
"I will shave off all your hair and sell it on the black market, I swear." Gabi threatened, a somewhat evil smirk on her face, but no one seemed all that bothered by it.
"We ordered in some sushi, would you like some?" Tetsuo asked as Haru was already in a kitchen, snooping around and grabbing himself some food.
"Um, sure. let me just put some stuff away." Marley smiled, but Momiji had already grabbed himself a plate and was piling on his favourites.
Marley made her way of the stairs and ducked into her bathroom, she took off her sunglasses and revealed her red eyes to the mirror. They were slightly red but not swollen, which Marley was a little grateful for.
"Does... Does it really look like I never cared?" Marley asked as she gripped the locket in her hand. No one answered, and she knew an answer wouldn't come, but it still felt incredibly lonely.
.
Marley freshened up, taking out her contacts, washing her face and slipped on her glasses, trying to shake away all the troubling thoughts. She didn't want to trouble anyone with her problems, and she wanted to just hang out and have some fun with her friends. She even grabbed one of her shopping bags that had the gachas she had picked up on her day out.
When she returned downstairs, Kisa and Hiro had also shown up, and Hatsuharu had gotten the video games up and running. It was looking like a full house tonight.
"Onee-Chan." Kisa immediately came over and made herself comfortable by Marley's side.
"Would anyone like anything to drink?" Marley asked, and a few nodded while her Dadaji and Gabi pointed to their sake. Kisa asked if she could help in her quiet angelic voice that made the whole room melt.
Gabi watched from her seat in the living room as Marley got started on drinks and cleaned up what was left of the sushi dinner the adults had earlier. The young Kisa was diligently following her and trying to help with whatever she could.
"Aw, she's like Marley's little shadow." Gabi cooed while watching, also noticing the genuine smile on Marley's face as she and the young girl worked together.
"They're very close. Marley's actually got little Kisa into Ballet." Tetsuo told her, and Gabi could only smile.
"Looks like she's certainly made a home here." Gabi could only smile, happy that her dear friend's daughter seemed to be thriving so well. Gabi would be lying if she said she didn't worry about the kindhearted girl living in a foreign country, but she was perhaps worried about nothing.
"Well, she certainly caused a bit of a stir to this old traditional place. It's certainly been wonderful having her bring in some sunshine", Ayame commented, and Hatori even smiled a bit, wholeheartedly agreeing with his friend for once.
"I'm happy for her. I wish her parents could be here." The adults of the table nodded, agreeing with Gabi's words. At the same time, Haru, Hiro and Momiji were wrapped up in the gachas Marley had bought for them, opening them up and comparing and even trying to trade amongst themselves.
"Aya, I ran into Yuki this morning," Marley said as she returned into the room served everyone some iced peach tea.
"Ohhh! Did he mention me?" Ayame seemed to be glowing at the mention of his little brother.
"No... but he did say he was heading to meet his student council members. That must have been so exciting! I wonder what kind of people they were." Marley was basically talking to herself because Ayame was already on the phone, and Marley could hear Yuki's groan on the other side.
"Marley mentioned you had a student council meeting this morning. Any cute girls. Go on, tell your big brother. Or maybe you need advice from a past Student Council President" Ayame began to go on and on, practically yelling into the phone, and Marley realized what she had done.
"... I think... Yuki might actually kill me the next time he sees me." The white-blonde sagged her shoulders as she let out a small sigh, hoping that Yuki could forgive her.
"I think you'll be fine. Ayame, on the other hand." Hatori shook his head at his friend, wondering if this conversation would help the two become closer or just drift further apart.
"What's going on?" Gabi asked as she looked Ayame on the phone.
"Oh, um Ayame has a little brother about my age. He and Yuki are... working on their relationship." Marley tried to explain without seeming like she was giving away too much personal information.
"What's his brother like?" Gabi asked before she took another sip of sake.
"Yuki is.. Kind of shy but very polite. And he's very popular at school though I don't think he enjoys it all that much." Marley sighed as she remembers Yuki's over the top fangirls.
"Here, I've got a photo." Marley offered as she pulled out her phone and showed a picture of her and Yuki at the farm with some chickens.
"So handsome. He looks like he could be part of a KPOP boy band." Gabi looked at the photo and then back at Ayame.
"They certainly look-alike", Gabi commented.
"Don't tell Yuki that." Hatsuharu chimed in, not even turning his eyes away from the screen as he, Momiji and Hiro were in the middle of a race.
"That's kind of sweet though, isn't it. Siblings can be complicated, but at least Ayame is trying." Gabi reached for the sake bottle and poured herself some more and then offered to fill up Hatori's and Tetsuo's cup.
"I mean, my brother can drive me absolutely up the wall sometimes... but I wouldn't change a thing about him. And I annoy him right back all the time don't worry." Gabi joked, and Marley only smiled. She knew that Gabi took great care of Miguel, especially under the circumstances that had come with.
"So, it's just you and Miguel?" Hatori asked as he pulled his cup away from Gabi's reach.
"Well, our parents live in California, but he's living with me at the moment." Gabi quickly said, not wanting to get too into it.
"Though he honestly used to spend more time at this one's place more than mine." Gabi teased Marley, and she only smiled, fondly remembering how Miguel use to come over dinners and would watch hockey games while she worked on her homework. Marley's parents worked a lot, so it was nice to have Miguel in the house to make it feel less lonely.
"Marley, I'm done with Miguel taking up your time. We're having a girls day tomorrow. Plus, I wanna get into a studio with you, and I can teach some moves." Gabi pointed at Marley and winked. The teen smiled and nodded her head, looking forward to catching up. The woman had been so busy with work that Marley had only been able to catch her now and then.
"Sounds great."
"Oh, and any chance you have any samosas? I've been craving them for like months, and you always made the best." Gabi gushed, but Marley was flattered for the praise and had her great-grandmothers recipe to thank for the mouthwatering samosas.
"I can make a batch, just need to pick up a few things," Marley said, and this caused Gabi to cheer and engulf the girl in a bear hug, and Marley even heard Momiji cheer about the savoury treat. Kisa was already fidgeting with her fingers and asking if she could come over and help.
.
.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
.
The evening breeze blew through the open dojo. Two bodies moved through the dojo, punches, side steps, and kicks were flying. Kyo had chosen to train in the late evening. He wanted to train without everyone else and hoping he could work out this irritation he had been feeling.
Kazuma was titled his head as he watched. Kyo's movement seemed to be all over the place, and he would take a miss-step now and then and would miss openings. Kyo had been here a lot these last few days. It surprised both Kazuma and Kunimitsu, but they had an inkling as to why Kyo couldn't seem to fully concentrate.
It was more evident than ever in this fight that Kyo's mind to be muddled.
Kunimitsu could be a tough opponent, but Kyo would typically be able to keep up. Not today, it seemed as Kunimitsu sent a kick to Kyo's chest and sent him flying across the room. The orange-haired boy was struggling to get up, and the Karate master decided it was time.
"That's enough for today." Kazuma clapped his hands, and Kunimitsu helped Kyo get up, and the two bowed to each other and then to Kazuma, ending the session.
"dammit," Kyo muttered as he grabbed a towel and sat down on the bench, looking like he had been ultimately defeated.
"Something on your mind?" Kazuma asked as he walked over
Kyo looked up at him and then away to the hardwood floor.
"How's summer vacation so far? It must be nice to have a break." Kazuma tried, used to Kyo's sometimes silent ways.
"It's okay," Kyo muttered as he rubbed the back of his neck with the towel. Kazuma decided to try something.
"It seems I always see Marley running in and out of the Estate, but she moves so quickly it is hard to catch her for a quick chat." Kyo seemed to pause in his movements when Marley was mentioned.
"Do you think that maybe you could invite her over for lunch?" Kazuma asked, and this made Kyo finally turn to look up at him from the bench.
"What?"
"You would be there too. I'm inviting you both over for lunch." Kazuma's eyes danced with mirth, trying to keeping himself from smiling too much.
Kazuma had to step back as Kyo seemed to leap off the bench and was off down the hallway.
"I'll use the dojo phone... I'll ask, just don't get disappointed if she can't..." He heard Kyo tell him, but Kazuma and Kunimitsu just looked at each other and laughed when Kyo was out of sight.
"You know those commercials that show kids on Christmas morning, excited to open presents?" The two laughed, but Kazuma felt a warmth in his body, proud that the boy he called his son was growing up, and he couldn't wait to see how everything would unfold.
.
.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
.
Marley was trying to put together her laundry, but one orange and white kitty was having none of it. The day had been long, but she was trying to figure out laundry so she could do it in the morning and then let it dry on the line before she left for the day with Gabi.
Haru, Momiji, Kisa and Hiro had gone home, but the adults were still up drinking and playing cards. Marley had slipped away, mentioning she wanted to tidy up her room a bit.
She was also trying to ignore her phone, which had 4 missed calls from Miguel and what had to be about 15 texts. But she wasn't feeling up to tackling it. So, she just ignored his calls. It wasn't that she didn't want to speak with him, it was more like she wasn't sure what to say.
But she did send a text that let him know that she was tired and was going to bed. Marley didn't have it in her to completely ignore someone.
"Gimliii. Please?" Marley was trying not to laugh as Gimli once more made himself comfortable in the laundry pile that his human mother was trying to put into the laundry basket. Marley went through all her bags to make sure she hadn't missed anything. Going into the purse she had used that day, she pulled out the handkerchief that Kagura had lent to her.
Marley's fingers going over the embroidery, now realizing it was a few orange cats around the edges and paw prints and little hearts. It was a very cute handkerchief and another reminder of Kagura's feelings for a certain boy.
I'll definitely want to handwash this... don't want to risk ruining this stitching...
"Meow." Gimli didn't like the somewhat crestfallen look that crossed his mother's eyes and wanted her attention.
"Baby, I don't care if it's comfortable. I'm trying to get organized!" Marley groaned, but Gimli simply meowed and snuggled in more to the dirty pile on the floor, giving Marley a playful look in his eyes.
"Alright... you have to the count of 3...1...2...2 and a ha-"
Marley's ringtone saved Gimli from moving, and Marley looked over and noticed an unknown number. She figured it wouldn't hurt to answer, she then heard a low voice that made her heart do a flip.
"Hey, hope it's not too late..." Kyo's voice came through the phone, and there it was again. The hammering in Marley's heart started again, and she was glad that Kyo couldn't hear it over the phone.
"Um, no, not all. What's up?" Marley asked as she sat down on her bed. There was some silence while Marley waited for Kyo to answer. Unknown to her, Kyo was figuring out what to say.
"So, how's your hand?"
"Oh, it's fine..." Marley's bandaged fingers had really been the least of her troubles today. She would take burns to the hand over the stab she felt when Miguel suggested, and the angry yet hurt look in his green eyes.
"You just buried them what? Last year? Yet you seem right at home with this 'new' family, which isn't even yours. You don't belong here. How can you be this 'happy' after everything? Your smiling and laughing as if...Makes me think like you never cared about them or even us in the first place."
Maybe even if she wasn't supposed to be here. Even if being here came at a cost. Was it okay for Marley to find happiness? Or was that selfish?
"You okay?" Kyo asked into the phone.
"Huh?"
"I dunno, you... Just sounded off." He sighed as he tried to get to what could be on Marley's mind, and for some reason, it just pissed him off, knowing that she was possibly upset over something.
"Oh... I guess I just had a long day." Marley tried to play it off as nothing.
"Look, you don't have to tell me or whatever if you don't want- just... You do that weird high voice thing, and I know somethings up." Kyo scratched the back of his neck as he stood by the phone.
"Do I?" Marley asked, not just Kyo but herself.
"You're doing it right now.." He pointed out, and Marley used her free hand to cover her face, embarrassed that she had a tell. Her mother had told her she would have been awful at poker. Kyo was waiting on the other end.
"I... I upset Miguel, and I feel like.. I've failed as a friend." Marley tried to play it off as small, but she chocked on her words as she felt disappointed in herself and horrible for causing pain to someone she cared for.
Marley was so grateful for the home that she had and was thankful for the Sohma family, who had been so wonderful. She was happy. Of course, she was still mourning her parents, she wanted them here with her. But they weren't, and Marley had been given a miracle of the chance to keep on living. It was a gift that could truly never be repaid, but she wanted to at least not take it for granted.
Did it really appear that she had never cared? Had Marley been so caught up in her new life that Miguel thought she never cared about their friendship.
"I highly doubt that you 'failed' as a friend." Kyo interrupted her thoughts, and Marley's eyes widened.
"Huh."
"You care too much if you ask me, I'm sure he's just an ass or something." He put it so bluntly that Marley let out a small burst of laughter but put a hand over her mouth, embarrassed that she would laugh over such a thing.
"No.. No. He's not. I think... Maybe I've just disappointed him." Marley looked over at her desk and spotted at an old framed photo of her and the handsome Latino, his smile showing off his dimples.
Miguel had been her best friend. Her only true friend back in the states and Marley was afraid that he would leave... And then she would have been alone. It was that attitude that had led to some messy situations.
And in the end, the two had been separated, only... Marley had been the one to leave. The white-blonde had wondered if they would ever reunite and imagined everything could just go back to before... before everything truly blew up.
She wished that she had done so many things differently. Marley wished she had been more honest with Miguel and reached out to him rather than waiting all this time.
She wished she hadn't told her parents that she would be fine on her own while they flew back home, Marley wished she had kept them here, kept them safe.
But Marley couldn't change the past and had to keep moving forward...at least, she tried to tell herself that but sometimes the words weren't enough.
"Even though... Me being here is a mistake... Do you think that its okay for me to find happiness?" Marley asked so softly as her fingers subconsciously played with the locket around her neck.
"What?"
"Never mind its stupid. Ignore me." Marley rushed her words, embarrassed that she was confessing these feelings to Kyo, but the boy simply shook his head, though Marley couldn't see and tried to give his two cents.
Kyo thought about her words and thought he wasn't sure what Marley meant by 'mistake'; he could just imagine Marley grasping onto the locket that held her parents' picture.
"You're thinking about your parents, right? I mean... they would want you to, wouldn't they? They loved you a lot." Kyo stated with certainty as he would never forget the look in Marley's mothers' eyes when she spoke of her daughter. The love and adoration that radiated off as a young Kyo looked up in awe at the foreign woman who spoke strangely.
"I'm sure they'd want you to just... Keep living, right? Are you happy?" Kyo asked.
"I am... I feel so lucky to have... This wonderful family and friends, even after-.." Marley traced the small scar on her chest. She reminded herself of Kyo's words that day when they were only separated by the changing room curtain as she tried on swimsuits.
"That scar is proof, right? That you're alive... Right now." Kyo stood right outside the blue curtain separating them, Marley stood directly on the other side, hanging onto his words.
… I miss them so much; I want more than anything for them to be here... but I'm also happy. Is that wrong?
"You're alive and... you're trying to find happiness, that's all that matters. I imagine that's all they wanted, right?" Kyo sat on the floor by the by the phone at the dojo, leaning back up against the wall.
"Just because you're not walking around sulking doesn't mean you don't miss them. And if that guy's being a dick about it then... he just doesn't get it." Kyo scoffed, and it managed to make Marley giggle a bit.
Kyo recalled when his own mother died, and at the funeral, he didn't cry. All the adults whispered about it, that because he wasn't crying, it must mean that he didn't love her. That wasn't true. Not at all.
Everyone had their way of grieving. One could never truly know what someone could be dealing with.
"He's really not that bad... He's just... he's upset that I left." Marley said as she tried to defend her friend.
"I get that." Kyo responded quickly, and Marley was curious as to why he meant by 'I get that.'
.
"Hmm? What do you-GIMLI NO!" Marley jumped up and grabbed the article of clothing from Gimli's mouth.
"What has that devil cat done now?" Kyo asked, smirking slightly into the receiver.
"He is a sweetheart." Marley defended her larger than average cat who gave her a proud look.
"Ya, who keeps trying to bring your half-dead birds. What'd he do now?" Kyo was being a little cheeky, he knew it, but with Marley, it was easy to joke around.
"He's trying to drag away my dress." Marley admitted as Gimli finally let go. Kyo started to laugh, and Marley felt her heart do little flips. Marley wasn't sure how Kyo was able to make her feel this way. He was easy to talk with and was so observant, and she wondered how she became so lucky to be part of his life.
Kyo was someone precious to her.
"Shishou wanted us to come over for lunch. Its just lunch, nothing exciting-" Kyo scratched the back of his neck as he finally got around to asking what he called about but was quickly interrupted.
"I'd love to!" Marley chirped, excited to spend time together and honoured that she had been invited to lunch.
"Alright, I know your busy and whatever with... everything, but is Thursday okay?" Kyo asked, getting ready for her to say that she would be busy with 'Miguel.'
"Thursday is perfect." Marley chirped, a giant smile on her face.
"K... I'll meet you at the main gate at 11." Kyo decided, his own smile spreading across his lips.
The two wished each other good night and hung up. Marley let out a breath and fell back on her bed, her hands clamped over her phone and holding it to her beating chest. A giant grin on her face that was honestly starting to hurt her cheeks.
This wasn't a storm she had been feeling, they were full-blown butterflies flying around her chest and unable to erase the smile on her face.
Maybe I do have feelings for Kyo...
Kyo was such a wonderful part of her life. He stood by her through tears and laughter, and Marley felt like... Well, she actually couldn't really explain the feeling she got when she was with Kyo, but it felt light.
And she didn't want to ruin their friendship with her feelings. She couldn't lose that. And wanted to convince herself that she would be able to throw whatever she was feeling deep down and not burden anyone with her heart.
Its... It's just a crush. It will be fine...
But honestly, Thursday already felt too far away.
Small little paws climbed onto Marley and settled right on her chest, the vibrations of his purrs were easy to hear.
"You'll keep my secret? Right, baby?" Marley asked as she brought up a hand to the top of Gimli's fluffy head, and he leaned into it, meowing as he did.
"Alright, I'll bribe you if I must. I'll sneak you some shrimp." Marley giggled, and Gimli happily meowed again, enjoying being the spoiled cat that he was.
Marley felt around the bed and picked up Kagura's handkerchief that she had dropped on the bed. Flowery embroidery, and little orange cats around the edges. In honour of the Kagura's love for her fellow Zodiac member.
Kyo...
Isuzu's words rang through again, along with the cold look in her piercing brown eyes.
"You can't be together."
Marley was again hit the splash of cold water of reality
Marley wasn't a zodiac member; she was an outsider. That fact was sometimes lost on her as she felt so at home with them and held them to dear to her heart.
And then there was Kagura who was and who could fully love Kyo the way he deserved. Kagura, who kindly tried to comfort Marley when she was crying like a child in the middle of the studio's floor. She felt something in her throat, and her eyes started to burn, but she still smiled as she held the phone to her chest.
Marley was reminded, and feeling of guilt just came again and again. Kagura was so kind to her, and yet here Marley was, getting flustered over spending time with Kyo. The boy that Kagura loved.
"It's a beautiful handkerchief. I'll return it. I promise. But... is it okay if I just.. Dream a little bit." Marley whispered to the universe, hoping that no one would get hurt because of her or that she would lose any precious friendships.
I'll keep it hidden.
"It's just a crush..." Marley said softly as she closed her eyes, the long exhausting day taking its toll as it made her eyes heavy.
Right?
The girl didn't have time to think as her door was busted open, Gimli ran and hid at the loud sound, and a body landed on hers, nearly knocking the wind out of her.
.
"Marleyyyy! Honeyyyy! Your Abuelito is making me sleep in the guest room. He said I'm too drunk to leave!" Gabi was practically whining into Marley's chest. One would never guess that Gabriella was a grown married woman with how she was acting right now.
But Marley could only laugh, it honestly brought back memories of when her Mother and Gabi would go out drinking. They would always be full of life when they came back to the apartment, waking Marley up because they wanted her to be part of whatever food they were trying to make in the kitchen.
"That Kisaaa is such a sweetie pie, she looks at you like you a Disney princess or something. Oh, and you should get with Haru, like I'm not into that, but he cute, you don't have to marry him, just have like a few cute kids with him... or really any of the Sohma boys, they got some good genes..." Gabi started speaking Spanish as Marley helped her to the room down the hall and helped her into bed.
"OHHHH MMMMyY GOD! This bed is so comfyyyy." Gabi flopped around in the large guest bed. Marley offered to grab the last-minute guest some water and returned quickly, wanting Gabi to drink some water before she passed out.
"Waaah CHANDRAA! Never let me play with Aya again... he cheats..." Gabi cried before grabbing the glass and downing in one go, Marley froze a little bit when Gabriella called out Marley's mother name.
"Uhhuh, I'm exhausted..." And with that, the woman was out, light snores filling the room. Marley let out a small before tucking her in and turning off the light, closing the door behind her.
"She's certainly a handful." Hatori and Ayame were heading out
"You should have seen her with Mama, they could really 'tear up the town.'" Marley joked, and Hatori and Ayame could just imagine it. Hatori softly chuckled, patting Marley's head, telling her to get some rest.
"Au Revoir Principessa. Till we meet again." Ayame took Marley's hand and laid a gentlemanly kiss, and Marley curtsied, happy to play along as it was all in good fun.
The house finally settled down, the only sound was the night crickets and slight snoring she heard from Gabriella down the hall. Marley was finally able to crawl under her covers and quickly fell asleep, the events of the day tiring her out.
It wasn't how she expected the day to go, but she was sure tomorrow would be better and was looking forward to lunch with Kyo and Kazuma later in the week, falling asleep as she gazed at her bandaged fingertips.
Maybe I'll make some sweets, and we can share them together... that'll be nice.
.
.
.
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Notes:
Tawa: a flat cast iron cooking pan for cooking flatbreads mostly, such as roti.
Akihabara: Busy shopping hub for electronics, manga, anime and video games. A little touristy but lots of fun to explore.
Gacha: Capsule toy vending machines that come in a wide variety.
En Pointe: Pointe technique is the part of classical ballet technique that concerns pointe work, in which a ballet dancer supports all body weight on the tips of fully extended feet within pointe shoes.
Song: Dancing With Your Ghost - Sasha Sloan
Also, Ayame is mixing together french and Italian for his goodbye but I feel like that's something he would do XD
Soooo looks like Marley's got a certain case of survivors' guilt maybe and I hope she doesn't get too lost in it. Miguel is struggling to see his friend do so well without him. I imagine he's not coming across that great but I hope you give him a chance.
Next time: The girls go out for dinner and talk a little about love, Tohru learns something new and Marley goes to lunch with Kyo.
And again... I'm sorry about the delay. This chapter has been kind of done for a while but I kept changing things and then I put off editing it... anybody wanna become my editor LOL
Thank you so much for sticking around even though I'm a bit of a mess.
Thank you to those who leave reviews. My heart legit swells up when I get to read one 3
Hope you enjoy this chapter and hope you are all safe and healthy.