The Only Colour Better Than Black Is Transparent Chap 11
A.N. I'm so sorry for not updating for a while and to make it up to you, I shall post two chapters!!!! YAY!!!! But be prepared they are quite depressing.... but as i always say, necessary.
“When he got kicked, it was the weakest point in his entire leg,” the doctor explained, “his femur bone simply couldn’t take it and now we have a multiple fracture. When he collapsed at an odd angle, his hip bone also got damaged, knee cartilage got torn and to top it all off, a fragment of bone has cut a central nerve in his thigh. With every important part of his leg damaged, there is no possibility that he could ever walk on two legs again. The best we can do now is surgically remove the shards of bone, insert plates to his femur and hope to fix his knee…”
“…Doctor,” Ueda seemed to have lost his soul, “how long has he been coming in for physio?” Eyes empty, he prepared for the worst.
The doctor flipped back to the last page of his reference clipboard. “Since the beginning of April, when he was involved in a car accident.”
“And no amount of surgery or money could possibly fix the damage that the bastard who hit him did?” Ueda whispered, barely audible.
“I’m afraid not,” the doctor shook his head apologetically, “There’s only so much we can do without divine intervention. What I want to know is how his family could have not noticed that something wasn’t right? Who in their right mind would hide something as serious as this?”
“He…. Doesn’t live with his family,” Ueda bit his lip.
“That explains a lot,” the doctor scribbled something down, “you’d have to be a pretty insensitive person not to notice if you were living with him.”
Ryo felt the need to smack his head on a bed of nails. Oh my God there’s GOT to be a limit to how KY of a doctor a hospital can employ!!!!
Ueda staggered out of the doctor’s office a complete shambles. He looked like a ghost of what he used to be… who could blame him? The red light on the operating theatre’s door seemed to mock him.
Serves you right, asshole, he thought to himself, You deserve every single bit of this pain right now because you’ve been the most horrible person to have existed. How could you not notice? He’s the closest person to you! How could you be the cause of all this and not notice a thing until somebody in a white coat spells it out to you in Japanese?!
“Where are you going?” Ryo grabbed hold of his friend before the latter walked through a wall, “OI! Get a grip!! He’s not gonna die!!!”
“HOW CAN I EVER FACE HIM?!” Ueda suddenly threw Ryo to the side, “YOU HEARD THE DOC!! THIS IS ALL MY FAULT!!! All he’s been doing for all this time is smile at me, love me, make me feel like the luckiest thing in the universe and what did I do?! I took away his LEGS!! And he was STILL SMILING up until they knocked him out!!!”
“Then why are you leaving the hospital?!” Ryo picked himself up off a bench.
“Because I can’t breathe!” Ueda sobbed, “Because I want to fucking kill myself!! BECAUSE I NEED TO PHONE GABRIEL AND GET MY HEALING MAGIC BACK!!!”
“…Has it not occurred to you once that they might have planned this?” Ryo lied, “Do you really think they’ll give your powers back to save one measly human who’s not even dying? They’ll blackmail you to go back to Heaven, put you through a Guardian Angel course, and get you back to miraculously heal him in twenty years’ time after wiping his memories of you! That way he’ll be able to testify the impossible and bring glory to whatever he’s worshipping at the time! For God’s sake don’t put yourself through this!! It helps no-one!!!”
Needless to say Ryo was lying through his teeth. Heaven was bound by protocol not to tell lies, and if Tatsuya were to ask for magic back, Archangel Gabriel would be forced to tell him exactly how to do it. And no doubt Tatsuya would follow it through to save Taguchi at the cost of himself.
Not if I can help it.
“Then what can I do?” Ueda must have been pretty hopeless to ask Ryo for advice.
“Stay with him,” Ryo advised, “Stay with him until your hourglass runs out… at this rate, it will last the length of his lifetime so keep by him and think of nothing else.”
And when the hourglass runs out, you’ll be able to go back to the other realms and live life to the full. Falling in love with a human was an unfortunate mistake, and you’ll learn to live through it. Please.
When Junno woke up from a drug-induced comatose, he felt the most beautiful locks of copper hair tickling his face.
The figure sleeping on him seemed to have wings - angels’ wings.
“U-Uepi?” he murmured, “…is that you?”
The wings disappeared as his head cleared.
“Nope, this is your late great-uncle communicating through my body,” Ueda tried to remain the same way as he always was, “It’s about time you woke up.”
“Wow,” Junno laughed weakly, “You look in bad shape. When was the last time you had a shower?”
It was difficult holding back tears. “Don’t act like a soap opera. You’ve only been out cold for two days, not twenty,” Ueda brushed a strand of hair from Junno’s face, “are you thirsty? Do you want anything to eat or drink? What about your pillow? Need fluffing?”
“….Uepi,” Junno cocked his head to one side, “is something wrong?”
“Whatnonothing’swrongwhatcouldpossiblybewrong-
“Is my right leg stuffed?” Junno asked simply, “Because you’re acting strange.”
How did he get this perceptive?!
“I don’t understand a thing of what you say,” Ueda feigned ignorance and started to peel an apple.
“My leg is in a full cast but not on a sling,” Junno remained sombre, “because my hip is damaged, isn’t it? And I can’t feel my right leg below the knee.”
“Paranoia,” his lover kept peeling, “you overthink things because your IQ is too high.”
“You’re peeling the apple with the back of the knife Uepi,” Junno pointed out softly, eerily calm, “If there’s anything, I’d rather hear it from you.”
Defeated, Ueda threw down the fruit and knife, enveloping Junno in a hug. “Why….. do you torture yourself? Why couldn’t you just tell me that I injured your leg and demand that I pay for your medical expenses?! WHY DID YOU KEEP EXERTING YOURSELF AND DANCE LIKE NOTHING WAS WRONG?!?!?!” He squeezed Junno’s shoulder with hot tears running down his cheeks, staining the thin hospital nightie translucent.
“…I…Liked you,” Junno gave a small pause, as if trying to choose the right words, “I wanted to impress you and make you love me. I didn’t want to appear like a whiny person because I’d annoy you more, or make you fix my leg because you might run from responsibility. And after I found out that you were a nice person, I was too in love with you to put you through the stress and guilt so I ended up not telling you… I swear it was nearly fixed! But I guess we each have our own destinies and unfortunate accidents, like me being hit by your car… If I could choose, I’d choose you over my legs a million times over!”
“I’d choose for you to live your life to the max, without someone like me who only brings you suffering…”
Junno placed a warm hand on Ueda’s head of coppery hair. “And your words are EXACTLY why I’d choose the opposite.”
“Is it too late to promise you I’ll never leave you?” the angel hugged Junno closer, “I’m so sorry… Just…So sorry.”
“If you apologise for this ever again,” Junno joked, “I might consider dumping you.” He laughed, “The last thing I want is a lover who grovels at my bed all day, telling me how sorry he is. I mean, how damn BORING would that be? Just stay you and I’m sure we’ll be fine!”
“…what will I ever do with you, baka?” Ueda kissed the side of Junno’s neck, “I still wish I’d backed over you.” Someone like you deserves to be in Heaven, not hell on earth. I was wrong. YOU’RE not hell on earth. I am… to you.
“ohmygawd what day is it today?!” Junno suddenly gave a jerk, “You said that I was out for two days!!”
“Yep, it’s the 4th today,” Ueda checked his watch, “did you have a paper due?”
“OMG OMG NO WAAY!!!! THIS IS SUCH BAD TIMING!!!!” Junno started to fidget and pressing his call button next to the bed frantically.
A nurse scuttled over immediately. “Taguchi-san what is the matter? Are you feeling unwell?”
“Where are my belongings?!” Junno looked almost hysterical, and pointed out of the window, “It’s nearly SUNSET!!! I NEED MY STUFF!!!! NOOOOW!!!!!”
“I’m sorry,” Ueda apologised, “He’s a spoilt only child and he’s coming off his drug high. I suggest you find the stuff he’s talking about or he might destroy your hospital… Junno stop trying to move! They spent forever trying to patch up your leg.” A pang of guilt hit him for the millionth time. He could be walking if it weren’t for me…
“R-right away!” the nurse seemed bewildered by the hyperactive Junno trying to crawl out of bed and Ueda, who was bopping him on the head like one would do in whack-a-mole.
As soon as she left, the ‘spoilt brat’ character came into play. “Uepi,” Junno demanded, “Buy me cake.”
“WHAT the fuck are you ON?!” Ueda couldn’t believe his ears, “You’re on an empty stomach! You can’t possibly want to eat crap like cake!!”
“I ORDERED a millicrepe from the bakery in Shinjuku~” Junno whined, “It’s for today so you HAVE to pick it up before the day ends!!!!!!! You know that cake place where we had cheesecake last week? I’ve already paid for it!!!! Just tell them it’s for Taguchi… The order number is 104!”
“You can’t expect me to get that NOW?!” Ueda almost lost track of his sanity for a second. The guy had a munched up leg, will never walk again for the rest of his life and now he wants CAKE?!
“Yes.”
“Is your plaster cast cutting off all the oxygen to your brain?”
“Not yet, but if I don’t get my cake today, I’ll cry,” Junno threatened with full seriousness, “And I won’t share my next cake with you.”
“If that place is closed when I get there, I’ll kill you for real,” Ueda picked up his car keys from the bedside table. Placing a soft kiss on Junno’s cheek, he rushed out, not wanting Junno’s cake to be delayed.
“You never fail to impress me Taguchi,” Ryo popped up from behind a curtain around the next bed.
“AAARRGH!!” Junno nearly jumped out of his own skin, “NISHIKIDO-SAN YOU’RE A NINJA!!”
“Hey I won’t be able to do this anymore after today,” Ryo shrugged, “Tat-chan’s getting you moved into a private suite tomorrow and he’s flying in rehab experts from every continent for you. And counsellors for trauma I think…. And stem cell therapists, nutritionists-
“And he forgot his own birthday because of it?” Junno smiled, “I don’t need any of that. I just need him to be happy.”
“I know,” Ryo reached into his pockets, “but let him try his best. It will make him feel better. What you need right now is this.” From his jeans he produced two matching Tiffany & Co. boxes. “I picked these up off the floor in the café… Yours?”
“Nishikido-san I-
“Shut up and be your cheesy self,” Ryo put them on Junno’s blanket and started out the door, “Be sure to think of some lines to impress him! And oh, if your cast IS cutting off the oxygen to your brain, be sure to tell the staff or you won’t have enough breath for snogging later.”
Pretending he didn’t know what Junno was thinking under his smile was difficult, and Ryo couldn’t help but smirk a little when he left. Humans think they can fool the world.
Probably the last time for snogging too…. Taguchi Junnosuke, you’ve made a surprisingly wise decision in your head. Though I do hope when you come to reject Tat-chan, you’ll do it gently. There’s no telling what he’s do to you, after all…
As Ueda stepped through the automatic doors of the upmarket cake shop, he was confronted by the people he least wanted to see at that moment in time.
An overly cheerful counter girl smothered with so much makeup that it was threatening to crack and fall off her face, Nakamaru Yuichi and Tanaka Koki.
An odd combination, but annoyingly so instead of a pleasant surprise.
“EEEHH?!” Nakamaru immediately distanced himself from Koki, “U-Ueda-kun what are you doing HERE?!”
“To pick up Junno’s cake,” Ueda eyed the pair, “What about you?”
“Nothing…” Nakamaru lied, much to Koki’s disdain.
“Sure sure… innocent coincidence I presume?” Ueda teased evilly, making his professor squirm, “If I didn’t know that you two dated, I’d believe you.”
“He knows?” it was Koki’s turn to squirm, “Yucchi I thought nobody knew about this? What happens if everyone knows? Your JOB will be in danger!”
“My SANITY will be in danger soon if I don’t get back with this cake so I’ll catch you two later,” Ueda rushed up to the counter. “Hi, order 104 pick-up for Taguchi please?”
Koki’s cell phone rang. “Wazzup homie?” he picked up, “…no wonder Micchi doesn’t want to drink her milk! You idiot! That kitten will only drink milk if she has the tuna biscuits… no her blanket’s in the other cupboard! The blue one belongs to the ferret!... Wha- hello? Hello?”
Still yelling things into his phone, Koki stepped outside in hope for better reception.
Seeing the bewildered look on the shop attendant’s face, Nakamaru kindly offered an explanation. “He’s a trainee vet.”
“Who cares?” Ueda tapped impatiently on the counter, “Order 104?”
The girl smiled, putting shockwaves through her makeup layer. “Right away Sir, it will take about-
And this is the PERFECT time for a power cut.
Also, the automatic doors will not open.
“FUCK!!! YOU’VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!!” Ueda howled after banging on the door, “I DON’T HAVE TIME TO BE STUCK HERE!!!”
“Where is the fire exit, if I may ask?” Nakamaru sighed.
“Umm… we were cleaning the wall behind the disinfecting dishwasher so we moved it in front of the back door…” the girl hung her head apologetically, “We might have to wait until the power comes back on-
“Isn’t that against the fucking LAW to block the FIRE EXIT?!” Ueda fumed, “I don’t have all night to sit in here! Where’s my cake anyways?!”
“I think it’s better in the fridge sir-
“Then find us a way to get out then if you’re not doing anything helpful!” The stress of the past few days exploded and Ueda found the nearest person to vent it on - in this case, the poor cake shop girl. If he still had his powers, he’d turn her into a puppy then kick her with football spikes.
As she went upstairs to check on the power, silence resumed.
“Now now Ueda-kun,” Nakamaru made himself comfortable on the tile floor and leant against the counter, “there’s nothing we can do right now so let’s sit down and eat a bit of cake.” He opened his purchase and took out two beautifully ornate (giant) strawberry cup-cakes. “You can eat Koki’s one.”
“Are you sure he won’t stab me out of jealousy?” Ueda sat down and pointed to the glass door, on which Koki was banging and yelling furiously, something along the lines of ‘you do anything to my Yucchi and cup-cake; I’ll stab you to death’.
Nakamaru only smiled and made an ‘O’ with his arms at Koki and waved. One could almost see steam coming out of his ears.
“So now that we’re locked inside a cake shop at dusk, I want to ask you a private question,” the professor started.
“Are those two points related in ANY way?” Ueda bit a chunk out of his cup-cake unceremoniously, frosting plastering itself to his face.
“Nope,” Nakamaru took a hanky out of his breast pocket and wiped the corners of the angel’s mouth. Ueda was really scared that Koki was going to break through the door and kill him. “But I have two questions. Firstly, how do your wings survive when they look like they’re at least 3m in span? I see them now but they’re going through the counter entirely!”
“I’m human right now but my wings are still good,” Ueda took the hanky and wiped the rest off, “like, normally I’d be able to shift my molecular density but now it’s just my wings. It’s a skill we learn in hell because flying underground is really hard… comparable to how humans learn to duck. It also gives us an edge in flying over white-wings, because they haven’t switched the gene on yet.”
“Molecular density shifting is a learned thing?” Nakamaru’s eyes sparkled with fascination.
“Yep. A forced reaction. That’s why white-wings in heaven can’t do it. They have the potential, but won’t,” Ueda replied like it was obvious, “This is some nice cake…”
“Wow… That explains why your friend Nishikido could walk through that door with his wings outstretched!” the professor nodded, “Second question-
“Are you paying me for this interview?” Ueda looked down at his cake, “…Never mind then.”
“What’s bothering you at the moment? Did something happen?”
“…Did you inherit mind-reading by some freak DNA mutation?” Ueda slowly set his cake down as his appetite withered.
“No, but considering that you’ve been living with Taguchi-kun all this time, having someone who can read the atmosphere must be a shock ne?” Nakamaru laughed, “You need to get something off your shoulders. Or can you not trust me?”
A.N... Maru the counsellor? Will Ueda make it back with the cake before something happens to Junno? Will he even tell Maru what's going on? Why is Maru suddenly asking so many questions? Most importantly, what in the world has Junno decided and why is Ryo so happy?
All will be revealed as soon as you comment and then read the next chapter XD
“When he got kicked, it was the weakest point in his entire leg,” the doctor explained, “his femur bone simply couldn’t take it and now we have a multiple fracture. When he collapsed at an odd angle, his hip bone also got damaged, knee cartilage got torn and to top it all off, a fragment of bone has cut a central nerve in his thigh. With every important part of his leg damaged, there is no possibility that he could ever walk on two legs again. The best we can do now is surgically remove the shards of bone, insert plates to his femur and hope to fix his knee…”
“…Doctor,” Ueda seemed to have lost his soul, “how long has he been coming in for physio?” Eyes empty, he prepared for the worst.
The doctor flipped back to the last page of his reference clipboard. “Since the beginning of April, when he was involved in a car accident.”
“And no amount of surgery or money could possibly fix the damage that the bastard who hit him did?” Ueda whispered, barely audible.
“I’m afraid not,” the doctor shook his head apologetically, “There’s only so much we can do without divine intervention. What I want to know is how his family could have not noticed that something wasn’t right? Who in their right mind would hide something as serious as this?”
“He…. Doesn’t live with his family,” Ueda bit his lip.
“That explains a lot,” the doctor scribbled something down, “you’d have to be a pretty insensitive person not to notice if you were living with him.”
Ryo felt the need to smack his head on a bed of nails. Oh my God there’s GOT to be a limit to how KY of a doctor a hospital can employ!!!!
Ueda staggered out of the doctor’s office a complete shambles. He looked like a ghost of what he used to be… who could blame him? The red light on the operating theatre’s door seemed to mock him.
Serves you right, asshole, he thought to himself, You deserve every single bit of this pain right now because you’ve been the most horrible person to have existed. How could you not notice? He’s the closest person to you! How could you be the cause of all this and not notice a thing until somebody in a white coat spells it out to you in Japanese?!
“Where are you going?” Ryo grabbed hold of his friend before the latter walked through a wall, “OI! Get a grip!! He’s not gonna die!!!”
“HOW CAN I EVER FACE HIM?!” Ueda suddenly threw Ryo to the side, “YOU HEARD THE DOC!! THIS IS ALL MY FAULT!!! All he’s been doing for all this time is smile at me, love me, make me feel like the luckiest thing in the universe and what did I do?! I took away his LEGS!! And he was STILL SMILING up until they knocked him out!!!”
“Then why are you leaving the hospital?!” Ryo picked himself up off a bench.
“Because I can’t breathe!” Ueda sobbed, “Because I want to fucking kill myself!! BECAUSE I NEED TO PHONE GABRIEL AND GET MY HEALING MAGIC BACK!!!”
“…Has it not occurred to you once that they might have planned this?” Ryo lied, “Do you really think they’ll give your powers back to save one measly human who’s not even dying? They’ll blackmail you to go back to Heaven, put you through a Guardian Angel course, and get you back to miraculously heal him in twenty years’ time after wiping his memories of you! That way he’ll be able to testify the impossible and bring glory to whatever he’s worshipping at the time! For God’s sake don’t put yourself through this!! It helps no-one!!!”
Needless to say Ryo was lying through his teeth. Heaven was bound by protocol not to tell lies, and if Tatsuya were to ask for magic back, Archangel Gabriel would be forced to tell him exactly how to do it. And no doubt Tatsuya would follow it through to save Taguchi at the cost of himself.
Not if I can help it.
“Then what can I do?” Ueda must have been pretty hopeless to ask Ryo for advice.
“Stay with him,” Ryo advised, “Stay with him until your hourglass runs out… at this rate, it will last the length of his lifetime so keep by him and think of nothing else.”
And when the hourglass runs out, you’ll be able to go back to the other realms and live life to the full. Falling in love with a human was an unfortunate mistake, and you’ll learn to live through it. Please.
When Junno woke up from a drug-induced comatose, he felt the most beautiful locks of copper hair tickling his face.
The figure sleeping on him seemed to have wings - angels’ wings.
“U-Uepi?” he murmured, “…is that you?”
The wings disappeared as his head cleared.
“Nope, this is your late great-uncle communicating through my body,” Ueda tried to remain the same way as he always was, “It’s about time you woke up.”
“Wow,” Junno laughed weakly, “You look in bad shape. When was the last time you had a shower?”
It was difficult holding back tears. “Don’t act like a soap opera. You’ve only been out cold for two days, not twenty,” Ueda brushed a strand of hair from Junno’s face, “are you thirsty? Do you want anything to eat or drink? What about your pillow? Need fluffing?”
“….Uepi,” Junno cocked his head to one side, “is something wrong?”
“Whatnonothing’swrongwhatcouldpossiblybewrong-
“Is my right leg stuffed?” Junno asked simply, “Because you’re acting strange.”
How did he get this perceptive?!
“I don’t understand a thing of what you say,” Ueda feigned ignorance and started to peel an apple.
“My leg is in a full cast but not on a sling,” Junno remained sombre, “because my hip is damaged, isn’t it? And I can’t feel my right leg below the knee.”
“Paranoia,” his lover kept peeling, “you overthink things because your IQ is too high.”
“You’re peeling the apple with the back of the knife Uepi,” Junno pointed out softly, eerily calm, “If there’s anything, I’d rather hear it from you.”
Defeated, Ueda threw down the fruit and knife, enveloping Junno in a hug. “Why….. do you torture yourself? Why couldn’t you just tell me that I injured your leg and demand that I pay for your medical expenses?! WHY DID YOU KEEP EXERTING YOURSELF AND DANCE LIKE NOTHING WAS WRONG?!?!?!” He squeezed Junno’s shoulder with hot tears running down his cheeks, staining the thin hospital nightie translucent.
“…I…Liked you,” Junno gave a small pause, as if trying to choose the right words, “I wanted to impress you and make you love me. I didn’t want to appear like a whiny person because I’d annoy you more, or make you fix my leg because you might run from responsibility. And after I found out that you were a nice person, I was too in love with you to put you through the stress and guilt so I ended up not telling you… I swear it was nearly fixed! But I guess we each have our own destinies and unfortunate accidents, like me being hit by your car… If I could choose, I’d choose you over my legs a million times over!”
“I’d choose for you to live your life to the max, without someone like me who only brings you suffering…”
Junno placed a warm hand on Ueda’s head of coppery hair. “And your words are EXACTLY why I’d choose the opposite.”
“Is it too late to promise you I’ll never leave you?” the angel hugged Junno closer, “I’m so sorry… Just…So sorry.”
“If you apologise for this ever again,” Junno joked, “I might consider dumping you.” He laughed, “The last thing I want is a lover who grovels at my bed all day, telling me how sorry he is. I mean, how damn BORING would that be? Just stay you and I’m sure we’ll be fine!”
“…what will I ever do with you, baka?” Ueda kissed the side of Junno’s neck, “I still wish I’d backed over you.” Someone like you deserves to be in Heaven, not hell on earth. I was wrong. YOU’RE not hell on earth. I am… to you.
“ohmygawd what day is it today?!” Junno suddenly gave a jerk, “You said that I was out for two days!!”
“Yep, it’s the 4th today,” Ueda checked his watch, “did you have a paper due?”
“OMG OMG NO WAAY!!!! THIS IS SUCH BAD TIMING!!!!” Junno started to fidget and pressing his call button next to the bed frantically.
A nurse scuttled over immediately. “Taguchi-san what is the matter? Are you feeling unwell?”
“Where are my belongings?!” Junno looked almost hysterical, and pointed out of the window, “It’s nearly SUNSET!!! I NEED MY STUFF!!!! NOOOOW!!!!!”
“I’m sorry,” Ueda apologised, “He’s a spoilt only child and he’s coming off his drug high. I suggest you find the stuff he’s talking about or he might destroy your hospital… Junno stop trying to move! They spent forever trying to patch up your leg.” A pang of guilt hit him for the millionth time. He could be walking if it weren’t for me…
“R-right away!” the nurse seemed bewildered by the hyperactive Junno trying to crawl out of bed and Ueda, who was bopping him on the head like one would do in whack-a-mole.
As soon as she left, the ‘spoilt brat’ character came into play. “Uepi,” Junno demanded, “Buy me cake.”
“WHAT the fuck are you ON?!” Ueda couldn’t believe his ears, “You’re on an empty stomach! You can’t possibly want to eat crap like cake!!”
“I ORDERED a millicrepe from the bakery in Shinjuku~” Junno whined, “It’s for today so you HAVE to pick it up before the day ends!!!!!!! You know that cake place where we had cheesecake last week? I’ve already paid for it!!!! Just tell them it’s for Taguchi… The order number is 104!”
“You can’t expect me to get that NOW?!” Ueda almost lost track of his sanity for a second. The guy had a munched up leg, will never walk again for the rest of his life and now he wants CAKE?!
“Yes.”
“Is your plaster cast cutting off all the oxygen to your brain?”
“Not yet, but if I don’t get my cake today, I’ll cry,” Junno threatened with full seriousness, “And I won’t share my next cake with you.”
“If that place is closed when I get there, I’ll kill you for real,” Ueda picked up his car keys from the bedside table. Placing a soft kiss on Junno’s cheek, he rushed out, not wanting Junno’s cake to be delayed.
“You never fail to impress me Taguchi,” Ryo popped up from behind a curtain around the next bed.
“AAARRGH!!” Junno nearly jumped out of his own skin, “NISHIKIDO-SAN YOU’RE A NINJA!!”
“Hey I won’t be able to do this anymore after today,” Ryo shrugged, “Tat-chan’s getting you moved into a private suite tomorrow and he’s flying in rehab experts from every continent for you. And counsellors for trauma I think…. And stem cell therapists, nutritionists-
“And he forgot his own birthday because of it?” Junno smiled, “I don’t need any of that. I just need him to be happy.”
“I know,” Ryo reached into his pockets, “but let him try his best. It will make him feel better. What you need right now is this.” From his jeans he produced two matching Tiffany & Co. boxes. “I picked these up off the floor in the café… Yours?”
“Nishikido-san I-
“Shut up and be your cheesy self,” Ryo put them on Junno’s blanket and started out the door, “Be sure to think of some lines to impress him! And oh, if your cast IS cutting off the oxygen to your brain, be sure to tell the staff or you won’t have enough breath for snogging later.”
Pretending he didn’t know what Junno was thinking under his smile was difficult, and Ryo couldn’t help but smirk a little when he left. Humans think they can fool the world.
Probably the last time for snogging too…. Taguchi Junnosuke, you’ve made a surprisingly wise decision in your head. Though I do hope when you come to reject Tat-chan, you’ll do it gently. There’s no telling what he’s do to you, after all…
As Ueda stepped through the automatic doors of the upmarket cake shop, he was confronted by the people he least wanted to see at that moment in time.
An overly cheerful counter girl smothered with so much makeup that it was threatening to crack and fall off her face, Nakamaru Yuichi and Tanaka Koki.
An odd combination, but annoyingly so instead of a pleasant surprise.
“EEEHH?!” Nakamaru immediately distanced himself from Koki, “U-Ueda-kun what are you doing HERE?!”
“To pick up Junno’s cake,” Ueda eyed the pair, “What about you?”
“Nothing…” Nakamaru lied, much to Koki’s disdain.
“Sure sure… innocent coincidence I presume?” Ueda teased evilly, making his professor squirm, “If I didn’t know that you two dated, I’d believe you.”
“He knows?” it was Koki’s turn to squirm, “Yucchi I thought nobody knew about this? What happens if everyone knows? Your JOB will be in danger!”
“My SANITY will be in danger soon if I don’t get back with this cake so I’ll catch you two later,” Ueda rushed up to the counter. “Hi, order 104 pick-up for Taguchi please?”
Koki’s cell phone rang. “Wazzup homie?” he picked up, “…no wonder Micchi doesn’t want to drink her milk! You idiot! That kitten will only drink milk if she has the tuna biscuits… no her blanket’s in the other cupboard! The blue one belongs to the ferret!... Wha- hello? Hello?”
Still yelling things into his phone, Koki stepped outside in hope for better reception.
Seeing the bewildered look on the shop attendant’s face, Nakamaru kindly offered an explanation. “He’s a trainee vet.”
“Who cares?” Ueda tapped impatiently on the counter, “Order 104?”
The girl smiled, putting shockwaves through her makeup layer. “Right away Sir, it will take about-
And this is the PERFECT time for a power cut.
Also, the automatic doors will not open.
“FUCK!!! YOU’VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!!” Ueda howled after banging on the door, “I DON’T HAVE TIME TO BE STUCK HERE!!!”
“Where is the fire exit, if I may ask?” Nakamaru sighed.
“Umm… we were cleaning the wall behind the disinfecting dishwasher so we moved it in front of the back door…” the girl hung her head apologetically, “We might have to wait until the power comes back on-
“Isn’t that against the fucking LAW to block the FIRE EXIT?!” Ueda fumed, “I don’t have all night to sit in here! Where’s my cake anyways?!”
“I think it’s better in the fridge sir-
“Then find us a way to get out then if you’re not doing anything helpful!” The stress of the past few days exploded and Ueda found the nearest person to vent it on - in this case, the poor cake shop girl. If he still had his powers, he’d turn her into a puppy then kick her with football spikes.
As she went upstairs to check on the power, silence resumed.
“Now now Ueda-kun,” Nakamaru made himself comfortable on the tile floor and leant against the counter, “there’s nothing we can do right now so let’s sit down and eat a bit of cake.” He opened his purchase and took out two beautifully ornate (giant) strawberry cup-cakes. “You can eat Koki’s one.”
“Are you sure he won’t stab me out of jealousy?” Ueda sat down and pointed to the glass door, on which Koki was banging and yelling furiously, something along the lines of ‘you do anything to my Yucchi and cup-cake; I’ll stab you to death’.
Nakamaru only smiled and made an ‘O’ with his arms at Koki and waved. One could almost see steam coming out of his ears.
“So now that we’re locked inside a cake shop at dusk, I want to ask you a private question,” the professor started.
“Are those two points related in ANY way?” Ueda bit a chunk out of his cup-cake unceremoniously, frosting plastering itself to his face.
“Nope,” Nakamaru took a hanky out of his breast pocket and wiped the corners of the angel’s mouth. Ueda was really scared that Koki was going to break through the door and kill him. “But I have two questions. Firstly, how do your wings survive when they look like they’re at least 3m in span? I see them now but they’re going through the counter entirely!”
“I’m human right now but my wings are still good,” Ueda took the hanky and wiped the rest off, “like, normally I’d be able to shift my molecular density but now it’s just my wings. It’s a skill we learn in hell because flying underground is really hard… comparable to how humans learn to duck. It also gives us an edge in flying over white-wings, because they haven’t switched the gene on yet.”
“Molecular density shifting is a learned thing?” Nakamaru’s eyes sparkled with fascination.
“Yep. A forced reaction. That’s why white-wings in heaven can’t do it. They have the potential, but won’t,” Ueda replied like it was obvious, “This is some nice cake…”
“Wow… That explains why your friend Nishikido could walk through that door with his wings outstretched!” the professor nodded, “Second question-
“Are you paying me for this interview?” Ueda looked down at his cake, “…Never mind then.”
“What’s bothering you at the moment? Did something happen?”
“…Did you inherit mind-reading by some freak DNA mutation?” Ueda slowly set his cake down as his appetite withered.
“No, but considering that you’ve been living with Taguchi-kun all this time, having someone who can read the atmosphere must be a shock ne?” Nakamaru laughed, “You need to get something off your shoulders. Or can you not trust me?”
A.N... Maru the counsellor? Will Ueda make it back with the cake before something happens to Junno? Will he even tell Maru what's going on? Why is Maru suddenly asking so many questions? Most importantly, what in the world has Junno decided and why is Ryo so happy?
All will be revealed as soon as you comment and then read the next chapter XD