Snow and Ash - Three
Ryo:
Telling the others about Shiku went just as I thought it would. They didn’t say much; there wasn’t much to say. We still don’t know what she wants, after all.
Even if you have a problem, time does not stop for it. You still have to eat, sleep, work, and act as if nothing is wrong while silently trying to deal with it. All you can do is hope that everything remains the same - that the comfort of the usual will be there to guide you through.
We went through the next week just like that.
---
Shige and I wake up to the sounds of arguing - certainly not the usual. Especially when the voices belong to Kei-chan and Yamapi.
I slip on a t-shirt and follow Shige out into the hallway and to the top of the stairs where Tegoshi and Massu are already sitting and listening to what is going on downstairs.
“Since when do those two argue?” Shige whispers and Massu shrugs before worriedly looking back down the stairs.
---
Yamapi:
We never fight. Once in a while, he’ll complain if I accidentally burn the sheets or if I go out for a drink with a co-worker and forget to call. Sometimes I get annoyed if he records the grades in my book incorrectly…But it never leads to anything.
Ever since the early days, when we were all thrown into this life, the two of us were drawn to each other. I don’t see how anyone could resist his gentle kindness that remained a part of him even after having his life altered indefinitely. We talked, we laughed, we fell in love. Ever since then, he’s become a part of my life that could never be replaced. I don’t know what I would do if suddenly he stopped being there, a smiling face when I return home, a comforting arm wrapped around me at night, a voice that has never failed to comfort me.
His ever-gentle eyes now look at me with frustration and hurt. “I don’t see why I can’t go with you.”
“They finally welcomed me back after kicking me out. I don’t want them to reject me again.”
“So…what?” He swats away my hand when I reach for him. “You’ll never tell them about me?”
“They’ll never accept you, Kei. No matter how much I want them to. I don’t want to add more weight to the ship when it’s still sinking.”
He crosses his arms over his chest. “So you’ll continue telling them that she’s your girlfriend?”
The pain in my chest from last night returns as those words fall from his lips. “I told you - they assumed that…and they were happy. Our families have been close ever since we were kids. I think they’ve always wanted me to marry her.”
“So you’ll marry her too just to win their acceptance?”
“Babe, of course not…” I take his hand for a moment before he pulls it back.
“Then why not end it now? Tell them it’s a lie.”
I think back to last night, remembering when my parents saw me talking with Reiko and for the first time since I became a mutant, looked at me with a smile. Before last night, they merely accepted it, but never looked at me like I was still their son.
“But you won’t do that, will you?” he asks as if the answer is already obvious.
“I just want them to look at me like I matter, even if it’s only for a little while…”
“Even if it’s fake?” I watch as a tear reaches the middle of his cheek before he quickly brushes it away. “I want to be a part of your family.”
“I’m sorry…I really am. But I can’t; not now.”
He sighs deeply and wipes away another tear, and I wish I didn’t so desperately want my family back. I wish they were open enough to accept the fact that I’m with another man and not their first choice. I wish a lot of things, but that doesn’t stop him from stepping away.
“Your breakfast is on the table,” is the last thing he says before he leaves. I can hear footsteps on the stairs and Shige follows him out the door.
Of course they were eavesdropping.
Ryo enters the room shortly after, eyeing me just like I thought he would. “Pi, what are you doing?”
My eyes travel over to the dining room table where he set up my breakfast. “I wish I knew.”
---
Shige:
Koyama and I walk slowly along the sidewalk, his face emotionless and his feet dragging. He told me what happened. About Yamapi’s trip home last night, and how he met his childhood friend Reiko after dinner. How she’s always liked him, and how she didn’t say any words of refusal when Yamapi lied about her being his girlfriend. Being with her would give them a reason to accept him once again.
“Do you think who you’re meant to be with changes?” he asks hesitantly, like he’s afraid of the true answer.
“I think certain things happen that make you question it, but it stays the same regardless.”
He nods, and though I can tell he’s still thinking about it, I know that he doesn’t want to.
“What are you going to do?” I ask quietly, not knowing if I should continue the conversation or change the subject.
“I don’t know. Even though what he did hurts me, that doesn’t change the fact that I love him. I just wish he would tell them the truth like I did with my family, though I understand why he didn’t. He’s missed them quite a bit since they kicked him out.” He sighs. “I want to be happy for him but I can’t.”
I sling an arm over his shoulder and we continue to walk. I tell him it’ll work out, that it’ll be okay. But in reality, I can’t see it. And I didn’t see this.
The question is, why not?
---
I’m walking alone in the dark. It’s cool, but humid…summer?
I can’t make out the words that the man says, but it seems like he’s harassing a younger girl in an alley.
I yell at him to stop and I run forward, telling him to leave the girl alone…
…
Suddenly, a man is lifting up my shirt forcefully, pressing something into my stomach that burns into my skin-
I awake in a cold sweat, sit up and try desperately to calm my breathing.
“Nngh,” Ryo groans next to me and the sound startles me. “…go back to sleep.” A lazy arm slings over me and pulls me back down.
“I saw...”
“Saw what?” he asks, his voice close to my ear.
“The past.”
He laughs a little. “I do that sometimes too. It’s called a memory.”
I click my tongue in annoyance. “It seemed different than what happened originally.”
“Then that’s called bad memory. Go back to sleep, Shige. I’m exhausted.”
I finally shut my eyes in order to attempt sleep once again when I hear a voice.
You should be nicer to him, Ryo-chan.
Ryo tenses next to me and I know he heard it too.
We both sit up quickly and he flips on the light switch, revealing a girl, who could only be Shiku, sitting on his dresser and playing with the tennis ball he used to throw around. I had an idea of what she looked like after the story Noriko told us, but it was nothing like this. Chills run down my spine and I see the tennis ball rise up out of her grasp and be thrown across the room. She glares at Ryo.
Don’t like others touching your things, huh?
“What do you want?” he asks her firmly.
She looks over at me, one blue eye and one fully black, and the black glove raises to point at me. The things around her begin to float upwards, and she winces in pain of the force I was once subjected to. I look over to Ryo, who is glaring at her, focusing on what he’s doing, and I touch his hand softly to make him stop.
Everything drops back into place and she shakes a bit.
Relax, Ryo-chan. We’re not going to hurt him.
“Yeah right.”
She frowns at him. You’re the one who broke the rules. We’re here to fix it.
She smiles, an eerie smile that sends another chill down my spine, and faces me.
I’m sure you’ve already noticed something odd.
I think back to the times I couldn’t see the future - the first day she appeared and with Koyama.
“You’re taking away my power.”
Not only that. Starting tomorrow night at midnight, Kato-kun, you will no longer have the curse.
End of Chapter Three
A/N: I hope this story isn't as horribly confusing as I think it might be. If anyone has any questions about what is going on, I'd be happy to explain~ ^^; Opinions are always welcome ;D
Telling the others about Shiku went just as I thought it would. They didn’t say much; there wasn’t much to say. We still don’t know what she wants, after all.
Even if you have a problem, time does not stop for it. You still have to eat, sleep, work, and act as if nothing is wrong while silently trying to deal with it. All you can do is hope that everything remains the same - that the comfort of the usual will be there to guide you through.
We went through the next week just like that.
---
Shige and I wake up to the sounds of arguing - certainly not the usual. Especially when the voices belong to Kei-chan and Yamapi.
I slip on a t-shirt and follow Shige out into the hallway and to the top of the stairs where Tegoshi and Massu are already sitting and listening to what is going on downstairs.
“Since when do those two argue?” Shige whispers and Massu shrugs before worriedly looking back down the stairs.
---
Yamapi:
We never fight. Once in a while, he’ll complain if I accidentally burn the sheets or if I go out for a drink with a co-worker and forget to call. Sometimes I get annoyed if he records the grades in my book incorrectly…But it never leads to anything.
Ever since the early days, when we were all thrown into this life, the two of us were drawn to each other. I don’t see how anyone could resist his gentle kindness that remained a part of him even after having his life altered indefinitely. We talked, we laughed, we fell in love. Ever since then, he’s become a part of my life that could never be replaced. I don’t know what I would do if suddenly he stopped being there, a smiling face when I return home, a comforting arm wrapped around me at night, a voice that has never failed to comfort me.
His ever-gentle eyes now look at me with frustration and hurt. “I don’t see why I can’t go with you.”
“They finally welcomed me back after kicking me out. I don’t want them to reject me again.”
“So…what?” He swats away my hand when I reach for him. “You’ll never tell them about me?”
“They’ll never accept you, Kei. No matter how much I want them to. I don’t want to add more weight to the ship when it’s still sinking.”
He crosses his arms over his chest. “So you’ll continue telling them that she’s your girlfriend?”
The pain in my chest from last night returns as those words fall from his lips. “I told you - they assumed that…and they were happy. Our families have been close ever since we were kids. I think they’ve always wanted me to marry her.”
“So you’ll marry her too just to win their acceptance?”
“Babe, of course not…” I take his hand for a moment before he pulls it back.
“Then why not end it now? Tell them it’s a lie.”
I think back to last night, remembering when my parents saw me talking with Reiko and for the first time since I became a mutant, looked at me with a smile. Before last night, they merely accepted it, but never looked at me like I was still their son.
“But you won’t do that, will you?” he asks as if the answer is already obvious.
“I just want them to look at me like I matter, even if it’s only for a little while…”
“Even if it’s fake?” I watch as a tear reaches the middle of his cheek before he quickly brushes it away. “I want to be a part of your family.”
“I’m sorry…I really am. But I can’t; not now.”
He sighs deeply and wipes away another tear, and I wish I didn’t so desperately want my family back. I wish they were open enough to accept the fact that I’m with another man and not their first choice. I wish a lot of things, but that doesn’t stop him from stepping away.
“Your breakfast is on the table,” is the last thing he says before he leaves. I can hear footsteps on the stairs and Shige follows him out the door.
Of course they were eavesdropping.
Ryo enters the room shortly after, eyeing me just like I thought he would. “Pi, what are you doing?”
My eyes travel over to the dining room table where he set up my breakfast. “I wish I knew.”
---
Shige:
Koyama and I walk slowly along the sidewalk, his face emotionless and his feet dragging. He told me what happened. About Yamapi’s trip home last night, and how he met his childhood friend Reiko after dinner. How she’s always liked him, and how she didn’t say any words of refusal when Yamapi lied about her being his girlfriend. Being with her would give them a reason to accept him once again.
“Do you think who you’re meant to be with changes?” he asks hesitantly, like he’s afraid of the true answer.
“I think certain things happen that make you question it, but it stays the same regardless.”
He nods, and though I can tell he’s still thinking about it, I know that he doesn’t want to.
“What are you going to do?” I ask quietly, not knowing if I should continue the conversation or change the subject.
“I don’t know. Even though what he did hurts me, that doesn’t change the fact that I love him. I just wish he would tell them the truth like I did with my family, though I understand why he didn’t. He’s missed them quite a bit since they kicked him out.” He sighs. “I want to be happy for him but I can’t.”
I sling an arm over his shoulder and we continue to walk. I tell him it’ll work out, that it’ll be okay. But in reality, I can’t see it. And I didn’t see this.
The question is, why not?
---
I’m walking alone in the dark. It’s cool, but humid…summer?
I can’t make out the words that the man says, but it seems like he’s harassing a younger girl in an alley.
I yell at him to stop and I run forward, telling him to leave the girl alone…
…
Suddenly, a man is lifting up my shirt forcefully, pressing something into my stomach that burns into my skin-
I awake in a cold sweat, sit up and try desperately to calm my breathing.
“Nngh,” Ryo groans next to me and the sound startles me. “…go back to sleep.” A lazy arm slings over me and pulls me back down.
“I saw...”
“Saw what?” he asks, his voice close to my ear.
“The past.”
He laughs a little. “I do that sometimes too. It’s called a memory.”
I click my tongue in annoyance. “It seemed different than what happened originally.”
“Then that’s called bad memory. Go back to sleep, Shige. I’m exhausted.”
I finally shut my eyes in order to attempt sleep once again when I hear a voice.
You should be nicer to him, Ryo-chan.
Ryo tenses next to me and I know he heard it too.
We both sit up quickly and he flips on the light switch, revealing a girl, who could only be Shiku, sitting on his dresser and playing with the tennis ball he used to throw around. I had an idea of what she looked like after the story Noriko told us, but it was nothing like this. Chills run down my spine and I see the tennis ball rise up out of her grasp and be thrown across the room. She glares at Ryo.
Don’t like others touching your things, huh?
“What do you want?” he asks her firmly.
She looks over at me, one blue eye and one fully black, and the black glove raises to point at me. The things around her begin to float upwards, and she winces in pain of the force I was once subjected to. I look over to Ryo, who is glaring at her, focusing on what he’s doing, and I touch his hand softly to make him stop.
Everything drops back into place and she shakes a bit.
Relax, Ryo-chan. We’re not going to hurt him.
“Yeah right.”
She frowns at him. You’re the one who broke the rules. We’re here to fix it.
She smiles, an eerie smile that sends another chill down my spine, and faces me.
I’m sure you’ve already noticed something odd.
I think back to the times I couldn’t see the future - the first day she appeared and with Koyama.
“You’re taking away my power.”
Not only that. Starting tomorrow night at midnight, Kato-kun, you will no longer have the curse.
End of Chapter Three
A/N: I hope this story isn't as horribly confusing as I think it might be. If anyone has any questions about what is going on, I'd be happy to explain~ ^^; Opinions are always welcome ;D