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The Bishounen Boys
Part 5: "Mizu-Kagami"
By Splash
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Hope this'll be worth your wait ~_^
Mizu-Kagami (Translated to Water-Mirror) is Chichiri from Fushigi Yuugi's OAV image song, the amazing Seki Tomokazu who also did Junpei in Those Who Hunt Elves and Van from Escaflowne ^_^ Hey, Katie, it's another Seki!! And Toshihiko isn't much different than Tomokazu... whoa, I might have trouble telling the difference... nah...
But whoa... a non Digimon/radio song... one of the few songs I actually have translated lyrics to ^^;; I've got too many Anime songs where I don't have a clue what they're singing about... T_T I have a nasty disability to recognize Japanese in songs... I get occasional common ones, but the way they sing it... ack. I'm starting to ramble now. Translated lyrics to Mizu-Kagami are after the fic, and some omake (junk stuff), too! ^_^
Oh yeah, useless-but-interesting fact! Mr. Seki Tomakazu-cute Chichiri-crazy Junpei-sexy Van's first kiss is from a guy!!! Check that cafe talk thing in one of the Escaflowne DVD's.. *evil grin*
Don't mind if I seem to be losing focus on Daisuke, Ken and Takeru ^^;; I'm very inexperienced with them, and most of my fandom is devoted to Taito/Yamachi... but don't worry, they're in this chapter! Yeah!
Uh... I just realizing how teasing this chapter is... O_o;;
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I wonder what brought on this sudden breakdown from him. One minute we're relaxing and the next he's crying on me... Although, I had just gotten over a breakdown a few days ago when I realized how much I really cared for him...
Perhaps... perhaps he's thinking the same thing this very moment... No, that's too much to hope for. Either way, what he needed right now was some support, something I didn't have when I needed it...
I reach my free arm over just above my other one, resting it on Yamato's neck. Seeing no resistance to my movement, I move my hand from his neck to cup his soft cheek and muffle my face into his gorgeous blonde hair. To my surprise, not only does he not mind, but he rubs his cheek against my palm affectionately... And yet, I continue to feel tears wetting my hand. Maybe he DOES feel the same way...
Experimentally, I place my thumb over his quivering lips, and somehow, it accidentally makes contact with something wet--not tears, but a _tongue_. He tenderly sucks on it, not like a baby bottle, more like... something else I can't describe. I'm feeling too light-headed to think anyhow..
Suddenly, he releases my thumb and turns away slightly. I feel another set of tears flowing onto my hand like tiny waterfalls as he throatily mumbles, " I'm sorry..."
" Sorry for what?"
At that, I turn myself around to face him and lower myself to see him eye to eye. Nervously, he gazes at me, eyes shimmering more than usual because of his tears. He sniffs, and then seems to be blank, as if he hadn't heard my question. I'm certain that he did, but after several minutes of absolute silence, I figure he must've been too enveloped to hear me after the apology. The blankness disappears, and he snaps as if realization had smacked him hard.
" Why do I even go on with life? I used to think there was a point to it, but ever since I moved here I discovered... there isn't. It's all pain and suffering..."
H...How long has he been thinking like this? It tears my heart to see him this way...
I notice him shift a little closer to my heated face, unafraid of me seeing him in such a condition. My eyes lock with deep cerulean ones, crystal clear, yet tainted, pulling me into an abyss...
" You have to understand..."
Pointless words, but I say them anyhow. Perhaps I can help him... I want to, desperately. I stare into those crystal eyes, pushing away the immediate impulse to meld those subtle lips onto mine. Instead, my arms squeeze him tighter and bring myself even closer to him, brushing past those tempting lips and pressing my cheek against his, so that I can whisper into his ear...
" There ARE good things in life, Yama..." I murmur, savoring the closeness of the embrace, feeling the wetness on his face, " sometimes, you just need to have someone to share them with."
I pull back hesitantly, to see if anything got through to him. And yes, it seems to work...
" Yamato..."
The sound of my voice causes his lips to separate and breathe through his mouth, reverberating over mine. And before I realize it, the few inches between our faces have shrunk drastically.
" Tai..chi..." he speaks in short phrases. " I think... I think, that maybe... maybe, I've... found... that..."
Shrinking...
" ...that someone..."
Even though his tears have faded away, I can sense another fresh batch on the verge of being released, maybe because my own eyes are watering. And my heart, racing to the point where it'll be demolished completely if he pulls back or go insane if he keeps going, makes me wonder whether I'll faint at any given second. I've never come this close to fainting before... and unless it's just me, he's still going...
Just one more tiny effort...
" TAICHIIII!"
In a split second, whatever bit of magic that erupted in the background dissipates, and we pull apart as much as possible... except for my arm, which is still held down by his head.
" It's time for dinner!"
My mother steps out to check on us, perks an eye at my arm, but says no more and heads back into the house. Yamato and I lie there in that position for several minutes, breathing heavily as if getting the fright of our lives. And well, maybe it was.
...Tch.
She always had bad timing.
I take a questioning glance towards Yamato, who seems bewildered, but more normal than he was previously. Without a word, he lifts himself off my arm onto his feet, brushing off his pants. He turns his back to me, and for a moment I think he's going to walk in silence. Instead, he turns to me, and with an authentic smile, lends a hand.
' Some other day, possibly.'
I return the smile, accepting the hand, and we enter the house to enjoy our dinner of... overcooked ramen noodles.
Maybe I'LL have to cook from now on...
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~September 2, 2002~
I had managed to get through the weekend without thinking too much about that one Japanese, big-haired brunette. After that one afternoon, I've been afraid...
In the mornings, we usually walked to school together. He'd stop by my house and we'd continue on our way... but this time I called him at last minute and quickly, to the point, told him that I had overslept and that he should go on without me. I didn't give him much opportunity to respond, as I literally hung up to slop back down to think some more, only to be distracted watching Taichi pass my house several minutes later.
We usually hung out at school for half an hour before 1st hour began, but I just avoided him with a little game of hide and seek...
3rd hour was inevitable, but luckily Mr. Andrews cut in before we could get any chit-chat going.
And then there was lunch and orchestra... I don't know HOW I got past that... but orchestra auditions were coming up. They had to be on the 3rd or 4th, but I have violin lessons on Tuesdays, so I had to go for the 4th. By the time the others had finished signing up for a time (first come, first serve), the only spot left was the one after Taichi's..
Sigh... Maybe I'll come a bit later and make up some excuse...
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~September 4, 2002~
~4:00 p.m.~
" A BOY BAND?!?!? We've been offered to start a new BOY BAND?!?!"
The boy wearing a unique hat stepped over. " That's what is says on the paper... is there something wrong with that, Daisuke?"
" Wrong?!? Of COURSE there is! Everybody hates boy bands except for ditzes, preps, and teeny-boppers!"
Takeru sweatdropped. " Where did you get that impression? I may not know that much about them, but I don't think they're much different than the ones from Japan."
" Now see here, Takeru," Daisuke dictated, pointing an accusing finger at the other, " I've been here 4 months longer than you, and a person can learn a hell of a lot more about American ways in that amount of time!"
The blonde shielded himself. " Mou.. gomen.."
His curiosity sparked, the shy raven-haired boy entered the conversation. " How long HAVE you been here, guys?"
As if he had never been irritated in the first place, Daisuke plastered a huge smile on his face. " Takeru moved in the middle of last summer, and we ran into each other in a supermarket."
" A supermarket...?"
" Our moms made us follow them," Takeru answered sulkily.
The goggle boy glanced over at the paper, its red border catching his attention. " Well, I've always wanted to show off my dancing skills..."
Takeru placed a hand on his shoulder for reassurance. " We can give it a try, we don't really have a reputation to lose here, so why not?"
Ken observed the scene in silence. ' They always make some kind of movement when they touch each other, but I can't tell whether it's from surprise or...'
" I guess so..." Daisuke replied, still somewhat reluctant. " Takeru, you're good with business stuff, aren't ya? Could you contact whoever sent this? It's..." He scanned the paper quickly. " MRS. HAKE?!?"
" That makes sense," the blonde commented, " She's the first and only person we've sung to here. Ken, we didn't hear anything from you."
He just shrugged. " Why not give it a try? It's not every day you get an offer like this."
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~4:32 p.m.~
Briefly pondering over what she just heard, she asked the other person in the small room, " Do you take private lessons, Taichi?"
The other person sighed shortly, finishing his audition. " I did in Japan, but I'm still yet to find a liable teacher here."
Mrs. Hinderliter gave a startled movement, surprised at how well the boy spoke for a foreign student. Since she always came into class late, she didn't have any time before class to get to know any of her students. Of course, with how she was, she remained oblivious to the effect this had on her orchestra and went on conducting as usual. She had an awful lot of faults that Taichi could pick out easily...
' But maybe I can get to the good side of her... I hear she really chews out the ones she dislikes...' the brunette planned earlier before his audition. There were three other celloists (a pretty high number, actually) , one was a somewhat haughty, male freshman whose mother was the choir teacher, the second male was another freshman who didn't take private lessons, but was still a pleasant asset to the orchestra. The third was a junior (or a senior?) who was much like an older, female version of the pleasant asset.
" I'm recommending you to Grace Field, she will DEFINITELY want to get a hear. She's an excellent teacher and she's well known in this music community." She wandered over to her messy desk, pulling out a slip of paper and writing several numbers on it. " Here's her number."
He accepted the piece of processed tree, cramming it into his breast pocket and heading out her office door after bidding farewell. He was in the midst of returning the school instrument to the storage room when...
" Yamato!"
Instead of staying as the brunette had intended him to do, he dropped his violin case and immediately exited the wooden double doors of the orchestra room.
" Hey-!" Cello bow forgotten and fallen, Taichi stormed through the doors, swiftly catching the other by the wrist. To his surprise, there was some silent resistance before the blonde figure made an about-face, presenting an expressionless demeanor.
" Oh, hey, Taichi..."
Taichi held onto his wrist, despite being aware of the other's uneasiness. " Yeah, um... you've been kind of distant lately. Is something wrong?"
" No."
The answer was almost TOO firm... " Don't humor me, Yamato."
The skin on the blonde's wrist seemed to jump at the comment, enough so that Taichi could sense it through his palm. He peered down at the arm for a moment, and then back up at Yamato's face, full of anxiety and apprehension.
Slowly, Taichi spoke. " I'm serious, Yama. If anything is bothering you, I'll always be there for you." He paused, lowering his hand to lace with Yamato's, " Even if I have to jump off Tokyo Tower to be there, I will." Squeezing tighter, he added, as if making sure the other had heard him, " Yaru."
Yamato gave one long blink before answering. " I... I'm just having a few family problems, that's all." A lie it was, but not a complete one.
" Does that have anything to do with why you've 'overslept' these past few days?"
Noticing the emphasis on the quoting, the violin player lowered his head in humiliation. It was then that he realized the location of Taichi's hand, forcing a small blush to arise. He lowered his head even further to hide his predicament.
Seeing him sulk, Taichi presumed that maybe he was being a little harsh.
" Na, Yamato... gomen," he apologized, " Honto ni... gomen. But I'm worried that you don't trust me with your concerns. You know I'd do anything to help."
Recovering, Yamato tilted his head back up to see the sincerity marking Taichi's face. He wanted to tell him right there and then, but his voiced failed him, and all he could utter was the other's name.
Worry outlining the crevice of his lips, Taichi sighed, eyes shutting despairingly. " It's all right if you're not ready to discuss it. I can wait."
" You'll wait?" he asked, as if he needed reassurance.
Taichi smiled brightly, causing a pleasing eye-lift from the other. " I'll wait, but I'm pretty sure Mrs. Hinderliter won't. Now go do your audition, she's probably wondering what's taking you so long." He let go of Yamato's hand to give him a pat on the shoulder, perhaps holding on too long...
But the blonde showed no sign of perceiving the hold as he gave a short smile before turning away to re-enter the orchestra room. His hand remained in mid-air for a moment before slowly retracting back to his side. Glancing at the closed double doors, he willed the pit in his stomach to fade away. " Play your heart out, kid."
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Tsuzuku...
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Mou.. gomen..- "Gese.. sorry.."
Yaru-"I will/I'll do it." I was just thinking about Kodomo no Omocha, Hayama's response when Mr. Narunaru offered him to take karate lessons. Heh, you'd have to know the series to know why that's the least bit amusing ~_^
Na, Yamato... gomen. Honti ni... gomen.- "Hey, Matt... sorry. I'm truly sorry." Males tend to use "na" instead of the feminine "ne."
Yes, I know this chapter sucked... blame it on school stress :P Or maybe it's the stuff I'm getting high on because our house was refloored on the main floor with wood and we just got it polished... and that stuff... FUME!!!!!!!!! @_@ @_@ @_@
Anyhow, I think some of you are wondering about why I'm pulling in so much physical angst... XD In other words, cuddly-ness without actually knowing whether it's out of friendship or love... Nyah... Well, if you've seen enough of the official pictures of the Bish boys they're pretty cuddly with each other anyhow, especially Tai and Yama ~_^
But plot is there... right? Almost too much for my style -_- Again, the school-ness of the plot may seem to lack Yaoi now, but I'm still creating the setting, it's WAY too based on my actual school... but that's the most interesting part of it all ~_^ And uh... I just hope those people I described in the orchestra never read this if I said anything negative about them ^^;;
Here's a weird little map of the orchestra/choir room that'll be useful in future parts ~_^
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|Choir|
| |
|ofce.|
|Orch.|
|--------- Orchestra/
|ofce.|
| | Choir Room
----- <--
|Make |------------
----------- <--Hallway leading to neighboring band room
| Up |Storage|
|Practice|
| Room | Room |Dble. | Rooms |
| |
|Doors| |
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<-400 rooms Hallway Exit->
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And now what you've been waiting for... omake!! Nyao =^.^=
I like doing random artsy stuff for my fics once in a while, it helps with the whole "visual" process. And since this series individually seems to be the most popular of my fics around the folks, I might even make a separate section for all these pics and
such someday ^^;; And since I forgot to mention these a while back, the ones below are a bit old ^_^
These are both made from a basic oekaki BBS!
7/5/01: You can SO tell where this was inspired from, now that I look back at it, it's a really simple
pic... http://gottaito.0catch.com/oekaki/Oekaki7.jpg
7/11/01: I take the coloring step up an extra level with the returning cello playing Tai...http://gottaito.0catch.com/oekaki/Oekaki8.jpg
It's on the wrong side of him and he has no bow, but... who cares? That's still one of my favs, maybe because I don't remember how I found the patience to do such a complicated inanimate object, DAMN the side was a lotta trouble to shade.. And my male friends at school are all peeved at the tank tops/spaghetti straps ('cept good 'ol Neal), lol...
Translations, credit to: http://www.hanashika.com/translations.html
In a meeting of chance, if you make one mistake
Even something you love can become a thorn.
Sinking to the bottom of my heart, that pain
Raises as a scream as my breath revives.
Why that time? I condemned myself
But how come? I questioned my companion ...
In the flowing water, fragments of memories are reflected
I won't repeat that thought, I swear in my heart.
Because the flowing water reflects sadness
With this power and with this life, I want to protect you.
I hid my feelings of belief
But now if love doesn't lose
Though it's sympathetic, it's now imperfect
Because of that, we'll help each other.
In the flowing water, fragments of memories are reflected
I won't repeat that thought, I swear in my heart.
Because the flowing water reflects sadness
With this power and with this life, I want to protect you.
If I look into the shadows of my heart with a water mirror, that's when love will bear a new face
I want it all to be precious, so even though it hurts, I won't turn my eyes away.
Splash
http://gottaito.cjb.net