by ariko yamato on Mon Jan 05, 2009 3:15 am His body tensed, and his pulse raced as he sprang from the sheets, hands gripping the bed sheets in a white knuckled grasp that would have hurt had he been a normal human. Furtively, he glanced at his alarm clock, and refrained from groaning when he saw that it was six AM in the morning. The dream (correction, nightmare) had startled him awake yet again, and he only managed a few, transcient hours of sleep before the dream made its way back into his mind. Never good thoughts, never good dreams. Never really any good luck.
Irritably, he stood and headed into the kitchen, setting himself down upon the chair and trying to shake the sudden rush of adrenaline until it dilapidated into bearable pain.
Ariko's eyes scanned across his lonely bachelor apartment with little to not interest, black hair tousled and spiky from tossing and turning the night prior. Sleep was evasive, and rest was eluding him in the most precarious ways. He could hardly just shut his eyes longer than required. Everyone --including Kotogami, as he was informed long ago-- was away and having a joyous time in celebrating in holiday festivities. Holidays tended to escape him as well, too.
The day had been long, boring, and not too tedious, leaving him with nothing to do other than sit by the window sil and watch as people united and scurried home from the chilling winters day to join their family in holiday fun. Fun. Something else that also decided to completely leave his system, along with emotions all together. Was it because of the type of person he was? His actions that lead him to believe that? A misdoing in his life that was so wrong he'd pay for it in the future by being secluded from anything inparticular?
No, Ariko admonished firmly. Had I committed a foul without knowing it, I would have figured it out already. Everything just seems to...escape me.
He didn't really pay any mind to his soltitude -- rather enjoyed it, to be honest with himself. If someone were to be even remotely happy around him, he would ultimately dismiss them as a nuisance and therefore ignore them thoroughly. Normally, the solution to his never ending soltitude (even if he was surrounded by his only six close friends; Kotogami (the one he preferred the most), Amulet, Yumi, Reishii, Kaguyame and Tara) was the vision of suffering and dismayed people that surrounded him.
He realized then that the only one that had chosen to stay behind was Reishii. He was well aware of her feelings for him, no matter how good she was at feigning casualty around him. In reality, he could care less for her appraisal for him. She was a lowly human to him, anyway.
“Oi, Ariko. I'm making tea, would you like some water?” asked Reishii, tediously attending to the pot while she motioned for the fridge. The only indication he gave that he had heard her in the first place was the blank look he shot her. Hesitantly, she shut the fridge door close. “I'll take that as a no, then.” She smiled impishly.
Ariko, a bit lethargically from sleep deprivation, turned toward the window, eyeing a little girl who was fervently chasing a flock of pigeons, a smile spreading across her cherubic face. His mind wondered what would happen if he had found genuine happiness like that little girl, but soon decided to voice his duress.
“You know, Reishii-chan,” Ariko began, “I've always wondered why I can't be like her. Not her in general, just like all other kids. I don't seem to remember a time where I was genuinely happy. Yet, all of you are almost all of the time. I...can't seem to comprehend that emotion.”
Reishii turned slowly, sympathetic for her friend. “Now, you already know the answer to that, Ariko. Don't try to change that.”
Ariko simply stared at her, eyes empty. “If I knew the reason I wouldn't have asked you,” he said. “It would simply be a waste of precious time. Like right now. Now. Now. Everything I say is a waste of time.”
“Don't be such a grump,” chided Reishii halfheartedly. “You never cease to amaze me at how apathetic you remain. It's almost as if you are void of all emotions. It's as if you don't even try to be stoic and enigmatic all around.”
“I don't try, Reishii-chan. I dislike emotions.”
“Maybe that's your problem,” she said, checking the pot meticulously. “If you dislike them, how do you ever expect to hone them?”
Ariko took a moment to consider this. She had a point, he had to admit rather grudgingly. Finally, he gave her another blank look. “Your hypothesis makes sense, as usual. But I still don't see the point of trying to hone something I obviously do not possess. Even if I were to try, it would be equivalent to you trying to learn how to fight with your nose.”
The tips of her lips quirked into a small smile. “Do I detect a hint of sarcasm?”
“You forget. Sarcasm is not an emotion.” Though his face was mostly blank, his lips also raised into a fleeting smile, though it did not reach his charcoal eyes. “You really need to try harder at that.” She suggested.
His brows furrowed, his smile into a frown. “At what?”
“Smiling.”
At her suggestion, he tried again, this time a bit wider, showing pointed canines. It didn't reach his eyes again, but it was a tad more genuine and not as tight, and Reishii decided that she kind of liked it.
The sound of the pot wailing shook her from her daze, and quickly she rushed over to stop it from overflowing. Easily, she poured the tea into the china cup and set the pot down, trotting over to the table where Ariko sat, having a seat adjacent to him. He seem to mind her converge into his personal space, either that or he decided not to voice it, so Reishii sat competently while sipping at the tea. “Hmm...needs a little sugar. You sure you don't care for some?”
She followed his line of sight and found him watching the jubilant little girl again, and knew she didn't have to see his facial expression to know he was unhappy. One of the many pros when dealing with cryptic partners; their posture almost always gave them away.
She sat her tea down, folded her hands in her lap. “Say,” she started, and noted that she caught his attention with a slight shift of his hand, and that his head slightly canted to the side. “would you like to go out there?”
Ariko sighed -- the first sign of discomfort. “To sit outside and watch as someone else enjoys themselves when I can not. I don't think so.”
She edged her chair a bit closer to him, tempted to take his hand, but thinking better of it. “I meant to maybe have a possibility of enjoying yourself.”
He thought about it for another moment, then conceded as he shifted in the chair. “I don't suppose we couldn't. Let's go to take a walk in Tokyo Center. The lights are quite pretty this time of night. I suppose I would enjoy seeing them.”
At the mention of Ariko actually having an opportunity to enjoy himself, Reishii pounched upon it.
Their walk was accompanied by companionable silence, Ariko not up for much chat while Reishii marveled at the sight of the bright city lights, and mostly at the sudden look of interest when Ariko spotted them as well. Flashing bright signs alerted them of newby pubs, clubs, strip-bars, and shopping centrals, but at the moment, all Reishii was interested in was judging Ariko's reactions to everything.
Her gaze fell to the floor, and a spark of silver caught her eye. Quickly, almost too quickly for Ariko to have notice if he had been paying attention, Reishii rammed him into the side of the street, and hissed under her breath.
“What the hell do you think you're doing walking around Tokyo center with a sword in your hand!?”
Remaining remote, Ariko just blinked and gripped the hilt of the sheathed tighter. “I always take it with me,” he said.
Reishii sighed indolently. “If you plan on impaling anyone during the holidays, I'd likely advise you change your course of action and leave that person alone, lest you want to deal with me nagging you about it constantly.”
Threat taken seriously, Ariko nodded his head once and silently maneuvered the blade to obscure it more from view. Silently, Reishii slowly released her grip on his forearm and returned to walking down the street as if their interaction never occured. Ariko remained silent for the remainder.
A loud, metallic screeching resounded off the city walls and reverberated through the ground, sending Reishii into alert and making Ariko slightly more alert. Their bodies turned, tense and alert, and saw the large white city tansit bus rolling down the hill at a fast pace, smashing everything in its path. Frozen with fear and pure morification, Reishii gaped at the approaching vehicle, momentarily incapacitated. Ariko, cursing under his breath at how fast the bus was moving, grabbed hold of Reishii's arm and forced her to the ground, covering half of her body with his as the bus slowly skidded down and rolled over top of their immobile bodies. The bus continued to screech its way down the hill until it crashed into the Tokyo tower, the sound of compressing metal ricocheting off the walls and sending the ground shaking once again. Many people along the streets that were lucky enough to have been inside during the incident pointed and gawked at the significant amount of damage the bus had upon the Tokyo tower.
Beneath him, Reishii moaned. “Ugh...what just happened...?”
Ariko, uncomfortable about the intimate position they were in without danger to blame, sighed and stood, helping her to her feet. “It's a big city, Reishii-chan, always expect large complications. Now, this incident has nothing to do with us, I suggest we wander someplace else, lest we be taken in as witnesses to a scene.”
Rubbing off the dirt and grime from her pants, Reishii nodded her head fervently. “Agreed.”
As they walked away from the scene (Reishii in a slight daze), ambulances, firetrucks, and police cars reared from around the corner and whizzed by them, unbeknownist of their participation within the accident. As Reishii began pondering about many possible places that they could visit, Ariko eyed a corner store with favor, and quickly slipped in and took a pack of cigarrettes without her knowledge. He was quite aware she would discipline and nag at him later, but he had grown familiar with it. Besides, he wasn't afraid of death. If anything, death was afraid of him.
“How are you on your feet?”
Ariko gave Reishii a pointed look, and nonchalantly reached into his jacket to remove a ciggarette. Immediately, Reishii swatted his hand away.
“What is this?” she asked reprovingly, dangling the cancer-stick in front of his face. “You told me you quit.”
Ariko smiled, swiped the ciggarette from her hands. “I lied.”
She frowned, jumped him and removed the pack with practice ease. Ariko didn't bother to stop her. She chucked it eloquently into the garbage. “If you need something in your mouth that badly--,” she reached into her pocket and pulled out a colored box, “--then take this.”
Curious, he swiped that away from her as well, taking one of the sticks and popping it into his mouth. “Raspberry?” he asked.
“It's Ichigokorou pocky. Something better than those cancer-sticks.”
“Raspberry?” he asked again, then started nibbling on the end. “I guess it'll do.”
Reishii grinned. “Alright, like I had said before. How good are you on your feet?”
Again that same look appeared on his face, the one that told her she obviously knew the answer to her question. “Why?” he asked, questioning her eager demeanor.
“'Cause. I want to go skating. They have free skating over by Kiri Lake, and rental skates. I was thinking...since the walk didn't turn out too good...”
Knowing there was absolutely no way he would ever get rid of her until he complied with her wishes, he silently nodded his head and allowed her to tow him in the direction of said park. They reached it quickly, ordered their size skates, and took off to the changing rooms, a piece of pocky still stuck in his mouth. Maybe, Reishii thought, he'll slowly transpose to pocky instead of smoking.
Helping Ariko get his skates on was quite...interesting. For one thing, he thought they were alienated pieces of technology that threatened his life, and another was that he wasn't helping the fact that tying them actually required string. He'd all but taken the string from the shoes, dangled it in front of his face, then proceeded in playing with it as if he were an actual cat. Reishii had to get people out of the room for that one. But, all laced up, she helped him to his feet in her own skates and ambled out of the room awkwardly, making sure he had his balance and was not about to go chase after more string.
The rink wasn't completely packed, which was a good thing in their circumstances. Watching him glide out onto the rink precariously was a sight to see, and whenever Reishii had the chance, she'd stiffle her laughter and continued to cheer him on. He was a quick learner, and within fifteen minutes was skating circles around her with ease. His ability to quickly pick up on things baffled her, but she continued to root him on and support him. And, on rare occassions when the moment actually occurred, he'd help her when she fell and continue to jeer her goodnaturedly. He seemed to be enjoying himself immensely -- the look on his pallid face was proof of that. No illusion. No facade. Real.
Their fun was cut short when the owner of the rink appeared on the intercome and announced their defection in ten minutes. Glumly, they skated back toward the changing rooms and removed their skates, but not before Reishii got to see another smile on Ariko's flushed face.
“Wasn't that worth it?” question Reishii as she began unknotting her hair of ice.
His smile appeared -- warmer this time. “Yeah. That wasn't bad, actually.” She could tell he just didn't want to erase the walls in his appearance, from his body language and the way his eyes were shining, she didn't need assurance.
“Good. Because we're not finished yet.” She could almost hear the audible click as he immediately began reserecting a strategy to escape her devious thoughts.
They exited the skating rink, heading to east Tokyo, where his apartment was located. Suddenly, they caught wind of certain entities and whirled around, and cheerful expressions crossed their face as they saw their friends approach them with tired looking faces.
“Yo! Ariko! Reishii-chan!” Kotogami called from the crowd, smiling toward them both. Yumi and Amulet both smiled in unison and began waving, jogging to rush up to their friends.
“Kotogami? Amulet? Yumi? What are you guys doing here?” Without hesitancy Ariko rushed over and embraced Kotogami in a bone-crushing hug.
“Damn Ariko,” Kotogami huffed. “Never thought I'd see you so happy in my life. Who died?” Her smile faltered minutely when she saw his expression.
Ariko's eyes widened, then dropped to the floor. “Um...” he set her back down. “No, I'm not.” Am I? He questioned internally. “None the less,” he continued. “You're all back early. Why? What did I do?”
Reishii smiled. Amulet shrugged. “We didn't do nothing, if you're implying we killed someone...” she let the moment settle before continuing. “And you didn't do anything, either. Our flight just happened to be canceled, that's all. Apparently there's something going on in Cairo, an earthquake or something.”
The group exchanged brief looks of tension before Yumi cut the silence. “Oh well, nothing we can do about it here at the moment. Let's go back to your apartment, Ariko.”
“Ariko. Why are you carrying skates?”
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