|
|
Post by kiku on Jan 20, 2008 20:01:40 GMT -5
Lien nodded, smiling softly at Kiran, but observed her husband curiously; he seemed to be much more inquisitive than usual, and his expression was quite stern this evening. After a moment of analyzing her husband’s stare, she looked at Kiran, and back, to Kiku, to Kiran, and back… This wasn’t quite the most pleasant table atmosphere. Silly Katsu – she should have known. The first handsome young man who walks in the door and he was already playing the tough, interrogating father act. Well, Lien thought amusedly, it wasn’t as if he didn’t have reason to worry about them being fond of one another. Near by, Hana was also making a shrewd conclusion.
Meanwhile, Kiku was listening intently, though her expression was still soft. Even though Kiran was under harsh interrogations, Kiku couldn’t help but be interested in what Kiran had to say about himself and his family. It was odd – it seemed as if she had known him forever, yet there was still so much she didn’t know about him. So much she wanted to know… Though, naturally Katsu was trying to weasel as much as he could out of Kiran too. He frowned, bitterness pulling down the corners of his mouth.
“Getting away once in awhile must be nice. Especially for those in the army, I’d imagine. Like a breath of fresh air. Of course only for those who make it home, that is. Though, in theory, I suppose all those brave men come home sometime – in boxes.”
Katsu’s speech was speeding up feverishly now, his voice strengthened by his passionate loathing. He gripped his chopsticks in his strong, callused hand, grimacing at his plate.
“Such wicked Fire Nation scum that do that to our friends and family, don’t you think Kiran? That cripple our fathers; torture our brothers; that slay our closest friends…”
“Katsu!” Lien scolded harshly, though she wasn’t looking at him. Her eyes were firmly on Kiku, who now sat rigid in her seat, her expression undoubtedly horrified. Swiftly realizing his mistake, Katsu cleared his throat softly, pressing his palm and chopsticks to the table. He spoke, a low, but passionate whisper.
“Don’t you, Kiran…”
|
|
|
|
Post by coldflame on Jan 20, 2008 22:10:35 GMT -5
Kiran’s whole body seemed to become more and more stiff as Katsu uttered his hateful words, knowing perfectly well they were directed towards him. Kiran’s face – completely expressionless – faltered only slightly. He was surprised, but more repulsed by the fact that the man would actually come out and indirectly throw these things into his face. It wasn’t fair. If anything, it wasn’t fair to Kiran’s family; they were good people, never intending to hurt anyone. Not everyone from his country was as heartless as people portrayed them to be…
Kiran’s gaze was firmly on Katsu, but soon broke away and placed his chopsticks slowly against the table. Perhaps enough was enough. Kiran knew that his presence at this table was becoming less and less desired, and it felt almost painful to be an example of he most hated in front of Kiku – being an example of how prejudice everything was…
“Excuse me…” Kiran said solemnly, standing quickly out of his chair, causing it to make a slight rumble against the floor as he did so. He bowed slightly, and then promptly turned and left the kitchen knowing that now would be the best time to leave. He did not look at Kiku’s face or anyone else’s for that matter. He just wanted to step away, unable to stand anymore insults in front of his friend, the very one who would most likely worry about him for this.
Kiran turned out of the kitchen and headed towards his room. He angrily entered through and looked around. Without much hesitation, he grabbed his bag off the floor, picked up a few of his belongings, and began packing his things away…
|
|
|
|
Post by kiku on Jan 20, 2008 22:49:12 GMT -5
She couldn’t breathe.
Wide, frightful eyes and parted, disbelieving lips revealed her horror. She stared at her father as if she hardly knew him, and suddenly she felt a verge of horrible words flutter on the end of her tongue. But they all melted when Kiran rose from the table and left…
Panic sent her jumping to her feet, while overwhelming sadness bubbled up, threatening to tear her up from the inside out. It took an abnormal amount of self control not to burst out in furious tears, and even more not to scream. How dare he! As melodramatic as it sounded, Kiku doubted she could ever forgive her father for this. Eyes squeezed shut, Kiku rushed from the room, even in her disgust unable to even mutter a horrified or furious comment. She couldn’t take it if she fell to pieces in front of him, then again, he deserved it! She nearly hissed.
It wasn’t fair! It wasn’t fair! Kiran didn’t deserve this! Anything but! He had healed her so much, made her whole again, and what does he get? Rudeness, a face full of heated prejudices… She felts so horrified and embarrassed, furious and miserable. She didn’t want him to leave. Not like this. It wasn’t right!
Choking as she fought back a verge of violent sobs, Kiku burst into Kiran’s room, blanching as she saw him packing up his things. It took so much not to sob. She wanted to moan, cry, throw herself on the floor like a fitful toddler… Anything, please, please! Don’t go!
“Kiran…” Kiku gasped, an involuntary tear leaving a salty trail down her cheek. “I’m s-so sorry! Please… He doesn’t understand. Don’t go…”
Her voice wavered, so she whispered, closing her eyes to fight the bubbling tears.
“Please…”
|
|
|
|
Post by coldflame on Jan 20, 2008 23:36:27 GMT -5
He couldn’t look at her.
Kiran could hear the choking sobs in her voice, the quake at which she spoke, and as much as it nearly broke his heart, he could not look at her. He distracted himself by continuing to violently shove his belongings into his bag, pacing the room at some points as he searched for absolutely nothing, then walked back to his bag.
Kiran was infuriated, yet completely down trodden at Kiku’s despondency. He knew she would worry, but just by hearing the choke in her voice almost made him even more frustrated. She didn’t deserve to cry over him. What was it now? The second time he had seen her cry? No, third time he had seen her cry! It almost made him sick!
Unable to hold his stare away from her, he looked to her and was unable to stop himself from uttering more words of frustration to her. In some sense, perhaps her father was right! Maybe he didn’t belong here, or at least wasn’t welcome anyways.
“Apparently Fire Nation scum such as myself isn’t welcome here, Kiku,” his voice softened slightly, his brow furrowing once he set eyes on her heartbreaking face, but didn’t stop, “It’s time that I leave, anyways…”
And with that, he picked up his hooded coat and smoothly put it on, his gaze regretfully averting from hers.
|
|
|
|
Post by kiku on Jan 21, 2008 10:11:41 GMT -5
“H-how can you say that?” Kiku breathed, her eyes widening at the tone of his voice. It was so different than she’d ever heard it – so angry, so upset. Which, Kiku supposed, was rather close to what she was feeling. However, his words still slashed a jagged rip through her heart it seemed; the pain they caused her were by all means equal. She closed her eyes painfully, before hesitantly taking a few steps toward him, reaching out her hand to take one of his and squeezing it gently. She didn’t want him to be so upset.
“You’ll always be welcome here.” She murmured, lowering her voice softly, to try and make it compassionate as well as to hide any other further wavering that might be there. She cupped her other hand around his one large one, and stroked his skin softly with both. She didn’t look at Kiran, only their hands, hoping that if it didn’t help Kiran it would at least help her feel better.
“Mom and Gram both really like you… Dad just doesn’t know you yet. He doesn’t understand…” Kiku murmured, but she hesitated before moving on, a soft but sudden blush brushing against her cheeks. Her voice also became a sudden whisper, and she closed her eyes, holding his hand gently.
“He doesn’t know how you make me feel.”
She paused again, still in too much pain to meet his eyes.
“You will come back, won’t you?”
|
|
|
|
Post by coldflame on Jan 21, 2008 16:57:02 GMT -5
Kiran immediately stopped packing the moment he felt Kiku’s hand on top of his, but couldn’t bring himself to look down at their hands. He looked to the side, now even more frustrated with himself – he shouldn’t have said that to her; her tears seemed to grow even more now, despite that he wasn’t looking at her. He could just feel it in her tone.
Was it possible, in any sort of way, to feel this sort of pain towards a friend? To feel the pain caused, not by what just happened between him and her father, but by a mere departure? Why? Why is it this complicated, unable to just say ‘sorry’ and walk away with a simple goodbye?
Kiran didn’t understand it, but he did understand just how upset Kiku was right now. As stupid as it looked to be crying over him, Kiran couldn’t help but feel an overwhelming sense of compassion towards her. In a terrible fit of regret, his brow furrowed and he very swiftly removed his hand from hers. He looked down at her, shaking his head at what would appear at first to be a refusal to come back, but in reality he was amazed at just how upset she was. Quickly, he wrapped one arm around the back of her neck and pulled her face against his chest, his fingers reaching up and tangling in her hair.
He then pressed his lips against the side of her head and sighed. It was so incredibly stupid that he should feel such a sense of…loss leaving her. Hardly in his life had he ever regretted leaving a person or place behind; he always wanted to move ahead. And it just the same, he wondered if Kiku was feeling the same way.
“Of course I’ll come back. I made a promise didn’t I?” Kiran murmured into her hair, his voice being much less harsh than before.
“So stop acting so ridiculous. I don’t want to see you cry like this…”
|
|
|
|
Post by kiku on Jan 21, 2008 20:58:47 GMT -5
Kiku gasped very softly when Kiran pulled her close to him, for not only was it somewhat surprising, but it also made her heart flutter frantically. She closed her eyes, calming herself; however it was quite difficult to maintain a steady breathing pattern when she felt Kiran’s strong hand twisted among her hair, and his lips pressed so very near. Yet, she managed to wrap her arms slowly around him and press her face gently into his strong chest, sighing as she listened to his tender voice.
She smiled. It was reassuring to hear that he would stick to his promise and come back; she would have gotten on her knees and begged if he hadn’t. It was just so hard to imagine going on as normal right now, arms wrapped around Kiran, feeling safe and whole… Life would have been twice as miserable if Kiran refused to come back. However, she felt defiant at the second half of his comment.
“I’m sorry. It’s just… It doesn’t feel ridiculous.” Kiku murmured softly, resting her cheek softly against his chest now. The sadness she felt was sincere, and seemed… logical somehow. Kiran had done so much for her emotionally; it was only natural for her to feel attached to her friend, she thought. That was it…
|
|
|
|
Post by coldflame on Jan 22, 2008 22:17:08 GMT -5
“Hnm…” Kiran simply mused, his lips still pressed to the side of her head with a gentle pressure. For a brief moment, he silently enjoyed the feel of her against him, the way his fingers tangled in her hair and wished he had known someone like Kiku when he was younger – someone who was just as comforting as well as supporting as she was. Perhaps then he wouldn’t have to leave so much and they could actually enjoy the time they could spend together, instead of reminding themselves of this leaving every day, every hour...
“Nonetheless…” Kiran murmured, slowly unwrapping his arms from around her and standing back slightly so he could see her pretty face, “I should leave; it’s getting late.” He glanced out a nearby window, seeing how much darker it looked outside with the cloudy sky hanging overhead. He soon looked back to her, his face slightly saddened; however it seemed to hurt a lot worse than the way he was showing it.
He then bent down and lifted his leather travel bag into one hand and flung it over his shoulder. He situated his hooded coat slightly, but smiled just a little more for her as soon as he met her eyes again.
“I’ll write to you. You know I will,” his smile broke out into his usual warming one, but his eyes still showing some form of regret for having to leave. Despite the treatment he had received from Katsu before, Kiran knew perfectly well that that wasn’t going to stop him from returning; not after seeing Kiku like this. He knew she cared for him too much than she probably should – more than what Kiran probably ever deserved – but he couldn’t break a promise.
“And try not to worry too much, kay?” He smiled a little more for her and gave a teasing wink, knowing perfectly well that she would worry nonetheless...
|
|
|
|
Post by kiku on Jan 23, 2008 15:17:16 GMT -5
Kiku managed a soft smile.
“I’ll try.” She replied, her eyes sparkling just slightly at his warm smile. Though, she wasn’t making any promises, of course. It was natural for her to worry; with her friend off at war and now Kiran off to perhaps the same one, she didn’t see how she couldn’t. Her friends meant so much to her…
“Just be careful…. Travel safe.” She added a bit shyly, her cheeks pinking just slightly. “And I’ll be looking forward to hearing from you.”
She took a short moment then to observe Kiran fully for what would be the last time in awhile – memorizing his pale, golden eyes, soft full lips, his overall attractive features. She sighed softly and glanced down a bit sadly for a moment, wondering how long it would be until she could enjoy his comforting presence again, before meeting Kiran’s gaze again with tender eyes, her smile renewed but still gentle.
“Well, I guess I should let you go then…”
It was amazing how sad those words made her, and she sighed again before smiling at Kiran and turning to walk out the bedroom door to guide him outside.
|
|
|
|
Post by coldflame on Jan 23, 2008 21:59:05 GMT -5
Kiran silently but closely followed Kiku out of his former bedroom, and took what seemed like a much too short of a walk towards the door leading outside. As he walked down the hallways and around a few corners, he seemed to notice at how the walls were so dim now. The emptiness of the hallway behind him now appeared to be something that was saying goodbye, and Kiran silently did the same to Kiku’s beautiful home once he reached the door as well.
The door slid open with a soft swoosh as Kiran placed his hand upon it to reveal the watery ground outside. The rain had thankfully stopped; now the rain droplets remained in scattered puddles across the damp earth. The sky was now a dark grey and light pink as the sun slowly set behind the clouds. However, Kiran didn’t take much notice of this for very long – his attention was immediately pulled back to his friend who he now saw as someone that he would sorely miss.
He stepped outside into the cool breeze, but immediately turned to look back at Kiku with a soft smile on his face.
“Tell your family I’m sorry for what happened at dinner…” Kiran said gently, his smile turning a bit sheepish. He couldn’t forget Hana and Lien for their kindness towards him; even Katsu, who had definitely shown every bit of hate as he could before. Nonetheless, Kiran could not shed away that sense of respect towards him…for whatever reason it now seemed.
Very quickly, Kiran immediately took in Kiku’s obvious disappointment about his leaving. He felt guilty of course - there was no stopping that. But, as a swift reassurance, Kiran gave her a handsome smile.
Before deciding whether it would make it easier or harder for her to let go, Kiran leaned in close toward her face and brushed the side of his cheek against hers. His lips traveled close to her ear and he murmured very softly, “Don’t forget about me.”
His full lips broke into a warm grin, and finished his sentence with a soft peck on her cheek. His heart unexpectedly leaped at this, but he paid no heed to it. Quickly, Kiran stepped away from her, turned and walked backwards a slight ways, and gave a small wave to her – his grin was still warm as well. Kiran wanted her to be happy and seem him with a smile, even though he could already feel a consuming emptiness engulf him as he turned back around and slowly walked away…
|
|
|
|
Post by kiku on Jan 24, 2008 17:11:51 GMT -5
Kiku’s heart fluttered joyously while her eyes closed for a moment as Kiran’s lips pressed oh so sweetly against her delicately flushed skin. His soft request and gentle brush on her cheek alone had nearly made her heart burst, but the soft kiss on her cheek made Kiku wonder if she was going to remain upright.
However, she still remained outwardly shy, and she smiled gently as Kiran turned to leave and laughed softly when he walked a ways and waved. Still smiling, she waved back in reply, her eyes sparkling contently, a soft chuckle still occasionally slipping out of her lips. And, as he turned around, Kiku didn’t move, but continued to stand at the doorway, leaning against its side and watching Kiran walk away. Silently, she watched his silhouette grow smaller and smaller, repeating the words he had last said to her, trying to memorize the pleasant tone of his voice, his warm breath near her ear, and, of course, his full, perfect lips against her cheek. It was going to be impossible to not miss him. Oh, she hoped he came back soon, or at least sent her a letter. She was going to enjoy that…
Smiling a little, Kiku closed her eyes when Kiran’s form disappeared, pressing her palm softly against her flushed cheek, sighing softly.
“I won’t.”
|
|
