InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Reminisce ❯ A Day Out ( Chapter 2 )

Disclaimers I don't own Inu-Yasha. Takahashi sensei does, so sue me, and get and get nothing XD Aki and Natsuko are mine.

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A girl about Aki's age tapped her foot impatiently, keeping her eyes on the leather watch strapped around her slender wrist, all the while standing at the doorstep of the Takashi residence. She glanced annoyingly at a window to the second floor and huffed angrily, bringing the watch down to her side with a stomp.

"Aki! C'mon already!!"

Almost instantly, Aki swung the door open hastily, ignoring the fact that her friend was on the step. "Gomen, Natsuko-san! Ofukuru-san wanted me to do some things before I left and-- Ah! Natsuko! Gomen-nasai!! I didn't mean to--"

"It's okay, Aki-chan! I'm alright." Natsuko waved a dismissive hand at her, trying to tell her it was alright. Aki just smiled, realizing how she must've sounded. Returning the smile, Natsuko checked her watch again and turned back to her friend looking quizzically. "So... Where are we gonna go?"

Pondering for only a second, the young sandy-haired girl only looked to the east with a wide grin. "We haven't been to the ice-cream parlor in a while..."

"... So you're suggesting we go there...?"

"Yeah... You never know, maybe some old friends from our freshman year will be there!"

"Hm... Seems fine to me." she shrugged, not caring what they really did. With a nod of agreement, the two headed off to their destination, both utterly anxious to see a familiar face... from their freshman year... Only one year ago... So many memories, yet they couldn't remember most of the people in their classes... It seemed almost as if it was more than a year ago...

"So..." came Natsuko's voice chiming into her thoughts abruptly. "When're you gonna make up with your dad?..."

"Chichi-oya?... I don't know... Ever since he started drinking, it hasn't really been the same... He controls his temper... but the problem is that he doesn't want to talk to anyone..."

"Creepy... It almost seems as if he's getting depressed over something..."

"Well... Mama hasn't been getting along with him that well... Maybe it's just a phase..."

"Aki please... You can be such a baka sometimes..." The raven-haired seventeen-year-old giggled extinguishing the seriousness in her sentence. "I don't see why you think about it so much if it bothers you... Ya know, that dream you keep having..."

She caught her breath in her throat at that statement. She hadn't told Natsuko about that occurring dream had she? Oh kami-sama... She couldn't get her involved in this nonsense... In an effort to dismiss the suspicions of the dream, Aki giggled and looked at her friend nervously. "No, no, no Natsuko! That dream stopped coming ages ago!"

"You sure?"

"Of course!"

Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Aki..."

"What?! I'm telling you, Natsuko, nothing is wrong..."

".... Well... Okay, but if anything does happen, you know who to call, right?"

"Arigatou. But I'm positive nothing will go wrong."

That earned her another one of those 'looks', but she just pushed it aside and proceeded to evade any further questions by opening the entrance to the parlor and promptly stepped in, taking a seat at a blue table large enough to seat two people. Natsuko gave her a questioning glare as to what exactly she was doing. Twisting her long silky locks of hair between her forefinger and middle, Aki looked up, noticing the stare. "Just get me what you get..."

Natsuko nodded uncertainly and went over to the counter to check for the flavors that were available, leaving Aki's anxiousness at rest. What's wrong with me today? I'm so fidgety and even Natsuko is noticing it... I bet she'll come back and ask some questions... She's a good friend with good intentions, but sometimes it isn't comforting to speak with her... She has a tendency to push things until she gets a straight answer...

"Aki... You sure you're okay?..." And there it was... Natsuko trying to be comforting... She had to give her credit for trying though... She had a good heart...

"Hai Natsuko-chan... Everything is alright... I'm just a little upset is all..."

She curiously eyed her with the ice-cream slowly melting away beneath her. "About what."

"Nothing really... Just chichi-oya... He always acts that way..."

"Well... It's not good to dwell on things forever you know..."

Aki paused, frozen with shock from what she just heard... She used to always say that to Inu-Yasha... Whenever he was down, she used to always tell him that... How she missed that hanyou more than anything... He was always full of confidence and pride... Humph... Pride... He savored that one thing like there would never be anything better... But she saw another side of him when no one else was looking... He was kind. He sometimes was even gentle... But she only saw him like that once... when they met for the first time... and when...

She fought hard with her inner emotions to chock back a sob as memories flooded her thoughts all over again... But as she did her best to fight it, Natsuko was noticing the sudden change in her friend's appearance... Aki was slowly going pale all over and she began toying with her hair again, which she only did when nervous. "Aki...?"

She flinched at the sound of her voice, startling Natsuko. She was certain Aki was lying to her now. There was NO way in all the seven hells that Aki would act like this normally. Something was up... And she wanted to know...

"Aki, what's the matter? Why haven't you said anything in the past few minuets?"

"I...I......"

"Aki?!"

"I'm sorry, Natsu-chan! I have to go somewhere to think! Please do not follow me!" With that, she raced out the door, the curious eyes of other costumers following her briefly before returning to conversations and whatnot. Natsuko, however, was reacting the exact opposite... Her eyes were wide with fear for her friend's safety and her mouth was slightly gaped in utter shock. She expecting Aki to be troubled... but, she hadn't expected her to flee for 'time to think'... She could only listen to Aki's last words, and not follow her... Let the suspense build and sit there, waiting for her return, which she honestly didn't expect to come either... "Aki..."

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Plopping down on the cold concrete ground on the side of the parlor, Aki let her tears fall freely, only stopping to intake a breath. She choked on her tears lightly without caring if anyone heard her. Just the thought of Inu-Yasha brought her to tears, one girl who never seemed to have a reason to cry... She wasn't popular in school, but she did have many friends and admirers alike. Many girls even envied her... No one ever suspected her life to be so sad... Full of such pain and agony... She tried everyday to put on a smile, but no matter how hard she tried, that smile would only be a mask to her true feelings...

Slowly, her tears subsided as her thoughts drifted to a happier time in her life... How she would be able to forget him and be able to lead a normal life like her friends always thought she led. To be able to be interested in the boys interested in her... She never really had an interest in boys but, if she'd fit in better, she'd try to do more normal things... At least to evade her friends' worries...

She let out a longing sigh of defeat, realizing what good it would do to cry now... It was over... She would probably never see him again... Mourning him was just a lost cause now... like it had always been.

"Excuse me, Miss."

Startled, she looked up to meet the eyes of a person who was apparently about to enter through the front door. Realizing he was not a threat whatsoever, she relaxed slightly, letting out a sigh and standing up. At his confused reaction, she only smiled, wiping the dried tears from her now reddened face then quickly walking off before he had a chance at asking questions. Without a second thought, Aki headed back to the confinement of the Takashi residence, leaving Natsuko to figure out what happened on her own...

Swinging the door to her home open, Aki strode in and walked straight to her room without greeting her family in the main room before her. Flopping carelessly onto her bed, she was only greeted with the remembrance of the previous night's events... Bringing her mind back to the hanyou inu-youkai that she called 'brother' so long ago... A sigh was the only reply to the saddening memory as she turned on her back to face the ceiling. "I have to forget that now... It's too late to go back and change what happened to us... What happened to him..... If only I could move on with my life and let the past go..." She chuckled to herself at that. "Strange... That's oddly what I used to be telling him... Back when he used to be down or depressed, I used to always tell him not to dwell on the past and to go on... And I can't even do that myself..."

She would be a sophomore when school was back in session... after the sakuras began to grow... A small smile formed on her lips. She always loved flowers... and the sakura tree in their backyard always bloomed around this time... school was in another week or so, so the the buds should have developed into sakura blossoms by now. Sakura... the new beginning... To start her life over and make it better... to forget... him...

"Inu-Yasha..."

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A/N: I'm not sure when the sakura blossoms bloom okay... I thought I heard somewhere that they bloomed a little bit before school started in Japan, so I just assumed it would be right to put it there... If I'm wrong, so sue me... If I'm right... I'm happy^-^;;... Um... Anywayz, I kinda forced myself to write this chapter, so it may not be that good... and maybe I'm getting nowhere with the plot right now, but it'll be coming soon enough though! Trust me!! Heh heh... Oh, and arigatou Anata! I was never suspected you were lying... well... I didn't mean to make it sound like that... So.. sorry-.-;;... Not good with apologies... Well... R&R please! Even though I appreciate Anata's comments, I'd really like for the rest of you to comment. Tell me how good or bad it is... I don't really care which, just tell me what you think XD!