Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ This is Not My Life ❯ And the sun surrenders to the evening ( Chapter 8 )

"And the sun surrenders to the evening"


-YOHJI-



Kyoto is dangerous. It's messing with my head. Making me think weird things. Maybe this idea of mine wasn't such a good one.

I know I said we'd stop places on the way down, but I never did. I had this uneasy feeling that the second I slowed down, Aya would bail. I could almost visualize him jumping out of the moving car, like in a movie or something. Rolling out the door, and into a ditch; me miles away before my brain puts one and two together. Him a tiny dot, vanishing behind me. Never to be seen again. I wouldn't put it past him.

So not only did I never stop, but I drove fast. Orange groves streaked by, a golden blur. I couldn't tell the trees apart from bamboo. Fields and water blended into one. Only the mountains kept their shape, and even they quickly passed.

I tell myself, we'll have plenty of time to stop on the way back. Best to start in Kyoto. Start someplace really nice, so Aya will like it. So Aya will want to stick out the trip. So I won't be alone.

So we get here in record time. Before dinner even; in time for me to find a nice place for us to stay. Originally, I just figured I'd crash in the car. Or camp out. I wasn't too worried about petty details like where I would sleep. This is supposed to be an adventure, right? But as the hours ticked on, and the telephone poles flew by…I started to worry. What is Aya thinking right now? Is he just bidding his time for the first opportunity to get away? Is he going to take off no matter what? Or will the impression I give him make a difference? Is he testing me? Just when did this turn from a responsibility bail to a stress-fest? Why do I CARE?

So we're in Kyoto, and I can't even relax. But Aya. Aya, on the other hand blends in like he's never been anywhere else. It's uncanny, but Aya belongs here. No person was meant to be in Kyoto more than Aya. I'm glad I brought him here. And yet. I'm afraid I won't be able to take him away again. The old buildings, the temples, the carefully trained pine trees…they just match his personality. It's quiet, and graceful; like Aya. Graceful? Since when did I start thinking of Aya like that? Grouchy maybe….but graceful?! See what I mean? This city's doing some serious brain damage here. Or maybe it was the fumes from the car. Maybe.

I'm thinking too much. Thinking was never my forte.

After dropping our stuff off in the inn (yes, this was premeditated to the point where I swiped a couple of Aya's shirts and his toothbrush, before swiping Aya,) we just walk around a bit. It's dusky out, we have an hour or two before everything closes down. I steer us towards one of those touristy streets. You know, the kind that look old fashioned and quaint, but the shops are filled with fans and dolls and key-chains. Girls in kimonos sell Hello Kitty t-shirts. Men in haoris sell ice cream. I'm thinking it would be fun to go shopping, maybe pick up some silly souvenirs for Omi and Ken. Just what might they like, anyway? A shirt? Some candy? I stop and look into one of the first displays. There's some little stuffed cats, sewn out of kimono fabric. Hey, that's kinda cute. And the different colors are supposed to represent things too. Look, I could get Omi a cat that means 'luck in studies.' Sounds like a good present to me.

"Hey Aya! What do you think about getting Omi this…."

I turn around, only to discover that Aya did NOT follow my lead when I stopped. No, he kept on walking right up the street. If it weren't for his distinguishing hair color, I might have already lost him.

"Shit!" I take off after him, the souvenir all but forgotten. I'm crashing into people, why does the street have to be so crowded?! I can barely apologize as I go, I'm too scared of losing sight of him. Can he really be ditching me already?! Damn, I knew it. I just knew he'd do this.

I'm not really thinking straight. It never even occurs to me that he's simply taking a minor diversion, fully intending to meet me back at the inn. No, my brain can only jump to conclusions, and separation equals abandonment. I've just been abandoned. The entire point of this thing being to prove to myself that I can trust people again, and I can't even make it till the first dinner time. My outlook on life is getting bleaker by the minute.

And yet.

I catch up with him. He doesn't falter. He doesn't speed up. He doesn't even look at me. Most importantly, he doesn't seem like he's trying to get away. He just didn't want to stop. He looks determined, like he's set on doing something--make that going somewhere. I follow his gaze to the top of the street. A temple. Apparently, Aya's very set on visiting that temple. Well, I can hardly feel surprised. But he might have at least said something.

"Hey, Aya? You wanted to go to that temple?" I ask.

He nods, and keeps walking.

"Any particular reason you want to go there?" I prod.

No comment.

Sigh.

Nothing to do but follow.

I think, maybe he's going to check out the garden? That's what I like about these places. They look so old and everything is worn down and blanketed in moss. It's easy to believe you're actually standing someplace two, three hundred years ago. When I visited these types of places as a kid, I'd pretend I was a samurai. I'd run past all the people bowing to the figures and drinking from the fountains. I'd hide behind the Jizo statues and jump out at my parents when they walked by. Sometimes I'd bring an umbrella and challenge complete strangers to duels. Hm. Maybe that's why they suddenly stopped taking me to temples….

Well, anyway, Aya surprises me and walks right past the plum trees and koi ponds. He doesn't even bother to look at them (weird, I thought Aya was really into tasteful gardens and whatnot. Or did I just assume he was? I'm not sure anymore.) He goes up to the bell hanging in front of the pagoda and rings it, then claps and bows. I'm fascinated. This seems way too superstitious for Aya. Aya always struck me as…well, not atheistic, but close. Agnostic maybe…certainly not one to practice organized religion. Is this what he does when he goes off on his free time? I always thought he hung out at the library or something….

Aya's now walking over to the booth that sells charms and stuff. The priest is handing him one of those wooden boards that you write a desire on and then hang up, in hopes of being granted by whatever spirits might be watching over the temple. Man, I really want to go over and see what he's writing on it, but I certainly know better. Eh, it's not like I can't guess though. He's probably putting down something like 'May Reiji Takatori's soul be burning in Hell for all eternity' or something along those lines. Dude, Aya's so weird.

He then walks over to the lattice and gracefully (there I go using that word again!?) ties it up among the hundreds of other hanging boards. It's easy to guess that most of those boards say things like 'let me pass my exam' or 'get blank-san to go out with me.' People turn to religion for the most trivial things. I bet it'll look strange having a malicious wish for suffering casually knocking around all those everyday innocent requests.

He's still not done, though. He goes back to the priest and buys something else. It's one of those little charms that have been blessed by the priest to grant good luck. Another practice I would have never imagined Aya buying into. He tries to nonchalantly slip it into his pocket, but I get a good enough look at it before he does. I think it's one of the 'protection from illness' charms. Yet another surprise. Since when was Aya worried about his health?! Shouldn't he be more concerned with the possibility of an unnatural death? I didn't think he even cared about the possibility of dying. If it bothers him, he's certainly done a good job of hiding it. Well, until now, at least.

This 'vacation' of mine is starting to turn into more of a mystery. Or maybe it's just the detective in me getting nosy. I'm intrigued as hell though. I want to find out just what makes Aya tick.

….

After leaving the temple (Aya will not say a word about it,) we stop at the nearest restaurant. I suddenly realize that I'm starving. It's been hours and hours since I ate anything, but until now I was too nervous and excited about this stunt I just pulled to notice I was hungry. Yet, almost instantly I get distracted again. And guess by what? Gee, it's Aya. Noticing a trend to my day?

This time I can't help watching him eat. It's another detail I never really noticed before. He's ordered just a plain old bowl of udon, and he's attending to it like a ritual. Instead of just grabbing a clump of noodles and slurping them (like a guy,) he's meticulously picking them up one at a time, and dropping them into a spoon, which he uses to hold the loose end while he eats it with his chopstick. It's all so precise and neat. Really, I've only ever seen girls bother with that spoon trick. But for some reason, it seems sorta cute that Aya does that…..

Between each noodle (I can't believe he's eating them one at a time) he sets the spoon and chopsticks down and picks up his mug (both hands) and sips his tea (green.) The whole time he's kept his eyes averted, fixed on his bowl of udon, so I didn't really think he'd notice that I'd been watching him.

He completely catches me off guard when he looks up and asks, "Why are you staring at me?"

Ack! "I um, was just thinking your udon looked really good, and I um, was wishing I got that instead of what I got!" Smooth, Yohji. Real smooth.

"Oh," he says, and then really surprises me when he adds, "would you like some?"

He picks up one of his noodles and offers it to me. I notice he was thoughtful enough to flip his chopsticks around first, so none of his 'germs' would get on the noodle. I'm further confused when I realize that this gesture leaves me somewhat…disappointed?! What's getting into me?

I thank him and take the noodle. It's pretty good…for a tasteless noodle.

I then dive into my okonomiyaki (of course I got okonomiyaki. Had to make good on that yaki rant I gave in the car...) with intense fervor. I don't look at Aya again till every last bit is gone. Aya's still doggedly working away at his udon, noodle by noodle. I try really hard to look at anything but Aya, but it's just not working. My eyes keep gravitating back to him, no matter what. I finally give up trying and just resign myself to watch. I think Aya notices, but thankfully he's not the type to press the issue farther. I let it be.

Walking out of the restaurant, I ask him if he'd like to look for some yakiimo for dessert.

"Here?" he asks, looking mildly surprised, "I thought you wanted to find the place that made it best?"

Did I just hear that right?! Cause that sounded to me like Aya was planning on hanging around for stops past Kyoto. Aya's sticking this out?! With me!

I'm not even thinking when I jump up and down and hug him. Oops. I release him as soon as I realize what a big no-no I just committed. Uh oh.

Instead of getting mad (what I expected,) Aya looks shocked. He stands there rigidly for a minute before turning around and walking towards the inn at twice his previous pace.

"We should get some sleep," he says awkwardly.

"Without a doubt," is all I can think to say.

….

All night, my dreams are filled with Aya.