Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ This is Not My Life ❯ Things aren’t always what they seem; you learn along the way ( Chapter 9 )

“Things aren't always what they seem; you learn along the way”

-AYA-

He's. Doing. It. AGAIN.

Why does he keep doing that?!

Is there something on my face? If there is, then why doesn't he just SAY something?!

...Instead of just sitting there...and staring.

God. Why does Yohji keep STARING at me like that?

It's staring to make me feel paranoid.

Maybe he's doing it on purpose.

You know, to make me nervous.

Yeah, that must be it.

That goofy grin of his is a -dead giveaway-.

He's enjoying this, damnit!

I can't let him know that he's getting to me.

Hm, If I just don't let myself look at him, then I won't be able to tell he's staring.

Or not. I can still feel him staring.

Grrrr.

I know, I'll meditate!

...On coffee!

Yes, I'll stare at my coffee, and think about absolutely nothing but coffee.

Mmm. Coffee.

Coffee is...nice!

...It smells nice!

It tastes nice too!

Well, it doesn't always taste nice. You know that freeze-dried kind that they serve at diners and just keep sitting on a burner for twenty-four hours straight, and never clean the filter....

...That coffee doesn't taste so nice.

This coffee is...okay.

Not as good as MY coffee. My coffee is very, very nice!

"Uh, Aya?"

...I go to a specialty shop and get the beans fresh! Then I grind them myself to get it just right. My coffee rules.

"Aya?"

I really hate it when Ken wakes up before me and tries to make his own coffee. He can't get it right at all. One time he just put the beans in the filter and didn't even grind them! Then another time, he burned it. How the hell do you burn coffee?! I don't know, but Ken sure does.

Grrrr.

"Aya?!"

I always drink mine black. Milk and sugar are for sissies. What's the point of drinking coffee if you're just going to cover up its taste? Take Yohji for instance. He dumps, like, eight packets of sugar into his mug. It's a wonder he hasn't become diabetic. I bet I couldn't even recognize the liquid in his cup as coffee anymore. Haha. What a lame-o. Yeah, Yohji couldn't even....

Oh.

Yohji.

It suddenly dawns on me that he's been calling my name. I wonder how long he's been doing that?

I look up at him, and he's staring worse than ever.

Gaaaaah.

"Um, Aya, are you all right?"

I nod. Of course I'm all right, nitwit. Where you hoping I wasn't? Wanted proof your little staring game was getting to me?

"Is there something wrong with your coffee?"

"My coffee? What would be wrong with it?" More like, what's wrong with Yohji?

"Well, you were staring at it pretty intensely," he says, "I thought it might be bad or something."

Oh. So is that what he thought?!

"I notice you were staring at me pretty intensely. Was that because I was 'bad or something'?"

Yohji chokes on his orange juice, coughs, and then turns about three shades of red. Weird. I've never seen Yohji blush before.

"What?! NO! I don't think.... I wasn't staring! Er, not at you! There was a really hot waitress behind you! And I was, ah, looking at her! Ah heh heh...heh...."

"She was standing behind me for twenty five minutes straight?" I ask, incredulously.

"Er, yeah. I think she likes you," he says, weakly.

Ha. Your little game's not so fun when the tables are turned on you, eh, Yohji?

"Why would she like me just from staring at the back of my head?"

"Uh...why not?" Yohji oh-so-articulately responds.

"Why would she stare at the back of my head, when there's plenty of perfectly attractive people whom she could watch from the front?"

"After all this time in the flower shop, you haven't yet realized that we are bonafide babe magnets?" Yohji says with a smirk, "No one gets stared at more than us!"

"Then why wasn't she staring at you?"

Yohji goes, "Huh?"

"I said," I reiterate, "why wasn't she staring at you?"

"Er," Yohji says, "maybe she was!"

"I thought you said she was staring at me?"

"She was!" Yohji corrects, defensively, "Maybe she was staring at both of us, and I just didn't say anything."

"Don't believe you." I say, crossing my arms in front of my chest.

"What?! Why shouldn't you believe me?!"

"Because you would have hit on her."

Yohji pales considerably. He better not try to deny that one.

"Well I'm finished!" he answers, obviously changing the subject, "What do you want to do today?"

I'm so glad he asked! “Kiyomizu,” I say, and then on second thought add, “and Yasaka, and Rokuonji.”

Yohji's mouth drops open, “more temples?!”

“There's over two thousand temples in Kyoto alone,” I answer smugly.

“Holy crap! You better not expect to see them all!” Yohji sounds a little panicky.

Instead of answering him I just give him a knowing smile. Heh. Messing with Yohji is kinda fun.

Yohji frowns. “Hmm. What do you say to meeting at Yasaka in twenty minutes then? I'd like to make a stop first if we're going to spend the entire day temple hopping.”

Figures. He probably wants to pick up a girl to take along. Whatever.

“If you want.”

“Where should we meet?” he asks cheerfully, “On the steps by the gate?”

I think about this for a minute. “No. I'd rather wait by the pond in the garden, than next to a busy road.”

“Sounds like a plan!” Yohji says, grinning. He slaps down payment for our breakfast. Huh. I wonder how long that will last, before he starts expecting me to pay him back?

“See ya!” he calls, dashing out the door.

I really don't get him.

Yesterday he was trailing me like the plague, and now he's hell-bent to go off on his own. Not that I care, I just think it's strange. Oh well, it's to my advantage. Now I don't have to feel so self-conscious at the temple. He was looking at me weird when I bought that talisman for Aya.

I plan to buy another one, after all. In fact, I plan to buy several.

Last night I decided something.

I was lying in bed, and couldn't sleep. I kept wondering just what the hell was I doing, anyway? Why on earth did I stay in the car with Yohji? I didn't even want to stay, I just did for some reason. It baffled me.... But then I thought of how nice Kyoto is...it's been years since I last visited, and I haven't had any time away from...my job...since the accident. This thought is immediately followed by a huge surge of guilt. I don't deserve time away. I should be earning money. I need to save up! When Aya wakes up, I'll be responsible for her tuition! And we'll want to get a house! When Aya wakes up, I want to give her the nicest life possible.... Vacations are out of the question.

But thinking about my responsibilities for Aya also reminded me of how satisfying going to the temple felt. I hadn't bothered with temples since our parents died. Temple visits were a family thing. It was way too painful to go alone and be reminded of all the new years and festivals past spent with Aya. But yesterday was different somehow....

I guess I was already in a weird mood thanks to Yohji's inexplicable behavior. I felt like I had to justify not going home right away, and a temple stop seemed like appropriate penance. So I made a beeline for the first one in sight.

When I got there I prayed for Aya. I left her name hanging at the temple with my wish for her recovery. I bought a health charm to take home and hang over her hospital bed. And suddenly...suddenly I felt better than I have in over a year. Even though nothing was different, I felt like I had finally done something to help her. It was the first time I stopped feeling helpless since Takatori's death.

So I decided.

I'm going to stick out this crazy trip with Yohji.

At least for a while.

Because I have a new quest.

I'm going to visit every damn temple I can find. I'm going to leave her name in all of them. If there's anyone out there watching, well, I'm going to make sure as hell that Aya's not overlooked.

Damn. I feel better.

By the time Yohji finally shows up I've been finished with the temple for over half an hour. Twenty minutes my ass.

I'm shocked to see he's still alone. Maybe he took so long because he couldn't find a girl. That's only slightly less difficult to believe than the idea that maybe he wasn't looking for a girl in the first place. Yeah right.

I glare at him, and it gets the message across.

“Sorry Aya!” he says guiltily, “I had more trouble than I expected finding the book I wanted.”

Book? Did Yohji just say book?!

Yohji reads?

Holy crap, who'd a thunk.

“You went to get a book?” I ask, suspiciously.

“Yeah,” he says, “I figured you'd want to spend more time in these places than me, so I got something to read, so I wouldn't rush you.”

That sounds way too thoughtful to be coming from Yohji. He must be plotting something.

“May I see your book?” I ask, eyeing the bag he's clutching.

“You won't like it,” he says, with a shrug.

“Try me.”

He actually looks a bit embarrassed when he hands me the package.

By god, if Yohji bought the `Kama Sutra,' I swear I'll kill him.

A cheap looking paperback falls out.

The cover sports a picture of a blondish cowboy jumping out of a burning stagecoach, with an auburn-haired girl thrown over his shoulder. There are a lot of petticoats....

Ew. This looks like....

I read the title: “Hearts on the Range.”

...A crappy romance novel.

I'm not sure whether to say `it figures,' or `what the hell?!'

Morbid curiosity causes me to read the back.

“Abandoned by her family, Susie May has no choice but to become a class-less bar girl to support herself. Used, unloved, life seems to have dealt her a losing hand. Until one day she finds herself trapped in the hard-muscled arms of a dashing stranger—Joss Jamison—an outlaw with a price on his head. The reward money for his capture would give her the means to make a better life. But what will she do if he captures her heart?”

Oh my dear sweet lord. Someone got paid to write this epic piece of shit? And even more disturbing, Yohji just did the paying.

I give him a complete and utter blank look.

“I told you you wouldn't like it,” he says, snatching the book back with a frown.

“What gave you that idea?” I ask sarcastically, “The contrived plot, or the utter lack of talent in the writing?”

“Oh I bet I know what it was. It was the adjective `hard-muscled' wasn't it? I'm obviously too conventional to appreciate such an underused descriptive word choice.”

Yohji frowns some more. I think I catch him muttering something under his breath which sounds like “...motions....” but I can't say for sure.

Oh well, if he wants to rot his brain out on that crap, I certainly won't stop him.

“So, you're done here, right?” Yohji asks.

“Yeah,” I say, “why? Were you anxious to get started on your book?”

“No,” he says, “I just wanted to know what the plan was. So we should get started towards Kiyomizu then?"

“Yeah,” I say, “that sounds good.”

Sight seeing with Yohji is like traveling with a little kid. Every five minutes he wants to stop and check out one of the stores. He's already acquired a whole bag of `souvenirs' which he claims are obligatory presents for Ken and Omi. Though what Ken is going to do with a pair of rainbow socks is beyond me.

I even asked him if he'd like to just shop while I go to the temple and meet afterwards, but he turned me down. Huh.

When we get to the temple, I expect Yohji to wander off on his own. There's always tons of people at this one, I figured he'd probably go find some girls to talk to or something...but he keeps following me. I'm starting to wonder if he thinks I'm gonna ditch him or something. I bet he's really bored.

He's even following me through all the ritualistic ceremonies I'm doing for Aya. These aren't things you just do for no reason. What's Yohji hoping for? A chance out of Weiß? A girl? Uh...what else would Yohji wish for?

Once again I purchase a board from the priest to record my request for Aya's recovery. My curiosity is really piqued when Yohji buys one too. Now's my chance to find out what's on Yohji's mind! I can't see what he's writing though. I pretend to be utterly absorbed in my own writing, but I watch him out of the corner of my eye and see where he hangs it. I hang mine next to his so I can read what it says.... Which doesn't help one bit. Yohji wrote: “Let there be another 99.”

What the hell does 99 mean?!

Yohji is a strange one all right.

I guess it's the combination of him following me constantly and the fact that he's not making any sense at all that sets me off. When I go to buy Aya's talisman he once again mimics me. Except instead of picking out a `protection of health' one, he takes `luck in love.' Now this is a typically Yohji move and out of habit I make a sarcastic comment.

“You might want to be careful there Yohji, that thing might cause you to get stuck with just one girl.”

Okay, I know that was mean.

But I'm always mean, I thought he was used to it.

Yohji's reaction takes me completely by surprise.

“Don't you ever assume that you know what I want,” he says, in a really hurt voice. Then he glares at me and mutters, “You know, I think I've had enough of temples for the day. Why don't you just meet me back at the hotel, okay?”

Before I can even say anything else, he's stomped off.

I'm speechless. Yohji has never, ever reacted like that before.

I chide him on his endless flirting all the time, and if anything, he's usually the first one to laugh. That's the absolute first time I've ever seen him take offense at anything. What on earth is going on with him?!

At first I intend to stick to my original schedule, but my hearts just not in it anymore. I feel guilty, which is an entirely new experience for me in regards to Yohji. So I somehow end up just aimlessly wandering around the shops along the street from Kiyomizu. In fact, I end up feeling so bad that I decide to bring something back for him as a peace offering. Yeah, I know, me spending money on anyone other than Aya. Look out, it's the end of the world. I guess Yohji's weirdness is catching.

So just what does one get for Yohji, anyway? For holidays I usually give him a bottle of nice scotch. That doesn't seem quite appropriate in this case. `Hey Yohji, I think you're a jerk. Here's some booze so you can get drunk and be an even bigger jerk!' Yeah, that's definitely a bad idea. Let's see, when he was shopping earlier, he definitely kept gravitating towards the weird little toys and things. Is that because he likes that stuff, or just that he thinks Ken and Omi do? Probably just Ken and Omi. Umm...good grief. I actually can't think of a single thing Yohji likes other than girls and alcohol. Geeze. Oh, wait. He kept talking about cowboy movies in the car. I guess that's something he's into.

It doesn't take me long to realize that it's almost impossible to find anything cowboy related in the historic district of Kyoto. In the end, I resort to buying him a small stuffed horse, as Chinese zodiac animals are plentiful. I don't think Yohji's zodiac is the horse, and I kinda doubt he'll realize my logic in picking it out. He's probably going to think `what the hell?!' Oh well, I tried.

He doesn't even look up when I come into the room.

He's in the middle of his second six-pack, and three fourths of the way through “Hearts on the Range.” I say hi, and he just vaguely waves at me.

I awkwardly thrust the toy at him, “Er, I got this for you, `cause I, uh, felt bad.”

Yohji goes, “huh?”

It takes him a moment to notice the horse and connect it with what I said. He then looks at me strangely for a minute.

I'm feeling stupid and kicking myself for bothering. See? Being nice just makes people think you're strange.

But then Yohji smiles and takes it.

“Hey thanks,” he says, then look at his remaining six pack. “Want a drink?”

Me drinking beer?!

....

Oh, what the hell.

“Okay.”