Mercurial Dreams – Chapter Nine

Author: tashiichaan
Rating: T
Genre: Romance, angst, humour
Featuring: Sakurai Sho
Banner designed by: tashiichaan
Story Summary: Hiroki never holds expectations for anything. She never expected to be promoted just 6 months into her job; she never expected her housemate to be a little more sane; but of all those damned unexpectations, she didn’t expect to find herself drawn into the life of Sakurai Sho. She didn’t expect to fall in love with him. And it all starts with a can of Coke.
Author’s note: Still another filler-ish chapter, but I feel it reveals an important hint to the development of the plot. Anyways, the end is more interesting XD

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Mercurial Dreams
Chapter Nine

Morning light crept unashamedly into the bright azure sky, its uplifting flood of sunlight bringing warmth and dizzy happiness to the spring-weary people. Hiroki felt exactly that, just amplified by ten times fold, judging by the gleeful twinkles in her eyes. Carrying her bag and gladly turning her back to the receptionist to exit the hospital lobby, Hiroki couldn’t shrug off this amazing, rejuvenated spirit she woke up with this morning.

Hiroki glanced at the taxi stand just off the hospital property and contemplated hitching a taxi. After all, she’d just recovered from a burnout and couldn’t possibly walk home on her own, but the burnt hole in her wallet couldn’t agree with the taxi fare. That didn’t faze her at all, though, and with a huge goofy smile she strode down the pavement and blended herself into the busy crowd heading towards the underground subway.

It was unexplainable, this new feeling. She convinced herself it was the fact her tainted name would be cleared, and she could return back to work. Well, that wasn’t confirmed, since she only assumed that, but she would be able to forget everything that had happened for the past few weeks and get back to her normal life before that incident. No betrayal, no sadness, no pain. No tears.

Unconsciously, she touched her bandaged hand with the other fine one. As she gazed at it, her grin shortened into a small smile that played lightly on her lips. For some unknown reason, she viewed her scarred hand in a different light, one that gave her a fuzzy sensation and an encouraging lift in her heart. Could it…?

“Hiroki-chan!”

Hiroki stopped herself before she descended down the stairs into the underground station. Curiously she turned around to search for the person who called her out, and her face fell the moment she saw Mayu waving like a madwoman while sprinting towards her.

“Mayu… what’re you doing here?” Hiroki asked neutrally. She was eyeing her roommate warily, because she still hadn’t forgiven her for her two-face stint.

“I went… to the hospital… to pick you up… but the nurses said you had left,” Mayu panted, resting against the railing while fanning herself and loosening her woollen scarf.

“Right,” Hiroki said slowly and coldly, her loath for pretenders like Mayu still fresh in her mind.

Mayu noticed Hiroki’s reproach and her eyes lowered to the ground with guilt. She bit her lip in hurt and awkwardly adjusted the strap of her bag. “Hiroki-chan, I was worried that you didn’t come back last night, and your supervisor said you were sent to the hospital. It was late and visiting hours was over. I’m so sorry I didn’t come visit you, but I don’t have classes till afternoon so I came to bring you home.”

Hiroki observed Mayu’s sincere, apologetic face and felt herself fume even more at the act. She could still come up with a million reasons why she should hold onto her grudge towards her. Hell, she felt like exploding out all the angry accusations at her, like why she didn’t even call to check up on her, or why she was such a two-faced cow, or why she proclaimed her everlasting support for Hiroki because “you’re the most wonderful friend I ever had” and never given any in times of trouble.

“Look, I’m not angry at you for not showing a hint of concern when I was hospitalised, but don’t pretend to be worried when you really aren’t,” Hiroki growled, and stomped off furiously.

“Wait, Hiroki-chan!” Mayu called out, and hopped after Hiroki’s retreating figure, “Are you mad at me about Sakamoto?”

“Why, that’s very smart of you,” Hiroki replied sarcastically, continuing her way towards the designated subway line in large, angry strides without even a glimpse over her shoulder. However, she got exhausted easily due to her very-recent recovery, and her steps were reduced to very slow trots while she breathed heavily.

In a flash of a second, Mayu had her arms wrapped around Hiroki to support her. “It’s dangerous to go home on your own,” Mayu consoled, “And you still got to face me whether you like it or not, so please accept my apology?”

Hiroki narrowed her eyes at Mayu’s persistence and concern, evaluating the depths of her sincerity. But the longer she scowled at Mayu and her pleading expression, the more she unwillingly softened. It was a grudging defeat for her pride, divided in a dilemma to bash that pretty face of hers or to forgive her. After all, if she hadn’t met Mayu at her rented apartment, she could’ve been broke and homeless when she first came to Tokyo. Plus, her compassion for sympathetic people was always an insufferable weakness.

“Whatever, I just want to go home,” Hiroki scoffed, and went to the ticket machines to buy a train ticket. Mayu stood patiently in the line behind her, not even uttering a word about Hiroki’s selfishness in unsparing a ticket for her as the ticketing machine swallowed a 300 yen note.

Hiroki waited on the platform between a group of gyaru women and a fish-eyed businessman for the train from Ebisu to arrive. She glanced irritably over her shoulder at Mayu’s skulking figure, and purposely turned her stubborn head the other way as Mayu tried to talk to her.

“Hiroki-chan… just listen to m-”

Mayu stopped midway through her sentence at the screeching noise of the train sliding smoothly along the tracks, which slowed to a halt beside the platform in poised grace. The doors clinked open, and Hiroki followed the people filing in such discipline into the tube. She made a beeline for a vacant seat by the other door on a left and quickly sat down, cruelly leaving Mayu to stand among the unlucky occupants who resorted to clinging onto the handle bar above.

During the entire trip, Hiroki purposely ignored her friend for the sake of avoiding a confrontation. Mayu, too, couldn’t even speak to Hiroki due to the rule of silence while riding the train. Although in a silent motion, Mayu pointed at the wall behind Hiroki, gesturing her to take a look. Hiroki curiously turned around to inspect, and felt a gasp get stuck in her throat at the advertisement poster of Arashi’s endorsement for AU by KDDI. Hurriedly she turned back and glared at Mayu, and hid her rising nervousness that stayed with her for the rest of the trip.

The moment they arrived at Ikebukuro Station, Hiroki rushed out through the sliding doors and marched off onto the platform, once again with Mayu hot on her trail. They didn’t show any more for any sort of interaction as they scanned their tickets through the machines and crossed the barriers to the stairs ascending up to the open air of Ikebukuro district, and during the 15-minute walk to their apartment. Finally at the door of their apartment unit, Hiroki spoke up suddenly while inserting her keys into the lock.

“Don’t you have class today?” she snapped as she entered and kicked off her shoes.

“Not till 2 o’clock,” Mayu answered simply, immediately grabbing Hiroki’s shoulders from behind and steering her gently to the dining table. She set her down on a chair and smiled to her. “Hungry?”

“No,” Hiroki lied in spite of her empty stomach.

“Ramen should be okay for you?” Mayu inquired. She shrugged off her jacket and went to the kitchen, calling to Hiroki as she rummaged through the refrigerator, “It should be ready when your shower is done!”

Wordlessly Hiroki went to the adjoining bathroom they shared, her face scrunched up in terrible confusion as to why she was so quickly losing her anger at Mayu. Moreover, she was rather touched by her hospitality which she never had, and while standing idly in the shower she wondered for a full five minutes if she was too harsh on her.

After the refreshing shower, she found Mayu waiting for her at the table with a large steaming bowl. Silently Hiroki sat down on a neighbouring chair just as Mayu gently pushed the bowl to her, the inviting scent of the beef ramen so irresistible that Hiroki’s stomach growled in desperate craving.

While Hiroki hungrily dug into the ramen, Mayu attempted her apology again. “Hiroki-chan, I’m really, really sorry about everything. I know it’s hard to forgive me, but I feel bad for making everything so hard for you. I really do…”

“Damn right you made things difficult for me,” Hiroki spat after swallowing a mouthful of noodles. She lowered her chopsticks unceremoniously and glowered at Mayu, “Do you know how it feels like to have your own friend, your close friend, to turn her back to you when you needed her? Tell me you don’t know, or it won’t justify what you did. You should be ashamed of yourself!”

Mayu bowed her head in shame, not meeting Hiroki’s eyes, and Hiroki sighed. Being a bitch was one thing, but repenting and being aware of her mistakes was another thing which being angry at was totally uncalled for. Hiroki decided to give Mayu a chance, for the sake of their friendship.

“And… even if I’m very angry and disappointed, I still share this apartment with you. I don’t live with people who aren’t my friends.”

Bewildered, Mayu looked up with uncertain eyes. “So… that means…?”

“Uh hmm,” Hiroki grunted softly and returned to her ramen, but before she could fish out a chunk of noodles, Mayu threw herself at Hiroki and wrapped her arms around her.

“Thank you, Hiroki-chan!” Mayu cried out with threatening tears, “You know, you’re the nicest person I’ve ever known, it’s never hard for you to be so compassionate and forgiving! How could I be so stupid to abandon you like that?!”

Awkwardly Hiroki patted Mayu’s back while the girl sobbed noisily into her bathrobe. “At least you realised your idiocy,” Hiroki replied. She carefully pushed a sniffing Mayu away and gripped her arms sternly, “but promise me. PROMISE ME! That you will be more honest the next time, got it?”

Wiping her tears away with the back of her hand, Mayu nodded vigorously. Hiroki smiled at Mayu’s hiccoughing sobs, relieved to have solved this conflict and have their friendship revived. Hiroki figured Mayu was probably thrown into a conflict herself of picking between her friend and the gossip which was rife and cruel when it came to those pulled into the centre of it in the entertainment industry. Besides, Mayu was still young. For her genuine apology, Hiroki hugged her back and comforted her.

“I’m always your friend as long as you treat me nice, you know that right?” Hiroki said. Mayu sniffed in reply, and Hiroki giggled.

“Well then, leave me to eat my ramen in peace because I’m just famished,” she continued with a satisfied nod. She was about to return to her ramen, but Mayu still had her arms locked around Hiroki’s waist in a painful captive hug. Caught unexpected, Hiroki couldn’t escape her clutches and could only see Mayu’s long locks of shiny black hair.

“You’ve to promise me this, Hiroki-chan,” Mayu murmured in an expressionless, possibly cold tone.

This caught Hiroki by total surprise; Mayu’s inhuman evolve from her sobbing remorse to a calm, composed demeanour was rather shocking that sent an unfriendly shiver running down Hiroki’s back. “Erm, anything,” Hiroki gulped anxiously.

“Promise me,” Mayu swore in a dangerously soft breath into her ear, “that you won’t fall in love with Sakurai Sho.”

Hiroki’s pale cheeks reddened into a rosy shade of life at the mention of that name. Her lips pursed in annoyance at her helpless self; now really, however could she get nervous just at a mere name of a mere person? “Why would I ever fall in love with that idi—”

“He’s mine.”

Those two simple words uttered in such quiet malevolence made Hiroki’s blood run cold. That ominous voice that spelt every letter of warning didn’t sound like Mayu at all; it sounded strange and unfamiliar and made Hiroki extremely uneasy. Where did this come from? Why was she claiming Sho as hers in the first place? Or rather, what sort of relationship did she have with Sho that had Hiroki in the shadows? Hiroki experienced nothing but puzzlement and an unexplainable a tinge of fear.

“W… what do you mean?” she asked quietly, pushing Mayu away from her. Her eyes widened when she saw the large, mischievous grin on Mayu’s face.

“Hiroki-chan, I can’t believe you fell for that!” she exclaimed, throwing her head up and giggled out loud.

Hiroki chuckled nervously, not knowing whether to laugh out loud or to scream at Mayu for playing such mind games with her. It definitely wasn’t funny; those vile remarks she made were either a very badly-executed joke or a real act, and her guts told her it wasn’t fake. Hiroki still felt rather disturbed by it, but at the same time, she felt annoyed all over again.

“You and your terrible humour,” Hiroki retorted, rolling her eyes and returning to her ramen.

“I aim to marry Sakurai Sho one day,” Mayu proclaimed dreamily, pressing her palms together in a sort of prayer as she gazed afar with sparkling eyes, “and I don’t want to have my friend to be my rival. It’d be a nasty battle!”

Hiroki pretended not to listen at Mayu’s ongoing rant about her plans to be Mrs Sakurai, but felt relieved nevertheless. She was aware that Mayu’s sole reason for working alongside Hiroki at the cafeteria was to catch a glimpse of her idol, but Hiroki didn’t care about the sort of girls targeting Sho. Of course she didn’t, of course not, why would she? She was nothing more than a mutual friend of his who shared nothing more than a few normal conversations and a platonic interaction. As simple as that.

Right?

The sudden surge of thumping in her chest told her otherwise.

“Hey, your phone’s ringing.”

“Hmm?” Hiroki grunted out of her reverie, looking up at her friend’s retreating figure to the bedroom. True enough, she heard the familiar ringtone of her mobile phone, and Mayu went to fetch it, passing the vibrating gadget to her.

“Moshi moshi,” Hiroki answered into the phone.

“Ah, Hiroki-chan!”

Hiroki choked at that very familiar, slightly husky voice. She glanced at Mayu who looked at her in anticipation, and decided it was best to leave Mayu out of any nosy eavesdropping. She ran to her bedroom, shut the door, and practically shrilled into the phone, “Eh, Aiba! How did you get my number?!”

“That’s not important. Where are you now? You’ve checked out of the hospital without notifying any of us – I got worried! Okay never mind that, are you okay? Did you manage to reach home safely? Have you eaten? You need to eat, you know, it won’t do good to faint again!”

Hiroki smiled in amusement at Aiba’s outburst of neverending questions. Forgetting her initial suspicion as to how Aiba achieved her mobile phone number, she felt very grateful by Aiba’s concern for her, and his intention of visiting her at the hospital touched her.

“You don’t have to worry about me, I’m fine. I’m home and I’m just eating,” Hiroki replied serenely, absent-mindedly playing with the furry strings securing her bathrobe.

“Oh… well. I’m sorry to interrupt your meal, but you have to come to work!”

Hiroki frowned. “Why? I already applied for leave and it’s been approved.”

“But it’s, erm, urgent and you’re needed here. I can’t tell you why because I’m outside and a few photographers are tailing me, so it’s not safe to explain everything, but please come?” Aiba pleaded.

“Gomen ne, Aiba, but I’m really, really tired. I just got out of the hospital and I need to recover. Please allow me to rest…”

“Please! You don’t know how important this — NANI YATTE!”

Hiroki heard a messy shuffle and some loud muffled voices, and she figured Aiba’s phone just got snatched away by someone else because she could hear Aiba’s annoyed yells in the background. She giggled at this, but the deeper voice that now emitted from the earpiece made her stop short. She immediately felt the familiar rush of increased heartbeats.

“Hiroki, listen to Aiba for god’s sake, he doesn’t simply say mindless things without knowing the importance of it.”

The slight exasperation in that voice didn’t bother her at all; in fact, she was staring into open space with her mouth opened into an evident ‘O’.

“Sakurai… san…”

“And it’s a matter between losing your job and keeping it, so stop whining and get over to the office now.”

And the phone clicked to a dead line.

Slightly offended, Hiroki stared at her the screen of her phone. That idiot… thinking he could boss someone around as if he was a superior! And so she thought he could be a little different, more of a tolerable person who could actually care for her. And the first thing he spoke to her since that day was in such an indifferent tone, Hiroki couldn’t help but feel a little depressed.

“So?” Mayu interrogated once Hiroki stepped out of the room.

“I’ve no choice but to return to work,” Hiroki grunted irritably, flipping her phone close violently, “after I finish my ramen.”

She tried hard to hide her blushes, and weirdly her bandaged and stiff hand tingled indistinctly.

~