Try as she might, Yomi just couldn't focus. She sat on her heels, knees spread, with her arms folded atop the table and her head nestled in them. Her expression made it seem she was either half sleep or bored. While both were contributing factors, the real reason was her thoughts kept wandering to the girl who was sleeping right above her head. A girl who, until recently, she thought she knew pretty well.
Her mini recorder sat only inches from her along with her pen and notepad, none of which had been used since her return downstairs. Yomi's left eyebrow ached at that. Just how long had it been anyway? Five minutes? Maybe ten? Curious, she craned her neck up and to the left, just over her shoulder. According to the wallclock, behind her, only seven minutes had passed. To Yomi, it'd seemed more like half an hour. Funny how that worked.
Sighing, she rested her head in her arms again and resumed her train of thought. Problem was, it resembled a wreck, a jumbled mess she didn't know how to make sense of and, frankly, she wasn't up for trying at the moment. Luckily, she didn't have to. The doorbell rang, signaling her relief had arrived... so to speak.
Finally.
Yomi quickly gathered her things then rose to get the door, stifling a yawn along the way.
Minamo knew it was late to be conducting a visit, but she was hoping to catch Sakaki's parents at home. She noted with some consternation, however, that their car was missing from the driveway when she had arrived. So much for that idea. Oh well. At the very least, she knew Sakaki would be home. Still, she couldn't help wondering where they'd gone at this hour.
When the door opened, it was Yomi rather than Sakaki who greeted her. "Ms. Kurosawa, good evening."
"Hello Yomi." she returned warmly.
They continued their conversation as she was shown in.
"So, how is she?"
"She's sleeping." Yomi shrugged. It was here that her manner of speech became hesitant and her tone unsure, "Actually... I'm not so sure if-"
"I know what you're going to say," Minamo told her, gently laying a hand on her shoulder, "but I'm afraid this really can't wait."
"But sensei."
"Please, Yomi."
Minamo's tone was as insistent as Yomi's eyes. It wasn't so much a battle of wills, but a plea for understanding. One was concerned for a friend, the other was concerned for a student and, perhaps, even a surrogate daughter which is how Minamo had loosely come to regard each of them. For a moment, neither one moved until finally, head lowered, the younger girl yielded.
"Yes, Ms."
As Yomi turned, toward the stairs, Minamo took hold of her arm and pulled her into an embrace. The girl was frozen, overwhelmed for the second time that night by emotion without knowing why. She didn't cry this time, though she was close to doing so. She willed herself to regain her composure and eased out of Minamo's grip.
Minamo fixed her with an inquisitive stare, but Yomi assured her, mouthing, "I'm okay." before turning to ascend the stairs.
The first couple of knocks yielded nothing. Neither did the ones that followed. Fortunately, Mayaa had heard. A few simple licks at her nose roused Sakaki from her sleep, enough to where she finally noticed the insistent knocking on her bedroom door.
"Sakaki? You awake?" she heard Yomi ask.
She sat up sleepily, causing the blanket to pool around her arms. Mayaa poked his head from beneath the covers and mewed.
"Sakaki? I'm coming in."
That did it.
"No! Don't!" she cried suddenly. The thought of anyone finding out about her secret obsession was more than enough to shake her out of her sleep induced fog. Realising the panic in her voice had made it seem as if she had something to hide, she amended with, "I mean... uh... I'll be right out! Just wait there!"
That answer seemed to satisfy Yomi who informed her that Minamo had arrived and was waiting downstairs. Shortly after, Yomi's footsteps could be heard going back down. Sakaki breathed a sigh of relief. That'd been close. If she'd seen....
Making a dismissive gesture, she shrugged out of the covers to find something decent to wear. She couldn't head down half naked. She dug a red pair sweats from out of her closet and hastily changed shirts. She tossed the Hello Kitty on floor, covering Mayaa. At that point something seemed to click.
Wait a minute.
Slowly, Sakaki's eyes went from her bed, finding the sheets were bare. And the the blanket that should've been there, was on the floor at her feet. But that couldn't be, she hadn't made it that far. Mayaa was the only one with her, but that was crazy. There was just no way. The only other way for it to have happened was if....
Sakaki's eyes grew wide. Oh no. She didn't....
She found the two of them waiting in the livingroom by the time she made it down. Minamo rose and greeted her, apologizing for coming so late. Sakaki had simply nodded. Not wanting to keep her longer than what was necessary, she motioned for her Sakaki to sit so they could begin.
Sakaki didn't miss a word and she had questions. The thing of it was, the entire time, her focus wasn't on Minamo, but Yomi. While it was subtle, it didn't go unnoticed by the other girl. She supposed she could be imagining it (and hoped that's all it was), but, it almost seemed as if she was accusing her of something.
If Minamo noticed, she didn't let it show. Instead, she continued with the discussion, lightly touching upon some of the things Sakaki could expect and would need to look for in her development. Mostly, Minamo wanted to get a feel for how Sakaki was adjusting to her new life. The rest she chose to leave for a better time, preferably when they could discuss it at length.
At the end, she'd left Sakaki with a pamphlet, titled Pokegirl FAQs, and her card. Sakaki saw both of them to the door, when they were done. Minamo had practically insisted on taking Yomi home since it was so late.
Yomi was still a little uneasy, considering, so she tried to end things on a good note. "See you tomorrow, Sakaki."
The taller girl stared for a moment before answering, "Mm."
Good or bad, she didn't know. All Yomi knew was it was different.
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(Posted Fri, 16 Nov 2007 05:34)
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