Public (and private) C&C is welcomed with open arms. I'd
really love to know what you think of the story. If you'd
like to e-mail me, you can at: matthew@kingdomofmel.com
Go to The Cafe Pierrot for the Sunshine Girl archive:
http://www.kingdomofmel.com/cafe-pierrot/
* * * *
"What you need is a plan." Caravan strode beside Kenji as he
walked to Yamada high school, making sure to see as much of
her first morning on Earth as possible.
"A plan for what?" the boy sniffed.
"Huh? Oh, a plan to get Tanako." She grinned. "I figure if
you're going to ever write a masterpiece, it'll be for her."
"How do you figure that?"
"Oh please, I'm not blind, Kenji." She whistled a quick tune
to a fat red-bellied bird on a fence next to her. "You've
got it bad for her. True love, live for her, can't imagine a
world without her bad." She smiled. "I've seen it before."
Kenji Terada had writer's block. When his teacher offered
him a solution, he tried it immediately. Only, his teacher
never told him what really happens after you wake up...
------------------------------------------------------------------
I T ' S A R A I N Y D A Y
S U N S H I N E G I R L
Episode 05
"Waiting: Phase One"
"It's A Rainy Day Sunshine Girl" (c) 1999-2001 Matthew Johnston.
All Rights Reserved.
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters
to any persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Two weeks ago.
Renaissance shook her head. "This had better be worth it," she
muttered, storming down the marbled corridor. "I'm tired of
taking orders."
She could hear her feet stamping against the floor, echoing
rudely through the hall. "Clean this, find that, bring it back
here! But, oh, not during the day. Oh no, that'd be too easy!"
She bumped shoulders with an older sister, the contact
knocking them both back momentarily. Renaissance didn't bother to
look as she resumed her pace. "'Bring it to my office at sunset
so I can see how much I can make you run around for no reason!'"
A pair of whispering sisters, younger than her, gave her wary
glances. Their chatter grew dark as they passed.
"Go ahead," she mumbled under her breath. "Talk all you
want."
She looked down at the volume she carried, a small, leather-
bound book with an unmarked cover. The pages were unreadable, and
only a quarter of the pages had even been touched, but apparently,
it was important. "If I'm right, I've got my future right here,"
she grinned, her lips curling back less than cheerfully. "And
Caravan won't even know what hit her."
Renaissance felt a sudden pang, less than pain, more than
annoyance. She stopped her march and turned around.
She'd already passed Sister Copia's office.
'Get in her, you little idiot.' The thought was in
Renaissance's head, but it wasn't hers.
'Certainly, Mistress Copia.' Her cheeks burning, she turned
on her heels and walked, much quieter now, to her teacher's
office.
"Did you get it?"
Renaissance recognized Sister Copia's voice in the depths of
her mistress's office, but she could not see anything. As she
stood in the doorway, she felt a sudden dread; the light from the
hallway did not penetrate past the door frame. But it was merely
the latest in a long list of unwanted discoveries she'd made since
she agreed in secret to be the sister's apprentice. "Yes,
Mistress Copia."
"Do not call me Mistress if you could be heard by the other
sisters. Now, close the door and enter."
Renaissance closed the door and took a step forward before
freezing. While it made no difference to the darkness, the
ambient sound from the hallway -- footsteps on marble, the
movement of air through the stone pillars, hushed voices of her
sisters discussing their artists -- fell to damp, dead silence
when the door slammed shut. The dread that had grasped her arm
now covered her, chilling her body through her robe. She didn't
dare move forward in the blackness. She didn't fear tripping over
furniture; rather, she was consumed the by unreasonable fear that
she may be... eaten.
"Do you know why my office is darkened like this?"
Renaissance could hear Sister Copia grinning; she was obviously
taking delight in her strained breaths.
"N-n-no," She didn't want to ask why, but something inside
her forced the words from her lips. "W-why?"
"Come closer."
Renaissance gripped her will and the tome in her hand, and
forced her legs to move. Her feet shuffled loudly against the
dusty stone floor. Three steps, then finally four. She could
sense she was near Sister Copia, but she couldn't see her. She
realized then that she couldn't hear Sister Copia, either.
"You're not breathing," she finally murmured.
"You are growing more observant," the mistress replied.
Renaissance gulped hard, her throat catching on her
discovery. "Y-yes, mistress."
"Now, give me the book."
Renaissance's training struggled with her instinct. "What
are you going to do with it?" Her hands were already shaking with
fear, the book tight in both.
"Give me the book, Renaissance."
The girl closed her eyes, her mind racing through an internal
battle. "You're... you're one of them."
"The book! Now, apprentice!"
She heard a snarl, and the uncomfortable grinding of teeth
gnashing together. Her instinct and training suddenly aligned,
and she flung her arms forward, stiff and shaking, until she felt
the book leave her grip.
"The answer to my riddle isn't so simple as that," Copia
finally answered, her voice calmer now. "Now step back and
observe carefully."
"Yes, mistress." Renaissance eagerly took three shuffling
steps back.
"The task I'm setting before you is about to become a little
easier."
Renaissance watched as the blackness evaporated from the
office; she gasped, and wondered if she truly had the strength in
her to stomach her future.
* * * *
Wednesday, April 18th.
"Well, look who's awake. Glad to see you've rejoined the land of
the living."
When Caravan opened her eyes, she could feel that she was
home. And the voice she heard was so familiar.
Tanako...
...It sounded just like hers.
Caravan's eyes focused slowly, the blur before her slowly
gaining the crispness of normal reality. That trip into the
trance-state was too much, she noted soberly. She rubbed the back
of her head, trying in vain to massage the painful throbbing in
the back of her brain. It felt like someone had hit her with a
sledgehammer.
"Remind me never to do that again. That was absolutely..."
Finally her eyes adjusted to the light. "...Uh oh."
This wasn't home. Home wasn't an endless field. Home didn't
have a sky that changed colors to the rhythm of the wind. As
poetic as it all was, Caravan was far from home.
"I'm sorry to do this to you, Caravan, but I need to explain
to you what's going on." The voice rang again, just to Caravan's
left. As the voice continued, Caravan realized that, while she
sounded like Tanako, the candor was different. "This is very
important, so tune in."
"Enchant." Caravan nodded slowly and stood, her legs wobbly.
She remembered now. Tanako's muse; she'd kissed her. That meant
they were in the same mind.
"I need you to focus, Caravan. Concentrate for me, okay?"
Enchant's voice remained a block of stone, cold and serious.
"Remove all your distractions."
Caravan closed her eyes, and focused on the expanse of black
in front of her. Her eyes focused on infinity, drawing very
subtle fractals in a distance that didn't actually exist. "Okay,
now what?"
"Caravan, I'm being pursued by a fury, and I need to hide. I
want you to hide me somewhere it can't find me, and then return
home and tell Sister Focus it's started."
Caravan couldn't help it. It was so... The giggle escaped
her lips before she could remind herself it *was* as serious as
Enchant had said.
"Why are you laughing?" Enchant's voice was rough with
desperation. "This is serious, kid! I'm not here to argue
semantics, okay? He'll kill me and do worse to you if you don't
hurry!"
"I'm sorry." Caravan felt the humor drain from her as she
opened her eyes. The sky had grown dark, a sort of night falling
on her field. "I'll do it. But who can you enter without shoving
another muse out?" The answer struck her immediately. "Oh no,"
she shook her head. "I can't..."
Somehow, Caravan felt Enchant nod. "Yep, him. Sorry, kiddo,
but he's probably the best place to put me right now, at least
until I can recover enough to get home."
Caravan sighed, then gasped back the breath. "Does that mean
I have to...?"
Enchant nodded again. "There's a first time for everything.
You have a few days before it can strike again, so..." Caravan
scowled when she heard Enchant chuckle. "So, I suggest you take
the time and get to know him."
"But isn't this breaking a whole load of laws?" Caravan
could feel her voice cracking, a lump in her throat. "If I lose
Kenji over this, I'll..."
"You'll what?"
"Look, *sister*, I worked my butt off to get Kenji as my
artist, and if what I'm doing as a personal favor to you, in case
you have forgotten already, is going to get me sent to the salt
mines while Renaissance gets Kenji..."
"Don't worry, *sister*." Enchant's tone matched Caravan's
level of condescension, and exceeded it easily. "What you're
doing -- which is not a favor but an order, by the way -- won't
get you into trouble. At least, not if you do it right."
"What do you mean, 'if I do it right?'" Caravan's imitation
of Enchant's voice was less than flattering.
"I mean, don't get caught. You can't let Kenji see, or we're
all going to be in deep trouble."
"Eww!" A graphic visual invaded her mind's eye. "Like I'd
let him watch!"
Enchant sighed. "This is more than just the mechanical act,
you know."
"You mean I gotta do more?!" She didn't like the tone of
foreboding soaking Enchant's voice.
"The only way a true communication of souls can take place is
in the presence of love."
"You mean...?"
"Make him love you. Then, the rest will be easier."
"Make him love me? I don't even know him!" Caravan growled.
"This deal's getting worse all the time."
"Good luck kid. I don't envy you. But hey, at least you
won't be so inexperienced for your troubles."
Caravan felt her face burning, and the landscape around her
melted away to blackness. The blackness, in turn, melted into
another bright blur. She felt the familiarity of her own body,
and the itch of Enchant in the back of her brain. She shook her
head.
"Glad to see you've rejoined the land of the living." The
voice was too familiar. She lifted her head up from the table,
and groaned.
"What time is it?" She glanced around. The room was empty,
silent.
"Nine 'o clock."
"Did I sleep through the whole thing?" She finally looked at
him.
Ichiro smiled. "Yep. Don't worry, though. We got you
covered." He flashed a grin and returned his gaze to his laptop.
"Everyone in Kenji's group left too. You might wanna check on
him; it sounded a little rowdy up there."
"Oh no!" Caravan sat up. "He didn't try to hit on her, did
he?"
Ichiro laughed. "Kenji? I doubt it. He probably got in a
fight with Katsu. You know how he can get all touchy with those
smart-ass types."
Caravan nodded slowly, and stood. She stretched as she
walked to the fridge, but stopped when she realized his eyes were
locked on his laptop's screen. "I'm going to get Kenji some tea.
That should cheer him up."
"Lemonade." Ichiro sounded strangely assertive.
"What?"
"Kenji doesn't like tea."
Caravan took pause, and took the lemonade pitcher from the
fridge. She considered a retort, then a brush-off, but realized
that all she really wanted to say was, "Really?" So she said
that, and hoped for the rest to allow for itself.
"Yep." He turned off his computer and stood, facing her. "I
would have expected his cousin to know this."
Her hands shook as she found a tall glass and filled it.
"Not everyone is intimately familiar with their cousin's drink
preferences, you know."
"True enough, but I know you're not really his cousin
anyway." Ichiro walked to the living room and flopped on the
couch. "Have a seat." When she approached, Ichiro gently took
the glass from her hand and tried a sip.
"What do you mean?" she attempted feebly. "Of course I'm his
cousin." The young muse attempted to steel herself, straightening
her posture to seem confident. But the tingling cold in the back
of her head told her that she was not going to fool him.
"Nope. His mom's an only child and so was his dad. Both of
their families have been like that for as far back as anybody
cared to look."
"Awfully nosy, aren't you?" Caravan tried to fill the words
with as much venom as possible.
"Kenji's an open guy." He took another sip, turned the glass
in his hand and offered it to her. "I'm surprised he didn't think
of a different alibi for you." She accepted, drinking away as
much of her drying mouth as possible. "Nope, I think you're
something entirely different."
"So," she spoke as confidently as she could, "what... who do
you think I am?"
"I'm not sure. But I don't think you're from around here."
"Oh." Caravan blushed. Her mouth begged for something to
quench the parching nervousness. But neither water nor assurance
were close by.
"What happened when you kissed your finger earlier tonight?"
"Well, I--"
"--You changed him when you did that. I could see it."
"Yeah, but--"
"--Do you like baseball?"
Caravan felt dizzy. "Huh?"
"Baseball. Do you enjoy it? Watching it, playing it, it
doesn't matter."
"Well, yeah, it's not bad. What are you getting at?"
"Nothing really. I was just trying to break the tension a
little." He smiled suddenly, an awkward half-grimace. She began
to see that he was as nervous as she was. "It's just that
tomorrow night the high school team is playing at home, and I
thought..."
Caravan blinked. "You're asking me out?"
"Well..." Ichiro regretted his brashness immediately. He
could feel the wheel of fortune grinding him under. Soon, he
would lose all he had gained, and she would slip easily through
his fingers.
"I get it." She folded her arms across her chest and
grinned. " You're blackmailing me. But there's one problem: you
don't know who I am. For all you know, I could be--"
"--Kenji's muse."
"What did you say?!" The intensity of her words decimated
her deniability; she felt suddenly naked.
"You are, aren't you? You're his muse."
"No... the name sounded like something else. I thought you
said... um..." she groped for a similar name. "Moose. Yeah, I
thought you said I was a moose." The lame excuse fell between
them, flopping on the middle cushion of the couch.
Reflexively, she started to chuckle. She never thought of
herself as a nervous giggler, but as she continued, she wondered
if she had never truly been nervous. The more she tried to stop,
the harder it became; her lips refused anything but a crooked
grin, and her vocal cords anything but an airy laugh.
Ichiro was staring at her, through her. His seriousness only
made her situation more dire, her laughter more intense. She
closed her eyes, not wanting them to meet his.
Then, he started to chuckle, an almost girlish laugh. "A
moose?"
The word sent them both into fits, and they doubled over
trying to contain themselves. Caravan's side began to hurt, but
the release was too good to cut short. They shared the mirthful
exchange, opening their eyes at the height of their first round of
laughter, staring into each other for a brief moment.
She saw something genuine and positive in them, and took a
little comfort in that.
As the moment faded, they lay where they had finally rolled
or crawled to: Caravan lying on the couch, and Ichiro sitting
beside it. He propped his aching jaw with an arm, and took a long
look at her.
"I don't know how, but you are, aren't you?"
Caravan didn't speak for a long moment. Finally she sighed
and nodded.
Ichiro beamed. "This is just like a TV show."
Caravan frowned, refusing to dignify the remark with a
response. She sat up slowly.
"Umm, if you are Kenji's muse, how did you get here?"
"It's a long story."
"I've got time."
Caravan took a deep breath. "You ready?"
Ichiro nodded, his smile shrinking to a catty look of
anticipation.
"I'll give you the short version. I'm stuck here. I was
supposed to visit Kenji in a dream, and inspire him." She stared
at her hands as they fidgeted on her knees. "But, umm, I kind of
tripped, and fell." She waited for Ichiro to laugh, but when she
didn't hear anything, she looked up at him again.
Ichiro's expression had barely changed. She wondered if
maybe he wasn't having a human equivalent of a short circuit.
"Are you okay?"
Ichiro nodded.
"You realize you look really creepy right now, right?"
Ichiro nodded.
"Okay, just making sure."
Ichiro moved suddenly, relaxing, looking as thoughtful as she
figured he could, still grinning as if satisfied with his own
inner jokes. "It's funny," he commented. "I would have figured it
out earlier, but I always thought muses were... I dunno, different
than you are."
"You mean you thought they were all beautiful and feminine?"
She saw that one coming. She slid off the couch and sat beside
Ichiro, facing her interrogator. She kept her eyes cold. If he
wanted to play the expression game, she was more than willing.
"Yeah." He cocked his head and squinted. "But you..."
To her surprise, her hard expression melted against her best
efforts; her head still hurt too much to work at matching his
face. She sighed, and finally let her lips curve into a playful
grin. "Don't you think I'm beautiful?" Her words had a pleasant,
melodic staccato that sounded vaguely familiar.
Ichiro frowned and massaged the back of his neck. "Do I have
to answer that question? It sounds loaded to me."
"Hey!" Caravan's melody turned decidedly indignant.
"So, will you go to the baseball game tomorrow night?" His
expression changed so quickly, Caravan wondered if he took
anything seriously. "I'll pay."
"Are you still blackmailing me?"
"Yeah, but think of it as the nicest thing I could to do
blackmail you."
Caravan nodded, her smile a little more open now. "Okay
then. Sounds like a plan."
Inwardly, she sighed. 'This is just peachy. Get to know
him, indeed.' But when she looked at him again, she saw
something. He seemed genuinely happy. She could practically feel
the energy his smile radiated.
"Just a second," she started quietly as she stood up. She
moved as if stunned by something. "I'm going to go check on
Kenji, okay?"
Ichiro nodded, his smile still bright. "Hurry back."
'Oh no,' she thought, her heart sinking in her chest. 'He
likes me. And I'm going to break his heart.'
* * * *
"Go away."
Caravan didn't make a move, forward or backward. From where
she stood, she could barely see to the desk; Kenji had turned off
all the lights. "Come on, Kenji. Tell me what happened, okay?"
Kenji lifted his head from the desk and exhaled heavily.
"Caravan, I..." He turned his face to the light washing in from
the hallway. "I got into a fight."
"What did Katsu do to set you off?" Caravan sounded eager to
retaliate. "That snot is just jealous of you."
"I didn't get into a fight with Katsu."
Caravan almost asked, 'then who?' when it finally hit her.
"Oh no."
Kenji nodded, his head barely moving. "I've really messed it
up this time."
Caravan moved to the edge of Kenji's bed and sat down, facing
the shadowed boy. She could see his back move as he breathed,
smooth, calm, but still distressed. "Tell me what happened."
"I don't want to. I messed it all up. You're never going
home now."
The words didn't hit her as hard as she'd thought they would.
"Don't say that. One fight isn't going to ruin everything."
"She said she never wanted to see me again."
"Ouch." Caravan shifted closer to Kenji. "What'd you do?"
Kenji sighed. "You want the whole story?"
Caravan nodded, but realized he couldn't see her. "Yes,
Kenji. I want the whole story."
Another sigh. "Okay, here goes." A long pause, heavy, slow
breaths moving his shadowed back. A false start, then:
"Before I met Ichiro, Tanako and I were good friends. This
was back in grade school. She used to root for me in baseball
games. She was the only one, you know. Everyone else rooted for
Masao or Katsu. Anyway, she and I were close.
"The last baseball game I played with my class was the day I
met Ichiro. I guess it makes it pretty easy to remember. I was
the last one at bat that game. I could have won it, too.
Everyone was cheering at Masao, see, cause he was on second, but I
knew Tanako was cheering for me. But when I looked over, she..."
Kenji paused, his breathing quicker now. He took a moment to
calm down. "Sorry."
"It's okay."
"She had her eyes closed, her hands on her ears. She was
hiding. Embarrassed. Embarrassed that I was going to lose the
game for our class."
"I remember," Caravan whispered. "That last pitch was
inside."
"Huh? How could you know?"
Caravan's eyes widened as she realized what she'd said.
"Ah..." She grimaced nervously, her teeth gnashed together.
"Umm, I think you wrote that in a story once. Yeah, that's it."
Kenji shook his head, but didn't argue. "It was inside.
Anyway, that was the last day we talked to each other as close
friends."
"But you have a crush on her now. You're not mad at her for
what you saw, right?"
Kenji nodded. "She left school for a year during seventh
grade. When she came back, it was like she was a totally
different person. She remembered me, but..." He sat up and
turned in his chair to face Caravan. "She started pursuing Masao
when she came back. I think that was what did it for me."
"Okay, let me get this straight," Caravan frowned and leaned
towards Kenji. "You and Tanako are best friends, then you think
she's not your friend anymore so you stop being her friend, then
she leaves for a year, and when she comes back, she doesn't try to
be your friend so you get a crush on her?"
Kenji nodded slowly.
"Ichiro was right," she muttered. "This is like a TV show."
She saw a faint smile from Kenji and felt suddenly better. "Okay
then, how did all this ancient history make its way into a
conversation?"
"She asked me about the bat in my closet, after Katsu had
left. I was tired, and not really in a good mood. Being in the
same room with Katsu does that to a person."
Caravan nodded, but didn't dare interrupt.
"Anyway, I got really defensive about it, because all of a
sudden these memories popped back into my head. I'd just seen the
bat, and it was bugging me that all this ancient history--"
Caravan smiled at the mention of the phrase "--was coming back to
haunt me. So I give this kind of cold front about the whole
thing. And then I said something I shouldn't have, and she blew
up."
She could tell he wasn't feeling any better telling her about
the argument. "Let me guess, you said something like, 'why would
you care about something like that?'"
Kenji nodded.
"And then she probably said something like, 'I just saw it in
your closet and was curious why you still had it around after all
these years,' right?"
Another nod, smaller.
"And you let fly some smart-assed remark like, 'I'd thought
you'd blocked out all those memories when you disappeared for a
year.'"
A tiny nod.
"And then you went off. How could she feel embarrassed to
know you? How could she keep her distance after she came back,
like some acquaintance? That's worse than being a stranger. And
to get a crush on Masao? My god! I bet you even said something
like 'At least I met Ichiro the day I lost you as a friend,'
right?"
No nod, but no objection.
"And that's when she told you that you were pathetic to hold
on to some sixth grade grudge, and that she's glad she doesn't
have to be your friend anymore now that you've got Ichiro."
"And you."
"Huh?"
"She said, 'Well you sure don't need me now that you have
Ichiro and that new chick.'" He turned his eyes to her. "She
said, 'I bet she isn't even your cousin.'"
Caravan winced. "Ouch."
Kenji nodded again. "Yeah, ouch."
There was a long silence, stillness. She finally stood.
"Come here."
Kenji stood slowly and faced her. "What am I going to do?"
She gazed at him, her eyes stern, her expression determined,
but sympathetic. "You, my boy, are going to look your best
tomorrow when you give her the apology you're going to write
tonight. You'll sign your name this time, and let her know you're
a fool for holding on to some silly grudge for five years. And,
if she's half as human as she seems, she'll forgive you."
Caravan leaned in, her lips at Kenji's ear. "And if you do
it right, she'll give you one of these."
Kenji could feel Caravan's arms wrapping around Kenji's
waist, holding his body to her as she leaned against him. 'So
warm,' he thought. He put his arms around her, and squeezed her
gently to him. He didn't know if it was because of some esoteric
ability she had as his muse, but he felt gradually better as he
held her in his arms, as if he was letting his distress dissipate
in the warmth between them.
"I'm sorry," he finally murmured. "I'm sorry I'm constantly
disappointing you like this."
As she heard the words from his lips, Caravan's throat
tightened, the lump of her sympathy threatening to reduce her to a
blubbering mess in front of her artist. "Oh hush," she whispered,
the lump in her throat catching on her words, but making no
further effort against her pride. "Don't say that to me. Say
that to her."
"Thank you."
Caravan paused, barely keeping a verbal jab in her mouth.
Finally, she gathered herself, and fell out of the hug. "You're
welcome." She stepped softly to the door. "Now, write her a
nice, flowery, sincere letter, and go to bed early tonight."
"But what about Mom?"
"It'll be okay. I'll just say you let me do my homework here
tonight. Your mom's an understanding person. I'm sure it'll be
okay. When she wakes you up to take me home, we'll just pull our
Rapunzel act."
"But--"
"--No buts, boy. Write that letter, and we'll all sleep
better tonight."
Kenji smiled and nodded. "Okay. Can you turn on the light
when you leave?"
"Sure thing." Caravan flipped she switch and smiled. "Good
luck." Kenji had already turned to his desk, fumbling for a sheet
of paper. Caravan closed the door behind her as she left him to
his work.
* * * *
"Poor kid," Caravan sighed as she moved slowly, lingering by his
door. Something kept her there, something different from the pang
in her heart she got every time they were apart. That was a
normal reaction for a muse; this feeling she couldn't place.
'Maybe it's just Enchant messing with my head.' But as she
considered the possibility, she felt it again, an undercurrent
sweeping her away from Kenji's room, towards the other bedroom.
"His mother's room." The voice was hers, but she jumped as
if a stranger had spoken the words.
She shook her head; there was no way she was going in there.
It was just too risky. "Come on, Caravan. Calm down." She
turned with a deep exhale, and faced the stairwell. "You gotta be
studying in the living room when his mom gets home."
An image, blurred and sepia-toned, pressed against her
consciousness. A long time ago. Smiles. Warm weather and a
light breeze. Two friends.
'Why didn't I notice this before?' She wondered if... but
the thought never took shape. It remained as a metallic pang
against her stomach, one without an edge of detail. 'Enchant,
you're going to have to do some explaining when I get you out of
here.' She took sudden pause at the motherly tone she'd taken.
"Time to get downstairs." She took a step, her muscles
obeying reluctantly. "There you go," she coaxed herself. "Just
keep going."
As she reached the stairs, her steps became easier. "That
was so strange," she mumbled. "I've never felt that before."
"I should comment on that," Ichiro smirked from the foot of
the stairs, "but you'd probably hit me."
"You better believe it," Caravan returned his smirk, and
played at winding a roundhouse punch as she passed him. "You're a
real pervert, you know?" Her voice was subdued, she noticed,
probably from her recent experiences.
"Well, not every guy can be squeaky clean like Kenji." He
was moving close to her, almost beyond the distance friends kept.
"You know what?"
Caravan felt herself flushing, but attempted to keep her
voice cool. "What?"
Ichiro took a half-step back, but it felt as if he'd stepped
closer. His expression burned into her eyes, and she forced
herself to stare at her shoes. "I think you like it."
'Just go with it,' Caravan reminded herself. 'You can't turn
him away now.' She felt like slapping him for flirting so hard
with her, but she didn't dare now.
"You know what?" she managed finally. She found her arms
heavy, impossible to move even if she could slap him. Something
was stopping her. 'Damn you, Enchant.'
"What?" His voice came across like silk. She cursed Enchant
again; she was obviously mucking around in her head, making her
find him... attractive?
She glanced up, her eyes meeting his. She tried to stare him
down, to make him finally relent, but he kept his deep, almost
black eyes locked on hers. She could see him starting to falter,
though. In the corner of her vision, his hands were shaking. Her
lips curled into a vicious smile, and she took a single, predatory
step, moving her body so close to his, she could hear his heart
beating too fast.
"Maybe I do."
She heard him trying to breathe, his body beginning to quake
as he fumbled back two steps, almost tripping over the small table
at the foot of the stairs. She caught a laugh as he twirled to
avoid knocking over the pictures crowded on the table, and lost
his balance. Her sudden outburst of laughter masked the thump as
he hit the floor.
"You're evil," Ichiro chuckled as he picked himself up.
"Pure evil." He turned around, but didn't move
The words struck Caravan a little. "Oh, come on, loverboy.
I didn't mean..." she bit her lip. "I didn't mean any harm by
it." She stepped close again in a parody of her last maneuver.
"If you can't take the heat," she whispered in mock lust. She
wrapped her arms around Ichiro's waist. She felt him bristle with
nervousness, then slowly calm down.
"But we're not in the kitchen." His voice was a little
shaky, belying his attempt at wit. "Why are you doing this all of
a sudden?"
"Well, I figure, if you're going to blackmail me into a date,
I might as well make the best of it."
"That's not very flattering." He tensed again, slightly, as
she shifted behind him, placing her cheek between his shoulder
blades. "Don't do this if you don't mean it, Caravan."
"Okay."
A long minute passed.
Neither person moved.
"You've never done this before, have you?" Caravan finally
broke the silence.
"I'm a nerd. I can look but I can't touch." She felt him
begin to flush on his neck. "And you are a lot more into physical
contact than girls here."
Caravan slipped her arms back to her sides. "You didn't seem
to be complaining."
He shrugged, his arms still dead at his sides, but his
shoulders obviously more relaxed now that the contact was
finished. "I'd have been an idiot if I had."
Another minute, shorter than the last, passed between them.
"Caravan?"
"Yeah?"
"Are you sure this is... legal?"
Caravan nudged his arm, and he turned around to face her.
Caravan had expected him to look away, but she found herself
staring at the pictures on the staircase end table.
"Yeah," she finally managed. "Don't worry."
"Good," Ichiro smirked, stepping closer to her. "I'd hate to
have to beat him up to be with you."
Caravan giggled out of sheer nervousness. "Now who's being
sudden?" She finally forced herself to look into his eyes.
"Beautiful." Her voice betrayed her as thought and speech
melted into one another. A moment later, she realized she had not
spoken the words alone. Caravan could feel her body become
liquid, and she turned her eyes away avoid falling down. She
thought in passing to curse Enchant, but couldn't manage a
coherent statement.
"May I...?" She could feel his breath on her skin, warming
her cheek. She licked her lips instinctively, noting coolly the
ease with which this boy overwhelmed her. She felt and heard two
voices, and a chant, set to the rhythm of her ever-accelerating
heartbeat.
'...do it.' Her eyes clenched shut now.
'...Do it.' Her arms slipped around his waist.
'...Do it!' Her lips parted just slightly.
'...DO IT!'
The first brush felt like fire.
------------------------------------------------------------------
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
Welcome back! In the spirit of the new fall season, I bring you
the "season premiere" episode It's A Rainy Day Sunshine Girl. To
those of you who stuck out the interminable 10-month delay between
Episode 04 and Episode 05, let me say thank you, and I'm sorry.
If you have forgotten some of the nuances of the story (even I had
to re-read it from Episode 01 when I finally started writing it
again), you can find the Sunshine Girl archive here:
http://www.kingdomofmel.com/cafe-pierrot/
It is a temporary locale until I can get Cafe Pierrot back up and
running at a proper URL.
There aren't any intentional cultural references here (save the
Star Wars lines, which I leave unmarked for you to find). A lot
of questions will undoubtedly be raised. Hopefully, I didn't
include any easy answers in this episode.
That'd be going easy on you. ^_-
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