Faded Memories

I stare at the clock on the classroom’s wall waiting for class to end. When we are dismissed I walk over to Mickey. “You are going to come to my house.”
“What?”
“I said you are going to come to my house today. I need to talk to you.”
Mickey nods and we walk out of the school. While we walk to my house I check and make sure no one is around. “Mickey, I have a problem.”
“What is it?”
“I think I am in love with Kyo…and Yuki…”
“That’s not good. Do they both love you?”
I stare at the dirt. “I know Yuki does, because he told me. I need to ask Kyo.”
“So, you invited me over so I could help you decide on which guy?”
“Yeah, pretty much.”
“What if that Kagura chick shows up?”
“Then we are screwed.”
Mickey laughs. “What do you mean ‘we’?”
“I mean that if I’m going down then you’re going down with me. That’s what best friends are for.”
Mickey and I laugh as we walk to my house.
When I walk into the house with Mickey beside me Shigure gets happier. “Oh, so you brought a high school girly friend.”
“Mickey, this is Shigure, Shigure, this is Mickey.”
“It’s nice to meet you. Ruki talked about you all day after the first day of school.”
Mickey smiles, I whisper in her ear when Shigure walks away, “He’s a pervert.”
“He seems nice to me.”
“You do not like him.” Mickey smiles at me. “Oh my god, you like Shigure.”
Kyo and Yuki walk over to me and Mickey. “Why’d you bring her?” Kyo says.
Yuki looks at him annoyed. “Be nice, we have a guest.”
Mickey pokes me in the side, which signals “How do you love Kyo?” I ignore her and pull her to the stairs. “Let me show you my room.”
Once we are in my room Mickey looks at me with a sort of frightening look. “How do you like that butt hole?”
I hold back a laugh. I remember when she told me that she doesn’t cuss. “I have known him longer than you. I know all sides of him.”
She just shakes her head. “Well I vote Yuki.”
“What if I vote Kyo?”
“That is a horrible idea.”
“I’m not sure if I should listen to a person who likes Shigure.”
“Shut up.”

At dinner Mickey begins questioning Kyo and Yuki as subtly as possible.
“So, Yuki, Kyo, what do you think of Ruki’s cooking.”
“I think she is a fantastic chef,” Yuki says.
“It’s okay I guess,” Kyo says.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I ask Kyo.
He looks at me as if he just realized I was in the room. “I’m sorry. It’s really good. I hope I can eat your cooking forever.”
Something inside me tells me he is telling the truth. Mickey continues her questioning. “So, what do you two think about how Ruki looks?”
Yuki just looks at me confused. “Well, Ruki is very beautiful.”
Kyo doesn’t answer. He just stares at me. I look in his eyes and understand. Kyo stands up and walks away. “I’m not hungry.”
Mickey gives me a sideways glance. I stand up. “I’m going to go see what’s wrong with him.”
I walk up the stairs and see Kyo standing in the hallway. “You know you don’t have to get Mickey to interrogate me. I’ll tell you whatever you want to know.” I walk over to where he is standing. He starts walking into his room and I follow. When I step in the room he is right in front of me. “What do you want to know?”
“Kyo, I need to know how you feel about me.”
Kyo leans forward and kisses me. “I love you more than anything.”
I feel heat in my face. I kiss Kyo and something feels weird. My mind isn’t telling me to run. It is telling me stay with him. “I love you too.” I feel tears stream down my face.
Kyo holds me in his arms while I cry. Kyo doesn’t ask why I am crying because he knows. He knows how frightened I am of Akito. “Don’t worry. We don’t have to tell Akito. We can run away to the mountains again.”
I laugh. “I don’t want to run away anymore.” I fall asleep.

“Wake up Ruki!”
I jump up and look at Mickey. “What do you want?!?! Why does everyone scream at me while I’m trying to get some sleep?!?!”
“Ruki tell me what happened. When I went to check on you Kyo was holding you in his lap and you were asleep. I asked him but he got all annoying and wouldn’t tell me anything.”
“I don’t need your love assistance anymore. All I need is a friend to support me. So, did you start questioning Shigure when I left?”
She doesn’t answer me. “Are you two going to get married?”
“I wish it was that simple. I have to ask for permission from the Head of the Family. He hates me. He is the one that killed my parents and my siblings. He will try to kill me.”
Mickey absorbs what I say. She doesn’t ask any questions, all she says is, “That’s not fair.”
I nod. Mickey and I climb in the bed and fall asleep.