The Two Rings {Makoto's Memories}
"You two are so slow!!" Makoto pouted. It was a beautiful, sunny day out so Makoto took it upon herself to drag her younger brother out into the shopping district for her own benefit. Atobe was dragged into this venture as well, though not exactly sure how he was dragged out of his house by a girl who didn't even reach his shoulders.
"Why exactly are you so hyped up?" Atobe asked stuffing his hands into his jean pockets as his eyes followed the happy girl. Though Makoto did like being outside more than anything, it was strange for her to randomly decide to drag him and her little brother out as well.
Makoto spun around and smiled up at her younger brother and childhood friend, "Why wouldn't I be when it's such a beautiful day out? You two should thank my fragile body for saving you guys from wasting this day away inside." Truth be told Shiroushi demanded Munehiro go with Makoto around town, which Makoto didn't oppose at all. Kuroko, being the overly concerned mother she is, called up Ryuko for reinforcement AKA: Atobe Keigo. Of course the young Atobe had better things to do than look over Makoto, but he knew better than to refuse a request from his mother.
Even the great Atobe Keigo knew the frightful power of a mother.
To dig up the truth behind the truth, Makoto asked her mother to as Ryuko to order Atobe to come along since Makoto could practically see the young heir sitting comfortable in his arm chair reading a book. She couldn't allow him to waste such a perfect day, so using her rusty, devious mind, she came up with this simple plan.
Atobe sighed, "Makoto, you might want to stop prancing around like a fool before you bump into something." Right as Atobe finished his sentence, Makoto face planted into something, "….. or someone."
Makoto looked up and met the gaze of a very, very, very large man. He was about as tall and big as her younger brother, but the scars on his arms and face weren't too welcoming to say the least. She managed to crack her famous smile, "H-Hello. I'm sorry I bumped into you."
The large man put his hands on Makoto's frail shoulders and lightly pushed her a step back, "…… it's okay."
"Toma~!!!!" A voice sang. A bouncy woman came bounding from behind and punched him in the arm, "Stop messing with people and let's go!! Sai and Kai said that they and Usui managed to even drag Ryou with them!! He might have brought Yujirou with him!!" She grabbed the man's hand and amazingly dragged him away.
The Kabaji siblings and Atobe stared at their retreating figures in confusion, "What just happened??" Makoto asked.
"Ore-sama isn't quite sure at the moment."
Makoto faced forward again, "Well let's not dwell on meaningless things! Let's go~"
"Usu." The youngest Kabaji answered back.
Makoto continued to skip down the sidewalk as her two escorts followed closely behind her. She suddenly stopped and stared into a store window. There, on a red satin pillow, glimmering and shimmering in the sun,
were two shining rings.
"Answer me this Kei-tan," Makoto demanded, pouting down to Atobe as she slammed her palms down on the desk, "How come we don't have friendship bracelets!?"
Atobe looked up at Makoto as he tore his attention away from his book, "Friendship bracelets??"
"Yeah, or rings or necklaces or something!" Makoto bent forward to close in on Atobe's face, "Every girl in class has one with their best friend so how come we don't have a pair!?"
Atobe frowned, "Maybe it's because I am a guy and I don't wear that kind of stuff!!"
"Then how come every girl in class has one!?"
"Girls usually have girl best friends!" Atobe stated the obvious, "So their best friend wouldn't have a problem wearing jewelry!"
Makoto stayed silent for a moment before a devious grin spread across her face, "Is that so?" At that moment the bell rang, signaling grade school being over for the day. Makoto grabbed her backpack and Atobe's hand and dashed out of the classroom.
"Makoto!! Don't run in the school!!!" The teacher yelled, but it went unheard. Makoto was always the most troublesome of the students. She wasn't bad or anything, she just wouldn't listen to the most basic of rules. Those darn tomboys were always a handful, more so than some of the boys themselves.
Makoto continued to drag Atobe all the way out of the school and into her limo. "Wait Makoto-chan, where are you taking me!?" Atobe cried.
"We're going to turn you into a girl." Makoto stated bluntly. Atobe stared at her with widened eyes as the limo driver attempted to contain his laughter.
"Why am I going to turn into a girl exactly?"
"So I can have a friendship bracelet with you!! Do you know how it feels when all the girls are showing off their friendship stuff they have with their best friend and we not even have one thing!?" The driver parked at a store and escorted the two children into the pink dominated store.
Atobe's eyes started to form tears, "Makoto-chan!! My eyes are burning!!!" He cried as he shielded his eyes. Makoto's eye slightly twitched, "Mine too actually……." She clasped Atobe's hand and pointed forward, "We just have to suck it up!! This is for our friendship's reputation!!"
"No reputation is worth this!!" Atobe cried as Makoto dragged him into the pink pits of the store.
"Don't say that!! My pride refuses for any reputation of mine to be belittled by something as trivial as a friendship symbol!!"
"But what about my reputation as a guy!?"
"Discard is completely." Makoto demanded. She pointed to one of the employees, "You! Help me find an outfit!!" She rudely demanded.
The woman kindly smiled at the rude little girl, "Sure, what kind of stuff do you like little one?"
"Not for me," She pointed to Atobe, "I want something that'll make my friend here look like a girl." Atobe shook his head furiously at the employee, but she merely smiled and started to look through the racks of clothing.
At that moment Atobe realized something, "Makoto-chan, do you have any money on you?"
Makoto stayed silent and punched Atobe in the arm, "Dang it!!"
"Ow!! What was that for!?"
"For making me feel stupid!!"
"Makoto-sama." The driver intervened, "I thought this would happen, so I called Todou-san to come."
"You're getting a raise." Makoto stated and the man mentally punched the air in success. The lady employee returned with a few dresses of all kinds in her arms. Makoto kicked Atobe into one of the dressing rooms and filled it with the dresses the lady had brought.
"You can't make me change into these, Makoto-chan!!" Atobe proclaimed.
Makoto grinned the devil's smile, "Oh can't I?"
A shiver ran up little Atobe's spine as he slowly closed the door to rid his line of sight of the evil little girl.
={ X }=
"Makoto-sama!!" Todou yelled, "Kokuro-sama specifically stated that you are not to wander by yourself without consulting her first!!"
Makoto pouted up at the teen, "I'm not by myself, I've got Kei-tan and the nice chauffer with me."
"You still overlooked the fact that you didn't tell Kokuro-sama!" Todou yelled. She took a few deep breathes before facing the insufferable child, "What are you doing here anyways that you need money for!? It takes the entire staff just to get you in a skirt, what can you possibly want here?" Makoto pointed to the dressing room door that had been kept close for over ten minutes now.
Of course Atobe was refusing to leave the confines of the small dressing room. What Makoto was making him do was humiliating, but Todou didn't know that when she demanded the shop associate to open the door with her key. Todou stood there, speechless as her eyes settled on the flustered Atobe heir. Her mouth twitched upward until she exploded into a fit of laughter along with the chauffer.
Makoto peeked into the dressing room and grinned, "It suits you Kei-tan."
"No it doesn't!!!" Atobe yelled, grabbed the frilly yellow dress with his tiny hands, "Don't you dare say it suits me Makoto-chan! You never even wear something this girly!!"
Makoto brought her small hand up to her chin and hummed in thought as she stared intensely at Atobe, "I think you need pigtails."
"Absolutely not!!!" Atobe yelled and slammed the door shut in her face. Makoto looked up at the employee, "We'll take that dress. We should probably get another one from the rack since Kei-tan will stop us if we get that one."
"Understood." The lady employee nodded and went to get another dress. Todou went up to the register to pay, "That will be thirty pounds." (About $50)
Todou's eye twitched with her hand in her purse, "Thirty pounds for just one dress!? What kind of price is that!?" The woman merely smiled and pushed the dress forward as Todou angrily handed her the money. Makoto happily took the bag with the purchased dress and skipped over to the dressing room as Atobe slowly sulked out. She grabbed his hand the grinned, "Let's get home so I can do your hair, Kei-tan." Before Makoto could even take a step forward, Atobe broke away from her grasp and sped out the door with all the haste in the world. "Kei-tan!!" Makoto yelled and ran after the boy.
"Makoto-sama!!" Todou yelled and ran after the girl.
The chauffer stood there, not knowing if he should yell after Todou and chase after her. He looked towards the cash register, "Interesting bunch, wouldn't you say?"
"You're the one that has to work with them."
={ X }=
"Crazy Makoto-chan and her crazier ideas. I doubt anyone knows where she comes up with such things." Atobe pouted slightly, swinging his legs as he sat on a park bench while eating an ice cream cone, "I don't wanna dress like a girl. It's already bad enough all the boys at school think I have a crush on Makoto-chan, once I follow this crazy order of hers they'll know I do." He took the last bit of the cone into his mouth and grabbed his backpack, "I hope Todou-neesan caught her and talked some sense into her."
A hand was suddenly placed firmly on Atobe's head, making the young boy yelp in surprise. "You two are the most troublesome kids on the the face of Great Britain!!" The annoyed teen yelled, "Where's Makoto-sama!?"
"I thought you already found her." Atobe flailed as the demonic teenager picked him up by his precious little head. Todou cursed and put Atobe back on solid ground, "Let's go, we've gotta find her or else I'm going to get an earful from her parents." She grabbed the little one's hand and sped off at speeds the little Atobe couldn't begin to keep up with. As they ran past numerous stores Atobe's eyes darted over the cute trinkets displayed in the windows.
Atobe planted his feet to the concrete and broke away from Todou, much to her annoyance, "Keigo-sama!"
"Just wait for a bit, Todou-neesan!" Atobe commanded and ran into the shop. The loyal Kabaji maid frowned and placed her hands upon her hips, "Kids these days are becoming too bratty to handle." She held her head in the palm of her hand, "I'm never having kids. Ever."
={ X }=
"Stupid Kei-tan and his stupider pride. Why do guys have to be so prideful?" Makoto pouted slightly, swinging her legs as she sat on top of a park's jungle gym. She looked down to the bag which held Atobe's dress, making her pout transform into a frown, "Stupid boys. I don't want a boy as my best friend now. I have plenty of girl friends! I'll find a new best friend, that'll show Kei-tan!"
"I don't care! I have Munehiro anyways!" Makoto turned her head and saw Atobe standing at the base of the jungle gym with a smile. The young girl glared down at him, "Why are you smiling when I've just fired you from being my best friend? Go away, stupid boy."
"Because I know you don't mean it." Atobe smugly said and began to climb up the jungle gym.
Makoto slipped through the openings of the tangle of metal bars and dashed out before Atobe could even comprehend what the monkey of a girl was doing. Atobe groaned and chased after the girl as she sprinted to a small playhouse. Makoto quickly shut the door and sat behind the door.
Now we must all remember that these are two children.
A young Atobe Keigo and Kabaji Makoto.
In other words: an incredibly weak Atobe that couldn't even push open the door with Makoto just sitting there. "Makoto-chan, open the door! Todou-neesan is waiting by the entrance and you'll get in trouble unless I bring you back like I always do."
"Is that your job Kei-tan? Or do you volunteer to look for me every time I go missing 'cause you're my best friend?"
The plastic window near the door was flung open and Atobe, literally, came tumbling in. He sat up and rubbed his head as Makoto tried to contain her obvious amusement, "Isn't that obvious to you??" He grabbed her hand and pulled something out of his back pocket, "It's because I'm your best friend, right?"
Makoto lifted her wrist to eye level to inspect the flimsy bracelet, "Friend? Why does it just say friend??"
Atobe rolled up his sleeve to reveal his matching bracelet, "Best." He replied with a cheeky grin that just got wider with Makoto's displeased pout, "Why do you of all people get best!?"
"I told you didn't I? I'll be an amazing person someday, so it's just natural that I have it."
Makoto pushed herself to her feet, "You are so full of- OW!" She bent down to rub her head and glared up at the low ceiling of the playhouse, "I could have sworn it was bigger than this."
Atobe stood up and stood an inch away from the ceiling of the playhouse. He laughed, "Finally you get what you deserve for picking on my height all these years!!"
Makoto glared at the short boy, "Shut up before I make you eat a centipede."
={ X }=
The door bell resonated throughout the entire mansion the Kabaji family lived in. A loyal butler went to answer the door to meet Usaki's cheerful face, "Shiroushi-chan~!!!!" He sang and danced into the house he liked to call his second home above all the summer homes and the like the Atobe family owned.
The butler smiled, he was pretty much use to Usaki's antics along with the rest of the staff, "They're preparing themselves for tonight's festivities." He bowed, "They should be done so-"
"GET BACK HERE MAKOTO!!" Everyone jumped at the sudden, enraged voice. Makoto laughed and slid down the stair railings, "You'll never get me in a dress!!!" She hopped off the railings as Todou came stampeding out of the hallway.
"Why do you have to be the most difficult child on the face of the planet?"
Makoto turned around and stuck her tongue out as she ran for the door, "Because you're my maid and I can do whatever I want!!" Todou gritted her teeth and clenched her hand into a fist till she bled.
She hated it when the little brat was right.
Makoto sped past the Atobe family and out the doors as her mother calmly stepped down the stairs, putting on a pair of earrings, "Well this is troublesome." She stated with a frown, "Keigo-chan, be a dear and fetch Makoto for us."
The young Atobe's shoulders slouched as he let out a groan, "Why is it always me? Why can't Munehiro or Maki-san go find Makoto-chan once in a while?" [1]
Ryuko motioned her son towards the door, "Enough of your unsightly complaining Keigo. Kokuro has asked a favor of you, don't let her down."
Atobe pouted and headed out the door, "It's not a favor if you keep doing it." He muttered.
={ X }=
Atobe frowned as he wandered down the sidewalks of Great Britain. He should really be use to this by now, it was always him that had to find Makoto when she went on her "rebellious excursions" as the staff liked to call it. They were all convinced that the two had some kind of psychic connection that magically led Atobe to her, but the plain truth was:
"Excuse me." Atobe approached an elderly woman outside a floral shop, "Have you seen a girl running around with nothing but an undershirt and undershorts recently?" Obviously Makoto couldn't be missed running around in nothing but under armor for the winter chills, so she would be pretty noticeable to the bystanders. She really doesn't think things through before she goes off and does something stupid, she's probably freezing her butt off right now, but that's her own fault.
"My, you're always looking for that cute little girl, aren't you?" The elder laughed.
A dark shadow casted itself upon Atobe's face, "She is everything but cute, ma'am, she's evil reincarnated."
The elderly lady laughed and pointed to the direction of the local park, "I indeed saw her running towards that park. Isn't that where she usually is when she runs off on you?"
Atobe's mouth gaped open in childish ignorance, "I've never noticed that before, how where you able to notice that?" The woman laughed again, "It's become somewhat of a daily ritual to tell you where she's run off."
Sparkles of admiration shone in Atobe's innocent eyes, "Your observation skills are amazing ma'am!" He turned and headed for the park, "Thank you for all your help!"
"Wait a minute there," The old woman stopped. She gathered up a bunch of flowers into a bouquet and handed it to the young Atobe heir, "Take these, free of charge."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, we're emptying the inventory anyways. You see, my husband and I are moving to Japan next week so we have to sell all these flowers. We can't just let them go to waste now can we?"
"In that case thank you!" Atobe beamed, "What kind of flowers are these anyways?? They're really pretty."
The woman smiled, "You're holding a bouquet of primroses, beautiful are they not?"
={ X }=
Makoto pouted as she stood next to her parents as they greeted their numerous business partners at the grand party that was held for no special occasion. [2] "I hate this dress." She muttered to herself, clutching the fabric in her tiny hands. As irony would have it, it was the exact dress she had bought for Atobe a few days prior to the party. She looked down, her face red with embarrassment from the fact that she was being seen in such a cute dress, "I wanna go home…."
The man her parents were conversing with bent down to her eye level, "And is this precious angel Makoto?"
Kokuro laughed, "Oh please sir you flatter her, she's the furthest thing from a precious angel!!"
The other family sweat dropped as the mother of the "angel" continued to laugh, 'Is that something a mother should say!?'
Their daughter's eyes wandered down to Makoto's wrist, "You have a best friend Makoto??"
Makoto's face radiated with happiness, "Yup!" She pointed to Atobe who stood by his parents as they conversed with other various business partners, "It’s the girly boy over there. He's really a wimp so he needs me to be his best friend so he doesn't get beat up."
The other girl pouted, "You can't be best friends with a boy! They don't wear bracelets!!"
Makoto pouted back, but due to her "devilish nature" her pout looked more like a glare, causing the other little lady to flinch, "Well Kei-tan's my best friend and he's the one who bought these bracelets for us. What's wrong with a boy wearing a piece of jewelry anyways?"
"Only girls wear jewelry, so when a boy wears some it shows he's a wimp. It's because he wears your friendship bracelet that people think he's a wimp."
"That's why I'm here to protect him." Makoto stated with confidence while pointing to her puffed up chest. She glanced down at the other girl's father's finger, "Hey! Your papa wears a ring!! That's more girly than a bracelet!!"
The said father held up his hand to show off his ring that shimmered in the light on his left ring finger, "This? It's a special type of jewelry."
"Why's it special??" The two girls asked. The beautiful woman that stood next to the man bent down and held up her finger as well, showing a matching, golden ring, "It's because these rings signify a very strong sort of relationship. You parents have a pair too, little Makoto." The two girls turned around and faced the Kabaji parents as they both held up their left hands to show off their rings as well.
Makoto's eyes were focused on nothing but the rings her parents wore, 'A very strong relationship……'
={ X }=
The Kabaji mansion was the same as it was any other day. Kokuro tending to the plants in the greenhouse, Shiroushi working on the paper work he had brought home into his private study, Munehiro sitting on the couch as a few of the maids patched up a few of his sister's clothing that she inconsiderably tore, Maki locked in her room studying for her midterm finals, and Makoto…….
"Kokuro-sama, you wouldn't happen to know where your more troublesome daughter ran off to would you?" Natsumi asked. Kokuro looked up from her potted plants, "She's not around here and she knows better than to mess with Maki while she's studying. Have you tried with her father? You know how she loves to mess with him while he's in his private study, especially that rolling swivel chair of his."
"That's very true." Natsumi laughed and headed back inside the mansion. After going up flights of stairs and trudging down numerous hallways, she finally arrived to Shiroushi's private study, "Excuse me Shiroushi-sama, is Makoto-sama around here?"
Shiroushi looked up from his work documents and pushed his glasses up to the bridge of his nose, "I can't say I've seen her. I haven't heard her stampeding footsteps in the hallway outside either. You might try with Munehiro, those two have the rare brother-sister relationship known as getting along." Natsumi went through the maze of hallways and down the plethora of stairs yet again before arriving in the common room which Munehiro silently sat on the couch in.
Alone as he watched the maids work.
By himself.
As in no Makoto.
"Your sister isn't here is she, Munehiro-sama?" The youngest of the Kabaji family shook his head and went back to watching the maids' impressive needle work. Natsumi rubbed the side of her head to quell the upcoming headache that Makoto caused her daily, "Where can that little imp be!?" She continued to search the lower level of the house and immediately stopped in her tracks as a light breeze hit her. Her head craned to the side towards the wide open door.
Munehiro approached the dormant monster with a stack of Makoto's shorts in his arms. His dull eyes stared out the door, and then looked up to look at Natsumi's stone frozen face, "Natsumi-neesan, I think Nee-san left the hou-"
"THAT DAMNED BRAT!!!!"
Makoto sneezed all over the store window as she looked at the small trinkets displayed upon tiny pillows. She wiped her runny nose with her finger and looked up smidge, "Someone must be talking about how awesome I am." [3] She shrugged and continued to walk, leaving the store owner glaring at her through the snot drenched window.
"A ring represents a very strong relationship between two people." Makoto kept repeating the same thing in her mind since the night of the party. Since that night she's been raiding every jewelry box within the confines of the Kabaji mansion, but for some odd reason none of the maids carried around two of the same kinds of ring!! So that just left her one thing to do: Use her family's money to get a pair of matching rings.
She pressed her face up to another store window and gawked at the shiny golden rings, "They're all so pretty, but I don't think Kei-tan will really like any of those." She withdrew her face from the window and sighed, "Then again I don't know what kind of rings Kei-tan would wear in the first place. Sure Otou-chan and other men wear rings, but I wonder if Kei-tan will go for a ring."
"Are you looking for a ring, princess?" Makoto spun around and faced a man in his early thirties running a small cart. Makoto nodded her head and stood on her tip toes, looking into the merchandise the man as pedaling, "You got anything a boy might like??"
The man rubbed his chin in deep thought, "Let's see….." He snapped his fingers and dug through the messy merchandise, "Here we go." He knelt down in front of the rebellious Kabaji child and held out a small box. Makoto took it gingerly in her hands and opened the cute little box. Her mouth gaped open as she stared at the two matching rings inside. The man smiled upon seeing her reaction, "They're not too cute and not too boyish, so it'll be good for you and your friend, don't you think?"
Makoto shut the box and nodded vigorously, "This'll be perfect for me and Kei-tan! Thank you mi- Ah!!" She pointed behind the man to a couple of bratty boys digging through his cart and handing them off to another one of their friends, "You guys have to pay for that stuff you know!!" The obnoxious bunch stuck their tongues out at the young heiress and ran off. Makoto balled her hand up into a fist at the rude gesture. She was about to run off after the bunch if the robbed man hadn't let out a small chuckle, "Children these days sure are energetic."
"What are you saying mister!? Your trinkets were just stolen off! You're not supposed to be laughing at that!!" Makoto cried. The man smiled and ruffled her hair, "It's just as you said, trinkets. Nothing in this car is of any real value."
Makoto pouted and dug into her shorts pocket, pulling out a crumpled up note, [4] "Well I'll buy these rings from you mister!" The man happily took the note and before he could calculate the change Makoto ran off. The man straightened up and smiled after her retreating figure, "Kids really are energetic in this day and age." He smoothed out the note and stared wide eyed at the £100 note that laid in his hands. Choppy chuckles shakily made their way out of his grinning mouth, "Saints really do exist….."
={ X }=
As Makoto made her way back to home she continuously glanced down at the cute box which held the new signs of the friendship between her and Keigo. She let out a surprisingly girlish giggle and stuffed the box into her pocket, "Kei-tan better like it, or else I'll stick worms up his nose again." She took in her surroundings and began to think up the fastest way home before Todou could realize she was gone. She laughed to herself as she continued down the sidewalk with a cheeky grin on her face, "It was really suck if she did find out I was gone and that was what my sneeze was about, but I highly doubt that's the case."
She stopped as she felt something being placed into her hair behind her ears, "You should go ahead and take that." She reached up and discovered a flower resting peacefully behind her ear. Makoto turned and faced the old man while he casually sat in his chair next to the entrance of a flower shop with a cigarette in his mouth, "My wife and I are moving next week, so just go ahead and help us deplete our inventory stock, would you brat?"
"Sure," Makoto slowly answered, "What kind of flower is this any ways gramps?"
The old man frowned, "Look here, don't go around calling every man you see gramps. I'm 63, alive, and kicking, not an old geezer who has nothing better to do than sit on his butt and wait for death."
Makoto slowly nodded her head and placed her fingers gingerly on the flower, "That still didn't answer my question gr- er, mister."
The old man leaned back into his chair, inhaled some nicotine, and exhaled the smoke, "That's a Canterbury bell. Beautiful wouldn't you say?" The young heiress nodded with a contagious grin that the old man caught. He quickly returned to his previous scowl and motioned her to leave, "Now get lost you brat, like I said I'm trying to get rid of our inventory and I can't do that while you're loitering around here."
Makoto pouted as she glared at the rude old man, but like a good child, said nothing and stomped off back into the bustling Great Britain sidewalk. She stuffed her hands into her pockets and grumbled to herself about how rude that old man was and how he should learn how to treat a lady customer better. A shiver ran up her spine. She took her hands out and rubbed her arms, thinking it was just the cold, winter wind getting to her, "It's getting kind of cold. I should take a shortcut home."
With that decided, she ran past a few more stores and took a right into an alley that would lead her to the other side of the busy shopping area and closer to home. Sadly, Makoto was never good with directions or reading the dense atmosphere and ended up at a dead end populated with a few dangerous looking men. One of which looked up from their small card game, "Eh? It's just a brat. Get lost pipsqueak."
Makoto sluggishly back pedaled to the entrance of the alleyway, butterflies and fear settling into her stomach. One of the men smacked the other on the back of the head, "You idiot!" He hopped up from the barrel he proclaimed as a chair and casually walked up to Makoto. He bent down to her eye level and smirked, "If I'm not mistaking, this is the little chick that will be inheriting one of the Atobe's business partners' fortune."
The other men smirked, "Really now~." They all sang. One by one they each dropped their cards on the crate they were using for a table and rose to their feet, "That means one and one thing only."
Makoto's world went black, but not before hearing the one and only one meaning,
Ransom
"You didn't have to hit her that hard man! It's just a kid. Now she's never gonna-"
"Shut up!! You talk too much!! Who is this rookie anyways!?"
Makoto's eyes slowly opened and found herself dangling upside down from a beam across the ceiling, tied up in a rope cocoon, in an abandoned warehouse. She frowned at the unbelievable predicament she had gotten into, "Hey!" She called out bravely, earning the full attention of the men, "….. Let me go!!"
Everyone stared up at her for a while before busting out into a chorus of laughter, "Are you kidding me kid!? You know how much we're about to get for this ransom!?"
"Even if we split it evenly it's still more money that we ever dreamed!!"
"There's no way we're letting you go!!"
Makoto's frown deepened, "But even if you do get the money you'll still get caught by the police before you can even count the total."
"Don't look down on us kid, we set the conditions just perfectly so that your family won't be bringing the police over here as well."
Makoto wiggled in her make shift cocoon a bit, trying to get loose, "Hmmm, the only people you talk to were just my parents, right??"
"Yeah, we specifically told them that if they brought the Kabaji special forces or whatever you've got, that we'd off you right here."
The tiny hostage grinned and shot her happiness towards her captors, "Well in that case I've got absolutely nothing to worry about." After that statement the double doors of the building here kicked down, men broke through every window, and a helicopter could be clearly heard from the outside. Makoto's grin widened as her kidnappers frantically took their guns out, "You didn't mention a thing about the biggest and most fearsome special protection force did you?"
"Makoto Kabaji has been sighted and looks in perfect health, inform Mr. Atobe at once." One of the rescuers ordered as they all moved in for the capture. A shoot out began as the captors cursed, "Damn it! We didn't expect the Atobe family to actually get involved in this!!"
Makoto laughed, even though her current situation hasn't gotten any better, "Idiots~, of course they'd get involved in this. I'm the best friend of the boy that's gonna inherit the Atobe fortune! Next time make sure you have all the important info!!"
A gun was suddenly pointed up to her, "Shut up you shitty brat!!!"
A shot being fired was the last thing Makoto heard, before darkness consumed her world once again, this time for a longer period of time.
={ X }=
"When will she wake up!?"
"It's hard to say…."
"Don't give us that crap! Tell us when our daughter is going to wake up!"
"………"
"Tell us what happened at least!"
"According to the report sent in by the special forces, the bullet fired at Makoto missed, but incidentally cut the rope which was suspending her two stories up. She fell from that height into a pile of scrap metal. A fall like that will of course cause tremendous trauma to the head, but it's hard to tell right now the degree of damage done to her. We can only run tests once she's awake and fully conscious."
"And what of the wounds she received from the metal parts?"
"Nothing serious at all. They shouldn't even leave a scar when completely healed."
"That's the only good news you've told us so far….."
={ X }=
The wheels of a creaky cart resonated through the empty hospital hallway as a nurse made her way to a young patient's room. She quietly opened the door and much to her surprise, saw a little girl sitting up in the bed awake and well. Her eyes widened as she called for the other nurses and doctor, "Doctor!! Makoto Kabaji is awake!!" Footsteps stomped closer to the large hospital room as it quickly became filled with personnel. The doctor kneeled down to Makoto's eye level and smiled, "How are you feeling?"
Makoto slowly nodded and shyly looked up at the kind doctor. Frantic footsteps were heard after the large stampede of people. Kokuro and Shiroushi pushed their way past the mob of nurses that clamored around outside their youngest daughter's room, "Makoto!!" They cried and threw themselves at the bedridden girl, "We're so glad you're okay!!"
Makoto slowly nodded and stared up at the two pairs of tear-filled eyes, "Um….. Can I ask you something?" The two nodded, not expecting the unbelievable question about to leave their daughter's mouth.
"Who are you two?"
"Amnesia!? Are you kidding me!?" Kokuro exclaimed, slamming her palm down on the doctor's fragile desk, "This isn't some kind of freakin' spin off of 1 Litre of tears damn it! Fix my daughter or I swear I'll-" [5]
Shiroushi quickly quieted his hostile wife and faced the doctor with utmost seriousness, "Will it go away?"
The doctor swiveled around in his chair and looked up at Makoto's brain scans, "It's still difficult to tell. Your daughter's condition is severe enough to be considered TBI at this point. I'm amazed she's still able to talk with this amount of damage done. As you can tell her amnesia and loss of coordination is a side effect of all this, but with rehabilitation she should be able to get back up on her feet. As for her memories, only time will tell." He swiveled back around to face the two distraught parents, "My suggestion is to slightly hint at things about her and her past, spend as much time with her as you can, and do not force anything into her. If anything, forcibly pushing memories back into her already damaged brain will make things worse."
Shiroushi nodded and led his upset wife out of the doctor's office. Once outside Kokuro let the tears flow freely out as she cried onto Shiroushi's shoulder, "My baby…… why did this happen to my baby?"
Shiroushi sighed and rubbed Kokuro's back comfortingly, "Everything will be okay Kokuro, you heard the doctor, her memory will come back in due time."
"But seeing her in that wheelchair, unable to move as we pushed her to the CT scanning room…… my heart almost broke into pieces seeing our tough girl look like that. Even if her memories come back, her rehabilitation will be too much to bear!!"
Shiroushi gently pushed her away from his shoulder and wiped the tears away from his wife's eyes, "The rehabilitation will be difficult for all of us. Neither of us will be able to bear seeing her like that, Todou's job is to help Makoto no matter what so she has no choice but to stay through this as well, Munehiro and Maki will have to deal with this as well."
"Should we call Ryuko and Usaki about this? They are the ones that helped get Makoto back and I'm sure Keigo deserves to know about this."
"We should definitely tell them about Makoto's condition at present, but I'm not so sure if Keigo should know that his closest friend is in this condition, a boy his age won't be able to handle the news. I think it will be better for him to be left in the dark on this one."
Kokuro nodded and began to walk back to Makoto's hospital room, "But I wonder if that would be the best thing for Makoto….."
After weeks of hospital time, my memory came back all at once and I was able to recognize my mother's face again. I still had to attend rehabilitation due to my coordination not being what is use to be. I will never be able to climb trees to hide from Kei-tan like I always did or slide down the railings as I run from Natsumi's raging fire of a temper. Those days were gone the moment that single bullet cut the rope that held my life in the balance. I never do like to think back to that time in the hospital. Everyone was so nice to me, but sometimes I think that their niceness came from pity, like the kind of pity you give to someone about to die. The tough as nails Makoto of my childhood died at that time. She will never come back and I think that's alright. I've learned to accept the fact that I'll never be the same as I was back then, which isn't necessarily a bad thing at all. Besides, if I was still the same as I was back then, Keigo-kun might not be able to tolerate me as well as he did back in our past. That's right. Our past. A forgotten time that we've both moved on and away from. It's not something that needs to be revisited often, since the majority of it was filled with nothing but worms, centipedes, and tears.
"Oi Makoto," Atobe called and knocked lightly on top of Makoto's head, "Stop spacing out so much. Ore-sama is getting impatient of wandering around aimlessly like some commoner who has nothing better to do."
Makoto pouted as she rubbed her head and looked up at Atobe, "Yasashii janai yo!! You can't take this time to enjoy the simple life?"
Atobe scoffed and continued to walk with Kabaji following closely behind him, "Ore-sama has no time for the simple life. The world we live in is different from that of commoners, you should know that Makoto."
Makoto's pout deepened. She dove in between her brother and childhood friend and looped her arms into theirs, "That may be true, but that doesn't mean we can't try and live in the same world as most of the people. Na, Munehiro?"
"Usu."
Atobe slightly glared down at Makoto as she gave him a cheeky grin of victory. He turned away from the powerfully cute grin, "I sometimes wonder if that demon from our childhood really is gone and not just sitting quietly inside of you waiting for the perfect moment to come out and pounce on the unsuspecting vi-"
"Uwaa~" Makoto exclaimed as she broke away from the two and dashed to a flower shop's window, "Globe amaranth! I've never seen some in person before!! They must have had them shipped from Panama or something. They're so beautiful!!"
"For a brat you really know your flowers." Makoto looked to the store entrance and saw an old man, casually sitting in a lawn chair, smoking away as costumers admired the flowers. "They just arrived today and are selling like mad. If you want some I suggest you hurry and buy some, otherwise get lost. I can't sell if you're here loitering you know."
Makoto straightened up and bowed slightly, "Sorry for causing you trouble again." She turned to Atobe and Munehiro with a smile, "Let's go."
As the three walked off the old man watched after them with a skeptical look, "Again she says. I wonder who in the world that little girl was." A bonk on the head took the old man out of his thoughts as she glared up at the perpetrator with his cigarette clenched between his teeth, "What was that for!?"
"Nothing dear~. It's just that you're getting old is all." His wife happily sang and danced back into the store. The old man fumed, "That's a lie!! I'm 73, alive, and kicking! Not some old geezer who has nothing better to do than-" A coughing fit interrupted his tantrum.
His wife in the store happily helped the customers, 'That man is getting senile as well.' She turned around and watched as Makoto giggled up at Atobe as the arrogant king glared back down at her with the youngest of the three standing there, unsure of which side to take. The old woman smiled and mumbled to herself, "Seeing those two now, it makes me feel my age. I wish I can continue to watch them grow, but-"
Coughing filled the store as her husband entered, "Oi!! What kind of wife lets her husband almost choke on air!?"
The old woman sighed, turned around, and held her husband's face gently in her palms. They stood in silence for a few minutes before she spoke up, "There. You stopped coughing on your own. Honestly! You need to consider your age and stop smoking already! You're just like what those globe amaranths we got in today mean, completely unchangeable."
The seeds of friendship can grow into a beautiful love.
As the seasons pass the flower becomes stronger and more beautiful, but troubles and tribulations come to hinder it's growth.
Though put through many hardships and trials that seed will grow to be something beautiful.
Strong.
And unchangeable through time.
Makoto entered her room and plopped down on her queen sized bed, the whole day strolling around town with Atobe and Munehiro tiring her out. She rolled over and stared at a cabinet filled with different trinkets she couldn't bear to part with from her childhood. Pictures of her and Atobe littered the shelves along with pictures of her and her siblings during family vacations. She rose from her bed and strode over to the white, finely polished marble cabinet and opened the glass-windowed doors. She moved a few pictures away and picked up a rather old looking wooden box. She held it gingerly as she rubbed over the smooth surface with a nostalgic smile gracing her lips before muttering a few words quietly for only her to hear. She carefully placed it back onto the cabinet shelf and closed the doors. She stroked down one of the long, blue ribbons tied carefully in her hair, the only remnant she can openly have of the happier memories of her childhood.
========== {X} ==========
[1] As you all may or may not know Kabaji really does have an older sister as shown in the short before the TeniPuri Movie, Atobe's Gift. At first I originally made Makoto that sister, but now that I've "progressed" as a writer I feel that the original charas should stay unchanged, but it was too late to retract the whole Kabaji's older sister thing, so I just added Makoto as the middle Kabaji child. I don't know Kabaji's sister's real name, so let's just go with Maki in Ribbons world.
[2] Stupid rich people.
[3] You know everytime you sneeze someone's talkin' 'bout you right~? (^w^) This is just conceited, little Makotan for you.
[4] Note as in the Great Britain currency.
[5] 1 Litre of Tears is a drama about a girl who had to overcome the hardships of an incurable disease. Click here for more
Reveiw and what not~ I'm posting here cause Freedom of Speech is still nonexistant. I don't want to move to a new Fic site just yet. So LJ will just have to do to deal with my impatience with FoS.
"Why exactly are you so hyped up?" Atobe asked stuffing his hands into his jean pockets as his eyes followed the happy girl. Though Makoto did like being outside more than anything, it was strange for her to randomly decide to drag him and her little brother out as well.
Makoto spun around and smiled up at her younger brother and childhood friend, "Why wouldn't I be when it's such a beautiful day out? You two should thank my fragile body for saving you guys from wasting this day away inside." Truth be told Shiroushi demanded Munehiro go with Makoto around town, which Makoto didn't oppose at all. Kuroko, being the overly concerned mother she is, called up Ryuko for reinforcement AKA: Atobe Keigo. Of course the young Atobe had better things to do than look over Makoto, but he knew better than to refuse a request from his mother.
Even the great Atobe Keigo knew the frightful power of a mother.
To dig up the truth behind the truth, Makoto asked her mother to as Ryuko to order Atobe to come along since Makoto could practically see the young heir sitting comfortable in his arm chair reading a book. She couldn't allow him to waste such a perfect day, so using her rusty, devious mind, she came up with this simple plan.
Atobe sighed, "Makoto, you might want to stop prancing around like a fool before you bump into something." Right as Atobe finished his sentence, Makoto face planted into something, "….. or someone."
Makoto looked up and met the gaze of a very, very, very large man. He was about as tall and big as her younger brother, but the scars on his arms and face weren't too welcoming to say the least. She managed to crack her famous smile, "H-Hello. I'm sorry I bumped into you."
The large man put his hands on Makoto's frail shoulders and lightly pushed her a step back, "…… it's okay."
"Toma~!!!!" A voice sang. A bouncy woman came bounding from behind and punched him in the arm, "Stop messing with people and let's go!! Sai and Kai said that they and Usui managed to even drag Ryou with them!! He might have brought Yujirou with him!!" She grabbed the man's hand and amazingly dragged him away.
The Kabaji siblings and Atobe stared at their retreating figures in confusion, "What just happened??" Makoto asked.
"Ore-sama isn't quite sure at the moment."
Makoto faced forward again, "Well let's not dwell on meaningless things! Let's go~"
"Usu." The youngest Kabaji answered back.
Makoto continued to skip down the sidewalk as her two escorts followed closely behind her. She suddenly stopped and stared into a store window. There, on a red satin pillow, glimmering and shimmering in the sun,
were two shining rings.
"Answer me this Kei-tan," Makoto demanded, pouting down to Atobe as she slammed her palms down on the desk, "How come we don't have friendship bracelets!?"
Atobe looked up at Makoto as he tore his attention away from his book, "Friendship bracelets??"
"Yeah, or rings or necklaces or something!" Makoto bent forward to close in on Atobe's face, "Every girl in class has one with their best friend so how come we don't have a pair!?"
Atobe frowned, "Maybe it's because I am a guy and I don't wear that kind of stuff!!"
"Then how come every girl in class has one!?"
"Girls usually have girl best friends!" Atobe stated the obvious, "So their best friend wouldn't have a problem wearing jewelry!"
Makoto stayed silent for a moment before a devious grin spread across her face, "Is that so?" At that moment the bell rang, signaling grade school being over for the day. Makoto grabbed her backpack and Atobe's hand and dashed out of the classroom.
"Makoto!! Don't run in the school!!!" The teacher yelled, but it went unheard. Makoto was always the most troublesome of the students. She wasn't bad or anything, she just wouldn't listen to the most basic of rules. Those darn tomboys were always a handful, more so than some of the boys themselves.
Makoto continued to drag Atobe all the way out of the school and into her limo. "Wait Makoto-chan, where are you taking me!?" Atobe cried.
"We're going to turn you into a girl." Makoto stated bluntly. Atobe stared at her with widened eyes as the limo driver attempted to contain his laughter.
"Why am I going to turn into a girl exactly?"
"So I can have a friendship bracelet with you!! Do you know how it feels when all the girls are showing off their friendship stuff they have with their best friend and we not even have one thing!?" The driver parked at a store and escorted the two children into the pink dominated store.
Atobe's eyes started to form tears, "Makoto-chan!! My eyes are burning!!!" He cried as he shielded his eyes. Makoto's eye slightly twitched, "Mine too actually……." She clasped Atobe's hand and pointed forward, "We just have to suck it up!! This is for our friendship's reputation!!"
"No reputation is worth this!!" Atobe cried as Makoto dragged him into the pink pits of the store.
"Don't say that!! My pride refuses for any reputation of mine to be belittled by something as trivial as a friendship symbol!!"
"But what about my reputation as a guy!?"
"Discard is completely." Makoto demanded. She pointed to one of the employees, "You! Help me find an outfit!!" She rudely demanded.
The woman kindly smiled at the rude little girl, "Sure, what kind of stuff do you like little one?"
"Not for me," She pointed to Atobe, "I want something that'll make my friend here look like a girl." Atobe shook his head furiously at the employee, but she merely smiled and started to look through the racks of clothing.
At that moment Atobe realized something, "Makoto-chan, do you have any money on you?"
Makoto stayed silent and punched Atobe in the arm, "Dang it!!"
"Ow!! What was that for!?"
"For making me feel stupid!!"
"Makoto-sama." The driver intervened, "I thought this would happen, so I called Todou-san to come."
"You're getting a raise." Makoto stated and the man mentally punched the air in success. The lady employee returned with a few dresses of all kinds in her arms. Makoto kicked Atobe into one of the dressing rooms and filled it with the dresses the lady had brought.
"You can't make me change into these, Makoto-chan!!" Atobe proclaimed.
Makoto grinned the devil's smile, "Oh can't I?"
A shiver ran up little Atobe's spine as he slowly closed the door to rid his line of sight of the evil little girl.
={ X }=
"Makoto-sama!!" Todou yelled, "Kokuro-sama specifically stated that you are not to wander by yourself without consulting her first!!"
Makoto pouted up at the teen, "I'm not by myself, I've got Kei-tan and the nice chauffer with me."
"You still overlooked the fact that you didn't tell Kokuro-sama!" Todou yelled. She took a few deep breathes before facing the insufferable child, "What are you doing here anyways that you need money for!? It takes the entire staff just to get you in a skirt, what can you possibly want here?" Makoto pointed to the dressing room door that had been kept close for over ten minutes now.
Of course Atobe was refusing to leave the confines of the small dressing room. What Makoto was making him do was humiliating, but Todou didn't know that when she demanded the shop associate to open the door with her key. Todou stood there, speechless as her eyes settled on the flustered Atobe heir. Her mouth twitched upward until she exploded into a fit of laughter along with the chauffer.
Makoto peeked into the dressing room and grinned, "It suits you Kei-tan."
"No it doesn't!!!" Atobe yelled, grabbed the frilly yellow dress with his tiny hands, "Don't you dare say it suits me Makoto-chan! You never even wear something this girly!!"
Makoto brought her small hand up to her chin and hummed in thought as she stared intensely at Atobe, "I think you need pigtails."
"Absolutely not!!!" Atobe yelled and slammed the door shut in her face. Makoto looked up at the employee, "We'll take that dress. We should probably get another one from the rack since Kei-tan will stop us if we get that one."
"Understood." The lady employee nodded and went to get another dress. Todou went up to the register to pay, "That will be thirty pounds." (About $50)
Todou's eye twitched with her hand in her purse, "Thirty pounds for just one dress!? What kind of price is that!?" The woman merely smiled and pushed the dress forward as Todou angrily handed her the money. Makoto happily took the bag with the purchased dress and skipped over to the dressing room as Atobe slowly sulked out. She grabbed his hand the grinned, "Let's get home so I can do your hair, Kei-tan." Before Makoto could even take a step forward, Atobe broke away from her grasp and sped out the door with all the haste in the world. "Kei-tan!!" Makoto yelled and ran after the boy.
"Makoto-sama!!" Todou yelled and ran after the girl.
The chauffer stood there, not knowing if he should yell after Todou and chase after her. He looked towards the cash register, "Interesting bunch, wouldn't you say?"
"You're the one that has to work with them."
={ X }=
"Crazy Makoto-chan and her crazier ideas. I doubt anyone knows where she comes up with such things." Atobe pouted slightly, swinging his legs as he sat on a park bench while eating an ice cream cone, "I don't wanna dress like a girl. It's already bad enough all the boys at school think I have a crush on Makoto-chan, once I follow this crazy order of hers they'll know I do." He took the last bit of the cone into his mouth and grabbed his backpack, "I hope Todou-neesan caught her and talked some sense into her."
A hand was suddenly placed firmly on Atobe's head, making the young boy yelp in surprise. "You two are the most troublesome kids on the the face of Great Britain!!" The annoyed teen yelled, "Where's Makoto-sama!?"
"I thought you already found her." Atobe flailed as the demonic teenager picked him up by his precious little head. Todou cursed and put Atobe back on solid ground, "Let's go, we've gotta find her or else I'm going to get an earful from her parents." She grabbed the little one's hand and sped off at speeds the little Atobe couldn't begin to keep up with. As they ran past numerous stores Atobe's eyes darted over the cute trinkets displayed in the windows.
Atobe planted his feet to the concrete and broke away from Todou, much to her annoyance, "Keigo-sama!"
"Just wait for a bit, Todou-neesan!" Atobe commanded and ran into the shop. The loyal Kabaji maid frowned and placed her hands upon her hips, "Kids these days are becoming too bratty to handle." She held her head in the palm of her hand, "I'm never having kids. Ever."
={ X }=
"Stupid Kei-tan and his stupider pride. Why do guys have to be so prideful?" Makoto pouted slightly, swinging her legs as she sat on top of a park's jungle gym. She looked down to the bag which held Atobe's dress, making her pout transform into a frown, "Stupid boys. I don't want a boy as my best friend now. I have plenty of girl friends! I'll find a new best friend, that'll show Kei-tan!"
"I don't care! I have Munehiro anyways!" Makoto turned her head and saw Atobe standing at the base of the jungle gym with a smile. The young girl glared down at him, "Why are you smiling when I've just fired you from being my best friend? Go away, stupid boy."
"Because I know you don't mean it." Atobe smugly said and began to climb up the jungle gym.
Makoto slipped through the openings of the tangle of metal bars and dashed out before Atobe could even comprehend what the monkey of a girl was doing. Atobe groaned and chased after the girl as she sprinted to a small playhouse. Makoto quickly shut the door and sat behind the door.
Now we must all remember that these are two children.
A young Atobe Keigo and Kabaji Makoto.
In other words: an incredibly weak Atobe that couldn't even push open the door with Makoto just sitting there. "Makoto-chan, open the door! Todou-neesan is waiting by the entrance and you'll get in trouble unless I bring you back like I always do."
"Is that your job Kei-tan? Or do you volunteer to look for me every time I go missing 'cause you're my best friend?"
The plastic window near the door was flung open and Atobe, literally, came tumbling in. He sat up and rubbed his head as Makoto tried to contain her obvious amusement, "Isn't that obvious to you??" He grabbed her hand and pulled something out of his back pocket, "It's because I'm your best friend, right?"
Makoto lifted her wrist to eye level to inspect the flimsy bracelet, "Friend? Why does it just say friend??"
Atobe rolled up his sleeve to reveal his matching bracelet, "Best." He replied with a cheeky grin that just got wider with Makoto's displeased pout, "Why do you of all people get best!?"
"I told you didn't I? I'll be an amazing person someday, so it's just natural that I have it."
Makoto pushed herself to her feet, "You are so full of- OW!" She bent down to rub her head and glared up at the low ceiling of the playhouse, "I could have sworn it was bigger than this."
Atobe stood up and stood an inch away from the ceiling of the playhouse. He laughed, "Finally you get what you deserve for picking on my height all these years!!"
Makoto glared at the short boy, "Shut up before I make you eat a centipede."
={ X }=
The door bell resonated throughout the entire mansion the Kabaji family lived in. A loyal butler went to answer the door to meet Usaki's cheerful face, "Shiroushi-chan~!!!!" He sang and danced into the house he liked to call his second home above all the summer homes and the like the Atobe family owned.
The butler smiled, he was pretty much use to Usaki's antics along with the rest of the staff, "They're preparing themselves for tonight's festivities." He bowed, "They should be done so-"
"GET BACK HERE MAKOTO!!" Everyone jumped at the sudden, enraged voice. Makoto laughed and slid down the stair railings, "You'll never get me in a dress!!!" She hopped off the railings as Todou came stampeding out of the hallway.
"Why do you have to be the most difficult child on the face of the planet?"
Makoto turned around and stuck her tongue out as she ran for the door, "Because you're my maid and I can do whatever I want!!" Todou gritted her teeth and clenched her hand into a fist till she bled.
She hated it when the little brat was right.
Makoto sped past the Atobe family and out the doors as her mother calmly stepped down the stairs, putting on a pair of earrings, "Well this is troublesome." She stated with a frown, "Keigo-chan, be a dear and fetch Makoto for us."
The young Atobe's shoulders slouched as he let out a groan, "Why is it always me? Why can't Munehiro or Maki-san go find Makoto-chan once in a while?" [1]
Ryuko motioned her son towards the door, "Enough of your unsightly complaining Keigo. Kokuro has asked a favor of you, don't let her down."
Atobe pouted and headed out the door, "It's not a favor if you keep doing it." He muttered.
={ X }=
Atobe frowned as he wandered down the sidewalks of Great Britain. He should really be use to this by now, it was always him that had to find Makoto when she went on her "rebellious excursions" as the staff liked to call it. They were all convinced that the two had some kind of psychic connection that magically led Atobe to her, but the plain truth was:
"Excuse me." Atobe approached an elderly woman outside a floral shop, "Have you seen a girl running around with nothing but an undershirt and undershorts recently?" Obviously Makoto couldn't be missed running around in nothing but under armor for the winter chills, so she would be pretty noticeable to the bystanders. She really doesn't think things through before she goes off and does something stupid, she's probably freezing her butt off right now, but that's her own fault.
"My, you're always looking for that cute little girl, aren't you?" The elder laughed.
A dark shadow casted itself upon Atobe's face, "She is everything but cute, ma'am, she's evil reincarnated."
The elderly lady laughed and pointed to the direction of the local park, "I indeed saw her running towards that park. Isn't that where she usually is when she runs off on you?"
Atobe's mouth gaped open in childish ignorance, "I've never noticed that before, how where you able to notice that?" The woman laughed again, "It's become somewhat of a daily ritual to tell you where she's run off."
Sparkles of admiration shone in Atobe's innocent eyes, "Your observation skills are amazing ma'am!" He turned and headed for the park, "Thank you for all your help!"
"Wait a minute there," The old woman stopped. She gathered up a bunch of flowers into a bouquet and handed it to the young Atobe heir, "Take these, free of charge."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, we're emptying the inventory anyways. You see, my husband and I are moving to Japan next week so we have to sell all these flowers. We can't just let them go to waste now can we?"
"In that case thank you!" Atobe beamed, "What kind of flowers are these anyways?? They're really pretty."
The woman smiled, "You're holding a bouquet of primroses, beautiful are they not?"
={ X }=
Makoto pouted as she stood next to her parents as they greeted their numerous business partners at the grand party that was held for no special occasion. [2] "I hate this dress." She muttered to herself, clutching the fabric in her tiny hands. As irony would have it, it was the exact dress she had bought for Atobe a few days prior to the party. She looked down, her face red with embarrassment from the fact that she was being seen in such a cute dress, "I wanna go home…."
The man her parents were conversing with bent down to her eye level, "And is this precious angel Makoto?"
Kokuro laughed, "Oh please sir you flatter her, she's the furthest thing from a precious angel!!"
The other family sweat dropped as the mother of the "angel" continued to laugh, 'Is that something a mother should say!?'
Their daughter's eyes wandered down to Makoto's wrist, "You have a best friend Makoto??"
Makoto's face radiated with happiness, "Yup!" She pointed to Atobe who stood by his parents as they conversed with other various business partners, "It’s the girly boy over there. He's really a wimp so he needs me to be his best friend so he doesn't get beat up."
The other girl pouted, "You can't be best friends with a boy! They don't wear bracelets!!"
Makoto pouted back, but due to her "devilish nature" her pout looked more like a glare, causing the other little lady to flinch, "Well Kei-tan's my best friend and he's the one who bought these bracelets for us. What's wrong with a boy wearing a piece of jewelry anyways?"
"Only girls wear jewelry, so when a boy wears some it shows he's a wimp. It's because he wears your friendship bracelet that people think he's a wimp."
"That's why I'm here to protect him." Makoto stated with confidence while pointing to her puffed up chest. She glanced down at the other girl's father's finger, "Hey! Your papa wears a ring!! That's more girly than a bracelet!!"
The said father held up his hand to show off his ring that shimmered in the light on his left ring finger, "This? It's a special type of jewelry."
"Why's it special??" The two girls asked. The beautiful woman that stood next to the man bent down and held up her finger as well, showing a matching, golden ring, "It's because these rings signify a very strong sort of relationship. You parents have a pair too, little Makoto." The two girls turned around and faced the Kabaji parents as they both held up their left hands to show off their rings as well.
Makoto's eyes were focused on nothing but the rings her parents wore, 'A very strong relationship……'
={ X }=
The Kabaji mansion was the same as it was any other day. Kokuro tending to the plants in the greenhouse, Shiroushi working on the paper work he had brought home into his private study, Munehiro sitting on the couch as a few of the maids patched up a few of his sister's clothing that she inconsiderably tore, Maki locked in her room studying for her midterm finals, and Makoto…….
"Kokuro-sama, you wouldn't happen to know where your more troublesome daughter ran off to would you?" Natsumi asked. Kokuro looked up from her potted plants, "She's not around here and she knows better than to mess with Maki while she's studying. Have you tried with her father? You know how she loves to mess with him while he's in his private study, especially that rolling swivel chair of his."
"That's very true." Natsumi laughed and headed back inside the mansion. After going up flights of stairs and trudging down numerous hallways, she finally arrived to Shiroushi's private study, "Excuse me Shiroushi-sama, is Makoto-sama around here?"
Shiroushi looked up from his work documents and pushed his glasses up to the bridge of his nose, "I can't say I've seen her. I haven't heard her stampeding footsteps in the hallway outside either. You might try with Munehiro, those two have the rare brother-sister relationship known as getting along." Natsumi went through the maze of hallways and down the plethora of stairs yet again before arriving in the common room which Munehiro silently sat on the couch in.
Alone as he watched the maids work.
By himself.
As in no Makoto.
"Your sister isn't here is she, Munehiro-sama?" The youngest of the Kabaji family shook his head and went back to watching the maids' impressive needle work. Natsumi rubbed the side of her head to quell the upcoming headache that Makoto caused her daily, "Where can that little imp be!?" She continued to search the lower level of the house and immediately stopped in her tracks as a light breeze hit her. Her head craned to the side towards the wide open door.
Munehiro approached the dormant monster with a stack of Makoto's shorts in his arms. His dull eyes stared out the door, and then looked up to look at Natsumi's stone frozen face, "Natsumi-neesan, I think Nee-san left the hou-"
"THAT DAMNED BRAT!!!!"
Makoto sneezed all over the store window as she looked at the small trinkets displayed upon tiny pillows. She wiped her runny nose with her finger and looked up smidge, "Someone must be talking about how awesome I am." [3] She shrugged and continued to walk, leaving the store owner glaring at her through the snot drenched window.
"A ring represents a very strong relationship between two people." Makoto kept repeating the same thing in her mind since the night of the party. Since that night she's been raiding every jewelry box within the confines of the Kabaji mansion, but for some odd reason none of the maids carried around two of the same kinds of ring!! So that just left her one thing to do: Use her family's money to get a pair of matching rings.
She pressed her face up to another store window and gawked at the shiny golden rings, "They're all so pretty, but I don't think Kei-tan will really like any of those." She withdrew her face from the window and sighed, "Then again I don't know what kind of rings Kei-tan would wear in the first place. Sure Otou-chan and other men wear rings, but I wonder if Kei-tan will go for a ring."
"Are you looking for a ring, princess?" Makoto spun around and faced a man in his early thirties running a small cart. Makoto nodded her head and stood on her tip toes, looking into the merchandise the man as pedaling, "You got anything a boy might like??"
The man rubbed his chin in deep thought, "Let's see….." He snapped his fingers and dug through the messy merchandise, "Here we go." He knelt down in front of the rebellious Kabaji child and held out a small box. Makoto took it gingerly in her hands and opened the cute little box. Her mouth gaped open as she stared at the two matching rings inside. The man smiled upon seeing her reaction, "They're not too cute and not too boyish, so it'll be good for you and your friend, don't you think?"
Makoto shut the box and nodded vigorously, "This'll be perfect for me and Kei-tan! Thank you mi- Ah!!" She pointed behind the man to a couple of bratty boys digging through his cart and handing them off to another one of their friends, "You guys have to pay for that stuff you know!!" The obnoxious bunch stuck their tongues out at the young heiress and ran off. Makoto balled her hand up into a fist at the rude gesture. She was about to run off after the bunch if the robbed man hadn't let out a small chuckle, "Children these days sure are energetic."
"What are you saying mister!? Your trinkets were just stolen off! You're not supposed to be laughing at that!!" Makoto cried. The man smiled and ruffled her hair, "It's just as you said, trinkets. Nothing in this car is of any real value."
Makoto pouted and dug into her shorts pocket, pulling out a crumpled up note, [4] "Well I'll buy these rings from you mister!" The man happily took the note and before he could calculate the change Makoto ran off. The man straightened up and smiled after her retreating figure, "Kids really are energetic in this day and age." He smoothed out the note and stared wide eyed at the £100 note that laid in his hands. Choppy chuckles shakily made their way out of his grinning mouth, "Saints really do exist….."
={ X }=
As Makoto made her way back to home she continuously glanced down at the cute box which held the new signs of the friendship between her and Keigo. She let out a surprisingly girlish giggle and stuffed the box into her pocket, "Kei-tan better like it, or else I'll stick worms up his nose again." She took in her surroundings and began to think up the fastest way home before Todou could realize she was gone. She laughed to herself as she continued down the sidewalk with a cheeky grin on her face, "It was really suck if she did find out I was gone and that was what my sneeze was about, but I highly doubt that's the case."
She stopped as she felt something being placed into her hair behind her ears, "You should go ahead and take that." She reached up and discovered a flower resting peacefully behind her ear. Makoto turned and faced the old man while he casually sat in his chair next to the entrance of a flower shop with a cigarette in his mouth, "My wife and I are moving next week, so just go ahead and help us deplete our inventory stock, would you brat?"
"Sure," Makoto slowly answered, "What kind of flower is this any ways gramps?"
The old man frowned, "Look here, don't go around calling every man you see gramps. I'm 63, alive, and kicking, not an old geezer who has nothing better to do than sit on his butt and wait for death."
Makoto slowly nodded her head and placed her fingers gingerly on the flower, "That still didn't answer my question gr- er, mister."
The old man leaned back into his chair, inhaled some nicotine, and exhaled the smoke, "That's a Canterbury bell. Beautiful wouldn't you say?" The young heiress nodded with a contagious grin that the old man caught. He quickly returned to his previous scowl and motioned her to leave, "Now get lost you brat, like I said I'm trying to get rid of our inventory and I can't do that while you're loitering around here."
Makoto pouted as she glared at the rude old man, but like a good child, said nothing and stomped off back into the bustling Great Britain sidewalk. She stuffed her hands into her pockets and grumbled to herself about how rude that old man was and how he should learn how to treat a lady customer better. A shiver ran up her spine. She took her hands out and rubbed her arms, thinking it was just the cold, winter wind getting to her, "It's getting kind of cold. I should take a shortcut home."
With that decided, she ran past a few more stores and took a right into an alley that would lead her to the other side of the busy shopping area and closer to home. Sadly, Makoto was never good with directions or reading the dense atmosphere and ended up at a dead end populated with a few dangerous looking men. One of which looked up from their small card game, "Eh? It's just a brat. Get lost pipsqueak."
Makoto sluggishly back pedaled to the entrance of the alleyway, butterflies and fear settling into her stomach. One of the men smacked the other on the back of the head, "You idiot!" He hopped up from the barrel he proclaimed as a chair and casually walked up to Makoto. He bent down to her eye level and smirked, "If I'm not mistaking, this is the little chick that will be inheriting one of the Atobe's business partners' fortune."
The other men smirked, "Really now~." They all sang. One by one they each dropped their cards on the crate they were using for a table and rose to their feet, "That means one and one thing only."
Makoto's world went black, but not before hearing the one and only one meaning,
Ransom
"You didn't have to hit her that hard man! It's just a kid. Now she's never gonna-"
"Shut up!! You talk too much!! Who is this rookie anyways!?"
Makoto's eyes slowly opened and found herself dangling upside down from a beam across the ceiling, tied up in a rope cocoon, in an abandoned warehouse. She frowned at the unbelievable predicament she had gotten into, "Hey!" She called out bravely, earning the full attention of the men, "….. Let me go!!"
Everyone stared up at her for a while before busting out into a chorus of laughter, "Are you kidding me kid!? You know how much we're about to get for this ransom!?"
"Even if we split it evenly it's still more money that we ever dreamed!!"
"There's no way we're letting you go!!"
Makoto's frown deepened, "But even if you do get the money you'll still get caught by the police before you can even count the total."
"Don't look down on us kid, we set the conditions just perfectly so that your family won't be bringing the police over here as well."
Makoto wiggled in her make shift cocoon a bit, trying to get loose, "Hmmm, the only people you talk to were just my parents, right??"
"Yeah, we specifically told them that if they brought the Kabaji special forces or whatever you've got, that we'd off you right here."
The tiny hostage grinned and shot her happiness towards her captors, "Well in that case I've got absolutely nothing to worry about." After that statement the double doors of the building here kicked down, men broke through every window, and a helicopter could be clearly heard from the outside. Makoto's grin widened as her kidnappers frantically took their guns out, "You didn't mention a thing about the biggest and most fearsome special protection force did you?"
"Makoto Kabaji has been sighted and looks in perfect health, inform Mr. Atobe at once." One of the rescuers ordered as they all moved in for the capture. A shoot out began as the captors cursed, "Damn it! We didn't expect the Atobe family to actually get involved in this!!"
Makoto laughed, even though her current situation hasn't gotten any better, "Idiots~, of course they'd get involved in this. I'm the best friend of the boy that's gonna inherit the Atobe fortune! Next time make sure you have all the important info!!"
A gun was suddenly pointed up to her, "Shut up you shitty brat!!!"
A shot being fired was the last thing Makoto heard, before darkness consumed her world once again, this time for a longer period of time.
={ X }=
"When will she wake up!?"
"It's hard to say…."
"Don't give us that crap! Tell us when our daughter is going to wake up!"
"………"
"Tell us what happened at least!"
"According to the report sent in by the special forces, the bullet fired at Makoto missed, but incidentally cut the rope which was suspending her two stories up. She fell from that height into a pile of scrap metal. A fall like that will of course cause tremendous trauma to the head, but it's hard to tell right now the degree of damage done to her. We can only run tests once she's awake and fully conscious."
"And what of the wounds she received from the metal parts?"
"Nothing serious at all. They shouldn't even leave a scar when completely healed."
"That's the only good news you've told us so far….."
={ X }=
The wheels of a creaky cart resonated through the empty hospital hallway as a nurse made her way to a young patient's room. She quietly opened the door and much to her surprise, saw a little girl sitting up in the bed awake and well. Her eyes widened as she called for the other nurses and doctor, "Doctor!! Makoto Kabaji is awake!!" Footsteps stomped closer to the large hospital room as it quickly became filled with personnel. The doctor kneeled down to Makoto's eye level and smiled, "How are you feeling?"
Makoto slowly nodded and shyly looked up at the kind doctor. Frantic footsteps were heard after the large stampede of people. Kokuro and Shiroushi pushed their way past the mob of nurses that clamored around outside their youngest daughter's room, "Makoto!!" They cried and threw themselves at the bedridden girl, "We're so glad you're okay!!"
Makoto slowly nodded and stared up at the two pairs of tear-filled eyes, "Um….. Can I ask you something?" The two nodded, not expecting the unbelievable question about to leave their daughter's mouth.
"Who are you two?"
"Amnesia!? Are you kidding me!?" Kokuro exclaimed, slamming her palm down on the doctor's fragile desk, "This isn't some kind of freakin' spin off of 1 Litre of tears damn it! Fix my daughter or I swear I'll-" [5]
Shiroushi quickly quieted his hostile wife and faced the doctor with utmost seriousness, "Will it go away?"
The doctor swiveled around in his chair and looked up at Makoto's brain scans, "It's still difficult to tell. Your daughter's condition is severe enough to be considered TBI at this point. I'm amazed she's still able to talk with this amount of damage done. As you can tell her amnesia and loss of coordination is a side effect of all this, but with rehabilitation she should be able to get back up on her feet. As for her memories, only time will tell." He swiveled back around to face the two distraught parents, "My suggestion is to slightly hint at things about her and her past, spend as much time with her as you can, and do not force anything into her. If anything, forcibly pushing memories back into her already damaged brain will make things worse."
Shiroushi nodded and led his upset wife out of the doctor's office. Once outside Kokuro let the tears flow freely out as she cried onto Shiroushi's shoulder, "My baby…… why did this happen to my baby?"
Shiroushi sighed and rubbed Kokuro's back comfortingly, "Everything will be okay Kokuro, you heard the doctor, her memory will come back in due time."
"But seeing her in that wheelchair, unable to move as we pushed her to the CT scanning room…… my heart almost broke into pieces seeing our tough girl look like that. Even if her memories come back, her rehabilitation will be too much to bear!!"
Shiroushi gently pushed her away from his shoulder and wiped the tears away from his wife's eyes, "The rehabilitation will be difficult for all of us. Neither of us will be able to bear seeing her like that, Todou's job is to help Makoto no matter what so she has no choice but to stay through this as well, Munehiro and Maki will have to deal with this as well."
"Should we call Ryuko and Usaki about this? They are the ones that helped get Makoto back and I'm sure Keigo deserves to know about this."
"We should definitely tell them about Makoto's condition at present, but I'm not so sure if Keigo should know that his closest friend is in this condition, a boy his age won't be able to handle the news. I think it will be better for him to be left in the dark on this one."
Kokuro nodded and began to walk back to Makoto's hospital room, "But I wonder if that would be the best thing for Makoto….."
After weeks of hospital time, my memory came back all at once and I was able to recognize my mother's face again. I still had to attend rehabilitation due to my coordination not being what is use to be. I will never be able to climb trees to hide from Kei-tan like I always did or slide down the railings as I run from Natsumi's raging fire of a temper. Those days were gone the moment that single bullet cut the rope that held my life in the balance. I never do like to think back to that time in the hospital. Everyone was so nice to me, but sometimes I think that their niceness came from pity, like the kind of pity you give to someone about to die. The tough as nails Makoto of my childhood died at that time. She will never come back and I think that's alright. I've learned to accept the fact that I'll never be the same as I was back then, which isn't necessarily a bad thing at all. Besides, if I was still the same as I was back then, Keigo-kun might not be able to tolerate me as well as he did back in our past. That's right. Our past. A forgotten time that we've both moved on and away from. It's not something that needs to be revisited often, since the majority of it was filled with nothing but worms, centipedes, and tears.
"Oi Makoto," Atobe called and knocked lightly on top of Makoto's head, "Stop spacing out so much. Ore-sama is getting impatient of wandering around aimlessly like some commoner who has nothing better to do."
Makoto pouted as she rubbed her head and looked up at Atobe, "Yasashii janai yo!! You can't take this time to enjoy the simple life?"
Atobe scoffed and continued to walk with Kabaji following closely behind him, "Ore-sama has no time for the simple life. The world we live in is different from that of commoners, you should know that Makoto."
Makoto's pout deepened. She dove in between her brother and childhood friend and looped her arms into theirs, "That may be true, but that doesn't mean we can't try and live in the same world as most of the people. Na, Munehiro?"
"Usu."
Atobe slightly glared down at Makoto as she gave him a cheeky grin of victory. He turned away from the powerfully cute grin, "I sometimes wonder if that demon from our childhood really is gone and not just sitting quietly inside of you waiting for the perfect moment to come out and pounce on the unsuspecting vi-"
"Uwaa~" Makoto exclaimed as she broke away from the two and dashed to a flower shop's window, "Globe amaranth! I've never seen some in person before!! They must have had them shipped from Panama or something. They're so beautiful!!"
"For a brat you really know your flowers." Makoto looked to the store entrance and saw an old man, casually sitting in a lawn chair, smoking away as costumers admired the flowers. "They just arrived today and are selling like mad. If you want some I suggest you hurry and buy some, otherwise get lost. I can't sell if you're here loitering you know."
Makoto straightened up and bowed slightly, "Sorry for causing you trouble again." She turned to Atobe and Munehiro with a smile, "Let's go."
As the three walked off the old man watched after them with a skeptical look, "Again she says. I wonder who in the world that little girl was." A bonk on the head took the old man out of his thoughts as she glared up at the perpetrator with his cigarette clenched between his teeth, "What was that for!?"
"Nothing dear~. It's just that you're getting old is all." His wife happily sang and danced back into the store. The old man fumed, "That's a lie!! I'm 73, alive, and kicking! Not some old geezer who has nothing better to do than-" A coughing fit interrupted his tantrum.
His wife in the store happily helped the customers, 'That man is getting senile as well.' She turned around and watched as Makoto giggled up at Atobe as the arrogant king glared back down at her with the youngest of the three standing there, unsure of which side to take. The old woman smiled and mumbled to herself, "Seeing those two now, it makes me feel my age. I wish I can continue to watch them grow, but-"
Coughing filled the store as her husband entered, "Oi!! What kind of wife lets her husband almost choke on air!?"
The old woman sighed, turned around, and held her husband's face gently in her palms. They stood in silence for a few minutes before she spoke up, "There. You stopped coughing on your own. Honestly! You need to consider your age and stop smoking already! You're just like what those globe amaranths we got in today mean, completely unchangeable."
The seeds of friendship can grow into a beautiful love.
As the seasons pass the flower becomes stronger and more beautiful, but troubles and tribulations come to hinder it's growth.
Though put through many hardships and trials that seed will grow to be something beautiful.
Strong.
And unchangeable through time.
Makoto entered her room and plopped down on her queen sized bed, the whole day strolling around town with Atobe and Munehiro tiring her out. She rolled over and stared at a cabinet filled with different trinkets she couldn't bear to part with from her childhood. Pictures of her and Atobe littered the shelves along with pictures of her and her siblings during family vacations. She rose from her bed and strode over to the white, finely polished marble cabinet and opened the glass-windowed doors. She moved a few pictures away and picked up a rather old looking wooden box. She held it gingerly as she rubbed over the smooth surface with a nostalgic smile gracing her lips before muttering a few words quietly for only her to hear. She carefully placed it back onto the cabinet shelf and closed the doors. She stroked down one of the long, blue ribbons tied carefully in her hair, the only remnant she can openly have of the happier memories of her childhood.
========== {X} ==========
[1] As you all may or may not know Kabaji really does have an older sister as shown in the short before the TeniPuri Movie, Atobe's Gift. At first I originally made Makoto that sister, but now that I've "progressed" as a writer I feel that the original charas should stay unchanged, but it was too late to retract the whole Kabaji's older sister thing, so I just added Makoto as the middle Kabaji child. I don't know Kabaji's sister's real name, so let's just go with Maki in Ribbons world.
[2] Stupid rich people.
[3] You know everytime you sneeze someone's talkin' 'bout you right~? (^w^) This is just conceited, little Makotan for you.
[4] Note as in the Great Britain currency.
[5] 1 Litre of Tears is a drama about a girl who had to overcome the hardships of an incurable disease. Click here for more
Reveiw and what not~ I'm posting here cause Freedom of Speech is still nonexistant. I don't want to move to a new Fic site just yet. So LJ will just have to do to deal with my impatience with FoS.