the start of someting new.
~grins~ I did mention it in an earlier post a month or two ago I was going to write something like this. I didn't think it would turn out how it did, but I'm relatively happy with what I got. Wrote it in an hour and sixteen minutes around 2-3AM-ish last night. Was suddenly struck by this huuge lightening bolt of inspiration. It's actually not the first time I used second person--that would be my Lain fic I'm still working on even though it's been months since I started it. Anyway, here it is. First of a loosely-connected series of vignettes.
Title: Boy in the Black School Uniform (part 1 of the In Uniform series)
Fandom: Mai-HiME
Word Count: 1742
Rating: PG
Characters: Reito, Mai (implied, briefly mentioned Mai/Tate).
Genre: General
Summary: A chance occurrence in a restaurant with a familiar name. Of letting go.
A/N: ~mutters to self~ Even though I can't bring myself to hate anime Tate, Reito is far, far cooler than him. Oh Reito-sama~ you are so incredibly bishie. It would be quite interesting if I could get you to work together with kaichou-sama somehow. Seriously, then taking over the world would be so crazy-easy. Though...maybe both of your harems fangirls would overlap. That would be interesting too, just to see what happens next.
It just so happens that, on your way back from work one day, you come across a familiar-looking restaurant. The Lindem Baum. Odd, that certainly brings back quite a few memories. Apparently, over the years, its popularity had grown drastically and the Lindem Baum had become a restaurant chain. On a whim, you decide to stop there. You know, just for old time’s sake.
You are greeted by a pretty young waitress who gives you a somewhat fake smile. At least, that is what it first started out as. When she got her second, third, and fourth good look at you, you begin to recognize the growing symptoms of instant-infatuation. Of course, you're used to it by now. You were pretty back when you were a teenager; now, at the ripe-old age of thirty, you’re positively dashing. You know it. You look like some prince personified, the perfect gentlemen. All you’re missing is a white horse. Women cannot help but to fall for you.
All except a select few, but that is a different matter.
She seats you and you give her one of your charming, relatively fake smiles. She positively squeals as she quickly walks away. You sigh. You’re thirty years-old and still single. Sure, you have, had—will always have—a sizable amount of suitors, both of their choosing along with your family’s—trying to solidify unions, alliances, and the whatnot. But you always to turn them down. There is never enough interest; there is no spark. For some reason, you always compare them to…
“Your order is…”
Her.
Tokiha Mai stands next to you with a pad in hand. You suddenly feel like you’re eighteen again. But, of course, time never stands still, just like you can’t help but to see the diamond on her ring finger glitter in the light. You remember. After all, you were invited to their wedding that you never went to. It should be Tate Mai now. That doesn’t sound right. The name doesn’t fit her, you think cynically.
You don’t show any outward expression of bitterness on your face. Instead you smile kindly.
“Well, this certainly brings back memories, doesn’t it?”
Mai smiles brightly at you. “What can I get you, Vice-President?”
For a moment, you toy around with replying, “Your heart,” but you are not the kind of man to do so. Instead, you pause for a moment before saying:
“Your company.”
Mai only laughs at you, her purple eyes glittering with that warmth you could never forget, never have.
“Unfortunately, we currently don’t have that at the moment.”
“Oh? When will it be available?”
There is another pause and Mai raises her eyebrow. “In two hours, if you are willing to wait that long.”
“That is fine.” You respond quickly and smoothly. “I shall order then.”
“For the record, what would that be?”
“Whatever you are having.”
“How astute of you.”
“It is one of my better qualities.” You say with a small bow, smiling. Surprisingly, the smile is genuine.
“Fine, fine.” With that, she scribbles something into her pad, stuffs it into her apron, and leaves your table for another. You watch her as she leaves.
For the next two hours, you discreetly watch her pass, to and from, going from table-to-table. Her cheerfulness has certainly not diminished in the last decade or so. You can still see the wisdom, the kindness, and the level-headedness reflected in her eyes, only now, they had, if possible, matured even more.
She would be an excellent mother, you think, as you flip your cellphone lid open and close, a habit you have acquired a few years ago. And then, you think, She probably is.
Nostalgia along with another feeling (jealousy?) fills you and your hands close into fists underneath the table. How could you have lost? To Tate Yuuichi, no less. You sigh. Even if you had been possessed, the feelings you had for her were purely yours. You wanted Mai at your side. You truly had fallen in love with her. And the Obsidian Lord took that and twisted it. If fate had been different…it still would’ve been the same.
Your phone rings and you pick it out. Minutes trickle by as you sigh and gently push your underling to sell this stock, invest in another, and yes, you will be able to make it to tomorrow’s meeting. You snap your phone close with finality. And then, you decide to flip into open once more so you can turn it off. You had enough for one day.
In and out, people flow through the restaurant. Only you still remain. Patiently, as if you had all the time in the world. You do.
Finally, after two hours spent in waiting, she finally stands next to your table. She places a plate of steak in front of you and another adjacent to you. She takes off her apron and sits down.
“Thanks for waiting.”
“It was my pleasure.” There is no doubt that you are sincere.
Mai begins to delicately saw at her meat. “How’ve you been?”
“Decent.” You reply. “You seem to be doing well.”
She laughs. “I get bored from time-to-time. I guess that’s why I’m here.”
“Some things never change?”
More laughter. “Yep, my hobby is still part-time jobs. I don’t really have to work, but I like it. Especially here. When I saw the Lindem Baum here and there was an opening, I just had to, you know?”
You smile, this time it is false. You can’t help the bitterness from escaping into your tone. “There are some things you cannot forget.”
Mai frowns and she looks up sharply. But then she goes back to cutting her meat. She tries to keep her tone light. “Sometimes I waiter, and other times I cook.”
“It is delicious.” You say, giving her another dazzling, fake smile.
“I did modify the recipe a little. It’s my own.”
“You must give it to me.”
“It’s a trade-secret, you understand.”
“But of course.” There is a pause in the conversation. And then...
“It’s been a while since I last saw you.”
“It has been. I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised when I saw you, standing next to my table.”
“I haven’t seen you since you graduated high school.”
“Ah? It’s been that long? I feel like it was only yesterday when I tried to kiss you and you rejected me and pushed me away.” Your heavy hand positively cuts the thick meat with weight alone—you are pressing just that hard even though your tone remains light.
However, she catches the gravity in your voice. And she sighs.
“What do you want me to say,” she replies finally after a long pause. “I chose him because I wanted to be with him more than you. It just happened that way.”
“Why?” You ask, your dark gray eyes stared deeply into hers, imploring her for an answer. “Was it because I was possessed? I am not the Obsidian Lord. I was as much as a victim as the HiMEs were.”
“It has nothing to do with that. For some reason,” She laughs in remembrance of some event in the past, shaking her head slightly, “I’ve begun to care for Yuuichi even before then. I’m sorry, Reito-san. It just wasn’t you.”
You are a grown man. Not just that, but you are competent, strong. Yet you are forced to look down to keep her from seeing your frustration. You’ve never shown a weakness like this before, but why, why is it that in this area you are so weak?
You know why. You don’t like to lose. You rarely do and you take the blows badly when it happens.
Mai looks at you. There is no pity in her gaze, only sympathy as she stands up slightly to put her hand on your shoulder.
“What do you want me to say?” She asks gently.
You wonder—what exactly was it that you wanted her to say? You are not heartless enough…nor do you want to take her from her husband. But that doesn’t mean that just leaving things like this will satisfy you. It seems like there is the gigantic boulder just blocking your way, making it impossible for you to move on. Even though you are thirty, you feel like you have never grown since. You are still the boy in the black school uniform.
You finally regain enough composure to look up, straight into her face. You stare at her face for a long time. To her credit, Mai never looks away. She no longer appears how you remember her, she has grown, she has matured into a beautiful woman. She is living her life unlike you who is just going through the motions.
And you had enough of it, you want to seize the moment by the handful and just start…start…living. Away from the past, away from every fear, doubt, and the black demon that pins you down, throttling you tightly.
“I…just tell me it is time to move on.”
“What?”
“Tell me it is time to move on,” you say firmly, reaching out to engulf her hands in yours.
There is yet another pause, but then Mai smiles brightly. It is a smile that you remember, and will always continue to.
“It is time to move on, Reito-san.”
That was what you needed. You had to hear it from her lips. And you smile brightly, boyishly—it is your real smile, not a calculated one.
“Thank you.”
It begins slightly awkwardly, but the tension slowly leaks away. For the rest of the meal you laugh and joke around with her, catching up on the times, everything you have missed. You trade stories, share smiles. The atmosphere is nice, friendly. Warm. At the very end, you get up to leave. You insist on paying for her meal as well, covertly taking the bill from where it was slightly hidden in her apron. But she catches your hand and just looks at you meaningfully. And suddenly your hand loosens on its own record, opening into hers, and she takes the small piece of paper.
“You’re paying next time.” She says with a wink.
“Very well.” You sigh dramatically. Chivalry was dead, anyway.
“I will see you soon.”
You give a short bow. “Very well.”
As you head out the door, she calls out:
“Take care of yourself!”
You smile and wave before turning around and walking away.
But don’t worry; you’ll be back soon enough.
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vinforspi) wrote,
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