AT LEAST WE HAVE FOREVER
CHAPTER 13
A Promise Beneath The Moonlight
It was exactly 11:30 in the morning when Riya and Kurama reached the Minamino household—just in time for lunch. Along the way, the two enjoyed a pretty good conversation that made them unable to notice some familiar people.
Ayako noticed them when they passed by the cake shop she was managing that made the said maiden smile. Soujiro and Yukari saw them, as well, as the siblings watched outside the restaurant that they were in at that moment. As for Yumi, she just went out of the bookstore when she noticed Riya and Kurama. It didn't give her much of a surprise, though. In fact, she satisfyingly smiled at the sight.
Riya heaved a heavy sigh for her to calm her erratically beating heart the moment she stepped on the gate of the house. She couldn't actually tell why her heart was beating that fast. But she somehow knew that it wasn't a bad sign or anything negative. She might be nervous for some other reasons.
"Are you alright? Your hand is cold," Kurama said that startled her a bit and made her face him. She answered him with a smile that eased her tension for a bit. But when she looked at her left hand, she couldn't help but to blush.
She saw him blush, too. But this time, he didn't let go of her hand. Instead, he held it tighter. The sensation that traveled through her veins coming from that touch made both hearts pound but at the same time, it also made her calm for some reason. And she loved it.
"I'll hold your hand so that you wouldn't feel nervous, okay?" he suggested and then he smiled.
That made her giggle and looked at his eyes. "But don't you think your family would then think that I'm already your girlfriend when you do that?"
"You think they would object if it would be like that?" he countered and looked at her eyes, as well.
She looked at him surprised but she never showed that to her face. What in the world are you thinking, Kurama? Then she sighed. "That depends on what would they think about me," she said, not realizing what she said after it had slipped from her mouth. She kicked herself mentally after that. Sheesh! Why in the world did I say that? It's like I'm saying something that I accepted to be his girlfriend… or maybe I was thinking far advanced. "I… I mean, they still need to know the girl who wanted to be your girlfriend. And I guess a lot of girls in our school would be willing to go through that kind of ordeal just to prove themselves to be worthy of you. Right?"
Kurama just laughed at that. But his mouth said something that wanted to contradict her statement. I know they would like you, Riya… since you're the only girl I wanted to be my girlfriend. But I guess it won't happen for now. I still wanted to know you more—without secrets and pretenses.
"Let's go. Your family's waiting inside. I bet they're already excited," Riya said with a smile.
Kurama smiled, as well and they proceeded inside. It was Kurama who pushed the doorbell.
"Mom, we're here," he said through the intercom.
They got no response but they waited. And after a few seconds, they heard footsteps growing closer to the door. Running footsteps, to be exact.
"I bet that's Suuichi-kun," Kurama said before glancing at her. She smiled as a response. After that, the door opened and a panting teenage boy appeared.
"Sorry about that. We're busy preparing the food for lunch," the brown-haired boy said in between his pantings. Then he looked at Kurama and Riya. But after a few seconds, Suuichi's stare got fixed to Riya. "Wow, she's really pretty. No wonder you got fixated on her, Shuichi-san."
That statement surprised both Kurama and Riya and also made them blushed.
"Now I know why you kept on saying that I have to blame your stepbrother for it," she whispered that made the red head smile. Then she faced Suuichi. "Nice to meet you, Hatanaka-kun."
The boy smiled and slightly bowed. "It's a pleasure to meet you, as well. It's alright if you wanted to call me Suuichi. But… I guess that could create some confusion since my big brother here happened to have the same given name as I am."
"Hmm… You're right about that since I'm also calling Shuichi-kun by his given name," she said and then she went quiet, as if her mind were in deep thoughts after a few seconds, she faced Suuichi and smiled. "Would it be okay if I call you Sui-kun instead of Suuichi-kun? It's a derivation of your name so I guess it's better if I call you that way to avoid confusions."
Suuichi smiled and nodded. "I don't mind. And besides, I like it. I guess you better come in now. Mom and Dad are waiting in the living room."
And that made them enter the house. Like what Suuichi said, Shiori and Kazuya were in the living room. The couple greeted Kurama and Riya with a smile.
"My, my! I never thought you have such a beautiful friend here, Shuichi," Shiori said that made Riya smile before facing the girl. "Welcome to our home. I'm sorry for my son's sudden invitation but it actually made us excited to meet you. This is the first time I've learned that my son Shuichi has his attention fixated on one girl."
Kurama blushed after Shiori said that. "Mom, please… Not in front of the guest."
But Shiori and Kazuya only chuckled at that while Riya glanced at him. Kurama then approached her and faced his family.
"Everyone, I would like you to meet my friend Riya. She's also my classmate and she just transferred here two months ago from Hokkaido," he stated before facing Riya.
Riya faced the couple who, in turn, was looking intently at her. And that made her curious. "Is there something wrong?"
Shiori shook his head gently and smiled. "No, there's nothing wrong. It's just that… you're kind of looked like someone I know from my high school days. By any chance, do you know someone by the name of Miyuzaki Ritsuko? That's her name by marriage."
"Yes…" she answered in a soft tone since she was surprised when she heard the name. "In fact, she's my mother."
"Really?" Shiori exclaimed. Riya nodded. "Now I wouldn't wonder. You almost looked like her younger version."
"But she inherited her father's eyes," Kazuya commented that surprised her again. "You're probably wondering how I knew that. You see, your father happened to be my best bud when I was in middle school and we became business partners."
And after a few seconds of absorbing the thought, Riya burst out a chuckle. "Well, that was a surprising revelation. Mama and Papa usually talks about their school friends whenever they had a chance but I never realized that those people they were talking about would actually get married." She then faced the couple. "In any case, my name's Miyuzaki Riya. Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you, too," Shiori replied. "We better proceed to the dining room. It's already lunch time and I bet you're hungry."
Shiori, Kazuya and Suuichi went ahead while Kurama and Riya stayed there for a minute or so.
"I guess you're surprised to know about that, Shuichi-kun. I can tell that," Riya said as she faced Kurama.
The red head smiled and nodded. "You can really read me now, huh?"
"Not exactly. But I have to admit, it was surprising indeed. To think my parents would have a connection to your parents."
"But I guess it turned out good. Now you don't have to worry about not being liked by my family." And then he laughed.
It was later followed by her own laughter before they proceeded to the dining room where Shiori, Kazuya and Suuichi were waiting for them.
Riya had a great time having lunch with Kurama's family. She thought at first that she would be out of place but then she learned that she was wrong. Shiori was really nice. Kazuya and Suuichi were definitely fun to talk with and she really appreciated the fact that she was actually accepted by the family.
It was about time for the dessert when her phone rang. That's weird. I wasn't expecting someone to call me at this hour. She took the phone from her jacket pocket and then stood up before facing Shiori. "I'm sorry. Would it be okay if I answer this for a while?"
The woman nodded and then Riya proceeded to the living room. She pressed the Call button and placed the phone to her ear. "Hello?"
"It seems to me my daughter is having a good time with Shiori and her family," a familiar voice of a woman greeted over the phone that surprised and yet made her happy at the same time.
"Mama!" she exclaimed. That caught the attention of the people in the dining room. "How did you know I'm with Shiori-san?"
"I've been following you since this morning, silly," her mother answered, followed by a short laugh. "I was planning to visit you and Shiori. Look outside. I'm just in front of the house."
She went directly to the front door and opened it. She smiled when she saw the figure of a woman familiar to her. It was indeed her mother, Miyuzaki Ritsuko. The said woman waved at her while the phone was still placed on her ear and so did Riya. And then she saw Ritsuko ended the phone call and placed the phone in her pocket. She did the same thing and immediately, she approached her mother who was walking towards the house.
"Sheesh! You should've told me you're coming here, Mama. I could've picked you up at the airport," Riya whined as her mouth pouted but Ritsuko only laughed at her daughter's expression.
"I'll only be here for a day or two then I'll go back. It's just that I have some business with your father's friend and it happened to be Shiori's husband," Ritsuko said seriously.
Riya's face also turned serious as she looked at her mother. "I see." And immediately, she smiled and faced Ritsuko. "Anyway, you're just in time for dinner."
"She's right, Ritsuko."
Ritsuko and Riya turned around to see who spoke and both of them smiled when they saw Shiori and Kurama.
"Long time no see, Shiori," Ritsuko said and approached the said woman. "I hope my daughter here is not causing you any trouble at all."
"I was not! Sheesh! You're being mean again, Mama," Riya complained. But then after a while, she smiled. " But I'm glad you're here, Mama."
For a while, Ritsuko was somehow surprised with what Riya said—one thing that Shiori noticed. "Is there something wrong, Ritsuko?"
It startled the said woman and shook her head. "Nothing. It's just that… this is the first time in two years that I've seen my daughter smile like that. All those times, she's been sad after my son was murdered. She never let herself show a smile. But now…" She decided not to continue.
When Riya realized what her mother was actually saying, she sighed audibly and faced Kurama before she spoke as she pointed at the red head.
"Then you have to blame Shuichi-kun for that." Then she laughed a bit when she saw Kurama's surprised expression. "If I hadn't found him, I guess I would still be the sad and lonely Riya you've known for two years."
"I didn't do anything," Kurama said. Did I? "In any case, we should continue this conversation inside while eating the cake that Riya made."
Shiori frowned when she heard that. " I thought you bought that cake."
"Well, he was supposed to buy one but he never thought that I would actually make one yesterday. The cake I made was supposed to be my gift to your family as a thanks for inviting me here and giving me a chance to meet all of you," Riya explained before facing Kurama. The red head, in turn, scratched the back of his head because of that and smiled.
But before Shiori could say anything else, Suuichi appeared behind Kurama. "Mom, Shuichi-san, it's delicious! The chiffon cake is way too delicious!"
"No fair, Sui-kun. You've eaten the cake already before we could come in," she whined but she did it with a smile.
"Sorry. The scent of the orange is tempting that I have to taste it. And I heard that you're the one who made it, Riya-san. It's really delicious," Suuichi said.
Riya laughed at that. Kurama smiled when he noticed that.
It was already 5:30 in the afternoon when Riya decided to call it a day and Kurama volunteered to accompany her back to her apartment. And as what Ritsuko said, she stayed in order to talk to Kazuya with regards to her father, Katsuo Miyuzaki. But even still, she respected the privacy and decided to leave.
"Then I'll take my leave here, Shiori-san. Thank you for inviting me here. I had a lot of fun." And then she bowed.
Shiori smiled. "You're welcome, Riya-chan. But please don't make this your last visit here. You can come here and visit us anytime you want."
She smiled and then faced Kurama. "I guess I have reasons to do so. Thank you. I will definitely come here again."
"Riya-san," Suuichi called out. "The next time you visit here, can you bring us your homemade cake again? I really wanted to try it out again."
"I will, Sui-kun. Maybe I'll bring chocolate fondant the next time," she responded.
"Really? Thank you. I'll be waiting for it."
She and Kurama laughed at Suuichi's answer. And then she faced her mother. "Are you sure you're not coming with us?"
"Sorry, Riya. I can't. Haruna will be coming here at seven for us to have a business meeting with Kazuya. I have to be here when she arrives," Ritsuko said in an apologetic tone.
"Alright. If you really insist. Then we'll be going now." And then she turned around.
Kurama faced his family and bowed. "We'll be going now."
But before the two could reach the front door, Ritsuko called them.
"What is it, Mama? Something wrong?" Riya asked innocently. She saw her mother shook her head and smiled.
"No, there's nothing wrong. I just wanted to say that there will be a fireworks display at the mall downtown. Maybe you should go and watch it. It will be tonight at 6:30." And then Ritsuko faced Shiori and Kazuya. "Would it be okay if you could allow the two of them to watch it?"
The couple just answered with a smile before Kazuya spoke. "I think it's a good idea. It's better if you should enjoy each other's company more often."
Riya pondered on it for some seconds before she faced Kurama. "What do you think?"
"I wouldn't mind. And I think Yusuke and the others will come and watch it, as well,' he answered with a smile.
"Alright, then," she said before facing Ritsuko. "Thanks for reminding us, Mama."
"Be careful on your way," Ritsuko reminded to the two.
They were already outside the house when they heard Suuichi's voice soon followed by the other's laughter.
"Good luck on your date, Shuichi-san!" Suuichi shouted. "Be sure there's already a progress between the two of you when you get back here!"
Riya laughed softly upon hearing that while Kurama blushed and now, he couldn't stare directly at her.
Seriously, what was Suuichi-kun thinking when he said that? Oh wait! It wasn't said. It was shouted, he complained in his thoughts and then he glanced at the night sky.
He smiled when he saw the moon in its full shape. It was bright and calming in some way. After that, he stopped walking that made Riya faced him.
"Is there something wrong, Shuichi-kun?"
He shook his head and looked at her intently. After a short while, he spoke. "Will it be okay… if we head somewhere for a while instead of going downtown? The view of the fireworks would be better there. If you want, that is. It's okay if you don't want that. It's just a suggestion…"
She just looked at him after he said that. And then finally, she showed a faint smile before answering.
"I'll go with that. So where would it be?"
It would have been a modernized city but there were still places in that city where nature could be said as a sanctuary of many people out there. And in that case, it was definitely a sanctuary for Riya and Kurama. With Kurama holding Riya's hand along the way, they proceeded to the cliff side park near the city.
At that particular time, only a few people were there and it was for the best espacially since they really needed some privacy. They couldn't actually get that when they were at school. A lot of people at school, particularly girls, didn't want to see her with Kurama. But they couldn't help it. There were really trying hard to make up for the five years that they were apart. They needed at lot of patching up to do.
"I'm sorry for my selfish request of bringing you here," Kurama apologized without looking at Riya. His head was actually lowered that was why his bangs covered his eyes, unabling her to look at them to figure out what he was thinking. "I just couldn't figure out a way on how could I talk to you alone. Each time I tried, there's nothing coming out of my mouth. It's like saying that it's not yet the time for me to tell you everything I wanted to tell you."
She gasped silently at his words. What are you saying, Kurama? This is not you. It's impossible for me to believe that you couldn't figure out a way. Or is it?
"So you think that this is the time already?" she said in a statement rather than a question.
It took a while before Kurama answered. "Honestly… I'm not sure. But I want to at least try." That's right. I'll try until I could be able to tell you what I want to say, he added in his thoughts. Then he faced her seriously.
In turn, Riya looked at his eyes intently. For some seconds, all they did was to stare at each other. But that was more than enough for their emotions to be stirred and made their hearts pound in an accelerated rate. At that moment, everything around them seemed to have stopped moving. All they could hear was their own heart beating fast and their breathings as they continued to look at each other.
After a whie, Riya smiled that somehow snapped the magical moment between them.
"Whether you tell me or not, it's alright. I can wait until the day you tell me what you wanted to say to me. And… thank you for bringing me to thjis place. It's really beautiful," she said sincerely before looking up and faced the full moon.
He, too, looked up and faced the moon that he was looking at a while back. Both of them had smiles etched on their faces as they kept on looking at it. It would appear that they could somehow find peace when they looked at it.
But unknown to each of them, their hearts spoke of words—a wish that they kept in it since the two of them reunited.
This moment only comes rarely between us, even though we have a lot of chances in our hands. How I wish this sort of closeness between us… Please make it last forever… I couldn't imagine my day to be complete without him in it. It's as if he had become a part of everything I do, Riya said in her thoughts… which was most likely stored immediately in her heart in order for her to remember it eventually when something happens, just in case.
I've finally found her and I really want to make it up to her. Those past five years isn't going to come back, I know. But deep inside, I wish… I wish moments like this would last forever. I want to stay with her and eventually entrust my future to her. I wish I could do that. I wanted to… I just don't know how to do it. I want her to become a permanent part of my life, Kurama uttered in his thoughts, like the wish that he had kept in his heart ever since he found out who Riya was to his past.
"It's really beautiful… looking at the moon like this," Kurama said that broke the silence between them.
"It would be better if we're doing this every night, no matter how far apart we are," Riya said and then she laughed. "But that would only happen if we vowed to become close no matter what happens. It's a closeness bound by trust and friendship." And then she looked at him. "But could you promise me that?"
Kurama frowned. "Promise what?"
"That we'll stay close no matter what happens. We'll always be together even if you found yourself a suitable bride or I find myself a loving groom. It's like we'll always be friends or probably more than that…" she responded while saying the last sentence almost a whisper.
The red head looked at her intently for some seconds before he smiled. "No matter what happens, we'll always be together. I promise, from the bottom of my heart."
Though she was surprised by his answer, she still managed to smile. "Thank you. I hope you wouldn't think I'm forcing you. If you wanted to break that promise, just tell me so that it wouldn't be hard for you."
"I have no intention of breaking it. But… can you promise me the same thing?" he asked seriously.
She sighed before she answered. "Of course. I promise that, as well. We'll always be together, no matter what. I promise, from the bottom of my heart."
Both of them shared a smile that turned to laughter. A few seconds later, fireworks began exploding to the sky decorating it like flowers spread in the night.
I could only hope the strength to fulfill that promise won't simply vanish like the fireworks, Riya thought as she watched the fireworks display along with Kurama.
The red head later came near Riya and placed his right hand over her right shoulder, thus embracing her in the process. Though the girl was indeed surprised, she didn't show it. She didn't say anything. Instead, she snuggled close to him and placed her head on his chest. Kurama smiled inwardly at that gesture.
I hope I could protect you from all the pains you might feel, Riya. I'll do that as long as you're here to give me strength to protect everything and everyone I care about in this world. That way, I could fulfill my promise to you, no matter what happens… Kurama thought as he glanced at Riya for some seconds before he began the fireworks.
Watching fireworks display with the one you love is one of the most romantic scenes… well, at least for me. Hehe! I just love this chapter because of that.
Please review after reading. I would definitely appreciate that. ^_^
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