"In what way was it right?"
Megumi was at a loss for words. She knew he would clarify further on what she had replied to his initial question. But she just wasn't prepared for it.
Why DID she do it? Just WHAT exactly made her decide it was the right thing to do?
Megumi searched frantically for an answer but she just couldn't come up with anything.
"I'm waiting…"
Megumi rolled her eyes up to try to get a glimpse of Yahiro but she didn't dare to lift her head. She didn't really need to see him to guess what expression was etched on his handsome face. She knew him all too well.
He was getting impatient. Really impatient.
Megumi still had no idea what to answer him. Heck, she herself didn't even know why she did it! A part of her just immediately screamed at her to do what she did. It felt like a reflex. She had no real conscious control over it. She just… did it. And to her, at that moment in time, it just felt so right.
"Megumi."
Megumi subconsciously looked up at the mention of her name. It sounded so desperate that she couldn't help but look towards the source of the sound. The sight she saw, however, was heartbreaking. Never in her life had she regretted looking at Yahiro so much.
Yahiro was looking at her with so much emotional turmoil evident in his eyes – hurt, anger, confusion… Sadness?
Megumi tried to blink away the tears threatening to fall from her eyes. Yahiro was sad? And it was because of her?
"Why?" He asked again. But this time, it wasn't as angry and as demanding as before. He sounded breathless, confused and in pain.
Megumi couldn't stop her tears from falling any longer. She wanted to hug him and tell him she was sorry. She wanted to erase everything that had happened this day to stop him from hurting any longer. She wanted to turn back time and redo everything she had done wrong. Or better yet, she wanted to take back ever thinking of asking him out since he was only going to be in more pain than he already was.
Megumi hung her head low and scribbled on her eraser board as tears fell freely on to it.
'I'm sorry…'
Megumi raised the board in front of her face to shield her freely falling tears from the Saiga heir. She heard him sigh out loud.
"You still haven't answered the question."
Megumi blinked a couple of times to try and clear her vision. She brought down the eraser board and began writing.
Yahiro watched her as she wrote but was surprised when he saw her slowly let the board and magnetic pencil drop down from her hands and onto the grass.
"W-What do you think you're doing?" Yahiro asked irritated. How dare she just drop his gift to her?
He was about to protest further when Megumi suddenly stood up. Her head was low and because of their height difference, Yahiro couldn't see her face at all.
"I… I did it because I didn't want you to get hurt." Megumi replied in a shaky voice.
Yahiro's temperature went a hundred degrees up. "What the hell are you using your voice for? You-"
Megumi snapped her head up to look at the Saiga heir. This time, it was his turn to be heartbroken with the look Megumi was giving her.
She looked helpless. No other word could describe how she looked right now. She was completely and utterly helpless.
"Written words won't be enough to truly express how I feel. I need my voice." Megumi replied softly as she gave him a sad smile.
Yahiro's anger diminished a bit but his irritation was still intact. "I don't care! I bought you that eraser board so that you can conserve your voice! Weren't you the one who said that for the sake of singing, you'd do anything? Weren't you the one-"
"I don't mind losing my voice if it was for you!" Megumi firmly stated as a dark blush crept up her cheeks.
Yahiro was speechless. He just looked at the songbird in complete and utter shock.
"You…"
"I'm sorry if my actions at the Opera House hurt you." Megumi paused as she gave Yahiro a sincere look of regret. "I…" She paused once more. She knew there was a possibility that she would anger Yahiro again when she'd tell him this but she had no other choice. This was her answer.
"I didn't want to see you hurt because of… of Akira-san…" Megumi paused once more as she bowed her head to avoid Yahiro's gaze.
Yahiro's eyes widened in shock. "Y-You… You idiot! You didn't have to do that! What the hell were you think-"
"I know you still love her!" Megumi cut him off as she snapped her head up to look at him once more. She spoke with such resolve and firmness that Yahiro was forced to keep silent. "And although you told her that you no longer do, I know it's a lie! You just don't want her to worry about you. So…"
Megumi bowed her head as she paused to blink a few tears away. Her chest was getting heavier by the second and it hurt to even breathe.
"So you go on once more to play a role that would be most beneficial to her. You pretend that everything is already in the past and that she's nothing more than a childhood friend to you... But I know…" Megumi paused again to look at Yahiro in the eyes. "I know you still love her."
Megumi let out a shaky breath as she smiled sadly at him.
"I see you give her that look – the look that betrays your calm and nonchalant façade. The look that screams just how much she means to you… Just how much you love her…"
Megumi subconsciously clutched her chest. It was hurting so much.
"It's the look that I've been wishing you'd someday give to me."
"I…" Yahiro began but couldn't bring himself to say anything. Besides, what could he possibly say?
A moment of silence fell over the two – neither making the move to initiate a conversation nor even dare to look at the other.
Megumi wiped the remainder of her tears with the back of her hands while Yahiro looked at anything but her. Tension was in the air and it didn't show signs of leaving anytime soon.
When her vision became a lot clearer, Megumi caught sight of the eraser board and magnetic pen on the ground and mentally slapped herself for allowing it to fall just like that.
Yahiro glanced at Megumi through the corner of his eyes when he saw her move. She was bending down to pick up the fallen eraser board and magnetic pen. She dusted it carefully with the edge of her dress and Yahiro couldn't help but scoff at this. It was very un-lady like. Little did he know that it didn't really matter to Megumi that her designer clothes would be ruined. She'd give them all up in a heart beat for the gift he had given her - the eraser board.
Megumi once again began to scribble. Yahiro looked at her fully this time.
'It's getting late. I'll be heading home now.'
Megumi held the board in front of her face the whole time even as she bowed in front of the Saiga heir and began to walk away.
Yahiro stared at her back incredulously.
"W-Where do you think you're going?"
Megumi stopped and turned around as she scribbled on her eraser board. She raised it in front of her face once again to avoid any form of eye contact.
'Home.'
Yahiro's eyebrow twitched as he pointed towards a certain direction.
"The limousine is this way."
He watched in annoyance as Megumi scribbled some more and raise the board in front of her face once again.
'I can manage on my own. Good night.'
And with that message, she bowed and began to walk away again.
Yahiro's face turned red with anger. What the hell was this girl up to now?
Megumi heard loud, angry footsteps behind her. She was about to turn her head around when she felt a firm hand on her elbow. Not soon after, her body was turned to face a very furious Yahiro.
"What. The. Hell."
Megumi's eyes were wide in surprise. Yahiro had his signature murderous killing intent aura once again.
"I'm taking you home!" Yahiro stated demandingly as he dragged her towards the direction of the limousine.
Megumi could only blush once again.
The ride was silent and suffocating. The tension in the air was undeniable and it was extremely uncomfortable.
Megumi glanced at Yahiro through her peripheral vision. He was looking out the window and he seemed in deep thought.
Megumi sighed silently. Oh what she would be willing to give just to be able to read the Saiga heir's mind even just for a day.
Megumi and Yahiro were in such deep thought that they had only realized that the limo had arrived to Megumi's abode when the chauffer had told them so.
"Sir… We've arrived."
Yahiro glanced at the towering building beside them. They were there alright.
The chauffer was about to make his way out when Yahiro had called his attention.
"Can you both leave us for a moment?" He directed his gaze from his chauffer to his driver.
The driver and chauffer nodded their replies and headed out of the limousine.
Megumi gulped nervously. What were they going to talk about now?
Silence enveloped them both once more.
Megumi fiddled with the hem of her skirt as she tried desperately to calm herself down when she felt something hard hit her head. She squeaked in pain and clutched the side of her head as she glared at the direction when it came from.
She shifted her gaze almost immediately, however, when she saw the object that had hit her fall to the floor right in front of her – a Blackberry.
She glared at Yahiro with all her might. How dare he throw his Blackberry at her!
Yahiro was looking at her with a jaded expression. Oh he's done it now. Megumi was incredibly vengeful.
Megumi opened her mouth ready to scream her heart out to knock the living day lights out of the evil, conniving bastard of a man when she suddenly heard him spoke.
"That's for leaving me with the idiot Karino at the Opera House."
If it would have been a different scenario, Megumi would have laughed or swooned at the adorable look the Saiga heir was giving her. He looked like a disappointed spoiled brat who didn't get his way.
But Megumi was still very much vengeful. That Blackberry really hurt! She was still very keen on knocking the Saiga heir out but what he said next had caught her off guard.
"I admit." Yahiro looked away. "Seeing them together… Made me feel…" Yahiro paused, as if looking for the right word.
Each second of silence from him was torture for Megumi.
What was it? What was it that the felt?
Yahiro's next words, however, broke Megumi's heart into a million pieces.
"Sad? Jealous? Angry? Pathetic? Empty?" Yahiro spoke the words in an emotionless robotic manner as if analyzing which one was the right fit. "Or perhaps… All of it."
Megumi averted her gaze away from Yahiro and hung her head low. She had stopped breathing for quite some time now. Her chest was hurting like hell. But it hurt more to breathe. She wanted to get out of the car to save herself from further emotional pain. But her body wouldn't move. She felt rooted to the spot only able to blink. Even her tears refused to come. She was just... Frozen.
"I've loved her ever since. I don't even know if it would be possible to get over her."
Megumi silently choked as she struggled to breathe. Never in her life had she thought it was possible to feel this much pain. She wanted to tell him to stop talking and that she already understood what he meant but she just couldn't get her body to move. It was one thing knowing deep in her heart that Yahiro still loved Akira. But it was another thing hearing it from Yahiro himself. It was unbearable – the pain.
"But I know I eventually will." Yahiro paused.
Megumi's eyes widened in surprise. Did she just hear that?
"I came to the Opera House with you." Yahiro was now looking intently at Megumi. "I wasn't there for Akira or anyone else. I was there with you."
Megumi's eyes glistened with fresh tears.
"S-So… So it made me really angry when you left me there with the idiot Karino! Don't you ever do that again! I-I'll forgive you just this once!" Yahiro looked away as he blushed.
Megumi couldn't help herself anymore. She cried her heart out.
Yahiro panicked as he watched Megumi break down completely in front of him.
"H-Hey! W-What are you crying around for!"
Yahiro didn't know what to do. He simply had his arms out but he feared that if he touched her, he'd make things worse.
"H-Hey! I-I said I forgive you! O-Ok! I-I'm sorry then! I…"
Yahiro was in full blown panic. He slowly inched towards a hysterical Megumi and placed an arm on her shoulder hesitantly.
"P-Please… Please don't cry…"
Yahiro's words were so sincere and gentle that it only made Megumi cry even harder. Yahiro stiffened a bit when he felt her hug him but he soon found himself hugging her back.
"Sshhh… I-It's okay. Everything's fine now."
Megumi couldn't even begin to explain how happy she was just with those simple words Yahiro had told her. She was really hopeless. No. She was beyond hopeless. She had fallen way too hard she doubted she could break free anymore.
Just like that she was caught up in his actions again. Just like that he was able to make her emotions go into full blown turmoil. And just like that, he was able to make her feel indescribable happiness.
Just like that.
She really had fallen for him. SO HARD.
Megumi slowly opened her eyes and squinted. Why was it so bright?
She stretched a bit only to realize that she was lying on a bed. She immediately sat up to inspect her surroundings only to see that she was in her own room.
"A dream?"
Was everything about Yahiro a dream?
Megumi glanced down at her form only to see that she was wearing the exact same thing she wore during her date with Yahiro at the Opera House.
"It wasn't a dream."
Megumi's thoughts were cut short when she heard the sound of her door open. In came Ryu and Jun.
"You're finally awake." Jun said happily.
"Here's breakfast." Ryu placed a plate with bacon, eggs and toast on Megumi's bedside table, followed by a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice.
Megumi searched for her eraser board and found it right beside her. She began scribbling furiously.
'What happened?'
"You hit your head on your way out of the limo. Yahiro carried you here." Jun explained.
"What were you doing anyway?" Ryu questioned suspiciously.
Megumi scribbled on her eraser board.
'I guess I must have slipped…'
Ryu eyed her some more and was about to bombard her with more questions but Jun was quick to cut him off.
"You should change and get some more rest. An ice pack for your head is right there if you need one." Jun pointed towards an ice bucket on Megumi's bedside table.
Megumi mouthed her thanks to both men. She, however, gave Jun a looked of utter gratitude as he smiled at her before he closed the door.
Megumi inspected her head for any bumps and found one. It was courtesy of Yahiro's rock-hard Blackberry.
What had happened after that? She remembered crying her heart out and then everything just went blank.
Could it be that she fainted?
Megumi made her way out of the bed. She was about to stand up when something on her bed caught her eye.
The purse she had used for her date with Yahiro was open and an elegant looking envelop was popping from it.
Megumi scrunched her eyebrows and made her way towards it.
She read her name written on the envelop and began to pry it open. In it were two tickets to a Les Miserables musical next weekend.
Megumi felt even more confused.
As she slowly pulled the tickets out, a small note fell to the floor. Crouching down, Megumi snatched the paper and quickly read its contents.
She couldn't help but grin like an idiot.
Don't mess up this time.
- Yahiro
Oh there was definitely no way she would mess it up this time!
THE END!
Thanks so much for reading and supporting this story! I'm so sorry it took this long to finish it. College is a bitch. As for my other stories, I will FINISH them! I swear! Just please wait patiently. I'm really busy right now. It's 1:30 am already and I have a class at 7:30 am later and yet I still willed myself to finish this!
I hope I didn't disappoint you!
As for if I'll make a sequel, I'm not sure. But if I will, it probably wouldn't be anytime soon. I would appreciate it a lot if you would review and tell me what you think! Once again, I love you guys! Thanks so much for the support and praise!