Melamin (私の愛)

Sorrow and Comfort

Melamin (私の愛)

Opening: Me Against the World-Nightcore

Chapter Eleven: Sorrow and Comfort       

Sakura sat on her bed, sobbing into her pillows. It irked her that she couldn't remember why she was crying. Something inside her told her she was missing something, something important. She was startled out of her reverie as a knock sounded at her door. She opened it to see the postman standing there. She thanked him, accepted the bills and walked inside. She tore them open. They were her bills and Kensui's. As she looked over the bills, including a note from the landlord about patching a few holes in the walls, her eyes began to shine angrily.

“KENSUI!!!!!!!!”

She gathered up her purse and keys, with bills in hand, and walked out the door, locking it behind her.

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Harumi Osinaka.

That was the name on the gravestone.

Ushio stood in front of her friend's grave with an umbrella in her hand to shield herself against the heavy rain.

"This isn't fair..." Ushio uttered to herself. "Why did she have to die like this?" She stared at her empty hand. "I had all that power back then and yet... I couldn't do anything to save her."

"Visiting again?" A familiar boy approached, his shoes soaked from wading through the muddy grounds.

"Satomu...” Ushio turned to him. "You're here again? Why do you keep visiting when I'm here?"

"Because you need someone to be with you right now." He answered, standing next to her with his own umbrella. "Kensui has Mela, so he doesn't need me to cheer him up. But you..."

Ushio gripped on her umbrella tighter.

"You lost your dearest friend." Satomu continued with a heavy breath. "She was such a great girl. I forced Kensui to ask her out because I thought that she'd break him out of his shell. So bubbly and cheerful..." He reached his hand out and held hers. "You can cry all you want; I'll lend you my shoulder."

She smiled behind her tears. "Thank you..."

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The rain was pattering against Kensui's bedroom window as he lay in his futon, restless. For the past few days he had been unconscious, and for that reason alone, missed Harumi's funeral, an act he couldn't simply forgive himself for. There had been holes in the walls to prove it, but the landlord had already had them patched up. It was the weekend and he had been given some time to rest alone at home with Mela's company.

Three knocks on the door and Mela entered. For the past few days, they hadn't had the courage to speak with one another. It seemed one of them had found theirs at the moment.

"Kensui..." She nervously moved to his side.

He remained silent, almost seeming to be dead.

She fell on her knees. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. It was because I invaded your life that this happened." Tears began pouring out of her eyes. "That girl, Harumi, she would have still been alive right now if it weren't for me...!"

"Stop bringing yourself down, Mela." Kensui sat up with dull eyes. "You had nothing to do with her death."

"You're right." Mela's hands were trembling. "I... I didn't do anything to save her. I just stood there, powerless. Even with my abilities, I..."

"Stop it. Please." Kensui stepped forward and hugged her. "It's not your fault."

"You really cared for her, didn't you?" Mela muttered as she wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Y-Yes..." Kensui replied, albeit with a miserable tone. "She was a good friend before Satomu forced me to ask her out. She was annoying with her pestering at first but slowly, day by day, I started to look forward to her pestering." He gulped. "But now she can't pester me anymore... I liked her, I really did."

Mela closed her eyes tightly as he spoke.

"But... I never knew what love really felt like till I met you, Mela." He said. "You won't leave me too, will you?"

"I would never." She smiled as she leaned back and kissed him.

The rest just came naturally, though they had never done anything before this. Before they knew it, they were lying in each other's arms, with a smile on their faces.

Their moment of silence was put to an end when they heard a familiar voice. "Mela! Where are you?" Lakilea called out. "We've got news for you!"

"Oh no..." Mela crawled out of the bed and grabbed her clothes. "Just a minute!"

And in precisely 'just a minute', she put on all her clothes, leaving out the undergarments and confronted her father, though her shirt was inside-out. Worse, it was Kensui's shirt, not hers.

"Where's Kensui?" Lakilea asked her.

"He's inside." Mela stated as she approached him.

"We have big news." Estela said happily. "Apparently, by elven law, a couple must court for a year before they may marry, meaning this marriage is null and void."

"What?!" Kensui peered at them from behind the bedroom door, making sure they didn't see his naked body which only wore a pair of boxers with heart prints.

Lakilea waved his hand, causing the rings on Mela's and Kensui's hands to vanish and then they coalesced back into one ring and appeared in his hand.

"H-Hold on...!" Mela tried to reason with her parents, devastation striking down on her.

"Don’t look so down, Kensui. This is what you wanted!" Lakilea waved at Kensui as he grabbed his daughter's shoulder. "Have a good life!"

"Farewell." Estela bowed at him.

Kensui ran out of the room, not even caring what the two would think. "WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIT!"

But it was useless. The royal family had vanished into thin air. Vanished out of Kensui's life.

Kensui slumped over the ground, staring blankly at the floor below him. "Why...? After you said you would never leave me..."

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Astald had a smile on his face. For once, something actually went his way.

"Great. Just great." He mumbled to himself. "That human is out of the way, like he should have been. I haven't forgiven him for taking the lives of Genchi and Genkai, but I'll leave him alone. After all, he doesn't factor into my plans. At least with their marriage over, he doesn’t."

"Who... Are you talking to?" A fellow knight who was leaning against the wall behind him gave him an awkward look. "And what the hell are you talking about?"

"Nothing." Astald shrugged. "Nothing at all."

Closing: Listen to Your Heart-Nightcore