MELMOTH@argonet.co.uk

After being beaten about the head and shoulders for my previous attempts to 
post this with 'big lines' this should finally be the one that gets through.

It does turn into a romantic comedy, eventually, after the introductory bits 
are out of the way, so please bear with me while I set up my the characters in 
my little crossed-over universe.  Incidentally, I apologise in advance for my 
ever so slightly purple prose.


                An Affair to Remember
                        or: TV Dinner

Tsubasa tied the ribbon around top of her ponytail and let the 
sky-blue strips of silk fall to each side.  She was proud of her 
hair, which reached halfway down her back was a striking shade 
of red and always brushed to a satin sheen.  Tsubasa knew that 
everyone noticed her hair, and she intended to keep it that way, 
feeling that it was her one true attractive feature.  She was a 
little short, and had always been naturally retiring with 
strangers, waiting to be noticed before engaging in any kind of 
socialising, something she had never considered her strong suit.
Standing up from her dressing table, she smoothed the 
creases in her blue and white sailor dress with both hands and 
tossed the long lock of crimson back over her shoulder, smiling 
to herself in the mirror and making a mental note, as she did 
every morning, to make today the best day so far.
After a tension relieving stretch, Tsubasa looked up at the 
poster on her wall and blew a kiss toward the pretty face that 
mugged cheerfully down from it.  The face belonged to a model, 
name lost in the mists of time, who had briefly advertised 
perfume before disappearing into obscurity, and who Tsubasa 
had fallen in love with at age twelve.  She'd kept the poster, and 
had come to regard the face as a secret special friend, someone 
to confide in who would listen but could never tell.  Tsubasa 
told all her secrets to her friend, and had never learned to trust 
anyone in real life enough to want to give up the face on her 
wall.
Pausing by a chest of drawers on her way to the door, she 
lifted a small ceramic giraffe which had fallen on its side to 
stand it straight up, noticing with disappointment that one ear 
had chipped off, and was now sitting in a tiny circle of white 
dust in glaring contrast to the dark polished wood of the chest.  
She'd been given the statuette by Toriko, with whom she had 
been close for a few months, but who she just never spoke to 
anymore.  Funny, she thought to herself, how they'd drifted 
apart.  The last time she had spoken to Toriko her friend was 
telling her that she had a boyfriend now, and they couldn't see 
as much of each other any more.  They could still be friends, 
sure, just not special best friends, and why don't you come over 
on Saturday?  Tsubasa had gone round that weekend, but Toriko 
wasn't there and Tsubasa had picked up a fist sized stone and 
thrown it through the glass of the front window.  She 
remembered clearly hearing a dull crack from within as some 
prized artifact smashed, the exact nature of the casualty 
unknown as the sound was drowned out by the falling fragments 
of glass.
She'd wanted to show Toriko her new shoes, but now she 
couldn't, and next time they wouldn't be new anymore, so on 
her way home she kicked up mud and turf, ruining the sparkling 
white leather with streaks and smears of brown and green, all 
the while half blinded by a seemingly endless stream of hot salty 
tears that stung her cheeks and dripped from her chin onto the 
scuffed and toes of her wasted pumps.  Toriko avoided her after 
that, and soon her family moved away and that was the last 
Tsubasa ever saw of her first living, breathing love.
Tsubasa simply brushed the cracked fragment and its 
surrounding cloud of powder into her hand and tipped it into 
the waste paper basket beside the chest, telling herself that 
nothing was going to get her down today.  She would put bad 
memories behind her and live life in the present, making the 
most of whatever new opportunities came her way.
Today was Tsubasa's fifteenth birthday.
*	*	*
Shun ran the hairbrush through his silky, waist length hair 
and hummed a little tune of nothing to himself.  He was proud 
of his lilac tresses, and had come to appreciate the feminine 
look they gave him, perfectly complimenting his large bright 
eyes, full mouth and button nose.  These features, combined 
with his smooth unblemished skin and lilting, melodic voice, 
prompted male friends to tell him he was the cutest 'girl' they 
knew, after which they would blush and avoid eye contact for 
up to a week.
Despite their regular and vigorous protestations of non-
attraction, the other boys at school certainly found some appeal 
in Shun's physical charms, and he never found himself short of 
company, especially at meal and bathtimes, when he would rest 
assured of being surrounded with a smiling cluster of boys who 
would pass him salt, hold doors for him and always let him go 
ahead in the queue when there was spicy octopus for lunch, 
even letting him have the last of the curry doughnuts without 
complaint.
In fact, Shun was only ever alone when he tried to be, and he 
couldn't remember a time when he ahd been without friends.  
Sometimes he wondered what it would be like to eat by himself, 
or walk through the school or town without being accosted by 
friends, both familiar and occasional.  To be able to drop the 
smile for a few hours and be alone with his thoughts was all he 
wanted, but for now he was happy to make the most of his 
popularity.
He sighed to himself and set down the hairbrush, picking a 
few lilac strands from it and balling them, flicking the crinkly 
sphere into the bin in the corner, scoring a direct hit and 
flinging his arms up over his head with a yelp of victory.
'Yay!' He cried, a little too loudly, turning his face up as if 
saluting an imaginary stadium of fans, 'Two points for the home 
team!'  He waved to the invisible hordes and collapsed into 
giggles, quietly saying to himself, 'Basketball champ, yeah!'
'Shuddup,' a gruff voice ordered from the upper bunk bed.
'Can't,' Shun responded, 'I'm a Living National Treasure, 
Mister Hasokawa said so!
'Meant y'should go inna glass case.  'M tryin' to sleep, y'noisy 
girl.'
'Time to wake up, Suka sweetie,' Shun called back, 'Time to 
face another day.'
'Don't want to.  It's Saturday.  Leave me alone.'
A pause.
'Oh yeah, happy birthday,' the hidden figure mumbled, 'Top 
shelf.  Wardrobe.'
'Mmm?'  Shun wondered for a second before catching on and 
scampering over to his roommate's cabinet, usually a no go zone 
for him, but today, he was sure, the temporary home of his 
birthday present.  Standing on tiptoes he peered into the 
shadows of the highest shelf, spotting the corner of the box and 
feeling his heart skip a beat as he saw the size of it.  Wrestling 
the cardboard container down from its hiding place, Shun in his 
eagerness, pulled a little too hard and lost his balance, falling 
backwards onto his bed and tipping the contents of the box 
over his face and chest.  A number of gaudily wrapped parcels 
tumbled from within, some falling to the floor and others 
scattering around Shun on the powder blue quilt, one of the 
smaller ones rolling under the bunk and coming to a rest with 
and almost inaudible 'thok' against the far wall.
Shun rubbed his nose, laughed out loud and began gathering 
the gifts to him, picking up five in all and arranging them into a 
neat stack, next to which he sat crosslegged and called up to his 
slumbering friend, 'Suka sweetie, are these all from you?'
'Uhuh,' the sleepy voice replied, 'All f'r you, all fr'm me.  
Happy birthday 'n' shuddup.'
'Ah!  OK, I'm opening them now!  I'm opening the big one 
first!'
'Fine.  Don't tell the whole world'
Shun began to strip the multi-coloured paper from the largest 
of the parcels, square in shape, almost a foot along each side, 
and soft to the touch, which gave up its contents to him in 
three sharp tugs.  Inside was a large amount of pale pink wool, 
which unfolded to realise itself as a knitted sweater with a large 
character emblazoned in blue across the front.  The character 
was shaky and uneven, but Shun could make out that it said 
'Shun', although rather than his name it was the character for 
'genius', and Shun cuddled the soft woolen jumper to him, 
knowing just how much work must have been put into making 
it, even if it wasn't perfect.
'Did you make this yourself, Suka sweetie?'
Kazuya, now fully awake, leaned down over the edge of the 
bunk and attempted a bleary eyed half smile.  'Well I had some 
help,' he said, 'But yeah, I made it.  You like it?'
'Oh I love it, you're such a darling!'
Kazuya blushed and shrugged.  'I do my best.'
Shun returned to his activity and tore open the rest of the 
gifts in short order.  The second largest parcel presented him 
with a wide hair ribbon the colour of ripe cherries, followed by a 
book of poetry (that Shun had talked about incessantly for a 
fortnight), a stuffed white kitten doll and a bar of expensive 
looking dark Swiss chocolate.
Shun pulled the jumper over his head and tugged it down to 
his waist, covering the thin vest which was all that had covered 
his torso previously and relishing its softness and warmth.  He 
tied his flowing hair with the ribbon, nuzzled the kitten and, 
after placing the chocolate carefully beside him, flipped the 
book open at a random page.  After reading silently to himself 
for a few seconds he put the book down and beamed at Kazuya, 
pretty feaures underlined by a wide smile which seemed to glow 
from his face and light up the room.  He hopped up, scattering 
random shaped pieces of coloured paper from his lap and 
flinging his arms around Kazuya's neck.
'Thank you, Suka sweetie!' He sang, 'This is going to be the 
best birthday I ever had!'
With that, he gave Kazuya a kiss, aiming for his cheek but, as 
Kazuya turned his head for what he thought was a hug, instead 
pressing his pursed lips to the corner of Kazuya's mouth.  
Kazuya's lips were a little dry, and as Shun was beginning to 
draw away Kazuya's tongue darted out in an involuntary motion 
and moved across the slightly cracked skin of his lips, the tip 
running along Shun's soft lower lip and causing him to gasp and 
step back, blushing furiously and licking the slight salty taste 
from his lip.  He rembered himself quickly, though, and wiped 
his mouth on his sleeve, laughing and directing his attention 
out of the window while Kazuya turned his crimson tinged 
cheeks away and emitted a stifled snorting sound (which Shun 
corectly guessed was forced laughter), flailing his arms in mock 
disgust.
'Shun?' Kazuya said, after the two had stopped laughing.
'Uhuh?'  Replied Shun, who was biting his lower lip slightly 
and watching for shapes in the clouds.
'I really think it's about time you got yourself a girlfriend.'
'Uhuh.'
Shun smiled.  He was going to enjoy being sixteen.
*	*	*
Tsubasa trotted down the stairs to the kitchen and started to 
fetch herself some breakfast.  She had no mother to cook for 
her, and her father had left for work, as usual, some time before 
she had even awoken, and would return after she had gone to 
bed.  She wasn't sure exactly what he did, but it involved a lot 
of travelling, she was sure, and sometimes she thought he didn't 
come home at all.  The only assurance she had of his presence 
was the occasional stack of money left on the kitchen table, 
with which she would buy food, clothes and comic books.  
Perhaps one day she would stay up until he got home, maybe 
make him some tea and ask him what he did, but until then she 
would just fix her own meals and take care of things.
She had a school report card that needed signing, but she 
wouldn't want to trouble her father with it after all that 
travelling, so she signed it herself.  She could do his signature 
really well, and since he wasn't around to sign alot of the forms 
and so forth it was was a useful talent.  Anyway, he had much 
more important things to worry about in his job, whatever it 
was.
Another thing Tsubasa was getting good at was cooking, and 
breakfast consisted of a plate of pickled vegetables, miso soup 
with cubes of tofu, sliced seaweed and spring onions, a small 
bowl of steamed rice topped with umeboshi and a little grilled 
mackerel with strips of omelette sprinkled with dried seaweed 
and bonito flakes, which was more or less what she had every 
morning.  She hated the bitter misoshiru and sour pickles, hated 
umeboshi and it made her feel a little ill to have fish for 
breakfast, but she kept to the routine and ate what she thought 
she ought to, forcing it all down whatever her appetite told her.
As she dipped her spoon into the soup, she realised she had 
put the last four cubes of tofu in it, and there were four strips 
each of fish and egg.  There was no need to waste a single cube 
of tofu, but she must have done the last by accident, or perhaps 
subconciously, and others more suspicious might have seen it as 
a bad omen.  Tsubasa had learned never to worry about bad 
luck, however, always having believed that you made your own 
luck, and tucked in regardless, screwing up her face as she 
chewed and swallowed the wrinkled brown umeboshi as fast as 
she could manage and still keep it down.
When all the food was gone, Tsubasa gathered all the dishes, 
cleaned them and put them away in their proper places, 
drinking a glass of milk to get rid of the taste of vinegar and 
miso and washing her hands in hot water to remove the smell of 
fish and pickles.  She dabbed half-heartedly at a small brown 
spot of soup on her sleeve before deciding it was too small to 
worry about and started heading for the front door.  Poking out 
from under the refrigerator was a white triangle, which she 
stooped to pick up and found it was an envelope of thin card, 
well filled with what felt like tissue paper.  Just beyond the lip of 
the fridge door, in the darkness, was a small pineapple shaped 
magnet, which has obviously once help up the packet but 
hadn't been up to the task.  Pulling the envelope open with 
trembling fingers and pounding heart, Tsubasa withdrew a 
clutch of notes, counting out ten thousand yen in total, which 
she stuffed into her pocket, folding the envelope and dropping 
it into the bin with a flourish.  She knew what the day held now 
- she would go shopping.
Pausing by the door to slip into her shoes, Tsubasa headed out 
into the day, determined to buy herself all the things she wanted 
and make her birthday the happiest day of her life.

To be continued...


Mel-chan
-- 
|\ /| |,, |   |\ /| |,|,|, | | Now that my ginseng consumption has reached an
| | | |__ |   | | | | | |  |_| all-time high of 750mg a day, everything seems
| | | |   |   | | | | | |  | | somehow... fluffier.  Anyone like a cuddle?  
| | | |__ |__ | | | |_| |_ | | Melmoth@argonet.co.uk