Enjoy the time

[Deleted]

((OoC: Open to any and all. ^_^ ))

A nice sunny California day for all the residents of Long Beach to enjoy and go about their business, be it the weary of work or fun in the sun. One such person was young Zachariah who was still struggling with the effects of his recent starvation during his flight around the world to avoid his problems. He had since returned to the city he called home but was still as he always was, a ghost amidst the crowd, even in school despite being the Student body president. This had been his way since he arrived, sure he wanted to help other students but the violence made it hard since he wished for no part of it. That fact had become more of a health concern given his frail state. He was starting to get back toward a healthier weight but still he was only one hundred thirty-three pounds and six foot three inches tall.

Never the less the young man had made his way to a park near his apartment to sit and relax while watching the various people go about their days. He had brought a small loaf of sliced bread and after finding a nice bench to sit on he began to toss little scraps for the local birds to eat. Soon they gathered around the tanned boy who wore the large bright white coat he always wore and began to nibble at the bits. A benevolent smile graced the features of the boy as he watched the small creatures eat, bright green eyes filled with a heart-wrenching gleam of sadness. All the while the light caught in the coat seemed to give him an angelic glow as he continued to sit and introspect.

[Mitsuki Park]

OOC: >>...this is after Mitsuki gets back from Japan. XD

It was nothing but pure coincidence that Mitsuki had spotted Saint - or someone who looked like him, anyway. His coat gave off a radiant glow, reflecting that of a white sun. She was simply out, taking a stroll, taking some time to think. Eyes slightly pink from the lack of sleep, as she was once again awake during the fourteen or so hours on the plane ride back to California. Jet lag was horrible; she had no idea what day it was, or the time. She would have gone straight home, but her..brother was expecting her a week from today, and didn't feel like giving him an hour long explanation as to why she came to an earlier flight.

She approached him, taking her time, before settling herself on the other side of the bench, shoulders dropping slightly due to the lack of strength. She did not bother looking over at him; she just simply knew it was him - that familiar aura.

She didn't feel awkward with the silence; more calm, actually. Though, she had a reason why she approached him, and he probably knew that reason as well.

[Deleted]

For a long moment Saint spoke no word and gave no real acknowledgement of Mitsuki’s presence. It was not to be rude, far from it, he just wished to enjoy the simpler moments for just a bit longer and was hesitant to speak about any school matters that might arise. The birds continued to peck away at the food provided to them without a care. They flew to and away as they pleased with nothing but the occasional breeze to provide even the most remote opposition. With a gentle sigh, Saint tilted his head back with a delicate sad smile gracing his face.

“How nice wings would be… the ability to fly high above the earth with not a care but for a wayward wind. Able to soar to the tops of the clouds and to the farthest shores, to drift on the breeze and let it carry you away from everything in an instant. How small must everything look for up there…”

Of course, Saint’s little speech was completely rhetorical and more of him thinking out loud than actually speaking to Mitsuki. He let that sit out there for a moment before he scattered a bit more bits for the birds to feast upon. The reason for his delay was so the captain got a sense of his mood and where he was mentally before they started to perhaps more pertinent matters. After another few moments the student body president turned toward the captain with a genteel expression on his face.

“You really should get more rest, you looked better when you are rested. I don’t want to have to worry about you not taking care of yourself, Mitsuki.”

[Mitsuki Park]

She didn't know how to reply. Of course, it would have been nice to have wings, and just fly away from all your problems, but sometimes, running away wasn't exactly the best answer. Sometimes, it only created more. But that was exactly what Mitsuki was doing, wasn't she? Running away? She should turn her weaknesses into her strengths...should.

"..jet lag."

Said in a slightly dismissive tone, uncaring, almost. There was no mask covering her face, it was probably somewhere in her bag, which she accidentally left at the airport, now that she thought about it.

Her mind wandered back over to Saint - where had he been? Again? As much as she wanted to know, she would not ask. In a way, she sort of already assumed what was happening. Something happened - mostly something unpleasant - that caused him to leave the city - state, country, even - abruptly, without any notification. She's done it before, and she knows that people do it all the time.

"...mm..worry about me? If I'm not mistaken...you're the one who disappeared for quite a while."

Slight pause; she realized what she said, and mentally sighed. She must have been tired, as she was no longer thinking before speaking. She was going to mention the sad smile gracing his face, though held back. Perhaps later, when they were more acquainted, she would ask.

[Deleted]

There was a small nod of understanding from Saint as Mitsuki mentioned jet lag, he’d come across his own fair share of it in the past. While he listened Saint continued to feed the flock of assorted birds that surrounded the area. His mind kept churning about with observations of a more philosophic content that was based on the very creatures before him and people were the same in many ways… that all came to a crashing halt when his absence was brought up. With that came the reason and all the events that lead to it, he froze for a moment, a ball from in his throat. He swallowed hard and put on his mask, the gentle smile and glowing eyes that tried to hide the pain.

“True… but I returned not too much worse for the wear.”

Now, he needed something to change the subject and luckily there was such a topic right out in the open that had always peeked his curiosity. The student body president turned to gaze at the captain and inquired into the matter.

“You look nice without that mask on… may I ask why you wear it so often?”

Not subtle but frankly he didn’t feel he needed to be, she never seemed one to press certain matters… at least not with him.

[Mitsuki Park]

Saint carried a very nice..aura. A feeling where you could just dispatch all your worries for the time being, and just carry a steady conversation. Part of her was curious, though the other part was slightly afraid of the reasoning behind his disappearances. It was in the air; as calm as the day seemed, it felt almost depressing, in a way. It was hard to describe. The sudden depressing feeling only came up after she mentioned his sudden disappearance; his second one. Though, the topic was switched toward the change in her appearance. She wasn't very fond of the memories and story about the mask, so when he mentioned it, she remained silent for the time being. She had forgotten all about it until now, with all the recent events that had been going on. Funny how things work..

"It was a promise."

It was an honest, straight forward answer.

"Do you do this often? Come to the park and feed birds?"

It was her own question to change to topic, though she was still curious none the less. It seemed like a relaxing thing to do.

[Deleted]

The student body president nodded slightly at Mitsuki’s answer, simple enough. Of course there were certain parts he could inquire into such as to who or for what reason but the silence before her answer told him not to. If he were to find out it would be when she opted to tell him without being asked, that was how he liked to do things… without pressure or prying. It was better that way, no one wanted someone to force painful memories to the surface. Of course people always say it is better to talk about it, and it possibly was, however Saint disliked causing anyone pain to the extent he would not do so even to do good.

“When I have the time… its relaxing… peaceful. Don’t you agree?”

As the young man spoke he extended his hand toward the flock of fluttering birds. One found the courage to fly up and perch on the finger on the outstretched limb to peck at the bits of bread that were in the palm. Saint was no threat to anyone. He raised the opposite hand to gently pet the bird’s feathers. A shame it would have to come to an end… but he had to visit.

“Would you mind coming with me somewhere?”

[Mitsuki Park]

She wished she could do that; just outstretch her hand and let a bird fly onto her hand, but she knew that it wouldn't. They wouldn't, simply because Mitsuki was Mitsuki; she never gave off pleasant feelings - she was simply there. That, and because Mitsuki simply had a feeling, pure instinct, that if anything, they would fly away from her. Blank eyes watched the other birds pecking at the food on the ground, her head nodding silently. She agreed that this was very calming, that this was a peaceful place. An unusual hobby, just sitting there, feeding birds. Would this be considered bird watching?

"No, I don't mind."

Said very quietly, as if she were almost that her voice would scare off the birds. Slowly she came to her feet, carefully keeping her distance so she wouldn't bother the birds feed on the bread crumbs on the ground. She peeled her eyes away and looked toward Saint, as if waiting for him to lead the way.

[Deleted]

“Well little friend, I have to go.”

Gently the young man adjusted his fingers as he spoke to give the bird to the signal to fly away and it did. Slowly he rose to his feet so that he would not frighten the birds with sudden movements and made his way toward where Mitsuki stood waiting. He motioned in the general direction of where they were going, to where the taxis were, because it was a long way to the destination. Zachariah craned his head back slightly as he walked as though to catch the passing breezes and the rays of the sun.

“We will have to make a short pit stop first, if you don’t mind.”

When they reached the park exit beside the road, Saint would hail for a cab to take them where they needed to go, a certain flower shop that was no the way. All the while he was preparing himself mentally for the trip, becoming quiet and in many ways reserved. He no longer to great effort to hide the gravidity of this trip to him.

[Mitsuki Park]

Her eyes looked over in the general direction, trying to picture what shops were over in that side of the city. Though being half awake, she wasn't even entirely sure if he was taking her to a shop in the first place. Her feet slowly picked up by themselves as she trailed a few feet behind Saint, watching him motion for a taxi, a slight frown appearing on her lips, though immediately disappeared, as though it never happened. Mitsuki was always one to fall asleep during car rides, no matter how short or how long it was, she always seemed to be able to doze easily in a car. Nevertheless, she stepped in and leaned her head against the window, her body leaning against the door.

The car ride was silent. She must have fallen asleep, because the next thing she remembered was the car coming to a stop in front of a flower shop. Dazed eyes looked up at the title before looking over at Saint, a curious look lingering in her eyes...

A flower shop?

She could not help but think where their final destination would be. Why would one buy flowers? In an act of celebration, or an act to mourn? Buying flowers weren't something you did occasionally; she could only hope that it was one to celebrate, but due to the silence and that negative feeling at the park, it was almost like lying to yourself of an obvious truth. Still, Mitsuki shouldn't assume. So with her eyes closed, she opened the car door and stepped out of the vehicle, wondering what flowers he would buy at the shop.

And wondered if she should buy them too.

[Deleted]

For a moment Saint noted the fact that Mitsuki had fallen asleep and laughed partially to himself, he wished he had a blanket to put over her. Nonetheless they arrived at the flower shop that he had requested and the young man politely requested the cabbie wait while they went in, the man was nice enough to oblige. When the pillar caught the questioning glance his superior was directing his way he simply smiled in return as too say … yes. Without a word Saint stepped from the car to make his way into the shop that had an abundance of floral arrangements scattered about the many shelves.

It may have seemed like he had just picked any flower shop in the area but he had actually picked this very one for a particular reason, it had the flower he needed. A blue rose. He made his way up to the counter and requested two of them, since the two students were the only ones present the attendant went into the back to locate them. Meanwhile the student body president made his way back to the displays of flowers and went about smelling and gazing at the delicate plants. He picked up one, a snow white tulip, and went to place it in Mitsuki’s hair, tucking the stem behind her ear.

“There.”

[Mitsuki Park]

She watched Saint go to the front counter of the flower shop while Mitsuki remained near the entrance, her eyes then lingering toward the floral arrangements, giving the shop a most wonderful aroma; one that could make any fall into a deep slumber. She started walking around, bending her knees at flowers to catch the scent. As far as she was concerned, there were meanings behind these flowers, no? It's too bad they didn't have a tag on them, explaining what the flower meant. It would have been nice to read.

She stood and looked over at Saint, who was walking toward her with a flower in hand. What were those called? Tulips? Well, that was certainly a fast trip; she figured that he would've bought a bouquet for wherever they were going, but if you think about it... A single flower can make just as big as a difference. Of course, after he placed it in her hair...

When he tucked the stem behind her ear, his hand would have brushed against it, and she could not help but think of when the time he brushed his hand against her ear, that one time. Though only for a brief moment, Mitsuki looked up at Saint - which makes you wonder why all the guys were so tall in this area - eyes blinking once in slight confusion. Was this an act of friendship?

"Thanks."

Eyes catching movement, she looked over at the employee who had two..blue roses in his hand?

...blue?

[Deleted]

“You’re welcome.”

Saint said relatively quietly before turning back to see the florist had returned with his request. He figured it would have seemed odd to anyone that he would get blue roses, but it would become more apparent why if she knew his middle name. He never told it to anyone mostly because it was odd to include your middle name in an introduction but also because he always found it to be an awkward name. Blu… still even as orphan he would have been able to figure out the favored flower.

Walking up to the cash register, young Zachariah took the two roses in his hand with a thankful nod while asking for a bottle of water as well. Once he had everything the young man paid for the three flowers and the water before turning back toward the exit. He said it was going to be a short stop, didn’t he? Now all that was left was the final destination… how true.

Once they were back comfortably inside the cab that had been waiting, Saint would give the driver the address of where they were going and they would be off. The young man would slowly drift into his own world while staring out the window. The cab would make its way through the city streets to the address indicated and the cemetery that was there.

[Mitsuki Park]

It was a very short stop; they were in and out of the shop in minutes, and Mitsuki once again found herself in the cab, forehead pressed against the window as her eyes looked lazily at her surroundings. She kept a note of where they were going, not because she was curious as to where they were going, but because she didn't want to drift off into a land of sleep. Of course, her mind began to wander over to the blue roses that Saint was currently holding; why blue? Every flower had a meaning, correct? What did the blue rose mean? More specifically, what did it mean to him?

As the cab came to a halt, Mitsuki found herself staring off into a slight distance at a cemetery. She had been staring at the area for a bit before exiting the cab, lightly closing the door behind her. She turned her back against the cemetery and toward Saint, a rather tired look veiling over her eyes to cover other emotions that were unnecessary at the point. She had just come back from a certain grave, and a part of her didn't want to go to another. The other part was just unsure.

[Deleted]

Saint stared at the ominous rows of grave markers and headstones that covered the land before them. He was visibly shaking, his eyes shifting slowly to the delicate flowers in his hands. Swallowing a large lump that was forming in his throat, the young man lifted his gaze to the cemetery again as he spoke with a voice drenched in pure repressed sadness.

“This is why I was gone for so long… if you really want to know all you have to do is follow me. If not… you can wait if you’d like…”

With that he took off down the path with a determined stride. It was not a very long walk, a mere few minutes before the student body president halted his march before a tombstone that was covered in wilted flowers, amidst this was a small ornately designed vase that held a blue rose that had seen brighter days. The inscription on the stone read:

A beloved mother and teacher
Taken before her time
To live amongst Angels
Clear Stephanie Rose

The dates below were separated by a meager thirty-five years apart. Saint crouched before the tombstone and removed the old rose before dumping out the old water to refill it with the water he had just bought. He slipped the roses into the vase and placed it back down as his hair fell forward to cover his eyes.

“Sorry it took me so long to come visit, mom… I… I’m sorry.”