Tales of Proposals
Hyoutei – Shishido Ryou
Elenniel
“Have you been happy?”
thought that was a rather strange way to start a conversation. No hello, or even the normal “how are you” exchange.
“I’ve been all right,” she said. “And you, Ryou? How have you been?”
He looked at her – straight in the eyes – and she wished she hadn’t asked. Then he turned and started walking in the opposite direction down the promenade. She followed him, slightly reluctant and yet compelled to.
It was an awkward situation; walking alone with the man she had broken up a year and a half ago and whom she hadn’t seen since. But their mutual friend had called at the very last minute (when they were both already waiting at the meeting place, to be exact) and said that he couldn’t make it, thus leaving them stuck there together. She had expected Shishido Ryou to just walk away without saying anything, but he hadn’t.
They walked in silence for a little while. wondered if he felt as awkward as she did. She had a suspicion he wasn’t entirely satisfied with her answer earlier too, so she decided to talk about something else.
“How are the others anyway? Oshitari-kun and Choutarou-kun and all?”
“Yuushi’s wedding was some months ago.”
“Ah! Yes, I remember he was engaged. To Suzuki-san, right?”
Shishido nodded, stuffing his hands into his pockets.
“That’s nice,” remarked . “She seemed like a really lovely person. How was the wedding?”
“Like any other wedding. Only less over-the-top than Atobe’s.”
laughed at that. She remembered the wedding of Ryou’s friend, Atobe Keigo. “Lavish” didn’t even begin to describe it. Everything about it had been the highest quality, the highest class. But then it was to be expected when the bride and groom were both incredibly rich – and when the groom, especially (to quote Ryou), “could be as vain as two peacocks. Or three.”
“I hardly think anyone could top that wedding,” she said. “And Choutarou-kun and Sayuri-chan?”
“Choutarou’s going to be a father soon.”
“Really? Wonderful! Is it a boy or a girl?”
“Don’t know.” Shishido shrugged. “She’s only about a month along.”
“Ah, I see.” gave a mock sigh. “I feel so old now. Everyone’s getting married or having kids. Even my younger brother has a kid already!” She chuckled. “Soon I’ll be a crabby old spinster.”
“That’s your own fault, you know.”
She stopped walking. His words stung, but he was right. All the same, she didn’t have to like hearing it.
He stopped as well, a few steps ahead of her, and turned back to gaze at her. She wanted to tear her eyes from his, to run away, to stuff her ears with her fingers so she couldn’t hear anything he said…. But he froze her with one word.
“.”
She had almost forgotten what it was like to hear him say her name. No matter how much she wanted to flee the situation, she now felt like she couldn’t. And somewhere in the bottom of her heart, she didn’t know if she really wanted to either.
“I loved you once,” he said. “And you know – you must know – that I still love you now.”
That was what had dreaded hearing. She thought she saw it in his eyes when she asked how he had been. She sensed that he was still in love with her. And she had known for some time already that she was still madly in love with him. But there was also fear. Fear of betrayal, fear of loss. Like how her mother had lost her father to another woman – even after over thirty years of marriage.
She was unable to speak. Doubt haunted her. How do you know he won’t leave you? How can you be sure he really loves you?
He took her hands in his. She looked down at their entwined fingers. “Ryou…”
He interrupted her. “.” His voice was low and quiet. “Will you marry me?”
She stood silently, her hands in his, Love and Doubt battling in her mind. And Shishido waited patiently in equal silence.
“I… don’t know.”
She felt cool air against her palms as he released her hands.
“I see.” He sounded pained, but drew a deep breath and exhaled. “I guess that’s that then.” Even in his attempt to sound normal, she detected deep disappointment. He bowed slightly. “It was good to see you again.”
As Shishido walked away, felt like all the oxygen was draining out of her. She knew that once he turned round the corner, she would never see him again.
Then her feet were moving, and she called his name.
He stopped and looked back – just in time for her to throw her arms around his neck.
“Don’t leave me.”
Two seconds later, warm arms enveloped her. “Never.”
He let go, only to take her face in his hands and kiss her like he’d never kissed her before.
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St. Rudolph - Kisarazu Atsushi
mara-chan
It had been a stupid argument. She didn’t remember who started it or what it was about in the first place, but they had each stormed off, both stubbornly refusing to admit their faults. And after a night of tossing and turning, she found herself standing in front of Kisarazu Atsushi’s apartment, summoned by a vague text message that might or might not have been an apologetic boyfriend. She wondered who would apologize first.
The door opened. “Atsu—oh.” It was Kisarazu Ryou. “Hi Ryou-kun. Where’s Atsushi?”
The older twin was already walking back inside and she followed him, long familiar with the apartment. “He said he needed to go out. He’ll be back in a minute.” He tugged the white cap over his hair, identically cut like his brother. In fact, the white cap had been the main reason she recognized him as Ryou and not Atsushi.
“Okay.” Maybe she would be the first to apologize after all. As she walked into the small kitchen, her eyes fell upon a new object on the table. “What’s this?”
Ryou barely glanced at it as he sat down. “He said it’s for you.” She picked it up, intrigued and bemused. “Hey. Can I ask you a question?”
“Hm?” It was a small box wrapped in pretty silver and ribbons. She wondered if she should open it now or wait. “Sure.” Wasn’t this his apology gift?
He pulled the cap over his eyes a bit. “If my brother asked you to marry him, what would you say?”
She fumbled the box and blushed, but there was no hesitation in her reply.
“I would say yes.”
There was a pause. “I see. Even though you’re mad at him?”
She smiled fondly down at the box, “No matter how angry or sad I get, I’ll still want to be with him. Because I love him and I’m happiest with him.” And it was the truth.
He abruptly stood up, the chair clattering. Striding over to her, she blinked as he gently covered her hands that were holding the box with his larger, warm ones.
“Ryou-kun?”
“Will you marry me then?”
For a moment she stood there in stunned silence, unable to register his words. And then, confusion and disbelief rammed into her like a lightning bolt, causing her to jerk her hands out of his light grasp and drop the box onto the floor. She stared at Ryou, who calmly gazed at her from under the white cap.
The doorbell rang. She bolted; knowing that her boyfriend would explain to her what exactly was going on, namely his twin brother who suddenly proposed to her out of the blue.
“Atsushi—” She broke off and stared.
It wasn’t Atsushi.
“Ryou-kun?”
The real Ryou standing on the doormat gave her a slight grin and nodded, “I came to get my hat back.” As he said that, the white cap flew over her head and he caught it deftly. “Hope it helped.”
She whirled around, “Kisarazu Atsushi!” and stopped. The fake Ryou was in front of her, kneeling on one knee. He was holding the unwrapped box in his hands, and she made a half-strangled sound as she realized what was going on.
Atsushi slowly opened the ring box, not looking at her. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry for tricking you. I’m sorry for being a coward. I’m sorry for making you angry and sad, and I apologize in advance for making you angry and sad in the future.” She stifled a choked sob as he looked her straight in the eyes and smiled heart-tremblingly. “But if you’ll let me, I’ll make up for it by being with you everyday for the rest of our lives. I love you.”
Tears fell from her eyes like crystals but she was laughing between hiccupping breaths as he plucked the elegant diamond ring from its holder. “And I’m happiest with you too. So I’ll ask you again.”
He held the beautiful ring in his fingers while reaching out for her trembling left hand gently.
“Will you marry me?”
And she smiled.
“Yes.”
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Rikkai Dai – Niou Masaharu
Marishka
“Hey babe…” said a tired voice from the phone receiver.
“You sound tired, dear” replied, with a worried tone.
“I work late, baby… But that doesn’t matter. I called to tell you that I love you, ” he said.
“I love you too”
---
That was four months ago. He left Japan for his dream as a professional programmer in the US.
On the day he left, you hugged him tightly as he kissed you lightly on your lips before he parted to board the airplane. He called almost every night on the first month when he was away to see how you were doing. But as the days passed, the calls became less and your apartment suddenly felt empty.
sighed as she shut down her MacBook. Her dream to become a graphic designer in the most established designing company was finally fulfilled when she received a letter from La Petit de la Madamoiselle Designs informing her of her success in become their employee two months ago.
She had the opportunity to work with the best people and also her designs had won a few awards by the Association of Graphic Designers Japan. But to , her achievement meant nothing to her.
Perhaps coming home to an empty apartment and eager waiting by the phone for his calls which never came everyday made her that way.
She spent most of her time in her office till late at night. She began to find reasons not to go home. She became more obsessed in her work just take away the pain.
But still, at the end of everyday, as much as she didn’t want to go home she still ended back at the place she dreaded to be. And still sat by the phone waiting because deep in her heart, still loved him and she believed that he felt the same way too.
---
As her mobile phone rang, sprang up from where she was and looked at her watch. She froze. It was 9.00AM and she was late.
She grabbed her bag and lap top and ran out from her house. It didn’t bother her that she was still in yesterday’s attire from work or that her hair was a mess. As she ran towards the closing elevator a few meters away from her apartment, she collided with a tall figure.
“Go-gomenasai!” apologized as she stood up and bowed to the stranger.
“Are you okay sir?”
The stranger made no response but pulled his hat lower and walked away from her.
stared at the back of the figure walking away from her and the continued to walk towards the elevator door that was opening. As soon as she entered the elevator, she let out a long sigh thinking of what her manager would say to her when she stepped into the office later.
“Ohayou, -chan” greeted an old lady.
“Ohayou obaasan”
“Where are you heading today, my dear?”
“To work, obaasan. I’m already late…” replied with an upset tone.
“Eh? On a Saturday?”
“Today’s a Saturday?” replied with a confused expression plastered on her face.
“You’ve been working too hard my dear. Youngsters nowadays shouldn’t work too hard”
gave a nervous laughed and scolded herself for being so careless.
---
As finally reached the 12th floor of her apartment after saying an embarrassing goodbye to the old lady at the ground floor, she walked slowly towards her unit.
She halted as soon as she reached her door and picked up a cream coloured envelope laying on the floor that was addressed to her. Curious, she tore open the envelope and read the letter.
Dear God,
I may have a lot of wrongs in my life but please grant
me this wish that I have been praying for everyday
of my life.
Please let me have as my wife.
Sincerely,
Niou Masaharu.
read the letter again slowly dropping the envelope to the ground surprised. As the envelope hit the floor, a diamond ring rolled out and landed in front of her. slowly picked up the ring and stared at it.
“So what is your answer?” a voice from behind said to her.
jumped and turned towards the voice. The figure she had collided with slowly approached her and removed the hat he was wearing. The man whom she had loved and longed for the past few months was standing right before her as handsome as ever.
“, what is you answer?”
A single teardrop rolled down from her eye as she smiled and ran towards him, hugging him tightly.
Kissing the soft lips she so longed for, she whispered into his ear.
“I will be yours forever, Masaharu”.
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St. Rudolph – Mizuki Hajime
Songbird
When was younger, a hop, a skip, all of it was the way that he danced around her heart. Always there but never inserting that final key to her heart. She supposed that she hadn't even realized how deeply she had fallen in love since most of her friends tried to shy her away from the "rumor-spreading" force that was Mizuki Hajime.
"You like him?"
"He's nothing but trouble! All he ever does is spread rumors and ruin reputations!"
So, though she tried to deny it and shut it away beneath locked layers of heart, it was still there.
There was once a time when the layers softened, however. It was the time that she first was paired with him on an English language project. He had such passion in his eyes...but something inside her still pushed him away. She hardly realized that by pushing him away so blatantly--doing things like not looking him in the eye, veering her very presence away from his, the whole shebang--that she drew him in and brought her closer. Mizuki wasn't used to being pushed off like some disease. Sure, some people didn't like his data-gathering methods, nor did they like what he did after he gathered it; however he was still always able to at least get the data out of them. He was handsome, he knew that. With a flick of his finger and a twirl of his hair, girls spilled every little secret to him.
Except this one.
The next few weeks, he tried using all of his tricks to court her, but without avail. The blockade in her chest just wouldn't break. No matter what he did, no matter who he asked, no matter how many pieces of chocolate--how many flowers he sent, she wouldn't have it. She couldn't have it. There was no way that she could, again, let herself fall for Mizuki Hajime. He was a trouble maker, right? He was too selfish, right? He would drop her at the snap of his fingers, right? The two of them purely weren't capable of love...right?
The next night was the one where she didn't come home, scared to show her parents her declining grades.
She had walked so aimlessly far that every house started to look the same. She remembered it, meeting Mizuki as the sun started to set. Somehow letting his crafty self take her into his home with the light touch of his hand leading her own. Dawning his flamboyant aprons because she had forgotten that it was night before Valentines Day. Making chocolates while breaking the doubts her friends had given her. Handing him the first piece of finished chocolate, watching the soft, non Mizuki like smile that appeared on his face. Leaning forward... leaning so painfully forward; almost letting her guard down, almost kissing him.
Quickly, she caught her falter and tried to exit. He stopped her, looked at her, stared at her, but in the end, he let her go.
Because, truthfully, he didn't understand it either.
How could she forget that night? It was the same night that she had to walk home alone, because the two of them couldn't even admit what had happened. The same night where the man approached her, talked to her, felt her arm, held the blade to her soft throat while unbuttoning her winter jacket. It was that night; it was all the same night.
And it was after that night, that she could never face Mizuki Hajime ever again.
But he wasn't about to just stand around and let that happen. At school, everyone knew what had happened, since one of her close friends had blabbed. He tried to see her at school, but she always seemed to slip right through his grasp. Finally, after two weeks of chasing, he decided that it was best to cut one of his classes and visit her. He put on his best face while he asked for her, and found out that she was in the bathroom. He followed her, waiting outside the door and listening to the grotesque sounds of her emptying her stomach into the school toilets.
wiped her mouth and looked towards the door. Mizuki stood and sat in silence. They each knew that the door was the only thing separating them from one another. She knew that he knew. She knew that he knew what had happened to her, how dirty that man had made her. But what would he do, if he knew what she had found out only one night prior? Drop her?
Mizuki couldn't take the silence. He knew she was there. He wanted--needed to see her face. "! Come out!" He banged on the door.
She jumped, startled by his outburst. Her mouth opened, but she couldn't speak. Slowly her hand reached for the bathroom door, pushing it open with an almost certain sense of uncertainty.
The moment her red eyes hit the site of his ebony locks, she broke into tears. "No Mizuki! You can't see me like this!" She yelled, trying to push back into the bathroom.
He grabbed her arms, almost like he had on that night, however didn't let her go. Instead, he pulled her closer. He felt her warmth; he let her know that it was all alright.
"No! You can't see me! Don't look at me!" She fought, trying to flail her arms from within his embrace.
He stayed quiet, holding her closer letting her cry.
"You can't see me when he--when I'm--"
", I think I--"
"Pregnant!"
Mizuki stopped, looking down at the broken figure in his arms. Her sobs became hysteric as her jumbled body finally lost all of its strength and started to slide out of his grasp and onto the ground. "With...his...?"
The volume of her sobs peaked, signaling he had hit the right spot.
He bent down, not caring about his suddenly shattered poker face. Lightly, his hand reached out and touched her chin. She was still crying with the same magnitude that she had been. "Marry me."
There was a hitch in her tearing and hiccupping. "W-what?"
His face looked hurt, as if he hadn't even realized how hard he had fallen for this girl within their game of cat-and-mouse. "I love you." He paused, looking directly into her puffy eyes. "Even before that night, I did. He didn't change that, he couldn't change that. I couldn't admit that I had actually felt something deeper than the high I usually got from chasing a girl. I want you to..." His free hand moved to her stomach, caressing it gently. "I want us to...always be together. Let me into your heart, please, because I swear--"
"I love you Mizuki Hajime!" She cried out, small tears forming in her already red-streaked eyes. "I tried to hide it, but I love you!" She started to breakdown into tears again, her voice almost hushed. "I want to spend forever with you." She looked up at him, returning his direct stare. "Ever since I saw you my first day in Japan, I--"
He kissed her. And instead of pushing him away, she let him. She let his hand steady her head and his other wipe away her tears. The last lock on her heart unlatched because of Mizuki. Neither had possessed anything to give and return love, but they did. Though that night was always seared into her head, that day was always carved into her heart. Crafty and coy, Mizuki had fallen. Locked up and in denial, she had too.
They pulled away, gasping for air and staring at each other.
"I do."
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Rikkai Dai – Sanada Genichirou
Summer
Sanada was practicing at the dojo but was not in the best of conditions; his concentration was dwindling.
Today was going to be an important day for him. He was waiting for his long-time girlfriend to come. How long had it been? They started going out since middle school.
Frustrated by his lack of willpower, Sanada took a deep breath, concentrating on the very last strike of his wooden sword and retired to his room.
He opened the drawer of his study desk and removed a red velvet box, clenching it tightly in his big palms. He was going to propose.
Sanada was usually a calm person, very strict and restraint. He was slightly nervous, wondering how his girlfriend would react. It was so unlike him, but perhaps it was only natural, he told himself. He had never done this before, and he wanted this to be the only once he had to do this, and would be the only woman he would propose to and love for the rest of his life.
He had asked Renji and Seiichi for advice; from the ring design, ring size to the proposal lines, the place to propose; plus all the minute details.
But, in the end, Sanada made his own decision. He was the one who had been going out with her for so many years anyway. Her beautiful smile and the way her eyes sparkled when she saw something she liked; the feel of her long delicate fingers intertwined with his; he was the one that knew her best.
“Genichirou, -san is here,” his mother called with a knock on the door before opening it. Sanada nodded in acknowledgement and gratitude.
“Genchirou!” greeted with a bright smile, twinkle in her eyes as she wrapped her arms around her partner’s. Sanada returned with a small smile. He was anxious, feeling the box in his pocket knocking against him as he led the girl to the dining area. It was now a routine for to join the Sanada family for a meal whenever she visited; she would even help out sometimes.
After a hearty homemade dinner and desert, Sanada decided it was time. He was feeling slightly out of it, and didn’t quite feel like himself. He reached into his pocket and took hold of the box. He coughed, catching everyone’s attention. His parents and looked at him; Sanada stood up and turned towards the lady beside him.
“Please marry me, ,” he said loud and clear while looking into her eyes.
was clearly surprised; Sanada had not shown a slightest hint. But she nodded anyway, she was very sure that this was the man she was going to devote her life to. It had been 5 years; they had been dating for 5 years. This time was not long, nor was it short. The more moments they spent together, the surer was of ‘them’ and of ‘marriage’.
Sanada’s lips broke into a smile. He took the female’s hand and slipped the gold band onto her ring finger. He looked up at her; she looked, happy. It was a different type of happiness, a newfound happiness. The happiness of a wife; his wife; Sanada pulled her into a tight embrace. His family members clapped; Sanada’s mother had been waiting for this day ever since he brought her home for the first time.
The couple exchanged a kiss before separating. Sanada held one of her hands and looked sincerely into her eyes, “I will take good care of you, .”
She could not come up with a better answer but just nodded in silence. She was going to entrust the rest of her life to this man standing in front of her.
“…I promise I will get you a more appropriate ring when the time comes. And we will hold the wedding ceremony after our graduation,” Sanada began telling her about his marriage plans, hoping to seek her opinions at the same time.
“Thank you for choosing me,” she said.
“And the same to you, my wife,” he replied, smiling gently.
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Shitenhouji – Shiraishi Kuranosuke
Linc
“Game. Set. Match.” The referee’s voice was a muted counterpart to the relief that pounded through her veins in tune with her heartbeat.
let out a sigh, tension flowing from her body as she watched her boyfriend of two years, Shiraishi Kuranosuke, raise his hands into the air in victory. This marked his third consecutive win for this tournament and it elevated him into the history books.
He laughed and chatted with his fans, signing off magazines, tennis balls and even some posters. Strands of his silvery-blonde hair clung to his face, a result of the long and tiring match he just finished. stood quietly in the shadows of the stands opposite him, near the corridor that led the players in and out, her hands playing with the bracelet that he had given her, a gentle smile on her face.
She watched as he signed one last ball before raising his hand to the crowd once more before exiting the stadium, stopping next to her. Silently and by unspoken agreement, they moved slowly towards his preparation room.
broke the silence first.
“Congratulations.” Her voice was soft, but Shiraishi could hear the pride and love contained within that one word.
He reached over and found her hand with his, giving it a gentle squeeze. His voice was equally quiet, “I play for you.”
There was nothing she needed to say to that. Shiraishi had dedicated every single win to her since they started their relationship. was so touched by that action that she could never find the words to tell him how exactly she felt.
Instead, as they paused outside his preparation room’s closed door, leaned over, reached up as far she could and kissed him softly, trying to convey her feelings. Shiraishi returned it, closing the miniscule distance between them and held her to him tightly.
They remained that way for a moment longer after breaking the kiss, just content with being in each others’ arms.
She pulled away first, opening the door and directing a smile at him over her shoulder, “Come on. If you don’t hurry, you’re going to miss your press conference.”
***
shook her head as Shiraishi cheerfully answered all and any questions directed to him by the mass of media that sat before him. Cameras flashed from all directions as he used his customary humor to charm his audience. She stood out of sight, once again in the shadow. Shiraishi had asked her multiple times to join him during these media interviews but she had refused. She liked to keep out of the limelight.
She stretched out a bit, knowing that since the questions were slowing down, the conference was drawing to a close. Her eyes closed as she took a sip from her drink, ear half on the final couple of questions she could hear and choked as one question rang out loud and clear.
“Are the rumors true about your engagement with ?”
felt her breathing become uneven and her heartbeat increase as Shiraishi deliberately looked in her direction and smiled, “Well… If you want an answer to that question, you’ll have to ask the lady herself.”
She choked once more and didn’t feel the presence of Shiraishi’s coach behind her until he had given her a gentle push forward. felt her cheeks redden as she made her way over to Shiraishi and the reporters started yelling questions at her, nonstop, voices overlapping.
Her gaze raking over the assembled group before her in something akin to panic, turned to her boyfriend only to find him lowering himself down on one knee before her. She felt her breath catch in her throat, disbelief flittering over her expression.
The sudden tension in the room was coupled with silence as every single person in the media congregation fell silent, eyes fixed on the couple before them.
Shiraishi’s voice, despite being soft, filled the entire room, “, you’ve been by my side for the past three years, walking each step of my journey with me. You’ve shared my successes and failures and remained by me through good and bad. We’ve laughed together, cried together and shared everything with each other except for this one thing.”
His gray eyes were darkened with emotion as he watched her unwaveringly, pulling out the velvet jeweler’s box and opening the lid. The diamond ring glinted at her under the lights. Her eyes filled with tears as her gaze met his.
“I want that final thing too; I want to share the rest of my life with you. , will you marry me?” Shiraishi’s voice had grown slightly thicker through the speech, finally choking slightly on the last couple of words.
The entire room waited with baited breath for her answer. As looked into his eyes, reading not only the love and devotion, but also the trepidation. She smiled gently, covering his hand with hers. It had never been a question in the first place.
“Yes.”
Today marked their third anniversary together. Her hazel eyes unfocused in memory; their first meeting was when he had won this tournament for the first time. It had been a case of instant attraction and she hadn’t been able to deny his charm. Their first outing over ice-cream and pancakes quickly turned into a succession of romantic dinners, each one more extravagant than the last. Soon enough, they were official, and both the happiest they had ever been.
“Thinking about me?” His voice was pitched low and was exceedingly close to her ear. looked up to see him bent towards her, before smiling ruefully and handed him a towel. Daydreaming like that, she had missed his post match interview. She took a quick glance at her watch and realized that Shiraishi was running slightly late for his press conference.
pushed him further into the walkway underneath the stands and prodded him until he started walking. Shiraishi, whilst allowing himself to be pushed and prodded, rubbed the towel through his hair as they walked back to his preparation room, away from the noise of the stadium.
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Proposal Themes
August 17th to August 26th, 2008