You Can: Epilogue
Disclaimer: I do not own Shugo Chara! Not in any way. See, if it was copy righted by me, there would be a little S the circle. Not a C. And until that happens, I don't own that goodness, aye? Catch my drift? Okay...
Kuukai watched as Nadeshiko dribbled the ball. A face scribbled with frustration as the the tall player infront of her kept trying to snatch the ball from her. Annoying and irritating. Every chance Nadeshiko could get, the other girl would just get in the way. And Nadeshiko would start back at square one. He glanced at her legs. Long and slim, going on forever, despite her petite figure, they looked steady and powerful.
"Go Nadeshiko!" Kuukai yelled along with the crowd, breaking out of his own trance. "You can do it! I believe in you!" Kuukai shouted. He quickly glanced at the timer.
Twelve seconds to spare.
Gritting his teeth, Kuukai turned his attention back to Nadeshiko to cheer her on. C'mon! Kuukai thought. You can!
:::::::
Panting heavily as I dribbled the basketball, I glared at the damn girl infront of me. Dammit! She was so tall! I swear she towered above me by a good six heads! Growling, I tried cutting pass her. She cut me off and I was stuck. Again.
"Get outta' my way!" I shouted as I continued to dribble the ball. Her peached skin accompanied her amber eyes as she gave me a sickeningly cat-like grin.
"No way pretty-face! Your ass is mine! And so is this game!" she countered. Bullshit! I wasn't going to let her talk her way out of this!
"Damn you!" I yelled as I tried cutting pass her. Blood pumped through my veins and my patience was going thin. This player was walking on thin ice! I looked at the clock and fear found it's way into my pale skin. Six seconds!? Six bloody seconds!? F-U-C-K I-T A-L-L. I knew I wasn't going to land this. I needed a team mate! Looking frantically, I saw everyone being blocked. The other girls ready to intercept. "Shit..." I mummered under my breath. This wasn't good at all. Were we really gonna lose in the semi-finals?
"I'm open!" Instinctively, I turned and watched Utau practically flailing her arms. I wanted to groan. Utau wasn't good at basketball! She was only on the team because she thought it would attract boys. Lucky for her, we were short players so she immediately was in. But,she could have been out only chance to win this game! And this was a chance I was willing to take! I passed it to her quickly. I know I aimed it perfectly! I know that this was in!
This bitch dropped the damn ball.
The timer went out and the girl infront of me smirked. Like I cared. She's lucky that I was too surprised at my comrade. What the hell? I thought as I pushed the other girl out of my way. I made my way to the bench, sighing in defeat. There goes the trophy for the championship we could have gotten. I grabbed my towel from Yaya and walked into the girls locker room. Depressed. This shouldn't be happening to us at all. "I can't believe this..." I mummered.
"Believe it!" someone snapped. I looked up and saw Utau scowling at me, her arms across her flat chest. Her long blonde hair tied into a pony-tail looked so fucked up. And her violet eyes seethed with anger. Preferably, to me since there was no one else in here, I'm sure. "It's all your fault!" Utau screeched. I stood up, infuriated with that accusation!
"How the hell is this my fault!?" I shouted, my fingers curling into a fist. "You dropped the damn ball!"
"You're pass was off! I'm not gonna catch that lame throw!" Utau yelled. Her voice echoed throughout the locker room. I bit my lower lip as I scoffed at her claim.
"That throw was perfect!" I remarked. "I resent that lousy comment! You could have caught it if you weren't such a butter-finger!" I flipped my long hair behind my shoulder. Who was she to say that my pass was bad!? "Besides..." I added. "It's only a game. We should be proud we at least made it this far." Utau growled at me.
"We didn't win! I didn't win! How is that to be proud of!?" she screeched. "You didn't even try hard!" I snapped.
"I did try hard!" I screamed. "I worked my ass off in that game! You can't tell ME that I didn't try hard! I practically did the most in that game!" Finishing my rant, I panted and looked at Utau who didn't seem to be affected by my comment at all. Not like I care. I know I tried hard. A slick silence made it's way towards us. The only sound being made was my breath.
"I bet you would have done better if those damn legs of yours weren't so damaged!" Utau commented as she spun around on her heels and left. I only saw her look around once to me as she neared the door, a satisfying smirk working its way on her face. Then, she left.
"I bet you would have done better if those damn legs of yours weren't so damaged!"
Burn. What a burn. Catching in a breath, I slowly sat down on a bench and looked over at my legs. They were working fine. Just fine. Ikuto even said so. Kuukai even said they looked healthy enough to play basketball. I know I did my best...
Didn't I?
"I did do my best." I said. Nothing. I felt nothing. No feeling came to me. Guess they were just words.
"You can." Hadn't someone said that to me once? And I'm sure I felt like I could do anything.
"I can..." … Nothing came to me. … Maybe Utau was right. Admitting that, my shoulders slumped. A new feeling crawled inside my body. A new and old feeling. A feeling I thought I made sure was gone forever.
I went to go look for Nadeshiko. I couldn't even catch her when the game ended. Can you believe it? She just seemed to disappear. And, yeah, I admit it. More than I wanted too, I was worried about her. She just lost the semi-finals. Well, the team. But it couldn't be helped. Walking down the hallway, I saw Utau storming my way. "Yo?" I said as she stopped infront of me. "Have you seen Nadeshiko?" I asked. Utau fumed at me.
"Nadeshiko?" Utau asked, almost bewildered. "I..." Utau pointed to herself, her eyes glaring. "Your girlfriend..." Her finger pointed at me. I almost winced. I forgot all about dating her since yesterday. "Am very upset that we lost because of Fujisaki! She really needs to know how to pass a ball!" Utau snapped. Hold on a minute though...
"But her pass was a pretty good one. Perfect even." I said, defending Nadeshiko. Defending her to my angry girlfriend. "There wasn't anything wrong with it Utau-chan." I added. Utau only seemed to grow more pissed. Oops.
"Perfect!? No! Kuukai! We lost the game because of her! I mean...if her legs worked more... The--" I cut her off.
"Please tell me you didn't mention her legs to her!" I asked. Showing more worry than I wanted to infront of Utau. And, maybe a little angry. And frustrated. And pissed off at her. "Please don't say you said something about her legs!?" Utau backed away from me.
"Yeah...and? So?" was her smart reply. That was the final straw.
"So?" I mocked. "So!? What the hell do you mean so!?" I shouted, losing my temper. "You know damn well she was in a hospital because of her legs!" She only put her nose in the air. One that was okay. And I admit, Nadeshiko can do it better. I have proof.
:::::::
"I really want to walk again. I can." she finished. I smiled as I leaned into her and planted a small kiss onto her forehead. I know she could. "Kuukai?" she asked. Reluctantly, I pulled away. Dammit. Couldn't she wait for a little bit to start talking?
"Yeah?" Her hazel eyes looked at me confused. Through the dark though, I could also see a smile appear on her angelic face.
"What're you doing?" I rolled my eyes. She almost died and she won't even let me kiss her? Let alone, that smile was making my gut flip inside out.
"Just this..." Whispering, I grabbed her forearm and smashed my lips against hers. Enjoying the cool sensation run through me, I commanded my hand to grab a chunk of purple hair on the back of her head and tilt her head in a specific angle. And soon enough, I felt her fists pound against my chest. Trying to pry her way outta me. No siree Bob. "Nof memf..." I mummered in the kiss and layed her in the grass. Damn, this felt good. Now if only she would stop struggling.
"K-Kuukai!?" she gasped as she turned her head away. "What the HELL!?" she yelled, glaring at me as I stopped myself for a few moments, catching a breath. I didn't need light to tell me she was flushed. The temperature of her skin under my wet body was enough. "W-we gotta stop this..." she muttered. Not what I wanted to hear. Fuck.
"Fuck..." I whispered and captured her lips again. "OW!!!" I yelped as I got up after feeling her pull my hair. I watched closely as Nadeshiko pointed her nose up into the air. I couldn't help myself. But it was a really cute pose. One I've seen many girls try yo master. Still, Nadeshiko didn't look like she had to try to make it look so adorable (A/N: I've made Kuukai so whipped...).
"It's what you get..." she croaked. Chuckling, I leaned into her and kissed the tip of her nose. "Bleh..."
:::::::
Snapping back from that treasured memory, I glared at Utau. "You hurt her feelings!" I continued. "Not just her feelings! Her pride! You, being part of the team, should that Nadeshiko is sensitive about her legs! You could have damaged her again! You have no idea what she's been through! Why did you hurt her feelings!?" I shouted.
"What about MY feelings!?" Utau yelled, tears slipping through her violet eyes. "Ever since she went into the hospital, Nadeshiko was all you could think about! What about me!? You do love me!? Don't you?" Utau asked. I looked away. I couldn't answer that truthfully in words looking into her eyes. I hoped this little action was enough. Enough to tell her I didn't love her like how I thought I did. It was only physical attraction. On my part. "Y-you do? Don't you? Kuukai babe?" Damn that nickname.
"I'm sorry..." I whispered as I pushed past her, not daring to look inside those puffy eyes of hers. I hate crying females. "But, I don't think this relationship is gonna work out anymore..." I continued looking for Nadeshiko.
"L-Locker r-room." I turned around and saw Utau, her back facing me. "She's i-in the locker room." Utau whispered. "T-tell her I'm s-sorry."
"No prob." I replied grinning. "Thanks!" I yelled as I ran straight for the locker room. Girl's of course. Sorry Hoshina.
I was truly disappointed in myself. Now that I really think about it, if I didn't damage my legs in the first place... We could have won. We could have been celebrating victory right about now. I cried. She didn't have to say anything about my legs. And she didn't have to relate them to basketball. She could have said something like:
"Your mom's a hoe, that's why we lost."
Something like that. And I could prove her wrong. I know I could. But why did she have to mention my legs? A feeling inside me made myself choke to get enough air to breath and I coughed. Salty tears found its way to my lips and I slumped to the floor. This shouldn't be happening. I know I was good at basketball. It was my everything. I know I could do it. I know I was better at it. At least better than her. Utau of all people...
My shoulders shook and I hugged my knees close to my chest. My legs didn't have anything to do with it. Did it? I know it couldn't have. So... Why did it hurt?
"Nadeshiko?" My head snapped up and I held in a breath. Kuukai. I could catch his laugh from a mile away. Why was he here? Whatever it was, I couldn't let him see me cry. I crawled around the locker room. Corny, I know. But anything to avoid him. "There you are." I yelped as I turned around. Facing my best friend who's eyes danced with enjoyment? "Nadeshiko..."
"Beat it!" I shouted. Kuukai only seemed to frown.
"But..." he started to say.
"No!" I grabbed a random shirt and threw it at him. Knowing he was gonna catch it. Still, I needed something to place my anger and sadness on, right? "I don't love you! Beat it! I lost! I get it! I know it's my legs fault!" I shouted, scooting away from him. Farther and farther away I wanted to be with him right now. "Just....leave me alone! I-I....don't wanna hear it again..." I cried. I shoved my head into my hands and sobbed. Damn, I'm pathetic. "I know I can't..."
"Nadeshiko...." Kuukai started to say again. Kneeling infront of me, his arms wrapped around my shoulders. "Shh...it's okay." He whispered in my ear. It tickled a little bit. The creep. "You can." There he goes again.
:::::::
"You can." I said in a hush tone. "I know you lost... It's not your fault. And it's not your legs fault. What's done is done. No changing it." I felt her shoulders loosen up. That was a good sign. I put my chin ontop her forehead and sucked in that tasty smell of cinnamon. "Mmmm...." I moaned.
"What?" Nadeshiko asked.
"Cinnamon..." She pushed me away. Dammit! Again!?
"You have Utau." she grumbled. "I can't." I felt myself smirk as I placed my hands on each side of her head, trapping her.
"You can..." I said in a husky voice. Hey, girls aren't the only one's who know how to seduce.
"I can't." she repeated.
"You can... We broke up. Don't worry... It's not your fault you lost..." I looked down on her. And in five.
Four.
Three.
Two.
One.
Her arms wrapped around my neck and she leaned into my chest. I knew she's been longing for me. "Can you?" I asked.
"Yeah..." Nadeshiko said.
"And she's sorry." I added. A tiny smile found it's way to Nadeshiko's face. I enjoyed that light in he hazel eyes. The way her face just seemed to brighten in a dark hour.
"That's....nice of her..." Nadeshiko asked. She looked up at me. "Thanks...again." Wow. Quicker than last time. Guess I caught her before she was damaged again.
"No problem Nadeshi—OW!!!" I grunted as I rubbed my knee. "What was that for?" I whined.
"Remember when I couldn't walk? You said I get to kick you as many time as I wanted too." I groaned. I did say that. Dammit.
:::::::
Smiling, I kicked him again. This stupid, dummy, idiot. I just don't know how to thank this guy.
"This really hurts..." he whimpered. Smiling, I kissed his cheek. The cheek if an idiot I could always depend on.
"Thank you."
Done! I dedicate this to soccergirl56.
