A/N: Just a little drabblish angst/friendship/romance crap I couldn't resist putting up.
Disclaimer: I do not own GX.
Crystalline droplets fell down to the dust below as Manjoume sat on the steps of Duel Academia. It beat on his head and all that surrounded him, making the world quite dull and gloomy. Even more so than he'd felt it already was. He'd always thought that life hadn't exactly been the most pleasant experience to go through, but now, more than ever, he felt totally abandoned. Betrayed. Hurt. Left out. His own tears soon joined the tears shed by heaven and the angels, the symphony of water surrounding him and penetrating his very soul.
He propped his chin in his hand and thought about how his life had gone downhill since he'd first arrived. He'd been at the top, the best of the best. And then Juudai had to ruin it all. Perhaps he was making a fool of himself by overreacting; perhaps it was his own fault that his life was so terrible. After all, everyone around him told him he only lived to sabotage himself…he only lived to smother his very life. How ironic, he thought, smirking sadly. How ironic it was that he was the cause of his own misery. He could end it all by just changing his attitude and outlook. Even though he knew he could make a difference--that was just it. He didn't want to.
Thinking back to his childhood, he recalled his mother and all his caretakers fussing about how stubborn he was. They'd often scolded him for his complaints and his lack of willingness. He simply was not the type to be obedient. Yet, whenever he'd tried to cater to another's wishes, he'd been cruelly hurt and turned away. What was the point of even trying to heed? He would just be ignored and shooed away once more.
He stretched momentarily as he pondered about Asuka. His charcoal eyes softened at the thought of her determination and her utter lack of acknowledgment. Was that what he found so appealing about her? Was it the fact that she was unattainable that drew him in?
Perhaps he wouldn't have been so miserable had he not acted like such a fool in front of her. Perhaps had she not grown fed up with him and smacked him, telling him that he mustn't talk to her for a while, would he have been all right. And perhaps if she had not talked about him to her friends, then he wouldn't have felt so idiotic. But, for the moment, it seemed as though he was at his wit's end. He really didn't know how to explain his self-destruction to himself, so how could he explain it to Asuka? She would neither listen nor would she forgive. Perhaps it was just her nature to behave coolly towards him.
He was so absorbed in his thoughts, he did not notice the slim, pale figure hurrying out towards him in the rain. She stopped in front of him, slightly panting, and waited for his attention. He stared at her royal blue boots for a moment, then slowly lifted his eyes to her face. Her golden hair framed her features ever so delicately, though the rain caused it to plaster against her skull.
"Manjoume-kun," She said breathlessly, her amber eyes filled with that wild look that he so loved, "you must come inside. The storm is growing worse, and you might catch cold."
He shrugged. "The storm will pass, Tenjoin-kun," He said formally, adverting his dark eyes, his expression stony, "It's just like all the other tropical storms."
"I know it's not that bad," She told him, shifting uncomfortably as the wind tried to whip the hem of her skirt up, "but you could still get pneumonia or be struck by lightning or something of the sort. Please get out of the rain. You've been sitting there for hours. Everyone's getting worried about you, especially Juudai and Fubuki. Please, do us all a favor and don't be so stubborn!"
He glanced up at her, shaking his head to move the ebony spikes from his eyes. His piercing gaze stared up at her quivering lips, which were beginning to turn blue from cold. Arising, he took off his trench coat and placed it around her shoulders in a most dignified manner. She titled her head a bit, her eyes questioning him.
He gave no response, only grunted and began to walk away. Begrudgingly, she followed, unsure of what else to do. She walked behind him until they came to the cliff, where he looked down into the breakers crashing against the jagged rocks below.
Chuckling a little sadistically to himself, he murmured, "Something so beautiful can be so deadly…the sheer power of nature…it will be the end of us all."
"What are you talking about now?" Asuka asked, clutching his jacket tighter around her lithe figure, "Are you mad?"
He turned to face her, his back now on the ocean, tempting danger, "You always seemed to think I was. At least, from the way you treated me."
Silence answered him. They stood still for a moment, just looking at the ocean, and listening to the waves thundering below and the wind whistling threateningly. Their hair whipped about them, sticking to their wet, cold faces, and masking their expressions.
"You're not going to…" Asuka began softly, daring to take a step forward.
Manjoume shook his head. "I don't have the willpower to do such a thing. Neither do I have the ability to put my friends and family through so much pain. I simply came here to look at what my fate could be, if I viewed my life as being completely worthless, and if I were so foolish."
She kept her gaze steady, her eyes filled with curiosity. It was as though she wished to know him and his quaint thought patterns, yet was too afraid. He dared to take a step towards her and take her face in his hands.
"I know what you must be thinking of me," He told her quietly, "And I'm sorry that you have to feel that way. I'm sorry that I've made such a disaster of my life that I've chased you away, and ruined what could've been a great friendship. Needless to say, even after all I've done, you certainly had no right to go and spread lies about me."
She caught her breath in her throat, her eyes widened a bit. "I did not such thing," She gasped, "I was only upset with you. I merely told Junko and Momoe about how annoying and pesky you had been for the past weeks, and they took it into their own interpretation and preceded to tell their friends that you were a stalker and you were inclined to rape me. Now, of course, their friends have told their friends and thus it has spread. I asked them not to tell. I wish no harm on you. I hate that this happened."
"Yes, I know you're remorseful," He muttered, frowning, "but not enough. You have done nothing to stop this."
"I tried," She insisted, biting her lip, "I did everything in my power to explain to those who asked me about it that it wasn't true. But you know how rumors are. Now they think you're a pervert, which may be true to some extent…But then again, which of us are not perverts in some way?"
He shook his head, releasing her and stepping away. "I wish to have nothing more to do with you if you're going to leave it at that. If you refuse to take responsibility for it…if you refuse to help me gain my reputation back… Now, I have no one to go to the festival with…no one even wants to go near me."
"That's not true," She said, scowling, "Plenty of people care about you. You just never notice them and your disregard for them causes you to push them away. What about Juudai, huh? And what about Fubuki? We do care about you. A lot. We all care about you. You're exaggerating when you say the whole school. It's not that bad. It's just the girls in our classes. Besides, it's just a rumor and they know it. They just like to talk, you know? Give it some time and it will go away. You are so overdramatic. You only set yourself up to be knocked down."
Manjoume was silent for a few moments as he pondered this. Finally, he begrudgingly nodded. "You're right. So what? I always wanted to tell you that I was sorry for behaving so foolishly but…I just never knew how to say it."
"Well, you just did. And I'm sorry for talking about you. I made a mistake. You're one of my best friends…so I don't know why I complained like that. Maybe because Fubuki keeps filling your head with silly ideas…It's more or less his fault than yours."
"It's not Onii-san's fault!" Manjoume insisted, growing protective of Fubuki, "It's my fault for going along with it. I chose to do it. I do have conscious will over my actions, you know. I am not a dolt. I know what I'm doing when I do it. But you seem to take my intelligence for granted. You don't seem to notice that I actually ace all my tests and get some of the highest marks in our class."
"That is intelligence," Asuka murmured, "I know you have that. But do you have wisdom?"
Manjoume faltered, at a loss for words. "Wisdom? As in, common sense?"
Asuka shook her head. "Manjoume-kun," She explained, stepping close to him and staring up, "If you really want to impress me like you say you do, show some self-respect. Misawa has intelligence but I don't like him based on that alone. What I care about more than book smarts is common sense. If one has life skills, then he can go a ways with it. He can be a success in whatever he does. But if one has intelligence without wisdom…you might as well have nothing at all. It does no good to have the tools to build a house and no nails to fasten the boards. Do you know what I mean?"
Manjoume nodded slowly. His eyes searched hers deeply; he was completely overwhelmed by her statement.
Asuka reached up and fondled his cheek, her eyes filled with compassion. "I care about you a lot. I'm sorry that this happened. But I cannot change who you are. You earned that reputation by acting so foolishly. It's not that you're not smart. It's that you're an idiot."
He winced. "That hurt…"
"The truth hurts sometimes," She told him, "But it will help you out in the future. Take it from a friend who's learned the hard way." She hugged him briefly. "You can make anything of your life, if you just take the time to be more careful and think things through. Think about the consequences of your actions and don't be so impulsive, Ok?"
He nodded weakly as he watched her turn and start to walk away. Just before she could disappear down the path, he suddenly understood what she was trying to tell him. He tore after her and grabbed her around the waist. She let out a sharp gasp of surprise as he clung to her, shivering all over.
"Manjoume-kun!"
"I'm sorry," He apologized, "It's just…you really do care about me, don't you?"
She nodded, taken aback. He said nothing more, yet he was thinking plenty. Did he even dare to try it? Perhaps it wouldn't hurt. Quickly, before she had time to know what was coming, he leaned down and pecked her on the lips. Immediately, her cheeks flushed with pink. She cleared her throat and gave him a dirty look; however, her lips twitched as she tried to suppress a smile. Wordlessly, she jerked away from him and walked away. Her reaction, though, greatly pleased him. He smiled a little and relaxed.
Even if she never spoke to him again, it would be all right. He knew that she cared about him, and he knew that deep inside, she did have feelings for him, that deep inside, she loved him. But her goals in life were different than his, and they took two separate paths and had two separate opinions concerning life. He now knew why she had resisted him. No, they could not be together physically, but he would always know inside him that she loved him; no matter where he went or what he did. She would be his forever.