Title: More Than Perfect
Posted: 02/21/12
Main Characters: Narumi Ayumu & Yuizaki Hiyono
Rating: K
Summary: "Mistreated, misplaced, misunderstood. Miss 'no way, it's all good', It didn't slow me down. Mistaken, Always second guessing. Under estimated, look, I'm still around ~" Ayumu's brows fumbled. How could he possibly fall asleep if she kept singing—but wait, this was not that weird song of hers, wasn't it?
Disclaimer: I own what I own, nothing more, nothing less.
© 2013, Reignstein, The plot of this story and any original characters belong to me. Any similarities that might occur are purely coincidental and I apologize in advance if such an occurrence ever does happen.
"There is no such thing as a perfect human being." He stated.
He had his head on her shoulder. Exhaustion and fatigue had finally set in, reminding him that his body did, indeed, have a limit. Ayumu found himself so pathetic. In front of the enemy, he had fallen, showed his fear, shook for all he was worth due to the relief that his life had not been taken away from him just quite yet. His brother wouldn't have even shed a drop of sweat, knowing that death would never be an option when it came to his plan. What he had told Rio was true. He was weak, she had only made the mistake of viewing him as his brother's equal.
For whatever reason—though it was probably related to the stupid girl beside him—both she and Kousuke had thought that he had changed, just because he now had a valid reason to use his intelligence. That had been their downfall, allowing the situation to turn to his favor. If they had viewed him as the same weakling, the same person from the hospital room two days ago, he would probably had lost his head, and the stupid girl would have died along with him.
"Look at how he's sleeping on her!" He heard an ignorant bystander, a female teenager who loved gossip for sure, mutter. Did people not know how to whisper nowadays? It seemed like secrecy was not a known word, nor was respect. He could feel the stupid girl's cheeks heat-up, but was thankful that she did nothing and said nothing. For a female teenager, at least she possessed common sense.
"I bet they're in love!" Was the reply of the person who she was probably muttering to. Another part of the idiotic female species. Normally, he would have just gotten off of the stupid girl's shoulder to shut them up, but he was way too tired and too sleepy to mind. The stupid girl would probably even think that he was no longer hearing anything, that he was already deep into dreamland and had left her to deal with the aftermath.
How right he was.
She shifted slightly, he felt her shoulder move slightly underneath him. Had she turned to look around? Had she turned to look at him? Ayumu didn't really care, but he wished that she would hold still. He would never admit it—not to her, not to his sister, not even to himself—but her shoulder was warm and comfortable, and had she kept still, he would have found it easy enough to doze off. It was better than a park bench, she smelt better than one too. Ayumu now knew that the stupid girl used cherry scented shampoo on her hair.
"You did really well," He heard her mutter softly. He probably wouldn't have even caught it had he not been as close to her as he was at the moment. "Narumi-san." Ayumu frowned slightly. He didn't like being called that, that was how people addressed his older brother…or had addressed, in this case. He didn't want her to call him 'Ayumu' either though. It didn't take someone of his caliber to figure out that people would immediately jump to conclusions if they heard her call him that.
It would be way too familiar for a friend, and gossip was already spreading just because he didn't call her 'Yuizaki-sempai' to begin with. There was no need to add fuel into a burning fire, for there was no other result other than to get burned. So, for now, he would allow her to call him 'Narumi-san'.
Great, now he was making exceptions for the stupid girl that did nothing but steal his lunch and hit him with those stupid puppets of hers. Again, though, she didn't need to know that. Madoka would probably ask him about it when she realizes it, but seeing as she never really spent time with him and the stupid girl long enough, he didn't count on it being too soon. Maybe by then, she would be calling him 'Ayumu-kun' because she would think that they were now 'close enough friends'. The frown disappeared at the funny thought of her hitting him with a puppet for not allowing her to call him that.
Ayumu wouldn't have put up much of a fight though. He just needed to keep up an appearance.
There was no way that he would allow this girl to read him so easily.
"Made a wrong turn, once or twice. Dug my way out, blood and fire ~" Ayumu released a groan, hoping that the girl would stop singing. Did she not realize that his lack of rest was because of her? Because of trying to save her? "Bad decisions? That's alright. Welcome to my silly life ~" It seemed that he had forgotten that he called her 'stupid girl' for a reason. Of course she wouldn't realize that the disturbance was her song.
Instead, she had taken hold of his chin and adjusted his head to a more comfortable position. His head was now at the crook of her neck, he was sure that she could feel his breath on her skin. Opening his eyes cautiously, he smirked the redness on her neck, obviously an extension of her bright red blush. Good, she should get a bit of punishment for what she made him go through. Stupid Girl.
"Mistreated, misplaced, misunderstood. Miss 'no way, it's all good', It didn't slow me down ~" Ayumu's brows fumbled. How could he possibly fall asleep if she kept singing—but wait, this was not that weird song of hers, wasn't it? This was the first time that Ayumu had heard her sing in like this, and he had to admit—again, not to her, never to her—that her voice was nice. Nothing special, but it was nice. She was singing in a whisper, not in the typical loud way that she usually belted out her voice.
It was as if…she was singing to him.
"Mistaken, Always second guessing. Under estimated, look, I'm still around ~" His heart stopped, his breath hitched, and he was thankful that she had not noticed it. She was so lost into her song, that even if his breathing was evident on her neck, she had not realized the slight halt. This was also when Ayumu noticed that the position of her neck was one of a person staring forward. Her chin was resting slightly atop his, meaning she was looking sideways.
Meaning she was looking at him.
That wasn't what had caused the irregularity in his heart all of a sudden. True, it had made his cheeks tinge a slight pink—he was suddenly very thankful to have such long hair—but that only came after he had realized the words of her song. Misunderstood? Always second guessing? Under estimated? His guess, that she had been singing to him, had just been proven. Did she know he was awake? He doubted. Then why? Why was she singing such a song to him as he slept?
"Believe in your abilities more!" He remembered her telling him in the hospital. "I agree with Rio-san!"
"Pretty, pretty please. Don't you ever, ever feel, that you're less than, less than perfect ~" This time, his heart had not stopped. No, it decided to quicken, to put that of a horse's to shame. His head had slid slowly down her shoulder, it had been his attempt of stopping the sudden jerking motion that he had almost done. He had wanted to look at her, to question her, why was she singing that song?
The stupid girl had caught him, and she had ceased her singing for awhile to adjust him into a comfortable position yet again. She had no idea what she was doing, did she? Had no idea of the confusion that she was bestowing upon the already troubled and exhausted sixteen-year-old? Ayumu didn't want her to know that he was listening though. He knew that he was not supposed to hear the song, it was supposed to be a way for her to express herself.
Also, it would just be embarrassing to explain the situation and face her after she figured out that he had heard. Not only the song, but the murmurings of the previous two teenage girls.
"Pretty, pretty pleaseIf you ever, ever feel;like you're nothingYou are perfect to me ~" Those final five words, they echoed in his ears over and over. His sister-in-law's advice from the day before, they did nothing for him. To know that she would always be there whether he was right or wrong did nothing but pressure him. His brother already had her, and him making a mistake and admitting it to her was like a sign that said 'my brother is better than me!'. This stupid girl; however, was not telling him to not be ashamed, she was saying, in the simple song, that she would never be ashamed of him.
To stick with him through thick and thin, to always find him the amazing 'Narumi-san' that she depended in. Thinking about it, the song only voiced what she had been doing for the past few weeks. Taking hold of the bomb, trusting him fully to save her. Trusting her life in his hands by telling him to run. Everything about the girls actions backed up when she was expressing now.
"You're so mean,when you talk; about yourself. You were wrong ~"
"Wait!" She had shouted in the hospital room. "I refuse to believe Narumi-san's reasoning was wrong!" When he had given up on himself, she had drank the bitter water like it was nothing. She had believed in him when he hadn't believed in himself.
The stupid girl hadn't even hesitated to drink it, hadn't even thought that there was a strong poison mixed in with the liquid. She had proved him right, but it was the stupid girl who had won. She had beaten Takeuchi Rio. He was useless, he was afraid, he had not trusted in himself, he was nothing but a weakling, nothing compared to Kiyotaka, nothing but a—
"Change the voices, In your headMake them like you Instead ~"
The words she sang cut of his line of thought, and it was as though she had been reading his thoughts. His eyes were closed, but had his face shown his disapproval? His discomfort? Had she thought that he was dreaming of his failures? Even when he slept, she wanted to assure him of his abilities, that he was the best. How had he not noticed it before? She had, somehow, become his cheerleader, and she was doing a good job.
She was the one who had never met his brother, she was the one who didn't care what he said, for to her, he was—in the words of her song—perfect. He had not realized it, but Ayumu's face had softened after that. His hand had relaxed from his subconscious clutching onto the chair, and his breathing returned to its relaxed pattern. Butterflies invaded his stomach as the image of the smiling, honey-haired, girl entered his head. The smile that she probably still had as she sang her song.
When had she become so important to him? When had she become his anchor to the world that he felt looked at him as nothing but the younger brother of Narumi Kiyotaka? When had she become his confidence? When had she become his happiness? When had she become his one woman support system, his only needed support system? When had she become his?
"Pretty, pretty please. Don't you ever, ever feel, that you're less than, less than perfect ~" Maybe it was because he had needed to show her gratitude for her song, for her belief, for everything. Maybe it was because he knew he did not have the courage to do it when she knew he was awake. Maybe it was because he felt like it. Ayumu had his arms, slowly, wrap around her waist in a loose hug. He felt her jump, but she relaxed soon after, deciding to smoothen out his hair instead.
It was a comforting gesture, one he wished she would do when he had nights when he couldn't sleep.
"Pretty, pretty pleaseIf you ever, ever feel;like you're nothingYou are perfect to me ~" The smile on his face subconsciously grew. Perhaps, in the future, he would be able to allow himself to believe that, that would be the only thing that mattered. All others could judge him, could berate him, but for him to be perfect in her eyes, it would be all that he needed to carry on. Not even with his sister-in-law had he felt that. This stupid girl, really.
Maybe he had actually dozed off to her singing, perhaps the fatigue had finally gotten the better of him, but the next Ayumu was aware of was when he opened his eyes due to a sudden shaking motion. "Narumi-san," He heard the stupid girl say, still shaking him lightly by the shoulders. "Narumi-san, we should go. The last train is about to arrive."
Taking a look, he realized that, indeed, there were close to no people in the station. He also took notice that it was dark outside, and that even if there was a cold wind, he held onto something warm to counter it. Looking down, he realized that he was still hugging the stupid girl beside him. He turned a tinge of pink, but it was gone by the time he had released her. It seemed she was blushing as well, and he smirked as he realized that she would not meet his gaze.
"I know you're tired," She began, finally finding the courage to look at him. "But it's pretty late and your sister must be worried about you." For once, he didn't give a damn. He wanted to tell her to sing the song again, to tell it to his face this time. Ayumu couldn't do that though, for two good reasons.
One — She hadn't known that he was listening.
Two — He didn't want her to runaway and jump to conclusions.
"I'll walk you home." Ayumu finally decided to say, getting up from the chair followed by the stupid girl. She was beside him on the platform as they waited for the train to stop, and she shook her head as an answer. "You said so yourself," I add. "It's late, and my sister-in-law would punish me more if she found out I let a girl walk home alone." She smiled slightly, but she shook her head again. He was about to come up with another logical excuse, but she beat him.
"This is the last train, and I get off a station after you." The stupid girl reasoned. "I don't want you to have to walk the entire way back, and a taxi is expensive. I'll be fine, Narumi-san!" There it was again, that bright smile that she always plastered on her face. She hadn't even mentioned her shock to his offer, like she usually did. She was trying to make things easy for him.
"Fine," He answered, voice stoic, bangs hiding the entertained glint in his eyes. "Maybe you're not-so-stupid after all."
She complained as they got on the train, about how he did not appreciate her, how he should be nicer to her. He agreed with her, but he also knew that if he ever did that, all of a sudden, she would faint and bring him to the hospital, being the person that she was. He hid a small smile at the thought, allowing the stupid girl to continued ranting. When his station when finally announced, his smirk grew. Out of all the plans he had created, perhaps this one would be the most enjoyable. Far from the best, but enjoyable.
"See you tomorrow Narumi-sa—"
"Ayumu," He corrected her. "Just call me Ayumu." He continued stepping out to the platform and turning back to her with that smirk of his. "After all, I think that my number one supporter should get to call me by my name." She blushed at his words, shouting out her questions and confusions, flustered as she was. Ayumu allowed her to continue on, but as the doors began to close, his smirk grew and he stared at her.
"You are perfect, to me ~" He sang softly, causing the girl's eyes to widen. "See you tomorrow, Hiyono."
He turned as he heard her begin to stutter, walking towards the exit closest to his house. Tomorrow he would have to handle her many questions, but tonight, he would enjoy the memory of her not-so-weird song. Especially as he imagined her hands through his hair as she sang, lulling him to sleep.
"I know," She answered. "But you're perfect for me!"
This was my first try for a Spiral FanFiction, and obviously, I ship Hiyono and Ayumu! I have no idea why this was the plot that came to my mind, but I actually like it! And this song is perfect for them, don't you think? If you forget about the fact that Hiyono is a spy for Kiyotaka, but she does care for him though! And I often try to forget about that when imagining FanFiction, but when you think about it, she's older than him, and it makes her his type right? Okay, I am RANTING!
Tell me what you thought, sorry for the rushed ending! Leave opinions and reviews if you find it worth your time! That would make me day! Bye, bye, till the next SPIRAL fic!