Out of My League
by: Starrystarrysky
Hellooooo, everyone. :) It's been a long time since I last put up any stories/updates. SCHOOL. Big Sigh. :))
Anyway, here's a story for all of you. :)) I finished this some time ago, but I never had the chance to post it. (sweatdrop). :))
ENJOY, even though La Corda D'Oro is not ours. ;)
Her crying was a sight he wasn't used to—heck, he wouldn't even dream of liking that particular situation. So when he did see her hiding from the world on that rooftop, her eyes red from the flood it had been through, he immediately grabbed her by the arm and hauled her into his car.
But you sure like seeing her suffer, his mind spat at him. And it annoyed him a lot.
Good Lord, was he growing a conscience?
He kept his smile though, lest other people become wary of him and his thoughts. Come to think of it, growing a conscience might not be too bad. After all, he was supposed to be Seiso Gakuen's Prince.
The image he was trying to project wasn't Machiavellian after all.
Or was it?
"All part of the image," he mumbled to himself.
Which image is that exactly? his mind sang against his ear.
Or does she make it hard to remember?
You turn to face other people and they revere you like a God. You turn to face her and just the sight of you is enough to make her run towards the next month.
And you say you're not Machiavellian.
Which are you, really?
Azuma wasn't used to this—this internal battle thing.
He knew that most people went through it. So much so that even the simplest of tasks are rendered complex because of this internal battle.
And Azuma wasn't like most people, and his family background assured him of that. He had decided for himself that he wasn't going to be an idiot; that he was going to be strong as long as that matriarch was playing him like her personal fiddle.
But why is it happening? Why is it happening now?
It was something very foreign, and very annoying.
Just like she was, his mind went on again. Hey maybe you'll grow to like this, too.
He only rolled his eyes and let his eyes rest on the redhead sitting mere inches from him. The moment he had cooped her up in his car, he had tried to lighten her mood with his snippy remarks, his biting sarcasm. He had tried to distract her from whatever it was that weighed her down.
To not much of an avail, though.
She didn't react to any of it. Instead, she shied away from him and found fascination in the passing scenery.
He did manage to calm her tears somewhat, but he doubted he even helped break her out of her misery.
She hasn't stopped crying, that's for sure. She was facing towards the car window, her shoulders slumped slightly. Her body wasn't shaking as violently as it had before he had seized her, but she was sniffling like a little kid. From time to time her fists would bunch up the material of her skirt, and her hands would tremble from their sheer force.
She was trying her best not to break down so much in front of him, so she decided to just let her tears run.
Something about seeing her sadness was gnawing at him. He thought that it would have been the same as making her uncomfortable, that he would enjoy the sight of her crying.
But it irked him.
Why on earth are you so bothered anyway? Isn't this something your eyes should be feasting on? I mean, you do tend to be mean to the girl.
Or are you annoyed because she's crying?
If it had been any other girl crying like that, would you have been truly bothered by it?
I guess not.
As much as he wanted to smack his head into the next millennium, his gut just couldn't deny what his mind drawled at him.
All of that's true.
And it troubled him even more that she was crying in isolation.
"Could you please stop for awhile?" he said to the chauffeur. "I think Hino-san needs a bit of fresh air."
"But Azuma-sama, your grandmother specifically
instructed me to…" his chauffer had tried to protest.
He only smiled. "I know that. But it's still very early. The gathering isn't until eight in the evening."
"But—"
"Thank you very much," Azuma interjected.
As instructed, the car drove into a stop. The chauffeur slid out of the car and opened Azuma's door for him.
Ever so gracefully, he alit from the car, and walked towards her side to open the door for her. Once he had her by the hand, he turned to his chauffeur and instructed him, "Please wait here. We'll be back shortly."
With that, he tightened his hold on her hand and walked off.
What'll you do now? I thought you liked seeing her suffer?
He ignored his sarcastic mind and kept on dragging her along the park. He was walking briskly, almost bordering on jogging. He knew she must have found it hard to keep up with him, but she tried her best, even if it meant she had to hustle to keep up.
Soon they arrived at a more secluded area of the park. It was almost empty, save the several benches and the birds that fluttered about.
He led her towards one of the benches and sat her down. He slowly let go of her warm hand and sat down beside her. The moment he did, however, she scooted towards the arm rest and turned her face towards the trees.
She really was stubborn.
His eyes widened in shock. Well, it probably was normal for her to shy away from him, but that would happen after he had taunted her out of her wits. And he knew he hasn't done anything to warrant that reaction from her.
And he was genuinely annoyed for that.
"Well, Hino-san," he said, trying to keep his composure. "Your problem won't solve itself. You have to do something about it you know.
"And crying rarely gets you anywhere."
Her head turned towards him. That was the first time he was able to see her face while crying.
Her eyes were were on his-pain almost palatable from them. Her eyebrows were furrowed ever so slightly, and her lips were trembling. Tears were still streaming from her eyes, and they cascaded towards her uniform.
At that moment she had looked so forlorn, so lost that it bit painfully into him.
She wasn't meant to cry like this.
But he couldn't deny: she was still stunning even when she cried.
"Besides, girls who cry too much annoy me," he said clearing his throat. He mentally slapped himself for saying that.
Great. Go help break her. As if she still needs you to do that.
She let out a world-weary sigh and half-cried, "Yunoki-sempai, please. I don't need this from you right now."
She crossed her arms against her chest and looked away.
He felt very much the villain in her fairy tale story.
"I'm sorry," he said, heaving out a sigh of his own.
"Alright. You don't need me to make yourself miserable. You can do that on your own, right?"
Being funny isn't really your style.
She only turned farther away from him.
Azuma let himself another sigh, and stood up, strolling towards the direction her face was at. Once in front of her, he half-kneeled on the ground and smiled at her, a gentle smile that only she was meant to see. He reached into his jacket's breast pocket, pulled out his white handkerchief, and offered it to her.
Her eyes only stared at him curiously and warily, as though he were a bomb and had been set to explode any moment.
When she didn't move to accept his handkerchief, he did so that there'd be nothing she could do but accept.
He gently cupped her cheek with his free hand and used his other to dab the tears away from her eyes and cheeks. He caressed her cheek softly, something he had been dying to do.
Funny, he thought, I never knew a girl's cheek could feel so soft.
She only continued to stare at him, dumbfounded as she tried to comprehend what he was doing.
His hand trailed along the smooth skin of her jaw, and then downwards towards her porcelain neck. It was the first time he had felt how tempting a girl could feel.
Just when his hand had reached the crook of her neck, he caught himself and withdrew his hand, as though burnt.
You almost lost yourself there.
Or did you?
He took her hands in his and practically shoved the handkerchief in her hands. When it looked like she wasn't about to throw the item at him, he gently cradled her hands in his.
"Now, why don't you tell me why you're crying?" he said softly. "Something at school?"
She softly shook her head, and smiled, albeit sadly. "It's nothing. It isn't anything you need to know, Yunoki-sempai."
"I see," he said.
For the first time in his life, he felt useless. He felt bad that he couldn't do anything to at least help her with her problems.
The only thing you can do for her after all is make her miserable.
Still, he respected her decision not to tell him.
"Let's go back to the car then, Hino-san?" he asked, offering his hand. "I'll take you home."
She shyly took his hand and stood up.
"Thank you so much, Yunoki-senpai," she smiled at him meekly. "You've always been there to help me."
And it was his turn to be dumbfounded.
Well how about that. You finally did something nice for the girl.
He looked at her, eyes urgently boring into hers.
She smiled at him again, and somehow, here eyes gleamed a little differently. Happiness? She was happy again?
And at that moment, he decided. This sight was something that he would always remember.
This was something he would like to be doing.
Oh, you already know you like being her tormentor.
Not that, he thought. Even if it's not much, I want to make her smile.
He smiled at her, "It's quite all right, Kahoko."
She smiled more freely, ignoring the fact that he called her so intimately.
"Home," he murmured to the chauffeur. He looked at the empty seat to his left and sighed.
You miss her? It's only been five minutes since she left, his mind sneered.
He closed his eyes, and he let the image of run through his senses. He found it funny-how one, small person can actually affect him like this.
You're out of your league again.
But he'll be happy to be anything.
Just so long as she smiles.
There! :)) Please review. (bow) Ja mata ne! :)