A Bed of Nails and Roses
Chapter 01
Disclaimer: Two words. Not mine.
Warnings: Fluff, angst (consider them a warning), weirdness, character death, massive spoilers for School Rumble first season and second season, and a plot that is so cliché that it must have been used in every existing fandom. If I forget anything, please tell me.
Pairings: Asou x Suou, Hanai x Suou
Notes: Every chapter of this fic will always be separated into three parts unless I state otherwise. The first will follow the current timeline of the story, which is twelve years after the series. The second will be a flashback and the third will return to the current timeline. The difference? Only the second part will be written in past tense. I hope it doesn't confuse anyone. That said, enjoy, everyone.
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It is almost as if time has finally decided to take matters into her hand and turn everything back.
The woman standing in front of him is tall, tall enough to stand to his eyes without high-heels, and not particularly slender – but then again she never was. She looks surprised meeting him there, but he is certain that nothing can hold a candle to the shock and the bitter taste in his mouth at the sight of her.
It has been thirteen years since the first time Asou Hiroyoshi met Suou Mikoto, eleven-and-a-half years since he realized that he had fallen in love with her, eleven years since she, blushing fiercely from ear-to-ear, almost ran away when he finally admitted what he felt, and ten long years since he left her behind along with their memories in Japan. They were all in the past, no longer concerning his twenty-nine-year-old self, but this woman in front of him is very real, not merely a fragment of a dream long forgotten.
"Asou?"
Something somewhere snaps and it is at that moment when he realizes that he has been holding his breath. Asou quickly inhales a lungful of cold air, faintly reminded that yes, heis in Japan and currently entertained by his homeland's unfriendly mid-December weather, and forces himself to return the greeting.
"Suou-san."
The surprise on her face melts into an awkward smile. "Ah, right, you're no longer a boy. It should be Asou-san from now on."
Her words feel like a slap to his face. Asou grimaces. Oh, right.
"Then, do pardon me also," he says hastily, ignoring the coldness that has settled somewhere in the pit of his stomach, and breathes in deeply before continuing, "Hanai-san."
---
The first time they met, Asou's first impression of Suou Mikoto was something along this line: 'This girl has unnaturally large breasts.'
Contrary to popular belief, Asou Hiroyoshi was a very normal fifteen-year-old boy who took interest in other things beside basketball. However, it was also true that basketball definitely reigned at the top of his priority list, losing only to his family who had never been in the list in the first place, so the earlier statement might not matter much. The point was, he noticed Suou and had completely forgotten about her at the next second.
They did not attend the same class and never actually had any dealing together, so Asou remained conveniently oblivious to the existence of a blue-haired girl with unnaturally large breasts save from the several occasions when his classmates mentioned about a blue-haired girl with magnificently large breasts. This situation was persevered until the middle of August.
The Sports Festival was coming and Asou was chosen as the representative from his class for the preparation along with Ichijou Karen. That afternoon, they had to attend a briefing from the Student Council about the festival and he was not in a particularly good mood. This preparation thing would take up much of his practice time, he was sure of it, but there was no other choice since the whole class had reached a consensus to make him their sacrifice.
Everyone – everything – around him was dead quiet. He closed his eyes and sighed, utterly bored. The chairman of their Student Council was strict and, some said, scary although Asou personally couldn't see what the big deal was. Everyone looked scared stiff and although he honestly couldn't bring himself to care, being only a first-year, he wasn't actually keen to look for troubles, particularly if it could jeopardize his chance in joining the basketball club. And said chairman was the current captain too.
He glanced at his watch. They had been... what? Twenty minutes sitting around here while speaking and – even less – doing nothing? But the chairman hadn't said a word and the rest seemed too intimidated to speak up first. What the hell they were waiting for he hadn't the slightest idea. It was until he noticed two empty seats next to Ichijou.
The pieces clicked inside his brain. So that was why. Very brave, he thought to himself, both amused and annoyed, because the missing persons seemed to be first-years like he was. The chairman started to tap his fingers on the desk impatiently, making a general shiver run through the audience.
Somewhere during the regular sound of tapping, a commotion rose outside the room.
"I've told you that we didn't have the damn time! Why do you always have to be so stubborn??"
"Speak for yourself, Suou! You weren't exactly–"
The door opened with a bang and a blue-haired girl with unnaturally large breasts appeared at the threshold, followed by a boy with very big, very square eyeglasses. The bickering immediately stopped when both parties involved realized that all stares and glares were pinned on them. It was then when they finally had the decency to look flustered as if they were aware of the grave mistake they had done, which Asou thought was exactly the problem.
The chairman nodded stiffly at the intruders and motioned toward the only two empty seats. "Seat yourself, first-years. I assume you two are the representatives from 1-A?"
Both newcomers nodded meekly before hurrying in and taking their seats. The meeting began and for exactly one hour and twenty minutes, it proceeded smoothly and silently, so much that he found himself repeatedly drifting to the verge of sleep. When it finally ended, he couldn't help but to sigh.
Beside him, Ichijou was talking to the blue-haired girl.
"It was close, Suou-san."
The girl heaved a deep sigh. "Damn right it was, Ichijou. That idiot Hanai challenged me into a match and we kinda got carried away. Ahh, being a representative is so troublesome. Sure, a festival is fun and everything but I've never thought that it will need this much work."
His classmate smiled. "Then we have to do our best together, don't we? Oh right, I almost forgot," she turned at him and leant back a little so he could see the other girl properly. "Suou-san, this is the other representative from my class, Asou Hiroyoshi-kun."
A grin appeared on the girl's face and she held out her hand. "Asou, is it? Suou Mikoto. Good to meet you. Hope we can work together well for the festival."
He accepted her hand. "Same here, Suou-san."
She laughed and reached over to give him a slight push on the shoulder. "Suou is okay, really. Please don't be so formal or I may be forced to call you Asou-chan."
Asou smothered a wince and gave her a painful smile.
There, during the short four weeks of preparation for the Sport Festival, they changed from oblivious to friends.
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Her smile falters but she quickly covers it with a brighter one. "It's a real surprise to see you here," she says, her voice every bit the same as the one he remembers. "The last time I heard you were in America. Harvard or something."
"Yes, I attended Harvard Law," he confirms and suddenly feels required to add, "but now I'm living in Manhattan."
"Oh, so you're a lawyer? It must be cool to be one."
"Not as much as people think," he replies dryly.
Suou's smile widens a notch. "I think I understand. And you're returning for winter holiday?"
"You can say so," Asou mumbles, trying to ignore the scent of perfume he once knew so well tingling his nose. A soft scent of jasmine and moonflower. He can't believe she still wears it.
Silence descends upon them and he has the sudden urge to hit himself on the head. Old habits die hard, he thinks wryly, although said habit is supposed to be already very, very old. Even until now, that feeling, that desire to always look smart in front of her, to make her happy no matter what it takes is still there, all these years dormant but remaining alive nevertheless.
"It has been so long," she unexpectedly murmurs.
He nods stonily. "Yes."
He has been trying to forget this, the warm feeling in his chest every time he sees her, sometimes too warm that it scorches him from the inside. He has been trying for ten long years.
"I'm sorry, Asou-kun."
But it's still very painful.
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Sidenotes: The sentence before the last is a flashback, in case someone is wondering. Um, so yeah, there goes the first chapter. Please tell me what you think. Thank you for reading!