Call Me Aniki

Hanai Haruki was in blissful heaven.

Finally, after four years of pursuit, his feelings had gotten through to her and Yakumo-kun was willing to accept him as a boyfriend. They were walking hand-in-hand back to her place to tell her sister the good news now.

The world was perfect.

It had been worth every agonizing second, day after day as he traveled back from university to see her at high school and later accompanied her as she entered the same university as he did. The sweet Yakumo-kun he had known as a freshman in high school had blossomed into a beautiful and elegant young woman.

And she was holding his hand now.

That was enough for now. Hanai Haruki was a man of honor. He would not dare to presume to do anything more without the blessing of her family. That was how a true man would court the lady that he loves. It was a good thing that Yakumo-kun also shared his belief in old-fashioned ways. She was a lover of tradition, probably ingrained into her over the years in the Tea Club modeling herself after Takano Akira.

Even the thought of that woman couldn't erase Hanai's joy.

She was a fiend. An absolute devil sent to plague him and his romance. At every turn when he tried to come close to Yakumo-kun, she had been there to counter his actions. All throughout high school, she stood as a guardian over the lovely princess of his dreams – a dragon disguised as his classmate. Thankfully, when they had graduated from high school she had taken off for Italy, and he hadn't heard from her since, although Suou still got letters from her, apparently.

A slight wrinkle touched his forehead.

Now that he thought about it, he had lost track of almost everyone from the old class 2-C. Except for Suou, who still came to the dojo, he hadn't heard anything from any one of them. Not even Yakumo's sister, Tsukamoto Tenma. In retrospect, perhaps he should have made the effort to keep in touch with her, as "a former class representative". It might have helped in today's appeal to her family.

There was a slight tightening on his hand. Hanai looked down to see Yakumo-kun smiling softly up at him.

"I can still read your thoughts, you know," she reminded him. He was embarrassed for a moment, but quickly got over it. After all, he should be used to this by now. She had told him nearly two months ago.

"Don't worry about it," she said softly. "I'm sure nee-san will give her approval. She's been very happy nowadays. And she's very interested in romance lately, especially with her boyfriend."

Hanai was surprised. Tsukamoto had gotten a boyfriend? He remembered her as a rather simple and straightforward girl, not particularly outstanding at anything. How did someone like her-

He was interrupted by a light slap on his hand. "Stop thinking about my sister that way," Yakumo scolded. He silently apologized to the image of Tenma in his mind, and Yakumo smiled again.

Having a girlfriend who could read your mind would make for very interesting experiences in the future, Hanai mused.

They finally arrived at the Tsukamoto residence and disengaged hands. He paused for a moment as he surveyed the place. It was a fine old house, built according to traditional lines. So very different from the modern concrete flats that were rising up around Yagami Town nowadays. This warm, traditional atmosphere suited Yakumo's charms perfectly. It was akin to his dojo, which had been around for nearly half a century. That was good, he thought. Similar backgrounds made for good partners in life.

He got embarrassed thinking so far ahead. They had just started going out! Let the future bring what it would. Right now, he needed to focus on the first hurdle, getting the approval of her family.

Yakumo was busy taking off her shoes at the entrance. She turned to him as she opened the door. "Please wait here for a moment while I go tell my sister we're here." She guided him to the veranda that overlooked the front garden, and he sat down. He watched her retreating back and once again was amazed at how lucky he was.

Sitting quietly at the veranda, he silently took in the sights and sounds of the garden. It was peaceful and quiet. A lone bird was twittering in a tree somewhere, and a wind chime tinkled merrily in the light breeze. Flowers blossomed along the sides of the footpath. Hanai could imagine Yakumo and her sister spending many hours sitting here and just absorbing the old-fashioned beauty of the place.

Into this serenity roared a black cloud of smoke and noise, shattering the quiet like a thunderclap out of a perfectly blue sky.

It resolved itself into the shape of a young hoodlum dressed in black leather perched on top of a loud motorcycle. He looked like a typical gangster or country yakuza. Hanai recalled the news saying that youths joining the yakuza had been on the rise recently. Looking at the stranger before him, he had no doubt this was one of them.

Although… he did look a little familiar.

The hoodlum turned off his motorcycle and glanced around, spotting Hanai staring at him. He glared back, and then seemed slightly surprised.

"Yo, four eyes," he said. "What the heck are you doing here?"

Hanai was outraged. This- this- yakuza was addressing him so familiarly, it was a calculated insult. And furthermore, he had burst into the Tsukamoto residence like he owned the place, rudely destroying the calm that surrounded the peaceful garden just a moment ago. How dared he invade Yakumo-kun's place like this!

Hanai didn't know whether he was some sort of debt-collector or just a rowdy biker out to harass the neighbourhood, but that didn't matter. He had fully confidence in his mastery of martial arts. If the Tsukamotos were being pestered by the yakuza like this, Yakumo-kun should have let him know. He knew precisely how to handle these types of people.

"Watch your mouth, hoodlum!" he snapped. "Who are you to barge in here and disturb the Tsukamotos like this?" He got up and started walking towards the biker, trying to stare him down.

The biker blinked, and then chuckled to himself, which only made Hanai more angry. "So, you're planning to continue where we left off, huh?" he growled, getting off the bike. "Figures. Someone like you doesn't change in a million years." He stretched out his fists towards Hanai and his lips widened into a maniacal smile.

"Fine, bring it on!"

"I don't know what someone like you is doing here, but a hoodlum like you needs to learn a lesson in civility!" Hanai stated as he rushed forward. "I, Hanai Haruki, shall instruct you with my fists!"

"Heh," the biker smirked. "You never stop preaching, do you, four-eyes?" He dodged the first punch that Hanai threw at him and rapidly swung around for a reverse kick to the head. Hanai threw up a block with his left arm and countered with a right hook aimed at the knee of the outstretched leg. The hoodlum managed to retract his kick in time before the punch could connect, and jumped to put some distance between them. He was grinning like a demoniac. Hanai gritted his teeth at the ease which he had been avoided. He needed to work harder! This man was good. If he didn't go all out, he might not be able to finish the fight in time before Yakumo would come back. Already, he could hear movements inside the house, approaching the door.

The biker had noticed too. "Looks like I don't have any more time to play with you," he said, gesturing at the door. "Come on, give me your best shot, and I'll give you mine."

"Fine, if that's the way you want it," Hanai agreed. "I can't afford to waste any more time with you too." He mentally prepared himself, and then charged forward to launch his ultimate blow just as the biker started to spin his body for another kick.

"Hundred Flowers Tiger Attack!" Hanai shouted, beginning his flurry of blows.

"Hari-Ken Kick!" the hoodlum replied, swinging his whole body weight into one mighty kick. Hanai suddenly recognized the attack. Wha-

The door opened, and the Tsukamoto sisters looked out.

"Ah, Kenji-kun! Hanai-kun!" Tenma waved cheerily. Both Hanai and the biker were distracted for a second.

Wha-?

Double knockout.

* * *

"Ah, ha ha!" Harima stroked the back of his head in embarrassment. "So you didn't recognize me? I should have guessed that."

The four of them were seated around the living room table, after the sisters had woken Hanai and Harima from their unconsciousness. Hanai and Yakumo sat facing Tenma, who had remained largely unchanged since the last time Hanai had seen her. Unlike the man sitting next to her.

"I apologise," Hanai said. "You look very different now that you've cut your hair properly and stopped wearing sunglasses, Harima."

"Y-Yeah, I guess that would happen," Harima mumbled, shooting a look at Tenma. She giggled as if it was a private joke shared between the two of them. He frowned. "But you really don't change, do you, four-eyes? You were all ready to fight me and everything after just one look."

"That's because I thought you were a yakuza trying to disturb the Tsukamotos," Hanai confessed.

"Say what?" Harima looked shocked. "Yo, man – you serious?"

"Once again, my apologies," Hanai began, but he was interrupted by Harima and Tenma.

"That's so cool!" they both cried out.

Eh – what?

"Ne, ne, Kenji-kun! Yakuza are like modern-day samurai, right?" Tenma continued.

"Yeah," Harima replied. "So Hanai thinks I'm like a samurai?"

"Just like Mangoku!" they shouted out together.

This pair of idiots…

"So anyway, Harima," Hanai began again, trying to divert the conversation from degenerating into mindless fan-babble about their favourite television drama. "You never answered my question. Why did you come here?"

Both Tenma and Harima stopped and shot him looks of disbelief.

"Hey, Yakumo…" Tenma said. "You didn't tell him?"

Yakumo looked embarrassed and shook her head. "Um, I wanted to make sure everything would go well with you, nee-san," she said. Hanai turned to her, puzzled. Harima and Tenma began snickering, which gradually developed into full-blown laughter. Yakumo blushed further under Hanai's bewildered gaze, but a corner of her mouth was twitching as well.

"Thank you, Imouto-san!" Harima said in between gasps of laughter. "Who knows what could have happened if this guy tried to interfere…" He patted Yakumo on the shoulder several times. "Remember how him and me used to get into fights over you?"

Hanai didn't like the way that Harima was touching Yakumo's shoulder so familiarly, but chose not to make an issue of it in the Tsukamotos' presence. "So, what's this thing that I don't know of yet?" he asked.

Tenma looked at him with a silly grin on her face. "You really want to know, Hanai-kun?"

Harima also turned around and smirked at him. "You really want to know, Hanai-kuun?" he said in a falsetto tone, imitating Tenma.

Is it just me, or have their mannerisms become strangely similar over these last few years? Hanai thought. He nodded to answer their question.

"Heh, heh heh… go ahead and tell him, Yakumo," Tenma smirked, leaning back as if to bask in glory. Yakumo shot her sister an amused but affectionate glance.

"Um… my sister and Kenji-san have been going out since the beginning of last year, Hanai-kun," she said. "He's the boyfriend I was telling you about."

"That's right!" Tenma chirped, making a "v for victory" sign in Hanai's direction. Harima looked slightly embarrassed, but rather pleased and proud.

Hanai went into shock.

Harima managed to get a girlfriend faster than me… Harima's got a girlfriend…A delinquent slacker got a girl faster than I did by nearly two years… His girlfriend is Tsukamoto Tenma…Tsukamoto Tenma…Tsukamoto is Yakumo's sister. Harima is my girlfriend's older sister's boyfriend…

The fates had conspired against him.

Harima smirked. "So, Hanai. You can call me aniki."

-FIN-