Warnings:
- Romance between teacher and student might offend some people. Some OOC occurs, especially Fuu.
- Very mild shonen ai in later chapters. (Not Clamp couples, they are my own characters).
- Deals with some issues and that includes heavy bullying.
- > are used for communication in sign language0
Ferio jerked right up from bed and wiped sweat off his brow.
"Ferio?" Sara, his class teacher asked sleepily as she rose as well.
"Is anything wrong?" she asked as she touched his shoulder lightly. Ferio felt that her hand was scalding hot against his skin.
"Nothing's wrong…" Ferio smiled at her gently as he touched her cheek and kissed her forehead.
"Dreaming of my ex-boyfriend Masa?" Sara asked, her lips almost touching his. He kissed her lightly and snorted "Someone more important than him."
"More important than me?" Sara asked as she put her arms around her student. Ferio blinked "Is Fuu?" he asked silently, then plastered a smile onto his face
"I need some fresh air, sleep well, Sara-sansei." He winked at her then went off the bed.
"Here is your assignment." Larfaga, an arch angel handed sheets of paper to the just-graduated angel Fuu. Fuu took the sheets with both hands and a chill was sent right through her.
"Bonding, Lafarga-sansei?" Fuu asked as she raised her eyes from her sheets.
"Yeah, it's not an easy assignment, especially for a new angel like you, so we bond you to your supervisor. You might need the help of an arch angel, your supervisor we have sent to the earth. But then, you might find your supervisor utterly useless. He has a morbid sense of humor like you, so you two might get along very well."
"Sorry about the morbid part of my sense of humor." Fuu bowed her head, in hope to look obedient as her eyes were rolling.
"It's a training for you as well, since you were new and we wanted you to earn a place among us arch angels, you possessed a tremendous amount of power." Lafarga smiled ignoring her.
The wind was almost biting when Ferio's motorcycle zoomed past. A storm was coming. Ever since the day he started having affairs with his class teacher, he had dreams of a childhood friend whom he lost contact with. "If you have forgotten totally about me, why do you have to appear in my dreams every night, Fuu?!" he screamed into the night. He thought that getting a new girl friend might make him less lonely after his sister got married and moved away and later in the year, his mother died. His mother and sister were probably the only people who see him as someone who had feelings. His father sees him as a piece of garbage the boys in school see him as a monster, the girls wanted to win him as a prize. Then teachers just wanted to avoid him as much as possible as he is a rich man's son as well as a well-known playboy and delinquent. "Why do you all have to leave me?" he screamed again as a thunder struck.
"Ferio..." Fuu sighed softly after she learned about her assignment. "What was wrong with you? The last time I wrote to you... the last letter I wrote you in my lifetime… you were still a normal person…normal…" she laughed at herself, as if Ferio was ever normal to her, he was the most eccentric person.
Lafarga continued ranting during their meeting. "Fuu, this is important! For all angels who was sent to earth, they cannot talk nor hear and they do not have tears. So after you went down, you will be turned mute and deaf, and only with the power from your supervisor that you can speak and hear. Other from this little disability, you can still use your powers as an angel back down there. Easily enough to remember?" Lafarga smiled.
"One question," Fuu raised her hand like a good student.
"And what is it, Hououji-san?" Lafarga asked.
"Why don't you go down and work on him? I'm not the only one related to him and is currently dead. You were his primary teacher." She pointed out.
Lafarga smiled and said "That is a good question, because I am an arch angel and you are not."
Fuu nodded and rolled her eyes "I see."
At first Ferio felt nothing when the tires of his motorcycle hit a bump, then skidded. Then he felt that he was tossed out of the vehicle then his vision started spinning until he felt a sharp pain as well as a back out.
Ferio woke up to see himself staring at a white ceiling. "Where am I?" he asked, feeling his lips cracked and dried. A figure clad in white helped him to sit up and passed him a glass of water. He squinted, only to see the figure has white complexion, pale haired and slight build. He would have thought that that was a girl if he had not known that person for so long.
"Innova..." Ferio grunted.
"We can fight later. What have you been doing by putting on that helmet? I would have been celebrating for the 'death of the pest Ferio' and would be enjoying myself." Innova sounded tragic.
"Where is my sister?" he asked, ignoring Innova.
"Out buying flowers as she did not like mine." Innova sounded distressed as he pointed towards Ferio's bedside table, where there was a vase of white lilies (white lilies means death in japanese terms). Ferio gritted his teeth as Innova ignored him and pointed to a girl sleeping on a chair next to Ferio's bed. Ferio's eyes widened at the sight of the girl. She was about fourteen, dressed in white, her complexion almost as white as Innova's and her blond hair curling to her shoulders. The image of the girl who appeared in his dreams superimposes with her. He knew that he did not know what the little girl in his dreams grew up into, but he did see some resemblance between this girl and the little girl.
"She found you lying on the highway ALMOST as dead as the meat on the butcher's table."
"You can have the time of your life while I'm in bed." Ferio growled.
"It was not that you being healthy can beat me in any kind of fight." Innova grinned.
Ferio grunted, it was true, he has beaten up thugs ten times his size, but never Innova.
"Ferio, you waken?" Emeraude went over to him as she ran her hand through his hair. "Just when I thought I can have the time of my life. Imagine this, what speech can a pastor deliver at the PEST Ferio's funeral? He must say that someone missed him. And yet, everyone who knew Ferio were probably rejoicing for the death of the monster..." Innova would have said some more if Zagato had not suggested
"Why don't we go out and discuss that theory of yours in detail?" Before he closed the door, Zagato gave Ferio a little nod and Ferio gave him a grateful sigh. If anyone can shut Innova up, it must be Zagato.
Emeraude patted his cheek and said gently "I don't know what has happen between us, we were so close before and you never felt that you have to hide from me. Right after the death of Mother, we became so distant. Didn't you have a pen friend? Your childhood friend... what's her name, I forgot, but you can talk to her as well. I want you to have a confident, someone to talk to when you are in trouble, if you think that being married to Zagato will change things between us, you can not be more wrong. I am still your sister and will worry over you no matter what, and please talk to me when you need help as I will help you." Ferio smiled at her just as gently, she was his beloved sister, no matter who she married and he was happy for her that she marries Zagato as the man was perfect in a sense. Zagato was well bred, intelligent, courteous, respectable, (lovable in some cases), and handsome. Not that Ferio think that of himself as ugly, but aside from being born into a filthily rich family and inherited his father's good looks, he was still garbage when compared to Zagato. His father often meant it as a dig to Ferio that he wished Zagato was his son instead of Ferio.
"Fuu, my little friend is probably sixteen and it should be her seventeenth birthday this December. She stopped writing to me six years ago, it just stopped rather abruptly. I didn't even hear anything from her family, did she move again and did not tell me, I don't know. I know I can talk to you if I can reach you, but you're still part of someone else's family. Every one who knows you did not know you as Emeraude, my sister, they know you as the Merchant Prince Zagato's wife. You were not the same person. You were always too busy in your office. I tried calling you once a day after you came back from honeymoon, but I always get Innova, your secretary. He went to the point as to ask me whether I have made an appointment with you even after I told him I am your brother." Ferio told her seriously.
"Actually, you do have to make an appointment. I'm very sorry about Innova's incident and I knew there were some misunderstanding between him and you. Yet, I can not fire him, he is much too brilliant and actually, you two did not get along too badly. He is probably the only person who can be and wanted to be honest with you as you know your reputation well. He is someone who can beat you up, looks after you and didn't really want you dead the way some people in your school or other schools wanted you to be. He did talk about your funeral and stuff, but I only think that he is teasing you, or he would not have hired a nurse for you." Emeraude defended Innova.
"A nurse?" Ferio asked, his eyes widened as he pictured women with tons of fat walking by with sinister smiles and stabbing needles in their hands.
"That girl there..." Emeraude pointed to the same girl Innova had pointed him to. "Her? how old is she? She's even younger than me, I think, fourteen? Fifteen? When did Innova start using child labour?" Ferio asked incredulously.
"She's fourteen, and got her PHD from the University of Autozam. She was here just to gain some work experience. By the way, don't discriminate her because she was a disabled person as she can neither speak nor hear, she can sue you." Emeraude told him seriously.
"Sis, there must be something wrong…" Ferio started when the girl on the chair stirred. Ferio was dumb struck for a moment, his childhood friend Fuu had the same shade of green eyes, but if he remembered correctly, Fuu was shortsighted and need glasses, yet this girl doesn't, but, people are allowed to wear contacts. She gave both Ferio and Emeraude a slight nod and started writing on her notepad 'Do you want me to get out so you can talk?'
"Why bother, you can't hear anyway!" Ferio said right out loud. The girl glared at him when Emeraude slapped him on his arm
"She can read your lips, just treat her equally!" Ferio grunted again when the girl shook her head and went out of the room.
"Her name is Fuu, and she might be your childhood friend." Emeraude winked at him.
"How can she be? The Fuu I know was only shortsighted and can talk as well as can hear. And the Fuu I know was only about half a younger than me, this girl was at least three years younger if not more." Ferio told her bitterly.
"Even if she is not, you can not ill-treat her. And another reason I paid her salary was for the fact that she can not hear you so you can not make her your toy the way you toyed at other women's feelings." Emeraude said meaningfully. She knew that her brother was a playboy even as she can do nothing with it.
"I didn't toy at Sara's feelings." Ferio thought defensively and it was part true. He did date Sara just out of curiosity, as she is both five years older and is his teacher but later he grew fond of her. As she was understanding and kind as well as an owner of a model like body. And most of all, she had green eyes. He did not know whether he just liked women with green eyes or women who resembled the child Fuu in any way.
So his fate was foreordained, he must have someone from his sister tagging with him for as long as his sister liked. This Fuu was really not that bad as he would like to think her to be. She was just stubborn, a little inflexible and flat bodied to him. Ferio admitted that he liked women with curves in the right places, yet this girl can cut her hair, wear men's clothes and pretend to be a bishounen with no one recognizing her as a girl. But then Fuu was not ugly either, her face was pretty enough but not as drop dead gorgeous as some women he has seen, for example, his sister. With himself temporarily crippled, he can not do much, the sight of Fuu holding luggage for him pained him. He was a playboy, but he never mistreated any women physically and letting a girl as young and small as her hold luggage for him was a sin. But Fuu did not complain.
Ferio was back in his apartment, after his mother's death, he moved out of the house to live by himself and the money his father and sister put into his account every month. No one was his family after his sister got married and mother died. When he was looking out of his window when Fuu came with the porridge. She touched his arm gently and set the bowl down on the table beside his bed. Ferio looked at the porridge and noticed that it smelled like his mother's cooking and then looked at Fuu. She was standing beside his bed gently, waiting for him to eat.
"Feed me." Ferio requested. She looked at him, measuring and weighing him, but picked the bowl up when he held up his injured right hand.
Her every gesture was as gentle as his mother, from the way she smoothed her aprons across her lap to the way she picked up the bowl. She blew on the porridge to cool it off, then fed it to his mouth. The porridge was warm and Ferio felt healthy, a feeling he has never had before. Her cooking was not the best he has eaten, yet he think that he would like to eat her cooking every day from now on.
Yet, people get bored, Ferio knew that he was wildlife and Fuu was just too…tame and refined. He just can not see her doing anything wrong. Everything she did was right, including the math problem she taught him, it was the hardest one he has ever came across. She was always right that it started to bore him, her gentleness and everything, no girl in the age of fourteen should act like that. Life is bland and life is boring. Fuu was like Sara in someway, but he think that he can touch Sara, have physical contact with her, but touching a little fourteen year old girl the way he touched Sara would be what people called Hentai. He can be called a heartless playboy but not a hentai who molest children.
Ferio thought that his wounds were curing was totally because of Fuu's cookings. He did not know how the girl managed it, her food did not taste bad, but all of it tasted the same. From sukiyaki to plain rice, it tastes the same. He would have gotten up and cook for her if it was possible, living by himself for so long did make him learn how to cook and take care of the house. Ferio might have an attitude problem, but he was not dirty.
Sara visited him often with some female students from the school. The girls had regarded Fuu as an enemy, but after knowing that Fuu had no interest in Ferio and the fact that Fuu can teach them all homework and have weaknesses, they all liked her. To Ferio, Fuu seemed to bring out something good in every girl, some taught Fuu how to play T.V games, knitting, even first aid. Ferio just does not know why Fuu was hired she can not cook very well, can not do first aid and almost the only thing she does was read or urge him to do homework, not very gently. However he was glad that the girls came, if they occupy Fuu's attention, he can have some time alone with Sara. Of course, he can not do anything too exciting with Sara with his whole body in bandages, yet it was comforting to have someone aside from his nurse around.
He admitted that he did not hate Fuu nor disliked her, but she just seemed to live in a different world and will not understand him. However, he found himself going out of his way for her. For example, he was learning sign language just so that she will not have to write little notes to him every time she has to speak to him. He ordered funny videos with subtitles for her to watch just to see her laugh. He even agreed to do his homework with less and less reluctance every time, partly he felt that the work is not as difficult as before after her tutorials.
At last the day for all the bandages to go off comes and Ferio was delighted, even though he was not tired of Fuu's cooking, he would like to have something else, and he was dying for alcohol. He did not understand Fuu, she seemed to hate alcohol with some passion and deliberately cleared everything that is slightly alcoholic in the fridge. He shook his head when he took his bag and let her help him button up his coat as his arm is still not working very well.
Even the air smelled fresher outside his little apartment. "I'm free at last." He thought when he stepped into the school gates. The girls came to him, but most of the boys disappeared out of way. Sara was walking by him then smiled at him gently.
The teachers were cursing under their breaths for Ferio was coming back and that means the start of trouble. However, Ferio attended every lesson and volunteered to do problems on the board. The teachers decided that Ferio has come to his senses because he had a hit on the head and was still in shock. Of course, they wished that this shock will last to the end of the school year, no, in fact, the rest of his life.
Some guys even plucked up their courage to ask Ferio out to get a drink. Ferio remembered the time he had when Fuu discovered him drinking behind her back and he did not have a pleasant time so he declined POLITELY. That was an even bigger shock to everyone in school. When school ends he went home directly and found that no one was in the house. "Out to buy her groceries?" Ferio thought when laughed, he will remove her from the kitchen tonight. He refused to eat her 'Fuu' taste cooking again. Just when he opened the fridge, felt the need to have some alcohol. "She's not back, right? What she didn't know will not anger her." He thought when he grabbed his keys and left the house.
Fuu pushed the door open and found that no one was in the apartment. She locked the door again, and started preparing dinner. It was just 5 o'clock, Ferio might be in for football practice. She smiled at the thought as she remembered Ferio as a good soccer player. Dinner was ready, everything was laid out, and she was still waiting by putting on one of the tapes into the VCR to watch. She looked at the clock from time to time and Ferio has still not come back.. Fuu closed her eyes as she sensed her source from the heavens, transparent wings and feathers glowed when she basked in the light but she let go of the source just before the power seep through her. If she used her powers, she will alarm her supervisor. She did not want to alarm him for various reasons. She glanced at the clock again the frowned, "Ferio, you ARE late!"she thought.
The boys were in the pub and before Ferio knew it, he was drinking with pitchers and all of the boys were impressed, including the girl whom she said she worked there. Obviously, the girl paid more attention to Ferio than any one else in the room and the boys were even more impressed by that. In his half drunkenness, Ferio can not make out half of what the girl was saying. She did have a soft and sultry voice, she was murmuring unintelligible words into his ear while sitting on his lap, with his arm around her waist. Time passed and something was nagging in his mind, he thought he has to go somewhere, but his memory was blurry.
The boys excused them and left one by one as night came over. Ferio at last was left alone with that girl playing with his ponytail, the thugs and a pair of coldly angry eyes that were eyeing them. The girl gave his hair a hard yank and forced him to look at her. He glanced at her briefly, she used too much paint and powder, and the outfit is too tight for her. He thought with a laugh inside as the girl did look slim enough, but she was dead heavy on his knees.
The door swung open and a stream of light showered into the light impaired pub. Ferio squinted and put his keg down to see a girl with hair that gave off small glints, her white vest, jeans, socks and boots seemed to give out a light that was almost flaring. Fuu stepped up to him while the thugs eyed her almost warily even for her small size. Ferio picked up the piece of not paper that Fuu slammed on the table. The words 'WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING HERE!?' was written on it in bold and red outlined with black. Ferio blinked, then looked back at her, he seemed fully aware of the situation.
Red wine was splashed onto Fuu's shirt and dyed it blood red. "He's here to have some fun with me, talk to me if you have some problem, he's mine, dearest." The girl replied cockily then sneered. Fuu turned her attention from Ferio and then was fully on the girl. With eyebrows raised, Fuu slapped the girl full on the face.
"How.. How dare you.." the girl sputtered, have clinging onto Ferio. Everything was too clear to him suddenly, Fuu was standing in front of him, her back straight, her eyes challenging the thugs who looked menacing and wary at the same time.
"That should be enough!" Ferio said slowly and dangerously at the same time as he led Fuu out.
Fuu glared at him briefly and pulled her hand away then stalked off. Ferio knew he was following like a puppy, yet he can not do anything with it. Fuu stepped into the park they passed by normally on their way home. Fuu sat down on the swing and start rocking herself.
What was your problem by charging into a pub like that? You know the dangers?> he did his sign language and the signs were so exaggerated that he looked as if he was shouting.
I know it just like you do, probably even more. If you know the dangers, can you answer me why you are there, instead of home?> She asked with her hands, her eyes still angry.
I probably know how to take care of those occasions more than you. And about your last question, just who so you think you are now? My wife?> he asked a little mockingly. Fuu's eyes widened, her mouth parted then snapped shut as she stamped on his foot as hard as possible and stormed off. Before she was out of his view, she turned back and said with her hands
If you can live without me, I would not be here wasting my time with you!> her signs were very exaggerated as well, and he assume that she was angry as her back was to the light.
Ferio knew he can go and drink somewhere else with Fuu gone. But she has dampened his entire mood. He also felt the need to apologize as he knew that with Fuu's stubbornness and the degree that he has angered her, she will not be the one going to make up with him. No matter what he felt about Fuu, he wanted to make peace with her for the sake of the days he has to spend with her.
Ferio saw the cold dinner, obviously, she hasn't eaten then heard noise from the TV. Fuu was playing 'King of Fighters' and the computer's player was beaten up pretty badly. Making peace with her will be hard, but necessary. He shook his head miserably as he stepped into the kitchen.
The drink was cold when it was pressed to her face. Fuu glared up at Ferio to see him smiling at her, handing her a glass of iced lemon tea with lemon jellies floating on it. She accepted it wordlessly and took a sip. She smiled softly, as Ferio still remembered this as her favourite drink when she was still small and alive.
Whatever you think... I still think a girl is not supposed to go to those places even for retrieving someone as you probably has never fought anyone before. Maybe you're different from the rest, I don't know, your slap and that stamp on the foot was hard enough, though.> He laughed as he took his shoe to rub his sore feet. Fuu glared at him for some time then smiled. Ferio has not changed completely yet.