HELD BACK
By StillCountingStars
A School Rumble fanfic.
Disclaimer
School Rumble doesn't belong to me in any way. It belongs to the Jin Kobayshi. I am just borrowing them for my fanfic here.
Author's Note
This is my fic for School Rumble. I had this on disk for a long time now and it has gone some major changes to get what you read now. The pairing will be Yakumo and Kenji. Somehow I also want Eri to join in the mess.
The sound of the bike roaring was loud. Kenji Harima was riding his trustworthy bike to his final school year at Yagami High. He then crossed a final red light stop and reached his school. He parked his bike and looked at the school building.
Good times and bad times...
She had already left him for someone else. He knew it from the last year. She was never meant to be his...
He scanned for her usually. He then found her walking to the Class Division List with her three friends. She was looking worried. He knew it was not for him, though. It was for Ooji Karasuma.
He then went inside the school gates and went straight to the class division list of third year students. He shoved many people around and made his way to the front. He began searching his name from the hundreds of names there. But he could not find his name on any of the class list.
He panicked and looked around to find some hope. He began searching again when he saw Failure-sensei looming behind him.
"Harima...you are held back." Failure-sensei started speaking to him, "You are still in class two and you can not get promoted this time by any means, you hear?"
CHAPTER ONE
#1 CRYPTIC MYSTICS
Kenji looked angry. Only for a second though.
He then turned around and went for the class two lists leaving the failure-sensei surprised. On his way, he made sure to glance at Tenma one last time. He knew this would happen, no, something would happen like this. They were destined to be separated. If that, so be it.
Tenma looked like she didn't care about Kenji's situation. She looked like she was still preparing herself to find out which class is she and Ooji is. The others on the hand looked shocked except Akira Takano. Perhaps Eri Sawachika looked like too. But it was hard to guess what she was feeling. She was hiding her disappointment and he knew it.
Kenji reached the board listing students of class two. After a quick glance at the board, he noticed his name in Class 2-C. Satisfied by it, he was about to turn around when he heard a girl's voice saying: "hey, look! It's Harima-san."
It had to be her and her friends.
Of course, she's now in class 2...
"Hello, Immouto-san." Kenji greeted her.
"H-Hello...Harima-san." Yakumo greeted him back surprised.
"Well, see you around then..." Kenji bade her and went to his classroom. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her being teased by her friends.
He opened the door and walked in. Tani Hayato was there waiting for his students.
"ah...Harima. Welcome back." Tani cheerfully said.
"Shaddup." Kenji replied.
But he turned around rapidly and said, "uh...about that seating arrangement you always do?"
"What about it?"
"Exclude me."
Tani did not reply instantly. He seemed to be observing Kenji.
"Sure." Tani finally did reply. But as Kenji went to his seat, he heard him say, "Get me closer to Tae-san."
Kenji didn't turn around but just waved a hand as though telling him it's fine.
The class was slowly filling with unknown students to Kenji. Everyone at some point stared at him and whispered. He didn't give a damn about it.
"Class, here is the bag filled with paper chits. Pick one and sit at the numbered desk. And Harima and--"A loud sound blocked off Tani's voice. "-will not change because of their far-sightedness." Kenji guessed that there were others with the same problem. But he didn't have a problem like that. He looked around to see who the others were.
He did not find them, but he saw Yakumo looking extremely fidgety. Sarah was by her side, comforting her. He didn't understand why though but had a faint inkling of what it might be. Suddenly then, she turned around and he saw she jumping.
"Yakumo, what's wrong with you?" Sarah asked her worriedly.
"..."
Kenji moved his gaze somewhere else wondering if he had upset her. He looked outside and saw the ground bathed in the morning's sun light. He heard many sounds of groaning at not getting choice of their choice of seats and glees of getting their seats.
He wondered if Tenma really cared about him. Not in a friend like way, but like Ooji. He had heard a rumor about him that he decided to stay here and will promote his manga from here. Good for her, neutral for him. He had let her go. That was the only way.
All his high-school life as far as he can remember, he had thought about Tenma and none other even though there were others. That he only understood at the end of last year. But then again, Tenma was there to distract him again.
Just how the hell did I fall in love with her...?
He tried to remember and could not find any answer.
Damn! It's been so long that I can't remember.
"Harima-senpai?"
He turned around to the source of the voice. It was Sarah Adiemas. She was sitting on his right.
"Harima-senpai?" She repeated.
"huh?"
"um...Can I borrow your pencil? I forgot mine."
"Sure." He removed his pencil absent mindedly and gave it to her. "And don't call me -senpai."
"Okay, then." Sarah smiled and took the pencil noticing the strange appearance of it. Its whole body was made of fish bone.
"Strange pencil..." She muttered.
Kenji heard that. He looked at the pencil. It was his special manga drawing pencil. How could he give it to her? But then again, he does not have any other pencil to begin with. Resigned, he just watched her observing his pencil closely.
"hey, Yakumo. Look at this pencil." Sarah suddenly spoke.
Just in front of Kenji, Yakumo turned around and looked at his right.
Yakumo's on my front. The blond one on the right! Who's diagonal?
He looked and found Inaba Miki.
Just frikkin' great...
He looked away in anguish and saw Yakumo looking at him. She quickly turned away when she was caught.
And what's wrong with Immouto-san today?
"Here, Harima-sen-I mean Harima-san, thank you for letting me borrow..." Sarah gave him back his fish bone pencil.
"No prob." Kenji took the pencil and mentally noted to himself never to part with it.
Then Tani called out to his students, "Open your English textbooks to page nine, Chapter One: The Cryptic Mystic. Right, then someone please read this summary for me."
No one raised their hand. Tani scanned around and randomly picked Yakumo.
"You read, Tsukamoto." Tani said after checking his book for her name.
Yakumo got up from her seat with textbook in hand and read out aloud, "This story is about the joys and tribulations of one man set against the backdrop of medieval England. The man named as James Humphreys has an astonishing ability of reading minds."
She paused and stared at the words. She then continued her reading of rest of the text. Kenji was surprised by the reading. He couldn't understand English much, but it was basic enough to understand why Yakumo stopped.
Finally, Yakumo finished and sat down. Tani appreciated her and said, "Nice reading, Tsukamoto. You didn't have to stand and read though. Just like Hanai..." He went muttering at the end.
FIN...#1
Author's Note
Done. Think this as a prologue or something like that.
Finally, I think this is the fourth of fifth draft of my fic. And of all I like this one as this centers only on Kenji and none others.
b 01 THE MUSING AND THE TEASING
"Yakumo, aren't you lucky?" Inaba Miki asked her.
They were standing in front of their class list. Kenji had just left them for his class.
"yeah, I thought Harima-senpai would pass..." Satsuki joined in the conversation.
"It doesn't matter. It's fate." Sarah told Yakumo who had been silent the whole conversation.
"But what did happen between Sawachika-senpai and Harima-senpai?" Inaba continued as Yakumo gently looked up.
"I have no idea, but something did happen." Sarah said.
Nee-san!
"Anyway, Yakumo..." Inaba had a grin on her face. "This is your chance. No Sawachika-senpai to mess up. You can get him."
"... but we aren't..." Yakumo finally spoke.
"So that's a refusal then. So can I go after him?"
"..."
Could she be doing this on purpose?
The bell rang aloud signaling the end of their conversation.
"oh. That's not good. Harima-kun failed." Mikoto Suou said to Eri.
"hmmph!" Eri rearranged her face and started to search her name even though she had already found it.
"Even Hanai feels sad." Mikoto pointed out to the guy on their right who was sitting on the ground and muttering which oddly sounded a lot like Yakumo.
"That's because, he's worried what Harima-kun will do with this chance... now that he's closer to Yakumo." Akira said.
"hey, Tenma, you hear, Harima-kun is held back." Mikoto said to Tenma who was still searching for Karasuma's name.
"Karasuma Ooji...Karasuma Ooji... where art thou?" She replied subconsciously.
"No use talking to her I guess."
The bell rang aloud signaling to go to their class.
"hey, I found Karasuma-kun's name. He is in-"Tenma rushed to her friends who were already heading towards their classroom.
"Let me guess: 'in our class.'" Mikoto teased.
Tenma blushed and silently nodded.
"Well, let's go then." Mikoto called to her.