Ryonan High School, Kanagawa Prefecture: Wednesday, February 8th_
Sendoh made his way back to the gymnasium, limbs dragging, and shoulders slumped in dejection. He couldn't help but wonder what he'd done wrong. He'd followed the rules to flirting... He had coated his words with enough sugar to cause a girl to melt in his arms like butter on a hot pancake. Why didn't this one?
She actually glared at him. At him! Sendoh Akira! One of the most popular guys in the whole of Ryonan! Not only that, she slapped his hand aside like one would a fly. Any one of his fan girls would have had their heart explode if that were to happen! She's so mean, so distant, so un-cute! It was rather aggravating, really.
Just as Sendoh stepped into the gymnasium, a loud and excited voice broke through his mind barrier, shattering it to pieces.
"Unbelievable! Coach! That girl almost beat you! I gotta check this!"
It was Hikoichi Aida, of course. The overexcited benchwarmer grinned sheepishly as he began to write in his faithful little notepad –most probably taking note of this momentous day. Really, that boy was just begging for trouble… trouble that would be equally distributed to every one of his teammates if he didn't stop now.
A visible vein seemed to pop onto the coach's forehead. A fraction of a second later, he exploded on his pupils, ordering fifty laps around the gym. Then, to give him a hundred pushups and sit ups after. Sendoh knew full well that he would receive the full frontal assault of Taoka's wrath very soon. Maybe if he started running...
"Sendoh! Get over here! Now!" Coach Taoka yelled at the top of his lungs. After all, the teen in question had run to the opposite end of the court, trying to blend in with the rest of the crowd. Too bad his gravity defying hair stuck out a little, just a little. Well, it seemed that the rumors about Coach Taoka were true. His face does turn a rather lovely shade of purple when he gets mad enough. If the coach didn't take a breath soon, he might just pass out from lack of oxygen.
Swallowing hard, Sendoh listened to Coach Taoka's twenty-minute lecture that was mainly about irresponsibility and stubbornness. Though, the ace had a feeling that it wasn't all about him. When asked why he was so late, the only excuse Sendoh could come up with was:
'I overslept'.
"So... it's still a 'no' huh?" muttered the Vice-President, Ichiro Takahashi, in his disinterested tone as he sat at Megumi's seat, casually flipping through a manga. His indifference made it seem as if he already knew what the outcome would be.
"Yeah... hey! That's mine!" Megumi snapped at him as she snatched the comic out of his hands. Sheesh! While she was busy arguing with the Coach for the benefit of the whole student body, Ichiro was busy reading her manga, the second year treasurer was happily painting her nails, Kenji was busy causing a ruckus elsewhere while the secretary was hard at work slaying dragons on his PSP.
"Hey! That's against school rules!" Megumi reprimanded the second year student, Daichi Yamamoto, as she snatched the PSP out of his hands.
"Meh, I was gonna chuck it anyway. I mean it's already three months old... You can have it if you want, Tenma-chan*" the rich boy muttered with a shrug. Acting as if it didn't matter to him, he kicked his legs up on his desk and leaned his chair on its back legs.
'B... Brat...' Megumi's eye twitched involuntarily as a small, black flame began to kindle inside her. When provoked, her monstrous strength would appear and Daichi knew that full well. He always seemed to be one of the two main causes and victims of her fury.
'If she's going to get mad at me, I might as well have some fun,' was what he was probably thinking.
But before anything else could happen, the Treasurer, Kimiyou Satou, quickly spoke up. "Calm down Mi-chan! Why don't we all take a step back and relax?" Something as logical as that coming from Kimiyou was rather surprising. Usually she'd be the one to take a back seat and watch from the sidelines and as the guys get a thorough beat down.
"We can always find a different venue for the dance," Ichiro simply suggested as he continued to leaf through another one of Megumi's manga. He must be one of the few people that could easily incur the brunette's wrath and not have it inflicted on them. Maybe it was because they had a history that began in kindergarten.
Snatching the second manga out of his hands, Megumi spoke in a stern tone, "Ichiro, we will be using that gym. Just give me some time to think." With those words, she took back her seat from Ichiro, who stood up without a word. Normally she wouldn't care, but Coach Taoka had fired her up. After all, she hated losing.
Furrowing her brows, Megumi began to think. Though, it didn't take her too long to come up with an idea. As troublesome and annoying as it would be, the plan had an 80% of success. All she needed to do was make a deal. Though, there would be no turning back from that point. Judging by his character and interests, the brunette could make a stab at how he'll respond. All she'll need to do is to gently, subtly, prod him in the direction she wanted.
A sly smirk slowly slid across the girl's face as the plan unraveled in her mind. Yes, it would be troublesome, but it would probably work. How did she think of such a plan? Well, all she had to do was think like the sly, conniving member of the group, Ichiro Takahashi.
Fake left, dribble right.
Fake right, dribble left.
Pivot turn.
Reverse slam dunk.
Releasing the hoop, Sendoh landed with a thud. His brand new sneakers squeaked against the smooth, waxed ground, echoing as it bounced off the walls of the desolate basketball court. It was late. Even the coach had called it a day, before muttering something about how he hated irresponsible, argumentative girls. Sendoh had the choice to leave early, but he stayed despite the fact that he had a truckload of unfinished homework to complete.
Letting out a heavy sigh, Sendoh Akira wiped a sheen of sweat from his forehead. Despite his concentration, there was one thing that kept nagging him at the back of his mind. Something that caused him to lose focus on the thing he loved the most. The thing that was taking up half of his brain was this Valentine-san. Not because he was infatuated with her. Hell no. God forbid that to ever happen. It was on how she had called him stupid, right in his face before walking off haughtily.
"Jeez... what's her problem…? All I asked was her name…"
The ace of Ryonan frowned –a rather uncommon feature for him. It seemed like the unknown brunette's harsh attitude was getting to him. He followed the rules to a successful, flirtatious life. He even borrowed the book from the library during lunch to retrace his steps and hopefully find out what had gone wrong. But, nothing was wrong. He'd followed the steps perfectly. Though, he had forgotten to read the fine print at the bottom of the book, which stated that the steps used would not work on some girls.
Sighing once more, Sendoh muttered under his breath unhappily, "How can something be so rude and un-cute."
"It's because this thing, isn't one of your fan girls."
Sendoh's body jerked upright at the sarcastic voice. He didn't need to turn about to know who was speaking... he knew full well who it was. He just hadn't expected her to be listening to him.
"Seriously, to fall in love with you...? Your fan girls must be brain dead."
The viper's tone caused Sendoh to wince. It was almost as if her words had formed a dagger and had just stabbed him right in the ego. It was a low blow. Maybe those girls did fall for him like stones. That part was true. But she was just being plain rude –enforcing his earlier sentiments.
'You're not perfect like people think you are… show me who you really are!' Megumi thought to herself as a satisfied smirk formed on her lips, half expecting him to snap.
But his response to her spiteful words was far from what she had expected. Instead of turning livid like she had imagined, the ace of Ryonan High simply inhaled and exhaled. Then, turned to face her. There was not a shred of antagonism on his face. In fact, he seemed completely calm and serene, apologetic even. He was too composed. So much so that it scared her. His sea blue eyes seemed to penetrate her very being, almost as if he were searching for the right words to use.
Finally, Sendoh tore his gaze away from hers and muttered a quiet apology. That was not something Megumi expected. What exactly was this boy planning?
Tilting her head to the side, the brunette raised a questioning brow.
As if she hadn't heard him the first time, Sendoh repeated the apology. This time, he extended the sentence a little further just to add a teasing end. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset my princess," he said, bowing so low that it was on the verge of mockery.
Megumi to rolled her eyes in disgust, ready to fling more irate words in his face only to hold her tongue. Instead of retorting with a snide comment, she knew she had to follow the plan. So, like all good tsundere heroines she had read up about, Megumi averted her gaze and pouted slightly, "Enough. I'm not interested."
"Eh?"
Sendoh blinked a couple of times in surprise at her response. He'd already prepared a whole list of subtle retorts for her. What a waste... but anyway, the he was a little dumbfounded by her words. He opened his mouth to speak but shut it again. Wait… did she think he liked her? He didn't. Not even on a friendly basis. But... wouldn't it be fun if he could get her to go out with him? After all, she did seem like a tsundere, so maybe she actually liked him.
That's when inspiration struck him.
Megumi couldn't help but stare questioningly, folding her arms across her chest as a cheeky smile plastered itself on Sendoh's lips.
"What?" she demanded, tapping her finger against her forearm impatiently.
Sendoh smiled at this reaction. He needed her to be interested for things to work. He needed her to ask that one question. That was all he needed to get the ball rolling. This would be fun, playing her for insulting him and the other girls who didn't do anything wrong to evoke her poisonous tongue.
"You wanted the gym for the dance, right?"
Megumi slowly nodded her head, not wanting to say anything that could be used against her. Right now, things seemed to be flowing according to her plan. She didn't want to upset the balance with her sass talk.
"I could get Coach to let you use the gym, if you want me to," he offered with another one of his trademark smiles. Now all she needed to say was...
"Really?" Megumi exclaimed, her face lighting up with excitement. Yes! This was going all according to her plan! But, it was going too easily. She was sure that there was a catch. But, she was prepared for anything. Now she just had to act all excited and like a young schoolgirl who had found her first boyfriend.
Sendoh Akira could hardly hold back his smug smile. He had given her the bait, and she took it not knowing there was a hook underneath. Now all he needed to do was reel her in for the kill. As his thoughts seemed to turn to his favorite hobby, fishing, he was unable to stop himself from thinking that fishing girls was so much easier than regular fishing. Wrong. He was dead wrong. He had no idea what he was truly getting himself into.
"Though, there is one condition," he said, wagging his finger in her face to stop her from getting too excited. He did that to tease her, just in case she might want to chicken out after hearing that there was a condition. Playful taunts like these seemed to rile her up enough to make her want to go on no matter the consequences.
"What is it?" she asked, playing off the anxiety she wore as a mask.
Sendoh couldn't help but chuckle when he saw that reaction. How cute.
"You must give me a chance to win your heart by Valentine's Day," he stated, smirking slightly, brimming with confidence. Even in the short time he had, he was confident in his abilities. Sendoh's wide grin caused Megumi to shudder slightly.
Her base desires wished to claw that perfect pearly white, self-satisfied smile off his face. But, if all she had to do was endure this annoyance till Valentine's Day. It wasn't really a bad deal actually. The only thing at risk was her sanity.
"You're crazy..." She finally came to that conclusion. To her, he was still a playboy and that would never change, but maybe his insanity contributed to his personality. There was definitely a loose screw somewhere up there.
"I'll be whatever you want me to be, princess," he responded with a wink before continuing, "Well, what do you say?"
"...Very crazy..." Letting out a heavy sigh, Megumi shook her head unable to believe what she was agreeing to. "Fine. Till Valentine's Day."
"Yeah!" Sendoh fist pumped and she rolled her eyes in annoyance, remaining silent. Well, at least she was getting something out of this deal. Even though things didn't go completely according to plan, at least the end result was what she wanted.
"You know, seven days is a really short time. There are about a hundred and one odds against you," she remarked dryly.
Despite the girl's flat demeanor, it didn't drag him down. Instead, Sendoh smiled. Smiled! Unbelievable! That idiot really thought he had a chance. He didn't even know her name so he shouldn't even bother trying!
By the disbelieving look on the brunette's face, the basketball player knew this was going to have fun. He couldn't help but feel that this girl will be one of his toughest customers yet. To seal the deal, Ryonan's ace outstretched his hand for her to take.
"I know, but that means there's still a chance. So, deal then?"
"…Deal."
"I'm home!"
Megumi was greeted with silence as she entered her barren home, slipping off her shoes in the doorway. Making her way through the living room, she carefully maneuvered her bare feet around empty beer cans and mysterious stains on the ground that she'd have to clean up later. When she finally reached the kitchen, she noticed several stacks of food stained dishes cluttering both sides of the sink. The smell was the first to catch her attention.
Sighing, Megumi began work cleaning up the mess in both the kitchen and the living room.
It took about an hour, but she finished. Dumping the trash outside, she returned to the kitchen to search the cupboards for any semblance of food. As usual, there was nothing but an expired container of store-bought sushi and instant noodles. The sushi found a new home in the garbage while the noodles made friends with hot water.
Clutching the cup noodles in one hand and chopsticks in the other, Megumi made her way up the stairs to her bedroom.
As she passed by a mirror in the hallway, she glanced at her reflection. The girl that stared back at her seemed much smaller, weaker and pathetic than the face she put up in school. Her form had shrunken, hunched over as if bearing a weight of shame. The girl took a step closer to her counterpart, touching her cheek. The pads of her fingers lightly brushed against her cheekbone, bringing attention to a faint, yellowish-purple ring. She brushed her skin once more and a peachy powder was swept off the surface, revealing a darker, harsher color than before.
Lips forming a thin line of disgust, she turned and continued to her bedroom.
Once inside, she elbowed the light switch, bringing the facade of life to the walled off space. The walls were empty, the floor was sparkling clean and the only signs that anyone lived there was the single pillow and blanket neatly folded on a one man bed stashed in the farthest corner of the room. The right wall sported a single window, just wide enough to squeeze through, which filtered some light onto a laptop on her study table.
Lifting the thin machine off the desk, she took it to her bed, sat down and turned it on. Eventually, it sprung to life. When it did, the brunette seemed to hesitate and had a hand placed on the top of the laptop ready to shut it. However, she stopped herself and proceeded to log onto her e-mail and type.
Hey Kae-chan,
How are you? How's your mom? Sorry I haven't written in awhile, but I've been pretty busy with school. You know, the whole Valentine's Dance and such. And to answer your previous question; yes, I am perfectly fine! Dad takes really good care of me and takes me out to dinner a lot. He rarely drinks anymore too and he hasn't tried to hurt me either. So yeah, don't worry about me, I'm A-okay!
Anyway, so I met this weirdo who says that if he can get the gym for the dance, I have to give him a chance to win my heart. Crazy right? He has absolutely no chance!
But enough about me. What have you been eating lately? Don't tell me it's cup noodles! If it is, I'm coming over! You need to take better care of yourself. You're still a growing boy, you know?
Hope to hear from you soon!
Send?
Yes. No.
A/N: Edited June 6th 2010 and June 4, 2013.
*Although Tenma can mean "heavens; sky; imperial" (ten) and "true; reality" (ma), Daichi's usage of the word Tenma is 'demon and or evil spirit',
Thoughts? Comments? Corrections? Review please!
(I really like constructive criticism)
