GIVE IT BACK
A Hana Yori Dango fan-fic
Chapter 2: Little Challenges
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Hana Yori Dango. I do however; own many of the other characters that appear throughout the story.
Makino and Domyouji watched the two teens depart for school—Sanosuke heading for the limousine and Kumiko heading down the long drive way.
"It's a start, a good one. At least he's still going to go to school." Makino said, breaking the silence.
Domyouji, leaning against the door frame, tilted his head to look down at his wife, "Baka…that's not really a good thing at all."
"Oh, that's right. He's your son."
"Eh?!" Domyouji shot away from the door frame, "What's that supposed to mean? He's your son too!"
"Yeah….but this behavior…this 'I rule the world' thing is a genetic trait from your side of the family."
"Genetic….trait…" Domyouji raised a brow.
"Don't worry about it, Tsukasa." Makino patted his shoulder and entered the house.
Domyouji turned after her, "I'm not sure yet! But I'm sure you just insulted me!"
Kumiko passed the gates of Eitoku and entered the school, heading for her class room when she spotted a familiar boy-ish cut up a head. She allowed herself a faint smile. She had only spoken to Kanae for a few minutes but for some reason felt that Kanae was the only friend she'd have at Eitoku.
"K-Kanae-san." She called lightly, deciding to tell her friend that Sanosuke Domyouji had discovered her at the home. Her friend however, didn't respond and only continued walking down the hall.
"Kanae-san." Kumiko headed after her, a little annoyed that the girl had told Kumiko that they could talk at any time, then suddenly blew her off like yesterday's news. She reached out and grabbed the arm ahead of her, suddenly letting go, blinking.
Bright eyes peered down at her, light colored hair falling over a forehead and in to those eyes. Kumiko blinked some more, both surprised and confused. The same eyes as Kanae, the same hair…. But she hadn't noticed until now that this figure was taller and wasn't as slender. She bowed, "Sumimasen…you look…like a friend of mine. Sorry..."
"You're the ring thief, aren't you?" He questioned, though it sounded more like a statement.
"No. I'm Sasaki Kumiko. The innocent but accused." Kumiko blinked at her own choice of words. He probably thought she was insane or something now. "Sorry. You looked like a friend of mine."
Jin raised a brow and peered at her, no real emotion on his face. "It's fine." He paused and added, "Twins tend to do that sometimes."
"Siblings. Twins. Right." Kumiko replied, shifting her gaze.
He glanced at his watch "Do you like to read?"
"Sorry?"
"Do. You. Like. To. Read?"
She was confused about the question, since it had come out of no where, "….Hai."
He held a book out to her, 'Taming of the Shrew' by Shakespeare. "Good book" he said simply, setting it in her hands. Then, he turned to leave. "Kanae won't be coming until later. If I see her," he said, "I'll tell her you were looking for her." That said, he rounded the corner and disappeared.
Kumiko stared silently then looked down at the book. Kanae hadn't mentioned that she had a brother—a twin… but then again they had only really talked for a few moments. "This school…is too much."
"If you think so, you should leave, ring thief!" A boy snapped, "Anyway, theres no room at Eitoku for ugly people!"
Kumiko raised a brow before turning to walk off, "Really?" she questioned in a bored tone. "After seeing all the students here, I would have thought other wise." She left it at that and ducked in to her class room. It was too early to start any real trouble…and it was easier to avoid Sanosuke this way.
It wasn't that she couldn't handle whatever it was she dished out—she could. After all she had ever been through, Kumiko was positive she could handle it and return it tenfold—but she wouldn't. She'd play it cool and wait for everyone to forget about bothering her for the rest of the semester. One semester…it was all she had to last.
She set her things down on the desk and skimmed over the book Hanazawa-san had given her, until the bell rang.
Jusan and Taiki just couldn't stop laughing as Sanosuke sat there, annoyed, chin resting on his fist. The predicament he had managed to find himself in had been just too amusing to his two other friends—and they had no problem showing it.
"Only to Sanosuke!" Taiki chuckled, "It could only happen to someone like him!"
"What are your parents going to do?" Jusan asked. "I don't have a problem taking her home if you want her out of your house." Jusan raised his brows and smirked, tossing a look to Taiki, "You know what they say about girls who have no money…."
"You're awful!" Taiki laughed even harder.
"Shut up!" Sanosuke snapped, "You're not taking her home! I'm…I'm going to kill her first! You know, I tried to be civil this morning! I really did! I told her I'd give her a ride to school and she turned me down!"
"You tried to be civil?" Jusan asked.
"….Mom made me. Anyway! She turned me down! 'I can't be seen with you' she said! Can you believe her? Who wouldn't want to be seen with me?"
"I thought you didn't want her around?" Taiki questioned.
"That isn't the point you idiots!" Sanosuke growled. "The point is! If some...pauper doesn't respect me, no one else will feel the need to! We can't keep order in Eitoku if the F5 isn't respected!"
"I doubt one little pauper can make any real changes, Sanosuke." Jusan assured.
"Oi." Taiki answered, "Don't forget who his mom was."
"That's different. Your mom is a ball of fire. She's tough. She fought back. This girl…" Jusan wasn't even able to finish his sentence before the two broke out in to a fit of laughter again.
Sanosuke scowled. "You two are no help."
"You need help with her?" Jusan asked.
Taiki set his hands on Sanosuke's shoulders. "Just leave it alone. She's no big deal. We should go to class now. We're about half an hour late—not that it really matters."
Fourth class, English, Kumiko stood in front of the dry-erase board, marker in hand as she stared at a Japanese written sentence on the board and thought of how to translate it. As she did that, Michiko nodded to her younger sister, Hana. Hana nodded in reply and leaned over, passing a note to a boy sitting across from her. The boy unfolded the paper, read it and nodded back, sliding the paper in to his desk as Kumiko came back to her seat.
"Very good, Sasaki-san! That's correct." The sensei congratulated and erased the sentence. "Who wants to try a sentence next?"
A few sentences and a chapter of reading later, the bell rang and the class was dismissed.
"You stole my necklace!" Michiko pointed at Kumiko as soon as they entered the hall. "I left it on my desk and you were the first one in the classroom! I...didn't want to disturb the class about it, but now that we're out, I demand you return it!
Kumiko frowned a little before sarcastically (and plainly) replying, "I had to take it. The ring wasn't worth much."
Michiko let out an annoyed squeal and stomped her foot. "You confess then! We all heard you! Sanosuke-kun will punish you for this!"
"Okay."
Michiko repeated the sound, crossing her arms. "Sanosuke-sama!" She cried as the group of four made their way down the hall (Jin being the Hanazawa present, not Kanae) to investigate the commotion. "She took my necklace now too! It was an heirloom!"
"Did you?" Sanosuke asked Kumiko, walking towards the servant girl. "Did you take the necklace now too?" He glared.
"I didn't. I have no time for you."
"She must have! It was in the classroom, everyone saw me set it on the desk and now it's gone!" Michiko cried.
"Onee-san!" Hana tried to comfort her sister.
"Sasaki-san, don't lie to me." Sanosuke warned in a threatening voice. "You're in deep water with me as it is."
"Let's just—" A boy snatched her bag and unzipped it, "Check!"
Books and papers and pens tumbled to the ground, as did a thin silver chain with a small diamond butterfly hanging loosely in the middle. The boy picked it up. "Michiko."
Kumiko blinked, but before she had any real chance to reply, Sanosuke had her pinned against the wall, glaring down angrily. "Do you take me for some kind of idiot? Huh!? How dare you lie to me in my face! Where's her ring? If you had the necklace, you probably really do have the ring too!"
"I don't and I didn't lie. I didn't take it." Kumiko looked up at him. "I have no need for stupid, expensive things. They mean nothing to me. Money isn't everything…but…you wouldn't understand it. I said I have no time for you. I have to go."
"If money means nothing to you, why are you living in my house with my family? Huh? Where's your stupid family?"
Everyone seemed slightly surprised at this new information.
"My family doesn't matter. Are you really Makino-sama and Domyouji-sama's child? They don't serve something as rotten as you. They're good people."
"You….little bi—how dare you tell me I don't belong with my family! I hope your family rots in hell!"
"….They probably will."
Sanosuke grabbed her by the collar of her shirt and yanked her away from the wall and tossing her on to the floor. He heard and felt the fabric of her uniform rip as she went down.
The surrounding students began to laugh and Kumiko slowly gathered her things, sloppily throwing them back in to her bag and walking away without making a sound.
Sanosuke glared as she left. How…dare she!
"I think you went too far, Sanosuke." Jusan commented.
"I think…" Sanosuke began, "I think….I did too." He hadn't been sure why he had lost it so badly. Had it been that she didn't seem to fear him? She disrespected him? She lied and stole? She was living in his home? When those around them began to whisper, he crossed his arms. "Let's go!"
"Alright. Nothing to see here. Move along, everyone." Taiki ushered everyone in to different classrooms and Jusan did the same.
"Sanosuke." Jusan called, "Are you going to go find her?"
"Not yet."
"Hm." Jin looked over, "I don't think this will make her respect you any more."
"What are you talking about?" Sanosuke asked.
"With certain people, you have to give respect to receive it." Jin answered.
"He rarely speaks, but when he does…he's so deep!" Taiki teased lightly, noticing Sanosuke didn't look any happier. "Come on, let's get to our next class."
Kumiko skipped her next class. Funny, skipping at least one class a day was becoming a habit. She sat in Kanae's stairwell, Hanazawa-san's book sitting in her lap. She stared at the cover, debating whether or not she'd really try to read it. It was in English and although she had a fair understanding, it would take her a while to read it.
"Taming of the Shrew. My brother tried to get me to read that. I opted for seeing the movie." Kanae spoke, coming down the steps and looking over her.
"Your brother let me borrow it." Kumiko explained.
"What happened to your shirt?"
Staring at the book, Kumiko had almost forgotten about what had happened with Sanosuke. "Domyouji-san happened. It's no big deal."
Kanae came around and sat down in front of her. "Well as long as it's no big deal….Hey, have you been crying?"
Kumiko had almost cried. Her eyes had watered and she had felt the tears build up in the corners of her eyes, but she had quickly wiped them away and had decided not to give Sanosuke that satisfaction. "No."
"Okay. So are you going to read it?"
"Hm?"
"The book."
"I don't know. Do you know what it's about?"
"Long story short—Some chick whose totally 'untamable' and this guy who thinks he can tame her go head to head. Like the title says. She's the shrew and he tries to tame her."
"……Great summary." Kumiko replied with a bit of a sigh.
"Then theres the sister. Woo! Now she's a piece of work. She was tamed and then becomes untamable."
"…..Can you give me a better summary without using any form of the word 'tame'?"
Kanae clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth, "You should talk to my brother then. He's the book worm. Hey, you should tell Makino and Domyouji to give you time off so you can come spend the night at my house tonight."
"I just started working there. I can't."
Kanae pulled her up. "My brother's in the library. You can think about it on our way over." Without giving the girl much choice, Kanae dragged Kumiko along.
"Niiiiiii-san!" Kanae called loudly as they entered the library. The librarian looked up but didn't bother hushing Kanae. Her family had paid for the new library, after all. "He's probably in the classic English Literature section. That's where he always is." She muttered, more to herself than to Kumiko.
To their surprise, he wasn't there. "Odd." Kanae finally let go of Kumiko's arm. "He's normally right there."
"Oh well."
"Mm. Yeah. So, are you going to stay over tonight or what?"
"Well….Tomorrow is a Sunday. Can't I just…see you then?" Kumiko asked. She didn't like the idea of spending the night at the Hanazawa home since she was still trying to get used to staying at the Domyouji home.
"Sure. Okay then. Next step. Let's get you another uniform shirt." Kanae poked the collar of the girl's shirt. "Your blazer can't hide it forever and that's probably your only shirt, isn't it."
"Yeah. But….I can work some more and get the money for…"
"Nonsense. I'll buy it for you. Friends do that you know."
"I don't know. I could never buy you a replacement uniform…so I don't know how good of a friend I'd be."
"God, thank goodness for that." Kanae laughed, "I wouldn't be caught dead in that school uniform."
Kumiko smiled just a little before finally laughing with Kanae—and boy, did it feel good to laugh! "Kanae-san?" Kumiko asked, "Are we really friends?"
Kanae laughed and tossed an arm around the girl, "Goodness! You really are dense!"
Kumiko blinked and the girls shared another laugh. "What are you doing after this, Kumiko?"
"I'm going to work."
"Man, they work you like a slave, huh?"
"I have two jobs. I work at the dango shop Makino-san used to work at too." Kumiko explained. "So I can have money for myself."
"You're a servant for free then?"
"I do it…to repay their kindness." Kumiko informed. "I should go. I rarely have time for myself. Maybe…cutting class isn't so bad." If she left now, she'd have about an hour and a half until she had to work.
"Don't forget to come to my house tomorrow!" Kanae reminded her as Kumiko headed off.
From the window of his classroom, Sanosuke watched Kumiko head down the entrance way, leaving the school. He frowned. So not only did she steal and lie, but she cut class too! He sighed a little, resting his chin in his hand.
He jumped up, "I have to apologize to her!"
The sensei stopped his lecture and looked up. Jin raised a brow and nodded.
"Well If I don't! She'll rat me out to my parents. Dad would probably understand but mom would never tolerate it!"
Jin nodded again—really, he didn't care for the explanation. It wasn't any of his business. He'd tell Taiki and Jusan where Sanosuke had gone after class ended.
Sanosuke rushed out, leaving everyone in a fit of whispers.
"Oi! Servant girl!" Sanosuke yelled as he ran down the entrance way. She had passed the gates, but he could still see her through the bars around the corner, "Stop! Wait up, damn it!"
Kumiko stopped but didn't turn to face him, nor did she verbally respond.
Sanosuke caught his breath. "You can't just skip school, you know!"
Again, Kumiko said nothing. She only looked down at the watch on her wrist, checking the time.
Sanosuke sighed and walked closer. "I'm sorry about your shirt. I'll replace it."
"It's okay. I can do it."
"I ripped it. I'll replace it." He stopped just behind her, "It's important to take responsibility for your actions…"
"….I didn't steal her jewelry." Kumiko informed, "I don't care if you don't believe me." Kumiko began to walk again. Sanosuke followed. "Can you please not follow me?"
"Puh, I'll do what I want." Sanosuke replied, "And I'll follow you until you say you forgive me for ripping your shirt."
"I don't have—"
Sanosuke cut in front of her, "You don't have time for me. I know. Well, make it. I gave you a red notice because you stole the ring. You deserve it. You're still a target because you stole the necklace. You deserve that too. Everyone hates you because you disrespected me. That's something else you deserve--"
"Is that an apology?"
"But you didn't deserve having your uniform destroyed. I went too far. So forgive me! Hey! It isn't every day I apologize to someone! So feel honored and forgive me."
Kumiko stopped and gave him a plain look. "Fine, you're forgiven."
Sanosuke grabbed her arm, "You don't mean that. I want you to really forgive me."
"You can't demand forgiveness. You have to earn it."
"I can do that. I can do anything."
"Let go."
"You know! Most people would be honored by this! Most girls squeal over me and would love to be this close to me! So many pretty girls! But I'm wasting my time on an ugly pauper like you! I shouldn't apologize to you! You should be thanking me, if anything!"
"I'm not impressed by you. You're cocky and spoiled and have a twisted sense of justice. You're a joke to me, Sanosuke Domyouji and I feel terrible to be working for someone who I'm smarter than."
"Hey!" He squeezed her arm. "I'm trying to be nice to you!"
"You have an odd way of showing it!" Kumiko finally snapped, which surprised Sanosuke. Finally, the girl had shown signs of emotion. She seemed angry and annoyed with him.
"Fine, we'll talk about this tonight at home." Sanosuke decided.
"No." Kumiko told him, "Tonight…I'm spending the night at Hanazawa-san's." She yanked her arm free, turned and continued on her way, leaving Sanosuke standing there stunned.
She was going to Jin's? Why was she doing that? And what the hell was Jin thinking? Sanosuke frowned.
Next time: Kumiko spends the day with Jin Hanazawa. Sanosuke Domyouji moves out and experiences "The real world."