Chapter 2
x Nagihiko x
So when I woke up this morning, I instantly regretted giving up my coat and forgetting to change out of my wet clothes before bed because what greeted my new day was a big, painful pang in the head. At first, I decided that it was a temporary thing. But then a few minutes passed since I woke up and the pain was still there. I realized that I was in no condition to go to school, but I can't afford to miss it, especially today.
After getting up despite the dumbbell which was my head, I headed for the bathroom, looked up at the mirror and saw with utmost horror that my face, especially my nose and my eyes, were red, making it look like I've been crying.
She will assume that I cried and will mock me to no end. She could hurl as many insults as she wants for me today, and my mind won't be quick enough to make 'just-as-insulting' comebacks. I sighed, deciding that other than the basketball period, today wouldn't be something to look forward to. Then I began doing my usual routine before school.
Going down the stairs, my mom must've noticed my condition because she raised her brows and came to me, her floral kimono being dragged across our kitchen floor as she did so.
"Nagihiko, are you feeling alright?"
"Yeah, mom. I'm fine!" I said, sending her a lazy smile. The look on her face after I said that told me that she didn't buy it. I was right. The next thing I knew, she was pressing her forehead against mine to feel my temperature, and I cursed her maternal instinct for being so precise. When she pulled away, there was a frown on her face.
"You don't look fine to me. Don't go to school today. You need to take a break!"
"But I'm half a school year away from getting a perfect record!" I reasoned, trying hard to keep my voice steady.
"Your school record will be the last thing on your mind when you collapse in the middle of class."
BAM! Bull's eye. Why can't she be wrong sometimes? What she said made complete sense but I cannot and I will not miss school today. We have two periods of basketball to make up for the times that classes were suspended. I can't bear to miss that! Besides, I don't feel anywhere close to fainting now or anytime soon. By the time this develops into flu, it'll be the weekend. And by the time that it's Monday, I should be well, then.
"I'll take it easy today. I promise." I said, hoping that I didn't look that bad as I looked my mom in the eye. She seemed to be thinking about it for a moment until she sighed.
"Okay, then. But at least let me ask the chauffer to take you there."
Despite the fact that it was more convenient, I didn't really like getting to my destinations via car. I would rather walk with Amu-chan and the others. It was livelier, and it made me feel like I fit in. And by "fit in" I meant I felt like a normal teenager that didn't have a dark family past and a dangerous, not to mention embarrassing family curse. It also meant that I didn't have to worry about the rich, oftentimes snobby girls that my mom wanted to set me up with to ensure that our filthy rich family could broaden their connections.
"I feel bad, honey. The last time we used the convertible, you were nine. Tell the chauffer, Takagi-kun to use it on your way to school, ne?"
My mom, however, doesn't really want me to fit in. She wants me to stand out because of the family's background. Our family's surname holds great pride, and she wants to make sure that everyone knows it.
"So will you have Takagi-kun drive you to school?"
I guess that it's the only way to convince her to let me go. "Sure," I replied with a stuffy nose before heading out to the gate. About a minute later, the convertible was there. After getting in, I gave Takagi-kun instructions on where I wanted to go.
"Amu-chan's house," I said, frowning slightly because of how hoarse my voice has become.
Because of the circumstances, I was the first one to her house. I didn't have to explain to her why I couldn't have the driver bring me all the way to school or why I came there in a car. It happens a lot. Like I said, my mom prefers it if I travel by car. ("Girls don't like sweaty guys!" she once told me).
Amu-chan and I chat for about five minutes, majority of the talk being about why I looked like trash at the moment.
"You're not sad are you, Nagihiko? You look like you've been crying all night!"
"I didn't cry," I smiled, sniffing. "I'm just-"
"Good morning!"
Amu-chan and I swiveled our heads to the direction of the voice: Hotori-kun. Just as expected, when Amu saw him, she swooned. And when the two of them spoke, I decided that my existence has long been forgotten.
Eventually, Yaya-chan and Soma-kun came, and the topic between the five of us as we lounged around was the possible reason that Rima-chan is late.
"Maybe she overslept?" Hotori-kun suggested, fidgeting with his green tie.
"Maybe she's playing soccer and got carried away!" Soma-kun grinned, doing a thumb's up.
Yaya voiced out everyone else's disagreement. "No, Kukai! Rima-tan hates playing outdoors!"
"Hey, could she possibly have been abducted? You know, that happened to her once, right?" Amu-chan whispered.
However, Yaya-chan seemed to get the wrong idea. "By what? Aliens?"
"Y-Yaya! That's impossible!" Amu retorted, though I could clearly see her legs shaking. If Rima-chan was here, I bet she would've prolonged the scare. However, she wasn't, so I was amused by how far the assumptions have developed.
"But recently on the telly, I saw some girl claiming that she saw UFO's landing in Hokkaido!" Yaya said. Amu froze, all hints of life escaping. Then Yaya gasped as some sort of twisted realization dawned upon her. "Hey, maybe the aliens brought her to candy land!" she paused before scrunching up her face. We all froze. Here it comes:
"NO! YAYA WANTS TO GO TO CANDY LAND! WHY DIDN'T RIMA-TAN TAKE ME WITH HER TO CANDY LAND?"
"What are you all blabbering about?" a soft, stoic voice said. We all turned to its source, and I instantly felt myself stiffen when I saw her eyes giving me a sour, skeptical look.
"Rima-chan,"
"Fujisaki," she nodded her head, acknowledging my existence and turned to Amu, all smiles now.
"Amu! What is it about me not taking Yaya to candy land?" she asked, cocking her head to the side, her face looking scarily angelic. Amu-chan fell for it. "It's nothing, Rima!" she said, waving her hand dismissively. Then, she once again fixated her attention on me. There was an eerie silence surrounding all of us as her eyes traveled from my feet, to my head, and finally, stayed on my face. We all knew that another argument between us was going to happen, and for the first time, I felt that I wasn't ready for it.
"Girly-boy, you look like you've been crying," she smirked.
"Do I?"
"Yes. In fact, your voice sounds kind of bad. Were you crying this morning?"
"I'm obviously sick, Rima-chan,"
She crossed her arms then twisted her mouth a little bit as she gave me a sour look. "So now you admit it."
For some odd reason, I felt the tips of my lips involuntarily tilt up as if I unconsciously liked debating with her. Maybe, just maybe I find it quite amusing to see someone so small have such a strong personality.
"I wasn't denying it, Rima-chan. I think I have a fever,"
"You know what I meant by sick"
"Yes, I suppose I do. It means I'm ill"
"So now you're playing dumb?"
"I'm not playing dumb. Rima-chan, are you?"
"Hey! Cut it out! We're late!" Amu cried.
x x x
It was halfway through changing into our basketball uniforms did I realize that playing basketball when I'm obviously on the verge of collapsing wasn't a very good idea.
I can't believe I just thought that.
"Hey! Fujisaki!" I heard a guy yell before feeling something hard bounce against my head. For a moment, the world twisted and turned so I fell on my knees. Then, after looking up, I realized that I've been hit by a basketball. "Omigod, Fujisaki! I'm so sorry!" I heard the voice of that same guy cry. I heard footsteps padding towards me, and I looked up and saw one of my teammates hovering over me. "I thought you'd catch it."
"That's what I'd normally do. Don't worry about it." I smiled, getting on my feet. He made a sigh of relief and told me he'd see me in the court for gym class.
When I came to the gym, instead of going straight to the court like I normally would, I headed for the bleachers and collapsed. Soma-kun was the first to notice my lack of enthusiasm towards the sport. He headed straight for me, his brows slightly creased.
"Yo, Fujisaki! You alright?"
"Yeah, don't worry about it. I just need to rest a little bit."
"Rest from doing what?"
He playfully leaned on my shoulder then sighed, awaiting the reply that never came. It's the beginning of the day. We practically didn't do anything yet.
Hotori-kun and Amu-chan were the next ones headed towards us.
"How are you not in the court, Fujisaki-kun?"
"Nagihiko, is it really okay for you to be here? You're looking worse by the second."
Rima-chan scuttled towards Amu, and I waited for a stabbing remark that never came. Surprised, I glanced up at her. She refused to meet my gaze. She just kept her eyes to the group of boys playing the game.
Well, looks like the girl who's got the entire male population in Seiyo under her control is infatuated by a bunch of basketball players. I could use that against her sometime.
"Like I said. I'm fine." I assured them.
There was a soft huff coming from behind Amu-chan and we all turned to see Rima-chan giving me a strange look. Then, to my surprise, she came over to me and pressed a palm against my forehead. I froze. So did everyone else.
"You're hot," she whispered, her brows slightly narrowing.
"Uh, thank you?"
Realizing what I meant, her eyes widened.
"Not in that sense, idiot!" Everyone laughed, causing Rima-tan to turn pink. She cursed everyone in the group whilst glaring them down and eventually, the laugh subsided. Then she turned to look at me, her face red with possibly anger. "I hope that you slip on a ball and break your ankle," she muttered, looking at me in a way that a cat would look at a mouse.
When our coach entered, he assigned two leaders to pick their team mates. Both teams wanted me. That's why the coach assigned me to the team whose leader was unfortunately Saaya Yamabuki.
"Oh! Nagihiko-sama! I'm so glad that you chose my team!" She tried to sneak a hug but I dodged then walked really far away from her.
I heard the coach's whistle, and before a second could even pass, the ball was immediately passed on to me. I dribbled it, dodged some opponents then jumped to shoot the ball, only when I jumped, my vision blurred and my head ached.
The ball slipped from my hands and I fell on my back.
I signaled that I was okay then continued to play.
I slipped, fell, missed…
Slipped…
Missed…
People were starting to murmur. Eventually, our team lost. Amu-chan was the first to run to me and offer me some water.
"Seriously, Nagihiko. I think you should go home," she said, this time, her voice sounded worried. Rima-chan was standing beside her, surprisingly quiet.
"I'll just wait for the day to end. I'll rest when I get home."
"You're sweating like mad and it's gross, Fujisaki. Why don't you rest while you're not dripping in sweat, hmm?" Rima-tan spat, suddenly turning her gaze to me.
When I smiled and said "Okay," I thought I saw her frown for a split second. But then again, maybe that's just my head playing around with me. And although I knew that she wasn't really trying to help me, she did have a point. If even Rima-chan is telling me to rest, then I probably should.
I told the coach that I needed to go to the clinic and he instantly understood. When he asked the two classes who wanted to take me there, unfortunately, Yamabuki-san's hand was the first one to shoot up. As we left, I could feel the eyes of everyone in class on me.
x x x
Although I was really dizzy, I refused to lean on Yamabuki-san's shoulder. Now, before you think that I'm mean, or unapproachable, or un-suave when it comes to a die-hard fan girl, let me tell you that this fan girl is not normal.
See, once she tried to kiss me; then, she kidnapped me; then she 'accidentally' got locked in the same closet as me and almost made out with me.
Recently, I found three notebooks filled with pictures of me- pictures that I didn't even know existed! Heck, in one of the pictures, I was sleeping during English class! I don't want to get caught sleeping in English class! I mean, they could show it to the principal and my perfect reputation would be ruined. Of course, I think I should be more concerned about the drool leaving my lips in that photo but the sleeping part is worse 'cause it could definitely change how my English teacher sees me.
But then that was nothing compared to this one thing she did. It made me terrified of her. The thing is, somehow, despite Rima-chan's mob of fan-boys and her very smart and intimidating personality, she managed to get to her and trap her in a closet, along with Yaya-chan, for an entire day. If Hotori-kun wasn't there to get the librarian to open it up for us (using his sparkly attack, of course,) who knows how long they could've stayed there? And when she finally got away, well, I realized that the Rima-chan I encounter everyday is actually already very nice.
"Nagihiko-sama~" I flinched at the sound of Yamabuki-san's voice, "you can lean on me if you want! You're dizzy, right?"
"I can walk. Don't worry about it"
Suddenly, she leaned on me then started tracing circles across my chest.
"Are you suuure?"
Creepycreepycreepycreepy
I pushed her away as gently as I could, slightly wobbling in the process.
"Yes"
I walked ahead of her, glad that my vision and mind are clearing up. Maybe my fever isn't as high as I thought. Maybe all I needed to do was prevent myself from doing rough play. Maybe-
"Nagihiko-sama!" Yamabuki-san wailed, scurrying after me. I wasn't sure whether I should stop and wait for her (which is the right thing to do) or walk faster, completely ignoring her (which is what I really wanted to do.) I didn't have the time to make up my mind, though, because she grabbed me, cupped my face then forced our lips to meet.
When we kissed, I felt my joints freeze and my mind fill with thoughts- thoughts that were too fast for me to point out.
It was when she pulled away (after around seven seconds, mind you) that I found myself and realized that I wasn't breathing.
She flushed then curled her kinky hair while saying some probably cheesy stuff- stuff that I couldn't listen to at the moment.
She kissed me.
She stole my first kiss! And I don't want to sound like a chic thinking that, but I couldn't help it! After all, my mom did once warn me about some curse in the family, and I'm pretty sure that I have it. Until it is triggered, then I'm completely normal. And the only way to trigger it is if I'm kissed in the lips by some girl who isn't related to me in any way. Well, ha! Now it's triggered, and I will have to go through the pain of changing into a girl whenever a girl kisses me even if it's not on the lips.
"Move it, Yamabuki-san" I let my bangs cover the expression on my face as I shoved myself past her, not caring that I left her gaping.
"If you were reckless enough to disobey the rules of the curse, you'll only have five minutes before the effects start showing. Within that five minutes, you'll have to somehow get some female clothing and wear them. Don't let anyone know that you are Nagihiko Fujisaki, then. The family curse must never be revealed."
"Only five minutes, huh?" I chuckled darkly under my breath as I made my way to the girls' locker room.
I hope you guys enjoyed this chappie! Took me a lot of edits and...ANYWAYS, the next chapter is when everything starts making sense. Enjoy! And if you guys have already read this before, you might notice that I kind of edited the way I wrote this. Same with chapter 1. I'm thinking of doing the same with chapter three but it's looooonf! And I still need to make the latest chapters for this story!