Hello there, awesome readers of the anime-loving world! Say konnichiwa to chapter 4!
Your reviews? One word- numerous. Haha, I'm not kidding (actually, maybe since there's only a few readers and reviews, I am, but you guys will grow in number soon), you're awesome, Jer-bear isn't. Lolololol I'm kidding, Jer-bear; I wuv you so much that I don't forget to bring my badminton racket with me.
Disclaimer? Are you still flaming me for the previous chapter? Well, lucky for you, I can't own Inazuma Eleven! :(
4: The Complimenting Relationship
So how did the two most opposite people become the closest of best friends?
They were best friends- childhood friends at that too. They were inseparable…okay, maybe if they were put together with duct tape or superglue, they would literally be inseparable- but by inseparable (A/N: You're giving me quite the tongue twister for repeating that word.), we mean their bonds; their friendship. Even though they had a mile-long list full of differences, it was nothing but a petty matter to them. Though they were complete opposites- from the hair to the gender (A/N: Yes, I live a double-life as Captain Obvious.)- they complimented each other perfectly, hence the chapter title.
After playing a bit of soccer by the riverbank, the duo took a break when Mamori Gami brought up the topic.
"Ne, Suke-chan," The berrytop looked up from her Danshi-ing Girl! manga to see if he was even paying attention to her (A/N: Oh my Kami when was the last time that he's ever ignored you, dear? Oh wait…that was a Chappie ago…) He grunted; that was good enough. "You remember that hissatsu technique we devised just because we thought it could beat Fire Tornado?" Tsurugi Kyousuke looked at her, the grass almost hitting his eyes as he turned his head, and then back at the clouds like Shikamaru would do. "Yeah," He finally answered; Kyousuke heard her release her breath which she had subconsciously held just awaiting his answer. "What about it?" Gami closed her book and shoved it in her half-open Kipling. "Do you remember the first time we played soccer together; the three of us?" Again, Kyousuke didn't know where this was going, but was too relaxed to be irked right now. "Yes, Tenshi-chan, I remember." Gami sighed longingly. "Why are you doing that?" He sat up, seriously bothered with it. Gami spun to his direction, a small, sad smile on her face. "I miss those days; I really, really miss them."
A new family had just moved into their neighborhood, and young five-year-old Tsurugi Kyousuke, just as curious as his then ten-year-old brother, Yuuichi, decided to pay their new neighbor a visit. At least it wouldn't hurt to say hello, be hospitable and/or make a new friend.
"Kyousuke," Tsurugi Yuuichi called his brother's attention; he quickly darted his head to Yuuichi's voice. "I'll be right back to get the ball; you kicked it too far and now it's in the water." Before Kyousuke knew it, he and Yuuichi had gone the opposite ways; the elder one going to fetch the ball while the younger brother went out to make new friends with the new girl.
She had already put on that cute smile even before he had arrived at their lawn.
"Hello," She greeted him cheekily, her soccer ball now abandoned. "H-Hi," He replied shyly; in the movies and on TV, it was always, always, difficult to talk to girls without upsetting them or something. But this one was different. "My name's Mamori Gami." She held out her short, pudgy hand for him to shake, which he did meekly. "I'm Tsurugi Kyousuke. It's nice to meet you." Despite just meeting and obliging to follow proper etiquette, Kyousuke couldn't help asking about that annoying thing that had got him interested about Gami in the first place. "Why are you wearing that really super big hat?" (A/N: As big as Marcy's in the What Was Missing episode, actually.) Gami blinked a few times before her grin faded. "Promise you won't make funna me?" Kyousuke nodded sincerely. She took off the wide brimmed hat that hid her short, spiky orange hair and bowed down her head in embarrassment. "You look good with that hair," Gami looked up at him, surprise painted all over her once-embarrassed face. "S-Sorry?"
"I said you look good with that hair. Your blue eyes make you even prettier with orange."
Tears coming out of her eyes, she probably flung herself on poor, caught-off-guard Kyousuke. "Y-You're the f-first one t-to l-like my hair," She sobbed happily into his shoulder. "I'm s-s-so h-happy!" Shortly after Gami released a still-surprised Kyousuke, Tsurugi Yuuichi came up behind them holding a soaked soccer ball. "Hello there, Kawaii-chan," He smiled at Gami; Kyousuke had noted that his nii-san also liked the blue and orange combo that Gami bore. He even called her cute (A/N: Technically, he called her kawaii-chan, but it's still has the same meaning anyway.)! "My name is Tsurugi Yuuichi. I'm Kyousuke's older brother." Gami smiled proudly this time and re-introduced herself again. "Would you like to come over at our house, Gami-chan?" Yuuichi suggested after seeing that the young girl's parents were too busy to even pay attention to their child; he didn't want her to be ignored by her own parents, where was the love in that? The young girl's blue eyes sparkled with glee. "Just wait here, Tsurugi-san," She said excitedly. "I'll go ask my parents first!" And just like that, she dashed into her family's house while the two blue-haired brothers waited for her return.
"That's great, Tenshi-chan," The young girl's orange-haired mother said to the curtains she was hanging. "Since you have nothing to do here, you may go, but you have to ask your father as well." Her mother may not have seen it, but Gami nodded eagerly before exiting the room towards another. "Otoosan, okaasan is going to scold you for designing the dining room without her." Her tall father laughed before giving her a wink. "This'll be our secret, okay, sweetie?" Gami nodded; right now she was willing to do anything if it meant being allowed to go to her friends' house. "What is it, Tenshi-chan?" The blonde man kneeled to her level. "May I go to my friends' house today?" She asked, still grinning from ear to ear. Her father rubbed his chin with his index finger and thumb- a habit that Gami had somewhat copied from him. "Alright. What are their names?" Proud to memorize them, she stated the siblings' names. "Tsurugi Yuchi and Tsurugi Kyousuke." (A/N: She said Yuuichi's name wrong, mainly because she was still 5, so be nice, especially you, Yuuichi fangirls.) "Okay," Her father stood up, ready to work on the dining room again. "Have fun, Tenshi-chan!"
"Okaasan, we brought a visitor today; she's our new neighbor!" Kyousuke ran inside the house ahead of the other two, who were walking at a more relaxed pace. "Would you like something to eat, Gami-chan?" Yuuichi politely asked her; after all, being the host, he had to be hospitable. "Sure, thank you," She replied, skipping towards the house where Kyousuke-
"-Ate all the cookies! All of them," Gami punched her best friend on the shoulder. "That was unfair, I was the guest!" She pouted further; Kyousuke laughed and pulled her closer to him. "Yeah, but when we visited you the day after that, you ate all the biscuits that were meant to be for us and us alone." Gami thought for a moment before answering. "Have some sympathy for lady vengeance; all she wanted was justice!" (A/N: Sympathy for Lady Vengeance is actually a Korean film; I saw Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance only from the Vengeance Trilogy.) Kyousuke rolled his eyes. "Since when have you been all about Korea?" Gami thought with her well-known thinking pose (A/N: Which you should know by now.). "We watched it together, silly! When I was sick and it was my turn to visit you two." She answered, confident that she got it right this time. Kyousuke chuckled, and Gami wondered why. "Remember the jinx?" He smiled- a smile that was hiding something really mischievous- at her. Gami grinned; she definitely remembered.
"Thanks for sparing some of your time for her, dears. If you have anything to ask, just call this number, okay?" Gami's orange-haired mother handed the two boys a small business card with her husband's name and phone number on it. That day, the Tsurugi brothers' girl best friend was sick with fever; her temperature wasn't too high, but that didn't exempt the fact that she was still sick. Obediently, the two blue-haired brothers nodded and bid Mamori Gami's parents farewell.
"Ne, Tenshi-chaaaan," Kyousuke peeked- with difficulty, thanks to his small stature- at the sick girl from the back of the couch. Gami blinked as a sign of curiosity. "Wanna watch sumpin?" The blue-eyed girl pulled the covers down to reveal a small smile.
In the end, they were forced to watch some boring- according to the two 6-year-olds- violent movie on KBS World, but both Gami and Kyousuke had fallen asleep even before the really gory parts began, much to the relief of 11-year-old Yuuichi, who switched the TV off and tucked his beloved brother on the other end of the big couch that the sick Gami slept on. Hopefully, he wouldn't be infected since it was just yesterday when he and his brother, uncontrollably coughing, were under the care of self-proclaimed Nurse Gami, who even sneaked out of bed hours after her curfew to call their parents and asked if they were recovering already.
"Actually, it's not really a jinx," Kyousuke rested his arms on his knees as Gami hugged hers (A/N: Aw, man! I liked it when Kyousuke one-arm-hugged her better.). "Because…?" Gami questioned his statement; that jinx had existed for almost eight years, so how could it be a lie? "Just because nii-san and I get sick doesn't mean you have to forget about your own well-being and nurse us back to health. You getting sick wasn't our fault; it was your-"
"Well if you two weren't so sickly and so fond of getting me so worried-"
"We didn't want you to worry, dummy; you're just really so-"
That was another best friend thing they had; they couldn't help but interrupt each other, but though you'd never really understand what they said, they both did. I'm not saying that they could read each other's minds- because if they could, Kyousuke's going to embarrass his self in front of her- they've known each other, their secrets, played together, celebrated each other's birthdays, playfully argued, walked each other home and shared sad, happy and unforgettable moments since age five; what did they not know about each other?
Gami's family was in town when the incident with Yuuichi happened. With nobody to cry to or be comforted by, Kyousuke could only resort to his pillow, soaking it wet every night, having puffy red eyes in the morning, and not being able to forgive himself for what had happened- for what he had done- to his brother. Although the Mamori family returned days after, Kyousuke could not bring himself to see his best friend again even if she was the only one he had and the only one who could comfort him.
"Suke-chan," Gami's tone was serious and she emitted some sort of negative energy, Kyousuke could tell. "What is it?" Gami felt tears forming in her eyes already. "I'm sorry," She started. "I'm sorry for not being there when it happened," She wiped the first fallen tear. "I'm sorry because I haven't done anything to comfort you," Kami, she didn't like crying; once you started, it was hard to stop. "I'm- hic- sorry- hic- that-"
"Shut it," Kyousuke wasn't going to listen to her ranting about what happened six years ago; he had a happy girl best friend, not a resentful one. "I'm not going to listen to you…I'm not even going to buy you pocky if you cry another tear." He hugged her so tightly, despite not even hugging the berrytop back whenever she tackle-hugs him. 'This will be the last time I'm ever hugging a person,' He thought; he did have a reputation to uphold, remember? (A/N: Or maybe he's just not really a big fan of hugging anyone but his brother and probably- excuse me! Back to the story!) "Suke-chan, I'm serio-"
"No, you're not. How can you be serious when you're calling me by my nickname? Look," Gami's crying had gradually stopped, and Kyousuke released her from his hug. "Was there ever a time that I lashed out at you because you weren't there when nii-san was hospitalized and I was in need of you?" Gami stared at him, while he stared back at her with gentle eyes. Then she smiled that same cute smile she put on when they first met. "No," Returning back to her happy state, she tackle hugged a displeased Kyousuke to the ground, relieved of the guilt that she had been carrying for the last six years.
Truly, Kyousuke was one of a kind, and Gami was definitely a rare find. Though they had a mile-long list of differences, it was nothing but a petty matter to the two complete opposites.
Finally! Jer-beaaaaar~~~! Happy? Because I'm not going to spoil you the drafts anymoreeee! :))
Well! Sorry for taking a long time, minna-san…my writer's block…my laziness…er, my writer's block was preventing me from progressing further. Hehe.
You shall review because you love Taiyou. You will review because you love Kyousuke. You must review because I beg you to. :3
-AniMa