Title: Fury

Title: Fury

Summary: Tohma lost something precious to him, and you'll have the very chance to peek into his past. (This summary sucks, doesn't it? XD) And oh, Shuichi… uh… realized something he hasn't noticed all these time. v I have to warn you though that this chapter contains some of my personal thoughts about how great and good-looking Tohma is. So if you're not much a fan of his, then brace yourself and read at your own risk. XD

Disclaimer: I do not own Gravitation… yadda yadda yadda… XD

Notes: Tohma's past including some characters involved in his memory that weren't in the anime nor in the manga were written and only made by me. Familiarity with the anime would be helpful. ;-) Again, forgive any grammatical errors. Just my first fic.

FANART ALERT (!): While writing the latter part of this chapter, I just had this sudden urge to draw a fanart of my fic. Yes, people. I had drawn a 14-year-old Tohma together with… (spoilers ahead) Satoshi. Now, I believe that these (two) fanarts will fully justify why Tohma reacted the way he did when he saw the news. And I also would like to show you how Satoshi looks like (narrative description, I know, is not enough), since he was only made up by me. It's a shame if I'm the only one who knows how he looks like.

Pictures have mild shounen-ai theme. Sorry if some features of Tohma weren't the same with the original ones. Don't shoot me. ;

URL:

(i47.photobucket(dot)com/albums/f188/ryoukayuzuki/satoshitohma.jpg)

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(i47.photobucket(dot)com/albums/f188/ryoukayuzuki/tohma.jpg)

FANART DISCLAIMERS: Do not steal and claim them as yours. I have my signature on them as watermark. But you can redistribute them if you want. Credits to Arina Tanemura and Tohru Azumi.

--o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o--

Track 04: The Forgotten Memories

It was nearing midnight but he was still wide awake as he stood outside on the gray stone terrace outside his apartment. He closed his eyes and took a deep silent breath, feeling the freezing wind enter his lungs and numbing his senses.

This is getting serious. What the hell am I thinking? I never should have done this, a guilty voice spoke at the back of his mind. He breathed again and tried to picture on his mind the events that took place two weeks ago. It wasn't the smartest move but it paid off well.

The anxious look on his face. It was him who's the cause of that look on Tohma. The famous Seguchi Tohma. He smirked as he remembered the blonde's face. What would he do to see that look again?

"Everything…"

He opened his eyes and looked out over the magnificent city of Tokyo with its lights dancing lazily to the slow rhythm of the cold wind.

No, this is just the right thing to do, a tiny different voice defended derisively drowning the guilty protests of the other voice in silence.

"This is the only option I got…"

Shaking slightly, he raised his right hand slowly and looked at them intently for a long while.

Am I ready for this?

Can I do this?

He balled his hand into a fist before finally putting it down and with a last glance over the city, walked silently into his apartment.

It was dark inside the living room but you could still see the simple splendor of the place. The walls were lined with quite a few stylish paintings and the pieces of furniture were all made of fine polished wood.

After throwing a final glimpse at the living room, he proceeded to his bedroom and entered the bathroom. He turned the faucet on and splashed some water on his face. The fluid was very cold on his skin, piercing him softly as the chill seeped through his veins. Then he peered into the mirror just above the sink, it bore a very handsome man in his mid-20's. Bright cerulean eyes, under a mass of dark blue hair, stared back at him blankly.

Who would have ever thought that I would end up this way? He pondered as he continued to watch himself in the mirror. For all these sixteen years all his loathing, all his hatred for Tohma had turned him into the man he's staring at now. He would have become a very different person if Tohma hadn't ruined his life; would have lived a happy life if Tohma hadn't destroyed all his dreams. He was enraged at the idea that Tohma and that person had managed to get away with what they had done sixteen years ago. It crushed his world. Someone very precious to him had vanished and no one even battered an eyelid about what had happened.

He washed his face once more before finally wiping it with a towel. After throwing the towel aside, he breathed deeply again and gazed at his open hand. I had promised her that I would avenge her no matter what. And I will do anything to fulfill that promise.

He closed his eyes for a long while, but then without warning, he slammed his fist hard into the mirror. Shards and bits of glass flew everywhere and thick crimson blood start to ooze from his hand. Though he didn't fully understand why, the sensation coming from his wounded hand had somehow made him feel much alive.

His blood started to drip and fall to the sink. He looked at it as it began to flow slowly down the sides of the ceramic counter, and mixed with dregs of water, bit by bit, like little crimson flowers floating hazily on water.

He looked away from it and washed his hand quickly, then proceeded on clearing off the floor with the shattered bits of glass. Five minutes later, the phone in the living room rang. He quickly stood up and went out of the bathroom to get it.

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's me. I got some good news for you."

He quickly recognized the voice.

"Speak."

"The target has been spotted," the caller confirmed, "He just came in this afternoon."

"Good."

There was a pause.

"So what will be our next move?" the caller asked.

He smiled to himself as he gave out the final instructions in a low voice. "You know what to do," he said, staring at the cloudy evening sky outside his apartment window. "Execute Phase 2."

--oooo0000oooo--

Tohma opened his eyes slowly, breathing deeply and wondering why he had suddenly woken up from his sleep. He stared fuzzily at the wall facing him; the room was still dark and by the looks of it, it was still the middle of the night.

He tried to remember what had stirred him to consciousness, but his mind seemed not to cooperate. Images formed sluggishly in his mind: formless black shadows chasing him as he ran across a sinister-looking forest, a cackling laugh, followed by a bright light emerging on a distance, and then voices saying words he can't understand. He can't remember the rest of the details, though he was quite sure that it was still the same dream he had been having for three days now.

He sat up slowly and looked at the digital clock on his bedside table. It read 1:32 AM.

Damn…

Usually, once he wakes up already, he can't go back to sleep anymore. He had been suffering insomnia since he was twenty-one. Most likely, he supposed, had started when he had changed his sleeping habits.

He slumped his head hard on his bed pillows, hoping he would be knocked unconscious by the blow, but this feat only resulted to doubling the pain in his head.

Strike one, Tohma. What a very stupid thing to do.

Cursing under his breath, he massaged his head tenderly, and got out of the bed slowly and went for the door. He has been staying in his own apartment for three weeks now since he had that fight with Mika. Sometimes he would call her and check if everything's all right and such. And if not busy enough, visit her at the house on Sundays. Her wife would usually talk to him coldly, with the air of slight irritation. It's obvious that she still hasn't forgotten about their misunderstanding. So all in all, Tohma had no choice but to stay in his apartment.

He walked over to the kitchen and took out a can of beer from the refrigerator, then proceeded to the living room, gulping down his drink as he sank himself on the sofa facing the television. He yawned loudly and stared around his apartment.

The place was actually too big for him. It had three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, a living room and a balcony. The first time Tohma had seen this apartment in an ad, he quickly called the number posted. He had bought it almost two years ago for a fair amount of price. In fact, he didn't have a real reason for buying this pad; he just wanted to have a place to sleep in if he doesn't feel like going home, or if he's too tired to go home for that matter.

He stretched his legs and drank some more beer. Now, about this dream of his. He is really getting irritated now. He usually doesn't give a damn about dreams because he really can't understand them in the first place. But this dream he had just now, and it was also the same dream he has been having for three days straight, started to bother him. Why did he keep having the same nightmare?

He supposed that maybe it has something to do with his more pressing problems right now. Tohma doesn't really like to remember it anymore but his brain just can't seem to forget it.

Three weeks had passed since the incident at the restaurant, and nothing unusual happened since then. He suspected then that it was, after all, just a prank. But every time he thinks about it, he can't shake that familiar feeling of uncertainty and danger. It's as if someone is just nearby, watching his every move, and waiting for the chance to catch him off guard once he let his security down.

This thought has been haunting him during nights, and at times he would seriously doubt his sanity. Was he getting paranoid? Sometimes he would reason with himself rationally. Pranks are not new to him anymore; he had actually experienced quite a few of them in the past, though none of them had threatened his life. After all, the threats he had been worrying about didn't even make sense, and he was not really sure if it was all done by the same person or not.

It could be all pure coincidences, couldn't it? The call he had received preceding his car accident could have just been made by anyone. It could have been from one of their Nittle Grasper fans, or somebody from the press, or maybe even from a friend.

Tohma eased himself with these thoughts, but it still didn't answer the inevitable question that was hanging at the back of his mind: How about the man who gave him the card back at the restaurant? Who is he then? Tohma thought deeply, as he lay down on the sofa, glancing at the ceiling.

The person he saw at the restaurant was definitely a man, with bluish back hair, maybe three inches taller than him. He can't really remember the rest of the male's features since everything happened in a haze. But Tohma kept the card he had received from that anonymous person. There were instances where he would just stare at the message written on it for long minutes, questions of why and who occasionally popping out of his head, but try as he might to find reasons out of everything, the answers are always vague.

Tohma put his face into his hands. He doesn't need to worry about it anymore. He had changed his mobile number already, and it has already been three weeks. He was just thinking too much about it.

That's right. It's nothing to worry about…

If he wouldn't stop thinking about it, Noriko and Ryuichi might bind to notice, and he didn't want them to be involved with this anymore. It was enough that he had to bear all the questions and suspicious looks of Ryuichi after he had returned to the restaurant. Yes, this would be the last time he would think about it.

After a few more minutes of contemplating, Tohma finally got up and emptied his can of beer. He glanced at the wall clock hanging on the far side of the room: 2:20 AM.

Damn.

He stretched his arms and ruffled his hair, then went back to his bedroom.

Guess I have no choice but to take those goddamned sleeping pills again…

--oooo0000oooo--

Riiinnggg!

The shrill sound of the phone was the first sound that was heard at the apartment where Sakuma Ryuichi lives.

"Coming! Coming!" Ryuichi shouted ardently as he dashed to the living room to get the phone.

"Hello?"

"Ryuichi, it's Noriko…"

"Noriko-chan!" greeted Ryuichi buoyantly, "Na, why did you call in so early?"

"Have you heard about it?" Noriko's voice sounded serious.

"Heard about what?" he asked curiously as he ate a stick of strawberry pocky.

"Satoshi… on the news," Noriko replied impatiently at the other end of the line. "Have you seen it? Turn on your TV now. It's on every channel…"

"Satoshi? Satoshi who?" Ryuichi asked bewilderedly, grabbing the remote control with his free hand and turning on the TV.

"Satoshi! Iwamoto Satoshi! Don't you remember him?" Noriko explained miserably, "He was in the same school with us…"

But Ryuichi was only half-listening to Noriko. His attention was now glued to the television.

"…As of the latest findings, it appears to be that Mr. Iwamoto had eaten poisonous food last night. He was found dead on his house's kitchen floor by one of his hired house caretakers," the reporter stated as she pointed to a house at her back. "The autopsy of Mr. Iwamoto's body has yet to be released. The police are now looking for signs of foul play, but since the autopsy is not yet available, they remained silent about the issue. I'm Sachiko Imai, Sakura News."

Satoshi… no… it can't be… he's… he's dead?

"Hey, Ryu, are you still there?" Noriko asked concernedly.

"Noriko, do… do you think Tohma have heard?" asked Ryuichi, his mouth had gone completely dry.

"I don't know. I haven't called him yet… I don't think I can tell him about it."

"So… so what are we supposed to do?"

They were silent for a moment. Then Noriko replied, "We'll wait. If he still doesn't know anything about it, then we pretend we haven't heard it yet."

"But…"

"Ryu, I don't think Tohma could handle the news, especially now. We'll keep it as a secret for a short while. OK, Ryu? Only for a short time."

Ryuichi didn't answer.

"Ryu?" Noriko's voice sounded far away.

Ryuichi took a deep calming breath. "OK," he finally said in a soft voice.

--oooo0000oooo--

Shuichi yawned loudly, stretching his arms widely while walking languidly towards the entrance of NG Corp. He scratched his head absentmindedly and greeted the security guard standing at the entrance doors. After the guard greeted him back, Shuichi idly entered the building and proceeded to where the elevators where located. He pushed the UP button and waited soundlessly for the elevator, yawning and scratching his head once more. After a few more minutes, its doors opened, and dragging his feet heavily along, Shuichi entered inside.

"Hey, elevator!"

Shuichi heard a voice call after him. He pressed gingerly the HOLD button and saw a blonde guy enter. It was Tohma Seguchi.

"Thanks." Tohma smiled at him.

"Uh, no problem," Shuichi said as he released the hold button. "So… er… what's your floor, Seguchi-san?"

"29th. Thanks."

Shuichi pushed both his and Tohma's floor buttons, and then waited awkwardly in silence. He watched Tohma from the corner of his eye, who, he noticed, was wearing an all-black attire: long-sleeved polo with its cuffs unbuttoned, paired tastefully with black slacks.

Shuichi never remembered seeing him dress so plainly. He knew that Tohma used to wear suits with elaborated furs and such, though, in Shuichi's opinion, the guy looked much better in simpler clothes.

Especially black. It really brings out the color of his skin. Shuichi thought deeply, glancing sideways. He never really paid much attention to Tohma's appearance before. Now thinking about it, he just noticed that Tohma has such a beautiful skin. He drifted his gaze to Tohma's face: bright green eyes, pink-tinged cheek, cherry red lips. God, this guy could be easily mistaken for a girl.

Hmm… I wonder how those lips taste like.

Where the hell did that thought come from?!

Before Shuichi could deduce further what he had just thought, the doors of the elevator flew open. They had reached 29th floor.

"See you later then, Shindou-san," Tohma said to him, smiling. He stepped out of the elevator and the doors closed quickly after him.

--

"You're already home? This early?" Noriko's voice asked disbelievingly for the 2nd time from the other end of the line.

"I told you, Noriko, I wasn't feeling very well," Tohma explained as he opened the main door of his apartment and closed it after him.

"Are you ill or something?" she asked alarmingly.

"No, not really. I'm just having my usual migraine attacks. It's nothing, really." Tohma reassured her, walking towards the kitchen to grab a drink.

"Well, we just thought that maybe, you know, we can go out together tonight… Hang out at some place…"

"I would really love to, Noriko, but I think I need to rest early tonight," said Tohma, snatching a carton of orange juice from the fridge and pouring some into a glass.

"Oh, I see," Noriko said in a slightly depressed voice.

There was a long gaping silence. Then Tohma decided, "Well, I guess maybe you two can come over here, have a drink or two…" he said smilingly over the phone.

Tohma heard Noriko chuckle, "OK, then. Ryu and I will be there in a minute. Prepare the brandy."

--oooo0000oooo--

Noriko put her cellular phone in her pocket and then turned to Ryuichi. "I don't think he heard about it yet…"

"You sure?" Ryuichi asked anxiously.

"Well, he sounded all right and all. C'mon, we got to go," Noriko said as she stood up and walked out of the bar.

"Go where?" Ryuichi asked, sauntering behind her.

--oooo0000oooo--

Tohma clicked the TV open and rested on the sofa in the living room. He closed his eyes and tried to relax his mind. He wasn't kidding when he told Noriko that he wasn't feeling very well. He felt nauseated for some reason, and he had that awful heavy feeling in his chest.

He took a couple of deep breaths and rested for another fifteen minutes, before finally opening his eyes.

Now, that felt better.

He now focused his attention on the news being featured on the television. It showed a car accident that happened in the freeway, a group of people on a strike, a robbery at a local store, and then a murder. The last one particularly caught his attention.

"According to the released autopsy of the police, Mr. Iwamoto was, indeed, poisoned. The chemical that was used, according to the authorities, was the toxic Ethanol in pure form that had been put into his dinner food that resulted immediately to his death…"

Tohma raised his eyebrows, the back of his head tingling weirdly, but before he could watch further, the door bell suddenly rang. He stood up hurriedly to answer it.

"Good evening, sir. We're the strippers that you hired."

Tohma smiled at them and rolled his eyes. "Italian food?" he asked, stepping aside to give way to his guests.

"I figured you haven't had dinner yet so Ryu and I decided to order some on our way here," Noriko said as she entered the apartment.

"We bought your favorites, Tohma-kun," Ryuichi said happily, holding up two bulging bags and showing it to him. He then followed Noriko to the kitchen.

Tohma chuckled and closed the door of his apartment. "You guys don't plan on letting me retire early tonight, do you?"

"Well, no… unless you come here and help me prepare these." Noriko answered loudly from the kitchen.

"OK, OK. Be right there." Tohma called to them as he walked over to the living room to turn off the television.

He picked up the remote control and was about to turn the TV off when a familiar name suddenly caught his attention.

"…was known that Iwamoto Satoshi had just come home from the United States after living there for a very long time…"

Satoshi Iwamoto? He frowned as he tried to rake his memory.

The reporter continued, "The relatives of the victim had been interviewed by the authorities, but they declined, however, to give any statements to the press…"

Satoshi Iwamoto…

Something stirred inside Tohma.

It can't be… I don't believe this…

Though Tohma didn't want to consider it, his belief was confirmed when a picture of a man was flashed on the TV screen, and written below it was: Satoshi Iwamoto, age 31.

Oh, no… God, no…

Tohma felt something began to burn inside his chest, and it grows more painful and painful as each second passed. He felt sick. He felt really sick…

I can't… I don't… no…

He was shaking all over, his sight has suddenly become blurry and along with this, his senses had become sluggishly slow in perceiving. His mind was spinning around so fast, he felt like his head was going to split into two.

"Hey, Tohma!" Noriko called as she made her way to the living room. "I thought you said you were going to help-" she stopped dead as she caught sight of Tohma, who, she saw was trembling like mad.

She looked from Tohma to the television and back, and realization swiftly dawned on her. "Oh, shit… no… Tohma…"

Noriko saw Tohma looked at her with pained disbelief on his face; he was obviously too shocked to speak.

Damn it! Why now?! She can't bear it: seeing Tohma like this, looking completely lost and helpless. It's too much for her.

Tohma saw as Noriko slowly approached him.

I…

He then began to see things before his eyes: blurry images of Satoshi Iwamoto, flashes of reflections of something… someone…

I…

He shut his eyes hard to try to block the pictures he was seeing. Something inside him was screaming… He was breathing hard as though he had been running. It felt painful.

I can't…

He heard Noriko's voice reassuring him of something as she embraced him firmly, though he didn't really understand what she just said. Tohma's hands felt cold, his lips were numb, but his eyes were burning painfully, though not a single tear fell.

I don't…

And then suddenly, everything became quiet. A deafening eerie silence engulfed him and everything around him. He can't see Noriko anywhere, not even Ryuichi. He was totally surrounded by pitch black stillness. And rapidly, right before his eyes, blazes of memories began to flare from a distant. The images revolved faster and faster, and with a blinding flash, Tohma saw everything unravel once more right before him.

This can't be true…

--oooo0000oooo--

It was a sunny Monday morning. Seguchi Tohma, age fourteen, was walking on the road silently. He was dressed in his black uniform, and so other few dozen boys that were walking along him toward the school. There were also some girls around, wearing the usual long-sleeved white school blouse paired with black and white checkered skirt that goes way down the knees.

Tohma saw that the students were all happily chatting with each other, cracking jokes, and sharing stories about their different summer escapades. Tohma ignored them and walked silently still, though he can't help but notice that some of the kids were whispering with each other and eyeing him intently. He sighed deeply and focused his gaze at the big white edifice that was looming before him. Big metallic letters on the main gates spelled: Shirasagi High.

It was Tohma Seguchi's first day in his new school.

--oooo0000oooo--

All of his classmates' eyes were upon him; some of them were murmuring and throwing glances at him, some were giggling, and some simply looked at him. He felt a little uncomfortable, though he tried to look as indifferent as he could; he didn't like getting attention that much.

"Settle down. Settle down, people," the teacher ordered his students loudly. The kids stopped talking at once. "OK, class. I would like to introduce to you our new student," the teacher said as he wrote Tohma's name on the board. "Be nice to him, OK? He's new to Tokyo."

The students began whispering again with each other.

"Introduce yourself to them, Mr. Seguchi. Go on," the teacher told him in an undertone.

He nodded as he stepped forward in front of the class. "I'm Tohma Seguchi," he said as he bowed to them all. "Nice to meet you all."

"Well, Mr. Seguchi, I guess you could sit over there behind Mr. Kazuma," the teacher pointed at the empty seat at the back of the room.

Tohma followed and walked quietly toward the empty chair at the far side of the classroom. Some of his classmates were still gazing at him as he seated himself behind the boy with glasses.

What the hell are you looking at, you idiots? He thought bitingly to himself.

"Well then, let's proceed to our new topic for today…" the teacher began. Tohma opened his bag and took out a notebook and a pen. He started to write but his pen wasn't working.

Damn.

He shook the darn thing hard, trying to make it work, but it still wouldn't write.

Very nice. Way to go…

He cursed under his breath and put his pen away. He seized his bag and ransacked it, trying to find a pencil, when a voice on his right spoke.

"You can use this if you like," the voice said. Tohma turned to find who had spoken and saw a guy with greenish-brown hair smiling at him. He was holding out a pen.

Tohma took the pen and looked at it for a moment, and then he smiled for the first time that day. "Thanks," he muttered to the boy.

"No problem," the kid replied. Then he held out his hand to Tohma, "I believe I haven't introduced myself?" Tohma reached for his hand and shook it.

"I'm Sakuma Ryuichi. Nice to meet you."

--oooo0000oooo--

"You seem to adapt well to Tokyo, don't you?" Ryuichi asked Tohma enthusiastically one afternoon; he was across the table, taking a bite of his sandwich.

It was their break time and both of them were in the cafeteria, eating their lunch. It has already been a week since Tohma had transferred to their school, and both of them had become good friends since.

"Guess so…" Tohma replied shortly, biting off a French fry while writing down some notes on his notebook.

There was a momentary quiescence between them. Tohma paused and stopped at what he was doing, and glanced at Ryuichi, who he saw was looking like he was contemplating deeply while staring at something outside the window.

Tohma sensed it coming…

"You know, you're awfully quiet for someone who's popular," Ryuichi began in an innocent tone.

I knew it would come.

"Don't start with me, Ryu," Tohma warned, returning to his notes.

"No, really," Ryuichi protested. "I mean, how come you didn't even answer a single letter from the ones you had received-"

"Ryuichi," he cut in, still poring over his notebook. "I didn't come and study here in Tokyo just to answer letters."

There was another pause.

"Kumiko Hideyoshi is not that ugly, you know," Ryuichi began once more. There was a hint of someone close to bursting to laughter in his voice. He continued, "I know her eyes are awfully creepy, but aside from that, she's OK."

"Sakuma Ryuichi," Tohma said, finally tearing himself away from his notebook and staring straightly at his friend's eyes. "How many times did we have this conversation?"

"Er… maybe a couple… uh, no… five… er… I've lost count."

"See?" Tohma explained warily. "We've gone through this for so many times I think I'm gonna be sick." He said, going back to his notes.

"So you don't believe her?" Ryuichi asked jokingly.

"What?"

"You know, when a guy picks up a lady's hankie that means the guy was proposing to her?"


"No way. That's crap," said Tohma stiffly.

And crap it is. Tohma still had to painfully endure people because of what had happened three days ago, and Ryuichi reminding him of it didn't help either. Everything was still agonizingly fresh on Tohma's mind.

He was walking peacefully that morning, taking the usual way to school. When he reached the campus grounds though, he saw a schoolmate, who was walking ahead of him, dropped something on the ground. Tohma hesitated for a moment, but picked it up.

It was a white handkerchief embroidered with intricate patterns and shapes. The name Kumiko was written on the corner.

"Hey, wait!" Tohma called to the girl as he ran towards her. "I think you dropped this."

The girl turned to him. She has short bushy brown hair and big puffy eyes. Scary big puffy eyes.

Tohma smiled reluctantly and handed her the hankie, but she didn't make any move to get it. She just stood there and ogled at him like a stunned goldfish, her eyes traveling from Tohma's face to the cloth in his hand.

"Er… is something wrong?" Tohma asked her apprehensively.

She didn't reply; she just continued to gaze at Tohma like she has never seen something like him before.

"Are you ok?" Tohma asked her again.

"I…" she croaked silently, bowing her head slightly down so her bangs covered her face.

"I…"

Tohma leaned closer to her so that he would be able to understand her, but then, without warning, she grabbed Tohma's hand, and looking as though she had swallowed a pellet of rat poison, burst into joyful noisy tears. She said in a very loud voice that Tohma was sure could be heard throughout the whole campus,

"I DO!!"

Everybody on the campus grounds stopped dead on their tracks and stared at both of them. Tohma was so shocked he took a step backward. He was starting to feel hot in the face as he felt everybody's eyes on him, and his embarrassment was doubled up as he realized that the girl was still holding his hand.

He tried to pull his hand back but this act just made the girl held it more tightly and worse, brought it closer to her chest.

"What-are-you-doing?!" Tohma whispered to her, disbelieving, trying to find sense at what the girl was doing.

"I said I do. I accept it," the girl replied happily in the same loud voice.

"Accept what?" Tohma noticed that the audience around them began to thick.

"Well, you proposed to me, right? So, I'm telling you now that I do accept it." She was genuinely blushing in the face, but it was nothing next to Tohma whose face was now glowing furiously red.

It took ten horrible excruciating seconds before her words had sunk in into Tohma's sanity.

"I DID WHAT?!"

And the rest of the incident happened in a blur. The two of them were taken to the office of the Prefect of Discipline to explain the racket that the girl had made after Tohma refused point blank to agree with the said marriage proposal.

"I swear, I didn't know what it meant!" he protested angrily to the prefect of discipline. "I was only trying to help!"

"But it is in our family tradition that if a guy pick up the dropped handkerchief of a lady, it means that you're proposing to her. And you did it, and I said yes. So you need to marry me!" Kumiko explained miserably between large sobs.

"Yeah, in the next fifty years, I will."

"Mr. Seguchi!" the prefect burst out incredulously.

"How… how could you say something like that?" Kumiko cried dramatically, wiping off her tears with her white hankie.

Tohma looked at her with raised eyebrows. He was very tempted to roll his eyes, though he considered that it wasn't a very good idea to test the prefect's temper.

"Mr. Seguchi and Ms. Hideyoshi," the prefect began with a firm voice, "I want to end this ridiculous drama already. You two made a big scene in front of the whole school today-"

"It wasn't my fault!" Tohma interjected heatedly.

"So-" the prefect continued in a much louder voice, looking as though he didn't hear Tohma, "I want both of your parents here tomorrow morning. Do you two understand me?"

"Yes, sir," the girl replied softly. Tohma, however, didn't answer.

"Mr. Seguchi, did you understand what I just said?"

"My parents are not here," Tohma said in a low voice.

"Pardon?"

"My parents are not here," Tohma repeated stridently. "They're out on a business trip to the U.S."

"How about your guardian?" the prefect inquired sharply.

"I'll tell my aunt to come here," replied Tohma coldly.

"Very well, now that it is all settled, you two are dismissed. You may go back to your respected class," The prefect told them finally.

Tohma was the first one to go out of the room. He walked briskly away from the prefect's office, not looking back even once.

"What are you so furious about? It was actually hilarious, you know," Ryuichi spoke again, bringing Tohma back from his track of thoughts.

"Yeah, quite hilarious," Tohma grunted as he returned to his notes. Ryuichi simply sniggered and took another another bite of his sandwich.

"Hi, Ryuichi-kun. How have you been doing?" a female voice greeted them suddenly.

Tohma looked up and saw a pretty girl with curly ash-blue hair. She was beaming at both of them.

"Hey, Risa," Ryuichi replied cheerfully, "I'm fine. And you?"

"Never better," she replied smilingly.

"Oh yeah, let me introduce to you my friend. Risa, this is Seguchi Tohma. Tohma, this is Mori Risa," said Ryuichi.

"Hi," Tohma said quietly.

"She was my classmate last year," Ryuichi told Tohma.

"Oh, so you're the famous Seguchi Tohma?" Risa asked, faking a surprised look. She settled herself beside Tohma. "So you're the one who turned down the poor Kumiko and made her cry," she said teasingly, moving closer to him.

Tohma said nothing and continued to write on his notebook.

"Well, I couldn't blame you. I guess she didn't pass your taste," she told Tohma, moving closer to him still until she was shoulder to shoulder with him. Tohma, however, chose to remain silent.

"But don't worry. There are plenty of other girls who are far more beautiful than that ugly tub of lard," Risa said to him seductively, completely dismissing the fact that Ryuichi was still with them and that they were inside the cafeteria packed with other people.

"Girls that can make you very very happy," she finally whispered to him, putting a hand on top of the notebook he was working on.

What the hell…?

Tohma looked at Ryuichi with raised eyebrows. His friend merely shrugged in return. Tohma heaved a deep sigh and turned to Risa, who was now clinging into his arm like a snake.

"Ano… Rika-san?" Tohma began, smiling at her.

Risa looked at him with anticipation. "Yes?"

"Er… Ryu and I need to go," Tohma said in a rush. He picked up his notebook and stood up, freeing himself from the girl's grip.

"See yah 'round," Ryuichi called back to her, sneering, as he followed Tohma out of the cafeteria.

Risa was left alone at the table, looking thoroughly perplexed, as she pursued Tohma with her eyes. After a minute or so, she stood up and stormed out of the cafeteria too.

And then, from a distant, a few good meters away from where Tohma and Ryuichi had been sitting earlier, a pair of hazel-brown eyes stared at the cafeteria door to where the two had just disappeared. He had been watching them for a while now, and to tell the truth, he was pretty amused with newly-transferred student.

--oooo0000oooo--

Tohma was currently marching his way home. School had just ended and Ryuichi had to stay in school for a couple more hours to attend a club meeting, so Tohma had no choice but to walk alone. He ambled discreetly on the sidewalk, and then turned to the next street.

"Are you really sure he walks here?"

"I told you, I see him walk here everyday."

"Why isn't he here yet, then?"

"Maybe he took some other routes?"

"Hey, I see someone coming! Oh, wait… yes… yes, it's him!"

"I told you he walks here."

Tohma yawned and then turned to the next narrower street on his right, but he found his way blocked by two big men. Tohma looked at them. They were students; they were actually wearing the same uniform as he is. In fact, they were his schoolmates, only older than him.

And then another two guys appeared behind his back. They were also gigantic, and they all closed in on Tohma like mad towering vultures.

"So this is the Seguchi brat everyone's talking about?" one of the guys asked skeptically. "He is only skin and bones! What a waste!" and they all roared with laughter.

Tohma didn't say anything.

"Are you too scared to say something, blondie?" the other guy taunted. "Ooh… blondie is too scared," the guy continued in a baby voice, "Ooh… blondie's going to run and tell his mommy…"

They all laughed loudly again.

Tohma still didn't say anything.

"What? Speak up!" the guy on Tohma's right ordered piercingly. "Aren't you going to say something?"

Tohma only looked at him.

"Stop staring at me like that, kid," he said, cracking his knuckles in a menacing way.

But Tohma didn't avert his gaze from the man.

"I said stop staring!" the guy warned, raising his big fists, "Or I swear I'll punch you!"

Tohma smirked at him.

The guy lost his temper and lunged forward, clutching Tohma at the collar of his uniform. He pushed him hard against a wall.

"Now, now, Kuma," a voice spoke from behind the guy who grabbed him, "Is that a way to treat new students?"

The guy named Kuma released him and retreated a few steps back, but he was still looking wrathfully at Tohma.

"Sorry," the newcomer said apologetically to Tohma. "My friend here has a short temper, you see. So you have to forgive him," he added, grinning.

"Who are guys? What do you want from me?" Tohma asked finally, directing his gaze to the fifth guy.

But the new guy chose not to answer him. He merely looked at Tohma like he was amused at something Tohma can't see.

But Tohma promised himself since the time he enrolled in his new school that he wouldn't let himself be pushed around by bullies, so he gave them his look of most loathing and engaged himself in a staring match against their apparent leader.

Tohma observed though, that the newcomer looked nothing like his friends. He was smaller than them, but he was still much taller than Tohma. The guy has a pair of beautiful hazel eyes and his flowing dark-brown hair seemed to stick out at odd angles. Although he, Tohma noticed, was very good-looking, he still had that impression on his face that he is someone not to cross.

Why do all people have to act like total jerks?

And then, without really expecting it, Tohma heard the guy spoke, "So you're the Seguchi kid everyone's talking about," he said, smirking sarcastically. "Nice to meet you. I'm Iwamoto Satoshi."

--o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o- End of Track 05 -o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o--

June 11, 2006

Author's Notes:

Can you believe this? Chapter four done? I must have eaten something weird. Weeellll, anyway, as you can see I have trimmed down this chapter to make it a little shorter. The original plan was that this would end when Tohma would be shocked dead by Satoshi's conditions, and that would be the cliffhanger of the century. XD So I have no choice but to include that cliffhanger in chapter five, because the raw manuscript of this chapter reached 32 pages already. And it's long. And yeah, I ran out of papers.

I've gone through this chapter several times, trying my best to correct errors and typos. So if you have seen anymore of them, just tell me, OK? This one is a tad longer than chapter three, and less humorous than the previous one. But this is where all the fun comes in. I promise you that chapter five would be full of twist and teen angst and humor, and people would fall in love with each other. Hahahaha! Why am I giving out so many hints?

Forgive me if I made Tohma act like a total biting badass. I'm just fulfilling what Ryuichi said on chapter three. The part where: He missed the stubborn, semi-loud kid he met almost 16-years ago. Who would ever imagine that the tough, new-transferred teen in their school with that solid belief in everything he did will end up as a mild soft-spoken president of one of the largest companies ever built? Ryuichi remembered when he first met him; he rarely saw him smile, and he seemed aloof and avoided people all the time. And he also remembered that historical school incident involving Tohma, and the amount of rumors it has produced over a short period of time… blah blah blah.

That historical school incident isn't the handkerchief incident. That's the cliffhanger that I'm talking about. I'm so showering you with spoilers. Haha. Reviews would be pretty much helpful. I would really really love you if you review. I just wanted to know how well I am doing with this fic, what are the parts that are far-fetched, unbelievable, etc. etc.

As you can see, I am now developing the would-be relationship of Shuichi and Tohma. I don't know if it sounds believable in this chapter, but I have reserved a whole arc of that developing relationship on the latter chapters. Also, about the kidnapping thingy, I have thought of a plot already and decided to continue it further up to the part where Shuichi would be broken, because uh… I'll shut up now.

The next chapter would be all in italic, because, uh, well, it's Tohma's memory. The name of the school was only made up by me. Everything not in the manga nor the anime was created by me. They're mine. Satoshi's mine. Earlier chapters were also edited to remove typos and errors I have so painfully spotted.

Thank you for all the read and the reviews. I'll start with the next chapter soon. Hugs to all! ;-)

Edited on April 21, 2008