Free Talk- Chapter four came out really long. The flashback is kind of long, too. I will try to be more consistent. I am having fun writing this story. I really love Eyeshield 21 and I hope that after I finish this one I will have a good idea for another. I would love to write about Koutarou and Juri. All I need is a plot. Anyways, thanks to those who have commented. I hope you continue to enjoy and support this juvenile delinquent love story.

Bittersweet Symphony
By Miss Angel Maxwell

Chapter 4: Secret

Eight years ago…

"Cha-la! Head cha-la!" Meg was singing out loud and punctuating the lyrics with swings of her fists as she waited for the DON'T WALK sign to change. Today she felt particularly energetic and looked forward to a day with her boys.

Tokage was already waving at her with both arms from the other side of the street. As soon as the sign changed she ran over to greet him and Rui, but the younger Habashira was nowhere to be seen. Her excess energy stalled.

"Hey. Where's Ru?" she asked.

"He's coming," Tokage assured. "He was looking for something in his closet when I left, said he'd meet us down here."

The harmony of several car horns honking at once blared from the cross-walk, stealing both kids' attentions. The source of the motorists' ire was Rui, of course, sprinting across the street when the sign had just changed back to DON'T. He made his opinion of them known with a wave of his middle finger once he'd reached the other side.

Tokage welcomed him with a harmless knock on the head. "Dummy, you'll get yourself killed!"

"Not likely," he snorted.

Meg was much cooler in her greeting, raising an eyebrow as she asked, "so what's that in your hand?"

Rui rolled his eyes. "I gave 'em the finger. So what? Those jerkasses deserved it!"

"Not that," she clarified. "Your other hand. That sword… where did it come from?"

"Oh right!" he said, beaming proudly as he brandished the weapon. "I stole it from the kendo club at school. It's a practice sword. Pretty cool, huh?"

There was nothing really about the sword itself that was cool, but the story that he had stolen it, broken school rules to obtain it, made the object oddly fascinating. "It's pretty cool, I guess," Meg said, careful to keep any covetousness out of her voice. "But what do you need a sword for?"

"Unnngh…" Rui groaned, as if he thought she was the dumbest person in Japan for even having to ask. "It's for defeating my enemies."

It wasn't so much his reply, but the absolute seriousness with which he said it that sent Meg into a fit of laughter. "Enemies?" she asked between giggles. "What enemies? Who's got enemies in the second grade?"

Rui just sulked. "I shoulda known you wouldn't understand. You have no respect for warriors."

"I do so!" she shot back.

"Name one!"

"Android Number Eighteen!"

"That's not a real warrior!"

"Neither are you!"

They were arguing so closely that for a moment their foreheads were pressed together before Tokage shoved them apart. "Come on guys," he said. "You're fighting over nothing. Let's go do something fun."

Meg and Rui both stepped back from each other, but neither said a word. From the smug look on his face and the way his long arms were folded over his chest, it was clear that Rui wasn't about to forgive and forget (even if the fight really was over nothing). Meg sure as hell wasn't either.

"You know what I think would be fun?" she asked coyly. "If Ru the 'warrior' gave a demonstration how he will vanquish his many enemies with that wooden practice sword."

A vicious grin spread on his face in response to the challenge. "I'd love to show you." He turned to his brother. "Wanna be my sparing partner, Big Bro?"

"Oh no," Meg said matter-of-factly. "You're going to fight me."

Rui was incredulous. "Nuh-uh! No way! I'm not fighting a girl!"

"Just pretend that I'm one of your," she paused and made a derisive grunt, "enemies. If you can beat me, I'll admit that you're a warrior. If you can't, you'll admit you aren't."

"You're on!" Rui spat.

Tokage (who seemed very enthused about the fight) agreed to be the referee, and together the trio walked to the park where they'd met the year before. There was an open area near the trees that was wide enough for a fight, but still protected from the eyes of nosy kids and prudish adults who didn't approve of fighting.

The two combatants stood facing each other.

"It's the fight of the century!" Tokage boomed in his best imitation of a sports announcer. "In this corner, armed only with her own two hands, the cute and feisty Tsuyumine Meg!"

"She's not cute!" Rui interjected, but his brother just ignored him and continued.

"In the other corner, armed with a stolen practice sword, my obnoxious little brother Rui! Ready! Fight!"

At first Rui just circled around her. He seemed hesitant. When he finally did swing the sword it was so slow she was easily able to duck under it.

"You're not even trying!" she barked.

Incensed, he raised the sword above his head and chopped downward with a good deal of strength. Not enough strength. Meg caught the sword in her own hands and yanked it out of his. Then she turned its point on him and, since the fight was essentially won already, gave him just the smallest jab in the arm.

He shrieked in pain. "Ow woman! What the hell is wrong with you?"

"There's no way that hurt," she told him. "You just can't handle losing to a girl."

"It did so hurt!"

"Oh, please! It didn't even leave a mark!" She grabbed his wrist and pushed up his sleeve. He tried to pull his arm away, but her grip was too tight. Then she saw it, what he was trying to hide, and her stomach filled with ice. Under his skin, right where she'd poked him, was a huge purple bruise, still hot to the touch.

"Oh my god," she breathed. "You really do have enemies. Ru, who did this to you?"

"Nobody!" he snapped. "I fell off my bike!" He began to pull his sleeve down but Tokage, who had appeared almost instantaneously in front of him, seized his arm and pushed it back up.

The expressions on the two brothers' faces were like nothing Meg had ever seen before. She felt like she was witnessing a silent conversation that she knew nothing about. After another agonizing moment of silence, actual words were exchanged.

"This is a new bruise," Tokage said. "He hit you again, didn't he?"

Rui's face was turned away, embarrassed, almost shameful. "No," he muttered lowly. "It was Mom this time."

Suddenly Meg got the feeling that she had just accidentally discovered the Habashira Family's dirty little secret. It wasn't exhilarating, though. It was terrifying and confusing. When she spoke, her voice came out soft and timid. "Rui… Your mom and dad… hit you?"

He didn't answer and wouldn't look at her.

"Do they hit you, too," she asked Tokage.

The older boy's face was so uncharacteristically sad it was almost painful to look at. "No," he answered. "Just Rui. Ever since he was a little kid."

"Why?" she only mouthed the question.

"Because they think I'm a sissy," Rui said bitterly. "They wanted a second son just like Tokage, but instead they got me. They love my brother because he's strong and rough and good at sports, and they hate me because I'm not."

"But you are strong!" Meg protested loudly. "Just as strong as your brother! Nobody should be hitting you except me!"

"It doesn't matter what you think," he grumbled. "In there eyes I will always be their little faggot."

Meg felt hot anger bubbling in her stomach, threatening to spill out like vomit. "You've got to prove them wrong, Ru! You've got to become the toughest, strongest, meanest version of yourself! Make them regret they ever laid a hand on you!"

"That's why a stole that sword!" he yelled. "And you saw how terrible I was at using it!"

"There's gotta be something else you can do," she insisted desperately, "something manly that you'd be great at." An image, something from a long time ago, flickered in her brain and she suddenly realized the answer she was looking for. "You guys stay right here!"

She sprinted as if her feet had wings attached, across the street, up the stairs, and down the hall to apartment number forty-two. Then she flew to her room and dove into the box of old stuffed animals in her closet, tearing them out with reckless abandon. At the bottom of the box she found it.

As quickly as she had run home, she was even quicker in her return to the park. Her boys were waiting exactly where she'd left them, having not had time to even get bored. Meg skidded to a halt in front of them and shoved the thing she'd retrieved into Rui's hands. "Here!" she panted.

"An old magazine?" he asked, wrinkling his nose doubtfully. He read the title out loud. "Monthly Amefuto?"

Meg was still catching her breath, her heart still racing. "That's American football," she huffed. "It's the toughest, manliest sport there is. My dad used to be into it. I saved one of his magazines. I… I think you should play. If you become a football star, your mom and dad will realize that you aren't a sissy or a faggot."

As Rui and his brother leafed through the soft, worn pages, Meg saw his face change. His eyes shone with fascination and delight that grew brighter with every turn of the page.

"I think I might actually like this," he said.

"You don't have to play if you don't want to," Tokage reminded. "Don't do it just to keep Mom and Dad off your case. I'll protect you from them."

"No," Rui answered. "I really want to do this." He turned another page and he must have seen something good because a wide grin spread on his face. "I think I'm really gonna like this."

"You can keep the magazine," Meg told him. She could easily part with it when it made him so utterly happy.

He seemed surprised by the gesture, though. "Oh, thanks," he said. "Well… you can have my sword then. I'm not going to need it anymore. I'm going to play American football."

Lying on her bed and arching her back, Meg strained with all her might to pull together the two sides of her jeans. She knew it wasn't going to happen, but still she tried as hard as she could to get that button and that buttonhole to meet. After one more try she gave up for good and released the breath she'd been holding in.

"Well, Spot," she mumbled to her belly, "you've finally made me too fat for my favorite jeans. At least you've eased up a little on making me spew."

Oh god, I'm talking to the kid already. I'm going to turn into one of those moms if I'm not careful. And why do I keep calling it a dog's name? If I saw it now, would it still look like a spot?

It was mid-March now, which put her at ten weeks and almost to the end of the first trimester. Days were going by too damn fast. Growing too big for her jeans was just another reminder that she wouldn't be able to hide her pregnancy much longer.

She had made up her mind that she was going to tell Rui first. She felt a lot worse about keeping it from him than she did about keeping it from her mother. After all, Spot was his, too. It was all a matter of timing now, waiting for the right moment. Maybe she'd do it today. Definitely this week.

Unable to fit into her preferred outfit, Meg put on her red tracksuit and headed out to meet Rui. There was somewhere he wanted to drag her to, but he hadn't been very revealing when they spoke on the phone. He was back to his old self again, the unexpected tenderness he'd displayed on Valentine's Day having gone back into hiding.

"Hey woman, what's with the bum clothes?" he greeted as he brought his bike to a stop in front of her house.

"I'm going to ignore that," she replied, claiming her place behind him.

"I was only kidding, woman, jeez. Actually, what you're wearing kind of suits where we're going today."

Her curiosity was piqued. "Oh? So where is our mystery destination?" she asked.

"Somewhere good," he answered. "I promise."

The roads he took were only vaguely familiar. They weren't going to one of their usual haunts. Meg didn't even figure it out until they'd arrived and her excitement fizzled.

"Deimon High School?" she asked flatly. "That's the 'somewhere good' you promised?"

"You don't even know why we're here yet," he said, grinning.

"To pick a fight with that guy, Hiruma?" she ventured a guess.

"Hell no," he answered adamantly. "I'm not that asshole's slave anymore, so I have no reason to start a fight with him. No, today we are here to spy on the interest meeting he's having for next season's prospective members."

Meg didn't bother to hide her annoyance. "What's the point in that? You're not even on the football team anymore. You won't be playing against any of these kids. And how is Hiruma still gonna be involved in Deimon's team? He can't play either."

"Which is exactly what makes the situation so interesting," Rui said thoughtfully. "And that is why we are spying today. The Demon who led a bunch of losers all the way to the top spot in the nation has got to have something up his sleeve for the next generation."

"Whatever," she sighed, though she wasn't completely devoid of interest. Hiruma's evil machinations might not intrigue her the way it did Rui, but the prospect of watching athletic young men practice football in tight pants was enough to keep her from leaving.

Rui chose seats for them in the very last row of the crowded bleachers, too far back for anyone down on the field to notice. This strategic position also meant that the two of them couldn't see clearly what was happening on the field, a fact that Meg was about to point out when Rui pulled a small pair of binoculars from his pocket.

"You didn't think I'd come unprepared?" he asked. "I only have one set, though, so we'll have to take turns. You can take them first, just tell me what you see."

Meg wasn't really sure what she was supposed to be looking for (the spying plan still seemed pointless in her mind). "Well, all the returning underclassmen players are on the field and in uniform. Looks like they're demonstrating techniques for all the kids who showed up and letting them join in."

"Just the underclassmen?" Rui asked. "Where's Hiruma? Do you see him?"

She found him sitting on a bench on the sideline. "From the looks of it, he's just bossing around Eyeshield. I'm guessing the kid is going to be the new captain and the Demon is going to operate through him."

"Makes sense. What kind of new blood has he rounded up? Anyone look promising? Hey, are you even listening woman?"

Her attention was elsewhere as she'd just spotted the Devil Bat she'd always found most interesting. "The other rising seniors are there, too. Mmm… Takekura's thighs in those tight pants…"

She'd only meant to think it but inadvertently said it aloud.

"What? Takekura? What the hell are you looking at him for?" Rui's reaction was explosive. "You can't possibly find a guy like that attractive! Now gimme the damn binoculars!"

"Remember your promise, Ru, less of a dick," she reminded as he yanked the lenses out of her hands. "I'm a woman and I like to look at sexy men."

"Yeah, well, he's not your type," Rui grumbled, hunching over moodily as he squinted through the binoculars. "He doesn't even have a bike…"

Wait… Is he jealous? He actually took my little comment about the hunky kicker seriously? Well, I do have a tiny crush on him, who wouldn't? But it's nothing Ru should feel threatened by. This guy is so fucking confusing! 'Forgets' I'm a girl then gets jealous when I notice other males? For all I know, he'll be happy when I tell him about Spot.

A wave of nausea washed over her stomach, as if the baby inside could tell she was thinking about it and wanted to show its special brand of appreciation. "I hafta go to the bathroom," she said with an edge of urgency.

"That better not be an excuse to get a closer look at Mr. Mohawk!" Rui snapped.

Meg just smiled slightly and patted him on the head. "Keep your promise," she chimed as she stood up. Weaving her way down the bleachers as quickly as possible, she couldn't help noticing all the tracksuits. She really was dressed appropriately, blended right into the crowd.

Thankfully, the ladies' room in the school was vacant, allowing her to puke in solitude. After emptying her breakfast into the toilet (and wondering why the hell they called it 'morning' sickness when it can strike any time of day), she noticed the squeak of the door and the soft sound of steps on tile.

A pair of slender legs (which was all Meg could see) stopped in front of the stall she was in. There was a soft knock and a sweet voice.

"Um… excuse me… This is really, really embarrassing to ask of a stranger but… do you have a tampon you could spare?"

Eager to be rid of the unwelcome company, Meg fished the forgotten little pouch from her school bag and thrust it under the stall door and into the stranger's hands. It was only after it was out of her possession that she remembered what she'd stashed in there weeks ago. With a gasp, she leapt up and burst out of the stall. Not quick enough, though.

"Oh my gosh…" the girl said softly as she peered into the opened bag. She turned around and looked at Meg, who recognized the girl immediately.

"Anezaki…" Meg breathed.

The recognition went both ways. "Tsuyumine… right? You're the manager for the Chameleons."

"Former manager," Meg corrected. No time to chitchat, she got right to the point. "You saw it, didn't you? The test?"

Mamori squirmed slightly, trying to think of what to say. There was definitely fear in the girl's face, a reaction Meg was used to getting from members of both genders. But there was also concern, more obvious when she spoke. "Tsuyumine, are you really pregnant?"

"Yeah," Meg sighed. She didn't know how to deal with this new phenomenon of someone else worrying about her, but something about the way that Deimon girl spoke, with those annoyingly guileless blue eyes, prevented her from giving a rude reply. "Yeah, I'm gonna have a baby… this September."

"But you'll still be in high school," Mamori uttered. "To go through this at such a young age must be so hard. How is your boyfriend, that Habashira guy, handling it? Is he helping you out a lot?"

Now the interrogation, no matter how well intended, was getting too personal. Still, Meg felt a need to inform the girl. "Habashira isn't my boyfriend," she said. "And he doesn't know yet."

"You mean you're doing this all on your own?" Mamori's voice retained its worry but also sounded slightly awed.

"I'm going to tell him soon," Meg said impatiently. "And then I'll tell my mom. I'm just waiting for the right time. Besides, I'm used to doing stuff on my own. Zokugaku girls are a lot tougher than Deimon girls. Now I have to go. Here." She snatched back her pouch, took out a handful of tampons and slapped them into Mamori's hand. "Oh, and you'd better not tell anyone about this, especially that fucked up boyfriend of yours."

"Hiruma is NOT my boyfriend!" the Deimon girl stammered.

Meg was already heading for the door. "I don't give a crap," she said. "Just don't say a word to him." Her fingers were around the door's handle when Mamori called her name.

"Tsuyumine, wait!" Meg stopped and listened as the girl continued nervously. "Um… well… I was thinking that since I'm the only one who knows that you're pregnant, that I should be someone that you trust, someone you can talk to… like a friend…"

"You? My friend?" Meg laughed. "That's cute, Anezaki, but I don't need pity from the Devil Bats' Princess. Just keep this to yourself and our business with each other is done. Have a nice life"

Meg had remained resolutely facing the door for this last bit of conversation and so didn't notice Mamori inching closer and closer to her. Now, as she once again reached for the handle, it caught her completely off guard when the other girl's fingers encircled her wrist. She gasped.

"Just in case," Mamori said softly, pushing up Meg's red sleeve and writing something on her arm with a ballpoint pen from her pocket. "It's my cell phone number. In case you change your mind and want to talk."

Who does this chick think she is? Meg thought as her eyes narrowed on the ingenuous brunette. She's not being critical or derisive. She didn't even ask what I'm doing at her school!

"Why are you being so nice to me, Princess?" she asked, wanting to end the mystery.

Mamori seemed surprised by the question, like the answer was obvious. "I just got the feeling that you might want a girl to talk to… since you're always with Habashira. That's all. Besides, everyone deserves kindness. It's not pity."

"Oh… er… Well, thanks… I guess." The words came out a lot sloppier than Meg would have liked. "But like I said, I'm not a charity case. I can manage on my own. You should focus your energy on keeping your boyfriend under control."

The last thing Meg heard as she pushed through the bathroom door was a fervent reiteration of, "Hiruma is not my boyfriend!"

She walked out of the school feeling strangely light. Having her secret known by someone else actually felt kind of good. Then she tried to imagine the relief she would feel when she told Rui. All of the ongoing dread she had been bottling inside her would be gone.

"You sure do take your time when taking a leak, woman." He was waiting just outside the doors to the school and this was the first thing he said. His bike (which he'd retrieved from wherever it was he hid it) was underneath him, growling eagerly. "The interesting part of the meeting is over so I figured we'd just leave. That cool?"

"I didn't even want to do this in the first place," she reminded. Then added, "But as long as you had fun it wasn't so bad. You truly do love American football."

Rui smiled at her, one of those rare, boyish smiles that he only ever showed to Tokage and to her. "It's the best sport in the whole world," he said proudly. "Someday I hope I'll teach my kids to play."

Warmth flooded Meg's chest, a sense of hope she hadn't foreseen.

Is this a sign? Is this the moment?

"Whoa!" he exclaimed, looking at her like she was a fire he was trying desperately to put out. "Don't make that freaky face. I was talking about years into the future. Kids are the last thing on my mind right now. I'm not even looking for a girlfriend yet."

It definitely wasn't a sign. But that didn't mean it wasn't the right moment. "Hey Ru?" she said in her most subdued voice. "There's something I want… something I need to talk to you about."

His eyebrows creased in the middle. "Is something wrong?"

"No," she said tentatively. "Well, yes… Sort of. I'd rather talk about it someplace more private than right in front of Deimon High School."

"Alright," he answered, anxiety still tinting his words. "Climb on."

During the entire ride, Meg didn't once look at the road or speculate where he was taking her, just kept her face buried in the back of his jacket as the sound of her heart drowned out the roar of the motorcycle. She'd always loved the smell of that jacket, but now that he'd stopped smoking it was even more intoxicating.

The bike slowed to a stop, and when she opened her eyes she was even more surprised than when they'd arrived at Deimon. "This is… the park where we used to play when we were little. It's seen better days though. Or maybe I'm just remembering it as nicer than it really was."

"At least there were swings back then," Rui commented, gesturing to lonely metal frame dangling four black chains. "Kids don't come to play anymore. That's why I thought it would be private enough for you to say whatever it is you have to say."

"Can we sit down?" Meg asked. "I mean, not on the bike?"

Rui grimaced. "Aw jeez, woman," he whined. "Is it really something that awful?"

"I just want to be able to look at your face while I'm talking."

"Fine, fine," he sighed as he dismounted the bike. Before Meg had a chance to climb off, however, he's swung one of his legs back over and was once again straddling the bike, only now he was backwards facing her. "Will this do?" he asked.

She nodded nervously. "Yeah, this'll do." Despite spending most of her free time with this boy, it was very rare for them to be sitting like this, face-to-face and so close. Their legs were touching slightly and the sunlight through the new spring leaves above threw a mottled pattern over both of them. It felt like some vile shojo comic, which only made Meg more nervous.

Before she had a chance to lose her nerves once again, she took a big breath and began.

"Ru, something happened to me recently, something kind of big… And pretty soon, my life is going to get a lot more complicated. For a while now, I've wanted to tell you because it… well, it kind of involves you, too. I don't if this is the best way to say this but here it goes. I'm…"

Krrrrrrrring! Krrrrrrrring! Krrrrrrrrrrrrriiiiiing!

Right when she was about to open the hatch and drop the bomb, Rui's cell phone cut off her sentence with its harsh and urgent trilling. Such an irritating ring tone. Rui clenched his jaw and ignored it until after the third repetition when he finally consented to answer it.

"Hello? Oh, hey Bro! Nothing, I'm just wasting time with Meg. In the old neighborhood, near Mamushi and Yamori's. Really? Yeah, I can be there in ten! Count me in! See ya!"

Meg could only hear Rui's side of the conversation, but it was clear from his answers that it was Tokage he was talking to. It was also clear that he had just agreed to meet up with his brother, and since there was only one thing that he responded to with such enthusiasm, Meg knew it was about football.

"You have somewhere to go," she sighed.

He scratched the back of his neck and gave an awkward half-smile. "Tokage invited me to play in a pick up game with some of the other Frilled Lizards. It's a chance to play against college-level players." Meg turned her head from him coldly and he put his hands on her shoulders. "You can finish what you were saying before we leave."

She wilted, utterly defeated by circumstance. "I don't want you to have this on your mind when you're trying to play."

"Oh," he said. "If you come watch the game you could talk to me afterwards."

"Do you mind just taking me home? I'm actually kind of tired." She wasn't lying. Her belly dweller had been draining all her energy lately.

"If that's what you want," he replied with a shrug. "Tell ya what. I'll call you as soon as the game's over and if you want we can meet up and talk about your problem."

Not feeling able to answer verbally, Meg just nodded vigorously. Then Rui did something she never could have anticipated. He wrapped his long arms around her and pulled her tightly against his chest. This was very strange behavior. Habashira Rui was not a hugger.

"Cheer up, woman," he said in a voice that was almost gentle. "You'll get through whatever this is. You're tough."

Neither of them said another word until Rui dropped her off in front of her house and they exchanged goodbyes, with him reiterating his promise to call her. She waited until the sound of his bike engine had faded completely before taking the short walk up to her house.

There was a red overnight bag set outside the door, unzipped with clothes spilling out of the opening. When she got closer, Meg realized that the bag and the clothes belonged to her.

What the fuck is my stuff doing out her?

She reached for the door, but it opened before her fingers touched the knob.

Standing in the open space was her mother, unmitigated fury distorting her features, the first black and white picture of little Spot clutched in her talons. Meg felt even sharper claws tearing her chest as her mother's eyes narrowed hatefully on her.

"I want you out of my house you disgusting little slut."

To be continued…