Ichiro: Yourui-chan doesn't own Gravitation.
Kisuke and Daisuke: Please Review!
Note: xD Oops sorry about that guys! It looked like the fourth chapter when I was editing it. Thank you KK Chan for pointing that out. :D
~*Fourth Stance*~
Ichiro felt her eyes get wide; so wide, in fact, she thought they were going to pop out of their sockets and she felt her face burn up. She felt his hand cup her face and shortly after, his tongue poked hers. She felt like fainting. A second after, he pulled away. She opened her mouth, but her voice was stuck. Naomi and her brother were in shock and in utter disbelief. Since when did Yukino take interest in any woman? Naomi's anger rose to its peak. She clenched her fists so tight, they trembled.
'How dare that…bitch!'
Nanoki had closed his eyes, obviously trying to think. Yukino stared Naomi in the eyes, his expression hard to read.
"Are you happy now…Naomi?" he asked.
"Yukino-" Nanoki was interrupted by him.
"Is having a girlfriend a problem…Nanoki?" his eyes slightly narrowed and stared directly into his.
"Naomi…" Nanoki warned when he saw she took a step toward Ichiro.
Listening to her older brother—by a year—she immediately stopped. Yukino looked fatigued.
"Yukino, you seem tired…why don't you lay down and take a rest. We'll come by tomorrow to pick you up, if you'd like." Nanoki continued.
"What I would like is to go home." Yukino answered.
"Very well then." Nanoki nodded, he turned to his sister. "Come, Naomi. Let us get the car ready downstairs…"
With much effort, she tore her death glare away from purple-eyed girl and walked away with her brother. After the door was shut, Yukino wiped his mouth with his sleeve. Watching this, Ichiro finally found her voice.
"You-You-You…"
"Shut up. That was a one-time-only thing. The only reason for that kiss was to get that annoying woman to shut her mouth."
What? Was that the only reason?
"You-You BAKA! That was my FIRST KISS!" tears gathering at the corner of her eyes.
Yukino scoffed then cupped her chin, his thumb on the corner of her mouth.
"Listen, that kiss was nothing. Think of it as practice for the one you really like." he swept his thumb across her lips. "…Besides it's not my fault you haven't kissed anyone yet."
"When did I ever say to you, 'Please kiss me'?"
"You didn't have to say anything. The look in your eyes says it all. It's obvious you wanted to kiss me."
"Oh please, you narcissist! Get over yourself!"
He looked the other way paying very little attention to her.
"The most my eyes would say is 'Stay away from me'!" she continued.
"That's exactly what I plan to do."
At that moment, the door opened. A man in a dark suit looked at Yukino and said,
"Your car is ready downstairs, Yukino-sama."
"Good." he answered and left without another word to Ichiro.
~*~One Week Later~*~
Two days after the incident with Yukino and company, Ichiro was able to go back home. Unfortunately, that meant she only had one day to practice and perfect the song she was going to sing at the talent show with her friends. Immediately after leaving the hospital, she begged and begged her brothers if she could go to Rin and Yoh's house for practice and after much delay and thought and begging, they finally let her go. The four friends practiced and practiced until sundown. The next day, they went to the last day for audition and won first place, along with another band—Seniors—who called themselves 'The Heart-Breakers'. They were told in order to break the tie between the bands, they would have to sing another song, preferably the best song they are positive would give them the win. Unfortunately, the judges didn't have enough time to stay at the school, so both bands had to take a trip to N.G PRO Records. As a matter of fact that wouldn't be unfortunate, would it?
Ichiro was now attending school again. Her desk was a window seat, with Rin in front of her, Yoh to her right and Mowata behind her. Class was already in session by an hour but throughout the whole session, Ichiro was lost in thought and looking out the window.
'Shut up. That was a one-time-only thing. The only reason for that kiss was to get that annoying woman to shut her mouth.'
'…What a jerk!' she thought.
'…it's not my fault you haven't kissed anyone yet.'
'I didn't ask him to kiss me!'
'The look in your eyes says it all. It's obvious you wanted to kiss me.'
Ichiro abruptly stood up from her desk and shouted,
"That narcissistic, insensitive jerk!"
Her friends looked up at her confusingly. Rin had a hamburger in her mouth, Yoh was eating some bread from the school's cafeteria, and Mowata was eating a bento (boxed lunch) she made herself.
"Here." Rin stuck an uneaten hamburger in front of her face.
She took it, opened it, and took a stubborn bite out of it.
"I can't believe that guy! I didn't ask him to do that, first of all!"
She continued to fuss over what her friends didn't know anything about, while she abruptly ate some fries that were put in front of her and then took a large sip out of soda, which was also put in front her.
"And second, he didn't have to speak to me like that! Who the hell did he think he was!"
Her friends looked at each other and then back to her.
"Um…Chiro-chan, who are talking about?" Mowata asked.
"That jerk from the hospital, that's who!"
"You mean that stubborn, hot blondie?" Rin said, though it was more like a statement then a question.
"Not only was he hot, he was cute too!" Yoh added.
"…Are boys all you two think about?" Mowata said, a tiny sweat drop rolling down her cheek.
"Hey, we talk about other stuff." the twins protested.
"You should've seen him after you left!" Ichiro continued.
"How could we if we left?" Mowata asked.
"He was THE most obnoxious jerk I've ever met in my life!"
"Nuh-uh. What about Daisuke? You called him an obnoxious jerk as well." Yoh recalled.
"My brother isn't an obnoxious jerk…" Ichiro blinked.
"No not him, the other Daisuke. You know, Dice." Rin said.
"Oh him? He isn't obnoxious, he's just rude." Ichiro stated.
"And insensitive." Mowata added.
"Not only that, he was narcissistic!" Ichiro continued.
"Well actually, I don't think Dice is narcissistic…" Rin said.
"I'm not talking about Dice anymore!"
In that moment, the classroom's sliding door opening was heard, immediately followed by…
"Which one of you lovely ladies summoned me?"
"Go away Dice." Ichiro groaned and slumped into her chair.
"But I heard my name…twice…coming from this room…"
"So we were talking about you." Rin admitted.
Daisuke Adachi (Dice for short) is a cute, attractive boy with short black hair and gray-ish blue eyes. He is quite mischievous and flirty, unlike his brother who is quite the opposite.
"Ah, what's the matter?" Dice walked up behind of Ichiro and hugged her, rubbing his cheek against hers. "Is my Chiro-chan having some problems? Hmm?"
"It's none of your business! Let go!" she cried and pushed him off.
"Ok, what's wrong?" Dice asked.
"I said it's nothing."
"Come on, Chiro; no matter how annoying you may think I am, I'm always there to help…" he put a hand on her head. "…Right?"
She sighed knowing he was right.
"Now what's the matter?" Dice repeated, smiling.
"…Idiotic, insensitive jerk."
'I didn't do anything yet…' Dice thought.
"Hey, you're not talking about me, are you?" he pointed at himself and gave her a nervous smile.
"No, I'm not. Besides, if I was I wouldn't be talking to you about this."
"Even if you are insensitive…" Yoh added.
"…And you are a jerk." Rin finished her sister's statement.
"Ouch, girls are so harsh!" Daisuke cried. "Now tell me, Chiro-chan, what did this 'idiotic, insensitive jerk' do?"
"…He kissed me…"
"Eh?" he asked, hoping he heard wrong.
"…He took my first kiss…"
"He did what?"
Anger bubbled up inside him and he wasn't afraid to show it.
"Who is this son-of-a-bastard! I'll kill him! How dare he take your first kiss? That should have been ME!"
Ichiro groaned and rested her forehead on her desk.
"Daisuke, you're not helping." the twin sisters chimed simultaneously.
"Tell me who this guy is!" Dice continued.
"That's right, Chiro-chan hasn't told us his name yet." Mowata said.
"So what's his name?" the twins asked.
"Well, I heard the nurse call him 'Yukino Akira'." she answered, turning her head.
The twins froze.
"D-Did you just s-say Y-Yukino A-A-Akira?" they asked.
"Um…yeah." Ichiro paused as the twins abruptly stood up, slamming their palms on the desk.
"Yukino Akira kissed you?"
"Unfortunately yes…"
"Unfortunately?" Yoh shouted.
"I would kill to be kissed by him!" Rin cried.
"No wonder he looked so familiar…" Mowata stated.
Ichiro continued to stare at her friends in confusion.
The twins stared back, while Mowata closed her eyes and shook her head.
"Please tell me you know who Eiri Yuki is!" Rin pleated.
"Of course I do! He used to be Shuichi Shindo's lover…"
"Well, Yukino Akira is the mini version of Eiri Yuki!" Yoh explained.
"Really?"
"Yukino Akira is a 19 year old love novelist and he would've been runner up to Eiri Yuki, if some urgent business hadn't come up." Mowata explained.
"But! The judges still put him to runner up, because the rest of them weren't as good." the twins continued.
"Please don't tell me you didn't recognize him…" Mowata said.
She scratched the back of her neck and laughed nervously.
"I guess I didn't!"
Her friends groaned including Dice.
After school, the two bands crossed paths on their way to N.G Pro Records.
"Oh, it's them…" Mowata noticed first.
The rest of the band stopped and looked in the direction Mowata was mentioning. Sure enough, the band they tied with was now headed their way.
The Heart-Breakers is made up of Unosuke Toru, the guitarist and back-up singer, Miho Toshi, the drummer and Etsuko Kodayumi, the lead singer.
Unosuke has brown hair and blue eyes and is the group's softy; the kind one. However he's not a pushover, so he's never taken advantage of.
Miho, who is mostly called by his last name, is a funny, laid-back kind of guy. He would rather just chill with his friends or at home, than actually going out and being active, but he signed up for after-school basketball anyway.
Etsuko has faded blue hair, which can be mistaken for gray at a certain distance and brown eyes that is often mistaken for a dark red. He is very much alike Daisuke Adachi, but also has a 'get-away-from-me' kind of aura around him; though he'd prefer quite the opposite.
As the group got closer, Toshi waved.
"Hey, Wata!"
Mowata blushed a bit at the sound of the nick-name she was given and looked down, suddenly finding the sidewalk interesting.
"Hello…Toshi…" she shyly answered.
He smiled and chuckled happily, finding her reaction cute.
Unosuke had his head turned in another direction, other than in front of him. He gave a shy look in the corner of his eye when his name was called.
"Unosuke! How are you? How've you been?" the twins asked simultaneously.
He slightly blushed and looked away.
"Good." he responded, shyly.
'Kawaii!' they thought, giggling.
"Hey, Shinoru." Etsuko greeted.
"What's up, Kodayumi?" Ichiro greeted back.
"Are you ready to lose?"
"If you think you're going to win, you got another thing coming!"
With that, both lead singers raced each other into the building. Etsuko got to the lady behind the counter first.
"Hello. How may I help you?"
"Hi, we're here f-"
Ichiro interrupted him by jumping on top of him, causing him fall to the ground.
"We're here for the tie breaker!"
A big sweat drop slid down the side of the lady's head.
"We've been expecting you."
Both groups turned their heads to see a man with brown hair and eyes, who also looked a bit timid. He walked over to them and shook Ichiro's hand, then Etsuko's.
"Hello, my name is Koji Sakano. I will be escorting you to the entertainment room, where you will finish your performance. Follow me, if you would."
Both groups nodded and followed him. As they started walking, however, Etsuko pushed Ichiro down.
"Oi! Kodayumi!"
"That's what you get for pushing me down earlier!"
Once in the entertainment room (auditorium), both groups stepped on stage and introduced themselves to the judges. The judges were made up of the president of N.G, Tohma Seguchi, Nittle Grasper's lead singer, Ryuichi Sakuma and love novelist Eiri Yuki, who has not showed up yet. After introducing themselves, they walked backstage and waited for their names to be called.
"Hey guys, who do you think the last judge will be?" Ichiro spoke up after about 10 minutes of silence. "So far we know all the judges."
"Who cares? All I'm thinking about is getting some shut-eye." Toshi yawned, who was sitting with his hands behind his head and his feet up on a mini wooden table.
"That's all you think about." Unosuke said, who was listening to music.
"What's wrong with that?"
"You should try thinking about something else for once…"
"Why should I? What about?"
"Basket ball practice, for instance."
"I don't have to worry about that!" Toshi waved it off. "It's tomorrow."
"It was yesterday!" Unosuke said plainly.
"What? Are you serious?"
"Your third absence. Coach was pissed!"
"Would you two be quiet, I'm trying to study!" Etsuko snapped, who was leaning against the wall near Ichiro, reading a piece of paper.
"Studying? What?" Toshi asked a hint of laughter in his voice.
"Lyrics. I want to make sure we do this right the first time."
"I don't know why you're even bothering with that."
"So we can get it right the first time." he repeated, impatient.
"We only have one chance." Unosuke reminded.
"Yo, Chiro!" Toshi called. "Shouldn't you be doing the same as Leader?"
"Nah!" Ichiro ginned happily.
"Don't you worry," Yoh said.
"We have everything under control!" Rin finished.
"I'm sure we'll be fine!" Ichiro confidently said.
"Better safe than sorry…" Unosuke stated.
"He's right, Chiro-chan…maybe we should practice. At least for a minute…" Mowata suggested.
"We practiced all hours of all week, excluding the day I got sent to the hospital. We even got the hardest part of the song down! I really have no doubt that we'll mess up." Ichiro explained.
"Are you ready?" Mr. Sakano poked his head backstage.
Both groups nodded.
"Alright, please be patient, we will begin shortly."
With that, he turned and left.
"We won't lose." Ichiro shot a stare at Etsuko.
"Ah, Ichiro," Etsuko slowly shook his head, as the rest of the group stood up. "You're no match for us."
"Why you-"
She stopped herself when she felt his arm wrap around her waist to pull her closer to his body.
"But don't you worry your cute, little head," he lifted her chin. "I'll stay in touch and maybe I'll even share…"
He closed the space between their bodies and leaned in. Ichiro clenched her fists, suddenly remembering about her first kiss. His lips were so close to hers, she can feel his breath on her lips. Right when his lips were to touch hers; right when she was going to slap him…
"Introducing…'The Heart-Breakers'!"
Etsuko eased himself away from her and followed the rest of his band saying,
"We'll continue this later."
Ichiro was mad and her face was burning.
'No, we won't!' she thought.
She wanted to shout at him so bad, unfortunately the act might anger the judges.
"You're like a man magnet!" the twins said as the boys played their song. "First Yukino, now Etsuko!"
"Please…" her friends looked at her. "Don't mention that name around me…"
The twins shrugged at each other. Three minutes later, the boys had finished their song and were now walking back.
"Introducing, 'The Angels'!"
"You're up." Toshi stated the obvious.
"Good luck…" Unosuke said.
"You're going to need it." Etsuko stated.
Ichiro paused, then continued walking. Once on the stage, the instruments they needed were ready to use. Everyone took their places. Rin on the drums, Yoh on the guitar, Mowata on the piano and Ichiro in front with the microphone.
"For one minute, if you want please test out the instruments." Mr. Sakano instructed.
As they were doing so, Ichiro took a peek at the judges. When she saw the missing judge, she couldn't believe her eyes.
'No way! Why? What's he doing here?'
Once done testing the instruments, the judges stood up and spoke.
"I am Tohma Seguchi. I will be judging you on your performance."
"I'm Ryuichi Sakuma. Kumaguro and I are going to judge you on your appearance and you how enjoy yourself on stage. In your case, just on how you enjoy yourself."
"I am Yukino Akira, taking place for Eiri Yuki. I will be judging you on your lyrics."
'So…our paths cross again…' Yukino grinned.
"You may begin…" Mr. Seguchi said, while the judges seated themselves.
To ease her nerves, Ichiro took a deep breath and exhaled. Then she took another inhale and the music started. (Let's make it 'Pure Snow' by Yuko Sasaki) Throughout the first minute, Ichiro thought of only one thing: the whole scene of her and Yukino in the hospital. After her mind couldn't take it anymore, her childhood friend popped up in her mind.
…And she performed with all her heart. After they finished, they were told to go back stage and wait. They did as they were told, and Ichiro ignored and stayed away from Etsuko, no matter what he did. A few minutes past and both groups were to report on stage. The boys were told their results first.
"Make sure to stay serious while on stage." Mr. Seguchi had said.
"Kumaguro says, you guys were great and I couldn't agree more!" Ryuichi had said.
"Your lyrics were fine, but they can be better. Have a more passionate meaning in them."
'Are you kidding me? This Yukino guy is the same age as I am!' Etsuko yelled in his head, making sure his facial expression didn't show what he was thinking.
The group nodded and now was the girls turn. Their results were similar.
"Try taking a cuter approach to the audience. You are girls after all." Seiguchi instructed.
"Your appearance is good, try wearing more revealing clothes. You're cute! Show yourselves off!" Ryuichi said.
The girls giggled and slightly blushed.
"Heh…your lyrics sucked." Yukino grinned.
The girls slightly gasped, Ryuichi joining them. Seiguchi stared at him, a sense of 'What are you doing?' behind his eyes. The boys were taken aback. Yukino rested his chin on the palm of his hand, his elbow resting on the table.
"How about using words…some that actually make sense?"
'Son of a…How dare he?' Ichiro thought.
She clenched her fists, her anger getting to its peak. She opened her mouth, but was interrupted by everyone else.
"Understood…" they said and bowed.
Rin and Yoh took Ichiro's arms and dragged her backstage.
"Don't yell at the judge!" the twins yelled at her through whisper.
"But-But…"
She trembled slightly as a few droplets of water fell from her face. The boys approached her: Etsuko stood behind her, Toshi sat on her right and Unosuke sat on her left and hugged her, comforting her.
"I tried…I did well on those lyrics…" she cried into his chest.
"Yes…you did." Unosuke said.
"Those lyrics were wonderful…" Toshi comforted.
"That Yukino doesn't know a thing about lyrics!" Etsuko said, clenching his fists.
"That was very mean prank you did, Yukino-chan." Ryuichi pointed out.
"Do you know her?" Tohma asked.
A moment of silence.
"We met once before…" he reminded himself of the kiss, then silently smirked.
The sun was now setting and Kisuke and Daisuke picked their up sister at N.G. An hour earlier, the judges had announced that both bands won and were selected for new talent at N.G PRO Records. After that, they were allowed to leave. Rin and Yoh got a ride from their mom and Mowata joined them. On the ride home, Ichiro caught a glance of something familiar.
"Wait, stop the car, Nii-kun!" she gasped.
"What? What's wrong?" Kisuke asked as he stopped.
She opened the door and ran out of the car.
"Hold on! Ichiro!" Daisuke called.
"I just saw an old friend of mine! I want to catch up; I'll meet you at home, ok?" she put on a fake smile and since it's getting dark, they couldn't determine so.
"Ah…ok?" the twins looked at each other.
"Ichiro! Don't be late for dinner!" Daisuke called.
"I won't! I'll see you later!"
With that, they drove off towards home. Ichiro ran after her 'old friend' and hid behind a corner when he turned around, thinking he heard something. She continued following when he continued walking. She got all the way to his house, which didn't take long and then he disappeared. She figured he went inside and just stood in front of the building, thinking.
"Why are you following me?" a cold voice asked her from behind.
Startled, she jumped; chills running down her spine. She whirled around and there he was. She only stared at him for about a minute.
"I asked you a question..."
"Why did you say that?" she asked her hair hiding her eyes from view.
"I believe I asked you question."
"I believe I asked you one as well!"
"Answer my question first!" Yukino got close to her face, trying to intimidate her, which seemed to work.
"Because I want to know why!"
"Why what?"
"Why did you say that back there? About my lyrics?"
"I don't know what you're talking about." he said sharply and took out his keys.
"My lyrics didn't suck! They were just as good as the boys'!"
"No."
'What?' she thought.
"Their lyrics actually made sense. Yours didn't. End of story; end of conversation." he unlocked the front door. "Now, if you'll excuse me…"
He made to get in, but she quickly got in front of him and closed the door, blocking the way.
"Move…"
"Not until you apologize."
"For what exactly?"
"For being so rude to me! In the hospital and earlier."
"I don't have to apologize to the likes of you."
"Excuse me?"
"I said move…"
"And I said not until you apologize."
"Get out of the way."
He pushed her hard enough so she moved, that way he could turn the handle and slightly open the door. Unfortunately for him, she quickly caught her balance and returned to her post, closing the door again.
"You're not getting into this house, until you apologize!" she said, sternly.
He stared at her, his cold eyes burning into hers. Finally, after what seemed hours, he sighed.
"Fine, you want me to apologize?" he asked, slamming his hands on the door, both to the sides of her head and he leaned close to her face.
"That's what I've been saying for the past hour!" she yelled, between their faces even closer to each other.
He leaned in, his facial expression now tender and cool.
"I'm sorry…"
With that, his lips crashed onto hers. Her eyes got wide, but they quickly returned back to size and started to close; her body relaxed. He put an arm around her waist, pulling her closer. She started to feel like she was floating. Suddenly, the sound of a slap echoed around them. He suddenly let go and she slowly backed away, covering her mouth. His face was turned away from her. All he heard was her running footsteps, which gradually disappeared. Right before she completely disappeared from eye-sight, Yukino looked up at her shrinking figure, cupping his now stinging, red cheek and smiled.
Ichiro: *points* Ha! It was bound to happen sometime!
Yukino: And then you ran away. A cowardly act, if you ask me.
Ichiro: So! I still got you.
Yukino: And then you ran away...
Ichiro: Oh, shut up...
Yukino: *thinking, smiling* Point for me.