Disclaimers : Besides Ling-Er and Kaori, the other SD characters are copyrights of Inoue Takehiko.
Chapter 5 ; Love Sensation (Part II)
'Targets: Stay out of fights. Ignore idiot Rukawa. Pass exams. Win Haruko-chan's
heart. Be a genuine genius!' posters and banners can be seen all over Sakuragi's
room. Smiling, Sakuragi marked another date off his calendar triumphantly.
Just then, the Sakuragi Gundam entered his room. Chyuichiro, Yuji and Nozomi
were laughing their heads off as they saw it. (Smokes came out of Sakuragi's
head as he turned boiling red) Yohei controlled himself as he confronted
Sakuragi, "Cool down. They just don't know the true virtue of a genius."
And Sakuragi laughed. "That's right! Idiots don't understand geniuses!
Muahahahahaha!" (sweatdrops)
"So, Hanamichi, do you have confidence in winning Haruko's heart?" Nozomi
asked. "Stop asking stupid questions, of course I CAN. I'm genius Sakuragi
Hanamichi. Who can resist me?" he boasted. "50 girls already did," they
all mumbled under their breath. They each got a bump in their heads for
that.
"They're having a party at Glasses Boy's house tonight. This is your chance,
Hanamichi!" Yuji encouraged with tears in his eyes as he rubbed his temple.
Sakuragi narrowed his eyes. "How do you know?" The Sakuragi Gundam smiled
knowingly at each other. They each took out a short note. 'Join us into
welcoming home party for Kogure at his house tonight. PEACE. Akagi Haruko.'
Sakuragi took out his note. "I thought I'm the only one with it…" he said,
heartbroken.
There were many people present for the 'party'. The 'organizing committee'
had promised Kogure to help him clean up after the whole party. There were
even unexpected guests, including some Kogure did not know- the freshmen
in the Shohoku basketball team. Tono, Kei and Kai. Not to forget the other
benchwarmers, Yasuda, Anta and Shozaki. Haruko invited her best friends,
Fuji and Matsui along too. All in all, the party was a merry one.
Ling-Er (having trouble catching up with them as they speak quickly without
giving time for her to interpret like Haruko, Akagi, Kaori and Mitsui did)
mixed with Fuji and Matsui while Haruko and Sakuragi were deeply involved
in their own conversation. The Sakuragi Gundam was spying with obvious
camouflages. Yohei, again, did not join them but was in a lip fight with
Kaori. The guys were busying discussing the University Cups (which, of
course, was won by Kanagawa University), as Uozumi and Jin were there too.
The younger ones listened attentively. Akagi was checking his watch every
few minutes anxiously, and Mitsui teased him continuously.
It was almost nine when a pretty girl with wavy hair stepped into the house.
"Hi," she greeted breathlessly. Silence. Everyone looked at her suspiciously.
"Sister! What are you doing here?" the twins, Kei and Kai, broke the silence.
She looked at them in surprise. "Kei, Kai! What are YOU doing here?" she
asked back. "You know each other?" several voices asked in unison. They
explained that the girl was their elder sister. "Who invited you?" the
twins demanded.
Akagi coughed. "Guys, meet Norimaki Keiko," he introduced. "Akagi Takenori's
girlfriend," Mitsui added and Keiko blushed. Akagi glared at him, who was
laughing hysterically. Everyone nodded, showing they understand. "Gori
has a girlfriend, Gori has a girlfriend," the Sakuragi Gundam cheered.
Haruko was complaining the fact that Mitsui get to know her brother has
a girlfriend before her. Immediately it was noisy again. Kogure smiled
as he saw that although his best friend was trying to 'act' mad at Mitsui,
he looks happy, sharing quick glances with Keiko. He stole a glance at
Ayako, who looked away when she saw him looking at her. If only I can
settle my own love life…
"I can't believe brother has a girlfriend and did not tell me!" Haruko
complained to Sakuragi. "You can do that too," he told her mischievously.
Haruko looked confused. "How?" "Simple, accept me and don't tell him,"
he replied, "Didn't I tell you I'm a genius?" Haruko laughed. "You're so
naughty," she scolded. Sakuragi crossed his fingers. She did not continue
and he was losing hope…when she added, "But I agree with it." He was in
e-cloud 9 for a whole 5 minutes before Haruko could bring him down and
back to reality.
"So?" Ayako asked. She and Kogure were alone, outside the house. The night
breeze was cold, especially when it was nearly winter. "So what?" he asked
innocently.
"You know, Kogure," she replied. "I can't believe you are such a coward."
"You know I'm not, but we just can't…"
"Can't let everyone know that we're an item? That I love you, and you love
me? Is there anything wrong?" Ayako demanded, her voice nearly cracked.
"But… Miyagi-san… I can't hurt him. I can't betray him. I know how he feels
about you," he told her, the reason sounding lame even to himself, true
as it was.
"You know how I feel towards him. You know… that I liked you since I first
became the Shohoku team manger," she told him drily.
"I miss you, Ayako," he said.
"I miss you too." They embraced. "Don't worry, I'll announce to everyone,
later," he whispered. Ayako smiled and leaned on the older boy's chest
happily. They were too busy with each other to notice another one's presence
near them.
Miyagi didn't know what he was feeling. Everything seemed blur. His dearest
Aya-chan has a boyfriend, and it's one of his most trusted friend. He wanted
to marched between them, separate them, and beat Kogure up, but he couldn't.
Ayako was happy with Kogure. He couldn't hurt Ayako. He couldn't make her
mad at him. Perhaps, it was the best thing to do… unless Kogure hurt Ayako.
He swore he could never forgive Kogure if he did anything to hurt Ayako.
And he turned away, tears rolling down his cheeks.
Surprisingly, Rukawa started feeling lonely. Sakuragi wasn't picking up
fights with him anymore. In fact, he was practically ignoring him. Haruko,
too, paid less attention to him. It was rather boring without Sakuragi's
entertainment. He walked outside the house, towards the back compound.
He was surprised when he saw Kogure and Ayako being so intimate. He coughed,
startling them. They blushed, and excused themselves and went inside the
house to joined the party. I suppose I'm the only one who has this feeling…
of loneliness.
"Rukawa-kun," a voice called. He looked around. It was Ling-Er. She approached
him. "Join in the party. That redhead is ignoring you, but doesn't mean
you can't have fun," she told him. He snorted. What would SHE understand?
"You're shutting yourself. Give a chance to others to know you," she continued.
He kept quiet. She continued with her philosophy. Though she was talking
to him, he realized she was trying to convince herself. She looked as if
she was repeating quotes from somewhere. Somehow, he felt better, as if
he had received a great motivation talk.
He turned to her when she stopped. He approached her, raising his hand
for a handshake. Ling-Er jumped back in fright. Forgot she's weirdo…
"Thanks,"
he muttered. Ling-Er smiled, though her face was pale. Then she ran off.
Can't believe I let a weirdo advice me… he went inside. To enjoy
himself.
Everyone thought the night was perfect. Everyone was enjoying themselves.
Miyagi as the only exception. Mitsui was struggling about his feelings
towards Ling-Er when Kogure announced that he and Ayako started becoming
an item a few weeks before he left to study in Tokyo. Then , he frowned
when he remembered that he owed her a number of treats. How could she
eat so much…isn't she afraid of gaining weight?
Even a certain stalker thought the party was great A prefect chance to
pick on a certain girl. If only she could come out alone again. Mitsui
couldn't be there to protect her. No one would. He would have his revenge
on Mitsui. He couldn't wait. If he didn't have the chance that night, he
would strike the next morning. He promised himself that.
"Ling-Er-chan, how come you are not afraid of Kogure-kun? Fuji was asking
when Kaori joined in the conversation after she finished quarreling enough
with Yohei, grumbling and complaining about him. "I understand that you're
not afraid of Akagi-kun and Mitsui-kun, but Kogure-kun is just as adorable
as the other good-looking guys you freak at," Matsui added. Akagi and Mitsui,
who were nearby, overheard them and glared over. (heat and smoke released
from their bodies) Are they trying to hint her that we're extremely
horrible looking?
"Not me. I don't understand she's not afraid of Mitsui. Not many guys with
scars across their chins are 'good'," Kaori revealed her thoughts. The
other two girls nodded. Ling-Er shrugged. *They won't understand, not
when I myself don't understand it. * Around Akagi, she felt secured.
With Mitsui, she had the wonderful feeling of being understood and loved.
As for Kogure, she felt at ease. He was very special, very different from
other guys. She believed she made a great improvement. At least she wasn't
afraid of three guys, and tried to befriend Rukawa (though failed). She
couldn't explain why she did not have the fear she used to have, she was
glad.
"Look at Haruko and Sakuragi," Kaori pointed to the couple who were laughing
happily together. The girls looked over and grinned wickedly. "Time for
fun," Fuji whispered naughtily. Kaori shook her head. "You girls go ahead.
Ling-Er and I have to leave. Brother will be mad if I stay too long," she
informed them, then explained that Ling-Er will be staying overnight at
her house.
What? Why is that little girl there with her? She's ruining my plan! Arghh!
Never mind. I'll just add her to my victim list. Another girl won't be
much of a trouble for me. Blame yourself for interrupting my master plan.
Wait… who is that guy? Isn't he the on who spoilt my plan that day? What
is he doing here? What is he doing with the girls? Never mind. I guess
I'll just leave it till tomorrow. Sometimes patience is important. I'll
make sure they pay for my patience, and my waste of time. The punishment
HAVE to be twice as bad as tonight's suppose to be.
Author's Note: I shortened everything, since I figure two all romance chapters would be way too boring. Next chapter there'll be more excitement. For sure. Remember to review. And erm… no one tell me what you think about Ling-Er's pic… :~~~(
Next Chapter: Confusion; Main plot: Friendly matches, the stalker struck Ling-Er again and Mitsui confessing his feelings~ Mix them all together you get the next chapter, confusion~ :)
