COLLECT & CONTRAST
-Kawaii Hana-
Disclaimer: I don't own Flame of Recca, its characters nor the original plot. There… enough said!
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
CHAPTER NINE: A Broken Arm… and a Broken Heart…
When I got home yesterday, the only thing I told my family about was that I had my first kiss! My Outo-san seems to look worried for some reason. But Onee-san gave me a congratulatory hug. Okaa-chan looked teary… She said that I've grown up too fast! Oh well…
That entire drama from yesterday seemed like it had never happened at all… There was Yuuto-kun, waiting for me by the school gate as usual so that we could go to our classrooms together. Thankfully, unlike the last time when we were just a new couple, the whole school wasn't going crazy and talking about Yuuto-kun's 'supposed infidelity'…
Awww, thank you so much, Fuuko-chan! Thank you too, Tokiya-niichan! You did not spill the beans at all… Well, for starters, the whole thing was a big misunderstanding on my part anyway… There was never any scandalous incident… And everything was resolved on that same day, too. So, no biggie…
What the school did go crazy and talk about was Yuuto-kun and his Karate Club's landslide victory at the Kantou Karate Tournament… It was a definitely a big deal for us, Nashikiri High School students… For starters, this was the very first time our school had entered a major Karate Tournament and won (even defeated a three-time champion by the way). And second, this was actually the very, VERY, first time that Nashikiri High School had championed in anything…
You can imagine how Yuuto-kun was received when we entered the school building… It was like Victory from war!
"Hey! Hey! Suzuki-san! Omedetou!"
"Hey! Yuuto! You rock!"
"Alright! Do your best in the Nationals!"
"I'll be rooting for you, Suzuki!"
"Yeaaahh! We Nashikiri High School people rock!"
"Is it just me or the First years are really on a roll this year?"
"Hinako… I am so jealous of you right now!"
"Yuuto-kun! Please be my boyfriend!"
Yeah… Every person in the school wanted to get a glimpse of my…ahem… MY boyfriend… Well, he was the one that brought the trophy, after all. The ironic part was… He wasn't supposed to be fighting in that final match…. But the senpai assigned to that match had a serious injury during the tournament so he had no choice but to forfeit… Their team didn't want to forfeit now... They were this close to winning the whole thing after all. So they forced, Yuuto-kun, the breakout star of the tournament that day, to fight that match…
Well, of course, they did not actually expect him to win against that participant from a three-time champion school… But that is what you get if you force Yuuto-kun in a corner… He fights back! And he did win… It was an upset loss for the opponent… Their winning streak had gone… The injured senpai was not upset at all. In fact, he was proud…He was the one who chose to Yuuto-kun to substitute for him after all… And they have finally gotten a trophy after so many years of hard work and training…
Needless to say, Nashikiri High School is on Cloud 9… Uhh… Maybe that's an understatement…
0-0-0-0-0-0
At Lunch break today, somehow the other students have calmed down and our gang finally was able to eat lunch in peace… It was there that I told of Recca-kun, Yanagi-chan and Domon-kun of the uh, "Infidelity" incident yesterday… Recca-kun, somehow, found my tale quite amusing…
"Ahahaha!"
"Recca-kun… Why are you laughing?" asked Yanagi-chan.
"It's just…" Recca-kun lowered down his voice. "Yuuto, you just won a tournament one day and got slapped by your girlfriend the next day!"
"That was what you got from listening to the story?" Yuuto-kun sarcastically asked. Recca-kun laughed even harder! Even I had to make a smile…
I noticed Domon-kun had not reacted at all from my story. Maybe he was tired from helping his mother in the flower shop this past weekend. He was looking down the entire time… He wasn't as energetic as he usually was.
"Domon-kun?" I called.
"Hm?" He looked up. "What?"
"Are you OK? You seem to be down…?"
"Oh no no… I'm just tired from seeing too much flowers this past two days! Whew!" Domon said, trying to reassure me.
"Hey! Hey!" Everyone looked at Fuuko-chan. "You know what's actually weird about yesterday? It's that Mi-chan went off to fix the misunderstanding on his own… It's just so weird… But really sweet of him, actually… Hina-chan gets to call him her 'Onii-chan' now!"
I thought I saw Domon-kun looking at Fuuko-chan intensely. I think he looked at her when she mentioned 'Mi-chan'… Wait… Is Domon-kun…
"Ne, Hina-chan," Yanagi-chan distracted me. She asked in a low voice. "When you two made up, did you kiss?"
My face instantly felt hot. I am so sure my face was going red. Yuuto-kun was all red in the face, too. Recca-kun and his girlfriend looked to Fuuko-chan for confirmation. And she promptly nodded with an all–knowing smile plastered on her face.
"Omedetou, Hina-chan," greeted a delighted Yanagi-chan.
"Thank you…" I said in a low voice. But I'm not sure why there was a need for congratulations. Then I thought of something to get back at them. "Well, what about you two? Did you guys kiss yet?"
This time, it was Recca-kun and Yanagi-chan who were blushing now. We were very intrigued! Don't tell me that they have already…
"Well," said Recca-kun while his gaze was on different place. "We… uh… may have kissed when I took Hime home on the day of the confession…"
"Eh!?" I, along with Fuuko-chan and Yuuto-kun cried out. That was almost two months ago!
"What the- You two!" Fuuko-chan began to scold them "Why are you two still shy about these things!? You guys have been going out as long as Yuuto and Hina-chan have!"
"W-Well, uh… It's just… It's so embarrassing…" The brunette said.
"Embarassing! We're your friends! You can tell us anything!" I said. I think I saw Domon-kun nodding slowly to what I just said and looking quite intensely at Fuuko-chan again… Wow, he must have been really tired… Or is it…
"Whoops! Lunch break time is almost up!" said Fuuko-chan as she checked her watch. "We better go…"
We all got up from the table and went up the stairs… Just then, on the hallways, Tokiya-niichan was just passing by…
"Hello monkeys…"
"Hi, Mikagami…" Recca-kun said with a monotonous tone, rolling his eyes… Yeah, he has gotten used to being called as such.
"Hello, Yanagi-san…" Heh, she get's the special treatment, huh…
"Hello, Yuuto-san… Hinako-san…" Awww, we get the special treatment, too!
"Hello, Onii-chan…" I called out immediately… I still won't forget yesterday. Nii-chan had to sigh… Hehehe… So cute…
"Hey, Mi-chan, is your grocery stock still OK?" Fuuko-chan just had to have the last say.
"Fuuko… We just went shopping two days ago… Please give me a break." The sophomore grumbled. The purple head giggled.
"Well, see you around…" With that our oldest member of the gang left…
"Uhh… Hime…" Recca called out. "Since when did that Mikagami been calling Fuuko by her first name…?"
"I-I don't know… Just now, I think…"
"Wow… Ever since they became neighbors, they have really gotten close!" Recca commented.
"So it seems…" said Yanagi-chan…
My heart began to beat as twice as fast… I'm just so happy right now! But I tried to pull off a neutral expression as much as I can. Tokiya-niichan is comfortable with calling Fuuko-chan with her first name amongst the gang. This is great… So great! There is definitely progress! Really, really, good progress… I wonder if I could talk about this frankly to Fuuko-chan now…
I was so deliriously happy at that time that I did pay any more attention to Domon-kun who was looking at Tokiya-niichan as he walked away…
0-0-0-0-0-0
It was now time to go home again. And today was exceptionally rare! Since they were still celebrating their great victory, the Karate Club had no meetings or trainings slated for today. So Yuuto-kun was taking me home for the first time in a long time… Aaah… I love my life, seriously…
"Waaah! This is rare… No trainings from Hell! No agonizing pain when I go home!" Said Yuuto-kun. Hehehe… He's so kawaii… And yeah, I agreed him. A day off from all that training is something that everyone who participated in that tournament really needs right now… A day to relax!
"Hey, Hina.." He began.
"Hm…"
"You never got to visit our house from last time… Why don't you come over and bake some of your cupcakes again?"
"Yuuto-kun!" I pouted. "When are you going to move on from those cupcakes?"
"I can't really get over it!" He pouted at me back. "And I didn't actually get to enjoy them, by the way… You know that I was running around trying to find my cell phone and I was so tired that I gobbled them all up in one go! But they were sooo gooood! "
Two months ago, a Yuuto-kun who was still projecting the calm and collected demeanor, would never say it like this. But, well, seeing him like this makes me love him even more! His pouting and puppy-eyed face that he's doing to me now, is probably a good factor…
"Alright…" I conceded. "Since you don't have Karate club meetings this week, let's do it on the weekend, then!"
"Yey!"
"But first things first…" I said to him. "Do you have an oven in your house?"
Yuuto-kun sweat-dropped. "Err, no…"
I raised my arms in exasperation. "Yuuto-kun! If there's no oven, how are we supposed to be baking anything!?"
"Yeah… I guess I didn't' think that through."
I shook my head. My twelve chocolate cupcakes must have really gotten into him… It's like he was addicted to them now. I wonder if this is any good for his future trainings… Oh well, it is also quite rare that Yuuto-kun's even asking me for something, anyway. And besides, I owe him a lot from slapping him hard yesterday…
"Whoa! Whoa! This is rare! Mi-chan's coming home early!" Cried out Fuuko-chan! Wow, can this day get any better? It was rare that Nii-chan's been coming home with us, too…
"Do you really have to say it out loud, Fuuko?" Nii-chan once again grumbled. My heart did another fast beat each time he calls her the purple head by her first name. Hmmm... I wonder what scheme I shall be putting up today. I hope ToFuu (or Yuuto-kun either) hasn't been noticing what I've been doing all this time…
"Nii-chan? Are you supposed to be going to your first part-time job today…?" I asked.
"I figured a day off wouldn't hurt." He replied as he shrugged his shoulders. "Actually I have never really taken days off at all. Today's the first one…"
"Eh? What changed your mind?" Yuuto-kun asked.
With a reminiscing kind of smile, Nii-chan said, "I think Fuuko once said to me that I should enjoy my life once in a while…"
Nii-chan had already looked away when Fuuko-chan began to blush furiously. He still remembered that? I think that was said on the day of the near-kiss and Yuuto-kun's confession to me… That was over two months ago!
Awww, I think they are in courting mode! Right? They are definitely in courting mode. They are already giving each other hints about their feelings… Okay, this is good! Well, this is going quite slow in my opinion… But that's the fun part, right?
That's it! I'm gonna phone Fuuko-chan late tonight and directly ask her, "Hey, Fuuko-chan! I've got something to ask you…" And I'm very sure she will pour all heart out to me about her current situation! I'm her best friend after all… Hmm, I should get Yanagi-chan to join in the conversation later, too!
"Hey, Mikagami! I've got something I've got to ask you…"
A deep and angry voice caught our attention. All four of us stopped in our tracks and utterly surprised at what we saw…
It was Domon-kun… Why is he here? I thought he had already gone home after his community service… Why does he… have a nose ring again…? This was not the fake one… I think it had a small red orb on it… And he seems to be hiding something on his back…
"What is it?" Nii-chan replied back. It may be just Domon-kun. But there was something different about him… The way he was looking at the silver-haired bishounen is definitely not a good sign. It was like a death glare… I felt my heart beating faster… My hand was clenched tighter by Yuuto-kun's… He knows there was something wrong, too…
"What is your relationship with Fuuko-chan?"
My eyes widened in horror… Oh no, he also noticed that there was chemistry going on between them, too! Damn, I should have noticed this earlier… Now, it's turned to a big problem… A very, very big problem…
"What? What do you mea-"
"Just answer the question…" His glare was definitely not something to make fun of… The glare never left Nii-chan at all…
But Nii-chan remained firm on his ground. His facial expression still was neutral. "Fuuko and I are just friends…"
"Oh? Really? Then why is it you call her 'Fuuko' now?" So he did notice that and was really upset about it…
"All friends call each other by their first names… Is that wrong?"
"You don't fool me!" Domon-kun's voice boomed. "Then why did you guys kiss that other day?"
All three of us had guiltily put on shock on our faces! How did he know? Domon-kun was there!? How come I did not see him, then? I thought he was at his mother's flower shop! Did he get to have permission to hang out with Fuuko-chan for a while…? And while he was going to our street, that's where he saw it? Oh no… I should have thought of this before…
"I know nothing of that…" Nii-chan denied it flatly… Nii-chan, it's no use denying it now… If he saw it, then there's no way you two can get away now…
"YOU… DON'T DARE LIE TO ME!"
Something appeared from behind the giant. A metal-like beak sprung towards Nii-chan but he safely dodged it! So this is Domon-kun's "Madougu"! He wants to fight Nii-chan! Did he bring that Ice Blade of his?
"Domon! What are you doing?" Fuuko-chan called out. "If any of the teachers see you, you'll get kicked out of the school for sure this time!"
"I WON"T STOP UNTIL YOU TWO TELL THE TRUTH!"
"Look, Domon…" She began to explain. "It was just a k-"
"I SAID I KNOW NOTHING OF WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT!" Nii-chan revealed a small white dagger… It was now sucking water out of the School's Water tank nearby, forming the Ice Blade I saw once before. "AND I WOULD NEVER INVOLVE MYSELF IN SUCH THINGS!"
My eyes widened again… My mouth wide open as well… Nii-chan… How could you say that? But you… You and Fuuko-chan were having great time that other day and… just now… Why…?
My eyes quickly went to Fuuko-chan… Her eyes showed sadness… Her mouth wide open, too… Oh no… What is happening? Why is everything going wrong again?
"Hina! Watch out!"
I screamed. An icicle and a piece of large debris was shooting straight over me! Luckily, Yuuto-kun was able to pull me safely just in time!
"Guys! Stop! Stop!" Fuuko-chan was able to get over her senses and was now trying to stop the ensuing fight. "Stop! Hina-chan and Yuuto are just nearby! They'll get hurt!"
But they can't hear her anymore… They were in a heat of battle… A battle of which I have never seen before…
Nii-chan was slashing at Domon-kun… But he didn't to care… He was slinging his metal-like beak at him but Nii-chan was too quick… A heavy block of ice fell down on the giant… But he easily carried it out of the way… His nose ring! The red orb was glowing! It's giving him superhuman strength! That nose ring was a "Madougu"? He has two…?
"Ishijima… You know what I can do with the Ensui! Stop this nonsense!" Nii-chan looked so different now, too… Is this how scary they look when they're seriously fighting?
"You forgot, Mikagami! I have this…" Domon-kun now had pitch black orb in his other hand… What? He has three "Madougu"?
Nii-chan dashed up, jumped and landed on Domon-kun in a flash... That's it! He overpowered him at last...
"I know what that does… So sorry… I have to do this…" Nii-chan said…
"Wha- AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
"NO!" Both Fuuko-chan and I screamed out. Niichan had just twisted the arm that had the black ball. I definitely heard a crack there! Did Nii-chan just… deliberately break his arm!? Domon-kun's left arm was definitely in an abnormal angle!
"WHY YOU BAST-" Domon-kun was about to swing his metal-like beak again!
A strong gust of wind followed next! It blew hard! Pieces of debris flew in all sorts of directions… Yuuto-kun shouted at me to kneel and keep my head down. I did, still embracing him. The wind had Nii-chan swept away from Domon-kun… The beak wasn't able to get him at all… Thank God!
And in the middle of the two boys, a small figure crouching and her arms outstretched, revealing that white brace that I saw once, too. Spurts of air were coming out of it…
"MOU! YAMETE!"
Fuuko-chan cried at the top of her lungs… I can tell she was about to cry… Fuuko-chan… She was breathing heavily… As were me and everyone else… None of the two were moving now… The Ice Blade became water again, leaving the white dagger...
Finally! The fighting had stopped! Was this how powerful the "Madougu" really are…? Was this really how that underground tournament was like… or was it worse…?
"Hey guys! We saw the Water Tank shrunk and then we heard Fuuko- Oh my God! What happened here!?" It was Recca-kun and Yanagi-chan… Thank God! They're here!
"R-Recca-kun! Y-Yanagi-chan! Domon-kun suddenly attacked Tokiya-niichan w-with h-his…" I could not speak clearly. I was still shaking as I was clinging onto Yuuto-kun's arms.
"I… I can still fight!" Domon cried out. He let go of the metal beak in his healthy hand and was about to take the black ball when suddenly…
Red flames appeared on Recca-kun's metal-braced arm. Was that his "Madougu", too?
"Domon… You have seen what I can do with my flames… Do not cause yourself and everyone else anymore trouble!" Recca-kun looked sternly at his friend. The two friends stared at each other but at last… the giant had conceded… He did not touch the black ball again…
"D-Domon-kun!" Yanagi-chan cried out. "I'll heal your broken arm!"
"No, Hime, wait!" Her boyfriend stopped her. "Heal those cut wounds of his first!"
"Eh?"
"Hime, listen! There will be people out here in any minute! If they see that there are cuts and slash wounds, they know that there was a knife or a blade involved… That's a lot of trouble right there! We have to hide that fact! Mikagami, sorry but I have to confiscate the Ensui! You can get it back when everything's settled down. Fuuko! Hide your Fuujin, NOW! Domon, I'll be getting all three of your Madougu, too! Yuuto-kun, I'm sorry but can I borrow that extra bag for your clothes? This Kuchibashi-O is too big to fit in my bag. I'll put all the weapons there…"
"S-Sure…" Yuuto-kun said, still trying to process what he just saw. He took away his karate gi outfit and gave the empty bag to Recca-kun…
This was the first time I have actually seen Recca-kun act all calm and collected, handling the extreme situation like that of a leader… Was he their leader in that tournament?
I saw Yanagi-chan healing for the first time, too… So this was the reason why she was in danger before… Her healing power is too precious…
I looked at Fuuko-chan… And I called out to her in silence… Fuuko-chan, why are you not helping Nii-chan up? Why are you just standing there? Wait… Why are you both not looking at each other anymore? Oh no… The thing that Nii-chan said… Fuuko-chan still remembers that…
Recca-kun had just placed the last Madougu in the bag when a crowd surged outside the school gates…It was being led by…
"WHAT HAPPENED HERE?" It was the Vice Principal, Watanabe-sensei, coming towards the scene. He was the last person that we wanted to see.
"What is this? Another fight? Ishijima? Hmph! Why I am not surprised? Well, that's it, then… Ishijima, you are now expe-"
"Wait! Sir, I was the one who attacked him first!" Tokiya-niichan spoke up, now standing… He looked unharmed at all… All of us turned to him… What?
"What? You? Mikagami?" Of course, Watanabe-sensei wouldn't believe that…
"Of course, Sensei… As you can see, I am barely harmed… But Ishijima, on the other hand…"
Of course, Tokiya-niichan is trying to get Domon-kun from not getting expelled. He's taking all the blame. What is going to happen now?
"YOU!" Sensei pointed directly at me. "Tell me what has exactly happened!"
"U-hmm…" I was tongue-tied… What was I supposed to say? Just behind Sensei, Nii-chan was looking at me and nodding his head. He was urging me to go along with the lie… To save Domon-kun… But what about Nii-chan…?
"Well…?" Sensei was waiting for me…
"S-Sir… My boyfriend and I were just walking home… Ishijima-san and Kirisawa-san were just nearby … And then… uh… out of the blue, Nii… Mikagami-senpai suddenly attacked at Ishijima-san and he, uh… broke his left arm…. I have definitely heard a crack, sir… Ishijima-san did not fight back! We tried to stop Senpai, sir… And then Hanabishi-san and Sakoshita-san came and we were able to get him out of the way…"
I didn't know why I was referring to everyone with their surnames… But I guess the Vice Principal doesn't even know our first names, anyway…
The whole time I was telling this big lie… I was looking at Sensei's probing eyes directly… He was looking at me intensely, too… I must not give in… This is the only way to save Domon-kun from expulsion! But what of…Onii-chan…? My heart was panged with guilt…
The people from the crowd were obviously talking about my story now…
"What? Mikagami attacked Ishijima? Why would he-?
"I knew it! I knew that Mikagami was gonna snap!"
"Why did he try to hurt Ishijima-san? Wasn't Ishijima trying to change?"
"Hey, Mikagami, you coward! Domon did not fight back!"
"SILENCE!" Watanabe-sensei called out and the crowd ceased talking…
"All those not involved in these incident, get out now and go home!" This was the first time I actually like Watanabe-sensei taking control on the situation… He exhaled…
"Well, Ishijima… I apologize for the misunderstanding… All seven of you are going to report to the Principal and tell him of this incident!"
I sighed again… I looked at all my friends... I hope all of them heard and remembered my fake story… An inconsistency is not something we should make… It was very lucky that it was only us who saw the fight…
"But first, Hanabishi! Suzuki! Assist Ishijima to the school clinic… They'll probably give him first aid before sending him to a hospital. You, on the other hand, Mikagami… I am sorely disappointed in you! You were this school's best… the Star pupil… An impeccable record!"
I felt guiltier now… I wish I had slightly changed the story. But there was nothing I could do about it now…
"Don't expect the Principal to look favorably at you, Mikagami… I guarantee you will have a one-week suspension and this incident will go to your permanent record! Now, all of you! Go back to the school! Now!"
Our heads hung low as we walked back to the school building… Recca-kun held the bag with the 'Madougu' closer to his chest while helping Domon-kun. He'll probably hide it somewhere when no one is looking and take it back later… I still wanted to hold Yuuto-kun's hand but he was also helping out Domon-kun… I was still shaking from this ordeal…
Then Nii-chan walked up beside me and he whispered, "Sorry, I had to make you lie to Sensei, Hinako… You did well. You don't need to feel bad for me…"
I looked up and I saw him walking up this time to Fuuko-chan…. But they didn't speak nor whisper at each other… They just walked alongside… This was the first time I have actually seen them awkward in each other's company…
I felt my heart breaking in two… I'm sure Fuuko-chan now has one already broken heart…
0-0-0-0-0-0
All of us were in the Principal's office… We all told the fake story… Thankfully, there were no inconsistencies… Domon-kun, now with a sling on his arm, had to go along with the story, too. He knows that we were all doing this for him…
The Principal was behind his desk, looking at us with sad eyes… It felt like we all let him down… I wonder what his reaction would be like if he knew Domon-kun was the real attacker… All of us looked sad, too… But Tokiya-niichan remained calm and expressionless as usual… How does he manage to do that…?
With a heavy sigh, the Principal, Ogawa-sensei began to speak. "Mikagami-kun? I do not understand why you would suddenly attack a friend but this is something I cannot look away from… You may be one of our most exceptional students but I'm afraid what you have done to Ishijima-kun is something that bears grave consequences…"
I felt like I was about to cry… All those happy feelings that I had earlier were washed away in a split second…
"Upon Watanabe-sensei's suggestion, your actions will now be put on your permanent record and… starting this week, you are suspended from attending your classes."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 0000 (KAWAII HANA 08) 0000 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Yeah… I do not like writing or typing depressing endings at all. Sigh… I felt really depressed as I typed those last words… Oh well, onward to the next chapter then… Thank you for reading and…
SAYONARA…
