Kaichō wa Maid-sama! 2005 © Fujiwara Hiro
Lala Magazine under Hakusensha Publishing
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Chapter 08: Mean
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Misaki and Takumi were not playing the same game they used to play for the sake of making things work out for the both them. No, it was not like that anymore. Not after they shared a cliché kiss under a stupid sunset in the middle of an empty children's park.
The little things that used to be nothing but a routine in their damned lives all seemed to be more real now. More significant. More precious.
The smallest hint of smiles when their eyes accidentally met; the way their nerves ignited wildly when they held hands; the weird way they could easily pick each other out in the sea of people; the way their house suddenly became a warm home... It changed drastically as they took a step higher.
There was something going on between them. They couldn't say it was love, yet. But they were definitely heading straight into that direction. And they were both well aware of it.
Misaki felt as if her cheeks were permanently tainted red after that kiss. She honestly hadn't expected it from him. Maybe a melting smile, a hug, or even a kiss on the cheek, but never a kiss full on the lips. Her mind was kind of blurry after that. She didn't know how she managed to go home or if they even had pork cutlet that night. And now every time she looked at him, her lips tingled as if remembering how his lips felt against hers; soft and warm and sweet and she wanted to do it again.
"Misaki."
A trail of goose bumps ran through her arm as Takumi's velveteen voice called out her name. "Huh? W-what?" She blinked rapidly, like she was trying to go back to reality.
"Is there something on face? You're staring," he said.
"N-no," she shook her head. "Nothing. I'm just... Nothing." She went back to eating her cereals with flaming cheeks.
Takumi chuckled but didn't say anything. They ate their breakfast in comfortable silence and went to school after that. He kept a warm hand on her back, drawing her closer ever so lightly as they walked together. Then he started a casual conversation with her about the weather, which she thought was silly.
Actually, after the little kiss they've shared, Misaki thought her husband become a silly. In a nice kind of way. He would start a conversation that was totally out of blue, like, "Oh look, a kitten. Misa-chan, you like kittens?" or "The sky is so blue. I like blue. What about you, Misa-chan? What's your favorite color?" or "There's a new ice cream parlor down the block. Wanna try it later? By the way, what's Misa-chan's favorite ice cream flavor?"
It felt as if he wanted to know everything about her, even the most trivial things.
Sometimes, when they studied together in the living room, she could catch him staring at her –just like she did most of the time– and then his ears would turn really red that would make her laugh. So her husband knew how to blush, too.
Takumi also seemed to treat her quite differently than before. He was extra sweet and cuddly and tender and once when they were watching TV, she told him that he was like an oversized lapdog as he laid down on the sofa with his head on her lap. If she thought he was overly concerned for her before, it's nothing compared to how he was now. It's almost like he was constantly worrying about her to the point of over-the-top protectiveness. He moved extra careful around her, as if she was a breakable glass.
But she liked it. She liked the feeling of security he unconsciously provided not only to her but in the whole house, in the school, even in the streets where they walked. She liked knowing that there was always someone beside her to help whenever she needed it. She liked waking up to his sleepy smile and bedhair when she slept in his bedroom. She liked the food he made, his cheap jokes, his beautiful green eyes, his crooked smile, his perfect nose and lips, his warmth. She liked every little thing. She liked him. A lot.
And as if reading her mind and reciprocating her silent words, Takumi smiled and gave a warm squeeze to her hand.
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Misaki was being bullied.
There was no mistaking about it. Ayuzawa –Usui, actually– Misaki, the Student Council President, was being bullied at school.
At first she thought it was just the usual bashing from the witch club and other jealous creatures in school.
But no.
As weeks went by, the papers in her shoe rack became a day-to-day occurrence. Not just crumpled papers with dirty messages and threats, but also garbage; papers with chewed bubblegum, half-eaten candies, spits... It was monstrously disgusting. Sometimes, she would find stray notes or random scribbles on her books telling her the same things.
It didn't end there. The whispers in the air floated again and this time, it wasn't just about her and Takumi. It was solely about her; about how much of a goody-goody student she was, but deep inside her an evil bitch that seduced Takumi lived; about how she'd never really done anything as President and that she didn't deserve the position; about her being a teacher's pet and that she sucked all her A's from them; about... well, just about every bad thing a person could be was apparently her.
Misaki didn't know where they got those ridiculous ideas and she could only raise her eyebrows in disbelief. She didn't let it bother her, anyway. She went on with her daily life as if she was deaf to the world. Plus, the aftereffects of Takumi's kiss were still lingering on her and she felt like she was glowing with flowers and fairy dusts.
But there came a time when she found herself face-to-face with some girls from other class in the comfort room. And it didn't turn out so good.
They told her head-on that she should break up with Takumi –her husband in fucking real life– and stay away from him. They said he didn't need a slut like her and that she didn't belong with him.
Due to extreme absurdity attack, Misaki stared at them for a full minute before letting out a tiny, elegant laugh and a very serious, "No." Who did they think they were? She didn't give them any authorization to dictate her life.
She didn't know what pissed them off; her laughter, or her direct refusal, or maybe her very existence, but one of the girls pushed her towards the counter. Her back hit the granite hard enough to knock the air out of her. The sudden shoots of pain in her lower back made her grab the counter for dear life. The girls' make-up clad faces contorted into ugly, furious sneers as they closed in on her.
The bell rang. And thankfully, before Misaki's defense reflexes kick in and break their pathetic bones, the girls hurried out the comfort room.
That moment as she winced in lower back pains, Misaki realized something; the witch club was out for blood. Her blood, to be precise. It didn't matter to them that she was the Student Council President. It didn't matter to them how they were going to bring her down. They just had to. Like they felt it was their responsible to take down the enemy in any way possible. Who gave them the responsibility? Maybe some unholy spirits residing within them.
She walked back to the classroom slowly and in slight pain, with beautiful curses streaming in her mind especially created for those stupid bitches. She didn't miss the look Takumi aimed at her when she entered the room five minutes late.
Misaki didn't bother telling these things to her husband. She wasn't a wimp, and what good would it bring? It wasn't worth mentioning. She'd just make him more worried than he already seemed to be that she might make him bald at young age. Besides, she wasn't weak; she could defend herself just fine, thank you very much.
She'd seen this coming ever since Takumi transferred to the same planet as hers. She'd definitely prepared for this since she became his "girlfriend". And after that impromptu confession in the park and that tiny flare of a kiss, Misaki had devised a plan. Her ultimate plan to avoid these things from ruining her perfect little life with her husband.
Actually, it was to totally, completely, absolutely ignore the witch club. People like them are attention-whores. They want you to either notice them, be intimated by them, or fight them back; any kind of recognition from you gives them satisfaction.
Like she'd give them the satisfaction. Hell would be in winter before she'd give them a fuck.
So her ultimate plan was to ignore them as if they were nonexistent. She could feel that it was pissing them off to near breakpoint. Add the fact that Takumi was acting extra sweet with her even at school –she didn't mind; she thought it was perfect for her plan and she honestly liked it.
A little more push and the witch club would combust their nerves.
And Misaki would be watching from afar, sitting there with Takumi, secretly giggling in her victory.
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"Hello, how are you?"
Misaki slammed her book shut where a squiggle of red ink formed a big BREAK UP! banner across the page where the table of contents should be. She looked up and frowned, "What?"
Takumi stood in front of her, putting their matching lunch boxes on the desk. "I'm asking how you are today," he repeated.
Misaki scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Like we haven't seen each other this morning."
"No, seriously."
"Takumi... I am fine," she said exasperatedly. See? He's worrying all the time.
"You don't look fine to me," he said softly. He reached over and patted her shoulder she didn't even know was so tensed until it relaxed under his touch.
"I'm fine," she said again. She silently pulled the book out of his sight and slipped it under her desk. Then she smiled up to him sweetly. "So, what did you cook for me today?"
Takumi sat oppositely from her and smiled back. "Hm, I made chicken teriyaki for the main dish, Your Highness."
Misaki chuckled and opened her lunch box; the lunch box her husband prepared for her so delicately. There were sautéed vegetables in butter, assorted fruits, the chicken teriyaki and rice. They were arranged artistically. How he managed to squeeze them all in the tiny lunch box was beyond her.
She took the pair of chopsticks; her stomach suddenly felt so empty, and grinned at him. "Let's eat!"
"Let's," he grinned back.
As usual, his cooking was superb. Misaki didn't actually like chicken teriyaki but his was an exception. It was just so delicious to let it pass. The vegetables were crunchy and tasty. He made bunny apples, added some oranges and sliced strawberry, too.
"Ah, Misa-chan," he said as if he'd remembered something.
"Yes?"
"Say, wanna go out of town this weekend?"
"Eh?" Misaki paused and curiously raised her eyebrows.
"Well, it has been several months since we actually went on a trip together. You know," his voice dropped, "the honeymoon cruise."
"Oh, right," she mumbled and popped a bunny apple into her mouth. Their honeymoon seemed surreal but the fact that she went cruising –supposedly romantic cruising– with this guy made her blush. Somehow, it made her feel like she wanted to turn back the time and do it all over again, just so she could be nicer to him.
"I thought we could go on a trip before school goes into the exam week," he said, sounding hopeful.
"Hm... Okay."
"What?" Takumi wasn't sure if he heard her right; he was actually prepared for a long battle of convincing his wife. To him, Misaki wasn't a person who's into traveling much; going to places completely stranger to her and meeting new people. He perceived her to be the reclusive one in their relationship.
"You're not deaf, Takumi. I said, okay. I'm fine with it." Misaki said. She didn't like traveling much but if it meant traveling with him, then that's fine. Great. Awesome. A trip after the exam week would've been better but they would surely be too lazy to move, so why not now?
Takumi grinned until his eyes were nearly just a line on his face. "Cool!"
Misaki had to smile at that. "Where do you plan to go, anyway?" She asked as she resumed eating.
"Hokkaido."
She perked up; her eyes twinkled like a kid on Christmas morning. "Hokkaido? Really? As in, really?"
"Yeah," he chuckled at her childish reaction. "The truth is, my dad called last night. He and my mom are supposed to go there this weekend but for some work reasons, they can't. They've booked a hotel for two days and already paid for it. They don't want it to go to waste so they asked me if we could go instead," he explained.
"Oh, I've always wanted to go to Hokkaido! Especially now the temperature is getting closer to summer," Misaki said, clearly excited for it.
"Then I'll let them know we can go. But first," Takumi pulled something from his pocket; a handkerchief. He reached over and wiped her mouth.
Misaki's heart danced wildly.
"Can you eat slowly? No one's gonna snatch your food away," he chuckled.
"S-sorry," she mumbled. "I didn't even know I'm so hungry."
He pinched her chin and flashed her a heart-melting smile that was worth a thousand words. His warm hand felt nice against her skin. And just like that, Takumi managed to draw out the noisy chatters in the room from her ears and she found herself in a tiny bubble with just him, smiling at her like her own personal blonde angel.
And this. This was the thing she could never ever give up on; this amazing moment she shared with Takumi. A year or even a few months ago, she would laugh if someone told her that she would be in this situation because honestly, she didn't really think about those things; falling in love or liking someone. It felt so silly to her before. But now, she felt like she was just starting to live her life as a normal teenager. And so much more.
"Oh, wait. I'm gonna get us something to drink," Misaki blinked back to reality because, come on, reality is better; reality was him. She put her chopsticks down and stood. "Want anything in particular?"
Takumi shook his head and stood up as well. "No, it's okay. I'll go–"
"Shut up. I'll go," she insisted. "What would you like?"
"Coke," he sighed and let her go.
Misaki went down to the first floor towards the vending machine in the far end of the hallway. As she was choosing her between apple juice and green tea, there was a sudden loud crash from behind her. It happened so fast she didn't have time to blink or to even look to see what it was as flashes of white-hot pain erupted from her arm. She yelped and instinctively touched it. Right then, she realized that several broken glasses have impaled her skin deeply and that she was bleeding. A lot. Blood oozed like mini fountains from the cuts and dripped so fast it was starting to make a huge pool of dark red liquid on the floor.
Misaki's head spun. She leaned heavily on the vending machine. The rustic smell of her own blood made her stomach turn, add the fact that broken shards of glass were embedded into her arm. She closed her eyes tightly. Pinging sounds filled her ears so loud the students' agitated chatters around her sounded like they were talking underwater. Some of them helped her but she was so disoriented to know how they were helping. She heard them calling for the teachers, while the others were saying that they should bring her to the hospital or something. And through her hazy mind, she heard a voice or two calling for Takumi.
"Kaichou, get a hold of yourself!" She recognized that frantic voice to be her vice president.
"We should bring her to the clinic," a girl's voice said worriedly. She was the junior student representative, Yuki. "Ayuzawa-san, can you walk?"
Misaki nodded weakly. But Yuki shouted to the crowd, "Can someone help me bring her to the clinic, please?"
"She's bleeding too much! I think we should get her straight to hospital!" Some guy in full-on panic exclaimed.
"First aid," Yuki said exasperatedly. "First being the keyword here, you idiot."
After a few more seconds of fussing over their bleeding kaichou, a tall guy from the lower year lifted her up and carried her to the clinic, which was still a few turns and hallways away.
"Ow..." Misaki whimpered and cracked open her eyes.
"Careful with her arm," Yuki said.
Misaki saw droplets of blood on the white floor as they moved, like Hansel and Gretel's breadcrumbs. She shivered, closed her eyes again and found herself silently begging Takumi to come for her.
Ayase, the school nurse, went frantic when she saw Misaki, bloodied and barely conscious. The guy put her down on the chair.
"Oh my God, what happened to you?!" Ayase checked Misaki's arm and shook her head. She quickly tied a strip of cloth around her forearm so tightly Misaki thought her arm would fall off.
"I think you need stitches," she said, inspecting the bleeding cuts. "And a shot of anti-tetanus." The nurse went over to her table and phoned someone, probably a doctor, while she agitatedly reached for various things around the room.
"I'm sorry," Misaki mumbled to the guy who carried her, eyeing the blood stains on his white uniform.
"Nah, it's okay." He grinned and waved his hand dismissively.
"We'll leave her to you, Ayase-san," Yuki said to the nurse and turned to Misaki. "Takumi-kun will be here any minute now," she smiled and winked.
"Thanks so much, both of you."
The two left and sure enough, not five seconds later, Takumi burst into the clinic, breathing hard as if he'd just ran a marathon with Olympic players. His wide, dilated eyes zeroed in on her and the relief on his face immediately melted into a task-force-alpha-fire-alert stare when he saw her glass-adorned arm.
"Misaki..." he breathed.
Misaki stared at him like an abandoned kitty, begging him to pick her up.
Takumi strode in. "What happened, hon?" He asked softly, caressing her hair as if he could help lessen her pain.
"Some idiot threw a rock on the glass panel," Misaki sounded like a child close to tears. "It shattered exactly right where the vending machine was and there I was, stupidly taking all the blows."
Takumi grimaced. "Does it hurt so much?"
"Not much now. It's almost numb," she said and touched the cloth tightly roped around her arm.
Ayase turned around, her arms full of medical stuff. "The doctor will be -oh," she stopped short. Her eyes darted back and forth between Takumi and Misaki as the two gazed at each other as if they were telepathically conversing. "Are you here for the Kaichou?" she asked Takumi as she walked towards Misaki. She put the stuffs on the small desk and sat in front of her; ready for the delicate work.
"Uh, yes. Is it okay if I stay here?" Takumi smiled like a cute little boy asking for a favor.
"Sure," the nurse nodded, smiling back at him. "You can sit there." She pointed to the chair next to her patient. She put on a pair of surgical gloves.
Misaki cringed at the snapping of the plastic; it sounded ominous and scary.
The nurse took another closer look at her cuts and nodded as if confirming herself. "You definitely need some stitches," she spoke through her surgical mask and it was beginning to dawn on Misaki that she was actually, technically, having a surgery. "The cuts are pretty deep. But first we have to clean it and remove the glass fragments." She picked the cotton ball that was soaking in a metal bowl that smelled like alcohol using a tweezers twice the size of a normal tweezers and cleaned her bloody arm.
Misaki hissed as it stung like she just went diving with jellyfishes. Her skin was turning into sickly shades of blue and yellow around the edges of the severed area. But the blood seemed to slow down from pouring out, thanks to the tourniquet. Takumi sat beside her and gently took her good hand, brushing his thumb pad across her knuckles. She gripped it tightly whenever sharp stings electrocuted her.
"There," Ayase said, putting the last of the bloody cotton balls in a clear trash bag. "I'm going to remove the glasses now. It'll hurt a little, okay?"
"Okay..." came a tiny voice from Misaki.
"Don't look," Takumi said.
Misaki blinked and stared at him instead. She winced as she felt a weird pulling sensation in one of the multiple pain spots on her arm. "Ow..." she mumbled.
"Sorry, bear with me for a little longer, honey." Ayase plucked out another glass using the tweezer. She stockpiled them in the metal bowl which made plinking every time.
"Aren't you supposed to be in class?" Misaki whispered to Takumi, somewhat afraid to break the concentrated silence around them that was occasionally interrupted by a loud plink! of another glass fragments. It was already past lunch break; afternoon classes should be starting now.
Takumi shook his head. "I won't leave you here."
"I'm going to be fine," she said. "Ayase-san will take care of me. Aren't you, Ayase-san?"
"Well, of course! I'm the school nurse, it's my job." The nurse smiled. "But if your boyfriend wants to stay with you, then let him."
"Right," Takumi grinned. "Besides, you've created quite a commotion there. I don't think there will be a normal afternoon class. The teachers are busy looking for that idiot who threw rock to my wi–"
"OW!" Misaki hollered. Not because the nurse pulled a glass too hard or accidentally pressed on her wounds, but because her husband didn't know how to keep his big mouth shut.
"Sorry!" Ayase and Takumi exclaimed simultaneously.
Misaki's pale cheeks colored a little and bit her lip, "S-sorry, I didn't mean to yell..."
The trio looked at each other and despite the current situation, they managed to laugh. The thick atmosphere lessened and the conversation between them fired up continuously that Misaki forgotten (or maybe it hurt too much that it numb her) how painful her arm was.
•••
Ayase had stitched some of the deep cuts (which Misaki thought was the most terrifying thing ever; imagine someone sewing your arm like it was a cloth. Shivers.) and bandaged it thickly with gauze. Takumi teased her about looking like a one-fourth done mummy. She just rolled her eyes at him. A minute later, a doctor in a simple suit attire arrived with their homeroom adviser. He was Dr. Natsu, a resident doctor in the nearby hospital. He gave her a shot of anti-tetanus vaccine. After the horrors of stitching her arm, Misaki was almost immune to needles. But damn, the injection freaking hurt like hell. Her arm instantly felt like overcooked noodles. Dr. Natsu told her that she should rest it off coz it would feel like that for at least a week. He also said that she might come down with fever, too. Takumi listened quietly
"You're lucky you didn't get your head hit with a sharp, broken glass," he said, "I've seen a lot of those in the emergency room and I'm telling you, it's not a nice thing to–"
"Please don't." Misaki closed her eyes and breathed through her mouth. Her arm pulsated in under the gauze with hot sensation and she felt nauseous. "Thank you but I can live without knowing it."
Dr. Natsu chuckled. "Sorry. Anyway, here." He gave her some pain-killers in a small bottle. "When the pain starts to become very uncomfortable, take one and sleep it off. When you come down with fever, take one every six hours, okay? Should anything happen out of what we are expecting, go straight to the hospital."
Misaki nodded weakly. "Okay. Thank you."
Dr. Natsu left and their homeroom teacher stepped up next.
"Ayuzawa-san, how do you feel?" She asked concernedly.
"Not so good," Misaki answered truthfully.
"Well, I called your parents to let them know what happened and asked them to pick you up so you could rest at home," she said. Then she looked at Takumi, "But her father said I'll leave her to you, Usui-kun."
"Okay," Takumi answered without a moment's delay.
"Are you two related or something?" The teacher asked, genuinely curious.
Technically, yes, Misaki thought hazily.
Takumi smiled crookedly. "No, ma'am. We are not related. Not by blood, at least."
"But her father seems to know you well enough to trust his daughter to you."
"That's because our families are close friends since our grandfathers' time. We used to be neighbors before my family moved a few years ago. Oh, and... Kaichou is actually my girlfriend, ma'am."
Misaki could've blushed if she wasn't feeling so bad.
"Oh?" The teacher blinked. "Oh, I didn't know about that..."
Now you know, Misaki thought unenthusiastically. Congratulations.
Takumi just smiled.
"Um, okay. So I'll let you two go off early today. Usui-kun, please escort Ayuzawa-san to her house. I'll make another pass for you." And with that, the teacher left.
"I'll escort her to our house," Takumi muttered under his breath. Misaki elbowed his ribs; a smile was pulling at her lips.
Keeping this marriage thing a secret is kind of fun in its own weird way.
•••
The couple went home an hour after the incident, and just as the doctor said, Misaki's temperature soared up the thermometer. By five thirty in the afternoon, she was lying on her bed with her husband worriedly fumbling around her.
"We're still going to Hokkaido, aren't we, Takumi?" She mumbled in her delirious state. Her breathing was fast as if her lungs were working double time. Her face was all red and her skin was clammy. She was seeing through her half-lidded eyes.
Takumi was sitting on the bed, wringing a cold, wet cloth and putting it across her forehead. He touched her cheek and chuckled. "You're flaming with fever and that's what you're worried about?"
"I want to go to Hokkaido," she breathed.
"In your current state, I'm definitely sure we cannot."
"My arm hurts."
He smirked. "Do you want me kiss the pain away?"
To his surprise, Misaki nodded.
Takumi stared down at her for a moment, like, are you for real? He laughed softly, running his hand through his hair. Then he sighed, bent over to her mummy arm and peppered it with light kisses.
Misaki smiled and caught a lock of his hair between her fingers. "Sing me the 'Pain, pain, go away' thing," she said, looking so dazed and totally out of it. The drugs were taking action.
Takumi leaned over her, supporting his body with his arm and flipping the wet cloth on her forehead with the other's hand. "Seriously, are you sick or just drunk?"
"Do it." She slurred the words out of her mouth.
He laughed. His chocolate-peppermint flavored breath wafted on her face, dragging her down to unconsciousness of sleep. "Fine." Then he started singing, "Pain, pain, go away. Don't come back another day. My little wife wants to go to Hokkaido and I have a lot of things to do. Pain, pain, go away."
Misaki's calm breathing was his only response from her. She finally fell asleep. He smiled and gently combed his fingers through her hair.
"You're such a spoiled brat," he said fondly, kissing her cheek. He took the basin from the bedside table and left the room, leaving the door ajar so he could keep an eye on his wife while he did some chores.
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28 June 2014
おわり
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SORA'S RAMBLING CORNER:
Yo, guys! It's me again :)
Not much of a chapter update... which I mean, no extra fluffiness and there has been a major OOCness alert. Please excuse the errors you might find there, I'm not exactly into English right now, LOL! I'm busy stacking up Japanese numerical counters into my head.
Anyway, thanks for reading until here. See you next time!
natsu_no_sora over and out.
PS: I made up the "Pain, pain, go away" lyrics, hahaha! In Japanese, you say it like this: "Itai no itai no tondeke!" with a cute hand gesture.
