To Live Without You
A/N: -waves happily- Hi everyone! Well, I believe that this wasn't as far off in the updating time as the one before right? What can I say except that I tried really hard to get this out to you all as fast as I could. I hope that you like this one since I wasn't really that confident about it myself even though singer in the wind said that she liked it. Maybe I'm losing inspiration? I don't know...but I hope it comes back! I've fallen in love with this story!
Disclaimer: I totally forgot to put this up in the last chapter so this is for both. It's not like I suddenly won the lottery and owned PoT last chapter because I'm too young to play the stupid game. So, no. I don't own anyone except Lena-chan who we all know and hopefully love (I know I do!)...
Random Thought: I really dislike this chapter name...my creativity for titles was never existent.
Chapter 9: To Meet One's Family & Survive Near-Death Experiences
Week 6
Due to some of the language barriers that appear when in another country as well as my original hardships, my mark in mathematics was not one that I am proud of. So in order to improve it, I've put plans together to have an upperclassman tutor me every other day. Hopefully with his help, my grade will rise before the school year finishes. This, of course, has to be juggled between his tennis schedule and my work schedule so this will prove to be a mild obstacle.
Selena stood behind Fuji as he turned the key to unlock his front door. Her math textbook tucked under her arm, she curiously looked over his shoulder to peak inside. He pushed open the door and stood to the side, letting her go in first. She blushed lightly and muttered a thank you before walking in and taking off her shoes.
Fuji closed the door behind him, remembering his sister had work that day. "How about the kitchen table?" he suggested, pointing to a large dark wooden table.
Selena took a quick glance around the house before nodding. "Sure."
She silently mused how much the house resembled Fuji with its simple characteristics and warmth as she followed him towards the back of the house. She took a seat at the table as Fuji brought her a glass of water.
"I'm going to change out of my uniform and then we can start, okay?" he said with a smile. Selena nodded, opening up her textbook.
She heard him go up the stairs that were across the front door, gracelessly dropping her head on the table. "Awkward, awkward, awkward," she muttered to herself. "Why did Eiji-senpai suggest this? I would have been better off with Tezuka-senpai."
The front door opened and closed. "Tadaima," a male voice called, causing Selena's head to shoot up from the table.
Fuji-senpai! Where are you!? Selena leaned forward, only to see no one coming down from upstairs. Maybe if I just stay quiet, he'll go upstairs and see Fuji-senpai first.
She knew her luck was gone as the soft shuffle of feet began to head in her direction. She held her breath when a familiar looking face walked into the kitchen. Seeming not to notice her, he headed towards the fridge. It wasn't until he turned around and almost choked on the water when he saw her.
Selena let out a nervous laugh. "Um, okaeri nasai, Fuji-san. I'm Selena."
"Y-Yuuta," he said, scratching the back of his head. "Between Aniki and Nee-san, you're going to have to use my first name."
Selena looked at him for a moment. He seemed like the polar opposite of Fuji judging by the way that his cheeks were tinted pink in embarrassment. "Is Yuuta-kun alright?" she asked. "I'm sure we're the same age after all so no need for formalities."
Yuuta grabbed an apple from the nearby fruit basket. "Hai."
This was when Fuji decided to make his appearance with a smile on his face. "Ah, Yuuta, okaeri nasai! I see you've met Selena-chan, kawaii ne?" he asked as he slid into the seat directly across from Selena.
He was rewarded with the instant 'flush-and-stutter' reaction. "F-Fuji-senpai!" Selena squeaked as she glared at him. "Don't joke like that."
His eyes opened as he looked at her. "Who said I was joking?" he asked innocently.
Yuuta wanted to gag at the sight. Yes, Selena-san was pretty, but it was more than strange to see his older brother actually flirt with a girl and in front of him no less. It was beyond bizarre that he was starting to show an interest in girls, and the only person he knew that had been over to their house was Tezuka.
Selena huffed as she pushed her book towards him. "I'm sure that you're making the situation awkward for Yuuta-kun, so let's keep the sadism for school, Fuji-senpai."
Fuji looked surprised. "Yuuta-kun?" he echoed.
Selena nodded as she dug a pencil out of her bag. "Yuuta-kun said it would be confusing if I called all of your family by your surname, which is true, so this is easier," she explained as she flipped through her binder and pulled out some papers. "Is there something wrong, Fuji-senpai?"
Yuuta watched his brother carefully when he shook his head. "No," Fuji smiled. "Shall we get started?" He looked at her textbook closely.
Yuuta noticed Selena give Fuji a strange look before visibly brushing it off. "Let's just say that algebra is my number one enemy," she joked with a smile.
"I was never a fan of algebra too, but once you understand the concept, it's easier to stand it," replied Fuji as he looked at some of her previous tests. "Let's correct these to start, okay?"
"Okay," Selena said, wearily grabbing another piece of paper and rewriting the equations.
Yuuta looked at the two with a confused expression before taking another bite of his apple and walking upstairs to do his own homework. It was a little funny to see his brother acting hostile, even if it was in his own subtle way.
Tick.
Tock.
Tick.
Tock.
Selena chewed on the end of her pencil as she stared down at the equation before her. The light ticking of a wall clock rang inside of her head along with her jumbled thoughts. At least they were her own thoughts and not her inner self. It had taken five more days for her to eventually go away. She kind of missed the random conversations, but she wouldn't drink more of Inui's juice to get the inner voice back.
Two girls agree to go on a road trip together. They travel (x plus 5) km on the first day. On the second day they travel 2 km more than half of the distance they travelled on the first day. On the third day they drove 3 times as far as they did on the second day. If they drove 5000km total, find the value of x.
Fuji watched her think with an expression of amusement masked from his face. He didn't want to make her feel bad about not understanding it, but he found it cute when she thought so hard. Suddenly, she put her pencil to the paper, then stopped, raised it back to her mouth, and began to chew on it again.
This had to be about the sixth time.
"Selena-chan, I'm here to help," Fuji reminded her and she looked up from the paper.
She dropped the pencil on the table. "I don't get it," she mumbled softly.
"Maybe we should take a little break," suggested Fuji as he looked at the clock. "We've been at it for a while."
Selena sighed in relief. "My brain is melting," she groaned, holding her head.
Fuji laughed and Selena's stomach did a wild flip in response. She looked at him through her fingers before dropping her hands to her stomach. Maybe I'm just not feeling well, she thought to herself.
"Selena-chan is funny when it comes to math, ne?" he said with a smile and she felt her face flush.
Selena looked away from him, choosing to glare at the green apple in the fruit basket instead. "I'm glad I can amuse you Fuji-senpai."
Fuji watched her for a while before taking a breath. He opened his mouth then closed it again, unsure of how to express himself. She just seemed to have that effect on him, though it was a bit unnerving at times. "Ne, Selena-chan?"
"Hai?"
Just ask, Syusuke! If she says no, then it won't be the end of the world, he coaxed. Fuji cleared his throat and opened his mouth, but Selena beat him to it.
"You look strange whenever I call Yuuta-kun by his name," she said in a thoughtful tone. "Well, strange isn't really the right word for it, but you kind of frown."
There weren't many times when Fuji was caught off guard, but this just happened to be one of them. He surely didn't want to say that he wished she called him 'Syusuke-kun' like she did when she was half asleep and drugged up on Inui Juice. So he settled for a half-truth instead.
"I was somewhat jealous when you addressed Yuuta so familiarly, that's all," he said with a grin, even though he felt uneasy on the inside.
Selena's head slowly turned to him. "Thought as much," she said with a small smile. "But you could have just asked me to call you by your name since you do the same with mine."
Fuji felt his heart beat just a little bit faster. "I guess that would have been easier," he said in a soft tone.
"Well then," she said, tapping her finger on her chin. "Syusuke is too casual since you're my senpai, and same with Syusuke-kun," she said thinking out loud. "Syusuke-senpai?"
Fuji's heart nearly jumped in his throat. "I like the sound of it," she continued. "Is it okay?"
"Hai."
She smiled brightly. "Then Syusuke-senpai it is," she declared, picking up her pencil. "It would be so much easier if we were in the west. Sometimes all of the formalities are confusing," she said with a small laugh.
Fuji smiled back. He pictured the two tickets to the winter festival that sat on his dresser.
One thing down, one more to go.
--
Selena gave another wistful sigh as she tied her apron around her waist. Rue was, once again, huddled over a large tray of sugar cookies with flour dotting her clothes and face. The whole tutor thing didn't go badly like she thought it would even if Fu- Syusuke-senpai did poke fun at her a lot.
"So you met the family?" Rue asked, pushing a strand of hair with the back of her wrist.
Selena blushed. "Hai." she replied, thinking back to how Yumiko had fussed over her like a long lost sibling when she saw her.
"You're addressing him by his first name?"
"I still use -senpai, but yes," Selena said, tying her hair up in a ponytail.
"He admitted that he was jealous of you addressing his younger brother informally."
"Hai."
Rue stopped what she was doing to turn to Selena. "So, when's the wedding again?"
Selena felt her stomach flip uncomfortably. Maybe she shouldn't have had that extra apple turnover that Rue gave her. "Rue-san! Syusuke-senpai is my friend, that's it!" she cried, turning away to hide her face.
Rue rolled her eyes. "That's what they all say," she muttered. "So my imouto is dating the infamous Fuji Syusuke. I'll have to break up all of those fangirl clubs now at Fudomine."
Selena looked up at her, ignoring the dating comment. "Fangirls? Is he really that good at tennis?"
Rue gave her a dry look. "You hang out with the entire tennis club and you've never seen them play?"
She shuffled her feet. "I've only seen them play practice games but nothing serious. It's not even tennis season until spring."
"You would think that she'd pick up some things after watching them all the time," Rue said to herself, arranging the finished cookies in a bowl and starting on something else.
Selena sighed again. Rue was right, even if she was a bit on the blunt side about it. She didn't know a thing about the hobby that all of her friends had in common. Yes, she saw it on T.V. like everyone else, but she felt a little guilty about it.
"Get to work, my senseless imouto," Rue called out to her. "Customers are waiting."
Selena shook her head and put on a smile. "Thank you, all great and wonderful Rue-sama for your advice," she said, sticking out her tongue playfully before walking through the doors.
Selena stepped outside of the café just as the streetlamps flickered on above her. The sun was just beginning to set, painting the sky with a mixture of pinks, lavenders, and oranges that drifted across the horizon. She checked the streets before crossing, lifting her hand to cover a yawn.
The next few seconds seemed like they went in slow motion.
The lights were first to startle her, since they went straight through her eyelids that just happened to be closed as she yawned. Her eyes shot open at the sound of the blaring car horn and she frozen in fright at the oncoming black car screeched as they came to a halt, just touching her legs.
She quickly came to her senses, jumping from the front of the car and walking to the driver's window. "You almost killed me!" she shouted, knocking on the tinted window of what she now noticed was a limousine. "Don't you see the speed limit?!"
The window rolled down slowly, revealing what Selena could only describe as a chauffer. "Excuse me, but you were jaywalking," he replied with a strange accent.
Selena flushed in frustration. "Excuse me but you were driving like a bat out of hell!"
The window at the end of the limousine rolled down. "What are you doing? Ore-sama is going to be late," the voice dripped with annoyance as he spoke.
Selena turned from the driver and stomped over to the end of the car. "Your driver almost hit me!" she shouted at the young boy with strange, almost grey looking hair.
He rolled his eyes. "Listen girl," he said with a dramatic sigh. "Ore-sama is very busy, so you may ask for his autograph later. It's unbecoming for a lady to lie about something so absurd."
Selena gave him a confused look. "Ore-sama?" she questioned before noticing the last part of his sentence. "Lie? Did you not hear the screeching tires?"
Was that his real name, or did it have a meaning that she'd never heard of before?
His flicked back his hair. "Ore-sama didn't hear anything, now please refrain from harassing him."
Selena tried to look inside the car, but there was no one there with him. "Are you talking in the third person?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Hai."
It was now Selena's turn to roll her eyes. "Listen boy," she said with a frown. "Just apologize and we'll both be on our way. See I'll start: I'm sorry for not looking where I was going before I crossed."
Silence took over as she waited for him to respond but he seemed more interested at staring at his nails. "Ore-sama accepts your apology, commoner," he said before rolling up his window, not even bothering to make eye contact with her.
Selena stared at her reflection in the mirror. "Commoner!? You conceited jerk!" she shouted at the top of her lungs before the car sped off into the distance.
Taka-san poked his head out from the door of the restaurant to see Selena, who was screaming at nothing in particular. "Selena-san?" he called out.
Selena snapped her head to meet Taka-san's gaze before she stomped over to him. "Taka-senpai, I just found the biggest jerk in all of Japan." she said in a huff as he escorted her in. "Usually when you almost run someone over you, apologize but no."
His eyes widened. "You almost got run over?!" he asked, his voice coated in worry.
Selena didn't seem to hear him as he led her to a table. "It's just 'Ore-sama' this and 'Ore-sama' that," she ranted. "What kind of name is that anyway? Well, granted his stupidity, it suits him just fine. Calling me a commoner, what does that make him!?"
"You almost got run over by Atobe Keigo!?"
Selena paused, looking up at him. "You know him?" she asked, rubbing the water that collected in her eyes.
Taka-san nodded, taking a seat beside her. "He's the captain of the Hyotei tennis team. Their school is very," he paused to think of a word. "Prestigious."
"He's rich?" confirmed Selena.
Taka-san laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Very."
Selena frowned as she rested her head on the table with a yawn. "Well, I hope that not all rich people are like him. By the way, what is Ore-sama if it isn't his name?"
"It's like 'I', except much more formal," he explained.
"Let's pray that we don't cross paths again," Selena mumbled as she closed her eyes. "I might have to beat that apology out of him," she said sleepily, before drifting off to sleep.
A/N: So? What did you think? I remember that I was told that this was sounding like it was coming to an end very soon and it was true. But after an epiphany while eating breakfast a few days ago, I've noticed that Selena's only been there for 6 weeks! She still has the whole school semester to live through and I was about to cut it horribly short. Well that's not going to happen so you guys have to say tuned for many more chapters since she has about...um I haven't calculated how many months are in a Japanese school year yet but when I do, that's how long she'll be there! So she still has a few more adventures left.
Thank you Hakumei-san! Your review was nagging at me for the longest time and I finally decided to change what I had planned.
List of My Oh So Special Reviewers: eclecticeyes (Lol. It hasn't been a month has it? I always lose track of time.), SecretSnow, Ruffle (Oh I hope you get better soon! I feel your pain with all the tests...school is a horrible thing), LivelyRose, Kiyoshi Kouze, silver0scorpion (We can't have people think that she's totally crazy, right?), singer in the wind, MidnightSunrise951 (Lol, your creative ideas are funny but a tad bit scary. I will forever stay on your good side D), White Alchemist Taya, Alluna (Inui's always right...at least when it comes to people who aren't Tezuka, Echizen, or Fuji.), .the.alaskan.musical.pig. (-bows- Thank you! That was personally one of my favorite parts to write. Ryoma is just too fun to pick on!), aikoflutist247 (-nods- I understand what your saying. I'll try and tweek it a bit...hope that there wasn't that much in this chapter.), Lee0616 (I love that series! I'm dying for the 4th book to come out but it's not until Sept.! -cries- Its too far away!), Animato (Thank you for the cookies! ), sourcreamster (There needs to be more of you then in the universe! An author's favorite person is one who reviews faithfully. The ideas do not come easily...that's for sure), unknown player (It's funny how some people loved her and some found her annoying. Your happy to know that she's gone now right? Thank you for the compliment! My ego is now good for a few more days. Hehe), seshata4434 (You can never be too sure with her...she's a bit on the slow side), Hakumei.xo (-dances around- I'm still so happy about that! Hope you caught the comment on above the list!)
Thank you very much to everyone! -throws cookies for everyone- I baked them with a virtual oven but it has real love all on the inside!