a/n: why are you guys so awesome at reviewing. i mean, i have to go to SLEEP sometime instead of writing... So I realized how kind of stupid this story really is, but writing it is too much fun for me to care.
I know some of you find Megumi kind of annoying/dull/whatever, but I'll just point out that she was completely adorable in this chapter. She's quite girly in this story, but she can also be very compassionate. She makes lots of mistakes, but when she does, she always tries her best to fix the situation.
Also, for all purposes and intents, Mayuko is 21, badass, and a lab technician specializing in marine biology who lives in Yokohama but occasionally visits her otouto-kun from time to time. She's quite blunt, but she's equally as weird as Renji. In canon, she's actually younger than Renji but since I've already crucified so many of the canon characters I might as well do whatever. xD
Last Chance
10. the rain
"Cheer up, Renji. You look terrible."
Mayuko had taken him out to a bookstore for his birthday and offered to buy him whatever he wished. Unfortunately, he just looked sort of mechanical and dazed, which led them to sitting on a park bench next to a water fountain.
"Sorry," he said quietly, and he tried to smile for his older sister. Instead it made her frown.
"I bought you something from my stint in Sapporo," she said and tossed him a box of tea. "Thought you might like it."
He studied it for a brief moment. "This variety is a little bitter. Still, it's quite aromatic." His way of saying thanks, in other words.
"Suits your expression," she observed. Her hands were playing with a miniature Rubix cube at the end of her key chain. She was more of a puzzle person; she liked riddles and complicated toys. Renji on the other hand preferred analytical games because they were more straightforward.
"I haven't missed anything since the last weekend that I've been here, have I? If Yukimura's sick again..."
"He's not."
"Okay. So what's the problem?"
He said nothing.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"Not really."
"Okay, we won't talk about it. Moving on. How's school?"
He shrugged. "Rikkaidai will win Districts two days from now."
"Of course," his older sister nodded.
"And I got the top scores in Japanese Literature - " and he stopped, because that had started the entirely complicated business of liking Kurosawa.
"Mmhmm," Mayuko said. She had achieved two sides of color now.
"And I saw a movie two weeks ago - " God, he was a masochist. Everything just seemed to be directed on a course to that girl. Pain clouded his heart.
This unfortunately caught his sister's attention. Her hazel eyes turned on him with fresh interest. "Really."
And suddenly everything came out. He told Mayuko her name, the fact that she was a fan of tennis, and the team, and cooking and the fact that she actually read a book on his recommendation and that her favorite color was yellow and that she exhibited all signs of a huge attraction of his friend and that it wasn't fair, goddammit -
"Woah there, Renji," Mayuko laughed, and it was like hearing silver bells ring in the breeze. His sister rarely laughed, and to hear it threw him into a minor state of confusion.
When her laughing subsided she patted his head, but not in a condescending way. It was more of a consoling, big-sister way, and it comforted him.
"I'm sure she'll get over Yukimura. Most of them did."
"She's been in love with for three years. I don't think she'll get over him easily."
"Maybe you'll be the one to make her forget about him," Mayuko said.
Her little brother looked at her, incredulous. "That's impossible."
"Oh, Renji, who knows? One day she'll find out that he's too far up to reach. Yukimura is going to be a professional tennis player someday, but you'll still be here. For her, maybe."
"I'm going to college, remember? Medical school, like our parents wanted to," Renji reminded her.
Mayuko rolled her eyes. "And our parents wanted me to be an office lady, marry someone rich before I turned twenty-five, and give up my ambition all for the pursuit of a family."
"Point taken. But you can still marry someone rich. They're still writing their wishes on the shrine every New Year's."
She ignored this, continuing to play with her Rubix cube until something else came to her mind.
"Didn't you tell me it was your dream to be a college professor specializing in Japanese literature?" Mayuko asked.
"That was when I was in middle school," Renji mumbled. "Things have changed."
"Not if you keep telling yourself that," his older sister said sagely. "Imagine, you and this girl, living a nice little apartment in downtown Tokyo or wherever you're teaching classes inside the university - "
"Mayuko, you're disturbed."
"I'm not. Just imagine it - and I'll be a spinster and spoil your kids rotten, and they'll call Auntie Mayuko whenever they can't beg for allowance money - "
He couldn't help it. He started to laugh, and it felt so good to let go of all the negative tension he couldn't stop. The mental image of his beautiful sister turning into a wrinkled hag was horribly jarring.
When his laughter subsided, Mayuko patted him on the back. "See, isn't this much better than cooping yourself up in your room? Granted, it's not like our parents are the most cheery people to go to when you're depressed."
"No, no they're not. They didn't understand why Yukimura cut me off the team... "
"Wait, what?"
"I said a few unpleasant things to him. Even though I don't regret it, I would have liked to play in an official match."
"That's... That's just horrible," Mayuko said, eyebrows furrowing in displeasure.
"It's fine," Renji said. "To be honest, I deserved it."
"Do you hate him?"
"No. That's just the way things are," he said. "I could never hate him. I just have to think he has a reason for doing his things and not because he finds it incredibly amusing."
"And what if this is because he wants to see how you react?"
Renji looked up, and his eyes were dark. "Then he'll regret it."
-x-
"Yanagi-san, can we talk?"
He looked up from his cram school notes to notice a pretty raven-haired girl standing next to his desk. His stomach clenched. He wasn't in the mood for this, especially after seeing her deliriously happy with Yukimura.
"I'm busy," he said curtly.
"Yukimura-san told me you were ignoring me. I just wanted to know, from you, exactly why." Megumi crossed her arms together. "And we can have this discussion here in front of everyone in class, if you want."
"Fine," he said, a little irritated and, as much as he tried to deny it, excited. But he hid it well. "How about the library?"
"No, I don't want to be overheard." A key dangled from her fingers. "I'm one of the student monitors, so we can use the school rooftop."
"Fine."
The two walked up the doors, and he was reminded instantly of the memory of Megumi crying. Guilt punctuated his demeanor again, and he had to take a few deep breaths to be in control of himself again.
When the two arrived on top of the school, the afternoon was proving to be surprisingly humid. The clouds were looking dark and stormy. Eighty-six percent chance of raining, Yanagi absentmindedly noted in his head. It wasn't uncommon in the summer months for the Kanagawa prefecture to produce thunderstorms.
"So spill," Megumi said, a rather nice distraction from the weather. "You're the one who asked me not to ignore you after we had that project together - so why are you doing it to me?"
He didn't answer the question, preferring to ask Megumi a few of his. "Did you ever befriend me because I was a close friend of someone else?"
"What kind of question is that?"
"That day in the library - did you ask me to be your partner because I was friends with Yukimura?"
"What? No! Never - I only did it because I thought you could help me, and because you were - " She blushed. "You were nice. Nicer than you usually appear, anyway."
And then something else occurred to her. "And why would I care if you were friends with Yukimura? It's not like I make friends on that basis."
"But you like him," Yanagi pointed out.
"N-no. I don't - I'm not - "
"Spare me," he said, calmer than he felt. "I heard every word that you exchanged with your other friend. That day in the movie theater, do you remember?"
The color drained out of her face. "You've been eavesdropping on us. I can't believe you would do that."
"It doesn't matter how I would found out... just that I knew it, all along..." He looked up into the sky, amber eyes opened, and saw the tiny trickles of water turned into bigger drops of rain.
Megumi paid no attention to the weather. "It's none of your business who I like, Yanagi-san."
He stared at her, wondering. The rain was quickly soaking his hair, making it damp and flat. "It is my business," he corrected her.
"Why?"
He had no recollection of knowing what had possessed him to do what he did first. Later, he would have wondered why he couldn't have told her, like some other decent person, or even ran away like a sane person would.
But no. He didn't do any of those things.
Instead, he had to lean closer, and kiss her. For three seconds.
He could feel her body stiffen, and he had withdrawn when he noticed her eyes staring in shock.
"Kurosawa - "
She shook her head, speechless. And there were tears in her eyes, but she wiped them angrily away before he could react.
He tried calling her name again. "Kurosawa-san, I'm - "
She ran down the stairs before he could finish his sentence. And when the door slammed close again, he murmured it again, more so to himself than anything else.
"I'm sorry."
-x-
Haruka opened the door to a soaked Megumi. Her usual braid was unkempt and her eyes were red and puffy.
"I'm sorry," was the first thing that came to her mouth. "You were right all along, Haruka. I wasn't thinking, and I regret everything I said."
"Come in," Haruka said, smiling for the first time in days.
-x-
Haruka's room was a little messy, but that was how it had always been. If her mother came and spotlessly cleaned it up once in a while, Haruka would silently find something to mar the perfection. But it was warm, and that was all Megumi cared right now.
Posters of Itzhak Perlman, Joshua Bell, and Hillary Hahn decorated the wall. Classical CDs lay stranded on the floor and sheet music were marked up in colored ink.
Haruka tossed Megumi some sweatpants and a comfortable T-shirt. "It's best to get you out of your wet clothes," she observed, and gently pushed her friend towards the bathroom. "Why didn't you bring your umbrella?"
The door clicked shut. "I forgot it at home," Megumi said through the door, and Haruka smiled a little to herself. It must have been disastrous for someone as careful and meticulous as her to forget something as essential as an umbrella during the rainy summers.
She emerged out of the bathroom the same time that Haruka carried a tray of hot tea from the kitchen. Her braid had been unraveled, her hair damp, but at least it wasn't dripping. Megumi combed it through with her fingers.
"Sorry about the intrusion. Will your parents mind?"
"Don't worry about it."
Haruka deftly slid the door with her foot open and set the tray on her desk. Lifting the ceramic teapot to pour the hot beverage into a mug, she asked her friend, "Camomile tea okay?"
"Yeah, it's fine. Haruka... I was an idiot."
"It's okay. I mean - we were both in the wrong."
"No, I was stupid." Megumi said quietly. "I was stupid and ruined everything. I made assumptions I shouldn't have made. I even cried over the stupidest rumors. I don't even know why I'm not jumping off the cliff right now because of how stupid I've been acting."
Haruka silently handed her a mug, waiting for her to elaborate. The rain was pounding on the windows, and yet the tea and a good friend next to her made everything cozy and warmer.
"I mean, you were right. And I let my feelings hurt other people. Even if it was unintentional, I - I never meant to do that. I'm sorry I got jealous of you and refused to see the truth."
"Apology accepted," Haruka said, even though she had forgiven Megumi long before today. "What happened for you to say all of this?"
"I was thinking - I was thinking about it so much it started to make sense." Megumi lifted her eyes up to meet Haruka's. "The fact someone kissed me today also helps."
Haruka, who had been in mid-sip, choked on her tea. Megumi was torn between laughing and pity, started to bite her lips so that no noise would come out. When Haruka finally recovered, eyes watering, she asked in a raspy voice, "Who?"
"Promise you won't tell anyone?"
"Of course." Haruka coughed to clear her throat. "Cross my heart, hope to die - yeah, I got that down."
Megumi smiled, before cupping a hand to Haruka's ears. "It was Yanagi-san."
Haruka almost choked on her tea again. Glaring at Megumi, she set it down on the table. "When was this?"
"Um... Lunch break?"
Her mouth fell open. "And you had to see him in class again."
"Yeah, well, it wasn't like I wanted to." Megumi massaged her temples. "I don't know what to do. How am I supposed to say, 'I'm sorry, I like someone else' when he already knows that I like Yukimura-san, especially when he's one of his closest friends? I don't want to be the cause of something awful between them."
"Chances are, they already have," Haruka said grimly. "I heard someone say that Yanagi was cut from the roster for the Districts tournament."
"Who said it?"
"One of the underclassmen in my club was talking about it to a regular member of the girl's tennis team during passing period. I didn't think anything of it - but there's your answer."
"This is my fault," Megumi said, flopping onto Haruka's bed. "Haruka, let's move to New York City. I'll crash your dorm room when you get to Julliard."
"I can't do that yet, I haven't even sent in the preliminary audition tapes," Haruka said, although the idea was intriguing to say the least. "And your English sucks. New York City would be horrible for you."
Megumi mumbled something unintelligible in response.
Haruka grinned and got up to get snacks. When she returned, Megumi's head was still face down on her pillow.
"So where did Yukimura take you? You haven't told me anything about that."
Megumi sighed in a way Haruka would have labeled as 'melodramatic' had not it been of utmost interest to her. "It was lame. And weird. I think he has a girlfriend. And I think you were right about him being a little pushy, even if he's really hot. And perfect."
"Told you," Haruka said matter-of-factly.
"He told me that Yanagi liked me. I didn't believe it at the time, but... " Megumi sighed again, rolling on her back. "This sucks. I've had a crush on Yukimura since like freshmen year, but on the other hand this smart, athletic, and really nice guy has to kiss me knowing that it wasn't going to work. And now we're probably never going to fix this and it's going to be awkwardly awkward and - " She paused in the middle of her rant to groan. "Why does my life suck?"
Haruka petted her friend on the shoulder. "It's not that bad. Maybe you can agree to be friends again."
She herself was making a mental note to talk to Yukimura again. She had a sinking feeling that he had was up to something strange, considering his means to manipulate others. Megumi aside, this had quickly become a problem between him and her.
She didn't like it. With her friends, she could hide parts of her life with ease, even to someone as cherished and close to her as Megumi. With someone as perceptive as Yukimura noticing every little detail, not a chance.
-x-
"Explain," her father asked coldly, later that evening.
The piece of paper laid on the table. They were the rankings that had come out the year before. Haruka hadn't shown him anything - for a reason.
She tried to focus on a spot on the wall. "I wasn't - I wasn't studying enough."
"Precisely," he said, displeased. "First you refuse to attend cram school, and now your rank is slipping. I think there's a correlation."
"But - "
"Don't argue with me!" he snapped. "If your brother weren't goddamned missing, you wouldn't be living here. You need to transfer to a school where you can be on the top."
She remained silent.
"Do you see this? You're number forty-three." He pushed the paper towards her face, like she wasn't capable of understanding what he said. "You're not even at the top of your homeroom class."
She saw Yukimura Seiichi's name at the top of the list. Suddenly her mouth felt dry, like she had swallowed a bitter medicine.
"If I don't see improvement after your mid-term exams," and here he ripped the paper into halves - "I'm going to the school principal, disband that silly organization of yours - " now it was fourths - "cut off all your lessons," - eighths - "and return that awful instrument of yours where it belongs."
"Understood?" he thundered, glaring at her.
"Yes, sir."
"I'm going back to work," her father said. "You'd better be studying when I get home."
"Okay," she said mechanically.
Rules. She hated them. Not that she didn't abide by them, but she hated them anyway.
-x-
The cat had escaped from their house again, the third time since last May. Mayuko had split the work by telling him to look in one direction while she looked in the other. The black umbrella he carried with him was doing a good job of keeping him dry, but it was still a bit cold outside.
Yanagi sighed to himself, wondering if it was worth the time he put into looking for what used to be a stray animal. Data had proved him inconclusive minutes ago, and now he was resigned to walk through every neighborhood, ringing bells at random and asking if anyone had seen a ginger cat.
As he approached a brightly lit supermarket, he noticed a girl in yellow boots and a yellow raincoat exiting out of the building with a few bags dangling on her arm. She was carrying an umbrella just like his in one hand. The other held a cat.
"Shinji!" he said, recognizing the animal. As he quickly sped up to meet with the girl, he hadn't noticed who she was.
But when he did, he really, really, wished he had. He could have melted into a puddle, and he wouldn't have cared.
"Oh is this your... " She turned to him and then laughed a little awkwardly. "Well um... Hi, Yanagi-san."
"Hello."
He wished he could just run away, but that wasn't an option. If he was Sanada, maybe it would be justifiable before committing hara-kiri, but right now it still wasn't the right thing to do.
"About yesterday - "
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that, and please just forget that ever happened," he said. "It was a very inappropriate thing to do. Please forgive me."
Megumi was still holding the cat in her arms, and for some bizarre, unfathomable reason, she was smiling. "I can't forgive you for that, nor can I forget it. It was my first kiss."
She handed him the cat. "I still like Yukimura, as bad as it sounds. So I'm sorry I can't return your feelings."
He nodded. "I know."
"But I still think we can be friends. Right, Shinji?" she said to the cat, petting the animal between the ears. At Yanagi's horrified expression, she had to giggle. "I was kidding. I meant you."
The cat purred.
Retracting her hand, Megumi stepped back and said, "Well, see you in school tomorrow."
He nodded again and they went off in seperate directions.
"Wait, Yanagi-san!"
He turned back.
"I'm sorry Yukimura cut you off from the roster. I wanted to see you play again!" After this, she waved him goodbye.
Slowly but surely, the corners of his mouth began to tilt upwards.
He was beginning to feel better.
a/n: So much fluff. This is my compensation for the drama yesterday. I know you guys are more curious about, say, Yukimura's girlfriend, so you'll just have to wait until next chapter. I was planning to name her "Nagai Sachiko" but that would be too funny...
As always, please review! Dude, when you review, it seriously gives me some extra energy to write. So bring them on, man. I'm pumped.