Part Three: The Maddest Noise
* * *
Disclaimer:
Rights to Kareshi Kanojo no Jijou belong to Masami Tsuda (manga), Hideaki Anno (anime) of Gainax and Right Stuff (anime - US release).
Spoiler Warnings:
This fanfic is inspired by (what will be) Volume 11 of the tankubon.
Note:
Words and phrases in italics = thoughts
* * *
Kazuma stared at his reflection in the mirror. He inhaled deeply -- bracing himself for what he was about to do.
He was finally going to make his mother very happy.
He took the tube of gel and squeezed out a good portion of it on his palm. He smoothed the gel over his spiky blond hair. Hope this works. He carefully combed his hair while praying that his hair with stay down.
Twenty minutes and with half the contents of the tube of gel, he was impressed with his own handiwork. His hair was parted neatly to one side.
I look like a banker.
He removed his skull necklace and resisted the temptation to wear his leather cuffs with the spikes on them. The trouble I'm going through. He gritted his teeth.
* * *
Hiroyuki Miyazawa stared at the man in front of him. He squinted his eyes, as though to peer more closely. Something vaguely familiar about this man. "Who are you?"
"Is Yukino in? I need to talk to her."
The blond hair. The scuffed shoes. Where have I seen all this before?
Kazuma waited patiently for Yukino's father to recognize him.
His own mother's jaw nearly touched the ground when he came out of his room looking the way he did. He ran his finger through the collar of his button-down shirt. Damned nuisance. A T-shirt is more comfortable.
Hiroyuki Miyazawa's eyes widened when he realized who it was.
"Gyah! Miyako! Miyako! You have to see this! It's that rocker! He's here!" He was frantically pointing his finger at Kazuma. "He looks different! Miyako!"
Kazuma waited for Yukino's father to calm down.
Hiroyuki Miyazawa relaxed a little. He edged closer to Kazuma. "You clean up pretty well." With a resigned sigh, he opened the gate. "She's in the kitchen with her mom."
"Thank you, sir."
* * *
Yukino couldn't get over Kazuma's new image.
"What happened to you? Did you lose a bet or something?"
Kazuma sighed.
"Is this Tsubasa's handiwork? I can scold her, you know."
Kazuma shook his head slowly. "I didn't want to freak your dad out again the way I did the last time." He admitted sheepishly.
"Do I look that different?" He rubbed the back of his neck self-consciously.
Yukino tilted her head to one side and studied him more closely. "Not really. It's just the shock of it, I guess." She rubbed her chin with her fingers. "My dad freaks out whenever a guy comes over -- regardless of what that guy looks like."
She adjusted her eyeglasses. "You look pretty good... very preppy."
"My mom was speechless. Good thing Tsubasa wasn't there. She would have teased me."
"I'm glad you and Tsubasa are friends again."
"Yeah, me too. I wanted to thank you for that. That's why I came here."
Yukino waved her hands in front of herself. "No need to thank me. It was the least I could do for a friend."
"Tsubasa's really lucky to have you and everyone else."
"Well, we're lucky to have her." Yukino looked him in the eye. "You're very lucky to have her."
Kazuma knew what she meant. He nodded. "That I am."
He was silent for a moment -- contemplating what a godsend Tsubasa was to his life. A week ago, he nearly lost her because he couldn't be honest with her about his feelings. "She's very important to me."
Yukino's heart warmed at the sincerity in his voice. She reached across the table and gave his hand a squeeze. "I know."
* * *
Tonami Takefumi wanted to weep in frustration. Another weekend. Another weekend -- "Gone."
Sensing what was on his mind, Tsubaki stood on tiptoes and whispered, "I promise you, next weekend, it'll just be you and me."
"That's what you said last weekend."
Tonami knew he sounded like a spoiled child. He couldn't help it. He had planned to spend the day alone with Tsubaki -- as he did the weekend before.
Tsubaki tightened her grip on his hand. "Thank you for letting me have my way." She looked up at him and gave him her sweetest smile.
Tonami bent down and kissed her. "You're lucky I love you so much."
They were in the park once again, watching the skateboarding exhibition with their friends. Tsubasa had called everyone up the night before inviting them for a picnic at the park.
"It's such a beautiful day to be out in the sun."
"I'm surprised Tsubasa was able to convince Aya to come out." Tonami pointed to the blanket where Aya and Rika sat.
Tsubaki looked over and suppressed a giggle. "She needed some sun."
Although it was summer, Aya was as pale as she always was. It was a startling contrast to all the sun-kissed people around her.
Aya was a writer and spent her days and nights writing articles for magazines and short stories for a local publisher.
Her last piece was inspired by the events that transpired between Tsubasa and Kazuma over two weeks ago -- it was, as expected, a great success.
Tsubaki's mouth watered as she watched her friend Rika pull out food from her picnic basket. Rika was an excellent cook and Tsubaki knew, even from a distance, how delicious the food would be. Her heart sank as she eyed the cold sandwiches she had hastily prepared for herself and Tonami earlier that day.
* * *
Kazuma listened to Tsubasa and Asaba as they discussed the ice cream they ate. He was glad to be able to spend the day with Tsubasa and her friends, but he somehow didn't like the idea of Tsubasa spending so much time with Asaba.
"Hey, Tsubasa. You should try the chunky triple chocolate next time. It really does have three kinds of chocolate in it."
"Maybe we should try their fruit flavors after lunch." Tsubasa turned and offered her ice cream cone to Kazuma. "Want a taste?"
Kazuma distractedly took a small bite off Tsubasa's waffle cone. He eyed Asaba with suspicion and scooted closer to Tsubasa.
"What do you think? Do you like this flavor? Asaba and I tried 51 flavors the last time we were here. We're hoping to try the remaining 50 today."
Kazuma smiled and started rubbing Tsubasa's shoulder. "Won't you feel sick after eating all that ice cream?"
Tsubasa shook her head. "I didn't the last time." She turned to face Asaba. "What about you Asaba?"
"Me? Heh! I had Arima buy me a burger after we dropped you and Yukino off." Asaba started flexing his muscles. "I'm too macho to get sick over ice cream."
Tsubasa giggled and playfully tossed a ball of wadded-up tissue at Asaba's direction. "You clown!"
Kazuma hooked his arm around Tsubasa's shoulder and pulled her closer to him.
The sudden action made Tsubasa momentarily lose her balance. She placed an arm on Kazuma's thigh to steady herself.
She realized that Kazuma was silent. "Hey, are you okay?"
"Yeah. I just don't like you getting close to that guy."
Tsubasa's eyes widened in surprise. "Asapin? Why? But he's a friend."
Kazuma couldn't explain what he was feeling. "I just don't like it."
Tsubasa shrugged. "If you can't explain it to me then I don't see any reason why I should accept your opinion." She wriggled out of his hold and stood up. "I'm going to go talk to Yukino and the others."
* * *
"You know I don't like eggs, Yukino. Why did I let you convince me you could prepare our picnic." Arima sighed.
Yukino patted his head. "But egg is good for you. I also brought other things." She waved her hand over the spread in front of them -- chips, cake, sushi.
Arima couldn't help but admire the picnic his girlfriend had prepared for him. "You're so great, Yukino." He crossed his arms over his chest. "But I'm still not eating the eggs."
Yukino giggled at the little-boy tone he used. "Silly Arima, of course you are."
Arima gulped nervously.
Somehow, he knew his girlfriend was right.
"Where did Maho and Takashi go? Maho said they were eating with us."
Arima looked around the park. "I guess they went for a walk to have some privacy."
"I guess. I can't believe so many people are in the park today."
* * *
"You have very nice friends, Maho."
Maho and Takashi were seated on a park bench overlooking the picnic grounds.
"You think so?" Maho stopped swinging her legs over the edge of the bench long enough to ask the question.
"Yes. I can see why you enjoy being with them so much."
Maho smiled. She watched her friends talk -- their laughter and voices reaching her. "I enjoy being with you more."
Takashi grinned. From the way Maho's voice lilted, he knew she was being playful with him. It was Maho's way of reminding him to relax and loosen up.
"I should hope so."
Maho giggled at his reply.
There was a wide age gap that separated Maho and Takashi, but it didn't stop Maho from loving him -- and pursuing him. Takashi, wanting to be the responsible adult, tried to resist Maho's charms at first, but he eventually succumbed to the mixture of youthful energy, beauty and earnest love he found in Maho.
"Hey, we're eating with Yukino and Arima."
"That's the cute girl in the floral summer dress, right?"
Maho tried to punch him, but he caught her hand midway. He kissed her knuckles and rubbed her hand to his cheek. "You're beautiful."
Maho wagged a finger at him. "No more comments about my friends, okay? I might get jealous."
Takashi laughed, drew Maho close and embraced her.
* * *
"Hey, where's Tsubasa? I wanted to show her the kiddie show over there. They have a giant Totoro poster on display and I know she likes them."
"Is that so?"
Kazuma didn't mean to snap at Asaba, but the idea of Asaba and Tsubasa together just irritated him.
Asaba could sense Kazuma's cold attitude towards him. He'd seen it many times before.
Arima was extremely possessive of Yukino, as Yukino was of Arima. Arima didn't like it when other guys got close to Yukino. Arima's excuse for his behavior was his love for Yukino.
This was the first time Hideaki Asaba would be at the receiving end of such an attitude. It amused him -- he had never seen himself as a threat to any relationship despite the fact that women fell for him all the time.
He sat cross-legged beside Kazuma -- ignoring Kazuma's angry glare.
"Tsubasa's not a kid you know. That divine, angelic appearance of hers hides an intellect that sees through people's intentions and desires. Sooner or later, she'll figure it out." Asaba was silent for a moment. "I bet it's sooner rather than later."
"Figure what out?"
Asaba ignored the sharp tone. "That you're in love with her."
Kazuma found himself robbed of speech. "How... what... you..."
"That's why you can't stand my being close to her."
Kazuma gulped and nodded. This is why they get along. They are so much alike."
Asaba shrugged. "You don't have to worry about that. Tsubasa's not a fickle girl. Her heart is set on you already."
"It is?"
Asaba nodded. "Yep. However much you feel about her, multiply it by ten -- that's how much she loves you."
"She does?"
Jeez, I sound like an idiot. Kazuma frowned at Asaba. "Why doesn't she tell me?"
"Probably the same reason why you haven't told her about how you felt."
Kazuma relaxed a little. "You're a very perceptive guy. I never thought you could be so ... deep."
"That's exactly what Tsubasa said about me, too." Asaba stood up and walked away -- leaving Kazuma to think about their conversation.
I wonder if I'll ever find a girl who'll make me feel that way.
* * *
Multiply by ten. Asaba's words rang in Kazuma's mind. He allowed all of it to sink in. She loves me. His heart pounded wildly -- the euphoria he felt blazed through him like a fire.
He was too deep in though to realize that Tsubasa had returned.
"Here, I got you something." She tossed him a can and she opened her own can of tomato juice.
Without hesitation, he caught the can. The chill from the can jolted him back to reality. He looked at it -- it was a can of his favorite drink and the very same drink he had during his second encounter with Tsubasa.
"Where's Asaba? I got him one, too."
"He's not here."
Tsubasa snorted. "Well, I can see that." Tsubasa knelt beside him. "What's with you today?" She took a sip from her drink. "You've been very surly to Asaba and very snappish to me."
Sooner or later, she'll figure it out. "It's nothing. Thanks for the drink." He popped the tab and gulped down the drink.
They were both quiet for a moment.
"Kazuma --"
"Tsubasa --"
Kazuma smiled. "You first."
"I never thought I'd see the day when we'd hang out like this again. I thought I had lost you forever." Tsubasa hugged her knees to her chest.
Kazuma looked at Tsubasa's profile. She had a faraway look in her eyes, but he also saw the tears glinting and threatening to spill. "You'd never lose me. I'd always end up at our home."
Tsubasa smiled. "That's not what I meant, silly."
Kazuma's expression sobered. "I know." He ran his fingers through his hair. "Tsubasa, listen -- I want to tell you something."
Tsubasa stiffened. "What is it?"
"Well -- jeez, there's no easy way to say this. I --"
"Then just say it."
"Truth is, I was a little jealous of Asaba. That's why --"
"That's why you've been behaving the way that you have." Tsubasa's eyes widened in surprise and sudden insight. "Jealous of Asaba? Why?"
"Because the two of you seem so close and you share so many things with him and he makes you laugh."
Tsubasa didn't know whether to laugh or hit him -- she did both.
"And all I've done to you in the past is make you cry." He reached out and cupped her face in his hands. "I wanted to be the one you shared things with and make you laugh."
Tsubasa was stunned at the intensity of Kazuma's words. She opened her mouth to say something, but she couldn't summon the words.
"The truth is, I think I love you."
"You think you... love... me?"
Kazuma shook his head. "I know I love you." He leaned and kissed her on the forehead.
Tsubasa pried his hands away from her face. She brushed away the stray tears that had fallen.
"See? I'm making you cry again!" Kazuma groaned in frustration.
Tsubasa giggled and flung herself towards him.
He caught her in his embrace.
"I love you more."
Multiply it by ten. He listened to her fervent declaration, closed his eyes and savored it.
End
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Author's Notes:
When I asked my sister what the "maddest noise" ought to be, she said that I should provide a resolution to Kazuma and Tsubasa's relationship. I hope that's what I've done with this, the last part of my "Noise" stories.
I'm sure you've noticed how Asaba seems to steal the scene. This is because his character fascinates me (both in the anime and manga). He is a fairly complex and perceptive person (and we only get to see bits of it in the anime and a good dose of it in the manga).
"Maddest" here does not mean "insane" or "crazy". It means "very enthusiastic" or "boisterously happy".