Gate

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-Untitled-

PROLOGUE: The sleepyhead next door

By: Yutsuki/Sabrina

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This is my first gatekeeper fic!!! Being a great fan of this series and of Ruriko (and Kageyama ^^) I decided to make this fic. It's a sort of "What if?" fanfic set in the middle of the series... What if Ruriko's reason for opening the Gate of Genocide was far deeper and graver than that of the series? How will her comrades (most especially Shun) get her out of her misery? Please comment! Constructive criticism is welcome but I'm not quite happy about receiving flames o_0 So anyway, have fun! ^_^ This fic is set when Kageyama offers her the flowers. I didn't memorize their dialogues so it's probably not exactly the same. :p BTW, [ ] means thought.

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DISCLAIMERS/BLAH BLAH: I don't own Gatekeepers. Don't sue me please! No infringement intended!

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"My hand is lonely for your clasping, dear; My ear is tired waiting for your call. I want your strength to help, your laugh to cheer; Heart soul and senses need you, one and all… As much as love asks love, does thought ask thought. Life is so short, so fast the lone hours fly, We ought to be together, you and I." - Excerpts from the poem of Henry Alford ("You And I")

Ruriko can only stare at the charming man in front of her. His amber eyes were captivating and his smile... almost too irresistible... What completed his whole presence was the pot of bright red flowers that was intended for her...

"I was hoping you'd join our Society for Political Thought.... You're pretty, responsible, smart... You have the qualities that all of us would want to have... You're like our model student." Ruriko couldn't help but blush at the adulation that she has just received. She has heard that from others before but it seems that blushing was always her immediate reaction after hearing those kinds of flattery.

Kageyama, with his sly grin and his piercing red eyes, opened his mouth again. "I was hoping we'd walk together to school today..." "Oh… ano... eto... I can't... I have to wake up the sleepy head next door..." "I see. You like Shun more than you do me." Ruriko's russet eyes grew larger and gasped loudly, negating what Kageyama just said. His smile still retained in his pale face, "I'll be seeing you then..." And as he walks off, he turns his head back again, "but I won't lose to him next time."

Ruriko's memory has always been quite sharp… So sharp that she remembered almost every gesture and word Kageyama had expressed a few days ago. But then again, maybe it's just because her encounter with Kageyama had caught her off-guard… Or maybe Kageyama was simply too suave to simply forget what he does and says… Whatever the reason may be, the whole conversation had been clearly recorded in Ruriko's mind.

But then, just as it was so "permanently" placed in her memory bank, she quickly forgot all that with the thought of the "sleepyhead next door". Somehow she felt like it was time to tell him how she really felt… The whole plight of Ms. Ochiai with her would-be husband triggered intense emotions among some of the gatekeepers. While Specs and Bancho were so caught up with knowing who the secretary really loves, Kaoru leaped at the opportunity to announce to Ukiya her feelings toward him much to the surprise of Ruriko and the others. With all these words and actions going on, the first ever gatekeeper finally found significance and much truth in her and Kaoru's advice to the school nurse.

That day, on their way back home from a trite school day, Ruriko decided to ask Shun out (in a more subtle way that is). "Ano, Ukiya-kun?", Ruriko nervously started. Shun had a questioned look on her face, "Hm?" "Do you… um… want to go to the mall first with me before we head home?" Ruriko ended with a distinct pink tinge on her cheeks. "A gomen, Rurippe. I can't today. I… um… have to do something at home… Why not tomorrow then?" The longhaired girl frowned slightly but immediately wiped that with a smile, not wanting to destroy her façade. "Okay, maybe tomorrow then?" "Hai… So… um… You won't go to the mall anymore today?" Ruriko nodded. "Yes. I guess I'll just help my mother cook our supper." "Okay then Rurippe! Ja!" The captain of the gatekeepers immediately ran inside her house, leaving Ruriko astonished. [I wonder why he's in a great rush to go home…]

Somewhere near the vicinity is a figure of a boy looking at them with an insidious smirk, followed by a mad laughter. [Perfect timing…]

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Okay! That's the end of the prologue! Email me at sab_shob@yahoo.com and please visit my site (Anime Cosmos) at www.envy.nu/genroutasuki/anime.htmlThanks!

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