Notes: The excerpts used are from Cherry Lips, Garbage. Song belongs to them.
Part 6: It's not me It's you.
Tuesday afternoon: Takezono High School.
"Shhh!!! Kiyota, you're too loud!" Jin warned.
"I'm shh-ing the best I can." the other guy exclaimed.
"You two!" Maki hissed.
They were hiding behind the bush, watching Oda and his girlfriend, Yoko, talking on the bench next to Takezono High School.
"They do seem really in love...." Kiyota stressed the word love.
"Wah! Oda! You were great that night!" Yoko exclaimed.
Great that night? What night?
"Thank you Yoko." Oda answered with a smile.
"Ha! It was him! Why that *insert some imaginative words here* thief..." Kiyota waved his fist around, but he was restrained by Jin.
"Last Sunday night was brilliant! They love you! My parents want to see you again." Yoko continued.
"Oh!" Kiyota realised.
Alibi. Damm!
"It's not him." Maki didn't know whether to feel relieved or disappointed, more like the former.
"What are you doing here???!!!!?????"
They turned around only to come face to face with a group of angry-looking Takezono High female students. The Kainan students can only gulped and stared.
"We...err..." Maki stammered.
"You're from Kainan! Your uniform said you're from Kainan! You came here to spy on us?
"Oh no no...."
"Spy on our Ace?"
"We... no...yes, I mean, we're!"
"But you're here, peeking through the bush! Spying on our ace!"
"Wait!" Maki stepped forward. This had got to stop. "Please...listen... Yes, it's true we were checking on Oda, but I can explain…"
Somehow, they knew some angry females would not listen to what they have to say as they approaching the frightening trio.
"Guys...I think this is the time to practise your sprint." Maki whispered. The other two scared Kainan students agreed.
"We protect our ace. So... charge!!!!!!"
"Ahhh!!!"
Tuesday afternoon: Ryonan High School.
"Sendoh! Don't you dare running away from me!" Sakuragi warned.
"Why Hana-kun. I'm not running away from anybody." Sendoh replied. He had just finished his light training, and was surprised to see Sakuragi outside the gate, apparently waiting for him.
"No training today?" He asked Sakuragi.
"Light training, foot exercise and all those things this Tensai can do without." Sakuragi replied.
He shoved a plastic bag to Sendoh's direction. Inside the bag, Sendoh found a brown box containing…
Sendoh laughed.
"It's not funny you know! I found it in my locker yesterday. And since you conveniently not here yesterday…"
Sendoh continued laughing. "Oh Hana-kun. I told you I got a dentist's appointment yesterday. Gotta keep the shining smile at its right place you know!"
"Don't Hana-kun me!"
"Well, let me have this, I will send this to Kainan through the post office after this. In the meantime…"Sendoh smirked. "Do you have anything to say?"
Sakuragi mumbled something.
"What is it?" Sendoh asked again, enjoying the reaction from the younger boy.
"I'm sorry." Sakuragi said. "You're right. You are the all-knowing Sendoh. I worship you. Satisfied?" Sakuragi gave him the patented Rukawa-glare.
Sendoh laughed again. "Thank you. And stop doing a Rukawa, it spoilt your face."
Sakuragi gave him another Rukawa-glare.
"So, does that means you can go fishing with me this weekend? Enjoying some peace and quiet for two hours?" Sendoh asked.
"Yea yea…"
"And…" Sendoh continued. "Don't you have to replace Rukawa's cleaning duty in the gym? A bet is a bet you know."
"Don't mention it."
Sendoh put his arms around Sakuragi in an attempt to cool down the red-blooded red-head. "Come on now… let me buy you a snack." And the two boys walked towards the nearest food store.
******
Wednesday morning: Kainan High School
That dream again.
For four nights and days in a row, Maki had been dreaming about the mysterious man. The search for him had become an obsession. It's not the matter of finding the bird, it's about finding him. Maki sighed, and the case of the mystery man came occupy his mind again.
You hold a candle in your heart
You, knowing it all. You, hold the key to my heart.
You shine the light on hidden parts
You brought out my vulnerability, the part I kept well-hidden for years. You broke the walls. You saw my true self.
You make the whole world wanna dance
You made me wanna dance. You made me move in sync with you. Move in rhyme with you. Move in time with you.
You bought yourself a second chance
A second chance for other people to see you other side. A second chance that you gave to me. For this one chance, you let me showed the other side of me. As you showed the other side of you.
That man basically turned his perfect world upside down. Before all these fiasco, the only thing he knew in life is his studies and basketball. Then, he was thrown in this disarray of events. Ever since he met him, his life seemed to be beyond his control. He was reduced to a love-struck bubbling idiot, cooperated with his Ryonan enemy, broke the Computer Privacy Law, infected by the horrofic Tensai virus, embarrassed himself in front of his coach, spied on a high school student and chased by a bunch of schoolgirls in the matter of three days. Not to mention giving a bad example to the would-be captain and the already-problematic rookie. Only God knows how many unfortunate events will come crashing down his path.
But at the same time, he rather repeated that one magical night again than change the past. Even if he has to get the next chemistry question wrong.
"Maki!" A voice was heard. "SHINICHI MAKI!!"
"huh?"
"Finally! The man decided to grace us with his presence." His chemistry teacher said sarcastically. "Now… can you name the two general hormones classes?
"err… the peptine and the steroid?"
"And how does the human body produced steroid?"
"The brain received a signal from the five sense. And it send an emergency signals to the adrenaline gland. The adrenaline glad released the steroid to help the muscle react fast to the emergency."
The chemistry sensei just nodded. Apparently Maki knew his chemistry well, even though he looked aloof nowadays than serious like always. At least he answered the question correctly.
As for Maki knew the last information very well. He had been through the experience where his body acts beyond his control. That mystery man. But steroid and chemistry is the last thing he thinks about at the moment. The only chemistry he's interest in is between him and the mysterious man.
He just drives me crazy.
Wednesday afternoon: Kainan Basketball Gym
"A package for the Kainan captain. Just arrived."
"Thank you." Maki took the package from his teammate. He opened the brown wrapping, and inside, he found a box. He opened the box to reveal....
"The Kainan Bird...."
The basketball team members looked at their captain, their faces were full of pleasant surprise. The bird had been returned to them! Yes! Our good luck charm is here! Words were being exchange. The whole gym was noisy with the latest good news.
"Captain...can we took the bird and put it at its place?"
Maki gave the bird to his teammate. He checked the wrapper. Whoever took it, posted it yesterday. The third day after it had gone missing. A stamp on the wrapper revealed a Kanagawa prefecture postage. It also revealed the code for the sender's post office. Kanagawa Section 15. The nearest high school in that section is....
Sendoh.
-tbc-