Believe Your Smile
Flame of Recca belongs to Anzai
Nobuyuki-sensei. I am just taking theses characters into my own dreamland so
don't sue or hate me if you think the characters are OOC, bastardized, etc.
Comments / flames / encouragements are welcome. Thanks for reading and hope you
like it!
Pink Yuki
--------------------------------------------------
Chapter 1
The doorbell rang mercilessly.
Mikagami pulled the blanket higher, covering his ears, while murmured in his
sleep, "Illusion." He turned to a more comfortable position, never
bothered to open his eyes.
The
doorbell rang again.
Mikagami
rubbed his eyes a little and looked at his alarm clock. Six in the morning, it
said. "Illusion." He murmured again while closing his eyes one more
time. If there was one thing he hated the most, it was being forced to wake up
on a Sunday morning.
"MIKAGAMI
TOKIYA!!!!" Someone was shouting outside his door. Mikagami jumped out of
bed. No, it's not illusion.
He grudgingly got out of bed to find the source of annoyance. He has to go stop
this nonsense, or else the neighbors were going to come over soon, or worse,
they would call the police. Come to think of it, only a few people in their
right mind would do something like this…
He
opened the door just in time to hear a mind-blowing "MI-CHAN!!!!!"
Mikagami narrowed his eyes at the purple haired girl standing in front of him,
"Kirisawa." If stares could kill, Fuuko would be on the floor by now.
"What on earth do you think you are doing?"
"Morning
Mi-chan." Fuuko ignored the angry tone in Mikagami's voice and walked past
him to the kitchen. "I need a place to stay, and your place is the
closest." She took out the bottle of orange juice and started drinking from
the bottle.
"You
what?" Mikagami slammed the door shut with rage. He watched the wind
wielder settled herself comfortably on the couch and walked over.
"Kirisawa, get out." He tried his hardest to sound as calm as
possible, but the hostility in his voice was more than obvious.
"I
told you, I am staying." Fuuko stared right back into Mikagami's eyes. All
Mikagami could see was tiredness mixed with sadness, an unusual expression from
the usual bright and cheerful Fuuko, but he brushed that thought away quickly. Who
does she think she is now? "Go back to your apartment! It's only
two blocks from here! Leave!"
Fuuko
ignored him once again and put her head on the cushion. "No. I am staying.
Goodnight." She yawned and closed her eyes, preparing for a deep sleep.
Mikagami
stared at her in astonishment. "Don't sleep here! What the hell…" He
pushed her hard on the shoulder. "I can call the police for trespassing you
know!"
Fuuko
lazily opened her eyes again. "Mr. I-am-king-of-law-school Mi-chan, I was
in the police station the whole night already. Some stupid baka next door left
the stove on while he went out and guess what? The whole building now looks like
Recca has burnt it with all hachiryu. So, PLEASE, would you PLEASE let me
sleep?" Her voice extremely patient, and when done talking, she closed her
eyes again for her well-deserved sleep.
Mikagami
looked at Fuuko speechless. Indeed it was a good reason why he should let her
stay, but disturbing his sleep was still unforgivable. Unconsciously, he brought
his hand to rub his temples and walked back to his bedroom, mentally noting that
he would make Fuuko pay him for his KIND hospitality.
**********
"Wake
up."
Someone
was pushing her. "Another five minutes." Fuuko murmured while covering
her face with a cushion.
"Wake
up or Ensui is going to make that face of yours a piece of modern art."
Her
eyes opened abruptly, staring straight into a pair of piercing blue eyes. Fuuko
shook her head a little and sheepishly said, "Morning, Mi-chan."
"Hn.
More like Good Evening, missy." Mikagami shot Fuuko an icy stare before
turning back to the dinning table, where a bowl of steaming Ramen awaited.
"I thought you are a monkey, not a pig." He snickered.
Fuuko
was about to yell back, only to realize she was in no position to anger
Mikagami. It was already dark outside. There was no way she could find an estate
agent and get an apartment this time of the day, plus she has to wait for the
insurance company to pay her first. She let out a lame laugh and proceeded to
the bathroom. She stopped midway in the corridor when she heard Mikagami's
irritated voice rang behind her. "Why didn't you go to Raiha's place?"
"He
is living with someone, it's not nice to disturb them." Came a monotone
reply.
"And
it's nice to disturb me?" Mikagami yelled as Fuuko closed the door of the
bathroom. His chopsticks were on the edge of breaking from his sudden outburst
of anger. She is INSANE! Why can't she run to her own boyfriend? What the
hell is she thinking?
The
telephone rang and Mikagami was pleased to see Yanagi's number on the caller-id
display. "Yanagi? Hey…"
"Mikagami!"
Recca's voice was deafening. "Is Fuuko at your place? We have been looking
for her all day."
"Sea
monkey." Mikagami hissed. "Yes, she is. Would you guys come and just
pick her up? Send her to Raiha's or somewhere…" He could hear Domon
wailing at the background with Kaoru making soothing noises trying to calm the
big guy.
"At
least she is safe…yes hime, Fuuko's at his place…Mikagami? Can I ask you a
favor?"
"I
don't want to take any orders from you." It was unusual for Recca, the proud
leader of Hokage, to ask for a favor. Mikagami, however, took it as Recca trying
to order him around.
"Darn
it! Didn't I say I need a favor?" Recca sounded annoyed, but he soon calmed
his voice. "Anyway, what I want you to do is NOT mention Raiha in front of
Fuuko, that's all. And we will come pick her up tomorrow morning. Deal?"
"Hn."
Mikagami was busy calculating his gains and losses from the deal. It sounded too
good to be true; not to say a word in exchange for getting the house back to
himself in 12 hours. "One more thing."
"Gee,
you lawyers are hopeless. All greedy as hell." Recca snapped and his voice
soon faded away. "Mikagami senpai?" Yanagi grabbed the phone. "Is Fuuko
okay? You are going to take care of her, right?"
"Yanagi."
Mikagami's voice turned a hundred degrees warmer. "She is alright and she
can stay the night. But why can't I…"
Yanagi
cut him short in a worried tone. "Not so loud, Mikagami-senpai! Ano… let's
just say Raiha-san got engaged this morning and the bride-to-be is not Fuuko."
"See
you tomorrow then." Mikagami kept his voice calm and maintained his usual
emotionless expression, but he was shocked. He came across Fuuko and Raiha a
week ago, walking hand in hand around the neighborhood. Now Raiha got engaged?
And the bride is not Fuuko? He simply did not understand the situation, not that
he bothered.
Fuuko
emerged from the bathroom freshened up. She trotted happily back to the living
room and turned on the TV with interest, murmuring something about a show she
wanted to watch. Mikagami, back at the dinning table, was analyzing her actions
in silence.
You
are going to take care of her, right?
Yanagi's voice rang clearly in Mikagami's mind. He sighed and asked Fuuko in
a bored tone, "You want something to eat?" He tried to sound gentle, but it
came out as cold as usual.
"No.
I am good. Mi-chan, you KNOW that if I want something to eat I would be in your
kitchen by now." Fuuko answered cheerfully without turning. She seemed
occupied with the re-run of Gorilla versus Mothrea and was busy cheering Gorilla
on.
I
made the effort.
Mikagami shrugged. He seriously didn't care if Fuuko was hungry or not, if it
was not a request from Yanagi he would have kicked her out by now. "Suit
yourself. Yanagi is coming to get you tomorrow." He packed his emptied bowl
and chopsticks and walked towards the kitchen.
"Did
she say anything?" Fuuko shuddered at the comment. She called Yanagi this
morning at the police station to cancel the cinema trip they planned a week ago.
Somehow, though, Yanagi had persuaded her to tell the entire story. The story
she did not want anyone to know.
"No."
Mikagami glanced slightly at Fuuko, noticing her quivering lips. He felt sorry
for the girl; betrayal hurts, and he understood the feeling first-hand. He
sympathized her, but knew too well she was too proud to like the idea of someone
pitying her. It was best to act normal. "They would be here in the morning."
He put the dirty dishes in the dishwasher and turned to walk upstairs. "Write
a letter to the dean explaining your current situation so I can deliver it
tomorrow. I will be upstairs doing my thesis paper, so don't you dare be
loud." He deliberately snickered at his remark.
"Ah
yes, a letter to the dean." Fuuko exclaimed loudly. She turned her head
slightly to face Mikagami, "Thanks for reminding me." She smiled widely at
the older boy.
Mikagami
turned and walked up the stairs. He knew Fuuko has a strong character, but he
was still glad that she was trying to act normal. He certainly did not want to
counsel a distressed female, not that he was capable of doing so at the first
place. Shrugging to himself, he closed the door of his bedroom and concentrated
on his thesis paper.
**********
A soft knock on the door tore
Mikagami's attention away from the computer. He walked over and opened the
door for a cheerful Fuuko.
"Here,
the letter to the dean." Fuuko happily pounced onto Mikagami's King-size
bed.
Mikagami
read over the letter. "Fuuko, there are misprints here, and some of the
grammar are wrong." He waved the letter disapprovingly like an English teacher
does.
"Really?
Well, it doesn't matter, as long as it explains." Fuuko shrugged casually
and picked up one of Mikagami's book. "How can you read something as thick
as this?"
"Hn."
Mikagami returned to his desk. "Law books are all that thick."
"Whatever."
Fuuko lied down on the feathery soft pillow, twirling her hair mindlessly.
"You read these thousand pages long books since you were in high school
anyway. So, what are you going to do after you graduate this year?"
"Find
a job." Mikagami answered in monotone. He did not like people bothering him
when he worked; especially when this thesis paper was extra-important to him. He
just hoped Fuuko could get the hint and leave him be.
"Hey,
Mi-chan?" Fuuko jumped up to her feet. "If I pay you rent and take care of
the household, can you let me stay a while longer?"
"WHAT?"
Mikagami jumped off his chair.
Fuuko
was taken a step back from Mikagami's action. "Well, you see, I don't have
the money to find a new place until the insurance company pays me. Also, err…
some things happened and Yanagi and Recca are bound to ask me about it day and
night, so I don't want to move back home just yet. Plus, you have three spare
bedrooms here."
"So?"
"You
would hardly notice I am here! I promise! So please?" Fuuko's voice sounded
a little too desperate to be normal, but she did not seem to notice. Mikagami
stared at her face for a moment before speaking, "The rent is high." He
added a snicker at the end of the sentence.
Fuuko
took a deep breath. She knew he would hate the idea, and she knew he would do
anything to prevent it from happening. "And that would be?"
"US$
400 per week." Mikagami turned back to his computer.
Fuuko's
mouth dropped open. So he really hated the idea. She bit her lips a
little, silently calculating whether it would worth 400 dollars to avoid Yanagi
and Co.'s harassment over Raiha and her. Probably.
"Deal."
Fuuko walked out of the room in silent and closed the door behind her, leaving a
very surprised Mikagami behind.