Believe Your Smile

Standard disclaimer applied. Sorry for the grammar / spelling mistakes - my beta readers seem to only criticize my plots and such.... Thanks to Saturn and Yvenne for helping me along the way ^.^

Pink Yuki

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Chapter 2

It was three in the morning and Fuuko still could not fall asleep. She walked around the guest bedroom she would be living in for the next week or so, mindlessly looking at books on the shelf. "Introduction to Criminal Justice, The Offender in the Community, Death Penalty Cases… Gee, does Mi-chan have anything a little more suitable for bed-time reading?" She groaned at the sight of law book after law book, until something at the corner of the bottom shelf caught her eye.

Glaring Dream. By Kagamiya Mikito

"There." Kagamiya Mikito was a popular romance novelist and his first book, Glaring Dream, was published around the time Fuuko graduated high school. The fact that he never appeared in any media only made him more popular. "I didn't know Mi-chan is also a Kagamiya-sensei fan?" Fuuko nearly giggled imagining Mikagami reading romance novels.

"Oh dear, the whole collection of Kagamiya-sensei's work." Fuuko took out all five of Kagamiya's novels and moved them to the living room. Even though Fuuko was never a romance novel fan, she enjoyed reading his books. Unlike the common I-love-you-you-love-me-let's-die-together romance novels, Kagamiya's work was darker, filled with deaths and violence. It was the graphic description of fighting inside these books that made Fuuko read them at the first place.

Fuuko began reading, and by the end of the third book, she finally fell asleep on the sofa.

**********

Fuuko did not wake up until she heard murmurs around her. "Poor Fuuko…" "That Raiha doesn't know what he is missing…" "I hope she is okay…"

Why do they have to talk like I am about to commit suicide because of Raiha? Fuuko flickered her eyes a little and was about to turn to sit up. "Did you watch KOURAN NETWORK LAST NIGHT? Raiha's engagement party was the late night special." She froze at Koganei's solemn comment.

"You didn't think Fuuko watched it did you?" Yanagi's whispered nervously to the rest of the gang.

Not wanting to hear more of this, Fuuko sat up with a big yawn, pretending she had just waken up. The first sight she saw was a line up of all her friends, namely Yanagi, Recca, Domon, Koganei, and Ganko, all surrounded the sofa with sadness in their eyes. Funny, this make me think of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, well, five dwarfs. She chuckled to her own thoughts and greeted her friends with a smile.

"Hi guys." Fuuko stretched and sat up straight.

"Are you okay, Fuuko-neechan?" Ganko nervously asked. Everyone cast a weary eye on Fuuko that made her felt a chill down her spine.

"Of course I am fine." Fuuko smiled brightly at her friends, "and Mi-chan let me stay here until I found a new place."

"You are not coming back with us?" Yanagi sat down on the bed and hold her friend's hand with a worried expression. "You know, going back home will be bett…."

"I cannot cut school, final exams are coming up in a month." Fuuko cut Yanagi short in a determined tone. "Commuting is just too troublesome. I have to travel at least 45 minutes to go to school if I move back home, and all my classes start at eight. You don't want me to be late for school everyday, do you?"

"Well…" Being the soon-to-be teacher, Yanagi was having a mental conflict in whether she should force Fuuko home or kept her principle in going to school on time.

"If that's what Fuuko wants to do, let her do it." Recca simply stated, giving his hime a reassuring smile. "She can take care of herself. We all know that."

"Yeah, and she will come home once school is over." Domon had a wide grin on his face also, "Right, Fuuko?" He gave Fuuko a squeeze on the shoulder.

Fuuko nodded, silently thanking her two best friends for the support she needed, until she felt Domon moving closer and closer to her face…

"Now give your true love a kiss ~" "MISAWA MITSUHARU ELBOW ATTACK!!!!!!"

***********

Fuuko saw her friends left with a wave at the doorstep and swiftly walked back to her room. Now I guess I have to go get my essentials… She opened her backpack for the few things she managed to take with her when the fire broke out – check book, wallet, Fuujin, cell phone, the family photo album, and the framed picture of Raiha and her taken on their 3rd anniversary.

Fuuko looked at the photo with a sad smile on her face. She traced Raiha's face with a finger, remembering the last words he said to her.

"Fuuko-san, Gomen."

Baka! He couldn't even face me thereby did it over the phone. Her fist tightened for a second but soon fell limply at her side. She still could not understand why he broke up with her so suddenly, but she never questioned him. Raiha always has a reason behind his actions; moreover, her pride would not let her do so.

Fuuko carefully placed the photo down on the bedside table. As if mesmerized by the happy image in the picture, she stared at it silently, lamenting the memory that seemed so far away.

"I would throw that away if I were you." A cold voice suddenly rang behind Fuuko. She turned to find Mikagami standing in front of the bookshelf, obviously looking for a book.

"Mi-chan!" Fuuko let out a gasp, and soon she stood with one hand on her hips, a finger pointing at the INTRUDER. "Can't you just knock before you come in? I could be changing or…"

"The door was open." Mikagami took out a book and turned to leave, "Not that I would want to see you change anyway, MONKEY." He snickered as he closed the door behind him.

"Wait til I catch you crying reading romance novels!"

"Not a chance." Mikagami narrowed his eyes and saw the novels by the bedside table. "If you are talking about Kagamiya Mikito's books anyway."

"You bought them." Fuuko felt like the fighting spirit in her rose a level higher, and, unconsciously, a mischievous smirk find its way to her lips as she glared at the silver-haired man at the doorway.

"I wrote them." Mikagami stared back with an equally challenging smile.

"Geh???" Fuuko stumbled backwards. "But…" She looked at the books then back at Mikagami. Unsure as to whether it was "Mikagami is Kagamiya" or "Mikagami, the freeze boy, was capable of writing romance novel" shocked her more, Fuuko fell speechless and just looked at Mikagami wide-eyed.

"Put that stupid face away." Mikagami looked annoyed. "Money doesn't fall from the sky, Monkey. How else do you think I can keep the mortgage for this apartment up? A part time job at the supermarket?" He turned and walked out, shutting the door behind him. Hard.

Fuuko didn't blink for an entire minute. Mikagami Tokiya, THE ice-cold-I-have-no-human-emotions-especially-love Mikagami Tokiya, is a romance novelist? That just did not make sense. I guess that explains the great fighting scenes in the stories… He has enough first-hand experiences for sure.

***********

"Yes, don't worry. I am staying with a friend… Mikagami Tokiya, remember? From high school, a year older… yes, I won't cause any trouble… yes, I have enough money, and I told you insurance is going to cover it… yes, I am eating fine…. yes, I am sleeping well… no, I am NOT coming back…NO, you don't need to come see me…. NO, I AM NOT CRYING… Take care." Fuuko put the phone down with a long sigh. For the thousandth time, she wondered why her Mom has to ask so many questions.

"Your Mom?"

"Geh! Mi-chan! Can you stop this horrible habit of appearing behind people so abruptly?" Fuuko turned to see the older boy sitting down at the dining table; a large pizza was put neatly in front of him.

"This is my house and I can do whatever I want. If you don't like it, leave." Mikagami glared at this GUEST of his, wondered for the millionth time why he had let her stay.

"What kind of pizza?" Fuuko sat down opposite her ex-teammate, practically drooling at the irresistible aroma.

"Everything except anchovies." Mikagami looked at the girl in front of him. "Would you put that gluttonous face away? You are SUPPOSED to be a monkey, not a pig; or have you changed your mind to become one?"

"Can you stop calling me names?" Fuuko grabbed a piece of pizza in hand and made a face at the boy in front of him. "Freeze boy." She winked.

"Very funny, Kirisawa, very funny." Mikagami snorted and took his share of pizza.

"Say, Mi-chan, do you ever cook? It seems like all you eat is instant food or take-outs." Fuuko eyed the man in front of her cutting the pizza with knife and fork, wondering how some people can actually eat a slice of pizza with such manner.

"No." Mikagami continued to cut his pizza with precision like a surgeon does when operating.

"What do you like to eat?"

"Kirisawa, don't even think about cooking yourself." Mikagami finally looked up from his little pizza squares. I don't want this place end up like yours.

Fuuko shrugged carelessly and stood to clean up the plates in front of her. With a sly grin, she turned and walked up the stairs.

**********

Mikagami stood in front of the door, inhaling that wonderful aroma in the air. Miso soup, tamagoyaki… ah, my favorite karei shiyoyaki. He shook his head hesitantly, reminding himself that he should not envy his neighbors for little things like this, and inserted the keys to his apartment.

It was a surprise that the aroma grew stronger as the door opened. Mikagami placed a suspicious glance towards the kitchen, and slowly closed the door behind him. He could hear soft humming of a song from the kitchen, and the wonderful smell of homemade food overwhelmed him once more.

"Mi-chan! Okairi!" Fuuko had her hands full with a tray of food in her hands as she walked out of the kitchen. An apron around her waist and her smile beamed through the steamy surrounding. Mikagami blinked; for a moment, he thought he saw someone else.

"Here, take these to the table will you? I just need to add a little garnishing to the last dish." Fuuko shoved the tray of food into Mikagami's hands and turned back into the kitchen.

Mikagami took the dishes to the dining area slowly. While he finally set everything onto the table, Fuuko already pounced out of the kitchen and settled herself for dinner.

"Itadakimasu!" Fuuko smiled at the boy sitting across the table. Even though Mikagami had on his ice-cold demeanor, she could clearly see the shock, mixed with hunger, in his eyes.

She watched intently as he sipped the soup and took his first bite of the food laid in front of him. "What do you think?" Fuuko grinned.

"Okay, seeing it came from you." To her disappointment, he did not even look up. She started eating, and the dinner went on in silence.

It was not until she packed the dishes away did he finally spoke. "Where did you learn to cook?" His eyes gleamed in mild surprise that he ate so much.

Fuuko turned, and in a happy tone, she answered. "Raiha taught me. He is a really good cook." With that she walked into the kitchen, and the dishwasher's humming noise soon followed.

Mikagami sighed. The mocking in her voice was more than obvious. He could even sense the quivering in her tone when she said the words. For the first time, he was glad that Fuuko was here instead of going back with Recca and Yanagi. At least she does not need to suffer through the pampering. And I get to have some extra cash and food. He shrugged carelessly and turned to walk up the stairs.

**********

Mikagami brought his hands up to rubbed his temple. Seven hours staring into the computer screen non-stop… He stretched in his seat and turned off the music from his stereo.

He opened the door and walked down the stairs, hoping a glass of water would restore his energy and, most important of all, concentration on his paper. To his surprise, he heard faint noises coming from the living room. Kirisawa, I thought I told you to turn off the TV.

Mikagami slowly walked towards the living room. There he saw Fuuko curled up against a blanket, mindlessly staring at the video running.

~ AND WE WELCOME THE BRIDE-TO-BE AND GROOM-TO-BE! ~ Someone on the TV excitedly announced. Mikagami turned his attention to the TV, shocked to see Joker, clad in a fitting tuxedo, opened the door to welcome the new couple.

Raiha, and a girl Mikagami had never seen in his life.

"You really should work on that, not many people appreciate having someone suddenly appear behind them." Fuuko spoke softly, but she made no movement but continued to stare at the TV screen.

He walked towards the girl. For the first time Mikagami thought the purple haired girl in front of him looked fragile. He carefully settled himself on the other end of the sofa, sipping the glass of water he brought with him, and together they watched the TV in silence.

Fuuko spoke when the new couple was cutting the six-layered cake. "Raiha looked happy." She said in a sad, determined voice.

"Yes he did." Mikagami suddenly had the urge to just turn and run back to his room. This was not the Fuuko he knew, the gentleness in her voice were the sadness on her face were anything but comfortable for him to deal with. He felt sorry for the girl next to him, but he is not the right person to talk to about a situation like this. For once, Mikagami did not feel so confident anymore. In fact, he is scared to face Fuuko.

"Yukiko-san… she looks like a nice person."

Mikagami merely nodded.

Again, they watched the tape in silence. It wasn't until the tape finished with large red letters saying KOURAN PRODUCTIONS did Mikagami spoke. "Where did you get this tape?"

"It's in my locker this morning when I went to school." Fuuko stirred and sat up. "Apparently someone thinks that it would be funny for me to watch this." She said calmly as she walked towards the machine and extracted the tape. "I am not the most popular person in school, you know." She smiled a tired smile.

Mikagami stared at Fuuko blankly, trying to act as indifferent as usual. His eyes, however, betrayed him as sympathy was written all over his gaze.

They stood looking at each other for a long while. As they finally broke their eye contact, Mikagami turned abruptly heading back to his room.

"Mi-chan." Mikagami stopped in his track, turning to return a questioning gaze to the girl. For a moment, he thought he would be forced to console a crying Fuuko. "Can we talk?" Fuuko looked at him, smiling brightly as she usually do, and sat back down on the sofa.

He hesitated, but retraced his steps back to the sofa.

"Mind if I smoke?" Fuuko asked as she withdrew a pack of cigarette from her pocket.

Mikagami nodded. "I didn't know you smoke." He pulled out an ashtray from the cabinet and placed it on the coffee table.

"I don't. This would be the first time." Fuuko laughed gingerly, lighting her first cigarette with great caution. "Do you?" She inhaled, and promptly coughed at the bitterness of nicotine.

"Yes." Mikagami took the cigarette out of her hand. Slowly, he placed it to his lips and inhaled.

"Why?" Fuuko lit another cigarette and tried again.

"I don't know." Mikagami answered truthfully, looking into the tiny red flame at the top of the cigarette.

Fuuko stopped talking. They sat in silence as she inhaled and exhaled slowly until she perfected the act. Mikagami picked up the remote control and changed the channel.

"You don't like the KOURAN NETWORK?" The same soft tone, so different from usual, rang in his ears again. Mikagami felt his eyebrow twitches at the sad, calm voice coming from his former teammate.

"No."

"I like it. It's the trashiest channel on the planet, and they have the worst dramas on all day. But I like it." Fuuko reached for the ashtray and put out her cigarette. "Why do you write love stories?"

"They just came out that way." Mikagami lit his third cigarette. "I didn't plan them."

"Pure talent eh?" Fuuko smiled. "I really like your books."

"Thank you." He breathed out slowly and let the smoke cast a screen between him and Fuuko. Unconsciously, he hoped this little barrier would remain.

"Do you believe in love?" The smoke evaporated and he could see Fuuko staring straight into his eyes. He suddenly felt uncertain whether he should answer the question.

"Yes, and no." Mikagami answered cautiously, reminding himself not to engage in such deep talk with the girl next to him.

"I do. The minute I saw how Recca looked at Yanagi, and I said to myself, 'So this is what love is like.'" Fuuko still had that smile plastered on her face, but her expression slowly grew dim. She cleared her throat and regained her composure; "Neon sent me a letter today."

Mikagami raised an eyebrow. Not wanting to say anything, he gestured Fuuko to go on. "She said she is sorry for what happened. Political marriage, she said. Yukiko-san is some Singapore billionaire's daughter. You know, the kind that immigrates somewhere else and becomes rich really quick?" He continued to stare at Fuuko, who smile brightly when reciting the letter. "Anyway, apparently she had a crush on Raiha since they met during a business gathering last year. And being the loving father, her Dad threatens to stop all trade with Kokom Corp unless Raiha dates his daughter. It was 20% of Kokom's revenue, you know." Fuuko lowered her head onto the cushion, "Apparently Kurei believed that Mr. Whatever was just using them for expansion, but since it IS a large part of their income, he has consulted Raiha about it, asking Raiha to take her out and stuff. Neon said she has never thought of things going this far."

Fuuko picked up the cigarette packet again. "Seems like Raiha told them about the marriage one day. No advance notice." She threw the packet down at the coffee table, then proceed to toy with the lighter, mindlessly looking into the flame. "'It's for the best of Kokom Corporation.' He said."

Tired of looking at the weak flame, Fuuko simply lied back down on the soft cushions. "It was he loyalty that impressed me. How ironic. It's also his loyalty that…" Her voice trailed off into soundless murmurs as she concentrated on the TV. She laughed at one of the jokes it was showing heartily. "Thanks for listening, Mi-chan." She said solemnly.

"You're welcome." Mikagami finished his water and turned to leave the girl sitting in the dark. He went into the kitchen and poured himself another glass of water, hoping this time it would let him forget everything he just heard.

When he finally reached his bedroom, he saw Fuuko there waiting.

"Just one favor?" Purple hair had covered most of her face so Mikagami could not tell what she was thinking. He nodded, despite the thought that he has done enough favors for the girl already.

"A hug. That's all I need." She smiled weakly at the older boy.

It's an exception. Mikagami thought. He closed the distance between them, and encircled the girl into an embrace. He felt her rested her head onto him, and in a brief second, she pulled away and walked back to her room in hurried steps.

It was not until he went inside his room did he felt the tears Fuuko left on his shirt.