An Unexpected Life3

An Unexpected Life

By Sulia Serafine

Disclaimer: I do not own the Rival Schools characters (darn). I'm not making any money off them. I'm doing this for entertainment purposes only. Original characters and plots belong to me.

Author: I've decided to do some mixing and matching between different versions of Rival Schools. Expect Nagare to show up in later chapters. Oh… and remember when I said this chapter would be out after chapter 2 in two weeks? You must have guessed by now that it took longer than that. I'm sure many of you can sympathize on how much high school sucks-- especially final exams and whatnot.

Also: expect some OOC (out of character) moments. They're bound to happen. Yes, even to me. I apologize for delaying this chapter. In truth, I'm not sure when I'll get Chapter 4 done. But I try every spare moment I have. I wouldn't dream of leaving this unfinished. With that said, enjoy the chapter, and remember to review after! All reviews are cherished and put on a shelf of pride.

Chapter 3: Development

Some short time later:

Edge flipped through the channels on his family's television, more restless than he'd ever been in his whole entire life. Normally, he would be hanging out with Gan and Akira, but he was technically still 'mad' with them. His anger had subsided and lain to rest, but his pride wouldn't allow him to go back so soon and make peace. Growling in acute frustration, he threw the remote on the floor and buried his face in the soft cushion of the sofa that he was stretched out upon.

Then he heard knocking.

He lifted his head so he could see out the window and view the visitor. No such luck. With a heavy sigh, he got up, purposely kicking the sofa and mumbling profanities as he approached the door.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm coming," he said and swung open wide the door. He blinked. "Oh. It's just you."

Rei stood there. The expression on her face and the fidgeting of her feet indicated that she didn't want to be there. Edge wondered why she didn't just go back home if that was the way that she felt. He turned his back on her and dragged himself back to the couch. She stood hesitatingly at the threshold, looking in on the house that she'd not been in but two times.

"Hi," she said a bit late. The blonde youth had already settled back into his old position with his face upturned the ceiling this time. She spoke a little louder. "I was bored, so I thought I'd come over to hang out." She walked around and sat down in an armchair.

He rolled onto his back. "No." Strangely enough, his face took on a contemplating expression. He finally found the words in his mind and proceeded to speak. "No, if I know anything, you were bored and Mrs. Kishida thought you should come over to hang out. Damn nosy woman, can't leave either of us alone." He flung an arm over his eyes and feigned becoming drowsy. "I don't care what you do. Just don't touch the potato chips and the soda."

She frowned. He'd guessed right about Mrs. Kishida urging her to visit, but his attitude about it seemed even more negative than it should have been. "Is something wrong?"

"Wrong? What makes you think anything is fucking wrong?" he snorted and turned on his side, snuggling into the sofa even further.

Well, for one thing, He's being rude but passive. He should be more… violent than this. Rei smirked at the thought. She headed toward the kitchen, wanting the potato chips in a sudden urge to defy him. "Nothing. And don't curse. It's so vulgar."

"I'll fucking curse as much as I fucking want," he replied loudly. "Now go away."

She reached into the food pantry and attained the crinkled bag of chips. "Do you have any dip?"

Edge peeked out from under his forearm. "Say what?"

"I asked if you had any dip for the chips," she repeated, firmer in voice so he could not mistake her sentence.

He got up from the sofa and stalked into the small kitchen. "I already told you not to-- Hey! Stop eating that! I was going to eat those for dinner!"

"American potato chips solely for dinner? Your taste has gone down the drain, hasn't it?" she commented wryly as she continued to snack on his food. "For starters, get yourself some rice. Or maybe some ramen if you don't want too heavy of a meal. Miso soup?"

Out of habit, he reached into his jacket for something sharp to threaten her with. She raised her eyebrows, reminding him with a look of what he could not do. He withdrew his hand, dropped it to his side, and left the kitchen.

"Hey!" Rei frowned. She moved forward, the hem of her dress caught on a chair. She set down the chips and wiped her hands on a napkin before reaching down to un-snag the fabric. "I could make dinner, if you'd let me."

She could hear him snort all the way from the living room. The television's volume had been turned up as well.

"You'd probably try to poison me," he called back.

"I would not. Besides, I need to cook or else I'll forget all my recipes. Then where would I be when I'm back on my own?" Her dress now free, she walked out of the kitchen, leaving the chips forgotten on the plain wooden table. "Are you purposely trying to tune me out?" she asked, beguiled.

He didn't answer.

She nodded. Rei began to approach the stairs. "Oh. I see. Well, maybe I should go up to your room, get Akira and Daigo's phone numbers, and they can join us for dinner. How does that sound?"

"Stop it! Fine, cook! Burn the kitchen down! Pour in some freaking arsenic!" he spat. He folded his arms. At that moment, the young woman could not believe how like a child he resembled. Edge's cheeks were puffed out, his face a bit pink. His hands tucked under his armpits and his shoulders hunched as he sat staring straight ahead at the television. He did not even make a move for the remote, though he was watching something he'd rather not endure. He just stood still, his nostrils flaring out as he breathed.

"Uhm-hmm," Rei said. "Definite child. It makes me feel like I'm the responsible adult for once."

~~

Akira took off her helmet now that she was in the safety of her own home. She shook her short hair free of the stifling confines of the disguise and pinched the bridge of her nose in modest signs of her exhaustion. There had to be some other way of hanging with the guys without wearing the helmet the whole time. The smaller Kazama sibling approached an antique mirror in the hallway and examined herself.

Her features were very nondescript. Her nose was small, but not petite. Her chin was the same. Her eyes could very well be feminine-- they were but she didn't want to think of them that way-- but the way she always stared at people and lowered her lids to fake disinterest hid that sufficiently. Maybe if she trimmed her hair a bit more, she could go without the helmet. It would be a welcome comfort to her very stressful life.

Stress was dealt with in many ways. The motorcycle needed constant attention. When not worrying about her brother's well being, there was taking care or simple menial tasks around the house. Some people would call chores stressful, but it occupied her mind and drove off the little tiny voice that whispered her insecurities to her.

"Give me one day where I don't have to pretend to be a guy," she murmured to an unseen presence as she took milk from the refrigerator and poured it into a glass. Oddly, the simple action reminded her of Daigo again. Her brother drank straight from the carton whenever he asked Akira if she wanted some milk and she refused. Now, she drank milk. She almost never drank milk before that. And she did a lot of things she had not done before.

Hanging out with Gan and Edge was one of these things. Or rather, hanging out with the large teenager since Edge had been busy hanging out with his 'neighbor'. Akira still didn't believe it. Someone of Edge's personality wouldn't hang out with a pregnant young woman. It would all make sense if Edge had lied and did have something to do with it.

"Stop that," she scolded herself. Why do I even care? What's his business is exactly that. His business. Akira Kazama, the 'little brother' or truly little sister of the Big Boss couldn't believe what she was thinking. If she didn't know any better, she might have thought she was jealous.

Jealous? She rolled her eyes and decided to think about something else.

The student from Taiyo, Kyosuke Kagami, was truly an enigma. He was always cool and collected whenever she saw him. Even when Edge had him by the shirt with a shiny blade in his hand. Even when she and Gan had ended up going to intercept the Taiyo High School students at the neighborhoods surrounding Gedo, though Kyosuke knew, he did not point them out to his companions. He merely regarded them from a distance and walked past.

I've got to get into that guy's head. There's something different about him I can't put my finger on. Kyosuke Kagami… what's your motive?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"… And it's really a shame." Amazingly, Edge had remained docile enough to let her start a conversation. They were only bantering. He reasoned with himself that it wouldn't hurt his reputation. It wasn't like Gan and Akira was spying on him right at that moment.

Rei set her chopsticks down and peered curiously at her next door neighbor. "So, what do you think of the food?"

"It's okay," he shrugged. In reality, it had been the best ramen he'd ever tasted, but she didn't need to know that. He pushed the drained bowl towards her and coughed gently. "You're not really going to call Gan and Akira over here, are you?"

She thought for a moment. "Hmm…no. No, I don't think so. If you behave, that is."

"Right," he muttered sarcastically.

She started to get up. "Do you mind washing the dishes while I dry them?"

His eyes widened in disbelief. "You're kidding me. I don't do dishes! You're out of your freaking mind, if you think you can get me to do chores."

Rei scrutinized his adamant mien. If she tried to blackmail him again with threats of inviting Akira and Gan, he would never become more civil with her. He'd resent her forever. And contrary to some impressions made upon the Yamada household, she did want a friend. Even if it meant someone as uncouth as he was. She was desperate for company.

Beggars can't be choosers, she reminded herself.

"What if I… cooked again tomorrow? Your parents are still out late working, right?"

"My brother and sister might be home," he lied. What in the world was she getting at? He didn't want her around. Sure, her cooking was fantastic, but he wanted to be alone. He was going to wait until Gan and Akira came up to apologize to him, and then he could go out again.

She nodded. "Well, I'll cook for them too."

"Maybe my parents will be home from work."

"Maybe your mother can show me some recipes."

"Maybe Gan and Akira will have apologized by then and the three of us will be hanging out at the corner store instead of at here."

"Then maybe that means you're eager to forgive them and you're a softie after all."

He opened his mouth to retort back at her, but no words came out.

"I'll take that as an 'okay, Rei, please cook for me tomorrow'," she said and got up.

Moments later, Edge found himself submissively washing dishes, wondering how in the world she had managed to trick him into this. He really had to learn this way of words that she had. From the very few times he'd spent with her, there was always something she could say that provoked him to say exactly what she was expecting. It was frustrating.

Rei watched him from the corner of her eye. The terry cloth was purple. It was odd how it matched Edge's jacket. She was going to comment about it, but decided he'd probably think her crazy.

They continued to clean the dishes and the others that his parents had left behind. They picked up where they left off on their random topic conversation. She found that mentioning action movies and professional fighting circuits around Tokyo got his attention pretty well and held it there for her. Whether Edge knew it or not, his whole face lit up with a quiet enthusiasm when she mentioned that she used to watch kickboxing matches.

"Maybe I could show you some time."

He frowned. "Would they even let you in now that you're…"

She had her head bowed down to look at the dishes she was drying. "I'd find a way. I was a regular down there. It wouldn't be much more than a couple of bus rides from here." Rei stared at him straight. "Would you come if I invited you?"

"Maybe. Probably not," he replied. I'd give anything to go see a good fight! Never considered kickboxing, but a fight's a fight. He noted the irony in his own thoughts and the words he said aloud. I have to be a hypocrite because I'm trying not to be friends with her. Damn it. I guess I should say no to her offer. A shame, too.

"Are you sure? You could bring some of your friends if you wanted. I could disappear into the background once we got there. I'd be okay, you know." A bittersweet smile appeared on her face. "The last time I went was when my condition was starting to show. The people down at the ring are really honest and candid. They tell me when they're bothered by me. Better than whispers by people trying to be nice when they're furtiveness only makes it worse." There was a pause. "The bouncers are nice. They have kids. They'd look after me."

"Oh." He nodded. What else was he supposed to do? He scratched his nose, then his head. She made him nervous. He would admit that much to himself. He continued to listen while running his hands under the water.

"If I take you there, we don't have to hang out. We can hang out here at your house. I'm not needy. I don't need company all the time," she shrugged helplessly, trying to coax some good response out of him. She had finished with the dishes now, but her gaze remained locked on the counter space in front of her.

She was getting sentimental. He could tell. His automatic defense went up.

"Well, that's good. No way I could hang around with you in that big a place. Probably think we were a couple, and then I'd be pissed. It's enough I have to take time out of my freaking schedule to chill around here every afternoon."

That asshole, Rei thought. She mustered up something to say. "I thought you were being stubborn and not talking to Akira or Gan. That's the reason you're stuck here, right?"

"You're the last person I want to talk to about it. I have other things to do. Big Boss is still missing--"

He pursed his lips. She already knew too much about his life than he'd ever tell someone like a neighbor. What else did have to share with her? First his time, then his company, and his history.

She seemed to have taken the hint. But then her lips curled into a smile. She giggled, then immediately stopped. She hated giggling. It was childish and immature, and she preferred an inaudible, sarcastic chuckle to it.

It was too late. Edge had noticed. "What's so funny?"

"You have some soap up here," she pointed to his forehead.

He tried looking up at his forehead, but found it impossible. He inferred that when he had scratched his head earlier, some soap must have come off of his hands and onto the purple cloth and blond hair.

"Here," Rei said and dabbed at it with the cloth. "There you go." Her smile suddenly disappeared.

"What?" he frowned.

She rested a hand to her bulging middle. Edge gulped in anticipation. Was something wrong with the baby? No, no, there couldn't be. That would mean an emergency. That would mean calling an ambulance or escorting her to the hospital. He so did not need that responsibility. There was nothing worse he could handle.

"Well?" he said a little louder, very anxious.

"I can feel the baby move," she grinned. "Oh my God."

His eyes stared at her unblinking. She grabbed his hand and pressed it to her stomach before he could protest. "Do you feel it? Do you?"

His mouth dropped open. "I… I…" This isn't happening. This is NOT happening.

Her glee was interrupted by concern. "Edge?"

"Y-yeah," he stammered, withdrawing his hand. He nodded, a bit reluctantly. His face, neither of them noticed, had risen to a shade of pink. "I felt it."

"Oh, good. I was worried-- you spaced out on me for a second there."

Space out? Why, of course not. It's so normal for me to actually feel a baby kicking or whatever it was doing in some next door neighbor's womb. He thought sardonically.

He went back to the couch to sit down while Rei put the dishes back in their cabinets. Her face still displayed a smile because of the happy occurrence. It was a deep contrast to their somber attitudes from their previous discussion.

"Hey," she called.

"Yeah?"

"I was wondering about something. What's your real name?"

"Why do you want to know?" he sat rigid while speaking.

She yawned into her hand. "Well, I was curious. Your parents couldn't have named you Edge."

"It's none of your business." He flipped through more channels. "Just finish up already."

She could feel the coldness in his voice, though they were in separate rooms. She nodded to herself. They'd had some development toward friendship that night. At the same time, the walls had been defined. There were immutable barriers he would never allow her to cross.

My only possible friend, a knife-wielding maniac who doesn't want to be seen with me. She sighed. I wouldn't want to be seen with me either, I guess. There's been worse. There has been worse.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shoma yawned. "And can you explain to me again why we're at Pacific High?"

Natsu stood with her arms folded over her chest, spying the school buildings from atop the hood of a random car in the parking lot. Roberto leaned against a street light, keeping his thoughts to himself.

"We've already been to two other schools. And next time, we're going nowhere near the Nerima and Juuban districts, is that clear? Man, they have some weirdoes there," Shoma grumbled.

"That red headed pig-tailed girl was not as bad as that blond odango girl," Roberto confessed.

She shook her head. "Forget that. We've come all this way to this American school and we're not turning back. So let's see what the foreigners are up to."

Shoma frowned. "You sound like you've already convicted them."

"Yeah, you're right. That's your job, isn't it, Shorty?" Natsu smirked.

"Hey!"

"Calm down, you two. Let's get this over with." Roberto pushed off from the streetlight and started toward the school. Shoma and Natsu towed behind, glaring at each other.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Where in the world is Roy?" Tiffany frowned.

"I thought he was in the gym," Bowman replied.

"He's not there?"

"I just came from there."

She stomped her foot. "Ooh! I'm going to give him a piece of my mind. He tells me to wait for him right here at the front of the school so we can get a bite to eat. Then he stands me up! If I didn't like him so m--" She stopped herself. She turned to Bowman, who either had not heard or chose not to listen. Tiffany calmed down before she made more of an embarrassment of herself. "So, where else could he be?"

Meanwhile, Roy yawned into the phone mouthpiece. "So, what are you getting at, Dad?"

He hated his father's long-winded speeches. The worst ones were when he had a very awkward point to make, and didn't know how to get around to it, and so spent a lot of time getting there. Those took almost hours. Roy hooked a thumb into the belt loop of his jeans and shifted his weight onto his right, leaning on the counter in an idle fashion.

He paused. "What did you say? … No, no you're kidding, right?" Roy's face paled slightly. "No, come on, Dad. I mean, that's… that's… Dad! You can't do this to me! Why do I have to check it out? What? Good example? … Example of what did you say? Give me a break!" He yelled into the phone receiver. "I'm not doing it!"

There was a long gap of silence again.

"You… you wouldn't. No, you wouldn't dare." An intake of breath. "You would? Oh, man…" He raked his free hand through his hair, biting his lower lip. "Yeah. Fine. I understand. Bye." He said the last word curtly, slamming the phone down when he was finished.

He met his friends at the front of the school, his hands stuffed in his pockets. His soles of his shoes dragged on the ground as he somberly approached them.

"What happened?" Tiffany gasped, instantly recognizing the mixture of anger and frustration in Roy.

~~~~~

"Shh! Move back," Natsu warned Shoma, grabbing him by the shirt and tugging him around the corner of a part of the building with her and Roberto. They intently watched three Pacific High School students talking at the front of the school. One was a lean muscled boy with blond hair. The girl also had blond hair, but curls and very short shorts, as Shoma chose to notice. The last student was tall, black, and passive. His clothes were very neat. He looked like he could toss them over his shoulder as if it were no thing at all. And he also looked like he'd step aside to avoid squashing a bug.

Shoma tightened his grip on his baseball bat. "So, now what?"

"I can't hear! Shut up," Natsu ordered. She turned back to the three Americans.

Roy kicked the ground, muttering a curse word as he did.

"What happened? Tell us!" Tiffany urged.

"My Dad says I can't get out of Japan until I investigate some recent attacks on other high schools. Stupid old man…" He looked up at his friends. "You don't have to come if you don't want to. This is really my problem."

Bowman shook his head. "If you must do this, we shall, too."

"Thanks guys."

~~

Roberto smiled. "You see? They're going to help us."

"Why would they want to help us?" Shoma asked, stepping back a bit more. His foot tripped over his bat that until then had been leaning up against the brick. He cried out as he landed on the cement.

~~

Roy froze. Then he slowly turned around, squinting off into the distance. "Did you guys hear something?"

Author: please review. I appreciate any thoughts you might have of this at all. And again, I'm sorry for the delay!