Sumire sighed as she walked into the house, gently rubbing her aching head. It's been quite a day…a very LONG day…
She and Toru had just returned from the stadium, where Shoyo lost to Shohoku by the difference of a single point in their scores. This was quite a blow in the gut to Team Shoyo, since they were expecting that they would win, especially given the lead they had in the first few quarters. But a spectacular series of almost improbable events led to their losing the game – by just one point.
She turned to Toru then, and she felt her stomach drop slightly when she saw the bandage under his eye. The redhead of Shohoku had hit him there when he attempted to do a dunk. What was his name again? Sakuragi? "Toru-kun, are you okay?"
Toru smiled slightly, and nodded. "Hai, hai, I am. It didn't really hurt that much, actually." His face became concerned. "But what about you? Are YOU alright?"
"Hai." Sumire sighed, remembering what had happened that afternoon…
~ ~ ~
Sumire nibbled at her nails as she watched the game grow more and more heated in pace and play. Shoyo was still in the lead, but Shohoku was catching up, and fast, mostly due to the rebounds of Sakuragi and the three-point shots of Mitsui. He's very good, Sumire thought as she watched Mitsui shoot the ball right over Hasegawa's head, scoring another three points for Shohoku. Even Hasegawa-sempai is having trouble with him…
Somehow, she didn't really remember what had happened. The next thing she knew, the ball was hurtling towards her, and Mitsui was chasing after it, with Fujima right behind him. But Mitsui had gotten a head start, it seemed, and so was the first one to reach the ball. He swatted it back onto the court and towards his teammates, before he promptly crashed into the benches set up beside Sumire.
Sumire yelped in surprise, and jumped up, edging away from the player sitting on the floor nearby. She stared at him, unable to prevent herself from trembling. This is the one…the one who hurt me, who made me feel so insufficient and insecure…the one who shattered everything, all my hopes and ideals…
Mitsui got up slowly from his prone position on the floor, and the first thing he did was look at her. Even if she wanted to do otherwise, Sumire found herself staring into his eyes, and felt a shock travel up and down her body. His eyes said many things that he couldn't say at that moment. And Sumire found herself responding to him, letting her eyes do all the talking…
I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…
I don't know if I can forgive you… You hurt me deeply, so very deeply…you broke me and now I'm just a hollow shell… I've been forced to live a lie because of you… Ever since you did that to me, I've been a liar, and I don't know how much longer I can keep lying until I break down…
How can I ever make it up to you…?
I don't know… I don't think you can ever make amends…not after what you did to me… No amount of money in the world can cover up the lies and the guilt and the tears that have come about because of your deed… Nothing you can do or give me can return what I lost to you that night…
"Mire-chan! Are you hurt?"
Sumire snapped out of her trance-like state, and turned to her left to see Toru and Fujima staring down at her with worry. "Nani?"
Toru tilted her chin upwards to look down at her face. "Are you okay, Mire-chan? You don't look too good…"
Sumire laughed then, and pulled away from her cousin. "It's nothing, just a little surprised by that whole thing, that's all."
"You look pale, Sumire," Fujima said, his face and voice saying it all.
"I'll be okay, you don't have to worry about me." She grinned back at them, and nodded towards the court. "Get back to the game, you two! We've got to win this, ne?"
Fujima sighed then, and jogged back towards the rest of his teammates. Toru followed, but his gaze lingered on her for a moment before he turned away to focus on the game.
~ ~ ~
"Mire-chan."
Sumire snapped to attention, and blinked. "Did you say something, Toru-kun?"
Toru sighed, and repeated what he had been saying a while ago, "I was wondering if there was anything you wanted to do this weekend. I haven't taken you out around Kanagawa yet, so I think that it would be fun if we had a day out together." He winked at her. "Spend some time bonding, ne?"
Sumire laughed. "With THAT under your eye? Are you SURE you want to be seen in public looking like that?"
"Oh yeah, right," Toru said as he fingered the bandage. "Well, since your extraordinarily handsome and heartthrob of a cousin-"
"Toru-kun!!! Your ego is talking again!"
Toru just laughed, and continued, "…won't be around to accompany you, I might as well let my best friend have the privilege of showing you around!"
Nani? Fujima-sempai, show me around Kanagawa? "Are you saying that you're going to let Fujima-sempai take me around Kanagawa?"
"Hai, that's precisely what I'm saying." Toru smiled. "Come on, Mire-chan, there's nothing you need to worry about! You get along well with Fujima, ne? I trust him more than I would trust Ito or any of the others, to be honest. I can be sure that he will take good care of you."
Sumire nodded. "Hai… But if other people see me with him…especially the girls from Shoyo…they might think we're-"
"Together?" Toru cut in, and Sumire watched an evil grin spread on his face. "Then all the better! Fujima's been having trouble with his fans, and the only way they will stay away from him is if they see him with someone else. And who else better to see him with than Hanagata Sumire, manager of Team Shoyo and one of the most intelligent students in Shoyo. You'd make a PERFECT match!!!"
"Yeah, right," Sumire said with a roll of the eyes. "Fujima-sempai deserves to be seen with someone else. Someone prettier than me, someone smarter…"
"There's no one else in the school smarter than you are, Mire-chan," Toru said seriously. "Everyone in the school knows that if it hadn't been for the Department of Education, you'd be in college right now, in spite of the fact that you're only sixteen going on seventeen. I've heard nothing but good things about you from the school rumor mill, Mire-chan. If anyone deserves to be seen with Fujima, it's you."
That made Sumire shut up. She stared at her cousin, at his serious expression. Does he really think I deserve to be seen with Fujima-sempai? Others might tease him for his choice of girls if they see us together…and it doesn't help that he's a senior and I'm just a freshman… And what about the scandal if they find out that the team captain and the manager were seen together?! "Are you really sure on this, Toru-kun?"
He shrugged then. "Would I even suggest it if I weren't sure?"
Sumire sighed, and rolled her eyes heavenward. "Fine, fine, I give up! If that's what you want to happen, then alright, it's okay by me." She smirked at him then. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you were trying to set me up with your best friend!"
Toru smiled at her innocently. "Set you two up?! No way!! If Fujima wanted to court you, he wouldn't get any help from me whatsoever, even if he IS my best friend. If he wants you, he's going to have to work for YOUR favor."
That made Sumire laugh. "I understand, Toru-kun." She yawned, and stretched. "Well, looks like I need to get some sleep. Just tell me tomorrow about the plans, okay? Oyasumi nasai, Toru-kun."
"Oyasumi, Mire-chan."
* * *
Fujima's eyebrow went up slightly when he heard what Toru told him. "Are you sure on this, Toru?"
"Hai," Toru answered, his voice changing little over the phone. "Mire-chan hasn't been out around the town yet, and since I can't go out because of this stupid wound under my eye, I decided to let YOU do it."
Sumire and me…out on the town… "So it'll be like a date?"
"You could think of it that way. As far as Mire-chan is concerned, you're just her friend and escort. She doesn't see you the way you see her, Fujima."
"Hai, hai, I know. I just wish it were easy to tell her…"
"It's not enough to just TELL her, Kenji, and you know it. Mire-chan would be horribly shell-shocked if you just told her right there and then without any prior hints or clues. Take it easy on her. The outing this Sunday would be a very good opportunity for you to drop a few hints. Mire-chan is a smart girl; she'll catch on pretty soon."
"But what does she think of me? I mean, aside from the fact that she thinks of me as a friend?"
"Kuso Kenji, are you really THAT blind? You're the only one she REALLY gets along with on the team!! She might seem all friendly and relaxed with the others, but she's different when she's around you. Her defenses go down right away, and she relaxes all the more. There's hardly any difference with the way she is around me with the way she is around you! And there's one more sign that tells me she trusts you."
"And what would that be?"
"Have you ever noticed that Mire-chan NEVER gets too close to the other guys? She tends to keep at least two feet between her and them. But with you and me, she's willing to get right up close. Until I introduced you to her, I was the only one – aside from her other male cousins and father – who could hold her by the hand or put an arm around her shoulders. Now, she doesn't even flinch when you touch her! She even seems to LIKE it!"
Fujima felt his blush rise right up behind his eyes. Does she? The thought that Sumire liked his touch made him feel awfully strange… "Honto, Toru?"
"Hai. But don't get too confident and push your luck with her, Kenji. Like I said, you may be my best friend, but I'm willing to forget all of that if you do anything to hurt my cousin."
Fujima laughed, even though Toru's voice was dead serious when he made that statement. "Hai, I know. And I promise that I won't do anything like that to her."
"You'd better." Toru paused, and then said, "It's late already. I'd best be headed to bed now. So you're going to take Mire-chan out for me?"
"Hai, hai, I will. Sunday right?"
"Hai. Oyasumi, Fujima."
"Oyasumi Toru."
AUTHOR'S OOC:
Harle giggles: WHEE, it's a DATE!!!!
Maia cheers: GO FUJIMA GO FUJIMA GO FUJIMA GO!!!! If you get through with this, maybe you can…get to second base with her, eh nudges Fujima in the ribs?
Chibi-Fujima blushes: Do you think I can?
Harle: If you behave nicely, then maybe I will let you.
Chibi-Mitsui pops out of nowhere: Hey, you're being really mean to me, you know that?
Harle shrugs: I know I am, but don't worry, you end up just fine… After a couple of beatings from Fujima and Toru, but that's towards the end…
Chibi-Fujima and Chibi-Toru blinks: Huh? We beat him up? Why?
Harle: You'll see. But let's get on with the story so you guys can find out, ne?