"I can't love you back!!!"
Kenji felt as if he had been hit by a ton of bricks. Her declaration hurt more than a punch to the gut or a kick to the groin. He felt as if he had been cut in half, dunked in a tank full of acid and left for the carrion birds to eat. In fact, not even those situations could describe the pain he was feeling. It ate at him, making his chest constrict rather painfully with each inhalation of breath he took.
He was even wondering why he was still standing at this point, since the pain was enough to knock any normal man out. But he wanted to know why, so he asked her. "Naze, Sumire? Why can't you love me back?"
Her eyes drifted once more to the floor, and Fujima had to wonder what it was about him that made it so painful for her to look. Her voice was soft when she responded to his question. "I don't deserve you, Fujima-sempai."
Fujima was shocked. What?! She didn't deserve him?! If anything, HE didn't deserve her! He didn't deserve the encouragement, the kind words, or the smiles he received from her! He had failed her one too many times already and he didn't deserve her…
"What are you talking about, Sumire? I'm the one who doesn't deserve you, not the other way around. You…you have been so kind to me, kind enough to encourage me and smile at me, and I haven't done anything at all to earn that kindness. After…after that game with Shohoku, I thought you would look down on me…because I let my pride get in the way, we lost the game…and I didn't think you would still offer me more encouragement after that… Iie, I don't think I deserve you, Sumire…"
Her laughter was cold and mirthless. Even as she laughed tears sprang from her eyes, and fell down her cheeks in crystalline waterfalls. She did not bother to wipe them away.
"Kuso, stop your romantic notions! I'm not perfect, I'm not special, and I'm not who you think I am!" she yelled at him, her eyes sheeted thickly with her tears.
Pain, sharp, vicious pain, gripped Fujima's heart then as he gazed at Sumire. This was what lay beneath the smiling masks and the cheerful laughter: tears of misery and sobs of suffering. He wanted so very badly to comfort her, to alleviate her torture. He wanted to see her smile again.
He walked up to her slowly, reaching out to her face as he attempted to wipe away her tears. "Sumire…"
Sumire slapped his hand away then. "Stop trying to get close to me! It won't amount to anything! You don't know what I've been through, even if you try to understand!"
The emotions now were so intense that Fujima could not control himself. He gripped Sumire hard by the shoulders, forced her to look up at him. "I would if you would just tell me, Sumire!" he yelled, shaking her shoulders none too roughly. "Whatever it is, you can't keep running away from it!"
Sumire remained silent for the longest time, the tears still running down her cheeks. She did not even look at him anymore, as though there was something in her soul that she was afraid Fujima would see through her eyes.
She had to know that she had no reason to fear him. She had to know that he cared for her so deeply that he now despised himself for making her cry.
"Tell me, Sumire," Fujima urged, cupping her face in his hands and gently wiping away her tears with his thumbs. "Tell me so I can understand…"
She looked up at him then, their eyes finally making contact, blue clashing against brown. The next words she spoke would forever remain emblazoned in his mind:
"I was raped, Fujima-sempai! Once upon a time, roughly two years ago, I was grabbed from behind on the streets, bound and gagged, dragged into a crumbling warehouse, and raped!" Sumire shouted, pulling away from him.
He had never been so shocked in his life as he was now. He couldn't even move. All he could do was stare at her, taking in what she had said. And then he became more and more angry with himself. If only he had protected her, she wouldn't have suffered. If only he had been there, she wouldn't have gone through a nightmare alone.
Whoever had done this to her would pay, whoever the bastard was would pay. He swore then that he would find that lowlife and torture him for putting Sumire through hell. His eyes flashed fire, his jaw worked and he ached to smash his fists into something hard.
As he fought back the anger that was threatening to boil to the surface, she turned her back to him, hugging herself protectively. "Now you know why I can't love you and you can't love me, Fujima-sempai," she whispered sadly, taking a step farther away from him, widening the gap.
That snapped him back to reality. Did she honestly think that he would despise her for that? He needed her, he loved her, and he didn't want to abandon her. He was already too much in love with her to even think of leaving.
When he tried to reach out to hold her, she took another step away from him. "I love you, Sumire," was all that he said, his voice thick with emotion.
"Don't say how much you're sorry for me! I don't want you to love me out of pity!" she cried, wrenching her hand out of his grasp when he reached out to hold her.
"I would never love someone out of pity, Sumire!" Fujima yelled back, his voice suddenly hoarse. "I love you because I simply do…" his voice softened to a huskier pitch, but she could hear the pain in his voice.
"I told you the truth, Sumire…I love you with all my heart. No conditions, no agreements. I just love you," he continued, his eyes begging her not to turn him away.
Sumire uttered a small, high-pitched sound, before she finally gave in to the sobs she had obviously been struggling to hold back. Fujima gathered her into his embrace then, holding her close, soothing her with soft whispers. Her hands came up to grip his shoulders, holding her in place.
He kissed her gently on the forehead as he pulled back to gaze down at her. "I love you, Sumire. I love you and that's all that matters to me," he smiled. "I don't give a damn about what happened in the past. I only want to be allowed to love you."
* * *
Sumire felt her heart suddenly do a back flip. He means it…he really means it… His blue eyes shone with a quiet confidence that told Sumire that she would never have to fight battles alone. He loved her. He truly, wholly loved her no matter what.
They were standing so close to each other then. Fujima had his arms wrapped around her waist, while her hands were clinging to his broad shoulders. She gazed up at him, and watched as he slowly leaned down to her, ready to kiss her. Her eyes widened a moment with the realization of what was about to come, but her eyes slowly drifted closed, her lips parting slightly in anticipation.
His warm breath caressed her lips as he whispered her name, "Sumire…"
Their lips met in a tender, feather-light kiss, and the moment their mouths touched, Sumire felt her heart suddenly go soaring with euphoria. Never had she experienced such a heavenly sensation, and she almost thought that she had died and had gone to Paradise.
Fujima broke the kiss then, and took a deep breath before gazing down at her. Sumire stared back up at him, her eyes once more misted with tears, but they were no longer the tears of sadness she had been shedding so copiously moments ago. They were tears of joy.
Fujima smiled gently as he cupped her face in his hands again, drying her tears. "Shhh…hush Sumire, hush…"
Sumire giggled, and lifted her right hand, pressing it against Fujima's left and nuzzling her cheek against his palm. "I'm okay, Fujima-sempai…"
He chuckled then as he kissed the tip of her nose, sapphire eyes sparkling with mirth. "Now Mire-chan, there's no longer any need for formalities. If you're going to be my girlfriend, you might as well call me something that's not as stiff as 'Fujima-sempai'."
Sumire had to blush at his use of her nickname, which was more like an endearment used only by her father and Toru. "Hai… If you're going to be calling me Mire-chan all the time then I suppose I should call you Kenji-kun."
The sudden twinkling in his eye told her that he liked it. "Hmmm, I like the sound of that," he whispered as he held her close again. "Actually, you could call me anything and I would still like it, as long as it came from your mouth."
Sumire laughed, a pure, happy laugh, for the first time in two years. "Kenji-kun, stop that!" She glanced out the windows of the gym, and yelped. Yikes, it's very late already!! Toru-kun is SOOO going to get mad at me… "Ahh, Kenji-kun, I think that it's about time we went home. Toru-kun's probably tearing his hair out right about now…"
Fujima sighed. "Hai, I suppose you're right." He picked up his bag then, while Sumire did the same. Fujima moved to turn off the lights, and then he rejoined Sumire by the door. The two of them exited the gym, leaving it dark and quiet.
* * *
Toru was panicking. Toru was DEFINITELY panicking. He looked at the clock, and watched as the hands shifted to eight o' clock. Two hours. It's been two hours and Fujima hasn't brought Mire-chan back… He started to fume at his best friend. Kuso!! If Fujima seduced her I SWEAR I am going to strangle him and not regret doing it!!!
He could hear laughter out on the street then, and he immediately ran to the living room window to check who was approaching.
Sumire and Fujima were walking up to the door then, laughing and talking with each other. However, Toru noticed something completely different that night: Fujima's arm was around Sumire's waist, keeping her close, while Sumire seemed to have one arm looped around his. Overall, they looked like a happy couple coming in from a date.
Toru felt his anger melting away at the sight of them together. What was more; happiness and relief replaced it. Looks like Fujima made his move at last, he thought with a sigh, looking at the smile that was displayed on Sumire's face. It was a different kind of smile altogether from the ones she usually gave before. It lit up her whole face and made her eyes sparkle in even the dimmest of lighting conditions.
Fujima and Sumire stood on the porch for a moment, talking, and then, right in front of Toru's eyes, they kissed. Now Toru was grinning like a madman. He was happy for his cousin, since she seemed so pleased and content, while he was happy for his best friend because the poor guy had finally managed to get a girlfriend. And a VERY nice one at that.
He turned away from the window when he heard the door open, knowing that Sumire would head for the living room first. When she walked in, he smirked, and asked, "Do you have any idea how late it is, Mire-chan?"
Like he expected, Sumire only sighed as she flopped down on the couch beside him. She snuggled up closer to him, a happy smile on her face. "I know, and I'm sorry, but I'm just too happy right now. If you're going to get angry at me then it won't work, cause I'm too happy."
Toru sighed, and put an arm around her. "I know, I know. I saw you and Fujima on the porch a while ago."
She snapped straight up, looking at him with wide eyes, a blush tinting her cheeks. "You…what?"
"I saw you and Fujima," Toru replied. He grinned then, trying to put Sumire at ease. "Don't worry, Mire-chan, I'm not angry at him or you for being together." He winked. "And hey, if my best friend ends up as an in-law of mine, I'm not complaining!"
"TORU-KUN!!!"
AUTHOR'S OOC:
Harle squeals: WAAAAIIIII!!!!!!!! They're just so CUTE together!!!!!
Maia sighs: Hai, hai. They are a perfect match…
Chibi-Sumire blushing: You really think so?
Harle nods: Yup. You're so sweet together that ants actually come after you!!
Chibi-Fujima laughs in a relieved manner as he glanced at top scenes: Well at least you removed the scene with Sumire and me in the gym…
Chibi-Toru eyes Fujima: What scene are you talking about?
Chibi-Fujima gulps and blushes: Nani? Nothing, nothing at all…
Harle snickers as she opens the lemon scene: Here Toru, take a look…
Chibi-Toru glances at lemon scene, and a vein starts throbbing in his forehead. When he's through, he turns to Fujima: FUJIMA!!! What did I tell you about touching my cousin?! Now you're going to be TOAST!!!!!!
Chibi-Fujima: Uh oh… takes off running
Harle laughs: Oh well, looks like we have to move on to the next chapter!!! Oh yeah, and if any of you want to read about that scene which caused Toru to go ballistic, check it out at http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=937710. Hope you enjoy!!!