The word spread like wildfire around Shoyo High School that Monday morning.
"Did you hear?!"
"No, what?"
"It's about Fujima Kenji!"
"What about him?"
"You know the manageress of the basketball club?"
"Hai. Hanagata Sumire, a freshman, also the top student of that level. She's the cousin of Hanagata Toru."
"Well, she and Fujima-san are already a couple!!"
"HONTO NI?! How did you find out?!"
"I saw them walking through the school gate this morning, and their arms were looped together! And what was more, I saw Fujima-san actually KISS Sumire's hand!!! He just picked it up and kissed it!!!"
Sumire could literally feel the hundreds of curious eyes that were following her and Fujima as the two of them walked down the first-year corridor. Fujima had insisted that he drop off his girlfriend at her class before he went to his own.
Fujima grinned down at her, and nudged her gently. "What's the matter, Mire-chan? You're blushing."
"Ah…iie, nothing's wrong Kenji-kun. It's just that…well…all these people…they're staring at us."
Fujima shrugged. "And what's so bad about that? You're not ashamed of me, are you?"
"No, of course not!" Sumire exclaimed, shaking her head vigorously. "It's just that…you're such a popular guy and all the girls like you and…well…I don't think they're happy that I was the one who ended up snagging you."
Fujima chuckled then, and tightened his hold on her waist, pulling her closer. "Let them be jealous. You're the one I like, and there's nothing they can do about it. If they do anything to you, just tell me and I'll make sure they won't be able to do it again."
"Hai," Sumire answered softly.
They had arrived at Sumire's classroom then, and Fujima sighed. "I suppose this is where I leave you for today. I'll come by for you later this afternoon so we can go to practice together, okay?"
Sumire smiled up at her boyfriend. "Hai, Kenji-kun. I'll be waiting for you."
Fujima smiled, and then, in front of all the freshmen present at that moment, he gently placed a kiss on her cheek. He pulled back, and brushed her hair away from her face. "Ja ne, Mire-chan. I'll see you this afternoon." And with that, he walked away.
Sumire sighed as she walked to her seat, arranging her things the moment she did so. Oh Kenji-kun… It touched her that he liked bragging about her being his girlfriend. She felt that if he could climb to the top of Mount Everest and shout out to the entire world that they were together, he'd do it. However, she wasn't so sure how the rest of the female population of Shoyo would handle the news…
"Oi, Sumire-chan."
Sumire looked up, and saw Reiko, Ayame and Yuki all staring down at her with narrowed eyes. She gulped, then answered, "Nani? Minna, what's up with the slit-eyed look?"
"Why didn't you tell us that you and Fujima-sempai were together?!" Reiko demanded as she grabbed Sumire by the shoulders and shook her, hard.
Yuki bobbed her head up and down rapidly. "Hai, hai! How long were you going to keep it a secret from us, eh?"
"Reiko-chan, stop shaking me, onegai!" Sumire whimpered. When Reiko let her go, Sumire answered Yuki's question. "And I wasn't going to keep it a secret from you. I only became his girlfriend last night."
Ayame grinned broadly. "Tell us what happened, onegai!! And tell us every single detail of what happened!!"
Sumire told her friends, though she DID make up a story that excluded her rape story. I don't want them to find out…not yet, not yet…
When they were finished, her three friends sighed. "That was so romantic…" Yuki whispered, her eyes sparkling.
"Hai," Reiko said with a nod. She sighed. "You're so lucky Sumire-chan. Imagine having Fujima-san for your boyfriend…"
"I didn't really expect it, but it makes me happy," Sumire said.
Ayame smiled. "There will be a lot of girls who will be jealous, but I don't think that's going to be a problem. You're the most popular girl in school now, Sumire-chan."
Sumire sighed even as the teacher came in. "Though I don't think I'm really going to like it…"
* * *
Fujima blinked in surprise when he heard the news. "Eh? Are you sure about this, Toru?"
Toru nodded as he walked down the halls. It was already late afternoon, and the two of them were going towards the freshman wing to pick up Sumire. There was a small smile on his face that told Fujima he really thought it was a brilliant joke. "Hai. Roughly one-third of the male sophomore population and one-half the male freshman population are depressed that you had to end up with Mire-chan."
Fujima chuckled, and shook his head. "I always knew she was popular, but I guess she didn't really know it herself. The way she talks about herself, you would think that she was the most invisible girl in the freshman level!"
"With her intelligence? I don't think so. She's famous for being smart."
Fujima looked ahead down the hall, and found Sumire standing in the hall with her friends, talking and laughing about something. Her smile seemed to dazzle, and her eyes glimmered in the afternoon light. She seemed more beautiful to him now than ever before.
He smiled as he approached. "Konnichiwa, Mire-chan."
Sumire looked up, and smiled broadly at him. "Konnichiwa, Kenji-kun." She turned to Toru, and smiled as well. "Konnichiwa, Toru-kun."
Fujima returned her greeting with a kiss on the cheek, which made her blush almost instantaneously. He had no qualms about doing this in public. What would I have to be ashamed of? He liked lavishing attention on Sumire, watching the envious stares of the boys who had crushes on her. He also liked watching the other girls look at his girlfriend with envy. He knew that a lot of them had looked down on his Sumire and this was just his own way of paying them back for her. Hmph, you thought that Mire-chan was just an ordinary girl? Think again. This 'ordinary girl' is MY girlfriend, not any of you.
Toru smiled as he patted his cousin. "Konnichiwa, Mire-chan. I hope we weren't interrupting you girls…"
"Iie, it's just fine," said one of the girls, with short brown hair and bright green eyes. "We were just leaving, ne, minna?"
The two girls nodded, and after saying proper goodbyes to Sumire, they went off. Sumire sighed, and turned to them then. "Well, looks like we should go to the gym now, ne?"
"Hai," Fujima answered cheerfully as Sumire looped her arm willingly through his. Toru just sighed, and walked behind them, and Fujima was grateful for that.
When they got to the gym, however, the members of the club, who had heard the rumors all throughout the morning but hadn't seen any proof of them, were all whispering and speculating about whether they were true or not. Until they walked in, that is. There was a lot of teasing and ribbing and winking for the first thirty minutes, but then Fujima reminded them once more that HE was coach, and that they had a LOT of practicing to do. That gave him and Sumire a little time to themselves, though of course they both had their work to do.
Once more, Fujima got a taste of Sumire's strong-willed streak. Sometime in the middle of the practice, after quite a bit of tickling, teasing and hand-kissing (something which Fujima REALLY liked doing, since it always made Sumire blush in the prettiest of ways), Sumire told him point-blank that if he was going to keep on doing what he was doing without practicing, then she'd be more than happy to break up with him at that moment.
Of course, Fujima knew she wouldn't break up with him, but he had to humor her. And she DID look a little angry already…which was the LAST thing he wanted to happen, next to her getting hurt.
Toru snickered as Fujima jogged up to him. "Told you she had a lot of sense."
"Hai, hai," Fujima said with a grin and a nod. And I adore her all the more because of that. And with that, he continued with the practice.
* * *
After the initial shock of finding out that the team captain/coach of Shoyo and the manageress were together, the school rumor mill was silent for a while.
That is, until the next Monday rolled in.
Sumire paled as she listened to what Yuki and Reiko told her. "Nani?"
Reiko nodded. "I heard it this morning. A group of senior girls were whispering about it." Her face became concerned. "Is it true?"
"What is true?" Sumire asked, though she felt like there was something behind all of this. What could be this new rumor be about?
"That you were raped."
AUTHOR'S OOC:
Harle grins: DUN DUN DUN DUUUUUN!!!! And the school finds out all about it!
Maia shakes head: What can I say? You ARE evil!
Harle shrugs: The more I like a character, the more I mistreat her. That's what you call "tough love".
Chibi-Sumire wails: But how am I going to go through with this NOW?! My reputation is now being questioned!!!
Harle smiles: Don't you worry. A lot of people say I have a good sense of poetic justice. And besides, you're a good liar, aren't you? You can do it.
Chibi-Fujima frowns: My girlfriend's reputation is being questioned, and you're not going to do anything about it?!
Maia waves hands around: Maa, maa, calm down Fujima! Like Harle said, she has a good reason for doing this! Just be patient, okay? This whole rape thing is actually the reason why she created this story in the first place. She wanted to see how you would handle falling in love with a girl who was raped. Like I said before, never been touched, never been kissed, but VERY damaged goods. So just keep cool, okay?
Chibi-Fujima continues to frown: …
Harle rolls up sleeves: Okay, now comes the part with a lot of angst and drama! It's Mitsui's time to be tortured-
Chibi-Mitsui frowns as he cuts in: And I will forever resent you for this. I would NEVER, under any circumstance, do-
Harle draws self up to full height, glaring down at Mitsui: SHUT UP!!!!!!!!! cell phone starts beeping Oops, wait, text message!! reads text message, and suddenly goes extremely calm
Chibi-Mitsui blinks: Nani? What's happened to her?
Maia frowns: Something's wrong… Hey Harle, what happened?
Harle passes Maia her cell phone: Just received a business card and, well…you take a look…
Maia takes cell phone, reads whatever is on the screen, and jaw promptly drops wide open: I don't believe it… WHO WOULD HAVE THE F*CKING AUDACITY FOR THIS?!?!?!
All Chibis still blinking: Nani? Naze?
Harle extremely calm: I just received a business card via my cell phone from some anonymous person who has read my fics. He/she said, and I quote: "Crap fics Harley".
Maia starts throwing objects around: DAMN HIM/HER TO F*CKING HELL!! I WANT TO SHOVE A FIFTEEN-FOOT BAMBOO POLE UP THAT B*ST*RD'S TIGHT A**!! DAMN THE SON OF A B*TCH!!!!!!! grabs Harle by the collar GIMME THE B*ST*RD'S NUMBER, AND I SWEAR I'LL HUNT HIM/HER DOWN!!!!!!!
Harle gulps, knowing that it is useless to calm Maia down when she is worked up: Uh…0920-604-32-84…but Maia, you're seriously not-
Maia whips out her own cell phone, and starts punching keys madly: He/She won't get away with this I swear… looks up at other readers Oh yeah, and I know you guys won't stand for this blatant insult, so go ahead and give the a**hole a taste of his/her own medicine!!! Those of you who are Filipino and know the power of text messaging, GO FOR IT NOW!!!! WE SHALL AVENGE HARLE!!!!!!!!
Harle sighs: Oh dear… Anyway people, what Maia said up there is not of my making: she's the one who said those things. I told her (via text) about the whole incident and that was her response, curses and all. And it was by her request that I put up this "call for vengeance" thing… Anyway, I think now would be a wise time to go to the next chapter, ne?
Maia continues to mutter while punching the keys of her cell phone: Stupid son of a b*tch, you idiotic a**hole… No one insults my friend and gets away with it…