It was just another practice day at Shohoku High School. They were preparing for their match against Kainan, and they didn't have a lot of time left to them. They had to hurry up and train or else they'd show a weak front when faced with the prefecture's best team.
Mitsui dribbled the ball as he eluded Sakuragi for the nth time that day, and shot. The ball arched high through the air, going right through the basket and securing three points for his team in their scrimmage match. He smirked as he landed on his feet again. You're just too easy to predict, Sakuragi.
Just then, however, the door to the gym slid open, revealing two taller figures and one smaller, slimmer one. The first two were obviously guys, while the third was apparently a girl.
Temporarily blinded by the sunlight silhouetting the three figures, Mitsui had to blink to clear his eyesight. Nani? What's going on here? Who are these guys?
After a moment of standing in the doorway, the two bigger figures moved away from the door and into the shade of the gym, revealing themselves to be… Fujima Kenji and Hanagata Toru of Shoyo?! What are they doing here?!
Sakuragi snickered as he looked at Fujima. "Oi benchwarmer, what are you doing here? Still sore that you lost to us, eh? Well you're never going to win not when the tensai is around! NYAHAHAHAHA!!!"
Hanagata turned to Sakuragi, and shot him a piercing glare. "We have no business with you. We came here to talk to Mitsui Hisashi."
The gym went deadly silent. Huffing, Mitsui stepped forward. What could they possibly want from me? "I'm here. What do you want from me?"
The glare that Fujima shot in his direction made him cringe slightly. The fire in them was so intense that Mitsui almost thought that a laser beam would come out to burn him to a crisp. "About time you came forward, Mitsui. We didn't come here to fight or to argue about the last match. This is something entirely personal, concerning someone dear to both me and Toru." He moved away slightly. "Time to face your past, Mitsui."
And Mitsui's blood ran cold in his veins as he watched the girl he had raped two years ago step forward. There was no expression on her face; it was merely blank. "Konnichiwa, Mitsui."
"This girl is my cousin, Hanagata Sumire," Hanagata spoke then, his voice utterly cold. "The very same girl you raped two years ago."
If the gym was silent moments ago, then all the more so now. It was as if everyone had stopped breathing entirely. No one spoke for a very, very, long time. Mitsui could only stare at her, unable to comprehend the fact that his past was coming back to haunt him – and with a vengeance at that. Why? Why did it have to be now?! And why did I even have to do it? He cleared his throat, and began, "Hanagata-san, I'm sorry for what I did to you…if there is absolutely anything I could do…"
Sumire shook her head. "Apologize? I don't know if I can accept that… Can you turn back the past, Mitsui-san?"
Mitsui gulped, and shook his head. He more or less knew where this was going. Kuso… "Iie, I can't…"
"And that's precisely why I cannot accept your apology." Her blank eyes gazed at him, unnerving him to no end. "For every day of the past two years, I had to live a lie, pretending that nothing had ever happened to me. After you raped me I knew that I had to hide everything, that I had to lie and pretend to make sure that it never happened. For two years I was a liar. I lied to my peers, to my teachers, to my friends, to my parents… Can you imagine how hard that is? Trying to live a lie for two years of your life? Trying to pretend like nothing really happened…?"
Her pitch rose slightly in anger as she spoke. "For two years, for two entire years, I would sob in bed and tell myself I was worthless. I lived in a world of fear and sadness, while on the outside I showed a mask that was happy and cheerful, that seemed to say nothing was wrong. I could not accept the love of anyone because I was afraid they would turn their backs on me. I was afraid to tell my parents because I thought they would disown me. I was afraid to tell my friends because I thought that they would abandon me. I lied to the world because I thought it was the only way I could keep what I had.
"But not anymore. Someone special to me has shown me that there is no reason for me to go on lying to myself and to others. That person gave me love, friendship, trust, and confidence in myself…everything that you took away from me that night two years ago. But there are some things that cannot be returned… You cannot give me back my innocence, Mitsui. You cannot give me back the peace of mind I lost because of my constant lying. You cannot give me back the trust my parents and friends had in me before it happened. You cannot give me back my happiness. You cannot give me back the beautiful dreams I lost, because they were replaced by nightmares of that night.
"There are so many things you can't give back to me. They are things that are very valuable to me, but you can't replace them with money." Her eyes narrowed slightly. "Iie, money can never, ever buy what I have lost to you. It cannot cover up what happened. It cannot make me forget. So I cannot accept your apology, Mitsui. Apologize to the people who have to be hurt when they find this out. Apologize to my family and to my friends and to my boyfriend. I want to see if they will let you off as easily as I have."
Fujima then glared at him, his voice so cold that it could have frozen the gym. "For hurting my Mire-chan? For putting her through hell and making her live in a nightmare for two years? Iie, I don't think I could forgive you. You just put my girlfriend through a fate that no woman deserves to be put through, and you think I could forgive you for that? I wish I could kill you right now, but I won't do that, if only for Mire-chan's sake. I will have to let the law run its course."
"Mire-chan is my sister," Hanagata spoke then, his eyes flaring with black hatred, "though we are not really that close in kinship. But she's been a sister to me for a long time now, and I would willingly rip limb-from-limb anyone who would so much as lift a finger to hurt her. But you…you just went past that. WAY past that. There is no way in hell you're going to get forgiveness from me. You took away her innocence, her peace of mind, her happiness…and you think I could forgive you for that? For taking away the light in her eyes and the music in her laughter and the sincerity in her smile? If you had a sister and someone just treated her the way you have treated my cousin, I don't think you'd be able to forgive him either."
He smirked then. "By the way, I hope you know that Mire-chan's parents are flying over in a few days. They're going to talk about what to do with you after what you did to their daughter. Last I heard they were going to take this matter to court. Since Mire-chan has dual citizenship they want to conduct the trial in the Philippines, under Philippine law." He started walking out towards the gym, Fujima and Sumire walking ahead of him. Just before he exited, he turned around, and added, "And guess what? The penalty for rape in Philippine law is death."
And with that, the door slid shut.
Mitsui started to tremble, suddenly going down on his knees in the middle of the court. He felt cold all over, and his heart and lungs were unwilling to work. Kami-sama…what have I done? What have I done?!
"Mitsui-sempai…"
Mitsui looked up, and saw Ayako staring down at him, her eyes worried and almost afraid. She tried to smile. "They were lying right? I don't think you could have done that…"
"Iie, it's true. Everything they said is true," Mitsui replied, and he couldn't even recognize his own voice. He stood up slowly, trying to steady himself. "Everything they said, everything they accused me of…it DID happen. Two years ago, right after I left the basketball club and joined a gang…"
"What made you do it? How did it happen?" Akagi's voice was deep and resonating, like always, but there was a note of concern hidden there, even if it did sound rather gruff and uncaring.
"I was…forced. I didn't really want to do it. But if I wanted to become the leader of the gang I had to…I had to do it…" He shook his head, closing his eyes, and tears trickled out from behind his eyelids. "Demo…there's no way I can excuse myself for having hurt her. Iie, there's no excuse for that at all."
Kogure came up to him then, and patted him comfortingly on the shoulder. "We'll stay right by you, Mitsui. You can count on us."
Mitsui grinned slightly, and nodded. "Hai. I know."
* * *
Sumire bowed her head, unable to look up at the students of Shohoku as they walked out of the gym and towards Toru's car. She couldn't look at anyone. She had just accused the one who had raped her right in front of his basketball team, for heaven's sake! She couldn't look at anyone at all…
When they were safely in the car, Sumire let it all go. She leaned against Fujima, and started to sob.
Like always, he embraced her, holding her in his warm, comforting arms. "Shhh…it's going to be okay, Mire-chan… It's all over. You've faced him at last, ne? You can rest easy now."
Toru nodded as he started up the car. "Hai. And the bastard's going to get what's coming to him once your parents arrive."
Sumire nodded in agreement as she managed to calm down. She stayed close to Fujima, letting him rub her back gently in a soothing gesture. Toru-kun's right. Mitsui is going to get what he deserves…
However, some part told her that what she was thinking was wrong, so very, very wrong…
AUTHOR'S OOC:
Harle sighs, and rubs head: Argh, this is getting harder and harder to write! I can't write angst! I can't write depressing scenes! I write ROMANTIC SCENARIOS, not emotionally charged moments!!!
Maia shakes head and pats Harle's back: Easy there, girl, you're going to get through with this… It's nearly done, isn't it?
Harle nods: Yeah, but still… I don't feel SATISFIED with the way it's going!!!!
Chibi-Sumire grins: I don't think so. I mean, this IS your first time to write such an angsty fic, ne? So just give yourself a chance and who knows, you'll make it better as time goes by!
Chibi-Fujima nods: Hai! This is just a springboard. You're just "testing the waters"… Did I use that right?
Chibi-Sumire smiles proudly: Hai. rewards Fujima with a kiss You can be so sweet sometimes, you know that?
Chibi-Fujima blushes, and laughs: Ah…hai, whatever you say Mire-chan…
Harle sighs tiredly, but smiles: You know seeing you two together makes the headache all worth it. Now then, let's get on to the next chapter, shall we? This is NEARLY DONE!!!! Just a chapter or two more and this will be over…it will be all over…
A NOTE TO THE PERSON WHO KEEPS FLAMING ME VIA TEXT:
Sweetie, I am SUPERBLY flattered that you would choose to waste so much effort, time, and money on me ^_^. Really, that's such a HUGE compliment! I mean, you'd go through the trouble of getting a spare SIM (which costs a lot), sending me business cards AND text messages only to tell me that I'm stupid, idiotic, imbecilic…oh dear, sorry, was "imbecilic" a little too complicated for your rather base and simple vocabulary? Do forgive me for that oversight ^_^. And also, I would like to congratulate you for being the first person to call me a bitch!!! I've been waiting for some time for someone to call me that and you've just done it!!! I have been called many names before – quite creative ones, if I may add – but nothing is as sweet as the simple insult "bitch". I'll take that as another compliment, if you don't mind ^_^.
But sweetie really, if you want to insult me you're going to have to work just a little harder. For one, perhaps you would want to refine your flaming methods? I have received better flames from other people – many of them coming via my email address and with more intellectual cuss words. I once received a flame in seven different languages and I had to ask for help in translating it ^_^. Now THAT'S a flame I can respect ^_^. What else? Oh yes, and unless you are really some sad little person with nothing better to do with your time, might I read YOUR fics for a change? I tend to do that, you know; helps me look at my flamers with an even keel. Now whether your fics are good or just the Internet equivalent of detritus floating in the Pasig River will not mean I will flame you back. I am not so uncivilized that I would stoop so low as to flame your fics right back. Though I am yet to reach Nirvana, I believe I am enlightened enough to know that to start a war is not the best course for humanity and for our lives in general. Oh dear, have I hurt you by calling you "uncivilized" and implying that you are "unenlightened"? I do beg for your pardon ^_^.
So then sweetie, the point of this whole note is to tell you to stop wasting your money, effort, and time on me. I don't deserve your adoring attention, really. I'm just a writer doing what she likes best. I'm quite sure that you have better things to spend your money on than sending messages to me. Perhaps you would consider donating the price of whatever credits you spend on me to charity? I'm sure that the poor and the destitute deserve that money more than I do. After all, you seem to have quite a lot of money to burn, so might as well make it count, right? Anyway, I think that is all the time I have for now. I feel that it is time for me to leave you here and resume working on my original novel. Once more, I thank you from the bottom of my soul for going out of your way to send me messages and spending time and money on me. I do not deserve the attention. Thank you.
Oh yes, and one more thing. If you cannot tell the difference between complimenting and outright sarcasm, how I pray that the heavens will illuminate your extremely addled and moronic brain.