YUME
Date: November 13, 2002
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KONNICHI WA MINNA-SAN! How are you on this lovely day? Well, I hope? Anywhooooo the next chapter is up and ready for your viewing pleasure, I hope you enjoy! Remember I don't own: Samurai Girl Real Bout High School
PS: E-mail or IM me if you wanna talk! Domo-Arigatou! ^^
With Love: Xaphrin
"Ryoko? Are you alright?" Hitomi had asked her for about the sixth time that evening. Ryoko looked over at her calmly and nodded, then proceeded to zone-out again.
'I don't understand… he seemed… frightened of me…' Ryoko thought, her mind lost again in her own confusions. 'Why? It doesn't make any sense.'
"Ryoko?"
"Hitomi, I'm fine. Really!" Ryoko said exasperatedly at her.
"I know… but you were talking to yourself about Mr. Kusanagi."
Ryoko sweat-dropped. "Anou… gomen-ne!"
"Shizuma, did seemed to avoid you today," Hitomi said thoughtfully.
"Only after school did he avoid me, the rest of the day he was just sleeping," Ryoko said nonchalantly. Hitomi laughed in response.
"Maybe you're right," She smiled brightly.
"I know it shouldn't bother me, but…."
"He is your friend after all, Ryoko," Hitomi said calmly.
Ryoko face faulted, blubbering out senseless things for a moment. "Anou… me… and him… friends?"
Hitomi blushed, and quickly tried to fix the matter. "I mean… well… I…"
"Shizuma… and me? Friends?"
"Sorry!" Hitomi sweat-dropped, "I didn't mean it like that!"
Ryoko slowly shook herself from her shock and just stared at Hitomi for a long while.
"Daijoubu, Ryoko-chan?" Hitomi questioned, her voice soft.
Ryoko closed her eyes, letting her head fall, "I don't know… I'm so confused."
"It's just Shizuma, Ryoko. Calm down… you'll figure it out!" She smiled lightly. "Don't worry about it so much!"
"Yeah… You're right, Hitomi!" She smiled and continued conversation with a different topic.
Shizuma paced around the room, growling and cursing loudly. Daisaku sat on his bed, watching him intently.
"Shizuma-kun, it's alright," He hadn't heard much about what happened, but Shizuma had never been this irritated with Ryoko-san before.
"No," Shizuma hissed, "It's not… I hate her so much!" He punched the wall angrily.
Daisaku blinked. Shizuma, although crude and anger-filled, never used the word 'hate' toward anyone, let alone Ryoko. "Shizuma-kun?" He questioned carefully, "Do you really mean that?"
Shizuma turned around to face him, he looked like he was about to kill Daisaku. Then his shoulders drooped and he fell onto the bed next to her.
"Damnit… it's all that fucking dream!" He punched at the air. Daisaku made a face and looked at him carefully.
"Dream?"
Shizuma propped himself up on his forearms, and looked at him. "I can trust you Daisaku, right?"
He nodded, "Of course. I've kept everything you've told me secret."
Shizuma fell back onto his back. "I had this dream today… and in this dream I had told myself that I… was attracted to Ryoko, then… she appeared… and… well…" Shizuma shrugged, "Let's say it was nice."
"Shizuma…" He thought for a moment, "Hold it, you had this dream during class!?"
Shizuma glared, "Hey, it's not my fault."
Daisaku thought for a moment, "Shizuma, maybe you really are attracted to her."
Shizuma glared, "I hate her. And you know it, Daisaku."
He held up his hands in defense, "Hey, I'm not saying you should marry her or anything."
Shizuma's stare grew lethal.
"Okay… wrong choice of words."
"Ya."
"Listen, Shizuma. Why don't you talk to Ryoko about it?"
"Talk to the fucking problem that started this load of shit in the first place… you're diggin' your own grave, Daisaku." He glared again.
"Okay, okay… lets do a little test…" Daisaku pulled out his laptop and opened some of the files, "Do you think she's cute?"
Ryoko was in a kimono, her hair in two buns on the side of her head. She did look rather adorable…
Shizuma made a face at the purple-eyed girl, "No! Look at that stupid hair!"
"Okay…" Daisaku wondered exactly what was wrong with it, then he shrugged and opened another image, "What about this one?"
Ryoko was in a bikini, tanning in the sun at the beach. Shizuma saw for the first time how gorgeous her body was, with full breasts and hips. He desperately held back a groan of passion.
"No, she's got too much fat on her hips!" He growled.
Daisaku blinked, looking at the picture with curious eyes. "You think so? This is my best selling picture…"
"NANI!? You're selling pictures of RYOKO!? You dirty bastard!" Shizuma had leapt to his feet, grabbed Daisaku by the collar and heaved him up so he was eye-level with him.
"I… I just… gotta make… a living…" He gasped ruefully. "Besides… why do you care?"
Shizuma dropped him to the ground, cheeks turning red in embarrassment. "I don't… but you shouldn't exploit people like that." He turned away from Daisaku, so he wouldn't see his face.
"Exploit? You think I'm doing that!" He said in a mock insulted way, then he grinned, "I prefer to think of it as a creative step in entrepreneurship!"
Shizuma made a face, but he said nothing, lest he say something he would regret… about Ryoko.
"One shot is 900 yen, I'll enlarge it to poster size for 3500!" He grinned almost maniacally, "Needless to say, I run quite the healthy business."
Shizuma sweatdropped, "Dude, you're so sick."
"I'll let you have a few pictures at a discounted price…" Daisaku said, making 'the face', and looking slightly like he had escaped from a psychiatric ward.
"What? Of Sasquatch? Eh… no. That ain't happening, I don't need some hairy, buff chick on my wall."
"Whatever." He shrugged, then looked at the clock, "Guess I better get going. I'll talk to you later, okay?"
"Yeah… whatever." Shizuma lay on his bed listening carefully as he heard Daisaku exit. He let out a heaving sigh of relief, and closing his eyes. "Dude… I thought he'd never leave."
'She is pretty though, Shizuma, and you know it…' the voice said.
"She ain't pretty!" He growled, opening his eyes.
'Oh?'
"Yeah! And I'd appreciate it if you stop talking to me!" He rolled over, threw a pillow over his head and tried to sleep.
Well, that was a fruitless statement. Images and thoughts flew through his mind like the current of the Nile. He gave up and decided it might be better if he was moving around, at least get into a little mischief.
The night seemed uncommonly still as he walked down the streets. His typically alley was coming up soon, and he could hear the sound of a fight already burning up. He grinned ferociously, it was time for a little action.
"… Come on, Sara. It just ain't the same without you, baby."
'Takashi, damn bastard is messing around with Sara again, fucking idiot,' Shizuma thought to himself as he rounded the corner. And there he was, a tall, large, buff, bald man, with a large scar across his bare back.
"Yo, Takashi, leave Sara alone. She'll be no use to you if you're dead," Shizuma said, walking around the flesh-colored rock to the petite blonde on the other side.
"Nagi, baby!" She jumped up and latched onto his shoulders.
"Shizuma, dude you're fucking with the wrong person tonight," Takashi said, "Ya wanna fight me?"
"Takashi, my grandmother could fuck you up, besides I'm in no mode to screw with you tonight," He said, peeling Sara off of his shoulders.
"Awe, but I thought you liked to screw men, Shizuma," Takashi retorted, laughing, as did all the other fighters.
"Only you Takashi," Shizuma said, without missing a beat. Then he ran forward and knocked him one good in the side of his head, sending him to the ground. Shizuma rolled his shoulders. "Thanks for the ride, big boy," He stepped up to him and dropped ten yen on his chest, "Call me again sometime."
Shizuma turned back to the other fighters, "Later."
Sara blinked, this was so unlike him. He never just beat up one person, he usually beat all of their asses to a pulp before he left. She ran after him quickly.
"Nagi baby!" She called, "Matte!"
Shizuma stopped and turned to her, "Yeah, Sara?"
"Nagi, what's up? You're never like this?"
He shrugged in response and continued walking. She bounded up so she was in front of him.
"Nagi, you're going to have to tell me something sometime. Or I won't leave you alone," She said, placing fists on her hips.
He grinned at her. "You don't leave me alone anyway, Sara," he laughed.
Sara made a face and looked at him angrily. "Fine, Nagi. I don't care," She began to walk away but Shizuma chased after her.
"Don't leave, Sara… I think I need to talk to you," He said, grabbing her shoulder.
She turned and looked at him with curious eyes. "Nani?"
"Walk with me?"
"Sure…"
Shizuma lay back on the grass in the park, Sara sat next to him hugging her knees. It was a long while before anyone spoke. Shizuma started up conversation.
"You ever have that problem, where you're in such a state of denial you're not even sure if anything else is true?"
Sara shook her head, her large, green eyes fixated on him.
He laughed sadly, "That seems to be my problem lately."
"'Nagi?" She questioned as his eyes went glassy. He smiled lightly at her.
"The only problem is… I don't know what I'm in denial over," He sighed deeply.
Sara watched him carefully, she'd never seen him like this and it worried her. He was so soft-spoken, so gentle with his words, deep in thought… it was an attractive side none-the-less.
"Shizuma…"
He looked over at her, she'd never called him Shizuma, and it came as a bit of a shock. He smiled lightly, then sat up, "Thanks, Sara. It really helps that I could talk to you." He stood up and grinned his normal grin at her.
"Sure, Nagi!" She smiled and jumped to her feet, then clung to his arm. "Wanna walk me home??"
He laughed, "Alright, c'mon, shorty."
"Hey!" She tugged at his arm, "That's no FAIR!"
Shizuma didn't remember what time he got home that night, nor did he care. He wasn't planing on attending school. He wasn't even planing on leaving the house. He just wanted to lie in bed all day, right now he didn't give a fuck about anything.
"Kusanagi-sama," said a soft-spoken voice from the door.
"Yeah, Kaiko?" He asked from under his pillow.
"You have a visitor," She spoke again.
Shizuma pulled the pillow off his head and turned to look at the clock. It was eight o'clock in the morning and school didn't start for another forty-five minutes.
"Who is it?" He asked, thinking it was probably Daisaku or someone of the like.
"It's a Miss Hitmoi…" Kaiko replied.
"What?" He sat up and looked around. His room was, as always, was a mess. "Tell her I'll be down in a minute."
"Yes, Kusanagi-sama," The sounds of retreating footsteps made Shizuma breathe a little easier. He threw on some formidable looking clothes, then walked downstairs, where the brunette stood in the entry hall.
"Hitomi?" He questioned. She blushed brightly in response.
"Ohayo, Kusanagi-san," She said in her soft-spoken voice.
"What's up?" He asked curiously.
"I came to talk to you… about Ryoko."
He made a face. "Oh?"
"Anou… she hasn't been herself since yesterday…" Hitomi looked at him nervously, "And… she's stressing over you an awful lot."
Shizuma blinked, "Over… me?"
"Yes…" She blushed brightly, "I shouldn't really meddle in things like this… but it's beginning to worry me."
Shizuma stared at her for a long moment, "What's worrying you about her, Hitomi?"
"Well… She hasn't eaten anything and she talks very little… even about all the samurai things she likes… it's not like her… I think she was… offended when you yelled at her yesterday…"
Shizuma soaked in this information like a sponge. She was… offended? Could she have been… hurt too? And if she was hurt, then… that could imply… that she… liked him? And if she liked him… did Shizuma return those feelings? He didn't know…
"She was offended?"
"Hai… I really don't mean to be so bothersome… but…" Hitomi thought for a moment, "Excuse me for asking this, Mr. Kusanagi, but… why were you so angry with Ryoko yesterday?"
Shizuma couldn't tell her about the dream! She'd go and tell Ryoko and… and Ryoko would find out and be disgusted with him… "She pulled out my last nerve." He shrugged, trying to make the lie seem reasonable.
"Oh… how so… she had actually been… well, no I guess she wasn't trying to be nice." Hitomi blushed and sweatdropped. "I'm sorry for bothering you this early in the morning, Mr. Kusanagi, but I thought you might understand anything about Ryoko…"
"Who'd wanna understand that giantess!" He seethed suddenly.
Hitomi blinked in surprise, "Gomen-nasai…"
He shrugged, "Yeah… whatever…
"Sayonara, Kusanagi-san…" She whispered, before bowing and quickly exciting the house. Shizuma watched her go, then fell against the wall and slid to the floor. His head felt dizzy and he felt sick to his stomach.
Could Ryoko actually like him? Was it possible that Shizuma also… liked her?
"Damnit…" He hissed. He'd never done what was going to happen in a few moments, but he couldn't stop it…
Wetness slipped from his eyes and over his cheeks… then down onto his shirt.
"Damnit…"