Tokiya
That intolerable flirt! I clenched my fists. She didn't even tell me why oneechan's still alive!
I kicked at a small stone that was on the pathway to the university gates. The day was practically over, and all the information I had gotten out of her at lunch was that it could be really dangerous in that place wherever Mifuyu was. She didn't even tell me specifically where it was.
Crap, I frowned at an innocent fly that was hovering above the ground.
But then…if it was really dangerous or whatever, then I had to make sure Fuuko wouldn't be following me there. But it was tough to lose Fuuko; she always had a determined spirit within her. So all I had to do…was to be less nice to her…
"Tokiya…?" an uncertain voice spoke from behind me. Wow, that sure was quick.
Fuuko began to walk beside me, although her head was bowed low and her eyes were less cheerful than they had been this morning. I had to fight the huge urge to ask her why she was upset and give her a hug just to make her feel better.
"Tokiya…there's…" she began, and I couldn't help but notice that there was a slight quiver in her voice. "There's this…lesson, I…I can't quite understand right now…" she went on, her head still hanging down. "Would it…would it be okay if…if you helped me out…? Just this one…last time…"
No one knew how much I had wanted to agree but couldn't. "I can't, Fuuko…I--"
"I understand…" she broke in, her voice becoming hoarse. And I could've sworn I saw something glistening in her eyes while she tried to hide them with her long bangs. Was she…was she crying…?
"Fuuko--"
"I'm fine, Tokiya," she sniffed. "I can ask someone else…" her voice was muffled.
I looked down at her in concern. "Are you sure you're--" It was then that I spotted Hinageshi again, hurrying towards the exit.
Oh no you don't, I'm not letting you get away without telling me every thing I need to know, I frowned at her direction.
I looked back at Fuuko, and was surprised to see that she was already looking at me. And true enough, she had been crying. There were still dried tears on her cheeks.
I opened my mouth to speak, but before I could, she looked at me with eyes portraying hurt, rage, and fury.
"S-sure," she cried, trying to frown at me. "G-go ahead. Go ahead and catch up with Akira," her eyes welled up again and an unexpected sob escaped from her lips. At that moment, she turned around abruptly and stalked away.
***
"Just why is she still alive?"
"Huh?" Akira pouted at me. Then she grinned and slipped her arm around mine. "Now, don't worry about that! It's not really important, you know," she cuddled closer.
"What?!?" I pried her hands off me and glared coldly at her. "I'd totally abandoned Fuuko and made her cry right in front of me just so I could talk to you, and now you're telling me that this whole damn thing isn't important?!? Why the heck won't you tell me, anyway?!?"
"Aw, now, if I told you, then there wouldn't be any excitement anymore, would there?" she grinned playfully at me.
Right there and then I had wanted to strangle her and make sure she was frozen to death or eaten by the Tsurara Hebi alive.
But then her stupid pendant had shone again, and the next thing I knew I was pathetically walking back home, feeling fed-up with my own insensitivity, without even bothering to stop by Fuuko's house to say I was sorry. A perfect example of the most gutless wimp on the face of the earth.
My stomach was churning, and my heart was squeezing the life out of me. I was such a big jerk.
First I'd disagreed to help her out, then I'd gone looking out for Akira in front of her face.
What was worse, I hadn't gotten a thing out of Akira anymore, which made the fact of making Fuuko hate me forever just to talk to Akira completely useless. Now, all I had to hang on to was the single, solitary and tiny hope that my sister actually could be alive. I didn't even know why she was alive. But since I was so pitifully desperate to see her again, all my mind was set on to do now was believe that I could see her again. Yet another point in proving I was a spineless freak.
I jabbed my room key into the keyhole forcefully, my brows furrowing and feeling the worst I'd ever felt for so long. Once I turned the lock, I slammed the door open so hard that the girl next door peeped out of her room to check out the racket. Who cared about the whole damned commotion, anyway?
I tossed the keys onto the bedside table and flopped down on my bed, wishing that tomorrow would never come.
When all of a sudden the blasted ring of the pesky phone came about to add up to my exceedingly foul mood.
I covered my face with my pillow, willing the rings to just stop and leave me alone to deal with my pathetic situation. But whoever was calling was so stupidly and annoyingly persistent.
With an infuriated growl, I threw the crappy pillow across the room and grabbed the receiver.
"What do you want?!?"
My lucky stars had died and gone up to heaven. Hanabishi was the last person I had wanted to talk to right now.
All thanks to my perfectly wonderful luck.
"Oi, Mikagami! You did a pretty good job back there! I saw Fuuko bawling her way out of the university--"
"You dare say another damn word and I swear I'll make you suffer through a billion hells," I snapped coldly, gripping the receiver as hardly as I could.
"Whoa, chill, Freezer Boy! I didn't call just to be a pain in the butt--"
"You're always an insufferable pain in the butt."
"Hey, I'm not--"
"Just what the heck did you call me for, anyway?!?" I sighed irritably.
"Well," he paused. "I just called to see if you wanted to hang out."
"Nani?!?" I blinked, staring at the phone.
"I asked," he cleared his throat," if you wanted to go out with me or something. After all, tomorrow's a day-off. No classes."
"…" I couldn't bring myself to speak. Baka na...
Hanabishi…?
The heir of one of the most powerful madougu, the so-called strong, brave, boyfriend of Yanagi-san, Hanabishi Recca...?
Of all people…?
So desu ka…
Recca is a…a…
"…waitaminute, darn you! I'm not a homosexual or anything!!! What the heck are you thinking?" he grumbled.
"Hn," I grunted, hiding the fact that I was utterly relieved. "What's the stupid catch, anyway?!? Why don't you just go out with your hime?"
"Can you really blame a guy for wanting to hang out with his friends for a change?"
"Hanabishi," I snorted, "according to our previous arguments, I'm not exactly the perfect definition of a friend in your dictionary."
"That's the whole point, you see?" I could almost see him grinning his stupid grin on the other end. "I just want us to get along, don't you get it? Maybe some time to hang out will help."
I frowned. It was still utterly unreasonable, and I knew he was up to something, but I supposed going out for a change was better than brooding pointlessly and driving myself crazy with my whole damned life.
I sighed noisily into the phone. "You better make sure this brainless idea of yours won't be another waste of my time."
"Awesome! Sore dewa, let's meet at the café two blocks from school, 'kay?"
***
I folded my arms across my chest and stared heavily outside the window of the café, pretending not to hear about Hanabishi's flaming little antics and Domon's dismal wailings.
"Woohoo!!!" Recca screamed so loudly (did I mention that his mouth was filled with cake and that whenever he began ranting, bits of his food came out of his mouth?) that all the other people turned to look at him. "Alright! I managed to gobble it all up before you did!!!" he pointed at his now empty plate, smirking at Domon, who was too busy moaning about his grades.
I shot an extremely irritated glare at both of them out of the corner of my eye, but it didn't work out as I had expected.
"…plus there's this new stupid subject that everyone's having a hard time on…and then that stupid subject got me a bunch of failing grades! I tell you, it was terribly dreadful for my clean record…" Domon went on.
"You know," I cut in, turning to narrow my eyes at him, "if your grades stink, I'm not sure if it's quite right to blame the innocent subject."
His eyes widened. "What did you say?!?" he began to reach out at me, but Recca pulled him back. Instead, Domon just glared at me, too and said, "Oh, and I suppose that you're having no trouble at all in school since you're always too perfect!"
"Hn," I smirked evilly at him. He sure picked an awfully wrong time to snap back at me. "Piece of advice, gorilla boy, why don't you look at yourself in the mirror for a change? Maybe then you'll see that the people around you aren't perfect; it's you who's just dumb enough not to realize that bombing down big time is an unmatchable quality of yours, dimwit."
He was practically fuming, and Recca was pulling him back for dear life. "Wait 'till I get my hands on you, Sub-Zero Boy!" Domon shouted.
Yeah right, in your dreams, I commented, shifting my gaze back outside the window again. Why had I even agreed to Hanabishi's invitation, anyway?
Domon had begun to calm down when Recca shouted a "hey, it's hime-san!" out loud, which snapped me out of my thoughts. Recca wouldn't have let Yanagi-san out alone, which meant that…
I slowly turned my head towards where Yanagi-san was standing, and to my bitterly cruel luck, Fuuko was standing right beside her. Oh great. I knew I couldn't come up with anything to tell her yet.
Hanabishi had started talking to Yanagi-san when our eyes met, and I was disappointed to see that there were still signs of her cries this morning in them. Her blue-green eyes were on a dull color, and the moment our eyes had met, she abruptly turned away.
And to my foul mood, I hadn't had time to realize how much emotion that hurt look had meant to tell me.
Fuuko
Where are they? I pouted, looking around the café and searching of a sign of Hanabishi, Yanagi, or Domon anywhere. They had left a few minutes ago and hadn't returned yet. Which meant that I had been left to deal with Tokiya.
I sighed and took a glance at him, who was staring down at the table for quite a while now.
I stared blankly at Hanabishi's plate, watching the remaining crumbs stay boringly in position.
After a few moments of utter silence, I sneaked another glance at him, who was now glaring out the window. Again.
I wish we could talk comfortably again like we used to…
And as if the heavens had wanted to keep it in my memory forever, it all popped into my mind again. The picture of him and Akira sitting together at the bench, the way he was searching for her in front of my face this afternoon…
I gripped the table napkin tightly, finding it hard to breathe again. Heaven only knew how jealous I was of her. First of all, I had known Tokiya for a longer period of time. I had been his comrade all throughout his combats in the tournament. I had witnessed his triumphs and failures, the unleashing of all his Hyomon Ken techniques, and even…the revelation of his past. While Akira was just…was just a schoolgirl he'd met a few days ago. She didn't know much about him…and neither did he know much about her. Yet still…
I blinked just to remove the tickling feeling in my eyes. I couldn't believe it.
Doushite…? Why choose her over me? Didn't we share the times when we've both been let down? Didn't you once pour out your emotions to me? Didn't we seek comfort in each other's arms? And more importantly…
Didn't we share our very first kiss…?
I leaned my head against the couch, as another painful tear escaped my eye.
Tokiya
Why is she acting this way, anyway??? I bit my lip, watching her as she leaned on the couch, her head down low. Sure, I admit I ditched her once, but that was it, right? Isn't she just taking this issue too far?
"Fuuko…" I finally found my voice and the courage to even say her name. "How come…you're crying again…?"
She didn't even budge.
I cocked an eyebrow. Did she expect me to sink down on my knees and beg her to tell me what was wrong? Well, sorry, but I was definitely not in that mood right now, and I certainly didn't feel like the serenading type of guy.
"Just tell me what it is already," I commented, a flicker of irritation in my tone. I was tired of not knowing whatever else it was she was always crying about.
She jerked her head towards me as her tears started to well up. "What are you getting all mad at me for…Tokiya…?" She tried to frown. "I wasn't the one who tried to break a heart."
I blinked, confused, a new flash of impatience starting to grow inside me. I'd broken her heart? "What's that supposed to mean?"
Fuuko
I couldn't believe it. He hadn't realized what he had done. Which meant…he was never really thinking of me in the first place. I felt like I'd been stabbed right down the heart.
I closed my eyes and turned my head away from him, choosing not to speak anymore.
"…What…?" he asked again. I could almost see his brows furrowing. "I don't believe this. Can't you even tell me whatever it is that I had done?"
I kept quiet, wishing my tears would stop forcing their way out of my eyes.
He sighed. "Look, Fuuko, I don't really know what this is all about. And I'm telling you, I'm not in the mood for tolerating your stubbornness, okay?"
I gulped, forcing my sobs to calm down. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. He'd let me down, so why was he acting all enraged at me?
He groaned. "For goodness' sake, Fuuko! How do you expect me to make up for it when you won't even tell me what it is?"
I sniffed. I never intended to tell him what the problem was because I expected him to know.
But I guess…that was never meant to happen in the first place…
"Damn it," he muttered and, as I would've guessed, stared out the window again.
It was about time the others came back. I flicked my eyes open, trying to rub the tears away so they wouldn't notice.
But it was clear that Yanagi knew what had happened.
"Fuuko-chan…?" she looked awkwardly at me, then at Tokiya and back.
"Let's go home, Yanagi," I mumbled, my voice coming out hoarsely. She gave me a concerned look and then gave Hanabishi a meaningful one. He immediately seated himself beside Tokiya.
"Um, why don't I finish my sandwich, first? Then, um, we can go home if you wish," Yanagi smiled encouragingly and sat down beside me.
My eyes shifted towards Domon, who was still standing, giving me the most sympathetic look I'd ever seen. I felt a small flash of gratefulness. At least he still cared for me despite everything.
Hanabishi cleared his throat. "Say, uh, Mikagami," he nudged him. "D'ya mind telling your pal what happened…?"
Tokiya's narrowed eyes glared nastily at him. Hanabishi gave him an idiotic grin.
He sighed irritably and folded his arms across his chest, frowning. "Why don't you ask her?" and he slightly nodded towards my direction without looking at me.
That was it. I've had enough.
"All I ask is that you please just notice me for a change!" I looked painfully at him. "Is that too much to ask…?" I whispered.
His eyes were still fixed on the window. "Well, sorry…" he mumbled, a flare of annoyance on his face.
Well I was annoyed, too, in case he hadn't noticed. "I had practically been pouring out my heart to you and you weren't even listening! All you think about is Hinageshi Akira!" I went on. I couldn't bear the pain of being ignored like this just for someone else.
He shut his eyes and began to grit his teeth.
"Why can't you even just realize that I still exist? I mean, don't you even care about how I feel?"
"Well excuse me for being insensitive," he mumbled. He actually looked like he was having a hard time trying to control himself. As if he had something to be mad about!
"Darn right you are! Every time I turn around, everything about that blasted woman always blows up right in front of my face!"
"Sonna koto nai! Look, Fuuko, there are a lot of things about Akira and me that you don't know, and I don't intend on telling you, not right now. So if I were you, I'd stop making all these damn conclusions that aren't even the least bit true, get it?" he snapped.
I felt my face starting to grow hot. How dare he comment about "Akira and him" in an oh-so-casual manner!
"And just what are those things that I don't know?!? Perhaps maybe the fact that you're ditching me just so you could hang out with her? Or maybe the fact that you're practically going out with her behind my back? Or the fact that she's on your mind 24/7 and you can't even listen to any of my problems anymore?!?"
"Oh, is that right? I'm so sorry, Fuuko," he cut in, his eyes finally flicking abruptly towards me. Yet there was something wrong with the way his light blue eyes shone this time…
"I completely forgot that you are the only person on earth who has her own problems," he went on sarcastically. "Pardon me while I stick to you like a puppy and hang on to your every word."
I held a silent gasp. Tokiya had never spoken to me in that tone; much less use those kinds of words on me. And obviously, this got me even more infuriated. "What the heck's that supposed to mean?!?"
He didn't take his annoyed look off me. "Why don't you try and ask yourself?"
"What?!?" I leaned closer to the table. "Just what is it with you and your damn cold personality? Why can't you be a little more like everybody else for once?"
"That's none of your damn business!!!"
"Oh, and I suppose you simply love being the typical lone loser, don't you?!?"
"If you'd like to know, Fuuko, I've managed to be a 'lone loser' for more than seven years now and I can manage perfectly fine without you breathing down my neck to tell me how to be a more sociable guy!" he snapped.
"Oh, for crying out loud, Tokiya!" I clenched my own trembling fist. "Don't you have any idea how hard I'm trying to help you?"
"Help me?" he snorted, smirking. "Help me??? Oh please. Sure, go ahead and change my whole personality, Fuuko. I really don't mind having someone barge into my life to try and change my freakin' past, you know."
I stood up, breathing heavily and glaring down at him. All the pain he'd caused me was fast turning into fury. "I never tried to change your past!!!"
"Then what exactly do you call whatever it is you're doing right now?!?" he glared back up at me.
I could now feel my tears welling up in anger this time. "I'm just trying to help you become a better person! Why can't you open your eyes and see that?!?"
"Well, if a better person is what you need, then why don't you go look for somebody else?!?" he stood up to face me as well.
It was at those words that I felt the air being sucked out of my chest. I found it hard to breathe, and the tears I'd been desperately trying to hold back blurred my eyes. I knew everyone in the café was looking at us, but I didn't care. Never had I felt so hurt in my life. It wasn't his harsh words; it wasn't his cold glare. The fact that hurt the most was that it had come from him. He was the one who directed those words at me. And he'd hurt me more than anything else in the world.
"T-Tokiya…" I sobbed, my lips trembling.
"…" his eyes softened a bit, and I knew that he found it hard to find the right words to say.
Because I felt exactly the same way.
All at once I knew what I had to do.
"…You know…maybe I should," With another hurt look at him, I left and stormed away down the street, letting my tears fall and tear myself apart.
All my life I had thought that loving someone could give you strength and happiness to live through each troubled day. I saw that particular strength between Hanabishi and Yanagi.
But I had forgotten about the pain it could also bring.
I should never have told Tokiya how I felt for him many nights ago. I shouldn't have succumbed to him when he tried to kiss me back that night. I should have known better than to get together with such an insensitive jerk.
He was never known for his compassion and sense of humor; that much was evident to everyone. Nobody ever wanted to get too close to him.
I should have listened to them.
They were right.
***
"Gimme another round, will ya?" I hiccupped, calling out to the bartender. "En make it quick!"
"Uh…are you sure you still want another one, miss…?" he asked worriedly.
I frowned at him. "When I say I want another one, it means I want another one, okay? Can't ya hear?"
"Whatever you say…" and he disappeared around the back of the counter.
"You're pretty tough, girlie. You used to bars?" one of the men at the only table that was occupied at the bar that night asked me.
"'Course I am! Darn guys at school don't call me tomboy for nothin' ya know," I hiccupped again.
"Oh yeah?" another one of them smirked. "Bet ya can't drink more than we can, missie," he winked at the other two at his table and they snickered. "So what d'you say?"
I grinned, staggering over to their table. "You're on, pal!"
***
I groaned a few minutes later, and my stomach was practically turning upside-down. Everything around me was spinning, and aside from that, everything was going hazy, too.
"D'ya--*hic*--give up?" one of the guys asked.
My only reply was to take the hundredth bottle on the table and chug its contents down with one gulp. And the next thing I knew was that I'd dropped, lying down the couch I was sitting on.
"Ooooh…" I moaned again, feeling like my head was about to explode. My eyes shut close, but even the complete darkness was spinning.
I could hear laughter around me, and I must've lost my consciousness, because…
…
…
…
I moaned, the dizziness still flooding my brain. But then something touched my shoulder, and my skin tingled. It slowly moved up to my neck, to my chin, to my cheek…
I heavily opened my eyes, and I saw a vague picture of a pair of turquoise eyes, blinking sweetly at me, until his lips met mine.
"Mi-chan…" I whispered and gave another moan of pleasure, closing my eyes, letting him kiss me...over...and over...again...
…
…
…
"Fuuko!!!" I could hear a familiar shout in the faint background, as a door slammed open somewhere.
"Who the heck are you, boy?!?"
"That's none of your damned business! Now get the crap outta here before I fry you all to a crisp!"
"Yeah? You and what army?"
"Me and this," the voice said, and sudden warmth swept over my surroundings. And accompanied by shrieks and screams, I heard footsteps running away.
"Fuuko!" someone ran to me but stopped short. "Oh damn!"
"…Mi-chan…" I whispered absently again, still groaning.
"What?!?" the voice exclaimed. I felt a slap on my cheek and a shake on my shoulders. "Wake up, Fuuko!"
"Uhhh…" I moaned again, unable to flick my eyes open.
"Um…Fuuko…? Forgive me for this, okay…? I sure hope Mikagami forgives me, too…" the person gulped. "I'm so sorry…but I have to do this…"
I could feel his hands at my legs…then at my shoulders…at my waist…and finally at my neck. I had completely no idea what he was doing, or who he even was.
"Um…let's just go, okay…?" he carried me up from where I was, and the next thing I knew I was leaving the place wherever I was.
***
"Ugh…" I whimpered, forcing myself to open my heavy eyes. The first thing I saw was an orange cap…
"Fuuko? You're awake?" the boy turned to me, smiling with relief.
"H-Hanabishi…? What…where…"
"You were drinking yourself to death back at that bar with some men you didn't even know," he looked at me worriedly. "Don't you know that people like them are up to no good? They were taking advantage of your drunken condition," he frowned at the memory. "You're lucky I came in at the right moment."
I blinked, trying to focus on his face but couldn't. It took me a few moments to realize that he was carrying me.
All of a sudden, his face turned bright red, and he was looking at me with uncertainty. "They, um, left you in your underwear, Fuuko. I hope you don't, um, mind that I…that I helped you put your clothes on," he went on, blushing furiously.
A feeling of warmth enveloped me and I had never felt so grateful in my entire life. I was glad I had him as a friend.
"…Arigato…sempai…" I smiled at him, leaning my head on his chest and shutting my eyes back closed, falling fast asleep.