A Brand New Day
Author: Sacharine
Feedback: yes, please!
Rating: PG-13
Warning: Future profanities? No-beta (Please excuse any minor mistakes.)
Notes: "..." denotes speech '...' denotes thoughts
Disclaimer: All rights go to their respective owners. I claim nothing.
---Previously---
Mitsui stilled at her accusation.
"Don't do this again. Don't keep making me repeat. Don't you think ten years is a little too long for some guilt? I take care of you because I care about you. Because you have became somebody important to me." Mitsui grasped her by her shoulders, staring into her eyes.
"So stop doing this. Stop making our friendship a mockery. Stop making me hurt by looking down on what I do, do I matter so little to you now that you have somebody else? I'm not that strong too. You have to answer your own questions. My only strength is basketball. Have you forgotten who I am? I have feelings too!"
Fuuko stared at him silently. Then tears began to slowly trickle out, welling out into a waterfall.
'I'm sorry. I so sorry." Fuuko choked out the words.
"It's okay." Mitsui gathered her back into his arms. 'I will take care of you forever, I promised. And that includes not letting Mikagami hurt you anymore.'
---
Fuuko stomped down the corridor of Tokyo University. In front of her, a girl fainted at the sight of the thunderous face. Others scrambled madly out of the way. Fuuko had build up quite a reputation in a short time at TU for her outbursts. They knew better than to trifled with an angry Fuuko.
Behind Fuuko ambled one very cool, very relax Rukawa, his legs eating up strides despite all Fuuko's efforts to throw him off. And behind Rukawa were throngs of Rukawa's fan girls. And amid these fan girls were sporadic amounts of Fuuko's fan club. And even rarer was the braver population of Tokyo University who was wondering was there celebrities or what that was visiting, general muttering along to the lines of: "Who?" "What did you say?" "Kirisawa with who?!"
Fuuko gritted her teeth. Right now she would do anything to be able to shove Rukawa into the nearest dustbin and be done with him. However, Mikagami and Mitsui might not take it very well. Rukawa is a valued basketball player and Rukawa is Mikagami's cousin after all. Rukawa had trailed after her for two hours already. Following her from her home to school, then following her from class to class to class, standing outside her classes like some kind of bodyguard or what not, scaring the teachers and making half her the class swoon, mainly the girls that is.
Fuuko turned around and hissed at Rukawa, her face contorted into a mask of pure fury. "Would you stop following me?! Why the heck are you following me?!!"
"Fine." Rukawa replied adroitly. Taking a bigger step, he started matching his pace to that of Fuuko's. That flustered Fuuko even more.
"What the hell are you doing?" Fuuko spat out in dismay.
"You asked me to stop following you. That what I did." Rukawa answered, shrugging his shoulders.
"AGRH!!!!!!!!!!" Fuuko screamed in frustration. "I meant for you go away! AWAY! AWAY! AWAY!!!" The windows along the corridor shattered in quick succession, pierced by the high pitch of Fuuko's shouts. Fuuko then stomp off. Rukawa slowly unplugged the fingers from his ears. Raking down the hair that was ruffled up by the sheer force of Fuuko's scream, he whispered softly to himself.
"She is even nosier than the flower boy. Toki, you really own me this time."
Then with a long sigh, Rukawa followed Fuuko once more, subtly steering her away and preventing her from go to where Mikagami and Mitsui would be.
---
Mitsui dribbled the ball, sweat pouring of his face in the sun. Rasing his hands, he jumped, gracefully flicking his wrists and tossing the ball straight into the hoop, a perfect three-pointer. Mitsui smiled then turned.
"Been there long?" He drawled at the shadow.
Mikagami pushed away from the wall and out of the shadow. "Not too long." Mikagami replied.
"Just as well, I have something you say to you too." Mitsui's smile harden decidedly. "Kimmy, Ryo go away for awhile wouldn't you?"
"But... but..." Kogure stuttered out but was dragged away by a happily smirking Ryota.
"Have fun!" Ryota waved cheerfully. "But not too much fun!"
Kogure look back just in time to hear the savage sound of a fist connecting with bone and to see Mikagami's head snap back. Then as Ryota rounded the corner, the last thing he saw was two heavy shoulders colliding on the red brick wall, Mikagami and Mitsui locked in a mad scramble for a headlock, limbs entangled.
---
"Shit! I think you bruised my ribs! What was that for?! When I say talk I mean it!" Mikagami growled from his prone position from the court. Mitsui was slumped over, trying valiantly to staunch the flow of blood streaming from his abused nostrils. "You are one to talk. You busted my nose! Anyway you deserve worse. You deserve it for making Fuuko cry. I will not let somebody like you hurt her!" Mitsui sneered spitefully.
As quick as a viper, Mikagami's arm snaked out and grabbed Mitsui by his shirtfront. He then slammed him into the wall, leaning close for leverage against the taller man.
"Who the hell are you to her? Everything was fine before you came! I can take care of her myself! Just leave!" Mikagami snarled into Mitsui face. Just as quickly, Mitsui countered, twisting, manoeuvring such that Mikagami was the one against the wall.
Mitsui then tangled his hand in Mikagami short mop of hair and hefted him up. Bending down close, he hissed.
"I'm her surrogate brother. And that gives me more rights to her then anything. Then anything you can come up with." Shoving a stunned Mikagami into the wall, he pivoted sharply and walked off, stopping only to bend down and pick up the basketball absently.
---
Rukawa ploughed after her stoically. ' I'm not going to failed at this stupid request! Two more hours! Two more!'
Fuuko was ready to froth at the mouth. Walking into the restroom at the mall did nothing to deter him. He just waited placidly outside like a rock. Even touring half of Shibuya's lingerie shops have left him unfazed, all it did was to make the shops very popular. However, unknown to Fuuko was the fact that Rukawa was ready to keel over in humiliation. He could barely keep his cheek from twitching. Rukawa was really ready to just expire in flames of mortification. But he refused to be shaken off by Fuuko and Fuuko refused to concede defeat that Rukawa cannot be shaken off, so both of them had virtually walked all over the place.
---
Fuuko stilled suddenly, her hands clench into tight fists. "...is it." She muttered under her breath.
"What?" Rukawa edged closer to catch her words.
"THIS IS IT! I have enough! I'm going home! You can follow me for all I care!!!" Fuuko stalked off, she had already reached the end of her short fuse.
'GACK!!!! I'm supposed to keep her away for another half-hour!!', Rukawa panicked mentally. Then seeing no way out of the fix, he grabbed Fuuko's hand and dragged her into the nearest shop, which happen to be a kissaten.
"What the heck are you doing?" Fuuko flushed and shook off Rukawa's hand, glaring at it like one might do to a dead rat.
"I'm thirsty. My treat." Rukawa said blandly, or as bland as somebody of his looks could pull off.
And somehow, Fuuko found herself ushered into a window seat. A perky waitress came and gushed over Rukawa before taking their orders, of which Fuuko purposely ordered the most expensive available. Rukawa found himself counting seconds, which led to him almost dozing off in the weak sunlight streaming from the window. Fuuko found herself staring out of the window, counting fan girls, and contemplating while slowly sipping at her cooling drink.
A few minutes passed in compatible silence, both of them lose in their own world. Rukawa was getting to see why Mikagami likes Fuuko, Fuuko was so far the only girl that he could sit with in silence. And on the plus side was that she was extremely fetching in the pale golden wash of sunlight.
"Hey Rukawa... How are you going to explain me to your fan club? From what I can glean from Mikagami's hordes, they are rabid bunnies. I don't want to hurt them badly neither do I want to be killed." Fuuko said seriously.
"I don't have to explain myself to them. Listen. I never wanted any of their attention. It is damn irritating and prevents me from getting any good sleep. At most, if some of them bother you, just tell them that you are dating Mikagami. It should solve things very easily, his fans and my hordes can just kill it other."
Lucky for Rukawa, he was wearing a dark blue, button-down shirt. It would not show the stain much.
For Fuuko had ejected out her drink violently at Rukawa reply.
---
"Moshi-moshi! Hanabishi Recca speaking!" The phone crackled with unbearable cheer. Apparently, marriage life agrees with the previous fire-caster. "Hello. Mikagami here. I was wondering…" Mikagami paused uncharacteristically trying to find a way to phrase his words.
"Holy shit! Mikagami? Why you bastard!! Why didn't you turn up for the reception? Yanagi was so upset!!" Recca all but erupted out of the phone. Mikagami causally held the phone out of the window, waiting for the tirade to finish.
...
"... As I was saying, I was wondering if you know anything about Fuuko's brother?" Mikagami enquired after Recca had finally wound down.
"Eh? How did you know she had a brother? Well, Fuuko wouldn't say anything about it but I ask her mother once and she told me he died when she was six or so... In fact Ryusuke's death was the reason for Fuuko's parents divorce. Fuuko and her mother then move next door to me."
Mikagami made little encouraging sounds for Recca to continue.
"It was tough for Fuuko. I have found her crying a few times even though everything she will give excuses. She was defensive and would lash out at anybody so I made fun of her, poking her till she broke out of the hard shell and show some true emotion. But she keeps building walls. I think it went on until when we were eight? It was about the time the blue-hair guy, Mit- something appeared. It was shortly after his appearance that Fuuko actually ask me to teach her how to fight. She said she was going to kill him... Eh?! Why did I tell you so many..."
"Never mind." Mikagami cut off Recca abruptly and hanged up the phone.
'Stranger and stranger!'
---
Mitsui stared at the wall, wads of bloody tissues beside him and a can in his hands. Mitsui did not want to remember, but he could do nothing to stop the deluge of memories that the fought with Mikagami brought up.
He was bitter. He was upset that he could not play basketball anymore and could not and would not tolerate anybody playing it happily. Basketball was his life, his soul, his everything. He could not have it, so he rejected everything else taking comfort in harsh words and action. He was disappointed again as it did not work. And it all turned into hatred, anger and dissatisfaction accumulating, snowballing and finally ended a beautiful life too soon. All he could do now is take care of her. Yet it was too little, too late. Never enough.
---
Hey, sorry for the delay, I was busy getting ready for the New Year and getting accustom to my new school, with new subjects and new teachers. I miss my friends like crazy! I'm taking six subject rather than the normal five so I have to stay back for six extra period every week… *Sigh! * I promised what is the deal between Mitsui and Fuuko come out next chapter!
Many thanks to:
|
ReAcH |
2002-12-26 |
6 |
Anonymous |
|
Haha… I will try to update as quickly as possible! Thanks! |
|||
|
Aeris |
2002-12-25 |
6 |
Anonymous |
|
Sorry for the delay, school was busy. I loved that part too! Thanks for your review! |
|||
|
bishlov |
2002-12-20 |
6 |
Anonymous |
|
I promised I will give the deal on Mitsui and Fuuko next chapter! Really! |
|||
|
yuko |
2002-12-15 |
6 |
Anonymous |
|
Thanks! More tofu! |
|||
|
Haze |
2002-12-13 |
6 |
Signed |
|
I promised I will spill next chapter! Thanks! |
|||
|
Ranka |
2002-12-13 |
6 |
Anonymous |
|
Thanks… My first language isn't English so this is the best compliment really! |
|||
|
Kurei |
2002-12-12 |
6 |
Signed |
|
Hehe… Think about the Akagi family! Thanks! |
|||