Me nothing to say – so read on. : )
Shirodachi: Why, yes, I HAD to describe Fujima's smile like that. Just saw him on TV last night and am convinced he's the cutest of the SD lot – that is, until I catch sight of Rukawa again.
Alexia: I think Fujima's worth the suffering grades! Ha ha! Of course, don't listen to lunatic me. : ) BTW, I'm a girl. I wouldn't drool so much about Rukawa and Kenji and etc if I wasn't!
Fiery Ice: Waaah! You can cook brownies! (last time I made them, they were… never mind).
Reika Zelon: Everyone's talking about Sakura Wars cuz my fic's based on it! Fujima – Ohgami? Nah, Fujimakun's better.
Kka: *looks at kka with wide eyes* I see a terrorist in the making here… ha ha! Joking!
Tensaispira: Thanks! I didn't know it was okezo0kun, so I just put in the English translation! Ha ha! I'll think about torturing Fujima *is torn between amusement and pity for the guy*
Jo-sen7: Thanks, jo-sen! I dunno about Eiji – maybe I will, who knows? But I'll have to reread the SD comics featuring him first!
Frozenfemale: Yes! Me agree! Sakura wars is nice!
Tiran: *wonders whether to run after Tiran for bashing Fujima-kun or thanking her for reviewing* Anyway, I'm surprised you're reading this, since you don't like Fujima. But I sure don't mind it, though! Ha ha!
SLL: No, I've never experienced most of the things I write, actually. As you say, I simply pull those ideas out of thin air and paste them on my computer screen – with really strong glue. : ) And yes, I'm serious about the Kiyota fic, but I won't be able to start on it just yet. If you've read the updated Poor You Too, I think you'll know why. : (
Joy: Thanks for reading, Joy! Am glad you like Fujima and Rui – well, Fujima is an absolute-I-like, but you like Rui, so that's a compliment to me! Ha ha!
Lazuli: You have a Fujima fic? I'll try and read it *looks around anxiously for signs of her mother screaming at her to shut the computer down and go home to feed the cat*
Fujima grunted as he struggled his way up the steep slope, hanging on to the thick rope for dear life. He took a firm hold of the edge and then hauled himself up. He let himself stay sprawled on the ground for a while, silently congratulating himself for making the climb. Then, he pulled himself up and gathered his leftover energy.
"All right!" he yelled down to the other Rangers. "The area's pretty big. It's still early. Plenty of time before the sky threatens to rain, so take your time climbing. Rui, you're next." He watched as his assistant smoothly leaped from rock to rock, going up a lot faster than he did. "You're good," he murmured admiringly when she came nearer.
She grunted, though her cheeks flamed a bit at the compliment. "I've done a fair share of rock climbing," she muttered, taking hold of a rock. It suddenly gave away and Rui slipped, her hand flailing out to grab on to something quick. She managed to take hold onto a tree root and stabled herself, breathing heavily.
"Are you okay??"
She looked up to see Fujima's pale face staring down at her from above. "Yeah, I'm fine, I'm still breathing," she muttered shakily.
He swallowed a huge lump in his throat. "Okay. Good."
Rui pulled herself up once again, carefully picking out things to hang on to. She was near the top when her feet slipped. Letting out a startled scream, she lost her grip on the rope and felt gravity pulling her down.
I'm going to die, she thought frantically. I'm going to burst my head and bleed to death - I'm going to die with my brain scattered over the ground – my organs will probably be donated –
"Okay, hold on," Fujima held her shoulders firmly, bending all the way down. His controlled voice calmed Rui a bit. "I've got a good hold of you. When I say push, you push the ground with your legs as hard as you can, got it? I'll yank you up."
"Okay, okay."
"All right. Push!"
Rui did as she was told and was dragged up with enormous power. She flew over the edge of the slope and then landed on her saviour with a big blow. She took a moment to breathe, feeling Fujima going limp in exhaustion under her (no hentai thoughts, please). "This is exactly how that girl fell on me last year," she managed, pulling herself up. "Thanks, Captain."
He didn't move. "Anytime." He muttered weakly.
"Are you all right up there??" Ogami's voice boomed from below.
Rui leaned forward. "I'm fine!" she yelled back. "But the Captain's a bit out of breath! I think he got hurt more than I did!"
The Rangers laughed lightly.
"Is he still alive then?" Kiyota inquired.
"Yes. Very much alive."
He looked disappointed. "When will it be my turn to become captain?" he muttered to himself.
"Right after I become captain," Sakuragi countered. "Nyahahaha! No way will you become captain before this Genius does!"
Kiyota glared dangerously. "I hope you slip while climbing and hit your supposedly genius head over a rock."
"A genius never slips! Nyahahaha!"
They continued arguing as the others started to climb.
By mid-afternoon, most were already up and safe. Then –"Oow!"
Fujima glanced anxiously down the slope. "What happened?" he demanded.
"Sumira sprained herself!" Ogami answered from below. "Give me a minute while I take care of it!" He bent down to take out a first-aid kit.
Rui frowned. "We have to keep going, Captain," she said seriously. "Sumira and Ogami are the last ones anyway. They can catch up with us later."
"Sumira's hurt, Rui," Fujima said calmly, suddenly acutely aware of her presence behind him. Very close behind him. "We can't leave them."
"They can manage. We need to hurry."
He turned around. "Sumira cannot climb up the slope with that kind of injury and Ogami cannot lift her all the way up here all by himself, no matter how skilled he is. We need to stay here and do what we can."
She glared at him. "In a battlefield, you don't stop and heal your wounded comrades, Captain," she told him pointedly. "You leave them, and you move on and fight. There's simply no time for courtesies or humanity. If you keep on fussing over a fallen comrade, you'll never win the fight."
He looked steadily at her. "We're staying, Rui." He said in a tone that silenced everybody. "That's an order from your captain."
Rui's face darkened. Stiffly, she bowed her head. "Yes, Captain."
He sighed, wishing she wasn't mad at him. In a softer tone, he said: "It's not just about winning, Rui."
She didn't look at him. "Of course, Captain." She turned and walked to the rest of the waiting Rangers, who cautiously watched their clashing leaders and parted a way for Rui when she gloomily passed. Fujima rubbed his eyes and sighed one more time.
Aaah, the beginnings of a conflict.