Back again! Heh heh. You're probably sick of me already.
Unchained: kill you with suspense? Me? *eyes wide* Nooooo.
December Morning Owl: I dunno where I heard it, but I like it!
Iluvenis Telperien: Maki kick Enrio? Like, seriously? Like go-to-Hell-and-never-come-back sort of a kick? 0_0
Bhuy: Heh heh! Sorry again for the volleyball mistakes I made. Me no expert either! Thanks for reading this!
Mitchy: Thank you! I'm excited if you're excited! YEY!
Krappkarmin: No need to apologise. I'd probably do the same thing now if there weren't so many people here to embarrass myself to. ^_^ Have fun reading!
Tiran: Eheh. Apparently, I don't know what's appropriate and not for Valentine. Ha ha! What's the valentine list thing? Oh, it's just assuring us depressed people that there are people who love us out there. It's just that we don't know it. They claim there are at least five, so count me as one of them. ^_^ 7 years of university??? SO LONG? Gosh, you'll probably have grown a BEARD by then. (heheheh) I'll remember to e-mail you then. ^_-. Yeah, my updating has slowed down (so has my brain operations, apparently!) I'm really sorry.
Lambie: School's comp lab? Are you crazy? What if you were caught surfing websites you shouldn't? *thinks of own discipline teachers and shudders*
Tensaispira: Ha ha! *beat on drums as well* *gets shooed out of hospital* I had a great week, thanks! Did nothing but laze around – and write, of course. *cough*
Patty g: *blush* Love you too. ^_^ Ha ha ha! Sweet friends you have!
Fiery-ice: Yes, Maki is *growf* sexy. Ha ha! Glad you changed your mind about his 'old' appearance! *pictures Maki and drools*
Kka: Ha ha ha! You can kill him. I promise you. ^_^
Kuroi neko-kun: Yep! I might be doing it that! (why did you die? Is the thought so horrifying?)
KOFleona: Arigato! Lemme run for cover before you begin Mission Destruction!
sLL: Cliffies are nice. I like cliffies. Unless they're not mine. ^_^
white soul: Love you too! (and I've updated! Ha ha!) Nah, the coins are just puppets he used to represent players. ^_^ Sorry if it was confusing!
Frozen female: Mitsui's fic? Yeah. I've finished it quite a long time ago, actually. ^_^
Jo-sen7: Mai can't kick butt. She's too sick. But I'll do it for her. ^_^ Haiyak! *Enrio runs clutching his bum*
"So," Enrio coughed awkwardly, suddenly wishing he hadn't asked Maki to leave them alone and that Maki hadn't so readily agreed. "How are you?"
Mai thought of a dozen sharp responses to that, but then sighed. "Alive." She toyed aimlessly with the coins Maki had left on the table. Then, sharply, she brought her eyes to his. "Where were you?"
He looked at the floor. "Mai, I know you're mad –"
"You have absolutely no idea, pal."
"It was …" he hissed uncomfortably. "Look, I guess I wasn't thinking correctly."
Mai snorted. "Obviously."
He raised his arms in hopelessness. "I was angry. Humiliated. I've been hearing all sorts of things about you …" he gestured, "and … and Maki, and it clouded my head. Everybody was talking about the three of us, and how it was clear Maki was way better than I am and crap like that. And I just took it out on you."
Mai looked at him, tried not to swear. "Because your ego was bruised?" she questioned. "Because you were degraded?" Mai thumped the coins on the table and watched it scatter around furiously. "If you had asked me for MY opinion, this is what I'd have said. Maki is arrogant, bigheaded and stubborn, whereas you are sweet, kind and gentle."
His eyes lighted slightly. "Yeah?"
Mai nodded. "Yes." Her eyes narrowed. "That's what I'd have said. However, recent happenings have thwarted my opinions a complete 180."
He winced. "I'm sorry."
"For what? For making a mule out of yourself? For abandoning the semi-finals just because of revenge? For influencing others to go along with your plan? For leaving me stranded in the game, thinking I'd call and beg for mercy? Or for forcing me to push the Year One players way above their limits? Which one are you apologising for?"
"Look, we're in the finals now."
"Yeah, thanks to the Year One players and not you. Don't tell me you're taking credit for their hard work."
Enrio gritted his teeth. "I'm not taking any credit."
"Good. You don't deserve any."
"Okay, so I made a mistake. I shouldn't have done what I did. I'm sorry. What else do you want me to do?"
Mai took deep breaths to calm herself and toyed once again with the coins. "Come back in a few more days," she said placidly. "I might be in the mood to forgive and forget then."
Enrio stared at her, and clearly dismissed, helplessly went to the door. His hand was already on the knob when he paused and looked back. "Mai," he started, "about you and me." He took a short breath. "And Maki."
Mai lowered the coins she'd raised to count against the light, her eyes sharp and aware. "What about it?"
"Are we still…you know…"
She cocked her head to the right. "Tell me, when you were told that I'd fainted after the game, what was your first and initial reaction?"
"Worried, of course."
"That was your first and initial reaction?"
He thought about it, started to say something, and then flushed. "I was… smug, I guess. Healed. I thought: 'Good, maybe that'll teach her a lesson not to fool around with me'." He bent his head at Mai's steady stare. "Just for a moment. Only for a moment. Then I was worried."
Mai nodded. "Right." She shrugged her shoulders. "I guess that answers your question, doesn't it? You dumped me in the match, and you dumped me in life. It's been nice. Thanks. You can go now."
Enrio stopped outside the room, narrowed his eyes at Maki who was struggling with a vending machine.
Aware of his presence, but not at all in a rush to admit it, Maki slipped in coins one by one until the very last. Then, baffled, he turned to Enrio. "Hey. Got ten yen? I'm short of coins."
Enrio glared at him for a moment. When he accepted it without even so much as a raise of the eyebrow, Enrio gave up and sighed. He took out his wallet. "Here," he flipped the ten yen coin. "You won."
Maki pushed the coin in. "I usually do." He retrieved the cola from the compartment and offered it to Enrio.
Enrio stared at it, and then, with another sigh, accepted it.
"36-23," The coach commented, scratching his cheek. "Not bad."
Kiyota let his laughter explode. "Hah! Us guys would have had double that number by now!" He laughed again when the Shohoku girls bumped into each other and started to scratch faces. "I LOVE this game! Do you see how Shohoku's teammates love each other??" The said teammates were screaming and choking one another.
Maki grinned. "Oh, look, they're crying."
"Aww…" they crooned.
"And there goes Akagi's sister to calm the situation," Jin observed. "Is she the captain of Shohoku's girl team?"
"Who cares?" Kiyota declared. "All that matters is she looks good in those shorts."
Jin's eyebrow twitched. "You wouldn't want Sakuragi to hear that."
"That red-fur monkey? Why would I care what –"
"YEAH!" they interrupted him when Kainan sank in another ball. "ONE MORE!"
Shohoku then asked for time-out. With cheers from the crowd, both the Kainan and Shohoku teams retired to their own benches. Maki welcomed his players with a thumbs-up sign. With Mai, he merely put on a strict face.
"Didn't I tell you not to smack the ball as if you're playing badminton?" he muttered with an arch of the eyebrow. "I'm betting the girl you injured will insist on a substitute for her broken glasses."
"Hmm." She took the water bottle Jin offered her.
"And just how many times must I remind you to watch the lines you're stepping on when you're attempting a three-pointer? None of your attempts succeeded, by the way."
She took a long gulp of water, swallowed and narrowed her eyes at him. "You know that coaches usually take this given time to give encouragements to his players? Things like 'you can do it!' or 'good play, guys!' or 'keep up the good work!'. You take language lessons right? I'm sure you can piece up your own sentences."
Kiyota poked his head near. "Looking good, Mai!"
"Something like that," Mai told Maki. "Only you say 'doing good' instead of 'looking good' because 'looking good' is rather out of the context. Thanks, Kiyota."
Maki smiled wryly. "I'll take lessons."
Mai grinned at him and took another huge sip form her bottle. Then, recapping it, she turned sombrely to him. "One question, Maki."
"You say that, and then ask me ten. All right, what?"
"When you saw me fainting after the game, what was your first and initial reaction?"
He seemed surprised at the question. "Well," he recalled the instant the blood had drained out of his head in maximum speed. "I don't know," he confessed then. "There wasn't space for thinking or reacting. I remember panic, though. And fear. For you." He winced. "There goes my manliness."
She beamed at him.
"Why do you ask?"
"Nothing," she stood up as the referee blew his shrill whistle again. "Just wanted to confirm my suspicions."
"And?"
"And," she paused, looked back. "I was right."
He didn't quite get that, and shrugged. "Win the game." He told her.
"Yeah," she nodded and winked. "For you."
Headline news (school paper):
MVP SCORES WELL WITH VOLLEYBALL CO-CAPTAIN.
Suspicions confirmed! Kainandai Daily Buzz is proud to be the first to reveal this juicy bit of information to you! Shin-ichi Maki, highly known for his expertise and skills in basketball (among other interesting things) has indeed hooked up with volleyball co-captain, Mai Kiraki, who just so happened was practically engaged to her captain, Enrio Fuziki.
Picture A reveals them exchanging comments during the basketball match held yesterday between Kainan and Shohoku (Kainan, of course, true to it's reputation, won hands down). Although it may seem normal, dear readers, look closer and you will se the glow they exude in each other's presence. Picture B catches them holding hands. Picture C clearly shows how restrained Mai and Enrio are, as they leave their class two metres apart.
Need any more proof?
When bluntly asked about her blossoming relationship with the basketball captain, Mai casually pointed out that it was about to rain. However, her cheeks had turned a mysterious shade of magenta, and as our body language expert has insisted, she is clearly in love.
Maki, on the other hand, was more straightforward. "Haven't you got anything else to do?" was his first response, before admitting that they were slightly more than friends.
We now throw our pom poms high in the air.
We name them the Golden Couple of Kainan High.
We shower them with our endless attention.
We await further development with breathless interest.
And most of all, we wish Mai good luck with the hate mail she will undoubtedly receive from Maki fans.
NEXT WEEK: A close-up interview with Enrio Fuziki! Find out exactly WHAT happened and WHY and HOW. All for sixty yen that you pay for Kainan Daily Buzz – the only paper that brings you the latest in school!
Thanks to sLL for the newspaper idea! I loved it! And I hope you liked what I made out of it too!
Oh yeah! This is the end. ^_^ Hope y'all enjoyed it!