CHAPTER 4: I LOVE YOU, CHIHARU
By: Alea
She walked into the stadium. Her heart racing and the thoughts of Rukawa filled her mind.
"I've only known you for a short while, but it seems like I've known you my whole life."
That was so beautiful, and true. Such words that was spoken by Rukawa was amazing. Especially when she was told that he never spoke a lot.
'I bet they were lying.' She thought. For someone who doesn't talk much, he couldn't have strung a long sentence.
She walked down the steps in search of where she sat. But where she sat, sat someone else. Someone who wore jersey number seven. Who's hair was spiked up and who's face was only concentrated on the court.
"Sendoh." She said but then regretted saying his name for at the call of his name, he spun around quickly and so did she.
He looked at her and smiled. "You must be the girl. It's okay, you can turn around and face me."
Tears welled up in her eyes. "What if I don't want to."
'That's strange.' Sendoh thought. 'She said hello to me earlier.'
He walked closer and tears started to fall. It slid down her cheeks and onto the concrete steps.
"Are you .. Are you okay?"
She finally had the guts to spin around. "Don't play idiot with me Sendoh!"
He looked at her strangely. "What's wrong? Did I do something.."
Chiharu then turned away once more facing the exit. "Of course you did. I thought I was in love with you starting from seventh grade. Do you remember?"
Sendoh was in shock he looked at the blonde and walked closer to her. "Chiharu."
She turned around only to meet him face to face and saw that he held the hair tie.
"Then you might be needing this." He handed the hair tie to her.
"My lucky hair tie." She said as tears kept on coming. "You gave it to me."
He smiled back at her and put his hands on her face. "Stop crying, Chiharu."
She took one glance at him and ran. But this wasn't the first time she did this to him. He already knew she would do this and caught her arm as she tried to leave.
"Let me go!" She cried. And she tugged him along. "Leave me be!"
Sendoh looked at her and then to the floor. "I'm sorry."
Chiharu stopped tugging and he let go of her.
"I don't want to see you cry." He admitted and sat back down on the chair. "You want to know why I left you?"
She took a seat next to him and tried to wipe away her tears. "Why?"
He put his hands on his thighs, leaned forward, and sighed. "I left you because it seemed like the right thing to do. Don't get me wrong, I loved you and always do. It was you."
She looked at Sendoh with her blue eyes still welled up with tears. "What?"
"Whenever I called you, you were always busy. Whenever I talked to you, you'd ignore me and talk to someone else. It was like you were shutting me out of the world. And once you left after junior high, I figured if you didn't love me, it was either me you hated or that you still liked Sakuragi. After all, he was your first boyfriend. If it was me, I couldn't stand not knowing the answer so, I ignored you and never confessed it, until now. And I'm sorry if I hurt you. I just wanted revenge on Sakuragi and went out with your best friend."
Chiharu's eyes started to turn red from all the crying and she finally said something. "I'm sorry Sendoh." With that, she leaned on Sendoh's shoulder and sobbed. He wrapped his arms around her and closed his eyes.
It had been hours since they spoke to one another and that Chiharu finally stopped crying.
He slowly rubbed the tears away from her cheeks and looked into her beautiful eyes.
"I missed you Chiharu. I, I, I love you."
Chiharu gazed at his smile but was astonished by his remark.
"I love you, Chiharu."
She then realized why she was actually here. Her hair tie and Rukawa.. Rukawa. She pushed Sendoh back and ran off. What has she done? As she did, she could hear the sound of Sendoh's voice, "CHIHARU!" He kept yelling urging her to come back.
She ran off with her hair tie that hung around her wrist. "Rukawa-Kun!" She shouted. "Rukawa! I'm so sorry!"
She didn't care if people looked at her with disgust. She felt like she was a screw up. She couldn't fall in love properly and now she was falling at the feet of her ex, Sendoh. "I've gone crazy!"
She ran down the streets as tears ran down her cheeks and she didn't even know where she was going. Cars, people, streets, and signs was nothing to her.
"How could he?" She asked herself. "Sendoh always screws everything up! He always messes me up! How could he? How could he?!"
She ran and ran the only solution was to only run away and that would solve her problems everything that had happened to her fell down when she saw Sendoh. Tonight was special when she had finally kissed him, Rukawa. She only knew him for three days to be exact. His eyes, determination, and his softness binded into one human being and that had to be Rukawa. He was a wonderful person inside and out. And she couldn't believe she hugged and stayed with Sendoh while she was in love. Chiharu Tsukamoto was in love. But a little voice told her something.
"You still love Sendoh. Who would you choose? Rukawa Kaede or Sendoh Akira?"
That voice kept binding her to one thing, love. Love between to guys she liked. One she just met and the other, Sendoh. There was no description.
"Sendoh." She whispered. "Rukawa."
She hadn't realized how far she had run and where the hell she was. She was just glad she was away from Sendoh and all her feelings were a little settled. She didn't hear the little voice in her head and she didn't hear the shouts and screams that was going on behind her. She felt pretty glad that her heart seemed fine and wasn't craving for Sendoh anymore. She also didn't hear the roaring of the cars and didn't realize where she was. So she collapsed onto the pavement. Exhausted and tired.
~*~*~*~*~*
"Did she?" Yohei and Mitsui were talking as Yohei walked with Mitsui back to their houses. "Does she love Rukawa?"
Mitsui shrugged. "I don't know. All that I know was that I was in love with her and that I wasn't the only one."
Yohei rolled his eyes. "You've only seen her and played basketball with her. You don't know her past, her thoughts, and everything else about her. Love is not the word to describe you and her."
Mitsui sighed. "Well, I like her then."
Yohei put his hands in his pockets. "You going to be okay about this if I told you?"
Mitsui only nodded his head and looked in front of him in the night. "No problem. I have all the time in the world. Plus, it's a long way to go home so shoot."
Yohei to a breath. "Sendoh and her were close. It seems that he wants her back and since I thought you loved her, I'd tell you that. And he seems to you know, want to go out with her again. Be her boyfriend and she his girlfriend. But what he did in the past screwed her up with loving someone else without thinking of him. That's what Sakuragi told me. And that she was his first girlfriend."
Mitsui paused. "First girlfriend? That means 51 girls dumped him."
Yohei burst into laughter. "I hope he can make it stay that way. I really hope so."
Mitsui chuckled along with him. They kept walking along having Mitsui have a smile on his face before he leaves to the university.
"You know…" Yohei paused and stopped in front of an alley as Mitsui kept walking along.
"Mitsui!" He called. "Mitsui!"
"What? I'm right in front of you it's got to be.." Mitsui picked up a brick and walked closer. 'This can't be. Chiharu.' He thought.
Yohei was ready to fight and they walked closer to her. "What's she doing here?" Yohei asked. "It's pretty late and she's sleeping in an alley?"
Mitsui threatened to hit him with a brick. "This is a serious situation. I don't think she wanted to sleep on trash."
Mitsui put down the concrete brick and picked up Chiharu's limp body. "It seems no one wants her around here."
Yohei let down his guard and walked outside the alley. "What are we going to do with her? My parents wouldn't allow me to bring a limp body of a girl to my room. Cause you know parents. They have a really sick mind."
Mitsui ignored him. He put his to fingers on her neck to check her pulse. "She's breathing."
Yohei sighed in relief. "Hey. It's just her fourth day here and she's been sleeping on trash. Must've been a rough night."
Mitsui looked at Yohei with disgust. He looked pretty annoyed.
"Yare Yare. I'll shut up now. If you want me too, I won't…"
Mitsui glared at him. "Just shut up."
After five minutes, Yohei had to talk. "Where are we taking her? If we tell someone they'll tell someone and so on. I don't think she wants a bad reputation on her fourth day."
Mitsui nodded. That wouldn't be a good start off for a new semester and year. "She can stay with me. I have my own place anyway."
Yohei looked shocked. "But. Your dorm, school."
Mitsui took a glance at Yohei. "I'll think about it tomorrow. Right now we have to call Rukawa. He was with her after the game. He probably walked her home and she wanted something from him."
Yohei was scared. "What if Rukawa did something to her?"
Images of Rukawa with a bloody knife appeared. His face smiling and wearing a black cloak. His eyes dark and fierce. "I think he tried to get rid of her. Try to kill her?"
Mitsui realized his conclusion and it kind of made sense. I mean, Rukawa was with her all night through the game and anything could've happened. "I doubt it Yohei. Don't jump to conclusions like that. It scares me."
Yohei nodded. "Are you going to carry her like that till you get to your house?"
By: Alea
She walked into the stadium. Her heart racing and the thoughts of Rukawa filled her mind.
"I've only known you for a short while, but it seems like I've known you my whole life."
That was so beautiful, and true. Such words that was spoken by Rukawa was amazing. Especially when she was told that he never spoke a lot.
'I bet they were lying.' She thought. For someone who doesn't talk much, he couldn't have strung a long sentence.
She walked down the steps in search of where she sat. But where she sat, sat someone else. Someone who wore jersey number seven. Who's hair was spiked up and who's face was only concentrated on the court.
"Sendoh." She said but then regretted saying his name for at the call of his name, he spun around quickly and so did she.
He looked at her and smiled. "You must be the girl. It's okay, you can turn around and face me."
Tears welled up in her eyes. "What if I don't want to."
'That's strange.' Sendoh thought. 'She said hello to me earlier.'
He walked closer and tears started to fall. It slid down her cheeks and onto the concrete steps.
"Are you .. Are you okay?"
She finally had the guts to spin around. "Don't play idiot with me Sendoh!"
He looked at her strangely. "What's wrong? Did I do something.."
Chiharu then turned away once more facing the exit. "Of course you did. I thought I was in love with you starting from seventh grade. Do you remember?"
Sendoh was in shock he looked at the blonde and walked closer to her. "Chiharu."
She turned around only to meet him face to face and saw that he held the hair tie.
"Then you might be needing this." He handed the hair tie to her.
"My lucky hair tie." She said as tears kept on coming. "You gave it to me."
He smiled back at her and put his hands on her face. "Stop crying, Chiharu."
She took one glance at him and ran. But this wasn't the first time she did this to him. He already knew she would do this and caught her arm as she tried to leave.
"Let me go!" She cried. And she tugged him along. "Leave me be!"
Sendoh looked at her and then to the floor. "I'm sorry."
Chiharu stopped tugging and he let go of her.
"I don't want to see you cry." He admitted and sat back down on the chair. "You want to know why I left you?"
She took a seat next to him and tried to wipe away her tears. "Why?"
He put his hands on his thighs, leaned forward, and sighed. "I left you because it seemed like the right thing to do. Don't get me wrong, I loved you and always do. It was you."
She looked at Sendoh with her blue eyes still welled up with tears. "What?"
"Whenever I called you, you were always busy. Whenever I talked to you, you'd ignore me and talk to someone else. It was like you were shutting me out of the world. And once you left after junior high, I figured if you didn't love me, it was either me you hated or that you still liked Sakuragi. After all, he was your first boyfriend. If it was me, I couldn't stand not knowing the answer so, I ignored you and never confessed it, until now. And I'm sorry if I hurt you. I just wanted revenge on Sakuragi and went out with your best friend."
Chiharu's eyes started to turn red from all the crying and she finally said something. "I'm sorry Sendoh." With that, she leaned on Sendoh's shoulder and sobbed. He wrapped his arms around her and closed his eyes.
It had been hours since they spoke to one another and that Chiharu finally stopped crying.
He slowly rubbed the tears away from her cheeks and looked into her beautiful eyes.
"I missed you Chiharu. I, I, I love you."
Chiharu gazed at his smile but was astonished by his remark.
"I love you, Chiharu."
She then realized why she was actually here. Her hair tie and Rukawa.. Rukawa. She pushed Sendoh back and ran off. What has she done? As she did, she could hear the sound of Sendoh's voice, "CHIHARU!" He kept yelling urging her to come back.
She ran off with her hair tie that hung around her wrist. "Rukawa-Kun!" She shouted. "Rukawa! I'm so sorry!"
She didn't care if people looked at her with disgust. She felt like she was a screw up. She couldn't fall in love properly and now she was falling at the feet of her ex, Sendoh. "I've gone crazy!"
She ran down the streets as tears ran down her cheeks and she didn't even know where she was going. Cars, people, streets, and signs was nothing to her.
"How could he?" She asked herself. "Sendoh always screws everything up! He always messes me up! How could he? How could he?!"
She ran and ran the only solution was to only run away and that would solve her problems everything that had happened to her fell down when she saw Sendoh. Tonight was special when she had finally kissed him, Rukawa. She only knew him for three days to be exact. His eyes, determination, and his softness binded into one human being and that had to be Rukawa. He was a wonderful person inside and out. And she couldn't believe she hugged and stayed with Sendoh while she was in love. Chiharu Tsukamoto was in love. But a little voice told her something.
"You still love Sendoh. Who would you choose? Rukawa Kaede or Sendoh Akira?"
That voice kept binding her to one thing, love. Love between to guys she liked. One she just met and the other, Sendoh. There was no description.
"Sendoh." She whispered. "Rukawa."
She hadn't realized how far she had run and where the hell she was. She was just glad she was away from Sendoh and all her feelings were a little settled. She didn't hear the little voice in her head and she didn't hear the shouts and screams that was going on behind her. She felt pretty glad that her heart seemed fine and wasn't craving for Sendoh anymore. She also didn't hear the roaring of the cars and didn't realize where she was. So she collapsed onto the pavement. Exhausted and tired.
~*~*~*~*~*
"Did she?" Yohei and Mitsui were talking as Yohei walked with Mitsui back to their houses. "Does she love Rukawa?"
Mitsui shrugged. "I don't know. All that I know was that I was in love with her and that I wasn't the only one."
Yohei rolled his eyes. "You've only seen her and played basketball with her. You don't know her past, her thoughts, and everything else about her. Love is not the word to describe you and her."
Mitsui sighed. "Well, I like her then."
Yohei put his hands in his pockets. "You going to be okay about this if I told you?"
Mitsui only nodded his head and looked in front of him in the night. "No problem. I have all the time in the world. Plus, it's a long way to go home so shoot."
Yohei to a breath. "Sendoh and her were close. It seems that he wants her back and since I thought you loved her, I'd tell you that. And he seems to you know, want to go out with her again. Be her boyfriend and she his girlfriend. But what he did in the past screwed her up with loving someone else without thinking of him. That's what Sakuragi told me. And that she was his first girlfriend."
Mitsui paused. "First girlfriend? That means 51 girls dumped him."
Yohei burst into laughter. "I hope he can make it stay that way. I really hope so."
Mitsui chuckled along with him. They kept walking along having Mitsui have a smile on his face before he leaves to the university.
"You know…" Yohei paused and stopped in front of an alley as Mitsui kept walking along.
"Mitsui!" He called. "Mitsui!"
"What? I'm right in front of you it's got to be.." Mitsui picked up a brick and walked closer. 'This can't be. Chiharu.' He thought.
Yohei was ready to fight and they walked closer to her. "What's she doing here?" Yohei asked. "It's pretty late and she's sleeping in an alley?"
Mitsui threatened to hit him with a brick. "This is a serious situation. I don't think she wanted to sleep on trash."
Mitsui put down the concrete brick and picked up Chiharu's limp body. "It seems no one wants her around here."
Yohei let down his guard and walked outside the alley. "What are we going to do with her? My parents wouldn't allow me to bring a limp body of a girl to my room. Cause you know parents. They have a really sick mind."
Mitsui ignored him. He put his to fingers on her neck to check her pulse. "She's breathing."
Yohei sighed in relief. "Hey. It's just her fourth day here and she's been sleeping on trash. Must've been a rough night."
Mitsui looked at Yohei with disgust. He looked pretty annoyed.
"Yare Yare. I'll shut up now. If you want me too, I won't…"
Mitsui glared at him. "Just shut up."
After five minutes, Yohei had to talk. "Where are we taking her? If we tell someone they'll tell someone and so on. I don't think she wants a bad reputation on her fourth day."
Mitsui nodded. That wouldn't be a good start off for a new semester and year. "She can stay with me. I have my own place anyway."
Yohei looked shocked. "But. Your dorm, school."
Mitsui took a glance at Yohei. "I'll think about it tomorrow. Right now we have to call Rukawa. He was with her after the game. He probably walked her home and she wanted something from him."
Yohei was scared. "What if Rukawa did something to her?"
Images of Rukawa with a bloody knife appeared. His face smiling and wearing a black cloak. His eyes dark and fierce. "I think he tried to get rid of her. Try to kill her?"
Mitsui realized his conclusion and it kind of made sense. I mean, Rukawa was with her all night through the game and anything could've happened. "I doubt it Yohei. Don't jump to conclusions like that. It scares me."
Yohei nodded. "Are you going to carry her like that till you get to your house?"