A/N: Hiya all! I have nothing much to report this time, except for the
usual and I'm sure non of you would want me to drone on about my busy life,
right? Did you all get a valentine's day present? Well, it doesn't matter
if you didn't and even if you did, this chapter is a v day present to all
of you. Happy Valentine's Day! And may all of us find our very own " Fujima-
kun"!!! * blush *
Thank you to:
Fire-phinx - I will! Thank you!
White-angelxhunter - okie, I promise I will continue this! And when I have time, I'll definitely read your fic!
Disclaimer: I own neither Fujima nor the school nor anything else that belongs to someone else!
Kurako looked at Fujima and Luciko with great dissatisfaction, she knew this girl meant something to him, especially by the fact that she called him Kenji, it really bugged Kurako. Luciko and Fujima finally let go of each other, Fujima smiled at her, " Luciko, haven't seen YOU in a long time, missed you so much!"
Kurako didn't know what to do, she felt uncomfortable at Luciko's presence, her feelings were all mixed up, she slipped away silently without Fujima or Luciko noticing. Her heart felt felt, nothing seemed right to her, all she wanted to do now was to go to class and pretended that nothing had happened.
Fujima didn't notice that Kurako had walked off, he was still talking to Luciko, " And there's this new girl here, she's in first year, she catches the bus with me now a days, her name's Kurako. Hey she's here. . . " Fujima turned around and was surprised not to see Kurako there.
Kurako went through the day in a big daze, she didn't care about the time, the classes she was in or anything else for that matter, all she could think about was Luciko and Fujima, who was she? What did she have to do with Fujima?
Kurako was losing all the confidence she had with Fujima and she didn't know if it was such a good idea to realise her feelings for him after all.
After school, she didn't know whether she should go and watch Fujima practise or not, but the temptation was there and she couldn't resist, besides, her friends were there too, so there was at least a reason for her to be there.
Kurako walked into the gym, sighing, because she knew that Luciko was standing in the gym somewhere, wanting to look at Fujima in action as much as she did. Kurako looked around, expecting to see Luciko there, but Kurako was surprised not to see her. She looked around and inspected even more carefully, looking at every single person in the gym, but to her suspicion but also relieve, Luciko wasn't there.
" Kurako!" Fujima waved.
" Fujima! Gan ba re!" Kurako cheered.
" Thanks!"
Kurako was happy that Luciko wasn't around, because she felt awkward at Luciko's presence. Kurako stood in front of the basketball court where her friends were, she just stared at Fujima, with her eyes filled with admiration and a twinge of a smile appeared at the corner of her mouth.
Kurako's friend, Maruko, looked at her friend and immediately noticed the way she felt for Fujima.
" Hey, Kurako, do I see some sparks in the air?" asked Maruko slyly.
Kurako turned to look at her friend immediately, surprised, " No, of course not, he's just a friend. . ."
" Really?" but Maruko could see Kurako blushing.
~*~
Kurako waited for Fujima outside the gym, as she had done ever since they became very good friends. Fujima walked out of the gym, carrying his green sports bag on his shoulder. It was around five thirty, the sun was setting and it looked like a big reddish- orange colour ball, like a basketball shinning very brightly. Fujima was standing slightly next to it, casting a shadowy light on his face, creating some beautiful highlights in his gorgeous brown hair. Kurako's attention was all on him, Fujima looked like part of an exquisite ten billion dollars worth painting, he looked radiant and very handsome.
" Are you ready to go?" asked Fujima, smiling his usual amazing smile once again.
" Eh. . . ?" Kurako asked, still in her little dream world of Fujima.
" Are you ready to go?" asked Fujima again, with absolute patience.
" Oh yeah!" Kurako smiled, trying to hide the fact that she had been so absorbed in his features.
" Let's go!"
They walked alongside each other, chatting away like they had known each other ever since they were born. Kurako loved Fujima's company, she wished that they would walk like this forever and ever, she didn't mind walking, as long as she was with Fujima.
They reached the bus stop and sat on a brown bench, the bus stop was old, but the trees and flowers along with the cool breeze made it very nice, there weren't many cars or people, it was a place of tranquility and Kurako loved it.
Fujima spoke in an unusually shy and low voice, " I don't have basketball practise tomorrow, so I was just wondering if we could do something, go for a drink then go bowling or something. . . "
Kurako couldn't believe what she just heard, did Fujima Kenji just said that he wanted to spend his one in a million years no basketball practise afternoon with her? She had hung out with him on weekends and stuff, but never on school days because he was always busy with basketball, but she didn't mind. Still, he was willing to spend this only free day with her! Her heart was soaring up high into the air and she felt like singing, the thing she did when she felt ecstatically happy.
" Yes!" Kurako answered with absolute enthusiasm.
" Yeah? Ok, I've got an idea just then, instead of bowling, let's go. . . ICE SKATING! " Fujima shouted excitedly and threw his arms into the air.
" OH MY GOSH! I'm coming definitely! I LOVE ice skating! " Kurako shouted with even more enthusiasm
" Ok then? It's set?"
" Yeah! You bet!"
They gave each other five on the hand and they both burst into laughter. Kurako couldn't wait for tomorrow to come.
~*~
Kurako was in her last period of the day, history class, she sat at her desk, staring at the clock. Oh why is the day going by so slowly today? She thought with absolute impatience.
Thirty more seconds. . . .
Ten. . . Nine. . . Eight
Six. . . Five. . .
Three. . . Two. . . One . . . .
RRRRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kurako grabbed her bag , she started toward the front door and smiled at the teacher, " Saiyonara, sensei!" and was gone in a flash.
She rushed down the steps, passing students who were walking normally and calmly up and down. Kurako nearly tripped over when she wasn't looking and this boy put his foot out trying to trip her. She would have hit him but she was in such a hurry and in such an excitement to care at all! She ran passed teachers, she knew that one of them was saying something to her, the usual etiquette and being good, but she didn't care nor stop for the teacher's lecture. Kurako ran on, laughing like a silly clown, but she was sure that tommorrow, there would be detention for her. Oh well, she didn't care, she just wanted to get to Fujima.
Oh finally! The gate was just in front of her somewhere out there. Now she could make out that there was someone there standing in front of the gate, waiting. The person had brown hair and was wearing green trousers.
" FUJIMA! " Kurako shouted.
" KURAKO! " fujima shouted back, waving.
Kurako ran toward Fujima and she bent down to catch her breath.
" How. . . did. . .you get here. . so. . . quickly?" Kurako asked, still trying to catch her breath.
" Well, it's a Fujima Kenji secret" Fujima said mysteriously, his finger tapping his nose.
" Yeah, whatever." Kurako snorted playfully, raising an eyebrow like her friend Winako.
They smiled at each other. Suddenly, the whole world trembled. A beautiful girl with wonderful green eyes was standing in front of Fujima and Kurako.
" Hi, Fujima" she smiled.
" Hi, Luciko" Fujima smiled back, " oh this is my friend, Kurako, the girl I've been telling you about."
" Hi, Kurako, I'm Luciko."
" Hi, Luciko, nice to meet you," Kurako tried to sound nice and happy.
Fujima scratched his head, " Oh I forgot to tell you, Kurako, Luciko's coming with us!"
Kurako was shocked! Her whole afternoon was ruined, she wanted to be alone with Fujima! How could this be happening?
" The more the merrier." Kurako smiled, but behind that smile, she felt a painful stab in her heart.
They walked to this restaurant place and had drinks. Kurako sat by herself while Fujima and Luciko sat together. Luciko and Fujima sat there and just chatted away as if Kurako was invisible, Kurako wanted to join into the conversation as much as possible, but she couldn't. Most of the time, they were talking about the old times or things that only Luciko and Fujima themselves understood. Kurako sat there, feeling very lonely, drinking her ice- cream soda which was finished some time ago.
" Hey, let's go ice- skating now!" Fujima suggested.
" YEAH!" Luciko said before Kurako could say anything.
They walked to the ice skating rink and hired their skates. It started off well, Kurako was doing something she liked, and Fujima was actually talking to her for the first time this whole afternoon. She was happy once again. But happiness did not last long! A while later, Luciko came and started talking to Fujima, then they skated off together, chatting happily and skating joyfully, leaving Kurako by herself.
It was getting late, the whole afternoon went totally wrong, Kurako wished that she hadn't agreed to come.
" Hey, Fujima, I think I should go home now, otherwise I would get into big trouble by akasen, I hadn't told her that I was coming here." Luciko made a face and rolled her eyes.
" Oh that's ok." Fujima said simply.
" Well, I'd better go quickly, otherwise I wouldn't be able to live up to another twenty- four at the very least," pouted Luciko.
So funny I forgot to laugh, thought Kurako.
" See you at school, Fujima, nice to meet you Kurako."
" Bye." said Fujima.
" Bye." said Kurako, without realising it.
Hang on a second, she thought, did Luciko just leave? YES! At least I can have the bus ride home with Fujima all to myself! YES!
" Hey, let's return these." Fujima pointed at the skates.
" Alright."
They returned the skates and exited the ice skating rink centre, Kurako looked at her watch, it was six o' clock, but the sky was nearly dark blue already. She was feeling better now, she was talking to Fujima and Fujima was talking to her and she didn't feel so out of place. The afternoon had been disastrous but hopefully the night would be better.
Suddenly, walking toward them were two guys in green pants with a green sports bag each, Kurako recognised the tall guy with glasses, it was Hanagata, Fujima's basketball team mate and his best friend.
" Hey, Kenji." Hanagata said.
" Hey, guys."
" What are you doing?" the guy standing next to Hanagata asked.
" Oh nothing much, going home now, actually."
" Do you want to come and have dinner with us? Then we can go to the game arcade?" Hanagata asked his friend.
Kurako was shocked! Oh great, she thought, now I have to go home by myself! Oh well, today was bound to be bad. He's going to go off with them, but I don't mind. I have no rights to ask him to come with me, I won't be angry at him. I'll be sad of course, but it's not his fault, not anybody's fault, we just have no fate. . .
Kurako looked upset and bored, she seemed so distant and so deep in her thoughts. Fujima saw the expression on Kurako's face and felt very guilty.
" iie, you guys can go, I have to take Kurako somewhere before I get her home." Fujima gave them an apologetic smile.
His friends got his message and said," Ok then, we'll see you tomorrow."
" Yeah, see you guys."
Fujima started walking, but he noticed that Kurako wasn't following behind, he stopped and walked back to Kurako. She was just standing there, still far away in her thoughts.
Fujima shook her shoulder a little, " Kurako, are you there?"
Kurako shook her head a little, " Yeah . . . um. . . eh. . no. . . yeh. . . yeh? . . .yes, yes, I'm here. Where's senpai Hanagata?"
Fujima smiled, " You silly girl, they've left already." and patted her head gently.
" Are we going home now?" she asked in a sheepish way, still not totally awake.
Fujima shook his head, " I want to take you somewhere first, will you come?"
Kurako nodded her head, " ok. . . "
" Let's go, follow me!"
Fujima grabbed Kurako's hand and led her through the crowd. They went around the streets and down the road, finally Fujima stopped.
It was a park, there were lights everywhere, so Kurako could still make out the shape of the things in the park. The benches were beautifully made, it was detailed and very nice carvings on them, very nice indeed. The trees and flowers were arranged in a ravishing formation, the park was like some kind of secret garden.
" Wow, it's amazing," exclaimed Kurako, almost breathless with awe.
" Yeah? Wait till you see this! Come on." fujima said, still holding onto kurako's hand, ready to start running.
He led her to an enormous grass area.
" Close your eyes. . ." whispered Fujima, with his most tender voice.
" Ok, they are closed." There was a smile on Kurako's face, she loved surprises.
" Don't open them yet, but move your head upward. . . "
"Ok. . . " she tilted her head upward, at the same time, her mind was running through all the possibilities for this mystery.
" Open them!"
Kurako saw millions of twinkling bright stars in the sky, it made her feel peaceful. One of the things that she loved about the world was a night sky filled with stars, giving her hope in everything in this world. At this very grass area, she saw everything clearly, it was as though she was in a dream.
" It's beautiful! I don't know what to say. . . " Kurako fell backward onto the grass, she closed her eyes and smiled satisfyingly, " I love it here."
" I'm glad! Kurako. . ?" Fujima's voice was somewhat uncertain, there was a tint of shame in it too. But Kurako didn't notice, her mind was absorbed in the night.
" Yeah?" this she managed to say.
" You didn't enjoy today at all, did you?" Fujima asked guiltily.
Kurako hesitated a bit, she didn't want Fujima to feel bad about it, but she didn't want to pretend that she did have a good time either, she simply shrugged.
" You know what, this is like my own private place, my thinking place and I love to sit here and think on my own, now I have found a friend to share it with!" he smiled, " I hope this can make up for this afternoon."
" Thank you, Fujima, this is the best!" She smiled at him and Fujima couldn't help but smile back. He didn't know why or how or when it started, but Kurako's smile had become some sort of encouragement for him now a day.
They laid on the grass together, feeling the soft green grass brushing up against their bodies as the gentle breeze blew across their faces. They weren't talking, but it wasn't one of those uncomfortable silence, it was one which was peaceful and a moment that only the two of them could share.
Kurako spoke up, " How did you and Luciko meet?"
Fujima shrugged, " Family friends, you know. . . known her since we were little that sort of thing."
Kurako pondered, not noticing that she was thinking out loud, " When I was little. . . " Kurako realised that she was speaking and immediately broke off the sentence.
" Did. . . something. . . happen?" Fujima asked, not certain if it was appropriate to ask her.
" Yeah, sorta. . ." Kurako decided to tell Fujima about Sendoh, it wasn't that big of a secret anyway.
" There was this boy I met at the bus stop when I was eleven, I had no friends at the bus stop, but he befriended me, I suppose he knew that I was lonely and wanted someone to talk to. We became really good friends and all, we looked out for each other like brother and sister, he was so nice. Since he was one year older than me, he went onto junior high while I still had one year of primary school to go, then I think he moved to somewhere else, I honestly don't know where he is. . . I can hardly remember what he looks like, I just remember that he loved basketball and he was a very tall boy with dark sea blue eyes. . . " Kurako trailed off into her thoughts, many many thoughts of Sendoh Akira.
" Do you miss. . . him?" Fujima was surprised to find some jealousy in his tone, also afraid of Kurako's answer.
" Yeah. . . yeah, I do. . . I miss him ever since the day he was gone. . . " Kurako tried to hold her tears back, that was one reason why she didn't like talking about Sendoh, it made her cry.
" Well, if you have missed him for so long and have wished so hard to see him again, I believe that you will, you definitely will. " Fujima looked at Kurako, giving her a reassuring look. But deep inside, his heart was filled with a mixture of jealousy and disappointment.
" Yeah. . . I will, I will see Sendoh Akira again. . . " Kurako said to herself, but loud enough for Fujima to hear.
Sendoh Akira? The Sendoh Akira from Roynan? The one whom they have played against in competitions, the Sendoh Akira whom every basketball player in Kanagawa know of? The famous Sendoh Akira?
Of course Fujima knew Sendoh Akira and he should have told Kurako that, but he didn't, instead, he stayed quiet. . .
A/N: heehee, for those of you who haven't read this, do you think she'll see Sendoh again??? And what of Fujima??? Anyway, I've put in more feelings and thoughts from Fujima's point of view in order to give the fic a better effect. I must admit, it does get a bit boring always writing about what Kurako thinks.
Thank you to:
Fire-phinx - I will! Thank you!
White-angelxhunter - okie, I promise I will continue this! And when I have time, I'll definitely read your fic!
Disclaimer: I own neither Fujima nor the school nor anything else that belongs to someone else!
Kurako looked at Fujima and Luciko with great dissatisfaction, she knew this girl meant something to him, especially by the fact that she called him Kenji, it really bugged Kurako. Luciko and Fujima finally let go of each other, Fujima smiled at her, " Luciko, haven't seen YOU in a long time, missed you so much!"
Kurako didn't know what to do, she felt uncomfortable at Luciko's presence, her feelings were all mixed up, she slipped away silently without Fujima or Luciko noticing. Her heart felt felt, nothing seemed right to her, all she wanted to do now was to go to class and pretended that nothing had happened.
Fujima didn't notice that Kurako had walked off, he was still talking to Luciko, " And there's this new girl here, she's in first year, she catches the bus with me now a days, her name's Kurako. Hey she's here. . . " Fujima turned around and was surprised not to see Kurako there.
Kurako went through the day in a big daze, she didn't care about the time, the classes she was in or anything else for that matter, all she could think about was Luciko and Fujima, who was she? What did she have to do with Fujima?
Kurako was losing all the confidence she had with Fujima and she didn't know if it was such a good idea to realise her feelings for him after all.
After school, she didn't know whether she should go and watch Fujima practise or not, but the temptation was there and she couldn't resist, besides, her friends were there too, so there was at least a reason for her to be there.
Kurako walked into the gym, sighing, because she knew that Luciko was standing in the gym somewhere, wanting to look at Fujima in action as much as she did. Kurako looked around, expecting to see Luciko there, but Kurako was surprised not to see her. She looked around and inspected even more carefully, looking at every single person in the gym, but to her suspicion but also relieve, Luciko wasn't there.
" Kurako!" Fujima waved.
" Fujima! Gan ba re!" Kurako cheered.
" Thanks!"
Kurako was happy that Luciko wasn't around, because she felt awkward at Luciko's presence. Kurako stood in front of the basketball court where her friends were, she just stared at Fujima, with her eyes filled with admiration and a twinge of a smile appeared at the corner of her mouth.
Kurako's friend, Maruko, looked at her friend and immediately noticed the way she felt for Fujima.
" Hey, Kurako, do I see some sparks in the air?" asked Maruko slyly.
Kurako turned to look at her friend immediately, surprised, " No, of course not, he's just a friend. . ."
" Really?" but Maruko could see Kurako blushing.
~*~
Kurako waited for Fujima outside the gym, as she had done ever since they became very good friends. Fujima walked out of the gym, carrying his green sports bag on his shoulder. It was around five thirty, the sun was setting and it looked like a big reddish- orange colour ball, like a basketball shinning very brightly. Fujima was standing slightly next to it, casting a shadowy light on his face, creating some beautiful highlights in his gorgeous brown hair. Kurako's attention was all on him, Fujima looked like part of an exquisite ten billion dollars worth painting, he looked radiant and very handsome.
" Are you ready to go?" asked Fujima, smiling his usual amazing smile once again.
" Eh. . . ?" Kurako asked, still in her little dream world of Fujima.
" Are you ready to go?" asked Fujima again, with absolute patience.
" Oh yeah!" Kurako smiled, trying to hide the fact that she had been so absorbed in his features.
" Let's go!"
They walked alongside each other, chatting away like they had known each other ever since they were born. Kurako loved Fujima's company, she wished that they would walk like this forever and ever, she didn't mind walking, as long as she was with Fujima.
They reached the bus stop and sat on a brown bench, the bus stop was old, but the trees and flowers along with the cool breeze made it very nice, there weren't many cars or people, it was a place of tranquility and Kurako loved it.
Fujima spoke in an unusually shy and low voice, " I don't have basketball practise tomorrow, so I was just wondering if we could do something, go for a drink then go bowling or something. . . "
Kurako couldn't believe what she just heard, did Fujima Kenji just said that he wanted to spend his one in a million years no basketball practise afternoon with her? She had hung out with him on weekends and stuff, but never on school days because he was always busy with basketball, but she didn't mind. Still, he was willing to spend this only free day with her! Her heart was soaring up high into the air and she felt like singing, the thing she did when she felt ecstatically happy.
" Yes!" Kurako answered with absolute enthusiasm.
" Yeah? Ok, I've got an idea just then, instead of bowling, let's go. . . ICE SKATING! " Fujima shouted excitedly and threw his arms into the air.
" OH MY GOSH! I'm coming definitely! I LOVE ice skating! " Kurako shouted with even more enthusiasm
" Ok then? It's set?"
" Yeah! You bet!"
They gave each other five on the hand and they both burst into laughter. Kurako couldn't wait for tomorrow to come.
~*~
Kurako was in her last period of the day, history class, she sat at her desk, staring at the clock. Oh why is the day going by so slowly today? She thought with absolute impatience.
Thirty more seconds. . . .
Ten. . . Nine. . . Eight
Six. . . Five. . .
Three. . . Two. . . One . . . .
RRRRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kurako grabbed her bag , she started toward the front door and smiled at the teacher, " Saiyonara, sensei!" and was gone in a flash.
She rushed down the steps, passing students who were walking normally and calmly up and down. Kurako nearly tripped over when she wasn't looking and this boy put his foot out trying to trip her. She would have hit him but she was in such a hurry and in such an excitement to care at all! She ran passed teachers, she knew that one of them was saying something to her, the usual etiquette and being good, but she didn't care nor stop for the teacher's lecture. Kurako ran on, laughing like a silly clown, but she was sure that tommorrow, there would be detention for her. Oh well, she didn't care, she just wanted to get to Fujima.
Oh finally! The gate was just in front of her somewhere out there. Now she could make out that there was someone there standing in front of the gate, waiting. The person had brown hair and was wearing green trousers.
" FUJIMA! " Kurako shouted.
" KURAKO! " fujima shouted back, waving.
Kurako ran toward Fujima and she bent down to catch her breath.
" How. . . did. . .you get here. . so. . . quickly?" Kurako asked, still trying to catch her breath.
" Well, it's a Fujima Kenji secret" Fujima said mysteriously, his finger tapping his nose.
" Yeah, whatever." Kurako snorted playfully, raising an eyebrow like her friend Winako.
They smiled at each other. Suddenly, the whole world trembled. A beautiful girl with wonderful green eyes was standing in front of Fujima and Kurako.
" Hi, Fujima" she smiled.
" Hi, Luciko" Fujima smiled back, " oh this is my friend, Kurako, the girl I've been telling you about."
" Hi, Kurako, I'm Luciko."
" Hi, Luciko, nice to meet you," Kurako tried to sound nice and happy.
Fujima scratched his head, " Oh I forgot to tell you, Kurako, Luciko's coming with us!"
Kurako was shocked! Her whole afternoon was ruined, she wanted to be alone with Fujima! How could this be happening?
" The more the merrier." Kurako smiled, but behind that smile, she felt a painful stab in her heart.
They walked to this restaurant place and had drinks. Kurako sat by herself while Fujima and Luciko sat together. Luciko and Fujima sat there and just chatted away as if Kurako was invisible, Kurako wanted to join into the conversation as much as possible, but she couldn't. Most of the time, they were talking about the old times or things that only Luciko and Fujima themselves understood. Kurako sat there, feeling very lonely, drinking her ice- cream soda which was finished some time ago.
" Hey, let's go ice- skating now!" Fujima suggested.
" YEAH!" Luciko said before Kurako could say anything.
They walked to the ice skating rink and hired their skates. It started off well, Kurako was doing something she liked, and Fujima was actually talking to her for the first time this whole afternoon. She was happy once again. But happiness did not last long! A while later, Luciko came and started talking to Fujima, then they skated off together, chatting happily and skating joyfully, leaving Kurako by herself.
It was getting late, the whole afternoon went totally wrong, Kurako wished that she hadn't agreed to come.
" Hey, Fujima, I think I should go home now, otherwise I would get into big trouble by akasen, I hadn't told her that I was coming here." Luciko made a face and rolled her eyes.
" Oh that's ok." Fujima said simply.
" Well, I'd better go quickly, otherwise I wouldn't be able to live up to another twenty- four at the very least," pouted Luciko.
So funny I forgot to laugh, thought Kurako.
" See you at school, Fujima, nice to meet you Kurako."
" Bye." said Fujima.
" Bye." said Kurako, without realising it.
Hang on a second, she thought, did Luciko just leave? YES! At least I can have the bus ride home with Fujima all to myself! YES!
" Hey, let's return these." Fujima pointed at the skates.
" Alright."
They returned the skates and exited the ice skating rink centre, Kurako looked at her watch, it was six o' clock, but the sky was nearly dark blue already. She was feeling better now, she was talking to Fujima and Fujima was talking to her and she didn't feel so out of place. The afternoon had been disastrous but hopefully the night would be better.
Suddenly, walking toward them were two guys in green pants with a green sports bag each, Kurako recognised the tall guy with glasses, it was Hanagata, Fujima's basketball team mate and his best friend.
" Hey, Kenji." Hanagata said.
" Hey, guys."
" What are you doing?" the guy standing next to Hanagata asked.
" Oh nothing much, going home now, actually."
" Do you want to come and have dinner with us? Then we can go to the game arcade?" Hanagata asked his friend.
Kurako was shocked! Oh great, she thought, now I have to go home by myself! Oh well, today was bound to be bad. He's going to go off with them, but I don't mind. I have no rights to ask him to come with me, I won't be angry at him. I'll be sad of course, but it's not his fault, not anybody's fault, we just have no fate. . .
Kurako looked upset and bored, she seemed so distant and so deep in her thoughts. Fujima saw the expression on Kurako's face and felt very guilty.
" iie, you guys can go, I have to take Kurako somewhere before I get her home." Fujima gave them an apologetic smile.
His friends got his message and said," Ok then, we'll see you tomorrow."
" Yeah, see you guys."
Fujima started walking, but he noticed that Kurako wasn't following behind, he stopped and walked back to Kurako. She was just standing there, still far away in her thoughts.
Fujima shook her shoulder a little, " Kurako, are you there?"
Kurako shook her head a little, " Yeah . . . um. . . eh. . no. . . yeh. . . yeh? . . .yes, yes, I'm here. Where's senpai Hanagata?"
Fujima smiled, " You silly girl, they've left already." and patted her head gently.
" Are we going home now?" she asked in a sheepish way, still not totally awake.
Fujima shook his head, " I want to take you somewhere first, will you come?"
Kurako nodded her head, " ok. . . "
" Let's go, follow me!"
Fujima grabbed Kurako's hand and led her through the crowd. They went around the streets and down the road, finally Fujima stopped.
It was a park, there were lights everywhere, so Kurako could still make out the shape of the things in the park. The benches were beautifully made, it was detailed and very nice carvings on them, very nice indeed. The trees and flowers were arranged in a ravishing formation, the park was like some kind of secret garden.
" Wow, it's amazing," exclaimed Kurako, almost breathless with awe.
" Yeah? Wait till you see this! Come on." fujima said, still holding onto kurako's hand, ready to start running.
He led her to an enormous grass area.
" Close your eyes. . ." whispered Fujima, with his most tender voice.
" Ok, they are closed." There was a smile on Kurako's face, she loved surprises.
" Don't open them yet, but move your head upward. . . "
"Ok. . . " she tilted her head upward, at the same time, her mind was running through all the possibilities for this mystery.
" Open them!"
Kurako saw millions of twinkling bright stars in the sky, it made her feel peaceful. One of the things that she loved about the world was a night sky filled with stars, giving her hope in everything in this world. At this very grass area, she saw everything clearly, it was as though she was in a dream.
" It's beautiful! I don't know what to say. . . " Kurako fell backward onto the grass, she closed her eyes and smiled satisfyingly, " I love it here."
" I'm glad! Kurako. . ?" Fujima's voice was somewhat uncertain, there was a tint of shame in it too. But Kurako didn't notice, her mind was absorbed in the night.
" Yeah?" this she managed to say.
" You didn't enjoy today at all, did you?" Fujima asked guiltily.
Kurako hesitated a bit, she didn't want Fujima to feel bad about it, but she didn't want to pretend that she did have a good time either, she simply shrugged.
" You know what, this is like my own private place, my thinking place and I love to sit here and think on my own, now I have found a friend to share it with!" he smiled, " I hope this can make up for this afternoon."
" Thank you, Fujima, this is the best!" She smiled at him and Fujima couldn't help but smile back. He didn't know why or how or when it started, but Kurako's smile had become some sort of encouragement for him now a day.
They laid on the grass together, feeling the soft green grass brushing up against their bodies as the gentle breeze blew across their faces. They weren't talking, but it wasn't one of those uncomfortable silence, it was one which was peaceful and a moment that only the two of them could share.
Kurako spoke up, " How did you and Luciko meet?"
Fujima shrugged, " Family friends, you know. . . known her since we were little that sort of thing."
Kurako pondered, not noticing that she was thinking out loud, " When I was little. . . " Kurako realised that she was speaking and immediately broke off the sentence.
" Did. . . something. . . happen?" Fujima asked, not certain if it was appropriate to ask her.
" Yeah, sorta. . ." Kurako decided to tell Fujima about Sendoh, it wasn't that big of a secret anyway.
" There was this boy I met at the bus stop when I was eleven, I had no friends at the bus stop, but he befriended me, I suppose he knew that I was lonely and wanted someone to talk to. We became really good friends and all, we looked out for each other like brother and sister, he was so nice. Since he was one year older than me, he went onto junior high while I still had one year of primary school to go, then I think he moved to somewhere else, I honestly don't know where he is. . . I can hardly remember what he looks like, I just remember that he loved basketball and he was a very tall boy with dark sea blue eyes. . . " Kurako trailed off into her thoughts, many many thoughts of Sendoh Akira.
" Do you miss. . . him?" Fujima was surprised to find some jealousy in his tone, also afraid of Kurako's answer.
" Yeah. . . yeah, I do. . . I miss him ever since the day he was gone. . . " Kurako tried to hold her tears back, that was one reason why she didn't like talking about Sendoh, it made her cry.
" Well, if you have missed him for so long and have wished so hard to see him again, I believe that you will, you definitely will. " Fujima looked at Kurako, giving her a reassuring look. But deep inside, his heart was filled with a mixture of jealousy and disappointment.
" Yeah. . . I will, I will see Sendoh Akira again. . . " Kurako said to herself, but loud enough for Fujima to hear.
Sendoh Akira? The Sendoh Akira from Roynan? The one whom they have played against in competitions, the Sendoh Akira whom every basketball player in Kanagawa know of? The famous Sendoh Akira?
Of course Fujima knew Sendoh Akira and he should have told Kurako that, but he didn't, instead, he stayed quiet. . .
A/N: heehee, for those of you who haven't read this, do you think she'll see Sendoh again??? And what of Fujima??? Anyway, I've put in more feelings and thoughts from Fujima's point of view in order to give the fic a better effect. I must admit, it does get a bit boring always writing about what Kurako thinks.
