So this is the 3rd chapter. Definitely longer than the previous one as promised. I guess it's a good thing that I actually have the drive to write a fic like this. I felt weird while writing this chapter down. I think I'm not good handling strong emotions... In any case, things start to shape up here. Enjoy! And please review!
Disclaimer: I'm only using FoR and its characters for the fun of it! It doesn't belong to me.
A Cup of Tea
Chapter 3
Dusk was about to befall the busy city of Tokyo, and Mikagami, needless to say, was still nowhere with this essay. But he was making progress, in the form of tailing Fuuko and Yanagi as they made their way back to their respective homes.
He felt stupid doing so, resorting to an act mostly committed by stalkers and perverts. He could've just walked up to them back at the deli, greeted them all for civility's sake, and promptly invite Yanagi for tea. But that would mean risking the lives of the other people in the shop as he was sure Recca would've heard it as an invite for Yanagi to marry him.
So here he was, walking about a few feet away from the two girls. He would wait until Fuuko would reach her residence. And then he could come up to Yanagi, offer to walk the girl home, make small talk, and subtly interpolate his invitation for tea. And Yanagi, the sweet girl she is, would eventually say yes since the girl practically says no only in her dreams. They will have a nice Saturday afternoon together at his backyard drinking tea and munching on scones and salted biscuits while they talk (or rather she talks, and he listens while covertly jotting down notes) about the what-nots and what-is of life and beyond. After that they will-
"Yo! Mi-chan!"
Apparently, Mikagami was lost in his chain of thought that he totally forgot the presence of the Fuujin-wielder, who was now waving at him with a smirk on her face.
'Way to let your guard down Mikagami,' he scolded himself.
Without anywhere else to run to, he made his way to the girls and muttered a quick "good evening". Yanagi politely returned his greeting while Fuuko still carried that grin on her face. Then they all started to walk in comparable silence. Tokiya still had his plan ready for execution. He just had to wait until Fuuko leaves at then go from there.
"So Mi-chan," Fuuko started. He immediately had the gut feel that things weren't going as he planned. "Why were you following us?"
He didn't give but a glance to her and continued his brisk pace. "What makes you think that?"
"Doohhhh!! I'm not stupid. You live all the way back there, a little north of the train station!" She, flailing her arms and pointing at the other direction, exclaimed.
He mentally cursed Fuuko's keen sense of direction. "I'm not following you. I wanted to take the long way home."
This time Yanagi joined in the exchange, although in a way Mikagami would never have expected. "Well, this is my stop. Thank you for the company, Fuuko-chan, Mikagami-sempai."
'Bloody hell.' His plan seemed to overlook the fact that Yanagi's house was nearer than Fuuko's.
"See ya on Monday!" Fuuko cheerfully bade.
A thousand expletives raced through Mikagami's head as the plan he reviewed in his mind was kicked out of the picture. How absolutely stupid of him to just assume that everything would go his way. Well no matter, he HAD to invite Yanagi right now just to assure himself that everything would go with his plan afterwards. Fuuko would definitely prattle, but that was at the least of his concerns.
"Yanagi-san!" he called out.
Yanagi, a surprised expression on her face, stopped on her heels and turned around. "Yes, Mikagami-sempai?"
Fuuko as well turned to Mikagami, eagerly waiting what was to transpire between the two.
"It would do me great honor, Yanagi-san," he began "If you would grace me with your presence for tea tomorrow afternoon."
The words came too quickly from his mouth. It was better to get it over with, but he had no intention to make his invitation sound like a date. But it really looked like it did, judging from the blushing face of Yanagi and Fuuko's wide, unblinking eyes.
"Oh! Well, thank you for the invite, sempai but you see… I have a previous engagement with Recca-kun." Yanagi blushed even more and lowered her head.
Naturally, Tokiya was disappointed. Again, his assumptions had led to another pinch. "That's understandable, Yanagi-san. Good night."
Yanagi quickly bowed and went inside her house.
As for him, he was back at square one.
Tea… and a friend?
What friend?
Before he could fully engage in a mind game as to which person with the required functioning brain cells and good moral character would fit the shoes of his tea partner, Fuuko promptly marched up to him and directly pointed a finger at his chest.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU THINKING?!?!" she demanded.
He was indeed taken aback by the girl's sudden upheaval. Although he found it characteristic of Fuuko to just suddenly flare up and create a ruckus, this was certainly uncalled for. "What are you yelling about, monkey?"
Ignoring the detested nickname, she poked her finger in his chest, all the while clenching and unclenching her other fist as if ready to punch him any moment. "How could you ask Yanagi out knowing fully well that she's happy with Recca?!"
And THIS was the reason he didn't come up to them earlier. At least one of his assumptions was true. Fuuko thought of it as a date, whereas Recca would think of it as a marriage proposal. "I wasn't asking for a date. I was inviting her to tea," he explained in a voice obviously showing his enormous self-restraint. And frankly, he didn't see reason why he should explain this to the monkey.
"Ohh, suuuure… You're only inviting her to tea. Drugged tea!! And then Yanagi'll fall oh-so-helpless in your arms and you'd catch her and you'd put her to bed then take of her clothes…"
Now Tokiya Mikagami has had enough of this. His patience can only go so far, and Fuuko Kirisawa, the daring monkey that she is, has certainly crossed the restricted area. How ironic, that he was writing an essay on pride and right now it is the same thing that's making him want to skewer the girl in front of him right now.
He was about to reach for his ensui and challenge Fuuko to fight, right then and there, just to settle this stupid argument (heck, he wouldn't even call it an argument), when Fuuko abruptly stopped and flashed him a silly grin.
"Geez Mi-chan, you're always uptight! I was just kidding!" The poking finger was retrieved and was quickly replaced by a hearty slap at his back.
This was so typically Fuuko Kirisawa.
"What?" the girl asked defiantly. "You don't really think I'd hate you for asking Yanagi for a date? Yeah, so she and Recca are dating, but it's always good for a girl to have many options, you know."
Mikagami felt his patience wearing off more. "I've had enough of your tricks Kirisawa. And I am NOT asking Yanagi out on a date."
"Sure, sure, you're INVITING her to TEA… Well, men have their own ways of wooing women."
He rolled his eyes and she, amused with his rare show of emotion, laughed. Although slightly exasperated by the younger teen's mastery of making fun of people, as the gentleman he is, Mikagami silently accompanied Fuuko on her way back home. Relishing in this moment of serenity, he decided to go back to his previous problem, about his essay and that friend.
Until now he found it startling that he could not pass a requirement on time. These past days he has been feeling a little out of it, as if he were not part of this world anymore and he was merely watching everything go by through a looking glass. Perhaps it had something to do with the UBS being over. The end of the tournament-or more specifically the end of his match with Kai--- marked the end of the road of the path he had decided to travel.
Where was he to go to now?
And with all the mind game he's been going through because of that, he wondered why he had to write an essay on, of all things, pride.
"What're you thinking about, Mi-chan?" Fuuko suddenly queried.
"I'm not thinking about anything," he lied. Having to explain things to someone like her would add to his present headache. Tokiya didn't miss the frown that crossed Fuuko's features when he said that, but he didn't want to point that out.
"I don't know what you take me for, Mikagami," she said. "But I'm not stupid."
"I didn't say anything," he replied. And then hesitated, as a peculiar thought came to him.
"Now what are you thinking about?" she queried.
He didn't answer.
And Fuuko didn't like it one bit.
She stopped in her tracks and grabbed his arm to prevent him from walking any farther. Much like her playful castigation before, she now stood before him, this time with real anger mirrored in her eyes.
He knew what was coming. She'd fire up again and start yelling like the uncivilized primate she is, demanding him to tell her what was going on, and since there is no way he's going to confide to her, of all people, what he was thinking, she'd use her Fuujin to threaten him. And if that won't work, she'd challenge him to a fight.
But what was this…? Fuuko still held her gaze, but she stepped back and released his arm from her grip.
"You're so full of your self, you know."
"Kirisawa…"
"Look, listen to me okay. People always think that those who don't talk much, people like you, are the best listeners. But I don't think you do much listening at all," she paused, as if waiting for any violent reaction from the ensui-wielder, but didn't get any, so she continued. "What makes you think that you're better than any of us anyway? Sure, you've got the looks, the brains, the skills, the money… But so what? Those things don't set the standards here."
Fuuko looked away from his piercing look and continued in a lower voice. "That's what's wrong with people these days. They think that when you have it all, you have it ALL. But you don't…" she laid her gaze upon him. "You may be proud of all that you have, but in truth, you don't have anything to be proud of!"
Mikagami found himself lost in Kirisawa's words… For many reasons. But the most striking of them all was that what she said actually made sense to him, although he hasn't fully understood everything yet. He had nothing to be proud of. That was exactly what he was feeling. After walking down the path of revenge, at the end, he didn't feel accomplished at all…
It was a funny thing too, as he didn't think Fuuko also understood what her words meant… Or did she?
There was only one way to find out.
"Would you like to join me for tea tomorrow afternoon?"
TBC
Disclaimer: I'm only using FoR and its characters for the fun of it! It doesn't belong to me.
A Cup of Tea
Chapter 3
Dusk was about to befall the busy city of Tokyo, and Mikagami, needless to say, was still nowhere with this essay. But he was making progress, in the form of tailing Fuuko and Yanagi as they made their way back to their respective homes.
He felt stupid doing so, resorting to an act mostly committed by stalkers and perverts. He could've just walked up to them back at the deli, greeted them all for civility's sake, and promptly invite Yanagi for tea. But that would mean risking the lives of the other people in the shop as he was sure Recca would've heard it as an invite for Yanagi to marry him.
So here he was, walking about a few feet away from the two girls. He would wait until Fuuko would reach her residence. And then he could come up to Yanagi, offer to walk the girl home, make small talk, and subtly interpolate his invitation for tea. And Yanagi, the sweet girl she is, would eventually say yes since the girl practically says no only in her dreams. They will have a nice Saturday afternoon together at his backyard drinking tea and munching on scones and salted biscuits while they talk (or rather she talks, and he listens while covertly jotting down notes) about the what-nots and what-is of life and beyond. After that they will-
"Yo! Mi-chan!"
Apparently, Mikagami was lost in his chain of thought that he totally forgot the presence of the Fuujin-wielder, who was now waving at him with a smirk on her face.
'Way to let your guard down Mikagami,' he scolded himself.
Without anywhere else to run to, he made his way to the girls and muttered a quick "good evening". Yanagi politely returned his greeting while Fuuko still carried that grin on her face. Then they all started to walk in comparable silence. Tokiya still had his plan ready for execution. He just had to wait until Fuuko leaves at then go from there.
"So Mi-chan," Fuuko started. He immediately had the gut feel that things weren't going as he planned. "Why were you following us?"
He didn't give but a glance to her and continued his brisk pace. "What makes you think that?"
"Doohhhh!! I'm not stupid. You live all the way back there, a little north of the train station!" She, flailing her arms and pointing at the other direction, exclaimed.
He mentally cursed Fuuko's keen sense of direction. "I'm not following you. I wanted to take the long way home."
This time Yanagi joined in the exchange, although in a way Mikagami would never have expected. "Well, this is my stop. Thank you for the company, Fuuko-chan, Mikagami-sempai."
'Bloody hell.' His plan seemed to overlook the fact that Yanagi's house was nearer than Fuuko's.
"See ya on Monday!" Fuuko cheerfully bade.
A thousand expletives raced through Mikagami's head as the plan he reviewed in his mind was kicked out of the picture. How absolutely stupid of him to just assume that everything would go his way. Well no matter, he HAD to invite Yanagi right now just to assure himself that everything would go with his plan afterwards. Fuuko would definitely prattle, but that was at the least of his concerns.
"Yanagi-san!" he called out.
Yanagi, a surprised expression on her face, stopped on her heels and turned around. "Yes, Mikagami-sempai?"
Fuuko as well turned to Mikagami, eagerly waiting what was to transpire between the two.
"It would do me great honor, Yanagi-san," he began "If you would grace me with your presence for tea tomorrow afternoon."
The words came too quickly from his mouth. It was better to get it over with, but he had no intention to make his invitation sound like a date. But it really looked like it did, judging from the blushing face of Yanagi and Fuuko's wide, unblinking eyes.
"Oh! Well, thank you for the invite, sempai but you see… I have a previous engagement with Recca-kun." Yanagi blushed even more and lowered her head.
Naturally, Tokiya was disappointed. Again, his assumptions had led to another pinch. "That's understandable, Yanagi-san. Good night."
Yanagi quickly bowed and went inside her house.
As for him, he was back at square one.
Tea… and a friend?
What friend?
Before he could fully engage in a mind game as to which person with the required functioning brain cells and good moral character would fit the shoes of his tea partner, Fuuko promptly marched up to him and directly pointed a finger at his chest.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU THINKING?!?!" she demanded.
He was indeed taken aback by the girl's sudden upheaval. Although he found it characteristic of Fuuko to just suddenly flare up and create a ruckus, this was certainly uncalled for. "What are you yelling about, monkey?"
Ignoring the detested nickname, she poked her finger in his chest, all the while clenching and unclenching her other fist as if ready to punch him any moment. "How could you ask Yanagi out knowing fully well that she's happy with Recca?!"
And THIS was the reason he didn't come up to them earlier. At least one of his assumptions was true. Fuuko thought of it as a date, whereas Recca would think of it as a marriage proposal. "I wasn't asking for a date. I was inviting her to tea," he explained in a voice obviously showing his enormous self-restraint. And frankly, he didn't see reason why he should explain this to the monkey.
"Ohh, suuuure… You're only inviting her to tea. Drugged tea!! And then Yanagi'll fall oh-so-helpless in your arms and you'd catch her and you'd put her to bed then take of her clothes…"
Now Tokiya Mikagami has had enough of this. His patience can only go so far, and Fuuko Kirisawa, the daring monkey that she is, has certainly crossed the restricted area. How ironic, that he was writing an essay on pride and right now it is the same thing that's making him want to skewer the girl in front of him right now.
He was about to reach for his ensui and challenge Fuuko to fight, right then and there, just to settle this stupid argument (heck, he wouldn't even call it an argument), when Fuuko abruptly stopped and flashed him a silly grin.
"Geez Mi-chan, you're always uptight! I was just kidding!" The poking finger was retrieved and was quickly replaced by a hearty slap at his back.
This was so typically Fuuko Kirisawa.
"What?" the girl asked defiantly. "You don't really think I'd hate you for asking Yanagi for a date? Yeah, so she and Recca are dating, but it's always good for a girl to have many options, you know."
Mikagami felt his patience wearing off more. "I've had enough of your tricks Kirisawa. And I am NOT asking Yanagi out on a date."
"Sure, sure, you're INVITING her to TEA… Well, men have their own ways of wooing women."
He rolled his eyes and she, amused with his rare show of emotion, laughed. Although slightly exasperated by the younger teen's mastery of making fun of people, as the gentleman he is, Mikagami silently accompanied Fuuko on her way back home. Relishing in this moment of serenity, he decided to go back to his previous problem, about his essay and that friend.
Until now he found it startling that he could not pass a requirement on time. These past days he has been feeling a little out of it, as if he were not part of this world anymore and he was merely watching everything go by through a looking glass. Perhaps it had something to do with the UBS being over. The end of the tournament-or more specifically the end of his match with Kai--- marked the end of the road of the path he had decided to travel.
Where was he to go to now?
And with all the mind game he's been going through because of that, he wondered why he had to write an essay on, of all things, pride.
"What're you thinking about, Mi-chan?" Fuuko suddenly queried.
"I'm not thinking about anything," he lied. Having to explain things to someone like her would add to his present headache. Tokiya didn't miss the frown that crossed Fuuko's features when he said that, but he didn't want to point that out.
"I don't know what you take me for, Mikagami," she said. "But I'm not stupid."
"I didn't say anything," he replied. And then hesitated, as a peculiar thought came to him.
"Now what are you thinking about?" she queried.
He didn't answer.
And Fuuko didn't like it one bit.
She stopped in her tracks and grabbed his arm to prevent him from walking any farther. Much like her playful castigation before, she now stood before him, this time with real anger mirrored in her eyes.
He knew what was coming. She'd fire up again and start yelling like the uncivilized primate she is, demanding him to tell her what was going on, and since there is no way he's going to confide to her, of all people, what he was thinking, she'd use her Fuujin to threaten him. And if that won't work, she'd challenge him to a fight.
But what was this…? Fuuko still held her gaze, but she stepped back and released his arm from her grip.
"You're so full of your self, you know."
"Kirisawa…"
"Look, listen to me okay. People always think that those who don't talk much, people like you, are the best listeners. But I don't think you do much listening at all," she paused, as if waiting for any violent reaction from the ensui-wielder, but didn't get any, so she continued. "What makes you think that you're better than any of us anyway? Sure, you've got the looks, the brains, the skills, the money… But so what? Those things don't set the standards here."
Fuuko looked away from his piercing look and continued in a lower voice. "That's what's wrong with people these days. They think that when you have it all, you have it ALL. But you don't…" she laid her gaze upon him. "You may be proud of all that you have, but in truth, you don't have anything to be proud of!"
Mikagami found himself lost in Kirisawa's words… For many reasons. But the most striking of them all was that what she said actually made sense to him, although he hasn't fully understood everything yet. He had nothing to be proud of. That was exactly what he was feeling. After walking down the path of revenge, at the end, he didn't feel accomplished at all…
It was a funny thing too, as he didn't think Fuuko also understood what her words meant… Or did she?
There was only one way to find out.
"Would you like to join me for tea tomorrow afternoon?"
TBC