A/N: *Peers out into the audience and looks at pissed faces* Man... who are you people? *They hold up bats menacingly* N-No, no! I was just kidding! Hehe, but aren't you amazed that I'm actually early?! Two months early in fact! Ideas just came for this faster than I thought and plus I needed a break from my Chemistry project, so I decided to post ^_^
Well, all of the support I've been getting has been so kind! School has been every bit as hard as I thought, but I think I owe it to you guys for not delaying so much!! ^_^ Anime26angel, you reviewed my story like a day after I published! I didn't know you were waiting so eagerly, thank you!! I've actually never seen Slam Dunk *watches as money goes flying from pockets towards Fruits Basket DVDs* Err... when I get the proper funds, I'll have to see it ^_^ Aww, S.M., thank you so much! I am having a pretty good time here at school and I'm so sorry to keep you waiting ^_^ Steve Jester! I'm glad to see you again! Your constant reviewing is so much appreciated *bows* Thank you very much for your patience!! Holy snail fish, Botan_Rocks721, you are absolutely right! I did say that she was senior before! I completely forgot to fix that!! Thank you so much for pointing that out! *big hug* THANK YOU!!!! And you gave me such a nice review too! I'm incredibly grateful! (PS- Botan does rock by the way! She's my favorite YYH character besides Jin & Kuwabara ^_^)
Constructive reviews mean a lot to me *wink* *wink* Minor crossovers are abound and standard disclaimers apply!
But above all, please enjoy!!
Edit (04.10.03) – Added a much more epic ending that is critical to the plot line! Ah, that's such a weird twist for me too, and wasn't in my original planning, but I think I know where I want it to go now, so bear with me!! You probably won't like it but hey, that's what cliffhangers are, right?
*~*~*~*~*~*~
What else could possibly add to her growing migraine? The very sight of a Motomiya made her cringe and have the horrible urge and need to hurt something or someone. She also had to worry about the diabolical and sneaky temptress from America, and now she had a group of fan girls breathing down her neck, complete with theme songs and badges. What else could possibly be thrown at her?
"Motoko-sempai!" a group of voices cooed, admiration and devotion laced within them.
"Shimatta... I forgot about them" Motoko groaned, immediately recognizing the chorus. Clad in black kimonos and carrying wooden practice swords with them, the Kendo team of Odaiba High School raced up and bowed before her.
"Captain Aoyama! We are at your command for practice!"
"C-Captain?" she stuttered.
"During your trip to Hinata Springs, our teacher sponsor, Mr. Seijirou Hiko decided that you were to be the next captain of the Kendo team. You were notified of this over the summer weren't you? I thought that-" the underling paused suddenly, a scowl crossing his face. "Soujirou! You didn't notify Motoko-sempai that we elected her our new captain?!"
"Err... it ah... slipped my mind" the smiling kendo student grinned, blushing as he watched with interest as Misao Makimachi walked past with a wink.
"You don't wear that uniform just to pick up girls" a blonde haired swordsman growled beside him, smacking him on the head with his practice sword.
"A little hard for you to be complaining, eh, Allen?" a red haired man chuckled, tossing his long hair to the side, catching the immediate attention of a group of girls. "I, Touga Kiryuu, have a large fan base even without displaying my Kendo skills."
"Well, if you were so wonderful, why aren't you Co-Captain" Hotohori interjected, confidence radiating from his smirk.
"Well... weren't you elected because you're filthy rich?" Gourry Gabrieve wondered as he scratched his head. As the group of young pretty boys continued to squawk and quibble, Motoko felt her headache graduate to the level of veins popping in her forehead. Whipping out her long practice sword, she took the liberty of nailing them all on their craniums with one sweeping motion.
"All of you are acting like incompetent pansies! Pretty boys and such nonsense... If you were enrolled in the Shinmei School, your long, girly hair would have to be chopped off to a more respectable length!" Motoko sweatdropped as she heard a few whimpers within the crowd, and they instinctively reached up to protectively hold their tresses. "I DIDN'T SAY I WAS GOING TO CUT IT!! DON'T ACT SO PATHETIC!" she exclaimed, further annoyed by the collective sighs of relief. "Most of you outspoken individuals" she glared at Allen, Touya and Hotohori, "will need to be conditioned thoroughly if you back away like meek little puppies."
"H-Hai, Captain Aoyama..."
"W-Well... I like puppies, Captain." The slight twitch in Motoko's stern glare immediately silenced Gourry's absurd flightiness.
"And those of you who chose to follow around your girlfriends will be taking an extended break from the relationship" she demanded, peering towards Soujirou.
"H-Hai, Captain Aoyama!"
"And a B average must be maintained if you have hopes of being on the Varsity Kendo team."
"H-Hai..." Gourry groaned.
"And another question I have is for you!" she exclaimed, thrusting her sword towards Hotohori. "Why are you Co-Captain?"
"Well, you see, it's my natural skill as a swordsman. My family comes from a long line of distinguished warriors you see-"
"Wrong. You're too concerned about your shampoo to have time as dedicated Kendo student. You are relieved of your duties, but will remain on the Varsity team."
"B-But-!" Hotohori growled as he heard snickers among his other long-haired bishounen companions.
"Therefore, as your Captain, I will elect someone who is dedicated to the traditions and the arts of Kendo. Someone who values this above all of his other tasks... Iori-kun!" she called out. Iori felt a shiver crawl down his spine as he entered the hallway where Motoko had called out his name. Had she somehow sensed his presence approaching? He also caught a glimpse of the rest of the team gathered in uniform around Motoko. Had he missed an important meeting?
"H-Hai, Motoko-sempai?" he asked nervously as he jogged towards her.
"Captain Aoyama" the others hissed quietly. Ignoring them, Motoko decided to continue.
"I have elected you as the new Co-Captain."
"M-Me?"
"HIM?!?!"
"But Captain Aoyama, a... a sophomore?!"
"I am a much more suitable partner for you!"
"I am much more reliable!"
"I am far more experienced!"
"I have enough beauty in but one follicle of hair than he!" The others glared daggers towards Hotohori. "W-What?"
"But I have decided to elect one other as a Co-Captain under me. I do intend for us to reach the national finals this year and beat Hokuei High School in the tournament" Motoko supplied for them. Their seething looks were replaced with sheer glee, both with the thought of being a Co-Captain and with beating their long-time rivals Hokuei.
"H-Have you chosen him, yet?" Allen asked hopefully.
"Yes, I have indeed. One who I noticed showed a lot of promise in practice last year, with a strict and admirable code of honor to accompany his natural talent." The boys exchanged looks of sheer joy, absolutely sure it was himself that Motoko was praising. "The boy I have chosen is... Kazuma Kuwabara." And then the world seemed to come to an end for them.
"WHAT THE HELL!?!"
"KUWABARA?! THAT BUFFON!"
"M-Me?!" the gruff sounding junior exclaimed, fighting his way from the back of the crowd. His puffy red hair bounced as he leapt forward in the audience and his mouth remained agape. "A-Are you absolutely sure?"
"Positive" Motoko told him with a smirk. "You're an admirable man, Kuwabara. I expect you to keep spirit and morale up when we need it the most."
"Y-You can count on me, Motoko-sempai!" Kuwabara saluted triumphantly. Turning her attention from her bubbling Co-Captain to the rest of them team, she glared at them with a look of pure venom.
"And what are you all looking so sour about? Will you not congratulate your comrade?" The silence that filtered in through the group infuriated her and Kuwabara glared as well.
"Sheesh, just because you're jealous doesn't mean you have to hate me so much" he gruffly said, brushing them off.
"All of you, two laps around the school. Practice will resume at 3:10 sharp this afternoon going until 6:00."
"T-Two laps? But Captain Motoko, class will start in five minutes!" they exclaimed. With a look of sheer terror, the newly appointed Captain smiled with seething bitterness.
"I'd advise you to run fast, because anyone who lags will receive an unspeakable beating from me as I jog behind you..."
"T-That's ludicrous!"
"Y-You're going to kill us!"
"Then I'd advise all of you to begin running" Motoko grinned. Not needing to be told twice, the group of handsome boys zoomed through the hallways and towards the doors.
"Neh, Motoko-sempai, why work them so hard?" Iori asked her. Sure that the last of them had sprinted off into the distance, Motoko relaxed her shoulders and formed a much more reflective look on her face.
"Each one of them has potential that has never really been pushed. Last year's captain never really had the time or the drive to push this team to its limits. It's also imperative that we don't keep any stragglers. We'll be weeding out the ones who are weak in both mind and talent. But we'll save our strategies for later on. Right now though, we have some work to do" Motoko told them, another grin lighting up her face and she smacked the wooden weapon in her palm.
"You know, it's kind of scary how much she enjoys this..." Kuwabara sighed to Iori.
"*Huff* *Wheeze* Captain Motoko... that wasn't fair. You caught up to all of us even though we sprinted the whole way!" Hotohori exclaimed, rubbing several bumps on his head.
"That just proves how slow you all are. Conditioning is key here, so we'll start out slow and progress quickly. Remember, 3:10 this afternoon!" she called out to her team as they crawled towards homeroom.
"Hai!" they exclaimed behind them, waving slowly to their captain. As they began to disperse towards their classes, Motoko smiled, exuding confidence both in her team and in her leadership.
"How cruel of you to work them so hard. What is it that Yamato sees in you?" Motoko continued to look straight forward at her comrades, not wanting to turn around and see the grinning woman behind her. "Hey, I'm talking to you, Aoyama. It's rather rude to ignore me." Mimi took the liberty of coming around and standing before Motoko. Her uniform was a size smaller than Motoko's, complementing her needle thin waist. Her long auburn hair spun into magnificent curls behind her long back, and her shoes had a slight heal on them, making her legs look sleek and slim.
"You're disgusting" Motoko hissed, her nose arching in contempt as her grip on the wooden sword tightening.
"More like jealously, methinks" Mimi taunted, flipping her hair back. "What's really disgusting is that a sweaty, vulgar and rather... ugly girl is taking my place as Yamato's girlfriend. Is it a rebound I wonder?" She began to circle around Motoko, purely enjoying Motoko's despondent attitude. "The fact that boys are always so fast paced... maybe he just wanted something new? But you... Ha! I shudder to think what the rest of your family looks like. A bunch of simpletons no doubt." Now, Mimi had been born into a rather posh lifestyle, and had thus developed rather thick skin for criticism and complaints. But feeling the cement wall on her back and watching steel be slipped from a sheath with the fluid motion of water was enough to mist her eyes with tears. Even scarier was the look in Motoko's eyes. Watching her eyes quiver with silent rage, her pearl teeth glint with frustration, and the resilience in her pale hands with how close the steel of her sword hovered over Mimi's neck. "T-That's not a practice sword..." she breathed out, her chest heaving up and down.
"No. No it's not" Motoko seared.
"Oh... Oh God..." she whispered, feeling hot tears roll down her cheeks.
"You may attack my character. Insult my integrity. But to defile my family's name is inexcusable. The Aoyamas have served their honorable purpose for generations, and our existence today would be radically altered if my family hadn't sacrificed blood and tears for the future of Japan. Will you criticize us so easily, Tachikawa? How could you even understand the role of justice my family has conveyed for centuries? How dare you. How dare you" she growled quietly. Her voice was so hushed and forceful, that it made girl sink to her knees in fear. "Coward. Go." With her shaky hands, Mimi practically scampered away like a kicked dog, scrambling to her feet and running to class. Relaxing her body, Motoko looked down at the sword still gripped in her hands.
"Have I really become so embittered?" she wondered aloud. "Since when do I unsheathe this blade so callously? Am I really this jealous?" Motoko felt her anxiety swell in her joints and she leaned against the wall, trying to put her irrational emotions in place. "... Never since my flagrant denial of Keitaro's ideals have I been so brash. If I am to be a kendo captain and represent the Shinmei School... then I can't allow myself to succumb to such petty remarks." Her now wistful hazel eyes looked out longingly towards the blue sky, back towards home.
"Why do I feel this anxiety, Tsuruko? What should I do?"
Motoko, take care of yourself.
I'm giving you my sword, Shisui, so take good care of it.
I want you to become a great swordswoman, Motoko.
Motoko...
"Neh, did you hear that Miss Tachikawa was threatened this morning by the Kendo Captain?"
"Motoko Aoyama right? Isn't she Yamato's girlfriend?"
"I think so! But she's usually very cool about things. How do you think Miss Tachikawa got to her?"
"Who knows? But you've seen the way she's been flirting with Yamato! And Yamato hasn't said anything to her yet!"
"Wow, what do you think Aoyama will do?"
"Whatever it is, she'd better think of a different method than beating that girl up! She got a whole two weeks of detention!"
"And she's from that prestigious Shinmei School too! She's certainly dug herself a hole."
"JUST SHUT UP!!" a booming voice exclaimed from down at the end of the hallway. The group of boys who were talking amongst themselves immediately clammed up as a burly boy with puffy red hair stormed down the hallway. "Don't you DARE talk about Captain Motoko like that! It's that girl's fault because Aoyama-sempai would never do anything like that! NEVER!"
"S-S-Sure... O-Our bad..." one of the guys told him shakily.
"Psh, you're just a waste of time. Get lost" Kuwabara growled. The boys chuckled nervously as they hastily departed, leaving a group of students to whisper among themselves concerning Motoko.
"Stopping these rumors is hard work! I've had to promise three horribly plain looking girls dates for the weekend just to get them to stop gossiping about Aoyama-sempai!" Touga Kiryuu exclaimed as he approached Kuwabara.
"It's all that girl's fault... what's her face?"
"Tachikawa Mimi? Yes, she is a fine piece indeed" Touga smirked. "But for some reason she's drooling all over Yamato. Hardly worthy for her I think..."
"Hey, don't talk about Motoko-sempai's boyfriend like that!!" Kuwabara yelled angrily.
"Hm, by the way he's going he might not be her boyfriend for long. I wonder what he'll say to her?"
"... Whatever it is, it's none of our business unless she wants to say anything. We'll go on with practice just as planned. Even though she'll be an hour late, we're still going to have to work hard, understand?"
"Hm, no problem there. Hopefully we won't be one more headache for her to have." Listening to the older boys talk, Iori sighed heavily and hung his shoulders, staying unnoticeable to both Kuwabara and Touga.
'Motoko-sempai... what in the world is happening to you?'
The cool breeze that swept down the gentle slopes of the hills carried up through the trees and continued to blow across the top of the roof of the school where two young students stood silently, just admiring the autumn weather. At least on the surface they were. Yamato caught one of the stray orange leaves in his fingers and he heaved out a great sigh, signaling the beginning of the conversation.
"Why did you do it?" he asked aloud, still unable to move his eyes away from the dying leaf.
"She was insulting and bitter. I just didn't handle my rage well-"
"Aren't you trained to do that though, Motoko? Isn't this part of the Shinmei School?" Yamato asked, the volume of his voice beginning to rise. "You could've just walked away!"
"And let her win? She continued to provoke me and it would have just been worse if I-"
"If you what? Hadn't pointed a sword at her neck?!" Yamato exclaimed. "Are you really that jealous?"
"J-Jealous? Jealous of what exactly?!" she asked, her voice now rising to the occasion.
"Look, maybe that wasn't the best choice in wording..."
"Are you saying that she has something better than me? That there's something that I should be jealous of?"
"In the matters of being ladylike and holding her temper she is!" Once the words had tumbled out of his mouth, he immediately regretted it. He heard Motoko stammer fighting for some kind of words.
I want you to become a great swordswoman, Motoko.
"M-Maybe I don't want to be ladylike! Maybe I don't want to wear short skirts or hang all over my boyfriend!!"
"Motoko, that's just unfair-"
"UNFAIR?! That scheming, immoral devil-woman is everything I don't want to be and your ideal girlfriend isn't she?"
"Motoko-"
"Do you still have feelings for her or not Yamato?" Motoko demanded. Yamato hesitated and lowered his eyes from her. He continued to switch back and forth between the memories of Mimi and Motoko, both ones in which he held dearly.
"O-Of course not."
"... Is that the truth? Have you really decided? Or are you just saying that because I happen to be your girlfriend now?" Motoko softened as his hesitancy and she brought her head down further in contemplation herself. His silence said more than any words he could possibly have spoken. "W-What do you want to do then?"
"... I don't know." Overcome with immense frustration, Motoko threw up her hands and wiped a hand carelessly at her tired eyes.
"I'm sick of this... I'm absolutely tired of it..." Motoko took the back of her hand and wiped the faint traces of lipstick off and then rubbed messily at her face, attempting to get ride of the pink blush. "I don't want to have to put makeup on to feel like I've reached the standard of being your girlfriend! I'm tired of having to make these appearances at parties with you! I don't want to fight off all of these fan girls anymore and I'm tired of competing and losing to her! I don't understand why you're suddenly taking her side-"
"I've hardly even given a hint that I had taken her side! And I don't understand why I should have to choose-"
"BECAUSE I'M YOUR GIRLFRIEND!" Motoko cried out, tears spilling out of her eyes. Yamato looked uncomfortable as Motoko began to sob, horribly frustrated and utterly exhausted.
"... I'm tired of being pulled into fifty different directions, Motoko. And I'm sorry that you feel like you have to suffer so much for me" Yamato told her, much more bitterness searing into his words than sympathy. "Maybe it's just a good idea if you and I take a break."
"A-A break? You mean-"
"See other people. I don't want to date a girl who gets jealous to the point of hurting other people!"
"Y-Yamato-"
"I-It might be best to just call me Ishida for now Aoyama..." He turned around, his back facing her as he felt an unfamiliar stinging in his eyes. It hurt. It hurt so horribly...
"W-What are you saying?" Motoko watched as something was carried in the now brisk breeze. Something clear and completely unfamiliar to Yamato's complexion. Tears.
"It's over."
A/N: A little jumbled, but aren't you thrilled that I'm early?! Ack, that was an ending that kind of came up suddenly I know! But if it seems a little rushed, then I apologize! I know it must seem kind of weird and uncharacteristic, but it will become clearer in later chapters, I promise!! Just stick with me because you're going to get a wonderful and epic ending with the next 2-3 chapters! Any suggestions are more than welcome! Thank you!