Chapter Six: A Starry Night
Mitsui picked up a dry trig from the ground and threw it at the fire. The flames cackled for a few seconds as it consumed the twig before it became silent again. "When I was a freshman, I was considered the most popular guy in Shohoku. Hideki and I started dating a month after school started. Hideki was the hottest guy in school so you can imagine how happy I was. I felt like I was on cloud nine and Hideki made me feel really good about myself." Mitsui laughed at Miyagi's disbelieving stare. "You may not believe it, but Hideki was really nice. Nice to guys he's about to play anyway."
"Someone who went to the same junior high as Hideki's warned me that Hideki was a playboy, but I wouldn't listen. I was too in love – I mean, infatuated – with Hideki that the only words I heard were his. I never knew they were all just lies."
"When I was confined in the hospital because of my injury, I waited for him. But he never visited me. When I got out, I went to see him. I found him in the cafeteria with another guy." Mitsui looked at Miyagi. "Can you imagine how it feels like to get dumped in front of the whole student body?"
"I can't imagine," Miyagi said truthfully, but he did feel a little bit of sympathy for his senior.
"It was so humiliating. My whole life was ruined. I was off the basketball team and someone who was so important to me left me at the time I needed him most. Then I started dating someone named Hojo. He comforted me and told me that he liked me from the very start. It was great, but I did not feel for him the same way I felt for Hideki. So one day, I just dumped him. The look on his face made me feel weird, happy even."
"And that's where it started, I guess. Playing other guys made the pain I felt from getting dumped ceased and I wanted to prove to Hideki that he can't keep me down and that I was better than him."
"Still, it doesn't give you the right to play with people's feelings." Miyagi said. "Some of the guys you played might have been in love with you."
Mitsui sneered. "I thought you said you don't believe love can exist in a guy-to-guy relationship."
Miyagi was taken aback by what Mitsui said. "I meant…"Miyagi started, but he didn't even know what to say next.
"Never mind," Mitsui said. Then out of the blue he asked, "Do you love Ayako?"
"Of course I do!" Miyagi blurted out. It took a second before he realized how defensive he sounded. He also realized guiltily that he hadn't thought about Ayako lately.
"How do you know you're in love with her?"
"Well," Miyagi began. "I feel good whenever she notices me, I blush whenever she's there and I look for her whenever I hear her voice."
"That's exactly how I felt for Hideki," Mitsui said. "So could you say that I was in love with him?"
"I thought you said back then that you don't believe in love," Miyagi observed. "You're very confusing, you know."
"I don't know," Mitsui said as he stood up. "I felt it once, or so I thought. I don't know." He stepped away from the log and looked at the slowly burning fire.
"Where are you going?" Miyagi asked, standing up as well.
"To get some firewood." Mitsui patted the dirt off the back of his shorts. 'You coming?"
Miyagi scanned the area and caught Keijo giving him a wink from the other side of the bar. It gave Miyagi all the more reason to leave. "Sure."
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"Ahh!" Miyagi cried out as he tripped on a large root that had grown about the ground. As Miyagi started to get up, he head Mitsui laughing behind him.
"Don't laugh," Miyagi chided as he stood up and cleaned his face with his hands. "It's too damn dark to see anything."
Mitsui looked around. Indeed, it was very dark and hardly anything was visible. He could only see a faint light coming from the campfire. In his arms he carried a few branches while Miyagi's bundle got thrown off when the latter fell.
Miyagi looked down at his muddied clothes. "This is never going to wash off." He took a sniff of his shirt. "And it stinks!"
"Then take off your shirt." Mitsui advised.
"What? No way!"
Mitsui rolled his eyes. "What? It's not like you're a girl or something."
Miyagi glared at Mitsui thought he doubted that the older boy saw this due to the darkness. "Shut up."
Mitsui laughed. He felt giddy for some unknown reason. He watched Miyagi's silhouette etched against the darkness as the latter bent down and, from Mitsui's assumption, started picking up the braches that he unceremoniously scattered.
Maybe it was the ambiance. A starry night alone and surrounded by trees looked like a scene straight out of a romantic film.
Mitsui spoke up. " Somebody told me that when a couple kisses below a blanket of stars, the stars act as witnesses to the couple's love and they help the couple overcome and difficulties in their relationship."
"Who told you that?" Miyagi asked.
Mitsui laughed. "Hideki."
"Miyagi frowned. "So I guess it's not true."
"Maybe," Mitsui shrugged. "Isn't this romantic?"
Miyagi snorted. "Right. Wood mites crawling up my arm, mud on my clothes and stinky moss on my shirt. Very romantic." He dropped the load in his arms and quickly swatted a bug crawling up his arm. "See?"
Hearing no retort from his senior, Miyagi looked up. Mitsui had not moved from his previous position. The silence made Miyagi uncomfortable. "What are you thinking?"
"Nothing," came Mitsui's reply.
"I know you're thinking about something." Miyagi was irritated at how panicky his own voice sounded.
Mitsui shook his head. "I'm just finding it hard to believe that I've never noticed you before."
"What do you mean? We always talk, you know."
"I mean, I've never looked at you in another way."
"Another way? I don't – Ah!" Miyagi screamed as he kicked away on of his sandals and shook his foot.
Mitsui ran towards Miyagi. "What's wrong?"
"Something bit me." Miyagi explained as he limped towards his sandal. He leaned against a tree as he put on the sandal.
"Do you think Sakuragi and Rukawa made up?" Mitsui asked out of the blue.
"I don't know," Miyagi admitted. "Maybe."
"Aren't you worried you might lose the bet?" Mitsui asked as he approached Miyagi.
Miyagi looked down. Was he? "No," he said truthfully. He remembered the day he saw Rukawa with Sakuragi. The same day he made the bet with Mitsui. "If Rukawa loves Hanamichi, then it's not far off that you can love too, right?" He looked up and stared at Mitsui's face.
Mitsui froze at Miyagi's question. It was so unlike Miyagi to say that. Then, as if triggered by the question, Mitsui dropped the branches, pressed Miyagi against the tree and kissed him fully on the lips.
Involuntarily, Mitsui closed his eyes. He would usually kiss guys with eyes half-opened. He would enjoy feeling the other guy go weak and practically melt in his arms. It gave him a sense of power over the other guy.
But this time, he felt like getting swept away. He felt dizzy, like everything around him was spinning around while he was standing still.
The vertigo stopped as he lost balance and stepped back to regain stability. He looked at Miyagi, who had apparently pushed him away. Miyagi's eyes were wide with bewilderment and he was breathing heavily.
"Ryota," Mitsui whispered as he approached his junior and placed his hands on Miyagi's arms to calm him.
Miyagi looked at the hand holding him as if it was a disgusting insect. "I…I…branch…" Miyagi stammered. "Branches fell on my feet." He kicked the branches away quickly and distanced himself away from Mitsui.
"I'm sorry," Mitsui apologized. "Do your feet hurt?"
Instead of answering, Miyagi turned and took off. "Wait!" Mitsui called out and followed Miyagi.
Miyagi didn't even know where he was going. All he knew was that he was infuriated with himself. The branches were not the reason. In fact, he didn't feel anything except for Mitsui's lips on his and the feel of Mitsui's lean chest against his fingertips."
"Look Ryota I can explain!" He heard Mitsui call out. Miyagi stopped and turned abruptly that Mitsui almost bumped into him.
"Sorry, I was just checking," Mitsui said quickly, looking for a good excuse. "Since you did not respond to my kiss I now know that you're really straight and…and…"
Miyagi did not hear the rest of the excuse. His own mind was whirling. 'Right,' he thought. 'I did not respond. This doesn't say anything about me.' Miyagi forced himself to be calm before looking at Mitsui. He could now see the outline of his sempai's face since they were closer to the campsite. "It's okay. Just don't do it again."
"I swear that won't happen again. I'm sorry." Mitsui apologized again.
Miyagi forced a hollow laugh. "It's nothing right? You've kissed plenty of guys so that was just something you did to make me fall for you right? To gain an advantage in the bet? I'm telling you right now that those kinds of things won't work."
Mitsui wanted to tell Miyagi that he didn't kiss him because of the bet. Even Mitsui himself didn't know why he did it. Mitsui took a deep breath. "As I said, it won't happen again."
"I'm gonna go to my room now." Miyagi said softly. "I'm not in the mood to go back to the campfire."
"Want me to go with go?"
"If you want to," Miyagi whispered. He didn't have the strength to argue anymore.
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Rukawa was cleaning his rubber shoes when he heard the door close. He looked up and expected to see Miyagi but instead he saw Sakuragi, leaning against the door.
"You said you wanted us to talk." Sakuragi said, crossing his arms over his chest.
"I thought you wouldn't come." Rukawa said.
Sakuragi shook his head and locked the door. He sat on the bed beside Rukawa and looked down at his hands, which lay on his lap. "I guess it doesn't matter anymore. They're just words right? They're unimportant compared to what you've given me." The truth was that he wanted to hear Rukawa tell him he loves him, but it wasn't worth risking a relationship. After over 50 rejections, he wanted to hold on to something for fear that he might never feel this way again.
"Do you believe Miyagi san?" Rukawa asked, as he laid down the rubber shoes on the floor and shifted so he could face Sakuragi.
"It doesn't matter." Sakuragi hugged Rukawa, resting his chin on his boyfriend's shoulder. Rukawa's arms went around Sakuragi, holding him close. "I love you Kitsune." Sakuragi whispered.
Silence filled the room as Sakuragi waited for Rukawa's reply. Then, he heard Rukawa say, "Thank you."
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Mitsui noticed that Miyagi had stopped. They were in front of Miyagi's room and it looked like Miyagi was having trouble with the door.
"What's wrong?" Mitsui asked.
"It's locked." Miyagi frowned. "Should I knock?"
Mitsui smiled. "It won't matter if Rukawa is asleep. Even if bombs went off he wouldn't wake up."
"What do I do now?" Miyagi half-wailed. "That's stupid Rukawa. It's my room too!"
"You could take my bed," Mitsui offered.
"Where will you sleep?"
Mitsui shrugged. "I'll find a way. Maybe I'll go back to the campfire and party till morning. Maybe I'll even hook up with the guy who was flirting with you a while ago." Mitsui tried to laugh, but one look from Miyagi made him keep quiet.
Miyagi looked at the door once again and shrugged. "Suddenly I don't feel so tired." Miyagi stretched his arms and grinned. "This place is a beach right? Wanna take a walk?"
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"Did you know that Sendoh and Koshino were a couple?" Miyagi asked as he picked up an empty shell and threw it at the ocean. The water reached his toes whenever a wave set in.
"Really? I didn't know that. I knew Sendoh was gay, but I didn't know he was seeing anyone." He scooped up sand with the tip of his sandal with every step. The music from the camp can still be heard from where they were standing.
Miyagi frowned. "How come I've never noticed anything?"
"Because you're straight." Mitsui pointed out. "Straight guys stay in their own world and people like us stay in ours. No one dares cross the border between the two worlds or else they'll suffer humiliation and rejection."
"What about you then?" Miyagi asked.
"I'm pretty confident that I can destroy the barrier between the two worlds," Mitsui boasted. He waited for a retort, but he got none.
"Are you cold?" Miyagi asked Mitsui when the former saw the latter hug himself.
"A little," Mitsui admitted. He spotted a couple by shore. The girl pushed her boyfriend and he fell into the water. The girl was laughing when suddenly the guy lunged for the girl's foot and brought her down next to him. This apparently angered the girl and she screamed at the guy before walking away. Mitsui looked at Miyagi and saw that the latter was also looking at the couple. "You know why I don't like girls?"
This got Miyagi's attention. "Why?"
"Because they are too sensitive. Did you see the way she pushed the guy? She obviously thought it was fun. But when the guy did the same to her, she got angry. If she didn't want him to get back at her, why did she push him in the first place? Women are like fish. When you feed a fish too little, it dies. When you feed it too much, it dies. It's the same with women. You always have to say the right things and do the right things. It's so hard to figure them out."
"That's what makes them so special I guess." Miyagi shrugged. "Aya-chan knows how much I love her but she doesn't do anything about it. Sometimes I think that the reason why is because she just likes the attention. I guess it gives her confidence to know that she can make a guy go weak with just a smile." Miyagi's eyes contained the sadness of unrequited love. Mitsui wanted to say something to make Miyagi better, but he was stumped. He never even knew that Miyagi thought about these things. He had always thought Miyagi was always optimistic about his love for Ayako.
Miyagi gave Mitsui a faint smile. "But it's okay, you know. I only think about it when I'm really frustrated. But I'm always hoping that one day she'd realize how much I love her and maybe start caring."
"Right," Mitsui said, though he really thought differently. He spied upon a cottage nearby which was used for Sunday picnics on the beach by families. "Maybe we could rest there." He said, leading Miyagi inside the cottage. The cottage was small and stuffy. Candy wrappers were scattered everywhere. Mitsui cleared the junk off a bench. "You can sleep here."
Miyagi sat down on the bench and looked at Mitsui. "Are you sure?"
Mitsui laughed. "Why? Don't you trust me?"
"I didn't mean it that way." Miyagi said, lying down. It was a bit uncomfortable; the bench was made of cement and felt cold against Miyagi's back, even with the shirt on. He tried to close his eyes, but with the music coming from the camp, he found it hard to feel sleepy.
Mitsui sat down on the bench opposite Miyagi's and looked at the curly haired boy. Miyagi's eyes were closed in an effort to sleep, with an arm supporting his head and the other one lay across his forehead. Mitsui found it hard to keep his eyes off Miyagi and his mind off their previous conversation. He remember what Miyagi said while they were picking up firewood earlier.
"If Rukawa loves Hanamichi, then it's not far off that you can love too, right?"
Can he? And what did Miyagi mean when he said that? Mitsui looked at Miyagi and found it hard to sit still. Finally, he stood up. Without expecting a reply, he said, "I'm gonna go take a walk."
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Once again, please C& C. This chappy is dedicated to Nat a.k.a Ryosashi. Happy Birthday Girl! And to my muse, Mayumi ^___^
== Annachan: lol. Unfortunately, there might be some fluff sooner or later. Sendoh is excessively described? Lol. Gomen, that's just the Sendoh I got to know.
== Hikaru Itsuko: Thanks for reviewing. Here's the new chappy in record time. Lol.
== chris: Hey! Miyagi is not horrible, Mitsui maybe but not Miyagi. Lol. I added you in my ICQ list if that's alright. I'm "Cynical_by_Nature".
== sLL: lol. Sorry. Yup, I've been pretty lazy. Btw, Have I made you change your mind about MitMiya? I hope you do ^__^ btw, see you in MSN soon ^__
== Mayumi: Kogure??? Mayumi!!! You know how I feel about Kogure _
== Shan: right! Consider me as the MitMiya preacher in this fandom. Lol. Thanks for reading and reviewing btw.
== Ryosashi: Happy birthday!!! Told ya I'd give you a prezzie ^__^ Sorry if it's not so good. I was under time pressure and my family members squaked a lot and I was deprived of brainstorming time *glares at stupid nagging sister*
== Aki7: yes yes, Mitsui is too hot for the SD boys. (though I personally prefer my Ryota kins) ^__^ thanks for reading. Hope you keep on reading and reviewing.
== annedrew: you knew??? Damn, I'm too obvious. Anyway, so you won't wait long, here's the chappy. Hope you enjoy!!!
== qkslvr: I didn't see your review!!!! T____T *points to review list* go looky. T___T
== To those who read but didn't review: thanks for reading. Hope you review next time! ^__^