DISCLAIMER: I do not own FoR or any of its characters. This plot is a product of my imagination. Any similarities to other fan fictions are unintentional.
BABY YOU'RE MINE
By bishounen lovah
Chapter 14
September 29.
Of all the stupid things…
He forgot his own birthday!
He had been too busy rushing back and forth from Ganko to school then back to Ganko that he lost track of what day or even what month it was.
It was no big deal to him. It was just another ordinary day. The problem was other people thought otherwise, specifically the girls in school. Anybody new would think Kaoru's birthday was a darn field day. Those girls tend to overdo things. There were usually a lot of streamers, confetti, pompoms and a truckload of gifts.
Usually he would have made himself as scarce as possible since he thought the whole fuss was too much. But this morning, the exuberant greeting did not make him want to hide out. He wanted to join the festivities not because it was all meant for him but because he missed this life.
Life had been so uncomplicated before Ganko came back in it. All he ever was then was an ordinary teenager. More popular and gifted than most but still ordinary. He was carefree back then and reasonably happy.
But now all he felt was pain. And loneliness.
He loved Ganko. There was no doubt about that. He would love her forever but there was only so much he could take. Four months had already passed since her soul was locked away inside the blasted madougu. And he had been with her every possible moment—taking care of her and keeping her company. But no matter how long he talked or how hard he stared, she never acknowledged him back.
He was so desperate and lonely. That was why he didn't try to escape the mob of well-wishers. Just for one day, he wanted to experience the normalcy of teenage life again. Just for one day, he wanted to have an ordinary conversation with someone who could answer back. Just for one day, he wanted to forget that the most important person of his life was nothing more than a shell of what she really was.
And so for the first time in four months he stayed behind after school instead of rushing back home to Ganko. Some of the girls wanted to treat him out for some snacks. A sort of impromptu party. Thirty minutes turned to an hour. An hour turned to two. Two turned to three and Kaoru had not realized how late it was until the diner turned on its fluorescent lights.
Instantly he was overcome by guilt. He was chatting and laughing as though he had no problems or worries whatsoever when in fact he had lots of them. He had no right to ignore these problems. He had no right to ignore Ganko. It was his fault why she was that way in the first place because he did not protect her. He had no right leaving her alone like this.
For a brief moment he had an image of Ganko sitting on her bed in her dark room, waiting for him to come home.
He hissed his breath at the image then wordlessly rushed out of the diner, much to the surprise and disappointment of his companions. He weaved through the throng of people, cursing each delay that kept him from coming home.
You're such a selfish bastard, Koganei. He should have at least called first. Various questions kept on popping in his mind.
Who's with Ganko right now?
Had she woken up yet?
Had someone fed her yet? Given her medicine?
He used his usual shortcut to Kurei and Recca's house. He jumped over the fence and was surprised that the house was in complete darkness. Something was definitely wrong. He could feel it in his gut. He rushed to the back door and switched on the lights.
"Tadaima," he shouted as he tried to sense anything amiss in the atmosphere. "Recca-niichan? Yanagi-neechan? Oi! Minna-san?!"
There was no answer but Kaoru noticed a note posted on the refrigerator door.
Kaoru,
Something came up. It could be important. You know what to do. Ja!
He cursed himself some more. He really should have called first. Ganko was left all alone the whole afternoon! It was his duty to keep her company after school and his selfishness made him neglect this duty.
Damn it! You've never done anything right where Ganko is concerned.
He had every intention to fully berate himself but decided it could wait. He had to see to Ganko's needs first. He bounded up the stairs two steps at a time then all but knocked down Ganko's door.
"Baby, I'm sorry. I—" He switched on the light and was surprised when he found the room empty. "Ganko? Ganko? Where are you?"
The bed was empty and so was the balcony. He checked the adjoining bathroom, to the walk-in closet, even under the bed and still he could not find her.
Where could she
be? She couldn't just walk away from
here…could she?
Kaoru dug in his pocket and found the Spirit Ball madougu. It was still locked in its casing. It couldn't have opened without his knowing. He quickly stood from the floor and accidentally slammed into the bedside table. A piece of paper fell from the surface and Kaoru snatched it from midair. The note was short and typewritten.
If you want to see her again, go to the cliff overlooking the town. Hurry or else…
He felt the blood drain from his face.
No way! It can't be!
Ganko's been kidnapped…
How could this be?
Who…?
No. There's no time for questions. I've got to save her!
He ran as fast as he could and made a detour to the apartment he shared with Tokiya to get the Kougan Anki. Whoever abducted Ganko had better not harm even a single hair on her head or else he would have to suffer Kaoru's wrath.
He caught a bus that would take him to the outskirts of the town. He did not notice the weird looks that were given to him and his Anki. He was too busy chiding himself for not being there for Ganko.
It was happening all over again.
Ganko had needed him and he failed to protect her. Time and time again, he failed her. He should have learned his lesson but he didn't. And Ganko was always the one who had suffered the consequences.
He couldn't save her from Tsukiho and her soul was taken from her body. Now he indulged in selfishness and he didn't like thinking what the consequences might be.
If only he went home at his usual time he might have prevented this from happening.
Please, don't let me be too late.
He jumped off the bus and hiked the trail as fast as he could. Thankfully the moon provided enough light to prevent him from colliding with the trees. It wasn't long before he broke through the densely covered woods. The edge of the cliff was in sight and sitting near it in her wheelchair was Ganko.
Angered by this, he clutched his Anki tighter and prepared for battle. "Show yourself!"
There was a whoosh behind him and he looked back while swinging his blade. He neither saw nor hit anything but was drawn to the loud explosion overhead. The dark sky was suddenly lit by multi-colored dots. And one after the other, various fireworks flew into the air and exploded in glowing patterns.
"SURPRISE!"
From out of nowhere, his friends started popping out. All of them were there—the Hokage and even the Uruha (though they and Tokiya were hanging out far from the rowdy Hokage). Fuuko started a rather irritating key of "Happy Birthday" and the others followed suit.
Kaoru didn't know whether he should be happy or mad. But from what he'd gone through for the past half hour he decided that he should be furious. He let out a frustrated yell and swung the Anki at the nearest person. There was a loud, clanging sound as Kaoru's adamatium blade met Tokiya's ice blade.
The former vented all of his frustration, guilt and fear in the fight. There were yells around them; some asked them to stop while most were for encouragement. Kaoru ignored them as he fought in desperation. He had built up a lot of energy on his way here and he needed to get rid of it.
"Stupid people! Do you have any idea what you've put me through? I nearly went out of my mind."
Kaoru continued his assault until his adrenalin level had gone down. He jumped a few feet away from Tokiya and tried to catch his breath. The others burst into a loud applause and went forward to greet him. They patted his head and slapped his back, not at all afraid that he still held the Anki in an offensive grip.
"Stupid people," he muttered again then buried the blade of the Anki in the ground. The others were already setting up the place for some night picnic so Kaoru went to see if Ganko was really all right.
Now that he was closer he could see that Ganko's position was nowhere near the edge of the cliff. He had been thoroughly duped and he deserved it. He crouched down in front of her and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.
"I'm sorry they've put you up to this, baby. It was a mean thing to do, using you like that. They are a bunch of jerks. But then again," he sighed, "so am I. I'm sorry I left you alone with them for so long. It won't happen again. I promise."
"Why were you late?" Tokiya suddenly spoke behind him. "And what was that fight about?"
"Surely you know what it was all about," Kaoru sneered. "You had no right to do this."
"It was not my idea. I just went along for the ride. But then it wasn't just about being tricked, was it? There's more. What happened?"
"I, uh, lost track of time," Kaoru's sort of lied. There was a bit of truth in it anyways.
"I saw you in town with your friends earlier," Tokiya urged on. He had a pretty good idea on what was going on in the boy's mind.
"They were not my friends. They were more like…distractions."
"Well it seems like they did a very good job distracting you."
"You don't have to rub it in. I've already kicked myself in the butt a hundred times on the way here. I'm a selfish jerk. Ganko doesn't deserve a jerk like me. And I don't deserve her either."
"Hn. You're right and I can't blame you. Taking care of invalids can be so burdensome. It's quite unfair that you're saddled with such a big responsibility."
"That's not what I meant and you know it! She's not an invalid and she's not a burden. I chose to be with her and I don't regret that decision even for one minute." Kaoru jumped on his feet, his fists clenched at his sides to stop himself from wiping out that smirk from Tokiya's face.
"You're sick, do you know that," Kaoru said as soon as he realized that he was treated to an overdose of reverse psychology. Honestly. The guy could only find amusement in baiting other people, especially Kaoru. "You're just as sick as the rest of them."
"Hn. Don't spread it around or I may have to kill you. It would be a shame if Ganko would wake up to find her boyfriend's nothing but a pile of shredded flesh."
Now where had I heard that before, Kaoru mused as he watched Tokiya inconspicuously join the festivities. He shook his head at the bungling idiots then reverted his attention back to Ganko.
"You're not a burden. I swear you're not and anyone who says so will have to answer to me." He sat back down and played with her fingers. She already had her eyes closed which meant that her body was making her rest. But despite of that, he kept on talking. "Even from the way I acted today, I never thought you were a burden. Baby, do you forgive me?"
"No matter," he continued after a while. "I'm going to make it up to you. I may not deserve an angel like you but I'm not going to let you go. If it's any consolation, I—"
He hesitated for a moment then glanced around to see if anyone was listening in to the one-sided conversation. When he saw that no one was in the vicinity, he held her hands tighter and took a deep breath. "I never told you this, Ganko…didn't really want to until you're really here but I guess I can't keep it to myself any longer…
I love you Ganko."
The wind picked up a bit and Kaoru brushed the loose tendril from her face again. His fingers lightly traced her cheek then her chin before returning to her limp hands. "I don't deserve you but maybe once you've seen how much I love you, you might want to keep me."
Used to not getting any answers, he touched his forehead on her knees and reflected for a while. The moment was a bit calming despite the ruckus being made by Recca and the others a few feet away. Being with Ganko always made him feel relaxed despite their current situation.
If only…
Kaoru did not get a chance to finish that thought. He felt uncomfortable all of a sudden. It was like his pants were on fire!
He yelped loudly as he jumped up to see what was wrong. At first he thought it was yet another one of Recca's practical jokes but then realized it was not. He took out the thing in his pocket that was exuding a scalding hot temperature. He threw it to the ground and stared in disbelief.
After so many months, Kaoru did not dare believe that this was happening. But it was. By now, even the others have stopped monkey-ing around and were surrounding the madougu with Kaoru.
The metal casing was glowing, much brighter than any of Recca's fireworks did. The light was coming from the edges, outlining the box in every side. The crimson light became brighter and brighter in a steady pulse then flashed so suddenly that the amazed spectators were momentarily blinded.
The area was engulfed in darkness again, amplified by the stunned silence of the group. They all stared dumbstruck at the madougu, wondering what the heck happened. One by one, they started glancing from the madougu to Ganko then back to the madougu.
Kaoru took a cautious step towards Ganko; still not daring to believe yet wanted to do so. He crouched in front of her again, cupped her face in his hand and rubbed her cheek with his thumb. "Ganko…Ganko…baby, wake up."
The blond girl opened her eyes and stared back at Kaoru. His heart made a freefall to his stomach when he saw the familiar blank look.
Nothing. All of that for nothing? came his desperate thoughts that were easily replaced by indignation. Damn that madougu! How dare it play games with us! Why won't it give you back to us? Why?
"Look!"
Kaoru was startled by Yanagi's shout. He looked at what she was pointing and was startled anew when he saw a small pink glow suspended in the air directly above him. He held his breath as he watched the glowing orb descend slowly, stopping in the space between him and Ganko.
There was something about that sphere that made him smile. Somehow it was radiating a familiar cheeriness that was quite infectious. He touched it with a cautious finger and smiled some more at the warmth that started to spread in his body.
"Baby, come home," he whispered.
And on cue, the orb started to disintegrate into pixie dust. The wind picked up and blew the pink dust to Ganko. For the first time in months, her body made an action other than the closing and opening of eyelids. The dust forced her to take a deep breath. All of the spectators, Uruha included, held their breaths with her.
The air came out of her parted lips slowly. Just as slowly, her lids blinked several times. The blankness of her eyes disappeared with each movement. And still the others held their breaths.
Most of them had forgotten how brilliant those blue eyes could be. But not Kaoru. Day after day, he imagined seeing them like these again. In his memory her eyes were always these brilliant if not more. But still he held his breath even as he started to believe.
And then his wish had finally come true.
"Minna," she whispered.
"GANKO!!!"
Kaoru was pushed aside by the stampede of idiots. But he didn't mind. It didn't matter that he was not the first one to welcome her back.
She was home and that was all that mattered.
To be continued…
BISHLOV: Er, this chapter got longer than I expected so the ending might be pushed back. There might be two to five more chapters to go. I'm not really sure. It depends on what I'm gonna do with Kondo. The thing that I'm sure about is this fic won't reach its second year anniversary. I promise you that. LOL. I hope you enjoyed this chapter or at least did not think that it dragged too much. Kissy thanks, minna-san, and try to leave a review if you've got time. Ja ne!