What do I have to say? I'm running out of conversation topics! ^_^ Oh yeah, sorry about the late update. Reasons are too embarrassing to be told in public. I'm forgiven, aren't I? *sweet face*
Unchained: It ended there because I decided to end it there! Muahahaha! *sighs* the power of an author. He he he!
Ceres: Why were you shocked?? *puzzled look* Merry Christmas to you too!
December Morning Owl: Punishment? Um, actually, I haven't even thought about it yet…
Fer-chan: 'fer-chan means a hell lot to me'?? Buried head in fer-chan's lap?? Rukawa?? *steams in jealousy*
Reika zelon: That was sure a long silence! Chapter's up! Thanks for loving it!
Slamdunker88: Let's all pray together that Rukawa will get to his senses…
Aurora: Do you think Suki and Ika will actually fit in a locker?
Frozenfemale: Yeah. Me PTS gurl. Are you one too?? If you took PMR, then me hope you got good results! And no, lucky for you, me not in Seremban.
Tensaispira: Hope your head's okay now. ^_^
Kathleen: Thank you!
SLL: Aiyah! Another sentence jumbled up during uploading! I'll fix it!
Fiery-ice: Have fun reading this!
Kkk: I'm sure Ayako felt your wrath. I did. *shudder*
Tiran: Thank you!
Jo-sen7: Revenge? Hmm…
Patty g: Sadly, access to physical contact isn't possible. Try killing your pillow. He he.
Reiko: 'so that he could, for once, think straight?' *nothingtodo falls laughing* Omigosh! Ha ha ha! Thanks for reading this!
Joy: Guys don't know how to comfort, so excuse Akira's unprofessional comforting! Ha ha!
"Where are you?" Akira's voice cackled over the public phone.
"Shohoku."
"What? What are you doing there?"
Akima checked the amount of coins left in her hands absently. "I found out who did it," she said numbly. "It was Ika Kirani. You may not know her."
"I'll get to know her," Akira replied coolly. "I'll come over and start immediately."
"No, no. Just pick me up, all right?"
"You're not going to let her off the hook just –"
"It doesn't matter. If I start thinking about revenge, it's never going to end. I just want to go home. I'm very tired."
"Did you see him?"
Akima bit her lip to stop her voice from trembling. "No. I couldn't find him."
Akira was quiet for a moment. "I'm on my way to the car," he informed her then. "Wait outside for me. I'll be there in about twenty minutes or so." He paused for a moment. "Just a minute. How on earth did that girl get into Ryonan in the first place?"
"Huh?"
"Strangers are not allowed into the school premise, Akima," he reminded her. "Unless, of course, they have permission from the principal or somebody …" he trailed off. "Somebody who's in Ryonan accompanying them." His tone took on an excited note. "You know what? I think I'll drop by the school and check the visitors' logbook from the guardhouse. I'll be a bit late. Wait for me!"
Akima's brain was too crowded to understand what was going on, so she merely complied. "Yeah, all right." Akira had already slammed the phone down and she now talked to the humming buzz of the telephone. "Whatever."
Suki opened the door to her aunt's apartment. "Oh, hi, Aki –"
"You bitch."
Suki's eyes widened and she stared at the tense Akima in front of her. "I don't know what you're talking a-"
"You planned it all, didn't you?" Akima cut her off sharply, fists clenched as she struggled to control herself. "Making me swap Science partners with you, coaxing Rudi to make me practice his stupid play with him, and then having Ika put in the last touch."
Suki bit her lip. "Akima, I really don't know –"
"DROP THE ACT!" Akima screamed now, her patience thinning whilst the aching wound in her heart deepened. "That's the least you can do, all right???!" She closed her eyes then, as tears threatened to pour out, taking long deep breaths. "What did I ever do to you, Suki?" she asked sadly.
Suki remained quiet, unprepared for the confrontation and scared off her roots by the look on Akima face. "I – I," she tried to speak, panic coating her entire body now. "Akima, I didn't mean to – I mean, I never thought it'd go so bad … I just… it was just a small joke – I thought -"
Akima shook her head. "I don't want to know what you thought, Suki." she said dangerously. "I want to know why."
"I – I didn't mean to hurt you, Akima. I –"
"WHY??"
Suki's wheelchair jerked a few centimetres to the back in shock. "I – I –" she gulped. "I'm sorry, Akima. I just … I didn't …" She took a deep breath. "It was just a joke. You were so happy, and I thought a joke or two would bring you back down to earth. I didn't … I mean, I …" she trailed off helplessly.
Akima looked at her friend with blurred eyes. "What's wrong with being happy?" she asked quietly.
Suki looked wary at the sudden change of tone. "No, no, I just …" she hissed then. "I just didn't like seeing you happy." Annoyed at how foolish that sounded, her own anger bubbled. "I mean, you know how annoying that is? With you constantly on cloud nine as if there's no such thing as sorrow in your life?"
Akima frowned. "What crap –"
"Everybody else is so happy!" Suki flared. "So happy that they can't even pay attention to miserable people like me. Why should they be happy, and people like me miserable??" she demanded. "What separates us? What makes them deserve happiness more than I do? If I have to be miserable, why shouldn't everybody else be miserable too?"
"This is the stupidest excuse I've ever heard –"
"A lot you know," Suki spat. "A lot you know about people like me."
Akima's eyes narrowed then. Viciously, she took hold of her friend's wheelchair and leaned down so they were eye to eye. "A lot I know," she hissed, "about people like you. I'm one of you, for goodness' sake! You think my life is all rosy from day one?? My parents divorced when I was five, I lived in poverty, I almost had to stop schooling to work, I haven't not had a father figure till six months ago and I've just lost my mother." She rattled the wheelchair and Suki with it. "Is that miserable enough for you? Does that fit your miserable standards??"
Suki didn't say anything.
"You and I are just the same, Suki. We have our ups and downs. You may think yours is worse and far more tragic than mine, and maybe it is. And I may think the same too, but it boils down to the same ground – we're both similarly unhappy and miserable," Akima poked a finger into Suki's chest. "You know what's the difference between you and me? I don't dwell on my misery and mope around about it. I don't fix my eyes downwards and grumble throughout my life. You do."
Suki's eyes were wide as the statements registered their meaning in her brain. "That's because things worked out for you," she said hotly. "You have a nice life now."
"Don't you?" Akima questioned. "You have a family taking care of you, you have this apartment, you have food on the table, you go to a nice school, you can afford nice clothes and things – that not nice enough for you?"
"Nobody loves me," Suki retorted.
"Well, I wonder why?" It rang sarcasm.
Suki turned red. "Because I'm ugly and –"
"No, you idiot," Akima gave the wheelchair another shake. "Because you're a bitter person. Because you make everything seem gloomy. Because you hate other people so you can love yourself. And because you're unable to love them back." She looked at Suki right in the eye. "Look inside yourself instead of the mirror, Suki. You may think you're ugly on the outside, but from what I've seen, it's your inside that's hideous."
Suki glared. "Oh? So you think you're so beautiful??"
"I don't blame my misery on other people, Suki," Akima murmured coldly. "I don't drag them down just because I was unable to lift myself up. It's not their fault."
"Easy for you to say," Suki sniped her very last attempt. "You've got everything working for you now. Everything's bright and happy for you now."
Akima studied her friend quietly. "I was exactly like you half-a-year ago," she said quietly, more to herself. "I grumbled and snapped and refused to do anything about my own luck. But Kaede came and changed that – and me. And that's when things started to work."
Suki snorted. "You were lucky."
"No, Suki. I was strong. And optimistic." She didn't feel so strong and optimistic now though.
Akima released her hold on the wheelchair and stepped back. "Congratulations, Suki. You wanted me to be unhappy and I am." She gave a pungent smile. "Making Kaede hate me was probably the smartest thing you could have done. And backstabbing me was a good addition too." She turned to go. "You can go celebrate now."
With a shake of the head, Akima started to walk away, but then paused and turned back. "I cared about you, Suki," she said slowly. "You may not believe that since you think everybody alive on earth doesn't, but I did. And in a way, I still do. It's just too bad you didn't feel the same way for me."
Suki's face grew pained. "I do care about you, Akima," she insisted vainly. "I really did. I –"
"You sure have a funny way of showing it." Sarcasm dripped. Akima's eyes frosted. "Hurting others might make you a bit triumphant, but it won't last, and it doesn't lessen your burden." she murmured slowly. "Plus, it's absolutely pathetic. Are you a lot better now that I'm dejected? Does that it in any way make you happier? Get you an award? Make you a better person?"
Suki looked firmly away.
Akima studied her quietly. "Think about that." With one hard look, she walked away. "Don't show your face to me again, because I might just break it." She disappeared down the stairs.
Suki sighed and then started to cry all alone by the open door.
^_^ I thought of writing just a little bit more, but then decided to leave it there so you can spew over it. He he. *tip toes away, quiet as a mouse*