Broken
Chapter Five: Clashing Girls
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Author's Notes: Well, I did manage to update twice in a week—yay! Lol, I actually had to sit myself down today for exactly an hour and forced myself to write this, because I know that if I didn't, I probably wouldn't get around to update for a while. I'm just lazy that way...
And because I'm gotten myself sucked into the world of Harry Potter again... I'm currently planning and fixing up a few ideas for a Draco/Hermione fiction because I absolutely adore them... don't freak out on me for those of you who don't like that coupling. ^^;; I just love them together.
I think that's enough babbling for now... reviewer responses are at the bottom for those of you who reviewed last chapter. Thanks once again! :) And I hope you enjoy this chapter!
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She awoke refreshed and content the follow morning, even though the rays of the sun shone annoyingly upon her face. She smiled as she got out of bed and proceeded down the stairs, where she greeted her aunt warmly and sat down for breakfast.
"Sleep well?" Yukiko asked as she joined her niece around the table. "School doesn't start for another hour. Why are you awake so early?"
Hitomi shrugged her shoulders happily with a bright smile on her face. "I don't know, but it's very pretty today." She looked out the window, seeing a clear blue sky. Yukiko took note of this and grinned.
"I take it things went well with Van's little surprise visit yesterday?"
Looking back, Hitomi felt her cheeks go red as she stared at her aunt. "Well... it didn't go bad," she answered shyly. "It was actually kind of fun."
"Of course it was, Hitomi. What did you expect? That it would turn out bad?" Yukiko asked, making a fine point.
"Yeah... I guess you're right." She began to mess around with her food slowly, poking at her eggs with her fork. "It was really nice though. When we talked... it was like nothing had ever changed between us. He even brought up the subject of my old ducky that he gave me."
"What old ducky?" her aunt questioned. "Oh, wait, you mean that gray-looking thing... duck which I mistook for a—"
"Yes, yes," Hitomi interrupted immediately, slightly embarrassed. "That's the one." Her head hung low as she took a bite of her breakfast. "It's not that dirty-looking, is it?" she asked.
Yukiko didn't know how to answer the question. "Uh... do you wash it?"
"Yeah..." Hitomi answered, looking at her aunt as if she thought it would be obvious. "Oh my god. It doesn't look that bad! It's only a tad... dusty."
"Well... I wouldn't say a tad... and I wouldn't say dusty either..."
Hitomi sighed. "Okay, okay, I get the point. It looks... not good, I get it."
She was finally done with breakfast, and she stood up, placing her plate in the sink. "Well, I'm gonna go head on to brush my teeth and get dressed." She gave her aunt a happy smile before heading back up the stairs.
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"Hey Hitomi," Yukari greeted as she approached the blonde-haired girl. "What's up?"
"Not much," she answered, shoving in her unnecessary books into her locker with great difficulty. "Good god, these lockers really need to be bigger. It's just waaay to small."
Yukari shook her head. "You just have too many books. You're such an over-achiever, Hitomi. Practically everything you're taking is either AP or honors. You do realize though that you're gonna get more books, right? And oh my god, look at all these journals!" She pointed to the stack of different colored journals in horror. "There's like... SIX of them!"
Thinking that Yukari was being a little bit too dramatic, Hitomi raised her eyebrows and laughed a little to herself. "Jeez, calm down there... there's no need to freak out."
"But look at all this. Look at your locker. Have you seen your overstuffed locker? Holy crap. You're absolutely crazy."
"Thanks," Hitomi said with a smile. "Now, come on, let's head to class." She shut her locker and started to walk off.
"But what about Allen?"
Hitomi stopped short in her steps before turning around. "Oh yeah... how could I forget about Allen?" she said as she frowned at herself. "Do you think maybe he's in class already?"
Yukari shook her head. "I highly doubt it. Don't worry... he should be here soon."
"Okay."
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"So where were you yesterday after school?" Kyoko asked sweetly, trying desperately to hide her annoyance. Repeatedly every time she had asked him to skip practice just for once to spend some time with her, he would always tell her that his practices were mandatory. She believed him, and would leave him alone about it for a while. But to find out that he skipped yesterday after telling her that he really had to go made her mad.
"What?" Van said as he turned to look at her sharply. "Who told you that?" He could see that her anger was slowly surfacing.
"Dilandau, Van, Dilandau. He asked me if we had a fight or something because he had thought that you skipped practice yesterday to come make up with me."
Van, thinking of this as no big deal, only shrugged and looked away as he continued to pretend to take books in and out of his locker.
Her eyes flashed in a huff and she took a hold of his arm. "Van, look at me. I'm talking to you here."
"Yes," he said through gritted teeth. "I can hear you quite clearly. I just don't understand why you're mad though."
"WHY I'M MAD?" she shrieked loudly. "Van, you lied to me! And what I want to know is why. What were you doing after school?"
"Why does it matter!? My god, Kyoko, stop being so damn obsessive. It's not like I was fooling around with anyone. You are getting really annoying, you know."
"Only because you said you really had to practice after I told you that I wanted to do something with you. What was so important that made you skip practice?"
Van sneered, glaring at her in annoyance. "It's just a damn practice! Why is it such a big deal to you?!"
"You were with her, weren't you?" she bit out, hurtful. "She's only been here for one day, and already, you're infatuated with her..." Tears sprang out from within her eyes, though it was more of anger and frustration than it was of hurt.
Seeing this, guilt piled deep within him. "Kyoko," he sighed as he took her in his arms. "Don't you worry about her, okay? There's nothing between us; we're only friends. Take a good look at the whole situation, who am I with now? I'm with you. You, okay? It's you, you're my girlfriend, so stop being like this."
She sniffed against his chest, wrapping her arms around his waist. "I know, Van, I know..." She looked up at him with tear-stained eyes. "I'm sorry, but it just hurts, Van. We barely get to hang out anymore... with all your practices, games, and everything else. I just want to spend some time with you, but you're always busy."
"Okay," he soothed, placing a kiss on top of her hair. "How about this? I'll ask coach if I can skip Friday afternoon. If he says yes, I'm all yours then."
She smiled up at him. "Okay," she said softly. "That sounds good."
The bell rang then, and they both headed off to class, hand in hand.
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As the pair entered the classroom, all eyes instantly laid upon Kyoko, specifically on her puffed up and red eyes. She must've been crying, they figured. Some of the girls came up to her to ask what was wrong, but when Kyoko told them that she was alright, they smiled and returned to their seats. Mrs. Youko entered the room then.
"Good morning, class," she said as she walked in.
Fortunately, Hitomi hadn't caught the whole deal, as she was quite busy catching up on some homework. After all, she had gotten a little distracted yesterday after Van's visit and couldn't seem to get her mind off of it after that.
"Psst, Hitomi," Allen whispered quietly from her right. "Is that Calculus homework?"
She nodded without glancing at him. "Yeah... I got a bit distracted with everything yesterday that I didn't have time to do the work, so I'm catching up on it right now."
"Do you want my homework?" he asked. "I finished it."
Hitomi looked at him, giving him a grateful smile. "Thanks, Allen, really, but I think I'll manage. I don't have Calculus until fourth period anyway."
Shrugging, Allen sat back up straight in his chair, adverting his attention back to Mrs. Youko. Hitomi was finally left alone once again in peace to do her homework. Unfortunately, it was now Yukari's turn to bother her.
Hitomi sighed and turned to face Yukari, ready to answer her question just as Mrs. Youko's voice painfully caught their attention. By the tone and sound of her voice, they knew she was annoyed.
And they remained quiet for the rest of the period.
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"Hey, Kanzaki, if you think you've got Van in your clutches, think again, okay?" Kyoko sneered at Hitomi as she passed her. Proudly with a jerk of her body, she took her seat before continuing to scorn at Hitomi. "Van's with me, you got that?"
Hitomi looked on at her with annoyance. "I know that, Kyoko. If you haven't noticed, I'm not blind. I know that he's with you, and I'm not even doing anything... so why are you mad?"
"Don't try to act innocent," Kyoko spat as her eyes narrowed slightly.
Hitomi twisted in her seat uncomfortably before glaring at the girl. She was being such a pain in the ass. "Listen, I'm not doing anything with your boyfriend, or at least, nothing that you would approve of. He's not cheating on you, so just get that through your head and settle down, alright? You should be happy for at least that much..." Hitomi trailed off and mumbled, "Because you don't deserve that much..."
"What was that?" the brunette snarled.
Hitomi, usually the patient and understanding girl, found herself losing her temper everything time Kyoko approached her. Of course, any calm girl would. No girl would want to deal with another like Kyoko. It was just too stressful.
"Oh, nothing," Hitomi said sweetly. "I was just talking to myself, is all."
"Talking to yourself?" Kyoko laughed bitterly.
"Rather myself than you," she replied coldly before turning back in her seat.
By now, only on her second day of school, the people around Hitomi knew one thing about her: every time she and Kyoko met, both worlds would go and clash against one another, despite their usual composed manners. And they would make an important mental note to stay out of it at all costs.
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"Guys, I really can't stand her," Hitomi complained as they walked down to the lunchroom. "I mean, I haven't even done anything, and already, she's accusing me and giving me dirty looks every single time she sees me. I mean, giving me dirty looks, I can stand, but accusing me every day just pisses me off."
Allen patted her shoulder for comfort. "Don't let her get to you, Hitomi. That's just what she wants. Don't let it get the better of you."
"Yeah," Yukari said with a nod, agreeing. "It's not worth it, is it?"
Hitomi shrugged a little. "I don't know... it's only been my second day, and already, I don't think I can stand it. If it's gonna be like this every single day, I'm going to snap."
"Oh no, don't snap," Yukari said quickly with a shake of her head. "Snapping is not good, especially at a girl such as Kyoko. She'll get the whole senior grade to turn against you."
"She pretty much already has," Hitomi mumbled.
"Well, what about Van?" Allen asked. "Does he know about this?"
Hitomi shook her head.
"Wait," Yukari interrupted. "What about Van? How did he suddenly get into this conversation?" She was utterly confused.
"Oh, I guess I forgot to tell you. Van and I were best friends back in the day before I had to move away." She gave out a small smile. "I promised that I'd come back, and when I did, I promised that I'd be with him because you know, back then... Van wasn't much of talker, more of a loner, actually."
"Awww... that's so sweet!" Yukari squealed. "But what about him? Did he...?"
"Promise the same thing back to me?" Hitomi finished for her before nodding bitterly. "Yeah, he did. I've come back to see him because I've missed him, you know... but I don't think..." she began to trail off, having no desire whatsoever to complete her sentence.
Yukari leaned over and wrapped an arm around her friend's waist. "Don't worry, Hitomi! Promises are not meant to be broken."
"I used to think that..."
"Don't give up yet. It's only been two days."
"Yeah, I guess you're right, Yukari..."
"Of course I am. Come on now, I'm hungry. Let's eat."
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"Did you hear—that new girl—what's her name? Oh yeah, Hitomi Kanzaki or whatever. Did you know that she really thinks that she can steal Van away from Kyoko!?"
"What a bitch."
"Can you believe she's even insulted Kyoko just because she's with Van?"
"What? Really? Wow. She really is a bitch then."
As he walked down the hall, all he heard was rubbish about Hitomi, and he frowned. High school, he thought with a shake of his head, was only interesting because of all the gullible people and the gossip they spread around just for the hell of it to make school itself more interesting. It was their way of bonding with others, and possibly their only way.
He knew that what they were saying about Hitomi weren't true. He knew Hitomi better than that, and he knew that she was better than that. She would never stoop so low. Without a doubt, it was all of Kyoko's doing, all of her senseless rumors.
"Kyoko," he said somewhat angrily as he approached her at his locker, where she stood waiting for him. "Why are you picking on Hitomi?"
Her eyes went instantly cold. "Why are you defending her?"
"Because she's my friend."
"Yeah, and so? I'm your girlfriend."
Van rolled his eyes. "I don't like fighting with you, Kyoko, but you have to stop all this fiasco. Why can't you just let it go and accept the fact that Hitomi and I are only friends?"
"I'm not dumb, Van. I know there's something between you guys."
"Yeah, duh, like I told you before, friendship. Do you need me to spell it out?"
"You lie."
He sighed. "Alright, listen to me. Listen good. If you don't stop all these nasty rumors, my Friday afternoon will be occupied with basketball. So get over it and just stop picking on Hitomi. She's done nothing to you."
Kyoko let out a loud, irritable sigh. "Okay, so if I stop the rumors, you'll spend Friday afternoon with me... and there will be nothing between you and her."
"Besides friendship, then yes."
She frowned. "Van—"
"Kyoko."
She fumed. "Fine," she said before giving him a reluctant kiss on the lips. She adjusted the bag on her shoulders before turning away. "Call me later, okay? Bye."
"Later," he said to her with a quick wave of his hand.
When Van turned around after shaking his head, irritated by the frequent fights him and Kyoko were having ever since Hitomi came back, he saw her at her locker, calmly putting away her books. The look on her face gave him the impression that she was stressed. He decided to go talk to her, to try to cheer her up like she did him many, many years before.
"Hey Hitomi," he greeted with a sincere smile. "How was your day?"
Pleasantly surprised, Hitomi closed her locker and swung her bag over her shoulder, smiling tenderly at him. "It was alright," she said, shrugging, though the smile was still there upon her face. "Yours?"
"Eh, it was okay."
"That's good, I guess..." she began to trail off. "It's better than having a bad day..." She wanted to smack herself for that; that last sentence that came out of her mouth wasn't necessary.
He laughed. "Yeah... but hey, you want to do anything this Saturday? Like go watch a movie or something? We still have a lot to talk about, you know. A lot of catching up to do."
At the sight of this—at the sight of him asking her to go see the movies made her absolutely delighted, and immediately, she nodded. "Yeah... yeah! That'd be great."
He nodded too. "Yeah... okay." He seemed to be fairly delighted as well. "We can talk about this later. I have basketball practice now. I guess I'll see you later then?" he asked eagerly.
"Yeah."
He leaned in to give her a quick, loose hug before heading off to the gym.
Allen appeared right then with a grin upon his face. "Looks like things are looking up, huh?"
She smiled brightly. "Yeah..." She looked around. Yukari was nowhere in sight. "Um, where's Yukari? I thought..."
"Amano came to pick her up already."
Hitomi looked at him, a bit confused. "Wait... as in her college boyfriend Amano?"
He chuckled. "Yeah... yeah, that would sound about right. Come on though, ready to head home?"
"Yup," she said, and off she went with him, her day suddenly turning out better than she had expected.
From the other corner of the hall, a pair of angry eyes laid upon her, finding the new girl to be nothing but a nuisance in ruining her life.
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shawni, thank you for all your wonderful comments! You've been following Broken for a long way now... thank you so much! :)
CinderellaxVan, thank you for all your comments as well! I'm very touched that you've reviewed my story and liked it. You have awesome stories as well—I still remember reading most of them a while back. :)
dreamingofflyingaway, I always look forward to your reviews. I especially enjoy yours because they're always so nice and lengthy. :) Thanks for taking your time to do so. ^__^
hitomi21, thanks. And I guess we'll have to see about Van, won't we? xD
Rhapsody's Song, thank you! =)
sweetlife, thank you too!
Fluffy'sbabe, aw... thanks. I think either way, you'll love Escaflowne. It's obviously a great anime, though my friend really hates me for this; I actually liked the movie better. ^^;;
Jhoeydagger, thanks, lol. Everyone's wondering what the duck looks like... you'll see. xD
SabineballZ, thanks for your review! :) And I'm trying to update as soon as I can. ^^;;
Onigiri Momoko, hehehe... we'll see about Van... we'll see. Thanks for your comment. =)
The lady winged Knight, yeah... good old times. ^_^ Thank you!
Once again, THANK YOU to ALL who reviewed! If you have any questions or comments, or ANYTHING, feel free to add it in your review. I'll be sure to answer it... maybe it'll even get me talking when I write out my thanks to everyone. ^_^ Again, thanks for taking the time to read and review. You all are so great! :)
Next planned update: May 1.
It's only planned... so it's not for sure. I'll try to make my chapters longer though. And remember, if you feel up to it, you can AIM me at sea charm fishy. I'd really love to talk to you guys. ^_^
Oh, and if there are a lot of mistakes, I apologize. I write and read it over myself... I don't have a beta-reader, so that would probably explain why. I hope it's not too bad though.