I wish you'd look at
me that way
Your beautiful eyes lookin' deep into mine
Telling me more than any words could say
But you don't even know I'm alive
Baby to you all I am Is the invisible man
-98 Degrees
***
These were the things they said about Ruki Makino.
"You'd better not mess with her. Not unless you don't enjoy living."
"You don't need a dagger to commit hara-kiri. Just go up and talk to Ruki Makino."
"Don't make eye contact! Just look down, and back away. Make no sudden movements!"
"Her? She's not a girl. She's some sort of mutant psycho-destroyer. Or something."
"Aaaagh! It's her! Run, run!"
"Trying to make friends with Ruki is more trouble than it's worth. More pain, too."
"How'd such a cool mom end up with someone like her?"
And these were the things they said about Yana Lang.
"I wish I were half as pretty as Lang-sama."
"I heard that Shiine-san over at Shinjuku Polytechnic told his friends he's in love with Yana-san."
"Yeah, him and the rest of the teenage male population."
"Can you believe it? Iya actually tried to run against Yana-san in school elections. She lost by a landslide, duh."
"Yana Lang? She is, like, the Queen of this school."
In other words, two less similar girls ever walked the face of the earth. Red-haired, violet-eyed Ruki, with her ready anger and seeming lack of all instincts gentle; and black-haired (her many admirers called it raven or sable or midnight) Yana, with her big brown eyes. The only thing the two had in common was that they were both students of the exclusive St. Hebreke's Academy, an all-girls' school set in the middle of Shinjuku. (1)
Ruki had absolutely no interest in St. Hebreke's complicated social hierarchy, nor in the boy-chasing/baiting her fellow students engaged in. (Mostly with the lads over at St. Kano's Academy, St. Hebreke's brother school) Contrary to popular opinion, Ruki did in fact have a life, but as she shared it with the friends she had made in her Digimon adventures, the other students didn't know that.
So, let's review. St Hebreke's is a school ruled by a cadre of rather snotty and very privileged girls, whose leader is Yana Lang. The school pariah is Ruki Makino, who squandered all the popularity points having a supermodel mother got her by being, well, downright frightening.
The bell to announce the start of class had not yet rung, and the courtyard in front of the school was filled with teenage girls in the gray uniform of St Hebreke's laughing, chatting and generally doing what teenage girls do. In one of the farther corners, beneath a shade tree, sat Ruki Makino. There was a very noticeable absence of other students within a ten-foot radius of her. She was studying, her science textbook propped up in front of her, but she kept staring off into space for long minutes. However, since everyone was carefully avoiding her, no one noticed her uncharacteristic behavior.
Yana held court – there simply was no other word for it – in the front of the courtyard. If Yana was royalty, her friends were the nobility of the school. Lesser mortals (i.e., the rest of the student body) hovered at the edges of their charmed circle, hoping for a flicker of acknowledgement. The members of Yana's group knew this, and were studiously ignoring the commoners. Their voices rang out, musical and laughing and happy, over the general babble of the courtyard like wind-chimes over the humdrum of a normal day.
That is, until the arrival of Takato Matsuki ended all conversation. He pulled up in front of the school on his bike, in the black slacks and blazer of his school. Everyone stared as he got off the bike, set the kickstand, and walked into the courtyard.
The sheer audacity! The sheer daring! The sheer yumminess! (2)
These thoughts flickered through the minds of the girls as they watched Takato move towards them. Through some incredible quirk of circumstance (mostly because I, the author, declared it to be so) Ruki didn't notice the sudden hush over her schoolmates and remained absorbed in her textbook.
Takato strolled right up to Yana, the other girls making way for him like the Red Sea parted for Moses. They twittered excitedly as he neared, the rumors flying hard and fast. Yana did have suitors from other schools, yes, but never one from so far away as Shinjuku High. And this one was definitely one of the cutest ever to have come.
Yana-sama's reputation as a goddess was growing!
Takato came to a stop in front of Yana, smiling kindly at her. Yana smiled back, an unaccustomed bit of nervousness in the gesture, and subconsciously smoothed a hand over her long black hair.
"Could you tell me where to find Ruki Makino?"
For a long moment, everyone stared at the brown-haired boy with sweatdrops on their head. Yana's mouth actually fell open before, aghast at this loss of dignity and poise, she snapped it shut. Then a rush of whispering began, greater even than the one for when Takato had arrived.
"Did he say Ruki? As in Ruki Makino?"
"The Digimon Queen?"
"The Ice Queen?"
"The…"
"Hey, we're not allowed to curse here. It's a PG fic!"
"True."
"Funny, the boy doesn't look suicidal…"
Yana gawked at him. Such a thing had never happened before – people avoided Makino, not sought her out. She backed away from him, not taking her eyes off this stranger, before spinning around and running to her friends. They huddled in a circle, like football players before the game, discussing this turn of events.
"Yana-san, did he really ask for Makino?"
Yana hesitated, and then slowly nodded yes, which set off a round of dismayed cries.
"He's too cute to die so young!" one sobbed.
"Wait!" Yana said, perking up suddenly. "I get it! Don't you see – the boy must be Makino's cousin or relative or something! Why else would he want to see her, unless he had to, you know, because of being family!"
The girls gasped at Yana's marvelous wisdom. "That must be it, Yana-san!" they squealed.
"And if we help him, he'll be grateful, yes? And that way, we slowly but surely make him fall for me!"
No one noticed Yana's change from 'we' to 'me', or maybe they were just used to it. Instead they just nodded happily at Yana's plan. As one, the girls spun around to face Takato, who'd been looking a bit confusedly at them.
"Right this way…" Yana let her voice trail off questioningly.
"Oh! My name's Takato. Matsuda Takato," he said, bowing.
"I'm Yana Lang," she said, smiling a little more flirtatiously at him as she walked towards No Man's Land (aka, Ruki's Territory).
"Nice to meet you, Lang-san," Takato said politely, happily oblivious to the large crowd of curious girls following the two of them.
"Oh, no need to be so formal, Taka-kun – I can call you that, can't I?" Here Yana used her tried-and-tested Boy Ensnaring Flirty Laugh™. "Just call me Yana."
"Alright, Yana-san. Hey, is that Ruki?" Takato had caught sight of a familiar spiky red ponytail. He ran towards Ruki, all but forgetting Yana.
Yana's clique came up around her, all eyes riveted on the boy who was either heading towards his relative or his death. Maybe both.
***
'So kinetic energy is equal to the potential energy at the exact midpoint of any arc…'
Ruki had been repeating this principle over and over again. However, in between the saying and the memorizing, she would get distracted by some stray thought – mostly of Takato, but sometimes of the odd behavior of her mother and grandmother last night – and not memorize it after all.
Yet another thing to be angry at the goggleheaded one for. If only she could summon up enough anger to actually be angry…
Suddenly her sight was obscured by a pair of hands over her eyes. The hands felt warm against her face, and she could catch a familiar, pleasant smell of bread and milk and somehow, of pinewood…
What the HELL are you noticing Gogglehead's smell for!?!?! a part of her cried in horror.
For, yes, Ruki knew who it was covering her eyes with his hands even before the familiar voice said, "Hiya, Ruki!" She froze. What was he doing here? It was a schoolday! This was her school! It was supposed to be her sanctuary from him today! How was she supposed to avoid him now?
Takato removed his hands, and Ruki turned to face his grinning face. "Goggle…" But Takato again demonstrated his newfound lack of regard for his life by kissing Ruki.
This, incidentally, shut her up.
***
Absolute total silence had descended on the courtyard. There was a 'whoosh' sound as a breeze rippled through, stirring some leaves.
"Yana-san, that doesn't look like they're cousins."
"…be quiet."
***
(1) I know nothing about Ruki's school, so I made this all up. The other girls are based on a certain barkada (clique) at my own all-girls school. (which I never have to attend again! Yay! Graduation is a wonderful thing :D)
(2) In case I didn't hint it strongly enough in the past chapters, Takato has grown up to be quite cute. One might even say, bish. ^_^ Whether or not you agree with me as to his future yumminess quotient, just go along for now, please? It is needed for the story. -_^
Despite the quote on top, the soundtrack for this chapter is
Crazy for this Girl – Evan and Jaron
If I Am – Nine Days
Absolutely (Story of a Girl) – Nine Days
Out of My League – Stephen Speaks
Teenage Dirtbag – Wheatus
Sorry it took so long for this to come up. Understand that this fic was supposed to have ended at chapter two, and so I had no idea where to take this. But now I think I have some inklings of a plot coming up. ^_^ Also, I was a little caught up in graduation. I am now totally free from high school. College here I come! YAAAY! :D
Wow! All those reviews for lil ol' me? Aww shucks. And from some of the Rukato authors who inspired me to write in the first place! (melts)