Some comments before I start the fic.
To:
Gyuumajo: Yes, I've updated the cliffhangers! Why aren't you reviewing, woman!
Marie, Anonymous, Mak and Jaia: Thanks!
Chiche: I wrote this because of my hatred to Haruko! Hate her! And I did want a nice Rukawa. The elements fit here. Oh, thank YOU! ;)
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Silent Love
By: Kuroi Neko-kun
Summary: Rukawa's mute sister returns to his life after years of separation. With the new school year coming, he expects a better life. Meanwhile, Sakuragi suffers his 51st rejection. To top it off, Haruko rejects him for Megane-kun. But a turn of events made him meet Rukawa Kinaki and finds out about her secrets, giving a chance to make peace with Rukawa. Could this be the ultimate boon or will it turn to something else?
Chapter 3: Sakuragi Hanamichi, the Other Side
Key:
"Spoken"
'Sign language'
Thoughts
'Mental messages'
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'I heard…' Kinaki mentally projected her thoughts, 'that you and Sakuragi-san have extra classes.' Rukawa, who was showering, groaned at the news. Kinaki was sitting on his bed, rearranging some of his papers. 'Onii-chan… you have to go. It's just one practice…'
"You don't understand, Kinaki-chan… I can't miss practice."
'And Tou-san will be mad at you if you don't go. It's important. I'll wait for you!' Rukawa smiled as he toweled himself and crossed over to his walk-in closet.
"Arigatou… but I don't want to trouble you…"
"It's okay! I should wait…'
"Kinaki-chan, it's almost like you want to wait for someone else as well…" She felt her cheeks turn warm. Rukawa came out, in shorts and a T-shirt, and ruffled her hair. "Go to bed… you've got school tomorrow." She nodded and hugged her brother before running to her room. Rukawa watched her with all the love in his heart. He was about to lie in bed himself when the phone rang. He picked it up.
"Mushi mushi…" He heard breathing from the other line, knowing someone was there. The person had not spoken. "Look, if this is a prank-"
"Rukawa," a familiar voice went on the other extension.
"Sakuragi, where are you?" Rukawa noticed there was noise behind Sakuragi.
"Rukawa… I need to talk to you. I'm at the park near school."
"Sakuragi, it's late… go home…"
"Um… I can't…"
"Why?"
"My mom… she… Look, I need to talk to you, k? Just meet me here please?" Rukawa thought about it before answering. Sakuragi were never with good terms with him till recently. And since he did not have anybody else to turn to, he turned to him. Rukawa was not about to sneak out in the middle of the night just to meet him. But it was the desperation in Sakuragi's voice that made him go. He had to. The boy needed him.
"… Fine… Just stay put at that phone. I'll meet you there as soon as possible." Rukawa hung up and turned to his wardrobe. He threw on a black T-shirt and pants. He took out his navy blue sweater and put it on. Rukawa was not proud of his ability to sneak out unseen. He had done it a dozen times before just to have time to himself. After packing some essential items, the King of Sneaking Out climbed out the window, dodged the security cameras and took his bike out from the garage and sped off to the school park.
~~~
It did not take him long to reach the park but Rukawa felt like he was slow. He got off his bike and reached the only public phone that the park had. He found Sakuragi sitting on the park benches, hiding his face in his knees like a child would. Rukawa shook him. Sakuragi looked up, his face stained with tears. Rukawa had seen him cry but not to this extent.
"What's wrong?" he automatically asked. That caused Sakuragi to just sob some more. The raven-haired boy sat beside him and patted his shoulder, hoping to calm him down. He handed him his handkerchief. Sakuragi took it and wiped his tears. "What's wrong?" He repeated. This time, Sakuragi was ready to answer.
"My mom… she's not living a clean life…" He started," night after night… She comes home with a different…" Rukawa stopped him, understanding what he meant. "She had not been in good terms with my old man. When he died, she was the only one who did not grieve. She always told me that I was a burden to her. I mean, I know that I'm a bas—!!" Rukawa placed his hand on his mouth.
"That's not true. You're not a burden. You have a gift for basketball," Rukawa said. Sakuragi blinked.
"Are you sure you're Rukawa?" Rukawa slapped the back of his head.
"Ow! That hurt, baka kitsune!"
"You deserved it, do'ahou," Rukawa said. They both stared at each other. Sakuragi burst out laughing whilst Rukawa smiled and watched him. For a while, Sakuragi laughed till he stopped and looked at Rukawa. Brown eyes met blue.
"Thank you. Nobody would rush for me like that. I just… can't tell Youhei this. He's covered my back too much. To everyone, I'm this dumb redhead who likes to cause trouble for attention. Nobody knows that I have problems too…"
"So why tell me?" Sakuragi shrugged.
"I think it's because you helped me when I was…" he trailed off," Talking to you made me realize that instead of being your enemy, we could've been friends."
"Us?" Rukawa raised his eyebrow.
"Yeah, why not? We're both in the same class and the same team." Sakuragi smiled at him," same height..."
"Fine then… I wouldn't mind to have someone to talk to…" Rukawa shook his hand," though I have to disagree with the height." Sakuragi smirked.
"Great…" he glanced nervously at Rukawa.
"Wait, you said you couldn't go home…"
"Oh… I… sorta…"
"You did not run away…" Sakuragi nodded, picking up his bag. Rukawa huffed.
"I had to… I sleep in the hallway and I can hear the …"
"Okay, okay… I don't need and explanation on what goes on…" Rukawa said as he reached into his bag and took out a cell phone. He dialed a few numbers. "Benibana-san… Kaede here… I know it's late but can you pick a friend and me up home. Please before Tou-san comes home… Arigatou." He hung up and glanced at the redhead whose jaw had dropped. "What?"
"…Nothing…"
~~~
Kinaki woke up with different sounds playing in her head. She was used to this whirlwind of thoughts in the morning. She focused on her own, shutting everyone else's. Everything cleared and she could start her day. She was about to get out of bed when she heard a familiar voice outside her room. [Yes heard, with her EARS].
"Whose room is this?" was the voices from the other side of her door.
"My sister's… you stay out of there." Kinaki recognized her brother's voice but the other one was all too familiar.
"I won't. I got no business in a girl's room."
"You better. I'd deck you. By the way, you have to explain your situation to my dad. He'll understand."
"You sure?"
"Yeah, come on, Sakuragi. Let's get breakfast. I don't want wake my sister." Kinaki's eyes nearly bulged out. Sakuragi-san is here?? In my house?? By my room?? What's going on here? Kinaki ran into her bathroom, quickly showered and got dressed. She ran down to the breakfast room and saw her father, Rukawa and Sakuragi sitting and now staring at her.
"Kinaki-chan," her father went, clearing his throat," why are you dressed for school?" Kinaki just stared at him.
"Today's a Saturday," Rukawa explained. Kinaki wanted to slap herself. How could she forget that today was Saturday? Now, she looked like a dork in front of Sakuragi. She turned red and ran back to her room.
~~~
When she finally came down, she quietly sat at her seat, opposite Sakuragi. She blushed, still feeling the embarrassment, and ate her breakfast. Oh man, he's going think I'm a dork… She shyly looked up at Sakuragi. He smiled at her, making her turn to the equivalent of a ripe tomato.
"Well… I really understand, Sakuragi-kun. But can't you sort it out with your parents?" Her father went. Sakuragi shook his head. Obviously, he had tried it before. "Well then. I will take you in, only if your mother agrees to it AND sign an official form to passing guardianship to me. I will act as caretaker until she turns over a new leaf." Sakuragi tried to suppress the snort he was about to let out. Kinaki accidentally read his thoughts. He's given up hope… Oh, Sakuragi-san… She felt herself enter his mind, conjuring up his memories. From there, she SAW. She saw the pain, anguish and frustrations. Home was never where his heart was. He cries… he cries. She wanted to hold him and comfort him. She felt her own tears flow down her cheeks.
"Kinaki-chan?" She woke up from her trance and turned to her father, who had a worried look on his face. He pointed to her cheeks. "Why are crying?" She realized that her tears were falling on her cheeks. Her real cheeks. She wiped them but they kept on falling. She finally excused herself and ran to the nearest bathroom.
I have to stop going into peoples' minds. It's rude! But… She thought about Sakuragi. Not in a million years, he would admit to her that he suffered from a lot of pain. She washed her face and took a deep breath, calming herself down from crying again.
"Kinaki-chan? Are you okay?" She heard her brother on the other side. Kinaki smiled. It was a good thing that she had a sibling during her troubled times. She opened the door and hugged her brother. "What happened?" he asked, after breaking up the hug.
'I entered Sakuragi's memories… by accident.' She grinned sheepishly.
"I didn't know you could do that…" Rukawa whispered.
'I did it once before… to Haruko-san.' She explained.
"Why?"
'It was an accident… I heard her thoughts then entered her mind…'
"Oh… what did you see?" Her brother was trying to hide something but she did not bother about it.
'… I saw her break Sakuragi's heart…'
~~~
The piece of news did not delight Rukawa at all. One thing, her sister's power was getting dangerous. Now, she could see peoples' memories. He did not want to imagine what she could do next. He shook his head. This was still his sister, after all.
"Rukawa," he turned to the redhead," is she alright? I was shocked when she started crying. It looked like she did not want me around…"
"Sakuragi… she sort of… peeked into your mind," Rukawa explained," by accident."
"Huh? How can she do that?"
"Her telepathy… it's evolving…" A worried look flashed at Rukawa's face.
"Evolving how?"
"First, she could throw her inner voice into peoples' minds," Rukawa started," then she could read them. Now… she can go into someone's mind and see memories. I'm just afraid of what will happen next…" Rukawa sighed, obviously thinking too much about it. Sakuragi smiled, noticing despite Rukawa's cold exterior, he had a warm heart.
"It'll be alright… As long as she can control it." Rukawa glanced up at the redhead, noticing the maturity that had blossomed from his experience. Even though it hurt him, Rukawa was glad that things happened this way. Sakuragi had gained a friend and a proper home. Best of all, Sakuragi felt genuinely happy.
~~~
Kinaki walked down the road to the sports shop. She wanted to buy something for her brother and Sakuragi. After all, she knew that they never got along till recently. She had not reached the store when she saw someone familiar coming out from it, Haruko and her friends. She wanted to quietly let them slip but before she could, Haruko spotted her.
"Ah… Kinaki-san," she smiled at her. Kinaki forced a small smile. "Going to get Rukawa-san something?" She nodded. "Well, I hope I don't want to get in the way… so," before Haruko could finish, Kinaki entered the store.
~~~
She did not want anything spoil her mood as she stepped in. Kinaki looked through some items, wondering what she would buy for a couple of serious basketball players. After a while, Kinaki felt like giving up.
"Kinaki-san," she turned and saw Youhei, in his home clothes and the store apron over it. He was obviously working. "Is there anything I can do for you?"
'I'm looking for something for my brother… I thought he would like something he never had before.' Youhei understood what she meant and went around the store before picking up something.
"How's this?" He showed her a pair of black wristbands. Her eyes widened.
'It's perfect!' She was so happy that she hugged Youhei, who blushed in return. 'Arigatou!'
"A-aa…"
~~~
When Kinaki came home, Sakuragi and Rukawa had been moving Sakuragi's things into a room next to Rukawa's. She rushed up to see whether she could help.
"Kinaki-san, you don't have to…" Sakuragi started but Kinaki's smile made him stop somehow. She slowly approached him and grabbed his hand, placing his wristband on.
'This is for you… a homecoming present…' She went up to he brother and placed the same band on him. 'This will mark the day Sakuragi moved in and our friendship!' Sakuragi smiled at her before patting her head.
"Arigatou na," he said. Rukawa just stared at his band.
~~~
Practice was not as tough as it would have been. Ryota first thought it was because of lack of discipline but he came to realize that his sophomore teammates were working together instead of fighting. He found out why soon enough as Sakuragi informed Ayako of his change of address.
"You're under Rukawa father's guardianship?" Ayako blinked at him. Sakuragi felt the embarrassment having to explain come to him. He blushed but Rukawa stepped in then.
"My father is working on a student project for his research. He had chosen Sakuragi as a test subject," he explained. Ayako nodded, understanding what Rukawa meant.
"Sou ka? This is why the two of you have not been at each other's neck here. You do it at home now," Ayako chuckled. Ryota came up from behind her.
"Either that or they got along," he commented," I mean you two have been great of the late."
"Thanks," Sakuragi mumbled," but Rukawa scored most of it."
"Do'ahou, I only scored because of your rebounding."
"Iya… You got some too…" Ayako and Ryota just stared at them, wondering whether the world was ending or not.
~~~
"Ah, this is great." Sakuragi commented as he cleared his plate. The three teenagers were having a supper meal together. Kinaki cooked since Benibana-san had to pick up Rukawa's father.
"Really good," Rukawa said. Kinaki blushed as she cleared the plates.
'It's nothing…'
"It's the best meal I ever tasted." Sakuragi pointed out," maybe I should marry you, Kinaki-san. That way, I can truly enjoy your cooking." Kinaki's cheeks were now the distinct color of a tomato. Rukawa glared at him.
"She's too young to get married." Sakuragi grinned.
"There's no way I can support her now anyway. Daijoubu, Rukawa. I'll marry her when I'm able to support her, okay?" Rukawa snorted but he smiled a little. Sakuragi had changed. He was thinking maturely at a lot of things.
"Maybe… If Kinaki-chan wants to." They both turned to the blushing Kinaki. It was like the both of them were reading her mind.
'I… Well… Anou… It depends but if… Sakuragi-san…' Her face flushed. Sakuragi just smiled at her.
"Daijoubu da… I'll wait for your answer." She nodded slowly before walking slowly to the kitchen.
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