SPIKED PUNCH: Chap 2…The Morning After…
The subsequent morning, Fuuko was the first to awake, and it was not a pleasant awakening for her. Fuuko sucked in a deep breath in attempt to sooth her throbbing migraine. Her head felt like someone had used it for a basketball match the night before. However, she had awoken to something more unpleasant than her present hangover. A weight, someone's weight, atop her bare body. Fuuko was horrified at the realisation. She was about to open her eyes to find out who was on top of her when she heard a groan. Fuuko couldn't decide what to do, whether to sit up and scream at the male who had taken advantage of her of to feign sleep to buy herself some time to sort things out. Faintly, she heard a very familiar guy's voice curse out loud "Shit!" before he scrambled off her. She knew he thought she was still asleep, so she seized the opportunity to turn in her "sleep" so as to conceal her bareness as much as possible. In her heart she was crying and cursing the cur that did this to her swearing her revenge.
Tokiya groaned as he awoke. The drug had finally worn off. It was a few minutes before he recollected his thoughts of the previous night. When he did, he almost had a heart attack. He cursed and scrambled of a rather indecent Fuuko and was about to rush off to the toilet to get himself more presentable when Fuuko turned in her sleep. Tokiya thought it would be a better idea to keep her warm by pulling the covers over her before leaving the room. And that he did.
When Tokiya came out of the toilet after adjusting his clothes, he went to the hall to read the morning papers, or at least try to. He failed miserably. He would not stop his mind from wondering over the previous night's affairs. He tried suppressing the thought about how right it felt when they were sharing that intimate moment. (Do try to remember, as long as Tokiya was concerned, nothing perverse had happened the night before … because he had restrained himself.) Instead he directed it to the more pressing matters at hand such as how to explain to Fuuko why she was topless in his house in his room. When suddenly…
BOOM!
Something which felt like a thousand knives hit him square in the chest with so much force it caused him to fly backwards, slamming him into the wall. The impact of the force had simultaneously loosened his rubberband causing his hair to fall over his face obscuring it from view as well as knock him out such that the last thing he remembered was the searing pain in his left shoulder.
è
When Fuuko heard the door close, she bolt upright on the bed and began to inspect the damage done to her body while fighting the to control the rising anger from within. She was rather surprised to find that her lower undergarment was still intact, deducing from this that whatever took place the night before had not gone very far. However whatever the situation, she was still indignantat what he had done to her. Not really caring who he might be or what explaination he might have, she adjusted her clothes and readied Fuujin for a powerful rage-filled attack. Silently she opened the door which led to the living room, her hand clapsed with Fuujin and took aim at the male who was sitting with his legs crossed and reading the morning papers held up in front of him. This prevented her from seeing who he really was…not like she cared. After what he had done to her…Hot tears found their way to the corners of her green eyes as they flowed afresh. His devil-may-care attitude was getting her riled up. He obviously did not care about how she felt, he was reading the morning papers for crying out loud! Now her tears flowed freely though she was biting back sobs. She wanted to hurt him and she wanted to hurt him bad. She took aim with Fuujin and blasted,…full force. Not caring if the force would kill the unsuspecting male. The impact of the blast sent him flying backwards, contacting with the wall behind with a sickening thud. As he slid down to the floor, he left a trail of blood on the wall undoubtly from the countless wounds the onslaught had caused. Her attack was so swift and silent that he had blacked out without so much as a squeak. But still she had no clue to the identity of her attacker as the force from the blast had loosened the rubberband holding his hair up, causing it to cover his visage making identification near impossible. But then again, who cared?!? Fuuko ran out of the door and down the street. Trying hard to put as much distance between the house and herself before hailing a cab. Even so, as she ran…something at the back of her mind told her that the silver-coloured hair seemed vaguely familiar. However in her distraught state of mind, that train of thought stopped right there as she got into the cab.
Quite a while after fuuko had stormed out of the house, mikagami began to come to. He ached all over but could only blame himself for not foreseeing that such a thing would happen as well as for letting his guard down, so much that he couldn't even sense Fuuko's oncoming attack.so much for trying to be helpful. Next time of it's gonna hurt so much I'd better remind myself not to be such a busybody…wonder if I can stand?He groaned out loud as waves of excruitiating pain coursed through his body as he tried to stand up. Leaning on the blood-stained wall for support, he quickly assessed his injuries and soon came to a conclusion: a dislocated right shoulder,a couple of broken ribs, a deep gash across his left shoulder as well as numerous cuts and bruises all over his torso. Mikagami qiuckly solved the easiest of his injuries, which was the dislocated right shoulder. Before he lost his guts, he rammed his shoulder forcibly into the wall forcing it back into its socket. An act as violent as that caused him to cry out in pain albiet a hoarse one at that. He sucked in a shuderring breath and proceeded to treat his other injuries. When he was done, he surveyed the bloodied wall, looks like it will have to wait till he got back from school. Living alone with such a hectic life did have its disadvantages. Suddenly it occurred to him that he had just sustained a powerful attack from Fuujin at close range no less, and survived! Nevertheless instead of feeling thankful, he felt he felt a sense of dread that hung over him and threatened to overwhelm him. He knew that nomatter how serious his injuries, they did not justify what it seemed like to Fuuko. The more he thought about it the more he wished he had parished in the blast.
…at school…
Throughout all his classes Mikagami was careful not to move unnecessarily as each movement caused a shockwave of pain to hit him. During break, he made a conscious effort to steeer clear of Hokage, choosing the the roof top of the main school building as his selected hideout. Little did he know, 2 minutes into his isolation and he was interupted by a rather upbeat Hokage.
Tokiya was on his favorite rooftop, reading his literature text 'The Merchant of Venice'. Everytime he read the book, he always found himself wondering if women as smart as Portia really existed. It certainly would beat getting banged up good and proper by women who jumped to conclusions,…wrong ones at that! He thought solemnly to himself. He dared himself to move into a more comfortable position but found that such an action brought more discomfort and had to bite back a cry of pain. He was about to go into further analysis of his text when suddenly out of the blue…
BANG!
Recca had just burst in through the door leading to the roof and slammed it behind it with exaggerated effort as though trying to prevent something or someone from coming through. If Tokiya's deduction was correct, Recca was trying in vain to prevent Domon from coming through the door. Less than 5 seconds later, Domon came through the door, literally, sending Recca flying. But with his quick reflexes, Recca managed to land smoothly with a triumphant look plastered to his childish features. The cause of the brawl, judging by the colourful language exchanged in their heated conversation, was that Recca had yet again called Domon a stuffed-ring-nosed-pig. Tokiya shook his head at the scene before him. In his mind he was thinkingkids will always be kids… Out loud he asked in as sarcastic a voice he could muster, " Will the 2 of you never grow up? Why can't you act like civilised adults and talk things over instead of calling each other stupid nicknames?" he punctuated the end of his sentence with an exasperated sigh. It was not turning out to be a good day…
Recca paused in mid-kick, turned around, adopting a rather dignified pose and spook in a fake British Accent, "My, my, aren't we touchy today? You should speak for yourself, fancy insulting others whom have not disturbed you." Relish evident in his voice at the peeved expression he achieved from a worked up Mikagami. However thinking to himself Mikagami seems to be on a rather short fuse today, usually something like that won't get so much as a wink from him.
" For your information…" was all Mikagami managed to get out before being cut off by the opening of the yet again. This time Fuuko followed by Yanagi stepped into the melee. Yanagi, seeing the angered looks on all the guys' faces, launched into the numerous reasons why they should not break out in another fight. This was directed more to Recca and Domon since she had yet to find out the cause of the dispute between Mikagami and Recca.
* * *
While this was going on in the background, Mikagami carefully observed all of Fuuko's actions. He was slightly startled when he realised that Fuuko was actually eyeing him too. He quickly hid his shock behind his expressionless mask before anyone caught it. It was evident that Fuuko did not know his involvement in the previous night's affairs but he was not intent on her suddenly remembering.
* * *
While Yanagi was giving her lecture, Recca turned chibi and listened to her every word with rapt interest. Fuuko and Domon both sweatdropped upon seeing this. Mikagami decided to use seize the opportunity where everybody was distracted to try and slip away. Alas! It did not turn out as successful as he hoped it to be. Domon had snuck up behind him and because of his hurry to get off the rooftop ASAP, he had not noticed. Domon slapped him across his left shoulder, Hard. To Domon it was nothing more than a casual greeting especially since he knew it would get Mikagami all worked up, however to Mikagami it felt like pure torture and it took absolute self-restraint to prevent himself from screaming in pain, instead he merely winced. He felt his wound reopen and bleed all over again. With immense will power he straightened up and wiped the pained expression off his face before anyone noticed. He did a swift about-turn and stared Domon down as he felt the blood seeping through his uniform. Domon felt shivers run down his spine as he looked into his eyes, clear cerulean eyes which promised no less than death should he so much as lay a finger on him again. Domon was experiencing Tokiya's famed Death Glare. Once he felt he had drilled the message through Domon's thick skull, he hurriedly excused himself and rushed to the toilet to patch himself up.
Unknown to Tokiya, Fuuko had caught the pained expression on his face when Domon hit him. At first she thought it was one of contempt like it has always been but, it turned out to be genuine, especially when she caught a glimpse of a growing patch of dark brown on his left shoulder against the navy blue of his school uniform. Something which everybody missed…but her. Something was definitely amiss. Quietly, she tailed him trying to keep up with his hurried pace. Upon reaching the toilet, she had to pause and wonder if it was wise to walk right into the guys' toilet? This is definitely not good for my reputation, is Tokiya really worth all this trouble? I'm pretty sure he can handle his own problems but I should still check just in case…
* * *
Mikagami walked into the toilet and looked around. There were a few guys already inside. He gave all of them a cold hard stare. Sending a message across that he wanted privacy…and that he will not be denied. Fortunately for them, they got the message and hurried out. As he watched them rush for the door, he found it rather comical and would have laughed at the way they were all pushing and shoving to get out of the toilet if he was not hurting so bad. Instead he allowed himself a small smile. When the last of them had left the toilet, he began to disrobe so he could clean his shoulder wound and redress it. He tried to bite back a gasp of pain and failed. It echoed loudly in the empty toilet. When suddenly, the door burst open and there stood Fuuko as the door closed in slow motion behind her as she let go of it…
* * *
Fuuko stood outside the guys' toilet with her fingers stroking her chin. She was contemplating swallowing her pride and walking in on all the guys in the toilet including Mikagami, when the toilet door burst open without warning and all the guys who were originally inside the toilet rushed out. Some brushing past her while others nearly knocking her over in their hurry. She stepped out of their way thinking to herself Something's definitely not right.
At this point in time she burst into the toilet. The first thing she noticed was Mikagami standing in front of a mirror checking his bleeding shoulder the rest of his bare skin was also covered with bruises, cuts and scratches. Unlike her usual reaction which would be to call Yanagi to heal his wounds, she flew into a rage. She recognised the distinct pattern in his injuries. He looked like he had been hit by a blast from her Fuujin. Close range. That together with his silvery mane which was beginning to look very familiar. Just like a jigsaw puzzle, all the pieces were coming together and they formed a very distressing picture.
" It was you!"
Fuuko was slowly getting over the shock.
"You perverted bastard!"
Her anger was way past boiling point.
"I'm gonna kill you if it's the last thing I do!"
Not even a leash of steel would have been able to stop Fuuko from doing what she did next.
Fuuko lunged at Mikagami full force and slammed him into the mirror causing it to shatter in his face adding new wounds to the countless he had already sustained.
Mikagami gasped in shock and in pain. He had not expected her to react so violently and the pain was threatening to overcome him. However this did not compare to the fury which was suddenly building up inside him. How could she suspect him?! How could she accuse him without proper evidence?! He had to defend his name he would not put up with such untrue accusations!
Fuuko realised that she did not have to resort to physical attacks when she had a whole reserve of power from Fuujin to call on. She took a step back and took aim. The part of her mind which could still be reasoned with, could not grasp what was happening, her body was acting with a will of its own. No doubt she was angry, no infuriated with the revelation, she could not belief that Tokiya would do such a thing without a reason, should she give him a chance to explain himself? She hesitated and did not attack immediately. Giving sufficient time to recover. She looked into his eyes to see if perhaps she had made a mistake and she was met with an unrestrained fury. She took a step back, caught off guard at the strong reaction she was receiving.
He was filled with pure untamed rage he looked up at her showing fully what he felt in his eyes. He saw her hesitate and take a step back. There! The opening to retaliate. In three moves, faster than the eye could follow, he was beside her and had already pinned her to the opposite wall. She started struggling to break free of his vice like grip, but to no avail. Mikagami had always been much stronger than he looked often catching opponents off guard because they had underestimated his strength. With deathly calmness, he spoke with a hiss, " How dare you? How dare you make such flimsy accusations with no evidence to back you up?!! Just for once, use your brain and think what happened the night before, think about how big a fool you made of yourself!" Mikagami paused to let his words sink in. As he spoke, he gradually increased his volume till he was finally shouting at her.
Fuuko had finally stopped struggling. Her mind was filled with images of the previous evening, having found the stash of alcohol, being dared to drink two-thirds of the bottle, getting drunk, led to a dark corner with three guys…
It was true! All Mikagami had said was true!! Fuuko just stood there letting the truth sink in, realising the great wrong she had done and the greater wrong she had done Mikagami. She took a step forward and opened her mouth to apologise but …
"Leave…"
His tone was strict bordering on anger which had begun to subside. The single word had caused the floodgates which held the guilt at bay to burst and overflow. She was drowning in guilt. She had hurt him, hurt him physically for something he did not do. She had never done anything as stupid or selfish in her life. Not knowing what else to do, she rushed out.
She swore she would make it up to him, one way or the other, she had to.
Mikagami now alone in the toilet, allowing himself of a frustrated groan. (Afterall, he was all alone.) Not only had he not managed to treat his wounds he had acquired new ones. The day was not shaping out to be a good one hopefully he would at least be able to make it home today without having to outrun the fan club…
After school…
Tokiya took an excruciatingly slow walk home that day. Giving any onlooker the impression that he was merely strolling and was savoring the scenery however the actual reason was that he was in too much pain to move at his normal past. He had long since discovered that being on the receiving end of a blast from Fuujin at close range was not a very good thing…in fact it was a very bad thing. The thing was the unbelievably thick physics text in his hand did not make things any easier for him. All he wanted at this point in time was to go home, have a refreshing cold shower and sleep for a million years.
As he neared his home, Mikagami suddenly felt the sensation of being followed. He stopped before entering his home and spoke to no one in particular, "Who are you and state your business." Although his tone sounded cool with a resolve to fight if need be, he really doubted he would be able to put up much of a fight in his current state. In a pink blur, Fuuko dismounted the tree she had been hiding in and landed in from of him. "My name is Fuuko Kirisawa and I'm here to make you feel all better again.", came the reply in a sugary sweet voice which could have given any listener cavities. Mikagami was in no mood to get in to a squabble by passing snide remarks, so he let it slip by. Rolling his eyes he turned around and stepped into his house pretending he had not seen or heard Fuuko. He was about to lock her out when Fuuko stopped the door with her right hand, the one armed with Fuujin. "Are you gonna let me in peacefully or do I have to blast your door apart?" she asked calmly expecting a cold stare which would probably have told her that she was not welcomed. Instead she heard Tokiya reply hoarsely but sarcastically, "I could do without the bill for a new door." And he let her in.
The first thing she noticed as she stepped into his house was the dried blood on the wall. Caked and dried; Tokiya's blood. She winced at the ghastly blemish on his wall and asked hesitantly, "Was that…?" and she left it hanging knowing full well that both parties knew what the unspoken question was. Without a moment's hesitation, he shot back at her in a hoarse sarcastic voice, "Gee, how smart of you to realise…"however his sarcastic remark was to go incomplete as he collapsed on the floor due to over exertion and lost of blood. In the blink of an eye, Fuuko was at his side. She attempted to help him up and realised that he was a lot weaker than he was letting on. As she helped him to stand in his semi-conscious state, he leaned heavily on her because his own limbs could not support him. The feeling of guilt came rushing back like a bitter after taste. She supported him as best as she could and half led, half-dragged Tokiya to the nearest bed in the nearest room. Upon reaching it she gently lowered him down and straightened him out. THEN…she realised how big a mistake that was because the blood from his re-opened wounds began to soak into the sheets. Damn now I have to help him wash the sheets too…on top of having to clean the wall…nurse him back to health…this really sucks. This much "Quality" time with Tokiya could be fatal… The highly unwelcomed thought lingered for more than a while as she tried to figure out how to help out the present situation.
While buried in thought, she suddenly heard a groan from the slumbering figure, one filled with pain that definitely did not mean that he was comfortable. She observed his attempts to solve his own discomfort without offering any help. She realised that he had regained consciousness for quite a while now but had tried not to show it so she would go away because her presence was only adding to his discomfort. One must first realise that Tokiya is a proud being and dislikes it extremely of anyone should see him weak at any point in time. He had pretended to turn in his sleep so he could back face Fuuko and she would not see his face laced with pain but…that was a wrong move to make. He ended up accidentally applying pressure on his already injured shoulder causing waves of white-hot searing pain to course through him forcing him to hiss in agony. Fuuko had to smile. He was trying so hard to preserve what was left of his pride. But to help him she would only shatter it further. Well at least it's for the best…
Fuuko gently placed a hand on Tokiya's good shoulder causing him to lie flat in his back once again. He cracked open an eyelid to see if Fuuko had a smirk plastered to her face. He was pretty sure that she was relishing every moment of his discomfort. Imagine his surprise when he saw that she was not mocking him but wore an expression of sincere concern. Fuuko, knowing full well that Tokiya was not going to appreciate her next move but knew it was all for the best, made it quick. In one smooth action, she unbuttoned his coat, shirt and began to turn him on his side to get to his would. Apparently she was not swift enough for before she could fully unbutton his shirt, he had sat up and shoved her away. 2 simple actions but he was already panting and his world was spinning out of control. Tokiya clutched his head with one hand while supporting himself on the bed with the other. "I know how to take care of myself. I don't need your help…just leave me alone." The harsh words would have deterred any ordinary acquaintance, but not Fuuko. They had been teammates, she knew what to expect and saw it coming a mile away. In as bossy a voice as she could muster, Fuuko began to persuade Tokiya, "Whoever said you had a choice in the matter? In your current state I could force you into anything so you're gonna lie still while I mother you." And quickly added, "C'mon Tokiya it's for your own good!", when she saw his unyielding expression. Cool as ever, his reply was even colder and it froze her, "No, this is just for you to get rid of your guilty conscience." Fuuko abruptly stopped her administrations and looked at him eyes wide with shock and fists clenched in frustration. It sucked big time because he was right on the money. Tokiya would have succeeded in driving her off if he had not fallen back onto the bed from over exertion.
His breathing was laboured and he fought to keep consciousness. Fuuko did not meet with any resistance as she tried once again to assess his injuries and administer first aid to stop the bleeding.
With as little fuss as possible, she began to remove his shirt to expose his upper torso. Scarred and bleeding she winced knowing that her Fuujin had caused the wounds. The worst of the lot was a deep gash on his left shoulder. She rushed for the first aid box she had seen in the hall on the corner table, exactly where Tokiya had left it that morning after using it. The smeared dried blood around the would prevented her from coming to a satisfactory conclusion. She used cotton wool and water to remove the dried blood before bandaging the wound with the bandage found in the first aid box. She then spent the next few moments dressing the rest of the countless wounds he had sustained all over his upper torso.
By the time she was done, she realised that Tokiya had fallen into a fitful slumber as she worked on his torn body. She took a step back to admire her handiwork but observed something else altogether. Her eyes swept over his fallen features. Starting with his face. She noticed the effect his boyish good looks had on her but underlying that was a troubled expression. One what was not seen often, one that was hidden oh-so-well during the day one that was always closely guarded except for now. She looked lower down and learnt why the girls in their school chased after him so fervently. His perfect figure of broad shoulders and slim waist were not the only feature which were drool worthy, something else that no girl in school has ever seen except her probably was his well-defined chest and sculptured abs. Her eyes trailed lower down but there was not much else to see for his school pants hid much, much more…She blushed heatedly as her thoughts began to go wayward…what's wrong with me? Why am I thinking such things? once again she leveled her eyes with his face. His troubled thought showed clearly on his face. The expressionless mask, the cold words that cut, they were all an act ,every one knew, but she never felt its importance until now. In attempt to offer comfort of somesort, she reached out her hand and ruffled his bangs. It had some effect as his expression lightened to a certain extent. It then became crystal to her how much he actually needed someone. Right there and then she made a promise to him and herself, I will be there for you. I will be there when you need me, Tokiya.