Amor Fictus
Written by Sakki-san
Anything you haven't heard of belongs to me.
Anything you HAVE heard of, doesn't. (30 reviews for two chapters…now THAT is a record for me.)
Physical education. Ran hated physical education. With a passion.
It wasn't that he was bad at it; in fact, he was one of the better students. The problem was the staff and the clientele.
Worse yet, they combined grades for PE. So here was Ran, a junior, in a class with a couple other juniors, five seniors, and fourteen sophomores. No freshmen. They got their own PE classes.
"Alright, line up! Today we're running."
A collective groan was heard from the class as they lined up to go outside. It was cold, wet, and looked like it might rain. Perfect track weather.
Ran remained silent, glaring out over the damp fields. They were still green, but massive patches of brown were spreading like mold on a piece of bread. Soon it would be winter, and then the grounds would be covered in snow.
For now, though, they still had to run.
"All right, everybody line up!" the teacher yelled. "Girls over here, boys over here! Two lines, even numbers!"
There was a mass scramble as everyone tried to find a spot next to their best friend so that they could race and find out who was faster and get more popularity and be congratulated and then make up with their friend because they really weren't trying to prove anything and it was just dumb luck and go on living happily ever after.
Ran gave a snort and just stood in line.
"Ready? Race 100 yards to the end! You will be told your time. Remember it!" Everyone nodded, hoping that the teacher would just hurry up and get on with it. "All right….GO!"
Two girls and two boys shot off, running as fast as they could. The boys were running like they'd never run before, and the girls were squealing as they got mud across their new shoes. Cheers from the waiting groups emerged as the first racer crossed the line, receiving his time and laughing at his friend.
Ran continued to stay motionless.
Again and again pairs went off, flying like not-too quick bullets. Ran watched impassively, never caring who won and who lost. The finished racers stayed down at the far end. Thus, by the time Ran's turn had come, there was no one left to race.
He saw the other kids pointing and staring, whispering among each other. They were talking about him. He had no one to race. So what was going to happen? The teacher frowned at them, then looked at Ran.
"I thought the class had an even number of students…Ikari! Ikari!"
A black haired young man down at the other end perked up. He had been describing how he'd run so fast to a group of starry-eyed girls.
"Get down here! You're racing Fujimiya!"
The teacher always referred to students by their last names.
The boy trotted down and gave Ran a contemptuous sneer. Ran didn't even look at him.
"All right. Ready?"
Both boys took their positions.
"Ready…aaand….GO!"
Ran watched as the black haired boy raced off. He looked behind him and saw Ran several yards behind him and laughed.
Ran knew that if he lost this, he'd be mocked and ridiculed. But didn't that happen every day? Still, it would be nice to go at least one day without being called something crude…
So Ran let his mind drift back to his memories.
"Damn you! I'll kill you!"
"Get back here! You can't run forever. You can't hide at all!"
Ran's footsteps started speeding up.
"I'll find you, and you'll pay."
"You'll scream like you've never screamed before!"
Ikari didn't hear Ran approaching him.
"I don't care if the cops come. I'll get my revenge."
"There you are!!"
The boy got a nasty shock when Ran passed him.
"Go on! Run! Run, you little bastard! You can't get away from me!"
"I'll catch you. I'll run you down and make you pay!"
Everyone stared in utter silence as Ran, the icy loner who'd come out of nowhere, passed the star runner of the track team thirty yards from the goal and was still speeding up.
"YOU CAN'T ESCAPE ME!!!"
Ran blasted through the finish line with a wake of mud flowing behind him. The girl who was holding his stopwatch stared incredulously at the time. The teacher came down and looked at it. He was unable to find words.
The other students watched as Ran kept on moving, but was now slowing down, and finally tripped over a dip in grass. He crumpled and tumbled for some time before landing flat on his back, breathing hard, chest heaving. He trembled as he tried to drag his mind away from his memories that now plagued him.
Two students wandered cautiously over, sent by the teacher to make sure Ran was ok. They looked down at him, trying to see if he was going to die or not.
"R…Ran?" one of them said. "Are you ok?"
Ran said nothing and kept his eyes closed.
"Ran…um…the…teacher wants to talk to you."
"…are you alive?"
Ran took one last deep breath before staggering up to his feet. His legs were weak and shaky from the run, and he was surprisingly hot despite the cold temperature and the useless gym uniform.
Somehow, he managed to walk back to the group unaided. The teacher dragged him aside.
"Ran, you got twelve seconds on that run. Twelve! Nobody's run it in twelve seconds. Ikari's best is thirteen and a half. How did you do it?"
Ran didn't answer. He was still trying to catch his breath. He needed something to drink; his mouth was unnaturally dry.
"…Well, see me after school today. I want to talk with you about joining the track team."
Ran nodded and swallowed. His eyes had gone back to their normal coldness after being scared and exhausted for some time. He stood up straight and walked over to a tree and sat under it.
"All right! That was good." The teacher was feigning normality. Everyone knew something was special about Ran now. Confused stares and curious whispers were cast at him from every angle. Ikari was shooting Ran dark looks. Obviously, he did not like being beaten.
Ran said nothing. Ran did nothing. He didn't want to draw any more attention to himself than he already had.
"Next up we have the fifty yard dash. Everybody line up!"
Ran got up from his comfortable spot under the tree and got in the single line. Again, he was the last. How did he always end up last?
The fifty yard dash looked so easy it was almost laughable. Even the slowest runners managed under twenty seconds. Ikari got under ten, along with another member of the track team.
And suddenly it was Ran's turn.
All voices hushed. The teacher was watching Ran with an air of anxiety around him. The sun continued to be hidden by the clouds, and a fine wind stirred Ran's deep red eartails.
"Ready?" said the teacher in an almost hushed voice. "Then…GO!"
Ran took off. This time he refused to let his memories get a hold on him, so he didn't go as fast as he had before. But the feeling of hundreds of pairs of eyes on him, the vicious pain in his lungs, the knowledge that everyone expected a masterpiece of a run from him…
He crossed the line in seven seconds.
Someone swore, and everyone exploded into a quiet conversation. Ran sighed inwardly; he just HAD to do that, didn't he? He just HAD to leap up to everybody's expectations, just HAD to reach for society's standards. He just HAD to try and be somebody.
He glared at the teacher when the man tried to approach him and headed for his tree again. Damnit, couldn't the class be over any sooner?
Something grabbed his shoulder. Instinctively, Ran whirled and slapped the hand off. He almost changed expressions when he saw Ikari and three of his friends standing behind him.
"So, it looks like the rumors about you weren't exaggerated after all."
"…"
"You're high strung from all that shit you pulled when you were a kid. Now I wonder, are you a mental case?"
"…" Ran refused to respond. Ikari glared and shoved Ran back into the tree.
"Look, Fujimiya. I don't know how you did it, but nobody bests me in track time. Nobody. You hear me?"
"…"
"Answer me, damnit!" Ikari punched Ran in the shoulder. "If you join the track team, your life will be hell. Got it? Don't join."
The man had one finger driving painfully into Ran's ribcage. He knocked it away when it got a bit too pressured. And stayed silent.
This got Ikari mad, and he slammed two fingers into the center of Ran's collarbone. Ran almost choked.
"Don't touch me! I know more about you than you think. You never talk because you're scared of what people will say. Is that it? Am I right? You're just afraid of everybody!"
Ran deigned to answer.
"Go on! Say it!" Ikari drove his fingers in harder. His friends backed off when they saw Ran's eyes narrow to a dangerous thinness. "You know it's true. You're so scared shitless of everybody because you think your old man will come back and finish you off for – "
That did it.
Several girls screamed as Ran grabbed Ikari's fingers and jerked the man's hand aside before tackling him to the ground. Within seconds, they were engaged in a full fledged fight, and the teacher was nowhere to be found. His assistants drew away from the fight in terror. A group of boys and some girls surrounded the fight, taunting and jeering. Some even tried to hit Ran as he punched Ikari in the face over and over.
Ikari was faring badly until he managed to get a knee in Ran's stomach. This flung the redhead off him, and he leapt up in the moment of triumph. Ran attacked him, and the two boys were suddenly on the ground again, rolling like wild dogs in a fight over a piece of meat. Punches were thrown wildly.
Suddenly, Ikari missed a punch, and Ran was on him like a crazed animal. Fists flew, knees jabbed, even fingernails clawed like wild. Yells of pain drew the attention of the teacher, who had finally reappeared, and he pushed his way through the crowd.
"Ikari! Fujimiya! Stop this! Stop this now!"
Ikari tried to force Ran off him, but the redhead was in a blind rage. He hadn't even heard the teacher, who was now panicking.
"Quick! Stop them! Pull them apart!"
Three students hauled Ran off Ikari, who was quickly surrounded by his friends and several girls. Ran clawed desperately at the air. He had to kill Ikari. He had to! He had to kill him for knowing. He had to. He had to.
"Fujimiya! Calm down. Stop that." Ran blinked once, suddenly realizing where he was. "Now who knows what happened here?"
Ikari spat blood from his mouth.
"He's crazy. Insane! He tried to kill me, and I didn't do anything!"
"Bullshit!" spat one boy who had been cheering Ran on. "You were goading him on to do it." The boy turned to the teacher, brushing silvery-white locks arrogantly from his eyes. "Ikari there was callin' Ran names, tellin' him not to beat him at track times. Then he started callin' Ran a coward, and here's the result!" The boy made an exaggerated gesture at Ikari, who was wiping blood off his mangled face.
The teacher frowned. He knew he had to send Ran in for detention, but Ikari was known for causing fights.
"…Well…both of you, get to the office. You can get patched up there. I'll help take Ikari." The teacher nodded at the silver haired boy. "You escort Fujimiya."
Ran found himself being dragged off by his savior, who was muttering darkly.
"I bet that Ikari'll twist the story so badly you'll be the only bad guy. Hah! Arrogant prick! But you sure showed him, eh?"
Ran only glared at the ground in front of him. He could hear Ikari yelling curses in his direction.
"You bastard! I'll get you back for this!"
"Shut up, Ikari," snapped one girl. "You'll get blood all over your shirt."