Yo. (Anyone noticed that I've been starting emails with that recently? Must be contagious or something…)
Anywho. This note has to be short, because I have EXAMS tomorrow… yup! And I am completely stuffed for my Japanese one. But… I had an idea. Don't know what you'll think, but… you'll have to check it out in my bio, I'm afraid, because otherwise ff.net can get stroppy at me. But please check it out! I want to know what you think!
Oh… this chapter is dedicated to Metal Overload (James) because of his wonderful insightful-ness and just his great support over my writing this story. (Not saying that the rest of you haven't! But this chapter insight was written with him originally in mind so it makes sense)
Thanks everyone for reviewing. Enjoy!
He had completely lost it by this stage. "You arsehole! Are you trying to destroy my family simply because you're jealous? That you don't have a good family like mine, so you try and wreck it?"
Ryu stopped dead. He relaxed. Bad move.
He reeled as Ryu's balled fist made sharp contact with his cheek.
"Don't you dare say that to me. Don't you dare,"
"Why? It's true, isn't it? You're trying to destroy my family! Ruin my life! And you call ME selfish!" he lashed out as well, catching Ryu in the arm. He was about to hit again but stopped as a cry sounded from the doorway.
"Hayate! Hayabusa! Please, stop!"
They both spun as one to meet wild amber eyes.
"Please, stop fighting! You two are friends! Don't fight!"
He glared across at Ryu, but didn't say anything. Ryu, meanwhile, was staring into space.
"You can't spoil such a long friendship just because of a small disagreement. Friendships are worth more then that,"
"You've known that I haven't truly forgotten about the accident. But not once have you ever questioned how I feel about it. Whether I was alright. You got all the sympathy when Irene died. What about me?" his voice was soft, slightly uneven. "I just wanted to drop out of society, out of existence. But nobody cared. You still don't care, either,"
"You seemed to be trying so hard to keep up your façade. I got the impression that you wanted to outwardly act as though everything was alright, hence my not asking you,"
That was my fault. But… "If you were a true friend you wouldn't have to ask,"
"I'm not a mind reader. I know that I am no better then you, then anybody. I apologise if that impression was coming across," Ryu's voice was back to its gentle tone.
He was still angry, not to mention his pride was still dented from the punch that had been delivered to his face. "Then you should act like it more often, instead of waltzing around and acting superior,"
"Hayate!" Kasumi's tone was berating, something quite out of character for his… little sister.
He looked at her. Little no longer, she was now blossoming into a fine young woman. A blue skirt clung to her shapely hips, a white shirt with loosely tied tie hugging her top half. Her hair caressed her shoulders, falling gracefully down her back.
As he looked at her, it reminded him with a sudden jolt that his childhood was truly gone now. Looking at his 'little sister', a beautiful young adult reminded him unpleasantly that he too was a child no longer.
And in some strange way, he missed that.
Ryu. Ryu wasn't the same shy, reticent adolescent he had met seven years earlier. Things had changed between them, all in the space of minutes. Ryu was an adult too. That meant that he certainly was. That scared him more then he could say.
He remembered when their lives used to be so simple, only having to deal with the odd lot of homework here and there. He missed that too.
"Okay, fine," he said softly. "So it's all my fault. Perhaps I am just a bad friend. So sue me,"
"Hayate-" Ryu started. He interrupted.
"Ryu, please… I need time to think,"
With a single nod, Ryu quickly collected his books and stepped out of the room. However, Kasumi was less compliant.
"Hayate, don't break up your friendship because of something stupid,"
"Kasumi, go away. Get out of my room,"
"Not unless you promise not to be a fool,"
He sighed softly. "Alright, I promise. Now, please leave,"
With one last sad glance, Kasumi exited, shutting the door softly behind her.
Picking up his maths textbook, he threw it angrily at the window. It shattered.
We're all adults now. No time for second chances. Get a job; earn money for a nice house…
Next minute we will all be in nursing homes. Then dead. What's the point of that?
Nothing but hardships ahead.
I need a friend.
…okay. Note to self: Do not smash another window.
His father hadn't been happy, to say the least. After getting another lecture, he had stormed up to his room, locking the door. So now it was just him and the smashed window.
"Funny. My bet is that if it was Kasumi, he would have brushed it off as nothing," he muttered to himself.
"Hayate?" There was a soft knock on his door. "Dinner time,"
He stood up, unlocking the door. "Kasumi? Is Ryu still there?"
She shook her head. "He left. He was helping Ayane with her maths for a while, but he's gone now,"
"Good," he followed her downstairs, not seeing wine coloured eyes following his every move.
Kasumi. Even that single word chills me to the core.
Ayane was sitting on her bed now, steadfastly ignoring the dinner-call. Ever since that day… I haven't been able to forgive her. Why should I?
Even though it was years and years ago, she could still remember it as clear as day.
"Why can't I play too?" a lavender haired young girl whined, tugging at her mother's skirt.
"Because you're too little," the mother said patiently. "Wait until you're older,"
"No, Mother, she can play," a young boy with soft golden brown hair said. "We need another person; it's harder with only two,"
"Alright, Ayane, you chase us!"
And chase she did. But no matter how hard she tried, Hayate and Kasumi were always too fast for her.
"Come on, Ayane!" Hayate chided. "Catch us!"
She was trying, she really was. Kasumi was just in reach… that was, until her foot slipped on a hidden stone and she stumbled, falling onto the ground and spraining her ankle.
"Kasumi…" she begged, trying to stand as tears of pain welled in her eyes. "Help me,"
"No. You spoilsport, you ruined our game!" Kasumi turned on her heel and strode away. Hayate had run out to the front yard, oblivious of anything out of the ordinary. She was forced to stumble and slip back to their mother alone.
It was the first of many times as a young child that Kasumi had pushed her away, only wanting to play with Hayate. Never with her.
As the two girls approached adolescent years, Kasumi started accepting Ayane again, being friendly. However, now the tables had turned. She had no intention of ever being kind to her older half-sister. The bitterness had formed over time, and was not going to change just because of her sister's change in nature. And that was the way it was going to be.
"She probably doesn't even remember that," she muttered to herself. "But that doesn't matter. She doesn't deserve niceness from anybody, least of all me,"