Disclaimer: If Digimon were mine, 02 would've ended VERY differently, I'd have a fifth season with the tamers all above 15 and my fics would be on the BIG screen n_____n!!
This fic was written by a fan for fans and I don't intend to make money with it. Digimon © ™ rightfully belongs to the people of Toei Animations Akiyoshi/ Hongo, but I do claim ownership rights on the plot and any other figure I've created (except Satoshi and Kasumi) Ain't got no money so please don't sue u___u! *yoroshiku onegaishimasu*1
KnH: My first real fanfic folks (well acctually it's kinda my fifth attempt to a fanfic, but this plot was the most appealing to me n____n)
Pu-chan: PAH, admit it, you were just too lazy to write the other ideas down >____>
KnH: Oh, you again! Ladies and Gentlemen, I hereby proudly present to you, my inspiration and my muse, Pu-chan (*growls* brat, some muse you are u____u!!)
Pu-chan: HEY! I HEARD THAT *deathglare*
KnH: Yeah, whatever! Anyway, as I was saying, I was reading Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, and at the same time thinking of Violet Emeralds AAML/R fic and_bamm_ the entire plot took it's form (pretty weird huh?? o___O!! I mean, who reads a book and thinks of ten billion other things alongside?)
Pu-chan: A weirdo like you, for example!
KnH: Oh would you shut up! But on the other hand, you're right, I must have been pretty weird, for creating YOU! o____o!
Pu-chan: This is startin' to get personal! >_____> *even deadlier glare*
KnH: *pushes her out of the picture*
Anyway, if you've ever had the pleasure of reading "Because" (Violet Emeralds) you might catch the inuendo, when reaching a certain point n___~!
Pu-chan: laaameeee!!
KnH: Well, if it's lame then it's acctually all your fault, cause you're the one who's supposed to "inspire" me, ne? n____n *got'ya*
Pu-chan: …
KnH: Just what I wanted to hear! Silencium strictum! n_____n *teehee*
OK, so let me explain:
I prefer sticking to their original names, so it's Ryo (without the U) and Ruki and any future character I invent will have a japanese name too, except it's kinda essential in the plot (and I'll be throwing in some japanese phrases here and there, which I'll explain later in footnotes).
Even though I detest leveling the two to same age, it is quite important in this fic, and I had to transform Ruki's all-girl-school into a mixed one (gomen to all those who are (like me!!) fond of "stick- to-the-real-deal-as close-as-you-can"!! u____u)
So five years have past since the whole D-reaper incident, everything's kinda back to normal and thanks to Hypnos, Ruki can visit the Digiworld every now and then to see Renamon. She doesn't hang out with the gang as often as she used to do, but she tries to keep in touch with Jenrya and Juri as much as she can (phone, that is!)
As you might have allready noticed, the title of my fic is german (the language here in austria) and it litterally means "The run of things" or "the way things run/go". I wanted to write the fic in german in the first place, but it seems like there are more english-speaking Ryoruki fans out there, but if I happen to get over my lazyness some day, I might translate it u____u!!*ja, was auch immer*
Pu-chan: yeah right!! *rollseyes*
KnH: What? You again? I thought I silenced you at least 'till chapter two!
Pu-chan: You wish! If I keep quiet, you'll mess this whole thing up, I think it's time I take over!
KnH: Well then, fine! try your luck, muse, see if you can handle this >____>!!
Pu-chan: Thank you! Please excuse my "excentric" little creator Baka no Hikari, for she knows not what she is doing!
KnH: >_____> *glare*growl*
Pu-chan: n_____n So, to introduce you to the chaotic system she came up with *rollseyes* speaking, thinking and actions will be marked like this:
"Speaking"
'Thinking'
*Action*
KnH: Sounds pretty logic to me
Pu-chan: Do you actually know what the word logic means?? >_____>
KnH: Would you cut that out? I'm your creator, your master, you are nothing but my MUSE, so pay me the needed respect >____>
Pu-chan: Yeah, whatever! By the way, I wanted to thank C.Queen for beta-reading *my* fic, and pointing out some of Baka no Hikaris mistakes
Allright, enough chit-chat, on with the fic….
KnH: Thank GOD she's done!
Pu-chan: Don't worry sweety, I'll be back n____n
KnH: I've created a monster T_____T
They sat silently, her gaze wandering from one object to the other, trying not to look in his direction but he just sat there leaning against the wall, his arms crossed in front of his chest though he occasionally cracked an eye or two open to make sure she hadn't taken to the hills.
'If I keep my mouth shut he won't have any chance to say something in return, besides, what is there to discuss with him anyway? Just because we're trapped in here, ALONE, does NOT mean we have to actually entertain each other!'
Ruki was starting to get desperate. Imprisoned in this cave with Ryo as her "cell-mate", a violent storm raged outside their secure surroundings, which hindered her from escaping a long time ago. She'd already brainstormed about how to yank herself out of this queer predicament, some ideas were pretty much agreeable and the others not so good, but they all ended up with her getting soaking wet and she had already had her share of rainwater today so under great gnashing of teeth she thanked him for the little campfire he made to keep them warm and the cave illuminated, even though he was still the last person she would have ever voluntarily shared 10 square meters with. Fate has its strange ways (A/N and in this case, Fate is none other than ME MWAHAHAHA! Eehehe, sorry u_____u!!) and so she found herself in this to her abhorrent situation, 'What did I do to deserve this, and how the heck DID we actually land here in the first place?'
It was more of a rethorical question she asked herself again and again.
Crackling of blazing fire, flickering of dark shadows cast upon the stone walls, occasional sniffing and a sneeze here and there followed by mumbled 'bless you's and a little rolling of the eye were the sights and sounds of the cave.
Our chocolate-haired azure-eyed hero was getting bored. The cold silence which persisted in their peculiar situation was not appealing to him so he was thinking of ways to literaly break the ice. He had tried playing cards with her, or bringing up a conversation by asking her a few questions, which she answered either with a glare or with unsatisfying brevity, so he had to be very carefull selecting his words.
But if there's one thing that Ryo has learned during the short time he was fortunate to spend with Ruki, it's the fact that she had an unpredictable temper and any wrong thing said even if kindly meant, may cause it to flare up, and no telling what death defying stunt Ruki might pull of next!
Thinking he might have found a topic to start a converastion with he was just about to open his mouth when immediately silenced by Ruki, who fervently began to search for something in her backpack. Ryo arched an eyebrow, curious to see what she was about to produce out of her bag.
'Huh? what's he staring at?-stupid- never seen a girl holding a book, oh yeah I forgot, the only "books" you see girls hold, are autograph bookletts, right? If you dare say anything stupid I'll strangulate you'
Ruki who tried to keep the silence up which was more or less a safety fortress to her shielding her of any kind of embarrassment or openness she might reveal, took out, much to Ryo's surprise, a book which she opened and immediately proceeded to read.
Now what threw Ryo in his state of utter bewilderment was not the fact that Ruki was acctually reading a book moreover it's content, which nearly made him chuckle 'Akino Ruroki no Rabu-Raifu? (the love-life of Akino Ruroki)
Nani? *snicker* Ruki and romance-stuff? I never thought that SHE would read stuff like that! Oh, hold it!… ah! Eiki Saketori's newest release, maybe that's why, it's like the number-one-best-seller among teenage girls, but then again, Ruki?
But on the other hand, there is a slim chance, that Ruki might have a romantic side, I mean despite her tough tom-boyish appearance she still IS a girl and girls are supposed to like stuff like that, right? Wrong! Not if that girl's named Ruki the Wildcat Makino, she's too cool for that kinda thing. But what if she does have a nack for love-stuff? Wonder what that side of Ruki looks like, all lovey-dovey and so?! NAH! it wouldn't do, she just wouldn't be Ruki' He tried to imagine what a more sentimental Ruki would be like ' *Shudder* that's not the Ruki I know and learned to like, or maybe even……no, no Akiyama, don't even THINK that way. First, Ruki-chan would skin you alive if you said that out loud. But I didn't actually say it out loud now, did I? '
He stole a quick glance over to her side, to assure himself he hadn't spoken out any thought loudly. Due to the fact that he'd spent most of his time alone in the Digiworld, he tended to talk loudly or to himself whenever a thought crossed his mind, so having to think without speaking was kind of new to him, but he had to get used to this new situation fast, if he didn't want to arouse Ruki's anger.
When he stared, Ruki felt his gaze rest upon her, so she questioningly looked up from her book and their eyes met for some seconds. 'Does my face look that bad when it's wet? Why is he staring at me like that?' It seemed like they were looking at each other for far too long, because a slight blush started to creep up his cheeks causing him to quickly turn his head to the opposite direction and pretend as if nothing happened, and she nonchalantly returned to reading her book.
'Uh well, maybe your interest is only based upon the fact that for the first time in your life, you couldn't get what you wanted, which is her attention, huh? what am I thinking? Baka2 -- I just bruised my own ego, haha! But I somehow can imagine Wildcat leaving me to hang off the edge of a cliff as if she didn't care *snicker*, that would be so much like her, but then again, she did give me her powers when fighting against Shinigami-reaper didn't she, maybe she does give a damn about me, just a tiny little bit, right, Ruki-chan?'
A small smile, accompanied by an inner sigh curled his lips 'Boy, she'd kill me if I called her that ' Lucky for him that Ruki couldn't read his mind.
Meanwhile Ruki mentaly kicked herself for taking that book along in the first place, so she took a quick peek over the upper edge of it, just to see the expression on his face; what might he be thinking, when he sees her reading this book.
'Kuso!³ What makes that baka grin? Smooth move Makino, now he's bound to give you a smart-ass remark! Why on earth am I acctually reading this piece of crap anyway? - Because, pea-brain, you not only have a big mouth, but an even bigger ego' Her second inner voice which she constantly fought against snarled at her 'Curse you Kotomi, never in my life will I EVER place a bet with you again, this is all your fault -- Didn't you say that the last time too? And the time before that? - Grrr! shut up now, will you!'
~*~ Flashback ~*~
"Yeah and then she went like, ME and HIM? NEVER!!!"
*Hahaha - teeheehee -- giggle * fits of laughter and giggles emitted from a group of girls holding a girlie-breaktime-chit chat arround a commrades desk.
"That reminds me of Eiki Saketori's newest book 'Akino Ruroki no Rabu-Raifu' ? It's a must-read!"
"Yeah I've read that one already. Saketori's teenage-love novels are the best there is" - "You said it, this time she has really outdone herself: I like Akino but I don't share her opinion, she thinks that love is nothing but a worthless illusion"
"Uh-huh, it's Hotori to the rescue, to save and mend her broken heart; he suddenly shows up in her life and then things start to change"
"But you all know that it was that "incident" that made Akino the way she was, it was a terrible devasting tragedy which tore her family appart."
"The way Saketori-san describes every thing is just so unbelievable you always feel as if YOU were in the book yourself *sigh*"
"Oh Hitomi, no nead to get all sentimental, it's only a book"
"But how Akino and Hotori get together is just so downright romantic and sad and funny and all at the same time it brought tears to my eyes"
"Hitomi you baka, don't tell the end I haven't read the book yet and now you've ruined the fun" Sonoko pouted and all the girls giggled in that typical girlie-way.
It was break-time after the japanese history lesson and a horde of 15 year old girls could be seen all grouped up arround Kotomi Shimano, the school's most popular girl's desk, discussing Saketori-san's newest publication into detail (more or less).
Makino Ruki was the only one who refused to partake in what she called 'brainless - chit chat-for-stupid-little-girls!' Expecially if they involved topics such as love, romance, boys and fashion, which they allways consisted of. She rather resolved to solo daydreaming-sessions at her desk, oblivious to the happy scenery surrounding her, when she was abruptly torn away from her trail of thoughts by the suffix she most dreaded to hear.
"Penny for your thoughts, Ruki-chan?"
"Nani4?" She had not noticed that everybody had already left the classroom, everyone execpt Kotomi, who stood in front of Ruki, hands on her desk, head cocked to the side and her gaze fixed on Ruki's face which held a dreamy expression when staring out of the window.
"What? Are you thinking of Saketori-san's book 'Akino Ruroki no Rabu-Raifu'?" "Kitsune-CHAN" spitefully putting an emphasis on the suffix 'chan' and flashing her one of her infamous Makino-dagger glares,
"First of all, don't you ever, EVER call me Ruki-chan again! I know you do this just because you know how much I hate that, besides we're not in youchien5 anymore!" - "I know!" Kotomi replied with a wink, sticking out her tounge
" Just tried to catch your attention, it works all the time" Ruki merely ignored her last statement and continued,
"And secondly, as my so-called 'best friend' you should know that I don't give a damn for stupid girlie-crap."
"Oh please do forgive me Makino-sama" she said in mock reverence "For I hath truly forgotten the things of life in which you find utmost delight" and batted her eyelashes which irked Ruki even more.
"Urusai wa ne!6" She hissed behind gritted teeth and flashed her yet another glare! Kotomi couldn't help but laugh at her "best friends" antics.
"Oh Ruki if only you knew." - "Knew what?" - "How much you resemble Akino" - "What do you mean resemble her?"
"Well, you act or better said, re-act the same way when confronted with what you call idle-girlie-crap" - "Well then, maybe that Akino-chick has spunk, I think i'm starting to like her" Ruki mentioned with a sarcastic smirk,
"Yeah, she'd say that too. You see, you both try to be tough, strong 'kick-ass' chicks and end up being strongheaded, sharp-tongued, and the words "love" and "romance" are nonexistant in your vocabularies. It's like Saketori-sama knew you in person and described your entire life…"
"Not quite, Kotomi! First of all, that love'n'romance crap you girls feed on like hungry vultures, is not the most important thing in life, there are other things to focus on, and if stuff like that make me behave as bubbleheaded as you girls do, then no thanks, that just ain't my style! By the way there's ONE thing Saketori didn't get straight. On the contrary to Akino, I DON'T fall in love in the end!!!
Expecially not with a swank such as Hotori Natsuyama, who puts on a stupid smirk and makes stupid little girls freak out!"
Ruki was peeved by the mere thought of boys who's appearences and traits were akin to those of Hotori, despite the fact that he was only a fictional figure, or was she so disgruntled because they so reminded her of a certain chocolate-haired, azure-eyed lad?
Kotomi waved off her last statement; she was sure Ruki would say something like that but it didn't move her one bit because she was in a rather good mood today and whenever she was, she would also be in the mood to tease others, with her main target beeing 'eternal-sour-puss' - Ruki, so she just had to top it of with another witty remark,
"That's the Ruki we all know and grew to 'love' but do not fret my dear friend, because one fine day you too will become the target of cupids never failing arrows, and if that day comes, we will all rejoice with you!"
"Ha! you wish! The day I go swooning because of a damned guy, is the day my mom gives up modeling and shuns make-up!" seconds of silence elapsed as they tried to imagine Rumiko Makino, disgusted of make-up and giving up her modeling career, and then they simutamously burst out laughing.
"Hey where is everybody?"
"It's P.E my dearest cousin everyone's… "
"ARE YOU WACK? don't EVER call me that again in this entire building! You remember the deal all right, what if someone heard you?"
Ruki raged with fury while she yelled at the top of her voice. Being called "cousin" by Kotomi, was, to her, even worse than being named Ruki-chan, nobody in the school knew that they were in any way related to each other and Ruki wanted to keep it that way because she had allready made some unpleasant experiences with "Cousin Kotomi".
Besides, being seen together with the school's most popular girl, didn't go with her image of "Miss. Anti-girlie".
"Calm down Ruki, and don't get your underwear into a wrinkle, sheesh!" Kotomi retorted waving her hands infront of her in a defensive manner
"It's P.E. everyone's gone because the hour has allready begun"
Then it dawned on Ruki that they were alone in the classroom, and it peeved her that Kotomi had once again not only infuriated but also scared the crap out of her, so she toned her voice down and growled, "Don't forget our deal! Not a word to anybody! You keep it a secret, and I'll tolerate your ditz-crap, you got me?"
"Yes ma'am, Ruki-sama ma'am!" that sweet sweet voice Ruki hated to hear topped off with a salute and the clapping of her heels.
The glance she threw at the classroom clock hanging on the wall above the blackboard revealed that they were more than just a little bit late,
*gasp*
"Chikusho kuso7! Kobarayashi-sensei is so gonna fry us, if we don't show up right now!"
"Ok, then let's get going, but I must admit, I wouldn't get all hyped up about what's on the curriculum for today"
"What?"
"100 meters. Sprint!"
Ruki smiled.
The girls quickly ran to the lockers at the back of their classroom where the whole class usually deposits their P.E.-stuff, grabbed them in a hurry and headed off to the next lesson.
The moment she slid the door open and stepped out into the hallway, Ruki had the strangest feeling of being watched, so she spun her head arround to the left and right but the corridors were empty on both sides.
'Hmm, kimyou8' she muttered with a frown, something just wasn't right here, she couldn't exactly put a finger on what it was, but it was bothering her, she smelled trouble.
"Come on Ruki, or we'll be late"
"Kitsune, did you see anybody here in the hallways?" Surprised by the sudden question Kotomi turned her head, to see if the hallway was empty
"Nope, as far as I can see, no one's here, the lessons have allready begun, everyone's in class and were pretty late"
"But I thought I saw someone"
"Oh, come on Ruki, really, nobody's here we're the only ones, you're just seeing things now let's go, before Kobarayashi-sensei totally freaks out"
" 'Guess you're right, and I'm really starting to go nuts, let's go"
She looked over her shoulder once more to assure herself that they were really alone in this section of the hallways, and there was no time left to look arround the corner behind them and check the other corridor too.
Maybe they should have.
A shady figure peered arround the corner watching as the two girls ran across the hallway to catch up their lesson. A crooked, sinister grin krept up his face showing of an unknown facet of his personality, suddenly his trademark innocent puppy-like expression, which he was known for, vanished and gave way to this mischievous, perfidious alter ego. "Eehehe, who would've guessed…"
There are times when Ruki ponders and asks herself 'why', apart from the freaquent bickering, name-calling and denial of any association of any kind, she acctually tends to have a close amicable relationship with a girl who seems to be the total opposite of herself.
Kotomis gay, outspoken and open personality doesn't quite comply with that of Rukis, nor her popularity in school, both with teachers and commrades of which the majority is made up of male students.
She is known for her beauty and witt. Seemingly the incarnation of innocence on the one hand but a sly vixen on the other, a slim slender figure, and an unusually tanned complexion for an asian girl (due to the fact that she was half Filipino and half Japanese) Her long shiny, slightly curled, raven-black hair, shimmering blue when touched by light, cascaded down her shoulders, and her dark almond eyes which with only one batting of the eyelash, could instantly turn tough boys into helpless stammerers and will-less underlings of her volition, held a certain mischievous glint.
But the answer was just as simple as it was annoying. Kotomi knows something no one else is supposed to know and with that "little secret" she possesses a certain power over Ruki, which she uses excruciatingly, to her advantage, calling it a "help to lighten" her up.
Not many people see what Ruki sees in her cousin/"best friend". To the rest of the world, she is sweet, innocent, beautiful, smart, helpful, social Kotomi whome everybody just has to love and admire.
Even Rumiko has fallen for her, for she loves to see her daughter spend as much time as she can with her cousin, who's so pretty and has such a great taste for fashion.
It seemed like only Ruki was aware of the double-cross game Kotomi apparently played, she knew her other face, which she named Kotomi's "true" face, the sly vixen (the reason why Ruki nic-named her Kitsune, sly fox), but it is funny, when Ruki comes to think of it, she can not assert that she hates Kotomi in any way, on the contrary, there's something about that girl which allways keeps Ruki in her company against her own will. She likes her, yes she does, in a sense; after all Kotomi is her cousin, but she'd never admit, neither to herself and most certainly not to Kotomi.
They got themselves dressed in the uniformed P.E. outfit: marine blue "bloomers" (brief-like pants) t-shirts with their names embroided on them, and not to forget the hatimaki9 and sneaked out onto the sportsfield where the rest of the class including Kobarayashi-sensei were engaged in Rajio taisou10, lucky for them, because that way she didn't notice their absense.
"Good! As you all know, girls, we have to start preparing towards the annual sports festival which will be coming up in two weeks. There will be many athletic competitions, such as sprint and 100 meters on time"
Rukis face lit up like a christmas tree when she heard that, this year too, she'd have the opportunity to prove herself again; she was the fastest female runner of her year, and she sometimes even beat older opponents or even boys.
"We'll need five groups to take care of the various stations. Group one will be in charge of sprint, 100 meters on time, and the 2,5 km run. Group two: shot-put, hammertoss and javelin throw. Group three will be in charge of long and highjump, group four will take care of all the ballgames, basketball football and the like and group five will be the organisation and decoration group, you must make sure that everything runs smoothly and the stations look presentable."
I just want to remind you that this is not a an all-girls-event, so you will have to work together with the boys as we part you into the various groups, we the teachers will be supervising you though! We all hope that the groups cooperate very well and never forget:
"Accurate preparation is the linchpin of the entire event"
It seemed like this wasn't the first time the girls had heard Kobarayashi-sensei's favorite motto because they all chanted it in unision, some more or even less enthusiastic.
Every girl anticipated the end of her speech so she might call out the names, and they would gather up in groups, and before you knew it a spry discusion was on the go with it's main topic being, which boy could end up in which group. Ruki rolled her eyes in an irritated manner,
'Stupid-idiotic-brainless-moronic-kooky-swooning-guy-crazy-little-bratz'
She hoped to join the sprinting-group and prayed that at major part of the before mentioned species would land in the other four, but it was even worse than she expected.
"Group one: Koigawa, Shimbun, Toriyama….."
'Pleaseletmebeingrouponepleaseletmebeingrouponepleaseletmebeingroupone'
"Sekiguchi, Tsubuya"
'Pleaseletmebeingroupone'
"Makino…."
'HAI [yes]!!!'
"Shimano and Tajiri"
'OI [d'oh]!!'
"Looks like we'll be working together this year, to help you break your last years record." Kotomi smiled sweetly at Ruki, seemingly enjoying the idea of having to work together with her.
"What do you mean 'help' me break my last years record?" Ruki didn't like the way this sounded, she was getting suspicious.
"Well, we all know that last year and the year before that, you won first place on the 100 meters, two years ago it was 17 sec. and last year 16,30! There's no one as fast as you are Ruki-chan" Ruki's intuition told her that Kotomi was up to something her tone was too flattering, it was alarming.
"I know my scores Kitsune, and believe it or not, I ran to make them, and yes, maybe I do intend to surrpass them this year, but my question is, what are you up to, and above all why on earth are you suddenly so interested in my running?"
Being overdramatic and pretending to be utterly hurt by Ruki's harsh words she replied, "Oh, but Ruki-chan, I'm your cousin, how could you think so ill of me? You winning this race and achieving your goal is very important to me, and as a member of your family I want to do everything possible in my power, to assist you in fulfilling your dreams" All that was missing was a rainbow coloured background plus showering glitter mixed with rose-petals and the scene would have been anime-perfect. Ruki sweat-dropped. -____-!!!
"Ok Kitsune, save your theatrical act for drama club, and get to the point!"
"You know, I was just thinking…"
"Never thought that that was one of your strenghts", she cut her of rather harshly,
"What exactly were you thinking?" Kotomi ignored her comment and continued,
"Well, I thought that maybe this year, you could hit a clean 15 sec. but on second thought,. naaah, that would be to much, even for you!" Kotomi spurted out before putting on her teasing mask of perfect innocence, pretending as if she'd never said anything, she spun arround and was just about to leave, when Ruki grabbed her by the shoulder and tore her back, growling,
"Hold it right there, Kitsune! What exactly do you mean, 'even too much for me' ?? You tryin' to tell me that I can't run that fast, and that I'm not able to beat my own self?" "No, well, erm,.. not exactly"
"Not exaclty WHAT?" Ruki had a really short temper.
"You see, 15 seconds is kinda short and on a hundred meters?…."
"Oh yeah?"
"I dare you!" she said all of a sudden, changing from defensive to offensive mode Rukis eyes started to glare dangerously
"I see this as a chanllenge"
"Ok then, let's bet, if, on the day of our sportsfestival, you happen to run those 100 meters in 15 seconds and under, I'll, let's say get you that rare Digimoncard-thingie you've allways wanted"
*twitch* that wasn't the right term for Ruki's most wanted card, but anyway.
"But if you lose, then…….erm…. - suddenly switching her expression from sweet'n'innocent to very very fiendish - this could get good! Ah, I know, you'll have to read Eiki Saketori's book 'Akino Ruroki no Rabu-Raifu' !"
For a split second Ruki was shocked but then regained her composure, she allready had the notion that Kotomi was up to something, but nothing of that kind though. 'Why on earth would she want me to read a book if I lose? Crap, this is so not like her, but then again? Oh the sly vixen, what is she up to?'
"You are up to something, right? I knew it!"
"Why Ruki? You think you don't have what it takes to beat your own self? I mean, we might as well screw the whole thing, and all be satisfied with second-best, but I honestly think that that position doesn't comply with your potentials as a runner" Ruki rather felt teased than flattered.
"I've never backed down from a challenge, and I don't mean to do so know, you better get your credit card ready, 'cause it seems like someones deck here is going to be enhanced in the near future!" Now was the time for Ruki to flash Kotomi a fiendish glare.
"Then it's a deal?"
"Deal!"
They shook hands on it.
'Ha, got'ya right there where I wanted you! My plan's working, never thought my tom-boyish little cousin would fall for it and swallow the whole bit in one piece so easily, well then we, proceed to phase two'
~*~Two Weeks Later ~*~
Eventhough the sun was shining so bright it blinded her, she still gazed into the heavens using her hand to shield her eyes, there wasn't a single cloud in the sky and a slight breeze whirled across the sportfield.
'Perfect conditions' she thought and grinned.
The festival was in full progress, looked like group five gave it's all to make this day a grand success, there were balloons, banners, music and many refreshment stands, every member of each group let their "connections" work for them and so, found many sponsors for the sweepstakes and prizes alongsides.
A loud voice blasted through the loudspeakers, announcing the race, it was time for all the runners to gather at the racing track; Ruki's big moment had finally come.
She was not nervous, not at all, on the contrary she was pretty sure of herself and trusted her skills to win.
"Ganbatte yo11, Ruki-chan!" Kotomi ran up to her and tapped her on the shoulder
"Peh, screw that Kitsune, luck's only for losers, and I don't need it " she snorted slapping her hand off her shoulder
"If you say so" *wink*
"ON YOUR MARKS….."
'This is my chance'
"GET SET…"
'I'll show you Kotomi, you'll regret that you ever challenged me, mark that down!!'
…
"GO!"
'I NEVER back down from a challenge!'
As they took of, Ruki gave her all. Accelerating her rythmic pace she started to feel lighter and lighter, as if her feet never really touched the ground. She was so fixed on her goal that she became oblivious of the cheers ment for her, which went through the crowd, there was only her, the racing track and the finish line. This race she was running ment everything to Ruki, not only because of Kotomi; running allways gave her a certain feeling of freedom, as if she could flee from the world and escape all its troubles.
Eventhough her opponent was to be taken serious, Ruki was in the lead by some few split seconds, when suddenly half way down the track, through all the cheering and rooting, a male voice penetrated through the din and reached her ear, hollering 'RUN, COUSINE RUKI, RUN!'.
It nearly made her stop dead in her tracks.
These splitseconds of inadvertence, gave Kairi Sekiguchi the perfect opportunity to overtake Ruki, who quickly managed to bring her attention back to the race, put an extra effort in successfully taking back her head position and dashing through the finish-line.
Suspence filled the air as everybody waited for the results to be announced.
Had Ruki made it this time again? Had she broken her record and triumphed over herself yet another time, or have all her efforts been in vain?
Surely that "interruption" was very very distracting and it could have her cost her her victory.
DUNNDUNN DUUUUNNNNN! Cliffhanger!
KnH: Ain't I evil? n______n
Will Ruki score better than last year win the bet and receive that digicard she allways wanted?
Will she and Ryou be stuck in that cave forever, and what's up with that book anyway, who was that disrupting voice in the crowd???
If you really want to know if Ruki made it or not, or are curious to read what might happen in the cave, all you have to do is just klick that little button below *pointsdown* that says "GO" right next to "Submit Review" and all it takes are at least 5 reviews and I'll continue!!!
By the way, it's still a flashback, Ryo's not out of the picture yet, incase you missed him, he'll be back again in chapter two (I hope) n_____n!!
Pu-chan: So you nice people out there, please be so kind as to review, 'cause I'm putting all my effort into this fic (so Hiki won't mess it up)
KnH: Shut up now, will you? This here still is MY fic
Pu-chan: Yeah, whatever!
KnH: u____u!!*sigh* Sayonara minna-san, see you next chapter n____n!!
p.s.: don't forget to visit my ryoruki shrine BaP it's all about our fav couple and you can find pu-chan there too, so drop us a visit, and tell us what you think, link is:
Pu-chan: oooh my gosh, Hiki nearly forgot the footnotes, here, let me take care of that
1. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu … I humbly ask you to be kind to me
2. Baka … Idiot, jerk, moron (but I believe everyone knows that by now n___~)
3. kuso … damn it! shit!
4. nani … what
5. Youchien … kindergarden
6. urusai wa ne! … shut up!
7. chikusho kuso … damned shit!
8. kimyou … strange
9. hatimaki … headband
10. Rajio taisou … daily exercise routine accompanied by music
11. Ganbatte yo! … Go for it; good luck