Ahh…. The next chapter is done. First, reviews!
ShibiChicken- Ah, a man of few words. I'm glad you're confused : P.
twilight eyes 8120- -bows- you certainly give a lot of thought to this story; I'm glad :). This chapter definitely focuses on the relationship between Jonouchi and Kumiko, and you'll find out that it's slightly different than how it is with him and Seto.
SladesDaughter- Email you? Pff, I already did, silly. You email me back, then I might consider it. And I don't know about Kumiko's name; I merely went to a website and looked at all the Japanese girl names and picked this one out. So, for now, you are correct, since I have nothing with which to dispel your guess .
tyrantyoshi- Thanks for the review –smiles- and since ff .net is mean, if you tried to post a link in there, I didn't get it. Email me the petition link and I'll have a look at it, alright?
Hikari, Lady of Light- The Ramen made me give you suspense, I swear! It was all the Oriental kind! They made me do it! And nice job looking that up; this chapter will prove that yes, in fact, Jonouchi shall be a major part of the story :) hope you like this one!
AllisonWalker- Girl, you're so mean to poor Kumiko-chan, she's becoming happy! Be nice! –wags a finger- but keep reading, too! Pleeeease!
Samurai Angel- Eek, I got a little into your story and then had to go to work, and never finished it –smacks self- this week I have finals, which means I have half days on Tuesday and Wednesday, and no school on Thursday or Friday, so I'll finish it and review then! The part that I read sounded interesting :) keep up the good work and keep reading!
hershey-kiss- Well, she calls him Seto because she's so infatuated with him; as for the math question, that'll be answered later. And yes, Seto is gonna be a big jerk. But he looks good when he's a jerk, right? –looks around to hear crickets- Well, I think he does. Read on!
So! Sadly, this chapter does not have any Seto in it –ducks away from random tomatoes- and it's kinda a change from the usual; this chapter's a bit serious, but I promise all the happy stuff will come back in the next chapter, as will Seto! I promise!! This chapter, however, has to be in here. Gomen! Hope you all like it!
Chapter 6- A New Old Acquaintance
I'm in his study group. I am in Seto Kaiba's study group. I must have shaken my head a thousand times in disbelief on my way home. We're in a group together.
It had happened a few times before, but that was when the teacher assigned groups and we had no choice. Those times we didn't even talk. I remember the most recent one was in English… both he and I can speak it pretty well, since nearly everyone else in the class is just intent on learning the swear words in the language. So while we worked and did our homework, people were walking around and passing notes with the words on them. I don't even remember what half of them were, but one was another phrase for donkey or someone's butt. I thought it was annoying, actually, and judging by how quiet Seto was, he was trying his hardest to ignore them, too.
I don't think he noticed me then. He probably just saw me as another bug in the mass of students; he might have known that I was slightly smarter than most of them, but other than that… but that was then. Now he actually signed us up together to be in a group. Does that mean he likes me?
No, I can't get my hopes up. He probably just knew that he'd have to be in a group whether he wanted to or not, and he knew that he and I never speak whenever we're working together, so it was the easy way to avoid talking altogether?
He had called me Kumiko and nothing else. Not even kohai, as he does to so many underclassmen who get in his way. Then again, I don't exactly call him sempai… heck I've never called him anything. I've only spoken a few broken sentences in his presence, but when I talk about him to Shinobu I address him by his first name only—
"Kumi-chaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!"
I jumped quite a bit and whirled around. Shinobu was standing at the intersection I had just passed, waving his arms. "What?" I yelled back.
"Come over here!"
"Why!"
"Because! Come on!"
"Fine!" I coughed slightly as I turned around and meandered towards him, meeting up with him next to the stoplight. "What?"
"I want you to meet a bud of mine," he said, grinning and putting an arm around my shoulders. "He's not Kaiba, but hey. I think he would do well meeting a cutie like you." He nudged me in the ribs, and I shook my head.
"Stop saying that, will you? Heck, you told me to pull off the Lolita effect and look at me!" I furtively gestured to my front, pointing out that my chest barely looked much bigger than a boy's.
"Kumi-chan, would I lie to you?"
I sighed and muttered a "no" as we walked along towards the nearest pizza place. He was right; one of his philosophies was not to give people false confidence. That didn't necessarily mean that he told people they were ugly, he just would find something else about them that made them feel good. I still didn't think I was much of a looker, no matter how many times he told me I was, though it did give me a warm, fuzzy feeling.
"Oh! Shinobu-kun, you'll never guess what happened today," I said, suddenly remembering why I was in such a daze.
"I have a hunch as to whom it's about," he replied, grinning.
"Yeah, well, it's completely different than before, believe you me." I was about to launch into the story when we walked into the restaurant, and I cut off, freezing halfway through the door.
"Hey, Jono!" Shinobu walked towards a table and high-fived the blonde sitting at it with his back turned. "I brought along a hot chick to eat with us, that alright with you?"
"Oh yeah, where is she?" He turned around in his seat, his eyes wandering the restaurant before they fell upon me. I think he might have had the same reaction I did, but he actually kept his cool and gazed at Shinobu. "I need to use the john; be right back." With that, he stood and walked to the bathrooms.
Shinobu stared after him for a second with a slightly puzzled expression, but he furtively gestured for me to come and sit. I got my legs to move and stiffly made my way over, sitting across from him and putting my bag down next to me on the seat. He grinned at me.
"Whatsa matter, Kumi-chan? Shocked to find someone better looking than Kaiba?" He sniggered at his own joke, waving a waitress over to get us some Cokes.
"Th-that's not it at all, Shinobu," I managed to stutter out.
Thanking the old woman as she walked away, his attention came to me, his expression switching to concern again.
"I know him already."
"So what's all the fuss about? Is he some ex you never told me about?"
I shook my head, hoping to God that it would never be that way. "He and I knew each other a while back, and, well, we haven't seen each other for a really long time…"
"Then what's the big deal? You look like you do whenever those mean girls make fun of you real bad—" Cutting himself off, it dawned on him. "He used to push you around?"
I nodded, thankful that I didn't have to say it.
He pursed his lips. "He seems like such a nice guy, Kumi-chan, are you sure it's the same one?"
"He looks exactly the same as he did before. His name is Katsuya Jonouchi, right?" I asked.
"I think so," he replied, tilting his head. "I just met him a few days ago when he switched in; he seemed really quiet, so I tried talking to him." A shrug. "Hey, maybe he's changed after all these years. People tend to think back at this age and regret what they did to people. I'm sure if you two get to know each other he'll be able to apologize."
"I don't want to, Shinobu," I said sternly. "It would be much too difficult."
"Pff." He waved a hand. "That doesn't sound like the Kumiko I know. When was the last time you backed away from a problem?"
"This is different—" I stopped talking as Shinobu looked over and motioned for Katsuya to sit down. He sure had taken a long time in the bathroom, considering he was a guy. Since the space next to me was occupied by my school bag, he sat down next to Shinobu a little awkwardly.
He looked about as nervous as I did, but I felt little sympathy. I was terrified. As I looked down at my slowly twisting hands, the drinks were set on the table. "So Kumiko here says you two go way back," Shinobu began, smiling warmly and patting him on the back.
"You might say that…" he muttered, glancing at Shinobu before studying his chopsticks again.
I shivered. I hadn't heard him speak in such a long time… I could barely stand it. I wanted to disappear, just evaporate and never have to look into those brown eyes again.
"So when did you guys meet? And who moved away?" I knew perfectly well that Shinobu was just trying his best to make us feel relaxed, but at the moment I felt like jamming a napkin into that big mouth of his to make him be quiet. I hated Katsuya so much.
"I think we were 7…" Oh God, he just looked at me. I saw it out of the corner of my eye, since I had then taken to staring at the salt and pepper shakers. "And my mom and dad split up; took my sister up north, and I went south with my dad. Up until then, we had gone to school together for about 3 years." He sounded just as tense as I was… but he was talking, at least.
"Wow, you sure remember a lot," Shinobu laughed. "Do ya remember how you two first met, by any chance?"
Finally, I looked up; Katsuya and I made eye contact. Both he and I knew very well how we had first met… no way in hell was I going to stick around to relive that. I felt like something snapped in me and suddenly I stood up, wrenched up my bag, and nearly ran out.
Oh God, why are they friends? How could Shinobu do that to me, trying to make Katsuya and I be friends? Is he stupid?
I collapsed against the brick wall of the building over once I had rounded the corner, hastily wiping away some angry tears that had surfaced. Why did Katsuya have to come back? Why are he and my best and only friend on good terms already? And now I got to thinking about how he and I first met, something I never wanted to revisit again… it was because of that that I've been terrified and angry with him.
I closed my eyes, burying my face in my hands. There's no way Shinobu knew what he was doing to me inside… I've never told him about Katsuya, not once, so he couldn't possibly fathom how scared I was.
"Kumi-chan?"
I was startled as Shinobu appeared beside me. I turned slightly to wipe my eyes one last time, hoping they weren't too red; I didn't want him feeling bad. He gently reached around me and put his hands on my shoulders, turning me to face him.
"He really pushed you around, huh?" I had never seen him looking like that before; I could practically feel the remorse radiating off him.
I nodded, feeling a fresh wave of tears push its way forth. I gasped slightly at the effort it took to try to hold them back, and that only made me cry more. Shinobu wrapped his arms around me like a reflex, holding me tightly.
"He hurt me so much, Shinobu…"
"I'm sorry, Kumi-chan… I really am… even if it wasn't that bad I shouldn't have tried to make you two talk… Can you forgive an idiot?"
I laughed through my tears, squeezing him. "You didn't know…" I whispered. "…you had no idea in hell…"
He walked me home, holding my hand without saying a word. I was grateful that he didn't try to get me to tell him about Katsuya, and I think he knew it. The walk wasn't awkward, but it was definitely far from the norm; we usually talked about everything and nothing in a single conversation.
When we got to my house, I invited him in for a snack, but that plan was changed. I saw a familiar note on the refrigerator from my parents—they'd gone on another business trip, and wouldn't be back for at least a few days. I could call them any time I wanted, and they'd call me every evening to see that I was doing alright. I was used to the routine, and I rarely felt as lonely as I used to. Nevertheless, I invited Shinobu to eat dinner instead, since I love to cook and he loves food.
As I was stirring the rice and cutting up some fish, I felt better. Cooking always seems to do that to me, and the fact that Shinobu was there with me made me happy. Suddenly, his voice jumped from the room adjoined to the kitchen.
"Hey, you never told me what happened today with Kaiba!" He came in and leaned against the wall, grinning widely. "How'd you do it this time?"