Many thanks to Amethyst for posting such comprehensive reviews on this fic. Now if you other people reading this fic had the courtesy to submit a well-rounded critique of this piece of work…
Chapter Four
It wasn't long before the closure of the term started to draw near and Nobuhiko had to find another job. Given the amazing rapport he had built up with the students and the staff (the principal was a woman), he secured a job as head librarian in the school library even before he left the teaching post.
Talk about pulling strings.
On the side, Tokiya was getting more pressurized day after day as the entrance exams to university drew nearer. He really needed to get a scholarship – the money that his parents left him was safely accumulating interest in the bank, but he knew it was not enough. He could not survive on his parents' money forever.
So there he was in the library one day, puzzling over a killer Physics paper. He was definitely brilliant by nature, but the paper was really drawing the life out of him.
"Mikagami!" he felt a clap on the back.
It hurt. A lot.
Nobuhiko chuckled and rubbed the spot, "Sorry, sorry. I must have broken your concentration."
My shoulder blade, more like.
"It's okay," Tokiya murmured more pitifully than he intended to. "I wasn't concentrating much anyway."
Nobuhiko picked up the stapled document. "This looks like something my daughter would know."
Tokiya could not help but be surprised. "I thought your daughter is in second year?"
"She is. But she's this 'hidden prodigy', like how my wife used to say. She could count before she could say 'Papa'," Nobuhiko shook his head wistfully. "Time flies."
Fingering his ponytail ever so slightly, Tokiya told himself that he had to solve the question. If a girl could solve it, why couldn't he?
x
Saturday was welcomed into the week and Michi stretched herself awake. She padded across the floor to towards the bathroom.
Then she stopped short outside the bathroom, a smile spreading slowly across her face.
I'm going to Pikachu's place today, aren't I?
x
The shadow skimmed across the sidewalk, and Michi was totally unaware of it. It loomed closer and closer, but when Michi stopped to tie her shoelace, it vanished - right in the bright morning daylight, as inconspicuous as the caterpillars creeping up the creepers of the gate that Michi was about to push open.
x
"Studying with you guys was a real mistake," groaned Tokiya softly, as Fuuko threw her eraser at Domon for touching her leg. It hit him squarely between the eyes.
"I thought it was Kasumi's, I swear to Kami-sama!" Domon protested fiercely.
"Kasumi isn't even here!" screamed Fuuko, retrieving another item from her pencil case (scissors) and flinging it accurately at Domon (left cheekbone, dead centre).
"Maa, you know how this guy has a terribly active and pornographic imagination. Can't blame him, you know," Aoi hit Domon hard on the head good-naturedly.
"Thanks for the defen- I'M NOT LIKE THAT, BAKA!" Domon growled angrily in denial, blushing hard.
"Ano, can anyone help me with this question…" Yanagi tried to voice out over the noise.
"I'll help you, Yanagi-chan!" Recca enthusiastically volunteered.
"As if you can help her," Domon snorted, forgetting his predicament. Fuuko immediately grabbed the chance to strangle him from behind.
Tokiya could not contain his frustration anymore. After gathering his books rather forcefully he got up, exiting the room. Immediately the others quieted down.
"Is he angry?"
"I hope not…"
"Oops."
"Is there food?"
"…Shut up, Domon."
x
Tokiya strolled along the second floor, trying to take his mind into a more calming place. He stopped to look at a display cupboard he had never noticed before, situated just outside Yanagi's room.
Aa.
His eyes were fixated on the blonde that was posing in a photo with Yanagi.
That girl… Saitou-sensei's daughter? Yanagi knows her?
He was about to turn back and ask Yanagi about it when there was the sound of footsteps and voices drifting up the stairs.
"Let me show you to her," the housekeeper said in her ever-polite tone.
"Thank you very much," said the other courteous voice that could match the housekeeper's anytime.
Tokiya raised both eyebrows at Michi as she ascended onto the second floor.
"Aa. Mikagami-kun," Michi acknowledged and smiled, remembering the face from the night they had met on the corridor.
Tokiya nodded and said a barely audible 'good morning'.
The housekeeper knocked on the door of the drawing room, where the whole group was.
"You know… If I were you, I won't go in there with the intention of studying," the housekeeper spoke up.
Michi cocked her head.
"They're a horribly noisy bunch," the housekeeper prattled on. Tokiya wondered why she had such a sudden outburst of loquacity. Normally she was as silent as the deepest dungeons of hell.
"If you wanted some peace and quiet, you'd probably want to be elsewhere," finished the housekeeper. "Look, this lad here has left the room as well."
Michi gave the other two people a mysterious upturn of her lips and entered the room. Tokiya just shook his head, wondered what possessed the housekeeper to speak to Michi, wondered what possessed him to be thinking about such things so excessively and then walked down the stairs.
"Mikagami-kun."
Tokiya turned just in time to see Michi gliding down the railing. Landing nicely in front of him, she handed him his notes and pencil. "Let's go to a quieter place."
x
Jounouchi Shiki sighed from behind a shadow.
She's doing it again. But she doesn't know it.
x
"…And that's why, the coefficient of A is greater than one," Michi added the finishing strokes to the calculus question with a flourish. Tokiya frowned and tried to digest the information. This girl was, admittedly, good. She could solve questions he took an hour to do in less than twenty minutes.
Michi gazed (rather dreamily) at the older boy. He was, as admittedly as she was good at math, good-looking. And his hair was to die for.
What on earth am I doing…
Catching herself staring at him, she turned away just in time to catch a mistake in his equation.
"Un, no, Mikagami-san, you have to prove that B is a constant," Michi dug into her pencil case for an eraser and handed it to Tokiya.
Michi glanced around the garden. They were sitting at a stone table in a portion of the garden that was enclosed within walls of creepers. It was a shady, romantic area.
When Tokiya finished correcting the equation, Michi abruptly asked him, "Ano, Mikagami-san… Why is your hair so long?"
This took him by surprise. Michi did not seem like the type who asked questions like that.
"…It used to be because of a vow I made. But now I'm just lazy to cut it."
Michi's eyes took on a dreamy, faraway look. "Don't cut it," the words fell from her lips, as their lines of vision met.
Tokiya had to steady his mind to take in the information that Michi was actually saying such things to him. She was a well-mannered, intelligent person, not someone who slid down stair railings and asked people why their hair was so long.
Michi stood up and stroked his ponytail gently. He froze.
"It's so soft," she whispered, more to herself than anyone else. "So familiar, somehow…"
Her hands strayed to the band that was keeping the hair in a ponytail.
Tokiya was alarmed. "Don't-"
But his hair billowed past his shoulders before he could even finish his sentence. Michi sat down beside him and gazed at him, drinking every drop of his existence.
"Who are you…" she murmured, drawing her index finger over his cold, smooth cheek. "Why are you here…?"
Tokiya could not bring himself to speak. He tried to, but nothing came out.
Michi frowned as her finger traced his Adam's apple. "This seems wrong…" she said, barely audible.
Tokiya swallowed at the contact. Normal girls he could probably manage, but this he couldn't.
"You are not the one… Not the one…" she bit her lip, folding her hands on her lap, still beholding the handsome young man.
Then, Michi seemed to break out of her trance.
"Why is your hair untied?" Michi wondered aloud, before (once more surprising him) gathering his hair into a neat ponytail and deftly securing it with the band.
Strangely, Tokiya couldn't remember.
x
Michi stretched – she had been sitting down with Tokiya and advanced calculus questions for two hours, and she was rather numb.
"You want a drink or something?" Michi yawned, covering her mouth with a hand.
"I'll go get it myself," Tokiya stood up.
"I'll come along," Michi smiled, getting up. "I need some exercise."
Tokiya nodded and walked towards the mansion when a sudden chill ran up his spine.
x
Shiki held her breath. She did not mean to let go of the dimension.
x
"Come out."
Tokiya might have found deeper meaning in life, meaning beyond avenging his sister, but it didn't mean that he lost the ability to be a fighter.
"Sorry?" Michi thought he was speaking to her. Tokiya stood in front of Michi, meaning to shield her if Shiki was the enemy.
"What are you doing, Mikagami-kun?"
Tokiya said nothing, but his features hardened. Michi took the cue and stood closer to him.
x
Shiki materialized into their view. Michi gasped, Tokiya just nonchalantly stared straight ahead.
"I believe we've met," Tokiya almost snarled at his neighbour, but kept to a neutral, cool tone for Michi's sake.
"I'm not here to hurt you, that's all you have to know," Shiki replied, drawing a hand through her long black hair.
"Why are you here?" Tokiya questioned yet again.
"I have my reasons," was the persistently vague answer.
Tokiya knew that he had no power whatsoever if Shiki wielded something unperceivable and great. But he just had to give it a shot.
"Go away," he advanced a step towards her, expecting her to retreat equally. Instead, she sidestepped and reached out to Michi.
"Come here, please," Shiki whispered. Or rather, she begged.
Tokiya once again formed a barrier between the two women. "What are you trying to do?" he asked, not being able to comprehend the motives of the raven-haired mystery.
"This is none of your business!" burst the equally frustrated Shiki, raising her hand and cutting it through the air at an angle towards Tokiya, reminiscent of the way Fuuko used to perform with Fuujin.
…It was as if the most intense heat of summer had knocked him down stupid.
Tokiya felt the iron-melting temperature coursing through his upper torso, and it pained him so much that he couldn't even cry out. He felt as if his waist had been cut into half, and finally he landed onto the floor, sprawled sideways. It was worse than the pain he had endured in all the previous fights the Hokage had gone through for Yanagi.
"Mikagami-kun!" resounded Michi's voice in his ears.
Shiki marched up to Michi, her eyes ablaze. "He'll be fine," said the irate woman, grabbing Michi's wrist forcefully. "Follow me."
"No!" Michi protested violently, shaking Shiki's hand off and running to Tokiya's side.
This Tokiya watched through the slits of his barely-open eyes.
x
"Yanagi ojou-sama!" a man's voice was heard from the other side of the door, which was rattling on its hinges because of the pounding. "Yanagi ojou-sama!" he reiterated.
Yanagi hurriedly rushed to the door and there stood her gardener, panting hard.
"What happened?" Yanagi bent down and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Something- going on- garden-,"forced the elderly man, panting hard.
Immediately the four other teenagers ran out of the room, racing down the stairs towards the door, Yanagi following in their wake.
x
"I'm sorry, okay! I didn't mean to hurt him!" Shiki cried out, slapping a hand to her forehead and massaging her right temple with her thumb.
"But you did," Michi's voice was cold, and she gave Shiki a glare that Tokiya probably could have rivaled in the past.
"I need to talk things through with you," Shiki squatted down beside Michi, leveling her face with the younger girl's.
"What's there that could possibly be talked about! I don't even know you!" Michi shrieked, placing a hand on Tokiya's body, which was abnormally warm.
"But I know you," Shiki's voice dropped low and urgent. "You were my closest confidante, my best friend-"
"I don't want to hear any of your insane rubbish," Michi decided grimly, turning back to Tokiya, hauling his head into her lap as gently as she could.
"Would you just listen!" Shiki insisted, moving closer to Michi. "You are not a normal person."
"Go away," Michi coolly shot Shiki another glare, her hand on Tokiya's forehead, which was burning. "I don't want to hear your voice. It nauseates me."
"Mi-chan!" exclaimed Fuuko, the first to arrive at the scene, Domon and Aoi following just behind. Shiki's expression hardened and she threw another heat wave towards Fuuko - but not directly at her – to warn the skinny violet-head that she needed to be alone with Michi.
There was a cry from behind Domon and they all heard a shout from Recca…
"YANAGI!"
x
Shiki froze as she saw the girl who had fallen.
Sakura-hime.
Sakura-hime.
She had hurt Sakura-hime.
"No…" Shiki uttered soundlessly, staggering towards Yanagi. "Sakura-hime…" she called, causing a number of eyebrows to shoot up and a few eyes to widen.
Recca couldn't move a muscle. He was shocked that anyone would recognize Yanagi, in this time, as Sakura. He was even more stricken by the fact that Yanagi had passed out in a fever just like that. Her body was practically burning.
"Give her to me," Shiki ordered in a very subdued manner. No one protested. Recca gave in with only the least bit of hesitance and let Shiki hold Yanagi. Shiki, with the additional weight, sat on the grass.
Everyone watched in an air of sickening suspense.
Closing her eyes, Shiki placed her hands on Yanagi's, a soft glow emanating from both their bodies. Moments later, Yanagi came to and Shiki peered intently at her.
"Sakura-hime… Please forgive me," Shiki kneeled and bowed low.
Recca couldn't take it anymore. "Okay, WHAT'S GOING ON HERE!" he roared, upset.
x
Amethyst thank you for reading my fic and leaving such comprehensive comments. I would take note of the way I address Michi, never thought that 'gaijin' would have negative connotations till you pointed it out.
You asked about Raiha's text to Fuuko – you're quite right, but Raiha meant to test the waters instead of your theory of getting Fuuko to confess her feelings first. He simply wanted to see how she would respond to the text, even though he knew chances of her not responding at all were higher. He knew that if she bothered to respond, it would mean that she understood his feelings. He would feel better if Fuuko dashed his hopes by not replying the message as compared to dashing his own hopes by himself by not hinting anything. But the status quo was that none of them could speak of their feelings because while he couldn't put it across, she was unsure of how he felt. I'm telling you too much, aren't I? Haha…
About the review on chapter three – yes, Raiha felt that it would be too personal to explain to Neon about his feelings toward Fuuko. And the fact that more people would be coming in for the birthday party. And yes, he did not mean it in a nasty way.
Fuuko did kiss Yanagi on the mouth. But with the plastic bag. Ehehehe.
Tokiya was Fuuko's prey during the truth-or-dare for the simple fact that he got her into Recca's atrocious dares. It was all his fault, and Fuuko wanted revenge by kissing him. Just that simple reason. Hehehe.
Oh yes and the fact about Tokiya's financial status. I do not comprehend why he is always rich. A kid of 18 with grandfather dead, parents dead and sister dead, the only known talent of them all being the ability to fight with the Ensui… I cannot see why he would have so much money. Plus the fact that the standards of living in Japan is so high, topped up by the evidence that Tokiya is not having a part-time job. He is not poor, as this chapter explained about the money in the bank, but he just gets by. That's why he only got mittens. He didn't wrap it because… well, he didn't wrap it? I don't know, actually! ((rubs head sheepishly)) I just didn't want him to wrap it. It was such a girly thing to do!
Itsuko did show up in the manga, you know. Of course, her name wasn't given, but right at the end there was this drunk woman wanting water from Tokiya… I decided to pick Tokiya's loose end of that page in the manga to link it to my fic. She will probably show up but her role will stay minor.
You will probably have an idea who Seiya is in the next chapter. I'm glad you're liking this story and care enough to give me reviews. Thank you so so much.