lime : thanks. -
TIMES : gives out ovaltinees
bishie tezuka : Yes, thank heavens for WOWOW... well, because back then, SKYCable has been monopolizing the cable TV business (yes, everything here in the Philippines still runs in monopoly... and they call it democracy. haha, what a funny joke!) and they only show channels under monopoly, too (like Star TV Network). What a waste. And guess what? We also have ANIMAX... anime galore! All day anime! Hehehe. Do you envy me now? Lol. And ABS-CBN does those HORRIBLE dubbing that anime fans agree that they destroy the quality of animes. Not that I hate Mel Lopez or anything, though... he owns SKYCable and ABS-CBN by the way. It's just his company is a big screw up. Hehehe.
yvonne : thankiessss!
Sabaku no Aruka : We'll see later on. To tell the truth, I actually suck on writing angsty stuff.
:-) : Yup. It's the scene in the laundromat when Prince Edward was learning how to do laundry. Hehehe. Very nice movie. I like Julia Stiles's movies... they always have Literature and Arts on them (uhm... 10 Things I Hate About You, Mona Lisa Smiles, Save the Last Dance and Prince & Me). All of them are very good inspiration in writing this fic.
chidori-san : Well, that can't be helped. But don't worry, maybe if I fall into a somewhat good mood, I'll create a new OC for him... or not. If I told you what may happen next, then I'll be spoiling my own story. waaaah!
akire5e : Everyone seems to be too lazy to log-in these days. Hehehe... well, anyways... here's the update. Maybe if I'm generous enough, I'll give you the war you've asked for. Lol. XD
Alex : Astig ba? Thanks... and no, you're not jologs at all. -
Literary Obsessions : The Closer I Get
"What do you think of this? I'm planning to read it next." Fuuko pointed to Ernest Hemingway's 'The Sun Also Rises'. They were now somewhere in Tokyo, eating at McDonalds. Of course, Mikagami did some big-time protest and Fuuko had to drag him. He soon gave in to her tirade and he braced himself (and his wallet) as she started ordering all she could lay her eyes on. Luckily, she had ordered something with vegetables and some of the meals were with Iced Tea, or else he would be starving and she would be on heaven.
"I heard he was such a romantic author." Fuuko said with dreamy eyes as she sipped her soda. Mikagami raised his brows at her and lifted his eyes from her list that she shoved to him.
"Do you even know about Hemingway?" He asked her. She just shrugged and took a bite of her burger. ""
Fuuko rolled her eyes. That was a typical Mikagami response - very frank yet very blunt. He then pointed at another title. "What's this about?"
Fuuko peered at the list. He was pointing at Nicholas Sparks's 'A Walk to Remember'. "Oh that? You mean you haven't read it?"
"I wouldn't be asking if I ever did."
"It's a best-seller! Anyways, it's a story of a boy who suddenly turned into a man because he met someone who made him mature enough to face the world. You see, this guy was really a major pain, but when he met this girl, his whole world changed. It was even turned into a movie. I've read it five times already." Fuuko explained as she picked on her fries. He only continued looking at her reading list as she continued to blabber about.
"Which play are we going to watch anyway?" Fuuko asked, changing the topic after she took notice of his sullen appearance. "I was thinking of Les Miserables or Miss Saigon. How about you?"
"Les Miserables." Mikagami answered rather flatly. Fuuko frowned at him.
"Geez, I wonder when you'll give up that exterior of yours. I'm sure your fawning fans," Fuuko pointed at the girls, ranging from thirteen to god-knows-what-age, who kept ogling at the two of them... well, at him, actually. "Would looove that."
He gave her a blistening glare and she only smirked at him. One girl, who either had lots of guts or she's just a complete flirt, approached them. "Hi. I'm Oshige Minami. I'm a sophomore at an exclusive high school here... and I think you're cute." The girl said in a flirtatious tone. Fuuko suppressed her laughter, and Mikagami glared at her some more. The girl, obviously not used to being ignored, eyed Fuuko up and down. Fuuko raised her brow at the snide girl.
"As I was saying... I think you're cute, and I was wondering if I could have your digits." Minami said as she bent down and batted her eyelashes seductively at Mikagami.
Mikagami looked at Fuuko. 'Help me, Kirisawa.' He prayed mentally. Usually, he could shrug her off... but she seemed more than ready to pounce as he saw the short glaring competition that occurred between her and Fuuko. It took some time before Fuuko got the message. She winked at Mikagami before clearing her throat. Minami looked at her in disdain.
"Well, I see you haven't really loss your touch, anata." Fuuko said in a sweet tone as she leaned on the table and reached for Mikagami's hand that was above the table. Her emphasis on the last word made the girl drop her jaw.
Mikagami, however, was expecting something else... something like 'When I say three, run!', but not being married. 'How the heck is she gonna pull this off? She has no-' Mikagami then caught something glinting on her left ring finger. '-ring.' Minami also saw the shining silver band on Fuuko's finger and looked at her with utmost hate. She straightened herself up and excused herself, not forgetting to glare at Fuuko before leaving. Fuuko only smiled at her.
The other girls who were planning to ask for his number, lost their hope on trying to get Mikagami's number.
Fuuko burst out in laughter as they were out of the restaurant. She tried her best to suppress her laughter when they were still inside or their cover will be blown. She couldn't help it anymore as they stepped out three minutes later.
"Well, it seems like you still have your holds on women outside of the school. You're such a fun company, Mi-chan, especially when those bimbos attack you." Fuuko said while laughing at Mikagami, who then chose to ignore her in order to make her stop... only she chose not to do so. She was still laughing until they reached his car. Her eyes were almost in tears. He rolled his eyes before unlocking the door. Only then, she stopped.
"I thought you were planning to laugh all afternoon." Mikagami noted sarcastically, on which Fuuko only stuck out her tongue at him. She put on her seatbelt as he started the engine. "Where are we going next?" Fuuko asked as soon as she was done fiddling with her seatbelt.
No answer... and Fuuko took it as a cue to start pointing at places.
"How about the mall?" Fuuko suggested.
"To do what? Shopping? Too girly, Kirisawa."
"Oh, I get it... people might mistake you for a girl? Ok, I get your drift." Fuuko said grinning at Mikagami. He sighed in exasperation.
"How about there?" Fuuko said, pointing at some museum with students and tourists crowding around it. "Too crowded."
"There?" She pointed at the amusement park upfront. "Too childish."
Fuuko folded her arms over her chest and huffed at Mikagami. "You're no fun, Mi-chan. If you're planning to take me out on a date, at least try to pretend that you enjoy the moments with me. You're making it look like its pure torture."
Now, if Mikagami wasn't driving, his head would have turned to her in shock. But, being the ice man and all, he kept his emotions in check. He gripped the steering wheel and his lips frowned into a thin line. He gave out another annoyed sigh and muttered 'fine', before turning towards the amusement park. Fuuko's face immediately gleamed as she saw the amusement park coming nearer and cheered even more as he turned to its parking lot. As soon as they parked, she couldn't help but jump for joy like some high school bimbo and ran into the ticket booth ahead as he secured the car.
'I can't believe this is turning into a date! And why the heck am I following her whims?' Mikagami thought as he stopped in front of the ticket booth, pulled out his wallet and bought them tickets. Fuuko took them with much gusto and almost dragged Mikagami in to the first ride she set her eyes on... which happened to be a roller coaster.
"There! There! I wanna go ride there!" Fuuko shouted ecstatically as she pulled poor Mi-chan into the line leading to the ride. Mikagami frowned at Fuuko... she was now sounding like a little kid. He didn't say no, anyways. As soon as they were in the ride, Fuuko almost squealed in joy... and started screaming wildly as the ride went on.
After fifteen seconds of adrenalin rush, the ride was now done with. The two of them stepped out and Fuuko was more livelier than before.
"Wheee! That was fun, but I wish you didn't spoil it for me when you almost fell asleep during the ride."
Mikagami snorted. "It was absolutely boring." Fuuko rolled her eyes and ran into the nearest concession stand to buy two corndogs and two sodas.
"You just finished lunch and you're eating again?" Mikagami asked as he approached her in the counter.
"Amusement park rides can make a person hungry." The cashier handed them their food and Fuuko gladly paid for it. She took the tray and went to sit on one of the tables near the counter.
"Here." Fuuko shoved the soda and corndog to Mikagami. He frowned at it. Having only eaten lunch, his stomach was not yet up for another meal.
Fuuko was already eating hers when she saw him ignoring his food. "Not hungry yet?" She asked. Mikagami raised a brow at her as a sign of an obvious rebuff. "More for me, then." She said greedily as she placed Mikagami's corndog in front of her. He shook his head in disbelief. 'Kirisawa eats more than she should.'
Yuu left the restaurant with so much on his mind. He didn't even hear some of his friends calling him from behind.
"Oi, Yuu!" One male voice shouted for the third time. It was only then he took notice of them.
"Got something on your mind, Akira-kun? You seemed lost..." one of the girls said as he approached them with a sheepish grin on his face.
"Gomen. I was contemplating." Yuu said and one of the boys laughed.
"About what?" The guy went to his side and patted him on the shoulder. "If this is about that Kirisawa chick you're always hanging around," Yuu shrugged. "We don't wanna hear about it."
Yuu was greatful when he heard that. All of his friends laughed.
"So, we're going to go see this new amusement park. Wanna come?" One of the girls invited him.
"Yeah... it might get your mind off that girl of yours." Another joked. He smiled at them and accepted their offer. They immediately went off to the amusement park.
They took a few rides here and there, and they had lots of fun. They went to the concession stand when the girls started complaining about getting nauseous due to too much roller coaster ride and the guys went hungry.
While eating, they talked about lots of stuff about school, and most of them were their screw ups during the early years.
"Dude," one of the boys suddenly called Yuu's attention. "Isn't that Kirisawa?"
Yuu placed down his food. His eyes went in small slits and eyed the person with purple hair that his friend was pointing at. The others looked at the same direction.
"Yeah... and isn't that Mikagami?" One of the girls said as she immediately recognized Fuuko's companion. All of them looked at Yuu, who was slightly gripping his cup of soda. They all gulped. They were, of course, aware of the rumors that have been flying around school. They looked at him as if he grew another head.
"Uhh, Akira-kun? Daijobu?" One of the girls peered at his face and he snapped out of his trance. He shook his head slightly and smiled softly at them. "Aa. Daijobu desu."
His friends looked at each other, and he did not fail to miss the knowing looks they were currently exchanging. He chose not to get them involved, anyway.
"Why don't you go and say hi?" One of the boys joked, trying to lighten up the mood. Yuu chuckled. "I mean, she is your girlfriend, right?"
Yuu was shocked at the assumption given by one of his friends. 'Wish she was.' Yuu sighed mentally. He was about to refuse on the said suggestion when they all started chanting at him.
"Yeah, go say hi!"
Raising his hands in defeat, he stood up and started walking towards the two lone figures on the other end of the small concession area. His friends watched his every move rather intently.
"Akira-kun!" Fuuko said in surprise. Yuu was about to say hi at them when she suddenly whipped around and saw him. He made a small wave at them. "Yo, Fuuko. Hey, Mikagami."
"What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in class or intern?" Fuuko started throwing questions at him like she didn't want him there. He winced internally but refused to show it. But, Mikagami, being an expert on it, took great notice of it.
"I'm out with some friends." Yuu said, pointing at the table with a group of college students at the far right of the room. She smiled at him, then glanced at her watch. "Mi-chan, it's already four." She said to Mikagami, who then took a glance of his own watch. He nodded and stood up. She followed his suite. Yuu was now dumbfounded.
"Leaving already?" He asked.
Fuuko only nodded as she went at Mikagami's side. "Mi-chan and I have some stuff that needs utmost attention or he'll kill me himself." Fuuko stated merrily as she linked her arm around Mikagami's playfully and pinched it softly. She giggled as he winced. Yuu raised his brows at their sudden intimacy. Mikagami only nodded at his sempai.
"We have to go now, sempai." He said politely to Yuu. He shoved his hands in his pockets and tried to smile. Fuuko only waved at him and almost dragged Mikagami away from the scene. Yuu watched the two figures leave. His sullenness sunk back in.
He almost dragged himself back to his group's table. He didn't say a word, and was glad they didn't, too. He chose not to ruin this day for them, so he carried on with the day in their company. But his contemplation never ended there.
Mikagami drove to his house. He and Fuuko alighted the car and went in. They immediately went down to business as he helped her research on some items regarding Victor Hugo's Les Miserables; which is the play that they're going to watch three days from now.
"Mi-chan..." she spoke all of the sudden as she stretched herself from the chair.
"Hn?" His stare didn't even leave the screen of his laptop.
"I was just wondering, what's with you and these French dramas and novels?" She asked as she used the papers she was reading as a paper fan. Mikagami only smirked to himself as she huffed. She looked at him intently.
"No answer, huh?" Fuuko stated and Mikagami took off his glasses and grabbed the papers she was reading. He checked where she was already and was disappointed at what he saw.
"You're still in this chapter? Kirisawa, you're slow, not to mention you're only reading the summarized version." Mikagami said as he shoved the papers back to her hand. She stuck her tongue out at him. "It's boring me out of my skull."
He raised his brows in question at her. "I thought you took it upon yourself to read stuff like these?"
"Yeah, well..." Fuuko said sheepishly. "I'm kinda not in a good mood today."
Mikagami frowned and turned back to what he was doing. "Why?"
Fuuko rolled her eyes and continued skimming through the pages with a pout on her face. "I told you, you're no fun. I was hoping you'd make this rather enjoyable."
He closed his eyes and ignored her. Fuuko stood up and started pacing into the kitchen and opened his fridge.
"Ah, I see you finally went shopping. That's great." Fuuko said as she opened a can of pineapple juice. She plopped back to the sofa and stared at him. Mikagami, however, chose to ignore her. But, she continued looking at him intently... like she was studying him. After a few minutes, he couldn't stand her staring anymore. He sighed in defeat.
Fuuko was completely unaware that she was actually staring at Mi-chan. If he was really ice, he would've already melt. She studied his movements as he studied some of the stuff he was reading. She smiled a little, still holding the can of juice. She suddenly found him appealing. But then, he looked at her... and said...
"Why are you staring at me?" Mikagami looked at Fuuko and asked. She suddenly sat straight and looked away.
"Who said I was staring at you?" Fuuko stuttered and decided not to look at Mikagami. She then took one huge gulp of the juice and picked up what she was reading before. But, Mikagami wouldn't drop it. "Yes, you were."
"No, I'm not. Why would I do that? I'm not one of your admirers." She defended, but her blush was enough proof that she was lying.
"I'm not blind, Kirisawa. I've seen the look one too many times." He said back at her and she fell silent. Right now, Fuuko was beating herself up in seeing Mi-chan as appealing... like his infamous fan club. She was now having trouble finding a good excuse that would make him shut up. Trouble was, she couldn't find any. And now, he was staring at her... waiting for an answer.
He knew she was calculating in her mind on what she would fire back at him. But, the fact that she had been quiet for more than ten seconds was a moment to remember. He then chose not to press the issue further. "Fine." He then stood up and fixed all of the stuff he was doing in one corner of the table and grabbed his coat and car keys. Fuuko watched him move around.
"What are you doing?"
"In case you haven't noticed, it's already seven in the evening. Unless you want to starve, stay here." He said nonchalantly as he fixed his coat over himself. Fuuko scampered to her feet, grabbed her bag and blazer. He waited for her to step out of the house before going out and locking it.
"Don't tell me you're taking me out to dinner, too?" She asked meekly. He only made a small smile and got into the car, She went in and he drove to...
'Akira-kun's restaurant.' Fuuko thought as they came into a halt. Mikagami immediately stepped out of the car, only stopping when he was at the door of the restaurant and she hasn't even closed the passenger seat's door. Seeing him stop, she closed the door in a hurry and went to Mikagami. He opened the door for her and they stepped inside.
"Irrashai!" One waitress greeted and guided them to one of the seats inside. She gave them the menus and left to attend to the other customers. After two minutes. another one approached them.
"Oh, Fuuko-san. It's you." Reiko said to Fuuko while smiling at the younger girl.
"Reiko-san. Konnichiwa. I didn't know you were on duty today." Reiko then glanced at her companion after nodding at Fuuko. "Konbanwa, Mikagami-kun. Nice to see you, too." Mikagami only made a slight bow to acknowledge the senior's greeting. Reiko then whipped out a small notebook.
"Well, what can I get you, youngsters? We're also having a live band performance today. Some of the students are performing. I'm sure you'll enjoy it."
Sure enough, a few students went up in the stage that Fuuko and Mikagami never took notice before and started introducing themselves. Fuuko and Mikagami then gave their orders to Reiko. She then disappeared to the kitchen. A little while later, the band started playing a slightly fast-paced song. Some of the customers went to the small, makeshift dance floor. Fuuko watched them as they waited for their orders. Mikagami, on the other hand, was surprised at himself as he also watched them dance.
As their orders arrived, they both settled into silence. The performance of the band was quite well, and Fuuko enjoyed it more rather than insulting Mikagami. Mikagami, however, found it peculiar that she chose not to talk this time. He just took glances at her as she ate and watched the band. The lights were dimmed down to give that semi-romantic state as the band started playing mellow songs. He even saw her sigh and watch some of the couples dance as they sang one love song. She let out a bitter smile after that. He took one last helping of his food. He picked up his glass and saw her singing with the band in a low voice. He listened to the voice of the singer, and looked at Fuuko's face.
'Oh I could say that I'll be all you need, but that would be a crime. I know I'd only hurt you; I know I'd only make you cry... I'm not the one you're needing. I love you, goodbye.'
She then gave out another sigh and Mikagami took it as a cue to stop watching her. He carried on drinking as she faced the table again, making small circles and taps on the table. Mikagami pretended to watch the band perform. His attention was on the song and on the look at Fuuko's face. As the song finished, she clapped lamely. He frowned at what he was seeing.
Reiko returned to the counter and kept her eye on the two students that she just served. She couldn't help but let out a semi-bitter smile as she thought of how cute Fuuko and Mikagami looked together (not to mention they look like they're getting along well) and how her friend felt about the purple-haired girl. Her activity was immediately cut off as she was sent to attend another set of new customers. They were having a full house today due to the band.
Mikagami still kept his attention to Fuuko as she took small servings of her chocolate sundae and look at the dancing couples in the dance floor. He, too, took small servings of his own dessert. 'Why is she feeling so down?' He asked himself as the other side of him was kicking him mentally for caring, and what was amazing was he chose to ignore it. He felt like his time was going in down in ruins as he saw her sullen face. His day was already going well with the torture he gave her in order for her not to think that it was indeed a date. But, now, she wasn't doing anything and yet she was starting to ruin his time.
The band played another mellow song. And when Fuuko heard the first few lines, she turned even more sullen. Mikagami frowned even more. He sighed and stood up. He tugged on her hand. She looked at him in surprise. He tugged on her hand again when she neither answered nor stood up. But, she didn't even protest. She stood up and he walked with her to the center. The sullen face was now replaced by a surprised one. And as soon as they were in the small dance floor, Mikagami immediately turned to explanation mode.
"I don't like that expression of yours. If you wanted to dance, knowing you, you just could've asked." Still... the surprised face. He raised one eyebrow at her. She smiled a little at him. "I wasn't thinking about dancing Mi-chan." he continued to listen. "I was thinking of something?"
"Thinking about your boyfriend?" He asked as they swayed to the slow mellow music. She shook her head no.
"I'm thinking about my ex... err... Raiha?"
Mikagami immediately looked at her at the mention of former Uruha's name. "He WAS your boyfriend?"
Fuuko fixed her gaze at his shoulder and smiled sheepishly. "Well, yeah. For a year. But before our graduation, we called it quits." Her smile was starting to fade. She lifted her left hand from his shoulder and wiped her left eye. "Or rather, I made the first announcement and for some reason, he said he wanted that, too. And now, I have no idea why I'm not over the issue yet."
She then fell silent. 'Not good.' Mikagami thought as Fuuko continued talking. 'She's starting to cry.'
And soon enough, she was already shedding tears silently. Mikagami gulped but managed not to panic. As if acting on impulse, he let go of her right hand and pulled her forward. She then started to cry harder as she hid her face together with her hands on his chest. They continued pretending to dance there as she weeped and he comforted her by simply letting her cry in his chest. They both seemed to forget that many of the customers in the restaurant were students from Tokyo U who were now watching them. Good thing was they only smiled at the two, whom they thought were already a couple, and chose not to talk about them, even just for one night.
Yuu chose to enter from the kitchen, knowing well there would be many customers. He also ate early on, so as not to take a table from the customers. As he arrived, he greeted the crew, who only managed to wave at him because they were all in a hurry to catch up with the continuously growing number of orders. He went to the counter to check up on things. Reiko just got back from getting an order. "Hey." He tapped her on the shoulder.
"Akira-kun." She greeted him. Yuu then called another waitress to cover for Reiko. Reiko laughed at him. "You probably need something."
"Nah, I just need some company... and I don't want to pay you for your overtime. You've been working for almost seven hours." Yuu reasoned.
"Well, I needed something to do or I'll crack. The dorm's pretty lonely these past few days." This time, he laughed at her as she made faces to emphasize the condition of her dormitory.
"Aw, that's too bad. Want me to come over and be your bud?" He said mockingly.
"Ewww. Not that, please!" She shot back at him in the same manner, while slapping him in the arm. He only laughed at her some more. He then looked around at his very pleased customers. "Looks like we're doing well today."
"Yeah, it was a good idea to make the band play today." Reiko agreed as she also look at the students taking pleasure at the restaurant's ambience and the band's performance. Yuu's smile was immediately replaced by a frown as his gaze hit two figures dancing, and the silver-haired guy pulled the purple-haired girl into his arms... and she stayed there. Reiko noticed this and followed Yuu's line of vision. She was shocked at what she saw, then looked back at her friend, whose lips was now formed into a thin line. He looked away and smiled bitterly at Reiko. She only held her friend's hand in consolation. Yuu lowered his head in defeat.
A/N: Well, what a veryyyyyyy long delay! Hehehe. I inserted a couple of songs there because it keeps replaying in my head and won't leave me alone! Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this chappie and forgive me for my laziness to update. And Minami... she's just an extra, don't mind her. Hehehe.