A/N: Okay, i'm gonna say all of this in this little A/N. please tell me why in detailed form! in a review plz. :) also, i'm just gonna say that I sorta made River a 'bad' guy. It's part of the whole TakeshixLiz thing. You'll see it's near toward the end. So all of you River fans, sorry if u get pissed that River is the 'bad' guy. don't flame plz! Besides that, here's chapt. 5 and happy reading!
Chapter 5: More Than Just Friends
"Fantine, can I...talk to you alone for a minute or two?" he asked her with a smile.
"O..Of course, Takeshi. I'll be waiting over there." Fantine replied and walked over to a bench a little bit away from them.
"Liz," he said and put a hand on hers. She blushed.
"Y-...yes?" she asked.
"Trust me with this. In no time you'll get your answer." he said and walked over to his ex. At first he sat down next to her, Liz could see their lips move in conversation. She then saw Takeshi get up, Fantine right after, and the two walked off somewhere else. When they were out of sight, and no where to be seen, Liz sighed heavily.
'You okay chica?' her inner self asked.
"Yeah..." Liz replied.
'...Wanna snoop?' her inner self asked with a sly smile.
"Heheh. I thought you'd never ask." Liz replied with an evil laugh. She couldn't help but feel so evil when it came to snooping on others. As her evil laugh ended, she rushed off to see what Takeshi was going to do.
The two walked for what seemed like hours, even though it was only a couple of minutes. Complete silence went as they walked. Both seemed like they wanted to tell eachother so much, that they didn't know where to start.
"Um...Fantine." Takeshi decided to start.
"Yes, Takeshi?" Fantine asked poitely.
"About Liz and me...I'm not sure if you noticed but we've been sorta...I guess, getting closer than just friends." he began.
"Of course." Fantine replied and nodded for him to continue. 'Of course I've noticed! I wasn't born yesterday you know.' she thought to herself.
"But um...since last night it got iffy, and even though we both apologized I still can't give a clear straight answer to her because...because I still love you." he said.
"Takeshi...I-...even though what I said to you the few minutes before our race, I always denied it. I..I still love you as well." she said to him and he gave her a surprised look, beginning to blush. 'This...wasn't what I had planned...' he thought. He was quiet.
"So...maybe, we could go back to being a couple." she started to say. He was taken aback by this, and tried to hide his expression from Fantine. She gave him a look and then chuckled to herself quietly.
"No, that wouldn't be fair to Liz. I'm sorry, I shouldn'tve said that, it was...rather rude of me." she said silently and Takeshi felt a relief lifted from his shoulders.
"Fantine, why didn't you tell me that until now?" Takeshi asked.
"Well I...I had it in my mind that you and Liz would be better but then, I started to regret ever saying those things to you. When I saw you and Liz grow close, it was already too late for me to tell you that I wanted you back." she explained.
"Oh Fantine...Maybe, maybe if you woulda told me before all of this then...I'm sorry but now I can't go back on my, decision." he forced himself to say.
"Decision?" she repeated.
"Please, don't be offended by that. It's just that...these last couple of times hanging out with Liz I...I finally realized that I had hidden feelings for her." Takeshi replied.
"Yes. That is what I wanted you to realize for so long. I'm glad you found your true happiness." Fantine said with a smile.
"Oh, Fantine I never said that-"
"It's okay, Takeshi." Fantine interrupted. But then, she turned away from him.
"Does this mean, that everytime we meet, that I am becoming a...a bother to you?" she asked.
"No! You're not a bother, never! I'm just saying, I can't give Liz a true answer until we sort out things between us...and now that I've found out that you haven't stopped loving me I-...it makes things a little more complicated." he said and then stopped. He took both of her hands, and looked her straight in the eyes.
"That's why..." he started and then put his arms around her waste.
"I need to know..." he continued and pushed her foward so that they were in reach.
"Takeshi..." Fantine said, she was beginning to fluster. He didn't reply, and pressed his lips against hers. She slowly closed her eyes and gradually encouraged the kiss to go on. It did, and it seemed like a lifetime for her. How she missed Takeshi so much. Liz watched the whole thing, her heart was getting crushed just watching.
'Don't get angry...upset...don't get anything Liz. Takeshi told me to trust him...I'm trusting him but...' Liz thought and she closed her eyes. When she reopened them they were still kissing. She rolled her eyes in disgust.
'Oh screw this. I didn't come all this way to see what he would do if he was going to kiss her. I'm outta here.' she said to herself and decided to go back to Satomi HQ. 'You said it.' her inner self commented and Liz laughed in a small, quiet chuckle. She didn't feel any tears, no sadness, nothing. It made her happy to know that, because without that sad feeling she didn't need to worry about Takeshi.
When the kiss finally ended, Takeshi and Fantine looked at eachother. He smiled at her lovingly.
"Thank you, Fantine. Now I know." he said to her.
"What were you trying to find out?" she asked. She waited for his reply, and realized that what she wanted to hear, really wasn't what she wanted to hear.
"If-...in that kiss, I wanted to know...if we still, had complete passion for eachother. Through that one kiss I realized that...I've fallen in love with Liz. But you will always, always be in my heart Fantine. I'm sorry to tell you that, but...it was and still is the only way I can truly answer Liz's question." Takeshi replied quietly. 'And maybe...maybe even tell her my true feelings.' he thought. Fantine felt as if a sadness totally replaced her happiness, and that she would always be saddened. But really, she was truly happy for Takeshi, and for Liz. Takeshi could see Fantine's sadness, and just stood there. Suddenly he felt Fantine's hand grasp his. She dragged him along and he followed, wondering where they were going. Their first stop was a jewelry stop. Takeshi waited outside, and when Fantine came out she grabbed his hand again. The last stop was her house, where she let go of his hand and walked up to the door.
"Why are we...here?" he asked and she opened the door. He stood outside.
"Well come in silly." Fantine called and he did so. He had forgotten the wonderful and delightful fragrance of the house he used to come by every single day when there was no training or practice. As he sat down on her couch, he waited, and waited, and waited for her to return. When she did, she had a little wrapped up box that could be seen in her hand. She gave it to Takeshi, and he looked at her with surprised eyes.
"Wh..what's this for? Is this what you bought?" he asked and opened it. He stared at the little bracelet, and gasped at it's appearance. It looked so familiar, so...
"It's an-"
"Almost an exact replica of the one you gave to me, except it's pure gold instead of pure silver. I want you to give it to Liz. Telling her that it's from me as a happy present for a new couple such as yourself. And from you, as a present to start a brand new happy relationship. Isn't that what you want to tell Liz?" she asked.
"Fantine...I..." he started but Fantine's finger met his lips and closed them shut.
"Hush. I'm very happy for you Takeshi. I'm glad that in the end you and Liz will be happy together. I can see that you really care for her, and I know she cares for you. I can also finally be able to say to you, that I am true to my words. It's, over between us now, and I can finally move on. So, tell her I send her my congratulations." Fantine said with a teary smile and started to take a few steps back, then turning away from Takeshi to try and wipe the tears away from her eyes.
"Fantine...thank you." Takeshi said with a smile and gripped the little bracelet box with just a little strength. As he put the little gift in his pocket, he walked over to her. He turned her around and her teary eyes met his own. He wiped the tears away, and gave her one last kiss. When it was over, he backed away slowly, she could see compassion in them.
"Goodbye, Fantine." he said and ran out the door to find Liz.
"Goodbye, my love." Fantine said in a mere whisper, and closed the door as she watched Takeshi disapper from her sight.
As Takeshi ran and ran, he had to catch his breath. He looked up to see River standing right in front of him.
"Outta my way man, I'm trying to get somewhere." he gasped.
"Chill out man. You're out of breath anyways. Take a breather." River replied with a chuckle. Takeshi pushed River out of the way and began to run again.
"If you're looking for Liz, you're not gonna find her going that way!" he called and Takeshi ran backwards hurriedly back to River.
"What...do you...mean?" he asked as he gasped for breath.
"Where do you think she was?" River asked.
"Back at...Satomi HQ." he replied.
"Nope. She left to go on to the track a while ago. She said she wanted to clear her head of something." he replied.
"Oh, okay. Thanks for the information River!" Takeshi called when he started to run the opposite way from before to get to the track.
"No problem man!" River called back and walked off. 'Haha. Sucker.' he thought and went to Satomi HQ. As Takeshi finally got on to the track, he saw no one.
"Liz? Liz! LIZ!" he shouted, but there was no answer. 'That's strange. Did River lie to me! But...why?' Takeshi wondered and feared that he had something worse to take care of first. He raced to Satomi HQ at lightning speed.
At Satomi HQ, Liz had just washed up. When she was re-dressed she walked out of her room to be blocked by River. She gave a small gasp since he had scared her, and wondered what he was doing here.
"I just came by to visit." he said casually as they walked outside to the front of the building.
"That's cool. So, we're going up against you guys next. Scared?" Liz asked as she leaned over a bar.
"Nah. I think you should be scared of Yamma. He means total business this time." River replied.
"We've been warned by Andrei." Liz said and he only nodded.
"Then I guess you know that he might be kicked off." River said and Liz gave a nod.
"But really he shouldn't worry us. I mean, he's only one and we're a team of three." Liz replied happily. River walked over to her and stood in front, grabbing her hand. She started to blush. Something in his eyes began to sparkle, and she didn't like it-...not one bit.
"Wh..what are you doing?" she asked him sternly.
"Before the race starts, I just thought maybe, both of us needed good luck." he said and she felt his hand wrap around her waist.
"River, remove your hand or else it will be pummeled to the ground, with you screaming in pain!" Liz warned.
"Now is that a nice thing to say to an old friend?" he asked as he forced her foward. Takeshi was seen in the distance, running, panting, and then flaming when he saw what River was doing.
"G-get off of me! This is your last warning!" she said.
"Sorry, I think I'm going deaf." he said and his lips moved foward.
"I'm telling you! Get off of me before you-mmph!" she struggled to say before her lips met his, and they kissed. She hated it, and tried to find a way out. She looked all around her, and then saw Takeshi rushing toward them.
"mmpffh!" was all she could do to cry over to him, and that made him even more enraged.
"RIVER!" he roared and knocked him to the ground.
"Takeshi!" Liz was able to say after she completely wiped and spat out any saliva that had River's disgusting germs on. 'YUCK!' her inner self said with an angry look of disgust on her face.
"Why'd you have to go and ruin the little good luck kiss Takeshi?" River asked, he slightly hissed.
"Hands off of Liz. What the hell were you trying to do!" Takeshi cried.
"Jealous?" River asked as he wiped some saliva off his mouth. There was a small silence, and Takeshi finally answered.
"Of course I am you jerk!" he said and gave River a good punch. River fell to the ground, with Takeshi pinning him back down right after. Another punch was to the other cheek. As Takeshi rasied his fist again, his wrist was grasped and he turned to see Liz. She looked pretty pissed from what he could tell. 'And why wouldn't she anyways?' he thought. He then saw her crack her knuckles.
"It's my turn now, Takeshi. Lemme attim!" Liz cried and River didn't like the looks of this-...at all. There was a bang, a pow, a whomp, a boom, and finally a K-O.
"What do we do with him now?" Takeshi asked.
"Ah. Just leave him there. When he regains conciousness I'll give him another beating. I'll open up a can of whoop-ass on this sorry jerk." Liz replied angrily. As they walked inside, they left River the way he was. Bumps all over, and his eyes were replaced with swirlies.
"Gah! I can't believe he kissed me! I hope when I grow older I don't have children resembling anything like him." Liz muttered angrily, hands on her hips as the two walked into Satomi HQ.
"I'm glad you're okay. That's all he did, right?" Takeshi asked sternly.
"I'm glad that's all he did. If he did anything else he wouldn't even be breathing now!" Liz roared and Takeshi hugged her a second after. She blushed, and was completely unaware that would happen. As he let go, she smiled nervously and added a laugh to fit.
"Trust me, if he did anything else to you I'd be the one that would kill him." he said with a kind smile.
"Takeshi...thanks for what you did back there." Liz said right after.
"Heh. It was no problem. I just, couldn't let him do that to a friend I really care about." he replied. Liz blushed even brighter now, and Takeshi laughed.
"Liz." he said.
"Yes?" she asked.
"I finally, I can finally answer your question." he finished. There was a long silence, and Liz had to remember what her question was. She tried to put that event out of her mind the second she was in her room that horrible night. "I mean...if you do really like me like you say you do, then why don't we...why can't we just start from there? Is that too much to ask? Why can't we be more than just friends now?" she remembered herself saying, when rage took over.
"All right, Takeshi. Go ahead, I'm listening." she said with a smile.
A/N: There's chapt. 5! One more time going over the unsolved/resolved questions. How will Liz and Takeshi resolve it? (Unsolved: ) Will Liz continue to love Takeshi, or will she try and forget her hidden feelings for him? (Answered: She continues to love him) Will Takeshi finally be able to tell Liz the truth about his hidden feelings for her, or will he keep lingering in the past with his relationship with Fantine? (Unsolved: ) And what about Fantine? How long will she be in Takeshi's love life? (Answered: Not long apparently) Will he go back to her, or start a new love relationship with Liz? (Answered: What do u think? lol) Will Fantine accept if he does, or help him and Liz become a couple? (Answered: she helped him awww) now, only two more questions to be solved, and they will in the last chapter!
