Chapter 9: Rukawa Bug
Something is brewing.
Mizuki could feel it in her bones. She's fully cognizant of the furtive glances her fellow students were giving her, and others are rather blatant about it, pointing at her while whispering something to their companion. It felt like the first day of school all over again. But unlike before, she knew the reason for their obvious prying and constant staring. Not because she's a real head turner like her kohai, Ohara Fumiko, or she's oozing with sex appeal, but for the reason that she is seen in the company of two of the most notorious students of Shohoku.
However, Hana and Mito are not with her at the moment.
After carrying out her morning ritual visit to the hospital, she then took a bus to school since she didn't want to inconvenience her cousin of giving her a ride. As soon as she set her foot on the school grounds, she immediately sensed something was off. When she finally reached her classroom, her worst suspicions were confirmed. Before she could even take her seat, Mizuki was bombarded with questions from three of her classmates with whom she had never spoken to before.
"Is it true? Did you really confess to Rukawa-kun?" One of the three girls asked which was promptly followed by another query from the second girl.
"Did he reject you before you said the three magic words or after?"
"What are the exact words that he used anyway?" The third girl inquired, holding a pen and pad of paper in her hands to take down notes.
"What in the world are you three talking about?" Mizuki demanded of them. She glanced around, noting the absence of the Sakuragi gang and a certain blue eyed boy. "I never made any confession to that sleepyhead."
"Don't deny it, Yohei-chan." Girl no. 2 retorted.
"Yeah, we ourselves were once rejected by him." Girl no. 1 declared before adding, "We know what you are feeling, because we've been through them before. First comes denial, in which you pretend that you're not the least bit affected when he turn you down. Second stage is anger. You get mad towards everyone, thinking that they are out to get you and nothing is working in your favour. You easily get pissed off on pretty much everything. This anger-"
"Ohayou, Yohei-chan!" A booming voice interrupted Girl no. 1's jabbering.
"Chuichirou –kun!" Mizuki greeted him with too much enthusiasm. She'd never thought that a day would come when she'd be overjoyed to see Noma and his ridiculous moustache.
Noma paused mid-stride, a dumbfounded expression on his face. Mizuki wasted no time and dragged the boy out of the room. She needed to get away from those three gossip girls as fast as she could.
As she hurried through the exit, Mizuki collided with someone, who turned out to be Ohkusu.
"Whoa, what's the rush, dude?!"
"Oh! Sorry, Yuji-kun! I didn't notice you."
"Ah, it's you, Yohei-chan… And Noma too." Ohkusu raised one of his eyebrows when he saw her gripping Noma's arm. Mizuki immediately released her hold on him, avoiding the risk of being in the headlines of the rumour mill once again. Heaven forbid that those gossip mongers made any speculations that she and Noma are an item now.
The blonde haired boy noticed her actions, and quickly jumped to another conclusion. "You two were planning on ditching class, right? Well, I'm IN!"
"Eh? Of course not!" Mizuki protested. "I just needed to discuss something with Chuichirou –kun here." '
'And to escape those busybodies.' She shot a quick look over her shoulder, and found the three girls watching her actions with unabashed interest. She rolled her eyes in exasperation, and stepped out of the room with Noma in tow.
"Hey, if you're planning on giving him any tips for the audition, then I want to hear them too!" Ohkusu carelessly throw his backpack inside the room and followed after them.
Mizuki decided not to counter him. She's positive that those girls heard his remark; at least it will prevent them from making anymore unnecessary assumptions on why she needed to speak with Noma in private. She chose a less crowded spot to hangout, located at the far end of the corridor. Classes will not begin in another ten minutes and she doesn't think she can hold her temper that much with those silly girls hovering around her. Resting her elbows on the balcony railings, her gaze wandered on the school grounds and observed the flow of students below.
Ohkusu was the first one to break the silence. "Hey, is it just me or did you also noticed them staring and pointing at me?"
"In your dreams, Ohkusu. I'm 100 percent sure that it's ME they're looking at." Noma contradicted the blonde guy's statement.
"Oh please, like there's something remotely interesting about you to gain their interest." Ohkusu said, sneering at him.
"Duh? Haven't you heard? Chicks totally dig my mustache." Noma proudly answered while stroking his mustache with his thumb and forefinger.
"Oh yeah? Well, here's a newsflash for you, Noma. Your mustache is so coarse and thick that I can use them as a brush to paint the entire wall of my bedroom."
A large sweatdrop appeared at the back of Mizuki's head as the two continue their bickering.
"Oi, oi! Don't fight without me!" An all too familiar voice echoed along the hallway.
Takamiya was seen running towards the arguing duo, eager to join in the fray. The strong impact from the unexpected collision had them falling face first against the floor, eventually ending the guys verbal squabbles. Takamiya had his legs coiled in a tight headlock on the two guys, while he had his elbows pressed on each of their backs; his massive weight crushing any kind of resistance from the pair.
"Get your stinking, fat ass off me, Takamiya!" A struggling Ohkusu demanded from the portly guy.
"Nah-uh! I'm quite enjoying it here."
"I swear if you dare fart on us, Takamiya, you're gonna regret the day you were born!" Noma said threateningly.
"That thought didn't even occur to me. But thanks for the idea, Noma... Oh well, here it comes!" The bespectacled guy wiggled his plump bottom in an exaggerated manner between the two writhing bodies.
Ohkusu and Noma began thrashing around wildly, desperate to escape Takamiya's deadly fart. But they are like an ant that's been squashed by a stone a thousand times their initial weight. After several failed attempts, exhaustion took over and they unwillingly resigned themselves to their fate.
"If this will be my last breath, please tell my li'l bro that he can have my entire magazine collections, but only when he finally reach the appropriate age." Noma gasped in a dramatic way.
Ohkusu, having been raised in a business oriented family, decided to weasel his way out. "Listen, Takamiya. I promised a weekly supply of onigiris if you'll just let me go. A very generous offer on my part, isn't it?" He proposed amidst the protest of Noma about him not playing fair.
"Nah! I was just messing with you two. I'm not planning on doing anything. But I accept your gracious offer, Ohkusu. I expect the freshly made onigiris on my desk by tomorrow." Takamiya said before releasing his viselike grip on them.
As soon as his hold on them loosened, the two didn't waste time on jumping on Takamiya and exacting their revenge over his evil prank. Satisfied with the beating they gave him, the pair began wiping the dust off their uniform. Noma then faced Mizuki and asked in a curious tone. "Why are we here again?"
Ohkusu snapped his fingers, and answered his query. "Ah! I know! You brought us here to give some advice concerning our audition this afternoon."
"Hold it!" Noma interjected, placing his right palm a few inches away from blondie's face. "This was supposed to be a private conversation between Mizuki and me, and I clearly do not remember you being invited."
"You obviously don't remember because you're too busy stroking your mustache and your over inflated ego."
Sensing another fight brewing, Mizuki quickly intervened and placed herself between the two bickering idiots. "I don't want to disappoint you guys, but I'm no expert in acting, so I can't give you any tips on that."
Ohkusu gave her a look that says that he's not buying her statement, while Noma gaped at her as if to say that he didn't get into a fight with blondie here to end up with nothing.
Mizuki began to squirm under their incredulous stare and racked her brain for any useful advise. "Uhmm…Lemme think for a sec.."
A distant memory flashed into her mind – of her father placing a penny in her shoes that one time she joined a competition. Unfortunately, she didn't win the grand prize, but they didn't need to hear about that. Plus, she couldn't think of any tips with regards to acting so she would have to resort to this superstition. It wouldn't hurt to try anyway.
"Well…my dad said that if you place a penny in your shoe, it will bring you goodluck." She glanced up and waited for any kind of rebuttal from them. The two guys simply nodded their heads in affirmation. Their silence is an indication that they are still anticipating for her to say more.
She had no choice but to continue talking. She just hoped that whatever nonsense she's spouting will help in getting them off her back.
"Try… Try not to get nervous onstage and relax your body…They say that chewing gum eases the tension in your jaw..." She began ticking off on her fingers as she speak. "Eating banana will help too. Do some exercise; laugh as much as you can…" Running out of ideas, she finally said, "…and most of all, think positively...So yeah.. that's about it."
Thankfully, the duo seemed satisfied with her answers. They even suggested that they keep the information among themselves, purposely leaving Sakuragi and Mito out of the loop.
Takamiya, who's still sprawled on the ground, raised his hand and seconded the motion. After a second, he sat up, seemingly recalling that he have something to ask Mizuki - regarding a rumor that's been circulating around school.
He remained seated on the floor as he spoke. "So, Mizuki-chan, rumor has it that you've been rejected by Rukawa..." He paused and glanced up to see three pairs of eyes staring in astonishment at him.
Mizuki was the first one to react; while the two previously arguing duo remained in a state of shock. "What?! When? Where did - "
"According to the rumor mill," Takamiya said, cutting her off, "you, Yohei Mizuki, professed your undying love and all that crap to Mr. Asshole, and said emotionally constipated and stony-hearted smelly fox flat-out rejected you. Broken hearted, you were seen wailing and crying a river for being turned down."
Mizuki gaped at him in response, not knowing whether to laugh or to get annoyed to the most ridiculous and absurd thing she has ever heard.
"That is possibly the craziest thing I've ever heard." Noma remarked; voicing her exact sentiments.
Realization began to sink in for the blonde haired boy. "So, that's the reason for all the staring."
"Wait. From whom did you hear this?" She promptly asked. Somehow, based on the words that Takamiya used to describe the rumor, it would seem that he heard them from-
"Hanamichi. I just relay the exact words and sentences that he used." The portly guy said before adding, "I think he heard them from Haruko-chan, minus the expletives and bad mouthing, of course."
"He knew of this? Oh man, I feel sorry for whoever's responsible for creating that stupid rumor." Ohkusu smirked, appearing not at all sorry or concerned for the unknown person's fate once their red headed friend finally discovered his/ her identity.
"Yeah, I mean, hello?! Mizuki - in love with the kitsune? Pfft! Fat chance! They should make a more convincing story!" Noma said, dismissing the story with a wave of his hand.
Mizuki fell silent, pondering about their opinion on this unsubstantiated information. They believed without a doubt that there is no way she will ever fall for him. But how come she has a hard time believing on their assessment. She managed to hide the conflicting emotions on her face as Takamiya turned to ask her, "So, Mizuki-chan, let's get to the bottom of this. Are you or are you not suffering from Momiji virus?"
"Huh?" was her intelligent reply. "Is there such a thing as Momiji virus?" She inquired, confusion evident on her face. She knew that the other word for maple is momiji but she's unaware that it can cause sickness.
'What is this guy up to?'
Quick as a flash, Takamiya appeared standing and donning a long white coat over his school uniform. Adjusting his glasses, he began the explanation.
"The Momiji virus is a disturbing epidemic that's sweeping the whole of Kanagawa region, and its origin was traced in Shohoku high. This virus mostly targeted young women, although a few not so straight guys may also fall victim by this widespread occurrence. Recent statistics show that the number of affected high school students has increased significantly."
"How alarming." Noma piped up.
"Initial symptoms are the sudden onset of light-headedness, shortness of breath and rapid beating of the heart. This is often followed by an intense eye condition where they appeared all googly and dazed. And if it's not immediately treated, this disease will affect the functioning of a person's brain and will end up in a psycho ward, drooling and shrieking for the object of their obsession."
Understanding finally dawned on her face. Mizuki rolled her eyes at Takamiya's ridiculous attempt of comparing the female students' infatuation with Rukawa to some kind of deadly virus.
"Geez, where do you get those silly ide-"
Their conversation was disrupted by a commotion that appears to be coming from the school ground. The four of them leaned on the railing and look down to find out what the ruckus is all about.
The weird feeling in her stomach resurface again as she spotted a familiar mop of messy black hair, but the fluttering in her tummy was instantly replaced by trepidation as she took notice of the current situation. Apparently, that idiot had fallen asleep (again!) while cycling and crashed into the unsuspecting concrete wall.
She recently discovered that Rukawa not only had the tendency to doze during school hours but also tends to sleep while he's walking or riding his bicycle.
'Is he unaware of the danger he subjected himself to?' She mused. Not that she care about his welfare. She's more concern to the fact that somebody could get hurt by his irresponsible and aggravating sleeping habit.
The three guys standing beside her laughed out loud as they watched the scene from below them. Mizuki shook her head and cluck her tongue in an attempt to show her disapproval at Rukawa's carelessness, and try to suppress the worry gnawing in her gut.
Is there a possibility she's also suffering from the dreaded momiji virus?
Honestly, she was afraid to know the answer.
xxxxx
By lunchtime, things went downhill.
Their redheaded friend; famous for his volatile temper and impertinent attitude, made a scene by getting into a fight with Rukawa - not that it's an unusual spectacle, but what made their scuffle different this time was because they are fighting over a girl. And it certainly isn't Haruko-chan.
Fists were thrown, followed by a sweeping kick toward Rukawa's legs. Infuriated that his sleep was disrupted by that dou ahou, the black haired boy began to retaliate. After a series of blows and punches, the Sakuragi army was finally able to separate the two, but the redhead continue to spout insults to Rukawa. The latter chose to ignore him and began walking towards his sanctuary- the rooftop. He could hear the dou ahou threatening him to stay away from Mizuki.
'Tsk. Like he would ever want to get near rooftop girl.'He slipped his hands into the pocket of his pants, resisting the urge to throw another punch into Sakuragi's face.
Mizuki massaged her temples in an effort to stop the throbbing pain in her head. She was not around when Hanamichi initiated that fight with Rukawa. By now, the rumors had escalated to deranged proportion. The entire student body now assumed that she and her buddy, Sakuragi, had a secret affair. And they all think it was some sort of love triangle. They later dragged poor Haruko in the rumor mill, which ended in a case of love quadrangle.
But her misfortune didn't end there.
She and Satoshi decided to head towards the library to work on their article during free period. Carrying stacks of paper and folders in both hands, they proceeded to walk out of the classroom. But Satoshi - beating her in the clumsiness category by a small percentage, decided to demonstrate his obvious lack of foot coordination. He tripped over his own feet, dragging an unsuspecting Mizuki with him, who in turn clung to the nearest support available, which turned out to be – who else? Rukawa. Caught off guard, and feeling drowsy as usual, Rukawa lost his balance and joined the clumsy pair in the ground.
Mizuki groaned in frustration, mumbling something under her breath about her being jinxed today. Still unaware of the identity of the person she accidentally landed, she slowly pushed herself into a sitting position, giving a swirly eyed Satoshi behind her an evil glare before turning her attention to the person she realized she's currently sitting.
She let out a loud "eepp" before moving away from him as fast as she could, afraid that she will get infected with the Rukawa virus.
Rukawa glowered at her reaction. 'What's with her?Acting like I got a disease or something.' He pulled himself up into a sitting position and his frown vanished instantly when he noticed that her face could rival that dou ahou's blazing red hair. He heard her muttering an apology. He was contemplating whether to pretend that he didn't hear her apology so he could demand it from her when his eyes noticed something on the floor. The girl, observing that he is somewhat distracted, followed his line of sight.
And a look of pure horror crossed her face.
Piles of papers scattered across the floor. But that's not what caught Rukawa's attention and the reason for the panic look on Mizuki's face.
Because littered on the floor were dozens of Rukawa's photos – of him sleeping, his eyes shut closed as he walk in the corridor, of him doing a layup shot, dribbling a ball. And he felt his ears burning when he saw a picture of him shirtless with a towel hanging around his neck.
'What in the -'
"That… I…. It's not what it looks like!" Mizuki exclaimed with a panic stricken voice. She then quickly began picking the pictures on the floor before any of their female classmates began salivating over the shirtless snapshot of him.
"I can explain!" She stated, her eyes pleading with them to listen to her. "These photos were taken by Satoshi-kun..you know...to be use for the upcoming article.." She glanced around; searching for Satoshi to back up her statement but the coward was seen sneaking his way outside the room. 'I'm going to kill that idiot!' She fumed, thinking of the most vicious torture he will endure once she got her hands on him.
Her attention shifted to the students gathered around her. She visibly gulped as she noticed the burning eyes her female classmates were giving her. Or rather, the greedy look on their faces as their gaze focused to the photos she's clutching
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the three stooges laughing their asses off at her expense, clearly enjoying the spectacle before them.
Wanting to get back at them for leaving her in this embarrassing and awkward situation, she threw the photos in their direction, and watched as a horde of overzealous and momiji infected fans began jumping and hurling their bodies towards the shocked trio in a race to grabbed the photos of their idol.
Soon after, she realized that her attempted vengeance upon them was futile, based on the goofy grin and dazed looks the three idiots were wearing. Apparently, they enjoyed being mauled by Rukawa's fans.
xxxxx
A sigh of relief passed on Mizuki's lips as soon as she heard the loud ringing of the school bell. Finally, class is over. She was rather proud of herself for maintaining a calm demeanor amidst all the rumor circulating around. She even manage to restrain herself from strangling Satoshi for the tripping incident a while ago.
Why did he have to drag her behind? And why did she have to lose her balance and fall down on Rukawa out of all people?
'And speaking of that iceblock'
Mizuki's eyes automatically sought the person who's the cause of all her misfortune and downfall. There he was, lounging lazily on his seat while rubbing his sleep-worn eyes. Apparently, the shrill sound of the bell had awakened him from his usual afternoon nap. She could tell that he's irritated that his sleep was disrupted.
'Geez, would it hurt him to try to be nicer for once? And does he even know how to smile? Why so serious?'
'But if he's a bit nicer and smiles often, then there's no reason for you not to fall for him, right?' Her subconscious replied.
'Uh-what?'
As if sensing she was watching him, Rukawa glanced up at her, raising his eyebrows in silent query.
Mizuki huffed, annoyed with herself for being caught staring at him, and angry at him for behaving as if he didn't have a care in the world. She gave him her most menacing glare as she marched towards his desk. She was not oblivious to the pointed stares she's receiving from her classmates, but she chose to simply ignore them.
'Let them think what they want.' She thought.
"Did you sleep well, Rukawa-kun?" Mizuki asked, not bothering to hide the sarcasm in her tone. She was done being polite, as her nice approach to let him agree on doing the interview didn't seem to work. And she's still upset with his drooling remark from yesterday during basketball practice. He just left her standing on the sidelines, as his teammates, even his coach, laugh at her. He didn't even give her a chance to provide a snappy answer before he disappeared towards the locker room. He's gone running out of the gym with his tail between his le-
"Go annoy someone else," In the stunned silence of the classroom, Rukawa's voice rang out loud and clear.
Mizuki gasped in an exaggerated manner and placed one palm on her chest. "Did..did you just speak?!" She said mockingly.
Rukawa ignored her jibe and stared at her coolly while resting his fist on his chin. Despite his remark for her to go away, he knew that she will exactly do the opposite. He remained seated and waited for her to start blabbing.
Once again, Mizuki felt her stomach churning in nervousness and she had to look away to control her emotions. From the corner of the room, she saw Takamiya, Ohkusu and Noma watching the scene with amused interest. Remembering their conversation this morning about the so-called momiji virus, she silently hoped that they are not making stupid assumptions about her contracting the Rukawa bug that's plaguing most of the female students. Wanting to prove them wrong, she returned his stare and fought back her blush. She placed her bag unceremoniously on his desk and shuffled through the contents, pulling out a piece of paper and shoving it in his face.
Rukawa scrunched up his eyes in deep concentration as he peered over the paper. His gaze flickered back to her and she could swear that he looked mildly amused. She didn't have the chance to ponder over it as she heard him muttered, "A love letter?"
A collective gasp escaped from their unwanted audience. One of the nosy girls from earlier even made a remark about her being a masochist.
Mizuki examined the paper in her hand, thinking that she had given him the wrong paper. Her brain seems to be malfunctioning when she belatedly realized that she had never written any love letters in her entire life. And she certainly has no intention of giving him one. Not now. Not ever.
"What the heck? Don't you know how to read?" Scowling at him, she shoved the paper under his nose again.
With one fist still resting on his chin and his other hand atop his desk, Rukawa's eyes made a quick scan on the note, and decided to read a part of the text to her; as a proof that he's not an ignoramus like that redheaded dou ahou friend of hers.
"What are the qualities-" He started saying, watching her reaction from beneath a fringe of dark bangs "-you are searching for in a woman?"
Once again, shocked gasps and murmurs were heard inside the room.
"Isn't that too forward?" Nosy girl no. 2 remarked in a disapproving manner in which Takamiya quickly countered, "Says the girl who once declared into the whole class her plan to marry Rukawa after highschool."
The two taller guys besides him let out a snigger.
A red faced Mizuki slammed the paper on Rukawa's desk, creating a loud thud. "This is not a love letter!" She said in a clear voice, so the whole class can hear. "These are the questionnaires provided by your fans and I'm giving this to you so that you can review them and prepare the answers beforehand."
Narrowing her eyes, she leaned towards him slightly and speaks in a low tone. "Look pal, I've endured a ton of humiliation and mockery from you and the rest of the class since yesterday. Now the least you can do is read the questionnaires and do the freaking interview and that's it. I won't bother the hell out of you anymore."
Rukawa stared at her with ice cold eyes. Somehow, that last statement of hers unsettles him. And it confused him why he's feeling perturbed by the thought of her not bothering her anymore after she's done doing it with him…..
Now, that doesn't sound right.
'Done doing the interview.' He mentally corrected himself. He looked down to the piece of paper on his desk, a frown marring his handsome face. Maybe he should just get this over with. It's what he wanted after all; get rid of this troublesome and bossy girl.
But what does she mean when she says she's not going to bother him anymore? Is she going to treat him like he doesn't exist or simply not talk to him? Not that he care. And he's definitely not eager to have a conversation with a certain short haired girl who has a penchant for singing in the rooftop and hanging out with wackos.
'Tsk, so annoying.' Feeling extremely pissed off with his thoughts, he crumpled the paper into a ball and throws it in the trashcan on the other side of the room. Cheers erupted from his fangirls, who were overly pleased with the demonstration of his basketball skills.
Rukawa glanced up, half expecting her to throw a tantrum or yelled at her for being a jerk. For a moment, he thought that she's going to punch him into oblivion when he noticed that her hands were balled up tightly into a fist. He readied himself for any violent reaction from her part but was confused when she unclenched her fists, gave out a tired sigh, and began walking away towards the door.
He remained sitting with his brow furrowed and his blue eyes perplexed.
Now wait just a doggone minute. Nobody walks away from Kaede Rukawa. She's the one who should be watching him as he walked away, not the other way around.
"Oi!" Rukawa heard himself say; not knowing what compelled him to suddenly call after her.
Mizuki stopped walking but refused to look at him. "What now?!" She demanded with her back still turned.
"…" No answer was given.
She huffed and warily turned to look back at him. She found him standing behind his desk, suddenly appearing more intimidating because of his tall stature. Angered by his apathetic attitude, she asked again in an icy voice. "What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?"
One corner of his mouth curved upward slightly as if her remark amused him.
'Did he just smirk?' She blinked and the smirk was gone. But she was positive she had seen it.
Mizuki was still distracted by the smirk and barely registered that he was pointing to the bag on his desk. She saw him picked up the bag by its strap and waved it in her direction.
Her face reddened with embarrassment again as she realized that she forgot her bag on his table. She was about to approach him but stopped as she heard him say, "Catch." He then threw her bag towards her.
Luckily for her, she managed to catch her bag without turning into a complete klutz. She glanced back at him only to see him already leaving the classroom. 'What was that all about?' Mizuki thought, and discovered that this was the first time he ever made any sort of conversation with her, and it had left her mind in a state of emotional overload.
"Awww. Don't they make the cutest couple?" She heard Takamiya cooed in a sweet tone.
Not in the mood to deal with their teasing, she hastily left the room.
Operation Tame the Fox Update:
First objective: Eliminate the obstacle
– Checked.
Second objective: Persuade the subject
– 1st attempt – Failed
– 2nd attempt – Failed
