Fight for Love!


22nd Fight: Fault

I couldn't believe it. Hotaru would never do this to me. There was no way she would secretly take a photo of me and Ruka, and upload it on the internet. Even if she did, there must be a reason. A very good reason. Yes, I trusted her.

I ran into the gymnasium and scanned for her face among the students dressed in white robes. The students were scattered all over the place, sitting on the ground and obviously resting. I knew there was Taekwondo session this afternoon but there was no sight of Hotaru anywhere. A pair of eyes landed on me and widened in surprise.

"Mikan Yukihira!" Anna gasped and let out a shriek, as if she had seen a ghost.

"Yukihira?" A dark-blue haired girl who was sitting next to Anna turned her head around and looked at me with a grim look. "Oh... she must be here for Ruka-kun."

I gulped. I had to leave this place fast and find Hotaru before I landed myself in a really deep trouble. In fact, I was already in trouble with the photo incident. Wandering in the campus was just as good as walking on a dull concrete aisle with millions of curious and angry stares on me. Wait, what was I talking about?

Just when I was about to leave, the girl whom I did not even want to mention stood up and headed towards me. She looked a little different, probably because she tied up her hair and wore a headband on her forehead. That was why I didn't even notice that she was Luna Koizumi. I looked away and closed my eyes tightly, mentally groaning. Why did my stomach churn every time I thought about her?

"Yukihira-san, I still haven't forgiven you for humiliating me last week. What the heck? Calling me to buck up as a Red Belter?!" Luna yelled angrily and stopped right in front of me. "Know your place. I don't want to hear that coming from someone who has left Taekwondo Club!"

I looked at her with a frown for I had no time for this. If I stayed behind to argue with Luna, I won't be able to find my friend.

"Have you seen Hotaru?" I asked calmly.

Taken aback by my response, Luna took a step back and narrowed her eyes at me. "Huh? Imai-san?"

"Yes, where is she?"

Luna's eyes suddenly flickered with a hint of mischief in them as she smirked at me. Anna and Nonoko, who were still sitting on the floor, giggled while the rest of the boys covered her mouth to stifle their laughter. Okay, something was really wrong and fishy here. Hotaru must really be in trouble!

"She's with a guy. A really handsome guy." Anna made cooing sounds which gave me the chills.

Nonoko cupped her left cheek and grinned evilly. "I wonder what's going on. Could it be..."

Luna raised her hand to interrupt Nonoko's sentence and said, "Don't spoil the fun, girls. Let's tell her where her little friend is so that she can find out what had happened... all by herself."

I clenched my fists and bellowed, "Where is she?"

"Talking like this to me doesn't make me scared, you know?" Luna sneered. "Your dumb friend... she's in a classroom on the fourth floor with a dumbass. I wonder what they're doing there... alone."

"Stop that! Hotaru is not dumb!" I shouted and clenched my fists harder, trying to control my anger which might explode on her anytime.

Suddenly, a voice boomed from behind me, "What's going on here? I thought I told you not to slack even when I'm not around!"

I turned my head around and nearly got choked. Standing by the entrance were three boys. This kind of remind me of how Tsubasa, Koko and Kitsuneme had appeared in the indoor sport stadium of Seika High School. But of course, this time was Tsubasa, Ruka and Natsume. The three of them looked a little annoyed by the way they crossed their arms but their faces remained still and calm. Gosh... was it just my imagination or these three guys there emitting some sort of powerful aura?

I felt a strong pair of hands rested on my shoulders and I was being forced to turn my body around completely, facing the trio. Luna leaned against my back and rested her chin on my shoulder. For some reason, I could sense this lady here grinning evilly behind my back.

"Tsubasa-senpai, we have an intruder here," she said in a high pitched voice.

"Yukihira-san?" Tsubasa squinted his eyes and then forced a smile at me. "What are you doing here?"

Shaking Luna's hands off my shoulder, I stood forward and gave a slight bow. "I'm seriously sorry for interrupting you guys..."

I stopped talking for a moment as my gaze shifted from Tsubasa to Natsume. He was looking at me... with that poker-face. Perhaps he realised that I was staring at him, he quickly averted his eyes away from me and stared at something interesting on the white wall. It was no doubt that he was still angry with me for whatever reasons I didn't know of.

"No, no, it's okay, Yukihira-san," Ruka broke the short silence with an awkward smile. "Is there anything you need?"

"Ah, no... I'm actually looking for Hotaru but..." I slowly turned my head and looked at Luna and her two followers. "They..."

Panicked, Luna immediately interjected, "I told you already, she's in a classroom somewhere on the fourth level."

"With Hayate-senpai," Nonoko added.

"Don't make Luna-san repeat herself!" Anna snapped.

I was going to ignore these girls. With that piece of information which I had no idea whether it was true or not, I decided to leave this place as soon as possible before Luna got the chance to grab hold of me again. I hurriedly ran towards the entrance and waved Tsubasa goodbye. I gave him an apologetic look too for disturbing the people in Taekwondo Club. As for Ruka and Natsume, I was just too awkward and embarrassed to wave to them normally. I had troubled Ruka enough for the past week and even made Natsume angry. Sighing to myself, I left the gymnasium and went inside the school building.

I ran along the corridor on the fourth level, trying to look for Hotaru and Hayate. I really hoped that nothing had happened between them but series of traumatic memories of my 'near-rape' experience came across my mind. Covering my mouth as I ran, I couldn't help but to feel nauseous.

"Hotaru... where are you?" I choked my words out and stopped running.

Panting heavily, I looked back and forth only to see the endless row of classrooms. Why did this school building have to be big? No, I mean, long?

"What are you going to do now? Taking it down won't work because it's all over the place now."

"I didn't know it would end up this way."

"Are you stupid? That's not how to impress me, idiot!"

"Imai-san! I was... ouch!"

I cringed at the hard slapping sound coming from the classroom ahead of me. Did someone say 'Imai-san'? My eyes widened. Hotaru must be in that classroom! Without thinking twice, I ran towards the entrance of the classroom and slid open the door with so much force that I swore I heard a loud crack coming from the wooden sliding door itself.

Ignoring that cracking sound, I shouted, "Hotaru, I'm coming to save you!"

Hotaru was standing at the back of the classroom, staring back at me with wide eyes. There was someone in front of her and she was pulling that person's hair. The person was groaning in pain and upon locking his eyes with mine, his jaw dropped.

"Yu... Yukihira-san!" he gasped aloud.

Hotaru broke her momentary stance and demanded, "Mikan, what are you doing here?"

I knitted my eyebrows together at her obvious question and said, "Something bad happened, right? I'm here to save you!"

"Huh?"

I headed towards them and glared at that familiar-looking person in front of me. With arms akimbo on my hip, I gave him a threathening grunt and pushed Hotaru backward, though her hand was still clutching tightly on the tuft of hair.

I forced this boy down onto his knees with the force of my hands and said in a low voice, "Hayate-senpai, if you're doing something bad to Hotaru, you will have to face me first."

"Ho... Hold on... you got the wrong idea!" the male senior cried desperately and cupped his hands together, looking at me with pleading eyes.

Wait, pleading eyes?

"Mikan," Hotaru's voice softened as she pulled the boy towards her and yanked him upwards by pulling his hair.

I wouldn't be surprised if he lose his hair afterwards.

"Do you know who's the victim here?" she continued with an amused look.

I stared at Hotaru quizzically. Obviously, it was her!

"Your face speaks a million words, my dear friend." Hotaru finally let go of Hayate's hair but much to the latter's disbelief, she grabbed his collar and pulled his upper body downwards, forcing him to bow. "I'm sorry, Mikan."

After saying that, she bowed to me, together with the taller boy next to her. I was speechless and there was no doubt that I was getting a little irritated. Could someone seriously tell me what was going on? Apologising to me for no reason was not funny at all!

I let out a long sigh and asked wearily, "Tell me, what's going on? Hotaru, you said you were the culprit behind the photo. Was that really true?"

"Yes, somewhat true."

Hayate lifted up his head and blurted, "But it's not Hotaru-chan's fault! It's mine!"

"Yes, he's at fault as well," Hotaru stated dully and pushed his head down again. "Because of you, Matsudaira-senpai, I'm at fault."

"Hotaru-chan!"

I still didn't get it. Was it just my imagination or the two of them had somewhat gotten close to each other? I knew that Hayate wrote a love letter to Hotaru not too long ago but I had no idea if she had reciprocated his feelings or not. But what if she did...

I covered my mouth and gasped. Multiple scenes ran rapidly in my mind like a movie and strangely, everything made sense to me.

They were in a relationship. Hotaru was wearing a mask which had an owl design, and she was clad in a black rubber suit which made her look like a ninja. Standing next to her was another ninja with an eagle-designed mask, who was none other than Hayate Matsudaira. They were accomplices and masters of justice. No evil would leave their hands unscathed. Like any other ninja tales, the two of them would eradicate all evil in secret. They were long-life partners and if one died, the other would be more than willing to commit seppaku to join the other. Love was forbidden but was possible between the two of them as long as the forbidden fruit was well-hidden behind their masks.

One day, their mission was to snap a photo of Ruka. A cute and bashful Ruka would be a bonus so they stalked him all the way to the garden as they continually snapped photos of him at every angle without him noticing. However, they accidentally snapped a photo of Ruka and Mikan together and...

"Snap out of it, Mikan," Hotaru's voice interrupted my mental scripted movie, causing me to flinch. "I have no idea what you're imagining but it is definitely ridiculous and bizarre."

Yeah, she was right. There was no way such things would happen. What the hell was I thinking?!

I rubbed the back of my head and laughed sheepishly. Hotaru shot me a weird look before speaking again.

"About that photo incident, I was partially at fault. I didn't know a thing until this stupid guy told me."

Hayate forced his head up again and sounded almost like whining, "I'm so sorry, Yukihira-san!"

"Be quiet," Hotaru hissed and brought his head down again but even lower than before which caused him to groan in pain. "Do you remember the love letter, Mikan?"

I nodded.

"I answered him after that." Hotaru eyed at him and pushed his head lower again, ignoring his loud groans and complaints. "I said that he had to impress me in order to get my approval to go out with him."

I remembered she had told me that too. Being Hotaru, she was so hard to be pleased.

"But this stupid senpai decided to take an embarrassing picture of Nogi-senpai so he followed him to the..."

Hayate shouted again, "I'm sorry, Yuki..."

Before he could finish saying, Hotaru pulled his head up and pushed it down again.

"As I was saying, he followed Nogi-senpai and caught him talking to you. Honestly, I must say that the photo was taken from a great angle," Hotaru continued with a small smirk which did not go unnoticed by me.

I snorted. "It's not about the angle, Hotaru! It's about the circulation!"

"Ah, the circulation? He put up on the Internet, tagging the school website and the Ruka fanclub webpage," my best friend explained. "Now, do I have to tell you how it is circulated?"

I felt something heavy weighing down my shoulders. She didn't have to tell me how anymore. Those fangirls of Ruka must have spread that photo all over the Internet in some way or the other.

"I'm sorry, Yukihira-san!" Hayate repeated his apology even with his head being pushed low by Hotaru. "I was trying to make Hotaru notice me. I had to show her my inner capability to... to... er... how to put it?"

"Do stupidly daring stalking and blackmailing?" I helped him to finish his sentence.

"Oh my gosh! You got that right, Yukihira-san!"

Hotaru tightened her grip around his tuft of hair and said, "Firstly, I didn't tell you to take a picture of Nogi-senpai and upload it on cyber space. Secondly, how the hell were your actions considered as blackmailing?"

"They... wer... weren't?" the boy whom I was starting to take pity for stammered softly.

"Yes, they definitely weren't. Search up the dictionary and do it right," Hotaru responded with a scowl. "And I'm not even impressed at all. Good luck in trying to ruin my friend's life, Matsudaira-senpai."

Upon seeing Hayate's head, or probably his hair, got so abused, I guessed I should let this incident off. He was just trying to impress his crush and I was sure he didn't have any bad intention either. From what I had known about him during my membership in Taekwondo Club, he was a quiet and shy person. His skills were not bad and as a Red Belter, he had brought back at least three gold medals within two years. He was always so honest and supportive towards the people around him. He was totally the opposite from a certain raven-haired person. Obviously, I would give my support to him in chasing Hotaru!

Eek, I was sounding like Hotaru's mother!

The poor boy's voice interrupted my thoughts, "So, what am I supposed to do now? The photo is all over the place!"

"Think and do something, of course," Hotaru replied sternly and finally let go of his hair.

Hayate straightened his body and ran his fingers through his hair with a sigh of relief. The good thing was that he didn't go bald after how hard Hotaru had pulled his hair.

"Hotaru, do you have any idea?" I queried. "Taking the photo down is a little too late, right?"

Hotaru closed her eyes and nodded. "Yes, even if Matsudaira-senpai remove the photo from the webpage, others may have already downloaded it and uploaded it elsewhere. Furthermore, the photo is etched in the minds of the crazy fangirls. Rumours won't stop easily either until new ones emerge."

"So..."

"Ah-ha! I know what to do already, Hotaru-chan!" Hayate hit his fist against his palm as his face brightened up instantly and his eyes gleamed. "New rumours!"

"How..."

Hayate grabbed Hotaru's shoulders and exclaimed right in front of her face, "Hotaru-chan! Like you said, rumours won't stop until there are new ones! Let's create new ones to cover up this one!"

Frankly, it was a great idea to me as long as the new rumours did not involve me at all. Well, I needed those rumours about Ruka and me to stop! Partly because of those rumours, I couldn't face Ruka properly.

"Take my advice, Senpai. Don't do anything stupid," Hotaru warned as she narrowed her eyes at Hayate.

The taller boy pouted. "But why? Creating new rumours is a good idea!"

"No, don't do it. I got a bad feeling about this... so don't."

"Oh, Hotaru, how bad will it be? Hayate-senpai is trying to repent. I'm sure he will come out with good rumours that will impress you all the way," I tried to convince Hotaru with an assuring smile.

Hayate and I stared intently at her for almost a long time and finally, Hotaru let out a heavy sigh and then a low grunt.

"Fine. Do whatever you like. As long as you can save Mikan out of trouble, I don't really mind what comes after that."

I looked at Hayate and grinned. My high school life would be placed in this guy's hands. I didn't care what method he would be using as long as I could go back to my normal life. Okay, my life wasn't that normal at all ever since I met Natsume and Ruka, but couldn't I just hope for a tiny change or improvement in my life?

How wrong was I when I stepped into the campus a few days later. Little did I know that the new rumour would be the cause of my exciting high school life within the next few weeks and probably months.

'Campus News- Biggest Scoop of the Week: As straight as it sounds, Mikan Yukihira isn't that straight after all! The proof is in the pudding... no, photo!'

Don't believe in karma? Nope, I didn't believe it at first but the upcoming incident would definitely change my belief and how I looked at karma. Karma was definitely biting my tail with a devious grin which certainly resembled a lot like a certain raven-haired boy.


Hi, everyone! Thanks for reading up to Chapter 22.

Special thanks to the reviewers:

- StarElsie
- love crimson red ray88
- AnimeMango
- Cutiemutt
- mystery555
- Haruhi-chan131
- Dwmalove

Lastly, I would also like to thank those who had story alerted and favourited this story. :)


Brief preview of the next chapter:

23rd Fight: Nightmare

"I must be dreaming," Hotaru blurted aloud and her hand which was supposed to slap me slapped her own cheek instead. "Ouch!"

She cringed slightly and gently rubbed to sooth her cheek. Everyone stared at Hotaru for a moment. Well, it wasn't everyday one could see the witty and cunning blackmailer doubting herself whether she was awake or not. I was supposed to be the one though. Maybe I was indeed the one dreaming after all. I could see a questioning look appear on Luna's face but when she turned to look at me again, a kind smile flashed across her pretty face.

Okay, this was definitely a dream.

"It's not a dream, Mikan. It is not," I heard Hotaru's voice sounded so serious and surprisingly, a little shaky as I had never expected this to be coming from her. "Who would have thought that Koizumi-senpai can actually apologise?"

Please don't forget to review this chapter and tell me how it is! Thanks! :D