Fight for Love!
31st Fight: His Treasured Junk
I ran my fingers through my wet hair repeatedly, trying to flatten those sticking stubborn brown things which seemed to have life on their own. That was why ladies needed a comb wherever they went out and it just so happened that I didn't bring one with me. Had I know earlier that I was going to be drenched in udon soup, I would brought these few things with me: a comb, my bra, my panties, a set of clean clothes - possibly a plain tee and a pair of bermudas, my lavender scented shampoo, and a long furry towel. Oh, I would bring a set of swimming costume too. Since I would be visiting a swimming pool, why not?
I groaned in frustration as I gave up combing my hair with my fingers. Combing my hair had never been very irritating before, especially when I was wearing a set of wet undergarments. It felt so uncomfortable with them hugging against my skin and I could not just get rid of them in public. I was definitely not much of a masochist to be daring enough or find thrill in walking around without anything underneath a floral dress.
If I had anything to comment about the floral dress, I would say it was very pretty. And perhaps, wasted... on me. As I stared at myself in the mirror, I could picture another girl wearing a dress. A girl with shoulder-length raven hair and crimson-red eyes was smiling back at me. I rubbed my eyes and looked at my reflection again. Finally, I could see myself in the dress but something was amissed. I didn't feel right in this dress. Not because it was wasted on me or anything. I meant, it really did look wasted on an ugly girl like me, but it was not that reason I felt strange in it. It was as if I was slowly becoming somebody different, perhaps the owner of this dress. What if this dress belonged to someone else... like Aoi?
Oh my gosh, the goosebumps! I didn't think Aoi was a dead person or this dress was cursed. What kind of sorcery was I thinking?
Knowing that I had spent a long time in the shower room, I grabbed Natsume's bag and hastily left to look for Natsume. Natsume wasn't far; he was sitting on a bench near a pool... Wait, was that even allowed?
And that wasn't the worse part. What was worse than having a swarm of girls in bikini crowding around him, fangirling and cooing? I rolled my eyes. How annoying. Did he come here to be fangirl-ed? Didn't he receive enough attention in school? He had never ceased to surprise me with his popularity. Oh yes, there was a girl he liked but couldn't get, right? Shouldn't he be using his 'charms' on her rather than those noisy girls in bikini? Anyway, I wondered who that unlucky girl was.
Geez, Mikan! I shouldn't be thinking about this! I had to pull Natsume away from the girls! I wanted to go home and changed into a dry set of undergarments quickly.
I walked up to the crowd and cleared my throat, preparing to shout his name. But after thinking twice, I thought it wasn't a good idea after all. He would definitely not hear me when everyone was being so loud. What should I do?
Suddenly, a girl pushed me backward and took my place as she began jumping and waving her hands in the air, trying to catch our dear Natsume's attention. I clutched onto the bag tightly as I glared at the girl. I could have fallen down, girl! Was Natsume really so good looking that almost every girl was willing to waste her time drooling over him? What was so good about him for heaven's sake?
"Hey handsome, how do you find this?" A girl in hot pink bikini managed to grab Natsume's wrist and placed his finger on her bra strap, battling her eyelids at him as she did so. "My size."
My eyes dropped to where she was indicating and I started blushing in both embarrassment and frustration. I looked at my chest and pouted. Hers were bigger than mine. C versus A. Even her bikini was so fanciful and revealing. The only swimming costume I had was a full piece of black rubber suit that covered every part of my body, except for my head. Looking at Natsume, I saw his emotionless face as he stared at the girl's chest, and I started to fume. He was probably thinking many perverted things in his head.
Angrily, I lifted up the bag and shouted, "Pervert!"
Then, I did something 'interesting'. I flung the bag towards him and it landed right on his pretty face. Ha! That was a pretty good throw! And a good smack on his face too! I hoped his nose didn't break though.
The girls gasped and the girl in a fanciful bikini instantly let go of his hand in fright. Their eyes fell on me, the perpetrator. By the way, I was already used to those weird stares people gave me wherever I went. If I wanted to credit the cause, it would be Hayate's photos.
"Per-vert," I said and flicked my finger and thumb together, smirking at Natsume who was staring hard at me.
Surprisingly, Natsume immediately regained his composure and smirked back at me, even though his slightly reddish nose looked hurt to me. "You don't have to throw the bag at me, my dear."
I frowned. My dear? Who was your dear, Natsume?!
"You know I wouldn't cheat on you," he continued and stood up from the bench. "But seeing you being jealous over such a thing..."
He gently pushed the girls away and walked towards me. His eyes brightened and twinkled with mischief.
"... is so cute."
I gulped and took a step back. What rubbish was he spouting this time?
"I... I'm n... not je... jealous, you per... pervert!"
Argh! Why did I stammer? I must be firm and tough in front of him!
I stuck my nose in the air and cringed my nose. "Don't be conceited, pervert. Who would be jealous?"
"Hey, who's she?" a girl in a green frilly bikini grunted, tugging Natsume's shirt and wiggling her finger at me.
"She?" Natsume stifled a chuckle and reached for my arm. "She's someone who has a flat chest."
Go and die, Natsume Hyuuga. Well, you're flat-chested too. Stop calling a kettle black, you pot!
"But," he added in a monotone as he pulled me closer to him, much to my unwillingness. "Girls don't have to have huge assets to be cute, yeah?"
The girl in the hot pink bikini turned flustered and looked away. On the other hand, I was frozen on the spot. Did Natsume just indirectly call me cute? He did, right? Oh my gosh! My heart couldn't contain those words all at once! Just die, Natsume! He was making me crazy. What was I crazy with? I wasn't sure either. Maybe I was the one who should just die on the spot.
"Let's go home, my dear." Natsume smiled at me and leaned closer to my ear. "By the way, you look great in floral dress."
With that, he grabbed my wrist once more and dragged me away forcefully. By the looks of it, one could tell that he was acting. Even a stupid person like me could read his actions, although I had come to realise his intention a little too late. He was making use of me to escape from the girls. But still, calling me 'my dear' was too much. What if those girls were like Luna Koizumi? I would have been beaten to death for being too close to him. Next, of course, I looked good in floral patterned clothes because they made me look mature and 'vintage'. Furthermore, my fair skin could compliment with the floral patterns. But then again, this floral dress I was wearing was way too pretty while I was an ugly piece of art that destroyed its essence.
When we stepped out of the swimming complex, I roughly pulled my hand away from his grasp and glared at him. He rose an eyebrow, probably wondering why I was being so worked up for. So, I decided to explain myself.
"You could have gotten me into trouble with your poor acting skills and... and lies! Why are you being so... so... hypocritical?"
"Me? Being hypocritical?" He snorted. "But you look like a jealous girlfriend who calms down after I've said 'my dear'."
"I did not!"
He shrugged. "Seems like it."
"Argh! I should have left you alone with the girls in horrifying bikinis," I groaned and stomped away.
"Hey, your bag."
Refusing to turn around, I replied angrily, "It's your bag."
"Oh, you're giving me your smelly clothes as souvenirs?"
Oh gosh! My wet clothes!
I spun around and ran towards him, hands reaching out to snatch the offending bag away from him. But when my fingers touched the surface of the bag, the naughty jerk held the bag up high and an evil grin flashed on his face. Too late, I mentally screamed in alarm. I halted abruptly and tried to jump to reach the bag. Being a clumsy person, my left foot accidentally kicked my right foot and I tripped in a horrible fashion. My body tilted to my right and my back was turned towards Natsume in the process of falling down. Closing my eyes, I brought my hands to the back of head, a form of safety move which I had learnt from Misaki, and yelped loudly. My back muscles tensed up in preparation to cushion my fall but the preparation was in vain. A pair of arms wrapped around my waist and pulled my body backward. The bag which was initially out of my reach hit against my hip while my back rested on someone's warm chest.
I could hear Natsume's heavy breaths clearly as I felt myself moving back and forth slightly, following the rhythmic movement of his chest. Was he frightened for a moment when I was going to trip and fall?
"Na... Natsume..." I stuttered with a blush on my cheeks.
Natsume's hands slowly travelled down from my waist to my hips, causing me to shiver from his touch. His hands travelled lower and lower, as if he didn't care if we were caught being in this position in public. I cared but I was too weak to even nag at him.
"Ah, you're wet."
Hmmm? Of course, I just took a shower!
I felt his fingers dig into the dress... no, an elastic piece of article on my hip and pulled it. Then, he let go and the rubber thing smacked against my skin. My eyes widened in realisation. I tore myself away from him and hugged my tummy, giving him the hardest stare I could do.
"That's my... my underwear! How dare you?!"
"It's wet. Even your bra is wet," he stated dully with a shrug.
"You don't have to pull it, right?" I screamed. "That's so embarrassing!"
"Oh yes, I forgot to get you a change of undergarments."
"As if you have any!"
"Of course not. I also wouldn't want to lend you mine as well."
"I also won't want to wear your stinky ones either."
"My father wouldn't lend you his too."
I scoffed. "Like I can even fit into your dad's underpants."
"True. So, I can only lend you my mum's old dress."
I froze. The floral dress was his mother's old dress? No wonder it looked so vintage!
"Help me to thank your mother on my behalf," I said as I snatched the bag from the unsuspecting male in front of me. "I will return everything to you once I've washed the towel and the dress clean."
He pointed at the bag and said in a monotone, "I only want the bag, the shower gel and the towel back. The dress... well, you can keep."
I frowned. "Why? It's your mother's."
"She..." Natsume paused and looked to the sky as he clenched his fists. "... no longer wants it. She left it behind... left everything behind... for a so-called better life. That woman. This floral dress doesn't even suit her. She..."
He paused again and looked straight at me with wide eyes. I was surprised. This wasn't Natsume whom I had known for a long time. For a second before he reverted back to his nonchalant self, this boy in front me looked vulnerable, seemed like he was holding a grudge against his mother and began to open up to me. He liked to tease me in many horrible ways he could think up of, mostly were sexual harassment. But he had never spoken to me about his problems and some heart-to-heart stuffs. Probably he had shared his problems with his best friend Ruka, however I couldn't recall what I had done to deserve such privilege. Seeing how he didn't want to continue the matter about his mother and the floral dress, I just lowered my head and gave a slight nod.
"Keep the dress. It looks better on you anyway."
"Eh?" I looked up and felt my cheeks grow warm again. "I can't..."
"It's my mother's junk but it's my treasure. Such a pity that I wasn't born a female." He smirked. "If this treasure can enhance someone's looks, well... why not give it away to her?"
Should I take his words seriously? Why did I feel like he was calling me ugly? My shoulders dropped. If this dress was his treasure, he should keep it or give it to a gorgeous person. I didn't need his help or this vintage dress for beauty enhancement. Well, I was contented with my chubby face and my flat-board body. No, corrections, my chubby face and my 'A' sized assets.
Natsume arched an eyebrow and looked at me in amusement. He bent forward to my eye level, laughing silently and wickedly.
He said, "I thought when I said that the dress was my treasure, it should at least interest you... and accept it."
"Well, Natsume Hyuuga-senpai, I'm sorry to say that I am not crazy enough to be that fanatic." I crossed my arms and smirked at him. "Besides, since it's your treasure, you should keep it."
With that said, I twirled around, slapping his face with my wet hair on purpose. Ouch, that was going to hurt if my hair hit his eyes. I hung the bag over my shoulder and started walking away with my nose high in the air. As sassy as it sounded, hearing him groan made my smirk wider.
"You're seriously getting bolder," he grunted as he effortlessly caught up with me. "Like honestly, ever since you joined the weird special-whatever-club, you're becoming weird... like those girls there."
I rolled my eyes. "As if the people from Taekwondo Club aren't weird. Besides, do you even know them?"
"Nope. I won't want to associate with them. A member like you is more than enough to make me think that the club is weird."
Breathe in. Breath out. Keep calm and...
"Right. I'm sure my senpais won't want to associate with you guys too. What a bunch of weird fighting maniacs."
"Says the one who tried to pick a fight with a certain person with a Red Belt."
"You mean, Hayate-senpai? Oh dear, but that was a great match!" I added sarcastically with a gasp. "Argh! I have enough of arguing with you. Instead, I want to ask you something."
I stopped walking and turned to face Natsume who also stopped abruptly.
"What?"
"Are you taking part in the tournament?" I asked, straight to the point.
"What tournament?"
"You know what I'm taking about!"
"Yeah, yeah. Fine. Yes, I'm one of the participant. Why?"
"Did Tsubasa-senpai tell you about... some sort of plan?"
"Plan?" Natsume stared at me weirdly. "What plan?"
"About the tournament!"
He continued to give me that weird confused look as I waited patiently for his response. He did not flinch, but all he did was just remaining silent and staring at my eager face.
Finally, he spoke,"Never heard of it. Why?"
"Stop asking me why. I'm just asking," I immediately said and turned away from him awkwardly.
I just knew it. Asking Natsume was a wrong move since the plan was shared among Koko, Kitsuneme, Tsubasa and Yuu. Would Natsume be suspicious by the fact that I asked him such a weird question? Maybe the plan was meant to be a secret... no, wait. It was actually a secret! Stupid me. Someone should slap my mouth multiple times.
"Why are you so interested in the tournament? You're no longer part of our family and..."
I turned to face Natsume and interjected angrily, "I may not be part of the Taekwondo Club but I have the right to know something about the Taekwondo tournament. Believe it or not, I was invited to watch the tournament."
My lips curled into a cunning smirk upon seeing the older boy frown at my words.
"Invited? Who do you think you are, flat-chested boxer?" he said mockingly.
"An ordinary friend."
"Huh?"
"An ordinary, supportive girl-friend."
This time, his eyes narrowed at me and his voice became harsh, "Invited... by whom?"
I looked up and pretended to think very deeply. "Huh, I wonder."
"Yukihira."
I shuddered, looking back at him with a surprised look. That was my first time, and his first time perhaps, calling me by my name. My last name to be exact. Furthermore, he didn't add any suffix to it. It was rare. He always called me 'flat-chested boxer' and I detested the nickname as much as he detested the one I had given him. But having him say my name made me feel strange.
So strange.
For a moment, just a brief moment, I did not mind if I acted like a fangirl blushing over something so trivial. Having my name called by the most popular boy in school was trivial. Really. I would not give a damn about being recognised by him. Much worse, by Natsume Hyuuga. Life would be so different if we didn't know each other.
"Who invited you?" he asked me again, bringing me back to my senses.
He sounded angry. He looked upset. Seeing him like that caused my heart to race. You can call it an intuition. I guessed...
Just guessing, alright? I couldn't be sure either.
Natsume was probably jealous... all because I was invited by whomever he thought was my 'boyfriend'.
"Is it Yome-san?" he asked in a soft, low voice.
Oh gosh. Somehow, I was beginning to find his response so funny. Never in my high school life had I seen him so bothered by my words, except for that time when I called him 'Nekome'. So, I decided to take on the role as a bad girl to tease him further and see how bothered he could be over the invitation matter with Kokoro Yome.
With a triumph grin, I nodded.
Hi, everyone! I'm back from the dead. (^_^)"/
I was so busy for the past few months and it will get better when March comes. I'm in my final semester of my study and I really want to do well in order to proceed on to a good university. So, I'm really sorry that I have neglected my fanfictions. I will try to update them whenever I have the time. :)
Now, back to the routine...
Special thanks to the reviewers:
- Dwmalove
- RaspberriFondue
- Anilissa
- revrymetrlnce2
- suenethakchan
- Relika
Lastly, I would also like to thank those who had story alerted and favourited this story. :)
Brief preview of the next chapter:
32nd Fight: New Mission
After some further discussions, I was given more tasks to accomplish and Shizune had listed them down in black and white.
They were:
1) Monitor Tsubasa Andou
2) Continue to keep in touch with Kokoro Yome and Kitsuneme to get information from them
3) Find out Natsume Hyuuga's and Ruka Nogi's secret moves (if they have any)
4) Find out Yuu Tobita's secret moves
5) Find out the secret moves of the 'Three Musketeers'
6) Return to Taekwondo Club
Have you read them all? Now, read the last pointer again.
Alright, what did you see there?
Yes, you know what that meant, right?
Please don't forget to review this chapter and tell me how it is! Thank you ~
And I wish you all a blessed Christmas! Have a wonderful weekend too. \(^o^)/
