Fight for Love!
32nd Fight: New Mission
"Yukihira-san, report."
With my lips forming a thin straight line, I stood up shakily as I glanced at the club president. I had gotten nothing. I had nothing to report. I was pulled away from Kokoro Yome by Natsume in the midst of my seduction plan. Apparently, Natsume had no idea about that plan when I asked him.
"I didn't manage to obtain anything from Kokoro Yome-san. My seduction plan failed. But I asked Natsume Hyuuga-senpai instead... if he knew anything about the plan. From what I have found out, Natsume Hyuuga-senpai did not know anything about it. He questioned me what kind of plan that was and he seemed interested to know, gaining suspicion..."
"Suspicious of what?"
"Me," I replied Shizune.
Then, Misaki commented sarcastically, "Good job for making your enemy suspicious of you. Why in the world did you ask Hyuuga-san? He's not part of the plan, isn't he?"
"Who knows?" Nobara interjected with a wide smile. "Hyuuga-san is a good fighter so somehow, he may be involved if he wants to fight a certain someone at the final round."
Everyone turned their heads to Nobara's direction. All of a sudden, the atmosphere turned serious. So serious that I could feel my anxiety and stress levels increased drastically. Sitting next to me was Yuri, the vice chairperson. She seemed relaxed since the start of the club meeting and she had not spoken a word since then.
"Hold on." Yuri leaned forward and narrowed her eyes at Nobara as she pressed her body against the table and rested her arms on it. "A certain someone?"
"Yes. I have managed to collate some information from Kitsuneme-san."
Shizune frowned and nodded. "Please share."
I immediately sat down while Nobara stood up, taking the limelight as she started sharing her new found information.
"Yuu Tobita-san was the champion of the Taekwondo tournament last year. He also came in first in the same tournament two years ago. Kokoro Yome-san came in second last year while the third place was a tie."
Shizune crooked an eyebrow. "A tie? Who are they?"
"Kitsuneme-san and Andou-san," Nobara answered. "Hyuuga-san lost to Yuu Tobita-san in the quarter-final round."
"So... what makes you think he wants to be part of the plan?" Yuri questioned curiously.
"Yuu Tobita."
This time, it was my turn to crook an eyebrow. So basically, everyone who were part of the part wanted to fight with Yuu Tobita. It made sense though. Seeing Tsubasa, Koko and Kitsuneme confronting Yuu and telling him to come out with a plan to face one another off during the semi-finals had convinced me the fact that Natsume might be interested in this plan. After all, he had lost to Yuu and might look forward to a 'rematch' with his enhanced skills. Unfortunately, he did not seem to know about the plan at all.
"About the plan, I heard something like..." Nobara paused and stole a glance at her notebook on the table in front of her. "... Kitsuneme-san and Yome-san will find out more about the participants and their background while Andou-san will calculate everyone's movements."
"Calculating movements?" I turned to Nobara. "How does one do that?"
Everyone in the room turned to stare at me as if I had said something wrong. I quickly felt raising both hands and withdrawing myself from the table.
"My dear spy," Shizune muttered as she closed her eyes, pressing her knuckle against her temple. "You should know the process by now. You were sent to observe and study the movements of Andou-senpai. Then, you reported your observations to us and... we speculated the movements. We don't really calculate them but we try to find ways to counter the attacks if the opposition uses them."
Oh my goodness. I must be dumb. I laughed weakly and apologised to everyone for asking an obvious question. Luckily, the girls didn't take my stupidity too seriously so they continued their discussion.
Misaki let out a loud groan and spoke to Nobara in a loud voice, "Don't tell me that they will find out my participation..."
"Don't you worry about that, Misaki-chan," Nobara interjected with a smile. "Yuri-chan has gotten that settled. We submitted your name under an organisation."
"What organisation?" Misaki and I happened to ask at the same time.
Yuri smirked. "Taekwondo Association of South Korea."
I stared at Yuri blankly. Firstly, I have never heard about that organisation before. Secondly, why Korea? Thirdly, why wasn't I informed about it?
However, Misaki seemed to be furious upon hearing it as she stood up glaring at Yuri, and bellowed, "Are you shitting me?"
"No, I'm not."
"Think about my responsibility! That organisation is..."
"Because you are the minister's daughter," Shizune interrupted Misaki with a glare. "That's it. Let's continue with our meeting."
Sighing in defeat, Misaki sat down and muttered, "Why wasn't I informed?"
I furrowed my eyebrows at Misaki who failed to notice my emphatic gaze. I feel you, Misaki. I really did. It seemed that the pawn and the spy were clueless about the arrangement.
"Misaki-chan," Nobara spoke in a cheery voice, apparently trying to ease the tense atmosphere around Misaki. "Even if Tsubasa-senpai knows that you're taking part, he won't know that you are representing us."
"But still..." Misaki groaned as her forehead touched the table. "I don't want him to know."
Because of that comment, the meeting went silent for awhile. 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?
Hola~ I will be back, Taekwondo Club! Damn it! Screw that last pointer!
"Are you kidding me?" I cried out in exasperation and stood up like what Misaki did. "I'm never going back there for the sake of my parents!"
"Yukihara-san, please. It's for our own good," Shizune pressed on. "Think about all the charity work we can do."
Yuri nodded and added, "Think about all the candid pictures of Nogi-san we can give you."
"I don't need them!" I retorted with a light blush on my cheeks.
"Our survival is in your hands, Spy-san," Nobara said shyly.
I knew that Nobara was not exactly a shy person. So, I was not buying that shy exterior of hers! Suddenly, someone cleared her throat and everyone's head turned towards her direction in response.
"Investigator Yukihara," Misaki spoke up in a coarse voice, looking straight at me with a frown. "Your existence will fill my part in crushing Tsubasa Andou. I will thank you for that."
What the hell, Misaki?! I had given you an empathetic look and was this what you could give me in return? Girls, stop sabotaging me!
"Narumi-sensei has already filed the procedures two days ago and Jinno-sensei approved. You'll be a member starting from this Friday."
My legs wobbled and I fell back to my seat. I suddenly felt so tired... so tired of all these unnecessary shits. Yes, shits. How was I going to explain to my parents? How was I going to face Luna and her gang when I returned? Would Hotaru be happy if I returned? And Natsume...
I could not face him. After that day when I had tried to test him by saying that Koko invited me to watch the tournament, he seemed upset with me. He refused to talk to me and I didn't even see him since a few days ago. Just when I thought we could finally talk to each other, my cheeky side had destroyed everything.
"All the best, Mikan-chan!" Nobara cheered me with that innocent beam of hers. "My mentorship has been due, unfortunately."
My lips twitched. Yeah, right. I had learnt lots of things from you, Mentor Nobara.
Shizune stood up and announced that the meeting had ended since Misaki and I didn't look too well. Well, who wouldn't after all these craziness?
I grabbed my schoolbag and was the first one who left the room. Upon arriving at the foyer, I caught sight of Narumi removing his bright yellow covered canvas shoes and placing them neatly next to the shoe rack. Apparently, he had just came in. I raised my hand and waved at him, capturing his attention in the process. Narumi looked up and a smile flashed across his face.
"Good evening, Mikan-chan. You're leaving now, huh?" he said.
"The meeting just ended so I'm leaving now."
"Aww! I thought that the meeting would end slightly later today." Narumi pouted as he held up a plastic bag which contained a rectangular box. "I even bought cream puffs for everyone."
I laughed weakly. What a bad timing, Narumi-sensei.
"Oh yes, I'm sure you have heard about joining the Taekwondo Club again," Narumi continued to speak. "Being a spy is sure not easy. You have to sacrifice lots of things."
I sighed. He had gotten this fact right.
"Jinno-sensei couldn't have easily approved of my sudden interest in joining back the club," I noted, giving Narumi a suspicious stare. "What did you say to him?"
"Ah," Narumi covered his mouth with his both hands and let out a soft gasp. "It seems like Special Club has stretched your mind a little! I see some development in you!"
I frowned. "What is that supposed to mean?"
Narumi just smiled and waved my question off. Instead, he started talking about Jinno.
"You know, Jin-Jin is a tough nut to crack. I couldn't convince him and he refused your application because you will get into trouble."
Uh-huh. Jinno would definitely reject that stupid application. I had just quit a few months back because of my parents. He would have found it weird that I wanted to join that club again.
"So, I told Jin-Jin that your existence in the Taekwondo Club would be a great help to Tsubasa Andou-kun."
I raised an eyebrow. What did he mean by saying that I would be a great help to Tsubasa? I couldn't fight. I had gotten into trouble with Luna and Hayate before. Tsubasa might never want me to be in his club again. Furthermore, knowing Jinno, he would never agree to this type of thing.
"Tsubasa Andou-kun has no assistant, as in there's currently no vice-chairperson in the club. He works alone to coach and support the club. He couldn't call Natsume Hyuuga-kun and Ruka Nogi-kun because they were only Second Degree. At most, they could help him to discipline the members," Narumi continued with a sad look, which was not amusing to me at all. "Therefore, you, only you can be of help to him."
It made no sense. How could I help Tsubasa when Natsume and Ruka could not help him much?
"A person like you who isn't allowed to fight can serve great purpose to that club, don't you think so?" Narumi asked me as he gave me a wink.
My lips formed a straight line at his question. It felt as if he was giving me a hint of what I could do when I became Tsubasa's helping hand. I thought hard to myself but nothing came into my mind.
So, I decided to ask him for a direct answer, "Narumi-sensei, what can I do?"
I stared at him intently, hoping that he would at least give me a hint.
However, with a shrug, the blonde teacher grinned and replied, "Go figure!"
Ha! I knew it.
Just then, Misaki's voice was heard from my behind and I felt a light push on my back. My shoulders dropped as I hesitantly turned my head a little to my left, catching sight of the four girls behind me.
"Yo, Narumi-sensei! You're late!" Misaki said in a cheery tone, as if all her previous angst and worries had disappeared. "What's that?"
Misaki walked past me and lifted Narumi's hand which was carrying the plastic bag. She stole a glimpse inside the bag and a smile spread across her face.
"Cream puffs for all of us?"
Upon hearing Misaki's words, Yuri's eyes brightened with pure glee and she squealed, "Cream puffs?"
Yuri, who seldom spoke much and whom I had never seen squealing before, rushed forward and snatched the plastic bag from Narumi. She pulled out the box and read out the name of the bakery which was stated on the top cover.
"Sakura-hime is the best bakery shop in this region!" Yuri exclaimed and she looked at Shizune whose eyes were also fixated at the pink coloured box. "Shizune, you like those pastries from Sakura-hime, right?"
Shizune blushed as she frowned deeply. With a soft grunt, she walked past me too and placed her palm on top of the box. Yuri stared blankly at her and before we knew it, Shizune stole the box away and hurriedly went back into the house again. Nobara broke into giggles and waved goodbye to us as she followed Shizune behind. On the other hand, Misaki was shouting 'thief' and decided to give chase, joining the two of them inside. As I stood there speechless, Yuri nudged my arm and gave me an awkward smile.
"Why don't you stay here a bit longer? We can have the pastries together."
"Ah... No thanks," I answered her and took a step back. "I have to go home now."
"Go home and think what you can do to help Tsubasa-kun, okay?" Narumi reminded me. "You can ask me for advice if you need!"
Ugh. No thanks again. You would have given me lots of advice earlier if you were willing to. I would rather solve this thing myself.
Thus, I waved goodbye to Yuri and Narumi, and then left the mansion for home sweet home. It was a good thing that Misaki's residence was close to mine, at least a thirty-minute walking distance away from each other. Otherwise, I would have taken a bus home instead. Upon reaching home, I found my parents in the kitchen with the translucent glass door closed. Not realising that I was already back home, my parents continued their preparation for dinner as they engaged in a talk. I had no intention to eavesdrop but I was wondering if I should interrupted them or greet them later.
"A new dress?" my dad asked in surprised.
Mum quickly answered, "Yes. I saw Mikan wearing it last week and she quickly change out of it as soon as she reached home. I wanted to ask her where she bought it from, but she didn't say anything."
"She probably bought it. Well, teenage girls."
"She has weird taste. I thought she would be into funky style. If not, those sweet-goody-girl styles."
"Is that dress revealing?"
"No."
"Then, what's the matter?"
I rolled my eyes. Yeah, what was the matter? It was just a freaking foral dress.
"It's so old fashioned! She looked like from the 70s when she wore that!"
"I bet she looked like you when you were in your early 20s. You were so baby-faced when I first met you."
"And back to the topic, the dress is definitely not cheap. You should feel the texture," Mum said, her voice sounded a mixture of awe and disbelief. "You can't even find these types of clothing these days!"
I smiled wearily to myself. Of course, the dress was vintage and belonged to Natsume's mother.
"As long as it looks decent on Mikan, I don't really care if it is old-fashioned. Look at me, dear, I have been wearing these clothes for fifteen over years and people still say that I look great!"
"Oh yes, because you're a man. Men's fashion have always been the same. No matter how many new designs emerge over the decades, the concept has always been the same."
Dad argued. "Well, women's fashion too! Only you females make a fuss over the designs. They're just a piece of shirt plus a bottom. If not, they're joint together."
"You mean a dress."
"A dress is a combination of a top and a skirt, am I not correct?"
Mum groaned. "I don't know why we're talking about this... Look at my steak now! It's brown already!"
"You're the one who started this talk."
"No, you are the one!"
Just then, I heard Dad sigh in the defeat and said slowly in a calm voice, "My dear Yuka, from the start of this talk, I have no idea what the point is. It is just a dress."
"Okay, my honey-bunny Izumi, the point is..." Mum paused for a moment before continuing. "That old-fashioned style of hers needs to be changed. If not, she's never going to get a guy!"
The air that I had just breathed came rushing up through my windpipe and burst out of my mouth, shooting tiny droplets of my saliva into mid-air before landing against the kitchen door. I immediately covered my mouth and stared at the kitchen door, horrified. My parents didn't notice me yet, did they? I hope not! That would be so embarrassing.
"What?!" I heard Dad yell.
"It would be great if she could date hot guys like Nekome-san!"
"He's what?!"
"He looks totally like you when you were young! Cool and handsome. Oh, oh, and Mikan seems to have some... attraction towards him. Look at how she stared at him during our breakfast that day!"
No, Mum, since when did I have attraction towards him?
Then, Mum continued, "Did you see how Nekome-san looked at her? His eyes were so soft and gentle when he was looking at her. Mikan wasn't looking at him, you know. And he was gazing at her likes this... like that... when she was eating!"
I frowned as I felt my cheeks growing warmer at each passing second. Before I could think 'rationally', my right hand touched the door and slid it open, giving my parents a scare with my sudden presence. Well, I had been there for a few minutes so technically, my presence wasn't that sudden. Dad was staring at me with a normal look, as if there hadn't been an awkward conversation with Mum earlier. Wearing an apron and body facing Dad, Mum gaped at me with a ladle in her hand. Meanwhile, the pot of soup was bubbling ferociously behind Mum, threatening to overflow and make a mess on the stove.
"Mum, the soup!" I cried out exasperatedly as I pointed at the pot behind her.
Mum gasped and immediately turned around to manage the heat. On the other hand, Dad sighed and stood up from his favourite chair. He headed towards the oven. He opened it and took out a large glass bowl of orange-brown stuff. It was Shepard's pie, I guessed. Oh wait, why did we have so much meat for dinner?! Didn't Mum just said she had prepared chickens?
"So, Mikan," Mum started to speak as soon as she minimised the stove fire. "Welcome home! We didn't know that you're home."
She gave me a forced, crooked smile. Dad placed the glass bowl on the table and opened the lid.
"Mikan, this is pumpkin cake," Dad introduced the orange-brown stuff to me, as if nothing really happened. "Chinese style."
I gawked at the 'cake' and asked, "Serious? Pumpkin cake? It doesn't even look like a cake!"
"It isn't your typical birthday cake, sweetie," Mum answered with a grin. "It contains corn flour, pumpkin, minced chicken, carrot and parsley! I can't say it can be served as dessert. It will be our main dish of the day!"
Thank goodness, there were vegetables.
"You haven't tried pumpkin cake before, right?" Dad asked me with a smile.
I shook my head and Dad smiled again at my response. Then, he proceeded on to pick up a knife which was lying on the table and started to slice the pumpkin cake. I raised an eyebrow. I didn't know what was with all those smiling but it was getting a little creepy. Maybe they thought that I didn't hear a thing so they had to act 'normal' to hide the fact that they weren't talking about me behind my back awhile ago. It was probably creepy to me because I knew what they were talking about.
"Hmmm... Mum, Dad..." I awkwardly spoke aloud, scratching my cheek as I looked away. "About the floral dress..."
"Yes?" Mum prompted.
I returned my gaze back to Mum and continued in a slightly softer voice, "It's actually not mine. I borrowed it from... Natsume Hyuuga-senpai."
"Natsume... Hyuuga?" Dad repeated the name slowly, appearing to digest the words in his brain.
Meanwhile, Mum widened her eyes and gasped again. "It's that boy!"
Dad's eyes widened as well and his grip around the knife tightened. He raised the knife slightly above the pumpkin cake and forcefully stabbed it in the middle. I flinched in horror as I stared at the stabbed pumpkin cake.
What the hell... was going on?
Hi, everyone! I'm back with another chapter! A slightly longer one than usual. School projects and assignments are such killers. I hadn't had enough sleep lately and kept falling asleep on the bus. A random stranger had to wake me up when I reached the bus interchange. So embarrassing. Argh...
Anyway, back to the routine...
Special thanks to the reviewers:
- MelodyString
- sweet little
- Anilissa
- Haruhi-chan131
- loveisfun
- Guest
- mystery555
- Yoshida Haru
- Katherine Kalissa Amara
Lastly, I would also like to thank those who had story alerted and favourited this story. :)
Brief preview of the next chapter:
33rd Fight: Forgotten Past
"If I am not wrong, Aoi-san is a girl... I think he has feelings for her, judging by how he said her name multiple times."
"A... Aoi-san?" Mum's face paled.
Seeing how Mum reacted quite suspiciously, I decided to ask her, "Do you happen to know... someone whose name is Aoi?"
Mum's eyes widened as she stared at me, keeping her silence. The chopsticks in her hand started to shake slightly, gently hitting the side of the plate. Dad furrowed his eyebrows at Mum and then turned to me.
"You don't remember?" Dad queried me in a slightly hard tone.
"Izumi!" Mum suddenly snapped and put down her chopsticks in a rough manner.
Please don't forget to review this chapter and tell me how it is! Thank you ~
