Stopping in front of the high school, Ryoko looked at her sister in exasperation, "Are you going to walk me to school everyday? I'm not a little kid." Rimi just smiled, tugging on Ryoko's ponytail, "I know you're not, but it's on my way to work and I get to spend more time with my lovely sister~!"
Pulling her hair free, she rolled her eyes. Heading up the walkway with the other students, she waved half-heartedly at Rimi, "Whatever. Have a good day." "No goodbye hug and kiss?" "Good bye, Rimi." "Good bye I looooove you!" "Love you too…dork."
Sticking her tongue out at her, Ryoko was glad Rimi hadn't taken her complaint seriously. It would be a lonely walk if her sister weren't there, annoying as she was sometimes. Glancing over her shoulder with a smile, she watched her disappear behind the gate. Facing forward, she almost ran into a trio of girls who seemed to be waiting for her. 'Prince Yuki fan club girls…here we go.'
"Good morning, Ryoko. How is your sister doing?" The middle girl did not try to hide her mocking tone. Gritting her teeth, Ryoko tried to get around them, "…she's fine."
The trio shifted, blocking her path, "Oh good, so she's not trying to seduce any more high school students?" The three laughed in unison, making Ryoko's eye twitch. Straightening up she smiled lightly, "Nope, especially since she never tried to in the first place. Now if you'll excuse me—" "Don't play dumb! We know she had her sights set on Prince Yuki last semester!" "Yeah, we saw it with our own eyes!" "Don't play dumb…dummy!"
They gave her a headache. When she had entered high school last semester, they had flocked to her, showering her with kindness and attention. It didn't take long for her to realize that their interest was not in her, but in her distant relation to 'Prince Yuki,' whom she had barely met. If her last name had been anything else, they would have ignored her, but of course it had to be Sohma; once she had revered it, but now it brought her only pain.
"And don't think you're innocent either, Ryoko! You obviously wanted him to yourself, and I still see you looking at him with big goo goo eyes!" Barking a laugh, Ryoko felt her patience slipping, "Goo goo eyes? I'm not even in his class! We hardly talk and I don't even know where his house is!" She almost mentioned that he had left the Sohma household, but stopped herself. Knowing something about Yuki that they did not was a good feeling. "Now if don't mind, I am going to be late to class. Ladies."
Shoving her way past them, she ignored their attempts at insulting her, though she would have liked nothing more than to wale on all of them. She had once, on another member of their club, and had been severely punished. They knew it, and assumed that meant she wouldn't do it to them, yet still jumped whenever she made sudden movements. It was satisfying.
Her temper cooling, she tried not to think of the time the girls had mentioned, back when she had almost become friends with her distant cousin. Instead she stopped to make sure she had all her homework. Schoolwork always helped get her mind off her worries. Math problems didn't lie to you; a book wasn't fickle; science experiments didn't try and control you. It was easy to lose herself in work like that.
"Ah, Miss Ryoko, there you are," before she looked up she knew who it was, and let out a bitter laugh. "Here I am," she replied, straightening up and swinging her arms out. Yuki stopped a few feet in front of her, and gave her a polite smile, which she returned, though hers looked like someone was forcefully stretching out her cheeks.
"It has been awhile, how have you been?" His voice was soft and he looked right at her as he spoke. It annoyed her, though she didn't really know why. "I'm fine. Just getting through school…" Nodding awkwardly, she glanced at the other students walking past. She was definitely going to hear from the fan club about this. "What about you? I heard you moved out of the Sohma house." He remained silent a moment before answering, "…yes. I moved in with my cousin, Shigure."
He did not give any explanation, but he didn't have to. Ryoko knew why he had left. If not for her mother and sister, she would leave too. "Good for you. I'm sure you'll do better outside of that place." The look of surprise on his face confused her, but not nearly as much as the warmth that shone from the smile that followed, "I hope so…thank you for saying so."
Feeling uncomfortable, she looked away, "So, were you looking for me or something? Because…" And just like that his polite mask dropped back over his face, giving her mixed feelings of relief and disappointment. "Oh, yes. The math teacher was looking for you. He wanted to talk about Math Club." "Ah…I'll go see him once I check in with my homeroom."
The silence that followed made Ryoko squirm. 'Why is he still standing there like that?' Frowning she crossed her arms, "…you okay, Yuki?" "How is your sister doing?" The questions overlapped each other, and it took a moment for them to figure out what the other had said. "Oh…yes, I am okay. Your sister…?" Shifting weight from leg to another, she looked out the window, wishing he had just left. "She's fine." Glancing at him, she saw him staring, waiting on her to expand upon that. 'Too bad, Prince. You don't always get your way.'
Adjusting her bag, she smiled apologetically, "I wish I could stay, but we're both going to be late for class if we don't head off now." He seemed disappointed, but nodded in agreement, "You're right. Perhaps another time." "Yeah…another time." Bowing slightly to him, she headed off.
She could feel him watching her leave, but when she looked back he was already walking away. Guilt welled up in her stomach, but she dismissed it. He had only walked home with her sister and herself a few times. They weren't friends, and were family in name only. His interest in them had brought nothing but trouble to Rimi and herself. 'Still…maybe I could have mentioned she got a new job…'
"Oh my God, Ryo, were you talking to Prince Yuki?" A large eyed girl popped her head out of the classroom. Her friend's sudden appearance made Ryoko jump. Pressing a hand to her chest she let out a breath, "Geez, Ami, warn a girl before you jump outta nowhere…" Giggling, Ami dragged her inside the class, "Sorry, but I just had to know! You were, weren't you? I heard he was looking for you, what did he want? Is he as gorgeous up close? What did he smell like?"
Waving her hand, Ryoko shook her head, "Slooow down. First, he was delivering a message from Mr. Kim; second, probably not; third, don't ever ask me that again about anyone ever." Ami pouted, "Aww…come on, Ryo. You're my only connection to him, the least you could do is give me something to fantasize about!" Sighing, Ryoko wondered how they were friends. The only reason Ami wasn't apart of the 'Prince Yuki Fan Club' was because she didn't like how they treated Ryoko. She had been the only one to stand up for her, and Ryoko would never forget that. However, that did mean poor Ami was only able to release her Yuki obsession to her, which she never could get used to, "Okay, ummm…" Leaning in close, Ami's eyes got larger, reminding Ryoko of some terrifying dolls with large eyes in an attempt to make them cuter. "…he smelled kinda like strawberries, I guess."
"….I knew it," Ami whispered before clasping her friend's hands tightly. "You are my best friend ever. If he talks to you again, you better tell me!" Laughing, Ryoko patted her head, "Sure thing, creep." Before Ami could respond, the teacher walked in and they both hurried to their seats.
As soon as the bell rang for school to end, Ryoko rushed out the door with a quick wave to Ami. She wasn't afraid of the fan club, but they were a huge inconvenience and annoyance. If they had heard she was seen talking to Yuki—she didn't doubt they had—then they were going to be all over her. Beating most of the other students to the gate, she was out of breath when she reached her sister. "Aw, did you miss me that mu—" "Sh…shut up and…and move…"
Pushing Rimi towards their home, she glanced into the yard, hoping to escape the fan club members' ever-watchful eyes. Half way down the block, Rimi broke free from Ryoko's hands, huffing in annoyance. "Geez, pushy! What are you so anxious to escape from?" Having finally caught her breath, Ryoko changed the subject, "Nothing. How was work?" "It was good, nothing too exciting happened, just a couple of prank calls, which really weren't very good…"
The rest of walk home they chatted and joked, Ryoko forcing Yuki out of her mind. She didn't need to get her sister involved. If she knew, she would probably try and apologize or something stupid like that. 'As if she did anything wrong…' Reaching the house, Ryoko halfway listened to her sister talking about a joke she had heard that day. 'If anyone did something wrong…it was me…' The thought made her clench her fists.
"Ryo, you feeling alright?" "Huh? Oh…yeah just tired…" Stepping inside, she let her sister's ramblings wash over her, trying to leave all her troubles at her doorstep.
Yuki watched as Ryoko ushered her sister off the school grounds, looking back into the yard with a worried expression; he thought she might have seen him, but she disappeared before he could do anything. Standing amongst the crowd of students, he felt the heavy burden of loneliness. Glancing beside him, he saw a group of girls watching him but they became flustered and hurried away. With a sigh, he started making his way home.
Sliding open the door, he was greeted by his elder cousin's serenade echoing from down the hall, "Yuuuuuki~ my precious cousin is hooooooome~!" "Are you going to do that every time I come back from school?" "Only until it stops annoying yooooou~!" Groaning, he stepped out of his shoes and made his way up the stairs. He wasn't in the mood to deal with Shigure and his antics.
Closing the door to his room, he dropped his bag and fell onto his unmade bed with a grunt. Rolling over on his back, he stared at the ceiling; seeing Ryoko again had brought up memories of last semester…memories he wasn't sure he wanted anymore.
He knew what everyone had thought after seeing him walk to and from school with the sisters a couple of times. But he had been enjoying having real friends too much to realize how that might have affected them.
"Just stay away from her! You are not good for her! Do you know what people are saying? Just…just don't talk to us anymore. We were doing just fine until you came along…Please…leave us alone."
Ryoko's words hurt just as much now as they had when she spoke them. He tried to remember that she had been trying to protect her sister and had started crying even as she was yelling at him. "But didn't she know how much that hurt me," he muttered, pressing a hand over his eyes, "Maybe I wasn't doing fine until I met you…"
Fighting back tears, he gulped down air and remained still. Though he complied with her wishes and left the two alone, he would often find excuses to walk past her class or to leave the building when she was to catch a glimpse of her sister. He knew it was creepy, and if Ryoko found out she would probably hit him. But he found it nearly impossible to let go.
"…how can I, when you were my first real friends…?" Dropping his hand from his eyes, he took a deep breath. Maybe this was his fate. He was a freak: a selfish, unlovable, freak that could never hope to have anything more than a polite acquaintance with someone outside the Zodiac.
"Yukkiiiii~ Dinner is ready!" Collecting himself, Yuki slowly sat up. Staring at his feet a moment, he smiled lightly, remembering his brief conversation with Ryoko. '…whatever my fate is, I am doing better out here…'
"Yuuuuukkkkkiiiii—" "I hear you, I am coming!" Standing up, he made his way down stairs, unsure if his mood was better or worse than when he had climbed up them.