Um…quick update much?
Well I suppose I should keep this short. Cuz I realized my readers could care less about the boring and insignificant life of this crazy, insane authoress *sighs sadly and emos *
I would like to say a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Yanagi Hanabusa^^ You've been an awesome friend, and one of the reasons my new chap is up so fast. I ought to get shot for not being able to finish that Kinky Pair oneshot I promised you on time *is shot many times* To Hanabusa: I promise to finish it up soon!
Disclaimer: Of course I own POT, and Akaya's a feminine girl.
Warning(s): Repeated use of the word 'idiot', shounen-ai, homicidal!Yukimura, general insanity and slight OOCness if you see it that way…add more if you deem fit.
She was supposed to try and run, and he was supposed to try and stop her.
Instead, she had just walked off and he was still rooted, watching her silhouette get smaller, and smaller, then disappear completely. Yagyuu could only continue staring after his lover, and probably soon-to-be ex-lover, knowing everything just had to be his fault somehow. Regretting was a weak way of facing the problem, but at the moment it was not like he had a choice. A slap had never felt any less painful, and his heart any more.
Against everything, Niou had gone back to their house. Beads of moisture marked her ruffled skirt, and her chest ached. She doubted if it was because of running.
Hanako sat down beside her companion. A person's mind hid nothing, and she silently gazed upon Niou, whose head was hanging down, eyes empty.
"So what are you going to do, Masaharu?"
The silverette's physical body was crying, but his mind was not. His unfazed expression was betrayed only by his irritatingly expressive eyes, and he finally looked up- but not at Hanako. His sea-green eyes instead travelled over every inch of his glowing emerald. Niou reached up high with that arm.
"I…saw them. I saw him meeting her after school, every single day. If he no longer felt anything for me then why didn't he just say so?"
An angry pebble attacked the calm water surface, sending it into a frenzy of irregular ripples. The thrower relaxed from his pose, and just slumped down, staring at the woman pleadingly. To be lost was such a horrible feeling.
"Tell me what to do, Masahira."
Hanako did not reply, choosing instead to lace their fingers together, observing the differences between them, down to the last fingernail.
"You wait."
Wait? What crazy nonsense was that woman spouting about now? Niou could not understand how waiting could ever solve anything. He saw what happened. Yagyuu had been meeting that…thing, for so many weeks! He had even kissed her, and actually looked like he enjoyed it. The Trickster no longer knew who was to blame anymore.
Riko Kiyami, for her stupid good looks and stupid lustful desires?
Yagyuu Hiroshi, for his utter and complete betrayal?
Or…himself, for…come to think of it, what exactly?
"…for what? Wait for what?" he challenged. The other simply stood up, and tossed a pebble, her expertise far outclassing him.
"When you have someone, you see no one else but him. He too, sees no one but you. And when someone else tries to intrude upon your little bubble of happiness, that is when the strength of your relationship is put to the test."
Hanako personally thought that Niou, was seriously an idiot. She had been seeing everything through his eyes, and knew this was yet another screwed up misunderstanding. It had happened too many times to her that it was impossible not to know. If only those two bigots would suck up that darn boy's pride and just talked it out calmly, over some nice, cool strawberry milk. You know, because strawberry milk was the answer to everything.
He scowled.
"Then it would seem ours wasn't strong enough to survive."
"Or…that you are just afraid everything really is real, and that he truly wants to leave you for that woman."
Why were people hitting so close to the bullseye nowadays?
"…yes."
The silverette woman nodded, letting go of the other's hand.
"You know…everything that happens between a couple is known to everyone around them except themselves. Ironic, but proven one too many times. What I see is two immature people who are too prideful to admit they were wrong."
Niou scoffed and turned away.
Hanako twitched, holding out her (already becoming famous) tree branch.
"Or would you like me to change that to one?"
Faced with such a difficult (and horribly cruel- Niou) decision, the poor man could only sigh exasperatedly, wondering why the world hated him. Or, just one Hanako Masahira in particular.
xXEternallyXx
When Yagyuu looked at the caller ID, he was struck with two thoughts.
One, he remembered, that he had someone else he feared more than Riko and Niou.
Two, why oh why had he been so stupid as to put off writing his will?
Unfortunately, there was no turning back. Ignoring the call would only make the caller even angrier, and for this particular caller, angrier meant something worse than death. The man gulped a little as he pressed a button, and tried to maintain a steady voice.
"Moshi moshi, Yukimura-kun."
"Hello Yagyuu."
For some reason it was starting to feel really chilly.
"Um…"
"Yes, I did call because of Masaharu. Mind explaining why she called me in tears just a few minutes ago, wailing something about using cyanide and useless slaps?"
"…what?"
He was supposed to be scared shitless at the moment because this was Yukimura, the big-older-godbrother-who-would-kill-anyone-who-dared-to-hurt-his-little-baby-godbrother(?). But in all honesty, that was an unexpected question.
There seemed to be a slight sigh from the other end, before the feminine voice started to speak once more.
"…forget that. Anyway, you'd better have an explanation, Gentleman."
That voice. That sadistic voice. Yagyuu wanted to live. He really did.
"I kissed another woman."
"…I see."
There was silence for some moments.
"But there must be more, right? I doubt you would suddenly kiss some other woman other than Haru for no reason at all."
The megane breathed a sigh of relief, shouting in his head a "Thank God!" (no pun intended), before launching into an explanation. He made it straightforward, without missing any details, eventually ending with an apology, as he waited for the decree of Judge Yukimura.
"Does she know?"
"No."
There was some noise in the background- Yagyuu guessed it was Sanada returning home. The bluenette said a few incoherent things to him before he came back onto the phone.
"Ah, pardon me for the interruption. Well in any case, I think it would be better to have the both of you hate one person instead of hating each other, no?"
The Gentleman nodded slightly before realizing Yukimura could not see it, and muttered an agreement. There was exchange of greetings from both sides before the phone was put down.
As he looked up at his house, and thought about what he would say, Yagyuu just somehow knew, that everything was gonna be alright. They fought hard to get to where they were today and he would be damned if he let one woman tear them apart like that.
xXEternallyXx
Sanada felt his tense muscles relax as he felt that familiar and gentle embrace envelope him from behind. He inhaled lightly, enjoying that mild vanilla scent.
"…Yagyuu, I assume?"
"And Haru."
The both of them paused- then sighed simultaneously. Really, that couple was the typical mismatched one, and quite a handful. Yukimura pulled his lover to face him by the tie and crashed his lips against the other, savouring the unique taste that was Sanada. The briefcase was left forgotten as they engaged in a passionate battle of dominance, not being able to get enough of each other.
The raven felt almost disappointed when the bluenette broke their kiss saying that they had a proper dinner waiting for them in the kitchen. Sanada seriously wondered, why he would always give in to his ex-captain. As he stared after the practically skipping Yukimura into the kitchen…
…he thought, damn Yukimura better be prepared to give him the desert he so deserved.
Niou walked past the shops decked out in gear for the rather chilly evening. Even after all that…she just did not feel ready enough to confront Yagyuu about everything. It felt like a wonderful night to be out and hence here she was, observing the scene around her. That middle-aged couple asking their teenage children about their day over dinner, and that cute little girl trying to walk a golden retriever at least 3 times her size on her own.
It got really boring after a while, however. She leaned against an empty wall and started dialing.
"Moshi moshi, Hiroshi."
"M-Masaharu?" came the stuttered reply from the other end. The silverette had to refrain from laughing.
"W-Well, where were you?"
"I'm outside, genius. Should we…talk?"
Niou only heard the sounds of the traffic before the other spoke.
"Only if you wish to."
She looked around, phone still at her ear, and zeroed in on the first eatery she saw.
"You know that café…yeah that one…no no, the one opposite…ok, meet you there in a few."
The first thing one Niou Masaharu did when she saw her lover again, was something that she felt absolutely proud of. Or more like something Sanada would feel proud of if he had seen it.
She did backhand him- on the opposite cheek.
Yagyuu thought, that he might want to rearrange the order of some people in his 'People I Am Scared Of' list. There was some serious inaccuracy in it.
Niou on the other hand, was thinking completely different thoughts. She was so conflicted, on one hand wanting to forgive Yagyuu and on another hand wanting to kick him right smack in the shin and tell him to leave her alone. What Hanako and Yukimura had said made perfect sense now. She had been too stupid for acting without thinking, while he was stupid too for letting her get away with it.
Her inner turmoil together with her actions earlier had earned her some strange looks from everyone else. It was not as if she really noticed or cared though.
"…and following that, she just suddenly forced a kiss on me. That's all there is to it."
The Trickster was still not maintaining eye contact with Yagyuu, and that continued to unsettle him. Even with the chatter all about, it seemed kind of quiet. The silverette sighed and held up her fork between the both of them.
"Yanagi…he told me something."
She twirled the utensil around.
"Something, about a pest in the Math department of Rikkai Dai Fuzoku Chuu."
There was a clink as the bespectacled man put down his cup of tea, still listening intently.
"He also told me, that someone is gonna have to get rid of…it."
Niou emphasized on the "it", before stabbing what was left of her poor meat patty with the fork, then leaving it there, all the while smirking. At the same time, she threw a challenging gaze to the person sitting to the opposite of her. Said person shifted his glasses, supporting his left cheek with his fingers, elbow on the table.
"Of course. Someone is going to get hurt. But that person, will definitely not be me."
With that, he threw an equally challenging gaze back.
The woman raised her eyebrow, but said nothing as she sat up straight and continued with her dinner. Yagyuu did the same, and it was not until after their dishes were cleared and the desserts ordered that Niou spoke once again.
"I believe you, Yagyuu Hiroshi. I was at fault too, and I'm really sorry I slapped you…though this apology only applies to the one outside the school gates."
In other words, she had slapped him right in front of everyone at the entrance of the café just for the sake of it. Oh how the man wanted to bury himself in a hole and never see the daylight again.
"Apology accepted. So…the plan?"
"Who do you think I am?" she tapped the right side of her head.
Yagyuu felt the urge to smile tug on his lips, and he gave in to it gladly. Perhaps things would start looking up now, now that the misunderstanding had been cleared.
"But until the day she signs the resignation forms, nothing is official between us."
Maybe, he spoke a little too early. The Gentleman was not one to be perturbed by just this, however.
"Then I shall make 'us' unquestionable."
The woman smiled.
"But of course."
Their shared dessert had never tasted any sweeter.
xXEternallyXx
Kirihara Akaya had a weakness.
He absolutely could not refuse any requests from any of his senpai-tachi, try as he might. There was a reason he kept helping Niou with his pranks even long after Yukimura had tried to reason with him and restrain Sanada from over-slapping their favourite junior.
So when his Yanagi-senpai and Yukimura-buchou had asked something of him, he knew he was so screwed because there was once again, no way he could ever refuse. The mere thought of letting the Troika down made him so jumpy around the office that his superior finally had enough and slammed down on his own desk with enough force to make anyone within hearing range jump about 2 meters into the air.
"Kirihara. Akaya. What, is the meaning of this?"
That look left no room for acting innocent. Oh, Akaya recognized that look. It was the 'you'd-better-tell-me-the-truth-or-suffer-my-ultimate-wrath' look. Why oh why did his superior have to act so much like Yukimura?
The young man tripped over his own feet twice, bumped into a colleague, and dropped his files once before he managed to get to his rather pissed (and thoroughly amused) superior's desk. There was some snickering at the photocopiers where a few of the other journalists were lining up for their turn.
"Um…well I kind of have a request…"
Akaya whispered frantically to his superior, acting as if his wife was in labour with their first child, which was completely illogical since he did not even have a girlfriend, much less a wife. The listening superior nodded time and again throughout the whole thing, grinning his widest when the curly-haired man was done.
He started laughing heartily, clapping his star journalist on the back hard enough to make the other stumble a little.
"If you wanted to write something on Rikkai Dai, all you had to do was ask! No need to act as if you just slept with Kane's wife!"
The entire office was unforgivingly tossed into the deepest depths of silence.
Kane's voice suddenly piped out from a corner.
"H-He did?"
Akaya wondered momentarily whether or not he would be sent to jail for trying to kill his boss. In all honesty he would be doing everyone a favour. He felt a tick mark at the back of his head and turned to face the corner (where was Kane anyway? Under all that paper?), pointing with his index finger.
"Of course not, baka-Kane!"
And then suddenly, all the younger reporters were all over him as they bombarded him with questions regarding the famous Rikkai Dai boys' tennis team (which by the way was still famous), and their all-star cohort. The poor guy wondered why this was still happening even after so many years of leaving the famed tennis club.
A couple of interns who had witnessed the whole thing, had second thoughts about submitting their portfolios to this company. They happened to value their sanity, thank you very much. Perhaps it would be better if they searched for another sports magazine instead.
When Yanagi saw Akaya making his way over to his and Yukimura's table and then slumping down in a depressed heap, he did not say a word. Instead, his companion chuckled and patted the younger one's head. The green-eyed man looked up.
"You won't believe what happened today…"
Yanagi opened his mouth to say something.
"…and Yanagi-senpai, please don't."
He shut it.
"Akaya…did you get permission?" Yukimura asked, trying to ease the atmosphere.
Said person nodded.
"Hai. He said he's looking forward to it, considering the one writing it used to be part of the oh-so-famous team."
The sophomore ace (so the ex-team still called him) could not suppress a smile as memories of those days flooded back. Sure, there were Niou's tricks, Marui's teasing and Sanada's slaps…but those were nothing compared to the fun he had playing the one sport he knew he would never forget no matter what.
"That's good to know. I've already told Marui that he can do what he likes…but I do hope the crowd he brings does not come only to see him."
The three at the table twitched a little at the mental of fangirls drooling over and cheering for no one other than Marui. HOW DARE THEY! Yukimura's aura suddenly turned black as he started dialing a number on his phone. Yanagi and Akaya immediately grabbed onto his hands.
"Seiichi/ Yukimura-buchou! We need him alive…"
The aura was gone as soon as it had come. It was amazing yet creepy how he managed to calm down so fast. Must be a Sanada thing. The two lovebirds seemed to have some sort of mysterious calming effect on one another. It was then that Akaya turned his head…
…only to meet his ex-fukubuchou in the eye.
"UWAAAAHH!"
It took all Kirihara had to prevent himself from falling backwards in his chair onto the floor.
"F-Fukubuchou? When did you get there?"
Apparently, sneaking up on people randomly then scaring half their lives off was a Troika thing. Even Sanada had somehow learnt the art of it over the years. It was definitely Yukimura's work. It had to be. At least, Akaya's logic told him that.
"Tarundoru. Getting scared by such a miniscule thing."
Suddenly sneaking in to sit beside Yukimura without anyone looking or noticing was far from something miniscule. The youngest of the group sighed. There would be no point going against one of the most stoic rocks of all time. Wait, stoic rocks? Where did that come from? Ah, maybe it's that Sanada rock the ex-fukubuchou kept carrying around with him during his tennis-playing and slapping days.
The meet-up in the small restaurant made for a perfect opportunity to catch up on the most recent events. Like for example Sanada's probable promotion if he managed to handle his next assignment well, and Yukimura's upcoming exhibition. Yanagi also said something about the Ocean Festival (an event that conjured up horrific memories for poor Akaya). The curly-haired man said that his only major assignment at the moment was to finish up that report on the exhibition matches on time so that as much publicity could be generated as possible.
They did not know how long they had been chatting, but the orange rays of the late sun streaming in through the windows gave the answer. As always, the sole bluenette among them held on tightly to Sanada's hand as they made their way out of the place, drawing a fair amount of attention. The remaining two of the group let out sighs at the scene before they too stood up to leave as well.
Kirihara did not know why, but he was walking alongside the Data Master (Yanagi had told him not to call him that anymore, but he did not care), and the path looked like it was never going to end. At the least, it would seem longer if he carried on hearing nothing but the rustling of leaves for the next few minutes.
"Neh, Yanagi-senpai."
The tall brunette turned to look at his junior.
"Yes?"
"We've had so many gatherings over the years…but we never really talked with each other personally during those times right?"
Yanagi seemed to think for a while, before nodding.
"Indeed. It has been 11 years, 3 months and 12 days since then."
As the rays lightly reflected off one Kirihara Akaya's face, Yanagi really did wonder, why on Earth had he not noticed how much the other had grown? His jaw was now sharper, his eyes a tad smaller, and his gaze just that much more mature than before. Had his child-like innocence left him too, over the course of the decade?
"As expected of you, senpai. Also," he put his hands in his pockets, "…I know Santa Claus does not exist."
Of course it had. He could not stay fourteen forever, none of them could. The Master understood only then why his sister always reminisced about her younger days (until his ears were in danger of falling off from overexposure to female chatter), because once gone, they were never coming back.
The sky had been the canvas for someone unusually happy that day. Streaks of red, orange, and every variation of them in the colour wheel had been painted across the vast space. It really only seemed like yesterday when Yukimura sent him on 'bring Akaya home safely' duty when said boy was so beat after practice that he could hardly stand.
"Do you have a girlfriend, Akaya?"
The sudden question had the other stumped for a few moments, before he started walking again.
"What are you talking about? I have no time for whiny, squealing girls to cling onto me all day."
The brunette let out a smile at that.
"Not all girls are like fangirls, Akaya. You might find yourself falling for someone you least expect."
Yanagi received no answer to that question.
The pair parted ways at the crossroads, pleasantly surprised at the proximity of their houses. They were neighbours, and yet neither noticed. Yanagi believed, that his data was getting rusty.
He was the principal of Rikkai Dai Fuzoku Chuu, a career he had least expected to choose. Up till now, Yanagi had few regrets that really mattered to him. The brunette continued staring after his junior until he was out of sight, and then slowly trudged his way home.
The journey home that day felt sad…and oddly peaceful.
xXEternallyXx
It had been days since the reunion, but Marui felt like everything had happened only hours before.
Sure, he was happy that Niou was back after they thought he had left them forever. He was so happy that their team could be complete again, and so happy that Yukimura's smile was back. Yet, his…her appearance, had brought to surface what he thought he had buried for good all those years ago, when he saw how passionately Yagyuu had kissed the silverette in his last moments.
Marui Bunta was still in love with Niou Masaharu.
He scolded himself. It was a futile hope. Back then, when disaster had not struck, he could still hope that the Trickster would choose him. Now, none of that was possible, and his heart still held on. It was not Hanako's body he was looking at, it was just plain old Niou that had made his heart race. Yukimura had called him a while back, telling him a little about said silverette's issue with Yagyuu, and asking for a little advice.
It was terribly selfish of him, but a chance it was nonetheless. The redhead sat on the edge of his couch as he selected a name in his contacts list and held the phone to his ear.
"Moshi moshi?"
"Um…hi Niou…"
He was an idiot.
"…Marui? It's you right? Why did you call?"
"Your name was on my contacts list…"
Screw that, he was a huge idiot.
"...I believe you have a more logical reason."
The caller sighed, and he switched sides.
"Yes. I have something I want to tell you…are you free tomorrow?"
"Sure. Place and time?"
Marui thought for a bit, and snapped his fingers when he got it.
"Let's see…that ice-cream parlor? The one where we used to hang out, remember? At around 11 am?"
He could hear Niou laughing.
"Of course…that place. How could I forget? See you then."
Even thought she promptly hung up on him after that, Marui could not have felt any happier. His first crush never left, and in his bed that night, he wondered exactly what did he want to accomplish by doing all this. Sleep seemed to avoid him for most of the night.
"Masaharu…where are you going?"
Said silverette slipped on her second earring as she turned to look at him.
"Out."
"With whom?"
She picked up her bag, taking one last glance of herself in the mirror.
"Marui."
Yagyuu exhaled, grabbing the other's shoulder as she passed him by the doorway. Their gazes met- his pleading and hers neutral. The man forced himself to let go, standing there until the footsteps disappeared and he could hear the door closing. The megane punched the wall, but it was far from satisfying.
For some reason he felt that he was going to face even more obstacles in trying to win back Niou's trust. Just thinking about it made him feel uneasy somehow.
The ambience of the parlor was peaceful, the simple décor enough to make people feel at home. It had been a pretty new establishment back when the Rikkai tennis team was just about to graduate, having the fortune of lasting over a decade and counting. Marui was already waiting at the table when his companion came in a very cute elbow sleeve dress with matching ribbon heels. She even turned a few heads.
Thankfully, the redhead had the few seconds which Niou took to seat herself, to regain his composure.
"You look pretty cute today."
So says the one who was no longer just a huge idiot but a super huge idiot.
"Thanks."
Both ordered identical strawberry smoothies (to which the silverette had shrugged and muttered something about Hanako), and there were only sounds of sipping for a while.
"You know…Yagyuu was never good with desserts."
The woman continued sipping, but showed that she was listening.
"Back when we were third years…he didn't even know what white chocolate truffle was."
Marui had left his smoothie untouched since he started speaking, and Niou only joined him now. The contents of the two glasses had an obvious difference in height.
"You're trying to tell me something."
He nodded, maybe a tad too eagerly, as those beautiful lilac eyes stared only at her.
"The Gentleman sure as hell didn't give you those truffles back then."
The woman seemed to think for a bit, before slowly tilting her head when she did remember, brows a little furrowed.
"Who did then?" she asked softly.
It was not often that Marui Bunta put on a serious face. Even when breaking humourless and important news, he could always throw in a smile or a twinkle of his eyes, and get away with it. It was a talent of his, and probably one of selling points as the star male model of his agency. He had that expression on now, as he dropped his gaze to his lap.
"I did."
Niou supposed the revelation of it all did not come as shockingly to her as expected. That very day, on the fourteenth of February, there had been complete chaos in the locker room. It was not until Sanada had 'vice-captain-glared' at every single female in the vicinity that the team had peace. The silverette, as that young boy, had found this small box at the back of her locker that somehow stood out. There was no note attached to it, and it contained white chocolate truffles, one of her (his?) favourite desserts.
So the Gentleman actually did have the right to look puzzled when he had thanked him after practice that day. Because it had not been him in the first place.
The woman felt a stray tear slide down her cheek, and she reached out to wipe it away, staring at her now wet fingertips. The atmosphere had suddenly gotten too stifling, choking the very air out of her. She had once thought that remembering her relationship with Yagyuu was painful.
But…what was that compared to what this man in front of her had felt, for so many years? Even now, she could not find it in herself to look him in the face.
"I like you, Niou Masaharu. I have always loved you, and I still do now."
She could feel the warmth of his larger hand on hers, but she did not pull away.
"You should have…told me. You should have just gathered up your damn pathetic courage and told me!"
Marui had the gall to look surprised at her outburst, staring at her. She continued, not having finished yet.
"…things. Things might actually have been different!"
There was no one within hearing range, and for that Niou was immensely grateful.
"I know. To try and claim back what I had lost to someone else was impossible from the start. Still, I had to try. No matter who I dated, no matter how hard I tried…everyone I saw looked like you!"
The redhead actually looked adorable when crying, but that was to his disadvantage as the woman held onto the hand he had placed on top of hers, gripping it tight.
"Marui…look at me."
Green met purple.
"You may not know this, but I'm thinking…"
He blinked in confusion, frowning.
"…of breaking up with Yagyuu."
*Runs to hide behind Hanabusa*Don't kill me! D;
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Thank you very much for reading, will update soon.
Posted: 15/05/2012 (dd/mm/yyyy)