Chapter 8

The world is plotting against me, Asa sighed to herself as she dragged her weary body to school (having gotten up early again. Her parents had started making bets to see how long this would last before her biological clock started demanding that she get her regular amount of sleep. So far, she had lasted for two months). Wait… stop thinking such negative thoughts! Focus on the good things! The good things, Asa-chan!

She heaved another sigh. It's no good… I can't do it. She stared at the pavement beneath her toes in resignation. Those two months had been hectic, and were beginning to take their toll on her. With her lack of sleep, she had discovered herself being grouchy and unsociable most of the time, snapping at Miho or Eiji whenever they tried to talk to her in voices louder than whispers. She didn't mean it, and would apologize profusely afterwards, but the nagging feeling that she was making her friends suffer because of her own stubbornness kept hounding her, making her uncomfortable.

And then there was Nakamura-sempai, who had suddenly taken his whole 'courtship' duties to a whole new level. She was bombarded with gifts every single day. It followed a sort of pattern… there would always be some sort of flowers on Monday, given to her at the gate when she walked into the schoolyard (by now, Nakamura had resigned himself to the fact that she wouldn't be taking a ride to school). There would be some sort of expensive sweet or chocolate on Tuesday given to her right before her second period (which happened to be math). Some trinket of jewelry was always in her locker in a cute little box (complete with a matching ribbon) on Wednesday. A little cat toy to appease Seika would be given to her at lunch period on Thursday (how on earth did he find out about her cat, she had no idea). On every Friday, a gift basket would be sitting on her desk when she walked into homeroom.

And then, on the half day of Saturday, there would always be a letter written on fancy stationary tacked in the wall of her locker. Asa wanted to scream; what could she do with all of this stuff? She had enough gift baskets which included aromatherapy, bath lotions, body gels, body sprays, bath beads, and any other bath accessories to last her and probably the rest of Tokyo for the rest of their lives (OK, so maybe that was an exaggeration. But she did get a lot of bath accessories from those gift baskets). The cat toys were put to good use, at least. Seika found them amusing and would play with them for awhile, letting Asa try to figure out what to do with the rest of the stuff. The flowers would be centerpieces for the kitchen table. The chocolates and sweets were given to Kurumi and Narumi to munch on.

The jewelry she tried not to look at. The shiniest of gemstones were set into delicate pendants of gold, silver, or white gold, and she dreaded thinking about how much that would cost for even one of them. So those she simply tucked into the top drawer of her desk, taking them out on rare occasions to marvel at their beauty before tucking them away again, feeling uneasy to have such expensive possessions. She'd have to make him stop doing that… somehow…

Soft music suddenly made its way to her ears, snapping her out of her thoughts, and she paused in her trek to glance around curiously.

There! She took off at a spirited trot towards the sound when she had located its general direction, and stopped when she came to a halt in front of an old man sitting outside of an old-looking building, sandwiched between two modern ones. I never noticed a building like this before… is that a music box?

The old man looked up at her when she studied the music box that was sitting next to him on the stoop. A smile broke out on his wrinkled face. "You heard the music?" he asked softly, patting the little box lovingly. "It's a nice song… but not many people stop to listen. They're too busy." The music box stopped playing, and he rewound it, and the music started again.

"It sounds kind of… sad…" Asa ventured forward as she listened to it.

"So it does," the old man murmured in that soft voice of his. "But it is beautiful all the same, isn't it? No matter how sad life gets, it's important to know that there is still beauty in life. Life is not bleak because there is always someone looking out for you, loving you, and bringing color into your life." He studied her face closely. "You are confused, are you not?" he asked, picking up the music box and shutting it.

"Take this," he said, holding the box to her as he picked himself up off of the stoop. Asa tried to refuse, but he was adamant. "Listen to it, and sort through your confused thoughts," he said, placing the delicate box in her hands and turning around to enter the building. "A music box is a special thing… it holds so many memories, thoughts, and feelings simply by playing a song. It helps people to relax, to think, and to understand." He smiled at her again. "It is almost as if the music box was created to help people understand more about themselves."

Nodding to the box she held, he patted it once more. "Let this music box help you," he said kindly, and then he vanished into the building, leaving a puzzled Asa with the music box in her hands behind him.

I take that back. It doesn't seem like the entire world is plotting against me. She rubbed the top of the music box and then opened it, listening to its song, contemplating what the old man had told her.

'No matter how sad life gets, it's important to know that there is still beauty in life. Life is not bleak because there is always someone looking out for you, loving you, and bringing color into your life.'

'Who is your special person?'

Asa's eyes widened and she shut the box hurriedly. Why? Why does everything revolve back to one central question?

She did not have much time to further dwell on this, though, because she suddenly saw her wristwatch and the current time. It was late; she'd have to run in order to get to class on time. Cursing her ill fortune, she started running, holding the music box tightly in her hands lest she dropped it. And crap, today was Friday. She did not look forward to seeing a gift basket on her desk. Sighing, she continued to run.

In the building, the old man watched her go before turning to a younger man with silver hair. "Young Master Keigo, what exactly are you planning?" he asked, looking at the young man skeptically.

Atobe shrugged, leaning comfortably against the wall. "War plans," was all he said, and the man sighed. Really, now… what was it with the Young Master and war plans these past few months?

Shaking his head, the man donned on his spectacles and within moments became the trusty Atobe butler. "Young Master, would you like a ride to school? You'll be late for sure if you loiter around anymore."

"Ah… that would be ideal."

Atobe was lucky that he had such a nice butler, who did what he was told and complied with whatever strange scheme Atobe hatched out. Yes, Atobe was truly lucky indeed…

***

It was two weeks later that Asa made a shocking discovery: she was good at manipulation.

Ever since Aimi had announced her engagement status for all to hear in the sweet shop, the shop had become a haven for reporters, all of which were hungry for news. Asa noticed them eyeing her like she was some piece of delicious cake ready to be eaten, and she shivered as she served them. It was not a surprise that they tried to ask questions while she did her job, but luckily for Asa, her fellow waitresses would always pop up and drag her away before things got too out of hand.

"Thanks a bunch," she sighed, after she was dragged away from an awkward situation for the umpteenth time.

"No problem," replied the other. "Although, really, Ijuuin-chan, you need to fight back."

"Fight back?" Asa echoed, cocking her head to the side and looking curiously thoughtful. The first thing that popped to mind was the hilariously impossible image of her beating the living daylights out of the reporters, and she almost collapsed in a heap of giggles. Think rationally, she told herself. With your small build, you won't do anything that way. She was thinking very hard about this until she heard a faint clicking sound.

Turning around, she found that one of the reporters, feeling bold, had pulled out a digital camera and was taking pictures. An idea hit her and she smirked deviously. The other waitress gulped nervously as she sensed a dangerous aura coming off of Asa.

"50000 yen," Asa said, leaning on the table so that her face was basically in the camera lens.

"Eh?!"

"If you are aiming to get images that will up your career, but want to include me in them, I want 50000 yen. Consider it buying the rights for this current set of pictures, as it currently is." She tapped the digital camera, fixing the man with a hard glare. "What? Did you expect that you could get away with it for free?" she asked, looking bored.

When he tried to get up and leave in a rush, she reached up, pressing several buttons on it as he got up and managing to eject the memory card, holding it in her fingers while he freaked in front of her. "Okaa-san's company works with cameras, too, so it's rather easy to eject the memory card," she explained. "Now, am I going to get my 50000 yen, or are you going to risk losing this memory card and go back empty-handed? Because all of your pictures are on this card…" Her blue eyes glinted, and he gulped. He was on dangerous territory.

"I'll pay, I'll pay!" he fairly wailed, slamming the money on the table. She counted it, holding the memory card out of his reach. When she was satisfied that all 50000 yen was before her, she tossed the memory card to him. "That's for this time. I expect another 50000 yen for the next batch." She grinned mischievously. "Please keep in mind that I can mess with your career and it will be really amusing for me. Don't mess up," she said lightly, although each word was laced with danger, and the reporter gulped once again.

He wasted no amount of time to flee the shop and Asa rested her chin idly in her hand, surveying the rest of the reporters in the shop. A nervous silence hung heavily over the place. Asa smiled sweetly, and the temperature dropped several degrees.

"50000 yen per batch," she said brightly, "or more amusement for me."

There was the sound of multiple gulping, and to the other waitress' amusement, they were storming her table, each laying out 50000 yen and watching almost impatiently as she counted the money before fleeing.

"Ne, Ijuuin-chan… somehow, that wasn't what I had in mind when I said 'fight back'," she said slowly when they all left.

Asa stretched herself and then glanced up at her, grinning sheepishly. "Yeah, I suppose you're right. I didn't think of it happening this way either, but I might as well profit off of my misery." She gathered up the money and stood up, vanishing into the back room and putting it safely away into her schoolbag before returning to the main room. "But it was entertaining… to a certain degree. Reporters are fun to manipulate." And besides, she couldn't really mess with their careers (she hadn't the power). But they didn't need to know that.

I'm sounding a lot like Fuji-kun, she thought, staring out the window. That's right… he liked messing with people's minds and instilling fear into them. She sighed. All of a sudden she really wanted to see him and his usual cheery mischievous smile, not the one he'd been wearing for the past few weeks. I haven't seen Fuji-kun playfully tease anyone in a long time, she thought, looking worried. And it was true. All of the pranks that he had done lately had all been more than simple teases, each involving some level of torture and violence that was far above what he usually did.

I kind of… miss the old Fuji-kun…

Sighing again, she rubbed the back of her head. I'm starting to confuse myself, she thought. For the next two hours, she threw herself enthusiastically into her work, and any hapless reporter who made the mistake of entering the store with the intent of obtaining information or photos found himself (or herself, there were several female reporters, too) coughing up 50000 yen to the scary high school girl.

"I'll see you tomorrow!" Asa said to the other girl as she grabbed her stuff and left the store. The other waitress waved cheerfully as she shut the door behind her and then turned to face the busy street before her. Unfortunately for her, it was raining, hard, and she was soaked within a matter of seconds. Just my luck...

She was about to start on her (wet) journey home when a soft voice calling her name made her stop. Pivoting on her heel, she saw Fuji standing just a couple feet away from her, holding a black umbrella. She was about to say something, but he was walking towards her, and it wasn't long before the rain was pelting off of the umbrella, and not off of her. "You need to be more careful," Fuji admonished sternly. "Hold this," he commanded, handing the umbrella to her. Puzzled, she held it above their heads while Fuji shrugged out of his jacket. "Here," he said, draping it over her shoulders and retaking possession of his umbrella.

His jacket was still warm from his body, and she wrapped it gratefully around her torso, unconsciously snuggling into it. "Why are you here?" she asked curiously, looking up at him. Fuji hadn't stopped by the sweet shop in such a long time, she was rather surprised to see him pop in (or, more accurately speaking, pop up outside the shop).

Fuji shrugged. Truth be told, he wasn't entirely too sure why he was here in the first place, either. "Let's go; I'll walk you home," he said, and took a hold of her wrist, tugging her forward gently as he started walking. "We'll hurry; you need to change out of those wet clothes before you catch a cold. Or a fever. That would suck, ne?" he asked, not looking at her as he walked. Asa sighed softly to herself as she allowed herself to get dragged along, the rain continuing to pound against the umbrella. Fuji could be so stubborn sometimes; it didn't look like she would be getting an answer.

They had walked for ten minutes before Fuji spoke again. "Does Nakamura-sempai ever pick you up?" he asked. "Not in his limo. Did he ever walk you somewhere?" As he spoke he refused to look at her, and she felt all previous happiness she had felt that day disappear as she watched his back quietly before answering him.

"No."

"I see…"

"But that's because he's really busy with studies and such!" she heard herself retorting in his defense. "He's probably helping out at his father's business! Or, or…" she trailed off as Fuji stopped and turned around to face her. His face was contorted with pain.

"Is it stupid to wait for something that might never come?" he asked softly. She couldn't find anything to answer him. A good friend would be comforting in times like this, but here she stood, awkwardly, not knowing what to do. "Is it worthless to try to prove yourself in the eyes of someone who's special to you?" Fuji asked, his voice barely above a whisper now. "If life is a colorful canvas, what happens when someone spills black paint all over it to cover all of the color? No one likes a black splotch..." Fuji would admit it... he was jealous. Terribly, terribly jealous. Miho and Eiji told him all about the gifts, and every single Friday he'd see her puzzling over what to do with the gift basket, holding the bulky item and trying to figure out where she would be stashing it so that she could lug it home and put it away or something. Nakamura was telling him in his face that he wasn't good enough for her.

And what irked Fuji was the fact that, sometimes he thought it was true. He hadn't the money to buy all those gifts (he highly doubted he could even keep it to one a week). Yumiko had mentioned one day at dinner (on accident) that the daughters of rich and prominent families would always marry into other rich and prominent families. Asa's family might not have been rich (although Fuji had heard a circulating rumor that each Ijuuin girl had a bank account with college savings already made up) but they were certainly one of the most important families in Japan. And what was he? Nothing compared to that. The Fuji family could not have been more painfully normal.

"Aa-chan, answer me honestly. Do you think I'm stupid?"

The first response that came to mind was a furious 'NO!' Fuji wasn't stupid… he was a tensai, after all, and tensais were supposed to be smart. But he was pleading with her, his blue eyes begging that she considered his question from different angles. And when she did that, her answer was…

"I don't know, Fuji-kun. I don't know anything anymore."

He was silent, crestfallen, and she spoke again. "But… I do know that I don't like this current Fuji-kun. This current Fuji-kun isn't anything like the Fuji-kun everyone else knows, and it is this current Fuji-kun that is stupid." He remained silent, bending his head forward slightly so that his bangs shadowed his eyes. "Paint can always be removed, Fuji-kun," Asa murmured, holding his hand in hers and squeezing it gently. "Either that, or a black splotch can always be painted over. It can become colorful again."

She offered a small smile as she took the umbrella from him. "Would you like to see something?" she asked, and he glanced up, a quizzical expression on his face. "I just got it a few weeks ago from this very nice old man. I think you'll like it."

"What is it?"

She paused, turning and staring at the falling rain. What was it, exactly? She felt that simply saying 'music box' did not serve the purpose of describing it. It was a music box, truly, but it was more than a music box. It served to teach a lesson of life through music, and helped one think about one's problems, and unlocked one's special memories simply by playing a song. All this she had discovered for herself the first time she had played it in her room, the night she got it.

"It's a…" she started, before frowning softly. "Mou… it's different for everyone, just like how a dessert tastes different for everyone who eats it. Some people who like sweets will love it, while others won't." Fuji's expression became more confused and just kept going as Asa spun around to face him, looking determined. She'd cheer up Fuji even if it caused her death!

"If I show Fuji-kun this thing, will he tell me what he thinks it is?" she asked, looking serious.

Fuji was dumbfounded and at a loss for an answer. Recovering quickly, though, he nodded. "I will."

"Pinky swear?" she asked, holding up the slim finger like a child.

"Pinky swear," Fuji answered, hooking his pinky to hers. When was the last time he had made a pinky swear with someone? It made him feel childish, doing this in the middle of the streets in the pouring rain, but when he saw her smile, he decided it was all worth it.

No matter what happened, no matter how many times the green monster called 'jealousy' tried to consume him, he would work hard in his own special way, because it was all worth it if it was for Asa and her smile.

***

"Close your eyes, Fuji-kun," Asa instructed as she took her precious music box down from its exalted spot on her windowsill. Seika oversaw this whole procedure with her curious amber eyes, tail flicking from side to side as she mewed from Fuji's lap. It had been a long time since this human had visited her mistress's house. Seika had missed him, with his gentle smiles and soft words and kind pats, and now she snuggled into his stomach happily. The other human, the one who supplied the cat toys, was nice, but not nearly as nice as this one, whose lap she could sit happily in and whose scent was so comforting. In her opinion, her mistress was being stupid. Fuji was the ideal mate. Her ears twitched as she continued to mew contentedly.

"Can I open them now?" Fuji asked, sitting crosslegged on her floor while stroking Seika's soft fur. The cat purred happily as he continued to minister affection on her.

"No. Listen first." He heard her move and sit down in front of him, setting something on the floor with a gentle thumping noise. "Listen, and then tell me what you feel," she murmured quietly. Then she fell silent.

Music filled in the silence, the soft music of a music box. The hand that was stroking Seika faltered, and then stilled, but the feline didn't seem to mind, simply curling herself comfortably in his lap. All three of them, two humans and one fluffy white cat, listened quietly to the music.

All too soon, it ended, and Fuji was left to ponder in the dark about what he had just heard. "You can open your eyes now, Fuji-kun." He obeyed, blinking at the sudden influx of light into his eyes.

What he said next would put him to shame. The first thing that popped out of his mouth was, "I didn't know that you were one for sappy music box songs."

Asa was stunned. There was no other word to describe what she was feeling at that moment when those words had left his mouth. "S-s-sappy?" she stuttered out, somehow finding her voice and speaking although it didn't come out as smoothly as she would have liked. And the fact that her cheeks were on fire didn't help matters, either. "I… I…" She gave up on speaking altogether. Mou! Why do I even try? Grumbling to herself, she leaned backwards so that the side of the bed supported her back, sulking.

Fuji cocked his head to one side, feeling the faintest traces of guilt stirring in the pit of his stomach. Asa had only tried to cheer him up… he didn't have to go and comment on the sappy music. Actually, in truth, he hadn't even thought that it was sappy. Bad move, Syusuke, he scolded himself. Very, very bad move. What do you hope to accomplish when you keep making bad moves like this?

"It was probably a stupid idea, anyway." Fuji glanced up in surprise when he heard Asa sigh and speak, having collected her composure and was now managing to speak normally, without the stutter. "Fuji-kun is a guy, right? So music boxes are stupid for a guy to listen to. It's not manly enough…" she trailed off, hugging her knees to her chest, trying hard not to cry. Honestly, what was wrong with her? It was just a music box. It wasn't something to get all teary over.

But who was she kidding? Not herself, certainly. It wasn't just a music box. It never was. Against her will, she sniffled, and this action did not go unnoticed by her guest, who was now feeling quite guilty.

"Aa-chan?" he ventured forth, looking worried. "Aa-chan? Gomen… I didn't mean it…" If she cries, I am never going to forgive myself, he told himself. He was ashamed to admit that he had no experience whatsoever with crying females. Yumiko never cried, and on the rare occasions that she did, his mother had always told him to leave her alone, and she was the one who comforted his eldest sibling.

"Gomen, Aa-chan. It really wasn't that sappy." Somehow, Fuji had moved himself so that he was sitting right next to her. Seika had left his lap and was now amusing herself by nudging the music box with a little white paw. She was being ignored by the humans, but she didn't mind. Seika knew when to be a nosy cat and when to be an innocent bystander of a kitten.

Instinctively, Fuji reached out, taking Asa by the shoulders and easing her towards him. The way her head nestled against his neck, the way she pressed her small frame against his side, it all felt so natural to him.

He was not ashamed to say that he held her until she fell asleep, stroking her hair and whispering quietly in her ear. Seika sauntered over to them then, sniffing her sleeping owner, and then mewing happily.

"Take care of her, Seika," Fuji told the cat, shifting the girl over to the bed and tucking her in before moving the music box onto her desk. Seika saw him to the front door and mewed a farewell as Fuji let himself out of the house and started for his own.

Fuji let himself into his own home feeling strangely accomplished. He was still grinning like an idiot when Yumiko asked him where his jacket was.

"Oh, it's… somewhere," he had replied lightly with a faint wave of his hand as he headed up to his room (he had never asked Asa to return his jacket. She'd probably do it sooner or later, anyway, without him asking). Collapsing on his bed, he sighed happily. Ha! Take that, Nakamura-sempai!

Oh, yes… Fuji felt very accomplished when he fell asleep that night.

A/N: This is such a LONG chapter...! O_o I can't believe it's so long... almost 5000 words.

But it was fun writing about Asa manipulating those poor reporters into paying her money for information. Reporters will do anything for their scoop. XD And what better way to make yourself feel better than by profiting off of your misery? Hmm.... I wonder... =(^_^)=

As always, please read and review! Thank you!