Chapter 13

January passed without much hassle. February came smoothly enough, with the snow slowly by surly melting away. In its place were slush piles, which Asa knew would soon vanish just as the snow before it had done.

Asa was sitting on her bed, Indian style, reading a manga that she had borrowed from Kurumi. The house was silent; it was a Sunday and her parents had left to attend a formal state dinner (neither of who looked excited about, she had noted bemusedly). Kurumi was over at a friend's house, having spent the Sunday shopping with said friend and then was invited for a sleepover. Asa was more than happy to give permission; an evening of peace and quiet was wonderful. Narumi had landed herself a boyfriend, a third year who attended Josei Shounan Middle School and was two years older than her, and had been invited to a movie. Asa had only met the boy once or twice but had already laid the ground rules of his dating her little Narumi: hurt her and he dies a very painful death.

But he had seemed like a nice boy, so Asa doubted that she would have to carry out her threat. Besides, talking with Inui and Oishi (just to make sure that she wasn't handing off her sister to some creep) had yielded that he was an Honors student, and a member of the Josei Shonan tennis team. Furthermore, Inui had said that he was stubborn, but meant well most of the time, and had an older twin brother to keep him in check when the need arose.

Asa had left the boys then, satisfied that her sister was going to be fine, although the threat was still told to further make sure that he knew what he was getting into (Seika was shown to him, and the cat had hissed, signifying the method of his 'painful death').

Narumi will be back at nine, Asa mused, looking up from her manga to the clock. It was currently seven thirty. Swinging herself off of her bed, she left her room, a fluffy bundle of white fur following quietly after her. "I'm going to go out for a bit, Seika," she told the cat, pouring her a dish of milk. The cat mewed happily as she lapped at the white liquid, tail lashing behind her as she purred. "I'll be back late. Sorry for leaving you alone at home."

Her cat mewed again as Asa stood to get her coat, almost as if saying 'No problem!' Asa chuckled lightly before leaving the house, locking the door after her. Saa…Valentine's Day is coming up soon, she thought, leaning heavily against the front door. "I should probably buy chocolate, shouldn't I?" she voiced aloud, staring remorsefully up at the sky.

Actually, she wasn't sure if she even wanted to give chocolate out this year. Maybe she should just lie low for Valentine's Day and hope that no one caught her without chocolates. Yes… that sounded like a plan…

From her pocket suddenly came the tune of her cell phone's ringtone. Plunging her hand into said pocket, she fished out the communication device. 'Fuji' flashed merrily on the screen, and curious, she flipped open the phone and answered. "Moshimoshi?" she asked, puzzled as to why Fuji was calling her at such an hour.

"Moshimoshi!" came Fuji's cheery reply from the other side. "Aa-chan, are you free tonight?" he asked, without even bothering with small talk and pleasantries.

Asa blinked, surprised that that was the first thing that had left his mouth. "Hai. Kaa-san and Tou-san are at a formal dinner, Narumi is with her boyfriend, and Kurumi is at a friend's place," she answered, wondering why he asked. "Why?"

She heard him chuckle on the other end of the line. "There's a forecast for a meteor shower tonight!" he said, his excited voice ringing in her ear. "A meteor shower, Aa-chan!" he continued, "Those don't come often!" His voice was gaining excitement the more he spoke, and there were light thumps on his side of the line. Asa wondered briefly if he was jumping up and down because he was so excited. It made for a pretty comical image, she had to admit.

"So, anyways…" She roused herself from her thoughts as Fuji spoke again. "I'm at the park right now… the one that we walk past every day to get to school. I've managed to grab a bench, but I don't know how long I can hold it. You see, it's rather crowded here; everyone's staking a place so that they can see the meteor shower. So…! If you come and sit on the other side of this bench, we can keep it and won't have to sit somewhere else, like, in the fountain that's filled with cold water."

Asa digested all of this information. "So… you want to tell me that I should pretend to be your date so that you have a nice place to sit during the meteor shower," she said slowly.

"Yes! I mean, no! I mean…" His voice trailed off, and she could just imagine him with a frown on his face as he thought. "Hmm… now that you mention it, though, a date sounds nice," he answered a few seconds later. "We can get ice cream or something afterwards. It's a short bus ride to downtown Tokyo with all of the shops that are open almost 24 hours a day. Alright, then! A date it is! I'll be seeing you at the park in ten!" There was a click as he hung up, leaving Asa to frown. Since when had she agreed to a date?

But one doesn't see a meteor shower often, she thought to herself, snapping her phone shut and slipping it into her pocket. So I suppose a date is a small price to pay for watching something like that. Except… Her frown deepened, and she stared back up at the sky. It's not even dark yet! Why is everyone waiting so early for it?

Her pocket suddenly started vibrating and she fished her cell phone back out. 'One Incoming Mail' it read, and she opened it. Aa-chan, stop worrying about why we're all waiting for it now! it read, and Asa wondered briefly if Fuji was physic. If he was, she wouldn't have been very surprised.

I'm coming, I'm coming, she texted back and shut her phone before snapping it shut and running down the street.

***

Fuji had not lied when he had said that the park was crowded. Every bench was occupied, and all of the grassy areas were covered with blankets with people sitting on them, despite the slush and the chill of the February evening. There were even people perched on the edge of the fountain (Asa hoped dearly that they wouldn't end up with colds the next day should they fall into said fountain). Asa paused at the park entrance and glanced around, trying not to ogle at anyone but the surprise was still very evident on her face. Who would have thought that so many people had turned up?

And how am I supposed to find Fuji-kun with so many people around? Asa scanned the benches, but couldn't find the familiar wisps of honey-brown hair. She glanced around, wondering whether or not she should chance entering the park and getting herself hopelessly lost among the sea of people. That would be… unpleasant, to a certain degree.

He did say he had a bench, though, she mused, and since there is only so many benches in the park, I suppose finding him is an accomplishable feat. Feeling more relieved, she started forward, smiling cheerfully as she wondered what the meteor shower would be like. She had only seen pictures from the Internet… and pictures were nothing like the real thing. She was beginning to feel excited at the prospect.

"Kya~~! Fuji-sama~~!" High, squealing voices that could only belong to abnormally obsessed fans of some idol or another reached her ears and she cringed inwardly. Was it just her, or was there an influx of fan-peoples in Tokyo lately? Were the idols of today honestly that wonderful?

Perhaps I should rent a movie sometime and get myself caught up with the social world.

"Fuji-sama, don't you want to see the meteor shower with me?" That annoying high-pitched voice continued, and Asa began to move away from the immediate area. "They say that meteor showers are lucky for one's love-life, even more so when it's so close to Valentine's Day," the voice gushed, still managing to retain its squeaky loudness. "Couples who watch meteor showers together are said to live happily together forever with their love never dying!"

A faint smile quirked on Asa's face as she heard this. Urban legends were fun to hear, yes, but the corniness of most of them was quite funny, in her mind. Oh? Did she mention Fuji-kun? The sudden thought made her stop her trek and inch towards the squealing fangirl again.

Fuji tried to fend off his excited fan to the best of his ability. "Is that so?" he asked, wondering since when had he been so nervous with his fans. "Um…" It would be rude to say that I have someone else that I want to see it with, would it? What do I do…?

"Fuji-kun!" Fuji looked up to see Asa, and his smile instantly brightened, until he saw that teasing glint in her blue eyes. "Fuji-kun is quite the stud, isn't he?" she asked, and Fuji flushed. He dearly hated it when the student surpassed the teacher.

"Aa-chan, I am not a stud! Don't say things like that!" he said hurriedly, jumping up. "Anyways, you're late!" he said, crossing his arms over his chest with a sulky expression on his face. "I had to wait an extra five minutes. Do you know how hard it is to defend this bench?" As he was speaking, someone else had taken the chance to slip into the previously occupied bench. Sighing, Fuji drooped. There went his seat. "It's all your fault, Aa-chan!" he whined.

"If you weren't so excited you wouldn't have lost your bench. What happened to the calm and collected tensai Fuji Syusuke?" was Asa's response, and Fuji grumbled under his breath. "In any case… we'll need to find another spot to watch. I can see why you wanted to be so early… if we waited until nightfall not even an ant would have been able to get into the park." Her gaze swept through the park again, searching for a place where two people could stand. If there was one where they could sit, it would be better, but Asa wasn't putting her chances on it happening. She'd be perfectly content with a spot that had a bit of room around it, like, say, a hands-width all around.

"You're not a member!" suddenly rang in her ear and she jumped, startled, glancing around to see the furiously red face of Fuji's fan. Asa had forgotten all about her. Whoops. "Only third year members, the fuku-buchou, and the buchou of the Official Fuji-sama Fan Club have the right to call Fuji-sama 'Fuji-kun'!"

"The right…?" Asa echoed, puzzled beyond measure. Fuji-kun's fan club has a set hierarchy? She never knew that…

"Exactly!" was the heated response. "The lowest members of the club, the first year girls, may only call him 'Fuji-sama.' Second-year girls may call him 'Fuji-san.' Third year girls may call him 'Fuji-kun.' The fuku-buchou can directly call him 'Fuji.' And the esteemed honor of calling Fuji-sama 'Syusuke-kun' is reserved for our buchou!"

"So you're a first year, and therefore the lowest members of the hierarchy?" Asa asked, trying to sort all this out in her mind.

The girl smirked, planting her hands on her hips. "I'm a second-year, and thus I'm able to call Fuji-sama 'Fuji-san.' However, any girl can call Fuji-sama by a title in the levels lower than the one she's in." Asa suddenly blinked as a finger was poked in her face. "You're not an official member! Therefore, you must address Fuji-sama as Fuji-ojii-sama!"

"Prince… Fuji…?" Standing off to the side, Fuji heaved a light sigh, watching the question marks that danced atop Asa's head. Fangirls were puzzling creatures, that was for sure, although he was just surprised as Asa to find out that there was a set hierarchy in his fan club. Should he be proud of the fact that his fan club was not made of total idiots…?

The fangirl nodded seriously, then gave a pitying shake of her head. "Do you know how many poor souls don't know that important rule? Of course you don't… you're like them all, ignorant of Fuji-sama's wonderful greatness. The Club and its members spend so much of our time putting them back into line; it's tiring. But Fuji-sama's simply too pure for someone outside of his Club to sink their little claws into! As loyal members of Fuji-sama's fan club, we pledge to diligently protect Fuji-sama from the dangers that come from dating witches!"

They're crazy, Asa concluded, fighting the urge to twitch. Anyone who knows Fuji-kun knows that he's anything but 'pure.' He's the resident sadist, for Kami-sama's sake! Fangirls were dangerous beings, as well as terribly misguided. But Asa didn't quite see the use of correcting them. It would be a waste of her breath to do so.

"Now!" The finger jabbed closer to her face and Asa was forced to pull back lest she wanted to lose an eye. "You must properly apologize to Fuji-sama! Tell him that you're very, very sorry for calling him so casually, when he and his greatness demands greater respect!"

Asa felt something inside snap. The fangirl had been amusing at first, but now she was simply annoying. Asa was done listening to things that fangirls created among themselves. She was not a part of the fan club, so why should she have to be subjected to their rules? She didn't see a reason to. "Yadda," she said flatly. "I won't."

"You dare to defy our rules?"

A dry, humorless smile flitted across Asa's face. "I just did," she said. "Well, then… I'll be seeing you later. Something came up." Turning to Fuji, she offered an apologetic little bow. "Gomen, Fuji-kun. See you in school tomorrow!" She hated to break a promise with him, but she honestly didn't have the heart to watch the meteor shower with him knowing that there was someone out to tear her apart. It probably wouldn't have been as big of a problem as it was now if she had just called him 'Fuji-ojii-sama' like the fan club insisted, but she wasn't a fan of Fuji's. She was a friend. There was a big difference between fan and friend. Besides, she could comfort herself later on by watching taped meteor showers on the Internet.

"Ja ne! Enjoy the meteor shower!"

"Aa-chan…!" Fuji called out after her, reaching out a hand almost as if to grab her arm and physically stop her from leaving, but she was already out of reach and simply gave a wave in his direction. Aa-chan… I really wanted to see the meteor shower with you, he thought, dropping his hand back down to his side.

With you… don't you understand?

***

"So you had a bad experience with fangirls, huh?"

Asa was walking with Miho down the halls of school the next morning, having just relayed to her best friend the events that happened the night before. As she had half expected, Miho had watched it with Eiji, and had raved about it to her, which had brought up the memories of the fangirl. She nodded as Miho looked thoughtful, fingering the ribbon on her box of chocolate that she had prepared for her boyfriend while she thought.

"Maa… it must be hard, ne?" Miho said finally, sighing lightly. "I mean… I don't have experience in dealing with fangirls myself. Of course Eiji has fans, too, but they're all incredibly nice. They care about his performance in the courts, and as long as he's happy off of them, they're fine with it. They're very sincere; I've talked with several of them." She heaved another sigh. "I guess Fuji-kun's fans are the kind that wants to monopolize him and keep him all to themselves. Why else would they have such a strict set of rules?"

Asa agreed with her friend. It was very logical, and thus made sense in her mind. Miho suddenly stopped, and Asa did, too, puzzled. "What's wrong?" she asked, glancing at Miho.

"Ijuuin Asa…" Asa suddenly had a bad feeling about what she was going to say. "…where are your chocolates today?"

She knew it. Maybe she should have faked a fever and not come to school today.

Miho wagged a finger in her face, tsking. "That won't do, Asa-chan!" she scolded, like it was Asa's sacred duty to bestow chocolate upon bows on Valentine's Day. "How will your one true love know you like them if you don't give chocolate on such a special day?"

"Did you hit your head somewhere, Miho-chan?"

"What? Of course not!" Miho replied indignantly, huffing. "Whatever gave you that impression?"

"Maybe the true love part…" Asa mumbled.

Miho's brown eyes softened. "Ah… I shouldn't have said that, should I?" she asked, patting her friend on the shoulder. She had wanted to say something in the spirit of Valentine's Day, and so that phrase had come out. "Gomenesai, Asa-chan."

"It's alright."

"But you can still give him chocolate, can't you?" Miho asked, beginning to look worried. "Say it's for compensation for walking out on the meteor shower last night. No, wait! I have an even better idea! Tell him it's a really early birthday present! You can't just skip him when you give chocolates!"

Asa stopped her before she got too excited and started planning the most absurd plans that would have no chance of succeeding. "Miho-chan, I have no chocolates with me today. Not a single piece."

"Oh…"

Asa stretched her arms above her head, taking a deep breath and putting a brilliant smile on her face. "But that's alright!" she said cheerily. "This year I'm going to observe the festivities of Valentine's Day from the sidelines. That means watching chocolates get eaten, seeing young love bloom, and mending broken hearts in the sweet shop! I can do without giving chocolates out this time… doesn't it sound like I have a busy day ahead of me?"

"If you say so…" Miho said, not looking too sure. The cheerfulness seemed a little… forced, if Miho had a say in it. But Asa was Asa, and whether or not Miho liked it, she couldn't force the other girl to say the truth. I wonder what exactly happened last night?

Lunch period brought the arrival of fangirls in groups of one to at least twenty (because Miho had lost her spot at twenty, and there were many, many girls, and she had been too lazy to recount). Miho and Asa situated themselves at a table in the corner of the cafeteria and watched the added chaos in the lunchroom while they ate their own lunches. Presently, Eiji bounced in, looking happy, and made a beeline straight for them.

"MIHO~~!" he yelled happily and then proceeded to glomp the girl, who laughed in response. Amazing, Asa thought, watching the two while she popped another bit of rice into her mouth, Miho-chan's not getting strangled! "Miho, Miho!" Eiji was continuing on, looking really excited. "I got lots of chocolate today! Everyone's so nice to me!" More laughter from Miho, and then the girl produced her own box of chocolate.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Eiji," she said with a bright smile, and received another glomp in thanks for the chocolate. Eiji popped a piece into his mouth right then and there, everything about him radiating satisfaction. What followed was a shower of compliments about the chocolate ('Miho's chocolate is the best of them all!').

Asa stood, flashing her two friends a smile and murmuring an excuse about going to the library to study for a test, packing up the remains of her lunch and then leaving the lunchroom. She felt bad for simply leaving the two of them, but the 'Kya~! Fuji-sama~!'s, 'Kya~! Tezuka-sama~!'s, and Kya-anyone-else-sama's were beginning to grate on her nerves. She swore that if she spent any more time in there her head would explode clean off of her shoulders. And that certainly wouldn't be very pleasant.

She passed Atobe in the hallways. He was surrounded by such a thick crowd of fawning fangirls that she couldn't even see him in their midst, but from the 'Atobe-sama~!'s she could tell exactly who it was. Did fangirls have to be that loud? She could feel a headache coming to her, and changed direction. She'd head to the clinic. Maybe the nurse would be nice enough to let her sleep the afternoon away.

"Aa-chan." Stopping when her name was called, she turned around to find herself face-to-face with Fuji. The next few seconds consisted of them staring at each other blankly, and when they did speak, it was together, although totally unintentional.

"What are you doing here?" was what came out of Asa's mouth. Wasn't he swamped in fangirls just moments before?

"I need to talk to you," came from Fuji's mouth. There were a few matters that he wanted to clear up with her.

Asa blinked. Fuji drew up short. "You go first," they both offered at the same time. Another few moments of silence passed, with more staring as each of them tried to judge when the other was going to speak.

When Fuji made no move to open his mouth and initiate the act of speaking, Asa swallowed. "Um… did you get a lot of chocolates this year, Fuji-kun?" she squeaked out. His expression darkened, and she drew back, watching him nervously. "Maa… all of Fuji-kun's fans must be really excited today," she continued. When one starts a conversation, he should finish it. As of now, Asa stood firmly behind that belief. If she didn't talk, there would only be an awkward silence. "They all really want Fuji-kun to eat their chocolate." She offered him a shaky smile.

"Saa…" Fuji murmured softly, "I don't want their chocolates." Asa looked surprised, and Fuji's eyes opened, pinning her to the wall behind her with their icy gaze. "Do you know how hard it is to smile and accept something that others so painstakingly made, when you know that you want that same thing from a different person, a person who simply won't give it up?" He took a step forward. She inched backwards. "It was always easier to accept sentiments when I didn't have someone I really wanted something from," Fuji breathed, taking another step forward. Asa's back was against the wall; she had nowhere to go, and could only watch Fuji's slow and steady advancement.

"If that girl wasn't there last night, would you have stayed and watched the meteor shower with me?" Fuji asked, placing a hand on the wall above each of her shoulders and successfully trapping her in one place. He leaned forward, resting his forehead on hers when she lifted her head in order to clearly see his face (her father had always said it was important to look a person in the eye when they were speaking to you). "I was really looking forward to our date, too…" he murmured, closing those cerulean orbs of his, but not into his customary smile. He seemed tired, all of a sudden, and not the usual playful Fuji.

"Fuji-sama will surely eat my chocolate!" Both Asa and Fuji started at the loud shrillness that could only signify fangirls. Thankfully, though, they were beyond the corner in the hallway and the girls didn't see them, immersed instead in their argument about whose chocolate Fuji would eat. "He will eat it and realize that I am the only one capable of capturing his heart!"

"You'll have to give him your chocolate, first," came the smug voice of the second. "How will he eat it if he doesn't have it?"

A third voice in the trio of girls sounded out. "We'd better hurry, then. Buchou specifically stated that we're not to bother Fuji-sama during tennis practice with chocolates, instead we're supposed to observe his flawless grace on the tennis courts." Had Asa not been pinned to the wall by Fuji at that moment she would have collapsed laughing. What a choice of words! She had always thought that Tezuka was the one who possessed the perfect tennis among them all. "If we miss this chance it's all over. We have to find Fuji-sama!" There was a pattering of feet as they left the hallways and Fuji drew away from the wall.

"Saa… looks like I'm on chocolate-receiving duty again," he said, smiling that usual smile of his. "I'll see you later, then, Aa-chan." He paused when there was no answer. "Aa-chan…?"

A frown had made its way across Asa's face. There was something bothering her… if she actually put some thought into it she realized that it had been bothering her for quite some time, now. And it had all stemmed from fangirls. Why…? I'm not jealous, am I? Hastily, she shook her head, earning a worried look from Fuji, which she ignored because she hadn't seen it, so wrapped up in her thoughts. Of course she wasn't. That was absurd.

They make me feel uncomfortable… those fangirls. Even though Fuji-kun is really handsome, he has great grades, he's really caring about others even though he plays lots of pranks of them… they only like him because of his physical aspects. How many of them actually understand them, I wonder? Does Tezuka-kun, who has been his captain for the past three years, even understand Fuji-kun? She gnawed on her lower lip, brows furrowing in concentration.

"Fujiko! We need to get back to class!" Eiji called out, having found his best friend and was now going to enact the plan of dragging the brunet off to probably help him with his homework. Fuji turned to him, starting forward, about to wave and say hello when something stopped him.

"Aa-chan?" he asked, glancing down at his wrist where she had clamped her hand onto. "Is something wrong?"

"Eh?" Asa snapped out of her reverie, turning a nice shade of red when she saw her hand holding him back. Eiji looked absolutely thrilled and promptly vanished from sight. Asa released Fuji's wrist like it was heated metal and would burn her, while Fuji brought his arm slowly back to his side. "Nothing," she stammered. "You should probably go. Eiji-kun must want your help for something important. See you later." She turned and scrambled away before Fuji could catch her and question her further.

What was I thinking? Grabbing Fuji-kun's hand like that, without warning… but he really is warm… warm and soft… She blinked, skidding to a halt, eye wide as she considered what she had just thought. Warm and soft. Had she seriously thought of Fuji as warm and soft?

But he is, some part of her argued. I always feel safe with Fuji-kun. Even if I'm confused he always makes me feel safe. Always, always.

Her eyes widened even more until she was afraid they would fall clean out of her head. Oh, she couldn't, could she? Mattaku! I'm so dense! she fairly wailed to herself. Because if she really thought about it… if she put conscious effort into all of the events concerning her and Fuji…

I… really like Fuji-kun.

A/N: Eh... I've decided to give poor Fuji a break and make Asa less dense. :)

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