Chapter 14

The end of February brought warm and agreeable weather, much to everyone's happiness. The majority of the slush piles that had been left behind by January had vanished, and the only thing that one had to worry about now was stepping on grass and sinking down into mud from where the snow had enthusiastically melted into the ground.

Fuji's birthday came finally on the 29th. His sister came home early from work in order to help his mother do the finishing touches of the feast the Fuji family had planned, complete with all of Fuji's favorite foods (although with not-so-spicy alternatives for the rest of the family members who couldn't quite stomach spicy foods as well as Fuji himself). Yuuta had been convinced to come for dinner and to stay for the night, and so there was a festive gathering in the Fuji house, just like on Yuuta's birthday earlier on the 18th.

At school, he was showered with gifts from his fans, who had apparently taken it upon themselves to make the whole school festive for this occasion. Fuji had watched, bemused, while his desk piled so high with presents that in a few short minutes he couldn't even see in front of it, such was the stack of presents. Wherever he went, he would have to pull up short every now and then to avoid getting hit in the face with a gift. Even the team had seen it fit to get him a few small presents, and there was plenty of laughs as they teased him about how old he was (Fuji would joke that he was four-years old and not the sixteen that he now was).

Even Miho had gotten him a gift, a little figure of a prince on a keychain, which he had immediately placed on the zipped of his tennis bag, feeling rather touched. Asa, too, had found a gift for him, a pair of puppy and kitten figures that went on the cell phone and that were brightly furnished with colorful beads. Cute, yes, and not something one would expect a sixteen-year old boy to have on his cell phone, but Fuji had attached it to his phone right away, without a moment of hesitation, waving aside Asa's excuses about not finding a gift that was a bit more 'manly.'

As long as it made him happy and warm and fuzzy inside and generally brought him up on cloud nine, Fuji was fine with any gift he received. Thus, he really didn't care what Asa had decided to get him (a kiss would have been nice, though. He knew several of the upperclassmen got kisses from their girlfriends on their birthdays. And no, he had not spied on them. What on earth would give one the impression of that? He had merely observed casually from behind a tree).

But no matter how he looked at it, Fuji dearly loved it when his birthday came. He loved being spoiled silly by everyone who knew him (he had always been special, he knew).

But now that his birthday had passed and he was officially sixteen, he made himself busy by prowling the streets of downtown Tokyo, glancing at shop windows and contemplating their wares, comparing their costs to how much pocket money he had on him and how much money he could get his hands on in the next week.

"Miss? Can I help you at all?" Fuji ignored the employee of the current shop he was in. After all, hadn't she said 'miss'? The last time Fuji had checked, he was a guy. So she couldn't have been talking to him.

"Um… miss?" the employee said again. "Is there anything that you need help with?" Now Fuji turned to her, one eyebrow raised slightly. She had mistaken him for a girl? He knew that he had a smaller build then most boys his age, and that he had softer features then them, but he didn't look that much like a girl, did he?

"I'm just browsing," he said, and the employee bobbed her head before moving off, probably wondering why this 'girl' was so strange. Slightly amused, Fuji snickered to himself as he continued to browse.

Saa… I can see why everyone hates White Day, now, he mused to himself as he moved through the store's selection of jewelry, cerulean eyes drifting over the items, not really finding one that really demanded his attention to it. Honestly speaking, White Day simply put too much pressure on all of the guys who had received chocolates for Valentine's Day, himself included. It would be nice if he could just stay home for White Day, so as not to get molested by a mob of fans.

An hour later, he had finished his window-shopping, was still empty-handed, and had plopped himself down at one of the booths in one of the many sidewalk cafés and was sipping at a mug of hot cocoa, staring out the window onto the street. Several minutes passed by where he just sat and stared before he pulled out his cell phone and punched in a number, holding it to his ear as he waited almost impatiently for the person he had called to pick up.

"Moshimoshi?" came a puzzled voice on the other end.

"Eiji," Fuji said brightly (he had dialed Eiji's home phone).

"Fujiko!" Immediately, Eiji's voice perked up. "Nya, Fujiko, help me help me help me!" the redhead wailed. "I can't find a good gift for Miho for White Day! What do I do, nya?"

Fuji shrugged before reminding himself that Eiji couldn't see it. "I don't know. I was looking for a gift, too."

There was silence on Eiji's side of the line, and then Fuji could hear his friend again. Eiji's usually cheerful voice was dark and foreboding, though, which surprised him. "Who is she?"

"Hmm?"

"Who. Is. She?" Eiji grated out. If Fuji had been any other person, he would have flinched at the venom in Eiji's voice, but since he was Fuji, he simply tilted his head to the side, a pleasantly puzzled expression on his face.

"What are you talking about, Eiji?" Fuji asked. "I was going to get Aa-chan a gift, except I didn't quite see something that I thought she might like. I was going to ask you if you had any suggestions."

There was silence on the other side of the line before Eiji let out a tiny, "Oh…"

Fuji chuckled. "Ah… are you busy right now? If not, we can get our browsing done today and figure out what we want to get. There are plenty of stores and wares over here; you're bound to find something for Oshitari-chan." Eiji let out a whoop and promised to be right over when Fuji gave his current location to the redhead.

And true to his word, Fuji could see Eiji tapping happily on the window next to his seat fifteen minutes later. Both boys waved at each other before Fuji stood up, paid for his cocoa, and joined Eiji outside. "The shops, the shops!" Eiji cried excitedly.

Eiji dragged Fuji into every single store that his indigo eyes laid sight on. By the time they had gone through the street of shops twice Fuji was thankful that he hadn't been born a girl. How on earth did girls manage their huge shopping sprees? It was amazing.

"Do you think she'll like it?" Eiji asked hopefully, holding up his purchase for Fuji to see… for the tenth time. "It fulfills the White Day criteria, right? It's white… see…"

Fuji chuckled, patting his friend on the shoulder. "Hai, hai… it's fine, Eiji. You're worrying too much about it." Eiji gave him a hopeful look and Fuji chuckled again. "As long as you really thought about it, she'll enjoy the gift." Eiji looked absolutely thrilled, but then frowned at Fuji's own empty hands.

"What about your gift, Fujiko?" he asked. "We've gone through every store and you still haven't picked something out."

Here, Fuji gave a soft smile and started leading Eiji down the street. "Actually, I think I've picked something out," he told his friend. "Would you give it a look and tell me what you think?"

Eiji grinned and flashed his victory sign in Fuji's face. "Of course, of course!"

***

Asa was quite happy when the morning of March fourteenth dawned and she headed to school. She hadn't given out any chocolates this year, so she figured that she should be safe from any White Day gifts. After all, boys only gave girls presents on White Day when the girl gave them chocolates and they returned the feelings.

The Valentine Chocolates are a key factor, she thought, allowing a satisfied smile to slip over her face. If there are no Valentine Chocolates, then there should be no White Day gift, in theory. Yes… it all works out. Giving herself a firm nod as congratulatory for her brilliant deductions, she stepped into her homeroom, expecting her day to pass as a perfectly ordinary one.

That was why she stopped and stared at the little white box on her desk, complete with matching white ribbon, puzzlement all over her features. Why was there… a gift… on her desk?

"'To Ijjuin-chan, Happy White Day,'" she read, holding the little box in her hand. "'From, Nakamura Katsuo.'"

Oh… dear… Kami-sama…

She heaved a sigh and set the box down, looking troubled. She couldn't accept it. First of all, she hadn't even given him chocolates a month ago! Second of all… it wouldn't do to accept a White Day gift from a boy that she didn't like, right?

Mou… it's not exactly like that… Nakamura-sempai fulfills the part of an older brother more than a fiancé, I think, she thought, frowning thoughtfully to herself. At least, besides from showering her with gifts, he hadn't made any other effort to try and be anything more fiancé-like. In fact, the two of them rarely spoke to each other as it was, only holding the occasional conversation which usually revolved around schoolwork and the like. Either way, I can't accept this.

She set the gift gently into her bag for later and sat down at her desk, pulling out her books and flipping open to the day's lesson. Presently, Eiji and Miho popped in, chattering happily. They flocked to her excitedly, Miho holding a gift wrapped in white paper decorated with light blue flower petals in her hands. "Asa-chan! Look what Eiji got me!" she squeaked excitedly. "A White Day gift! A White Day gift! It's the first time I've ever gotten one; I'm so excited!"

Asa smiled brightly at her friend's enthusiasm. "You didn't open it, yet," she noted, turning to her friend. "What did Eiji-kun get you? Can I see?"

Miho nodded excitedly. "Of course you can!" she said brightly, plopping into her seat next to Asa's and opening her gift. When she saw the gift Eiji had got her, her grin nearly stretched off of her face. "Isn't it cute?" she asked, holding up a silver charm bracelet with tennis and cute little animal charms dangling off of the chain. In addition, a small packet of white chocolate and marshmallows had been added into the gift box, sufficiently taking up the whole volume of the box with the bracelet. Both girls promptly let out simultaneous sighs of 'aww…' as was appropriate for such a gift, and then Asa heartily congratulated her friend, and was given a marshmallow while Miho slipped the bracelet onto her wrist and popped a white chocolate piece into her mouth.

"Say, Asa-chan… did you get any gifts?" Miho asked, hinting towards Fuji with a twinkle in her eyes. Asa's face, though, surprised her. "Asa-chan… what's wrong?"

Asa sighed, reaching into her bag and withdrawing the white box with its matching satin ribbon, and showed it to her friend. Miho read the inscription and her face became troubled. "But what about Fuji-kun?" she blurted out. Eiji had told her already that Fuji had spent a lot of time trying to pick out the right gift. And now here was Nakamura's… sitting in her hands. "What did Nakamura-sempai get you?" she asked, giving the box another glance.

Asa didn't know, not having opened the box yet. Gently, Miho removed the ribbon and lifted the lid. Brown eyes widened, however, when she saw the contents of the box. "Tell me I need to get my eyes checked," she begged Asa, who simply raised an eyebrow, edging the box towards her so that she could see its contents, as well. When she did, her eyes nearly popped out of her head.

Eiji peeked over their shoulders and promptly squeaked in awe. "That's the necklace from the new Dazzle Sky line!" he cried, loud enough to attract the attention of everyone in the classroom and most in the hall, too. Miho furiously tried to shush him, while Asa frowned at the necklace. It was a dazzling piece of jewelry, composed of two strands of diamonds twinkling with iridescent colors. Three sapphires hung down from the center, and Asa assumed that the blue color was what gave the line its name.

"It's too shiny," Asa sighed, trying not to think of how much it cost. After all, the Dazzle Sky line came out only a few days ago, and to get a piece so quickly must have meant parting with a large sum of money. She was afraid to even imagine the cost of the gift in her hands.

Miho, though, seemed to have other thoughts. "You just got the necklace from the newest line of jewelry, and you think it's too shiny!?" her friend cried, looking exasperated. "Did you hit your head somewhere? These cost, like, 50 million yen apiece!"

Trust Miho to know about these things. Asa groaned and felt like smashing her head against her desk. So she held 50 million yen in her hands. Added with all of her other pieces, how much money did she have in her desk drawer? Any burglar who broke into the Ijuuin house would probably die of happiness before stealing anything, if the prices were correct.

Eiji bit his lip, looking worried. "But… what about Fujiko?" he asked, indigo eyes wide and round as saucers. "Nothing can compare against a 50 million yen necklace! What do we do what do we do what do we do?"

His wails would have continued had a sweet voice not suddenly interrupted him. "Is something wrong, Eiji?" Standing behind Eiji was Fuji, his head tilted to the side in mild puzzlement. Eiji let out a strangled little squeak, echoed by Miho, who promptly snatched the box from Asa's hands and tried to stuff it into her bag, away from sight. This did not go unnoticed by Fuji, who leaned forward curiously, gently removing the box from Miho's possession before the girl could protest. "Oh… is this the new necklace from the Dazzle Sky line?" he asked, smiling like he always did.

Miho gave a nervous nod, although her face seemed to pale when she saw Fuji go for the tag. "Um… Fuji-kun… what brings you here?" she asked, keeping brown eyes on the box and willing with her mind for Fuji to stop. Unfortunately, her physic powers seemed to need brushing up.

Fuji answered her while reading the tag. "My class is being too loud, and besides, there's no rule that says I can't crash in anyone else's class before the first bell rings, ne?" he asked, although his voice was devoid of its usual teasing lilt, which, frankly, worried his three friends. Replacing the lid on top of the box, he handed it back to Asa. "It's pretty, ne?" he asked softly.

"Eh? Uh… I suppose…"

"I see…" Fuji murmured, sliding his hands into the pockets of his school uniform. There was no smile on his face. "Saa... this makes things considerably more difficult then they were before," he sighed.

"Fuji-kun…?" Asa chanced, looking something between extremely nervous and extremely worried. Stuffing the box into her pocket (she was actually rather surprised that it fit), she stood, but Fuji dodged away from her before she could even make a move towards him, slipping out of the door. Eiji leapt up to go after him, but Asa shoved past him, surprising them all. "Um… please excuse me for a few moments!" she offered lamely before making a beeline for the doorway.

Finding the general direction that Fuji fled in proved to not be as difficult of a task as Asa had first suspected. It seemed that a fleeing tensai wasn't a sight that everyone got to see usually, so if she just followed the line of gossip (it helped that the gossipers also tended to point in the general direction as they gossiped to their friends), heading out of the school building. In no time, she found herself in front of the clubroom that the tennis club used.

"Pardon the intrusion," Asa murmured, putting her hand on the doorknob and opening the door. "Fuji-kun?" she asked, poking her head into the room. Sure enough, there was Fuji, sitting on the bench, leaning against the wall, eyes closed, face tilted towards the ceiling. Asa approached him hesitantly. "Fuji-kun?" she asked again, chancing to sit down next to him, praying fervently that he wouldn't snap at her.

Fuji glanced over at her, a puzzled expression on his face. She swallowed, offering a nervous little smile. "You came?" he asked, surprised and a bit flattered, although the bitterness was heavy in his voice.

"Well… yeah… I mean, you don't usually run off like that, you know."

Fuji chuckled mirthlessly. "I guess not. Rather un-genius-like of me, wasn't it?" He paused before speaking again. "Anyways… Nakamura-sempai really knows how to pick gifts for the occasion, ne?" he asked, feigning cheeriness.

Asa frowned. Fuji got all worked up over a gift? "I guess… but I really wished he'd stop doing things like that." She sighed tiredly and was silent for a few moments before sighing in exasperation. "I hate White Day!" she hissed out, frustrated. Her plan had been absolutely foolproof and wonderful, and now this had to happen and everything was ruined! Why? Why did stupid, luckless things always seem to happen to her?

"Aa-chan?" Fuji ventured out hesitantly, wondering if he should laugh or tease her about her burst of frustration. In the end, he settled with merely being silent, cocking his head gently to one side to listen to what she had to say.

And it turned out like she had a lot to say, too, from the way it poured out of her. Fuji decided that it was a good thing that he had stayed silent; there was honestly no room for him to interject, not even for a squeak. "The point of White Day is for someone to give a gift to a girl if that girl gave him a gift on Valentine's Day! And even then, it's only if they like the girl. It's very systematic and orderly…! One shouldn't get a gift if they didn't give anything for Valentine's Day!"

"Do you really believe that, Aa-chan?" Fuji asked, quickly placing in his two cent's worth when she paused for breath.

She started, as if just realizing that he was in the room with her. "Yes. I stand firmly behind that belief."

Fuji leaned back against the wall, contemplating her words. "But, Aa-chan… what if a guy really liked a girl, but the girl that he liked didn't give him chocolates for Valentine's? How is the boy supposed to tell the girl that he likes her?"

Asa huffed, not liking how Fuji was making things so much more complicated for her. Trust a genius to do that; she grumbled at the unfairness of it all.

"Mou, Fuji-kun," she whined, an evidently displeased expression on her face (Fuji thought it looked cute, the way her mouth was oriented into a little pout). "Stop making things so complicated! Not all of us are gifted geniuses like you are!"

Fuji couldn't help himself; he chuckled, and soon his chuckles gave way to soft laughter. Her pout grew bigger. Why, oh why, was Fuji-kun laughing at her? This was a very serious matter! "Saa… Aa-chan… you need to lighten up," Fuji said cheerily when he had composed himself. She huffed and crossed her arms over her chest, turning away from him. Since when had their conversation turned into something that Fuji could just tease her?

Obviously, this amused Fuji to no end, which promptly caused him to turn his tease-Asa-until-she-couldn't-take-it-anymore mode to the extreme. By the time Asa finally managed to figure out a way to stop him and convinced him that they should probably get to class (as opposed to hiding in the tennis clubroom for the whole day), the bell for first period had long since rung. And then, while trying to head out the door like any other normal person, Asa tripped on a stray tennis ball (why were there stray tennis balls on the floor?) and tumbled with a squeak sideways into a whole crate of them. Little yellow balls fell all over the place, knocking over water bottles in the process. Some of the water bottles then chose to have their tops pop off and dump their contents all over the floor and the tennis balls.

Fuji and Asa remained silent, staring wide-eyed (in Asa's part) or with an everlasting smile (although Fuji's smile twitched just the tiniest bit). Finally, Asa let out a tiny, "Oops…"

Fuji shrugged, placing a hand on her shoulder in a reassuring manner. "Don't worry about it," he offered cheerily, "We were going to be late for class, anyways. This just gives us a valid excuse." He smiled brightly; Asa simply sighed.

***

By the time they had managed to finish picking up the tennis balls and putting them back in their crate ('We should put the wet ones on the bottom,' Fuji had decided, 'that way, Tezuka won't find them so easily!') Asa did not want to touch another tennis ball for the rest of her life. When Fuji finally released her from the clubroom she made a beeline for the school building before she realized that she hadn't formed a legitimate excuse for missing the first part of school (she highly doubted the teachers would buy the fact that she was picking up tennis balls with Fuji-kun all morning, even though that was the truth).

This is kind of depressing, she sighed to herself, changing direction and making herself comfortable underneath a sakura tree. Heaving a soft breath, she leaned her back against the bark of the tree, staring up at the pink blossoms that adorned the branches. The year will end soon… what should I do over the vacation between terms? She closed her eyes, tilting her head lightly to one side when she felt a soft petal land on her cheek.

"Ijuuin-chan, you're not cutting classes, are you?"

She cracked open one eye to find Nakamura before her, looking curiously down at her. "Possibly," Asa answered, feeling too lazy to go into details. "And you, Nakamura-sempai? You wouldn't be cutting classes as well, would you?"

He shrugged, looking amused. "Actually, this is my free period," he offered. "Do you mind if I sit?" She shook her head and he sat down on the ground. "Spring is my favorite time of year," he said, holding his hand out as petals floated down. "It's nice to look out the window and see the sakura blossoms in full bloom. There's one in my front yard."

"Really? My yard is too small for a sakura tree," Asa mused, looking thoughtfully up at the tree. However, a small frown soon appeared on her face. "Ne, Nakamura-sempai… about the White Day gift…" She trailed off, not quite sure how she wanted to word her thoughts.

"You mean the necklace?" Nakamura asked. She nodded mutely and a relieved smile crossed his face. "I'm glad you got it; I was afraid I put it on the wrong desk or something." His expression turned serious after a few moments and he studied her face carefully. "Is something wrong with it?"

"No, no! It's just… uh… how do I put this…?" Asa brought her knees to her chest, resting her chin on them. "It's really pretty and everything… but I can't accept it." She pulled the box out and looked at it before opening the lid. The sunlight caught the gems and made it dazzle and sparkle playfully. "I wasn't sure before, but now I'm certain. Nakamura-sempai is a really kind person, even though others might get the impression that he's not quite so, and I'm really glad to have been able to meet him. But…"

She shut the lid, simply holding the box in her hand. "But I don't like Nakamura-sempai in the way that our current situation calls for. That's because… I like someone else." She closed her eyes again and waited for the explosion.

Nakamura chuckled softly and her eyes flew open, looking up in surprise at her sempai. She had envisioned a lot of reactions, but laughing certainly hadn't made it onto her list. Nakamura composed himself after a few seconds, leaning back so that he could stare up at the branches. "Is that all?" he asked, looking bemused. Dumbfounded, she agreed.

"I'm glad."

"Huh?"

Nakamura turned his head so that he could face her. "I'm glad," he repeated patiently. "You know, somehow, I had a feeling that I wouldn't win right from the beginning." He sighed lightly and turned back to facing the branches. "The people who sparkle and dazzle the most are the hardest to get a hold of. That's why I chose the Dazzle Sky necklace. Everyone wants it, even though their reasons may be different, but in the end only a few will be able to own it. You're like that necklace, Ijuuin-chan."

Asa blinked, confused beyond measure. "I'm like the necklace?" she echoed, opening the box again to stare at the piece of jewelry it housed.

"Yes. Although, sometimes, I don't think you know it yourself. I'm under the impression that people don't really know their own good points, and only the people that they interact with truly know that. After all, if someone says that they're 'good and righteous,' others might get the impression that he's conceited. People have a habit of exaggerating their own good points to make themselves more appealing." He smiled a little, falling silent for a moment before speaking again. "Ijuuin-chan is like the necklace because she's always smiling. She wants to see others smile, so she always tries hard to make them happy. People can't be happy when they see sadness, so she bottles up the things that worry her and let them out only when she's along. Am I correct?"

She was silent, contemplating what he said. At last, she gave a small nod. "I guess that's true. When I was little, no one would smile at me. They thought that if they showed that they were happy, I would be sad, because I wasn't healthy like them, I couldn't do the things that children my age did. They'd keep their conversations strictly on little things, like the weather, or school, or stuff like that. But you know, when I'm talking about the weather and it's sunny, I'm happy, because the sun is warm on my face. If it's school, I can be happy, too, because people have fun painting or playing or singing with friends. If they don't smile, they can show happiness in other ways, like a little twinkle in the eye or something.

"But they never did that. It was like they wore stone masks when they were around me. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't ever get anything other than sadness or pity from them. I didn't want to see them so sad… the people who were my friends and family. I didn't want to be pitied. I could be like a normal kid, too. I really could…" Tears sprang unbidden to her eyes and she tried to blink them away, but failed. Stubbornly, she continued, simply reaching up to brush them away but otherwise leaving them there, while Nakamura gave her an encouraging nod.

"Jiji-san took me to a cake shop once… when I was seven. It was the first time I've ever been in one. He said it was a birthday gift and I could pick any cake I wanted, as long as it made me happy. I couldn't choose one; they all looked so delicious that I wanted to try them all. Jiji-sama laughed and got me a box with assorted slices from all kinds of cakes, then he took me to the park and we got to eat them and feed the pigeons."

Asa smiled fondly, although her smile was a nostalgic one. "Jiji-sama was my hero. He could always make someone laugh or smile, even when they wanted to cry. He was the only one who wasn't all sad and mopey and boring when they came to visit me in the hospital. I wanted to be just like him; I wanted to be able to make people be happy when they were sad.

"But then when I was eight, he fell ill. He was hospitalized, but even despite the best efforts he passed away a week later. At the funeral, we were all asked to say what we liked best about Jiji-san. No one could say anything; they were too sad about his death. But Jiji-san wouldn't like it if everyone was sad at his funeral, because he always said that he wanted to be remembered for what he did when he was alive. I didn't understand it when he told me, and I don't think I understood it even then, but I do now."

She bit her bottom lip, sobbing quietly, feeling pathetic. "And so Ijuuin-chan wanted to be like her hero, right?" Nakamura asked softly. "Her hero wouldn't have wanted everyone to be unhappy, so she acted happy at the funeral in order to cheer everyone up, only she was crying inside."

"It was something like that, I suppose…" Asa swallowed and looked apologetically up at him. "I'm sorry; you probably weren't expecting that. I got off on a tangent."

"It was your first time telling anyone about your grandfather, I'm presuming?" Nakamura asked, to which she agreed. "I'm envious. If it were me, I'd probably be crying the hardest. I couldn't lose someone I respected so dearly and smile through it all."

'I believe that if you truly loved someone, you'd smile for them no matter what happens to yourself.'

She didn't know when Nakamura got up, slipping a folded bit of paper into the box she held in her hand. She didn't know when he walked away, gesturing Fuji to him. She didn't hear what he told the other boy, nor did she know when exactly Fuji sat down next to her.

All she knew was the warm arms that wrapped around her shoulder and brought her to a strong shoulder, a silent invitation for her to stop trying to be strong.

A/N: Jiji-san is an alternate name for grandfather.

It's been a long time since I updated this. Sorry. School showed its ugly head and let loose the AP World History minions. Which is why I failed at updating this. Sorry again, for this really really long chapter that's long overdue.

On the bright side, I envision one more chapter after this and then the epilogue, and then Sugar Sweet will be completed! Until then, reviews are always loved and appreciated.