Initial D Fan Fiction ❯ Opposites Attract? ❯ Chapter 1 ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: Keisuke and Ryousuke belong to Shuichi Shigeno and Kodansha. The girls, Sadae and Kasumi, are mine. Years ago I read a story in Chicken Soup For The Soul written by a man (who had been a popular football player in high school) about his experiences with dating a brainy but unpopular girl.

This takes place before canon. Keisuke is 17, still in high school, and does not have a car yet. Ryousuke is 19 and has had his FC, and been racing, for about a year now. (The possible origin of Keisuke's preference for guys?)

Thanks to Krysana, my hardworking beta-reader.

Opposites Attract?

By MonteLukast

"Why not?"

"I said no."

"But… Keisuke~~~!"

"I don't want to. Thanks for asking."

"Oh, Keisuke…" The pretty girl in front of him seemed to wilt, her head hanging dejectedly. "I thought we had such a good time!"

"I did have a good time. But I still don't want to go out with you. Sorry." He gave the girl a curt nod before turning away and striding down the hall.

He sure was glad that was over. What a disappointment it had been… Arimura Kasumi was not only a real looker, she was one of the top students in the class. Both pretty and smart-those types could be real prima donnas, but at least that was a notch above clinging and fawning, as most of the other girls did. Surely, he thought, she'd be different.

But no. On their date, she did that exact same thing. Practically fell all over him, trying to butter him up. He would have liked it a couple of years ago-he did like it a couple of years ago. Now that stuff was old, and he was sick and tired of it.

By the third time she'd complimented him on his 'fabulously handsome face,' Keisuke had decided that the date was a washout. Well-maybe not a total washout. He hadn't really been lying when he'd said he had a good time… he'd had a nice dinner and seen a good action movie with a car chase scene.

He strode past a group of students cleaning down the hall, trying not to hear a sarcastic voice saying, "I see the Golden Boy is back. Where's your legions of admirers to swoon over you?"

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw some of those admirers scowl at her, and he heard one of them exclaim, "Who does she think she is, insulting Keisuke-san like that?"

Okay, some people at the school were not impressed by him, but he never thought he'd meet anyone like this particular girl-one, evidently, bold enough to say to his face that she wasn't impressed. Maeda Sadae was another one of the top students in the class. But unlike Kasumi, she was plain… and just about the least likable girl he knew. She seemed to have no friends, and everything that came out of her mouth seemed to drip with sarcasm.

"She's probably never even received a Christmas present, except from her family," Keisuke said to himself as he made it to his next class. Sadae didn't have any classes with him. As one of the school's best students, she would take tough classes. Classes like advanced creative writing, advanced English, and college-prep this-and-that, while he was chugging along in basic biology.

And it's a good thing too. I wouldn't want to see her in class, thought Keisuke as he settled down in his chair. She probably annoys everyone so much, sucking up to the teachers, answering all the questions and making everybody else look bad. He shook his head to rid himself of the distasteful image.

*~*~*~*

That night was a typical peaceful spring night at the Takahashi residence. Peaceful mainly because the only sounds coming from the house were Ryousuke tapping his computer keys-- as well as the bubbling of the hot tub in the backyard, where his parents were enjoying a much-deserved breather after having been up since four-thirty that morning.

Ryousuke, however, still had to complete his project for physiology class, and so there he was, making adjustments to the body water balance module, when the front door slamming and a familiar set of footsteps bounding upstairs distracted him.

Here he comes…

"Aniki!" said Keisuke as he burst into Ryousuke's room. "Can you talk, or are you busy?"

"I'm busy," said Ryousuke as he saved the changes to his project on the disk drive and scribbled down a few notes. "But I can spare you a few minutes as always."

"Good." Keisuke plopped down on his brother's bed. "I've got problems."

"Oh? What kind of problems?"

"Girl problems."

"Really?" Ryousuke turned around to face his brother. "That's a little surprising, I thought you said girls liked you…"

"Girls like me, all right… I just don't like them. Uh… that's not what I mean. What I mean, what I mean by that is, well… uh…"

"Oh, did your date with Arimura not work out?"

"No. She got all weird on me. She acted like a damn puppy dog, like everybody else does. And here I thought that because she's one of the best students in my class, she'd be better." Keisuke sighed. "Why can't girls act normal around me? Why do they have to go all… well, gushy when I'm around?"

His brother smiled. "Well, you are quite a handsome guy, and you're pretty good at sports. And you're stylish."

"So? That doesn't make me a friggin' teen idol."

"Actually, to them it really and truly does. It was the same way with me."

Keisuke looked at him in mild surprise. "How'd you deal with it?"

"I just smiled and said no a lot. They still loved me, and wanted to be with me, for it anyway." Then Ryousuke smiled even wider. "They finally got the picture after they saw me at the movies with that boy from Takasaki East High."

The younger Takahashi chuckled. "Oh, yeah, I remember that. Boy, I'll bet that was a letdown for them…" He leaned closer to his brother. "Anyway, I'm tired of all these stupid, bubble-brained girls."

"I'm afraid that's the kind you're most likely to find in high school," said Ryousuke.

"Why?"

"Why? Because a lot of guys your age like girls to glomp all over them. Makes them feel important."

"Well, I used to be that way, but I'm not one of them anymore, and I'm sick of it." Keisuke pouted and stretched out full length on Ryousuke's bed.

"I could fix you up."

Keisuke did a double take. "What?"

"I said, I could fix you up. Set you up on a date," said Ryousuke.

"I've never had to be set up on a date before," said Keisuke, scowling.

"Why are you so bothered about it?"

"Because only losers need people to fix them up! And I'm not a loser."

"But you were just saying you wanted a different kind of girl, right? One who didn't treat you like a… 'friggin' teen idol'?"

Keisuke blinked. "Well… uh, yeah…"

"And when you want to pick and choose the type of girl, I'm sorry, but a lot of times that means fixing you up," said Ryousuke with a smirk.

"Well… uh, I guess you're right, Aniki."

"Right." Ryousuke swiveled in his seat for a minute before saying, "I could set you up with one of the girls in my classes."

"They'd be older than me."

"Not by much."

"They'd still be your age, not mine. I want somebody my own age."

Ryousuke sighed. His brother was making this matter way too difficult.

"You can at least try it, and tell me what you think. A lot of wives are older than their husbands, and they're still happy together."

"I still would rather have somebody my own age."

"Well," said Ryousuke, sighing again, "I'll see what I can do. Fumihiro's little brother is in the year behind you, I think. I'll ask both of them if they know anybody suitable."

"Have you fixed people up before?" said Keisuke.

"Of course. I can't say I've been 100 percent accurate, but I've never heard any of my friends complain."

"Well…" Keisuke considered it for a moment. "Okay. I'll give it a whirl. Just this once."

"Good," said Ryousuke. "Does Saturday night sound good to you?"

"Yes."

"Where would you like to go?"

"My usual place."

"That's okay. It's not too bad for first dates. Don't worry about it too much, Kei; everybody feels a little awkward about a blind date. Just be nice, relax, and have fun."

*~*~*~*

That Saturday night, Keisuke's usual place--an American-style pub just down the street from his father's hospital-- was crowded and noisy. Keisuke sat by himself, smoking, in a booth near the hostess' station. He curled his arms in front of him, then uncurled them and stretched them backwards. His shirt was a little too tight… he knew he should have washed it in cold water, or better yet, let his mother wash it.

I probably look like some stuffy salaryman, he thought as he took another drag on his cigarette.

"May I get you anything?" said the waitress, leaning close-rather too close-- and fluttering her lashes. Keisuke found her smile just a little too seductive. She knew he came in here often, and was perceptive enough to see that he did not have a steady girlfriend-but not perceptive enough, apparently, to know he wasn't interested in her that way.

Keisuke quickly turned away. "No, thank you. I'm waiting for a date."

Her smile faded somewhat as she said, "Well… okay. I'll be back later when the two of you are here." She dashed over to a customer sitting at the bar.

After all, if she was old enough to serve drinks, she was too old for him.

Keisuke settled back in the booth and took another puff. Come to think of it, what was he doing… he knew nothing about this girl whom he was about to meet. He didn't have any idea what she looked like, what her name was, or which school she went to… Hell, he didn't even know if she lived in Takasaki. I hope I'm not making a mistake.Over the next few minutes, he mulled over whether to get up and leave altogether, when he heard a female voice. Funny, that voice sounds familiar.

He turned around… and his face fell. Just as he thought-the voice was familiar. And so were the square face, the thin lips, the oddly bright eyes behind small oval glasses…

Not you.

Meanwhile, her mouth dropped open in shock.

As did his. "What?"

"Takahashi Keisuke?"

"Maeda Sadae?!"

*~*~*~*

The two stood there mute and agape for what seemed like eternity, before Sadae finally spoke. "Well… I must say, this is… a surprise."

Understatement of the year.Keisuke's insides churned. He should have been a bit more… specific in his request for a different girl. Of all people-why her? Even his brother's original offer of an older girl sounded like heaven right now.

"Well, aren't you going to ask me to sit down?" Sadae piped up.

Keisuke took a deep breath before saying, "Sure. Go ahead."

Sadae slid into the booth across from him. Her body was stiff, and she seemed to be trying to keep as much distance between them as possible. "Have you ordered yet?" she asked.

"What? No, I have not ordered yet. Are you hungry?"

"Of course I'm hungry," said Sadae. "What do you think?" Keisuke stared at her. "What's good to eat around here?"

"Well…" Keisuke said, loosening his collar and trying to keep his blood from boiling too much. "The barbecue ribs aren't bad. And the beer battered fish is good too."

"Hmmm. Have they got anything less greasy?"

What the hell?! It's a pub. It's all going to be greasy here. Don't you get out at all? Keisuke bit his tongue, though, and forced himself to say, "I think they've got a few salads."

"Good. I don't go for that greasy stuff. You might like it." Sadae opened her menu and scanned it with the intensity Keisuke had seen his brother pore over his textbooks.

Why the hell didn't you take her out yourself, Aniki? She's obviously much more suited to you. Oh-that's right-you don't like girls-

Keisuke moved his hand as if to smack his forehead-but then caught himself, and instead lightly rested his palm on his temple. What was wrong with his memory? He had known for the last several years that Ryousuke didn't go for women. That's what he really hated about this girl. It wasn't just that she went out of her way to insult him, and everyone else on the planet. She made him feel like a-no, she turned him into a blithering idiot. And he did not like being made a fool of. Least of all by a girl who had all the charm of peeling paint-

"Can you excuse me?" he said, getting up. "I need to go to the bathroom. Order me a large plate of ribs and a Coke."

"All right." Sadae did not take her eyes off the menu.

*~*~*~*

Keisuke pushed through the crowd and stepped outside, dialing on his cell phone. "Hello, Keisuke," said his brother instantly when he picked up.

"Aniki! What do you mean by this?"

"What do I mean?"

"What do you mean, Sadae of all people? Why, Aniki, why her?"

Ryousuke sounded amused as he said, "Keisuke, she fits the bill perfectly."

"What?"

"She's exactly what you wanted."

"She most certainly is not!"

"She's your own age, and as far from bubble-brained as they come."

"Aniki… Nobody likes her. She has the personality of a toad. A poisonous toad. She's not even pretty."

"Keisuke," said Ryousuke sharply. "I do hope she's not right next to you as you're saying this."

"No, she isn't."

"Where are you?"

"I'm outside. I told her I was in the restroom. No, Aniki, I did not skip out on her."

"Good. You'd better get back inside, before she starts to suspect that very thing."

"I don't want to…"

"Keisuke, you had better."

Keisuke groaned and said, "But Aniki… nobody likes her…"

"Apparently, the teachers love her."

"Well, she can go out with the teachers, not with me!"

"Did you know she's the captain of the debate team? That's a pretty big achievement, and a great honor."

"I don't care…" Keisuke said, pacing up and down the sidewalk. "Oh, why did I let you get me into this…"

"What are you complaining so much for? You insisted on somebody your own age."

"Aniki, next time, please make sure I'm gonna like the person before you fix me up. Tonight just isn't going to work out."

"How do you know? Have you talked yet?"

"No."

"Well, that's the point. You have to talk first."

"There's nothing for us to talk about."

"Sure there is. There must be."

"No, there isn't. We have absolutely nothing in common."

"I don't know about that. What if you find out you have more in common than you realize?"

Keisuke shuddered. "I'm not sure I want to have anything in common with her…"

"Keisuke!"

"Aniki… what'll I say to her? What'll we talk about?"

"Just talk. You're pretty good at that. Just find a way to take the pressure off. And don't forget to ask her questions. Let her do some of the talking."

"What if I get bored?"

"For her sake, try not to let it show. Hey, you're so sure this is the last night you'll get together, so you'll only have to play that game just this once. Just don't let on that you're bored. It's rude."

"Aniki… that's too hard…"

"Good evening, Keisuke." Ryousuke's imperious tone was followed by the equally imperious phone click. Keisuke stared at the phone in his hand for a few seconds before he mentally composed himself and stepped back inside.

"Is our food here yet?" he asked Sadae.

"Not yet."

"All right." He slid back into the booth and took a sip of his Coke. "Drinks are." He took a large swig. "Sorry I took so long."

"That's all right, I just assumed you were zooming the hostess."

Keisuke stared at her, eyebrows raised.

"Hey, I'm kidding," said Sadae, smirking. "Can't you take a joke?"

No, I can't. Not when it's on me.

Keisuke could have sworn he felt shivers down his spine. It was as if his date was one of those mad scientists out of a horror movie. The ones who smiled as they said, 'Come on out, dear, so I can kill you and eat your brain.' Perhaps that was all the smiling she knew how to do.

Just then their food arrived-which didn't help matters much at distracting Keisuke's mind from unwelcome thoughts. The waitress placed his plate of ribs in front of him, and Keisuke snatched up a rib, feeling ravenous all of a sudden. Sadae had a chicken salad and from the looks of it, was tucking into her meal with a vigor that almost matched his. She could eat my brain in a matter of minutes…

"You know, I've never been here before," said Sadae all of a sudden. "Do you come here often?" It was a friendly conversational tone-and it downright unsettled Keisuke.

I can't figure this-person out."…Yes," he finally said. "You know, it's right next to my dad's hospital. He's right down the street-"

"Oh, that's right, your dad's a doctor, right? From Takahashi Noboru Memorial?" she said, cutting him off.

"Yes…"

"What kind of doctor is he?"

"Ummmm… he does a little of everything."

"Oh, then, so he's a G.P."

"A what?"

"A G.P. A general practitioner." Sadae took another large mouthful of salad and chewed noisily.

Then again, Kasumi only got a small green salad, and she picked at it all night…she told me she didn't want to get above 45 kilos…at least Sadae doesn't do that…

"I think my mom went to your dad once," said Sadae. "She liked him, said he knew his stuff and had a pretty good bedside manner, but he was a little too expensive. She goes to somebody in Maebashi now."

Keisuke felt annoyance flare within him. No-affront. That's my dad you're talking about. Have you got no respect? "Hey," he said, sitting up straight and leaning forward. "My dad's not a money-grubber."

"What?"

"My dad is not one of those greedy doctors, so back off about him." Keisuke couldn't help it; his honor had been wounded.

"Hey!" said Sadae. "Don't get so worked up here. I didn't say he was greedy, I said he was a little expensive."

"Same difference."

"No, it's not. And I said my mom thought he was a little expensive. Not me. Please listen more carefully. I've never been to him; I don't know what he's like."

"Well, he's a damn good doctor," said Keisuke passionately. "He sometimes works eighteen hours a day, or more. He's gotten a lot of awards. Plus, he's my dad." He picked up another rib. "I don't know if you realize this, but you don't impress your date by insulting his dad," he added, trying to mimic her customary sardonic tone.

"I wasn't insulting him," said Sadae, and to Keisuke's surprise, she didn't sound snide at all-her voice was quiet and a little sad.

Keisuke sat back in his booth and sighed to himself. It's a cinch she hasn't been on too many dates. She doesn't know how to act on one… He needed another cigarette. "You mind if I smoke?" he said, brandishing the carton impatiently. He did have some consideration for other people, after all.

"Well," said Sadae. "Your lungs will turn black, your teeth will turn yellow, you'll die a horrible early death, and you won't be handsome anymore. But, of course you can smoke." She leaned back in her booth and took another mouthful of salad, a funny half-smile on her face.

Keisuke gritted his teeth, inhaled again and blew out the mouthful of smoke, taking care not to aim it over their meals. 'You won't be handsome anymore'… typical Sadae, thinking she was funny, no doubt. The odd thing was, his mind kept drifting back to his date with Kasumi. Most of the popular girls at his school smoked, but Kasumi was quite adamant about not doing it. A lot of their conversation-an awful lot-had consisted of her earnest pleas for him to stop smoking. Long-winded, emotional appeals.

Sadae had accomplished the same task with one carefully-placed one-liner. It was actually quite a nice change.

Doesn't mean I like her any more though.

He put out the smoke, and wolfed down another rib.

*~*~*~*

Actually, she'snot that bad-looking. Not very glamorous, but she looks okay close-up, thought Keisuke as he took, for the first time tonight, a good look at Sadae. She was wearing a pale gray V-neck sweater and black slacks, a getup that was remarkably similar to their school uniform. Her hair was shoulder-length and he couldn't tell if she had on any makeup or not; but he wouldn't have been surprised if she didn't.

They had finished their meals some time ago, and were now halfway through dessert. Keisuke checked his watch. Wow. I've been here an hour. Imagine that, I've survived an hour with Maeda Sadae.

After the flap about his father, they'd remained more or less silent, taking bites and watching the people around them. Keisuke chalked it up to more evidence of their mismatch. It was not a good sign, whether you liked the person or not, to talk this little. Good thing he could go home as soon as he finished dessert.

"You know," said Sadae out of the blue, "My parents don't want me to associate with bad students."

Keisuke felt a tremor of anger. Wrong subject. Totally, totally wrong subject."Is that supposed to be a hint?"

"What do you think?"

The tone of her voice made Keisuke bristle again. Scratch what I said about not talking. Not talking is way better. "Hey. I'm not a bad student."

"Oh, but aren't you? I think your brother's won practically all the school awards."

He glared at her. "Yeah, but my brother could make anybody look like a bad student." He hurriedly lit up another cigarette. "And in case you're wondering, he's in college, and he's seeing someone."

There. That ought to put her on ice.

"But wouldn't my parents just die?" Sadae laughed. "They'd have conniption fits. I'm doing something that goes contrary to their wishes. Not that I chose to do so in this case, though…"

"Hey, can we talk about something else here?" interrupted Keisuke, noticing that she had completely ignored what he'd said about his brother. At any rate, he was in no mood to talk about his-indeed--lackluster academic performance, not to mention participate in his own dressing-down. "My brother's got this car. It's a Mazda RX-7, a real racing car, and that's what he does when he's not studying for college… he drives all over the place. He's getting pretty damn good. And this car of his, it's supposed to be real powerful, real fast…"

He launched into what became a ten-minute monologue extolling the virtues of RX-7s. He was doing so deliberately; he wanted to put a quick, painless end to the date, and what better way than to bore her to tears? She's still a girl, and girls hate to talk about cars…

"… and he's so smart, he knows how to tweak the specs so he fits in with every mountain. And by now, he's probably been on every mountain in Gunma. And he's only been driving about a year now. He told me, he might go pro in the future." He took his last bite of dessert, loosened his collar again, and sat up straight. There! That should do it! This whole ordeal is over…

"What kind of an RX-7 is your brother's again?" asked Sadae, chin in hand.

What?

"There are several kinds. Which one does he have again?"

You mean… you mean she's not bored?!

Keisuke was so taken aback he didn't know which way was up. On the one hand, he couldn't believe his luck… she was actually interested in cars, which was good, very good. On the other hand, this was… Sadae! Sadae, who hadn't had a pleasant word all evening… or at any point in their acquaintance. Why did he want to carry on a conversation with her, even though it was about a subject he liked? They might actually start getting friendly, and then the world would come to an end.

"Oh, now what's the matter?" said Sadae.

Keisuke realized he had been sitting open-mouthed and silent for the past minute.

"I asked you a question. Hello? You're supposed to answer me, not sit there like a dead fish."

For Keisuke, that was the last straw. He closed his mouth, turned and glared at her. "Who do you think you are, my mother?"

"No, but if you talk to your mom the way you talk to me-"

"All right, that's it!" spat Keisuke, losing all his self-control. He stood up, saying, "You're not my mother, and I'm sure as hell glad you're not. I'm going home." He grabbed his coat and pack of cigarettes. "This was a mistake. The biggest mistake ever. My brother did this, because he misunderstood me-or hell, maybe he wanted to make fun of me," he said, pushing his way out of the booth. He then turned back to hurl one last barb at her. "For God's sake, can't you say something nice for once in your life?!"

He opened the door and stepped out… but then came back in, reached in his pocket, and flung four thousand-yen notes onto the table, avoiding Sadae's eyes as much as possible. He wasn't so rude as to stiff her with the bill… he was more mannerly than his brother and everybody else thought…

Almost half an hour later, while standing outside the nearby pachinko parlor where he had agreed to meet Ryousuke, he finally saw the white FC pull into the parking lot. As his brother parked next to the curb and rolled down his window, Keisuke thought he looked just a little amused.

"Are you ready?" he called.

Keisuke, fuming, stomped toward the car and climbed in. "How'd it go?" his brother asked him.

"Aniki, that's it. No more blind dates. Never, ever."

"Oh, I'm sorry," said Ryousuke, not really sounding sorry at all.

"You did this on purpose, didn't you?"

"What?"

"Fixed me up with that… that... person!" spat Keisuke. "You were making fun of me, weren't you?"

"Keisuke, it's called real life. Welcome to it. And no, I was not making fun."

"Well, I've had enough real life. From now on, I'll get my own dates."

"Well," Ryousuke sighed, "back to the drawing board."

"What?"

"You know it's going to be the same old glomp-and-fawn routine, but… if you think it's better than what you went through…"

"Anything's better than a date with Sadae. Wait… no! I don't want those stupid girls either. Gahh," said Keisuke, scrunching his face in his hands. "Dammit, I want a normal girl…"

"I offered you a normal girl. And you said, 'no, too old for me.' "

"Arrghh, don't remind me. Why did you do this anyway? Were you making fun of me?"

"Well…" said Ryousuke, "I have to admit, it is funny. The look on your face was priceless. Wait, let me finish," he said, holding up a hand to silence Keisuke, whose mouth had opened to retort. "And I have to admit… yes, I did do this on purpose, Keisuke. I wanted to… broaden your horizons a bit."

"Broaden my horizons? I think after tonight, I'll keep them narrow, thank you very much."

"Then get prepared for a lonely life."

"What?"

"You're not going to find a perfect girl. Perfect girls don't exist."

"Perfect? When did I say anything about perfect? I'll settle for non-puppy-like."

"Keisuke." Ryousuke smiled at him knowingly. "Non-puppy-like means they're probably going to be like Sadae. It comes with the territory. You want somebody different? Then you have to take all of the 'different'. You want a girl who 'acts normal', as you say… but rest assured, they're probably not going to think you're the greatest. They might not even be interested in you."

"And," he continued, "the ones who are nicer and prettier, they're probably going to err too much on the side of puppy-like for your taste. Sounds like no girl is going to be exactly right for you, so… that's why I said, you're going to be lonely."

"Oh, great…" Keisuke slumped against the car seat, letting his head loll back. "A world full of either Sadaes or bimbos. Lovely."

"I must say, though, I actually kind of like her," said Ryousuke.

"Who? Sadae?"

"Yes."

"Aniki! Why?"

"She speaks her mind, she has ambition…"

"And she's a good student," said Keisuke. "Don't forget that."

"Yes," said his brother, "she's a good student. And she really is as good at debate as I said. She's won more awards for her tournaments than any other girl at our school for… oh, ten years or so."

"But she's not supposed to act like that on a date. She's supposed to at least be polite. She can't even do that. Aniki, she hates everybody, and goes out of her way to tell them so… she just has no concept of human relations."

"Oh, I'm not sure… how are those 'fluff brains' of yours any better at human relations?"

"I…" Keisuke blinked. "I don't know."

"Neither do I," said Ryousuke. "But I do know, they're not my type."

"Well, there's not my type, and there's definitely not my type, and Sadae definitely comes under 'definitely.' Gah," said Keisuke. "Tongue's getting tangled."

"Actually, I can think of at least one thing you have in common."

"What is it? I don't want anything in common with her…"

"You both seem to be a bit lacking in tact."

"What?!"

Ryousuke was smiling. "And, you both seem to have tempers, and you're both… picky about who you want your friends to be, and…"

"Aniki! Now I know you did this to play a joke on me! And that's not funny!" said Keisuke, glaring at his brother, who had started to laugh.

"Playing a joke on you?" said Ryousuke when he had calmed down. "Keisuke, I was doing you a service."

"You mean, 'broadening my horizons'?"

"Yes."

Keisuke growled. "Aniki~~~"

"At the very least, it was a scientific experiment for me. Why the popular guy never goes out with the unpopular girl except in the movies. It was a question I wanted to answer for myself. And now I see… that maybe there's a good reason for that."

"You're damn right there's a good reason. It's so we don't kill each other… or bore each other to death. Hey, did you know that I tried to bore her?"

"What do you mean, tried to bore her?"

"I started going on and on and on about your car. Girls hate to talk about cars… but Sadae wasn't bored!"

Ryousuke couldn't keep from chuckling. "Keisuke… I hate to say it, but you do have quite a bit in common with her."

"No, I do not!"

"Yes, I think you do. And I think that's why you hate her so much."

"What? I don't follow you."

"I don't totally understand it either, but it does look to me as if the people you really hate, are the ones you have a lot in common with, and a lot totally notin common with-at the same time."

Keisuke blinked. He still didn't completely understand, but somehow… what his brother just said made a lot of sense.

*~*~*~*

Monday morning, Keisuke found a rolled-up piece of paper stuck in the vent of his locker. He tried to pull it out, but it was wedged in too tightly. He could only pull it free by opening the locker and locating the other end.

The note, as he unrolled it, was short and simple:

Meet me in the third-floor teacher's lounge after classes are over.

It had been signed with the kanji for "Maeda" and the letter "S".

Keisuke's chest tightened with anger. Who did she think she was, trying to contact him after it was supposed to be plain as day that they could not get along for even one night? Didn't she understand other people at all? And she had some gall to chew him out about it… Good thing, though, that she knew to meet in the third-floor teachers' lounge, where hardly anybody went except during quarterly meetings.

Ten minutes after his last class, he arrived at the lounge. Sadae was already there, standing, arms at her sides and an intense expression on her face. Keisuke braced himself, clamping down his teeth.

"You asked me if I've ever said anything nice in my life," she said. "Well, I'll say something nice now. I'm glad. I'm glad I never have to see you again after this year!" She folded her arms. "You know, you're just like all the other popular kids. Rude, stupid, conceited, and too good to deal with the real world and real people!"

Finally, he couldn't remain silent any longer. "Hey--"

She interrupted him. "Not everybody adores you, and it's time you got that into your head. And you blame this on your brother?! What a laugh. Your brother has ten times the class that you do, and he's one of your idiotic crowd too!"

"Shut the hell up!" yelled Keisuke. "Go ahead and insult me all you want, but you will not insult my brother. You understand?"

"I understand all right, that you're too stupid to realize, you didn't listen to what I just said! I was not insulting your brother. I was insulting your crowd!" Sadae had raised her voice almost as loudly as his. "You know, I really hate yelling. But that's what I have to do to get anything through your thick skull!"

"You just shut your mouth---"

Sadae turned away and walked briskly over to the door. "You should've just stayed with your frou-frou little friends, and gone out with some fluffy-headed fashion model wannabe, like all good popular boys do," she said in a normal volume again. "That's where you belong, right? Just like, I belong with fat, smelly, unshaven otaku. They're the only kind of guys who'll go out with me, right?"

"Hey!" Keisuke shouted. "I never said anything like that. When did I ever say that?"

"You didn't have to say it," said Sadae. "You were thinking it."

"No, I was not even thinking it," said Keisuke, gritting his teeth. "And just for the record, I hate fluffy-headed fashion model wannabes."

"Too bad. Because no girl like me-or any other girl with even half a brain-- will touch you with a ten-foot pole. You popular kids think you're so good at making friends. But you can't even listen to a person when they talk to you." Sadae opened the door and turned back toward him. "You know, I thought once, that you'd be different. But noooooo." She then slipped out the door and was gone.

Keisuke stood in shock for a moment. What does she mean, she once thought I'd be different?!

He kicked the table in disgust, watching an empty coffee mug tip over and roll off. Diving over to the spot where it landed, he picked it up and turned it around in his hand. Good. It didn't even get chipped.

And she sure has a chip on her shoulder about popular kids! I'm not even as popular as Aniki was.

But this is Sadae you're talking about. She has a chip on her shoulder about everything.

*~*~*~*

Keisuke quickly put his encounters with Sadae out of his mind as final exam study time arrived in earnest. Every afternoon he seemed to drag himself outside to the spot where his brother picked him up, literally drained by the arduous effort he was putting in. Man, he hated school sometimes. Ryousuke loved it, and it was no wonder: studies came as easily to his aniki as driving did. Why couldn't he do the same?

At least he seemed to be able to do the same as far as driving was concerned. Ryousuke had graciously allowed him to drive the FC around town a few evenings, and last weekend he'd even allowed him to take a spin down Mount Akagi. When he was behind the wheel, Keisuke just knew this was what he was suited for. Nothing took so much work here; his brain and body seemed to take in the road and the feel of the car as effortlessly as breathing. He didn't have to think so hard here… all he had to do was feel the drive, and everything would fall into place.

Ryousuke had even let him try to drift… a huge show of trust for someone so inexperienced. And judging from the look in his brother's eyes afterwards, Keisuke had performed the task admirably.

"It's amazing how good you really are at this," Ryousuke had said last night, after another run down Akagi. "I always did think you had something of it in you."

That compliment had buoyed Keisuke all morning, keeping his spirits up even as he knew it was going to be another beautiful day he'd have to spend inside studying. During history class, his last class of the day, he gazed out the window at the glorious sunshine and the cherry trees shedding their petals, and for a moment his heart sank. But he immediately consoled himself with the thought, I'm great at driving. I don't need to worry about school, after this. I'm going to be a racer.

Finally, classes ended, and Keisuke shuffled back to his locker, shifting his backpack over his shoulder with one hand as he twirled the lock on the other. The door swung open, and a folded-up piece of paper fell to the ground.

Keisuke felt a sense of foreboding as he bent down to pick it up. Sure enough, as he grasped it one corner pushed back to reveal the kanji for 'Maeda.'

Sadae again? What does she want this time… She said she never wanted to see me again, right? Then why is she doing this… Girls! Never can figure them out…

Finally, Keisuke unfolded the letter and read:

It seems I was right about never seeing you again. For indeed, I am leaving Japan, perhaps for years. Nishimura-sensei-- you know, the forensics and debate professor-has been working all semester to try to get me into school in America. He thinks I should be a lawyer, I think it sounds good, and we both think I'd go much farther over there.

I don't know which school I'm going to yet… the University of California, the University of Colorado and Washington State University have all accepted me, but Nishimura-sensei and Principal Taneda both want to make sure I go to the school with the best English-as-a-second-language program. I've taken English here, but they say that's not enough, I also need to learn how to speak it fluently. They also say my grades are good enough to get a full scholarship, so they still have negotiating to do.

You know I've never even been outside Gunma? Not even to Tokyo. It's too expensive, my parents say. My father lost his job when I was about six years old, and he's never forgotten it, even though he has a good job now. He's very happy that some American schools want me, but for his sake I hope I get that full scholarship. Even though I hear a lot from my parents about how we can't afford this and can't afford that, I love them and am going to miss them-and Takasaki-terribly.

I wish I'd said something about this when we met. But then, I couldn't say it, because it hadn't happened yet. Anyway, I wish I'd said anything more that night we met. I wouldn't have minded getting to know you better. Because the more I think about it-the more I wish I had somebody in Takasaki besides my family to say goodbye to. And, well… we did have a date. You're not a complete stranger.

So, I'll say it now. Goodbye, Takahashi Keisuke.

Sadae

Keisuke stared at the note in his hand, completely surprised. That actually was a nice thing to say… and who knows, maybe she would have been a lot better a conversation partner if he had just sucked it up and drew her in on the subject of cars. After all, that was the advice his aniki had given him, and he'd stupidly failed to follow it… He mentally kicked himself.

"Aniki, what can I say? You're always right," he said to himself, chuckling.

He folded up the piece of paper and stuck it into his pants pocket. He was interested to hear what Ryousuke had to say. After he put the necessary books and workbooks for tonight into his backpack, he slung it onto his shoulders and shut the locker door. As he walked away, pushing through the crowd, he couldn't hear the girls calling out to him, "Hey, Keisuke-san!" He was too busy daydreaming about the driving he would do tonight.

Good luck, Sadae. Good luck in America, and God help me if you ever decide to prosecute me.

He stopped in his tracks. Where had that thought come from?

Never mind. She was going to a new life, thousands of miles away. A life much better for her. And so was he, far away from the rigors of school. A new life as a street racer, like his aniki.

Life was going to be good.

THE END

A/N: One reason Sadae looks plain is that she's wearing the wrong glasses for her face. Little oval glasses make a square face look pudgy and round. She needs a rounded square, rounded oblong, or rather large oval that's wider on top than on bottom. But not a perfect square; that would make her look like Ah-nuld. <g>