X/1999 Fan Fiction ❯ My Number One Crush ❯ Crushed... And Crushes ( Chapter 4 )

My Number One Crush

- Crushed…. And Crushes.

(Chapter 5 )

"Psst... Ritsu!" Fujima called out urgently to Hachi who was outside the boys' changing room. "Hurry up! She's out there by the lockers!" he called again. Hearing that, Ritsu ran quickly towards Fujima.

Fujima pointed to an area by the lockers. "Hurry, she's waiting for Fuuma now. You want a chance to talk to her, talk to her now!" He shoved Ritsu forward in Kotori's direction.

"But isn't he coming out soon?" Ritsu asked, looking over his shoulder. Fujima continued shoving him forward. "Just go, Fuuma's occupied now, trust me, he's occupied..." Fujima muttered. "And why the heck are you asking so many questions? I thought you wanted to see her?"

"But..." still Ritsu delayed. In exasperation, Fujima shoved Ritsu so hard he almost stumbled. "I'll take care of him, just go!" Fujima wiped his hands. "There, there's one part that's settled!"

The 'plan' was quite simple actually. After the soccer tryouts, Fujima would hang around the staircase leading to the library until Kotori came down, then he would signal to Ritsu. Fortunately for them, that particular staircase was right opposite the soccer field. On his part, Ritsu was to leave the field as soon as possible and wait by the entrance to the changing room for Fujima's signal. Kotori normally waited for Fuuma near the lockers.

Hachi had the difficult part; he had to keep Fuuma occupied until Ritsu was done with whatever he was wanted to tell Kotori. Needless to say, Hachi warned him to keep it 'short and sweet'. Fujima would continue spying until he could see Fuuma leaving the boys' changing room, then he would signal to Ritsu to end the conversation. Luckily for them the changing room was just a small distance away from the lockers.

**************

Fuuma stared suspiciously at Hachi who was taking an inordinate amount of time to clear up the equipment. The boy had never been so inefficient. He smelled a rat here, especially after seeing Hachi being so friendly with that new boy who was trying out for the team. To Fuuma's mind, anybody who kept close company with Hachi & his cronies needed close watching. Even that nerd Fujima had to be observed.

"Uhh, Sempai?" Hachi asked Fuuma. "What?" he replied curtly. "About the guys who tried out, how many do you think got through?" Hachi asked, having thrown out less plausible questions to ask. Fuuma had a low tolerance level for stupidity.

Fuuma pondered over that question. Well, it was a rather safe question to answer. "I'm not sure myself, but I think that new boy is good. Good enough for the first eleven, he can replace Shuuichi; he's quite injury prone. And I think we might let Akira join the reserve squad," Fuuma answered honestly.

"Goodie! Ritsu got through!" Hachi cheered up. "Is that all? I'm leaving," Fuuma picked up his bag and walked to the door of the changing room. "Aahh! No, Sempai wait!" Hachi ran slightly to catch up with Fuuma.

"What?!" Fuuma asked; he really smelled a rat here. Hachi stayed well away from him normally, especially after that incident with Kotori. "Err...err... Why don't you ever say 'yes'to Riko, Sempai? I saw her hanging around you again last week," The girl in question had a long term and well-publicized crush on Fuuma, which, frankly, was embarrassing for both Fuuma and the girl. Fuuma had no intention whatsoever of returning her affections.

"Huh?" Fuuma's normal unflappable demeanour was shaken by that preposterous question. He stared long and hard at Hachi. What was wrong with the boy? Having asked the question, Hachi had no choice but to pursue the matter. "So, I mean, why not? She's a nice girl. She's pretty and sweet and she'll do anything for you," he asked yet again, shifting restlessly in agitation.

"Because I choose not to get involved with anybody. I'm not interested," came Fuuma's ascerbic reply. Hachi's eyebrows rose. Fuuma was being uncharacteristically candid.

"But why not? You're good-looking, you're smart, you're...eh heh..." Hachi wisely backed down, after seeing Fuuma narrow his eyes.

"If you insist on an answer, then I'll give you one. I'm not interested in any kind of relationship now because one thing I've learnt is that all the people I'm close to either die or go away and leave me. Besides, it really is none of your business!" Fuuma replied, a cold look entering his eyes.

Hachi stepped back, frightened by that look. Talk about repressed emotions!

"Uh, sorry. Gomen, ne. I'll be going now, Sempai..." Hachi backed away slowly, opening the door to the changing room as quickly as possible. Once outside, he broke into a small run as he approached Fujima, who was hiding near the room.

"Hurry up! I couldn't think of anything else to say; he'll be coming pretty soon. We gotta warn Ritsu," Hachi yelled, panting slightly. Fujima began running after Hachi who was going full steam ahead.

Meanwhile, Fuuma had remained in the changing room, still wondering what exactly had possessed Hachi to ask that question. He hadn't meant to snap at the boy but the question stung. It hit too close to home. He massaged the back of his neck with his hand, a downcast expression entering his eyes.

"Okaasan… Kamui…" Fuuma turned and punched the wall with his fist, welcoming the pain.

*****************

Meanwhile, Ritsu had ran over to Kotori once the coast was clear. She was standing by the lockers, her bag in her hands and looking around for Fuuma. "Ehh?" Kotori withdrew her head back sharply when Ritsu suddenly appeared on the horizon.

"Umm, Ritsu, have you seen my older brother?" she asked sweetly & Ritsu's heart did a little flip-flop after seeing her big hazel eyes gaze up at him. He felt himself going light-headed. "Oh!" he exclaimed after realising that Kotori was waiting for an answer.

"Oh, Fuuma's going to be late; Hachi had something to discuss with him," Ritsu sheepishly replied, scratching his head. Well, I wasn't lying....

"Ohh...it's just that he's never been this late before, Hachi must have had something very important to discuss with him. I thought he was frightened of Fuuma. Come to think of it, many boys are scared of Oniichan, I wonder why..." Kotori tapped her finger against her lips, looking thoughtful.

"Umm...Kotori, well, I've got something to tell you too!" Ritsu declared. "What?" Kotori looked up at him again. "It's, well, I really, really like you. You're so pretty & gentle and well...." Ritsu's voice trailed off.

Kotori's eyes widened with understanding. So it was going to be one of THOSE conversations. She pitied the boy, she was going to give him the same response she had given many other would - be admirers.

"Well...Can I be your boyfriend?" Ritsu finished lamely. That lacked finesse but well, he didn't have the TIME for a lengthy, mushy confession. Kotori blushed prettily and shook her head. Ritsu's face fell. "You don't like me?" he asked in a small voice.

"No,no, it's not that..." Kotori protested. "It's just that I already have somebody else, Ritsu-kun," she explained. Ritsu's eyes popped out of his head. A boyfriend? Then how come nobody in the school knew about it? "How come I've never seen him around?" Ritsu asked.

"Oh, he's not in this school." I don't even know where he is now. Kotori thought wistfully but pushed aside the thought.

Ritsu looked deflated, outside competition was something he had never considered Perversely, he wanted to know more about this guy. "What's his name? How does he look like?"

A dreamy expression entered Kotori's eyes. "Oh, he's got black hair, this pair of gorgeous violet eyes. He's very loveable and he likes to laugh a lot. He's the same age as me and we promised to get married. Kamui even has Fuuma's permission!" Kotori's big hazel eyes sparkled. Ritsu's expression became even more downcast. "Kamui? His name is Kamui?" Kotori nodded. "Shirou Kamui."

"Oh...I see..." Ritsu peered over Kotori's shoulder, looking for a graceful exit. Fortunately for him, he saw Fujima and Hachi frantically waving at him. "Fujima and Hachi are here already, I have to go," Ritsu pointed vaguely in their direction. He waved Kotori goodbye.

Fuuma soon turned up after that, just in time to see Fujima, Hachi and Ritsu leave together. "What did those three punks want?" Fuuma asked, taking Kotori's bag from her. "Oh, just the normal thing. So I told them about Kamui!" Kotori giggled. Fuuma nodded noncommittally.

"Oniichan? Are you alright?" Kotori asked, concerned. Fuuma normally asked her how her day was but he seemed distracted today. "Oh, nothing, nothing, I'm just tired," Fuuma replied hastily, ruffling Kotori's hair to get her attention on something else. "That's good, I thought you were having some major problems..." Kotori sighed in relief. Fuuma gave a wan smile but said nothing more.

****************

Meanwhile, Hachi & Fujima were grilling Ritsu on his conversation with Kotori. "So, how'd it go?" Hachi asked eagerly. "Did she say 'yes'?" Fujima joined in. Ritsu walked on silently.

"Say something you jerk!" Ritsu continued walking, ignoring the frenzied questioning.

"Ritsu!! Talk!" Hachi yelled. "Alright, alright, she said 'no', she already has somebody else. There, are you satisfied?" he stopped in the middle of his tracks. Hachi and Fujima looked flabbergasted. BOYFRIEND? "Whaat? She has a boyfriend?" they yelled in unison.

"Yeah, this guy named Shirou Kamui. Some chap with black hair and gor-geous" - Ritsu imitated Kotori's voice - "Violet eyes. She says they're gonna get married or something like that because the Demon God actually gave this Kamui guy permission! Imagine that!" his shoulders slouched in defeat. "I never stood a chance."

Fujima & Hachi stood there quietly, trying to digest whatever Ritsu said. It was hard trying to reconcile the fact that sweet Kotori already had a boyfriend. Poor Ritsu looked so broken - hearted.

"Awww, come on Ritsu, there'll be somebody else..." Fujima patted his back. He'd done this 'comfort the broken-hearted friend' routine many times, mostly for Hachi who could not comprehend the fact that any sane female would NOT want to go out with him. Fortunately for him, he never suffered from the same affliction - nerds didn't have time for girls.

"No. I don't want anybody else..." Ritsu protested.

"Ritsu, look at me, I've been turned down by many girls but I'm still alive! You have got to keep trying!" Hachi punched his fist into the air. "Look at Fujima! He hasn't even had a crush on a girl! Never give up! Don't let a girl get you down!" Fujima socked Hachi in the jaw. "Shut up, he's really upset you know!" Hachi finally kept quiet.

"Well, come on, let's get moving. Moping about it isn't going to help any..." Ritsu mumbled. He started walking out. Hachi & Fujima soon followed behind him.

"Tell you what," Hachi slung his arm around Ritsu's shoulders. "Let's go to McDonald's. Drown your sorrows with Coke & a Big Mac. We'll treat you, right, Fujima?" Hachi jerked his chin in Fujima's direction. Fujima nodded. "Yeah, come on, let's go, we'll treat you," Fujima invited.

Ritsu nodded his head. He wasn't quite in the mood to go out but he appreciated the effort made by his friends to cheer him up.

"Violet eyes...Hmmm...That's odd. I've never seen anybody with violet eyes. I've never HEARD of anybody with violet eyes," Fujima mused. Hachi interrupted him as usual. "I have," he offered, his eyes gleaming in that way whenever he was one up on Fujima, an event as rare as a solar eclipse. "You do?" Fujima asked incredulously.

"Yeah! I read it in this book written by some gaijin woman. It was about vampires. This vampire fell in love with this ningen with violet eyes. It was a good book. Something about this male vampire chasing after another male vampire or something. Wait... That was another book. There was this whole series on them..." Hachi continued, mumbling absently to himself.

"Ewwww! Guys chasing after guys! That is so hentai! Hachi, why am I not surprised that when you do read something it had to be something perverted?" Fujima queried irritably.

"Whaat? Hey, at least I'm reading something..." Hachi protested. "Yeah, perverted stories on vampires. Why don't you read your textbooks instead, then I won't have to lend you my homework!" Fujima shot back.

"That's it! Any more insults like that and no more helping you skip PE. PLUS I'll tell Sensei you've been skipping the past few lessons...Make-up PE here we co-ome..." Hachi threatened in return.

"Is that so? You wouldn't dare..." Fujima stared into Hachi's face.

"Wanna bet?"

"No more physics practicals!"

"You're not the only nerd in town, Fujima!"

"I may be a nerd but I'm the only nerd who can tolerate your behaviour!"

"What do you mean by that? Huh? Huh?"

Hachi stuck out his tongue at Fujima who swung his schoolbag at Hachi in retaliation.

Ritsu shook his head; watching the 2 best friends squabble. "Don't you ever stop quarrelling?" he asked. They paused slightly, turning to look at him. Then, they turned back to face each other and continued.

"Did you hear what he said? It's your fault! We wouldn't fight if you weren't so stubborn!"

"Look who's talking?!"

"Hentai!"

"Nerd!"

"Lazy brat!"

"4-eyes!"

And so Hachi & Fujima continued till they reached McDonald's. By then, their conversation had grown so hilarious that Ritsu snapped out of his depression and joined in the fun.

****************

The boys sat in a corner of McDonald's, sipping their drinks. Hachi asked Ritsu, "So, feeling better now?" Ritsu nodded his head. Fujima laughed, "Yeah, don't worry too much Ritsu. The right girl will come along… You just have to wait!"

Hachi sneered teasingly, "That's easy for you to say, you've never had a girlfriend..."

Fujima sniffed haughtily. It was time he showed Hachi he wasn't that nerdy. "That was before. It doesn't mean I don't have anybody who likes me now."

Hachi's eyes grew very large as the implications of Fujima's revelations hit him. He clutched his chest theatrically. "You mean you have somebody already! And you never told me? Your bestest friend from kindergarten! Fujima, you traitor!"

Fujima heaved a long-suffering sigh. Then he blushed. "Don't exaggerate things Hachi. Anyway, it's not as if Aya and I have gone on a date. We're just starting to know each other."

Hachi shrieked. Fujima and Ritsu winced and the other occupants in the McDonald's turned in their general direction. Ritsu tried to shush Hachi up but his efforts were in vain.

"AYA! That cow who refused to lend me her homework! Why Aya!!!"

Fujima grew defensive. "Hey, don't insult her. You're the one who never does his schoolwork."

Hachi waved off his arguments with an impatient hand. He leaned towards Ritsu. "Ritsu, you and I have to do something about this! We have to save him from Aya the supercow!" Ritsu shook his head. "Sorry, no will do, Hachi. Aren't you happy Fujima just might have somebody in his life now?"

Hachi moaned. "Fujima, your carefree bachelor days will be gone soon! Gone! I'll have nobody to support me in my football matches anymore…" He sobbed hysterically.

Fujima rolled his eyes and continued sipping his Coke. Hachi's dramatic gestures were wasted on him. "Oh, come on, Hachi, it can't be that bad. Aya and I can come together to watch you and Ritsu, if he gets in. Did Ritsu get in, anyway?" Hachi nodded, football still on his mind even while he sobbed dramatically. Then he suddenly straightened up, apparently recovered from Fujima's astounding revelation. As Fujima suspected, not a single tear was seen. It was all a pose.

Hachi leaned forward towards Fujima. "I know… Eh, Aya hangs out with that really shy girl, hmm, Kyoko, I believe. I'll forgive you your sins, Fujima, if you'll introduce me to her!" He beamed, all traces of dismay gone.

Fujima gagged. "Kyoko? And you? She's never been your kind before!"

"Why not? Maybe it's time for a change in tastes; I might be more successful then. Oh, come on. And try and get some introductions for Ritsu too, we'll show Kotori she isn't the only girl in town! Right, Ritsu?" Hachi nudged Ritsu, who nodded enthusiastically.

Fujima gave Ritsu a sour look. "Whatever happened to Kotori being your true love? Somebody here recovers really fast I see!" he asked sarcastically. Ritsu shrugged and waved his Coke grandly in an ostentatious gesture. "I prefer to maintain a pragmatic outlook when it comes to love. No use waiting for a girl who's never going to say yes… Right, Hachi?" he nudged Hachi in return. Hachi nodded.

"So, are you going to do it, Fujima? Oh come on, we're your best friends…." Hachi wheedled.

Fuijima rubbed his temples; he was getting a headache. And he hated getting bullied. Upon looking at the hopeful expressions on his friends' faces, he nodded weakly, hating himself for giving in so easily. "I'll see what I can do…"

"YES!!!" Hachi and Ritsu cheered. Fujima moaned. What had he gotten himself into?

<end chapter 5>

Author's notes & credits:

The vampire Hachi is referring to is Daniel, featured in both 'Interview with the Vampire' & 'Queen of the Damned' by Anne Rice. Thanks to Shirushi & Subaru for prereading the original fic chapter and helping to clear some details. Thanks to Shirushi for beta-ing the newer version.



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