[FIC] "It Just So Happens," Part 2/3
m.e. turns her back on english for a second and it runs off. m.e. very sorry and not amused at all. m.e. has skittles waiting for english in case it decides to return.
meanwhile lost, befuddled, and did she mention she was sorry? m.e. posts about OOC akaya barging into everyone's private OOC thoughts and saving the OOC day.
of course akaya has to flirt with uncle renji. it's rikkaidai law! ;P
The first person he went to see was Jackal, who never left the entrance to the Rikkaidai middle school practice courts. Jackal was no problem, he was kind and informative (he didn't have a girlfriend yet, and if anyone asked, he liked Hershey's dark chocolate, okay?). But the next target was Sanada Genichirou. Kirihara caught him sitting at the far end of the courts, watching over the non-regulars' practice session.
"Sempai!" he greeted, as he threw himself ass-first onto the bench, beside the other boy.
"The regulars don't start practice until later, Akaya," was the vice-captain's deep, dark answer. "I don't want to see your face until then."
There was much blinking from Kirihara as well. He knew the regulars didn't start practice until later: they were going to wait until Niou, Yagyuu and Marui wrapped up their overtime work. Whatever that meant.
"What's up your ass?" Kirihara complained. For he was the only one who had that sort of courage in the whole school. "Y'know sempai, it's like you're not a kid..."
Sanada turned his gaze onto Kirihara very suddenly.
"A 'kid'?" The tone of voice hadn't risen yet, but you knew he was ready to kill. "You know what, Akaya, you're the kid. I'm not. I'm the one adults come to, to listen to their issues. I solve problems. No kid does that."
Kirihara tilted his head to one side. And in all innocence asked:
"Why, sempai? What's bugging you? And is it bad?"
"You won't be able to do anything about it, Akaya." He looked back at the court. "It's personal." But after this he went on talking anyway, and spilled what was troubling him. As it turned out, those past few nights, there was a problem relative sleeping over at their house. And we all have problem relatives like this one, perhaps we are our relatives' problem. But the end result of everything is that some will be bothered -- some will be annoyed -- and some will lose sleep thinking about what to do next.
And it just so happened that Sanada was the person to whom all the adults in the house were breathing out their worries. After he expressed the abridged version of these worries, the only thing Kirihara said was a cheerful:
"So that's all!"
Sanada's narrowing eyes narrowed even further. He almost looked like Yanagi, if only the frown lines on his face didn't show. "...What?!"
"That's all! Why are you letting stuff like that bother you?"
"Akaya -- weren't you listening?"
"I was! But the way I see it, I don't have to let stuff like that bother me, either!"
Kirihara stood. Stretched. Continued: "Y'know sempai, old guys tell you their problems because you can give them advice from the standpoint of a kid. A new perspective, like. They can breathe around you. If even you worry about what they worry about as if you were old too, what's going to happen? Who're they going to run to for advice?"
Kirihara turned to his vice-captain, face absolutely guileless.
"And sempai, it's Valentine's Day! You don't have plans for tonight or something? I heard there's a new video arcade downtown. Even if it isn't Valentine's Day, I'm checking it out! You coming along?"
If you were Sanada, the invitation would've taken you by surprise, too. Come to think of it, even if you weren't Sanada...
"What? Uh -- no. I'll be busy tonight."
"Hmm. Too bad. I heard they have new fighting games." Seeming pleased with himself, Kirihara linked his hands behind his head and made as if to leave. But he remembered he hadn't done the thing he had come to do, so he stopped and spun round (whee!). "Ah! Almost forgot, sempai! wanted to ask. You got a girlfriend yet?"
The surprises just didn't stop coming. Sanada took a little long answering this one.
"A girlfriend? ...I don't have time for that. Why do you need to know?"
Kirihara rubbed the tip of his nose with the side of his index finger.
"Nothing. 'Kay sempai. Later!"
And then ran off, before he could get punished. Or forced to run an errand.
Sanada merely watched as his kouhai sped away. He sat on the bench, thinking, apparently no longer as angry with the world as he had been earlier.
Meanwhile the nervous non-regulars watched him out of the corner of their eyes, not daring to break the rhythm of their practice, asking themselves if this was a sign that they could go home.
********************
"Sempai!"
The voice was familiar. Yukimura turned. "Ah, Akaya! It's you."
He must have been standing in that corridor for a while now, staring out the windows, thinking. This happened a lot to Yukimura: he stayed standing very still in one place, forgetting the time. There were things that happened to jog his consciousness and tell him hey, get out of the road, that truck almost ran over you, etc.
In this instance, Kirihara was his wakeup call. "What are you doing there, sempai? In front of the faculty lounge."
Yukimura's smile was distant, and his answer automatic. "...Ah, nothing. I was talking with a teacher about your Niou-sempai's grades. They kind of lost balance. Our English teacher thought he was losing focus because of the tennis club. Turns out all he needs is a few make-up tests, Niou can still make the cut."
"So it's okay now?"
"It's okay now."
"Then why do you look like you still got something heavy on your mind?"
Yukimura was surprised by this. Was it that obvious? Or was that just what came to people's minds naturally when they saw you staring off into space, all alone in the corridor?
Since he felt comfortable with Akaya, Yukimura told him everything. He laid down the aggravation he recently experienced in the hands of his two closest friends, who used to be so easy to approach whenever his responsibilities weighed heavy on him.
"Ah, is that all?" was the instant retort. "Geez, don't worry about that, sempai! Sanada-sempai's head is just filled up with nonsense. He's thinking about stuff he shouldn't be thinking about."
"That so?" Charming Akaya made everything so simple, the way a widdle baby would. "Why, you've actually spoken with him?"
"Damn right! He doesn't scare me!"
Despite himself, Yukimura chuckled. "You're probably the only first year who can say you're not scared of Sanada without worrying about getting struck by lightning."
"But it's true." He had to scratch his head. Why did it look like Yukimura-sempai didn't believe him? Oh well, he won't dwell on it... "Sanada-sempai is fine. Yanagi-sempai, I guess is having a 'tactless attack' again. We all know that sometimes -- seldom, but sometimes -- his mouth doesn't have a handlebrake [1], right?" A discreet smile here. So Yukimura-sempai wouldn't be miffed at being told bad things about one of his best friends. "And it just so happened. The thing is, sempai, you're too sensitive."
Yukimura fell still. Too sensitive? Perhaps. Perhaps that was true...
"Sempai, you got a girlfriend yet?"
Awake again. Where'd that come from? "Akaya, why even that question..."
"Trust me, sempai. You have one or you don't?"
"...I don't."
"Then you don't have a date for Valentine's?"
A small laugh. "I really don't think about things like that, Akaya..."
"Geh. You upperclassmen are all alike. All study! All tennis!" Akaya linked his hands behind his back. "If you're really not doing anything tonight, sempai, give your brain a rest! There's a new video arcade downtown, let's take a look after practice!"
"Thanks, Akaya, but I want to rest after practice."
"Hmph. Up to you, sempai. Okay, later!" Time to run off again. He had other targets.
********************
Outside Yanagi's thoughts, he heard a tiny whisper:
"Sempai...seeeempaaaaiii..."
Yanagi's brain came crashing back to earth. That was the only time he noticed that Kirihara's mouth was closing in from the left... and that if his kouhai chose to shout, there was a 75% chance his left ear would temporarily go deaf.
He faced his kouhai immediately to kill that 75% chance. "Akaya. Is there a problem?"
Kirihara smirked, pulled up a chair and sat beside his sempai. The few seconds he took to drag the chair across the polished floor earned him the ire of the killjoys in the library. "Sssh!"
"Ssssshhhh!" Akaya merrily hissed back. When all was well, he faced Yanagi again. "The problem is you won't notice me!"
Yanagi hung his head. "I'm sorry. I was just thinking of something..."
"Is it about Sanada-fukubuchou and Yukimura-buchou?" A stern sigh. "Aw heck. I've been to those guys. Don't worry about them, sempai, they aren't angry with you and there really isn't anything wrong. It just so happens you're all in a bad mood." [2]
"...Is that really it, Akaya? No, it seems more logical to think it didn't have anything to do with mood, and I could have done something to remedy the situation. I believe Genichirou had a lot on his mind, and that would explain his behavior. He rarely loses his temper with Seiichi, and even with me. It's even more rare that the three of us get on each other's nerves like this."
"Really?" Yawning. Not even trying to hide it.
"As for Seiichi, I admit that's my fault. My greeting was wrong, the instant I saw his face I should've known instantly, there was an 80% chance he would become oversensitive to my remarks, and the right greeting in such a situation would have been..."
"Sempai? Sempai? ...Sempai?"
"...and that would've been the only thing with a 70% probability of, what? You were saying something, Akaya?"
"I was, but I forgot." The hint of irritation in his voice just slid right by Yanagi.
"Oh -- all right. Now, as I was saying, that would've been the only thing with a 70% -- "
"Sempai?" Kirihara raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. "I don't understand a word you're saying and I don't care."
"But this is important. I have to think about -- "
"No. Don't."
"But A -- "
"Ssh." He put his finger close to Yanagi's lips, without touching them. Whispered, "Sempai, no talking in the library. Don't make too much noise." He drew back his hand, and said "What's wrong with you, sempai, is that you're too analytical. If I say everything's okay, everything's okay. Okay?"
Yanagi couldn't explain it, but he felt slightly better about the situation, just listening to Kirihara.
"Y'know sempai, I think you just need to get your head out of those books. You're all data. Go out and play a little! You heard about that new arcade downtown?"
"Aa...I've heard about that one. But I don't enjoy playing video games. That's such an immature pastime..."
"Well if I just asked you to accompany me without playing anything, will you come?"
Raise your eyebrow as high as it could go in front of the child. That's right. "Is that really all you came by to ask me?"
"...Ah! Nope. Shoot, why do I always forget?" A breath, then a straight-out "You got a girlfriend yet, sempai?"
"...A girlfriend?" No two things they spoke about made any connection. It was hard not to smile. "No, I don't. Why, do you intend to find me one?"
And Kirihara answered that smile. For a long second it looked like sempai and kouhai shared a mischievous secret.
"All the girls I know aren't mature enough for you yet, sempai. Later!"
After this Kirihara stood, left without returning his chair to its proper place.
(To Be Concluded. Yay!)
********************
[1] - "mouth with no brakes" = compulsive yak
[2] - originally, "you're all on a bad trip," but that just means "you're all in a bad mood" anyway. the point of this being, nothing. i just didn't want footnote [1] to be lonely.
meanwhile lost, befuddled, and did she mention she was sorry? m.e. posts about OOC akaya barging into everyone's private OOC thoughts and saving the OOC day.
of course akaya has to flirt with uncle renji. it's rikkaidai law! ;P
The first person he went to see was Jackal, who never left the entrance to the Rikkaidai middle school practice courts. Jackal was no problem, he was kind and informative (he didn't have a girlfriend yet, and if anyone asked, he liked Hershey's dark chocolate, okay?). But the next target was Sanada Genichirou. Kirihara caught him sitting at the far end of the courts, watching over the non-regulars' practice session.
"Sempai!" he greeted, as he threw himself ass-first onto the bench, beside the other boy.
"The regulars don't start practice until later, Akaya," was the vice-captain's deep, dark answer. "I don't want to see your face until then."
There was much blinking from Kirihara as well. He knew the regulars didn't start practice until later: they were going to wait until Niou, Yagyuu and Marui wrapped up their overtime work. Whatever that meant.
"What's up your ass?" Kirihara complained. For he was the only one who had that sort of courage in the whole school. "Y'know sempai, it's like you're not a kid..."
Sanada turned his gaze onto Kirihara very suddenly.
"A 'kid'?" The tone of voice hadn't risen yet, but you knew he was ready to kill. "You know what, Akaya, you're the kid. I'm not. I'm the one adults come to, to listen to their issues. I solve problems. No kid does that."
Kirihara tilted his head to one side. And in all innocence asked:
"Why, sempai? What's bugging you? And is it bad?"
"You won't be able to do anything about it, Akaya." He looked back at the court. "It's personal." But after this he went on talking anyway, and spilled what was troubling him. As it turned out, those past few nights, there was a problem relative sleeping over at their house. And we all have problem relatives like this one, perhaps we are our relatives' problem. But the end result of everything is that some will be bothered -- some will be annoyed -- and some will lose sleep thinking about what to do next.
And it just so happened that Sanada was the person to whom all the adults in the house were breathing out their worries. After he expressed the abridged version of these worries, the only thing Kirihara said was a cheerful:
"So that's all!"
Sanada's narrowing eyes narrowed even further. He almost looked like Yanagi, if only the frown lines on his face didn't show. "...What?!"
"That's all! Why are you letting stuff like that bother you?"
"Akaya -- weren't you listening?"
"I was! But the way I see it, I don't have to let stuff like that bother me, either!"
Kirihara stood. Stretched. Continued: "Y'know sempai, old guys tell you their problems because you can give them advice from the standpoint of a kid. A new perspective, like. They can breathe around you. If even you worry about what they worry about as if you were old too, what's going to happen? Who're they going to run to for advice?"
Kirihara turned to his vice-captain, face absolutely guileless.
"And sempai, it's Valentine's Day! You don't have plans for tonight or something? I heard there's a new video arcade downtown. Even if it isn't Valentine's Day, I'm checking it out! You coming along?"
If you were Sanada, the invitation would've taken you by surprise, too. Come to think of it, even if you weren't Sanada...
"What? Uh -- no. I'll be busy tonight."
"Hmm. Too bad. I heard they have new fighting games." Seeming pleased with himself, Kirihara linked his hands behind his head and made as if to leave. But he remembered he hadn't done the thing he had come to do, so he stopped and spun round (whee!). "Ah! Almost forgot, sempai! wanted to ask. You got a girlfriend yet?"
The surprises just didn't stop coming. Sanada took a little long answering this one.
"A girlfriend? ...I don't have time for that. Why do you need to know?"
Kirihara rubbed the tip of his nose with the side of his index finger.
"Nothing. 'Kay sempai. Later!"
And then ran off, before he could get punished. Or forced to run an errand.
Sanada merely watched as his kouhai sped away. He sat on the bench, thinking, apparently no longer as angry with the world as he had been earlier.
Meanwhile the nervous non-regulars watched him out of the corner of their eyes, not daring to break the rhythm of their practice, asking themselves if this was a sign that they could go home.
********************
"Sempai!"
The voice was familiar. Yukimura turned. "Ah, Akaya! It's you."
He must have been standing in that corridor for a while now, staring out the windows, thinking. This happened a lot to Yukimura: he stayed standing very still in one place, forgetting the time. There were things that happened to jog his consciousness and tell him hey, get out of the road, that truck almost ran over you, etc.
In this instance, Kirihara was his wakeup call. "What are you doing there, sempai? In front of the faculty lounge."
Yukimura's smile was distant, and his answer automatic. "...Ah, nothing. I was talking with a teacher about your Niou-sempai's grades. They kind of lost balance. Our English teacher thought he was losing focus because of the tennis club. Turns out all he needs is a few make-up tests, Niou can still make the cut."
"So it's okay now?"
"It's okay now."
"Then why do you look like you still got something heavy on your mind?"
Yukimura was surprised by this. Was it that obvious? Or was that just what came to people's minds naturally when they saw you staring off into space, all alone in the corridor?
Since he felt comfortable with Akaya, Yukimura told him everything. He laid down the aggravation he recently experienced in the hands of his two closest friends, who used to be so easy to approach whenever his responsibilities weighed heavy on him.
"Ah, is that all?" was the instant retort. "Geez, don't worry about that, sempai! Sanada-sempai's head is just filled up with nonsense. He's thinking about stuff he shouldn't be thinking about."
"That so?" Charming Akaya made everything so simple, the way a widdle baby would. "Why, you've actually spoken with him?"
"Damn right! He doesn't scare me!"
Despite himself, Yukimura chuckled. "You're probably the only first year who can say you're not scared of Sanada without worrying about getting struck by lightning."
"But it's true." He had to scratch his head. Why did it look like Yukimura-sempai didn't believe him? Oh well, he won't dwell on it... "Sanada-sempai is fine. Yanagi-sempai, I guess is having a 'tactless attack' again. We all know that sometimes -- seldom, but sometimes -- his mouth doesn't have a handlebrake [1], right?" A discreet smile here. So Yukimura-sempai wouldn't be miffed at being told bad things about one of his best friends. "And it just so happened. The thing is, sempai, you're too sensitive."
Yukimura fell still. Too sensitive? Perhaps. Perhaps that was true...
"Sempai, you got a girlfriend yet?"
Awake again. Where'd that come from? "Akaya, why even that question..."
"Trust me, sempai. You have one or you don't?"
"...I don't."
"Then you don't have a date for Valentine's?"
A small laugh. "I really don't think about things like that, Akaya..."
"Geh. You upperclassmen are all alike. All study! All tennis!" Akaya linked his hands behind his back. "If you're really not doing anything tonight, sempai, give your brain a rest! There's a new video arcade downtown, let's take a look after practice!"
"Thanks, Akaya, but I want to rest after practice."
"Hmph. Up to you, sempai. Okay, later!" Time to run off again. He had other targets.
********************
Outside Yanagi's thoughts, he heard a tiny whisper:
"Sempai...seeeempaaaaiii..."
Yanagi's brain came crashing back to earth. That was the only time he noticed that Kirihara's mouth was closing in from the left... and that if his kouhai chose to shout, there was a 75% chance his left ear would temporarily go deaf.
He faced his kouhai immediately to kill that 75% chance. "Akaya. Is there a problem?"
Kirihara smirked, pulled up a chair and sat beside his sempai. The few seconds he took to drag the chair across the polished floor earned him the ire of the killjoys in the library. "Sssh!"
"Ssssshhhh!" Akaya merrily hissed back. When all was well, he faced Yanagi again. "The problem is you won't notice me!"
Yanagi hung his head. "I'm sorry. I was just thinking of something..."
"Is it about Sanada-fukubuchou and Yukimura-buchou?" A stern sigh. "Aw heck. I've been to those guys. Don't worry about them, sempai, they aren't angry with you and there really isn't anything wrong. It just so happens you're all in a bad mood." [2]
"...Is that really it, Akaya? No, it seems more logical to think it didn't have anything to do with mood, and I could have done something to remedy the situation. I believe Genichirou had a lot on his mind, and that would explain his behavior. He rarely loses his temper with Seiichi, and even with me. It's even more rare that the three of us get on each other's nerves like this."
"Really?" Yawning. Not even trying to hide it.
"As for Seiichi, I admit that's my fault. My greeting was wrong, the instant I saw his face I should've known instantly, there was an 80% chance he would become oversensitive to my remarks, and the right greeting in such a situation would have been..."
"Sempai? Sempai? ...Sempai?"
"...and that would've been the only thing with a 70% probability of, what? You were saying something, Akaya?"
"I was, but I forgot." The hint of irritation in his voice just slid right by Yanagi.
"Oh -- all right. Now, as I was saying, that would've been the only thing with a 70% -- "
"Sempai?" Kirihara raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. "I don't understand a word you're saying and I don't care."
"But this is important. I have to think about -- "
"No. Don't."
"But A -- "
"Ssh." He put his finger close to Yanagi's lips, without touching them. Whispered, "Sempai, no talking in the library. Don't make too much noise." He drew back his hand, and said "What's wrong with you, sempai, is that you're too analytical. If I say everything's okay, everything's okay. Okay?"
Yanagi couldn't explain it, but he felt slightly better about the situation, just listening to Kirihara.
"Y'know sempai, I think you just need to get your head out of those books. You're all data. Go out and play a little! You heard about that new arcade downtown?"
"Aa...I've heard about that one. But I don't enjoy playing video games. That's such an immature pastime..."
"Well if I just asked you to accompany me without playing anything, will you come?"
Raise your eyebrow as high as it could go in front of the child. That's right. "Is that really all you came by to ask me?"
"...Ah! Nope. Shoot, why do I always forget?" A breath, then a straight-out "You got a girlfriend yet, sempai?"
"...A girlfriend?" No two things they spoke about made any connection. It was hard not to smile. "No, I don't. Why, do you intend to find me one?"
And Kirihara answered that smile. For a long second it looked like sempai and kouhai shared a mischievous secret.
"All the girls I know aren't mature enough for you yet, sempai. Later!"
After this Kirihara stood, left without returning his chair to its proper place.
(To Be Concluded. Yay!)
********************
[1] - "mouth with no brakes" = compulsive yak
[2] - originally, "you're all on a bad trip," but that just means "you're all in a bad mood" anyway. the point of this being, nothing. i just didn't want footnote [1] to be lonely.