Hanabi 08/?? - ReitaXRuki
Title: Hanabi
Chapter: 08/??
Author: sweetXsweet ( akichuu)
Fandom: JRock, Gazette
Pairings: ReitaXRuki. Some other pairings in the background that you might find later on...
Overall Rating: PG
Genre: Drop dead fluffy.
Warnings: n/a
Summary: Reita got to know who the letter was from...
Comments: Maa~ Here's the new chapter, did it take a while? I'm sorry. Now that I have a beta reader I had to let my beta reader check the chapters first before I can post (and I DO make a lot of grammatical & tenses mistakes)
*hugs duo_simulacra*
I think she had done an amazing job, I sure hope you guys think so too. I don't really think she changed much from the original point of the story, which is great. So yeah... Here's the outcome.
Ah. My summary never got better, ne? Don't mind it, just go on and read...
Hanabi : 08
As soon as they reached home, (in Reita's room to be exact) Reita knew there was no escape; not a single way out of Ruki's curious hands. He would keep struggling and fighting his hardest to get out from Ruki's hold, but he knew he couldn't do it for too long. God only knew where Ruki got all his power from… Reita's a bigger kid than Ruki, that's obvious, but sometimes Ruki has the power of an ultraman--hyperbolically speaking. That is, of course when something fires up his curiosity, just like right now. How long had they been wrestling and messing up Reita's room? Ten, fifteen, minutes? Maybe more... Reita couldn't be sure.
"RUKI!! DON'T BITE MY EAR!!!" Feeling a sting on his earlobe where Ruki just carelessly bit him, Reita rolled on the floor, kicking through empty air, while Ruki clung tightly above him. Pushing the hardest that he could, Reita finally got the upper-hand, Ruki underneath him, giggling as if he'd lost his mind. But... perhaps he really had lost his mind, who knows... Acting the way he was at that moment, he looked as though he were completely out of his mind.
"Just open the damn envelope, Reita!! I'll stop if you just open it!" Ruki argued, still giggling. His chibi-face had reddened only a few minutes into their wrestle match. "Why are you so nervous about it? Just open and read the letter, for God's sake!"
"Why should I read it in front of you? I'll read it later when you're not around."
"Did you forget? I'm staying here tonight, Reita!" Ruki twisted his body, his wrists, still in Reita’s grip, moving violently, trying to break free. Reita held him down with all the strength that he had. "I've got all night to try to get that letter from you!"
Damn it, Reita couldn’t argue with that fact. He didn't forget the fact that Ruki's was spending that night with him. Now he's really got nowhere else to run. How could this Chibi be sooo nosy all the time? Reita huffed, finally letting go of his hold on Ruki, knowing how pointless it was to have fought the inevitable; Ruki’s stubbornness. "Chibi," Reita taunted, this being his final effort to continue the fight, a weak mock thrown in Ruki’s direction.
"I'm not a Chibi!" Ruki sat up swiftly, darting towards Reita’s abandoned school bag before Reita really had the chance to react.
"Where are you going??! Hey! Get off my bag!!!" Reita lunged at Ruki once he realized his intentions, catching the lower part of the little body and making Ruki fall against the tatami. It was a little too late however for Ruki's hands had already gotten a hold on Reita's bag. "Don't touch my bag, Ruki!"
"The letterrr~!!!" Ruki squealed--he seemed to be having fun with this, huh? That immature prick! Giggling incessantly like that... Reita pulled Ruki's legs, making the little kid slid against the tatami, but Ruki's grip on the bag was firm, and he even managed to open it, revealing the inside of Reita's bag. "Where is it? Where is the letter???" Simultaneously, Ruki was crawling away from Reita and trying to dig in through Reita's bag to find the letter; to Reita’s annoyance, what should have been too difficult a task to complete seemed manageable for Ruki.
"Stop--give me my bag, Ruki!" Reita pulled again, causing Ruki to slide back, the bad trailing along with him.
"Where is that letter??!" Ruki giggled, not giving any sign of giving up. He dug deeper into Reita's messy bag. "Oh you should seriously wash your bag, Reita, it smells ridiculous… FOUND IT!!!!" With a victorious grin, so wide it must’ve stretched from ear to ear, Ruki rolled around, his hand lifting up the pink envelope he had just discovered. Reita wondered how, since he hid it in such a good place... "You didn’t think I’d fumble through your math book, did you, Reita-chan? For this, I’d go through even the most boring book. Haha!" Ruki laughed, seemingly reading Reita's thoughts. Reita couldn’t help but frown at that. "Now if I could just..." Ruki laid back, hands fumbling with the envelope, trying to open the stupid thing. "Ah, glued... Damn..."
Reita reached for the envelope as quickly as he could, almost ripping it open between Ruki's fingers. He panted, breathing hard, his face burning; all he wanted was for Ruki not to get a hold of--not to mention, read--that letter. He'd hate it if Ruki read it first... He already hated how Ruki had been so annoyingly and unstoppably nosy about the letter ever since he saw Reita pulling it out of his locker.
"Fine! I'll open it!" Reita gripped the envelope tightly; it was not as neat as before, almost completely crumpled thanks to Reita's rushed effort at taking it out of Ruki's hold. "I'll read it, okay?"
"Hahah~" Ruki sat up, lunging towards Reita's back, arms encircling Reita's neck. "I wanna read it too! I wanna read it too!"
"Okay, just... Ruki!" Reita pinched Ruki's arm, which was on his neck, finding the grip a little too tight. "Don't choke me!" Ruki's arms loosened and Reita could feel his breath tickling against his neck as Ruki giggled. Oh he knew he couldn't delay for too long now, because he really didn't want Ruki to start biting on his ear again. Damn that brat... Reita slowly smoothed out the crumpled envelope, trying to get it back to its normal condition, which turned out to be impossible. Add up that little tear on the edge, (the one that Ruki made when he tried opening the envelope) and Reita couldn’t help but look sadly upon the poor little envelope. "See? It's wrecked now, thanks to you, Chibi!" Reita mumbled, knowing that Ruki had pouted right after he said it. "There's a more decent way to open a letter, for God's sake."
"Just open it!" Ruki yelled loudly, actually making Reita’s ear hurt because of the proximity. For that, Ruki received a smack on the head.
Reita continued staring at the envelope for a while, not really making any effort to open it (he tried to convince himself it was because of its deplorable condition). Ah well. Now that it's already torn... Reita opened the envelope carefully, just ripping the edge so that the letter wouldn't get torn in the process. Well what do you know... The paper was also PINK, but it wasn’t as though Reita hadn't guessed that. Reita sighed, pulling the letter out of its envelope. Meanwhile, Ruki had started bumping on his back with his own body, tumbling up and down, in a typically impatient mood. "Read it!!!" Ruki yelled again; he seemed to have forgotten what he had just received from Reita--a smack on the head--for yelling in his ear before.
"Okay! Okay! Damn, you're such a nosy brat..." Reita grumbled, doing what Ruki wanted him to do anyway, but very slowly. The writing on the letter, small, neat, and clean, greeted him.
Dear Suzuki-san,
First of all, I'm sorry, because this might be too rude. I'm very sorry.
But it's just... I need to let you know about these feelings that I have,
since they do concern you. But still, I don't have the courage to face
you in person with the truth of my feelings. So please understand,
this letter is my only way to start a conversation with you.
"How shy..." Ruki mumbled.
That day, does Suzuki-san remember?
That day, the first time I met you... I was lucky. I was almost out of
hope, but you came.
You saved me.
And when I saw you, standing calmly at the end of the alley,
I could see your eyes blazing through the gloom, and I was saved from the
bullying I was bound to meet that day, if not for you.
Suzuki-san has saved me. And I have never been grateful enough--or brave
enough--to come forward and say thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
It has been delayed for too long perhaps, but here I am saying it right now,
even if it's only in a letter. Thank you.
Ever since that day, I kept watching Suzuki-san... Is that rude?
I'm sorry, but I couldn't help being curious about you since that
day. By far, I've learned just how kind, gentle and caring Suzuki-san
is. And I've learned slowly... To appreciate and honor Suzuki-san,
just for being the kind of person that you are.
I really want to say thank you, I want to say it straight to you,
because I know that whatever I write here will never be enough
to explain the kind of gratitude I have for you.
I'm sorry for not being able to face you, but still, I hope this letter will
reach you. Will you meet me after school next Friday in the backyard
of the school? I will be waiting there.
I am really, really hoping that Suzuki-san will come. I have gathered
my courage to write this, and I will gather more courage to be able to
meet you in person.
With love,
Matsushima Marie.
Reita stunned, stayed quiet for a long while, trying to comprehend word by word that's written in the letter, althought it was such a simple and understandable Japanese that he shouldn't have had trouble doing so. But still... "Who is...? I don't..." Reita stuttered in complete confusion.
"Matsushima... Matsushima..." Ruki had slid off of Reita's back, to sit by Reita's side. His face scrunched, and he seemed to be thinking hard. "I think I know her... Matsushima..."
"You know her? Who is she?" Reita turned to Ruki; the letter laid on the tatami now, still wide open.
"Wait, let me try to... I think she's..." Ruki pressed a pair of fingers on his forehead. "AH! YES! Yes, I know her!! I know heeer~!" Ruki squealed after a few seconds. "I know her, Reita!!!"
"Yeah so tell me! Who is she? I've never heard of Matsushima Marie ever before. Why is she suddenly writing this to me, while I don't know her at all?"
"She's from class I D, that's why I don't remember her much, since she's in different class. But I think I know which one is Matsushima."
"How do you know?"
"I know that dude, Kyorin, the representative from class I D... He’s my neighbour, you know, I hang around with him sometimes. Well, not as often as I hang around with you but... You understand me. Okay, so sometimes I stop by his class... You know, for lunch or something--yeah I steal other people's lunches too, Reita-chan, I admit it, but don't look at me like that. I figured that Kyorin liked carrying some mangas to school, so we used to go together, skipping some classes and brought the mangas with us to the school's roof. We would read there until--Oh stop glaring at me, Reita! You skip classes too, don't you??" Ruki glared back at the scolding eyes Reita was making. "Do you want me to continue or not? Okay, don't start preaching before I'm finished. Agree? Good. So, sometime between our conversations, Kyorin once told me some of the names of the kids in his class. I don't really remember much, maybe because remembering names is a weakness of mine. But I had to remember Matsushima, because..." Ruki sighed. "She's living a tragic life, Reita-chan. Poor girl."
"Eh? Why?"
"Well... Kyorin told me a bunch of stories about her... None were pleasant, sadly. She's seems to be a very ill-fated girl. I'm not sure I remember much about the details that Kyorin told me back then, but I think I remember something about her dad being in the government, a successful man, and then one day he was accused of something he didn't do--money laundry? Ah, something like that, I think. But somehow the girl's father was proven guilty, and is now doing his time in the state prison."
Reita furrowed his brow. Even by the beginning of Ruki's story he could kind of guess the sadness that Matsushima Marie was going through.
"You know how those kinds of things tend to stain the reputation of everyone in the family, don't you? I mean, it was supposed to be only her father who took the burden of the blame, but... We're living in a pathetic society, unfortunately. So Matsushima had her share of the disdain. It was hard, I can imagine... And, well, you know how seniors like beating up juniors in our school, ne?"
Reita nodded. Yes, he knew that very well, and he hated it so damn much.
"Kyorin told me how Matsushima had had a lot of hard and not to mention painful times. He told me that once she got dragged by seniors to the ladies restroom during lunch break. Upon returning to class, she was all black and blue, you know. She had a bruise as large as THIS--" Ruki placed his fist in front of his eyes. "--on her face. She was even limping, I was told. Can you imagine what could've happened in the restroom? How they beat her up... And there were many of them. Can you imagine how she was begging for them to stop...? But they didn't stop, and nobody helped her, because nobody wanted to get involved."
Seniors. Reita hated how they felt they could do that to someone younger than them. Silently, Reita clenched his fists, feeling rage burning inside him, even if he wasn’t the one getting bullied or anything. He felt utterly bad, even if it was someone else that was hurt, someone he didn't even know. The matter was even more sickening because it had happened to a helpless, innocent girl…
"Another day, they did it to her house. They covered the whole house with... With... Ah, you know, very icky things..." Ruki shook his head. "As if that's not enough, they wrote with black paint on the front gate: 'CORRUPTOR! DIE!' The paint couldn't be washed away, so they had to repaint it. They didn't even call the police, because maybe they were thinking that the police wouldn't even do a thing. Seriously, Reita-chan, imagine the life that she was living... It must’ve been hell. And then there was--"
"I..." Reita cut off Ruki's long story, staring emptily at the tatami, at the letter that was lying there. His stomach was hurting from the whirling pain that had started to invade him, along with anger, feelings of pity and remorse and the sickening feeling of not being able to do a thing to stop what had been going on. Reita felt noxious, and all he wanted was for Ruki to stop telling all the stories, because they were making him feel worse by the second. "I think I remember her."
"Eh?" Ruki stopped his mumbling, "You remember her?"
"Yeah... Yeah, I think I know which girl you were talking about, and I remember when I met her. It was..."
---
It wasn't a long story: Reita told Ruki about the day when he had met Matsushima, that afternoon at the warehouse near the parking area. It was quiet because almost everybody had gone home but Reita was, luckily, just coming home from the detention he had to go through. He wasn't really in a good mood back then (as being yelled at for two whole hours by Gotoh-sensei wasn't at all nice) but that's when he saw her, there in front of the warehouse, with those seniors surrounding her. He didn't do much, he only coughed and said something completely meaningless but somehow those seniors--whom Reita knew, being the same second graders--flinched when they figured out Reita was there, and everybody walked off. Just like that. Back then, Reita hadn’t really thought that he might be endangering himself by doing what he had done; it was almost a reflex, like something instinctive. Maybe if things had gotten worse--if those kids hadn’t stopped the bullying--Reita might have had bruises himself upon returning home that day. His mood back then wouldn't have helped much in stopping him from getting into trouble, come to think of it.
"Haa~" Ruki breathed, lying with his head pointed up at the ceiling, "That's very lucky of her... Yeah, she's lucky you came home late, Reita-chan, otherwise..." Ruki rolled against the tatami. Sighing again, he wondered, "Who knows what could've happened to her…" Rolling again and sighing he added, "Ah... All those stories make me sick..." He kept rolling around. Sighing again he murmured, "Sick and hungry..." Rolling, sighing… And then just rolling heedlessly against Reita's tatami, letting out muffled words while he's doing... What the hell it was he was doing. "Reitaaa~"
"Huh?" Reita woke from his flashback, having been reminiscing on that day... Only now noticing what Ruki had been doing. "What are you doing rolling around like that, Ruki?"
"I'm hungry..."
"Ah yes," Reita looked at the clock placed upon the desk near him. "It is dinner time."
"Come on, let's eat! Carry me down there because I'm too hungry to walk..."
"What?? No!"
Ruki mumbled against the tatami, lying with his chest down, eyes peering up at Reita. "Stingy Reita..." he huffed, and then, finally ending that roll-around thing he was doing, he sat up. "Ah!!!" Ruki suddenly screeched shrilly. "I forgot!!! Onee-chan! I need to talk to Onee-chan! Damn, you got me sidetracked, Reita-chan, you and your love letter!!" With that said, Ruki stood up making loud thumping noises and dashed out of Reita's room to go downstairs, (judging by the loud thumping noises coming from the hall) leaving Reita staring at the opened door in disbelief.
"... And it was HIM who forced me to read that letter..." Reita mumbled in complaint to no one in particular as he followed Ruki dowstairs with lazy steps.
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