One night...

By CLAMPraven

Ohayo! (smiles) While this is not the norm for me, and I do prefer writing FY fics, I have recently read most of the Imadoki manga, so I figured I'd make this my little pit stop on my way to the next big Sailormoon fic. ^-^

(Sorry, Draconsis!! If you're reading...I know, I promised this fic earlier, but our internet fell apart! The modem was not working at ALL...it might even break down on me now! I certainly hope not, though. In any case...)

(nods) Trust me, this is aaaaaaallll experimentation...if I don't get Aoi and Saionji's characters right on the first shot - and it's bound to happen - believe me, it was certainly not my intention. But I'll try my best. Aoi always exaggerates his words and Saionji can be a bitch, but that's just the way the Imadoki world goes round...(bows) Ja!

-CLAMPraven

The whole story is recounted like so...from Saionji Tsukiko's POV.

How long had it been, since everything happened...? We were so happy...

Okay, that was corny. I think it's just the mood.

The trees that our gardening committee had blossomed out in the yard and in the pavilion had been growing tremendously; we certainly showed technology who was boss. I believed they were going to grow flower buds this year, though I could not say when. With so many members, we'd planted these green, flourishing plants everywhere...roses, azaleas, clovers and daisies...I just felt sad that I had to leave them soon, as cold as I can act sometimes. The prospect of graduation approached all of us, like a freezing zephyr, and with the seeds of the dandelions, we would be forced to float away...

How was it that such a cruel and desolate place like Meioschool became more abundant in its nature than any other school in and around the district...in a matter of but a few years? Plain f*cking miracle...

I liked to think that I played a part in it, though now it seemed more like a dream than anything else. Sometimes a nightmare, yes, but mostly just a dream (Intoxicated? I think not...). The truth was, since Yamazaki left, I hadn't seen her strange and wonderful smile anymore except in the photographs that Kugyou Kouki collected and treasured from her letters. That chipper girl continued writing from Hokkaido, narrating the events of her everyday life, as if talking to her boyfriend was more comfortable than talking to a diary. And I tried to take that young, untainted love away from the two of them. Huh. The years when we were all struggling by ourselves in the committee were just silly memories now...

And on that note, I should mention that the annual confession of the roses was tonight...yep. Ooh, hell...

(Here goes my attitude.)

Yep, it was a revival of the last time. But now, there were no obscene little scandals going around; if there were, I think I would've hired Kyougoku to stomp on them. This was a time when true love got its chance to blossom...there shouldn't have been any excuse for tears except tears of joy tonight...!

When did it become annual? Was it Ogata who had made it a tradition with the student council? Probably not; we didn't worry about them anymore. Or maybe it was just because Uchimura nagged me a lot...hm. But as the leader of the gardening committee, I guess it was just because...

(Mood swing time, everybody. Hang tight...)

Well...

I myself...

I wouldn't use the word 'lonely'...necessarily...

But...

Let's just say that I had high prospects for that night. Yep.

-

But...eheh...unfortunately, things didn't turn out so well.

Did I offer a red rose to about every boy that walked past me? Did I ransack the gardening booth's storage of said red roses? I don't remember; maybe I was drunk. God, I hope I was drunk.

Because frankly, by the time the dance started, I became very desperate. Very, very desperate. I had just about enough shit, running around in the hallways at breakneck speed in my last minute browsing, looking for a guy - hopefully some sort of cute transfer student named Anonymous that I've never seen before...but rich! Definitely rich! Yes, avarice was still one of my weak points. Can you tell it was driving me crazy that night? Especially when I was wearing a designer dress, completely silk and with pearl decorations!

(Jesus...)

That's around the time when Mother Nature decided that the heavens should leak on my parade. Yes, this was excellent for the plants, and I absolutely agreed with that, one hundred percent. The daffodils haven't gotten their share of water at all in the recent mini-drought, so this was absolutely a perfect condition for them.

But, ah, for me?

I really, really don't think so.

At least, that was the case at the time. Then I stared, rather spitefully, out of the window doused with rainwater, and I realized that most of the men from the parties - along with a few disgruntled girlfriends - had left the dance. All of them were pretty stoned, and the rain didn't make things any better. My eyes widened, my lips curving into a devilish smile.

Who says I've lost my touch? N-O-B-O-D-Y...lalalalala...

"Jackpot..."

I really needed to get laid, I think.

Egad, the perverted life of a virgin...

The easiest way to do this was to look pitiful. The guys would stare, they'd feel morally deprived, and they'd come to my aid in my time of weakness. Yes, that was my plan - a bit of an all-time low, but nonetheless effective. Thankfully, the downpour of rain happened to be in favor of that...

I had an umbrella.

But as soon as I walked outside, I tossed it in the bushes, and - trying my best to look inconspicuous - let down my ornamented hair, and stood in the cold shower. I paced. I hugged myself. I did just about everything in my power to make the drunken bastards notice me.

Well, I couldn't do the teary-eyed thing. But come on, it's raaaaaaaaaaining...

The guys that did come out were looking at me strangely, but I couldn't tell whether it was lust or actual sentiment. I didn't care particularly; I could've gone for a bit of both. My underwear was soaked, my silk dress for the dance ruined, and I just really wanted to go home (this applied to any place that had a bed at the time) as soon as possible.

Then, I heard the sound of computer keys tapping - very rapidly - behind me, and what seemed to be J-rock distorted through a pair of headphones.

I should've known it was a danger sign; I really should've run. But I looked behind.

Was it fatal?

God, yes. Because frankly, Kireta-kun had no other way.

-

I screamed.

(This could serve as a whole section by itself, because all hope fled - including any guys who cared enough about my see-through soaked attire to stay. Oh, joy.)

-

"What the hell are you doing here?!"

Kyougoku Aoi gazed nonchalantly as he usually did; removing the piece of purple gum he had on his tongue, he pasted it - very gentlemanly - on my forehead, pressing it so that it would stay, and grinning all the while. He gestured to my now useless clothes.

"Sightseeing..."

The gum fell. I glared. "You bastard..."

What did this mean? Of all the psychological conundrums, a piece of gum on my forehead? Did this imply that he thought of me as a bubble head? Did anything Kyougoku do imply anything?!

Well, now it was on my chest. Disgusted, I peeled it off, and flung it into the bushes. A piece of gum. Honestly - one little thing could cause such distain. And rightly so; I didn't quite like being thought of as a bubble chest, either. "Seriously...what are you doing here? Weren't you in the party?"

He tilted his head, and removed his headphones. His expression changed, but just slightly. It was like one of those meaningless 'spot the difference' games, or rearranging a set of toothpicks. Honestly, regardless of how many times he's driven me to insanity/suicide, Kyougoku amazed me. All he did was alter the degree of his neck and move his mouth a quarter of a millimeter...but somehow, it became painfully obvious that his expression changed...from a rather amused one to a slightly bored one.

"What for? No one appreciates a lunatic's finesse..."

I scoffed. "That's an oxymoron, if I've ever heard one before."

"You have."

"Rhetoric, Kyougoku. But seriously..." I narrowed my eyes. "No pranks? No explosions on a night this prestigious? Come on...what happened?" I slapped his arm.

(By the way...that wasn't very good. Never slap Kyougoku's arm. Although I still cannot understand him fully, even today, this I know for sure. If you let him figure out you're playing along with him, and that you're taking him about as serious as the next apocalypse, he could do some dangerous things. Thankfully, this wasn't one of those times...)

Towering above me, he chuckled maniacally, and wrapped an arm around my shoulders as he slammed the laptop shut. "I did! Right now, there's a ticking time bomb in the punch bowl, and another one inside Ogata's trousers. It's too bad, though...I won't be able to actually see my masterpieces at work. Such a shaaaaame...and seriously, Tsuki-chan (the nickname stuck since the year Yamazaki left...terrible terrible state of things, really), get out of the rain. There are other ways to get yourself a boyfriend, y'know..."

Well, I certainly wasn't about to ask how he got a bomb in Ogata's trousers, of all places. "Well, I don't know any other - "

Bang. Realization hits.

"WHAT?!?" I scrambled madly away. "How the hell did you know what I was up to?!"

Kireta-kun stared at me blankly for a moment. Random thought: that his batteries were dead. Seriously, if he wasn't a defective machine, I wouldn't have been able to tell the difference.

But then he smirked, and drew out my umbrella; re-opening it, he threw back his head and laughed, sending quite a few perturbed birds away. If the flowers shuddered...I wouldn't have been surprised.

My eyes bulged out. "Y-You saw me throw it away into the bushes?"

He offered no answer, but twirled the umbrella around and around, humming to himself. "You know what, Tsuki-chan? I like this umbrella. I think I'll keep it."

"NO!"

"(in a singsong voice) Who's going to stop me?"

"AAAAAAAAAARGH!!!!" Slap. Punch. Kick.

"Ow!! Tsuki-chan, those boots huuurt!! I was kidding!"

"Huh?" I drew back incredulously.

Kyougoku shook his head in disbelief, and passed me the umbrella. "Tsuki-chan...do you always have to be this hostile?"

He sounded light-hearted, but that wasn't true. When he raised his head, I blinked in shock.

The lunatic's eyes were usually clouded over, or only briefly describing emotion. But now, they were different. How so I could not describe. But I knew that I've never seen his eyes so lost before - Kyougoku was a man who ran his life and those of others around him with an iron hand! But now he looked weak...he never looked weak when he was typing; he was always so absorbed he seemed to sap energy from the monitor, rather than the other way around. Somehow, it was different this time...

...As though something punctured him internally, and the only thing he was doing was trying not to scream...

First, I thought...well, shit. It was just an umbrella. What the hell was he getting all emotional about?

But as I took the handle, I started to see what he was seeing, and what seemed to be an episode started to become clearer to me. He looked so desperate...

To him, it was more than just the umbrella...wasn't it?

When I realized this, I knew I'd hit the mark, because all the sound around us commenced again. The pitter-patter of the rain became louder around us...I suddenly realized how dark the night was, how late the hour was. The glass shattered. Everything was clear.

"Tsukiko..." Kyougoku gazed at me wearily, as though he'd just ran a marathon in a raging storm. "You'd better go home. It's 10:00, and I think you have pneumonia...that's not going to impress the folks."

I stared at him curiously.

(Next stop, the second boarding of the emotional roller coaster ride, available today only...)

"No. No...not until you tell me what's the matter, Aoi."

-

Kyougoku shifted, though it was a silent movement. As if my reaction was slower than usual, I heard his voice in my head...and my own. We called each other by our first names for the first time.

And I saw him clearly now. His wrinkles of stress, his frown lines...he wasn't as machine-like as I thought. Those lines couldn't be carved. They could only be crafted through sadness and long suffering. His eyes were hard, and they stared creases into you even in the rain. His hair, now slightly longer than when I first met him, shone in longitudes and latitudes of lines...there was mingling of light and shadow there. And he was tall...taller than I've ever remembered him being...so tall that it felt safe, standing next to him.

He wasn't handsome. Hell, he certainly wasn't beautiful.

Somehow, though, he appealed to me. And even though I had no elegance nor grace, I think he saw me this way, too. Scary. As though he'd always seen me this way...

Maybe I really was a bubble brain. Kyougoku Aoi knew more than he let on.

"Tsukiko...you gave red roses to everyone in Meioschool. But you never offered one to me...did you?"

I winced.

So that was it...

"Aoi..."

His eyes were cold, and satirically thoughtful. He looked a hunter, ready to strike. "Haven't you noticed? Here you are, one of the original founders of the gardening committee - you were one of the personalities who made it worthwhile! - and you've fallen in love with practically every boy in this school! On the other hand, you treat me with indifference...you mocked me sometimes, too. But for what? My finance...I have one of the most rapidly expanding accounts in the whole school. I don't look half bad. Girls have taken an interest in me before. But you..."

Stepping forward, he ignored the distance between us, and pressed his face inches from mine. His glare burned. "You are something else. You...do you hate me that much?"

I shook my head. It was too close...this proximity.

"Tsukiko! Tell me the truth!"

Thunder struck in the distance. The rain poured down on my back harshly. Suddenly, I was no longer in control of the situation.

"I single you out because I like you, okay?!" I screamed, and shook him off. "You think I was the only one who was negligent? You couldn't see anything beyond the exterior of what we have! I like you!!"

In shock, he stumbled back. Widening my eyes, I mirrored this move.

(Why, oh why on heaven and earth...?!)

Neither of us said anything for a moment. Silence reigned over the stormy night...

It was in this silence that I realized something.

-

That was completely out of order. F*cking stupid!! But it was from my subconscious...that never lied. I would never lie to myself; when it got a chance, it simply sprung out of me...and it wanted this effect. Did I really hate Aoi? No...that can't be right. Moments before, I thought he was desirable. It was...

It was just different from the way I looked at other boys.

That's why I was afraid to say it...

But now I've said it. It's a bit late to change that, isn't it?

Taking a deep breath, I braced myself, and plunged into the depths of my heart...

-

"I've always liked you, Aoi. You say I've liked everyone but you...that's pretty damn ironic, the way I see it. I don't think I ever liked any of them. The Kugyou brothers...they weren't even worth my time. They were friendly...but I looked to them because I wanted...security.

"Doesn't everyone want security...? My version just happened to be financial. It was because I couldn't imagine any other kind for me...I couldn't imagine a man using other means to protect me. It just wouldn't happen. I wasn't worth it...

"I tried to forget about any new feelings, and to kill fidelity in my heart; I didn't want to be loyal. I wanted strength.

"But lately, my heart's been growing out of its allotted space, like a flourishing weed. And even after I stomp on it, my own feelings, countless times - the corpse still remains. And out of the nourishment of the corpse, new feelings grow...stronger, more evolved than before. I can't really control them, Aoi...that's why I'm always trying to cover them up, with these petty desires that I call love...

"But they aren't love. They aren't even decent feelings, for God's sake...! I always thought that I hated you, too...you were strange, a wanderer without any need for money or sympathy, so much stronger than me because you were a scientist...crafting your own life! I both sought and despised your strength...and I found that this difference between you and the rest of the world was a weakness I could exploit. Yet I kept falling back on it...I wanted to use your strength at its best, when you were happy. I wanted something that powerful to defend me...I thought maybe that was the security I truly needed.

"Those were my true feelings, but I looked at them like I do weeds, and I stomped on them anyway! I tried to think of my liking you as hate; feelings are feelings, and they are interchangeable when we feel that we need to change them."

I sighed, feeling breathless. I'd truly let everything go this time.

Saionji, you moron. You should've said this sooner.

"Still a new flower grew from the carcass of the weed. It's because I wanted to like you, Aoi...I wanted these new feelings to stay, because I was tired of being alone...and tired of lying to everyone. After Yamazaki came into our lives, something changed inside me, and the flower stemmed healthily, because it fed off the kindness of others...her kindness, and everyone in the gardening committee who followed her.

"And somewhere inside me..."

I smiled in the dampness of the rain. Slowly...ever so slowly...and the more I smiled, the happier I felt.

"I wanted to forget my quest for strength. I would rather trust someone...have someone to lean on, instead of always trying to hurt others. And I really, really wanted to like you, Aoi. Even...maybe even...love you." I blinked, and laughed. "Well, that is, if you - "

"Where the HELL did that come from?! Are you a romantic, Tsukiko?!"

Overloaded with sweatdrops, I nearly fell over.

BASTARD!!

"AOI!! That was what you might've called a confession of the heart! Do you have any romantic veins inside you, you moron?!"

Aoi squinted at me, and poked me incredulously in the chest. "Tsukiko, even if you were a poet, I wouldn't have expected your words to flow that easily. Your speech is so choppy when you usually talk others - "

"Say WHAT?!"

" - And now I think you talk too much," he finished, and grinned. His eyes were once again as mysterious as they were before...but now I think they understood me. And I understood him...as much as his teasing pissed me off. "Are you really that deprived of sex, that you would go ahead and rant about the physics of psychological turmoil like that? Get reeeaaaal..."

"I'm not deprived!!"

"Yeah, riiight...and did you honestly think you impressed me with that little speech?"

"GAAAAAAAAAH!!!" Slap.

-

There you have it. The birth of a great relationship. As most all births of great relationships tend to lean towards...

And you may wonder...why? The argument sounded like friendship...simple friendship!

But like I said back then, and I'll quote myself again now (God, I am obsessed): emotions are interchangeable, when we want them to change. And now, I didn't deny that I wanted them to change. I liked - no, loved - Kyougoku Aoi...eventually, I would find out the true extent of that. But not yet...

This is a developing stage. The flower still needs to bloom more beautifully before it is ready for another change in climate...right?

(Damn flower metaphors!! Damn damn damn damn...)

And that was the first night. Now, when I look at Kugyou's sentiments towards Yamazaki, or Uchimura's love for Ogata, I try to go easier on the teasing. Because they must have times with each other that are just as memorable as that night was for me...to put it the least corny way humanly possible, that is.

What?

Okay, so it wasn't that memorable. It comes up as a short second in my list of memorable nights. Why? I was soaked. My panties nearly gave me a wedgie, they were so soaked. They even rode up as Aoi hugged me. And they were see-through. Heed the emphasis. Feel the emphasis. I did NOT like that night as much as I could've.

The most memorable night I've had with Aoi?

That would be the date we had the very next day, after Aoi had enough time to survey the damage of his explosives on Meioschool's dance and gloat about it. Heh. Like I said, a very desirable man...

Ja ne! Please try and leave a review - regardless of how brief! I think Saionji lapsed in and out of character, there...^-^;;

-CLAMPraven