A/N: Sorry for the late update! Tons of requirements (and cramming) for school have completely exhausted my time and my writing muse. Our server won't work! Here's the latest chap!

Chapter 6

Secrets

Fuuko grumbled loudly and stomped her way down Yanagi's stairs.

Well, for everybody, this was something that was so characteristic of Fuuko Kirisawa. But not for Yanagi. She knew her friend well, and the night before, all she had to do was to look at her to be able to decide that she's awfully out of her senses.

When Fuuko moaned and let herself sink into her seat, Yanagi sighed and joined her. Patting her shoulder gently, she asked, "Are you feeling better, Fuuko-chan?"

Fuuko nodded her head but winced. It was definitely not a good idea to get that drunk. She's not sure if she really gobbled up all five bottles of cold beer by herself. Fuuko wasn't exactly fond of liquor. Okay, to be honest, she hasn't finished a single bottle by herself.

Except that night.

Wrong thought. Impulsively, she grabbed the nearest object to her hand--fortunately it was a nice, fluffy bean bag--and threw it across the room with a force that couldsmash a guy's future. Yanagi flinched and gasped. She waited for Fuuko's huffs and puffs to stop before she tried to calm her in a complacent voice.

"Fuuko-chan." Yanagi smoothed her tangled hair. "Why don't you tell me now what happened? It might lessen the load."

"Oh, great." The wind child rolled her eyes. "As if you haven't heard the whole story last night."

Yanagi does think she has a pretty good idea why, from all the almost incoherent mutters and curses the purple-head had sputtered on her drunken fit. But still, she wanted to be sure and set things straight.

"You're upset about Tokiya-kun."

"Upset?!" Fuuko exclaimed. "I'm not upset, of course not! I'm furious, seething, livid…!"

Fuuko cut off by herself when she started loosing a grip of her control.

"Fuuko-chan." Yanagi said patiently. "I understand. Now please tell me the story, no exaggeration whatsoever. Procrastinating this doesn't help."

The other felt like defending herself and saying what she said was no more than the truth. But Yanagi was right, how can she unload her chest if she didn't tell her? The sooner the better.

"After he let her filthy hands on him in public, the goddamned ice block told me he rejected my goddamned cousin! The ass had the nerve to tell me that he had goddamned secrets to keep AFTER all we all went through risking our lives at that horrible life-and-death Urabutousatsoujin! And that fucking girly guy even saw a glimpse of my body! I hate him! He's such an insensitive, incorrigible--"

"FUUKO!" Yanagi waved her hands in front of the girl. "I swear to all my ancestors that I didn't understand one word of what you're saying. Please. Try to calm down and we will talk. Now tell me the whole story."

The Fuujin wielder did try her best to explain things properly (the occasional twist of colorful curses which adorned her narration was to be expected). Yanagi kept her silence all throughout the story, and when it was over, her confusion was apparent.

"Tokiya-kun actually rejected Suzu Sakuma?" Yanagi asked in a level voice. "I have to admit, she's a goddess."

A strange, unnamed pang of pain strangled Fuuko. Wherever she went, Suzu turned heads. When she passes by men, they cower and shrivel away.

Hmm, not exactly what men want. Feminine, gentle, beautiful, skilled women…

"Suzu left after he rejected him…that makes sense. She's probably heartbroken." Yanagi sighed sympathetically, though Fuuko knew the healer had not known Suzu for long. "If he said he discarded her because he was not interested, I would not believe. Tokiya-kun, no matter how noble and cold he is, is still a teenage guy. He couldn't even have interacted with a fan so much in public if she was ordinary. A firm reason has to be there."

"A secret he won't tell us." Yanagi continued. "What secret? He knows he could trust us, Fuuko-chan. He could trust us and he knows we'll accept him no matter what."

"Yes. Yes, we will." Fuuko agreed, firm and assured. But Yanagi's words made an impact.

What if it was really, really, horrible? What if he actually murdered a person? Or if he was a spy of the Uruha? Or if he was actually a monster? Would she accept him? Could she?

But the moment she asked herself the question, she already knew the answer. Yes, still, she would have him, no matter who he was, what he's done and whatever wrong he had committed.

Because Mi-chan meant so much to her. He was her defendant, her companion, her comrade, her friend.

"Mikagami-kun!"

Upon hearing the squeals thrown towards him, Tokiya already knew he was in trouble. On cue, he ran full speed to the opposite direction. Inevitably, the girls followed. But Tokiya was already far out, even when he was carrying a sack of hardbound books.

Hah. After all the mobs women had when he's around, the Ensui master already knew that escaping was the best, most dignified way to protect himself. If only he could move as fast in Pokemon.

Why couldn't he just beat Kirisawa in the stupid game? Maybe his intellect was so superior it cannot copy monkey skills.

Speaking of the devil.

As Tokiya saw Fuuko at the end of the corner to his only way to his room, he expected hell to break lose from her fury. Still, he stood straight and walked toward her unfalteringly, his moment of indecision not long enough for anyone to detect. But to his utter astonishment, she jerked and beamed.

"Mi-chan!"

Eyes wide, he stopped walking. She smacked him at the arm. "What's with the drama? You're as stiff as an ice block, though we don't exactly need a comparison for two same species."

"Kirisawa." Tokiya recovered quickly. "What on Earth's fuck made you throw this racket here? I'm on my way to class, and please don't try to prevent my brain from absorbing some information just because yours can't."

With a growl, Fuuko punched him. "Go back to ice age era, Mi-chan!"

With a swift turn, he headed for his classroom. Fuuko was left behind with a shell shocked Yanagi.

"Fuuko-chan." She mumbled in confusion. "Why…what?"

With a light but sad smile, Fuuko turned to Yanagi. "I know Mi-chan. Yan-chan, he's a caged man. No holes, walls up all the time. Do you think he's open up if I nagged him everyday? That would make him stay on his guard even more. But if I…"

"If you tried to pry loose and play it easy, he might even feel secure that his secret will be taken care of." Yanagi's lips broke into a smile. "Excellent thinking, Fuuko-chan."

"I can't brood all day. I don't have to waste all those time. Mi-chan may be suffering right now." Fuuko held Yanagi's hand. "I'm going to know what it is. I'm going to help him."

With a mute nod, Yanagi smiled again. Definitely, Mi-chan was a book written in an alien language, a language only Fuuko can understand.

"You can't do this to me."

The tall woman turned to the direction of the deep, baritone, commanding voice she now loathed, the source of it sitting on a big revolving chair behind the table.

"No, you can't do this to us. You can't use us. Not anymore."

Suzu Sakuma walked out of the immense, lavish office, leaving the man clenching his fists in silent fury.

to be continued…

A/N: Short, I know. But I have to arrange things for now.