Nobuta fanfic

[kriszeth]

 

Title: How to le go.

Genre: Inclined to angst

Pairing: Akira/Nobuta, Shuuji/Nobuta, Akira/Tsurara, Shuuji/Mariko, Kurosaki/Tsurara (all of this eventually)

Rating: PG?

Disclaimer: Written for entertainment, not for profit.

 

Prologue

The truck moves away, taking with it their best friend. One by one, their classmates disperse until just the two of them stand on the hill. The sun sets slowly, almost lazily and Akira fidgets, because he does not know what it is they're waiting for.

"Kotani-san? Kusano-san?"

Both teenagers turn around. Mariko stands there wearing her uniform with a big sportsbag on her shoulder and a pretty furrow on her brows. They stare at each other for a long moment and Akira fidgets a little more; he really is not acustomed to keep still and he doesn't really know Uehara Mariko -apart from what school rumors had to say- to chat up with her.

Nobuta's hands form tight fists in front of her nervously and Mariko pouts at not knowing what to say to make this uncomfortable moment pass.

"A good game?" Akira asks politely, because, after all, she is the only girl Shuji has ever acknowledged and she was deemed worthy enough for a special good bye, so that puts her somehow in a different level from the rest of the world.

"Uh?" the basketball player blinks and looks at her bag, which seems to be the object of interest of Akira's eyes, before beaming at the boy warmly. "Oh, yes. We had a match with Ara high. We won and all the other girls went to celebrate at the karaoke. I didn't feel like going, so I thought of taking a walk home"

Akira wraps up the small talk with an "Oh" and falls silent again.

"What are you doing here?" Mariko asks, curiosity getting the best of her, while tilting her head a little to see behind them, trying to find what they were staring at.

"Shuji is gone" Nobuko answers and there's a beat of silence where the three of them try to keep the sadness they feel from showing.

"Sou desu ne?" the popular girl smiles sadly and there's an awkward pause when her gaze turns far away -as if trying to follow Shuji- and Nobuta uses it to sit in the grass beside the road. Akira follows her lead and, after a minute, Mariko joins them.

"He smiled" Nobuta breaks the silence that settles as she remembers his parting smile, his eyes shinning with longing and a sad kind of happinnes at knowing the people he liked so much took the time to see him off.

"It must have been a wonderfull smile, ne?" Mariko says wistfully, a tentative grin blossoming in her own face. Somehow, it makes her happy to know that at least in the end, Shuji was able to smile truly, even if it wasn't at her.

Akira nods eagerly and exclaims with the proper hand motions "It was! It was! A warm and caring 100% Shuji smile! KAKKOI!"

The boy laughs dorkily while clapping and then Nobuta whispers "But... It was also sad" and it's enough to make Akira sober up.

Her words seem to sink deeply into their hearts as they wonder what is it that Shuji feels while rinding that truck, going to a place he does not know, to people he has never met before; where he has to start all over again. They wonder how he will do it.

Nobuta is a little aprehensive. She frowns at thinking he will go back to playing the part of cool and popular Kiritani Shuji to keep himself on the top. Trying too hard to please others. Making promises he doesn't intend to keep. Lying to everyone and hurting himself in the proccess.

Akira stares intently at her, reading all her worries and wonders what he can do to make them go away.

"He looked really lonely, ne?" Mariko wonders out loud and Nobuta nods.

"Of all of us, he was the loneliest"

"Except when he was with Kusano-san, ne?" laughs Mariko and Nobuta nods again, a tentative grimace-smile on her face.

"EH?!" Both girls turn at Akira's shout and stare at the surprise written all over his face. He feels compulsory to say something. "Maji?!"

Nobuta nods once again. "Shuji and Akira!... The two of them were always one"

Akira blinks and seems to regard this new information deeply. Suddenly, he springs up with a cry of "Yosh!" and proceds to get out his cellphone before the astonished, curious and a little wary highschool girls.

Which is an usual state of being with Akira around, especially with the gleam in his eyes and the mischievous grin.

"O~ya~ji" he sing-songs. "Ne, can I take the helicopter? I'm going to Kyushu, ne, so I’ll leave it in your hands, ne? Yoroshiku! Ja!"

With a ’kon’, Akira ends the call before any sound can be uttered from the other side –and there will be a lot of sounds latter, mostly crashes of breakable things– and then skips to the street, flapping his arms as he usually does when going down the stairs, trying to call a taxi and in general just looking like a person who just escaped from a mental institution. Miraculously, one stops in front of him, opening the passenger door while the boy looks into his pockets for something.

Nobuta gets up clumsily, her eyes wide in alarm, Mariko slower than her. Did she do or say something to make him want to go?

“AKIRA!” she says his name, as always, with a little too much force, making him cringe. He remembers the way she whispers-calls Shuji’s name, soft and kind and tender, with a voice that makes you feel warm inside.

Akira would be lying if he says he doesn’t feel jealous about it, because sometimes is difficult to convince his heart he already gave her up.

“Nobuta, ne…” he begins when she stops in front of him and tugs at one of his sleeves –Mariko  stands two steps behind, uncertain and kind of understanding what is going on-, her eyes are anxious and his expression becomes tender, his voice sounding warmer. “Nobuta really is worried about Shuji, ne? That’s why I’ll go after him… Because I don’t want you to worry”

He takes her hand and puts on it the doll Catherine had given him, which is what he was looking for into his pockets. “She said two bring happiness, so I'll give you this. I’ll make Shuji happy, but I want Nobuta to be happy too… because to me, Shuji and Nobuta comes first”

Nobuta stares at it, at her hand cradled between his hands and then at the silly grin that doesn’t match Akira’s eyes. He gazes at her with the same look she remembers from not so long ago, it makes her heart do something funny and suddenly a lot of things begin to make sense.

Nobuta wonders how she never noticed it before.

Her eyes are bright when she nods and then Nobuta hugs him tightly. Akira’s face begins to get warm, his arms trapped between their bodies and Mariko smiles softly at the picture they make. He seems to be in the point to begin freaking out when a suspicious sniffle is heard and Akira tenses.

“Is Nobuta ok?” he asks uncertain and uncomfortable, but also disappointed in himself. He was trying to make her stop worrying and smile again.

Nobuta nods against his chest and he sighs. “But, Nobuta is crying” he whispers-whines sadly. “This is the second time I’ve made Nobuta cry” and he wonders how many times he will make her cry again and this is why he gave her up, because he couldn’t make her happy.

“I’ll be fine by myself" she says and bravely looks up at him, beacuse she can't express all that is in her heart but her eyes shine with it. "I'll cry for the first three days, but I'll show you that for the rest of them, I'll make it through"

He looks surprised at her vehemence, but then smiles and bents down a little to be on the same level with her, his head lowered enough to almost touch Nobuta’s forehead. They look so earnest together that Mariko feels a pang of loneliness and here is another story that ends before it can even begin.

She remembers hearing Kusano-san sing his heart out through the PA system, letting go of someone who he thought he couldn't make happy. She remembers Shuji telling her that same day he couldn't love her back and leaving her crying in an empty hallway.

"Next time we see each other, I'll be better. Better enough not to make Nobuta cry never ever again. Yakusoku!" Akira swears, his eyes serious and determined and he hugs her back tightly for a long moment before letting her go, he flickers a 'kon!' on the tip of her nose and then turns to the other girl.

Mariko is surprised that he even remembers she is still there, but nothing prepares her for the hug Akira gives her, making her drop her bag. "I'll take care of Shuji" he whispers in her ear, just for her to hear. "So, take care of Nobuta for us, ne? And also, take care of yourself. Genki, ne?"

She can only nod, her eyes tearing up a bit at the sensation of comfort he gives to someone he's not really acquainted with. Akira lets her go and goes back to the still waiting taxi, he gets in and opens the car window to say his parting words, half of his body out the window. "Take care, ne? And don't let that punk Shittaka get close to you!"

Nobuta nods, tears rolling down her cheeks while the taxi moves away, Akira waving with both arms madly and his eyes bright with unshed tears.

"GANBATTE!" he shouts and then bangs his head into the car top (Ow!) when the driver asks him to please, sit down before you hurt yourself while his elbow collides on the windowsill (Itte!).

The two girls stay there long after the taxi dissapears in the distance, keeping each other company, both lost into their own thoughts until Mariko's cell rings announcing an incoming mail.

"It's from Mom", she answers Nobuta's curious expression. "She is worried because I'm home usually at this hour" and waits for a sneer or a tease about being a Mommy's girl, which is an usual response from her other friends.

She only gets a nod of acknowlegment and a murmured "I should go home too".

The shy girl dries her face with her sleeve and even waits for Mariko to pick up her bag before beginning to walk. They're quiet for a long time but then again, Kotani-san seems the type to always be like this.

"Is it really ok... like this?"  Mariko asks when she thinks she can't stand the silence anymore and the shy girl nods again, which seems to be her substitute for 'Hai'.

"We'll meet each other again... For sure..." Her voice is firm and without doubt, certain in believing this can be the only truth.

Uehara Mariko doesn't understand how the other girl can be so sure of it. Just how can she have this kind of faith in those two? Because, if she has learnt anything from Shuji, after all, is how fragile promises can be; but then, she remembers their last date and how he said: The next time I see you, I plan to be a better person.

Mariko kind of understands that in real life, there's no such thing as a definite ending. So she nods with a smile.

And she believes.

Comments

[greenlili.livejournal.com]

oh wow, you're so good, I love this fanfic so so so much.
It's perfect, warm, so so cute. This is the scene that's missing from the drama itself. But of course they can't have this scene 'cause Akira appearing at Shuji's new school was supposed to be a surprise. But if it were a NwP with Akira as the central character, this scene must be included ne. You totally get their antics, manners and habbits. Love it, love it, love it!!!

[kriszeth.livejournal.com]

Did I really? I was worried because I could see all of this happening in my mind, but I couldn't express it in words.
Actually, this is just the prologue but I was getting kind of dissapointed nobody reviewed it, so I was wondering if I should stop.
So, thank you, because I really want to finish this, even if it's only for myself

[greenlili.livejournal.com]

you should really finish this. don't worry about mistakes or things like that.
The emotions you conveyed are way more important and it's a joy to read.
i'll be looking forward to the pro-AkiraNobuta ending *hopefully* :)
i'm all for Akira and Nobuta.
oh and thanks for writing this scene/prologue. I really do love reading it.

[kriszeth.livejournal.com]

thank you for your kind words, because I really want to finish this.
Somehow, I think it's something I really need for myself, so please keep reading

[monikapiercey.livejournal.com]

O I love the new cover so so so much. Oh, Yuki. I finally watched Goong. It was so good, I watched the whole thing in about 5 days.

[kriszeth.livejournal.com]

ano, i think you are mistaking me for someone else, hope your message gets across that other person!
n.n

love it

[pijellibabie.livejournal.com]

thanks for this- it fits in so well.. it made so much sense.. i feel so teary eyed everytime i read this, its so.. perfect. arigato.

Re: love it

[kriszeth.livejournal.com]

Thanks for reading! Ah! Chapter one is up over at the heat up JE community, if you want to read it (i'd put up the link, but I suck at ljcuts)
n.n

(shameful advertising. Guilt of charge)

[xbriyeon.livejournal.com]

Aww this is sweet, I liked it.

[kriszeth.livejournal.com]

you can find more at my lj of this story ;P

*guiless smile*

[miyukixrinn.livejournal.com]

oh this is nice :)

[kriszeth.livejournal.com]

thank you!, though you won't like to know this is unfinished

[miyukixrinn.livejournal.com]

good :) so there's more chapters to come? :)

[kriszeth.livejournal.com]

uuuuh, well, i'm supposed to update, but my writing habits don't seem to get around that concept

[miyukixrinn.livejournal.com]

oh haha i do have the same problem :)