There You'll Be

Part Two

walked along the streets to a shopping mall. It had been a couple of months since her last confrontation with Tachibana Kippei. She wasn't that happy, but she wasn't that upset either. Deep down inside, she knew that she loved him dearly and it would be a long time till someone took over that place. Maybe no one would even reach it, she thought with a sad smile as she entered a book store.

She bit her lip as she made her way to the manga section. It was her latest hobby. She never expected to fall for manga, but after hanging around Fuji Syuusuke and his friends, she was influenced by Momo. She stood in front of the stack of manga and wondered what to read. There was a specific one she had wanted, but it was out of stock. He fingers moved carefully against the many volumes when she bumped into someone. "Well, . I never thought I'd find you here," a voice spoke as his hand steadied her from falling.

stopped when she recognized the voice. "Senri?" she asked, and then covered her mouth in surprise. "Chitose-kun," she said sheepishly, standing in front of him. She was embarrassed that she had called him by his first name. When she was with Tachibana, she'd hung out with these guys as well since they were friends of his, but somehow it had all turned sour later.

"I’m here too," Shiraishi Kuranosuke added as he walked towards them nonchalantly. Chitose put his hands in his pockets. "You're into manga?" he asked, leaning down and peering into her face. "I didn’t think you were the type," he said, rubbing his jaw.

blushed, taking a step back. She twirled her hair, embarrassed, and smiled. "It's just something I've picked up recently," she added and then looked to where Shiraishi appeared. "Hello, Shiraishi-kun."

Shiraishi nodded at her and then looked at Chitose. "Did you get what you needed?" he asked as he put his un-bandaged hand in his pocket.

"Yes," he answered, holding the latest volume of his favorite manga packaged between his hands. "I bought it already, but I wanted to check the new releases as well."

frowned. "You came from Osaka to get a manga?" She questioned surprised. Chitose shrugged. "We came by the train."

was about to say something when the store clerk walked up to her. "Miss, I'm sorry, but the latest volume of Get Backers is not available in our other store as well," he apologized.

"It's alright," she said with a smile. "I'll just get something else to read," she assured as she looked at the stack of mangas in front of her. "Hmmm…" she murmured as she crossed her arms.

“So how you been?" Chitose asked while Shiraishi stood by the side looking at something else.

pulled out Fruits Basket and studied it. "I've… I've been alright," she answered quietly. "I'm just adjusting at Seigaku and sorting some things out," she admitted as she flipped the book. She wasn't sure about getting it.

Chitose pulled a manga out and handed it to her. "This is good," he recommended. "Read it and tell me what you think," he said with a light smile. It was somehow rare for him to show any emotions. "Also, this is a good-to-see-you gift from me," he added, handing her the package in his hand. "See you around, ." He bid as he walked out with Shiraishi who also said goodbye to her.

looked confused. She frowned at his sudden departure. She peeked in the package and almost gasped. It was the latest volume of Get Backers she was looking for.

~~~

"You came all the way here for that and you gave it to her?" Shiraishi mumbled as he sat in a coffee shop. He was leaning on his elbow while he cupped his face with his hand. "Has the famous Chitose Senri gone soft?"

"No," he answered, sipping his drink. "I sometimes blame myself for what happened to her at school. It was right after my match with Kippei."

Shiraishi looked unimpressed at his explanation. "It had nothing to do with you. Kippei didn’t handle it well and she took the bite."

"Well, she seems to be doing better now. Rumor has it that she's seeing Fuji Syuusuke from Seigaku," Chitose informed him. Shirashi raised an eyebrow. "Interesting. Isn't Fuji the one that clobbered Hirakoba Rin's special shots during the nationals?" he questioned. He leaned back on the chair and smiled. "But like you said… Rumors.”

~~~

Nighttime

sat in her room looking at the manga, after she had read it. Why did he do that? she thought to herself. She frowned and knew that somehow she had to thank him. She looked at the wall clock of her bedroom and noticed that it was past 9. Before she could chicken out, she dialed the Tachibana residence. It rang and rang when… "Tachibana residence."

froze, Kippei?! She thought as she recognized the voice. She hesitated and her heart began thumping loudly. "Hello?" she said meekly. "C…Can I speak to An please?" There was silence on the other end of the phone.

"One moment, . I will call her," he finally answered, putting her on hold.

He recognized me! felt an empty ache in her heart. She clutched the phone and waited patiently for An to pick up.

"Hello?"

"Hello," said softly.

"HelloOoo~" An said cheerfully, not showing the surprise in her voice. "It's been a while since we last spoke."

"Yes," answered. She was feeling bad about doing this, but she did it. "A…An? I….I'm sorry, but I actually needed something from you," she admitted. "I'm sorry to bother you like this, but I… I… I want Chitose-kun's number from you."

"Chitose?!" An exclaimed not hiding her surprise one bit.

groaned, covering her ear from the shout. "Not so loud," she mumbled. "I just wanted to thank him for something," she explained. She knew An and Chitose were good friends. She also knew that Tachibana didn’t know how close the two actually were.

"Will Fuji-kun be alright with this?"

The statement surprised her. "What do you mean by that?" demanded. "Are you implying that I'm going out with Fuji?" she asked, forgetting herself. An went quiet for a while.

"Well… Are you?" she finally asked.

let out a sigh, "No," she answered. "It's not like that," she whispered. "Err… he did…" she hesitated. "He did ask me, but I said no," she admitted. "It wasn't fair to him if I accepted."

"It's because you still love Kippei?"

swallowed and covered her face. This conversation was not going the way she wanted it to. Right now, she just couldn't bear it. "An… I have to go," she said quietly. "Have a good night." She hung up the phone and let out a sigh. That didn’t go well, she thought.

<Beep>

She blinked at the sound and looked at her cell phone. She was surprised to see that An had sent her Chitose's number by text message. Oh, An. smiled. You really are the best.

She saved the number and stared at the phone. "Now what?” she asked out loud. I wasn’t really prepared to do this. I hope it's not a weird thing to do, she thought, lying down on the bed. Oh my god, I'm actually thinking twice about doing this!

"It's now or never," muttered, flipping onto her stomach and dialing Chitose's number. One ring… Two rings…Three rings… Four rings…

"Hello?"

felt her mouth go dry and her heart started beating faster. Stop acting like an idiot and say hello back. "Chitose-kun?" she whispered. Great, now he'll think you're stalking him. "Hello."

She heard a sigh. "Look, I've told you that I am not interested in…"

"It’s ," interrupted immediately saving them both from further embarrassment. Oh my god! Why did I do that? she thought horrified, covering her mouth. "I'm sorry… I didn’t… I didn't…" she stammered. She smacked her head groaning inwardly, I don’t know what to say.

Chitose finally spoke. "Well, that was not something I wanted the public to know," he admitted. smiled.

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "I wanted to thank you, but…" You're going to tell him you got tongue-tied? her mind asked her. "I got distracted," she lied.

"I see."

"D…Did you think I was a telemarketer?" she asked meekly. Why do I care? Just thank him for the book and hang up.

"No. I thought you were one of the fan girls."

's cheeks reddened. Great! A fan girl? She shook her head. "I'm sorry to disappoint you." This is not going the way I want it too, she groaned yet again. Be firm and do it. "Chitose-kun?"

"Yes?"

"I wanted to thank you for the manga. You shouldn't have, but I appreciate it. Also, I'm done with it and I'd like to lend it to you since it's a hard copy to find at the moment and you came all the way to get it." She babbled all that out without breathing. 

"."

"Yes?"

"It's alright," he finally answered. "You didn't have to call and thank me."

felt her heart plummet into her stomach. She didn't know what to say.  Was calling him a bad idea?

"I'm sorry."

sat up from her position. "S…sorry?"

"I was rude," he explained. "The girls have been calling me non-stop since I quit the tennis club." There was an edge to his voice. "It's just too much."

"It's because you're the popular Chitose Senri," she remarked warmly. Suddenly something hit her, Wait a minute… "You quit the tennis club?" she asked astonished. "When did you quit?" she demanded. She didn't mean it that way, but for Chitose to tell her that he quit, was something severe.

"It's nothing to get upset about," he remarked. "I made that decision after my game with Kippei," he explained. "I didn't really want to play after that," he added and she could've sworn she heard him sigh with that last statement.

He's explaining himself to me.

stood up and started walking in her room. Chitose never explains himself. Why is he telling me the reason he quit? Is it because it involves Kippei? All these questions started to attack her and she didn't realize she was quiet till she heard him speak. "You think too much."

stopped when she heard that remark. "Eh?"

He mumbled something under his breath and finally she heard something, as if he was straightening himself out. ", when do you want to meet me to lend me the book?"

"Meet?" she asked dumbfounded. That's right idiot, how else are you going to give him the book then?

"?"

"Yes, yes…" she agreed quickly. "Err… I… I'll have to check with my schedule and see when I can get off for the train… Hold on, let me check my schedule…" she said, frantically looking for her diary to see when she was free.

"Do you really think I'm going to let a girl come to Osaka all by herself on a train?"

The statement made her stop. No, stopping would've been too kind; she actually dropped her diary when she heard him say that. "It's… It's not like its dangerous or something," she managed to say. Why the hell am I being nervous and acting like an idiot?

"Saturday. Are you free to meet me on Saturday?"

"Saturday?" she asked. I was supposed to meet Momo and Fuji to hang out, but I can ditch them, right? "I'm free."

"Good," he said. They set the time and place and finally hung up. She felt the plans of her head were seating like crazy. What is wrong with me? Why did I act like that? I don’t even think of Chitose that way? I think An's comment bothered me more than I thought.

~~~

"Idiot." It was one simple word. Chitose Senri looked wryly at Shiraishi with his hand on his forehead, "I don't know who was more flustered, you or her?" he added as he watched Chitose.

"Her phone call surprised me."

"This is we're talking about," Shiraishi remarked, standing up. "Of course she was going to call you to thank you," he said as a matter of fact. "But I'm sure you knew that already, didn't you, Senri?" he concluded with a mischievous grin.

Chitose stood up. "You're acting like you know everything again," he commented, his hands in his pockets while looking out of the window. "That was not intentional."

"You never do anything without a reason."

"That was not intentional," he repeated firmly.

~~~

"Not coming?" Momo asked as she stood by her locker. They were at school and she had just told him that she would not be meeting them during the weekend. However, she had not anticipated Momo's reaction. "You promised us weeks ago," he whined. "You have a date, don't you?" he demanded, crossing his arms and glaring at her.

's sweat dropped. "Errr… It's not a date," she mumbled embarrassed. "I am meeting someone, but it's not a date," she explained. "It's just…" Why do I have to explain myself? she thought, but the look on Momo's face told her that she had better explain or be killed. "He's coming from Osaka, Momo, so I can't say no."

"Osaka? Who do you know from Osaka?" he asked with a frown as he rubbed his jaw. "Is it someone from your old school?" he added. "Oh, wait… Is Fuji-senpai okay with you going out with another boy?"

's eyes shook and she clenched her fist. "Why does everything I do have to do with Fuji?" she hissed, irritated. That's the second person to tell me that when it comes to Fuji and I am not going out with Chitose, she thought annoyed.

"It's because you and I spend a lot of time together, .' Fuji answered, walking towards them carrying his books. "You know how people like to gossip," he said as his eyes narrowed at Momo. "It is the greedy part of human nature.'

Momo felt a chill run down his spine as he looked into Fuji's eyes. He took the hint that he should not repeat that again. He rubbed the back of his head as he gave out a nervous laugh and looked at Fuji again, who had turned back to his innocent smile. "Fuji-senpai, it's just us on Saturday."

Fuji's beautiful smile remained the same as he turned to . "A date?" he asked casually.

"It's not a date," mumbled, looking down. She didn't know why she felt heated. It's not a date! It not a date! She repeated it in her mind. She ignored Fuji's eyes. She knew she was acting weird. Even if I said that I'm not going on a date, the way I'm acting is giving me away as if I am.  

Fuji looked at her. "Who are you meeting?" he asked, making Momo look from him then to . He felt uncomfortable standing there, but he was way too curious to leave without knowing everything. hesitated. She twined her fingers together and her gaze turned to the floor yet again. "Umm…" she mumbled. "Well, if I say who, it will be really awkward," she admitted embarrassed.

"Kippei?" Fuji questioned.

's eyes widened. "Oh! No! No! No!" she said frantically, shaking her hands. "It's not Kippei," she answered. "We… we're not like that anymore! How could you ask such a thing?!" she demanded.

Fuji smiled innocently at her. "I could not think of anyone else," he remarked. "Anyway, you enjoy your day. If you finish with your meeting earlier, give us a call."

nodded with thanks and ran off before she embarrassed herself any further.

Momo stood there stretching as he crossed his arms behind his head. "Senpai, you’re not the least bit curious?" he asked. He knew if it was him then the curiosity would kill him. Not like it was doing him any favors at the moment. He was dying to know who she was meeting.

"It's none of our business," Fuji answered as he walked away with a smile.

~~~

Saturday

"Argh! What am I doing?!" demanded as she threw a black top onto the already piled up clothes on her bedroom floor. Calm down, ! She told herself. It's only Chtiose and you didn’t care how you acted in front of him! It’s all because of An and Momo! "They just had to make those stupid comments…" she mumbled as she saw the state she was in. She looked at her bedroom clock and frowned, I only have fifteen minutes to get dressed, she thought as she grabbed the nearest thing she could grab and changed.

ran out of her house and dashed across the streets. "I'm late, damnit, I'm late!" she screeched as she ran. She ran and ran until she reached the park where she was supposed to meet Chitose. She arrived at a bench and put her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath.

"You don't exercise much, do you?"

looked up, startled, and found Chitose leaning by a tree. She blushed embarrassed and regulated her breathing. "I…" *puff* "I don't have time to exercise." She breathed out still breathless from all the running. She wobbled over to him and leaned by the tree. "I thought I was going to be late," she admitted with a sheepish smile.

"You are twelve minutes late."

frowned. "You sounded just like Inui," she muttered, referring to the Seigaku data man while closing her eyes. "Just give me a few minutes," she whispered, trying to get her strength back. She stayed like that for a few seconds when she suddenly gasped, feeling something cold against her cheek.

"Drink it." Chitose ordered, handing her the cold soft drink. "You're a mess," he remarked as he watched her drink it gratefully. looked at him wryly. "Thank you, Chitose Senri," she answered. "That's what every girl likes to hear from a boy," she retorted sarcastically at his comment.

He had the courtesy to look embarrassed, but he smiled lightly. "Well, you look good," he remarked as he saw her attire. He liked the cute outfit she had on; it was a light pair of jeans with a top. "What I meant by a mess is that you were late and forgot to bring the manga with you," he explained as he noticed that the book was not in her hands and she wasn't carrying any bag as well.

froze. After a millisecond, she smacked her forehead and swore out loud. "Oh my god!" she exclaimed embarrassed as hell. "Oh my god! Oh my god!" she kept whispering, not able to look at him. She straightened herself and grabbed his hand. "Let's go and get it."

"Huh?"

pulled him. "We'll go to my house and get it! There's no way you're leaving here without the book especially when you came all the way to get it," she declared, pulling him with her without giving him a chance to argue.

They walked for a while in silence. 's cheeks were red and she was dead embarrassed. How can I look at him? she thought wearily. I managed to not only make him think I'm a 50% idiot, but a 100%, she cried inwardly. She walked when she suddenly stopped…

"What's wrong?" Chitose asked.

I'm still holding his hand!? She felt mortified. She let go of his hand immediately and looked away. "I was just thinking," she lied as she continued walking. They were almost there and she wanted to get this over with so she could stop acting like a complete fool. Whatever his thoughts were, he didn’t show them. He seemed content with her answer as he followed her.

They reached a warm and moderate house; unlocked the front door and led him in. "I'll just get it from my room," she said politely looking at him, "Why don't you wait in the living ro…"

"Oh! We have a guest?" an older woman asked, surprised, as she walked in. clad only in a dress and an apron, her hair was tied loosely and she had a gentle smile on her face.

looked surprised. why is my mom home now? she asked herself. "Mother, this is Chtiose Senri," she introduced Chitose to her mother.

"-sama." Chitose bowed respectfully as her mother eyed him.

"Oh my." smiled kindly. "He is taller than the others," she remarked watching her daughter look at her, horrified. "Well, I'm happy to see you bring someone here. The last time someone came to our house back in Osaka, it was Kippei and…"

grabbed Chitose's hand. "We're going upstairs to my room to finish our stuff, I'll see you later, mother," she interrupted pulling Chitose with her and leading him up the stairs.

~~~

Chitose let out a sigh, his day was putting him in a weird situation every second so far. It wasn't that he did not like 's company, but he found the weird predicaments she kept putting herself in amusing. Now, it was his turn to be in a tight spot. He was standing in her room and it was not one of those neat girl rooms.

looked guiltily at him. "It's here somewhere," she said, walking to a pile of books at the far side of the room. "I'll look for it and you find a place to sit," she said with a sigh.

"I'll try," he muttered, looking at the mess around him. He cleared something off her chair and sat down at the desk. He found his eyes curiously wandering over the objects on her desk. School books were on top of each other, different pencils, phone straps, charger, hair clips, and notebooks were all over the desk. He could’ve sworn that he could hear the desk crying out for help. He turned to see what she was doing when something caught his eye.

<A picture is worth a thousand words>

It was a picture of with Tachibana. He looked at the setting and if he remembered correctly, it was taken after he and Tachibana had won when they were in Shishigaku. He remembered the t-shirt he was wearing that day because the girls had forced him and Tachibana to wear the same ridiculous t-shirt. He looked at the picture and saw radiance in 's face; she was glowing and was held by Tachibana only, as if he owned her. He was still staring at it when it was suddenly snatched from his hand.

"I'm sorry," Chitose apologized. held the picture in her hand and hugged it to her chest.

"No," she said softly as she shook her head. "Don't apologize; I am trying to throw it away," she whispered, sitting down on her bed.

Chitose stood up and looked at her; he saw that his manga was on her bed next to her. He didn’t know how she found it in this mess, but it didn’t matter now. "Come on, …" he said patting her head lightly, "You're one of the toughest girls I know, you're going to let this bring you down?" he asked with a frown. She is definitely not okay, he thought looking at her. He leaned down on his knees and peered at her. "You're not going to burst out crying, are you? I'll need a warning…"

"I'm not like that," she answered crossing her arms. "I just can't bring myself to throw that picture because it holds a lot of memories for me," she admitted softly. She looked up at him and smiled. "Do you want to do something? I mean you came all the way here…"

Chitose watched her and felt something. You're getting close to , he thought to himself. He rubbed his jaw slightly and found himself nodding. "What do you have in mind?"

~~~

Hours Later

"Momo? Momo?" Fuji asked curiously. He was surprised to see Momo with his jaws dropped for a full five minutes without moving. He waved his hand in front of his younger classmate until Momo actually snapped out of his daze.

" senpai w...w...with Chitose Senri…" Momo whispered pointing to the opposite side of the street.

Fuji directed his eyes to where Momo was pointing his finger and found it to be true. He saw with Chitose going into a bookstore. However, they left in a couple of minutes. was dragging him somewhere onto the other side.

"Are they on a date, Fuji senpai?"

Fuji thought for a second. "I doubt it. -chan said that she was just meeting a friend," he answered.

Momo eyed them curiously as he saw talk to Chitose and then they made a left turn and disappeared. Momo took one hesitant step, "don't even think about it Momo," Fuji warned. "It is none of our business." Fuji looked at where they had vanished and walked in the opposite direction. "Let's go."

"But…"

~~~

"Ice skating?"

nodded when they reached the pond. It wasn’t that crowded, but there were some kids there already. "I like it."

"Er… , seriously, you brought me here to ice skate?" he asked raising an eyebrow at her.

"Shut up, Senri," she mumbled, forgetting her status with him and calling him by his first name. She held his upper arm and pulled him with her to the booth so they could borrow some skates.

"I don't like to skate," he said, placing his foot firmly on the ground.

pulled him stubbornly, but he refused to move. "Stop acting like Kippei!" she shouted unintentionally. As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she let go of his arm. "I'm sorry," she whispered, looking down. "Let's just leave this place," she told him as she walked away from the ice skating ring.

What is wrong with me? thought, walking towards a bench. Why is everything reminding me of Kippei?

Chitose put a hand on her head. "You are a mess, ," he remarked casually, taking a seat next to her. "You and Kippei seriously have issues."

moved her head away. "Look who's talking!" she snapped. "Was I the one who kept playing like an idiot and kept getting hurt during the nationals?" shouted at him. "You and Kippei kept ignoring…"

"Don't bring that up," he interrupted, standing up and stuffing his hands in his pockets. “It's in the past. You should let go of yours as well."

let out a sigh and leaned back. "I'm trying, but it's more difficult than I had imagined. During the nationals, I thought I could be alright with it, but I wasn't. When I saw you both play at the nationals; it bought back all those unwanted memories," she admitted, clutching her hands slightly. "I'm so pathetic."

He smiled and leaned down a bit. "You're not," he remarked knocking her head gently. "You just can't stop loving him. Is it that hard to let go?"

"It's not that." she blushed, standing up and walking ahead. "Everything reminds me of him and of all people that I'm close to; it's his own good friend."

"Fuji?"

She hugged herself as they walked out of the area. "Yeah."

"Have you spoken to him?"

looked at him confused. "Spoken to whom?"

"Kippei."

pursed her lips. "Speak to him? Why?" she asked, obviously surprised at the question. They were walking aimlessly with no destination in mind. still wondered what he meant by that.

Chitose thought for a second. "Maybe you guys didn’t say goodbye properly," he answered. "It helps sometimes."

"We said our goodbyes a long time ago, but I'm not sure how…"

Chitose stopped. Whatever was going to say had frozen on her lips. He followed her line of sight and sighed inwardly. Not good, he thought seeing Tachibana with a girl who was obviously not An. Normally, he wouldn't jump to conclusions, but he had a doubt in mind when he saw the girl hugging Tachibana's upper arm possessively. However, he had known Kippei for a long time and he saw that he didn’t look pleased in the situation he was in. He looked at and realized that she was seeing something else completely. The worst part was that Tachibana had spotted them.

The girl with him looked a bit embarrassed and let go of his upper arm, for they were walking towards us. He noticed that was still frozen. Chitose knocked her head lightly. "?"

She blinked and held her head. "What was that…"

"Smile," he ordered as Tachibana approached them.

"Hello." Tachibana Kippei greeted. "Chitose… ." he corrected himself just before he made a mistake of calling her by her first name. "This is a surprise," he admitted watching them carefully.

was so much in shock that she just leaned against Chitose for support. "It's not like that," she whispered quietly.

"It doesn't matter what it is like."

Chitose looked from one to the other. He also felt sorry for the girl with Tachibana because he had not acknowledged her in any way. "Who's your friend?" Chitose asked Tachibana casually.

Tachibana's eyes were carefully watching , but he did answer Chitose. "A cousin; this is Tachibana Ayame."

Ayame pushed herself forward and shook hands with both Chitose and . She conversed with Chitose while Tachibana joined a bit, but the whole time had been silent.

hated herself for feeling like this, but she was still not over him. How could she just let go? They had been a couple for more than a year. She missed him. She missed the smile which he showed only her. She missed his warmth. was feeling so overwhelmed that she was beginning to panic. She could feel the sweat trickling down her back. Her breath hitched and before she knew it, everything had turned black.

~~~

A powerful smell woke . She immediately sat up, but swore quietly as the world spun around her and she fell back where she was lying on. The smell came back and she waved her hand at it. "Go away," she said, trying to push it away. heard voices conversing as she tried to open her eyes.

"Move it away, Ayame."

"Why did she faint?"

"She's trying to open her eyes."

"Help her sit up."

"I'll get her some water."

finally opened her eyes. She saw two pairs of eyes watching her while the third person held her to make sure she stayed sitting up. She turned and saw that it was Chitose. "You know I have an issue with girls fainting," he murmured, making her blush.

pushed him. "ARE YOU CRAZY?!" she snapped. "You don't tell a girl that when she wakes up!" she scolded, but suddenly held her head.

Chitose held his bruised arm and watched her. "You fainted right in the middle of the street! Why did you want me to do?"

"We're in a park! Not the street!"

Ayame watched from one person to the other. "Is this normal, Kippei?" she whispered watching the heated exchange between the two. "I mean… She just fainted, does she even have the energy to shout now?"