>Kurobane's Girl

[Prologue]

She's a bitch.

Huh? Why would you say that about her?

She leaned against the tree, hidden from their eyes. Every word she heard literally ripped pieces of her heart. Her knees felt weak, her breathing hitched, and she could barely manage to stand still.

She's a cold one. She is too high and mighty for me. I never really felt loved; it was more like I was her property or something, the way she ordered me around.

Then why are you still her boyfriend?

Closing her eyes and clutching her fists, she waited for the final comment. She knew it before he even said it. He was not the first one to say it. He would not be the last.

I'm not stupid either. Yes, she is cold, but she worships me. I can have anything I want. I won’t be the fool who dumped his RICH girlfriend.

If you don't dump your girl then we can't announce that we're a couple.

We'll wait. After all, it is her money that is buying you all the things I get you.

The dam broke. She was cold and one who did not show any emotions; she did not understand why she had tears in her eyes. She moved her numb body slowly and tried to slip away from there.

walked away; the tears preventing her from clearly seeing her way home.

~~~

[Rokkaku – Months Later]

" -chan!"

turned her head towards the voice. It was the start of a school day and students were rushing in and out of the hallways before homeroom started. Even though it was really crowded and noisy, was still able to hear his call. She shut her locker door and looked at the boy. "Good morning, Aoi-kun."

Aoi Kentarou gave his friend a morning smile. He turned to his own locker and pulled out his books. Aoi had known for two years. They weren't exactly what you called friends, but she seemed comfortable when he was around. He knew the things they said behind her back, but he was never one to care for gossip. He liked to form his own opinion about people. "Do you have class with the team now?"

thought for a second and looked clueless. She pulled out her schedule from her notebook and studied it. "I have Biology now," she told him, putting the schedule back in its place. "I think Kurobane-kun is in that class with me."

Aoi frowned at that statement. "You don't know who's in your class?" he asked, walking with her to the laboratory.

She didn't really show any expression. She continued walking, trying at the same time to avoid hitting students in the jam-packed hallway. "It doesn’t matter who's in class with me," she finally answered. She bid him good day and walked into her Biology session.

Aoi stopped walking and thought of her comment for a minute. He was so absorbed with his thoughts that he didn’t realize someone was behind him, until he felt a rather painful smack on the back of his head. "What are you doing here?" Kurobane Harukaze asked, holding his wrist a bit; it was obvious that his smacking caused him to bruise it a little. "Shouldn't you be in class?"

Aoi wanted to scold at him for the sudden pain in his head, but he refrained from it. He rubbed the back of his head and let out a sigh. "I was walking -chan," he admitted, leaning down to pick up his books that fell on the floor from the previous action before.

"I didn't know you guys were close," he said casually, walking ahead of him.

"I'm her only friend."

~~~

Kurobane entered the lab and looked around. Somehow Aoi's words bothered him more than he wanted them to. He found himself unconsciously searching for and to his surprise he saw her sitting by the side alone. She had her head buried in her notebook as she wrote something. I never really noticed that she sat alone in this class, he thought, trying to remember when he ever saw her sitting with others.

He couldn't recall.

Without thinking, he made a beeline towards her and took a seat next to her. "Good morning," he said as he pulled out his books. She stopped writing and looked at him. She said a small “good morning” and resumed writing.

Kurobane frowned at the attitude. He knew she had a reputation for being cold, but this was too much. He shrugged his shoulders and turned the book to the assigned page. They were in a lab, but the first half an hour was a lecture. It was after that that the experiments began.

Half an hour later, the teacher instructed the students to work in pairs of three. Kurobane was going to move his usual team, but stopped when he looked at . She had already taken the assignment and started working on it. He looked at his group and then back at . He decided to stay and asked Saeki, who was in the same class, to join them.

"I don't need you to pity me," said quietly, not looking at him as she worked.

Kurobane almost dropped the glass tube from his hand. He glanced at her and directed his eyes to Saeki. He noticed that Saeki had not heard her comment. "I do not pity you, ," he finally said, picking up a bottle of liquid. "I just think that maybe it's time we all get to know each other in this class."

didn't say anything. The three of them continued working while Saeki complained about how tough the experiment was. Once class was over, picked up her stuff and walked out to her next class.

"Do you like her?" Saeki asked Kurobane as they walked out of the lab together.

Kurobane rubbed his jaw, walking to his locker to pick up his next book. "It's not that…" he murmured, setting his bag down. "I just wonder about her, that's all."

Saeki leaned on the locker. "She stays away from everyone because she's afraid. The girls are too proud to hang out with her and the guys think she's too cold," he explained, crossing his arms.

"Afraid?" He asked curiously. "Why?"

Saeki looked around to make sure no one was neraby. "I'll tell you, but please don't repeat this to anyone."

"You know I don't like to gossip," Kurobane said.

Saeki leaned closer and told him what he'd heard.

~~~

It was several days later. Kurobane admitted to himself that he did like now. There was something innocent about her that he couldn’t shake off. He knew she was 'super rich' and it caused her a lot of problems. Saeki had told him stories of how a lot of students took advantage of that sometimes, especially the boys that dated her.

He walked towards the tennis club when he noticed ahead of him. At the same time, he noticed the kids the often came to see them playing around that area. One of the boys that was named Rai tripped hard onto the floor. He wanted to rush and help, but stopped when he saw beat him to it. He decided to wait and watch.

~~~

helped the little boy to stand up and patted his head gently as he continued crying. She frowned at the situation and reached for her bag. The boy curiously stopped crying as he watched her look for something. To his delightfulness, pulled some lollipops from her bag and offered him one.

He was about to reach for one…

"Rai-kun! No! Don't take it. She is a witch!" a boy shouted, running towards them. He snatched the lollipops from her hand and threw them onto the floor. "Nobody likes her."

stared horrified. How could a kid's words hurt me so much, she thought to herself, still bent on the floor. She saw the other boy take Rai's hands and pull him away from her.

After regaining her senses from the shock, she finally decided to stand up. She turned around to leave…

"HEY! YOU IDIOTS!"

froze when she saw Kurobane in front of her. She couldn’t see that the children had frozen as well. Kurobane was scowling as he bent down and picked up all the wrapped lollipops that were scattered on the floor. He walked towards and extended his arm in front of her, so she wouldn’t leave. "Come here now before I beat you all up."

looked down, wanting to leave. She did notice that the kids were approaching from the increasing shadows on the floor. She hadn’t realized that there were more than two kids.

Four boys stood in front of him while was still facing the other way. "When a lady offers you something nice, you accept it," he lectured with his hands on his hips. "Did we teach you to be rude and mean by letting you watch us play?"

"But, Bane-san, the students say mean things…"

"So what?" he interrupted in an exasperated voice. "You still don't know -chan…"

"We heard her boyfriend cheated on her because she was so mean to him…"

felt her heart plummet. She clenched her fist, her shoulders shaking, and she couldn’t believe that there were tears in her eyes. She wiped them away roughly and pushed Kurobane's arm away. However, he caught her upper arm. "Don't run."

She ignored him and pulled away. She hugged her school bag and walked off in a hurried fashion.

Kurobane watched her go then returned his gaze to the little ones. He had narrowed his eyes. The kids actually looked guilty now. "Is this true?" he questioned, crossing his arms.

They bit their lips, a sign of guilt. "Yes…" one of them answered quietly, looking down at the floor.

Kurobane lectured them about gossiping and walked to the club. He wanted to run after , but he knew he was in no position to do so. When he walked into the club, he found Saeki there. "Tell me something, Saeki…" he said, pulling off his shirt to change into uniform.

Saeki stopped to look at his friend.

"Do 'cold' girls cry?"

~~~

Days…weeks…followed and Kurobane knew he was in trouble. The fact that he kept thinking of her 24/7 was not helping him sleep. He was worried about her. He kept making sure she was always safe. In class, he always sat next to her. He was happy though because she was starting to talk to him now. It was today that he decided to make a move; he needed to know if it was okay for him.

During lunch, he went outside to the playground. He knew she spent it there because she hated mingling with the others. He was right. He found her sitting on the swing with her bento box on her lap. " ."

She looked up at him, a look of surprise dawned on her features. "Kurobane-kun?"

He walked to her and sat down on the floor opposite her, crossing his legs. "Why don't you ever have lunch inside with us?" he asked casually.

She gave him a smile, but he knew it was a weak one. "I just don't know anyone and I don't eat much," she said, pointing at her untouched bento box. "My cook made this for me and he sort of goes over the top...” she added. "I like to try normal food once in a while."

"The cafeteria has normal food."

"Yes, but I want food that I can actually live after eating it."

He laughed. Although she was perceived as an unemotional girl, once you got to know her properly, she had a great sense of humor. Also, she did look like she was not interested in you, but she was always listening and she always had other people's interest first in her heart. He knew that was probably why she had been a target for so many evil scheming students before. He stopped laughing and stood up. He was not one to hesitate when he wanted something. " , do you want to hang out? Go to the movies? Or have dinner with me?"

laid her chopsticks down. "I thought you were different," she said quietly, disappointment in her voice.

He leaned forward and looked at her, with his hands in his pockets. "I am different, but you have to give me the chance to prove it."

She shook her head. “It hurts too much," she whispered, covering her face.

Kurobane bit his lip. Damnit, I made her cry, he thought. He walked closer and placed his hand on her head. " You seem to have a lot of things bottled up inside of you… Because every little thing seems to trigger the tears."  

burst out crying. "You're so bad with words…" she sobbed, covering her face.

Kurobane sweat-dropped. "Hey… Hey… I didn't mean it!" he said panicking. He did have a tendency to say the wrong things sometimes. To his surprise, he stopped. He found her laughing out loud. "Fooled you…" she said softly, winking at him.

His eye twitched. "That wasn't funny."

stood up. "And you asking me out, wasn't either," she said firmly, poking her finger into his chest.

He glared at her. "I was serious about that."

"I like you as a friend. I don't want to lose that."

Kurobane took her hands in his and looked at her. "But you like me too," he said, making her blush. "You're just scared that I'll be like the others."

snatched her hands away. "I have lost my faith in the opposite sex. They're nothing but demons without any feelings."

It was his turn to poke her. He poked her forehead with his finger. "Even demons get another chance, don't you think?" he asked with a smile. Normally, statement like this coming from a girl would surprise him. However, her saying that to his face just proved to him that she was more comfortable around him than he had imagined.

hesitated. She looked down. "You're really serious about asking me out?" she asked quietly. "Why..?"

"I want to show you that not all the guys in the world are jerks," he said quietly, placing his forehead on hers.

~~~

Several days later

" ? ?" Aoi asked repeatedly. "He's dating ?" he whispered, falling onto the bench. "Woah…" he whistled. "That is way too weird."

Saeki continued walking. "Why? I think they suit each other. Bane's nice and if he plays his game right, he'll be able to break that cold façade of hers."

"It's not a game! Feelings are at stake," Aoi shouted, getting to his feet.

Saeki put a finger in his ear. "You don't have to shout," he muttered. "I can hear you loud and clear."

"But…" he shouted, but stopped.

Saeki smiled as he pointed his finger towards the street. "You look at that and tell me if it's weird," he remarked.

Aoi stopped and looked to where Saeki was pointing. He spotted Kurobane standing on the side with next to him. They weren't doing anything like holding hands or anything, but they stood close and had a small smile on her face.

Kurobane saw them and waved. He grabbed 's wrist and pulled her with him as he walked to where they both stood. "Yo!"

hesitated, walking up next to him, but waved politely.

"What are you guys up to?" Saeki asked casually.

"Movie, but we don't know what to watch."

tugged Kurobane's shirt slightly. He turned and looked at her. "There's a cartoon," she suggested.

"I'm sorry, ." He laughed. "Not me, but maybe Kentarou would join you."

Aoi blushed while Saeki laughed.

watched him, surprised. Normally whenever she suggested something, the boy would agree to it without even listening, considering that she was paying for it as well. Kurobane was different, but it was still difficult for her to settle into a pace with him. "That's fine. We can do something else then."

He glanced her way and looked back at Saeki. "We'll try the mall then. Do you guys want to join us?"

Both boys looked surprised at the invitation. Aoi was going to say yes when Saeki stopped him. "We'll pass for today. Why don't you two enjoy some time together," he suggested casually. With that said, he took Aoi and they both left them.

blinked.

"Come on," Kurobane urged, taking her hand. "Let's go to the mall."

At the mall, it was a different experience for . She did spend some time there, but she never actually browsed around with someone. He took her to the different stores and they played around with the many things.

was actually having fun, and she had never expected to. She was just used to being dragged around and buying things for someone else. Kurobane had also not asked her for a single Yen. He had paid for everything himself as he treated her. She was worried though; he was spending so much on her. At the juice bar, she stopped him. "Let me…"

"Forget it," he said firmly, taking the two juices he had ordered and handed her one of them. "It's a guy's job, . I told you I'm not like the others," he repeated, sitting down on one of the chairs.

followed suit and sat down. "That statement could've easily defined you as a pig," she mumbled, sipping her juice. She allowed the icy cool flavor to invade her mouth and she shivered at its delight. It really was good.

Kurobane laughed and patted her head. "Yup."

They sat for a while and talked. was really enjoying his company, but she was afraid. She was afraid to give all that trust. He didn’t know of the last fiasco, didn’t know how much it had hurt her. What was worse was that the boy she was seeing from another city was dating one of her own classmates. Not that she really talked to them, but she knew who the girl was when she had overheard their conversation months earlier.

Afterwards, they walked back home. She had spent the entire day with him and somehow felt at ease. Not fully, but somehow... "Kurobane-kun?"

"Kurobane. Or call me by my first name."

blushed. "I don't know what your first name is," she said softly, looking down.

"Harukaze."

"Haru…kaze….I like Haru."

He gave her a smile. "Then you can call me Haru."

stopped and stood in front of him. "I like Haru, but I'll call you Bane like everyone else. It's easier."

He understood what she was saying. "When you're more comfortable with me, I'd like to hear Haru from you, deal?"

She nodded.

~~~

Weeks Later

Kurobane was in the cafeteria eating lunch. He had managed to bring in with him several times, but she had to do something today, so he was eating with the team. He was eating his sandwich when a boy from another other class approached them. "So Kurobane, is it true?"

Aoi, Amane, and Saeki looked up as well. He was a third year and his name was Minami Aki. Saeki had a bad feeling about this.

"What's true?" Kurobane finally asked in a tone that indicated he was not in the mood for this.

"You and ?" Minami asked. "I never really thought of you as the type of guy to go out with a girl because…"

"Don't finish that sentence," Saeki interrupted. He stood up. "Don't you dare finish that sentence, Minami."

Kurobane placed his sandwich down and stood up. Amane stood next to him and held his arm. He knew that Kurobane had a slight temper. After all, he was never even patient with Amane’s puns.

Even Aoi stood up and took his other arm.

Kurobane's eyebrow twitched. "Do you mind explaining yourself?" he asked in a low threatening voice. He tightened his fist and took a step forward, ignoring the two hands that held him in place.

Minami raised an eyebrow smugly. "Well, it's obvious. Anyone that dates that cold hearted bitc…"

<PUNCH>

Minami looked up from the floor angrily while Saeki, Amane, and Aoi held Kurobane back. "If you EVER repeat that phrase again, I swear I'll kill you," he shouted. He wanted to kick him, but his teammates held him back. By now the whole cafeteria had gone quiet and everyone was watching them. Kurobane pulled himself away from their grasps and walked away.

"Hey, wait!" Minami shouted, but he was ignored and the others didn’t let him step forward.

"You've gone too far," Amane told Minami quietly.

~~~

just finished from her project and decided to get some fresh air. She went to her favorite spot and stopped when she saw Kurobane there, slouched over something. "Bane?" she called softly, approaching him.

He stood up suddenly from the bench and looked at her. "Hey…" he smiled, rubbing the back of his head. She walked up to him and frowned when she saw his hand. His knuckles were bruised. He noticed her look at it and he stuffed his bruised hand in his pockets. "How did the project go?"

"What happened to your hand?"

"Nothing important," he said sitting down. He patted the empty seat next to him and watched her as she sat down. "How did your project go?"

"It was alright," she answered, taking out a handkerchief from her bag. She also picked up the bottle of cold water that was with her and poured it over the handkerchief. "May I see your hand please?"

"You don't have to."

"Please…"

He let out a sigh and took it out from his pocket. She took his hand and dabbed the cloth on it. He actually winced at the touch, but gritted his teeth. He saw her brows furrow as she did that. "You don't need to worry."

"I just hope the bruise was caused by a wall and not a person," she remarked as she added more water to the handkerchief.

He didn’t say anything.

looked at him, surprised. "You actually hit someone?" she asked when he did not acknowledge which one it was.

He laughed, shaking his head. "No. I didn’t hit anyone," he lied. "Don't worry." He avoided looking at her.

"Oh, that's good…"

"Kurobane-san!" Aoi ran towards them. "Minami is really mad," he said. "You punched him right in the middle of the cafeteria, but the idiot deserved it."

"Damnit," Kurobane whispered, smacking his face.

stopped applying the cloth on his hand. She looked at him and it was obvious to her that he was avoiding looking at her. She turned to Aoi. "Did something happen?"

Kurobane stood up. 'No," he answered, glaring at Aoi.

Aoi didn’t take the hint. "We were sitting in the cafeteria and…"

"Kentarou!" Kurobane interrupted, standing up. "Nothing happened."

Aoi stopped and looked at them. "Err… I… I need to go," he said, realizing that he had done something wrong. He turned and left.

Kurobane held his head and sat down again. He didn’t say anything and he didn’t want to look at her. He could tell that she was disappointed. He felt her standing up. " ?"

"How can I start calling you Haru? You lied to me…" She turned to leave, but he caught her hand.

" , wait! I didn't mean it that way. I - I just don't like to worry you. That's all," he said. "He said something stupid and it made me angry. Nobody says anything like that about my girl!"

"What did…"

"Don't make me repeat it," he pleaded, still holding her hand.

frowned. She wanted to know what made him so angry. "But…"

"You coward!"

The voice startled that she actually moved closer to Kurobane. He in turn, still holding her hand, pulled her next to himself. She felt him stiffen and when she looked up at him, she noticed that he was angry. She turned her head to the person that had shouted and saw that it was Minami Aki, a third year from another class. saw a very black eye on Minami.

"I see you didn’t hesitate to go back to your bitch!" Minami yelled.

gasped. Kurobane put a hand on her shoulder, but she moved it away. She picked up her school bag and walked to Minami. "Now I know," she told Kurobane. "I only hope that you will forgive me like how I just forgave you."

"Eh?" Kurobane asked, surprised.

<SMACK>

dusted off the school bag that she had flung at Minami and walked away from his unconscious body on the floor. She looked guiltily at Kurobane and he whistled.

 "Shows me not to ever make you angry," he remarked.

She looked down, biting her lip. "I'm sorry," she said softly. "I shouldn’t have asked you what happened."

He placed his hand on her head and moved it through her hair. "It's alright," he said, quietly. "Let's go back to class now."

She stopped him. "Won't it be weird?" she asked him, concerned. "You just punched someone at school. You know our school has zero tolerance for violence.”

"It's fine. Don't worry."

~~~

Later

"He got suspended from the tennis club?" gasped in disbelief.

Amane nodded and looked at her face as it changed from the previous blank one to a worried expression. "He can't play for a month," he explained. When the coach had told them of the news, they were all angry because clearly what had happened was not Kurobane's fault. They said bluntly that anyone of them would've punched Minami if it had been them in his place. The coach said that it was the principal's orders.

looked down. "Is that why he left straight after school?" she asked.

He nodded.

Saeki approached them. "Hey." He spoke cheerfully, but he could see that the mood was obviously not a happy one. He was shocked as well when told of the news. " , don't worry about Bane. He won't let this bring him down."

didn’t say anything. She picked up her bag and let out a sigh. "I'll go now," she said. "Thanks." She walked away.

Saeki let out a sigh. "Poor thing."

"Poor…"

"Don’t even think about it," Saeki mumbled, walking away. He decided to follow home because he was worried about her. He saw her walk home. He remembered Kurobane had told him a few times that she enjoyed walking because it was the only free time she'd get sometimes.

He saw her stop at a pet store and study the pets in the window display. He didn’t know why, but something about the way she watched them made her look sad.

She kept walking and looking at window displays. Saeki frowned, he felt like she was stalling and did not want to go home. Finally, when she stopped at a shop, he decided to approach her. 'Yo."

She turned and smiled. "Hi."

He sensed what was wrong. "I'm stopping by Bane's house, want to come?"

A glitter of hope or something like it flashed in her eyes, but she hesitated. "Won't it be awkward?" she asked. She looked down; she didn’t know if it was alright. She didn’t want to intrude in his home yet. They were dating, but she didn’t know where she stood yet.

"You worry too much," Saeki remarked. "Let's go."

She wanted to object, but he was already walking ahead of her.

~~~

"Bane?" whispered, blinking.

Saeki grinned, watching the boy stand in front of her. Anyone at first glance would've taken Kurobane's younger brother for Kurobane himself. Even though the younger one, he was almost at his brother's 184 cm height. What made it more believable was that they had the same hair as well. " , this is Kurobane's younger brother."

The younger brother looked at them and frowned. He clearly didn’t possess the friendliness his elder brother did. This was when knew that he was not Kurobane Harukaze. The younger brother grumbled something and told them to come in.

Saeki walked in, but held his upper arm. "Are you sure it's alright?" she whispered, tightening her hold on his arm.

"Its fine, but I won't be alright if you keep holding onto me like that," he remarked as he saw Kurobane come down the stairs. He knew that his teammate could have quite a temper, especially when it came to his girl.

Kurobane saw holding Saeki's arm, but he didn’t say anything. He was more pissed off at the fact that they were both here when he was in this foul mood. He knew punching Minami would have its consequences, but he never imagined that they would suspend him from the team. "Hey…"

let go of Saeki's arm and walked to him. "Hey," she said quietly. "I didn't mean to come here without an invitation."

"You don't need an invitation ," he said sincerely. "You however…" He looked at Saeki and Saeki in turn, glared at him.

held his arm slightly and smiled. She wanted to ask how he was when they were interrupted. "Haru, you didn’t tell me you were having guests over?" A female voice emerged from one of the rooms.

"Kurobane-sama." Saeki bowed.

"Ah, Saeki-kun," she said with a smile. "I haven’t seen you for a while," she remarked pleasantly. Then her eyes settled on the young girl who stood close to her son. The girl immediately stepped back and looked embarrassed.

Kurobane put his hand behind her back and pushed forward. "Mother, this is ," he said. "My girlfriend."

let out a tiny gasp and looked at him in surprise. Even Saeki looked taken aback at the introduction. He wasn’t expecting an outright introduction like that and he could tell that was embarrassed from the different shades of red that appeared on her face.

Kurobane's mother smiled and approached . "Well, if you're the reason why Haru has been in a good mood lately then I'm grateful to you." She winked at .

"..." looked down.

Kurobane put his hand on her shoulder. "I don't think she was prepared for that," he said, making her blush even more.

Kurobane's mother laughed and took 's hand. "It's alright, my dear," she assured her. She led her to the kitchen. "Let's make some tea."

Embarrassed, stood in the kitchen with Kurobane's mother. "I…" she began, "I don't know how to make tea," she admitted sheepishly.

She looked at in surprise. Her eyes trailed to the young girl’s hands. The clean, perfectly manicured hands immediately told her that she was not of the average girls her son used to date. "Come closer and learn," she said with a smile.

watched her carefully and she smiled as his mother told her step by step how to do it. She didn’t want to be thought of as a delinquent. She admired the woman for her patience as well. She was teaching her how to do it properly. "I was making some rice balls as well. Want to help?"

nodded excitedly.

Kurobane Machiko suppressed a chuckle at how excited the young girl looked. She was curious about her as well. She knew Harukaze very well and for him to say it outright that this girl was his startled her indeed.

When they were finally done, she said, "Let's take these to the boys now." She placed them neatly on a tray. "I'm sure they're hungry by now."