Fate, Reason, and Destiny - Chapter 3 Sunny sighed. She had managed to live through the rest of the day rather nicely… yet she couldn’t help but smile. This school was so… well, it was filled with so much… bah, she didn’t know how to say it. As she made her way home, she paused at the sound of a basketball dribbling and turned towards a fence to see Rukawa shooting a few hoops. She stared, admiring him, and smiled. He was an odd person, a quiet, yet odd sort of person. She liked him. She paused at the sudden realization. But… but… it had only been two days! And what wonderful two days it had been… She shook her head, not willing to believe this. But I like him. I really... Really... Like him. She sighed, and shook her head. She knew she did, but… She thought of Haruko. She was the only person she could call a friend. Back in her old schools, she had friends… now she had almost no one. Sure, she should try to make friends, but it was hard. Last time… She almost laughed. Last time, she had liked a guy, her friend had liked a guy… things never ended up right when something like that happened. At the sound of the ball bouncing on the ground, Sunny snapped herself back into focus. She shouldn’t be thinking of the past. Her friend had left of England a year ago. They didn’t write, there seemed to be a slight understanding between them that… that they were friends, just not the best of friends. As she watched Rukawa walk over for a bottle of water, she stood there for a moment, and clapped. He became still, and turned to see her. She was watching him with an odd expression in her eyes, her hair blowing behind her. She smiled, and made her way towards him. “Thank you again, for saving me.” She smirked. “I returned the uniform after class. I never thought I’d actually make it inside a boys locker room… don’t worry, I won’t make a habit of it.” Sitting down on the bench, she looked up at Rukawa curiously. “I owe you one though, don’t I?” she fell silent. “Well then…” Getting up, she brushed imaginary crumbs off her skirt. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Rukawa-san!” **next day** Sunny arrived at school, still groggy. She yawned, and sighed. I’ve got to get used to this waking up thing. Walking into school in a zigzag pattern -she couldn’t be bothered to walk straight- she smiled brightly when she spotted Mitsui. “Ohayo Gozaimasu!” she yelled, waving. Mitsui paused, and turned. Seeing her, he grinned. “You had good aim yesterday.” He smiled at her expression. “Don’t worry, you haven’t harmed him in any way. We were wondering about you actually.” He chuckled. “Those hellcats…” Sunny made a face. “The trouble I went through.” She turned serious for a moment, and then smiled before telling Mitsui of her ‘escape’. He stayed there, listening for a moment and started to laugh. “I’m surprised he even helped you.” She shrugged. “I guess it was either that, or put up with my annoyance.” She sighed. “But I owe him one, so…” she grinned, a small very thoughtful smile. “I guess I do have to cook and clean.” She leaned forwards, as if she was sharing a secret. “Although between you and me, I can’t cook or clean. I promise not to food poison him.” She said hastily with a laugh. Mitsui grinned back. “Well then, will we see you at practice during lunch?” She shrugged. “I guess so.” **Lunch time** As she made her way towards the gym, she paused for a moment, gathering her thoughts. Smiling, she looked in from among the crowds, and watched for a moment. They said there was to be a game coming up between Shohoku and another team, and that the red head had cut his hair because of their loss against Kainan. She hadn’t been around then, and she wondered what Sakuragi looked like with longer hair. “Sunny!” Sunny turned to see Haruko watching her with a smile. Sunny smiled back. “Haruko, I didn’t see you arrive.” Haruko smiled. “Mitsui told me about your deal with Rukawa-san.” Her voice was soft, and Sunny remembered Haruko’s crush on the blue-eyed boy. She just smiled. “Well, I guess I’ll have to put up with him for a week.” She said in a slight joking mood. She grinned. Looking into the Gym once more, she chuckled. “Well, why don’t we go inside and watch? Surely there’s enough room for us to sit by the sidelines…” she smiled sheepishly. “I can’t stand here watching for too long, my legs start to ache, but I promise to keep my hands away from any balls.” Haruko smiled, and as they made their way inside, sat by the sidelines, just watching. A tense silence passed, yet both girls were reasonably comfortable with it… “Okay! End of practice! I’ll see you all back here after school!” Sunny got up then, remembering she had Geography to go to. Pausing by Rukawa, she smiled. “I’ll be waiting for you.” She said softly, knowing that she was loud enough for him to hear, even if he ignored her. **Geography class** “Now if any of you are willing to put in some extra time into this, there is a field trip to the beach this weekend.” Came her teacher’s voice. At the sound of whoops, he frowned. “You will not be allowed onto the beach for fun except for the last day on Sunday. You are going to talk about erosion, tides, sand, and the water. Besides, its winter. Now this trip is for those of you who could pull up their grades.” Sunny felt his eyes on her, and blushed. Geography wasn’t her favorite subject at all. “Haruko, will you be going to the trip?” came a voice. “Sakuragi and his Gundam are, you know how they need to pull their grades up.” Sunny smiled as she listened in. She would go… **After school** She waited hesitantly at the exit, wondering when he would come. She had stayed to watch them practice for a moment, then had drifted off to the exit when they were all dismissed. He wasn’t out yet. She felt pretty foolish, standing at the exit like this… “Sunny?” She turned, and grinned. “Mitsui-sempai!” she said. “Who are you waiting for?” She smiled. “Rukawa. Well, I wonder if he left the back way…” she smiled. “I owe him one, remember? My mom knows I’ll be late getting home…” Mitsui stood there for a moment, grinning down at her. “Good luck.” He said. Sunny smiled as she watched him leave, and turned with a impatient sigh. Why did it take guys such a long time?! Just then, a blurry figure appeared, and she watched with a sigh of relief as Rukawa appeared. It was 6, and she had called home saying that a friend of hers needed help with her homework, so that she might be late. If she is really late, she’d have her friend’s parents drive her home. She smiled as she watched him arrive; yet it fell as he ignored her. “Hey listen, I owe you one, don’t I?” Silence. She sighed, and walked next to him. “If your not going to talk, I guess I should do all the talking. I’m going to help you. Now I suck at basketball, but I’m not that bad when it comes to school. English for example, maybe a little bit of Maths… hey, hey! Slow down!” she yelled, speeding up until she caught up with him, she glared. “You don’t mind do you? Well, I wouldn’t know unless you talk to me. So anyways, since you’ve probably got a mom who cooks and cleans, I won’t help out with that, but I’ll help you with your studying.” Silence. She sighed as she followed him home, and glared up at him. “You know what? You should talk more. My mom says I shouldn't talk so much, but I say to her, I’m talking because no one else is talking.” Silence. They neared a small house, and she looked around with interest. He pulled out a key and unlocked the gate. Before he could close it, she slipped in. As they neared the door, she frowned at the empty garage. Watching him put away his bike, she waiting patiently as he unlocked his door. The house was empty. It was a cute little thing, as she looked around, the first floor had a small kitchen/dining room, a living room, and a flight of stairs leading upstairs. It was messy. Sunny looked up curiously at Rukawa. “Do you live alone?” He looked down at her, and nodded. “My parents live abroad, they’ve given me this house.” He threw his bag down, and walked upstairs. Sunny glared up at him. “Fine then, I guess I’ll have to do some sort of cleaning!” Putting down her bag, pulling off her jacket and coat so that she was only in her tanktop, she turned on the heater slightly, and tied her hair back. “Yosh!” she yelled. For the next hour, she spent it cleaning up the first floor. Nothing big as in vacuuming, just throwing away the garbage, wiping the table, arranging the cushions, and cleaning up the kitchen. There were no pictures around the first floor, and no bathroom. Looking at the time, she yelped. 7:30 already? Boy, cleaning took up along time… Wondering if she was supposed to cook, she picked up the phone and called the nearest take out place. When the food arrived, she set it up neatly in nice plates on the dining table, and waited… And waited… And waited… At 8:30, she frowned and got up. Heading upstairs, she discovered a small bathroom and a single bedroom. The bathroom was surprisingly clean, and as she creaked the bedroom door open, she saw his hazy figure sleeping on the bed. Sighing, she walked back downstairs, and left a note. Rukawa-san Well, I cleaned up! First day of the deal, and you’ve got to admit, this place looks good… Keep it that way. I’ll see you at school tomorrow! Aak! Two more days of school until the weekends! Sunny **Next day** Sunny walked into school with a slight yawn. It had taken her ages to finish her homework. By the time she entered class she was feeling more humane… “Sunny, are you going on the geography field trip?” Haruko’s quiet voice came out of nowhere, and Sunny turned quickly. She smiled. “Of course! You know how he hates me, I’ve got to make it seem as if I’m putting in the effort.” She grinned. “Are you?” She smiled back. “Yes, I am. You wouldn’t guess who else is going!” Sunny smiled. “Who?” Haruko grinned. “Rukawa-san!” To be Continued... **Previous ** Next **