His head throbbed mercilessly and he felt stabbing pain at the back of his eyelids. He has been lying in his bed for most of the morning and then again in the quiet of the afternoon, willing for that the torture to be over. Just as he was about to drift to sleep, relieved that the pain would be forgotten in a few minutes of unconciousness, there came a knock on the door that made him wince. The loud voice that followed nearly made him throw something at the unwanted visitor but he didn't since he wasn't trusting his body coordination at the moment. If he tried he'd just fall off the bed and onto the floor flat on his face.
"Yo! Kaede!" the boisterous voice greeted him.
The blue fox-eyes slowly opened to see a redheaded young man of his age peeking at him from behind the door.
"What are you doing in bed this late in the day?" Hanamichi asked, stepping inside the simple yet elegant room.
"It's already been two days," the brunette grumbled, sitting up as he rubbed at his temples, "this hangover is killing me."
"How many get you drink?" Hanamichi asked, taking a closer look at the brunette's hagard expression.
"Six or seven," Kaede sighed in disgust, "My only weakness is my low tolerance for alcohol."
The redhead shrugged, "I'm not crazy about them myself."
"What are you doing here?" Kaede asked.
"Oh, I just came by the tell you some good news," Hanamichi grinned as he tucked his hands in his jeans pocket, "Well for me anyway. Akira said that he'll get me a slot in his friend's show to promote the charms that the Haku store have been selling. As soon as people see the programme, more customers will come and I'll have enough money to pay off my dad's debts."
Kaede lay down again with a groan, "You came all the way here to tell me that?"
The redhead snickered, "Hai!"
Kaede threw an arm over his eyes and sighed, "I doubt that you care what I think. I know you hate me."
"O-Of course," Hanamichi mumbled as he shuffled his foot on the carpet. He did not know why he felt guilty all of the sudden but he had an idea that it might be because of the resigned tone in the brunette's voice.
Kaede looked away to stare at one of the expensive pictures on the wall. When he spoke his voice was distant.
"You don't realise that the person that you hate could actually love you."
"......."
Hanamichi stared at the young man lying on the bed in front of him. It was at that moment that he just realised that he has been thinking about Kaede more than he should. Sure, he kept on dreaming of the day when he may be able to free himself from the 100 million yen debt and also have the satisfaction of laughing at the brunette in the face when he would present the money owed. But he would also think of other things about Kaede for example what other sports he likes to play other than tennis or what things he hates and what things that he likes. And also about that scar just beside the temple, covered by those midnight bangs which felt soft between his fingers. Everytime Hanamichi thought of that scar he felt the same sort of sadness he had felt when he first knew about it. It was as if he has fallen for the fox-eyed boy...
Hanamichi blushed and turned to leave.
"Wait."
The redhead looked back to see that Kaede have lifted himself on his elbows to look at him with an unguarded expression on the handsome face. For the life of him, Hanamichi couldn't explain why his heart has begun to beat very fast.
"Don't go yet," Kaede softly said.
Hanamichi didn't move and he didn't even protest when Kaede pulled him by the end of his t-shirt until he sat beside Kaede's lean body with his feet at the side of the bed.
"Stay a while," Kaede said, shifting closer to the redhead, "I know you hate me.... but, please, I want you to stay beside me for a while." And with a sigh he lay his dark head on the redhead's lap, his cheek resting against the rough jeans while his arms wound itself around the redhead's thighs.
Hanamichi bit his lip as he restrained himself from touching the midnight coloured hair which flopped carelessly onto his lap from the head of the person who made his life miserable for the past few weeks.
Get up! he screamed mentally, Get up or I'll force you to get up!
But he made no move other than to touch the dark head on his lap.
This isn't fair, Kaede. How could I hate you when you're suddenly this nice?
A few minutes later, Kaede was fast asleep, and without thinking Hanamichi carefully manouvered the brunette around so that the young man was lying on his back and the beautiful face facing the ceiling.
When the fox-eyed young man showed no signs of waking up, Hanamichi finally gave into temptation and began to caress the dark hair close to his touch.
This isn't fair.
~~~~
Kaede woke up to the nearly dim light of his room. Although his head throbbed a little, he felt much better and his eyes didn't hurt anymore. He looked up to see the red face of Hanamichi, hovering above him with a pained expression.
"Did I fall asleep?" Kaede asked.
"Yeah," Hanamichi gritted, "For two hours."
"Gomen," the brunette mumbled suddenly getting up and in the process pushing against the redhead's upper leg to sit up.
The yelp made him turn around in surprise.
"What?"
"My legs are cramped," the redhead said through gritted teeth.
Kaede blinked. A few seconds later he began to admonish the redhead, "You idiot! Who told you stay still for 2 hours? You could've just left me while I was asleep."
Hanamichi didn't reply but continued to concentrate on giving his legs as little movement as possible.
"Is it this one that's hurting?" Kaede asked poking at the redhead's left leg to which the response was another painful yelp followed by an angry curse.
"You asshole! You know very well it's both coz you slept on them!" Hanamichi cried out.
With a few more curses, the redhead stiffly stood up and made his way painfully out of the room. Kaede thought that he looked like a redheaded marrionette and his amusement was projected by the slight smile on his face.
When the redhead saw the not-quite-there smirk on the brunette's face he growled.
"I bloody hate you Kitsune! I'm going home!" Hanamichi yelled, slamming the door shut behind him.
~~~~
The studio was bustling with activity. Props were shifted here and there, lightings and cameras were adjusted and people were busy getting everything ready and set.
In all that activity, two teenagers were following a woman in a red blouse to introduce them to the director in charge who was a sour-faced man with strict brushed back hair and wearing a green polo shirt.
"Taoka-san. This is Sakuragi Hanamichi and Akagi Haruko," the woman said, pushing the two teens towards the director.
"So, you're Sakuragi Hanamichi," the man grumped, tapping a rolled-up script on his lap.
"Hai," the redhead nodded. Beside him, Haruko began to fidget nervously.
"Sendoh told me about you. You have two minutes to showcase what you've got," Taoka told him as he flipped the list on his clipboard.
"But-"
"I believe it's a fortune telling skill. How are you going to do it?"
Haruko stepped forward and timidly showed the man the magazine where Hanamichi and Kaede was in the cover story.
"Fortune telling through the crystal ball. This story of Sakuragi-kun will vouch that my family's powers of fortune telling and good luck charms can change any ordinary teenager's life into a wonderful dream. Like Cinderella!"
The redhead blushed. He needed to talk to Haruko about that Cinderella part. The girl seemed to have forgotten that he was a boy.
"Just by using a crystal ball?"
"Hai," Haruko nodded, taking the ball out from inside her bag.
What they thought was impossible happened. The director's sour face became more sour.
"It's not good enough! It lacks commercial value! Let me tell you about the rest of the people in this week's show. There's Sanma-san's fish fortune telling skills. She tells fortune by juggling fish in the air. There's also another fortune teller who sings and uses a devil's mask and there's a fortune teller who deals with cards calling himself Mr Magician..."
When he was finished the director looked back at the two for their answer. Hanamichi has acquired a pale palor while Haruko looked torn in wanting to laugh at the other guests in the show or wanting to look indignant of being asked about a gimick that would only embarass her and her family.
"Do you have anything better than your crystal ball?" Taoka-san asked, crossing his arms against his chest.
"Iie," Hanamichi and Haruko mumbled.
The director hmph-ed and got out of his seat before walking towards the other crew members and calling out, "People! We need to cut out the slot on the crystal ball fortune telling gimick for this week!"
"Waittaminute!" Hanamichi protested. Haruko hurriedly reached for the redhead but the two was stopped by a cool voice calling out the young boy.
"Hanamichi."
Hanamichi instantly recognised the voice and turned around to see Kaede walking up to them. The raven-haired young man was wearing a brown suit under a white shirt and with white slacks, looking as smart as usual.
"Kaede? What are you doing here?"
"I've got some free time so I figured that I might as well see this show of yours."
The redhead suddenly ran up to the brunette and grabbed him by the lapels of his brown jacket. "Join me and Haruko on air!" he demanded.
Kaede blinked before he shrugged carelessly, "Sure."
A few metres away one of the casting crew asked her friend in a whisper, "Who's that handsome guy over there with the redhead?"
The director turned towards where she and her friend were staring at and his eyes widened in surprise.
"That's Kanagawa Kaede, the boyfriend of that redhead! Quick! Turn the camera towards them and make some practice shots!"
Quickly, the director walked up to the trio and beamed, "You will be our cover story for this week - 'Akagi Haruko reads of a dream come true for friend'. A Kanagawa in our show will push our ratings up!"
Haruko sighed as she watched the two young men in front of her, "Beside Cinderalla-"
"-is the prince of his dreams," Kaede cut in, his blue eyes warm as he looked at the redhead.
"I'm a guy," Hanamichi protested hotly, but a blush was evident on his cheeks.
"Ano... thanks for coming," he then said gruffly, "We made it into the show because of you."
"Thank you to you too," Kaede said.
The redhead's eyebrows scrunched in puzzlement, "Eh? Why?"
"Because you waited for me during my sleep until your feet got cramped."
"Oh," the redhead mumbled, ducking his head to hide another forthcoming blush.
"We go to air in one minute!" one of the crew called out.
"Come on, Hanamichi," Kaede said, offering his hand out to the teen. The redhead felt his heart began to beat fast again, that painful tempo that made his feel dizzy and elated at the same time. As Kaede slipped an arm around his shoulder, he realised it as a sign that he was in big trouble. His heart was slowly being captured by this amazing but cold person who have surprising moments of gentleness. He was falling into dangerous territory and it would be hell to get out. He could distinctly remember what Akira told him.
"...you are the one who is trapped".