RYUUNOSUKE IN BLOOM

WRITTEN BY THE SPARK THAT BLED

CHAPTER ONE: BEFORE THE FLOWER-VIEWING PARTY

NOTES: This story follows on from the "Blessed Bra" arc of the manga and episode 96 of the anime. Of course, this story also assumes you know about Ryuunosuke, and what her whole deal is.

It was clear today that something was definitely wrong with Shinobu. Ryuunosuke knew it from the second that she came in the classroom in the morning, a scowl already creasing her features. When she approached her usual desk, a couple of rows or so away from Ryuunosuke's own, she didn't even look at her, let alone give her a little smile in the mornings as she usually did. She had thought about trying to get Shinobu's attention when she sat down, but thought better of it. Causing a commotion during class was something Ataru would be more likely to do.

It frustrated Ryuunosuke, because she never really looked at her like that, even at her worst, until now. After the business with Soban, she had thought that everything would go back to how it would have been, and everything would've been fine.

If she hadn't tried to get Shinobu's bra like that... Come to think of it, why did she lunge for Shinobu like that? She silently cursed herself for doing that. Why was she so desperate in the first place?

Ryuunosuke tried to fight off the invading mental images of Shinobu on that day, her dress pulled open to expose her modest bust hidden in a white underwire bra. Not curvaceous like Lum, or mature like Sakura, but still distinctly feminine. She cursed herself again, squeezing her eyes shut to banish the image. In the end, she felt like she could've been no better than any other man in the classroom. No better than even Mendou, who at least never attempted to pull anything like she did at that date. Women, real women, definitely wouldn't go after other women like that.

Her gaze fell on the back of Shinobu's head, faced straight ahead towards the blackboard. Her hair was catching the light from the windows again, the left side turning almost golden from the shine of the normally dark hair. Ryuunosuke couldn't help it, couldn't stop staring, at the way that both sides seemed to be different colours, but the same colour at the same time. Once again, Ryuunosuke wondered how she could get her hair like that. And again, that stray thought led to a resolve. She wanted to get back in Shinobu's good graces again, if only just to make her hair as beautiful and as shiny as hers.

The class ended suddenly, and the students relaxed as the teacher made his leave for the moment. Shinobu's head turned, and for a moment, she caught Ryuunosuke's eyes. Ryuunosuke's heart thudded in her chest as they gazed at each other, and slowly, she gathered up all of her will inside of her to give her a friendly smile.

All she got in response was a stony stare, followed by a deliberate turn of her head away.

Ryuunosuke deflated in her seat, her head flopping on the desk top. This was going to be harder than she thought.

Her eyes drifted around the classroom, seeking out the other people she knew. Ataru was over there, leering at some girl while Lum fumed and seethed, ready to pounce on him the second he moved from her gaze. Megane and his fanboy buddies were way over there, simultaneously talking about last night's movie on TV while also keeping a watch on Lum. Mendou... Well...

Mendou was surrounded by girls as usual. They were having a conversation about the spring, or rather, Mendou was talking about his thoughts on spring while the girls around him listening in rapt attention. Even Shinobu, who was sitting a ways away from him, occasionally turned her gaze towards him.

For some reason, watching Mendou surround himself with women was making Ryuunosuke's blood boil. How does he do it? She knew that Shinobu had a serious crush on Mendou, ever since he first came here, before she was transferred in. But she also knew that Mendou didn't care; he never gave anyone other than Lum the same kind of at arm's length treatment, with the occasional sweet talking to reclaim their attention. But still, he was there, and there were girls all around him, and Shinobu was looking at him with eyes that weren't the eyes she usually gave her, let alone the eyes she gave her since that incident.

What did Mendou have that she didn't? Well, Mendou was a man, for one. A real man, not like whatever fake role her father repeatedly forces her into. He was handsome, even though that didn't mean much against some of the people known in Tomobiki. And... well... Mendou was pretty rich. He at least had a place to go back to, instead of having to commandeer one of the spare classrooms as a place to sleep.

And Mendou also wouldn't try and strip a girl's dress off her body just to get a bra seriously what the hell were you thinking back there woman?

Silently Ryuunosuke watched as Mendou turned towards one of the girls, Matsubariya probably, and started talking to her. She couldn't make out what he was saying, but from the look on the girl's face, it was becoming obvious that she was definitely being charmed. Ryuunosuke's head turned back to look at Shinobu, and though she couldn't see the other's face, she was pretty sure that she was staring at Mendou too.

At that moment, just as the bell rung to signify the next period of class, Ryuunosuke knew that the solution for getting Shinobu to like her again lay with Mendou, and learning his skills and charm from him.

...but how can she do that and not have him coming on to her all the time?

After the next class period, Ryuunosuke got up from her seat, edging herself slightly Mendou-wards as much as she could without getting noticed by him or anyone else. If she got too close and gotten Mendou's attention, she knew he would've been hard to shake off. Instead, she moved silently along the far wall, closer towards Mendou and his various groupies, until she could make out what they were saying. As she edged closer, fragments of conversation could be heard. The cherry blossoms in spring were flowering soon, and they were most beautiful at his estate, he said, with a kind of floweriness that made her stomach churn. How the petals of each blossom were practically white with the littlest bit of pink shot through each and every petal, making them more special than the other trees.

Ryuunosuke remembered, briefly, going to the Mendou estate, but she never imagined the colour of the cherry blossoms being as specially coloured as most other cherry trees in blossom. Maybe Mendou was embellishing for the sake of it?

She craned her neck back to look at Mendou, who had turned toward a couple of his groupies.

"A colour that is almost pale white, with just the hint of pink to it. That's the kind of colour that I appreciate in a woman's face."

Ryuunosuke almost gagged, even as the groupies squealed and bickered amongst themselves. That sounded kinda creepy, but the girls were eating it up. Did they really like that kind of line? Pale faced girls reminded her of somebody who was sick.

But still they remained around him, and Ryuunosuke had to admire that fact. She kept watch as Mendou continued, a self-assured look on his face. As he addressed the girls, she noticed how Mendou seemed to keep eye contact with different girls as he spoke. Each time he moved those eyes, he seemed to be fixing his gaze on theirs, keeping them rooted to the spot. Even as he looked on her...

As he looked on her...

Oh crap.

"Ryuunosuke-san!" Mendou called out towards her, the rest of his groupies turning around to look at her as well. "What are you doing over there watching us? Why don't you come over here?"

Ryuunosuke felt her stomach churn even more as the collective gaze was fixed upon her. "I'm fine! You go on doing whatever, I'm just stayin' here!"

But then Mendou got to his feet and stepped towards her, and everything started to get worse. Already the girls Mendou left behind were staring at her jealously, as if she stole him from them deliberately.

Stole him? More like got hooked on his line and being reeled in like a fish!

"Just why were you watching me like that, Ryuunosuke?"

Ryuunosuke's stomach flip-flopped. "You knew?"

"A lady's attention never escapes a man of the Mendou bloodline!" Mendou said, rather grandiosely. Then he stepped closer, until Ryuunosuke could smell whatever expensive cologne he had on. "Now, why don't you divulge your true feelings to me?"

She couldn't think of any excuses. She had no other reason to be watching Mendou, and if she divulged the true reason that would lead to a whole other mess of complications. At least he was now standing within striking distance, but it wasn't like she could just hit him for asking questions.

And then Mendou stepped right up to her and put his hands on her shoulders, and then Ryuunosuke realised that she had a reason now. Mendou barely got another word out trying to convince her about her "true feelings" before he was sent flying over to the other side of the classroom. As Mendou's groupies cried out, Ryuunosuke knew she was gonna be in trouble soon. She felt the urge to scan the room, at least see where Mendou went, but she didn't care. Maybe, either because she didn't want to let Mendou gather himself to try and attach to her again, or she didn't want to see anyone else judging her, she turned and stalked out of the classroom, managing to dodge Ataru trying to attach to her as she went.

The next class after that was a chore. She didn't want to look at Mendou again, or anyone else for that matter, until at least after lunch time. Thankfully, somebody other than Mendou came over to her desk towards the end of the school day.

"You really caused a commotion this morning, Ryuunosuke." Lum said as she hovered above Ryuunosuke's head. "We were starting to get worried about you..."

"You mean just you and Moroboshi?" Ryuunosuke asked, raising her head up to look at Lum. "I don't think anybody else would even care."

Lum frowned a little as she drifted closer. "People do care about you, Ryuunosuke! You've been in this funk ever since the last weekend and it's really starting to get us worried! Was it about the whole bra thing?"

Ryuunosuke felt a stab of anger go through her as she remembered that moment, and Shinobu's accusing eyes that morning. "Why are you askin' me about that? I made a mistake, okay? You don't have to treat me like I'm as bad as Moroboshi or Mendou for it!"

Lum blinked. "Are you really saying that about me? Or are you saying that about Shinobu?"

Whatever retort Ryuunosuke was trying to think up died immediately at Lum's words. "What?"

"I knew that you had gone a little crazy at the end of the date there, but I didn't think it affected you that badly..." Lum said thoughtfully, her eyes looking away from Ryuunosuke for a moment. "You must feel really bad about what happened."

Ryuunosuke could feel her face burning. "I just wanted her bra."

"Why don't you just apologise to her?"

Ryuunosuke grimaced. "Don't you think I tried? Every time I tried to get her attention, she just ignored me! At this rate, I think I might have..."

"Lost her for good?" Lum asked, her voice soft.

Ryuunosuke didn't answer, she just hung her head down in defeat.

Then Ataru flopped roughly on top of Ryuunosuke's back. "Don't despair, Ryuu-chan! Only the love of a real man is all you need!"

"Call yourself a real man?!" Ryuunosuke reached behind to grab Ataru by the back of his head, and tossed him effortlessly into the blackboard. "Don't kid yourself!"

Ataru's body made a satisfying impact on the blackboard, and Lum rocketed over not soon after to electrocute him into pacification. Ryuunosuke breathed out and slumped back down into her seat. At least some things never change in this place...

At the end of the day, Ryuunosuke walked out of the class alone, not even caring if somebody tried to stop her for whatever. After a day of having to rebuff Ataru's advances, and having her attempts to shadow Mendou stymied, she was in a bad mood, and just wanted to get out of the classroom and into the chilly outside air.

She noticed Lum floating just behind her, though. She stayed quiet, though, letting her follow as she wandered down along the side of the school, towards the small shack that she called home away from the school.

But something still itched at the back of Ryuunosuke's mind...

...lost her for good..?

She stopped walking, feet apart, eyes forward. She could feel Lum float closer towards her. "Why are you following me? Don't you have to go look after your fiancé, before he starts humping another girl's leg?"

Lum at least had the decency to take offence to that statement. "Darling's off to get some beefbowl down town. He's too busy to think of trying to chase after girls right now." She floated closer. "Am I really bothering you right now, 'cause I can just go..."

Ryuunosuke turned around to look at Lum fully, her face hard. "If you're gonna go, just answer me this first: why are you so interested in me and Shinobu?"

Lum smiled brightly, enough that it put Ryuunosuke off-kilter. "Because you and Shinobu are pretty close friends, right? Maybe you're hoping some of her girliness rubs off on you? What do you think?"

Ryuunosuke stared at Lum. "I think you make me sound like a weirdo when you put it like that."

Lum giggled softly. "And is there something wrong with being weird?"

Ryuunosuke frowned. "I dunno. You tell me. Or better yet, go ask Shinobu." Still frowning, she turned around and stalked off, her stride a little bit longer and quicker than before.

Lum, however, was already flying after her. "Oh, don't be like that! I've seen the way you've been looking at Shinobu!"

Ryuunosuke stopped dead again, Lum squeaking as she accidentally bumped into her back. "What do you mean you saw?" She turned around again to glare at Lum, her teeth gritting in frustration.

"You look at her sometimes like how Mendou's fangirls look at him. Or how Ataru's friends look at me." She returned Ryuunosuke's glare with a soft, sympathetic gaze. "I don't know if you're just confused by the way your daddy treats you, or if you just don't even know if you're doing it..."

Ryuunosuke's glare faltered at the sight of Lum's face, and she had to turn her face away. "Look, I've just been having a bad week." Even as she tried to ignore it, she could still feel her face turning warm.

"Of course you did. I was there, remember?" Lum floated closer, a small smile on her face. "Do you want me to help you make up with Shinobu, then?"

"If it means not pulling out any weird gadgets or anything, I'm game." Ryuunosuke said. "Just help me with talking to Shinobu."

Lum blinked as her gaze drifted elsewhere. "Well, Shinobu's just over there right now! Why don't we go talk to her now?"

Ryuunosuke turned her head around to see Shinobu, walking by herself, her head lowered. Her heart nearly leapt into her mouth and her face felt like it was soon going to burst aflame. "R-right now? Really?"

"Well, you said you wanted to make up with her as soon as possible?"

"I didn't mean right now!" Ryuunosuke was pretty sure she was looking panicked right now. "I haven't even managed to master Mendou's technique yet!"

"Oh, I see..." Lum said. "That explains this morning!" She hovered closer to Ryuunosuke, placing her hands on her shoulders. "If you want to know what Mendou does, it's easy!"

"What's that?"

"Be confident!"

Ryuunosuke blinked. "Um... Okay?"

"You want to make Shinobu like you again, don't you?" Lum nudged Ryuunosuke around to face Shinobu again, already getting closer to the front gate of the school. "So just think you can do it! Make her feel like she is the girl that you want in your life, that you can do nothing without! Even if you think you're gonna lose, act like you're gonna win." Lum wrapped her arms around Ryuunosuke's waist and dragged her across the front yard towards Shinobu who seemed to be talking with some other girls at the gate. Ryuunosuke tried her best to ignore the way her heart seemed to be beating harder and faster as she approached.

"And don't forget to keep eye contact!"

Ryuunosuke stumbled slightly forwards as Lum dropped her in front of Shinobu, making her squeak as she landed roughly in front of the gate. Behind her, she heard Lum's weird flying sound trail off into the distance.

Ryuunosuke's brow furrowed, thankfully out of sight of Shinobu. So this is her idea of help? Just throwing her into the situation with the bare minimum of advice? Some help! Just think you can do it...

...just think you can do it...

"Fujinami-kun...?" She heard one of the nearby girls startled by Lum's sudden airdrop say.

...you can do it...you can!

Ryuunosuke gathered up her self-confidence, and put on her best smile, then raised herself up to meet Shinobu's gaze.

Keep eye contact.

"Hey, Shinobu. Are you feeling alright today?"

Shinobu blinked, somewhat surprised. Her brow was still furrowed in trepidation. "What is it, Ryuunosuke-kun?"

This was going to be harder than Ryuunosuke thought. But if she can just think she can do it...

"I couldn't help but think of what happened last weekend, with the whole bra business..." Shinobu's face creased, and she leaned away slightly. "I've been wanting to say that I was sorry ever since then."

"Well... You've said it now, haven't you?" Shinobu asked, her voice strained.

Ryuunosuke sighed. At least she was talking to her now. Have to keep eye contact. "Look, I know what I did then was wrong. Even then, when you were leaving me, I couldn't help kicking myself over it. It's seriously hurting me here, that I've done those things to you."

Those must've been the right words. She saw them mentioned on some old drama that she saw on TV, so this must work on her... Shinobu's face had softened slightly, and her heart beat skipped.

"You're worth more to me right now than anything else in my life." That was a Mendou line. She heard a couple of variations on that line that day, and countless more in the past. Maybe she could embellish a bit? "More than... More than wearing a sailor uniform!"

Well, it was a lot easier to be Shinobu's friend than to have ever gotten the chance to wear a sailor fuku. The way the girls next to Shinobu gasped when she said that line, she was sure that they knew it too.

Shinobu wasn't looking as nervous or as worried any more, too. "Ryuunosuke-kun..."

Ryuunosuke kept eye contact. "Right now, what I want is for you to forgive me, Shinobu... I want to treat you better. Because you deserve better than for..."

"Ryuunosuke-kun."

Ryuunosuke stopped her spiel abruptly. Shinobu turned her eyes away, and Ryuunosuke felt panic bubble up in her. Was it something she said? Did she go too far? Did she not give her enough eye contact? Too much eye contact?

"I forgive you, already. I'll see you tomorrow at school, okay?"

Ryuunosuke blinked. "Really?"

Shinobu wrapped her arms about herself, turning away from Ryuunosuke. "Really. You live at the school anyway, don't you?"

It took a while before Ryuunosuke could get her next words out. "I'll be there! I'll always be there."

Shinobu sighed and shook her head. "Yeah, okay. See you tomorrow. Thank you for apologising." She walked off slowly, down the path towards the city street, her arms still closed around her.

"Yeah." Ryuunosuke said quietly, watching her recede into the distance. "See you then." Even as she said it, she couldn't help but allow a smile to cross her face, even as Shinobu left her behind.

For the rest of the week, Ryuunosuke had felt like she was three feet off the ground. Shinobu had actually forgiven her, and now she was smiling at her again, and she couldn't have felt better. Even her frequent fights with her old man didn't slow her down. Spring was coming, and she knew it was going to be coming for her. She tried her best to keep up with her technique: she tried to shadow Mendou a bit more during breaks between periods, a little more subtle this time. Even so, as she listened in, she found that Mendou's charm was only so much effective. If he wasn't so handsome and rich, most of his cheesy lines would have only gotten him so far. Instead, she turned towards the soapy dramas that her father watched frequently. Even though she found some of the guys in those shows kind of slimy, they were prime subjects for observation because the girls really liked that sort of thing.

Occasionally she practised what she learned on some of the other students, especially those who regularly greeted her in the halls during school. They really seemed to enjoy her use of skills, even if they knew she was a girl. For some reason, it gave her a thrill when she would talk to girls and they would hang on her words so fervently, even if it sometimes made her feel a bit insincere for doing so.

Lum noticed, though. She came up to her on the following Monday. "Ryuunosuke-kun!"

Ryuunosuke smiled at Lum in the charming way she practised from Mendou. "Hey, Lum. How you doing?" It was a good opener, even if she thought Lum would've been too risky a target to practise on.

Lum smiled back, though her eyes widened in surprise at Ryuunosuke's greeting. She seemed to take on a flush of red around the cheeks. "I hear some of the girls have been talking about how you've changed recently..."

Ryuunosuke couldn't help but grin, but controlled it a bit so she could not break her façade. So it seemed that her practising with her classmates was working after all! And much better than she was expecting it to, to boot!

"I've been taking your advice, right? Your tips on being confident really worked. Some of that stuff I've been seeing Mendou do has really been working as well. I've been trying to practise those techniques on the other girls, and they're really into it! They've even started buying more stuff at the school store now! The old man is thinking of opening the Hamachaya here for the after-school clubs!"

Lum's smile grew strained, the blush fading. "You really think you should be 'practising' on the other girls?"

Ryuunosuke shrugged dismissively, in a way she hoped would look cool. "Oh you know, it's all in good fun, isn't it?" She smirked a little bit. "I told you, they're really into it!"

Two girls passed by as she spoke, looking over at them curiously. As they did, Ryuunosuke gave them a smile and a nod. The girls both blushed, and rushed off giggling and squealing.

"See what I mean?" Ryuunosuke grinned at Lum. "Those two used to be Mendou's groupies, remember? But now they like spending time with me better, and he's really getting pissed about it! It's great!"

"You're starting to sound like you're just playing with girls' hearts..." Lum replied, her smile fading away. "When I gave you those tips, I didn't think you were going to start applying to them everywhere!"

"It's alright, isn't it?" Ryuunosuke said. "Those girls are just playing too, right?"

Lum didn't answer, but a worried look seemed to cross her face. Did she really mean that, playing with their hearts? She really helped for her with Shinobu, why was she nervous now? Wouldn't she be happy that she was being so popular?

Ryuunosuke sighed and turned to walk towards class again. The next period was about to start, and she didn't want to be late or anything. She didn't want to disappoint anyone who was expecting her to be there, after all.

When Ryuunosuke opened the door of the classroom, she was surprised when some of the girls called out to her as she walked down towards her desk. She knew that some of the girls really liked it when she was charming them, but she never expected this.

However, she noticed Mendou, sitting over in his usual seat, scowling at her, and she couldn't help but smile as she passed by. Maybe it was worth it to see that look on his face...

As Ryuunosuke passed by, she noticed Shinobu sitting at her desk, reading her notes. She seemed to be much more brighter now they finally managed to patch things up, and Ryuunosuke's heart fluttered as she remembered how much more happy Shinobu was now.

However, it was during the next break that Ryuunosuke finally noticed the change that had come over the other female students. After the bell had rung, the two girls Ryuunosuke greeted earlier made their way over to her desk.

"Ryuunosuke-kun?" One of the girls asked shyly. "We were just wondering... seeing as how the cherry trees are blooming soon... Would you like to come to the flower-viewing party at the Mendou estate next weekend?"

Ryuunosuke blinked in surprise. "Well, I guess I'm already going. The old man likes dragging me along to these big things..." To try and see if he can hawk something, she added mentally. "But I guess if you guys are going, I wouldn't say no."

A loud squeal suddenly came up from the two girls. "She said yes!" And then several others came from assorted other girls that she recognised from other sessions where she had practised her craft.

Ryuunosuke stared at the excited fangirls. She expected that her technique was improving, but she didn't imagine that it would end up like this. What was the big deal?

She looked over at Shinobu, who was previously talking with some of her other friends; before the sudden outburst grabbed their attention and led to them all staring at her. She could actually feel her face grow hot again as her gaze met Shinobu's.

"Hey, Shinobu?" Ryuunosuke called out. "You're going to be at this gathering too, right?"

Shinobu blinked a couple of times, before answering. "Well, I... I just don't know..." She looked away, seemingly more interested in the empty blackboard than anything else. "I was planning on staying in this time. I just feel like it would be too much trouble to come."

Ryuunosuke felt her heart sink. Too much trouble? But Shinobu always used to come to Mendou's gatherings...

But then, maybe...

Ryuunosuke put on her best confident face and sauntered over to Shinobu's desk. One hand rested on the top as she leant in. "Aw, come on. If Shinobu didn't come, then the party would be a whole lot less fun to be in."

Shinobu blinked a couple of times, a look of surprise crossing her face. "Ryuunosuke-kun?"

"Shinobu... I'd like to see you at the party, you know? I just feel like it wouldn't be as fun without seeing you there."

A flush of pink crept its way across Shinobu's face, but she quickly turned away. She growled a little as she did so. "Don't be like that, Ryuunosuke-kun!"

"No, it's the truth!" Ryuunosuke said. "I like hanging out with you. If you didn't come, I would miss you."

There was a brief pause as Shinobu let Ryuunosuke's words sink in. She turned around again, the blush still on her face. "Do you really mean that?"

Ryuunosuke grinned at her. "Every word." Even if everyone else was just play, Ryuunosuke knew that now she was completely sincere.

Shinobu sighed heavily after a moment. "Then... I'll go with you, then."

It took all of Ryuunosuke's will to not jump like a idiot with joy. "You won't regret this, I swear!" Around her, she could hear some of the girls squealing with excitement, so they must've been happy to see her coming too.

Shinobu giggled softly at the smile crossing Ryuunosuke's face. "Well, I sure hope not..."

She turned back with a smile on her face, only to then catch sight of Lum in front of her. Surprisingly, she wasn't doing anything, but she was staring at her. There didn't seem to be any anger or disappointment, but her eyes was completely fixed on her. The effect unnerved her.

At the end of school, she noticed Lum drifting along the corridors, and quickly ran up to walk alongside her. "Lum...?"

Lum corkscrewed in the air to face Ryuunosuke. "Hello, Ryuunosuke-kun." The same curious gaze was on her face again, and Ryuunosuke felt her temperature spike.

"Is something the matter? You were staring at me the same way back there, weren't you?"

"Staring at you?" Lum asked. "Well, I suppose I was, wasn't I?"

"Is there something wrong with what I was doing, then?" Ryuunosuke's brow furrowed, as she prayed that Lum wasn't trying to play a game with her.

"Well, I was wondering something." Lum said. "You got your wish, haven't you? Shinobu likes you, and she's going to be your date next weekend. You seem to be really happy, don't you?"

Ryuunosuke sighed, as the worries of what Lum might have been hiding faded away. "Yeah. To tell you the truth, I never felt better. I'm popular, the girls like me, and Shinobu likes me too! I've never felt this good."

Lum nodded gently. "I know what you mean. Darling says that your father has been really happy with you this past week. He says that you've never been manlier in your life than you have been now."

Suddenly, all the voices and sounds around Ryuunosuke disappeared, and painful silence seemed to fill her to the core. Her eyes widened as Lum glared at her accusingly.

"...t-the old man said that?"

Lum crossed her legs, sitting in the lotus position. "Well, yeah. He says that you're close to being a man among men now."

Ryuunosuke's mind shut down. A man among men? Her?

"I supposed that you haven't really meant it, have you? I know you say that you're not trying to be a player with women's hearts, but you've been acting a lot like Mendou, haven't you? He likes to string all the girls along, too."

Ryuunosuke didn't answer. Ryuunosuke couldn't answer. The words Lum spoke had smashed into her like a tidal wave and swept her away, leaving her adrift. The idea that she was acting more manly had never occurred to her at all.

Lum hovered closer to Ryuunosuke, her blue eyes gazing at Ryuunosuke's black ones, worried. "Ryuunosuke-kun?"

Lum flicked Ryuunosuke's nose. She barely flinched. Her eyes didn't even move from the flicking.

"Uh-oh."

It took a while, and quite a lot of dragging, but Lum had managed to bring Ryuunosuke to Sakura's office, and lay her out on the bed, to rest and recuperate from the massive shock.

Lum had settled next to Ryuunosuke's bed, her eyes filled with concern. When Sakura came up to the bed, Lum didn't turn around to look at her at all.

"What happened to her?" she had asked in confusion. "Ryuunosuke usually doesn't come here like this."

"I just told her what her father had been saying about her recently." Lum answered. "I didn't think she would've taken it this badly."

"She goes through that sort of thing all the time. Why is it now that she's ended up like this because of him?"

Lum shook her head. "Well, she had been so happy this past week, after managing to get Shinobu to forgive her and all that..."

Sakura groaned. "I've been hearing a lot from the students about Ryuunosuke recently. Some of them have really grown attached to her, and it's beginning to get very unhealthy."

Lum finally turned her head towards Sakura, her brows furrowing into a frown. "You think it's unhealthy for girls to have crushes on other girls? Mendou has girls flocking to him, and you usually don't complain."

Sakura glared at Lum. "Mendou is hardly a comparison. I don't think anyone in your class can be described as healthy!" She looked at Ryuunosuke again for a moment, before turning back to Lum. "Give her some rest, and don't try to bother her. She should snap out of it sooner or later."

Lum sighed and rose from the chair, walking out of the nurse's room and out into the yard. Even though Sakura had assured her, something gnawed at her about all of this.

A few minutes later, Ryuunosuke rose from the bed with a start.

Sakura turned around to see Ryuunosuke nearly half out the bed, her eyes wild. "Oh, so you're awake, then?" She took a mug of tea that was brewing on the desk, and handed it to her. "Lum was worried about you. Mind telling me what's going on here?"

Ryuunosuke looked over at Sakura, and her tea, and then around the room. Slowly, she began to piece things together again.

"I wanted to ask you something. When Lum put you here, she'd said a couple of things that... surprised me." Sakura pulled her chair over and sat by the side of Ryuunosuke's bed.

"What time is it?" Ryuunosuke asked. "How long was I out?"

"Oh, for a good half hour, maybe more." Sakura replied. "Whatever happened to you back there must've given you some kind of horrible shock."

...manlier than ever... The words came back to Ryuunosuke like a terrible echo. Ryuunosuke gripped the blanket covering her, the fabric bunching and wrinkling under her fingers.

"If you rip that, it's going to take a while to be replaced." Sakura warned.

Ryuunosuke's eyes focused on Sakura with red-hot intensity. "What do you care about what I'm gonna do?"

"I don't care, but the school board does." Sakura replied, a look of frustration on her face. "Now are you going to talk to me about what's going on with you or what?"

Ryuunosuke let go of the blanket, leaving it wrinkled. "What do you want to know? I was thinking everyone knew what was going on with me..."

"I don't believe the squealing of schoolgirls, Ryuunosuke." Sakura crossed her legs. "Now explain."

Ryuunosuke did. She talked about the whole thing with dating Shinobu to protect her from Soban, the whole bra business (which was incredibly difficult to get through, especially having to mention trying to grab Shinobu's bra) and her trying to find a way to get Shinobu to forgive her again. Sakura listened quietly, her face unchanging right up until the end.

At the end, Sakura took a deep breath before she started. "Well, at least you feel regret for what you did to Shinobu back then..."

"What do you mean, at least?" Ryuunosuke replied. "If I didn't do it, none of this would have happened!"

"But do you think that the best course of action was to try and take after Mendou?" Sakura said. "I thought you hated him because he wouldn't get off your back."

"Are you kidding me? I still do! The only reason that I would try and have anything to do with Mendou is because Shinobu likes him so much!"

Sakura blinked in surprise.

Ryuunosuke gripped the blanket again, Sakura's surprise going unnoticed. "Sometimes I look at her, and I see her watching him. Or she's right up to him, trying to get his attention or something. Or she's getting jealous because he's mooning over Lum or something." She turned her face away from Sakura, her teeth clenching. "I see him leading her along like a puppy, and it makes me so..."

"Jealous?" Sakura asked.

Ryuunosuke paused, the tension on her face disappearing. "Yeah... I guess..." Her voice quavered as she tried to stutter something out. "It's not... It's not like that..."

Sakura gazed at Ryuunosuke's deflated face. "So you're jealous of Mendou. Because he steals Shinobu's attention, is that it?" She sighed and leaned back in her chair. "Ryuunosuke, you do know that Shinobu might not be that into you, don't you?"

"I know!" Ryuunosuke snapped. "I know that! It's just that I can't help it!"

"I know, so I'm just asking you to be careful." Sakura said. "The way everyone's been acting, you'd had suddenly gone and starting living up to what your father wants."

"And what's wrong with that?!"

Ryuunosuke jerked and toppled out of the bed as her father sprang up from out of nowhere, while Sakura sprang off the chair and bounced on the now vacant bed. Sakura turned around, her face twitching.

"Where did you come from?!" She snarled. "Were you listening to us the whole time?"

Ryuunosuke's father stood imperiously from his perch atop the wheeled cart of medial supplies. "Why should a father be kept from being able to observe his son's rise to manliness?! After seeing him gather such a collection of beauties as well!"

Ryuunosuke's blood boiled. "Collection? You think what I've got is a collection?" Her fists balled, and started to shake. "Is that all you see those girls? Is that how you see Shinobu?"

"What, and you don't?" Her father answered. "Though someone like her would make a great mother. I bet she would bear me some strong children!"

And then Ryuunosuke uppercutted her father so hard he went flying backwards into the wall.

It surprised Sakura that Fujinami immediately got up again and leapt up to attack Ryuunosuke again, but not enough for her to not immediately punt him out of the room, and through the glass window on the hallway's opposing side.

Ryuunosuke stalked from the nurse's room, her hands still clenching fists. She knew her father would be at the little classroom shack later, and he wanted to be as far from there as possible. All the while, thoughts of what Lum had told her, and what her father had said whirled around inside of her mind.

Even as she willed her mind to forget, even as she tried to remember that the Mendou flower viewing party was this weekend, even as she reminded herself Shinobu was there, the feelings still remained. Did she just want Shinobu to be her friend? Or did she want something more?

What if she said no? What if she recoiled, and started to hate her?

Ryuunosuke couldn't let that happen. She wouldn't let that happen.