Author's Note
This is the last chapter of My Favorite Loser, I would like to thank all of you for your reviews and I would like to thank to those who even just read it. All your support made me so happy and encouraged me to keep on writing. THANK YOU EVERYONE. You don't know how happy I am.
Disclaimed
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EPILOGUE
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"No. You were lying"
"Natsume's the one lying"
"You lied that you hated him"
"That is nothing but TRUE"
"You're more of a liar than Natsume is…
Yes.
I'm a liar. I lie to everyone. I even lie to myself. I don't even know what's the truth anymore. What's happening?
Is this what you call a broken heart, God?
It's so painful. It's like a million spears are cutting it into a million pieces, and though I try to pick them up and put them back together, it can't.
I stared at my computer, the wallpaper of My Favorite Loser was my display background in my desktop. It was a picture with faces of the cast carrying a banner that said: MY FAVORITE LOSER. I saw Natsume's face in the crowd of the cast, I deleted the wallpaper right away.
Then I started deleting all my icons, screenshots, wallpapers and everything that carried Natsume's face on it. I removed my Ruka posters and my Ruka collections and put them on the basement.
I went to the hall closet and picked up some new bed sheets, pillow cases and blankets. I fixed my bed and stared at the plain pink blanket which had replaced my "My Favorite Loser" blanket.
I cried myself to sleep that night. I had a nightmare that defrosted chickens were chasing me, and I was in Tokyo Media Industries, and no matter how many times I called for help – nobody would come to my rescue. Then I was consumed in defrosted chickens. I woke up panting and gasping for air. That was horrible.
I checked my alarm clock. It read: 6:00 am. I'd better get ready for school.
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"Hotaru-chan…" a voice called from the kitchen. Hotaru walked to the kitchen and ate her breakfast.
"Would you like to watch some TV for awhile? School will start in an hour so you have time to relax" Hotaru's mom said. Hotaru nodded and picked up the remote control. She randomly selected a number and it lead to an episode of "My Favorite Loser"
"Oh…you like My Favorite Loser already?" Hotaru's mom said, watching the show while doing the dishes.
"I hate MFL" Hotaru replied.
"Why so?"
"Because of the stupid cast"
"You've just met them. Are you sure nothing happened? Were you able to create a relationship with one of them?"
"No. But one of them was able to steal my camera"
"Hotaru-chan," Hotaru's mom said, sitting beside her and turning of the television.
"You must know by now that material things come and go. They can be made again. They're manufactured and shipped to different places of the world"
"And your point is?"
"Material things…can be recreated. But relationships, friends, loved ones – they're not like material possessions. They're not manufactured nor sold in stores, Ebay or any of those things. And I get the feeling that you have just thrown away someone you cared about thinking its just a toy…like your things"
"I didn't throw away Ruka!" Hotaru protested and her eyes widened and she looked down.
"Ruka Nogi?"
Hotaru didn't answer.
"Ruka is not a camera, Hotaru "
Hotaru stood up, her emotionless eyes looking a bit disappointed. "I'm…I'm going to school…"
"The camera may be bought again. But do you think Ruka can be bought?"
"Goodbye; mom…take care" Hotaru said, put on her school shoes and walked off.
I'm not stupid. I know Ruka is not a damn camera.
Cameras take photos. They make memories.
Ruka…now… Ruka is just one of them.
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"GET UP STUPID!" Ruka yelled and kicked Natsume's sofa. Natsume woke up with a start, he came to find himself in his living room with the television turned on to the Home Shopping Network.
"What's with the temper?"
"WHAT'S with YOU?" Ruka shouted and threw a pillow at Natsume.
"GOD, Ruka! What's wrong with you? Are you drunk or something?"
"Natsume, you're the stupid-est guy ever!"
Natsume just stared at him.
"You fall in love with someone and then you just drive her away"
"I didn't fall in love with someone"
"Then why did you keep on saying POLKA DOTS in your sleep when I arrived this morning?"
"Mind your own business" Natsume replied, his cheeks turning slight crimson
"Kaito spoke to me"
Natsume stopped. "He's back from therapy?"
"No. He's back from Nagoya"
"W-what… isn't that the hometown of the dumb girl?"
"He visited your beloved. And apparently, he wasn't welcome at his own girlfriend's home"
"Smelled like defrosted chicken, again huh?"
"NO. She was yelling things like: I'M IN LOVE WITH SOMEONE ELSE and stuff…"
"She certainly wasn't referring to me…"
Ruka threw another pillow at Natsume, and he dodged it. "Why do you even care so much about that my relationship with the stupid moron?" he demanded, getting extremely irritated
"Because Natsume! It's so obvious that you're in love with her! Everyone knows it except her! And what does it matter if everyone knows your feelings for her when the one you love is clueless?"
"Since when did you become such an expert on love?"
Ruka didn't reply.
"Ah…you've fallen in love with…the blackmailer" Natsume said, shuddering at the two last words.
"I broke her damn camera"
Before Natsume could reply, Ruka continued.
"And it seems it's the only thing in the world she cares about. So she hates me now…so I'm giving her a new one"
"Do you think she'll accept your apology?"
"How should I know? There's only one way!" Ruka said, his face lighting up.
"And what's that?"
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"SAKURA! If you think my class is boring then I suggest you step out!" Mr. Jinno yelled, banging the Math textbook on the teacher's table.
"Gomen!" I immediately said, and got up from my sleeping position. I sat up straight and tried my best to pay attention to the stupid Algebra lesson. I ended up staring at the window watching nothing go by.
Natsume-kun…
Recess
"Here's your scrapbook back" I said, handing over the scrapbook to Sumire and the rest.
"WHAT? No autograph of Natsume-kun?" Sumire yelled, and I wiped some saliva out of my cheek.
"No" I said. "Don't you remember the tabloids…they said that he's a bad autograph signer and stuff…"
"Ugh. You believe in those tabloids and magazines? Poor Natsume! Being judged by the public!"
"WELL I WAS JUDGED BY THE PUBLIC AS WELL!" I said, banging my fists on the table. Sumire glared at me and took a deep breath…
"You've changed ever since you've arrived from Tokyo. Just because you met the stars of My Favorite Loser doesn't mean you can boss us around like that. We're still human you know…right Hotaru-chan…Hotaru?"
"Hotaru's upstairs in the classroom. She told me to go ahead for lunch"
All of a sudden, we heard screaming outside. It wasn't the kind of screaming you would hear on murder shows. But the kind of screaming that would get you excited and thrilled – as if someone important was there.
I looked out the door and saw people gathering in a crowd in the gate of Junkuji High. What was the commotion? People were screaming and running in to get their notebooks and a pen. Was the prime minister or the queen of England here?
"What's happening?" I asked a junior who was screaming. Apparently, she didn't reply. She was too busy screaming her head off. Had the world gone mad?
A lot of people pushed me out of the crowd. I was getting pissed-off. What was happening? I needed to know so that my mind wouldn't be preoccupied with what happened later or I wouldn't feel left out if my friends started talking about what the buzz was about.
I pushed my way into the crowd, I fell down and scraped my leg and few times. Some people even cursed when I would push them out. Then I fell on the floor and decided to crawl my way into the center of the crowd.
When I finally got out, I stood up and saw what they were screaming and yelling about.
A limo stood before us.
A familiar boy was standing a few meters away from me, looking into my eyes.
"N-Natsume-kun?"
"Baka" he said. The crowd silenced.
I walked up to him. I was close to tears but I vowed to myself that I wouldn't show my true feelings…especially to Natsume.
"What the hell are you doing here?" I yelled. The crowd gasped at my boldness.
"I mean, I'm not some damsel-in-distress who needs her knight-in-shining-armor to make me stand on my own two legs…I mean, GOD! It's not like I need you…it's not like I even like you…it's not like I want you by my side…It's not like I love you Natsume!"
Then I started crying again.
"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH ME?!" I screamed and rubbed my eyes.
"I expected to fall in love with Ruka NOT you! Because I HATED YOU NATSUME… I HATED YOU SO MUCH"
"BUT HOTARU-CHAN TOLD ME I'M A LIAR. AND I DON'T WANT TO BELIEVE THAT I'M A LIAR BECAUSE I THINK I KNOW THE TRUTH ALREADY NATSUME!" I yelled and took out my palm and was about to slap his face. To let go of my anger and to lie to myself again that that was what I really wanted.
He took my wrist as it neared his face.
"LET GO OFF ME!" I screeched and kicked and flailed my arms. Then after that I grew exhausted and just stood there, as he held my wrist sharply.
"You childish polka-dots girl" he said. "You're an idiot"
Before I could say anything he pulled me to a kiss. I felt his lips lock onto mine and I sank into kiss as the crowd started whispering again.
Did the other kisses mean anything?
Who cares?
I know this one did.
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"HOTARU-CHAN!" The blonde haired boy yelled and swung the classroom door opened.
"Did you forget that I hate you?" Hotaru said, turning away as he entered the classroom.
"I just wanted to give this to you" Ruka said, and handed her the camera. It had a red ribbon tied to the lens.
Hotaru just looked at it.
"You're not accepting this apology, either?"
Hotaru took out her notebook and started doing the assignment.
"Hotaru…if you won't say anything – can't you at least accept my apology?"
"I can't…I can't accept this"
"WHY?" Ruka yelled, losing his temper.
Hotaru didn't say anything
"Why don't you just run off and find a suitable girlfriend, hmm? I'm kinda busy doing the assignment"
"So that's your answer huh?"
"What?"
"Go find a GIRLFRIEND?"
"Yeah. It seems so"
"I CAN'T YOU STUPID, SELF-CENTERED IDIOT!" Ruka yelled.
Hotaru's face looked taken aback. Her eyes watered and she rubbed it and continued doing her assignment.
"IF I'M GOING TO FIND A GIRLFRIEND, IT'S GONNA BE YOU DAMMIT"
Hotaru looked at him with teary eyes. "S-stop being cheesy"
"I'm going to be cheesy all I want, Hotaru!"
Before Hotaru could move, Ruka took her by the shoulders and gave her a kiss. Hotaru's eyes widened as she savored the taste of his lips. Her cheeks flushed into an embarrassed scarlet as she closed her eyes and dropped her pen. Ruka opened his eyes and smiled into the kiss.
Yeah. He could be cheesy all he wanted.
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One Year Later
"Ohayo, jii-chan!" I said kissing my grandpa on the cheek. "How were you this morning?" I said, putting my palm on his forehead to check if he had a fever.
"Fine" grandpa said flatly and gave me my tea.
I gulped it down and grabbed my backpack. "I have to go grandpa! There's an exam today, you know! And I don't want to fail it!" I said, and took a piece of bread and chugged it down my mouth. I put on my shoes and ran out the door.
Hi. I'm Mikan Sakura. I'm a junior at Junkuji High School. My favorite sitcom is "Dancing With Dalmatians". Of course, I'm not obsessed with anyone there. I still keep My Favorite Loser in my favorites though. Although I already ditched the Ruka replicas and stuff…
My friends from MFL Krissy Hanawari and Yuuka are now going out. They sent me a picture through their email saying that they're much in love and are now an official couple. They also made it to "Tokyo's Hottest Couples".
It turned out that the imposter who shoplifted and forced me to go back to Nagoya was some pig-tailed man who tried to impersonate me so that he won't go to jail. I wonder what made him pick me of all the people…it must be the fact that there are lots and lots of pig-tailed wigs. But I thank him, I certainly LOVE Nagoya much better than Tokyo.
"OHAYO!" I said, running into the classroom.
"Ohayo, Mikan!" Nonoko and Anna said, removing their headphones from their ears. "We were just listening to Kaito Hyuuga's latest album!" they said in unison and showed me a Kaito CD.
"Sumire-chan is bringing her Ipod today so we can listen to Kaito's songs from when he wasn't solo yet. Isn't that great? You want us to show you some of our pictures of Kaito? He's such a dream…"
Yeah. Nonoko, Anna and Sumire have switched from Natsume fans to Kaito fans. Now they have a Kaito fan club and threw the Natsume scrapbook and are currently making a new scrapbook…about Kaito. Should I tell them that he's a defrosted chicken freak? Hmmm… nah!
"Ohayo, Hotaru-chan!" I said, greeting my BEST FRIEND FOREVER who entered the classroom.
"Get away from me, you freak" she said coldly.
"GUESS WHO!" someone said, covering Hotaru's eyes. Hotaru removed those two hands and grunted.
"Don't play those stupid childish games with me, Ruka" she said and rolled her eyes.
"Ohayo, Natsume-kun!" I said, greeting the raven haired boy by giving him a hug. He ignored me and walked to his table.
"Do I have to put up with you everyday?" he said, rolling his eyes.
"Yeah! Pretty much!!"
"LOSER" Natsume said.
"Yeah…but I know I'm your favorite loser!" I said, grinning.
Natsume didn't say anything.
You're probably asking why these two celebrities are in my classroom acting as if it's a normal thing. Natsume and Ruka moved back in with their families, deciding that they want to lead a normal high school life. My Favorite Loser now is in something like a hiatus and Natsume and Ruka promised to return after college, but only for a few years. Because they want to pursue different careers…that don't involve acting.
And how about Kaito? Well…he checks in and out of the mental hospital (but Anna, Nonoko and Sumire don't know because only Natsume knows and he told me) but still writes songs. But of course, he's still obsessed with defrosted chicken.
"Hey, you guys want to watch a movie later?" Ruka said, giving us a paper that had the movie schedule on it.
"Sure! Let's watch romance"
"No. I want horror" Hotaru said darkly.
"Action, you morons" Natsume said.
"NO! I WANT ROMANCE!" I yelled, attempting to hit Natsume with a book. He skillfully dodged it (I can never hit him right) and put down the book I was holding.
Can you picture it, dear reader?
Living with the one you used to hate but now love…
Living with the one you used to love but now just consider him as a friend…
Living with the one who hated My Favorite Loser in the first place but ended up loving the one I loved before…
Life is just so perfect!
Remember, dear reader…
When you join a contest…
Make sure there are two hot guys in it!
Because things don't turn out the way as usually planned you know?
But it's okay…
I love the way life goes.
It's such a sitcom.
Fin
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Author's Note
AND THAT'S THE END!! Hope you enjoyed the story from the first word to the last. I love you all, guys!! Thanks for supporting this fan fic by reviewing it! THANK YOU TO THE PEOPLE WHO REVIEWED CHAPTER 1, 2, 3, 4,5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 and 21!!!!!! I'm grateful that I have you, dear readers and reviewers. Because My Favorite Loser couldn't have been My Favorite Loser with you guys!!!! Thanks again and see you soon!!
Kaito: Let me out of this psych ward!!!! I need my defrosted chicken!!!!