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[II]
Both juniors looked up from the biscuit tin at the loud noise and Shun startled to his feet in alarm. “What was that?”
He exchanged worried looks with Suka and both popped their heads out of the doorway, just in time to see Mitsuru storm past. It didn’t take a genius to realize that something was wrong. Terribly wrong.
“Sempai!!!”
“Not now!” growled Mitsuru as he stalked down the stairs.
Shun and Suka winced as the slam of the entrance door downstairs echoed and reverberated through the old building. The people down by the party would have surely heard that.
“What just happened?” Shun glanced at Room 211 in confusion before turning towards Suka... who wasn’t there anymore. Shun sweatdropped as he followed the Suka-shaped cloud down the stairs, out the door and after Mitsuru.
“Wait for me!!!”
* * *
“Mitsuru-sempai?” Suka asked tentatively as the duo hesitantly approached Mitsuru after having finally caught up with the senior at the nearby park right outside their dormitory. “Are you okay?”
Shun sweatdropped. “Suka,” he whispered, “Mitsuru-sempai is punching trees.”
Suka scowled at Shun and motioned him to hush. “Sempai,” he began again, “What’s wrong?”
“Wrong?” Mitsuru laughed bitterly as he continued hitting the trees with a single-minded ferocity, scary in its intensity. “How could anything be wrong? I’m graduating tomorrow and planning to go to Tokyo University, only one of the best universities in Japan.”
Suka and Shun looked at each other.
“Oh yeah,” he tossed off, almost as an afterthought, “And I’ll be doing it by myself since my best friend is going off to Harvard instead.”
“What?!” The two juniors stared at the upset senior and turned to stare at each other, the same thoughts running through the brain. Mitsuru and Shinobu… without Shinobu? The mind boggled. It always had been the two together, Mitsuru and Shinobu, Shinobu and Mitsuru, to think of them as separate individuals, leading different lives... well, to repeat themselves, the mind boggled.
“What’s Shinobu-sempai doing about it?” Shun finally managed to get out, amazement still writ on his face.
“Nothing. Nothing at all. Not. A damned. Thing.” Suka winced as Mitsuru ground out each word, the tree shuddering with each emphatic punch. When he turned back, both recoiled from the bitterness in his eyes.
“So what are you going to do?”
“What am I going to do? What can I do? Why should I care if Shinobu packs off and flies to America? Why should I care when he obviously doesn’t care to inform his roommate, his best friend about such little unimportant details like this?!”
They glanced at each other in concern. They had never seen Mitsuru this upset in his life. Usually, it was Mitsuru being the strong one, the one who broke up the fights, the one who handled everything. Mitsuru and Shinobu.
“So you’re not going to do anything about it?” Suka asked tentatively.
Mitsuru glared at the two juniors. “No, Shinobu can go hang on a tree, for all I care. And if you see him, you can tell him I said that.”
More angry blows rained on the tree, causing leaves to rain on top of the three of them.
“Anou –“ began Shun again, but an angry glare from Mitsuru silenced him. Nothing they could say could make him change his mind. Without another word, Shun and Suka backed off, leaving Mitsuru to his frustrations.
* * *
“Oi, oi, Suka-chan! We have to do something!” tugged his roommate as they walked the path that would lead them back to their dorm. “We can’t have Mitsuru-sempai and Shinobu-sempai fighting! How can this be happening? Shinobu-sempai always – ” Shun paused in mid-rant when he noticed that Suka was not paying attention to him.
“Anou – Suka?” Shun asked hesitantly, peering into his friend’s face.
“Suka! Where are you going?” asked Shun frantically as he attempted to follow his roommate’s determined strides.
“I’m going to ask Shinobu-sempai what he’s going to do about it!”
Shun paused uncertainly.
“Are you sure that’s a wise idea? I mean if Mitsuru-sempai said – ”
“I’ll make him see things! Shinobu-sempai can do anything! He is Shinobu!” Suka declared staunchly as he marched towards 211.
“Shinobu-sempai! Shinobu-sempai!” Loud knocks rained upon the door.
It opened, to reveal a remarkably cool and collected Shinobu.
“Yes?” asked the senior. “What do you want, Suka?”
“Mitsuru-sempai said that you were going to fly off to America.”
Shinobu nodded, face expressionless. “Yes, that is correct.”
“Well, are you going to do anything about it?” demanded Suka.
Shinobu looked down at his two juniors, one filled with righteous indignation and the other one looking slightly uncertain.
“No,” and without a word, the boy closed the door firmly before him.
* * *
Shinobu sighed as he leaned against the window, silently watching his best friend decapitate the trees of the surrounding campus grounds. At that exact instant, Mitsuru looked up as well, his eyes instinctively going towards his room's window. For an instant, their eyes locked before Mitsuru turned away in disgust and aimed a punch at the tree. With an agonizing shudder, the tree lurched and fell onto the ground. Mitsuru glared at his friend for one last time, before stalking away.
Shinobu bit his lip.
Mitsuru wouldn’t have understood. It wasn’t any easier for him as well.
He was caught between duty and personal preference. And he didn’t have a choice.
Mitsuru had it easy. At least there was a brother to take over, to carry on the family name and business.
He was the second choice. There were no others after him. Nagisa was no choice.
Not because of any personal abilities, or lack thereof, but simply because of one simple, unalienable fact.
She was female.
He sighed inwardly. For years after Akira had left, he had been bombarded continually with words of duty, honour, responsibility. He had to carry on the family name and follow the road his family had chosen, no matter where it led to… or where it led away from.
“Don’t be like this Shinobu. Be hard, be cold. Carry your personal sins and finish your life. Carry your brother’s sins as well and live his life.”
Mitsuru had it easy. At least he was given a choice.
Others were not as lucky.
* * *
“I can’t stand this anymore, Suka-chan!” Shun plopped down onto the bed and complained to his roommate. “I can’t stand this cold war between Mitsuru and Shinobu! They are supposed to be friends!!”
Suka looked just as forlorn as he continued eating biscuits. “What can we do? We can’t talk to them while they’re like this.”
“Anou, sempai? It was getting late so we thought we’d bring you some dinner.”
“Mitsuru-sempai? Are you okay?”
“Just leave the food, will you Suka? I just want to be alone for a while.”
“…”
“But we’ve got to do something! After convocation tomorrow, they’ll be going off their separate ways. They’ll never see each other again! They’ll never be friends again. We have to do something.”
Suka stared at the ceiling. “Honestly, Shun? I don’t think it’s up to us anymore.”