Hana Kimi Fan Fiction ❯ Years Away From What I Need ❯ Nakatsu Does Something Dumb ( Chapter 13 )

DISC: I don’t own Hana Kimi or the characters. They belong to Hisaya Nakajo. Please don’t sue. I’m not profiting from this story, other than the benefit of the joy of writing it.


The boys on the soccer team were running laps and casting nervous glances at their new coach.

It had been exciting for them all to have their soccer hero come to their school to encourage them a couple months earlier. And when they'd heard that he was going to take the place of their existing coach, their enthusiasm was palpable. Of course, they all had heard the legends of the fiery lion from Osaka. And from Ohsaka. But, that just meant he was passionate about winning. Or so they thought.

Now that he'd been working with them for more than a month, they knew. His temper was nothing to be tampered with. They were actually glad that the Old Man (their soon to be former coach) was still around for the transition. And after their first "welcoming" prank, they'd discovered that they really didn't want to try anything more to test his patience. And, as usual, he only had to lose his temper once for them to not want it to happen again.

Nakatsu-sensei had a concerned friend attitude most of the time toward the team. They all thought he was a great guy - someone you could talk to about anything. They each felt like he cared about them - not only as a team, but as individuals. But. If they lied to him, or failed to give anything less than their best... Let's just say he had ways to make them regret it. They'd go home from practice on nights like that just as exhausted and sweaty as they did every practice night with him. The difference was that when they let their new coach down, they went home knowing that they'd let him down. Even his fiery temper was easier to take than his disappointment.

But today... Today something was up, and none of them knew quite what. It was obvious that he was upset about something. His mood was dancing around ire, but not quite getting there. And while they all liked the guy, none of them felt quite comfortable enough yet to ask him if he was okay.

At the end of practice, though, they got a clue: earlier in the week Masa - an outgoing third-year - had asked him if he was going to be one of the chaperones for the St. Blossom/Ohsaka Christmas dance, and with a grin he had said he'd look into it. But today when Masa, on his way to the locker room, asked if he'd be at the dance, their new coach had snarled, turned away from the student and punched the wall so hard that he put a dent in the wood. He didn't even indicate that he felt any pain after he hit it, even though they could see blood dripping from his fist.

Masa was a thin, tall, dark boy with whipcord muscles, who was known for his good heart and cat-like reflexes. But he matched the nice whitewash color of the building as he quickly disappeared into the showers - followed by all the other students.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Well, I can see that 13 years has not made you any less of a dumbass." Umeda pulled his former-student-now-collegue's hand out of the bucket of ice-water where it had been soaking. "But the x-ray indicates nothing's broken. Sprained, yes. Broken, no."

Nakatsu had the good grace to look embarrassed as he grimaced.

"You're going to have swelling and pain for at least a week, if not a month. And don't be surprised if the pain affects your elbow and shoulder, too. Use ibuprofen or naproxen - over the counter stuff - to reduce swelling. I'd consider giving you a prescription, but since you brought this on yourself..."

The younger man grimaced again.

"And what exactly did that wall do to you that pissed you off so much that you were compelled to hit it? I swear it took me 15 minutes just to pull out the wood chips so I could x-ray the damn thing."

When his ex-student refused to answer, the doctor continued: "Ah. So the rumors are true then."

That got him talking. "WHAT rumors?!" His eyes blazed at the doctor.

"Have you noticed that you only ever get this worked up over girls? Seriously. I think you have an issue."

Even though he was pissed off, he was capable of firing back a witty retort: "You're not going to try to talk me over to the other side, are you? I may have wondered about that back in high school, but only about Mizuki - so there's not a chance."

"Don't worry. You're definitely not my type. But much like back in the days of Mizuki," the doctor responded gaily (no pun intended), "your love life is the source of much rumor here at Ohsaka."

He attempted to fold his arms across his chest - in order to better snort in derision, but the pain from his injury prevented the attempt from being even remotely successful, and the doctor snickered as he said, "So you're really dating a girl from St. Blossoms?"

"That's none of anybody's goddamned business! OW!" Another failed attempt.

Sitting in his chair and tapping a cigarette out of his pack, the doctor gave a laconic smile. "Ah. But apparently, the board disagrees with you on that point." As he saw Nakatsu's dander get up, he held his hands up in front of him, cigarette in one hand, lighter in the other, in what can only be assumed to be a placating gesture. "Dumbass, you work here now. Anything you do can reflect upon the school. If you want your private life to be private, that means that you have to KEEP it private." With that, he lit his cigarette and took a long drag.

"This coming from the guy who continually makes out with his boyfriends in the health room."

"Idiot, no one cares if a teacher has a relationship with an adult. It's when a teacher gets involved with a student-"

"But it's a totally different school!"

"And that's why you still work here, moron. But you asked to chaperone a dance at HER school." The former blond pouted with a humph. "Listen. You know students love gossip more than anything. If not, Mizuki could've been an official Ohsaka Gakuen graduate... Okay, only if she hadn't gotten pregnant, but you know what I mean.

"The first time you were seen dancing with that girl back in September, the next day it was all the students could talk about. The only reason the board didn't make a stink about it then was because their eyes were blinded by the gold they saw lining their pockets at getting a famous coach.

"In fact, that's the same reason why all they did was tell you that you couldn't attend the dance."

Balling up his good fist and punching himself in the thigh, he said, "That's not all they said."

"Yeah, yeah. They asked you if you intended to keep dating the girl, and if so, could you keep a low profile. Do you have any idea what they'd have done if someone like Mr. Yukari was dating someone from St. Blossoms? He'd have been told to break it off or risk suspension or termination. And he's younger than you are."

" I know you're right. They would do that. But still..."

"You don't want to think about your girl dancing with one of the dumb oafs that goes to school here."

It really could be unnerving how easily the flamboyant doctor could read people's thoughts. "Yeah."

"How'd an idiot like you ever hook up with a high school girl anyway?"

Surprised, Nakatsu broke into a glowing smile. "Actually, I have YOU to thank."

"ME?!? What the hell did *I* do?"

"Remember when you had Mizuki go work at your sister's place so you wouldn't have to? And Sano and I followed her there?"

With a suspicious glare, he responded, "So?"

"So, that's where I met her."

Shuichi smiled lazily as he saw the doctor doing the math in his head. "The hell? She'd've been like FOUR! And you call ME perverted?"

"Asshole. It wasn't like that!"

"If you say so."

Rolling his eyes and shaking his head, he continued, "ANYway, I ran into her again a few months ago, and we got caught up, and..." His eyes took on the dreamy gaze that Umeda remembered from 14 years earlier.

"Oh, man. I was right. You haven't changed." Hokuto rolled his eyes and shook his head. Then turned his back on his colleague and said over his shoulder, "You've bothered me long enough. Get out of my office."

"Okay. Thanks for looking at my hand- HEY! How're you doing, Akiha?" He laughed as he walked out the door, leaving the doctor diving under the desk to hide.

Apparently 13 years had given him the ability to fight back. Coming out from under the desk, the doctor grinned and muttered fondly, "Idiot."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX


"What did you DO?!?" Kyoumi took the bandaged hand in both of her own, and tenderly stroked his swollen fingers.

Embarrassed, he looked away from her. "I... kinda lost my temper."

"And did what? Hit a brick wall?" She looked at him with concern and horror duking it out for supremacy on her face. Consternation was throwing in a few good punches as well.

"Actually, it was wood..."

And horror became the victor. "You're joking right?" Seeing that he was not, she said slowly, "What on earth could get you so upset that you would do this to yourself?"

He fidgeted in his seat. "Um..."

"What?"

"Um... I don't wanna tell you."

And anger came out of hiding to give horror a knockout punch. "What do you mean you don't want to tell me?"

"You'll..." he squirmed as she stared at him. She hadn't let go of his hand, though, and he couldn't get away. "You'll be disappointed in me."

She dropped his hand and looked at her lap as she quietly said, "Does it have something to do with Sano Mizuki?"

"What?! God, no!" His face clearly said, 'What the hell does SHE have to do with anything?' "You know, Kyoumi, I think I need to introduce you to the Sanos. Then you'll know. You'll see. You're... the love I've waited my whole life for."

Her heart's wings were fluttering around in her throat at that, but she refused to let it distract her. "I'd like to meet them. And by the way, nice try. But you still haven't told me why you've decimated your hand."

"They won't mmmmmmmmmmm." The first two words were clear and the remainder he said so quietly that she couldn't hear.

"What?"

"They won't let me go to the dance."

"..." She sat there blinking her eyes, trying to imagine how on earth that sentence fit in with the travesty that was her love's hand. "Uh..."

"Apparently, the school board knows I'm dating someone from St. Blossom's. And the only reasons I'm still employed are as follows: '1, the girl is over 18, 2, she doesn't attend the school I teach at.' And the unofficial third reason is that I'm famous and they think my being at the school will bring in more money than any potential scandal would cause them to lose."

"...Oh."

"You know, they actually asked me to stop seeing you until after you graduate. I told them that I'd fucking quit first. Exact words."

"You didn't." She was horrified that she'd brought this on him, and yet her heart warmed at the thought that she meant more to him than his career. And that, in turn, made her feel guilty.

"I told them that our relationship was none of their goddamned business, and that you were the most important thing in my entire life. Then I clarified for them that in case they were unsure what I meant, that I meant that I would never do ANYTHING to damage your honor. Just because you haven't graduated yet does not mean I'm not serious."

Wide-eyed, she asked, "Then what happened?"

"Then they told me that since I'm not actually 'the girl's' teacher, that it shouldn't pose a conflict of interest, but I would have to steer clear of cross-school functions so as to maintain decorum. And then, the meeting was dismissed. At least for me."

She looked up at a corner of ceiling for a second as she replayed what he'd told her in her head. "So... when did you punch the wall? WHY did you punch the wall? I mean... everything turned out okay with the board, right?"

Hiding his face in his good hand, he confessed, "I... I was so mad that anyone might think badly of you - a girl who'd date a teacher... most boys think a girl who does that is... and... During practice with the team, I just kept seeing you dancing - HAVING to dance with some boy from Ohsaka, and I... I felt so helpless. I mean, I won't even be able to be there to kick anyone's ass if they're not nice to you, and-"

One hand was holding her forehead, and she started to chuckle. Shaking her head with a smile, she then took hold of his mangled hand in her own, and said, "You make me so happy. Do you honestly think a few idiots' words can hurt me?" She saw him about to protest that there were some people who might not just leave it at words and stopped him, "And do you honestly think that Sakura would let anyone who tried to do anything bad to anyone she cared about LIVE?"

A laugh bubbled out from his gut, and he looked at his hand and said, "I'm an idiot."

She stroked it and said, "You're MYidiot."

With a smile, he gave her a two-armed, one handed hug and whispered in her ear, "I still don't like the thought of anyone else dancing with you."

"I love you, too."