kemper01@ix.netcom.com (David Rubino)


KOR2 is a fanfiction based on the school life of Kazuya, Kyosuke's
younger cousin.  It maintains original KOR feelings while introducing
new elements.  Comments can be directed to kemper01@ix.netcom.com or
the Web page can be accessed directly at
http://www.win.net/~nitro/welcome.html

The series started on January 3, 1996 and now, with Matsumoto's
written blessing, plans to continue through its course until it makes
a mark as a true KOR fanfiction series.

--------------

KOR2 : Another Day

Episode 4 : The Name of My Rose

Mai is an esper.  I still cant believe it.  Im starting to wonder if
her powers are stronger than mine.  I cant help but feel threatened,
my whole life I was usually the one in control, except for Akane, and
now here comes Mai.  My dream of Mai calling out, Its our destiny,
was now ruined by an image of Mai launching fire bolts from her finger
tips.  I decided that I have to see her use the power, to prove to
myself that she is really an esper.  Possibly if I put myself in
danger...

A huge, red eraser came flying from the front of the class and smashed
me right in my head.  A cloud of chalk exploded from the eraser,
stinging my eyes.  The whole class erupted in laughter and I could do
nothing but laugh with them and try to hide my bright red cheeks.

Teacher Ishiguro loomed over me, "So, Kazuya, you like to day dream,
hmm?  Once again the facts of history are boring you?"  I looked up at
him through the glazed cloud.

"No, sir, it was just that..."  A loud ringing sound filled the room.
I let out a sigh of relief, saved by the bell.  I watched Teacher
Ishiguro quietly back off and walk over to his desk.  My feelings
about him ranged from uneasy to completely intimidating, he was always
watching me so closely.

I gathered up my books and looked around the empty classroom, it only
seemed to take a few seconds for every student to clear out.  I
started to walk down the rows of chairs towards the door.

"Kazuya!" Teacher Ishiguro called out.  I stiffened and slowly turned
to face him.  He was sitting at his desk thumbing an eraser.

"Kazuya, Im just letting you know something now.  About nine years
ago, your cousin Kyosuke was a student in this class.  I know your
kind, and Ill have my eye on you from now on.  You can count on
that."  My heart dropped.  Was he talking about my powers or my
personality?  I never thought of myself as anything like Kyosuke.

I quickly bowed and left the room.  As usual, I was confused about
these events.  Did Teacher Ishiguro know more than he led on?  Was Mai
truly an esper?  Am I really going crazy?  I had only started school a
few days ago and so many things were happening.  I doubted that I
would make it to graduation with my sanity intact.

I had only made it a few feet into the hallway before someone grabbed
my arm and pulled me back.  It was Mai, and standing so close to her
was like a bitter-sweet blessing.  The chance of her being an esper
frightened me but her beauty still filled me with awe.  She smiled at
me and all thoughts disappeared.

"Kazuya, when did you want to meet for our report?  We didnt really
get anything done the last time."  I laughed nervously, remembering
how horrible the last time was.

"Well, uh, anytime after school, I guess."  We walked down the hallway
together, talking and smiling.  It seemed so natural I didnt even
notice Instructor Hatta staring at us with his usual mischievous
smile.  

He was sitting at a desk in the hallway intersection, assigned as
hallway monitor, except that it was quite obvious he was only
monitoring the girls.  Mai stopped in front of Hatta and turned to me.

"My class is this way.  But about today, does four oclock sound
good?" Mai said with her beautiful, large smile.

"Uhh, yeah, it sounds great."

"OK, see you then."  She walked off, looking as happy as ever.  I
guess everything went well last night, remembering how we walked
together was pleasant.  That is, of course, until Akane dropped this
bomb shell on me.  I have to know for sure, but I cant just ask her
something like that.  I have to put Mai in a situation where she wont
have any choice but to use her power.

"Kazuya, my boy, making friends with the ladies again, I see.  Way to
go, boy," Hatta said to me with that perverted smile he always has on
his face.  I would bet that he was born with that smile on his face
staring at the nurse who helped deliver him.

"Dont say that too loud!  Miyuki would kill me if she thought that."

"Dont worry, your secret is safe with me!"  Thats exactly what I was
afraid of.

An arm wrapped around my throat and pulled back hard.  "What secret?"
It was Miyuki, just my luck.

"What secret?"  I said as best I could with the little air I could
muster through my throat.  I began laughing, trying to look like it
was absurd for me to keep a secret from her.  It didnt help that
Hatta began to chuckle uncontrollably.  She finally released me, I
turned and saw another rose.

"Another one?!" I said, getting aggravated that someone behind my back
was giving my girlfriend roses.  Who would dare to do that?  I knew
that Ryosuke wished he could have Miyuki, but I didnt think he would
dare to do something like this, especially behind my back.

"It came with another note..."  The bell rang before she could finish.
"Oh no, I cant be late, Ill tell you later," and then she was off.
My frustration was temporarily halted at watching her run down the
hallway, she looked really good in the school outfit.  I then noticed
Instructor Hatta like it too, he couldnt keep his eyes off her.
Isnt this guy ever going to grow up?

I spent the rest of the day trying to figure out some things that
puzzled me.  I decided that Teacher Ishiguro must have been referring
to a bad reputation my cousin must have had.  It was ridiculous to
think that he knew anything about my esper powers.  I resolved that
tomorrow I would look into his mind, just to make sure.

But more importantly, I tried to formulate a plan to prove whether or
not Mai was an esper.  In a way, I really felt she was.  After all,
Akane felt it and I saw Mai in my dreams.  There must be something
unusual about her.  But the fact that she never actually demonstrated
any of her powers filled me with doubts.  I really thought that
Ryosuke was an esper, now I dont know what to think.

It wasnt until I was sitting in the gym locker room that an idea came
to me.  I was supposed to meet Mai at the library, not such a popular
place for me, ever since Ryosukes little fall down the stairs... the
stairs!  If I trip and fall, she would definitely use her powers to
save me!  I complemented myself on the brilliant thought.  I finished
putting on my jogging shorts and walked outside into the gym room.

Instructor Hatta came out of his office and walked up and down the
lines of all the boys.  He looked at me and winked as if we were
sharing a huge secret, I sighed disgustedly.  He stood at the front of
the room and again put on a militaristic look.

"So men, how is your assignment progressing?"  He broke out into the
familiar lecherous smile.  "Did you at least get half of the girls
measurements?"

Oh no, not again.

***************************

I looked at my watch, it was 3:30 p.m., time to start walking to the
library.  I switched off the television and locked the front door
behind me.  Akane would be home soon.  It was a shame that I wouldnt
get another chance to talk to her before I left to meet Mai.  I had
wanted to ask her a few questions about her feeling that Mai was an
esper.

I closed my eyes and walked, feeling the warm wind blow through my
hair and over my face.  It felt good and I was at peace.  As always,
thoughts and images flew through my mind.  One in particular was an
uninvited one of Miyuki receiving roses from an anonymous stranger.  I
grimaced and opened my eyes.  Surprisingly, I saw Mai in the distance
approaching the 100 steps.  I ran to catch up to her, this would be my
chance.  With full confidence in my new plan I called out to her.

She  saw me coming and waited at the bottom for me.  The way she
looked at me and smiled, it filled me with a sharp feeling in my
chest; this feeling, it must be the power.  I just had to know the
truth.

"Mai, I guess we can walk up to the library together," I said when I
caught up to her.

"Oh, sure!" she said as we began to walk up the steps.  As we worked
our way up the steps, I quickly began to realize just how steep the
staircase actually was.  I wondered if this was the best idea.  But
no, I couldnt second-guess myself, she would have to use the power,
she wouldnt let me fall.

We were now approaching the big 100, I hung back out of her reach.
Here goes nothing.  Here goes nothing!  I misplaced my foot on the
last stair, lost my balance, spun around and now faced the bottom.

"Aaaaaaaaahhhhh," I kept spinning through the air.  Mai tried running
to me but I knew she would be too late.  Oh no, why isnt she using
the power?!  I spun around one final time and expected to see the
ground.  Instead, I saw Ryosukes blue shirt.  I crashed into him and
we tumbled down several stairs until we finally hit a platform.
Besides the pain, I was more worried about Ryosuke screaming my ears
off, but he passed out.  I cant believe Mai didnt do it.  I looked
back up the stairs to see her face.  She was staring at us, looking
momentarily paralyzed in shock.

"Kazuya, are you okay?!" she yelled as she ran down the stairs.  I was
shocked.  I couldnt believe that I fell down all these stairs, for
absolutely no reason at all.  And what was Ryosuke doing here?  Mai
reached me as fast she could.

"Kazuya!  Are you okay?"  She really sounded worried.  She finally got
to me, and put her hands behind my head and propped it up.  "You
scared me half to death."  She looked like she had a tear in her eye,
and we just stared at each other, looking into each others eyes.  It
was a perfect moment.  I forgot my pain and saw Mai as in the dream,
softly speaking my name.  "Kazuya... Kazuya..."  Suddenly, that
beautifully sounding voice in my head transformed into a loud,
irritating sound..

"AAAAAAGGHHHH," Ryosukes delayed reaction finally kicked in and he
went off into his symphony of screams.  What perfect timing he had.

Mai began to laugh.  "It seems like when you two are together someone
is falling down stairs."  I started laughing with her, as Ryosuke went
on with his tangent of screaming.  Mai helped me up and we both tended
to Ryosuke.  It just seemed like one of those perfectly golden moments
that I would never forget, and with that in mind, we both continued to
laugh.

***************************

The three of us finally got to the library.  Ryosuke came with us,
claiming he had nothing else to do and wanted to help.  At this point,
I didnt mind too much.  I cant seem to get rid of him anyway, and
when I try it only reflects badly on me.  I opened the door and walked
through the entrance but to my surprise I saw Mr. Popularity himself,
Eichi.

"Wow, Im surprised to see him here," I said to Mai.

"Yeah, you dont think hes here to help us, do you?" she said
doubtfully.

In the few moments that we stood there watching him, we saw an even
bigger surprise.  Miyuki appeared and walked over to him, apparently
not seeing us.  So before I would let her I pulled Mai and Ryosuke
behind a bookshelf.  I peeked out and spied on them.

"Whats she doing with him?" Mai asked.  She looked concerned, but I
couldnt answer her, I was just as confused as she was.  Miyuki
wouldnt give that guy the time of day, would she?  I had better just
watch...

She had a threatening look on her face... until he pulled two
long-stemmed roses from his school bag and handed them to her.
WHAT?!!  Hes the one giving Miyuki roses?  I couldnt believe it.  He
knows that she is my girlfriend and she even beat the point into him.
But here he is, handing Miyuki roses as if that would impress her.
Any second she would throw them into his face.  Any second...

"Kazuya, whats happening?"  Mai asked anxiously.  I didnt want her
to know the truth just yet.  I whispered back to her.

"Oh, well, nothing.  They just talked for a minute, probably about
class or homework."  I had to make up something, I didnt want to blab
about this to everyone.  But this guy crossed the line, trying to take
my girl.

I stared at him for a minute to read his thoughts.  ..Well see who
the real man is, when the time comes.  Well see.. That was all I
picked up.  The real man?  Does he plan on fighting me?  

I kept watching, Miyuki lowered her head and I could almost see her
cheeks turning red.  Eichi whispered a few more things to her then
walked out of the library.  Miyuki put the roses into her bag and then
slowly walked out as well.  She looked confused.  This worried me, I
always had complete confidence that Miyuki unswervingly loved me.  But
now, now I didnt know what to think.  I wasnt as if I treated her
that well.  I realized that even being an esper doesnt mean I cant
act human.

Mai tugged at my shirt.  "Why are we still hiding if nothing
happened?" she asked.

"What?  Oh yeah," I laughed trying not to look suspicious.  "Well,
lets get to work!"

***************

About three hours later, we had almost the whole report done.  Even
though it was mainly my project I participated little in doing the
work.  I couldnt help but think of Miyuki and the myriads of ways I
would torment Eichi.  I was starting to feel glad that we brought
Ryosuke along, considering the fact that he did most of the work with
Mai.  I felt that Eichi had to pay for secretly showing attention to
Miyuki.  If Akane found out she would kill me, but I dont think she
needs to know.

"...so how does that sound, Kazuya?" Mai asked.  I didnt hear a word
of it and the blank look on my face said it all.  I tried to fake a
reply.

"Huh?  It.. it sounded great."

"Oh, good, then thats it for today," she said shutting the last book.
She slid them over to Ryosuke who willingly took them back to sort
them on the bookshelves.  Mai leaned over and stared at me with a
knowing look.

"You didnt hear a word I said, did you?"  So she did notice I was
daydreaming.

"Well.. I.."

"What really happened over there with Miyuki?"  Was my reaction that
obvious?  Or did she read my mind?  I still didnt know if Mai was
special.

"Dont you believe me?  I told you what happened.  It was nothing."  I
hope she accepts that.

"Okay," she said and looked away, flicking her hair to one side as if
to say she knew I was lying and to just let it be.  Ryosuke returned
from his diligent task and sat opposite of us at the table.  

"So, where are we going now?" Ryosuke asked.  He must have been
feeling as if he was a part of our gang and was now eternally glued to
us.  The idea wasnt very appealing even if Ryosuke was beginning to
be more tolerable.

"Well, I have to go home," Mai said, looking tired.  I think we all
were.  Ryosuke turned anxiously to me hoping my answer would be
different.

"Me?  No, I have to go home too.  I still havent eaten."  Ryosuke
looked disappointed and I actually felt a little bad for him.

"Oh, well then Ill see you tomorrow," he said and then quickly left.

It was time for me to leave too.  It was time to think about Miyuki,
and where I must have gone wrong.

*******************

Akane looked up from the kitchen as I entered the front door.

"Oh, youre finally home?  Miyuki called a little while ago.  Shes
coming over again tonight, she said that she had to talk to you about
something."  My heart sunk and I dreaded to hear what Miyuki had to
say.  I could see her in my mind, her and that idiot Eichi.  I felt
tired, hurt, and revengeful.  I took a beating from falling down the
stairs, which proved nothing about Mai.  I felt that nothing was going
my way.  I began to think that thinking Mai was an esper was just my
imagination and a mistake of my mischievous sister.  I was really
getting into a foul mood.

Akane finished up her dinner and carried the plate to the sink.  I saw
what she had and looked forward to my own meal, especially since I had
eaten nothing since lunch.  I looked at my side of the table, at what
was left of dinner.  And as usual, there was nothing but empty trays,
and Jingimis fat stomach swaying back and forth as he walks away from
another conquered meal.  I was not in the mood for the fat cat this
time.

"JINGIMI!!!"  I stared him down.  He gave me a casual glance and then
kept moving towards his little bed.  My anger for Eichi was now
directed at Jingimi.  I used the power and lift Jingimi off the floor
and shot the cat across the room.  "MMMEEEOOOWWWW!"  Just before he
hit the wall he slowed and gently touched to the floor, I felt Akanes
power.  I was breathing hard, Akane looked at me awestruck.

"Is something the matter, Kazuya?" Akane asked, sensing my anger.  I
didnt want to talk about Miyuki so instead I chose Mai.

"Akane, you remember yesterday, when we were talking about Mai.  I had
to ask her again.  Im really starting to doubt that its true about
her.  Besides, what are the chances that there is another esper right
in my own class?

"Yes, I remember.  What about it?" she said as she took the last bite
of food from her hand.

"Do you think you could have been the slightest bit wrong?"

"Well, actually, Ive been meaning to talk to you about that.  Grandpa
taught me how to do it, to test for espers.  But now that I think
about it, Ive only tested our family.  It worked every time, of
course, so I always assumed I was doing it right.  But today, I tried
it at the Shopping Market and it turned out that two of every five
people were espers, so now I think Im doing it all wrong.  Grandpa
knows how to do it, but I didnt learn it right.  Youll have to try
to learn it yourself next time we see him."

"You must be kidding me."

"No, Im serious.  Honestly, though, I still think there was something
special about Mai.  Now I dont really know anything for sure.  Maybe
we could force her to use her powers, that would prove it!"  I fell
down all those stairs only because of a feeling that we had.

"I tried that already, it didnt work."

"Kazuya, our family is special, I dont think there are any others
like us.  Its possible that we just wanted it so bad we let our
imagination get the best of us."  I nodded agreement.  "Or is it that
youre attracted to Mai, and you want her to be special to you?"

"I... No!  Thats not it at all!"  I hated when Akane go into these
kinds of moods, always guessing my feelings.

"Oh, really?"  She lifted an eyebrow and probably would have harassed
me further if the doorbell didnt happen to ring at that moment.  I
could tell it was Miyuki, she was the only person that rings the
doorbell three times in a row.

"Ill get it," Akane said as she walked over the door.  I opened the
refrigerator to grab something to eat, I was so hungry.  As I turned
to face the door Miyuki exploded into me with a hug, I was still
holding a chicken leg.

"Kazuya!  Im so glad to see you, it was such a crazy day."  I almost
forgot about the scene at the library.  I wondered if she would even
tell me about it, but then what else would she have important to say?
She never hid anything from me before.

"Me too," I replied.  I started to walk towards the front door.  If
she was going to tell me anything, I didnt want it to be in front of
Akane.  Miyuki probably trusted Akane, but thats only because she
didnt know her as well as I did.  Besides, Akane would probably stop
me from my plans for Eichi.  "Lets take a walk."

"Oh, that sounds great!  Just the two of us?" Miyuki asked.

"Sure, why not?"  I opened the closet to get my coat and then realized
that Mai still had it from the night before.  I closed the door and
walked outside where Miyuki joined me.  As I closed the door behind
us, I saw Akane glaring at me and pointing to her watch.  I laughed
nervously and shut the door.  Akane might not be able to stop me from
doing what I wanted, but she could easily tell my parents when they
returned home, and then I would really get it.

Soon, Miyuki and I were walking up the street, and it was just us
alone.  A good time for secrets.  I decided to ask her.

"So what did you want to talk about?" I asked casually, trying to act
like I wasnt spying on her in the library.  She took a breath before
speaking.

"Well, do you remember when I told you this morning that I got another
rose, and it came with a note."  I could almost guess what was in the
note already.  "The note wasnt signed, but it said to meet him at the
library at four oclock."

"Really?" I tried to act surprised.  We reached the bottom of the
hundred stairs, I was surprised at how soon we reached here.
Decidedly, we began walking up the stairs.  She looked up at me.

"I think you know the person, it was Eichi."  My mouth dropped open in
amazement, not because it was Eichi but because Miyuki was telling all
of this to me.  She really kept no secrets from me, I felt bad for not
being open with her.

"What happened?" I asked.

"He gave me another rose.  I didnt know what to do, Ive never had a
secret admirer before.  It seems I impressed him when I defended you
yesterday.  He told me he never saw a girl like me before and that he
wanted to date me."

"He did?!"  I knew that Eichi had definitely sealed his fate, the
things I would do to him.

"Yes, but I told him I already had a boyfriend.  He said that you were
a wimp and not a man, that I deserved a real man."  I dont ever
remember treating Eichi bad and here he is, completely stepping into
my life.

"I told him that you werent a wimp, and that hell find out who the
real man is tomorrow," she said, watching my response.

"He wants to fight me tomorrow?"  I wasnt planning on taking him on
in a fair fight, it wasnt my style.

"No, no.  Did you already forget what tomorrow is?"  The only thing
that came to my mind was that tomorrow was tomorrow was Thursday.  I
didnt have the slightest idea what she was talking about.

"Remember the first day of school?" she asked.  She was getting
annoyed that I forgot so easily and I was getting aggravated that I
couldnt remember.

"No, I dont have a clue what youre talking about."  She remembered
from yesterday that I wasnt very good at guessing games.

"Hes the captain of the wrestling team."

"So, what does that have to do with me?"

"The first day of school, I signed you up, remember?  And youll be
wrestling him tomorrow, on your first day of practice."

My blood froze.  In front of all those people, there was no way I
would be able to use the power.  And I knew that I was too weak to
wrestle Eichi.  I didnt know what I was going to do, I dont think
Ill be able to run this time.

We reached the top of the stairs and turned to look at the view.  The
entire town was visible beneath the starry night and the light glowed
up.  A gentle breeze blew up the stairs into us and it seemed that we
were in the sky looking down.  As if it was just Miyuki and me, and
the world was very far away.

"Miyuki.."  I had to ask her, I need for a least one thing in my life
to be clear.  She looked out over the night and replied.

"Yes, Kazuya."

"Do you.. do you like Eichi."  I was afraid of what her answer would
be.  After all, what was I compared to someone as strong and popular
as Eichi.

Miyuki looked down and pulled something from her coat.  She held it in
front of me, it was the rose that Eichi had given her.

"There is only one...  and the name of my rose is Kazuya."  

I reached out my hand and held the rose with her.  She moved closer
and we just stood next to each other for a time, looking out over a
peaceful moment.  

A moment that I will always remember.

- End of Chapter 4 -