Chapter 7 -He who thrives on human weakness is a coward in the least; I, therefore, am not a coward, but a warrior with the Sword of Truth.

At the mere thought, I began to cry and wail like a child who could not choose what toy he or she loved best.And ‘twas not a thought too far off from that, either.

I sat in my room meditating upon the illustrious colors radiating from the pictures of the charming pigtailed girl and the pure Akane Tendou.“Whom shall I choose?!Both are so, so…Aah!”

Until now, I could not make up my mind.I, the great Tatewaki Kunou, age seventeen, could not afford to give up such beauty nor such charm.This was an important venture, and utter care should be taken in its heed.

“Ah, enough of the morning meditation.I shall take off for Furinkan High as of now.”I got up from my side of the long dining table.

“Goodbye, Brother dear.Hohohohoho!”My twisted sister made her exit with the trail of black rose petals on the floor.

I treaded upon the streets with my usual air about me, which was always mistaken for arrogance.“The morning air does wonders.It enters the mind and makes it clear for a focused, yet poised stance.”

My index finger touched my forehead and I smugly smiled to myself.“How the world could live without one such as me, I will never know.”

As I entered the gates of my pitiful school, I caught sight of something quite disgusting.“You fiend, Saotome!”

With all my might, I trudged quickly with my sword in hand.“How dare you walk beside such a goddess, you insolent peasant?!”

But, Saotome caught my sword between his hands.And it made me even more upset at how he could always touch the sword of the rising star of the fencing world!My anger persisted like a hunter who must struggle with the lion who also fought for his dear life.

“I don’t need this and not now!!!” He shouted at me.

With my arms crossed while flying in the air, I could not help but smite him with my tongue.“Hmph.Saotome, to think that I have even equated you to the likes of the lion!The end of the world draws near, has it not?”

The one called Nabiki Tendou sighed with her hand covering her face in frustration as she looked at me.“Will idiots ever cease?”

My eyes darted towards her direction as I sat down in my desk next to hers.She should be grateful that I haven’t yet abolished her as an unworthy adversary.“And is that remark made to me, Nabiki Tendou?”

“Whom else am I talking to?”She surveyed the room with her eyes to point out to me that there was no one within 5 feet near us.

“I resent that remark.An idiot is one who does not figure out what has been laid out before him and within his range of vision.”

“My point exactly.Ranma has kicked you again.The imprint is on your face, Idiot.”

I sighed at her vain attempt to bring my spirit down once more.“Ha.Ha.You are a coward for thriving on the weaknesses of men.Such is that also of the hated one named Saotome.”

For a moment, just a split-second, the Nabiki Tendou who was calm through all occasions and made profit while at it, winced and had nothing to say but give me an icy stare.A stare so inhuman, I, Takewaki Kunou, almost cowered in fear of it.

“I, on the other hand, seek out the truth, sword in hand.”I looked at Nabiki from the sides of my eyes.“What is this?My worthy adversary, the one who pushes reality into my face until it makes me bleed with money and sweat, is not uttering a venomous retort?”

Then, she smirked me the way only she could:the smirk that said, “You’re the pawn; I am the queen.Do we make ourselves clear on such a simple concept?”

The class had stopped its daily occurrences to watch our spouting match.For the first time, the Queen of sarcastic remarks took a while to have a rebuttle-

“The reason I would not retort back to your petty remarks is because I am speaking to an idiot.You have defined it yourself and yet, you can’t identify with the word that fits you best.And if you cannot spell out what I am saying, it is this:Kunou is defined as idiot in my dictionary.”

I stared back at her playfully.“I’m glad you realize I do hate you.”

“You don’t know how much I’ve given my thanks for that.”She patted my head.“Don’t worry, the feeling will always be mutual.”

Again, I found myself meditating before the two pictures of my two loves while thinking of my conversation with Nabiki Tendou this morning.

She was never upset after all.How could I have mistaken that?Ah, but looks are deceiving, and mine eyes lied to me.Nabiki Tendou, the one who always struck reality forcefully into my face, could never really feel such hatred for anyone.I knew her for too long.

Basically, she had always been like that as long as I’ve known her.And our daily conversations were the same everyday.Such spiteful words exchanged, but with no harm attached to them.

“Maybe I am fortune’s fool,” I self-communed.

An idiot is one who cannot see what is there…or could it be that an idiot is also one who does not wish to see what is already there?

“Have I not always seen the truth?Have I not always told the truth?”

As annoying as I had appeared to some, I always fought with honor and truthfulness.A complete opposite from my dear sister’s twisted way of thinking.

That woman called Nabiki Tendou, conniving and sly as she was, never lied to me…

And for the first time, I had briefly begun to understand what that shrewd adversary of mine meant.Though not completely, something touched me from repeating the two definitions together.

“What have I not seen with mine eyes?!”I opened my eyes to gaze at the pictures of my two loves once more.

A strange, absurd, yet fearful thought entered my head…Maybe they do not love me after all…

Maybe what I see is what I want to see and not what Truth has been set in front of my eyes.Is that what you are saying, Nabiki Tendou?

Then, many memories with Akane and the pigtailed girl came into my mind. They repeated for some time like a video tape that had been recorded for my own discretion and my own viewing.

The truth at hand stuck me like a two-edged daggar into my heart and into my sides.

“Aahahahaha!That could never be the case!”I laughed to myself.“What cowardly thought was that?How could they NOT love me?What was there not to love?”

I got up and stared longingly before the two amazing pictures:one of Akane Tendou on the left and one of the pigtailed girl to the right.

I smiled and closed the door behind me with my bokken over my shoulder.The noble air surrounding my visage and body, which defined me as the great Kunou, could and would never be shaken.

“Nabiki Tendou, you are a cruel, cruel woman.”

And yet, of all the people of this wretched world unworthy of my presence, among them, I have always liked you best.

You are my worthy mirror of reality.It is good that I can never break you, nor can you ever break me.

Author’s note:At first, I was utterly disgusted with Kunou.But now, he’s just an okay guy if you really look at it.But damn, as much as I love Shakespeare, to think that he could even think like this too?!@_@ u 

I once had a dream in Old English, one in French, and one in Japanese.;_;Let’s just say by the time I woke up for school, I was very, very exhausted.

Geez, and I thought doing Nabiki’s chapter was hard…Hard?Did I say hard?Hard isn’t the word…@_@

^_^Any feedback?Talk to me![email protected] or [email protected]

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