A Penny for Your Thoughts

Written by Whimsical Symphony

Honestly, I have an aversion to OC stories with pairings for some odd reason – must have been because of the fair amount of Sues I've ran into and such and never really shipping an OC with any character. But I thought of this idea, it and since I read a few good OC fics lately I just decided to go with it. Hope you guys don't mind age differences because my OC is four years older – I wanted to try something a little different than the usual schoolmate who Kise falls for. Although I've seen a few good ones for that too. In this fandom especially I really liked the story 'Liar, Liar' and hope the author updates soon. This is an experiment since I've never tried this before, but go ahead and tell me what you think. I want to see how well this goes for me too – it's a new sort of challenge. I accept any and all criticism and comments, so hit me with your hardest.

Chapter I – Just Listen

"Ryouta, I'm back!"

The door opened and Kise saw one of his older sisters, Kise Aika, stumble in, cheeks flushed, clearly from a bit of alcohol. She went to a karaoke bar that night – why, he didn't know, because his sister couldn't sing at all. She could probably break glass with her voice, as opera singers often had the ability for in comedies on the television. The responsibility to take care of her fell to him since his other sister already moved out of the house a while back and his parents were still on vacation.

When his sister, looking every bit like a toddler taking her first steps on two legs, seemed about to fall, he rushed to the door to catch her, but someone else seemed to do it for him. Blinking, he looked behind Aika, to see another woman there.

She looked every bit like a delinquent – short hair, really thick jacket and sweats that she just threw on without any thought put into it obviously, and a cool look on her face that would put an ice cube to shame. A type of person his sister didn't talk to often.

"Aika, come on, get a grip. I made you drink water for a reason," she muttered. Sighing, she turned to Kise then, a frown on her lips. "Kid, you her brother? Sorry she's almost completely out of commission. I tried to stop her but she kept going for it." She cringed when she thought about Aika's terrible singing that sounded like crows attempting to pass off as nightingales. It didn't work and she thought Aika might have killed several people with her singing tonight. Her appearance was decidedly deceptive. Looking at her super pretty boy brother, she simply assumed that he sucked just as much when it came to humming a simple melody. It appeared that the pretty faces couldn't sing at all. "Her singing just got worse as the night went on."

"You're so mean, Suzume!" Aika whined petulantly. He wondered if he sounded like that often, and whether that was the reason Kuroko rejected to play with him in Kaijou. It did sound a little annoying now that he listened to his sister do it.

Kise sighed, and so did the woman, Suzume. Pushing his annoyance aside when she called him a kid, he closed the door behind her. "Thank you for bringing her home... Senpai," Kise settled with, a bright smile on his face. He didn't really know her, but she was older, and judging by that, senpai seemed the obvious choice. He didn't really know what to think about her, but he doubted his sister would associate with a bad type, even if she may have looked it. He decided to trust her judgment and try to become friends like he did with most people. After all, Suzume did help bring his raging drunk sister home, and for that, he thanked her. "She really sucks at singing. I tried to stop her from making everyone else suffer, but she doesn't listen to me, it's so sad," he joked with a grin.

"Amusing, kid," Suzume answered, laughing a little. Extending her hand, she said, "Miyakigawa Suzume, friend of Aika's friend, no need for senpai. Just call me Suzume."

"That would be rude of me," he answered teasingly. Kise took it with a smile but then said, "Senpai, my name is Kise Ryouta, not kid. Won't you call me by my name?" He made sure to give her his brightest smile that would coerce her into not treating him like a kid. But, he grew surprised when the woman looked at him without the slightest blush on her features. Did she not recognize him? But, she did think of him as a kid, so that kind of explained it – no matter what he looked like. He didn't think he acted like a kid much, and age-wise, he doubted they lay that far apart.

"Ryouta-chan then," Suzume just answered with a smirk, especially directed at his exasperation. She looked at him for a moment, squinting when observing his features. "Hm, where have I seen you before. You look pretty familiar actually. Ah… Aika did mention her brother was a model…" she mumbled to herself oddly. She did recognize the blond male from somewhere, but didn't really care much. It felt a little odd to have seen someone before she knew them. "No matter, we should get Aika up to bed then. Hope you won't mind me staying over tonight because I've got no way home. I also want to take care of Aika – she's a terrible drunk from what I've learned today. I don't want the little brother to be forced to deal with her crap today." Without waiting for Kise's answer, she dragged Aika up the stairs when she finished taking off her shoes. "Come on, you're going to get to bed now, alright?"

"I don't want to go to bed, Suzume!"

"Too bad," Suzume replied, hauling Aika to her feet and forcing her to walk up the stairs.

The two of them bickered like a parent and child. Kise looked at her in awe; he could never get his sister to do anything, even while mostly drunk.

Aika's looked a little pale and ill. And Kise decided to warn his strong new ally who'd have to deal with her. The shabby looking woman who seemed strangely goodhearted enough for helping out his sister when she didn't even know her, and who didn't seem to even recognize him in the least. He called out, "Miyakigawa-senpai I just wanted to tell you-"

But he couldn't finish, as the sound of someone sending out projectile vomit filled his ears. When he looked at Suzume, he respected her all the more for not even flinching despite the vomit covering her form.

"- she pukes when she drinks a lot," Kise finished with a small frown. "You're free to use the shower if you want," he added, taking pity on her. "And you can borrow some of Aika's clothes."

"Thanks kid. You're a nice one." Suzume gave him a small smile that fleetingly rested on her normally stone-cold features, a rare smile that made her seem so much kinder and less cold. But then, reverting to looking nothing less than a member of a gang, she continued to drag Aika up the stairs, not even caring about the vomit heavily painting her like a bad piece of abstractionism. "By the way Ryouta-chan, I told you to just call me Suzume, didn't I?"

Kise didn't want to think about how it rubbed him the wrong way for someone to treat him like a kid, but regardless, he smiled a little. That woman took his terribly drunk sister home when she didn't even know her. The thought worried him: what if someone other than Suzume who didn't really know Aika before that night brought her home? His sister was reckless as always.

He'd be in for a long night taking care of Aika, he knew it.

"Kise, why do you look so tired. You're slacking off."

Drowsily, Kise turned toward Kasamatsu Yukio. His whole body felt like lead, and he imagined that Miyakigawa Suzume felt the same. His sister Aika didn't puke once when drunk, she puked repeatedly. And so, he and Suzume spent the entire night holding back her hair, giving her fluids, and taking care of her into the wee hours of the morning, when they both just crashed from a lack of energy. When he left for school the next day, he saw Suzume still asleep, snoring loudly, looking like even more of a mess than when she knocked on the door, drool spilling from the corner of her lips.

"Sorry, Kasamatsu-senpai, I've had a rough night," Kise admitted sheepishly. "I didn't mean for it to mess up my practice." He dribbled the ball he kept ahold of almost lazily, though Kasamatsu knew if someone attempted to take that ball from him, they'd be in for a big surprise. No one considered Kise Ryouta a member of the Generation of Miracles for nothing.

Kasamatsu sighed and asked, as a friend should do, perhaps not a captain, "What's wrong?"

Kise, ever honest and never really lying, answered, "My sister came home drunk and both her friend and I ended up taking care of her all night. It was exhausting. I've never seen so much puke in my life, Kasamatsu-senpai – it was so gross!" he whined, clinging onto Kasamatsu with a vice grip. "And it put Miyakigawa-senpai out of commission too. I know when I get home she'll still be there trying to catch some sleep."

He would have pitied her, if he didn't find himself in the exact same condition, fighting the temptation of sleep, while his muscles ached with a passion for rest.

Kasamatsu pried himself out of Kise's grip and punched him hard on the shoulder, ignoring then the puppy-like pout that surfaced on his face because of it: a look which clearly said, 'but I love you Kasamtasu-senpai, don't hit me!'. Kasamatsu Yukio groaned when he almost saw the invisible tail drooping behind Kise, and his effectively slouched form, exactly like a submissive dog. "Miyakigawa-senpai?" he said in an effort to keep the conversation going. Looking to the others in the gym, he saw them all doing their drills, so at least that was one load off his shoulders. Kise looked too exhausted to do anything, with the slight impression of bags under his eyes along with just a little less energy that he used to act all annoying.

"Friend of my sis' friend who brought her back yesterday," Kise explained. Sighing, he continued with, "She treats me like a kid. She just calls me kid and Ryouta-chan. Isn't that stupid?" He looked at Kasamatsu for a minute, comparing the woman to him, since they both made an effort to treat him that way. "She acts like you, actually," he added with a laugh. He saw it now, although Miyagawa Suzume didn't try the whole tough-love act like Kasamatsu Yukio. They both seemed to treat him like an elementary school kid. With Kasamatsu, he knew sometimes, he even felt like an elementary schooler, unfortunately. It just proved their point that he lacked any and all maturity.

"She's an older woman, of course she's going to think you're a kid, Kise," Kasamatsu answered. He hoped that 'Miyakigawa-senpai' wasn't a terrible person, because then he wouldn't want to be compared to her. "Especially when you act like one." Kise frowned even more because of his comment. Kasamatsu sighed. "Is it really so bad? She doesn't hate you or anything."

But Kise didn't seem to listen to Kasamatsu, his thoughts circulating through his mind quickly, a mile a minute. "I think she might have a hangover too, since she went drinking with sis. I'll get her some medicine and then maybe she'll treat me like an adult, right?"

He seemed convinced that doing thoughtful things for this woman would get her to treat him like an adult, when in reality, Kasamatsu knew she'd just think of Kise as a cute, devoted puppy. However, unwilling to make Kise unhappy when he seemed so motivated, like he did when trying to become friends with most people, he slapped Kise's back and said, "Good luck." Even though you probably won't get anywhere with her, he added mentally.

Kise gave him a huge, sunny grin. "I'll get her the best medication. I think I'll make her and my sister some hangover soup too!" He seemed to drift off into his own world, thinking about what he would make, when he would make it, and thoughts of Miyakigawa Suzume treating him like an actual adult, not calling him kid or Ryouta-chan. He knew that Aika would invite her over more often, and he didn't want her to treat him like a child every single time. Kise heard something then, loud cheers from the bleachers. When he looked over, he saw all his fans there, watching him with rosy blushes on their faces and wide eyes, and shy fidgeting that he thought of as sort of cute, like adorable woodland creatures. But somehow, even though he wanted Miyagawa to treat him like an adult, at least she didn't treat him like a fan would. He thought he had enough of those, didn't really need another. With a smile, he waved at his fans and watched as their blushes took over their entire faces and they watched him with even more passion than they did before. "Thanks for cheering for me, girls!"

"Kise-sama is so wonderful!" they cheered back, swooning over him.

"Just like a kid," Kasamatsu stated, bored. Turning to Kise he said, "Now, hurry up and do what you're supposed to or you won't get home in time to make that hangover soup."

Kise, upon threat, quickly got to doing his drills again and practicing with his fellow teammates, knowing he needed to get back in time to get that medication and make that hangover soup. Then maybe Miyakigawa Suzume would treat him like a responsible adult. The gears turned in his head, this way and that, as he thought about the many ways to gain her favour and become friends with her. After all, he sort of did still owe her since she took his sister home safe. He needed to apologize for Aika's recklessness that night at the karaoke bar, drinking so much and putting her own safety on the hands of a complete stranger.

When Suzume woke up, she knew that it was in the very, very late afternoon. Her head pounded both from a lack of sleep, and from the alcohol she consumed from the night before, regardless of the fact that she hadn't even been intoxicated. Her mouth felt as dry as paper, and her tongue, uncomfortably heavy. Opening her eyes, and sitting up on the couch slowly, she stretched and groaned. Probably the only one who got a decent sleep the night before, was Aika, the girl that Suzume and the inebriated one's pretty boy brother spent the whole night taking care of. She missed her university classes for the day, rather unfortunate, but knew it couldn't be helped. At least she really didn't have to go, unlike Aika's brother who couldn't miss high school.

"Ah, you're up, Miyakigawa-senpai."

Looking around exhaustedly, she saw Aika's brother, Ryouta, fixing up something in the kitchen. With a wide smile, he brought the bowl of what she assumed was soup, to her, looking rather proud of himself. Setting it on the coffee table, he walked to the kitchen again and retrieved a small bag, putting it beside the soup. He looked a little nervous when he glanced at her, but smiled brightly, reminding Suzume ever so much of a puppy. She still found it curious that she knew his face from somewhere. What magazine did he model for? She never checked out magazines really and didn't really know the names of models. Wracking her mind for information, she wondered if her roommate or somebody read a magazine that she would have recognized his face from.

"Here, drink it and you'll feel a lot better. I also got you some pain relievers," Kise told her. He passed the bowl directly into her hands. Then, sheepishly, he muttered, before heading back into the kitchen, "I forgot water…" Coming back with a glass of full water, he also passed that to her, and opened up the bottle of pills, dropping two in her palm. "Your head probably hurts a lot, partially from taking care of Aika. Sorry she can be really reckless sometimes." He sat down next to her on the couch and rested his chin on his hand, arm supported by the couch's armrest.

Looking at him, he really did look like a model – what with the unnaturally pretty features and the nice form, and she recognized that from the first time she saw him, but what did surprise was his heart. He seemed genuine and thoughtful for making soup for her and getting pills too. He let out a huge sigh then, and he wondered really only exhaustion plagued him. Something else ate at him, and he really didn't hide it well.

"Thanks for the soup and the pills, kid. And trust me, she isn't the worst I've seen," Suzume told him with a small grimace, thinking of her own roommate getting drunk and puking on their area rug. He gave her one in return, although it seemed a bit forced. "Kid, tell me what's eating you. I can't promise I can help, but at least you can get it off your shoulders. If it's embarrassing," she continued, facing him with a serious look on her face, "then take comfort in the fact that I share absolutely no mutual friends with you. And that I'm a complete stranger to you too. There's something interesting about spilling your secrets to a stranger, right?"

"I'll tell you what's up if you tell me one embarrassing thing about you," Kise proposed slyly. "That way you can spill a secret to a stranger too." He expected her to look at least a little reluctant or perturbed by that, but she didn't at all.

"Alright, even though I'm a pretty boring person," Suzume agreed, then looking at him to continue with his own problem. "Promise though, this'll make you feel better."

Kise grinned weakly. "I failed my biology test." Fiddling with his fingers a little he continued, "I suck at most subjects that aren't English and I'm good at sports, but things like academics are a little…" he shrugged. "Still," he continued, looking at her sheepishly, "I'd thought I would have at least passed this one."

Taking a spoon full of soup and marveling at the taste for a moment, she added, "Seems like you're halfway decent at cooking, you know." He smiled at her in reply and gestured she take some pain pills as well, which she did. Suzume, then began to talk, "Everyone has their talents, things they're good at and things they're bad at." She scrutinized him for a moment, making him look incredibly uncomfortable. "Ah, you're one of those Generation of Miracles whiz kids, huh? Good at basketball – that's your talent." She realized it then, where she'd been seeing him, in that random Zunon Boy magazine her roommate's little sister liked to read. He slowly nodded, not sure what she was getting at. "My roommate's little sister is a huge fan of yours." Pausing for a moment, she continued, "Anyway, point is, you can't expect everything to go well for you all the time. I learned that the hard way. How much did you fail by anyway?"

Reaching for his schoolbag, he pulled out the test, almost ashamedly passing it to her. He really didn't want her to know that his grades were so deplorable. "Well, it's a little bad."

"I can see that," Suzume said, clucking her tongue. "I can see all your mistakes too." Laughing a little she added, "Kid, it's the pancreas that secretes insulin, not the brain!" And then laughing even more, she continued, "The appendix doesn't help digest food, Ryouta-chan, it's a vestigial organ!" Kise doubted she could breathe at all when she saw the percentage marked on the first page. "13%? Really? Oh my god you really failed!"

"You're so mean! Is that supposed to make me feel better," Kise responded, frowning noticeably. Sighing, he said, "After all the nice things I did for you too," gesturing to the pain pills and the soup.

Calming down and regaining composure, she coughed, a little embarrassed, and ruffled his hair, much to his both surprise and annoyance when he realized that she treated him like a kid again. "Sorry, kid, it was just too funny. But look, right, you feel better about it already. I can see the smile on your face." Pinching his cheeks a little and chuckling when he slapped away her hand, she mentioned, "You have a good thing to laugh about now. And you can always do better next time. I have a feeling you slacked off or something for this result, didn't you?" He didn't deny it, so she knew that her assumption was correct. "Grades aren't everything either. You have a good head on your shoulders and you're thoughtful for bringing me all this stuff to help me recover. And you didn't get offended when I laughed at you." When she saw the frown on his face, Suzume smirked and said, "I was laughing at you, not with you, don't get me wrong." When he looked affronted and about to respond, she held his speech with a hand telling him to stop. Continuing, with a soft smile she told him, "You're not just an airheaded model you know. You've got your own talents just like everyone else. Hell, you'd probably laugh at me if I ever tried to play basketball."

Kise did feel a little better, suddenly. That failing grade didn't seem so bad to him. Usually he would only care for a day and then go back to doing what he usually did, but Suzume relieved that feeling of grief much quicker. And the shame he'd feel reporting that to his parents. "Probably," he joked, imagining someone like her trying to shoot in a three pointer. "But I don't think you'd try."

"Well, let me tell you one of my secrets," Suzume commented. "I did try, back in high school Phys-ed. And you know what happened?" He shook his head, and looked upon her in anticipation. Whispering almost conspiratorially, she said, "I accidentally passed the ball and it was way too strong a pass, and you know where it hit? My teacher's nuts. He was in pain for a little while, on the floor actually. And whenever basketball time came around, he always made some excuse for me to run the attendance to the office or something to get me out of the room."

And then Kise found it his turn to laugh until he'd turn blue at that thought. He didn't even know how she managed it, but just the accident itself seemed unheard of. "Seriously?" he asked, and she nodded, which made him laugh even more. And Suzume looked upon him, as if expecting it. And he didn't know what this woman did exactly, but he felt his exhaustion almost melt away into the air and his shame at getting a bad score morph into determination to do better next time, like she said.

Stretching like a cat, Suzume got up off the couch and said, "I'll probably change and get back home now." Thinking for a minute she grabbed Kise's phone off the coffee table, much to his confusion, and coolly entered in her digits. Showing him the screen, she said, "Message me if you have anything you want to talk about. I'd be happy if you'd save me from doing my papers. And something tells me people don't just listen to you often. Oh," she paused, turning around then while at the entrance of the room, "and fix those grades. I may have been laughing, but 13% really sucks."

She left without another word then, and Kise looked at his phone. He laughed and smiled when he saw the contact 'Worst Basketball Player Ever' entered. Maybe everyone did have some things they were good at and others they weren't. Miyakigawa Suzume proved that just fine.

Word Count: 3 992