Disclaimer: I do not own Persona 3 Portable. It belongs to Atlus (unfortunately), apart from my copy of the game...and perhaps I'll steel Akihiko or Theo too...mwahaha.
I realise my grammar and sentence structure may not be perfect. I merely write this for my own enjoyment (and not in the way you might think). It helps me get away from everyday life too.
*deep breath* So anyway, here goes!
The Velvet Lake
Chapter One
Warm sunshine filled the sky and no clouds were in sight. Cherry blossom trees lined the street passing Gekkoukan High School; the beginning of April always brought out the best in them, year after year. A young and slender girl walked along the silent pathway, smiling to herself. She always did love spring. A gentle breezed rippled through her long, glossy honey-coloured hair and silky, knee-length canary yellow dress yet it wasn't cold. Instead, it felt nice and complimented the warmth of the sun's rays. When the girl realised she was looking down at her feet, she stopped in her tracks and took a look around her, gazing in awe at the beautiful sight of the blossom trees. After a brief moment of content peacefulness, she held up the professional-looking camera that was hanging from her neck. Once she had adjusted a few settings, she began to take some photos of the trees.
Meanwhile at the school gates, a young boy with short silvery hair was making his exit from Gekkoukan. He stopped at the gates and took a deep sigh as he leaned on a pillar, holding his coat over his shoulder.
"It's just a matter of time before something else goes wrong..." the boy muttered to himself. "Huh?"
A sudden flash in the distance had startled him, followed by a few clicks that were the unmistakable noises of a camera. The boy's face turned even more sullen. The last thing he wanted was fan girls or the photography club taking his picture whilst he was in this mood.
"Where are you?" he muttered, his chocolate eyes darting around for the culprit. "Show yourself..."
Finally he laid his eyes upon the girl taking photos. She was still capturing the blossoms with a concentrated look on her pale-skinned face, completely unaware she was now being watched. The boy relaxed, contentedly studying her in relief that she didn't appear to be a crazed fan girl. Although he'd only just begun to observe, she seemed satisfied with the couple of photos she'd just taken. She held her camera carefully as she bent down and took a flower that was still attached to a fallen branch to take home. She started to walk slowly towards the school with her thoughts far away in a daydream, examining the branch in her hand and as she did so the boy's eyes widened and he made a move too; he didn't want to get caught staring at her.
The girl looked lost in her thoughts as she walked, but the sound of sudden hasty footsteps heading towards her in the otherwise silent street made her look up curiously to meet the eyes of the silver-haired young boy. He gave her a friendly smile, which she timidly returned as they were about to pass but with the swiftness of his pace and lack of space on the pavement they unexpectedly collided. As she hit into him she let out a squeal of surprise; the boy grabbed a hold of her and they spun around, falling to the ground with a hard bump which resulted in him lying awkwardly on top of her.
"I-I'm so sorry, are you all right?" he asked in serious concern, scanning her facial features. She still had her eyes shut tight and made small squeaks in pain, but emitted a little sound of acknowledgement in between.
"Um...h-how about you, s-senpai?" she queried, squinting a little.
"I'm fine, don't worry about me," he assured her; after all, he was the one on top.
When he finally came to realise this, he made an embarrassed 'ngh' and got to his feet, reaching his hands out for her to grab. She took them gently.
"Are you holding tight?" he queried; although she was holding his hands as tight as possible, it felt like an effortless grasp.
"Y-Yes," she said uncertainly, avoiding looking at him directly. He was surprised at the weakness of her grip; regardless, he quickly pulled her up. "Thank you..."
"You're welcome," he responded kindly before clearing his throat. "I guess I should get going now."
"Oh, of course! M-Me too."
"Well then...goodbye."
"Goodbye, senpai."
The boy spotted a few fallen blossoms scattered on the ground and picked one up. The girl hadn't walked too far away so he quickly caught up with her. "Excuse me, I believe you dropped this."
The girl turned around in surprise. "Huh...? Oh! Um..."
She almost fell over from twirling around so fast, but he swiftly caught her in his strong embrace.
"You should be more careful," he said. Although his words were firm, there was kindness behind his stern tone. The girl didn't know what to say and avoided his eyes at all costs. "Do you need me to walk you home safely?"
He still hadn't let her go. She blushed at his words and wondered how long it would take for him to let go of his own free will, since she didn't have the confidence to do it herself.
"There's no need to be so embarrassed," he said, steadying her and finally letting go. "Can I ask why you are?"
The girl swallowed nervously after hearing his question and hesitated. "I-I'm not really that good when it comes to talking to boys...heh..."
"Oh, I see. Well I never thought I was that good with girls, but here I am, talking with you."
The girl smiled at him, making eye contact for only a couple of seconds before shying away to look at the ground.
"I almost forgot. You had this before I knocked into you, right? I thought you might have wanted it."
"Oh, the blossom-" she started, but cut off when he stepped closer and brushed her hair on one side to place a blossom flower behind her ear. "T-Thank you, senpai."
"You know, there's no need for that. Just call me Akihiko."
"O-Okay. It's nice to meet you, Akihiko. I'm Akari."
"Akari...nice to meet you too. We should get going before it gets dark. You don't want to be walking around on your own at night, it's dangerous for a petite girl like you. You know...that offer still stands, by the way."
The word 'petite' echoed in Akari's head. "Huh...?"
"I wasn't kidding when I offered to walk you home," he clarified.
"O-Oh...um...I..."
"That's okay if you don't want me to. I'll see you around-"
"I-It's not that," she rushed. "I just didn't know how to tell you."
"Tell me what?"
"I'm new around here; I'm transferring to the Iwatodai dorm at Gekkoukan High School, which I can't find-"
"Wait, you're the transfer student? I live in the Iwatodai dorm...so I guess I'm your new housemate."
"R-Really?" Akari blushed. "Oh..."
"What? Are you disappointed?" he chuckled jokingly.
"No! I just...didn't expect..."
"Expect what?"
"N-Never mind..."
Akihiko was too curious. "No, please tell me?"
Akari's ocean-toned eyes nervously met his. "It's nothing. I was just...my mind wanders a lot. I was probably somewhere else as you said that and when I heard you say I'm going to be living with someone like you...reality hit me and I got embarrassed, which actually happens quite a lot."
He smiled at her words. "What did you mean by 'someone like me'?"
"Um...you know...touchy-feely and...nice."
"T-Touchy-feely?" Akihiko blushed, realising she meant the long embrace.
"L-Let's not talk about it and change the subject?" Akari suggested, almost in a whisper.
"All right. So where were you headed?" he questioned, obeying her request immediately as he felt a little tense too.
"Um...I was going to Gekkoukan High School to take a photo for this project I'm working on, but we bumped into each other and I...got sidetracked."
"Oh, I see, I'm so sorry."
"No, don't be!"
"Well I am, and there's nothing you can do about it."
"…There's another reason that I was going to the school."
"Oh, what's that?"
"I wanted to have a look around before school starts to get a feel of the place so I hopefully don't get lost on my first day."
"Then how do you feel about a tour of the school? It can make up for me sidetracking you and you can get some photos for your project, too."
"Really? Are you sure?"
Akihiko nodded and made a 'un' noise in affirmation. "There's one condition, though."
"Mmm?" Akari was curious.
"You have to let me walk you to the dorm."
"Oh, there'll be no need; we'll be done before dark, right?"
"That depends on what you want to see."
Thoughts ran through Akari's head. She mentally scolded her mind for that. When she realised Akihiko was watching her expression, she blushed furiously, realising that just made the situation worse and hoped he didn't catch on.
"Are you all right? Your face is all red. Are you burning up?"
"Y-Yes..."
His eyes widened. "Do you have any other symptoms? Maybe it's best to head back to the dorm now so you can rest. I don't want you to-"
"No, no...I'm not sick."
"You're...not? Oh...huh..." Akihiko was confused.
"Don't worry about it. Let's go, otherwise we'll be out during the midnight hour."
"What!" Akihiko stared at her directly as she made eye contact with him after his sudden exclamation. "The midnight hour? You mean…the Dark Hour?"
When she realised they were making eye contact, her shyness took over and she stared at his waistcoat instead. "Well...yeah, if you want to call it that."
"Oh...no, I'll make sure we're back before then. It's not safe. C'mon, let's get going."
Akihiko made a hand gesture for her to go first. He followed her closely as they walked up the gravelled path, which was lined either side with a few pink cherry blossom trees; beyond the trees were luscious, well-kept lawns. Akihiko trotted up the steps before her and she watched in curiosity, stumbling on the top step. Before she could look away in embarrassment, she noticed he was kindly holding the door open for her like a gentleman. She quickly headed through it, saying thank you to him and waited, staring down at the shiny floor. Two feet soon appeared next to hers and she recognised them as Akihiko's.
"Are you all right, Akari?"
"Yes, I'm sorry."
"What are you sorry for?"
"Everything...making you-"
"Look, you're not making me do anything. I offered to show you around, didn't I?"
"That is true, but-"
"I'm the reason we bumped into each other and I held you up. I offered to show you around, you agreed and so that's what we're going to do. I don't go back on my word."
Akari didn't know what to say back to that. It was all true, but she couldn't help feeling bad anyway. She realised it didn't matter how she felt though, because he had proved to her that he was at fault; it was accidental, but there was no way she was going to get out of his way of making it up to her.
"So, this is the entrance hall. As you can see, this is where everyone's lockers are," he began and started to walk up a row they were in front of. He didn't hear footsteps following him so he stopped in his tracks, looking back over his shoulder. "Akari."
"Sorry, senpai!" she said quickly, catching up with him halfway up the row but after taking one step in front of him a hand held her shoulder firmly.
"I appreciate if you don't think I'm a very good tour guide, but this is my first time showing someone around a place-"
"Senpai, that's not it."
"What did I say about calling me your senpai? Or did you forget my name?"
"I didn't forget your name," she told him quietly. "You're Akihiko Sanada?"
"Yes-" he started, hoping this wasn't going where he thought.
"Then, something's hanging from your locker," she informed him, pointing to it.
He looked over and noticed black, rope-like string stuck in the door. "Oh...but I wasn't even in a rush today."
Akihiko walked over to it and grabbed a key from his pocket. Akari watched him unlock it and pull out a bulging drawstring bag. He drew the bag tight and tied it, carefully putting it back inside his locker on top of a few books. As he closed the door a heart-shaped post-it note fell to the floor and landed by Akari's feet. She bent down to pick it up and as she did so she wondered whether or not she should be picking it up for him in case it was a note from his girlfriend, but her body was a step ahead of her mind; she'd already picked it up and was subconsciously reading it.
Dear Akihiko-senpai,
Roses are red and violets are blue, but nothing is more passionate than my love for you.
Yours forever, Minako
"Um..." Akari looked up to see Akihiko staring down at her. This time she kept eye contact and stood up. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to read it-"
Akari gave him the note. This time, Akihiko broke the eye contact to read it. "It's okay, it's only fan mail. Don't get me wrong, though. I just get this a lot so I'm used to it."
"Fan mail? Are you...famous?" she wondered, making Akihiko laugh. Akari smiled. "Did I say something funny?"
"I'm captain of the boxing club here at Gekkoukan. Girls are always staring at me, giving me gifts and follow me around. I don't know why. The other guys in the club are jealous, too." Akihiko sighed. "I'm hardly famous."
"You obviously are to the girls of Gekkoukan."
"But...why?"
"Although I haven't seen you fight, I know you're strong."
Akihiko chuckled. "Oh, really? How can you tell?"
Akari figured it out when he embraced her to stop her falling and when he fell on top of her, but she didn't want to bring either subject up again. "You...look it."
"I do?"
"Yeah, um...you look like...you have a lot of muscle."
"You can tell that I have a lot of muscle even though I have my shirt on?"
Akari blushed furiously at the idea of him shirtless. "U-Um…well…"
"These shirts aren't that see-through, are they?" Akihiko felt self-conscious and looked down at his arms.
"Don't worry, senpai. It doesn't matter if they are, you're a guy."
"Hey, I'm Akihiko, remember? It's nice to hear you use my name instead of senpai all the time."
"I'm sorry, Akihiko!"
"I'll let you call me Akihiko-senpai if you really want."
"Um, okay then."
Akihiko stared at her, smiling amiably. "That was a joke, but I don't mind. Anyway, let's continue with the tour, we want to get back before dark. You first, this time."
"Me? But I don't know where to go."
"Just pick either left or right and I'll guide you the rest of the way."
"Okay...um...right."
"After you, then."
Akari started to walk to the end locker, turning to the right. She walked through the smooth, white pillared archway through to a corridor, coming to a sudden stop. Akihiko stumbled into her from behind.
"S-Sorry, Akari."
"That's okay. It was my fault for stopping so suddenly."
"Not at all...it's like fate wants us to keep bumping into each other," he chuckled.
Akari forced a giggle. "I-Is that so..."
Akihiko stepped next to her and tilted his head in her direction. "It seems that way, doesn't it?"
"Heh, just a little," she agreed, trying to make an effort to relax too but failed miserably and did the complete opposite.
"Akari," he started, sounding concerned. She looked into his eyes when he said her name. He wore a serious expression. "You shouldn't be so nervous. I know it's hard, believe me...I'm nervous too."
"Senpai...I-I mean…um, Akihiko..."
"Don't worry. I'm sure we're both trying our best. Besides, we're going to be living together so we'll have to get used to being around each other sooner or later."
"But I-"
"Akari, you worry far too much. C'mon, there's a lot to see. I'm so glad there's no one about today." Akari silently agreed and looked around. Akihiko started to walk down the corridor. "To your left are the home economics and science classrooms and the laboratory. To your right are the classrooms for music and art."
Akari slowly followed him, looking at the notice boards for each classroom as she passed them. She noticed a physics section of the science board and stopped to take in more detail. There was a poster showing a long equation with an article and complicated diagram to accompany it.
"That's definitely a senior's work," she quietly muttered in awe.
"What's caught your eye?" Akihiko wondered, appearing next to her and taking a look at the poster. He groaned when he saw it and sighed.
Akari looked at him. "Is something wrong?"
"That's my poster. I didn't really want it to be put on the board." He started walking towards the end of the corridor. "This way, I'll show you the sport halls."
Akari decided not to ask why he didn't want his poster on the board and followed him obediently around the corner. To her surprise, he wasn't there. There were some stairs to her right and some doors leading outside right in front of her, so she took a guess and went through the doors. The sun was shining brightly just as it was before they entered the school. It reflected on the shiny leaves of a small persimmon tree; but the stone path that led to the sport halls was empty. There was no sign of Akihiko.
"Akihiko?" she wondered aloud, slowly turning around in a circle to scan the area.
"Akari!"
Akari jumped at the voice calling her name. "Senpai?"
"I thought I'd lost you. Thank goodness you only went this far." Akihiko walked on ahead. "Let's go, it's almost five o'clock."
"Really! But I-"
"Time flies when you're having fun, right?" Akihiko smiled happily at her and walked through the sliding door to the sport halls. "I expect you'll be joining one of these clubs."
Akari walked through the door too. "Um...I'm not so good with sports..."
"That's why you train."
"But I'm not fit enough to-"
"We could train together."
"There isn't a girls boxing club, so we'd be doing different things-"
"Not for the basics. Besides, you said you're not fit. I could help you."
Akari giggled. "Thank you, Akihiko. You're so kind."
Akihiko blushed. "N-Not at all, it would be my pleasure. I don't want you to miss out on joining a sports club just because you don't think you're fit enough and when I can help you with training."
She nervously scuffed a shoe. "I heard there's a tennis club."
"Yeah, that's the entrance to the field where practice is held. Do you like tennis?"
"Um, actually yes, I do. But like I said, I'm not fit-"
"It doesn't matter, I'll help you. You've got no excuses, Akari." Akihiko smirked triumphantly. "It's settled. We can start training together tomorrow, if you like."
"Tomorrow?" Akari repeated in surprise.
"Oh, are you busy?"
"No...it's just- um, yes, I mean yes-"
"Don't try and get out of it. Have faith in yourself. You've got me to help you and the sooner we start the better."
She nodded. "All right...but where will we train?"
"Well...the clubs don't start until the twenty-fourth, so we can probably use the gym. That also gives us just under three weeks." Akihiko crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. "More importantly, what are you going to wear?"
"Um..." Akari hadn't thought of that. "M-My gym clothes...?"
They blushed together. "I guess that'll do."
"What about you?"
"Oh, I usually just wear shorts for boxing, so..."
Together they blushed even more. "Maybe I should go shopping for some other clothes to train in..."
"Good idea. I know a great sports shop that's on the way back to the dorm. We could stop by."
"S-Sounds good."
On their way back through the school, Akihiko pointed out the directions to the Faculty Office, library, nurse's office and other classrooms, but the rest of the journey to the sports shop was silent. Neither Akihiko nor Akari said anything; Akihiko felt a little uncomfortable about having to see Akari in her gym clothes and Akari likewise towards him, except stronger.
"Oh, this is it," Akihiko announced suddenly, making Akari jump. "Sorry, did I scare you?"
Akari smiled timidly. She nodded and quickly walked into the shop. Akihiko chuckled quietly to himself, following her inside where it smelled strongly of new tennis balls. The shock of the scent made Akari suddenly cough and struggle to breathe.
"Akari!"
"I'm-" she started but had to take a deep, wheezy breath. "I'm-"
"Are you okay!" he exclaimed, wrapping an arm around her. "Try and breathe slowly."
His soft grasp on her shoulder actually made the situation worse. She was already finding it hard to breathe because of the smell, but Akihiko's touch just made her nervous, too.
"I'm-" she choked, but her breath caught in her chest and she coughed again.
"Don't try and speak, just concentrate on breathing."
"But I-"
"Please, Akari. It'll make it worse. Close your eyes."
"My...eyes...?" she said croakily; before anything else could be said, her eyes closed and her body felt heavy.
Akihiko was now holding her up. "Akari! Tell me you're still with me."
After a few deep breaths, her breathing had become much calmer. "L-Let's go..."
As she spoke, she put her weight back onto her legs and turned around but they were shaking too much to hold the rest of her body her up. Akihiko picked her up easily, holding her tight and started to walk out of the shop.
"We're going to the dorm. We'll come back tomorrow if you're well enough and pick some clothes before training."
"N-No, Aki…hiko-"
"Akari, think about what just happened. You could hardly breathe."
"I'm okay now..." she whispered hoarsely after falling silent for a while in defeat. "You can put me down."
"And risk letting you run back to the shop to prove you're fine, only to find the same thing happens again?"
Akari was silent because she knew he was right, but was also surprised at how quickly he'd picked up on her stubbornness. Regardless, she struggled to get free; this, however, led to Akihiko chuckling and tightening his grip on her. She squealed and started to tickle him.
"N-No- A-Akari!" he said through laughter.
She absentmindedly stopped tickling him, distracted by his laugh. He stopped laughing and got his breath back instantly; but before she could realise any of this, Akihiko put her down. She stood there like a statue, feeling nervous about what he was going to do next.
"You'll pay for that," he informed her with an evil smirk.
"I'm sorry, sen- Akihiko," she stuttered, quickly correcting herself and stepping backwards. She didn't want him to have any more reasons to get payback.
Akihiko paced towards her until she backed into a wall. Akari looked to her left. The street didn't look familiar and when she looked to her right she realised she was trapped; if she ran, she'd get lost and if she stayed put Akihiko would surely get revenge. He chuckled lightly at her helplessness. Akari's heart thumped heavily at his closeness and she turned her head away as he put his hands against the wall on either side of her waist; Akihiko had no idea that this was a flirtatious move.
"You're not very good at planning an escape route, are you?"
Akari shook her head in defeat. "No..."
He smirked devilishly. "Seems like you're trapped."
She giggled anxiously."W-We should get going before it gets dark."
"You're right. I'll get my revenge another time." Akihiko let his arms drop back to his side. He started to walk away and she began to follow, but suddenly stopped to face her. Without saying a word, he grabbed her hand tight enough so that she couldn't escape and started walking again, not realising that this was making Akari now wonder about his intentions.
"Um, Akihiko?"
"Yes, Akari?"
She couldn't bring herself to ask him. For a minute they walked in silence down a long street lined with houses.
"Is something wrong?"
"I-I was just wondering..."
Akihiko waited patiently and led her around a corner. They reached the end of another street and crossed the road to the next.
"Um...I was wondering why...you held my hand."
"I refuse to let you risk hurting yourself."
Akari blushed and obediently continued down the street with him. They soon arrived at a tall building with a signpost outside reading 'Iwatodai Dormitory'. He finally let her hand go and went up the steps, taking a key from his pocket.
"C'mon, let's go inside."
She just watched him, debating whether to run or not but the sun was starting to set and she was curious of the time so she pulled out her phone and checked it. It was nearly six o'clock. Akari didn't want to annoy Akihiko by going against his wishes, but she didn't feel like she belonged there...it was all too soon and she was having second thoughts about her decision to start a new life in Japan.
"Akari, what are you doing?"
Her heart skipped a beat and she felt a sudden whoosh of butterflies in her stomach, jumping nervously at his call. He was holding the door open and looking down at her from the top of the steps. She stood at the bottom and appeared to be frozen.
"N-Nothing!"
"Then come inside, I'll show you around the dorm."
Akari made an uneasy chuckle. "Oh, I just remembered there's something I need to do!"
"Akari...don't lie to me."
"I'm sorry, Akihiko..." she said quietly, nervously walking up the steps and through the door.
He stepped inside after her and closed the door behind him, making sure it was locked. Akari watched with trepidation, wondering if she'd get a key.
"You won't be getting a key tonight, I'm afraid," he informed her as if he'd read her thoughts.
She eyed the key anxiously."Why not?"
"The other students and I agreed it would be safer for you to stay here at nighttimes and since I don't trust that you won't wander off, I'm going to give you your key when I believe you'll see sense to stay inside when it's dark."
Akari swallowed nervously and wondered why he was treating her like a child. "I'm sorry that I've made you feel like you can't trust me..."
"Don't worry. I'm just making sure you're safe. It's not exactly because I don't trust you."
Akari wasn't sure she really understood. "Okay."
"Good. So, do you want me to show you around or will you be okay?"
"Oh, I'm sure I'll be fine from here, it can't be that hard to get lost in the dorm, can it?"
"I guess not," Akihiko agreed. "Your room is on the third floor; it's the one at the end by the window on your right. My room is on the second floor, if you ever need me."
"T-Thanks," she said timidly after he mentioned his bedroom.
He gave her a friendly smile and started to walk across the lounge. Akari bit her lip and stayed put, not really sure what to do. She didn't want to go to her bedroom at the same time as he did as she was so nervous, but felt ridiculously stupid just standing there. Akihiko put one foot on a stair and grabbed the handrail, pausing to look over his shoulder.
"Are you sure you don't want me to show you to your room?"
"No, don't worry!"
He let go of the rail and turned around. "You look like you don't know what to do with yourself. C'mon, it's this way."
Akari made her way across the lounge, over to where he waited on the first step. He turned around and began walking up the stairs, but she didn't know where to walk; she felt too embarrassed to walk behind him, yet felt that next to him was inappropriate so she decided to walk on the opposite side of the staircase a few steps behind him and made her way up slowly compared to his quick trot.
"My room is just over there," he informed her, pointing to the right after reaching the top. He looked to the left expecting Akari to be there, but she was a couple of steps behind. "All of the doors have nameplates on them so you'll be able to find it easily. Your room is up those stairs and the farthest door to your right. Do you need me to take you there?"
"It seems easy enough to find..."
Akihiko made an unsure murmur. "All right..."
Akari bowed. "Thank you..."
"Hey, we're friends now, right? There's no need to be so formal." He walked down the corridor to his door and left Akari at the staircase. "See you later."
She returned his pleasant smile and watched him go into his bedroom. Once he'd closed the door, she looked around anxiously. It was all new to her. She'd never lived in a dorm before so she was unsure how everything worked. After deciding to find her bedroom, she found another lounge area at the top of the next staircase, which was similar to the one on the floor below. As she walked along the corridor of bedrooms, she noticed the first two read 'Mitsuru' and 'Yukari' and immediately assumed this was the girls' floor. The next two bedrooms had blank nameplates and so did the two by the wall.
"If I remember correctly...the one on the right is mine..." she muttered to herself, grabbing the handle. It wouldn't open. "Um...or maybe it was the left."
Her luck was no better trying the other door. She decided to try the one on her right again, hoping it was just a little stuck but she just couldn't open it. After taking a deep breath she put all of her strength into twisting the handle; all she succeeded in doing was hurting her hand.
Meanwhile in Akihiko's bedroom, he was lying on his bed and staring at the ceiling with his hands behind his head. He couldn't stop worrying about Akari. He sat up and leaned his elbows on his legs, resting his chin in his hands when he heard a bang that sounded like it came from upstairs.
"What the...?" he muttered, looking upwards and staring for a few seconds. Another bang emitted from the floor above.
Akihiko reached the top of the next staircase to see Akari sat on the floor resting against the door, breathing deeply. He rushed over and kneeled down in front of her.
"Are you okay? What happened? I heard banging-"
"I was trying to get into my room..." she said breathlessly. "This is the right one, isn't it?"
"Oh, yeah, it is. Why are you so out of breath?"
"It won't open. I tried turning the handle both ways and the door opposite this one, but both of them are stuck."
"So what was the banging?"
"I..." Akari started, blushing. "I tried to open it by throwing myself at the door a few times..."
"Ah...I may have been at fault here...no, I am at fault here...um...the doors are locked. Everyone gets a key to their room. I...forgot to give you yours downstairs when I locked the front door. Hold on." Akihiko stood up and rummaged in his pocket for the keys, pulling out a keychain and picked through them with a frown. "It would seem that Mitsuru has your key. Um..."
"Oh, that's okay! I can sleep on a sofa."
"Don't be silly," Akihiko said immediately in incredulity. "You can have my bed tonight; I'll sleep on the floor."
"Akihiko, me sleeping on the sofa is far better than you sleeping on the floor."
"I don't care for one night."
Akari assumed she wasn't going to get out of this one either, but didn't say anything in case there was the off chance that he decided to change his mind.
"C'mon, I'll show you my room." He stood up and reached a hand out. Akari took it and he helped her up, leading her down the stairs. He stopped at his door and froze as he reached for the handle. "You'll have to understand I've never had a girl in here and excuse my embarrassment."
Akari couldn't see his face but figured that he was blushing. "Senpai-"
"Please, I prefer it when you call me A-Akihiko," he said quietly, stumbling on his own name.
Akihiko closed his eyes and opened the door, stepping inside. Akari followed and he nervously watched her enter. It smelled strongly of his cologne, which she discovered she liked and had thus heightened her temperature and anxiety levels. She stopped in her tracks and her feet urged her to leave, but her mind told her to stay; either way, it was too late as he closed the door behind her and grabbed spare covers from his chest of drawers, throwing them on the floor next to his bed.
"Akihiko, I don't think I can let you-"
"It's not your decision. I'm going to sleep on the floor even if you don't take my bed for the night," he told her with a satisfied smirk.
Akari opened her mouth to talk but nothing came out. Instead she looked at him and smiled nervously, feeling no choice but to sleep in his bed that night to make him sleeping on the floor worthwhile. She sat on his bed and rested her hands on her knees. It only took a few seconds for Akihiko to join her.
"Given in yet?"
Akari nodded. "I suppose so...I'd feel bad if you slept on the floor for nothing."
"Good," he said, sounding satisfied as he let out a sigh. "You are very silly."
"Why…?"
"Oh, because you're so nervous. You should try and calm down. It makes me nervous too."
"I'm sorry, senpai..."
He looked at her from the corner of his eyes suspiciously with his face still facing straight ahead. "Senpai?"
"Huh...!" Akari gasped. "I'm not your senpai..."
"No, you're not."
Turning to face her with his head slightly tilted, Akihiko smirked. He leaned close to her; as he did so, Akari scooted away until she hit the wall. She lifted her legs onto his bed, pushing herself towards the other wall. She was now trapped; Akihiko noticed this immediately though. He chuckled and pounced at her, tickling her stomach softly. She giggled, helplessly trying to stop him but he grabbed her light body, laying her down and pinned her arms to his bed with his strong grasp. Her blushing had ceased due to the distraction of being tickled, but it soon returned as they just laid there staring into each other's eyes. Akihiko's face grinned almost evilly, making Akari scared. She smiled nervously in return, averting her eyes to his chest before closing them tight and wriggling, trying to escape from his grasp. Akari knew she wouldn't be able to break free and so did Akihiko; he was having fun and something told him she was too.
"Promise me you'll try hard to stop calling me senpai," Akihiko asked, keeping Akari firmly pinned to his bed.
Akari had finally given up on escaping. She looked at him with nervousness in her expression and nodded. Akihiko let go of her arms and sat himself up on his bed, crossing his legs.
"What do you usually do after school?" Akari asked quietly, quickly edging her legs over the edge of his bed and brushing down her dress.
"Oh, I usually train; either I use my punch bag here, or go to the boxing club. Sometimes I take a jog, too."
"Sounds like fun," she said enthusiastically. "Why don't you go ahead?"
"Um..." Akihiko muttered.
"You can show me what I'm up against."
"You're not really up against anything..."
Akari wondered why Akihiko was so hard on himself. "Why don't you show me how strong you are so I can see how strong I need to become to keep up with you?"