Hello Sunshine!
stilted-stylus

A/N: An experimental chapter fic based on and inspired by all the decent shoujo manga I've ever read and all the good Asian dramas I've ever watched.

Again, here are the translations for names just in case you can't figure it out.

Hiromi: Hilary
Kyouju: Kenny
Takao: Tyson

Anyways, enjoy!

Chapter One: Roomates

"Are you absolutely sure you don't want to move in with me and my Aunt, Hiromi? 'Cause I know she wouldn't mind and we've got a lot of space…"

"I'm sure, Kyouju, for the fifth time." The brunette rolled her eyes smilingly.

"But I don't think this neighborhood's the safest place for a young girl to be living all by herself…! I mean, did you see that guy we walked by right now?" The bespectacled boy pushed, a slight tremor in his voice. "Talk about menacing!"

"…That was a movie poster, Kyouju." Hiromi laughed, slowing down when her eyes caught sight of the brick building. "Apt Apartments. This is the place."

"…It looks a little…run-down to me…" He muttered, gaze roving over the worn beige walls and the one window frame on the third floor, hanging by a single hinge.

"Yeah." She admitted, looking to the photograph in her hands, "I guess the picture's a little dated."

She shrugged good naturedly, as she walked ahead, pushing through the front doors, "But c'mon, Kyouju! The landlord here gave me a crazy good deal! I mean, 1 bath, 2 bedrooms, plus cozy living space and kitchen complete with marble counter! All for 700 a month!" She waved sheepishly at the doorman, who looked bemused with her outburst.

Kyouju warily followed her up the stairs, muttering under his breath, "Yeah, because you can haggle like a madwoman. And I can't believe he fell for your I'm-a-sad-little-girl-with-no-place-to-go routine!"

The ruby-eyed girl giggled, "It's part of my charm."

They finally came to room 3F and Hiromi quickly fished out the key, excitement bursting at her figurative seams. "This is it."

She slowly, dramatically, inserted the key in the knob, gave a slight turn, waiting anxiously for the light 'click!' before—

"Oh would you just get on with it already?"

"…Can't you even pretend to be excited for me, Kyouju?"

He sighed, a little amused. "No."

And she pushed the door open.

They walked tentatively in, absorbing what was to be Hiromi's apartment for at least three entire years.

"I guess…its okay." The boy consented, noting that the apartment looked a lot less shabby than the front.

"What are you talking about? This is perfect!" The girl squealed excitedly, taking in the white wall's decent paint job and the slight veneer of the hardwood. She hurried over to the kitchenette, opening the fridge, the drawers, the cupboards, with no obvious purpose but to help her register that everything there, from the lone light on the ceiling, to her promised marble counter, was hers.

"This is so great." Hiromi smiled, as she laid her head upon the gray kitchen surface, "You know how long I've wanted one of these counters? Now you can come over before school starts and I can cook you breakfast!"

Kyouju grinned slightly before adding, "And if you lived with my aunt and me, you could cook me breakfast everyday!"

Hiromi tossed him a dead panned look.

He exhaled a breath, "Look, Hiromi, the place is…great. Fine, I said it." He looked over to her, concern in his eyes, "It's just…I don't want to worry about you, y'know?"

The brunette smiled in turn, walking over to him, "Aww, Kyouju. You're my best friend. Worrying about me is kind of part of the job description." She gave him a hug, "Thanks, anyway. But I'll be fine. Didn't you once say I was the most capable individual you'd ever met?"

"…I said you were the most demanding individual I'd ever met."

She punched him lightly, laughing, "Same difference."

He cringed, rubbing his arm, "…Ow."

After Kyouju had left, Hiromi took care of the necessary arrangements before settling in. First, she called her overly-worried mother who did not approve of her moving out in the first place. (The only reason she had consented was because the school she was to be attending as a first year, Kashikoi High, was rather prestigious in Japan.)

Next she phoned said prestigious academy, confirming that she would be able to attend the first day of school.

Then, Hiromi contacted the movers, who were hauling over all her stuff from home tomorrow.

The girl, done with her phone for the time being, unpacked the duffel bag she'd brought along for her first night alone, unrolling the futon she'd borrowed from Kyouju's aunt.

Deciding she was hungry, she began to boil water for the pack of instant noodles that was to be her dinner. She then proceeded to the bathroom, so she could take a quick shower while the water boiled.

The night was going as smoothly as she had planned it before…she heard voices, and footsteps, and shuffling, near her front door. Her eyes widened a little, heart beginning to thump in her chest. As she clasped a hand to the beating muscle, she softly chided herself. Kyouju's paranoia must have been rubbing off on her.

Nonetheless, the noises grew nearer and her heart was pumping blood through her ears. She took in the light rasping of cloth against wood. Were they trying to get inside?

Quickly, she grabbed a towel, wrapping it around her damp form. She shivered and she knew it had more to do with fear than the sudden chill.

Hiromi, forcing determination and courage into her eyes, grasped the nearby plunger and exited the bathroom. Her grip was tight on the handle, and the only words ringing in her ears were Kyouju's: "But I don't think this neighborhood's the safest place for a young girl to be living all by herself…"

Slowly, she treaded through the hallway, footsteps light against the hardwood.

The voices were male, she could assume. …Robbers, maybe?

She waited nervously for them to pass, hoping her lock was good enough to hold them back, when—

click!

Hiromi gazed, horrified that the lock had come so easily undone. The voices were more audible now; "I told you I could get in…"

She calmed the shriek bubbling in her throat, gathering whatever courage she'd gained from her escapades with the Bladebreakers.

The door swung open, and before she could charge, she was met with overly-shocked, overly-familiar faces.

"Hiromi?!" burst none other than Kinomiya Takao on her doorstep.

"Takao?!" She screeched just as startled.

Another surprised, rather incredulous, "Hiromi?" followed soon after and Hiwatari Kai's face appeared through the door.

"Kai?!"

She took one last look at them before Takao spoke up, "…Why are you holding that plunger above your head?"

Hiromi exhaled a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding. "Kami-sama, you guys almost gave me a heart attack! What the heck are you doing here?" She put a hand on her hip, eyes suspicious.

"No, it should be what are you doing here?" He paused, reddening as his brown eyes cautiously slipped over her form, "…in a towel?"

The girl squeaked, turning an impossible shade of red. She quickly grabbed onto the edges of the white cloth, wrapping it even more tightly around her. "I…I asked first."

Kai grunted, motioning over to the bags in there hands, "We live here."

It took a second before his words could register.

Then, finally, "WHAAAAT?"

End

A/N: Yes, I am ending it there. –evil laugh-