"OH NO! TENMA'S SISTER YOU GOTTA HELP MEEEEEEEEEEE!," bellowed Harima who grasped Yakumo tightly in middle of class.
"There's no time to waste Tenma's sister, I need you now," he reiterated in a grave and imperious tone.
Yakumo's cheeks reddened along with her classmates.
"Ok, Kenji, my classes are done for today… but I can't stay over this time I have an exam tomorrow morning so I have to get some sleep," she quietly responded.
Suspense built as the two left the room and the door closed behind them, then the dams broke.
"Did you hear that, she used his first name! Ho Ho Ho, Harima! I never knew you were so bold, maybe some day you can get him to talk to you like that too, Eri!" Mikoto shouted to her friend who was trembling with jealousy .
The rest rest classroom erupted into chaos. Jaws dropped among the boys twitching with envy, and gossip spread like wildfire among the girls as they all struggled to comprehend what had just transpired. "They're gonna bang yo," whispered Akira to herself in the corner holding up a desiccated and deflated Hanai.
"It sure is a nice day today, hello Mr. butterfly!" exclaimed Tenma who had missed the event entirely.
Now arriving at Harima's apartment, the two comfortably walked through the door to see Ms. Itoko watching the nightly news. "Damn Harima, that's the third time this week this girls come over. She's going to get pregnant if you don't slow it down a little."
"What the hell Iko? you know it's not like that!"
She shot him an incredulous look and turned to Yakumo.
"He's not forcing you to do anything you don't want to is he?"
Beet red now, Yakumo responded, "No Ms. Itoko, I just come over to help with his manga and that's all. We're just friends…" she trailed off.
"Is that so," she shot Harima another look, " well then please go off and do whatever it is you do in that bedroom for hours on end."
That's all the approval they needed to scoot out of there and into their bedroom refuge. They were free in that room to enjoy each other, to explore one another, to fall in love. Neither would acknowledge this of course, and both maintain the ruse of friendship. But in their subtle actions: the meeting of the eyes, the accidental touch of the hands, the silent gestures of admiration, they both knew the truth. Harima was slow to realize that his affection for the little sister had entirely eclipsed his interest in the older. In his manga he now told stories of a beautiful heroine: tall, black hair, with a calm and kind demeanor. It took Yakumo a couple sessions to notice the difference, not only in the manga, but in the way Harima treated her. She was no longer just an editor or a way to get close to Tenma; she was the subject now, the object of all his attention, and she knew it.
"Kenji, do you think this character could use a little more dialogue? right now she seems a little underdeveloped," stated Yakumo.
"Well that character is supposed to be the 'b-i-t-c-h,' of the story, so she really doesn't need to take up that much speaking time Tenma's Sis-"
"Please call me Yakumo!" she interrupted at nearly shouting volume which took Harima completely by surprise. In the heat of the moment Yakumo had leaned over the table inches away from Harima's face.
"Ok...Yakumo," he replied, then putting his lips to hers and breaking the nearly unbearable tension that had built up over the weeks of their companionship. After a few moments of ecstasy, the two parted and took their places again on opposite sides of the table. Blushing intensely, they sat awkwardly in silence waiting for the other to speak. Cutting the thick silence, Harima suggests,"Well, uh, I guess we better finish this manga right Yakumo? I have a deadline to meet after all, haha..."
"You're absolutely right Kenji...lets do our best."
Upon completion of the Manga, the pair adjourned to Yakumo's home through the city brilliantly lit by the stars in the sky and smattering of streetlights.
"Thanks for the help Yakumo..." commented Harima, visibly anxious now about how to leave with this girl.
"It was my pleasure Kenji...and thanks for walking me home,"
"It was no problem," muttered Harima, but he didn't walk away. They both stood there staring into each others eyes, wishing that they wouldn't have to part, and wishing that they could express what they meant to one another. Suddenly, Harima leant in for a quick kiss and then darted off with a wild, goofy grin on his face. "See you at school," he teased skipping off into the night.
Yakumo stood there watching him run until he was out of sight. Then, after gracefully righting her hair, she turned her head up towards the sky. She wanted to remember the cool breeze, the dazzling configuration of stars, how she felt in that very instant; and then after she felt fully content, she went inside with the same wild, goofy grin.