Hey guys, this is a Hotaru- Ruka oneshot! Please enjoy!
Summary:
Hotaru has always been the calm, stoic-faced and emotionless member of the group. She was always the strong-willed and independent girl. The Ice Queen. The girl who's most likely to never fall in love. But is she really? And what if a certain Ruka Nogi tries to win her heart again? Will he be able to succeed?
How to Reach Your Frozen Heart
*Sometimes people put up walls not to keep other out but to see who cares enough to break them down.
"Come on! We've been practicing so many times already! Why. Can't. You. Still. Swim?" Subaru Imai yelled through gritted teeth as he shot his younger sister an evil look.
"Well obviously because you're a lousy teacher." Hotaru Imai calmly retorted, not even flinching as her older brother glared down on her.
Unlike most sessions in gym class, swimming was the only class where both the girls and boys were taught together. And unfortunately for Hotaru, the class that she hated most had to be taught by none other than her older brother, Subaru Imai.
Everyone was looking at their direction, but Hotaru just ignored them. After all, no one would ever dare cross the line when it came to Hotaru Imai. Unless they wanted to die an early death.
"Ugh! This is becoming pointless!" Subaru raked his hands through his hair, completely irritated.
"That's why I keep telling you to let me skip swimming class." Hotaru pointed out, much to her older brother's dismay.
"There is no way in hell would I ever do that." Subaru grumbled. He stared across the room, looking for someone.
"What the heck are you planning to do this time?" Hotaru demanded, also getting irritated. Her brother was just too persistent even for his own good.
Subaru ignored her and continued to look through the room. Finally, he caught sight of the person he was looking for.
"Ruka Nogi, I need you to come here immediately!" He called out.
Hotaru immediately glared at Subaru. He wouldn't actually dare do this to her would he? But somehow, she knew for a fact that her older brother was capable of doing this. He was already desperate enough. But this was too much. He was going to make her life a living hell!
"What is it Imai-sensei?" Ruka asked as he approached the Imai siblings. He stopped on his tracks when he saw Hotaru, who immediately avoided his gaze.
Subaru, on the other hand, grinned mischievously.
"Since you're my little sister's partner, I'm assigning you to accompany her during swimming practices after school. If she can manage to even float by the end of the week, I'll give you additional points for your final grade in gym class as extra credit." He said.
Ruka nodded in agreement. Unexpectedly, Hotaru snorted in disbelief.
"To the point of bribing other people into doing your duties." She grumbled under her breath, but still loud enough for some of her other classmates to hear.
Subaru cleared his throat.
"I'm not bribing anyone. Frankly, as partners, it is both of your responsibilities to help each other especially during critical times. And obviously, you are in a critical situation. Unless of course, you would rather want to receive a failing grade instead?" He challenged.
Hotaru didn't bother comment. Instead, she turned around and walked away. Suddenly, the bell rang.
"Okay, class dismissed!" Subaru called out.
Everyone immediately got out of the pool and headed to the locker rooms to change. Just as Hotaru was walking towards that direction, Ruka grabbed her arm.
"Hotaru, are you going to be practicing later after class?" He asked.
Hotaru turned to look at him.
"No, I won't be. I'll be visiting Mikan later this afternoon." She kept a stoic expression as she spoke to him.
"Oh, I see." Ruka let go of her arm. "Well, I'll see you later then." He said, as he turned around and walked towards the other direction.
Hotaru could still feel Ruka's hold on her arm. His hand was warm, just like him. A part of her wished that the two of them were able to talk to each other longer. But she immediately brushed the thought away and went into the locker room.
People always called Hotaru Imai cold-hearted, stone-faced and emotionless. People named her a devil with an angel's face. People always say that she's the girl who will never fall in love. But that's not really the case. Hotaru once fell in love. ONCE. But everything had broken apart between her and that person. But still, that didn't mean that Hotaru stopped loving him. Of course she didn't. And that guy was none other than Ruka Nogi.
It has been almost two years ever since the two of them went their separate ways. But, Hotaru could still remember the times when the two of them were together. Those were some of the happiest times in her life. But that was all over now. She also couldn't help but remember the day when their relationship fell apart and how it ended. It almost felt like it had only happened the day before. The wounds that it left her were still too fresh.
When she and Ruka found out that Mikan and Natsume had broken up, they both confronted their best friends, hoping that they could help in restoring back their relationship. But typically, both of them ended up fighting over which of their best friends was right. Of course, Hotaru was on Mikan's side, she always was. But what surprised her most was the fact that Ruka continuously defended Natsume even though it really was his fault (well, technically, it was really Luna's fault although they didn't know it at first). And in the end, they also broke up.
The break-up was still a rough issue for Hotaru. That's why she didn't tell anyone, even Mikan. She didn't want to let the other's know how much it affected her.
"Good afternoon, Imai-san." The receptionist greeted her as she passed through the halls of the hospital wing later that afternoon.
Hotaru let out a small smile and nodded in acknowledgement. Just as she was about to enter Mikan's room, she completely stopped on her tracks. Sitting on a chair beside Mikan's bed was none other than Natsume Hyuuga. He was holding her best friend's hand tightly and cautiously, watching for any sign of movement from her.
Mikan was still unconscious. She has been for the past three days since that dreadful incident. Hotaru and the others always visited her, keeping track of her current condition. Fortunately, she was stable, and her wounds were already healing.
As Hotaru looked at the two people in the room, she couldn't help but feel like she was intruding. But somehow, she also felt a stab of envy when she looked at Natsume's expression. There was deep love in his eyes. Deep love for her best friend. Hotaru knew how much Mikan and Natsume loved each other. It was obvious from the way they looked and reacted to each other. They were completely in love.
Fighting the urge to sigh out loud, Hotaru turned around and walked away. She could visit Mikan later. For now, she'd give her and Natsume the privacy that they needed. After all, she had swimming practices waiting for her.
She went to the school's swimming pool, which was only a room away from the gym. She quickly changed to her swimsuit and approached the pool.
Well, it's now or never.
She jumped into the water.
She was okay for the next few minutes. At least she was able to float. But about twenty minutes later, she felt a tightening pain around her muscles. She instantly knew that she was having cramps. She was already having difficulty in staying on the surface. Unfortunately, the pain overwhelmed her and she sank into the waters.
She didn't realize that someone had saved her, not until she felt strong arms pull her out of the pool and warm moist lips touching hers. She immediately coughed out water. When she finally opened her eyes, she found Ruka's face looking down on her, his expression frantic and full of worry. Hotaru sat up.
"What are you doing here?" She managed to ask, although her throat was constricting with pain. She avoided his gaze.
Ruka ignored her question and grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to look at him. Hotaru couldn't help but be surprise at Ruka's expression. Ruka Nogi was angry. Absolutely angry.
"What the hell do you think you were doing?" He demanded. "Don't you realize how dangerous it was for you to be practicing alone? What do you think would've happened if I didn't find you and save you in time?" He continued to yell, his fingers digging deep into her shoulders.
Hotaru didn't know how to respond. She was still at a loss for words. After all, Ruka never reacted this way before. Never had he ever gotten this mad. She flinched.
Ruka must have realized what he was doing, because he immediately let go of her shoulders. The two of them looked away from each other.
Minutes passed.
"I'm…sorry for my outburst." Ruka finally spoke up, but his gaze still avoided Hotaru's.
"How did you find me?" Hotaru asked, although it was more like a whisper.
"I don't really know." Ruka admitted. "I just had a feeling that something was wrong and I had to come to the pool immediately." He said.
He had a feeling? What does that even mean? Hotaru couldn't help but ponder on the thought. She didn't realize that she was actually cold, not until her teeth started to chatter. Ruka immediately noticed and stood up.
"Come on, we should get dried up before any of us can catch a cold." He urged as he held his hand out to her. Hotaru couldn't help but notice how warm Ruka's hand was. The two of them went to the locker rooms.
"Here, use this to dry up." Ruka said, as he handed Hotaru a towel. "And you better change." He instructed. Hotaru didn't bother give retorts or answer back. Instead, she gingerly took the towel and closed the door of the girls' locker room.
Immediately, her legs gave up under her and she slid to the floor. Subconsciously, she touched her lips, still remembering the feel of Ruka's lips over hers. Yes, it was only CPR, but still, it's been almost two years since they've last kissed each other. And it has almost been two years since they've broken apart.
And as if on cue, the memories came crashing back.
A few weeks later…
"Imai-san, will you please dance with me?" Hajime Yamashita of Class 3- A asked.
Hotaru, who was busy eating lobster from the food table, immediately gave him an icy glare that made him flinch.
"No. So, leave me alone." She said between bites.
Losing his wits, Hajime immediately ran the other way.
It was the night of the Alice Academy Dance, and unlike the other girls who were dancing with their dates and enjoying themselves, Hotaru chose to stay beside the food tables, munching on crabs, lobsters and shrimps. Since her idiot of a best friend wasn't attending the dance, she planned to spend the rest of the night eating through the buffet.
But unfortunately…
"Cool Blue Sky, please dance with me!" A voice spoke up from behind her. Hotaru reluctantly turned around to face the intruder.
And standing in front of her was none other than the infamous Hayate Matsudaira, President of the We Love Hotaru Imai Fanclub. He's been pestering Hotaru ever since the two of them accidentally bumped into each other in the halls during the past year. He claims that he was crazily in love with her (stressing out the crazy part) and kept insisting on calling her Cool Blue Sky, whoever that was. And now he was more annoying than ever.
"Leave. Me. Alone." Hotaru said between gritted teeth. She immediately turned around and walked away. But unfortunately for her, several members of her fanclub surrounded her.
"Hotaru-sama, please dance with us!" They all exclaimed. Hotaru shot them with the baka cannon, but none of them even budged. So, she had no choice but to retreat.
She ran as fast as she could, hoping that her pursuers would give up soon enough. Unfortunately, none of them did. She managed to hide herself behind some bushes and the obsessed weirdos finally lost her trail. She breathed in a sigh of relief. Suddenly, someone came running towards her hiding place. And it was none other than Ruka Nogi.
"Hotaru?" He asked in surprise when he saw her. But before Hotaru was able to respond, Ruka signaled her to keep quiet. "Shh, there are some girls chasing after me and I don't want them finding me here."
And right on cue, they heard frantic screaming fangirls, all calling out Ruka's name. Fortunately, they ran towards the other direction. A few minutes later, when everything had finally quieted down, Ruka let out a sigh. He sat down next to Hotaru.
"Geez, Natsume suddenly disappears and I end up getting chased by crazy fangirls." He muttered. He looked at Hotaru. "What are you doing here Hotaru?" He asked.
"Same as you." Hotaru grumbled under her breath.
Ruka chuckled.
"It's so typical that whenever Mikan and Natsume aren't around, we end up getting targeted." He said between laughs.
Hotaru let out a small smile. Suddenly, colorful fireworks started blowing up in the sky. The two of them stared at the night sky.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Ruka asked.
Hotaru nodded in agreement, completely mesmerized by the magnificence of the fireworks. Only when she turned to look at Ruka did she realize that he was actually looking at her.
"You know what?" Ruka smiled. "This reminds me of something that happened a few years ago."
Hotaru didn't speak, she just listened to him.
"We were in middle school back then, and we were also having a festival." Ruka continued, glancing back at the heavens. "I have always disliked you when we were still kids, because you always took embarrassing photos of me and sold them to our classmates." He chuckled. Hotaru couldn't help but smile as well. "But as we grew up and got to know each other, I realized how good and loyal a friend you were. Especially to those closest to you." He finally looked at her. "And during the summer festival of our second year of middle school, when I saw you under the fireworks, I realized that I was actually falling in love with you." He admitted, his light blue eyes serious.
Hotaru stared at him in surprise. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Unable to respond to his confession, she immediately looked away.
"But after we got together, we broke up a year and a half later, didn't we?" She reminded him.
Ruka sighed grudgingly.
"I know that. But, I really regret what I did to you Hotaru. To us. I couldn't believe that I have let a stupid argument break us up." He said repentantly. "Because I realized that I was still in love with you, even until now." He confessed.
Without her even realizing it, tears started to flow from Hotaru's eyes. She quickly wiped them away, not wanting Ruka to see. This was so not like her! But she found that the tears wouldn't stop.
"Hey, are you okay?" Ruka touched her cheek. Hotaru instantly slapped his hand away.
"Stupid!" She cried. "Stupid, stupid, stupid! I can't believe that you had me end up crying like this!" She yelled.
Ruka managed to let out a chuckle.
"So, does that mean that you feel the same?" He grinned.
"Isn't it already obvious? Yes, I love you too, stupid." Hotaru retorted, despite her tears.
Ruka just smiled and leaned down to kiss her. It was, in fact, the best kiss that they'd ever had. But their moment was spoiled when voices spoke up from behind them.
"It's Cool Blue Sky! Quick! We have to catch her before we lose her again." Hayate yelled towards the group of fanboys behind him.
"There's Ruka-sama! We have to get him to dance with us before the festival ends!" Chikako Shinobu, a student from Class 2- C, ordered towards the group of fangirls with her.
"Come on. Let's leave before the wolves surround us." Ruka grinned, holding out his hand.
Hotaru immediately took hold of it, and they ran away from their pursuers together, laughing along the way. Hotaru tightened her grip on Ruka's hand. She would never let go of this hand. Never again.
Because Ruka Nogi had managed to break down the walls that surrounded her and was able to reach her heart.
Well, here's the first oneshot of the sequel! What do you guys think? Reviews are greatly appreciated!