To Love Ru

Partners In Love

Chapter 1 – Hero Kaozaki

My name is Hero Kaozaki. I'm a completely normal high school boy, with no idea what I want to do with my future. No plans, no expectations, nothing. My grades was decent, and I pulled through fine. No one expected any better of me, so I could live my life without fearing to let anyone down.

Normally, you'd expect that was a really good thing. But to me, it was horrible.

I wanted someone to set a limit for me to surpass. Because without it, I didn't feel like I could get any better. I mean, why get better if you didn't feel like you had to?

As to why I wanted to become better, there was a special someone's expectations I wanted to meet. I wanted to impress Yui Kotegawa.

Kotegawa was known in the entire school as the strictest person around. Being the head member for the disciplinary committee, she was a stickler for rules, but would often loosen up to her strict discipline whenever she was around friends.

She would seem like a very harsh and judging person, but she was really a very sweet and warm person to whoever she cared about.

I had learned that experience first hand, as I was already good friends with her, which I had been for a while now. I had personally felt her disciplinary wrath once about half a year ago, when she confiscated one of my handheld consoles.

I don't remember all the details, but somehow we ended up as really great friends after that. Though it's never been more than hanging out at school, or texting together whenever we were free. I had come to gain a deep respect for her. She appreciated discipline, and she made sure to have her homework done on time, and to the point, often being the top graded student in the class.

I deeply admired her determination to do her very best, and I wanted to learn from her. But we had never talked much about our grades whenever we hung out in-between classes, which surprised me to be completely honest.

I realized that I was in love with her a couple of weeks ago, when I caught myself staring at her when we ate our bentos together on the top of the school's roof. My heart had began pumping like crazy, and a shiver had ran along my spine when she looked up at me. I almost felt completely lost in her chocolate brown eyes, and I had blushed as I looked away, returning to my bento.

Since then I knew. I didn't know when the change happened, how or why it did. But I knew that somehow, I had fallen in love with Yui Kotegawa, the girl many of my male friends saw as one of the most inapproachable people in the school because of her personality.

Ever since then, I had been wondering how I should confess to her. As I walked down the hall that I day, I ran over my options once more.

"A card in her locker? No that's too corny" I mumbled quietly "Under the sakura trees? Nah, that's too overused"

I had ran over it again and again in my head for weeks. I just couldn't decide, and it was probably my nervousness that made me so indecisive. The possibilities were endless, and I thought it over again and again.

But now I had finally decided to just step up to her, and just ask her. No hesitation, no sway in willpower. I was just going to do it. And I was going to do it today.

Just as I tried to clear my thoughts and make sure I had thought about every possible solution, I suddenly bumped into someone. I looked up, and felt myself freeze up and turn pale as I realized it was Kotegawa.

"K-K-Kotegawa, I-I-I…."

My teeth were chattering, and my knees were trembling. I could feel my stomach turn around itself as my nervousness multiplied with a million, and my voice pretty much shrank into a squeak.

"Ah! Kaozaki! I was looking for you!" She said with a warm smile, brandishing her bento in front of me "It's lunch break, so I wanted to know if you wanted to eat lunch on the roof, like always?"

My teeth were chattering even more intensely than before, but I hesitantly nodded as I tried to pull my stuff together.

"Y-Yeah, sure. Sounds good"

Her smiled suddenly turned into a worried frown. She tilted her head a little bit as she studied my expression intently.

"Kaozaki, are you sick?" She asked with a frown "You know you should go home and rest if you are, so you don't inflict the rest of us"

I smiled internally at her strict tone. Behind her lecturing manner, there was a tint of worry behind her sentences, there always were. She had always wanted the best for her fellow students, no matter who it might be.

"N-No, I'm not sick at all" I mumbled quietly "I don't know what's wrong with me to be honest"

Her frown only deepened a little as she stepped forward and put her palm to my forehead. She hummed quietly in unsure consideration.

"You don't seem warm, but still" she mumbled quietly Have you been buttoning up your shirt properly, like I told you to?"

I chuckled quietly at her worried tone. She was almost like everyone's strict mother at times, making sure everyone were doing well, when at the same time making sure their discipline and work morale was at it's absolute best, though there was always the delinquent types who weren't really to save. Of course I wasn't like that, so I never clashed with her intensely.

"Well no, but still, it's high summer, right?" I said with a chuckle "You can't really catch a cold in such warm weather, right?"

"You'd be surprised how easily someone can get sick, Kaozaki" She said with a small smile "Then what's wrong if you're not sick?"

"I'm telling you, nothing's wrong" I said with a chuckle, our casual chat having brought me back to my senses, and to my more laidback mindset.

We walked by each other's side together until we reached the school buildings roof, and sat down at one of the benches there, and chat and eat our bentos like we always did.

In the end, I never managed to gather the courage and confess. I was depressed when I walked my way home. I packed up my things and set to head home, but when I walked through the quad, I heard a female voice call out to me.

"Hey! Hero!"

I looked back over my shoulder, and smiled softly as I realized it was Lala Deviluke, the infamous Devilukean alien princess, who was widely known in the entire school as the very first visitor from outer space. She had just appeared one day out of nowhere, and began to live in Rito Yuuki's house. Speaking of him, that same guy was walking beside her as they approached me.

Rito Yuuki was a pretty normal guy, though he was infamous for his infinite streak of clumsiness and unlucky incidents, often being chased through the quad by an angry female.

Them and I had spoken on various locations, and had even hanged out in the same crowds a couple of times, though I never made much of a deal out of the fact that Lala was an alien princess. She was still a living conscious being, so I didn't want to treat her like some kind of celebrity.

"Hey guys" I said with a small smile "What's up?"

"You just seem a little down, Hero" Rito said with a concerned frown "Are you depressed or something?"

I blushed a little as I nodded and sighed. I wasn't really in the mood to talk about today's failure, so I sighed and tried dismissing the subject as just a small thing.

"No, it's nothing guys" I said with a false smile "I'm just unsure what I want to do about things"

"Huh? Things?" Lala asked with a confused expression "What do you mean?"

"That doesn't matter" I said with a shake of my head "It's nothing important. How are you guys anyway?"

The two of them looked at each other for a moment, before offering for me to walk with them on their way home. I of course accepted the kind gesture, and hanged my school back in my hand over my shoulder as we walked alongside each other.

The sky was still a very light blue as we walked our way home, indicating that the sun was about to begin to set. I always loved the way the summer sun set in this area. It was always so beautiful around here.

I had managed to dismiss the problem I'd rather not approach, so instead we happily chitchatted and made small talk all the way back to Rito's house. As we reached the small gate outside their house, they turned towards me with smiles on their faces.

"Mikan hasn't been grocery shopping yet" Rito said with a smile "If you go with us and do that, she might just let you stay for dinner"

"That actually sounds like an awesome idea" I said with a smile, my depression from my earlier failures having disappeared a long time ago "I'd love to"

I smiled quietly and stepped inside politely, greeting Mikan, Rito's little sister, as I stepped into the living room.

"Hi, Hero" She said with a soft smile "Are you staying over?"

"Yeah, for dinner" I said with a small smile "I might even stay over night, since my parents are out of town for today"

"Oh really? What is their work position again?" She asked as she went through the fridge in the nearby kitchen.

"my dad works at a powerplant in town, and often has to stay there overnight" I said with a smile "And believe it or not, my mom is a cop. Justice never sleeps"

I chuckled quietly as I thought about them. I often looked up to them, especially my mother. They'd had both worked hard to get to where they were now, so naturally I had built an intense feeling of respect for them. The only small thing about it is that I don't get to see them a lot besides in the weekends, which had been a way for me to learn to take care of myself.

Though I didn't really mind it much. Whenever I was a little bit lonely, I would just text or call a person and ask if they could meet somewhere so we could do something, not a big deal. But at the same time, it had had a positive effect, making me teach myself to cook, clean and etcetera.

"Anyway, can I borrow your bathroom?" I asked quietly "I need a bath"

"Sure, you can ask for some new clothes from Rito" Mikan said before going back to the fridge, looking over what she needed for the upcoming shopping trip.

"But don't take too long, okay?" She said with a smile "Rito said you'd be coming with me to buy groceries"

I nodded and quickly talked with Rito, borrowing a spare set of clothes from him before setting off towards the bathroom.

Once there, I quickly stripped down and filled the bathtub, steam filling up the bathroom and obscuring my view. sinking myself into the hot soothing water of the tub, sighing blissfully as I let the surface of the water rise all the way up to my nose.

Despite Mikan's warning of not taking too long, I could soon feel the time slip away from me as I relaxed in the tub, my head swimming with thoughts of the events of that day, mostly of thoughts of when I ate together with Kotegawa.

I was so lost in thought that I didn't even realize the door to the bathroom outside had begun slide open slowly, and a figure began to unclothe itself in the middle room, before stepping inside the bathing area.

When I finally woke up from my trance, I looked out the window. The sky had darkened significantly, and I realized it was getting late.

"Oh Christ, I should get out quick" I mumbled quietly as I sat up onto my knees in the tub "Mikan might be waiting for me"

But just as I was about to stand up and step out of the bathtub, I suddenly felt a soft sensation towards my back. It was in two places, and it felt round and soft, followed by a soft giggle and a whip of a sweet smell, like girly perfume. I blushed dark red as I looked back over my shoulder.

It was a girl, with a bright and flirty smile on her lips. She had short pink hair that only reached a bit past her ears, and had a slender and feminine body, a long slender and black tail hanging behind her, tipped with a black spade. I knew who she was, but I had never directly interacted with her. It was Momo Deviluke, Lala's little sister, who had come to earth after Lala.

She giggled quietly and pressed her body up against my back again as I stared at her in shock.

"M-M-Momo! What the hell are you doing in here!?"

"I was just thinking to welcome you" She said with a small smile, her tail swaying slowly and teasingly "And I've never really seen you around. So I thought I'd introduce myself"

She squeezed my body a little with her arms. When had she snaked her arms around my waist anyway!?

"I-I-I-I's this h-how you greet everyone!?" I mumbled quietly, staring at her in disbelief.

"Not normally" She said with a giggle "But I know you're a friend of Rito's, so you can have this special treatment"

She began rubbing up against me and I couldn't help but let out a small moan as I felt her body against mine.

"P-Please, M-Momo… Stop" I mumbled quietly, then tried raising my voice into a yell "MOMO!"

~Later that evening~

I sighed silently and stared up at the ceiling in the living room, the room dark and only lit up by the moonlight outside. I was about to fall asleep, but my thoughts kept me awake.

"Kotegawa… If only I could confess…" I mumbled quietly.

Suddenly I heard footsteps coming down from the second floor. It turned out to be Rito.

"Oh, hey Rito" I said, drawing a breath of relief "I thought it was Momo for a moment"

"Why would you fear Momo?" He asked, a bit confused.

"W-Well I don't but… J-Just forget it" I mumbled quietly, embarrassed at the thought of what she did earlier that day "D-Did you hear what I said?"

"Yeah, sorry" He said with a small smile "Something about confessing to Yui Kotegawa?"

I blushed dark red and nodded shyly. I didn't mean for anyone else to know about my crush on Kotegawa.

"Yeah… I've been crushing on her for a while"

"But, why Kotegawa?" he asked with a small smile "I mean, she is a good friend and all, but I'd normally consider Kotegawa too unapproachable to become something like that"

"It's just… If you take time to dig under the strict shell on the outside…" I mumbled quietly, fidgeting nervously on the couch "She is really a sweet girl. She's affectionate and gentle… Which I know might seem as a surprise"

He nodded and chuckled silently, then drew a silent sigh.

"Yeah, a little bit" He said with a chuckle "But anyway, it's really great you feel like that towards her. We're in the same boat you and I"

"Oh yeah, you're in love with Sairenji, right?"

He nodded softly. I was surprised he had admitted to it. Normally he was so inexperienced that just the mention of the female body was enough to make his face burn red, and steam rise from his ears.

"I've been in love with her for a while" He mumbled with a sigh "But whenever I get a chance to confess to her, I either back out at the last second, or get interrupted somehow… It's getting a bit annoying to be honest"

"And I bet all the accidents that happens around you doesn't help, right?" I said with a wry smile.

"Nope, not at all" He sighed again and looked up at me "In that case, you're actually a bit better of, Hero"

"Huh? Why?"

I was a bit confused. What could he mean?

"Well, you don't get bound into embarrassing or confusing situations like I do" He said with a soft smile.

"Then what do you call what happened between me and Momo today?" I snapped back at him with a sigh "I could have lived without that happening. So embarrassing"

He chuckled quietly and shook his head.

"That's only once, man. I've been in situations like that far more than you"

"I guess that's true"

We fell silent from then on, and he scratched his cheek as a silence fell over us.

"Well, I was just going to brush my cheek, so excuse me" He said with a smile before turning and walking down the hall.

Suddenly, a wild idea popped up in my head. We were in the same situation, so maybe…

"Hey, Rito…" I said as I hurried after him "What do you say we help each other out?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

He turned towards me.

"Well, as you said, we're in the same boat" I said with a smile "Maybe we should help each other confess! Like, partnering up, for at least morale and confidence boosts"

His face lighted up in realization, and he smiled at me.

"That's actually a great idea!" he said excitedly "Alright, let's do it"

I nodded at him.

'Kotegawa… I WILL confess someday. I swear to god…'

A/N

Hey everybody! Welcome to my very first chapter of To Love Ru – Partners In Love.

I got this idea when I started watching To Love Ru – Darkness The 2nd, and I just couldn't help myself but follow up and write the story. Hope it came out fine, and that you guys enjoyed.

As always, please leave feedback in form of a review. I will always appreciate constructive criticism.

Anyway, hope you guys had an amazing day, and peace out. See ya.