AN: Please take note that THIS STORY IS ADOPTED FROM HOLYPHILIPPINEEMPIRE. The only difference is that instead of the story format his version had, mine will be a one-shot.
I'm not confident that I'll write as good as him, that's why I don't have any intention of rebooting this from the beginning. So yeah, this is the continuation.
Hope Holyphilippineempire is reading this. It is your story after all. Sorry it took so long, I had to squeeze this in my busy schedule.
Oagariyo! (^_^)
…
As time went by, the two redheads of Tootsuki had gotten closer to each other. Rindo had slowly changed throughout the course of the month. She mellowed down and stuck to Soma more. However, it seemed to everyone as if it was a one-sided relationship.
They didn't know if Soma was just dense, or if he truly held no feelings for Rindou, but seeing him remain unresponsive to the countless advances Rindou has made on him was annoying. Rindou doesn't seem to want to give up though.
Even after she moved to the Polar Star Dorm for Soma, their relationship still remains the same.
But, in contrast to everyone's point of view, Soma also came to like… or does he daresay love, Rindou. He just couldn't express it properly. He didn't know what to do when Rindou suddenly latches onto him, or when she gets too close for comfort, or even when she openly implies her feelings for him.
He also thought that with Rindou's personality, he's just another plaything to her…. and he was also insecure about his rival for Rindou's affection.
He was aware that Tsukasa and Rindou had at one point (or even until now) held mutual feelings of affection from each other. He sometimes spotted Tsukasa gazing at Rindou longingly as if he wanted to say something.
He didn't feel as if he was worthy of Rindou's affection at all, given that she had someone like Tsukasa. They had a shared history together, and he knows that he can't make up for all the time they spent together. So it was only natural for him that Tsukasa and Rindou end up with one another.
"Man, this is cold…" Soma whined as he put his hands behind his head.
He was thinking of what he witnessed earlier on. Tsukasa and Rindou were talking alone together. From what Soma could make out, they were talking about themselves.
Normally, he was not one to pry into others' private affairs, but when he heard his name, he couldn't help but eavesdrop.
He heard Tsukasa tell Rindou to stop playing with Soma. To his surprise, Rindou actually agreed with what Tsukasa said. He felt his chest tighten, so he stormed out away from them as fast as he could, not interested in hearing anymore.
So he was right! Rindou just saw him as another toy she could play with, not a man she would love… like Tsukasa.
And so back to the present, on his way to the dorm, he thought about his relationship with Rindou. He wanted her so badly, but he knew that Rindou liking him was too good to be true. He had no room to squeeze into her heart, given that Tsukasa already occupied it.
He thought it was unfair. His first love was Rindou. He was aware of the other girls who held feelings for him because unlike what they all thought, he wasn't dense. Not one bit. He knew that Ikumi and Mayumi liked him. He also had a feeling Megumi liked him as well. As for Erina, he had a suspicion that she also liked him. But he couldn't say for sure because his interactions with her were mostly hostile (one sided hostility though).
But he couldn't accept their love unless he also felt the same. Otherwise, it wouldn't be fair to them.
But in the course of the month, he started feeling strong emotions for Rindou. At first, he thought it was because of his enormous gratitude for her letting them win back in the Promotional Exams. Then, whenever Rindou clung onto him, he started feeling a bit strange. He questioned it at first, but as time went by, he became more and more aware of what it was.
Eventually, whenever he woke up, the first thought - or rather the first person that came to his mind was Rindou. And that's when he realized that what he was feeling was love.
So hearing their conversation from earlier really broke his heart. He knew he couldn't compete with Tsukasa for Rindou's affection, so he clung onto the small hope of her reciprocating his love whenever she passed the physical barrier between them. But now he knew – he knew that it was all just for Rindou's amusement.
Too lost in his thoughts, he didn't notice someone slowly sneaking up behind him.
"Then, do you want me to warm you up?" The person said on Soma's ear.
Just like any normal person, Soma screamed in surprise.
"Gyahhh!"
This in turn caused a burst of giggles from her.
"What are you doing, Rindou-nee?! I thought I was going to die." Soma asked irritatedly.
"Relax, Yukihira. I'm just messing with you"
"Then please try to make your pranks less dangerous"
"So anyway, are you still feeling cold?" Rindou asked, earning her a questioning look by Soma. "Huh?" he asked dumbly.
"Just earlier, you said that you were feeling cold" Rindou elaborated.
"Oh no, that's not what I meant" he said.
"Then what did you mean?" Rindou asked with a curious expression.
"It's nothing, I just…" Soma trailed off, making Rindou urge him to continue. "Hm?"
"Like I said, it's nothing" he said looking away, rubbing his arms subconsciously.
"Is this about what you heard earlier?" Rindou asked bluntly.
"I don't know what you're talking ab-" Soma tried playing it off but was interrupted by Rindou.
"Bullshit! I know you were listening in on us. Next time you eavesdrop, try to be a little more quiet" she said, pinning him to a tree by the side of the road.
Soma had a flabbergasted look on his face, surprised that he was found out.
"So, is that what's 'cold'?" Rindou asked, referencing his earlier words.
After several seconds, Soma answered back. "Yeah" he answered truthfully, seeing no merit in lying.
"Were you hurt by my answer?" Rindou continued, pressing her chest closer to his.
"Not really" he lied "I kinda expected you to say that already."
"Oh? And why did you expect it?"
"Because that's just like you, I guess" Soma answered.
"And what's just like me? Is that really how you see me?" Rindou asked, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. She was hurt by his answer.
Soma looked at her with wide eyes. "I can stand it if other people see me that way. It hurts, but I can still ignore it. But if it's you, it hurts. It really hurts. I thought we'd gotten closer this past month" she said the last part with a low voice, the tears now making their way down her face.
"Don't you think you're being unfair?" Soma asked, a look of anger now on his face.
Rindou looked up at him in surprise. "You were the one who said that I was just a toy to you, but now you're telling me to love you? You said it yourself, there's nothing between us"
"That's not true! You should have stayed to hear the rest" Rindou said desperately.
"What are you talking about?"
"You misunderstood because you ran away" Rindou answered, recounting what had gone down after Soma ran out.
…
"Soma is just another plaything to you, isn't he? Just another kouhai to have fun with?" Tsukasa questioned Rindou.
"Yeah, you're right" she answered.
She heard fast footsteps scurrying away. Looking at the direction Soma was hiding at from the corner of her eye, she continued.
"He's the most fun I've had in my whole life. At first, I thought he was just another interesting guy to toy with, but as we got closer, that doesn't seem to be the case anymore" she said.
"How about me? Did you ever truly love me?" Tsukasa asked pleadingly, the desperation written on his face.
"To be honest, I did. Even until now, I think I still feel something for you…" she said. Tsukasa looked relieved and happy at the same time, but was quickly broken from his euphoria by Rindou's next statement.
"…but what I feel for Yukihi-Soma is real. It's not something I'm unsure of anymore because I know that my heart belongs to him and him alone"
Tsukasa's eyes were shadowed by his bangs. Nevertheless, she continued.
"You were my first love Tsukasa. But Soma is my true love. If he is a toy, then I'm his matching set" she said.
Tsukasa stood unmoving for a while. Rindou was unsure of how he'd take it, but she expected the worst to happen. Fortunately, Tsukasa showed her why she was worthy of his love.
"Then what are you waiting for?" he asked, earning him a "Hm?" from Rindou.
"Go. He might misunderstand since he ran away so early" he said with a soft smile, causing Rindou to reciprocate with a smile of her won. "So you knew he was there?"
"Who wouldn't? He wasn't even trying to hide" he said with a chuckle, bringing Rindou along.
After their exchange of laughter, Rindou asked him one more time. "Are you sure? I thought you would be more depressed" she said.
"Well, to be honest, I don't want to hand you over to him. But it's him you love, right? I just want you to be happy" he said.
Rindou's tear cascaded down one side of her face. "Now go. Before he gets farther away" he said, urging her to chase after Soma.
"Got it. Then, see ya later!" she said as she ran off after Soma.
Once she was a good distance away from Tsukasa, she looked back for a second and let her words float in the wind "You really did love me" before resuming her chase.
…
The sky was now black in color. Soma and Rindou were sitting under the tree she pinned him on earlier.
"So now, do you understand? I love you, Soma" she said, calling him by his first name for the second time.
"Well, you don't need to hear it from me to know what my answer is" Soma responded with a smile.
"But I wanna hear you say it. Come on! Come on! Say it. I know you can do it…" she poked his cheek to tease him some more.
"No way! It's embarrassing" Soma said with a slight tinge of pink on his cheeks.
"But I said it to you. It's only fair you do the same" she said with puppy eyes.
Soma looked away in resistance to no avail as Rindou pressed herself harder on him.
Feeling her breasts on his arm, he finally relented.
"Fine! I'll say it, so please get off me" he said with a blush.
Rindou continued to press herself on his arm. Knowing how stubborn she can be, he gave up.
"I…l-lo…" he stuttered. Rindou got closer to his face to urge him on more.
'God, this is so embarassing' he internally whined.
"I lo-love y-" he stuttered again but couldn't finish as Rindou placed her lips over his.
They were both blushing as they continued their lip-lock.
Once they parted for oxygen, they panted breathlessly, looking at each other lovingly.
"Let's go" Soma said, pulling Rindou up with him.
"I'll come by your room later" Rindou announced.
"You go to my room every night anyway" Soma said frankly.
"Hmph! Spoilsport"
"Yeah, yeah" Soma said as Rindou threw herself at him even more.
"Hey, that's dangerous" he said.
"Danger is my middle name" Rindou said, laughing.
Their odd exchanges continued as the stars faded in the background.
…
Once they got home, Soma and Rindou was met with an angry Fumio.
"Do you two know what time it is? You kids had me worried sick" she scolded.
"It's fine, granny. I've got a man looking after me here. My man" she said the last part proudly as she tapped Soma's chest from his side, still hugging him.
Catching on their interaction, Fumio smirked.
"Well, it's about time. I thought none of you will ever have the guts to make the first move"
The two lovebirds smiled at each other.
"So, what's for dinner?" Rindou asked in a carefree manner.
A tick mark formed on Fumio's head.
"You've got guts to be asking for dinner after getting home so late. Go make your own!" she said, storming off.
Rindou pouted, then turned to face Soma. "Ok, cook us somethi-" she started but couldn't finish as Soma interrupted her.
"Let me stop you right there. You were the reason we came home late in the first place, so you do it" Soma pointed out.
"How is it my fault? You were the one who couldn't get his hands off me" Rindou said in a teasing manner.
"That was you!" Soma exclaimed.
"Details, details, who cares? You're a man, aren't you? You should service this beautiful lady here" Rindou said with her cheshire cat expression.
"What beautiful lady? All I see is a tombo-" Soma tried to tease her but couldn't finish as he was interrupted by a punch to the gut, making him hold his gut while kneeling on three limbs in agony.
"How rude! When I come down, I expect to see dinner" Rindou said, stomping off towards her room.
"Girls are scary" Soma said while making his way to the kitchen, to avoid Rindou's wrath again.
To his surprise, there was leftover food scattered across the kitchen table. Touching it, he noticed it was still warm. Soma smiled.
'I thought she was mad at us'
With that thought, he summoned Rindou from her room to have dinner.
…
Laying on his back, he heard the door open. Turning his head towards the direction of the noise, he smiled, already expecting her company.
"Can't get enough of me, can you?" Soma said teasingly, smirking to add fuel to the fire.
In front of him was Rindou in her nightgown.
She didn't bother with a retort and simply grinned, climbing into the bed with him.
"So, wanna go wild?" Rindou said with a mischievous smile.
Thinking that she meant playing a late-night game like they did on most nights, he refused.
"I'll pass. I'm still tired from earlier. You should go to sleep too. Just because it's winter break doesn't mean we can stay up late" Soma answered, heading to the door to turn off the lights.
Lying down on the unoccupied spot in the bed, Rindou straddled him and pinned his arms to the bed.
"What are you doing?" Soma said with a blush.
Rindou positioned her head beside his ear and whispered. Soma's eyes widened, and an even brighter shade of red covered his face at the implication of her words. "The night's not yet over"
…
After losing themselves to each other a few nights ago, they acted as they usually did with each other, albeit closer than before.
Now, it was commonplace to see the two of them together, 24/7.
"If it was your last day alive, what will you do?" Rindou asked Soma, looking up from her book.
"Huh? What's this all of a sudden?" he asked her, taken aback by the suddenness of her question.
Rindou showed him the cover of the book.
Glancing at the title of the book, it read 'Alone in Paradise'.
'Figures' Soma thought.
"So?" Rindou continued.
"So… what?" Soma dumbly asked.
"What are you gonna do in your last day alive?" she reiterated.
Putting his hand on his chin, he thought of his answer.
"I guess I'll spend the day with you" he bluntly said, causing a huge blush to appear on her face just as she had done to him a few nights prior.
"This is serious. Are you really fine putting up with me on your last day alive?" Rindou asked.
"What do you mean putting up with you? Sure, you're a bit hard to handle sometimes, but that makes me want you even more" Soma said with a smile.
Cutely tearing up, she hugged him. "You're the best boyfriend ever!" she said against his chest. Soma patted her head, his smile not wavering one bit.
…
"Yo, Nakiri. What brings you here?" Soma asked Erina, finding it rare to see her at the dorm these days.
"Am I not allowed to visit every once in a while?" she whined, a tinge of pink on her cheeks.
"Of course not. It's just that with you the headmaster now, I thought you wouldn't have time to visit"
"Well, I'm here now, aren't I?" she said, pushing past Soma and entering the dorm.
"Still the same Erina" Soma said bluntly, causing a tick mark to appear on her head.
"What did you just say? I dare you to say it again-no, I double dare you!" she shouted, looking at him angrily.
"I didn't say anything" Soma said with a carefree laugh.
"You called me grumpy just now, didn't you?"
"I didn't say that. I said you were still the same as ever. Your words not mine" Soma said with a teasing smile.
"Wha-!" Erina stuttered out.
"Could it be you're aware that you're grumpy all the time" Soma said mockingly, crossing his arms while leaning in her direction.
Erina growled in frustration.
"Grrrr… You're just unbearable!" she exclaimed.
"Now, now. Stop fighting, you two." Isshiki said, interrupting their "war".
"Isshiki-senpai!" Erina said out loud.
"Hello, Erina-chan" he said with his usual smile.
Embarrassed, she glared at Soma and headed off to the room she occupied when she was at the dorm.
"Where are you going?" Soma asked, curious as to where she could be heading off to. When she moved out of her room in the dorm, Rindou was its next occupant.
"To my room!" she shouted.
"Wait, Nakiri!" Soma said in an attempt to stop her.
"Just leave me alone, you idiot!" she growled back, quickening her pace so Soma wouldn't catch up with her. She seriously had enough of him already. She just wanted to be alone and reminisce in her old room.
When she opened the door to "her" room, she was greeted to the sight of Rindou touching her breast and nether region while moaning Soma's name.
Rindou stopped what she was doing and stared at the door with wide eyes and a blush on her face.
Erina mimicked Rindou's expression. The only difference being that her blush rivalled the hair of the victim.
"I'm sorry for intruding!" Erina shouted and quickly closed the door, forgetting why she came ther ein the first place.
Erina was breathing heavily. Her back was against the door and she still had a blush on her face.
Soma finally caught up to her. Before he could say anything, she grabbed the collar of his hoodie.
"Why didn't you warn me there was already someone else there? And it's Rindou-senpai, no less!" Erina huffed in exasperation.
"I did try to warn you. But you told me to leave you alone and then called me an idiot." Soma answered.
"Gahhh!" Erina was crouched on the floor, regretting her mistakes.
"I apologize, Soma-kun" she said, still on the floor.
"Don't sweat it. That's just like you" he said, chuckling to himself.
"Grrrr." Erina growled, looking at him with one fist clenched.
Just as she was about to pummel him into the next world, she was interrupted by the door she just entered opening.
"Rindou-senapi! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" she said but was cut off with a raise of the hand.
"It's fine. You couldn't have known I was there anyway. However…" Rindou said menacingly, looking at Erina with a frightening glare. "…What you just saw will not leave my room, understand?"
Erina nodded in fright.
"Good. Now, why don't you get off the ground and go sit somewhere comfortable?" Rindou suggested, making Erina leave to head to the living room.
"So, what were you talking about?" Soma asked, curious as to what Erina saw that managed to make her stumble out of Rindou's room in the state she was in earlier.
"That's a secret between us girls" Rindou said with a playful wink.
"Right…" Soma trailed off, not sure of how to respond.
…
It was now autumn, and the graduation ceremony of the third years just ended.
Tsukasa and Rindou said their parting words while the kohais said their goodbyes to their senpais.
Megishima was surprised to see the cast of the Rebel Team see him off so earnestly. Well, they did feel an enormous amount of gratitude for him after all this time.
Momo was given a flashy farewell by her "fans".
Satou was greeted by Soma, and they exchanged words of admiration for each other. Seems as if they came to a unique type of understanding with one another.
There was a lot of tears and painful break-ups, but with the departure of the third years came forth the arrival of new gems.
As the leaves fell from the tress, the crimson-haired couple could be spotted walking together.
Walking on the street to the Polar Star Dorm one last time together, Rindou was hugging Soma from his side. Feeling melancholic, she asked "Do I ever cross your mind?"
To her surprise, Soma answered with a "No."
Deciding to try again, she continued. "Do you like me?"
And again, he answered with a "No."
Feeling desperate, she asked once more. "Do you even want me?"
And once again, Soma said "No."
Now completely desperate, she stopped walking, bringing Soma along to a standstill as well.
"Would you cry if I left?"
"No."
Tears starting to form at the corner of her eyes, she asked again.
"Then…would you live for me?"
"No."
"Would you do anything at all for me!?" she shouted.
"No."
Feeling broken, she asked one last time.
"Choose-me or your life?"
She looked at him expectantly, silently begging him to answer the former. Her wish was ignored as he answered. "My life."
She couldn't take it anymore and turned to run away in shock and pain. But was stopped as Soma chased after her.
Rindou was tearing up a lot at this point that Soma smiled gently at her and hugged her to his chest.
"Promise me you'll come back to me?" Soma asked on Rindou's head, his body still intertwined with hers. This was their last meeting as high school students, so he wanted to make it unforgettable.
Rindou continued to sob on his chest, not having the will to answer him right now.
Soma broke their hug and got on his knee. He pulled out a small red box, and started to open it.
"The reason you never cross my mind is because you're always on my mind.
The reason why I don't like you is because I love you.
The reason I don't want you is because I need you.
The reason I wouldn't cry if you left is because I would die if you left.
The reason I wouldn't live for you is because I would die for you.
The reason why I'm not willing to do you anything for you is because I would do everything for you.
The reason I chose my life is because you ARE my life. [1]
A life without you is not living anymore, it's just surviving.
That's why Rindou…"
Soma stopped as he opened the box to reveal a golden ring with their initials inscribed on it.
"Just as we became one with each other some time ago, will you marry me?"
Rindou stood dumb-foundedly, still processing what just happened. After coming to her senses, she recollected her bearing, and in contrast to Soma's answers from earlier, she shouted a "YES!" before lounging at Soma, toppling them over with her powerful hug.
"Even if we'll be apart for two years, I want you to know that by accepting this ring, you belong to me and me alone, understand?" Soma said, putting the ring on Rindou's finger.
"Yeah. The same goes for you, got it? You're also not allowed to whore around with other girls besides me" she said with a triumphant smile.
"Sorry we can't get married yet right now, but as soon as we reach that age, I promise you that my first agenda is you…us" Soma said, followed by a passionate kiss from his girlfriend-turned-fiancee.
Just as they had done the night they professed their love to each other, they sat down under a tree by the side of the road, Rindou's head placed on Soma's shoulder.
The leaves continued to fly away in the wind.
"Tsukasa invited me to come with him on his trip" Rindou confessed.
"Why?" Soma asked.
"He's gonna refine his cooking. He said he wanted to learn how to put himself in his dishes, like you." She answered.
"And? Do you want to go?"
"Honestly, I kind of want to. But I feel like I'll be betraying you if I went with him"
"What are you talking about?"
"It's just that we'll be travelling the world together without you. What if my feelings change?" Rindou asked, begging for an answer.
"Are you asking me or are you asking yourself?" Soma asked, surprising Rindou.
"Look, I know you two have a history together. I know that he still loves you. And I also know that there's a chance you might still like him…"
"Then why are you letting me g-"
"But I also know that your heart belongs to me. That's why I don't want you to hold back for my sake." Soma held Rindou's hand with the ring on it, pressing his palm against hers and grasping her hand.
"You love me, right? Even if you fall in love with him again, I won't give you up that easily. I'll win you back over and over again, as many times as I need to" he said with determination. Rindou reciprocated his gentle smile.
"Besides, it will be hard for you to back out now. The moment you come back, be ready." Soma said with a wink, flashing his ring.
"Anything else you wanna say before I go, future husband?" she teased.
"Bring me back some souvenirs from your trip…" he jokingly said, causing Rindou to chuckle.
"…and come back to ME" he said, pressing his forehead against hers.
Rindou locked lips with him once again.
Just as the leaves departed from its branches, the two lovers will also part with each other.
What if Rindou hadn't let them win that day? What if she hadn't taken an interest in Soma? What if she hadn't moved in the Polar Star Dorm with him?
Such is the power of fate.
No matter what problems come their way, they can solve it together…
…Together forever.
…
Highlights
[1] Taken from my favorite fanfiction author's profile, Omegadrift98 (NaZa) with my added touch. Seriously love the theme of his stories. I practically read it every night for inspiration. And just a fact, he was the one who inspired me to become obsessive about yandere. He's my hero.
Was it good? Crappy? Feel free to tell me. I'm still new to this genre, but thankfully, I've been honing my writing. And if you noticed, I adjusted Holyphilippineempire's story (original timing of events + different Elite Ten positions) to the manga, so: Erina = new headmaster and Rindou = travelling the world with Tsukasa.
Oh! And sorry if the characters are a bit OOC. I did my best to match their original personas, but I had to make room for the romance-y stuff. This is because I also wanted to make it a point how Soma and Rindou were changing each other, and how much they loved each other. And if you guys noticed, this one-shot was like a combination of various one-shots, right? basically new themes for each "chapter". See, remember what I said? This would be a long one-shot. There was a big timeskip in the latter parts though. Anyway, I'm beat and I'm tired. I'm working on something else right now (personal life), so I'll be taking a short break from writing. I actually had 3 stories prior to the ones on my profile right now. I deleted them 'cause I was kinda embarrassed at the time. One of them was a Rindou x Soma fanfic as well called "One More Chance". recently, people have PMed me to post it again, so I'll get to work on it probably around a month from now.
Really went all-out on this one. I know I promised to adopt Stepping Stones as well, but upon re-reading it, I just realized that I had no ideas for it. So, to compensate for that, I present you with this. This is the culmination of my effort of 2 weeks of finding time to write pieces of it (that was a lot of 'of'. Oops, did it again). Hope you guys liked it, especially Holyphilippineempire. Osomatsu! (^_^)