Totally Not Falling In Love
Highschool AU; Valentines Day is nearing and many are betting. Touya bet five dollars on true love, Bel bet twenty while Cheren's pretending he doesn't know them. Touko though is trying to not make a fool of herself in front of him.
:/:/:
Touko was the kind of girl to let her hair grow long as she wanted it to be, but still feel better wearing pants, which is why she was the only notable cross dresser in her school. The teachers didn't mind what she chose to wear as long as she didn't cut her hair in such a way that she looked like her twin brother.
But they had asked her to wear her female uniform whenever the dean came by.
But today wasn't a day the dean liked to visit on. No, he would prefer spending this day planning on how he would woo and surprise his wife on the next day.
So that didn't explain why Touko Ippaiki was wearing her female uniform.
Nope. Not a bit. She was clearly wearing a skirt. And knee high socks. They were pink and white stripped socks, looking like those bubble gum flavoured candy canes you get at Christmas.
Not that N was a stalker or anything... he was just stumped. And he could see her thighs, which gave him a mixed feeling (possibly the need to kiss them in their beauty and the feeling he got whenever he saw something foreign).
Sure it was nearing the day made for hearts and love, but that wasn't something Touko was into. N was more than positive that she wouldn't wear a skirt JUST to impress some guy. If she did, WHO. Who was the lucky guy? He didn't want to think about it.
Nope. He just wanted that thought to drain from his mind. Draining away now... Oh shit.
He let out the sigh you hear from a guy who's thinking about his dream girl dating somebody other than himself. He laid his head over his folded arms and glared at the back of the kid in front of him.
He didn't notice that said kid was trying to get his attention. Well, not till Dent kicked him.
"hmm?" N blinked looking up at Pod.
"Can you not stare holes into by back? It's freaky, man."
"uh-huh." N didn't sound like he was paying attention - Which he wasn't. Touko was in the doorway, calling him over. In that skirt. That really short skirt. He saw the blood streaming down from Pod's nose. He didn't want to look at Dent's or Corn's or anyone else's for that matter, knowing what thoughts where hidden in their little peanut sized brains.
He got up and went across the classroom in one swift motion.
And greeted Touko with his famous smile, "What's up?" then made sure to use his back as a shield, protecting her from the perverts that resided in his class.
Touko smiled just as brightly before a tinge of red spread across her face like wild fire. And she looked down. Almost embarrassed
"Well, I was wondering if you were free tomorrow."
If I'm free tomorrow? Why would she want to know that? N thought before saying that he was indeed free – well, as free as he could be running from rabid fangirls who wanted him to accept their handmade chocolates of love. But he left that out. Didn't want to be too... pimpish.
"Ah. That's good I guess." She nodded and turned to leave, "seeya later, N," and then she walked away.
Feeling confused, he watched her walk back down the hallway to meet up with that blonde girl, Bel. Her brother was also there, smirking at him, throwing him two thumbs up, as if cheering him on.
Well, till his sister smacked him upside the head. N chuckled and walked back into his class.
Only to be bombarded with questions.
"Did she ask you out on a date?"
"What did she want huhhh?"
"You better tell us!"
"Treat your new girlfriend like a princess, yep."
"When did you two meet!"
Ah yes. N remembered, ignoring their questions and thinking fondly of the past summer.
The heat was bearable, yet still clung to houses and objects like static. No one N knew could lie down, face first in a puddle of ice water and still not be content with it.
Bored of his family's constant complaining, he ventured out into the city, hoping it'd be less hot and more entertaining.
He was half right.
He meet up with some classmates and so they hung out for most of the morning, everyone joking around and splashing each other with their bottles of water to cool down. It was fun as fun as it could get when you're hanging out in public with a bunch of male buffoons who were being overwhelmed by their hormones.
Well that was somewhat of a lie. They're fun lasted until one guy had to go, which caused a chain reaction as minutes drew to hours. Soon enough, he was alone again, damp and bored. So he sat on a bench waiting for his clothes to dry. In doing so, he watched the faces stream by.
He caught a pair of sky blue eyes in his own and held them. He found them utterly hypnotizing. He then looked at the owner of the orbs, and liked what he saw; tall brunette with the bushiest brown hair he'd ever seen, kept in a messy pony tail that came through the back of her white hat. Yet he knew it would have felt like silk if he touched it. Even with the heat boiling it.
He noticed her dress code; simple white tank, and a black vest. Plus some really short shorts and some pink-white flip flops.
Then he noticed that someone was frowning at him. He looked back into muddy brown eyes that poured out a warning. Boyfriend? N thought before seeing how much alike the boy and the girl were. Same hair colour, same height, and almost like twins... only eye colour difference.
He noticed that the girl asked her brother what he was staring at, only to look N's way wondering if they knew each other. N chuckled then got up and walked down the busy park.
He went back to the exact spot about two hours later. And fell asleep on the bench. Only to wake up five minutes later.
"Excuse me, may I sit down?"
"Hmm sure." He said while semi stretching and wiping his eyes awake.
"Thanks."
He then got a really good look at the person. He knew it was female, by the sound of her voice, but never expected the person to be the same girl he saw earlier that day.
He smirked on the inside, at how small the world was. He was sure he'd never see her face again. Her adorable, kissable porcelain face...
Shut up brain. She's a total stranger. He told himself. Before turning to watch the people walk by, laughing, enjoying their time. He heard something and turned to look at the girl.
"I mean, I know Touya means well, it's just that leaving his older sister to fend for herself in the city where anything can happen is kind of selfish. Don't you think?"
He knew he heard sadness in her voice. They must have been twins. With her being sad over them being separated, their bond must be tied at their hips.
N nodded, unsure of what else to do.
The girl smiled a bit, "Touya said he had to meet up with someone. Probably Bel. She's pretty cute I guess. Or maybe Cheren. Those guys are good friends..." she trailed off.
N nodded.
"N! How could you! Start dating some girl other than me!"
They whipped their heads to see who'd cried out their attention.
"Crap." N muttered. It was the captain of his fan club, Yuki Senbonzaku. Where'd she materialized from? Oh yes. From behind that trash can over there. He sighed, told the girl next to him that he had to make a break for it. And that she should too. As he wasn't sure of what she'd do to her, with the thought of the two of them dating in her peanut sized brain.
The girl who was caught up in the mess N had made giggled.
"Fangirls... I had a couple of them. Only they were guys and ruthless and obsessive. I moved here because of it. We couldn't handle it..." she trailed off, leaving enough time for N to realise what the other mood in her voice was; she was frightened, "well, if we ever meet again N, you should know my name. It's Touko."
Wait wasn't she scared of guys? What... it was too late for N to question her actions as she was half way down the path before N remembered he was running away from crazy girls he needed to get a restraining order for. One thousand feet, He decided. That way, they wouldn't be in the same school. Oh, such wonderful dreams... were a long way off by the looks of it; Yuki was at his tail, that creepy, glint in her eyes promising to get what she wanted.
The sun had set when he finally shook the rabid fangirl off and he had found himself back in the park. The lights were just beginning to buzz on and light up his path.
Until he heard a scream: Screams were never a good thing. He was taught this growing up. Always to answer a scream, fallow your ears and chase after it. Which is what he did, his stomach churning with doubt and hope.
He ran off the path, into the little wooded area and fallowed his ears.
The voices got louder and more distinct as the trees grew farther apart, taller and grander.
Two guys and one girl; He shuddered at the thought of what might be a reason for a girl to scream.
And then he saw them and her. That same girl from the park bench, being picked on by two guys who towered over her. N regretted asking her to run off in the opposite direction.
Despite the low amount of light, he picked out blood drenching her white shirt red .And the next thing he knew, both guys were knocked out on the forest floor covered with dew.
Not caring what he had just done, he rushed over to Touko, asking her if she was alright. Disregarding her meek "yes i'm fine" he picked her up and rushed her to the nearest guy gabbing on a cell phone.
Which happened to be the guy with the muddy brown eyes, or, if N wanted to be practical about it, the girl's loveable twin brother Touya.
The boy made a surprised noise then started to dial for an ambulance.
And that was all N wanted to remember. Everything else that happened that night was too depressing. "No, we're not dating, she wanted to see if I was free tomorrow and we met over the summer." N summed up.
"She wanted to know if you were free tomorrow, eh? She must be planning on confessing" Corn said.
"Pssh. Yeah right. As if she was one of his fan girls." Pod said, "first off she went to the door, it's a rule in that club that one should never talk to N" - "Oh. so that's why none of the girls would answer me" - "and secondly, did you see the way she blushed? It was pure love. Not that idol love crap he's accustomed to"
"You just agreed with Corn, Pod" Dent sighed before asking N for the girl's name.
"Touko Ippaiki..." N said, confused.
"WHATTTT?" the class erupted.
"Yea..." N was astounded. His class had thought Touko was another person in her female uniform. Which was odd, Touko was always in the doorway calling him over, either to ask him for them to hang out. Sure she was wearing the guy's uniform, but that didn't mean a thing. She was still a girl. She had boobs and a... lower private part he wasn't going to say. Because yeah. Talking about his best-female-friend's reproductive part just plain awkward.
"I... didn't notice. I mean, I didn't think her legs were that... sexy." Pod trailed off mostly because of the glare N was sending him – which reminded Corn and Dent of a boyfriend who didn't want their girlfriend in the wet dreams of his class mates. So they chuckled.
"Well anyway," Dent began, "What do you think?" aiming his question at N.
"Think about what?"
"I mean, why do you think Touko-chan wanted to know if you were free tomorrow?"
N thought about it. He made a thinking pose and pondered some more. And asked the question to himself, adding the famous "hmmm" noise. Even with all these actions, his head was blank. "No clue."
Dent and Corn sighed. Pod barked out a dry laugh.
"You do know what day it is tomorrow, yes?" Corn asked, grinning slightly.
"Yea, it's February 14th."
"Now, is that day a holiday we don't get off or what?"
"I know its Valentine's Day." N stated.
"That's good. Piece the puzzle together now." Dent smiled. He smiled the smile he gives the girls that annoy him with their constant adoration for him. N hated that smile. Touko did too. But they just hated fake smiles like his.
In fact, N remembered that Touko had told him that if she ever saw Dent smile – for real – she'd hug Dent, and tell him that she was proud.
But N wasn't supposed to remember things like that. He was supposed to piece together the information the "bi-shonen triplet hosts" just gave him.
It went like this: Touko asked him a question, which had to do about being free the next day, said next day just so happened to be the day made for gushy love: Valentine's day.
Maybe he was missing something. Something fairly important.
"Touko-chan is a girl." Corn said, smirking slightly.
Oh yes. N had forgotten that piece.
"So she wants to... but... I see her as a friend!" N's face was steadily being consumed by heat. The bi-shoenen trio – the ones that could read atmospheres at least – smiled as the words came out of their friend's mouth.
"There's a good chance, that somewhere, deep inside, you actually see her as a piece of meat." Corn said.
"Or maybe you're like that guy in Twilight, Edwurdo Cummen or something." Pod said, not completely sure of what they were talking about.
"It was Edward Cullen and he saw Bella as a food score too. Bella was obsessed and fell in love. Edward didn't love her till he realised he could feed off her."
"Yeah. Like that."
"But we just suggested that he sees her as meat. Use the example of..."
"Amuto?"
"What... the heck, Pod."
While the triplet host bi-shonen's talked about meaningless things, N was off in dreamland. Which, is the entire reason they're earlier conversation was pointless.
What if they're right and Touko actually wants to confess, N thought, unsure of what to say if such an event were to occur. He needed some air. He didn't know if he liked her that way or not. Sure he thought she was girlfriend material, but it's not like he'd start dating her.
: - : - :
Oh, what a dreadful week. She'd lost their bet and had to do what they asked. First thing on their list of things to do with Touko under their control was to change her attire.
This meant that she had to wear skirts, dresses and cute underwear. She dreaded this. She felt like a child who was being forced to eat vegetables. Touko just wanted to run away. Probably to N, and get him to protect her from their stupid ideas...
Wait, what? She shook her head from the thought. Sure she liked – loved – him, but she wouldn't do that. No way. She'd keep her pride and do what they asked.
The next thing on their hit list was to make her bake chocolates for N.
She smacked her head against the kitchen counter. It wasn't the smartest thing to tell her brother who she liked. She remembered the first day at their new school. And when she spotted N in the crowd, she was pretty sure she'd never see that guy again despite what he did for her.
She also remembered how fast her heart was beating; she thought that it was going to pop out of her chest when Touya nudged her, dirty smirk broadly visible on his face.
"So... Bel," Touko began, "how do we do this?" she gestured to the pots and pans and to the chocolate mix that was mocking her.
Bel, smiled and started to explain, step by step and soon enough, the kitchen was a mess and their test batch was done. They then hunted down Touya and Cheren, tied them to some chairs and got them to taste test whatever they had created.
"Meh" Touya said. "It doesn't taste like it should."
"Maybe she didn't put in the love?" Cheren opted.
"Huh. Maybe we put in too much salt?" Bel frowned.
Touko disregarded her teachers suggestion and asked what Cheren meant by that.
"Well," he blushed, "A guy should be able to taste the love in the chocolate."
"Did it ever cross your mind that these weren't for you?" Touko asked.
"Yeah, but, the love put into them should be explosive and make other people jealous."
"More love..." It went silent for a few seconds as Touko absorbed the words, engraving them into her skull.
Touya started to giggle, and then he burst into a fit of laughter, annoying his sister.
"I'm sorry." He said between laughs, "It's just... that apron... it's so pink and frilly!"
Touko scowled but agreed. The apron could rival any five-year-old girly girl and win because the pink fabric would be so... pink. The lace lining the apron was pink for crying out loud! She didn't even know if aprons where supposed to have lace lining them, let alone three layers of it. She knew that any Lolita who would see her now, would feel jealous.
Anyway, she was drowning in pink, frills and girly things.
The fact that her mother was in on their [Touya, Bel and Cheren's] little game made it worse. You see, as a mother who'd raised a daughter who wouldn't wear frills after learning she could have a say in things, as well as refusing to wear anything that made her 'more like a girl' after a few incidents, she would have been more than happy to help out.
Which then meant that, for Touko, death was the only way out of this sick game (of course, if you erased the idea of running away with N from her head).
Touko sighed. She wouldn't go suicidal just because of this. And besides. N would think that she wasn't as strong as he thought she was and so he wouldn't attend her funeral – if she did go jump off the school roof.
But she wouldn't. She smirked and started making some more chocolates. And instead of thinking of how much horrible her life was at that point, she thought of N. And his smile, his voice, his green eyes, the tea she could smell whenever she was around him...
She smacked her hands. "Tea. Green Tea." She said before tearing off her apron and running out the door before anyone could ask – or chase after her, as her brother and his best bud were chained to chairs and Bel was too slow when compared to Touko's cheetah speed.
: - : - :
N was still hanging out with the Bi-shonen trio. He really had nothing better to do during the after school hours before sunset.
"What about... that pair in Bleach. Orihime and that anncar, Uliqarra? Would that be an example?" Pod asked.
"How would those two relate to our love birds?" Corn asked. N sighed.
"Well, Uliqarra is kind of like N... both guys are off to themselves and are single minded" – "I'm single minded?" – "While both girls are strong, and sexy. Orihime has boobs but Touko has the legs"
N wanted to punch Pod, square in the face and hoped it caused the poor kid to go in to coma.
"But... Orihime's the princess right? And that Italian guy's the captor?" Dent recounted.
"Yeah. What of it?" Pod asked.
"N's more of the princess in this relationship" Dent grinned, "Touko-chan's more of a guy then he'll ever be"
If only they knew... N thought before adding Dent to hit list.
"Oh! Thank goodness I found you N!"
"Touko!" N resisted the urge to hug her in front of the guys that were filling him in on his love life.
"What do you put in your food to make it taste like green tea?" Touko asked him, catching her breath.
"Well I usually just drench the food in the tea before I start to make it," N summed up, "why?"
"Oh. No reason. But do you think it'd work for chocolate?"
N thought about it then said he wouldn't know. "I haven't done it before, but I'm sure it'd taste great,"
Touko grinned, "Thank-you N!" then ran back to where ever she came from.
N, smiled after her, partly thinking of tea flavoured chocolate. He had to try it sometime.
"... I really think he's dense." N heard Corn sigh.
"Yep. Denser than a brick." Dent agreed.
"Probably more dense than Kuno." Pod gave his two cents.
"Hmmm? What are you guys talking about?" The thought of tea-chocolate wouldn't leave his head.
"Well, for one you should have hugged her and secondly ... ."
: - : - :
"Touko! Where did you run off too? You had us all worried you were going to kill yourself!"
Moms, Touko sighed, they worry too much. "Mom, stop worrying about me. Grey hairs will appear before their time and you know I'm stronger than Touya."
"Hey! I find that fairly offensive!" said the twin brother, still chained to a chair.
Touko smirked and flicked his head.
:/:/:
Author: AND THAT, IS CHAPTER ONE. Enjoy. Till I regain the muse that made me write this... also, pointless information, this was intended on being a one shot. BUT HEY. I'M LAZYYY.
Dent is an anime fan because it's more amusing than having Corn have porn under his bed. REALLY.
The Anime Dent talks about: Shugo Chara, Bleach, Ranma ½ (and not in that order)
Also, on another little note, I haven't played the Japanese Version so I'm going by the pictures I see and the info I read.