THIS IS FOR YOU, SAKURA-CHAN..!!! yeah, my friend Sakura-chan keeps saying I can't write kissy-wissy stories... and that was the beginning of the "kiss challenge". she says I blush at the mere thought and that I'm a KID. well, hope this changes your perspective, my dear... (insert evil laugh)
Ban and Natsumi at their finest, while they er.. kiss. xD
most of the stories are from Nat's POV. since writing from her POV is just easier.
standard disclaimers apply. I OWN NOTHING! except the plot and my sick imagination. :P
Bad Day
Natsumi was having one of those horrible days when you get out from the wrong side of bed and just about everything goes to hell.
For starters, she woke up late; and rather unceremoniously 'late'. She fell out of bed because of the particularly vivid dream she had and was still shivering in the cool morning air as she decided to make herself some coffee.
Lately, because of her busy schedule, she had taken to purchasing store coffee powder rather than grinding the beans at home. She sighed as she glanced at the empty tin.
"Looks like I'll have to go without coffee today," she sighed as she kept the empty tin back on the shelf.
Yawning, she trooped back to the bedroom to look for her uniform and nearly died of hyperventilation when she realized that it was in the wash. Racing through the stacks of laundry and strewn books, she stopped dead in her tracks as she saw that the ancient washing machine was having yet another wheezing fit.
As though in a race, she switched it off and pulled the plug out just in case. She tried to rescue her uniform, but to no avail. It hung before her, looking as sad and forlorn as she was.
Scowling, she tied her long messy hair into a bun and set out to look for her spare. To her utter misery, she realized it was at the washer's and a quick glance at the watch told her she could make it in time to school if she raced through her chores and skipped breakfast, after picking up the spare from the laundry guy.
She pulled on a faded pair of a blue jeans and an oversized grey t-shirt and threw her books into her bag. A glance in the mirror told her that her hair was utterly impossible, so she brushed it and tied it back in a low pony tail.
She grabbed a cinnamon bun from the kitchen counter (thank god for sugary stuff) and raced down the hall and out of the door.
She banged it shut and then realized she had forgotten her bicycle keys. Cursing fluently under her breath, she opened the door and grabbed the keys and was out again.
Trying to ignore the weird looks that people were giving her, she raced to the washer's and asked the guy, panting loudly, "my uniform. I-I need it…" he nodded and went to retrieve it as Natsumi tapped her fingers impatiently on the plastic counter.
The man returned, with an impassive look on her face, "I'm sorry. What did you say your name was?"
Natsumi stared at him in utter disbelief and replied, "Mizuki. Mizuki Natsumi. Couldn't you have asked me that before?"
He ignored her and then returned, thankfully with a big white bag. Rummaging through it, she finally found her uniform and thanked the man and raced to her friend, Maki's house.
Maki stared at her, surprised and asked her, "don't you have school today, Nat?"
Natsumi nodded, to anxious to say anything and ran to the bedroom where she changed. Soon, she realized, she had forgotten her socks and groaned. Today was certainly not her day.
"Maki-san! Can I borrow your socks please?" she called sullenly from the bedroom. Maki laughed and said, "Go ahead. Help yourself."
She pulled out a clean white pair and slipped them on and stepped into her shoes, after yelling a goodbye.
Deciding that she had approximately twenty minutes to get to school, she grabbed her bicycle and pedaled as fast as she could go.
She reached, panting, approximately a minute before time and raced through the corridors, only to realize that she had entered the wrong classroom.
"Oh crap! Sorry," she mumbled, red faced to the dazed looking teacher and raced to her class.
She pulled open the sliding door and faced her stern looking math teacher, who scowled at her and said, loud enough for the entire class to hear, "thank you for joining us, Miss Mizuki."
Natsumi flushed and slunk to her seat, panting heavily.
"Okay class, now pass me your homework," called the teacher. Heart pounding, Natsumi turned to her seatmate, a dark-haired guy who was absorbed in a problem.
"Takashi! Wasn't the submission due on Wednesday?" she asked him, her eyes larger than grapefruit.
Takashi frowned, tapping his chin with his mechanical pencil and replied, "No. I think sensei told us it was for Monday."
Sighing deeply, Natsumi stood up and said, "Sir, I haven't got my homework with me."
The teacher looked up and nodded, smirking slightly, "well, you're free to leave then, Mizuki. I do not accept tardy students."
Natsumi trooped out of class, her eyes downcast and her teeth biting into her lower lip.
How could she have forgotten her homework? It was right beside her hello kitty plushie, the one on her study table!
She stood outside and tried to ignore the stares of occasionally passing students and disapproving-looking teachers.
There goes her perfect school record.
As the bell rang, Natsumi trooped back into class, her lips turned down into a small frown.
"Natsumi-chan! Daijobu desu ka? That bakayaro Kimigawa, he could have let you off once! I mean, it wouldn't have killed him! After all, you rock at math!" yelled Manami, her best friend.
Natsumi grinned and said, "Ah well. May-be he hates me. At least the rumors are true!"
"So, were are we going to have lunch? In doors or out doors?" asked Natsumi. Manami flushed slightly and said, fumbling, "umm… I promised I would have lunch with Souchiro today. It's been nearly a week since I saw him… but if you want, I can definitely eat with you." Natsumi smiled and shook her head, reading the longing in Manami's eyes quite perfectly.
Souchiro and Manami had been dating since the past few months and today was supposed to be their 5th month anniversary or something. She couldn't steal that away from her friend. Besides, Souchiro was preparing for some big entrance exams, so Manami rarely got to see him.
"You go on ahead! I'll eat with Reiko-chan today," she replied, smiling. "Really? Thanks so much! You're truly the greatest tomodachi in the whole world!" yelled Manami as she engulfed her in a bear hug. Natsumi laughed and patted her back.
After Manami left, the said dark haired girl began to look for her bento. Only to realize that she hadn't had the time to prepare it.
Smiling sadly, she settled back into her seat, ignoring her growling stomach.
She had an hour of chemistry to endure.
Today was going to be a long, long day.
Natsumi Mizuki was really mad.
One more crap dipstick stuff happening to her; and she would probably explode like a balloon.
After school, she had found her cycle tires strewn with mud and completely deflated; probably vandalized by some random delinquents. Too tired to report anyone, she decided to lock her bicycle in one of the school sheds and then proceed to work.
She walked down the familiar path to the train station, sighing tiredly as she pulled at her hair. It felt tangled and probably looked worse than it felt.
She waited patiently for the train on the station, hoping against hope it would arrive faster than the scheduled time. She had to really get to Shinjuku as quickly as possible. She just wanted the day to end. And fast.
She braced herself as a large crowd got out of the train. To her utter dismay, she lost her footing and stumbled into the train, only to lie sprawled on her stomach.
Red-faced, she got up, brushed the dirt off her skirt and apologized as people stared at her.
She must go home and write about today in her diary, definitely.
"Hey Paul-sama! I'm here," called Natsumi, as she pushed the café's door open.
She removed her school bag and placed it in its usual place under the counter. She took off her shoes and slipped into more comfortable slip-ons. She secured her hair in its bright blue rubber band, and put on her red apron.
She suddenly realized someone was watching her. Turning around, her eyes widened in surprise as her hand flew threw her throat.
"Ban-san! Mou, you gave me quite a scare there!" she said reprovingly, frowning at the dark-haired retriever.
Ban grinned and Natsumi felt her breath catch in her throat.
Would she ever get used to how incredibly handsome he truly was? Surely not.
"Well, it's not my fault your senses are so dull," he replied, smirking at her. She stuck out her tongue at him, feeling completely foolish.
Conversations with him always left her feeling that way.
Lately, she had begun to notice a lot of things about him that she shouldn't notice otherwise. Like how his white shirt fit him snugly, emphasizing how muscular his chest was. Or the way the veins near his throat twitched when he was under tension; his deep blue eyes as they gazed unseeingly into the Mugenjou… he was an enigma; an unfathomable puzzle.
The more she watched him, the more she wanted him. In a bad way. She was always careful to keep her feelings under control around him, because she knew what a man whore he truly was.
She caught him staring at her, more than once as she scrubbed the dishes or prepared some snacks. He would sit on the same bar stool, furthest away from her, his face leaning against his right palm, a cigarette in the corner of his mouth. And watching her from under his lashes.
Yet, young as she was, she couldn't but help feeling hopelessly attracted to him. He had his fair share of moments; his devotion to Ginji was so adorable, that it made Natsumi want to crow about their friendship all day long.
She had once heard Ginji tell Hevn about how nice he truly was. He would always stand up for his friends, no matter how dangerous the situation was.
His grandmother and his mother had not been very kind to him; she wondered if he was truly vulnerable as she often imagined him to be; big blue eyes full of pain and hurt.
The child Ban would probably have been one of the cutest things ever! She would gladly give away her prized cat collection photos, just to be able to know him completely.
She had seen him in pain only once; and hoped she never would ever again. Ever.
"Cat got your tongue?" he asked her, snapping her out of her reverie.
Natsumi looked up and felt the familiar swoop in her stomach as she stared into deep azure orbs.
He was utterly perfect. Too divine; horrendously cocky; but his looks and panache made up for it. He played the violin really well too.
How she wished he allowed his composure to slip and let her see the true person he was. She was sure she would love him even more.
Smiling, she shook her head and replied, "No. I'm just tired."
He looked at her enquiringly as she sighed. "I had a bad day. An awful one, actually," she replied, her eyes glimmering with mirth and sarcasm.
He grinned and said, sitting down on the bar stool, just a foot apart from her, "tell me about it. Everyone likes a good vent out, after all."
She grinned back and said, "Like you would care."
He stopped grinning and said, staring into her eyes, his mouth in a hard line, "tell me."
She looked at him, slightly surprised and afraid, wondering why the invincible Ban Mido would be interested in her silly problems. Despite herself, she found herself narrating the whole day's events to him, her voice wavering with slight emotion, glancing at him to make sure he wasn't bored. He listened with rapt attention, frowning slightly when he mentioned some unpleasant detail.
"So that was all of it. Life sucks sometimes, ne?" she said, grinning at him as she placed a steaming cup f coffee in front of him.
He took a swig from the cup and then replied, his eyes boring into hers, "So, from what I'm guessing, not a single good thing has happened to you in the entire day? Correct me if I'm wrong."
She wouldn't tell him that he sitting with her was more than enough, but she nodded and replied, "Something like it."
He placed his cup down on the counter and leaned forward, his eyes still boring into hers with such intensity that Natsumi felt that she would melt right there.
But all coherent thought flew out of her head as he pressed his mouth against hers. He tasted like coffee and cigarettes and some pleasant taste that she couldn't quite place. Her stomach was hurting, because of the hard wooden counter in between them. She took his face in her hands and pulled off his glasses as he kissed her harder, his mouth bruising her lips.
Slowly, the kiss came to an end. Natsumi didn't want him to stop; it was closest to the most perfect kiss she had ever received. He pulled away and kissed her lightly on the cheek. She opened her eyes, feeling dizzy, as she realized he was smiling at her.
"Was that any better? Or did your day just become even worse?" he asked her, grinning as he retrieved his purple glasses.
Leaning in, she muttered, conspirationally, "One kiss can't really make you decide you know…"
Laughing, he took her small hand in his and mumbled, suddenly shy, "what's the hurry? We have all the time in the world."
She giggled and replied, "Yes. That's true."
She certainly hoped she had bad days all the time, hence forth.
OK. I want to be kissed like that. by Ban only, of course. lucky Natsumi-chan! .
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