"Anything interesting to do, Tsukimori?" asked Tsuchiura Ryoutaro as he and the said lad sat side-by-side by the railings in the rooftop.
It was lunch time—the sun was up high, glaring down at all the students outside in the grounds or rooftops of Seiso Gakuen. It was the kind of lunch when the participants in the past concours had to gather, once again, for a certain meeting.
From Tsuchiura's previous question, Tsukimori merely shrugged.
The green-head rolled his eyes. "God, you're annoying, Tsukimori," he said, shaking his head. At this, Tsukimori glared. "Not only that, you're a sarcastic monkey as well who only eats bananas that are infected with sarcasm, egotism, obnoxiousness, and despicability. Remind me why Hino befriends you."
Tsukimori didn't retort and found comfort in glaring all the more.
Tsuchiura ignored the young man beside him and continued, "If you don't find consolation in being referred to as a sarcastic monkey, maybe you'd please it if you'd be known as the 'I-am-loathsome-hateful-horrible-insufferable-intolerable-detestable-unbearable-abhorrent-abominable-despicable-repugnant-repellent-offensive-unpleasant-High-and-Mighty-kiss-the-ground-I-walk-on jerk.'"
The prodigious violinist's glare heightened and he smirked. "It's unbelievable," he said.
The soccer player sneered. "It's unbelievable that you're annoying as hell—"
"—that you have that kind of vocabulary in you. Everyone surely would bet that you are studying the thesaurus for all we know."
It was time that Tsuchiura Ryoutaro would glare.
"You care because . . . ?"
"Because it's surreal to find some idiot like you to know that much of shameful and vile language," replied Tsukimori as he shook his head with faux concern.
"It's. Not. Vile."
They engaged in a thirty-minute-long glaring contest until Tsuchiura sighed and cupped his chin with his hand.
"What took the others so long?" he grumbled. He hesitated at first then said, "Let's play twenty-one questions."
Again, Tsukimori glared.
"What?" asked Tsuchiura, raising an eyebrow. "I'm trying to save both of us from the death called bore—"
"Nothing, 21."
Tsuchiura remained silent, confused. "What was that about?"
"Whatever, 20."
"Look, I'm trying to be composed with some stuck up smartass like you, you know? Would you just be cooperative enough?"
"I'm not stuck up, 19. I don't want, 18."
Then it dawned on Tsuchiura Ryoutaro. The game of twenty-one questions had already long begun. He had already wasted four darn questions.
"When you're doing nothing, you're thinking of someone, right?" he asked, nevertheless.
"Maybe, 17," replied Tsukimori, remaining indifferent.
Tsuchiura gritted his teeth at the sudden urge to punch Tsukimori's face.
"I want yes or no, stuck up, snot-nosed, bossy Your Highness," he retorted.
Tsukimori glared at him and said, "Yes, then."
"Female?" inquired Tsuchiura. Somehow, this was the only thing he could do to find the answer to something he had wished to be answered long ago.
"Yes, 16."
The soccer player pursed his lips. "Is she beautiful in your eyes?"
The blue-haired violinist didn't answer all-too-immediately. ". . . Perhaps yes, 15."
"You're stalling . . . ," accused Tsuchiura before sighing and thinking of another question. "Anyway, does she play any musical instruments?"
"Yes, 14."
"Have you ever liked her?"
"I don't kno—"
"Yes or no, Your Highness," grunted Tsuchiura, glaring back at the glaring Tsukimori. "That or I'll not hesitate to take something or someone precious away from you."
Tsukimori rolled his eyes. "Yes, 13."
Tsuchiura smirked. "Have you ever had a dream about her?"
The lad shrugged. "Yes, 12."
"How about daydream?"
". . . yes, 11."
Tsuchiura was . . . amused. Tsukimori was DAYDREAMING!
"Have you told her about your feelings, yet?"
". . . no, 10."
There was a pause before—
"Sheesh, it's already 12:40? What's taking the others long? Anyway . . . is your feelings about her anything along the lines, 'I'm serious'?"
Tsukimori smirked. "Yes, 9. I honestly don't know, 8. Yes, I believe, 7."
Tsuchiura sighed as he realized that he wasted another set of questions. "Is she among our year level?"
"Yes, 6."
"Do you think . . . . Is her instrument a violin?"
Tsuchiura hoped not.
". . . yes, 5."
Tsuchiura knew now. He was now certain. Tsukimori Len is in love with—
"Is your heartbeat accelerating when you're around her, like palpitation?"
". . . yes, 4."
"Is she the first, the last, and will always be the one?"
Tsukimori glared but answered nevertheless. "Yes, 3."
"Do you think she likes you back?" Tsuchiura's voice became lower. It was almost inaudible.
There was long silence.
"No, 2."
Tsuchiura stared at him. "Why do you say so?"
Before Tsukimori could answer, the door in the rooftop burst open.
"I'm sorry, I'm late!" came Hino Kahoko's voice. "I still did an errand by—wait a minute . . . where are the others?"
The two lads shrugged.
"Oh," mumbled Kahoko. "I'll go look for them, okay? I have something important to tell Kanazawa-sensei beforehand, anyway. Oh, and Tsukimori-kun? Thank you again for inviting me to your family dinner last night. Your mother's really kind, you know."
"Hn."
And the lass left.
"And that means?" asked Tsuchiura, raising an eyebrow at the now closed rooftop door. He averted his gaze from it to the cerulean-haired lad.
"That means I'm on the lead—it's out of twenty-one already, you noticed?" answered Tsukimori shrugging.
Tsuchiura's eyes narrowed. "But you haven't totally answered my last question," he snapped.
Again, Tsukimori shrugged. "She doesn't like me back because . . ." he turned to the green-haired pianist, ". . . I believe that she loves me back."
In Tsuchiura Ryoutaro's wide vocabulary came the following words:
I-am-loathsome-hateful-horrible-insufferable-intolerable-detestable-unbearable-abhorrent-abominable-despicable-repugnant-repellent-offensive-unpleasant-High-and-Mighty-kiss-the-ground-I-walk-on jerk is not only those but he was also an arrogant, bigheaded, proud, conceited, full of yourself, bragging, immodest, vain, self-important, narcissist, self-satisfied, overweening, complacent, boastful bastard!
He highly regards Encarta Dictionaries for its excellent thesaurus. Thank you.
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Review??? :D
~sera-chan