I threw my bag aside on the soft bed of grass below me and sat down, sighing. The place by the river was the best place to kill time.
It was probably the most boring day of my life. Except for the part where some guy from school had tried asking me out and bailed out after seeing me stutter and stammer in front of him.
Jeez, why am I cursed with the inability to talk to guys? Why me?
I started slowly humming a song to relax myself. Before I knew it, I started singing the song a bit loudly.
After a few moments I heard someone walk to me.
''E-excuse...m-me...'' A male...Oh no...
I stopped my singing and stood up, facing the guy.
By the look on his face, it was as if he had been placed in front of his nightmare.
He could be 16 or maybe 18, seeing as his height was not so great. But, I am no one to comment. Seeing as I'm a bit short myself.
He wore a red beanie and had chest-nutish hair. A red sweater had been tied to his waist and he wore a white shirt.
''Y-yes?'' Oh God, the stuttering.
''W-will you come...h-here tom-tomorrow?'' His face was, dare I say, beetroot red. Nevertheless, I was taken aback by his comment.
''Wh-what? Why...should-should I?'' I asked him.
Guys couldn't be trusted. Atleast, not immediately.
''No-no, I was...just a-asking. What's your na-name?'' He rubbed the back of his head.
That pissed me off.
''Why should I...tell you? Y-you shouldn't g-go asking girls' names b-before y-you don't tell them yours.'' Whatever anger I had tried to put there failed when I stammered.
''I'm s-so sorry. I'm Yata Misaki.''
Yata... Misaki...
''Kiriko.'' I said that one word, grabbed my bag and walked off, ''G-goodbye.''
''H-hey! You'll come b-back, right? I want to hear you sing again! I'll be waiting here!'' He shouted as I walked further away from him.
I didn't have plans to come here again. That guy creeped me out.
But... I wanted to come back again. I had a strange feeling. I wanted to see him again.
XxXxXxX
Let's see. I left school at 3:45 pm and went to the river at 4:15 pm. That means it took me half an hour to get there. That also means that I'm late as it is 4:45 pm now.
Yes, yes. I know. I shouldn't be meeting a complete stranger who requested seeing me. But don't blame me. I can't help it.
I ran towards the river. As I neared the bridge, which went over the river, I saw the same beanie boy sitting there. I slid down the slope carefully and walked to him. He sensed me a turned around. As if recognition dawned upon him, his face flared red and he abruptly stood up.
''You came!'' he exclaimed, excited. I just nodded and sat next to the spot where he plopped down after seeing me.
''C-can you s-sing for me?'' He asked, shyly.
I nodded.
''Sing the one you sang yesterday.''
Yesterday? Oh, Hotaru by Fujita Maiko.
I started out slowly and then began to gain confidence. I stopped after the next three verses.
''You-you have a beautiful voice.'' Yata...was it? Yata-san said.
I smiled lightly and said a low thank you.
He stood up and looked at me shyly, ''Please come here again, Kiriko-san.'' and offered me his hand to stand up. I took it, hesistantly.
''You...can-can't talk to g-girls, right?'' I asked him. He looked to the ground, ''Y-yeah. Kinda lame, I k-know.''
''It-it's okay.'' I giggled, ''I'm-I'm unable to talk to guys. I...um, lose my uh, composure and s-start stammering when-when I talk to them.''
He grinned at me, ''Looks like we have something i-in common.''
Oh, he looked so cute when he said that.
Whoa! Where did that come from?
XxXxXxX
It may sound stalker-ish, but he asked me to come again the next day. I couldn't talk much but he started feeling comfortable around me on our third meeting. Guess my problem's much worse than his.
These...'meetings'...went on for a couple more days. Everyday, he'd ask me to come to the river. Everday, I'd go to meet him. Everday, he'd ask me to sing different songs for him and I'd always agree. But today, I'll ask him why.
I skipped to the place. Much to my surprise, I had grown attached to Yata-san. I'd always look forward to meet him here. A part of me said that it was a good thing. A part of me, however, said that it wasn't such a good idea?
But...who the hell cared?
I found the place empty. 'I must've reached here early' I thought as I sat on my usual spot. I waited for about 20 minutes when I heard him running towards me, '' Kiriko-chan! I'm sorry! I got caught up in some work.''
I saw that he was carrying a baseball bat in his hand.
''Playing baseball?'' I asked, playfully, ''Or are you a part of a street-gang?''
He visibally paled when I said 'street-gang'. He stammered, '' Wha-no no. I was-just, I..yeah. Playing baseball. With f-friends.''
''Uso-tsuki.'' I chuckled as I called him a liar.
''N-no. It's the truth.'' He sat next to me as usual.
''It's alright. If y-your a part of a street-gang.'' I gave him a weird look, something which I couldn't explain. And it made him blush again.
But this time when he spoke, he spoke with pride, ''It's not a street gang! It HOMRA. It's my family. It's the best clan ever.''
''Why do you keep telling me to come here?'' I asked, out of the blue, ''Actually, w-why did you ask m-me to come he-here at all?''
He gave me a confused look and said, ''Y-you don't like coming here?''
''Oh, no!'' I protested, ''It's not that. I'm just...curious, you could say. I mean, I've never seen you before. And I'm pretty sure you've never seen me either. Still you walked up to me that day and talked to me. Even after knowing that you can't talk to girls.'' I added with a giggle.
''Oh.'' He looked relieved now, ''Well, I really loved your singing. And I'd wanted to talk to you. I was passing by with a friend when I saw you. My friend dared me to go and talk to you.''
''It's a good thing he did.'' I smiled honestly.
Yata-san blushed at this, ''Would you like to come m-meet my...fellow clansmen?''
''Sure!'' I smiled again.
XxXxXxX
'' On the other hand, I'd-I'd rather n-not.'' I said as the two of us stood in front of a fancy bar.
''Why not?'' Yata-san tugged onto the sleeve of my black sweater, ''C'mon, Kiriko-chan. It'll be fine.''
''Yata-san.'' I whispered to him, ''If you forgot, I-I can't t-talk to men.''
''It's alright! You don't have to worry.'' He grabbed my arm and walked inside, yelling,''Yo! I'm back.''
''Uh...eh...um...'' I couldn't say anything.
''Welcome back, Yata-cha- Who is this young lady?'' A blonde man behind the bar counter asked, cleaning his already spotless glass.
''H-hi. I...uh... I'm...uh... K-Kiriko...'' I stammered.
''Kusanagi-san, this is Kiriko-chan. The girl with the beautiful voice I told you about.'' Yata-san said happily.
''Aha!''The man, Kusanga-san, smiled gently at me, ''At first, when Yata-chan told me he had met a girl, I never believed him. I'm Kusanagi Izumo. It's very nice to meet you finally.''
''F-finally?'' I asked.
''Oh, yes. Yata-chan used to talk non-stop about to. At one point I thought he had an imaginary girlfriend.''
''Kusanagi-saaan! Shut uuuuup!'' Yata-san protested.
Meanwhile, I noticed that the whole bar (it was filled with boys. Oh, the horror!) was completely silent. Until...
''Oi, the chihuahua went and got himself a girlfriend.'' A blonde guy said, snickering.
''Don't call me that!'' Yata-san pointed his bat towards him, ''And Kiriko-chan's not my girlfriend.''
''Well, let's here it from her then.'' the blonde guy had blue eyes, I noted.
''I...I'm n-not his g-girlfriend. W-we met a-a few weeks-weeks ago.'' I fumbled with the sleeve of my shirt.
''Oi, Yata!'' another guy, an orange haired one, yelled, ''Make a move on! We're proud of you.''
I giggled as Yata-san flushed red, ''Teme...'' I heard him mumble.
''Sorry, what?'' I tried not to laugh.
''N-nothing. I said nothing.'' He put on a straight face.
''Ara, what is this I see?'' The bar door opened and three people walked in.
One of them (another blonde!) was smiling away at Yata-san. The other guy, stood in the middle, had flaming red hair. Hs face held a...did he even have an expression? And clung to his sleeve was an adorable little girl who had white hair and wore a Lollita dress. The two of them walked in, the man with the red hair nodding at Yata-san.
''Ah! Mikoto-san, Totsuka-san, Anna!'' Yata-san grinned at them, ''Meet my friend, Kiriko-chan.''
I bowed down awkwardly, ''Pleased to m-meet you.''
''And you too!'' Totsuka-san said. He walked towards us and pulled out a video camera. Adjusting the lenses onto me, he said, ''Kiriko-chan! Wave for me.''
''Eh? Um...H-hi?'' I tried to put on a smile.
After recording my dreadful introduction, everyone bombarded me with question.
''How did you guys meet?''
''I don't think he approached you, did he?''
''Impossible! Yata can't talk to girls.''
''The Chihuahua's a loser!''
I started trembling at this.
''Oi, leave the girl alone.'' The red-haired man, Mikoto-san, said. Oh, he noticed my shivers.
But the guys did back off.
''I'm s-sorry. I j-j-just can't talk to-to men.'' I said, looking guilty.
''It's alright, Kiriko-chan. You don't have to be scared of us.'' Kusanagi-san said.
''I'm n-not scared. It's j-just that I'm u-unable to talk to them.''
''Oh.'' Totsuka-san said, ''You're just opposite to Yata-chan then.''
''Yeah...'' I rubbed the back of my head, embarrassed.
XxXxXxX
''Did you like them, Kiri-chan?'' Yata-san asked as he dropped me back home.
''Uhhuh! They're really nice, Yata-san.'' I nodded happily. I can't believe I could talk to men. For 45 minutes!
''Yata-san? It's alright to call me by my first name, Kiri-chan.'' He laughed, twirling his baseball in mid-air.
''Really, now? Misa-chuuu!'' I exclaimed with delight.
He dropped the bat in surprise, ''Misa-chu? That sounds like a girl's name, Kiri-chan!'' He complained as he walked me to my door.
''Does it now?'' I hopped in front of the door. "Then I'll call you that from now on.''
He sighed and smiled at me, ''Fine. But only you are. Consider yourself lucky! I don't allow many people to call me that.''
I laughed and kissed his cheek, ''Well, then I'm a lot more lucky than I thought. Goodbye, Misa-chu!''
And I left him outside in daze.
XxXxXx
We kept meeting for two months like this. Sometimes, we even went to Kusanagi-san's bar to meet the others. Or sometimes to a park. Or sometimes, we'd jut walk around.
Misa-kun and i exchanged stories about our past. He told me about his friend, Fushimi Saruhiko, who betrayed the clan and joined SCEPTRE-4 (some blue clan, he had said.).
I told him about my school, how my parents are famous musicians, my ambitions. We talked about random stuff.
Like I said, I looked forward to meet him.
And then, what I doubted became reality.
I started liking him. Like, a lot.
One day, I was walking down Mashima Shopping Street with a couple of friends from school when I saw him skateboarding past the other side.
''Misa-chuuuuu!'' I called out, waving my hands, much to my friends' shock.
Misaki-kun slipped and fell down. When he got up, he looked around growling, ''Alright, which teme called me that? No one's allowed to call me by that name except- Kiri-chan!'' He spotted me in the crowd and skated to me.
''Kiri, who's this guy?'' One of my friends, Hina,whispered.
''Misa-chu! Meet my friends. This is Hina, Ari and Momoka.'' I introduced him my friends, one by one.
''H-hi.'' He gulped and stammered.
My friends, on the other hand, stared at him as if he was an alien.
Feeling uncomfortable by their stares, Misaki-kun said, ''Looks like you're busy. I'll see you in the evening. Same place.'' and without waiting for a reply, ran off and mixed into the crowd.
''You...have a friend...who's a...male?'' Ari looked at me in disbelief.
''Please tell me you're bluffing.'' Momoka started gasping for air, ''God, the shock. I can't breathe.''
''He sounded sure when he said that he'll meet you in the evening.'' Hina eyed me carefully.
''Yeah, we've been meeting for two and a half month or so.'' I said as I started walking.
''WHAT?'' They yelled.
''Let's gooo!'' I started pulling them as they refused to budge.
''We thought you couldn't talk to guys.'' Ari said.
''So did I, Ari. So did I.''
XxXxXxX
I told my friends the whole story. From starting to the end. Even the liking part.
Hina squealed at this, ''Oh gosh! My Kiri's finally grown up.'' ''Go meet up with Dream Boy.'' Momoka said as she pushed me out of the store we were in.
''Now? Why?''
''It's already time!''she said excitedly, ''Now, go. Shoo!''
I waved at them and walked off to the river. Imagine my surprise when I saw that Misaki-kun wasn't alone.
He was with a girl.
Not that it bothered me or something.
''Misa-chuuu!'' I ran to him. He looked at me and gave me a sheepish smile.
''Misa-kun, who's this?'' The brunette girl beside him asked, looking at me.
''A-ah, this is Kiri-chan. My f-friend. Kiri-chan, this is Saaya-chan.''
She looked pretty normal, this Saaya-san. So I grinned at her, ''Hi, I'm Kiriko. Nice to meet you.''
''You too.'' Fake smile.
''Kiri-chan...um..'' Misaki-kun couldn't meet my glance, ''Eh..uhem.. The thing is t-that.. Saaya-chan.. She's-she's my girlfriend.''
''...'
''...''
''What?''
XxXxXxX
''You never told me you had a girlfriend!'' I threw Misaki-kun a betrayed look. It did hurt, though. Him having a girlfriend and all.
She had went home after a while.
''Kiri-chan, she became my girlfriend today.'' He sat down on the grass, pulling his knees up. He started ripping out the grass blades from the ground.
''Today?'' I sat next to him, ''I thought you couldn't talk to girls!''
''Um...she came up and said I was...cute and all. And she sorta asked me.''
''You...'ve...never talked?'' I narrowed my eyes at him.
''Talked? I've never seen her before.'' He avoided looking at me.
''...What?...''
''Yeah. I said yes 'coz I thought it'd be cool to have one.''
''You. Are. An. Idiot.'' I told him, ''How the hell can you say yes to a girl you've just met? You've got to have feeling for her! You can't go on making someone off the streets your girlfriend. I mean, you don't even know her. You don't know where she lives or-or what she does.'' I threw my hands in the air, ''This is ridiculous.''
''Kiri-chan, I'm sorry. I-'' Misaki-kun started to talk but I interupted him, ''I misjudged you. Misaki-kun, I'd never thoguht- to think I could like you.''
His mouth dropped and he stared at me, ''Say what?''
I stood up, ''I think you did a big mistake, Misaki-kun. You like a girl who you know! Not who you meet immediately! You're such a- Pfft. Baka, baka, baka, baka!'' I yelled at him, ''Baka Misaki! I liked you! And I still do. BAKA!''
I stormed off, this time leaving a dumbstruck Misaki-kun.
XxXxXxX
I want to see Misaki-kun. But I can't see Misaki-kun. I want to... But I can't...
God, it was so... I can't even take all that back.
I lay on my bed, cursing myself. Jeez, when I want to talk to guys, I start stammering and mumbling and what not. But when I don't want to, then the words start flowing out of my mouth.
Sheesh.
Should I go out for a walk? I should. I haven't been out of my house except for school.
Yep, I avoided Misaki-kun. Whiiiich was cowardly.
I got off the bed and put on my sneakers and brushed my auburn hair. Carefully checking if the coast was clear, I stepped out of the house.
All clea-
''Kiri-chan.'' an all too familiar voice came. I winced visibly, ''Misaki-kun.''
He stood in front of me, shivering. One moment he stood there and the next, he ran behind the compound wall saying, ''I can't do it.''
He was pushed back. Someone yelled (Was that...Eric?), ''C'mon, Chihuahua. Grow a spine.''
Misaki-kun straightened up and looked at me, ''G-gomen... I'm really sorry.''
He..he.. I don't...know what you're saying sorry for. It's my fault. How're you and Saaya-san?'' I played with my fingers.
''We broke up.''
''Eeeeh? When?'' I was taken aback a bit.
''The same day you yelled at me.'' He suddenly found the sky interesting, '' I got on my knees and apologised to her. It took an hour to make her understand.''
''And you did this because...?'' I walked up to him and forced him to look at me...by grabbing his chin and turning his face towards me.
''Umm..well...You..sa-said that I-I was an id-idiot and all. And y-you were...dis-disappoin-appointed in m-me. I want-wanted to-to see you so bad-badly. And-and-''
I didn't let him finish and closed the distance between us. So... Yeah.. I kissed him...
"Why are things so quie- Shit, don't look, Kamamoto. They're...kissing.'' Dewa's voice came.
I suddenly pushed him back and looked at him apologetically, ''Sorry, I-I...I'm-I'm s-so s-orry.''
He looked at me with a weird smile and said, ''Baka.'' before kissing me again.
''Hurray, Yata-san!'' Kamamoto yelled, ''You did it!''
''Oi. Stop kissing already. You're makin' us barf.'' Shouhei made a gagging noise.
''Shouhei's right. Ask her out already.'' Fujishima said.
''Ho? But I'm enjoying this! Carry on!'' Chitose yelled joyfully.
At this we broke apart.
''You ha-have something t-to say?'' I smiled shyly at him.
''Um..eh...hehe.. Be my girlfriend?'' Misaki-kun chuckled nervously.
''Yataaa! You suck, man!'' Dewa yelled.
''I second that.''Bandou said.
I laughed.
''Get back to kissing!'' Chitose muffled his laughter, ''It's hilarious, seeing Yata kiss someone- Hey! Getoffa me!''
Misaki-kun ignored the people fighting outside the compound of my house, including cries of ''Fucking pervert!'' ''Oy, his nose's bleeding.'' ''Probably because of his pervy thoughts!''
''Matsunaga Kiriko, will you be my girlfriend?'' Misaki-kun asked me without stammering.
''I thought you'd never ask.'' My forehead met his as we smiled at each other.
''Aaand done!'' Totsuka-san grinned happily, appearing on the scene with his video camera, ''I've recorded this wonderful moment. Does this new couple have any comments for their absolutely stupendous camera man?''
''TOTSUKA-SAAAAN!''
That was one moment in my life when I laughed the hardest.
XxXxXxX
Done dana dooone~
Phew, that's long one. I just hope none of them are too OOC. I'm sorry if they are.
A hi-uuuuuuuge thank you to all those who reviewed my previous one-shots.
Before ending this, I've sworn my friend I'd write this, dedicating it to her.
So, Niki! Or, meripepsiwaalidost, thanks meri jaan. I got the 'inspiration' to write this one-shot because of you. Toh, this is for you!
A special mention of Mr. Derpson and Indrani. Love u guys!
Btw, To Indrani : By the guest name, u sound Indian. Are u? Forgive me if I'm wrong. I'm just curious.
That's all for now!Plz leave lots nd lots nd lots of reviews!
