Chapter 1: Supermarket Havoc

The story begins a little after Tsukushi & Tsukasa's cruise around the world. They are finally dating steadily (YAY!). Naturally, the devil known as Kaede reluctantly backed off and returned to business in New York while a new semester begins at Eitoku…

Sunday was supposed to be a relaxing day for Makino Tsukushi because it was the only day where she was off from working at the dango shop and from going to school. Of course she made the effort to be with her boyfriend. But on this very rare occasion, Tsukasa decided to run some errands with her….or some "poor people" errands as he liked to call it…

"Attention Shoppers!" the speaker chimed. "Our special offer coupon gives you 30 percent off of all purchased items. Be sure to check out our fresh leeks and paupou fruit which can be found on aisle 3..."

"What's a coupon…?" Tsukasa scratched his head with a perplexed look.

"You've never seen one or used one have you?"

"Why would I?" he blankly raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I suppose you don't because you never go shopping for your own food like some of us. Are you sure you wanna be here today? I think you can still catch up with Soujiro and Akira at the movies…"

He had to show that he cared by pushing the squeaky cart alongside Tsukushi as she picked out food for her next meal.

"Hey, just because I'm Doumyouji Tsukasa, does not mean I'm incapable of a little grocery shopping now and then. Now hurry up before I get angry…."

"Uhhh, okay then. Why don't we split up to make this go a little faster?" she tore the list in half and handed him his part.

Bad idea.

At the seafood aisle:

"BAAAAAAAAH-KA!!!!!" Tsukushi's jaw dropped straight to the floor as she screamed in bewilderment . She found Tsukasa trying to catch a squid in the tank near the fish aisle with sleeved rolled up and bucket in one hand. The girl knew better than to leave the man alone in a supermarket for more than 5 minutes upon arrival…

"Sir…you're not supposed to be reaching into the tanks…please stop!!" the frightened worker stood watching along with the rest of the shoppers.

"There you are Makino! Help me, I think I got a bite!" he threw the squid flat into the cart.

A vein popped in her head…and then..

SMACK

"What was THAT for!?" he groaned as he rubbed the lump that formed on top of his head.

"I thought that's what you commoners do when you want to purchase seafood?"

"Ehh…" She sighed. "It's like babysitting a five-year-old…I'll just put it back…" and the squid swam happily in its tank once more.

"No more wrestling with seafood, okay? Let's just stick to what's on the list for now…"

Tsukasa turned bright red as they resumed their shopping.

"Clean up on aisle ten!" It was going to be a long day…

At the fruit section:

"Doumyouji, help me pick out some tomatoes?"

But he was already helping himself to three watermelons, his favorite. What on earth were two people going to do with three watermelons? More importantly, how are they going to lug them all the way back home…He then reached for the smallest, lumpiest tomatoes and put them into a plastic bag.

"Erghh…" Tsukushi, at this point became completely resigned and didn't want to hurt his feelings anymore. Go easy on him, he was trying, he really was. She reassured herself.

"Just weigh them on that scale over there to see how many grams…?"

Scratching his head again, he simply did what she said before following her to the next aisle…

At the canned goods aisle:

"Can't buy this one." She placed one can of soup back into the shelf. "Can't buy that one either."

"Why not?" the curly haired man assumed it was alright to buy those items since they were neither watermelon nor squid.

"'Cuz there's another brand that's cheaper. It's called smart buying…only buy things for a bargain. It's the only way to save money."

"But I have more than enough money right here." He reached into his heavy wallet.

The girlfriend continued her explanation on their way out to the register.

"That's how we 'poor people' do things though. We can't always spend our money on luxury items. We haggle, we look for things for a cheaper price and we use coupons because they take off a fraction of the price that you have to pay. Every yen counts, that's what mama always said to me."

"Blah, blah, blah…and everything you save up pays for your Eitoku tuition?" again, an inquiring gaze from him.

"Maybe………" she trailed off.

"Completely pointless then!" He mused on. "What's the point of making your own life harder anyway when you're just going to act and stay poor all your life?"

Tsukushi smacked her own head. He was so stubborn and arrogant sometimes….rather, all the time. She felt like beating him up but refrained.

"You're only saying that because you have it easy being Mr. Big Shot." She retorted with a finger raised at his face. "I don't think you can even last ONE day as Makino Tsukushi."

"How hard could it be?" he scoffed.

'Well, first you have to be tough like a weed …not delicate like a FLOWER."

"Hey, it's not THAT easy living in my socks either…!"

"I believe the term is 'shoes.' But you do have a point. I suppose it isn't easy for you, living with the 'obligation' of wealth, luxury, power and popularity…" Sarcasm was indeed a weapon for Tsukushi.

"That's somethin' you'll never experience, huh?" he bit back. "….I bet I can do a better job being poor than you can!"

"W-What?!" her knuckles now clenched. "That doesn't even make any sense, Doumyouji. You can't be serious, right? You can't live without your cars, butlers and money. "

The two became so heated in their argument that they stormed out of the supermarket, leaving puzzled looks on everyone's faces and even the groceries on the counter.

"F-Fine! Let's bet RIGHT NOW" Tsukasa seemed to be blowing steam out of his ears by now. He always loved competition. "We'll switch our homes, friends, yachts, cars, cellphones, money…everything!"

What car? What yacht?

'We're switching jobs too?"

"HELL YEAH. Bring it on!"

"Gee Doumyouji, it sounds more like a vacation for me. For how long? "

"One week!"

"You're on then!"

They both reached into their pockets and exchanged their wallets, keys, cell phones…etc.

With that, they went their separate ways.

…………………

Author's note: I hope you liked that little intro chapter. I tried to come up with many ways to get them to make this dumb bet via petty argument. Now the GAME IS OFFICIALLY ON! Stay tuned for a new chapter update sometime this week. Everyone, including the F4 is going to get in on the bet. And my money's on Tsukushi. Stay tuned for updates of mucho surprises on the way!

By the way, the paupou fruit that the speaker announced is from Kingdom Hearts. Does anyone know if it's even a real fruit?