* Two hours are still left *, she thought with agitation .
She decided to wander through the shop filled streets ,to kill time . As she went by , many of the shopkeepers called out to her , asking if ' the lovely young lady ' wanted to buy this or that . She only smiled at them and shook her head .
If only they knew that she couldn't even afford to buy a scarf for herself ,they wouldn't have been calling her a ' lovely young lady ' . Sure, she was a member of the prestigious Hiragi family but she was treated as anything but that . Her father had thrown her out of the mansion and stripped her of her status long ago . She was only a Hiragi by name . Shinoa was lucky that the Sangu family were kind enough to let her stay with them until she could support herself .
Everything she owned now was borrowed or very old . The shoes on her feet , the sapphire ornament adorning her loose hair , even the beautiful , royal blue dress she wore was something Mitsuba Sangu had outgrown . Only the amethyst ring was hers . Speaking of rings she remembered her internal rant about how stupid it was that after so much humiliation , she was still forced to attend her brother's engagement party . Okay , technically , she was attending as a guest of the bride but still .
The Sangu family left a few days early to deal with some matters concerning their eldest daughter's marriage . Shinoa had stayed behind to finish her schoolwork .
She was thinking of what to do when she met her estranged family after such a long time , when she bumped into someone . The other person scarcely felt it but Shinoa toppled backwards .
" Hey , are you okay little girl ? ",
The lavender haired girl's eyes became enlarged with fury . She looked up at the offender . He was a raven haired boy with peridot coloured eyes . He wore an expensive looking black coat and a scarf that matched his eyes .
" Do you have buttons for eyes ?! ", she yelled at him , " First you bump into me and then call me a little girl ! . I am clearly as old as you are . "
The boy frowned .
" Two things ,lady . First, you bumped into me . Second , it's not my fault you're so short even a toddler can tower over 'ya ."
"I'm not short ! I just live in a big world .", she fumed .
The green eyed boy tilted his head and then smirked .
"Oh ? okay little duckling . I understand completely . ",
Shinoa pouted unhappily and turned to walk back to the station . Suddenly she felt a hand encircle her wrist .
"Whoa, hey , duckling don't get upset . I'm sorry,okay ?", he smiled and her heart skipped a beat . "I'm Yuuichirou Hyakuya but you can call me Yuu ."
" Shinoa Hiragi ", She expectantly waited for him to react . To begin saying how privileged he was to meet a Hiragi , try to suck up to her in hopes of elevating his own status like most people did . Unfortunately , he was different from all the people she had ever met . He simply stated to her ;
" You cold ? Don't you have a coat or something .",
Very different . Shinoa flushed . She couldn't possibly tell him that she couldn't afford one .
Afterall, even a piece of trash has its pride . Yuuichirou began to take his coat off but she immediately retorted ;
" Ha ! I could buy an entire city if I wanted to . I'm just not feeling cold , that's all . I don't need some peasent kid's lousy , cheap coat . So please , don't bother ." As if she was one to talk .
Yuu's face a mixture of embarrasment and anger . He swiftly put his coat back on . " This coat is very expensive and I'm the son of the biggest business tycoon of Japan . I'll have you know . ", he replied heatedly , " Anyways, don't flatter yourself . I wasn't going to give it to you . Goodbye . ", He turned from her and walked away .
All the shops had now been closed and the city looked like a ghost town . Shinoa watched him disappear into the foggy night . She felt guilt and remorse, piling up in her heart . She didn't mean it , it was just the Hiragi in her blood spouting crap .
A cold wind blew and she shivered . " Should've accepted that coat . ", she murmered to herself . The ruby eyed girl had only walked a few steps when she heard a bike honking behind her . Turning around she saw a man in his late teens with a shit eating grin on his face .
" Ah! What a rich , pretty girl I found ! . I had a feeling I'd be lucky today . Hey, hop on I'll give you a ride home .", he said .
Shinoa fastened her pace . " No thanks .",
"Aw, come on . No one will know .", he pressed . " You can't run very far and no one is here to help you , girl . ",
She began to run , nonetheless . The creepy stalker simply laughed and followed at a leisurely pace . When she finally saw Yuu she nearly cried with relief .
It was an understatement to say that Yuuichirou was suprised when a girl suddenly turned him around and hugged him with much force . When she pressed her lips against his neck , he nearly passed out .
" Yuui ! sweetheart ! why did you go on ahead of me ? ", He immediately realized who she was . The Hiragi raised her head to face him , the fear clearly evident in her beautiful eyes .
He cautiously turned his head to see a man staring at him suspiciously .
Catching on ,he wrapped his arms around her and said " Sorry , Noa - chan, I didn't realize . ",
He buried his face into the hollow of her neck . Then more forcefully , he said "Hope no one was bothering you .",
Shinoa hooked her arm with his and began to drag him to the train station . " Let's hurry , we'll be late .",
When they finally reached the safety of the station , the young girl relaxed . She turned gratefully to the Hyakuya beside her and nearly burst out laughing . He had this almost idiotic ,wobbly smile and his entire face was lit up with a fiery crimson . After composing herself she asked him " Yuu -san , are you by any chance , a cherry boy ? ",
Turning to her he yelled "WHO TOLD YOU THAT !? ", . Shinoa finally laughed out loud . Yuu's embarassment melted away instantly and he found himself smiling . There was just this strange aura he found comforting about her .
" Oh my God! . To think cheery boys actually exist in this world !. ", she said giggles " What a blow you must have felt to your masculine ,virgin ego !. ",
Okay he takes that back .
Before he could say anything she said "But thank you ,Yuu - san, for helping me ,even when I was so harsh to you . Sorry .",
And he gives it back again .
" Consider it forgotten .",
"Well, thanks again . ",
" Yeah .",
They both stood there awkwardly as the train arrived . Shinoa knew she was going to miss the train but she just couldn't make herself board the economy class compartment, not in front of him .
She waited for him to leave but he didn't . After a few minutes she extended her hand to him . " Nice meeting you . I hope that ,despite very low chances, you'll lose your virginity someday . ",
He made a sour face and flicked her forehead . "Ow! ", she pouted .
" Don't gimme' that look you started it ! Besides ,I'm coming with you .",
Her blood ran cold .
" No ! Uh ,I mean , there is no need , Yuu ! I'll be fine .", He shouldn't come ! He can't come ! . " Seriously , you've already been really kind -",
He cut her off by placing a finger on her lips . " Be quiet . The only train that runs at this time of night is to Shinjuku . I have a friend there so, I'll stay at his house tonight . ", He informed her , " It's about time I visited ,anyway . So ,I'm coming whether you want me to or not . Deal with it . ",
The Hiragi felt bewildered and ridiculously happy .
A soft smile spread across her face . "You really are the sweetest idiot , aren't you ?" ,
But her statement was lost in the loud whistle of the train .
" I'm gonna ' get a ticket ,ok? ", With that he jogged away . Shinoa was lost in the giddiness of her euphoria, when a passing thought hit her like a ton of bricks . How, the fuck , was she supposed to protect her facade now ?! .
She stood there , her face becoming paler by the the second . What should she do ? .Tell him the truth ? . No obviously not . He was probably going to be the heir to his father's large business empire and she didn't even have a penny to her name . No, she will definitely not lose face in front of him .
"Hey , come on .", She felt him pat her bare shoulder gently . She stared at him for a second and then made her decision . The lilac haired girl prayed that no one asked for her ticket and forced herself to board the luxury compartement . Yuu stood outside , looking at her hesitantly .
"Is something wrong , cherry boy ?",
" Hm ? ... Oh nothing, nothing . I was just thinking if I should buy something for my friend . ", he replied .
"The train's about to leave . Come on .", She just wanted to go in and get it over with .
Shinoa had never enjoyed someone's company so much . Yuu was such a kind , naive idiot that she felt a natural smile replace her fake one .
Yuuichirou kept recounting hilarious tales of his brothers and sisters . The best of which was when his younger sisters ' borrowed ' his eldest sister Akane's stuff and emptied a pot of moisturizing cream in his brother Mika's hair , along with applying lipstick amd eyeliner from one side of his face to the other while he slept . When he woke up and they showed him how ' gorgeous ' his clown - like makeover had been , he had to use all his self control not to cry .Shinoa told him about her school and the so - called glorious life she had . They both found such comfort in the other stranger that they never felt with people they had known all their life .
But during all that time her conscience and anxiety tugged at her . What if someone asked for her ticket ? . What if Yuu figures out she was dirt poor ? . What if ? what if ? what if ? . She felt sick .Yuu ,on the other hand ,looked absolutely at ease . It unerved her even more .
Needless to say the journey ended pretty quickly .
Shinoa swiftly jumped out of the warm train into the freezing air outside and the Hyakuya lazily stepped out . She mentally congratulated herself on a job well done . She shivered involuntarily .
She was snapped out of her reverie by a coat being thrown on her head . The crimson eyed girl couldn't help the relieved sigh that escaped her . It was so damn cold .
" Refusing someone's help isn't gonna get you anywhere , you know . ",
She peeked at him from under the huge coat . Even though her body screamed at her, she still took it off and offered it back to him .
" No, I can't take thi- ",
Yuu clamped his hands over his ears and began yelling "LA !, LA !, LA !, LA !, LA ! I CAN'T HEAR YOU !.",
"Okay ! okay ! quit it ,you big baby !.",
He gave her a satisfied smirk and took the coat from her hands .
" Lift your arms .", he said .
She did and he slipped it on her . He adjusted the huge garment on her petite body , humming happily . As if that wasn't enough , he even took off his scarf and wrapped it around her neck .
"Now, I know you can buy a whole city Shinoa but you can't do that right now . So , just take it , okay ? . It's yours , enjoy .", He grinned . "I'm wearing a lot of shirts today and I'll just buy a new coat, tomorrow . I'm stinkin' rich too , 'ya know .",
Shinoa tried in vain to stop the stupid grin from forming on her face . She suddenly hugged him .
" Goodbye ,Yuu . Thanks for everything .", she whispered into his shirt .
He patted her lightly on the head .
"Stay out of trouble , 'kay ?",
In her happiness , she forgot something important . In order to be allowed to leave , all passengers had to hand their tickets at the respective terminals . She knew Yuu was watching her . She hesitated for fifteen minutes until she saw Yuu coming to see if something was wrong .
Sighing in defeat , she quickly gave her ticket and ran outside . Thank God , a taxi was standing right outside the station . She heard Yuu shout after her but Shinoa didn't stop . She sat inside and began to cry . Yuu must have hated her right now . It was like crossing a river without getting wet and then falling into it at the last minute . She wept the entire way to the party .
She was greeted warmly by the Sangu family and other prestigious families but she just gave them the cold shoulder .
Making an excuse ,she stepped out into the balcony and stared down at the city .
Only two of the houses had their lights on . In one very big house or mansion rather, some black haired boy was watching football on a huge T.V screen . In the other she saw a mess of kids inside the worn down , small house . They were all surrounding a boy in a white shirt . Their laughter echoed and as the boy turned , Shinoa nearly fell off the balcony .
Yuu saw her too , she knew it . She confirmed it was him by seeing the same amethyst ring clutched in his hands that she'd slipped into his pocket earlier .The colour left his face and he turned away .
She called over her former teacher Sayuri .
" Sayuri - san , who lives in that house ?", she pointed it .
" Oh, a bunch of orphans . They have no source of fixed income and barely get through the month .", Sayuri replied " The older two boys , Yuu and Mika , I think ? work multiple odd jobs to support their family . They even attend a school in the nearby city . They rarely visit ,though ,to save money . Such hardworking boys .",
Shinoa stared at her and pulled the coat tight around her body .