AN: I finally got to write this short story for one of my favorite couples! Yes! XD

Fair warning though- this is my first fanfiction for Itsuwaribito so I'm still not completely sure how to accurately portray these characters. I tried, but I still don't know how successful I was. Either way, I hope you enjoy it so please review to let me know what you think!

Fun

Inspired By Yuuki Iinuma's Itsuwaribito

It was an unbearably scorching day with an amazing amount of bugs buzzing and birds chirping high in the cobalt sky. Someone who thought trekking through miles of open road without a single speck of shade on this day was a good idea would have to be crazy… or so Neya thought. Of course she had no say in the matter, but that didn't stop her from believing it.

She and her companions were walking along the previously mentioned path with the intent of getting to the next town within a few days, which was why they had all agreed- however reluctantly- with the plan to walk straight through the worst heat of the day. At the front of the group was Utsuho strutting cheerfully with Pochi riding on his shoulder, closely followed by Uzume and Iwashi as they stared attentively in his direction- though Uzume was sweating noticeably from the warmth that Minamo added to as she rested on his back- with Choza and Yakuma walking a little bit farther behind them as they engaged in small talk. That left only Hikae to dawdle at the back of the group with Neya.

Neya, of course, was unsure what she could talk to him about or if she should even talk to him at all. After all, they didn't chat with each other often and when they did it tended to be a little strained. Neya also noted that she had a habit of saying things that aggravated him, something she didn't want to do on the already irritatingly hot day. But then, Nibyo also appreciated fun, which was severely lacking without conversation. Perhaps he would be willing to talk to her without getting too upset by something she said, if only to entertain himself for a while?

Uncertain, the pink-haired girl glanced at the man beside her from the corner of her eyes. He was striding beside her easily enough, arms providing a pillow behind his head as he leaned back comfortably and the corner of his mouth quirked up in a small, natural smirk. Neya blinked when she saw his violet, beast-like eyes glazed over and staring almost longingly at an animatedly chattering Pochi at the head of the group. Neya, realizing that he'd rather be up front with the adorable tanuki than in the back of the group with her, snorted quietly. Before she could look away from him, however, his eyes refocused and moved to look at her, one green eyebrow quirking up to almost disappear beneath his bandana.

"What're you snorting at?"

Neya, embarrassed at getting caught, looked away, "N… nothing!"

"Then you're weirder than I thought, snorting for no reason."

Neya flushed but didn't respond, leaving him to continue to stare at her unnervingly. It remained like that for a while, him staring at her intensely as she purposely kept her gaze pointing away from him, cheeks growing warmer and warmer from both the heat of the sun overhead and the feeling of his eyes boring into her skull.

Finally she caved to pressure, "I just noticed the yearning look in your eyes because of Pochi." She hesitated, peeking up at the green-haired man out of the corner of her eyes before adding a little guiltily, "I just thought it was a little funny with how much you'd rather be with Pochi than anyone else."

Nibyo scoffed in response, "Like you wouldn't rather be up there with Utsuho."

"What?" Neya's head snapped up and she stared at him, blushing furiously as he glanced meaningfully in their leader's direction.

"You know what I mean," he smirked, "You totally have the hots for him."

The pink-haired girl flushed even more, "Th… that's… but-"

Hikae persisted to watch her in amusement, his sharp eyes catching her every move, "It's obvious." He paused before continuing gleefully, "I bet Utsuho already knows."

"Well… he should…" Neya mumbled slowly, her face a deep red as she stared at her feet, "I already confessed to him."

Nibyo almost stumbled, having not known about it and being surprised that she had already managed to work up the courage for a love confession, "You did?" She refused to look at him, beginning to lightly chew her lip at his words. He grinned at her reaction and stated bluntly, "He turned you down, didn't he." Neya began to walk faster in an attempt to get out of the line of questioning, but the immortal followed, having found an interest in the topic, and wheedled impatiently, "Well? Did he?"

Feeling uncomfortable, but knowing there was no way out of it, Neya sighed and reluctantly admitted as her face remained flushed, "Not… quite. He didn't… actually… answer."

Hikae reveled in the difficulty the girl seemed to be having with the admission. It just seemed too good for him to pass up such an entertaining little tidbit, "So he never said yes or no?"

"Well… yeah. He just pretended like it never happened."

She winced a little and moved her hands to fiddle with each other agitatedly in front of her, "That was cold of him." She remained silent at his words so he added with a careless shrug of amusement, "Well, you know what they say. Plenty of other fish in the sea."

"Like who?" Neya spat, "You?"

Nibyo raised his eyebrow once more, having not expected the sudden barb, "I guess someone like me is an option, but I meant someone more… normal." He paused before adding cheekily, "Unless you're offering."

The girl's face flushed again and she yelped, pulling farther away from him, "No! I haven't given up on Utsuho yet!"

"Persistent, huh? I don't know why," the man yawned, "It doesn't sound like its any fun, mooning over some guy who doesn't think of you that way. You probably would be better off moving on with a guy like me."

It was quiet between them for a moment, Nibyo ignoring what he had implied by what he had said as Neya pondered it in confusion. It could easily be taken the wrong way, but Neya decided he meant it differently. She knew he had no such inclinations towards her. It was true he had once acted concerned for her well-being, but he had also treated Iwashi the same and it was obviously done on a whim, so it didn't count.

"Well," she finally spoke as she wiped some sweat from her brow, "it's not like I would ever end up with someone like you anyway."

Hikae asked, his curiosity piqued, "Why?"

Neya shrugged and looked ahead at the rest of their group, all of which were oblivious to their conversation, "I doubt it would ever even be possible for me to think of someone like you romantically." She paused, "Especially you."

"Oh really?"

There was something about the way he said it that made her suspicious, but she stated firmly, "Yes."

Little did she realize that her saying that was issuing him a challenge. A fun challenge. The corner of his mouth kicked up even higher in a pleased grin.

"I know how to get you thinking of me that way."

"Oh yeah? How?" was Neya's skeptical- and curious- reply.

In an instant he stopped walking, grabbed her arm, and spun her around to face him. He gently took her chin in one hand and tilted her head up to look up at him. Before she could react he bent forward and pressed his lips to hers, eyelids drooping so he could only peer out at her from under his lashes.

She went as rigid as steel.

Uzume chose that moment to glance behind him, only to see the two and shout in shock, "Holy crab!"

"Don't you mean "holy crap"?" Choza sighed and turned to look as he continued, "What is it anywa…"

He stopped talking when he saw it, his mouth remaining slightly open in surprise. When Yakuma turned to see what was up, however, his jaw dropped farther than he thought possible and his eyes widened. Minamo, still perched on Uzume's back, simply blinked stoically at the sight.

The last three to finally look were Iwashi, Pochi, and Utsuho. Pochi squeaked and covered his/her (A mystery yet to be solved) eyes with his/her paws, though was still quite clearly peeking from the large noticeable gaps between them. Itsuho's eyes actually opened wide for the first time in a while, he was so stunned.

After a few moments passed Iwashi merely covered her mouth with her fan and cooed impishly, "Oooo!"

Satisfied, Nibyo finally pulled out of the kiss and whispered in Neya's ear, "Now you'll be thinking of me romantically for a long time."

He released the girl- leaving her in a confused daze- and began to slip cheerfully through his frozen group, laughing loudly as he went. Everyone else still couldn't move… except for Minamo. She hopped from Uzume's back and walked over to Neya, stopping next to her and softly patting her on the back.

The pink-haired teen finally managed to stutter incoherently, "Bu… wha… why…?"

As serious as ever, the little girl next to her stated loud enough for everyone to hear, "Please remember to invite me to the wedding."

Neya fainted and Hikae laughed harder. He had just found a new source of entertainment that might last a while. As he plucked Pochi from Utsuho's shoulders he thought pleasantly, This is going to be fun.