A/N: This chapter was longer than it was supposed to be. In case you're wondering why I haven't been updating the Wolf Girl, it's because I'm figuring out how to finish it. I've worked on that story longer than I would have liked to, and I want to wrap it up in two or three chapters.
"So Hideyoshi, what are your thoughts on Shizuka?" Akihisa asked, yawning as he stretched his body in the roof.
"That's a weird question to ask two weeks after she joined the school," Yuuji replied. "Would most people ask that question a day or two after?"
"And why me of all people?" Hideyoshi asked.
"Come to think of it," Minami thought out loud. "She doesn't really talk much does she? I mean, she talked to us when we approached her but she barely speaks in class."
"Maybe she's shy and doesn't want to stand out," Mizuki suggested. "I mean, she seems friendly but in class if we don't talk to her she seems like an entirely different person."
"She's nice," Hideyoshi finally responded, remembering the conversation he had with her a while back. "Maybe if we got to know her more we'd really get along."
"Aw Hideyoshi's in love!" Akihisa made a joke.
"But Hideyoshi," Mizuki said. "You're a girl so does that mean..."
"I'm a guy, not a girl," Hideyoshi rolled his eyes. "I don't see how this has anything to do with what we were talking about."
"So you do like Shizuka in that way," Minami smirked.
"I never said I did."
"Yes but you also didn't deny what Aki said."
"It's okay," Kouta spoke up. "The fruits of the forbidden relationships are always the best for capturing the essence of the moment in photographs."
"I do not like her that way," Hideyoshi reiterated, increasingly annoyed with their teasing. "I'm just happy that she doesn't think I'm a girl and I can have an actual conversation with her. I'm sure that she's not very talkative because she's still getting used to everything."
"Maybe we should invite her to Kisaragi Park with us," Minami suggested. "I'm sure she would have fun. I mean it's probably better than staying alone in her house."
"Um, I'm fine," Shizuka kindly said. "I mean, I don't want to be a bother or anything."
"Oh please," Minami gave her the puppy dog eyes. "We want you to come!"
"Please?" Mizuki asked. "It'll be fun! We want to get you know you better!"
"I-I-" Shizuka's was surprised. "Fine.." She wasn't used to people trying to get to know her, but she could tell they'd be hurt if she didn't. But, what will you think of me if you do know me?
She glanced over at Hideyoshi, who gave her an apologetic look as if he was sorry they were forcing her to do something she didn't want. She gave him a reassuring shake of her head, indicating that it was fine.
"I wonder where she is," Akihisa said, looking out for Shizuka, who had yet to arrive. "You don't think she's not coming do you?"
"I mean, it didn't seem like she wanted to come in the first place," Yuuji sighed.
"I hope we didn't scare her off," Minami frowned. "Maybe I was a bit too pushy."
"Hideyoshi look out!"
"Huh?"
"Damn it," Shizuka cursed under her breath. "I'm pretty sure it's this way."
She glanced down at her watch and hurried up, hating that she was already late. Normally she wouldn't go but they looked like they really wanted her to come along. She also felt bad if they were looking forward to seeing her. Shizuka pulled out her map and checked where she was heading again. She scowled when she noticed she took a wrong turn again, and went back in the direction she came. Finally finding the street she was supposed to head up, she ran towards the entrance of the park.
Seeing the people she was supposed to meet, Shizuka sped up. She caught Minami's attention, but before anyone of them could exchange words she tripped over herself just as she reached them. She let out a small squeak as she toppled over into Hideyoshi who did not react to Minami's eyes were shut as she embraced for the pain of hitting the cement. When she felt an soft impact, and heard what sounded like an 'oof' she opened her eyes. She was met with wide green eyes.
Hideyoshi stared into Shizuka's blue eyes; it was hard not to with her so close to his face. With Shizuka straddling him it was either her eyes or her chest, and he certainly didn't want to get beat up by any of the girls. She had her long hair down, and some of her bangs brushed against his face. What made it more awkward was the fact that it took a moment for Shizuka to register what was happening. Without her glasses she could barely see, so even though she could identify his eyes she had no idea what position they were in, or who he was.
Her reaction what she did realize though was something the average person would laugh at; Hideyoshi was happy that his sister present or he wouldn't hear the end of it. She let out a gasp and her eyes widened. Shizuka froze in place, having no idea what to do or two of them stayed that way, completely forgetting about the friends who clearly saw what was going on until they heard a camera click. "This is definitely going to sell well," someone said from behind them.
"Kouta delete that right now!" Hideyoshi barked from underneath Shizuka. "Don't take pictures of us!"
"Not a chance," Kouta grinned. "You and Shizuka in such a pose will be popular beyond belief! Girls will love it because of how cute and 'romantic' it is too! It's a win-win!"
That's when Shizuka realized the provocative nature of the position she was in. She had been so unsure what to do that she forgot what it looked like to their people, and that they were in a public place. Hideyoshi's hands were raised above his head, and his shirt was riding up. At first glance it looked like Shizuka had tackled the embarrassed boy to the ground and was going to kiss him or possibly do more.
"I'm sorry!" Shizuka exclaimed, her face going bright red. She immediately jumping of Hideyoshi as the rest of the group couldn't help but laugh at how long it took for her to register what was happening. She doubted that they would just forget about it as nothing happened.
"Hideyoshi has nice looking eyes doesn't he?" Akihisa teased her, clearly trying to get s fun reaction from her. She felt like trying to run and hide in the furthest cave she could find and die of embarrassment.
"Lay off her," Minami smacked Akihisa over the head. While funny, she couldn't help but pity the girl who looked like she wanted to cry any minute after what he said.
"But you have to admit it was funny!"
"At least you're here now," Mizuki smiled at Shizuka, trying to change the subject. "I hope it wasn't too much trouble."
"O-oh not at all," Shizuka shook her head. She knew what Mizuki was doing, and was grateful for it. "I was rushing to get here." And I got lost multiple times. But you don't need to know that.
"Well let's go then," Mizuki smiled. "Now come on, it'll be fun."
Shizuka nodded and began to follow them. She was still phased about what had happened. Shizuka wasn't a very physical person, and being that close to someone was something she had no experience with. She wasn't going to admit it out loud, but Akihisa was right when he said Hideyoshi had pretty eyes. So entranced in her thoughts, Shizuka paid no heed to what was actually in front of her, and let out a yelp when she walked straight into a tree. She curses herself, and felt around for her glasses.
"Hold on a minute, stay still," she heard. She recognized and did what he said, though afraid what was going to happen. "There," he said as he put Shizuka's glasses on for her. Shizuka bolted up straight and staggered back, not wanting to get to close to him. "You alright?"
"I-I'm fine!" Shizuka hastily replied. She could feel the grins from the other girls behind her.
"You sure you don't want to go on the roller coaster?" Yuuji asked.
"Yuuji," Shouko suddenly appeared behind him. "Are you being unfaithful?"
"What?" Yuuji exclaimed. "Where did you come from? And no!"
"I've been following you since you got here."
"Why?"
"To make sure you don't try anything." Shouko pinched Yuuji when he rolled his eyes. "If we're going to marry I have to make sure you're faithful."
"I'm not getting on that thing," Shizuka refused, ignoring Shouko's sudden appearance.
"Are you scared?" Akihisa asked, jokingly. Shizuka scowled, not answering.
"Go on ahead, I'll wait."
Akihisa gave her a weary look, but stopped when she sat down on the bench nearby. It was obvious that she wasn't going to change her mind. "Well let's go then," Minami shoved Akihisa. "The sooner we get on, the less Shizuka has to wait."
Shizuka watched as the group of friends got on the roller coaster. Akihisa wasn't completely wrong with his guess. Shizuka had never been on a roller coaster before, but she hated the feeling of dropping down rabidly, though she wasn't going to say it out loud.
"You're not going with them?" Shizuka asked as she felt a familiar person sit next to her.
"Nope. I'll wait with you," Hideyoshi replied, crossing his arms. "It would be kind of rude to leave you alone after we invited you here."
"I don't want to be a bother though. If you want to go you should."
"Trust me, you're not. I don't like roller coasters anyways."
"Alright then," Shizuka replied. She wasn't sure how she was going to hold a conversation with Hideyoshi, so the two of them sat next to each other in what seemed like an awkward endless silence. She had no idea what to say to him, nor was she sure if she could even bring herself to.
"I'm going to go over to the gift shop. I need to pick something up for my sister. Do you want to come with me?" Before Shizuka could answer Hideyoshi grabbed her hand.
"When they arrived Hideyoshi told her he would be back soon, and he needed to ask a staff member something. Not wanting to stand around awkwardly, Shizuka walked around, skimming over everything.
Most of the items were the stereotypical tourist things, like t-shirts and trinkets, but they had a few things like stuffed animals and books. Shizuka walked over to the stuffed toys, curious to see what they were. She felt a bit childish, but one particular toy caught her attention.
It was a strange looking monster, that was clearly from fiction. Most thought it was some kind of griffin or chimera but she knew better. It was a supposed to be a some sort of lion-humanoid, representing a certain race in books. The character was supposed to be a fearsome animal-like monster that stood on its hind legs. However due to the nature of it being a plush toy, it looked hardly dangerous at all. Even though the plush toy had fangs and horns, they were soft and face was barely anything scary due to its ridiculously bushy brows and mane.
She was going to pick it up and look at it when she heard a familiar voice behind her. "I didn't think that you were into those kinds of things."
"I was just looking at it because it reminded me of something," Shizuka wasn't lying, she just wasn't telling the whole truth. She wouldn't want to admit that she was thinking of buying something that he probably considered childish. The brown-haired girl really didn't want him to think that she was weird.
"It's cute," the response that she received was something she wasn't expecting. "It's from a fictional novel I'm assuming? I wonder what it's doing here. Are you going to buy it?" Hideyoshi picked it up and stared at it. It was clear that it was supposed to look fearsome but he couldn't take the monster seriously. Hideyoshi wanted to laugh at her reaction. Shizuka paused, furrowing her brow before politely saying no and putting the plush toy back. It was very obvious that she wanted to say yes, and it was bothering her until they left the store. He wanted to tell her to go and buy it if she was bothered that much but he refrained from doing so.
"Excuse me," Hideyoshi stopped when he felt a tug on his pant legs. Shizuka paused to see why he had stopped. A young girl holding a teddybear had grabbed onto his pants to gain his attention. "I lost my mama can you help?"
"When was the last time you saw your mother?" Shizuka bent down.
"I dunno!" The girl looked like she was going to cry.
"Alright, well come with us and we'll take you to the information stand," Hideyoshi replied. "Follow us."
"What about the others? Will they not know where we are?"
"They have my number if they need to find us."
The two of them sat with the girl until the sun started to go down. By then most of the people had gone home, and they became worried if they would even find the girl's mother. Nobody had come to the stand asking about a lost child, and the staff at the information stand were taking turns patrolling around to see if they could find someone who was. It bothered the two teenagers because they weren't sure what to do if someone never showed up. Another half hour passed before they finally met someone. A woman came running up to them with a staff member, and was quickly introduced as the girls mother. The woman explained that her daughter had a bad habit of getting lost at and she assumed the girl had gone to the Ferris wheel because her uncle worked there.
"I am so sorry for the trouble I caused," the women apologized. "It's my fault for not being more careful. I hope your date wasn't completely ruined."
Shizuka gawked at the statement, not sure how to respond. Luckily Hideyoshi was able to. "No it's fine. We aren't even..."
"Oh look at the time! We have to go," the mother said, grabbing her child's hand. "Once again I'm really sorry. Akira say thank you."
"Thank you," the girl grinned before she left with her mother towards the exit.
Shizuka was going to speak, but then she was interrupted by familiar voices. When they turned to look the two students were greeted by their friends. "Shizuka! There you guys are!"
"If you were looking for us all you had to do was call me," Hideyoshi said in a matter-of-fact tone.
"If you wanted to have some alone time with Shizuka for a date you could have just told us," Akihisa said. "I mean we would totally understand. I mean - she's a total cutie and she's got a great body. Just look at -." Hideyoshi raised an eyebrow and Yuuji face palmed, both knowing exactly what was going to happen next.
"Aki..." Both Mizuki and and Minami were beyond angry. Minami punched him right in the face. "What the hell is wrong with you? Don't talk about a girl so shamelessly like that!"
"I'm sorry! Shizuka help me!" Akihisa cried as he felt Minami tighten her vice grip around her.
"No," Shizuka's answer made Akihisa whimper. "Plus I don't want to get hit by her."
"It's too bad you spent most of the time helping that kid," Yuuji said to Hideyoshi. "The park's going to close soon."
"Oh that's right," Mizuki turned toward her new friend. "We brought you here to have fun but most of the things are closed now. Was there anything you were looking forward to? Maybe it's still open."
"I didn't really come for the rides. In fact I've only been to a place like this once before."
"You're kidding right?" Akihisa spoke up. "How long ago was that?"
"Over ten years."
"Well there's always the Ferris wheel," Yuuji suggested. "You can also get nice view."
"Ooh that's right! It's going to be sunset too," Mizuki got excited at the suggestion. "It'll look very pretty."
Shizuka gaped how large it was when they led her to the ride. She had never actually been on one before. Her mother had a fear of heights so during her last visit they avoided it. The Ferris wheel could hold up to six people in one cabinet, but with eight people they decided to put Shizuka in one with Hideyoshi. Akihisa protested at first, but then he was promptly bopped on the head by Minami.
"Oh wow we really are high," Shizuka looked out the window of the cabinet in awe at what she saw.
"Yeah," Hideyoshi agreed, sitting across from her. He wanted to chuckle at Shizuka, who looked like she was enjoying herself. "Taking a picture?" He asked when he saw her pull out her camera from her messenger bag.
"Definitely," Shizuka replied. "It looks beautiful. Plus I want to paint this when I get a chance."
"You paint?"
"Why do you think I have a high mark in the arts?"
"True," Hideyoshi smirked. He stood up, which grabbed Shizuka's attention. She didn't take her eyes off him, curious to know what he was doing. She shifted when he sat right beside her; she wasn't used to being so close to someone alone, especially in such a small place.
"What are you doing?" Hideyoshi picked up her camera. He got uncomfortably close to Shizuka, definitely invading her personal space. Lifting up the camera he pressed a button and there was a click.
"Take a look," he gave the camera back to her, with it previewing the image. "I think it looks nice." It was a picture of the two of them with the sunset in the background. Hideyoshi had a smile on his face, while Shizuka had a slightly confused yet happy face too. Shizuka was relieved that the blush on her face was not clearly visible.
"I'll send it to you when I get home," Shizuka said in a quiet voice. She looked at the image fondly before she out the camera away.
The Ferris wheel came to a stop, giving them the indication that the rotation was finished. When they heard the click of the door they got out, and saw the rest of the group, who all smiles at them.
"So how was it?" Mizuki asked.
"It was amazing," Shizuka replied, giving the description something they weren't expecting. "I never imagined my first time would be like that." Everyone gawked at the comment she had made. What she said had some serious sexual implications, especially with the way she said it. Her voice was still quiet from how close Hideyoshi had gotten to her. The boys with the exception of Hideyoshi had their faces go red as if their noses were going to gush out blood.
"Well the Ferris wheel is a common place in fiction but I never would have expected you guys to do it," Kouta murmured. Unfortunately Minami heard him.
"What was that?" She grabbed Kouta and glares at him.
"Shizuka you mustn't say those things!" Mizuki lectured. Hideyoshi wanted to laugh at Shizuka's reaction, who finally realized the perverse nature of what she said.
"Not like that you perverts!" Shizuka slapped Akihisa. Yuuji was already suffering from Shouko and Kouta was feeling Minami's wrath. "That ride was literally my first time on a Ferris wheel. I said it was amazing because there was a sunset that was arguably the best one I've ever seen."
"I'm home," Hideyoshi called as he entered the house.
"You're home pretty late," his sister replied. "Did you have time with your stupid friends?"
"I probably had more fun than you. What have you been doing all day? Reading yaoi?"
Yuuko closed her book and scowled, but then smirked devilishly. "The transfer student was there with you wasn't she? How's your courtship going?"
"We had fun. And for your information we have no relationship like that," Yuuko grinned at his reaction. He was slightly blushing, so she turned around to look at him.
"Really? Well then mind telling me what's going on in this picture?" Hideyoshi's eyes widened when he saw a picture of Shizuka on top of him from earlier in the day. "A classmate of mine saw it and sent me a picture."
"T-that," Hideyoshi composed himself, but his face was a bit red. "That was an accident. She wasn't looking where she was going and ran into me."
"Likely story," Yuuko wasn't convinced.
"Whatever," Hideyoshi clicked his tongue. "I bought what you asked for. It's on the table."
"What's the other thing in the bag?"
"A gift for someone," Hideyoshi answered vaguely as he went to his room where he fell on the bed. He heard a chime, and checked his email on his phone.
I had fun.
- Shizuka
P.s. Here is the photo.
Hideyoshi opened the attachment and smiled when he saw the picture.
