Through Our Fingertips

A/N: Thanks for those who reviewed :). I kind of want to bring our more of the humour side to this story though I doubt it'll be as funny as my other ones. We'll see. :3

Chapter 2 – Figuring Out

*Hani's POV*

"You got to see Onigama Yuui??"

"No way!"

"Your family has such a cool company. My father's business is so boring."

"Yup I got to meet her alright!" Chiyeko smiled as she walked down the hall with a few of her friends. "She's so funny. Before she recorded her song, she was drinking her lemonade with a straw." The other girls listened even more intently to hear more about their favourite idol. "But she was so sleepy yesterday that she accidently put the straw in her nose." The three girls laughed their heads off trying to picture the star suddenly waking up once the straw touched her nose.

Chiyeko was having such a good time with her friends. But what I saw yesterday couldn't leave my mind. Just watching her made me so confused. How does she do it?

"Hani-kun, please don't tell anyone."

"But will you be really okay if nobody knows?" I asked. "I mean, wouldn't it be a lot easier for you if...?"

"I SAID DON'T!" I blinked in shock. I didn't think she would react like that. Her expression had suddenly calmed down and her mouth switched into a smile. "I'll be fine! Don't worry." Then she glared at me. "As long as you don't tell anyone," she said and put back her smile on.

I sighed. How does she manage though? I'm worried. But I'm really surprised nothing has really gone wrong yet.

"Chiyeko-chan," pointed out a guy in the hall, "your shoe is untied."

Thump. "Ow!" I spoke too soon.

"Chiyeko are you alright??"

"Kotani said your shoe was untied..."

"Oh he did?" Chiyeko scratched her head. "Sorry, I wasn't paying attention."

Oh. So, that's how she covers it... She can seriously get hurt though. And does she really think that she can hide it by playing "ditsy girl"?

I thought back to yesterday...

While she was measuring one chemical, I clearly told her 5 millilitres but she puts 15...

"Oops, sorry. I was so focused on getting the exact amount and keeping my hand steady."

She was looking for sulphuric acid although the teacher said that we'd use nitric acid instead...

"He said that? Oh... I guess I wasn't paying attention. So where's the nitric acid?"

And she spilled some dark purple stuff on my pants...

Wait a second... spilling stuff on my pants isn't affected by that. My jaw dropped. "She did it on purpose! I can't believe it!" I exclaimed once I finally figured it out.

"Huh?" Everyone in the hall turned to look at me. Oops. My eyes met Chiyeko's. Her lips mouthed 'I'm sorry' and she gave an expression that asked for forgiveness. I didn't think she was that calculating. To stain my pants just keep her "ditsy" reputation... No wonder why she insisted on replacing it.

Takashi and I hurried to get to class before the bell rang. "Okay class," the teacher said once he entered the room. "Today we have a new seating plan."

Chiyeko almost had a heart attack. I could feel it. I turned to see her biting her lip.

"Um... sensei," Chiyeko raised her hand. "I like sitting beside Rita. Also, who will proofread all of those notes that she types on her laptop?"

"I'm sure someone else is also capable of rereading Rita's notes," replied the teacher.

"Oh..." Chiyeko's eyes shifted to the side.

Rita tapped Chiyeko on the shoulder. "I will be able to manage Chiyeko-chan," said Rita. "Thank you for proofreading. I'll give you all my notes to show my gratitude." I breathed out a sigh of relief. It wasn't the best for Chiyeko but it would help.

*****

"Tsura-chan, now close your fist," I instructed him after one week of practice. "Make sure that this part stays flat."

"Mitsukuni," noted Takashi, "Karate...," he studies Tsurane's stance, "does not suit his style."

"What?" Tsurane panicked. "Why not?" He bit his lip and stared at the floor. "I need to learn karate."

"What do you mean Takashi?" I questioned. "Many people think that karate doesn't suit me." Tsurane's eyes lit up. I was his ray of hope.

"He's too meek."

"..." That gave a blow into Tsurane's hopes. He sighed. "I fail as a boyfriend."

Slam! The door to the gym had swung open.

"I can't believe you actually came to ask for Honey-sempai's help!" The girl pulled Tsurane's ear. "We don't need his help. Together we can already defend ourselves!"

"Together?!?!" Tsurane rolled his eyes at his girlfriend. "Don't you mean only YOU? What about me?"

"Can't you just let me be the strong one?!?!" Miura yelled back. "It doesn't always have to be the guys defending!"

"Are you kidding me?? Guys are supposed to protect their girlfriends!" He argued back. "That's what boyfriends do!"

"This has nothing to do with gender!"

"But it has to do with roles in a relationship!"

"What roles? Who defined them?!?!"

Tsurane punched the bag that Takashi was holding up for him to vent his anger. He actually did a good stance! Tsurane gazed at Miura and sighed. "You don't know how it feels to be a guy..."

Miura turned her back to him. Her right fist was shaking. "I can't believe how shallow you are Tsurane." She used her left hand to control her right. "I was so happy to find a guy who liked me. But now... you just like the rest." (A/N: Ouch...) Miura ran into the change room without looking back.

"..." Takashi didn't know what to say.

"Tsurane..." I wanted to comfort him.

"Can't she just get it?" ranted on Tsurane. "Boyfriends are supposed to protect their girlfriends. End of story."

"Uh..." Now it seemed that Takashi wanted to say something.

"Doesn't she get it?" Tsurane continued. "It's natural for a guy to want to protect his girlfriend. I want to protect her..." He sighed. "If a boyfriend can't even do that... if I can't even do that..., she doesn't need me."

"Miura seems to have that natural independence," I commented.

"Yeah... I know..." he replied. "That's what made me attracted to her." He looked at the ground. "I admire her confidence."

"Miura isn't completely independent. She's pretty insecure too," noted Takashi. "She isn't invincible." Tsurane gave him a questioning look. "Miura's the only female in the judo club. Many girls admire her strength and independence. Because of this, she feels that she has to represent the women population."

"Oh..." Tsurane gazed at the floor.

"Also, she loves judo and doesn't want to let go of it."

"That's true," I added. "She always looks like she's having fun when I see her practicing."

Takashi nodded. "I assume her whole life she had to prove to men that she was tough. In addition, anyone with a passion for something would naturally want to be the best in what they do. With her passion and pressure from being the only woman in judo, she wants to be number one."

"Yup! She's competitive alright," I smiled.

"With you wanting to protect her, she is afraid that she might feel weak. As the typical girlfriend, her strength would be seen as number two. She sees you as a threat... although right now you're not much of one."

"..." Tsurane was speechless. "Takashi-kun... You spoke... more than ten sentences..." He looked kind of dizzy. And the direct shot at his weakness didn't even affect him. I don't think Tsurane has heard Takashi talk that much. Many people don't know how insightful silent people can be. Oh well. :D

A/N: I guess I can stop here for now.

On a side note, I'm not very creative when thinking up names of minor character. Rita is from Sailor Moon's Lita (dubbed name). My sister made me change the "L" because Japanese pronounce their "L"s as "R"s so yeah... Miura's name is the last name of the female protagonist from W Juliet (manga). She's a tomboy as well. Tsurane's name is the only one that I really made up. :3

Anyway, please C/C/C (comment/ correct/ criticize). But seriously, if I have a grammar mistake or something, please tell me.

More to come :)