I promised that this series will involve humor, but it'd seem that there's a lot more Hurt/Comfort than humor which was the original theme of this series. Oh well... Here's a light-hearted chapter :)

Cheating on Her

Marui Bunta

Again.

Brows furrowed, Marui stared down at the rejection he just received from his girlfriend. Yet another refusal to go on a date with him. Aren't women supposed to be into these kind of things? Flowers, dates, presents and care and concern... Marui frowned. He didn't understand his girlfriend anymore. He always knew that she was like the wind, constantly changing and unfathomable, but recently it got worse. Sure, their relationship had always been stormy, but it was rumbling thunder unaccompanied by vicious lightning, heavy downpour without sharp gusts. They were both lively, rash and a little hot-tempered, so it was only inevitable that they would clash at times, but still, the two of them made it work out. But recently, Marui realized that his girlfriend seemed to want nothing to do with him. When he waved to her in the hallway, she'd cock her head and continue talking to her friend like he never existed, when he asked her out, she'd come up with a million excuses conveying the same message: 'I'm busy.' but he knew that she was not. Marui reflected on his recent activities, and he was pretty certain that he didn't do anything out of norm that could have possibly displeased her, so why was she acting like... Marui hesitated in allowing the thought in his mind to materialize, why was she acting like she wanted to break up?

Although Marui was popular, he didn't play around like what his popularity entitled him to, instead, he took relationships very seriously and he only ever had two girlfriends, the first one being his grade school classmate whom he had long lost contact with. So being absolutely clueless about what was going on in his girlfriend's mind, Marui decided to consult the famed casanova of Rikkai Dai Fuzoku about his circumstance, but he soon regretted his foolish decision because the latter, in Marui's opinion, didn't offer very useful advice.

"Women," Nio drawled, "are like the rose in 'The Little Prince'. Give them what they want, and their appetite would grow, they will always ask for more, never thinking that they need less. So Marui, if you still have any ounce of sense left, just break up with her."

Marui didn't know if Nio's interpretation of women was right or wrong, but wasn't it obvious that he wanted to keep his girlfriend if he was seeking advice from him? No, Marui decided, and rightfully so, that Nio's advice definitely wasn't any good.

Marui considered seeking help from Jackal, after all hey, best friends were supposed to back you up in this kind of situations, right? But just as he was about to dial Jackal's number, he recalled that Jackal had even less luck with romance than him. He then clicked 'return' and scanned through his contacts, deciding to go by the elimination method.

The first name he came across on his contact list was 'Kirihara Akaya'. Akaya? Marui's face contorted at the thought of consulting his junior about romance, nah, he would pass on that. He wouldn't be seen dead seeking help from Akaya of all people on anything at all, much less something like romance which he should be way more experienced in than his seaweed-haired junior.

He skipped Akaya's number and looked at the next person. Jackal? Already canceled off. Nio? Already done, next.

Sanada-fukubuchou? No, no, just no. Need he say more? Marui wasn't crazy yet, so that would be an automatic strike off.

Yagyuu? While the 'Gentleman' did seem nice enough, mature enough and Marui was certain that his secret would be safe with him, Yagyuu's romantic life was inexistent. Besides, Yagyuu and Nio were best buds, so Marui wasn't sure if consulting Yagyuu would be a more fruitful session than the one he just had with Nio. Pass. Next.

Ah, Renji is next on the list. But Renji? Marui shivered at the thought of Renji finding out about his love crisis. God no! He was pretty certain that Renji would be more interested in collecting data than to offer him any helpful advice. Next!

Marui's face blanched when he saw the next contact on his list. Yukimura Seiichi, otherwise known as the 'Child of God' and captain of Rikkai Dai's boys tennis team. People were easily tricked into thinking that Yukimura was merely an overachiever with a stunning smile by his pleasant attitude and immaculate gentility, but his teammates were well-aware of Yukimura's dark side which was potentially more terrifying than Sanada with his 'Black Aura' activated, so thanks, but no thanks. Marui wasn't ready to sentence himself to hell yet.

God damn it! That was the end of his contact list already!? Marui glowered at his phone. Why hadn't he realized that his social circle was so narrow before? Other than his family and girlfriend, he only had his teammates' numbers on his phone. He couldn't bring his love problem home, that'd be so uncool and demolish his image in the eyes of those two little impish rascals. He was a big brother after all.

Since he didn't have anyone to turn to... Marui puffed up his cheeks, well then, he'd have to unleash his last resort then. He'd call it... Operation Cupcake part 1 and 2. Yeah. That sounds good.

1) Corner her

2) Interrogate her.


The outcome of Marui's Operation Cupcake was more entertaining than worrisome.

"So you mean to tell me that you thought that I was cheating on you? Just because I accepted the homemade sweets from my fangirls? I can't believe it. You're impossible!" Marui exclaimed.

"It's not a small matter!" She yelled at him, eyes burning with an equally fierce flame, "you're cheating on me without even knowing! You're the worst!"

"This is ridiculous. How am I cheating on you just because of something so small and insignificant? Hey, I had been doing that even before we began dating!" Marui argued back.

"B-but it's different now that we're dating! You shouldn't accept gifts from some random girls, that'd give people the wrong impression!" She gritted her teeth, refusing to give in.

"Look, if it's annoying you so much, I promise to stop, okay? But you'd have to make up to me," Marui sighed and shoved his hands into his pocket, deciding that it'd be better if he compromised first, "I need sweets to keep me going..."

"Really? You promise to stop?" Her tone lowered, perhaps due to some guilt.

"If you make sweets at least twice a week for me in future, I swear I'd stop taking sweets from other girls," Marui promised, "deal?"

"Okay, pinky promise!" She childishly held up her little finger, waiting for him to entwine his with hers.

Seriously? They weren't kids anymore! Marui gawked at her but relented when he saw the warning look in her eyes. He locked his little finger with hers, held back his grumbles as he recited, "pinky promise."