Takako No Hibi: A Different Love Story

A Midori No Hibi Fanfiction

By Cheshire Grin


Disclaimer: I might own Midori no Hibi…I might not…I'll never tell!


Days Four: Mishaps

"So you were just going to leave me out there and eat your dinner huh? That takes real guts, kid."

Utter, abject terror gripped Seiji. This was bad. Very bad. There were no words for the complete horror that encapsulated his mind. Rin was back. And at such a time too. She hardly ever came back and now when he least wanted to see her she appeared.

His mind scrambled in to action. Gotta hide Ayase. There's no telling what horrors might ensue if his big sister became aware of the girl on his arm. What to do? What to do? Gotta hide her. But unfortunately Ayase was not wearing the bandages that might have allowed him to pass her off as a sore hand. He had not expected to be discovered in his own house. Consequently Ayase was wearing the sundress he had bought her earlier.

There was no way to pass that off. Panic-stricken and not knowing what else to do, Seiji shoved his hand behind his back. Maybe, just maybe he could excuse himself and wrap bandages around Ayase later.

All this sped through Seiji's mind in a split-second. Without realizing it he found himself speaking.

"Uwah… Big Sis….What are you doing here?"

Rin, his big sister grinned.

"I just so happened to be passing by. So I thought I'd drop in and see how you were doing."

Still grinning, Rin's brows lowered. She looked around, sniffing.

"…somehow….this place smells of woman!" She exclaimed, frowning a little.

The panic began to spiral down Seiji's spine.

"Really? Are you sure it's not your imagination?" He said, his panic-stricken laugh echoing in his ears.

But Rin was not paying attention. He followed her gaze to the half-eaten steak that was sitting on the table. Uh oh. Rin knew quite well that the only thing Seiji knew how to cook was curry.

"Well now…" Said Rin, a huge grin lighting up her face. " I get it now. Looks like you finally got a girl who'll cook for you."

"Geh!" This was not good. Panic clutched at Seiji's gut.

Ignoring him, Rin went on. "You've finally escaped your lonely life of having only your right hand to love… As your sister I'm so happy." She smiled radiantly down at her younger brother. Then without warning her eyes narrowed.

"Hey… I noticed it earlier but what are you hiding behind your back."

Panic struck Seiji as it never had before, not even in the most harrowing fights he'd ever had. Like a wave it smashed itself against him, blowing away his mind and leaving only destruction in its wake. Only half-aware of himself he could only barely manage an answer. He turned a half grin, half grimace at Rin.

"Uh…Nothing." He said, hoping desperately that it didn't sound as lame to her as it did to him.

Rin ignored his pathetic efforts.

"Show me." She ordered, inclining her head.

"No way."

"Shoooow meee." She purred, inclining her head the other way.

"No way." Seiji was backing away, looking at her more and more nervously. She almost pitied him.

Without warning, Rin's hand shot out, connecting against Seiji's neck with a dull thump. As Seiji keeled over, she seized his right arm and pulled it toward her. Takako found herself face to face with the madly grinning Rin.

"Uh… Hi" She offered, not knowing what to say.

Silence ensued. Rin's grin fled from her face, replaced by a look of horror.

"Uayahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" She screamed and then fainted.

Takako looked around. Both Seiji and his sister lay slumped on the floor, dead to the world. While she could understand Rin's reaction…well kind of…she still felt somehow insulted. As she turned her gaze back to Seiji, whose dazed face showed no signs of waking up, she put her head in her hands and sighed.

"Great. What am I supposed to do now?"


Seiji woke up first. Blinking, he raised his hands to rub his eyes.

"Hey" yelled Takako, indignantly.

Looking down, he remembered Ayase.

"Oh. Sorry 'bout that."

Takako sighed. "No problem. But what are we going to do about her?" She asked, pointing at the still slumbering Rin.

"Oh Shit." Seiji eyed his sister speculatively as the events of the evening poured into his brain. He sighed. His sister Rin had seen Ayase. Things could hardly be worse. Still, there was little he could do now. He'd just have to tell her everything and hope she'd stay quiet about it.

"I guess we'll just have to tell her." He said. " There's no way we can hide it now."

"Yeah." Said Takako gloomily. "Will she keep the secret?"

Seiji sighed. "I hope so."

"C'mon, lets go make some tea. I get the feeling she's gonna need it when she wakes up."

"Good idea, although knowing her she's probably gonna need a few hits of tequila as well." Said Seiji softly, mostly to himself.

Rin stirred as Seiji was pouring the tea. She sat up blinking.

"What happened?"

Grimacing, Seiji held up his right hand for his sister to see.

"Oh." Rin stared.

After a couple of minutes, Takako started to squirm under the attention.

"Um… Hello Miss." She said valiantly. Rin's staring was… intense.

"Woah." Said Rin. "It talks."

"Yup" said Seiji, sighing. "Here." He pushed a cup toward his sister.

She took it and drank deeply, never once taking her eyes off Takako.

The pressure was getting to Takako. Never had she been scrutinized like this. Rin was looking at her like she was some kind of freak. It was getting depressing. She felt the need to say something, just to break the tension.

"Um… It's nice to meet you." She ventured, looking up at Seiji's sister.

Rin shook her head and put her hands over her eyes.

"I don't believe this."

Sighing once more, Seiji set about explaining things to his big sister.


"I understand the situation but I still can't believe it."

Seiji looked at Rin, understanding exactly what she meant. After all, he'd gone through the same process.

"Neither can I." He admitted.

Rin looked at the girl on Seiji's arm.

"So… Takako wasn't it…"

"Uh… yes."

"Why are you here with this moron." Rin asked, grinning slightly.

"I don't know… I just woke up here. But actually… It's not so bad. Seiji is a nice guy." Takako stuttered, for some reason feeling a need to defend Seiji. She found herself blushing under Rin's knowing smile.

"Anyway…" Seiji interrupted. "Please keep it a secret."

Rin smiled deviously. "Don't worry little brother. Everything is under control."

Seiji frowned but decided not to raise the issue. She'd probably head drop him if she thought he was doubting her.

"Well, Takako seems to be a nice enough girl so I suppose I have no complaints", continued Rin. Takako smiled up at her as she stood up. "Anyways, I'm leaving. He's a bit of a handful but please take care of Seiji, Takako-chan."

"Um… sure." Was all Takako could say, feeling the blush rising up her cheeks.

Rin noticed and smiled to herself but didn't say anything.

After seeing Rin off, Seiji sighed and sat down to his dinner, which was now extremely cold.

"What a hectic day." He grumbled.

"Well it could have been worse." Sighed Takako. "Although I don't know how." She muttered.

"Well at least tomorrow is Sunday. We've got a day to relax. So what do you want to do?"

Takako inhaled quickly. Ok, now was the time to say it, the plan she'd been thinking of for a few days now. What a perfect opportunity. Over the last few days she'd been thinking hard about her feelings. She wasn't stupid. She knew something was up when she'd noticed her heart quickening every time she looked up at Seiji. She'd found herself pretending to sleep at night and then, once Seiji was asleep, with his adorable little snore, oh how she loved that, Takako would rise and watch him sleep. She'd never been in love before, never even had a crush on anyone before but she was beginning to suspect that she was interested in Seiji, perhaps even, God help her, in love with him. It was time to do something about it. She was pretty limited in her abilities at the moment but she needed to know how Seiji felt about her.

"How about we go see a movie?" She asked as casually as she could manage.

A movie was the perfect plan, preferably a scary movie. That way she could call on the age old trick of girls everywhere, pretend to be scared and clutch his arm. Seiji seemed the type to fall for frail girls. She could just imagine him cradling her and saying 'I didn't think you'd be scared Ayase.' She could almost hear herself reply in a frightened voice 'But… but' and then Seiji's soothing voice, saying ' Well then you just hold on to me till the movie ends.'

"That's a great idea." Exclaimed Seiji, shattering her little fantasy. "What did you want to see? There's a few good ones on at the moment."

"Well there's the new movie 'Silent Hill. I'd like to see that." Said Takako, blushing at her boldness.

"Isn't that a scary one? I didn't think you'd like those."

"Well… a little."

"Ok cool… I want to see that too."

They chatted absently for another hour or so, unwinding from the hectic day and making plans for tomorrow. But before long Seiji was yawning. As they went to bed, Takako could hardly keep herself still. Tomorrow was their first date. She smiled to herself. It should be interesting. Very interesting. She fell asleep, dreaming of the possibilities.


Kasugano Midori stood outside the movie theater feeling miserable. It was just her luck that Kaori-chan would pick 'Silent Hill'. She hated scary movies. She hadn't really wanted to go but her friend had insisted, not wanting to go alone. She sighed inwardly, lamenting her bad luck. She was considering once again the possibility of making an excuse to Kaori-chan and leaving when someone brushed past her and a somehow familiar smell assailed her nostrils. She looked up and her heart stopped as she noticed who had just gone past. It was Sawamura Seiji, here of all places. Grabbing her friend's hand she followed Seiji into the theater, dragging Kaori after her. As she had hardly dared to hope, Seiji walked up to the ticket booth and said "One for Silent Hill please." Midori's heart leapt in her breast and something of a plan came to her mind. Maybe, just maybe she could sit next to him in the theater. Maybe then she'd be able to speak and maybe, just maybe Seiji would notice her. Almost blushing at her forwardness, she pulled Kaori forward, muttering, "Let's get our tickets." to the surprised girl.

"Two for Silent Hill please." She almost squawked to the ticket lady, praying desperately that she'd hurry, trying not to let Seiji out of her sight. The ticket lady handed over the tickets and she rushed after Seiji, ignoring her friends protests of "What's the hurry?"

She stared at his back as she followed him into the theatre. He seemed to be speaking to himself. Her mind fuzzed over. He's so cute, she caught her self thinking before shaking her head. No, she mustn't get distracted and miss her chance to sit next to Seiji.

The theater was almost empty as Seiji walked in. Just a few couples sitting near the back. He wasn't really surprised. After all, Silent Hill had been showing for a while and was near the end of its run. He sat down in the center of the middle row, in what he considered to be the best seats, not too close and not too far from the screen. He had just got settled when he heard a shy voice saying, "Lets sit here." A cute girl with green hair and her friend sat down next to him. He sighed inwardly. Now he wouldn't be able to talk to Ayase. What a pain. He considered moving a few rows forward but that might seem rude. He was still debating what to do when the movie started. Oh well, he thought, it's just a movie. They could talk about it later. Seiji settled back to watch.


Takako glared. She was a little upset. Ok so maybe that wasn't it. She was very upset. Geez, of all the places in the theater where that little green-haired minx could have sat it just had to be right next to Seiji. For God's sake the theater was practically empty. And what was worse, the little ditz seemed to be giving Seiji a lot of sideward glances. Luckily Seiji hadn't noticed yet but it would probably only be a matter of time. She had tried whispering at Seiji to get his attention, perhaps ask him to move up a few rows but he hadn't noticed. He eyes were riveted at the screen, with every sense of satisfaction. Takako sighed as she glared up at the screen. What a mess.

Midori watched Seiji out of the corner of her eyes. She was actually sitting next to him. What bliss! This was the closest she'd ever been able to come to him in the two years since she'd fallen in love with him. She found herself drifting off into little fantasies in which she was on a date with Seiji. A happiness that she had never experienced was drifting over her. In fact she felt almost content, like nothing could go wrong. After all, surely she'd be able to speak to him today. When the movie was finished she could glance at him and say 'Wow, what a scary movie!' and he'd say 'Yeah, wasn't it.' and then she'd smile at him and maybe he'd ask her to come have a drink with him and their future would start right there.

A radiant smile split her face, setting it glowing with color. She glanced over at her friend, hoping she wouldn't be too put out if Seiji asked her out on a date…. A DATE!!!! …. afterwards. But Kaori was watching the movie with a rapt expression on her face. She turned back to Seiji, glancing at him shyly, trying to burn as much of him into her memory as she could in this perfect moment when disaster struck. Seiji suddenly turned to look at her. Midori felt the panic race through her as she hurriedly averted her eyes. Oh no. Did he see her staring? Was he still looking?

Not knowing what to do she stared up at the movie screen for the first time that afternoon. It proved to be her undoing. With almost unnatural timing she looked up just in time to see a hideous monster with a triangular head disembowel a screaming victim, sending blood and entrails flying. Terror seized Midori numbing her mind and sending any rational thought flying. The terror ripped through her, turning her gut to ice and her heart racing deafeningly in her chest. She felt the scream echo down in her gullet, felt it racing up her throat and into her mouth, dry as sandpaper and then spread into the theater. With no thought but to shut out that horrible image she buried herself in the lap of the person next to her, huge sobs ripping themselves from her chest. For long moments she stayed like that, too frightened to look up as the sobs racked her.

Gradually Midori felt her heart slow down, felt the hideous image recede in her head as her mind began to shut it out. Her breath grew steadier as the sobs began to subside. At last when she had calmed down, she lifted her head to discover Seiji staring at her blankly. Blearily she looked around to find herself looking directly at Seiji's fly.

"Err…are you alright Miss?" He asked, rubbing his ears.

"Midori-chan!" She heard blankly from behind her. Kaori. But that no longer mattered. All that mattered was Seiji, looking at her with a puzzled look on his face and that she had thrown herself at him like some wanton…. No, the thought was too horrible. Midori felt her world shrink, felt the embarrassment crash down around her and make her its own. It drowned out everything else, towering inside her head, threatening to explode and destroy her. She had…she had…. NO… dark thoughts, too enormous for her to comprehend waged a silent war inside her head and the embarrassment bored through her. She prayed that the ground would suddenly swallow her up, anything to get rid of this terrible moment. But nothing happened. She became aware of herself gaping at Sawamura, imagining how ugly she must appear at this very moment.

Seiji waved his hand in front of her face. "Hello…. hello?" He appeared disconcerted. "Weird." He muttered, under his breath but she heard it, and oh how it hurt, deep down inside her. Huge tears welled up in her eyes and streamed down her face. Never in her life had she wanted to shrivel up and die just as much as she did right then. Half-blind, she rushed from the theater, streaming tears. Bewildered, her friend followed after, calling her name until they were both out of sight.

Seiji looked down at Takako, both were somewhat shaken.

"That girl should not watch scary movies." Observed Takako dryly.

"Um… yeah." Muttered Seiji, trying to figure out what had happened. Still he couldn't help but feel a little sorry for the poor girl although he couldn't imagine what had gotten her so upset. Still…it had felt quite nice, her arms wrapped around him like that. It was a pity she had only grabbed him out of fright. He mentally kicked himself for not trying to console her better but really… it had just happened so suddenly. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he looked down at Ayase and smiled.

"C'mon, lets get back to the movie." He said, turning his attention back to the screen.

Takako scowled in the direction of the exit. The weird girl had ruined her idea. It would seem weird if she screamed and grabbed Seiji now. Still she thought, looking at the empty seat next to her, at least they were alone now. Her thoughts brightened and she looked surreptiously up at Seiji. He seemed to be enjoying the movie. Something about seeing him happy set her heart glowing. She smiled at herself, remembering her jealousy when the other girl had grabbed Seiji and the sudden, single thought it had awakened in her. 'I want him. He's mine. She can't have him.'

Takako's world had shifted in that one moment. The enormous implications had finally started to dawn upon her. The simple enormity of that one realization had set her reeling. There was no turning back now. 'I love Seiji!' She thought, as the realization finally settled. 'I really do.' Before, she had been… well almost afraid of it. The shock and the suddenness of it all. But now a sense of peace settled down on her like nothing she had ever experienced. 'I love Seiji'. It somehow seemed right. Smiling up at him once more she turned her gaze back to the screen. After all… it was a good movie and she was watching it with him. For the first time since her appearance on Seiji's arm, Ayase Takako felt truly happy.

END CHAPTER 4


Author's Note: Well well… here I am again with another chapter. I guess I should say sorry to all you folks who've been waiting patiently for this update. Heh… It's been a long time coming. Over 6 months at least. So sorry guys…. Gomen nasai. There is a reason why this is so late. In between being busy at uni and having another bad case of writer's block (which I am prone to now and again) I just haven't gotten around to it till now.

Now… there is a little matter with this chapter that I think I should discuss. That is Midori's reaction to grabbing hold of Seiji's lap in fright. Seem a little extreme? Well… look at it this way. Midori's sudden change from shy little waif to uber-cute personality seems rather similarly sudden in the manga/anime. Isn't it weird how she changes from one to the other almost as soon as she meets Seiji. Midori is actually very extreme in her moods and before she was extremely precocious, she was extremely shy. Extremely shy. Once she confesses to Seiji she gains confidence (possibly cause he didn't totally blow her off ;p and seems in some small way to cherish her [even right at the start) but before this she was Lil Miss Shyness. And also keep in mind that she is an ojou-sama (proper lady) and very well brought up to be a lady so in my opinion if (before she got to know Seiji and formed a bond with him) she happened to jump into Seiji's lap at this early stage she would be utterly mortified. At least that's what I think. ;p

Anyways… a great big thanks to Linbean who edited this for me (and the last chapter too, in which I forgot to mention her). Everyone give her hugs! ;p

Well, I think that's about enough outta me. All I have left to say is enjoy the story and please let me know what you think. Every review makes me want to write the next chapter so much sooner.

Ja ne,

Cheshire Grin