garnish (gahr-nish)
to add an interesting and completely edible item to a plate to make it look more attractive; or any such edible item

It rained for three days. It was a solid downpour, not heavy but insistent. Hamuko sat in class, daydreaming about what happened the night before. His words were practically engraved in her mind. Whether it be eating, studying, or even dreaming; she couldn't do anything without thinking about them.

"It doesn't matter to me. It doesn't even matter if you can't forget about him. I don't expect you to. Just...don't reject what's standing before your very eyes. The person here, waiting for you."

She stared at him, trying to form a response. Her silence spoke volumes.

"Come on, let's go back."

With his scarf still around her neck, she stood up from the wooden park bench and followed him back to the dorms.

That night she had very little sleep. It was impossible to drift away to sleep when her mind kept focusing on his words. Wouldn't everything be much easier if she could just feel the same way about him? Aside from the sexual tension between them, she still couldn't get Akihiko off of her mind.

Three days passed and things didn't get any easier. She refused to even give Akihiko the time of day and the few times she ran into Shinji in the hallways, it was extremely awkward. He tried to stop her so they could talk and make pleasantries, but she would just bow her head and scurry off. It was painfully obvious to Junpei and Yukari that something was bogging her down. Whatever it was, they decided a group date was more than a good idea; it was a great idea.

"Wow, does everyone here really go to Gekkoukan?" Junpei asked, looking around the group. "Why didn't I notice any of you?"

"Gekkoukan's a pretty big school," Yukari explained before continuing, "All right, how about we go around and introduce ourselves?"

A brown-haired boy with rather short hair stepped forward. "Hey, I'm Kenji Tomochika." he said, then stepped back.

Next, a girl with long black hair tied into a ponytail introduced herself. "Rio Iwasaki."

"I-It's nice to meet you." A shy voice called out. Everyone turned their attention to where it came from. "I'm Fuuka Yamagishi."

Hamuko's eyes turned to another member of their party. She found her gaze on a black-haired male. His hair was slicked back in a strange fashion. "Ryoji Mochizuki."

"Mochizuki?" Hamuko repeated. "Oh! You just transferred here a few days ago, right? You're in my homeroom."

"Yes, that's right. I'm honored you remembered." he said, sending a sly smile. His hand caught hers before she could act. Gently, Ryoji lifted her hand and brought it to his lips. An involuntary breath rushed in and out of Hamuko's lungs. "Your hands are exquisite. Narrow-boned, long-fingered. And the palms show hard work. That makes them interesting. Like you."

Hamuko found it easier to laugh and play off his sudden advance as if it were nothing. She glanced back to where Yukari was flirting with the last person. He had dark blue hair and distant eyes. His bangs went past his right eye and blocked nearly half of his face. Something about him made the insides of her stir, almost like a tug. "Minato...Arisato."

Junpei glanced back at Hamuko. "Arisato? Are you guys related to each other?"

Hamuko studied Minato. They certainly didn't look like. He gave a blank stare in return. She tilted her head to the side. "No, I don't think so."

"Man, wouldn't that be creepy if you two were like, long lost siblings or something?" Junpei laughed.

"All right," Yukari spoke. "That's enough of that. It's time to karaoke!"

Junpei grinned. "Dude, I've been waiting for this since school started. Me first!"

Everyone watched in awe at his surprising karaoke skills. Despite what Hamuko thought, Junpei actually had a really good voice.

"I'm a war, of head versus heart,
And it's always this way.
My head is weak, my heart always speaks,
Before I know what it will say."

Hamuko heard her muffled ring-tone go off in her pocket. Deciding to ignore it, she pressed the silence button.

Yukari looked at her worriedly. "Isn't that your phone?"

Hamuko nodded her head reluctantly. Feeling Yukari's uncomfortable stare, she turned her gaze to Junpei who proceeded to play the air-guitar during the song's bridge. His unrivaled enthusiasm made her want to laugh or at the very least, smile. She tried her best to, but the stubborn frown stayed on her face.

"And you can't find nothing at all,
If there was nothing there all along.
There were churches, theme parks and malls,
But there was nothing there all along."

She turned to Yukari and tried her best to smile. "It's nothing. My turn to sing!"

A mix of cheering and giggling filled the air once the song was over. Hamuko stood up, took the microphone from Junpei's hand and sang her heart out.

"I hope my smile can distract you,
I hope my fists can fight for two.
So it never has to show,
And you'll never know."

Akihiko's fingers felt numb as he flipped shut his cell phone. It was already three hours after class ended and he was sure she would pickup now. Patience wearing thin, he opened it again and pressed the call button twice. The insistent ringing left an echo in his ears.

He held his breath and counted to ten.

"I'm sorry, I can't answer the phone right now. Please leave a message and I'll get back to you right away."

In the span of three hours, it was the fifth time he called her and she still wouldn't answer. Was she that angry at him? It's not like he did anything terrible, he just told her the truth. He was simply being honest with her. What kind of world were they living in where honesty wasn't the best policy? A beep sounded.

"Uh, hey. It's me, Akihiko. Can you call me back when you get this? I want to talk to you. Um, okay...bye."

He waited a second before closing his cell phone and falling back onto his bed. "Damn it..."

Hours later, the party winded down and after exchanging phone numbers, everyone decided to part ways.

"It's been fun guys, let's do this again sometime!" Hamuko said, excitedly.

"Man, I'm so sad today's over." Junpei sighed. We need to do this again soon!"

"It was really fun meeting today." Fuuka added. "I hope we see each other around campus more often."

On the way back to the dorm, Hamuko's cellphone rang at least two more times. She promptly hit the silence button and ignored the worried look Yukari gave her. Once inside their dorm, Hamuko sank onto the armchair diagonal from Yukari and pulled her cell phone from her pocket. She scowled at the display.

10 missed calls: Akihiko Sanada
1 new voicemail

Why me? she wondered with a shake of her head.

"Akihiko-senpai, huh?" Yukari sighed.

Hamuko deleted the notifications. "Yeah, that guy just doesn't give up."

"What exactly happened between the two of you? Last I heard, you guys were going for dinner, then suddenly Aragaki-senpai brought you back."

"Akihiko said he wanted to talk...but then we got in a fight and I ran away. I didn't feel like coming back, so I wandered around then winded up at Naganaki Shrine."

"You fought? About what?"

Hamuko took a breath, then mumbled something along the lines of, "He said he liked me."

Yukari's jaw dropped. "The Akihiko-senpai said he liked you? Hamuko, this is huge!"

Hamuko's eyebrow twitched. The Akihiko-senpai? What was he, some sort of hot-shot? Did that entitle him to trample all over her? "The rumors are true. He did used to date Mitsuru-senpai. It's obvious he's still in love with her."

"Come on, I'm sure you're just imaging it. The past is the past."

"He stood me up the day we were supposed to meet at Chagall Cafe. For her."

Yukari frowned slightly. "But you didn't come back until around midnight."

"That's because Shinji came by and took me out."

"Oh...maybe you're right about that after all. So, Shinji huh? What exactly is going on between the two of you?"

Hamuko's cheeks burned upon hearing his name. "Huh? N-Nothing. He just took me out of get my mind of being stood up. There's nothing going on between us."

"Okay," Yukari started, "Well, I didn't tell you this earlier...but when I went by his dorm and told him you were missing he had this really panicked look on his face. Before I could even finish asking, he already bolted off."

"What? Shinji did that?" Hamuko asked, her chest's sudden tightening made her shift uncomfortably.

"Yeah. Who knew he could be kind?" Yukari said, shrugging her shoulders. "Still, Aragaki-senpai? He's pretty popular on campus. He even has his own fan club. It's nowhere near the size of the Akihiko-senpai club, but it's still pretty impressive. He is number one in all of Gekkoukan after all."

"I-I can't believe it."

Suddenly, Yukari tilted forward with interest. Her eyes reflected curiosity. "Did you happen to hear anything else about Mitsuru-senpai and Akihiko-senpai? Like, any other truths?"

"No...What makes you ask?"

"It sounds stupid, but I heard that Mitsuru-senpai used him as a rebound. That they weren't really serious."

Before she could control it, a laugh escaped Hamuko's throat. So much for first loves. Mitsuru just used him; there was no love in that. And if there was, it was incredibly one-sided. It took awhile for Hamuko's laughter to still. When it did, she wiped the invisible tears from her eyes, and finally regained her composure. "So what do you think of Minato?"

Yukari kicked her feet onto the coffee table, relaxing once more. "Minato? He seems totally dreamy!"

"He's kind of strange," Hamuko pointed out.

"Strange? How?"

Hamuko bit her bottom lip. "I don't know...I get this feeling when he looks in my eyes."

A knock at the door startled both of them. Yukari shifted her eyes to the door and spoke first. "Hold on, I'll get it. Probably Junpei about tomorrow's assignment."

Yukari opened the door in one swift movement and saw Akihiko staring at her. "Akihiko-senpai..."

"Is Arisato there?" Akihiko asked, his breath sounding rushed. "I need to talk to her."

"Yeah. One second." Yukari responded. She turned away and Hamuko returned to the door.

"Uh, hey." Akihiko murmured before mentally kicking himself. He had spent the whole day practicing what he was going to say and this is what came out?

Hamuko glared at him. "What is it?"

"I came to apologize."

"It seems like you do that a lot," Hamuko said coolly. Studying his face, it was clear that he hadn't been sleeping well for the past few days. Serves him right, she thought bitterly. "You really need to get a new hobby. You know, one that doesn't involve standing me up."

When she turned to leave, she felt his fingers wrap around her upper arm, pulling her closer. "Would you hear me out?"

"I don't have anything to say to you," she countered. "I may just be some kind of replacement to you Sanada-san, but to other people I'm a birthday present."

Akihiko looked as if he had been struck by a blunt object and was about to pass out. Hamuko couldn't help but rejoice. She assumed the words Sanada-san did it. "Birthday present? To who?"

"To Shinji," she responded. "He doesn't take me for granted. He likes me for me."

"Shinji said he likes you?"

"Yes. Now, if you don't mind." Hamuko was surprised when she remained in his hold after a strong attempt on her part to pull away. Frowning, she put both hands against his chest and pushed. She discovered that she had been wrong; under the lean frame was an amazing amount of strength. Infuriated that she had misjudged him and that she was outmatched, she raised her eyes again. "Let me go," she demanded between clenched teeth.

"No," Akihiko returned mildly. "I won't."

"What do you want?"

"First, I want you to stop calling me Sanada-san." Hamuko pouted, but kept silent. "Second, I want you to know I'm sorry for what I've done. Hell, I don't even know what I've done wrong, but I'm sorry nonetheless."

"Is there anything else?" she demanded, trying to sound bored.

"Yes," he said quietly. "I think I'll just get this out of my system."

Hamuko's instincts were swift but they were standing too close for her to evade him. And he was quick. Her protest was muffled against his mouth. Her arms were pinioned to her sides as his locked around her. His mouth mystified her. Now it was not gentle or testing; it took and plundered and demanded more before she could withdraw a response.

When he lifted his mouth, Hamuko kept her eyes closed, savoring the lingering pleasures, inviting fresh ones.

"More?" he murmured as his hand trailed up, then down her spine. Heat raced after it. "Kissing can be a dangerous pastime." He lowered his mouth again, then nipped at her soft bottom lip.

Suddenly her heart raced to her throat. Her legs became rubbery, and a tingle sprinted up her spine. She studied Akihiko's charcoal grey eyes, and her mouth went dry. She shuddered. This was it; now or never, all or nothing. "What if...I asked you to stop seeing her?"

"What?" His voice was abruptly brisk.

She decided to rephrase her question. "If I asked you to stop seeing Mitsuru-senpai, would you?"

Akihiko drew away, but his grip remained firm. She couldn't read his expression as he searched her face. "Okay," he told her. "If that's what you want."

Hamuko wasn't sure if it was herself or him that initiated the last kiss before he decided to head back to his dorm. As he turned to leave, she watched him stride away in a smooth, fluid gait. When she was alone, she turned and walked back into the dorm.

"What happened?" Yukari asked, standing in the kitchen. In one hand she held a carton of orange juice, and in the other she held an empty glass.

"Akihiko...said he would stop seeing Mitsuru-senpai for me." she spoke the words as if she had a hard time believing them herself.

Yukari squealed in delight. "That's incredible!"

Hamuko nodded her head, then smiled wide. "Yeah, it's finally over."

Author's Notes: IT'S MY BIRTHDAY! (Oct. 19th) Please review as a birthday present! 8D

WHAT IS THIS I DON'T EVEN- HNNNG, how long has it been since I've updated? I feel like this chapter is really short, but I have some outlines I'd like to follow.
Thank you everyone for the reviews! They really inspire me to keep working. (And I'm not just saying that!) The song Junpei sings in the beginning is Crooked Teeth by Death Cab for Cutie. I had a hard time finding a song for him to sing, so this song reflects Hamuko's emotions rather than Junpei's. I image he'd have a fun time singing that song. Regarding the last chapter, the "secret" reference to the game was Shinji's text to Hamuko. The time was 9:02 and in-game, September 9th was when he joined the party.

While working on this chapter I managed to get really sick to the point where I was taking a bus downtown and almost threw up. I had to get off, then stand outside for a few minutes, then I decided to bus back home (since no one could pick me up). Not being able to drive sucks, folks. Don't be like me.

Unrelated news: Surprisingly, I've been invited to be a co-founder of a DeviantArt Akihiko/FeMC group. If anyone here is interested, feel free to look me up and join! New members are greatly appreciated~ My username is exactly the same as it is here. /shameless plug

Here's the link for the fan CD: www. megaupload .com/ ?d=12KFMDRJ (remove the spaces)
I've only uploaded songs from Chapter 1 - 6. Some songs are better off being read with the appropriate chapter to get the right effect. In Chapter 7, I'll be uploading the next batch of songs.
Read the "read me" note in there first, please!