Scarlet: Hai everyone. Due to a comment from GwangFei, I decided to put some more interaction between Ari and her brother. I hope you like this chapter :3
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Chapter 6: Unexpected Day
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"Imouto" Tezuka called out as he knocked on his door. He had been a bit worried since he last saw her last night. Her face was flushed red and on the verge of crying. Without saying anything to anyone, she ran towards her room and slammed the door.
"What is it Onii-chan?" Ari mumbled from underneath her covers
"Just checking on you" Tezuka stated, "I will be leaving for tennis practice soon
"Ne..Onii-chan, I won't be going to school today" Ari replied softly
Tezuka opened her door and walked into his sister's room. "Imouto?"
Gently pulling the covers away, he saw that his sister's face was flushed red and her breathing came out in light gasps.
Feeling her forehead, he noticed that she was burning up
"Imouto, you've got a high fever" Tezuka stated as he took her temperature, "I'll tell Fuji or Eiji to get your assignments"
"Not..Eiji-kun" Ari managed to gasped out
Tezuka didn't want to work up her fever so he didn't bother to ask
"I will tell grandfather that you will not be going to school today. He will probably have some medicine for you when you wake up" Tezuka said as he placed a cold pack on her forehead
"I can take care of myself Onii-chan" Ari pouted, " Have a good day at school"
"I will, Imouto" Tezuka patted is sister's head gently and gave her a rare smile, "Get better"
After informing his grandfather about Ari's condition, he grabbed his bags and left for school
------Fuji and Eiji's Class-----
"Ne Fuji, what should I say to Ari-chan nya.." Eiji was more depressed then anyone thought he'd be, "She must be really mad at me"
"Don't worry Eiji" Fuji gave one of his famous innocent smiles, "If she it doesn't work out between you too, I can always ask her out"
"Ahh Fuji!" Eiji looked like he was about to rip his hair out in frustration even if he knew his friend was kidding
A few seconds later, the bell rang and Ari still hadn't shown up
"Eh..where's Ari-chan nya.." Eiji looked around confused
"Oh yea! Tezuka said Ari-chan is sick and asked me to bring her homework" Fuji stated
"Ahh! Fuji, you did that on purpose!" Eiji accused, "I was getting all worked up and-wait..Ari-chan is sick?"
"Yes, Tezuka told me she probably caught a cold from yesterday's rain" Fuji answered
"I see.." Eiji began to get lost in his thoughts he didn't hear sensei calling his name until..
"KIKUMARU!" sensei was right in front on his desk
"Y-yes!" Eiji snapped out of his thoughts
"Kikumaru, please read page 196" Sensei instructed
"Yes sensei" Eiji mumbled and began to read. It seems that he couldn't focus at all today. His mind was on one thing..one girl to be exact.
-----Tennis Practice-----
"Fuji, I-" Eiji paused, didn't know what to say exactly as Fuji drank some water beside him
"Eiji, don't confess your love to me here, there are people watching" Fuji smiled
"W-what? What do you mean confess my love?!" Eiji exclaimed
In a flash, Fuji splashed some water at a nearby bush, causing a guy with a camera to appear
"Hey! Stop, you're going to break my camera!" The guy said angrily
"Well, well. Gotcha" Fuji smiled
"The guy turned chicken and ran away screaming
"It seems like we're being stalked more then usual" Eiji stated
"Yea, ever since the preliminaries" Fuji replied before remembering something, "Ah, I forgot to give Ari-chan's homework to Tezuka. He's probably in a meeting with Ryuzaki-sensei and Oishi right now. I'll just bring it to her then"
"Oi! Wait Fuji" Eiji called out
"Hm? What is it? Fuji wondered
"Uh..can I go with you?" Eiji asked
"I don't see why not" Fuji smiled
"After they had gotten dressed, Fuji and an over nervous Eiji were making their way to the Tezuka household
-----Tezuka Household-----
(A/N:Uh..I'm not sure who Tezuka is living with besides his grandfather. So, if I get it wrong please tell me)
"Ari, I placed your medicine on your table. Take it after your meal" Ari's grandfather and the head of the house hold instructed
"Hai, grandfather. Arigato" Ari replied as he closed the door and left her alone to her sleep again
Ari fell asleep only to be waken up again in what she thought were mere minutes by a knock on the door.
"Grandfather, the door is open" Ari mumbled without even looking at the door
"Gomen ne Ari-chan" a different voice replied, "I think I'm too young to be your grandfather
"Eh?" Ari sat up immediately as her fever allowed her to and wrapped her blankets around her, "Fuji-kun and..Eiji-kun"
'Ari couldn't meet Eiji's eyes at all and Eiji noticed that
"We came to bring you your homework" Fuji smiled as he placed a stack of paper on her desk
"Arigato Fuji-kun" Ari laughed softly, "Like I need homework right now"
Everyone could tell that Ari's laugh wasn't genuine
"Ne Ari-chan.." Eiji started
Fuji took that as his cue to excuse himself and closed the door behind himself
There was an awkward silence in the room between Ari and Eiji
"What is it?" Ari asked looking down
"About yesterday.."Eiji started, "I wanted to apologize"
"Apologize?" Ari repeated
"H-hai" Eiji sighed. Somehow, deep within himself, he knew he'd regret what he was about to say. Although he didn't know why, "It was an accident. Momo and I were fighting and I bumped into you. I like you Ari-chan cause you're my friend. I hope we can always be friends"
'Friends..that's all I'll ever be to him' Ari was on the verge of tears but refused to let Eiji see. Instead, she smiled and said, "Eiji-kun, you and I will always be friends"
"Really?" Eiji's face lit up but somehow his heart felt like it was missing a part of him
"Yes, really" Ari replied, "Um..do you mind letting me sleep, Eiji-kun? I'm really tired"
"Oh okay" Eiji murmured. He had hoped they would be able to talk more. Slowly walking towards the door, he took one last look at her before he left to find Fuji
-----Walking Home-----
"So, how'd it go?" Fuji asked as he and Eiji left the Tezuka household.
"Nya, it went well" Eiji replied with a half smile, "Ari-chan and I are friends again"
"I see" Fuji didn't ask anymore as they both began to walk home
That whole night, Ari cried
-----The Next Day: After School-----
"Ne ne Ari-chan? Eiji asked as he, Fuji, and Ari were walking out of the school building, "You're going to come and watch us practice right?"
"Ah..gomen ne Eiji-kun" Ari apologized, "I have to meet someone today"
Before Eiji could ask who it was. Ari's hand shot into the air and waved franticly towards the school gate, "There he is!"
Ari then happily ran towards the person who smiled as he held her in his arms. What happened next nearly killed Eiji. Smiling, Ari tilted her head up and kiss the boy on the-
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Scarlet: Well everyone! Thats the end! Whaaaaat?! What do you mean you wanna read on? D: Don't I get a break?
Readers: NO!
Scarlet: Fine fine. I'll write more! Where was I..oh yea!
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Smiling, Ari tilted her head up and kiss the boy on the cheek.
He didn't know why but it hurt him to see her so happy towards another guy. Eiji saw Ari leading the guy towards them and decided to put a smile on
"Mou Ari-chan.." Eiji tried to sound like his normal self, "Aren't you going to introduce your friend to us?"
"Ah, Eiji-kun. I was just about to" Ari smiled turning towards the guy, "Raymaru this is Fuji Syuusuke and Kikumaru Eiji, my two good friends
"It's nice to meet you" Raymaru shook both their hand, "The name's Nakane Raymaru"
"The pleasure is mine" Fuji's expression was indifferent
"Nya, nice to meet you too" Eiji forced a smile
"I'm going to be showing Ray-kun around" Ari explained, "Good luck at practice Fuji-kun Eiji-kun. Ja ne"
"Bye Ari-chan" they replied as they watched Ari and Raymaru walk away happily chatting. It wasn't until he could no longer see them did Eiji leave for practice
She said his name last again. Before she would always say his name first. Somehow even though they were friends again, he was noticing the little changes between them, and Eiji didn't like it one bit. Although he was confused as to why.
During practice, Eiji couldn't concentrate at all causing him to hit the net or miss the court completely
"Eiji dropped his racket and was about to run when he stopped next to Tezuka
"Hey Buchou, do you know a guy name Raymaru?" Eiji asked quietly
"Iie" Tezuka answered, his expression unchanged, "20 laps"
Eiji sighed and began to run his laps quietly
-----After Practice-----
"Kikumaru-senpai you're not yourself today" Momo stated
"Mada mada dane" Ryoma added
Eiji, Fuji, Ryoma, and Momoshiro were walking home together after practice
"Eh?" Isn't that Ari-chan?" Momo suddenly shouted, pointing towards the other side of the streets
Everyone looked immediately and what they saw surprised them. Ari had her arms around Raymaru and they were happily walking side by side.
"Who's that guy with her?" Momo asked, "And why are they so friendly?"
"Grr.." Eiji growled softly before forcing himself to act normal, "His name is Raymaru. He's Ari-chan's friend. We shouldn't be spying on Ari-chan like this"
"We're not spying Eiji-senpai" Momo insisted, "We're just making sure Ari-chan is safe"
Eiji sighed as he took took another glance at the happy couple. He saw another girl dressed in purple approach Ari and Raymaru. Although the group didn't hear what they were talking about, he saw Raymaru signal for Ari to head inside the cafe first. As soon as she was gone, Raymaru immediately embraced the other girl and kissed her on the lips. It was not an innocent kiss either. A few seconds later, they separated and walked into the cafe, sitting at the same table as Ari.
"Did you see that?!" Momo was angry but not as furious as Eiji
"Eiji-senpai, are you okay?" Ryoma asked
"How dare he do that to Ari-chan!" Eiji growled, "Where're going to watch what he does next!"
"Spying is bad remember, Eiji?" Fuji smiled innocently as he repeated Eiji's earlier words
"Fuji! Did you see what that guy did!" Eiji glared, "We are going to keep watching him and when the there is a chance, we'll tell Ari-chan that Raymaru isn't a good match for her"
Ryoma took this as his cue to leave, "Well, good luck. Bye"
"Eiji quickly pulled Ryoma back, "I don' think o'chibi. You are helping us and we are going to show what kind of guy that two timing Raymaru guy really is!"
-----With Ari-----
"Achoo" Raymaru sneezed
"Are you catching a cold Ray-kun?" Ari asked concernedly
"Nah, probably somebody thinking about me" he replied with a smirk
"So are you going to introduce me to your girlfriend?" Ari smiled ask she turn towards the girl holding Raymaru's hand blushing
"Oh yea, this is Akina Tsukihana" Raymaru introduced, "Aki-chan, this is my cousin, Tezuka Murai Ari"
"Nice you meet you Ari-chan" Akina smiled shying
"I'm surprised that Ray-kun had the courage to ask someone out like this" Ari smiled at her
"Hey hey! No talking bad about me" Raymaru pouted
"Oh! There's this really yummy cake I wanted to try, lemme order it and I'll be right back!" Ari got up from her seat and ran towards one of the waitresses"
-----Eiji, Fuji, Momo, and Ryoma's Table-----
"Ari-chan just got up and went somewhere" Momo stated
"Doesn't matter, lets just keep a watch on Raymaru!" Eiji whispered.
The group had managed to get a seat two tables down from their target.
"Hm..I see. This Raymaru is cheating on two girls.." Inui stated jotting down some notes
"I-Inui!" Momo gasped, "Where did you come from
"That is not important, I am here to collect data" Inui replied
"Thats good! With Inui, there is no way we can miss our target!" Eiji declared
-----Raymaru and Akina-----
Akina giggled softly, "Is she always like that Ray-kun?"
"Ari-chan's changed. She's nothing like the crybaby I used to look after. I'm proud she's become such a strong girl.
"I don't think I'll be able to be better then her"
"You don't have to be. You're my girlfriend. You don't have to prove yourself to me.
"Arigato Ray-kun" Raymaru lifted his girlfriend's chin up and lightly kissed her lips"
-----With The Four Err..5 Spies-----
"Can you hear them?" Momo cried, "They're too quiet!"
"Shhh! Momo!" The group was as quiet as they could and managed to pick out some words of their conversation
"Is she always like that?" They heard the girl ask
"Ari-chan's ---------. She's nothing ------------- -------------. I used ------------ ------------ ---------- strong girls"
"--------------- be ----------- -------- better then her"
"You have ----------- to be --------- ------- my girl------. --------- ---------- -------- prove yourself to me"
"------ Ray-kun"
They then saw Raymaru kissing the girl again. They broke apart just before Ari arrived
"Damn! If Ari was there a little bit earlier, she's see what kind of guy Raymaru really is!" Momo growled
"Uh..I don't think.." Fuji's soft statement was ignored
"Did you hear why he said, Eiji-senpai?" Momo continued, "He said that Ari-chan was nothing!"
"And that he was just using her!" Eiji muttered
"I believe we should listen more before we come to a conclusion" Inui commented
-----Ari's Table-----
"Um..please excuse me while I go to the lady's room" Akina said as she got up and left
Raymaru watched as his girlfriend left before turning towards his cousin.
"So, tell me how was your first kiss?" Ari asked wanting to know
"It's been a while since we had our first kiss, I can still remember the mistake of kissing near the fountain. We were soaked to our skin!" Raymaru laughed
"Haha, but it was as least a memorable moment. The first kiss I had was with Eiji-kun. An accident but it wasn't that mad. I was just nervous" Ari took a bite of chocolate cake
"Hey you've got something in your hair. I think it got some frosting stuck to it" Raymaru pointed out
"Can you help me get it Ray-kun? I can't see" Ari asked
Raymaru sighed as he leaned closer to Ari
-----The 5 Spies-----
"Can I go now?" Ryoma asked boredly as he finished his 2nd sundae
"Iie! Just order something else. It'll be on Momo" Eiji insisted
"Nani!? Momo shouted, "I never promised that"
"Try this sundae" Fuji pointed at the menu. He had given up trying to persuade the other 3 to listen so instead, he decided to enjoy himself.
"Shhh! That girl just left, I wanna hear what they say" Eiji replied
"------- me ------- ------- --------- kiss?" They heard Ari say
"------ while ----- ------ we ------- kiss ------------. --------- ------ remember ------ mistake ------- ------ ----------- near ------. --------- ----------- -------- our skin!"
"--------- ------------- ---------- moment. --------- --------- ------------ kiss --------- ----------Eiji-kun. ----------- accident ---------- ----------- it was ------- bad"
They then saw Raymaru leaning towards Ari like he was about to kiss her.
"I..Iie!" Eiji jumped out of his seat and was in front of Ari's table in seconds, "Wait, Ari-chan!"
Ari and Raymaru looked at Eiji confused
"Eiji-kun?" Ari asked confused, "Why are you here?"
"Iie Ari-chan, I don't want to let you kiss this two timer!" Eiji clench his fist
"A..ano..what's going on?" Akina had just returned
"See Ari-chan! He was cheating on you with this girl!" Eiji pointed at Akina
"I was never going out with Ray-kun. And that girl is Akina, Ray-kun's girlfriend. Ray-kun and I are cousins"
"C..cousins?" Eiji was embarassed. Very, very embarrassed.
"I think we should talk it out somewhere else" Raymaru nodded towards the other customers looking at them.
"Ye..yea" Eiji hug his head down.
-----A Park Nearby-----
Ari had gathered the rest of the spies and was trying to explain everything.
Raymaru just laughed at the idea that they thought he was going out with Ari.
After everything was sorted out. Everyone began to leave except for Eiji and Ari. Everyone decided that they needed to talk some things out
Eiji was still looking at the ground and Ari was looking at everywhere but Eiji
Ari sighed softly and walked away
"A..Ari-chan" Eiji's head gaze left the ground at her movement.
He watched her sit herself on the swing behind him before looking at him
"Yes?"
"I..I wanted to apologize" Eiji started, "I had no right to spy on you today. I was just scared that you'd get hurt and..I didn't want that.
"Was that all Eiji-kun?" Ari asked as she looked at the boy who had stolen her heart.
"I..Iie..I also didn't like how friendly you were with him before we found out he was your cousin..I didn't like how you were holding his arms and smiling at him. I wanted you to smile at me like that. And hold my arm like that" Eiji didn't know what he was saying, it was all so confusing. It came out all at once.
"Eiji-kun-" Ari was cut off
"Ari-chan, let me finish. I think what I'm trying to say is that..I guess I might be too late but..I don't really know how to say this.." Eiji took a deep breathe, "Ari-chan, I really like you!"
'Silence'
It seems that everything that Ari wanted had just came true although she couldn't find the words to say.
'Say something! Anything!'
Eiji took her silence as a bad thing and smiled sadly, "I guess I'm the idiot that wanted us to be just friends..I'm sorry Ari-chan. I won't bother you anymore'
Eiji turned and walked away.
'Come on Ari! Move!' Ari mentally screamed at herself. Somehow finding the courage, she ran after Eiji and hugged him for behind
"Ari-chan?" Eiji was surprised as he felt her arms around him and her warm tears on his back
"Eiji-kun..Baka, baka, baka neko. Eiji-kun no baka!" Ari sobbed quietly still hugging him
Eiji turned around and held on to the girl's shoulders, "Nani Ari-chan! Ari are you crying? Did I do something bad again? Gomen ne. Gomen ne Ari-chan"
"No..no you didn't do anything bad. I..I've just been waiting for those words for a long time." Ari murmured quietly, "I like you too Eiji-kun"
"R-really?" Eiji smiled in disbelieve.
"Yes" Ari nodded
"Then..would you go out with me?" Eiji asked shyly
"Baka Eiji-kun. Yes..I will" Eiji couldn't help but hug the girl in front of him. Everything felt so right then. It was like he had everything he'd ever wanted, everything that he'd ever need.
Ari looked up at the boy she adored. His eyes locked on hers. Before they knew it, their head was tilting towards each other and their lips had barely touched before they pulled apart, face flushed red.
"Ari-chan kawaii nyaa!" Eiji glomped her tightly.
"Nee Eiji-kun. Let go!" Ari laughed
"Iie. Never" Eiji replied as he took her hand in his, "I'll walk you home"
"Mmkay" Ari smiled as she held his hand. They walked home in complete silence, just enjoying one another.
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Scarlet: Aaaaaah! Finally! How was that chapter? I was having such a terrible time in real life. My boyfriend dumped me after promising me a life together T____T. I decided that even if I can't have a happy day. Ari can still have a happy day for me! We'll, now that they're together, what is gonna happen? Is Eiji not gonna be able to focus on tennis? Well, read and find out on the next chapter of: Adoration of a Neko. Read and Review everyone! Please and thank you all.