Hohoemu no Kawaii Akuma Episode 3
In Sickness and In Health part 2
Bright: Thank you for believing me, Author-chii39 (smiles warmly). Zaywrites wants to say that this chapter is for you.
Dark Bright: Miyuki-san, Fine is adorable, you say? Hah, what nonsense. The writer…uh, what's the name again? Tch, never mind… She wants to say thanks… for actually reading this rubbish (chuckles derisively).
Me: HEY!
Fine: I apologize. This guy just doesn't know how to behave well. Thank you Lee Seul Bi for your encouraging reviews! Zaywrites says she loves reading all the reviews!
Dark Bright: I said stop the high-pitched voices… this little…
Bright: Don't bully her!
Me: Cut it out, you two! Sighs, good job on that, Fine! Now, onto the story!
After a lot of stumbling on sidewalks, barely dodging some vehicles in the highway, and getting yelled at by furious drivers (which earned a lot of curses from Bright, of course), they finally arrived in his studio-type flat.
The pair staggered forward, arm in arm, swaying a little. Bright lost his balance, dragging her along with his dead weight. They fell backwards, causing Fine to lose the last drop of her patience. She pulled him against her and drew his body towards the front door. He fumbled with the lock, dropping his keys in the process.
Fine rolled her eyes and sighed. She propped him on a corner and picked up the keys. The doorknob made a sharp click sound, then she grabbed Bright and roughly kicked the door. It swung open, causing them to stumble inside and topple on the ground.
"Are you… really trying to help or kill me?" Bright muttered between labored breaths. Fine was too tired to argue. She rolled her body to the side and kicked her shoes off.
Bright scrunched his eyebrows then copied exactly what she did, kicked his shoes off and rolled his body to the side, except that he added more spin and force. Fine heard a loud thud and scurried back to where she left him. The handsome blond had hit his head on the blameless wall. He cringed away, hissing in pain.
Yep. The guy who naturally attracts girls, the person who did nothing out of ordinary but still oozed coolness and sexiness, the prince admired by many… is acting like a toddler again. Sigh.
Not that Fine was disappointed at this adorable side of him.
She bit down a laugh and cradled him in her arms until the pain subsided.
"You're not being careful," she chided, rubbing a hand on his hair comfortingly.
"It does not hurt," he managed at last, stray tears clotting in his eyes due to pain.
"Pfft… really?" Fine teased, brushing the corners of his eyes with her thumb. He frowned at her and turned his head to side, attempting to hide his thoughts. But the sudden blush on his cheeks gave him away.
"I hate you," he murmurs against her arms. His frown broke into a childish pout, making it hard for Fine to stop the squeal in her throat. This guy is clueless that his gestures are too cute for his own good.
"I literally feel my lifespan shorten whenever I'm with you," He groaned, crawling his way to the couch.
Fine moved to crouch down beside Bright and pressed a palm on his forehead. A faint gasp escaped her lips when her skin met scorching heat.
"You're burning up. Let's lessen the heat," Fine shook her head in deep thought and darted her eyes around the room, racking her brains for solutions.
She bit her lower lip, a blush working its way up to her neck and ears. She bashfully placed her fingers on his shirt and started unbuttoning it.
Bright scoffed in disbelief as she worked her hands on the buttons of his shirt. "Where do you think you're touching?" He gruffly asked and sat up forcefully.
"Do you want me to help or what?!" Fine bit back, her voice is shaking, just like her hands.
Bright fell silent at her overwhelming concern. He sighed, and realized that she too, at the same time.
Her head rose, catching the softness in his eyes as he watched even the smallest move she made. Not once did he look at her like that.
For seconds, crimson met crimson. It felt the same as the day they stumbled upon each other after a long time.
A slight blush suffused their cheeks and they looked away, eyes glancing over the room, as if in search of something.
Bright cursed inwardly, annoyed that he had let his guard down. A blush crawled up to his face.
"Do you feel better? Or do you need a shower?" She asked, helping him lie down.
"Don't tell me you want to see me shower too?" he bluntly asked, giving her a suspicious stare.
"N-NO! Then do whatever you want!" Fine exclaimed, stomping away from him.
"Ah, my head hurts…" he grunts, doubling over in pain.
"You'll feel better after you take a shower," Fine suggests, looking at him from behind the kitchen's door.
"What am I going to do with you if I didn't feel better?" he grumbled, sending her a menacing glare.
"Stop threatening me…" she huffs and wrinkles her nose. "I should have just gone home," she sighs.
"HEY! Don't make a move unless I tell you!" Bright cried out, staring at her, wide-eyed.
Fine turned stiff at his command. "I'll just buy dinner, okay?" she says, unable to shake away the sense that something is really, really wrong with him today. Was it because of the fever? Or was it because… he's starting to fall in—
No, no. That's impossible… Come on, Fine. This is the demon Bright Yasuhiro, remember? He's the type who never really cared about anything but himself. Old Bright might consider her feelings but not this smiling devil.
"Do it. I don't have all day," his baritone voice drops her senses back to earth. Fine nods emptily, still weighing the possibilities in her head. "Also, mess it up and I'll choke the life out of you," That does it. This guy is permanently marked on her NO-list.
This is the way demon Bright Yasuhiro has always been.
Yes, he's not the loving type. Not a little bit of his old self.
"I said stop threatening me…" She starts to protest but he cuts her off with a glare. "Okay, okay…" She mutters and stepped out of the apartment. She can't help but notice the pain in his eyes as he watched her walk away.
This pressure is killing me. She grunts at her indecisiveness.
A few hours later…
Fine returned with bags of groceries tucked in her arms. Bright watched her enter the apartment, an impassive expression spread all over his face. But the truth is…
Instant replay…
"Where is she?" he mutters to himself, walking to and fro, irritation spread across his face.
He looks through the window with no redhead in sight. "Why do I have to wait like this? Uh…what a waste of my perfectly good life…" He frowns and sprawls back on the couch.
He suddenly heard the door clicking, and he shuffles to the front door, but then thought twice that it would be wiser to just sit back. A sudden change in his attitude is weird enough. How much more if he does more than that?
Back to present…
He snorts softly then feigns a cough. She just scowled at him and proceeded to the kitchen. He does not even know why he opted to settle on that second thought. He should have just showed some kindness and helped her.
So…
This means…
He was ignored.
Obviously.
And Bright Yasuhiro hates being ignored.
The covers flung and he followed her to the kitchen, settling himself on a chair and began skimming her purchases.
"Ugh, this is so cliché…" he comments as he tosses out the contents of each bag. Fine busied herself, not even sparing him a glance.
"The girl is experimenting on some food, I have a fever—it's like a scene from the shoujo manga Altezza reads…" he grumbles, watching her move around. More correctly, she mumbles some instructions to herself whilst casually looking at her phone then back at the ingredients. It seems like she's stuck in her own world and it'll take a few minutes before she returns.
He seethed at her lack of response. His eyes fell on the green, plastic wrapper with little melons all over.
"You wasted money for this?" He says and shook his head in disbelief.
Fine snatched the item out of his grasp and shoved it in the freezer.
"It's melon-flavored ice cream. It's sweet and my favorite… so I wouldn't call it wasting money," She bickered, returning to her cooking.
Bright gives the freezer a fond look before looking back at her. "Heh, so cheap," he blatantly comments. Fine froze.
"… and childish," A lightning struck her.
Fine forced out a warm smile. "I know you don't like things like this so I just bought one," She explained, her face says it all that she's mad. He really knows how to wreck a nerve.
Bright blinked. "Eh? Why did you just buy one?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.
"Because… I know you will not like it," Fine answered, starting to get confused.
"Who said that?" he probes.
"You just said earlier…" she reminds.
Bright averts his eyes and frowns. "Of course, why would I like to eat something… sweet, like that…" He gulped, his words dropping to grumbles. He rests his chin on his palm, eyes drawn back to his freezer.
It's my freezer. Why do I have to suffer like this? He buried glares on her back, sending shivers on her spine.
Fine turned around and stared at him cautiously. "Just lie down, okay. Leave your kitchen to me," She suggests midst grabbing some utensils.
"Dare burn anything and I'll burn you alive," Bright warned and shuffled to his room, located next to the kitchen.
"Do you really want me here or what?" She trailed off, a small frown on her face.
Bright pauses and looked over his shoulder. "I want you here of course. Just shut up and do whatever pleases you," he dismisses her and dropped to his bed, sighing heavily. He left the door open so he can still watch her.
Of course, he quickly got bored of what he's doing. He dragged his body out of bed and walked around in the kitchen without a purpose.
"Can I cook too?" he breathes in her ear, causing her to drop the pans on the floor and scurry away.
"Kyah! Don't scare me, Yasuhiro!" Fine screeched, still shuddering.
"Wah, that look in your face is hilarious," he blandly comments and flops on a chair.
"What are you still doing here?" She asked, narrowing her eyes at the bored expression on his face.
"Why? Is it bad to be in my own kitchen?" He sounded bored rather than irritated.
"…no?"
"I'm just checking for damages. Who knows… you might burn my house while I'm sleeping," He adds, boring his tired gaze to hers.
Confusion, then disbelief crossed her features. It has been merely two minutes, you know…
What a troublesome guy. This attitude of his must be recognized as a rare talent.
"You'll keep bothering me, right?" she huffs, ladling the soup and pours it on each bowl.
"No. I don't consider this bothersome at all…" He defends, faking innocence. Fine grunted at his reply.
"Have a soup, Yasuhiro-kun…" She offered.
"Oh, finished already, huh? You're faster than you look," Bright comments, watching her struggle with the serving tray. He smirked, amused at the sour look on her face.
"Spill a drop and you're dead," he threatens. She straightened her back and briskly walked towards the dining table.
Bright grabbed the chopsticks. He was slightly surprised when he felt his body not responding to his will.
Fine stared in confusion as he struggled with the chopsticks.
"Do you want me to help you?" she offers at last, too tired of watching him.
"NO! Don't even ask. I'm not a kid…" He snaps at her, but he does not move to eat either.
"Ah, okay…" Fine sighed, focusing on her own meal.
Veins popped on her forehead as he used the chopsticks clumsily, dropping bits and pieces of food everywhere. It was pain watching him and Fine couldn't stand it anymore.
"The soup will turn cold. I think I should help you," Fine grabs a spoon and shoves it in his mouth, earning a lot of death threats and rude remarks from the blond, of course.
"Blergh. Did you boil saltwater?" He spat, scowling fiercely at her.
"Do you think it's right to be rude to the person nursing you back to health?" Fine retorted.
"You can't even feed me…" He mutters.
"Wha—" Fine bites back a retort.
"Ahahaha, my, we look so funny when we're disappointed, hm?" he teased, snickering at her pouting face.
Fine exhaled loudly and left her seat to get the ice cream from the freezer.
Bright looked murderous as he watched her peel off the wrapper. Fine sweat dropped. In split seconds, the room temperature went from warm to cold… which was scary enough to make her concede.
"Here… I don't feel like eating ice cream," She mumbles, sighing in defeat.
"I-I don't like it… but it's a crime to waste food so… I'll eat it," Bright clarified then attacked the ice cream.
Fine propped her elbows on the dining table and emptily glanced over the interior of the apartment. Her gaze wandered on his face, outlining every facial feature with her eyes. She felt her face heat up upon realizing what she was doing.
"Are you still sick?" She asked, before he could notice her staring.
"I don't know," he muttered dismissively between bites then shrugged.
"Can't you check?" She urged. He paused momentarily, then shifts his thoughtful gaze at her.
Fine gulped at the gentleness in his blood-red eyes.
"It's not that I can't check. It's just that… my… feelings for you are getting stronger. I hate to admit but… I can't tell whether my heart is throbbing fast because I'm sick or if it's because of you…" He mumbles softly, eyes boring on hers.
W-wow. Feverish Bright is surprisingly blunt and… cheesy.
She froze, not expecting she would hear such gentle words from his cruel mouth.
"Let me check then," She says then leaned forward to press a palm on his forehead.
"It has gone down. You'll be okay in no time…" Fine beamed. She pulled on her socks and grabbed her bag before heading towards the front door.
"Don't go," he commanded, stopping her with a hand on her arm. She looked up and saw nothing but broken emotion in his eyes.
"Uh… I hate to say this…" He groaned, rubbing the back of his neck. "I can't be alone at times like this… because you see…" His voice cracked, unable to look at her.
"I've been alone all my life…" He huffs, a bitter chuckle escaped his lips. Fine shook her head and gave his hands a comforting squeeze.
"My dear son… we'll be moving out of the country… you can spend the year alone, right? I believe in you…"
"Dear… we're sorry we can't be there for you again. But we promise next year, okay?"
"Bright… we've heard about what happened. But you can manage for another year, yes?"
You will do it, right?
Were you asking? Or was that a command? Well, you never asked how I felt anyway.
Okay, I can manage.
All you did was brainwash me. As if I have other choice than agree.
"Um… is there anything else you want me to do for you?" Fine asked, snapping his senses back to present.
"Sleep here tonight," he commanded, straightforward, without dangling any unnecessary words. Fine turned stiff, stunned and staring, her jaw drops a few centimeters.
"Is that… too much to ask?" he asked, as if it were nothing at all.
OF COURSE IT IS! Fine's at the verge of exploding to tears and raw emotions.
She couldn't will her body to function properly, her mouth opened but no words came out. She couldn't wrap her brain about what's happening.
Bright lifted an eyebrow at her flustered face and slumped back on the couch.
"Stop that and get over here," he ordered, patting the space next to him.
"But Rein will look for me…" she reasoned out and took heavy steps towards him.
"Okay. I'll just lie down here until I restore my energy…" he proposed then slid down her body and placed his head on her lap (without her consent, obviously).
Before Fine could process what he was doing, she realized she couldn't move, much less breathe properly.
"But you need sleep to fully recover," she suggests, unable to think where to settle her hands.
"Come on, sit still," he instructed, grabbing her hands and settled them on his chest.
"But you look really sleepy…" she observed, inspecting his face.
"No, I'm not," he grumbled, rubbing his eyes. He blinked, his eyelids drooping.
"Yes, you are," she argued, poking his cheek playfully. He hissed and glared at the ceiling.
"I blame your lap entirely…" He muttered under his breath, his blinks getting slower and slower.
Fine stifled a giggle and ran her fingers through his hair.
"Uh, don't stroke my hair. It makes me fall for you…" he complains and shoved her hands gently. Fine felt her throat constrict, a blush working its way up to her face again.
"You mean… fall asleep?" She asked to check. Her breaths went shallow, too nervous to hear his reply.
Bright knit his eyebrows in confusion. "Is there a difference?" he asked too innocently.
Well, OF COURSE there is! Fine felt her soul leave her body. Her hand dropped on his forehead and returned to brush his hair soothingly.
"I said don't stroke my hair! You'll make me fall asleep!" Bright whined, clasping her hands in his, restricting their movements.
Fine looked closely in his face and spoke softly, "You mean fall for me?"
"Hah, don't push your luck…" A soft laugh escaped his throat. Fine trembled in anger. The husky laugh echoed in her ears, making her stomach flutter.
"I knew it," she wrinkled her nose and threw her head back wearily.
"Fine!" The blond wailed, triggering her anger.
"What is it now?!" She hollered, her irritation bubbling up.
"Are you deaf?! I said don't stroke my hair!" He yelled, his gaze becoming intense.
Fine snapped. "Gah! I'm not stroking it! You're holding my hand, can't you see?!" She shouted at the tip of her lungs, causing even the neighbor's dog to bark noisily.
Bright stared at her, wide-eyed, before finally speaking. "Are you… did I make you angry?" His voice cracked, as if he were holding back tears.
She panicked when his troubled gaze ran over her face. "No, ah, I… I didn't mean it at all! I-I'm sorry…" she frantically spoke and forced out a smile.
His eyes traveled over her face expressionlessly and closed his eyes shut.
Wha— how did this turn to ME apologizing?! Fine gaped as the realization hits her.
Silence fell over between them. She mulled over some things she left at home while listening to his gentle breathing.
"Fine…" his voice came back after the short pause. She moved her face closer to hear him.
"Hm?" Fine hummed.
"Say my name, please… I want to hear it…" he requested as he reached out with his fingers and they end up combing her hair.
Fine breathed in, pulling him close before finally saying his name.
"Bright…" She said without hesitation. The dimness of the lights concealing her blush. She got a faint smile in return.
"Again, please…" he asked, caressing her cheek. The gentle touch sent small electric shocks on her body.
She leaned closer again, this time whispering words which brought back the feeling of warmth and security. The feeling he almost forgot due to all the stress and pain he endures everyday.
"Bright, sleep now. I'm not going anywhere," He placed a hand on top of hers and sighed in relief.
That was all it took for him to drift off to sleep.
The next morning…
While our favorite blue haired guy is busy concentrating on the magic show currently aired on the television, his phone vibrated, destroying his perfectly good mood (it's rare for him to have good mood, after all). He glared at the phone screen and turned off the TV. Whatever it is should be worth his valuable time or this dude is as good as dead.
He grabbed his coffee and swiped his finger on the screen. Auler's message popped on the home screen.
His eyebrow rose. Another rare occasion. Auler sent him a message? So he finally got his phone back from his high-maintenance girlfriend? Well, whatever it is, he does not care actually.
He tapped the message open.
Sender: Altezza's Slave
"Can you check on Bright? You know… he acts like a drunkard when he's sick…"
[End of message]
Shade spat his coffee and pulled the curtains open. It was a peaceful morning. Oh, so it was not the end of the world, yet…
He rubbed his eyes and reread the message. "So the idiot can get sick," he muttered as he slumped back on his couch.
Uh, what a drag.
He grabbed his jacket and car keys. He has a friend to check.
After a few minutes of driving, he pulled over in front of the most conspicuous house in the neighborhood.
"Bright…" he called, knocking a few times. He stepped back and covered his eyes as the sun glared down at him.
"Bright? A celebrity is at your front door. I don't deserve this treatment," he complained, darting his eyes around.
He grabbed the door handle and it opened with a sharp click.
"I'll just help myself then. Sorry for intruding…" he muttered and strolled inside. His eyes grew wide at the setting before him.
"Oh, th-this is…" he stumbled over his words as he fumbled his pocket for his phone.
He looked at Bright then at Fine... Bright then at Fine... Gah, this is interesting. He thought.
The pair is in the arms of each other, soundly sleeping.
"I better take a picture…" He mutters to himself then tapped the camera button.
Thank goodness I didn't bring Rein. Yes, that was so smart of me.
Shade nodded to himself.
A/n: Shade in the last part was OOC so I made this Omake which is... uh, somewhat realistic.
OMAKE:
Shade's eyes dilated at the setting before. He immediately turned on his heel and walked away.
"I saw nothing..." he shook his head decidedly and strode off.
A/n: Yeah. Because Shade does not care about anything that does not concern him. Anyways, see you next episode!