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The reason for not updating quicker: I hate you summer school, I hate you summer school, I hate you summer school...


"I hate you Asahina, I hate you Asahina, I hate you Asahina..."

"Wah! That hurts Hibiya-kun!"

Hiyori blinked at him with a pouted lip. Hibiya made sure to steel his glare lest it waver under her puppy-dog eyes. I can't believe she bought so many things and made me carry them. AGAIN.

"Here, just to be nice, I'll hold the bag Ayaka-nee packed us." She reached out and plucked it from his right hand. "Seriously, you're not carrying that many."

Hibiya only responded with more grumbling, though was indeed grateful for the lessened load.

After browsing through a few more shops they decided to take a quick break from shopping and sat down on a bench, which suited Hibiya just fine. He was very sure the wind chill was freezing him from the inside out.

They had spent several hours already just browsing all the shops in the area, with Hibiya exasperatedly following his (maybe) friend's march through the streets. As much as he hadn't wanted to admit it, city life was amazing as much as it was tiring (and goddamn freezing), no matter how different it was compared to their rural home.

He finally understood why Hiyori had wanted to come here so much, and perhaps her desire for a companion to spend it with. Hibiya could fully say that he was glad to be here, with her.

But he definitely wouldn't say that she looked even the tiniest bit cute when trying and buying all those girly clothes. 'Cause y'know, she didn't. Well, maybe except for that one outfit with the pink cardigan...

"...wait to come back here with Tsubomi and..."

Hibiya blinked to clear his thoughts, realizing that he wasn't paying attention to what Hiyori was saying.

Luckily, she had taken a break from their conversation and reached into one of the bags. She pulled out a dinosaur-shaped key chain which she squinted at with a smile.

"I still can't believe you bought that silly thing," Hibiya jibed. "It's just a piece of plastic after all."

Hiyori humphed. "I think it's cute. And besides, I didn't buy it for myself." Before Hibiya could protest, she quickly slipped the trinket into his jacket pocket. "You need something to help you remember the city since you hardly bought anything yourself."

"..."

Hibiya looked from her to the dinosaur in his pocket and found that he couldn't bring himself to scoff at it.

"...thanks."

Hiyori smiled softly. "Come on, let's go get a snack," she suggested, pointing to a food stand across the plaza.

Hibiya was quick to be the voice of admonishment. "We just had lunch a few hours ago, and thanks to you our money's halfway gone. It'd be bad to spend any more."

Not to his surprise he found himself talking to air, Hiyori already having taken off. And freaking leaving the bag she said she'd hold.

"Dammit Hiyori," Hibiya muttered with a defeated smirk. Picking them up hastily, he shuffled through the snow after her as best as he could, the way too cold air wrapping around him again and making him wonder just what species Hiyori was to be able to stand it.

As he began to catch up to Hiyori, it soon became apparent that he should have been more careful. Perhaps it was due to the bags straining his arms and limiting his vision of the ground, that he felt all too late his foot snag on the crunchy ice underneath him.

His legs buckled under him and sent his whole body lunging forward. And right into the poor, unknowing soul in front of him.

An "uff!" came out of Hibiya as he impacted with the person and was pushed backward, thudding onto his bottom.

"Hibiya-kun? What's wrong- HIBIYA-KUN!"

Hiyori looked behind her and realized what had happened, quickly reversing her steps; she was by his side immediately. "Are you alright?!"

"It's fine, I just fell okay?" he assured tersely, taking off his gloves and rubbing his sore hands.

"W-well then HIBIYA-KUN! YOU SCARED ME! Next time, don't be so clumsy!" Hiyori scolded him harshly, yet let loose of some of the worry and relief hiding underneath.

"Yeah yeah, okay. Gomen." Hibiya stood up and brushed the snow (and thankfully no bruises) off his pants.

He picked up a few of their scattered things then turned to apologize to the other person who had fallen down with him. The person was still reeling on the pavement, leaving Hibiya feeling pretty rueful.

"Um, excuse me? I'm really, really sorry about that. Are you okay?"

Both Hibiya and Hiyori tried to help the person onto their feet, but their helping hands were quickly shoved away and the person forced themselves to stand on their own.

"...watch where you're going next time," came out the person's quiet, undeniably irritated voice. Wobbly almost, like they weren't used to talking. Yet, he was sure the voice sounded familiar...

"Hai. I'm terribly sorry." Hibiya bowed as low as he could before his head touched the ground and Hiyori did as well, but they both managed to keep their gaze on the stranger.

Hibiya's eyes drank in the person's appearance: a teenage girl, maybe around Hiyori's relative's (Tsubano, Shuusuke? Ayami, Kouya? He'd have to ask her again) ages. She had dark black hair tied in one side ponytail, although he could see that she had bright orange roots at the very top of her head. On the bridge of her nose sat a pair of dark sunglasses (it's not that sunny outside, though) and on her person was a bright red jersey (What? Who wears stuff like that?)

While he couldn't see the strange girl's eyes, she could tell that the girl was uncomfortable and definitely wasn't supposed to be outside. Her skin under the dark glasses was pretty pale and looked quite untouched by sunlight. She shivered even more than Hibiya as the wind whipped around them and chilled their bones. Fidgeting with the sleeves of her jersey, she nervously opening the soda can she somehow hadn't dropped when she crashed. Hiyori decided to break the awkward silence as the girl took a shaky sip.

"Uh hello! I'm Asahina Hiyori and this is Amamiya Hibiya-kun. I'm also really sorry for what happened. What's your name?"

"... I-I'd rather not say, it's none of your business anyway..."

"Oh, well um. Allow us to help you pick up your stuff then?"

"I-it's fine kid-"

It was too late of course, Hiyori was already shifting through the snow for anything the older girl might have dropped. She picked up something colored a shiny pink plastic. "Ah ha! Is this your phone, lady?"

A look of dread immediately sprang onto the girl's face (as hard as it was to tell with the sunglasses on) and she frantically checked her pockets. "A-ah-! Y-yes that's my phone! Give it back please!"

Before Hiyori could reach out and say 'here you go', the mysterious girl surged forward to grab it as quick as she could. Unfortunately, it seemed she and Hibiya were similar in the art of clumsy running, and she didn't notice the one package Hibiya hadn't picked up right in front of her.

"Eeh!" she yelped as she stumbled over it, just barely steadying herself to not fall again. In the process, however, the sugary liquid in the soda can she was holding sloshed right out of it and towards Hiyori.

Hiyori (and Hibiya as well) barely had any time to react, only shutting her eyes and instinctively holding her hands up to block the splash of soda.

"Eeew, gross..." she cringed, peeking an eye at her mittens. They were soaked with the sticky soda, making a drip, drip, drip onto the snow.

At least she's not hurt, Hibiya sighed inside himself. "Oi, Asahina, are you alr...ight..." Hibiya's voice cut off when his eyesight zoned in and he remembered what Hiyori was currently holding.

Hiyori took about two seconds longer to remember herself. "AH! Oh, oh god. Lady, I'm so, so, so sorry-"

"M-M-MY PHONE!" The girl went up several octaves with her shriek and properly swiped the phone from Hiyori's wet clutch.

"No nono nono n o nO-," she whispered to herself, desperately pressing buttons on the pad and seemingly forgetting Hibiya and Hiyori were even there. "...it's no use... it's gone."

This is bad, Hibiya agitated to himself as he watched both of the girls panic. Hiyori was bowing much lower this time. "I'M SO SORRY! Please, please, please, please, please forgive me!"

"Kid, I.. this doesn't concern you-"

"Uh, maybe we can pitch in some money to help you buy a new one?" Hibiya interjected with an offer, Hiyori nodding her head in instant agreement.

"You, you kids don't understand, this phone, i-it-"

"Please!" Hiyori intertwined her fingers in a praying motion. "It's the least we can do after this whole thing! Please let us make amends."

The stranger had had enough. "You don't understand at all! My brother, he was the one who gave me this phone."

"..."

"And he, he... s-so it just means that it's absolutely irreplaceable! There's nothing you can do, get it?"

"..."

"Why are you just staring at me like that?!" She glared down at them, chest heaving. And the only way to properly glare at someone was with...

"...y-your eyes lady," Hiyori, not blinking once, answered for them both when Hibiya hadn't been able to find his voice, having dropped it the same moment the girl's sunglasses had dropped from her face when she yelled at them.

Her revealed eyes were something neither of them had ever seen. Under them sat small dark smudges indicating eye bags. Her actual gaze was sharp and tired and very distressed. Lastly, there was the color itself.

They're so red...

"They're so red..." Hiyori echoed him, wrapped in as much awe as he was. It was if the red had trapped their gazes, placing a spell on them both to simply stare.

Slowly, they watched the nameless, very brightly-eyed girl move her horror-stricken face down to look at her fallen sunglasses on the snow. Hiyori didn't move to pick them up like Hibiya knew she normally would. The atmosphere kept tightening around the three of them, coiling and coiling with awkwardness until hardly any of them could even suck in a breath.

The strange aura quickly spread to the people who were walking around them, who soon began to turn their heads and whisper to and fro. The girl looked around back and forth, bringing a hand to her mouth to try and quell her terror.

"What's with all the yelling?"

"Hey, I didn't notice those kids before. They having a fight?"

"Did you hear the taller girl's voice? Doesn't she sound like Momo-chan?"

Momo-chan? Hibiya finally blinked his eyes from their stupor, gawking at the shaking girl in front of him. He knew he had heard her voice before! Was that really her? Was she really right here in front of them? The internet idol he definitely (didn't) love? Had Hiyori's silly hope actually come true?

He found his voice just as people were beginning to crowd around. "Are.. are you Kisaragi Momo-san?"

"Wait what?" Hiyori gasped and the girl (Kisaragi?) turned deathly pale. Coupled with her eyes, she looked like an actual ghost. "I, I, I, I, I-"

Before she could actually go anywhere with her 'I's, she turned away from them and bolted as fast and as rashly as she could in the direction of the main shopping area, uncaring of how she almost slipped on the slushy snow...

Hiyori and Hibiya could only gape at the fleeing teenager (who seemed to now actually be an idol) until they could no longer see her red jersey running away with her red eyes.

Beats passed, and the crowd slowly dissipated, their murmurs of that 'crazy jersey girl' dying out one by one.

"..."

"..."

"Hibiya-kun."

"Hai, Asahina?"

"What just happened?"

"If I'm right with what I'm thinking, we just broke the phone of the one and only Kisaragi Momo-san."

"Oh. Oh okay."

Hibiya closed his eyes and started counting.

1...2...3...

"HAHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!"

He only sighed into a smile. "Oh, Asahina..."

(Why wasn't he feeling even one bit annoyed at her? Hn...)


Hope you liked this chapter, and the introduction to a certain idol (or is she...?;)

As much as it pains me, however, this fanfic has almost run its course. I expect to maybe be able to write 2-3 more chapters with it. )X

But there's good news too! Because I find that I write better when writing 2 or 3 fics at a time, there'll soon be another to replace this one.

The thing is though, I can't seem to decide which one to pick. The lovably tragic Yuukei Yesterday? The mysterious Yobanashi Deceive? Or the badass Blindfold Code?

Alas woe is me! But not to worry; I made a solution: a poll!

That's right, just go to my profile and vote on the poll at the very top, and maybe you'll see your choice as a Touketsu fic really soon! I'd really appreciate the help anyway!

I'll give the results in around a week or so when I publish the 8th chapter of Touketsu Daze.

Thanks so much again! 'D