Happy Holidays!!!

Welcome 2010!

Sorry for the very late update! Hahaha

I have been busy for the past few months but I'm really trying to finish this story as much as I can.

Hope you like this chapter!

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CHAPTER 10: Mistaken Identity

The bottle spun dizzyingly in circles until it lost its energy and slowed to a stop. Everybody around the circle held his or her breath as the bottle pointed to its first target.

"KAIDOH!!!!!!!" The name reverberated throughout the house as they shouted in elation at the first victim of the game.

Kaoru Kaidoh sat frozen in shock and disbelief as he stared blankly at the bottle pointing directly to him. "No, it couldn't be me. This is… stupid," he muttered to himself.

"Kaidoh."

"No, this game is really stupid…" He continued muttering to himself. He could hear his former teammates cheering on him.

"Kaidoh."

This time a loud voice whispered directly to his right ear and as he turned his head, he gave out a cry at the sight of the maniacal glint in Inui's eyeglasses.

"Congratulations, Kaidoh. Are you ready?"

"You scared the living hell out of me, sempai," gasped Kaidoh as he panted heavily.

"Here," Inui gave him a large dice the size of a tennis ball. "Roll the dice."

Cold sweat started to form on his forehead as he took the dice from him and threw it on air. The dice landed with a loud thud on the center of the circle and rolled over to a stop.

"FOUR!!!" They shouted in unison.

"Consequence!" Momoshiro yelled happily.

Inui pushed a large fishbowl full of folded papers in varying colors in front of Kaidoh. "Pick your consequence, Kaidoh."

Trying to act indifferent despite the mad pounding of his heart against his chest, Kaidoh slid his hand inside and rummaged through the fishbowl. He took out a blue piece of paper, opened and read it.

"Stripped," Kaidoh read as his mind tried to decipher the single word written on the paper. "Huh?"

"Ehem, ehem. I have the full description." Inui pulled out his trustworthy notebook and began to read. "The word 'Stripped' means you've' got to remove your clothings while dancing-"

"Mamushi will be a gigolo?" Momoshiro asked loudly as he stared at Kaidoh's horrified face. "He'll be naked?! Nyaahahaha!"

"He's right, Kaidoh. You'd be like a strip teaser, you know that? Have you got any idea what I mean?" Inui adjusted his glasses as he continued to read on his notebook. "But don't worry Kaidoh, I've put into consideration that we have two young girls and an old lady right here-"

"Who are you calling 'old lady', Inui?" Sumire asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Sorry Coach, just a sign of respect. No offense meant," grinned Inui. "As I've said earlier, you won't be totally naked unless this is your lucky day. To determine how many things you have to remove from your body, you have to roll a dice again. However, this time, its two dices coz it's going to be lousy if we use only one. The sum of the numbers on the two dice corresponds to the things you have to remove from your body. Understood?"

"Sempai's lucky if he gets two," said Ryoma. He had never thought that Inui's consequences would be this cruel and had he known it beforehand, he could have just not attended the party. He couldn't imagine what are the remaining consequences waiting for them.

"Or twelve," grinned Momoshiro. "I'll pray Mamushi gets twelve, hee hee."

"Shut up, stupid," said Kaidoh as he felt sweaty and cold. He took from Inui two large dice and closing his eyes briefly, he wished to get two. He threw the dice on air and let it fell on the floor. The first dice stopped.

"Two, Kaidoh's lucky," Oishi said but he regretted his last word when the second dice showed its number.

"Six. So that's a total of eight," said Inui in a matter-of-fact tone as he scooped the two dice. "Kaidoh, the floor is yours now."

"Go, Mamushi!" Momoshiro jeered as Kaidoh staggered slowly into the center.

The instant Kaidoh reached the center; a slow and seductive song began to play. Instead of going along with the slow, seductive music, Kaidoh immediately removed his costume mask, shoes and socks. "That's five."

"Inui-sempai, is the mask counted as a piece of clothing?" Momo appealed to Inui.

"Yeah, anything that he wears tonight is counted," replied Inui. "Three more, Kaidoh."

"Fine," he hissed as he began removing his shirt.

"Take it off!" Momo and Kikumaru called out loudly. "Take it off!" They cheered in unison. Kaidoh had removed his white shirt and stood half-naked.

"Take it off!" The others followed in chanting except for Tezuka who remained passive and Sakuno who looked like she felt sorry for her sempai.

Fuming, Kaidoh started to remove his belt and finally, his pants. He stood on the floor wearing nothing but his boxer shorts. How he wished he had worn more for his costume instead of just putting a mask.

Ryoma doesn't know whether to smile or not as he watched his sempai go red in embarrassment.

Momo, the eternal archrival, was not contented and began to tease Kaidoh further. "No wonder you're called "Viper", you really got the snake, man!"

Kaidoh felt even more conscious and tried to cover his front with his hands. "You'll pay for this someday, Baka."

Meanwhile, Ryoma heard a high-pitched giggle coming across from him. It was Osakada, who looked like she was having the time of her life. On her side, Sakuno kept her eyes glued to the ground, pale as a ghost. He smiled secretly to himself. She's still the same old Sakuno he knew. Conservative.

"Hey, Inui-sempai! I've done the dare, can I go?"

"That's enough, Kaidoh," said Inui. "Thank you for doing the task."

Kaidoh immediately picked up his clothes and went to a dark corner, hissing and muttering.

Momo continued laughing until Ryoma nudged him on the ribs. "We're going to start."

"Kaidoh, you're the one who would spin the bottle," said Inui as he placed the bottle back to the center of the circle.

Pointing the bottle to Momoshiro, Kaidoh said. "You'll be next, stupid." He twisted the bottle and went back to the corner of the room.

"Now, who do we have next?" Kikumaru said as he waited for the bottle to stop.

After a few seconds, the bottle stopped spinning.

"It's Kawamura!" Kikumaru, Momo and Oishi shouted in unison.

From across them, Kawamura jerked his head as if having just awakened from a blissful sleep. "Yeah? Someone –hic! - Called out –hic! - me' name?" He was speaking in a slurred way.

"Kawamura-sempai, it's your turn now. Kiss or Dare!" Momo told him excitedly.

"Dare? –hic! - Daring me to play?-hic! - I won't back down, baby coz," Kawamura tried to stand and suddenly waved his hand violently back and forth as if he was making his signature in tennis. "I'M BUUURNINNNGGGGG!!!!!"

The girls screamed just as Kawamura immediately passed out and fell asleep on the floor. Everyone immediately gathered around him.

"Kawamura, are you okay?"

"Kawamura-sempai?"

"Kawamura Takashi?" This time Coach Ryuuzaki hovered over him and started tapping his face hardly.

Kawamura stirred and opened his eyes a little. "Ow! Stop slapping me Coach!"

"At least he's responsive," said Sumire with a relieved sigh. "Kaidoh, call Kawamura's father and kindly tell him to fetch his son here."

Kaidoh nodded and took Kawamura with him to a nearby sofa chair. Then, he took out his mobile phone and dialled.

"Since Kawamura is not in the state to do the tasks in the game, we would spin the bottle again," said Inui He took out the bottle again, placed it on the center and spun it fast. It took longer for the bottle to stop spinning

"Yay, its Eiji!"

"Kikumaru-sempai, it's your turn!"

Kikumaru was obviously surprised at being chosen but was instantly replaced with excitement. "It's me! It's me!" He was jumping in excitement like a child who had just gotten a surprise gift.

"Kikumaru," Inui handed him the dice. "Roll out the dice."

Kikumaru shook the dice inside his cupped palms them threw it on air. The dice fell to the floor and continued to roll for a few seconds until it rolled to a stop.

"FIVE! It's a Kiss!" They all shouted in amazement.

"Nani?!" Kikumaru couldn't believe his eyes "It's a Kiss."

"Kikumaru," Inui tapped his shoulder. "Spin the bottle to find out whom you are going to…" He looked around the remaining participants. Most of them were males, which include Tezuka, Fuji, Momo, Oishi and Echizen, and there's just one old woman and two young girls. His probability of kissing a Regular is great. "Kiss. Good luck, Kikumaru."

Without further delay, Kikumaru twisted the bottle thinking of the possibilities. He looked around and gulped. There were his five male teammates, his Coach and the two young girls. Please just let it be one of the girls. No, just Osakada, Ryuuzaki belongs to Echizen, he prayed fervently.

Few seconds later, the bottle rolled to a halt and he had almost fainted.

Too bad today is not Kikumaru's lucky day.

The Game had just gotten nastier as the participants were narrowed down to four, which includes Fuji, Osakada, Sakuno and Ryoma.

I shouldn't have attended this party, thought Ryoma nervously. Now it's just the four of us.

If only he knew that this party is going to have a game like this, Ryoma wouldn't have attended the Halloween party. He looked at those who had finished their corresponding tasks: Kaidoh, Kikumaru, Momoshiro, Coach Ryuuzaki, Oishi and Tezuka.

Kaidoh was sitting in the farthest corner of the room, still brooding about the stripped teasing he had done a while ago.

Kawamura was supposed to be the next one but was spared due to his drunken state.

Next was Kikumaru. He was the first one to get the Kiss. In addition, the one that he had to kiss was none other than their Coach. Yes, old Coach Ryuuzaki. He fainted afterwards and had to be given a splash of cold water to be awakened.

After that was Momoshiro who got a Dare to guess all the remaining participants while blindfolded just by holding their palms. He had guessed five out of seven correctly. As punishment for the two mistakes, he was given two shots of the newest concoction of Inui, the Inui Special. Momo rushed to the comfort room after drinking it and vomited everything. He came back looking dehydrated.

Then it was supposed to be Coach Ryuuzaki. Unfortunately, Kawamura's father just arrived and she had to be the one to explain and assist Kawamura as the latter started vomiting and utter some funny words he wouldn't say in his normal state.

The fifth was Oishi who got a Dare to perform a sexy lap dance on a girl. He chose Osakada and the girl kept giggling and screaming throughout the lap dance number. The girl obviously enjoyed the sexy lap dance number.

And the last one, Captain Kunimitsu Tezuka who has to perform a Kiss to none other than Ryuuzaki Sakuno.

Flashback…

Ryoma knows that this is just a game and he shouldn't take it seriously but he can't help but feel uneasy as the bottle pointed directly to Sakuno.

Their stoic captain, Tezuka Kunimitsu would kiss his ex, Ryuuzaki Sakuno.

Throughout their almost one year of relationship, he had never kissed her. He could barely count the times they even held hands together. Maybe they're just both shy to initiate the usual things a normal couple would do.

In his part, he has to admit that he doesn't know how to initiate such things and he's not just that comfortable with public displays of attention.

He had this gut feeling that she had never been kissed before and now he would watch helplessly as Sakuno will get her first kiss.

In comparison with the previous tasks, there is no catcalling or jeering from the Regulars. Perhaps, it was due to respect to their Tennis Captain.

Tezuka stooped in front of Sakuno and even though he was in a kneeling position, he was still a lot taller than her.

He would really do it, thought Ryoma with a feeling of both panic and admiration.

Sakuno started breathing in fast, shallow paces. Her hands clutched tightly to her skirt as if she was holding on to it for her dear life.

It's just a kiss. It's just a game. I just need to look elsewhere until the task is finished, thought Ryoma as he forced himself to stay calm and composed.

Slowly, Tezuka leaned towards Sakuno making all the Regulars, Osakada and even Coach Ryuuzaki sucked in a sharp intake of breath.

No, thought Ryoma alarmingly. Coach Ryuuzaki isn't even doing anything! Damn, the old woman even looks excited for her granddaughter!

Everyone started screaming and Ryoma felt his eyes widen in shock as Tezuka kissed her…

On the forehead.

In a sweet and gentle move, Tezuka planted a light kiss on Sakuno's forehead.

Ryoma felt a tide of relief washed over him.

"Hey, that's unfair Tezuka!" Kikumaru instantly objected. "You should kiss her on the lips"

"Buchou is unfair! Do it again!" Momo said then hid immediately behind a sofa chair.

"Why didn't you kiss her on the lips?" Inui asked.

"Yeah," was all Oishi could say.

Kaidoh merely said, "Hmpf."

Osakada was shocked while Coach Ryuuzaki had this smile on her face.

Seeing the reactions, Tezuka looked at Inui. "Inui, does the rule says that the kiss have to be specifically on the lips?"

Immediately, Inui pulled out his trustworthy Data Notebook and perused the pages, reading every line twice. He even adjusted his glasses for a closer reading. Then, he closed his notebook with a snap. "He's right. I wasn't able to write specifically where you need to kiss a person."

"That's unfair!" Kikumaru instantly complained. "If I only knew…"

Oishi patted his Doubles partner for comfort. "Eiji, Tezuka got some point about that."

Inui looked at Tezuka with admiration. "Have you spotted this blind spot beforehand, Tezuka?"

Tezuka nodded and before standing up, he looked at the girl in front of him who was still staring at him wide-eyed and surprised. He gave her a small smile and patted her head kindly before standing up to leave the circle.

"Buchou…"was all Sakuno could say.

"Cool," said Momo. "He's spotted the loophole on Inui-sempai's Rulebook."

"I agree," affirmed Ryoma quietly. Tezuka looked at him for a second and gave him a small nod.

"Let's continue the game," said Inui. He placed the bottle at the center. "Tezuka, you'll be the one to spin the bottle."

Tezuka took the bottle and spun it. Afterwards, he went back to his serious conversation with Coach Ryuuzaki, which appeared to be about tennis again.

Osakada then nudged Sakuno on the ribs and whispered to her. "That was so close! Captain Tezuka almost kissed you but he's such a gentleman."

"He kissed me on the forehead, Tomoka," corrected Sakuno who started blushing again. "Buchou is really nice. He treats me like a … little sister."

"But really, it's such a loss that you didn't got to kiss him on the lips." She sneaked a sideward glance at Tezuka. "Tezuka-buchou looks so tonight, don't you think so?"

"Really, Tomoka!" Sakuno rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Stop ogling at him! It's embarrassing and he's older than us."

"So what if he's older than us? I like older guys, they're mature and definitely sexy," said Tomoka. "And speaking of older guys, what's with you and Fuji-sempai huh?" She gave her an inquisitive look.

"Tomoka!" Sakuno blushed harder and tried to clamp her best friend's mouth with her hand. "What are you saying? Fuji-sempai might hear you. There's nothing – OH! It's Fuji-sempai now!" She pointed to the bottle diverting her friend's attention.

"It's my turn now," said Fuji with a smile.

"Here's the dice." Inui threw him the dice, which he easily caught.

Without further ado, Fuji threw the dice on the floor.

"One." The dice rolled to a halt showing on its topmost side a single black dot against a white background.

"It's a Kiss again!" Kikumaru said happily. He was back again to normal.

"Nice," said Inui. "Fuji, spin the bottle."

Before spinning the bottle, a mysterious smile appeared on Fuji's face.

RYOMA'S POV

What's he up to? Ryoma thought worriedly. The Regulars knew that behind Fuji's innocent features lies a sadistic side. He wasn't surely planning to kiss him, he would surely object. Better it be Osakada, the girl have no qualms about such things. Ryuuzaki is an exemption; she was finished being the one Tezuka had kissed.

It's he and Osakada then.

He just hoped it would be Osakada because he just can't imagine if he gets to be the one to be kissed, he felt like he would be committing suicide. Even though the option of not kissing on the lips is there, he wouldn't just let anyone, especially a male, to touch his skin with their lips. As far as Ryoma can remember, the only ones who had kissed him are his mother when he was still young and his Himalayan cat, Karupin.

He remembered the time when he was still single and carefree. The only thing he was interested was on his tennis skills. He paid no attention to the girls who kept pestering him with gifts and love letters. This led his parents especially his father to question his gender and sexual preference, which he found to be very insulting on his part. His father even bombarded him with all his porn magazines and movies just to make sure that he's a "normal male".

It even came to a point that his father threatened to disown him if he ever turn out to be a homosexual.

"NANI?!" Kikumaru's voice broke Ryoma's train of thoughts and caught his attention. "Its Ryuuzaki-chan again! Fuji has to spin the bottle again!"

"Why do I have to spin again?" Fuji asked. This time his smile had gotten wider. "Inui, is there a rule about the same person who gets Kissed?"

"According to my Rulebook," started Inui. "There's no limit on how many times a person gets to be Kissed as long as that person remains to be a participant of the game."

"Then it means its Ryuuzaki-chan again!" Kikumaru said.

"Eh?" Sakuno's brown eyes had gotten huge. "Me again?!"

Inui nodded.

"You're so lucky, Sakuno!" Tomoka shrieked as she hugged her best friend. "First its Tezuka-buchou and now its Fuji-sempai!" She said with a mixture of delight and envy.

"Tomoka!" Sakuno turned pink at what her best friend said.

"Inui," called Fuji. "You've just said that it is not specified where the Kiss should be, right?"

"Yeah."

"Any limit on the duration?"

Inui's eyes sparkled as he understood what Fuji meant and just smiled. "None. Mind if I ask why?"

"Nothing," replied Fuji with a shrug but his blue eyes knows that Inui knew why he had asked such thing.

What is he planning? Ryoma thought nervously. He was starting to feel goose bumps on his arms.

Curiously, Fuji turned to Coach Ryuuzaki. "Coach Ryuuzaki, Tezuka had been a gentleman. I'm different but I promised to be within my limits. But please understand that this is a game."

Sumire looked puzzled with Fuji's words not until Inui came to her and whispered to her what he thinks Fuji meant. Her eyes grew big as she heard the explanation. When Inui had finished explaining to her, she paused for a second thinking. Then, she broke into a sly smile. "Fine. But don't go overboard, know your limits."

Fuji smiled in response. Next, he knelt in front of Sakuno with one knee making the latter blushed hard.

"S-sempai?" Sakuno stuttered in nervousness.

Fuji just smiled at her. The type of smile which makes girls melt.

"Fuji's really going to kiss her!" Oishi said aghast.

"I think this time it would be on the lips," said Kikumaru excitedly.

"Ooooohhhh!" Momo's sarcastic drawl rang out. Momo caught Ryoma's sharp eyes and mouthed the words What are you going to do now, Echizen?

Baka, replied Ryoma in irritation.

Momo grinned at the obvious irritation of his young friend. Don't worry, he mouthed again and gave him a thumbs-up sign.

RYOMA'S POV

Ryoma knew that this time is different.

Unlike Tezuka, he had this gut feeling that Fuji would surely kiss her on the lips.

It brought him the same feeling he had just felt when it was Tezuka's turn to do the task. He just can't describe it before. It's like a mixture of anger, possessiveness and strong desire to do something.

But now he knows what it is and the realization hit him like a tsunami.

Jealousy.

He had to admit it. All those times, he thought that Sakuno would always be there, cheering for him considering that she really liked him. She would always give him her homemade bento lunches, baked cookies and small gifts. Things that he had taken for granted. He had never anticipated that someday she might just like someone else other than him.

But he still have two options.

Option A: Stop the game.

Option B: Let it be. It's just a game and a simple kiss. He would just look elsewhere and pretend that it never happened.

If he chooses Option A, he would have to sacrifice his pride and ego because his action would just show that he is clearly jealous. Even if he manages to patch-up things with her, he would have to endure a lifetime of teasing and jokes from his teammates.

On the other hand, Option B would be safer. But he had this strong gut feeling that if Fuji gets to kiss her, his chances of getting her back would be zero.

"Relax, Sakuno-chan," reassured Fuji as he levelled his face with hers. "I'm not going hurt you."

"Oh, gomen." Gradually, Sakuno started to breathe normally.

Ryoma really felt uneasy now. He knows that he need to act but his legs and buttocks seemed glued to the floor, disabling him to move.

Just a few feet behind him, he heard Kikumaru whisper something exciting to his Doubles partner Oishi.

"I knew it! I knew it!" He heard Kikumaru squeal excitedly. Ryoma strained his ears for careful listening.

What he heard next made his insides froze.

"Fuji's not going to kiss her, he would be kissing her!"

Just then, Osakada emitted a high-pitched shriek. When he looked, panic rang inside his mind.

Fuji tipped Sakuno's small chin and was about to kiss her.

Ryoma felt a sudden burst of energy flow through his veins.

He stood up and was about to –

When all of a sudden, the lights went out.

Call it instinct or reflex, Ryoma grabbed Sakuno by the arm and pulled her to a tight, protective embrace. His arm encircled her small waist and pulled it against him while his other arm held the back of her head.

Now, he knows why Momo gave him a thumbs-up sign earlier. He made a mental note to thank him later on.

Meanwhile, everyone went into an abrupt frenzy.

"Hey, what's happening?!"

"Who's got a flashlight?"

"Ow! Who stepped on my foot?!" Kaidoh growled.

"Coach Ryuuzaki, you haven't forgotten to pay your electric bills, have you?"

"Oishi, I still have a sharp mind," replied Sumire with a hint of irritation. "I'm going to check the power outlet."

"R-ryoma?" Sakuno's soft voice came out.

Ryoma is unsure what to do, whether to answer or not. They were still not in good terms and she might scuttle away from him if she knew it was him. But this is his chance. If only they could talk privately.

Yes, that's it. He would take her away from here and go somewhere private where they could talk appropriately.

Instead of responding, Ryoma groped his way around the darkness. He wanted to use his mobile phone as his source of light but that would reveal his identity so he continued to fumble against the dark room.

"Wait, where are you taking me?" Sakuno asked as she felt herself being dragged. "And who are you?"

This is going to be difficult, he thought. He needs to get them out of here fast before her grandmother finds the main power outlet.

Out of the blue, a freaky wolfish howl echoed around the house. (Ryoma fought the urge to laugh as he recognized the voice behind it.)

Just as predicted, this resulted to chaos with none other than Kaidoh as the first one to freak out and started running towards the door, knocking everyone on his way including he and Sakuno.

"Aaaahhhh! Get out of my way!" Kaidoh shouted was distinguishable amidst the myriad of voices.

Ryoma and Sakuno were separated as Kaidoh crashed upon them. To add further injury, Kikumaru, the rambunctious redhead and Osakada crashed also into them. The next thing he knew, they were all entangled in a jumble of mess.

Damn, though Ryoma angrily as he fought to extricate himself. After succeeding, he groped around looking around for Sakuno. Fortunately, he caught a slender hand and immediately pulled it to him. He dragged her away from the rumble to prevent injury. Unfortunately, as they were running, his foot stepped against the scattered glass bottle, which they had used on the game causing him to lose balance, slip and fell towards Sakuno.

He felt himself fell on top of her and she emitted a high-pitched cry he had never heard her before.

Just as it happened, the lights returned and he had to squint his eyes against the sudden contrast.

"Yippee!" KIkumaru said as he stood up.

"Is everyone okay?" Tezuka asked.

"How about Osakada and Ryuuzaki-chan?" Oishi asked looking around. "OH!"

"Why?" Kikumaru looked at Oishi's eye direction. "Oooohhh…Naughty I say," chuckled Kikumaru.

"Ryoma? Oh!" A soft, familiar voice rang out.

That's Sakuno, thought Ryoma. But why does she seemed so far from him? Just then comprehension dawned upon him and when he looked at the person he fell into, his eyes widened in shock and utter disbelief."Osakada?! "

"Tsk, tsk. Naughty Ryoma! You're really growing up!" Kikumaru said.

Ryoma noticed that they were positioned in a suggestive pose, which could only be seen on those porn movies. Immediately, he removed himself and stood up. How in the world did he end up with her? It was supposed to be Ryuuzaki!

"For your information, Mr. Echizen," began Osakada in a haughty manner. "It was you who suddenly grabbed me then pinned me to the floor!" She finished before walking away. "Sakuno-chan, believe me I didn't do it on purpose!" She looked at her best friend.

Sakuno nodded weakly. She was being assisted by Fuji to stand up. "Thank you, sempai."

Kikumaru suddenly jumped on Ryoma and locked him into a bear hug. "Can't believe our Ochibi is such a playboy! Heeheehee. First, its Ryuuzaki-chan and now its her best friend!" Kikumaru then realized what he was saying and covered his mouth. "No, I didn't really mean that! I was just joking, you know. Hahaha." He said in a dry humor.

Everyone turned quiet as Ryoma and Sakuno's past relationship resurfaced.

SAKUNO'S POV

Everything happened so fast. Now I felt conscious of the stares I was receiving

I feel stupid. Up to now, I'm still not over him. I'm still affected by what he is doing.

I wasn't even sure if it was really him who hugged me protectively a while ago. It must have been Fuji-sempai. He's always caring for me. Maybe that's why he didn't answer when I was calling out Ryoma's name. Fuji-sempai doesn't want to disappoint me.

I feel stupid for calling out his name when he was busy flirting with my best friend.

I don't know what's into him if he's trying to make me jealous or stupid in front of everybody.

Now everyone's looking at me, waiting for my reaction. What am I supposed to say?

"I –" I tried to open my mouth but no words would come out.

I felt the pitying looks on me.

Water started to form beneath my lower eyelids and I blinked hard to hold it back.

"Sakuno-chan." Fuji-sempai shielded me from the view of everyone as he stood protectively in front of me. My obaa-chan was also instantly on my side looking very worried.

"No, I'm okay," my voice broke as I tried to speak. "Really," I said trying hard to convince him. But my words weren't true to my feelings. Again, I blinked hard to push back the tears that were threatening to show.

I give up.

I knew I couldn't pretend anymore.

Sakuno blinked clumsily. "I-I just need to go the restroom. Please excuse me obaa-chan and sempais." She bowed respectfully and immediately left the room.

No one spoke as she left.

Predictably, everyone started to turn to Ryoma as if waiting for something to happen.

And based from their looks, Ryoma deduced that he's the one to be blamed for what happened.

And a part of him knows that they have every right to think so.

Thank you for reading!

Watch out what will be on the following chapter.

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