Mid-term was tough, now I have to prepare for Prelims...School ;_;
.'.'.'.
"Huh?"
Ayame blinked stupidly at the boy infront of her. His hair loose, facial features serious, body clad in black funeral clothes.
Did Toudou Jinpachi just call her-
"Yes, I just called you Ayaka." He answered as if he heard her thoughts.
"Huh?"
Ayame blurted out again, now due to surprise.
"Did you really think I wouldn't notice how my rival and my neighbour(not really) have the same face? Just because you changed your hair doesn't mean you changed your whole appearance you know. If someone just squint a tiny bit, they can actually-"
While Toudou explained how his marvelous self found out about her, Ayame stood in front of the boy who still didn't stop talking.
"Pfft-" Clapping her hands onto her mouth, Ayame surprised herself by giggling.
"You should have used- Wait what- Are you giggling at me?" Toudou asked incredulously, stopping his 'speech'.
"B-But Toudou-kun, pfft- you are so funn-" Before she could say anymore, she fell into another laughing fit.
She just didn't notice how the pout Toudou gave her morpthed itself into a gentle smile.
.'.'.'.
"Imagine my surprise, when I found out that the famous child model, Ayaka Arlaote, was actually a annual customer of my family's inn."
They were currently sitting on a bench at the nearby park.
Smiling, Ayaka looked up at Toudou's equally bright face.
"Thank you." She said to Toudou.
He shifted his face so that he was facing her.
"For what?"
"For this..."
Ayame reached up to gain height, and gave Toudou a peak on the cheeks.
"W-Wha-" Toudou flushed as he cupped the area where he was kissed by the girl he lik-Wait, he did not just think of anything related to the girl he li-
"As thanks. Mama said to give it to people I wanted to thank, especially boys. I wanted to thank you for cheering me up." Ayame answered his unfinished question innocently.
"O-oh... Well, your welcome, I guess..." Toudou peeked at the smiling girl, a blush evident on his face.
Ayame continued smiling, oblivious to the growing feeling the other party had for her.
.'.'.'.
"Thank you for bringing me back."
Ayame said to Toudou, who instead told her to not mind it, since his house was just a few metres ahead.(Not really.)
After saying their farewells, Ayame turned to the main gate of her house, and braced herself for her family's reaction.
.'.'.'.
It was...weird...to say the least.
Mother wasn't watching any of the movies she starred in, nor did brother do any physical training.
They were both depressed over the dea-
"No, Ayame! You need to bulk up!"
Ayame slapped her own cheeks with much accumulated sadness and anger, then proceeded to the kitchen.
When the maid told her she could manage, Ayame insisted and made dinner, with some help since there were instructions for children to not get near a fire.
Going up the stairs was something Ayame didn't expect having trouble with.
Afterall, no one wanted to see their family depressed.
However, she was surprised to see them in better mood then she expected, though she could tell it was forced.
"Wow, did you make all these Ayame?" Her mother exclaimed when she saw the food prepared on the dining table.
"Un! I had some help from Kitaragi-san though." Kitaragi Suzume was the thirty-something maid of their family.
"I'm so proud of you! I'm sure your father would too..." the mood was visibly sour at the latter sentence.
"Anyway, lets eat!" Ayame announced, happily plopping down onto her chair.
The rest of her family did the same, savouring the delicious food, and drowning out their sorrows.
.'.'.'.
She didn't go to her temporary school the next month, time mostly spend with her family or doing work.
Ayaka Arlaote has become increasingly popular as an actress and model, and since she had feedback that her disguise was not really working, she got rid of it...reversibly.
"W-W-W-What- Ayame your hair!" Her mother pointed to the blonde shaded hair Ayame had on her scalp.
"I dyed it, do you like it?" Ayame asked, twirling herself around.
"Of course I like it, you are pretty in everything my dear, BUT YOUR HAIR!"
"Sorry if you didn't want it, but I thought that since it was going to be out anyway, I should just be open with it. It's not like people would actually disturb me or anything." Ayame replied hastily, worried that her mother would disapprove of her actions.
"It's really okay, Ayame. It's just that...I would have rather you consulted me about it before doing it you know. It makes me feel..unreliable." Her mother admitted.
"Of course I would tell you! I'm sorry, Okaa-sama.." Ayame bowed her head, disappointed with herself for not seeking approval first before doing anything.
"Don't do that Ayame, I'm not angry at you!"
Sighing in relief, Ayame went to her brother's room to get his approval.
.'.'.'.
"Ah...you changed your hair colour."
"I didn't really expect this nonchalent reaction, but I take it that you don't mind?" Ayame asked her brother who was playing the current popular mmorpg.
"It's your choice, I don't think I have any say in this honestly." He answered her.
Before Ayame could close the doors to her brother's room, a quick
"Come practice baseball with me in 1 hour!"
was thrown at her.
Giving her agreement, Ayame went to her room, a little burden off her shoulders.
.'.'.'.
"WHAT! You dyed your hair?"
That came from one Toudou Jinpachi.
"You know, your reaction matches my mother's a lot." Ayame informed over the phone.
"B-B-But YOU DYED YOUR HAIR!"
"Yes I did, do you want a picture?" Ayame replied patiently, quite used to the loudness of one Toudou Jinpachi.
"Ah...yes I do." with that, Ayame ended the call and proceeded to take a picture of herself.
Sending it to Toudou by message, Ayame received a reply in no more than 10seconds.
'...You look like Ayaka.' was his short reply.
"..."
'Of course I do.' She replied.
.'.'.'.
End of chapter
That was really short, but I updated :
There might be a timeskip the next chapter, but it depends on my mood(lol)
Konohana Konagi – you don't know how happy that review made me. Thank you very much!
Guest – Thank you, do continue supporting this fic! :D