Ch 10: Surprises
Youko's diary entry:
Dame da! Hiromu saw my treasured item. T_T
He was really shocked. I want to vanish from his sight then.
I almost did—demo, he pulled me so hard that I fell over,
and he tried to catch me.
But we lost balance, dakara..
we both collapsed on the floor.
With our mouths-pressed-together!
YAA! USADA! I've never been so embarrassed!
Youko closed her diary and sighed.
It was Sunday in the morning and she's uncertain how she would react when she sees Hiromu. Hiromu's quite obstinate when inquiring about things. He might do without the 'whole first accidental kiss thing', but he'll never forget to ask about the handkerchief that had been in her possession for more than a year.
Still panicky, Youko thought she'll distract herself by annoying Ryuuji for a short while. With her head peeking at the door of Ryuuji's office, she saw him talking to someone from the stock room. Must be Gorisaki, she thought.
"Ohayou Ryuu-san!" Youko greeted with high esteem. Ryuuji greeted her back with a pat on her head.
"Dame da!" Youko squeaked, dropping her smile. Ryuuji's conversation partner was not Gorisaki at all. Why do I have to see Hiromu this early?! she said to herself when she saw Hiromu browsing through Ryuuji's blueprints. Apparently, Hiromu shared the same concern with hers. The moment he heard her voice, his head hit a glass shelf.
Hiromu tried to return Youko's gaze, but the latter looked away with her eyes rounding up once again. Her cheeks were starting to color once more. Ryuuji noticed that Hiromu and Youko didn't greet each other.
"are you two in a fight again?" Ryuuji asked. "n—no!" they both answered.
Ryuuji was shifting his glances between Hiromu and Youko. He observed that both were looking at opposite directions. He was guessing whether Hiromu was going red or it was just the reflection of his clothes on his face. Folding his arms, he concluded that there's something going on between the two.
So he had an idea. He said, "Youko, please go to the grocery after lunch. We'll celebrate the end of your third semester. Please go with her Hiromu."
"HUH?!" Youko exclaimed.
Hiromu knew Ryuuji's expressions very well. He thought that the latter was suspecting something. He had to act before Ryuuji gets the wrong idea.
"why not Usada? Or Nick? How about J?" Youko asked.
"Usada has too many things going in his mind whenever he goes to shop. J can't be a good companion either, he's too much of a distraction." Ryuuji said.
"Nick will confuse you about directions," Hiromu added, masking his apprehension, "I'll go. As long as oniicon's fine with it"
"oniicon?" Ryuuji repeated.
"because Youko has oniichan-com—" Hiromu stopped right after Youko gave him a heated stare.
At the grocery
Youko was right about one thing: Hiromu did ask about the handkerchief.
"Why didn't you return it to me? Why was it in your pocket all this time? Why is it your treasured item?"
"matte! You have too many questions!" Youko replied embarrassingly. She had to think of the right excuses. But it had to be partially true, because she's not good in lying. Besides, telling a lie in front of a very honest person was a bad idea.
"or perhaps I'll ask your thoughts about the 'accident' last night?" He was too straightforward when he made this suggestion instead. Hiromu was forcing her to tell the truth. Both questions will prove that she liked him all this time.
At the baking ingredients section, Youko told him about the handkerchief.
"When I saw Ryuu-san overheated for the first time, I cried. You lent me your handkerchief remember? I thought it was very kind of you" She continued, "I never gave it back because you might not want it anymore."
Hiromu nodded, "souka, it's unhygienic." Youko gripped the shopping cart tighter to control her annoyance. Hiromu tried to control his amusement when he saw this 'annoyed' expression of hers. But he wondered why she'd be irritated for the objective truth about personal hygiene.
"and for the treasured item?" he asked while getting the bag of flour from the lowest end of the shelf.
"it's—a secret!" she replied as she took the baking soda from the upper part of the shelf.
Hiromu raised his eyebrows. But before he could say something, Reika Saionji (aka Phantom Thief) appeared before them. Youko looked very surprised. Reika-san didn't pay attention to her. Her eyes were fixed on Hiromu's calm gaze instead.
"can we talk outside?" she asked boldly.
Outside the Grocery
Reika had her arms folded when she and Hiromu were outside the shop's premises.
"you didn't give me something on White day" she said.
"I believe that it's not a custom for me" Hiromu replied calmly.
"and despite my efforts, you seemed not interested at all." Reika-san was referring about her initiatives of sending letters and asking him out for a date. The day when Reika-san appeared before Hiromu and Youko at the plaza, Reika-san didn't get her chance of being asked out for lunch. Hiromu opted for a lunch date with her oneesan. No dates with Reika-san were ever pursued.
"is there someone worth your chance right now?" she asked.
"do you want an honest answer?"
When Reika-san nodded, Hiromu heaved a big sigh.
"with a girl I made a promise with, 15 years ago" he replied.
Hiromu tells about leaving
The cake was shared by everyone in the Special Missions. When Hiromu told everyone that he had to say something, the command center became silent. Even J was not heard chattering about bugs.
"I apologize that I have to break this news with you. But I want to thank you all for allowing me to stay here while I make my research proposal". He continued, "I passed my proposal this morning and I was told that they'll give me the answer in a few days. Tomorrow I will return to the country side since my work here is already done. Arigatou gozaimasu. " he bowed low and everyone gave a nod back except for Youko, who stayed frozen in her seat.
Hours later…
Hiromu was about to go back to his room when he saw Youko's figure entering the rooftop with her Usagi plush. He followed her silently. He was certain that there's something wrong with her. Could she be crying? He asked himself.
Youko held her plush in front of her "I'm selfish If I ask him not to go, ne Usagi-chan?"
"Mochiron" Hiromu replied back at her.
Surprised, Youko turned herself quickly to face him.
"Were you crying?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.
"n-no!" she denied, rubbing her eyes.
Hiromu was about to offer another handkerchief again, but Youko took her treasured item from her pocket and wiped her face with it. Youko tried her best to suppress her grief, but she couldn't. Baka! She said to herself, don't cry harder!
"child" Hiromu muttered with a chuckle and added, "baka"
"what-?!"
He drew himself closer and held her in a hug. It was no accident this time.
Youko widened her eyes when she felt her face in his shoulder. Her usagi plush was pinned in between.
"what are you doing?" Youko asked
"comforting you" he replied, patting her at the back "you tend to keep whatever that comforts you. You have that complex"
Youko didn't like the idea about discussing her complexes again.
She puffed her cheeks "You're not a handkerchief, you can't be with me always, baka"
Hiromu drew himself away but he remained his hands in her shoulders. "who says i can't?" he said with a smile.