Chapter 10: Christmas Return
It's the day before the big test in December Harima, Yakumo and Sara are studying as hard as they can Yakumo allows Sara to stay the night so they can get a lot of studying done, In complete silence they all study maybe an occasional question comes up that they help each other with but other than that it remains silent until Sara breaks the silence "This work is so hard...What do you guys think?" Harima nods but still remains concentrating on his work, while Yakumo puts her pen down "it is, what grade are you going for?" Sara has a small time to think about Yakumo's question before coming up with an answer "I would probably like to get a B or a high C what about you? Let me guess the teacher wants you to get an A?" Yakumo nods "That's a lot of pressure on you" Yakumo simply shrugs, Sara turns to Harima "What grade are you hoping to get?" Harima realises Sara's talking to him and puts his pen down "Probably a C or something like that as long as I pass I'm fine" Harima remains sitting down putting his hand on the back of his head, Sara couldn't help but ask the next question "What do you two have planned after graduation? Any Jobs you're interested or college?" Harima is quick off the bounce with this question and puts his hands back on the table "Well with the whole manga contract I signed, they're allowing me a full scholarship at a college where I can take a course in manga" Sara's eyes do a little twinkle "That's great Harima, what about you Yakumo? With your grades I bet you can become anything haha" Yakumo thinks for a long time about the question Harima looks up also wondering as well "I...I'm not sure, I've never really had a plan"
Sara scratches her head "You signed the same contract as Harima, so are you still going to do that or are you planning something else?" Yakumo simply shrugs and tried to avoid the question "What about you Sara do you have any plans?" Sara puts on a childish face "I can't say that I do, I'm like you I don't usually plan" Sara adds a joyous laugh at the end, Sara turns her attention back to Yakumo "So is Tenma coming back this Christmas like last year?" Harima's attention switches to Yakumo, staring intensely at Yakumo through his sunglasses "Coming back?" Yakumo answers Sara's question "Yes, she's coming back for the Christmas holidays, she said her plane will be in the airport on December 22nd" Sara looks at the calender then back to Yakumo "Oh that's only a few days away, are you meeting her in the airport?" Yakumo nods "We might as well all go to visit her" Harima nods agreeing with Sara.
In the middle of Harima's hidden celebration to himself Sara asks the most important question "Is Kurasama coming as well?" Yakumo looks across at Harima who Is worrying that it's the right one "Sis did say Kurasama is celebrating Christmas with us" Harima feels the weight of the world crashing down on him but soon thinks of a sudden realisation "If they both come, Tenma will see how much of a wimp he is, then run into my arms hehe" Yakumo can easily sense Harima's happiness across the table "He still has strong feelings for Tenma..." Sara breaks the silence again "Sorry about that let's get back to work hehe"
The three work through the night until it they we're to tired to do so, Yakumo goes to her room, Harima goes to his room while Sara sleeps in Tenma's room the next morning comes around Harima is having mixed feeling's excited about the fact Tenma is coming back, but is also nervous about Kurasama coming back as well, the three make there way to school through the frosty weather.
They arrive in class, Harima and Sara still nervous about the test while Yakumo isn't as nervous as them two, the three try to get some last minute studying done "I need to get this test right or else" Harima keeping his focus on the task in mind Yakumo and Sara move to there seats, Harima tapping his pen on the desk trying to psych himself up, Yakumo can sense his nervousness from his desk and gives him words of encouragement "Harima, I know you can do this so try not to be nervous ok?" Harima looks across at Yakumo her words calming Harima down "er...thanks" "Yakumo is usually never wrong, so If she says I can do it, I must be able to do it" Harima thanks Yakumo to himself.
The teacher walks in with a big stack of test papers, every student is on the edge of there seats Sara turns around to Harima and Yakumo "Good Luck guys" Yakumo nods to her "Good luck to you too" Sara gives Yakumo a smile and turns to her desk, "Ok students, I hope your all prepared for today's test this is worth 40% of your final grades when graduation comes around" The classroom gasps at how high percentage it is "I hope you all studied well, I wish you all luck" The teacher goes around the classroom handing out the test papers on the students desks "Don't start until I say so" The test is put on Harima's desk who's nerves are sky rocketing, The teacher gets done passing out the last of the papers to the students, then looks at his watch "This will be a 2 hour test, you may begin now"
Harima flips over the test paper and doesn't make the same mistake Tenma did, he writes his name on the paper and opens the test workbook, Harima scans the paper and begins to answer the questions, Yakumo couldn't help but keep making quick glances at Harima who Is doing his best to answer the questions, Yakumo Is easily going through the test paper like it's nothing, Harima begins to slightly struggle halfway though the test "Crap now it's getting Hard" But before he loses his temper and concentration, Harima looks at the pen Yakumo gave him and lets out a small sigh "I can do this"
Harima begins to look over his previous answers to make sure he hasn't made any rookie mistakes, Harima continues with the test paper to realise he only has half an hour left on the test "I need to speed things up" Harima takes a small peek at Yakumo who's close to finishing the paper, then gets his attention back on his paper "So far so good" Only 15 minutes left on the paper Harima is getting closer and closer to the final question, Yakumo has fallen asleep after finishing her paper, while Sara is checking over her questions "This question is impossible!" Harima thinks to himself while grabbing the back of his head, 2 Minutes left, Harima just writes down anything on the paper and closes the test booklet "Finished it" Harima let's out a relieving sigh and looks to his left to see Yakumo asleep "She's not overconfident at all" Harima makes a sarcastic comment to himself.
"Alright guys that's the test finished, just hand in your papers and get home" Everyone gets up and hands in there paper other than Harima who sits at his desk hesitant to hand in his paper, as soon as Yakumo hands in her paper she turns back looking at Harima waiting for him to hand in his paper Harima takes a sigh, stands up very sluggishly and walks towards the teachers desk giving his paper to the teacher "Is there anyway you could mark it now?" Harima making a request to the teacher, before the teacher could answer to Harima's demands Itoko walks in. Itoko walks up to the teachers desk "Do me a favour and Mark it for him" The teacher nods his head, Harima and Yakumo take there seats at a desk waiting for the results of the paper Yakumo asks Harima "How do you think you did?" Harima shrugs "I think I did ok but I'm not sure, I did the best I could" Yakumo gives Harima a reassuring smile "As long as you know you did your best that's fine" Harima switches his attention towards the teacher who is marking the test along side Itoko "Please...Please...Please"
The teacher puts down his pen and looks at Harima with his unforgiving eyes, almost as if it's piercing through the soul of Harima "Well that's not a good sign" Harima gets up from his desk and walks to the desk "Tell me the bad news" Yakumo gets up from her desk and walks behind Harima. Itoko and the teacher look directly at Harima, the teacher is first to break the silence "I can tell you did your best on the paper" "That's a lie, there doing this to let me down easy it happens all the times in movies" A smile comes across the face of the teacher "We're proud to tell you, that you got yourself a pass, you got a C congratulation" Harima drops his bag "R...really?" Itoko nods on behalf of the teacher "Hell yeah!" Harima raises his arms in victory and turns towards Yakumo giving her a hug "YAKUMO I DID IT! THANKYOU!" Yakumo face blushes heavily "er...you're welcome, congrats" Harima soon notices he's hugging Yakumo and breaks from the hug "Oh er...sorry about that" A mischievous grin comes across the face of Itoko "Congrats Kenji" Harima bows his head "Thank you" Itoko shocked at his humble behaviour.
Harima picks his bag up off the floor and heads out of the classroom with Yakumo bidding farewell to Itoko and the teacher, Harima goes outside with Yakumo at his side "I can't believe this is the first time I passed anything!" On the walk home Harima continues to celebrate "Congrats Harima you deserve it" Harima gives a thumbs up to Yakumo "I couldn't have done it without you too" Yakumo trying to hide a blush "thanks" Harima gets his phone out "I've gotta tell everyone" Harima sends the text to all his contacts other than Yakumo of course.
He's quick to receive a few texts back "Congrats Harima...how come you got yours marked already? From Sara" "About time you shaped up From Henai" "Big Congrats Harima! from Tenma" Yakumo continues to watch Harima's reaction "He looks so proud of himself, I've never seen this side of him" They both arrive home to be greeted by a confused Iori wondering why there back so early, Harima sits down in the sitting room still amazed that he passed 40% of his final grade.
"How did you think you did in the test?" Harima asks Yakumo as she sits down, Yakumo looks up at Harima while Iori climbs on her lap for a nap "I think I did ok" Harima heads switches from the TV to Yakumo "Really? When I saw you during the test, you we're going through it like a breeze" Yakumo simply shrugs "I don't think I went through it like a breeze it was kinda difficult"
As they continue to watch the TV Harima asks Yakumo a question "How long has it been since you've seen Tenma?" it doesn't take long for Yakumo to reply "Last Christmas" Harima looks surprised that it's been that long "Wow that's a really long time" Yakumo nods and heads into the kitchen, Harima stays in the sitting room watching TV, Yakumo grabs a box on the counter, she brings it into the sitting room and puts it on the table.
"What's all this about?" Harima ponders at the mystery box "erm..it's just a congratulation gift for passing the test" Harima lifts to top of the box, It's a cake with 'Congrats Harima' spelled on top with chocolate sauce "Thanks...When did you make this?" Harima switches his attention from the cake to Yakumo "I made it this morning before you woke up" Harima looks down at the cake "She made it this morning? Did she know I was going to pass? Is she a psychic?" Harima continues to question as Yakumo looks on "Oh...it's a good thing I passed haha" A smile sneaks up on Yakumo's face, Yakumo sits down as Harima takes his first bite into the cake "It's delicious...*munch* It's grjsosmi" Yakumo can't understand what Harima says with his mouthful, Harima eats his mouthful of cake and asks "Do you want some?" Yakumo shakes her head "No it's fine, it's your celebration" Harima has a quick shrug and continues to eat his cake.
As few days pass and its the morning of when Tenma returns "Are we taking your bike to the airport or are we going to take a bus?" Yakumo asks Harima before walking out the door to meet Tenma "Seeing the snow has cleared up slightly I think it's fine if we take the bike and it's much more fun than a bus" Yakumo nods and puts the helmet on her head, they both walk to the bike Yakumo notices Harima doesn't look as excited as she was expecting "We're going to meet Sis but he doesn't seem as excited might be because Kurasama is going?" Harima is first to climb on the bike "Tenma's back...but Kurasama is too...do we even have enough room in the house for them both?"
Harima and Yakumo arrive at the airport "Sis said she'd be arriving at terminal 3" Harima nods and they both make there way to Terminal 3, but Yakumo has a question on her mind for Harima "You said you like sis, are you going to tell her?" Harima blushes heavily "I'm not sure, I don't think it's right to tell her when she's visiting for the holidays" Yakumo is slightly disappointed that Harima doesn't want to tell Tenma how he feels about her.
Harima and Yakumo take there seats near Terminal 3 waiting for Tenma, Harima looks over his shoulder to see many planes arriving at the airport but he turns towards Yakumo "Erm...do we have enough room for Tenma and Kurasama at your home?" Yakumo's eyes suddenly widen "I never thought of that, I think we'll sort it out when we get home" Half an hour passes and Harima is starting to lose his patience "Is that it?" Harima continuously asking Yakumo after every plane flies by and it's usually the same answer "no" soon enough a plane arrives at Terminal 3.
Harima and Yakumo stand up waiting for Tenma to arrive, they see a pair of small matching pig tails, it's non other than Tenma, Harima and Yakumo begin to wave Tenma down, Tenma notices the two of them she turns back and grabs Kurasama's hand who's standing behind her, Tenma runs over to the two of them with a range of happy emotions Tenma soon finds herself in a hug with Harima and Yakumo "I MISSED YOU TWO!" Harima and Yakumo hug Tenma back "haha we missed you too" Harima says while staring intensely at Kurasama "I have my eye on you Kurasama no funny business" Tenma and Yakumo are both smiling heavily, Tenma breaks from the hug "Wow you two haven't changed in the slightest hehe" Kurasama soon tugs on Tenma's sleeve "Is that Yakumo?" Tenma nods "It is, good thinking Kurasama" Kurasama looks across at Harima "And you're...Henai?" Harima has a huge face palm to himself "Is this guy making fun of me? Don't lose your temper when Tenma's there" Harima lets out a sigh, Tenma looks at Kurasama "Close, but that's Harima" Kurasama simply nods.
"How was the journey sis?" Yakumo asks Tenma, who puts her attention back on Yakumo "It went ok...other than I kept getting handed free towels on the plane" A smile comes on Yakumo's face "I see" the four of them make there way out of the airport Tenma turns to the three of them "We can take Harima's bike right?" Yakumo shakes her head on behalf of Harima "It's only a two person bike" Tenma's a bit disappointed but a smile comes across her face "Let's make it a race, You and Harima take that slow bike, then me and Kurasama take a taxi, then we'll see who's faster losers pay for the taxi" A smile comes on the face of Harima "Your on!" A man in a suit grabs Tenma's bag, she soon turns around hitting him with her handbag "You thief!" Yakumo grabs her arm "No..Tenma he...he carries your bag to a taxi" Tenma who is bit embarrassed "Sorry about that mister hehe"
Harima and Yakumo walk over to the bike, while Tenma and Kurasama are putting there bags in the taxi, "Tenma hasn't changed a bit has she?" Harima says to Yakumo "She hasn't" Yakumo says while shaking her head, Yakumo puts the helmet on and they both wait until Tenma and Kurasama's taxi sets off, Tenma and Kurasama's taxi sets off as fast as it can "Crap that's fast are they paying him double to go that fast? But it's not fast enough" A grin emerges on Harima's face "Hold on Tight" Yakumo notices how passionate he is about the race grips around Harima as tight as she can, Harima and Yakumo set off from the airport right behind Tenma and Kurasama.
"I'm not paying for a taxi for them two, maybe Tenma but not that cheapskate Kurasama" Harima passes bye the taxi, Harima couldn't help but turn his head to see what's happening, Tenma is making a thumbs down hand gesture Harima simply grins at the two of them and takes the lead "I knew it'd be easy, no body can match the speed demon Harima!...hey I like that nickname" Harima and Yakumo win the race arriving at Yakumo's place first, Tenma and Kurasama soon arrive after, Tenma looking at Harima and Yakumo with a disappointed look "You two cheated I bet" Tenma pays the driver, Harima who has a childish smile on his face "We didn't cheat, it's just your taxi is way too slow for the speed demons!" Tenma looks on confused first but a smile comes her way "Just wait until next time we'll defeat you two speed demons!" Harima clenches his fist "Your on!" Yakumo unlocks the door walking into her home followed by the three of them.
Iori runs towards the door to see Tenma "Hey Iori did you miss me?" Iori runs back into the kitchen a frown comes on Tenma's face "Stubborn cat.." Tenma and Kurasama take there seats in the sitting room followed by Harima and Yakumo, Iori returns to the room to lye down on Yakumo's lap "It's been so long since I've been here sis, nothing has changed hehe" Yakumo nods her head "Yeah it's been a long time since last Christmas, Hows your studying going?" Tenma looks down at the table and back up at Yakumo "It's going ok, But it's tough though, but you know that Tenma Tsukamoto will never give up!" Yakumo smiles at Tenma's determination, Harima gaze continues to stay on Kurasama who is fiddling around with one of his manga pens "He better not break that" "So Is Mikoto, Henai and Sara ever going to come over?" Yakumo looks at Tenma and replies "Yeah we're doing a get together at Christmas eve, Mikoto and Henai can come but Sara has some duties at the church" Tenma nods with a huge smile on her face.
"Have you two drawn any manga lately?" Tenma asks the two of them "Yeah we made a prototype it's still being drawn but you can have a small preview" Harima answers and grabs a stack of paper, then hands it to Tenma along with Kurasama peeking over to see what it is, Tenma begins to scan through the manga until she notices something "...Yamo? That sounds so familiar..." Yakumo looks directly at Tenma waving her hand "You might have just heard it in a TV show" Tenma shrugs "Probably" She continues to read through the unfinished Manuscript, Tenma puts down the Manuscript on the table Harima and Yakumo sit there waiting for her criticism "I think...it's great!" Tenma giving a sharp thumbs up to the two of them, Yakumo smiles at Tenma while Harima gives another thumbs up back at Tenma.
Tenma gets up to go to the bathroom, Harima and Yakumo stay in the room with Kurasama who is also looking at the manga "What's a manga?" Kurasama asks the two of them, Harima is trying to think of an answer while Yakumo is quick with her answer "A manga is a story told in comic format" Kurasama looks up at Yakumo "I see" Kurasama continues to flick through the unfinished manuscript before Tenma heads downstairs she heads into Yakumo's room "Nothing has changed in here as well..." Tenma notices something on her table "Wow an autograph from Mangoku...wait what?" Tenma reads the message Mangoku wrote to the two of them "To Yakumo and Kenji, may your love bloom forever from your buddy Mangoku" Tenma begins to nod her head "I see now...hehe"
Tenma returns downstairs and look intensely at Harima and Yakumo "I'm not going to say anything hehe, I know Yakumo is shy when it comes to relationships hehe" But Tenma continuously has a mischievous smile on her face looking at the two of them, Yakumo breaks the silence "Are you ok sis?" Tenma snaps out of the trance "Oh I'm fine sis" Harima asks Tenma something which has been on his mind "Well...where are you two going to be sleeping?" Tenma thinks for a small moment "I'll be sleeping in my room and you can share with Kurasama right?" Harima shakes his head "B...but why do I have to share? You two are sisters why don't you two share?" Tenma shakes her head "Do you realise how tall Yakumo Is getting? I won't be able to get in the bed!" Yakumo hangs her head down In embarrassment "But I can't sleep in the same bed as Kurasama!" Tenma shakes her head "WHY NOT!" Harima is hesitant to answer to Tenma's anger "It's a guy thing!" Tenma sighs to herself until a smile emerges on her face.
"Ok then...Kurasama and Yakumo swap then..." Tenma says, Harima and Yakumo put there heads down hiding there blush "I'm not going through that again it was awkward enough in the hotel" Yakumo soon snaps her fingers "I know" Yakumo goes up stairs, Tenma looks at Harima "Look Yakumo's all for it, she's going up stairs to get her stuff now" Yakumo enters the room with a sleeping bag "Someone could use this..." Tenma looks at Yakumo unfolding the sleeping bag "Great thinking Yakumo! but who sleeps in it?" Yakumo looks around the room to see there are no volunteers "I'll sleep in it then" Yakumo says, Harima shakes his head "No it's fine Yakumo, I'll sleep in it" Another mischievous grin comes on the face of Tenma "I see your plan sneaky Harima, getting on Yakumo's good side...hehe" Tenma hits the table with her hand "All in favour of Harima sleeping in the sleeping bag say I!" everyone in the room raises there hand saying "I" "Then it's settled then" Harima sighs to himself "I didn't want Yakumo to be sleeping in a sleeping bag in her own home"
A few hours pass while there catching up, Yakumo gets up and heads into the kitchen to prepare a meal for everyone Tenma is sat there in suspense waiting for Yakumo's meal that she hasn't eaten in over a year "Don't worry Kurasama, Yakumo is a great cook" Harima continues to watch on "Tenma's sat opposite me but why am I feeling no emotion towards her? Have I given up? Nah it's probably because Kurasama is sat right there" Tenma breaks the silence at in the sitting room "So Harima, where did Yakumo find you? You was gone for a year right?" Harima looks up at Tenma "I was held back for another year" Tenma nods her head "Oh I see" A sudden shout comes from the kitchen "Dinners ready" the three of them get up and head into the kitchen "WOW Yakumo this tastes great!" Tenma compliments Yakumo "Glad you like it" They finish there meals, Harima and Kurasama head into the sitting room while Tenma helps Yakumo clean up, Yakumo notices there alone together and asks Tenma a question "Do you still have feelings for Kurasama?" Tenma heavily blushes "Yes" Tenma whispers to Yakumo, A smile comes on the face of Yakumo "Why not tell him how you feel?" Tenma looks directly at Yakumo "Sis can you keep this between me and you" Yakumo nods Tenma takes a deep breath and lets out a huge sigh "I was going to tell him how I feel...in a few days near Christmas time" Yakumo's eyes widen "Sis can't tell Kurasama how she feels in front of Harima" "Are you sure about that sis?" Yakumo asks, Tenma nods "It's just we've been together for a while now and I think it's time I tell him how I feel" Yakumo looks down disappointed on behalf of Harima.
Tenma soon perks back up though "How about you sis?" Yakumo looks at Tenma confused "What do you mean?" A sneaky smile comes on the face of Tenma "When are you going to confess to Harima?" Just hearing that almost makes Yakumo drop a plate but she luckily catches it, Yakumo's face is as red as a tomato "It's not like that, we're just friends" Tenma's sneaky smile remains on her face "Ok...sis whatever you say hehe" Yakumo continues to wash the dishes while Tenma heads back into the sitting room to watch 3 for the kill with Harima and Kurasama "How's Harima going to react if she does confess?" Yakumo's mind is trailing off elsewhere while washing the dishes, after she's finished she heads back into the sitting room to see Harima and Tenma shouting at the TV "COME ON MANGOKU!" Yakumo has a quick smile, then heads to sit down.
A few more hours pass and Tenma lets out a loud yawn "I'm beat, must be because of travel" Tenma leads Kurasama into the spare room where Harima's staying at "Your sleeping here tonight Kurasama" Kurasama simply nods and Tenma leaves the room saying goodnight to Kurasama, while Harima and Yakumo who are still sitting in the sitting room, Tenma turns to the two of them "Goodnight you two don't stay up all night" Tenma heads to bed, While Yakumo stays up a little longer talking to Harima, Yakumo continues to bite her tongue whether or not to ask him "Do you still have feelings for Tenma?" Yakumo asks a very blunt question towards Harima who looks down staring at the table "I...I'm not sure, It's great that she's back but I don't seem as excited as I thought I'd be, it might be because Kurasama is here though so I'm not sure" Yakumo nods her head "I see" Yakumo lets out a loud yawn "I'll lend you a pillow for tonight, the sleeping bag is a bit uncomfortable" Harima looks up at Yakumo "Thanks" Yakumo heads upstairs grabbing one of her pillows and hands it to Harima.
Harima puts the pillow down at the head of sleeping bag and lye's down in the sleeping bag "You're right it is a bit uncomfortable" Yakumo nods "Sorry about that" Harima shakes his head "It's fine you don't have to be sorry" Yakumo switches off the lights, "Goodnight Harima" But to Yakumo's surprise he's already asleep "I guess today really wore him out" Yakumo heads to her room and lies down thinking about what's happening "If Tenma tells Kurasama, it'll break Harima's heart, Harima said he doesn't care that much, but he might just be trying to hide it"