Requited, Unrequited: Chapter Ten
White Rose
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Shinichi Kudo was panicking.
He tapped his pen against the side of the desk, his knee jostling up and down in agitation. Miyano Shiho glanced up at the raven-haired boy, frowning in concern. They were supposed to be studying for the upcoming exam – not that they needed it.
"Are you alright Kudo-kun?"
Shinichi shrugged. "Fine." That was a lie of the highest order. And unfortunately for Shinichi, he was a terrible liar.
"And here I thought you had the same smarts as me," Shiho quipped. "Is differential calculus that bad?"
"It's not that," Shinichi replied without thought, ignoring Shiho's sarcastic remark.
Shiho put down her book on Mathematics, and gave Shinichi her full attention.
"Then what's making you put up that kind of face?"
Shinichi hesitated. He looked around furtively to ensure that no one else would be able to over-hear. The school library was almost deserted. No one in the right minds wanted to spend a Saturday night in the library unless it couldn't be avoided. At least this way, it was quiet for Shinichi's confession.
Shiho leaned forward, raising a delicate eyebrow.
"How do you go about asking a girl on a date?" Shinichi asked.
Shiho tried to stop herself from laughing, but couldn't contain a slight hysterical giggle at the question. She bit her lower lip and breathed in through her nose, trying desperately to compose herself. Shinichi was obviously struggling with this and if she laughed at him, she would definitely not be asked something this sensitive ever again, since Shiho was the kind of girl who rarely laughed being the Ice Queen that she was.
"A date?" Shiho repeated, trying to buy a moment of time.
"To the upcoming festival of Hanami*," Shinichi explained. "And...well, I don't know how to phrase the question without sounding like a compete idiot."
The strawberry blonde nodded contemplatively. Shinichi must have set his sights on Mouri Ran, the attractive black belter of their high school. Shiho might not have particularly liked Ran, but Shinichi liked the girl, so obviously she must have had some redeeming qualities, even if Shiho couldn't see them.
"Alright...well, there are a few things you could do."
Shinichi poised his pen over a sheet of paper, ready to receive instructions. Shiho tried not to break into laughter all over again.
"First...well, be romantic. Most girls like flowers. Not that I like them too, anyway." Shiho scoffed.
Shinichi smiled while he wrote down 'flowers' with a question mark beside it.
"I've seen some of the older boys giving girls chocolates, so that could work," Shiho suggested.
Shinichi dutifully wrote it down.
"When do you plan on asking her?" Shiho blurted out when Shinichi didn't ask anymore questions.
Shinichi shook his head dejectedly. "I don't know. Should I try and get her alone, so that if she does say no, I'm not going to be completely embarrassed? Or should I do it in public? Would she be less likely to say no in public?"
The giggling was trying to return, but Shiho swiftly changed it into a cough.
"Well, public would be better. It would show her that you weren't afraid of rejection. Of course, it does put a bit of pressure on her to say 'yes'. But, if she really doesn't want to go with you, or she already has a date, then I'm certain she'd say 'no'. Gently."
Shinichi nodded. 'Public' was added onto his list.
"Do I have to lead up to the question itself? Should I make small talk first?" Shinichi asked curiously.
Shiho shook her head. "Kudo-kun, you are terrible at small talk. Don't try it. You'll stress yourself out. Straight to the point is best."
Shinichi breathed in deeply, feeling a little more confident. "Alright. I'm going to do it. Tomorrow. At recess."
"Good luck," Shiho said sincerely.
Shinichi smiled, feeling much better about his next task.
When Shiho finally excused herself, wrenched the door open and disappeared through it, Shinichi swore he heard a muffled sob before it slammed shut.
--
Morning came slowly for Shinichi. He hadn't slept very well, his mind churning out 'what if' scenarios and his brain was unable to shut off.
He'd woken early, gathering up the elements to set the scene. He'd written a letter, bought a rose, practiced his question nearly a hundred times. He wondered idly if he'd been muttering it in his sleep. He hoped not.
Seating himself at the table where he and his friends usually sit, Shinichi was surprised by how calm he felt. He had a mission, he'd set the stage, and now all he had to do was to wait until the girl he intended to ask arrived.
Students began straggling into the cafeteria not even five minutes after Shinichi had sat down, his back to the table where Ran and some of her giggly friends sat. Finally the girl he'd been waiting for entered the Great Hall. He told himself that he would wait until breakfast had been eaten before he would pop the question. Heiji and Shiho took seats on either side of him, and he watched as Heiji gobbled down the food he brought with him.
"Why'd you rush out of the classroom so fast?" Heiji asked. "You were gone before I even picked my books."
"Was hungry," Shinichi replied easily.
"Are you nervous Kudo-kun?" Shiho asked quietly, whispering so that Heiji couldn't hear them.
"A little," he replied.
"You'll be fine. She'll say yes, I promise you," Shiho assured him, a smile not reaching her eyes gracing her face.
"I hope so."
"Did you decide how you're going to ask?" she questioned.
Shinichi nodded and pointed at a small table five walks away from them. A single white rose in a vase sat atop of it. Shiho hadn't even noticed it, though some of the other students started to point at it.
"A white rose?" Shiho asked. "For your date?"
Shinichi nodded. "I decided against the chocolates. I brought the rose this morning."
Shiho was impressed with Shinichi's attention to detail. She hadn't been expecting much after the nerve-wrecked look on Shinichi's face the previous evening.
"Why a white rose?" Shiho asked.
Shinichi flushed, a little embarrassed. Shiho was instantly even more curious than she had been a moment before.
"I couldn't sleep very well last night, and my mother has a ton of books on plants and botany. I was flipping through these books about flowers, and...did you know that flowers have different meanings?"
Shiho nodded. She remembered from somewhere that white roses were significant for many reasons. And they were used by a vast number of people in wedding bouquets.
"A new true love. A pureness to that love. I...I thought it was particularly fitting," Shinichi admitted. He scowled boyishly. "And if you tell anyone I said that, I'll kill you."
Shiho laughed in amusement. Just when Shinichi was beginning to surprise her, he reminded her that he was, first and foremost, a boy.
"Why did you put that rose in front of everybody?" Shiho asked, trying to veer the topic onto safer pastures.
"You said make it public, right?" Shinichi asked. "I'll walk up to that table, take the rose, and then I'll give it to the girl I'm going to marry. Er...take to the Hanami."
Shiho sat in stunned silence, unable to believe the slip of tongue that had come from Shinichi's mouth. Even Heiji, nearly oblivious to everything but his food had tuned in when Shinichi had said the word 'marry'.
"Who're you marrying?!" Heiji exclaimed.
Several heads turned their way curiously. Shinichi gave him a grin before standing up, and walking towards the front of the cafeteria.
Heiji looked at Shiho, wondering if she had any answers to the chaos that Shinichi had laid at their feet. Shiho was still gaping, in open-mouthed wonder at what Shinichi had said.
The students began watching the famed high school detective as he strode confidently up to the table in front.
Shinichi took hold of the thornless stem, and began making the trek back through the aisle between his table and the table where Ran sat. He breathed in deeply, gathering his courage.
Shiho was still astounded by Shinichi's slip of the word 'marry'. Heiji was furrowing his brow in confusion. More than one or two girls were looking at Shinichi hopefully.
The strawberry blonde looked even more confused when Shinchi walked right past Mouri Ran without even stopping.
Shinichi came to rest directly in front of Shiho.
"Shiho, will you do me the great honor of being my date at the Hanami?"
She stared at him in complete and utter confusion, certain that Shinichi had been about to ask Ran, astounded that he would want to marry Ran, and now...now, Shinichi was asking her. He held the rose out to her, and Shiho could hear his voice in her head.
'I'll give it to the girl I'm going to marry.'
Shiho nodded, slowly breaking out of her stupor. "I would love to." She smiles as she took the rose from Shinichi's shaking hand, and stared at the boy who had once again managed to completely surprise her.
Shinichi smiled, and shyly kissed her cheek.
The rapt students in the cafeteria burst into raucous cheering. Shinichi and Shiho just stared at each other, letting the feelings between them ricochet back and forth, the intensity of the moment adding to the sweetness of emotion.
"I hope you give me that answer again in a few years," Shinichi said.
Shiho smiled brightly. "I would love to."
*Hanami-the cherry blossom viewing festival
Well! Well, well well! Yours truly has finally updated! And before you lot start throwing things at me, these stories have long been overdue because of my school woes. Our school participated in the National Achievment Exam (an exam 2nd Year high school students unfortunately have to take, and it was bloody hard), I was the contestant for a city tournament – which I won, mind you –, we had our exams, not to mention the exhausting preparation for the cross sword.
Tiring.
Anyway, I hope you people appreciated the four stories I updated. Read and review please!
Akitsuki Akira ©White Rose