13DaL: Yaay! The tenth chapter! We made it!
Honoka: So...what happens next?
13DaL: ...
Natsu: Writers Block. How pathetic.
13DaL: Eh...I-I'll think of something you guys! How about we go to the beach?
Natsu: Count me out.
Honoka: I'm not going without Nacchi...
Miu: How about...we go on a double date instead?
13DaL: Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant! I'll get right on it!
Chapter 10:
"WHAT?"
Miu smiled as if she hadn't just witnessed Honoka shove her fist into the wall. Miu Fuurinji, grandaughter of the superhuman Hayato Fuurinji and an accomplished martial artist herself, tilted her lean body slightly to the right in order to dodge the flying splinters in the air where Honoka had punched the wall by her left shoulder. They had been in the middle of their daily spar when Fuurinji had brought up the one subject that bothered Honoka Shirahama– the new disciple at Ryouzanpaku–greatly. Honoka replaced her clenched fist to her chest and rubbed her wrist.
Miu laughed, "It's just for one night, Honoka-chan. You see, I really can't be alone with Kenichi because I just feel so awkward hiding things from him," she waved her hands in front of her, "so I thought, maybe you could accompany me to tell him with Tanimoto-san and then–"
Honoka silenced her with a look.
"I'm not going on a double date with Nacchi," Honoka breathed, feeling her face flush. "You must be insane to rope me into your stupid problems, Big Boobs."
"But..." Miu trailed off, her eyes watering.
"Aahaha!" Honoka took a step backwards towards the door. "I used to pull that face all the time,"–Miu wiped her eyes until her eyelashes were perfectly glistening– "it's not going to work, Big Boobs. Cut it out. Seriously. Stop looking at me like that!"
...
"I hate you."
"Oh, stop it."
"I really, really, really hate you, Big Boobs," Honoka scratched her sweater wearily. Miu had let her borrow it and it felt like she was walking around in sandpaper. Unfortunately, Honoka and Miu shared basically the same size chest and most of their clothes were similar. Despite the importance of this night, the masters had still banned her from returning home. It was this, Honoka had been told sternly, or Shigure's loin cloth.
Honoka had chosen the sweater. Obviously.
"It's really cold," Miu remarked tonelessly, swinging her legs over the bar stool she was sitting on. "Don't you think, Honoka-chan?"
Honoka busily stabbed her ice cream with a spoon irritatedly, imagining it was Miu's soft-golden head. "Yup,"–stab–"it really,"–stab–"is."
Miu was wearing a baby blue jacket and black top that brought out the deepness of her eyes and a flowing yellow skirt and sandals. Honoka sat watching couples holding hands across the street dejectedly, with a spoon dangling from her mouth. She scratched her neck agitatedly.
I'm coming out in a rash, she thought idly, ignoring the strange looks she received from the passersby outside the ice cream parlour. On the inside, she was being glared down enough. Most of the looks were directed at Miu, who was having trouble choosing an ice cream flavour because of her pure inexperience. Honoka distanced herself as best she could but Miu kept on talking to her and making weird, unnecessary comments. Honoka pulled her sweater down over her black skirt and tucked her white boots combined with sheer thigh-high socks underneath her chair.
"I've only ever been in here once. There was this one flavour that Ken-chan bought me but I can't seem to remember it..." Miu tapped her chin in pensive thought. "Honoka, what would Kenichi buy?"
"I dunno," Honoka stared at the door that had just opened with the little clink of a bell, "why don't you ask him?" she pointed at her brother.
"Ah! Kenichi!" Miu jumped off the stool to greet him.
Kenichi Shirahama blushed happily. "Hi, Miu!" he hugged her. Honoka could tell he was enjoying the hug a little more than he should be.
Honoka watched impassively as Kenichi finally made eye contact with her. Then he smiled and waved at her. Honoka raised a hand tiredly.
"Honoka, what are you doing here?' Kenichi queried obliviously.
The black haired girl froze in her seat and blinked at her brother. Her gaze shifted to Miu, who had taken a bogus interest in the jukebox in the corner.
"Miu didn't tell you?" Honoka asked, taking the spoon out of her mouth.
Kenichi stared at her in confusion. "Tell me what?" he looked over his shoulder at Miu, who waved weakly.
"This is a double–" before she could continue, Miu had shoved a spoonful of pistachio into Honoka's mouth with a high-pitched, unnatural laugh.
"Hahaha! Never you mind, Ken-chan! Let's get going!" Miu tugged at Kenichi's elbow with brute force that knocked him over. She literally dragged him out of the shop laughing shrilly. As she turned to close the door behind Honoka, she gave the little girl a deadly look.
Honoka smiled nonetheless. Maybe tonight wouldn't be as bad as she had thought it would be. After all, blackmail was a wondrous thing.
"Oh, here comes Natsu too! Saaay..." Kenichi narrowed his eyes in what Honoka assumed was deep thought. He turned away from the two girls and talked to himself quietly. "What's everybody doing here all at once? Could this be a big karaoke night? I wonder..."
Honoka held her breath and attempted a weak smile. Natsu was dressed darkly head to toe with a grey and black hood that brought out his blond hair and extremely sour expression. If Honoka had not won in Othello earlier that week, Nacchi would have probably never shown up.
Yet again, blackmail was a wondrous thing.
"Hello, Natsu-chan!" Kenichi put an arm around him in a friendly way. Natsu slapped it away impulsively.
"Don't call me that or touch me," he reminded Honoka's brother. "Let's get this over with, shall we? I'd rather die a slow and painful death before ten."
Honoka smiled slightly and exhaled. "Thanks for coming, Nacchi."
"Don't call me that."
The girl beamed at him and linked arms with Natsu. In front of them Kenichi looked back at Natsu and his little sister.
"Haha," he laughed, "Tanimoto-chan and Honoka look just like a couple!"
Miu sweat dropped. "I guess so." Then what, she wondered, about us?
...
"Oh God, no more!" Honoka begged at their table, watching Kenichi and Miu go in for another encore.
She buried her head in Tanimoto's shirt wearily.
Miu and Kenichi smiled at them and went on obliviously with their duet. The entire club had been deserted, and the tables and chairs had been put away. A cleaner strolled by mopping the linoleum floor in front of the stage just as the speakers boomed once again and Miu's high, unbalanced voice became a discord with Kenichi's low monotone.
"The whole club left because of you, dammit!" Tanimoto yelled at them, throwing a dinner fork at Kenichi. He shielded his face with the microphone and continued steadfastly.
Honoka looked around the room that had once been filled with people but was now abandoned and desolate. She recalled how the poor bystanders that witnessed Miu's atrocious singing couldn't get out of the Karaoke Klub soon enough. The disco ball still danced on the ceiling and dappled the room in purple and red whilst Miu and Kenichi went into their second verse.
"'Karaoke will be fun!'" Honoka crossed her eyes and imitated Miu's voice from earlier that night, "'I've never done it before,'"
But from the looks of it, Miu was just being modest. It took real practice on stage to be that bad and still be confident you are singing well.
Honoka couldn't believe she had subjected Tanimoto to this type of mild torture. But after the first two performances and the fork incident, he had calmed down sufficiently to put his hood up, lean back in his seat and fold his arms with his eyes closed. But then again, what was more mortifying was that this was supposed to be a double date.
"What's up with your face?" Tanimoto asked coldly, opening one eye.
"Nothing," Honoka turned away slightly to cover up her blush.
Natsu raised an eyebrow at her face before shrugging. What he couldn't shrug off was the fact that he had been inadvertently staring at her half of the night. What was even stranger were the thoughts that flitted in his mind whenever he saw her do the littlest things that he had never noticed before. Like how she toyed with the hem of her skirt or stuck her tongue out and wrinkled her nose whenever she was being rude. Perhaps it was a continuation of his thoughts that night when he had found Honoka asleep on his bed as peaceful as he had ever seen her.
Or...he told himself, Miu's high frequency voice just fried my brain.
Honoka got up just then and declared, "Bathroom break!" before striding out of the cafe and into the busy, cold streets. She bumped into a pedestrian.
"Oh, sorry," she said, smiling apoligetically.
The girl didn't smile back but bowed. Honoka couldn't help but notice how blue her hair was and how it covered her entire face.
"It's okay," Ryouko grinned.