Hey guys, Kur-chan again, i apologize for the late update. So much things happened in the past week. Long exams, oral presentations, practical tests and paper works are just a gist of them. Anyway, here's chapter eleven, Hope you guys enjoy :D

To those who continue to read, review, subscribe and the like, i really appreciate it. I honestly do. THANK YOU GUYS SO SO MUCH 3

Heart Strings

Chapter Eleven: Just your Usual, Not so Ordinary Day

Beep Beep Beep

I was asleep. Well, not anymore, thanks to the alarm clock. I opened one of my eyes and tried to reach for my alarm clock. Keyword here is TRIED. Obviously, I was failing. With only one eye open, it was hard. And besides, my arm was being lazy. Grr I want that alarm clock off NOW. It was just too noisy and I was REALLY tired. Last night, I kept on thinking about..THAT. I just couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe that I, Takishima Miyuki, actually fell in love my best friend, Echizen Ryoma. It was just….so absurd. He IS my best friend after all.

Beep Bee- Yes, I FINALLY got the alarm clock to shot up. What? It was a weekend and I DESERVED to GET SOME SLEEP.

Suddenly, I heard the door creak open..."Miyuki-chan, wake up." I felt a light shake on my shoulder. Saturday mornings were meant for over sleeping. Saturday mornings were meant for eating cereals on the couch while watching cartoons in your pyjamas. So what was Kuni-chan doing, trying to wake me up at eight o'clock in the morning?

I sighed. "Go away, Kuni-chan. I'm sleepy…." I said, more like murmured, as I hid my head under my pillow.

I heard Kuni-chan sigh. "Miyuki-chan. Echizen's here. He's waiting downstairs. " I groaned. What do I care if Ryo-chan's here? Wait a minute. There were two things that were wrong with that sentence. One, why was Ryo-chan doing downstairs? And two, WHAT IS HE DOING HERE?! I quickly jolted up I jolted and hit my forehead with my palm. Shoot, I forgot, he was going to help me with my English today. We discussed this a few days back. I quickly grabbed my clothes and ran to the bathroom to change.

RYOMA'S POV

I was waiting patiently downstairs when I heard a slam from the door followed by other strange noises. Hmm, it sounds like she's having a war up there. Are girls really like that? Even my cousin's like that when she dresses up for a special occasion or whenever she's late for an appointment. Girls are so strange and complex.

Tezuka-buchou had descended from the stairs looking a bit stressed. "Echizen, Miyuki-chan will be down in a while. She over slept."

"Ah…" I never thought of Miyuki-chan as the over sleeping type of person. She seemed like the responsible type.

Soon enough, Miyuki-chan came rushing down the stairs. "N-neh, Ryo-chan. We can study in my room…" she said in between breaths. She's probably exhausted from "speed changing"

"Uisu" I quickly followed her into her room. I honestly thought that her room would be full of plushies, dolls and other girly stuff. Most girls are like that. But her room was very normal, nothing out of the ordinary. Yes, there was some girly touch to the room, but it was just right.

"Let's start?" she nodded, still smiling. I smiled. Something about her smiles seem to make me smile. I've never met anyone like that, I've never met anyone like her. She wasn't like other girls. She's not too girly. I liked that about her. Most girls in class would spend most of their free time brushing or fixing their hair or putting on make-up and what not on their faces. She wasn't like that. Without having to fix her appearance so much, she manages to keep a nice-looking appearance. I think people would call it as "natural beauty." I like that about her. I looked away. How long was I staring at her?

MIYUKI'S POV

I just couldn't help but stare at Ryo-chan. I was still listening of course, and understanding every single bit might I add. But yeah. I was staring at him. . He really IS quite charming isn't he? He's smart, good-looking, thoughtful, sweet, athletic…what other trait does he NOT have? The more I look at him, the more he seemed flawless, even his flaws didn't seem like flaws. His, bored expression was so cute, his somewhat unsociable facade made him seem so mysterious, his sometimes rude character made him look…

"So cool…"

"Nani?" Ryo-chan stopped his little lecture and looked at me. Shoot. Did I say that out loud?? OH JEEZ! Quick! Make up an excuse. Oh crud, my cheeks are getting warm! Oh I hope he doesn't see. It'd be weird and awkward if he found out that I was crushing on him.

I laughed nervously. "he he he, g-gomen, I'm just amused that I c-can catch up a bit in English…he he he." Phew, saved by…uh….my lack of English skills? Okay, that just sounded soo weird.

"Ah…Let's continue"

I started tapping my cheeks lightly. Concentrate Miyuki-chan. CONCENTRATE. YOU HAVE TO PASS THE NEXT ENGLISH TEST OR ELSE. NO MORE CLUB ACTIVITIES!! No, it wasn't the teacher's decision. It was Kuni-chan. He thinks that managing the team is kinda a distraction from my studies. It's not.

RYOMA'S POV

"Wait, so this is the direct object?"

Three hours have passed since we've started tutorials, and things were turning out okay. She wasn't as bad as she was a few weeks ago. About that time, well, she couldn't understand a simple sentence, now she could actually write a whole paragraph, as long as she had a dictionary. She as a really fast learner, she could pick things up in an instant. She's really amazing. I shook my head.

Miyuki-chan took my shaking of the head as, your answer is wrong. And well, she was flustering now. "What? I got it wrong again? Poo. I thought I got it right this time!" she started whining. I smirked.

"I was kidding. It's right." Miyuki-chan was a fast learner. Her only problem is that she barely knows English words. Actually, we started the whole tutorial period in English, and well, she couldn't catch up. Once we used Japanese instead of English as the medium of instruction, still using English examples and terms, she learned really quickly.

"Most of your mistakes happened because you didn't understand the sentences properly. We should work on that next time." She made a face at first, but then agreed to it, she couldn't do anything about it anyway. She had to familiarize herself with the language if she wanted to pass. "Alright"

She stretched her arms and was now lying down on my floor. "Wah, I can't believe we're done!" she giggled. "Hey Ryo-chan, want to get some ice cream? My treat! We can bring Riku with us. We still need family pictures too." She had a point, the scrapbook was due in a week and we barely had photos. Actually we didn't have any photos AT ALL. I think it's a good idea, it's like hitting two birds with one stone. We get photos and I get free ice cream.

When I first met Miyuki-chan, I never thought that she would be Buchou's cousin. They were just…complete opposites. Okay, cousins don't have to act the same way to prove that they're related but if you're close to someone, chances are you're bound to get influenced. Take Miyuki-chan and Fuji-senpai, Miyuki-chan got her sadism from him. And well, Miyuki-chan mentioned that she was pretty close to Buchou. So I wondered, how is it that they have nothing in common at all?

It was when I started hanging out with her more and became close to her that I saw their similarities. One, they're both good leaders, two, they like "taking one for the team", three, they're both REALLY STUBBORN, fourth, they don't like giving up and fifth, they both like green tea ice cream. Who would've thought right? Miyuki-chan and green tea ice cream? Miyuki-chan looks more like a strawberry ice cream loving person.

"Hmm? What is it Ryo-chan? You've been staring at my ice cream for a long time now. Want some?" We were walking along the park. Sitting down was just too boring. Besides, according to Miyuki-chan, "Today's beautiful. Let's not waste it by just sitting down!"I sighed. When she wants something, she gets it. It's those big and innocent eyes of hers. Che, almost everyone had a soft spot for that, even me. Generally, I do have a soft spot for her. I sighed.

I looked at the ice cream she offered. "No thanks." She just giggled. She's a really happy person, isn't she? It's hard to think that such a happy person would be so prone to tears. I smirked. Takishima Miyuki is indeed an odd person. But I guess that's one of the other reasons why I like her, the fact that she's not like other girls who care too much about what other people think of them.

"Neh, do you mind if I hold Riku?" she licked her ice cream before handing me the egg…er baby. If Miyuki-chan heard me, calling Riku an egg, she'd freak out. She has this sensitive spot for him. "Sure! Neh, I'll take your picture! I have tons with Riku already." It was true, she's been talking pictures with him ever since we finished tutorials.

She took out her camera. "Smile!" of course I didn't smile. I never smile on front of cameras. I don't know, I just don' like cameras in general. "Poo, Ryo-chan, you're not smiling… we still need family pictures though." She then went beside me, with Riku in the middle and extended her arm, the one that was holding the camera. "Smile!" and another picture was taken. "We'll take more later." she giggled.

We were just going around town, going in and out of different shops. Actually, we didn't really buy anything other than this little cap that Miyuki-chan saw in this toy store. She bought if for Riku. I looked at Riku. He was wearing his new cap, a cap that resembled mine.

"Neh Ryo-chan….you two really do look alike!" I stared at I really look like that egg…er…baby? Che, I don't know. Well, Miyuki-chan thinks so…then again, she tends to exaggerate at times. Whatever, I don't look like Riku….my eyes aren't just two small dots. I turned around, just to see if we DO look alike, only to find that….they were gone. Ha? Where'd they run off to? They were just here a couple of seconds ago. I sighed before looking around.

After a few head turns and sighs, I finally found them. Miyuki-chan was playing with one of those weird crane games, the one that had those dolls in them. I walked over. She was really bad at the game…

"Mah! I suck at this!" she whined as she pursed her lips. She didn't get the doll that she wanted. It was a small pink elephant that had small wings on them. People these days, they just think of the weirdest creatures. I looked at Miyuki-chan as she tried her luck once again. Just saying, her aim was…really bad. That crane thing was really far away from the doll. In fact, it wasn't near a single doll.

I chuckled. "Mada mada dane." She made a face. I smirked. Instinctively, I took out a one hundred yen coin. "Neh, that pink elephant right?"

She blinked. "Ah..y-yeah…" She was probably surprised at my actions.

I then placed the hundred yen coin into the machined and manoeuvred the crane. I got the doll. Well, that was easier than I thought. I bent down and took the doll from the "prize compartment?" Is that what you call it? Yeah whatever, that thing.

"Here…" I handed Miyuki-chan her doll. She blinked at me. "A-arigatou Ryo-chan." She smiled. Strangely, her smile was a little different than her usual ones. It was slightly warmer….or maybe I was just imagining things.

MIYUKI'S POV

I smiled as we continued on walking towards who knows where. I wasn't smiling because I got the doll that I wanted, but because of Ryo-chan. He has this weird thing about him. Just when you think that he's all stone, he warms up. He becomes this sweet, sensitive and thoughtful guy. Actually, he really is a sweet, sensitive and thoughtful guy, it's just that... he doesn't show it as often. Or when he does show it, it's very discrete.

I heard a soft rumble. I looked up and noticed the dark clouds forming. It was about lunch time so this wasn't normal. Now that I mention it, I remember Kuni-chan telling me this morning that there was a storm coming. "I really hope that it's not a thunderstorm…."

"Nani?"

"M-mm" I shook my head. "It's nothing." I then felt something wet drip on my hand. Please don't tell me that it was going to rain? I mean, we were in the middle of the park, where in the world can we find shelter? As I on cue, it started raining, and it wasn't just your simple drizzle. It was ACTUAL RAIN. How ironic? I just hoped that it wouldn't rain, then it rains.

I felt a tug on my hand, next thing I knew I was being pulled. It was Ryo-chan. "Let's find someplace dry…." I stared at the hand he was holding. My cheeks turned red. His hand was so soft. Yes he had some calluses from playing tennis, but his hand was still soft. Weird. Does he use hand lotion or something? I giggled at the though. Ryo-chan using hand lotion? That's something I would definitely want to see.

We were now sitting down inside this weird slide thing. You know, the weird complicated one that had this gigantic bus-like thing attached to it? Well, anyway, bottom line is we now found a safe place to stay while the rain subsided. I sneezed. Boy was it cold. Or maybe it's just me? After all I was soaking wet. Well, Ryo-chan was too, but he was wearing a jacket, a waterproof jacket at that. Talk about convenient right?

I started wiping myself and Riku with my handkerchief. That didn't work. I was still dripping wet. I shivered. I then felt something over my shoulders. It was a jacket, it was Ryo-chan's red jacket. "You're shivering. You need it more than me. You're much more wet than I am…"

"Ah…arigatou Ryo-chan."

Suddenly there was this flash of light followed by a loud thunder.

"AAH!" I screamed really REALLY REALLY loud as I shut my eyes and covered my ears with my hands. I was EXTREMELY terrified of thunder. I don't know why though, I just am.

RYOMA'S POV

I was looking up at the dark sky, wondering how long we'll have to stay in here, when I saw lightning and thunder, followed by a really high pitched scream. I looked down and saw Miyuki-chan as terrified as ever. I never knew she was afraid of thunder. I though her greatest fear was her fear of ghosts, but even ghost stories doesn't make her scream this loud.

I bent down, we were now eye level, though her eyes were still kept shut. "Neh, I never knew you were afraid of thunder…"

She slowly opened her eyes. "A-am not..I was just…surprised." Yeah right. She was obviously afraid of thunder. I know Miyuki-chan. She hates admitting to her weaknesses. We had a similar conversation during the school camping trip, when I noticed her tense up during that ghost story telling session. Suddenly lightning stroke again. I noticed how she stiffened.

"Boo"

"AAAH!" She screamed again. Really loud at that. I chuckled. That was funny."Ryo-chan!

Don't joke around!" Finally, the real thunder came. "AAAAAAH!" she screamed again, covering her ears as she did. I chuckled. "So…you're not afraid?"

"F-fine…I'm terrified okay!" she shrugged. "W-what about you? Aren't you scared?"

I just stared at her and sighed. "Thunder is created when ice particles in the sky collide and static electricity is created. There's nothing scary about that…"

"Y-yeah but-AAAH!" she was really scared wasn't she? I brought her hands away from her ears and held them between my hands. "Daijoubou." Then, I realized something. What was I doing? I don't normally do this. Noticing the awkwardness in the air, I slowly let her hands go…"G-gomen…" I took out my I-pod and places the ear phones on her ears. "H-here, you won't hear the thunder…."

"A-ah. Arigatou, Ryo-chan." She smiled.

Well, that's chapter eleven. I hope you guys enjoyed it! Comments? Suggestions? Violent Reactions? Please tell me, it's just a click away. So please please please REVIEW :D

NOTE: Please tell me if you start to find Miyuki somewhat annoying (like mary-sue ish) or if like some of the charachters ore OOC. Thanks so much! Review :D