"EXblood": sup man! Nice to see you're still around. Really appreciate you checking in!

Luzbel de la Guerra: Thanks for your response! And yeah, the idea of a lemon has become less attractive to me as time goes on. If anything, any *ahem* intimate moments between Conrad and Ritsu will simply be implied.

Fuuko96: Glad to see your enjoying the story. I went back to chapter 1 and 2, and took care of all the typos I could see. I was planning to do that for a while, but thanks for giving me the motivation to finally do it.

MindlessChey: Thanks for the review. *Takes plate* More fanfic on its way!

Heya people. Here to continue my Male OC circlejer- I mean story. In all seriousness, after last chapter, I've been looking forward to moving things along. Y'know, Yukio was all like "hurr durr Conrad, condoms herp?" and Conrad was like "omgwtf!".

so yeah, next chapter.


After quite the loud and fun-filled night in Mugi's spacious villa, the night's earlier laughter and discussion was now being smothered by an awkward silence like a blanket. The anger and confusion in the air was so thick I swear I could reach out and touch it. That is, if I wasn't already furiously hunting down the cause of this sudden problem.

I wasn't surprised to find that Yukio was no longer in our room, the location where he had made his abrupt and embarrassing announcement earlier.

Ritsu's embarrassed expression swirled around my psyche, unsure of how to face her now, but nonetheless, my steps did not slow down on my way towards the outdoor bath.

Yukio announced earlier that this was where he was headed, but after calling me out for my questionable luggage, and knowing all too well that the fuse on my temper isn't exactly long, I figured he wouldn't actually be cocky enough to be waiting for me there.

I was proved wrong, however, as I entered the changing room. Yukio's expensive clothes we're folded neatly in the corner. Peeking out into the steam filled bath, I see Yukio. He was relaxing way too well, considering the shit he just pulled.

I clench my fist yet again, looking at the bathing teen. I know that this was technically my doing, leaving the condoms out in the open and all… but seriously, did he have to go and shout it to the heavens like that?

Before I could take a step outside, however, a strong tug at my shirt collar send me tumbling backwards. With a loud thump, my butt collides with the wooden floor.

Looking behind me, my eyes meet with no other than Azusa. It was an odd feeling to be looking up at her for once.

"Sorry…" Azusa laughs nervously. "I didn't mean to pull so hard."

I get up slowly, rubbing my sore behind. Order was restored, as I was once again dwarfing the tiny girl in height. For such a small girl, she had some definite strength to her.

"What the hell was that for?" I ask, annoyed at her unnecessary use of force.

"Because I know that look Conrad!" Azusa answers, pointing at my face accusingly. "You had the exact same face the day of the freshmen ceremony!"

"What are you talking about? What about my face?" I ask, lowering myself to Azusa's height.

"Don't you remember? When Yukio called you stupid, obnoxious, untalented …" Azusa begins listing off Yukio's choice words, much to my disdain. "You snapped!"

Images of lost tempers and principals office's come rushing back to me.

"Of course I remember that! You stopped me then too! Clearly Yukio isn't learning his lesson, I'm just gonna give him... a friendly talk"

Turning my back to Azusa, I start towards the outdoor bath again.

Before the sole of my foot even touches the cool stone floor of the bath, Azusa yanks me by the collar once again.

"Will you stop that!" I shout, frustrated at Azusa's persistence.

"Conrad, you don't have to solve everything with violence!" Azusa responds, trying hopelessly to drag me away from the bath entrance. "If you hurt Yukio-san, what will Miss Sawako think? What will RITSU think?"

"But…" I try and protest, before shutting myself up.

She had a point. I'd worked so hard to try and get along with Yukio. To retaliate like this would just make me look like the childish one.

"Fine." I finish simply, ending the struggle against Azusa's grip. "But one of these days you won't be around, and Yukio will get what's coming to him!"

"What the heck are you two doing?" A cool voice calls out, entering the change room.

I spin around to find Yukio standing at the bath entrance, wet towel wrapped loosely around his waist. He must've overheard our little spat.

Before I could respond, Azusa gasps at the half naked idol. Covering her eyes, she turns robotically towards me.

"Uh, C-Conrad? Could you push me in the direction of the door?"

Grabbing the girl's petit shoulders, I lead her towards the exit. Before I leave as well, however, I take a deep breath again and turn to face Yukio.

"Yukio!" I start, staring at him. "Sorry for leaving those condoms out in the open. It probably was a shock. I can be pretty scatterbrained at times."

"Uh… okay?" Yukio responds, unsure how to react to my politeness.

"It's just…" I say, walking towards him. "Ritsu and I are getting pretty intimate lately."

Yukio's face tightens in confusion. "What's that supposed to mean, Conrad?"

I smile.

"There's nothing wrong with being prepared!" I answer.

Yukio scoffs, giving me a look of pity.

"I wouldn't worry too much, Conrad-kun. I doubt you'll be using those condoms anytime soon" He retaliates, walking over to his new change of clothes.

His comeback left me without much to say. That is, nothing without an excessive amount of profanity. I decide to leave the room before I said something I'd regret. As pissed as I am, Yukio speaks the truth, not that I would let him know. I'm no Brad Pitt; girls aren't exactly lining up to screw me. To an outsider, Ritsu was way out of my league.

Outside, I found Azusa leaning against the wall, waiting for me.

"Are you okay?" She asks, worried.

Taking a deep breath, the excess of anger in my body didn't seem to want to leave. Out of frustration, I punch the wall of the hallway. At first it seemed cool and badass, but the pain that soon overcame told myself otherwise.

"Motherfffffff-" I stifle out in pain, shaking my stinging hand.

Azusa shakes her head in exasperation. I was doing a pained dance throughout the hall, trying to distract myself from the agony.

"You're so uncool, Conrad… " Azusa mumbles, looking half unimpressed, half amused. "Let's go back and talk this out with Ritsu-san."

"Uh... I think I'll pass on talking with her." I assert, blowing on my afflicted hand.

"Don't worry, Conrad, Ritsu isn't the type to take things too seriously."

I think about it for a moment, but I return to shaking my noggin.

"I'll wait until things have a chance to mull over. I have a history of saying dumb shit to Ritsu when I'm nervous..."

Looking at my hand, Azusa snorts in laughter. "Clearly you don't need words to look dumb, Conrad-san!"

I flick her in the forehead, causing her to squeak in pain.

"One of these days, I won't be the butt of every joke around here..."


Walking back to the kitchen, I was feeling a little better. Yukio can insult me all he wants, he's not gonna score any points with Ritsu by being an ass to me. I was one calm explanation away from dealing with this idiotic mess.

Upon entering the spacious cookery I saw Sawako was sitting at the table, taking to Della. As I walk over to my teacher, I see Azusa walk off to the studio, presumably to rejoin the girls.

"Good god, Conrad, you didn't actually…" Sawako announces, hands covering her mouth.

Confused, I follow her surprised gaze, eventually discovering that she was looking at my bleeding hand.

Once the gears started moving in my head, I countered Sawako's shock with some of my own.

"Oh… OH! You've got it all wrong, Sensei. I was just… taking my anger out on a wall?" I answer, embarrassed. "Yukio is fine."

Sighing in relief, she motions me to sit down next to her. "I was worried you were going to do something drastic…"

"She was too scared to follow you though; with you being a big, pissed off gaijin and all." Della laughs, poking fun at Sawako.

Smacking Della in the head, Sawako eventually turns her attention to my hand. "Della, could you go ask Kotobuki-san if there's a first aid somewhere?"

Simply nodding, Della disappears into the studio.

"Just so you know, Conrad…" Sawako begins, holding my afflicted hand. "There's nothing wrong with what you brought. You're a young man, after all."

I cough, embarrassed at the change of subject.

"However, I hope you know that what you two are doing requires a lot of maturity and responsibility. Pregnancy-"

"Sensei!" I cut her off, shouting. "It's okay, we're not doing anything" I continue, lowering my voice as we hear a door opening.

An awkward silence forms as Della and Mugi enter the room. A first aid kit in the rich girls arms.

"I just want to be prepared…" I finish shyly.

Sawako, not wanting to embarrass myself in front of Mugi, simply nods and smiles lightly.

What followed was a period of silence, as Sawako tended to my hand. Della was watching television in the nearby room. Yukio, I assumed, was in bed getting his beauty sleep.

What was perhaps the most disturbing part of this silence was the lack of noise coming from the studio. For a girl who claimed she was 'practicing', Ritsu was not producing her usual energetic drum beats. I really wanted to know what they were talking about, but there's no way I'm going in there on my own accord.

Mugi, who I thought would have returned back to the studio by now, was sitting across from me at the kitchen table. She was wearing an eerie smile, leaving me completely clueless to her intentions. Mugi and I almost never talk to each other, and this sudden change of pace was putting me on edge. I silently pray for her departure.

As if on cue, the door to the studio swings open, and a giddy Yui come skipping out. She gives Mugi a playful hug before looking over at me.

"Hey Conchan!" The bubbly girl greets me. "Are you and Yukio done with the bath?"

"Well, I haven't had a chance yet..." I say, looking longingly in the direction of said outdoor bath.

The other girls followed Yui into the kitchen, albeit with less enthusiasm. My eyes meet with Ritsu's, a connection that lasted for mere seconds, before I dart them elsewhere, still not sure how to face her.

"B-but I'm good for now. Just head on in, and I'll take a bath later tonight." I announce, opting instead to look at my now bandaged hand.

The girls reluctantly leave for the bath, unsure if to ask about the injury. Ritsu, who was particularly dazed at the sight of my hand, was still standing in front of me.

"I... I had a, haha, a teeny accident!" I choke out to Ritsu, causing her to snap out of whatever daydream she was in.

Looking around her, Ritsu suddenly becomes aware of the fact that the other girls had already left for the bath.

Her mouth opens to say something, but after a bit of fumbling around, all she can manage is a giggle. Loud, high pitched and oddly girly, I can do nothing but send her a look of confusion. In response, Ritsu runs off to the bath, clearly wanting this exchange of ours to end.

Damn cute if you ask me.


Sitting in the studio, I attempt hopelessly to play my bass. I know they say hindsight is 20/20, but maybe punching that wall wasn't the best idea. My bandaged knuckles made my left hand stiff and frustrating to pluck at the strings with. It sucked enough that my hand hurt, but now I was gonna catch hell from Della for screwing up my practicing plans.

Exasperated, I leave the studio. At the very least I had some free time now. I could use some R&R after today.

Returning to the kitchen, there was only Sawako, Della, and Mugi. They were playing cards, and drinking some of Mugi's finely made tea.

"Where is everyone?" I ask, opening the fridge.

"It's almost midnight Conrad, everyone's in bed." Sawako responds, looking over at me. "In fact, that's where I thought YOU were!"

I look over at Mugi, cheery as usual.

"Well I'm not the only student still up, as you can see." I say, gesturing to our resident keyboard player.

"I couldn't sleep, so I made some tea!." Mugi responds, before motioning for me to sit down. "Would you like some?"

What the hell was up with Mugi today? It wasn't like her to be this perky when talking with me. Not that I mind it...

I give a quick shake of my head.

"I'm just gonna take a quick bath, then hit the hay." I jerk my head towards my general destination.

As I start to walk away, a strange noise stops me in my tracks.

"Fufufu..."

"Uh... Tsumugi-san? Are you okay?" I ask, wondering why the hell she just chuckled so evilly.

"That's going to be hard when I locked the bath, Conrad-kun!" Mugi explains, completely disregarding my staring. "I'll come with you, since I have the key!"

Why the heck would she need to lock the bath? It's not like this is a public space. Looking over at Della, she shrugs, clearly as confused as I am. Her cheerful temperament however, as strange as it was, made me forget the details entirely.

Nodding, I wave Mugi over to follow me, to which she quickly obliges.


Now outside the bath door, I look expectantly behind me, waiting for slowpoke Mugi to open the door.

Needless to say, I was surprised when she simply opened the door without any key being produced, let alone used.

Before I could question her, she grabbed me by my collar and dragged me into the change room. Barely avoiding tripping over myself, I stumble clumsily into the empty and dark change room.

After being released, I rub my throat in annoyance.

"Why is it always me being dragged around?" I ask, looking around for a Mugi shaped silhouette.

Despite my best attempts to navigate the dark room, all efforts were null once the lights switched on, blinding me.

"Jeez, Mugi! Could you warn me before you do that?" I shout, rubbing my eyes.

When I opened my eyes, Mugi was standing in front of me. Her hands were placed decidedly on her hips, and her grinning face sent chills down my spine, as if I could read my last rites on the girl's face.

"This trip has been fun so far, hasn't it?" She asks, brushing some stray hairs out of her face.

For Mugi, maybe. I, on the other hand, have had better vacations.

"I just wanted to talk to you about some recent events..." She continues, her high-class and proper attitude never missing a beat.

She was always possessive of her friends. Could the whole condom incident have sent her over the edge?

"Mugi! I-I swear! Those condoms don't mean anything! T-there not even mine! My dad gave them to me, and..." I trail off, backing away from her.

Mugi gasps in sudden delight.

"You've never called me Mugi before! I'm happy!" She responds, not even bothering to address my frantic babbling.

"Huh?" I ask simply, letting my guard down slightly.

"You always call me Tsumugi-san!" She explains, imitating my deeper voice, down to my shitty pronunciation. "You sound like an old man!"

Utterly confused at this situation, I simply shrug.

Seeing Mugi continue to stare, as if demanding an explanation, I decide to speak.

"Well... we never really speak to each other... it just felt appropriate to call you that" I say honestly, looking away. "This is probably the first time we've talked alone!"

Mugi smiles at me, and begins walking towards me.

"You're right! Why don't we commemorate this occasion?"

Her hips swayed seductively, almost to the point of exaggeration. She was biting her lip, and not breaking eye contact for a second. I could feel my face heating up, my palms start to sweat. This was too much for my virgin eyes.

I back off at her sudden approach, before colliding with the change room shelves. Shaken by my contact with the shelf, a small wash tub tumbles off and onto my head. I was suddenly blinded.

"W-what do you mean?" I ask, removing my washtub helmet.

Was this really happening, she couldn't actually want to...

Upon removing the bucket, I was met with Mugi's big blue eyes, hovering mere inches away from my own. She had her usual grin on, but the connotations it carried were much different now...

Leaning in, she drops one hell of a bomb into my ear.

"Why don't we break in that box of condoms?" She whispers, eyes narrowing.

My heart jumps into my throat, as my entire body shivers.

"Buh? Hu.. Wha?"

It was the best I could manage, given the circumstances. I mean REALLY, WHAT THE FUCK. Was I dreaming? I had to be dreaming. My eyes wander towards her large chest, which she was protruding, almost proudly, in my direction.

Mugi, still wearing her trademark smile, follows my gaze to her bosom.

"Do you want to feel?" She asks, squeezing her breasts together.

My heightened emotions boil over, as a shrill yelp escapes my mouth. Slipping away to my left, I escape from the near pin she had on me against the wall.

"M-M-M..." I stutter out, before taking a deep breath. "Tsumugi! What the h-hell is up with you? Do you even know what you're saying to me?" I ask quickly, eyes wide in utter confusion.

"I'm asking for sex, aren't I?" She responds innocently, as if this would somehow help me out.

"I KNOW YOU ARE! WITH M-ME! CONRAD!" I hiss loudly. "ARE YOU DRUNK OR SOMETHING?"

She gives me a puzzled look.

"What's wrong? Don't you want me?" She asks, pouting.

"I BARELY KNOW YOU!" I say, waving my hands in front of me. "You're pretty and everything... REALLY pretty. But... I just don't think this a good idea!"

She appears to ponder for a moment, before snapping her fingers.

"Is it Ritsu?" Mugi asks, voice perking up. "Do you want her?"

I face palm, as my other hand tends to my speeding heart.

"L-look. I don't want ANYONE right now. I'm tired, and I just... I just want to have a bath." I answer, calming down a bit. "I prefer these sort of things to be more... premeditated."

An awkward silence fills the air, as Mugi seems to consider my words carefully. A sign of logic, thank god.

A smile returns to her face once again, as if drawing a conclusion from all this nonsense. Mugi smiles, and starts to walk towards me once again.

I stiffen up, not sure of her intentions, or really anything, anymore.

Just when I thought I couldn't be more confused, Mugi simply pats me on the head.

"You pass!" She chimes, ruffling my hair.

"What... What the hell do you mean, I PASS?" I ask, bewildered.

Mugi covers her mouth slightly and lets out a good chuckle. This girl was clearly on a different wavelength than me.

"It was an evaluation!" She replies, walking away, hand behind her back. "A test of your abilities as a man!"

You know what? Fuck a different wavelength; she was on another fuckin' PLANET.

"You call that a TEST?" I challenge, raising my hands in disbelief. "You were coming onto me!"

"I was! And you showed self-control, just like a real gentleman would!" She answers, wagging her finger proudly. "As far as you and Ritsu go, I give you two my blessing!"

I stand there, speechless, for a good few seconds.

"That's all this was for? Couldn't you have done it in a less... confrontational way?" I ask, trying to make sense of this situation.

"But that's not fun!" She says, smiling.

"And giving me a near heart-attack IS?" I rebut, sighing.

Mugi laughs heartily, before turning to me with a gentle smile.

"I talked with Ritsu in the studio. She seems to like you a lot. I may have been a bit... resistant at first to your advances on her, but I see now why she trusts you so much."

Her explanation was tact and proper. Mugi really does take things seriously when her friends are involved.

I shake my head, before walking towards the exit.

"You're crazy Mugi. You're lucky I'm such a 'gentleman'." I lecture, my disapproving voice causing her to pout. "Most guys wouldn't think twice about what you... erm... offered. What then?"

"Well, I wouldn't HATE it. Maybe it'd be fun?" She responds, walking towards the door.

"Exactl- Wait, w-what?" I ask, following her out.

Mugi giggles as she leaves the room. Her hips still swaying like before as she gave me a parting glance, as if to tempt me even further.

I don't care what anyone says, girls will forever be a mystery to me.


The next day

"Fuck..." I mutter, looking at my hands. "I never did have that bath!"

I felt sweaty and unclean, not exactly how my ideal day would start. Not that spending today in the studio was any better...

"I don't know Conrad-kun; the stink sort of suits you!" Yukio remarks, as he heads out the bedroom door.

"Shut up, man. In a few hours I'll be in the ocean. This stink will wash off." I respond harshly. "Your horrid personality, on the other hand, WON'T."

Yukio attempts to send another quip back my way, but a smack on both our heads courtesy of Della ends our argument prematurely.

"I thought you were gonna take the day off, Conrad-san." Mio asks me, walking over. "You worked so hard yesterday, don't you want to relax?"

I stare at Mio knowingly. She wasn't the type to try and discourage practicing. I flop down on the floor, and let out a hearty sigh.

"Trust me, I would be at the beach, but playing all by myself doesn't sound very fun..." I defend, looking around. Mio, with the help of Sawako, had managed to round up the whole club without much trouble. My hopes of a day in the sun with Ritsu were all but impossible now...

"What, is there something wrong with me being here?" I continue, trying to act as offended as possible.

"Well..." Mio replies, avoiding my stares. "It's just you're being..."

"A big pain in the ass!" Della shouts, picking me up off of the floor. "Either practice like everyone else, or get out."

Friggin' Della. Yukio was bad enough, but I didn't need a second person who wouldn't tolerate any of my shit.

"Alright, alright..." I surrender, putting my bass guitar back on its stand. "I guess I'll go help Sawako with lunch"

On my way out, I give the door a bitter slam. I get that practicing is important and everything, but between Della, making meals, and the whole condom incident, I've had very little time to enjoy this trip. After lunch, we'd only have a few hours of relaxation before catching an early morning train back to Tokyo.

Arriving at the kitchen, I found a note placed on the table. Miss Sawako had left for the nearby town to get ingredients.

"Well this is just peachy. What the hell am I gonna do now?"

I decide to leave a note of my own, ordaining my own pilgrimage to the town. It was better than a lonesome day on the beach, at least.

Before I could even put my shoes on, however, a familiar voice forces my attention elsewhere.

"Sawako-sensei? Where did you go?" Ritsu exclaims, peeking her head out into the entranceway. "Conrad!"

I shift uncomfortably. Should I talk with her now? I don't really have anything prepared...

My lack of response awkwardly forces her to continue.

"Where's Sawako-sensei? We have some suggestions for lunch."

"Sawako-sensei already left to get ingredients." I explain, putting on my shoes. "I figured I'd head out to town as well."

"Shouldn't you ask Della first?" Ritsu implores, looking a bit worried. "The town isn't that close by, you know."

I shrug, opening the door.

"I told her I'd help Sawako. That's exactly what I'm doing!"

Ritsu laughs.

"Ah, I see what you're saying." She winks. "Not bad, Conr-"

"Do you want to come?" I blurt out suddenly, interrupting her. "Like, a date, or something?"

Not exactly suave of me, but at least it was honest.

Ritsu gives a 'are you shitting me' look, but it seems to be battling against a restrained smile. She takes a few worried glances at the studio door.

"I don't know, Conrad. I was supposed to practice today..."

"I'll buy you whatever you want, my treeeat!" I announce playfully.

I could almost see her ears perk up at my proposal. Before looking nervously towards the door one last time, she looks at me sraight in the eye.

"Screw it, let's go."

Slipping on her flip-flops, she grabs my hand and pulls me out the door.


"You weren't kidding when you said the town wasn't close by..." I complain, barely able to drag my legs into to the small town's market. "It's almost sunset, and we just got here! I'm tired and hungry."

Ritsu sighs. "If I knew you were going to complain this much, I wouldn't have come!"

Well this isn't the atmosphere I was hoping to create. I called this a date, but this has been anything but romantic. The walk here was long, and I was pretty nervous. I just resorted to joking and complaining the whole time. Come to think of it, Ritsu barely said anything on the way here. Was she annoyed, or just nervous like me? Seeing her poking around the market shops without interest, I feel obliged to improve the mood.

"Sorry, you're right." I say, grabbing ahold of her hand. "Let's pick out something nice for me to get you."

Ritsu cracks a small smile.

"You said whatever I want, right?" She says, giving me puppy dog eyes.

I cringe. "Well let's not bankrupt me, okay?" Patting my back pocket for effect.

While Ritsu looked at some old vinyl records, I take look around at the market. They didn't have that much stuff, but for a small town the selection was surprisingly diverse. I consider looking around for Sawako, but I decide against it, as I didn't want her to spoil the mood with Ritsu.

"Look Conrad! It's 'The Who'!" Ritsu shouts, yanking me over to the vinyl selection. I can't help but chuckle at her shoddy English (not that my Japanese was any better).

"Oh yeah... you like Keith Moon, right?" I ask, taking a look at the vintage record. "Who's Next?"

"Yeah! I own it already, but not a vinyl like that! Can you get it for me?" She asks excitedly.

"Do you even have a turntable?" I ask, glancing skeptically at her.

"No..." she replies, innocently. "But I will eventually!"

Rubbing my temples, I produce my wallet. "Alright..."

"Yahoo!"


Walking away from the market with Ritsu's new present, we take notice yet again of the setting sun.

"Oops..." Ritsu utters, looking at her cellphone. "Looks like we're going to miss dinner..."

The sudden reminder of food kicks my stomach into gear. My stomach's rumbling seems to function as a response, as Ritsu laughs.

"I'm pretty hungry too..." She adds, rubbing her stomach.

"Well why don't we just find something to eat?" I ask, looking around for any restaurants.

"I'd like to... but we should really head back. Sawako-sensei is probably worried about us." Ritsu says reluctantly.

"Well..." I pause, thinking about our predicament. We're going to head back to this town to catch the train later tonight anyway...

I take out my cellphone.

"I'll just phone Sawako-sensei and tell her we'll just stay here until the train comes." I explain, dialing in the numbers

"I don't think it's that simple, Conrad. The train comes at midnight, and Sensei won't just let us wander around a town at night." Ritsu contends, looking at the evening sky.

"Well the least we can do is TRY, right?" I reply simply, entering the last few numbers to Mio's cellphone. "Besides, I wouldn't mind some more time with you."

Ritsu seems to try and reply, but I stop her, as I hear someone pick up.

"Conrad?" Mio's usual shy tone calls out to me. "Where are you, is Ritsu with you?"

"Yeah, we're both fine. Can you put Sawako-sensei on the phone, please?" I ask politely.

"I don't know, Conrad, she seems pretty angry with you. You guys should head ba-" Mio warns, before suddenly being cut off. What followed was the sound of rustling and faint shrieking.

"Uh, Mio? Are you still there?" I call out, wondering what the hell was going on.

"CONRAD! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU? IT'S ALMOST DARK OUT" Sawako calls out, donning what I dubbed her 'Death Devil' persona. Needless to stay, my body jumped in surprise at her venomous tone. "YOU AND RITSU GET BACK HERE THIS INSTANT!"

"S-sensei, calm down! We're just-" I franticly explain.

"WE'RE JUST WHAT? FIRST THERES THE CONDOMS, NOW YOU TWO RUN OFF TO ELOPE?" Sawako yells, as giggles from Yui can be heard in the background. "JUST WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU TWO PLANNING?"

"We're not eloping, you crazed woman! We were looking for you when we lost track of time!" I hiss quietly back at her, trying not to freak out Ritsu. "Look, the sun is setting, and I don't think it's particularly safe for us to venture all the way back to the villa. I'll just check us into a hotel, and we'll meet each other here tomorrow when the train arrives, okay?"

"A HOTEL? ARE YOU STUPID? DO YOU HONESTLY THINK I'M OKAY WITH TWO HORMONE CRAZED TEENAGERS-" Sawako

Oh god, screw this.

"What? WHAT? Sorry Sensei, you're breaking up." I say, whilst making fake crackling noises with my pursed lips. Ritsu was giving a questioning stare. "I'll call you tomorrow, Sensei!"

Hanging up, I turn to Ritsu with a big grin.

"Uh, there were some connection problems." I say, trying to appear sincere.

Ritsu was blushing, looking at the ground. "A hotel, Conrad? Really?"

I cough loudly.

"Not THAT kind of hotel, you moron!" I reply, embarrassed myself. "A regular hotel, with separate beds! Separate ROOMS if you want."

Ritsu eyes widen in surprise.

"No! Of course! I knew that! I didn't think we'd actually..." she quickly explains, disordered from the embarrassing discussion.

A thick silence begins, but Ritsu breaks it by demanding that we go get some food, as we were both starving at this point.

Agreeing wholeheartedly, I turn my cellphone off and follow Ritsu over to a nearby café.


A few hours later

Now with full stomachs, I tell Ritsu I'll pick up the bill. Feeling a bit drowsy, though, I decide to get some caffeine into my system.

"Do you want some coffee before we go?" I ask my cute friend, currently distracted by some noisy kids nearby.

"Huh? No, I'm fine Conrad." She assures me, before sending a long stare my way.

"Uh... just one coffee to go, please." I tell the waitress, trying not to mispronounce anything. Ritsu's staring was throwing me off.

As I grab the hot coffee, I look over at Ritsu, who was currently smiling wide.

"What's up with the big smile? You like being with me that much?" I say, poking her in the cheek.

"I was just thinking about what Mugi told me." She mentions simply, while brushing my hand away.

My heart skips a beat as I look nervously at my club mate.

"Erm, what exactly did she say..." I speak carefully, memories of Mugi's unorthodox 'test' last night still fresh in my mind.

"She told me about your encounter in the bath!" Ritsu says, smiling.

I choke on the coffee, as the sudden revelation sends the hot beverage straight down my wind pipe. After a bit of amateur nursing from Ritsu, I manage to force out a few words.

"Don't get the wrong idea Ritsu, that was just..." I trail off, rubbing my throat in pain.

"Wrong idea? She just said that you guys talked, and she said that you're a really nice guy, or something." Ritsu says, tilting her head in confusion.

"A 'gentleman'?" I ask, repeating Mugi's choice term out loud.

"Yeah! She said that we'd make a great couple!" Ritsu laughs, before stumbling a bit over what she shared. "S-she's a crazy one, isn't she?"

"I don't know, is she?" I ask, honestly. "I think we get have some pretty good chemistry..."

Ritsu blushes, but fails to say anything back. A sudden chime from her pants, however, causes her face to relax. She digs through her pockets, producing a cellphone.

"Oh, it's a text from Mio..." She says slowly, whilst reading the message. "She says Sawako is pretty pissed at you."

"Well, no shit." I utter quietly. When I met with Sawako again, I can only hope that she'll show some mercy.

Ritsu walks out the café, as she starts to type away.

"Hey, you want to turn that off?" I say, looking at the device.

Ritsu gives a me a strange look. "Why? What's wrong?"

"I just figured it could just be the two of us tonight." I say shyly, kicking at the ground.

Ritsu shakes her head, and continues typing.

"You're being difficult, Conrad. I'm just letting Mio know what's going on."

Fair enough. Better safe than sorry, I guess.

"Mio says the girls will try and cover for us." Ritsu adds, before slapping her phone shut.

We decided to ask for directions to the nearest hotel. When we arrived at the place, it looked pretty basic, but I guess we couldn't expect much from such a small town.

The two clerks inside gave us quite the surprised look when we entered the place. There was an older women with long grey hair, and a more younger counterpart with shorter, black hair. Both were dressed in very traditional clothing.

"Oh my! You two are so young! Are you from the city?" The older woman asks Ritsu.

"Uh, yes! We need a place to stay for tonight." Ritsu says, sounding much more formal than usual.

"And could you make it cheap, please?" I add apologetically.

The two women at the front desk look at each other, and proceed to whisper for a while.

"Are you two runaways or something?" The elder woman asks suddenly, causing the other woman to perk up.

"Could you be caught up in a forbidden love with this foreigner? Did you run away from your parents?" She asks excitedly, practically bending over the desk.

"Could you two stop interrogating her, and just get us a room!" I say, tapping impatiently on the wooden desk.

The women look at me with judging eyes, disturbed by my rudeness.

"...Please?"


After we settled down in our shared room, Ritsu still couldn't stop laughing over the two women earlier.

"I can't believe they really thought we were runaways!" Ritsu giggles, looking around our small room.

It did seem pretty ridiculous that they thought this was some dramatic escape, rather than the reality of two teenagers clumsily trying to plan a romantic date. Some people watch too many TV dramas, I guess.

"I just wish I could take a frickin shower! If I knew we were going to stay the night, I would've brought a change of clothes." I bemoan, poking inside the bathroom.

"Yeah, I feel all sticky from the heat. It's gross." Ritsu agrees. "But you never had that bath, did you? I'd hate to be in your body right now!"

"Shit, you're right. No wonder I feel so dirty..."

Looking over at Ritsu, I notice her tugging on the front of her tank top to cool herself off. The sight of this beautiful girl doing this right in front of me was tantalizing to say the least.

"Screw it; I'm taking a shower anyway!" I announce, shutting the door behind me.

"Wait Conrad!" She calls out from the other side.

No way, could she actually want to join me?

"Do you maybe have a bandage? I got a blister from all the walking we did today." She continues, shattering my stupid pubescent fantasy.

I rack my brain for a moment before answering.

"Probably not. If I do, it'd be in the front pouch of my bag." I call out, before stepping into the cold, cold shower. I needed to calm down. Ritsu may not be as unpredictable as Mugi, but I'm not even going to try to guess what was in store for me tonight.


After a good, long, shower, I step out of the bathroom. I felt refreshed, despite the fact that I was back in my sweaty clothing.

All moods aside, when I walked out and saw Ritsu, deadpan look on her face, holding a condom in her hand... naturally, I was a little put off.

"...shit. T-that's not a bandage... hehe." Was all I could manage.

"Do you just carry these with you everywhere, or what?" she asks, shoving it in my face.

"...well yeah. At least when I'm with you." I blurt out.

Seeing Ritsu's bug eyed reaction to that statement, made me opt for a revision of my words.

"I-I mean, not that I think you want to... y'know, do THAT. That'd be weird, right? Look at YOU and... look at ME, right? That'd be weird, right? It's just sort of a dumb thing... right?" I babble on, before stopping for a moment.

What the fuck did I just say, even?

"...I'm just gonna put that away." I finish reluctantly, snatching the condom from her hand.

"Conrad, I... if you want to, I-I'm okay with it... I think." Ritsu says, as I fish around in my bag.

I turn around slowly. She was sitting on the bed.

"Are you serious?" I ask, my hands trembling.

She nods, face scarlet red.

Walking over to her, I plop down next to her. I take a deep breath, looking anywhere but her eyes. Ritsu closes the small distance between us, and I shiver slightly when our thighs touch each other. Taking a peek at her face, I see her blushing face, eyes locked firmly onto me.

Leaning in slowly, I see Ritsu close her eyes and mirror my advance; we were clearly on the same page.

"Y'know, before we do this... You should know you could do a lot better than me" I say, my eyes still closed. "Like, a LOT better."

Leaning forward, I try to meet with her lips, but am met with a light smack on my forehead. Opening my eyes I can see that she's not impressed.

"You really know how to kill a mood, don't you?" She asks, shaking her head.

"I was just saying... I thought it was a compliment." I say, scratching my head.

She grabs my hands rightly. "Conrad. I... don't want somebody else. I think you're handsome and fun to be around."

I cant help but smile as Ritsu tells me this, eyes now looking at the ground intently.

"It's just not a... 'conventional' handsome." She adds, leaning in once again.

"Gee, thanks..." I say, rolling my eyes.

"JUST SHUT UP AND KISS ME, IDIOT!" she yells, planting one on my lips.

Before I could even start to reciprocate the kiss, however, the door to our room swings open.

"STOP RIGHT THERE, YOU TWO BRATS!" Sawako yells, emerging from the hallway. "YOUR HONEYMOON IS OVER!"

Ritsu shrieks at the sudden intrusion, pushing me off the bed. With a loud thump, my head hits the floor. While I writhe in pain, Sawako starts bombarding Ritsu with a lecture, of seemingly endless length.

"What the hell are you guys doing here?!" Ritsu asks, covering her ears from Sawako's nagging.

Mio appears behind Sawako, an apologetic grin plastering her face.

"The cat's out of the bag... Sensei found my phone." Mio says, shrugging. "She read our texts..."

"SEE sensei? I told you! You should've knocked, you interrupted their romantic scene!" Yui protests, now entering the room.

"Nonsense! These two have caused us all sorts of trouble! Romanticism or not I..." Sawako responds, continue her nagging rant.

"What romantic scene? Where!" Yukio shouts, peeking his head in. "if he's done anything to Ritsu, I'll kill him!"

As the entirety of the club slowly makes their way into our room, the barrage of accusations and questions start to give me a headache. I get up from the floor, and take a deep breath.

"WILL EVERYONE JUST SHUT UP?" I yell out, causing the whole room to go silent.

I had a lot of explaining to do, and I'll be damned if I was going to have people screaming at me the whole time.


Hours of explanation and apologies later.

"Did you actually think you'd get away with this stunt of yours?" Yukio scoffs, sitting on the bed next to me.

Sawako had taken it upon herself to not only separate myself from Ritsu and the rest of the girls, but to put me in the same room as Yukio, who clearly has an issue keeping thoughts to himself.

"Shut up, Yukio. Don't you have autographs to sign or something?" I grumble, trying to get some sleep before the train ride home.

"Hey, you brought this upon yourself. Because of this stupid search for you and Ritsu, we had to skip dinner and lug all of our and YOUR luggage over here. What's more, we missed out on some valuable relaxation time!" He replies, making a big fuss.

"Okay. First of all, Sawako made me pay for your guys's dinner. Secondly, Mugi got you a ride here in a fucking limo. Third of all, FUCK YOU I WANT TO SLEEP!" I list off, ending it with a good dose of English profanity.

Yukio immediately shut up, despite his obvious desire to keep berating me for my actions today. Amongst all of Sawako's punishments, both now and the ones no doubt waiting for me back at school, I might have the nerve to call this a bad day. Hell, I could even call this a bad trip. But you know what? Screw that. I'd take years of Sawako's wrath if it meant could get closer to Ritsu. And despite all the blunders of today, I can safely say: mission fucking accomplished.

"Ritsu thinks I'm handsome..." I call out into the now dark room.

"What?" Yukio calls back, sleepily.

"Nothiiing!"


Christ on a Cracker! That went on for much longer than I intended. I just couldn't find a good place to end it, so it ended up begin quite a bit longer than the past chapters. I hope you guys don't mind.

There's not much else to report, so I'd like to say thanks for reading! Leave a review if you feel like it. I always like getting feedback, negative or positive!

See you guys next time.