[ chapter fourteen : dates ]

It was an enjoyable evening. Miyuki had a blast but then again, she supposed any time spent with her crush would be so. Someone once said to never meet your heroes—something about seeing their flaws or ruining the pedestal you put them on or something—but the longer they were out together, the happier she felt. He seemed a little distracted though...

He was, actually, but not really in the way she thought. In his opinion, she was the one distracting him from his original plan. Kaoru wanted to keep an eye on his brother and Haruhi but his focus kept going back to his own date. At first, he tried to lead her to wherever the other pair went which confused Miyuki considerably. Why did he insist on going to that particular store and then rushed her out of there?

Despite this, they had a good time and the lapses in concentration became fewer and further in between. Eventually, they lost Hikaru and Haruhi altogether. When he realized this, Kaoru gave up on following them and decided to leave it to the other hosts—before noticing that, unless their stalking skills were suddenly superb, they weren't around either. He wondered if he should try and find his brother again. What if Hikaru was being a jerk?

"Kaoru?" He blinked, returning to reality. The black-haired girl was standing a few feet in front of him, peering at him curiously. They had been queuing up at a food stall but when she moved up the line, he hadn't followed her. Good thing there was no one waiting behind them. "You look worried... Is it Hikaru?"

"Nah." He smiled at her concern. Maybe this was his chance to have fun too. He walked towards her further up the line. "What do you want to do after this?"

Miyuki thought about it, lifting her gaze to the sky—which wasn't as blue as it was earlier. "Should we head back? It might rain."

The boy looked upwards too. It wasn't that clear but it wasn't really cloudy either. He shrugged and moved his eyes back to his date. "I'll take my chances." A thought struck him then. "You keep our place in line, Miyuki. I want to go get something." Without waiting for a reply, he went off.

With a soft sigh, she waited where she was in the line, moving up when the person at the front got their food. The stall must be quite popular because not much later, a man queued up behind her before Kaoru even returned. She looked around the quaint market for tourists. Nice place. Opening a hotel in the town might be a good idea after all, as long as it wasn't too extravagant. She'd like to see the serenity of Karuizawa preserved.

It was while waiting in this line that she heard familiar voices growing louder, indicating their approach. At first glance, she thought it was Kaoru but then there was a pretty girl next to him. Then she thought it was Kaoru with some other girl who started to look more and more like Haruhi as they got closer. Then she realized the different clothing that meant it was Hikaru with a dressed-up Haruhi. Was that a wig to make her hair look longer? With a shriek, Miyuki rushed to duck behind the stall next door.

The pair walked past without noticing her, walking slow enough for her to decipher that they were on a date. Just like she was. Her mind whirled. Did Kaoru know they were here? Was he following them? It would explain why he was so distracted... And people only looked worried when thinking about someone they cared about so was that someone Hikaru or Haruhi for him?

Was that why they were on this date at all?

"Uhm, Miyuki?" The girl jumped, turning to face the source of the voice. Kaoru quirked an eyebrow and laughed a little. "Why are you hiding here?"

She stood properly in a hurry and smoothed the front of her skirt sheepishly. "N-no reason. But, uh, I think we should go back now. I th-think it's going to rain soon." Unexpectedly, she took his hand and started to lead him in the opposite direction she saw the other go in. She didn't want to think of them right then, didn't want to risk bumping into them, didn't want to ruin what had been so far, an amazing day.

Kaoru, though confused, went along with it. Once he got over the shock, he sped up a little be in step with the girl and shifted their hands into a more comfortable position. With a blush, she realized they looked a lot like a couple with their entwined hands but when she looked at him, he only smiled.

And how could she resist smiling back?

He was glad when she did because he got a little worried a few minutes ago. Now he was sure they were okay, he pulled out a small paper bag from his pocket. "I got this for you." He held it out to her, shifting their arms again to simply link so both her hands were free.

Miyuki carefully took it from him and poured out the contents onto one palm. It was a hair clip. Quite a pretty one at it too and it was decorated with a single silver piece that was shaped into a small snowflake. She looked at the boy who appeared to have pink-tinted cheeks.

"Since you have 'yuki' in your name, I thought something snow-related would be nice. You've probably heard all that before. Sorry..."

She shook her head. "No, it's... it's great. I love it." As if to prove it, she clipped the piece of accessory into her hair, the silver colour standing out starkly against the black strands. "Thank you, Kaoru."

Was it just her or did his smile grow just a little bigger? It hardly mattered because a second later, he frowned and then looked at the sky. Clouds. Dark clouds. Then Miyuki felt raindrops on her head too. Her hand was grabbed and after a tug, they started running the last few metres back to the Bed and Breakfast.

"I told you it was going to rain!" she couldn't help remarking, raising her voice slightly to be heard over the downpour.

Kaoru laughed over his shoulder at her. "You're bringing that up now?"

Finally, they made it onto the roofed patio where they immediately shook off what rainwater they could. Shivering, the girl twisted the fabric of her skirt to squeeze out as much rain as possible. She was panting by then but found the breath to say in amusement, "Seemed a good time as any."

Kaoru followed her lead and shook his head vigorously so water flew off his hair, spraying his date on purpose which made them both laugh. Miyuki turned to the sliding doors then and started to open one before a hand was placed on hers to stop her.

"Wait." They looked at each other. There was a hint of mischief in his eyes. "You know, our date would end once we step inside."

The word didn't faze her anymore. Miyuki laughed, stifling it with the back of one hand. "I think it ended once the weather changed, Kaoru."

"No. Not yet." Kaoru shook his head but lightly this time, that bright smile still on his face. The people on TV had it right. There was only one way to conclude a good date. It was a good date, indeed. She was a good date. Feeling brave, he leaned in and placed his lips on hers. After getting over the surprise, she leaned on her toes to deepen the kiss and smiled beneath it.

Then they pulled apart. Despite it being completely chaste and innocent, both had flushed cheeks and shy smiles graced their features. Neither said a word and when Kaoru spoke, he stammered at first. He didn't say anything about the kiss they had just shared though but he didn't need to. "A-alright. You can open the door now..."

And that was the beginning of the end because, as they would soon learn, all secrets had consequences.