Kaichō wa Maid-sama! 2005 © Fujiwara Hiro
Lala Magazine under Hakusensha Publishing
WARNING: Major OOC and One-Sided ToraXMisa.
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Chapter 14: Brave And Wild
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Misaki growled as she mercilessly attacked one of the PS4 controllers, while beside her sat a very calm Usui. They were sprawled on carpeted floor of her bedroom, playing Mortal Kombat.
"Die, you bastard!"
"Cursing a fictional character won't make you win, Misa-chan."
"Shut up, Usui Takumi!"
The blonde guy could only sigh amusedly. He continued to press the buttons while watching his girlfriend murder the controller in the corner of his eye.
In the past few weeks after the whole hospital incident, things were pretty much returned to normal. Or as normal as they could get.
Misaki was looking vibrant again, to her boyfriend's relief. She went back to work and bickered with Tora almost every minute of every day. Her health was improving fast, thanks to resuming her chemo session with Dr. Natsu. According to him, she was progressing fast onto the brighter side; there were no signs of abnormal WBCs in her latest blood test and her circular system was functioning more coherently now.
But they couldn't put their armor down yet; two more sessions to go before they could safely declare that she was NEC. Even so, they still have several tests to perform and she would be under observation for any recurrences.
Meanwhile, Usui unofficially moved into her apartment. Taking care of her was an unspoken responsibility. He took over the cooking (obviously), the driving and other tenuous jobs in the house. It annoyed her because she wanted to do those things too. But deep inside, he knew she was grateful for the help. He was now the one accompanying her to the hospital every week, too. Though Tora still tagged along, he didn't stay much in the room. Rather, he spent his time with her nurse, which the couple suspiciously raised their eyebrows at.
Usui brought in several important things with him when he moved, such as his trusty laptop, iPad and his slim PS4 now attached to the huge LED TV plastered to Misaki's bedroom wall.
"Whoa! Hey, wait– ah , dammit! No!" Misaki yelled at the screen when Mileena, her character, burst into a fountain of blood and intestines when Sub-Zero, Usui's character, finished her.
Misaki dropped the controller unceremoniously and glared at Usui in annoyance. "Why did you have to do that?" She whined and slapped his arm.
He laughed and stuck his tongue out, "Loser."
It earned him another slap on the shoulder before she flopped down on the carpet dejectedly. She laid her head on his leg, still scowling at him.
"I'll get back on you, I swear," she grumbled.
Usui ran his fingers through her hair, humming and nodding, as if humoring her.
"I'm serious!" she insisted, reaching over and pinching his cheeks.
"Let's see if you can," he teased.
"I can." She pinched harder until he yowled in pain. She let go with a sadistic laughter.
"Oh, yeah? How about you beat me in Need For Speed?" He smirked, pulling her closer. He knew how much she sucked at it.
"How about I kick your ass in Project Diva?" she shot back, mirroring his smirk because she knew her skills with Hatsune Miku were far better than his.
"I'm sorry to inform you, my dear princess, that your beloved Project Diva isn't compatible with PS4," he replied smugly.
"Eh?" Misaki's eyes widened in disbelief, her smirk instantly wiped off. "You can't be serious!"
He nodded solemnly.
"Dang, I thought I could finally beat you..." she muttered. "Are they planning to make Project Diva for PS4?"
"Probably," he shrugged and stretched his arms in front of him with a sigh. Then he bent down and kissed the tip of her nose. "But I am planning to make chocolate chip pancakes with lots of whipped cream on top. Want some?"
Her eyes lit up at the mention of whipped cream. She nodded vigorously and let Usui pulled her up to stand. She let out a surprised yelp when he swept her off the ground. In one swift motion, he was carrying her out the bedroom like a bride.
"W-what do you think you're doing? Put me down, Usui! Put me down!" She struggled against his hold, but he only tightened his grip on her.
"You're getting heavier, Ayuzawa," he said and pretended to grunt under her weight.
She stopped short and narrowed her eyes. "Is that another way of saying I'm fat?"
Usui laughed out loud sarcastically. "Oh, please. You think you're fat? You must be delusional."
They reached the kitchen and he set her down on the countertop. She was sitting a head taller than him. He kept his arms around her, settling between her knees and squeezing her waist.
"So now I'm delusional?" Misaki raised an eyebrow; amusement made her lips quirk upward.
"I'm saying that you're a million years too far from being fat. And besides, who gives a damn whether you're fat or not? I love you nonetheless," he said, looking up and smothering her with his liquid emeralds. His hands slipped under her bright yellow Minion shirt and traced lazy circles on the bare skin of her spine.
"You're being mushy," she answered playfully. She put her arms on his shoulders and dug her fingers through his golden locks, massaging his scalp gently. She leaned down slowly, her lips ghosting over his.
"You're supposed to say, I love you, too, you know..." he said, their lips touching as he spoke. Their noses brushed together ticklishly.
He pressed her closer and before she could make another smart comment, he sealed her mouth with his. A soft moan reverberated from her throat as she fought back his kiss. She felt his tongue tracing her lower lip, making the hair on her arms and nape stood on its end. She parted her lips and allowed him to taste every crevice of her mouth.
The simple, sweet kiss turned into a burning make-out session; lips, tongues and hands everywhere. Misaki's legs were locked around Usui's waist. Their bodies crushing against each other as if erasing even the nanometer distance between them.
They let go for a brief second when they couldn't hold their need to breathe anymore. Gulping a quick intake of air, the couple dove in for another searing kiss.
Usui trailed open-mouthed kisses on her cheek, under her ear and down at the base of her throat. His hands roamed freely under her shirt, leaving a warm, pleasant sensation. Misaki squirmed as he sucked the soft skin between her neck and shoulder.
Then he bit her. Hard.
"OUCH!" She jolted out of her raging hormones and accidentally pulled his hair. Pain pulsated from her neck to every tip of her nerves. "Damn it, Usui!" she yelped.
"Sorry," he chuckled and withdrew his hands from under her shirt after re-hooking her bra. "I think we need to stop before I decided to dump you back in your bedroom, Ayuzawa," he whispered oh-so seductively. The vampire-in-disguise stepped back, a smirk creeping up on his face.
A smoke of distress puffed over her head as Misaki turned into a violent shade of red.
"P-p-pervert!" she shrieked and kicked him in the gut.
He laughed and pecked her cheek. "Come on, we're supposed to make pancakes. Not babies." Then he walked off to the fridge to fetch the ingredients.
"Ugh! Usui, can you just not say that?" Misaki groaned, her ears turning as red as her face. She hopped off the counter and followed him.
He laughed as a reply. He took out a big bowl, the electric beater he brought from his house, a hell lot of eggs, heaps of flour, a bar of chocolate and a tall can of Reddi-Wip (the Extra Creamy one).
Misaki glowed at the sight of it. She quickly snatched it from him, popping it straight to her mouth.
Usui watched at her amusedly as a dot of cream smudged the corner of her lips. He bent down and licked it off her.
"You're gross!" She shoved him, giggling like a two-year-old.
"Help me make the pancakes," he said.
"Sure," she beamed.
"Just don't touch anything flammable, okay?"
"Yes, sir!" She faked a salute to him and proceeded on helping him into anything that didn't include combustible materials.
•••
Usui Takumi had easily turned her kitchen into his kitchen the first time he used it. Since then, she had no rights whatsoever to step over his jurisdiction, which she was totally fine with; she'd got nothing to do in there, anyway.
Surprisingly, their new predicament wasn't at all... awkward. In fact, they were absolutely comfortable living together, like they were running the same brain frequencies but just on different amplitudes. Two people who were meant to meet each other. A match that is like black and white, earth and sky, pepper and salt: Contrastingly opposite yet so powerfully compatible.
After the two incidents in which Misaki had passed out on her boyfriend, Usui put a mental tracking device on her. He was worse than Dr. Natsu when it came to her, even though the doctor assured them that she was doing perfectly fine. He had always been the overprotective one, always the worrywart.
It annoyed her to no end but somehow, she found it endearing. It was his way of showing her just how much she meant to him.
Sometimes, Misaki would look at him, basking in his simple gloriousness while he worked over his laptop, or while he cooked their dinner, or while he kicked some zombie asses in RE games.
A series of thoughts would come dancing in her mind then, like, how he willingly sacrificed himself to keep her safe. How he was taking care of her now and still wanting her even after knowing she had a possibility of dying any time from a stupid disease. She thought about just how much he loved her.
Did she deserve any of this? This kind of unconditional love and affection from him? Did she ever deserve him?
Sometimes she looked at him and wondered if he was truly there in front of her, just a breath away. A part of her still couldn't believe. She was afraid everything that had happened between them was all just a dream, a sort of hallucination created by her desperation. A bent in reality to keep her alive. And in some point, when she finally snapped out of it, everything would just disappear and then she'd die.
These doubts still hunted her.
One night, when they were in the living room, she was sitting there on the couch, just watching him work over some papers on the coffee table while he was on the floor, sitting cross-legged. His glasses reflecting the glare from his laptop, his white long-sleeved polo was disheveled with a few buttons undone and his necktie was pulled loosely, he seemed totally engrossed with what he was currently working on.
That was, until Misaki couldn't keep her thoughts to herself.
"I wonder if one day you'll get tired of me," she mumbled absently.
Usui must've been so surprised that he couldn't react immediately. He sighed, putting down a paper on the table and walked towards her. He plopped down next to her, catching a stray lock of hair from her face and tucking it behind her ear.
"What are you talking about?" he asked softly.
"I don't really know..." she chuckled weakly. Honestly, she didn't know why she even brought it up. It was just one of her childish fears.
"What makes you think I'll get tired of you?" He softly brushed his knuckles against her cheek as if sensing all her doubts and insecurities.
"I don't know. I'm sorry, I'm spouting nonsense. I just... I just can't figure myself out," she mumbled.
"Yeah, you're spouting utter nonsense because you know it will never happen," he agreed with a crooked smile.
"Usui?"
"Hm?"
"What if there comes a time when you have to choose?"
"Choose between what?" he tilted his head curiously.
"Shut up and listen, okay? What if you you have to go back to England? Like, maybe an opportunity–"
"What opportunity?" He scowled.
"I said shut up. I mean, like a bigger opportunity for your company there. What if you have to go back and you wouldn't because that would mean you have to leave me again," she said in a serious tone. "I'll be in your way... the one always holding you back."
He stared at her, unblinking.
Misaki sighed. "One day, something might come... an opportunity or maybe a girl better than I am–"
Usui then effectively shut her off with his lips.
"Don't you dare think about those things, Ayuzawa," he warned; his narrowed eyes making that sharp, intensive stare which always make her mind blank as a clean bond paper. "You are the biggest opportunity that I have and will ever have. I want nobody else but you, Ayuzawa Misaki," he breathed, "because I love you and no one is better than you. Nothing will come close to how important you are to me."
Usui closed their distance once again in a warm, passionate kiss. His paperworks were long forgotten as he spent the rest of the night making love with her on the couch.
Misaki learned not to bring those issues into spotlight anymore because she sure ended up not being able to move a single muscle the next day.
•••
"Don't you think you had enough whipped cream?" Usui asked.
"Nope."
"You might get a stomachache with all that stuff you shove in your mouth," he added.
Misaki made a face. "No one gets a stomachache from eating whipped cream," she said stubbornly.
"Maybe in your case," he mumbled. "Anyway, do you want to go out today?"
"No, I have a very important mission to execute today," she said, her voice hard and her eyebrows furrowed in concentration.
"Ha?"
"I'm gonna to beat you in Mortal Kombat," she declared.
They were just finishing the last of the pancakes they made and Misaki had already jumped off the barstool. She took her platter of half-eaten chocolate pancakes with mountainous white cream on top to the bedroom where the PS4 awaited her.
Usui could only stare after her. Was it the whipped cream making her so hyper? Or was it the chocolate chip pancakes? Maybe it was the combination of both.
"Come on!" She beckoned him to follow her.
Then he smiled and obliged. "Okay, okay! I got it," he said.
Maybe spending the rest of the afternoon in the dark bedroom, playing video games with his girlfriend who was high on sugar and whipped cream wasn't so bad. He could deal with it as long as she was happy.
So, their Sunday afternoons were usually spend like that; either killing each other in a game, or food tripping till their stomachs hurt, or making out somewhere in the house, or a mixture of the three. It was such a nice, simple stress reliever routine after a whole week of headaches over paperworks and meetings, and a good source of energy to begin another week.
Despite being all hyped up about beating her boyfriend, in the end, Misaki still lost. By the time she decided to put down the controller, the cream on her platter was already soggy, the pancakes didn't look appealing anymore and her eyes hurt. She threw a tiny tantrum about it and Usui had to kiss her hard enough to make her shut up.
They ordered a pizza for dinner because Usui was too lazy to cook dinner and ate in the bedroom, feeling like teenagers hanging out on a Friday night.
After that, they had an hour-long shower together...
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A tickling sensation fluttering along her neck all the way down her bare shoulder had pulled Misaki into consciousness. A strong arm slithered over her waist and pulled her closer to warmth.
Usui Takumi.
She smiled and snuggled her back against his chest. Her eyes still close, relishing the moment.
How many times did she dream of this? How many times did she wish she'd woken up to this seven years ago and saved her heart –both their hearts– from breaking?
Now that it was happening, how she wish they could stay like this forever; waking up in his arms every morning with him sprinkling her with soft, loving kisses.
Misaki turned her head and opened her eyes to a beautiful view of her boyfriend's gorgeous bed hair and wide grin.
"Hi..." she breathed.
"Good morning, sleepyhead," he greeted, giving a peck on her nose.
She stretched her stiff arms over her head and continued to loop it around his neck as he hovered close over her. "How long have you been awake?" she asked.
"Long enough to count your eyelashes and eyebrows," he answered, brushing his nose against hers.
Misaki faked a horrified expression. "I've been sleeping with a very creepy guy," she gasped.
"But you love this creepy guy," he smirked.
"Yeah, I do," she smiled. "But don't let that thought get into your head. Now move it, we don't want to be late for work, do we?" She pushed him off her and pulled the blanket to cover her naked body as she sat.
"If late means I can have you on the bed a bit more... I won't mind," he muttered, drawing a long line on her spine with his finger.
Misaki shivered. "Stop it, Usui," she warned. "Just get me something to wear."
Usui sighed and reached lazily for the floor. He yanked the first fabric his fingers touched. It was the shirt he was wearing last night before they decided they didn't need it anymore. He handed it to her.
"It's your shirt," she said.
"Just wear it," he said exasperatedly.
Misaki rolled her eyes but shrugged into the oversized shirt. "Get your lazy ass working, Usui!" She slapped his leg before getting off the bed and walked to the bathroom. "I'm going to take a bath."
"Want me to join you?" he smiled suggestively.
"NO, YOU PERVERT!" And she slammed the door shut. "Go use the one in the other room!" she added.
Usui chuckled and sighed. He closed his eyes for a brief second, thinking how good it felt to wake up each day like this. His skin still tingled where her skin made contact with. Her sweet fragrance lingered on the bed, making his mind hazy. Their late night activity was still fresh on him; her voice, her half-lidded eyes full of love and desire staring at him, her kisses...
God, how he loved her so much. He felt like he would die a thousand times over without her for just a day. Misaki was a basic necessity to him, like the air he breathes, the ground beneath his feet... he didn't even know how he managed to survive those hellish years without her.
Summoning his strengths to fight the spirit of procrastination, Usui heaved himself from the bed. With a groan, he realized his left arm, on which her girlfriend loved to use as a pillow, had fallen asleep. He stretched it a few times until his blood flowed again, thinking that Misaki was worth every pins and needles he felt.
He changed into his long-sleeved dark red polo shirt and black pants after taking a cold shower in the other room's bath.
He then went on to start the coffee machine and make breakfast because, according to the doctor's rule book, no one is leaving this house without eating breakfast. Especially Misaki. Meals are important for someone whose undertaking chemo. And that was exactly he was doing.
He had just finished setting up the table when Misaki came out of the bedroom, dressed in her business suit which composed of a loose, long-sleeved, blouse tucked in a sexy black, pencil-cut skirt. Her hair was a messy bun on one side. She was still bare-footed.
And she looked beautiful.
"Smells nice," she said, beaming as bright as the sunshine outside. Then she paused, taking in his new appearance and blinked. "You're wearing my favorite polo shirt!" She exclaimed and ran back to the bedroom, leaving Usui wondering what had gotten to her.
She came back three seconds later, waving a necktie. She stood on her toes to put the silk tie around his neck and fixed it under the collar.
"I've always wanted to try this," she said, her face practically lit up with excitement. It made her feel like a wife... his wife.
"Where did you get it?" Usui asked, a smile tugging at his lips.
"Bought it."
"Wow, I didn't know you have a thing for neckties."
She rolled her eyes. "I just thought it would suit you,"
"Thank you," he said sweetly. He leaned down to kiss her forehead.
She smiled and tapped his heart. "There, all done!" She smoothen the imaginary wrinkles on his shoulder and collar. She looked up and cupped his cheeks in her small palms. "You look ten times sexier now," she winked.
"Oh, really?" Usui smirked, catching her waist and pulling her against his body. "Well then, do you wanna know just how sexy you are in your clothes?" he whispered in her ear, making her shiver involuntarily.
"U-Usui..." she stammered as she felt him nibbled her ear. His one arm successfully trapping her by the waist while his other arm's hand dug through her hair, pulling at her bun until the tie snapped. Her raven locks fell freely on her shoulders and back.
Usui pulled back and touched her hair. "Much better," he smirked. "You're ten times sexier now."
Misaki pursed her lips before bursting into laughter. "Well, okay. If you say so..." She pulled his newly-acquired necktie and kissed him hard.
"Ah, now I love this necktie even more," she added once she let go.
"So the purpose of buying this necktie is for you to easily harass me, isn't it, Ayuzawa?" he mused.
"Just one of the purposes," she said, flashing her eyes alluringly.
Usui caught up her playful tone and raised his eyebrows amusedly. "What other purposes, if I may ask?"
"Let's find out later," she whispered like a little kid telling a secret.
"Misa-chan so sly..." he muttered under his breath.
She laughed again and it sounded like music in his ears. Indeed, a very good source of fuel to energize them for another week of their lives.
How they wish it would stay like this forever.
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07 March 2014
おわり
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SORA'S RAMBLING CORNER:
* NEC - No Evidence of Cancer
* WBC - White Blood Cell
For those who are not familiar with the games I've mention in this chapter, here's a brief insight:
* RE means Resident Evil. As you may know from the movie adaptations, it's all about zombies and survival in which I will never be able to survive.
* Need For Speed is a car racing video game for various platforms. But sadly, I do not own a copy of this cool game ;(
* Mortal Kombat is... obviously a fighting game. An extremely violent game. (I love this one!)
* Project Diva - anyone knows Hatsune Miku? Yep! She's one of the playable characters in this rhythm game. (This is addicting, I tell you.)
So, in this chapter, you can actually see me. As in, the real me. I love playing video games. I sort of put myself there: pretty good at playing Project Diva (but unlike Misaki, I kick-ass in Mortal Kombat and I can handle myself well in a race car!), incurable addiction to whipped cream (Reddi-Wip is a brand of whipped cream, if you must know) and the overall romantic fluffiness. I've unconsciously put myself there, haha! Hope you don't mind.
Anyway, I know I'm super late and I'm so sorry about that, I didn't expect my February to be so full of shit– I mean, worksheets. I've been working on tons of leftover paperworks for school.
You know, guys... I believe I am losing my touch in writing, especially in this particular story. The momentum of this idea, which I've conceived almost a year ago, is slowly fading. I can't make it as grand as the first chapters *cries* I guess my attention to this plot decreased when I started writing other stories. I'm so sorry!
But I still hope you like this little update from yours truly. Thank you for all the support you've given until now! I appreciate it a lot and it keeps me going and pushing me to try my hardest. Thank you!
Ja, see you next chapter! natsu_no_sora over and out.
PS: Sorry about the suggestive scenes scattered all over this chapter. I can't help being playful with this couple, hahaha!