Futari no Himitsu

Chapter 25:

3P

The sun was setting to the point the sky no longer looked orange, but more of a dark grey. Due to the fact that the playground was rather far away from the main road, it was secluded from all the noisy sound of traffic, giving them the absolute peace and quiet they needed in this rather solemn moment. Both Ichinose Hayato as well as Nanami Haruka was sitting on the swing saddles, wavering back and forth like a ghost. As you may have noticed, the couple decided to go to a ride that was far closer to the ground and less dangerous. They decided to change locations after the rosette announced that she will be requesting something very important, why they needed to move was something unknown to the bluenet but he followed her nevertheless.

At last, the red-haired girl opened her mouth, stating her wishes. He could only stare blankly at her in return, wondering if she was being serious or not. But judging from the look of determination on her face, she was dead resolute about the matter. In a moment of complete silence, Hayato couldn't help but release an aroused moan as he felt a cold sensation running through his spine at the mere idea of what the rosette was planning to do to him. Was it because he was a masochist that the idea of his other personality's girlfriend hurting him made him slightly breathless and agitated? Or maybe it was his inner rationality (if he even has one) telling him how utterly senseless her request was? Surely, a person with a sane mind will not allow someone to hit them point blank straight to the face; unless they're masochists, of course.

"I'm sorry for asking something so stupid." Nanami Haruka shyly looked down, rubbing her school leather shoes against the playground pavement, creating a strangely aggravating crunching sound. Blue eyes brows twitched, eyeing the heel that was gravely offending the ground. However, his exasperation seemed completely unnoticed by the female. Hayato sighed, instead of being bothered about something so trivial, he decided to look at her face instead. And it was not a move he regretted. Cheeks were pinkish in embarrassment; honey-colored eyes were slightly hooded under her long thick lashes, plump rose-colored lips were bitten nervously just like a little girl would. Anybody would think she was asking for an adorable request judging from the face she was creating. But even if she wasn't, Hayato would still accept it as long as it pleased his beloved.

"I don't mind." He uttered lowly, crossing his arms as he tried to act nonchalant about the whole thing. "Yeah. Sure, go for it." He hummed, trying to act cool about it. Admittedly, he doesn't mind getting hurt because for the last few years of his life, Hayato was always the one taking all the physical pain that was intended for Tokiya. However, what he couldn't fathom is that it was Haruka who was about to do something violent to him. The idea just seemed rather unsettling for him.

Topaz eyes sparkled, dilating in relief that Hayato was willing to comply with her wishes. "Thank goodness!" She clasped her hands together, over-enthusiastic to the point it reminded Hayato of the over-acting shoujo anime reactions. "I was afraid you'd immediately deny me of my wishes. Once again, I apologize for asking such things from you..." She bowed, truly apologetic for what she's about to do to him.

"As long as it helps you," The bluenet looked away, shoving his hands inside the pockets of his jeans. "Then I'm willing to do everything for you."

The rosette looked at him for a good five seconds; her pale cheeks were painted pink. Hayato was about to ask what's wrong and why she was making such a blank reaction but before he could do so he realized how cheesy his line sounded. Lamely, he pressed his lips together, covering his mouth with his hand. Blood raised up to his cheeks, making him look as bright as his girlfriend's head. The young girl could only smile at him, appreciating his kind words.

"What are you looking at?!" Hayato tried to sound intimidating, but his lips couldn't help but form a pout. Haruka chuckled at his childish attempt, only to make the bluenet more flustered. Before he could retort anything else, she buried her face on his lean chest. Hayato gasped; all the things he was meaning to say disintegrated from his mind in a matter of milliseconds. And just as he thought he was going to die from mortification, she spoke.

"I'll promise to clear things with him." She whispered with a muffled voice. She placed her hand on his chest; feeling and hearing his heart beat excitedly. It was odd, knowing that Hayato was a man full of confidence and yet a simple embrace from her was enough to make his heart beat as if he was running a marathon. She kept silent about it; however she was also feeling the same thing. "I'll also tell him about... Us."

Hayato took a sharp in-take of breath, shocked at how fast the rosette wanted to discuss with Tokiya about… their feelings towards each other. But then again, wouldn't it be better to talk about things sooner than later? Slowly, he closed his eyes, nodding.

"I'll be waiting."

Haruka smiled, feeling blessed that she has someone so kind for a boyfriend. She moved a step back, looking up at him in order to analyze his calm expression. She knew that she could just punch him at the shoulder or any other place that's NOT his face. God knows what his fans will do to him after seeing the red marks on his face. The rosette was also against the idea of possibly damaging her boyfriend's beautiful features so there's an option for him to initiate a fake assault. However, she must do it. Because she outright told him about her intent, the chances of him not changing to his other self was high so pain was needed to be felt.

"This will hurt." And for safe measures, she added. "Immensely."

"Everything hurts." He smirked, keeping his eyes closed. He even had the time to be poetic, the nerve. The red haired rolled her eyes, raising her hand to charge the impact of the possible force of her hand. She took a deep sigh, making sure it was going to be especially painful for his remark. And with that, she swung her hand. A great sense of impending danger attacked his nervous system, he braced himself for it. His neurons were sending signals to his brain to dodge the strike however he kept still and waited for the small palm to land upon his—

.

.

Behind him, a murder of crows flew away, making their hideous cawing sound that used to give shivers through his spines whenever he heard them. Ichinose Tokiya blinked, suddenly he found himself sitting on the saddle of a swing, in the middle of a children's park he had never visited before. He had no recollections on how he stumbled upon this place for the last memory he had was the menacing eyes of Hijirikawa as he was about to sock him. He turned his head, trying to decipher what was going on. Only to be greeted by a very terrible blow on the face. Blue eyes dilated in shock, never did he experience something so painful (yes, he was a sissy for thinking a mere slap was something this excruciating) before because on most occasions, it was Hayato taking the attack for him. Sapphire orbs moisten in instinct, looking for his assailant, expecting to see lavender eyes. But much to his shock, it landed on familiar golden ones.

"H-Haruka?" He coughed in disbelief, hand placed on his injured cheek. For a moment, he doubted that the owner of those beautiful honey eyes was the Nanami Haruka that he dearly loved. He was used to see those pair of orbs looking at him in such an affectionate manner. Not this. He never saw this emotion on her eyes whenever she looked at him. It was the emotion called disappointment.

"I'll explain to you later." Haruka exclaimed in a no-nonsense tone. "But first," She sighed, sitting right next to the seat beside Tokiya. "We have to talk. You need to explain things to me, Ichinose-san."

He doesn't know what was going on. He doesn't understand how he got here, how many days has passed, why Haruka was mad at him, and why the fuck he was wearing a damn wig that made his scalp feel trapped inside an oven. Whatever the reason may be, he was about to find out. "Have I done something w-wrong?" Wrong. That word was the epitome of everything Tokiya believed that he was never to be labeled with. Heck, just saying it made him stutter.

If it was possible, the look on her eyes darkened. Tokiya need not to be a genius to know that this wasn't a good sign.

"Everything is wrong." Her voice was dripping with disapproval. And upon hearing her utter those words, he immediately knew where this was going. In a matter of seconds, his mind was racing thoughts that has been bothering him for a while but only now did it explode inside of him,

She found out about it. He was absolutely sure that Haruka found out the truth, given the expression she was making. Maybe Hijirikawa finally told her about it, and Tokiya wouldn't be surprised to know if he actually did since that man was such an ally of justice. Tokiya felt betrayed, believing that Masato was sane enough to allow the couple to solve the problem together. But even if he feels like this, he would not hate his friend. You can't hate someone for doing the morally right decision. He deserved it, really. They were in a relationship, yet he was hiding things from her, claiming that it was he who did something and yet it was actually his other self in reality. However, the only thing he wished for was that they wouldn't break up because of it. He won't say that this was something 'trivial' because he knows that in a relationship both of you needed to trust one another in order for you to last. But this single secret could be enough for him to ruin everything. Tokiya hoped that they would be together for a much longer time period. But as they say, you can run but you can't hide, the bluenet guessed it was finally time for punishment.

"You found out about it?" Tokiya sighed, lowering his head while gripping both of his hands together, making him look as if he was praying. He would have, if only he believed in any religion, anything that could possibly save him at this time of crisis.

"Judging by the tone of your voice," Haruka sat up straight, making the swing creak at her light weight. "You're aware of what I'm talking about." It was supposed to be a question yet it sounded more like an accusatory statement.

He nodded, not even trying to hide from his crime. Tokiya remained silent, biting his inner cheek until he tasted blood oozing on his tongue. He didn't dare look back at her; he was far too scared to see the interrogatory eyes she wore like a cop questioning a criminal. He felt distressed; his feet automatically started tapping the ground in a restless manner just to add his point on how nervous he was. There was a long silence between them. The bluenet expected Haruka to act like how you expect a betrayed girlfriend will: scream, stomp her heels, slap him (again), walk out, cry, the list goes on and on. And this showed how much he lacked knowledge about her.

For she did none.

Instead, this was what she did.

"Remember the time when we were at the school music room?" Haruka looked up at the orange sky, smiling gently as she recollected about the past. Blue eyes widened, shocked at how maturely she was taking this. "When I told you that I'm willing to wait for you if you have secrets you still don't have the courage to tell me..." She paused shortly, turning her head to the side in order to look at him. There, Tokiya noticed. She wasn't taking this as smoothly as he assumed. Tears were welling up in her eyelids yet she was trying her best to keep them at bay. "I wasn't lying. Until now, I'm still waiting for you to tell me yourself because I don't want to assume things and I want you to verify it."

The bluenet was speechless, looking at those sad yet forgiving eyes. He couldn't believe it. One person cannot simply be this kind and pure. Haruka should be considered as a saint for this her never-ending patience and understanding for the people around her. Everyone thought that Haruka doesn't deserve him as her boyfriend. But it was the polar opposite; it was he who doesn't deserve her.

"Yes, it was Hayato who saved you." He admitted, gulping as if trying to swallow the guilt that was forming inside of him. "Tell me, Nanami-san. Who told you about the truth?"

"'Who told me about the truth'?" Haruka repeated. "No one did, I found it out by myself." Blue eyes dilated in shock, but he didn't say anything. The rosette, being the perceptive girl that she was, noticed this slight body reaction. "Why do you seem so shocked, Ichinose-kun? Perhaps you think that I'm not that smart enough? Well, you shouldn't have treated me for a fool."

"That's not it!" Tokiya protested. "Look, I know that no amount of explanation will make you forgive me-"

"I don't need an explanation." Haruka said, effectively shutting the heir up. "What I need to know is if you ever planned on telling me about it?"

Tokiya straightened up, remembering that Hijirikawa almost said the same thing to him during that time they were at Shinomiya's house. He looked away, biting his lips.

"I don't know..."

There was a short pause.

"'I... Don't... Know'?" Haruka slowly repeated. As the volume of her voice dropped on each word, it seemingly symbolized how her respect for him also decreased. She grabbed the chains of her swing; you can see the nerves on her pale skin look as if it was about to pop as she held the piece of iron as if her life depended on it. "Tell me honestly, Ichinose-san." She heaved, carefully choosing her words. "Were you planning to tell me after we successfully merged you and Hayato into a single person?"

Tokiya couldn't take it anymore. The sob he was trying so hard to restrain was finally set free. "I'm sorry." It was the only thing he could say. The rosette told him herself that she doesn't need any explanation. He was absolutely sure this blissfully ephemeral moment with her was about to end.

He didn't even notice it himself, but Haruka was there in front of him. Frail and short arms sheltered him in a tight and loving embrace. The rosette buried her face on the curve of his neck, like how both of the Ichinoses' like doing it to her. Tokiya looked up, trying to catch a glimpse of her face but she didn't even budge. Instead, her arms became a vice grip that was almost to the point of suffocating. But after a few minutes, her arms loosened.

"How many times has this cycle occurred?" Haruka whispered, but it seemed like she was merely talking to herself.

The bluenet could finally move, he looked up. "N-nanami-san?" He called.

"We fight all the time and we make-up soon after." She sighed. "Tell me, Ichinose-san, aren't you getting exhausted?"

Eyes widened in horror, immediately know where this was going. His hands immediately grabbed the sleeves of her school uniform, childish tears trickling down his cheek. He buried his face on her bosom, tears drenching her blouse. He knew this was going to happen and yet he still hung on a thin thread of hope. If he were to beg, will she change her mind? If he went down on all fours, will she accept him? He doesn't want this dream to end. He'd do anything so that a miracle could happen.

"Don't leave me, please." He sobbed, not even trying to hide this utterly pathetic side of him. He was in a ruins that he didn't even bother care what she might think of him. "I need you, Nanami-san. I'll die if you leave me. I... Haruka," He called her by her first name, she was slightly startled. "I love you, Haruka. Please do know that these words aren't a lie."

She scoffed, moving away. Tokiya eagerly reached out to her like a child trying to catch a butterfly but was unable to grasp her. "I came to a theory that even your feelings aren't real."

Tokiya looked stupefied. "W-w-what do you mean?"

The rosette tried her best not to make a face and just repeated what she exactly told Hayato about an hour ago. He listened attentively, the more he listened, the more his face morphed to confusion. Haruka felt sorry for him, accepting such heavy information as if she was merely telling him about the weather. "Maybe this was also the reason why you studied at Saotome Academy; it was because Hayato influenced you to pick this school in order to meet me." Haruka added, guessing.

"No..." Tokiya shook his head in disbelief. Hands grabbed blue strands of hair, slightly pulling them. "So you're telling me that throughout my high school life that I watched you silently from the shadows, it was... It was all a delusion? It was all because of Hayato's feelings telling me to do it? All my feelings for you were just a suggestion from Hayato's? Everything I had for you was...?"

Haruka frowned. She moved towards him again, placing both her hands on his cheeks, slowly she raised it up in order to look straight at his ocean blue eyes. She leaned once more, kissing him. Blue eyes widened, he moaned softly as her slick flexible tongue probed the inside of his mouth. Her tongue was soft, and it tasted slightly of vanilla parfait. Guessing because it was her, surely she decided to take a quick snack before they arrived here. Long musician fingers run through his spiky hair, pushing herself deeper inside of him. This was odd, how Haruka was taking charge of the kiss. But somehow, it was such a turn-on that she was the one that initiated it. Alas, she pulled away, wiping a string of saliva off their mouths. Tokiya could only stare at her in daze, unable to comprehend all the information she threw at him and out of nowhere she was kissing him like there was no tomorrow.

"However," She whispered in a raspy and breathless voice. The bluenet couldn't deny how utterly sultry that sounded and he wouldn't believed that it came from her lips if he hadn't seen it himself. "This kiss isn't."

He blinked.

"What?"

Annoyed that he couldn't get the hint, the usually gentle girl pushed him out of the swing and Tokiya fell down to the ground with a soft thud."What the heck was that-" The bluenet was about to protest when he noticed that the petite girl was on top of him, unbuttoning his shirt. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING-NGH!" He uncharacteristically moaned a high-pitched voice, immediately clamping his mouth shut out of horror. "Why are we doing this outside?! I'M NOT AN EXHIBITIONIST!" Tears were literally falling from his eyes due to embarrassment. But his pleas entered to deaf ears. The rosette continued sucking the lower parts of his neck until she left at least a couple of kiss marks on his skin. By now, Tokiya was a sniffling mess.

"And this," Haruka pointed at the marks she left on his neck. "These aren't fake."

Seeing that the bluenet was still panicking, once again grabbed she grabbed his face and held it tight, resting her forehead to his. "Tokiya-kun, listen to me."

That stopped him, with that, she continued.

"As well as the time we spent at the music room, that wasn't fake. And also that time when we were at the clinic when we had our first kiss. And that you barged in towards my apartment, hugging me and telling me to not die on you. All of them weren't fake. Even if the only reason why you had interest in me in the first place was because of Hayato's feeling towards me, it doesn't mean the our bond and feelings for each other that strengthened in each experiences we faced was also a farce. He planted the seed, we cultivated it to bloom. That's that. So please Tokiya-kun, calm down."

The blue-haired male stared at her; it was as if he didn't understand what she just said. Haruka groaned in annoyance and was about to repeat what she just said when Tokiya abruptly sat up, forcing her to stumble on his lap.

"Say my name." He whispered right next to her ear, sending shivers throughout her body. "Call me by my first name."

"Tokiya...-kun?" She did as she was asked. The bluenet made a very sexy sound breath, making all the courage gathered disappear. Once again, she returned back to the shy girl that she was. And before she could react to that rather nice sound, Haruka felt teeth nibbling her ear. "Ahn!"

"Do you even know..." He growled seductively, sucking the skin behind her ear as marked himself to her body like what she just did to him. "How jealous I get whenever you call Hayato by his first name but you refused to call me by mine?"

"But-hah- I thought you didn't like- nng- it!" She moaned, grabbing the collar of his shirt as if his life depended on it.

"Why would I? The idea of you calling out my name turns me on oh-so-much!" And for emphasis, he rubbed the growing bulge on her thigh, Haruka squeaked in alarm. "And how it pisses me off, Haruka." Tokiya trailed his tongue on her steep jaw, making her squirm. "Whenever Shinomiya-san calls you Haru-chan! How unbelievable that I'm stuck calling you by your last name but he, merely a friend of yours, calls you with an endearing name as if he was your boyfriend and not me!"

"Nghh!" Haruka finally pulled away, breathless. "Tokiya-kun, not here!"

"Weren't you the one who started it?" He smirked, licking his lips.

Tokiya-kun suddenly switched to his Sadist-mode!

"But still!" She protested. She slowly stood up, patting her knees as to get away from this predator. Tokiya immediately grabbed her hand and pulled her down once more. "Tokiya-kun!" The rosette warned only to stop when she saw the serene look on his face.

"I love you." Tokiya said, looking at her straight in the eyes. Her heart started beating fast under the intense look. It took her a moment before she realized what he said, and this point, her heart was beating so fast to the point she thought she was going to have a heart attack.

She shyly looked away, biting her lips. The bluenet chuckled, ruffling her hair. "Even if you have a hard time saying it back to me, I don't mind. Because I know a person who doesn't love me won't try to bother with my dual-personality. Heck, even my friends get tired of me switching personalities at the slightest hint of danger. That's why, Haruka-chan, I love you. Thank you for everything. And I'm sorry for all the things that I've done that hurt you."

Haruka finally looked at him, tears brimming. She shook her head and kissed him on the forehead. "Thank you because I never thought that it was humanely possible to feel something this intense towards someone. I never thought I could understand what this thing called 'love' is, but thanks to you guys, I was able to."

The bluenet raised an eyebrow. "I assume that you also meant Hayato when you said 'you guys'?"

Golden eyes widened, a soft gasp came from her lips. She forgot to tell Tokiya about her feeling towards Hayato! Before she could panic and explain herself about what she meant, the young kaichou only chuckled.

"Don't worry, I don't mind if you have feelings with Hayato. In fact, I don't mind sharing you with him. Because really, if we finally merged into a single person and Hayato doesn't like you in a romantic way, don't you think that his side will find it very weird whenever we do something? So yes, I myself prefer that you date him also." Haruka deadpanned, shocked at how easy this was going. "Practically, we're just a single person and you wouldn't consider it as cheating... Right?"

The rosette laughed nervously. "I have no idea."

Tokiya nodded. "I see. Anyway, now that we're sharing you with each other and we're both aware of this- Oh wait, you need to tell him about this first- I will not allow myself to lose to him!"

Once again, she deadpanned.

"Yes, I'm aware that we are only one person but we still have different conscience and personalities, both of us get jealous with each other whenever we spent time with other. Oh, that gives me an idea! Should I create a schedule of who should be active in a particular day as so spend time with you fairly?"

Now you're just treating me like a pet. Haruka thought. "So you have no objections about this matter?" She asked casually, thinking how odd it sounded.

"Objections?" Tokiya scoffed. "Don't you think this is some kind of weird 3P situation and how sexy that sounds?"

The rosette turned as bright as her hair, covering her face with her palms.

"You pervert."

"Hey!" Tokiya pouted. "I know you like it, too."

"I was expecting Hayato to be the one suggesting something stupid like that..."

"But you like it, right?"

"Shut up."

Author's Notes: Hello everyone. Long time no update. At last, summer has arrived and I finally found myself free from my school dilemmas. As I promised, I am now officially active and I will be updating my stories regularly. Thank you everyone for waiting patiently for me. I have also changed my beta reader, thank you to harukananami321 who has been with me for a long time. I appreciate all the effort you did just to check my grammar. And now I have a new beta, let us all welcome Cow-senpai!

Beta's Notes: Hi people. I am Cow-senpai. You can call me that or Baka-sama if you want. Hihi I am shyy \(/∇/) I'll be Edelweiss' beta reader from now on. Enjoy!

Author's Notes: Awww, look at how shy Senapi (this is intentional) is xD I love you so much senapi, even if I noticed that you decided to cut down this chapter by more than 200 words! And you said you wanted payment for your efforts, don't worry let's go eat at Divine Sweets this summer!

10 minutes after re-editing and Cow-Senpai is panicking...

Calm down, Baka-senpai! Haha, I won't fire you out of something so simple! It was my fault for not looking at it carefully so don't persecute yourself!

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