AwakenedSecrets: You're always the first reviewer :) Lol, glad you liked it. Yess, the sword skills would be really awesome actually. Hopefully this chapter has even more fluff in it!
cloudsinwonderland: Lol, not sure how kawaii that'd be but it seems hilarious to me :D And how is Rika's mom weird? Like is it the way she acts? Thank you for your review! Hope you like the fluff in this chapter.
SmolderingBlackRose: Thank you for the review! Ok! Seems fluff is quite popular lol. Hope you like this chapter! ^-^
Karnevalfreak59: Lol, just a mysterious disappearance. A mystery that even Holmes can't solve XD Don't worry. He'll eventually be disposed of... just perhaps not in the way you'd find satisfying. Thanks for the review!
LegendOfZeldasKingdomHearts: Thank you! Maybe try taking writing classes at school? They usually help. :)
Independent Not in Love: I just read half of your profile and it's very interesting :D I liked it. So if you like angst, have you watched Clannad before? That is definitely full of angst and fluff and things that make you laugh. It is the best anime ever! Anyway, thanks for the feedback!
DreamTrance14: Hehe, nice reaction. Virtual hug time! (づ￣ ³￣)づ Isn't that so cute? Hope you like this chapter!
Guest: Hello! So there are like 5 different guests and I have no idea who's who. Are you guys all the same person or something? I'll just respond to you all since it'd be hard to know anyhow right? Thank you all for the review and reading my story! :D I really appreciate it. The reviews were really cute and funny, hehe. And no, I am not Japanese. After reading manga for so many years, and watching some anime, you naturally pick up on its culture and stuff right? Plus there was some research involved. Thanks again!
And now, the chapter! Hope you guys like it! This is part 2 of the date!
A few hours later, the two of us sat down on a nearby bench. My feet were tired. I wasn't used to standing and walking around so much. Hah… We'd rode so many roller coasters. Ah, I love roller coasters! They're so much fun! Though I'm not very fond of the stomach-dropping feeling, it's certainly tolerable.
"That was fun!" I said. My hair must be crazy right now. I tugged at the braid. "Hey, my hair is sticking out right?" I turned to Honey.
He smiled then grinned. "Yeah."
I pulled the hair tie out, letting my hair fall down. Running a hand through my hair, I turned back to Honey. "Want to go check out those games over there?"
"Okay!"
He really didn't seem to care what we were doing. He went with me on every single crazy ride, even the one where you just drop straight down. Those are pretty scary, and I only ride those kinds once.
"Want to play any?" He asked, as we roamed around the small booths.
"They're usually impossible to win though." I said. There were a lot of shooting games, a few tossing games, and that classic smack-the-spot-thing game. What were those called? "Oh! Mitsukuni, try this one!" I tugged him over to the smack-the-spot thing.
"What is this?" He asked, staring at the tall meter and the bell on the top.
"Come on over, you two!" The guy that was tending the booth said. "Want to test your strength? You take this hammer and hit this spot with all your strength. And this meter here will measure how strong you are!"
"Huh?" Honey said, glancing at me.
"You're strong right? You should try it!" I said with a grin. "If you hit it hard enough, the bar will go all the way to that bell and ring it. And then, you can get a prize!"
"Ohh."
"See these prizes, kids? Don't you want to get your cute little girlfriend there a stuffed animal?" The game attendant said, pointing at the animals on display.
Kids... Cute little… This guy pisses me off.
"We're not kids, mister." I said with my fake smile. "We're high school third-years."
"Eh-What?" The guy replied with a shocked look. Then he smiled in a patronizing way. "Sure. Sure you are!"
Really? Is he humoring us? Well damn him then.
"Let me try then!" Honey said, pulling out a 100 yen coin. These games were pretty cheap but really hard to win at. The guy handed Honey a small hammer, even though there was a bigger one right next to him.
"What's that hammer for then?" Honey asked, pointing at the larger one.
"That one is for the bigger kids." The guy said with a smile. "This small one will do for you."
"I want to use that one though." Honey grinned innocently.
The guy picked up the hammer and handed it over reluctantly. "Here, I'll let you pick then. This one might be too heavy for you though."
Honey took the hammer and passed it back and forth between his hands. "Hey, it's pretty light, Rika."
"What? That hammer is fifteen pounds, you know." The attendant said, hands on his hips.
Honey tossed the hammer at me, and I caught it easily. I smiled. "You're right, Mitsukuni. Fifteen pounds is so light." I threw it back.
"Okay. I'll give it a try then!" He grinned at me.
I nodded. "Yeah! Do your best! Just don't break it okay? Or else we'll have to pay."
He looked like he could sweat-drop. "Uh. Yeah, right." He lifted the hammer up above his head and then slammed it down on the spot.
I watched with anticipation as the bar shot up towards the bell.
Ring!
"Yay! You did it!" I hugged Honey from behind. He turned to me with a bright beam.
"Yeah! That was pretty fun!" He replied. He handed the hammer back to the attendant. "So can I get a prize now?"
"Uh. Y-Yeah." He cleared his throat and then pointed at the animals. "Go ahead and pick one then."
The two of us went over to the animals. There was a huge purple gorilla and several others that were average sized.
"You can take the gorilla, if you want to." He said. "It is the first place prize."
"Do you want the gorilla, Rika?" Honey asked.
"What? Pick what you want, Mitsukuni." I replied.
"But I want to give it to you." He said.
I blushed. Wow. How do I reply to something like that? "Eh, well, then... just pick one that you think is cute."
"Hm. The gorilla isn't very cute though." Honey turned back to the various animals.
"I agree."
"How about this one then?" He picked up a smaller one. It was a light beige colored, little bear, wearing a pink shirt with Tokyo Disneyland printed on it.
"That's a third place prize!" The attendant said. Then he sighed. "Ah, whatever. Take what you want."
"Okay." I said with a smile.
Honey handed the little bear to me. "Here you go then!"
"Are you sure?" I held the bear up closer. Wait, it wasn't just a pink shirt. It was a pink hoodie! "Oh, Mitsukuni, look." I pulled the hoodie up. "Hey! Hey, look, it's bunny ears!"
"What?"
The small hood had white bunny ears on top. I laughed. "Aw, it's so cute!" Now the bear was a beige bunny.
Honey laughed too. "What are you going to name her?"
"Her, huh?" I shrugged. "It doesn't matter. You pick."
The attendant dude suddenly cleared his throat. "If you two are done, then please take your lovey-dovey act elsewhere."
I could feel the heat rising in my cheeks. How many times was I going to blush today? Honey's cheeks were dusted in light pink too. Uwahh, we're both blushing!
"Uh," I said, suddenly feeling nervous.
Honey smiled kindly. "Let's go sit down somewhere then."
"Okay."
We went back to the bench. The little bear was in a sitting position. So cute. Haha, for some reason I can't help but imagine that if Usa-chan and Hiro-chan had a kid… it'd turn out like this…
…
What did I just imagine?
Gah! Whatever. I don't want to think about it. But if it's like that then…
"How about Aiko-chan?" I said rather absentmindedly.
"Aiko?" Honey repeated.
Ah. Wait a minute. The meaning of that… literally means love child… I blushed again, probably an even deeper red. "It-It doesn't have to be that- I mea-"
He just grinned. "Okay. Aiko-chan then."
I smiled then unzipped my bag. "She can stay in here." I tucked the bear into my bag, nestled near my precious red bow. "By the way, Mitsukuni, don't you want to eat some cake?"
"Is there any cake here?!" He asked, getting visibly excited.
"Of course! Let's see…" I unfolded the map.
"Here." He pointed at a restaurant.
"Hey they have ice cream here too."
"Let's go then!"
It was a small store that specialized in chocolate. Along with their expensive, rich chocolate, they were also selling various kinds of chocolate cake, hot chocolate, and chocolate ice cream.
It was expensive, in commoners' terms at least.
We got two slices of chocolate cake and a single ice cream cone, sitting down outside under the shade. It was already late afternoon.
"Is it good?" I asked, watching Honey dig into his slice. With one hand holding on to the ice cream, I sliced my fork through the layers of cream and then the cake. It looked more like sponge cake, and it was soft and moist.
He nodded. "It is!"
I guess he really doesn't mind, so long as it's sweet and doesn't taste that bad. I had a few more bites before pushing the plate towards him. "Here, Mitsukuni. I'm not that much of a fan of this kind of cake."
"Really? I think it's good." Honey said, hovering his fork above my slice.
I smiled. "Go ahead. Plus there's still the ice cream."
It was a classic, sugar cone with chocolate ice cream. The ice cream was very creamy and rich with chocolate. It was delicious and was drizzled with hot fudge.
Mm. It was very sweet too.
"Good?" Honey asked.
"Yup!" I held the cone out to him. "Have some."
He bit into it while staring into my eyes. Oh my… I blushed and broke eye contact. There was no way I could stare into those warm, brown eyes for so long! I immediately kept on eating the ice cream, trying to keep the screaming thought quiet: "It's an indirect kiss!"
I failed, blushing an even darker red color, whipping my head down to stare at my lap Gahhh.
Then I smiled delightfully. At least this kind of gut-wrenching feeling is a good one. Honey grinned back sweetly. Surprisingly, flowers didn't magically pop up to encircle him.
Afterwards, we went on a few more easy rides that wouldn't make us want to throw up. It was mainly the little kid rides, where we sat around and stared at cool and pretty things. At six, we decided to get some food to eat.
"Hey, wait, I saw people selling takoyaki earlier!" I said, as we were roaming the streets. "You've had takoyaki before right?"
"Yes." Honey smiled.
"But not street-side takoyaki right? It's completely different! I think. Okay. Let's go find takoyaki. Takoyaki. Want some cotton candy later? Oh and they have waffles here too! I wonder what they'd be like for dinner." I glanced at Honey. This entire day he'd just been smiling and laughing. What was he thinking behind that smile of his? What if he thought this was boring? What if he actually didn't like riding on roller coasters but was too nice to speak up about it? What if he wasn't feeling well?
"Hey! W-Wait a minute!" A granny was yelling at some little boy, who was running away with something in his hands. "M-My wallet! Come back!"
I sprinted after the boy without a thought. Closer and closer. Then I leapt and tackled the boy to the ground.
"Ouch!" He yelled, wiggling under me.
"Give back that old lady's money!" I said, sitting on top of him.
He glared at me. "Get off me, you stupid kid!"
"Who's a kid?!" I said, pinching his cheek. "Huh? What are you, a middle schooler?"
"Like you can talk! You look like you're a fifth grader!" He said with a scowl. He had dark brown hair that spiked in the weirdest directions… like left and right. And his green eyes were surprisingly bright. He was wearing a blue and white baseball cap with some name on it and a long, brown coat. What in the world? It was spring already. What was he doing wearing so much clothes?
"Who's a fifth grader?" I growled, leaning over him. I spotted the pink wallet in his hands. "Give that back!"
Another hand scooped the wallet out of the boy's hands.
"Oh, Mitsukuni." I said, calming down at the sight of the blond boy standing in front of me.
"You might want to get off him now." Honey said with a oddly strained smile. I took his hand, hopping onto my feet.
"Hey, kid." I said, as the boy stood up, dusting himself off.
He glared at me. "What?"
"How much money do you want?" I asked.
"What?" His eyes widened for a moment, and he looked more innocent for a while. What a kid like him should look like.
Honey pulled out his wallet. "Would 10,000 yen be enough?"
"Ten thousand?!" The boy said, staring at the two five thousand bills in Honey's hand. "Th-That's a lot!"
"Wait, wait, let me give him the money." I pulled out my wallet.
"I don't want your money!" The boy yelled. "How come you guys got so much anyway? That's so creepy! What are you guys, drug dealers?"
I raised an eyebrow, then clapped a hand on his shoulder. Leaning forward with a smile, I said, "We're rich brats from rich families. So you should just accept my pity and take the money, kid." I held out the two five thousand bills.
He frowned and snatched one of the bills from me. "Fine! Geez, you weirdos!" He stuck his tongue out and then ran away.
"Why did he need money?" I said, crossing my arms, puzzled. "If he can get into this park, he must have some kind of money. Maybe that was a well-off kid, actually."
Honey shook his head, shrugging slightly. "Hm. Let's just return this."
The granny approached us with a kind smile. "Thank you for that, kids. Youngsters these days are so lively." There were two children, probably grandchildren, that were running around her feet yelling for ice cream.
After some talk, we finally made our way to the food.
"Food. Food!" I said with delight, as the delicious aromas filled the air.
"Oh, it smells good!" Honey said. His eyes were glittering. I giggled at the sight. "Hey, look, there's yakisoba there too!"
There were several booths lined up selling food. We got ourselves some yakisoba (fried noodles and veggies) and takoyaki (fried octopus balls).
"Here, Rika." Honey said, turning to me with the takoyaki. He had one held out on a toothpick. He smiled mischievously. "My turn."
I managed to beat down the blush, taking a bite into the takoyaki. It burst in my mouth, hot and savory. Even though it nearly burnt my tongue, it was the most delicious takoyaki I'd ever had.
I grinned, licking my lips. "It's great!"
Honey stabbed another takoyaki and had one himself. He beamed. "Yeah!" We then each had a bowl of yakisoba. Then we wandered to a different place and bought some waffles and cotton candy. So much food…
"I'm stuffed!" Honey said, stretching. I nodded.
"Is this it then?" I asked. The map was in front of us once again. We'd went on almost all the rides that were worth it, only skipping some of the really lame little kid rides.
"Oh, the huge ferris wheel!" Honey said. He glanced at the sky. "The sun's setting too! Come on! Let's go ride the ferris wheel!"
"Okay!"
The second, most cliche ride in mangas. Wait. The sun is setting too? What is with this super cliche situation? Sun setting, ferris wheel ride. Is there a view of the river too?
Holy crap! There is!
We were one of the last ones to get onto the ride. We climbed into our cart and the door shut.
The sun was slowly melting away into the river. It was a magnificent view. The water and sky were bathed in a yellow-orange glow. There were a few birds flying in the air, and some ducks waddling lazily in the water. The sight was a hard one to find in such a busy city.
"It's beautiful." I murmured as the two of us sat watching the sun.
"Mm." Honey replied quietly.
The silence after a day of constant noise was relaxing. But… the fact that we were in a ferris wheel was not. I mean, come on! It's a ferris wheel! Interesting things always happen in the ferris wheel!
What can I expect? A confession? No. That's impossible. Should I confess? Gahhh, no, even more impossible. I'm still not even sure what Honey is thinking half the time.
I sighed quietly.
Honey glanced at me. "What is it?"
He noticed that? Dang, he's so observant. I shook my head and smiled. "Nah. Just tired from today. It was really fun though."
He smiled back. It was another one of those soft smiles, as if what he was looking at was so… so? I didn't know either. It wasn't condescending. It was something positive. Like, he was really enjoying what he was looking at.
"It was fun!" He grinned in a more Honey-esque way.
"You know, Mitsukuni, it was because of you that I won the all-girls martial arts tournament." I said, staring out the window to avoid his gaze.
"Huh?" He asked. I could see him tilting his head in a questioning way through the corner of my eye.
I turned to him with a shy smile. "Well, when I started learning martial arts, I heard about you. Haninozuka Mitsukuni! A great martial artist with amazing potential! I heard how you were defeating adults and you were only like six. So I thought: 'Wow. I want to meet him.' So I decided, maybe if I win the tournament, you'd hear about me. And then maybe you'd want to meet me, and maybe we'd meet each other. Do you know what I mean?"
He grinned and nodded. "Yeah. Kinda."
"So I trained really hard that year and then won the tournament. And then the next year, bam, you won the tournament! That was really exciting." I grinned and chuckled nervously. What was I saying?
It was true though. I'd always wondered what the great Haninozuka Mitsukuni looked like.
"I thought you'd be a big, tall, and buff guy. Like, you know, maybe a bit more like Mori. But actually you're not!"
"Is that good?" He asked with an almost worried expression.
"Yeah! It's proof that shorties are strong!" I said, punching the air.
He laughed. "Mm."
"Plus it means you're even more amazing. Since you don't exactly have a physique that would be expected. Do you know what I mean?'
He nodded. "Yeah."
We were nearing the top. I stared out in the other direction and watched as the large amusement park slowly shrank. The people below had become very small, and I could see the rollercoaster rides zooming by. The horizon stretched on, as the light blue sky slowly darkened.
"Mitsukuni, what are you thinking right now?" I asked softly.
He glanced at me. "What do you mean?"
"You're always smiling. And it's like, a lot of the times, you're hiding your thoughts and feelings behind that smile." I said. Then I shrugged. Maybe I was wrong. "I mean, th-that's what I think. I'm just curious. What are you thinking right now?"
"Hm." He glimpsed outside again. "Well, I'm thinking that the view outside is very pretty. And that today was fun." He looked at me with a sly smile. "But, mostly, I'm just happy that I'm here with you."
I blushed, just a bit. My heart was being noisy again, beating so quickly that I felt like it might overheat. If that was possible, which it isn't. Thank goodness.
"What are you thinking then, Rika?" He asked, turning to completely face me.
"Same." I could feel my face heating up once again. "It was really fun today. But a big reason why it was fun is because… I came here with you."
I stared at him, and he smiled warmly. Maybe…We fell quiet after that, gazing out the window and watching the sun fall further and further. I looked up at the sky. The moon was already out. It was so tiny and dim compared to the sun. But the moon had always been prettier, to me, than the sun. You can't even look at the sun directly. But the moon, you can. You can admire it as long as you like.
I smiled.
They began unloading the people. The thing with ferris wheels is, when they unload, it takes a while. They have to stop at each cart, get the people out, get some new people in, and then move on to the other cart. Since we were one of the last ones to get on, it'd take a while.
It seems like nothing big is going to happen. I thought, feeling rather disappointed. Or, maybe I should do something big? But, what?
Or I could just sit here and enjoy this moment. Right now. My heart is squirming all over the place. I swear, if I open my mouth, I feel like all my guts and organs inside will come out. Ew, that's gross just imaging it.
We reached the top for the second time. They were half way done unloading.
I swallowed. My throat was dry. I could barely think of anything other than the fact that it was just Honey and me. And, for some reason, Mori's words kept coming back: "You can trust Mitsukuni."
"Mitsukuni," I said, staring at the hands in my lap. I swallowed again when I knew he was looking at me. I had to say it. "Um. I… I'm engaged."
"What?" He asked rather loudly, leaning forward immediately. I glanced at him with a faint blush, then nodded. He seemed very concerned, as if he was the one getting married to some weirdo.
"I don't want to marry him, of course. It wasn't my choice. My mom forced it on me. A-And, I don't even like the guy."
"What?" He said again, this time in a disbelieving whisper. His eyes were wider, and his mouth open.
"Mitsukuni. Please, help me. " I said quietly, gripping my dress tightly in my hands. "I don't know what to do. I don't want to…"
Honey leaned back in his seat. It seemed like he'd calmed down. "Okay. But-" He paused, staring up in thought. "Your mom isn't going to make your sister marry that guy right?"
Oh! I nodded. "Yeah, she gave up after Kimiko's fight."
"Then…" Honey's gaze met mine. Something seemed to pass between us, and I knew what he meant.
"Uh, but I don't have a boyfriend." I said with a nervous smile, rubbing the back of my neck. "And it'd have to be someone Mom approved of. Someone like..."
I stared into those brown eyes that were always full of confidence and kindness. He smiled in that devilish way again.
"Uh. Don't tell me." I said.
"I'll be your boyfriend." He said with a grin.
"Uh, but, uh… Are you sure?"
He nodded.
"It's just pretend, though, right?" I smiled anxiously.
He stared at me for a short moment, then blinked and nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, of course." He smiled.
"But, will it work?"
He shrugged. "Guess we'll have to see." Then he grinned again.
I was at a loss of words, sitting there. Was this the big thing that I'd been expecting? Maybe this would work. How could my mom not approve of Mitsukuni? He was the heir to the Haninozuka family. He was strong. He was handsome. And my family has been friends with theirs for a while.
"Maybe this will work," I said. Relief washed over me, albeit a bit mild. I grinned. "Yeah! Maybe this will work!"
The ferris wheel stopped once again, and our door opened. I hopped out and waited as Honey followed. I sent Azumi a message to send the limo over.
We started walking to the entrance. The sky was darkening gradually. The sun had vanished from our view, leaving only a few remaining streaks in the sky. We stopped right in front of the gates, not quite out of the park yet.
"Thanks for today, Mitsukuni." I said with a warm smile. "It was really fun. And great. And amazing. And-" I stopped myself, blushing. Then I laughed.
Honey joined in with that sweet, delightful laughter of his.
"It was fun!" He said. "Let's come again another time."
I nodded. "Okay. And, thanks for everything else too."
He raised a questioning eyebrow. It looked funny on Honey, who was usually so calm, understanding, and innocent. I grinned. "You're always here, and you're always helping me. It's… Just thanks! For everything you've done."
And before I could talk myself out of it, I leaned toward him and kissed him on the cheek. I saw him blush, and his ears turned a bright pink. It was so cute. I was madly blushing myself too.
"Um, well. Bye then!" I said, waving.
"Bye." He waved, looking almost dazed. I ran out of the gate and towards the waiting limo.
I can't believe I just did that! Ah! That was so bold of me. I can't believe it! What is with me today? Well, at least, I hope that actually felt like a kiss. What if it felt more like I crashed my face into his cheek? Cause I've never kissed someone before! Ahhh! But he blushed so I suppose that's a good sign? What if he's grossed out? What if, the moment I left, he just wiped his cheek and was like "Ugh!"?
I sighed. My face was burning. Thank goodness Honey couldn't see me like this right now.
The driver opened the door for me and I quickly slid in, only to find myself facing the last two people I wanted to see: Mom and Funaki Minoru.
Dun dun dun dun! Jk. So, did you guys like it? Finally some development huh?
* Note: Tokyo Disneyland is not at all like it was described above. I did some research and guess what? There aren't any ferris wheels or a haunted mansion! It's basically like Disney World's Magic Kingdom. Or Disneyland in California. But I decided to change it just to fit the story. They do have like a haunted mansion ride but that's not fun, right? And there probably isn't a river either. Sorry for any misconceptions of Tokyo's Disneyland :) *
Also, are there getting to be too many OCs? I'm trying to limit it, cause the number is just like going crazy. Do you guys want like a list of OCs, who they are, and their relationship with other characters? Nothing too fancy, and it'd probably be on my profile page. Don't want to interrupt the story. Anyway, please, any feedback on this is greatly appreciated!
Please review! And thank you very much for reading! See you guys on Monday! :D