Damn it… the things I do for you…

Kise was in the restaurant and was staring at the box of chocolates set in front of him. He chuckled nervously, blushing. There was a certain silver-haired angel in front of him, smiling at him and trying her best to look cute in front of him. Kise, on the other hand, was blushing while staring at the chocolates, not at the girl. He was blushing because he was embarrassed to ask her for a favor. After all, she is his fan. He looked at each piece one-by-one and grinned at her proudly. "Umm… I'm sorry, Kise-kun… I didn't know how to spell her name so I just spelled the word 'Snowdrop' in each piece…" The young girl said.

Kise shook his head. "It's alright. She'll like it. Sorry for the bother…" He was still embarrassed due to the fact that she thought that he was going to ask her on a date. He felt like he was using his fans' support just to help him make her smile. "It's okay, Kise-kun. As a fan, I will try to do whatever you want me to do. I'll support you in any way I can." The girl smiled at him, showing off her perfect smile. Kise liked her smile, but nothing can compare to that girl's rare smile. "Thank you." He stood up and took the box of chocolates. He bowed down and left the restaurant. As he walked along the road, he put the box carefully in his bag and sighed to himself. "I break other fans' hearts just for you. Geez, all these things I do for you…" He muttered under his breath.

Somehow, he just really wanted to make up with her. After all, he did leave her to walk home all by herself the last time. Somehow, he couldn't take off the guilt from his head. He texted her countless times and she didn't answer. "You're such a cruel girl… so 'silent treatment's' your thing, huh…" He kept on complaining, even though he knew that he was actually willing to do so. Why did he even go as far as to do this, anyway?

He checked his phone and there was one message from Kasamatsu.

[From: Kasamatsu-senpai]

WHERE ARE YOU, YOU MORON? PRACTICE IS GOING TO START AND WE'RE GOING TO NEED YOU HERE TODAY!

Kise decided to turn off his phone. "Even going as far as skipping practice… all these things I do for that girl who hates me…" He was starting to wonder if he was a masochist. He knew she hated him with all her heart and yet, he keeps on doing all these things. He always wanted to walk her home every day after school just so she wouldn't wander off and get lost. He always liked hearing her call him by his first name. He liked how she would smile one time then gets angry the next. All those stupid things she does and all the abuse she gives him. All the headlocks he puts her in were just priceless.

"Damn it, you…" He ran his hand through his hair and sighed for the fifth time. "The heck is wrong with that woman? She didn't even call me." He then slapped himself for thinking about her actually calling him. She's not his girlfriend! Why would she call him? He bit his lip and accidentally bit his tongue in the process. He yelped and smacked his own forehead due to his clumsiness. "AGGGGH! Get out of my mind, you tomboy!" He yelled, making some of the passersby stare at him. Some were even avoiding him. He's handsome, but he's weird. He was also walking fast as if he couldn't see the smaller people who were almost bumping into him. He was about 6 feet in height, after all.

He did bump into someone. In fact, that someone just proved that this was a small world, indeed. "Ah, sorry." Kise apologized. He was looking way down below only to find a short girl who stands only 153cm in height. "… Kisecchi?" The white-haired girl blinked at him. Instead of greeting her back, he wondered about the strange nickname. It felt like the 'cchi' nicknames he gave to those he acknowledge were being thrown back at him. "You are… Lia, right?" He asked innocently, smiling like an idiot at her. He never thought he could actually tower over a girl with his height. Lia smiled and nodded cheerfully. "You know me! What a surprise… did Gale tell you?"

There goes that name again. Kise smacked his face and started messing his own hair, making Lia stare at him like he was a real idiot. "… Speaking of that woman, I haven't been able to contact her for days." He smacked his face again. His face was starting to hurt, but he didn't really mind. He felt like copying a masochist today. He got even more disturbed when he saw Lia's expression change. She opened her mouth and closed it again. She looked down at her feet. Kise found this scene really disturbing. His face darkened and his eyes narrowed. "… How is she?" He asked. Lia shook her head and sighed. "My sister, Lilith… has been taking full responsibility ever since she invited us to Shutoku. Gale has been missing for days, Kisecchi. Her family is blaming my sister…"

Kise felt his blood boil. He clenched his teeth and his hands balled into a fist. "… Was she alone?" He asked again. Lia nodded. This time Kise punched the brick wall beside him. He shook his hands and yelped. "Ow. That hurt." He complained while tears were forming in his eyes. Lia gaped at him. Just how much of an idiot is he? Kise was still rubbing his poor hand with his other one, teary-eyed. "A-anyway, wasn't anyone with her? I mean, Rena was supposed to be with her and—" "She was the one who urged Rena to leave without her. After that, no one knows where she went off to. I tried asking everyone for help, but…" Lia cut him off and bit her lip in shame.

Kise smacked his face again… with his hurt hand. "Um, Kisecchi… your nose is already bleeding. Stop smacking your face. Oh, and your hand is already bruised, just in case you don't know." Lia couldn't resist her need to face-palm. Kise was now seriously crying over his bleeding nose and his hand. "A-ack. It really hurts." He complained once more. "B-but, if I had been there, I wouldn't have let anything happen to her, right?" Kise asked, even though he already knew the answer. Of course, he wouldn't. She's a girl who would do anything just to show anyone that she can take care of herself even though she only ends up killing herself in the process. How could Kise resist his need to watch over her?

He continued walking. Lia followed him, knowing that he was thinking of something to say. "You don't even know her that well. Why are you doing silly things just for her?" She asked him. Kise didn't answer, simply because he doesn't know what to answer. He knew that if she came back, he'll give her the box of chocolates he asked from that fan of his. If sees her again, he'll scold her and tell her all about how much he worried about her. After that, even if she punches him in the face or ignores him, he'll insist on carrying her on his back all the way home. He wouldn't want her feet getting tired. He did leave her in the dark streets in the middle of the night before and she was forced to walk all the way home herself. He'll make it up to her.

He didn't really want her to think badly of him. He just wanted to make her see that people worry about her. "… She's so dense, Lia." He suddenly said out loud. Lia smiled at him and tried to stifle her laughter. "I know. She doesn't know how to appreciate the little things people do for her just because she is unable to feel them." She explained. Kise was about to smack his face again, but decided that his nose was getting crooked. He didn't really know how to treat her. Lia was right. He doesn't know her that much. Why spend all his time trying to think of a way to make her feel?

She was the densest girl he has ever encountered.

Kise massaged his temples. "I feel guilty for leaving her behind that night…" He said. Lia shook her head and chuckled. "No. I don't know about Rena, since she'll get angry with you if she finds out what you did to Gale, but… I don't think what you did was completely wrong. You were just trying to bring out her feelings, right? It's tough since she's dense, but I'm sure she felt something that night." Lia's words reassured Kise. He smiled and stretched his long arms. "Worrying over some little girl is tiring! She won't even care!" He said that bitterly, but his face showed comfort. He's tiring himself over someone who hates him. People would have thought that he has gone crazy. "Say, Lia. I'm guessing something." He told Lia, smiling stupidly at her. Lia gulped, not expecting that sudden remark. She had a bad feeling about this. "There's no chance she could fall in love with me, huh? Odd girl…" Kise had a feeling that he was wrong and he kind of wished that he was wrong.

He was trying to test out Lia's reaction to get an answer. Unfortunately for him, he didn't know that Lia was not the type to show her reactions openly. Unless she's facing Akashi, of course. Lia just stared at him with a blank face. "I don't know. You've only just met. You only encounter each other after school, too. You have little to no encounters, how do you expect her to fall in love with you?" Ouch. Now that was one answer Kise did not expect. Besides, why was he even worrying over stupid stuff such as 'Gale will fall for him' and all that crap? He seriously doubted himself now. "That's because each unexpected encounter increases the chances of two people falling for each other. Hard." He was making weird hand movements and was smiling happily that Lia wanted to ditch him right there because he looked so lovesick and stupid at the moment.

Realizing what he had just said, Kise accidentally smacked his forehead. He shook his hand in pain and a tear fell down his right cheek. Lia laughed nervously, thinking about kicking him back to his original planet or something. "T-That's not what I meant, though! It's just… agh." Kise walked faster, unmindful of Lia's inability to keep up without panting or feeling exhausted. She pulled his shirt and he looked back at her. "You're too fast!" She complained. "Ah, sorry." Kise simply apologized. "I don't think you're wrong, Kisecchi."

Ignoring the weird nickname she's been calling him since he bumped into her, he felt butterflies in his stomach when he heard her response. "I mean, whenever you see each other, you always end up arguing and fighting but that's one of your good memories, too. There is a thin line between love and hate. I don't think she completely hates you." She explained to him. Each word gave Kise one tiny spark of hope. He didn't know why, but he felt relieved. "And… I don't think you hate her, too." She ended her statement with a cheesy smile. "Well, I have to go now. Bye, Kisecchi!" Lia quickly left, finally ditching him. Kise chuckled softly until he burst into a boisterous laughter. The people around him were staring at him once more. Handsome guys are weird.

He was walking along the streets now with an annoyingly happy aura. He looked insanely cheerful that he smelled flowers in every garden he passed by. Yep. Handsome guys are weird. As he turned around a corner, he spotted a speeding car swerving to the right. He watched the car go by until he saw a person trying to cross the street without even looking at the stoplight. "O-oi! Don't cross!" He dashed to the person and grabbed her arm, bringing her back to the sidewalk. He looked down and sighed. "That was close."

When he looked at the person he saved, he froze in his place. "… Kise?" She looked at him innocently as if there was nothing wrong going on. Aurora hair and blue eyes. Huge black ribbon that looked like cat ears. Unexpected encounter in the middle of the streets. In an instance, he embraced her. "They said you were missing! Why are you always making people worry? And now that I found you, you're just going to look at me innocently? And I spent all week worrying about how angry you were with me then suddenly finding out that you were missing! And now that I've found you, YOU'RE JUST GOING TO CALL ME 'KISE' SO INNOCENTLY?" He was yelling but he didn't care. Gale didn't even make an effort to hug back. She was just silently being pulled against his chest. "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? I thought you didn't contact me because you were mad at me! Everyone's been worried sick about you!" He let go of her and clutched her shoulders tightly. Gale was still staring at him innocently, unable to feel a thing.

Dense.

"… Why are you so worried, then, Kise?"

"Don't call me 'Kise'! I'm… I'm your Ryouta, right? Call me 'Ryouta', please…"

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"No, you're not. You are just Kise."