Happy (early) Thanksgiving! Over 600 reviews and 300 followers! (*゚O゚*) Thank you all!
AnimeBestie: Omg you watched Clannad? Did you like it? Did you cry? Isn't Nagisa and Tomoya just so cute together? Lol I'm planning on writing some other stuff, dunno if it'll be OHSHC. Thank you!
Jewelsy426: It's been 8 months... What did happen to the time? Lol I'll consider another Honey X OC but I think I've used up all my ideas for Honey haha. Thank you!
AquilonIII: Yay, thanks for the feedback! No definitive next story yet, but I'm thinking! Thank you so much!
iheartelephants101: Aw, thank you so much! ^-^ I like elephants too! Lol.
DreamRealm3: You. Came. Baaaaaaack! :D Yay! I thought you stopped reading! Thanks for the many reviews you wrote! And happy belated birthday! School sucks, right? I'm glad you're back.
ZaraHunter: Great feedback! Thank you so much! :) And thanks for reading and reviewing!
PhoenixOtaku: Flip shittake mushrooms? XD Haha thank you for the review! I'm glad you liked it!
candymoon2315: Lol bloody Mary. More physical means like more kissing/touching/etc scenes. Is the computer virus gone? Or have all your Skype contacts been obliterated by the virus? You do have very random and amusing reviews. ^-^ Thanks for reading!
Strawberry Neko: You're a fast reader. 66 chapters in one day? O_O Impressive. Cool Halloween costume! Lol, thanks for reading and reviewing!
Anatolie: Thank you! :D
AwakenedSecrets: Hentai! ;) Don't be a walking corpse! Let's read manga! Or watch anime. Oh did you like Naruto's ending? Lol yeah, Honey ends up like 6 feet in the manga. Fictionpress is Fanfiction's sister site and instead of fanfic, it has works of fiction. ^-^ And yes, the gang would appear in the story. Ryota X Akane... I can imagine it. Thank you for reviewing! See the italics? Haha, your reviews are awesome and reading them always lifts my mood. :) Thank you!
Lala: Haha it's really hard to sleep after watching a scary movie right? Thank you for reviewing! As for your Minoru questions, you'll see. :D
aaa17: Yay, feedback! Thank you for reading and reviewing! :)
justavamp: Hi. I agree that a lot of my reviewers don't log in haha, but everyone's just a bit lazy. You don't have to believe me when I say that I don't write fake reviews, but please at least remember that I'm gaining absolutely nothing from writing this story except for some writing experience. If I get 100 reviews or something doesn't mean I get money or more readers or more reviewers. Thank you for reading. You did at least read my story right?
thatweirdotaku: Yay for binge-reading! :D Thank you for reading and reviewing! Nice name by the way.
Mahagony07: Dang. I can't believe you reviewed on almost every chapter. It's impressive. Thank you so much! And you'll see who's out to get Rika soon, lol. ^-^
kyoya3guest: Glad you liked it! Haha who doesn't want a mountain of presents? :) Thanks for reviewing!
justaislinn: Trig, yay... Math is always so fun, right? ^-^ Hahahahaha... Thanks for the feedback and reading and reviewing! :D
Hime1234: Hime-chan, don't cry! And thank you for enjoying and reading and reviewing this super long story haha! :D
Now hope you like!
I woke up to a strange noise. Like a sputtering and weak engine. Or a broken record.
"Wh-What - How - Rika-sama - Why?" It was loud and rather incoherent. "Why is - What is-What is going on?!"
I opened my eyes reluctantly. I wanted to keep sleeping, tucked safely under these warm blankets with Mitsukuni…
I sat up with a jerk when I realized Azumi was standing beside my bed. Her face was beet red, and I'd never seen her blushing before. She was hopping around as if she were on hot coals, unsure of what to say and what to do.
Her hand reached up to cover her eyes and she sighed. "Oh goodness gracious. Rika-sama… Just what happened?"
I glanced over to my side, where Mitsukuni lay, an arm on my waist. "Uh, um. Wait, what? Nothing happened, if that's what you're worried about. We just watched a horror movie and couldn't sleep cause it was too scary. So he came over and we fell asleep together. We didn't do anything though. Like, we didn't do it, you know."
She turned an even darker shade of red. "I-I wasn't asking! Any-Anyway!" She cleared her throat. "Please wake him up or you'll be late." Then she hurried out of the room.
Oh great. I never thought of what would happen if Azumi found us here. Meh, whatever. I don't care.
I shook Mitsukuni's shoulder while saying, "Wake up Mitsukuni. Morning. Rise and shine."
He didn't budge. I guess he probably hadn't gotten much sleep either. I sighed, rubbing my eyes. "Come on." I lied back down to stare at his peaceful face. So warm… So comfortable… So sleepy.
I closed my eyes, relaxing.
"Rika-sama! Wake up! Don't go back to sleep!"
Ugh. I frowned. Then I grudgingly sat back up. Azumi stood out in the hall, watching through the open door. I glared at her and she stared back fiercely.
"Okay, I get," I said. Then I went back to trying to wake Mitsukuni. "Yo. Get up or we'll be late."
It seemed he was still asleep. Then I said in a panicked tone, "Quick Mitsukuni! My mom found us here and now she's going to throw you out and keep the two of us from ever seeing each other! Let's get out of here and elope!"
He twitched and his eyes opened, narrowed and annoyed. Yeah he definitely wanted more sleep. "What?"
"Yay! You woke up!" I hugged him, hoping that'd dispel his bad mood. It seemed to work because when I pulled away, he was smiling. He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me closer, burrowing his face into my neck.
"Let me sleep some more," he murmured.
Oh damn.
My face burned crimson. "Mi-Mitsukuni, want to, um, yeah… Can you let go? We're going to be late."
"So are we good now?" he asked.
Good. Were we good now? Just what did "good" mean? It was true that I felt more comfortable with him again. The previous tension and unease had disappeared within the past few days.
"Yeah," I replied slowly. "We're good, if you'll just get up."
He sat up quickly, pulling me up with him. "So-So then, now?"
He looked so serious, eyes wide and innocent. It was obvious he wanted things to go back the way they were before. I smiled. "Yeah, we're good. Now let's go to school."
It was December now, and the frigid wind told me so. But before we could happily go on winter break, there were the exams. Second semester was ending.
Things seemed to return back to normal as December began to pass by. The first snow came, and although it was hardly half an inch, it was beautiful. Then Mom decided I had to go on another date with Minoru.
"Seeing as you didn't last month," she had said over the phone. There was no way out of it.
Minoru and I debated about places to go while I played a game with Hatsumi. I really doubted I'd be able to beat her before the end of winter break. In fact, I really wondered whether I would ever be able to win against Minoru.
"I don't mind the aquarium," I said. "But fish are kinda boring."
"But you said no to the amusement park."
"Yeah, it's too cold for amusement parks now."
"Then do you want to watch a movie?" he asked.
"Not really. There's nothing good playing right now."
"A dinner then."
"No, that's boring."
He sighed, giving me that annoyed look of his.
"Okay," Hatsumi cut in. "What do you like to do, Rika-san?"
"Me? Reading."
She glanced at Minoru, then back at me. "Anything you would want to do? That you could do with someone else?"
Something I could do with someone else. Guess that puts reading manga and books away. "Watching anime?" I suggested.
Minoru made a face. "You're an otaku?"
I shrugged. "Okay, fine then. Video games."
"An arcade! That's perfect!" Hatsumi said, clapping her hands together. "Minoru loves arcades!"
I turned to him at this surprising fact. "Really?" He was looking the other way, evidently embarrassed.
"That was a long time ago," he mumbled.
Hatsumi grinned. "Good idea right? There's a really good one in the south part of Tokyo. Why don't you two go there? Or go to Akihabara."
"I like that idea," I said. "Are you okay with that, Funaki-san?"
He sighed. "Sure."
So an arcade it was.
We ate dinner first, surprise surprise. It was a sushi bar, and it was delicious. Then we took Minoru's car all the way to the arcade that Hatsumi had mentioned.
"I used to come here with Hatsumi-san, when we were in middle school," he told me in a quiet voice as we entered the large building.
"A video game addict in middle school?" I asked.
He glanced at me with a snort. "Yeah right. It was just a hobby, something to do in spare time."
"Oh. Then do you have any video games?" We easily brushed past all the crane games. Those were impossible. It doesn't matter what animes and manga show you, crane games are impossible to win at!
"Yeah. I have a PS4 and a 3-DS."
"Cool." I bobbed my head up and down as we began climbing up the steps. I've wanted a 3-DS since they've been released but of course I can't ask that from my parents. "What do you want to play?"
He shrugged. "I don't care. You can pick."
Great. Just great. So I stopped at the first two-player machine. It was a popular drumming game that could be found in most arcades. "Let's play this then."
"Sure." He bent down and inserted 100 yen.
And so the playing begins!
You know it would be a lot funner if I was with Mitsukuni, or the gang, or the Host Club. Or someone… just not Minoru.
There were a lot of people, which wasn't too unexpected since it was a Saturday evening. We went around the second floor playing various games. There were fighting games with a variety of fighting methods, using swords, magic spells, martial arts, or guns. Then there were the racing games. And the music/rhythm games where you had to hit the right thing at the right time.
We'd been playing for about half an hour, having gone up two more floors, when I spotted a game I really liked: Jubeat. It was a game where you hit buttons on a grid when they lit up in time to a song.
"Funaki! Let's play this next!"
"Sure."
"Let's compete against each other and see who gets the higher score!" I said.
"Sure." He really didn't seem to care.
"Let's make things more interesting and bet!"
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"If I win," I said. "You'll call me by my last name."
He smirked at the thought. "Sure, but if I win, you'll call me by my first name."
"Deal."
About three minutes later, I stood, triumphant, in front of the machine. "And I win, Funaki-san."
He stared at me, looking rather resentful. "Let's play again. I've never played this before."
"Okay," I said, hitting the start game button.
"Wait." He glimpsed around the arcade. "Want to go up to the next level?"
This time, I was the one to say, "Sure."
We ventured up to the fifth floor, which was full of hardcore fighting and shooting games. "Oh wow."
"Yeah," he said. "This time, we're playing a game I've actually played before."
"How have you not played Jubeat?" I asked. "It's a super popular game right now."
I followed after him towards the far end of the room. "I haven't gone to an arcade in a long time. Half those games down there were new to me."
Wow.
We stopped at an alien extermination game in a corner. Minoru turned to me with a confident smile. "Okay this time, here's the deal: I win, you call me by my first name, and I'll call you by your first name. And, you'll actually try to make this engagement work."
"What do you mean by actually try?" I asked, crossing my arms. I wasn't too sure if I wanted to risk this kind of stuff over a simple shooting game. But I wasn't bad at shooting games…
"It means you'll try to fall in love with me," he replied.
Okay. That's never going to happen, haha! Not when Mitsukuni's around! Actually, maybe never. I shrugged, searching for the right answer. Should I just tell him that that's never going to happen? Or say, "Sure! I'll try!" But don't really?
"When I say try, it means you'll say yes to any date I ask you out on. You'll accept any gifts I give you, and you'll give me stuff too," he elaborated.
What?! That sounds like a pain in the ass.
"No," I said.
"You can state your own conditions," he said. "Anything you like that matches the value of what I said."
"Okay then, how about this: if I win, you'll try and get this engagement cancelled. What that means is that you'll persuade and bother and pester your dad to end this engagement. You will express your great dislike of this engagement and beg to have it ended." I smiled, liking my idea. "How's that?"
He frowned. "Fine, then I'm going to change mine to match the stakes. If I win, the same name stuff goes, but you'll also break up with Haninozuka."
"What?" My eyes narrowed. "That's a lot more than what I'm asking-"
"Breaking the engagement," he said, staring me down. "That is equivalent to you breaking up with Haninozuka."
"Yeah but I only said for you to try," I replied. "Is your dad really going to listen to you?"
He scowled. "Of course he will. If I really didn't want to be engaged to you, then I wouldn't be."
"Are you impl-"
"Is it a deal or not?" he asked.
I thought about it. Rolled the pros and cons around in my head. How would he even know I broke up with Mitsukuni? Couldn't I just fake it? And that's only if I lost. There was no way I was going to lose. I could finally end the damn engagement! And all I had to do was beat him at this stupid shooting game.
"Deal."
So we picked up our plastic guns and began the game.
My heart was pounding as I shot down alien after alien. It wasn't a competitive game, but we each had our own scores and that was what we were going to go by. What if I lost? What if I lost? That worry continued to wind itself around and around until I wasn't even sure what I was doing.
Then the game ended.
Oh shit. Oh crap! I don't want to look at the scores! What if I lost? What if I lost?! I squeezed my eyes shut, holding my breath, as if that would miraculously change something.
Minoru set the gun down and cursed quietly under his breath. Wait! Does that mean-?
I opened my eyes and saw the two scores. Then I let out a shout of joy and began jumping up and down.
"Woo! Woo!" I pumped my fists in the air and did a mini victory dance, twirling around and earning myself strange stares. Then I noticed how quiet Minoru was, standing there silently, staring at the screen. I quieted down quickly and approached him cautiously. "You okay?"
He stared at me with a hollow gaze. He shook his head with a sigh, and when our eyes met again, that hollowness had disappeared. "Yeah. I just didn't think... This was my favorite game."
"Oh. Sorry, did I ruin it or something?" I asked.
"No. That's not it," he said, gazing at the screen. "I just didn't think - I didn't know you wanted the engagement to be called off that badly."
"What do you mean?"
He glanced at me. "You did a whole victory dance thing."
"Well, it's also cause I like winning in general," I replied. "And it means I won't have to break up with Mitsukuni. So it's just good news in general. Winning the game, you know."
He nodded and then brushed past me.
Why do I feel like he's mad at me?
"Are we going back?" I asked, trailing behind him.
"I am. You can stay if you want."
"What does that mean?" I caught up to walk beside him. He wouldn't meet my gaze.
"You can get a ride back yourself, Hayashi-san. I'll tell my dad."
"Tell your dad what?" I asked, excitement mounting. "That-That-"
"Yes." He sighed. "I'll get him to cancel the engagement."
Yes! Yes! I did a mental victory dance as we finally reached the first floor. I glanced at my watch and found that, to my astonishment, it was already eleven. "Woah, it's pretty late."
"See you then," he said and he went out the door.
Wait. That's it?
I followed him out. This wasn't a very busy place of Tokyo. If anything, the streets were fairly empty and dimly lit.
"Do you know where there might be taxis?" I asked him.
He shrugged. I could see his breath out in the cold. "Dunno."
Very helpful. Thanks. So I began making my way towards the more popular streets, in hopes of a taxi. "Bye Funaki!"
He nodded at me.
I called Azumi as I walked along. I wasn't sure if her car could come faster than I could find a taxi, but it was still worth a shot. She said it'd take about thirty minutes for a car to get there.
Great. I don't want to wait thirty minutes by myself. So I consented to finding a taxi. I was walking down the street, almost a block away from the arcade when it hit me. I was completely alone in a part of Tokyo that I wasn't familiar with. The streets weren't lit well and there were hardly any pedestrians or passing cars. This would be an excellent opportunity for me to get kidnapped.
Damn! I have to get somewhere with more lights and people!
I picked up my speed, but as I traveled farther and farther from the arcade, that sense of dread and paranoia only increased. I wanted to turn around and run back. I wasn't sure if Minoru was even still there. And where was that downtown area I was looking for? It should be here right? I wasn't just walking deeper into an abandoned area of town right?
There weren't any signs of taxis. It was a cool and serene night, with a half moon in the sky and lazy clouds drifting by.
The panic started to hit me when I realized the lack of pedestrians. There were none. A single black car came approaching me and I tensed, ready to fight and flee. It passed by, rumbling along the road.
I'm just being paranoid. Just being paranoid.
But the feeling wouldn't fade away, so I turned around and headed back.
Minoru was still there, creating puffs of fog with his breath. A car pulled up when I was almost there and I jumped, afraid men dressed in black would leap out and grab me.
None of that happened. A man dressed in a suit did step out of the car, but only to open the door. Minoru was going to go in and leave.
I managed to grab the edge of his coat before he got in. "Wait!" I said, partly out of breath from sprinting the last few yards.
He glanced at me, bewildered.
"Take me with you!" I said. "I don't want to stay out here!"
"Um… What?" It seemed I'd only increased his confusion.
"Can't you give me a ride back?" I asked. "Please."
He stared at me some more then sighed. "Fine. Let go of my jacket and get in."
The relief I felt was so immense, it even startled me. I slid into the car uneasily. Why had I felt like there were people out there to get me? Was it cause there had been people and I just narrowly escaped a kidnapping? Or was that just paranoia? My imagination? An after effect from that freaky horror movie?
All I knew was that I sat anxiously throughout the long car ride.
When the car pulled up in front of my driveway, I let out a sigh. "Thanks."
Minoru had been silent the whole way through but looked at me then. He shrugged. "Whatever. Bye."
"Bye, Minoru-kun."
I caught a glimpse of his widened eyes before I closed the door and dashed off down the driveway.
When I heard the car pull away, I slowed to a stop and stood there for a moment in the chilly darkness. The air was fresh and it cleared my head. Instead of going up the steps to the mansion, however, I turned to the one next door.
I didn't want to make too much noise and wake someone up. So I went to the side door I'd once gone through months ago, and I rapped my knuckles against it as gently as possible.
When there wasn't any response, I tried opening it myself. It wasn't a surprise to me when the door didn't open. So I knocked again, this time louder.
The door opened and a maid peered out. "Who is it?"
"It's Hayashi Rika. I know it's late, but is Mitsukuni still awake?" I asked hurriedly. The door opened more fully, and the warm glow of the light from within washed over me. "Please, I'd like to see him."
"He's probably already asleep, Miss," the maid said. She was young maid, at most in her early twenties. "You should go home too."
Right. He's an early sleeper. It's almost twelve. Why would he be up? But… I sighed and nodded, already turning around. "Okay. Thank you-"
"Rika-san?"
I turned back around and found Chika standing in the middle of the hallway. "What are you doing here?" he asked. He was in his pajamas. How cute.
"Is your brother awake?" I asked.
He shrugged. "Maybe. It's cold out, so come in at least." Then he kept on walking, as if this was none of his business. Which it sort of wasn't.
I left my shoes out on the grass and stepped into the warm building. "Thanks," I called after him. He nodded but didn't look back.
"Um, Miss," the maid said, following me as I made my way towards Mitsukuni's room. "I-I know that Yasuchika-sama said that, but don't you think you should go home?"
"I don't feel like it," I replied bluntly. We stopped at his room and I knocked on the door quietly. If he was asleep, I definitely didn't want to wake him up.
"He's asleep, Miss," the maid said after a moment of silence.
I sighed and turned around, slipping past her. "You're right. I'll be leaving then."
The door opened. "Rika?"
Mitsukuni was already in his pajamas, but from the looks of it, he hadn't been sleeping. There were books and papers on his desk; he'd probably been studying.
I threw myself at him and wrapped my arms around his neck. He staggered back from the sudden force, and I heard the door close softly behind me.
"Um, what is it?" he asked.
"Nothing," I mumbled, pulling him closer. "Just let me stay like this for a while."
"Okay," he said, hugging me back.
We were silent like this for a while, before I said, "I just came back from a date with Funaki."
He stiffened. "And?"
"And, he's going to persuade his dad to break off the engagement."
"Oh." I felt him relax again. "How'd that happen?"
"We played a video game and I won."
Mitsukuni chuckled. Yeah, who knew beating Minoru at a video game could solve this stupid engagement problem?
"Anyway, I just… missed you."
"I saw you yesterday though," he said, sounding amused.
"I know." I sighed and buried my face into his shoulder. Now that I was with Mitsukuni, that unpleasant feeling was slowly dissolving. But what was that feeling exactly? "Actually, before I got back, I was walking around by myself looking for a taxi and, well, it was…"
What was that word? There was one word that could describe all my feelings.
"It felt like I was going to get kidnapped or something."
"Scary?"
"Yeah. That's the word."
"It's okay to be scared," he said cheerfully.
"It's not like with spiders, because I know rationally that spiders can't hurt me, unless they're those humongous fantasy ones. Which, you know, don't actually exist. But with the kidnappings and stuff, it's not really something I have control over and it's… scary."
"It's okay."
"Mmm."
"Now, uh, can I see your face?"
"No." I pulled him into a tighter hug.
"Okay."
It was relaxing like this. I felt like I could just fall asleep, and it even felt like I drifted off into sleep.
"Rika?"
I blinked. "Hm?"
"Did you fall asleep?"
I rubbed my eyes and then shook my head, blushing slightly. "No. How could that possibly happen?"
I heard him giggle and I finally pulled away. "You should go home if you're tired," he said.
"I don't want to," I replied. I blinked some more, trying to reboot up my brain. We stared at each other silently, before slowly leaning forward. Our lips met.
This time was different though. There was some kind of hunger behind it all, as if we both wanted to melt into the other. Mitsukuni had his hands on my hips. My arms were still around his neck.
We broke apart for a gasp of breath. My whole body seemed to tingle with heat and my heartbeat had sped up. When we kissed again, this time, I let my hands fall to his hip. To run under his shirt and feel his smooth, warm skin.
He tensed when my hands brushed against him though, and I pulled away, blushing madly at the realization of what I was doing. "So-Sorry-"
"No." He shook his head and pulled me closer with a grin. "Your hands are just cold."
I blushed some more. What had I been planning on doing anyway? Take his shirt off? Oh my God. Oh my God. I was about to say something when he kissed me again. His hands slipped under my blouse, warm and strong. Then he seemed to tickle me.
"Hey!" I jerked away, trying not to giggle.
"You're skinny," he said as his hands ran up and down where my lower ribs were at. He stared at my chest with a serious expression. Then he tickled me and I burst out laughing.
"Stop - Stop that!" I dropped to the floor in a futile attempt at defense and rolled around on the ground. He kept tickling, and through glimpses, I could tell he was grinning.
"You're so ticklish, Rika!" he said, laughing along with me. I waved my hands at him but he avoided the weak attacks. So I just continued rolling back and forth.
"Stop! Ahahaha! No! Hahaha. Gosh! Mitsukuni! Ahaha! Stop! Stop!"
The door flew open, stopping Mitsukuni in his evil tickling ways. I laid on the floor trying to regain my breath.
"Ah, sorry! I just-just thought that… well, she was yelling."
I glanced up from the ground and found that same maid standing there, squirming and blushing slightly. Mitsukuni was blushing too. "Pardon me." She bowed deeply then left.
While he was still distracted, I tackled him to the floor, sat on top of him, and began tickling. But he didn't budge. He just grinned at me and pulled me down into a hug. "Sorry, Rika, but I'm not ticklish."
"Damn! Why? That's so unfair!"
He laughed, rolling both of us to our sides. I found myself staring into those affectionate brown eyes. I smiled. Then I broke the silence saying, "I should probably go."
"Ah! Yeah." We both sat up. It was almost twelve-thirty.
"You don't usually stay up this late, do you?" I asked.
"Not really," he replied, as we got to our feet. "I was just doing a bit more studying."
I pumped my fist into the air. "I'll get first in our grade this time!"
He grinned. "Sure, good luck!"
I opened the door. "Okay, I'll go now."
"I'll walk you back," he said cheerfully, following me out his bedroom and gradually down the hall.
"You don't have to. My house is just…like, you know!" I said.
"But I want to," he replied, grinning in all that innocent happiness.
Urgh. Okay. Who can say no to that cute face of yours? The maid intercepted our path to the side door. "Oh! You're leaving!"
Why do I feel like she left out the word "finally?"
"Yup," I said with a polite smile.
"You can go to sleep first, Shina-san," Mitsukuni said.
"Ah, it's okay!" She smiled, and I swore I saw some pink dust her cheeks. Geez, don't tell me you've got a crush on Mitsukuni. He's mine! Mine, do you hear? Mineeeeee!
"You came from here?" Mitsukuni asked curiously when I stopped by the side door.
I nodded. "Yeah. I'll see you on Monday." Then, to make sure that Shina maid got the message, I kissed him on the cheek. "Bye!"
"Bye-bye!"
A pretty short chapter.
But don't worry, I'll be updating next week! And since I'm on Thanksgiving break, I should be able to write a lot. :)
As for all the questions about if I'm going to write another story: I've been thinking and there's a lot of different ideas I have, for OHSHC and for other mangas, and I also want to write plain old fiction too. So... just wait and see. ^-^
Next chapter is about Christmas! :D Yay!
Thoughts and feedback are greatly appreciated! If you catch any typos, stuff like that, please tell me! And yeah, it seemed like they got the engagement thing broken easily, but you shall see! The ending is coming!
Thanks for reading!
