Ch 17

Yoh's POV

On the day after he had carried her home, he had tried to go and visit Haruna. However, he saw Fumi coming out of her house with a big smile on his face. This had made Yoh's heart drop as he realized that Haruna had probably reconcile with Fumi. A traitorous thought crossed Yoh's mind as he heard Fumi begin to whistle. She forgave him too fast…

Yoh had then decided to leave without going in to see Haruna. He didn't want to see her after thinking about how he had wished for a second that she and Fumi would have fought and broken up. He hated to admit it, but he was just like Asami. Selfish.

Now, it was a few days later and Haruna had finally returned back to school. She seemed perfectly fine but her behavior was strange. Everytime he tried to talk to her, she avoided looking at him in the eyes. Her responses were always short and, at times, she would excuse herself and run away in a hurry. At lunchtime, she had clung on to Fumi's arm, something she had never done before and which had made Yoh's heart ached. What did I do? Yoh thought desperately.

Haruna's POV

Trying to avoid Yoh left Haruna exhausted. So exhausted that she fell asleep in class. This had caused her to be assigned to after school cleaning by the teacher. Holding back a yawn, Haruna made her way to the bathroom to splash some water on her face. As she neared the bathroom, she saw Asami coming out.

Haruna hesitated for a second before calling out a greeting to Asami. Asami stopped in her tracks with a slight curl on her lips.

"Hello Haruna. I would apologize for ruining your date with Fumi but it seems like you guys have already made up and are more lovey dovey than ever. It's so sickeningly sweet."

Haruna knew that sometimes she could be dense but now was not one of those times. "Asami, did I do something to make you angry at me? Ever since me and Fumi got together, I feel like you've been angry at me. If I did something wrong, tell me and I'll try my best to fix it. I want us to continue being friends."

Asami scoffed, a disbelieving smile on her face. "Friends? You can stop the act Haruna. You might have my brother and Fumi tricked with your goody-two shoes act but you can't fool me! Was this your plan all along? Pretend to be my friend, get closer to Fumi, seduce him, make him your boyfriend and all for what? For you to look longingly at Yoh?! You truly are despicable!"

Haruna felt her whole world shake. "W-what?! What are you talking about Asami?! Plan? What plan? I never had a plan! And what does Yoh have to do with this?!"

"Don't give me that crap, Haruna! I see the way you look at my brother. You look at him with such tender, loving eyes. If Fumi weren't so dense and if Yoh weren't so unaware then it would be obvious to them as well. You are a horrible person! You are playing with the feelings of both!".

Haruna just shook her head back and forth desperately, trying to expel Asami's venomous words from her head. "N-no! It's not true!".

"Don't try to deny it, Haruna. Deep down you know that everything I am saying is the truth." With that Asami took a few steps away from an anguished Haruna before turning around.

"Ah yes I almost forgot. You wanted to know the reason why I was mad right? Well here it goes- I love Fumi. I might not have realized it before but now I know for sure. Fumi belongs with me. Not you. I am going to do everything in my power to break you two apart. This is now war."

Asami walked away, leaving a speechless, shocked Haruna behind.

Asami's POV

The day Haruna came back to school, Asami had had enough. Asami had thought that her interference on their date would have caused Fumi and Haruna to fight and break up but that was not the case. In fact, they made up in just one day. Does Haruna have no pride as a woman? Asami had thought bitterly. He stood her up for HOURS for goodness sake. If it was me, I would have sent him to hell.

At lunchtime, it even looked as if her plan had backfired. Haruna was disgustingly clinging on to Fumi the whole time. It was unbearable to watch especially after seeing how it was affecting her brother. Asami had noticed that it was getting harder and harder for Yoh to disguise his feelings lately. Asami had a strong urge to give Haruna hell at that moment but she held back.

The straw that broke the camel's back, however, came near the end of the day when Haruna had had the nerve to come up to her and had pretended to be a concerned, caring friend. The rage broke out and Asami was finally able to say everything that she had been harboring for the past month. As her words rushed out, she felt the stressed knot that she had inside dissolve. Her confession to Haruna about her feelings for Fumi had left her feeling determined now more than ever to bring Fumi to her side. Now that everything was out in the open, she would now lead a more direct attack. Starting now.

Asami chased after the retreating back of Fumi. Today was one of the rare days where Fumi was walking home alone. Aosaka had gotten an earlier shift at his work, Yoh had stayed after in the school library to complete an assignment, and Haruna had been assigned to clean up the classroom. Today was Asami's chance.

"Fumi!" she called, waving her hand up in hello. Fumi then turned and smiled at her, the dopey smile that she had recently realized she loves. Especially when it was directed at her.

"Hey, Asami! Headed home? Want me to walk you?"

"I don't really want to go home just yet. Why don't we go to the arcade or karaoke? We haven't gone one in a long time and I miss it. I miss spending time with you."

"Aww thanks Asami," Fumi replied, his face bright red. "I miss you too. For sure, lets go!"

Asami entwined her arm with his, sticking to his side. She glanced up to Fumi and found that he was looking at her. She held eye contact with him for longer than was necessary and she felt the sparks between them. Fumi looked away first, stuttering about which arcade to go to first. Asami smiled, loving the fact that Fumi seemed to have been affected by her closeness.

Fumi's POV

Fumi had a lot of fun with Asami at the arcade. After multiple attempts, Fumi had finally won Asami a bright pink bear from the claw machine. The smile on Asami's face as he handed her the bear made the money and time he had spent well worth it. He loved making her smile.

Karaoke was fun as well. Fumi really liked to sing even though he knew he wasn't the best at it. Asami would make fun of him but she would always join in, her sweet melodious voice accompanying his less stellar one. It was the most fun he had in a while and as the day wound down, he realized he didn't want it to end.

To stretch the day a bit further, he offered to walk Asami home. Asami accepted gladly. They walked close together, hands brushing together ever so slightly. Fumi blushed at the contact. He tried to move away a bit but Asami would close the gap.

Just like earlier, Fumi felt his heart beat faster at Asami's proximity. He felt his cheeks warm up and he was sure that he was blushing like a tomato. What's wrong with me? Fumi asked himself. He did not know why he was reacting this way around Asami. He has known her for years and he had never reacted this way before. He risked a glance down to Asami and noticed that she was blushing as well, while holding the pink bear close to her chest.

She's beautiful...Fumi thought wistfully. As soon as he thought this, Fumi shook his head, trying to dispel the guilt he felt as he realized he shouldn't be thinking about other girls when he had a girlfriend.

Pretty soon after, they were on the street leading to Asami's house. Fumi was now eager to just go home and crash in bed. Confusing thoughts and feelings were running through his mind and it was making him feel exhausted.

Lost in thought, Fumi didn't realize that he was walking alone until Asami called his name. Fumi looked back and found that Asami had stopped. Fumi quickly went back to where Asami was, worried.

"Asami are you okay? What's wrong?"

Asami didn't say anything. She just grabbed Fumi's hand and led him to a nearby alleyway. Now, Fumi was extremely worried as Asami continued to be quiet with her head hanging down. Fumi gently grabbed Asami's chin and brought her face up. He was shocked to see that Asami's eyes were full of tears. Fumi panicked.

"What's wrong, Asami?! Was it something I did? Please tell me so I can fix it!".

"I-I had so much fun today, Fumi,"Asami whispered. "It reminded me of all the times we used to hang out together in the past. But now that you and Haruna are dating, you never have time for me! I miss you like crazy and it hurts me every time I see you and Haruna together."

Fumi stood still, confusion swirling in his head as he tried to process what Asami had said. "Why would it hurt you to see me and Haruna together?"

Asami scoffed before grabbing Fumi by the front of his jacket. "You really are dense," Asami whispered before lifting up in her tiptoes and crashing her lips to a shocked Fumi.