Fifth Kiss ~I Was Here First!~

Author's Note :

My apologies if this chapter seems to drag at the beginning. As more characters become involved, the story is getting more complex. I tried to have scenes that were unrelated to this chapter's 'chosen girl' happen off-screen to keep it from being too long.

Start :

Mikan has just finished washing the last of the dishes when she hears the front door rattle. "There he is." She thinks. "I was starting to get worried." As she dries her hands and turns away from the sink she hears a loud clatter from the front hallway.

"Alright!" She hears Nana yell. "This time you did that on purpose!"

"No wait, Nana!" Rito yells in reply.

"Not again." Mikan mutters to herself. "How many times do I have to save him from her?" She sighs as she starts walking towards the entryway, but hesitates when she hears a strange sound. "Is that... laughing?"

When she reaches the front door she is not surprised to see Rito flat out on his stomach with Nana sitting on his back. What she IS surprised to see is Nana tickling him and giggling as Rito laughs uncontrollably. "Nana!" He gasps. "Stop, it was an accident, I swear!"

"Uh, Rito?" Mikan says, raising an eyebrow at the pair. Nana only then seems to realize that they are not alone. She quickly jumps to her feet and tries to assume her usual grumpy expression, failing completely and blushing the whole time. Rito climbs to his feet and smiles at Mikan.

"Hi Mikan." He says. "Sorry I didn't call. I ended up staying at Dad's studio longer than I expected." Nana uses this distraction to make a quick getaway, although Mikan continues to watch her as she leaves. Rito notices the look. "Is there something wrong, Mikan?"

"I guess not." She says at length. "It's just..." She pauses, searching for the right words. "I'm not used to this. Normally it's Momo who's being suspicious, but now Nana keeps acting weird around you. Is there something going on between you two?"

Rito laughs and tries to brush off the question. "You worry too much Mikan." He says. "Nana just decided she's going to try and be nicer to me. That's all." He nervously shuffles his feet as she continues to stare at him. "I, uh, got some homework I need to get done, so I'm going to head upstairs to bed."

"OK." Mikan says. "Goodnight Rito." As Rito continues up the stairs, Mikan's thoughts are interrupted by the phone ringing. "I got it!" She calls out to Rito as he hesitates at the top of the stairs. She turns to answer the phone.

The next morning, Rito stumbles downstairs later than usual. "I'm surprised nobody woke me up." He thinks. "But I sure did need that extra sleep."

As he enters the kitchen he finds Mikan sitting at the table, going over a shopping list. "Good morning." He mumbles as he grabs an apple from a basket on the counter. He turns to see Mikan staring at him again. "Oh no." He thinks.

"So, Dad called last night." Mikan says, grinning at him. "He wanted to thank me for the food." She pauses to see if there's a reaction from Rito. "He also wanted to know if you would be bringing your 'girlfriend' for another visit today."

Rito nearly chokes on his food at that remark. "Mikan, I can explain..."

Mikan laughs. "Don't worry Rito, I know he's just joking with you." She says. "But, it made me wonder, Lala was here at home with me all day yesterday. So, does this mean you finally decided to introduce Sairenji-san to the rest of the family?"

"Actually, it wasn't Sairenji." Rito says, causing Mikan to pause. "Kotegawa went with me to see him yesterday."

"Really?!" Mikan says. "How did that happen?"

"Well, it's a bit of a long story." Rito says, trying to make a quick exit.

Mikan uses her foot to push out the chair across from her at the table, gesturing for Rito to take a seat. "So, talk." She says as she gives him another grin.

"Well." Rito thinks. "I did say I wanted to talk to someone about all this. Mikan is always understanding." He sits down and thinks for a moment. "Where to start?" He asks out loud.

"How about the date with Kotegawa-san?" Mikan prompts. "Dad told me what time you left, so I know you didn't just walk her home."

Rito sighs again, realizing he has been caught. "Well, Kotegawa was mad at me about some stuff that happened the other day, and I was talking to her brother and he suggested that if I just spend a bit of time with her she would feel better." He shrugs. "I knew she was a fan of Dad's new manga, so I offered to take her along."

"And?" Mikan says when she realizes Rito isn't going to continue.

"And, we decided to stop for something to eat afterwards." He says. "And after that I walked her home." Rito's voice has been getting quieter and quieter as he talks, but Mikan can still hear the last part as he says. "And then we sorta… kissed."

Mikan nearly falls out of her chair. "What?!" She says. "Quick, how am I supposed to react to this?" She wonders. "I'm supposed to be happy for him at a time like this, so why…" She realizes that while she is still smiling, her fists are clenched angrily at her sides.

"Congratulations, I guess." Mikan finally says, trying to hide her nervous tone. "Wow, I really thought Lala would be the first one to wear you down." Rito chuckles nervously at this, but says nothing.

Mikan stands up suddenly, looking for an excuse to leave. "Getting pretty late in the day already, huh?" She says. "We got lots of laundry to do today."

"Ya." Rito says. "I'll go water the flowers and then come help you with it."

"Hey, Rito?" Mikan asks, letting her curiosity get the better of her. "You said Kotegawa-san was angry at you for something. What did you do this time?"

"Oh, that?" Rito says as he opens the patio door. "Well, she kinda saw me, uh, kissing Nana the day before."

Rito is halfway through the door before Mikan catches him by the arm, turning him about. "Hold on. I'm going to need a bit more information than that!" She says.

Mikan sits on the back step, watching Rito water the flowers as he finishes explaining what happened with Nana.

"So that's why she's been acting like that." She says.

Mikan continues to watch Rito work. "Huh, he really has changed a lot recently, hasn't he?" She thinks. "I was always telling him how embarrassed I was to be his sister when he didn't know how to act around girls, and now he's turning into quite the charmer." She frowns as another strange emotion rears up. "So why don't I feel happy for him?"

Mikan looks up to see that Rito has finished his work and is regarding her with a worried look. "Something wrong?" He asks.

"No." She says. "I was just thinking, how do you plan to break the news to Lala and Sairenji-san? I'm sure they'll be surprised by all this. I mean, Lala has been asking for a kiss for a while now hasn't she?"

"Well, that's the thing." Rito says. "There's actually a lot more I haven't told you."

A short while later, Mikan lies on her bed, staring at the ceiling.

"All of them?!" She thinks. "He kissed all of them? And just in the last week?" She tosses from side to side, wrestling with her feelings. "I know he told me all this because he's comfortable talking to me, but I don't know how I'm supposed to feel about it."

She sits upright as she hears a dull thump from across the hall. "Rito must be back in his room." She thinks. "I need to talk to him again."

She gets up and moves to the hallway, gently knocking on Rito's door as she enters. "Hey, Rito?" She says.

As she enters the room, she sees that no one is there. Puzzled by the noise she heard, she looks around and notices that the window has been left open and the wind has knocked a book and several papers off of Rito's desk. "Always leaving a mess." She says as she bends down to pick up the pages.

While gathering the pages up she is surprised to see that they are brochures for universities, all in the city of Tokyo. One of them is even a page listing rooms to rent near the school. Mikan panics and drops all the papers back on the floor, quickly retreating to the hallway. She can hear her heart thumping as she tries to process what she just saw.

"Would he really do that?" She thinks. "I know it's more than a year away, but wouldn't he tell me first if he was thinking of moving away?" Mikan takes a few minutes to calm herself down. "I'm sure it's just a mistake. Someone probably gave him those and he just threw them on his desk without thinking about it." She sighs.

As she goes to return to her room, she finds herself walking towards the elevator instead. "Maybe I'll just ask Lala if he's said anything." She thinks. "There's no harm in that."

As Mikan enters the Deviluke apartment, she can hear loud noises coming from Lala's room. "Must be working on one of her inventions." As she crosses the room, she hears Rito's voice coming from Momo's room, where the door is cracked open slightly. Letting her curiosity overtake her again, she creeps up to the door to listen.

"So when do you plan to tell her, Rito-san?" Momo asks..

Rito sighs, sounding frustrated. "I don't know!" He replies. "I know I need to tell her soon, but I'm worried. Do you think she'll be upset with me?"

"Well, she does depend on you a lot." Mikan can hear the concern in Momo's voice. "Her whole life would be turned upside down if things were to change between you two."

Mikan nearly falls over when she hears those words. "It's true then." She thinks. "He IS planning to leave." She stumbles and bumps her head against the door.

"Huh, what was that?" She hears Rito ask. Not wanting to be seen here, Mikan quickly runs back to the safety of her own room.

After she is gone, Momo opens her door, looking around. She grins. "It must have just been Nana on her way out." She says to Rito.

"So then, you agree? I need to tell Lala as soon as I can about Nana and Kotegawa?" He continues.

Mikan is back in her room, her head buried under her pillow. "Just one more year." She thinks. "I knew things couldn't stay the same forever, but knowing that it will end so soon." She sits up and wipes her eyes, trying to keep from crying. "This isn't like me. I should just talk to-"

Her thoughts are interrupted by a knock at the door. "Hey, Mikan?" Rito sticks his head in when there is no reply. "Everything OK?" He asks.

"Ya, just having a little nap." She says.

"Well, can I ask you for a favour?" He says, sitting down next to her on the bed. She fidgets nervously when he comes closer, but Rito doesn't seem to notice. "I invited everyone to go to the beach this afternoon, but I wanted to do a bit of shopping first and could use your help picking something out."

"What do you need my help for?" She asks, puzzled.

"I want to pick out a gift for Lala and Sairenji." He blushes as he says this. "I, uh, was going to tell them all about the kissing and stuff when we meet up later and thought that maybe something to cheer them up would be in order. I'm not very good at picking out gifts for uh… well... you know."

Mikan laughs. "There's the old Rito I know." She says. Rito looks confused, but smiles when she agrees to come with him.

"Oh, you should come swimming with us." He says. "And see if Yami wants to come too. I mean, unless you had other plans."

"That sounds like fun." She says, grabbing him by the arm. "Lets go!"

"Maybe this one?" Rito asks, holding another necklace up to Mikan.

She holds it up to her neck, seeing how it would look. "It does look nice." She says. It's a simple chain with a small charm that shows two roses, one blue and one red, with their stems entangled.

Mikan pauses to consider it for a few minutes. "I wonder what it would be like if a boy got me a gift like this?" She wonders. "So far they just leave me letters in my locker." She sighs. "And my desk, and anywhere else they can find to put them. I guess eventually they're going to get a bit more pushy with their advances. But, that's not the same as getting something from someone I actually like."

"... Hey, Mikan." Rito says, for the third time, causing her to snap out of her daydream.

"Huh? Oh, right." She smiles as she observes her reflection again. "It's nice, but maybe jewellery is overdoing it." She says. "You said you want to convince them that nothing has changed and that you're still trying to sort out your feelings. Giving them something like this may send the wrong message."

"You're probably right." Rito says. "I'll go put this away." Mikan turns her head to the side so Rito can unlatch the necklace.

"Well, look at the cute couple." Rito hears. He turns to look and sees a pair of older women standing outside the store looking in at them. He also sees the reflection in the front glass of himself and Mikan standing together.

"Wait, no! This is just-" He tries to say this while pulling away, but the cuff of his shirt has caught on the chain. He ends up pulling Mikan along with him.

"Rito! Be careful." She says. She manages to unlatch the chain just as Rito loses his balance. He reaches out for something to save his balance, gripping the front of her shirt by accident. There is a loud tearing sound as he rips the shirt completely off of her. Just when she thinks it is over, he manages to trip her to the ground on top of him as well.

"Kids these days." Rito hears as the two women move away, a look of shock on their faces. He looks up to see Mikan laying on top of him. She is clutching tightly to his chest, trying to hide the fact that her shirt is missing.

"R… Rito!" She says. "What did you do that for?"

"Sorry, Mikan." He hands her back her torn shirt so she can cover up. He looks around at the racks of clothing in the store. "At least we're in the right place to get you a new one." He says, sheepishly.

As Rito finishes paying, Mikan adjusts her clothing, admiring the new shirt in a nearby mirror. As Rito steps up beside her she smiles at him. "You know, I really like this new shirt." She says. "Let's try not to have another accident, alright?"

Rito blushes and looks away.

"Hey, I got an idea." Mikan says suddenly. "You know, Lala is always wanting to learn more about why you like gardening so much, and I know Sairenji-san has always admired that about you. Why not get them each a plant of their own? I saw a nursery downstairs when we came in."

"Great idea Mikan!" Rito says excitedly. "I just need to grab one more thing. I'll meet you down there, OK?"

As she watches him scramble away, Mikan feels another stab of jealousy. "Yep, that's what it is alright." She thinks. "He looks so happy doing things like this for them." She sighs. "Still, I guess it's nice that he needs my help. I don't know how he thinks he's going to manage on his own if he goes away for school." She shakes her head, telling herself to stop worrying about that. "He's got enough to think about today. I'll ask him tomorrow."

"Mikan-san?" Momo calls up to her from below. Mikan is sitting on a bench on the walkway overlooking the beach.

"Just taking a break." Mikan says, as Momo approaches cautiously. "It's been a long day."

She looks out over the beach at the group below. "It looks like Rito-san's day could have been better as well." Momo says. Mikan can see that this is true. Rito sits alone on his towel beneath a sun shade. A short distance away, Yui sits under her own shade, purposely facing away from Rito. Nana is swimming with Mea, as far away from everyone else as possible. Even Lala and Haruna who are swimming together seem to be less cheery than usual.

"I guess his plan to talk to everyone didn't go so well?" Mikan asks. Momo gives her a surprised look. "He told me all about it this morning." She explains. "Although, I didn't realize you knew about it Momo-san."

Momo chuckles. "Oh, you know Rito-san can't keep secrets from me." She says. She casts a worried glance towards Rito. "I didn't think they would all react like this though." Momo notices Yami approaching and quickly climbs back down the steps to the beach.

Yami sits on the bench next to Mikan and offers her some taiyaki from a bag she is holding. Mikan laughs as she accepts one. "Do you always bring this to the beach?" She asks, holding up the treat.

Ignoring the joke, Yami stares hard at Mikan. "Why are you not sitting with Yuuki Rito, Mikan?" She asks plainly.

Mikan is startled by Yami's bluntness. "He doesn't need his little sister bugging him right now." She says, laughing to lighten the mood. "Besides, he's got his own problems." She turns and looks at Yami, who is now watching Rito. "Hey, Yami, how do you feel when you see Rito with the others? Now that you confessed to him, does it bother you when he doesn't act the same way around you as he does with them?"

Yami turns to Mikan again, her expression unchanged. "My feelings for Yuuki Rito have nothing to do with the others. I told him not to worry about it." She pauses for a moment. "But, Mikan, how do you feel about it?"

Mikan shrugs, trying not to appear upset. "I shouldn't have said anything. There's just something I need to talk to Rito about, but now's not the…" Mikan trails off as Yami stands up and quickly hops down to the beach below. "Wait, Yami!" She sighs loudly when she realizes what Yami's intent is.

Sure enough, a few moments later, Rito is dropped unceremoniously onto the bench beside her. "Hey Rito." She says, not looking up at him.

"Uh, Yami said you had something you wanted to talk about?" Rito asks, a little shaken from the rough treatment.

"I didn't want to bring it up today and worry you." She says. She finally looks up from her own hands to see Rito, looking back at her. "I was cleaning up some papers on your desk today and I saw those university brochures from Tokyo. It just caught me off guard." She looks away, not wanting him to see her expression. "I guess I've just gotten so used to the way things are. I'm wasn't ready to consider that we may only have one year left together."

"Huh?" Rito says, looking confused. "University? Tokyo? Mikan, I haven't even started thinking about that stuff yet, why would I be looking at Universities that far away?" He places a hand on her shoulder. "I would never even think of leaving Sainan without you. With parents like ours, we gotta stick together, right?"

"Maybe they WERE just junk someone handed to him." Mikan thinks. "He wouldn't lie to me like this." She sighs in relief. "I guess I was getting worked up over nothing." She says.

Rito chuckles. "Tokyo." He says with a grin. "You know, if I ever do decide to go away for school, Lala is going to find some way to follow me. I don't think Tokyo is ready for that. It would be like one of those monster movies." They both imagine one of Lala's mechas, grown to an enormous size and rampaging down the streets of Tokyo. This soon has them both laughing loudly.

"Besides." He says. "You know I can't manage anything without you around." Mikan blushes at the remark and is surprised when Rito reaches into the pack he is carrying and pulls out a small gift box. "I was going to save this for your birthday." He says. "But, I figured it would be a good idea to thank you for being so supportive with everything going on."

Mikan can't think of anything to say. She opens the box quickly. It contains the silver chain she had tried on earlier, the one with the two roses on it. "It looked good on you." He says. "And I got the idea you liked it, the way you sorta zoned out while you were looking at it and all."

Mikan jumps up from the bench and wraps her arms around Rito's neck. "I love you, Rito." She says, and then stutters. "I… I mean, I love IT. The... the necklace I mean!" She quickly turns away after the hug, trying to hide her teary eyes from him.

"I'm going to head home." She says. Rito looks at her in alarm. "Everything's fine. You have things you need to deal with here. I'll just get in the way." She smiles to reassure him.

"OK. I'll see you at home then?" He asks.

Mikan nods as she hurries away, clutching the gift tightly in her hands.

"What a day." Mikan sighs as she settles down in the tub. She laughs. "Now I'm starting to sound like Rito."

"What's so funny?" A voice asks. She turns her head and sees Rito entering the bathroom holding a towel.

"Rito?!" She says, surprised. "Why are you…"

"That mess I made today will still be there tomorrow for me to deal with." He says. "I wanted to spend more time with you instead. You seemed really down today, and even if it was just a misunderstanding, I feel bad for making you worry so much."

She smiles as she moves over, making room for him in the tub. They sit in silence for a while, enjoying the peace and quiet. "You sure did make a mess, didn't you?" She finally says.

Rito's shoulders droop as he considers the problem. "I knew this week was too good to be true, and it couldn't keep going like that forever." He laughs. "I don't think anyone is going to be kissing me again anytime soon."

Rito turns to look at Mikan, and to his complete surprise, she suddenly leans forward and kisses him. Their lips meet only briefly, and Rito can tell how nervous she is by how much she is trembling, but when she leans back and looks at him afterwards, she is smiling ear to ear. "Maybe your week can keep going a bit longer." She says with a laugh.

"But… Mikan?!" Rito is blushing brightly and suddenly seems very nervous being in the tub with her. "What does that mean?"

"It doesn't have to MEAN anything." She says, placing a hand on his shoulder to calm him down. "You said yourself that you're still trying to sort out your feelings. Well, you're not the only one."

"Maybe." She continues. "It just means that I'm not going to hand you over so easily to those girlfriends of yours. I was here first, after all." She can tell Rito is still confused, so she stands up and reaches for her towel. "I'll let you think it over for a bit." She says.

Before she leaves, she turns a mock frown on him, pointing a finger. "And don't you go running to Momo-san and telling her about this one, alright?"

Rito sits at his desk, trying to concentrate on the last of his homework, but it's no use. Finally he just tosses his book away and leans back in his chair.

"I don't think Momo understood all these complications when she came up with her idea of the harem plan." He thinks. "I was right to think it would be impossible." He sighs. He considers each of the girls in turn, and how it felt to kiss them. Each of the memories seems to bring out a completely different set of emotions.

"I know I don't love each of them the same way." He thinks. "But can I really choose just one of them? How will the others feel?" He considers this for a moment. "How will I feel?"

He suddenly remembers what Mikan said about papers she found in his room. He looks around, but can find nothing on or around his desk except for the homework book he just tossed away. He shrugs in confusion, and starts to get ready for bed, hoping that tomorrow will bring the answer to at least one of his many questions.

End.