04 Brunette tresses

Youichi looked at his watch again. It's nearly 4 p.m already and he still had not seen her sister's figure anywhere. That baka had told her to wait after school and she's running late one hour and half now. He could get home himself. I mean, he's not a little child anymore; he remembered where his home is located, he only needed to ask people for directions to go there. It won't be that hard.

But promise is a promise. He promised her he'd wait. And so he would. Even if he felt like strangling her right this moment. He looked around. The school was nearly empty now. Everyone had gone home.

Youichi scowled. Of course, no one would be dumb enough to stay long at school. He sighed silently. He could use a bed right now. That would be pure heaven.

A person walked pass by and Youichi immediately recognize who it was. He was quite surprised that there were still students left considering the time now.

And of course she would be among the dumbs who went home late because of the stupid council meeting. He chuckled at his laughable thoughts.

Upon hearing the laughing sound, her pink hair bobbed as she spun around. She had seen him comfortably leaning against the gate with one foot bent on the wall when she exited and she had decided to casually walk pass him, totally ignoring his presence. But that brat just couldn't pass another golden chance to yet pissed her off again. God knows why he suddenly laughed when he saw her.

"What the hell are you laughing about?" she growled.

Youichi raised his brows at her. "You're talking to me?"

He's playing dumb, wasn't he? Anna gave him a sweet sickening smile. "NO. I was talking to the wall you're leaning on right now. " She rolled her eyes sarcastically at him.

Youichi snickered. "I never take you to be that lonely to the extend talking to a wall. Are you being ostracized for being an old hag?" A smirk appeared.

Anna gritted her teeth. Her palms were in fists by her thighs. She was holding back. Taking a step forward, she nearly raised her hand to hit him and thankfully, she could still rationalize her decision. She pushed away her stupid thoughts. She's mature enough not to be so pissed about a mere comment, which was obviously not true, from a brat. So of course it's not something worth to get worked up for. Yeah, she'd handle this in her own mature way.

Youichi waited for a counter attack. But none came. So he grew bored. "So I guess Tobita Yuu aren't talking to you either huh? Is that why you're talking to a wall now? Being ugly must be a sad thing for you."

Instead of getting mad, he had to admit, he was quite surprised to see her flustered face. He was expecting a harsh denial but what he received was the least expected.

"W-what.. W-w-where did you hear that!" she fumbled on her words. Her face was scarlet red. Youichi could now confirmed, the gossips weren't really just gossips after all. At least one thing he heard people talking about his entire day today was true.

He only heard a little about that part where his classmates—mostly the girls—gossiping about the vice-president crushing on Tobita Yuu or the possibilities they calculated that the two might had dating for real for god knows how long now but really, no one really knew what's going on. That's why it's called a gossip. He only decided to poke around a little. It's just something he heard. He didn't really imagine he would hit the bull's eye.

Now let's get one thing straight. Youichi Hijiri is obviously not an eavesdropper. And he too, wasn't that interested with gossips, especially involving other people love lives—which he found rather annoying like why they girls are so damn interested in other people's love life? But the girls had rather loud voice when chattering and giggling over the damn topic. He didn't know who the hell was Tobita Yuu, except the fact that he was quite well known around the academy since the girls keep sighing at the mention of his name, but he knew the other person by the name of Anna Umenomiya. And that sparked his interest a little. So he did listen a bit.

Youichi shrugged. "People talk. You couldn't stop their mouth from working extra time."

He saw her gathering herself up again. She tried to act all tough and stern now by holding her head high and pushing her chest forward, shoulders back, but failed miserably when the efforts only ended with blushing red. "Don't just assume things!" she stormed off.

Youichi watched her back as she ran. "Girls are so weird. I said one thing and she already blushing like crazy."

A screeching sound of a tire against the road came to his ears. He looked around and his gaze landed on a motorcycle that had just parked by the roads. He saw his sister, who was riding on the back of it, jumped down and rushed to his side. Youichi silently scowled. Despite his sister was running to him now, hair a mess and face all scrunched up apprehensively, he couldn't help but glare at the person behind her back. He knew behind the helmet, the rider was a guy. But who the hell was he? Youichi gritted his teeth.

"You-chan! I'm sorry!" Mikan gushed as she reached him. She panted a little. She had jumped down from the bike as soon as he hit the break and quickly run to Youichi. She was worried. She had promised him they would go home together but screw it, she couldn't run away from detention. Especially one concerning where her best friend had put her into.

Youichi moved to the side when Mikan intended to hug him, leaving Mikan stumbling on the ground. "Youichi!" Mikan puffed out her cheeks angrily at him. She was his sister for god's sake!

"You're 2 hours late. Next time, don't make promises you couldn't keep." He glowered at her.

Mikan's body immediately shrunk back. Her temper immediately died out. Oh boy. Her little brother's mad. She slowly stood up and brushed the invisible dirt on her skirt.

"I'm sorry You-chan. I came late for school this morning so they put me in detention after class. I'm really sorry." She looked down guiltily.

Youichi sighed and shook his head. He couldn't continue to stay mad. It's his fault anyway. She got late to class for his sake. She came back to deliver his card. He shouldn't be a baby about this. This was just a small matter. Nothing big to argue about.

"I'm sorry you got detention because of me." He looked away, hiding his face from her view. His ego and machismo were too great to mutter these words; "And thank you." But he said them still. He had too. She earned them.

Mikan's face immediately lit up. She pounced on him and kissed his cheek before pulling him down for a tight hug. "Aaah, you're welcome! If it's for You-chan, I don't mind. You're too cute!"

You-chan briskly pushed her aside and screwed up his face in disgust. "Enough with your PDA." He wiped the spot where Mikan had just kissed him with the back of his hand, all the while his mouth muttering incoherent words non-stop.

Mikan didn't mind. She just giggled at You-chan's annoyance. She knew You-chan disgust with any form of PDA. The more reasons why she liked to them more.

Youichi put his hands in his pockets. His gaze locked on the rider who was now sitting comfortably on his bike, staring at them both behind the front glass of his helmet. "Who is that by the way?" he nodded his head towards the rider who dressed in a casual V-neck shirt with jeans and a pair of sneakers.

"Oh right!" Mikan beamed. She tugged at Youichi's sleeves and pulled him. They walked towards the rider.

Her right hand gestured for the rider."You-chan, this is Tsubasa Andou. I dated him once." Then her other hand gestured for Youichi. "Tsubasa senpai, this is my little brother, Youichi." She smiled at the both, expecting a warm welcome from both sides.

The rider got down from his bike, took off his helmet, revealing a messy dark blue hair and a pair of purple eyes. He got a small star tattooed just below his right eye and a stud was seen pierced on his left ear. He held out his hand with a smile.

"Hey, nice to finally meet you, man."

Youichi glanced at the hand thrust out before him. He looked at it in repulse as if that hand alone housed a thousand germs and ignoring it, he looked elsewhere. Mikan who sensed the changed in his brother's attitude to a ludicrous brat, quickly took his hand and grasped it with Tsubasa's for a proper handshake. Theirs were brief for Youichi swiftly let go a second after that. She sent her brother a warning glare before turning her attention back to her senpai.

"Sorry senpai. You-chan doesn't like strangers," she muttered an excuse apologetically on behalf of Youichi's displeasing attitude.

Tsubasa thrust back his hands in his pockets and shrugged. "Nah, I think I understand perfectly well why he doesn't like me." He grinned his cheeky grin and winked, making Mikan giggled in response. Youichi's cold glare started to menace. He silently swore, if this idiot didn't leave in one minute, his punch would make a hole through his thick head.

"Thank you so much for your help. Really, I appreciate it." Mikan placed her hand on his forearm as a simple gesture that she really meant what she said. She really appreciated his help in fetching and sending her to Youchi's place. Tsubasa stared down at her. Her big twinkling brown eyes staring him up, never failed to mesmerize him.

Tsubasa grinned. Partly because Mikan looked so adorable like that but also because he felt his presence right now was really unwelcoming by a certain brat. He inwardly sighed. Well, he better leave now or the kid would suffer a heart attack for hating him too much if he stayed longer.

"No sweat, pumpkin." He lowered his head a little and placed a soft quick kiss on Mikan's cheek. He had to hold back his chuckles when he saw in his peripheral vision Youichi's eyes nearly bulged out from its sockets at his kiss. He actually enjoyed getting that reaction out from that little annoying brat.

"I'll see you later, 'kay?" Mikan just nodded her head in response and smiled.

"Good. I'll get going then." He put on his helmet and got on his bike. He waved his final goodbye and rode his bike on the main road.

Mikan felt a pair of warm hands placed on each of her shoulders before she was turned around. Youichi's displeasing eyes met her wondering brown ones. He looked at a certain spot on her cheek disgustingly before wiping the invisible mark with his backhand.

"You-chan, it's just a peck. Stop it!" Mikan giggled and swat his hand away.

Youichi scowled. He wiped his backhand on his shirt before thrusting them again in his pockets. "A peck is still a kiss, baka. How old is he anyway? He looks old enough to be our dad."

Mikan laughed and smacked his shoulder playfully. "Just because you don't like him, don't simply say he's old, You-chan. That's mean. He's a university student now. We dated when he was in his last senior year."

"Isn't he too old for you?"

"Age is just a number when you're crazy in love."

A look of repugnance crossed Youichi's face as he made a comical puke at Mikan's words. "You're making me feel nauseas and I really want to strangle you right now."

Mikan pouted. "Strangling your own sister? You don't have a heart at all?" she whined.

"I only serve it for someone who's not stupid. And you're more stupid than a donkey." He gave her his infamous smirk and walked passed her.

Mikan quickly caught up and wrapped her hands in his. When she saw the warning look in Youichi's eyes, she grinned victoriously. "Your fault. You speak ill of me just now so I have no choice but punish you with PDA."

Youichi snickered in mockery. "Punishment my arse. This is for your own enjoyment. So stop lying."

Despite his words, this kind of PDA, well, he guessed he could stand. So he didn't pull his hand away at all. Instead, he shifted hers from around his and held it warm in his grasp. It's either he silently like it and refused to admit it or he's just too tired to argue about it with his sister so he just let her have her way.

Mikan's grins grew wider. "Of course." She swung their hands playfully as they walked together.

. . .

On the other side of the road, located on the ground floor of a four storeys building, sat a guy wearing the academy school uniform in a small cafe. He was seating facing the window where he could see everything perfectly clear outside. He could get an open view of the front school. He had been sitting there watching people came in and out through the front gate for a few hours now.

He had skipped last two periods and headed out. It wasn't that hard to break out. Unless you went through the front gate, of course. Then it'd be a whole lot of trouble. Thought he could go home early today but that damn Nogi got caught up in

friend, he had been bored to death watching people through the glass window.

Not until one hour ago.

Something interesting that finally amused him, caught both his eyes and attention.

He had watched the constant moving of people walking outside the front gate, mostly faces he recognized or more or less, faces he thought he had seen somewhere around school but too lazy to remember their names.

Not until a person with a silver looking hair walked out.

That's a face he had never seen before around the academy.

And certainly that colour and hairdo, he had never seen before inside the academy. He was sure of it. He didn't remember the academy let any of its students have weird hair colours. He inwardly grunted when something just crossed his mind. There's no such rule at all given that Ruka has blonde hair. So it's possible for other hair colours as well. No one really cares if it's dyed or natural anyway since your Kaichou alone is blonde. He snickered.

Probably a new kid, he finally concluded.

He kept his eyes on the silver haired. Instead of walking out heading somewhere, probably home like other kids, he just stopped and leaned against the brick walls.

And that's exactly what the kid was doing for the next one hour; leaning against the walls.

He watched, as the kid remained ignorant of his surrounding. He totally ignored of the constant glances people were throwing at him. But this one thing made him silently smirked as he watched the kid glared at a group of girls who were trying to approach him. The girls quickly backed away, muttering and frantically whispering to each others' ears.

He liked his cold attitude.

The kid somehow reminded him of himself.

Awhile after that, another caught his attention. He straightened up his back and watched closely as the pink haired girl raised her hand halfway after a short exchange of words, assumedly trying to smack him or something. But then he saw her muttering something before storming off in a hurry.

It sparked his interest more.

So Umenomiya knows the kid then.

I must say, this one particular scene played before his eyes after that was the final thing that got him glued his eyes on the kid and also the sole reason why he now was so damn determined to know who the silver haired kid is. That kid had reached his level of curiosity that no one had ever reached so quickly before. More questions continued to pop inside his brain.

Not once his crimson eyes left them. Right from the moment where the girl jumped down from the bike, the small words exchange, the kiss on the cheek, the hug. Based on the hand gestures, he thought the girl was introducing both sides to each other and based on the force she was putting, he had concluded that the silver haired kid didn't like the rider. Then in came another peck on the kiss on the other side before the rider—who looked maybe a few years older than them—headed out.

And now, he watched their backs as their hands connected together, walking away from the gate, playfully swinging. The brunette was smiling wide. Despite an annoyed face he got on his face, the silver haired had a small smile played on his lips.

He thought he had seen the girl somewhere before. She looked oddly familiar and yet, when they met hours ago when she was trying to break in, he felt her presence awkwardly weird. He couldn't pin point where's the mistake and also where it felt so right at the same time.

But everytime he looked at her hair, that wretched brunette tresses, he felt something pulled his attention towards her. Something about it made him look at her more. He actually pondered on his decision why he left her so soon when they first met. He knew, he realized and he's not ashamed to admit that he was indeed attracted to the girl.

And now he's a bit confused. Was it because of the hair he was attracted or was he attracted to her because she was a pretty catchy looking? He desired her? Or he just wanted her?

"Hey." A loud smack came greeted him on the back. He groaned in response at the pain before turning around to give the culprit a death glare.

"Fucking hurt, Nogi." He hissed. "Your hand isn't as small as a girl so stop hitting me. Can't you just call my name if you want my attention so bad?"

Ruka just laughed out loud and pulled a chair next to him. "Stop being a baby, Natsume."

Natsume scowled. "Took you long enough to finish. I thought your meeting would last till tomorrow night," he added sarcastically.

Ruka rolled her blue eyes at his best friend. "It might and you would have to sleep here if it happened." He played along. "Ready to go now?"

"I've been sitting here waiting for you like my life depended on it. You're not even my girlfriend, why do I even wait for you, I have no idea."

"You just want to continue our bromance. Just admit it, Hyuuga. You miss me."

"Fucking retard."

Ruka laughed. "Don't fucking start a joke if you don't like where it's heading."

Natsume growled and grabbed for his bag. "Let's just head home before I really toast you for real."

On their way home, Natsume decided to finally drop one of the questions that had been lingering far too long inside his head.

"Hey kaichou."

"Yeah what?"

"Do we have a new kid transfer in?"

"Where did you hear that? You skipped most of our classes today."

"I saw a face I did not recognized. So is there?"

"Yeah. A junior. Youichi Hijiri."

"What colour is his hair?"

"Close to silver I think. Why are you asking so many questions? It's weird that you even made an effort to know about someone else."

"He reminds me of someone."

Ruka smiled. So he realized it too. "You."

Natsume scowled at the blonde's annoying knowing smile. "That's what I thought too."

TBC.