Onto the story... (yet again, I don't own the characters, but I wish I did). This takes place a couple days after The Forest Adventure.
/// The Story...
The Shopping Adventure
Life was never dull at the Kurata residence, but that morning the world seemed at a standstill. Silence spread through the house, interrupted only by the occasional rustle of a newspaper page being turned. Mama and Rei-kun sat at the kitchen table, beginning their day with a quiet breakfast…
Or so they thought.
Moments later, a screech sounded as the embodiment of hyperactivity awoke. Wails of "I'm late!" could be heard through the ceiling as Sana-chan burst out of her room in a mad dash to reach the bathroom. Rei-kun shifted his newspaper to the side to better look at the clock mounted on the opposite wall. "Sana-chan's up early today," he commented. Mama made no reply, contentedly sipping her tea.
Minutes later, Sana-chan ran down the stairs. "Ohhh, I'm late! Gotta go, Mama. See you later, Rei-kun!" As she was about to reach her shoes, Sana-chan seemed to stop in mid-air.
"Not so fast, young lady," came the ominous voice behind her. Kicking and moaning, Sana-chan was towed back to the table by her mother in her car. "You haven't eaten breakfast yet. I won't let you set foot out of this house without a nutritious meal to start your day." So saying, she set a heaping plate of food in front of Sana-chan. "Now, eat."
Sana-chan sighed and set to her plate with a will. Practically pouring the food down her throat, she finished breakfast in an inhuman amount of time. "What's the rush, Sana-chan? It's a Saturday. There's no school." Rei-kun asked, watching for any signs that Sana-chan was starting to choke.
Sana-chan froze in the middle of eating. Saturday? No school? What was she doing awake? She pondered this a few more moments, before remembering. Through a mouthful, all that could be discerned from Sana-chan was: "Hamaya ... hospital."
Mama smiled knowingly. "You had better hurry or they'll finish without you."
"No way!" Sana-chan exclaimed, springing from her seat and rushing for the door. "They'll never get away from me! Not with my special Komowari Running Technique." To show them what she meant, Sana-chan began leaping around the lobby. Before anyone could comment, she was out the door and speeding off towards Hayama's house.
"Hayama!" Sana-chan called out, running up to the front door. She rang the doorbell, repeating his name again. When she got no answer, she began pounding on the door. "Hayama!" Still, there was no answer. Sana-chan sighed and leaned against the door. "I guess they haven't come back yet. Oh, well! I'll just wait right heeeerrr-" The door opened suddenly, and Sana-chan fell onto her back with a thud. Hovering above her was an upside-down image of Hayama.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, staring down at her sleepily.
Sana-chan righted herself, smiling happily. "I'm here to help your dad settle in. Didn't you go pick him up from the hospital today?"
Hayama's expression turned stony. "We haven't gone yet."
Sana-chan fell over. "What do you mean you haven't gone yet? It's already-," she glanced at her watch, "7:15..." Her voice trailed off. "I thought you said you were going at 7'o'clock." She pursed her lips in confusion.
"I said 11'o'clock," he glared. As an afterthought, he added, "Stupid."
"Stupid?! Stupid Hayama!" Sana-chan proceeded to bonk him over the head with her mallet.
"Stop it! Stop it! Stop it! Okay, okay!" Hayama brought his arms up in a futile attempt to block himself. Sana-chan quickly hid her mallet away.
"Can I come in?" she asked, already stepping into the house.
Giving up, Hayama closed the door after her. "I guess."
"Hope you don't mind. I'll just sit in the living room and watch TV until you're ready to go."
Hayama followed as she made her way towards the couch. Curling up onto it, she turned the TV on and began flipping through the channels. "Fine. Make yourself at home," Hayama replied, seeing that Sana-chan was doing just that anyway. He climbed onto the other end of the couch, propping his head up on his elbow.
"Hayama?"
"Mm."
"After we fix everything up for your father, what would you like to do? There's a whole day ahead of us, and I didn't plan a single thing. We could go to the park, or to a café. Or… I know! We could go shopping! Shopping is so much fun! And we could get some ice cream afterwards. I wonder what flavor I should get." Sana-chan turned to Hayama for approval, but discovered that he'd fallen asleep. She smiled affectionately. She had to admit that Hayama had his moments. As she watched him sleep, an idea formed into her head. She smiled conspiratorially to herself, and quickly exited the room.
///// An hour of searching later...
Sana-chan tiptoed back into the living room, wearing a bandana over her nose and mouth. The key to her plan depended on Hayama continuing to sleep. She had to dress the part to become one with the role. Giggling to herself, Sana-chan lifted an object up to her face, peering at Hayama through it.
Click.
Hayama started at the noise, waking immediately. Slowly his eyes focused at the girl in front of him and, when he realized that she was holding in her hand, jumped up in indignation. "Hey! What are you doing with that?!"
Sana-chan only giggled some more, pulling the photograph away. "Aww, I have a picture of Sleeping Hayama. Oh, look. You're sleeping like a frog."
"Don't you mean 'log'?" Hayama corrected. Watching her wave the photograph in front of him, Hayama made a lunge for it, but Sana-chan pulled back at the last moment.
"Hehe, I'm too fast for you!" As she continued to dodge Hayama from every direction, she continued. "Of course, this could only be acquired from years of training at Komowari Theatre. No one can surpass my speed!"
Hayama finally gave up and sat on the couch with his arms crossed over his chest. "Hmph."
Sana-chan leapt up beside him, pleased with herself. "Do you know what I'm going to do with this picture, Hayama?" When she got a glare in reply, she answered, "I'm going to keep it with me for all of today. If you don't buy me a present, I'll show everyone this picture of you!"
Hayama eyed Sana-chan for a moment. This girl had some sick sort of humor. Why did he like her again? The answer seemed to be alluding him.
"Just to be sure you don't try anything weird, I'm putting the picture in my pocket." She slipped it into a pocket sewn onto the front of her shirt.
"What makes you think I won't try to get it?" Hayama asked, calmly.
"Pervert!!" Sana-chan shouted, bonking him repeatedly on the head. "Pervert! Pervert! Pervert!"
"What's going on down here? Akito, stop making such a racket!" A groggy Natsumi shuffled into the living room. "Oh, Sana-chan!" she gasped, startled. "I didn't know you were here. I should get changed!" She ran back up to her room.
Hayama rose from the couch. "So should I. We'll be going soon."
"Okay!" Sana-chan sat back, but quickly stood when she noticed Hayama taking his time. "Hayama! Hurry up! I want to go SHOPPING!!" With that, she shoved him up the stairs and into his room, slamming the door shut behind him. "You better hurry!" she shouted through the door. "Or else, I'll have to show everyone ... the 'picture'."
"What picture?" Natsumi asked, curiously, stepping out of her room dressed and ready to go.
"Oh, just this picture I took of Hayaa-" Sana-chan was cut off as Hayama burst from his room, ready to go, and grabbed her in a headlock.
"It's nothing," Hayama replied, dragging Sana-chan down to the living room. He unceremoniously dropped her onto the couch and she popped up into a sitting position.
"Nothing?! What do you mean 'nothing'?! This is a priceless-"
She was restrained from talking further as Hayama clamped a hand over her mouth. "Shut up." Sana-chan's eyes widened for a moment, but then closed in a fit of giggles. Hayama sighed, removing his hand and walking to the kitchen to eat breakfast.
///// After breakfast...
Sana-chan marched along the sidewalk cheerily, humming a tuneless melody to herself. Natsumi smiled down at her. "You're so happy today, Sana-chan. You're always in such a good mood."
Sana-chan beamed in response. "Today, I'm feeling especially happy. And do you know why? Because Hayama and I are going shopping, shopping, shopping!!!"
Natsumi paused. "Shopping? Hayama actually agreed to go shopping?"
Sana-chan nodded her head vigorously. Bonking his head with her mallet, she shouted, "Yup!"
"Oi, I haven't done anything yet," Hayama replied, as Sana-chan continued her bonking.
They arrived at the hospital quickly, and retrieved Hayama's father. Once at home, Sana-chan became a blur of activity, making him a very comfortable seat on the couch. "Make yourself at home. Want a cup of tea? How about some snacks? Would you like a footstool as well? Maybe a blanket, and some cushions." Hayama's father sat amidst the whirlwind of girl calmly, as he began to disappear under a mountain of amenities.
Hayama leaned against the doorframe. "Yo, are we going yet?"
Sana-chan stopped beside the coffee table. "Yeah, yeah! Sorry, Hayama Chi-chi, but we're going shopping! Bye bye! Hayama, let's go!" With that, she ran out of the room.
Hayama stayed behind long enough to hear his father say, "Come again soon, Sana-chan." Hayama shoved his hands into his pocket and followed Sana-chan out the door.
"Hayama, Hayama! Hurry, hurry. We haven't got all day! There's so many stores to visit, and you have to treat me to some ice cream."
"I don't remember saying that."
"Don't be silly. Of course you didn't say that. But out of thanks to me for going shopping with you, you should buy me some ice cream."
"Why should I?"
"Why should you? Because you want to, Stupid Hayama!" Sana-chan began bonking him over the head again. She stopped though, when she remembered about her secret weapon. "And, if you don't, I'll show everyone at school how cute you look when you sleep." Hayama's glance fell down to the pocket on her shirt that held the offending picture. Sana-chan was quick to notice. "Pervert! Stop staring at me! Stop it, stop it, stop it!"
"It's not my fault you put the picture there," Hayama retorted, looking back up to her face.
"You shouldn't be looking! Pervert child, pervert child!" She cut off when she realized that Hayama was walking ahead. "Hayama! Wait for me!" she cried, running after him.
///// 10 stores, and 2 hours later...
"Hayama, Hayama! Look at that. Isn't it the cutest?" Sana-chan bent towards the window case, pointing towards a white teddy bear.
"No," came the reply.
"What do you mean no?!" Sana-chan burst out. "It's so adorable!"
"It's ugly." He turned and continued walking down the street.
"Ugly? That's so mean! That teddy bear is cute!"
"Ugly."
"Cute!"
"Ugly."
"Cute, I say! Cute, cute, cute!!"
Hayama paused to look back at her with his expressionless face. "Whatever." He stared thoughtfully at his shoes.
Sana-chan smiled giddily. "Aha! Hayama agreed with me! This day is turning out so wonderful!" She jumped up and down, clapping her hands together. She suddenly spotted something across the street and ran across to better investigate. Ignoring her, Hayama began to retrace his steps in the direction they had come from.
Sana-chan was completely oblivious to the fact that Hayama had, in essence, abandoned her, and peered into the window of the store she'd seen. "Oh, ice cream! Hayama, let's go get some!" She turned expectantly towards Hayama, and found an empty space behind her. "Eh? Hayama? Hayama, where are you? Now where did he go? He promised me! ... Oh, well. I'll just get the ice cream myself, then." So saying, she skipped happily into the store.
Meanwhile, Hayama had backtracked to the store with the teddy bear. He stared at the teddy bear in contempt for a moment before walking into the store. Moments later, he came out clutching a small paper bag in his hand. He headed back towards the spot where he'd left Sana-chan, but, upon arriving, realized she wasn't there. He scanned the area for an overly bubbly girl, but couldn't see anyone matching that description. Shrugging, he began to return home.
At that moment, Sana-chan stepped out of the ice cream store, an ice cream cone in each hand, and spotted him. "Hayama! Hayama!" She waved her hand in the air madly, almost tipping an ice cream cone over. "There you are!" she smiled, running across the road to greet him. "Were you here the whole time? I didn't even see you." She shrugged, then thrust a cone in front of his face. "Here you are! I couldn't see you, so I bought the ice cream."
Hayama stared at her offering, a little surprised, but accepted it nonetheless. He immediately began to eat it. Sana-chan glared at him. "No, no, no! You're supposed to say 'thank you' first!"
Hayama stopped in mid-lick. "Why?"
"Why?! Because it's polite! That's why!" Sana-chan bonked him over the head. "You're welcome though." She smiled, then noticed the bag in his hand. "What's that?" she asked, poking at it. She took it from his hand and began opening it.
"Hey! Speaking of polite, give that back!" He tried to swipe it back, but she sidestepped him and removed the contents.
"Oh, is this for me?! Hayama, that's so nice of you! It's..." She stopped as she unwrapped the bits of tissue paper from around the object, uncovering a slightly deformed stuffed toy bumblebee. "What's this?"
"It's a bumblebee," Hayama stated, matter-of-factly.
"I know it's a bumblebee, but what about my teddy bear! I said the teddy bear was cute, not the bumblebee! Who looks at bumblebees in a toy store anyway?" She paused. "But I like it because Hayama got it for me!" She skipped off, swinging the bumblebee in one hand.
Hayama watched after her with his poker face. Finally, he followed her, muttering, "Scary girl."
They arrived at the park, and sat down on a bench in a small sheltered area. Sana-chan sighed happily to herself. Today was a success, if she said so herself. All in all, Hayama had behaved rather well in his usual sort of way. She stared up at the ceiling of the shelter in quiet contemplation, swinging her legs. Hayama glanced at her peaceful face, wondering what she was thinking. It was unusual for her to be quiet for long periods of time... He studied her profile in silence, wondering if or how anyone could not like her, and then mentally beating up any guys who should.
She noticed him watching her, and turned to him. He pulled back, a blush forming on his cheeks. "Thank you for the present," she replied, smiling sweetly. "It was really nice of you."
Taken aback and struck by how pretty she looked right then, he blushed even more. Quickly, though, he straightened, resuming a neutral expression. "Whatever," he answered gruffly to hide his sudden vulnerability.
Sana-chan smiled even more, aware of his uncomfortableness. She resumed staring at the ceiling. "Why did you buy it?" she asked.
Hayama stared at the ground. "Why did I buy it?" he repeated. "Because... because... I don't hate you."
Sana-chan giggled a little at that. "Why did you say that again? You said that last time, when we were in the park at night. And when I talked to your father, he said-." Realization dawned on Sana-chan.
Embarrassed that Sana-chan understood his meaning, Hayama quickly stood up. "I'm going home."
"Hayama, wait!" Sana-chan sprang up. He complied, waiting for her to continue. "I... I really do think it was nice of you," she began, somewhat awkwardly. "But if you're trying to bribe me into giving back that picture, think again! I'm going to keep it just in case!" She jabbed him in the back with her finger repeatedly.
"Hmph. I don't care." Hayama began to walk off.
"Don't care? We'll see if you don't care when I show the whole school your photo!" Sana-chan called after him. She turned to head home as well, then turned to shout, "Good night, Hayama!" Then, she was gone.
Hayama arrived home and passed by his father on his way to his room. "Akito, you're home. How was shopping with Sana-chan?"
"It wasn't bad."
"That's good to hear." His father smiled at him, and he continued to his room.
"I'm going to bed." Once settled down, he stared out the window, watching the city lights flicker and wondering what Sana-chan was doing then.
///// At Sana-chan's house...
"Oh? A bumblebee?" Mama peered over her fan at the toy in Sana-chan's hand. "I see."
"That evil kid gave Sana-chan a bumblebee? What kind of present is that?!" Rei-kun exclaimed indignantly.
"Ne, ne, Rei-kun. It's all right. I'm starting to like this bumblebee a lot. It's cute in its own way." Sana-chan smiled down at the bumblebee toy and skipped off to her room. "Time for sleep!"
"Hmm..." Mama watched Sana-chan run off to bed, a smile hiding behind her fan.
/// The End...
Ta-dah! Need I say more? (It's a miracle in itself that I was able to complete a 2nd installation to The Adventures)