To reinforce a much-stressed point, I don't own the characters, but, god, do I wish I did. This takes place somewhere between a couple days and a week after The Shopping Adventure.
/// The Story...
The Missing Friend Adventure
Waking up late everyday had begun to take a monotonous turn, and Sana-chan was determined to liven her life a little. The alarm clock woke her an hour early, and she jumped out of bed, excited to be doing something different that morning. "Good morning, Hayama-bee!" she chirped to the stuffed bumble bee resting beside her alarm clock. It stared at her in Hayama-fashion, and she beamed at it. She prepared herself for school and went downstairs to eat her breakfast.
Upon entering the kitchen, she was greeted with a mixture of surprise and shock from Mama and Rei-kun. "Why are you up so early?" Mama demanded. "You can't be my daughter. What have you done with her?"
"Relax, Mama. It's me, it's me. It was getting too boring, waking up late all the time, so I decided to do something different today."
Mama paused to think through Sana-chan's logic before settling back in her seat. "Well, eat your breakfast then."
Sana-chan willingly complied. Rei-kun finished his reading his newspaper, and rose to drive her to school. She stopped him, however, with a reminder that she wanted to do things differently that day. "I'll walk to school today, Rei-kun. You don't have to drive me. Walking will be something different from usual."
Rei-kun hesitated, but, with a look from Mama, he sat back down at the table. "Alright, Sana-chan. But be careful."
"Rei-kun, you worry too much. The school isn't that far away. Anyway, I'll probably see my friends along the way."
Still doubtful, Rei-kun said nothing.
As predicted, Sana-chan met up with Tsuyoshi-kun and Aya-chan on the way to school. "Tsuyoshi-kun, Aya-chan! Good morning!" Sana-chan called out cheerily.
"Sana-chan, what are you doing here so early?" Aya-chan asked, forgetting to greet Sana-chan in her astonishment.
"Surprised you, didn't I?" Sana-chan asked gleefully.
"Well, yes. I mean, you usually go to school later, don't you?"
"I decided to go to school early today! I have to do something different once in a while!" Sana-chan answered. She broke out into a run. "Hurry up. I want to get to school."
Tsuyoshi-kun and Aya-chan chased after her. "Sana-chan, what's the rush?"
"I've never been to school so early before. I want to see what it's like!"
///// At school...
"So this is what happens before school," Sana-chan remarked, scanning the school yard. "Look! There's Mami-chan and Hisae-chan! Let's go talk to them!" She ran off to join in their conversation.
Tsuyoshi-kun turned to Aya-chan with a glance at his watch. "I wonder where Akito-kun is. He's usually here by now."
"He wouldn't purposely skip school, would he?" Aya-chan asked uncertainly.
"I don't know. I don't think he would," Tsuyoshi-kun replied slowly.
"He'd better get here soon, or else we'll have to wait another day." Tsuyoshi-kun nodded his head in agreement. As the bell rang to indicate the start of school, he noticed a lone figure walk leisurely into the yard.
"Oh, look! There he is. We don't have to worry about anything then." As Hayama joined them, Tsuyoshi-kun smiled to his friend. "Morning, Akito-kun."
"Morning."
"You're later than usual today."
"So?"
"Oh, nothing. You just usually get to school earlier. Anyway, I think Sana-chan said she wanted to see you in the music room at lunch."
"Why doesn't she ask me herself?"
"She's busy talking to Hisae-chan. I just remembered that she mentioned it."
Hayama glanced over to the bubbly girl and noted the truth to Tsuyoshi-kun's words. Deciding to ignore him, Hayama walked into class, Tsuyoshi-kun trailing after him hopefully.
///// At lunch...
"Sana-chan, have you seen Hayama-kun today?" Aya-chan asked worriedly. "He was supposed to meet Tsuyoshi-kun at lunch and it's already started."
Sana-chan's face set in a look of determination. Placing her hands on her hips, she contemplated the situation. "Hmm... I know!"
Aya-chan puzzled at her exclamation. "You do? Where is he?" she asked, cautiously.
"Eh? What are you talking about, Aya-chan? I don't know where Hayama is. But I know where my lunch is!" She ran to her desk and pulled her lunch bag from out of it. "I wonder what Mama made me," she pondered aloud, sifting through its contents.
"Sana-chan! This is serious! Hayama-kun could be in trouble! Tsuyoshi-kun's really worried."
Sana-chan waved her off with her hand. "Relax, relax. Hayama knows how to take care of himself. He's a big boy now."
"But what if something happened to him? Hayama-kun doesn't usually forget."
Sana-chan stopped, letting this new idea roll through her head. "You're right! Hayama could be drowning in a pool somewhere!" An image of Hayama half-submerged in water appeared in her mind's eye. "Or a gust of wind could have swept his homework away and he's chasing it down right now!" She giggled slightly at the thought of Hayama trying to climb a utility pole to get to his snagged homework.
"Could that really happen?" Aya-chan asked doubtfully, mentally questioning the sanity of her friend.
"Of course it could," Sana-chan replied cheerily, patting Aya-chan's shoulder. "Now, let's go find him!"
Aya-chan brightened. "We should, shouldn't we?"
"Now, where would Hayama be hiding?"
"I don't think he's hiding..."
Completely ignoring Aya-chan, Sana-chan pointed to her left. "Aya-chan, you look that way. I'll go this way." She pointed ahead of her.
"But Sana-chan... that's the girls' washroom. Hayama-kun wouldn't go in there."
"I know. But I really have to go to the washroom." With that she ran off.
Aya-chan sighed, then walked off feeling lucky.
Inside the girls' washroom, Sana-chan stood at the sink, washing her hands. As she turned off the tap, she looked up into the mirror and noticed the reflection of graffiti on the wall behind her. She turned around to take a look and read the message: If you want to see Hayama Akito again, go to the music room. Sana-chan frowned at it for a moment before skipping out of the washroom. "To the music room," she sang to herself. "This is easier than I thought it would be."
Upon entering the music room, however, Sana-chan realized that it was empty. "Funny," she murmured. "The message said that I'd see him hear..."
"Kurata," came a voice from within the shadows of a corner.
Sana-chan jumped back in fright. Grabbing her mallet, she began to attack the stranger with a series of well-aimed Komawari bonks. "Pervert! Pervert! Help me, somebody! There's a pervert in the music room!"
The stranger reached up amidst the bonks and grabbed her wrist, preventing further damage to his head. "No one told you to come here by yourself, stupid."
Sana-chan blinked, finally focusing in on the figure of Hayama. "Hayama! What do you think you're doing, putting signs up in the girls' washroom and luring them to the music room to attack them?! Pervert! Pervert! Pervert!" She bonked him again for good measure.
"What sign? I thought you wanted to see me," Hayama answered in defense, his eyes already darting about the room suspiciously.
Through a crack in the door, Tsuyoshi-kun and Aya-chan could be seen peering in on the scene unfolding. "Oh, no. I think they've found us out, Tsuyoshi-kun. What are we going to do?" Aya-chan whispered worriedly.
She need not have feared, for Sana-chan shrugged instantly and sat herself in one of the chairs. "Sure. I only saw you last period, but that's okay. What were you doing before I came down?" she asked, diverting Hayama's attention away from their surroundings.
"Nothing."
"Oh, you had to be doing something. You can't just do nothing." Sana-chan smiled at her own cleverness, swinging her legs back and forth. She caught sight of a tray containing two drinks on it. "Hey! You made something to drink! See, liar! You did do something! That was nice of you!" Bounding out of her chair, she skipped to the tray and downed one of the drinks in one gulp.
Hayama stared at her. "I didn't make any drinks."
"Here, have the other one." Sana-chan offered him the other cup. Hayama stared down at it skeptically.
"Which one did she drink?" Tsuyoshi-kun whispered.
"The normal one, I think," Aya-chan replied.
"That means that Akito-kun gets... ohh-" Tsuyoshi-kun trailed off, watching Hayama stare at the cup in distrust.
"Come on, Hayama. It's only orange juice."
Hayama looked up at Sana-chan, studying her face for signs of pain or rabies. Finally, when he was satisfied that she was not in any danger of poisoning, he slowly took the cup from her. Sana-chan hurried back to her chair and resumed swinging her legs. Hayama continued to stare at the contents of his cup for a few more moments, obviously wary.
Sana-chan noticed this and giggled. "Hayama, you're such a scaredy-bat!"
"It's scaredy-cat, and no, i'm not." Glaring at her, he brought the cup to his lips and swallowed the juice in one mouthful.
"Ooh," Sana-chan taunted, clearly amused. "You only did that because I was teasing you."
"No, I didn't. I was thirsty." He paused. Was he getting slightly dizzy or was that his imagination? Before he could confirm or deny the dizziness, it passed. Shaking his head, he looked back at Sana-chan. She sat there, humming tunelessly, looking up at him with a knowing smile. Suddenly, he was hit with a sudden urge to blurt out his feelings for her. The moment seemed right. She was happy; they were alone. What more could he possibly ask for? He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He tried again. "I... I..."
"You know, this seems awfully familiar. Has this happened before?" Sana-chan tilted her head to the side in contemplation, trying to bring back fuzzy memories.
Still, Hayama continued to struggle through his declaration. "I... I..."
And behind the door, Tsuyoshi-kun and Aya-chan could only shake their heads in defeat. "Next time, we'll have to label the cups so that Sana-chan takes the fixed one. It doesn't seem to work on Hayama-kun," Aya-chan murmured.
Tsuyoshi-kun turned and began to walk back towards their classroom. "Even when drugged, he can't seem to tell her how he feels. He's hopeless."
Inside, Hayama dueled with his tongue. "I..."
"Hayama, you forgot what you were going to say, didn't you?" Sana-chan asked. "It's okay. I forget things all the time. If you wait long enough, you'll remember. We should go back to class soon." A thud turned her attention away from class. Sana-chan looked up to see Hayama kicking the wall repeatedly in frustration. "Hayama! Stop vandalising school property! I told you that you'll remember soon." When he showed no signs of slowing down, she whipped out her mallet and began bonking him over the head with it. "Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!"
With the last bonk, he stopped and turned towards her. Unfortunately, the sadistic urge to confess swept over him again. "I... I..."
"Stupid Hayama, stop it! We'll be late for class if you don't. Lunch is almost over... Oh, no! Lunch! I completely forgot about it! I haven't even eaten yet! Oh, no! What am I going to do?! I'll starve to death! No one will ever see this beautiful face again! How could I not eat lunch?! Hurry, Hayama! I still have time to eat!" With that said and a quick glance towards the clock (which indicated 5 minutes before the end of lunch period), she dashed out of the room to inhale her food.
Hayama stopped stuttering the moment she left the room. He cast one last disdained glare at his empty cup before stuffing his hands into his pockets. Walking out after Sana-chan, he headed off with the intent of having a private "talk" with Tsuyoshi-kun.
///// Upstairs...
"Sana-chan. You should be careful not to eat so fast," Tsuyoshi-kun cautioned, watching Sana-chan shovel her lunch down her throat with lightning speed. "It's not safe. You could hurt yourself."
"Oi, Tsuyoshi-kun."
Tsuyoshi-kun looked up to see Hayama staring at him expressionlessly, though he had angled himself in such a way as to not look at Sana-chan. "Oh, uh, Akito-kun. Where were you during lunch? We couldn't find you." He shifted nervously on the spot. Hayama's blank exterior was starting to make him nervous.
"Actually, I need to talk to you about that."
"Really? D-Did something happen?"
Hayama just looked at Tsuyoshi-kun, deciding to let that be his answer.
Aya-chan jumped in to save Tsuyoshi-kun. "Look, class is starting! We'd better sit down." Tsuyoshi-kun was quick to listen, running to his desk.
Hayama glared after him as he returned to his own desk. Sana-chan had, meanwhile, managed to finish her lunch. She proudly put her lunch bag away, oblivious to the goings-on around her. "That was delicious! I hope Mama makes more of that again!"
Hisae-chan and Mami-chan stared at her in disbelief. "Wow, Sana-chan. You're so awesome! How could you even taste your lunch?"
"With lots of training for my Speed-Eating Technique at Komawari Theatre!" Sana-chan answered, proudly. Her friends stared at her in admiration, before they were forced to sit down for class.
///// At home, after school...
"I'm home!" Sana-chan called out, running in.
"Ah, Sana-chan. How was school today?" Mama appeared at the entrance in her car.
"It was lots of fun. Hayama got lost, but I managed to find him because he told me where to go. We had juice and Hayama was going to tell me something, but he forgot. Then I ate your lunch, and it was yummy, yummy, yummy! After school, Hayama was being mean, but I stopped him."
Mama raised an eyebrow in interest. "Oh? Mean, you say?"
"Yeah, yeah! He was being Stupid Hayama, chasing after Tsuyoshi-kun. But don't worry, Mama. I won't let Hayama bully anyone again!" She beamed, remembering how she'd managed to stop Hayama with her mallet. He'd started stuttering again, but Sana-chan had reassured him that he'd remember what he'd wanted to say, before she ran off to Rei-kun's car.
As Sana-chan skipped off to her put her school bag away, Mama smiled to herself. "I believe Hayama will never bully anybody as long as Sana-chan is around."
/// The End...
Success! A third Adventure is complete! Hmm... corny ending, but my creative energy is running a little on the low side. Hopefully the 4th installment will be more waffy. Depends on how much I can think up without making it too sappy. ;)