Again, I wish I was creative enough to come up with the characters of Kodocha... alas I lack any creativity of the sort and am only stealing the characters for my own devious plots.... :( This story begins a couple days after The Missing Friend Adventure.
/// The Story...
The Zoo Adventure
A gentle breeze rustled through the trees lining a quiet suburban road. Quiet chirps of resting birds could be heard through the leaves, sounding every so often. All was peaceful. Hayama stood outside the gates of a relatively large mansion, leaning against its wrought iron posts. His minutes passed in silence, listening as the city slowly began to awaken.
"Good morning, Akito-kun," Tsuyoshi-kun greeted, approaching his best friend with a smile.
"Morning," was all the reply he received.
"Is Sana-chan coming out soon?"
"No."
Tsuyoshi-kun gave Hayama a questioning look. "No? But I thought we agreed to meet at 10'o'clock this morning."
"We did."
Tsuyoshi-kun was now confused. It didn't help that Hayama's answers were short and to the point. "Did she forget? Did she go out already?"
"No."
Despairing of ever discovering the reason why Sana-chan wasn't coming out soon, Tsuyoshi-kun leaned back beside Hayama, puzzling through the information silently. Finally, he asked, "Why isn't she coming out yet?"
"Because she's still asleep."
Having asked the right question that explained the situation to him, Tsuyoshi-kun smiled. "Did you already ring the doorbell, then?"
"No," Hayama answered. Technically, this was true, he conceded to himself. He hadn't rung the doorbell; he'd just knocked on the door. The Kurata maid had answered, replying that Sana-chan hadn't awoken yet. She had assured Hayama that she would wake Sana-chan immediately, and that had been 10 minutes ago. Hayama wondered what she looked like when she slept. It was the only time she was still and peaceful. Sana-chan had fallen asleep on his couch before, but his family had been home and he couldn't watch her then.
Tsuyoshi-kun grinned, seeming to read Hayama's thoughts. "You really like her, don't you, Akito-kun?"
Hayama glared at his friend for being able to voice what he could not. "Hmph."
Falling into his own musings, Tsuyoshi-kun replied, "It's too bad that Aya-chan couldn't come along. It would've been a lot of fun."
Even I wish she'd come, Hayama thought to himself. Now he had to share Sana-chan's attention with Tsuyoshi-kun. That only made him glare harder.
A sudden wail sounded, sending Tsuyoshi-kun into a fit of shudders. Hayama continued glaring ahead, unphased. "I'm late! Oh, no! How could I be late?! Mama! Rei-kun! Why didn't you call me?!"
"We tried, but you wouldn't wake up," came the calm reply from Mama. "Your friends are waiting outside."
"Oh, I can't believe I slept in! Of all days, too!!"
Tsuyoshi-kun shook his head. "Just like Sana-chan to sleep in and be late." Hayama kept silent.
Within minutes, Sana-chan dashed out the door, fully dressed and ready to go. "Good morning!! To the zoo!" Tsuyoshi-kun could only gape in shock that Sana-chan could've gotten ready in so little time. Hayama ignored both and began walking off towards the nearby subway station.
Interpreting this as a sign of annoyance, Sana-chan ran after Hayama. "Please forgive me, but I slept in and Mama and Rei-kun tried to wake me up but they couldn't because I was having such a nice dream about going on a picnic and--"
"Shut up."
Sana-chan blinked in surprise, then began a glaring contest with Hayama. "That's so rude! I was trying to explain--"
"You were giving me a headache."
"You're so mean!! As mean as a bean, as cunning as an ox!" With that, she used her purse as a projectile, landing it against the back of Hayama's head.
"Ox? I thought it was fox," Tsuyoshi-kun murmured to himself.
Having created no reaction out of Hayama, Sana-chan stopped her silliness for a short moment. "I really am sorry."
"Fine. Hurry up or we're going to miss the train."
Sana-chan's face broke out into a grin. "We're catching the train? Really? Oh, I didn't know that! This is going to be so much fun!" So saying, she hooked arms with each boy and began skipping down the sidewalk.
///// At the zoo...
Having purchased their admission tickets, the trio referred to a map of the zoo that Tsuyoshi-kun had thought to bring. Sana-chan became all excitement, realizing exactly what animals were contained within. "Look! They have lions and tigers! There's panda bears too. Oh, and wolves!" She turned to Hayama with a sly grin. "Maybe you can get to know them and you'll all be lone wolves together."
Hayama regarded her in silence, wondering what drugs had been snuck into her breakfast.
"Sana-chan, what do you want to see first?" Tsuyoshi-kun asked.
"All of them!" Sana-chan shouted, jumping up and down happily.
"I don't think it's possible to see them all at once," Tsuyoshi-kun began. "Why don't we go around in a circle." He indicated a path leading around the zoo. "That way, we can see all the animals here."
"Wow, Tsuyoshi-kun! That's a great idea!" Sana-chan slapped him on the back in approval before marching off.
Tsuyoshi-kun turned to Hayama, rather proud of himself for coming up with such a good plan. He stopped short at the look Hayama was levelling at him. "Oh, uh... I'm sure you were thinking about it in your head."
"Hmph," was the reply. With hands stuffed into pockets, Hayama led Tsuyoshi-kun after Sana-chan, who was gleefully trying to attract the attention of a pigeon.
"Look at all the animals they have in the zoo. There are so many birds!" She pointed to a clump of trees, with shining eyes. Turning their attention in the indicated direction, Hayama and Tsuyoshi-kun noticed a flock of pigeons pecking away at the ground.
"Sana-chan, those are pigeons. You can find them all over the city," Tsuyoshi-kun explained.
"Don't be silly, Tsuyoshi-kun. You can only find them at the zoo. Why else would they be here?"
"Stupid. Let's go look at the real animals," Hayama replied, turning towards the lion area.
"Hey! Who're you calling stupid? Those are real animals too! Stupid Hayama!" Sana-chan called out indignantly. She and Tsuyoshi-kun followed nonetheless.
///// An hour later...
"I'm so hungry. Where's the nearest restaurant?" Sana-chan moaned, clutching her stomach. It grumbled in response.
"Oi, Tsuyoshi-kun. Are you sure this is the path we were supposed to take?" Hayama asked doubtfully, scanning the immediate surroundings. All he could see were row upon row of trees. Even the path they had been treading had given way to dirt, and was no longer visible.
"It should be," Tsuyoshi-kun hesitated, uneasily. "The map told us to go this way."
"Let me see," Hayama demanded, snatching the map from Tsuyoshi-kun's hands. He studied it for some moments, then turned it over when he found everything exactly as Tsuyoshi-kun had said. He immediately noticed something on the cover. "Tsuyoshi-kun..." He looked up at his friend stonily.
"Yes? Did you find a way back?" Tsuyoshi-kun peered over Hayama's shoulder obliviously.
"Where did you get this map?"
"What does that have anything to do with going back? I need food!" Sana-chan wailed.
Tsuyoshi-kun scratched his head. "I think I found it stuck in my mom's purse. Why?"
Hayama thrust the map back into Tsuyoshi-kun's hand. "This is a map of a zoo 50 kilometres from the city."
"We have a map to the wrong zoo?" Sana-chan asked. "Why?"
Tsuyoshi-kun smiled apologetically. "Really? I guess I didn't read the front when I put it in my bag. I just saw the word 'zoo'." He paused to see Hayama staring at him expressionlessly. "I didn't mean to do it. Honest! I should've read more carefully."
Hayama turned on his heels. "It doesn't matter. We're out here already, so let's try to get back."
Sana-chan followed, groaning about starvation, while Tsuyoshi-kun lagged behind. Hayama continued walking in the direction he believed to be towards the zoo, but after another 30 minutes they still hadn't seen anything remotely familiar.
Sana-chan finally collapsed against a tree, moaning about the end of the world. "I'll never see anyone again. I'll die young, in the prime of my youth! This can't be happening to me! I have so much potential in life. I could become famous--"
"You're already famous, though," Tsuyoshi-kun pointed out.
"--and I'll never see the light of day again!" Sana-chan finished, dramatically, ignoring Tsuyoshi-kun's comment.
Tsuyoshi-kun thrust his hands into his pockets, but quickly pulled his right hand out. "Oh, Sana-chan. I found some candy if you want it."
"Candy?! Thank you so much!" Sana-chan snatched the package from Tsuyoshi-kun's outstretched hands and threw its contents into her mouth.
"Why do you have unfinished candy in your pocket?" Hayama asked distrustfully.
"Don't worry, Hayama. It's not drugged or anything. Oh, I mean..." Tsuyoshi-kun blushed as recent memories entered his mind. Hayama only stared at him, the event still fresh in his own mind as well.
Sana-chan had meanwhile finished off the candy. Happily restored of her energy, she bounced towards her two companions. "Come on! We still haven't seen the lions!"
"We haven't seen anything yet," Hayama replied. Tsuyoshi-kun blushed further.
"Don't be a spoil-snort, Hayama--"
"It's spoil-sport," Hayama interjected.
"That's what I said. Anyway, we've seen all sorts of things! See, there's lots of trees and grass and... look! A bird just flew by! Wait for me!" With that, Sana-chan took off after the bird.
Hayama and Tsuyoshi-kun took off after her, Hayama muttering under his breath, "She's going to get us even more lost." They lost sight of her when she turned behind a particularly large tree. They slowed to a stop, turning about in a circle.
"Akito-kun, what are we going to do? We've lost her now," Tsuyoshi-kun asked in despair.
"What are you talking about, Tsuyoshi-kun? Who have we lost?"
The two turned to see Sana-chan glancing around in bewilderment. "Who's lost, Tsuyoshi-kun?" she repeated.
"You were," he answered.
Sana-chan looked at him, puzzled. "Me? How can I be lost? I'm with you guys. Are you sure you're not talking about someone else? Aya-chan, maybe? Where did she go?"
"Sana-chan, Aya-chan never came with us," Tsuyoshi-kun pointed out.
"Really? Well, look at what I found!" She darted around the tree to point at a flock of pigeons again. "See? I told you we've seen lots of things!"
Hayama did a doubletake at the birds, then at their surroundings. "We're back at the entrance," he stated.
Looking around, Tsuyoshi-kun verified this to be true. "Wow, Sana-chan. You helped us find our way back."
"What are you talking about, Tsuyoshi-kun? We didn't have to find anything. You're not making any sense today." Sana-chan skipped off towards the lion area, startling the pigeons into flight.
///// A zoo later...
"Those snakes were so cute!" Sana-chan exclaimed, exiting the Reptile building. She spotted an ice cream stand in the distance. "Hayama, Hayama! Look!" Sana-chan tugged at Hayama's sleeve persistently, pointing towards the stand.
Hayama glanced over. "It's an ice cream stand."
"Yeah! Let's go!"
"Why? I don't want any ice cream." He received a bonk on the head for his reply.
"Stupid Hayama! You owe me an ice cream!"
"What are you talking about? I don't owe you anything."
"Don't you remember?"
"No."
"Well, you owe me an ice cream. Ice cream! Ice cream! Ice cream!" Sana-chan marched circles around Hayama, chanting.
"Okay, okay. Just shut up," Hayama glared. Sana-chan dragged him over to the stand excitedly.
"Three chocolate ice creams, please!" She called out.
As the ice cream vendor handed them their ice cream, Hayama stared at Sana-chan. "Three? I thought I only owed you one."
"Silly, of course. But you and Tsuyoshi-kun wanted ice cream too."
"I said I didn't want any." Hayama turned to Tsuyoshi-kun, who took a step back.
"I didn't say anything," he replied, holding his hands up in defense.
The vendor cleared his throat expectantly. Hayama glanced up, then dug into his pockets resignedly.
After Hayama had paid for the ice cream, Sana-chan patted him gleefully on the shoulder. "Hayama, it's so nice to buy us ice cream."
"You forced me into it."
"Hayama," Tsuyoshi-kun whispered into his ear. "You should be nicer to her, or she'll never figure out that you like her." Hayama glanced at Tsuyoshi-kun warily.
"What are you guys talking about? Tell me, tell me, tell me! Why are you guys whispering? I want to know! What are you whispering about?!"
"Nothing." Hayama turned and headed for the exit. Tsuyoshi-kun sighed, shaking his head.
Sana-chan ran after Hayama. "Where are you going? Why are you walking away? I want to know!"
"Shut up."
"But why are you walking away? Where are we going?"
Hayama broke into a run. "Crazy girl, stop following me."
"Hayama, come back! Where are we going?" Sana-chan tackled Hayama to the ground. "Why were we running?" she asked innocently. When she got no response, she continued, "Were you running from me? Aren't we friends?" She smiled at him expectantly, then turned inquisitive. "Hayama, why are you turning blue? Was it the ice cream? Are you trying to match the sky?"
"Sana-chan, you're squishing him."
"Oh!" Sana-chan jumped up from her seat on his chest. "Haha! I didn't think I was that heavy." She giggled. "Hayama's so weak. He couldn't even push me off."
"Whatever," Hayama replied gruffly, rising and dusting himself off.
Sana-chan beamed at Hayama. "Well, I know what you were going to say anyway. I think we're the best friends in the world!"
"I never said that! I wasn't even thinking that!" Hayama said indignantly.
"I think Akito-kun was thinking that," Tsuyoshi-kun replied, smiling.
"Tsuyoshi-kun, be quiet."
"Aww, poor Hayama. I think some more ice cream will make you feel better. Let's go home." Sana-chan laughed, patting Hayama on the head.
"Oh, I won't be able to. Sorry, Sana-chan. I have to help my mom make dinner tonight." Tsuyoshi-kun looked apologetically at Sana-chan.
"That's okay. We'll walk you home first."
///// At Tsuyoshi-kun's house...
"Good night, Tsuyoshi-kun!" Sana-chan waved.
"Good night. Thanks for asking me to the zoo."
As Tsuyoshi-kun entered his apartment building, Sana-chan smiled, then turned to Hayama. "He seems to be doing okay without his father. He seems happy."
Hayama shrugged. "It's hard for him. He has to take care of his mother and little sister." He paused, then added, "It makes him feel more grown-up, though."
"It makes him feel more grown-up?" Sana-chan repeated. She glanced back at Tsuyoshi-kun's apartment building thoughtfully. "I never thought about that. It's too bad Aya-chan couldn't come. Tsuyoshi-kun would've been extra happy."
Hayama shuffled his foot awkwardly. "Well..."
Sana-chan turned to him expectantly. "Hmm?"
Hayama stared at the ground. Tsuyoshi's words kept echoing in his head. 'You should be nicer to her, or she'll never figure out that you like her.' He shook his head quickly. "Argh.."
Sana-chan blinked. "Argh?"
"No, um, I mean.. it was... nice of you to... invite him along anyway."
A soft smile spread across Sana-chan's features. "It was your idea though. I just wanted to go to the zoo."
"Yeah, well..." At a loss for words, Hayama kicked at a pebble on the sidewalk.
"Let's go home, Hayama," Sana-chan suggested understandingly. Hayama silently followed her lead, fighting a blush from spreading over his face.
They had walked on for another 10 minutes in silence before Sana-chan stopped to peer at Hayama. "Hayama, you're looking a little funny. Are you feeling okay?"
"I'm fine," Hayama replied gruffly.
Sana-chan straightened. "That's good. I always want you to feel happy." Hayama looked up at her quickly, then averted his eyes again. Sana-chan smiled. "I'd better go home. Mama and Rei-kun will be worried. See you at school, Hayama." Waving, Sana-chan turned to leave, but a hand reached out and grabbed her wrist. She turned back to look at Hayama questioningly, but when he stood there in silence, she prodded him with her free hand. "Hayama, are you sure you're okay?"
"I said I'm fine." He hesitated. "I..."
Sana-chan smiled. "Forgot again, did you?"
"No."
She blinked. She managed out a "No?" before Hayama leaned in to press his lips against hers.
"G'night," he mumbled, quickly releasing her and running off towards his house.
Sana-chan brought a hand to her lips in surprise, staring after him in shock.
Later, when she was tucked into the covers of her bed, Sana-chan stared at the ceiling in silent contemplation. Another kiss... Why does Hayama keep doing that? Does he really like me? As she replayed the kiss in her mind, a soft smile played across her features and she drifted off to sleep.
A short distance away, at the Hayama residence, Hayama was silently brooding over his actions, still not believing he was capable of a kiss and not a statement. He relived this most recent kiss in his head as well, and smiled at the thought.
And the city slowly fell asleep under a clear night sky.
/// The End...
Well? How's that for you die-hard S/H fans? (like moi ;P) This one took me a while longer to write than Ch. 3... mostly because I actually wanted this one to be thought through and not put together at the moment. Going off on a tangent, I have yet to see the JH/NY episodes, goddamit! It's not fair! Those are the ones I'm really looking forward to, since that's where everything starts to liven up a little. (just so Sana and Hayama can get together at the end... awww...)
Well, hope you all liked the 4th chapter. Till next time, ciao.