I, Sakura Cherry Blossom, do place this story into the hands of Takari's Baybee

so she may let the Takari fans enjoy this story as a part of her wonderful

Takari collection.

Title: Blind Date with a Twist

Author: Sakura Cherry Blossom

~

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Ken Ichijouji asked his girlfriend, Miyako Inoue.

"Yes. Trust me. Besides your the one who said they were perfect for each other, they just need to figure it out. Well, it's my experience that sometimes you need to give them a push. That's what we are here to do. Give them a little push. Just make sure he shows up at the restaurant at the right time and I won't have a reason to yell at you." Miyako stated putting her plan into action.

"All right, but I still say it's better to leave them alone and let them discover it on their own." Ken replied to his violet haired girlfriend.

"Good. You better hurry or you'll miss him. His practice is over in two minutes." Miyako added as she pushed her black haired boyfriend down the hallway.

Miyako was friends with the ever popular Hikari Yagami. Sure Hikari was a Sophomore while Miyako was a Senior, but that didn't stop the two from becoming best friends. They had met at Miyako's family run convenience store. After several visits the two became good friends. Miyako took Hikari under her wing, when the brunette entered High School, and taught her how to survive. It didn't take long for Hikari to rise to the popular status. Due to that no one questioned the friendship between the two.

Ken was best friends with Takeru Takashi, the captain of the basketball team.

They were both Seniors and planing on which colleges they would attend. They wanted to go to the same college. Ken was also athletic being the captain of the soccer team. That's where they met the other member of their circle, Daisuke Motomiya. He was a year younger than them, but they didn't notice.  Daisuke could be annoying at times, but for the most part they all got along.  When Ken was a Sophomore, he met and fell in love with they lovely Miyako.

Miyako had cornered Ken after school, the beginning of their Senior year, and explained that she realized just how perfect her friend Hikari and his friend Takeru were for each other. Thus operation 'Blind Date' was initiated. Ken totally protested at first, but eventually gave in. It was easier on him and still kept his sanity in tact. The plan was to get both Hikari and Takeru in the same restaurant at the same time. Miyako had gone through hundreds of different scenarios before choosing to just plain set them up on a blind date.  Neither one knew each other, except for passing each other in the halls. Miyako planned and planned until it was perfect. They were to meet at a semi-fancy restaurant, Friday at 7:00. Miyako knew it would be a success. Ken, however, wasn't so optimistic. He knew that bad things usually happened to those who set their friends up on blind dates.

Hikari sighed as she stared at her reflection for the hundredth time. Why on earth did she let her best friend, Miyako set her up on a blind date? 'Because all your other attempts at finding a guy have failed miserably.' A voice inside her head answered. That still didn't make her less nervous. She toyed with the idea of just calling Miyako and telling her that she was sick. Of course that would never work because Miyako could always tell when Hikari was lying. She sighed again and finally resigned herself to going. After all the guy might be kinda cute.

Takeru was waiting outside the restaurant for his blind date. Why on earth did he let Ken talk him into this? He could have any girl he wanted and instead he was outside a restaurant on a Friday night waiting for some girl that would probably be a waste of a good Friday night. Ever since Ken started dating Miyako, he started getting weirder and weirder. Ken would owe him big for this. Takeru sighed looking at his watch for the hundredth time. Was she running late on purpose? The longer he waited, the more agitated he became. Takeru finally decided that the only way to survive this date was to fake his way through it.  He'd put on an act so convincing no one would believe it wasn't real. He'd tell her he had a great time, then break her heart in the worst way. It normally wasn't like him, but maybe this would give Ken and Miyako the hint to stay out of his love life.

Hikari walked along the busy streets toward the restaurant she was to meet her blind date at. The whole way she thought of ways to survive what was going to be the worst night of her life. He was going to be a total bore and probably not that good looking. Her only hope was to totally fake her way through dinner. She'd put her drama skills to good use and fool the poor guy into thinking that she was actually enjoying herself. Then she would dump him before he had a chance to dump her. She smiled at her plan. That would teach Miyako to stay out of her private life. No more blind dates! She reached the restaurant and saw a huge crowd surging in. She was supposed to meet her blind date outside the restaurant so, she waited until the crowd had dispersed. When the sidewalk was clear she noticed one person leaning up against the side of the building. She almost gasped in shock. Her blind date was Takeru Takashi! Was Miyako serious or was this some kind of sick joke? Why on earth her friend wanted her to get together with someone who was two years older than her and not even remotely in her interest, was beyond her. She would enjoy breaking his heart!

Takeru looked up to see a petite brunette staring or rather glaring at him. He shook his head. Miyako was one twisted girl. This girl was not only two years younger than him, she was someone he didn't want to share the same breathing space with little alone go out with. Maybe this was all a joke and they would jump out from the bushes and yell surprise, or something.

"So I guess you're my blind date for the evening. I don't know about you, but I'm starving. Shall we at least go into the restaurant and enjoy a nice dinner?" Hikari ventured.

"Sure. Why not." Takeru replied opening the door for her.

The two were seated and they decided what they wanted rather quickly. They both decided to put their plans in action and engaged in conversation. The topics ranged from family, to friends, to hobbies, and they soon realized they were finding out a lot about each other. They each played out their "acts" flawlessly and by the time dinner was over, both were duped into thinking the other had the best time of their lives. They said goodbye at the door to the restaurant and headed home their separate ways. Over the weekend, both Hikari and Takeru had time to reflect on their blind date. The end result: neither enjoyed the night.

"Hey Takashi! Can I speak to you?" Hikari called to the Senior. They had both just walked into the school and Hikari had spotted him as she rounded the corner on her way to her locker.

"Sure." He responded slamming his locker shut.

"Look about Friday night, I know you had a great time and all, but let me just get one thing straight. I don't go for guys older than me. Got that. I only did this as a favor to my best friend Miyako. I hate to say this, but it's better if we both went our separate ways and never spoke to each other again." Hikari stated.

"Sounds good to me. By the way, Yagami, I didn't enjoy myself either. This was just to get my best friend Ken to shut up. If I wanted to date a Sophomore, I could have done a lot better than you. Sorry." Takeru agreed.

"Fine." Hikari replied before turning on her heal and heading towards her locker.

Little did either of them know that both Ken and Miyako heard the whole conversation. Miyako was almost in tears as Ken tried to do something to comfort her. For almost one week neither Hikari nor Takeru spoke to Ken or Miyako. When the two were on speaking terms with their best friends, both Ken and Miyako apologized for setting them up on a horrible blind date. After awhile the whole blind date fiasco was forgotten. Christmas was fast approaching and so was the Winter Festival. It was almost like a winter prom.  Hikari and Miyako were on the decorating committee. Miyako couldn't help but wonder who would ask Hikari to the dance. After the blind date disaster, three months earlier, she was reluctant to bring up anything to do with boys around Hikari. Rumor had it that Takeru had already asked out some stuck up blonde haired cheerleader to the dance. Some stupid girl who was definently not right for him in Miyako's opinion.

Miyako sighed as she helped Hikari hang the wall decorations. She knew a lot about love and although she wasn't an expert on the subject, Miyako believed that she knew who should be together better than most people. 'I suppose Ken is right.' She told herself. 'I'll just have to let them discover on their own how right they are for each other.'

"I think that just about does it." Hikari stated as she stood back to admire her work. "What do you think Miyako?"

"I think it looks great Hikari. You really outdid yourself this year." Miyako praised her brown haired friend.

"Glad you like it. I think I'll call it a day and see you at the dance on Friday." Hikari informed her friend. She headed to her locker to retrieve her bag. On her way there she spotted Takeru flirting with the head cheerleader.  'He deserves so much better than her.' She heard herself say. 'What! Are you crazy? Get a grip Yagami! You don't care about him, especially after the disaster of a blind date. Forget him and move on!' She scolded herself. She sighed as she opened her locker, retrieving her things. "Then why do I keep seeing his face every time I close my eyes?" She questioned as she walked by the gym where Miyako just happened to be standing.

'I so did not just hear that. Did I? Hikari thinking about Takeru?  Impossible. They agreed they didn't want anything to do with each other. I'm just hearing things.' Miyako said to herself.

Down the hall, Takeru was saying goodbye to the cheerleader as he turned to get his stuff out of his locker. For a few seconds he just stared at the opposite wall. 'What am I doing?' He asked himself. 'You are getting your stuff so you can go home.' He answered. 'Right question, wrong answer. What am I doing flirting around with hot girls like some girl crazed, mindless jerk? I know there is the perfect girl for me out there somewhere. Ken finding Miyako is a great example of that. The question is, will I ever find her if I continue to chase after the really cute girls and never take the chance to get to know them personally. Then again, have I ever taken the time to get to know a girl?' He closed his locker and shouldered his bag as he pondered his last question. As he exited the school he caught sight of a brunette racing down the street, probably trying to get home before she missed dinner.

Takeru stared at the sidewalk as he walked home. Why was he thinking about stuff like this now? Was it because of the dance on Friday? He'd already asked someone so it wasn't that, or was it. He kicked the wall in frustration.  Lately it seemed as if his thoughts were ganging up on him. His mind was spinning, not in a fashion that would make him dizzy, but his thoughts seemed to be reeling out of control to the point he couldn't make sense out of them anymore. To make matters worse, there was this particular brunette he just couldn't get out of his head. It seemed every time he thought about girls, she was the first one he saw. He couldn't be falling for her, could he? No. They had agreed that it was pointless for them to have ever gone out in the first place. It was best for him to just erase her from his mind. Only one problem.  She was the only girl he'd ever really gotten to know. In fact he knew herbetter than he knew his own brother. At any rate, she'd have to wait until after the dance. He knew better than to break up with girls days before a major event like a dance.

Friday night came all to soon. Hikari had tagged along with Miyako and Ken.  It was no surprise that Hikari was dateless. Hikari never went out with just any guy. Neither Miyako or Ken minded. They were more than happy to have Hikari come along. The whole school seemed to have turned out for the event.  With a live band to entertain them, everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves.  Hikari sat at a table and watched the majority of the students dance. At first she pretended that it didn't bother her, that no one wanted to dance with her.  By the time the evening was more than half over, though, she was seriously not having fun. Although she was popular, the fact that she turned down every guy who asked her out, gave the hint that she wanted to be alone this night and she got what they thought she wanted. In her opinion, the worst part was watching a certain blonde dance the night away with the most stuck up, arrogant, popular cheerleader, Hikari had ever seen. Oh he seemed to be enjoying himself, but Hikari seemed to believe he deserved better. 'Where on earth are you getting this from?' She asked herself. 'Do you want to date him?' It was that question which really turned the gears in her head. At first she was defensive, telling herself that there was no way she would date someone as impossible as him, but the more she looked at him, the more she realized that there was something very different about him. All the other guys she'd ever gone out with were boring, uninteresting losers who could barely hold her attention for five minutes. This guy, however, had not only held her attention, he'd told her everything she wanted to know without hesitation. Maybe that was what made her want to get to know him better. She could lie to him about their blind date, but in the end she couldn't lie to herself.

Takeru swung the blonde cheerleader around through another boring slow song.  He was honestly having a hard time staying awake. 'Why?' He asked himself.  Usually he didn't get this bored on dates. Maybe it was because they had talked about everything under the sun in the first five dances. There was nothing left to talk about. 'Wait a minute. Maybe that's the problem. Why do I always need to be talking about something with the girls I date when Ken seems perfectly content just being with Miyako? They don't need a steady stream of conversation. Why can't I find that with some girl?' He pondered to himself.  His gaze traveled around the room. It suddenly stopped on the only one who was not dancing. 'She looks so sad.' He thought. 'Almost like she wishes she were anywhere but here. Snap out of it Takashi! You've got a gorgeous date, forget about the looser Sophomore.' Takeru turned back to look at the girl in his arms and something hit him. Why was he dancing himself bored when there was someone else who was bored because she had no choice. It was then that he made a decision. Something that would probably change everything, but he didn't care.

The song ended and Hikari looked up to see what would happen next. A few couples left the dance floor for refreshment, but most stayed to dance the night away. The brunette sighed. This was officially the worst night of her life. She'd spent a small fortune on her dress and had barely gotten any use out of it. She hoped she could find the receipt so, she could return it. She turned back to the glass of punch she'd been nursing for the past three songs.  Something caught her attention and she looked up only to come face to face with a familiar blonde haired boy.

"I take it your nights been about as fun as end of the year finals." Takeru said to Hikari as he sat down next to her.

"That's one way of putting it." Hikari replied still unsure of why he had come over to talk to her. "No offense, but shouldn't you be with your date instead of a stupid Sophomore like me?"

"Honestly, if I have to dance one more slow song with her, I won't be able to stay awake long enough to drive home." Takeru explained as a small smile pulled at the corners of his mouth.

ikari just stared at him. Was this the same guy she'd gone on a blind date with three months ago? Or was this what he was really like when she wasn't trying to fake his way through an evening? She blinked, to clear her thoughts so she could think of a reply. "It's a pity she puts you to sleep. The two of you just look so perfect together." Hikari replied.

"That may be true, but I'm starting to learn that looks can be deceiving."  Takeru told her.

Now she was baffled. This wasn't the guy she'd gone on a blind date with.  This was someone she might just learn to like. He wasn't being charming like with the other girls. For some reason Hikari could tell that he was just being himself around her. That was a first for her. Most guys who had any interest in her were always putting on an act to impress her. She'd always wanted someone who would keep in real with her. She smiled at him as the band started another song. She looked up into his sky blue eyes and thought she saw something there. For some reason he believed that he might just find the way to her heart by being real with her. It was almost as if she could read his thoughts. Had she judged him too quickly? Maybe the kind of guy she had been looking for all along was sitting right in front of her and she never even noticed. If that was true, there was no way she was going to let this one get away.

Takeru watched Hikari, trying to figure out what she was thinking. She seemed so deep in thought. He had to admit, once he took the time to really look at her, that she was beautiful. Before he realized it, he found himself staring into her ruby red eyes. In so many ways it was like looking into her soul. He seemed to sense that she was just as lost as he was in the whole dating game.  Could Ken and Miyako be right? Were they really perfect for each other?  Without thinking he asked, "would you like to dance?"

Hikari's breathe caught in her throat. 'He could have any girl he wanted and he asks me to dance? Could it be that he sees something in me that he likes?'  Hikari said to herself. "I'd love to." She told Takeru.

He smiled and led her out to the dance floor. Neither one noticed the looks they were getting from the other kids. All they saw was each other. Somehow, they found out that love is blind and that sometimes it takes a blind date to make two people see just how perfect they are for each other.

"See! I told you it would work." Miyako squealed as she watched the two dance.

"What are you talking about? Your blind date idea was a disaster. The only reason they are together is because they figured it out on their own." Ken retorted.

"But if it wasn't for my blind date they never would have known the other one existed so, I just gave them the push so they could figure it out." Miyako responded.

"Whatever, I'm just glad that Takeru found someone he actually deserves." Ken conceded.

"I agree. Hikari really does deserve him." Miyako stated.

~

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