Chiharu's Birthday Mayhem
By: pnaixrose
Disclaimer: I don't own CCS or any of its great characters.
Saturday, May 29...3 DAYS LEFT
"Oh my god...Oh my god...oh my god..."
It was ten o'clock on a Saturday morning. You'd think every other teenage girl would be planning to go hang out with friends today, especially if your birthday was just the day before.
But...
"OH MY GOD!"
Chiharu isn't that type of girl.
Flopping on top of her comfy bed, the events of yesterday flew through her mind as fast as the wind. She couldn't believe it. That must've been one of the best days of her life! She was quite excited that all of that had happened.
And also because of all the presents Yamazaki had given her. She treasured them all. Especially the bracelet which she was wearing that very second. She would wear it forever.
Sighing, she just simply couldn't get her mind to think about anything else other than him. She just...
...loved him so much.
He had done all of that for her. For her. He had almost gotten into trouble for throwing that class party, had probably wasted all his money on the beautiful bracelet and teddy bear, and had woken up early in the morning to come over her house...
...and he didn't regret doing any of that.
"Dear god...WHAT THE HELL AM I GOING TO DO?"
Good thing her parents weren't home. If they had heard what she was screaming she would have been in some deep trouble.
As you can see, there was just one small problem...
His birthday was coming up. It might've not seemed like a big deal to anyone else, but to her...it was a really, really big deal. After all, he had given her all that stuff. How was she going to compare to that! How was she even going to repay him for doing all that!
It wasn't that she was looking at it as a competition. She just really loved him. She wanted to show him that she was eternally grateful for him doing everything for her. She wanted to show him...that she simply loved him.
Yet, she was scared of rejection. What if he had done all of this just as a friend? What if he said no? What if he laughed in her face and said "Aha! Gotcha Chiharu!"? What if they did go out and he found she was boring and didn't like her after all? What if he liked someone else?
What if he didn't love her back...? That would have to be the worse feeling she could have. Just thinking about it made her sad.
Chiharu sighed and closed her brown eyes, trying to calm down. It was impossible to do so. So much pressure was on her shoulders. She had to find a perfect present in just three days. She had to find out if he liked her.
She didn't think she could go on knowing that he would always be there...but not there for her to kiss, to hug...to love.
Wait...she was crazy. He must like her at least a tiny bit! One wouldn't do all that for just a friend!
She sighed, deeper this time. Yamazaki would.
He was always the nice friend. And Chiharu was always the one teasing him.
That's why she needed the perfect present. To make up for everything wrong she had done to him. To tell him that she did care and that every little insult she told him wasn't really true.
"I need help..."
And she sure did. She was desperate for some help.
Ring...Ring...Ring...
"C'mon Sakura-chan! Pick up please!" Chiharu said anxiously.
She heard the phone click and knew someone had picked up. Hopefully it was Sakura.
"Moshi, Moshi? Kinomoto residence," came a deep, male voice.
"Kinomoto-san? This is Chiharu. Is Sakura-chan there?" She couldn't help but sound a little desperate.
"Ah! Chiharu-chan!" Sakura's dad said. "Gomen ne. She's at Syaoran-kun's house right now."
"THAT FUCKIN BAKA BETTER NOT DO ANYTHING TO HER!" Chiharu heard and instantly knew it was her brother, screaming at the top of his lungs.
She couldn't help but giggle a bit. Guess Syaoran and Touya still hadn't settled things between themselves yet.
She heard an embarrassed chuckled from the other line. "Touya! Gomen ne, Chiharu-chan. You should try her cell phone."
"Hai. Arigatou."
Click.
Not even letting a second pass, she was dialing the number of her cell phone and listening to how many rings pass. After about five more rings, her voice mail came up.
Chiharu sighed as she collapsed on the couch and dropped the phone onto the coffee table in front of her. Darn it. Sakura wasn't there.
She called everyone, but they all seemed to be busy today. Naoko was out with some members of the newspaper club, Rika was busy having lunch with her family at a restaurant, Syaoran and Sakura were together, Tomoyo and Eriol were out on a date...
NO ONE WAS HOME!
Well what do you expect? It was eleven thirty. The perfect time to spend some quality time with someone.
She wished she had a certain someone to spend quality time with.
Sighing, she trudged back to her room and picked out some clothes. Maybe for now she could go down to the shopping district. With any luck, she could pick out something there for Yamazaki or at least she'll find something that will inspire her to get him something else.
But then again...she didn't have much luck these days.
Stepping out into the bright, Spring morning, she turned around and locked the front door behind her securely. Then off she went, trying to appreciate the beautiful day. Kids were playing outside, adults were walking dogs, cars were zooming passed her...everything seemed to be in a lighter mood. It got pretty contagious and soon she wasn't worrying as much. After all, she did have a few days left to help her find something. She'd ask her friends tomorrow. They'll probably have some good ideas.
Turning a corner, she finally arrived at the shopping center with a lighter heart. Lots of people were there because of the beautiful weather. Starting to window shop, she looked carefully for anything that would interest Yamazaki.
A clothing store caught her eye. Clothes! Nah, too boring. That would be something you'd get from relatives on Christmas. Next was the book store. Yamazaki always loved books! But no. She had already decided that a book wouldn't do. Electronics? CDs? Movies?
Nope. Nah. No.
Boy this was going to me a rather long day...
It was about twelve thirty and Chiharu was getting rather tired. And nothing...nothing seemed to catch her eye. They were all just too boring for Yamazaki. He needed to be given something bold, something unique, something adventurous...
...like himself.
As she walked by Twin Bells, she decided to go in and say hello to Maki. She was already here and maybe Maki would have some ideas. If she wasn't too busy, Chiharu would ask her.
Walking into the store and hearing the bells hanging on the door ringing, she looked around for the tall, pretty store owner and spotted her putting up some new displays on a shelf. Trying not to get pushed by the little kids that were there, she made her way towards her. It was really crowded. But that was expected. On a bright Saturday like this all the kids in town would probably drop by sooner or later. Saturdays were the best days for Twin Bells.
"Hello Maki-san!" Chiharu exclaimed.
Maki smiled at who it was. "Chiharu-chan! What a nice visit!" she said she as placed the last doll on the shelf. She looked rather flustered and tired. Was Maki okay?
"Busy day, Maki-san?"
The woman nodded as she fixed some bookmarks that weren't in their proper places. "The person who was supposed to be at the cashier isn't here today and I have a whole new stock of things just in. I was supposed to put them up on that shelf over there." She pointed to an empty shelf above the assortment of different pencils and pens. Maki sighed as she heard the bell at the cashier ringing, signaling that a customer was waiting to purchase something.
"Maki-san, would you like me to help? You look like you need a rest," Chiharu suggested looking sadly at the tired woman.
Maki looked at her like Chiharu was an angel from above. "Really? You'd do that? But aren't you busy, Chiharu?"
Chiharu bit her bottom lip. She was really supposed to be looking for Yamazaki's present. But it didn't seem like things were coming along fine with that now. She could help her friend. Smiling brightly, she said, "I'm not doing anything! Don't worry! You do the cashier and I'll put up those things that you were supposed to display on the shelf."
Maki smiled gratefully and gave her a light hug. "Ah, Chiharu-chan! You're so sweet! The box is in the stock room."
The bell started ringing again and Maki departed, leaving Chiharu to her job.
Chiharu grinned as she took a step back and admired all the picture frames she had just displayed. She was almost done. Just one more box. Finding her way back to the stock room, she picked up the last box. She was glad she helped Maki today. That woman was really getting lots of customers. Pretty soon, all the kids in the whole country would want to come to Twin Bells.
As Chiharu was about to exit the stock room, she suddenly stopped, hearing a familiar voice at the cash register among the hustle and bustle of the other kids.
"Ano...you're Maki-san, ne?"
"Hai. Do you need any help?" came Maki's friendly voice.
"Um...I was just wondering if you saw Chiharu-chan by any chance. I was walking around and a friend asked me if I was here with Chiharu-chan. When I said no, he said she had come in here."
Huh? Who was looking for her?
"Oh! You're her boyfriend! I remember you now!"
Chiharu's face grew pink and she realized instantly who was looking for her. Running out of the stock room, she came face to face with Maki and Yamazaki.
"Chiharu-chan! Your boyfriend came to see you!" Maki said cheerily.
"Y-Yamazaki-kun! What are you doing here?"
She saw him grin widely. "I was looking for you...sweetie."
Chiharu grew even redder as she heard Maki squealed.
"Ah! I swear you two are the cutest couple ever!" she exclaimed.
"W-We're not-" Chiharu started.
"You can leave now Chiharu-chan," Maki interrupted with a smile. "Go and have some fun with your boyfriend. It's a beautiful day out there you know."
Chiharu tried again, her face even brighter. "Maki-san...w-we're not-"
"Oh no! It's all right. I'll help her out with the stock. You seem to have a busy day ahead of you, Maki-san," Yamazaki said politely. "Please allow me to help out."
Maki smiled and nodded. "So polite too! Chiharu-chan, he's a catch!"
The younger girl looked at the grinning Yamazaki, then to Maki and sighed. She wasn't going to try explaining things anymore.
Besides...she didn't mind.
"Ja ne, Maki-san!" Chiharu yelled as she and Yamazaki neared the Twin Bells' door.
She saw the woman at the counter smile. "Arigatou Chiharu-chan! You too Yamazaki-kun!"
Shutting the door behind them, Chiharu and Yamazaki walked out into the shopping district. It was one o'clock and since she had nothing for lunch, Chiharu heard her stomach growl loudly. She blushed yet again as Yamazaki chuckled.
"You know, they say stomachs growl when you're hungry because-"
Chiharu grinned. "Shut up. Let's just go eat."
Yamazaki laughed and led her towards water fountain that was situated in the middle of the shopping district. Sparkling water was bursting from the middle as Chiharu sat down on the edge.
"Hmm..." Yamazaki said as he looked around. "Aha! There's a hotdog stand. Want one?" She nodded and was about to stand when Yamazaki gently pushed her to sit. "No, no, stay here," he said with a grin. "It's on me."
Before she could argue, he was already off towards the stand. He was too nice sometimes.
Sighing she looked into the fountain water at her reflection. She was supposed to find him a present today. She couldn't do that now with him here. But she brightened up. Oh well. She'd rather spend the day with him than go looking at millions of different stores anyway.
Today seemed to be turning out to be good after all.
Suddenly she heard loud laughter and profanities and saw a group of three boys disrupting the peace of the place. She frowned. Uh-oh. Trouble makers. Everyone in the vicinity looked at them with irritated looks on their faces. This was a popular place with families who had children and it was meant to be very peaceful here. Those guys were making too much racket and parents especially didn't appreciate hearing them say bad words around their kids.
Chiharu quickly looked down as one of the boys spotted her. Hopefully they wouldn't come to her. She didn't want to deal with those kinds of guys.
Unfortunately, they came.
The one who had spotted her in the first place smirked. "Hey baby, you look pretty lonely in this boring place. Want me to keep you company for awhile?"
His other two friends snickered and one said, "He means at his apartment."
The first one laughed. "Shut the fuck up and let her speak."
Chiharu shook her head and averted her eyes from them. "No thank you." Damn these people. They are so annoying.
"Aww c'mon. I won't bite."
Chiharu frowned angrily. "I said no!" she shouted, getting fed up with this.
The other two guys started laughing at the fact the first one was turned down. Obviously the guy didn't appreciate it. He grabbed her arm forcefully. "Hey! I'm not the kind of guys that likes hard to get girls."
"Hey! Let go of me!" Chiharu shouted, trying to pull away. "Leave me alone!"
He didn't listen and tried to forcefully pull her up. "Shut the fuck up. You're coming with me whether you like it or not, you bi-"
POW!
Chiharu felt the guy let go of her and looked up to see Yamazaki in front of her, looking angrily at the three guys. The one who had grabbed her had a bloody nose and was holding it with one hand.
Uh-oh. Things were getting ugly.
"Hey, don't you ever touch her again. Got it?" Yamazaki said, his voice low and deep. Chiharu looked at him in surprise and saw that he was gritting his teeth in anger. She had never heard him so serious in her life. She had never seen him this angry.
This was a side that he never showed.
But why? Why was he so angry?
The guy's eye twitched as his friends frowned at Yamazaki. "Why you son of a-"
Suddenly they saw a police officer in the distance running towards them.
The guy looked at them disdainfully. "You lucky bastard." Then the three ran off quickly before the cop came.
Yamazaki turned to the stiff Chiharu and grabbed her shoulders suddenly. "Chiharu-chan, are you okay? Did they hurt you? Did they do anything to you?" He was rambling as if she was dying or something and an obvious look of worry was in his eyes.
"I-I'm fine. Thank you," Chiharu said softly and he sighed in relief.
Just then the officer came up to them. "I heard there was a disturbance here. Is everything okay?"
Yamazaki grinned. "Except for our food," he said sheepishly.
Chiharu noticed the thrown hotdogs and drinks on the floor. Yamazaki probably left them to help her.
To help her...why her?
The cop smiled. "I saw everything. That was pretty brave. How bout I quickly give you some money to get some more food?" He gave them money and nodded towards them. "Gotta go. I've heard people complaining about those guys all day."
"A-Arigatou!" Yamazaki yelled to his retreating back. He turned to Chiharu and smiled. "Hey there's enough money here for hotdogs and a movie. You up for it?"
"S-Sure," she said timidly, glad that the old Yamazaki was back.
Sitting down next to her, he tilted his head to one side. "Is something wrong?" Then his eyes got even narrower than normal and a muscle in his jaw twitched. "Those guys did hurt you didn't they?"
She shook her head quickly. "I-It's just..."
Yamazaki blinked in confusion.
She had never seen him so...protecting and caring. He really was amazing. She smiled. "You're scary sometimes. But why did you do that?"
She saw his face soften. "Because...Chiharu-chan I-I..."
Chiharu's breath caught. Could this be it? Could this be his confession? Could he possibly be saying those three tiny words she's been longing to hear him say? Her body stiffened and her eyes widened. Her heart started beating faster as he continued to stutter. "Yes?" she asked.
He stopped awhile and looked at her silently. Then he gave a sigh as if what he was about to say was a bad idea. "Because I don't like it when people bother my friends," he said casually as if he hadn't been stuttering just a few seconds ago.
His friends. So she was a friend to him. Chiharu's heart stopped. "Oh."
He laughed trying to lighten the tense mood he had created. "Better not mess with my Chiharu-chan or else they mess with the Great Yamazaki!"
Chiharu grinned, a tint of red on her cheeks.
He had said his Chiharu-chan.
This guy was so confusing! First she's a friend and now he's saying that she's his? Oh well. No use worrying about it now. She didn't want to worry about anything right now. She just wanted to have a good time with Yamazaki. "Well, c'mon! I feel like having that hotdog! Let's go Yamazaki-kun!"
He looked at her slyly. "Don't I get a kiss for my efforts?"
Chiharu giggled and blushed. "Nah..."
"Not even a peck on the cheek?"
The girl shook her head.
"How about the ear? Neck?"
"Yamazaki-kun!" Chiharu yelled, laughing.
He faked a pout. "It was worth a shot."
It was that night in bed that she realized something.
...She still didn't have a present for him.
"Dammit."
