.:For the Sake of Living… Don't:.
Chapter 3
Rubbing her eyes as the morning sun awakened her, Ameko sat up slowly in Tohru's bed. On the other side of the room, on the couch, Tohru laid. Ameko stood up slowly and went into the bathroom, taking a quick shower. She then got dressed quietly and made her way downstairs. As she entered the front room Ameko jumped slightly. Shigure sat on the couch, a newspaper in his hands and his glasses on. He turned his head and looked at Ameko, smiling.
"Ah, good morning, Ameko." He said. "Did you sleep well?"
"Hai, Shigure-sama." Ameko said, bowing slightly. "Thank you for letting me stay over. I hope I wasn't a bother." She said.
"Of course not. You are welcome over any time, okay Ameko?" Shigure said.
Ameko nodded, smiling, and she went into the kitchen, putting on an apron. She started cooking then, filling the house with the smell of her wonderful cooking. A half-asleep Kyo wandered down the stairs.
"Is Tohru cooking again?" Kyo asked groggily as he slumped down on the couch.
"No, Ameko is." Shigure said, still reading the newspaper.
"Huh? Ameko? She's still here?" Kyo asked.
"Hai." Ameko said from the doorway to the kitchen. "Kyo-sama, could you come help me for a second?" She asked him.
Kyo looked up and nodded, standing up and walking into the kitchen.
"What do you need help with?" Kyo asked.
"Umm, could you try this? I don't know if it is good enough." Ameko said, gesturing to a plate next to her on the counter.
"Okay..." Kyo said. He took a bite out of the food, chewing it and swallowing it. "I don't know why you think this wouldn't be good enough. It's great. Really." He said.
Ameko smiled. "Thanks, Kyo-sama." She said, bowing.
"Hey! No bowing! And don't call me Kyo-sama. Just Kyo, okay?" Kyo said to her.
Ameko nodded hesitantly. "O-okay." She said. Kyo smiled and put his hand on her head.
"Hey, who's cooking?" Haru's voice said.
"Tohru probably." Yuki's voice answered.
"No I'm not. I'm right here." Tohru's voice said.
Ameko walked out of the kitchen, a wooden spoon in her hand. "I'm cooking. I hope it's not a problem. I just wanted to cook for you in return for your hospitality last night. I didn't mean to fall asleep." She said.
"Ame-chan! It smells wonderful!" Tohru said.
Yuki smiled warmly. "Yes, Morioka-san. It smells delicious." He told her.
"Heh. It is delicious." Kyo said, walking up behind Ameko. He placed a hand on her head. "She might be passing you, Tohru." He said.
"Well, I wouldn't be surprised." Tohru said, smiling.
"My parents used to be chefs." Ameko said. "They taught me how to cook when I was little." She said proudly. She turned around and looked at the kitchen. "I believe the food's ready." She said. She turned around, slipping past Kyo, and walked into the kitchen to put the food on plates and set them on the table. Kyo turned around and walked into the kitchen to help her.
Haru stood there silently. He then made his way to the table and sat down, his head hanging slightly. The food was brought to the table and everyone ate.
"Your parents must have been wonderful chefs, Morioka-san." Yuki said as he ate.
"Yes, this is wonderful, Ameko." Shigure said. "Almost better than Tohru's cooking." He said.
Ameko blushed. "Thank you." She said, taking another bite of her breakfast. Everyone finished and Ameko started to clean up. Haru stood and helped.
The two of them walked into the kitchen with the dirty plates. Haru walked up to the sink and washed the dishes as Ameko took the towel and a clean, wet plate from Haru, drying them. Shyly, she took another plate from Haru, drying it and placing it on the counter.
"Ameko-san?" Haru said, handing her another washed plate as she put one of the dry ones on top of the others.
"H-hai?" She said timidly, taking the plate from Haru and drying it.
"Is there something wrong?" He asked her.
Slowly Ameko shook her head, but soon it stopped. She shrugged slightly. "I don't know." She said.
"Well, what's wrong?" Haru asked. "You can tell me." He said, handing her another plate.
Ameko took the plate and dried it slowly. "Haru…" She said. "I… I think I like someone." She told him.
"Yeah?" He asked, continuing to wash the dishes.
"Hai." She said. "And… I don't know if he feels the same about me." She told him, putting the now dry dish on the counter.
"Why don't you just ask?" He asked her, handing her another plate. "By the way, that's the last one." He added.
"I don't know if I should ask." She told him, taking the plate and finishing drying it.
"Well, do I know him?" Haru asked. Ameko nodded. "Is he in our class?" Ameko nodded again. "Okay, well how about you hang out with me and my friends and you can see if he likes you back, okay?" Haru said.
Ameko blushed slightly. "You'd really do that?"
Haru smiled, nodding. "Of course. It's no problem." He told her, placing a hand on her shoulder.
Ameko, still holding the last plate and towel smiled up at him. "Thank you, Hatsuharu-sama!" She said.
"Just call me Haru, okay Ameko-san?" Haru told her. She nodded hesitantly. "Now hurry up and let's get going. We don't want to be late, do we?" Haru asked her.
Ameko and Haru finished in the kitchen and then the two of them left the house, saying goodbye to Shigure. As they walked it was somewhat quiet, Ameko not talking too much because of her shyness, Haru not talking much because… well… he had nothing to say. After moments of silence, the two started talking about Haru's friends, Haru explaining all about them, then telling her about Momiji, his cousin. He told her to watch out for him, because he liked to sneak up on people, and he sure did.
The two reached the school and walked to their classroom. Ameko walked shyly with Haru towards Haru's friends. Looking around the room, Ameko saw the three guys that had done those horrible things to her all those times and she grabbed Haru's arm. Haru looked down at her confused. Ameko held his arm, her head down. Haru looked back up and greeted his friends. Ameko looked up and smiled slightly at them all.
"Hey guys, this is Ameko Morioka. She'll be hanging with us, okay?" Haru said.
Everyone greeted Ameko, the girls greeting her as well.
"You're really pretty, Ameko." Ikihara said to her.
"Really?" Ameko asked her.
"Yeah." She looked to Haru. "Looks like you found a good one, Haru." She said.
Haru shook his head. "Nah, she's just a friend." He told them all.
"Suuure she is." Takashi said, elbowing Haru in the arm. Haru rolled his eyes.
"Whatever." Haru said. "Anyway, like I said, she'll be hanging with us, so be nice."
Tatsuki laughed. "We won't hurt her or anything, Haru. Don't worry." She said to Haru.
"Yeah, okay. Anyway, I'll be right back." Haru said. "Got some business to do."
"W-what?" Ameko said, turning to look at Haru.
Haru smiled at her. "Don't worry, I'll be back." He said. "Just hang out for a bit, okay?"
Ameko hesitated a moment, then nodded slowly. "O-okay." She said. Haru put a hand on her head and smiled, then walked off.
"You must be really attached to Haru." Kiyotaka said to Ameko.
"Huh?" She asked.
"You acted like if he left you'd get raped or something." Ryuuichi said, laughing.
Ameko's head tilted down as she looked to the ground. Momiji, who was standing next to the group, walked over to Ameko and placed a hand on her back.
"Don't be so hard on her, you guys." He said. "From what I heard she's been through some rough times." He said.
Ameko looked up at Momiji, a pleading look in her eyes asking him not to tell. He smiled at her.
"Just be nice to her, okay?" He asked.
"We'll be nice." Motoshi said, standing with his arm around Setsumi, who smiled at Ameko.
"Ameko-san, could I do your hair?" She asked.
"W-what?" Ameko asked.
"Can I do your hair? It'd look really pretty up." She said.
Ikihara looked over at Ameko. "Oh, and can I do your make-up? You need a bit of eye shadow and you'd be gorgeous." She said.
Tatsuki smiled at Ameko. "And let me give you a few pointers on your clothes, too." She said.
"Umm… okay." Ameko said. The girls stood and took Ameko to the restroom, leaving the guys there to talk among themselves.