Title: Vision in Pink

Author: Tani

Pairing: Sano/Mizuki

Rating: G

Summary: Mizuki has a request for Sano. Sano is soo not happy about this.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hana-Kimi. Well, I own the manga, but it wasn't my brilliant idea, and I lay no claim to it.

Notes: Mizuki popped into my head and proposed this idea the other night, and the two of conspired together against Sano's will to write it. It's very likely that this has been done somewhere already, but I haven't read it, so there was no conscious stealing of ideas here. This is set somewhere in the future, with Sano, Mizuki, and Nakatsu all at college somewhere in America. Hope you enjoy!

"Please, Sano?" Mizuki asked, a note of pleading creeping into her voice.

Sano staunchly kept his attention on his biology book, trying to make sense out of the technical language that it seemed packed full of. Any other time, he would have Mizuki explain it to him. She might not be the brightest crayon in the box, but she did have a native speaker's fluency in English, and she could more than likely unravel the sticky phrases enough for him to make sense of them. Unfortunately, asking a favor of Mizuki at the moment was far too dangerous to be contemplated.

"Sano, are you even listening to me?"

Sano didn't reply. He also did not imagine the cute little pout that Mizuki was almost certainly wearing at the moment. He certainly was not even considering giving in. If nothing else, Sano Izumi had his pride, and he wouldn't give that up, no matter how cute his girlfriend's persuasions could be. He did contemplate trying to kiss the not-imagined pout away. Strictly for distraction value, he would have said if asked. And maybe just a little for the possibility that it might progress somewhere beyond kissing, he admitted silently. Still, Mizuki didn't give up on an idea once she got it into her head. Sex might take her mind off things for a while, but she'd remember eventually. The odds that she'd do so while Sano was still in that lazy, "Anything you say, baby" state of mind were alarmingly high. Then there would be no escaping.

Sano jumped as a sharp pain went through his leg. His eyes automatically left the biology book to take in the hand that had just harshly pinched his thigh. The fact that the hand was attached to the rest of Mizuki would have been obvious even if he couldn't feel the red-hot glare burning into his brain.

"Stop ignoring me, you bastard," Mizuki hissed. "I asked you an honest question, and I expect an honest answer."

Oh, shit, she was going the honest route. This was not a good sign. Sano considered bolting, but decided against it. That hand was perilously close to places a little more vital than just his thigh, and you never knew what Mizuki would do when she was truly angry. Sano blamed it on too much time spent in America with all the rest of the crazies.

"I'm sorry, Mizuki," Sano said, putting on his best meek act. "I was so busy with my homework that I didn't even notice you were-"

"So you admit you were ignoring me!"

Time to backtrack. "No, no such thing, darling." Use of pet names to compensate for his previous mistake. "I was just thinking about how wonderful you are, and I got so wrapped up in thought that I forgot to answer." She should be putty in his hands right about now.

The smile on her face certainly seemed to indicate that it was so. Until she said, "Then you'll do it? You know, since I'm so wonderful and all."

Having all the blood drain out of your face was so not a pleasant experience, Sano realized. "I didn't say that..."

He didn't have to not-imagine the pout this time; it sprang to life in front of him before he could avert his eyes. Caught, he could only stare as one solitary tear trickled down Mizuki's cheek. Even though he knew it was only an act, his heart still felt like it was going to shrivel up in his chest on the spot.

Mizuki sniffled a little, then said, "You know I would do it for you. I did do it for you, for years and years on end. Years where I could have had my hair long, years where I would have been free to wear dresses and jewelry and talk to girl friends about girl things. So what's a few minutes for me?"

Sano wavered. She was telling the truth. She had done so much to be with him, and he owed her a lot for that. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to-But no. He couldn't abandon his pride as a man like that. He had to-

A second tear joined the first, and Sano lost his train of thought. He knew he was a goner, even before Mizuki whispered, "Please," in that irresistibly breathy voice.

Before he knew what he was doing, the words had escaped him. "I'll do it."

As easily as that, Mizuki's tears were gone, and a bright smile replaced them. Sano didn't even have the energy to be annoyed at her duplicity. He'd known it wasn't real, after all, and he'd still fallen for it. Now he simply had to resign himself to his fate; it was all that was left to do. Bowing his head, Sano Izumi prepared to face his fate like the man he was.

Mizuki had been giggling for the past half hour, and it was really beginning to get on Sano's nerves. In general, he tended to be happy when she was happy, but this was a special case. She was deriving her amusement from his suffering, after all.

"There. Done," Mizuki said, picking up the mirror with a flourish and holding it in front of him. Sano closed his eyes. He may have submitted to this indignity, but he certainly wasn't going to subject himself to the sight of it.

"Come on, open your eyes," Mizuki said in the cutesy tone that he'd only heard her use with young child and Yuujirou before. "You look so cute, Sano-chan. Don't you want to see?"

Sano shook his head and kept his eyes closed. He wasn't even going to talk until this entire incident was over. Talking had done nothing except help get him into this mess in the first place.

Mizuki sighed. "All right, fine. Have it your way." There was the distinct sound of the mirror being put down on a hard surface, most likely the dresser. "There, it's safe now. You can open your eyes."

Sano hesitated for a moment, wondering if he could trust the demon formerly known as his girlfriend. Finally, he decided that she couldn't do anything worse than she already had. Sano slowly opened his eyes. As he did so, Mizuki moved, almost too fast for his eyes to follow, and a camera flash nearly blinded him. Through the spots that were dancing across his vision in the aftermath, he caught a glimpse of Mizuki heading for the door.

Sano was going after her almost before the implications of a camera flash had sunk in. When they did, he upped his speed, crashing through the door and into the hallway in hot pursuit.

His eyes met Nakatsu's almost immediately and he skidded to a stop. While he wavered between trying to explain and bolting back into the bedroom as quickly as humanly possible, Nakatsu took in his costume.

Nakatsu's eyes widened. His mouth twitched. He drew in a breath. "Izumi, you look like a girl!" he exclaimed.

Sano was sure that all the blood in his body had just gone to his face. Desperately, he willed his body to move. Just as the first snickers began to escape from Nakatsu's mouth, Sano bolted back into the room. He slammed and locked the door behind him. Then he pulled the blinds down on the window, just for good measure.

Turning, his eyes caught on the full length mirror that Mizuki had set up by her closet. Sano stared for a long moment. Then he squeezed his eyes shut with all of his might, trying to erase the vision of pink that he'd just seen from his mind. Pink dress, pink barrettes, pink lipstick...He never wanted to see the color pink again.

Overwhelmed, he fell onto the bed, face first. Even a pillow over his head didn't block out the sounds of Nakatsu's hysterical laughter from the hallway, and the image of horror he'd seen in the mirror kept dancing behind his eyelids. Still, it was better than nothing. Maybe. Until Mizuki got back and got him out of this monstrosity at least. Which had better be soon. Before he lost his mind. If he hadn't already. That or killed Nakatsu with his stupid laugh.

Clamping the pillow down a bit harder over his head, Sano Izumi made a vow. He was never letting Mizuki talk him into anything ever again. Especially crossdressing.