Disclaimer: I do not own Gravitation. You know the drill by now right? Oo

Hiya! I feel like only 1 person is actually reading this (other than myself of course) which makes me a little sad but maybe I'll get someone new today! Who knows? Anyhow, thanks again rebelyell59! It always makes me feel happy when I get a review from you! So, on to the fic!

Chapter 4: Awkwardness

The Next Day

She woke up and looked at her clock. It was 9:00. In the morning of course. She yawned still a little sleepy. She took a shower and did her morning routine. She walked over to her closet, unsure what to wear. In the end, she slipped on a light blue short sleeve t-shirt with a small Bijou (the white hamster with blue ribbons from Hamtaro) on the front and a pair of capris. And, because it was a little chilly an all, she put on a white fleece with white "pom poms" that hung down in the front. Then she tied it up in a bun, strands of hair hanging at the sides of her face. When she was finished with everything it was 9:56. "They should be there by now...Right?" She took a few hundred yen and walked out the door with her rabbit.

Traffic wasn't too busy right now so crossing should be fairly easy. Except for one thing, the stupid light wouldn't change! "Jeez!" She waited (running in place) for the light to change another thirty seconds and still it didn't change. "I'll just take the pedestrian bridge!" So she ran off. When she finally made it to N-G she was out of breath. "Whew! Let's see, what was my time?" She looked at her watch. "5 minutes from home to here? Not bad I guess." She walked into the elevator and slid down he wall to the floor, breathing heavily. When the door opened Touma was there. "Oh! I see you're back Ms. Maruyama. It's nice to see you again. Ryuichi enjoys your visits very much." Her cheeks turned a light pink but Touma didn't seem to notice really. "It's nice to see you too. Is he here right now?" "I believe so. I think he is with Mr. Shindou. Bad Luck is supposed to be getting ready to record." "Okay. Arigato!" She gave a slight bow and dashed off. "What an enthusiastic girl." Said Touma smiling.

When she got there Bad Luck had already started recording. She didn't want to disrupt them so she just stood outside until they had taken a break. When Ryuichi opened the door he jumped up, both surprised and excited. "What are you doing here?" He asked running over to her and giving her a hug. "My boss gave me the rest of the week off so I can stay longer today!" "Yay!" Her smile was very bright today. Different from yesterday. "Hello Shindou-san!" "It's okay, you can just call me Shuichi. Or kun...Or whatever!" "Okay! How are you Shuichi-kun?" "Great! So what do you think of the song?" "I think it's very good!" "Cool!" Then Hiro and Fujisaki (A/N: I know his name is Suguru, but I prefer calling him Fujisaki) walked out. "Who's this?" Asked Hiro. "Oh, konnichiwa! My name is Haruko Maruyama!" "I'm Hiro Nakano and this is our bandmate Suguru Fujisaki. It's nice to meet you." "Same here!" "Let's go eat! Are you hungry Haruko-chan?" Asked Ryuichi. "Hmm...Yeah, I guess so." "Then let's go!" He said grabbing her hand and running out the door, the rest in tow.

Flashback

Haruko walked out into the kitchen. "Mommy?" She looked around but no answer. "Mommy?" She said a little louder this time. Still no answer. She was about to say it again when something caught her eye. "A note?" She walked over and pulled the note off the table. She started to read it but it said,"Dear Kisohi" So she went to her brothers room. "Oniichan. Mommy left a note for you." "Hm? Ah!" She walked over to him and he read it aloud to her. "Dear Kioshi, Your father and I have gone out for a while so please make breakfast for Haruko and take care of any needs she has. We left some money on the kitchen table for the two of you if you need it. Be good you two! Love, Mom and Dad." "Are you hungry?" He asked. She nodded her head. "Me too." He got off of his bed. He started walking towards the door and then stopped in front of her. He stayed like that for a while. "Oniichan?" Then he squated down and all of the sudden pulled her up on his back. "Woah!" She squeaked. Then the two of them laughed and her carried her into the kitchen. "Do you want to help make pancakes?" "Yeah!" And he set her down bringing a stool over to the stove for her to stand on. He lifted her up and got out the ingredients and utensils. "How do you make them?" "I'll show you." And together they made delicious pancakes. "That was lots of fun Oniichan! I want to do it again sometime!""Okay!" And they high fived, both laughing and smiling.

End of Flashback

She laughed a little. Ryuichi raised an eyebrow at her. "What are you laughing at?" She realized that she actually laughed out loud and turned a little red. "N-nothing!" She said turning around to hide her blush. "Okay!" Now it was her turn to raise an eyebrow. Inwardly she laughed. He's so much like Kisohi...But then again, Kioshi had zero musical talent...I wonder if I'm the same way? I've never even tried singing that much. Not since I was very young!

After Breakfast

"Wasn't it good Haruko-chan?" "Mm-hm!" "Well, we have to get back to N-G. Are you two coming?" She looked at Ryuichi. "Hm...No, I don't think we are." Answered Ryuichi taking her hand. She blushed cherry red this time. "Okay. See ya later!" Said Shuichi walking off with Hiro and Fujisaki. "Where are we going Ryuichi-kun?" He had now realeased her hand and was fiddling with Kumagoro. "I dunno. What do you like to do?" "I don't really want to choose..." "Are you sure?" She nodded her head. "Have you ever done voice overs before?" "No." "Then let's go!" "Wah!" He grabbed her hand and ran off with her again.

"Hello! Here is a list of what we offer." Said the woman at the desk sliding a list towards them. "How about this?" She asked Ryuichi pointing at one of the options. "That's one of my favorites also!" He said excitedly. "That one is 300 yen." "I'll pay." Ryuichi said handingthe woman at the deskthe money. "Thanks Ryuichi!" "You'll be in room 6." She handed them a key and they walked to the room. "This place looks amazing!" "Here. You put these on, and press this button to start it. "Okay." He did the same thing as they started reading there lines accordingly.

When they were finished they were both bursting with laughter. "That was much harder than I thought it was going to be." "But you had fun right?" "Of course!" She looked down at her watch. "I'm really sorry Ryuichi-kun but I have to go now." "Really?" He pouted and made big puppy dog eyes. She giggled. "I'm sorry Ryuichi-kun. I promise to make it up to you!" "You don't have to! It's no big deal!" "No! I have to! I promise to make it up to you! I promise, I promise, I promise!" "Okay...If I can't change your mind...When?" "How about...now?" "Wha-?" And then she gave him a light kiss on his cheek. He looked at her, noticing the deep crimson on her cheeks. He could feel the heat rising in his as well. "W-well, like I s-said, I h-have to g-get g-going. B-bye R-Ryuichi-kun!" She stammered rushing back home.

When she got there she went into the bathroom and looked in the mirror. "I c-can't believe I just did that...I mean...I guess I..." She shook her head vigorously, turning the water on and splashing some on her face. Then she dried her face off and went into the living room. She was about to turn the television on but the phone rang. She got up and answered it. "Hello, Maruyama residence!" (A/N: Phone conversation will be in bold) "Hey Haruko-chan! It's Nami!" "Oh! It's been a while since we've gotten together! Would you like to come over for some tea and cake?" "No thanks, I just ate and I'm stuffed! Anyhow, I've seen you a couple of times, going to that N-G building or whatever. Have you been delivering things there?" "Hm? No. Just visting someone. Why?" "Oh! So maybe it really is true..." "What are you talking about Nami?" "Well, Ichiro-kun told me about that Sakuma guy and so I have kind of been assuming that somethin' was going on between you two..." She blushed furiously, even though her friend couldn't tell. "He seems like your type." "What do you mean?" "I've heard about him. Cute, sweet, cuddly as that rabbit of his. That's the same thing everyone's been saying about him. And I have to agree. Sumi showed me a photo from one of her magazines. What a lucky girl you are!" "W-what? There's nothing going on! He's just my friend..." "Well, I suppose I could be wrong...But you two really would make a cute couple. The two of you seem so much alike-" "I'm sorry but I have to get going Nami." "Oh. Okay. See you around!" "Bye!"

Then after she hung up the phone she dialed Ichiro's number. She was glad that he had given it to her before he left. "Hello?" "Um, hi. Is this Ichiro-kun's friend?" "Oh, you're that one girl. Haruko right?" "Mm-hm. May I talk to him?" "Sure." She could hear him calling Ichiro. "Haruko! Good to hear from you! Is everything alright?" "Yeah. I hung out with Ryuichi-kun for a while today." "Oh..." "Something wrong?" "N-no...I'm just tired. That's all." "O-okay." He's not jealous...Is he? I mean, I've always thought of him as just a friend or maybe like a...Sister, but...Hmmm... "So what did you call for?" "Just seeing how you were doing I guess." "I'm sorry! I have to get going! Argh! I can't believe I forgot about tennis practice! Bye!" "Bye!"

Okay, not the best way to end it bu-ut, I kind of got uh...stuck. I mean, it was kind of an unusual place so I just decided to stop there. I'm doing my best still and hope to get more reviews as always! So to all of you OTHER readers (are there any!) PLEASE! R&R! Thank you very much for reading my fic! Compliments or POLITE/CREATIVE criticism are accepted! But no flames please! I mean, what's the point in flames really? If you don't like something then don't read it. That's all there is to it really. Oh yeah, liner notes:

Arigato: Thank you
Konnichiwa: Hello (There is also a guy named Kuchinawa in Tales of Symphonia and I always think about this word when I see his name!)

And those are all the liner notes for this chapter I believe. Any questions about names, content, words, parts, etc., let me know and I'll be happy to answer you!

Still Thinking for a Good Title,
Chibi Kumagoro (The Author)