A/N: All information within this text has been adapted to suit the literary needs of me the author, it does not reflect the wishes or intents of those portrayed within, though all historical data is correct as of the time of publishing.
Chapter Five: Castles and Ferris Wheels
When Kei woke up the following morning, with far more energy than any sane person had a right to possess at such an early hour, Ryu was already up, seated cross-legged on his bed, his eyes closed and hands folded in his lap.
Kei was struck by the resemblance to one of the Samurai of old. All Ryu needed was a waterfall to sit under, the light cotton yukata he wore played the part of a warrior's robes comically well.
Perhaps I should start calling him 'Ryu-dono' from now on, Kei thought smirking at his own candour.
He showered and dressed, towelling off his short hair as he re-entered the main room, he was surprised to find Ryuuya still in the same position, though his eyes darted beneath closed lids, and his lips moved with barely audible noise.
Was he asleep?
Kei chuckled, you saw this sort of thing all the time in anime and manga, the 'wise man' character everyone except the main character respected, would be doing something similar when he was discovered by the main character to be merely napping.
Kei had no illusions of being the focus of a story, his life was far to boring to be documented, but maybe he'd get the chance to be a sidekick at least to Ryu's tale, especially with all those girls involved.
His expression glazed over for a moment before he shook his head clear of the pleasant images of what he hoped to find upon visiting Ryu's home.
Like most he had a selective memory that blocked out all memory of Kanna's negative behaviour toward Ryu. Already he was forgetting where the bruise on his friend's shin had come from.
He glanced at the clock. The dining halls downstairs would be offering breakfast, and since they had all been forbid from ordering room service, they would need to get down early to get good seats.
He knelt down in front of the other boy and snapped his fingers in front of his eyes. Ryu didn't even stir.
"Yo, Ryu, rise and shine!", he yelled, cupping his hands around his mouth to amplify the sound.
Still nothing.
"Damn Ryu, you sleep like the dead", Kei commented as if his friend were conscious enough to hear him.
Kei thought for a moment, "Oooooooh Ryu, Kanna's here"
Was that a twitch?
Kei smiled widely, "She's in nothing but a robe, says she has something private to talk to you about".
Nothing.
"You're not dead are you?", he asked jokingly, still getting no response.
It was then Kei began to actually pay attention to what his friend was saying in his trance like state.
"…I won't let you…this is…mind……………Father…", Kei blinked and edged back a little. He had no idea what the other boy was talking about, but it didn't sound to healthy. Hadn't he told Kei his father was dead?
"Ok buddy, time to wake up now", Kei said clapping a hand on his friend's shoulder and giving it a light shake.
The response was immediate. Ryu's eyes snapped open and his hands lashed out, one wrapping around Kei's wrist, the other curling around his throat in a vice like grip.
Kei froze, but not because the hand cutting off his air supply.
It was Ryu's eyes. Those didn't look like the eyes of his friend. He blinked and the effect seemed to vanish.
Must have been a trick of the light, there's no way…"Ryu…air…need", he choked out when Ryuuya released his wrist to rub his head groggily.
Ryu looked at him as if he didn't understand what he was talking about. Seeing the cause of Kei's oxygen problem, he dropped him immediately, almost falling back on the bed as Kei tried to steady his shaky legs.
"You know, you could have just told me you're not a morning person", Kei wheezed around a small smile, his sense of humour and natural goodwill already rebounding after what very well could have been a near death experience.
Ryu just stared at the hand that had clutched Kei's throat as if he expected it to turn on him at any moment.
Kei took a seat on his bed, massaging his neck while using one of the room's mirrors to check for any signs of bruising.
He sighed; he'd have to find something high necked to where for a few days and hope it was sleeveless.
He had a few tops he had brought while he had been into "Naruto" a few years back cause he thought they looked like Sasuke's, they still fit. All he had to do was hope that no one pointed out what they reminded them of, he had a hard enough time meeting girls as it was without being labelled an otaku.
Shrugging one the dark blue material, he glanced back at Ryu who still hadn't moved.
"Yo, earth to the brooder, you gonna get dressed or what?"
"…You still want me to stay near you?", Ryu asked cautiously.
"Course", Kei said striking an nonchalant pose like Ryu was prone to do, "You still owe me a house full of cute girls remember".
Ryu cracked what might have been a small smile, Kei didn't know him well enough yet to be sure, "Some would say you have a death wish… it's safer to run than be around me at times…".
Luckily he had spoken quietly enough for that last part that Kei didn't hear him.
"You'd risk something like that happening again just to meet girls?", and not particularly sane ones, he added mentally.
"You bet!", Kei pumped the air with his fist, "I'd have to be stupid to pass up a chance to like this. House full of beautiful girls, hanging around with one of the most popular guys in school, it'll make a kick ass inspirational journey for my story!".
Ryu just shook his head. This was the first he had heard about any story, but Kei spoke as if everyone already knew his name and waited with baited breath for him to spin his next yarn.
"Besides, if you go all psycho on me again, I know kung fu", Kei executed a number of sloppy, but enthusiastic punches, the kind that told the observer they had been instructed but not for very long, "I'll kick you back to your senses".
If you ever saw me really loose it you'd probably void your bowels first, Ryu thought with a rueful shake of his head.
With any luck as soon as he found the sword he would never have to worry about that again.
"I may hold you to that", he said, smirking openly when he saw Kei pale for a moment.
"Haha, very funny", Kei said when he realised Ryu was just toying with him, "Get dressed or I'm gonna tell Kanna I saw you getting it on with Natsuki"
He was out the door before Ryu could finish standing, laughing all the way down the hall, drawing some curious looks from some of the other boys as they headed in the same direction.
When Ryu eventually made his way downstairs, Kei was waving to him from a table that seated a rather surprising entourage. Namely, Mae, Mizuki, Kanna and himself. The first two looked up and gave him a small greeting, though Mizuki's was more of a grunt from where she was slumped face down on the table.
"Another morning person", Kei grinned when his friend gave him an even stare that promised dire consequences if he continued down this line of conversation.
He took the only free seat at the table, directly next to Kanna, ignoring the dirty look she shot him as if he'd planned the seating arrangements before hand, and taking a slice of toast from the rack offered by Mae.
"So, everyone excited about today", Kei asked cheerfully, his enthusiasm lost on everyone but Mae who responded just as energetically, while he ate, Kanna stared moodily out at the magnificent view offered from the hotel, and Mizuki began snoring…loudly.
Ryu glanced around the table as Kei and Mae chattered, two bubbly personas interacting happily. Was this really how things had turned out? Back when he had been planning this, even up to the point when he had been sitting on the bridge back in Hinata, if you told him he'd be in Tokyo sharing breakfast with two beams of sunshine in human form, a girl who seemed to be applying for a position as the centrefold of Narcoleptics Monthly, and a girl who seemed to act as if just looking at him and responding like a civilized human being would end the world, well…in all truth he probably would have just stared icily for suggesting something so ridiculous until you cowered and ran.
He didn't make any attempt to speak to Kanna that morning, he didn't have the mental fortitude to do so after what had happened earlier that morning, and the dreams he had had last night after falling asleep.
Unbeknownst to him, this silence was having more of an effect than his previous attempts at conversation had. Kanna spend the whole hour or so they were seated, ready to shoot him down the moment he spoke, but he barely even looked at her, and when he did it was coincidence.
At first she had been angry that he was ignoring her. Then she had been mad for getting upset that he wasn't paying any attention to her.
Finally she had begun to feel the stirrings of something akin to worry when she caught him spacing out at the table every now and then.
There was just something so lost in his expression in those brief instances that she couldn't help but feel some compassion.
What's wrong with him?, she found herself thinking, He can't have given up already, he never lets anything get to him.
It didn't occur to her to question why she wanted him to keep trying to talk to her, and whenever her mind began to wander that avenue she deftly steered it back on course.
This was all about Ryu, not her.
She almost gave in to the urge to try and talk to him herself, but luckily or not, Mae decided that they needed to leave to get ready for the day's activities, and they left the two boys to their own devices.
As they left, Kanna cast one last glance back over her shoulder at where Kei seemed to be trying to bring his friend out of his self induced funk with loud and flamboyant behaviour.
Ryu…Maybe…maybe she'd let him talk to her today.
The trip from the station to the Palace grounds was relatively uneventful, baring one minor incident.
No sooner were they off the train, than Kei had begun acting strangely, always glancing back over his shoulder as if there was someone tailing them.
"What are you doing?", Ryu asked while Mr. Hitachi and Natsuki began sorting out the milling students, already annoyed by his friends fidgety behaviour.
"It's so close!", Kei hissed excitedly.
"What is? The Palace? I know this is a big moment in our cultural lives, but aren't you overreacting?", Ryu asked when Kei seemed to start bouncing in place.
"I'm not talking about that! The centre dude! It's just a few blocks from here", he sighed when Ryu gave him a blank look that showed he didn't understand what Kei was talking about.
"Never mind, just cover me ok", without waiting for a response he began slipping away into the crowd.
Ryu watched as the crowd parted and a dejected Kei was marched back over by Mr. Hitachi.
"I thought something like this might happen, good thing I was prepared wasn't it Mr. Yamato?", he spoke folding his arms sternly.
"Hai sensei", Kei groaned, hanging his head as a number students laughed.
Ryu didn't know how to react as Kei trailed along with the rest of them, he still didn't know what the other boy had been planning, but it seemed the class was familiar with the reason.
They passed by a large and impressive building as they proceeded through the gates, their guides providing each student with a ticket as their teacher explained the basics of their visit.
They would travel around the grounds counter clockwise, starting with the eastern gardens, moving on to the Kitanomaru Nat'l gardens and the Yasukuni shrine before doubling back around past the Palace proper, and swinging back to the entrance they had come through after viewing the Niju-bashi bridge.
Naturally it didn't take long for Mr. Hitachi to launch into another of his rambling speeches, once again showcasing his vast historical knowledge.
"The current Imperial Palace (Kokyo) is located on the former site of Edo Castle, a large park area surrounded by moats and massive stone walls in the centre of Tokyo, a short walk from Tokyo Station. It is the residence of Japan's Imperial Family"
"Great, more Edo fun", one boy grumbled, shrinking back a little under the glare his teacher gave him.
They walked in relative silence for a while until entering the grounds of the eastern gardens.
"What's that all about?", one girl asked, pointing to the semi-demolished tower like structure ahead of them.
"Glad you asked", Mr. Hitachi said, unaware of the looks being directed at the poor girl. It was so nice to see today's youth taking an active interest for once.
"The Imperial Palace East Gardens (Kokyo Higashi Gyoen) are a part of the inner palace area and are the former site of Edo Castle's innermost circles of defence, the honmaru ("main circle") and ninomaru ("secondary circle"). None of the main buildings remain today, but the moats, walls, entrance gates and several guardhouses still exist. That structure on the hill over there is one such ruminant, and we will have a chance to see it after we pass through one of the many ornamental gardens that have been created here in the ninomaru over the years".
'Ornamental' hardly did what they saw justice. Beautifully and painstaking crafted, the small garden was orientated around a natural lake, the far bank of which had been festooned with as many carefully arranged trees as the gardeners could keep up with, giving the whole area a secluded, peaceful feel to it, as if the viewer had found something secret that human eyes were not meant to glimpse.
Ryu had to agree with the appreciative murmurs of his peers, it was indeed an impressive work. It reminded him of nostalgic moments from his childhood, walking along by the pond that his ancestors watched over with his Father and Mother, and sometimes his Aunts though he hadn't seen them in a long time.
He felt someone tugging at his sleeve, and glanced down, wondering what Kei wanted.
He was surprised to find Kanna standing next to him, looking out across the water but still holding his shirt lightly between her thumb and forefinger.
"It's pretty, isn't it?", she asked, a small smile on her face as she looked down on the clear water.
"Indeed", he said, wondering why she was suddenly initiating conversation. His old friend paranoia raised its head, but when you're the only male living with a bunch of women, one of whom overtly sees you as her plaything, even minor changes in behaviour produce strong responses.
"Jeez, don't talk my ear off or anything Ryu", she said, her eyes glittering with amusement as she glanced up at him, a challenging smirk in place.
"Vocal outbursts are your forte, not mine", he shrugged and she surprised him by snorting a laugh and returning to her observations.
That was…unexpected, he mused as Natsuki began calling them.
"Come on boy", she said, getting a tighter grip on his sleeve before dragging him along like a dog or a mischievous child. Facing the other way, she couldn't see his expression go from shock to anger before settling on one of his patented glares, and if she did, she probably would have been strangely happy about it.
It appeared she had been worried about nothing after all. Ryu was his usual dry, jerky self, but she wasn't about to let him off for ignoring her this morning and for his previous behaviour, that would set a bad precedent, even if she wasn't really mad at him anymore.
"A wide lawn and the remaining foundation of the former castle tower can be found on top of this hill, where the castle's innermost buildings once stood. The castle tower was completed in 1638 as the tallest castle tower in Japan's history. But only a few years later in 1657, it was destroyed by citywide fires and has not been rebuilt ever since", their teacher spoke as they ascended the hill, somehow managing to do so without winding himself, though he didn't look like a particularly healthy man.
Standing atop the remains, Hitachi continued to prattle on about various builders and architects who had helped construct parts of the grounds, pointing them out to the class using the vantage point they now stood on.
"Wow, you can see everything from up here", Kanna ran to the nearest edge of the crumbling structure, smiling as the spring breeze tousled her hair and spreading her arms out on either side of her as she stood there.
She closed her eyes, allowing the sun to warm her face pleasantly.
"You know we should be listening to what sensei is trying to tell us all, there's supposed to be a test on all this", Ryu said, walking up next to her, hands resting casually in his pockets.
"Mae's taking notes for me", she said, clasping her hands behind her back and turning to smile at him, "Besides, wouldn't you rather hang out with a beautiful girl than some stuffy old man?".
Ryu was a little taken aback by her question. She had, on occasion, teased him before while she, him and Ayu ate lunch together, but this time she sounded more like Yui, as if she were…flirting, with him.
"Show me the girl and I'll tell you", he responded automatically, his tongue to used to trading insults to waste time waiting for his brain to make sense of the new data it was processing.
Kanna screwed up her face, her posture loosing its girlish edge for a moment, "Oooooo, jerk!".
"So you say", he said, moving over to the short wall she stood upon, offering his hand to help her down, "Come on, everyone's about to leave".
She eyed his hand for a moment as if it were some poisonous reptile, but eventually took it and hopped down.
"Ryu…", he noticed a small blush tingeing her cheeks, "You can let go of my hand now".
He unclasped her hand quickly, surprised by his own actions, but not before someone snapped a picture of them holding hands amongst the ruins of the tower, the sun in the background overhead and the wind blowing Kanna's hair toward him, almost but not quite hiding her blush.
Mizuki grinned as she thanked Mae for lending her one of her disposable cameras. Yui would love these shots.
Ryu braced himself for the whatever she would do next when she realised what had happened, but no pain erupted anywhere on his body. In fact Kanna just shook her fist at the retreating, and giggling, form of her so called friends and stomped off after them, leaving him to his own devices.
As he stared after her it occurred to him that he still hadn't actually apologised to her yet.
Shaking loose the mental cobwebs he set off after the group.
"Edo Castle used to be the seat of the Tokugawa shogun who ruled Japan from 1603 until 1867. In 1868, the shogunate was overthrown, and the country's capital and Imperial Residence were moved from Kyoto to Tokyo. In 1888 construction of a new Imperial Palace was completed. The palace was once destroyed during World War Two, and rebuilt in the same style, afterwards".
Ryu listened with only vague interest as he watched Kanna from the corner of his eye. She hadn't spoken to him at all since the tower incident, but she had also not moved from his side since then either.
It was…perplexing, to say the least.
Not only was this the longest time he had heard her stay quiet in well…ever, there was also the matter of his lingering thoughts about taking her hand back at the tower.
It had felt surprisingly small and frail when not balled into a fist and being waved under his nose in a threatening manner, and soft where he had half expected it to be callused.
They were currently approaching the Kokyo Gaien as Natsuki helpfully informed everyone, the large plaza from which they would view the last of the Palace's sights seen as the inner areas were closed outside of the new years greeting and the Emperor's birthday ceremonies.
He followed the others as they lined up along the rail to view this final spectacle.
"The stone bridge in front is called Meganebashi (Eyeglass Bridge) for its looks. The bridge in the back was formerly a wooden bridge with two levels, from which the name Nijubashi (Double Bridge) is derived", Hitachi informed them in a quiet voice, not wanting to break the spell the sight had over his students, smiling every time he heard one of them gasp, "Sugoi…".
Ryu cast a glance down at Kanna as she lent on the rail, a small smile tugging at her lips, but her eyes didn't seem focused on the bridges.
Had he been paying more attention, he might have noticed Kei and Mae conversing behind them, occasionally pointing as if arguing about something before nodding with almost identical grins.
"Beautiful, isn't it?", Kei asked, sidling up to his friend casually.
"Yes…", Ryu muttered, not realising he had still been looking at Kanna when he spoke before turning to regard his all too innocently smiling friend.
"What is it Kei?", he asked suspiciously.
"Nothing much old buddy, old pal, just thought now would be as good a time as any to tell you I checked out all those places you asked me to", his grin was steadily getting bigger.
"Places?"
"Yeah, you know, the amusement park you said you were going to take Kanna to tomorrow seen as we have the day free until we leave", you could have heard a pin drop at that moment, or at least, that's how it seemed to Ryu.
The girl in question had almost fallen herself; thankfully the rail had been there to cling to as her knees threatened to give for a second.
Had she just heard right, was Ryu planning to take her out on a big date?
"Kei", Ryu began warningly.
"No need to thank me Ryu, I'm happy to help, I'll fill you in on all the details tonight. In the meantime, why don't you take care of the most important bit", he hinted, pointing none to subtly at Kanna.
Ryu felt a headache coming on. He would have to remember to beat Kei unconscious after this. Kanna probably wouldn't find this as funny as his friend did.
"Kanna", once more he was cut off.
"I accept", her blurted statement froze both of them.
Oh crap, she thought, Why did I just say that!
In truth she had been thinking about what to say if Ryu asked her, or more accurately, daydreaming about the date itself, though she would never admit it, even to herself.
"What?", Ryu leant down so only she could hear him, "I thought you wanted people not to think we were dating? Doesn't this counteract such statements".
Kanna's heart did a passable impression of a jack hammer when he started to lean toward her, but her voice was even when she responded.
"True, but this isn't a date, this is you making up for everything you've done wrong".
He held her gaze for a moment longer before sighing deeply, "Fine, but this can only end badly, I think we both no that".
"Everything will be fine as long as you don't try anything funny", she snapped back, scooting backward to regain some personal space and standing upright.
"For the last-", Ryu ground his teeth and fought down his temper, "I would never think of trying anything with you".
She looked upset by that reassurance for a moment before the spark returned to her eyes.
"Fine", she declared crossing her arms.
"Fine".
They glared at each other for a moment before turning their backs on the other.
Unseen, Kei and Mae gave each other a high-five.
"I can't believe I'm doing this", Ryu's voice called from the bathroom over the sound of running water.
"Take it like a man you big baby", Kei called back from the main room, amused by the shear quantity of complaining the usually stoic man was doing about going on a date with a pretty girl of all things.
"…Just so you know, I plan to get my revenge for this someday", Ryu promised darkly.
"Uh-huh, you smiling mug is thanks enough", Kei fired back; after all, Ryu couldn't hurt him from the shower surely.
He clutched his side laughing when only silence answered that last remark, his rolling bringing him face to face with Ryu's guitar case.
Almost instantly his mirth vanished.
Ryu was distracted…the case was right here…
Curiosity is a strange emotion; it has little apparent adaptive advantage for humans as a race, as without the higher intelligence needed to control it, which humans didn't evolve until later, and arguably, some never evolved, it can be most deadly.
Kei snuck a glance over his shoulder. The bathroom door was shut, and he could still hear the sound of the water running.
Kei had a rather brief and one-sided conversation with the crippled and malformed creature that represented his conscience before sitting down next to the case and lowering to carefully onto his lap.
So here was the big question, should he open it or not?
A few seconds searching located the two dial locks that secured the case.
For a moment Kei considered stopping. Anything that warranted this much protection probably wasn't something the owner wanted to be casually pawed at.
Fate however, had a different idea.
When Yui had been rapidly trying different combinations to open the case when she had taken it, she had only missed by one digit, and as Kei's thumb brushed the dial, the latches clicked open simultaneously, allowing the springs within the case to push open the lid in a single smooth motion.
"No…friggin…way…", he breathed, staring with open wonder at the contents of the case.
Perhaps I was right earlier…, he thought.
"What are you doing?", Kei snapped the lid back down as a dangerously cold voice seemed to echo from everywhere around the room at once.
Still dripping wet, Ryu stood impassively in the doorway to the bathroom, the shower still hissing away merrily in the background.
"I, erm, I was, just…you know how it is…I'm sorry?", Kei began backing up rapidly as Ryu silently stalked toward him.
"Hey, come on Ryu, my bad I know", he looked frantically for an escape but found none.
"Kei…".
Kanna turned over her wrist to look at the time on her small watch.
11:30am
Ryu was ten minutes late so far. She sat down on one of the benches outside the Tokyo Dome's amusement park and allowed herself to sulk for a moment.
She didn't know why she was so upset that the big jerk hadn't shown up. It wasn't like this had been her idea after all.
She frowned down at the flowing blue summer dress she wore. She didn't even remember why she had packed something like this, but Mae had praised it as 'perfect' upon discovering it after routing through all of the clothes she had brought with her, leading her a pair of light brown sandals which complimented it and helping her tie her hair back, though Kanna had wanted to leave it down.
She didn't want the idiot to think she'd put a lot of work into this and get the wrong idea, not that Mae's jumping her and applying make up while Mizuki held her down wasn't going to give that impression.
She picked at an imaginary strand one the darker blue blouse she wore over the dress, so shear in nature it was almost transparent.
Her cheeks warmed when she remembered Mizuki suggesting she went wearing that with nothing underneath and one her skirts, the ones she had picked out last time she went shopping with Yui.
That might just have given the big stupid head an aneurysm right then and there, but as amusing as that would have been she would never have been able to show her face again.
She glanced at her watch again.
"Stupid Ryu, late for his own date, jerk… Not that this is a date!", she corrected herself, drawing strange looks from several passers-by.
"I think we established that already", a dry voice came from almost directly behind her and she only barely managed to stop herself from screaming.
She whirled on Ryu, daring him to be smirking at her, but his face was as carefully controlled as usual.
Somehow that only made her madder.
"You enjoy creeping around like some sort of snake, don't you?", she glared at him when he just shrugged, taking a moment to take in his appearance.
Black jeans with a white t-shirt and a black short-sleeved shirt worn open over the top with a small silver necklace completing the look. His spikes had that slight glean which indicated he'd applied fresh gel, meaning he's showered beforehand.
Kanna suddenly felt a little awkward, it looked like he'd really gone all out, she could smell a very faint whiff of his deodorant from here.
"Looks like even you can clean up pretty nicely", she said when the silence began to drag.
He opened his mouth and she had the feeling he was about to make some sort of smart ass crack, but it died on his lips as he looked her over without trying to make it obvious.
She unconsciously stood a little straighter, resisting the urge to glare at him when she realised what she had done.
"You too", he said quietly.
"Well of course I do", she said with a false laugh, hands on her hips as if it had never been in question, only her flaring checks spoiling the image.
"So", she mimicked her pose from the tower, hands held almost coyly behind her back, "Where are we going first?".
Ryuuya had decided early on that it would be less trouble to simply let Kanna pick what attractions she wanted to visit and go from there.
Being so early in the day also worked in their favour. The lines were shorter for a start, meaning they were able to ride a number of things that normally would have been packed at this point later on.
Kanna had insisted on first trying the Linear Gale, one of the worlds first linear roller coaster to feature the hanging strap, according to what the excited girl read off the display board that preceded the roped off area they were to cue in.
He had been a little uneasy with the whole idea at first. He had confessed reluctantly that he had never even seen a roller coaster; so going on something that was supposed to be new even for veterans wasn't an idea that thrilled him.
Kanna had whined and pouted, but eventually succeeded in getting him onboard by appealing to his pride.
In other words, she called him chicken.
When the ride had ceased, Ryu had vowed never to go anywhere with her again, but she had been to busy dragging him on to the next attraction to notice his complaints, or the slight discolouration on his face.
Ryu watched as she darted about light a child with too much sugar, bodily dragging him behind her.
Oddly he found himself less annoyed with her than he should have been. Her smile was infectious though it didn't succeed in surfacing one of his own, and her constant grip on his hand had a surprisingly soothing effect on his temper.
She had dragged him on something called the Tower Hacker, a drop ride that did just that. Ryu wondered if she was trying to kill him when they finally got off that, but he was given no respite before being taken on the next ride, this time an indoor jet-coaster known as Geopanic, which soaked his shirt when Kanna used him as a shield.
"Here", Kanna handed Ryu a cup with a straw in it, fighting the urge to smile when he eyed the cool beverage suspiciously before accepting it.
She had certainly learned something interesting about Ryu today; he had an allergy to almost everything fun, and a weak stomach.
Still, despite that he had never once complained when she took him on ride after ride that left him nauseous and disorientated, and refused to acknowledge there was anything wrong with him, simply telling her to make her next choice.
He also managed to avoid seeming bored or uncomfortable around her like she had expected seen as it had been pretty obvious after seeing him on the first ride that this wasn't his idea like his dark haired friend had suggested.
That actually made the whole gesture kind of…sweet, in a way she wouldn't have thought possible coming from Ryu.
She smiled, resting her cheek on her hand as he silently sipped his drink, visibly unwinding under the cool shade of the parasol above them.
A growing crowd had begun to meander around, some stopping at the same café they sat outside of now.
Kanna was slightly disappointed by that. For a time it had been almost like they had the whole park to themselves. Like he had rented it out just to please her.
She noticed Ryu looking at her with one eyebrow raised and quickly banished her silly daydream.
"What?", she asked a little more harshly than she would have intended, sitting up and sipping at her own drink.
If he was put off by her sudden change in demeanour, it didn't show, "It's almost time to go".
"Already?", she looked at her watch. It was indeed fast approaching the time they would need to return and collect their things to check out.
She bit her lip. She had one more place she had been debating about going to, unsure whether it was the kind of thing that would make this seem to much like a real date or not.
"What is it?", Ryu asked, seeing her frown at her watch.
"I…I was…", damn it just say it, she thought, "I want to go on one more thing…".
Ryu shrugged, "I suppose there's time".
"You're too kind", she drawled sarcastically.
"All too true", he shot back, moving his legs when she tried to kick him, "So, what is it?".
Kanna did something that looked a lot like playing shyly with her fingers for a moment, but he had to have imagined it.
"I want to go on that", she said, pointing to the large, wheel-like ride at the far end of the park.
The Ferris Wheel had been built to temporarily replace the Skyflower, a parachuting ride that had been taken down after an accident. Or that was the official story; some believed it was merely an attempt to rival the Palette Town amusement park, famous for it's giant Ferris Wheel.
Ryu let out a small sigh. Finally, a ride that wouldn't put him at serious risk of bodily harm or death.
Of course, growing up in the country, Ryu had never come across the various urban myths and so on which talked about the 'magic' of such rides, and their place in tales of highschool romance.
So when he agreed and began to stand, he never noticed the way Kanna blushed and nodded uncertainly before following.
Once secure in the booth, Kanna and Ryu had taken seats directly across from each other, but while Kanna glanced around the small space nervously, Ryu simply stared out of the window behind him as the ride began to move.
Ok, nothing to worry about, Kanna told herself, Just two friends enjoying the scenery, that's all, nothing even vaguely romantic about this. Ryu probably doesn't even know anything about Ferris Wheels, and even if he does…
Kanna couldn't bring herself to finish that thought in words.
Why the hell did I do this!"Are you ok?", she jolted a little, looking around before realising Ryu was talking to her.
"Who me?"
"Unless there is someone else hiding in here with us", she glared at him and crossed her arms.
"Well?"
"I'm fine", she huffed, turning away from him for good measure.
Ryu was silent for a moment before an idea occurred to him, "You're scared of heights".
"Huh?", she faced him again, seeing the look of understanding on his otherwise smooth features.
"It's nothing to be ashamed of, but I wonder why you wanted to go on this ride so badly if you suffer from such a phobia?".
"I'm not scared of heights", she bit out, standing and stomping her foot when he gave her a look that clearly said he didn't believe her, "I am not!".
The booth shook as the ride ground to a halt at it's zenith, just at the moment Kanna's balance was at it's worst.
She cried out as she was pitched forward.
Down below the operator locked the break in place and glanced over at the red haired girl who'd asked him to do this.
He'd figured it wouldn't hurt any, and besides, who could have said no to such a cute girl.
Back in the booth, Kanna and Ryu found themselves in an interesting position. Kanna's fall had ended with her hitting Ryu as he stood up to steady her, pitching them both back onto his seat with her in his lap.
That wasn't the most interesting part of their current arrangement however. What had both teenagers uncomfortably aware of each other was the fact that their foreheads were still gently touching, bringing them literally a hairs breath either way from each other.
Kanna stared with impossibly big brown eyes at the face barely an inch from her own. She trembled a little as she realised she could feel Ryu's hand on her hip and his breath mingling with her own.
If either of them were to move forward just a little more…
The dark haired girls breath was shallow, and her heart pounding, but she couldn't seem to get her body to move, it was almost as if Ryu had hypnotised her.
She tensed as she felt him begin to move.
What is he…he's not going to…I…don't…
Her eyes seemed to drift shut of their own accord, her lips pursing slightly in anticipation.
Ryu…
"Are you ok?", his cold voice seemed to shatter the moment, and when Kanna opened her eyes she realised he had moved out from under her and was rubbing the back of his neck tenderly.
Her face felt as if it were on fire and she turned away before answering, "Yeah, I'm ok…you?"
"Fine"
"That's good…", Kanna couldn't even think about how stupid their conversation was at the moment.
"…Hey Kanna", she yelped an looked up when he suddenly spoke.
"Yeah?", what was he going to say?
"It was…fun…today I mean".
Kanna smiled to herself, looking out at the fantastic view of the city they had from the booth.
"Yeah, it was".
On the train ride back Kanna was too spent to argue when Mae insisted she sit next to Ryu, and he didn't seem bothered by her presence. Besides it was either this or have Mae and Mizuki grill her for details about her 'date'. As she felt herself beginning to be lulled into a light slumber by the gentle rocking motion of the train, Kanna couldn't help but smile when she thought back on the past few days. Soon she was sound asleep, her head pillowed on Ryu's shoulder as he dozed lightly himself unaware of what she was doing.
There was a click as Mizuki snapped another shot of the 'happy couple'; she and Mae had had a busy day tailing those two after Kei helped set this whole thing up.
Speaking of Kei, where was the dark haired boy anyway
"Home at last", Ryu remarked as they ascended the last of the steps to the Hinata Sou, both residents exchanging a looks for a moment before turning their attention back the majestic old building as a wave of cherry blossoms swept by.
"Yeah, home sweet home", Kei said, throwing an arm around Ryu, "You know I'll never be able to repay you for this my friend, all those girls…hehe".
I should have just killed him, Ryu thought hanging his head, But that would have drawn too much attention.
"Thank you so much for inviting me", Kei continued, oblivious to the dark aura that was building up around Kanna, adding in a whisper, "Oh and don't worry, I won't tell anyone what's in the case".
"Ryyyyyyyyyyu", his name almost sounded like a curse rolling off her lips.
Ryuuya sighed. At least things where back to normal.
---Authors Notes---
Hello friends, yet another chapter in this, the final tale I plan to tell complete. Coming up next is Chapter Six: Festival; It's a celebration at the Hinata Sou, and there's a new face here for the fun, Kei meets the girls. Will his opinion of Ryu change, or will he become even more of a hero.
Emotions are high and feelings threaten to burst in the next instalment of Love Hina: Children of Ice and Fire.
Till next time, Betweenheavenandhell