A/N: Happy holidays everyone! I shall give you all internet chocolates for Christmas. Yes. I shall have Roroturo's ramen. It's getting cold. But today is a hot day. Why oh why. I apologize in advanced for the future chapters, by the way. This fic is getting serious I couldn't help it. Oh my... But it's a good thing I'm back on track.

Doki/Thump/Ba-dump = sound of a heartbeat

Disclaimer: I claim everyone except from Gon and Killua.


TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCE

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Yes or No

"I…" She took a deep breath, lowering her head to hide her rather flushed face. She felt so shy, so embarrassed. It was the most nerve-wrecking feeling in the world. Taking a deep breath, she pressed her lips together, lifting her eyelids to glance at the creature in front of her. "I… l-l-like… you…"

Yuhi stared at herself in the mirror to try and establish her facial expression when she said that. She then made a face, sticking her tongue out and acting as though she was puking. This is crazy! She sighed sharply and stood straight, looking at herself in the mirror once more with a fixed pose. She cleared her throat, smiled merrily and shrugged. "I like you!"

No, it was the worst thing she ever saw. The girl groaned. She pouted at herself in the mirror and acted like a lost kitty. "I… like you… nyaa!"

What am I doinggg? She almost laughed at herself at that. Clearing her throat again, she took a deep breath. "Hey K… K…" Another deep breath. "Ki… Killua." But she ended up smiling in awe and forgetting about what she was to say next when she mentioned his name.

The next thing she knew she was on the far corner of her bed, hugging her legs, sulking under the shade of her curtain. The bright rays of the morning sun seemed not to touch a good perimeter of her spot. She puffed her cheeks, pouting as she made a whining sound. Why do girls have to live with this? Why is this so hard?

"Yuhi, you up? You're gonna be late for school."

The girl snapped her head up when she heard her guardian from downstairs, turning it sharply at the clock to check the time. Then she instantaneously bolted out of her bed without thinking twice, grabbed her bag and books, and ran down the stairs. It was 7:36 AM. Classes start at eight.

Yuhi knew that telling the person you like how you feel about him was not the easiest thing to do. Although she had not done it before, she had an idea—from the films and dramas she remembered watching, and from what she experienced just by thinking about it. But she had not a slightest hint that the preface of everything that was supposed to be the main event would be just as nerve-wrecking. Sure, she pictured herself standing in an empty room, eyes to the floor, fingers twitching, in front of the white-haired boy who stood with his hands inside his pockets, waiting for what the girl was to say. Sure, she thought of how she was going to say it. But what Yuhi did not know was that saying it with her voice would feel as though Ms. Irisa called her name for a recitation in Science on a topic she forgot reading about the night before.

She had come in front of the mirror after she was done preparing for school, concentrated for thirty seconds, opened her mouth, and ended up pressing it shut again, not knowing how to voice out everything inside her head. In fact, each moment she would orally say what she felt in front of herself in the mirror as practice, she would blank out. It all disappears. For some reason her brain melts, and Yuhi could not understand. She sure was determined the night before, even finishing all of her schoolwork early because of the inspiration, going to bed smiling, and dreaming of Killua tenderly touching her face with his small, warm smile. Even though she had been told that dreams were the opposite of reality, she still could not let go of her resolution. She wanted to tell Killua everything, in detail, and make him feel her affection for him.

Yuhi couldn't hide it anymore.

But she needed enough practice. She thought she needed enough practice—and more concentration—before she could venture into the unknown.

Arriving in school just in time for the bell to ring, Yuhi started her stride towards their room with hopes of catching a glimpse of the white-haired boy. Turning her gaze to the right while walking was the only option. She did not see Killua's face, but she saw his white hair beside the energetic Gon. It was enough. She huffed as she marched towards their classroom, face reading a look of gist. Her inner self screamed the cheers. You can do it, Yuhi. You can do it, Yuhi. You can do it, Yuhi.

When the girl arrived in the room, their teacher, Mr. Pironst, was already there fresh from the faculty. He greeted the girl with that same old wrinkled smile of his as Yuhi rushed to her seat. They started class on-time and ended it on-time.

Yuhi spent half of it thinking of how she could get Killua to go with her someplace quiet and remote. The other half was spent in thinking about how she could get herself to get Killua to go with her someplace quiet and remote. The remaining five minutes was spent in sulking because she had no idea how to go through with it.

Recess came and the auburn-haired girl spent it by sitting on her chair, looking out the window, thinking, mapping the ways on how she could tell Killua the thing. She actually wanted to draw a blueprint on it, make a storyboard to plan everything out—so she would not screw up and look stupidly silly—or write a script so she could memorize things she might not say due to her anticipated mental block. That was when she thought, Is confessing really this troublesome? It made her sigh, pull her arm, plant her elbow on her desk, and dump her chin on her palm, cocking her head to the right while watching a leaf fall from a tree near the windows and sighing again.

The clock ticked twenty minutes and she still had not figured it out. Roroturo's advices then ran laps in her mind. "Well, if you ask me, I'd totally see if there's something going on between the two of them before I could give an advice." She thought of it all, and had her fingers snapping without a sound when she formulated an idea. Should I check if there's really something going on between us before I could tell him everything? The girl then turned her head to see if Sejin was there, but she still was out because of a meeting with the student council. She sighed, and returned to the window. She needed to ask her friend's opinion about it. Badly.

P.E. came and they proceeded to the locker room for the subject attire. From time to time the auburn-haired girl would glance at her seatmate, seeking to ask her about something. But she thought of shutting her mouth for a while. She did not want to bother Sejin about her one-sided love life when she looked busy and thoughtful. Yuhi decided she'd to speak to her by lunch. With a single firm nod she opened her locker and pulled out her sneakers. A paper then came flying out as she hoisted her rubber shoes. She picked it up from the floor and flipped it over. Another small portrait of her face was penned on it. Her eyes wandered on her cartooned face with amazement and confusion. How did this…? Her irises then traced the drawing downward. A tiny hand-written text was printed on the lower left corner. It said "Smile". She did, pressing her lips together while she put the piece of paper in her pocket.

At the back of her mind, Killua was smiling at her.

The exercise in archery was a flop for the auburn-haired girl. They were given three tries. The first one, the arrow came flying in the sky. The second one, the hit was too short. The third one almost hit a student randomly walking along the fields. Yuhi could only reply with a shy apology to the student and to Ms. Juno. The latter, on the other hand, had a straight face, slightly shaking her head as she retrieved the bow from the girl. She told her to practice during her free time—during breaks or after school—if she wanted to pass the subject. Yuhi was thankful for Ms. Juno's patience and for her classmates' words of encouragement. Well, after a surge of snickers.

P.E. ended with students returning to the locker rooms with wide smiles on their faces. Archery was always fun, perhaps because it was different from the usual class-inside-the-room custom of school. Yuhi was one, even though she did not do a good job during the exercise, glancing over the gym to see if 2-A were done with the subject as well. Their class was out in the fields, anyway, and 2-A was inside the gym for the volleyball court. Yuhi wished it would rain some time during archery so that Ms. Juno would transfer them inside the gym. By then she would be able to watch the white-haired boy play. But ever since the typhoon hitting the town two months ago, it had not rained hard. She guessed she just had to wait for the finals for the competition before she could watch Killua play again.

She then wondered what they have become by that time.

Charging back to the classroom, Yuhi immediately hoisted her notebook from her bag and put the drawing she found in her locker in one of the pages together with the first drawing. She stared at both. They were alike—an obvious art of only one person. Yuhi started to wonder who might be giving her the drawings. It must be a girl. The other was in her locker anyway. A boy could not have possibly sneaked in just so he could slide the drawing in the locker. She looked at Sejin who was just about to enter the room and pouted. There was no chance. Sejin was not that kind of person. Then for a second a thought came into mind. What if I give him a letter? I can just write everything there and give it to him! The girl's face brightened at that, but the optimism simmered down when she realized that she still had to go to the boy to hand the envelop to him. Might as well tell him directly. It's the same thing.

When Mrs. Malu came in for History, the excited noise and chatters inside the room died down and were replaced with sounds of faint groans and yawns. The teacher had them read in aloud the old folks and fables of Jyopen. One student per paragraph, which at least composed of ten sentences. Mrs. Malu would insert passages and brief explanations about certain unfamiliar things from time to time and would sometimes ask sleepy pupils about what was read.

One hour later, the bell rang. It was the most glorious sound for all of the students inside the campus. The noise upped suddenly, students going out of their rooms ahead of their teachers. Lunch break. Yuhi did not fall asleep in class that day.


"Yuhi, is it okay if you stay here after class for a meeting?"

The addressed then suddenly shot her head up to her seatmate while chewing on a spoonful of rice. She blinked and nodded. She swallowed her food. "I guess. Why?"

Sejin nodded and returned to eating her lunch. "Okay, good."

Yuhi pressed her lips together. That was the initiation. She had been thinking about how to start the conversation with her seatmate the moment Mrs. Malu was out of the room. It was time to tell Sejin about Killua. But she did not know what to start talking about.

"You're gonna tell me something?" The green eyes of the raven-haired girl met the auburn ones of her seatmate. Her look was calm. "I know since the start of the day that you wanted to talk to me, Yuhi. It's written all over your face."

Relieved, the latter was so relieved that her friend knew what she was thinking. But she was curious. "Sejin, you're a psychic?" she asked with amazement in her tone of voice.

The addressed cleared her throat, pushing the bridge of her glasses. "No, you're just too predictable. At least to me. Now, go ahead and tell me that thing you want to say while there's little people in the room."

Yuhi looked around. Her classmates must have gone out to enjoy the lunch break. There were only five people in—seven, including them. One was Mitan, talking to her seatmate near the door. It twisted Yuhi's chest a bit. Mitan still liked Killua, and here she was plotting ways on how she could get herself to confess to the white-haired boy who her friend liked. It seemed selfish, that was why she hoped to tell Mitan about it too. Soon. The other three were doing homework in Science. They were scattered, busy. They would never have time to eavesdrop on their conversation. Yuhi nodded. She took a deep breath and looked at her seatmate. She leaned in close. Her heart started beating fast. Maybe it was because of her tensed nerves. "It's… about him." She breathed out the words in a whisper.

Sejin released a small smile as she returned to her food.

Yuhi pouted. "What?" she silently made a whining sound.

"I had a feeling."

Leaning back, Yuhi smiled, playing with her food. "Well, I…" She then turned her gaze back at Sejin. "Am I too obvious?"

"No," Sejin replied. "But the fact that I know you like him makes it obvious. Because I know if it's some other problem, you'd blab about it. But you're silent about it now. Maybe because you've got no one to tell it about? What about him? Did he do something to you?"

While Sejin spoke, Yuhi ate. It was a nice thing to know that someone like Sejin could read her probably even better than she did. It made things a lot easier. She shook her head. "No, but I think he did." Realizing the contradicting thing she said, she grinned sheepishly at her seatmate.

Sejin stared disbelievingly at her.

Yuhi swallowed her food. "He…" She groaned. How do I say this? "I think I… you know, I…" She took a deep breath, leaning in close to say the words silently. "I… like him now."

A pause.

"Don't you already?" Sejin asked.

Yuhi shrugged. "Yes, but, it's… different now. I like like him now. So, so much." Her chest swelled. Saying that felt nice, as if she was a bird free from its cage. Yuhi wondered if it would feel that way when it was Killua who she was talking to at that moment. She guessed it's even greater.

Sejin raised her eyebrows. "And…?"

For a moment, Yuhi felt that Sejin already knew what was on her mind. She cleared her throat. "Sejin, do you believe in signs?"

Here the raven-haired girl was taken aback. She blinked and turned her eyes away to think. "Do you?"

Yuhi held her breath as the events that happened between her and Killua played fast-forward inside her head. She pursed her lips and looked out the window. The instant she did, she saw the white-haired boy hanging around the courts with and Gon and their friends. Her heart skipped a beat. "Yes," she muttered, returning to her seatmate. "I think I believe in them."

"I honestly think that a sign is an incredulous belief. Why would you even bother?"

Yuhi felt that Sejin was starting to think logically about things. "Because it's there, Sejin, even when I'm not looking. I just don't notice it." The girl then suddenly realized something that has been there all along. "It's there. It's everywhere. It's the people I got to talk to. It's him. The reason why these things are happening between us is…" she trailed off, looking down to think of the things that suddenly entered her mind.

"You haven't told me these things before, Yuhi."

The latter apologized and told Sejin everything. This time, in detail—from that one rainy night up to the day before. However, she spared Mitan's case. She could not betray her friend by not keeping her promise.

When the clock ticked fifteen minutes later, the students inside the room increased. By that time, Yuhi was done explaining things. She felt light after disclosing everything in her chest to someone, but a tad uneasy, because she thought she might be imagining things and assuming too much. She waited for Sejin's response while she fixed her unfinished lunch.

Sejin did the same in silence. When she cleared her desk, she cleared her throat and turned to the auburn-haired girl. "What do you do now?" she asked.

Yuhi froze for a second because of the question. She was expecting Sejin to say a lot more than what she had. She swallowed hard, ready to expose her plan. "I… want to tell him, Sejin. I really, really want to." She looked at her seatmate, eyes on fire, determined. "What do you think?"

Here Yuhi expected that her seatmate would give a long lecture about love and its heartbreaking effects on teenagers. But after five seconds of silence, Sejin raised an eyebrow at the girl and shrugged. She told Yuhi in a simple, non-grammatically confusing way, though face deadpan, that one thing she was waiting for someone to say to her.

"Go and tell him."

It ignited a new feeling inside the auburn-haired girl's chest. It was as though she was given permission, that telling Killua was possible, that they were possible. She suddenly felt braver. She waited for more.

"Do it before you regret never doing so, or missing a little chance you're given."

Yuhi's heart skipped a beat and she thought of yesterday's episode. They were alone. That was one chance she missed. Turning her head out the window, she spotted the white-haired boy again. "How…?" she muttered silently.

"There are tons of chances, Yuhi. I think you'll still be given one soon. You just have to wait for it to come. When it does, grab the opportunity immediately, I guess. It's what they do in the novels I read."

That was it. That was the thing she wanted to hear from her scholarly classmate. Yuhi's resolution was absolute at that time. She screwed the first chance, she had to grab the second immediately before anyone does. She knew there were tons of girls who had more courage than her. But whatever the output, she had to tell him how she felt about him. She had to speak her heart no matter what—even if Killua had already accepted someone else's. But she hoped he wouldn't.

Wait, Yuhi, it'll come.

She smiled to herself at the thought. I guess I won't be able to tell him today, will I?

The girl then turned to her seatmate to thank her, commenting on how good she was on those kinds of things. It had Sejin looking away and pushing the bridge of her glasses, telling her to find time to read so she could learn things she may apply in real life. Sejin sounded so sassy it made Yuhi scratch her nape in embarrassment for not reading too much.

Twenty minutes of loitering later, the bell rang and Ms. Irisa arrived with her ever so poised composure and elegantly collected features. The sound of her high heels resonated inside the quiet room as she strode towards the teacher's desk. The students were alert. When the teacher spoke, Science class started. Ms. Irisa had students stand for recitation about the pages she had them read at home. Those pupils who could not answer were left to stand for the rest of the period. Luckily, Yuhi was alert. She answered the question about the elements and compounds. She was spared. They were left with a homework when the class the done.

It was the same in Mr. Yama's class. They had homework, checked them in class, reviewed a little, and had a long quiz. They were done ten minutes earlier than the allotted time for the subject. Yama collected the quiz papers, with a number of students groaning and sighing, ruffling their hairs in frustration because of the complication of Math, and told them to spend the remaining time discussing about the school winter festival.

When Sejin stood upfront, everyone had wide smiles on their faces. Despite the rough factors math just gave them, they were still excited for the festival. The president started her speech with explaining what the student council had planned on doing. She described the setting, the theme, and proposed budget for everything.

"Since last year we only focused on the Christmas party-like festival, this year's winter festival will be a mix of the celebration of Christmas and the New Year. This means that it'll be double work and extreme preparation. Also, the reason why this is discussed two weeks before December. The student council needs a proposal of booths from each class." Here Sejin started to write on the board. "So, we'll be dividing work for it. The class will be composed of three committees: one for the conceptualization of what we'll be proposing to the student council, one for the physical arrangement and design of the booth when we start working, and one for the commodities."

Sejin further explained the workload of the committees she presented in class and asked if they agree to it. The students nodded their heads. Sejin waited for someone who would object or at least suggest something. There was none. She then proceeded to work assignment. She divided the class in three groups and announced the head of each committee. "Reina will be head of the committee for the commodities." She turned to the red-haired secretariat. "You're in charge of the expenses and make sure to audit every good we'd be using." Reina nodded and noted it immediately. "Suno, you're in charge of the physical arrangement and design."

The addressed then bolted in his seat. "What? Why me?"

"I've seen your notebook, Suno. I know you have a thing for arts and crafts."

Suno sank in his seat, muttering "Fine" to the president while his buddies teased him.

Sejin cleared her throat. "And I trust you can control Jinop, Ren, and Maru pretty well. Be a good leader."

Suno then laughed out loud and mocked the three who ceased teasing him after what the president said.

"Alright," Sejin continued. "I'll be in charge of the conceptualization. We'll start thinking of something good for the class to do and present it to everybody as soon as possible, so we would all know everyone's thoughts. Is that okay?"

The class nodded.

"We'll be working together in this so if you have suggestions, even if you belong to another group, just feel free to tell me everything and we'll do the same when we start working on it."

The noise inside the room then upped. Everyone talked about what they planned to do for the festival.

"You're harsh, pres. Don't you like working with me anymore? Why not give me tasks?" The vice president, Taro, suddenly complained in his seat, looking at Sejin with a forced pout on his face.

The class went silent, waiting for what the president would say. Normally, Sejin would give the head tasks to Taro and Reina, but at that time, she gave it to Suno, even though they were in the same committee.

Sejin shook her head. "Because you can't have a heavy task in this class. Thanks for reminding me, by the way." She cleared her throat again for a louder voice. "This was discussed in a faculty meeting last week. Each year level should appeal to this policy starting this year. Students who have enough memos from the principal would be working as staff members for the student council."

The class then entered a unison "Oh" after Sejin.

Taro laughed. He knew what was coming.

However at the other side of the room, an auburn-haired girl sat straight with eyes wide. She felt that she knew what was coming as well.

"So, in this class, there are two. Taro and Yuhi, I'm sorry but you have to work with the student council this year."

Aww! Yuhi inwardly pouted, but she immediately thought of good things that might come out of that. She looked at Sejin and nodded.

"Aww, man! That means more work! But anyway, Yuhinanana is a hard-worker so…" Taro called. The girl looked at him. He laughed. The class booed him. Jinop playfully hit him in the head. Ren and Maru laughed at him. Suno pinched his ears teasingly.

Yuhi laughed at the view. Taro was a fun person to be with. She then knew that she would not be out-of-place with the student council officers and other staff when it's time for them to work together.

Sejin ceased the noise by clearing her throat. She ended the speech saying that the committee she headed would have a meeting after class. She told Reina and Suno to stand-by and informed Yuhi and Taro about the student council meeting.

Yuhi then understood why Sejin asked her if it was okay for her to stay after school hours. It was that meeting.


Mrs. Akimiro ended Language class early. The students dispersed happily, immediately planning where they would spend the afternoon before heading home. Sejin's committee members remained to talk about what they would plan to do for next month's school festival. The student council meeting was not until four o'clock so Yuhi and Taro stayed with their classmates while they brainstormed. Sejin, however, insisted that the two would go over the student council office so they would not be late. It was fifteen minutes 'til the scheduled time. After a long debate between the president and the vice president, Taro sighed and nodded, standing up and grabbing his bag. Yuhi followed suit, waving goodbye to her classmates and telling them to take care on the way home.

The student council office was at the fifth floor of the building, where almost all of the clubs' offices in school were located. It was the biggest room in there, headed by juniors and seniors who were student council officers. When Yuhi and Taro arrived, they paused in front of the door and peeked inside before knocking. There a bright, energetic blue-haired boy whose smile reached his ears greeted them. His voice was high and forcefully feminine. The whole school knew he was queer. Yuhi even voted for him in the elections. He was the student council secretary. Klint Gerad Fusuka, 4-A. His mother was a foreigner, and they said that might be the cause of his gender confusion. But a majority did not mind at all. He was nice to everybody and was very friendly. Yuhi found him funny and smart when they went in their room during the campaigns.

Klint let them in and chatted with them about how they needed the staff because of the hefty plans they wanted to throw in. It was the end of the year celebration after all. He let them sit next to the other students and left to inform the president who was talking to some students in front. The president then turned his head and waved at them. The student council president— a tall, lean 17-year old student of 4-A, with a pleasant face, soft features, small black eyes and long gray hair. Jared Himaboshi. He's an intelligent young man with a calm but strong voice, an idealist and an artist at the same time. He's a painter. He's nice to everybody and adding his good looks to his persona, girls admire him and boys look up to him.

Yuhi was one of those girls. He was her first ever crush in high school before Killua came into her life. During freshman years, she admired the student council president so much, who was then the finance head of the student body. The admiration did not die down though. She still loved to look at him until that day—even got excited when she heard that he would be running for student council president that year in the former months, because she knew that he would do well for the job, and because they would be entering their room for the campaigns.

Both waved back. He told them to stay put and wait for the others to come in. They nodded and the president returned to his subordinates. The girl smiled when he talked. When she turned her gazed to her classmate, she pressed her lips together and asked "Why?"

Taro was looking at her with a goofy look on his face. "Yuhi has a thing for Mr. Pres, ne," he mused silently.

The girl giggled. She could not hide that fact. It was a given thing after all, because the president really was admirable. Everyone had the right to have a thing for him.

Later, Taro busied himself with talking with two other boys from 2-C. It was time to look around. That was the first time Yuhi went inside the student council office. It was huge like what they said and designed in something like a conference room. There was a rectangular long table in the center with six chairs on each side. A wheeled whiteboard was placed in front, a huge bulletin board attached on the wall at the back, and bookshelves full of papers and folders were at the sides. It felt as though they were inside a real office, except that two ceiling fans above ran the ventilation instead of air conditioners—unlike the offices below. Yuhi reckoned it was a nice place to study in, or just hang out. It was like the school library. There were also some books on Calculus, Physics, Geography, Trigonometry, Drafting, and Ancient History on the shelves—third year and fourth year subjects. The officers were composed mostly of seniors, and they practically ruled the student body.

Inside the office, at that time, they were joined by five freshman, two juniors and three seniors—excluding the officers. Yuhi tried talking to the freshmen who were all boys, but they were too shy and quiet in the room, only replying with a nod and a small smile. Perhaps they were timid because they were in a room full of people older than them, or that they were threatened by the rough teachers in the first year. Yuhi knew how harsh they could be. She had been there. The juniors and seniors were busy talking to their officer friends but they were nice in greeting them with a smile when she and Taro arrived.

The clock then finally ticked four o'clock, and the officers moved from their spot and started arranging the papers in front. Perhaps they were ready to start the meeting. Sejin was right about them not wasting a single minute of the time.

"Alright, guys. Hello to everybody." It was Jared, the president. "We'll go check the attendance first before we proceed, is that alright?"

The rest of the students nodded.

"Oh, sorry, before I forget, let me introduce the officers first."

All seven officers then stood in front with smiles on their faces. But before the president got a chance to utter a word again, a knock on the door was heard. Everyone turned their heads towards it. Klint was about to go and open the door to greet the late comers but it opened ahead of him. A small head with spiky hair popped in from outside. He beamed. Yuhi froze. She held her breath, lips debating what line it should form. She wanted to smile of course.

It was Gon.

"Hi! Are we late?" he cheerily asked the people in front.

The president was the one who answered. He shook his head and gestured them to come in.

Yuhi knew little when it came to science and rational thinking. One time Roroturo had her solve a brain twister which took her almost two days before she could figure it out, slapping her forehead with her palm when she realized that the answer was just written there in front of her eyes. But Yuhi knew of simple logic. It was just like connecting dots, that was how she pictured it.

That afternoon, her simple logical skills could be tested, because there was a Gon, and in every Gon, there was a Killua. It was simple logic, really, and at that time, the logic was true. There, when Gon slid the door open, behind him appeared the white-haired boy the girl had been dreaming of seeing for the day—had been dreaming of having in her life. But her simple logic could sometimes extend to more, because and in every Killua, her heart would stop and everything would appear beautiful, and every time that would happen, she would stutter and would not know what to do. And that was the last thing she would ever want to show, especially because there were seniors inside the room who could incredibly read thoughts through facial expressions, and because Taro was there. Taro knew well of the auburn-haired girl. He had not seen her go blank and blush for a person. Yuhi would not know how to explain when that happens.

"Sorry we're late!" Gon exclaimed, running to the empty seats next to the auburn-haired girl. Apparently he had not seen them yet, because when he turned his gaze to the girl, his face brightened a palette up. He waved a very excited hand. "Hi Yuhi!"

The addressed instantly beamed when she met Gon's eyes. It felt as though it had been a while since she bathed in his golden brown gaze. It always made her smile. She waved back. "Gon!"

The latter sat himself on the seat next to her. Pulling his chair closer he waved at Taro and at the two other 2-C students he knew.

"Geez, Gon, you're always in a hurry!" a tired voice from behind the spiky-haired boy muttered.

It made Yuhi's heart skip a beat. She knew who it was.

"Ne, Killua, Yuhi's here!" Gon excitingly said to his best friend.

Yuhi's heart skipped another beat, then it gradually thumped fast, and faster. She blinked while turning her eyes towards the white-haired boy.

Killua sat beside Gon and leaned his elbows on the table to see. He raised his eyebrows. "Oh, it's you again."

Doki.

Yuhi wanted to fly at that time. Her heart was fluttering immensely. Killua looked oh so cute with his subtly surprised expression. The girl smiled and prayed she won't stutter. "Heeeey," she sang. It was meant as a cool way of greeting a friend, but it sounded out of place. Killua covered his mouth to hide a snicker. Yuhi paused. He laughed at me again!

"Okay, I guess we're about ready to start here?" The president asked, smiling at everybody. He then cleared his throat. Yuhi then heard Taro reckoning she knew Gon and Killua well. The girl smiled at him and nodded. "Again, introductions first. I'm Jared Himaboshi, the student council president. Nice meeting you all again." He bowed and turned to the person to his right.

A tall, light brown-haired girl raised a hand for a wave. "I'm Hikari Yukino, vice president. Hi!"

Klint waved an excited hand. "Oh, you know me! Klint Gerad Fusuka, sexytary and internal affairs officer!"

A small girl with glasses and long black hair bowed. "Enya Mitsuhashi, finance head."

"Hey, guys!" A blonde-haired pretty lady waved both of her hands. "I'm Karina Tobaya, public information officer! Nice to meet all of you again!"

A small boy with curly navy-blue hair tiptoed and gave a wide smile. "Taka Hitori, events manager."

Last in the line was a chubby girl with dark brown hair in huge messy curls. She smiled and bowed. "Ella Lorden, external affairs."

The rest of the people gathered behind the officers introduced themselves as counsels. There were about ten of them in there. When they were done with the introductions, one senior stood up and saluted in front of everybody, introducing himself as the escort. Everyone laughed. Jared then made him return to his seat by tapping his back and telling him to keep his hopes up. The student laughed at his joke as well. By the time the room had simmered down, the president ushered his secretary to lead the checking of attendance.

Klint stepped forth. "Ooookay, class, our lesson for today is!" Everyone laughed as he hoisted his clipboard and let it rest on his arm. "We've got a list of the students that are supposed to be here right now so don't be surprised too much if I called your name. I'm not a stalker, okay? They gave us this." He laughed and they laughed with him. "Alright! To start of… freshmen— Oh!" The vice president, Hikari, pulling him from behind and whispering something in her ear, halted Klint. He nodded and smiled playfully as he returned to the students. "So, guys, what we're gonna do today is, when I call your name, kindly stand up and introduce yourselves to this bunch right here, is that okay? It's for us to get to know each other more since we'll be working together. Alright?" Everyone nodded. "Okay! Now, let's start."

Klint began with calling on the freshmen who each stood shyly and spoke with tiny voices. The seniors encouraged them to be comfortable around everyone including them that they won't bite nor eat them or something like that, letting the freshmen speak thrice to get their calm voice and stance igniting. The five boys were not offended by the teases though. They'd smile and snicker whenever they stuttered and the seniors would tell them to say the word again. It was a good thing because they actually sounded much comfortable than they did about ten minutes before.

"Alright! Now, isn't that re-fresh-ing?" Klint joked. He continued. "Let's now move on to the sophomores!" The seniors then clapped their hands together and whistled for the next batch.

"Ne, can I go first?" Gon raised his hands, standing up. Klint told him to go on ahead. The boy cleared his throat. "I'm actually not supposed to be here." He laughed sheepishly. "But since I want to work with my best friend, I volunteered." He beamed. Everybody had smiles on their faces while Gon talked. Yuhi took the chance to glance at the white-haired boy. Killua almost wanted to hide his flushed face from everyone. The auburn-haired girl smiled at that. "I'm Gon Freecss, 2-A. We're new here so I hope we could help a lot!"

"Gon Freecss?" the public information officer, Karina suddenly asked. Gon nodded. She cupped her face. "You are so cute! Isn't he cute?"

Klint hugged her, eyes sparkly. "I agree, Karina, I agree."

The senior boys then booed their friend who only huffed, turning to her co-officers for support. They were laughing. "Karina-san really likes cute things, ne…" Enya, the finance head, muttered silently.

Karina grinned. "You like cute things too, Enya, don't hide the facts."

Gon laughed sheepishly as Klint ushered him to sit down.

Killua was next. He stood up. "Gon only went with me because he's repenting for something." He eyed his best friend. Gon pouted. Killua turned back to the crowd. "Killua Zoldyck, 2-A."

"Killua? Killua!?" Karina exclaimed again, slamming her palms on the table. Her face read a look of pure shock and amazement.

The white-haired boy leaned back even though they were five feet away from each other. He nodded.

Karina laughed aloud. "So, you're him! I've been hearing your name from so many girls. My sister likes you and she's not even going here!"

Yuhi's heart skipped a beat. She turned her gaze at the white-haired boy who ended up rubbing his nape and looking down.

"You mean your grade school sister, Karina?" Hikari asked, smiling.

Karina nodded and laughed. "Yeah, isn't it cool?"

Gon, who sat beside his best friend, raised a finger suddenly. "Killua is famous," he said with a straight face.

The council laughed.

Killua hit his best friend in the head as he sat down. Gon pouted again.

Jared patted the back of their senior friend from earlier. "Sorry, man, I guess we found a new escort."

The introductions proceeded with Yuhi being the next. The nerves suddenly hit her then. It had been one of her fears to talk in front of a crowd and feel all eyes on her, also because Killua was a seat away from her. She was thankful that the senior boys were funny or else she would literally chicken out and be incredibly shy she would not be able to talk anymore. She introduced herself accordingly, with the council recognizing her as the afterschool maid they were hearing from teachers. Yuhi did not know that they knew about it. She nodded shyly, blushing when she met the smiling eyes of Jared. It was an embarrassing after all, especially in front of a bunch of scholars. Taro came in next, followed by the 2-C boys and so on, until it reached the last student.

Jared was the one who led the meeting. The air shifted into a more serious one when he spoke. He explained the school festival like how Sejin explained it, telling the students that they should not think badly of themselves for being there. Everyone would be of help for the success of the event, not because they received memos from Mr. Chango, but because they were the chosen ones. He told them that their main job was to help the student council with the physical arrangement, because they needed more people. Jared then gave the table to Taka, the events manager, to discuss the plans of the student council. They were to have several booths standing throughout the courts, lights scattered around, and designs for the outdoors. Taka said the indoors were assigned to each class and there they could do whatever they want outside their rooms. Hikari, the vice president, then explained how they should function.

"We want to make this fun for everybody so we've thought of something we might do!" she exclaimed excitedly, turning to Jared before she proceeded.

Yuhi thought she heard Gon talk to Killua about how fun things could be by that time. She smiled at that again. Turning to her classmate, she tugged his shoulders. Taro was trying to sleep during the meeting.

"Are you ready guys? Okay, here it is. We'll be working in two's!"

The auburn-haired girl sat straight and looked at Taro. She heard Gon excitingly gasping, plotting their plans already.

The noise inside the room upped with the complains and questions. Hikari explained. "It's like the buddy-system. No one's allowed to work alone. It's the season for giving, ne? Let's make the most out of it! Plus, we'll be having a buddy system in the council too so everything should be fair and square." She beamed and turned to their president. He smiled at her.

"How will you group us? Will we choose for ourselves?" a senior asked.

"Yup! It's your choice. Just make sure that the person you're going to pick wants to be your partner too, okay? And make sure that you won't leave your partners behind because by the end of our working process, we'll initiate an activity. This is also output. Apparently, you're all required to attend to our shenanigans. Sorry about that." Hikari smiled sheepishly, scratching her temple.

Taro stretched his arms and turned to the auburn-haired girl. He smiled at her. "Well, I guess—"

"Ne, Hikaru-san."

Taro paused. Everybody turned their gazes to the boy who spoke at the back. It was Killua, wearing a playful but rather grim grin on his face and raising a hand.

The vice president turned her gaze to the boy, scratching her temple again. "It's Hikari. What's that?"

"Are you gonna write the names down?"

Hikari nodded. "Yes, you have to tell us who your partners are going to be so we can note it down. No changing, by the way."

"Yay, Killua, let's go pass our names to vice president-san! This is so exciting!" Gon exclaimed.

Killua raised his hand again. "Ne, Hikaru-san."

"Hikari. Yes?"

"Can we choose now?"

"Yep!"

Gon bounced. "Killua, let's—"

"Hikaru-san." Killua raised his hand again.

This time Hikari cleared her throat and corrected the boy again. "Yes, Killua-san?"

"I choose her."

. . .

Huh? It took Yuhi about five seconds before she realized that Killua was pointing a thumb at her, and before his words processed in her head. I choose her. She started drowning, looking into the white-haired boy's blue eyes, curious, confused, and incredibly happy. She did not know what on earth happened. Gon's expression woke her up.

"Eeeehhh!?" the spiky-haired boy whined. "But Killua, we—"

"Payback time," Killua sang, smirking at at his best friend.

Gon ruffled his hair.

"Well, that is if she agrees to it. She of course has to agree to it first. That's rule number one," Hikari added.

Yuhi subconsciously held her breath.

"I'm sure she will," Killua confidently said.

The girl turned her gaze back at him, reading his face, his face that spoke to her, telling her to nod, or say yes. She wanted to. Badly. She turned her gaze at Gon. The boy noticed and smiled at her, telling her it's okay. She turned around for her classmate. Taro was sneering at her, but he nodded and said go on. Yuhi returned to Killua's eyes. He smiled. Killua smiled. Yuhi's heart melted. She nodded, and smiled back.

The boy then looked at the people in front again. "Hikaru-san, she agrees. Look."

The vice president cleared her throat. Again. "Hikari. Is that final?"

Yuhi blinked when she realized that Killua was looking at her again, ushering her to turn around and confirm their duty to the student council. She did, clearing her throat and trying to pull out a straight face. "Y-Yes, I agree." Hikari smiled as she jotted it down. Yuhi smiled back.

There it was. The chance. Yuhi knew it. Killua was the sign.

The meeting ended shortly after that. The seniors stayed in the student council office while the rest left the campus to head home. Yuhi, Taro, Gon and Killua walked to the gates side by side—the spiky-haired boy whining about how Killua played games hard. Apparently, it was because of the incident the day before that Killua decided on his own. The boy partnered with Yuhi to seek revenge on his best friend for ditching him. Yuhi did not even find it offensive at all even though Gon repeatedly said that Killua should have never included Yuhi in their games, because Yuhi was a girl, and girls are supposed to be treated pleasantly, not how Killua somehow forced her in the situation she had nothing to deal with. The girl, in fact, was praying that Killua won't ever regret his decision of choosing her over the best friend.

Gon partnered Taro and the latter agreed steadfast, because they both knew each other well—even Killua. Yuhi found it surprising that they have hung out before, but that's about all what the girl knew. She had no idea that these boys had been hanging around together.

When they reached the gates, Gon offered to walk Yuhi to the bus stop—to which the girl insisted them not to bother. She just did not want them to put so much effort in doing something she could do without help, although she still genuinely appreciated the thought. When Gon still pressed, Taro volunteered he'd do it instead. The shop where Taro worked part time was near Yuhi's bus stop anyway. They parted ways with Yuhi catching a glimpse of the white-haired boy looking over at her before turning around. That, or she was imagining things.

Taro did what he told Gon he'd do. He walked Yuhi to the bus stop and waited for the bus to arrive before he could dash off. Yuhi gave her sincerest gratitude before hopping in her ride, earning her a last playful grin from the boy. Taro had been smiling a rather goofy curve all throughout since Gon and Killua arrived, and Yuhi knew it was for her. She reminded herself to be ready for the surge of teases from his boy classmates. For sure, them singing Gon's name in her ears would fill the room first thing tomorrow.


Mitan knew that Killua was in the student council committee. She told Yuhi about it during lunch the next day—to which the latter felt so nervous talking to her friend about the white-haired boy. Yuhi's heart was racing while Mitan talked. She did not hear half of what she said, for the thought of telling her friend the truth about her feelings for the boy engulfed her mind and chewed on it like it was gum. The timing was perfect as well. They were alone in the courts, far from the people, and there were so much pauses in their conversation it pained the auburn-haired girl whenever she missed the chance to talk.

At that time, Yuhi did not know how to tell Mitan about everything. It doubled the tension in the air she breathed when she told Sejin. Telling Mitan was a different story, because the girl trusted her. Yuhi knew that, and she was afraid that the mirror she and Mitan were looking into would break and the cracks would remind her every single day of how she destroyed it. But she wanted to tell her. Not telling Mitan about it was like lying to her, and through that, it may appear as though Yuhi was already betraying her friend.

But after a long pause, when the auburn-haired girl inhaled all the courage for her risky speech, the bell rang. They ended up running towards the building and parted in the room smiling at each other. Yuhi's chest ached when she smiled at her friend, thinking of how clueless Mitan was of Killua and her. It was then that Yuhi had decided to tell Mitan everything first before she could wait for the chance to tell Killua.

The girl sighed at that.

Roroturo-san's right. Love lives really are complicated.

She stayed in school and headed for the gym after class, taking into consideration Ms. Juno's advice about practicing archery. If I want to pass the subject. Yuhi shot arrows for thirty minutes. Nothing changed. At the back of her mind she was hoping that Killua would appear out of nowhere.

It seemed impossible.

Yuhi hadn't seen the boy that day.


Yuhina thought she was brave enough. When she was in kindergarten, she remembered running to the restroom and locking herself up inside a cubicle, sitting on the closed bowl, pulling her feet up and hugging her legs to calm her nervous wrecked heart when the whole class laughed at her show-and-tell presentation. It was about dough, and she talked about how important it was in people's lives. Of course, with little understanding and naivety, that sort of thing was already a huge thing for a five-year-old. That was also the time she got interested in the ramen noodles and explored Roroturo's kitchen whenever he was not looking.

Yuhi then had no idea why everybody else found her work funny. The teacher said art, and she considered cooking an art—even asked Roroturo about it, leading to a long discussion about the greatness of creating cuisines. She wondered if it was because her classmates brought in pictures of sculptures and paintings, and hers was a completely different thing. Anyhow, she cried about it. Yuhi's whimpers were not of the loud, annoying kid's whose lollipop's been stolen from his mouth or whose balloon's been popped by a bully, though. Yuhi cried silently. Her sobs were low and deep, as though her tears were coming from her lungs. It was the cry older people would find very pitying. It was the cry Roroturo worked so hard not to let others make her do in the five years of Yuhi's existence. The man came blazing to school the next day when Yuhi went home wiping her eyes with her jacket at his doorstep. He talked to the principal and teachers to teach the kids in their school respect and appreciation. The girl's teacher scolded her students then, telling them to apologize to Yuhi when she gets back to school.

By that time, the auburn-haired girl did not want to go to school. She reasoned her lethargic attitude, because, she said, she falls asleep in class anyway so why bother continuing. That was when Roroturo told Yuhi in simple words to be confident, even though everyone was giving her the eye, because she'll need it when she grows up. The girl took those words to heart, and learned to get accustomed to confidence. She practiced standing up during recitation and answering even though she did not know the answer. Growing up, she realized that it was not only her who made mistakes. Everyone made mistakes. That, somehow, added to how she treated people around her and how she let them treat her.

She knew she was more confident than she was nine years ago. Well, sort of, because she still slightly feared the crowed and stuttered when asked something she did not know. But the girl knew it was part of growing up. She knew she was much more self-assured. She was braver. She was brave enough to venture into something as admitting her feelings to someone she liked.

That was what she thought.

In the past week there had been chances. Plenty, in fact. But the girl could not seem to grasp any of it in her tiny hands. She only smiled at the white-haired boy whenever she walked past him in the corridors. It had happened a couple of times—during five of it, the hallway was empty, and there were only the two of them. Five chances.

She also had not told Mitan about her fancy. They were too busy to even talk. Maybe. Or maybe she was too nervous she just wanted to run away. Or maybe because she did not yet want to ruin the friendship she and Mitan had. Yuhi wanted to buy time. But the clock was ticking and it mocked her. She decided to tell Mitan on Monday. It was settled.

Now, Killua. She needed another chance, and by the time it's there, she'd grab it, and blab whatever it is that would come right out of her mouth. She would not care anymore. As long as she would be able to utter I like you to the boy, she'd be fine.

What will happen next?

Yuhi had no idea. She knew what would become of them had Killua turned her down. But she had no idea what would happen next when he accepts her heart. That was if he accepts her heart. Yuhi did not want to think about the outcome yet. She had to do it—tell him—before she could predict the future.

Sunday night, Yuhi carefully placed the tiny lantern with Killua's name in her bag—just in case.


Monday afternoon, she was striding towards 2-A, both hands clenched into tight fists, one hand crumpling an envelope. When she felt the paper against her fingertips, her nerves calmed down. Yuhi asked for Gon. Gon attended to her with a wide smile on his face. Yuhi's heart ached when it started beating fast. She lifted her hand slowly, showing the spiky-haired boy the white crumpled envelope in her hand.

Gon took it with curiosity written all over his face. "What's this?"

"Letter," Yuhi choked. She tried, but she was afraid that if she tried harder a different kind of sound would escape her throat. It may be accompanied by the liquid in her eyes. She smiled. It pained her.

"For whom?"

Yuhi could but only nod her head towards the white-haired boy who chatted with a group of boys. She looked away immediately, trying her luck in finding that look in Gon's eyes that always made her smile.

Turning, Gon beamed. "Is it from—?"

"Yes." Another smile. She felt her heart shattering by the second. She needed to end the conversation so she could go home. Yuhi took a deep breath. "From Mitan."

No, Yuhi could not tell her friend what was in her heart—especially when she saw that hopeful look on Mitan's face when she shyly handed Yuhi the letter for Killua. She could not say no. That was what hurt. She could not say no to her friend. She could not tell her what she wanted. She could not believe herself.

It was the first night since high school that Yuhi cried in her room.

-CHAPTER END-


I do not know what has gotten into me but I crave for your honest reviews on this one. This is a pretty critical chapter because the next one is...

Please reviewwww!

Reply to 2102032: Thankyousomuchforthat! ^^" I'm glad you liked that part. I was laughing while I wrote Killua's line there. XD Yes, yup.I guess Yuhi wasn't ready yet. I hope she would be ready soon. Thank youuuuu!

NEXT CHAPTER: D-day.

I'd like to hear what you think of this story, awesome people. What do you think of the pace? Of the emotional spills? Writing style? What do you think will happen in the future for Yuhi and Killua? What would you do if you were in Yuhi's situation? Leave them thoughts all in the review box! Thank you so much for reading!