A/N: One month. I haven't updated for one whole month. Hello! Hello! Hellooooo! Are you guys still here? Do you still want to read this because it has been a month and I have not updated and I have not posted a notice about it beforehand and I am super sorry about that. Really, I was busy the whole month of February and when I finally get to sit down and write, I couldn't pull metaphors out of me, and I'd be too tired or brain-dead to think of what would happen next. But I assure you that I have not forgotten about this fluffy thing. I just hope that you haven't too. Anyway, since we're here it is time for the new chapter, yay! I'm excited, and a little nervous, because it was a month of writing, and I'm not sure whether it's worth the wait. But you decide. Because you are the readers. And I really do hope that you still look forward to this fic. DX Thank you to those who reviewed in the previous chapter and those who followed and fave-d. You all made this chapter possible again, really, thank you. :D

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

Disclaimer: This is school AU. Canon characters are Togashi's and the rest are my brainchildren. My brain had been pregnant with them, you see. XD


TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCE

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
Rules Are Made To Be Broken

While Saturday became Yellich day and schoolwork day—because her brother strictly told her to allot a day or two doing homework so she wouldn't have to cram like how she did the other day—Sunday became chores day and ramen shop duties day. After doing her daily morning routine, the girl grabbed the broom and started sweeping the floor of the house—from the living room, Roroturo's room, her room, and the guest room that became Yellich's room after his arrival. She dusted off the windows, the furniture, and fixed things she saw askew. It was almost lunchtime when she finished, but she still had half a day to be productive and it was time for the ramen shop.

Yuhi ran down the stairs and greeted everyone another sunny smile when she entered the kitchen. The shop was jam-packed on the first Sunday of the snow season. Practically all of the staff Yuhi knew was there to help Roroturo with the shop. But seeing few employees outside the kitchen, the girl could not sit around and wait for her turn on the dough-mashing counter.

"There sure are plenty of people today, Roroturo-san!" Yuhi commented as she approached her guardian in his usual spot behind the wooden bar.

Roroturo laughed, resting an elbow on the counter and looking over the busy interior of his shop. "Yeah. I think everyone wanted to hot soup today. It's getting colder!"

Yuhi nodded and looked at the tables as well, smiling while she watched the costumers smile and laugh while eating Roroturo's specialty. It always made her feel so lucky having Roroturo as her guardian.

"Your brother called, by the way." Roroturo looked at Yuhi with a wide grin. "The imp just woke up. He said he'd stop by a little later."

Yuhi laughed. It was because Yellich promised the both of them that he would be in the shop as earlier than the sunrise so he could spend his whole day with them. It was funny because Yuhi actually expected him to sleep in, and he did. Yellich went home so late watching baby Yuhi's home videos and crying over them the night before after all. "He must have been tired," she mused, suppressing laughter.

"Your brother's the ultimate crybaby," Roroturo replied. Then they both laughed. "Well, it's almost lunchtime. Are you hungry?"

"A little," Yuhi said, shrugging. Then she looked at Roroturo and smiled. "Can I help wait tables for a while?" she asked fast, wanting to do so since she approached the man.

Roroturo looked at the girl blinking then grinned. "I knew it."

Yuhi smiled widely. It was a bargain because the man did not approve labor requests from the girl that easily.

The man sighed and smiled. "Okay. But only because the shop needs it today."

"Yay!" Yuhi thanked Roroturo and headed in the kitchen to put a waitress apron on, grabbed the order slips and a pen, and walked outside to take orders from the people sitting at clean tables. Yuhi liked waiting tables because costumers of the ramen shop all seemed so nice to talk with. At some point, she became friends with some and they'd eventually be Roroturo's friends and regular customers. Roroturo was a friend to every new face who would eat in the shop. That was one reason why they never ran out of people to serve. The number one reason was the ramen. It was truly delicious.

The shop was hot and Yuhi never ran out of people to welcome. Her job was to greet customers coming in and take their orders so they would not have to go to the counter for it, pass it on the staff or Roroturo behind the bar, they make the ramen, and the male waiters would be the ones bringing the ramen to the table.

For two whole hours, the auburn-haired girl was smiling. But she was getting hungry. She opted to eat that time, but hearing the chimes from the front door made her decide to take one more order before devouring lunch.

And that was when the inevitable had happened.

Just when Yuhi was about to welcome a huge man in winter clothes—one of Rororturo's comrades—there she saw from across the street, revealed by a bus that raced away, were Gon and Killua, approaching the ramen shop.

Yuhi froze for a second before she came back to her senses. Luckily, the man who just entered greeted her with a pat on the head. She smiled at him then looked back outside. They were near. Her heart raced as though some unknown entity was pulling it out of her chest. Her knees grew weak as her gaze zoomed in the white-haired boy. He was looking down while he walked, hands inside his pockets. She had no idea why she was suddenly nervous. Thoughts were mashing up in her head, completely ruining her focus. Then something in her clicked. A huge explosion happened inside her chest and she dashed towards the kitchen, pulled Roroturo by the arm and whispered to him.

"P-Please tell them I'm not here." She stuttered, only because her heart was pounding and it choked her words.

Roroturo creased his eyebrows and asked Yuhi what was wrong. Then he saw where Yuhi's wide eyes directed: the ramen shop entrance, revealing two kids he knew very well. He turned back at the girl. "But they're your friends—" He paused and looked back out. He saw Killua and he understood. "Okay, but just this once. You have to face him sooner or later." By that, Roroturo walked out with a smile on his face and greeted the boys.

Yuhi immediately hid in the kitchen, in a corner where she would not be seen from the outside. The staff were looking at her and giving her the look of confusion. But she pleaded them to hush and return to their normal duties. When they looked out at where Roroturo headed and saw a black-haired boy and a white-haired one, they grinned and acted naturally. Oh, the girl sure wanted to do that as well. But it was so sudden she wound up freaking out and hiding from the world. She pressed her lips together and kept her earshot out of the counter.

"It's been a while since you last came, huh?" Roroturo said before laughing his usual laugh. "I thought you wouldn't come back!"

Yuhi heard Gon laugh. She smiled.

"Well, we thought of coming because it's snowing and we're out building a snowman all morning. We had nothing to do after and we can't just stay home when it's snowing! We miss your ramen, Roroturo-san!"

Roroturo laughed, and Yuhi reckoned it was a hearty one. He replied with a "You boys really are one of a kind, all right" before it became silent. Yuhi tensed. She wanted to see what they were doing. She wanted to go out and give Gon a tight hug for missing Roroturo's ramen. She wanted to see Killua.

"We came to see Yuhi, too!" Gon exclaimed.

The girl's heart started beating fast through her ears. We. She held her breath and waited for what Roroturo would say.

"Oh, not a very good timing, sorry. She's out with her…" Oh, please don't say brother. Please don't say brother. "With a friend and I believe they won't be back until later tonight."

Yuhi sighed of relief.

"Which friend?"

Ba-dump.

That was Killua's voice.

The memories of the rooftop episode suddenly lit clear in her head. Killua was suddenly clear in her head and she felt blood running up to her cheeks and burning them.

"One of my staff. They're out in the city shopping for rare ingredients." Roroturo laughed. "Yuhi'd go with anyone for an exciting trip, you see."

"Huh," Killua breathed out. "You don't say."

Yuhi's eyes grew wide. That sounded off, way off—as though he was implying that she always did go with anyone for an exciting trip and he knew all about it. The girl waited for a response and prayed that Roroturo would spare the boy a sarcastic reply. But it was quiet for a second, and Yuhi felt as though someone was pushing her to the ground because of it.

Gon broke it, laughing sheepishly. "Killua's been really moody lately, Roroturo-san." Then he sighed audibly. "Too bad, though." Then he paused. Then the girl heard a faint "what?" in the air. Then Gon continued speaking again. "That's okay, Roroturo-san! We're here to have some ramen too!"

Roroturo laughed his usual laugh again and said, "Two specials coming right up!" Then Yuhi heard him walking towards the kitchen. When Roroturo entered, he was almost startled by the girl who was sitting in a corner. Yuhi mouthed a thank you and gestured for them to hush. Roroturo shook his head and smiled. The staff snickered.

It was time to eavesdrop. Although the girl did not wish to do so, she could not help it, because she had nothing else to do. She couldn't walk or crawl right out and sprint to her room. She'd be easily noticed. So she only sat there, head leaning against the wall, imagining the two boys on the counter. They talked, and Yuhi listened, but she was holding her breath the whole time, not knowing what to think or what to do because she was hopeless.

Gon: "Too bad Yuhi's not here, ne?"

Killua: ". . ."

Gon: "I haven't talked to her for a while. The last time was three days ago."

Killua: "Hmm."

Gon: "I hope she's okay though. I'm still worried about her, Killua."

Killua: ". . ."

Gon: "But you saw last Thursday. She looks just fine now!"

Gon: "I told you about it, right?"

Gon: "Killua?"

Killua: "Mm?"

Gon: "What do you think of Yuhi?"

Killua: "What?"

What? Yuhi heart was racing faster than a jet plane and louder than a gazillion speakers with blasting rock drums playing. She thought they would find out that she was only hiding by hearing her heartbeat through the silence that ensued after the white-haired boy's question. Yuhi didn't know why Gon was worried about her but she wanted to hear what Killua had to say, because she wanted to know whether he was truly what the girl assumed he was towards her.

"What are you asking all of a sudden?" Killua demanded, his tone full of incredulity.

"I just want to know!" Gon pleaded. "Because you never say anything about her, you know."

"But why talk about it now? And what do I say about her?"

Strike one, Yuhi thought as she blinked, giving off short breaths as she felt her heart being swallowed by her lungs. The way Killua said her was piercing.

"Little things like… like… student council work! You never mention anything about her when we're talking about it. She's your partner too."

"But why now?"

"I don't know. I just suddenly thought about it."

"Gon, you brought me here. What more do you want from me?"

Strike two.

"Why are you so grumpy? I just asked a question!"

A sigh. "Okay. I'm sorry."

"So? What do you think of her?"

Another sigh. A groan. "Fine! I'll tell you. Geez."

This time Yuhi truly held her breath, inhaling a large amount of air and keeping it in as she stared at the floor with wide eyes, concentrating. It seemed as though her concerting pulses gave way to the white-haired boy's speech because when he started speaking, she did not hear anything but his voice.

"She's…" Killua paused. "Well, she's ramen girl and she's…" Another pause. Here Yuhi breathed out the air, inhaled, and held it in again. "She's…"

The girl waited. It took forever. But she could count seconds at that time and it was probably about ten and still Killua said nothing. Yuhi felt that he was about to, because she heard him letting out a word. But just then, Roroturo came blaring the kitchen with his laughter, and Yuhi's focus disappeared.

"It's alright if you couldn't come," Roroturo blared through the phone. "Oh, no, no, we're absolutely okay here." Yuhi looked at her guardian with a pout on her face. "Yeah, I know, it's our season but you know, we can manage. Okay, see you soon. Bye!" The girl watched Roroturo put the telephone back into place and hoist his cellphone from his pants' pocket, typed in something, and put two special ramen in his metal tray. He carried the tray with one hand and started walking out, secretly handing the girl his phone. Yuhi took it fast, wondering what that could be. She read the text.

That was your brother. I told him not to come here. He told me to tell you that you should keep hiding. But you shouldn't always listen to him. :D

Yuhi smiled and giggled a little. But it was not for long. She instantly went into serious mode and tried to inwardly decipher Killua's tone and mode of speaking—although eventually she found it hard to concentrate because of her grumbling stomach. Gon and Killua spent an hour inside the ramen shop, talking about things Yuhi figured were boys stuff. But it was strange, or maybe not, because Killua spoke so little and sounded to annoyed each time he replied to Gon, and Yuhi had a feeling that it was because they were inside the ramen shop. Roroturo's ramen shop. Roroturo's ramen shop where she lived. Yuhi was certain then though, that Killua was still crossed because of her.


"Yuhina. Are you listening?"

It was not only until Sejin elbowed her that Yuhi budged out of looking out the window and absent-mindedly observing the snowflakes sticking to the glass to blink and inquire what was happening. She then looked around, at front, and blushed of embarrassment when she realized that she had spaced out in the middle of Mr. Yama's Math class. Her classmates released series of snickers as she nodded and apologized sheepishly to their teacher. "I'm listening, sir. Sorry."

A sharp, rough sigh escaped the teacher's lungs as he walked to his desk. "I don't want you sleeping in my class, Yuhina."

The girl wanted to protest, but all she could do was feel little in her seat and answer a silent "Yes." Yuhi did not mean not to listen to Mr. Yama. She only subconsciously looked out the window, and her mind flew somewhere else. She was thinking—again—although she was not forcing herself to think about it too much. It was a plain kind of thinking, free, unruffled, calm, as though her subconscious only really wanted to know why things happened as they have. But the only false result to it was that she would space out, not knowing that she had. And at that time, she got caught, by her Math adviser. So she focused on the remaining time.

When the period was over, Yama asked for a report about the class booth for the upcoming winter festival—to which Sejin, the class president, replied in a very civil manner, knowing her words and the gist in her words. Sejin talked about the expenses and how the auditing and class voluntary work should be reported immediately after the festival.

Pushing his glasses as a prior response, Yama nodded. He seemed to have found Sejin's account reassuring enough not to ask any more questions. He then scooped up the papers and his things and held on to them. "Do not forget your homework: page 65, exercises A, B, and C. Goodbye class. Enjoy the weekend," He announced for the third time that afternoon, bowed, waited for the students' response and walked out of the room.

Everyone shared murmurs and sighs about the homework and seatwork teachers had them do. Yuhi did so as well, smiling to herself as she gathered her notebook and math book. Turning the latter object to the specific page her teacher announced, she marked her assignments and stared at it for a while. Then she nodded slowly, shrugging a little. Enjoy the weekend, he said. Small laughter escaped the girl's throat. Enjoy the weekend doing math.

Yuhi sighed. Then she remembered her previous weekend again.

The girl sighed, pulled out her Language book, set it on her desk, slumped on her chair, and stared out the window. She thought of Killua for a while and remembered how things between him and her seemed to have changed after that Thursday's council work.

It was strange. For almost a week, Yuhi would feel as though the boy would be out there watching her with his vengeful but confusingly tender eyes. But since Friday, she couldn't feel him. She couldn't feel what she felt about him even though she thought hard about it Thursday night. There were no explosives, no nerve-wrecking feeling, no fireworks. The people around her who knew about it never reminded her of the things she was going through. Of course, she reckoned he was still mad at her, somehow, but she was reassured in a way, because since Friday, she never caught him looking her way anymore. She never saw him in the hallways. She never saw him anywhere after P.E. class. It was as though they were back to square one.

But then Sunday came and the white-haired boy literally came into her house. She couldn't believe it. And hearing their conversation from where she hid, the whole visit to Roroturo's ramen shop made her want to expect and assume things again, theorize things in her head and thought of testing them for a change. However, after that, no, she still couldn't feel the boy. She was thinking that it was over and she would not know what could happen next.

"Yuhi."

The addressed blinked and allotted five seconds before she turned around and asked, "Huh?"

Sejin raised an eyebrow. "I'm asking you something."

Staring at her seatmate for a while, Yuhi laughed sheepishly and scratched her nape. "Sorry, I thought I was hearing stuff." Seeing Sejin's disbelieved face, Yuhi cleared her throat and tried to compose herself. "I'm sorry. What's that?" she asked shyly, smiling.

Sejin sighed. "I was inquiring whether you have finally thought about what you want."

"What?" Yuhi sat straight, trying to push out of her head the idea that suddenly barged in when her seatmate said what you want. She laughed nervously. "What are you talking about, Sejin?"

Sejin stared at Yuhi for a second before clearing her throat. It seemed as though she was suppressing a smile. "Student council activity? Exchanging gifts?"

It took seconds before the auburn-haired girl sat up straight again and formed a rather flabbergasted expression. "Oh," she let out, staring at nothing. That was one thing that kept her mind preoccupied. She could not think of what she wanted to write on the piece of paper the council distributed for the activity. She could not think of what she wanted. It came to the point where she had asked her girl classmates what they would want for the holidays. But none of it was her dish—at least none material. And the deadline was that day. Tuesday. Oh, another Tuesday. Yuhi inhaled deeply and smiled sheepishly at Sejin. "I haven't, actually."

Sejin nodded and returned to her desk.

Yuhi absent-mindedly pouted and shrugged, turning front and staring at the board. If it were not forbidden, she would have written the word anything in an instant. Aside from the fact that she could not think of any specific thing she wanted, any gift from someone would be worth it. Yuhi would treasure it nonetheless. She looked at Sejin and saw her seatmate reading. It was perhaps time to have Sejin's guidance in the matter. At least she's female. When the auburn-haired girl asked her brother, she almost barfed. Yuhi shrugged, hesitating a bit. "Sejin?"

The addressed instantly looked. "Yes?"

"Well…"

"Just write anything, Yuhi. You said it depends on what your partners will give, right? So, just write anything. If you really can't, tell him that anything would be fine."

Yuhi blinked. Tell him. She blinked again, and realized that she had not told her seatmate about what happened at the rooftop. Tell him. There was a minute of silence before Yuhi took a deep breath and said silently, "He—" Then she paused. She almost told Sejin of the whole story so she would understand. But hearing her classmates chatting inside the room, she thought that that might not be the best place and time to talk about it. Yuhi pressed her lips together and blinked, shaking her head a little and immediately looking down to hide her face.

Sejin raised an eyebrow, pushing her glasses. "He, what?"

The auburn-haired girl forced a smile. But it seemed not reassuring enough. "N-Nothing. It's just that he… He's special." Here Yuhi smiled genuinely. It was true. But it tasted like metal in her tongue she did not know why.

Leaning back, Sejin nodded and took a deep breath. But before she could utter a syllable, Mrs. Akimiro came in just in time for class.

Yuhi watched her seatmate stare at the floor then at the teacher without saying anything. She sighed and tried to listen to the lessons, albeit also thinking of what she would write in the paper—and whether she should tell Sejin everything that happened.


Killua never missed a chance in remindinghimself of the truce he inwardly made: to quit looking at the ramen girl even for a millisecond. He figured that that would be the best way to get rid of things in his head. Killua thought about it that Thursday night after recalling all the things that happened at council work. He should just ignore everything and let people be. The ramen girl seemed to be doing fine after what happened a week ago. Then why couldn't he? The stepping-stone to returning to oneself was to stop looking and start acting normally. Killua realized how pathetic it was of him to even let himself do something as stupid as staring. So he needed to stop it. Cease-fire. Squad halt.

But the irony of life hits just about anybody and Killua could not dodge. That Friday, during P.E. inside the gym, volleyball surprisingly finished early for the first time in history, their teacher, Mr. Tenoshiru advised them to hang around the gym while waiting for the time to pass or "Why don't you go to Ms. Juno's class and watch a little archery?", everyone magically went, Gon never stopped talking about how excited he was to see his friends from 2-B play, and Killua just could not run off and tell everybody that he was going back to the building because he didn't feel like it. The excuse would not work. Everyone would of course think of why he did not want to watch and the last thing he would want to show to anybody but his best friend was him acting like a complete weirdo.

So there he was, standing in the middle of the 2-A crowd opposite the 2-B crowd, forced to endure what felt like a continuous slap in the face. He told himself that he would not look at the ramen girl to make himself better. He should test the theory first to see if that were really the case. So instead he delighted himself with the other half of the basketball court where the varsities were playing.

Killua had the least interest in the sport. He did not know why. He loved spiking balls more than throwing them in a basket. Perhaps that was one of the many reasons why he hated Lykira's taste in everything. But he knew how to play, and every time he watched a game it would remind him that basketball was boring. Yet he had no choice in the matter. It was either the boring ball game or the 2-B pack where he would see the ramen girl smiling and laughing as though constantly reminding him that he had acted such a jerk. He didn't want to feel more like a moron that he knew he had been by watching her have the time of her life being so unfair. So, he chose the boring ball game and continued to do so even though he started feeling sleepy watching them run around dribbling basketballs.

That was the problem. Killua just could not understand what has gotten into him. He had tried to convince himself that it was only guilt, because he knew he did something really bad. And that perhaps the ramen girl was only making him atone for his sins by appearing happy in front of him. But it felt as though it was something else. It annoyed him, because he couldn't figure it out and seeing the ramen girl reminded him of it. And he did not want to put up with it anymore.

She seems to be doing fine after what happened last week. Why the heck can't I?

Throughout the day, the self-encouragement and determination to return to his old don't-care-about-it self was effective. Confidence filled the white-haired boy's chest when he realized that he had not thought the weird fling in him that day. His theory was so close to be proven correct, and that while going through it again, the idea that it was only guilt and guilt alone got stronger by the hour—that when Saturday came, his mood was already normal and it felt as though he had risen from the pits of hell and headed for euphoria when he woke up.

However, again, with the irony of life.

It was a nice winter Sunday in Tomo and Killua was in the mood for going out. He thought he might do something out of the ordinary with his best friend that day, thinking that he may have pushed him away far too much during the week because of his childish drama he did not even know where came from. He needed to make it up to Gon. And that meant spending the whole day doing things they usually do. It should be fun, and coming down with a smile on his face and greeting everyone sunnily, he knew Gon would comply with immediately.

They both dressed in winter clothes after breakfast to head out and build a snowman huger than what they did on the first day of snowfall, played with snowballs, strolled down the only park in town, went to the market to window-shop new and strange things about the town they still knew little of, and ate ice-cold ice cream at Killua's favorite sweet store. It was a fun day, with no confusing thoughts to think about, no homework to worry about—until Gon did the thing and Killua did not know whether he would regret ever proposing they'd go out that day.

Killua would perhaps never forget the hammering feeling in him when Gon pulled him to jump on the bus with him and told him that he "sort of feel like eating ramen today!" It incredibly baffled Killua he wanted to scrape his skin off his face when Gon said that in the most carefree manner. Sort of. Feel like. It was the most ridiculous and inexcusable thing he had heard in his life. Gon could have asked for his permission first. But no, the great Gon Freecss could really be helpful in times when Killua needed his cooperation the most—in an honestly very sarcastic way. He had inner seizures throughout the trip to Roroturo's ramen shop. And although it took them about thirty minutes, it felt as though the shortest bus trip he had ever experienced.

The boy tried to concentrate though, and told himself that he was acting stupid feeling tensed coming in a ramen shop. Still, his patience meter magically lowered when Roroturo said that the ramen girl was not in there. But his strings almost truly snapped when Gon talked about the ramen girl and asked him what he thought of her. Killua had a feeling that Gon might be on to something in the very first place. But he could not snap. He might question himself more than his best friend would if that happened. So, he still thought about it, and while he thought about it, he thought of the ramen girl, and all of the little things he saw about her, then he found himself staring at nothing. He didn't answer Gon. He couldn't. He couldn't describe her.

It was pointless, anyway, he argued. But the very thought of it just would not leave the white-haired boy's mind even after Roroturo arrived and Gon stopped blabbering things about her. It bugged him the most when the night came and he was ready for bed. He could not sleep and he could not stop thinking about it. That was when he had started to doubt his accurate predicament of certain things in the world. He was wrong. He had not figured it out.

When Monday came, he did his best to distance himself as far as possible. The theory testing was still in place and that day had been officially three days since he last looked at the girl. But Killua thought he had miscalculated something, and he found it both funny and annoying, because it seemed as though the not-looking-at-the-ramen-girl shenanigan to make himself better actually made him worst. And because when Tuesday came, he was feeling a little excited it was unbelievable.

Killua thought he was going insane. He was starting to realize that the Killua currently in him was not the Killua he grew up to be. He was anxious of something he was not quite sure of the whole day, but he kept it in, acting calm and quiet as he usually was.

He was thinking of talking to the ramen girl that day and finally getting it over and done with.

He was getting pissed off on what was bugging him inside. So he had to. But he tried his best to push the very idea of it off his mind and focus, so he would not have to let himself overdo the thinking that could eventually result to something as stupid as chickening out.

"Yosh! Killua, I'm ready. Let's go!" Gon smiled sunnily as he bounced off his chair and pulled his bag in. He stood in front of his best friend.

Killua stood up in response, not knowing whether he'd be glad about Gon's enthusiasm or not. "Let's go," he said, throwing an arm over his best friend's shoulders and they started walking. For some reason, he needed the skin-ship. It was as though he was subconsciously yearning comfort for his deranged sense of feeling.

Gon might have felt that as well. "Are you alright, Killua?" he asked with a smile on his face.

The white-haired boy sighed and smiled at his best pal. "Since when am I not okay again?"

"Well," Gon paused and raised his index finger in the air, "you know, since it's Tuesday. And you have been really moody lately…" he paused and looked at Killua. Then seeing his glare he instantly laughed sheepishly, waving his hands in front of his face. "Forget I said anything."

They were quiet for a while and their footsteps resonated so loud through the silence Killua felt as though they were provoking him into saying something more than what Gon would expect. He knew he had pushed best friend far too much about his whole issue and thought that Gon, more than anyone, deserved to know what was bugging him. But he couldn't just tell him as casually as he tells Gon he's being stupid because of reasons—one was not being entirely sure what was up. So long as the day ends and I'm able to get it over with. Maybe then he could explain things to his best friend much clearly.

"Ne, Killua, I remembered," Gon interjected, breaking the silence.

Killua blinked and shook his head a little off the thought before turning to the boy. He did tell himself not to think about talking to the ramen girl that much. "What?"

Gon's eyes were shining wide. "Have you written a thing on the note?"

Eyebrows creasing, Killua stretched his arms behind his head. "Note?"

"Yeah!" Gon laughed. "You forgot again, didn't you?"

Killua sneered.

Gon grinned and after a turn to the 5th floor where the student council office was, he inhaled. "The note for writing your wish-list. I asked you yesterday, I think, but you said nothing. How about now?"

Killua sighed. Oh. That. The boy hadn't thought about it. He didn't want to. He wasn't going to put things in the note. It's pointless because some people would take anything and be okay with it. And he was one of the "some people". "Meh, I'll deal with that later." Plus, the things that were pestering his thoughts about that activity were not the things to be written in the note, but the things their partners would write. Killua hated that term. Why should it sound so cheesy! Also, he would never know what a girl wanted. But Killua sure hoped that the ramen girl had not written anything too surreal as what most girls wish for—well, that he knew. I'd rather she writes that she wants anything.

Gon laughed again and nodded. "I knew it." He looked at his best friend who was raising an eyebrow at him of sudden confusion. "But Killua," Gon started, locking his big brown eyes into Killua's blue ones. "You should really try to make an effort in doing things. Don't give Yuhi a hard time thinking, ne."

Killua blinked. Then he blinked again. What…! For some reason, Killua found Gon's statement meant for something else. His eyes grew wide as he stared into Gon's sparkly brown. He's saying something… Is this idiot messing with me!? Gon's innocent gaze was getting on the white-haired boy's nerves. It was getting on his nerves hard. But before he could say something, Gon ran grinning towards the council office. "H-Hey!" Killua exclaimed, running after him.

Gon headed straight in the office. But Killua did not barge in when he saw the door. He slowed his footsteps, walking carefully and cautiously, thinking. Gon's words struck a chord in him. He was confident that Gon said it in an innocent way, but the look on his face said something much more than that. Looking at the door, Killua thought that that was the chance of a lifetime. He could finally ditch council work. No one would be looking. No one would prevent him from doing it. But Gon's sentence played in his brain like a broken record. Try to make an effort in doing things. Killua winced. That idiot… Does he really think I'm doing things without exerting any effort? He wanted to prove Gon wrong—albeit also wanting to prove to himself that he was not chicken.

With the inner seizure intensifying, the white-haired boy took one long, deep breath before finally striding fast and sliding the door open. The first thing he searched for was his best friend. Gon was already talking to some juniors. They haven't started yet. Killua winced, shifted his eyes to their station, and headed towards it.

Putting his bag aside, he sat on his chair, stretching his arms behind his head and observing the people. Everyone was talking about the wish-list thing and how they had pinned theirs on the bulletin board. Killua sighed and leaned his back on his chair, gaze shifting towards the chair in front of him. He stared at it for a while before pursing his lips and sighing again. He closed his eyes, considering that his best friend may have a point. Stupid Gon.

"Oh. Anything wrong, pretty boy?"

Killua instantly opened his eyes and stood up, placing his hands casually in his pockets. He looked at their senior council head who was smiling at him. Then he looked away, turning his left foot towards where Gon was. He didn't like it when people start conversations with him asking what was wrong or what his problem was. And that happened often in the past days. He didn't want to talk. "Nothing," he muttered under his breath. He was about to run off, but Karina replied too soon.

"Not nothing to me," the public information officer said as she laughed, placing the box she was carrying on the table. She then faced Killua, hands on her hips. "Anyway, have you pinned your wish-list on the board? I'm in charge of this group and I need to make sure you're not bailing out of the activity."

Killua almost shook his head. He was still looking away. "Not yet."

"Well, are you doing it now? Hikari will check them in a few minutes." Karina shrugged.

Killua only blinked.

"Aww." Karina's face fell as she crossed her arms against her chest. She looked at the boy with a pout on her face. "You didn't write anything yet, did you?"

It took some time before the white-haired boy turned his gaze at Karina again. He shrugged. "Can't I deal with that later?" he asked carefully but he sounded more hurried than he wished.

Karina looked at Killua for seconds then sighed. She stood askew. "You're really cute, Killua, but you've been given five days to deal with it. Just write something that you want for Christmas except world peace and that's fine."

"But I don't want anything. My wishes aren't something you can buy from a toy store." Killua mumbled the last sentence out, meaning them. That was his deal. He did not want any material stuff. He told Gon that but when Gon asked what he wanted, he also didn't know.

Karina's eyes grew wide. "Wow, that's kinda deep, man. Don't you like anything that can be bought from a store other than the toy store?"

Killua sighed of frustration and shrugged. "I don't know, a chocolate bar maybe?"

"There. Then write you want a chocolate bar."

"But that's pointless, you know." Killua already explained that to his best friend as well. He could buy all the candy he wanted, for Pete's sake. They're delicious—Killua's most cherished favorite treat. But… Gifts are different!

Karina took a deep breath and put her hands on her hips again. "How about a chocolate cake?"

"What? No!"

"Chocolate donut?"

"No."

"Chocolate candy?"

"No."

"Chocolate balls?"

"Ye— No."

Karina laughed while Killua was starting to look annoyed. "Really! Have you been thinking about what you want or what you want Yuhina to give you?"

Here Killua finally lost it. His eyes grew wide as an inner seizure was starting electrocute him. "What are you saying?" he asked, sounding irritated beyond anything.

But Karina laughed again, clasping her hands over her chest. "Really cute!" She giggled, pinching Killua's cheeks on both sides.

"Ow!" Killua tried his best to pull away. "Cut that out!" When the council officer retrieved her hands, the boy rubbed his cheeks. "Geez, can't I just write that anything's okay?"

Karina was chuckling. "Oh, wait, I think you can, let me check. Yep, no. Sorry, you can't. Hikari's idea, Hikari's rules."

Killua groaned. "It's stupid."

"Now, don't say that. She just wants everyone to take her plans seriously." Karina paused and waited for the boy to say something. But Killua just stood there with his frustrated face, looking at where his best friend was at, obviously wanting to run away from her. Karina sighed and smiled. "Alright, I'll talk to Hikari about it."

Killua's face brightened, but he tried to suppress ever showing it. He looked at the senior blonde woman with a glare. "Oh, really?"

"Yeah, I'll work on it!" Karina grinned.

Looking down, Killua swallowed. "Thanks, I guess." There was a millisecond of silence before the boy looked back at his senior. He nodded to the left. "Can I be excused now?"

Karina's grin transformed into a serious smile. "There's one condition though."

Killua wanted to slap his forehead. "What?"

"Kari-san! Jared-san's looking for you! Urgent meeting!" a junior council member called from the door, bringing in boxes from the storage cabin.

The addressed turned and waved a hand. "I'll be there in a sec!" Then she looked back at the kid in front of her. "I'm being summoned so I'll explain this quick." Killua nodded. "You and Yuhi have to talk about it."

Killua's eyes grew wide. He was about to ask why, but Karina kept on.

"Of course, we can't bypass her. She's your partner. You should tell her what you told me. That, or you both agreeing that you want anything from each other. Got it? Hep. It's not pointless and stupid because it's like only informing each other that no one would get a blank wish-list today. That's kind of improper and rude if you ask me. So, there." Karina shrugged, waiting for Killua's approval.

The boy blinked, not knowing what to actually say. Because Karina honestly had a point. And he agrees with her. But he just did not know.

"What's improper and rude?"

Both turned to the person who spoke. He was beside the white-haired boy.

Karina smiled. "Killua giving a blank wish-list to Yuhi."

Gon raised his index finger in the air. "Yeah!" Then he turned to his best friend. "Killua, you haven't written anything yet!"

Killua breathed out. "I—"

"As what I was told," Karina interjected. "But he explained everything and I'll see what I can do." She turned to Killua. "Inform me when you've talked about it, okay?"

Gon's eyebrows creased. "Is Killua in trouble?"

Karina laughed and shook her head. "No, I told him to explain to his partner that he wanted anything for the exchange gifts activity. Yuhi has to agree first."

It was quiet for a while after Karina said that, and the silence between the three of them was pushing Killua to the ground. He wished that Gon would say nothing about it, nor react goofily. Because Killua knew Gon and Gon knew Killua and the ramen girl were not okay and Killua knew Gon would act excited again knowing that he was required to talk to her. It would seem as though a successful mission of "making his friends get along again" for the spiky-haired boy. So Killua almost reminded Karina that she was needed to end the conversation—just in time for Gon to get to his senses.

"Oh," Gon mused. Then a huge grin suddenly appeared on his face. "Oh!" He looked at Killua, amused.

The latter tried to ignore his best friend's gaze.

"Kari-san!" a different council member called.

"I'm coming!" Karina did her signature wink at the two, "See you later alligator," before heading out.

They both watched the blonde lady off until she was out of the room. Then it was quiet again between them. Killua's head was hammering. He knew that Gon was looking at him again with a creepily goofy smile on his face and he did not even know why he was thinking of what Gon might be thinking. He did not want to look at his best friend. He should be thinking of something else. What was that Karina told him? Oh, talking to the ramen girl. He was about to do it anyway. No need to feel so pressured about it. He calmed himself enough to stay like that until he did his mission. But it was not like a huge mission. He should start telling her that he was sorry. Then he could tell her about the wish-list thing. Then everything would be okay and he would not have any guilt or regret crawling against his skin anymore. It should be easy. Pfft.

"Hey, Killua—"

"Don't say anything." Like the speed of light, Killua stretched his left arm out and covered Gon's face with his palm, squishing his mouth shut. He looked at his best friend and said that with a deadpan face. Then he walked to the door. He stretched his arms behind his head and tried his best to focus on the candies inside the canteen. But he needed to control the inner seizure attacking again. He was thinking that he might be wrong about another thing. Mission don't-look-at-the-ramen-girl-to-make-self-better is officially a failure.

Gon blinked and watched Killua leave the room with his wide, innocent eyes. Then he laughed loud, running towards his best friend.


There. Yuhi exhaled and smiled as she zipped her bag close, ready to head out. She stood up and fixed her uniform, hoisting her bag from her desk. Her mind had been wandering off throughout Language, but since she was five minutes away from the deadline, Yuhi had given it a thought. She should remember to explain things to Hikari.

"Yuhi." The girl turned to her seatmate when she heard her. Sejin stood up and crossed her arms against her chest. "Are you okay?" she asked, sounding ever so seriously.

The auburn-haired girl blinked, eyes wide. "Me? Yes. Why?" Yuhi waited for an answer, but Sejin only looked at her as if reading her mind. Then she remembered looking troubled earlier. Yuhi laughed sheepishly. "I may have to take your advice about the wish-list."

Sejin stared at the girl for a while before exhaling and fixing her things to get ready for home. They cancelled festival preparations work that day because the teachers gave plenty of things to do for next day's class. "Good luck with council work again," Sejin said silently.

The latter smiled. "Thank you, Sejin." When Sejin looked and nodded then looked down again, Yuhi giggled a little. "Take care on the way home. See you tomorrow at school!" She waved a hand and walked past the president. Yuhi inhaled and smiled, turning back around to look at her seatmate again. Sejin must be wondering what's wrong with me. Yuhi did not want anyone to worry about her. Perhaps when it's not a big deal anymore, she could tell Sejin everything.

"Yo, ramen girl, watch where you're walking!"

Huh? Yuhi's eyes suddenly grew wide as her heart rummaged against her lungs when she heard that call and felt hands on her shoulders. She looked up. For a minute she saw him. Then he smiled. But it was different.

"Yuhinanana! Are you okay?"

The voice was different. Yuhi blinked and shook her head, her blurry vision clearing up and seeing their class vice president. It was Taro. Taro was the one who called her. Did I hear it right? "Did you just… call me ramen girl?" she asked silently. Her heart hammered in her ribcage so hard she thought she was going to faint.

Taro laughed, retrieving his arms and placing them in his pockets. "Yeah. I just thought I'd give it a try since I hear it from Killua all the time. I was getting used to it."

Oh. Yuhi looked down and nodded. Then she shook her head again. I'm seeing things.

"Ehh. What's wrong? Did you just wake up from Mrs. Akimiro's class? 'Cause I sure dozed off!" Taro laughed again, stretching his arms this time.

The girl immediately shook her head and waved her hands in front of Taro's face while she smiled. "N-Nothing! I just thought I heard someone."

Taro looked around but the hallway was noisy from different directions he couldn't tell what Yuhi meant by someone.

Yuhi tip-toed to reach for Taro's high shoulders to push him towards the stairs. "Never mind! Let's go. We're late!"

They both laughed after that, walking in silence until they reached the second floor.

"So," Yuhi started this time. "What did you write on your wish-list?" The girl was truly optimistically curious about what her other council work buddies wanted for the holidays. She thought that knowing Taro's would be interesting. She knew little of him after all.

Taro blinked for a while. "Oh, yeah." Then he laughed as he looked at the girl with a sheepish smile on his face. "Remind me to jot it down later before I post it."

Yuhi almost laughed. "You haven't written any?" she asked carefully. Then receiving a shake of the head she asked again. "Well, have you thought about it?" She was a tad glad about the fact that her classmate had yet to write something on the paper the council gave. It made her feel that she was not alone in the world of uncertainty.

"Of course!" Taro replied.

Yuhi felt that she had lost an alliance shortly after gaining the same one.

"I've been eyeing some novels in the past few days and I think they're cheap enough for Gon to handle financially."

"Books," Yuhi mused, amazed. There were only few boys she knew who would ask for books instead of games as gifts. Taro was one of them. But she almost forgot. "That's pretty nice. What are they about?"

Taro shrugged. "Sci-fi. Thrillers. You know, zombies, tractors, guns, poisonous drugs, pros being experimented on. Stuff like that."

Yuhi nodded. "Wow. Tough stuff." She smiled.

"Yeah." Taro laughed. "You should try it sometime. I get most of my pranks to the boys from the books that I read. Disclaimer: except from the lethal weapons, of course. Forbidden."

Yuhi nodded again, laughing. "Of course."

"Well, how about you?" Taro started after a pause. "What's your wish-list?"

Shrugging, the girl smiled to herself as they made the turn to the last staircase before the floor to the student council office. "That's what I'm worried about. I don't have any."

"Whoa, really?" Taro asked, surprised. "Why?"

"I don't know." Yuhi shrugged again, clutching the strap of her bag with her hands. "I just can't think of any specific thing I want, you know." She smiled at Taro then lifted her fist in the air. "But no worries because I've got it covered," she declared to the air with a look of gist on her face.

Taro stared at the girl for a while then laughed. "Okay! I'm sure Killua will be alright with it!" he exclaimed in forced excitement, trying to equal Yuhi's enthusiasm.

Yuhi laughed and raised her fist higher. I hope.

Taro chuckled and lightly elbowed the girl on the shoulder, nodding towards the door to the student council office.

The girl followed suit while Taro walked ahead. She then sighed and looked down. She was worried about that, and there were a lot of things in her head. What if Killua didn't want to exchange gifts with her? What if the tension between them rises when she writes anything on the note she would give, giving him another unanswered query? She sighed again. I guess him writing something about the activity is enough—although she was not expecting him to write something nice.

When Taro slid the door open, Yuhi's heart stopped. Then exhaling hard, she nodded and strode towards the room, putting a smile on her face as she entered, and greeting everyone a good afternoon while she walked to her station. Killua was not there, so was Gon. But when she glanced at his seat, the white-haired boy's bag was there. The instant she saw it, she snapped her eyes towards the bulletin board, searched for her name. But there was nothing. The girl nodded to herself again before putting down her bag and asking members of their group where the rest were. The council officers weren't in the room as well. They were out, she was told, and she nodded again as she swallowed and got to her task, thinking of how everything should go—would go.

Yuhi imagined what Yellich might say to her while inside the room. Her brother might stick to his idea of acting naturally and not thinking too much—those were two things he never forgot to remind his sister though, after saying that he would stop with the meddling. He repeated it during that day's lunch, when he asked the progress of the auburn-haired girl's wish-listing dilemma. Yuhi told her brother everything, but Yellich only laughed and repeated his words. Sometimes she wished that Roroturo never advised Yellich to let her be. And although before she was sure that she could handle things on her own, when her brother came, she realized that she needed guidance—and here they told her to go with the flow. Yuhi sighed and smiled a little to herself while she cut crepe papers into strips, remembering the look of gist in Roroturo and Yellich's faces when she told them about the gift giving activity.

"Yuhi-san!"

The addressed blinked and instantly looked up. "Yes?"

The boy who called was one of the freshmen. He was carrying huge paper rolls from the door. "Can you help me with these, please?" He smiled sheepishly.

"Oh." Yuhi straightened up, watching the boy as he pulled the four feet high white rolls on the long table. She immediately complied, putting her work aside to help. There were five huge white rolls and they were not paper. "These are heavy," she mused as she set them right. "What are they for?"

"Tarpaulins. We're going to start posting things tomorrow!" he said optimistically.

Excitement rolled through the girl's guts and it showed in her smile. It was wide. "Great!" she exclaimed back, chuckling a little. "Are these printed already?" Yuhi leaned in and tried to peak through the hole in the middle to get a glimpse of what was inside.

The boy laughed. "They're not yet printed, I believe. Jared-san said that these just came in as donation from some alumni. Too bad they didn't have it printed before donating one."

Yuhi chuckled sheepishly, scratching her left cheek lightly. "Well, I guess it's good enough that we have something like this now. Last year everything was made out of scratch, ne!" The boy smiled, and he was about to say something when the door of the office slid open. In came the council officers, all of them, in a grand fashion, laughing and talking while they walked to their stations. They looked so cool in the eyes of their juniors. Yuhi's gaze was at Jared then at Hikari, remembering that she should talk to her about the wish-list. Shifting her eyes, she caught their council head's smiling face approaching their station. Yuhi smiled and waved a hand. "Hi, Kari-san!" she greeted enthusiastically as she usually did.

"Hey, Yuhi," Karina greeted back. She waved a hand to the freshman boy who returned the gesture and left immediately, carrying a box with him outside. She then gave her signature huge smile to the auburn-haired girl. "So, what's up? Have you…" But she trailed off, stretching her neck to look over Yuhi's shoulder. Then she looked around. "Where's Killua?"

Doki.

Yuhi would never get used to hearing his name being said aloud and not having to completely palpitate for a second or two. She smiled a little and shrugged. "They said he's out with Gon." She jabbed her thumb to the left where most of the students were at. Taro was gone too, proceeding to the storage cabin immediately after heading in.

"Oh," Karina mused. "You haven't seen him yet?"

Yuhi shook her head. Then she remembered her mission for the afternoon. She should definitely ask their council head first before heading to the one in charge of the whole thing. When Karina nodded and smiled at her before turning to the table, the auburn-haired girl blinked and looked down then looked at the public information officer again. She did not know how to start telling her wish-listing dilemma to one of the people who organized it.

Karina, though, she noticed the girl's gaze. "Is something wrong?" she asked, looking at the girl.

A sheepish smile crept across the sophomore's face. Then she laughed. "Can I… talk to you about the gift giving activity, Kari-san?" Her tone was silent, but she was sure that Karina heard her.

The officer did. She smiled and faced Yuhi. "Sure! What do you want to talk about?"

"Well," Yuhi started, not knowing what to do with her hands. "It's more of a… request."

Karina blinked. Then she laughed a little, crossing her arms against her chest and gesturing the girl to continue.

Yuhi smiled and looked down shyly. It was a selfish request after all. "The wish-list, the note you gave us?" She looked at Karina while the latter nodded. "I… haven't written any yet." She said the last phrase fast, forcing a smile as she shifted her gaze back at her senior.

The blonde council officer gave a small smile to the girl. "Can I ask why?"

Yuhi took a deep breath. It was honesty time. "I don't know what I want to write." She then looked down. "I'm really, really sorry." The girl waited for Karina's response first before telling her what she planned to do—which was to ask Hikari if she could spare her that one rule. But all she got was Karina's cheery laughter. She looked up and cocked her head to the right as if to ask why.

Karina nodded and put a hand on Yuhi's shoulder. "Okay. I understand. Your wishes aren't something that can be bought from a toy store either?"

Yuhi blinked. She had no idea what Karina was talking about.

"Yeah, okay." Karina patted the girl on the head and turned. "I'll go and talk Klint into convincing Hikari that you can write whatever you want." She smiled. Yuhi was about to say something when she waved a hand. "Please tell Killua that it's being taken care of."

Yuhi blinked again. "But—" Before she could protest or ask, Karina's already walking away. She stared at a distance for a while before she snapped out of her thoughts and returned to the table. What's that all about? Her eyebrows creased as she grabbed her scissor and some crepe papers. I didn't even say anything. Then a pout appeared on her lips as she inhaled. I don't even know what it is that's being taken care of.

"Ano… Yuhi-san."

"Huh?" The auburn-haired girl looked to the right where she heard one of their junior council partners call her. She almost laughed at herself. She same thing happened ten minutes before. "Yes?"

The boy pointed his pencil towards the door. "Killua-san's here."

Ba-dump. Ba-thu-dump.

Yuhi blinked, feeling her temples beat hard with her heart. She nodded, to the boy and to herself, before shifting her gaze towards the door. He was there, all right, talking to Gon. Taro was with them and they were all carrying boxes. Yuhi subconsciously held her breath as she nodded to herself lightly again. She couldn't neglect a senior's request. She should tell Killua that it's being taken care of, although she has no idea what it was. Later, perhaps, after he had reached their station. Yuhi then blinked, realizing that she had been looking at him for too long. She immediately looked down before she got caught, trying to busy herself with the papers she was cutting—or maybe shift to outlining the lettering the junior council members did on the square-shaped Styrofoam.

When the boys reached their station, Gon was the first one who greeted the girl. Yuhi greeted him back, giving Killua from her other side a reluctant glance—to which he responded by looking away. The girl pressed her lips together at that, smiling at Gon and Taro while they teased each other about the gift giving activity. And in a matter of seconds, they were gone, heading towards the bulletin board to check what each had given each other. Yuhi followed them with her eyes, glancing once again at the white-haired boy when she returned to her work. Killua was pulling the materials out of the box he just brought in. After that, he left. For where, Yuhi did not know.

A sigh escaped the girl's lungs after watching Killua disappear in the corridors. She could feel that the tension between them was still there, and that standing there acting as naturally as she could, it would never vanish. She looked at Gon and Taro who were busy doing council work while they talked—perhaps about the festival. She looked at the bulletin board, and sighed again. Hoisting her bag, the girl pulled out her notebook and the blue note the council gave them five days before from it. She stared, once again, at the blank space in the middle before huffing and pulling out her pen from her skirt's pocket. Yuhi hesitated for a while, but she managed to finally write something on the paper after seeing that Karina and Klint were already talking to Hikari.

"Anything would be great."

Drawing a smiley at the end of her sentence, the auburn-haired girl immediately folded the paper so no one would see what she wrote. She leaned on the table and set her ballpoint pen on the fold, writing Killua's name in. She stood straight afterward and stared at the finished product with a deep breath. Well, look at the bright side, Yuhi. At least he'll be free to choose whether he'd even give you something. The girl smiled to herself as she fixed her things, putting her notebook back in her bag and her pen back in her pocket. She ought to post the note on the bulletin board, but Killua came back just in time for her to turn. She froze. Then she instantly hid the paper under a huge Styrofoam lying on the table in front of her and stood erect, acting as though she never moved a muscle.

Yuhi was expecting that Killua would head straight to the boys, but, similar to the previous Thursday, he went to his spot beside the girl and stayed there. It was déjà vu, because for the next fifteen minutes, Yuhi noticed how everything that was happening resembled their first meeting after the rooftop episode. The same thing went on between them as it did last Thursday. No one was talking, the materials were passed past them, and the air was on fire, producing smoke and suffocating the auburn-haired girl. Yuhi reckoned she was doing her best in keeping in mind her brother's words. But it was not easy. It was not easy with Killua if something was wrong between them.

Pressing her lips together, Yuhi glanced to her left. Then she saw Karina looking her way and nodding. Her eyes grew wide when she remembered that her senior asked her to do something. She was about to nod when Karina returned to chatting with her fellow officers. They seemed to be having a meeting. Yuhi took a deep breath and nodded to herself. Talking should not be difficult since she was asked to only pass a message, right? She would not be talking about anything else but that anyway. Yuhi cleared the block in her throat silently, standing straight and taking another deep breath. She turned to her right where Killua was, lips parting as words were about to come out. "H—"

But the girl paused. She blinked. Killua was already looking at her when she turned. But he immediately removed his eyes from her, glancing at something on the table. Yuhi exhaled, realizing that she had held her breath for about three seconds. She blinked again before looking down at where the white-haired boy gazed at.

Yuhi's eyes grew wide. It was the same note she had from the council—only that it was yellow—and her name was printed on the fold. No, it was not exactly her name. "Ramen girl." And it was written by him. Yuhi knew, for she memorized Killua's handwriting through the vandals on his desk and test papers she would check. She blinked. It took a while before she moved and felt her heart beat fast in her chest. The girl did not know whether she should take it, whether it was meant for her to take it that moment. So she looked at the white-haired boy again to ask. Killua only glanced at her before he looked away again. That was it. According to the laws of body language, that was meant for her to take. So she did, doing it carefully as though something incredibly dangerous would burst out the moment she touched it.

When Yuhi took the paper, she felt a tingling feeling in her fingertips. She stared at it for a while with thoughts mashing up in her head. But there was one thing she hoped—something written in the note. She grabbed the fold cautiously, ready to open it up and see what was inside. It felt as though she was opening a surprise gift, a surprise gift from someone very dear to her. She slowly lifted the fold, feeling her pulses hammering against her skin from all parts of her body. Then when she saw a handwritten letter from her view, she opened it completely. And it felt as though her heart would burst out of her chest of utter delight.

"Don't care about the rule. Anything's fine."

Yuhi absent-mindedly smiled after reading what Killua wrote. She smiled genuinely. That was enough, just as she wanted to receive. The message sounded like him, and Yuhi felt that it was written without dread. She was glad about the note.

"If you agree…"

The girl's eyes suddenly grew wide. That was Killua. She turned to look. The boy was looking away, but meeting his eyes for a millisecond, she knew that he was talking to her. Holding her breath, she waited for what the boy ought to say, amused and slightly confused of the way his face was coloring in all the right places. Yuhi's heart skipped a beat at that, finding her white-haired angel adorable, although stunned and staggered beyond anything about talking to her.

"Karina said that it's okay, as long as you agree, or if you write the same thing." Here he paused.

Yuhi paused for a second to decode what the boy was talking about. Then when she got it, she absent-mindedly moved her right hand and searched for the Styrofoam where the note she ought to give was. She was about to say something when Killua started to face her.

The white-haired boy pressed his lips together, inhaling a large amount of air. "Hey, look. I'm only going to say this once so listen." He stared straight into Yuhi's eyes for a while.

Yuhi's heart was rampaging against her ribcage she couldn't feel her numbing toes anymore. Her eyebrows creased, feeling extremely tensed. That was sudden. It all was very sudden. Everything blew her away she had no idea how to react to it. She looked around. No one seemed to be looking their way nor hearing them with all of the noise they were making inside the office. Yuhi, though, had no problem about Killua's silent tone. She could hear him perfectly. And she wondered. What could he be saying? Will he tell her to screw away after the festival, after giving him her gift? Although thoughtful, the girl nodded, not knowing how to reply verbally.

Killua looked away, muttering something under his breath when he did. "I'm sorry about the other day."

It was the opposite. Yuhi's eyes grew wide. She was not expecting anything like that at all. She stared at Killua's face with utter surprise, waiting for him to say more. She did not quite get it. Was he apologizing for that time…? Yuhi blinked, watching the boy who seemed to be pulling the words out of him, all flushed and shy. This was Killua—a Killua Yuhi had not seen before.

"I know it was stupid. And I might or might not be messing with you because that was so uncharacteristic of me and so is this… speech I'm giving you right now but I'm sorry, okay? It wasn't cool and I know I've been a moron not saying something sooner so I'm sorry. Ugh! I'm sorry. Okay. Why aren't you saying anything?" Killua paused and looked at the girl with a reluctant gaze, eyebrows creased of what seemed to be frustration.

Yuhi was caught off guard. She blinked continuously, taking in what the white-haired boy had declared. He spoke so fast Yuhi almost never caught his words at all. But it was clear in the air that he was apologizing about what happened at the rooftop. Then she recalled what Yellich told her the previous week. "He did something wrong, and he should be the one fixing it." Yuhi wondered if by apologizing, it meant that Killua knew he did something wrong and was fixing it, because she sure didn't.

"Fine. Whatever." Killua hissed. Then he sighed. "Just tell me if you got that 'cause I'm not repeating it."

When Killua looked away, Yuhi snapped back to herself. She almost forgot how to talk because of utter shock the boy gave her. She blinked once and looked down. "Oh. I…" She then nodded, clearing her throat to try and pull off a rather serious tone. "I-I did, yes." The girl had no idea what to say in response to what the white-haired boy asserted. But she looked back at him with a face of gist, trying to equal the boy's tough air.

Killua shifted his eyes towards the girl. Then he nodded without looking at her.

Silence ensued after that, with both returning to their work. The girl inhaled as she turned back to the table, nodding to herself to inwardly grasp the fact that she and Killua finally talked, and he apologized. He talked first. It got Yuhi wondering whether her brother already knew this was coming. But she still didn't get it. She still didn't figure it out. Though, the apology made her feel good about their status. Killua was not mad at her—maybe a little, because he sounded like it, but still. It made her want to smile wide, recalling the boy's face while he stated his speech. Then she glanced at the Styrofoam on the table, remembering the note, and what Karina asked her to forward to the boy. She should say it, and give the boy her "wish-list". She turned. But when she spoke, he spoke in sync with her.

"Karina-san told me to tell you that it's being taken care of." "So, do you agree or what?"

Both stared at each other with surprise. Then Yuhi smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, you go first."

"Err…" Killua's eyebrows creased before slowly repeating what he said. "Do you… agree?"

Here the girl finally got the chance to pull the blue paper out of being squished by the Styrofoam, feeling blood rushing to her cheeks as she stretched her arm and handed it to the boy.

Killua was staring at it. He was only staring at it with wide eyes. It reminded Yuhi so much of that night of the heavy rain, when she was giving him a cupcake from the box she ought to give as a gift to her guardian. He looked exactly the same—as though the paper was the most peculiar thing in the world and he could not believe that it was for him. Slowly, though, he reached for it, read the name that was written on the fold and opened it. Yuhi was waiting for the boy to react nonchalantly. But no, Killua smiled, and then he laughed. It was almost like a snicker, a loud snicker to himself, but not loud enough to catch attention.

Yuhi looked around again though, curious as to why nobody was still noticing the strange behavior of the naturally cool and collected white-haired boy in front of her. She then frowned and looked back at the Killua. Yuhi never liked being laughed at, especially at something she did seriously. "Is something wrong?"

Taking a deep breath, Killua shook his head. "That— Ah, no, sorry." Then he smiled his genuinely optimistic smile, raised the paper in the air. "Okay," he said before putting the note in his pocket. "What is it you were saying?"

The girl had no idea why she could easily forgive Killua in a matter of milliseconds. His smile was his trump card, and he always won Yuhi over with it. She nodded, feeling the magic of the white-haired boy hypnotizing her again. But it was different. It felt good, genuinely good. She told Killua what their council head wanted forwarded. When the boy heard it, his eyes grew wide, muttering something under his breath while he sent glares towards the student council officer at the front. Yuhi asked what it was and Killua told her that it was the wish-list thing he told her about earlier, saying that he also haven't written anything yet when Karina asked him. The girl felt overwhelmed by that. Having the idea that she and Killua had the same thing happening to them always made her heart race.

"So, by telling me that, I guess she already told Hikari-san?" Yuhi mused, looking over at the student council officers who were still busy talking.

"Yeah, I guess," Killua muttered. Then he hissed. "But, geez, she could have told me when I came in."

Yuhi turned back to the boy and blinked. Then she smiled. "But it's okay now, right?"

Killua only stared at the girl, eyebrows softening. "Y-Yeah," he managed to reply.

The girl nodded and pursed her lips, fiddling with a crepe paper while she waited for anything more Killua had to say. But silence once again ensued, a silence Yuhi knew was void of the tension she felt since the rooftop episode. Whether or not Killua knew she liked him, she didn't know. But she wanted to take her guardian and brother's advice for a while—to go with the flow. Yuhi supposed it would be exciting, although it happened so suddenly, and seeing the refreshed smile on the white-haired boy's face whenever she looked at him, she reckoned that they were all right.

-CHAPTER END-


Wow, that was long! I shall say this quick. Killua reminds me so much of myself, while Yuhi is the complete opposite of me. There is a reason why I always say that I find it hard to write a chapter, because my OC's views and feelings are so much different from mine it's almost impossible for me to think of what she should be thinking when she has a mind and a heart of her own. Gosh, Yuhi's freaking alive. XD

That aside, thank you all, thank you everyone who left a review on the precious chapter. This story's reviews are super amazing because you type them in sooooo loooong and they contain soooo muuuuch love it's amazing. I always love reading long reviews so I hope you keep them coming. And though I'm sorry that I couldn't reply to them right now, I am forever grateful. Gonna list your names down now: CatEyedQueen10, Yuki Candy Heart, cookie-chan99, Madin456, irismai7, ichigoluvsrukia, Lani0108, Pika Yuhi-chan, Kuro-kyuuto, Tsunayum, jonica77, Peggy, jane, LostInIllusion. It's really cheesy but this story will cease to exist without your precious reviews so keep themmmm comingggg pleeeeaaassseee! Thanks to all of the awesome people who fave-d and followed in the past days. I've been receiving alerts and you are all so awesome! Thank you, thank you thankyouuuu thankouuuuu /gross sobbing/ THANK YOUUUU :D

So, what do you think of the chapter? What do you think? What do you think of Yuhi? What do you think of Killua? What do you think of Yuhi and Killua? Hahaaaaaaa! Though tell me, do you think this story should end soon? I'm wondering...

Reviews are forever appreciated so I hope you can still leave some even though I didn't reply this time (because I need to go immediately for school stuff, I'm sorry again). But if you have questions or stuff you want me to answer or give light into, just don't hesitate to ask in the review or leave me a message. I'd answer if it's answerable. Haha! I'll reply to the reviews in this chapter, though, because after the third week of March, I am one free woman yeeeessssss. I shall update again by that time. :D

NEXT CHAPTER: No, they had not figured it out yet.

Please leave a review again in the cutesy little review box down there so I would know whether this story still has readers and if this story's in the right track for you. XD Yuhi will be extremely happy about it, for sure. /throws late Valentine's chocolates/ Thank you sooooo sooooooo soooooo muchhhhh!