A/N: Yo. Yo! Yooo! How have you been? I've been super busy in the past weeks. My back is killing me and my hands are so in pain but the summer break's super soon so... /dances around throwing choco confetti/ I'd still wait a little while though and finish final requirements. Up for the next chapter? Here it coooomes!
Trivia: Sejin's personality-counterpart in my head is Kurapika.
Disclaimer: If I were Togashi, there's be flying heads in this fluff.
TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCE
CHAPTER TWENTY TWO
Why Stories End At Festivals
Waking up had never felt so great. Yuhi was smiling the moment she opened her eyes, letting out a small giggle before sitting up and feeding her eyes with the beautiful view of the winter wonderland through her window.
In the course of two days, Yuhi noticed the drastic change between her and Killua since they started talking that Tuesday. It began earnestly after the boy's apology, and though the following conversations were rather awkward and scarce of words, Yuhi was confident, at last, that there were no more doubtful thoughts from each party. That Tuesday, it felt as though nothing had even happened, because everything seemed to have returned into place—only that they were more responsive, cordial, and Killua smiled a lot.
The wish-list request was granted, on account that they should never tell anybody about it, because it was unfair to the others. Gon and Taro knew about it though, but were never felt played. They walked to the gates that day talking and being so enthusiastic of the winter festival. Gon talked about Taro's wish-list and the latter about the other, saying how easy Gon's wishes were—to which Killua came laughing aloud in response, agreeing firmly. Gon was extra hyper that afternoon, especially after seeing Yuhi and Killua talking comfortably about the materials at council work. At that time, when Gon approached them in a bouncy manner, Yuhi understood why, and found out why Gon was worried about her.
Apparently, Gon knew about what happened after the rooftop scene. He explained that he saw Mitan running in the corridors and Yuhi chasing after her, saying that he saw her, and she might have seen him but never returned the greeting. Yuhi then reckoned she was not seeing things that day. She really did come across Gon in the hallways while chasing after Mitan, so she apologized. Though hoping for a question of why from the spiky-haired boy, reluctantly turning her gaze towards the white-haired boy who stood there in silence the whole time, Yuhi had not heard of anything about it from Gon but that. He didn't ask any further, so Yuhi assumed that Killua already told him.
The additional information Gon had to give were his thoughts about the auburn-haired girl in the past days. He said he noticed her being blue and distant, as though something bad had happened, explaining that he worried about her and wished that she would feel better. The girl felt extremely embarrassed at that. She recalled those days and deemed that it had been because of the melancholic emotion she was feeling towards the white-haired boy. She, though, strictly, avoided disclosing that fact and ended up reassuring Gon, and Killua who was also intently waiting for her response, that she was fine and was only out of spirits during those days because of schoolwork—which was half-true.
The topic of the two giving each anything soon arose in their conversations. Yuhi explained why she could not think of anything and so did Killua, finding out that they had the same—somehow—idea of the whole gift giving gig, to which in follow-up response to his best friend, after sharing looks with the auburn-haired girl, Killua smiled smugly and shrugged, jabbing a thumb towards Yuhi and telling Gon how she gets it.
Excited encouragements and good-lucks were given to each before parting ways to head home. Yuhi smiled at Gon and Killua after telling them to take care, receiving an enthusiastic wave from the former and a gentle nod and smile from the latter. It felt as though a huge lump was pulled out of her chest, and she was happy, at the same time calm and comfortable about everything that was happening. There were fireworks, but they exploded with caution, they exploded with grace, that Yuhi found herself naturally glad and thankful for the life she was living as she rode the bus home.
Yuhi told Roroturo and Yellich, who was present the moment she got home, about what happened only after her guardian noticed her good mood and refreshed face. Before that, however, she was savoring the very thought of it, keeping it first to herself, thinking of whether she should disclose the event to them, because she never did that before, and the last time she did it almost as though her lungs would burst. It was not easy talking about Killua, and her feelings for him. But when she did, that night while they ate in the kitchen of the ramen shop, while she was telling the story, she felt fair, normal, as how she did while she talked to the white-haired boy that afternoon. Her heart raced, but it was not like that of before. It was a tranquil kind of feeling, serene, soothing.
"I talked to him," Yuhi started. Then she laughed a little. "No, I mean, he talked to me. He said he was sorry," and further added the details after that.
Roroturo responded with a positive nod and a small smile, as though non-verbally telling Yuhi that she did the right thing and that Killua did the right thing. Yellich, though, reacted differently, and the girl found it extremely funny and uncanny at the same time. Yellich was calm when Yuhi declared that she and Killua talked, as though expecting that it would happen soon, but her brother laughed loud when after the girl told them about what Killua said and how he said it. Yellich said that he assumed it would turn out as that—with the white-haired boy setting his speech fast and direct, and never mentioning anything about what happened after he had done. When asked why and how, observation was Yellich's answer and that was it. He began again by saying how they should figure things out themselves after that, stressing that he would not anymore say something.
Roroturo and Yuhi shared looks of confusion upon the boy's sipping of soup, though the girl knew that what she was thinking was different from her guardian's, because when she asked if he knew what her brother was talking about, Roroturo's crumpled face softened to a smile and shrugged.
That, however, didn't shake the good feeling Yuhi had in her chest. She kept the idea injected by her brother away for a while, talking about her day and the gift giving activity, confidently stating her enthusiastic claim of emotion, and spoke without hesitation, but with a little pulsating sensation against her skin as she could not control her jolly heart.
The girl reckoned something in her changed as she talked about the boy. She still liked him—she really, truly did. What changed in her perhaps was not how she felt for him, but how she felt about the whole situation. Everything seemed to be in perfect harmony now in her life. Though far from perfect, it was enough to make her feel good about the days, made her act and behave normally as she had, and think less of things that could and would happen if something she did were amiss.
The December days were getting colder, but it was now lovelier than ever. There were no intense smell of dread in the air, no nerve-wrecking feeling or carefulness of presence, no hiding, and no constant reminder of how to act and think normally. If Yuhi could compare these days to something, it would be to how she enjoyed the days of summer, where nothing but her personal undertakings were to be sought. Only this time, nothing but schoolwork and council work were to be sought.
Yuhi felt good about coming to school the next day, Wednesday, subconsciously ecstatic of what bliss it would bring, considering all that had happened. It was a peaceful comfort. If she was glad about talking to Killua again the previous day, she was even gladder about sharing looks with him during P.E. and interacting with his friends, and her friends, in a way that she was her normal self again that day.
There were even a few times when she would bump into the boy or see him in the hallways and she would talk to him, and him to her, in a naturally casual way.
"Oh? Hey, it's hallway girl," Killua would say, that time when he came from the boys' locker room after P.E.
"Hi," Yuhi would reply with a wave of the hand, enjoying the lovely view that was Killua's smile and the lovely melody that was his tone of voice. "Great game today, by the way," she would add enthusiastically, indirectly saying that she had watched them play.
"Yeah, thanks. It's a draw. Gon didn't want to lose to our team," Killua would reply with a tiny laugh and a small smile plastered on his pretty, bloomed face because of the exercise.
To which returned by the girl with a quick chuckle. "Well, I guess both teams are just that good, ne."
And then Killua would smile. Then Yuhi would smile.
If there was someone who would notice this change, it was her seatmate, Sejin. The class president instantly saw the bloom in her face the moment Yuhi went in the room, saying that it had been a while since she last saw her as that. She also noticed how she and Gon and Killua were conversing, asking the girl how it all happened. Yuhi told Sejin that it was a long story, but she meant to tell her, perhaps that afternoon. But Sejin only smiled and told her that she need not act on it immediately, only if Yuhi felt like it, because seeing her happy and herself again was enough.
It was the same when Thursday came. That day, though, during recess, the girl came across Gon in the hallway as she was walking to the canteen with a few friends. Yuhi introduced her girl classmates to the very bright-countenanced Gon, to which the latter greeted with one huge enthusiastic wave of the hand. The girl knew two of them had a crush on the boy and so she was giggling all throughout as Gon talked to them. Then he turned to the auburn-haired girl, saying that he needed to talk to her. Apparently, he was about to walk up to her that time.
"Can I talk to you for a sec? Can I talk to Yuhi for a sec?" Gon asked, eyes sparkling in a way no one would ever reject.
The girls nodded and elbowed Yuhi as they headed down the stairs. Yuhi replied with a nod, saying that she'll see them later, before turning to Gon who also waved and said that it was nice meeting them.
"Your friends are really nice," Gon commented with a smile.
Yuhi released a toothy grin and nodded. "They are. They're sweet and cute too!" she exclaimed, meaning her words.
Gon smiled and soon pursued his words when Yuhi asked what it was he needed to tell her. "Yes! Well, I told Killua that he should be the one doing this but he insisted and I just can't let it go myself."
Blinking, Yuhi asked what it was.
"Killua wanted to say that he's sorry to Mitan, that he can't return her feelings." When Gon said this, he was looking sheepish, with a little shy smile on his face. "And if it isn't much to ask, can you tell Mitan that Killua's sorry? He really is, I can tell you that!" he favored, speaking with the hopes of a positive response.
Yuhi's eyes grew wide at that. She thought of telling Gon that he was fit to say that to Mitan than her. But remembering her black-haired friend's words and observing Gon's eagerness to apologize in behalf of his best friend, she nodded, promising to do it when she saw her. Yuhi felt nervous of the fact that she was carrying in her brain the message of rejection to one of her dearest friends. She thought she ought to explain first, and reassure Mitan that she would be fine, before saying it to her.
Soon as she returned to their room from the canteen, Yuhi immediately talked to Mitan who was at her place reading a lesson on Science. She said what was needed to be said, and finally disclosed Gon's words. Yuhi felt honestly sad about this, but she was glad for her friend, because she seemed to accept it without prejudice, nodding and smiling and thanking the auburn-haired girl for it.
"Please tell him how sorry I am too? It's really embarrassing walking around and seeing him seeing me. Please, Yuhi-chan? I've learned my lesson and I promise not to act so recklessly in love again. If he wants me to be a friend I'd be glad to. If he doesn't, well, that's okay. At least I'd know. Thank you, Yuhi." As she said this, Mitan was fiddling with her fingers and blushing out of shyness.
Yuhi felt Mitan's words true, and she assured her that they would be forwarded, to be spoken as sincere and real as how Mitan said it. She also told Mitan that she would do her best to explain to Gon and Killua her friend's uncontrolled emotions for the latter. Killua needed to understand why Mitan did what she thought she needed to do, and Yuhi wanted to make him understand. But Mitan shook her head and said that it was unnecessary, that the notes and what happened were enough, and that Killua need not be reminded of anything more about Mitan and her feelings. Although here the auburn-haired girl wanted to protest, she only nodded in surrender, finding gist in her friend's tone as she said that.
During lunch, Yellich was where he ought to be—at the bleachers by the pool waiting for his sister and their wonderful lunch. They had been eating at that spot since, that Yuhi's classmates were beginning to ask her about the pink-haired boy. The auburn-haired girl told her brother about that, saying that she should soon give them an answer—a true answer.
"In time, my baby sister," Yellich would say. And the topic would be over.
Yuhi acknowledged her brother's request more than anything, but she also wanted to announce to the world that she had the most amazing brother that ever walked the face of the earth. Her most amazing brother met her halfway as she was walking through the wintery grounds of school, telling her that it's cold if they stayed out too long compared to the day before. They had lunch inside the canteen.
The brother-sister conversations of the two were normal brother-sister conversations. They talked about school a lot, and the ramen shop, how they should absolutely help Roroturo in shop duties, sibling dates, and what they missed out on their days. Yuhi never really had a problem with opening up her thoughts to her brother although it had only been two weeks since she met him and Yellich seemed to be on equal footing at that. They talked about everything, but Yellich avoided, or rather prevented himself from, talking about his sister's love life. Yuhi found it funny, but it was strange because she'd still feel her heart race whenever Yellich brought the white-haired boy's name up. During that time as well, Yuhi told her brother about Mitan.
"I'm glad that she's finally seen the light," Yellich commented after, swallowing a mouthful of rice and letting out a hearty laughter. "Good for her. At least she learned something from it, that's what's important." He smiled.
Yuhi returned it and nodded cheerily. She was happy for Mitan too, hoping the best for her friend.
It was quiet for a while afterward, with the two eating their lunch simultaneous, until Yellich broke the ice by clearing his throat and saying, "You too, Yuhi, should learn something from it. Did you?"
Looking up, the girl blinked and sipped the strip of carrot hanging on her lips. She sat straight and stared at nothing. Did she learn from it? Yuhi was sure that she had, but she wasn't sure what. Turning her gaze back at her brother, she smiled sheepishly. "What kind of lesson?"
Yellich stared straight into the auburn eyes of the girl for a while before snickering on his food then laughing out loud. He cupped his mouth immediately after realizing that he had garnered attention inside the canteen. "My baby sister's still a baby after all." He smiled genuinely, gently putting a hand on the girl's head. Yuhi's eyes were curious. Yellich retrieved his hand and leaned on the table. "You should have learned how to tell people what you think and how you feel, right? Before you do something for them?"
Yuhi returned the gaze of her brother with a surprised face, then realizing his words she blinked and shook her head a little, and then smiled. Her grin was a toothy one. She was thinking of that, absolutely thinking of it, but she wasn't sure what her brother wanted to hear. "Of course!" Yuhi exclaimed, smiling.
Nodding, Yellich leaned away. Then he shrugged, returning to his food. "Yeah, but sometimes you just got to stay quiet about your thoughts if you don't want to pursue something with it."
Yuhi nodded slowly, pressing her lips together. It was in her nature to listen to people she knew she'd learn from and take them to heart. Then she smiled and returned to her food as what her brother did.
It was silent again for a while, before Yellich looked at the girl and started casually, "So, when are you gonna tell Killua?"
Yuhi immediately looked up. "What?" Sometimes, things Yellich say can be very surprising—adding Killua's name to it makes it even more jolting. She wanted to tell her brother that she wasn't thinking about that yet, that she thought she should set it aside—because they told her to go with the flow, which she was doing quite leisurely.
Yellich laughed. "That thing you told me about Mitan. You're saying that to him, right?"
"Oh!" Yuhi laughed heartily, finding herself funny. "Sorry. Yes, I'm going to forward Mitan's message today at council work." She smiled as she scooped rice from her lunch box. She watched her brother's reaction after she said that. Yellich looked at his food with an obviously suppressed smile on his face and mumbled words Yuhi heard were "should see his face". "Ne, what's that?" she asked in innocent curiosity.
Snickering that time, Yellich looked at his sister and shook his head.
At council work, Yuhi told Killua about Mitan. And the boy reacted with nothing but a nod, a shrug, and an "Okay".
That evening, Yellich didn't leave for his apartment. He stayed in the shop and spent the winter night in the guest room—that instantly became his room.
And so, after stretching and brushing her teeth, Yuhi immediately ran to her brother's room to greet him a good morning—and maybe even wake him up. She stopped in front of the door and wiped her palm against her pajamas before knocking on the door.
"Good morning, baby sister," Yellich greeted, but he was not inside the room. When Yuhi turned, her brother was walking towards her in his uniform, a toast in his mouth, and a towel over his damp hair. "It's cold today. Why are you still in your jammies?"
"Good morning!" Yuhi greeted with a smile, then she blinked. "You're early."
"Early?" Yellich paused. He laughed and entered his room patting the girl on the head.
Following her brother with her eyes, the girl incidentally saw his table clock. Her blood suddenly jittered, and she got all panicky. "We're—"
"We're actually running a little…" Yellich was speaking coolly, but he trailed off when he saw his sister's face. He instantly shifted his eyes at his clock and almost threw his toast in the air.
"Late!" they said in unison, and both ran along not knowing where to begin going first before they finally knew what to do. Yellich threw his towel at the bed and started fixing his things. Yuhi ran to her room to get prepared. It was almost 7:30 in the morning. Classes start at 8. The ride from the ramen shop to school took about 15 minutes. And they weren't prepared yet.
Roroturo was waiting a little furiously down the stairs, owning the two a brief lecture about alarm clocks and their purpose in the planet. After that, they left with a packed lunch and huge smiles.
Friday mornings in Tomo were normal mornings, unlike those in the city where the traffic would be so incredibly slow because of the Friday bizarre at the shops and markets. Travelling from home to school was always smooth sailing, so even though the two left at 8 o'clock, they were only about 20 minutes late.
"Mr. Pironst's a nice guy. He'll spare you for sure," Yellich said exasperatingly, smiling as he walked with fast steps up the stairs.
Yuhi nodded in reply. "He is. I've been late a few times and he's not given me a memo yet."
Yellich then laughed. "Okay. But don't take advantage of that. The guy might be nice but you'd never know your final grade until he gives it."
"Well, that, I always apologize, ne." Yuhi argued sheepishly as they stepped forward to the hallway of the floor where the sophomore rooms were.
Yellich laughed again and threw an arm around his sister's shoulders, squeezing her tight before they reached her classroom. "See you at lunch!" He waved with a huge grin before running towards the staircase.
As usual, Yuhi entered the room apologetically and walked to her desk with her head down, bowing again to their nice teacher, and to their class president, the moment she fixed herself in her seat. The first period flew by in a whim. They had a brief discussion about a new topic and a small quiz about the previous one. After that, it was recess then P.E. The previous day, their archery instructor, Ms. Juno, advised them to do a little reading, as they would have a written exam that day. Throughout recess, everyone was practically stuck with their notes on P.E., reading, memorizing, and having group discussions about the possible questions to the exam. They were to have it inside their room so there would be no gym class that Friday.
That plan though had a pouting effect on the auburn-haired girl, especially because Killua told her at council work that their class would be having a game for a grade that Friday. She would miss the awesomeness. 2-A students were excellent players, both boys and girls, and it would always be worthwhile watching them play—aside from the fact that Killua would be on court as well. But although that vexed her a little bit, she still managed to focus on studying. She seemed focused on studying more than ever, as she started to notice.
The exam also went by in a whim. The auburn-haired girl, although not confident about that exam, figured that some of her answers were right enough for her to pass. They finished after twenty minutes, not because they were fast, but because Ms. Juno gave them time pressure—strictly answer in 20 minutes. The students thought that it was too short, but once they were through, their vexation towards their P.E. teacher died down when she dismissed them too, after everybody's papers were at hand.
"I'll meet you on Monday to discuss our lesson plan after the holiday break. Mr. Tenoshiru's holding a volleyball match today at the gym. You can go and watch if you'd like."
After that ending statement, Ms. Juno greeted the class goodbye and off went ¾ of the population to run towards the gym. Yuhi stayed.
"Aren't you going?" Sejin asked, shifting a nonchalant gaze towards the auburn-haired girl.
The latter gave her seatmate a toothy grin and said, "Only if you're going."
Sejin's indifferent expression never shattered, as though she knew what Yuhi would be saying. "Okay. Then I'm not going," she replied and fixed her gaze to her desk, opening a book on History.
It was quiet for a while and Yuhi was looking out the window. She wanted to go and watch, but she didn't want to be there and cheer for them knowing that there wouldn't be someone who she could share her thoughts to. Sejin was her ultimate friend. She could never talk about 2-A playing volleyball without Sejin by her side to remind her of her limitations. But she truly wanted to go and the clock was ticking. So after a deep breath she turned to her seatmate again with a pleading face. "Sejin, can you go with me and watch, please? It'll be cool for sure!" Yuhi tried to sound convincing and it paid off. After a straight stare from the class president, she sighed and nodded, smiling a little as she said "Fine."
Mitan was also in the gym with her group of friends. They were seated at the other side of the court, near where the players were. Yuhi saw them and waved before taking a seat at the bleachers on the side of the court where Ms. Juno always held archery class, a few feet away from the volleyball court but near enough to watch. Apparently, it was a major league. Almost all of the students inside the gym were watching. But it was not difficult to sight the players surrounded by people, especially because Yuhi chose to sit at the uppermost part of the gym bleachers.
The scores were tied at 21, 3rd and last set of the girls' division. The boys haven't played yet, it seemed, because they were sitting easily on the benches without hints of sweat or tired air. Yuhi searched for Gon and Killua, hoping they would see her so she could mouth a "good luck" towards their direction. They were there, watching. Gon was cheering his classmates on while Killua sat easily beside him taking on a carton of juice.
Yuhi tried so hard in testing the law of attraction, but the two never saw her—not until Killua started looking around with his eyes, left, right, leaning back and looking around again, behind him, and finally in front, where he saw the auburn-haired girl. At first she wasn't sure whether his gaze really was at her. She looked at Sejin then at Killua then behind her then at Killua again. When she smiled to check, he nodded once, the juice carton hanging on his mouth with the straw between his lips. Yuhi couldn't help but smile the widest at that time. Her heart raced at the sight of him looking at her from a distance.
Wanting to fulfill her instant mission, the girl mouthed a "good luck", raised her fist in the air and added a "you can do it" towards the white-haired boy. She hoped that he got it because it would be too embarrassing if he had not, and Killua looked away and looked down when after Yuhi did that. But he looked back right away, pulling the juice carton away from his face and revealing a smile.
At that time, the girl couldn't anymore suppress her joy. She let out a giggle, and realizing it was too loud, she turned to look at her seatmate. Sejin seemed to be giving her a disbelieved yet playful face, to which Yuhi only smiled sheepishly and shrugged. When she returned to looking at the boy, she saw him elbowing Gon and nodding towards their direction. Gon waved a huge hand at Yuhi then at Sejin. The former smiled and waved back then watched the latter smile and bow with a pretty color on her face.
Soon after that, the girls' game went to a finish with a staggering score of 23-25. Yuhi watched them with amazement. The team that won had Lykira in, and the auburn-haired girl saw her high-fiving Gon and giving a smug smile to Killua. The boys' division was up. Yuhi was glad that Gon and Killua were teammates that time. It should be exciting to see them play alongside each other. However, Yuhi heard someone near saying that Mr. Tenoshiru had been unfair in teaming the class up, because it would appear to be a good versus better match—with the good pertaining to Gon and Killua's team.
Nevertheless, she had faith in her friends, putting her game face on as she watched them get into place, and feeling adrenaline rush through her veins when she caught Killua's eyes twice before the game began.
There were a lot of shouting, cheering and squealing and it seemed to be all coming from the girls' high-pitched voices. Each had their googly-eyes at their own bets. The better team was leading in the number of fan girls but the good team had a few screeching ladies to equal the other. To Yuhi, admittedly, there were a couple of pretty boy faces from 2-A—although the prettiest face belonged to Killua, and even Gon—but when guys from the star section start playing any sport, they all become flower boys. Girls love intelligent and athletic flower boys, and some were there only to watch them look beautiful while they're on the edge of glory. Because of that, more and more people gathered round the court to see them play. The pretty faces helped garner attention, but the game was the champion. It was intense, and Yuhi was at the edge of her seat, watching with eyes like that of an owl's and with a heart like that of the bass of a drum beating in sync with every volley of the ball, eternally praying that the point would be her friends' team.
They lost in the first set with three deuces. However awed, Yuhi watched with eyes full of gist as Gon and Killua's team talk it over at their side of the bench. It was a best-of-five game. There were four more sets—two if the good team were to win the next set, but if they lose again, there were still three sets of hope. The girl believed they could win it by only seeing the look on Gon and Killua's eyes. They were determined to win.
They won the second set and the third set, but lost the fourth set—which gave way to the final set that would determine the winner. It was a nerve-racking moment to everyone because the better team was up by four points at 17-13, and almost all had been rooting for the underdog since the third set. They tied it at 21, deuced at 24, and after about seven more deuces, the good team won by a sharp spike from Gon. The gym instantly became a concert house and everyone was up on their feet.
Yuhi was shouting cheers towards their direction and Sejin was standing and smiling while watching both teams shake hands, pat backs, and exchange congratulations. Everyone was ruffling Gon's hair and tackling the members of his team, with no one who seemed to be vexed about the game. They all seemed to be good sports at it.
"That was the best game ever!" the auburn-haired girl exclaimed as her bright eyes wandered around the gym, looking at the people from where she was. She was elated. Her happiness was immeasurable. Her friends won. It was a huge deal! She couldn't be more proud. "Did you see how they retrieved the points? Ah, it's so thrilling and amazing and terrifying but I am so happy that they won!" Yuhi bounced a little, throwing her hands in the air and clasping them again against her chest as she turned to their class president with the biggest smile on her face.
Sejin looked refreshed. She was smiling. "I know. I saw them."
"Right? Right?" Yuhi cackled. She pointed to where 2-A was. "Let's go and congratulate them!" It was the nerves. She was getting all excited and hyped up.
To which Sejin noticed and thought she needed to act as the calming pills. "Hold on." Pulling her left sleeve up, the class president looked at her wristwatch. P.E. time was almost over, but they only had three minutes to spare. "We're going to be late."
Yuhi blinked, face not faltering even a bit. She looked around to find their classmates in the gym. For sure there should be a group of 2-B students somewhere in there. "Nah, I'm sure they're all still—" She paused, finding no classmate. Then she inwardly gasped. No one wanted to be late in History class with Mrs. Malu. So after sharing looks, the two girls immediately ran down the bleachers and out the gym, hugging themselves with the sudden whiff of icy air, and entered the building where they walked with huge steps in the hallways and up the stairs until they reached their classroom.
Their classmates were there, all present, noisy and chattering about the 2-A volleyball game. There was no teacher. When Sejin announced the time to herself, Mrs. Malu should be around the hallways now, making her way towards their room. But no, when they turned to look before heading in, there was still no teacher in sight. It was then that a student walked up to Sejin. There had been an emergency at the hospital where Mrs. Malu's husband was so she had to leave early. Sejin announced the news to the class, everyone went ballistic, Sejin hushed them, they all became quiet, and slowly they departed the room to go to a place where they could talk all they want without having someone stop them for loitering.
Yuhi was itching to go over the 2-A to congratulate her friends. So she went out by herself, hoping that Gon and Killua would be out as well. She glanced over at 2-A's classroom to check. There seemed to be not much students at that time—although Yuhi knew that it should be their Science period. Shrugging, she headed down the stairs for the canteen. There were still no signs of any 2-A student she knew. She bought a carton of orange juice keeping an eye out for them. But having paid and all, she still didn't see them—not until she went out of the canteen where the 2-A students were altogether walking towards the building from the gym, all freshened up, wearing their P.E. jacket and matching jogging pants to battle the cold. She congratulated and greeted people she knew—also her friends—and stayed in her position until she caught sight of Killua's white hair. She always saw Killua's hair first, and Killua was always with Gon so it should be fair enough.
It took forever—or maybe because Yuhi was just that eager and excited to congratulate them—but after all the 2-A students were away, there appeared the most glorious hair, and the brightest eyes, and they were walking with an ash blonde girl. Lykira was walking beside Gon and they were laughing together while Killua looked as though he was either annoyed or indifferent about what the two were talking about. Yuhi's heart fluttered at that. She thought of how cute Killua looked with his hands stretched behind his head, looking away and occasionally mumbling something under his breath with his cheeks slightly pink.
They were a few feet away from the girl now and Yuhi was about to shout Gon's name and run towards them when Killua coincidentally turned his gaze ahead and saw her. He blinked. Yuhi was the first one to react. She smiled and waved a hand—to which Killua returned with a smile and a "Hey, it's ramen girl" as they neared her.
It was strange how Gon had been busy talking to Lykira that he hadn't noticed Yuhi, because Gon always noticed Yuhi first. But the auburn-haired girl felt a kind of bliss of the fact that Killua was the one who initiated ever seeing her. She wanted to freeze everything, depart her body, take a camera, and capture the moment when Killua saw her. Because it was priceless. He was smiling. He smiled when he saw her and when he said that he saw her.
Gon heard his best friend so he turned, and when he saw Yuhi, it was as though they haven't seen each other in ages. The spiky-haired boy ran towards the girl's direction waving a hand and wearing the brightest of smiles. Yuhi returned it with an excitedly enthusiastic mood.
"I was looking for you after the game!" Gon exclaimed.
Yuhi scratched her nape and laughed sheepishly. "Well, we thought we'd be late so we dashed before Mrs. Malu comes up. But turns out, she's not gonna be in class today."
Gon grinned wide, just in time for Killua and Lykira to reach them.
Yuhi grinned back, smiling the most genuine smile of her life as she looked at Lykira and at Killua. Her heart skipped a beat at the latter. Killua looked so handsome and bloomed with that small smile on his refreshing face cared of the exercise. "Congratulations on your win!" she exclaimed carefully but optimistically, shifting her gaze to and fro the three 2-A students in front of her.
"Oh. Thanks!" Lykira said with a smile.
"Thank you!" Gon said, laughing. It seemed as though he couldn't hide his excitement either. "Hiro's team was great and I was so nervous. We wanted to really win."
"Well, you did! That last point was amazing!" Yuhi commented, watching them. Lykira had her smile on and Killua had his towards his best friend, as though he was the most proud of him.
Gon laughed humbly again. "I couldn't have done it without Killua. He set the last point's play! He's the best!" he exclaimed, pulling his best friend and throwing an arm on his shoulders.
Killua instantly blushed and had his face twisting. He hit Gon in the back of his head. "Stop saying that, you idiot!" he whispered sharply.
But Gon only laughed at him and said, "But it's true!"
Soon they were all laughing, and Killua had a tomato face. Lykira elbowed him, said that he should accept the truth sometimes. And after a few introductions from the two girls that was headed by Gon, they were walking together. Yuhi and Gon were ahead, talking, while Killua and Lykira followed a feet behind, but still they engaged in the conversations. The auburn-haired girl was immediately glad about the fact that Lykira was communicating comfortably with them. She feared that the ash blonde girl would be just like how teachers define her—lazy, know-it-all, snob—but no, she was fun to talk with, although a little harsh on her words. Yuhi thought that Lykira was cool and nice. And got her again wondering why Killua ever called her witch.
And again wondering why the boy would look away and blush a little whenever Lykira would look at him with a playful grin on her face. And again wondering why Lykira always looked at him with a playful grin on her face even though there was nothing to grin playfully about. She noticed all these things whenever Gon would talk to them and she would look.
Gon was cute. He was extremely excited about the game and about winning that he always made these hearty smiles and laughs whenever there was a pause. He looked so happy and humbly proud of his teammates. He was in the middle of reenacting a set he made with Killua when someone called them from behind. When they turned, Gon and Yuhi instantly greeted with a smile. A boy was running towards them. He was a junior council member.
"I was just about to find you!" the boy said after pausing, exasperated. They listened. He continued. "Gon-san, Yuhi-san, the student council needs you in the office right now. It's an urgent meeting and they need both of you. Yeah, Killua-san can come too. Oh, hello! Kira-san. Can you run up right now, please? I'm kinda hurrying, sorry. I'm late for class." He ended his breathless speech with a shy smile on his face.
They didn't ask what it was for and agreed instantly to let the freshman go to class. They ran up as soon as possible. Lykira passed. She excused herself when they reached the sophomore floor.
"By the way, don't you have class?" Yuhi asked as they strode up the stairs.
"Mr. Tenoshiru excused us from Ms. Irisa today. He thought the game would take more time than his period so he talked to her," Gon answered.
Yuhi's eyes grew wide at that. "Really? She agreed?" It was almost impossible. Ms. Irisa excusing a Science class for Physical Education? Almost impossible.
"Well," Gon scratched his nape, "they said it had to lead to the principal's office." Yuhi leaned back, blinking of surprise. "And it ended with us having a looooong quiz after the holiday break."
Gon's way of saying long quiz had Yuhi shivering. Ms. Irisa's quizzes would be 50 items in the maximum. What more if it were a looooong quiz? She forced a smile, not knowing whether she should be happy for them for being excused or not.
"But at least we have a holiday-break long to study," Gon added in a painful attempt to sound a hundred percent optimistic. He sounded as if he was looking forward to the break, and now with a loooong quiz to study for, it gained a crack.
Yuhi felt the crack. She frowned. It was silent for a while. Then she smiled and shrugged. She had to cheer him on. "I'm sure you'll be able to do it."
Lifting his eyes to the girl, Gon slowly formed a smile on his face. Then he nodded. "I really, really hope!"
They both laughed.
"Ahem."
The laughter died down and both turned their heads. Behind them was Killua, purposefully clearing his throat loud to catch attention. He walked in silence, with his hands inside his pockets, face ahead, eyes indifferent, looking at Gon when he saw them turn. Right, Killua went with them. He said he didn't want to get stuck inside the room without anything to do. So he went with them. Gon wanted him there. The junior council member even said that it's okay. But he was eerily quiet.
"Are you okay, Killua?" his best friend asked.
Killua stared at Gon even more after his question. His eyes were nonchalant, and Yuhi even reckoned his eyebrows were raised. The girl waited in silence, feeling tensed. Right, Killua went with them, but she had not talked to him the entire time knowing that he might want to be a silent listener for a while. But he cleared his throat, and that's a sign that he was not. Killua stared, stared, pierced Gon's eyes with his own blue cat ones. Then he removed his eyes from him, looking ahead. "The office's here, you moron."
Gon blinked then turned his gaze ahead. "Oh, yeah! Come on!" He smiled at the two and ran towards the office door, leaving Yuhi and Killua behind.
"Te— Oi!" Killua called, but he was ignored. He sighed.
Yuhi blinked. Then she looked at Killua—to which was immediately returned by the latter. The instant reflex was to smile. "Gon sure has tons of energy left even after a game, ne?"
"Right," Killua answered as they walked towards the office, stretching his arms behind his head. "He's unstoppable."
The girl watched the white-haired boy look at his best friend with a small smile on his face. She shrugged and couldn't help but let out a smile of her own. When she looked at Gon, he was grinning widely at them. Then she heard Killua wince. She found them both funny.
Inside the office were Jared, Hikari, Karina and Klint—and nobody else completely. They were in their usual spot at front, discussing over their table and quickly shifting their gazes to the door when it opened and revealed Gon, Yuhi and Killua. They instantly greeted with a smile but Karina was the one who did the vocal enthusiasm.
"Yay! You guys are fast! Didn't expect that at all," she said as she turned to face them and crossed her arms against her chest.
"We didn't have class," Gon answered while they walked in. "I brought Killua with me. Is that okay?"
Stepping to the side to show himself, Killua waved a hand. "Yo."
Karina grinned at him. "Oh, sure, of course."
Jared ushered Gon and Yuhi to their table in front while Killua signaled to excuse himself, walking south and propping on his usual spot, lifting his crossed legs to a nearby box and stretching his arms behind his head after unwrapping a lollipop.
Yuhi could hear him rocking his chair back and forth while Jared apologized for the urgent meeting.
Then out of nowhere, it was just disclosed.
"Gon, Yuhi, the council has chosen you two to model for the poster. Can you do it?"
There was a pause of surprise in the air. What? Yuhi was the first one to break the ice. "Model? Poster?" she asked—to the council officers and to herself.
"Yeah," Karina answered. "It'll be fun!"
"But…" Yuhi turned her gaze to Gon. Then back at the council. "Why us?"
There was another pause again before the officers shared laughs. "Because you two are the only adorable looking people in here!"
"Ehh…" Gon voiced out. "Me and Yuhi?" He turned to look at the auburn-haired girl, to which was returned. A grin slowly formed on their faces. Then Gon's grin grew wider, his eyes brighter, sparkling with a predictable notion that he thought of something great. "Why not let Killua do it!?" He exclaimed excitedly, leaning forward towards the officers.
Yuhi instantly felt something dancing in her chest. Her heart stopped, and she was suddenly nervous she had no idea why. Killua to take a picture with her for the poster—she could do it. No sweat at all. They were okay in the first place. Why would she even tense up?
Everyone turned their gazes towards the white-haired boy at the back—except Yuhi.
"Do what?" Killua mumbled under his lollipop while looking at the people with huge confused eyes.
Gon pointed towards his best friend. "See? Killua can do it waaaay better especially if you're doing a poster!"
Everyone blinked—including Killua.
The latter then immediately narrowed his eyes and straightened up in his seat slowly. "What the heck are you talking about, Gon?"
Gon was beaming. "The council's doing a poster for the festival!"
Yuhi finally decided to turn around, and seeing Killua's white hair and blue eyes made her heart flutter in the same way it had before.
Killua raised an eyebrow. "And you're selling me to do the jo—"
"You'll do it with Yuhi!"
Heat suddenly blared in the auburn-haired girl's cheeks. But she did her best to stay still, watching Killua blink and look at her. He stared. She stared. And Yuhi had no idea how long the staring game lasted. But she didn't want to look away. Killua wasn't looking away either. It made the spark in her chest lightened up. She was tensing again, a feeling that she thought had already disappeared.
"Putting Killua's face on a promotional poster is a big negative," Karina interjected.
It felt as though the earth was a planet again. Yuhi blinked, seeing Killua did so too. She blushed, and before she looked away, the boy already had. She looked down, feeling something rummage in her chest. It was all coming back to her.
"Eh? But why?" Gon made a pouting expression.
"We've actually thought about that," Jared answered. "But Karina has a point."
Gon frowned. "What's her point?"
"See," Karina started. "If we're gonna have Killua model for the poster, then no one's ever going to notice the spirit of the season!"
Gon blinked, cocking his head to the side. "Huh?"
Killua suddenly sat straight up. "What?" he asked, with a fierce attempt to have Karina justify the offending statement.
"Everyone's going to notice and appreciate Killua's face instead." Karina laughed. She looked Gon. "I'm not saying that you aren't charming, Gon. You are. You really are." Then she looked at Killua. "But dude, imagine girls grabbing a poster because of you. They'll look forward to Killua, not the festival." The officer smiled and turned back to Gon. "Got it?"
Gon was thinking. "But won't it increase participants?"
Killua sneered. "Gon!"
Karina nodded. "It would. But it would increase Killua's stalkers. The festival's a time for love, you see. So unless you want silent stalkers to appear out of nowhere and chase Killua around to tell him they love him…"
Ba-dump.
Yuhi's eyes grew wide at that. She froze in her position. She was listening, weighing something, calming her nerves.
Gon was the most curious one. "But why would they do that?"
Karina sighed and smiled. "You'll know why eventually."
Killua suddenly stood up, snapping. "Hey, I'm not the only guy around here. If you let Gon do it, won't the same thing happen to him? I think you're being really unfair."
Karina snapped back at the boy, face forming a rather crooked evil smirk. Her refreshing baby face suddenly became dark. "Oh, I'm sorry. Sure, let's put you in the poster so when I show it to my sis, she and her classmates would go here to Killua-hunt. Can you handle it? 'Cause I'm pretty confident that Gon could do so much better in handling girls than you."
It was a threat. But Killua didn't want to put up with it. He sat back down, crossed his arms against his chest, closed his eyes and looked away. He huffed, muttering, "Tche— Girls," under his breath.
"Alright, alright." Jared stepped forward. "Let's settle this already. Time's ticking." He turned to Gon who seemed to be thinking. "Gon? You'll do it?"
Gon blinked thrice, eyebrows creasing while he stroked his chin. "Hmmm!" He then turned to look at his best friend again.
Killua seemed to have felt his gaze from the corner of his eyes. He groaned under his breath. "Why are you looking at me? Do what you want!"
Gon pressed his lips together and began a round of staring contest with Killua. But the latter instantly looked away. "Hmmm… Okay." Looking back at the officers, he smiled. "I'll do it."
A sigh of relief escaped the student council president's lungs. He turned to the auburn-haired girl who seemed to be thinking as well. "And Yuhi?"
But the girl was only staring at nothing.
Jared cleared his throat. "Yuhi," he called out.
The girl then snapped back. She blinked, standing straight and looking for the eyes of the person who called her. "Oh, I… Of course. Yes, of course!" She smiled.
Gon grinned wide. "Ne, ne, ne, Yuhi, it'll be fun!"
The girl grinned back at the spiky-haired boy and nodded. "Yes!" Then they both laughed.
"Great!" Jared exclaimed through his reserved physique. "Can you be here tomorrow at 10AM? We'll meet you here in the office."
They nodded.
"Wear you best winter clothes and bring your uniforms," Karina added.
"Okay!" They answered in unison. Then they were dismissed.
The three walked in silence down the stairs. Everyone seemed to be thinking, even Gon—although at times he would say something about looking forward the next day and how fun it might be. When they reached the sophomore floor, they parted ways. And although Yuhi tried to shake it off by greeting normally to Gon and Killua, she couldn't brush off the disturbing feeling in her chest—especially when she looked at the latter. Something was coming back. That look on his face, the reluctant greeting, the scarce words, she couldn't understand it, and she was trying so hard to push the thoughts of the past away to prevent them from blooming in her brain. And what's up with him anyway while they were walking up to the council office and back to their classrooms? She sighed at that, forcing herself not to overthink things again.
Yuhi forgot about it—rather, she didn't think of it. The festival was and had always been, as what Karina said, a time for love. Maybe Gon and Killua didn't know anything about that because they were transferees. But it was true. She remembered encouraging her classmates the previous year to be brave and speak out—even though she herself found that hard to do.
Taking her seat on her chair, she stared at her desk for a while. Then she listened. Why hadn't she heard it two weeks ago? Perhaps she was too busy. Because that morning, the voices from different parts of the room were started to get to her. She was hearing them talk about it as what and how they did the year before.
The festival was a mecca for confessionals. And Yuhi suddenly felt the pressure envelop her when she realized that fact. Karina made one thing clear for her. There sure would be plenty of girls who might come up to her angel to try to steal his heart. She pictured Killua surrounded by a number of girls from different parts of town. Then she shook her head. She didn't want to think about him and girls surrounding him. She couldn't imagine Killua giving his genuine smile out to all of them. There had to be only one. And whether or not he decided to give it, the festival was still the chance for everyone.
What?
It was another chance.
What?
And having the thought that it was a chance with twenty other girls made her want to bury herself underground.
What?
Yuhi wanted to bang her head against the wall.
What? What? What? What do I really want?
-CHAPTER END-
You know what's amazing? It's this story gaining 200+ reviews! Yay! I'm so thrilled and happy and thank you guys so much for the feedback on every chapter. It means a lot. I hope you won't get tired of reviewing! So review in here too?
Replies to guests~
Yuki Candy Heart: Yay, thank you for the review and for saying that it's cute and amazing!
Peggy: Hii! Nyaha. Sorry if the updates take too long. I was super busy but hey, thanks for the review!
2102032: Hoho. I have no idea who would make the first move but I hope that it would happen soon bc it's getting so frustrating already. XD I think I didn't mention what Yuhi wanted because she also didn't know what. ^^ Thanks so much for the review!
Jonica: heyy! Thank you for the review! And of course I won't. ^^
I thought I'd give out another question for everyone. What do you think would happen now? Pretty simple. And oh! I want to ask you guys crazy plot twists for this story. Just send in what you think are the possible plot twists-even though what you're thinking are super crazy and impossible plot twists. I would love to hear them. And I'll even enumerate my own crazy plot twists in the next chapter. Haha!
Hope to see your reviews for this one! Thank you so much!
NEXT CHAPTER: To model for a poster, they say.
