A/N: Hiiiiii! Glob, I love updating and I've missed updating soon. 2 weeks isn't bad. Gah, that 2 months was a record. Anyway, this chapter is shorter compared to the previous ones, okay? Believe me, I tried but it extending it feels kinda boring and… I needed a whole chapter for something. If you know what I mean. /wriggles eyebrows/ Alright, I'm excited. I am so freaking excited so let's get on with this chapter!

A/N/N: Btw, Mai, thanks for pointing that out! I meant the "Yuhi" in her name. Kurapika and Leorio mentioned it in the movie. It means sunset. :')

Disclaimer: I am but a fangirl who's in love with putting daydreams in detailed text.


TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCE

CHAPTER TWENTY SIX
D-Day

That Sunday was perhaps one of the coldest days of the year. Snow started falling since seven o'clock in the morning and all of the heaters inside houses were turned up high. The glass windows and the metal posts were opaque with frostbites and the streets were quiet with the hush of the cool winter wind.

Yuhi never calculated the weather before going out. She let Mother Nature surprise her, but prayed it would only be enough. She stared out the window across the street from the ramen shop's small waiting area near the door, the balls of her wrists pressing against her thighs, breathing slowly through her mouth to conjure enough steam in her flesh. Oh, it was perfectly warm inside the shop, but Yuhi reckoned she needed the practice to prepare for the outside. She mentally smiled. Then her phone beeped.

"yo"

Killua.

"hi! :)"

"beware of anything with wheels. road's slippery. gon wanted me to tell you that"

Her cheeks burned, lips curling upward. Then Yuhi thought that she could survive in the cold as long as Killua was there to light the fire in her veins. She giggled.

"Do people ever look at you and wonder why kids look fresh all the time?"

Yuhi looked up and saw Yellich's beam. She rose and took a swift glance at his clothes. He seemed ready to go, so Yuhi grabbed her bag and nodded at her brother. "Sejin looks at me and wonder what's wrong all the time," she said with a light cackle. Yellich laughed and ruffled the girl's forelocks before calling their guardian and telling him that they were off.

Initially, Yellich offered to use his bike as their ride to the center of town. But Roroturo insisted that they take the bus instead for safety reasons. There were no arguments. The bus was a microwave oven after all, and no kidding faster. "Where did you say you'd meet them again?" Yellich asked, the lights of the establishments reflecting on his hazel irises. It was twilight, and the dark was winning by huge points.

Yuhi's gaze was at the road, face gleefully amazed at the beauty of every home's decorations for the most wonderful time of the year. "At Gibbou. The sushi house."

"Ohh! That's a restaurant, right?" Yellich bounced in his seat. He cackled in a cheeky way. "Are you really sure that it's a group eat out?"

Yuhi silently huffed and gave her brother the playful glare. Earlier he was claiming that he was certain the "eat out" she asked permission from Roroturo to have her join was a date. The girl couldn't breathe for a millisecond at that. It wasn't a date, and it wasn't game night either.

Half a minute after Killua asked her if she was free after 5, as she typed in her reply, she received a text. It was from Karina, inviting them over for a post-celebration gathering Sunday night. The gathering was long planned out by the council and was supposed to be held the night before the festival, but it was postponed because of financial reasons. Half a minute after that, she received another text from Killua about Karina's message. They agreed to go. She was fine with it though. At least she'd still get to see him. And bonus, the student council and all of their co-staff would be there. Yellich's mischief could go for miles at times, and now he was at it again. But the girl decided to let it slide. "You can join us! You said you know the council, right? It'll be fun!"

Yellich shrugged. "Naw. Work starts at 7 and I can't skip now. I've been absent for two days. Imagine your poor brother selling his organs for money. It'll be awful!"

Yuhi chuckled, hitting him lightly on the arm. "That's not going to happen. But next time? I was kind of thinking of introducing you to my friends." She beamed, hopeful.

A pause.

"Who, to Gon and Killua? No, wait."

Another pause.

"Who, to Gon?"

The girl cocked her head to the right and confusedly asked why only Gon.

"'Cause you know, you said friend. Isn't the other one a boyf—"

"My friends," Yuhi's impulse interposed, subconsciously letting out a nervous smile.

Yellich guffawed, shaking his head. "You know, baby sister, they'll freak out big time. Those two. I'm confident. Believe me. Because I'm a superstar. I'm a doggone rock star. They're gonna freak," he stressed flourishingly, making sour faces at the air while keeping his smile on.

The girl breathed out as she gave her brother another playful glare, and nodded. "Alright," she replied as she gazed at where the road was leading them. They were near. And as she saw the lights flickering like stars from where they were, she started feeling her heart race for the thousandth time that day. She couldn't deny the fact that she also felt tensed to her neck for some reason.


The center of town was the ultimate Christmas party. If the area near their house was like a lonely abyss during the snowfall, the center of town begged to differ. The establishments were showered with bright, twinkling lights, all of the shops were open, holiday street foods fumed all over the square, and there were people everywhere—happy, smiling, and carefree looking people walking around the lively night market.

Nerves electrified, the auburn-haired girl's smile was wide across her face as she looked around the galactic planetarium of the square. The night market started that evening and it would go on until the New Year's, she remembered. She wanted to tell her brother that—only if he hadn't rushed immediately after dropping her off five blocks away from Gibbou, the sushi house they were supposed to meet up in.

It took a few minutes for her to collect her thoughts before she could decide to step forward. Because it was strange, how tensed and anxious and excited she was feeling that night—the latter doubled. She was smiling while absent-mindedly walking with fast, nervous steps along the sidewalk. It was definitely the whole idea that Killua would be there. He was magic in her veins, making her heart beat fast, and faster, and faster as she neared. Then it stopped when she reached the front of Gibbou—the same time her phone startled her with a twing!

Karina.

"Hey guuuuys! Where are youuu? We're at cubicle 3. The food will be here any minute! \\(*3*)/"

Yuhi stared at the screen for a while, thinking of asking her friends if they're already in the restaurant—which was ridiculous because she sort of felt awkward walking in alone. Then all of a sudden, her phone made another twing!

Killua.

"at gibbou yet?"

And she couldn't suppress that smile.

"just about to walk in :) where are you?"

"gon's a little hyper. just ignore him ok?"

"why? where are you?"

"your right"

"…huh?"

"look to your right"

Surprised, in a speed of light, she did look to her right, and saw hidden under the shadow of an unlit building about five meters away were a pair of bright hazel eyes and luminous fluffy white hair—the former's face beaming as he ran towards her, and the latter shooting a small, cool smile.

Yuhi was certain that her heart stopped the moment she saw Killua's ivory skin in the dark, his right palm in the air as a small wave to signal his presence as he approached. Feeling blood to her cheeks, her heart running a marathon, she shot a small smile back at him, and she felt like laughing. Boy, was she glad to see them! Gon seemed equally glad to see her. And in an instant one could see why Killua advised the girl to ignore his best friend's hype. It was contagious. Gon's smiles were bright and pure. Yuhi equaled them as she couldn't help it, and all they did was smile at each other like idiots until Killua reached Gon's side.

"Ah, smells so good!" Gon exclaimed suddenly, nostrils towards the door of Gibbou. He looked at the two and rubbed his belly. "I'm hungry. Aren't you hungry too, Killua? You're starving, right? We haven't had any snacks! Let's go!"

Killua shook his head disbelievingly, a daring grin on his face. "What do you mean we haven't had any snac—"

"Let's go!" And then Gon dashed and disappeared.

The two were left to linger in silence, blinking. Yuhi thought her heart would explode the moment it came to mind that she and Killua were alone. She looked up, catching the boy's gaze. Then both instantly looked away as if their eyes had not met. Yuhi thought she heard Killua smile. She wanted to see, but she was so nervous her muscles wouldn't move. It was insane, her nerves. She felt so ridiculously shy yet so, so excited. That night was the first time they ever saw each other after Yuhi's grand confession, Killua knowing that she liked him and asking her to hang out with him. Every movement was nerve-racking.

It took about ten seconds of fidgets and secret glances before Killua finally broke the ice by clearing his throat. "So…"

Yuhi kept her eyes at her shoes. Her heart was racing.

Killua looked around, looked at the girl, and looked away. "C'mon," he muttered before turning a heel and stepping on the entrance.

Yuhi didn't notice that the white-haired boy had gone in not until she lifted her eyes and saw him halfway through the hallway in between tables. She blinked and pushed her bottom lip, and followed him inside the restaurant. For a second there she shamelessly anticipated that the boy would smile the smile that she loved at her, or would ask how she had been doing, or would hold her hand—or would let her in first, in the least. But she easily let it go.

Sushi houses in Tomo, or in any place in Jyopen, are larger and indisputably more refined than ramen houses. The floors were waxed and shiny, the tables always clean and orderly, the chairs aligned properly, and there were these small rooms or cubicles provided for private group gatherings or meetings. Of course, the food was always more expensive, but the level of noise tend to be similar. When a traveler visits Gibbou for the first time, he would not think that it was a high-end restaurant in Tomo. It was always packed with people and waiters and chefs behind counters. But that was the fun thing about it. Gibbou never had any costumer bias. And it's cheaper compared to other sushi houses in town.

When one of the mistresses of the restaurant opened the door to cubicle three for Killua and Yuhi, the student council and the staff were already in an almost chaotic situation—not in a food-fighting kind of way, in a chat room kind of way. There were about fifteen of them in there, including Gon and Taro.

"Yuhinanana!" the latter greeted with a high-five to the girl, and a nod to Killua.

It was a party, only without food yet. Everyone greeted the newcomers before they entered, and decided to wait for two more juniors when the mistress asked if she should deliver the order already.

"I'm glad you could come today," Jared said when Killua and Yuhi settled seats next to Gon at this long table, opposite the student council. The other officers seconded Jared's gratitude by nodding and smiling, while Karina and Klint giggled silently in their seats.

"Yes, I am so glad that you came together!" Karina exclaimed, giving the two the gooey eye.

Yuhi blushed.

Killua looked away.

Gon laughed. "Luckily we saw Yuhi just before she came in!"

And then Karina and Klint returned to giggling silently in their seats. Jared started off a conversation about the weather and all that, thanking them again for their hard work at the festival—which he seemed to have said to everyone who were with them inside the room that night—and proceeded to having a small introductory speech about the little token the council decided to give them. Yuhi couldn't do anything but glance at the white-haired boy who was a seat away from her (Gon in between them). A few minutes passed, all expected guests arrived and so did the food.

Dinner was massively delicious. There were massive lobsters, massive crabmeat, massive bowls of mixed vegetables soup and beef stew, massive fish cuts. Even the sushi looked massive. It was as though the student council had organized a feeding program for the staff. Jared won't tell where the money came from, but he reassured everyone that it was from good-willed hands. All seemed famished the moment they saw the rare feast, eating as quietly as they could, but eventually the noise returned, and so did the mess.

It was fun. They invented table games, made rotating speeches about their experience with the council and the gifts they received at the festival, ate, talked about ghosts stories they heard about their school, invented more games, ate more, played dares, lots of dares, and hit it off with the karaoke machine inside the cubicle when they decided that they were a little tired. Everybody practically had their backs against the walls while listening and laughing at the one who was dancing and singing in front of the karaoke by nine o'clock, and all of the freshmen, and Taro who still had work, had gone home.

Yuhi enjoyed herself so much. She had never been in a high-school party, and in a high-school party with older students. It was a whole new experience for her, to be able to socialize with kids outside of school and inside a restaurant cubicle with a karaoke. She thought then that she should absolutely tell Roroturo and Yellich about the place. Even picturing her family singing in a karaoke bar was funny. She giggled, amidst the noise and the dim of the lights, and from the corner of her eye she saw Killua looking her way. She absent-mindedly shifted her gaze at him, just in time for him to look away and press his lips. Her heart raced as she inhaled.

The night would've been lovelier if Killua had talked to her normally as he did in text. Well, she wasn't really one to tell. It seemed easier in text than in person. It's always easier in anything and anywhere but in person. But the boy kept giving her these glances and looks that made her pulses go wild, plenty of times, and he did talk to her when Gon was flooding her questions about anything. She just wished that he would scoot a little closer, or that she would scoot a little closer. Because she couldn't scoot closer. There seemed to be a grave invisible wall between them and she couldn't break it.

Looking ahead she saw Karina crawling towards her from the other side of the room, grinning, her bright blue eyes sparkled. She flopped beside the auburn-haired girl with an oof. They talked for a while about the festival and their family plans for the holiday, about Kirino, about the finals after the break, before the blonde sighed and leaned back beside Yuhi. "Aww, look at those two. How cute," she said with an awed pout.

Yuhi curiously looked at where her senior's gaze was, and had her eyes widening. Sitting isolated across the room from them were Jared and Hikari, sitting close to each other, too close—the latter's head on the former's shoulder, arm wrapped around the other, hands intertwined. Yuhi realized that she was holding her breath as she turned to look at Karina. "They're together?" Her voice was a whisper, as though the information she was looking for was a king's money vault combination.

Karina nodded. "Just yesterday. We've been waiting for it to happen. Jared is so fearless but he can be coward at times. Well, around Hikari. It's such a big deal when he prepared so much yesterday night."

Yuhi was silently gasping. Yesterday? Just yesterday and…? She looked at the student council president and vice-president—her freshman year crush and the love of his life—and slowly shifted her gaze to the left where the love of her life was. Killua was having a little game with Gon. He was laughing. Yuhi swallowed hard. "Wow…"

"I know! Isn't it amazing? This buddy of mine, really. Look at him. He's so cheesy." Karina giggled. Then she sighed. "At what age can I spend my Christmas Eve with a boyfriend?" She sighed again.

Yuhi kept swallowing. Her pulses banged so hard her head hurt. She pictured herself wrapping an arm around Killua's, putting her head on his shoulder, and holding his hand. And her breathing became faster. Killua snapped his head toward her, catching her gaze. She blushed and instantly looked away, nervous. She felt someone nudge her elbow. Karina was grinning again.

Thirty minutes had passed when they decided to call it quits. Most of them were already yawning, eyes half-lidded, voice tired. They were so stuffed and drained they needed the sleep. By the time they stepped out of the restaurant, the snow had stopped falling, but the breeze was so cold it was like waking up naked in the middle of North Pole. Yuhi rubbed her gloved hands together and pressed her heated palms against her cheeks. How to stay warm protocol number one.

They greeted happy holidays before bidding each other good night and take care. The girl watched as Hikari and Jared walked together and found herself smiling. She was happy for them. But she couldn't shake off the wiggly thing crawling up her spine. And strangely enough, the three of them—Yuhi, Gon and Killua—were the only ones left in front of Gibbou.

Normally, the girl would head off first, but she didn't want to head off first. She was waiting. She stood there quietly, tapping her boots together, looking incredibly preposterous while Gon and Killua talked about how awesome the food was. The boys seemed busy, and Yuhi was okay with that. She needed time to think about unthinking stuff. But when she felt her head ticking fast like an atomic bomb running out of time, she decided to go. She stepped towards her way back, thinking of paying her brother a little visit before going home. "Ano…" she started shyly. Gon and Killua looked, and she suddenly felt nervous. "It's late. Roroturo-san wouldn't like it if I… I should go." She flashed a smile, and wished that it were as genuine as she wanted it to be. "Please take care on the way home." A bow. A glance. And she was off.

As she walked past three blocks along the sidewalk, she realized that she was huffing. Groaning. Sulking. She kicked snow that rested on the bricked pavement with every step, mentally scolding herself for being so incredibly preposterous. It was awful. She wasn't mad. In fact she felt bad for leaving the two of them there out in the cold. But something was flipping her switch. What was she to think anyway? She huffed again, groaned, sulked. So much for hanging out, ne.

The breeze howled as she neared the glowing center of town. She pushed her hands inside her coat pockets and did breathing exercises to focus heat inside her body. How to stay warm protocol number two. She looked down at her boots and kicked some more snow, sighed, and shook her head lightly to clear her thoughts. Then in a blink of an eye she noticed another pair of boots walking next to hers. She looked up, and looked as if she had seen a ghost.

"Come on. Don't do that again," Killua said, sounding warm.

Yuhi blinked immensely, subconsciously making sure that she was seeing what she thought she was seeing. All the unnecessary frazzle dead and gone. Her face then burned. "Hm?"

Killua sighed, glancing at her. "You always leave like that. Don't do it again," he mumbled out.

Yuhi nodded, unsure where to look. "I'm sorry."

"…That's okay."

A pause.

"Where's Gon?"

"Home already, I guess."

Yuhi fidgeted. She felt bad. She felt awful. "Please tell him I'm sorry."

Killua grimaced. "He said he was sorry. Don't worry about it. Gon's cool when it comes to friends."

Yuhi nodded again and stuck to looking down at her boots in killing time. They were walking slowly, side by side, and silent, through the noisy and crowded night market now. The girl didn't feel the cool wind slash her flesh until she decided that her pulses were in normal rate again. But with that came the thought of Jared and Hikari in her mind. Head on shoulder. Arm to arm. Holding hands. It made her nervous for the zillionth time, looking at Killua who did not seem to be in the mood for anything at the moment. Yuhi breathed out a great deal of air.

"Are you cold?" Killua asked, and he was looking at her. His blue eyes sparkled with the reflection of the glistening, twinkling lights, his face glowing like the moon. And Yuhi thought that he was so perfect she couldn't believe that she was allowed to look straight back, and that he was walking next to her, asking her if she was cold. It all was suddenly sinking in—slowly, savory.

"Nope," she answered with a slight shake of the head, smiling and shrugging. She couldn't believe it.

The corners of the boy's lips curved upward, releasing an airy cackle as he said, "Okay."

Yuhi found herself astounded, bewildered, surprised by what she suddenly realized she was in. It was unbelievable. She was so happy. How to stay warm emergency protocol.

They walked past two bus stops until Killua reckoned it was late and they needed to head home. Yuhi agreed to that. It was late. Roroturo sure would not be pleased about it. She just didn't take much notice of the time whenever she was with the boy. And at the back of her mind she wanted to stay longer with him. "Oh boy…" she let out to react to her thoughts.

"You have curfew?" Killua asked, placing his hands inside his pockets.

Yuhi smiled sheepishly. They walked a few more blocks and settled under a waiting shed. "Yes. 10 o'clock." It was already ten o'clock.

Killua laughed a little—chuckled, grimaced. "You're screwed."

"I know." She giggled, stretching her neck toward the road to spot a pair of headlights approaching. There were none, for minutes, and Yuhi was then reminded of the night market and the holiday season. The buses were certainly packed out at the city. She was starting to slightly freak out. She looked at Killua and he was perfectly still beside her, eyes toward the road, probably waiting for a bus to appear as well. Then she breathed out audibly through her mouth as she shifted her gaze ahead. Her heart was racing like crazy.

Killua looked at her. "Aren't you cold?" he asked, sounding more frustrated than concerned. But it made Yuhi smile. She shook her head. She really wasn't cold. Killua pressed his lips together, shrugged and returned to gazing toward the empty vanishing point.

A few more minutes and Yuhi began noticing the stiff silence in the air, the thick gravity in the gap between them, and the pressure in her arms. It would have been nothing if Karina hadn't pointed out Jared and Hikari earlier inside the restaurant. She wouldn't even have an idea that that was a thing to do between a boy and a girl who just got together the day before. Yuhi breathed out through her mouth again, slowly and surely.

"Hey, ramen girl."

The girl looked up and mentally smiled at the call. "Yep?" she asked as she watched Killua's hair being blown subtly by the wind. He was facing the left side of the road, so Yuhi couldn't see his face. But she could see his eyelashes fanned while he blinked.

"Tomorrow. Are you doing anything tomorrow?"

Yuhi felt butterflies flapping their gorgeous, massive wings inside her stomach. She bit her bottom lip, suppressing a giggle. Killua's tone of voice sounded so enticing she could melt. "Tomorrow's Christmas Eve."

Killua shrugged and looked down, digging a hole in the snow with his heel. "Yeah. Nothing. I just asked."

Yuhi leaned forward to catch his gaze. "Every Christmas Eve Roroturo-san participates in the town party. He rents a stall along the market and sells ramen there. We help get ready," she said, as a matter of information, and smiled, looking up at the dark sky covered in clouds. "Christmas Eve parties in Tomo are beautiful, you see. People get together in one spot and watch fireworks. Like the New Year's. Everybody will be there. It's fun. You should go, and Gon and Mito-san and grandma. I'm sure they'll like it very much." She pictured Gon, Mito and Gon's grandmother's faces as they watched the fireworks in the sky. It made her giggle. They'll love it.

Taking a deep breath she returned her gaze back at the boy, and Killua was looking at her, staring at her, his irises drowned into hers it looked as if he was reading an endless wonder in her eyes. Yuhi stared back, blinking. Slowly she felt her pulses race, her cheeks burn, found herself gasping for air. She shifted away from his gaze, placing her fists against her chest. "W-What?" she silently asked, shy and nervous. Killua's eyes were a transparent portal to another universe. They're hypnotizing.

The boy seemed to get back to his senses. His eyes widen. He blinked, leaned away and turned towards the left side of the road again. "That better be good," he ended up daring.

Yuhi exhaled a massive amount of air, inhaled and exhaled again. She could taste something sweet run down her throat. It was making her nerves jump. "It's great!" she exclaimed. Then a pair of bright lights came closing in from afar, illuminating the dim road fast. Yuhi's smile slightly faded. It was time to go home. She looked at Killua, his back still toward her, and felt something punch her stomach. Hesitantly then, she began, "Are you doing anything on the 26th?" When Killua turned, she blushed, and added, "Because I'm not."

There was a pause—until Killua grinned. He nodded. "The 26th."

It was pathetic, but Yuhi always thought that pretty fireworks lit up in the background whenever she watched the white-haired boy smile, like an angel. She beamed and couldn't help but let out a hearty laughter of her own. The bus stopped, she hopped in, they waved goodbye, and Yuhi never imagined that the picture of Killua smiling at her while her bus rushed off could actually come true.


The next two days were beyond busy. But it was the fun kind of busy. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day went by longer and warmer compared to the past years. Yuhi figured it was because for the very first time in fourteen years, she got to spend it with a blood family—her brother—and all the other lovely things.

Gon and Killua were there, in the center of town for the Christmas Eve town party, together with Mito and her mother, to witness the midnight celebration of the most wonderful time of the year. Yuhi met them with enthusiasm and introduced Roroturo to the ladies. She was hoping to present (brag about, really) her brother to everyone in the universe but he disappeared whenever she was with them. The three walked around the night market and spotted plenty of kids from their school. They greeted practically everyone they passed a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. There were smiles everywhere, and happy, excited people. It was wonderful.

Thirty minutes before the fireworks display, Mito and her mother left Roroturo's ramen stall with a smile to walk around and find a perfect spot for sightseeing with the boys. Gon was brimming with excitement his eyes shined like the rays of the sun as he waved a hand and shouted a Merry Christmas. Killua did the same, and before turning to catch up with his pack he shot a refreshing gaze toward the girl. Yuhi almost melted. Killua looked so dreamy that night she almost didn't want to stop staring at him.

Yellich cried while the fireworks went off in the night sky. He said that he had never seen a spectacle so beautiful and that he would never trade the life he was living for all of the gold in the world (because his family was the best). Roroturo laughed at him, but Yuhi could tell that he was holding back manly tears as he endlessly tapped Yellich's back like he was a solid punching bag. Yuhi couldn't help it. She cried. She cried happy tears while lighting tiny firecrackers with her guardian and her brother. It was a moment to remember. Everything was sparkling gold, ruby, emerald, and she was happy beyond compare.

On Christmas Day, she woke up forever ecstatic about the five-feet decorated tree inside their living room. Yellich was already up, beaming at her, the moment she headed down, Roroturo coming up from the shop with hot ramen soup and massive breakfast platters in his huge circular tray. She called Sejin first to greet her Merry Christmas, as she got used to it, and sent a text to the rest of her friends.

The food placed on the coffee table in front of the TV, they ate, and opened gifts. Yuhi received the same number of gifts she was receiving ever since—four: from Roroturo, Roroturo's rich comrade who he said was also Yuhi's 'godfather', and two female cooks in the ramen shop who were with them since the girl was still a baby—only now she had five, including Yellich's. She got an oversized white sweater with yellow baby ducks printed all over the surface from Roroturo, a wallet with cash inside from her 'godfather', leg warmers from the ladies, and another sweater from her brother, a dark blue one with yellow zigzag prints, a protruding Santa Clause in the middle and a huge green and red knitted lettering of 'HO' under it. Yuhi turned to Yellich and narrowed her eyes playfully at the sweater he was wearing. It was the same as hers, only purple.

"It's a couple shirt!" Yellich exclaimed excitedly then. "Look, when I stand next to you, people would read our sweaters and go 'ho-ho'. It's cute!"

Yellich got a sweater from Roroturo as well, his was green with a huge white silhouette of a rain-deer in the middle, t-shirts from the ladies, and a new set of pens and a sketchbook from Yuhi. He was on the verge of crying again.

Roroturo had one under the tree, from the kids, and it was heavy and huge. The two got him a box full of original DVDs and an apron that says "The Macho Chef".

"They were on sale," Yellich explained, teased. "Your fetishes are so vintage they're on sale."

Roroturo laughed so loud it felt as though the earth shook. They spent the day watching the DVDs in the living room and eating on the couch. Roroturo cooked extraordinarily ridiculous meals during Christmas (the shop was always closed on that particular holiday) and that was what finally made Yellich burst into tears again. He was very emotional.

Eventually Yellich returned to his normal Yellich self as they busied themselves with the sappy episodes of Roroturo's favorite dramas with the lights out. Meanwhile Yuhi was stealing time between watching and secretly giggling in her spot on the right edge of the couch, her cellphone on silent and hiding under her right thigh. She and Killua were giving live accounts on their Christmas day, though the replies were late, as they were both busy celebrating the holiday in their own homes.

They were texting all day, since she sent them a greeting, and she was so ecstatic it felt as though her heart was jumping out of her chest whenever there was a cheesy scene between a couple on TV.

"D-Day," the handsome guy with a scarf said to the pretty black woman in red high-heeled shoes.

"You call this incandescently magical evening d-day? A war day?" the woman asked, giggling musically, her eyes twinkling.

"Yeah. I'd like to think that in every awful event, there could be a miracle. Like this, D-Day, Date Day, the day I finally get a chance of making you fall in love with me."

Yuhi blushed immensely as she thought so much of her D-Day, pictured herself and the white-haired boy as the actors in the drama, and daydreamed of moments that made the hair at the back of her nape shriek of supreme saccharine.

It took a while though, before she could gain the courage to ask permission from her guardian, but she was absolutely selling hints that she wanted to say something. Yellich read her. During a potty break in the marathon, her brother asked what was up. Yuhi told him about the plan, the same time Roroturo walked in from the bathroom. He heard half of it.

"You're going out tomorrow?" he asked the girl casually, like he always did, while he strode across the room toward the remote.

Yuhi lowered her head and glanced at her brother who was sitting, surprising, quietly on the couch chewing on cookies, listening to them. She nodded reluctantly. It was tensing. It was unusual for her to be going out the day after Christmas after all.

Roroturo flopped on the couch. "With whom? Sejin? I thought she never went out with anyone. Speaking of which, you should totally bring her here while you're on break. It's been a while since I saw that kid."

"Beautiful," Yellich commented.

"Oh yeah?"

"Gorgeous. But completely out of reach."

Roroturo laughed. "Don't even think about it, Yel."

The latter smiled. "Naw, I just found out that I have thing for older women."

"Heavens! Keep your thoughts to yourself! You have a sister. She's listening. Yuhi?"

She forced a smile. "With—" she choked, "Killua."

There was an endless moment of silence at that, with Yuhi feeling her flesh heat up and Roroturo blinking with big eyes, surprised. Yellich kept eating. Roroturo cleared his throat then and removed his gaze from her little girl. He suddenly seemed fidgety, his eyes unstable. "Well, what, with Gon? Other friends?" he asked in a failed attempt to keep his voice in monotone.

Yuhi shrugged slowly and shook her head.

Roroturo continued blinking as though he was thinking of an immediate solution to a corporate dilemma. He cleared his teeth with the tip of his tongue and glued his index fingers together in the air. "You mean, you two, you and Killua going out, you two only?"

Yuhi pursed her lips and nodded slowly.

Yellich kept eating.

"Like a date?"

She blushed and looked down. She could hear Roroturo's breath falling, the disbelief in his tone when he exhaled. Yuhi could never forget the day her guardian strictly told her to tell him first if a boy had asked her out, and she was feeling slightly bad about agreeing on a date prior to letting Roroturo know. Pushing her bottom lip she peered from under her bangs and told Roroturo that she was sorry she didn't ask permission first before setting anything.

The buff man, on the other hand, kept blinking and blinking while staring at the coffee table, his eyebrows knotted, eyes grave and focused, and he kept swiping his palms with his fingers like he was nervous for a grand interview or some sort. After a few seconds he leaned forward and ran both of his palms against his face, elbows resting on his thighs while he let his chin rest on his right hand. He looked thoughtful, very thoughtful, and troubled. He finally shifted his gaze toward Yuhi, still blinking immensely with his knotted eyebrows and grave eyes. "So you're going on a date tomorrow," he cleared, more to himself than to the girl.

Before Yuhi could answer, Yellich started slashing the strange air by sighing audibly and laughing. He sat up straight and faced Roroturo with a huge smile on his face. "Aw, c'mon, Macho-san! Relax! Chill out. Breathe!" he pressed, breathing in deeply on the 'breathe'. It surprised the two.

Roroturo leaned back, puzzled. "What the friggins, Yel?"

"Macho-san," he began. "I can sense that you're frustrated of the fact that your little girl would be going on a date tomorrow and you have not prepared yourself for it." His hands were in the air. "It's just a date. A normal girl-boy teenage interaction." When Yuhi looked at the older man, she saw his jaws hardening. She gulped. "It's nor-mal. Don't pressure yourself too much, Macho-san." Yellich beamed.

Roroturo stared at his glistening teeth, then crossed his arms against his chest, raising an eyebrow.

Yellich started shaking his head. "Oh, no. No meddling happened, I cross-my-heart swear."

A few more seconds of staring and Roroturo's features finally softened. He sighed, shrugged and nodded. He looked at Yuhi who was quietly watching them with big eyes. Then he smiled helplessly. "A date, huh?"

Yuhi was trying not to cry. Roroturo's smile was too genuine and loving for her own good at that time. "S-Something like that, yes."

"Okay," he said softly before turning to the TV and pressing play. Yuhi heard him mutter, "Okay. A date tomorrow," again to himself as they settled properly in their seats to continue with the marathon.

They finished the whole drama series at eleven in the evening. There were a bunch more left and Roroturo was definitely in the mood to keep going, but house rules were ground rules. They went to bed at midnight. Yuhi couldn't get herself to sleep though. But she had her eyes closed praying that she would doze off already. A few minutes later she heard her door creak open and felt a familiar scent in the air. Roroturo sat on her bedside, supposing that the girl was already fast asleep, smoothing her hair as he always did when she was tiny, and after a while he kissed the back of her head. Yuhi heard him smile and say, "A date. Okay," while he walked with silent steps out of her room.


It never came to Yuhi's mind that there were so many girly details needed to be sought out before a date not until she opened her closet after taking a bath, and she had no idea what to wear, how to look, and how to start getting ready. She stood there in front of her open cabinet, staring at piles of either plain or baby animal printed tee shirts, stupid looking pants and shorts, and an endless bunch of overalls. It wasn't her fault that she did not foresee an event such as a date with the coolest guy in school to come in her life so she could prepare what to wear. People never even do that, buy clothes for future dates. Or did they? She was fourteen. She still covered her eyes whenever there was a kissing scene on TV. She admittedly did not know a lot about these kinds of stuff.

Yuhi had wished to call Sejin and tell her that she would be going out with Killua that day and she did not know what to wear—all because she wanted to hear her seatmate's scowls and righteous values for her to wake up from thinking silly and just go with whatever it was her closet offered. She then sighed, pulled out her best black shorts overalls, a plain white long-sleeved shirt, a pair of light gray leggings, Roroturo's sweater gift with the ducks, a pair of cookies and cream-colored leg warmers, and rushed into putting them on together. Yuhi wasn't sure how okay her fashion sense passed, but when she looked in the mirror she knew she was going to be alright. She felt comfortable in her clothes and she thought that that was important.

She did her hair with different styles though. It was a mess. So she tied it in half like any other normal day, looked herself in the mirror for one last time, grabbed her brown parcel and her thick taupe winter coat, and stormed out of her room, sliding her feet in her sienna ankle boots headed down the stairs.

Yellich met her in his ramen shop apron and tray first, eyes beaming as though he just saw the rarest jewel in the mining cave. Yuhi only smiled as she did not know what to say. "Oh, I know where you got your pretty from," he said. "Mom and dad would be happy to see that their baby girl looks so much like her big brother!" he playfully declared. Yuhi snorted and laughed.

Roroturo was ready for her presence in his kitchen the moment the girl entered to announce her leave. He looked at her from head to foot and nodded coolly, pushing his bottom lip, looking like a total boss. "Are you warm enough?"

Yuhi nodded and slid her arms in her taupe coat, the sleeves of her inner sweaters sticking out to her palms. She beamed. "All warm."

Roroturo cleared his throat. "Alright," he began, shifting his weight to the right and crossing his arms against his chest. He was sitting on the long table. "You look lovely." He smiled warmly, then his face became emphatically grave. "Because you look lovely you have to remember everything I say, okay?" Yuhi nodded. "Rule number one: don't come home too late. Rule number two: call or text me when you're already with Killua and when you're about to come home. Rule number three: don't come home too late. And rule number four: don't come home too late."

Eh? Yuhi blinked after Roroturo has had his little speech. Then she giggled a little when she saw the narrow look on his face. It was Roroturo being over-protective, which she had been used to seeing, and she always thought it was funny.

"She's not getting married," Yellich interposed, leaning on the counter window, before whistling and turning away.

The buff man shook his head at the boy and finally let out his big, loud laughter, putting a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Are you sure you don't want him to come here and fetch you instead?"

Yuhi shook her head honestly. "Nope. You'd just hold him in and stare at him forever."

"Okay, okay. Don't be a rebel and be back by 8."

"Macho-san!" Yellich.

"Fine. 10. Tell Killua I said that."

Yuhi cackled lightly and said, "Okay" before bowing politely to the employees in the shop and waving to her family. When she got out of the house the tips of her fingers froze. She blew on them and rubbed them against her cheeks and ears. The day was cold, but it was beautiful white scenery. She walked fast through the sidewalk, almost as if she hopped, and smiled to the air as she felt her pulses raced of innate excitement. She was to meet Killua at the bus stop nearest to the ramen shop, which was only a few blocks away, and according to her conventional sense of direction she was near.

A turn, seven steps, another turn, and Killua was there, sitting legs crossed on the bench under a shed, hands inside his pockets, eyes shifting from the sky to the girl's direction. Yuhi always thought that Killua looked best in his uniform, but seeing him in casual clothes that day made her so nervous her pulses were crazy jumping all over the place. He was in all black—coat, jeans, sneakers—and peeping under his half-zipped jacket was a baby pink shirt over a white polo-shirt. Yuhi wanted to demand why of all colors Killua chose the one she had a soft spot on. Baby pink. On Killua. His pacific blue eyes. His white hair. It was too much.

Killua rose when Yuhi reached him, lips pursed while he glanced through her entire person. He immediately cleared his throat and looked away at the sky again, mumbling, "The weather's kinda nice," under his breath.

Yuhi lowered her head and nodded, biting her lower lip to keep herself from smiling too much. It wasn't easy, especially because it was so obvious how pink the boy's cheeks were. He was too adorable to be looking like a handsome son of a billionaire. "So," she took a breath and smiled, lifting her eyes, "where are we going?"

Killua pressed a fist against his lips and cleared his throat. "I was thinking out of here."

"Out of town?" Yuhi blinked, eyes wide.

"Yeah." He looked at her. "Okay?"

Yuhi felt her spine jolt. "And we're taking the bus?"

"Sure. Buses seem to represent all of public transportation in here anyway."

A smile spread across her face at the comment. It was true, but she slightly didn't want to. She went out of town plenty of times with Roroturo and they never take the bus. It was as expensive as buying a car in cash. No, not really. But buses are pricey. So she suggested they take the train instead. There was also that refreshing sense of scenery while riding in a train compared to riding in a bus. She wanted Killua to see that with her. But the boy's eyes went big at that. He seemed unsure, letting out a brief hmm as he pursed his lips, thinking about it.

In the end, he consented.

They walked back her path, past the ramen shop, two more blocks, to the train station. There weren't many people around catching train rides at 11:30 AM, so Yuhi was relieved that they didn't have to wait too long in the queues.

Killua bought the tickets. Yuhi didn't feel right about having the boy spend for her and insisted that she'd pay him, or that she'd buy the tickets for going home. Killua refused, but Yuhi kept at it, so he settled with the latter option.

The platform was too empty while they waited for their ride to arrive, but the distance between them never extended beyond two meters. Yuhi felt easy and warm on her right side. The train came with all of its seats preoccupied by dead-faced passengers, so they planted a spot by the door opposite the opening one, just right where they could clearly see the winter scenery as the train jogged through. Yuhi held onto the armrest on her side of the tail of the benches while Killua leaned his arm on a metal pole. They faced out toward the glass and Yuhi swore the tips of her fingers cringed all the while feeling Killua's breath blow through the strands of her hair.

"See? This isn't so bad," she started, to sort of remind her nerves that she should be talking, turning halfway but retreating when she found how close the boy's nose was to her lips.

"I didn't say that it's bad," Killua said, and Yuhi could feel him shrug. "I just thought that buses are more okay."

"What's the difference?"

Killua grimaced. More like he winced and smirked. Smirking with sound effects. "Clearly you haven't been out of town much."

Tucking her chin in of surprise, she snapped around with a defensive smile. The boy's sentence sounded like a tease. "I have been out of Tomo as much, ne," she pressed warmly, laughing a little, then leaned back, swallowing.

Killua blinked twice. The train stopped at a station. More people came in. Then it jogged back through. "Trains," he began, looking over his shoulder where a handful of office workers had made a human mole in the middle of the train, "aren't like this in other places."

Yuhi shifted her gaze from the new set of passengers to Killua. She realized that she had been leaning her back against the glass of the unopened door, the boy standing in front of her. She tried to distract herself with the bags inside the train. "Do they look different?"

"Yeah. More like a plane. But there are some that're like this. And sometimes it's super bogus in certain scenarios."

The train made a stop again, fast, at an underground station. When Yuhi stretched her neck toward the door, more people came in. Too many people. It flooded the train everyone was starting to squeeze into each other to fit in the picture. She held her breath and stood straight, pulling her forearms to her biceps like a pillar to give more space. Killua, on the other hand, facing her, had his back trampled on by three other backs. He swatted a palm against the glass right next to Yuhi's face to support his weight. The girl noticed that he had been keeping a distant 12-inch radius from her to give her enough space. She then looked up at him with the most apologetic gaze and smile she could genuinely manage. Killua's chin was so close she wanted to hug him suddenly and shoo the people away from scrambling against his back.

Killua caught her eyes. He breathed out sharply through his nose and forced a smile, looking extremely flustered, eyebrows creased, as he silently groaned to the air.

Yuhi frowned and said, "Sorry." When the train stopped for another station, the standing passengers swayed to the front, unprepared for the break. Yuhi held on to the armrest and exhaled a massive amount of air she had been holding in for a minute. She checked on Killua. He stood straight and relaxed his shoulders. A concerned smile formed on the girl's face and she asked him, "Are you okay?"

Killua looked at her, the corners of his lips lifting to a smirk. "Humanity can be worse," he joked. Yuhi's smile grew. They shared fair gazes. Then all of a sudden a surge of new passengers went in like they were late for work inside the train, knocking Killua off guard, out of balance. And Yuhi just stopped the moment she felt the boy's lips brush through the flesh in her jaw. She couldn't breathe for a second. This is going to be a loooooong, long day.

-CHAPTER END-


You know what's awesome about writing fluff? It's that you get sucked into a very bright and easy world where you could giggle and smile and not think of anything but cheese, pretty eyes and heart-pounding moments. It is wonderful. But sometimes it's not that simple. Because when you think of that adorable moment and you're about to write it, you just stop, scream and smile at the screen like a freaking lunatic! My mom thinks there's a loose screw in my head when I'm in front of the computer, to be honest. But it's awesome. Thank heavens I get through each chapter. All the cheesy bits. Damn, it's eating me whole.

So GIRLS, what do you think of this chapter? What do you guys expect to happen? What do pips even do during dates!? I worry about the romance being slow. A few readers have pointed it out a lot, I know, but gah, the chapter count is my concern. 26 chapters and they're just about to have a date! I mean, 26 chapters and they're just about to have a freaking date! 26 chapters. Really, these two. When you write about Yuhi and Killua you'd want to pull your hair out. XD

Oh and GIRLS, I made a thing. I put up a list of songs for TOC. It's kinda embarrassing and unnecessary but I wanted to do it ever since and share what I listen to whenever I write a chapter, so there. If you're ever curious just hit up my Tumblr account and you'll see a page on the right sidebar, "TOC Playlist". Some important songs were set up in the playlist in my Tumblr so if you want to listen just press play. The link is in my profile.

Guest replies~

It'sSoraNanaeP: Yoooo! Omg your review made me smile aaahhh Yeah, I searched that manga when I read your review and whoa, you are right! She looks like the Yuhi in my head too. And that "Nagareboshi" in the title of the manga nearly killed me. XD And aww, thanks so much! Killua needs to know stuff about how to like someone, seriously. That's okay! I'm just glad that you're still reading this. Thank you!

guest: aaaaaahhhh thank you so muchhh!

Mai: Mai on guest, hiii! XD Oh glob, that's what you thought of the flashback. Glob, really... Gah, this is making me tear up. That is one beautiful thing, Mai. Thank you for saying that in your review. I hope pips would read it. And haaaahaha, this is making me smile right now aaaaahhh Now that you mention it, yeah. But srsly, I haven't watched Chimera Ants Arc since Komugi woke up. I need time. /cries/ Yayayay! Thank you so much! Oh and the date, haha, next chapter. ^^;;

I'd like to thank everyone who sent in their reviews for the previous chapter. I love you. I love your feedback. I love every word. They are beautiful and full of love and feels and I just do. I love hearing you talk, in whatever voice, in whatever way, in whatever you think of this story. I hope this continues until the end. All criticisms are still welcome and I swear I take notes so please point out what you think is amiss as well. Your reviews are energy pills. Please don't ever stop dropping in one. Thank you so muchhh!

NEXT CHAPTER: It's definitely a date.

PIPS, I shall be waiting for your lovely feedback. Please do take care. The weather's specially bad in this country and there are tons of awful stuff happening in other parts of the world so I do hope that you'll be okay. Okay? Okay. /breakdances away/