A/N: This was as far as I'd gotten when I started posting this fic up, though I have since finished chapter four, and have started the fifth chapter. It'll probably only be a four days to a week until I post up the next chapter, and I hope to be part way through chapter six by then. Here's hoping!

gracie320: Holy carp, a reader! And I thought I wrote these A/N's just for myself Well, I hope you're enjoying the story so far!


Chapter Three - Shopping

I stand there transfixed, the sight of Ohno's face wrought with sorrow as she looks at the camera and then at me stuck in my head. I briefly look at the camera and see the image of me kissing her on the screen, and her words come back to me. She thinks I kissed her because I was recording it, that I'd planned it all out!

Stooping quickly, I grab the camera and run from the room. I need to catch up with her, I need to tell her... what exactly? Fuck it, I'll think of that when I find her. The thought of the other cameras still sitting on the table back in the clubroom almost makes me stop, but I quickly erase that from my mind. I just HAVE to find Ohno first, I NEED to.

As I pass by the women's toilets, I hear the sound of crying so I slam on the brakes, praying that it's her inside. I slip in quietly and move towards the end stall from where I can hear piteous weeping coming from. Gently I knock on the door. "Ohno, is that you?"

"Go away!" she shouts back. Well, at least I know it's her.

"I'm not going anywhere until you let me explain."

"Just leave me alone! I don't even want to see your face!"

An idea hits me and I slip into the next stall and step up onto the toilet seat. Offering a silent praise to the west for creating these much more modest commodes, I pull myself over the partition wall, startling Ohno. As I drop into the cramped space, she starts crying even harder and I struggle to resist the urge to just wrap my arms around her and hold her close. I drop down onto my knees before her, wincing at the thought of just what I might be kneeling in, but ignoring it nonetheless. I raise my free hand to her face, the other still holding the camera, cupping her cheek.

She slaps the hand away, indignation flashing in her eyes, but it quickly fizzles away when she looks at me. I guess I look as bad as I feel.

"Please Ohno, I know you've got no reason to believe what I say, but it's really not what you think. I didn't set you up, I didn't even realise the cameras were there until later," I whisper.

Uncertainty crosses her face as she starts to doubt herself. Quickly, I push the camera into her hand. "Watch it from the beginning, you'll see I didn't put them there."

She flinches briefly, before looking down at the camera. She inhales sharply as she sees the President on the screen, and the blood drains from her face. "You really didn't..."

I mutely shake my head in response.

She pauses for a moment as another thought crosses her mind. "But then... how did you know the cameras were there?"

I look away for a moment before speaking. "Do you remember when I properly joined the Genshiken? That weird conversation me and the President were having?" Ohno nods in response. "Well, he kinda, uh... suggested that he may have some incriminating footage of me and Kousaka doing some things in the clubroom, and basically blackmailed me into joining."

"...Then why did you..." she trails off, blushing furiously, and suddenly I realise what she means, and I blush as well.

"I... wasn't thinking. I just... I don't know. I have no idea why I did it, I just did." My voice sounds pathetically small and it disgusts me. I am not some meek little creature, so why am I acting like one? I rise up to my feet, my knees aching a little bit from the hard tile floor. "I need to get back to the clubroom fast," I say as I turn to unlock the stall.

"Wha... why?"

"I left the other cameras on the table, and I need to get rid of them before anyone else finds them."

"Oh god..."

Opening the stall door, I start to leave but Ohno calls out to me. "Uh, what do I do with this?" she asks as she gestures at the camera.

"Keep it," I say, giving a grin for what feels like the first time in ages. "It serves the bastard right to lose the damn things. Teach him to spy on us!"

She gives me a little smile, and I feel a large weight lifted from my chest. She's gonna be alright I think, so long as I get the rest of those cameras first.


I thank my lucky stars once more as it seems like nobody has been to the clubroom since I left. Grabbing the three remaining cameras, I stick them in my bag, grinning to myself. Screw the bastard, if he asks where they are, I'll just deny all knowledge of the damn things, and if he tries to stir up trouble, I've got evidence of his misdemeanour right here. He's not the only one who can do a little blackmail!

Feeling pretty good about myself, I take my bag with me as I leave the room, making my way back to the toilets. I don't see Ohno on the way, so I assume she's still in there. I poke my head in and I can hear her crying again. Quickly I move to the end stall, finding it unlocked this time. She looks up at me as the door opens, her eyes red and puffy as tears streak down her face.

"What is it? What's wrong?" I ask.

She drops the camera into her lap as she throws her arms around me, sobbing into my shoulder. Gently I take the camera and hold it so I can see what's showing and I realise what set her off this time; she just saw herself undressing in the clubroom.

"Have you... uh, done that a lot?"

"Uh-huh," she mumbles, and I tighten my grip on her. God, I am so going to kill the bastard.

I must have said that last bit aloud because Ohno pulled away from me and looked me in the eye, saying, "Don't. It won't make anything better."

I'm seething inside, but there's no point arguing about this since I know she's right really. I get back to my feet, pulling her up with me. "Come on," I say as I take her hand in mine, "I know what always cheers me up."

"What's that?" she asks, wiping her tears away with her free hand as she gives me a brave little smile.

I resist the urge to hug her again and reply with a grin. "Shopping!"

"Noooooooooooooooooooo!" she wails as I grin evilly, dragging my victim away.


A few hours later, we collapse into seats at our favourite bakery, laden with clothes and various things we don't need. I surprised her when I suggested we also go to a bookshop or something so she could get some manga or whatever crap she wanted, but I guess I owed her that for forcing her along with me. It certainly brought a smile to her face though, something I was glad to see after the day we've had. Just as long as she doesn't try to make me cosplay again!

We sit there for a few moments, an awkward silence gathering around us. My mind drifts back to earlier today, when I told her that I was going to break up with Kousaka, when I said we'd talk about it here.

"So, uhm..." Ohno mumbles.

I suck in a big breath before expelling it again. "I guess we need to get this out in the open, don't we?"

She looks down at her hands in her lap, before nodding mutely.

"I don't know why I did it, I really don't," I say. "I mean, you're attractive and all, but you're a girl! I honestly have no idea why I..." I choke on the words, unwilling to say them out loud.

"...kissed me," Ohno concludes for me, still averting her face from mine.

"Yeah, that." The image on the camera of me kissing her flashes across my mind and I shudder a bit, remembering just how her lips felt, pressed against mine. "I... just... I'm so sorry I did that to you. I swear to you, I won't ever do that to you again."

Her head snaps up and I'm surprised at the look in her eyes. Is she... sad to hear me say that? She looks away again and I'm unsure. A few moments pass before she looks up at me, opening her mouth to say something, but her mobile picks just that moment to ring. Fucking thing.

As she looks at the screen, her face goes taut before she hits the answer button and brings the phone to her ear.

"Hi Tanaka." Those two words hit me like tombstones and I feel like a complete and utter bitch. Of course she wasn't disappointed by what I said, she's got a boyfriend who she loves. What the hell was I thinking? And then I realise that at least a little bit of me wanted her to be disappointed by it. Shaking my head, I find I'm gripping the edge of the table so hard my knuckles are turning white so I release it, putting my hands in my lap like Ohno had just a few minutes ago. She hasn't noticed, still talking to Tanaka on the phone.

"No, I'm with Saki-san at that French bakery place. Yeah, 'Profiterole', that's the one." She looks up at me quickly, a bewildered expression on her face, quickly changing into one of shock. "You're coming right now? Well I, uh... sure. Alright, see you in a few!" Flipping the phone closed, she set it down on the table, staring at it for a few moments.

"I should go. I... don't think I should be here when Tanaka arrives," I say coolly as I rise to me feet. "Besides, I don't want to get in-between the two of you. I know you've got a lot to talk to him about today."

"What? Oh... oh god, what am I supposed to tell him?" Panic suffuses her features, and my hand moves on its own, rising to brush against her cheek. As it touches her, she freezes for a moment and I snatch my hand back.

"Sorry, wasn't thinking. Uhm... tell him however much you need to, don't worry about me. I can deal with whatever happens by myself, I'll be fine."

"Right... you're right of course."

"Look, Tanaka'll be here in a moment, so I'm gonna head off. I'll... see you tomorrow, alright? We can talk about it some more then."

Grabbing my bags, I stride out of the shop quickly before the urge to turn back and look at her again takes over.