Konnichiwa minna! How's everybody? I'm giving my all this time since my class is just starting! And happily and hopefully I'll graduate! Wahoo! I'm so happy! Hope I'll manage to graduate! :D Anyways..
Author's Note: I do not own Lovely Complex. Nakahara-sensei owns it.
CHAPTER 11: DEAL
Risa's Point of View
Just when we part our ways and this exhausting day will finally be over, Otani suddenly pulled me away from our parents, running towards an isolated place. We were panting until I managed to speak. "What was that?"
Otani, still trying to regain his composure just answered, "We need to talk." He drew in a lungful of air and straightened up, facing me, "..about our problem."
"Yeah. You are right." I returned him a serious expression. "But it is not necessary to pull me infront of our parents! They might misinterpret it!" I scolded him, remembering my dad's comment as we are running away, "A runaway couple! Our children are getting closer!" I felt weird as he said that. But I must shake it off.
"There is no perfect time to talk about it. It will be suspicious if we talk at school."
He might be right. But I realized, "We can send message right?" I fished out my mobile and literally put it in front of his face. He waved off my hand.
"Oh."
"What an intelligent answer." I replied.
"We can't do anything that already happened. What is important is now."
"Okay. Okay. What we will talk about?"
"About our *cough* en-engagement.." He said awkwardly.
"Gyaah! Don't use that E-word! It's creepy!" I hugged myself as wave of creepiness passing through me.
"Urgh. Don't make it difficult, Koizumi. It's embarrassing enough!"
"Okay! Okay!"
He coughed again, "Okay. First, let us plan about it. Can we escape this problem? Are there other options?" He asked non-stop as we both sitting on a bench.
"Hmm. My parents said we are just arranged. And Okaa-san said that we will not be.. uhm.. tied in the future. Just, you know, the E-word. Arranged. But not final. You know what I mean.." I said, exhausted from the thoughts of Arrangement. Engagement. Marriage. Otani.
"Yeah. That's what also I understand about this. It was like they'll try to get us closer and eventually.." he trailed off and looked at me and shook his head. Huh? Weird.
"So if that's a problem, then we just tell them that it is impossible for us.. And cancel it.." I beamed at my realization. Safe!
"I doubt it. What if they have other childhood friends whom they agreed to engage their children with? What if there are still a line of friends' children waiting for us? Judging my parents, it is not impossible. My parents are out-going persons. No doubt they made promise with anyone." He frowned upon saying it.
Hmm.. my parents? I sometimes hear them talking happily about childhood friends and their children. I don't know the details, because I was not that interested. What if.. gyah! they're talking about me pairing with their children? Oh no!
"So Otani. You're saying if we are not successful, they might find another to pair us?"
"That's a possibility."
Gyah!
"I don't want to! This is stressful enough! I don't want another!" I firmly held my head like a crazy woman.
"I know. I know. That's why we should plan this out."
And we started to brainstorm ideas.
"What if…"
. . . . . . . . .
"Not a good reason." Otani rejected my nth suggestion. Everytime we had suggestions, we always counter it. And still we cannot come up with brilliant idea.
How will we come up a way to escape this problem? Maybe we should give up. And gradually..
I mentally slap myself.
I looked at Otani, who seems searching the sky for answers while folding his arms. Just looking at him, I remembered the earlier events. I met his family. They are really small. His father, his mother and –
"Otani!"
"Hmm?"
"Your sister! Why your sister is not engaged with Takato?" I asked.
"Huh?" he paused a bit, recollecting. "I guess since she has boyfriend and I am single.."
And then it came back to me.
Back when we talk about the engagement.
"You have the same age of his son. His daughter is too old for Takato, and she has boyfriend."
A light bulb!
"Otannnii! I think of a better plan!" I said as I shaking his shoulders back and forth.
"Stop that Koizumi! That hurts!"
"Oops. Sorry." I released him, but still smiling.
"So, what's your 'brilliant' plan?" He asked while gesturing a 'quote-and-quote' on word brilliant.
"Let's find our lovers!"
"Whadya say? You know we are in serious situation right?" He said, giving me a are-you-kidding look.
"Hear me out, Otani. Just like your sister. You said, she has boyfriend. My parents said that too. Meaning, because she has boyfriend, they chose you! In short.."
"We should be in a relationship!" Otani supplied.
I nodded.
"It will be like this. Since they let us uhm..get us closer.. so we have ample time to find girlfriend slash boyfriend. We just play along. We act that we are still on the process of knowing-each-other so they'll let us do our thing. And then when time comes BAM! We will introduce my boyfriend and your girlfriend on our families. And surely they'll cancel the E-word." I said, too confident on my plan.
Otani was silenced. He was thinking for loopholes of my plan.
"I hate to admit this, but that was a brilliant idea."
"I know right." I placed an arm at the back of my head, proud of my brains. Bwehehe..
"At least, that amazon brain of yours is working."
"You!" I almost punched him.
"So DEAL?" he offered his hand to me.
I stopped. "Deal." And we shook hands.
"But I'm the first to get a girlfriend."
"Too confident, midget?" I said in mocking voice.
"I have amazing abilities you know." He grinned. Something is swirling in my stomach as I see him do that. Maybe the food at restaurant is bad.
"Let's see if you get a boyfriend in that attitude of yours."
"Hmm. Many people like this attitude of mine."
"Maybe that's true. Your funny."
Me? Funny? Is that a compliment?
"Come on. It's getting cold."
And we walked straight on our homes.
Thank you for reading minna!
I would like to extend my gratitude to MysteriousMulticoloredHair for the comment!
Thank you everybody for liking my stories! I really, really appreciate it.
:D
I have another multi-short-story entitled, "Coincide". Hope you give it a visit :D
Kiotsukete minna!
See you soon!
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by
green-ninja05
June 2014
