Chapter 12

When Haruki reached home, she couldn't stop smiling. Her sister, Fuyuka, noticed it and she couldn't help but to tease her about it.

"Wow… you sure are happy today, big sis. Came back home late, checked. Smiling so bright that your face could split in two, checked. Let me guess. Your date with your 'not your girlfriend' went very well?" Fuyuka asked.

"What? Haruki, you have a girlfriend now?" her mom asked from the bed in her room. "Oh, you've got to tell me all about her!"

"Oh mom… she wasn't my girlfriend," Haruki said as she entered her mom's room and put a Pocky stick into her mouth.

"Wasn't?" Fuyuka gasped as she ran into the room too. "Does that mean that she's become your girlfriend now?"

"My lips are sealed, Fuyuka," Haruki replied, but her expression said otherwise.

"Ooohh that means yes!" Fuyuka squealed in delight. "Tell us more!"

"Na-ah."

"At least tell us her name," their mom said.

"Alright, only 'cause mom asked," Haruki said. "Her name's Inukai Isuke."

"Ahhh… finally there's a name for this mysterious 'not girlfriend' of yours," Fuyuka teased. "But why is her name a guy's name?"

"I've never really asked her about that."

Suddenly, one of their younger brothers came running into the room and asked, "Ha-chan got a girlfriend, is it? Is she pretty? Is she pretty?"

"Yes, she's very pretty and that's all I'm gonna say. Ok, good night, everyone! I'm gonna go sleep," Haruki laughed and left the room.


Once she got out of the shower and changed into her pajamas, she went back to the living room and switched on the light. All her siblings were already asleep and now she had some private time to herself. She walked towards the computer and turned it on. Once the computer was done loading, she connected to the internet and logged into her Instagram account. Isuke had told her to check her Instagram before her chauffeur had dropped the redhead home earlier.

Haruki had not checked her Instagram account in a very long time so she had lots of friend requests that she had not responded. The first thing she did was accepting Isuke's friend request. Then, she saw all the photos that Isuke had taken with her being posted, with her being tagged in the photos. Isuke had even captioned the photos with 'Enjoying the view 3.' The photos had already gained hundreds of likes from their schoolmates.

"WOW! Are these two together?" The first message read. "I've never even seen them talking to each other at school."

Another message replied the below message: "They are together in the science group project, dumbass. Bound to happen considering how hot both of them are. Anyway, I'm swooning over their hotness!"

There were also tons of messages below the photos, most of them were messages expressing how shocked they were to find that both of them are dating. There were some that were gushing over how beautiful they looked together. Haruki scrolled and skimmed through the messages.

"Yeah, I'm enjoying the view too. The view of them together!"

"Wow, this is the first time Isuke-sama posted a photo of her gf in her Insta! Is she going serious with her now?"

"I don't know about you guys, but I think Isuke-sama is back in the game again! I mean, Haruki-san's delish!"

"Isuke-sama's sexiness and Haruki-san's hotness… OMG I think we have a new power couple in school!"

"Wait wait wait… since when did Isuke-sama date someone like Haruki-san? Has her standard drop? Does that mean I have a chance with her too once both of them break up? OMG Isuke-sama is my dream girl!"

"Isuke-sama can do better. Better yet, do me ;)"

"No, Haruki-san can do better!"

"Haruki-san just gave people like us a hope that one day, we can end up with someone like Isuke-sama. Such a stud."

"Huh… I thought they are enemies with each other cuz Haruki stood up to her?"

"How to get Isuke-sama to be your gf. Step 1: rescue her from getting punched by Azuma-san. Step 2: stand up against her and embarrassed her in front of everyone. Step 3: ask her out. Seems like an impossible feat that only Haruki-san could pull off." Haruki had to laugh at this comment, even though the chain of events leading up to them being a couple didn't happen like that.

"Who's this girl? I've never seen her before. The redhead, I mean. She's pretty."

"That's Sagae Haruki." The message replied. "You'd know her from the basketball court incident." Haruki cringed when she was reminded of that incident.

"Isn't Sagae poor? She is after your money, Isuke. Beware." Ok, this one is a bit rude.

"Poor Haruki. She'd get her heart broken by Isuke soon. But nvm, I'll be here to heal her broken heart ;)" Ok, this one is rude too.

"Hmm… I never pictured the two of them together but I can see the appeal. Poor girl gets rich girl. Rich girl fallen for poor girl. Makes for a very good manga story, doncha think?"

"Awww does that mean Haruki-san's taken already? I've been asking for her friend request for months but she never responded to me!" Ok, this message made Haruki feel guilty. Maybe she would check all her friend requests later and respond to them one by one, if she has the time.

Then, a few more messages were expressing their disappointment that Haruki's taken. For their sake, Haruki hoped that they would still be alive after end of school day tomorrow. She continued scrolling and came across a message that simply read "Congratulations". The handler was .

Shit.

She had, again, forgotten about her deal with Sumireko. Suddenly, her phone rang. It was the heiress calling her.

"Game well played, Sagae. Not only have you managed to get her to be your girlfriend, but you have also successfully convinced her to post a picture of both of you together in Instagram. She had never done that for all her previous girlfriends before. She'd fall for you in no time and soon you can execute the plan," the silky voice said at the other end of the line, straight and direct to the point, like always.

"Yeah, about that… I don't think…" Haruki began.

"Are you hesitating now? What about your debts?"

Haruki was immediately reminded of the loan sharks once Sumireko asked her that question. She had forgotten all about her problems after spending the most amazing time with Isuke.

"Sagae?" Sumireko asked when she didn't hear any response from the other line.

"Ok, now that she is my girlfriend, how about the cash that you promised to pay me to bring her to expensive dates? I want eight hundred thousand yen upfront," Haruki said. She had to get this amount of money first to settle her debts with the loan sharks. Then, maybe then, she could think about not wanting to go through with Sumireko's plan anymore.

"I'll pay you four hundred thousand yen first," Sumireko said.

"What? No. I want eight hundred thousand yen, otherwise it's no deal," Haruki bargained.

"It's either this, or I won't pay you at all. Which one is it, Sagae?"

Haruki knew that she is playing with dangerous water here. "Fine. Four hundred thousand yen first." She had roughly two more weeks to go before the loan sharks come knocking at her door.

"Good girl," Sumireko said and hung up the phone.

A few seconds after she got off the phone with Sumireko, her phone rang again. It was from Isuke this time.

"Hello," Haruki greeted, happy that it was Isuke who called.

"Isuke had been calling you for the past five minutes, but your line was busy."

Haruki smiled as she could practically hear the pout in Isuke's voice. "Oh, sorry. I was on the phone with someone. But I'm all yours now. Whassup?"

"Oh, nothing. I just missed you, that's all," Isuke said simply.

"Oh, um… we just met, Isuke-sama," Haruki said dumbly. "And we'll still see each other at school again tomorrow."

"Oh my God. You really are clueless when it comes to dating, huh?" Isuke asked, annoyed. "And yet, you can be such a flirt and a romantic."

"Ok, now I don't know if I should take that as a compliment or as an insult." Haruki joked.

"Insult," Isuke replied wittily. "When in doubt, always choose insult. Isuke doesn't give out compliments easily."

Haruki laughed. She had to admit that she is already missing Isuke and her snarks. "I'm already missing your spice, Isuke-sama," she said humorously.

Isuke sighed. "Idiot. I'll see you at school tomorrow."

After they hung up, Haruki sent a heart emoji and a funny 'I miss you' meme to Isuke. As she waited for Isuke to reply, she received another message on her phone.

"Four hundred thousand yen banked into your account. Please check." It read.

Haruki made a mental note to check her bank account later and quickly exited Sumireko's message window. Isuke had replied her and she would rather chat with Isuke about nothing than be reminded of her problems at hand.


"Haruki!" Haru shouted gleefully as she ran towards Haruki at school the following day. Tokaku followed Haru behind unhurriedly.

"Hi Haru. G'morning," Haruki said, a wide smile on her face.

"So… tell me about your date with Isuke-san," Haru said excitedly.

"There's nothing to talk about. I don't kiss and tell," Haruki said with a wink.

"Ah, you don't need to as I can see that both of you had a reeeeaaaally good time last night," Haru said as she wiggled her eyebrows and pointed to Haruki's neck. "Someone really wanted to show all your fangirls that you're already taken."

"Oh, this?" Haruki touched the left side of her neck and laughed. Last night, after Haruki gave Isuke a kiss on her cheek, Isuke had leaned in and given Haruki another kiss. However, the playgirl had gotten a bit carried away and gave Haruki a huge hicky on her neck.

"The whole school is talking about you guys now," Haru said as she looked at how students were shyly greeting Haruki as they walked past. "I mean, who wouldn't? Isuke had never posted any photos with her exes in Insta before. This is the first time she did that. It really means something."

"Or, it just means that she is a narcissist who has found a new way to get more attention. I mean, she'd been sliding down the social ladder for quite some time now," Tokaku remarked unapologetically. "No offense, Haruki."

"None taken," Haruki said, unoffended.

"Awww, Tokaku. People can change. Just have faith. Haruki will have a good influence on her."

Suddenly, Aimi sidled up to Haruki to discuss about their science project, ending their conversation. At the far end of the hall was Isuke leaning against the wall to wait for Haruki with Nio by her side.

"Nice necklace you got there, Isuke-san," Nio remarked slyly, not missing the necklace around Isuke's neck. "I bet it's even nicer than all the diamonds and gems you've ever received from your many pursuers before."

"Shut it, Nio," Isuke said with a roll of her eyes.

"So, now that you got the girl of your dreams, you will stop being such a bitch to me, yeah?" Nio asked, a Cheshire grin forming on her face.

"I am a bitch, regardless of what happened. Nothing and no one can change me, if you don't know that by now," Isuke told Nio with a confident smirk, but when she saw Haruki approaching with Haru and Tokaku, her smirk was gone, replaced with a soft smile on her lips.

"Yeah, no one can change you, alright," Nio muttered amusingly under her breath as she witnessed Isuke's change of expression upon seeing Haruki.

Isuke was about to walk towards Haruki, but Aimi had beaten her to it.

"This girl just won't give up, will she?" Isuke thought, irritation prickling at her skin. Time to show her who this amateur is messing with.

With a sense of purpose, Isuke strode towards Haruki's direction and like a smooth panther, she slunk up next to Haruki and wrapped her arm around Haruki's waist. As Haruki turned her head to greet her, she was silenced by a passionate kiss from Isuke. Haruki didn't need to be told what to do as she returned the kiss eagerly.

"Well, hello to you too, Isuke-sama," Haruki said breathlessly when they parted. At that moment, all she sees is Isuke right in front of her. All the other students faded into the background. When sounds of clapping begun, she was brought back to her senses. She looked around her and saw that Aimi's jaw had literally dropped. Haru looked embarrassed but was grinning from ear to ear. Tokaku rolled her eyes, but there was a hint of blush on her cheeks as she felt second hand embarrassment for their public display of affection. Behind them, Nio snickered.

When one of the students suddenly shouted something like "you two make a hot couple!" and was immediately followed by other students shouting their agreement, Haruki started to feel self conscious. She wasn't used to this kind of attention. As if sensing Haruki's uneasiness, Isuke slipped her hand into Haruki's and whispered surreptitiously into her ear, "Why don't we skip the first period? Just for today?"

Haruki was no stranger to skipping classes due to her lateness to school or family problem, but she had never done it just for fun. She was about to protest, but one look at Isuke pouting so adorably at her had her melted. "Alright, just for today," she said and let Isuke dragged her away. Their friends didn't need to be told to know that they won't be going to class anytime soon.

"Use protection, kids," Nio snarked as both of them walked past her. Isuke just gave her a middle finger.

"Are these two seriously skipping class to go make out?" Tokaku asked.

"It's so romantic," Haru said dreamily. "I wish we got to do that once in a while."

"I-we could do that," Tokaku said as she blushed in embarrassment, and Haru squealed in glee. "But not today."


Once they reached their destination, Isuke wasted no time to pull Haruki down on top of her as she lied down on the couch.

"Hi," Isuke said flirtatiously.

"Hi back," Haruki whispered with an impish grin on her face. She leaned down and gave Isuke an Eskimo kiss, before kissing her on the lips. As their kiss deepened, Haruki sneaked her tongue out and teased Isuke by licking her lower lip, eliciting a sigh from the pinkette. When she felt Isuke opened her mouth in a sigh, she took this opportunity and slipped her tongue in. Isuke let Haruki take the lead as she relaxed into the kiss, their tongues gliding slowly against each other's.

Then, Haruki slowly trailed her lips down to Isuke's jawline and the crook of her neck, planting soft kisses there. Before long, Isuke was sighing and moaning to Haruki's lips and tongue on her neck. She was really enjoying this and was about to compliment how skilful Haruki is with her mouth for someone so inexperienced, when she felt Haruki sucking on her neck.

She immediately pushed her away and sat up. "Haruki, did you just give me a lovebite?"

"Just getting back at ya for what you did to me last night," Haruki smirked, pointing to her own hicky on her neck. "Now everyone will know you're mine too."

"You don't have the need to do that, moron!"

"And you do?" Haruki asked humourously.

"You're a clueless idiot, aren't you? Do you think it's a coincidence that I've rejected all my pursuers ever since I've…" Isuke trailed off, suddenly realizing what she was about to confess. No, she couldn't let Haruki know the real reason why she had stopped playing the field ever since they started hanging out together every day. She flipped her hair and took a small mirror out of her bag, before checking out the hicky that Haruki had just given her. "You, however, still have lots of fangirls, especially that Aimi. So Isuke is only doing what's right."

"You mean to say that I'm the reason why you stopped dating?" Haruki asked, surprised, seemingly to have caught onto what Isuke was implying. This is new information for her. She had always thought it was because Isuke was playing hard to get, as per the rumours that she heard.

Damn it. Haruki wasn't as clueless as Isuke had hoped she would be. Isuke scoffed. "I never knew you have such a wild imagination up in that pretty little head of yours, but think whatever you want, Haruki," she said evasively while still checking the bruise that was starting to form on her neck. "Damn it, how am I supposed to cover this bruise now? I can't wear my scarf higher. I should give you another one."

Haruki wasn't really paying any attention to what Isuke was saying as she still couldn't believe that she was the reason why Isuke had stopped dating. But how did Sumireko come into the picture. Why did the two of them suddenly start dating? It was very out of the blue. Then, she mentally slap herself for thinking about Sumireko at this time. Thinking about her will only remind her of her problems and her scheming plan to hurt Isuke. She didn't want to think about that, because she planned to tell Sumireko that she is not going through with her plan once she got the full eight hundred thousand yen to pay the loan sharks. She didn't care about the two million yen anymore.

"Hey, did you hear what I just said?" Isuke asked, slapping Haruki's arm. "I just asked you a question."

"Y-yeah, you said you wanna give me another hicky, right?" Haruki said.

"No," Isuke huffed impatiently. "How could you get distracted when you're with Isuke?"

"Sorry, I was just suddenly spacing out, that's all," Haruki said.

Isuke shifted closer to Haruki until she was practically sitting on her laps, and traced a finger on Haruki's face down to her lips, sending shivers down the redhead's spine. That definitely got Haruki's attention. "Ohhh you poor thing," Isuke cooed. "Let Isuke bring you back to reality. With her."

Haruki smiled lazily as she brought her hand up to tuck a strand of Isuke's pink hair behind the ear. Her eyes lingered past Isuke's lips and down her neck, before landing on the pendant of the necklace that she bought for her last night. Her heart filled with joy, seeing that Isuke had not taken the necklace off.

"Hey, are my eyes down there?" Isuke asked, her silky voice tingling with amusement.

"I was just looking at your necklace, I swear!" Haruki said nervously, as her head quickly snapped up to look at Isuke again.

"You're such a virgin!" Isuke laughed, while wrapping both her hands around Haruki's neck. "Now, where were we?" Isuke asked as she leaned down nearer to Haruki, bringing her lips tantalizingly closer to her. Upon feeling Isuke's breaths on her lips, Haruki licked her lips, suddenly missing the taste of Isuke, and leaned in for another kiss, but was stopped by Isuke's finger on her lips. "Ah ah ah. You gotta answer my question first."

"Oh Isuke-sama. You're such a tease," Haruki complained. "What was your question?"

Isuke sighed. Looks like she had to repeat the embarrassing question. "If you're not doing anything this Friday night, do you wanna go do something together?" Isuke asked a bit shyly.

That earned a big smile on Haruki's face. "You mean, like on a date?"

"Call it whatever you want," Isuke said with a shrug of her shoulder.

"I'd love to go out on a date with you, Isuke-sama," Haruki said earnestly, before pulling Isuke in for a kiss. "I've thought of bringing you to this new restaurant," Haruki said once they parted. "It has all your favourite food."

"If it's the new restaurant that Aimi wanted to go with you, then I'll pass," the pink-haired girl said as she lifted her head up conceitedly. "I'm not someone's quote rebound unquote."

Haruki snorted loudly. "If someone had told me that you could be such a jealous type, I wouldn't have believed it. Besides, I never intended to go to that new restaurant with Aimi. I just told her about that new restaurant because it has all your favourite food. And I was actually… planning to go with you... one day… if you want to… that is," Haruki finished with a blush as she looked away.

Upon seeing Haruki blushing, Isuke bit her lower lip and smiled. It was really a rare sight, and she couldn't help but to tease her a little bit longer. "Awww… you have already made plans a long time ago to bring me to this restaurant even before we're together? You're bold, I'll give you that."

Haruki blushed harder, but when she realized that Isuke is enjoying herself being the teaser for once, she immediately stopped blushing and a confident smirk started to form on her face as she asked, "So, that a yes, then?"

"That's a 'Isuke will think about it and let you know tonight'," Isuke replied playfully as she twirled Haruki's hair with her finger.

"Awww… why you gotta tease me like that?" Haruki asked, faking a hurt expression on her face.

"Because you deserve it for spacing out earlier," Isuke said, and moved down from Haruki's laps to sit on the couch.

Haruki let out a hearty laugh and took the box of Pocky out from her bag. She offered a stick of the snack to Isuke just for fun, and to her surprise, Isuke didn't reject it. Instead, the pink-haired girl opened her mouth and quirked an eyebrow, as if challenging Haruki. Momentarily dumbfounded, Haruki quickly regained her composure and put her end of the Pocky stick into her own mouth, before lowering the other end of the stick into Isuke's mouth. Not one to back down from a challenge, Isuke closed her lips around the Pocky stick seductively and took a bite.

Needless to say, they skipped more than the first period that day.


So, who here is ready for their first official date?

Sorry for all the overly sweet fluff. (They need it).

Anyway, for those of you who are looking for a place to talk about Akuma no Riddle and all the ships, feel free to join the CPR Akuma no Riddle discord server! Just type "CPR Akuma no Riddle discord" into Google and you will find it easily! I can't post the link here cos don't allow me to. :(

This server doesn't belong to me. I was just helping the owner to promote it :D