"Misaki!" I hear Sakura call. She must've woken up. She slams open Takumi's door and stomps in. "Where did you run off to?!" she asks.
"Um, I went to Erika and Subaru's house for a while," I reply. She rolls her eyes.
"Geez, don't worry us like that ever again," she sighs. "Anyway, Charlotte's gone now," she smiles. I can't help but smile as well.
"Oh, Misaki, can I talk to you?" Sakura asks. I nod, and proceed to get out of bed, but Takumi grabs my wrist. Sakura glares at him. "Privately," she adds. Takumi sighs and hesitantly loosens his grip enough so I can slip my wrist out of his hand. I rush into my bedroom with Sakura.
"What's up?" I inquire.
"Have you told Takumi that you like him yet?" she asks. I blush.
"W-What?! How'd you-"
"Misaki, everyone knows. You make it really obvious," she cuts me off. "So, back to the question. Have you?"
"No," I admit. "I'm planning to... I just don't know when," I confess. She grins.
"Great! Misaki, in four days, there's a festival! You should go with Takumi and confess your feelings to him there!" she suggests. I think about it for a moment.
"That's a pretty good idea," I agree.
"Obviously, because I thought of it," she responds shamelessly. I roll my eyes.
"Real modest," I say sarcastically.
"Hey Erika," I greet. She gives me a wide grin.
"Hey Misaki! Sorry we let Takumi take you," she apologizes. I shake my head.
"No no, we sorted it out. Thank you," I dismiss. "Anyway, do you guys happen to have a dress that I could wear to that festival on Thursday?" I ask. Erika's eyes light up.
"Oh! You need a kimono for the Nebuta Matsuri?" she gasps. "I have a beautiful one! Wait here," she says. I watch her run off into her house, and about a minute later, she returns with a box in her hands.
"Here, I hope it fits," she grins. I give her a smile.
"Thank you- oh, you have one to wear too, right?" I ask. She shakes her head.
"Subaru and I weren't planning to go this year," she assures me, placing the box in my hands.
"Are you sur-"
"Misaki, I said it's okay. Enjoy yourself! Oh, and keep the kimono as a souvenir," she says.
"Okay," I give in, deciding not to argue anymore. "Thank you very much!" I bow.
"Nonsense, it's the least I could do for a friend," she laughs.
"I'm off," I say, saluting to her. She playfully salutes me back, and I begin to walk back home.
"Wow..." I gasp, pulling out the kimono Erika gave me.
"Wow indeed," Sakura agrees, running her finger along the silk fabric. "This must've cost a fortune!" she giggles. I nod.
It was dark red, with little orange and blue flowers embroidered all over the dress. Unlike most traditional kimonos, it ended around my lower-thigh and puffed out a bit at the bottom. It had a white bow on the back, and the sleeves were long and flowy. It was a very beautiful kimono.
"Misaki?" Takumi calls from the other side of the door. I quickly shove the kimono back into its box and hide it in the closet.
"Yeah?" I ask. He opens the door and walks in.
"I'm bored," he pouts. I roll my eyes.
"Then go find something to do," I say.
"But I want to spend time with you..." he insists. Sakura squeals.
"Well, Misaki, I think it's time for me to depart. See you back at home in a month and a half," she announces.
"Aww... Bye, Sakura!" I wave goodbye. She waves at me, and walks out of my room. Takumi and I sit in silence for a few moments, before I decide to break it.
"Um, Takumi," I say.
"Hmm?" he inquires. I take a deep breath in.
"Uh, there's this festival, and- um, it's next Thursday," I stammer. "And I was wondering if you w-wanted to go with me...?" I finish awkwardly. He smiles.
"Aww, is Misaki asking me on a date?" he teases. I punch him gently in the arm.
"Do you want me to take it back?" I threaten. He raises his hands up in surrender and chuckles.
"Of course I'll go with you," he grins. A small smile makes its way onto my face. I was going to confess my feelings to him in four days.
Monday
Takumi and I decide to stay home and watch a non-scary movie this time. He chooses a romance movie this time, and I was actually looking forward to it. Yeah, I enjoyed romance movies like most typical girls.
I sat there and watched the movie for a good half hour with Takumi, before a scene comes on where the main character leads his girlfriend into a broom closet and starts making out with her. The girl kept making these weird moaning noises that honestly scarred me for life.
My face lights up bright red as I cover my eyes with my hands. Sadly, the noises were still disturbing me.
"Takumi, cover my ears for me please," I ask. He chuckles, and instead just turns the movie off.
"You're so innocent," he teases.
"Well, we can't all be perverts like you," I joke. He laughs.
It appears we don't have much luck with movies, so instead we decided to go upstairs and play Chess.
Tuesday
Today, Takumi decided to give me cooking lessons. I just hope I don't burn the kitchen down...
"Okay, we're going to make chocolate chip cookies," he says. I frown and shake my head.
"Too complicated," I remark. He raises an eyebrow.
"They're really not," he tries to convince me. I laugh.
"You overestimate my cooking abilities," I say. "My mom banned me from turning on anything that cooked when I lived with her- including the toaster and microwave." I explain, smiling at the old memories. Speaking of, I should really go visit her after we return home.
"Okay, how about a grilled cheese sandwich?" he suggests.
"No," I reject once again.
"Well, what do you want to learn how to make then?" he asks. I think about it for a moment.
"Toast," I reply. He looks confused.
"Toast?" he asks.
"Toast." I repeat firmly. Why was that so unbelievable?
"Okay..." he says, clearing his throat. "First you grab a piece of bread, like so," he instructs, grabbing a slice of bread. I also grab a slice.
"Now what?" I ask.
"Guess," he says, amusement evident in his voice. I take up the challenge, and look around the kitchen. Eventually, I point at the toaster.
"Toaster has the word 'toast' in it," I explain. Takumi starts laughing really hard. I can see his eyes visibly start to tear up due to his laughter. I give him a look of confusion. What was so funny?
"Correct," he answers after his laughter dies down. "Next, place the toast into one of the slots," he explains, dropping his slice of bread into one of the toaster slots. I do the same, copying exactly what he did.
"Did I do it right?" I ask, making sure my bread was lined up perfectly in the slot. He chuckles.
"Yes yes," he replies. "Now, push this down," he instructs, guiding one of my fingers over to a black peg. I push down on it, and I see the inside of the toaster glow orange.
"Yay, all done," I grin, raising my hand in the air for a high five. He laughs at my childishness, but gives me a high five nonetheless.
We waited about a minute or two, then I heard a 'pop' sound.
"That sound means the toast is done," he tells me. I grin. I hope it turned out well!
Takumi takes the two slices of toast out, and I gape in horror.
"How the hell?! We cooked them exactly the same way!" I yell in disbelief.
"Maybe cooking's just not your thing?" he suggests.
My toast was a charcoal black color, while his was perfectly toasted with a crispy light brown layer.
"But-HOW?! They were from the same bread loaf, toasted in the same toaster, at the same time, at the same heat! YOU SABOTAGED MINE!" I accuse.
"Now now Misaki, don't be a poor sport," he says. I glare at him.
"How can I even be a poor sport about toast?!" I retort.
"Just calm down and leave the cooking to me," he chuckles. I stick my tongue out at him.
After that incident, I finally give up learning how to cook.
Wednesday
I was relaxing on a soft couch in the library- oh, our villa had a nice library with tons of books in it by the way- searching tips on how to confess your love to someone.
All would've been well if a certain perverted alien didn't walk into the library at that very moment.
Quickly, I turn my screen off and drop my phone onto the couch. I jump up and grab a random book off the bookshelf, and return to my spot on the couch. As expected, Takumi sits right beside me.
"What's up?" he asks.
"Just reading a book," I reply casually with a shrug, setting the book down. He raises an eyebrow.
"Uh, and why of all books did you decide to read this one?" he inquires, picking up the book and showing me the cover. I freeze. 'Sex Positions 101' was what the book was called. Why the hell did Director Hirayama even have that in this library?!
"I-I was not reading that, pervert!" I protest, smacking the book out of his hand and onto the floor.
"Oh really? But you just said-"
"FORGET WHAT I JUST SAID GODDAMMIT, I AM NOT A PERVERT LIKE YOU!" I interrupt him. He chuckles.
"So, you're hiding something from me," he states. It wasn't a question- he already knew something was up. I bite my lip. I can't spoil the surprise now when it was only a day away!
"No, I'm not hiding anything," I defend. He sighs.
"So you really are a perv-"
"I AM NOT! Shut up," I glare at him. He looked pretty damn amused by now.
"Did you want to try some of these?" he asks, picking up the book from the floor and flipping through the pages. I take the book from him and tear the thin book easily in half.
"NO! You are not allowed to touch me for a week!" I conclude.
"Oh? So I can touch you after the week is over?" he asks. I swear I just wanted to rub that stupid smirk off his face.
"D-Don't talk to me," I say, my face bright red by now. I throw the torn book into the garbage can. I'm sure Director Hirayama would be grateful that I destroyed such an impure book for him.
"What a waste," he remarks, trying to guess the password on my phone.
"He wouldn't have had any use for that disgusting thing anyway," I respond, snatching my phone out of his grasp. He sighs.
"You're so innocent, it's cute," he chuckles. I roll my eyes at him.
"Stop calling me cute..." I murmur.