The Idol and the Prince
Part II
07/25
Rise hummed as she skipped to school. She just couldn't wait to see Naoto-kun again. The last time she saw the Detective Prince was before the weekend and she wasn't going to stop until she pestered Naoto into being her friend. After all, who could resist the charms of an ex-idol? If Naoto-kun was like any other adolescent boy in their school, Rise would have him wrapped around her finger in no time.
"Ara, Rise-chan!"
Rise stopped as she spotted Yukiko and Chie coming down the road.
"Good morning, sempai!" Rise smiled widely, her good mood was all too contagious.
"How can you be so cheerful?? Exams were just this week…" Chie groaned, her head hanging as she dragged her feet across the asphalt.
"Chie sempai seems pretty down about the exams…did something happen?" Rise asked innocently, her curiosity getting the best of her.
"Well, on the day before the last exam…I had Chie over so I could help her study, but we kinda got sidetracked and Chie ended up spending the night." Yukiko turned her head to the side, a faint blush coloring her cheeks. She pressed her lips together tightly, resisting the urge to crack a wide smile. "Chie was screaming my name so loudly…" Yukiko sighed dreamily.
"Yukiko!" Chie sprang up from her depression, her face was beet red. "How many times do I have to tell you not to say it like that?! It sounds so dirty….." Chie cried, clutching at Yukiko's sweater.
Rise giggled, amusement lighting her honey gold eyes. "You don't have to worry, sempai! Your secret's safe with me!" The redhead winked, putting a finger to her dainty lips.
"Ah, mou! Rise-chan, don't tell me you actually believe what Yukiko's insinuating?!" Chie towered over Rise, her face aflame, her short brown hair dishevelled beyond belief. "Video games! We were playing video games all night. It was that new Grand Theft Auto game and Yukiko was really bad at it, so I was yelling at her!"
Chie's eyes were wide with fear, her breathing heavy as she tried to convince Rise that she and Yukiko were only just friends.
"You know, Chie sempai? I wouldn't really have believed Yukiko sempai if you hadn't made such a big deal out of it." Rise giggled sheepishly. Now, she really wondered what kind of relationship those two had.
Chie suddenly became very quiet, her face stoic, uncharacteristic of the happy-go-lucky Satonaka Chie. "Oh…well really, w-we didn't do anything, you know?" The brunette pouted. Her cheeks were still warm with embarrassment.
Then, there was silence as the three girls stood there in the middle of the road. Silent Chie, confused Rise and…
All of a sudden, laughter erupted.
"Ha…hahahahaha! C-Chie…Y-you're so funny! Hahaha!" Yukiko was doubled over with laughter, laughing so hard that tears rolled down her cheeks. "Hahahaha! Chie!" Yukiko pointed at Chie, her other hand clutched her stomach. Her crazy laughter made heads turn their way.
It was another one of Amagi Yukiko's ridiculous laughing fits.
Chie sighed, wondering if Yukiko had really gone off her rocker this time. "C'mon, Yukiko…We'll be late for school if you keep this up." Wrapping an arm around the still laughing girl, Chie pulled her along, feeling a migraine coming.
"I envy you two...such close friends… I wish I had someone like that!" Rise giggled as she saw Chie's face go red again.
"I-It's a misunderstanding! I was only over there for so long because I was tired and too lazy to walk home! Yukiko had nothing to do with it!" Chie pouted, her eyes shone with desperation.
Rise laughed at Chie's antics. She always seemed to be so boyish, but she did have her cute moments too. As Chie continued to babble on and as Yukiko continued to laugh, they made their way to school.
Today really promised to be an entertaining day.
However, when Rise arrived at school, she was disappointed to find that Naoto was nowhere to be found. Class had already started and the blue haired detective was not in the seat next to hers. It just wasn't like Naoto's serious character to be late either. This deduction just made the redhead's spirits fall even further.
For the entire day, Rise was lacklustre, her smile missing its usual charm. She wouldn't admit it to anyone, but she really wanted to talk to Naoto. There were only a couple days until summer vacation and Rise doubted that she would run into Naoto then.
Laying her head on her desk, she glanced out the window, frowning as the rain clouds gathered ominously in the sky. The way they darkened her day was just so annoying. She just wanted to go home and sleep…
The bell rang, signalling the end of the day and Rise lethargically packed up her belongings, trudging across the room.
"Oii!"
Rise turned at the voice. It was Kanji, complete with his gangster mannerisms.
"Kanji-kun." She smiled. He always seemed to crack her up.
"Did you see the exam scores posted up? Souji-sempai was at the top of his grade!" Kanji seemed excited, his pearly whites bore a gigantic smile.
"Really? It certainly is expected of sempai though!" Rise beamed, happy to know that her beloved sempai was at the top of his class as always. She hadn't had the time to check the scores all day, since she was too busy sulking for no reason. It just wasn't everyday that a boy turned down the opportunity to be Risette's friend. She hoped to have the chance to convince him again today, but Naoto just had to be absent.
Soon after, Rise said her goodbyes to Kanji and made her way home.
However, after she pulled her shoes on, she froze, standing at the door in the school lobby. She watched as the torrent of water poured from the heavens, her mouth shaped in a perfectly round 'O'. It was raining. And she didn't bring an umbrella. Oh, the luck that she could have.
First, Naoto had to go and reject her last day, and not show up for class today. Then, the stupid clouds had to go and make the sky all dark, and her tofu today wasn't salty enough either! To top it all off, she'd have to go home in the rain, without an umbrella!
Rise felt like crying. These were the days when she missed having a limousine pick her up from school.
Standing behind the door, she stared out into the gloomy sky, the patter of water drumming on the roof. Taking a deep breath, she put her schoolbag over her head and took off running.
The water splashed all around her. Her face, her hair, her clothes were all soaked. Despite that, she kept running, her long legs already aching by now. After all, idols weren't meant for physical activity…
"Why did today have to be such a bad day? Naoto! It's all your fault!" Rise screamed into the heavens as she continued to run, the taste of rainwater filling her mouth.
Suddenly, she ran head first into something, or rather, somebody.
It was somebody slender and warm and soft...? Her skin was frozen from being soaked in the rain and she leaned into the warmth.
"K-Kujikawa-san…?"
Rise immediately sprung off, her heartbeat skyrocketed as that smooth voice entranced her ears. "Naoto-kun! I'm so glad to see you…" She glanced up. "To see that you have an umbrella!" She chuckled sheepishly, inching further away from Naoto.
Looking closely, Rise noticed the dark circles, the fatigue that seemed to emanate from the young man. Her eyes travelled downwards and she gasped as she saw the big water stain she left on Naoto's slimming blue dress shirt. Even his yellow tie was soaked.
"Do you usually assault strangers like that, Kujikawa-san?" Naoto's tone of voice dripped with annoyance, frustration shone in his blue eyes. Sleep deprivation really did make Naoto look scary, but like always, the boy held his mature charm.
"I'm…um sorry about your clothes." Rise smiled apologetically.
"It's fine. What's more important is that you're soaked from head to toe. You're going to catch your death of cold." Naoto looked annoyed again, but this time, his tone was different, it was softer. Was he…concerned?
Rise chuckled devilishly. "Could it be that Naoto-kun's worried about Rise?"
"A-Anyhow. Here, just take my umbrella." Naoto thrust the umbrella into Rise's hands, an indignant blush spreading across his cheeks. He avoided Rise's gaze, glaring at the dark skies.
The girl fumbled for a moment. "W-wait, Naoto-kun. Let's share the umbrella!" Rise slipped her arm around Naoto's as she pulled him down the street. "After all, I'd feel so bad if you got sick because of me."
Naoto tensed as he felt the idol press up against him, her body flush against his. It was too close for comfort. If she came any closer, she would know…
"F-fine…but please, could you let go of my arm? I can feel the water seeping through my sleeve." The young detective's eye twitched and Rise let go instantly.
"Sorry, Naoto-kun. I'm just so cold…and you're so warm! I just wanted to share some of your body heat." Rise giggled like a love struck schoolgirl, which Naoto was convinced that she was.
"Naoto-kun…" Rise put on her sweetest voice. It was soft and sultry.
"Yes, Kujikawa-san?" Naoto looked straight ahead, his eyes trained on the road, and not at the dishevelled beauty next to him.
"Won't you be my friend? I'm always so lonely at lunch times." Rise pouted, her eyes brimming with tears.
"Kujikawa-san, you can't expect me to believe that. You're an idol, the most popular girl in school. I'm sure you could be friends with whoever you wanted." His tone came out a bit harsh, bitter even. Naoto spared not even a glance at Rise as he continued to walk.
"You're so cold, Naoto-kun…" Rise cast her eyes downwards, biting her lip. She stayed silent for a while. Fortunately, that caught Naoto's attention.
"I-I didn't mean it like that. It's because you're so popular. It's hard to believe that you're lonely." Naoto fidgeted, hoping that Rise wouldn't start crying, because Naoto didn't know how to deal with crying girls.
"Hehe…Naoto-kun's popular too." Rise smiled, but her tone suddenly became serious. "But the kind of loneliness I'm talking about is the type you get when people don't know the real you. To everyone, I'm Risette, but no one knows the real Rise. All they want is the idol part of me and not the real me." The redhead was talking sincerely now, a tinge of sadness in her voice.
Naoto was dumbstruck for a moment and he could feel the emotion in Rise's voice. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to share his own feelings just this once.
"I…can understand how you feel. When you can't show people who you really are, because that's not what they want or what they expect..." Naoto trailed off, talking more to himself at this point. "It's hard to keep up a façade sometimes, but I really hate who I am inside..."
"Naoto-kun…"
The atmosphere grew heavy and they walked the rest of the way in silence.
As they reached the Marukyu Tofu Shop, Naoto stopped outside.
"Naoto-kun, are you sure you don't want to come in to take a bath while your clothes dry?" Rise asked, standing in the doorway. She laid off on the innuendo this time, honestly worried about Naoto's health.
"No, thank you. I'll be fine." Naoto smiled at this, seemingly genuine for once.
"How about a cup of tea, then?" Rise smiled widely. "It'll warm you up in no time."
"Kujikawa-san, you really are a nice person." With that, Naoto turned to leave.
"Ah, wait, Naoto-kun. Will you be at school tomorrow?" A sense of desperation filled Rise, but she kept it under wraps as she asked nonchalantly.
"Yes I will, Kujikawa-san." Naoto called back as he continued down the road. Rise stood, staring at the sight of his retreating back.
"I told you, it's Rise, not Kujikawa-san!" Rise yelled out to Naoto, but he kept walking. At this point, she wasn't sure if he was ignoring her or not.
Naoto turned, a smirk on his face as he slipped a hand in his pocket. "Right, I'm sorry. Then, I'll see you tomorrow…Rise-san."
Rise waved enthusiastically, a swell of happiness overcoming her. She slumped against the doorframe, a hand clutched to her chest as she felt the insane throbbing of her heart. What was this feeling? It was different that what she felt with sempai.
She wondered if this was what it felt like to fall in love.
A/N: Typed in a mad rush this time. Btw, the numbers at the top of the chapter signify the date. It relates to the game and I base the weather and some events on the calendar as well. This way, you can kinda anticipate what'll happen later on. It's not 100% according to the book, but its basis is there.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter too! Pleae review with encouragement/suggestions!
I appreciate your support!