A/N: Intense (Okay, maybe not that intense) happenings here folks… Juubei and Kazuki are in kinda a tight spot now, so… hang on with me coz this story's not ending anytime soon… Do leave a review! Oh, and very, very, VERY special and huge thank you to nina-linda234, my very wonderful Beta. She came up with the plot of half of my story beginning here and I'm just so pleased with it! Although I'm gonna have to alter your story a bit, okay? Thanks a lot again! Oh, and this is one week forward into the story…
The More You Hate, the More You Love
Damn. I still haven't told Kazuki about that stupid engagement! Good lords, take these problems away from me! Why can't we love each other in peace? Maybe the Bard was right… What was that line from that play? 'True love's course never runs smooth' or something? (1) Ugh, seriously… Our lives are becoming ala Romeo and Juliet… Juubei despairingly thought. I know I need to tell him sooner or later, but I just don't have the courage to do it! Just then, Kazuki came running to him.
"Hi, Juubei!" Kazuki greeted cheerfully. "You look like you've been thinking really hard. What's the matter?"
Damn, he's sharp. "Oh, ummm, nothing, I was just thinking about you."
"Moron, we live together. Anyway, what are you doing today after school? Are you going straight home or what?"
"Yeah, I guess I am. I don't have club today. Do you?"
"No. It seems like the president is sick or something… Let's go home together, okay?"
"Okay…" They both walked to their classrooms hand in hand.
"Okay, I think I have a plan." Emina's mom met Juubei's mom that afternoon in a classy coffee shop.
"Then tell me about it." Juubei's mom pressed on.
"Here's the deal. I'll let my daughter do it. We tell Emina to tell Kazuki about their engagement."
"That's not possible! In case you didn't notice, the dude loves my son. He won't believe her that easily."
"I know, but I haven't finished talking yet."
"Well, do go on."
"I'll tell Emina to buy a real diamond ring. An engagement ring."
"This sounds interesting…"
"She shows the ring to Kazuki as proof that she's engaged to Juubei…"
"And Kazuki breaks up with my son! An excellent idea, Miyuki. Do carry it out." She then looked at her watch. "Now, if you'll excuse me, it's time for me to go." They both stood up, paid for the bill, and went home.
Emina was about to go into her classroom when her cellphone rang.
"Mom? What is it?" Emina asked, surprised. "How come you're calling me at this time?"
"Oh, I just wanted to tell you our plan…" Emina's mom then stated everything that she had said to Juubei's mom. Emina laughed evilly.
"Excellent, mom! I'll carry it out right away." She then went inside the classroom while counting the money in her purse.
Let's see… one, two, three… I have two thousand dollars in my purse. I wonder if it's enough to buy a diamond ring? Hmmm…
Emina was about to go up to Juubei when he heard his conversation with Kazuki. She hid behind a tall stone wall and listened in.
"Hey, Kazuki, I was thinking of going to the ring shop today."
Kazuki blinked at him in confusion. "Eh? Why?"
"I want to buy us a set of engagement rings." Juubei said coolly with a smile on his face.
Kazuki's eyes sparkled. "Really? I mean, isn't this a little too early in life to decide? I mean, we are in high school…"
"No. I've long ago decided that it is you who I wanna spend the rest of my life with…"
Aha! The perfect opportunity for me! Emina thought evilly. I'll let someone follow them, then I'm gonna buy the exact same ring that Kazuki wants! Oh, I am sooo smart… The problem is, how do I hide Juubei's credit card so that he can't buy it yet? I know! I'll just go steal his credit card from his bag, then! Emina then ran to their classroom to steal the credit card.
"Oh, how sweet of you. Of course I'd gladly go with you today!" Juubei and Kazuki then ran to the classroom to get their bags just as Emina hid behind a cabinet and sped away to the direction of the shop.
Once they got there, Kazuki happily browsed through the shelves. One particular ring caught his eye. It was a simple, silver ring with an elegant sapphire stone embedded on it.
"Ummm, mister, may I see that ring, please?" Kazuki pointed to the ring he wanted.
"Oh? Are you buying an engagement ring? But isn't it supposed to be the guy who buys the engagement ring for you…?" The dumbfounded salesman asked. Kazuki laughed heartily.
"I'm a guy, mister, no matter how effeminate I may look."
"Oh! I'm sorry… Who's the lucky girl?"
"Actually, I am." Kazuki answered ambiguously.
The confused man just shut his mouth and handed him the ring without another question. Juubei then went to him. The man went wide eyed and they both knew that his confusion was answered. They both smiled.
"Is this what you want, Kazuki?" Juubei looked at the ring.
"Yes, but you have to wear it for the rest of your life too, so if you don't like it you can just tell me."
"No, it's beautiful. It matches your beauty." Juubei said teasingly.
Kazuki blushed. "Moron, shut up."
Juubei laughed and reached into his satchel to pay for the ring, but disaster struck. "I forgot my credit card at home. But I thought I brought it…"
Kazuki reached into his pocket. "Oh, I have mine…"
"No! I wanna pay for this. Please, Kazuki? Let's go back to our house and get my wallet."
"Hmmm, if you insist…" The minute they went out of the shop, the salesman called Emina.
"Madam, I know which ring he wanted. It's a plain silver ring with an embedded sapphire."
"Okay, I'll come right away to purchase it. Thank you for your collaboration. You will be rewarded greatly." Emina then hung up and ran to the shop. She immediately purchased the ring and gave the man a generous tip.
Meanwhile, at Kazuki's room, Juubei was panicking as he is looking for his credit card. "It's not here!!"
Kazuki calmed him down. "It's okay, Juubei. We can just buy it tomorrow."
"Okay, but I still have to call the bank. I think it got stolen or something…"
"Be my guest." Juubei then ran downstairs and used the phone. Kazuki laughed.
He must be forgetting that there is a phone in my room…
The next day, Emina approached Juubei sweetly. "Hi Juubei. Can I talk to you alone?" She emphasized the alone, which Kazuki immediately caught and so he went away.
"So… what did you wanna talk about?" Juubei asked with a hint of rudeness in his voice while snatching his arm away from Emina's grasp.
"Oh, come now, Juubei. We're engaged. It wouldn't hurt you to be a little nicer to me, hmmm? Anyway, why don't we go have tea?" She then led an unwilling Juubei to the café they always went to and ordered tea, but unbeknownst to Juubei, Emina had talked to the server and asked him to put a sleeping pill in it. As Juubei sipped, he dropped the cup and fell asleep. Emina then paid the server and slid the ring on Juubei's finger. She then shook him awake.
"Huh? What happened?" Juubei asked drowsily, not even noticing the ring on his finger.
"I don't know. You fell asleep for some reason and I had been trying to wake you up for five minutes now." That ring is impossible to remove, even if he does notice it! I made sure that the ring was way too small for his finger… And now, for phase two of the plan: Kazuki. I love this! "Anyway, you seem really tired. Why don't you go home now? I can talk to you another time. And it's getting late, Kazuki will be worried about you." Juubei stumbled out of the café without another word.
Emina talked to her mom over dinner. "Mom, I'm done with phase one of the plan. I kinda altered your plan a bit, to make it more realistic and fun. I'll carry out the rest of the plan tomorrow."
"Good, very good, my dear. At this rate, Juubei will be yours!"
"Yes mom, I know! Long live the Raiko clan!" They danced around the mansion while laughing evilly. This is going to be hard for the lovely couple indeed…
End of chapter
A/N: Sorry for the long wait on this one, guys! The next update might be sooner… And I might be updating my fics more often since the school year's almost over, so please hang on with me till the end!
Notes:
1: Bard: William Shakespeare. And the line I quoted is from one of his plays, but I don't remember which one...