A Heart to Love Chapter 6: Let’s eat together Tell him, an azumanga daioh fanfic

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

Azumanga Daioh: A Heart to Love

Chapter 6: Let's eat lunch together … Tell him how I feel

"Good morning, Sakaki-chan," the boy said with a smile, pushing off the fence that surrounded Sakaki's house.

"Good morning, Ashitaka-kun." She smiled back after securing the gate closed. "I hope you're feeling better today." A hint of guilt flashed in her eyes.

"Mmm, much, thank you." He nodded, walking beside his classmate towards school. "I guess now I know for a fact, no matter how much I hate tuna, eating it won't kill me," he laughed.

"I'm really sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it, it's not your fault."

"Weeeellllll…… yeah, it sort of is…" She looked over at him sheepishly.

He gave her a questioning gaze.

"See, I told everyone you liked tuna." She stared at the ground to hide her embarrassment. "BUT that was before you told me you didn't!" She looked back up at him. "Unfortunately, I wasn't able to contact everyone to let them know the truth. Sorry."

"It's okay. You tried." He smiled. "Besides, the tempura and curry rice you and Chiyo-sempai made me were delicious."

"I'm glad you liked it." She smiled. "To be honest, Chiyo-chan helped me make the curry rice. I'm not much of a cook, myself." She blushed and turned away.

"That's not true, Sakaki-san." The two teenagers turned to see Chiyo standing in front of the gate to her house. "You did most of the work, I just helped a little bit."

"Good morning, Chiyo-sempai." Ashitaka bowed.

The girl giggled and bowed back. "Good morning, Ashitaka-kun. Good morning, Sakaki-san."

"Good morning, Chiyo-chan." The taller girl smiled.

The three friends fell into step as they made their way to school.

"Yomi-chan is supposed to be back today, isn't she?" Chiyo asked.

"Yes," Sakaki answered simply.

"I'm so glad." Chiyo smiled.

"So am I," Ashitaka agreed with a nod and a smile.

Sakaki looked over at Ashitaka with a hint of pain in her eyes.

"Aren't you glad Yomi-chan is coming back, Sakaki-san?" Chiyo asked.

"Oh, yes… of course." She offered the child prodigy a faint grin.

(000)

In classroom 3, most of the students were already in the room, but it was still several minutes before the start of class when Koyomi Mizuhara walked in. Chiyo was the first to notice her arrival, and stood and applauded. One by one, each of the students stood and joined in.

Yomi stopped and blushed. She waved her hand to get everyone to settle down. "Thanks, thanks, everyone." She made her way to her desk while trying desperately to chase away the flushed feeling.

"Boy, Yomi-chan, you embarrass easy," Tomo said, jumping from her seat behind her longtime friend onto the desk next to her in just one step. "So how's your head?" She poked at her friend.

"Ouch! Stop that!"

"I thought you were all better?" the short-haired girl asked with an inquisitive look as she tried to poke her friend again.

Yomi grabbed her friend's wrist before she could touch her again. "I am better, but it's still a little tender, so stop it."

"Yomi-san?"

The girl looked up. "Oh, Ashitaka-kun." She smiled.

The boy stood nervously in front of the girl, his hands behind his back. "Umm…" He glanced over at Tomo for a moment. "Might I speak with you… just for a minute?"

"Sure." Yomi looked over at her friend expectantly, but Tomo just sat on the desk smiling and swinging her feet freely.

"Tomo…"

"Yomi…" the shorter girl replied.

"Leave!" the sandy-haired girl said firmly.

"Oooh, you want to talk privately. Okay, I get it." She hopped off the desk and headed over to Kagura's desk.

"I doubt it," Yomi said under her breath. With her friend gone, she smiled up at the boy and asked, "You wanted to talk to me about something, Ashitaka-kun?"

"Yeah, well…" He turned his gaze aside for a moment before looking back at the girl. "I… I just wanted to say again that I'm sorry for what happened..." He brought his hands out from behind his back, revealing something wrapped in a handkerchief. "And to give you this."

With an uncertain expression, Yomi slowly reached out and accepted the boy's gift. Unfolding the handkerchief, she looked at the object for a moment, then looked up at him and said, "A softball?"

"It's the ball I hit you with. I thought you should have it." He shrugged. "So if you ever feel the need, you can always bean me with it, if you want." He gave a half smile.

She started to giggle, but cleared her throat to stop herself. "Thank you, I'll keep that in mind." She pulled the handkerchief out from under the ball to hand it back to the boy, but he put his hands up in protest.

"That's okay, you can keep that too. Keep it with the ball. You can use it to dust it… or something." He grinned, shifting his feet self-consciously.

"Thank you again." She smiled, then quickly wrapped the ball back up and placed it in her bag. Seeing the two bentos in there, she steeled her will and looked up at the boy. "I know everyone made you lunch the other day. I hope you liked it?"

"Yes!" He looked down momentarily. "Yes, it was very good. Even the tuna dishes."

So Chiyo-chan was right. He really doesn't like tuna.

"Well, since I wasn't here…" She looked away, glancing around the room quickly to see if any of her friends were watching them. Taking a deep breath, she continued, "I thought maybe we could have lunch together today. I brought something I think you'll like." She began to blush. "That is, if you don't have other plans for lunch?"

"No… I mean, that would be great." He smiled. "I look forward to it."

Just then the bell rang and Yukari walked into the room. "Okay, everyone, take your seats!"

Ashitaka smiled and nodded at Yomi one last time before heading for his desk.

(000)

The two classmates sat quietly on the roof of the building, eating lunch together. Though it was officially spring already, it was still too cold to sit outdoors comfortably, but in order to avoid interruptions from her friends, Yomi had suggested this location and Ashitaka had politely agreed.

"So, what do you think?" she asked anxiously.

"Hmm?" The boy looked up, his face practically buried in the bento and his mouth filled with food.

She giggled at the sight of him, taking it as a positive response to her inquiry. "Sorry, don't let me interrupt you. Go on, eat." She smiled, then returned to her food as well.

The boy gave her a big stupid grin and continued devouring his food.

A few minutes later he was finished and carefully closed the box and wiped the chopsticks clean. "That was delicious, Yomi-san."

While she still had some food left in her bento, Yomi decided against finishing it, instead closing it and putting the two boxes away in her schoolbag. "Really? I mean, you really liked it? You're not just saying it to be polite?"

"It was wonderful, honest." He smiled and bowed. "Thank you."

Yomi knew exactly what she wanted to do, but a proper girl from Tokyo didn't resort to such actions. Still, she reasoned with herself, This is my final year of high school. Who knows if I'll ever have another chance with anyone like him? Slowly, she reached out and placed her hand into his. "You're welcome, Ashitaka-kun." She stared deeply into his eyes. "I'm really glad you liked it."

The boy's smile melted from his face as he returned the girl's intense stare. "Yomi-san?"

"You don't have to be so formal, Ashitaka-kun." She slid a little closer to him.

"Yomi-chan?" was all he could respond with.

"Ashitaka-kun, there's something I've been wanting to ask you. Something… very important." She looked down at their hands, bringing her other hand over and clasping his hand in between hers. "Ashitaka-kun…" She looked up into his big bright eyes. "Would you be my boyfriend?"

The boy's breathing suddenly got very shallow and his palms started to sweat despite the chill in the air. "Yomi-chan…"

"I know it's sudden, but when you visited me at the hospital," she looked down at their hands again, "I knew… I just knew I wanted to be with you." She looked back up at him. "I know I'm probably not nearly as pretty as the girlfriends you had back home, or even as pretty as the other girls here who've probably already asked you to be their boyfriend … but I can make you lunches like this one everyday and…"

Ashitaka gently pressed the fingers of his free hand to her lips. "Yomi-chan, I've never had a girlfriend before, and no one here has asked me to be their boyfriend," he assured her. "As far as I'm concerned, you're very beautiful."

"Really?" Her heart pounded furiously in her chest.

He nodded. "And smart, and funny. I can't imagine any boy not wanting you as their girlfriend." He smiled warmly.

She smiled as well, but it quickly faded away. "But…"

"The past few years I was raised by my great-grandfather, and he's very old-fashioned, especially when it comes to relationships between boys and girls. I guess some of his values rubbed off on me, because this isn't something I'd want to take lightly. The last think I'd ever want to do is hurt you," he explained.

"What are you saying, Ashitaka-kun?" A hint of fear crept over her.

"I… I guess what I'm saying is… is can I have a little time? A little time to think it over?" he asked.

Yomi's heart sank and so did her expression.

"I promise to give you an answer, a real answer, this time tomorrow." He clasped her hands between his. "I promise."

She did her best to force a smile. "Of course."

He gave a gentle tug on her hands to pull her up. "Yomi-chan, I want you to know… I'm really honored that you'd even think about wanting me as your boyfriend. I know this couldn't be easy…" He offered her a warm smile. "Thank you." Then he leaned forward and gave her a faint kiss on her forehead.

She blushed deeply and looked away. "We should probably be getting back to class." She looked back at him. "People might begin to talk."

He nodded and bent over to pick up her bag. "Thanks for lunch, it was delicious."

Her smile grew. "You already thanked me."

"Did I?" He grinned and looked up.

Yomi laughed, leading the way back to their classroom.

(000)

"See you tomorrow, Sakaki-san, Ashitaka-kun!" Chiyo waved before unlocking the gate to her house.

"See you tomorrow, Chiyo-chan," Sakaki replied softly, giving a subtle hand gesture good-bye.

"Till tomorrow, Chiyo-sempai." Ashitaka bowed.

Chiyo giggled then went inside, and the two classmates continued walking down the street.

"Why do you do that?" Sakaki asked suddenly.

"Do what?"

"Call Chiyo sempai and act so formal around her." She looked over at him.

The boy scratched the back of his head as he considered her question. "Do you think I shouldn't do that?"

"It's not that, I'm just curious. I mean, you are kinda formal anyway…"

"Am I?" He gave her a surprised look.

"Not that it's a bad thing. You just seem to take it even further with Chiyo-chan."

"Well… I guess it's probably because of my sister." Ashitaka moved his schoolbag over his shoulder and stuffed his other hand in his pocket.

"Your sister?"

"Mmm… I guess Chiyo-chan sort of reminds me of my sister." He stared at the ground ahead of him.

"Do they look alike?" Sakaki clasped the handle of her bag with both hands.

"No, not really, but my sister was very small for her age, so other kids use to make fun of her a lot, even kids in lower grades would tease her." A somber expression crossed the young man's face. "Because of that I use to act very formal around her and treat her like she was my older sister rather than my kid sister. At first, she thought I was just making fun of her too, but after awhile she saw that I was trying to cheer her up."

"Oh, I see." Sakaki nodded.

"In class, everyone treats Chiyo-chan just like any other student, but I have the feeling that that might not be the case with the other students in our school, especially the underclassmen."

"Yes, I suppose you're right." Sakaki smiled. "That's very nice of you."

The boy shrugged. "It's nothing really. With as young as she is, it's easy to think of Chiyo… sempai as my sister."

Sakaki nodded and smiled to herself as they continued walking.

"What's her name?"

"Hmm?"

"Your sister, what's her name?" She smiled over at him.

"Oh, ammmm, it's… Hitomi." The boy turned away suddenly and blinked repeatedly.

"Hitomi, that's a nice name." Sakaki's smile grew. "Is she blonde like you?"

The boy's heart began to race and his forehead beaded with sweat. "Sakaki-san?"

The girl stopped suddenly. "Is something wrong, Ashitaka-kun?"

He stopped a few steps ahead of her with his head hung low. She waited patiently for a response.

Finally, after several long minutes, the boy spoke. "Something happened at school today, during the lunch hour."

Sakaki nodded. "I was going to ask you where you went. Chiyo-chan, Kagura-san, and I thought you were going to join us, like you did last week."

Still facing away from her, he continued. "Yomi-chan made me lunch today. We ate together up on the roof."

"Oh," was her only response.

"She asked me a question and I promised her an answer by lunchtime tomorrow." He paused, half expecting Sakaki to reply in some way, but the girl remained silent. "She asked me to be her boyfriend."

Sakaki's heart skipped a beat and her throat tightened up, preventing her from speaking.

"She's a very nice girl. She's smart, and funny, and beautiful. I've been thinking all afternoon if there was any reason, any reason at all, why I shouldn't be her boyfriend." Slowly, he turned around to face the dark-haired girl. "Can you think of any reason, Sakaki-chan?"

The girl stared into the boy's ocean blue eyes as her mind screamed inside her head. Yes, tell him you like him! Tell him you feel comfortable around him, just like he said he felt comfortable around you! Tell him you already feel like you're almost dating, the way you walk to and from school everyday! Tell him you want to be his girlfriend! TELL HIM! Ever so slowly, Sakaki shook her head. "Nnnooo, I can't think of any reason. Yomi-chan is a wonderful girl and a good friend. I'm sure she'll make you very happy." She forced a smile.

Ashitaka gave her a weak smile. Glancing over, he recognized where they were. "Looks like you're home already."

Sakaki looked over as well. "Yes…" She looked back at him. "I'll see you in the morning?"

Ashitaka took several deep breaths, than answered, "Till tomorrow."

They stood staring at each other a while longer.

"Goodnight, Sakaki-chan," he said softly.

"Goodnight, Ashitaka-kun," she whispered.

Turning slowly, the boy continued on down the street. The girl stood in front of her house, watching the boy walk away. After he turned into his apartment building, she unlocked the gate and walked inside.

(000)

Stopping at the doorway of the kitchen, Sakaki announced, "I'm home."

Without looking up, her mother replied, "Your father and I have an appointment tonight, so we're having dinner early today. It should be ready in a half hour."

"I'm not hungry," she informed her mother.

"I didn't ask you if you were hungry, I said dinner is in a half hour," the woman snapped, still focused on the pot she was stirring. "Let your brother know too."

"Yes, ma'am." The tall girl retreated to the stairway and headed up to her room, stopping briefly to knock on her little brother's bedroom door. "Mom says dinner's in a half hour."

"ALL RIGHT!" The door flew open and a ten year old about half her size rushed past her and down the stairs.

"Walk! Or you'll hurt yourself!" She cried out, but two-thirds of the way down, the boy jumped the rest of the way and headed for the kitchen.

Sakaki shook her head and went to her room. Inside, she locked the door behind her and climbed into bed. Grabbing a large stuffed cat, she hugged it tightly and buried her face in its soft fluffy head. Why couldn't I tell him I like him? Why couldn't I say anything? Why couldn't I say anything? …

(000)

The next morning, Sakaki made sure she was ready for school early and stood outside her gate waiting for Ashitaka to show up. If I tell him now, before he talks to Yomi, then maybe… just maybe… She rolled the tiny bits of gravel under her shoe while she waited.

Looking up the road, there was still no sign of the boy. Checking her watch for the third time, she sighed and started walking. She caught up to Chiyo half way to school.

"Morning, Chiyo-chan," she said in her usual quiet manner.

"Oh, good morning, Sakaki-san." The young girl smiled, then looked around with a hint of confusion. "Isn't Ashitaka-kun with you?"

The taller girl lowered her head slightly. "No, he never showed up."

"Oh…" The girl looked troubled. "I hope he's all right."

Sakaki nodded in agreement.

(000)

Standing next to her shoe locker, Sakaki tried to think of how she would approach the boy. Ashitaka-kun, remember when you asked me if I could think of any reason why you shouldn't be Yomi's boyfriend? Well, I thought about it some more. In fact, I thought about it all night, and… and I was able to come up with one reason…

"Good morning, Sakaki-san," she heard said behind her. Turning suddenly, she saw the sandy-haired girl with glasses smiling broadly as she slipped off her shoes and slipped on her school shoes.

"Good morning, Yomi-chan," the taller girl replied. Already knowing the answer, she asked, "Why so happy?"

The other girl looked to the side and shrugged. Her face suddenly turning flushed as her smile grew. "I guess I'm just feeling hopeful today."

"Hopeful?"

"Mmm, hopeful that today will turn out to be a really good day." She looked up at the other girl, still smiling.

It was then that Sakaki saw something in the girl's eyes she had never seen before, not in Yomi's eyes, not in the eyes of any of her friends. There was a softness to them, a sense of joy that both warmed her heart and broke it at the same time. Forcing a smile, Sakaki replied, "Well, I wish whatever it is you're hoping for comes to pass."

"Thanks, Sakaki-san. I don't know why, but I have a strong feeling it will." She smiled once again. Placing her shoes in her cubby, she turned to her friend one more time, "See you in class." Then she walked away.

Sakaki watched the other girl turn down the hall before she let out a sad sigh and leaned up against the lockers. I can't say anything to Ashitaka-kun. Not without breaking Yomi-chan's heart. She squeezed her eyes closed and wrapped her arms around herself.

"I'm late! I'm late!" Tomo came flying past the girl, kicked her shoes off, switched them with her school shoes, and shoved her feet into them. She hopped her way to class, reaching behind her to get the back of her shoe on correctly, first with her right foot, then her left.

Slowly, Sakaki pushed off the lockers and headed to class.

(To Be Continued)

AN: Hope things are starting to get interesting for you. I know they are for me. Just in case you are wondering, yes, this is still a Sakaki romance, but sometimes romance doesn't go smoothly. I'm so happy to have my beta-reader back, doing an awesome job as always. By the way, if you find any errors in my notes here, that's because I wrote them after she edited the story for me. P

Thank you for reading and especially thank you for reviewing. I love to hear your thoughts on my work.

A. Amishi