Your Typical New Kid

by

Stars of Gold

Your Typical New Kid SPECIAL: The Messed-up Relationship of Ruka and Hotaru and How They Got Together

OTHERWISE KNOWN AS:

They're Too Damn Messed-up!

Part 2

"Imai...Is it alright if I call you Hotaru...?" She tensed, but then smiled slightly and replied, "Call me whatever you want; I don't care." So she said, but the way she'd tensed suggested something else. Ruka noticed, but didn't make any comment.

Silence.

"So, uh, Hotaru-chan, would you, uh, get off...?" Hotaru's slight smile turned into a sadistic little grin. "And why would I do that?"

"Because you feel sorry for me...?" He tried, knowing that he would lose in the end.

"Fat chance." She snorted. "But an 'A' for effort, I suppose."

He sighed.

"You're pure evil, you know?"

She grinned creepily. "Yes, I know."

He sighed again. "Well, I'm sleepy. Thank goodness they put us in a carpeted box. Good night, Hotaru-chan."

"Good night, Ruka-kun."

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Ruka was thankful that Hotaru had honestly thought that he had been sleeping, and finally gotten off of him, going to sleep on the bed instead. He restrained from taking revenge on her, however, and instead grinned and waited for her to fall asleep. When he heard her deep, even breaths, he crept softly to the other side of the bed and went to sleep beside her. The last thing he thought before falling into a deep sleep was, 'Hotaru's gonna be angry in the morning...'

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Ruka was wrong, for Hotaru was a deep sleeper. He woke and found himself in a compromising position with Imai Hotaru. He blushed and attempted to move, but found that he couldn't, for Hotaru had wrapped her arms around his waist and nuzzled her face into his chest. He was even more surprised by the fact that he had, in return, wrapped his own arms around her waist. He gulped and attempted to remove Hotaru's arms slowly as to not awaken her. Unfortunately for him, this simply made her moan in sleepy protest and cling to him even tighter. He was beginning to feel reaaaallly uncomfortable. He made a mental note to murder Nonoko when he got out of that box.

After a few hundred attempts to make her let go, he finally gave up and let his arms snake around her once more. Knowing Hotaru, she would probably assume that he'd manipulated her into such a position for his own enjoyment, and would kill him slowly and painfully.

"Ah well. Might as well make these last moments of my life worthwhile," He murmured quietly to himself, nuzzling his face into her hair. Hmm, lavender... He paused. He suddenly felt the urge to kiss the top of her head. He engaged himself in a mental battle; and his better conscience lost. "I'm gonna die anyway, so I might as well..." He reasoned, then gave her a light kiss on the top of her head. Surprisingly enough, she then released him and smiled contentedly, turning over so that her back faced him. He quickly slipped out of the bed and curled up on the floor, pretending to be asleep as Hotaru yawned and blinked her eyes open. "Ruka-kun? Are you awake?" She asked softly, her clear voice floating across the room. Ruka twitched, then opened his eyes sleepily, as if he'd just woken up. "I am now," He smiled sleepily. "Good morning, Hotaru-chan." She gave a polite nod. "Good morning,"

"Ohayo gozaimasu, Ruka-kun, Hotaru-chan!" Nonoko's voice blared through the speakers, thoroughly startling them both. "Emi-chan wants to talk to you two separately, so take the chance to get a change of clothes and clean up properly when she takes you to your room. She'll take you to her room after that to interrogate you. You'll be seeing the inside of a Special Star bedroom, so you'd better be well-prepared. Ruka-kun, you first." A large hole appeared in the wall. A gigantic hand came through it and grabbed Ruka, pulling him out of the hole as it closed.

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Ruka raised an eyebrow at the inside of Emi's room. It was littered with sketches of people, along with a few couples. She'd sketched Natsume and Mikan sharing a sweet, peaceful moment, Anna and Koko on a date and there was even one - Ruka blushed at this - of himself and Hotaru sleeping in the exact same position they had been that morning. 'Is she psychic or something?' He wondered to himself as he glanced at the sketch. Emi followed his glance. "If you think I'm psychic, no, I'm not," She said, laughing. "Did you know that Nonoko installed cameras in that box?" It all began to make perfect sense. Ruka blushed. "It was my turn to watch over you guys last night. I got bored and I had my sketchbook with me, so..."

Ruka groaned and buried his face in his hands, still blushing deeply. She chuckled. "Don't worry, I won't tell anybody." She gestured to a chair. "Please, sit," She said, sitting down on a large maroon armchair. "Now, Nogi-san, I'm going to be quite frank with you." She hesitated, fiddling with the braid in her hair (1). "I don't quite know how to say this, but I know about your...problem with Imai-chan." Ruka gulped. Emi bit her lip. "I...I'm not comfortable about doing this, but as your friend, I'm worried about you. And I'm pretty sure you'd rather have me dealing with it than Hyuuga-san or Mikan-chan." His face reddened at the thought of Mikan or Natsume coming to talk to him about Hotaru, and he immediately nodded.

"I've been watching you two ever since my arrival. I saw the way you looked at her, the way simple comments could have you blushing. Hyuuga-san and I are well attuned with the temperature, and he as well as I could sense the blushes you fought, and how to differentiate the blushes of people. Be it embarrassment or anything else, we would know, by how warm the blush was, the cause. But Taiki voiced his observations with slight worry last night and Mikan-chan is starting to get agitated, though earlier she'd told me that you two would make the perfect couple. Even Hyuuga-san was worried about you, I could tell, and that sealed the deal for me."

Then her concerned attitude vanished as she glared at him, her eyes narrowing. "You are going to answer my questions seriously and honestly. If you do not, I swear you will never forget the horrible creatures that will come to you in the night." She said, her voice low and threatening. Ruka would've backed away if he wasn't seated.

Then she smiled. "So you can save me the trouble, because I can tell when you're lying." She stated innocently. Ruka raised an eyebrow. She began to reply, but then paused and held up a hand. "Hang on. Taiki!" She called. He opened her door and walked in as if he'd been there the whole time. "Yes?" He asked innocently. She narrowed her eyes. Too innocently.

"Excuse us, Nogi-san. I'm just going to step out for a moment to have a word with Taiki. I'll be right back, so just make yourself at home." She said in honeyed tones. Ruka mouthed, 'Good luck,' to Taiki over her shoulder. He grimaced, but didn't respond as Emi proceeded to drag her boyfriend, by the back of his collar, out of her room and into the hallway. Ruka decided that this was one lovers' quarrel he did not want to hear, and occupied himself with observing the rest of her room.

Other than the sketches littered everywhere, there were also pieces of paper that contained stories, and, Ruka noticed, there was a wad that read, "The Phantom of The Opera - Rewritten by Watanabe Emi." A piece of paper were taped to the walls, and, when Ruka examined it, he found that it was a list of names, a girl and a boy to each line. Three lines had a tick behind the names. The first read Mikan and Natsume, the second was Koko and Anna and the third read, Tsubasa and Misaki. He realized with a jolt that it was a list of potential couples, and unwillingly took notice of his own name in the list, alongside Hotaru's. Then the one below it caught his eye, and his jaw fell wide open. Sumire and Mochu(2) His eyes then took notice of the one below that one, and shuddered. Sumire and Yuu.

He continued to stare openly at the never ending list, reading and considering the possibilities of each couple intently. There were those that he found plausible, and yet there were those he found revolting. Nonoko and Yuu was a possibility, but Nonoko and Kitsuneme (3) looked good together, and were beginning to get along, thanks to Anna and Koko's lack of separation.

Just then, the door opened, and in walked a frustrated Emi and a smiling, ever-cheery Taiki. "Okay, Ruka-san, we've come to a truce." Taiki announced cheerily. "Bugger," Emi muttered. "I'm staying here." Emi scowled, but then rearranged her features into something pleasant, then turned to Ruka.

"So, Nogi-san, ready to talk to me about your 'inner feelings'?"

Ruka groaned.

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By the time the two were through with Ruka and Hotaru, both of them were worn out. "Hotaru-chan, may I sleep on the bed, please? The carpet is awfully uncomfortable, and, sadistic as you are, you should feel some pity for me." Fatigue had Ruka acting upon his etiquette lessons inflicted upon him by his mother from when he was a child, and Hotaru was no less than charmed, though she would not admit it. She nodded and yawned, then took off her shoes and clambered into bed. Ruka was right behind her, hoping that Emi was the one on night duty tonight.

Yeah! Go Emi for matchmaking!

Can anyone remember what color Emi's eyes are? Did I tell you? If I did, and it's not blue, I'm sorry. It's blue, light blue, and her hair is long and shiny.

(1) This time, she's wearing her hair loose, except for one small portion, to the right of her face, which she has braided.

(2) Mochu is that almost-bald kid who levitated Mikan at the start of the anime. He's one of Natsume's gang.

(3) Kitsuneme is the flying kid, the one who's always seen with Koko. In the episode with Reo, he was caught first, 'cause he didn't know about the motion sensors.

Part 3 comes later. I wanna concentrate on the main plot. Sorry, Rukaru fans! Please review, nonetheless!

Stars of Gold