A/N: I was supposed to post this earlier, but I got a little sidetracked. Monster Hunter Portable 3rd is pure LOVE!

Pages of a Storybook

Chapter 14: January 20-22 – Honest Mistakes

It was late afternoon and the bells from the front door continued its ringing and jiggling as a steady stream of people kept coming inside the cafe to relax after a hard day's work. The cafe was larger and more popular than ALUCARD, so it didn't take long before the whole place was filled with everyone's loud chatter.

If today was like any other day, the noise would have driven Kei to find a quieter cafe, but as it was, something had caught his full attention and he was left without a reason to leave early.

He had his eyes trained on a group of girls who had entered the cafe a few minutes ago, the bright shades of grey and white in their uniforms telling him that they were from... Hanegasaki High, perhaps? As he followed their movements, he realized that he couldn't take his eyes off one of the girls... or more like he didn't want to.

There was something... special about her. Her presence alone instantly calmed his frazzled nerves as if all his frustrations were lifted completely off his chest.

As luck would have it, she and her companions sat on the table next to his. He was somewhat aware that his highly intense stare was bordering to the point of being rude, but judging from their muffled giggles and giddy whispers, the attention they were receiving from him wasn't entirely unwelcome. They seemed to know him because he heard his name being brought up a few times, but he didn't care about whatever it was that were talking about and continued his unabashed staring.

His attention was entirely focused on one girl. She was bravely meeting his eyes, as if silently inviting him to do more than just stare. She was remarkably pretty. A smile graced her glossy pink lips, her long lashes fluttering against her cheeks as she blinked attractively at him.

Kei couldn't help himself. He approached their table and their whispers immediately ceased. His hand moved on its own and reached towards her face, his sudden boldness eliciting a gasp from the startled girl. He leaned a bit closer and she instantly closed her eyes when the gap between their faces grew smaller. Without a word, his fingers slipped between the soft strands of her black tresses...

...and unclipped the cute white kitty barrette from her hair.

Kei leaned back and studied the hairclip a bit more closely under the light, silently marveling at the small accessory's simple and yet charming design. Who would have thought that he would find it here, of all places?

Kei returned his attention to the girl, who was openly gaping at him like a dying fish. "Excuse me..." He briefly noticed that even though she was still pretty, she didn't look as attractive to him now. It was probably because of the missing barrette on her hair. Again, he was amazed at how a simple accessory could transform and highlight a girl's features. "Where did you buy this?"

This would be great for Akari's birthday present. He'd never really seen her wear hair clips before, but he honestly believed that it would look nice on her. If she didn't like hair clips, surely she would find the kitten's cartoonish face cute at the very least?

Well, he certainly found it cute.

The girl and her companions didn't answer and just stared at him in pure disbelief, their lack of response forcing him to think twice about his actions. Perhaps it wasn't really such a good idea for a stranger like him to randomly approach girls and ask about hair clips? Now that he thought about it, he did get a little carried away, didn't he?

He was just about to apologize when the girl finally spoke. "I-I'm not sure... It's a gift from my aunt." She stuttered, her fingers reaching up to lightly comb her hair in embarrassment. Without her hair clip, there was nothing keeping her bangs from falling all over her face. "If you want... I'll give it to you?"

His mood instantly fell at her words. He should have expected that finding a gift wouldn't be easy. If he had overheard Akari's friends correctly, her birthday was this coming Wednesday and he only had until tomorrow to find a present. It was the reason he was currently at the seaside district on a normal school day.

Unfortunately for him, his gift hunt had been a total failure. His window shopping at the mall had lasted for two hours, but he hadn't been able to pick a single thing because he had no idea about her likes and dislikes. What was worse, he had gotten a bit distracted and had ended up buying toys for the cats at school instead. Eventually, the mentally exhausting trip had led him this cafe where he continued to wrack his brain for some last minute ideas, but it had backfired on him and had given him a migraine. The girl should have been the answer to his troubles, but now that he thought about it, he would probably be in a better mood if hadn't seen her at all.

The last thing he wanted to do was to project his annoyance on a poor and defenseless hair clip for leading him on.

"Hazuki-kun?"

Her voice snapped him out of his thoughts and it took a few seconds before he remembered that she had asked him a question. "Ah... No, thank you." He suppressed a disappointed sigh as he placed the hair clip on top of their table. "Excuse me." As he turned to leave, he didn't notice their surprised expressions and how they were desperately calling out his name. He also didn't notice when several people turned their heads at the small commotion he had unintentionally caused. It would never occur to him that in the months ahead, that same incident would be the cause of a crazy rumor about him having a fetish with hair clips, which would be passed around by word of mouth.

He was going to try his luck again tomorrow... and he was going to ask for professional help.

"Hazuki... You're asking me... about girls?"

Kei nodded uneasily, hoping that the old man would stop staring at him with bulging eyes as if he had seen a ghost. Kei had been waiting for the perfect time to talk to him and he had been lucky to find him busy arranging some materials and equipment on one of the shelves inside an unoccupied room in the studio. He wondered if he should have raised the question when the older man was on his break. "Am I bothering you...?"

"Ah no... Not really, but..." Kurosaki scratched his graying hair in confusion."...am I the right person to be asked of that? I'm just a janitor, Hazuki." He let out a series of coughing noise, but Kei was already familiar with his strange antics and he knew that he was just trying to cover up his nervousness.

Kei knew that there were other and more qualified people whom he could ask regarding such matter, but that didn't necessarily mean that there were a lot of them. Since he didn't have any other close friends in school, he could only count a handful of people he was comfortable enough to ask for help.

His uncle was out of the question because even though he was a magazine editor and probably knew more about teenage girls than anybody else he knew, he would bet his life on it that he would blow the whole situation way out of proportion and Kei would never hear the end of it. His manager was out of the list, too, since she had the scary habit of putting off anything or anyone else that wasn't related to work. He could say that some of the photographers would be willing enough to help him, but he could already tell that the gifts they would suggest were beauty products or clothes. He didn't think those gifts would be effective to show his sincerity.

"I just want you to help me think of a birthday present." Kei continued, silently gauging his reaction. Out of all of his options, the old man Kurosaki was the best choice. For as long as he could remember, Kurosaki had been working in the studio ever since his uncle had pushed him to model for one of his projects when he was still in middle school. He was a kindly old man who used to fuss over him when work became too hectic for a middle-schooler. He even remembered how he used to bring him all sorts of chocolates and candies to give him the energy to remain awake. The similarities were small, but in a way, Kurosaki reminded him of his late grandfather. He was always sincere and was probably the only one who would actually take him seriously.

"Eh?" Kurosaki almost dropped a box full of combs and hair dryers. "Are you saying you're giving a gift to a... girl?"

Was the idea so strange? He nodded slowly, unsure of what to make of it.

"Don't give me that look, kid. There are so many models falling in love with you and yet you reject every single one of them. How am I supposed to react?" The old man laughed as he waggled a stern finger at him. "So, tell me about this girl. Do I know her? Is she one of the models?" There was no trace of nervousness in his wrinkly eyes anymore, just plain curiosity and amusement. "You're a handsome kid. I'm actually shocked that it took you this long to get yourself a girlfriend."

Kei raised a slender eyebrow. "She's a girl... and a friend."

Kurosaki made a clucking noise with his tongue. "Is she a special friend?"

He almost snorted at that. She was special, all right. She was unique... or more like strange. She was a weirdo. Did that count? "Sort of."

"Well, kid..." Kurosaki rubbed his growing beard thoughtfully for a few seconds. Judging from his expression, Kei could tell that he was definitely enjoying this. "I still don't get why you're asking a person like me about this, but since you took the trouble... I might as well entertain ya. I have plenty of experience from my daughters, after all! Those brats can get so picky about their birthday presents sometimes..." He grinned broadly and ushered the younger man to sit on a chair next to him. "By the way... I can always 'borrow' some underwear from the studio next door. Which do you prefer? Sexy or pure?"

All right, so maybe he had thought wrong. Perhaps asking a perverted geezer for an idea of a birthday gift wasn't one of his best ideas, after all.

"I'm just messing with ya, don't give me such a dirty look." He chuckled and clapped his hands together. The mischievous smirk was gone and was replaced with a sober smile. "Spit out the details, kid. What exactly do you know about her?"

When Kei only sat there and stared blankly at the old man, only then did Kurosaki realized the real reason he was asking for help. "You don't know anything? Have you just recently met the girl?"

"I've known her for several months..." He purposely left out that Akari was once a childhood friend.

"Is she a classmate?" Kei replied with a nod. "Don't you hang out together?"

Was the incident at the forest park considered as hanging out even if he only agreed to it because of his guilt? "...Once."

Kurosaki frowned. "And? What did you learn? I assume she's the one who's doing all the talking, right?"

Kei knitted his eyebrows together in deep thought. To be honest, he hadn't really been paying attention to her babbles. The only time he had actually listened to her was during the Christmas party, but she had only talked about how she had bought a cheap gift and how pretty the snowflakes had looked then. That conversation was anything but helpful.

"Geez, Hazuki..." A sharp sound caught Kei's attention and his eyes widened when the blunt end of Kurosaki's mop was pointed under his nose. "Are you really making an effort to be her friend? Ah, no. Don't answer that... That's why you're asking about the gift, right? I'll give you points for that, but sheesh! Kids these days..."

Kei wasn't sure if he should be annoyed that the old man was lecturing him or if he really should reflect on his actions. Kurosaki would probably even bonk his forehead with the mop if he found out about the rooftop incident...

"All right then..." Kurosaki continued, scratching the back of his head in frustration. "When you get home, grab some random thing from your room, wrap it up in some fancy paper, and give it to her tomorrow." With that said, the old man stood up and hauled a heavy-looking box on top of the shelf. Kei forced himself to wait patiently for the punch line, but when he didn't say another word, he was surprised to know that it wasn't a joke.

But he couldn't do that. He didn't want to do that. Finding the perfect gift for Akari was important. She went out of her way to buy him a gift on his birthday she knew he would like, so he wanted to do the same. Since it was impossible for him to tell her that he recognized and accepted their friendship without making a fool of himself, he wanted to show his intentions through a birthday gift she would definitely love.

"I think you're a good kid, but you're not exactly the most approachable." Kei looked up from his seat to see the old man grinning at his confused expression. "That girl has guts to put up with you, but it only shows that she really wants to be friends. If that's the case, then you'll probably make her happy by just letting her know more about you. What better way to show it by giving her one of your possessions? You'll get your point across and you won't spend a penny for it!" His laughter reverberated inside the small room and Kei was painfully reminded of how the old man used to howl Japanese ballads whenever he mopped the floors or scrubbed the walls and windows.

Still, Kurosaki's idea might just work. In fact, he already had something in mind and all he needed to do now was to find a wrapping paper.

Once again, Kei found himself sipping tea while listening to the usual hustle and bustle of a cafe filled with random customers on a lazy afternoon. However, he wasn't alone this time as the presence of an auburn-haired girl across the table kept his attention from wandering about. Akari was busy savoring the taste of her strawberry cheesecake while making strange faces every time she swallowed a piece.

This was the first time that he had agreed to hang out with her at the cafe, so he wasn't sure if the dessert was her favorite or if she really just loved eating cake. If he knew that she had this reaction to the strawberry cheesecake, he would have bought her a whole cake and that would have saved him from all the trouble of finding a birthday present for her.

Speaking of birthday presents, his gift was still tucked safely inside his leather bag. He knew that this was his perfect chance to pass it to her, but his hands refused to put his tea down. What was wrong with him? All he needed to do was to take out the gift from the bag, place it in her hands, say some stuff about her birthday, listen to her thanks, leave the cafe, and go home. He gritted his teeth together in annoyance at the jumble of nerves springing and swirling in his gut.

It was far too late to back down. He'd exerted a great deal amount of effort to get this right and he wouldn't dare bungle it up now because of some mysterious last-minute jitters. Besides, she'd probably received a lot of gifts from her friends already. Now that he mentioned it, where did she hide all her other presents? It wouldn't be weird at all if he gave her one, too, right? Friends were supposed to give each other gifts on their birthdays.

"Hazuki-kun?"

He almost scowled when her concerned voice only intensified the uncomfortable sensation building in his stomach. Not wanting to let his mind change on its own, he quickly pulled his present out of the bag and placed it on top of the table. He expected her surprised reaction, but what he didn't expect was the way she gawked at him as if he'd grown two heads on his shoulders. Clearing his throat, Kei forced to ignore the highly disturbing expression that was plastered on Akari's face. "This..."

She beat him to it. "A present..." She stared at it in awe... or disbelief. Kei didn't want to know. "Is this for my birthday?"

"Akari. Your birthday is a special day." This was all he could come up with to say to her, but he truly meant the meaning behind those words.

He almost let out a relieved sigh when she finally accepted the gift, but she wasn't making any move to open it. Instead, she continued to stare at him as if he had something stuck on his face. "Hazuki-kun... you called my..." She trailed off. To his surprise, her cheeks blushed a bright pink. He called her... what? His confusion was forgotten when the smile she gave him was so radiant that he felt a nagging urge to return a smile of his own.

Yes. The trouble was definitely worth it.

As expected, the uneasy feeling was gone and Kei was actually pleased that she would receive his gift so warmly. "It was kind of fun picking a present for you." He continued. In the end, he had settled to give her one of his photo albums of kittens, which he had faithfully collected since grade school. He had printed extra photos from his computer and he had enjoyed choosing which pictures he wanted to include in the album. Considering that he had a large batch of pictures to pick from, he had ended up sleeping at two o'clock in the morning, but he hadn't minded it the least bit. Akari had opened the present and she seemed to be enjoying the photos, too, judging by how she kept on squealing at how cute and huggable they were.

His good mood went spiraling downwards, however, when she blurted one very important detail. "Thank you for the early birthday gift, Hazuki-kun. I'll treasure it."

Early... birthday gift? "What...?" Did he hear her right? Was his mind just playing tricks on him?

Her brown eyes widened at his scowl. "Umm... T-Tomorrow's my birthday, Hazuki-kun."

Kei swore that the next time he would attempt to eavesdrop, he would make absolutely sure to do it right.

A/N: Hehehe! Poor Kei-kun... He doesn't have Tsukushi's ninja skills when it comes to gathering information, nor does he have the heroine's uncanny ability to choose the perfect gift (with the help of us players, of course. XD).

Meresta: I know right? I can't believe it has been 13 chapters and this story is still being read and reviewed by so many wonderful people! I'm so lucky to have you guys! XD ':)' is friends/best friends, ':D' is crush/like, and tokimeki is love. Oh, oh! And the chapter for the CG you're waiting for will arrive sooner than you think (assuming of course, we're thinking of the same thing XD). It'll happen in Spring, right? Hehe!

Haya-chan: Wahaha! Yeah, you're right about that getting in the car of a complete stranger. I'm actually more worried about the fact that the heroine doesn't even recognize the principal of her school. O_o Don't worry because I'll be including Amanohashi's creepiness in this story and you'll know what Kei thinks about that. Thank you very much for the help! I'll leave you a note once I've given up trying to figure it out myself. =P