A/N:. Did anyone notice that I spelt disclaimer wrong on chapters 1 through 3? Apparently spellcheck doesn't work if you write in all caps. Anyway I fixed that nonsense, so no worries. I apologize in advance for the length of this chapter; I had a lot I wanted to accomplish in it and couldn't split it up because I would run out of song lyrics too early. The quotes on crushes are actually quotes from some snippets site; it was the first non-gender specific thing that came up when I googled it. So someone actually wrote that sappy stuff for world to see, it made me happy. DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ATLUS OR ANY CHARACTERS OR THIS TOTALLY AWESOME SONG FROM A VERY POTTER SEQUEL.
I've finally found it,
a place where I'm wanted...
This must be how it feels to have a home
-AVPS
"I don't think we should talk anymore." Students sped by the two standing in the middle of the hallway; going about their own lives, finding friends to eat with, and hurrying to get the best spot on the roof. Normally they would have already been up there; she would be ranting about her day and whatever new game Junpei was addicted to while he attempted to salvage the many things she would carelessly knock over when her arms shot out dramatically to emphasize a point. But not today, he had been doing a lot of thinking lately and everything told him that this fooling around needed to end. It was really quite childish to be spending so much time with another person when he had his own things to look after. That was not being selfish, it was being realistic. His grades had not dropped yet but, considering he now had far less time to study, it was only a matter of time before they sharply dropped. And then what was he supposed to do, struggle to get them back up while still maintaining some sort of social life, no thank you. He would rather remain ahead of the pack rather than find a place at the back.
Hitting him playfully on the shoulder the girl smiled brightly. "Haha, very funny Hidetoshi-san; now come on, let's go have lunch." Two hands firmly planted themselves on his back as she tried to force him to walk down the hall but he merely held his ground. Coming up beside him once more Minako pouted a bit as she gazed intently at him, as if searching for some sort of answer locked away behind his eyes. "Is something wrong? This isn't normally your type of humor." Indeed it was not, he preferred sarcasm and jokes that played at the expense of others. But that was because this was not a joking matter. He was dead serious; whatever was going on between them needed to end now. After a brief moment of silence the scarlet eyed girl took a step back and shook her head, as if disagreeing with the words he had left unspoken. "What's going on?" When he refused to make eye contact her feet moved another millimeter backwards; as if her body was readying itself for the blow her mind could not yet process. "If this is a prank it isn't nearly as witty as you might like to think!"
She'd like that, wouldn't she? For him to just say 'of course I was only fooling, we're too close for any of that nonsense', but that was exactly why he could not allow himself to say it. She was becoming far more of a problem than he ever intended; in fact, as of late, she was even keeping him up at night. Not that it was intentional of course, he didn't see how that could even be possible; but, never-the-less he was constantly thinking about her. Worrying if she made it home alright from school, if she was eating properly because he had noted that her eating habits were not exactly based on a nutritional factor, about that terrible teacher, and just what she was doing in general. It was downright disgusting; what was he, her father? There was absolutely no reason for him to be so concerned with the girl standing before him. Even as a caring leader he should not be as troubled by every little thing that could possibly harm her. It was exhausting to say the least; and probably the main reason his cold had not yet subsided. "You should know by now that I don't joke in matters that concern my personal life."
By now the initial shock was starting to diminish and confusion was taking over. He could see it clearly written on her face, the world as she knew it was starting to collapse around her. But she would be fine; she had lots of other friends. He always saw her walking to school with a small group; she would get over this in no time. Think about it; he was a poor excuse for an acquaintance anyway, at best he was another nameless colleague who only thought about himself. "But…I don't understand-" Waving a hand in a horizontal motion he cut her off right there. The girl's voice had already begun to tremble and, if she brought out the waterworks, he knew he would give in. There was absolutely no way to remain firm when someone you cared about was crying. Not that he cared about her or anything, that was ridiculous; he just did not want her to make a scene. Yes, that had to be it. If she cried he would look like a monster in front of the entire school and then he would never get elected as President next year; he was only looking out for his best interest.
"This ends here, understand?" From the expression on Minako's face one would have assumed that he had just smacked her, hard. Was this really such a bad thing? Sure she would have to make a small change to her daily routine but it was not as if it were the end of the world or something. They would go their own way, the earth would keep spinning in orbit, and everything would fall back into place. In fact, he would bet good money on the fact that she would not even recall who he was this time next year. Actually, take that back. She would know his name, the entire school would by that point, but she would recall some of the lesser details. "Don't make it harder for yourself than it needs to be." It really was not going to be so bad, she just had to keep her chin up and go with it. "You'll return to your life and I'll stick to mine. No overlapping." Reaching a hand out to pat her on the head Hidetoshi was taken by surprise when she slapped it away. A terrible smirk made its way onto his lips; good, if her resenting him made this easier on her then fine, so be it. "Now run along little girl, you're wasting my time."
If looks could kill he, and everyone around them, wouldn't have stood a fighting chance. "Fine! I didn't want to be your friend anyway!" Opening her metallic lunchbox, that looked positively 90's and had some sort of cartoon ponies on it; she whipped out a small package wrapped in light pink saran wrap. The slits, that once resembled puppy like eyes, were staring so powerfully at it that, if it had combusted on the spot, he would not have been surprised in the slightest. Was she going to crush whatever was in there? For a moment he was not sure exactly what he was supposed to think; this was all becoming pretty strange. That is, until the bag impacted his chest like a softball. Instinctively he put his hands below to catch it but goodness, she had quite the arm! "I made them with Fuuka for you, not that you deserve them, I just can't bear to look at them anymore!" Fuuka… it took him a moment to process all the stories she had told him about her dorm mates to figure out that she was the blue haired chef. And he used the term chef lightly considering she was almost always the antagonist of their cooking escapades. Turning on her heels the girl hurried back to class without giving him the chance to say anything; not that he had anything worthwhile to say, but it was always nice to have the last line.
Deciding it was best for him to move on as well Hidetoshi headed back to his own room. Or, at least, he attempted to; a not-so-friendly face blocked his path though. From behind his thick glasses Keisuke had managed the most unpleasant look he could muster which, granted, was not that awful. He was a nice kid with a good heart, what did he expect; to suddenly become some dark force that could make himself be listened to? Replying with a look of his own the boy instantly backed down and his stare was replaced with his normal perplexed look. Had he been watching them, again? Normally he did not catch him until it was too late; like when it was two days later and Keisuke just happened to mention that he liked the dumb expression Hidetoshi had when trying to start a conversation with her. But this was certainly not the time he wanted an audience. Granted he probably should have done it in a less crowded area but, honestly, he thought it would help keep Minako from letting her emotions get the best of her. Christ, that sounded horrible when he actually thought about it; but it really was for her own good. "Whoa, what was that?"
Tossing his friend the small bag of cookies he offered up a weak, yet terribly forced, condescending smile. "Nothing, just disposing of a minor problem; everything is fine now." Minor problem, yeah right; she was easily the biggest problem he had ever faced. Were things fine now? He felt about a million times worse than he had the day it dawned on him that the Physical Education teacher had merely been using him for his own secret agenda. Why was that? He was going back to his old life, pre-Minako; and he had not been upset with that style back when he was living it every day. Why was it only now that he was no longer pleased with just that? Surely he had not gotten soft. He was the great Hidetoshi Odagiri, he did not need others, he was fine on his own. People only slowed you down; hell, if he had not been wasting time with that girl who knows what he might have accomplished. Ouch… for some reason it physically pained him to merely think that his time had been wasted. There was no way that he could have enjoyed it, that was a childish notion; but still…
As the goofy looking boy opened the package his eyes instantly lit up to find that there were baked good inside. Some people were so simple; it was reassuring in a way. But, what would Keisuke have done had he been in this sort of position? Would he have decided to let her go as well? No, he probably would not have; his friend was far too sentimental for that sort of thing. So what, he was supposed to just waste his young adult life thinking about some girl? No way, no how; he had more important matters to attend to. He needed some time to think so, without another word, he continued on to the classroom. "Hey now," Placing a hand on his left shoulder the boy attempted to scan the head of the Disciplinary Committee's face for any sign of emotion. Not that he was going to find any; as he ran a hand through his slick backed hair Hidetoshi brushed him off and kept walking. Right now the only thing he felt was numb, with the occasional sensation of wanting to throw up. Was that all Minako was good for? It was almost funny, every time they hung out he felt ill; perhaps it was just another sign that they were not meant to spend time with one another. "Hidetoshi!"
Sliding into his desk the teenager merely gazed emptily at the notebook he had accidentally left open when Minako had rushed in and dragged him out for lunch. She had been so excited; not that she was not usually, to the contrary she was always extremely enthusiastic about everything, but today it had been a bit more than usual. A thought crossed his mind and instantly he felt queasy again. Those damn cookies, she was probably eager to give them to him. For weeks she had been going on and on about some cooking club she had joined; regrettably he never listened too much to those talks, they just could not hold his attention. But these had to be the fruits of all her effort and hard work, oh god. Not only was she looking for approval but she probably expected him to be happy and thank her; damn. What had she gotten in return for all her wasted energy? Let's see… he had told her never to speak to him again, been overly cruel to her because of some ridiculous idea that it would somehow make it easier on her, oh and he had given away the cookies. He was a terrible person; it was almost too much to accept.
However one persistent truth made it somehow tolerable. He had lost his focus and people were going to suffer from it. The P.E. teacher had taken him aside and told him earlier that day as he was leaving homeroom. Because of his over-the-top attitude and multiple incorrect accusations the case was being dropped. Not that he really cared by this point, he was off the case as soon as the man demanded he add Minako's name to the list, but being blamed for the failure was still annoying as hell. This was what happened when he allowed himself to be distracted; and he had sworn to himself at that moment that he would never let it happen again. It was why he had to cut all the loose ends, end any petty relationships, and return to being aloof. It was almost ironic; he recalled once telling the girl that all relationships ended with someone getting hurt. A shame it had to be her, for once he actually wished that he had been the one to get their hopes smashed. That was silly, right? Who would wish for that? No one wanted any form of pain, but he would far rather take it than dish it out when it came to her. How troubling.
It was nice, how life kept moving forward no matter what a person did. As the teacher began to write some meaningless notes, that he had already taken down from the textbook the previous night, Hidetoshi allowed his dark orbs to gaze at the stupid little doodle once more. It had always been a strong reminder that he had to keep his eye on the prize; but now it was just infuriating. Whipping out his pencil the boy began to erase the meaningless crown; although it took a great deal of pressure considering he had retraced it on multiple occasions. At long last only a small indent, where the crown had once been, remained. He had wanted so desperately to become someone of worth but, if he continued to feel like this, what did it matter? Ugh, this was all so confusing; before they met everything had been so clear, his dreams, ambition, life goals, everything. But now everything in his mind was all jumbled up, it was beyond chaotic in there. So he would just have to shut his brain off for a while, not think about anything other than school; it would eventually settle down, it had to.
"The inverse of the function is..." So turning off one's brain was harder than anticipated. Tuning out the teacher, however, was incredible easy. Every now and then it would dawn on him, and he would snap back to reality, but, for the most part, he was lost in a world all his own. Was there another way that he could have gone about this? Maybe if he had told her that they needed to spend less time together, rather than never speak again; but that would not have worked. She may have agreed to it but that would have been with the understanding that neither of them intended to actually cut back. Perhaps if he had stated his reasons she would have been able to see exactly why their relationship was a terrible idea? No, she would have protested every point he managed to bring up until he finally gave in. But backtrack, what was this relationship he kept thinking about? Was it a friendship, because there was no way that he ever worried about Keisuke like this; was that because he was a guy and therefore could handle himself? No, if anything Minako could take down someone like his friend in a second; maybe his worry was misplaced.
Now that they were no longer aquatics of any kind he did not have to waste his concern on her though, right? Yes, that made sense; so then, why did he feel even more tense now? Not only did he have no idea of what she was doing after school, but he also was unaware as to if she had recovered yet from their conversation earlier. However it was not exactly like he could go check on her. 'Oh, hey, I just upset you; but are you okay?' That would be a fun conversation, most likely ending with him getting slapped in the face. Not that she was one for violence, the media just depicted teenage girls as likely to slap at a moment's notice. Were they really that slap-happy? Hidetoshi had no clue; he tried not to involve himself in the conflicts of female students. Every now and then he would hear of a fight breaking out between two of them because one stole the other's boyfriend, or some pointless rumor, and there would be gruesome tales of hair pulling and nails digging into flesh. It sounded like something you would see on animal planet. So, as he exited the classroom, the boy tried his best to blend in with the crowd for fear of being drawn into one of said conflicts.
"Hide-chaaaaaan!" He stopped dead in his tracks and slowly turned to the abomination that had yelled his terrible secret through the school's busy hallway. Holding onto his glasses, so that they would not fall off as he ran, Keisuke came barreling out of his classroom next-door and began pushing through the congested mess of students. "I am not finished talking to you!" Giving his friend the darkest, most hateful, look he could possibly dream of achieving Hidetoshi followed the rest of his classmates down the stairs, not even bothering to stop by his locker because that would mean having to pass the boy. If the brunette wanted to be obnoxious and draw attention to himself then fine, but the Odagiri child would have no part of it. "Hey!" He heard the voice call over the banister, but he dared not look up for fear that it would only be an incentive for his yelling to continue. There was a loud groan followed by someone clearly slamming their hand against the wall. "Fine! But remember, I have your cell and house number!" Great, that was exactly what he needed; threaten him with calling the house because, obviously, his mother was going to pick up and want a nice chat. Oh, and while they were chatting why not just let every little detail about his personal life slip; she would love to get on his case about that.
He could hear her voice echoing inside his head as he hurried home from school. 'A girl? Really Hide-chan? Oh why didn't you tell me, I would have let you stay out as long as you liked!' And then when Keisuke just happened to mention their conversation today her carefree attitude would turn into one of sorrow. 'Oh darling, why are you doing this? You know it's a surefire way to end up alone.' Next would come the theatrical waterworks as she ranted about how she and his father were one day going to pass away and then he would be left all alone. That seemed to be her favorite spiel as of late, go figure. Placing his books on the stone wall nearby he attempted to button up the school jacket that he had grabbed off the back of his chair before exiting. Stupid Keisuke, making him leave before he was ready. Thank goodness he had all his textbooks with him during last period or there would have been a serious problem. From the other side of the wall he could just faintly hear the familiar voice of a little schoolgirl. Oh no, he didn't have time for this; not today at least.
Keeping his head down, and turned slightly to the opposite side, the boy attempted to sneak by the shrine. What was she doing there anyway? He could have sworn that after their last talk she was going to play it safe and head home every day after school, but apparently that was just wishful thinking. Whatever her reason for being there he definitely did not have time to listen. "Hey mister!" Drat; glancing upwards he saw the small face poking out of the space between two of the fence's bars. "Long time no see. Did you come back to play with me?" Yes, after months and months of having absolutely nothing to do with the little girl he had come to play with her. Of course not! Was she really that thickheaded as to think that him walking by meant that he wanted to hang out with her? Was that the thought process of an elementary school child, surely he had been more clever than that at her age. "That's really good because I thought I was going to have to play by myself." No, no, no, she was not using guilt against him this time; sorry sweetie but he was far too preoccupied to play hopscotch and sing-along hand games.
Averting his gaze the best he could Hidetoshi began to fiddle with his collar once more; it had become a dreadfully obvious sign as to when he was uncomfortable but whatever, she did not know that. "Uh, no; you see I actually have to head back to my house, my mother is waiti-" At the word mother the tiny girl broke into a fit of shrill sobs. What the hell world, really; he was already having a bad day, why not throw in an emotional child? He couldn't just walk away now, that would guarantee him a seat in hell; but why did it have to be today of all days? The coal haired boy took his good sweet time walking up the shrine's steps, somewhat hoping that it would give her a long enough period to compose herself; but, when he reached the top, he found Maiko collapsed to the ground with her face buried in her hands. Ugh, he hated it when girls cried; it always made him feel like scum, even if he was not the one who directly caused it. In this particular case he had though; something he had said set her off and now here he was, a junior in high school, standing over a second grader that he had made cry. Lovely, the perfect scenario to end a perfect day. "…There, there."
No way in hell was he touching her, but maybe the words would have the desired effect? They were what people said in situations such as these, right? He did not exactly have much experience in this field; normally he would just avoid conflict so that it never got to this point. The fact that he did not even know what he did wrong made it extremely difficult to figure out just what was upsetting her so much. Bending down on one knee to be more at eye-level he awkwardly poked her shoulder before quickly drawing back; children were evidently not his thing. "M-My parents are getting a divorce." She finally managed to get out between sobs before breaking down again. Well this was uncomfortable, what words of wisdom could he possibly have for her, none. His parents were, unfortunately, still together; so what insight could he possibly offer this sorrowful child? Raising her head to look at him the girl grabbed his sleeve and buried her face in it. Gross, it was about to be covered in tears and child snot; he would have to burn it. Still, her tears were not letting up; so it looked as if he was not getting out of there anytime soon unless he cheered her up.
"Would magical…" Oh man, what was that octopus crud called again? "takoyaki make it any better?" Shaking her head no Maiko made it clear that just buying her food was not going to cut it this time. Oh, so now she chose to be deep instead of stuff her face, wonderful. Part of him wanted to get up and leave right then and there, but the miniature fist clinging to his school jacket kept him firmly in place. Alright then, there had to be something else that she would enjoy; they were in a playground for chrissake. "Then how about we play here? Certainly there must be something you like to do." If she chose the seesaw he was out, that was a deal breaker, but he would be content to watch her go down the slide or climb the jungle gym. After much deliberation, and loud sniffles that he was positive left traces on his uniform, the small girl pointed in the direction of the swings. Not a bad choice, he used to like them because you could play alone without actually being alone. There were always other children on the swings next to him. But he never had to talk to them; they could both do their own thing while having the benefit of one another's company. "Would you like me to push you?"
That certainly got her attention for, bolting up from where she stood, Maiko took off to the closest of the three rusty old swings. "I'm a big girl! I can do it by myself!" Oh well that would definitely show him; yes, how upset he would be to have to sit on the bench and relax for a bit. At least she had stopped crying…and let go! He could leave now, oh thank heavens, this delay was terribly inconvenient. With any luck she would become so deeply involved in swinging that she would completely forget he existed and not noticed when Hidetoshi excused himself without warning. Unfortunately, as he examined her terribly unskillful style of pumping, it became evident that he was going to need to assist her at some point if she ever wanted to get more than three feet off the ground. "I suppose, if you really want to, you can help." Because he was just dying to push her on the swing; whatever, she probably needed to say it that way in order to not feel bad about herself. Rolling his eyes he headed over and got behind her. Hopefully she did not plan on soaring into the skyline because he was going to keep it at a safe height where, even if she fell, she would not receive any cuts or bruises.
"So what's the matter with you?" The braid sporting girl inquired after a few minutes of swinging in silence. Not only was she avoiding her own problems but now she was going to meddle in his business? She was beginning to sound like a miniature version of Keisuke, just what he needed. "You're not acting like the boy I met before." Why, because now he was even more bitter and cynical than before? She would be too if she just called off everything that had actually meant something in the last four months; but it didn't matter, there was no way that she could understand. Heck, if he even tried to explain she would probably figure that it sounded too much like a divorce; which, come to think of it, it did somewhat resemble. Then she would cry again and he would never get home, guaranteeing that his mother would be the one to answer the phone and then his entire world would be fubar. God, Maiko better pray that did not happen or he would be at her doorstep in a heartbeat to inform her parents that their daughter was at the shrine every day after school talking to strangers.
After much contemplation he decided that a one word answer could sum it all up pretty well. "Nothing." It was none of her business; besides, he knew what he had done was awful, he did not need her to enforce that truth. Of course she would take Minako's side the moment he even began to discuss it, they were basically the same person. And how could he possibly phrase 'I told her not to talk to me anymore and got rid of the cookies she made me' to make himself not seem like the bad guy; it was impossible. But the small girl merely stared down at him, clearly not believing that nothing could be troubling him. With a loud sigh he raised his hands in defeat. "Alright you got me. I… got into a fight…with myself." That was how it had all started, right? He began questioning his morals, then questioning why he was questioning them, and finally questioning why he cared that he was questioning his questions about everything he had once believed. It was very confusing so, in a condensed version, it was all Minako's fault. Everything was fine before she came along and wormed her way into his life.
A dark shadow cast over the girl's eyes as she gazed into the setting sun. "But your hurt someone's feelings, didn't you?" How did she know? Surely she had not already heard about what had happened, that was completely ridiculous unless she was a close friend of Minako's…and come on, what were the odds of that? "You look guilty, the same way I do." Playing the deep card again, eh little one? Well he was not about to stand there and be lectured by someone who did not even come up to his waist. If she wanted to think he was feeling guilty then fine, but he definitely was not. If anything she was starting to sound like the one with a guilty conscience. Perhaps projecting her problems onto others because she was too young to actually deal with them? Who knows, not him; and Hidetoshi did not exactly care to find out either. A pity she could not sense that though for she seemed destined to continue onward with her little speech, probably hoping to receive some sort of indication that she was doing the right thing. Too bad she was not going to find it here; he was too busy trying to convince himself that he had done what was necessary. "I'm actually supposed to be in class but I come here instead. My parents are wasting their money; but I don't care, they don't love me anymore so why should I?"
As unconcerned with her boring life as he was, Hidetoshi could not help but find himself frowning at this idea. "That's not very nice Maiko." To think, here she was every single day, wasting her parents' income that could be used for other, more important, things. Not only was it totally unethical, but it was also rude and downright annoying. At one point he believed that he thought having a child like this girl might not be so awful, well he was wrong. All children were equally as frustrating it seemed; fantastic, he would just avoid having them. That was easy enough to do considering, after today, he was completely turned off from ever having another relationship with anyone. People only brought trouble, and he had enough of that without added pressure to solve other's problems as well. Ceasing his pushing the dark eyed teenager walked around the swing to face her. "Your mother and father love you very much, you know that." Obnoxious as she was he knew that, although they were fighting, her parents loved her more than anything else in the world. How strange, there were such truly wondrous things out there; why would you ever like a whiny child more than all that?
Since he was no longer giving her the added boost needed to get any substantial height Maiko merely jumped off, landing a few feet in front of him. "Yeah, yeah. That's what she always says too." She? So she was bothering someone else with her problems as well, how very selfish. But that was what children were all about right, getting what they wanted no matter what it cost those around them? Picking up her bright red backpack the girl headed towards the steps. "I have to head home now, you should probably apologize. You're no fun when you're like this." As she scampered down the stairs he could not help but wonder if he was even fun to begin with. The first, and only other, time they had hung out he merely bought her food and kept his mouth shut; was that considered fun these days? Still, maybe she had been on to something, he really did not feel like himself anymore. In theory ending everything with Minako was supposed to make him revert back to his old self; in actuality he felt even more bitter and cruel than before, not to mention that he was extremely angry with everything and everyone all of a sudden. This really was not working out as hoped.
xx
The next day was even worse; he woke up feeling as though he had been hit over the head with a ton of bricks and could barely pick himself up out of bed. Alas, it was a Wednesday so school was a must; but really now, what harm would missing one day do? Hidetoshi slapped that poisonous thought away before it had time to plant itself in his brain. He had worked too hard through the years to throw away his perfect attendance record for some day of self-pity and reflection. So, gelling his hair back as always, the boy hurried down the stairs and out the door before his mother could say anything. Although still unsure of whether or not Keisuke had actually called while he was stuck spending time with Maiko Hiedtoshi had no intention of sticking around to find out. For the next few days he would avoid the woman until she forgot anything that she might have heard and this entire thing blew over. By then she would just be happy he was around to talk to at all and would not pester him with personal questions. Still, that was a pretty awful thing to do to her; maybe he should pick up some flowers on his way back from school to even it out.
Heading into homeroom he caught sight of a familiar shade of red down the hall. "Min-" Bringing a hand to his lips the boy attempted to silence the name that had, unintentionally, slipped out. The girl did not seem to hear, thankfully, for she continued onward; a blond girl was at her heels, but he could not remember ever seeing her before. Was she a transfer as well, he never did pay much attention to new students considering many of them went as fast as they came. Allowing his hand to drop back down to his side he could not help but feel the desire to follow her, to just talk to her again. It was crazy, he had been the one to call things off; shouldn't he be at peace with it by now? "Hey, Hide-chan, way to not pick up your phone yesterday." The brunette certainly did seem to come out of the woodwork sometimes. Sighing loudly the boy adjusted his glasses before speaking again. "You're lucky we're friends or I totally would have ratted you out." So he had called the house, of course, why wasn't the dark eyed boy surprised? But he had held his tongue, that was a shock; yet it was also a relief. He should have known that, when it came right down to it, his friend was only looking out for his best interest, and that did not include involving his mother.
Turning quickly back to where Minako had been only moments before he noted, with much disappointment, that she had already disappeared into the crowd. Nothing was more frustrating than a missed opportunity, and this was beginning to feel like he had missed out on the chance of a lifetime. A chance for what though, that was what he was having a great deal of difficulty trying to figure out. A prospect for friendship, no, he already had a best friend so that could not be it. The question was one that had kept him up for a majority of the past night and he would be damned if he did not figure it out today. "Keisuke, you've known me for a while." He began; perhaps he did need to rely on people after all; not all the time of course, but on selected occasions like this. "Do you think that, perhaps, I may have been…wrong?" He had never been wrong before, at least not that he was willing to admit; but there had to be a first time for everything. The boy had planned out every situation in his mind but had somehow missed out on the fact that he might actually be better off spending time with her.
A foolish smile planted itself on his friend's lips as he gave Hidetoshi the double thumbs up; as if he had achieved enlightenment or something. "About time you realized that!" He exclaimed loud enough for the entire school to hear. Withdrawing a bit, so as to distance himself from the noisemaker, the coal haired boy glared at him as an indication that he needed to drop his voice level if they were going to continue this conversation. "Sorry, I mean yeah, I do think you were wrong." He added, whispering this time; apparently he could only go from one extreme to the other, but no matter, this was definitely an improvement over screaming. "I also think that you have a lot to sort out, with yourself AND her." He knew very well that he had some things to sort out within his own skull, that much was clear to him; but what did he have to sort out with Minako? "Do me a favor; I know your phone gets internet so google 'crush symptoms' when you get the chance, okay?" Not this nonsense again, if that was all he could suggest then they were just going in circles. However the bell for homeroom had just begun to ring, so there was no time to protest. "Oh, and here; you'll need these."
First period flew by, second dragged, lunch was full of useless gossip and more nagging; so, by the time last period rolled around, he actually found himself toying with the idea of doing the search on his phone. This could be a drastic miscalculation; what if he ended up reading something he would have rather remained in the dark about? Drawing in a sharp breath he ever so cautiously hit the search button and was thoroughly unimpressed by the fact that the first ten options were what to do if you had a crush on a guy. Sometimes he really felt as though the world was screwing with him. The next site said that 'Crushes create feelings of yearning, passion, and desire. Crushes occupy your time. Crushes make your heart race, bring a smile to your face, and make your world a better place.' Oh gross, he felt as if he was going to be sick; scrolling back up he seriously considered just ending this quest before things got too nauseating. The next one said that 'Symptoms of a crush typically include butterflies in the stomach, inability to speak coherently or intelligently, nervous twitching, smiling a lot, being happier around him/her, wanting to see them, thinking about them when separated, wanting to spend time with the person often, inability to think properly, excitement over little touches/hugs/interactions of any kind.' Oh crud, this was beginning to look bad.
As he headed off to Student Council the boy began to dissect the statement piece by piece. Butterflies in the stomach, was this what he was feeling whenever she was around? It did seem to make a bit more sense than a reoccurring fever. He could always speak intelligently though, right; he did not stutter that was below him. When it came to nervous twitches he was fine, that is, except for his new need to fiddle with the ribbon around his neck. Though he would never admit it aloud he had been smiling a lot more as of late, and he was always glad to see her. It would be a waste of time to even bother trying to say that he did not want to see her and was not constantly thinking about the girl. His thought process had been reduced to nothing and, to be honest, he did enjoy the little pats on the head he would give her. This was a disaster. Thankfully she did not appear to be in the Student Council room, or he would have turned around and left before they had the chance to interact. Strolling over to the podium Chihiro handed him a report on the latest budget cuts; wonderful, who needed new software for the computers anyway?
Upon receiving the good news that, once again, the system would not be receiving an update multiple remarks of disapproval echoed through the room. Of course they were unhappy, anyone would be under the given circumstances; but at least they were not directing their displeasure at him for once, so it was a step in the right direction. "Sounds to me like they just don't care about us." The door slammed shut as the scarlet eyed girl sauntered over to her seat like there was nothing wrong with being ten minutes late. Honestly, what had gotten into her; that sort of behavior would not be tolerated, and she knew that. What was she trying to do, pick a fight with him? A few students nodded their heads at her statement; they clearly did not get the double meaning behind the words. She was not upset with the school, she was mad at him; probably disappointed too. Didn't he promise her that he would never leave her alone; yeah, nice job following through with that one. Anyway the daring young woman was now glaring up at him, as if cursing his very existence. So she thought he didn't care, 'eh? Well fine, if she wanted to call him on it then he had no choice but to stand up for himself.
"Maybe we're just interpreting their actions wrong." He spat back, eyes never faltering from the haunting glare before him. "Perhaps they are doing what they think is in our best interest as a whole." He stressed the last part for emphasis but, by now, the rest of the council was beginning to get the impression that something was not quite right. True what he was saying did not exactly happen to work for the given situation, what did new PowerPoint programs and word documents have to do with their well-being? No one dared speak up though for the tension in the front of the room was so thick that you could cut it with a knife. Hidetoshi and Minako's staring contest was going on its third minute before someone in the back worked up the nerve to cough. Breaking his focus away from the girl he turned it back to the issue at hand. "Anyway, we will just have to make do with what we have. I know it's not exactly the best situation but it cannot be helped." At which the sangria haired girl scoffed; how rude, this was no longer about her. But, had it been, the same sentiment could be used. It simply could not be helped. However the roll of the eyes she added put him right over the edge. "If you have something else to say, please, share it with the rest of the council."
Standing up she slammed her hands against the table and used them as leverage to lean over it and stare directly at him. "I will! It sounds to me like the school is just being selfish; they only think about themselves and don't even bother to take into consideration our feelings!" The room had fallen silent by this point; whether the students were scared or intrigued was still unclear, but either way they appeared to be captivated. "I hate this stupid school..." So that was it, she hated him; finally, it was about time. Everyone hated him these days, why shouldn't she jump on the bandwagon, what did she have to lose? Furthermore he was not being selfish; this was also for her own good. They were just a bad mix and, though he could not exactly think of any direct examples where she was negatively affected by them spending so much time together, he was positive that they must exist. Collapsing back into her seat the girl raised her hands, palms out. "But I give up, the school wins. I don't want to fight it anymore." For a split second he could have sworn he heard her voice change pitch, but it quickly returned to normal.
"C-Can we go home now?" A girl piped up from somewhere to then left of him, he didn't bother to look us; Minako had his entire focus, that was what she wanted, right? She had his attention so, if she was going to say something, now was the time. Certainly she was not just going to end it with that; call him out and then drop it. No, she had said her piece and now it was his turn. However the remaining members of the council were shifting nervously in their seats and glancing at one another. A few had begun to whisper to their neighbors; about what, him? Or maybe they were spreading rumors about the girl who had just made a scene. That would not do though, it was none of their business what she did; and he would not stand for anyone judging her. So what if they were fighting, he still felt the same about her, that would never change. He was out to protect her; of course, right now her main threat seemed to be him. That was a bit more challenging, how was he supposed to keep her from getting hurt if he was the one doing it?
Bringing a hand up to his forehead he merely waved the girl off. "Fine, fine." If they really wanted to leave then whatever; his time could be better spent thinking and their constant inquiries were a real pain. Besides, the girl in front of him seemed demanding of care and he definitely could not confront her with all of them still in the room. "…That's it for today's meeting." As he dropped the paper on Minako's desk he bent down a bit and leaned in so that their faces were almost touching. "…Minako-kun, I want to talk to you after the meeting." Crossing her arms across her chest the girl merely turned her head to the side, refusing to give him the satisfaction of her acknowledgment. The rest of the Student Council exited in silence, like they knew something big was about to go down and did not want to get caught up in it. As soon as the last boy headed through the door he turned his focus back to the sangria haired girl. "Come on, let's go." He outstretched a hand to help her up out of the chair but she did not even glance at it; alright, so she wanted to be like that, no skin off his back.
The uncomfortable walk up to the rooftop felt as if he was headed to the gallows; which, ironically, might have been a better option than what he was about to do. I t had taken a bit of time to realize it but, in the end, the dictator-in-the-making finally thought he knew what might be wrong. How long did it take to reach the roof? He did not recall it being such a long walk; then again, every other time he had been following the enthusiastic Minako so time seemed to fly by. Running a hand through his slick backed hair he did not dare try to steal a glimpse of the girl walking behind him for fear that she might decide to turn around and head home. Where would that leave him; up the creek without a paddle like Orpheus or Izanagi. By the time they reached the top it took a great deal of effort for him to even breathe properly and he had to roll his sleeves up to keep from sweating. How positively disgusting; was he really so nervous that he was losing the cool exterior he prided himself on? That was completely unreasonable, and very unprofessional.
Heading towards the edge to overlook the city he heard her feet stop midway through the trek. She wanted some space between them; it was as simple as that. Funny, wasn't it? How he had been pushing so hard for distance the day before but now he wanted closeness more than anything. Life defiantly could throw you a curve-ball when you were least expecting it; but who would have imagined this? A light smile flickered across his lips as he gazed out at the people below, going about their lives, who had no idea that they were up here. "Yes? What is it?" She sounded hostile, how disappointing; her usual cheery attitude was far more becoming of a young lady. Still, if she wanted to play the part of the serious party he would let her; it was about time he got stuck with the role of the tongue-tied fool. Karma certainly could be a bitch. A loud tapping of the foot told him that he needed to get on with it, for she was not prepared to stick around in the event that he just wanted to enjoy the sound of the cars honking on the street. No need to rush it, he was having trouble dealing with the situation as is.
"I'm sorry to drag you up here, but I wanted to tell you something…" There it was, the feeling of being completely dumbfounded that stupid online site had warned him about. Turning around to face her he began to fiddle nervously with the black string. "The cigarette butt incident will be dropped." He said quickly, averting his gaze. Damn, he had been so close; but just looking at her was enough to make him wuss out. "…They say it's my fault, for asking so many questions." It was not exactly what he wanted to tell her but, now that he had mentioned it, why not tell it all? "I wanted to be Student Council President next year, and the P.E. teacher agreed to endorse me." So he sold his soul to a devil who seemed to have a thing for teenage girls, perfect. "But, I lost any chance of achieving that goal when I disagreed with him." That lousy excuse for a man had it coming though, daring to mess with someone that was precious to Hidetoshi. "The student body is also annoyed with me." That hardly mattered though; he could not care less about what they thought. "I rambled on about rules and fairness, but all I really proved was that I was desperate for power…"
Her eyes had narrowed when she did not receive the apology she seemed to be expecting but, after a long sigh, she let up a bit. Removing her arms from her chest the girl placed them behind her back and cast her gaze off to the skyline. "Don't blame yourself." The first step forward was a difficult one, but the second came easier, and by the third he had gotten back into his normal rhythm. Approaching the girl he took out of his jacket pocket the small pink present she had thrown at him the day before. How surprised he had been when Keisuke handed it to him before homeroom, he could have sworn that the brunette would have devoured them on the spot. But he had kept them; did that mean he knew that Hidetoshi was going to see things his way? Perhaps he did not give the boy enough credit; besides, it was not as if he would be best friends with just anyone. Her pupils dilated at the sight and, before he knew it, they were beginning to mist over. This entire thing had been a terrible miscalculation on his part, and he would do anything to take back what he said. Actually, no, scratch that. It took this little fight for the coal haired boy to figure out just what was wrong with him as of late. One could only imagine how surprised he was to discover that nothing was wrong; to the contrary, something was quite right.
"…Now I know why the President asked you to join Student Council." He whispered as he clasped her hands together and placed the small gift in them. "Those aren't just empty words… nor sympathy. You genuinely mean what you say." To be honest, he admired her a bit. She was so strong, how dare he do anything that might hurt her? "The system only works if you have people's trust, and trust is not something you force them to feel." Trust had to be built up from nothing; heck, when he first met Minako Hidetoshi had seen her as nothing more than a threat. But now… "When the P.E. teacher suggested that you should be a suspect," He wanted to beat the man senseless until his face was nothing more than a bloody pulp; but there was a better way he could phrase that. "I felt as if I was being bullied by an ignoramus who just had more power than me." Yes, that sounded much nicer and drastically less violent. "I felt like the truth was being bent and I might lose a friend as a consequence." Not only might he have lost a friend but he definitely would have lost any remaining self-respect. "If it wasn't for you, Minako-kun, I would've gotten carried away. Thank you." As uncharacteristic for him as it was, he actually felt genuinely appreciative.
Was that a smile starting to cross her lips, or just the setting sun; it was too difficult to tell. "…That teacher may not be a complete numbskull." This caught her attention, of course; surely she did not think that he was going to accuse her as well. "'Fall for a girl,' huh? He's right." It had taken a great deal of effort but the teen had finally come to terms with it. He did not totally hate the idea of being with the sangria haired girl, as crazy as that sounded. "…" For a moment the two just stood there; with Minako sporting an almost humorous 'are you screwing with me' look. Giving a formal bow he looked up at her, a light grin playing along the sides of his mouth. "Minako-kun. No, Minako…san." Taking the cupped hands in his own the boy chose to stare at them, rather than her, during this terribly embarrassing time. "It seems… I am attracted to you." He coughed a bit, as if trying to shake off some of the awkwardness surrounding them. "To exaggerate a bit… I like you." Tracing her fingers gently with his own the boy tried desperately to clear his head of everything that had to do with what he had just said.
"…" At long last a small gasp escaped the girl's lips and she pulled her hands free, causing him to look up at her. "Why are you surprised? I'm only human. I have emotions, too." The flush shade of her cheeks went surprisingly well with the red hair and eyes she sported. "…You don't need to answer. I just wanted to tell you." In fact, he did not even want to know what she might say. "Right now, both you and I have things we need to do…" There were goals they each needed to achieve, and some pesky high school fling was not going to stand in the way of that. "When I'm confident that the time is right, I'll say it again…" Would that time ever come? Yes, he promised himself that it definitely would. Even if it took ten, twenty, fifty years he would say definitely come to her and say it again. "So…" He had done a lot of talking, it was exhausting. Right now he would love to return to his house and take a nap; anything to calm his heart which felt as though it was beating as fast as a hummingbird's, which was approximately one thousand two hundred and sixty times per minute, just for reference.. "…Until then, I guess I can dream." What was it they said; if you dream it you can achieve it? "Now, let's go home."
As he turned around to head down the stairs he felt a hand brush against the backside of his head. Whipping around he caught sight of the girl whose face he had been avoiding. She appeared to be in a state of frustration; as if she felt extreme anger, sorrow, and relief all at the same time and was unsure as to which was stronger. "Excuse me?" The shrill voice sounded as she stomped her foot on the ground; but childish antics like that were just another part of her charm. "You were a complete and total jerk to me Hidetoshi-san!" She yelled, tears welling in her eyes and bottom lip becoming a dark red color. Oh no, don't tell him she was biting her lip this entire time; that had to hurt, poor thing. "And now, on top of everything, you say something like this? What's the matter with you?" Not exactly the reaction he had been hoping for, but that was why he had asked her to please keep all comments until he said it again further down the road; much further, after he grew a spine for handling these types of situations. But no, that would be too easy.
Still, how could be begin to describe his thought process to her? It would sound just awful if he told Minako that, in order for him to realize how much he cared about her, he had to be a cold-hearted bully. Maybe he could find a better way to phrase it, no, not this time. Dang it, what was he supposed to do? He had just planned on leaving after he said his bit; there was no reason for a second round of their fight. It had been bad enough the first time around; there was no need for an encore. Drawing away from her he pushed back the rolled up cuffs on his arms. "I don't need to explain myself-" But she waved a hand in front of his face to cut him off. It appeared as though she was not done, wonderful; why not chew him out right then and there, hadn't he embarrassed himself enough already? Was she really this upset that he told her? Should he have kept it to himself? This was all Keisuke's fault… well, his and google's. That stupid website put all these crazy ideas in his head. The older generations were right, the internet was the devil.
"As I was saying, now you're just going to walk away dramatically and go home without giving me a chance to say anything?" Her face was starting to resemble a turnip; no, those were purple. What was that vegetable that people put in salads again? Oh, right, a radish; yes, well her face looked like one of those. "That's not fair!" Toying with the cookies in her hands Minako stared emptily into them and he was quite unsure of exactly what he was supposed to say next. She did not exactly seem to be finished, and it would be rude to interrupt her; but this was all getting far too chick-flick for him. "You're just going to leave without hearing my feelings…" Her voice was shallow now, as she pulled back the small string holding the colored wrap together. Had he waited another five seconds he would have noticed that they were two little sugar cookies, decorated with rainbow sprinkles, in the shape of hearts. But he did not, he had already turned around and was staring intently at the door; trying to figure out just when he could make his great escape from the horrifying world of teenage emotions.
"That is because I do not want to hear what you have to say." He stated simply, shrugging a bit in the process. For all he knew she could be about to turn down his advancements which, to be clear, he did not make. He had simply gotten something that had been bothering him for some time now off his chest and, to be honest, it felt great. For the first time in a long while he finally felt at ease. Even if she did feel the same way what good would that do? As previously stated he did not want to get into a relationship until he was truly ready, and that would not be for some time. Were they supposed to just wait around until that time came? Surely he could not expect her to do that; it would be asking too much. Motioning for her to come over next to him the boy weighed his options and finally decided on a solution that could, hopefully, work for both of them. With a light pat on the top of her head he offered a reassuring smile. "But I'll listen someday, promise." She stuck her pinky out to seal the deal and, with a carefree laugh, he locked on.
xx
The next two days went smoothly, with the exception of Keisuke singing some dreadfully annoying little jingle about him and Minako being a tree. Sometimes his friend was a genius, other times he was a simpleton, go figure. But, as much as he hated to admit it, she was beginning to have a positive effect on him. The condescending smirk, that had almost become his trademark, was now a thing of the past. He figured that, with a little hard work, everyone could be like the sangria haired girl; so he just had to give them a chance. Of course he was definitely sticking to his only one pardon per person rule; but at least he would not be as inclined as to judge people only moments after meeting them. It turned out that, sometimes, you could be totally wrong about a person. Take, for example, the class vice president. After class on Thursday he had given her a proper apology for not only accusing her, but for doing it in front of her friends. She had been very nice, and even went as far as to thank him and explain that she had gotten so riled about because her boyfriend had called it off only moments before the meeting started; so his snap judgment of her being an over-emotional witch was pretty far off base.
Something else quite extraordinary had happened as well, but he was waiting until later to discuss that with a certain someone. So, instead, he attempted to focus on the dull history lecture that was going on. Goodness, there could be nothing worse than teaching history. It was just the same thing time after time; small civilization, hero emerges, big civilization, someone bigger comes in, group of people wiped out, other group flourishes, rinse and repeat. How could the teacher not fall asleep discussing this year after year? If he was ever going to teach it would have to be something interesting, like political science… or at least a class using new technology rather than deciphering ancient texts. Clicking the back of his pen Hidetoshi observed the indent of the crown on the margin of a page near the front of the notebook. That thing had certainly been through a lot this year; but not to worry, he would no longer lose sight of his goals. He did have his eyes set on the prize; the only difference was that now it was a two part victory. The black ink filled in the desired space nicely as he finished a more permanent etching of the representation of his ambitions; a crown with a small M engraved in the middle.
"Hey, you ready for today? I brought my fluffy knee socks and everything." The girl remarked as they strolled down the hallway to the Student Council room. Though most students were dressed in their winter uniforms she had gone all out; white earmuffs, light scarf, and matching gloves. It had been her idea to do something special for their next meeting, so he had suggested an informal talk on how to dress for school. Of course that had gotten the idea for a fashion show in the girl's head and so here they were. Though, as he glanced at the smiling face beside him he could not help but feel as if, perhaps, he was under-dressed for the occasion. She seemed to sense it too for, opening her messenger bag; she pulled out a light pink scarf. "Here! I made it in Home Economics with the help of my friend Bebe. It will keep you nice and warm." It took every fiber of his being not to allow his eye to twitch when she handed it to him. It was pink, and not even a manly pink, but a shade that you would get stuck painting a nursery if you found out your wife was having a girl.
Wrapping it around his neck Hidetoshi noted that it was a bit stiff and sort of itched in the places where it came into contact with his skin. But she had made it and, like the cookies, she seemed very proud; so he had to humor her. "It's wonderful, I love it." Brushing a few loose threads away from his nose to keep from sneezing he tried to convince himself that the odd looks from his fellow male students were merely because they were jealous. Yes, he would be warm when it started snowing early and they would freeze; so there, they should be envious. Besides, how many cute girls spent time making them scarfs; yeah, exactly, he won. "So, you ready?" With a quick nod she shoved him into the room first and followed by skipping through and landing in the heroic stance she seemed so fond of. A few people laughed, but it was good-natured; and, by now, Minako and he were laughing as well. "As you can see everyone, today we will be discussing our marvelous school uniforms." Where the council normally would have groaned they, instead, broke into applause. "And, clearly, pink is in this season."
He was just going to do the report from his usual spot behind the podium but, after much prompt from Minako and a great deal of cheering from the rest of the members he ended up being pushed onto the long desk. Twisting her finger around in a circular motion the girl indicated that she wanted him to give a twirl. Oh no, that was going too far. He was a serious person, and this was just silly. Still, perhaps being silly every now and then was not necessarily a bad thing. It could never hurt to lighten up a bit. Well, when in Rome… Spinning around he caught his scarf in his right hand and pulled it off theatrically. There were a few whistles from some of the female members and he nearly died of embarrassment when the scarlet eyed girl yelled for him to take off his jacket. Oh she was so lucky he looked favorably upon her or he would have killed her on the spot. "Unfortunately I cannot, seeing as how our dress code forbids us from taking off the jacket until May." The chorus of boos was both humors and, if he did say so, a nice boost to the ego. "Madam?"
Grabbing onto his outstretched hand Minako allowed him to pull her up and onto the tables. "Okay everyone, ready to see what all the girls in Paris are wearing this winter?" Using the tables as a catwalk she sauntered up and down until she got back to the starting point and whipped off her gloves. "Listen up boys, here comes the fun part." She added with a light wink before dropping her hands to her side. "Note that, when my arms are down, the very tips of my fingers brush against the hem of my skirt. Please keep this in mind for anything shorter is against the dress code!" Once more the group broke into a chorus of boos, only this time it was from the male portion of the council. "Aww please don't be sad. Look at these stylish earmuffs? Not only are they effective at keeping your ears toasty warm but they are also Gekkoukan approved!" With a final spin she struck another pose that caused the group to break into a round of applause. If anyone was fun it was Minako, boy, Maiko would love her. Leaping off the makeshift stage he turned and held his arms out to help the girl down.
"So that's my review on the proper way to wear one's uniform. Please keep those things in mind." He said in a slightly more serious tone as he folded the scarf and placed it on the podium. "I'm not trying to force everyone to change the way they dress; I would like to hear your opinion." The student council room broke into conversation and he was only able to pick up bits and pieces of what people were saying. Sure it had been an unconventional style of teaching, but at least they now knew the rules. And, when well informed, they were less likely to accidentally break them. Besides, having a student council that dressed properly was good motivation for the rest of the student body. He felt a soft tug at his sleeve and looked down to see the girl offering him a thumbs up; that was all he needed to know he had done the right thing. Her approval weighted more than the rest of the school combined. But of course she would like it, it was her idea after all; she was awfully creative, he would never thought about demonstrating something he could just as easily read from the handbook.
A girl seated beside the Vice President turned to converse with her "Hey, did Hidetoshi just say he wanted to hear our opinions!" The older girl gave a knowing smile before nodding. "Before, he didn't care WHAT we thought." Not entirely true, he did care what they thought; he just cared about why it was wrong unless they happened to agree with him. But not anymore, he had realized that people were the way they were for a reason. Some acted out, others remained quiet, while some lusted after power. Everyone had their own reasons for doing whatever they were doing and going about things however they saw best fit. They were never going to match up perfectly; even in an ideal world that would be impossible. What motivated him was different than what motivated Minako, and what motivated her was different than the Vice President. No two people were the same because no two people were in the exact same situation. However, he was beginning to learn that you could never fully understand a person; but you could definitely try and, if they wanted to, they would let you know what it was like to be in their shoes.
"Well… At least he's trying." He was, and that was more than the freshman from before could say. What had he been doing this entire meeting besides texting and staring out the window? But, once again, he did not know what waited for the boy outside of the classroom, so he let it slide. As the bell overhead chimed the meeting was officially declared over. As the boys and girls headed out he and Minako began fixing the arrangement of chairs back into neat lines behind the tables. Whistling a tune to herself the girl moved in and out, pulling chairs and slamming them into place, at an alarming rate. She certainly was efficient at a task once she put her mind to it, and he could definitely respect that. Moving the final chair back into place he sat down on the long table in the front of the room and offered a warm smile to the girl. She really had been a big help in all of this; it was funny, he could hardly remember a time without her. Now it seemed strange to try to picture how he got by on his own. No, even then he was not alone; he had Keisuke, his mother, and even his father… who he needed to visit.
Spinning a bit in a circle the girl collapsed onto the table next to him, breaking onto a fit of laughter as she did so. At least she had a good time, that made all his humiliation worth it. Oh who was he kidding, he had fun too. "Thanks, Minako-kun. I couldn't have done it without you." Tapping the girl playfully on the nose he joined her in a carefree laugh. This was definitely better than when he used to be left all alone after meetings. Everyone would go home, or out with friends, and he would be stuck cleaning up the room and worrying about the latest exam in whichever class he happened to be struggling in at the time. But now, here he was, enjoying himself just like all those lame magazines they had out at the dentist's office said he should be. Apparently the teenage years were for having fun, then college was for partying, and the late twenties were for making up for the partying. Well, he would not quite do that; he planned on studying extremely hard in college so that he could make something worthwhile of himself. Then, by the time he was in his late twenties he could have a good job that he enjoyed, one where he looked forward to waking up and going to it every day. "Um… How'd I do?"
Bringing a hand dramatically to her forehead the girl let out a long sigh as she leaned back on the table. "They were praising you." Haha, very funny; he didn't really want to be treated like a king, only have similar status as one. One thing was for certain though; this school needed a theater group, or at least a drama club. Minako would thrive off of an environment like that; and who knows, he had never been partial to plays but if she was in it he would probably sit through one… or two… or all of them. A light blush crossed his cheeks at the thought of her being up on stage, she would do great; everyone would love her, it would be amazing. The girl waved a hand in front of his face to bring him back to earth and he instantly snapped to attention. This daydreaming had become a surprisingly common thing as of late; and they almost always had to do with the girl who was now amusing herself by playing with her earmuffs. What was so amusing about pulling them away from one's head and then allowing them to snap back into place was still a mystery to him, but she seemed to be enjoying herself.
"Well, I'm proud of myself for making an effort." He was satisfied with how far he had come, and that was the important thing. "I may have given people the impression that I'm selfish, but I'll win back their trust." As a matter of fact, he already had. "Look at this." Removing a lighter from his jacket pocket he showed it to the scarlet eyes girl who was staring at it like it was some foreign object. "You know that cigarette butt in the bathroom? One of the guys fessed up." Her mouth made a small 'o' shape and he could not help but wonder if this was her first time actually seeing a lighter; that would be so like her, that teacher really was a moron. "And you know what else? He promised me that he'll never smoke again." It had happened at the end of the day on Thursday, after he saw Hidetoshi apologize to the Vice President. It just went to show that good things happened when you took responsibility for your actions. "This lighter is proof of that." Twisting it around his index finger the boy could not help but recall the shameful look on the boy's face when he handed it to Hidetoshi. "I earned his trust by showing concern for others, just like you taught me." Tossing it to the girl he gave a light smile. "Here, I want you to have this."
As she reached forward to catch it in the air the girl stared at him in surprise. Of course she had to know how much it meant to him. If anything she was the only person who could possibly understand how important it was; how it was a constant reminder that he could do good, if he put his mind to it. He was not a bad guy like the majority of the school seemed to think; he was just trying his hardest to make it in the world, but had been going about it the wrong way. That was what made Minako so special. While it was just beginning to dawn on his classmates now that his intentions were good, she had known from the start. It was as if, right when he tossed the eraser to the back of the classroom, he had sealed his fate of someday needing her. To think, he wanted to be rid of her for so long; it all seemed so foolish now. "I'll treasure it." Pressing it to her heart the girl's eyelids fluttered closed; what was she doing, praying? No, it seemed too informal for that, maybe she was making a wish? Only children did that, but she had never let that stop her in the past. Still, what could a girl as wonderful as her have to wish for?
"Please, do." It may have been a cheap lighter, and who knew for how long it would hold up; but he trusted that she would keep it safe for him. With a frustrated look Hidetoshi stared at the empty room spread out before them. "I've been looking down on people." For as long as he could remember he had always felt a sense of entitlement in the fact that he was working at least ten times harder than his other children his age. "But that caused friction with everyone, and dragged in someone dear to me…" In the end it led to her becoming involved in that ridiculous case. Just what would he have done if the P.E. teacher decided to continue on with the investigation without him? Would he have been able to protect her? "It really hit me, when I was persuading the lighter's owner, how important it was to make an effort to understand…" For a moment he considered taking the girl's fragile hand in his own, but he quickly shook away that idea. "I learned that technique from you… As you employed it upon me." It was embarrassing to admit, but he really did have the utmost respect for her.
"…Do you remember the story I told you? About the TV anchorwoman…?" The girl paused before cautiously nodding. He figured it was about time he finished telling her the story he started so long ago. She did have a right to know after all; and he could trust that she would not tell anyone. "The man sent to prison was my father…" Bringing her hands to her mouth the girl muffled a small gasp. Was it really that shocking? What better motivation was there that seeing firsthand how horrible life could truly be? Had it not been for this entire event he probably would have grown up to be a very average teenager. His mother's carefree attitude, and father's hectic schedule, would have ensured that he could do whatever he damn well pleased. "I see now that sincerity IS important, and I'm proud of myself for learning its true meaning." Hidetoshi had been sincere when he said that he had faith in Minako, when he had told her that he was never going to leave her alone, and the other day on the roof. "I also realized what an amazing man my father is…" It was strange but, now that he truly understood it, he felt the desire to tag along the next time his mother went to visit the man.
"One day…" Not now of course, but in the distant future; once he had made something of himself. "One day, will I be able to stand by your side…?" He expected her to look away when he allowed his dark orbs to peer over at her, but the girl merely held his stare until he decided to break it. "…It's time to go home." But he didn't want to, not yet at least. They were only starting their daily dose of time spent together; and he really wanted to stay by her a bit longer. "You wanna go somewhere?" He inquired suddenly, before it dawned on him that it was extremely inappropriate to ask such an unspecific question. "You know, we've never hung out outside of school." He stuttered, trying to mask the slip-up. "N-Not that I'm asking you on a date… just to be clear." He wasn't in for that now; someday, definitely, but not right now. However he was not going to let that stand in the way of doing something with her outside of the school grounds. Two teenagers of different genders could go somewhere without it being a date, right? Yes, of course, why wouldn't they be able to; he was just being paranoid.
"Sounds wonderful." Minako replied as she fiddled with a loose lock of hair. "I was beginning to wonder if you were ever going to get around to not asking me out." She added playfully, lightly punching him on the shoulder. With a quiet chuckle he hoped down off the desk and turned to face her. Like always he planned on offering up a hand so that she could get down easier; but the girl seemed to have forgotten that part of the routine for she jumped down on her own and landed right on his foot. Graceful, just like an angel; that is, if angels had suddenly taken to attacking people. The oblivious smile plastered on her face meant that she had no idea the pain she was causing him and, being a young man, he could not admit that she was actually succeeding in hurting him. So it looked as though he was just going to have to wait it out; sooner or later she had to move, right? Never-the-less there were no rules about speeding up the process so pointing towards the door, he motioned for her to go on ahead of him. When she finally moved there was the imprint of her saddle shoe on the tip of his dress shoes, splendid.
"I'm not exactly sure what people do outside of school though…" He thought aloud as it began to dawn on him that he almost never did anything unless Keisuke dragged him to some random restraint to get dinner. Apparently the giant bowl of meant and noodles his friend ordered was supposed to make him smarter; well that certainly was not doing its job. One look at the brunette's grades was all the evidence he needed to not believe in the magical, intelligence increasing, meal. "Is there any place that you would like to go?" He inquired as he grabbed the scarf off the stand and wrapped it around his neck for lack of a better place to store it. Hopefully he would not have to go someplace too public in this girly thing; he would like to preserve a shred of dignity, if that was alright with Minako. Would it really have killed her to use blue fabric? However he figured he should be grateful that she made him something at all. As they approached the stairs the girl whipped around and brought a finger to her lips, as if thing it over. Where there really that many interesting places around here that she could not pick? Or, maybe, it was the exact opposite and she could not think of any.
"Hmmm worst comes to worst there's always a movie. I'm not sure what type of films you're into but at least we won't have to make awkward conversation." With a knowing smile he nodded, a movie sounded great. "You know what I really want to see? That new action movie with that guy, he has the short hair, and the really pretty girl-" Apparently walking backwards down the stairs while talking was too complex for her mind to handle for the girl's left foot went right out from under her. Whipping a hand out he grabbed onto the girl's forearm and pulled her back onto his step. This entire situation felt extremely familiar, but this time she was getting a bit too close. "I... uh…" She was so close now that he could hear her heartbeat; it was captivating. Keeping his right hand firmly on her arm the coal haired boy allowed the other to lightly brush against her cheek. No words were needed; the girl merely closed her scarlet eyes and leaned into his touch. Bending forward ever so slightly he permitted his lips to come within mere inches of her glossy ones; it was now or never, right?
"Yo, Minako-tan!" A loud voice called from the top of the stairwell and a male student sporting a deep blue dress under his carelessly open jacket cam sliding down the railing. Hidetsohi instantly released her arm and turned to face the opposite direction. What was he about to do; really now, he had already told the girl that this was not a date. What was he thinking, almost… oh god, he had almost kissed her! However, what was more alarming was the fact that she had not even attempted to protest. Just how was he supposed to interpret that? And what was she going to think now? He would just have to play it off as though nothing had happened, yea, that would definitely work. "I'm going to check up on Chidori so I'll be late getting back to the dorm a'ight? If you're going tonight just leave without me, sorry." Continuing on his way the boy seemed to be hurrying out of their conversation as quickly as he had appeared. But, before he reached the front door, he stopped and waved. "Make sure you get a home run or two for me, show those sons of bitches just who they're messing with!"
What was that all about? He looked inquisitively at the sangria haired girl who appeared to still be composing herself. "Stupei…" She mumbled and he could not help but smile; she seemed quite displeased at his sudden interruption and, for some reason, that made him feel a bit better about his own feelings. With a light sigh she turned back to face Hidetoshi. "Sorry about that, someone he really cares about is in the hospital." She explained. And, as sorry as he felt for the boy, he could not help but wonder where they would be going late at night. Was this what the P.E. teacher had been talking about when he said there were witnesses of her being out after midnight? "He's a fool, but a kind one." Taking another step forward she missed yet another stair but, thankfully, she managed to catch herself this time and landed skillfully at the bottom, arms raised over her head like an Olympic gymnast. Sometimes he was unsure which was more dangerous, the outside would or her own actions. At this rate she was going to get herself killed before he ever had the chance to confess again; and just where would that leave him?
"As clumsy as ever," The boy said between sighs. Thank goodness she was not in situations that needed absolute focus and balance, or she would be screwed. Clearing his throat the boy began to tug at the black ribbon around his neck. "Perhaps it would be best if you allowed me to assist you." He offered uncomfortably, a bit unsure as to whether or not she was going to refuse or laugh in his face for being so awkward about it. However she responded with a full blown smile and linked arms before he could say anything else. As she latched on with the other hand he could have sworn he felt her nuzzle up against him like a puppy. It was endearing though, and he definitely liked having her so close to him; she was easier to watch and keep safe from harm. Alas he could not always be there to make sure she remained safe so, with any luck, the cigarette lighter could guard her in his absence. Now he knew how ridiculous that sounded, but it was the only way that he was going to be able to convince himself to part with her. Gazing down at the top of her head one thing was certain; he could get used to this.
A/N: I love writing. Like, I know I'm not good enough to do it professionally but it's a wicked fun hobby. Know what I'm going to school for? Accounting. Yeah, boring central, I know. Whenever I look at my stacks off books and homework I die a little on the insides… true facts, I just looked over and my liver instantly stopped working.
FrizFroz- whoops, caught me. I have a tiiiiiny bit of an obsession with musicals, sorry. And I knooooow it went sooo fast but I really wasn't about to write months and months of little meetings and bonding so I was all montaaaaage Dx
Cielle- I had actually never used it before the other day! If you watch the show Royal Pains they mentioned it in that a few times, so I always sorta knew it was out there' but boy! There is a TON of stuff on that site! It's downright incredible!
Haruko- You're so awesome! Especially your name, I love it!
Fervour- there's actually a picture out there on Safebooru that is an artist's interpretation of him when he's older…and he has glasses! Its soooo cute, I think you'd totally love it.
Next Chapter: Fantasies or Wishes! Movies are a great romantic setting for every hero and leading lady… a pity he's incredibly awkward in any social situation and she's an accident waiting to happen.
