Light in the Dark

Chapter 5

"So then, lunch at our usual spot?" Ren asked.

"Of course! I'll see you later." Masame smiled and walked to her class.

'So they like each other that much, huh?' Hiiraga thought as she spied from behind a pillar.

~Animation classroom: A few minutes before class started~

"Hey Kyo, wanna help me out?" Hiiraga asked one of her accomplices she called "friends".

"Are we gonna ruin someone's life again?" He combed his messy dark brown hair out of his emerald eyes.

"Of course. Seems Yamaoka's still happy somehow. This is not a good thing." Hiiraga looked at the girl she hated.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. She's lost her family and her house, but now she has a caring boyfriend she lives with." Sumi, another part of the group joined in.

"So, what did you have in mind?" Kyo leaned back in his chair.

"Let's break 'em up." Tsunee Hiiraga, voted most vile in her school, laughed.

"How? That Ichimoku guy isn't very easy to seduce. And if we sent Kyo to flirt with Yamaoka, she'd obviously know it's a set-up." Sumi rolled her brown eyes.

"Well, what if we sent someone else to flirt with her?" Kyo sat up straight again.

"...What are you thinking?" Tsunee grinned.

"I'm tight with pretty much all the guys in our class." He looked around the classroom.

"Hmm... Are you close to Minako Ryuu?" Sumi flipped her medium-length red hair.

"Yeah, why?" Kyo looked around and spotted said guy.

"That's right! Not only is he one of the hottest guys in class, I heard that Yamaoka had a crush on him in 1st year. Who knows, maybe she still does." Tsunee's rose red lips curved up in a smile.

"You're a genius. No wonder you're my girlfriend." Kyo smirked and kissed Tsunee on the cheek. After that, got up and walked over to the black-haired heartthrob.

"Hey, Ryuu." Kyo stood next to his desk.

"Kyo. What's up?" He looked at Kyo with his dark blue eyes.

"Hey, you know Yamaoka-san right?" Kyo looked over at the girl who was busily studying her notes.

"Yeah, she's kinda cute. Why, got any dirt on her?" He smirked.

"Sure do. I heard she likes you. You should go talk to her, you'd make a good couple." Kyo leaned on the table.

"But doesn't she have a boyfriend? The one in culinary?" He sighed.

"Nah, they're just friends. Go for it dude! She eats by the lonely sakura tree in the middle of the field every lunch." He looked out the window.

"Alright, will do. Thanks for the heads up." They high-fived and Kyo walked back to his friends.

"Mission accomplished." He sat down and leaned back.

~At lunch~

"Yamaoka-san?" Ryuu approached the girl after the teacher left.

"Ah, M...Minako-san..."

"Hey, just call me Ryuu." He smiled.

"Ah, w...well in that case, just call me M... Masame..." She looked down to hide her red face.

"Hey, no need to be so shy, buttercup." He held her face and made her face him.

"Ah..." She shut her eyes tight.

"You're so cute when you're acting shy and all." He teased her.

She didn't reply.

"Wanna have lunch with me?" He smiled seductively.

"Ah, I... have other plans, you see..." She thought of Ren.

"Aw forget him. You're with me, honey." He put his face inches from her's.

"Ah... w...well, I guess... Just this once..."

'I have had a crush on him since first year... But wait, I thought Ai said I liked Ren? Ahh... Well, I live with him anyway... So... Maybe just once...' Masame thought.

They walked together out of the classroom and to the field. Instead of staying by the tree, Ryuu planned to take Masame to a bench and table near the entrance of the building.

At that moment, Ren came out of the school building to meet Masame. He planned to talk to her about how he felt.

'Ah there she is!' He thought when he saw her. Little did he know someone had taken the girl he loved.

"Hey, Mas--" He stopped mid-sentence when he saw Masame and Ryuu hand in hand.

"Wh...What the..." He said to himself.

She was with another guy. They were holding hands. They were laughing.

'But I thought Hone-Onna said it was mutual...' He thought to himself.

'I knew it...' He sighed and walked to the tree alone with two lunches in hand.

"Ryuu-kun, what made you want to talk to me anyway?" Masame asked as she ate the lunch he bought for her.

"Nothing, I always thought you were cute." He winked.

"Stop flattering me..." She blushed.

"But you really are cute." He leaned towards her.

"Ryuu-kun..."

"Hey, I heard the school's gonna have a dance. Wanna go with me?" He brought out a flyer and gave it to her.

"Through the Times…" She read out the title.

"It's going to be a mix of newer dances like those half-hip-hop dances and old dances like waltzes. So it's a semi-formal event. Would you like to come with me?" He smiled.

"I'd--" She suddenly remembered about Ren.

"I'll think about it. Thanks for the offer." She smiled.

"Alright, let me know." He winked.

She packed up her lunch and stood up. "It's time for class." She reminded him.

"Alright. Let's go." He did the same.

They walked down the path that was completely in Ren's view.

"...I never should have thought I had a chance..." He sighed. He then stood up and went back to class.

During a 5 minute break he had, he decided to take a peek at Masame's class.

He closed his eye and the giant emerald eye appeared on the ceiling of the animation classroom. They were having a break too. He then spotted Kyo and Ryuu talking. He knew that Kyo was no good so he decided to listen in.

"Hey, did you go talk to Yamaoka-san?" Kyo asked.

"Yeah, she's really cute! Thanks for telling me she likes me dude." Ryuu smiled.

'That dirty...' Ren thought. The giant eye closed and disappeared.

'So now she wants to try to ruin our relationship... I gotta tell Masame. No, wait, I can't! If she really does like that guy, she'll think I'm just trying to ruin her chances! Aw man, what will I do?' He was thinking very hard. Maybe too hard...

~After class; in the car~

"Hey Ren, you've been quiet the whole trip... Something wrong?" Masame noticed.

"Ah, n...no, it's nothing..." He looked out the window.

"Is it because of lunch time? Ren, I'm really sorry, but Ryuu-kun suddenly came up to me, and I had a bit of a crush on him last year, and then when he talked to me it sorta came back and... Oh Ren, I'm reeeaaally sorry..." She sighed.

"Yeah, I know why he suddenly came up to you..." He mumbled.

"What did you say Ren?" She asked.

"...Nothin'..." He leaned back in his seat.

~Eternal Twilight~

"Something wrong, Ren?" Hone-Onna approached the dazed one-eyed man.

"...ma...sa...me..." He quietly muttered.

"Oh dear, I saw what happened earlier. But, maybe it was just by chance!" She tried to reassure him.

"...You said it was mutual..." He said monotonously.

"It is! The lunch was set-up, remember? Hiiraga is trying to ruin you two!" She tried to snap him out of his trance.

"I know that!" He shouted angrily.

"...I know... But if I told her, she'd think I was just being jealous..." He said in a quieter tone. He went to the Eternal Twilight alone this time.

"Then I could tell her." Hone-Onna said with determination.

"Do what you want." He sighed.

"Alright, I will! C'mon, we're going to your house, now!" She pulled him and they disappeared.

They appeared in the kitchen where Masame conveniently was.

"Oh Ren, you're back! Huh? Hone-Onna? What's up? Would you like to join us for dinner?" She smiled.

"Sure, I'd love to." She smiled back. She didn't want to go and attack her right away.

"Hey Ren, why didn't you tell me that you were going to Ai-chan's place? I would've come with you." She asked as she set the table.

"I had something I had to do, I'm sorry." He said without looking her in the eyes.

"Oh, okay…" She nervously agreed. Something was up.

"Yamaoka-chan, about awhile ago…" Hone-Onna didn't want to see them like this.

"Awhile ago… In school?" She asked with her chopsticks in her mouth.

"Hai. I saw you at lunch. Who was that boy you were with?" She asked with an expression that looked more like "weirded out" than "excited".

"Ryuu-kun? Oh, he was my crush in first year. I don't know why he suddenly came to talk to me though…" Masame said.

"Well Ren does!" She stood up and slammed the table.

"Wh…what?" Masame asked, shocked.

"Tell her Ren!" Hone-Onna angrily said as she looked at the young man slumping in his seat.

"…Why?" He asked.

"R…Ren!" Hone-Onna said, appalled by the young man's response.

"Ren, what's going on?" Masame asked, worried about her friend.

"Why should I tell her? She likes her new boyfriend doesn't she?" He said with a bored look on his face.

"B…Boyfriend?!" Masame exclaimed.

"Yeah, you like him, don't you?" He said as he finished his food.

"Well, I did, in first year. He's a nice guy, maybe we can be friends…" She said.

"Then why were you blushing when you were with him huh?!" He stood up and asked angrily.

"Ren, why do you seem so affected?!" She stood up as well.

"Because you didn't see what I saw!" He shouted.

"Then why don't you tell her then?!" Hone-Onna asked.

"Because I doubt I would be believed!" He shouted again.

"But Ren… Why wouldn't I believe you?" Masame calmed down.

"Because I bet you would think I was just jealous." He also quieted down.

"Ren, just tell her already." Hone-Onna crossed her arms.

"Alright… I looked at your class after lunch, and I saw Ryuu talking with Kyo. You know, Hiiraga's boyfriend?" He explained.

"Oh no…" She sighed. "I knew there was a reason why he talked to me." She shook her head.

"So… You're not mad?" He asked, his cheeks slightly red.

"Of course not. In fact, I'm glad you told me." She smiled.

"Well, I'm glad that's over!" Hone-Onna sighed.

"Oh hey, Ren, you know the school's holding a dance sometime soon." Masame remembered and handed him the flyer she received earlier.

"Is that an invitation?" He looked at her and smiled.

"I'm glad that you're smiling again." She smiled back.

"Alright, I'll leave you two lovebirds alone then. Sayonara!" Hone-Onna winked and then disappeared.

"…Did she just call us lovebirds?" Masame asked while a drop of sweat travelled down her cheek.

~To be Continued~