Hello Everyone. I hope you like the next chapter. I'm still trying to adjust to being back to the school life but I managed to find a good time to continue writing. Thank you!
"Yuuta! Look a panda!" I shouted excitedly while dragging Yuuta to see the pandas. They were being lazy fat bums. One was sitting on a pile of broken bamboo sticks while gnawing on another stick of bamboo. The other panda was inside it's cave taking a nap without a care in the world. "The one sleeping reminds me of Nee-san when she's on holiday." I giggled at the thought of my sister lounging around the house. Yuuta laughed along with my comment.
"The one eating reminds me of you." Yuuta teased, "Actually, it kind of looks like you, chubby and hungry."
"Hey!" I playfully sent him a punch to the chest but he skillfully caught my fist and pulled me into a headlock.
"Hey! Don't forget I'm still older than you." He exclaimed.
"Yuuta! I'm sorry!" I laughed, knowing he was just being playful.
The entire time, Ootori was just watching the scene before him. He couldn't help but softly laugh at the relationship his date had with her sibling. From a third party's point of view, it looked like they were on a date instead of him and Rina. He frowned knowing that he won't be able to have some alone time with Rina.
"Ne, Yuuta. I'm going to walk with Ootori-san. I've been neglecting him. I don't want him to feel bad." I finally let go of Yuuta's arm and walked towards Ootori. Yuuta nodded and turned his attention back to the animals.
"Ootori-san. Gomen ne, I know we're on a date but I've been neglecting you." I bowed in apology.
"O-Oh, no! It's okay. You were excited to see your brother. I'm just glad you're having a good time." He smiled happily.
"But this is our date…I want to have fun….with you." I whispered the last part lightly. Ootori heard what I said and blushed at my comment.
"L-let's go see the next animals." He started walking off. "She's so cute! I need to contain myself and not scare her." He thought to himself. It took a lot of energy for him to hold back from giving her a hug. They just met and a hug would be too fast.
"Uwah! A giraffe!" My eyes brightened up when the giraffes came into view. I couldn't help but admire them; they're so cute and tall. "Sugoi…" I breathed.
"Are giraffes your favorite?" Ootori asked leaning against the railing. I nodded my head furiously.
"I love giraffes! "I smiled cheerfully.
"Do you want a drink?" He asked.
"Mmm, sure." I nodded without breaking my gaze away from the giraffes.
"I'll be right back. Wait here." He instructed me and took off with a jog. I nodded my head and continued admiring the giraffes. Honestly, I could stay and watch them for hours. Because I'm so short, I always wondered how it would be like to be a giraffe. They are tall enough to reach the tops of trees and do other tall animal things I couldn't think of at the moment. They're so tall….like Ootori. I suddenly had a vision of a giraffe with Ootori's head galloping in a happy state. I burst out laughing at that vision.
"Hey cutie." I heard a voice come form behind. I turned around to see two guys standing there. One was tanned and was wearing a beanie and the other was taller and in my opinion, he looked like one of those sleazy "host" type guys.
"Are you playing by yourself?" The sleazy looking one asked.
"N-no. I'm with a date." I shyly whispered. I hate talking to guys, and they were making me uncomfortable enough.
"Looks like your date abandoned you. Come play with us, we'll show you a good time." The guys with the beanie grabbed my arm. I immediately try to jerk my arm away but his grasp on me is too strong. These guys are seriously scary. I started to cry and tried pulling myself away.
"Hey! Get away from her!" Suddenly the guy's hold on me was gone. I looked up to face Ootori's back. I looked up from behind him and the guy that had grabbed me was on the floor holding his cheek. The guys started to feel intimidated by Ootori's height.
"She's not that cute anyways!" The sleazy one helped his friend up and they both ran away. Ootori turned around and tried to help me up.
"D-DON'T TOUCH ME!" I screamed and backed away from his touch. I held myself and continued to cry into my knees. Men are so scary, I hate them. "Onii-san." I whispered. I wanted my big brother here to protect me from the men. Ootori just looked at my current state in complete shock. He honestly had no idea what to do for her. He wanted to hold her and tell her she's safe but that would only traumatize her more in the end. Then an idea struck him. He took off running to the nearest store. Within a couple minutes he came back.
"Fuji-san." He said softly, doing everything he could to not scare her more.
"…" I looked up to see Ootori holding a large stuffed giraffe.
"When you're scared, one of the best things to do it to hug something that makes you feels safe." He remarked.
"Ootori-san." I didn't know what to say. I remembered how harshly I screamed at him when he tried to help me up. He was the one that saved me from those awful men. Now here he is continuing to comfort me. I slowly took the stuffed giraffe and hugged it, and he was right. Cuddling does help when you're scared. I slowly got up on my own and looked up to face him.
"Thank you…" I shyly thanked him.
After walking around the zoo, our stomachs started to growl. Ootori and I laughed at our stomachs coming in sync.
"I guess it's time for lunch, anything you want" Ootori asked,
"Korean BBQ!" I shouted happily.
"Then Korean BBQ it is. " He nodded in agreement.
"Wait, let me call Yuuta to see where he went." I took out my phone to dial his number. I haven't seen him since we saw the pandas in the beginning. "Yuuta, where are you?"
"Oh, I went home. I got tired and left. " He explained.
"But you didn't say goodbye to me." I said sadly.
"Don't be too sad. I'll visit home more to come see you." That brought up my mood. "But Rina, just watch out for Aniki." He warned.
"Okay…I love you!" I nodded in confusion and sent him my love. Once I hanged up the phone, I turned to Ootori and explained what happened to Yuuta.
While eating Korean BBQ, we just chatted about everything. I learned more about Ootori like where he spent his childhood and how he first got into tennis.
"Fuji-san?" It looked like he wanted to ask a question. "Why are you so afraid to be around men." I dropped the lettuce wrap that was in my hand and quickly cleaned up my mess. Honestly, that question caught me completely off guard.
"Sorry if that was too forward. I don't want you to feel too uncomfortable but when I saw your reaction earlier today with those guys, I was really worried about you." He explained. I found myself reaching for the stuffed giraffe and clutching one of its leg for comfort. "If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. I just want you to be comfortable. I'm sorry I brought it up." He apologized.
"No it's fine. After what happened, I should explain myself." I let go of the giraffe. "Well it all started when I was in 2nd grade….." I started.