A/N: Sorry for the late update! If you haven't read my profile, I got absorbed in my Nico Nico Utaite fandom. And recently I've been watching APH, haha (hilarious stuff XD). Sorry this took so long! The last update for this was over a month ago, so I wanted to get this chapter out before I did another chapter for GoA. And I'd like to promote my other one-shots: "Pineapple Band-Aids" and "Trampolines." Do check them out and give me feedback! I'm sorry if so many OCs are confusing, I hope you can get to know each one! (and for 666 Hell Ring, I might do an omake thing, but if I did it for this chapter, the release would be much later). I'VE BEEN SO DISTRACTED WITH IDEAS. I have another idea up my sleeve for Takahashi Kotone, the OC I made for angelxgirlx21's fanfic (so be sure to look out for that!).
I'd also like to promote "Lost Sea" though it's only the prologue right now...(I have yet to put up the first chapter .) But I promise Kai will be squishy! And if he's not going to be squishy...at least we have Basil, right? So do check it out and tell me what you think (since I've gotten no reviews...I'd really like to know what you guys think!) ^_^
Hope you enjoy! Sorry if I made any of my characters OOC (do tell me! Although their characters are still in development). Any confusion at all, feel free to point them out and I will fix. Reviews would be appreciated and so would feedback and constructive criticism. Thanks again!
"Kotori-chan, Mangusta said to give you this." Longchamp handed a packet of papers to his daughter, scratching his itchy scalp. "I looked at it really quick and it looks kind of like a hit list, haha. You're going to turn out just like your ol'man, Kotori-chan. Oh, and Mangusta said to pay special attention to the names circled in red and to stay away from them."
"Okaaaay, where is Mangusta this morning anyway?" Kotori helped her dad with his tie, putting the sheaves of paper aside on her desk. "He's usually around in the mornings. Can you thank him for me later when you see him?"
"Sure thing, Kotori-chan!" Longchamp ruffled his daughter's hair, giving her a bear hug. "Mangusta…let me see, some errands I guess?"
"You're the boss of the Tomaso family yet you don't know the coordinates of your subordinate?" Kotori pulled back from her father's embrace, giving him a teasing punch to the shoulder. And then the horror struck her. "Wait, Mom can't cook. You can't cook. Mangusta isn't home. What am I supposed to eat?"
"Try the convenience store?" That unsure tone of her dad's again; he was forever asking her for advice on things from what color tie would match his shirt best and whether or not they should buy a new grill to deciding which type of guns they should upgrade to and whether or not they should invest in bullet-proof suits. "They have some really good omelets there!" Longchamp suggested, having just been there himself with Pantera. Kotori brightened, that's right, something new for a change!
"Can I have some money to buy breakfast?"
"Sure you can," replied Longchamp cheerfully, reaching into his pockets and handing her a wadful of bills. "Eat to your heart's content."
"I'll be going then, see you later Dad!"
As Kotori dug through her purse for the correct change for her melon bread (since her dad had only given her bills), she turned her head slightly and inhaled sharply to herself. It was a minor celebrity!
"Excuse me," she started, "Did you appear recently in the Namimori Tribunal? Um…to protect or something?"
The boy standing in the line next to her gazed at her curiously, taking his anpan* from the cashier. Not wanting to obstruct the rest of the line, which mostly consisted of old ladies, he moved to Kotori's left side.
"Mamoru. Joshima Mamoru. It was for a painting competition," the blond leaned his elbows against the counter, waiting for Kotori to pay for her purchase. "Thanks for noticing. Not many people read that corner of the paper. And you are…?"
Kotori thanked the cashier and indicated that they should walk out into the streets. The little bakery was stuffy and hidden in a small alleyway. It was most frequently visited by the grannies of the neighborhood. Longchamp's daughter decided to reject her father's suggestion for omelets in favor of something sweet; after all, she needed the energy and the sugar rush.
"Naito Kotori. If I remember correctly, your painting was called "Vincent van Goh, Painting the Mona Lisa," right? It was really interesting! I clipped it out and stuck it on our refrigerator. My parents really liked it too."
"No way," laughed Mamoru, "that's such an honor. This is the first time someone's mentioned my section in the paper. Much less stick a photo of my painting on their refrigerator. But it wasn't "Vincent van Goh, Painting the Mona Lisa," it was actually "Leonardo da Vinci, Painting the Mona Lisa." Anyway, thank you again, Naito-san. It's a pleasure meeting you. Judging from your uniform, you go to Namimori Middle?"
"That's right! I've never seen your uniform before, which school do you go to?" The brunette slid the wrapper off her bread, biting in messily, both hands tightly gripping the plastic cover. The blond managed to eat his bread neatly, with not even a trace of filling on his collar.
"Sorry if this is rude, but you have crumbs on your chin," pointed out Mamoru courteously, a half smile on his face. "I go to Kokuyo High, I'm a first year there."
The girl grinned and wiped carelessly at her chin, missing an entire section of crumbs that lingered at the corner of her mouth. "Thanks! Kokuyo High? I've heard it's a pretty good school. I'll probably end up going to Namimori High, though. Maybe we'll see each other at sports meets!"
"You're a third year?" asked Mamoru, surprised, thinking that she had been maybe a first or second year.
"Yeah, I am. Why do you sound so surprised? Do I look that young to you?"
"You just have this youthful air around you," shrugged Mamoru, smiling widely. "It's a compliment! You remind me of my sister a lot, she's really energetic too."
"Sister?" Kotori's beam dropped a bit, not the impression one wants to make on a cute guy. "In what way?"
"Full of spirit, eager, bright," listed Mamoru, tapping his fingers. "I think you two would be good friends. She's a third-year too."
"What a coincidence," murmured Kotori, looking distracted, an idea at the back of her mind. She pulled out the papers Mangusta had printed for her. "Can you write your contact information down here? My school's nearby here."
Mamoru looked surprised but took the paper and wrote his name and cell phone number down. "This should do it. We'll stay in touch this way. It was nice meeting you, Naito-san."
"The pleasure's all mine." She bowed and headed in the direction of Nami Middle, sliding the paper back into her book bag, humming cheerfully underneath her breath that she had met an ikemen* today.
As she stepped into the school building, Kotori saw Momoka with Senri in the western wing and rushed over to them.
"Sasagawa-kun, can you go on a date with me?" she asked, with a flutter of her eyelashes, still hyperactive from her encounter with Mamoru. Her heart still thudded from remembering Mamoru's green eyes, but she tried to shake it off and think about Sasagawa in front of her. He crossed his arms and looked at her, a faintly amused smile on his face.
"Is this a confession, Naito Kotori-san?" Kotori tried to focus on Sasagawa-kun, but her mind kept flashing back to forest green eyes that peered out kindly.
"Of course it's not," she proclaimed with a playful smile, "I'm just asking for a date. It'll be fun!" She turned to Momoka and winked, "Remember, Momoka-chan? You said to go do something with my time, like get a boyfriend or something? So I made this list of boys I'll go on a date with." Kotori took out the stack of papers that Mangusta had printed and waved it in her friend's face.
"So on your list of dateable boys, Senri's first?" asked Momoka incredulously, a restrained smile creeping onto her face. Kotori could tell that the other girl was trying not to laugh, her eyes were crinkled and her lips were twitching.
"More or less so," Kotori grinned. "I picked the top ten most eligible boys in each grade." Momoka grabbed the list from Kotori and scanned it until her eyes widened at one particular name circled in red.
"WHY IS RYU ON HERE?" The aforementioned boy's sister nearly doubled over from laughing, her whole body shook as chortles wracked her body. "Don't tell me you like Ryu? What's with this messed up list? First you have Senri, and then Ryu? Reiji-kun I can maybe understand, but SENRI and RYU? That's too funny, ahahaha."
Senri pouted and elbowed Momoka in the stomach lightheartedly, "Momo! That's too mean, what would Ryu think if he heard you? I've heard he's actually quite popular among the first-year girls, hehe. Way to go Ryu."
In response to this, she smiled slyly, brushing away the tears of laughter, "I know. It's such a surprise…of all the people, someone confessed to Ryu! But Senri, aren't you just upset that I called you unpopular? Did I hurt your manly pride?"
The boy racked his mind for something to say back, of course he was popular! Wasn't he? Girls looked and whispered at him all the time, didn't they? He cocked his head to the side and swaggered, "Of course I'm popular, Momo, what makes you think I'm not? I get confessions, uh, like every other day."
The girl tsked and waggled her finger at Senri, "Lies, lies lies, Sasagawa Senri. You know that if you were ever confessed to, you'd come running to me and rub it in my face the moment that poor girl stepped away from you."
Senri shrugged and admitted defeat, "Fine, you're right Momo. But Naito-san could be a first!" He turned to Kotori and turned his puppy eyes on her, "You like me, don't you?"
While the two friends had been bantering, Kotori had looked distractedly out the window, unable to stop thinking about Mamoru. Is this love, I wonder, at first sight? She felt giddy, reflecting on his gentle, slightly bashful smile. A hand waved in front of her and Momoka's face popped into view.
"Say no, Kotori-chan! You barely know him!" Startled, Kotori thought Momoka was talking about Mamoru, and blurted out, "But he's really cute!"
At this, Senri smiled self-satisfactorily and sauntered next to Momoka, patting her on the back condescendingly. "There, there, Momo. I know it's hard to be wrong sometimes. See? Naito-san said I was really cute!"
In response to his taunt, Momoka pinched his nose shut and didn't let go until he forced her to surrender by tickling her neck. "I'm sure she doesn't mean you, there has to be a misunderstanding!" Turning to Kotori, she asked who she had meant, confident that it was most definitely not Senri that Kotori had been talking about.
The dark-haired girl grinned widely, "Ah, it was this boy in the newspaper that I saw this morning!" With that declaration, Senri's shoulders slumped in disappointment and Momoka patted him on the head comfortingly, while beaming from being once again, right.
"What about asking me on a date?" interjected Senri, not willing to lose face in front of Momoka, who'd never let him live this humiliation down, ever. "What about the list?"
"I'm sorry, do you still mind going out with me on Saturday? Just as friends," apologized Kotori, feeling bad about the list now that she had met Mamoru. Mamoru. Next time I see him, I want to ask him if I can call him Mamoru-kun, wondered Kotori, feeling shy yet excited just thinking the thought.
He shrugged and said sure, though he mentioned that they weren't exactly "friends." Senri glanced at Momoka with an impish grin but tried not to get distracted…a girl was asking him out, as a friend. Why would he say yes, when he barely knew the girl? Because his honor as a gentleman was at stake, he couldn't just coldly refuse her!
"I'm game," he said, holding his hand for a handshake. "Where do you want to go?"
"We can meet up at the Namimori Shopping District. Is that alright?" Senri nodded yes and before he knew what was happening, Kotori was whisking Momoka away from him.
"See you Saturday, Sasagawa-kun," waved Kotori, her hands wrapped around Momoka upper arms, dragging the struggling girl down the hallway. "I'm going to class with Momoka-chan now."
"Wait, Kotori-chan, don't just drag me off like that," protested Momoka, giving a half-wave to Senri with her back turned. "Class isn't going to start for awhile and I have to stop by the Student Council Room."
"Isn't it alright for you to skip just one day," laughed her friend, sliding open the doors to the classroom. "Besides, I have something I want to talk to you about."
The shorter girl sighed, "Fine, I suppose I'll just have to do those papers some other day. So, what is it?"
Kotori took a seat at her desk and then indicated for Momoka to sit next to her. "First, I'm coming over to your house today, ok? Hehe, we haven't hung out in awhile. Second, I met a celebrity today!"
The class representative rolled her eyes, "So, who was it? The principal? The owner of that bakery we like so much? A super sentai*?"
"Of course not!" giggled Kotori, swatting at her friend. "Remember that artist that was featured in the newspaper last week? Didn't Ryu show you the article?"
Momoka tried to remember. Certainly she recalled Ryu shoving the newspaper into her face, yelling excitedly that it was such an awesome painting, something Italian? She put a hand to her chin, in a thinker pose, twirling a strand of hair around her finger.
"Maaaaaaaybe," said Momoka, her syllables drawn out, crossing her legs together. "Somehow, an image of Ryu shouting and pointing at a newspaper, I can kinda remember. Wasn't it that guy who painted something Italian?"
"Yup," gushed Kotori enthusiastically, shaking her ebony locks side to side. "He had a super cool artist aura. Like one of those celebrities, but he wasn't arrogant at all, but really soft-spoken like a gentleman."
"Right, well, about the list, what's with the names circled in red? Ryu, Senri, and Reiji's names were the only ones that were circled. Why?" It was shortly after that the words left her mouth that Momoka made the connection. "Ah! It's that Mangusta again, right? Ryu, Senri, and Reiji are all connected to the Vongola. Even though your dad is friends with Uncle Tsuna, Mangusta is still making such a huge fuss over the mafia rivalry, huh?"
Kotori grinned wickedly, "Those boys still don't know, huh? It's just a secret between us girls, right?"
The other girl could only grimace and turn away from Kotori's bubbly expression. "It's better if they didn't know. Knowledge is dangerous in the mafia world. I wouldn't want them to be involved with such a life."
"Don't make such a painful expression, Momoka-chan! You're such a good girl, wanting to protect the ones you love!" Kotori giggled and winked at the shorter girl. "I'll cheer you up at your house later."
"Don't invite yourself over like that," reprimanded Momoka, a reluctant smile appearing as she shoved her friend slightly in a playful manner. "I bet you're just coming over for the sushi!"
"I was found out," joked Kotori, "but let's definitely hang out; it's been awhile after all."
"You definitely have an ulterior motive, Kotori-chan," accused Momoka mockingly. "Definitely the sushi!" The girls collapsed into laughter and the incoming stream of students gave the two girls weird looks. Definitely the weird Iinchou and her friend.
"You know Sasagawa-kun's number, right? Can you text and ask him what kind of girl he likes?" asked Kotori, sprawled out on Momoka's bed, flipping through a fashion magazine she had bought on her way home. She added, "And don't forget to ask about any fetishes too!"
Grudgingly, Momoka flipped open her cellphone from her spot across the room and then waved it in the air in Kotori's direction, "Remind me again why you want me to do this? I had the impression you liked that artist guy."
"I feel bad about the date, so I really don't want to disappoint him. I was thinking, I could dress up to his taste," explained Kotori, another one of her trademark mischievous grins crossing her face as her eyes landed on a page with fishnet stockings. "You don't think Sasagawa-kun would be into this kind of thing, would he?"
His best friend shrugged and punched his number into her phone, prepared to write a message, "How am I supposed to know? We don't exactly discuss these kinds of things."
Kotori titled her head curiously, flattening the magazine spread with her left hand. "Aren't you two super close? I'm sure you guys talk about love and the like sometimes, right?"
As Momoka texted, she absently-mindedly answered, "Not fetishes, but we used to talk about our crushes. Senri hasn't told me about anyone he likes recently though."
"So that's how it is."
"Yep, that's how it is." Click. "Alright, I sent off the text, we'll have to wait a bit for a reply." Momoka settled herself on the floor, sitting cross legged, and opened up a manga that she had borrowed from her mom's private library.
"Aniki, not fair! You definitely cheated this round," exclaimed Benjirou, his eyes glued to the video game, his thumbs moving at lightning speed.
Senri rolled his eyes at his younger brother and denied the accusation. Suddenly, "Boss Death" played from his cellphone and he paused the game they were playing to get it. Senri glanced at the sender and called out to his brother," You go play online, Benji, alright?"
"How long does it take to check a text?" mumbled the younger Sasagawa, shutting the TV off and slinking off to his room to play RPG games online. "It must be someone he likes if it's going to take that long. Or maybe it's someone he doesn't want me to hear him talking to."
The older Sasagawa boy flopped onto the couch and flipped the cover open. He scanned the text and was so surprised; he had to re-read the text three times. "Fetishes?" His nervous laughter filled the room. "Did she find me out?" Then again, this could be a prank. Maybe Ryu had stolen Momoka's phone and decided to mess around with Senri. Yeah, that was definitely it! They hardly brought it up in casual conversation, why would it come up now?
[Is this a joke? If this is Ryu, this isn't funny!]
Senri considered the possibility that Momoka had really sent it. He mulled over the chance of Momoka actually caring enough to ask or if she just wanted to embarrass him. Maybe something had happened and she wanted a guy's perspective. He was, after all, her closest male friend. Wait, he was her closest friend, who else would she turn to? He smiled self-satisfactorily and tapped his foot impatiently while waiting for her reply. It wasn't long until his phone vibrated "Boss Death" again and Senri reluctantly put down the video game magazine he had been browsing through.
[No, this is Momoka. Why would Ryu steal my phone? He knows not to incur the wrath of Yamamoto Momoka ;] Are you going to answer the question or not?]
"Like I'm going to answer her seriously," muttered Senri, typing back a quick reply. He couldn't figure out what to say, should he lie and get her off his back or just ignore her? But that would mean that she'd forever have the wrong impression of what kind of girls he liked. He shuddered; if he jokingly said he liked tall girls who played basketball, she'd drag him to basketball games for the rest of his life.
[Like hell I'm going to tell you. Why do you want to know?]
On the other line, Momoka fumed at his text. "What's with that tone?" Kotori looked up from her page of skirts and examined her friend. Momoka's nose was crinkled, her brows drawn into a frown, her lips puckered in frustration.
"What's the matter, Momoka-chan? Did Sasagawa-kun just state he has a strange fetish or a weird type of girl that he's into? I think I can probably deal with it," winked Kotori, flipping the page. "Oooh, these are some cute boots!"
"Let me see," said Momoka, taking a seat next to Kotori on her bed. She hated when people were rude, especially people she cared about. It made her veins want to pop. She pointed out that the boots Kotori had been looking at were overpriced.
"So? I can look at them, can't I? Why the sour mood? If he's going to make you this mad, you can just tell him to forget it. Either way, Sasagawa-kun should still like how I look, hehe. That's a guarantee," declared Kotori, giggling softly, turning her attention briefly to her friend.
"I suppose you're right. He's probably just cranky that I'm trying to pry into his "private business" since he's a big boy now, riiiiight?" Momoka laughed, feeling better having come to a logical solution as to why Senri was being such a brat.
[Fine, you don't tell me. I guess you'll have to find out yourself then. Hope you have fun with Kotori-chan!]
Raising his phone up to the light, the boy sighed a breath of relief. "What the! She was probably just asking for Naito-san. I should buy her something as an apology, THEN maybe she won't be as mad about the text." Senri had noticed that Momoka had taken longer to respond than usual and concluded that she was probably smashing her phone somewhere or maybe throwing darts at his face. He knew how much she hated rudeness, she was actually pretty Spartan when it came down to it; she had even once beat up a kid in elementary school for making fun of Aoi's shyness.
[Sorry about that, Momo. I'll see you around.]
Senri sighed again and then chuckled. "She's turning me into an old man!" He glanced at his ghastly pile of homework and decided that he'd better do it before his mom killed him. It was bad enough when he had one girl out to get him, it was worse when there were two females involved. He grimaced, how did he end up with those two in his life? Oh right, he had been born into it.
"Over here, Sasagawa-san, over here," shouted Kotori, jumping up and down to show off her skirt, allowing it to rise up and down her knees. "Good morning!"
Senri looked around, embarrassed at having been so publicly called over. He nervously adjusted the collar of his shirt and gave her a morning wave. "Morning, Naito-san. Where do you want to go first?" He looked perplexed when she gave another spin and then an oh-so-subtle cough and point at her skirt.
"What do you think of my outfit? Since you didn't respond to Momoka-chan's texts, she told me to go with a girly theme since the girl you liked when you two were first years was apparently really girly. It was that Asuka-senpai, right? I looked up her pictures in the school yearbook and dressed similarly to her style."
"I'm not sure if that's flattering or freaky," mumbled Senri, hiding his face in his sleeve. He squashed his laugh into the crook of his arm and allowed himself to regain his composure. "So, where do you want to go first?"
Kotori patted his arm reassuringly, "Don't worry Sasagawa-kun, I've got it all planned out. We can go shopping first and then stop by for a snack or meal at the café near the bakery. Does that sound good to you?"
He shrugged and allowed himself to be pulled along to go check out the various new scarves of the season. Somehow, he'd rather have Momoka drag him around, at least she'd punch him when he expected it.
"Momoka-chan, what's the matter?" Yamamoto leaned over the counter where he had been drying the dishes and tweaked his daughter's nose. "You look bored. It's a Saturday, you should go out and have some fun! Maybe you'll feel better after some gymnastics practice? I haven't see you twirl that ribbon of yours for awhile."
"Dad, do you know when Mom and Grandpa are coming back? You're at Uncle Hayato's so often recently and Ryu's been having late baseball practices."
Yamamoto's eyes softened and his smile brightened. "So that's it! Momoka, sorry for making you lonely. I promise, I'll stick around more if you want. It was bad timing for your mom to go on a business trip at this time. Gokudera's not very good with kids, haha."
"A business trip," drawled Momoka lazily, swinging her feet against the stool. She blew out a scornful breath. "More like mafia mission, right? Ryu's not around, so there's no need to tip toe around me, Dad. I'm a big girl; I'm not frightened so easily."
Yamamoto laughed at his daughter's bravado and made an agreeing noise, "You're a big girl Momoka, but you still get scared. In fact, everyone gets frightened sometimes. Just know that everything is going to be fine, so don't worry. Squalo just called her up the other day; it seems, for an impromptu mission. It's supposed to be an easy job, so just relax a little, Momoka, alright?"
Her eyes widened, "The Varia? They are a freaking assassination squad, what would they need Mom for?" Yamamoto gave her a painful smile and shrugged helplessly. "Don't tell me she kills." The words were laced with cold anger and a quarter of hopeful disbelief.
"She's not killing anyone, so calm down Momoka-chan! The Mafia can get nasty but you know your mom is the lead strategist of the Vongola. They just needed her to make them a plan for some sort of infiltration."
"Why couldn't she make a plan from home? She has everything she needs: her computer, her charts, her video games, and her protractor. Everything she needs is right here," grumbled Momoka, flicking a crumb across the counter that Yamamoto had missed.
"Don't think you know everything about your mom," said Yamamoto, wagging a finger. His smile shrunk a bit when he noticed his daughter' ashen face at his words. He shook his head at his choice of words. "What I mean is that she needs to scout out the area first and draw up her own custom plan. It's usually like that; she needs to have her own map of the place first. She notes the smallest details, so other maps aren't always useful to her."
Momoka stood up abruptly, slamming her feet to the tiled floor. "You know what, I actually do feel like taking a walk. Bye Dad, love you, see you later." The teen rushed to her room, snagging her cell and her wallet. She blew a kiss to her father before shouting a "I'm going!" and slammed the front door behind her.
"I guess she's at that age," sighed Yamamoto, scratching his neck with soapy fingers. He looked at his watch, wondering when his wife would return from her "business trip."
Momoka was thinking about where to go in Namimori as she paced the sidewalk. She couldn't exactly mope around the house after storming out. And Senri was busy with Kotori. That gave her an unexpected pang of jealousy. Her two friends hanging out. Without her. She gave herself a forced smile and decided to check out the stores. Something caught her attention, a bright yellow flyer across the street that was advertising a sale at the café near the bakery she frequented with Kotori. She leaned closer to take a look, "Does that say 25% discount? Sweet!"
Unfortunately for Momoka, the person turning around the corner was running too fast to stop himself when he saw her. He ended up knocking her to the ground, despite still being firmly grounded himself. Apologetically flustered, he offered his hand to the girl.
She took it thankfully, pulling herself up. The first thing she noticed about him was his golden hair color. Automatically, she blurted, "Yoshima Subaru. Italian. Painting. Kotori-chan. Newspaper. Ryu."
Taken aback at her outburst, the boy corrected her, "It's actually Joshima Mamoru. Are you a friend of Naito-san's?"
"I am. Sorry for mistaking your name, it's always happening to me," blabbered Momoka, shaking the hand that she was still holding. "My name is Yamamoto Momoka. It's nice to meet you. Kotori-chan was talking to me the other day about you and my younger brother has praised your work before."
The blond smiled bashfully, "That's such an honor. Please thank your brother and Naito-san for me. You are all too kind. If you don't mind, I just have to go and make this quick delivery to the post office." It was a small, plain envelope that was addressed in script, To the Agricultural Council of Namimori, and seemed quite thick from what Momoka could see.
"Are you interested in plants, Toshima-san?"
"Um, it's Joshima. And no, I'm only mailing some forms for my sister. She's been busy lately and I wanted to help her out by sending these out." The girl noticed his fidgetiness but didn't say anything, although she did wonder if he was telling the truth about the contents of the envelope.
"If you don't mind, is it alright if I accompany you? It's not everyday I make a new friend." She gave him her most winning smile. She needed a distraction. Anything. Joshima Mamoru was the perfect distraction. "I'll treat you to something later. It's a 25% discount, hehe."
At a loss, Mamoru nodded his compliance and motioned for Momoka to follow him to the post office. Meanwhile, Kotori was trying on her tenth dress that morning, with Senri near drooling from boredom in the corner.
"It looks good," he said, his voice flat and dull. He hadn't even bothered looking anymore. Why did he say yes? He could have been at home finishing that level with Benji!
Luckily for Senri, "Just Be Friends" blasted from Kotori's cellphone and when she looked up, Kotori smiled. "Sasagawa-kun," she sang, "I've got a text from Momoka-chan!"
A/N: So hope you enjoyed this. The only new character is Joshima Mamoru. If you couldn't tell, he's Ken's son. ^_^ Who wants to take guesses on his sister? What's she like? Not sure if it's obvious or not who she is though. Anyway, if you do like it (or even if you don't, give advice), please review! ^^ Thanks~
Special Blooper: This was how the text conversation was originally, but I changed it. Haha, do tell me what you think of this one as well.
The older Sasagawa boy flopped onto the couch and flipped the cover open. He scanned the text and was so surprised; he had to re-read the text three times. "Fetishes?" His nervous laughter filled the room. "Did she find me out?" The impact of the text hit him and his eyes bulged. "Wait…what? What kind of girl I like? Don't tell me Momo has secret feelings for me!"
[What type of girl do you like? Do you have any particular fetishes?]
Senri glanced frantically around, as if to check that no one could see his worked up state. Slowly, he punched in [Why?] and hit [send], holding his breath for her answer. He wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans and wondered why he was so tense. Maybe because this was so direct. Maybe it was because of this morning. Maybe it was Momoka. "Boss Death" started up and his phone buzzed in his hand. Hesitantly, but then deftly, he flipped it open.
[You won't tell me? Someone wants to know ^~^.]
The boy chuckled, he could imagine her tone, teasing, pouting, and restrained laughter. It occurred to him that this could be a prank. He decided to answer generically and see how she responded. "I like girly girls who are cute," he said aloud as he typed and then hit sent. It wasn't long before he got a "Boss Death" reply.
[Define girly. What do you think is cute?]
"Ehhh, she wants me to explain my vague answer," laughed Senri, exasperated. His brow furrowed and he tried to think of something to say. Skirts! Skirts were cute and girly. Headbands and jewelry too! Proud of himself, he sent off his ideas.
[Ah, I see! Thanks for telling me. It was a great help!]
"What does that mean?" Perplexed, the boy tapped the phone on his head lightly, as if it'd give him some enlightenment as to what was going on. He grinned suddenly.