Title: Damn the Plumbing (Part 1 of 2)

Author: shimasama

Pairing: Akane Narita and Subaru Yagi

Fandom: Hot Gimmick

Theme: #5 – "ano sa…"

Disclaimer: I do not own Hot Gimmick. It belongs to Viz and Miki Aihara.

The pipes on one of the lower floors burst during a heavy rainstorm one summer, just before Akane's eighth grade year. She was in her family's apartment, about three floors up, when it had happened. She had heard the clang, the rush of water—but she had never imagined what could possibly happen to her if the plumbing downstairs had decided to freak out.

Since the Tachibana residence was on the top floor the complex, it was decided the plumber would work his way down the complex to make sure everyone else's plumbing was all right after the storm.

Which meant, sadly, that the Yagi family was going to have to wait for their plumbing (as they were one of the families on the floor with puddles for pipes) to be fixed.

So the Yagi family split up for the time being. Asahi went to a friend's house closer to their school, although Akane offered her their room. Mr. Yagi was on a business trip and would not be back for a few days. And Mrs. Yagi took a much-needed vacation to visit her parents. That left Subaru—who felt very uncomfortable imposing on his best friend Ryoki's apartment. Especially when his other best friend, Hatsumi, was there almost as much as Ryoki was. But Hatsumi had had the bright idea to let Subaru stay with them-in the living room, surely, because Hikaru still slept in their parents' room and Akane and Hatsumi shared.

Akane was not so inclined to agree with the arrangement. First, Subaru was a dweeb, and if Asahi had found somewhere else to sleep, why couldn't he? Second, he was a boy. She wasn't allowed to have boys over, ever, so why could Hatsumi's geeky friend stay? And finally, what if she wanted a snack in the middle of the night?

"You never get up in the middle of the night, Akane. Besides, Subaru wouldn't mind, right, Subaru?" Hatsumi turned to Subaru, who sat on a railing outside of the apartment complex, swinging his legs back and forth. He looked up when he heard his name, feeling rather sheepish. He nodded, hoping that he was giving the right answer. "See, Akane? It will be fine. Besides, you've slept at the Yagi's apartment a hundred times. This'll just be like another sleepover."

Akane glared at her sister, flicking her bangs out of her eyes. She was dressed for a date-she was on her way out when her sister had caught her to tell her the brilliant idea-and she was uncomfortable. Her skirt was barely long enough to cover her legs, her top exposed her midriff, and there were creepy old ladies gossiping not two feet from them.

"Fine, Hatsumi, fine. Let him stay. But I have to go, and he better not go in our room!" Akane called over her shoulder, directing a narrow look in Subaru's direction. He put his hands up in his own defense, which resulted in his losing balance and falling backwards off the railing. Akane didn't bother laughing. She was late enough as it was.

Before she even reached the next corner she felt a hand on her shoulder, and she twirled around, ready to push off whichever letch was trying to feel her up. But the young man behind her wasn't a letch-at least, she didn't think he was, and she had known him a long time. Subaru was breathing hard from the sprint.

"Um… Hey… You know… You didn't have to s-say I could stay. A-and I'll stay out of your way, I promise!" He said in a hurry, tripping over his words. Akane stared at him, twirling one of her styled tresses. "I j-just wanted to say thank you!"

Snorting, Akane twirled around to wait for the light to change. "Yeah, whatever, Yagi-kun. See you later." She didn't bother to wait for a response as she ran across the street. She almost ran into her date on his way to pick her up, and she gave him a quick kiss to silence and question he might have as to why she wasn't at her apartment.

Linking her arm in his, Akane took one look back behind her. She couldn't see the older Yagi sibling, but somehow she knew he was still there, watching. It made the hair on her neck stand on end. She had never been thanked so profusely before—and it made her uncomfortable. She decided to forget about it as soon as possible, and flung her mind fully into her date.