Disclaimer: I do not own Hot Gimmick or Hot Gimmick S, or its characters.

Author's Notes: I'm so excited to keep writing this story! I've come to terms with the fact that this fiction will most likely not get many hits or views (and no reviews); there isn't a huge fan base for Hot Gimmick like there is for Bleach or some other manga/anime. But that doesn't bother me too much, this is like a pet project of mine and no matter how unpopular it might be I know I'll be proud of what I produce. And as long as one other person enjoys it, then I think I've completed a job well done. So if you're that one person who enjoys this fan fiction, here's to you! Cheers!

-Scarlette.

Hatsumi rolled around in her bed, the sheet tangling in her feet and getting caught between her legs. The alarm clock buzzed loudly and repeatedly for several moments. She groaned, "Time to get up already?" Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes she pushed the alarm off and let out a sigh. It was one of those days where she could tell she would be sluggish.

A soft jingling chime came over from her desk; her cell phone received a text message. "Hm? Who could it be so early in the morning?" A yawn escaped past her lips and slowly Hatsumi made her way to her phone, flipping it open.

One Unread Message: Shinogu.

Hatsumi smiled and opened the message.

Morning! Get out of bed already or else you'll be late for school. Got work after classes, I'm covering a co-wroker's shift at the club. Have a good day and study hard!

It was a pretty plain message, and if anyone else read it they would have never guessed Hatsumi and Shinogu were supposed to be dating. If one could call it that. Shinogu declared that they would take it slow, even if they didn't act like a dating couple; it was good enough for him to at least have Hatsumi stand by him and slowly make the changes that she needed. He had so much patience with her…

She looked at the message with soft eyes.

They didn't see each other every day, or even talk to each other for that matter. Shinogu was giving her the space she needed without feeling overwhelmed. They did, however, talk more often then what they use to. That was some improvement to say the least. He was putting his best foot forward every day, and all Hatsumi could do was manage the occasional event…

Two weeks ago she kissed Shinogu for the first time…

Her cheeks were set ablaze just remembering the feel of her lips against his.

But since then she hadn't made any other attempts to be intimate with her better half. Hatsumi thought on several occasions to ask Shinogu out, but decide against it, using his busy schedule as her excuse to not ask him out. It wasn't like she didn't want to see him, she really did, and she just wasn't sure how to go about it. And then there was the apartment complex to worry about…Everyone knew Shinogu was part of the family, a Narita, what would those evil witches say if they noticed a brother and sister being romantic. Hatsumi had caused enough trouble for her family when she was involved with Ryoki, the last thing she wanted to do was stir up any more. She was sure Shinogu felt the same way. Every time he would stop by at the house to say hello or pick up the odd item he would keep a safe distance away from Hatsumi unless he was entirely sure there weren't any prying eyes around.

He was always restraining himself, either because of other people's judgments or because of Hatsumi's barriers. She bit her lower lip, feeling a surge of guilt wash over her. Shinogu meant so much to her, and she had to show that to him more often, even if it met pushing her comfort limits. She sent a reply to Shinogu's text:

"What time is you last class over?"

She closed her phone and set it back on the desk, there was no use hovering over it, it wouldn't make him reply any faster. It would be best if she just walked away from it and not think about Shinogu's reply. Hatsumi stared at her cell phone for several moments longer, no texts messages.

Sighing at her stupidity, she went to the bathroom to get ready for the day. Toothbrush in hand she began to clean her teeth and examining herself in the mirror. The bags of sleep under her eyes started to erase away, but her hair was an utter mess. She would have to spend a few more minutes trying to tame it this morning. Rinsing out her mouth, Hatsumi trailed back to her room and heard the light chiming of her cell phone. Racing over, she snatched her pone in her greedy fingers, flipping it open with lightning sped.

One Unread Message: Shinogu

"Should be out by four, something up?"

Hatsumi smiled, holding the phone close to her. He would be out of class by four, that would be enough time for her to leave school and get on the train to his university.

"Nothing, just wondering."

She sent as a reply.

She wanted to surprise him, even just a little. Knowing Shinogu though, he probably already knew what Hatsumi was planning. She had to do something different, even the smallest thing, to at least throw him off just a bit. She marched up and down her room, Shinogu wasn't the type of person to easily be surprised, even the most secret birthday parties the family threw for him he somehow managed to know they were going to happen. Hatsumi looked over at the clock, 7:24.

"Argh! Get ready and think at the same time Hatsumi!" She yelled at herself. She flung open her closet, where her school uniform hung and began to pull it on. Her hair really wouldn't get the attention that it needed for the day, but she would have to live with that, as long as it looked decent by the time she went to visit Shinogu. Zipping up the back of her skirt, she reached for her bra and shirt; it was then that the idea hit her like a truck.

The ring.

Snapping her bra on, Hatsumi moved over to her desk and opened a drawer. The black velvet box sat there, neatly and quietly. It was the ring that Shinogu has given to her for her birthday, she never felt comfortable wearing it. It had to be such an expensive piece of jewelry, but the sentimental value was worth more than all the gold in the world to Hatsumi. If she ever lost it, she wouldn't know what to do. That's why she kept it safely tucked away at all times, occasionally taking it out to look at it with a dreamy sigh.

Shinogu only asked her to hold onto it, not wear it. Smiling Hatsumi thought it would rather please him to know, better yet to see her wear the ring he had given to her.

Gingerly, she opened the box and with extreme care removed the ring. She held it in her fingers, the morning light reflecting off of the small diamond that lay in the center. Her heart fluttered with excitement just looking at it. She began to slip it onto her finger, but stopped. Something seemed wrong with her putting it on herself…Shinogu was the one who gave her the ring, and it held the most importance to him, it only seemed right that he would be the one to put it on her finger. That is, Hatsumi reminded herself, only when the time was right.

"Then how to wear it?" she asked herself. Looking around the room, Hatsumi eyed her very seldom used jewelry box. There could be something of use in there, she thought as she opened it up. A few pieces of cheap jewelry lay in the box, groaning Hatsumi shifted through her belongings. Moving a bracelet aside she found a small golden chain. It had once held a different center piece, but Hatsumi had lost it years ago. "This will do!" She pulled the chain out, and delicately slipped the ring onto it.

It's probably best I wear it this way, Hatsumi told herself, that way I can tuck it under my shirt so no one at school will bother me about wanting to see it. She fingered the ring with affection, if she could help it no one but her and Shinogu would ever touch it, Hatsumi would forever protect it.

Hatsumi let out a groan of dismay as she raced to get out of the train station. She looked down at her cell phone: 3:45.

She had fifteen minutes to navigate the busy streets and find Hitsotsubashi University. "Okay, it's okay!" Hatsumi coached herself. "I can do it!" Taking in a deep breath, Hatsumi dived into the crowd, pushing past several mobs, dashed across the road to make it in time for changing cross signs, and said more apologies over her shoulder then she cared to count.

The school's tall buildings seemed to loom over the rest of the city and gave off the aura of prestige genius. Hatsumi swallowed hard, staring up the buildings, she never visited Shinogu at school before. This was the first time she had ever seen the facility…or facilities. The campus was made of several clumps of large stream line buildings grouped together in various places. It was so intimidating from the front; she hadn't even set foot on the actual school grounds yet.

Beside's her nervousness, Hatsumi swelled with pride. Shinogu was the brightest in the family and all his hard work took him to one of the best universities in Japan. They really weren't related, she reminded herself, she wasn't very bright to begin with barely managing a C average in her school courses. As with Shinogu…she took a look at the school again, that was more than enough to remind her how intellectual he was.

Her sprits lightly dampened, Hatsumi took the ring out from underneath her shirt, letting it openly been seen on around her neck. She felt the cool touch of the gold beneath her finger tips and smiled slightly. She didn't come here to compare brilliance to Shinogu's but rather to find him.

"Oh no. I don't know where his class is."

Hatsumi stared bewildered at the building, not because of their sheer size anymore, but Shinogu could have been in any of them, on any floor, in any room, leaving in any direction. She didn't think this through; she should have asked Shinogu what class he was going to be in the very least. Hatsumi's brain went into overdrive: You've got his number, stupid. Whipping out her cell phone she hit a speed dial button, Shinogu's number appearing on her screen, she listened intently on her phone. One ring, two rings, three, four, five, six…Voice mail. He didn't pick up his phone. Hatsumi ran a frustrated hand through her hair and looked around, she had no idea where he could have been, and the campus was just too big to try and look for him.

"What a terrible idea," she whimpered to herself. Hatsumi sat on a bench and stared at her phone, praying that Shinogu would call her back, but no such luck. I can't plague him with calls every minute, she thought to herself, just wait it out and call in another ten minutes. She sat there, staring the building, a dumb founded look on her face.

"A high school student?"

Hatsumi heard from behind her, she ignored the voices.

"Is she thinking about applying here?"

"Seriously? Look at her uniform its Takazono, right?"

"Oh yeah, you're right! My neighbor's delinquent son goes there I think."

Hatsumi bit her lip. "Just ignore them, ignore them." She whispered to herself. Desperately she glanced at the time on her cell phone, it hadn't been ten minutes since her last phone call, but five was good enough. She hit Shinogu's number once more. "Pick up, pick up please." The phone rang, and rang, and rang, and rang, and then voice mail. Hatsumi sighed, maybe he had his phone in his bag and couldn't hear it, or feel it vibrate, and Shinogu wouldn't intentionally ignore her phone calls.

A group of students, all woman, walked in front of Hatsumi, a few of them looking at her but the majority minding their own business, ignoring the fact that a high school student was anywhere near them.

"Ah, did you see him today?" One of the girls asked another.

"Of course! Caught a glimpse of him before he went into class."

"I hear Rie was lucky enough to even talk to him today!" The girl proceeded to playfully push a rather beautiful girl with long dark hair.

She smiled, "Just for a bit, he was in a hurry though." Rie told the pack of girls around her.

"That's Narita-san for you, he's so kind!"

The girls all let out longing sighs at once. Hatsumi looked up at them, dumbstruck. Were they talking about Shinogu? It couldn't be, Hatsumi said to herself, there could be tons of other Narita's at this school.

"Narita doesn't suit him." One the girls proclaimed. "I wish we could call him by his first name! Shinogu is such an adorable name!"

"Or are you trying to say Shinogu is adorable, not his name?" Another replied with a giggle.

A nerve seemed to erupt in Hatsumi's forehead, they were talking about Shinogu.

"God, he's so handsome I can't stand it!"

"I know, right! I would kill just to spend an evening with him. But every time I ask him, he always declines! I mean, I even tried to ask him today after our last class." Rie informed the others.

"Ah, excuse me." Hatsumi stood from her seat. She really didn't want to converse with any of these girls, she felt annoyed just being around them. But one, Rie, had at least some kind of information as to where Shinogu just was. "Narita Shinogu, can you tell me where to find him?"

The girls looked around at each other, and then at Hatsumi. They were examining her. "What's it to you?" Rie asked.

"I'm here to see Shinogu." Hatsumi said. Her voice wavered just a bit; she really didn't like confronting people. It should have been an innocent question with a polite answer, but Hatsumi felt like she was stepping in a den of wolves.

"Shinogu?" Rie echoed. "What right do you have to call him with such intimacy, huh?"

Hatsumi wasn't exactly sure how to reply. "Oh, I'm his sister." Didn't seem right. "Oh, we're dating" would have been more appropriate but if she said that she felt as if all the girls would have attacked her out of pure spite.

"So what do you want Narita for, huh?" The girls demanded again.

"She has no business with him I'm sure," Rie said. "Probably some random high school girl with a stalking habit." Hatsumi could feel Rie's malicious gaze on her, picking apart her school uniform, passing judgment.

"You're wrong!" Hatsumi cried. "Shinogu and I are da-"

"Hatsumi?" She turned around; Shinogu was standing behind her, a curious look on his face. "What are you doing here?" He asked.

"Ah, Shinogu!" Hatsumi let out a sigh of relief; she put distance between herself and the other pack of girls, standing closer to her knight in shining armor. "Well, I um, I came to walk with you to work." She mumbled lowly enough only for him to hear

He smiled. "Yeah, I would like that." He began to turn on his heel, Hatsumi in close pursuit.

"Narita-san!" Rie called out to him. "How about going out tomorrow?"

"Sorry." Shinogu told her. "I have plans for tomorrow."

"With who!?"

"Somebody special." He took Hatsumi's hand, "Somebody very important to me."

They crossed the street, hand in hand, silently making their way to Shinogu's work place. They hadn't said a word since they left campus, it made Hatsumi slightly nervous. Was he mad with her? She did after all just show up at his university, in her uniform no less. Shinogu was now tied to somebody who went to Takazono, a rather undistinguished public school. Did she just ruin any kind of reputation Shinogu had? Hatsumi cringed at the thought. "Shinogu, I'm so sorry." She said, breaking the silence. "I didn't mean to show up today, I know it was a real inconvenience! And now people are aware that you know somebody from Takazono, they might start rumors."

"Let them," Shinogu replied sharply. "I don't care what people say. You only go to Takazono because mom and dad can't afford to send all of us to private institutions. It doesn't matter where you go anyway Hatsumi." He paused for a moment, and squeezed her hand comfortingly. "And you weren't an inconvenience." Shinogu smiled softly, a whisper of a pink across his cheeks. "I'm really glad that you came."

Hatsumi let out a short chuckle, she was glad that Shinogu wasn't upset about her sudden appearance at his school.

"I didn't think you'd actually come," Shinogu admitted to her. "I mauled over the idea that you'd be there, but you didn't ask where my class would be or anything else, so I thought you wouldn't show."

"Honestly," Hatsumi said sheepishly, "I forgot to ask where your class was. It didn't occur to me until I got there."

"I thought of that too," Shinogu said with a laugh.

"I called!" Hatsumi fired back, "Twice!"

"Oh yeah?" Shinogu said with surprise. He fumbled with his bag for a moment and dug out his cell phone. "Ah, man. I'm sorry Hatsumi, I had it on silent."

She laughed, "Its okay! Really!" She assured him. "It worked out in the end, right? You found me after all."

"How about I give you my class schedule, that way we can avoid something like this again?"

Hatsumi blushed, "Is that okay? I don't want to intrude or anything or cause any trouble for you."

"You aren't trouble." Shinogu told her firmly. "Just send me a text or something, let me know that you're coming."

Hatsumi nodded. Her heart sang with utter delight in her chest, she had Shinogu's class schedule. It seemed so trivial but it made her ecstatic. She was also sure that a certain pack of she- wolves would have felt the same way. If they had Shinogu's class schedule, she imagined they would have been at every corner Shinogu turned if they could have been. Hatsumi bit her lip, it had dawned on her that those girls were part of the infamous Shinogu Fan Club at his school, and most likely a small portion of the whole. "H-hey, Shinogu…"

"Yeah?"

"Those girls…are they class mates of yours?"

"Some," he replied. "I really don't know. I don't pay attention to all the people in my classes."

"Oh." Hatsumi said flatly.

They stopped at another traffic light, people crowding around them. "Why?" he asked.

"I-I don't know." Hatsumi found herself fumbling with her words as usual. Was it alright to let Shinogu know they all liked him? It pained her to know that so many other girls, fan clubs, idolized him. It annoyed her, it bothered her, and it irritated her so much Hatsumi found it unbearable. "They just talked rather…fondly…about you."

The light turned green, but Shinogu and Hatsumi still stood on the corner letting others push past them. Shinogu leaned down and whispered into Hatsumi's ear, "You want to know the truth? I didn't even realize they were there, they were invisible to me, I only saw you."

Hatsumi's heart began to race dangerously fast listening to Shinogu. She could feel his breath linger on her skin; it sent a delicious electric feeling up her spine. She wanted to say something similar to Shinogu, to tell him that when he was around, nothing else mattered; it all just seemed to vanish. When she was with Shinogu all she could focus on was him. Focus on his smile, his eyes, his beautifully cut facial features, his rough large hands, delicate fingers, and long legs- no wonder he had a fan club, he was probably one of the most attractive men in all of Japan. Tightening her grip on Shinogu's hand Hatsumi drew herself closer to him. Things were starting to change for her; emotionally she was evolving and growing.

They had finally reached the club that Shinogu was covering a shift at, it was still closed from the front but the back door was open for the employees. The windows were closed up front, the flashy night lights turned off; the club wouldn't be alive until the sun was setting. "Going to be late shift?" Hatsumi asked. The walk from Shinogu's university to his work seemed rather short, Hatsumi was hoping for a little more time.

"Usually is here." He replied. "Thanks for swinging by today Hatsumi, it really meant a lot to me."

"I take it you won't let me hang around until your shift is over." She said lowly.

Shinogu's eyes widened slightly with surprised, but he smiled warmly. "I can't let you stay out that late; I'm already uncomfortable just letting you get home by yourself."

"I can manage the train system alone…"

"That doesn't mean I don't want to take you." He reached out and stroked her cheek

Hatsumi was left speechless for a moment; all she could manage for her reply was a blush across her cheeks and a delicate up turning of the corners of her mouth. She looked to Shinogu to say her goodbye but paused for a spell, he was looking intently at her neck. "Oh," she said, touching the ring.

The glimmer of the gold in the sunlight had caught his attention and what he saw his brain couldn't register for a second. Is she really wearing it? It's not just some sick joke? He thought to himself. His heart pounded in his chest, so hard, so fast with happiness he felt as if it couldn't be contained for a second longer. "You're wearing the ring." He echoed out loud for Hatsumi to hear this time.

"Ah, yeah!" She replied cheerfully, but obviously embarrassed.

"I'm glad." Was all Shinogu could manage to say. Words failed him, he had no idea what to say, how to express his feelings. Was there any word, in any language, that could describe the sheer joy that he felt? He reached out for Hatsumi, and gathered her into his arms, embracing her tightly. His arms clasped around her back, his finger entwining amongst themselves ensuring his hold over her would not loosen till he was ready to let her go. Would he ever be ready to let her go? If time would allow it, he would have stood there for all eternity pressed against the one person he found most precious, the one girl that stole his heart and forever hold it.

"I didn't want to put it on my finger," Hatsumi explained, smothered into Shinogu's chest.

"Why not?" he asked, he showed no indication of letting her go in the near future.

"Well," she listened to his heart beat. It thudded and pounded against his chest, practically in sync with hers. "I thought it would have been nice if you put it on my finger."

Shinogu paused for a second, "I would love to." Hatsumi felt one of his hands travel up her back and to her neck, he left an exhilarating tingling wherever he touched. He undid the clasp of the necklace and held the ring, "Give me your hand," Shinogu ordered softly. Hatsumi abided, lifting her hand anxiously, her eyes studying his every move. She could feel his heart race faster, she could hear his heart beat louder and wondered if Shinogu could hear her own heart mimicking his. He did.

With great care he took Hatsumi's hand in his and glided the ring onto her finger. They both looked at each other and smiled. Hatsumi let out a giggle, and buried herself further into Shinogu's chest. "Thank you," she whispered.

"Now, it's not a proper ring…" Shinogu began. "But that should tell others that you're taken."

Hatsumi detached herself from his chest and looked up at him with a questioning face. "What do you mean?"

Shinogu sighed, "You didn't notice, did you?"

"Notice what?"

"They were all looking at you." Shinogu responded.

Something in his voice told Hatsumi that he was agitated, but she was still clueless as to what he was talking about. "Who?"

He let out another sigh, a defeated look on his face. Of course Hatsumi wouldn't know, he reminded himself, she isn't the type of girl to pick up on things like that. "Other guys…" He managed to say after a pause. "As soon as you were on campus I'm sure there were several ready to ask you for your number, I even had to tell one to back off before I got to you."

Before Hatsumi could even comprehend what she was told, or even retort to his statement, Shinogu spoke again: "The ring will tell others that you're with somebody."

Hatsumi's face turned scarlet at this, but instead of feeling embarrassed she felt a sudden wave of relief crash against her. She was Shinogu's. Her heart sang wildly with delight, but she looked down at his hands and thought of the hordes of girls that also found Shinogu attractive. "But what about you?" she asked, he wasn't wearing any indication that he was with Hatsumi. "A ring probably wouldn't be the best idea…" she said and then paused, men wearing rings held more meaning then women, usually it meant he was married, not dating somebody. The blush on Hatsumi's face deepened.

Shinogu's sensed where her train of thought was leading. Marriage would be later in their lives and he didn't want to scare Hatsumi with the thought, she was just beginning to understand that they were dating, that they were no longer siblings but a couple. The idea of marriage would be too intimidating for her. As much as it pleased him to think that someday he would marry Hatsumi, there was still many a things to be done before the event could happen, and for now Shinogu was beyond delighted to have Hatsumi say (in her own way) that he was her boyfriend. "You don't need to worry about that," he kissed her forehead and continued to hold Hatsumi close, "Ill gladly tell anybody, everybody, that we're dating."

Hatsumi smiled widely and stood on her tip toes. She touched Shinogu's lips with her own, another delicately light kiss placed firmly on his mouth, the second they had shared. "I don't think the ring should do all the talking for me." She told him. "Can I tell everybody that we're dating too?" They both knew that they had to be careful who they told, primarily the residents of the housing complex, but the thought that they could be open about their relationship was a great comfort. "I want to say that you're my- my…" Hatsumi felt her face rise several more degrees, "I want to tell others that you're my boyfriend Shinogu!"

"I am?" he interrogated. It was Shinogu's turn to be reassured that he was loved. He yearned for this moment for so long, dreamt of it for years, to have Hatsumi declare that she was his and he was hers.

"Yes, you are."

"Your promise?" he quoted Hatsumi from the other night.

She laughed, tears of joy escaping the corner of her eyes, "I promise!"

Ah, chapter two! Done! I'm in a huge "fluff mode." I know everyone really wants to get to the nitty gritty of the relationship, but I feel its super important to emphasize little moments like these! It makes the relationship that much more believable and better to build upon!

In this chapter I really wanted to make a scenario where the two are forced to admit to each other that they're dating- hence the Shinogu fan clubs and such- and get them out of that stand still of "okay, we're dating but we're not acting like it." It was so hard to contain all the gush and romance I wanted to write for them while the character themselves weren't at that level of romance, so I'm really excited to be moving on from the awkward and unsure events of Shinogu's and Hatsumi's relationship into a much more lovey dovey state (for lack of better description) I hope that the rest of you are looking forward to it too!!!

Next chapter we explore CHRISTMAS! Ah, the cliché chapter of: "What do I get him for a present?" I find it appropriate for the story's time line and it fits rather well with the holiday season dawning upon us, the readers. I'm thrilled just thinking about the events I have planned out for our couple! Sexy bras and panties oh my! That's just a hint! So please continue to show your support, and I sincerely hope that you've enjoyed the story thus far!

-Scarlette.

"Love is the condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own."
-Robert A. Heinlein