I just noticed recently - this story was published on White Day!
Also, maybe you don't know - I kept Aho in, because it's a different term for idiot,
and I wasn't quite sure how to translate it. And I prefer the way Kijyou says it, anyway.
Aho~

The phone rang, again and again.

Footsteps approached the desk and a small hand grabbed the phone. "Yes, Sekai Residence."

".. Haruka-chan is not ya?" the voice asked, sounding confused.

"Ah, Kijyou-nii." Tsukushi replied, grinning. "No, my sister isn't here."

"Ah .. where is she?"

"Club Clamp. Didn't she tell you?"

"Mh, I don't think so .." Kijyou said, trying to remember if Haruka had mentioned anything. "Know when she'll be back?"

Tsukushi walked down the hall and checked the calender where several things were written in and saw his sister's slightly flourishing

handwriting on the current week. "Back on the 17th, but she has a sportsgame on that sunday then. So no date can do."

Kijyou coughed slightly, wondering if Tsukushi was psychic.

"Anyway, thanks for tellin' me." he said and hung up.

Meanwhile, at camp, Haruka followed the other girls in a steady jog around the large grounds and hardly listened to the stern,

encouraging words the manager was saying. The past few days had consisted mostly of jogging, stretching excercises and

rehearsing new routines for cheering their specific sports teams during the games.

A good thing to do to keep in shape and exercise enough, but Haruka was starting to find it a bore. She didn't mind the

exercise, she was pleased to see slight improvement in her muscles and weight, but it was boring, nonetheless.

"Haruka, wait up." a hand closed itself over her arm and she got to an abrupt stop.

Natsumi grinned at her. "Where are you with your thoughts?" Haruka then noticed that the other girls were a bit behind them,

the jogging already finished. The two of them went back to the group, breathing heavily. The day was hot, expected from

August, but it didn't stop them from training. And since they had a break just then, all the girls went to the nearby lake on

the grounds and cooling their legs in the water.

"What were you thinking about, anyway?" Natsumi asked, leaning back and crossed her arms behind her head.

Haruka imitated her a bit, trying to sort her thoughts again. "I'm sort of looking forward to going back home. I mean,

cheerleading is fun and all .. but not in this hot weather!"

Natsumi laughed and agreed with a nod. "But isn't there a better reason for you to go home?"

"Eh?"

"You know. You can date him again." she grinned a bit at Haruka's surprised expression. "Well, why not? Nothing better

to do during vacation. Especially the beach .. wonder if Hazuki likes the beach?"

"Hazuki?"

Haruka sat up, with her mouth hanging open, and blushed even more when all the other girls looked at her. She quickly

lay down again. "I'm not dating Hazuki-kun. What made you think that?"

"Not?" Natsumi turned over onto her stomach. "Seemed likely - I mean, you were pretty curious when you met him."

The redhead thought about that and noticed that it was true. When she first met Hazuki, he had an impression on her.

She wanted to know more about him, but soon after she seemed to focus more on Kijyou. Although she wasn't sure

how she could explain that.

"Ah, well .. I'm not dating him." she finally said, trying to keep her face from reddening even more.

"Hmm, well whoever it is, you should definitely go to the beach with him."

"Can't."

"Why not?" Natsumi asked.

"None of my suits fit anymore." Haruka explained. "Actually, hardly anything fits anymore. Got a growth spurt last year."

Natsumi poked Haruka's sides and breasts. "Got more there, huh? Or gained too much weight?"

While Haruka flinched and giggled, trying to scoot away from Natsumi, the other kept poking her in a joking matter.

"Well, how about we go shopping?" the tickler said, once she stopped.

Haruka looked at her, getting up and patting herself off. Their coach was calling them back for another routine practice.

"You know. You. Me. Go shopping for a bikini. How about before the game?" Natsumi suggested. "I know a really good shop,

awesome collection and good price."

The redhead giggled and nodded. "Sure. As long as we get to the game in time - imagine what the coach will do, if we aren't."

And the two joined the rest of the group, laughing about the potential scaryness of their leader.

Late on Saturday, the doorbell rang.

Tsukushi was already answering it, wondering slightly who might be paying a visit so late.

In the kitchen, Haruka was treating herself to some mikado and leafing through a magazine after her bath and before going to bed.

Engrossed, she didn't really care for the bell until Tsukushi entered the kitchen.

"Sis, it's for you." he said and went to his room. Haruka got up and tied her bathrobe tighter, going into the hallway.

Her surprise was so big that she almost dashed into her room to change, Kijyou just smiled and held up his hand as a hello.

"Jo. Glad ya're back." he said, looking quite good in a thin, beige shirt with long sleeves and jeans.

Wether it was the contrast between his tanned skin and the light shirt or that she hadn't seen him for a while,

she felt rather shy and awkward right away. And she had done so well with remaining calm around him before ..!

"Jo. What is it?" she asked, fumbling a string of her still damp hair. "A tad late for a visit .."

"Askin' ya out on a date, of course!" Kijyou grinned. "It's summer, vacation time - plenty of dates!"

Haruka felt a blush creeping up her cheeks and she tried to control it.

"Well .." she mumbled. "Couldn't you have just called for a date? I mean, .. coming here extra for asking-"

His hands cupped her face and lifted it so she looked right into his eyes, noticing for the first time what a bright hazel they were.

"Come on." he said with a straight face. "Like I'm the only one happy ya're back."

Haruka's face almost exploded from redness, it felt like she had a fever. Did that mean he had missed her?

That he might like her in the fashion you'd like a girlfriend?

But before she could think up a good reason, she noticed a slight grin hovering over his lips and she brushed his hands off

in a kidding fashion, although with slight regret. "Stop joking around, Kijyou-kun. Anyway .. date."

Inspired by Natsumi, she did sort of wanted to go swimming at the beach with him. But she didn't want to set a date yet,

as she wasn't sure if she'd find a nice suit at the shop ..

"How 'bout the Amusement Park?" Kijyou asked her. "Spend the day there and watch the Night Parade."

Haruka looked at him surprised. "Night Parade? Sure! I've never seen it, but I heard it's great!"

"Alrigh'. Since ya're busy on sunday, why not go on Tuesday?"

She agreed and after a few pleasant words, Kijyou was back on his way home.

"Iyo~"

Surprised, Haruka stared at Natsumi on the sidewalk, a few steps ahead of her. They had agreed to meet at the playground,

the middlepoint between the shopping district and the school where the game was being held. But here Natsumi was,

in the blue cheerleading uniform, about a street or two away from her friend's house. Haruka was wearing her uniform, too,

as it would save time if they took too long for shopping.

"Hey. You surprised me." Haruka finally said and skipped a bit to walk next to her.

"Well, does it matter where we met?" Natsumi answered and lead the way. "Anyway, I think you'll like this shop. It's not that

widely known, but their collection is wonderful. All sorts of styles, colors, designs. Ah, it's like heaven ..!"

All the way, Natsumi praised the shop.

When they got there, they looked rather horrified at the notices in the windows.

"They're closing?" Natsumi stared in shock. "I can't believe it ..!"

"Well, that happens sometimes .." Haruka tried to console her a bit, not sure if she was doing a good job at it.

Inside, Haruka could see why this shop was popular with the few people that knew it. It was wide and open, the big windows

and light wooden floor making it look even bigger. A few small steps led up to the changing cubicles and posters with models

wearing the current fashions hanging on the white walls.

Natsumi pulled Haruka to the right up some steps to a small alcove which held all the bathing suits. Haruka felt like she was

pulled into a rainbow. One pieces and bikinis of almost every color were on racks to her left and right or hung next to

the walls. Pink and various shades of blue seemed to be the most used colors for swimming wear.

Natsumi and Haruka spent the first fifteen minutes looking around all the racks, checking what there was, and another

fifteen minutes to agree or discuss that in no way would they buy a pink bathing suit - it would clash too much with Haruka's

hair and Natsumi didn't like pink very much, anyway.

An hour went by pretty quickly.

Starring at the white bikini Natsumi was holding up, Haruka felt uncomfortable. The white was spangled with some sparkles,

the top was cut into a halter top with small triangles to cover the breasts and the bottom tied together on both sides.

"Umm ... no." she finally said, looking almost shamefully at the floor for the thought of wearing that thing.

"Why not?" Natsumi asked with a grin.

"It's .. it's too little .."

Natsumi nudged her sides a bit, still grinning. "Oh, come on. Guys love to see some skin!"

The redhead nodded. She knew that, but the thought of wearing that bikini - perhaps on a date with Kijyou - made her

blush furiously. It also made her feel rather uncomfortable.

"Well, maybe .. maybe not, well .. not that .."

Natsumi seemed to understand and put the bikini back, looking for one that wasn't made of such little amount of material.

A strapless one piece seemed nice. It was a bronze color and came with a pareo with a feathery design imprinted on it,

but Haruka didn't like bronze or brown bathing suits. It never seemed like a good color on anybody.

Several other bikinis - blue ones, yellow ones and black ones - were not taken, most of the one pieces were too boring.

It was easy to reject one, but after a while, Haruka chose a one piece suit in navyblue. It was cut out around the stomach

and a halter top was the only thing to hold it up, as the back was cut low.

Natsumi tried to argue that it wasn't sexy enough, but knew that the descision was made.

A few minutes later they had paid for the bathing suits each of them had bought, as well as some cheap tanktops.

Despite the bathing suits having taken so long, they still had enough time to get to school before the game would start.

Once there, they quickly prepared themselves to cheer and do their routine when their team scored. Before the game, though,

they talked among themselves about this and that. They lost track of time and only remembered that the game was about

to start, when their manager gave each of the girls a soft smack on the back of their heads.

They won the game by a close fit.

Hanegasaki High had played really well, but they couldn't beat Habataki. The results were really close, though.

Haruka went home, glad that the cheering was done and she could relax now. The excitement when your team scores a point,

the fans cheering along with the cheerleaders was fun, but still a terrible bore. Once the new term would start, she'd probably

leave the squad. Maybe look for a different extracurricular.

It was tuesday and Kijyou was waiting at the bus stop.

There was a small group at the bus station, all waiting for the bus to take them to the amusement park.

But there was no sign of Haruka.

He looked around, checking if she was close by, but he didn't see her. Wondering if he should call her, Kijyou saw the bus

turning the corner and approaching the stop. One bus later or not wouldn't matter much, he thought to himself.

"Safe ..!"

Something knocked into his back and two arms wrapped themselves around his chest, as if he was used as a stop.

As sudden as the arms appeared, they disappeared again and Kijyou turned around to see Haruka leaning her arms heavily

onto her knees, panting.

"Sorry ..!" she gasped. "Overslept. But I still made it ..!"

On her feet were inliner-sneakers, explaining how she had made it in time and why she sort of knocked into him.

"Ah, it's okay. Oh?" Kijyou studied her a bit. "Today in shorts?"

"Huh? Yeah .." Haruka ran a hand through her hair, having regained her breath, and felt a bit selfconcious about the pale yellow

tanktop and black shorts.

Both got onto the bus quickly, though, as it was about to leave. The bus was a bit crowded, as usual - the amusement park

was popular, after all - and there was only standing room left. Actually, the crowd wasn't as big as it would be on sundays

during schooltime, but it was still hard to move around.

The bus stopped at the next station, some people got on or off, but there was a bit more room to breathe now and a group

of teenagers towards the back of the bus were talking loudly about what attractions they'd ride in the park.

Haruka flinched slightly when, for the second time, something brushed against her butt for a moment. Before she registered it,

though, it stopped again. Not paying anymore attention to it, she returned to her thoughts what the night parade might

be like.

For a third time, though, it happened again. And this time, it wasn't something just brushing against it, it was definitely a hand.

Shellshocked for a moment, Haruka wondered wether or not it might be Kijyou. A side-glance at him, though, proved that he

was holding on with one hand, the other one hanging loosely on his side. All he did was stand next to her and look good in his

white-blue shirt and jeans .. but that wasn't important now ..!

The strange hand stroked her butt a bit.

Haruka felt a queasy feeling in her stomach, like she was going to be sick, and she started to shake.

Almost like an instinct, she grabbed Kijyou's hand and squeezed it a bit. It somehow felt nice, it gave her that protective

feeling again. And when Kijyou looked down at their now-joined hands and then at her, she managed to give a little smile.

Like a bit of Kijyou's confidence was flowing into her, Haruka slowly and carefully slid her leg back and, finding someone's

leg behind her, rubbed it a bit against it. Like a little gesture. Sure enough, the hand on her butt squeezed, like it was

saying 'hello there' back to her.

"You know, Kijyou," Haruka said. "these inliners are really good."

"Mh? Yah, must be really practical at times."

Haruka stomped the front wheels onto the foot of the leg behind her and a loud scream was heard, the strange hand disappeared.

Several people flinched and looked at the man who had screamed, just as the bus stopped at the amusement park and opened

it's doors. Haruka was pulling Kijyou slightly towards the doors, then looked back at the man she had hurt.

"Fool!" she grinned, sticking out her tongue at him and laughed when she ran with Kijyou towards the entrance.

Kijyou was confused and looked at Haruka, who was bending down to detach the wheels from her sneakers.

"Haruka-chan, what happened?"

"Groper." she stowed the wheels into a small bag she had taken along, still kneeling on the ground. "A pervert got the

time of his life. Like he wanted." It seemed easier to say it casually just then and grinned at him when she stood up.

They spent some hours having fun just walking around and checking out the stands.

They were sitting on one of the benches after having lunch and sipping their drinks. People around them were miling about,

laughing or talking and making general noise you'd expect in an amusement park.

"Hmm, nothin' really I have as a favorite dish." Kijyou answered to Haruka's question, leaning back and staring at the sky,

thinking. "I like eatin' my cooking, though. But I enjoy eatin' anything a girl might make me."

He grinned at Haruka with a side-glance and she felt her cheeks reddening. Had he seen right through her?

She had practiced her cooking lately, so she got better .. and she had been playing with the thought of maybe

making a bento for Kijyou.

Throwing away their cups, they walked around a bit more, looking at the different attractions. They stopped at the jet-coaster

and watched one of the trains running along the tracks, through a looping and down steep drops.

".. Let's do it." Haruka said, hiding a slight catch in her voice.

"Ya sure?"

"Of course!" she nodded and walked determined towards the waiting line.

Kijyou joined her, smiling to himself.

Haruka wasn't that fond of jet-coasters, but knew that someone like Kijyou liked them. And there wasn't anything wrong with

trying them out. She was sure they were fun, she just wasn't used to loopings.

After about 10 minutes, half of that time used for waiting in line, they stepped off the train again and down the stairs from

the platform. Haruka was feeling rather wobbly on her legs, but tried to not show it.

"Ah, that was fun!" Kijyou sighed happily. "An' 'specially when it went through the loop!"

Haruka turned towards him with a slight twirl. "Yeah! The thrill was great!"

The sun was starting to set and groups were already forming a crowd around the route the parade would start within the hour.

Kijyou and Haruka stood among the crowd, watching the parade starting on it's road, lighting up it's way with several bulbs.

Mascots were dancing along the floats, every now and then grabbed someone from the crowd and danced with them.

They stayed until almost the end of it, watching the little lights growing fainter and fainter as they moved away and

exited the amusement park finally.

Kijyou insisted on walking her home again, a nice gesture and a last opportunity to talk about things before they went separete ways.

I'm so sorry about the wait! Heh, almost two months ..
I was stuck on several parts in this chapter - mostly what swimsuit Haruka would buy ..
Anyway, just telling you that I've got ideas for Interludes in the manga (these will not be in story form!)
and to assure you that things get more interesting from the second schoolyear onwards.
And I'll try to upload some newer pictures of Haruka - it isn't mentioned yet, but she is starting to grow her hair already.
By the way, the feeling Haruka gets during the groping scene is exactly what I felt when I got groped - although I didn't do what she did.
Do other girls get groped on trains and escalators, or does that just happen to me?