More Than Just A Crush

By: Killua K.

Chapter 5: Eschewed

"Hey, how do you turn this on?"

"Oh, just press the red button..."

"Hhmmm...This one..?"

"Where..?"

"Right here, beside this black thing..."

"Ahhh...yeah, I guess. Try it."

Using her thumb, the girl pushed a tiny red button located at the rear end of a petite, yet jam-packed with extraordinary features video camera that was propped up by tripod legs made of lightweight steel. In a few moments, the newly bought high-tech gadget was brought to life, emitting a high-pitched beep that lasted for a couple of seconds. One of the latest handy cams released by Sony, the reasonably expensive device was procured to record the preparation and actual events in the upcoming Summer Party conceptualized by the Student Council. And one of its major purposes was to specifically document Aoshi Shinomori's routinely student life, including exclusive interviews with some of his die-hard fans and acquaintances.

"Alrightie then...Get ready girls..."

"Yahiko-kun, should we leave this light on?"

"Uhhmmm...yeah, I think it'd be OK. Ah! But can you just move it a little bit to your right?"

"...here..?"

"Hhhhmm...Maybe, a little bit more..."

"What about here?"

"...that's..." the boy stretched his neck from his position to check if the other student placed it correctly. "...yeah, that's perfect! Thanks, Arisa-chan!"

"No prob, dear...Hey, Tsubame-chan, we're ready, girl!"

Today was a particularly demanding day for everyone in the Student Council. Aside from the academic pressure brought by midterms, they were struggling against the ridiculously short time limit set by the school's faculty concerning their main summer event of the year. Two weeks wasn't just adequate for them to accomplish everything they had planned out to do. Consequently, they had to crunch the original three-week timetable they prepared, and increase their efficiency tenfold so as to accomplish every minute detail just in time.

"Great! Tsunoda-kun, can you call those ladies outside? We have to start the interview as soon as possible..." a slightly flustered Tsubame said as she took a pocket-size notebook and mechanical pencil with her. "Yahiko-kun, we gotta get ready...Gotta start rollin' those tapes as soon as they enter the door, okay?"

"Aye, aye, Captain!" Yahiko confidently gestured to her. He brought out several lapel microphones then asked other boys to make some final adjustments in the mock talk-show set.

After a few moments, several girls walked in from the door. Apparently thrilled by the Student Council's ambitious yet exhilarating documentary-date contest involving their Aoshi-sama, they couldn't stop their garrulous mouths as they incessantly talked about their reticent prince.

"Oh. My. Gosh. I just can't believe this is happening!" one plump short-haired girl cried in utter joy, holding an uchiwa, which contained a stolen digital shot of Aoshi, on one hand. Beads of sweat bursting on her wide forehead, she vigorously fanned herself by her eye-catching fan item.

"Is he really here?" another girl, perhaps a freshman, shrieked while she tightly held a banner.

"Aoshi-sama's HERE? Ne, doko? Doko nano?" a tall slender girl suddenly shouted, slightly misunderstanding the other student's statement. Surprisingly, this caused a commotion among them, and they started to scream, mutter and even grumble in complaint, insisting that they weren't facially and emotionally prepared.

"We're gonna meet him!"

"...Is he really here? But I don't see him!"

"Girl, he's just hiding somewhere in this room. I can sense it."

"Ohmaghad, ohmaghad, ohmahghad! This is just TOTALLY freakin' me out!"

"Hey, do we get to take pictures with him? I just hate it when we do that secretly."

"I wish they'd let us do it. They have a camera, anyway, see that thing?"

"Nooo! Where's my powder? My lipstick? God, my eyes..! I don't have any make-up on!"

"Here's my brush, dear..."

"Oooohh, cool!"

"AOSHI-SAMA IS HERE!"

"EEEEHHH?"

"Whereeee? Where is he? Oh my god, I feel like I'm gonna faint..."

"Me, too! I'm like so light-headed right now...!"

"Hey, where is he?"

"Yeah, I don't see him anywhere!"

"That's right!"

"OOOPPPSSS...my bad! Thought he was that tall guy over there!"

"Girl, don't freak us out like that, ok?"

"I heard Imai-san is gonna come too..."

"Like seriously?"

"That's a rumor...I don't think so, too."

"Ahuh! She won't be able to face him again after that rejection..."

"Poor girl!"

"I have some girlfriends whom he rejected too! And I feel so sorry for them..."

"He can be cold sometimes..."

"True! But, dear, ain't he hot!"

"My goooosshh! He really is! You know what, one time I tried to peep into their clubroom as he changed into his kendo gi, and well..."

"YOU. SAW. HIM.?"

"Get outta here!"

"Well, I ain't kiddin', sister!"

"Hell, you are!"

"Did you see his six-pack?"

"Oh, oh, and the rumored ring on his nipple?"

"He has that?"

"I didn't know he has that...Sounds cool though!"

"Well, actually, I just saw his back..."

"NO WAY!"

"That's it?"

"Hey I haven't even seen his bare shoulder, so I think that's pretty cool."

"How 'bout his ass..? Oooohh...I feel like I want to touch those firm buns!"

"Naahh! That's nothing! Aim for his chiseled chest!"

"That's hot!"

High school girls could sometimes be a little bit overwhelming when it comes to boys; at least that's what Yahiko thought as he stealthily captured the girls' absurd fantasies of Aoshi. He wanted to settle them down once and for all in order to start the interview, but judging from what he unexpectedly witnessed inside the room, he reckoned that it would be better to simply roll the cameras as they babbled since that would add a Reality-TV-like atmosphere to their documentary.

"How's everything goin'?" Tsubame asked from his behind. Yahiko turned his head away from the small camera and briefly glanced at the smiling, yet tensed girl. Noticing her reaction towards the loud crowd, he chuckled softly then continued on with what he's doing.

"It's fine...I just wish they'd settle down now. We still have to record Aoshi's activites. What time would he be out?" he said, turning his gadget to various directions.

Tsubame sighed as she flipped through the pages of her notebook. "Uhhh...lunch time."

"You better send someone to his room. I heard he usually takes a nap during lunch. We don't want to see him sleeping in the video," Yahiko murmured. He pressed a small button, magnifying the scope of his shot. A separate group of girls was distributing several leaflets to other people. The sheets of paper, Yahiko learned, apparently contained descriptions and details about the Aoshi fan club they created – they were actually recruiting more students to join their fad.

"OK, I'm gonna send Tsunoda-kun and tell him to bring Aoshi here."

"You think he'd follow him that easily..?"

Tsubame shrugged, and then scratched her head for a moment. "I...I guess so. Kamiya-san managed to bring him to the meeting, remember?"

He nodded his head. After a while, he gestured to two boys, telling them to handle the chatting girls. They did his request, and in no time appeased the overexcited Aoshi fanatics. Yahiko caught a glimpse of the toned-down crowd as they sat on the monobloc chairs.

"So, can we start the interview now?" he turned to Tsubame. The girl smiled happily when she saw the participants, who were now quietly waiting.

"Absolutely!"

"Yaaaatttaaaa!"

Eyeballs rolled in disgust.

Here we go again...Lucky me. Can't I even have a nice long nap during lunch breaks?

Aoshi grumbled under his breath as he sat up straight on his seat. A vivacious young man, holding a fan on his hand, approached the apparently annoyed boy sitting beside the window.

"Ao-chan! Genki?" it was Sanosuke, Aoshi's "best friend" who belonged to a different class. He came to visit his friend that day, and probably wanted to keep him company for a while.

Aoshi turned his head away from Sano, and then looked outside. The sun was high up in the sky again, showering the arid earth with scorching rays of light. A patch of clouds could be seen floating calmly above while some flocks of birds soared rather leisurely with a gentle yet humid morning breeze. He shifted his attention to several students taking their lunch beneath the line of trees across their building. Some of them held books, perhaps in preparation for the afternoon exams, while others simply talked, laughed and had fun with their friends, perhaps not worried about anything at all. Aoshi sighed heavily then scratched his head.

"Hey, you had your lunch?"

He turned around, this time facing the eager boy in front of him who already placed his recognizable huge bento box on Aoshi's desk. Sano excitedly opened the lid then inhaled the tempting aroma from his delicious meal. Splitting his chopsticks into two, he quickly indulged himself in gastronomic pleasure, temporarily disregarding his friend.

After a few moments, Sano looked up to Aoshi again and grinned widely, grains of rice scattered across his mouth and cheeks. He began talking to him, even if he was currently chewing his food. "Arenn ruu kooing to raa..." he swallowed the whole thing in his mouth.

"...interview?" after finishing his question, he lifted his bento box again to his mouth and continued binging on his food.

"Interview..?" Aoshi's left eyebrow suddenly arched up in a perplexed manner.

Sano nodded his head. "Nyuu ngongat?"

"What?" Aoshi shouted. "Sano, try to even at least swallow a part of your food before saying anything. How the hell can I understand you?"

He laughed as he finished his lunch and opened the cap of an Oolong Tea bottle beside him. "Sorry, Ao-chan! So...I said, 'Are you going to the interview'?"

"What interview?" Aoshi replied. He looked at his friend who started to clean up the mess on his desk.

"You know, for the contest thing? I just heard it from some of my girl classmates. They said you're gonna appear there or somethin'. I don't know..."

"Huh?"

Sano drank his cold tea in one straight gulp, and then gently rubbed his throat to signify his quenched thirst. "Aaaaaahhhh!" he said refreshingly, putting the almost empty bottle on Aoshi's desk. "So you have no clue? That's weird...They said it's for the Summer Party that the Student Council organized."

Ohhh...crap! Aoshi swallowed a lump inside his dry throat as 'Summer Party' rang bells in his head. Soon, beads of sweat appeared on his temples and slowly rolled down on his face.

"I think they're doing it now...I heard they started this morning after the first period."

How could I even forget that thing? Aoshi lowered his slightly trembling head and contemplated for a while.

"Student Council is goin' crazy these days. I won't be surprised if Himura fails at least one of his midterms. It's like, they're always meeting everyday after school. Don't you think they're just overanalyzing everything?"

Aoshi started to tap his fingers on the desk.

"But I think it'll be fun! They said the party would be in one of Soujiro Seta's private beaches."

He scanned the room and surprisingly noticed that there were only a few girls. Could it be..? Aoshi tried to dismiss the frightening thought that sent chills to his spine.

Suddenly, one of his classmates approached him.

"Shinomori-kun, you have a visitor..." the boy spoke as he pointed to a student standing beside the door.

Aoshi nodded his head casually then stood up from his place, leaving Sano behind. He walked lazily towards his visitor. "Yes..?" he uttered.

The boy wore glasses and seemed a little bit overwhelmed when he finally met the infamous heartbreaker in school. A small bag was attached to his waist, containing the camera he planned to use for the documentary. Moving his hand over the black container, he looked up at Aoshi and stared boldly into his cold hazy eyes. "Hi, I'm Tomatsu Tsunoda, rep from Student Council. Uhhmmm..."

More sweat rolled down Aoshi's face. Brushing it as quickly as possible to hide his anxiety, he tried to maintain his stoic expression. "And..?" he spoke.

"Well, we're actually conducting some interviews with some of your fans right now, and they told me to fetch you so you can appear in our set. We also have to start filming your everyday activities as soon as possible, because the faculty actually shortened our timetable for the Summer Party preparation. So...shall we do this?" he explained to the indifferent boy standing still in front of him.

After a few moments, Aoshi opened his mouth to answer. "Can...can you just wait here?"

"Ehh?" the boy was puzzled with his reply. "Why..? Lunch break will soon end. We don't have time to waste."

"I...I..." he stuttered as he swept his sight over the slightly crowded corridor and noisy classrooms that lined up along the hall. He checked if there were other members from the Student Council, students who might also force him to attend the interview. He badly wanted to escape from his pursuer that he planned out everything from the moment he set his eyes on his mysterious visitor. "I have to go to the men's room. Now, if you may excuse me," he lifted his arm to part his way and took off his gaze from the boy.

"But we must go now, Shinomori-kun!" Tomatsu protested as he firmly held Aoshi's arm to prevent him from leaving.

"No..." he struggled.

"We'll come back quickly anyway. Don't worry! It won't take us an hour..."

Aoshi turned his head and stared at him coldly. "Is it really that important that I'm not allowed to even pee?"

Tomatsu's cheeks flushed red when he heard his words. Hesitating slightly if he should let Aoshi leave, he finally removed his hand on Aoshi's arm and sighed in surrender. "Oh...OK, then..." he muttered reluctantly. Now, Tsubame would surely be angry with me. He pursed his lips into a frown then shook his head. "I'll meet you here in three minutes, all right? Don't you even dare run away, Shinomori-kun," he tried to warn him.

"Aa..." he replied as he turned his back from him and walked off.

Scratching his head in disbelief, Tomatsu wanted to convince himself that he didn't see a sly smirk on Aoshi's face before he headed off to the bathroom.

"Are you mad?"

She didn't reply, her forehead lying flat on her desk.

"Who told you to do that?"

Sweat was dripping on her temples and neck.

"It's not that I don't like it or anything...but..."

Lifting her hand, she brushed off the warm droplets on her sticky hot skin.

"...it's strange."

She sighed heavily as her breath slightly formed a fog on her book's plastic cover. "I know, Sou-kun..." she murmured. Misao finally looked up at her classmate and sat properly on her seat.

"Then why did you do that?" the boy had a concerned expression on his face.

She glanced at the wall clock in front of her and sighed again. He's probably dozing off or something right now, she mused.

"Well...I just thought that it'd be easier to do Judo if I had short hair, that's all," she tried to explain.

"C'mon...I don't buy that, Mi-chan," Soujiro muttered as he stared at the frowning girl in front of him. "You grew that since you're a child!"

"Well, sometimes you just want to have a change."

"Not this sudden..."

"Hey, I know what I want, so just cut it out."

"I'm just saying that you shouldn't have done it!"

"Well, surprise, Seta Soujiro! My hair's short! The long braid's gone!"

"Yeah, yeah, that's funny, Mi-chan..."

"What do you want me to do? Glue back my hair?"

"I wish you could do that," Soujiro retorted.

"You know what? If you really like my long hair that much, I'll bring it tomorrow and give it to you as a present. Would that appease your emotions?"

The boy was surprised at his friend's bitter reaction. He wondered why she was acting weird lately. He merely wanted to know her problem. He merely wanted to offer his help.

"Did Aoshi do something to you?" he asked as he looked at her intently.

Her eyes widened in shock when she heard Aoshi's name, Misao sighed again then placed her hot forehead back on top of her desk. "No...He didn't do anything to me."

Soujiro knew she was lying. "Seriously?"

"Yeah..." she murmured. She shut her exhausted eyes and felt a little bit sleepy. "...and call him 'Sempai', Sou-kun. He's older than you. At least give him some respect."

"Yeah, right..."

And then neither of them spoke after that.

Confused at the situation she was in, Misao silently contemplated, her forehead resting on her table. She could feel some sweat rolling down on her warm nape. Having a very short hair was a first for her, and she definitely felt uneasy with her new hairstyle. But Misao figured that somehow it might do something good to her. At least I can wash my hair everyday now, unlike before...I only washed it every month...She remembered that with her long braid, a huge bottle of shampoo usually lasted for only a week. Besides, shampoo's like...expensive nowadays...Misao listed in her mind the reasons that could justify the impulsive decision she's done. And! And! Short hair is popular now...Long braids are...yeah, they're just too old. Granny's favorite thing...She thought. It's also much easier to do Judo...When I had that-that braid, my club mates always complained. Well, not Soujiro, of course...But then, yeah. I think it should be fine. Right, Misao?

"Did he reject you?"

She opened her eyes when she heard her friend's question. His question sent shivers to her spine, making her tremble momentarily. She didn't lift her head to look at her friend. She thought that he was simply being too nosy in her personal matters, annoying her so much.

"No, he didn't." Misao answered. It wasn't what she expected to come out from her mouth, but perhaps after thinking it over, she managed to accept the truth behind her reply. Naahh...Aoshi-sempai didn't reject me. He just didn't remember that we had to meet that day in his classroom. And it was the sole consolation she could give to herself.

"So you cut your long braid simply because you want to?" A mocking tone emanated from Soujiro's sarcastic words.

"It's summer..." she reasoned out. "You don't know what it's like to have a long hair. It's just too hot."

"But you've had that since you were a kid," he reiterated.

Still not lifting her head from her desk, Misao answered back, "Global warming, Soujiro...Earth's temperature has increased dramatically since I was born."

"You loved that hair, didn't you? You always told me before that you won't cut it for life," he protested.

"Well, sometimes you also lie to your friends...I was just probably kiddin' that time..."

"Yeah, right..." Soujiro snapped.

Misao didn't answer him, feeling somehow tired and sick at their conversation. She allowed herself to wallow in her own reverie. Surprisingly, her stomach grumbled, loud enough for other students to think that a thunder flashed across the summer sky. Putting her right hand over her belly, she could feel the aggravated churning inside. She was very hungry, yet she didn't want to eat anything at all.

Suddenly, a warm gentle hand held her shoulder. Misao looked up and was startled to see Soujiro smiling, his aura completely changed.

"C'mon, let's eat lunch..." he said happily, as if no argument took place between them.

She wanted to refuse Soujiro...

"Well, all right, Sou-kun. I was actually waiting for that."

But her stomach tremendously ached for a delicious free lunch. Misao finally stood up from her seat, and after wiping sweat on her head and neck, they walked out of the classroom gladly as they headed for the cafeteria.

Footsteps echoed along every hallway in the school as each member of Tsubame's committee tried to search for Aoshi Shinomori, who managed to flee from Tomatsu Tsunoda. Realizing that Aoshi had been gone for more than ten minutes, Tomatsu hurried back to the Student Council's reserved room and explained the critical situation to Yahiko and Tsubame. The two leaders for Shinomori's Documentary-Dating Contest were shocked to hear the heartbreaking news, and in an instant ordered their other members to look for the missing man while they continued the interviews and audition for other girls. They somehow anticipated that Aoshi would not cooperate easily with their plans, but they didn't expect that he'd completely hide away from them.

"Did you see him?" a boy called out.

"He's not here in the second floor," one girl replied as she went downstairs.

"He's also not in the parking lot..." another said.

"Keep on searching...And ask the teachers if you have to!"

Students ran around everywhere, panicking like their lives were in danger. They invaded each classroom they saw and ransacked each locker and secret room they could find. However, to no avail, they still didn't find what they're looking for.

Soujiro and Misao just bought their drinks from a vending machine when they noticed the commotion that was happening. Wondering why everyone seemed so agitated, they decided to simply ignore them and eat their lunch, until two frustrated students stopped before them and started their hasty interrogation.

"You seen Aoshi Shinomori?" the boy asked.

His name rang inside Misao's head. "No, why? Something happened?" she asked.

"He's gone off somewhere. We need him." The other student replied.

"Why do you need him?" Soujiro asked too.

"Ahh, never mind!" the students turned around and abruptly left them, without even answering their question.

Soujiro scratched his head then shrugged. Suddenly, as if something struck his mind, he turned his head to Misao and smiled happily, "Hey, you feel hot, right?" he asked. She nodded her head.

"I know where we can eat!"

"Where..?" Misao questioned him, clueless to what he was thinking.

Soujiro took her left hand and excitedly dragged her along with him. "Let's eat at the auditorium!"

"Hey, we can't do that!" Misao was shocked to hear his idea.

"It's all right...we'll simply hide it. Besides, there's no one there at this time."

The two students scurried off to the school's auditorium which was located in separate building. After a while, they were soon able to reach the overwhelming place and stealthily entered through one of the doors.

"Come, Misao...Here..." Soujiro spoke softly as he guided his classmate through the dim passage. Misao held his hand tightly as she followed him. The school auditorium was a sanctuary from the summer heat, although it was definitely forbidden to eat or drink inside. But Misao pondered that eating her lunch didn't really matter that much compared to cooling her extremely hot body. It was all what she needed that moment, and perhaps a drop of water to dampen her arid throat.

As soon as they reached a nice position, they settled down on the comfortable theater seats and relaxed. "Waahhh! This is awesome, Sou-kun! I could feel the air conditioner from here..." Misao ecstatically muttered as she shut her eyes and savored the cool air caressing her sweaty skin.

Soujiro simply stared at her happy face and smiled sweetly. Then, he turned his attention to some people who were surprisingly performing on stage at that moment.

A group of students was apparently practicing ballet; he realized this once the music started and several girls came out from the curtains.

But as he accidentally shifted his sight to one particular spot, Soujiro was astonished even more.

Amidst the dim lights that barely lit up the whole auditorium, he noticed a familiar young man quietly standing on one corner, about 20 feet from the stage. He was intently watching the students who were dancing, very much absorbed in their skillful performance.

And then Soujiro realized that the man was actually smiling – a smile that he never once saw on his stoic countenance.

Aoshi... he thought to himself, completely ignoring the relaxing girl sitting comfortably beside him.

A/N: I'm so sorry it took me a while to update this. Anyway, hope you liked it! I'll try to edit and proofread it later, ok? And don't forget to give me a review! Please! Please! XD Thanks for reading!