I apologize for this long delay, but I've been having some life difficulties and whatnot. Because of this, chapters will probably be updated rarer. Anyway though, enjoy awkwardness of what might become a relationship. Might, might not. :)
As expected, Saki awaits me at the gate. She's still in her school uniform. No biggie. Looks pretty good on he-stop thinking like that.
"I thought you wouldn't show up." She says to me as I approach her, giving me an innocent smile. I shrug in response, not saying a word. "How familiar are you with the environment around Yamaku?"
"I was going to take a sightseeing tour during the lunch break, but certain someone ambushed me on the way. Certain someone still thinks feminist assassins are after him." For some reason, I can't bring myself to say "Kenji". Maybe it's because I have this brief moment of hating his guts right now. As expected, brown-haired girl laughs heartily.
"Oh my. I should probably go to his room and apologize..." She chimes cheerfully. I think I groaned.
"I... I don't think it's a good idea. He might go batshit on you... That is, if he'll ever let you in." I shake my head with a sigh. "Dude's locked up like in some sort of vault." Saki really seems amused. I, for one, think that it's not that funny. Considering Kenji is most likely completely delusional, poking fun at his mental instability isn't something we should consider "fun". The girl in front of me seems to notice my hesitation.
"Is something the matter?"She asks me and she seems to be slightly worried.
"Nah... It's nothing, Enomoto-san." Saki nodded, looking at me cautiously. "So, where will we go?" Thankfully, she smiles. I don't think I'd be able to look at her sad or concerned face and not feel guilty. And even then, despite her condition that will kill her one day, she still loses her smile only very briefly and only in serious situations...
I guess this is what people call "idiotic optimism".
"I'm glad you asked." She walks up to me and, by her custom, she holds onto my arm, using me as a support. I've stopped really raising my eyebrow at this. At first it was surprising. Then, I just... got used to it, I guess. "Ever heard about The Shanghai?" She asks me with a gentle smile.
"Can't say I have." I respond truthfully.
"Great. How about we give it a go then?"
"Sure thing. What is this Shanghai though?"
"Oh, it's a small cafe near the academy." Saki explains. "It's pretty popular with students, but most of them appear there during lunch break, so maybe we won't have to deal with large crowds. Just you and me, chatting and having a good time."
For some reason I didn't like that "you and me"...
As it turns out, the place itself has a rather nice exterior. Seems to be stylized by Chinese architecture. Taking its name into consideration, I don't find it all that surprising. Saki didn't get it right calling it a cafe though. From what I see, it's more of a tearoom.
Hm. Seems there's only a few people in here. No one I recall... Wait. Isn't that Mikhail? What is he doing here? He also seems to be with the "power trio" of Miki, Molly and Suzu. Why the power trio? Do you know this page called TVTropes? Like I mentioned some time ago, I frequent it. One of tropes described there portrays a three-member team with different personalities, based on Freud's psychoanalysis. Id is the energetic one, who tends to use heart rather than mind. Superego is the logical and calm one, while Ego makes for a bridge between the two. While I'm certain Miki is Id, I can't quite put Molly and Suzu's roles. While Suzu is indeed calmer by an order of magnitude than Molly, it's more because of her narcolepsy. Besides, her path of thinking isn't exactly the most logical out there. Molly, on the other hand, has tendencies to be emotional, but surely is the brainiest out of the trio and probably the most logical one.
Still, "power trio" stands firmly. Well, I'm glad my sort-of-countryman found someone to talk to.
"Let's take a sit here." Saki says, snapping me out of thinking. A table in the corner, small enough so just two of us can fit without getting in the way. Huh.
"Nice atmosphere..." I murmur, taking my seat few meters from her presence.
"Yup." She nods with a smile. "I don't visit this place that often though." I kind of see why. "Mostly because I don't really have anyone to go with. There's Rika, but she tends to go on her own into the weirdest of places."
"Hm. So you two are friends?"
"Of course we are. Well, good acquaintances." Saki giggles. "I'm trying my best to make her cheer up a little, but she tends to be somber all the time." Well, she does have something with her heart.
"She called you "Twitchy"..." I mention quietly, looking at her carefully.
"And you are known as "Fryface". Saki retorts with a grin. I think I groaned again. "Don't worry, she finds nicknames like that for everyone. Do you know Lilly Satou from class 3-2?"
"Yes, I do."
"Imagine that she got the nickname of "Eyelander". Ouch. Still, pretty funny and I really must try their hardest not to snicker. "Don't worry, Rika tends to be like that. She's a nice person once you get to know her better."
"I'll take your word for that." I nod reluctantly. I find it hard to imagine albino girl being nice after what I saw.
The waitress approaches us and... Wait a minute...
"Welcome to Shanghai." She says cheerfully, while making one professional bow. Her normally loose hair are now in two Chinese hair buns and she's wearing an apron. "May I take your order?"
"Shirakawa-san...?" I respond with a question, raising my eyebrow. Seeing Yuuko the librarian here as a waitress isn't something I'd expect.
"Oh, good afternoon." The redhead blinks at my appearance, but keeps the straight face.
"What are you doing here?"
"W-well, I have this part-time job here as a waitress..." She seems flustered when mentioning this. "B-but anyway! What would you like?" I take a brief glance at the menu. Hm. They have cheesecake...
"I'll take strawberry sundae." I can hear Saki's voice as I glance at her.
"Cheesecake and a glass of apple juice, please." Yuuko takes our orders, writing them in the small notebook.
"On their way." She says, bowing again, then turning on her heel and going to the back.
There's a longer moment of silence between us. Awkward...
"So, uh..." I try to start and fail with not-so-hilarious results. Saki giggles. Don't know if she giggles at me or because of the awkward situation.
"You're not very good in starting conversations, are you?" She asks me with a smug grin. You didn't have to rub it in, you know?
"Well then, I'll leave that to you." I respond, trying my best to bite back.
"So what are your parents like?" Whoa. Of all questions, I did not expect this one. I take a while to comprehend.
"Uh... They're nothing special, I guess. I mean, they don't really stick out of the crowd. Dad's working in court, Mum is a banker. Both of them work and live in Tokyo. How about yours?"
"Dad's a businessman and tends to be overseas a lot. Mum, on the other hand, works in convenience store in Shinsekai. We live in Osaka." Huh. Weird, but I don't recall her speaking in Kansai-ben.
"Well, that's good, I guess..."
"Oh, you bet. Osaka's red light district is one of the best in Japan." Uh... Red light district? I give a not-so-subtle and nervous glance at Saki who giggles. "So I was told. Don't worry, don't worry."
"I'm not worrying..." I can only hope this didn't sound too tsundere. Before she can respond, Yuuko comes back with our order.
"Bon appetit!" She says, while making yet another bow and walking away.
Huh. I've never tried strawberry sundae. They seem delicious, but I never really gave them much thought. Well, I still have my cheesecake.
"I thought you will take something more original." Saki says with a slight teasing factor in her voice.
"Hey, I like cheesecake." I respond hastily. She smiles at me slightly. "I don't like experimenting with food. It's enough that my Mum does so."
"Hm? What do you mean?" Seems like this piqued her attention.
"Well, basically what it sounds like. She tends to test many different recipes. Usually they don't fit her tastes, so those are one-shots. The handful of them actually gets to say on the list of usually-served things."
"Oh, I see... Well, in my case Mum's rather traditional with her choice of dishes. Dad though... At those rare times he gets to cook, the kitchen almost explodes with awesomeness." Explodes with awesomeness? I'm almost afraid to ask. Saki takes a bit of her sundae and murmurs, pleased with the flavor. "Too bad he rarely visits." She seems a bit saddened for a brief moment. Well, I guess I kind of understand. I probably wouldn't be able to endure such long periods of not seeing any of my parents.
We spend the rest of our visit in Shanghai on small talk and finishing our dishes. It's one of the most delicious cheesecakes I've ever eaten, really. Who makes those?
The sun isn't even setting as we exit. It's still tons of free time. Tomorrow's Saturday which means there will be less lessons, so it won't hurt to hang out with Saki a bit more. I mean, why not? It's not like I have anything better to do. She's a nice person and we seem to get along well after all, despite all the awkwardness.
I mean... What's the worst that could happen?
"It's still a lot of time until curfew. Where should we go?" I ask her, as we're entering the school grounds. I think I caught a few stares. Heh. It might look weird when she's leaning on me like that.
"Hm. Do you have any suggestions?" She asks back. No, I don't really have any. Should we have more time, we could take a bus to the city, but alas, the trip there takes some time, so...
"Uh... Not really."
"My room then." ...That was fast. Well, I'm not gonna question it. I mean... I really do hope nothing will happen. She might be a tease, but she seems sensible enough to avoid any Misha-esque situations.
Or so I hope.
The first thing I see is a giant, monstrous teddy bear glaring at me from the other side of the room. Thing's huge, easily from ceiling to the floor. How the hell did it fit through the door?
"It had to be brought here in parts." Saki explains, seeing my disbelief. "The torso barely squeezed through the door frame on its own."
"I can imagine that." I nod, responding. That's when I notice that this ridiculously large plushie seems to have... seats on its legs. Two of them. Great. A fancy please to sit, just under the glare of that monster of a bear.
Besides that, Saki's room looks pretty normal. It definitely has this certain feminine touch, I can't deny that, but isn't too girly either. A desk, a bed, a laptop on said desk, a number of drawi-wait.
"You draw?" I ask, slightly surprised.
"Well, duh." She responds, giggling, letting my arm go and taking a seat on that giant bear. "I'm in art club after all." Yeah. That seems logical. She seems to like into style typical of shoujo mangas. The characters seem to be almost sparkling. Ugh.
"I'm jealous." I respond, putting the drawing back on desk and then taking look at Saki again. She seems to be thinking about something.
"There's nothing to be jealous about." She chimes, opening eyes and giving me a warm smile.
Who exactly is this girl? What happened that we became such good pals in a matter of such a short time? While I couldn't accuse her of having ulterior motives, I still don't know why me, of all people. I guess I could be perceived as... interesting, but compared to other guys in class I really am nothing special.
"Are you going to just stand there and stare at me?" Her voice snaps me out of thought. "Or are you going to have a seat and do something?" The slight tease in that second sentence did not help matters, at all. I can feel a cold shiver down my spine, just like the one when she suggested going to her room back in that night.
"Uh... R-right." I reply with noticeable hesitation, sitting on the other leg. Another moment of awkward silence... I feel like I'm slowly becoming a patron of this. Awkward Silence-sama. Yes, that definitely suits me.
"So... What are we going to do?" She asks me after a longer while.
"Well, it's your room. You're the boss."
"You sure you want me to take the initiative?" She smirks mischievously. Gulp.
"...Okay, I'll think of something..." I murmur in response, desperately trying to think of something that would not involve what I'm afraid this might become very soon.
...Fuck, I'm lapsing into Engrish.
"Got any ideas?" No, I don't have any. Crap, think. Think, dammit. That stupid coprophagous grin of hers isn't helping matters at all.
Gah, I give up.
"...No, I don't have any." I finally say, letting my head down. Let it be. With a giggle, Saki gets out... a board game?
"Have you ever played Citadels?" She asks me. Boy, did I? It was one of the most awesome board games I've ever got my hands on! Brown-haired girl notices the joy in my eyes. "I take that as yes." She grins cheerfully. "Well then, shall we start?"
"Most definitely."
Turns out, Saki's pretty good at this. I always considered games like Citadels an entertainment rather than serious business, so she wiped the floor with me relatively easily. Over the course of game I got to know that she also likes roleplaying and considers starting one in realms of D&D. Suffice to say, she got me interested.
"I had a great time." The girl before me says after putting the game back in its place. "Thanks."
"I did nothing, really." I respond, trying my best not to sound awkwardly. "It was you who invited me anyway."
"True. A great decision, eh?" She lets a small giggle. I can't help but giggle with her. Yeah. A great one.
"Well, I guess I will be on my way then." I get up slowly from this weird seat that teddy bear's leg is. "It's been a pleasure to be here, that's for sure."
"Aw. I thought you're going to stay a bit longer..." Saki seems genuinely saddened by my decision. Well... Truth be told, I don't necessarily have to leave right now. There's still an hour or so until the curfew... But to be honest, I feel like I'm going to experience some incredible conscience damage once I do stay. Maybe it's just me?
Of course, I wouldn't expect her to sneak up on me. How naive of me.
I turn around and before I can formulate a response, she's already just inches from me, pushing me at the wall next to the door. Gently, but firmly somehow...
"Peek-a-boo." She whispers, giving me a very warm smile. I don't feel warm at all. If anything, this is probably how depths of Lake Cocytus feel like.
"...What are you doing?" The question is meant to just buy me some time, but I'm pretty sure this won't help me much, just like it was in Misha's case. I swear, what the hell makes those girls think...
"I'll let you guess." She's going to tease me and take delight from seeing me suffer. She knows she has me on the ropes. I can resist only for so long, especially when she keeps leaning on me like that, her chest touching mine. "Three chances for you to guess."
"What if I miss all three?"
"Then you shall suffer... repercussions."
"What if I guess?
"There will be a reward." Huh. Looks like I'm really gridlocked here. Think, you cretin, try to talk her out of this... That is... If you want it to talk her out of this.
Well, do you?
I could just push her away. I'm most definitely stronger than she is. I don't want her to get hurt though. She left her cane on the bed to sneak up on me. Once pushed, she could fall and sprain an ankle or break a leg or...
"Hey, delaying your answer won't help you, you know?" Saki grins devilishly. She's right. I can either play along and probably regret it... or come up with some excuse real fast.
Real fast.
What can I say to her? That I'm taken already? Homosexual? That's she's being a repulsive nympho? All of it will hurt her and I really don't want to see her hurt, either physically or mentally.
It's tempting to give up and let her dictate the flow of actions, but... I, uh...
...Why do I have the feeling that this is going to turn into another Agusu case?
"Well?" She doesn't like to wait, that's for sure. What do I do?
"Let's see... You're going to kiss me."
"Aren't you the smartest guy around." That sarcasm-tinted response felt like a needle, but I guess I well deserve it. "Well, you guessed correctly."
"So... a kiss will be an aforementioned prize?"
"Correct." She leans a bit closer, her lips just inches from my mine. Despite what she sees, she still wants to go for it... and I feel that she, unlike Misha, isn't going to back down when politely asked. The sweet smell of her breath makes my resistance noticeably weaker. She's going to get what she wants... "You might deny it, but I'm not that oblivious." She whispers to me, caressing my good cheek with her hand. "You like me more than just a good friend."
"What if I don't?"
"I'd say you're pretty bad when it comes down to lying." A moment of silence as she continues to trace her fingers through my face. Slowly, she makes her way to the other part, the destroyed one. Just a slightest touch is enough to make me wince. "Does it hurt?"
"A lot." I respond truthfully. "You know, for some reason lots of people touched this matter just during this first week, quite literally so."
"And you find it surprising?"
"Not really, no." Another moment of silence. "Why me?"
"Why not you?" I see the mischief in her eyes. She continues to slide her fingers through this carapace and does so willingly, albeit she does it much more slowly when compared to her moves from just a while ago.
"Come on. Give up."
Nega, I hate you so fuckin' much.
"...I have one request." I say, carefully weighing what I want to tell her in my next words.
"Hm?" Now or never. Before Saki realizes what's going on, I have already grabbed at her legs with this certain firm gentleness one should have when carrying a woman like that, bridal-style. Brown-haired girl yelps, surprised.
"I guess if we want to kiss, we should do this in a place more comfortable, shouldn't we?" I allow myself a small warm smile. She smiles too, although she really seems flustered now that she has lost the initiative. I consider carrying her to the teddy bear, but after a short process of thinking, her bed seems like a better option, especially since there's much more space. Gently putting her down, I take a seat next to her, smiling as warmly as my burns allow me.
She lies on her back, giving me this delighted, fulfilled look. I swear, her eyes grew and are now as big as saucers... They're like miniature black holes, dragging me inside.
"Well then..." I kick off my shoes as I lie alongside her. "Apparently, you won."
"Sort of." She admits so with a grin as she edges closer, her warm body pressing against mine. "I have you now."
"You do." Saki leans even closer and finally gets what she wants, putting a small kiss on my lips. It's as pleasant as I expected it to be.
"What do you think?" She asks as she wraps her arms around me. I do the same. Do I really love her or is it just lust? Do I really want this? Considering how different we are, a part of me wants to shake head and say "no, I don't".
It's small and insignificant though.
"You're a great kisser." I respond, stroking her hair. She giggles, content with my answer. For a longer while we do nothing else but looking at each other and letting our hands course around second person's body. I'm satisfied, even if that small part keeps ramming into my brain and screaming insults of the worst kind, directed at my humble person. I think she's satisfied too.
"...It's past curfew." She finally whispers.
"I don't care." I whisper back.
"Glad to hear that." Another kiss. Again, it's but a small peck on the lips. Any attempts to hold this treasure for longer are futile now. Saki really likes to tease, doesn't she? I don't complain. The one opposing part of me begins to wither and slowly crumbles into dust, into nothingness. "So I take you're going to stay here for the night?"
"If you wish."
"Oh, I surely do wish." Another moment of silence. I like to savor them.
I guess I really yearned to be loved by someone. I would cuddle with people all day if I could. I just... perhaps I just like the sensation of touch.
Am I not pathetic, in a way?
"Kiss me." She whispers, giving her voice a slight sultriness. And how am I supposed to keep my cool in a situation like this? I do what she asked me to, giving her a small smooch, similar to those she gave me not so long ago. As we separate, she seems genuinely amused. "Allow me to reiterate my request." Brown-haired girl chimes with a mischievous grin. "Kiss me passionately. Like this." Before I can formulate a response, her lips meet mine, but this time this isn't a small peck. This time, she goes all-in, her tongue invading my cavern. I follow the suit, kissing back. A small, muffled moan of hers can be heard and surely works great in pushing me further into this insanity. Our hands find each other and hold themselves tightly, not wanting to let go as we continue to make out.
I just can't go a month without falling for someone, can I?
Accidentally, the whole romantic moment goes to hell when we roll the wrong way. With a gasp and a curse cut short – no points for telling who articulated what - we fall down on the floor.
"Are you alright?" It's the first I manage to say. Saki's laughing out loud. She doesn't seem to be in any sort of pain, thank God.
"Never felt better." She responds cheerfully, getting up and sitting on bed. "How about you?"
"Being honest, I sort of depreciated your fall." The brown-haired girl puffs out her cheeks in mock offense.
"Are you implying I'm fat?" She asks with a stifled giggle.
"Not at all." I murmur in response, getting back on my feet as well.
"Can you turn the lights off?" I do as I'm told. It's suddenly almost completely black in here. "Good..." She... purrs? Yes, that most definitely was Saki purring like a pleased cat. "Now come here." This I do as well, seeing as her silhouette slowly moves under the wall. I get in front of her, putting my hand on hers and moving in for a kiss.
It's going to be a long night.
And probably they're going to be an actual item, not unlike with Shiina. Well, here you go. Read and review. :)