Nova

In Hikaru's opinion, there was no one as overprotective of her as her middle brothers Masaru and Kakeru… perhaps with the exception of her 'dear' cousin Nova.

Though, if you really asked her about it, Hikaru would tell you that even though Masaru and Kakeru claimed to have their 'cute little sister' best interests in mind, Nova just wanted to have Hikaru all to herself, without wanting to share her with anyone. Hikaru's family included.

It was for this exact reason that Hikaru was usually thankful of the small blessings the Gods gave her, one of those being the fact that her cousin lived on the other side of the country so her visits were rare at best.

Then again, the gods can't always be on her side… which led us to the present moment, where said cousin was actually participating in this event as the official representative of her Tantojustu school.

Hikaru spotted her first among the other participants, and the moment she did, she decided that it was best to retreat and hide somewhere else, even using a group of passing people as a cover to get away.

She used a lot of hiding places and evasive tactics; she even sought Satoru out with whatever excuse she could think on the spot. By the third time she did this, Satoru gently confronted her with what he though was actually happening. He simply gave her a soft and understanding smile before saying "Nova is here, right?"

Hikaru's answer came in the form of a shy, embarrassed smile that told him a lot more than words could had. He offered to stay by her side for the rest of the day if it made her feel better, although not before ushering her to rejoin the Kendo group, since it was about to be called to perform.

Destiny had other plans for her though, as the Aikido and Iai-to performances prevented them to actually meet and stay together, so Hikaru had to deal with the matter on her own.

She decided to hide in plain sight, interacting with the other participants, offering them smiles, words o encouragements and even the beginnings of friendship if the case allowed her to; she watched her brother participate in the group demonstration for Kenjutsu and even tried to keep an eye on the intriguing black haired guy.

And when she was unable to keep hiding between the masses, she decided to look for a quiet spot where she could practice in peace some of the movements for the demonstration kata she was to give the next day.

In just a few minutes, Hikaru got completely lost in her practice, letting her body flow with the familiar movements made with the Bokken and wooden wakisashi. She was so lost that she never heard the familiar and decided steps that approached her little by little until it was too late to flee.

"Hikaru dear! I have been looking for you all day! Any other person would have thought you were trying to hide from me!"

Hikaru tried to hide the sudden guilt she felt at her Cousin's words, though she wasn't sure she was entirely successful. Putting down her wooden swords, Hikaru gave her a tentative smile before nervously denying the pink haired girl's statement.

Both of them knew she was lying. None of them said something about it either.

A smile that could only be described as predatory, adorned Nova's face, just before announcing that now that she finally was by Hikaru's side, she would not let her out of her sight. "Especially since you seem to have gained a secret admirer, Cousin dear. The guy has been watching you for a really long time now!"

Just as expected, Hikaru had no idea of what her cousin was talking about, and it wasn't until Nova explained to her who she was talking about that Hikaru finally got who this so called Secret admirer was.

None other that the black haired stranger that collided with her earlier that day; the same one that got her attention the day before just after the hotel room's incident. The same man performing in the Kenjutsu group with Satoru.

The guy that gave her a look that she still was trying to understand what it meant.

And, if Hikaru thought she was confused before, she was now beyond dumbfounded.

For a moment, Hikaru wanted to just turn around and look for the guy, just so she could confirm her cousin's words on the matter; just to see if the strange curiosity she felt for the guy was not as on sided as she thought in the beginning; to look for him and maybe exchange greetings and names, and if she was lucky, to even get to be his friend.

Then again, Nova's presence halted Hikaru's silly plans of friendship almost immediately.

And suddenly, Hikaru's only wish for the day was for it to end as soon as possible, so she could go and hide in her hotel room and enjoy the apparent peace and quiet it had to offer.

And maybe then, she could cross paths with the black haired stranger without the constant scrutiny of her 'dear' cousin…


HI!

sorry for the delay, but I honestly don't know where my time went.

the story is actually finished, i just need to upload it.