Chapter 3 - Hidden Feelings
Hands in his pockets, the silver haired man was on his way to Decimo's house when a familiar voice caught his attention.
"Delicious~! Haru loves it so much desu!"
"That big mouthed stupid woman." He turned to face her direction and saw her eating a mouthwatering cake in her favorite cake shop. His mouth slightly draped open when he saw a distasteful sight, 'Why is she with that baseball-idiot?'
"Thank you for celebrating Haru's appreciation day with me, Takeshi-san. Haru is really happy desu!"
"No, it's my pleasure. It's always fun being with you, Haru."
"I also enjoy your company, Takeshi-san. I'd rather be with you than with that stupid Gokudera! How could he reject Haru after she nicely invited him out?" She pouted.
Takeshi did not respond. He was just staring at her. "What is wrong, Takeshi-san? Is there anything on Haru's face?"
"Ahh…There's cream all over your mouth."
"Hahi! Haru is so unladylike. I'm so embarrassed desu."
Takeshi chuckled a bit, "Don't be. I still find you cute." He beamed at her with his heart-melting smile that can make any girl fall in love. The slightly blushing girl looked away to hide her enchantment from being called cute.
As she was about to grab a napkin on the table, the dark haired teen gripped her wrist to stop her movement. "Let me clean it for you." He touched her chin with his free hand and pulled her face close to him.
"Hahi! Wait, Takeshi-san." He leaned in and slowly licked the cream on the corner of her lips. Her face turned crimson red. She was so surprised that she doesn't know how to react.
Hayato, who was watching from a far, clenched his fist. Takeshi pulled away shortly and gaze at Haru's eyes for a couple of seconds. Then instinctively, he leaned in closer to press his lips with hers. 'What the fuck! That idiot. What does he think he's doing?'
Just an inch before the gap closes, Hayato opened his eyes. He was sweating a lot and panting. 'A dream? So it was just a dream, huh?' He sighed with relief as he stroked his hair with his fingers. Indeed, it was nothing but a dream yet, the pain he felt seemed so real.
The Smokin' Bomb decided to drop by his boss' house because he felt uneasy in his apartment. On his way, he caught a glimpse of the baseball jock and the petite girl playing catch by the river. 'Are you kidding me?' He pretended not to see them and continued walking. However, they noticed him and called him out.
"Yo, Gokudera!" Takeshi waved his right arm.
"Gokudera-san~!" Haru shouted will all her might.
He turned to face them, "Shut up, idiots!"
"Are you going to Tsuna's place? We planned to hang out there too. We'll come with you."
"Tch. You don't need to come. If you two idiots wanna flirt, do it somewhere else."
"Hahi! What are you saying, Gokudera-san? We are not flirting!" A flustered Haru grumbled as she was flopping her arms.
He ignored her and resumed marching to his destination. The two immediately followed behind him.
Like usual, Hayato, Takeshi and Haru were gathered in Tsuna's room. It was already a part of their daily routine to get together there. They spent hours talking about anything under the sun and laughing together. Lambo barged in like he normally does, chased by an upset Ipin. They were a lot taller now and their bodies have grown bigger.
"Lambo, give it back."
"I told you, Lambo-san didn't hide it."
"Lambo-chan, you're still playing a prank on I-pin. You never change. Give it back already." The brunette scolded. He did what he was told. She is someone he can never disobey. Aside from Tsuna's mom, Haru is the only girl who can tame him.
After a while, the now 10-years-old Lambo muttered out of the blue, "Ne, Haru, Lambo-san is now all grown up and handsome. I'm pretty sure you want me to be your boyfriend now."
"Stupid cow, as you grow up, this stupid woman also gets older. And who are you calling handsome, idiot." The silver haired man butted in.
"Lambo-chan, I already told you before. Our age gap is too big desu. You're too young for Haru." The girl with doe-like eyes replied.
"Just get over your stupid puppy crush, stupid cow. Why did you even develop a liking to this stupid woman?" Hayato moaned.
"Shut up, bakadera!" The Italian boy pointed a finger at him, "You're only saying that because you also like Haru."
"Huh? What did you say? Stop spouting nonsense, ahoushi! Don't put me in the same boat as you. I'm not stupid to fall for a stupid woman." Tsuna's hyper intuition told him that his right-man hand was not being honest.
The thunder guardian countered, "You say that but you actually like Haru-nee, don't you? They say guys like to tease the girl they like. The reason why you are mean to Haru-nee is because in truth, you really like her, don't you?"
"Shut up, idiot cow. You want me to chomp a bomb into your throat?"
"Maa, maa. You don't need to act so defensive, Gokudera. Lambo is just pulling your leg." Takeshi waved his hands. Lambo pulled one of his eye bags with his index finger and sticked out his tongue at Hayato. Then, he turned to face Haru once again.
"Ne, Haru, are you sure you're one to refuse? Did you forget? Lambo-san had already seen your everything. You know, I'm willing to take responsibility if you insist." The faces of the other three boys in the room all turned red. Haru gaped in shock at the boy in cow print shirt. 'What happened to the innocent, gullible and cute Lambo-chan before?'
"Lambo! You shouldn't say something like that." I-pin kicked his head from behind, and this sent him flying to the wall. He burst into tears, just like the 5 years old that he was before. That part of him didn't change at all.
Haru patted his head, "Maa, maa. Stop crying, Lambo-kun. I'm sure you will find another girl when you get older. Haru-nee will always look at you as a little brother no matter how many years pass."
"Really?"
"Really."
"Ja, Haru-nee, just like the old times,
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can we take a bath together again?"
This time, blood trickled down from the noses of the trio.
Flushed, Haru who was at her limit punched Lambo in the face, and he was sent flying to the wall once again.
"Minna! Dinner is ready. Time to eat." Everyone went out of the room and headed to the dining area except Haru who was still calming down the sobbing Lambo.
"Sorry, Lambo-chan! Did it hurt so bad? Let's go down now and eat, okay?"
"Listen, Haru-nee, Lambo-san is going to be a really cool and hot guy that no girl can resist. You'll see!"
"Hai hai. I'm pretty sure you'll be an ikemen, Lambo-kun!"
A curve made it ways to Tsuna's face as he was listening silently with his back pressed at the wall beside the opened door of his room. Knowing that everything was fine now, he took a step forward to make his leave. But suddenly, he froze when the thunder guardian asked something that taken him aback.
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"Ne, Haru, are you still in love with Tsuna?"
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Haru was about to exit the room but her footsteps were brought to a halt. It took her by surprise that she couldn't even turn to look back at Lambo. On the other side of the wall, Tsuna couldn't also move from his spot. He wanted to hear what she was going to say. But at the same time, he was so nervous that the ticking of the clock deafened his hearing.
There was a long pause before she finally answered the question.
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"I see. You are still naive, Lambo-kun. You know, Haru's feeling for Tsuna back then was just a crush. It's natural for me to be over him now." She lied.
Upon hearing this, the brown haired boy felt a pang on his chest. He had seen it coming yet he couldn't understand why he was feeling that way. It was two years ago when she suddenly stopped being clingy to him after all. It was during their first year in high school when she began to cease making bentos for him and spurting that he'll be his wife. Wasn't he supposed to be happy that she stalks him no more? Yet, why did he feel like he lost something so precious? More importantly, was it his pride that was hurt when he heard the truth or was it something else?
-On the way home-
"This is rare. Why are you so quiet, stupid woman?" Hayato was walking ahead of the hahi girl with both his palms on the back of his head.
"Hahi! Haru was just thinking of what Lambo-chan has said desu. And, don't call Haru stupid!"
"Don't tell me you're having second thoughts about that stupid cow. So you're a pedophile now?"
"I wasn't contemplating about that, idiot! It's just that,
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he asked me if I was still in love with Tsuna-san."
"Tch. That's nothing new." He pretended to be uninterested.
"You see, I told Lambo-chan that it was just a crush so it's natural for me to be over him. But you know, Haru actually stopped being all over Tsuna-san a couple of years ago because I didn't want to get in between him and Kyoko-chan. I thought that I may be keeping him from confessing to Kyoko-chan because he didn't want to hurt me. Besides, when that time comes, I don't want the others to worry about how I'd feel. It'd better for them to think that Haru was not serious and that it was just a crush."
"Why are you telling me this, stupid woman? Go and find someone else to talk about that love crap." He said that but deep inside, he was happy that she was opening up to him.
She ignored his comment and continued, "But to tell you the truth, I pushed myself away from Tsuna-san because I was afraid to seriously fall in love with him. It all began when loving him started to become so painful. I told myself that I had to stop from falling deeper because if I didn't, I'd only get even more hurt."
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"Even so, you're still hurting right now, stupid woman. Besides, after all these years, Juudaime and Sasagawa are still just friends. To be honest, I used to see you as an aggressive woman, so I never would've thought that you'd give up that easily. Anyway, why are you women so emotional? Seriously, one moment you're blissful then after a while, you turn into drama queens. Mendokusai."
She chuckled slightly, "You say that but still, thank you for listening once again, Gokudera-san."
"I didn't want to listen to you, idiot. You just kept on spouting nonsense with your big unstoppable mouth. It's not like I can shut my ears to keep myself from hearing the crap you were blabbering about." They stopped walking and stood face to face in front of the Miura Residence.
"That's why I kept on pestering you yesterday so I can thank you properly. I'll ask you again for the last time. How about eating cakes with me on Haru's appreciation day, ne?" His nightmare about Takeshi and Haru this morning flashed in his mind.
"Tch. In order to shut you up... Fine, just this once. It's your treat anyway."
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Haru was shocked. She couldn't believe it. "Hahi! Did you just say yes?"
"What else could it mean, stupid woman?"
"Ja…" She interwined her little finger with his and pulled it up, "It's a promise, ne?" She smiled at him and ran off inside her house, leaving a blushing Hayato.
A/N: Thank you very much for the reviews, favorites and story alerts. I'm sorry if this chapter might have disappointed and bored you to death since it's longer than usual. Anyway, thanks for following and it'd make me even happier if you let me know what you think! Please review! :)
Disclaimer: I do not own KHR!