Chapter 3

Thanks for reviewers Lady of the Spirit and Kuchiki Jeanne! You two really made my day! I hope you continue to read, it just gets interesting. :)

Oh! By the way, if characters act a little OOC here, it's because they're literally real life people acting out Fushigi Yuugi characters, so of course they'll have different personalities like Lady of the Spirit's observation of Houjun being shyer than Chichiri. I swear there's a good reason and I'm really trying to make those new personalities fit them. Wish me luck about it!

And the thing about them having year levels in school? It's because I'm hoping to write about all of the characters attending school together sometime in this story. Maybe before season 2 while they're all taking a break from acting. It's a good idea no?

Both of them were silent as they walked. Ryuuen was currently examining the displays of the stores while Houjun was staring in confusion at some random billboard about a can opener (who even thought of that idea anyway?). But while it would seem that he was minding his own business, Houjun was still sneaking wary glances at his companion. Even though they managed to hold a respectable distance from each other, and they're not paying the other much attention, they honestly looked like a couple. (He's not looking at Ryuuen that way, he just noticed it. No, really!) Though Houjun was afraid that if he voiced that thought out loud, Ryuuen might finally burst a vein. Which could be both hilarious and frightening at the same time.

Having nothing else to do, Houjun glanced at Ryuuen's back. He seemed really occupied with the stores. He took that moment to observe his companion.

No denying it. Ryuuen is probably the most beautiful man he's ever seen. Not in a gay sense. He even beats that Hotohori actor with his looks. It's also very hard to tell that he's a guy. Houjun admits that he watched Fushigi Yuugi along with Kouran before the auditions to know what he was supposed to deal with, he even knows that Nuriko is a guy because of the way Miaka undressed him in that last episode. But now that he met Ryuuen personally, it's really hard not to see him as a girl. As in REALLY HARD.

The key characteristic of Ryuuen (and also the thing that made him first think that he was a girl) is his long braided purple hair that looks EXACTLY like the show. Seems that it's no wig after all, no matter how ridiculously long it was. He also had those standard long bangs that frame his feminine face. He even has that mole under his left eye. The only difference was he's dressed like a guy. Not at all like in the show where he's wearing makeup and dresses all the time. He's wearing a red sports jacket, a black shirt, jeans, and converse. Apparently, he's trying his best to look like a man (Greatly failing). Ryuuen has big blue eyes, as opposed to the pink and purple eye color he has in the show. He still looks like he's tough though, like he can take on anything.

"Hey wait a minute Houjun! I'm just gonna buy something. Wait for me 'kay?" Ryuuen suddenly said and ran off to an ice cream stall. Houjun blinked at the sudden departure before turning around to look for a bench to sit on. That was a bit unexpected. He waited patiently for his companion to return, foot tapping loudly on the concrete.

Three minutes later, Ryuuen came back, along with two chocolate sundaes. Houjun stared at him in shock, was he going to eat all of that?!

Ryuuen finally reached their spot and sat down with a huff. Houjun then decided to wait for Ryuuen as patiently as he could while he ate those two ice creams, (never mind that he's gonna be late. It's still better to enter the studio with a companion rather than none) when suddenly, something brown and white was shoved to his face. He blinked in surprise, and glanced down at Ryuuen who was grinning at him. "Come on, take it. It's for you."

Houjun's eyes went wide almost immediately and he flinched away from the sundae like it was a disease. "F-For me?"

"Yep. Consider it as a treat because you're part of the show now."

Houjun only stared at him warily, then looked away. "I can't. I'm sorry."

"Come on! Take it already. I spent money on that so you better eat it. 'Kay?"

Ryuuen watched him expectantly. Houjun just stared. Ryuuen quickly switched the look with huge puppy dog eyes, lower lip trembling dangerously and his eyes taking on a pleading gaze. Houjun immediately recoiled in shock and tried to avoid glancing at those extremely cute eyes, sweating like crazy. He was proud to say that he was holding his own fairly well.

That is, until he saw Ryuuen's eyes beginning to water.

Aww screw it. What's a guy gonna do?

Finally, Houjun sighed in defeat and took the sundae. But still, he had no plans on even tasting it. "A-Arigatou… Ryuuen."

"Yes! I knew you couldn't resist!" Ryuuen grinned happily at him before turning away to eat his ice cream. Houjun only glared hard at his own cup, gazing at the chocolate swirls suspiciously.

"Well? Aren't you gonna eat that? It's not poisoned ya know."

Houjun only glanced at him, his face unreadable, then back at his own cup. Ryuuen frowned, terribly confused at the situation. "So uhh… so you really think it's poisoned or something?"

Houjun, surprised at being caught almost immediately, only gazed at the floor guiltily, avoiding Ryuuen's gaze. Ryuuen called his name and tapped his shoulder urgently, but Houjun still wouldn't meet his expectant stare. He soon grew impatient and kicked his leg hard, forcing Houjun to look at him.

"Ow! What the heck?" Houjun glared at him, rubbing his leg to relieve the pain. Ryuuen only smiled and raised his spoon high in the air, "Well, you won't look at me. It's your fault you know. But that's not the reason. If you want, I'll prove that it's not containing anything dangerous. I don't even know why you'll think I added something like that anyway. You did save me earlier remember? This is like thanks. Why would I kill someone I want to thank?"

Houjun was silent, guiltily thinking about his words, and how they're absolutely true. But he soon remembered what Hikou did to him, back when he was still in school, and his resolve and gaze hardened. He nodded his assent at Ryuuen's self-declared poison inspection and watched with narrowed eyes as Ryuuen dipped his spoon in his ice cream dramatically and scooped a huge chunk. He slowly brought it to his open mouth, watching Houjun at the corner of his eye. Houjun only stared hard at him. Eager to see a more visible reaction, Ryuuen unexpectedly swallowed it whole and turned, grinning happily at him. Houjun blinked at the large part of ice cream missing from his cup, then to Ryuuen who was still grinning.

"Believe me now?"

Houjun's lips only moved a fraction, but Ryuuen instantly knew that everything's okay. For now anyway. He patted Houjun's back lightly and returned to his ice cream, eating quickly.

But he soon noticed that Houjun's still staring at him, as though waiting for some nonexistent poison to take effect. This made Ryuuen sigh in disappointment. He didn't know what Houjun's deal was, but it must be something really bad to make him THAT suspicious. He mentally breathed hard before turning unexpectedly to meet Houjun's stare, which made the guy jump.

"Houjun… I don't know why you're that suspicious of me or what you have against poisons and innocent ice creams, but I'm not gonna ask. I know it's your privacy, and I may not look like it, but I'm not a blabbermouth and I respect other people's secrets. I know we just met, but I can sense that you're a pretty good guy. I mean, who in their right mind would rescue some stranger being assaulted in an alley anyway. Most people would've just called the police or something. Some wouldn't even care. But you did, –even though I could've handled it- and I'm thankful. I hope you'd trust me someday Houjun, because I trust you already, even though we just met. You seem okay to me. By the way, pick your jaw off the floor, you still need that for the ice cream!" He said that last part playfully, but his expression was still serious.

Meanwhile Houjun was staring at him with wonder, eyes wide and expression shocked.

This is the first time someone said something like this to him, and it made him realize how frustratingly suspicious he really is of strangers. What was he thinking with that ice cream thing earlier anyway? It obviously came from the store, not from Ryuuen. And Ryuuen most certainly doesn't keep bottles of poison in that pocket of his.

Was he really that traumatized by Hikou all this time?

No wonder people are so irritated at him the first time around.

Realizing this, Houjun scooped a small, tentative bite of ice cream from his trembling spoon and into his mouth. He quickly shut his eyes, bracing for something. Anything. A few seconds passed, and still, absolutely nothing happened. He finally opened his eyes reluctantly. The first thing he saw was Ryuuen's amused but happy face staring at him. The second was the random people glancing at him as they passed by. One kid was even pointing at him. He must've looked really crazy cowering from an ice cream.

But Ryuuen just clapped and congratulated him dryly, though his tone was still one of praise and understanding. "Well done Houjun! You conquered the evil ice cream demon! What an achievement!"

Ryuuen only laughed when Houjun sent a mildly annoyed look at him.

"But seriously, if I was just anyone, I would've been deeply offended by that poison comment already. Be thankful I'm always accused of poisoning people that I'm used to it by now." Ryuuen grinned sarcastically at him and Houjun finally cracked a smile.

Seems like he found a new friend.