Chapter 37: Tuesday, Race for the Heart

"Hmmm."

"Urgh! That's the sixteenth time you 'hmm'ed Matsumoto. What is it?" Isane demanded as she finished up the documents.

"It's just that, Kurara can be so clueless at times." She sighed, making Isane blink at her blankly. "I mean, she's got so many secret admirers in the school, heck even the princes are in love with her! Yet she's acting as if everyone's a friend."

"So what, just leave her be. She's probably not ready for a relationship right now."

"How can she not be ready?! She's smart, a great cook, does the laundry in a breeze." You're making her sound like a housewife…Isane thought but then saw Rangiku brighten up. "I got it! I know the perfect way to get Kurara a date. And I'm gonna need your help." This, cannot be good…

Next day:

"Hey Rukia, have you seen Rangiku?" I asked. "Rukia just shook her head. "That's strange. She told me to come extra early today."

"It ain't only you. She told almost everyone to come early. Said there was some sort of important announcement." Rukia stated. Why do I get the feeling this 'important' announcement is a bad thing? Suddenly we heard the speakers go off.

"Attention all students. This is your student council president Isane. I am here to announce an important event that will happen today afternoon. It's…Hey! Matsumoto!" It sounded like Rangiku snatched the mic from Isane.

"Good morning everyone! Thanks for coming so early! Me and Isane have come up with a brilliant game to play this afternoon and everyone is invited!" Oh dear… "It's called…'Chasing Hearts'!" I knew it… "After school, boys will go to the field while girls go to the hall. Rules will be given out later. Hope to see everyone there!" and the speakers went off. Everyone started chattering while I just groaned.

"What's with the groan Kurara?" I screamed as Rangiku's voice suddenly came beside me.

"How did you? Nevermind that, just what is all of this Ranigku?" I asked.

"Like I said, you'll have to wait till after school to find out. But I know you guys would love it!" I still couldn't get the sense of unsureness out of her mind.

…

"I knew it. This is ridiculous!" I groaned. The whole female population in the school were gathered in the hall, wearing some sort of pink heart shape hat on our heads.

"Girls, hope you're ready for an exciting time today!" Rangiku said from the stage. "I'm now gonna explain the rules of the game. You'll all be scattered in the school and your job is to find the boy of your dreams." Say what?! "The boys will be wearing hats just like yours but blue. If you see the boy you like having a blue hat, you just have to switch hats and you two will become a couple for the rest of the day."

"Why do I get the feeling Ranigku did this for you?" I gave a confused look at Rukia.

"Alright girls! Time to get to work and find that dream boy of yours!" Rangiku cheered and we were taken to different locations. I stayed in one of the classrooms with Kasandora. I turned to see her texting on the phone and then she stood up and walked to the door.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"Going to see Uryu-kun."

"So you're just gonna leave me here?!"

"Sorry Kurara-chan. But this is my only chance to spend some time with him!"

"What are you talking about? You hang out with him all the time!" Kasandora just giggled nervously before escaping. I groaned but then heard screaming from outside. I looked out the window, only to see a large group of girls chasing after Ichigo. Poor guy. This game must be like torture to the princes. Suddenly, the speakers started and I heard Rangiku voice over it.

"Attention attention all. Breaking news. We have votes for the most wanted Boys and Girls. From the boys, we of course have the princes. We even got Kuchiki sensei to play." Seriously?! What did she do to make him play? "And from the girls, we have yours truly, but I'm not gonna play. I'm just MC." She just wants to see everyone suffer doesn't she? "But we also have Haruno Kurara at the top of the list!" Say what?! "For those boys who wanna get a good girlfriend, this's the girl for you!"

"Rangiku! You're crazy!" I silently shouted to myself. Then I heard shouts from outside, I looked down and saw the entire baseball team, pointing up to me.

"There she is! Let's go!" their captain shouted and they started making their way up the building. Wait, are they after me?! I quickly took off running into the hallways, trying to hide from them, but suddenly…

"Look! There's Haruno!" I stopped at my tracks, with the basketball team right in front of me. I quickly backed up and ran the other direction. This couldn't get any worse.

Meanwhile:

Rangiku smirked as she continued to watch her best friend run away from countless of clubs.

"The baseball club, the tennis club and now the chess club. Before you know it, Haruno's gonna take away your limelight." Isane commented.

"Well, this game is for her." Rangiku smiled.

Kurara's POV:

I started panting behind the bookcases. If you didn't notice, I am being hunted down by at least six clubs in the school and I'm right now seeking refuge in the library. I could still hear some of the clubs running through the corridors outside. Once this whole thing is over, I'm so gonna get Rangiku for this. Soon the place became quiet so I thought it was safe and I stood up and walked around. I looked down at my watch, only five minutes left. Just then, I heard a shuffle, making me freeze up. Before I could see what made the sound, another sound came from outside, beeping. Beeping? Suddenly, all went in slow motion. The whole wall broke, bricks and glass scattered all over the air. I used my arms to protect my face but then felt a sudden force pushing me back and soon, all went black.

Outside:

"Nemu. What the heck are you doing?" Isane shouted. Standing before her was a large humanoid robot piloted by none other than the daughter of the mad scientist in the school. Sometimes she wondered why the principle even hired him.

"Matsumoto said the game needed excitement so this is what I decided to do." Nemu simply stated.

"She didn't mean this kind of excitement. So please put that away."

"No need?"

"No need." Isane sighed, trying to come out with an excuse to tell the principle.

Back in the library, Ichigo's POV:

Urgh! That was unexpected. Just what was that woman thinking?! Wait, why is it so soft? I opened my eyes and lifted them up only to my horror of seeing my whole face…Smack in the middle of Kurara's chest! GAAAHH! Holy snap! I rushed off, keeping a little distance, seeing Kurara waking up.

"Urgh, what happened?" she mumbled, rubbing her head.

"Looks like Nemu was trying to test out a new weapon. Why she would, don't ask me. You ok?" I asked with concern.

"A little. Just didn't expect Nemu to be flying a giant machine bot in the school and fire missiles at us. And then there was something heavy on my chest…" I flinched.

"I..It was just the wind! Trust me." I said a little too quickly but she seemed to have bought it. Phew. As I watched Kurara gazing around, something hit me. Wait a second. This is the perfect time to switch hats with her. I attempted to take the pink hat off her head when…

RRRRIIIIINNNNGGG!

"Time's up! Hope you all enjoyed the game!" Isane's voice said over the speakers. I silently groaned, missing my only chance to get an excuse to go on a date with Kurara. Then I saw a hand in front of me. It was Kurara.

"Come on. We better get going." She smiled and said. That smile practically melted my heart. I grabbed her hand as she pulled me up. It was small in my hand and the warmth was comforting to touch. We held hands until we reached the gates of the school and personally, that was the best five minutes ever.

Sorry this took so long. Hope you liked it, eventhough the ending was lame. Pls forgive me for my late updates but I have to concentrate on school right now. Thx for supporting.