Hello peoples! I was planning on uploading this chapter on the ninth (just like i did last month... and the one before that... it was an accident i swear XD), but i finished the chapter before and i'm not sure if i'll be able to upload it then, so... Here it is, lovelies :P THE OTOHARU IS BACK BTW :D :D Ehem... Thanks for the new favorites and follows btw and also since i haven't got one in ages: reviews are love XD
Disclaimer: I don't own Uta no Prince-sama or any of its characters.
Haruka could only stare as her friend told her about the highly eventful evening she had. So when she finished talking, the pink haired girl just looked at her in disbelief while trying to make sense of it in her head.
Bringing her back to reality though, Tomo-chan asked: "So?"
"So what?"
"So… what do you think?"
"… I don't know what to tell you… I didn't… well… I knew that Jinguji-san and Hijirikawa-san had some history together and all… And I could tell that they were friends, but… I don't know… Are you going to do it?"
"You mean befriend Blueberry?"
"Blue… what? What did you just call him?"
"Blueberry… You know… the fruit… I'm trying to think of a funny nickname… That's all I've got for now… I know it's horrible, I should do better"
"I… Why do you need to call him by a nickname?"
"To cheer things up, Haruka! Why else? I need to break the tension somehow…"
"Oh-kay… If you say so…"
"… But… Do you think this is a good idea?"
"Giving him weird nicknames?"
"No, dummy… I mean getting closer to him as a favor to stupid Handsomeface"
"… I'm not sure… But I do still feel guilty for all the trouble I put him through so… if you don't mind… I would love it if you were there for him too"
"…" Tomochika stayed quiet then, pondering the possibilities. At the end she decided that even if Masato eventually found out about the reason she approached him in the first place, it was worth the risk to make someone else feel better for a while; even if he ended up hating her for it. So she finally said: "I'll do it!"
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Masato was cleaning up his room when he heard someone knocking on the door.
For once, that day Ren had actually gotten up earlier (or so he thought)… That or he didn't go to sleep at all, but regardless of his situation and thankful that Ranmaru's sleeping patterns kept him slumbering like a rock, he got up and resumed his morning cleaning ritual.
"It's open!" he called out in response to the knocks.
Moments later, Tomochika walked in, moving in bee line towards him. Surprised at her presence, he said: "Oh, Shibuya-san… What brings you here?"
"I just wanted to… Is that Kurosaki Ranmaru snoring?" she interrupted herself as she noticed the senpai's presence.
"Ah, yes… Don't worry though, he sleeps like a rock, we can talk as loud as you want"
"Oh?"
"Yes?"
"Ah, I'm sorry… I just… could we talk somewhere more… private?"
"Oh, I'm sorry… I didn't notice…"
"Nah, it's okay… follow me" she said before walking towards the door once again. He followed not too far behind right after taking off his 'cleaning uniform'.
Once they were in another room, Tomo-chan cleared her throat as to get some courage and that was when it hit her: 'What the hell am I going to tell him?!'
In her freak-out she didn't realize that he was actually waiting for her to speak, so when he said: "Is there anything you needed?" She just lost it and blurted: "I really like you, you know" She thought back at what she had just said and just stood petrified, too embarrassed at her own stupidity to even move.
When she finally made a movement, though, she found something that genuinely surprised her: he was blushing like a madman while staring at her. "D-Did you really m-mean that?" he asked.
'Oh crap crap crap crap crap crap crap crap crap what do I do?! I just… I made everything worse... crap… I gotta cover up… but if I reject him… it will all end there won't it? Shut up Tomochika, you have to do it; you can't lie to the poor thing' she thought desperately. Having decided on her approach, she started: "I actually-" she got cut off mid-sentence though.
"I'm sorry, but I can't accept your feelings" he said bowing and interrupting her in the process. This only made her blush in embarrassment, but realizing that he had just saved her, she started laughing nervously and soon turned that laughter into an actual happy one. He was so confused at her response that he only stared. Well, he stared until she walked closer and started tickling him.
Ten minutes later they were both lying on the floor, faces hurting, eyes full of happy tears and bodies filled with a new recovered energy.
"That was fun" she said breathlessly.
"Mmm"
"Sorry I tickled you so much, but that was just too awkward… I don't like you that way, I meant it as friends"
"Oh…" He sat up and looked at her. "Then I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions like that"
"Nah, it's okay… It's not like anyone wouldn't love to imagine such a beautiful girl like myself having a crush on them!" she said proudly. He only smiled in response and got up extending his arm to help her up. She took it, and just like that, they were both face to face again.
"So…"
"So… Oh yes! I wanted to ask if you would mind us being… friendlier?"
He looked at her confused and asked: "Friendlier? What do you mean?"
"I mean… Up until now we've only been acquaintances, a friend of a friend… Would you mind us being… just friends?"
"Oh… I… That would be lovely, Shibuya-san"
"Call me Tomo-chan… Or Tomochika if you prefer it that way"
"Um… I don't… err… Tomo…chika?"
"Yes?"
"No-nothing"
"Great! Let's go out and do something, then!"
"Mmm… I'm afraid I can't do that"
"Eh? Why?"
"We have been grounded because of our recent behavior"
"Grounded? So you can't leave the dorms?"
"Precisely"
"Then we'll have to find something to do on our own here, Blueberry"
"B-blue-berry? Eh?"
"It's your new nickname. Like it? Don't like it? Doesn't matter, it'll stick"
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Haruka decided to make herself some breakfast instead of going back to bed, but as she made her way towards the kitchen, she remembered something: Otoya was still sleeping in her room. So instead of eating alone, and feeling confident in being able to make him some food before he woke up, she ran with new found excitement to prepare something delicious.
She had decided to make him a 'mango chicken curry'. After all, she could make a big enough portion for two and it didn't take longer than half an hour to prepare.
She prepared on one side the sauce (in a pan) and boiled the rice in a stewpot simultaneously. Once she got all the necessary ingredients for the dish she had been planning, she put some oil in a pan. She added the onions she had chopped and cooked them for five minutes. Then she added the red bell pepper and more oil, cooking the mix for a little while longer. She put curry powder, cumin and salt and as the smell of it all started rising, she added some ginger and garlic to make it even tastier. Finally, adding some water vinegar and the mangos, she sat down and waited for it all to come together.
Fifteen minutes down the line, she took all the mixed ingredients and put them in a blender to make it more even and saucy-like. Afterwards, she moved the sauce back in the pan and added the chicken. Haruka had finally finished the dish, but she had to wait for about ten minutes more, so she sat down on one of the kitchen chairs and let her mind wander off as the smell of food raised.
The pink haired girl thought herself really lucky that all she needed to make one of her favorite dishes was there. She found it quite peculiar given that the boys usually ate outside, but she figured maybe Masato had something to do with it… "Hijirikawa-san…" she said out loud without even realizing it.
"Yes?" he answered back bringing her to reality once again.
"Ah! Hijirikawa-san! What are you doing here?"
"… Forgive me if I scared you, Nanami… But I got hungry and… I couldn't help walking in with that wonderful smell… What are you cooking?"
"Oh… I… It's okay… I'm making 'mango chicken curry'… it's an Indian recipe… Tomo-chan taught it to me"
"Interesting… I'm going to go on a limb and guess that it contains mango, chicken, and curry?"
"Among other things, yes" she replied smiling. He smiled back and opened his mouth to say something else, but his stomach growled instead.
"Oh, God… I'm so sorry"
"No, don't be. I have enough for you to eat if you want?"
"Really? But I don't want to bother you…"
"Well, Hijirikawa-san… I thought you wouldn't talk to me anymore, but here we are. So, I can assure you, you are not bothering me in the slightest. In fact, I'm really glad you're here. I can finally give you back some food in exchange for all you've been cooking for me lately"
"… It's no problem really… And I… I guess what Ittoki did the other day made me… more aware of the fact that maybe I can actually control myself if I keep in mind that I might get murdered if I don't"
"He wouldn't kill you"
"You weren't there" He said. She opened her mouth to protest, but the timer went off right then, so she hurried towards the oven and served the dish on three different plates. She turned after she finished and realized that Masato was incredibly close to her, too close. So she whispered: "No"
Instead of moving away, he took her by the chin, making her look up into his eyes, and said: "We're even now" before letting go of her and making his way to take one of the plates. She just stood frozen in place as he walked outside the room. Meanwhile, Masato's mind was exploding in confusion: 'why the hell did I just do that?'
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Masato ran towards the living room in an attempt to avoid doing something even more stupid. He placed the plate and silverware over the table cloth, and sitting down, he started eating immediately, as fast as he could so that no one would find him and he could just rush back to his room unnoticed.
The redheaded woman sitting across from him on the table had other ideas, though. Tomochika cleared her throat to make her presence known and in return, he fell to the floor clumsily, fork and knife included.
"Woah, slow down, Blueberry"
Pulling himself up, he stared at her with as much anger as he could muster and said: "I told you not to call me that!"
"You actually didn't, but that's the least of your worries to be fair"
"I… You said you were too busy and that you had to leave! I even said 'goodbye'! What are you still doing here?"
"Well… I was about to leave but then I smelled what you're eating and I just had to stay a little longer"
In response to her statement, he gestured towards his plate as a way of offering her some of his food, but she politely rejected it with a shake of her hand. "That's not why I stayed"
"Then… what do you want with this food?"
"Well, I taught Haruka how to cook that, you know… It looks good, I guess she did it better this time" she said nonchalantly.
"Oh yes, she told me you did… It's curious though, she said it's an Indian recipe? How did you learn it?"
"Blueberry, darling… You know, when you don't go to school and you work at a newsstand you can't avoid reading a ton of magazines to avoid death by extreme boredom"
"Oh my God, yes!"
"You understa- oh never mind" For a moment she had thought he could actually relate to her precarious situation, but it turned out that he was just really lovin' the food. She decided she couldn't take the ignorance anymore. She swiftly took the fork out if his hand and taking a chunk of the rice, chicken, and sauce, she tasted the dish. "Mmmm… She really outdid herself this time"
"… Can I have my fork back?"
"Not until you tell me why you insist on making advances on my friend" she said taking a complete serious turn in the conversation.
"… Ummm… I…" he mumbled.
"Now, I saw what you did in the kitchen so I'm not making this up. You got the worse out of Otoya and yet you just keep going, why?"
He looked down at his plate and stared at the food sadly. "I restrained myself for so long that I don't think I can do it anymore… That's why I told her I couldn't talk or interact with her anymore… which is coincidentally why Ittoki hit me… not because he was jealous…"
"Wow wow wow! He hit you defending Haruka? I don't know why I couldn't figure it out before… He's such an angel…" she said looking at the distance. "But back to you: I'm going to teach you how to stop acting like an animal in mating season"
"I… that's quite… offensive"
"Offensive my ass, you have a lot to learn Blueberry, and I don't have all day. Eat" she said finally handing him back his fork.
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Closing the door to her room behind her, Haruka took both her plate and his towards her nightstand. The second the tray touched the nightstand, Otoya jumped up in the bed.
"Food!" he said excitedly.
"Yes, I made you some. We can have breakfast together" she said smiling.
He was already drooling as he stared at the dishes when he asked: "What did you make?"
"Oh, you'll see. Try it" He happily obliged and shortly afterwards, a 'hmmmm' sound expressing the deepest kind enjoyment he could muster was heard. She knew he would like it which is why she had used a larger plate for him, large enough to fit two portions, 'cuz God knows, Otoya eats a lot. He was eating so fast though, that she couldn't stop staring at him, forgetting about eating herself. So when he paused for a moment after drinking some water and cleansing his mouth with a napkin, she was surprised to hear him say: "Are you gonna eat, or what?" Haruka rapidly joined him and half an hour later there was no more food in sight.
"Woah, Haruka, you're an excellent cook"
"Aw, thank you! I really do try my best… But this one was a simple dish"
"Simple? I can barely make pancakes; don't pull yourself down, you just cooked heaven" he said as she noticed the curry still covering his mouth.
She giggled in response and leaned in to kiss the salsa away from his lips. He didn't expect her to do that so when her tongue traced the outlines of his mouth, he froze in his place. She pulled away slightly and looking at his confused reaction, she felt even more confident to go on. So she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips against his. In response, he moved his hands towards her back and took her closer to him. Shortly afterwards though, he felt her smile against his lips which caused him to smile in return. He couldn't help but give her one last little peck before pulling away and giggling like a schoolgirl. His laugh was pretty contagious as well so as fast as he started, she joined. They gave each other sweet little kisses as they giggled for a while, blushing and smiling all the way.
At one point, Haruka asked him: "You think you can help me clean the dishes again? I promise this time I won't drop anything"
He leaned in again, and giving her another peck on the lips, he replied: "I would be honored"
Hearing his response, she took one of his hands in hers and squeezing it gently, she said: "You know, Cecil-san might be an actual prince, but to me you are the real deal… my prince of songs"
"Well, I'm glad you think that, because I would be nothing without you, my muse, and my princess" he said imitating Cecil's voice.
"You're a dork" she said giggling again.
"And you love me for it!" he said, giggling as well.
"I truly do" Every joking tone was replaced by the utter sweetness and seriousness of her statement and he couldn't help but kiss her once again, making sure for it to last longer that time. He cupped her face with his free hand and slowly leaned in, watching as she closed her eyes in expectation, as her breathing softened, feeling both of their pulses rise by the touch of their skin. He wasn't thinking about the fact that they were technically sitting on her bed or about the implications that that might have for other people, because for them, kisses and laughter were enough. So they both lingered for a moment as their faces were so close that their breaths mixed into one, the mango of the salsa tinting the taste of it. The softness of the bed and the warmth of their bodies made their senses sharpen as they noticed the dead silence of the morning and the loud wind at the outside making trees move and the windows vibrate. Haruka finally cut the space between them as Otoya's open mouth welcomed her tongue to join his in a deep, sweet kiss.
They were so focused on each other that they didn't notice when someone knocked on the door, nor when someone actually walked inside the room.
Ringo stared at what he thought as 'this horny teenagers' and tapped his foot with impatience, loud enough for them to hear, but it seemed as if their ears were solely focused on their body sounds. So the teacher waited and waited. When Haruka's hand wandered down her boyfriend's shirt though, he just had to stop them; he wasn't there for the show. He cleared his throat audibly and seeing as it didn't work, he said out loud: "You two better cut the love making before it starts 'cuz we have a lot of work to do and I'm not here to babysit you"
Hearing his voice, they both jumped away from each other, red covering every single part of their bodies as they looked down at the floor in embarrassment.
"Listen kids, I'm not here to ground you. You can do whatever you want with each other as long as you use protection and don't bother anyone else… I can't believe I just said that, you're both underage… I just… Regardless, I'm here to inform you that since you are already grounded darling Otoya I would love for you to join me and the rest of your bandmates on your first day of punishment"