He was handsome, tall, but most importantly, he was talking to someone who was off limits to everyone, except for Riko. Or at least that's how Riko wanted it.

A mysterious boy with black hair and purple eyes spoke to You. From where Riko was standing she couldn't hear his voice but by the way You laughed at what he was saying she knew it must've sounded nice.

Riko saw the two from the window as she was shopping in her local plaza to find the perfect gift for You. They hadn't exactly established what they were yet, but Riko was so sure it was going to happen soon. I mean, they had held hands twice before, she was practically already married to You.

A gift followed by a confession was going to be her plan to secure the Watanabe bag, since Christmas was coming up anyways. However, now a new challenger had appeared and by the way he stood so close to You, Riko had a feeling it was going to be a tough fight for her Watanabe's heart.

Putting down the things in her hands, Riko crept closer towards the two as she slid out of the doors of the store she was at. Not letting herself be seen, she stood behind the clothing rack outside.

Snooping around wasn't in Riko's nature, then again girls like You didn't come around very often.

Riko kept her distance far enough to not be noticed but just close enough to keep her eye on them.

The way they spoke with one another was almost, in a way, aggravating. The way You would laugh, even lean into him, while he kept a calm composure was upsetting. Who was this guy? Riko was so sure she'd know of someone so close to You.

The couple didn't stop their adventure at the first store though, much to Riko's demise. As they continued on searching for others.

Riko found herself at a couple-based store with the both of them entering. Of course, Riko could've stopped there but she had to investigate more.

Riko quickly creaked open the door, hiding herself behind the first clothing rack she could find.

The store wasn't as lit as the others, however, Riko soon found two figures standing on the other side of the store.

Being discreet felt so secretive, almost as if she were an agent. She should give up piano playing and work part time spying on others. The way they hadn't noticed, Riko was feeling as if she could finally creep closer to their conversation.

As she passed through the aisles of clothes on each rack, it was as if she was about to steal the most precious jewel right from this boy's fingertips.

At least, that was the idea until someone's hands rested on her shoulders,

"Riko? What are-"

"KYAAAA-"

Quickly turning and ducking down Riko saw Chika right before her.

The sudden shock caused her to lose her balance against the rack, pushing it forward, drawing even more attention towards the two.

Quickly grabbing at her shirt, Riko pulled Chika down as she let out a loud, "WAA-", before having a hand over her mouth,

"Shh! I'm not trying to be seen, Chika."

Removing her hand, Chika let out in a baffled tone,

"Seen from who? There's like almost no one in the store."

"What are you-"

Before Riko could finish her sentence though she stood up to see what Chika was talking about. The store was empty, You and the boy she came in with had left within the few minutes they arrived.

Gasping in shock, Riko began rushing out of the store. She couldn't lose them when she was just feeling confident in her sneaking skills. Calling back, Riko yelled out to Chika,

"Can't explain now! I'll see you later!"

Chika awkwardly waved at Riko as she watched her sprint out of the store like a madman. She was going to have to check on her later considering Riko had been staring at a mannequin for the past five minutes.

Riko rushed out into the crowded shopping plaza once more. People passed her left and right though, causing a confusion of just where she had even come from. There were too many bodies and none of them looked familiar to Riko in any way. Wherever they had gone though it couldn't have been far.

Speeding up her pace, Riko began walking in the first direction she thought of, glancing through all of the store's windows she passed to see if she could catch a glimpse of that grey-haired girl.

With her eyes going everywhere but ahead though, Riko felt a sudden force stop her in her tracks. Almost as if she hit a giant brick wall, Riko stumbled backwards, trying to catch her stance.

Failing to stay standing, Riko found herself on the floor looking up as she saw the culprit. The boy hanging out with You had his back towards Riko, just standing in the middle of the walkway, obviously blocking the way.

Turning around, the boy looked down at what had fallen behind him. Confused at first, he gave a soft smile. Before he could open his mouth though, You peeked from behind him,

"Riko?!"

Fumbling with a bag You held close, You hid her hands behind her back as she innocently smiled. The black-haired boy only rolled his eyes at You before reaching his hand down to help Riko.

As much as Riko felt her dislike for the boy was painfully obvious, he cheerfully spoke to her

"Let me help you up."

As he opened his mouth though Riko soon found out he was actually a she. Riko wasn't sure if that made her situation worse or better.

Before Riko could grab her hand though, You was shoving her bags previously placed behind her into her outreached hand before stepping in front of Riko,

"I got her! Just, hold the bags, Tsuki."

With a red face, Riko grabbed You's hand as she helped her up. Riko hadn't realized just how long she had been sitting down on the floor for. Dusting off her dress, Riko repeated the name in question,

"Tsuki?"

Riko eyed the girl up and down, seeing what she could have that made You like her enough to hang out with her alone. You, however, only noticed Riko's stares. Quickly trying to get a hold of the situation, You stepped in front of Tsuki, letting Riko only look at her,

"Oh, she's my cousin. She's from the other side of Numazu though so we rarely see each other."

Sighing out, Riko felt relief as You answered all of her questions in one sentence,

"Oh, she's just your cousin."

Riko looked back at her, giving her a slight wave as a greeting only for Tsuki to flick her wrist back nonchalantly. That was before You got in Riko's line of sight again,

"Yeah, she's not that great or anything."

"Jeez, thanks, You."

You quickly turned around silently apologizing before facing Riko once more,

"We joke around a lot. But I guess I have to ask, what are you doing out?"

Riko suddenly remembered what she came for and who exactly she was supposed to be avoiding the entire time. Breaking eye contact, Riko looked towards the people passing by,

"Ah, I was just, you know, gift shopping. Christmas is coming up anyways."

Smiling, You leaned forward,

"Oh? Who were you buying a gift for?"

"N-No one! What about your gift? Who is it for?"

Riko pointed towards Tsuki who was just zoning out behind them as she waited for You to hurry along. You, however, blurted out,

"No one!"

Tsuki did enjoy being out and seeing You's friends, but listening to her bad conversation with her apparent crush made her tired.

"The gift is for you, Riko."

Gasping out, You turned around before punching her cousin on the arm,

"That was supposed to be a surprise, idiot."

Tsuki laughed out as she rubbed her arm,

"She was going to find out anyways."

Rolling her eyes, You turned back to Riko to see she was smiling ear to ear,

"Oh? For me?"

You could feel herself growing embarrassed as she tried to quickly escape the conversation,

"Y-Yes, but you don't have to get me anything in return! I just wanted to get something for you, but it's not done yet. I still need to buy more stuff to make it complete. Which is what I should probably be doing."

You began stepping back, trying to get back to her discreet shopping before she pointed at Riko,

"Don't follow us, okay? It's supposed to be a surprise."

Riko giggled into her hand before raising it in a small salute,

"Aye-aye, matey. I'll be sure to avoid you like the plague."

You smiled at Riko's salute before waving as she stepped backwards towards Tsuki. The two girls waved at one another with obvious blushes across their cheeks from their conversation. Rolling her eyes at the interaction, Tsuki decided to take the step for You as she called back to Riko,

"Hey, why don't we have lunch together in an hour after we're done shopping? Our little You here will treat us."

You snapped her head at Tsuki but before she could call her out for putting her on the spot like that, Riko questioned,

"Are you sure? I don't want you to spend money on gifts and lunch."

With how gentle Riko sounded though, You winked at Riko as she tried to play it cool,

"It's fine, in fact, I was already thinking about inviting you to lunch anyways."

Giving a small salute, You grinned ear to ear with her statement.

"Well, I guess I'll see you in an hour then. I gotta hurry and shop now."

Waving her hand, Riko turned around and You watched as her hair flowed in the wind. She walked so gracefully as the crowd of people slowly took her from her sight.

Though she was gone, You still stared off in Riko's direction. That was before Tsuki waved her hand in front of You's dazed face,

"You alright there, buddy?"

You swatted her hand away,

"You're paying for your own lunch."

Tsuki laughed before handing You's bags back to her,

"Wow, only nice in front of your crush, how cruel of you."

You took her bags back before walking away. Though she was still smiling from her conversation, You didn't want to forgive Tsuki that quickly for such a sudden get-together,

"Why would you do that? You know how I get around, Riko."

Tsuki stuffed her hands back into her pockets before walking up alongside You,

"Hey, you weren't gonna do it and it's obvious she's into you so I just had to bridge the gap. You're welcome by the way."

Looking back at where they stood, You thought about if Tsuki's words were true. It was hard to read Riko as she was something from a painting, an ethereal masterpiece with so many different interpretations to be seen from her actions.

You was just, You.

However, even though the opinion was biased, a little hope was all she needed to try,

"Yeah, thanks for that."


A/N: Sorry, I always forget to include the authors note here. I usually just add them on my AO3 ;-;.

Fic Request from Kree_Queen_of_Trash on AO3 (great name lol). Thank you for the request !

I actually wrote two fics for the one prompt given lmao. I couldn't decide on one story plot for them so yeah, the more the merrier! The next chapter will be the second one I thought of, this one is more of what was suggested from Kree_Queen_of_Trash. I had fun with both stories though, kind of made me realize I hadn't put a certain character in any of my YouRiko fics so that was a good change of pace lol.

If you would like a request for a YouRiko fic feel free to drop me a comment or a message on Twitter/Tumblr (usernames on my profile). There are certain storylines I won't do but tbh that's rare.

Anyways, as always, Yousoro and out ( ‾▿‾ )ゞ