Himawari signs in content as the bell finally rings, telling the student that their school time has finally finished. Tomorrow is Saturday, which means she will have more time to finish the last few pages of her manga to submit to the website. Finally…
She needs to finish the last few pages, review them, and send them to her friend for the final review before uploading them onto her own blog. She's been doing this since elementary school, knowing too well how addicted she is when it comes to manga and anime. Himawari considers herself an otaku, not those hardcore ones, but still very addicted to their storyline and characters. She enjoys soft Shojo manga that follows the romantic theme throughout the storyline, but she also has an interest in the Shonen genre as it inspires her to spice up her own storyline rather than just going with the soft, fluffy theme.
Since elementary school, she has trained herself in the mangaka field. Himawari purchases many skilled books to learn, and she looks into many resources online and reads a lot of mangas in order to upgrade her drawing skill, as well as trying to come up with a good storyline and characters. Her skills have sharpened over time and she even starts her own blog to post new chapters every month.
Well, that's her plan for tonight…if it goes well…
Her first week at Collège Françoise Dupont is anything but fun. Yes, she has a lot of fun with her new friends but at the same time, it seems like Chloe really loves making her life miserable. Throughout the week, the blonde has been picking on her nonstop, even with the aid of Adrien and the others, that girl doesn't understand the meaning of 'enough is enough' and keeps on mocking her for silly reasons.
Just like today, Chloe and Sabrina had tried to lock her in the girl's restroom. Lucky for her, Marinette and Alya were there just in time before they can even lock the stall that she's been using.
"Oh look, it's the Asian freak…"
"Chloe, shut up! Did anyone tell you that 'If you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say it'?" Marinette snaps back.
Chloe sneers and turns away with Sabrina following behind her. Himawari shakes her head, she doesn't care about the tricks that the blonde has for her but she can't help but feel annoyed at how silly and troublesome her tricks are.
"Ignore her, Marinette. Let's not stand on her level."
Marinette's face is soon to become an explosion, red cheeks puff out and steam comes out of her head causing Himawari to giggle. In this first week, the bluenette and Alya have both helped her a lot and she really appreciates their kindness. It's nice to have a small group of friends to talk and share her stories, they have added her to their personal chat which now has 3 members: Himawari, Marinette, and Alya. They usually talk about school, Chloe's silly attitudes, and the main topic, boys.
In this group chat, Alya and Himawari are having lots of fun teasing the bluenette about her crush on Adrien. They try to give her some pieces of advice, which always backfire because the silly girl can't even express her normal side properly whenever he's around. It's a way for Himawari to get away and ignore the negative feelings she has for the bluenette whenever Marinette is having a good time with Luka. She knows Alya has tried to consult with Marinette about her unclear attitudes toward both Adrien and Luka, but…
"Hey there Marinette."
"Oh, Luka." the bluenette smiles as she approaches him.
Alya clearly sees a glimpse of hurt in Himawari's amethyst eyes. She wants to curse her best friend for being so careless and oblivious about the raven head's bubbly feelings for the senior boy. Himawari intertwines her hands in front of her chest and looks away while trying to ignore the jealous feeling inside her heart.
"Ignore her, Himawari." Alya pats her shoulder lightly "She's like that, being friendly with everyone except Chloe and Lila. She doesn't mean any harm."
"I know, Marinette is a sweet, loving girl. I can see why many guys fall for her charms…" the raven head signs "Luka sure has great taste in girls…"
The brunette bites her lips and internally screams out loud because she is put in the position of either supporting Marinette or Himawari. The bluenette is clearly falling head over heels for the blond model, but both are so unclear about their feelings that it's getting harder for her to get those two together. Luka, on the other hand, is kind and gentle and clearly shows his interest in Marinette, but she's too oblivious about his feelings for her.
Himawari is quiet, calm, and gentle. She shows her interest in Luka in small actions that are hardly recognizable, even Alya is having a hard time looking for clues on whether or not the raven head really likes him. Compared to sweet Marinette, Himawari's feelings can be disregarded easily because she doesn't show them clearly in the first place. Even Rose and Juleka have once commented on how cute bluenette and Luka are when they're together.
"Well, I have to go now, Marinette. I'll see you next week."
Luka smiles and takes his leave, notices Himawari who is standing right beside Alya, and…why is she wearing such a sad expression on her face?
The brunette looks at him, thinking that this will be a great opportunity for her shy friend to talk to Luka, thus taking her steps toward Marinette and trying to get her out of the scene. The young guitarist walks to the small figure, who is clearly not even recognizing the footsteps that slowly approach her.
"Hey, Himawari…"
"Oh…" she startles and looks up, only to blush brightly at the person standing in front of her "L-Luka, h-how's it going?"
"It's good. Are you not feeling well?"
"No, I'm fine. Why did you ask like that?"
"Well, your face says otherwise…" he looks at her, observing every expression she is currently showing "Come now, I'll take you home today."
Himawari stares at him, amethyst eyes wide as he grabs onto her hand and pulls her with him. Alya and Marinette witness the whole scene, squealing and giggling madly at how 'romantic' it was.
"I heard from Marinette that you play guitar?"
"Yeah, I play for the Kitty Section with some of your classmates. We're actually having a band practice tomorrow afternoon, you can come to see if you want to."
"Oh, I don't want to be a distraction…"
To be honest, it's more like she doesn't want to see Luka and Marinette getting all cozy with each other. She knows way too well that he will invite the bluenette because she has been friends with Juleka for a long time and she's also the head designer for the band. Himawari doesn't want to show her feelings like that, especially when she knows that she will never be able to gain his attention the way Marinette does.
"Don't say that, you're not a distraction. Come and join us, it will be fun. Alya, Marinette, Nino and Adrien will also be there."
"I'll see if I can make it. I can't promise anything…"
Luka looks at her, aqua orbs observe the girl walk side by side with him.
"Are you…missing home, Himawari?"
"I…"
Yes, she misses them. She misses her family, her friends and her home country. She misses walking down the street, feeling the cool morning breeze wrap around her body while looking at the beautiful cherry blossom petals falling down. She misses doing all the school activities, the sports festival, the culture festival, the picnic trips, and so much more. She's not happy when her parents force her to come to France, she hates dealing with everything herself, she hates it.
"I miss home, but then again, I have to endure myself…" she sighs "I think that it's fun that I finally have friends here but at the same time, I really miss those that are still in Japan…"
"Himawari…" touches her shoulder, aqua orbs meet the beautiful amethyst color "I may not understand how difficult it is for you but…you have us, we'll be here for you."
She blushes at the comment, holding a hand to her lips as she let out a giggle. Smiling, the raven head looks at Luka with beautiful amethyst eyes and thankfully nods her head.
"Thank you, for taking me home and for letting me know that you and everyone are here for me."
"You're welcome!"
Himawari opens the front door, only to see her aunt running around with an apron, with a spatula in the right hand and a medium size pan in the left. Seeing her little niece at the door, Cecile bursts into tears and runs toward the smaller lady, holding onto her like a koala.
"Auntie, what's wrong?"
"My dear, you're here! You have to help me!"
"Is something wrong? What do you need?"
"We're having guests over tonight and I don't know what should I cook for dinner!" she cries out "I thought we can serve them authentic Japanese food but…"
The raven head sweatdrops as she looks at the mess in the kitchen, apparently, her aunt has tried a lot of recipes but none of them works because she's not familiar with authentic Japanese cuisines.
"Auntie, we can cook normal Japanese food, it doesn't have to be a special meal or anything." she smiles "How about you take care of the cleaning while I prepare the meal?"
"Yes, please!" Cecile beams at her "I'll clean up the mess and prepare the table."
"How many servings should I prepare, auntie?"
"3 guests and us are 5 servings, dear."
She looks in the fridge and finds many ingredients that her aunts got from the supermarket a few days ago. Smiling to herself, she decides to make Japanese-style pasta because it's one of the best comfort food that she can think of right now. Besides, who doesn't like a dish of pasta? She can also make a side dish and a dessert dish if she has enough time.
Cecile glances at her niece who is having a good time in the kitchen and smiles to herself. The little one seems to be happier than usual, which is a good sign. It's hard to look at the dull expression that Himawari has worn a couple of months ago, mainly because she's still mad at her parents for forcing her to study abroad like that. At least the sweet child is kind and not giving her any trouble like some other troublesome kids and she bonds with her niece quite fast as the young girl always brings a glimpse of sunshine into her life.
Preparing the table, Cecile can smell the aroma coming out from the kitchen and it smells awesome. Whatever her niece is cooking in there, it's gonna be a great dish.
*Ding Dong*
Cecile runs to the door and opens it, she grins at the 3 people in front of the door.
"Mrs. Couffaine, welcome!"
"Ah, Ms. Yamada, good evening!"
She welcomes the Couffaine family into the living room, unaware of the weird look on the tall boy's face. As Mrs. Couffaine sits down and introduces her two children, Cecile smiles brightly and brings out her niece, who is still wearing an apron and protesting madly about meeting her aunt's guests in such a messy state. However, as soon as Himawari steps into the living room, her amethyst eyes open widely as she sees the familiar faces.
"Luka? Juleka?"
"Himawari, hi…"
The raven head looks at them before a heavy blush appears on her face as she runs and hides behind her aunt's back, holding tightly onto her waist. Juleka looks down with a guilty expression and Luka is trying his best to not let out his own giggles of amusement. Mrs. Couffaine laughs lightly at the scene, commenting on how adorable it is while Cecile tries to tell her niece to at least say hello to the guests.
But all her encouragement falls on deaf ears as Himawari is not willing to step out anytime soon. Oh, how embarrassing… Luka has seen her in such a mess…
"Auntie, I'm going back to the kitchen!"
Himawari bows a bit at Mrs. Couffaine before dashing back into the kitchen. Cecile yells at her, not pleased with her manners but Mrs. Couffaine thinks otherwise. She looks at her children before telling them that they can do whatever they want, as long as it does not cause any trouble for the Yamada household.
Luka smiles to himself as he walks into the kitchen with his sister, admiring the scene in front of him. Himawari, in a blue apron, rolling pie dough onto the tray. He looks at the bowl with apple fillings on the counter, thinking that she is baking an apple pie before holds the bowl and approaches her.
"You need this?"
"Yes, thank you, Luka!" she replies, taking the bowl before stopping herself and looking at the person beside her "L-L-Luka…?!"
Hey, you're making apple pie? –
W-what are you d-doing here? –
Luka smiles at her, clearly not wanting to answer her question before pulling a high chair and sitting down with Juleka right next to him. He's carrying a guitar today, something that has always been with him no matter where he goes and begins to play a soft tune. Juleka smiles as she closes her eyes and listens to her brother's playing while Himawari just ignores the embarrassed feeling and continues with her cooking.
She has done with the pasta pot, and the side salad and the dessert is in the oven, that's probably enough to fill up every stomach in this house. Now onto the plating and this is where things start to get a bit complicated. Because Himawari is small and petite, the cabinet that stores all the plates is too high for her, which is why she has to use a stepping stool and climbs onto the kitchen counters to get the plates. But….how can she do such things with Luka around?
Luka is still playing his guitars, he opens his eyes to see Himawari just staring at the high cabinet and then realizes the situation. Slowly approaching her, he offers to take the plates and the raven head just nods in response, too embarrassed to look at the older boy. Juleka walks to them, smiling at the petite girl as she helps her brother take the plates out.
"Here you go." said the boy as he passes down the plates to his sister to put on the island counters "You need anything else, Himawari?"
"Ah, uhm… Can you get the smaller plates in the back of the cabinet?"
"This one?" he holds out 1 plate.
"Yes, that one." she replies "And thank you for helping me."
Juleka looks at her and nods, keeping herself as quiet as possible. Her brother takes the plates from her hands and gives them to Himawari as she brings them out to the table. Because she is in a hurry to avoid Luka at all costs, she trips on her own feet and yelps, bracing herself to fall on the wooden floor and the plates crash on the surface. However, whatever she has in her mind never turns into reality as the older boy has caught her in time with Himawari's back crashing onto his body.
"Are you okay?" Juleka breaks the silence as she takes the plates out of her hands.
"Himawari, are you okay?" this time is Luka's concern.
Himawari's eyes are still wide open, totally embarrassed at her own clumsiness. Luka helps the poor girl up on her feet, still asking about her well-being and doesn't even realize the bright blush appears across her face.
"I'm…I'm good, thank you…"
She bits her lips, takes the plate and puts them on the table, with Juleka right behind with the big pasta tray. Himawari needs to calm herself down, really, really needs to calm herself down. She can't believe what just happened, she just crashed into Luka's lean frame and she still can feel the warmth of him.
I just made a fool out of myself… This is the worst…