Love-Sick Chapter 2: Nariko x Riku
Riku and Mai are seen outside of the local arcade, just a few minutes before it even opens, waiting for the Watanabe Siblings, Nariko and Kaito, to arrive. The two Mishima children had heard that the owner of the arcade was getting a few new machines in, and they wanted to be one of the first ones to play with them. Not wanting to experience this even by themselves, they decided to invite Nariko and Kaito so they can share the day with them too. Riku was especially excited to hang out with Nariko as he had a crush on her for the longest time.
"Man, where are they?" Riku said as he looked up and down the street for the Watanabe Siblings.
"Forget about them, I'm excited for Mr. Oda to unlock these doors," Mai said as she looked into the arcade to find some of the new machines Shinya had bought for his arcade, "Oh, why can't time move faster!"
"Oh, I think I see them now!" Riku said as he looked into the distance to see only Kaito walking down the street. Riku and Mai were very confused when only Kaito approached them, but no Nariko.
"Hey, guys, ready to have some fun?" Kaito asked enthusiastically?
"Uh, Kaito, where's Nariko?" Riku asked.
"Yeah, what happened," Mai asked, "Did she get grounded or something?"
"Oh, Nariko couldn't make it today," Kaito explained, "She's home with an awful cold."
"She's sick?" Riku asked sadly.
"Yeah," Kaito said, "You know she babysits the neighborhood kids sometimes. One of the kids must've just gotten over something and gave the remnants of it to my sister. She's been coughing and sneezing all morning. To make matters worse, she's home alone."
"Wait, Auntie Shiho and Uncle Daisuke aren't there to take care of her?" Riku asked.
"No," Kaito said, "My mom is away at volleyball training camp for a few weeks while my dad went out of town for the weekend so he could attend a teacher's convention in Osaka."
"Aw, poor Nariko," Riku said with a frown.
"Yeah, it sucks to be her," Mai said with a shrug of her shoulders, "Now, onto more important things, like who gets first crack at the new machines?"
"Actually, you guys," Riku began, "I just remembered there's something I have to do right now. You two go ahead without me and I'll catch you later."
And with that, Riku took off, leaving Kaito and Mai alone.
"Well, I guess it's just you and me then, Kaito," Mai said, "You know it wouldn't surprise me all that much if Riku feels bad for Nariko and he's leaving us to help her in her time of need."
"It wouldn't surprise me all that much either, Mai," Kaito concurred, "You know he has a crush on her right?"
"Of course," Mai nodded, "Anyone with eyes could see that. He's had the biggest crush on your sister for the longest time."
Flashback #1 - How it All Started
At this point in time, Nariko, who was only six years old at the time, is seen walking down the street with money in her hands. She was currently trying to figure out what she should spend that money on, when all of the sudden, she saw Riku, five years old at this time, looking into the window of the ice cream shop. When she got closer to him, however, she saw a sad expression on his face.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Nariko asked her friend.
"All that ice cream looks so good, but I don't have any money," Riku explained.
Looking at the ice cream in the window, and then back at Riku, gave Nariko an idea as to what she should spend her money on. She entered the ice cream shop, asked the vendor for two ice cream cones, and she came out moments later holding said frozen treats in her hand, one chocolate and one vanilla.
"Which one do you want?" Nariko asked Riku, who turned away from the window to see his friend offering him ice cream. Her kindness and generosity deeply touched the little boy, and he couldn't help but blush, "Pick your favorite."
"Uh…chocolate, please," Riku said as Nariko handed him the chocolate cone, leaving her with vanilla.
The two friends happily walked down the street together and talked as they licked away at their ice creams.
Flashback #2 - Returning the Favor
A few weeks later, Riku was in his room playing video games when outside he heard what sounded like a crash followed by the sounds of a little girl sobbing. He ran outside and saw Nariko on the ground, next to her bicycle, holding her knee and crying. The little boy ran up to his friend to see what was wrong.
"Nariko, what happened?" Riku asked.
"I lost control of my bike and I fell," Nariko sobbed.
"It's okay," Riku said as he helped his friend on her feet, "Can you walk?"
"I'll try," Nariko said.
Riku helped his friend into his house. Once inside, and with the help of Yuuki, Riku managed to patch up the scrape on Nariko's knee.
"Thank you Uncle Yuuki, and thank you Riku," Nariko said as she graciously gave a peck on the little boy's cheek, causing him to blush.
The two kids then went into the living room to watch T.V with Mai while Yuuki went to go get Nariko's bike from outside and Futaba called up Daisuke and Shiho to come pick their daughter up.
Back in Present Day
"One act of kindness always sparks another," Kaito said as he remembered those two stories, "Nariko and Riku are the perfect example of that statement."
"They sure are," Mai concurred.
While the two of them continued conversing, Shinya Oda, the arcade's owner, just unlocked the doors and let the two excited teenagers inside.
After leaving Mai and Kaito at the arcade, Riku went home to grab a few movies from his family's DVD/Blu-Ray shelf and a soup recipe from the kitchen. After that, he went to the store to pick up the soup ingredients the recipe recommended as well as some other cold remedies. Now that Riku had everything he needed to take care of Nariko, he paid for the items he brought before hurrying over to the Watanabe Residence.
When he got to Nariko's house, Riku looked through the front window to find a tired and sick looking Nariko lying on the couch, wearing a purple robe over her pajamas, reading a manga. Riku went over to the doorbell and pressed the button. Inside the house Nariko got up from the couch, went over to the front door, looked through the peephole to see who it was, and opened the door.
"Oh, Riku *cough* hi," Nariko said weakly.
"Hey, Nariko, you don't sound too good," Riku said, feeling sorry for his crush.
"I don't feel that great either," Nariko said as she let Riku into the house. He followed her into the living room and he watched as she laid back down on the couch.
"So it's a cold you've got, eh?" Riku asked.
"Yeah, *cough* but I've never experienced a cold like this before," Nariko said, "On top of coughing and sneezing all the time, my body and head aches, my voice is hoarse from coughing all the time, my nose is red from constantly blowing it, and I'm running a fever."
Nariko let out a few more coughs before Riku reached into his bag to pull out the first of the items he bought for her.
"You'll need some of these, Nariko," Riku said as he took out a bag of cherry flavored cough drops, "They'll soothe your throat and ease your coughing somewhat."
"Thank you, Riku *cough, cough*" Nariko coughed as Riku opened the bag of lozenges and gave one to her. As she took the cough drop into her mouth and started sucking on it, Riku reached into his bag again to give her a box of tissues.
"These tissues also come with moisturizing lotion so they should be easier on your nose when you blow it," Riku said.
In response to that, Nariko took a tissue from the box and blew her nose. When she was done, she threw it away in a waste basket that she placed next to the couch.
"It does feel better on my nose than the tissues I have," Nariko said, "Thanks."
"Anytime," Riku said with a smile, "Hey, you want some tea? I bought some tea bags at the store."
"What flavor do you have?" Nariko asked.
"I wasn't sure what you liked so I bought a couple," Riku said as he took some teabags out from his bag, "We have peppermint, chamomile, green, echinacea, and elderberry. Pick your favorite."
"I'll take peppermint, please," Nariko said.
"Coming right up!" Riku said as he took a peppermint tea bag into the kitchen with him. As he prepared the tea, he sang to himself, "It's beginning to smell a lot like Christmas, in this here kitchen. Nariko's cough be gone. All illness say 'so long'. One sip and she'll be back to herself real soon."
Riku continued humming the song to himself as he prepared the tea and poured it into a mug. He returned to the kitchen moments later, presenting Nariko with the mug of peppermint tea.
"Peppermint tea, Nariko," Riku smiled, "Just what the doctor ordered."
Nariko took a whiff of her tea, the steam clearing her head a little bit, before taking a sip and sighing contently, as if she already felt the soreness in her throat melt away.
"It's delicious," Nariko smiled, "Thank you so much."
"No need to thank me, just doing my part as a good friend," Riku said with a thumbs up, "Anyway, I figured you might be bored sitting here by your lonesome, so I grabbed some movies for us to watch."
Riku reached into his bag yet again and took out one of the DVDs he got from his family's collection at home, "Your brother told me how much you liked this movie," Riku said. The movie in question was 'Stunned and Perplexed' (Dazed and Confused).
"Alright, Stunned and Perplexed," Nariko said excitedly, "Kaito's right, I do love this movie. I don't know what it is, but something about the 1970s just intrigues me."
"They were some crazy times, at least according to 'That Show from the 1970s' it was (That 70s Show)." Riku said.
"Oh, I love that show!" Nariko exclaimed, "After we watch this movie, let's watch a few episodes."
"I'd like that," Riku said with a blush, feeling as though their bond was growing a bit stronger.
Riku took the Stunned and Perplexed DVD and put it in the DVD player so they could start watching. As they watched the movie, the two of them laughed at the funny moments, enjoyed and talked about the soundtrack which consisted of nothing but the best songs the 1970s had to offer, and they just enjoyed watching the movie together overall.
As soon as the movie ended, Riku looked for the 'That Show from the 1970s' box set that she and her family had in their own DVD rack. When Riku found it, he put a disc in and they started binging Season 1. Midway through their binge however, Riku heard a light snoring sound next to him. He looked and saw that Nariko had gotten tired and dozed off into a peaceful looking nap. Seeing Nariko sleep made Riku smile. Not only did she look adorable to him, but he knew that sleep was an important part of maintaining one's health and well-being, so knowing that Nariko was snoozing away next to him told him that she was slowly but surely getting better.
Wanting to surprise Nariko when she awoke from her slumber, however, Riku gets up and goes back to the kitchen with his bag. He places the bag on the counter, then looks in the cabinet for a soup pot, which he puts on the stove. Riku reaches into the bag for the vegetable soup recipe card he got from home and the soup ingredients he brought from the store. With all of the essentials out and ready, Riku got to work making the best vegetable soup Nariko has ever had.
About an hour later, and it was done!
Riku brought the vegetable soup back into the living room just as Nariko woke up from her nap.
"Have a nice nap?" Riku soothingly said.
"Yeah," Nariko replied as she sat up on the couch, "You made me some soup?"
"I figured you might be hungry when you woke up," Riku said, "This is my mom's vegetable soup recipe. She always makes it for me and Mai when either of us are under the weather. Try it, you'll like it."
Nariko picked up the spoon, grabbing some carrots and broth in the process. She blew on the foot before inserting it in her mouth, chewing, and swallowing.
"Mmm, this is delicious!" Exclaimed Nariko.
"I knew you'd like it," Riku said, "Make sure you drink the broth too, that's where the nutrients are."
Nariko happily ate the soup Riku prepared for her, as he watched her thoroughly enjoy it.
As Nariko continued eating the soup Riku made for her, they went back to binging 'That Show from the 1970s'. Nariko eventually finished her soup and they reached the end of Season 1.
"Do you want any more soup, Nariko?" Riku asked.
"No thank you, Riku," Nariko answered, "But it was scrumptious."
Riku smiled as he took the disc out from the DVD player and put it back in the box set. It was at this moment when Nariko had more to say.
"You know, you didn't have to come over here to take care of me and keep me company," Nariko said, "And yet you did."
"That's because we've been friends for a long time, and I wanted to do my part," Riku said.
"Well, I hope I'm not coming off as ungrateful for saying this, but most people usually don't do all of these nice things for a sick friend," Nariko said, "Unless that person views that sick friend as 'more than a friend'."
Riku's blood ran cold. Somehow Nariko knew that he had a crush on her, and he wanted to come over and take care of her not because they were friends, but he viewed her as more than that. Riku was so tempted to cut and run at that very moment, but he felt that he had been running away from his feelings for long enough. It was time for him to tell Nariko how he really felt about her.
"Alright Nariko, you got me," Riku said, "When I heard you weren't feeling well and you were home alone, I took it upon myself to be your caretaker. And that's because, ever since we were little kids, I've taken quite the shine to you. Your kindhearted nature is what initially drew me to you. And as time went on and we grew older, my liking for you also grew into a whole new feeling I've never felt before, and it wasn't until recently when I discovered that…I love you."
Hearing those three words made Nariko gasp.
"Yes, I said it, I love you," Riku continued, "I can't stop myself from loving you, and if this were an RPG, you'd constantly be casting 'Attract' to keep me absolutely enamored. You're just a beautiful, smart, compassionate soul in a world where most other girls are superficial and self-centered. Not you. You're an absolute treasure, and any guy would be more than lucky to have you, I just hope that guy is me."
Nariko just looked at Riku silently, processing everything that he had just told her. Once she let everything sink in, she got up from the couch, walked up to Riku…and hugged him.
"Oh, Riku," Nariko said, "I'm so happy you feel that way about me."
"You are," Riku asked, surprised that she's taking the news of his crush on her so well…but there's a reason for that.
"Yes," Nariko answered as she released him from her hug, "And that's because, to be completely honest, I've kind of been feeling the same way about you too lately."
"You have?!" Riku asked, shocked.
"I have," Nariko answered, "You're the only guy who really gets me, and I feel like I can be myself when I'm with you. And as time went on, I've grown to adore every little thing about you, even your more, for lack of a better term, 'geeky' qualities."
"My qualities and I have been called worse," Riku said nonchalantly, causing Nariko to chuckle.
"Anyway, the way you took care of me today shows me how much you truly care about me," Nariko said, "And I would be honored to be your girlfriend."
"Oh, Nariko, you don't know how happy that makes me," Riku exclaimed, "I just wish you weren't sick so I can give you a kiss."
"Don't worry," Nariko said, "As soon as this cold goes away, I'm giving you the best make out session a girl could possibly give a guy."
"Looking forward to it," Riku said as the doorbell rang again. Nariko and Riku went to go answer the door, and they found Kaito there.
"Hey sis. Hey Riku. I figured you'd come here after the arcade," Kaito said.
"Riku took very good care of me, Kaito," Nariko said, "And more than that, Riku tell Kaito the news."
"Your sister and me are boyfriend and girlfriend, dude," Riku said happily.
"Oh, congratulations, man!" Kaito exclaimed.
"Get used to seeing this face, Kaito," Riku said.
"More like get used to seeing his face on my face," Nariko teased, causing her, Riku, and Kaito to laugh.
"Anyway, Riku, your sister went straight home after the arcade," Kaito explained, "She and your parents are probably expecting you home soon. I'll take care of Nariko from here."
"Thanks Kaito, I'll see you around," Riku said before gathering all of the things that he came to the Watanabe Residence with. With all of his belongings safely stored in his bag, Riku began to make his leave, but not before turning to face his new girlfriend, "Catch you later, Nariko," Riku said as he blew her a kiss.
"Have a good night, Riku," Nariko said, blowing a kiss back.
"Night, love," Riku said with a smile before finally leaving.
Riku walked home that evening with his head held high, happy that he finally made Nariko his girlfriend, just as she made him her boyfriend. Everything was going Riku's way until…
*Cough, cough, cough*
"Aw, man," Riku said after his brief coughing fit. It seems that hanging around Nariko all day caused him to catch whatever it was that she had.
"Oh well," Riku said with a shrug of his shoulder, "Small price to pay for love."