Disclaimer: I don't own Teasing Master Takagi-San, or any other works. All I own are my own ideas, characters, and twisted imagination.
Hello everyone. Happy Valentine's Day. This story was in the works since last Valentine's Day. I was hoping to have it completely done by now, but that didn't happen. You know because life and stuff. Anyways, I will be posting the chapters when I am fully satisfied with them. I am currently working on chapter 4. This story will have some indirect and direct references to sex and will have some mild swearing. I'm not sure if I will put a lemon in this, but I will be posting this an AO3 as well just in case. I will also be posting another story with a darker tone, as sort of a counter story to this one. It will be titled The Summer of Her. It will contain some dark material, and the story will continue from a common point in this one. I have not written much of that story yet, focusing on this one, but be sure to check it out when I do post it. Anyways, happy Valentine's Day. Hope you enjoy your day and this story. I will also be posting a much more adult Sailor Moon story today as well if you're interested. Be sure to drop me a review if you like the story (or stories if you read both).
PS. I also wanted to post this before the show comes back for Season 3. Can't wait to see what it will bring to the table!
The Gift of Love
Chapter 1: Prank Gone Wrong?
On February 14th, all around the world, Valentine's Day is celebrated with chocolates, roses, cards, and the sharing of hearts. The city near Tokyo is no exception. Two friends, who over the course of two years have gotten close, will discover what love holds for them firsthand. Their story starts a week before the big day.
Nishikata walks into his classroom, a prank in hand.
This is perfect, the classroom is empty. Takagi-san will never know what hit her. It may be old school, but if it works, it works.
In his hand lies some trick gum. Nothing that will scar her, but enough to completely embarrass her. Quickly walking over to Takagi's desk, he places the gum on it along with a note.
I feel so embarrassed leaving a note on her desk instead of just talking to her, but if I get in trouble again, I'm really going to get it. I'll just have to play it cool.
Walking over to his own desk and sitting down, Nishikata takes out his English textbook and his notebook. Looking over his notes for the upcoming test today, he begins to think. Not about English or his prank, but about what is coming up in a week.
Man, it's that time of year again. The dreaded Valentine's Day. I know last's years was…weird, but hopefully this one will be better. I still don't know who gave me those other chocolates. It had to be Takagi-san. Who else could it have been? With that being the case, I should do something for her. But what? What could I give her to symbolize my feelings for her? Actually, what are my feelings for her? I know I like her as a friend, and I know we are getting closer, but do I actually like-like her? Or even *gulp* love her? I'll have to think on this more later.
"Hello Nishikata. How are you?"
Nishikata is so lost in thought that he inadvertently ignores the question. Takagi looks over at his desk, then back at him.
"Nishikata are you there? Earth to Nishikata."
Nishikata jumps slightly, broken from his thoughts.
"Hello Takagi-san. How are you?"
Takagi looks over at Nishikata with a grin from ear to ear.
"I'm fine, Nishikata, but you looked deep in thought. Thinking about your crush…or me by any chance?"
Blushing, Nishikata turns his head away and says, "No… I was just studying for our English test. Trying to memorize everything we learned."
Takagi gives Nishikata her trademark "I know you're lying" smile and says, "Sure you were."
Man, not even 5 minutes into the day and I'm already getting teased. This must be some kind of record.
Grinning himself, Nishikata thinks:
Just you wait, Takagi-san, this prank is going to put you in your place.
Before further conversation can be had, their teacher walks in and says, "Okay class, take your seats. We're going to start."
The class goes to their seats. Takagi finally notices the note on her desk. She quickly reads it before class can truly begin. The note says:
Takagi-san, I want you to have the gum on your desk. It's your reward for beating me in our last contest. I would give it to you in person, but if I get in trouble in class again, I will be handed my behind. So please, if you truly want to keep me in this class, don't make trouble for me anymore. Since I know you just "have" to tease me, do it in our free time. Anyways, I hope you enjoy the gum.
Takagi looks at the note and smiles.
I know that this is a prank. I saw him buy the trick gum the other day. Still need to pretend not to know that though. His reactions are truly priceless. Still, his note does seem sincere, and Mr. Tanabe does seem like he's getting really irritated by Nishikata's reactions. Maybe I'll pull back a little bit and "do it on our time". Besides, making him squirm a little will be fun. Now I just need to time this right.
Takagi put the gum into her pocket, and out of the corner of her eyes, she sees Nishikata give a disappointed mini frown at her actions. Takagi cracks up at the look on his face, just quiet enough where nobody notices.
Turning her attention back to Mr. Tanabe, she hears him say, "Now, to spice up the day a little bit, we are going to have a short review before I pass out your English test. I know it's a different schedule but I'm sure you'll be glad to get the test out of the way. In order to help you review, I am going to pass out a crossword puzzle with Japanese hints. You are to solve the puzzle using an English word for an answer. You have 20 minutes to finish the puzzle. You need to put down at least one correct answer to get credit for this assignment, and you are not allowed to talk to anyone else while doing this. If you do, you will automatically get a 0 on the assignment. Are we clear?"
The class responds with a yes. Mr. Tanabe passes out the puzzle, and for the next twenty minutes, the class silently works on the assignment. The class is encouraged to use their book and notes. Nishikata finishes half the crossword puzzle with 1-minute left. Looking over to Takagi, he sees much to his horror that she has her eyes closed with her puzzle completely finished. Nishikata averts his eyes so his teacher doesn't think he's cheating.
I know that this isn't an official competition, but I can't believe I lost again. And with that crossword done, she's sure to ace the test too. Just another thing she's going to tease me about. How is she so good at English anyways…and crossword puzzles for that matter? It's so frustrating.
Adding one more answer before time is up and putting his name on it (That would have been stupid if I forgot that he thinks), Nishikata passes up his review sheet along with the rest of his class. Mr. Tanabe then passes out the test. Nishikata is so freaked out by Takagi's perfection that it takes him 5-straight minutes to do one translation. Once he calms down, though, he is able to fly through the rest of the test, much to his surprise. He is not surprised to see that Takagi finished her test first and is already turning it in to Mr. Tanabe. Passing Takagi by on his way to turn in his test, she gives him a smirk and mouths "I win again", much to his annoyance. Finishing turning in his test, Nishikata asks Mr. Tanabe if he can quietly listen to music at his desk for the rest of class. Mr. Tanabe gives him permission as long as it is school appropriate. Making his way to his desk, Nishikata pulls out his music player and earbuds. Turning the volume down and selecting a song, Nishikata puts on a love song called Be My Lover by La Bouche. Before Nishikata can fully put in the earbuds, Takagi catches a few lyrics of the song. Nishikata closes his eyes, missing the smile given to him by Takagi.
So, he listens to girl bands, or at least mixed gender bands. Not only that, but he also listens to love songs. I could tease him about it, and I probably will down the line, but I think it's sweet, nonetheless. Hmm, he was awfully distracted earlier and now he's listening to love songs. He probably was thinking about someone special earlier. I'm not surprised. Valentine's Day is coming up soon. Still, who was he thinking about? And why do I think that he has something in store for me? Can he finally be getting feelings for me? I mean, I have feelings for him. Anyone who's seen the two of us knows that. Still, even if he has something planned, I should do something for him too. Those chocolates last year were a big hint, and he did seem to suspect that it was from me, but this year I need more than a hint. Whether or not I'm just getting horny or am madly in love, I want – no – need him. My hope is by the end of the year, he will be mine.
Takagi does a double take at her own thoughts.
Wow. I didn't think I would admit I'm horny for him in addition to like-liking him. We're too young for that, and I know that. I can still fantasize about him ravaging me when we're older though. I can't wait till we're both legal for that.
Nishikata will be kicking himself later for missing the first (and quite possibly only) blush on Takagi's face in public. Which will be made even worse as everyone done with the test notices, increasing her blush. Luckily for him, though, unknown to anyone else (sans Takagi herself, who is nearly blinded by the flash), Mano takes a picture of Takagi, not for any nefarious purpose (although it would make for a good Sword of Damocles), but because she thought it would make for a good picture.
Feeling thoroughly embarrassed, Takagi buries her face in her arms and begins to quietly laugh.
Nishikata thoroughly embarrassed me, and not only does he not know how he did it, but he's unaware that he did it at all. Oh, the irony. Guess we're lucky that Mano took that picture. I'll have to thank her for it later.
The rest of the class proceeds to finish their tests. After they are done, the bell rings, signaling the start of a new class subject. Nishikata turns off his music and puts his player away. He looks around the class and finds that a few of his classmates are looking at him with smirks on their faces. Some are even laughing under their breaths.
Okay, what did I do? Or what did I miss?
He turns towards Takagi to ask what happened, only to see Takagi turn away from him.
Okay, that's even stranger. Why is she avoiding me? Is she mad about the prank? No, I can still see the gum hanging out of her pocket. So why is she avoiding me? And do I detect just a hint of pink on her checks? No, a hint of red even? Dangit, something big happened and I missed it, didn't I? Did she get embarrassed about something in public? That would be just my luck.
Before he can think about it some more, a piece of chalk hits him in the head, again.
Ouch, that hurts. One of these days, I'm going to get a concussion. What did I even do now? Better question is what didn't I do now?
Mr. Tanabe says, "Sorry about that, Nishikata. That one slipped from my hands, honest. Still, you need to quit staring at Takagi and pay attention. I'm about to start our history lesson."
Nishikata blushes but nods, thankful to not be in trouble for once. Much to his surprise, he hears Takagi laugh, but it is much more reserved, like she doesn't want attention drawn to herself. Deciding to think about that later, Nishikata pulls a rare feat and actually pays attention in class. His paying attention pays off, as he is actually able to answer the history question Mr. Tanabe asks, much to the shock of his classmates and delight of Mr. Tanabe. To be clear, his classmates aren't shocked that he answers correctly, but they are shocked that he is paying attention and not flirting with Takagi. Since they are partly to blame for that, they look down in reflection for a moment before shifting their attention back to the lesson.
The rest of the first half of the day passes by without much excitement. Takagi has not teased Nishikata once since that initial tease, and Nishikata is left confused as to why, while still trying to figure out what happened during the English test. Much to the class's relief, the bell rings, signaling the start of lunch. Before anyone can move a muscle, Takagi shoots out the door, not yet ready to be bumrushed by her friends, or worse, Nishikata. Nishikata looks concerned and runs towards the door, however, a crowd has already formed in the hallway, and Nishikata loses her. Looking disappointed, Nishikata grabs his lunch from his desk and heads towards the front of the school, wanting to eat outside at the tables the school has set up. He also wants to be alone right now to contemplate the events of the day. Finding an open spot, Nishikata opens his lunch box and thinks.
Takagi-san is acting very weird. She hasn't teased me since class started, which I would chalk up to my note if not for the fact that she was blushing and avoiding me. Not only that, but the class was looking at me and smirking. Some were even laughing, like I was the odd man out of an inside joke. Why though? Man, this is not what I wanted when I woke up today. I wanted to embarrass Takagi-san, sure, but I didn't want her to avoid me like that. I just wanted to get back at her.
Clenching his stomach, Nishikata turns pale.
I feel sick. Takagi-san doesn't hate me, does she? I just wanted to get even with her for all her teasing. I don't want to push her away. Think Nishikata. What can you do to remedy this?
Snapping his fingers, Nishikata stands up and says out loud, "That's it!"
Sitting back down and ignoring the looks of his fellow school-goers, Nishikata pulls out his small notebook he calls his "idea book" along with a pen and writes down several ideas of how to make this upcoming Valentine's Day the best Valentine's Day Takagi-san has ever had.
By the time lunch is finished, Nishikata has 3 full pages of ideas, some for the day itself and some for the next few days after.
Boxing his lunch back up after hurryingly scarfing down half of it, Nishikata, with new-found energy, burst back into his classroom just before the late bell rings, startling a few of his classmates and his teacher. Even Takagi gives him a surprised look for a second before adverting her gaze. Nothing can wipe the smile from Nishikata's face, not even a surprise pop-quiz in math. In fact, Nishikata is feeling so good that he aces the quiz, his brain working overdrive. He even beats Takagi in finishing. He would have rubbed it in too if Takagi had ever looked in his direction. Although by the smile on her face, he could tell that she knew and is happy about finally losing to him in an unspoken (unofficial) contest.
Once school lets out, Takagi, still avoiding eye contact with him, whispers to Nishikata, "I'll see you later Nishikata. And, we're even."
Takagi leaves the room and shortly after, gets on her bike and leaves the school. As for Nishikata, let's just say that he has some planning to do.
