ハ-モニクス (Harmonics) - Discontinued

CHAPTER FIVE

Haru slowly opened his eyes and blinked unwarily until he noticed the extra weight on top of him. His eyes widened and he almost choked at how close Celes' face was to his.

"W-what are you doing?"

Celes leaned back and held up a magazine. "I found this while unpacking your stuff this morning."

Haru quickly dived at her to retrieve the magazine but she pulled it out of his way, causing him to tumble onto the floor. "Why do the women in here wear so little clothing?"

Haru stifled. "Give that back!" 

Celes flipped through a few of the pages. "You have quite the collection of these. Is there some sense of satisfaction you get from seeing the other gender's bare body?"

"Stop asking! Those are for my comfort."

She tilted the page and cocked her head to the side. "So if I removed my clothes right now, would you feel comfortable?"

Haru's face went pale. "How can you say that so casually?"

Celes furrowed her brow. "Is it that the feeling comes from the fact that they are on paper and I'm right here?"

Haru hollered and made another dive at her, this time knocking her back and sheltering the magazine under his arm. "And stop going through my personal stuff! They're hidden for a reason!"

She frowned. "I was only trying to lighten your work load. The least you could so is thank me."

The door creaked open and in walked Chitoge. Her eyes going through another magazine. "Lady Celes, I still can't solve the mystery behind these."

Haru quickly ran to grab it from her. "What is it with you two and what are you doing in my room?"

Chitoge stretched her bandaged arm. "It's not like I'd ever entrust Lady Celes' safety to you."

Celes leaned towards the edge of the bed. "Mr. Otonashi, why do you sleep in your undergarments here but refused to do so when we shared a bed?"

He averted his look from them. "How much more oblivious can you two be?"

"Eh?"

"Never mind that, just get out already!"

                                                                                 *****

"Lady Celes," Chitoge held up a strip of bacon and flashed it around. "Some of the fruits humans eat aren't sweet at all."

Celes nodded.  "And some of them taste nasty if they aren't prepared. Like eggs, they're skin is brittle and the pulp is very slimy."

Haru just sat as the two conversed over their food. "Bacon and eggs aren't fruits."

Celes and Chitoge exchanged glances. "They're not?"

He sighed and stacked their plates. "You mean you two have never had meat before?"

"Meat?"

Celes looked puzzled. "What kind of tree do those grow on?"

Haru made a face. "Meats don't grow on trees. They're the flesh of animals."

The two girls looked at each other then burst out laughing. "That's silly Mr. Otonashi. Who would seriously want to feast on another beings flesh?"

Chitoge nodded. "That would be gross."

He pouted and instantly gave up the thought of explaining. "I've been meaning to ask, but why were those paladin guys after you?"

Celes shrugged and moved her finger along the rim of her glass. "I'm not really sure myself. After Lord Goodness went missing, they started abducting the lesser gods."

Chitoge sipped from her mug. "By word of the guild of high priests, they say the paladins are archangels bribed to work for Lord Destruction. No one knows for sure but since Lady Celes is the only lesser god that can replace Lord Goodness,  I can't afford to let her get captured."

Haru grimaced. "So if you're that important, wouldn't they surround you with guards or something?"

The two nodded solemnly. "Matradona was attacked. We never found out how the paladins were able to infiltrate the kingdom without being detected but I got lucky enough to escape." Her tone dropped as she looked away from him. "I'm not sure what became of the others."

"So you can't go back?"

Chitoge shook her head. "The portal I made to send Lady Celes here was a spell I learned while studying under Lady Kefla of the religion of the darkness sect." She laughed nervously. "It was only supposed be a one way trip to transport Lady Celes somewhere else until I could find a way to get her back but I suppose I didn't quite know how to turn it off."

His chin rose. "Does that mean more of those guys can come here whenever they feel like it?"

Chitoge hid her face. "It's not likely that anyone will know exactly where it is. And above that, no one will just dive head-first into a portal without knowing it leads to somewhere safe."

Haru wrapped his hands about his neck. "Not reassuring but I suppose it buys time for us to come up with a plan."

Celes gave him a blank stare. "You say that as if you've handled matters like this before."

He shook his head. "Nope. To be honest, I still don't believe all of that but if helping you two gets me in the position I want to be in, then you bet you're ass I'm gonna do everything I can."

Celes and Chitoge chuckled. "When you say it like that, you'll get us to think you have some kind of ulterior motive for helping us."

Haru grinned. "Of course I do. Every good deed deserves another, right?"

Celes smiled. "I don't know what your inspiration is but I trust you enough to know that it isn't something bad." She held her hand over the table and he gently shook it. "I look forward to continuing under your grace, Mr. Otonashi."