"Do you prefer dolphins or lions?" Minoru asked me during Chess Club the next day.
"They're both cool," I replied, scribbling an answer down to a math problem. "Why are you asking this?"
"Don't you like one over the other?" he said. He sat down opposite me. "Not really," I said.
"Furaru!" The door was slammed open and Umari Etsuko waltzed in gleefully. "Hello! Will you teach me some more chess today?"
"No," Minoru said curtly. He turned back to me. "Then which do you like more: fish or rabbits?"
"What kind of fish?" I asked, as Umari dropped a chess board on top of desk. "Hey! Watch it, Umari!"
"Move your stupid homework." She shoved at my arm and papers.
"Why don't you two move somewhere else?" I asked. "I'm trying to get my homework done here."
Minoru sighed and leaned closer towards me. "Just ignore her. All kinds of fish. Any fish."
"Will you tell me why you're asking this?" I asked, finally looking up at him.
"Fine. Do you want to go to an aquarium or a zoo?"
Umari slammed her hand on the desk with a grin. "The aquarium! Duh! Take me with you, Furaru! I love the aquarium! And animals in general!"
I smirked. "Yeah, Furaru, maybe you should just take Umari-san. She'll go with you anywhere." He glared at me. "Pick one, Rika-san."
"Zoo then," I said with a shrug. "But if you prefer to go somewhere else, then that's fine too." He sighed, leaning back. "Fine. And I'm not teaching you Umari."
"Why not?" She pouted. "You taught me last week!"
"No. You can learn from someone else." Then he glanced at me and smiled. "Why don't you learn from Rika- san?"
"Why would I want to learn from some second-rate girl like her?" Umari said. "I only learn from the best. Which is you, Furaru."
"If I'm second-rate, you must be third-rate," I mumbled. "Seeing as you can't even beat me."
She glared at me. "Once my great Furaru teaches me some more, I'll be beating you in a flash." I smiled. "You wish. Umaru."
"What? It's Umari, you dumbo!" she said.
"Umaru and Furaru, doesn't it sound cute?" I asked.
She paused, considering it, and then smiled. "It does! Okay, you can call me Umaru! Actually, don't. It sounds a bit strange."
"Umaru and Furaru, sitting in a tree," I sang.
Minoru stood up abruptly. "Forget Saturday," he said with a deep scowl. "I'm not wasting time or money on you."
"You can on me!" Umari squealed, following him towards the farthest corner of the room. Huh. I pissed him off. Sweet! Maybe I'll get Saturday all to myself!
"I don't know what you did, Rika, but Minoru-kun's father called me just now and told me that his son would like to cancel the date this Saturday," Mom said with a frown. "Perhaps we'll keep this grounding on. You still have about two weeks."
"Mom," I said. "It was Funaki's decision. I didn't say anything."
"Well you must have said something to make Minoru-kun want to cancel the date," Mom replied.
"How do you know that Funaki didn't just have something that came up on Saturday?" I asked.
She sighed, leaning her forehead against her palm. "Oh I can't deal with this right now, Rika. Just-Just stay out of trouble please. I'll be leaving for Sapporo tomorrow. So just..."
"I understand Mom," I said with an enthusiastic nod. "Really. I'll stay out of trouble and be a good kid."
She stared at me and then nodded. "Good, good. Just, good." She made a shooing gesture. "Go on and do some homework or something."
"Thanks Mom!" I smiled as I skipped out the room.
"Morning Dad." I found my dad sitting at our kitchen bar with a cup of coffee and rice porridge in front of him Thursday morning.
"Morning Rika!" He grinned cheerfully. His fever had gone down completely, and it seemed like he was all
"Morning Rika!" He grinned cheerfully. His fever had gone down completely, and it seemed like he was all better now.
"Are you feeling better?" I asked.
"Of course! Well, now that your mother is gone." He sighed. "Sapporo. Maybe I should get a business trip there too. Hm. What's in Sapporo?" He glanced at me as if I had the answer, so I shrugged.
"Actually, before I came home, I was planning on going to visit your grandma. Her health has been terrible these days. I'll have to visit her soon, then after that, maybe I could go to the Hokkaido Prefecture too." Dad had a habit of talking out loud. "But Nagoya is south, while Hokkaido is north. How troublesome..."
"Morning Rika!" Kimiko danced into the kitchen. "Morning Dad! Feeling better?"
"Yup!" He glanced at her. "Where do you think I should go on a business trip, Kimiko?" "Anywhere in the world?" she asked, eyes widening at the possibilities.
He shrugged. "Well, I suppose."
"Then you should totally go to Switzerland! And bring back their delicious chocolate!" Kimiko replied excitedly as she sat down next to me. "And go skiing there! Oh, but if you do go to Switzerland, you should take me."
Dad chuckled. "Switzerland, huh?"
"But you've been there," I said. "Three times."
"I know, but it's such a nice place!" Kimiko squealed. "What about you Rika?" Dad asked.
Hm...
"America," I replied.
"But you've been there before too!" Kimiko said.
"It was only once at New York City." I frowned. "Why?" he asked.
I shrugged. It was mainly because of Akane. I wanted to see what kind of environment she'd grown up in. What her world had been like before she'd moved. I poked my eggs. "It's a superpower country. There's a ton of business opportunities there."
"Thinking like a boss," Dad said with a proud nod. "Don't you want to go anywhere fun?" Kimiko asked. "America's fun," I replied. "Right Dad?"
"Sure! If going to meetings all day is considered fun, sure!" He grinned at his own sarcasm. "We should all go then, Rika, as a birthday present for turning eighteen. How about we go during Christmas? Won't that be fun? Christmas is quite a big holiday in America."
"Would I go too?" Kimiko asked.
"Of course! A family trip!"
"Aw, no Dad," she replied, shaking her head. "I want to spend Christmas with Masahiko-kun."
"Me too," I whispered.
"What?" Kimiko jumped in fright. "You want to spend Christmas with my boyfriend?"
"Not with your boyfriend!" I replied, blushing. "B-But with mine!"
She sighed. "Oh thank goodness."
"Why would I want to hang out with your boyfriend, Onee-san! Come on!" I said, quickly stuffing my mouth with the rest of my breakfast. "I'm done!"
"What? So we're not going to America during Christmas?" Dad sounded disappointed. "But I was looking forward to it!"
I shook my head and began walking out of the kitchen as Kimiko spoke, "We were only discussing it Dad." Christmas... It was coming up in two months. It seemed like a long time.
I'd thought I had Saturday to myself, to read and relax and play on the computer. But at about 1 PM, the doorbell rang, and Azumi came knocking at my bedroom door.
"Rika-sama, Haninozuka-san is at the door. He's looking for you." She sounded quite disappointed, as if she didn't want to be delivering this news to me.
"Wh-What?!" I bolted out of my room and leapt down the staircase. Mitsukuni was waiting patiently in the doorway dressed in a plain black hoodie and jeans. Gosh, why does he look so adorable in a hoodie?
"Mitsukuni!" I grinned as I skidded to a stop in front of him. "What's up?" "Hey Rika! Let's go on a date!"
...
I blinked a few times but Mitsukuni remained standing in front of me with a bright beam. "Uh..." Wait a minute. I looked down and saw myself wearing my pajamas. Oh wow. Haha. Well, Mitsukuni has seen me in my pajamas before. "Where are we going?" I finally asked.
"It's a secret," he replied with a devious smile.
"Okay! Let me go change," I said, as I began running back up the stairs.
"Where are you going?" Azumi asked when I passed her on the second floor landing.
"A date!" I practically squealed.
"Oh Rika! Where some practical clothes!" Mitsukuni yelled from below. "Like jeans! Or sweatpants! Just pants!"
I giggled. "Okay!" Then I turned to Azumi. "Did you hear that? Isn't Onee-san at her job right now? Can I raid her closet?"
Azumi sighed. "Go ahead, Rika-sama."
"Yay!" Going on a date with Mitsukuni was way better than doing virtually anything else! Actually, I'm not sure if I can think of something better. Maybe watching anime since I haven't watched in a long time... Haha, as if that could compare! A date is most definitely better!
I grabbed an old t-shirt, some comfortable black jeans, and a sweater jacket from Kimiko's closet. Although she had a ton more clothes than I did, she actually didn't wear that many of them. So I just took the clothes that I figured she wouldn't mind if they went missing.
"So where are we going?" I asked Mitsukuni once the car began driving.
"I told you it was secret," he replied. "But I hope you didn't eat too much for lunch."
Hm. Now what could that mean? "We aren't going to another amusement park, are we?" I said.
He shook his head, practically brimming in excitement. "Nope! I'm not going to tell you Rika! Oh but it'll be a long ride."
"Okay." I settled down. "So, I think I'm not grounded anymore. Mom's at a business trip, and so long as I stay out of trouble, it'll be fine."
"Great!" Mitsukuni grinned.
"Any news on your side?" I asked.
"Mmm." He wracked his brain, then shook his head. "No, not really."
I told him about what happened with Ashika Suzume, and her idea of the rose hairclip. "Did you know that this is your rose in my hair?" I asked, pointing to said hairclip.
His eyes widened at the revelation. "No! But that's cool!"
"I know right?" I replied.
We talked a bit more about school, about the people we knew. I prodded for some more hints on where we were going, and found that what we were going to do was something that my parents may not have approved of.
It took about forty minutes to arrive at the site. We had driven into a forest on some smoothly paved roads and pulled up into a small parking lot with a single-floor building.
"Where are we? A nature site?" I asked, as the two of us exited the car.
"Nope!" Mitsukuni grinned. "It's been a long time since I was last here! This is going to be fun!"
He pulled me into the building, which, by the way, was quite fancy. The doors were automatic and inside was clean and exquisite. And empty. There was only one guy standing at the desk. After Mitsukuni spoke to him briefly, we were soon shown to a larger room.
All along the walls of the room were guns - paintball guns.
"Oh my..." My mouth dropped open, and then I started to fangirl. "Gahh! Kyaaa! Paintball! Paintball!" I squeezed Mitsukuni in a tight hug then resumed my fangirling. "I love paintball! Gahh! I've never played it before! Thank you so much for bringing me here!" Then I hugged him again.
The lady stared at me as if I'd gone crazy, or if I'd lost a head. Well, I guess I kind of did. I smiled sheepishly
The lady stared at me as if I'd gone crazy, or if I'd lost a head. Well, I guess I kind of did. I smiled sheepishly and blushed. "Uh, please continue."
She smiled back. "As I was saying, these protective suits all contain special censors. When you have been hit at a vital point, either right at the chest, the helmet, or right at the back, your gun's trigger will freeze up, and you will have 'died.' If you take enough shots on the arms, legs, or other non-vital parts, the gun may also freeze and you will have 'died.' Is that clear?"
"How does a gun freeze?" I asked.
"When a gun freezes, it means the trigger locks up so you can't shoot anymore," she replied. "We have surveillance cameras throughout the arena and GPS in each gun and suit, in case something happens. Anymore questions?"
I shook my head and started bouncing on my feet. I was so ready to start playing and shooting people!
"Now do you two want to be on one team or face against each other?" she asked.
"Same team!" the two of us said at the same time. We glanced at each other and smiled.
"Alright." She wrote something down on her clipboard. "Why don't you two get suited up while I find you some opponents." Two other workers came to us, carrying the protective gear. As we put them on, she pressed something on her earpiece. "How many teams are available at the moment? Yes. Okay. I have two who want to be one team. Yes. Hang on." She turned to us. "Would you like to be a two-person team or join others to form a larger team?"
We glanced at each other again.
"What do you want?" we said in unison.
"Rika," Mitsukuni said quickly in an effort to break our synchronized speaking. "What do you want to do?"
"I don't care," I replied with a shrug. "Whatever you want to do."
"I don't care either!" he said.
We turned to her. "We don't care!"
"Wow," I said as the lady began talking to whoever was on the earpiece. "We're starting to sound like the twins." I giggled and then stopped. "It's kind of creepy actually."
"I agree." Mitsukuni nodded.
"Alright." She turned back towards us. "There's a party of four that wants to play a small game. They're also returning members. Are you alright with that? Or would you like to play someone else?"
"I'm fine with it!" I said as we were handed our guns.
"Me too," Mitsukuni said.
"Good."
We were taught how to load, aim, and fire. Our bullets were yellow, and the other team's bullets would be blue. Each hit is recorded by the sensors on the protective gear.
"How expensive is this stuff?" I asked, as the two of us began walking out into the so-called "arena." Mitsukuni shrugged. "This is the best paintball place in Japan! So it's not exactly cheap."
"So do only rich people come here?" I asked. We crouched down behind some brush. It was all natural landscape here. There were trees, bushes, and dirt paths everywhere. The other team was coming from the opposite side, and the goal was just to wipe out the opponents before they got to you.
"I guess," he replied. "I've only come here once, with my family."
As we waited for the countdown to begin our game, I asked one final question, "You're good at this right?"
"Not really!" He grinned.
"What? But I thought you were like boss at this!"
He giggled. "Boss? No, but I've had training with guns before."
"Well, you're Mitsukuni so-"
Beep!
I immediately pulled the gun up and began scanning the area before us. I'd never learned how to use a real gun before, and there were probably differences between a real one and a paintball one.
"You know," I said absentmindedly. "This would be a lot of fun if we came with the Host Club."
I tried to imagine it. Tamaki would probably get bullied by the twins. Kyoya would stay out of the whole mess. Haruhi would too, and no one except the twins would dare to shoot her. And if she did get hit, it'd likely be on accident. Mitsukuni would... Guess we'll have to see about that. But Takashi would definitely protect Mitsukuni, no matter what. He'd take every shot. Protect Mitsukuni, no matter what. He'd take every shot.
I giggled. "It'd be fun alright."
"They're coming Rika!" Mitsukuni whispered.
"Where?" I whispered back, eyes darting back and forth. "How can you tell?" He smiled and tapped his ear. "Listen."
I strained to hear the footsteps. Then I heard them. Quick and soft footsteps on the dirt path, slightly to the right of us. They were coming. I pointed the gun from the direction of the sound. Then someone burst into view. I pulled the trigger without a second of hesitation.
Tat-tat-tat!
Three yellow splotches of paint appeared all over the boy's chest. He glanced down in surprise, then yelled, "Aw shit! I'm out already?!"
"Where are they?" Someone out of our view asked loudly.
"Move!" Mitsukuni whispered, nudging me towards the left. "Quietly!" "Yes sir!" I smirked and began crawling as quickly and silently as I could.
"Somewhere over there, Kazuki!" the boy said.
"Did you hear that Isamu?" that Kazuki one yelled.
"Seriously? You're already out Takumi?" another voice said.
"I know right? Who the hell are we fighting?" Takumi replied.
"Two people," a fourth voice said in a much quieter and calmer tone.
"No duh," Takumi spat.
"Where'd they go?"
While they had been bickering, Mitsukuni and I had successfully crawled in a quarter of a circle around them. Thanks to all the noise they were making it really hadn't been that difficult.
Are they stupid? Or just messing around? They look like high schoolers, maybe even our age. Can't wait to beat them, hehe.
"Sir," I whispered in a serious manner. "Do I have permission to take this guy out?" I pointed at some dude that was standing next to that Takumi. He was probably that Kazuki guy. We were hidden in the shade of several trees and bushes.
"Yes private," Mitsukuni replied, mimicking my grave tone. "On my count of three! Cause I'll be taking this guy out." He trained his gun on the third dude, who was now roaming boldly through the bushes we'd been hiding behind in the beginning.
"One," he said. "Two... Three."
Tat-tat-tat!
Two bullets got his arm, and one missed. Mitsukuni, on the other hand, was successful, getting that guy nicely once on the helmet and another on the chest.
"Dang, you're good," I said.
He grinned. "Let's get moving!"
"Over there!" The guy I'd been shooting at, and who, unfortunately, wasn't out yet, pointed in our direction.
"Get them!" The second guy yelled. The two remaining boys started sprinting in our direction.
"Oh shit," I whisper-screamed. "Mitsukuni!"
Our eyes met and he nodded. We both sprang to our feet at the same time. "Runnn!" we both yelled, dashing away.
"Zig-zag!" I shouted as bullets rained down after us. "Run zig-zag!"
"Randomly! Randomly!" Mitsukuni jerked to the right all the sudden at an opening, and I heard one turn after him.
"Nooo!" I was starting to get out of breath. Crap. I felt a bullet strike my lower back. Ohhhhh! Nooooo!
At the nearest opening to my right, I turned, continuing to zig back and forth along the path. Another bullet grazed my left arm.
Screw running away!
I grabbed my gun and turned to shoot at my pursuer. I had to slow to a jog in order to continue moving backwards.
Tat-tat!
One missed, and another hit his shoulder. It was the boy that I'd shot and missed at before. And, he looked strangely familiar.
"Do I know you?!" I screamed.
"What?!" he screamed back. Then he fired, and it hit straight at my chest.
"Ow!" Startled by the sudden force, I stumbled and fell on my butt. "Ow! Oh damn! That hurt! That really really hurt! Damn it!"
"Rika!" Mitsukuni burst through the forestry right beside me. He looked alright. There wasn't a speck of blue paint on him. "Are you okay?"
"Rika?" that boy muttered.
"I'm fine," I said, taking his offered hand and getting on my feet. "Just fell. Did you get hit? Cause I'm out."
Mitsukuni grinned. "No-"
I grabbed his gun, turned him around, and pulled the trigger.
Tat-tat!
"Hey!" the boy yelled. "That's against the rules! You're dead!"
I smiled, wrapping my arms around Mitsukuni's neck. "You're dead now. We win! Yay! We win!" I squeezed him in a hug.
"What? Kazuki, you lost?!" The previous boy stomped over towards us. "Seriously man?" The other two boys came towards us.
Kazuki... The name... Wait a minute...
"Can we do some introductions?" I asked.
The four boys glanced at me.
"Oh great!" The boy I'd shot first scowled. "We lost to two kids! Seriously, Kazuki? You can't even shoot a kid?"
"Hey you were the one who got shot first," the fourth kid muttered.
"Introductions please?" I said. "Cause you guys all look the same to me." We were all wearing green camouflage outfits, along with black vests, gloves, and boots. Thanks to the dark green helmets and goggles, it was pretty hard to distinguish who was who.
"Sure," the first boy said. "Let's go somewhere brighter."
We all went to the nearest clearing where we then stood facing each other. "I'll go first," the first boy said. "I'm Okamoto Isamu."
"And you were the one that was chasing Mitsukuni, right?" I asked for clarification.
"If Mitsukuni is that guy," Okamoto pointed at Mitsukuni. "Then yes." I nodded. He pointed over at another boy beside him. "That annoying loudmouth-"
"Hey!" This was the boy I'd first shot.
"-Is Kubo Takumi, and that quiet guy over there is Miura Hotaka," Okamoto said. "And this guy here is Ashida Kazuki. Now it's your turn."
Holy shit. Of all the luck in the world. What is Kazuki doing here? Why isn't he back at Akawari? Isn't this a place for richies only? He's not a richie.
"I'm Haninozuka Mitsukuni," he said with his characteristic flowery grin. "You can just call me Honey though!" "Dude, what grade are you in?" Kubo asked.
"I'm a highschool third year," Mitsukuni replied.
"You're kidding me," he muttered.
"Actually, we're not," I said.
"And this is Hayashi Rika!" Mitsukuni continued as if Kubo hadn't said a thing. "She's a third year too!" "I don't believe it," Kubo said with a shake of his head.
"Rika..." Kazuki was still mumbling under his breath.
"What?" Mitsukuni asked.
He looked up, startled, then hastily shook his head. "Ah, nothing! I-I just used to know someone by that
"What the hell," Kubo said.
"Where are you guys from?" I asked.
"Just a bit south of here," Okamoto replied. "We all go to Nakano Private High. Ever heard of it?"
Nakano Private High. I searched my brain for that school. "Oh! Isn't it a place for spoiled middle-class kids and poor upper-class kids? Just twenty minutes from-" I cut myself off.
"What? You calling us spoiled middle-class kid?" Kubo asked, leaning over me with a supposedly threatening atmosphere.
"Please keep in mind," I said, holding up my paintball gun. "That I was the one who shot you." I smirked. The quiet Miura chuckled.
"Hey, what are you laughing about Hotaka?" Kubo went to Miura's side and the two began bickering again. It seemed playful, since Miura just kept grinning.
"Let's play another game," Okamoto said.
"Hey wait," Kazumi held up a hand. "Where do you two go?"
"Ouran," Mitsukuni replied proudly.
"In Tokyo," I added, trying not to sound smug.
"Rich brat!" Kubo called.
I stuck my tongue out at him. "Spoiled brat."
"What makes me spoiled when you're rich enough to go to Ouran?" he asked.
"If you wanted to play a video game, would your parents let you?" I said in response. He nodded. "See? You're spoiled, because my parents wouldn't let me."
"That's stupid," he muttered. I smiled. "Thanks."
"Let's just place another game," Okamoto said with a sigh. "Quit trying to pick a fight." I glanced at Mitsukuni who just smiled at me.
"Reset!" Okamoto yelled up into the sky.
"Is that supposed to do something?" I asked Mitsukuni.
He nodded. "Just watch."
I did watch. I watched the paint melt away on our vests.
"Holy smokes!" I said. "Did it just-" I looked at Mitsukuni who nodded. "It really did? Wow! That's so freaking cool!"
"A newbie huh," Kubo said sounding disappointed. "How the hell did we lose to a newbie kid?"
"We'll take the defensive this time," Okamoto said. "Countdown's starting. Let's go." They all ran off back the way they'd come.
"Hey Mitsukuni, can we climb the trees here?"
The two of us climbed up on a stable-looking tree. "Wait, but Mitsukuni, they said that they'd be going on the defensive," I said, settling down on a branch. "So shouldn't we go on the offensive?"
"But it might be a trap," he replied.
"True," I said. "But going on the offensive would be pretty fun. Oh, I know! How about we split up?" I grinned at him.
"Eh?" Yeah, he didn't like the idea, seeing as his eyebrows furrowed in concern and a light frown appeared.
"Okay, never mind then." I turned back towards the direction they'd be coming from. We waited. When five minutes had passed, I glanced at Mitsukuni. "Maybe we should go attack them."
"Mm," he said, nodding, although he looked rather dazed.
"You okay?" I asked. I leaned forward to get a better look of his face. He blinked and the fogginess disappeared.
"Yeah!" He nodded. We stared at each other for a moment. Then he said, "Actually, can you kiss me right now?"
"Sure," I said with a shrug. I moved closer towards him and he seemed to tense in anticipation. I smirked. "Why are you asking, Mitsukuni?" I settled back to my previous position, swinging my legs back and forth. "If you want a kiss, you should just kiss me."
He was silent, then I felt his hand on mine. He kissed my cheek, and I turned my face towards him. He kissed me passionately, in a way that he'd never done before. He was kissing me as if this would be our very last time, and I let him until I was out of breath and so red in the face that I felt like I could fry an egg with my cheeks.
"Mitsukuni," I said, one hand grabbing his shirt. "A-Are you okay?"
He was blushing but he nodded. "Yeah."
I smiled. "Okay." I kissed him back.
Tat! I jumped and would have fallen off the tree branch if it weren't for Mitsukuni grabbing my arm.
"Guess they got tired of waiting," I said with an excited grin. I picked up my gun and began scanning for them.
"Rika." "Wh-"
Tat-tat-tat!
I flinched as something struck my foot. Looking down, I found Kazuki standing underneath the tree pointing his gun.
"Hi," he called with a calm face.
"Oh, you are so going down." I smirked. I began shooting at him. He was probably at the disadvantage. What if his bullet came down and hit himself?
"Rika, wait!"
A bullet zipped past my head. Maybe I should get closer and lower. I hopped down a branch, continuing to fire.
"Be careful!"
"I know," I said.
"Hey! They're up here!" Kazuki shouted.
Oh come on. I rolled my eyes as I shot him right at the helmet. I grinned. "Got you Kazuki-kun!"
He glanced at me, eyes wide and alarmed for a completely different reason. "Why are you speaking so casually to me?"
Oops. I didn't have to fake my surprised expression. "Aren't you younger than me?" I asked innocently. "No! I'm a third year too," he said, sounding insulted.
Good. He doesn't know who I am. It'd probably be better if he didn't know. A bullet suddenly hit me in the lower leg, and I staggered from the sudden strike. My balance slipped, and I found myself falling.
Shit!
"Rika!"
I grabbed the nearest branch and managed to keep myself from falling any further.
"Did I get her?" It sounded like that annoying Kubo guy.
"Yeah," Kazuki replied. "In the leg."
I dangled from the branch silently. There was quite a distance between the ground and me. Dropping from here probably wouldn't be a good idea.
"Hang on, Rika! I'm coming down!" I glanced up and found Mitsukuni scrambling towards me.
"Calm down," I said. "I can probably get up myself." I swung my body back and forth in an effort to get myself up onto the branch. But it didn't work. If anything, it felt like my grip had weakened. I just wasn't as fit as I used to be. "Nevermind."
Tat-tat! I swung dangerously backwards and managed to dodge one bullet. The next one hit me on my side. "Okay, these paint bullets officially hurt," I said to no one in particular. Mitsukuni arrived and quickly held out
his hand.
"I'll pull you up," he told me reassuringly. Tat!
The next bullet hit my hand and the sudden pain caused my hands to let go. "Mitsukuni!" I screamed, trying to grab onto Mitsukuni's outstretched hand. It was already too late and I was falling.
Crap! Quick! How do you land safely? Roll. Roll! I watched as the blurred ground rushed up towards me, and as someone else came running into my view, arms outstretched.
I didn't roll. Instead, I fell ontop of someone.
"Rika! Rika!" Mitsukuni yelled.
It took a good while before air returned to my lungs. The moment the world stopped spinning, I rolled off whomever I'd fallen on.
"I am really sorry. Are you okay?" I asked Kazuki.
He sat up, looking dazed. Then he nodded. "Yeah."
"But I just fell ontop of you," I said. "From like..." I looked up, trying to locate exactly where I'd fallen from.
He smiled. "I'm pretty tough."
"Are you sure you don't want to go to a hospital?"
"Yeah." He slowly got up and began moving his arms and legs around. "Nothing hurts, so I think I'm fine." "Rika, are you okay?" Mitsukuni came running up to me.
"Yeah, I'm fine," I replied with a smile as I got onto my feet. "You should be asking Ka- Ashida-san instead." I stared at my blue paint-covered hand. My hand hurt more than the rest of me, which must be a good thing.
He looked relieved. "Good." Then he stepped forward and kissed me on the forehead.
Okay... I don't get it, but today Mitsukuni is quite... What's the right word? Oh who cares. I love it.
I kissed him on the lips.
"Woah," Kazuki said. "You guys never mentioned that you two were dating."
I turned to him and grinned. "Yup! Mitsukuni's my boyfriend!" Gosh, that sounds so good!
"Yup!" Mitsukuni said, looking quite happy.
"Can you at least keep the lovey stuff to yourselves?" he asked.
I giggled. "Yeah."
Tat-tat!
One bullet hit my helmet, another nearly got Mitsukuni. "Well I'm out. Mitsukuni, go get them!" I said.
He nodded. "Yes sir!" Then he ran off towards the direction of our enemies.
"Wait, I got promoted?" I called after him teasingly.
"Yeah!" he replied with a wave.
"Hey." Kazuki stepped up next to me. "Have you ever heard of Akawari Middle School?"
"Yeah," I said truthfully. "I have."
"Do you know Barton Akane?"
I glanced at him. He was staring straight ahead at the forestry all around us. I sighed, resigned. "Yes, I do." "You do?" He turned to me in surprise. "Then, are you really?"
I nodded. "Yup! It's been a while Kazuki-kun."
His mouth dropped open and he pointed at me in shock. "Y-You... wait really? Akamatsu Rika? It's you? But, no, you said you were Hayashi, lik-"
"I'm really Hayashi Rika," I said. "I was just under a fake last name for a few years during middle school to avoid the family scandals."
"So then." He stared at me some more. "Seriously? Wow. I thought it was possible, cause you look exactly like... Well, you looked really familiar, so. Oh wow."
I chuckled, suddenly nervous now that my identity had been revealed. "Yeah. Sorry for not telling you sooner."
"But Haninozuka-san is your boyfriend right?" he asked.
"Yeah." I nodded, smiling warmly at the thought. "Hell yeah he is."
"Huh. Wow."
"So, what manga have you read while I was gone?" I grinned, and he smiled back.
"This is an announcement for Teams A and B playing in Field 2. Please return to the main building."
"This is an announcement for Teams A and B playing in Field 2. Please return to the main building." "Is that us?" I asked.
"Rika! I lost!" Mitsukuni came bursting back through the bushes.
"Really?" I laughed as I went to his side. "Okay then. Who shot you?"
"I did," Okamoto said, raising his hand.
"I got Kubo though!" Mitsukuni told me in a rather proud tone.
"Good job!" I held up my hand and we high-fived.
Kubo and Miura joined us as we all began to walk towards the main building. "Oh come on, why am I the target?" Kubo asked.
"Cause you're obviously the most fun to shoot," Miura teased.
"Hotoka!" Kubo growled. He grabbed Miura in a headlock. "I'll shoot you next time if you keep this up."
Miura just giggled. Okay, they officially have an interesting relationship. Mitsukuni took my hand gently as we walked.
I smiled and leaned over to whisper into his ear, "I like it when you're bold." He blushed.
"Hey! No flirting!" Kubo yelled. I rolled my eyes. "No dirty talking!"
I snorted. "What dirty talking?"
Kazuki watched us with a careful gaze. I guess he was still surprised. The last time I'd spoken to him was a goodbye. Considering what he'd done, I actually wasn't mad at him. At least, not anymore.
When we arrived at the main office, we were informed that there was another party of six that wanted to play a group of the same size.
"So would you like to form one group?" that lady asked.
Okamoto glanced at Mitsukuni and I. "We're fine with it," he said. "If you two are."
"Yeah sure," I said. Mitsukuni nodded.
"Great." The lady smiled. "Go ahead back into the field. Your new opponents will be waiting."
"Let's destroy them!" I yelled enthusiastically.
"Yeah yeah." Kubo rolled his eyes as we headed back out.
"You're so rude to strangers," I said.
"No, just rude to you," he replied curtly.
"That's rude."
"No really," he said with as much sarcasm as humanly possible. That's when I decided not to bicker with this guy anymore. It was just too troublesome.
We went out and began the game. And we sort of destroyed the other team. They were good, but in the end, we won. We played a few more games with the other team, trying out the capture-the-flag version. It was, albeit painful, very fun.
We returned home after grabbing some dinner at about eight.
"You were gone all day!" Azumi started nagging me the moment I was back. "And you didn't think to call even once to tell me that you'd be back this late?"
"You're not my mom, Azumi!" I snapped, before shutting the bedroom door in her face. How annoying!
So it seemed like things were going well. There weren't any troubles between Mitsukuni and I. Ashika Suzume wasn't a jerk to me anymore, in fact, she was quite civil and almost nice. The Host Club was prospering just as well as it always had been. For Mom's sake, however, I stayed at the Chess Club for as long as possible, even though Minoru refused to talk to me. Umari challenged me in chess games practically everyday, and every time it seemed like she had improved. She boasted that it was because "Furaru" was personally tutoring her.
Dad left to visit Grandma and Grandpa. And once he'd confirmed my grandma's improved condition, he quickly returned to America after getting a few vaccine shots per Mom's request. Dad doesn't like shots either. Mom was gone on a week long business trip, and after that, she headed off to America to help my dad. And Kimiko was always either at school, work, or Masahiko's house.
So it seemed like things were going well. No family troubles to bother me, no pesky classmates to bother me, and absolutely no love rivals to bother me.
Maybe the fact that things were going well should have told me something. But I was oblivious to it all until I
walked into the Host Club's backroom in search for Mitsukuni and found him kissing Hayakawa Ayako.
walked into the Host Club's backroom in search for Mitsukuni and found him kissing Hayakawa Ayako.